The Impervious Door

The pendant flashed bright green as Irral inserted it into it's place in the floor. The second eye of the Impervious Door flashed, projecting a second green beam into the eye on the ground. Like the first, the green beam of light was sent from door to eye, the Emerald Eye Pendant refracting the light skyward. The beam of light grew in strength and brightness, comparable almost to a quasar, as it shot straight through the hole in the ceiling and made contact with Sol high above.

A deafening silence blanketed the room. It was as if someone had turned off the sound.
The Impervious Door spoke again, the eyes in the door projecting beams into the eyes in the ground, which then projected beams into Sol high and far above.


It wasn't a trick of the eyes, though to most who noticed it would seem to be so, but for a brief moment Sol dimmed. It brightened again, almost immediately, and as it did it presented another beam. A third beam of pure light, which seemed to be all colors at once as well as none of them at all, shot from Sol into the cavern.

The beam of light came to rest on the mouth of The Impervious Door. In the pure light of Sol, the mouth of the door looked to be alive. This time it was definitely no trick of the light-the door's mouth was moving, slowly, opening, slowly. A great hum emanated from the opening mouth, a strong gust of air whooshing in to the mouth as if by force. As the lower lip of the door descended, the great green beams from eye to eye faded, followed by the great green beams from the eyes in the floor to Sol.

The ground shook as the door's lower lip completed it's descent. It's mouth was left gaping open, revealing a long, dark passage. At first, the entrance was illuminated, revealing smooth stone and expert craftsmanship. A second later, the great beam of disappeared down the throat of the door, the door swallowing it whole.

There stood open the Impervious Door, mouth gaping, eyes glowing.

A flaming portal opened as the door spoke and stepping out of it was a woman with glowing tattoos. She blinked looking at the crowd gathered around the door.

"Well what in the Nine Hells? I seem to be late to a party here..."

Selena looked around at the odd group and at the door suddenly wishing her portal hadn't just closed behind her. "So um who wants to tell me what is going on here?"

Things suddenly started happening all too fast for Havasikaji to follow. As the very helpful man was about to put the eye in, a bunch of soldiers suddenly appeared with weapons and trained their guns on them. Then there was a bunch of light and the door stood open.
Havasikaji looked at the odd group around her; soldiers, dragons, wizards, strange synthetic creatures, pirates, vampires, snow creatures and now some magical woman. This last one asked what was going on, and to her Havasikaji replied, "Honestly, lady? I don't even know anymore."
She did, however, assume a combative stance against the soldiers. Flames grew and licked along her forearms and hands until it looked like blades made of fire had been grafted to her arms.

"Woah there, people."

An older man suddenly appeared, walking directly and deliberately in the crossfire of all the weapons that were being pointed, seemingly without a care in the world of the consequences. He almost seemed to appear out of thin air, but a few careful observers would've notice him walk up just before the door opened.

The man looked to be about forty or fifty, with jet black hair tied into a messy ponytail behind him, a shaggy beard that barely seemed trimmed, calm black eyes that seemed to settle like dust, and a casual grin with a piece of straw hanging out of it. He wore a faded blue kimono and a ragged white belt tied around his waist. He wore leather gauntlets, gray pants, and soft gray shoes. The only threatening devices he seemed to carry on him was a Yumi Bow and some kind of sword sheathed on his waist, though neither was drawn. His hands were behind his back, palms open, and he turned to face all combatants, which made sure everyone could see that he had no kind of attack planned.

"You all may be jumping too quick," he stated simply, "You all see enemies, but I see many allies to be made here. Now I came to see what this green light was about, probably like many, if not all of you, have done. We all come seeking the same goal. That make us allies, right?"

He turned towards the door, a calm and steady gaze made enlightened by the green hue the door was letting off.

"My name is Akio. I'm a wanderer by trade," he continued, "And where I want to wander is through that door, preferably with more friends than enemies. You all should do the same."

And before anyone could ask him anything, before anything could be done, Akio the Wanderer casually walked towards the door...and went through it, disappearing behind the green veil that cast it's inviting shadow to the rest of them.

“Allies,” Casren reiterated, watching Akio closely as he was the first to enter the door. No harm seemed to come of him, but Casren did notice something strange. His night vision didn’t seem to work as well down the hall, as it did in the room. He could still see better than any mortal.

“The Door has been opened!” Casren announced, maneuvering to the center of the crowd. He looked to Selena and Havasikaji, addressing them first, “It seems there’s something going on here that is bigger than all of us,” Casren then turned to Irral with a wink, “Perhaps even bigger than you!”

He then turned to address who seemed to be the leader of the Aschen unit, “Impressive entrance, and welcome back to the party! Shall we lower our weapons?” Casren looked pointedly to the Pirate, “Shall we investigate what lies behind this door?”

There was a distant series of booms- and then a min closer quake, come from outside the Mountain Fortress. For those native to snowy areas, it would be the obvious sound of an avalanche. Casren froze in place as the light from where they entered from faded fast.

“Ack!” Casren dove as a giant pile of snow poured in through the open hole, narrowly missing him. The snow kept coming as the avalanche proceeded, forming a solid column of ice and snow, clogging the ceiling hole and officially trapping everyone inside.

Casren let out a chuckle, gave the room a bow, and turned his back on the rest. He passed under the green glow and began to walk after Akio down the hall.

As he progressed, he noticed his supernatural abilities were most certainly muted. Not altogether gone, but he was no longer at his full power. This worried Casren- but was no deterrent. He remembered his cell phone and took it out to provide light, only to find it completely inoperational. As was his watch, he noticed. Technology seemed to no longer work past the threshold of the door- and he wanted to take pictures! A pity.

Aoi felt a little sad, not much because he worked as an assassin often times, or a thief, or such things like that, but still a bit sad on this specific occasion, that Casren did not notice him. However, he shoved those feelings of neglect and disheartedness to focus on the job at hand....at least, he was trying to...but then they arrived.

There were five of them.

They came in on rainbow lights.

They had martial arts and advanced tech.

The moment he saw them, he could not help but calling out despite worrying about the possible dangers....

"IS this...is this the Aschen Power Rangers?!"

He said it. After that, he looked over at the pirate and the Dragon.

"Uhh, guys....the Aschen Power Rangers are here...so instead of turning this into a big huge fight, we should probably enter the dungeon and start the...the...the..."

And then, again reacting to the litteral vortex of events that occured, he turned towards the one who introduced himself as Akio.

"Wait wait, Akio?! Your not...no, no. Just the same name, you two dont look the same at all. Sorry about that, its just, the last time I met someone named Akio...well, lets just say he was a very curious vampire scientist....who likes to experiment on people...yeaah, lets just go into the dungeon".

And with that, before he got caught up in the craziness, he followed Casren into the dungeon while pouting a little.

"You know, you totally forgot to talk to me at all....uhg..."

But when he entered the dampening field, Aoi threw up almost instantly. All of Aoi's "supernatural" abilities were actually abilities that were produced from his own body. It meant each time he used them, there would be recoil, even if it was small and managable, but the way this acted it felt like it was trying to worm his way into his body to dampen him, and caused him to throw up on the process in this hallway.

Hopefully people watched where they stepped, or they would be stepping in vomit.

Notably, his advanced technology also seemed to disable, but not his headphones. Of course, his headphones were made of special material even harder then the door of the Dungeon, which was Impervious, and enchanted several times over, due to the fact they were necessary for him to function normally.

In fact, if normal people wore these headphones, they would be totally incapable of hearing any sounds including the ones they made themselves, but Aoi had been wearing them and participating in normal conversations, even talking to people far away from him.

Thankfully, his supernatural hearing seemed relatively unaffected...if that got dampened, he would have likely passed out and been unconscious for days.

The Aschen team quietly held their position while the door opened up.

Visions flashed through Marlene's head as she stared at the gaping maw of the opened door.

"Our technology won't work past this door; we need to improvise." She said quietly to herself, while her eyes were affixed to the door.

"Change of plans, beyond that door, our weapons won't work, switch the suits to manual, and power them down. I'm going to make a quick errand." She said to the rest of her teammates.

They all nodded in unison, slowly lowering their weapons, and letting them hang loosely across their bodies.

One by one they removed their helmets, letting them fold back into the suits with an audible 'snick'

Three females, and two males made up the Aschen team, including Marlene Angel, an individual whom had quite the reputation.

Throwing a few strands of hair away from her face, Marlene dropped her Disruptor, and placed her hand on one of the many large boulders in the chamber.

Undeterred even by the avalanche, a portal shimmered into existence against the Stone. The portal was a clear image of some kind of military lockup, but everything was in Taiyou.

Marlene moved first, stepping through the portal, she grabbed five Seburo Type 64 rifles from the rack, and began passing them out to her team. Each one of them took their rifle with a nod, while Marlene stepped back through the portal, returning with an ammo container in one hand, and a magazine container in another, along with load bearing vests in Olive drab slung over her back.

She passed out simple halogen flashlights powered by alkaline batteries, and attachments for the weapons.

"Let's do this, I'll take point. Connors, on me, Jacque, Duram, cover our six, Solis, watch the flanks."

Moving into a bounding overwatch formation, Marlene advanced first into the door, as her portal closed.

The rest of her team followed closely with flashlights illuminating the hallway.

Havasikaji warily lowered her weapons as Akio confronted them all. Then as they all started moving through the door, Havasikaji readied herself to dash through the door, when there was a sudden avalanche that blocked off all the exits. "Whoa!" she cried, and immediately a cone of flame darted up from her hands to engulf and melt an ice boulder that would of crushed her. All that fell on her was a bunch of cool mist that helped to freshen her. "That was close," she said in her thick accent. "Now let's go!"
Right as she was about to go through, she noticed something strange. A man in a dark blue hoodie was walking towards the gate. He walked at a calm but steady pace, right towards the door. He did not speak to the others, but he just passed through. He hadn't been there before.
Havasikaji frowned. "Hey! Hey, you in the hood!" she shouted, but the man ignored her and kept walking. She scowled, but then thought about the semi-mysterious manner the others had entered. Thus, she shrugged it off and continued on her way through the Impervious Door.
Immediately she could feel her magic begin to weaken. She shivered. She felt cold with the heat of her demonic powers dampened. She saw the others weren't faring well either. The blue-haired kid threw up. Everyone's technology had oddly stopped working, though this did not affect Havasikaji as she had come from a third-world country. Even so, the others were definitely downtrodden; the vampire seemed upset he couldn't take any pictures, and the soldiers had to go back and get new guns that would work. The man in the hoodie was barely affected at all; as he entered, he stumbled a tiny bit, but then continued on in his brisk but calm pace. What's his deal? she wondered. But she just ignored him and instead went over to the kid who puked and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Hold on. These guys are Aschen?" A mostly featureless face twisted itself into an expression vaguely resembling anger. "One of these days, I swear, you'll pay your tab...but first, the business of this door."

Upon hitting the threshold, he cried out. "Agh! W-what? Some kind of magic...it's interfering with my ability to sustain this form. I can fight it off, but it'll drain my stamina. We have to move quickly." As if fighting against some sort of invisible tide, the Snow Warrior soldiered on into the breach, following the team of off-world talent.

“Mind the, ah,” Casren picked his way over a dash of vomit, feeling a strange tingle throughout his body. On inspection, his veins would be showing black through his skin. The vampires features had become gaunt. His sandy gold hair almost seemed to bristle.

“Are you faring well? My deepest apologies, I didn’t mean to disregard you.”

His voice was higher pitched, too. Casren waved to the one in the hoodie.

A small bipedal feline, standing with a humanlike posture, walked up to the door behind everyone else. Its fur was predominantly white, with an accentuation of dark brown, including entirely white ears, noticeable for their curled tips. The tuft of fur between the ears was dark brown and curled up. The collar of fur around its neck was also dark brown, and had a curl that rose to the face. Its eyes are were light blue, with blue-green pupils. The two tails it had were dark brown at the base, and ended in white, fluffy curls. Its arms ended in dark brown patches, and its legs were mostly dark brown in a fashion resembling stockings. Hidden inside its ears, safely tucked away, were colored organs used to emit psychic energy. It was wearing a small traveling outfit that consisted of a small blue coat with pockets, a blue-green shawl, no doubt with pockets, and a red-orange flower pin.

So, it's a door. Terra is an odd place. Well, this is where I was told a treasure was sleeping. Seems a lot of other hopefuls are here, though. Humans are annoyingly organizational.

It walked forward, intent on passing through the entrance, disregarding the presence of the others at the moment. The sensation that awaited was unexpected, however. It's expression never changed.

My strength fades... Is it Gastro Acid? Not quite... Definitely not Paralysis, and definitely not Confusion.

Throwing a few air punches while staying behind most of the main group, it looked at its arms.

I can still use some of my Moves. This shouldn't be too big an issue, and my movement feels unhindered. My eyesight feels less sharp than normal, but my senses are intact. This is... No. It's a Seal Trap? Have I been Sealed? ...That must be it. A Seal Trap that also applies the effect of Gastro Acid. It isn't a PP-Zero Trap, since I can still use some of my moves.

The feline would then fish around in her bag, as if looking for something, unless she was interrupted.

"How fascinating" An old, wizened man placed his hand on the door, rubbing it and gazing at it with old curious eyes. How he had come to be there was inexplicable, none would have seen him enter, none would have seen anything that suggested he had arrived. One moment he wasn't, and the next, he was just there.

"I wonder how long ago this was made, and the hands that must have made it... perhaps the descendants yet live? This light is curious, I wonder what it's purpose is."

The oddity of this man was perhaps compounded by the fact that whatever seemed to be effecting the others had no hold over. The curiosity of the door however did cause a very strange sort of mirage to shift in and out of visibility.

At once there was two figures. The old wizened man with his robes and curious eyes, and the ungodly massive body of a dragon larger than the whole of the planet.

Dorant Magthulia, that was his name, and there were perhaps a handful of people that might recongnize him, for he the beast for which Dorant Valley Was named. He was the great and ancient dragon that had nearly destroyed the world merely through the act of being present upon it's surface.

He peered at Akio and said suddenly "My dear fellow, you seem to be surrounded by ghosts, and some of them seem quite old." The blue eyed Dorant carefully walked over to Akio, or rather to a space on his left, peering at something that wasn't there. "Hmm, interesting. They look like you. I figure your related? So very curious, you little things."

As the various adventurers progressed towards the end of the passage beyond The Impervious Door, which disabled most technology and damply muted all magical, supernatural, mutant, or otherwise superb abilities, a jumbled figure slowly emerged from the darkness. At first it looked like a pile of rocks. The Aschen flashlights revealed its true form.



By this time, Casren Bistreo was exhausted. Bristly clumps of hair emerged from random spots on his body. His ears had grown to points. His suit hung on him, and his pupils were far too large. The adult male, who had been of fair complexion, was now gray skinned and dark haired.

He gave a weak smile back at Cryoface, gesturing towards the Gollum. The two kinda looked alike.

Selene hung back a bit as the others made their way into the hall. She began to whisper in a demonic language and a small portal opened up. From the portal a a wolf like creature stepped out. It was covered in red fur with a row of curved spikes along it's back. Its tail was covered in quills like that of a porcupine. A green acidic poison covered them. It's eyes glowed green and a fel green fire burned within it's mouth.

Selene looks to the hall and the hellhound dashed into the hall. It let out a howl and it could be seen that the fire with it's mouth had died down. Selene didn't like this but she followed her hellhound into the hall. She felt a drain on her power and frowned she hoped this was only temporary... She hoped this even more as she reached the end of the hall and saw the gollum.

The Man in the Hoodie continued to ignore the advances of the others and continued on at a brisk pace. Havasikaji looked to Casren and gave an apologetic shrug. But she was very cold. The strange effects of the door had caused her magic to become weaker, and her breath came out in puffs.
When the golem suddenly formed, Havasikaji started a fire spell, but then saw it appeared to be friendly, so she left her powers on standby. The Man in the Hoodie, however, continued to walk forwards, attempting to bypass it and continue on his/her/it's/their way.

The Gollum’s eyes lit up, bathing everyone present in a green glow. He would prove completely impassable to the man in the gray hoodie, as well as any others who simply tried to press on.

“It’s... alive?” Casren panted out, maintaining his human form a labored task.

The Man in the Hoodie stood there, looking up at the massive yet peaceful golem, which would not let them pass. Casually, they lifted a gloved hand and attempted to bash the golem out of the way with an unnatural and crushing force.

As Aoi started to recover, somewhat, from the unfavorable feeling the Dungeon had just given him, it seemed to try and go further and further...before it let up, if only a little. As if the Dungeon seemed to understand that the further his powers were dampened in that manner, the worse he would be physically. If it wasn't for Aoi's headphones, he would probably be dead from that already.

"Well, that was...is...unpleasant. And, just dont keep forgetting me okay...old man? Sorry, dont think I got your name. Or, the vomit impulse is screwing with my memory a little" Aoi told him as they entered the main room, looking upon a huge golem with its arm in a weird way.

Curiosity took over Aoi a little, as he began to circle the statue. At least he could move himself just fine, and he had his mind and his ears. Not that his hearing could do much here, but...it was still something. At the very least, he was able to tell that this statue was strong, sturdy, and possibly invincible. It made him wonder if it was made from the same materials as his headphones, but he decided to not attack it in fear it would react...poorly...

Actually, as he circled it, and he looked at the position, a thought occured to him...however...

"No way...it can't be that. That would be ridiculous".

The only reason he even thought of it was because of that friend he had who did that all the time, but in a dungeon? He dismissed the idea entirely as being foolish...

"...well, maybe?"

Not entirely dismissed it though, but he still didn't bring it up because he didn't want to be seen as someone crazy or foolish on the likely chance he was wrong. At the very least, he decided to wait and see what all of the others thought up first before making the suggestion...if someone else considered it, then he might mention it as well. Or if they ran out of more plausible ideas.

Southpaw sentry was unable to be crushed, or moved with physical force. The man in the gray hoodie would find his powers weakened along with all else who traversed down the hall.

Southpaw Sentry frowned from his crouched position, hand extended forward and open. Slowly the Gollum’s mouth widened. In a low rumble, he spoke:

Dorant started at the golems voice and, Akio and his ghosts forgotten, The old man immediatly approached and began to appraise the golem "Absolutely fascinating.... So that's what that strange itch is, I was wondering about that."

He tapped the golem in several places with his walking stick, testing it's firmness and solidity. He gave it a slight kick in one of it's legs and, seeming satisfied by the impact he made, or rather the lack thereof, he came to circle in front of it, seemingly oblivious to the others in the room.

"I do so love riddles... Let's see now.. Power brought is power lost obviously refers to the studious drain on magic this place causes... I haven't the foggiest about the greatest tools, but Grip in numbers... perhaps that refers to cooperation among multiple members...." He turned and gestured widely at the group "I think the way it's offering it's hand is some sort of symbol, a gesture of unity."

Dorant then turned back and placed his hand in the golems own, looking up at it expectantly.

"Power brought is power lost? Well, that certainly explains why I feel like something's pushing against me," Cryoface grumbled with a voice that sounded more human than his usual timbre of a shifting ice sheet. "But I can push back. And if I have to arm-wrestle this golem to get through, then that's what I'm gonna do!"

A gigantic mitt reached up, but even he couldn't properly grasp the statue's outstretched hand. So he settled for leaning on it near the elbow. "I can hold a couple of you on my shoulders, we can push against him that way."

There was a mighty rumble. Southpaw Sentry's frown leveled into a neutral expression. The green light cast from the eyes, while still bright, was slightly less green. The shift was subtle, but those touching it would notice the great hand of the gollum sink ever so slightly towards the ground.

Casren wheezed out a chuckle, reaching to rest his own hand on the thumb of the gollum. As he did, the remainder of his vitality snapped, and he promptly assumed his bat form. Aggravated chirps echoed around the passageway. A sleek cell phone and an engraved pocketknife clattered to the palm of Southpaw Sentry. Casren, now a bat, landed on the great thumb and took his rest. The hand shifted again, slightly, down.

"Well that seems to be doing something..." Said Selene as she and her hellhound stepped closer to the gollum.

Selene spoke a command in demon to the hellhound and the creature jumped up onto the gollum's hand.

"Well here goes nothing..." Selene said placing her hand on the gollum's hand.

Akio ventured forward at a slow, steady pace. He seemed surprisingly calm with the scenery around him, the dark and damp walls of the cavern that felt so vast yet so claustrophobic. He was unperturbed with the change in the atmosphere as it seemed to affect him, all three types of magic that brewed inside himself was suppressed if not negated entirely. He could not sense the shadows anymore, nor could he pull from their energy. The recently acquired Myrkul's Essence was also cut off and he could no longer feel the entity of Myrkul within himself, but he was okay, so long as he didn't suddenly morph into a giant dragon while in this cavern. The only energy he could feel was his bloodline, his ancestors and his heritage that remained by his side and within the blade he carried. The blood connection remained intact.

As he looked around him, he saw the effects of the cavern getting to them, some more so than others. The young one that couldn't be older than ten threw up from the feeling of it all, he noticed. The five colorful beings that had shown up right around when he arrived were improvising to the effects, attempting to use a varied form of technology to try and bypass the cavern's effects. Unfortunately, he watched as their lights died upon entry, regardless of the material they were crafted from or powered by. Their rifles were still a question to be factored in, but he wasn't sure whether the air would affect them or not. But if his assumption on this energy's existence was correct, they probably wouldn't fire either. This was meant to neutralize any advantage one person could have over the other. This was meant to bring them all down to the same level.

But why?

He figured the answer would be revealed later. Right now, there was nothing to worry about except walking down the hall.

He caught the words of the old wizard that appeared by his side, questioning the ancestors that were always by his side. To which he was not shy about talking about.

"Indeed," he responded in turn, "They show me the way, teaching me the lessons they've learned while giving me a little clairvoyance." He would be shocked about the fact that this man could see ghosts, except he knew one other...well, being...that could do the same.

Captain Ean Falcor...

He had understood when his ancestors had shared with him this path that he should take, one that involved many sacrifices, but many opportunities to take along the way. And so, he had let him travel on this journey, appointing an interim first mate while he was away and resuming business as planned. He knew they would be fine.

Eventually, he reached the end of the corridor, where the Gollum awaited, extending his hand forward and proclaiming his riddle. Akio thought along the same lines as the many around him did...until the wizard and the one named Casren made their move towards the Gollum and clasped it's hand. He watched as the effect the Gollum had on Casren took a sudden turn, transforming the once pale, slender man into the flying bat, revealing his vampiric ways. In that moment, he had the epiphany, understanding the riddle in full.

But was he willing to pay the cost?

We are...he very faintly heard his ancestors echo in the back of his mind. Trust us...

He looked at his blade, forged from steel, yet empowered by an unbreakable bond that seemed to transcend all material. He understood what taking this action would do. But his ancestors understood what would happen as well, and they were willing to do what was necessary to proceed. He nodded understandingly.

Neutralize the advantages...bring them all to equality...

He walked up, grasping the Gollum's hand. Immediately, he felt the effect rush through his body. The whispering voices in his ear were suddenly blanketed. The formerly suppressed powers were now gone altogether, including the one he deemed unbreakable. He glanced at his katana as he let go, knowing full well that his ancestors were trapped inside. To test the theory, he touched the hilt of the blade. But no energy seeped through into his being upon doing so. He was cut off from his bloodline. He was all alone.

And he knew the same effect either had washed over or would wash over anyone who touched this statue. They would be separated from their advantages, any and all of them. At least it was painless. Immortal beings would become mortal, inhuman strengths would become human. They would all be relegated to simple man, woman, and child...or whatever base form they would initialize. Thankfully for Akio, that wasn't his dragon form, as Myrkul's vein had been cut for the time being, in a similar fashion to how he lost connection with his ancestors. But he wondered what everyone would be like when they were stripped from their specialties and made normal. He wondered what normal looked like for everyone else when they touched the statue.

The Gollum's arm shifted lower.

Havasikaji reached out and touched the statue, and immediately let loose an unearthly scream. The golem's power was trying to rip away her inhuman abilities - to make her normal again. Thing is, she relied upon her inhuman abilities. As a half-demon, to destroy her inhuman abilities would be to destroy her.
With a shout, she pulled her hand back from the Gollum. This time, it's hand did not lower as she had not completed the form. She knelt on the ground. Smoke rose from her body, and she looked different; half of her body suddenly became demonic, with brick-red skin, glowing yellow eyes, sharp fangs and a curved horn. The other half of her body - the right side - remained human.
"That hurt," she gasped, "like hell." She slowly rose. "I... I don't think I can make it through here, guys. The power... if I were to let it fully course through me, it would kill me. It returns us to our natural forms; well, this is my natural form. To destroy it would be to destroy me."