Worthy Core

Just as was once the case when Ruckus was a 'guest' at the dungeon, Xenia is rather limited when it comes to actually locking up prisoners. Her dungeon accessibility rules physically don't allow her to make a cell that's too difficult to escape from, and any doors or bars she might set in the way of Lyota Silverstar would have to be flimsy enough that the fury demon could eventually kick them down.

Fortunately, having dozens of mortals hanging around helps out with that issue quite a bit. Although they can't create physical obstacles for Xenia, simply having quite a few guards outside Lyota's cell does much to discourage any misadventures. Not to mention that the woman would have to single-handedly fight her way through several floors, and that doesn't seem particularly appealing to the demon.

It doesn't hurt that Lyota's 'cell' is actually rather comfortable. Xenia had simply copied one of her small guest room designs for the chamber, and the furniture, plumbing, and free food make it rather cozy. Even the temperature is nice and stable, unlike the mountain winds she'd slowly been getting used to over the past few days.

All of that though doesn't keep Lyota from feeling nervous as a few of her jailers arrive at her door. There's a knock, but they don't wait for a response before stepping inside. She's expecting perhaps Trush or Taly, two of the dungeon's more intimidating guardians, to come in and issue threats but instead she's surprised to see a pair of priestesses. The rabbit ears give away that one of them is Deylia, the 'guardian' of Floor Five, but the other...after thinking for a moment, Lyota eventually recognizes the elf as a mortal priestess of the Church of Bounty, although the name escapes her.

"Afternoon, Soul Lasher Silverstar. I hope you're feeling alright? If you have any medical concerns, I would be happy to assist you." Deylia smiles at the fury demon, who's currently seated on the edge of her comfortable bed. There's no other furniture in the room - until suddenly there is, with a small table and a few chairs appearing right before her. Undisturbed by the display, Deylia tilts her head towards them. "Do you mind if we sit?"

"...Your house, your rules, it would seem." Lyota glances between the two as they take their seats, and snorts. "Going with the soft touch interrogation method, I assume? I may not be law enforcement myself but I've seen it all, you know. You're not going to get any secrets out of me, whatever the approach may be."

Deylia raises an eyebrow, although her expression is unoffended. "Is that what you think this is? An interrogation?"

"Obviously?" Lyota looks them over both once again. "I'm sure this isn't about a medical checkup. And why else would you have brought me in alive? I doubt my previous experience in the dungeon would make me of any particular interest to the spirit of the place."

Deylia looks over towards the elven priestess before gesturing towards her. "I suppose I should introduce my colleague - this is Priestess Lilly Fullblossom from the Church of Bounty. Do...you not recall the day's events? I suppose you did have a bit of a concussion when you were brought in. Paladin Spearheft was there when you were...subdued, and had a divine inspiration involving you."

Lyota frowns, trying to puzzle out the phrase. "I'm not a particularly religious type I'm afraid, ladies. I'm not sure I like the sound of that, though."

Fullblossom speaks up to explain. "It means that she received a moment of guidance or inspiration from a patron deity to guide her actions. Ah, Goddess Kahlia in this case, not Palain. Such things can sometimes be subtle but the signs were undeniable - I was able to sense Kahlia's divine touch on her myself!"

The explanation only causes Lyota to frown harder, her eyes narrowing. "The...Goddess of Fertility wanted you to capture me alive." A thought runs through her mind, and she subconsciously begins to shift backwards on the bed. "If you have any - any crazy ideas about what you're going to do with me - "

"No!" Deylia is quick to halt that line of thinking. "No, of course not! I understand Kahlia is a bit of a...'wild' goddess, but the Church would never condone anything untoward like that!"

It takes Lilly a moment longer to follow along, and her eyes widen as she catches up. "Oh, gods no! But...well, you see, we were rather hoping perhaps you could tell us why she might have an interest in you."

The fury is somewhat relieved, but no less confused by the clarification. "You're asking me? Don't you both serve her? You should have a far better idea than I do - or what about that dwarf paladin, the one who got the divine nudge?"

Lilly looks a little abashed as she responds. "Inspirations are not particularly...informative. It can be difficult for a divinity to directly engage with a mortal, and Paladin Spearheft is still new to our church. We will of course pray for guidance, but we were hoping that perhaps there would be an explanation that's obvious to you already."

"Sorry, can't help you there." The demon shrugs. "Never had children, no strong interest in it. Never prayed to the goddess before, no offense. Although..." As Lyota grows used to the conversation, she does realize that there seems to be something different about her. "I feel really...good?" She shakes her head, looking for a better way to explain it. "It's as if something is feeding me, just by being here."

Deylia furrows her brow. "Your kind feeds off of punishments, is that correct? Is it because you've been locked up, and you're being...punished for fighting us?"

The question makes Lyota laugh - and considering her oddly good mood, it comes out louder than she expected. "Ahaha! No, that would be amusing. If fury demons could feed off of self-punishment, we'd probably become the worst criminals on the continent." She chuckles again. "And succubi would probably never stop masturbating..."

Lilly offers her own suggestion. "Are you saying the people here are being punished for standing against the Dragonlord? I understand you serve the dragon, but I don't think it feels like a punishment."

"No, no, it's...the dungeon itself, I think." Lyota looks around, as if the walls might have answers. "I could feel something was different just by walking outside. The weight of sin was...extreme, the last time I was here. But now..."

The door opens as Xenia's avatar walks in, although Deylia is the only one who can currently see her. "She's still going on about my sins, huh? I still don't think shit that happened in...another universe..." The dungeon spirit trails off as Lyota suddenly slides off of the bed, as if her bones had just turned to jelly. At first those present assume the woman had just passed out, but that assumption quickly fails when Lyota starts laughing - almost in ecstasy.

"Ahhh! Ahaha! Oh - oh my gods! This is - oh my...I...I can't seem to get up...ahahaha..."

As a very confused Lilly quickly gets to helping their prisoner back onto the bed, this time in a more restful position, Xenia turns to Deylia with a furrowed brow. "Did I just break her? I know she was alright until I stepped in here."

Before Deylia can answer, Lyota makes a more coherent statement. "She's here! Isn't she? It just - gods, it just got so much stronger. Oh gods, I never - this is almost too much."

Keeping a cautious eye on the demon, Xenia's avatar takes a dozen steps backwards, taking her out of the room and into the hallway outside. It seems to have the intended effect as Lyota is able to take a few deep breaths to calm herself. Looking back at Deylia again, Xenia shrugs her shoulders. "I don't think I'm doing anything..."

Standing up, Deylia approaches the bed to take a better look at the fury. "She was here, but she's stepped back a bit. Could you...explain exactly what it is you're feeling? I don't sense anything wrong with your health."

After a few more breaths, Lyota nods. "It's a - a delayed feeding. As you know, we fury demons 'feed' when we bring punishment to the guilty, yes?" As the priestesses nod, she continues. "Sometimes punishment is delayed. A prisoner is arrested, and it takes months or years for a court case to occur and see justice done. When that happens, we have to visit someone close to the event to...receive the rest of our meal. The victims, or the criminal, or the court itself if the others aren't available."

Deylia sees where this is going "And you think some sort of punishment occurred to Xenia while you were away. Something you're being 'paid' for now that you're back?"

Xenia groans. "All because of that damn convo we had? The one that helped push me towards talking to Kahlia and then setting up that deal with the God of Bigass Shields? She's feeding off of the work we've been doing with Brightsky?"

Deylia somewhat translates that for the prisoner. "Ah...Xenia believes that you may have had a slight impact on her behavior, which led to her...righting some very old wrongs. Still somewhat a work in progress? Although as I understand things, I think it's been going rather well!"

"You're kidding?" Lyota's eyes grow wide. "All of that? Impossible. But...oh. Oh, I see what it is now."

Lilly shares a worried look with her colleague before probing. "What is what, exactly?"

"That's why Kahlia wanted me here." Gently pushing the two aside, Lyota again swings her feet over the edge of the bed, although this time she gets all the way off - before kneeling before the open doorway. "Dungeon Master Xenia Worthy. You have demonstrated an act of greater redemption and granted me my ENLIGHTENMENT." Although Xenia's knowledge of the demonic tongue translates the last bit for her, Xenia can't escape the feeling that there's some further context she's missing. Regardless, Lyota continues. "Please allow me to serve at your side until the tides of justice have settled, and see you through this...this pivotal moment."

An astounded Deylia asks the question before Xenia can even need translating. "You're abandoning the Dragonlord because - because Xenia fed you? I must be misunderstanding something!"

"You are." Still a bit unsteady, Lyota again returns to sitting on the bedside. "An ENLIGHTENMENT is...it's beyond politics. Beyond personal preferences. It is the fulfillment of our very being. Most demons never experience it. It's like if...an arcane demon discovered a hidden fundamental truth of the world, or a succubus led a thousand-person orgy, or a behemoth brought an entire city to ruin. I'm..." There's a distant look in her eyes, as if Lyota can't believe her own words. "If I can finish absorbing this energy, I will never have to feed to survive again. I'll become the ultimate expression of what it means to be a fury."

Unsure how to respond to that, Deylia turns towards Xenia only to see that the dungeon master seems to be equally at a loss for words. "I don't know what I just stepped in here, but this sounds like a lot." Xenia pauses to rub the bridge of her nose. "We can use every hand we can get, but if she's some sort of zealot, and...I don't know, do I really deserve all that credit?"

The rabbit-eared priestess tilts her head. "What do you mean? You've been helping Valkyrie Brightsky collect champions for months now!"

"After decades of ruining lives? And still all I'm actually doing here is killing people! How the hell is that redemption? Just...just because Theolif made a deal that said so?"

Although Lyota can't see Xenia's avatar directly, the demon's eyes still stare in her direction with an intensity that Xenia just can't take. Waving a hand in front of her face, Xenia issues a quick apology to Deylia. "I'm sorry, I - I can't with this right now. Keep her fed and whatever else she needs, but I - I..."

"Xenia?"

But there's no answer, as the reincarnator suddenly fades out.