[IC] Shattered Fates - A Dark Fantasy, Boss Battling Epic

[RyuShura]

@Rune_Alchemist@ERode@kagethekiller

A hellish plume of fire scattered forth in the wide chamber, lighting it the whole area up like a flare. The darkness unused to the amount of light went super-imposed. The whole scene was made blinding for a moment, leaving those caught outside to wonder the outcome. But emerging from the explosion was Aiv and Orpheus, sent sprawling across the chamber like a pair of crackling embers. They were battered but alive. Mostly. They both suffered a bit of burning and bruises as a result of taking the blast, their precious white robes heavily singed. Though it seemed Aiv took the brunt of the attack, seeing as he now had a grisly wound chiseled into his side.

But it seemed difficult to down the men.

Aiv, ignoring his own pain, shouted for someone to intercept the gun-wielder, knowing first-hand the power they possessed.
But Isabella pushed towards the front with her own plans.

Again, the petite red-head unleashed the burdensome weapon, throwing the whip-blade up into the stoneworks above. The grotesque black sword screamed once more as it sectioned apart, the metal disjointing from lithe umbral sinew hidden deep within. It swerved upwards like a black tendril and smashed into the upper section of the pathway. Just as she planned, it stuck, the jet of displaced stone falling downwards signalling her success. And then some. Without even requiring the effort to yank the rest downward, the sheer force of the attack was tremendous enough by itself. The swing might've look the same to an onlooker, but she could feel the change of power from before. And in that sudden burst of strength, she could feel it sapping something from deep within her. What could it be? Her pain? That might've been it, because that was all she could felt in the following moment. The wound from earlier had begun to bite, turning the surrounding skin completely black as it festered further down her arm. That creeping feeling, added to the how her whole body was burning from over-excursion, rendered her a new meaning of pain. She would barely stop herself from shaking, out of sheer pain and heavy toll of both the weapon and her heroic action. With all of this, Isabella was sent flat upon the ground in a heap of ragged breaths, nearly fainted when the weapon snapped back whole in a vicious recoil. Up before her, the pathway began to crumble. As soon as the blade ripped itself free, the place of impact went unstable and large stones and carved tiles in the ceiling began to crumble. A slithering crater formed as all manner of things plummet down upon the swirling shadows beneath. The low chanting that had been going on suddenly ceased and a chorus of wailing erupted from the breaking passage.

"No! Catch them! Don't let the mark-bearers escap-"

One of the priests cursed as bone and metal were soundedly crushed. And in the fading lantern light, the completely drained Isabella could only watch as the falling ceiling rapidly edged towards her.

If Isabella was not moved, soon she would be buried too.

@Eklispe...

But the battle was not finished just yet. The two remaining twisted ones, left outside the range of the destruction behind them, looked upon their fallen comrades and wailed. Thought wholly maddened, there was a glimmer of pain in their hollow expressions. The one with the bladed hands focused its attention at Solomon, intent on making their sacrifices not go in vain.

"Blood... for the Pale Goddess... the Devourer...!" it croaked, swinging the rusted claw in his direction.

Then a low click sounded, the hand-cannon made ready as the chamber was primed another round. With a snarl, it's decrepit wielder aimed the weapon again at Aiv, intent on finish what it started.

"Dream, we must return to the Dream..."

@Lasrever...

Hider

"No... no what are you doing?" he called down at the fleeting figure, "Don't look for things you wouldn't wish to see!"

Ignoring his words, Dwyn closed in on the ominous source, stepping further into the western wing of the old study towards the unholy scent. Soon enough, her eyes would come across the horrific leftovers of a dark ritual. She was spared many of the gruesome details thanks to the darkness that shrouded this corner, but what she was able to see would repulse even the most resolute. A pair of bodies were left sprawled over a bloody diagram, or what was left of the poor persons, twisted and morphed by mad hands and an even madder mind. It seemed a desperate attempt at an offering to a certain statue that was hidden in the dark. The very outline of which would leave her an uncanny feeling. Describing this bloody mess as an 'attempt' seemed appropriate judging by the haphazard slashes and arrangements. While it seemed to have been done by an experience practitioner of magic, as far as she could tell at least, the reagent ashes were scattered and the gathered bowls smashed to pieces, all pointing towards signs of frustration and anger at the result. Or lack thereof.

But the most interesting thing was right in the center of the mound of misguided flesh. A black something was still beating.

This seemed to be the source of the supernatural tingling.

"Ah... You saw it didn't you? I tried to protect you, I did. Didn't I tell you...? I saw it with my own eyes..." the hooded man said with a slight whimper, "This is what those fanatics do to people they catch... all in the name of their damned God."

As he shone the light over, Dwyn would be left with another discomforting revelation.

Before the mangled corpse and ritual place was the statue of a being Dwyn would find very familiar. A certain horned Goddess stared back at her from the shadows. Her enstoned visage was beautiful and stoic, dancing with the metal shard-blade as she had witnessed before. But she was not alone in the spotlight. There was another that shared a large portion of the stone plinth. A blackened monster was depicted pouring out from her back, gushing out of her shoulder blades in a grisly splattered form. It looked as though the creature was living inside of her, sharing a space in her body.

Or perhaps it was her true form, and her outward appearance was only a skin?

Either way, the dark thing wrapped around the dancing Goddess in an eerie harmony. And within its massive jaws were countless bodies, the blood dripping beneath them forming a symbol. One that resembled the 'Stigma' that Dywn and the others wore.

[Jerkchicken]

At sight of the explosion he tilted the anchor away from him as he flopped to the ground to avoid getting hit by debris from the explosion. Once again he had exerted himself, like his previous effort he managed to get what he desired. No doubt, that being exhausted was some sort of "power at a price" type deal but it was to literal and inconveniencing to him. Controlling his breathing again he worked on waiting and not getting hit until he could move again. It was during this time he started thing about using the enemies own weapons, disregarding their bad state, as a substitute to use in fights since the flow of a fight wouldn't be forgiving to a weapon that left you out of breath after a strong blow.

He watched at the others do their actions, such as the wounder redhead collapse part of of ceiling of the corridor. That enemy with the firearm was poising quite a threat. He heard someone yell to go after the gun which he did. But first he went to the pile of rubble and found a blade stick out. He grabbed the handle and it managed to come out. Although it wasn't in great condition it was also going to be more easier to wield than the anchor which will be useful given there's a guy with gun. He also picked a nice sized chunk of rubble and lobbed it at gun man's head as he rushed in to stab the enemy.

[Crabs]

Edgy introduction stuff

Ruby shuddered, then suddenly buckled backwards and let out a ragged, sharp gasp. She started shivering and started slowly opening her eyes, taking in the sight of the atrium. All was quiet. The silence was almost tangible. Ruby set her left hand on the cool stone floor and pushed herself to her feet, though her legs had a mind of their own and kept giving out under her. She staggered for a few moments before she caught her fall with her shield, leaning all of her weight onto it. The shield cracked the stone of the floor under it, and the solid thunk-c-crack from the impact resonated through the room. Once again, Ruby was racked with violent shivers and wrapped her white cloak from Nera tightly around herself, staring at the fine white mist slowly gathering around her as she breathed. The Ruby in her chest glowed the soft orange color of fear and anticipation, and she finally glanced around her.

Bodies everywhere. Strewn about like a child's playthings. One with three eyes, one clutching an anchor, one with a large pillar, one yet grasping a bow... Were they dead? Was Ruby about to become one of the corpses? Where is the blood if they had just died? Ruby's breathing became frantic, and she started hunching over as she leaned on her shield.

Wait, no... That's not right. The soft orange glow slowly became the green glow of recollection and confidence.

The horned goddess sent us here... Lost souls, to serve her, to fight for her... These are the people I was just with, up there. Ruby cast her glance up, though, and there was nothing but the unforgiving stone ceiling of the atrium.

"I guess I'm alone, then.." She sighed. This was an all too familiar feeling. Ruby staggered to the nearest person, kneeling down next to them. "You are the... three eye.. guy? Girl? I could find out for sure..." She grinned like a wolf and shook her head. Ruby patted its face lightly, then rubbed its cheek and booped their nose. Nothing. "Some sort of voodoo spooky magic sleep, or something, I guess? Why did I have to wake up first? It's so uncomfortable, cold, and.. lonely.." Ruby looked away, trailing off into a long tangent, staring as its chest slowly rose and fell, as the coating of slime squiggled around and oozed on top of its clothing.

Eventually, she got up and inspected everyone around, hoping someone would wake up soon.

They didn't.

On the bright side, some of these people were some real eye candy. Without really thinking about it, Ruby licked her lips.

She turned around from the corpses, deciding to go walk down one of the hallways. Now, there was that spooky staircase... Though, that was spooky, and a staircase, so Ruby decided against that one. Then there was the path to the east, but that one was musty and smelled like books and corpses. To the north was the glowy passage, but light is bad, and being lit by light without other people is worse, so Ruby avoided that one, too. To the south was a tight, small hallway that winded down into the dark depths below. To the west, though...

To the west was a wide, colossal hallway, dimly light by the light of the atrium, but beyond that was true darkness. Ruby felt compelled to go down that one, and before she knew it, she was off, her feet taking her where her heart desired. As she set off, the gemstone above her breasts glowed the soft purple light of adventure and lust.

---

good ol' transition

Ruby surrendered to her thoughts in the hallway, thinking about an endless number of things, but mostly her past. She idly kept walking, mainly as an excuse to just get away from it all, as if to shun what was really happening as some bad dream. It's not like this sort of thing happened to real people, right?

This back-and-forth questioning with herself went on for ages as she tried to explore how she really felt, where she was going, and what was even happening.

But only one thought stopped her in her tracks.

Have I died?

Ruby was stopped when she hit a wall head-on, falling backwards onto her shield. This stone wall was the end of the line- at least for now. She needed to get back to the group of people anyway, being alone for so long was starting to creep in to more and more of her self questions, and she felt more paranoid by the second.

About halfway down the hallway, though, the sound of voices spurred her on to go and join in with the other people.

---

The useful part of the post

Just as she came back into the light of the atrium, her vision went straight to the fight happening in front of her. Ruby closed her eyes, breathing deeply, trying to drown out the noise of the conflict. But she couldn't. The conflict lived inside of her, burning like fire through her veins. She wanted nothing more than to run in and bust some heads open, and she could barely keep herself from running in.

After a bit, she opened her eyes, seeing the girl with the whip sword struggling to attack... the ceiling? There was a man with a hand cannon nearby, blasting at two of their fellow souls, and she was fighting the architecture.

Nothing good can come of this.. You're going to collapse this building onto yourself.. You're going to die..

Ruby sprinted, awkwardly hobbling as the shield randomly scraped the ground and otherwise impeded her progress.

Don't die, don't die...

The girl with the whip sword succeeded in ripping the roof apart, only to collapse to the ground, writhing in pain.

Don't FUCKING die!

Time slowed to a crawl as Ruby doubled her efforts, more resolved than ever to stop the ceiling from getting a killstreak. As she crossed the last few feet, she crouched down low, bracing her shield above her head as she ran into the falling rubble.

DON'T FUCKING DIE!

Ruby's gemstone flashed the blinding scarlet red of self-hatred and regret.

Suddenly, time sped back up, and she dropped down next to Isabelle and planted her shield into the floor behind her, the spikes on the outside facing the collapsing hallway. Rocks the size of her head barraged the shield, causing it to slam into her back. Ruby strained to keep the shield up, each breath coming out ragged and agonizing. The muscles in her arm protested against the weight they were holding up, and as she looked into the tortured eyes of the girl on the floor in front of her, Ruby drew in a deep, final breath.

She hooked her arm under Isabelle, wrapping her arm around her waist, and pulled her close towards her. In the next instant, Ruby felt the power of her grim determination pushing her on. Ruby un-anchored the shield, buckling under the weight of the rubble that dropped down. But she pressed on, walking slowly with Isabelle on one arm, their only protection from the rocks on the other arm. Ruby crossed the ten or so feet back into the main atrium room at a snail's pace, patiently and painfully getting there, one step at a time. When she and Isabelle were finally out of the danger zone for rubble, she dropped Isabelle and collapsed, aching all over and completely exhausted. Ruby's shield was still part of her arm, though, so it draped over Ruby like a lean-to.

Ruby closed her eyes, blocking out everything in the world except for the soft blue glow of satisfaction and fulfillment.

---

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Isabella~

---

The blade struck true. The head of the cumbersome weapon slammed into the ceiling, immediately cracking the old ceiling. The rocks splintered and cracked, chunks of stone falling from the ceiling and falling to the floor. Success, then! Isabella only had a moment to take in her success as she felt something...change, inside of her. The sheer strength of the blow felt like it was sapping something...something important from inside of her. She had no idea what it was, but in the next instant all she could feel was pain.

"Ah..." As the roof of the hallway began to collapse, the redhead swayed subtly where she stood. "Seems I've over exerted myself...heh..." She didn't even get to see the satisfaction of those cursed things be crushed by her actions. It used the rest of her strength merely to keep herself standing, legs shaking and breath ragged from the exertion as her entire world was engulfed with nothing but pain. Her vision blurred as the black corruption creeped down her arm like some sort of itch that wouldn't go away, mixing evenly with intense, mind numbing pain threatening to knock her unconscious. Her lugs felt like they were filled with something, something that forced the very breath out of her as though she were drowning.

When the blade recoiled, the heavy thing returning to its master, she couldn't keep herself upright. She was knocked flat off her feet from the recoil, hands locked tightly around the weapons hilt as if it was the only thing keeping her alive at the moment. Isabella fell onto her side, barely able to move as she breathed, sweating from the exertion of merely attempting to be able to stay conscious. She could hear it though - the path began to crumble. Rocks fell, there were shouts from the blighted - the wails of the damned souls were like music to her ears.

A small comfort in her current delirium. It sounded like some sort of sweet siren song as she focused on it, trying to at least keep herself conscious, even doing the smallest thing she could do to crawl out of the passages crumbling area but she couldn't force herself to keep moving. Whatever strength she summoned, came at a great price and she wasn't so foolish enough to attempt something like this again in her current condition.

"No! Catch them! Don't let the mark-bearers escap-"

Isabella smirked, a pained grimace overcoming her features quickly as her entire body trembled lightly in pain. The pain itself, was intoxicating in a way, though. It at least let her know she was still indeed, alive and conscious. Heh, at least, in the end, she'd get the last laugh on these guys, if she was crushed. She laid there for a second - feeling something crawling on her leg as the ceiling collapsed...but passed it off as nothing more than pained delirium for now.

It seemed though, fate once again deemed she would cheat death again. One of her comrades actually had half a mind to pull her out of this. In the back of her pain-wracked mind, she was incredibly grateful. Whoever it was, Isabella had determined to be the best one of the lot so far. All she could see, was a bright red light as she felt an arm slip around her waist, pull her to her shaking feet. She let herself be dragged by whoever this person was, doing her best to try and help them. Once she was finally released, and allowed to rest. She rolled over onto her back, pained, ragged breaths still coming from her lungs, though her vision had started to clear and she turned her eyes to look at whoever it was that had the decency to at least be more than half competent.

"I...don't know who you are," She wheezed out. The redhead didn't recognize this one. No matter she supposed. "Heh, but...thanks." She coughed, the creeping feeling on her arm causing her no small amount of discomfort. Now all that was left was for the others to deal with the other two...and they could finally get a move on. Maybe they would finally have some respect for her opinion after this.

Fools.

The weighty sword in her hand was still being clung too as her body still shivered with pain. For a moment, she closed her eyes and just tried to steady her breathing.

[Eklispe]

Solomon

Even as Solomon rested the battle raged on, the group barely managing to scrap through every situation through a combination of teamwork and luck as the massive weapons they wielded drained them more and more. Solomon felt he could perhaps jump in to save another person when there was a strange sound that echoed through the battle oddly distinctly. It was the queue for a blast of fire and noise to race down the hallway, blinding and alarming.

As the fire faded away Solomon had gotten up and moved closer, he could see the source was one of the creature's weapons. Isabella then decided to pull off yet another startling brilliant move and try to collapse the entire area on their heads. The only small mercy was that it looked like the hallway would be collapsed but if they feel back they would likely be safe. Of course Isabelle seemed in no condition to do that so Solomon was ready to heave himself forward to save the reckless girl but he had his own problem to deal with.

One of those twisted monsters had decided that it was Solomon's lucky day and leered towards him. Solomon took a deep breath and waited for it's approach. One chance. His body was relaxed, as though he had no intentions to dodge. In reality he was gathering his strength to swing his predatory weapon. The twisted one raised it's weapon and slashed and Solomon: and Solomon took the chance for himself. With a two-handed heave the front blade of his bow smashed his foe's weapon out of the way and before it could react the back end would attempt to sever the creature's head. The massive bow's weight still pulled at his arm, but hopefully it wouldn't drain him quite as much with this attack and he could still move after this one. Even more hopefully someone would deal with the creature holding the firestick, but he didn't have much of a chance at the moment to see the situation regarding that.

[ERode]

A powerful upward strike caused the entire chamber to rumble as dirt and stone fell, the ceiling dislodged by another strike from the whip-sword. Away from the collapse, Aiv glanced over to Isabelle, once again collapsing under the strain of sin-weapon she used. Too far. Too soon. The three-eyed one still had yet to do anything. Dwyn had ran off. Ezain was shocked, paralyzed by the turn of events. Solomon was beset by another one of those beasts. The anchor-wielder had plunged into the ruins to grab at desiccated weaponry and rubble instead. And Orpheus remained unmoving.

Click

Too fast. Within the span of seconds, that handcannon was already loaded, sealing off his own options too. For something so familiar, it got back into operation too fast, and within that split-second, Aiv made his decision.

“Stay down, Orph!”

Within the corner of his eye, anchorman was moving, rushing towards the ghoul with the firearm, and with that, Aiv moved. No longer encumbered by the writhing pillar, the white-haired youth dove to the side as powder flashed and the cannon roared. Another flash of pain shook his body, another graze from the very edge of the concussive blast that tore the back of his robe and bloodied the flesh beneath. It burned, seared, but H E S T I L L B R E A T H E D.

Rolling up, Aiv hissed ferally as another flash of pain raced up his spine while his body rocked against the hard stone floor, before he rushed towards the side of the cannon-bearer, intent on double-teaming that bastard ghoul with the former anchor-wielder.

[Zombehs]

Screaming in pain as their back hit the ground, the sudden flash of knight might as well have been a knife right to Ihosha’s forehead. It made the discomfort caused by the barrage of information fed by the third eye seem paltry in comparison, and they could feel the eye writhe beneath the hand slapped over it. Gasping and coughing at the foul taste in their mouth, Ihosha rolled over slowly with a groan as the pain faded to more manageable levels. The intense ringing refused to abate from their ears though, and they were slow to prop themselves up and take a look around to try and reassess the situation. The ground seemed to rumble and shake as the tunnel finally collapsed atop the blighted ones, and Ihosha stared at it for a moment. A pity about the most likely crushed lanterns, but it was probably a trade in their favor.

The two remaining blighted ones had to be dealt with though, and the question now was who did they try and assist? The bowman forced into close quarters, but seemingly ready to hold his own, or the two tired and poorly positioned about to take another blast from the hand-cannon head on. … Well when it was thought of in that way, the choice wasn’t that difficult was it? Or did it have to be a choice? Looking down at the staff cradled in their hands, Ihosha wished it was a bit more aerodynamic and wieldy, but better than one of the blackened monstrosities everyone else seemed to be stuck with.

Though their mind felt a bit frayed from the third eye’s observations, Ihosha grit their teeth and pushed their body forward. Physically, it should be fine right? No time but the present to find out. Spinning around, they tossed the staff sideways like a boomerang at the back of the blighted one engaging Solomon, hoping to knock them off balance. Their vision wasn’t the clearest, still somewhat dazzled by the bright cannon fire, but the symbol marked on its torso was clear as ever and even seemed to draw their attention. Focusing on that to help them aim, Ihosha finished their turn and surged up onto their feet.

Joining the sailor who’d abandoned his anchor in the rush for the cannon wielder, Ihosha scrunched their third eye shut and held out a hand. The dull smack of the thrown staff hitting something, although they didn’t look back to see what, was just caught as they listened out for it. Focusing and tugging on the faint connection that seemed to exist, a small grin split their face as the comforting weight materialized within their hand and they grabbed it firmly. Though the room was no longer quite as clear with their darkvision cut off, the strange symbol seemed to linger in their sight like a fading wisp. Grunting as they grasped the staff by the bottom end with both hands, Ihosha tried to halt themselves and transfer all that momentum into the swing at the blighted man’s soul-mark.

[Lasrever]

Dwyn

As the monstrous sculpture that occupied the corner came into view, Dwyn clamped her hand over her mouth, retching - but there was nothing for her to throw up no matter how she tried. Once her stomach stopped turning - a state which took several seconds to achieve - she was finally able to look upon the sight. And the disgust, the sickness, the horror... it settled instead, to a heavy cold weight of fear in her stomach.

What was this place?

What was wrong with this place?

A ritual of some sort. An unholy, twisted, sickening sacrifice. The world was nothing but guts and gore and blackness and a creeping tide of horror as Dwyn realised just how real this was. Why didn't she listen to him? Why didn't she run, as any sensible person would have done? And, perhaps most importantly... Why, in the name of the Gods, did this statue, from which such a monstrous figure emerged, look like Nera?

This was all a cruel joke. For it had to be, did it not? To pluck a few helpless souls from blissful release and toss them into a hell designed to torture and kill them one by one. These priests, that roamed the halls so hungrily, could be nought but her agents. Or they thought they were, at the very least. It would serve her well to listen to the stranger, to flee before they came for her too, but she couldn't tear herself away.

Their god... in the name of their god...

The mark was the same as their stigma, the reminder of past deeds they bore with them. Perhaps that was why the priests had been so quick to attack them, though she hesitated to place the blame on anything other than Aiv's ignorant stupidity. Not that it mattered who was to blame, for the rumbling explosion from the direction she'd left behind had more than convinced Dwyn of their demise. As far as she knew, she was the only one left. They're coming for me soon.

She didn't want to know the answer, but her lips moved regardless. "Their god... which is it? That black creature," her voice shaky and hollow as she continued, "or Nera? Perhaps they are one and the same." A hint of laughter at that last part, as something in the girl shattered.

Not waiting for an answer, she turned back to the ritual. To that black, beating heart, and the grotesque scene that surrounded it. The world... was truly forsaken, wasn't it? Gone. Nothing, nothing left. Damn this place. Damn their rituals.

A black halberd lashed out, intent on the heart's destruction.

Damn it all.

[RyuShura]

@Zombehs@Jerkchicken@ERode...

Another flash of fire filled the whole chamber as the entire cast moved at once. Many tried to pull out difficult maneuvers all at once without a real focus. This might've lead to failure on many fronts, but with all their combined efforts, the brutal combat came to a resounding climax.

The Unknown was among the first to act, though only by a split second, having cast out a nearby rock at the gun ghoul and picking up a nearby sword from the rubble to deal with the other. The piece of debris was merely an annoyance as it smashed into pieces against its thick metal-capped skull. The round exploded at Aiv like a firework, who tried to time a dodge with the bullet. The shot seemed like it was off-center, and perhaps such a thing might've worked if it was but a single round. However, a splatter of molten metal escaped the barrel in that direction. With his speed, he managed to evade most of the shards. But when he tried to follow forwards, it seemed he underestimated the distance he could separate from the black weapon that was an extension of his existence. He made it perhaps 3/4th of the way in the short instant, but was yanked unceremoniously a few yards from his target, much like an animal on a leash. He was left to either drag the black pillar behind him or turn back for it to complete the action. Either way, he was delayed. And if it was not for the efforts of his companions, the remainders of the bullet might've struck true in this fumbled action.

Instead, the round blasted past him and exploded off the rusted staircase at the center of the mirrored atrium, blowing off bits of metal as the gunner was stuck by Ihosha who came from the flank, followed by Unknown with his pilfered weapon.

It snarled and swung their other arm with a dagger embedded in their knuckle at the interrupters. But it was only a paltry effort. Now with Aiv coming to the aid, however way he managed to pick himself back up, it was only a matter of time before the sole thing was finished by the trio.

@Eklispe...

Nearby, the last Twisted being entered conflict with Solomon. He managed to deflect the initial swipe of the claws with a heaving swing of his monstrous bow-blade. The black wolf head seemed to snarl in unison to the fury of its master, snapping the rusted nestled bladed-claws in half. Nonetheless, as Solomon continued the swing for his severing strike, it stabbed underneath the arcing weapon. Its free hand aim towards his torso in an serrated uppercut. It seemed to already understand the lost battle, and was simply looking to deal a gruesome blow to Solomon for overreaching. There was a glimmer of hope that the retaliation might be hindered when silvered staff from Ihosha soared overhead and knocked it over the head. But the ancient soldier seemed undeterred by the mild effort, continuing regardless and Solomon would feel a wormy hand dig into his skin and into his abdomen.

The creature gurgled one last remark. "Sinners... wearing sheep skin..."

Before -- Slice!

The twisted head rolled off into the water, the rotten corpse making a following in hollow splash alongside it. For a moment the large mold-grass boils on its back shuddered. However, they quickly slowed to a halt, presumably the left-over compulsions in their death.

...

With the last drop of blood, nothing else stirred in the darkened chamber except for the heaving breaths of the victors. Though some of them paid a heavy price for their victory. It would take only a few short moments to recover their stamina, but the wounds were an entirely different matter. Isabella would find that her infection seemed to halt, lingering there underneath her skin menacingly and Aiv would feel the weight of the shrapnel trapped in his side. It might have stopped the blood from flowing free. But it did not cease the pain. Solomon was the newest addition to this, having been gored by his enemy in the final moments. Similarly to Isabella, if he inspected the thing in the dim light, he would see an umbra that dyed his skin and blood.

Regardless, they were left with a few options now. Though with the stirring from the Western hallway, along with the emergence of a few familiar glimmering pale lights, perhaps that option was made null now too.

There was also the question of where Dwyn had gone off to. Suddenly, a grisly scream from the Eastern hall filled their ears.
@Lasrever...

More Surprises for Dwyn

When Dwyn's halberd struck down on the living black heart, the corpse-mound sprung to life for a moment and let out a deathly wail that shook the very walls. It was like a demon had awoken.

"Ah... now you've done it..." the little man shuddered, letting out a wail of his own. He gripped his head and smacked his skull, as though trying to get something out. "Pain... it hurts... the voices... it hurts..."

The bloody thing writhed in those terrible seconds, lashing and trashing on the ground in sheer agony. It was as though all of the torture it ever suffered in the past coalescence into one painful rapture. The fleshy arms and legs kicked and paddled furiously, knocked around clay jars containing gruesome specimens and scattering torn scriptures all across the bloody corner. It struggling against its twin bindings, splattering guts and gore and casting up dust and ashe until it eventually settled down and finally fell back to peace once more.

Finally shaking himself free of the painful seizure, the hooded man leaned over the ledge and rattled the rope angrily. "Had enough fooling around with the occult yet? Or shall we take a visit to more of these ritual sites so you can sate your morbid curiosity?"

At the same time, in Dwyn's mind she could hear someone cursing her name, and yet another thanking her for this deed. And in the silence that followed, she could hear familiar voices and more explosions coming from the main chamber. Was it not finished after all?

In that same shocking turn, a combined chorus of moans resounded in call to the scream and fire detonated again as blazing rounds exploded into the chamber, blasting off more of the ancient stairway at the center. Whatever lay at the top of them existed only in speculation now that the inhabitants of the temple closed in on the party. Not only did they pose a hazard themselves, but the ensuing blasts of fire gradually took apart the frail spiral making such a flight ever more treacherous. Though one can't help but think of what secrets were so valuable to be kept hidden up there. Then, as though to add to all the chaos, Ezain, who had missing this whole time emerged from the Southern chamber, bloody and barely alive. He was clearly missing a few parts, horn chipped and all.

His eyes were cold and distant. But incredibly determined.

"This way was no good either... I only managed to escape..." the horned man coughed, spilling black blood from his mouth as pale essence-like energy poured from his missing arm, "I cannot continue... I was foolish... This journey cannot be made on the strength of one alone. I learned this too late..." he then pointed to the last option, down the dark-lit Eastern passage, "Now go, finish our task! With whatever strength I have left, I will buy you time..."

He then stepped to the center and urged them on, snarling. "GO! NOW!"

...

[Crabs]

Ruby had not even been resting for two minutes when she stirred again. A new power flowed through her, a new energy. She went from exhausted to well rested in a moment, and was easily able to pick herself up from where she'd collapsed. The metal shield scraped against the ground, pulling away from her, as if impatient. Or perhaps it was scared?

Ruby dusted off her pale white robe and untied the knot, pulling the robe tight around her. She brought the finely crafted and thick string out in front of herself and pulled it tight, tying a new, stronger knot. She sighed, shaking her head.

So this all isn't a dream, then..

Unless I can dream while dreaming... But that would be more fucked up than the dreams.

Ruby sighed and glanced down at the girl she saved. She was sprawled out on the floor, just chilling, probably just trying to forget this pain and move on. Ruby met her eyes and offered a weak smile, then turned her face away hastily, picking at the dirt and rubble on the top of her shield.

---

And just like that, that perfect moment of silence was over. A scream erupted from down the hallway, echoing through the room. The room remained quiet until the last of the scream faded off into the distance, dissipating into nothing. Immediately, the familiar pale glow of lanterns filled the hallway to Ruby's right, and the low sound of moaning and scuffling drifted into the room. Very soon, there would be no more peace. Ruby readied her shield, raising it lightly off the ground. It came out of the ground with a pa-chunk and seemingly groaned with the effort of getting up.

Ruby closed her eyes, breathing in deeply.

One...

The scuffling drew closer.

Two...

The moaning grew louder.

Three...

Ruby flinched and fell backwards blindly when the room exploded with the sound of gunfire, one shot after the other, ripping into the staircase in the middle of the room. She staggered awkwardly when her fall was stopped by her shield, and barely managed to not fall on Isabella. In the distance, at the slim south exit of the room, Ezain stood, bloodied and missing more parts of himself than what was good for him.

"This way was no good either... I only managed to escape..." the horned man coughed, spilling black blood from his mouth as pale essence-like energy poured from his missing arm, "I cannot continue... I was foolish... This journey cannot be made on the strength of one alone. I learned this too late..." he then pointed to the last option, down the dark-lit Eastern passage, "Now go, finish our task! With whatever strength I have left, I will buy you time..."

He then stepped to the center and urged them on, snarling. "GO! NOW!"

More gunfire went off, ripping into the staircase and exploding, sending showers of sparks and shrapnel everywhere. Ezain's words seemed far more practical by the second.

Ruby took her shield and crouched behind it, covering both her and Isabella from the direction with the gunfire. "Take my shoulder..." Ruby yelled, patting her right shoulder. "If you don't want to take it, just tell me, but do stay behind me. I'd hate it if you got shot."

Ruby cast a glance back at Isabella, the dark satin glow of truth and stress lighting up her face.

"I'd hate that a lot."

@Rune_Alchemist @RyuShura

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Isabella~

---

It seemed, that her so called allies could do something decently competent after all. Eventually, the sound of combat dwindled as the corrupted souls fell. Soon enough the pain that wracked her body dulled with each passing second, becoming a dull throb as whatever small amount of corruption she had taken halted its spread. Even so, she could still feel it. The corruption, lingering just under her skin. The blackened flesh a grim, permanent, reminder of the wound. She had to wonder, this corruption...this sickness...could it be healed? Cleansed? If it was a simple physical ailment, then logic would dictate it could be cured in some fashion.

...She brushed the familiar seeming thoughts from her mind as she enjoyed the silence in the room, aside from the movement of her allies. She had some very stern words for them once she was rested - especially that foolish anchor wielding moron who's impatience and negligence was the cause of this entire scuffle. Soon enough, the pain dulled to a tolerable level. Isabella pushed herself to a sitting position with a pained grunt.

Rest was over, though.

There was a soul shattering shriek from somewhere down the hallway. The loud voice echoed in the chamber, the wail from the creature filling her with a certain sense of dread. Whatever it was, it was not a friendly...and if there were more of those cultists, then there was no way they wouldn't have heard it. Very certainly, they would be beset by more of those creatures. Her eyes darted towards the nameless anchorman again, mouth turning into a frown, but now wasn't the time for internal conflicts among the group. If she was going to get out of here alive, she'd at least need to keep her head down.

Her thoughts were interrupted by loud gunfire again, causing her to wince in pain as her ears were still recovering somewhat from the last blast. The loud noise caused her body to tremble slightly, but it wasn't anything compared to whatever she had just overcome. The redhead gave a low grunt, pushing herself to her feet with the aid of her sword, still panting slightly as a familiar voice met her ears.

"This way was no good either... I only managed to escape...I cannot continue... I was foolish... This journey cannot be made on the strength of one alone. I learned this too late...Now go, finish our task! With whatever strength I have left, I will buy you time..."

Her eyes widened at the sight of him. What was his name...Ezain? He had disappeared during the fight. She had thought him dead, but it seemed she wasn't too far off from that assumption. Curses. Damnable, curses! Of all the casualties, at least take the anchorman for his irredeemable stupidity in this situation. Still, she wouldn't let this sacrifice of his be in vain.

"I can walk." Isabella replied wearily, the sound of loud moans and the snarls of the forsaken, blighted souls became louder. No doubt about it - they were converging on their position. "We should get out of here." She turned her head towards the others briefly. "If any of you still have a desire to live and not waste your life on needless conflict, then head down the eastern passage! We can not hold this position!" Isabella reached behind her head, pulling the dark, gold trimmed hood over her head. "Take the lead." She spoke to the shield bearer. "Whatever I did took its toll. I'll help if I can, but our priority should be finding some place where we can rest safely for a bit and consider our options. Keep a quick pace, but don't run head first into the mouth of some beast. I'll keep up, don't worry. I've...had worse."

[Zombehs]

Ihosha resisted the urge to rub their eyes with messy hands as stars danced in their vision. Breathing unsteadily as it looked down at the fresh corpse, the third eye slowly cracked open and Ihosha’s head tilted as something seemed to catch their attention. Nudging the briar covered body over onto its back with the end of their staff, the silvered weapon was raised and poised to slam down on the torso when they stopped for a moment and turned to look at the others that were the closest.

“Dwyn triggered something. It followed her down the e-“ Whatever else they might have said was cut off by the scream that came from the Eastern passage, interrupting and making their point at the same time. Figuring things were clear enough at that point, Ihosha still flinched as more gunfire filled the chamber and returned the ringing in their ears to painful levels.

Scrunching up with a wince as stone was pulverized underneath the firepower brought the stairs crumbling down at the center, Ihosha finally drove the narrow end of their staff down into the corpse’s torso. Their third eye had to squeeze shut tightly with the flash of gunfire lighting up the room, but again the mark on the void within the corpse seemed to linger for a moment; long enough for Ihosha to try and strike at the physical spot it appeared upon within the body.

Striking the engorged spot caused a bunch of black puss to splatter out, releasing a foul smell in the air. More rancid than usual. Maybe a leak of some intestinal gas? But other than that, it did not seem to cause any other effect other than make a mess.

The strange Mark and parasitic nature of the vaccuous 'Blight' seemed seperate from one another though, seeing as the inkling lines began to quickly fade with the passing seconds, while the dark essence remained. In that case, was the Mark more of a brand? But the Blight seemed to destory any semblence of essence, as suggested by the lack of their soul while they themselves possessed such a thing. So how could a spell like that exist in collation with it? It was one big mystery.

But what was clear from this informal prodding, is that the Blight and the condition of its vessel were not intrinsic. As the death of zombified human did not cause the dark disease to expire outright, appearing to continue to swirl viciously within. It was like a creature trapped within its shell. Was this how their unique revival magic worked, by somehow tapping into this vile thing? That also brought up the question of what will happen if the main blighted nucleus were to be severed from their host. Maybe Ihosha might be on the course onto finding some sort of weakness by which to exploit these ungodly abominations than swinging wildly and hoping to rely on the strength of their weapons.

But it was hard to affirm that claim without proper testing. Maybe if she were more given time to examine the other corpses, she might find conclusive evidence?

Gagging a bit as some of their robes were stained by some of the disgusting fluid, Ihosha ignored how their eyes watered at the stench. Instead, focusing on what laid beyond the physical, their head titlted at the curiosity beneath them. It seemed the Mark had been placed on after these individuals had been Blighted? Hard to be certain, but it definitely didn't seem that the brand was somehow shining through the void that continued to linger within, even after its death.

Yet how were they supposed to draw out this darkness? Nera had mentioned their stigma was supposed to assist in the burden of absorbing the darkness, but it currently seemed quite intent on clinging to the dead corpse. Could it be revived even now? The mark had faded, but there was nothing that hinted it could not be replaced if a lantern bearer had some time to work on the battered corpse. The commotion drew even closer and Ihosha spared a glance at one of others... Ezain who'd returned. Clicking their tongue at the thought of giving another mark-bearer to the mad and lost coming for them, they turned their attention towards the corpse again.

Only moments left before they had to run. Better make them count. Breathing deeply and filling their lungs with the sickly scent of decay and rot, the silvered staff faded from existence and left only an entry wound into the corpse's torso. The third eye burned with power as they searched for even the faintest strand with which to grasp and tear the darkness from its place within the corpse.

Spotting the central place where most of the darkness collected, they reached down. When their hand pushed into the fleshy chasm, something stirred slightly, and writhed as she pulled forth a black-gushed root of sorts. And she would notice soon after, the body she extracted the Blight would begin to rot and decay rapidly, becoming nothing but a pile of mush and metal pieces. With this, it might be safe to assume that doing so to a 'living' speciment would yield a similar result.

What was left is the thing in her hands. The nasty little core was covered in grassy fur that shivered in the air and smaller veins that seemed to... try and bore into their skin. But with its attempts to try and consume her, were stopped by the Stigma Nera insrcibed in their very beings. The foul things attempts were met with tiny zaps and sparks, but it continued on regardless, mindlessly trying to reach its new host. However, something strange happened. Her third eye started spinning upon realizing the contact with the thing, glowing bright as gurgling voice filling her head. Closing shut and dripping with blood again, the root then managed to bypass the warding magic and sink deep into her flesh.

It felt painful as it merged with her flesh, but the root did not stray any further. As though scared of something deep within Ihosha. Somehow, she felt she can control the thing. But how and to what extent, she had no idea. That also begged the question of whether it can do the same in return, given enough mass. A troubling notion indeed.

Stumbling in surprise as their foot sank into the pile of rotten matter, Ihosha stared at the writhing mass of darkness they now held. While it had destroyed the body with startling effectiveness, the act of tearing the Blight free was probably even more difficult than beating them down with brute force. Squeezing the root within their hand, the light show of sparks only intensified as it seemed to redouble its efforts to try and burrow into their skin. Did it somehow fear dea-

Hunching over as pain flared in their forehead again, a purplish light bathed over the writhing darkness as their third eye stared at it with interest and... hunger? Going still under the scrutiny of the alien eye, a few drops of blood that splattered onto it seemed to stir it back into a frenzy and this time it sank beneath their skin with startling ease. Clutching their hand with a choked gasp of pain, Ihosha stared as the bulging mass wormed its way up the forearm before finally stopping, sliding backwards, and then settling.

Curious and concerning. Would it be able to draw the Blight from within others to itself? It was not a possibility they wished to test before they had strengthened themselves further. Allowing their robe to fall down and fully cover the Blighted arm, Ihosha called their staff to their other hand and planted it against the floor even as another salvo of gunshots rocked the chamber. Clicking their tongue again, it felt like such a waste to simply allow Ezain to sacrifice himself, and the feeling was... stronger this time? "Focus," they murmured before shaking their head to clear away such thoughts.

"Careful!" Calling out to the two that had gone ahead, Ihosha hurried after them as well. "Something already gave chase after Dwyn!"

[Lasrever]

Dwyn

Roused from her despair by the ear-piercing shriek, Dwyn retreated a few steps as the monstrosity rose, watching its convulsions with a mixture of disgust and concern. The terror was still there, but it was so constant that she'd almost grown used to the pounding of her heart and the anticipation of death in every shadow. Of course the display was sickening - the accompanying wail from the strange man only serving to increase her suspicions further.

But she felt numb as she blinked the dust out of her eyes, as distant as if this were all happening to somebody else. She'd passed the point of fear, straight into denial. A pathetic, easily-broken shell the only thing keeping her from screaming for herself. But what would it help? What would any of it help?

It was fairly monstrous, the sheer agony that the thing suffered in what she assumed were its final moments. Gods only knew what horrific magic was running through that creation, but she could do nothing but hope she'd ended its pain somehow. That the black ritual was the only thing giving it any sort of life, and it now laid in blissful sleep. A pretty idea, and one that brought with it a flash of longing. What was it keeping her from falling onto her own blade?

With a moment's thought, Dwyn came to a simple conclusion. That there was no profound reason - she just didn't want to die.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she could have sworn she heard a voice cursing her, and another raised in thanks. As if she didn't have enough on her mind, she gritted her teeth. "Shut up. Both of you." Her words were short and clipped, grimacing in equal parts fear and frustration as she realised she was addressing no-one but herself.

What a sorry little madwoman she was becoming. Though there was comfort to be found in being a little less than sane. Better to bend than to be broken, better to flee than to fight. To cast aside pride and victory, in favour of fulfilling your duty. Though she had never been strong enough to keep to her duties before her own survival, perhaps breathing for another day could count as a mission of its own. There were worse reasons to keep moving, were there not?

He was still there, and she stepped back, nodding at his frustration. "Of course. My curiosity is--" a quick look back at the splattered guts and scattered scriptures, "More than satisfied." But there was no time to dedicate to apologies. If her suspicions about their survival - or lack thereof - were correct, then it was the least she could do to make the most of whatever time her allies had bought.

With that in mind, she made her way over to the rope, finally climbing to try and reach the hooded man's position as quickly as she could.

[Eklispe]

Solomon

!@#$, Solomon staggered back from the corpse clutching his wound with his free hand. Didn't that stupid thing know you were supposed to fight like you wanted to live? He hadn't thought it would be so spiteful as to give up its own life to give him a wound. Solomon glared at the body, resisting the urge to pulverize it with an arrow. Sinners wearing sheep skin? A cryptic sentence that didn't mean anything, Solomon dismissed it. Ihosha was using that eye of hers and prodding at the bodies, but there was hardly a chance to pay much attention to that as suddenly Ezain emerged from the southern tunnel telling them to flee as he stayed behind, proclaiming himself already dead. He looked the part.

Isabella immediately told them to head down the east passage, although given Isabella's decision making had nearly killed herself and several other people at least twice in the last five minutes... Not that anyone else's track record was looking much better. Another surge of pain. His wound was blackened now, a sign of disease or infection, not that it was surprising given who he'd received it from. Still, nothing he could do about it now. Solomon stumbled into motion to follow the group towards the passage they were all heading down to avoid whatever else was chasing them. His bow pulled down on him as much as ever in addition to the wound in his side but he could at least run with it. Though it was more of an unstable jog to be honest.

[ERode]

Too many fumbles. Too many unexpected occurrences. Too much strength expended on weapons that were too great for them to handle. After being dragged backwards by that pillar like a dog on a chain, Aiv had no recourse but to return to the writhing sin-weapon while the combined might of the anchorman and Ihosha pulverized the beast into oblivion. Hefting the pillar over his shoulders, he approached the corpse of handcannon-wielder, pillaging what he could from the monster. They were all too weak, their weapons demanding more out of them than they had. The unnamed one had the right idea, really, and now, they had another weapon that helped them out. It was weighty in his palm, but not nearly as much of a burden as his pillar. Turning it around in his palm, Aiv was about to test it out in the moment of silence they had when the staircase exploded once more, fiery rounds causing him to drop low, using his pillar as a shield against the oncoming threat.

There was no threat, not immediately. Only an Ezain that had no hope of living when they had no certain access to medical supplies. Even Solomon had been gored by a foe, and it was increasingly clear to the white-haired warrior that though Nera had wished them to slay her corrupted worshippers, she had, cut off from reality, not realized just how perilous and difficult such a task was.

Or perhaps she did, and cared only for the ones that survived such an ordeal, not those who perished in the face of it.

Nevertheless, with others retreating down the Eastern passage, Aiv had no choice but to follow, pulling up the rear as Solomon plunged into the darkness. With one hand occupied by the hand cannon and various other trinkets pillaged from that corpse, and another hand holding the pillar that almost seemed to be thrashing now, Aiv pressed it against the wall to serve as some sort of guide through the dimness. His bare feet hammered against the stone floor, his side and back both throbbed from the pain of various minor injuries, but he had to press on regardless.

They had to press on regardless.

[Crabs]

(Collab with @Rune_Alchemist)

"Take the lead." She spoke to the shield bearer. "Whatever I did took its toll. I'll help if I can, but our priority should be finding some place where we can rest safely for a bit and consider our options. Keep a quick pace, but don't run head first into the mouth of some beast. I'll keep up, don't worry. I've...had worse."

Ruby glanced back at Isabella, raising an eyebrow at the last statement. She looked back ahead, though, deciding to let that rest for now. The past was a terrible, cruel thing. Besides, there were more pressing matters at hands, and getting out alive was all that really mattered right now.

“Tell me if I’m going too fast, by the way.” With that, Ruby pulled up her shield off the floor, bracing both arms to keep the beast of a weapon in the air. She started slow, but as she got used to the weight of the weapon, she increased to a very brisk walk.

Isabella kept pace with Ruby easily enough, though her weary body protested moving at a fast pace. For the most part, she ignored the others. In her mind, they had already been filed under various levels of useless. At least this one seemed tolerable, though. She had dragged her out of the collapsing hallway, so that was worth giving this new wisp a chance.

“I am fine.” Isabella replied once again. This was a pace she could keep up with. The feeling of something crawling on her leg registered in her mind again, and she frowned. Well, that was definitely not just some random piece of rubble or something. It was…crawling up her leg? Isabella shifted slightly, reaching into her robes with her free hand and moving around for a moment.

She did not expect what crawled out either. A centipede of all things.

“…huh.” The redhead seemed mildly surprised, but not all to disturbed by the creatures’ presence. If anything, a slight smile formed on her lips as she turned her head back to Ruby. The long, slightly larger than average bug crawled up her arm, towards her neck before disappearing back beneath her robes. Well then. Given the very, very, brief lull in combat perhaps some conversing was necessary. “So, what’s your name?”

Ruby closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. Isabella probably wouldn’t be able to see it from her angle, but the ruby in her chest flashed between six different colors at once, slowly rotating between them. “Well, uh…” It’s really not complicated. “it’s a little bit complicated.” Ruby pushed her lips to the side of her face, continuing the pace while thinking about it. “Nera calls me Ruby, so I just took on that name. But honestly, I don’t remember. What about you, though? Do you remember?” Ruby glanced back at Isabella, then back to the shield and danger in front of them.

Isabella watched Ruby passively, seemingly studying her as she replied. Didn’t remember her name? Unfortunate. She at least had the ability and good fortune to remember her own name, even if nothing else concrete was remembered. “Isabella…I remember that much, at least.” The redhead replied simply. “Nothing else concrete…aside from a few names and places with no meaning at the moment.” Her eyes drifted towards the ground, her hand drifting over to the wound she had received from that creature and frowning in displeasure. She probably shouldn’t ask this, but she felt as though having another opinion might help clear her own thoughts. “Opinions on the others?”

“The others…?” Ruby said, glancing to make sure their destination was still clear. “I’ve only met you, though, some of them are pretty good looking, I must say! Honestly, I haven’t known anyone except Nera long enough to form a good, solid feeling… Speaking of which, what do you think about Nera?” Ruby glanced around, making a cursory note of where all of the current enemies were.

Hm. To be expected, she supposed. She hadn’t seen the other girl around, so she probably hadn’t seen the earlier…actions of a certain one of them. Good looking, though? The redhead had to question exactly what was attractive about any of them, but the thought vanished. When questioned about Nera, Isabella slowed her pace slightly. What did she think of the so-called Goddess? Isabella hadn’t given her much thought since they had awoken here in this ruin. “…I don’t trust her.” Isabella replied coolly. “She’s given us this…seemingly impossible task and we are so very ill equipped to deal with it. Doesn’t help that our allies seem to be battle hungry fools…but perhaps it’s because I’m ill-suited for such combat. I prefer books.” She commented quietly. “Just a feeling I get, at least.”

“Books, huh?” Ruby smiled. “I lose my focus around books, personally. I am one of those battle hungry fools, after all. It brings me joy. Other than that, though, I find it hard to not jump into every fight I see. That’s just who I was, I guess… Who I am now, I guess. Being alive is weird. Maybe it’s normal. It’s been a long time.. Or has it? We can talk about it later, probably.” Ruby shook her head, walking a little bit faster. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of being exploded by these handcannons. Ruby glanced at the eastern wing again, she and Isabella were making good progress. They were the majority of the way there.

“There is a difference between enjoying combat and actively seeking it and heading into a dangerous situation unprepared with little information to work with. That entire conflict could have been avoided, and being the fool I was decided to try and get everyone out alive. Should have just left with that Dwyn girl and left those fools to rot.” That was all she had to say on the matter, though. Not exactly a sparkling attitude to have, she supposed, but she wasn’t going to be changing her mind. Isabella fell silent after that, seemingly content with not discussing her opinion any further. Wasn’t like Ruby was going to be changing it easily, or at all in their current situation. “I doubt I could convince you to simply help me find an exit to this place and leave these fools behind? I have no desire to die again. It was painful enough the first time.”

Now Ruby was brimming with questions. Those could wait, though. “Well, we could exit…” Ruby looked behind her at the crumbling staircase as bullets ricocheted off of it every once in a while, exploding brilliantly in the dim room. “...if the only nearby staircase wasn’t impossible to climb.” The first time, huh… so she remembers that much? I’m not sure if she’s lucky or not… “Let’s go down the only safe path for now; you don’t need to convince me. I’ll get you out of here safely, with or without the fools. I promise.” In the next few seconds, there were at the threshold to the eastern hallway. Faint moaning and loud conversation echoed out from within. Ruby pressed her back to the wall just outside the entrance, lowering her shield in front of her. “After you, I suppose… I’ll stay out here and help anyone who needs it, I think. I’m not really certain. That, however, is something you could convince me about.”

Isabella simply frowned lightly. Were those stairs the exit? That made things difficult if they were…but there was surely some other way out of this ruin. “The one with the giant anchor? He woke these unfortunate blighted souls when they were asleep when we could have likely walked right on through without so much as a scratch.” That was all Isabella had to say before making her way into the eastern hallway, thankful for the cover of darkness. She held her blade at the ready, but kept moving at a reasonable pace.

Maybe if she was swift and silent enough, she could lose the others and find her way out of this mess.

[RyuShura]

@Everyone...

Ezain looked on as his former companions made their flight towards the Eastern front, standing firm as showers of sparks and stone sprayed all around him. The stairway acted as a shield to those passing between, and so they would be safe from collateral so long as it remained. He almost seemed relieved as he felt himself stand alone, but his suddenly expression gripped tight. He felt a piece of the large shells enter his body. His whole left half was blown away now. He stood there, clearly still alive despite being past the point of death. Perhaps because of the power bestowed upon him. Upon them all. He took only one breath before glimmering, calling upon said power. The pale tendrils leaking from his broken form seeped back into him and his black tattoo, his destined stigma went bright. There was no more time for sentiments. Letting out a deep growl, the horned man charged towards the marauding soldiers in a flash of light. For a moment, he appeared like a star. A blazing trail was left behind in his wake, Ezain enduring more bullets as they tore into his glowing form into pieces. The tunnel was engulfed in a wave of brilliant essence, with him at the helm. When the two fires collided, for a moment, the temple shone without darkness. It lasted only for a moment, one that lingered at the fringes of a what can be considered a second. This light of life.

But it would not last.

As the light faded, left with only a dying flame that lingered at the entrance, all those who survived would feel a deep sting. It was a pain both fleeting and heavy. Almost as if they lost a piece of themselves that they never knew existed.

Whether you mourned the loss or not, you needed to continue on. This sacrifice cannot be wasted. While his entry came and went early on, your fated end laid elsewhere along this journey. Continuing down the Eastern way, whether in the aid of each others arms or by your strength alone, the road down was as you might've expected. The tunnel was narrow and overly lengthy, and for a long while all that guided you in the darkness was the backdrop of fading light from behind. There was time for a short exchange before you would come to meet something strange.

There was a glimmer at the very end. Was this life, of Dwyn, as one of you pointed out earlier? Though after what you heard, it might be only a remnant.

But there was no time for questions of hesitation on the matter. The temple seemed to be fully awake by now, a trashing beast that cannot be laid to rest until its invaders are caught. The faint tremors you might've felt earlier now shook with a noticeable magnitude as moans echoed from behind you. A clamor of voices and barks, and other disturbing sounds came from the central chamber, following the great explosion that occurred there. There must've been dozens, no, hundreds of beings pouring forth, their hellish pursuit shaking the very foundations of the ancient structure. And among all of this, a strange scream can be heard from deep, deep below. Was that what Nera spoke of, the thing she wished for you to lay rest? Or was it just another beast that this maddened cult had conjured. Without any clear answer, all you can do is move on. Due to the pale flames that lingered behind after Ezain's sacrifice, the horde seemed to be deterred from this path for a while. Splashing the murky water seemed to do little, as the magical flame intended to stay its full duration.

Thus, the party was spared from pushing themselves in order to maintain the gap from their pursuers.

As you near the end, the disheveled study in sight, the light from above suddenly flicked off. The party was left in near-pitch darkness now. Not to mention the strong scent that leaked forth from this room. Calling it 'putrid' seemed barely sufficient a description.

@Lasrever...

Hider

When Dwyn started up way up the dangling coil, the hooded man was cursing to himself. It seemed the upheaval of the temple's guardians had set him on edge already, but the ungodly scream set him beyond the boundaries of comfort. He was constantly poking his head back and forth, as though some monster would jump out of the shadows at any minute.

"How long are you gonna take? Eh? They'll be one us any minute!" he called, letting out whimper when the temple let out another grown around him.

It seemed what kept her was not her lack of strength, but multitude of things that only made obvious now. The distance to the ramparts was also a huge factor to consider, spanning multiple stories upwards. The black weapon itself also acted to slow her down. Its weight proved unruly in the endeavor. It seemed to grow heavier in this short time, somehow. While she managed not to cling on and not fall, it went from feeling like she was lugging around a child all the time, to now feeling like whole grown person was riding on her back.

"Ah! Rats... crawling out now and here, and everywhere! Shoulda not said a peep. Not a damn peep! Let 'em wander into the dogs! Then I wouldn't be in this ruckus!" he shriveled, "No, no... I can't do that. Remember? I needed one more... one more to..."

Just as Dwny reached the halfway point, the hooded man suddenly went quiet. Footsteps can be heard, along with distance voices in the entrance below. Whipping back, he lashed out at the lantern in an instant. It flashed out and left the whole study in smoldering darkness. The small man then disappeared into the stone covers, leaving Dwyn dangling on the rope alone. It remained there, so he must've intend for her to continue. But his absence proved alarming. What could he be thinking, doing up there? He proved unstable as it was, so whatever it must be can't possibly be sound in reason.

A soft snicker suddenly alerted her to a shadow looming further down the ramparts. It lingered far above the entrance.

"Keep climbin'! C'mon!" he said in a whisper, seeming to be working on some contraption, "I won't let 'em 'ave you partner...! Haha... no, no, let's give 'em a taste of their own medicine..."

...

[Lasrever]

Dwyn

And so, this climb was added to the absurdly long list of 'things Dwyn had had enough of'. It hadn't seemed so high when she'd started, but the weight pulling her down - physical and emotional - did nothing but grow as she made her way upwards. She could feel her muscles burning from exhaustion, panting heavily as she paused in her ascent. Looking down, it appeared that she was halfway to the top, or near enough it for the description to be fitting. And yet she had a sinking feeling that this next part would be just as, if not more, difficult when compared to her climb so far.

The stranger's criticisms were met with a frustrated groan as she pulled herself up further. "I'm trying--" A pause to focus on maintaining her grip. How in the name of the gods was she expected to get up there so quickly? Flight? "Weapon's - ugh - heavier than it looks." A quick glance towards the movement, while the distraction didn't help her feel any more secure, showed her that he was working on something or other.

His murmurings weren't getting much less anxiety-inducing either. One more? One more what? Her, clearly. For there was no-one else here that he hadn't left to the wolves. Dwyn didn't know what fresh horror awaited her, but she was becoming increasingly certain of its existence. She could only hope that she'd have enough strength to fight once her climb was over.

If she made it up without falling, breaking both legs, and lying as fresh ritual-fuel at the mercy of what were no doubt more monstrous priests, perhaps she'd be able to figure out what he was doing. Though from his muttering, it seemed the effects of his actions could be seen sooner rather than later - at least where the contraption he currently worked on was concerned. Part of her wondered if that was a good thing, considering his obvious paranoia and instability.

Though he wasn't the one who'd just heard voices in his head, as far as she knew. Perhaps it had simply been the final thoughts of a trapped, tortured soul which rang through her mind. Perhaps it was simply a case of the blind leading the blind. The mad leading the mad, rather.

Still, certain as she was of her companions' demise, Dwyn couldn't help a small smile at the thought of these priests reaping what they'd sown. If only because they'd doomed her to a quest of isolation and inevitable lonely, horrifying death. Whatever this stranger had in store for her, it seemed he might well need her alive to do it - and even if it involved her eventual death, it seemed unlikely that there was much more than that in store for the deserter regardless. A lone wanderer in a blighted hellscape.

Little more than a scared, self-deceiving little girl. Despite her best efforts to remain silent, cries of exertion punctuated her movements as she continued to climb, the sweat on her palms making it even harder to maintain any sort of grip. If she were to reach the top, she hoped she'd be able to brandish her weapon for self-defence at the very least - but she suspected she wouldn't be able to do much but lie there until she regained her breath.

For now, she gritted her teeth and kept going despite her body's protests.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Isabella~

---

After the brief conversation with Ruby, Isabella continued onward. She ignored the fleeting pain - comrades who died did so willingly, knowing they would likely fall. Ezain knew this, and so did the others. To mourn them in such a situation as this would be disrespectful. Even so, the darkness of the tunnel felt comforting to Isabella. An easy place to hide, to move in silence and easily take out foes. The only thing she needed to know was the glimmer towards the end - like a star in the night. She didn't know what it was and she didn't speculate. She'd see it with her own eyes once she got there.

Ignoring the others who she had deemed completely useless, she continued walking eventually reaching the disheveled study. There were clear signs of someone else being here very recently, if the light flickering off was anything to go by. Dwynn or something or someone else? Isabella frowned. Well then, where had she gone? The near pitch darkness and putrid scent wasn't helping - though it could also be used as a definite cover if she was creative and none of the other fools decided to do anything, well, stupid. At least she was the first one here so she could finish her business before they did.

The only problem now was how to keep moving. Isabella grasped the blade in her hands tightly, taking a brief look around the near-pitch darkness as the entire walls shook and rattled with whatever beast they had awakened. There had been a light from above...so perhaps there was a place above, they could reach? Careful, slow steps carried Isabella towards the direction where the light had been, stumbling over a few loose items and making sure to walk slowly to avoid running into anything. It was too dark to attempt studying the room, even though it likely had something of value. She'd need to remember to return later when things had died down and she could work without her so called allies messing everything up. So for now, she listened as best she could so she wouldn't run into any surprises.

As soon as she'd reach the wall from where the light had been, she'd reach out and touch it, feeling the wall for something and seeing how sturdy it was. Working in pitch darkness was difficult, but as long as one didn't let the darkness get to them it wasn't all bad. She felt more at home in such a situation anyways, for whatever reason. The light had come from above them, had it not? So, there was something up there. Well, there might not be - but there was only one way to find out.

Time to test if this thing could actually be useful in a way she liked. She took ten steps away from the wall before turning her head upwards, and readied her blade. With a casual swing, she swung the heavy blade from over her shoulder. Instead of trying to collapse the entire ceiling this time, she'd instead hopefully use just enough strength to embed itself in a wall like it had done with the first swing she made earlier - effectively using it as a sort of grappling hook. If the way this blade seemed to work was indeed correct, then it should be able to pull her up as long as she wasn't attempting to resist it.

If there was an area up there - or at least a wall she could At least use it to both get a quick way up - as well as potentially get a jump on whatever was up there.

[Eklispe]

Solomon

Ow. Ow. Ow. Every step was punctuated by a stab of pain in Solomon's side as the group moved along, protected by Ezain's sacrifice. Solomon felt a pang of regret. He felt if things had gone just a little differently Ezain wouldn't have had to die. They could've handled things better. Of course how were they to know the full extent of the danger they were going into. They hadn't been warned there would be hordes of lunatics down here waiting to kill them. They retreated in the light of Ezain's death to find themselves heading towards another light. Of course one might say the more pressing concern was the ravenous horde making noises of every kind behind them, seemingly wanting to chase them but prevented from doing so. Luckily for them, from the sounds of it... they wouldn't live for very long if that group found them. At least that was the best case scenario.

Suddenly the light they were heading towards flickered out. From the sounds of it someone was trying something in the dark. Solomon stood still so as to not interfere with whatever they were doing and spoke up, though he tried to keep his voice low, "Hey hey hey, what're you trying to do?" Wasn't sure who 'who' was, but if it was Isabella it probably involved swinging her sword at something, which given the last few times she'd done that, could end very poorly.