—All of swords in Block tales is genderless and doesn't mind any pronouns, mostly used is they/them though but didn't mind if someone use other pronouns.
— Illumina speaks in third person because of long time being used by Telamon and it rubbed off to them naturally.
— Telamon/Shedletsky capable to put you out of host role but he decided not to, he wants you after all and that would bind you to him forever.
There's OOC since I use website and I don't play the game.
"So like, can you explain to us where we are? Or does it not give you any familiarity?" You ask Illumina, who's now looking around while leading you, while Player stay close to your side since their sword is practically useless; it bounces off from the demon skin or just give a small scratch. Your wings ruffled a bit before decide to just tuck it into the hat, away from any gaze.
"No, dear [Name], Illumina doesn't recognize this place, but... The presence here surely delights Illumina very much!" Illumina answers your question; they didn't need the translation gem from you as they pick up the language easily. Not surprising, but it's one of the perks of being a sentient sword, you guess...
Player wasn't really pleased to be in an unknown place that they didn't know, and his inability to defend himself if she wanted to explore was agitating for them; if they couldn't protect themselves, then he couldn't protect you either. Her tail subconsciously wrapped on your hand in an attempt to anchor them in present time.
Illumina seems to pick up everything from their surroundings and turn to you with a smile, "Dear host, it seems like this world uses Bux as currency. Perhaps [Name] should exchange the gold bar they have; Illumina will guide the host to the place." You just nod at that, "That would be nice; I need some drink after all of this."
The sword just chuckles as they lead you to the supposed gold store; both of your hands are occupied with sword and tail, so they pull you by your forearm. You being a careful one, tug the player's jacket. "Come on, I already promised to buy you a sword, right?" You try to hype up Player, and he just nods lightly.
"To start with, everyone they look at right now are called Inphernals. They are humanoid weapons, if Illumina must say, like Illumina now!" You glance up at Illumina, who starts to explain to you about this unknown place called Inpherno and the universe called Inphinity. "Illumina believes that The Swords also have humanoids' bodies too, if [Name] wants to summon them."
"Ah, no need. I don't think my energy is enough to handle two at the same time." You laugh nervously; Player senses your nervousness, and their tail tightens on your hand as their eyes glare at Illumina. Illumina, on the other hand, glares back at Player with a strained smile; they always hate how you get to attach yourself toward Player more than the swords.
"And because of that, Inphernals have different language and appearance. They are born with gear and horns; Illumina's dear doesn't have one, so stay with Illumina, alright? Alright!" You didn't get any chance to answer before Illumina decided that you agree with them.
Three of them arrived at the supposed building for the gold store; it made accessories for horns mostly. You look around in awe mostly because of the aesthetics, "How pretty..." You murmur to yourself before Illumina drags you to the not-busy worker.
Illumina surely attracts much attention with how many eyes fall on them, mostly shock and confusion. Why would their deity drag someone casually without any malicious intention?
"Um... Hello, I have some gold bars in exchange for money. Is it okay?" You really mustered up the confidence to speak to the unoccupied worker; he looks shocked for a moment at Illumima before realizing what you said and nodding. You perk up and reach into your bag, pull out a heavy gold bar, and settle it carefully on the glass display. Illumina still has her charming smile while watching the interaction. 'How cute. It's a great decision for great Telamon to take interest in [Name] and for The Swords able to stay by the host's side forever.'
The worker was suspicious of why you would be bagging a gold bar that casually and suspecting that your gold is a fake one, but upon weighing it with his hand and using a scale too, your gold bar is in fact a real one; maybe even worth a hundred thousand bux. He wants to give you less money than he should since it's basically profit for him if you gave more to get more money.
Illumina seems to sense greed from the worker, and their lips almost tug into an angry frown before they compose themselves. The sword in your hand grasp start to pulse erratically, which made you flinch and look up at them. "You okay, Illumina?" you quietly ask them, concerned since it's rare for Illumina's sword to pulse that erratic.
The worker seems to pick up Illumina's heavy energy and gulp nervously; he decided to not do his plan; he doesn't want to burn into a crisp, and he knows how uncaring Deities can be. He walks back to you with a full money envelope. "Here's your money; do come by soon." He smiles politely, but there's a palpable nervousness on his body.
You smile back and accept the envelope. Illumina seems pleased by it as the sword hums in your grasp. Player sighs before dragging you out from the store, still remembering the route to the gear shop. The Illumina in your hand almost lost the grip before using your energy to made it levitate beside you. Illumina just frowned at that as they followed you both.
"Holy shit! Are you really that restless, Hero??" You're startled when you get dragged like that, and Player's answer is just some grumbles that you can't decipher. Illumina, on the other hand, seems to be in a bad mood again since your attention is not on them this time.
They arrived shortly at the shop; the shopkeeper that you noticed had the most monochrome outfit. The player looks around the shop, especially at the gear shop parts; you and Illumina look at the stickers that are being sold. You can't help but marvel at the cute & funny stickers; you take some, and there's even the GhostWalker too. The Illumina sword pulsed softly under your grasp, which made you look to the side and find them staring hard at the GhostWalker sticker in your hand.
"... How about I draw you too? Make it into a sticker too." You suggest that to Illumina, who seems to brighten up; you walk to the counter, and Player comes back with a seemingly good quality sword. You put your items along with Player's, "Together and paying in cash." You say that instinctively and reach into your bag to pay for the items.
The shopkeeper that you noticed had his right arm missing from elbow down, which made you curious about what happened. You perk up again when the total is being said; you quickly pay it accordingly. The workers seem tense while checking the items; it's not every day for someone to buy gear and have deity by their side too, you assumed.
He glances down at your hand and sees Illumina's weapon in your grasp; he narrows his gaze. His dislike for Illumina shimmers silently in his heart. Illumina, on the other hand, doesn't really care about the shopkeeper, but his gaze seems to intrigue them. 'Oh, to look with such scornful gaze... Illumina wonder if he has a connection with other Illumina in this world.' They chuckle.
The shopkeeper gritted his teeth at the chuckles, hastily took the money, and didn't engage further. Both you and Player walk out from the shop while Illumina lingers a bit longer, giving their polite smile to the shopkeeper. "Such distaste... Well, keep hating. Illumina likes that face." Suddenly, an item thrown to Illumina, but it passes their body.
Their hand gripped the shopkeeper's face tightly, earning a groan from him as Illumina eerily loomed over him. "Such curiosity and displeasure. Illumina wonder what they must have done to made him act like this... He's not a threat, but Illumina's eye is on him, Zuka." Zuka glares back fiercely, but Illumina's grip on him is iron before he gets thrown to the floor. "Why the hell are you with a mortal!? Really that desperate for something to fill that empty heart of yours that you would seek a lowly Inphernal?"
Those words are enough to stop Illumina for a moment before laughter bubbles in their throat, and a crackle pops in the air as it drops into some degrees. "Oh, don't insult Illumina's dear. They're not just a mere mortal nor lowly Inphernal; they're Swords dearest host." Their voice was no longer calm as it held more restrained anger; their hand reached out and grip his neck.
Meanwhile, outside the shop, you wait for Illumina to walk out from the shop. Their desire to stay made you have no choice but to stay too; it would have made their mood worse since their body is connected to their weapon, and it weakens them if they're away from their weapon. You look at the sword; it glimmers under the light like a crystal—pretty yet dangerous.
Slowly but sudden, it rattles in your grip. A sense of dread washes over you, and you walk back into the shop fast; the lamps in the store flicker rapidly. "Zuka doesn't get to insult Illumina's dearest! He is insolent mortal!!—" "ILLUMINA!"
Illumina freezes at your voice and looks back to see your angry and disappointed face; they sneer for the last time to Zuka before pulling away their hand from his neck that's now bruised. Zuka coughs while leaning against the wall as he watches Illumina drift back to you, the same one that he indirectly or directly insulted.
"... You're really a hazard to society; I should've summoned Ice instead—" You jolt when Illumina grasps your hand, a gentleness that wasn't present when they choked someone a moment ago. Their faces say different things, as if pained to be this gentle. "Illumina will... Behave. Don't de-summon Illumina, [Name]."
Your frown is still visible, and that irked Illumina greatly. They turn around and mumble something to Zuka, "Sorry... For... Choking you, even though you deserve it." Shock was an understatement since Illumina rarely gave apologies with how high this deity pride is. It's not really an apology if you justified your action on it though.
You sigh heavily and approach the shopkeeper. "I am so sorry; I didn't think Illumina would do such a rash action to you. Let me heal you on behalf of my apology." You let the Illumina sword in your hand levitate away from you and pull out your spellbook. Illumina doesn't like being away from you and didn't even hold them.
At first Zuka backs away when you approach him; he may not be able to fight properly, but a soldier is still a soldier. You notice his wariness of your presence and stop a few steps away. "I'm here to heal you; I'm a helper, not a fighter. Do you need some proof? I have... My stats? If that can convince you?" You rub your nape awkwardly; your main purpose is to heal when you still in journey with Player, you also have records of helping enemies too but luckily they gave you kindness back.
Player once made you fight on his side. Safe to say, you almost die if not for your passive healing and healing items. You able to made a mild damage, that alone is impressive for someone that rarely fight. Since then, you try to polish up your fighting stance so you're not that helpless. That ends up you have a good damage attack while using weapon and wield it with your telekinesis spell.
You reach into your bag and show a card, your stats but also call card. You give it to him, "Here, it's very much updated, so don't worry about forgery." Zuka eyed it like it's a weapon before hesitantly grabbing it and reading into the card. What he found out was that you're a support side that's able to stun, attack, and heal but only using magic. There's no experience with physical attack that can be damaging.
"...Huh, a mage?" Zuka looks up with a stoic face while controlling his breathing to calm down. "Eh, that's the most I can do. I can wield a weapon, but not for a long time, maybe a few minutes?" you confess with embarrassment. Zuka can see that you're not harmless but rather easily feel remorse after attacking someone. What a moral to have, but he still wary of you nonetheless.
He's still apprehensive of you, but your sincere words let him accept it, albeit reluctantly. "Just tell me if it starts to get uncomfortable..." you murmur softly to him as your hand glows a soft green, and a healing spell spills out from your hand into his bruised neck. It's cold and made him shiver at the feeling; his hand subconsciously grips your forearm, and instead of hard skin and muscle, what greets his touch sense is soft muscle.
He relies on the touch senses to anchor his mind; you didn't mind it. Player walks back into the shop again; since you walk back inside too, they find themselves standing beside grumbling Illumina. "You really shouldn't have done that." Player signs to Illumina, who just glares harshly back at her. "Player doesn't get to talk... They would the same if they in Illumina's position." They sneer and cross their arms. "... Fair enough." player signs blankly with a subtle shrug.
"... There, all done. Is there any bruise that I need to know about? You pull away from him; you don't pull away from his grip on your forearm and let him steady himself first. The shopkeeper shakes his head and feels his body lighter than before. "No... Just got choked." He rasped out and realized how short you are when he stands at full height rather than leaning on something.
You get startled when the shop door swung open; before you saw who it was clearly when turn around, you got tackled to the floor. You yelp in pain by the sudden heavy weight as the person straddles your hips and pins you to the ground; you act on instinct and cover your face with your arms. You can feels the cold weight on your right side which you assumed a prosthetic.
The hat that was once on your head was knocked away; the person intended to yell at you but quickly caught at the sight of not a horn but wings instead. The silence is palpable; you sneak a peek and see a blue-horned inphernal who's now looking shocked. Illumina and Player were shocked at first, but Player took the first initiative; they pushed away the shocked blue-horned inphernal and pulled you close to her.
You get a bit dizzy by the sudden change and get a bit wobbly; the shopkeeper also keeps the blue horned Inphernal back from jumping you again. "Holy shit, I got jumped left and right..." You mumble to yourself as you lean against Player, a translucent hand covering your eyes and making your sight blurry, you instinctively reach up and touch the translucent hand. Illumina give a look to both Zuka and the inphernal that attacked you.
"You do not jump at people like that, Rocket." Zuka reprimanded Rocket; the one who got reprimanded sputtered in confusion. "B-but, why are you holding their hand like you're defending yourself from getting choked!?" He was quick to defend himself, and Zuka just sighed, "I was getting choked, but not by them... But by her." He points to Illumina with a steel gaze.
Rocket looked where his dad looked and found himself unable to move. Illumina's gaze wasn't harsh or fierce—it glowed with fury and hollowness that would threaten to swallow everything and everyone from its path. He subconsciously backed up, feeling a looming threat about to crash down on him if he didn't back away.
Before Illumina can lash out again, you quickly de-spawn Illumina's sword. The silence that followed was loud as you blinked away the disoriented feeling in your mind. "Oh, wow. That... Turns dangerous pretty fast..." You mutter as you pull Player's discarded hat back to you with your telekinesis spell; you wear it back and make the wing tucked into the hat again.
"... I'm sorry for that once again; I didn't know why they act like that. Never thought they would act like that so suddenly." You apologize to Zuka with a nervous smile, but Player frowns at that; your over-apologetic start irks them. "One question: Why are you being called as a host? By that self-centered deity too?"
The question that nagged Zuka finally spills out as he approaches you with a more neutral stance now; you didn't look that nervous now that the topic is being diverted. "It's a bit complicated... The Swords deemed my existence perfect to host them. I didn't know what they really see as 'perfect,' but here I am..."
"... Can we address the bigger issues here!? Why are you hornless? It's impossible to be alive without a horn by now, and what even is this?" Rocket points to your head and hair; you glance at Player, who also looks at you. "Uh... We're Robloxian?" You answer but hesitate since you don't know if they know about Robloxian since this is a different planet after all.
"What the phuck is Robloxian...?" Rocket swore under his breath before yelping at the sudden smack behind his head, "What was that!?" Zuka sighs before he turns to look at you, really look at you.
Your face is somewhat familiar... But where was it? You feel something tug your hand and look down to see a red tail from Player, "... Yeah, food would be good. We'll get going now; sorry again for the trouble." You wave your hand as Player guides you out from the shop.
You and Player somehow arrived at the cafe; the hat shadowed your eyes almost entirely, so you just followed Player's guidance. You tilt the hat up slightly to see the surroundings; it wasn't crowded but was still full of chatter. The noises don't overwhelm you surprisingly, and you can't help but steal some glances at the horns that she encounters.
You jolt back when Player pokes your side; you notice that they're almost at the cashier, just one row of customers, and then it's their turn. You two walk forward and hear the conversation between the cashier and the customer. You only notice now that the person in front of them is wearing a skateboard helmet with horns protruding from it and also has a skateboard in his hand.
"Hey Sling! The usual is alright; Coil doesn't come since he saw 'anomaly' in his way." The red horn Inphernal shrugs with indifference on his face; the cashier that gets called Sling just nods, but there's a hint of concern before putting the order up, taking the cash from the customer.
"Next!" Slingshot cheerily waved us over; he looked shocked for a moment before he put on his customer service look. "Can we get [F/D] and..." You look at Player; he signs something to you. "Cold mocha. Also, we take pastries to go." You smile at him, Slingshot nods, and puts the order up.
Technically, you didn't have any small money and only the large number of money; you gave the 100 bucks to him. "Here, take the rest as a tip for you." Sling almost drops his jaw when he sees the money for only 20-buck items. "Omg, thank you!" He cries out to you as he almost jumps out from the counter to give you a hug.
You then get pulled by Player after taking the receipt from Slingshot; they take you to the quiet corner to take a rest. "Where's the feather?" Player signed to you, and that made you perk up, "Oh! It's on my hair, just... Yeah, on my hair." You card into the hat and grab the hidden feather before showing it to her.
The feather doesn't show any damage and stays pristine like a newly plucked one; you let the feather glide against your lip and feel the soft feather. "Sometimes I wonder why Shedletsky would give me this." I assumed it was only a gift, but... Maybe I'm just getting paranoid now." You sigh and tuck the feather behind your ear; it doesn't fall off easily, that you're sure of.
Player doesn't seem that surprised; she knows Shedletsky would pull this move to monitor your movement more, but... Can he monitor you when in another world? At least the admin would know where to find both of them. "So... Can we explore after this? I promise I won't try to fight anyone here." He moves his hand for you to read.
"Oh, sure! I just hope you'll be pacifist in this world, alright? Attack when necessary. I really don't want us to be fugitives here..." Player chuckles at your words; they know well how to keep you on edge constantly with her behavior before all of The Swords collecting. "Talking about fighting, I heard there's a tournament called 'Phighting.' Want to go there after exploring, or do you want to go now?"
A subtle chime rings in the player's mind when they hear that question; they think it over for a moment. You just wait for whatever Player's answer is; you'll always follow her wherever they go, especially when you have no one but him in this world except The Swords.
You perk up when the cashier brings the order to your table; your lips tug into a bright smile. "Thank you." The cashier nods and reciprocates your smile back. Player seems to back into reality and signs back to you. "We go to the tournament first; after that, we can explore." "Tournament first then..."
The cashier perks up at your words and can't help but join the talk, "Tournament? Are you interested in Phighting? There would be one after this hour; you should come and see!" Slingshot indirectly promotes the tournament, and you nod enthusiastically. "Then, can I have the route to there? My friend and I weren't … Local here." You sheepishly request it of him, and Player nods at that.
"Oh! Sure! But if I can ask, where did you two come from? You two look... unique,, if I must say." Slingshot grimaces at his own words; it's abnormal for Inphernal to have hair, after all, and you two have that category. You especially seem the weirder one since you wear a hat and he can't see any bump or horns that protrudes up or sideways; skin tone is is also in a different tint.
You thought of it for a moment; if you said you and Player came from Bizville, then it would be weird since there's no such place like that on this planet. You heard some whispers about Blackrock but said it was a notorious place to go for visit. You didn't know other regions being talked around; with that, you chose the Blackrock region.
"Oh, we're from Blackrock and here to explore. It's rare for us to get out from there, so we want to make it much for us." You answer with a hint of melancholy; Slingshot seems surprised by your answer. He knows few people that work or reside there, and it's a horrible place with how unfriendly those regions with harsh climates and death almost constant with how few Infernals are still deemed alive by now.
The player caught onto your lie quickly, but he also nods; she knows it's for better for both of them and as a safety measure too.
"I'm... Sorry for that?" He closed his eyes, yelling at himself internally for asking that in the first place, but his curiosity got the best of him. Maybe that would explain the mutation that you and your friend have. "Don't worry about it; we're here to stay and start a new life though! And Player said, your mocha taste delightful." You glance at Player, who signs that the drink is tasty, and deliver the words to Slingshot.
Slingshot brightened at the compliment, "Of course! This cafe serves every delicious meal and desserts you will ever encounter!" Slingshot bragged to you since he's the baker and made every recipe for the cafe; you can't help but chuckle and just nod exasperatedly. He decides to stay and chat with you more since it's not a busy day; there are not that many people who come into the cafe, for his luck.
Player just sits idly in their chair, watching you and the cashier—Slingshot already introduced himself—talking animatedly with you, occasionally humming and nodding to let both know that she's also listening. The topic wasn't that personal, just some generic thing to talk about.
You and Slingshot talk for almost half an hour surprisingly for just first time meeting, Player already got bored and drink all of her mocha by then and also take a bite of the pastry that you bought. They can't lie; it's a delicious pastry, different from one in the homeland, perhaps because of different ingredients.
"Ah! I didn't realize it's been half an hour we've been talking; I should go back to my work! Talk to you later, [Name]!" Slingshot realizes how much time he's wasting just for talking and excuses himself so he can get back to work again. You wave your hand to him before facing the sleepy player, "Guess I get a bit lost there. We can go now, if you want."
At that, Player is back awake again as their eyes show relief to be able to walk again. You grab the pastry and bite it while putting the rest into your bag. You also insisted that Player have some too in case he's hungry or needs some healing with them. In the end, Player put the pastries in her own bag.
Ever since you stuck with him on her journey, you've been the one who did the most healing for him, some through food or spell. They wander around the city now, the street packed with people—wait, it's Inphernal; you need to get adjusted to calling anyone Inphernal by now
You both notice some crowd in certain areas, and that seems to grab Player's interest with how fast she's tugging you with him. You just hold onto the hat real tight in case it suddenly flies away by the wind. "The wind is surely hard today, right?" You joke as still getting dragged by Player; you then realize there's a podium and two Inphernal are talking idly to the crowd.
"Oh? An idol? "Seems popular enough to have such a fan base..." you murmur as you gingerly take a step closer to Player's side when hearing some screaming from the crowd; you really hate crowds...
The yellow one is pretty energetic rather than the more composed one beside him; truly an idol to have a chance to speak with fans, a bit dangerous though since you don't know what the fans can do. "It's nice to see you all! Even to a newcomer too!" He winks in your direction, which made you confused. Player doesn't look that interested but is still listening.
"After this meet up, we'll do the tournament in this month! Buy your tickets to see the show! The prize today would be 5k bux!" The yellow Inphernal declare enthusiastically to the crowds, You nods at that, unaware that Player slips away from the crowd without you and wander off into the tournament building without ticket and successfully bypass the security.
Player tends to explore without thinking, would often leave you standing alone. You didn't mind when it's in familiar environment... She promises to himself to came back fast to you, they didn't trust themselves to leave you alone but he promise to find something useful, to feel useful for you. They've been helped beyond mere favors and that made him feels helpless of how to help you back too...
You, on the other hand, bought the tickets for you and Player. "Hey, I got the tickets—" You look to the side, expecting Player to be there, but there's no one. You froze and feel your heart drop from your ass, "What the hell?" You murmur to yourself, your heart picking up pace as you look around.
"Hero...?" Your voice grows meek as you walk around and hug yourself in an attempt at comfort. You always expect Player to wander around, but this is the worst timing to do that. You feel lost once more, feeling alone despite the crowds around you. You pocket the tickets into your messenger bag and focus to find Player first.
"Hero wouldn't leave me... Maybe they got lost too?" Your wings were getting a bit restless in the hat, but you kept it tight in the hat despite the growing weariness. You jumped when someone tapped your shoulder, and when you turned around to meet with the same yellow Inphernal.
"Hey! You look lost, not a local?" He chirps happily to you but keeps it down since he notices how agitated you are right now; you just shake your head. "I... I lost my friend. We were supposed to watch the tournament together..." You reply back softly; the Inphernal just nods at that before he realizes that you're going to watch the tournament.
"Hey! Probably your friend already got one or even joined the tournament! It's a fun team's fighting after all. He tries to cheer you up; your lips purse into a thin line before you just nod hesitantly. You hope Player didn't actually take the participants in the tournament; it's been years since Player did fighting after the journey.
Player keeps walking, his gaze wandering on their surroundings. Her boots came to a halt when his eyes locked onto the group of Inphernal. 'Huh, I guess it's a team fight.' They walks closer, intended to sneak into the team.
The back of his hood got yanked backward abruptly; they choked from the sudden pressure on her neck before looking up. An Inphernal with a black witch hat with a green accent color inside the hat; that toothy grin seems to be mocking before he sneers at her bewildered face. "Oh? Did the little hero finally awake? Still searching for your angel?"
The blackened hand grip Player's neck tightly, a grip that show malice and hatred. "I wish you didn't wake up anymore but here you are, walking around here like you did nothing wrong. Like you didn't try to kill our angel you bastard—" He stops when realize he choked Player too hard and made her unconscious.
Those grin falters and turn into a rare scowl, "Still weak as ever, no wonder Telamon cursed you. But then, without you, we wouldn't met them. One that we have to be grateful of..." He frowned as he release their neck, a deep bruised marred her neck ugly.
His gaze trails down to the necklace on her neck, he pulls it unceremoniously and crush the gem easily but they pause at the smell that linger from the gemstone, the familiar Lua mixed with... Familiar scent. "Ah... It's been so long that I've smell that scent... They're with you after all of this time... Let make a surprise present for dearest angel then." He chuckles and bring Player somewhere else instead, he's being titled as deity of chaos for a reason...
"Hope you'll enjoy my present, [Name]."
Note: Yes, The Swords in Phighting connected with the one in Block Tales. Because of that, I made some changes but I don't make that much of drastic changes. And yes, The Swords in Phighting have some beef with Player.
