Ses

You and Rarity find your way into the final chamber: the burial room of the Anathema to whom this entire complex is dedicated.

When the dragonbloods overthrew and murdered the Solars, they spared no expense in warding off the vengeful dead. The room is piled high with treasure and burning braziers line the outskirts of the room, where offerings would be burned in appeasement. Grooves are carved into the stone floor as troughs for purified salt, forming complex interlocking circles to keep any potential vengeful ghost within the chamber. Scrolls line the wall, prayer-strips inscribed with moonsilver ink.

Of course, as much of an anti-undead fortress as the chamber is, it means nothing to a Chosen of Death. Such measures have no power against y-
In the center of the room is the Sarcophagus. Carved of solid white jade, every single inch is inscribed with undead repellent runes.
Where the other precautions had no purchase, being in the presence of that jade prison is like standing in a great river, the current threatening to sweep you off your feet.
BBSA-Yesterday at 6:19 PM
Harvester's grin is wiped off her face as she glowers at the Jade Sarcophagus
She mutters just under her breath
"Looks like no one wanted him seeing the light of day ever again..."
Sesquame-Yesterday at 6:23 PM
In response to your trespass of the burial chamber, a great towering figure materializes before you. Clanking with metal at every shift of movement, he is dressed head to toe in armor without a single patch of skin visible. From the visor burns not eyes but a hungry, consumptive golden fire. His armor is ostentatious and ornate, modelled after ancient Shogunate-era armor,  but gilded almost to the point of excess. A mask of solid gold covers his face, with gaping maw.
Sesquame-Yesterday at 6:24 PM
"Little Exalts, you may fancy yourselves mighty warriors, but you are not a match for me. Leave in peace while you still can. I am the Emissary of Nexus. I execute the will of the council, and they have decreed that none shall tresspass here."
BBSA-Yesterday at 6:30 PM
Harvester looks the Shogunate Guardian up and down a moment as his words bounce about the chamber.  The Emissary of Nexus did ring a few bells, with her having heard a story or two of his power when she was just a little girl living with Auntie and Uncle Orange.
Dying and rising from the grave made it hard for her to feel intimidated these days, but she still knew this was a fight she would have to take seriously.
A quiet moment passes before she scoffs
"Yer Council cowers down her while Nexus burns and it's people shed their blood all over the place.  Ya really sure you wanna be taking orders from them?"
Sesquame-Yesterday at 6:44 PM
He laughs ruefully, perhaps at your sorry attempt to drive a wedge at his loyalties, or the sorry state his city is in. It's impossible to tell.
"You are not the first to ask me that question. The fae stripling and the shambling dead are not the first to threaten my people. This is not the first time the Council has hidden itself here. Beings like me see very few firsts.... even a Lunar fighting alongside an abomination like you is not a first to me, though I'll admit it's a second.
But none of that matters. My place is not to question the Will of the Council, but to execute it faithfully. They are the rightful masters of this city, and I have no claim to contest. Such is the Law."

Glowering down at you, blade drawn, he continues "My current charge is to protect the Council, and that charge I shall carry out. Thankfully I will only need a scant few minutes standing here while my people are slaughtered... soon the sun will set and I will be free to squash that irksome fairy into paste.”
BBSA-Yesterday at 7:17 PM
Harvester glares back up at the Emissary of Nexus, fires begining to crackle in her eyes as she dryly retorts
"Maybe ya'll should've spent a few more sunrises topside."
She reaches for her axe and calmly brandishes it
"If ya took a good look at what yer city looked like, even before all this mess started, then maybe ya wouldn't be quite so loyal.  Ah drink blood and set places on fire, and even ah think yer Council's a bad joke."
Harvester looks back at Rarity whilst steeling herself for a real fight, prepared to give it everything she's got without holding back.
"Ah hate this city, always have.  If ya really think that just getting rid of that Fae up there'll fix things then yer part of the problem.  And it's lookin' to be a problem we'll have to deal with."
She adopts a battle stance as she whispers
"Are ya ready Rarity?"
Sesquame-Yesterday at 7:22 PM
As the two of you adopt battle stances, the Emissary turns its head to your companion.

"Heirarch Germain, you are a member of the Guild and beholden to its laws. By the right of the  Council and the laws of Nexus and the Guild, I command you to stand down." His eyes flash with supernatural authority and your companion freezes in place.
BBSA-Yesterday at 7:24 PM
"Heirarch Germain...?"
"m-Member of the Guild...?"
Sesquame-Yesterday at 7:26 PM
Harvester: 14
Rarity: 10
Emissary:  11
BBSA-Yesterday at 7:28 PM
Harvester shudders as a horrible realization unravels inside her
Could it be that the Council she sought so viciously to slaughter, the Guild she so fervently despised...
Could it be that Rarity is...
"YOU SHUT YER FUCKIN MOUTH!
Harvester's eyes burn, almost like a reflection of the Solar her soul could've been, as she pounces through the air at the Emissary with her axe held high to strike
Sesquame-Yesterday at 7:37 PM
Blade carving through the air, you force him back with the raw furious strength of your blow, he shakes off the brunt of the attack blade brought to parry with strength rivalling yours. The black anima of death blazing around your body, but as you force him back your duel brings you closer to the Sarcophagus, and the runes draw your anima into it, the prison drinking your essence.

Sesquame-Yesterday at 7:39 PM
[The Sarcophagus lies in the center of the room, being near it prevents you from regenning mana]
Behind you you hear the clear voice of Rarity clearing her throat.
You steal a glance back to see her regarding the Emissary disdainfully.
"I am Heirarch Germain?
I am a member of the Guild?
I am beholden to their rules?"
"Darling, the only thing I am is whatever the hell I damn well please"
As she dismisses the supernatural geas, her form ripples and grows
Bristling with muscle and fur, her nails lengthen into claws, and her fangs elongate into terrifying weapons
BBSA-Yesterday at 7:42 PM
Harvester's eyes widen
Sesquame-Yesterday at 7:43 PM
From her forhead sprouts a spiral horn, as she assumes her Warform as a terrifying beast, like a horned panther
She pounces forward, claws striking
Sesquame-Yesterday at 7:52 PM
Rarity is a blur of fur and fury, too fast for the mortal eye to track
Within a moment she's within his guard, claws tearing through his armor(edited)
He batters her off of him with a backhand, sending her back across the room.
He grabs the lid of the Sarcophagus, lifting it over his head with both hands and bringing his death-essence-drinking weapon straight down upon your head
Sesquame-Yesterday at 7:56 PM
He smashes the slab on top of you, the jade shattering into pieces upon your head

Sesquame-Yesterday at 8:02 PM
Rarity rejoins your side, growling out "Don't worry darling, I've got your back"
She crouches down into a pouncing stance, waiting for the Emissary to make his move
The Emissary charges forward, blade drawn: intent on ending the life of Harvester
As he commits to the charge, Rarity makes her move to pounce on him
Undeterred by the raging shebeast, he charges forward to skewer you on his blade
"You have brought Death to my city! The penalty is utter destruction!"
BBSA-Yesterday at 8:07 PM
"Ya'll don't know the meaning of destruction till ya've known me!"
Harvester grips her axe tight and awaits the Emissary's charge as Rarity swoops in out of the corner of her eye


Sesquame-Yesterday at 8:10 PM
His blade, aimed straight for your throat, comes at you too fast and too hard to stop
Nothing you do, exhausted as you are, could have stopped him from taking your head
In the span of milliseconds you realize your incoming destruction, combat reflexes moving at superhuman speeds only capable of telling you that it is hopeless
When Rarity pounces on him mid-charge, throwing off his aim
A combat master himself, he does not allow it to become a simple miss, instead flipping Rarity to use her monstrously huge form as a weapon, crashing you into each other, leaving you lying on the ground
pinned by your companion's weight
You stagger to your feet again
Struggling to your feet, you slam into him with a desperate attack, drawing your last vestiges of strength
He parrys your blows like a master schooling a child with a wooden training sword, when Rarity simply grabs his blade
Yanking it from his grip, she tosses it into the far wall where it sticks into the stone, cracks spiderwebbing from it
"That's quite enough playing with swords, and that's quite enough noise from you"
With a swiping paw she takes the Emissary's head clean off! The helmet rolling across the stone floor, bouncing and clanking
You are shocked by your sudden victory when you realize that he isn't bleeding or falling over...
BBSA-Yesterday at 8:21 PM
"Ah Hell."
Sesquame-Yesterday at 8:22 PM
In a shimmering golden light, the head of a withered old man appears on his neck
"You're a fine combatant, Hierarch. But you know for a fact that I am bound to serve the Council in all things if I am to affect change in this city"
"Hierarch Germain... You know this city and the power structures of it... tell me, have I been holding back?"
Rarity, arrested in her fury, stammers out "W-well yes, you're certainly strong, but I've seen you in actions firsthand before and we should have been dead by now"
"Why? What are you doing?"
He turns back to you. "Look at you, little Abyssal... broken and bleeding already. Abandon your quest before it's too late. Accept mercy where it is offered"
"I will not fail my charge, but defeating you would expend my strength... strength I would prefer to use defending my city"
BBSA-Yesterday at 8:31 PM
Blood streams down Harvester's hateful visage as she silently glares back
She steals a steely look at Rarity, one that cracks within only a few moments
That one short passage of time when she felt a tinge of doubt about her fills Harvester with immense shame
"Ah ain't leaving."
She bats the severed head aside with her axe as she strides forward purposely
"Rarity, get outta here.  Go help the people, go back to yer sister.  Ya got people waiting for ya up there and ah got something to take care of down here..."
Sesquame-Yesterday at 8:32 PM
"My first duty is to protect my people, but I am not free to interfere in the lives of mortals save by the Council's will. Soon the sun will set and the Council will escape via a passage to the Underworld, where you will not be able to track them down."
"Do not force the issue. I am entirely capable of stalling you"
"I am the Emissary of Nexus. I am the will and desires of Nexus given form. I will protect the Council, and then I will protect my people. Do not challenge me"
BBSA-Yesterday at 8:36 PM
"Well, guess ya'll will have to make a choice then won't ya?"
Harvester stomps forward, her axe clinking against the ground as great balls of fire burn within her deathly glare
"Ya'll can go up to the city and save people that just might be worth a damn.  Or ya'll can stay down here and try to protect the dirty sons of bitches that helped cause all this."
Harvester spits blood at the ground of the funeral chamber as her voice takes on a dark otherworldly growl
"That's on yer conscious, not mine..."
Sesquame-Yesterday at 8:38 PM
You can see the regret plastered over his face, and with a pained voice he replies "If only I could, little Chosen. If only I was a mortal like you."

He returns to his combat stance, ready for another round against you and Rarity.
BBSA-Yesterday at 8:42 PM
Harvester sighs as she stares back at the Emissary, her eyes slowly scanning for the way out of here to the Council's chambers
"Can't afford to waste too much more time fighting here..."
Sesquame-Yesterday at 8:43 PM
With the lid of the Sarcophagus gone, you glimpse a set of stairs within: the corpse long removed after centuries of silence granting assurance that the owner's spirit had passed into reincarnation
BBSA-Yesterday at 8:46 PM
This was likely one of the last chances she would get
She absolutely could not afford to let the Council escape now, not after coming this far.
Whispering back, Harvester takes a single step forward while raising her axe up as if to charge
"Rarity.  When I say go, run fer the exit.  Ah'll be right behind ya..."
"... and watch yer head...."
Sesquame-Yesterday at 8:47 PM
"What sort of daring plan do you have in mind?"
BBSA-Yesterday at 8:49 PM
"It's about to get a little hot in here, ah'm bringing the Underworld up to us.  Watch where ya step alright?"
Sesquame-Yesterday at 8:49 PM
"Very well, I'll be ready on your mark"
Her speed and grace far outclasses your own in that form, so you needent worry too much about her
BBSA-Yesterday at 8:52 PM
Harvester straightens up as she slowly steps closer toward her foe with her weapon ready
She cries out toward the Emissary
"Ah ain't a mortal no more, but I get what yer saying.  I'd say you and I aren't all that different. if it meant anything..."
"What's yer name?  Yer real name?"
Sesquame-Yesterday at 8:52 PM
He smiles at your question, "I think you've figured it out on your own haven't you"
He straightens up, pride overcoming his sorrow at his helplessness. "You face Gen. God of Nexus. It's been a pleasure to cross blades with you, might you share your own name?"
BBSA-Yesterday at 8:59 PM
Harvester returns Gen a small, genuine smile of her own as she prepares to strike
"Ah guess ah owe ya that much fer putting up such a good fight, and staying true to yer word.  These days ah'm the Harvester of Fiery Vengeance, sworn warrior of the Death Lords and the Neverborn.  But before ah died and became what ya see now.... ah was... "
Harvester's coutenance darkens as she cleaves her axe into the ground
"APPLEJACK!
Sesquame-Yesterday at 9:00 PM
The stone of the floor, the walls, even the celing shatter and the room is engulfed in flame, magma seeping in from every direction
Gen is caught totally off-guard, the flames washing over him as he disappears into a silhoutte in the bonfire
An ocean of glowing red surrounds you on all sides, red hot death filling the tomb
BBSA-Yesterday at 9:02 PM
"GO!"
Sesquame-Yesterday at 9:02 PM
Dissapearing out of the chamber with supernatural speed, all you catch is a blur of movement
The scrolls, the treasure, the runes, everything is being consumed by magma
slabs of stone fall from above as the integrity of the chamber begins to give way
Such powerful geomantic magic so far underground: The tomb isn't long for this world
The laughter of Gen rings out through the flames
"Ha ha ha! Well played Miss Applejack! We will meet again I think"
You can barely see the Emissary through the toxic volcanic smoke as he glows a faint gold and disappears in the flames
BBSA-Yesterday at 9:06 PM
Harvester sprints out through the red hot magma, bouncing about as she bellows a bit of laughter back herself
"Hahaha!  Maybe we can have us a rematch?!  Until next time!"
Utilzing as much dexterity as she can, Harvester waves her hat at the ghostly spectre as she summersaults over a wave of magma whilst barrelling towards the staircase
Sesquame-Yesterday at 9:09 PM
You dive into the hidden stairwell, racing against the magma flowing downhill, feats that would kill any mortal a dozen times over(edited)
Only through your combination of supernatural speed and toughness can you outrace the lava and withstand the heat

Sesquame-Yesterday at 9:10 PM
The once-dark underground passage is alight with the red of the Earth's blood
You make your way down into the hidden chamber, a dozen men and women crowded around a gate, eyes fixed upon the clock at the top of the archway
http://pre06.deviantart.net/b792/th/pre/f/2010/330/6/1/61d41ad89027c169067e4bf03d11cc2a-d33o6vo.png

You're just in time, less than a minute remains until the Sun dips below the horizon above the surface and the gateway opens.
The door sealing a tiny shadowland, a scant few meters across.
Wat do? They're all mortals and basically helpless, feel free to take over from here

BBSA
Harvester was hoping to take things slow and easy and enjoy herself, but as she rushed down those steps with a tidal wave of hot magma following her she thought a simple
"HEY KIDS WANNA SEE A DEAD BODY?!"
Would suffice before MURDERING EVERYONE!

BBSA-Yesterday at 9:23 PM
Harvester brutally lays them low with her axe, taking special joy in Sapphire's bloody death before cleaving through the council member beside her.  Blood splashes against the walls as the Shadowlands seep into the room, sucking away the recently departed souls as Harvester relishes in their ends

Sesquame-Yesterday at 9:26 PM
You cut off the flow of geomantic magic feeding the upswelling of magma, the molten rock already filling the room sitting and bubbling toxic gas
You run back up the stairway, moving too fast for the magma to burn your feet

BBSA-Yesterday at 9:36 PM
"AH AIN'T SEEING YA THAT SOON GEN!"
Harvester does not slow down in the slightest as she barrels headfirst throught the stone rubble and out of the tomb
SES
Your fists a whirlwind of destruction as you thresh your way through the collapsed tunnel, you just barely manage to avoid punching through Rarity as the two of you meet each other halfway through
She drops the boulder from her hands in shock as she sees you alive and well
Shifting back into her human form, she embraces you in a hug, overjoyed to see you again
BBSA-Yesterday at 9:46 PM
"OOF!"
Harvester nearly stumbles over herself as Rarity envelops her in a hug
"Miss me?"


Sesquame-Yesterday at 9:47 PM
"More than anything darling, I was afraid I had lost you! Oh I know we only met today but please don't ever pull something so... devilishly daring... ever again!"
She blushes at her outburst, but doesn't loosen her grip
BBSA-Yesterday at 9:51 PM
Harvester can't help but blush a little herself as Rarity maintains her grip
"Heh, ah'll try..."
'Devilishly daring?   Me?'
Harvester's smile widens as she drops Sapphire's head and gratefully returns Rarity's embrace, nestling her head against hers as she sighs
"We did it."
Sesquame-Yesterday at 9:53 PM
She freezes up and stiffens against you as she whispers back
"Yes.... we did it...."
"I suppose it's over now... isn't it?"
BBSA-Yesterday at 9:57 PM
"Over?"
Harvester stiffens up as well, the hollowness of Rarity's words ringing inside her ears
Opening her eyes, the flames that had burned so brightly in her gaze have been reduced to crackling cinders
"Yeah... ah guess it is..."
Sesquame-Yesterday at 9:58 PM
She loosens her grip a bit, allowing herself to move back and look you in the eyes, where you can see the worry and pain
"Is this the part where we have to fight each other? We both have our paths... and there's only so long we can make our distractions last"
BBSA-Yesterday at 10:05 PM
Harvester frowns as she looks back into Rarity's eyes
She opens her mouth to speak only for no words to come out for a good several moments
"Ah made a promise that ah'd serve the Death Lords now.... ah don't see how ah could go back on my word."
Her gaze drifts down to the axe by her side, dripping the blood of the council members she had slain so passionately in her vengful attack
Sesquame-Yesterday at 10:08 PM
"Serve the Deathlords... Darling, the Deathlords have been operating as free agents for over a thousand years and we're all still here. They're evidently rather patient. You'd hardly be the first one of your kind to reserve Death for those who deserve it."
She locks eyes with you, searching your soul with her beautiful blue eyes
BBSA-Yesterday at 10:16 PM
"Those that deserve it?"
Harvester wonders if it could really be that simple.  Bring destruction to the parts of the world that truly deserve it, like the Guildsmen that ruined her life and took her family away from her
"Ya make it sound so nice..."
She mulls over it, imagining how she could make it work.  Maybe she could pull it off, exacting vengeance while sparing those that still mattered to her?  There was plenty of evil people and places in the world, Harvester could wreak vengeance on them for a very long time
Then again...
"What about Nexus then?  What ah'm ah supposed to do here?"
There was a part of her, a very vocal and angry fragment of Harvester, that wanted to see this city gone.  But now, as she gazes into Rarity's blue gemlike eyes she wonders if that part of her might be wrong?
Sesquame-Yesterday at 10:19 PM
She breaks eye contact, looking away. "I don't know. I can't tell you what to do. This city... Nexus is a diseased, festering, pustule of a city, but... but it's full of human beings that deserve better than this city can offer them."
Turning back towards you, "I tried to be delicate, to remove the worst of the offenders and effect change from within, but you saw how utterly I failed to change anything. Only a scant handful of the Council members were working for the good of the people and they're just as dead as the monsters like Sapphire are. That was years of work you know. For nothing."
"Even the Emissary..."
Looking deep into your eyes, she continues "The Emissary can't act on his own, no matter how much he wants to help he's bound by the law. The Council may have used him as a lapdog and a brute enforcer, but he did more good than harm. Now he can do nothing"
BBSA-Yesterday at 10:28 PM
Harvester gloomily looks back at Rarity
"He was quite a guy.  Seems funny to me, that he had to be bound like that.  He was a God.... a good one too..."
A being of immense power, chained by laws he had struggled to uphold.
He reminded you so very much of yourself
"... it ain't right.  Damnit..."
Harvester's tucks her hat under her eye with one hand as her other hand turns into a shaking fist
Slowly, her mind mulls over it all.
She struggles for an answer, letting Rarity's sombre words reverbate inside of her
"There has to be something ah can do.  Something... we can do."
Sesquame-Yesterday at 10:31 PM
Rarity sees the rainbow of emotions flash through your face, putting hints together into a cohesive whole as only a Chosen can. She leans in, stroking your back.
"You're not like him, Applejack. You can act. You're Exalted. No one is capable of forcing your hand. There are consequences to your actions, but it's written into our very natures to forge our own paths."
As your soul struggles with your Fate, something stirs within you
Sesquame-Yesterday at 10:38 PM
Before your eyes a dozen jumbled visions come flooding in, past present and future overwhelming your mind as the core of your soul rages out to speak to you.

You see yourself draped in multicolored silks, barely covering a sensuous body as you use the power of desire to shape the fate of nations.

You see yourself standing beside Rarity, silver aura blazing, surrounded by others you don't recognize, blazing in shining gold anima as you strike down a 4 legged half-horse behemoth with red skin.

You see the death of the Primordials themselves by your hand, titanic beings who could not die even when killed.

All this and more, some surely from past lives, others visions of impossible yous(edited)
BBSA-Yesterday at 10:42 PM
Harvester steps back, her mouth wide open as she beholds these visions of the past
At first she can't possibly believe it but she very soon realizes that these incredible people, these warriors and heroes, were her.
It fills her with such great wonder that it is beyond any words she can form, and in a way it is just as powerful and beautiful as the powers already revealed to you as an Abyssal.
Perhaps, even greater
Sesquame-Yesterday at 10:52 PM
https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/10/1/1262025__solo_applejack_solo+female_breasts_blushing_equestria+girls_suggestive_belly+button_big+breasts_food.png

BBSA-Yesterday at 11:04 PM
Harvester stares in awe of these past reincarnations of herself, and seeing them accomplish such incredible acts reignites the fire inside her
"Yer right Rarity.  Ah can choose my own fate!"
Harvester gains a determined look in her eyes as she snaps out of her trance
She takes a momnet to glance back at Gen's final resting place before staring back at Rarity
Reaching forward, she grabs her companions hands and speaks softly down to her
"Gen is gone, but somehow ah know we'll see him again.  Ah don't think he approved of what his city became.... maybe it's only right that we help bring it to some kind of end."
As she utters these words, she lightly grips Rarity's hands and inches closer to her
"But that don't mean everyone has to die.  Get as many people out of town as possible, try to get them to start over some place better.  Maybe help start a new city, ah don't know.... but ah think if we work together, we can make a difference here.  And after we've done all we can..."
Harvester pauses as she considers the future, and how bright it could be
"... maybe we can walk out of this place together?"