A Game of Shadows [Adventure]

[Ranth]

Name: A Game of Shadows

Participants: TBA

Location: ? ? ?

Difficulty Level: - Hard

Setting: NDE

Estimated Enemy Strength: A little bit of everything

Estimated Time Until Completion: 3+ Pages

Starts: Once participants have been selected and powers have been assigned.

Special Conditions: All participants will lose their regular powers upon commencement of the thread. Fear not however, for they will gain new powers for the duration of the thread. Each participant will have at least some input into the criteria from which I'll use to assign these powers, but expect surprises.

Plotline:

Welcome all my honored guests,
to the ultimate duel with the best of the best.
At my invitation you've come to compete,
for the honor of suffering the final defeat.
Isn't it grand what I've managed to do,
By kidnapping those closest to you?
I've taken your souls to lay on the line
in a winner takes all... duel for all time

Hell, Earth, Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society may seem like three entirely different realms, but as three unfortunate dwellers of what is known as the 'Sigma Cosmere' are about to find out, there is far more beyond the scope of their reality than they ever could have imagined. Torn from their native realms by the enigmatic figure known only as "The Trader", these representatives of the Sigma Cosmere must come to terms with entirely new powers and learn quickly to differentiate friend from foe. Victory will bring glory to their Cosmere and restore to them what was taken... defeat will serve as the ultimate proof that there truly are fates worse than death.


Important notes:I am looking for a maximum of three participants for this adventure because it's my first attempt at doing this and 3 is a nice manageable number. In order to be selected as one of those three people, I recommend that you meet the following criteria:

1. You need to be a reliable poster. I'm not expecting daily posts, but if you don't think you can reasonably manage to post at least once a week, then this isn't the adventure for you (In the case that I end up with more than 3 applicants, I'll lean towards those who have demonstrated the highest level of reliability).

2. This thread is going to defy normal mechanics in almost every conceivable way, you just have to be willing to accept and embrace that fact- as such, this thread is open to all approved characters from all races and all power levels.

3. Basic knowledge of the Yugioh Universe (and tropes) will be helpful, but not essential.

To apply, just reply to this topic with a link to the character you'd like to use, their name and their race

[Beast]

Where was Beast most comfortable? Where was he most at home and feeling the safest? Beast was in his room in Las Noches, resting up from having just finished devouring a meal. This time it had been a foolish new Arrancar who thought it repulsive that a Hollow Wraith would be allowed into Las Noches. He was seen as an abomination to this Arrancar, a foolish creation that perverted the good Arrancar name. He had been beat down and consumed. Would Kouhai probably object to Beast destroying his creations like that? Actually probably not, since Kouhai didn't want weaklings in his army. So, sitting on his bed and feeling his life force high for a short while, Beast just sat there, soaking in the energy of the Arrancar.

He felt safe, and buzzed from drinking in so much life force. Safe... enough... to take... a nap... even in... the middle of... the morning...

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}

Strength - [300 x1.5 (450)] Points

Speed - [150 x1.25 (188)] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200 x.5 (100)] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [200 x.5 (100)] Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [200] Points

Senses - [100] Points

Energy sensory - [50)] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1200] Points


Skills


[Boxing] {2}

[Hakuda] {2}

[Swords] {2}

[Pain Tolerance] {2}

[Strength of Will] {2}

[Damage Recovery] {2}

[Mental Incantation] {1}

[Impossible]

Impo sat quietly on a cliff, overlooking a forest. It was supposed to have been a joke, a task that couldn't have been done, but it had. A long time ago, Kitai had asked him to join Uzaki Enterprises for him to get a promotion. Impo had told him to build him a home in the top of a mountain. Much to the failure's surprise, the madman managed to make this lovely room in under three days, forcing Impo to join him. It wasn't the worst experience to have gone through, but in hindsight, he would have prefered that he and the albino's paths to never have crossed.

Impo sat in a stone throne, thinking to himself. "Does killing someone who was planning on ruining the lives of many make me evil?" He whispered to himself. "Does feeling nothing after make me so?" He was having a rough time after his final confrontation with his former mentor. He knew what Kitai had planned to do to those people, and he knew he had to stop him. He had steeled his heart, and ended a threat before it could grow. But that had been the first time he killed something sentient. It should have scared him by how easy it was, how little remorse he felt from it. But it didn't.

And that's the problem.

He had quit UE to hunt down Kitai, knowing Kazura wouldn't approve, but also knowing that there wasn't any other choice. Now that he did however, he realized that there was something wrong with him. He had always prided himself with how amazing his reaction times were, forcing his instinct to unheard of levels. He was beginning to realize the hidden ramifications of that decision. His instincts were indeed stronger than any other he'd met, even amongst the animals. Animal instincts were what made it so easy for them to kill. And now the failure couldn't feel anything for taking a life.

He sighed, before walking back into the pseudo cave. Laying down on bed he had 'acquired'. He needed to sleep, it was too late to be thinking of such thoughts. It took him moments to fall into a dreamless sleep.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and skills} [Strength - (100-30%) 70 points
Speed - 100
Spiritual Pressure - (300-30%) 210 points
Reiatsu Strength - (900+40%) 1260 points
Instinct - (400+75%) 700 points
Senses - 300 points
Energy sensory - 200 points
Healing Expertise - 0 points

Light Aura - 100
Dark Aura - 0 Points

1400 Sp total]

[Lack of Fear] {2}
[Strength of Will] {2}
[Battle Analysis] {2}
[Learning] {2}
[Mental incantation] {2}
[Calm mind] {2}
[Swords] {2}
[Anti-Stealth] {2}

[Analysis] {2}]

[Izanami Midorikawa]

Step by step Nami patrolled through Karakura Town on the look out for anything spiritual in nature to appear that she didn't already have knowledge of as a constant in the town that she lived to guard from anything that would seek to cause damage. As she finished the third patrol throughout the town of the day she reached the district of the town where most of the people lived. Calling on the soul of the ground below her Nami utilized it to help her jump from the surface of it upwards. After a few moments Nami would reach the top of one of the buildings. From here she could look out over the area giving her a better view for the next half an hour. This was what she had started to do knowing that this was a likely area to be attacked and from here she could be better prepared for an attack.

[Ranth]

OOC: you should all get the basic description of the NPC from the start of Beast's section. I don't see the point in copy pasting it three times just to make the post longer when it's already turning out to be a short novel.

Beast

As the creature known as Beast dozed in and out of sleep whilst the toxin that it had willingly partaken of dulled its senses worked through its veins, a being the likes of which not a single denizen of the mortal or spiritual realms stepped out of the shadows on the opposite side of Beast's rather mediocre abode. This denizen had no name, but had adopted many monikers over the Eons. In this particular set of Cosmere, he was most commonly known as 'The Trader'.

The Trader was a short being, no greater than 5"5' in stature and wore a black cloak that seemed to hide a bulky, hunch backed figure whilst a matching black tophat rested snugly upon his head. The Traders face was covered by a grotesque mask that at first glance looked as though it covered his entire face in a combination of blue and greenish grey. Closer inspection however would reveal that the upper right and lower left portions of the mask- the greenish grey sections- were actually The Traders real face whilst the left eye was visible through a slit in the mask and was an angry red.

Yet beyond The Traders face- or at least the parts visible behind the mask- no trace of skin anywhere else could be seen. In fact, if one was to look down at his torso where the cloak that he wore parted and one would expect to see a shirt or some other article of clothing... instead there was nothing. It was incredibly disorientating in fact, as the total darkness led the eye to slip away from it and find something else it could actually rest upon. From beneath the cloak, two hands covered in pristine white gloves could be seen, but the arms that were supposed to be attached to them seemed to possess that same void-like effect that made them impossible to discern. Or perhaps they didn't exist in the first place.

Even if Beast had been in his right state of mine and even if his eyes had been firmly affixed upon the exact spot where The Trader had arrived, he wouldn't have been able to process the means by which The Trader had arrived within his room. There was no displacement of air, no rip in space, no reiatsu signature- as there primitives seemed to refer to 'the power' with their limited scope of understanding. No, Beast would have no inkling of The Traders arrival until he cleared his throat and spoke to him in a well cultured, yet nasal tone. "Good morning, Beast. You do not know me, but I know a great deal about you and I've decided to have you participate in one of my games".

There was no threat in The Traders voice, nor was there any sign of hostility or any other emotion for that matter. Now aware of The Traders presence, Beast would find- if he cared to check- that he could sense nothing from The Trader. No reiatsu signature to speak of, no indication of what race or faction he might have belonged to or what strength he might possess. No, The Trader was an enigma that defied any and all efforts to probe beyond the surface for the time being. The final thing that might have occurred to Beast- other than perhaps rage at his home being trespassed upon- was that no question had been asked. The Trader hadn't invited him to whatever game he had referred to. He'd simply... informed him of his impending participation.

---

Impossible

As The Trader arrived upon the cliff that overlooked the forest upon which the creature known as Impossible- or Impo for short- gazed upon, he allowed himself to go unnoticed as the thing mused to itself over petty moral imperatives. Of course, The Trader knew that all young species struggled with such notions in their infancy. Indeed, long before this Cosmere had come into existence, The Trader could almost remember a time when he'd mused over similar things... albeit on a cosmic scale, but that was neither here nor there.

Following Impossible into the cave after spending a few extra minutes to gaze upon the sun rising over the horizon in the distance, The Trader let the light play across his corporeal form for a moment before he followed the creature- or Impo, for politeness sake- into the cave where he found that it had decided to take a nap. Well, The Trader was indeed a patient entity, but with his other selves taking care of things elsewhere, for once he didn't have time to dawdle on the account of lesser beings.

So he cleared his throat, though in doing so he put a little more of himself into the expression of sound- driving it into the sleeping failure's mind like a siren that would rouse him instantaneously into a state of maximum alertness. The Trader allowed a few moments for the failure- such a vulgar term for a being with such inner beauty- to get his bearings and take stock of his presence before speaking in a voice that some in this Cosmere would describe as a 'Brit with a stuffy nose'.

"Hello Impossible, or Impo if you prefer. The answer to your earlier question, if you were still wondering, is yes. According to the strictest definitions of this Cosmere, the involuntary cessation of another living entities life does make you evil. However, by those same definitions, saving lives makes you a hero. Furthermore, if one expressed elation for doing a good deed, they tend to be labelled as a showoff whereas expressing any feelings- be they positive or negative- seems to have no bearing on the perception of others. Perhaps you can settle for being a heroic villain, but I'll leave you to think on that matter another time. For you see, I have decided that your presence would be a boon to a great game that I am hosting and we must depart quickly so as not to be late".

---

Izanami

The Trader found his third and final participant standing- or rather, sitting at that particular moment- watch over one of the many and varied cities of the human world. It had a name, like all cities on all the planets of this Cosmere, but The Trader didn't see any value in remembering the names of such things. There were, after all, much more to a thing- living or otherwise- than a name. Izanami, this one was called and just before the first cracks of light were due to peek over the Horizon.

Unlike with the other two, who even at that very moment his other selves were in the process of collecting, there was scarce room for him to arrive in a manner that gave the woman space... so he simply melded into existence right beside her. Given the nature of his existence within this Cosmere, he was able to do this so seamlessly that Izanami's perceptions- limited as they were by the very nature of her being- wouldn't notice right away. In fact, he was content to sit there beside her, watching for whatever it was that she seemed to be looking for on the streets below with such intensity.

He soon grew bored of that however and so he cleared his throat and in doing so, in a sense, allowed her to perceive him for the first time. "Hello Izanami. You don't know me, but I know a great deal about you. I've been watching you for some time and I've decided you'll make an excellent addition to my game as a representative of your Cosmere". Much like the others, Izanami would find that if she tried to assess this sudden and unexpected new arrival she would find that she came up empty. For although she didn't know it, he was not of this realm and thus his existence itself didn't fit with the rules and laws that bound its native denizens.

Of course, from previous experience over a very long lifespan, he knew that being told such things didn't tend to be enough to make someone believe such an outrageous claim. So at some point he'd simply stopped bothering to explain when it generally ended up provoking them into confrontation. Though his brother was of the opinion that if you started by making an example, then explanations fell upon eager ears, but The Trader was still young enough that subtlety still held some novel appeal.

[Beast]

Not in a right state of mind? Beast was sharper than normal as his whole body buzzed with power. His instincts were sharper, his hearing was keener, his ability to detect energy was more well honed... But yet the Trader was an enigma that could not be detected until he spoke. And as he began to speak, Beast snapped his head towards the intruder, blades picked up and pointed at the cloaked... figure... no, the figured cloak. "And who the &%*$ do you think you are?" Wielding his bronze saber, the Hollow Wraith charged at the cloak with a scarred face. He'd swing the long blade at the Trader causing his body to spin around and follow up another attack with the shorter dagger.

"I don't play games... I win them through whatever means necessary."

[Impossible]

Impo was startled back into consciousness with a loud yelp, simply by the voice of the new arrival. Much like most animals, his sleep was light, able to be awoken by anything that got too close. With someone so close, his body acted on its own, aiming his now outstretched hand at where the voice was, and fired a fired a massive bala, the size of a truck, at the cheeky spector of a man, before he could even get through his first word. The only reason he hadn't killed the both the masked man, and himself from the explosion of the ability, was another ability he had. Impo was still trying to collect himself, and prevent any other sudden kido attacks. "Who the f#*k was that?" He says aloud, confused at why he hadn't sensed him.

[Izanami Midorikawa]

Although she spent the majority of her time patrolling and watching over Karakura Town now the alert Fullbringer hadn't noticed the arrival of . . well whatever or whoever was now standing on the roof top with her. Nami hadn't picked up any trace of its existence until it had chosen to reveal itself with the sound of clearing its throat. Turning on an instant commanding her fullbring to take its form Nami held out her claymore which would be pressed to the neck of the arrival. Her cold stare was the only greeting that this entity would receive as it spoke.

Nami had been dealing with a large variety of spiritual races for more than a year now and although she had knew the majority this entity now in front of her she could tell was something new. He looked like some sort of Arrancar yet different at the same time. The manner in which he was dressed along with his mask made Nami come to the conclusion that if he shared any similarities with other races it would most likely to be the Hollow or Hell races. However, she couldn't sense his reiatsu at all or detect him by any means other than her sight.

After he had finished speaking Nami contemplated dragging her Fullbring across this entities head. Although she knew her Fullbring was sharp due to her experiences she also knew that there was virtually no chance that it would be enough to kill this entity. At the moment there was also no reason to kill it. "I have no time for games. I must keep this town safe from those that seek to do harm." Nami lived to serve a purpose and the purpose of her existence right now was just as she said.

[Ranth]

Beast

"My apologies, that was rude of me", The Trader said patiently as Beast launched his attacks against the mysterious entity. Unfortunately for Beast, his attacks would sweep through The Traders cloaked form without resistance. In fact, there wasn't even so much as a rustle in The Traders cloak as both the sabre and the dagger came away without even a single drop of blood. "I am The Trader", the figure repeated and before Beast could react, The Trader drew back with his left hand and soundly backhanded the Hollow Wraith across his right cheek.

Now Beast might have thought that he knew pain. He might have thought that he knew despair, defeat, powerlessness and hopelessness from various times throughout his long life. However, nothing could have compared to how it would feel to be knocked to the floor by a single pimp slap. Beast's head would spin and if he tried to stand, he'd simply collapse again- at least the first couple of times- as the impossible weight of the blow redefined his perception of strength.

"Now then, if you're quite done playing around then it's about time that we left. There's just one small matter I have to attend to first. You see... I'm going to have to take your Soul. As insurance, I'm sure you understand that I can't have a creature such as yourself running about in my game without a leash". Every word The Trader spoke was in that same conversational tone- heck, it was almost friendly even as he casually spoke of taking Beast's soul.

---

Impossible

As the dust settled from Impossible's sudden attack, the answer to the Failure's question would come quietly in his ear. "My apologies, you may call me The Trader". Impossible would find that if he turned, he would find the mysterious being now standing slightly behind him on his left side, looking none the worse for wear despite having seemingly been caught in the Failure's attack.

"It seems that you're going to try and give me some trouble as well", The Trader sighed and Impossible would find that a white gloved hand would clamp down on his left shoulder. Impossible would find that the grip of that hand was so impossibly strong that nothing he could do would budge it or allow him to escape that grip. No attack, however powerful would damage The Trader- in fact, Impossible could destroy the entire cave and still find that he was held firmly in place by that hand as The Trader continued to speak.

"If you're quite done with your little fireworks display, then I must insist that it's time for us to depart. Unfortunately, there is one small matter that I glossed over in my introduction. You see, I've had enough experience with mortals to know that they don't behave themselves without a leash. I've also discovered that the best leash one can put upon a mortal, is to... borrow... their soul for a time. So I'm afraid I must insist upon taking your soul"

Once he was done speaking, The Trader finally removed his hand so that Impossible could- conceivably- surrender his soul willingly, or far more likely, try to attack or flee. Both options would end up the same way, but The Trader knew from long centuries of interactions with beings just like this one that you had to give them an opportunity to give their all to resistance. That way, when he crushed that resistance, they tended to be more compliant in the long run.

---

Izanami

This one, unlike the two that The Trader's other selves were dealing with, did not attack him. Unless of course you counted the threat of the Claymore pointed at him. Of course, she still expressed a firm desire to not participate in his game- citing the need to protect the city and its occupants and The Trader sighed. "Oh Izunami, what are you protecting these humans from? If it's from danger, then you're failing even as we speak. Three blocks from here, a woman is being accosted in an alley by three men. Two blocks in the other direction, A young man is bleeding out after being stabbed by a junkie. On the other side of the city, there no less than twelve other people whose lives are about to end at the hands of their fellow men whilst you sit here and speak of protecting them?"

The Trader's voice held no scorn or amusement. If anything, perhaps there was a touch of curiosity instead. "If your role is to protect them, then you have failed. If your role is to protect them from only one kind of threat, then what's the point if the greater danger comes from somewhere else? It is, after all, of little comfort to know that you're protected from being struck by a meteorite, but not from being shot in the street or hit by a car. I'll tell you this now, even if it may take you centuries to accept. You cannot save people from themselves".

"Even if your role was important to these people however, I'm afraid that the choice of your participation in this game isn't yours to make. It would please me to have a willing participant, but it is by no means a necessity", he added with a shrug. Then he placed one gloved finger against the end of Izanami's Claymore and effortlessly moving it away from him no matter how much she tried to resist. "Now then, if you'd just surrender your soul then we can get this show on the road", he added casually.

[Impossible]

Impo jerked away from the man suddenly reappearing next to him, not expecting him to have survived his violent reaction. He tried to vanished with his hollow abilities, but the masked man had lightning fast reflexes, and his hand clamped down on his shoulder, not hard enough to destabilize his body, but hard enough for Impo to know he wasn't escaping unless the man willed it. That didn't mean Impo wouldn't try one last time though. Twin ceros flared to life in the palms of his hands, glowing an ocean blue, swirling like two vortexes. He slammed them both into the chest of 'The Trader'.

To anyone outside the mountain, they would be treated to a display of power not often seen. A pillar of raw reiatsu exploded from the mountain, obliterating the top of it, and causing a rockslide that destroyed even more. Once the smoke and dust settled, Impo would see that the man, or the being in the shape of a man, was perfectly unharmed. Impo was winded, and more than a little shaken, not used to using his abilities on someone so close to him. Seeing as his strongest attack amounted to little more than destroying his home, he decided to call it quits, lest he die. "Not like I can stop you. Just don't expect to have it for long douchebag." He said to his face, glaring, as most of his body shifted red.

[Beast]

The blades went straight through the Trader. How futile... Beast thought to himself as he saw nothing happen to the cloak with a face. Then came the backhand. The Wraith nearly blacked out from the impact alone, and if he wasn't tolerant to a great deal of pain and stubborn as a mule with his strength of will he probably would have passed out from the pain. As is he couldn't stand up as his head spun and his balance was screwed up. Snarling at the mention of his soul being taken "as insurance", he struggled to his feet and spat out in disgust.

"You've no idea what it took for me to earn this life. This body and its soul is worth its weight in diamonds to me. You better take good *$%@ing care of it."

[Izanami Midorikawa]

The entity despite having a claymore pressed against its body made no attempt to get away or move Nami's sword. In fact it was as if the threat of being cut went unnoticed by this entity. While Nami kept her claymore at its position this entity began to speak after Nami had finished. A sigh and then it seemed like whoever or whatever this was just didn't want to stop talking.

It made the view about what Nami had just said about protecting the people of Karakura easy to see. This entity obviously didn't hold any sort of care about the people and in truth Nami felt nothing for them either. What she felt was a need to fulfill a purpose which just so happened to be doing what she said. Although the entity brought up a fair point even as he spoke Nami's blank emotionless face never faltered.

After it had finished speaking Nami came to the conclusion that no matter what she told it the decision wasn't one that she could make for herself. This entity had just touched her Fullbring and whether or not it wasn't completely released Nami could tell this entity was to powerful to be defeated solo. "My purpose is to prevent the harm from anything spiritual. Humans will always harm humans it's their nature."

The claymore was brushed aside Nami didn't push or attempt any sort of hostile motion with her Fullbring knowing that her blade wouldn't be enough against this entity simply because her blade couldn't cut it. She had more than her Fullbring when it came to offensive capabilities, but knew if her claymore couldn't cut this entity that it was more than likely capable of quickly eliminating her.

"If I go along with your game willingly. How long will this game of yours take to complete?" Nami asked this simple question wishing to know just what time table she was having forced upon her now. If she was gone from Karakura she knew the chance of spiritual attack would rise, but the sooner she returned the better. Her claymore would revert back into her dog tags after a moment leaving Nami's silver eyes the only weapons locked on this entity.

[Ranth]

Beast

The Trader scoffed and waved a gloved hand in Beast's general direction as he spoke of not knowing what sacrifices he had made in order to get to where he was now. "On the contrary my dear Beast, I know more about you then you ever will. Your entire story is but a single grain of sand in the great hourglass of the Cosmere. But fear not, so long as you do not disappoint me, then your soul shall be returned to you... eventually"

Before Beast could protest at such vague terms, The Trader produced a small rectangular object from somewhere within his cloak and he held it between two fingers and held it up for Beast to see with an elegant flourish. It appeared to be... a playing card? Except it was blank on one side whilst the other side possessed an orange background with a black oval in the center. With a flick of his wrist, The Trader threw the card at Beast and it sliced through the air with unnerving speed and accuracy.

Beast would find himself unable to react quickly enough to move out of the way, but perhaps he would try to block or catch the card. Whatever the case, the moment the card came into contact with any part of his body, Beast would feel a chill unlike any other he'd ever experienced. This chill would flood every part of him as though ice flowed through his veins and somewhere deep within he'd feel something tear free and vanish.

Immediately following this tearing sensation, Beast would find that the chill would recede and he'd find himself in no pain, nor did he have any visible signs of injury. He would find little relief upon making this discovery however, because the next time he'd notice was a total lack of power as the spirit within the Hollow Wraith was gone without a trace and with it, all of the abilities and powers that it had allowed him to use. Not only would he be unable to use his release, but he would also find himself completely cut off to his ability to use, sense or manipulate reiatsu.

When he next looked up at The Trader, he would see that the cloaked figure was holding the card that he'd thrown once again, except now the card was no longer blank. Now, there was an image of Beast imprinted upon the card. Except it was not the Beast that he would see if he looked into the mirror, but rather an image of what he had once looked like when he had been a Shinigami. This card now contained Beast's soul and The Trader had it firmly in his custody.

"Now then, shall we go and meet the others?"

---

Impossible

The Trader was impressed by the amount of destruction caused by the Failure's last-ditch effort to erase him from existence. Yes, it was appropriate that any living creature fight for its liberties... for their freedom. After all, if one was not willing to fight, then they could not complain if everything they knew and loved was taken from then. Of course, just fighting wasn't enough. One had to seize victory, or else they were unworthy of holding whatever it was they desired. Winning was everything and 'second place' was just a fancy term for 'loser'.

"I admire your pragmatism. It may serve you well in the trials to come", The Trader said brightly as he produced a small rectangular object from somewhere within his cloak and he held it between two fingers and held it up for Beast to see with an elegant flourish. It appeared to be... a playing card? Except it was blank on one side whilst the other side possessed an orange background with a black oval in the center. With a flick of his wrist, The Trader threw the card at Impossible and it sliced through the air with unnerving speed and accuracy.

Impossible would find himself unable to react quickly enough to move out of the way, but perhaps he would try to block or catch the card. Whatever the case, the moment the card came into contact with any part of his body, Beast would feel a chill unlike any other he'd ever experienced. This chill would flood every part of him as though ice flowed through his veins and somewhere deep within he'd feel something tear free and vanish.

Immediately following this tearing sensation, Impossible would find that the chill would recede and he'd find himself in no pain, nor did he have any visible signs of injury. He would find little relief upon making this discovery however, because the next time he'd notice was a total lack of power as inordinate amount of power that normally threatened to burst out of him at all times was gone without a trace and with it, all of the abilities and powers that it had allowed him to use. Impossible would find himself completely cut off to his ability to use, sense or manipulate reiatsu. In addition, the glow that normally always permeated the Failure's body was now gone without a trace.

When he next looked up at The Trader, he would see that the cloaked figure was holding the card that he'd thrown once again, except now the card was no longer blank. Now, there was an image of Impossible imprinted upon the card. Except it was not the Beast that he would see if he looked into the mirror, but rather a mirror image of the Failure with luminous skin. This card now contained Impossible's soul and The Trader had it firmly in his custody.

"Now then, shall we go and meet the others?"

---

Izanami

The Trader chuckled, almost wishing he could take more time to crush this mortal's flawed view of the world in which she existed. Contradictions upon contradictions made her what she was - whether she realised it or not. Perhaps another time he would have time to return to such a delicious morsel, but for now he had to move things along. He could feel his other selves wrapping up their business and knew that it was time for him to do the same.

"Rejoice, my dear Izanami", he said with a smile. "For in this at least, you are the master of your own destiny", he added in a tone that made him sound like he at least thought he was being both magnanimous and the bearer of good news. "All you have to do is claim victory and you'll be returned- soul and all". He spread his hands in a grand gesture before twisting the fingers of his left hand with a flourish that produced a small rectangular object that perhaps the Full-bringer would recognise as a playing card.

"Here, catch", The Trader declared suddenly as he flicked the card- which was blank on one side and possessed of an orange background with a black oval in its center on the other. As the card crossed the ground between them with unerring speed and accuracy, something would drive Izanami to do as she was bid and bring up a hand to intercept the foreign object.

Unlike the other two, who had resisted him to the bitter end Izanami would find that when she touched the card she would feel a tingling warmth spread from the point of impact throughout her entire body. For several moments, that warmth would become all Izanami could focus on along with a feeling of unparalleled peace and tranquility stole across her.

In fact, she would be so relaxed that she wouldn't even notice the moment that a vital part of her tore free from its proper place. After what felt like several minutes, but in truth was only a few heartbeats Izanami would regain awareness of her surroundings once more, though a small remnant of that peaceful feeling would remain in the part of her that was now empty. "Be sure to inform the others when you meet them that although I am certainly uncompromising, I am not unreasonable", he mused to himself as he held up the card he'd thrown at her.

Unlike before, the card was no longer blank, but rather possessed an image of a pair of dog tags that Izanami would recognise immediately as those that hung around her neck. If she checked for her dog tags, she would find that they were still there around her neck in a physical sense, but spiritually... they were empty. All of the abilities and powers that they- the medium for the power known as a fullbring- were gone. Izanami would find herself completely cut off from her ability to use, sense or manipulate reiatsu.

"Now then, are you ready to meet the others?"

---

Everyone

As one, The Trader drew the card containing each participants soul within his cloak and out of sight before clapping his hands together. The sound of his hands coming together was as loud as a thunderclap and in half the time it took to blink, the former surroundings of the Hollow Wraith, the Failure and the Fullbringer would melt away to be replaced by a stone platform suspended in a void of empty darkness.

The platform itself was circular and spanned approximately twenty feet from one side to the other. It was illuminated by 12 pillars upon which 12 glowing crystals allowed them to notice two important things. The first of these things was that The Trader was nowhere to be seen, whilst the second was that they could all see each-other. Each participant had been ripped from not just their respective realms and been deposited here in this mysterious place with no immediate explanation.

Once each participant had gotten their bearings, The Trader's disembodied voice would echo across the stone platform. "Welcome to Station of Arrival. Take a moment to get your bearings and introduce yourselves. You may just find that you'll be relying heavily on each other before long".

Important OOC: I will give you guys 2 rotations at this point to talk among yourselves and get your bearings IC, then I will post again.

In addition, all of your stats are now set to 50 until further notice

[Beast]

So long as Beast didn't disappoint him he'd get his soul back? That was going to be tough. Beast defied authority, that's just who he was. He was a lone wolf, a troublemaker, a disappointment. The Trader produced a card from inside his cloak and threw it with unparalleled accuracy towards the Wraith. In a last act of defiance, Beast threw up his hand to block the card from just hitting him without a fight, but as soon as he did that he felt all of his hard earned power drain from him with a deep chill left behind. His former body, Grodd, had been tolerant to the cold due to being naked nearly all of the time, but Beast had lost that tolerance after awhile.

The card that the Trader was holding had the image of Grodd on it. A Shinigami with bulging muscles and only wearing a loincloth over his genitals. And as he held said card, he'd notice something changing about Beast as he lost the abilities of being a Hollow Wraith. Color started to become restored to his skin and clothes and soon he looked quite normal. If it weren't for the caked on, never washed stains of blood all over his clothing, that is. The blood had always faded to gray on the man's clothing, so he had never bothered to wash it. After all, everything he wore was gray and his skin was gray, so why bother with changing the shade of gray that the clothes took on?

Blood was everywhere on Beast's clothing, in various amounts, but the white of the dress shirt and the black of the pants barely shone through past the crimson spread everywhere. It looked as though Beast had walked through a butcher's freezer and needed to hide inside one of the fresh pigs, Star Wars style, for warmth. Besides that, he looked like a normal Shinigami except for the yellow eyes with a black sclera that he possessed. Even with his soul gone, he could not hide the fact that he was a monster. An abomination in the Soul Society's eyes.

"Now then, shall we go and meet the others?"

Not having a choice, really, Beast stood up finally only to see the world fade away and be replaced with a circular stone platform. Surrounding the platform were twelve pillars with glowing crystals on top. Frustrated by the whole scenario, Beast stomped his foot on the platform with all of his might. It was... lackluster. Finding that he no longer possessed his superhuman strength was even more frustrating as he was used to a certain level of power that he could exert on others when the need arose. A punch to the face was so much more satisfying when they went flying with a bashed in skull.

There were others in the room, but Beast payed them no attention. He wasn't the kind to turn for help or introduce himself. Also, he was covered in blood, so that might keep the others away from him.

[Impossible]

Regardless of what the man said, Impo tried his best to avoid the card that was thrown at him using Shunpo. Alass, the card was thrown too fast for him to even hope to dodge. As it struck him, he expected... something more than what he got, to be honest. His body went cold, but other than that... wait... "W-w-what?" He stuttered from the sheer impossibility of the situation. His glowing skin began to dim, until it stopped shining altogether. No longer was Impossible a failure. His humanity had been returned to him. All it had cost him was the removal of his soul.

Before he knew it, his mountain room had been washed away, as he now sat on some platform, but that wasn't what had his attention. His skin had returned back to its original tanned state, that he somehow knew was what it had once been. His hair was now a chocolate brown, and he not-so-silently cursed himself for not having a mirror to get a better look at himself. "F#*k! What in the h#ll is that guy!?" He said under his breath, before he climbed to his feet. Taking a look around, he almost immediately spotted some dude covered in red. And it clearly wasn't from his choice in clothing. "What the sh#t happened to you?" He said, speaking to the crazy man.

It might have been a bad idea, but he'd dealt with crazy before. Hopefully he'd be just as dumb as the other guy too. He was getting bad vibes from the guy. He tried to sense what he was, but found himself unable to muster up the focus to do so. It was like there was a haze over his normally excellent sensory abilities, crowding them in a way that didn't let him use them like he pleased. It was like his ears were covered by noise-reducing headphones, and his eyes were perpetually glazed over. It was far from comfortable. Still, he'd take that over being a living bomb.