[b][u]Sam Jensen - Gleeful Jackal, Blue King[/u][/b] The Blue King narrowed his eyes as the boy before him just continued to laugh and spout out more incredibly edgy lines. Sighing, he nonetheless let the mysterious figure go on as he changed his status icon to [b]Player Character[/b]. "That's bett-" Gleeful Jackal began, before the fucking idiot kept on going. And then the boy's tag became [b]Enemy Boss[/b]. "Never mind. I take everything back. You really like your power trip, don't you?" The blue-clad youth mocked, twirling his daggers around in his hands. "Seriously, I get it, you're a hacker with nothing better to do than cheat a perfectly fun game. Considering you haven't been caught yet, it's either your first time or you're really, really good at it. And going by your edgy little fedora-tipping speech, you're not doing much to convince me that this isn't your first time. Hell, you probably have invincibilty or regeneration hacks on or something. So...yeah. Doesn't really seem worth it to fight you. Bye." And with that, the Blue King threw down the smoke bomb and flashbang he had hidden up his sleeves, letting loose a torrent of dense smoke while simultaneously giving off a blinding flash. Not wasting the opportunity, he put his daggers away and drew his grappling hooks, leaping off the side of the building to escape, rapidly swinging between skyscrapers. [b]"Oh? You are a very amusing specimen...[/b] A hand lashed out of the air, gripping onto the Blue King's shoulder. It was not enough to deter the King from his leap across the wide expanse of the city below, but it most certainly would have given the veteran player quite the shock. Especially considering the amount of time it would have taken this masked man to accomplish such a task. The hand, as if phasing in from nothingness, belonged to the masked man. This being...could it really have been a player? He certainly didn't speak in the regular manner of some online prankster, nor did it seem like he was genuinely new to the Deep Ground System. A troll? Although rare given the program was designed to determine one's ultimate fate, Deep Ground was still prone to those who got their kicks from other's suffering. However, that still didn't answer the question of what he was doing here when the servers had all been shut offline. Supposedly. [b]"I suggest we speak on solid ground Blue King. That is, if you don't mind me tagging along through the air like this.[/b] [b][u]Sam Jensen - Gleeful Jackal, Blue King[/u][/b] Gleeful Jackal's head whipped back in midair, surprised at the hand that was still clutching onto him. "...Oh what the fuck." He muttered under his breath, more than a little disturbed at this point. Great. So he'd miscalculated. If the masked idiot could touch him, he could damage him. And he'd still manage to reach him even after the smoke and flashbang combination. So clearly screwing with his sight didn't work. "Fine," He sighed, making a show of being bored. "You're no fun." The Blue King reached out with his grappling hook, zipping towards the next rooftop in sight. With a leap, he flipped up and landed in the middle, folding his arms behind his back in a show of confidence as he waited for the masked man to catch up. As the Gleeful Jackal made haste to land on the nearest rooftop, the sounds of battle down below seemed to have quieted, at least for the time being. Had Corpse Collector been brought down by the Black Guild after all? Unfortunately, the Blue King would not have time to ponder these quesitons, as his awaiting audience soon materialized in front of him. It was as if the entity wasn't even trying, simply morphing and changing shape however he pleased. It took naught but mere moments for his body to flicker out of sight in midair only to appear on the rooftop. [b]"Tell me, Gleeful Jackal. Why exactly did you log into Deep Ground tonight?"[/b] The masked man tilted his head slightly to the left, his golden eye glinting slightly. Whether it be by malice or some other intent had yet to be seen. [b]"From my understanding, Deep Ground was apparently going under maintence. Am I correct in assuming that you chose to refuse that statement and forge your own reality?"[/b] "...Sure, call it that, whatever. I was bored and thought there might be an off chance the game was back up. I got lucky, so sue me." The Blue King replied, raising an eyebrow. "We going to play twenty questions all night or something?" The masked man's eyes narrowed slightly. [b]"An interesting response...no. I simply found your presence here curious, given the events that have unfolded outside of the game. Tell me Gleeful Jackal, how does it feel to be one of the only three kings still walking among the living?[/b] Gleeful Jackal blinked. "What." He blinked again. "What, did Ariel finally lose her shit and go on a killing spree?" [b]"Ariel? Ah, her struggles were the most entertaining to view. A fighter until the very end of existence...I almost envy her. But no, I'm afraid it's not as simple as that. As of now, all of the Kings are dead. There's just you...and Moon Rider...maybe the Yellow King....it's really hard to say. I assure you, this is no jest."[/b] The enigmatic player-if he could even be called that at this point-swept his arms to the sky as if preaching some mass prayer to a church ensemble. [b]"If you were to log out now and continue on with your regular life...then I assure you, the reality of your fellow Kings having been killed will not falter at all. Do you doubt me?[/b] There was no sense of taunting or even joy in the voice; simpley a question that needed answering. The Blue King narrowed his eyes, wondering just what the hell was going on now. All he wanted was to play a damn video game, and then this happened. If what this idiot was saying was true, then why the hell was he still alive? He was fucking logged into Deep Ground; his real life body should've been easy prey. Oh wait. He was logged into Deep Ground. Given that the Ebon Strikers were logged in as well, the Black King should've been logged in too. And maybe the Yellow King. "So what you're telling me is that you killed the Kings that [i]weren't[/i] logged into the game?" He asked disbelievingly. "And if I were to log out, they'd stay dead? This is the lowest quality bait I've heard. Your story'd make a lot more sense if the ones that were logged in were dead, you know." The masked man's only answer was a low chuckle. [b]"Now why would I give away these answers so freely? Isn't that your role to verify the validity of my claims? If you don't believe me, why not log out and investigate? It's certainly easier than speaking with a masked mad man..."[/b] A sudden rumbling shook the area around them, shaking the very foundation of their building. The masked man stood erect and without falter. Turning his gaze downwards, he blinked once before turning back to the Blue King. [b]"So this is the work of the Sweepers? Interesting.[/b] The familiar haze of codes and numbers began to circle the wide expanse around them, signifying another forced shut-down. If the masked man's utterance were to be taken as truth, then this was indeed the work of the Sweepers. If they really did stop Corpse Collector, then it would only make sense for the culprits to clean up their mess. [b]"Time is growing short...[/b] In one fluid motion, the masked man reached out to grab ahold of Gleeful Jackal's head. His gloved fingers curled around the back of the neck, at the base of the skull; the area where all people in the world contained the chip to enter Deep Ground Online. [b]"I leave you with these parting words Blue King. I suggest, no, I insist that you locate Moon Rider within the real world. Why? It makes things more...interesting for me. Know this; I am no one. I am everyone. Nowhere and everywhere are my domain...I suppose in your termanology, you can label me as God. Now go forward, away from my Kingdom. Go now....Sam Jensen."[/b] In one short burst that seemed faster than the human eye to process, the masked being was gone. As he left all traces of his presence, the reality of Deep Ground crumbled all around Gleeful Jackal. Soon, the light of the real world began to bleed through....