(another) intro post.

[doormathero]

Almaz's last memories were on his knees, eyes shrouded in both sensed and perceived darkness. He could still hear those voiceless voices--Mao's voiceless voices--those cries of help that, as a hero, he couldn't ignore. And yet he couldn't do anything but spout a jumble of meaningless words, words that tried and failed to compose some heroic

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[megurine_luka]

"Oh my, did you just get here?" came the voice of a pink-haired young woman nearby. Shifting the shopping bag she held in one arm, she walked over and offered a hand to the fake hero with a smile. "Welcome to the City, cutie."

I AM SO LATE. PLEASE FORGIVE ME.

[doormathero]

Almaz was distracted from his desperate haze by a young woman, rather surprised to see her. Was she some sort of demon? Her title told a different story, but he'd learned the hard way not to trust things at face value. Still, she was the only person he'd seen since his death, so it couldn't be too detrimental to at least say hello--and, of course, ask what was going on.

"I guess you could say that, but I'm not sure I know where 'here' is..." When she extended a welcome, he became perhaps more confused by his situation. "City? What city? I don't even know if I'm still in the Netherworld." Well, she did sort of remind him of a certain teacher at the demon academy, but it was probably best not to jump to conclusions.

"And excuse me for asking, but...who are you?

IT'S OKAY. <333

[megurine_luka]

"Nobody else really knows where 'here' is, either; we just call it the City," she replied. "But I don't think we're in the 'Netherworld', if I had to take a guess."

"Oh, I'm Megurine Luka," the vocaloid answered, giving the newcomer a bow. "But you can just call me Luka."

[hatesheroes]

Mao had finally been coerced to leave his dim and disgusting flat, motivated solely by hunger. Normally he would have waited until it was night, much preferring the shroud of darkness and the entertaining promise of easily defeated enemies to blinding sunlight and the eminently unpleasant view of uncluttered, garbage-free streets, but he wanted snacks and no demon (except maybe Beryl and her stupid servants or whatever they were) would deny themselves something they wanted, no matter how trivial.

In fact, the more trivial, the better.

Thus Mao had decided to get himself only the unhealthiest and most extravagent of snacks, and with this in mind he stalked down the dark alleyways, grousing and muttering not-quite-under his breath about the inconvenience and Geoffrey's absense. Where the hell was he?! He'd better not have...

Mao's train of thought was interrupted when he entered the bright plaza and he stopped in shock, his mouth open in disbelief.

"...fake hero?!"

SO LATE OTL

[doormathero]

Mao was probably the last person Almaz expected to see just after being thrust into a new world like this, but he was probably more surprised by what the demon called him. Blinking, the fake-hero stared in the other's direction for a moment before parroting his speech pattern:

"M-Mao?" After a few moments of waiting for him to disappear as though simply a mirage, Almaz trusted himself to speak again. "What are you doing here? Then again, all I know is that I died saving the princess, so maybe it's not too strange that you're here, too...maybe we were both respawned?"

He tried to mull it over for a moment before his posture collapsed in defeat. "The more I think about it, the more confusing it is..."

[princesseimi]

There was very few people in the City who actually called her 'princess', and one of them wasn't exactly speaking to her terribly often. At the nervous calling of her title - though the idea that it might not exactly be directed towards her occurred to the blonde - she began hurriedly crutching in the direction of the voice.

Once Almaz came into view, she tilted her head curiously. Obviously her original inkling that it wasn't really directed to her was more correct that she initially anticipated; this newcomer was nothing like anyone who happened to call her 'princess'.

Either way, the hurried manner in which she rushed over probably tipped him off to the fact that the blonde in the sundress was, in fact, a princess.

LAAAAAAAAATE OTL

[doormathero]

It wasn't her approach that notified Almaz of Emeraude's status as a princess but her title, which was the first thing that drew his eye when he looked toward her (and, consequently, her status bar) as she hobbled close. He gaped for a moment, never having seen a princess other than Sapphire. This one was beautiful, too, but he couldn't detect any nobility past the disability. It was rather sad to see royalty in such a state.

And, as a hero, it was his job to help her. Where were her servants and guards? This new world he'd found himself in certainly had skewed values.

"E-Excuse me, Princess!" he addressed, stumbling over himself as he moved toward her, looking like a wretched fool in doing so. "You looked like you needed help, and, well, it is a hero's job to always lend a helping hand to anyone in need..." A pause, and he gave an awkward smile. "But to be honest, I don't know who you are...or what kingdom you're from."

It's cool. xD

[princesseimi]

Unfortunately for Emeraude, the closest she got to having servants and guards there was Shinju, and he was nothing of a servant. A guard, if anything, but she preferred him on the same level as her. She did, however, pause when Almaz began to meet her halfway, calling her out by her title. He looked no more a fool than she felt crutching around in her sundress, but it did cause her to stop and blink a bit.

"...Emeraude of Iserath," she told him, finally getting past her internal wonder as to how he knew for certain. "And you are?"