I was floating in the void, and Tartarus said "I loathe you. I go to all the trouble of sewing the seeds of my corruption, but your soul is in utter chaos, and the seed cannot work. And in explanation: All of your recent troubles were due to your soul's turmoil. Its dischord blazes out and warps probability."
I responded "Well, it allowed me to be a bigger thorn in your side, so I can work with that." Tartarus was extremely annoyed, and displayed it by saying "Grryarg!" Then its voice leveled, and said "But that is in the past, you are a powerful player in the interdimensional power struggle. I will offer you a deal: Betray those fools from celestia and the nether, become my champion, and gain power beyond your wildest dreams."
I gave the void a look. "I have freedom to do as I wish, and enough power to get out of any trouble I find. If I take your deal, I would be bound to serve you." The Tartarus laughed "A minor price to pay for immor-" I cut it off, saying "I don't wish for immortality. Life and death risks are what make my life worth living. Immortality would dull any interest I would gain from those, and make life depressing. I refuse thee, and banish thee! BEGONE!" As I said begone, a wall of solid force rammed through the void, and ejected Tartarus.
I awoke with a terrible headache. It was still dark out, so I went outside. I felt the shadows staring at me maliciously, but when I looked at the darkest reaches the stares stopped. I walked up to the Dojo, hoping for a familiar backdrop. I got to the dojo at daybreak, and began repairing damage.
I heard the door open, but I decided to not turn and look. I heard Arthur say "You don't seem to like being dead, but anyway, why do you have wings?"
I turned and looked, Arthur was standing at the doorway, and looked unsurprised. I said "Things got complicated. Have you found my replacement yet?" Arthur said "We've had little success. Most either don't want the commute, or can't stand the effort required to survive. No actual fatalities, though."
I nodded "That's good. Any major changes in attendance?" He sighed and said "Dropping slowly. Kids these days think it a waste of time to train a monster, despite its obvious benefits. No patience."
I sighed, "Mind If I came back and reclaimed my old job?" He shrugged, and said sure. I continued repairing the dojo, and eventually a small mob of students walking in, gabbing about something. They froze in place when they saw me working repairs.
Suddenly, a message rammed into my mind "Escape!!!!" I've learned to listen to these mental messages, and leapt out a window. A wraith flashed out of the wall, and tried to touch me. I flapped with my wings, and hurtled out of its reach. It hissed, and raised its hands. An orb of cold appeared, and the wraith threw the orb at me.
I blocked the cold with a jet of azure flame. I also shot a flurry of needles at the wraith, including a good spray in case it tried to dodge. It darted back into the wall, evading the flurry.
I kept my vision moving, darting everywhere, until I saw it shoot at me from the ground. I aimed my hands at it, and just before it got to me, hosed it in the fires of damnation. It screamed, and tried to flee, I didn't let it escape, coating myself it fire and firing swarms of needles of light. It didn't get a chance to stay still, and once I saw an opening...
Nuix jumped up and impaled the wraith's head. We landed, and she said "Bothersome child. Why do I have to serve you!" I asked if it was a statement or a question, and she glared at me.
I saw something, "Look out!" I knocked Nuix out of the way of a giant spike of ice, then blocked it from hitting me with a sword of light. Wraiths were emerging from the mountain, the sky, and everywhere else. Hundreds of ragged spirits, all hissing for my death.
Nuix pulled herself up, saying "#$@&*(&@#&#*( That's a lot of the %$&(@&(@&#$&()#@$s"
Then the army of wraiths charged. I threw up a spherical shield of light, and shot me and Nuix into the air. Nuix crossed her blades and grimly said "Let them come. Two demigods can beat these chumps." I nodded, and shouted "HELLFIRE INFERNO!!!!" I switched the shield into a massive blaze of flame. Nuix cackled maniacally and rammed into a clump of the wraiths. Her dark serpent skeletons flew from her and started attacking the wraiths, to no effect. I entered crusader form, adding a second pair of wings to my actual demon wings.
The wraiths flew at me, throwing bolts of cold. They melted and evaporated upon getting close, and whenever a wraith tried to close to melee, it was burned by my fiery armor. I was batting wraiths away with wings, causing them to dissolve on contact.
Eventually, I unleashed a storm of exorcist's blades. Each one found its mark, and impaled a wraith. the impaled wraiths screamed, and vanished, rolling in on themselves. I landed, and felt rather tired. Nuix stood next to me and said "Why'd you wait so long to use that instant-death attack?"
I held the side of my head and said "Because It gives me one heck of a headache when I do. I think I should take my leave now." I spread my wings and began to glide down the mountain. I managed to land on the roof, and hop down to the front door.
I walked in, and Fox said "Good morning! is everything alright?" I Replied by saying "Bluh, no real damage, but I found out that I really, reeeally don't like wraiths" She started to ask what they were, then thought better of it, and said she hoped they wouldn't be causing any more trouble.
I shrugged "Angelic exorcism. 'Doubt that group'll be coming back." Fox nodded, and said that breakfast was ready. We all sat down, and ate. Fox asked their names, and they answered Red "Tom"
Blue "Dave"
Yellow "Sam"
Green "Jones"
Pink "Tiffany"
Purple "Amber"
It was good to actually know their names, but I finished quickly and said that I had errands to run, letting people know I'm alive, I decided to meet with Peter first, as he would be the most likely to understand my story.
I formed my wings into a cloak, and took a series of secret paths to get to him,(Soulsight is as useful as ever!) I knocked on his door. There was no response, so I decided to let myself in. There was a friggin' lot of weird Occult stuff hanging around. I gave Peter a glance with soulsight, and I felt Tartarus attacking his essence!
I snatched His essence from Tartarus' grasp, and he woke up. I explained "Yeah. Tartarus isn't a pleasant character. But I thought He'd stay down a bit longer. Hrm"
Peter masked a bit of a shock, then said "Well, when you are in the abyss, you can go almost anywhere, and technically you cannot get any lower..." He sighed, then apologised for the bad occult joke. I sighed, and asked how things have been. "Disturbingly normal." was his response. I 'Hrm'ed. Then I glanced around, and saw (With soulsight) Nuix and a small swarm of Wraiths closing fast, and it looked like Nuix was chasing the wraiths.
I felt that it'd be rude for Nuix to interrupt Peter's and my conversation, so I materialized a box of light around the wraiths. Nuix had just finished killing them when I suddenly felt a surge of energy. My muscles tensed up, and a black magic circle inscribed itself on the ground below my feet. In erupted into a column of red and orange light. Chains lashed out from the circle, and bound my arms.
I tried to counter with Crimson light, But My mind went blank. I felt like my body was collapsing in on itself. My wings tensed up, and slammed into the walls of the cylinder. My vision went all orange; next thing I knew I was kneeling in a strange room, seemingly decorated by a mad cultist. I was standing in the center of a pentagram, candles at each point.
There were two other people in the room, both wearing dark cloaks with hoods that covered their faces. One, obviously the older, said "Good, now time comes to make a deal with the demon"
The younger one turned towards me and said "My offer: I will release the binding I have placed on you in exchange fo-" I cut him off by spitting "How about this: You put me back and I don't straight-up kill you where you stand!" He shook his head, so I shot a blast of demonfire at the demonologists. It bounced off the edge of the pentagram.
I then got creative, and rammed through it with ruby light. It cut through like a chaingun through wet paper. I held up the two by their necks, and said "I am not one to be-" I was once again interrupted by the door breaking open. I released the energy and collapsed on the ground, returning my wings to cloak form.
"Stop in the name of the king of Tren!" One of the soldiers shouted. The young demonologist said "NO WAY! SHREFGEN, SLAY THE TRENESE SOLDIERS!" A wingless demon I hadn't noticed before rammed into the column of soldiers, and began to massacre them all.
"Dangit." I muttered, then fired a swarm of angelic needles through the pentagram, and the volley landed in the demonologists, then I called to the demon in infernal: "Hold! Stop your attack!"
The soldiers backed away, and the demon looked confused. I mutilated the pentagram, and approached; "Begone, thine duty is done." I saw with soulsight that there were chains on his spirit, which I sundered. The demon nodded, and vanished in a poof of fire.
"Wh-what just happened?" one of the soldiers asked, then some of them pointed swords at me. I shot them a one-eyed glare, and said "Well. That could have gone better." I gestured at some of the corpses. One of the soldiers at the back asked "Are you a demon?"
I said "No. Demon hunter. These bastard managed to get the jump on me and knock me out before I could counterattack." They grumbled amongst themselves, then decided to get out.
I began to walk into a maze of tunnels. I felt my power had fractured further from the summoning, so I should act with more caution than I was used to. I felt the air open up next to me and Nuix stepped out.
She said "You're an idiot, you know that right?" I waved my hand at her and said "Save it. We've got a whole new world to explore." I bashed open a door, and found a room full of men and women hanging from manacles, one of the people hanging from the manacles was trying to pick the lock on his manacles.
"Uy. I know what I must do." I muttered to myself as the lock-picker stiffened as I walked in. I shot bolts of fire onto the manacles, melting them. The hanging people fell to the ground, and Nuix asked me what I was going to do with all of them. I grinned maliciously, and said "Sic them on the soldiers."
I called to the prisoners, and said "Now you're free-er, To get out, take the first left, then the third right." One of the prisoners slinked over to me, and said "Thanks, child" then she looked at me again and then lunged at me, a dagger forming in her hand. I leaned way back to dodge, and Nuix stabbed her from the side.
She hissed, and dissolved into a black mist, revealing an imp. I grabbed it by the neck and said "Tsk. The majority of my mind is telling me to kill you on the spot. But frankly, I think we can work out a deal." It made a choking sound which I assumed meant "What is it?"
I continued "You open a gate to a location of my choosing, and I let you go. any funny business, and, well, you know the consequences of breaking a deal." He nodded, and a glowing hole opened up in the air. I recognised it as my basement, so I released the imp and stepped through.
Fox was walking down into my basement, and I sighed that imps were getting more annoying. She asked if anything interesting had happened. I gave a very brief summary, then began to prepare for my meet with Anna. I didn't tell Fox or Awes where I was going or who I was meeting, and as they were pretty overt about following me, I told Nuix to come along, then sprinted to Anna's mansion.
I knocked on the front door, and Anna opened it lazily, and when she saw me, she grabbed a grenade, and I began to explain why I hadn't contacted her for nine months(While she was attacking and I was blocking with my heavy shield. Eventually I sensed the trio comming close, so I suggested that we go inside for tea.
She shrugged, and said sure. we went inside, and went up to one of her living rooms. She ordered a servant to brew some tea. An alarm went off, and then a screen popped from the floor, and showed us the front hallway. the door had just been blown down by Fox and Awes, who were now advancing like a well-trained unit, with Defca at the door providing support.
After they triggered the flame trap, I asked if she could stop there, as the trio didn't seem to be slowing down, and they weren't actually all that bad as people. Anna asked if she could at least do the cat trap, so I sighed, and said fine.
Small panels opened up along the walls, and fire-breathing cats flooded out. Fox started cooing over them(they hadn't started breathing fire yet) and she nearly got blasted in the face by a gout of flame. The attack had started, but was stopped by Defca hosing down the corridor in water. the cats slunk off, but now anna was mad. She punched a large red button, and two large steel doors sealed off the hallway, and poison gas began to pump in. I told Anna to stop, but she was in too much of an animal-abuse fueled rage to care.
I began to go to break them out, but anna tackle-hugged me. I was knocked over, and nearly slammed my head against the corner of a table, but flared my wings at the last second, accidentally throwing anna back, and pushing me back to my feet.
Anna freaked, and grabbed her claws, looking absolutely frightened. knowing her, I prepared for the worst, then several holes blasted through the floor, and both of us shifted to our normal fighting stances.
Fox and Awes flew through the hole. Fox misjudged the situation, and shouted at us to get over me disappearing and be friends again.
I said, quite possibly, the worst thing I could have said. Fox raged about it, but I sensed a sudden opening of a dimensional portal, and began to count the number of void wraiths that were going to be attacking.
In an attempt to keep the rest of the group out of a fight they would lose, I apologised for the window in advance, then jumped out of it. I ran like the wind for the edge of town, but the wraiths were gaining. I flapped for a burst of speed, and got out of town.
Nuix appeared beside me and said "Can you cause anything other than #(@$ing trouble?" I shook my head. then I shot a flurry or red energy needles into the wraiths, which caused them all to disperse.
and suddenly my vision went black.
I was in a giant magical circle, floating in the void. the magic circle incorporated three large orbs, one of azure fire, one of golden light, and one of ruby energy. Beams of darkness shot in and began to attack the ring of light containing the fire.
I tried to stop them, but I felt my arms and legs were bound. more beams of darkness swooped in, and began to swarm over the orb of light. I yanked at the chains, but they didn't budge.
I tapped into my one stable power source, and lashed at the beams constricting the gold light with red energy. the beams of darkness wove around the red light, but by then the circle around the fire had been broken, and it was raging out of control.
I funneled the red energy all into the light, and it finally began to break through the sealing ball of darkness. the beams of darkness that had been sabotaging the fire turned toward the red energy. I bounced the red energy off of the light, fully linking the two energy pools.
I shot a tendril of the (now bright orange) light to siphon energy from the blaze. I got a larger amount of energy than I was expecting. I finally managed to get them seemingly stabilized when something happened that cut down almost all of the fire, squishing all of it into the light, which forcibly separated the golden light from the red and put all of it into the golden light.
the sudden surge of energy jolted me awake. I was in the dojo, and there was a ring of students standing around me. my head was throbbing, and eventually I looked to see A bashed Arthur and a worried Foxstarr.
Fox asked "Corcon?" I commented that I thought I was, and Arthur nodded, "Good." Fox sighed, and slumped to the ground. I felt a wave of fatigue wash over me, and I commented that I was going to collapse. then I collapsed.