Gradual Massacre by Gl1tch

[$$$man]

You realize the bones would have to be thinner than paper?

i said under not inside they could have perfectly shaped lets just get on with it.

[Purity_Riot]

   Hours later, Sanctus awoke, shedding his skin of rock. He shook himself off, feeling the need for food hit him. Sitting down in the cave floor, he reached into his pack and produced a hard crust slice of bread, eating it quickly. He stood to leave the cave, taking a long swig from his waterskin. As he drank, he heard a loud commotion coming from outside of the cave.
Zanz! How did they find me? He groaned. He just wanted to get out of this damned place. Filthy necromancers wouldn't let him have his peace. Shifting back onto the ethereal plane, Sanctus remodeled his body, becoming a falcon. Testing out his new wings, he flew three times around the inside cave, building up speed. Once he was confident that he could fly with ease, he dove toward the ground. In a dive, falcons are the fastest of all birds, reaching speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. Darkness soon engulfed him as he passed through the obsidian, his body completely underground. He travelled until he had reached terminal velocity, fearing that he'd have to pull up soon, when suddenly he broke free of the obsidian. Five hundred feet below the ground, his enhanced eyes caught sight of a wondrous ruin. He pulled up, leveling out with the ground until he slowed to a walking speed, then stopped, shifting back to his humanoid form. With no light in the caves, he unfurled his ears, adapting his body to mimic a bats, allowing him to 'see' via echolocation. He was within a building, relatively large, about the size of a villa.
This city must have been covered by the volcanic eruption... Time to do some exploring. He strode out through the wall, entering blackness once again.

[$$$man]

Whos gonna do something now. Xoned come on man.

[Purity_Riot]

Wait what? A) never left the cave
B) was a falcon
C) you saw something that small fall
D) Every other time I changed, all of my gear changed with me, why wouldn't they this time?

[$$$man]

Wait what? A) never left the cave
B) was a falcon
C) you saw something that small fall
D) Every other time I changed, all of my gear changed with me, why wouldn't they this time?

changed entire thing delete this post

[Helios]

Your exit shall be clearly indicated to you, once you have accomplished the task which proves your merit. Continue upon this path, and at its end, you shall arrive at a Shrine of Elbereth. Bring this crystal with you, for it is imbued with holy properties, and kneel before the Goddess in supplication. This is a trial of humility; prove to her that you possess that virtue, and she shall assist you.

Always bearing in mind the words of his brother, Arcterael continued upon the marble path, until he perceived from afar a source of white light, shining faintly ahead. Proceeding at an accelerated pace, he began to walk at faster rates until he finally arrived before his destination: a humble small shrine with a circular dome, modestly ornamented but emitting a comforting light in this setting of darkness.

Entering, he set himself down upon one knee before the altar, and hands joined in prayer, murmured, "A faithful and humble servant of the Light beseeches your aid in time of need, Elbereth the Fair. Hear my plea, and restore me with thy holy Light, and deliver me from this Darkness, so that I may continue to serve you and the world itself by destroying a great evil. Elbereth, hear my plea!"

As if in response, after a moment's pause, he perceived that his settings were suddenly changing and transforming into nothingness, and then before him in this plane of immaterial existence, a set of marble stairs began to slowly form and to materialise, one stretch building upon the previous, until it became a majestic flight which seemed to lead into the heavens.

Climbing, and climbing until he attained the summit at last, he reached the door at the end. Pushing it open, he stepped forward...into the material realm again. And then, Arcterael knew that he had awakened.

[Essence]

The door behind Angus opened, and he braced himself for a fight.  In walked...


Big Bob.


"Hey, Angus, did you die, too?" Bob said.  "I've been in here for eighteen freaking MONTHS and they haven't processed my paperwork yet.  I'm so bored that I've been sneaking into the Employees Only section TRYING to get killed.  I saw Rupert leading you around, and I snuck in behind you.  What are the chances, yeah?"

"Uh...no, dude...I didn't die."  Angus blinked.  "Rupert...brought me here.  I guess."

Silently, the pool behind Angus opened into it's portal form, not following Jennifer as she began reviving some other fallen warriors and leading them away.  Rupert subtly shifted around to Bob's side, facing Angus.

"Hey, that's cool, man.  I'm glad you're still alive...that means that I have a chance."

"A chance at what?" Angus was confused.

"A chance to take your soul!"  Bob lunged at Angus, hands suddenly fading into black, wispy incorporeality.  Angus thrust his autocannon into Bob's face and pulled the trigger.  The noise was deafening.  So much for stealth...time to raise Hell!  Erm...or something.

Big Bob didn't seem all that fazed by his sudden lack of head.  "SOUL!"  Big Bob lunged again, but this time, Rupert was ready.  The canine leapt into Bob's back, throwing off his balance and sending Bob careening into Angus.

Angus flailed, stumbled, and fell right into the open portal.  Rupert gnashed at Bob's neck stump, looked meaningfully at Angus, and willed the gate closed.  Abruptly, Angus was again alone.

He thought.


Moments later, a chill chuckle made Angus bolt to his feet and bring his twin autocannons to bear, lowering his faceplace with a snap of his head.  He turned and saw himself looking at a fat, black-clad man with big ears and white sideburns to set off his balding grey head.

"Who the fuck are you?" Angus barked.

"I?  I, dear Angus, am the Emperor.  I am the one who brought you here to amuse me."

Angus slowly nodded and lowered his weapons.  "So...I've already been possessed by someone that called themselves a snake.  I guess being a minion is on my resume."  This is my one chance.  "How can I make the game a little more entertaining for you, Your Highness?"

The Emperor faced Angus, thought carefully, and answered him.

Gl1tch, ball's in your court as far as Angus goes.

[Glitch]

"You can't" he said with a sigh.  "Do you know what I am?  I am an Imp, a being not confined to one path of free will.  As I can move between parallel paths, I can go anywhere I want.  At first," he sighed again, "I tried conquering the world.  But after I had conquered infinite universes, been defeated by infinite universes, faced infinite rebellions, of which, infinite succeeded and infinite failed, I gave up!  And then we went on a quest for the most entertaining universe, but after an infinite amount of time there, even it got boring.  So you see, you don't NEED to be entertaining.  There's an infinite amount of you right now, and I can look at any of them I want to."
"So.... what the fuck man!?" said Angus.
"Why do I do this?" said the Emperor, "I'm desperately looking for someone who can kill me.  It's a futile effort, I know, as there's an infinite amount of universes where I'm still alive and any one of them could replenish my life, but still... sometimes I dream.  Do you want to go home?" asked the Emperor.
"Wha... yea?"
"I'll see if I can arrange it," he said, "you're number infinity on the list."
"How do you live with yourself?" Angus asked, thinking about the horrible possibility of being an Imp.
"I don't" he said, "I've learned to turn my mind off.  Now if you'll excuse me, I've got the most delicious food in the universe to eat... again.  Good luck with this" he said gesturing to the situation the troll was in.  "Maybe you'll survive.  Well, maybe THIS you will survive.  Goodbye."
And with that, the Emperor disappeared, becoming one of the infinite number of other hims somewhere else.

[Purity_Riot]

   Sanctus soon exited the thick layers of black obsidian once more, this time in a much larger chamber. The room was silent, save for his high pitched whistle every few moments, mapping the room.
It's some sort of temple.... is that...? Behind the alter, a huge statue stood tall. It was a replica of thousands of imps, each one of them surrounding a portal, doing several different actions. Some were dead, some being born. It seemed to explain countless events that may have happened to a single Imp, possibly more than any one man could do in a single lifetime. There was an inscription along the base of the statue, but it couldn't be read in the dark. He quickly became material once again, sprouting two bio-luminescent horns allowing him to read the inscription. Sanctus finished reading, and sat back on the pedestal silently, reflecting on the gravity of this statement.
   Some time later he stood up, his course decided. He was in an ancient imp temple, devoted to someone they called 'The Master'. It was more than just a temple though. It was a museum. It contained the history and legends of the imps. Apparently, they existed as potential, not as physical. They were agents of the fifth dimension. They were every choice ever made over time.
How can we defeat something like that? Sanctus was at a loss of words. He needed help. He hated to admit it, but to save his timeline, he would need more than one lone assassin. He spread his wings, launched himself into the air, and decided from this point on, he wouldn't make decisions. Whatever happened to him, he'd let happen. This was the last tangent he was going to be the creator of.
   He sprang from the ground, in front of the group he had left behind. Unfortunately, being an assassin hadn't left him much time to make friends. He harrumphed, then tossed down the cubes, which expanded to the size of the weapons within them.
"We've got alot to do, and not much time to explain why."

[$$$man]

Reserve

[$$$man]

They sat around waiting for that horrid gargoyle to come out. "where is he" Jennifer said, she had gotten off the dragon hours ago.  He sprang from the ground, in front of the group he had left behind. He harrumphed, then tossed down the cubes, which expanded to the size of the weapons within them. "We've got alot to do, and not much time to explain why."

"My bow" Jennifer screamed, diving for her weapon. "Ughh get this off" she said hurling the Grim Cestean towards Xerolance"


"Alright what do you want" Xerolance said, catching his blade "and why should we help you" Zeph stated, "and why should we not kill you right now" Jennifer finished, arming her bow.


Sorry purity i would add more but i don't know where you want to go with this

[Purity_Riot]

   Sanctus sighed, shaking his head. This was going to be hard.
"Because. I need more than just myself to defeat the imps, and more importantly their Master." He looked down at them, his wings flapping slowly, still on the ethereal plane. He slid a large throwing knife out of the inside of his sleeve, staring down at each of them in turn.
"Though I wouldn't need more than myself to end each of you. I ask your help against an energy greater than I, but do not begin to imagine that I would hesitate to kill you if I find you to be too weak." Sanctus could not help his demeanor, but he knew he needed their help. Gripping the handle tightly, he waited for their response.