The Crimson Lantern Festival | Chinese and Japanese Influenced Roleplay | Closed

The eighth judge dusted himself a bit before he straightened himself. He looked at the demon one last time before he turned to face Ryuusei directly.
”You heard the announcement—” the judge mentioned as he looked into the distance. The necklace he had on him at that point in time was shined slightly, clearing the mist in front of him and Ryuu. In the distance was a tall castle, perhaps as tall or taller than the judge’s court
”—so, shall we?” the judge had invited with a faint grin, showing some pure emotion for once.

(Dushi [Eighth Judge] Likings : LVL 1 —> LVL 2)

The eighth judge giggled a bit at what Ryuusei had called him before answering…
”Maybe, maybe not, I’m not sure myself” the eighth judge sighed a bit at the end as he kept his constant pace towards the castle.

A loud screeching noise came from the skies, it was a fiery red winged figure who was soaring towards the castle. There was a red cloud around the figure as well.
”…and there he goes again… that damn fifth judge…” the eighth shook his head as he silently continued to walk.

”Some are, some are not… I, for example, lack that capability. Back to the fifth judge… I personally wouldn’t say Yanluo could fly, but his powers give him wings of flames” the eighth judge explained.

They eventually reached the front doors of the castle. The judge opened it silently and was immediately flinching at the sight of… something.
”Chujiang… you little—“ the eighth judge was about to curse before he realized he had to keep what he saw a secret, at least for now. He was a bit scared that Ryuu might have caught up that something was off with the place. He attempted to hide this fact by opening the second door and gesturing, inviting Ryuusei to head in first.

(Self correction : The judges who were invited were the Second, Fifth, Eighth, and Ninth; not the Tenth)

The judge came in right after, closing the doors on his way in. The judge had taken out his weapon to show to the seemingly empty room. His signature weapon shined once and the burnt candles in the room had lit up with purple flames as the doors across from the entrance opened up.

As the judge walked towards the opened doors, there were four figures inside the room; the Second judge in green, the Fifth judge in Red, the Ninth judge in Gray, and another stranger who looked to be the most comfortable out of the four.

”Oi Dushi, come take a seat will ya, and have your visitor come sit as well, we have something for ‘im” the second judge managed to speak before he hiccuped and turned to them with his face completely red. He was, clearly, drunk.

The eighth judge went to sit on the stool that was beside the other judges. As he did not want Ryuusei to be seated beside the other judges, the seat that was left empty was the furthest left one; beside where the eighth judge had positioned himself.

”Well… I guess I can introduce myself first?” the stranger in the room spoke up as the eighth judge nodded in agreement.

”I go by the name ‘The Third Master’, but you can call me Yasha, nice to meet you” the owner of the castle introduced himself. His features were not shown yet as he wore an extremely dark coat, covering almost everything but his hands.

As Ryuusei was headed towards his seat, the fifth and ninth judge gave both him and the eighth judge quite a scary eye.

In the blue doored room, there were two figures, both of which were playing instruments. Though unlike the fourth judge’s musicians, these people were playing quite modern instruments; one a piano, and the other an acoustic guitar.

They didn’t have any masks or anything really on them, they just looked like they were having fun.

”Alright, straight to business” Yasha started as the four judges leaned in to listen.
”You all know the four deadliest places of the afterworld; the Freezing Mountains, the Strained Desert, the Scarlet Canyon, and the Death Caves. All of the places hold different treasures, the mountains hold weapons, the desert holds magic, the canyon holds armors, and the caves hold stronger magic compared to the desert. I want the four of you to check on the places of significance, one per place. Yanluo—“ the master turned to the fifth judge ”—the caves, Chujiang, the canyon, Pingden, the desert, and Dushi—“ the master’s eyes land on the eighth judge ”—the Mountains…” the master stopped as he leaned against his chair.

He turned to each of the other judges except Dushi, nodding subtly as the three of left nodded as well and left the room, closing the door completely shut.

Now, the only people left in the room were Dushi, Yasha, and Ryuusei. The eighth judge was a little shaken by the unexpected exit of the other judges and the fact that he and Ryuusei were the only ones who were not invited to leave.

The master leaned in a little closer to the two.
”Congratulations…” the master told the eighth judge as he pat the judge’s back.

”What for my lord?” the judge too, was confused by the congratulations. Something to note here was the fact that the judge had called the Master by the term ‘my lord’.

”You don’t know? You have just been granted a new rank” the Master spoke up as the judge’s eyes widened as if they were going to come out of his socket.

”You’ve been keeping your judgements fair and square, you’ve treated all your guests nicely and the comments from both heaven and hell agrees that your judgements are the most trustworthy. That’s why from today and right now onward…” the Master summoned a golden and amethyst badge in his hand, the gold was shaped as a diamond while the amethyst formed a dragon with a small ruby as its fierce eyes ”…you will be referred to a Grand Judge rather than a Judge” the Master waved his hand as the badge attached itself to the judge’s collar.

The judge stood up and bowed.
”Thank you my lord, I will cherish this badge from now onward” the judge claimed, straightening himself.

”Fun fact, you’re the first of this generation of judges to have been given this rank as well” the Master said with a small smile and a shrug.

The judge was in shock. He was speechless.

This meant something deeper than meets the eye for the eighth judge. Other than the meaning, the rank granted him a boost in his magic as well.

”Well now, off you go, to the Freezing Mountains that is” the Master gave one last smile pass the shadowy hood he had on him and snapped his fingers.

The eighth judge and Ryuusei were transported immediately from the Master’s castle to the base of the Mountains. The temperature change was significantly, the winds which blow in all directions gave the judge chills down his spine. He eventually adapted to the sudden and unexpected change.

He turned to Ryuusei and pressed his thumb on the visitor’s arm, leaving a purple mark. He then casted a spell which created a sphere around Ryuu, giving him a warm sensation and a hint of euphoria.
”You’ll be safe in that bubble, reminder that the bubble only last for half an hour… let’s go find a weapon that would suit you while we’re here, shall we?” the judge asked, raising a brow to smile teasingly with a soft giggle.

”One in two ways; the first being that the weapon will be magically attracted to you, or two, the weapon will shine when you get close to it. This though doesn’t work for people like me who already have weapons” the judge explained as he guided Ryuusei up the mountain path. There was nothing worth noting during the first three minutes or so and after that, the judge spotted a glowing light between the snow covered trees.
”And there’s one right there” the judge gestured towards the weapon.

(This weapon will be of your choice. You can also name it and give it a ‘signature magic’ if you’d like to)

(Oh… nothing’s easy in this world, who do you think I am. With that said though, I won’t spoil what will happen wink)

The judge examined the item from afar.
"I… I'm not entirely sure myself actually…" the judge accepted. The judge was, however, giving off a concerned face. Looking behind himself, the judge was met with a centipede-like creature, approximately the length of ten feet long and as wide as a muscled human. The creature opened its mouth and revealed three rows of teeth arranged spirally along its mouth. The teeth were rotating as the creature dug deep into the ground and headed straight for Ryuusei.
"Be careful!!" the eighth judge had yelled out, rushing towards his visitor though he wasn't able to match the speed of the damned creature that was underground.

(clears throat Expect.More.Coming)
(Altrince gives a sinister grin and fades into the darkness)

One of the musicians, the guitarist turned towards the door and saw the small girl outside. He invited her in as the female pianist nodded, welcoming her with a smile.
”Hey there lil’ fella, why don’t you come in a sit with us?” the man asked. He seemed warm, representing the first judge a bit.

One of the musicians, the male guitarist turned towards the door and spotted Koki. He went over and opened the door.
”Hey there fella, why don’t you come in and sit with us?” the man asked with a warm smile, resembling that of the first judge’s. The female pianist turned to the door and gave a welcoming grin as well. She seemed graceful and fitting for the elegant instrument she played.

The eighth judge rushed through the snowy slopes of the mountain, attempting to touch the figure the best he could only to miss by an inch almost every time. The creature knew his powers, it had to.
The judge threw his pearl up as it shined, giving off a bright purple that formed the shape of a sword.
”If I were to guess, it’s a Soul Gobbler, though not the typical ones… usually they’re only the size of a finger, this one is not” the judge answered before he jumped out of the creature area of attack.
”Damn it, I could really use Songdi right now…” the judge cursed to himself, he wanted the third judge to be here and for a good reason. The third judge was a fierce fighter and a talented one as well. His powers did not have as many restrictions as the eighth’s.

The creature came straight at the eighth judge when he wasn’t paying attention. The speed of the creature was phenomenal and the judge did not have the time to move away from the attack.

Shit… the judge thought as his eyes widened in both fear and surprise.