Karliah was astounded by the skies as she rode upon the back of the dragon king. There, above the night clouds, they would be obscured from view, and Ruuta would be able to signal Exodiin at the departure time.

With her standing at the Cyndar gates, prepared to fend off the undead, Karliah gracefully took a fall from the Dragon's back, landing at the top of Cyndar's castle.

There, impaled in the tower, was a bright red spear, glowing, vibrant. With her pendant in hand, she raised it to the sky, and the protective barrier around it dissipated into the eternal moonlight. As the moon shed its light by the call of Baphomatt, she pulled the spear from its resting place, raising it high. Karliah had realized everything that the dragon king said was true, tales of other worlds, much like this one, the existence of gods beyond the gods, and the key to the end, now resting in her possession.

Yet something erupted from under her feet, and she vaulted down from the tower. Karliah found herself in some back alley of Cyndar, and surrounded by demonic forces of appalling design. Yet she knew, that with this spear, none would stand in her way.

"No longer am I the inquisitor Karliah..." She spoke, "I am the second eternal paragon! Eris!"

Her hair turned a vibrant white, and her eyes shed their blue turning a deep crimson, and the spear in her hand shone a deep red light. None would limit her escape.

_________________

Eiryk, at first worried that the waters would overtake him, found himself walking through the halls of the Meridian Palace. Red were the halls as the protection circle would push back the majority of the waters. Yet it was dark, having found that the palace had crumbled and fallen quite a distance from the cove where it initially rested.

Being that he couldn't swim, he had to find a way through the place as quick as possible. The main objective was still clear; Where was the monolith that Demeter had mentioned? What would a monolith of darkness look like?

He found the throne room blocked. All nearby pathways were destroyed.

"Damn, maybe there's another way around through the town?"

He exited the palace and climbed the rocks upwards through the rubble and fallen stones, finding his way into the main town's cove. Yet, as he stepped forth, he found himself under attack! The meridians who once walked the town, those who failed to escape, were reanimated. Not only that, but Eiryk found them cooperating with ARKs!

"So it begins."

Eiryk tore his way, one by one, through each Meridian Guard. Each fell upon his razor sharp claws, and the ARKs would find themselves clashing against Eiryk's arm of darkness. Each one being torn in half. Yet, Eiryk felt his stomach grumble, and his mind growing numb with each body torn apart and slaughtered.

That was when he realized, the flesh of the mortals was rather delicious looking.

Despite being undead themselves, Eiryk bit into the flesh of each Meridian, eating them in their undeath and regaining a portion of his sanity, all the while, he found himself growing more and more powerful as the blood trickled into the darkness of his left arm. As five ARKs closed in on him, aiming their lasers, Eiryk swiped with his arm, encased in shadows, and deflected the lasers aimed at him right back at the technological monsters.

One by one, each threat fell, and his hunger grew to a point where he was eating the dead as he finished off each threat and progressed through the city. At one point, even noticing wanted signs.

Mikkael Altans and Philena Taltanis, both were wanted at one point for treason. Yet, Eiryk had no time to ponder this. Near one clan house, he found the courtyard teeming with soldiers and scholars, the flags were unrecognizable to Eiryk, but he knew that with the sheer number of guards, this had to be the place. Yet even the undead looked to him with wonder, as he strode through the masses wearing the skins of those he had slain. Then, as the last drop of blood trickled into his arm, it morphed his eye.

~~~ Eiryk has fed his Abyssmal Vestment the blood of 50 undead! ~~~
~~~ New Ability: Calm Undead ~~~

He gazed into the eyes of each who looked at him the wrong way, and each lowered their weapons.

"Go now, dismantle the machines that desecrate this ruin!"

Each soldier and scholar, undead as they were, followed his command. He nodded and walked into the clan house, and that was when he saw it, a picture of a family of four. One elderly meridian, a father, a mother, and a young male meridian.

This was his family home. Mikkael's. He had to keep this painting somehow, and so he ordered a nearby undead troop to carry the painting to Selk. By the time he was done here, he would be able to meet the people of Selk and explain. For now, he had a mission still, and he was nearly out of time.

Exploring the place, he found the father's room, and a diary. He didn't understand a lick of the mer tongue, but he could understand the drawings. He went back to the room with the fireplace, and pressed a brick, unlocking a hidden passage. There, the dead lay. Yet they looked to have suffered worse wounds than that of the undead.

Eiryk found himself in the palace once again, this time, in the throne room. There, he saw a large hole leading down into what was the former Meridian Depths, a place infested with sea dragons. Nodding to himself, he jumped down.

At first, complete darkness, then, he found himself floating into a large chamber, with a design glowing a machine red like that of the ARKs. A brand upon the ground? Finally landing, more smaller lights lit up, showing a unsightly beast at the center of the room.

A man stood there, another undead meridian, yet he recognized this one as the father in the painting. The cause of the meridian civil war; Mikkael's father. Yet he was not all there, his eyes glowed a fierce red, and he drank deep of something beyond this world's comprehension, the Chalice of Meridia, and yet, it was not aglow, meaning it would have no effect upon him. He absorbed the artifact into his flesh, and approached a large ARK. Responding to his call, the machine morphed itself to augment his body, and then the darkness enveloped him.

Eiryk attempted to approach the man as quick as he could, yet a forcefield blocked his approach. Immediately, the man grew in size, and the ARK and its darkness enveloped him, forgine him into a massive beast, with blades upon his arms. The red eyes of the ARK were augmented by sharp fangs, like large needles. It grinned a hellish smile as it found itself equipped with a massive mechanical staff, engraved with red runes.

~~~ MERLIN, ARCHWARLOCK OF ATLANTIS ~~~

Link


Gazing at the beast in wonder, it let out a hideous roar, and in an instant, the sphere of protection vanished. Yet, Eiryk found something interesting, despite this setback. He didn't need to breathe.

However, this meant he was unable to escape.

The giant began to cast a spell, causing the red waters to swirl violently and pulling Eiryk up, before crashing the current downwards. He felt himself being crushed by the sheer amount of water, yet he still needed to get up and fight. He had to follow the words of the goddess.

The water inhibited each movement, and so he only moved at around half his normal speed. Eiryk took to the defensive for now, observing his movements. When he wasn't casting a spell, he was swiping with his staff, focussing his will at the end to deal an elemental strike.

That was when he began to cast fire under the red waters, and boiled the undead in them. Eiryk felt his skin burning more than what a normal fire attack would do, and screamed in agony. He was an undead, thus the flames only hurt more than ever. However, with this second spell, the giant of a mer had to rest, and so, Eiryk took the opportunity to climb upon his head and start drilling his claw into each eye of the ARK components, ripping out the laser he was immediately in front of before trying to saw off the armor and pry at it with his shadow arm. Yet, the creature wouldn't let up and threw Eiryk up into waters before swimming upwards and biting down upon him.

Continuing to jam his claw into the eyes, Eiryk eventually moved to pry himself from its mouth, and yet, the pressure was too immense. Gritting his teeth, he slid his claws between the teeth and stabbed its sensitive tongue, causing it to scream in agony. Eiryk took the dangrous route and cut its tongue out from the inside and cut a hole through the jaw, kicking out the armor. The two combatants were bleeding profusely, but Eiryk at least had food in the form of its tongue to regenerate his wounds.

With its six remaining lasers targeting and two more pairs of arms growing out, the beast of the deep fired each laser in quick succession, with Eiryk deflecting each to the side before feeling a painful shot from the seventh. Apparently his arm even had its limits.

Nonetheless, it began to take a risky move, focusing electrical charges, a massive electrical discharge was released, shocking the both of them. Hundreds, if not thousands of bolts of electricity moved through their bodies. What would have normally caused him to suffer a heart attack, Eiryk instead only felt immense pain and internal bleeding. Nonetheless, The beast still stood, with the lights on its body shorted out.

This being a golden opportunity, Eiryk moved onto its leg and began to stab and claw his way up its body, removing its chest piece and destroying the mechanical core. Now, the ARK components would be unable to restart, and there, underneath the core components was a red sphere, beating as if it were a heart. Eiryk bit into it, jamming his claws through and tearing it apart.

The monster let out a loud scream, and then exploded in a wave of blood.

Eiryk picked up the Chalice of Meridia, embedded in the corpse, and ate the flesh to recover his wounds. The lights around him in the room turned yellow, and there, a black monolith rose at the center of the round room. A yellow circle faded in and out at the top of it.

"So, this is the monolith... And the key to heaven..."

Eiryk gave it some thought then pulled out Excalibur. He struck the circle and the lights turned a bright blue on the monolith and on the walls. The brand at the center of the room disappeared, and Eiryk closed his eyes as everything turned a bright white.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Eris walked outside of Cyndar, meeting with Ruuta and turning back into her Karliah form, she felt a rumble along with those in every town, the tremors seemingly coming from the site of Tal-Ari - the former location of New Meridia. Eiryk found himself at the shore just outside the Abyssal Atlantis site, across from the town of Tal-Ari, the tremors continued to shake the world, and a white light shone under the depths. And a choir echoed throughout the world as a large white cross exploded from under the waves. A rainbow illuminated the two branches, and it could be seen from across the globe.

Every man, woman, and child awoke that night to see it, a white cross, and many smaller green crosses rising from the waters, as the crimson waves turned to a beautiful, pristine blue. Each cross rose to the heavens, as white barriers of light pushed away the cursed sea.

The waters of the Remnvald Archipelago had been purified, and simultaneously, all the ARKs in the region shut down.

The crosses disappeared, and Eiryk gazed at the beautiful, sparkling waters.

"It is beautiful, yes?"

Eiryk turned to the voice which spoke, and he recognized the figure immediately. It was the previous queen of the meridian people; Meridia Taltanis II.


Link


"Eiryk Advento... I must thank you." The ghostly queen spoke, smiling upon Eiryk, "I have awaited the day that the traitors against my kingdom would be punished. Not only this, but you have freed my mother's soul, and allowed me to become the new goddess of water... I thus take on the name, Acionna."

"Goddess of Water, Acionna..." Eiryk repeated back to her. She smiled a phlegmatic smile and nodded.

"Yes, this is my new identity. I will forever protect this region of the world from the corruption spurned forth by him, the dragon god who seeks to swallow the world."

Eiryk looked to his side, "So, the question is, what now?"

"Eiryk, your journey is not over, and those who have helped you, those not of this world or this time, they must aid you and you and they must aid the rest of Jungalore... Destroy the keys to the heavens, the six artifacts, and save the elemental gods and goddesses. Three more monoliths yet remain, and soon, if you are not quick enough, the goddess of the earth, Demeter, will pass on."

"Demeter!? Why didn't she...?" Eiryk wondered, but the phlegmatic goddess of water answered him soundly.

"I can only guess that she was saddened by the loss of the other elemental gods." Acionna answered, "And her soul is tied to the north, to the tomb where the queen with the black wings sleeps, across the chaos desert."

"The tomb of... Zeden Altena?"

The goddess nodded, "My time here in this plane is limited, as it is not safe for me here, but you must take caution. Those who wander the chaos desert will find themselves lost without the proper protection, you must find a way to cross the desert..."

The goddess looked across the oceans, continuing, "... and, secondly... He grows in power with each passing of the beasts of darkness under his control. The god who wishes to swallow the world."

Eiryk furrowed his brow, "No matter, I am keen on saving this world. I must to help those with the will to survive."

Smiling, the goddess turned back to him, and spoke a few final words, "Then, Eiryk, I have high hopes for Jungalore... Good luck..."

With her final words, the goddess disappeared from his view. Eiryk made his way to Tal-Ari, and caught a boat.

"Take me to Selk, get me there by morning, and I'll pay you extra."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And in Cyndar's throne room, as Mikkael saw the cross in the sky disappear, Baphomatt was transforming into something more... demonic.

_________________

"Stay out of this, you!" Mikkael shouted, delivering a savage sword strike that Yemhelch barely dodged - the message meant for Baphomatt. "He has answers I must know! Only I will give him permission to die!"

At this, Yemhelch chuckled darkly. "You don't really get it, do ya, ace attorney?" he grinned as he backflipped to avoid an upward thrust. "Charging in alone really is a rookie mistake."

"WHY. DO. YOU. KEEP. SAYING. THAT?!" Mikkael, further enraged, punctuated a massive strike with each word as he countered with a series of rapid strikes that actually managed to land glancing blows on Yemhelch's reforged tanto.

"Do you really want answers?" Yemhelch grinned. "Very well."

With that, he sidestepped another brutal sweeping attack, and punched the Meridian in the stomach, hard enough to make him stagger through the armor.

"It'll take more than that to end me, mortal!" Mikkael rebounded, delivering a heavy counter that would have lopped Yemhelch's head clean off when his entire body stopped, thrashing against the armor hard enough to draw blood. With a quiet whine, the glowing energies that ran through the armor dimmed and died, leaving Mikkael a prisoner in the casket.

"What trickery is this, you coward?!" Mikkael screamed, struggling against the hold - the sword gripped in cold, dead hands. "Release me! NOW!"

"I didn't do anything, ace attorney." Yemhelch chuckled.

"BAPHOMATT! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY ARMOR?!" Mikkael roared, his voice loud enough to make the dome of darkness quiver under its assault and even give the undead pause.

Walking up to the immobilized meridian, Yemhelch calmly poked the armored chestplate and pushed the struggling prisoner to the floor, giving him a view of the thrones - where Baphomatt had quickly climbed into the upper balcony.

"COME BACK HERE, BAPHOMATT!" Mikkael roared. "DAMN YOU!"

"You want answers... the truth, don't you?" Yemhelch sighed as he kicked open the black visor protecting his friend's face.

At this, Mikkael let out a low growl, staring bloody murder.

"That armor you took from me runs on Will. You were doubting yourself the whole time, ace attorney, and now your armor is as useless as an iron box." Yemhelch grinned as he plucked out a syringe with a glowing blue liquid. "So, ready for the next bit of testimony?"

"... who are you?"

"I'll let the evidence speak for itself." Yemhelch replied, jamming the needle into Mikkael's neck, and pushing the plunger in. Mikkael's eyes rolled into his head and thrashed around, the armor crumbling away to dust as his soul willed the darkness from his body.

"NO! STOP HIM!" Baphomatt roared, his voice twisted and gravelly. At this, the undead soldiers began to circle and surge at the two.

Mikkael's eyes closed and his body fell slack with a gentle 'thank you'.

"That's right, Baphie." Yemhelch grinned. "I was never out to kill Mikkael. YOU are my prey, naked ape!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Baphomatt growled. "I AM BEYOND MORTALITY! I AM A GOD! YOU ARE NAUGHT BUT DUST BEFORE ME!"

"Then I guess I'm gonna make you sneeze like a bitch."

"I AM THE LORD OF DEATH! YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME THUS?!"

"Strange aeons, yes. But now, even death may lie." Yemhelch grinned. "So, what about you? Ready to perish, you worm?"

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" Baphomatt screamed, unfurling wings that dripped with blood and landing back on the throne room, with several undead Cyndar Knights forming a protective phalanx around him.

"Hah! You always were a coward!" Yemhelch shouted at him, as the mass of undead reached him. "That's right - hide! But soon, you will have no place to cower under!"

An enraged roar, a war cry was his only answer as the the horde of undead began their attack!

Battle!: Partially-transformed Baphomatt, 10 Undead Cyndar Knights and 50 undead warriors!

-

At the very entrance of the throne room, a crimson spear began to tear into the massive barrier of darkness, its own energies slowly nullifying the foul corruptions that formed the boundary. It would completely blast a hole in the wall of seething darkness in 3 turns.

_________________

Suddenly, Karliah felt immense evil radiating from the ruined city, she bade Exodiin farewell and thanks, turning again into Eris and brandishing the Lance of Longinus. With Ruuta at her side, she rushed forward into the city again, in the direction of this great evil, impaling her way through the undead, turning them to the red of the ocean with each swipe and stab.

However, in the assault on the castle, she found Ruuta falling behind.

"Ruuta, head back to Fort Frenga, I'll handle what is happening here..."

Ruuta nodded, "Will you be alright, Karliah?"

"That dragon taught me many things," Eris spoke, "I'll be fine. Let the people of Fort Frenga know... Things will be okay now."

Once Eris was alone, she remembered the words that the king of dragons spoke...

"Just because you are of the chosen, it does not make you immortal."

She focussed her enrgies and sprouted the white wings from her back, and morphed the lance into a pair of hooked blades, taking each, she flew to the top of the castle and landed in the throne room.

"... Mikkael!?"

_________________

"Big mouth, for a mortal!" Baphomatt bellowed. "But it seems that you're at your rope's end... and only now you realize, that the rope is on FIRE!"

The undead had him cornered - despite his skill, he was clearly no match for their numbers. Blade and mace found impact here and there, and with significant effort, he found himself with his back to the wall. A large, bloated man wearing filthy armor swung a massive warhammer right where his head was... only for the head to disconnect from the handle of the hammer at the last moment, the weighted head smashing into the crumbling wall inches to his left.

"Keep your filthy hands.... off my friend, you ... you... " Mikkael groaned with effort as he righted himself against a shattered sword. "...DOUBLE UNDEAD!"

"No! It is impossible to truly revive the dead!" Baphomatt gasped. "You! WHO ARE YOU?!"

"Clean up your waxy ears and listen!" Yemhelch shouted back. "I am Yemhelch of Fort Frenga, once a traveler, now a gourmand lawyer! And I will finish this case and bring you to justice!"

At this, Mikkael looked uncomfortable, and Baphomatt smiled as well, folding one of his wings to form a small, leathery pocket from which he drew a book that literally oozed darkness.

"Then die, Yemhelch of Fort Frenga!" Baphomatt cackled as he twirled his fingers to summon a pen made of bone that inked in blood to his hands and writing something in the book. "Perish like your friend, and submit your soul to me!"

"NO!" Something had snapped inside Mikkael, and he grit his teeth as his memories came anew. With renewed vigor, he continued fighting against the horde of undead.

At that moment, the spear managed to blast a hole in the wall of darkness and a woman dressed in black armor with a silver trim stormed into the room, spear in hand. She hesitated as she saw the vile book, quickly saw Mikkael's look of fear and desperation, and Baphomatt's laughing.

"No..." she gasped. "I was too late...?"

Yemhelch fell to the floor, clutching at his chest and was silent. At this, Baphomatt reared back his head and laughed.

"I TOLD YOU! KILLING YOU WOULD BE NOTHING FOR ME!" he said with a wave of his hand, commanding the remaining undead to join in his laughter. "I AM THE GOD OF DEATH, AND ALL MORTAL SOULS RETURN TO ME! Now, to end your feeble resis-"

"... psyche, Baphie."

All heads turned to Yemhelch, who was now standing up and dusting his shoulder off with an exaggerated action.

"IMPOSSIBL-" Baphomatt shouted, reopening his book - before Yemhelch leaped up and punched him in the face hard enough for the half-transformed demon to actually fall to his knees.

"I see, so that's how you win a fight. You use artifacts to kill off the opposition." Yemhelch grinned. "No wonder you became an arena champion before, you pathetic cheater."

"YOU!" Baphomatt swung a spiked tail at him, which Yemhelch ducked and delivered a heavy blow with the pommel of his tanto to the demon's exposed ribs.

"You're not worthy of being slain by my blade." Yemhelch growled, his calm expression gone - replaced with a sarcastic grin. "I'll destroy you with my bare hands."

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD! I TOOK YOUR SOUL!" Baphomatt screamed, unfurling his demonic wings and attempting to fly away. "WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"

Suddenly, he found himself resyncing. "Looks like he's brought out his trump card." the familiar voice in his head said. "Time to put our three aces on the table."

"Heh heh, thought you'd be late for the party, buddy." Yemhelch muttered.

"Pfftch, never."

"Alright, let's do this!"

_________________

The barrier was weakening, and the roiling clouds had started to seep into the throne room as his body shifted - bones creaking as the thing fully inserted its own muscles over his, skin boiling and breaking apart as the energies seethed below his skin.

"You call yourself a god..." his voice sounded thick, different. "Yet your senses are so weak you cannot perceive your own doom?! Ha, you ego-bloated apes are a joke and a half!" with this, Yemhelch's jaw split apart to give way to a pair of mandibles overrun with small, wriggling tentacles.

"K-kill him!" Baphomatt screamed, a tinge of terror in his voice as he leaped back from the writhing, light-eating mass of flesh that was emerging from the body of his former opponent. Heeding his command, the undead elite knights broke their defensive position and charged forwards.


Link


"Stay out of my way, small fry!" the voice echoed in the crumbling throne room as a mass of teeth and eyes emerged to intercept the attackers, consuming them with gusto as he charged forwards, pursuing Baphomatt. "What's the matter? Too weak and helpless now that your little toys won't do you any good?"

"SILENCE!" Baphomatt screamed back, defiant - but his voice wavering a little with fear. "No matter what you are, no magic can truly master me! I am the god of death, and you are beholden to me for bearing the sin of life!"

"Then, I'll just tear you apart with my fists!"

Baphomatt countered with several black fireballs, blasting the throne room apart with their massive power - blowing away scores of undead gathering in the throne room. A large marble column collapsed across the throne room, cutting off Mikkael and the woman in the strange armor. A quick glance to see if they were alright, and Yemhelch countered with a brutal right to Baphomatt's throat.

"Why?! You're supposed to be dead!" Baphomatt screamed, desperately trying to take to the air. "How are you even standing?!"

"Let me give you two nice pieces of information." Yemhelch countered. "One: Right now, at the other end of the world, all the life force on this planet is flooding my tendrils with excess energy. Two, the moment you and I locked eyes in that courtroom, your fate was decided - to be slain by me."

Baphomatt was reminded of the odd tendrils he saw on his trip to the Chaos Deserts and shuddered.

"You may have power, human!" Baphomatt countered with a powerful spiked claw, Yemhelch blocking it. "But as the God of Death, I'll see to it that this world will be purged of its unclean beings! What right do you have to stop me?!"

"This world is not yours alone, fool." Yemhelch grunted against the effort, before stepping off and delivering a heavy kick to Baphomatt's face. "But the day you betrayed every living thing on this planet, you pissed me off. SO YOU VANISH!"

"Hmph, so you think can fight me?!" Baphomatt roared back. "But I command the souls of the dead! The power of entropy will end you no matter how powerful you are!" With this, he pulled out the seething book and opened it - summoning several more undead into the throne room.

"That must be... the book of Shadows." Yemhelch grinned as he managed to throw off several undead titan brawlers and paladins. "Hand it over to me, and I'll let you walk away alive, mortal."

"GRAH! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU?! I am a God! You will respect my authority!" Baphomatt countered with another wave of his hand, summoning even more undead. "Bargaining with Death will get you nowhere!"

"Wrong answer."

Perhaps it was his warrior's instinct from his days as a fighter at the Arena that warned him - but he managed to steal a glance to the side, and realized that three sets of jaws were closing on his arm. It was too late - before his body could even jerk away, the serrated teeth of the monstrous beast smashed down on his arm holding the book of shadows.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

-

"Nice work." the man wearing the fedora said as he opened his eyes and the vile book emerged from the ooze. "We have the book of Shadows."

"Um... do you think... " Ahnbein asked. "... is it possible to release the souls held prisoner by this artifact?"

"That's the plan."

"... thank you."

_________________

Baphomatt stumbled back, his own dark magic managing to stem the blood flow from the stump where his arm once was. As he looked back on his opponent, the mass of flesh - seething out from Yemhelch's body suddenly towered over the throne room, smashing into the ceiling and raining down debris onto the ground. Incanting dark spells, the partially-transformed demonologist countered by reforming his arm into a shadow-bound shield to block the worst of the falling rocks.

That was when every eye that adorned the vast, bloated tower of flesh emerging opened at once; and there he saw the the eyes of those who he had killed over the years staring back. Some with rage and anger, others with smug satisfaction - and even others with insane laughter peering out from those crimson portals of the inky black flesh of the abomination that now surged forward into the chamber proper. It's greedy tentacles and grasping hands easily violating and tearing apart the undead as they mindlessly charged.

The woman with the spear and his former pawn would have been no threat; but now, this thing had turned the tables on him. Reforming the shield into a wedge, he spread his leathery wings and took to the air - smashing through the ceiling in a particularly weak spot into the cool night sky. The barrier had all but melted away and he performed an agile U-turn in the air, and his stomach dropped. From the bird's eye view of the ruins of Cyndar, he could see how vast this monster truly was.

The throne room was consumed, and now the mass of flesh and eyeballs reared back - towering in the pre-dawn sky as it gloated.

"What's the matter?" Yemhelch's voice... backed with hundreds of others spoke in unison in his mind. "Chickening out again, like you did in that trial too long ago?"

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"Surrender it to me, and I might do that." the monstrous behemoth grinned at him.

"SHUT UP!" He roared back as he focused a vast magical maelstrom. Here, he had the higher ground. "Audi solis mortis, Ecce flammarum tua fata! Virtus mortis, et animam tuam exstinguo, Ego adrogabunt huius mundus! DIE!"

With a sweep of his arms, he let the vast fireball fall onto Cyndar's ruins - the explosion covering the city and countryside with a sinister fog, and the black flames seething and consuming what little remained in the city that could be flammable. He grinned - this flame had been once-desecrated by the highest level cultists of Umbraria to doom all life; and...

As the fog cleared, his breath caught in his throat. The entity had simply shrugged off an attack that could have leveled Cyndar, using its body to shield the town from the wost effects! Before he could prepare another volley, the monstrous behemoth composed of eyes, teeth and raw darkness reared up to face him.

"That tickled." it laughed. "Now, my turn..."

_________________

Be ready.

_________________

A question to the dear readers, do any of you like drawing or painting?

_________________

tfw 6 becomes 9, enjoy this art I stole

Spoiler: show

I assure you, I know what I'm doing. ;P

EDIT: tfw an image gets broken... Fixed Titan Image.
EDIT2: fml, Kemonor image went down. No matter, everyone should know what to expect.

_________________

lm;mp

That's the next hint you all get.

_________________

Look back. I did a thing.

_________________

The final chapter of Jungalore has begun in preparation of the release of its sequel; The Lorian Chronicles!

The following posts from here (and any before) are considered CANONICAL.

... I do realize some people are probably like, super upset with me, and that I've made some VERY iffy decisions in the RP previously. However, no more falling rocks, no more deus ex machina, from here on, there are no rules until TLC releases. I am going to make right what was wrong, and I feel there is no better way to do so than to let my friends -- you, the players -- decide the fate of the world following Baphomatt's defeat. After all, there are still many loose ends, and many stories yet to be completed.

All currently and future registered players will be able to play in this final chapter. I will have a most excellent reward for those who participate. Bear in mind that how everyone plays will determine how the world of Lorias is shaped in the next system.

That said, I feel comfortable sharing some (but not all) details of the new system, as it's now at about 60% completion.

Lorias, though it is the given default name of the world, is a completely open system. You can design worlds of your own, and not necessarily follow the given defaults of the game. There is plenty of leeway to modify characters with special traits, and appearance options. But the biggest change by far is that the game is less math, more story. There are still stats and skills, certainly, but what is most important is the philosophy section of your character sheet. It is this that will shape how the game plays out. There is also a better focus on the GM. Instead of players wandering through files aimlessly, the GM acts as a guide and fellow story writer alongside the players, and not as an antagonist or a rules lawyer.

This is what I will share for now. Maybe later I will share some more, but for now, I hope to see more players join this segment on Jungalore. As stated before, I am looking for artists to contribute racial art and more for the coming rulebook, and will even negotiate payment, so feel free to hit me up.

And remember, even if you don't think you have an imagination, or even if you fear judgement, and even if the whole world would turn against you, you have a natural ability to create any reality, and to thrive off the will you are innately born with. Do not give in, instead, let your will shape your world.

~SBE

_________________

Mikkael rubbed his head with his fingers as he groaned, and Karliah helped him up. They had run from Cyndar, and now they had somehow taken shelter from the masses of undead being slaughtered by the seething energies that now engulfed the region.

"... you alright?" she finally mumbled.

Mikkael didn't answer. He stared out back, like something was at the very tip of his tongue, yet he was unable to say what came to him.

"...If you're wondering how we got here, Mikkael." Karliah continued. "We had to clear out when your friend there went ballistic on Baphomatt..."

"BAPHOMATT!" Mikkael almost yelled, then his voice lowering into a growl. "My body... it... tenses with rage at that name... name..."

"... you can't remember?"

"I... I think my name is Mikkael, as you said." Mikkael shook his head. "... that's right, right?"

"... Amnesia." Karliah shook her head. "Yes, your name is Mikkael Altans."

"... what about my friend you mentioned? What happened?"

Karliah didn't answer, but motioned her head to the window of the small guard post they were hiding in.

A frightful sight met his eyes as he pulled the curtains back - a vast tower of writhing shadows emerging from Cyndar in the distance, cutting a path across the sky, cleaving the clouds in two here and there. From random places, red eyes opened and shut, and massive jaws danced this way and that, almost seeming to ooze with laughter.

"Is... is that?"

"Your traveling companion. Or, what he's become, I'm afraid. Do you remember him?" Karliah asked.

Mikkael didn't respond, desperately searching through the fragments of memory that remained.

"I thought not." she sighed.

Footsteps from outside, and Karliah quickly signaled for quiet as they took cover. Mikkael, after a moment of hesitation, followed her behind a collapsed table.

"H-hello?" a voice called in. "Mikkael? Paladin Karliah? Are nyou in here?"

Mikkael winced. That voice was so familiar that he could almost give it a name; yet words eluded him. Karliah's eyes widened in definite recognition as the footsteps came closer.

A diminutive figure entered the guard post, dressed in the garb of a ninja. The cat ears on her head twitched as she sensed Mikkael shift uncomfortably in his position.

"Kazeko!" Karliah gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Nyaa? I'd ask the same of you two" Kazeko beamed, as she removed her face-mask. "I was ordered to scout out what was happening in Cyndar when that monster appeared and I saw you two high-tailin' it outta there..."

Mikkael didn't say anything.

"Oro~? Did I interrupt something?" a teasing tone entered Kazeko's voice.

"N-no!" Mikkael's face turned red at the implication. "I-it's not like that."

"Mikkael is suffering from amnesia." Karliah responded. "He doesn't remember you, me or even Yemhelch at all."

The playful smirk fell from her face. "Oh. That's a damned shame... especially after how you two joined forces to beat the crud out of her in court."

A flicker of memory, and Mikkael shook his head while Karliah shifted uncomfortably in her armor.

"S-so, what are Velian forces doing here?"

"Usually, I'd have to kill nya for tryin' to get at secret information, but I figure you'd wanna know." Kazeko sighed. "One of the last seers in our care died a week back, but not before delivering a final vision; the rite to summon Manorach El will be carried out in Cyndar, by Baphomatt."

"Manorach El... the dragon?" Karliah asked.

"Nyup! But in this case, Baphomatt summoning it obviously reeks of some sort of dirty trick." Kazeko answered. "We were gonna nyassassinate Baph... but yeah, the hordes of undead were a little too much... So, nyou two... can you tell me what the heck is that thing that's emerged from Cyndar? Did Baphomatt summon it?"

"That thing is... Yemhelch." Karliah nodded. "Surprised? So was I..."

"Nyo Way!" Kazeko gasped. "That zany older guy who was Mikkael's traveling buddy?"

Mikkael sat there, his mind drawing a blank aside from bits and pieces of memory - he was certain he knew, but the words eluded him.

"No doubt." Karliah answered. "Though, I know he's still himself. He shielded us from a blast meant to demolish the city itself. We wouldn't have escaped either, if it wasn't for him managing to clear a path through the undead and the demons..."

"I see, that explains why he was going after Bapho up there... hey Mikkael!" Kazeko continued. "You sure you can't remember? The two of you are considered local heroes back home in Vel Da Ir for saving Hiroko from the gallows, nya know..."

Mikkael shook his head.

"I guess we should return to Vel Da Ir, and let Hiroko know what's been happening..." Kazeko nodded. "Though I wonder how she'll react when she finds out Yemhelch is a massive monster capable of crossing blades with a demigod. Should we tell her, or do we just mention that the summoning rite was a failure? Either way, a bunch of us got injured and we're gonna have to do a tactical retreat while the going's good."

-

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" Baphomatt gasped. "IT WAS I WHO SLEW LUMBRA AND UMBRARIA. WHY ARE YOU NOT DEAD?!"

"The term, 'lower life form' suits you, worm." the thing below chuckled. "Yet, here - even now, you carry the all-too-human trait of being too curious for your own good."

"SHUT UP!"

"Tell you what, why don't you stop flying around like a frightened parrot and come down here so we can talk this over like adults? Or, are you just gonna run like a chicken? Run and run, but you cannot escape from me..."

_________________

Back in Selk, Philena listened to Eiryk's plea.

"... Yes, I see why he entrusted you with the sacred sword." She responded, "Only one with a courageous heart will lead Jungalore to peace. One who has a strong will to get things done."

"Then-!" Eiryk exclaimed, but the queen raised a hand.

"Even so, I know of no way to cross the desert. It is the only place which remains untouched by the cataclysm, save for the red waters which now run through it." She continued. Eiryk looked to the ground, and on hearing this, he couldn't help but grit his teeth.

"Yet even if this is the case I still have to! Otherwise, the Goddess Demeter who protects the Elvine will..."

Philena smiled, and she nodded, "Yes, I understand what you are saying... And I may have a solution."

The queen stood and sent out a command, "Soldiers of the Meridian Army! We make way for the ruins of Arcane Well!"

A murmur went over the crowd in her court, and everyone was distraught with uncertainty. Since the raid, the Vexus Fields were off limits to the people, as great snowstorms battered the area. Yet even with this, it made no sense for Philena to plan an excursion into the snowfields.

"Queen Philena!" Scorpio interjected, "Why would we go there?"

"The scholars of Avalon have been in contact with me, and they noted passageways that linked Vex Vinas and Arcane Well together. As you all know, Arcane Well is the only point of access in the Vexus Isles now, and we need to get into the Vex Vinas ruins if we are to get what he needs to save the goddess of earth."

"Even so, it leaves Selk defenseless."

"We will remain safe. I just... I have this feeling things will be safe here."

"Very well..." Scorpio answered, "But you are not going."

With just those words, the assassin had two swords pointed at his neck by two Meridian foot soldiers.

"Lower your blades, he meant no harm in it. Besides, I am the queen, and it is my choice where I go and when I want to go." The queen commanded. The foot soldiers complied and nodded, glaring at Scorpio.

"Scorpio, I do not mind your concern, but this is something Eiryk must do. Already, the Reptal have spoken of clean waters, and do you know what that could mean for us? For my people? For everyone?"

Scorpio remained silent, "Do as you please."

"Thank you." She stated in earnest, "Now, about how to get there..."

_________________