Denah/Stories
Denah, a young girl proclaiming herself to be the disciple of the "King of Void and Darkness", approaches Alk and co. to ask if they'd be willing to introduce her to the mermaids- all for the greater good of meeting her Lord at the bottom of the ocean. She meets with the mermaids, who adamantly reject her request once they realized what her intentions are. Refusing to give up, Denah seeks the help of Amelia to secretly make her way to Starview Village.
???: MUAHAHAHA!
???: How LONG I have waited for this very day! To finally face the Vermillion Knights!
Alk: Vermillion what now?
Denah: Behold, you stand before the ALMIGHTY Denah Selphis, servant of the one and only KING OF VOID AND DARKNESS!
Denah: Come to me, creatures of the abyss! Obey the call of our Lord and help me DESTROY his enemies!
Alk: Oh god, one of these types. I knew we'd come across one eventually...
Light: Wait a moment- King of Darkness? IS that an alias for the Lord of Shadow? Are you in allegiance with him?!
Stella: Hello. My name is Stella. We do not wish to fight, so please tell us what you want.
Denah: HMPH! I have but ONE SINGULAR DESIRE, that being-
Navy Officer: Oy, there she is! She's right over there!
Navy Officer: That no-good salvager! We've got you cornered this time, Denah! Put your weapons down and come with us!
Alk: Aaaand of course we get dragged into something.
Denah: Grrr. Gosh darn it, I was on a ROLL there. Way to interrupt me!
Denah: Okay, hold on. Ahem. Ah yes, an excellent chance to showcase the devastating power the KING OF VOID AND DARKNESS has bestowed upon me!
Denah: WOE TO YOU, oh enemy of mine! Behold my ultimate ability: 666- the number of the beast!
Light: That knife... It bears no resemblance to the weapons forged by the Fiends, and yet... I sense a powerful dread within it.
Alk: W-wait a minute. She has actual powers?! I thought she was just role-playing!
Denah: TREMBLE before my unbelievably awesome power! Muahahaha!
Denah: Uh, actually... Do you guys happen to have any food? I'm starving... Oh, and I got lost and dropped my wallet so I have no money, either...
Denah: Okay, I'll have the garlic shrimp, acqua pazza, and... squid ink pasta! OH, and a beer please- in the biggest mug you've got!
Alk: Help yourself, why don't you... Wait a minute- beer? Are you even old enough to drink?
Denah: Huh? How rude! I'll have you know I am a grown woman of legal drinking age!
Alk: Oh. It's just... You're behavior suggested otherwise- er, forget I said that.
Denah: Excuuuse me?! Are you calling me immature?!
Light: Sorry to interrupt, but you didn't bring us here just to get a free meal, did you?
Denah: Of course not! I mean, the meal's a BIG bonus, but that's not all!
Denah: Here's the thing... I want you guys to introduce me to the mermaids!
Light: I see. Let me see if I've got your story straight. Ever since you obtained the so-called "Void Knife", you've been hearing a strange voice whisper to you.
Light: Said voice belongs to the "King of Void and Darkness", to whom you pledge allegiance and are intent on meeting.
Light: And to do that, you need to travel to the "abyss"- far in the depths of the ocean.
Light: Standing in your way were the Gaean military and the pirates, from whom you heard rumors of the mermaids- and of course, us.
Alk: That was one heck of a plot summary, Light, wow.
Denah: No kidding! And it's all accurate, too! Anyway... The SACRED REALM of my king lies on the edge of the northern abyss.
Denah: But, uh, here's the thing.
Denah: I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag. Even if you told me where my Lord is, I wouldn't be able to find him...
Denah: So... Please, help me out here! Won't you guide me to where the mermaids are?
Light: I can't in good conscience agree to this. The power that blade has given you is immense- and potentially dangerous.
Denah: Pleeeaase! I'm begging you here, I'll do ANYTHING- even chores!
Alk: I mean, I guess it can't hurt to just take her to meet the mermaids, right?
Alk: We don't have to help her with this whole... Void King business or anything.
Grandpa: You wish to wake the Devourer of Stars?! Are you out of your MIND? Have you any idea what that would mean?!
Light: Devourer of Stars? Just what kind of power does this "King" of hers hold, exactly?!
Grandpa: Were he to stir again, the entire ocean would be in grave peril! Nay, it would cease to be!
Grandpa: But that's beside the point. It can't be done- the Devourer rests beyond the northern trenches. Even we mermaids cannot travel there.
Grandpa: You would do best to discard that knife immediately, young one. For your own good.
Denah: Hmm. All right! Thanks anyway, old man. I guess I'll just think of another way!
Denah: If even the mermaids can't go there... I suppose I'll have to talk to my contacts again and look for new info...
Alk: R-really? You're still not gonna give up?
Denah: Why would I give up? Plan A didn't work out, sure, but so what?
Denah: And the whole "throw the knife away" lecture? I've heard that a million times! Heck, that's the whole reason why the Gaean Navy is after me!
Denah: Anyway, there's no way I'm about to call it quits. Finding my Lord is my life's work- my DESTINY!
Denah: Never again will I utter the words "give up"- not until I am in his dark presence! MUAHAHAHAHA!
Alk: I wonder what Denah ended up doing after all that? Think she's still searching for her... Dark Lord or whatever?
Light: She doesn't strike me as the type to sulk around and be idle. She's surely up to something.
Stella: Alk, Light. Someone is coming.
Denah: Muahaha! It seems that the ABYSSAL FORCES have ordained our path to cross again!
Denah: Before you stands Denah Selphis, chosen Maiden of the one and only KING OF VOID AND DARKNESS!
Denah: Rejoice! I have come to liberate this city in the name of my Lord!
Alk: Cool. So, uh, how exactly did you find your way here?
Denah: Uh, that would be the aforementioned "abyssal forces"- a mermaid from the depths named Amelia!
Denah: And I quote, "Your King is like, sealed away at the bottom of the ocean? Wow, that's crazy, I'll totally help you out!"
Alk: Why, Amelia?! Why?!
Stella: This is Starview Village. We welcome you, Denah.
Denah: Nice! I'll be sticking around until I find another way of meeting my Lord!
Light: Hold on a second- I haven't agreed to this!
Unable to sleep from their exciting day, Denah and Alk have a late-night chat. Alk asks her why she's so reckless all the time, and-with the aid of some alcohol- Denah starts talking about her past. Unrelenting about wanting to meet her Lord, Alk jokes that if the moment does indeed come, he'll have to dispatch Denah himself- to which Denah greatly objects.
Alk: So, uh, do you have any idea where we are?
Denah: Um... East of the Float. I hope.
Alk: Okay. Well, I hate to break it to you, but we are in fact VERY west of the Float.
Alk: What are we going to do? We can try to head east like the Oracle told us, but at this rate we'll run out of fuel soon.
Denah: It's okay. I'll... figure something out.
Denah: HAHA! Using the incredible power that the KING OF VOID AND DARKNESS has granted me, I will find us a way out of this predicament!
Alk: Remind me never to trust you again.
Crewmate: All right, crew! Battle positions, NOW! Today is the day we finally take down that cringy role-player girl!
Denah: H-hey! No need to be rude...
Alk: You gotta admit, they aren't wrong!
Denah: Aren't you supposed to be on my side?! Besides, I'm not a role-player. I'm the REAL DEAL. I summon tentacles and stuff!
Alk: Fair enough. But you must have quite the reputation if even random pirates are calling you that...
Denah: I guess. But whatever, my "reputation" got us a ship, didn't it?! If anything you should be thanking me.
Denah: Anyway... PREPARE TO SINK TO THE DEPTHS of the...A...byss?
Denah: ...What a minute. That doesn't look good.
Alk: It's just one disaster after another today, huh...
Denah: Hah! Disaster? What do you mean? We've found the very treasure we were looking for!
Alk: A ring. All that for a ring. Does it at least do anything?
Denah: Hold on. Hmm... Yes, it's imbued with water AND wind element... Yes, that's perfect! This ring will allow us to breathe underwater!
Denah: This is great and all, but I still don't know the way to the abyss.
Alk: What a day... Huh-
Alk: Denah? What are yoi doing up at this hour?
Denah: Hmph! Sleep has beckoned me, and I have refused its invitation!... But, uh, yeah I can't seem to fall asleep.
Denah: My heart's still racing after today. Don't you get that too, sometimes? After a big adventure, I'm always super restless.
Alk: Are you always that... reckless?
Denah: I guess. Today was NOTHING, though, are you kidding me? Usually I end up stranded on an island for at least a month before someone finds me.
Alk: How are you still alive?!
Alk: *sigh* Tell me, Denah... Why do you do all this?
Alk: I mean, let's be honest. This "King" of yours... He doesn't exactly sound like a good guy, does he?
Alk: I'm just struggling to understand why someone like you would want to meet him so desperately.
Denah: Hah! You wish to delve into the depths of my SOUL? To know what DRIVES ME? Fine, I shall regale you with the tale-
Denah: ... ...
Denah: Um. This is actually kind of embarrassing- I don't think I can get through this sober. Can we get some booze?
Alk: Uh. Okay, but don't overdo it.
Denah: So, long story short, I got into roleplaying that I had dark superpowers for a long time. And then one day... I actually got REAL powers.
Alk: Your dreams of becoming a super powerful dark magic user came true, huh?
Denah: Yep... But that hasn't done much to help my reputation. People still roll their eyes when I start talking.
Alk: I can confirm that, yeah.
Denah: "Why don't you talk normally? Why are you laughing like that? You're not a kid anymore!" Nobody accepts me for who I am.
Denah: But I want to be someone special, dangit! Even when I was kid, I never wanted to be a boring "normal" person. That's why I started making up these fantasies for myself.
Denah: And then one day... Someone came and turned my fantasies into reality.
Alk: The Lord of Darkness or whatever?
Denah: The Lord of VOID AND DARKNESS! Get it right! So, from that moment on, I vowed to be his eternal, loyal subject!
Denah: Even if it meant becoming a villain, hated by the common folk!
Denah: There was a long period of time when I thought exactly that.
Alk: Was? You don't think that anymore?
Denah: I just realized that I don't really CARE what other people think of me anymore! They can call me whatever names they want- doesn't bother me.
Alk: R-right...
Denah: It's just... I want to meet him. You know? Just once.
Denah: I mean come on! What'd the mermaid call him? The DEVOURER OF STARS? That is SO cool.
Denah: Think about it: the world exists in a state of pure chaos- until we observe something for ourselves, we can't be sure it's actually real!
Denah: It's a world full of MYSTERIES out there. Doesn't that excite you? Make you wanna solve them all?
Alk: Wow, Denah. That's pretty deep.
Denah: ...I can't tell, are you making fun of me?!
Alk: You're much more mature than I initially thought.
Denah: Hold on- you didn't say no!
Alk: By the way, when you meet this "Devourer of Stars", what if he actually... you know, devours our star?
Denah: Oh. Um... Good question.
Alk: Are you telling me you haven't given it ANY though?!
Denah: I think I can handle it! Besides, you guys will be with me too, right? We can sort the situation out!
Alk: Maybe. Since you're his servant, I guess we'll have to defeat you too. That'll be a shame.
Denah: H-huh? No, no, there has to be another way.
Alk: Nope, can't think of any. Taking you out is the only option!
Imprisoned on allegations of illegally smuggling prohibited goods, Denah is aided by Alk and co. Afterward, she confronts a group of men who were following her in an attempt to steal her knife and unleashes the full extent of her abyssal powers on them- only to be interrupted by Alk and his friends, who were worried and went looking for her. Lying about her back-ally encounter, Denah returns to Starview Village with the gang.
Denah: This is the WORST! I mean, I know from their point of view I'm TECHNICALLY the bad guy here, but...
Denah: I actually didn't do anything wrong this time! GRRR!
Denah: HEEEELP! Somebody! Alk! Stella!
Guard: Someone's vouched for you. You're free to go.
Denah: Waaah, thank you so much, everyone!
Alk: Uh, mind giving us a rundown on what happened? We got called here pretty suddenly, and they skimped on the details.
Denah: NOTHING happened!
Pur Lilie: Allow me to explain... Because of that knife of hers, Denah was accused of illegal trafficking of prohibited items.
Pur Lilie: The whole thing was brought to our attention because someone actually went and STOLE said knife.
Pur Lilie: When the perpetrator unsheathed the knife, he instantly collapsed. He still hasn't woken up.
Denah: Good riddance! That's a little thing called KARMA- courtesy of my Lord!
Pur Lilie: The man is a criminal, yes, but that's not what got you in hot water- the knife is. Guild policy strictly prohibits the use and distribution of cursed items of its like...
Alk: She's got you there...
Denah: I-I'm being FRAMED here, can't you see? I'm, innocent!
Denah: At long last, freedom! I can finally breathe the open air and roam the vast earth! No more must I endure the TORTURE of being in a prison cell!
Light: Overdramatic as always, I see...
Alk: Something caught your eye over there?
Denah: Huh... I just... You know what, never mind!
Mysterious Man: So the rumors were true. The knife she carries truly is-
Denah: MUAHAHA. From out the shadows I appear!
Denah: Bow before me, insolent fools, for I am none other than Denah Selphis, maiden and servant of the KING OF VOID AND DARKNESS himself!
Mysterious Man: Gah... How did you know where to find us?!
Denah: HAH! My Lord's power is immeasurable, transcending even space and time itself. His ABYSSAL EYE led me here!
Denah: However, I suppose we might have something in common as well. I take it you are also loyal servants of my Lord?
Denah: But if you are attempting to curry favor with him, I have to disappoint you. Before you stands his MOST TRUSTED confidant, the one and only-
Mysterious Man: Quiet! And here I thought you might be different, but no- you are an utterly ordinary fool.
Mysterious Man: Can you even begin to understand the dangerous powers you're playing with here?!
Mysterious Man: They are not something for commonfolk like you to meddle with. We may still make it in time for the ceremony- hand over the knife to us.
Denah: MUAHAHAHA. Surely you JEST!
Denah: ORDINARY?! Far from it! It's YOU who are nothing but ordinary, weak, powerless humans! How dare you speak like that to ME?!
Denah: You stand zero chance of besting me- not with the powers at my disposal!
Mysterious Man: G-gah... Attack, now!
Denah: HAHAHA... SO weak, so frail... You humans break so easily!
Mysterious Man: Wh-what the hell are you?! No... Could it be-
Denah: Haha...
Denah: HAHAHAHA...
Denah: HEAR ME, feeble human. You who are still bound to the shackles of your mortality!
Denah: The time has come for mankind to leave its infancy behind and-
Stella: There she is. Denah is over here.
Alk: Denah! We've been looking for you!
Denah: Oh, Alk! And Stella? What are you doing here?!
Alk: You suddenly disappeared! We were worried about you.
Alk: Given how terrible you are with directions, we were worried you might have ended up in the Farlands or something!
Denah: Oh. I, uh...
Denah: I'm sorry to make you all worry like that!
Stella: What were you doing in a place like this?
Alk: Were you... fighting with someone?
Denah: Oh, um. Yeah, I guess I had a bit of scuffle. But to be fair, they were some REAL meanies.
Alk: "Meanies," huh? I hope that's not all it takes for you to start a fight with someone...
Denah: I-It's not! What am I supposed to do with such insolent fools who are deaf to the PHANTOM CALL-
Alk: Phantom what? I can't keep all your void magic lingo straight. You need to make me a list or something.
Denah: It's fine! It doesn't matter anyway. I don't even remember what I was doing to begin with!
Denah: More importantly than that- I'm hungry! What's for dinner today, Alk?
Alk: Dinner? I was planning on making curry today.
Stella: Alk's curry is very delicious. Even when he makes it with no ingredients.
Denah: N-no ingredients? Who eats PLAIN curry? Alk, are you poor or something?
Alk: H-hey! I'm doing just fine financially, thank you very much. And don't worry- we've got stuff to put in the curry today.
Denah: Awesome! Let's go, then! Onward, to Starview Village!