[IC] ＫＩＮＧＤＯＭ ＤＥＡＴＨ

[Dead Cruiser]

Lantern Year 1: The First Story

The monster stalked toward its prey, fearless of the cowering creatures before it. Its maw and claws were already bloody from the others like them that it had slain, though it was still hungry. It would kill these last morsels, and haul the lot of them back to its den before it could feast. Though it was mighty, there would soon be others drawn by the bloodscent, and it did not wish to be forced to fend them off.

In the lantern light, the monster became visible. A great, white lion, its soft fur streaked with human blood. Its shimmering mane glimmered in the low light, and its eyes seemed to glow red in the darkness. Sharp teeth jutted from its maw at odd angles, and rather than front paws it seemed to possess a pair of clawed human hands. It prowled forward, toward the small group of humans, utterly unafraid.

Perhaps through some unseen instinct, perhaps at complete random, it struck at the fittest among them; the muscular, bearded man. Only able to barely evade the lion's blindingly-fast claws, the man's loincloth was torn, and shallow marks scratched across his chest. Even so, the man was still standing, and was ready to retaliate against his predator. As were all of his fellows, each armed with a shard of stone that they clutched in their desperate desire to survive.

[Horrid]

The large man in the large loincloth gripped his sharp shard of stone tight and eyes the beast with dire severity in his eyes. His body shook with rage as he circled the beast until he was at its flank, as it focused it's attentions on the bearded one.

It was large. Too large. The blood spatters on its fur left him with a slight feeling of hesitation as he ceased stepping forward. It only lasted a moment, but this was a situation where a moment meant death.

With a deep breath, he advanced, moving his huge bulk toward the beast with determination. He dived for its back legs, trying to tie it up with his arms and to get a few jabs off with his stone, to distract it at least, if not injure it.

[Lord of Evil]

The clean shaven man clicked his tongue and backed away. The beast had come up out of nowhere and he wasn't all too pleased with their odds. He wanted to run away from the thing, thinking that it would be the best idea. He supposed that their numbers increased their chance of victory, but it also increased the chance of injury.

The clean shaven man had a decision to make. The beast had already attacked one of them so he could run away and save himself, or risk his own life to help the others fight it off. But as the large man ran to help their companion, he realised that he didn't have time to think about it.

He ran towards the beast and jumped towards it, aiming to land on the top of the raging animal. Perhaps he could do some damage from there, and discourage it from continuing its assault.

[Bishop]

Seemingly out of nowhere a ferocious white fured lion appeared. The predator slowly approaching his soon to be triple-mac-humans. Out of the 3 of them the beast lunged for him. He understood the beast, he was more of a threat then the others. In different circumstances he would be honored, but this wasn't one of those times.

He was hurt but he was far from done. As the nightmare spawn focused on him, the others were already on the move. To give them time he feinted attacks and backed a way quickly to evade the beast's attacks.
If the beast turned attention away from him and focused another, he would perform a blitz attack for its balls(if it had any) or plunge the rock deep in its rectum.

[Dead Cruiser]

As the dark-skinned man circled around and struck at the lion, his shard of stone dug into the lion's hip. His attempt to ensnare it was ill-fated, as it bucked wildly to throw the clean-shaven man from its back, and its movements were too strong and forceful for him to contain. Even so, he managed to inflict a trifling wound upon the beast; it was not much, but he had struck back against the darkness and drawn its blood.

The clean-shaven man fared poorer. Upon vaulting on the lion's back, he was immediately shaken from it. Its luxuriously soft fur provided no purchase for him to grasp, and he was sent sprawling onto the hard, stone ground. Recognizing him as vulnerable, the lion seized him by the upper arm in his jaws, and trotted away from the others, into the darkness. It recognized that these morsels were intelligent, and potentially a threat. It needed to isolate them, and pick them off one at a time.

However, the lion had unknowingly circled back to where the bearded man awaited it. He struck from behind, seeking to gouge the lion where it was most vulnerable. He slashed at the lion's hefty gonads, and with a stroke of luck, struck true and severed them completely. The lion dropped the clean-shaven man from its jaws, and howled in pain and fury. It had not merely been wounded by this very personal attack; it had also been infuriated.

The faster than the bearded man could react, the lion swung around, lashing out with its claws. It struck the man cleanly in the face, the blow swift and brutal. Overpowered by its strength, he fell to the floor, a steady stream of blood flowing down his neck and chest. The world was slightly darker for the bearded man, now, as the lion had destroyed his right eye with its vengeful strike.

In the darkness away from the dance of blood and pain stood a woman who had gone unnoticed by the three men. She had waited patiently and bided her time, holding her stone shard loosely and carefully. She paced around, trying to find where the lion lurked without revealing herself to be subjected to its fury. As it cried out from having its testes destroyed, she focused on the direction of its howl, and hurled her stone shard with all of her might. The very essence of her will to survive was in that stone, and it flew to at the lion with great lethality.

Unfortunately, the lion twisted away at the last moment, having heard her feet padding against the stone faces. The flying stone grazed the beast about the head, shearing off a great wad of its shimmering mane. Still infuriated by the attack from earlier, it paid no mind to the stone's flight and painless result. With two of its foes knocked to the ground and the other two hidden in the dark, it sniffed the air, seeking to track them down and finish its hunt.

[Lord of Evil]

That'd gone as badly as he'd imagined it would, although it hadn't ended as badly for him as it did his larger companion. Things were looking bad, even with a new ally joining the fray, and it could still get worse.

The clean shaven man lay quietly on the floor as he bled from his torso. Fortunately for him it didn't seem like the lion was interested in finishing his meal yet. He was definitely hurting, particularly in his chest area, and blood was beginning to pool around him as he lay there. He glanced at his companion's prone form, torn and bloodied levels beyond his own body. Was this how they were to die? Mauled by a feral beast in dark tunnels so far away from anything?

A grim determination soon pierced through the dazed fog that clouded his consciousness and the clean shaven man's grip tightened on the sharp rock, his only weapon. He got up onto his hands and knees, head spinning from blood loss, and quietly dragged himself behind the lion. If they were going to be eaten anyway it was better to go down swinging.

The clean shaven man made a desperate lunge at the beast's back leg, making up for his lack in strength with sheer will, the drive to at least wound the monster that had tormented them so. If this was a way to leave his mark on their small world then he would wholeheartedly give his life for it.

[Horrid]

The dark-skinned male pushed himself up, large hands covering a stone face each. The throw has shaken his balance, but it had also roused his temper further. The lion was throwing them about like toys and death was looming ever closer as one after another they were batted down like flies.

One of his compatriots flew back with a spray of crimson, his eye destroyed by the beasts swipe. The blow he had inflicted was the most progress they had made, severing the lion's most sensitive organs from its body. The success instilled the large man with hope. Hope and determination to survive.

He saw the lion advancing toward the to most injured of their group and knew it was his chance at intervention. With a roar of anger, the large man lumbered headfirst into a charge, his stone held at the ready to dig into the lion's body and try to sever something essential like a tendon or a ligament. He would tackle it with all his might, in tandem with his ally going for the back leg, to save the others from a fate most unpleasant.

[Bishop]

The claw swiped for his face and as fast as he thought he backed away the slash came upon his face, forever marking it with a claw mark and a dead eye. The man backed away, dragging on the floor while yelling in pain but luckily the lion had lost interest in him as it decided to turn for another soon-to-be-victim. The bearded man was in agonizing pain and bleeding from both attacks that the beast had inflicted upon him.

As the beast turned away from him he saw the other 2 people lunging for the animal. While the monster was focused on them, he would once again go and attack it from behind, this time focusing on the tail. The tail being an extension of the Chimera's spine, it would surely lose its balance once separated. Maybe even make its attacks miss.

With this plan in mind he cautiously circled around the beast, ready to attack with his trusted sharp rock that had never left his hand since the confrontation began. He would put all his focus on this attack, not letting his destroyed eye make him miss.

[Dead Cruiser]

Knowing that her stealthy position was compromised, the woman joined the dark-skinned man and cried out as she as well ran to take on the lion head-first. Now unarmed, she was able to do little more than flail feebly at the lion's face, scrabbling at it with her nails. The man next to her fared better, managing to dig his stone into the lion's shoulder, giving it another trifling wound.

Behind the lion, the other two men fared somewhat better. The clean shaven man managed to strike the lion across its rear haunch, inflicting a shallow slash. The bearded man, his accuracy dampened by his missing eye, grasped wildly, trying to seized the lion's tail and slice it off. Eventually his stone was able to meet the lion's flesh, jabbing into the taut muscle of its tail.

Yowling in pain from its various wounds, the Lion decided that it did not like being surrounded. With its strange, humanlike hands it seized the dark-skinned man. Its sharp claws hooked into his generous middle, and it pounced away, dragging the man along with it. The woman was bowled over by the lion's escape, knocking her back some distance away. Once free of the humans surround it, the lion dropped the dark-skinned man unceremoniously to the stone ground, and turned about so that he laid between it and the other humans. There it dropped onto its belly, lying prone against the stone faces. It made no motion toward them or the wounded man in front of it, but it stayed wary; red eyes flashing in the dark, claws drawn, and muscles tensed.

[Horrid]

The small feeling of a hard-won victory that the dark-skinned man felt as the stone bit into the lion's flesh once again was a sweet sensation but sadly shortlived. He gripped his stone tight and reared back for another blow, channeling all his anger into his arm.

But as the manlike clutches of the lion closed around him and the claws bit into his pillowy sides, his concentration broke and he clung to his stone, his sole weapon under the watchful eye of the stone faces, for dear life.

As the lion dropped him to the ground and he felt the hot lines of pain that the lion's grip had left on his flanks and back, he grit his teeth hard to the point that they threatened to crack. He would not die here as this beast's toy.

He was dizzy, and bruised. He was weakening. But still, he roared at the beast, bloody stone in his hand as he took his chance and leapt forward. He would go straight for its eyes and throat. Blind it and they might stand a chance of survival. Even if that meant he would end up with a nasty bite or two.

[Lord of Evil]

The wound was shallow, but it was there. The clean shaven man staggered to his feet as the lion pounced away. The beast had another man in its jaws but he didn't look too badly injured, about as much as the clean shaven man himself, perhaps. They were hanging on surprisingly well and the addition of another person would certainly help.

The clean shaven man looked to where their new ally had thrown their rock, a little aside from the rest of the group. It wasn't in convenient grabbing distance, but he made his way towards it while also moving towards the lion. The wounds he'd received were a painful reminder not to jump in with no plan, so he made preparations to grab the rock if he could or jump back into the fray should the opportunity present itself.

[Bishop]

After his attack the beast quickly turned back and luckily for the bearded man it targeted the dark skinned man next to him. His pain up until now had been nulled by the anger from his wounds, the lost of his eye and seeing the beast still raring to go with no visible signs of just dropping dead. The woman who threw the rock clearly was of no use anymore. She threw, propably, her only weapon which left her useless and defenseless. That fact just added more responsibility on the bearded man. He wasn't only fighting for himself, he was also fighting for the entire party.

As the lion lay on his belly he started moving, circling the lion from the side one step at a time while never breaking eye contact with the beast. He circled the monster from the opposite side the clean shaven man took, effectively surrounding the beast from all sides. He planned to aim for the side of the beast, plunge the rock with all his might in the beast's belly and drag it in an attempt to spill its insides. Suddenly the dark skinned man got up with a roar and lunged to meet the beast face on. This was his cue as the bearded man also rushed the beast from the side.

[Dead Cruiser]

The dark-skinned man struck at the face of the prone beast, but he had not realized in his fury that this was a trap that the lion had set. While he was able to strike quick enough to slash the lion with his stone across its brow, spilling blood into its eyes, it struck him back just as quickly. It swatted him to the ground with the flat of its hands, and then mauled his flank with its jagged teeth. Apart from the pain of its teeth digging into his side, the man felt something rupture in his gut. This blinding pain was quickly followed by a spew of blood that came bursting up his throat and out his mouth.

The bearded man, striking the beast's flank, managed to strike a decisive hit. Though unable to gut the beast as he had planned, he was still able to come close enough plunge his stone quite deep between its ribs. The lion retaliated quickly, swiping its claws in the man's direction, but with the blood in its eyes it could not see him clearly, and he was able to duck out of the way of its strike.

Both the woman and the clean-shaven man circled slowly, trying to find a decent angle from which to join the fray. The monster was obviously weakening; perhaps another coordinated strike would be enough to bring it down. They clearly fared best when they surrounded it on all sides and pummeled it. However, they were all bloody and battered as well, and if some of them took much more harm they would soon be on death's door.

The woman hissed in pain, having found where her stone and landed and shattered, by one of its shards digging into the bottom of her foot. Without worthwhile armament, the woman chose to run at the lion screaming, leaping at it again with only her bare hands. As the beast was distracted by the bearded man's assault, she managed to grapple onto its neck, clinging to it by what remained of its mane, and scratched at its face. Eventually her nails found purchase, and with a tug and feral cry she tore off one of the lion's ears. Another pained howl, and the lion shook the woman off and batted her some distance away. The woman landed hard on her face, but managed to turn upright as she wiped the blood running from her broken nose. She laughed madly, holding her savage prize aloft for the others to see.

[Horrid]

The dark-skinned man howled in pain as the jaws of the lion clamped down on his abdomen and pierced his skin. Deep within he felt a pain like hot nails searing their way into his gut. The warmth spread to his chest before emerging from his throat with a cough, as thick, dark blood.

His bearded companion fared better than he had, wedging his stone nicely in the beast's side and evaded the lion's blind swipe. It seemed that his wild charge had impaired it's vision somewhat. Good. Damn the beast. He wanted to tear into it with his bare hands, but a man's strength was not enough.

He laid prone, agony racking his body as the lion withdrew it's teeth from him and turned to one of the others. The woman, screaming shrill for all to hear, leapt upon it and tore it's ear off its head. As she cheered and held it up, the large man celebrated with her, giving a weak chuckle.

They were making progress but not enough and not quick enough. Alone they were weak but their power was in their numbers. The large man groaned as his wound flared with pain, and pulled himself toward his rock once more. It was slick with bright blood, from the lion's superficial wounds. He raised it at the others and bellowed, gesturing to the lion. He would use the dwindling reserves of his strength to move when they did, in hopes of a multifaceted attack. And when he did, he would be going for its gut just as it did.

And when he did, he would dig deep.

[Lord of Evil]

As the woman went towards the lion, the clean shaven man made his decision. He rushed forward, also charging towards the lion. In theory, while the lion was occupied with the woman, he could at least get in range to damage it, although coming out alive was another matter entirely. The lion managed to shake the woman off, which shrunk the clean shaven man's window of opportunity. Nevertheless, he charged forward. His body felt numb and he felt a little cold as his life faded slowly, but there was no time to dress his wounds.

The clean shaven man put on a burst of speed as the woman was sent flying away, ducking underneath the lion's razor sharp fangs. As he slid under the beast he brought his stone up and thrust it upwards with all of his strength, into the area under the lion's head just before its mane, behind the great beast's jaw.

[Bishop]

Pleased to see his strike deal damage the bearded man quickly retreated just in time to dodge the lion's claws. The beast was half blind by the dark man's previous hit, a key element in their chances of survival.

Seeing everyone around him, all the injuries, all the blood but they still had fight in them, the will to live drove them on and it also fired him up. This was their chance, they couldn't just keep dragging this. This has to end now!

Cautiously the bearded man circled around the beast, trying to keep an even distance between the others so they once again surrounded the beast. Suddenly the shaven man decided to charge, right after the girl was thrown away. At this the bearded man also leaped into action. He took a running attack while holding the sharp rock with both hands. He would hopefully strike the beast's heart with this last hit that he would put all his strengthength into. As soon as the other would slide under the beast, the bearded man would crash to the beasts side with all his might, maybe knocking it down. Then it would continue to twist and push the rock deeper until it stroke through it's heart.

[Dead Cruiser]

The woman scrambled back to her feet, eager to join in on the ongoing fray. While still unarmed, she leaped back toward the lion, in sync with the other men who all charged in practically at the same time. The lion, overwhelmed by the simultaneous attack, attempted to leap out of the way to escape. However, it had no avenue left, as it was attack from the the font, underneath, and both flanks. Most of the attacks inflicted moderate wounds, none truly lethal, until the clean-shaven man, the last to strike, plunged his stone into the lion's neck. Finding a soft spot in its throat, the stone slipped in and out easily, and within seconds the lion was drowning in its own blood. It choked and sputtered, the stream of hot blood soaking the survivors surrounding it. It grasped at its throat with its hands, a disturbingly human-like gesture, suffered for a moment longer, and died.

Celebrations were short-lived. The humans knew this was far from the only monster lurking in the dark. They stuck together and wandered out into the dark, battered and bloody, unsure of what they may find. Those among them that could still walk on their own dragged their kill behind them, as they knew they would have to eat before long, and the more wounded leaned against each other for support.

After what seemed like hours of aimless wandering, a soft light glowed in the distance. Wary, but drawn to it none the less, the survivors approached the light. As they grew closer, the light grew more intense, and eventually overpowered the light of their own lanterns. A tower rose out of the plain of faces, a seemingly natural formation of lanterns stacked the height of half a dozen men into the sky. It curved gently as it towered over them, a crooked effigy of light and warmth. This light would protect them; they knew this in their guts, though none of them were sure why. Here they would be able to stop, and here they would settle.

It seemed that they were not alone, either. Other humans had gathered to the hoard of lanterns, ink-eyed and speechless. Roughly a dozen all together, the small herd of cold, naked, frightened humans clung to the lanterns for warmth, and from its warmth they gained courage and understanding.

An epiphany dawned on one of the survivors of the hunt. The light of the lanterns had illuminated them with intelligence itself. It had gifted them with language. One of them would have to speak the first words.

[Lord of Evil]

The euphoria of their victory over the beast had long since faded over their wanderings, softened by the reality that would see them die should their wounds be left untreated. Even for the clean shaven man, the one who struck the last blow, the triumphant feeling he'd gained from landing the strike had turned to a gnawing doubt. He only managed to strike that blow because of the others distracting the beast, and he hadn't exactly sacrificed as much as the others did either. He didn't feel like he deserved it, although the fact of the matter was, the beast was dead and he'd struck the finishing blow.

The clean shaven man trudged along with the group, holding his torso where the beast's fangs had penetrated his flesh. His wounds weren't as bad as the bearded man, who'd received a wound he would likely never recover from. And he still had his stone, unlike the woman, whose stone had shattered on contact with the rocky walls around the area where they'd fought the beast. Overall, he was one of the luckier of the group. They'd all expended a lot taking it down but some came out with more than others. And while took everything they could get, it wouldn't last for that long.

The clean shaven man's stomach rumbled. He hadn't had a decent meal in a long time, a feature he was sure that he shared with the rest of the group. The blood loss also left his body cold, and their lanterns could only do so much to help. What they needed was somewhere to rest, so they could make use of their spoils. But as he mused on his misfortunes, a light flickered into view ahead and he saw an answer to his prayers.

As they drew closer to the pillar of lanterns the clean shaven man began to feel more comforted by their presence, more safe. It was as if the light of the lanterns warded off more than the darkness, like the pillar's luminance was a barrier against the danger of the tunnels. And as his body bathed fully in the warm light, he suddenly realised that he was thinking in ways he'd never thought of before. The light had seemingly turned the gears in his head, like it had been a key to a locked door that opened a new world for the clean shaven man.

But what would he do with it? What could he do with it? As the strange but familiar thoughts swirled in his head, he wondered if it would be best to reveal it. He didn't know what would happen. But the light of the lanterns melted his doubts and loosened his tongue.

He opened his mouth and spoke.
"...Hungry..." He said.

[Horrid]

The largest of the group held his heaving belly as it slowly tricked with worryingly dark blood. His pudgy face was set into a stony, agitated glare out at the soft light growing in the distance. Needing to be helped in walking made him spit blood onto the stone faces in disgust. His weakness had nearly cost him his life, nevermind the lives of the others. He felt like he could feel the air filling the wound at his flank left by the lion's maw, and the ebb of blood in tune to his heartbeat was beginning to wear on his will.

He was too hurt to help carrying the beast with them, but he made sure to give it a few good stomps in the skull before they left. For good measure. The light of the lanterns they held began to be overpowered by the light in the distance and for a moment, the scenery seemed to wave and warp as he passed his eyes over it. He had lost a lot of blood, and he was tired beyond limits he ever knew he had.

The congregation of lanterns had attracted a gathering of other humans like him. All dark-eyed and gape-mouthed. They made him sick to look at. Frightened. Weak. Just as he was, but he refused to accept the similarities. Instead he lifted himself from his supporter, his vision was too bleary to see whether it was the woman or one of the other men, but he pushed them away to stand on his own.

But when the clean-shaven man opened his mouth not to grunt, but to speak, the large man shot an angry glare. What was this noise? This... speech? His mind felt fuller. His mouth moved to its own will and he growled out in a voice that sounded more feral than man.

"Pain. Hunger. Eat."

[Bishop]

At last they managed to put an end to this scourge. They actually did it, together through their combined strength they somehow managed to put the creature down. An act otherwise unachievable for a single individual but united they stood their ground and killed the monster.

As the adrenaline left his body, the bearded man started feeling the intensity of his pain and throbbing eye become stronger. Now he fully felt the pain caused by the wounds, agonizing pain. Seeing the clean chaven man taking on the responsibility of pulling the lion, the bearded man decided to help him with the task, occasionally switching with each-other to give the other a chance to rest while holding the lantern. And towards the light they went.

The more they approached it the stronger it became, so bright it was that it seemingly also absorbed the light of their lantern. The light coming from the structure gave of a calming presence, it felt as if though the man was becoming more aware, finally waking up. A thought crossed his mind and he tried to convey it in words.

The man said:"We..Together"- as he gestured to his group with one hand, holding the other in his chest curled into a fist.
"Killed..Beast"-he added, now gesturing to the lying corpse.
He was slow to talk and the words seemed awkward in his mouth but they felt like they conveyed exactly what he was thinking and somehow the others understood.

"United..We are..strength!"