How bad could this possibly be? (Woof)(double XP)

From Ashford’s words, it sounded like he and Sulyvahn had quite a bit in common. The first champion would never admit it though. He continued to move, ever and always shifting, never staying still. He had essentially become the room itself as he kept his gaze locked on the human. A sudden air of familiarity soon washed it’s way down the stairs. It felt like….her. No that couldn’t be right. There was no what Madeline could have found him. She hadn’t been able to track him down ever since Sulyvahn had been cursed.

This had to be a trick of some kind. Ashford was lying to him. All the darknessquickly concentrated towards the back of the room, where Sulyvahn assumed his normal form. “You’re a terrible liar. I can feel that wretched demon in the air.” A feint glow of icy blue appeared amongst the shadows. He may have been in a weakened state, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have enough strength to deal with Ashford. He could kill the human now, and resume his search for a power boost before Madeline reached him.

It took Thalia’s eyes a moment to find the old man standing to her side. She had been focused on the flames that were slowly enveloping the interior of the church. The black flames had spread, but they did not consume. It was almost like an illusion, and Thalia would have assumed so, if she did not know better. Her attention would shift to the old man as he smiled at her and spoke. He spoke about how he couldn’t proceed further into the building due to the flames, but that Ash was down there and needed her help. This she already knew. She couldn’t believe that he was stupid enough to walk into the dragon’s mouth like that however.

The old man offered Thalia a bow, to which she responded in kind. As he made his way back outside he made mention of making traps and the like for when “she” arrived. Thalia shook her head. “You don’t understand. None of you people should be here. You need to leave at once. This place isnt safe!” As much as the little hunter wanted to poke and prod until the blacksmith listened to her, she had to reach Ashford. He was in deep. Without saying another word Thalia and her cheetah-like demon would head towards the alter and down the dark and gloomy staircase.

The moment Thalia and the pygmy demon reached the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves diving for safety as a cascade of ice crashed towards them. Sulyvahn had stalled long enough till “Madeline’s” presence had reached the bottom of the stairs to attack. He slammed the blade of his sword into the ground which sent the wave of ice at Ashford and Thalia. As Thalia began to stand, her pygmy let out a growl before it rushed after the shadowy figure. The cheetah like demon was too fast for Thalia to call out to, but not fast enough to blindside Sulyvahn.

As the pygmy demon leapt through the air in an attempt to tackle the ancient champion, A hand shot out and grabbed it by the throat. Sulyvahn’s eyes lit up as he stared at the struggling demon. He could see the life pulsing through the creature. It was enough to make him salivate. “Ah, how kind of you to bring me something to drink. I’ve been quite parched.” With that, his grip tightened around the pygmy’s throat which cause it to explode in a cloud of dark energy. The cloud began to swirl and dance about before it was full absorbed by the shadows. Sulyvahn had devoured the creatures very essence. That pure Arcadian energy rejuvenated him. A wave of power washed over the area as Sulyvahn’s power increased. The air grew thick and heavy, much like when Akhenaten had tried to break free of his barrier back in Egypt. Except this, this was on another level. This was the power of the first ever Arcadian Champion, and it was only a fraction of what he could do.

Cain furrowed a brow as the small hunter made her way deeper into the church, more amused then worried, yet still so. Hated violence. Always had. But he knew more then others how much violence was sometimes needed. "Hmh. Not safe. Dear Lass. If we were perfect copies. You have no idea how true that would have been." He spoke to the silent black flames that remained with him before swinging his hammer at a dusted chair, watching how the small tool broke it apart with ease. He had work to do.


Ashford wasn't dead yet. That spoke a lot more then any word would have meant. It meant this guy liked his words somewhat. It means something Ashford said, connected to something of the champions thoughts. It meant something, and Ashford could guess as much as he wanted too, but he wouldn't know.

What he did know, was that the champion assumed a lot of things. And that caused Ashford to frown, his singular eye staring at the champion as he too form. The guy liked his shadows, that might need to be fixed. "Ser. I am a lot of things. An idiot. A mad man. A killer. I am a liar. But I am not a terrible liar. But based on what you said. Then who I saw... Hmh." Unluckily for the champion, Ashford had not only not had his head threatened by Thalia all that much, but he also liked her. She was a solider, a hunter, a user of artifacts. She had his respect.

She had it even more when her hair found it's way down, but it meant that Ashford now was on the defensive. His left hand rose along with his glove as the wave of ice came at him, a dark orb growing from the glove and freezing the ice that would have hit Ashford, before disintegrating it to nothing. "Thalia. Sorry to invade. Mind lighting this place alight with fire? That'd be handy." More a test. A dangerous test. But if light and shadows contradict each other, and the fact this champion has a hold over ice, then maybe fire would serve them here.

But after the champion seemed to absorb the demon Thalia had brought along with her. Fire didn't seem like enough. Ashford could feel the air grow thick, his breathing slowing, becoming rough and harder with each passing second. But he had bowed to no one he didn't want to before. He wasn't giving an inch now.  Writing up a fire bolt rune, Ashford quickly shot it at the champion as he brought out his dagger into his metal hand, keeping it's fire unlit for now.

Sulyvahn basked in the power he absorbed from the pygmy demon. It wasn’t enough to put him back at full power, after all that’s why he was here in the church, but the energy did mean he could now fight the human. His red eyes would move past Ashford and to the ball of hair on the ground. It was her. The impostor. The clone. He didn’t know if it was the inherent champion in him, or just his overall hatred for Madeline, but as he gaze fell upon the little hunter he felt rage well up within him.

The champion felt the urge to monologue coming on, luckily a fire ball prevented that. Though it wouldn’t have the effect Ash thought it would. As the fire approached him, Sulyvahn snatched it out of the air and pulled it in close to his body. The ball would flicker out for a brief moment before being reborn as a spherical barrier of bright burning orange around the champion. “Fire! I see what you were going for. Smart. But too literal. I am a champion of Arcadia after all.” he said, slowly pacing forward towards Ash.

A small red blur would then rush in front of Ashford, arms stretched out. “B-Back off!” the little ball of anger shouted at the renegade champion. Sulyvahn would rear back, almost appalled that the little clone thought she had any sort of power over him. “Look at you. So small, yet trying to fill such big shoes.” Sulyvahn almost felt like crouching down to be eye level with the little impostor. His eyes narrowed as she didn’t seem to care for his taunt. She was a disciplined little thing that was for sure.

“You made a mistake coming here. The two of you aren’t strong enough to take me on by yourselves.”

“That’s not true! I know you’re in a weakened state. Things didn’t go as planned last time, did they?” Thalia said. She was partially right. Despite all the power he was giving off, she knew he wasn’t at full power. He wasn’t at full power last time either. She began to think about her surroundings. Sulyvahn had a reason for being here. Then she thought back to what he was trying to do in Egypt which Akhenaten. He was looking for sources of power. It was the only explanation.

Her words cut deep. How dare such a small and fragile creature speak to him in such a manor. She was indeed Madeline’s double. Had all the right amounts of sass and knew just how to get under his skin. He’d kill her first if he got the opportunity. That being said he found it quite odd that she had shown up by herself. He half expected the queen to appear any minute but she didn’t. He chuckled a bit, before flashing a devilish grin. “Oh, you little devil you. You’re disobeying your orders aren’t you.” The champion began to circle around the two. “You better pray for your sake that she shows up of her own accord!”

With that, he would throw his arm forward. A swarm of bats would fly at the two. This caused Thalia to dive out of the way. It was what Sulyvahn wanted. To separate them. As soon as Thalia moved, He brought his sword back and rocketed forward before thrusting his blade at Ashford.

Well. Crap. Ashford hadn't expected that. He remembered much and very little of his last encounter with the champion. After they had left the temple of the trapped Champion, Ashford had promptly collapsed, his body no longer was capable of moving. Not till the coat repaired all the damage. He had decided that someone he was least likely to encounter again would ever be encountered, so why remember.

He was only pretty sure ice had no effect on the guy, and that might have been made obvious now and then. This guy was a master of darkness and ice. At least he had the mind to offer some well done to the human in the room. As living death approached. Yet stalled, by the smallest thing Ashford knew. A part of him wanted to punch her head, mostly, because it wouldn't affect her much, secondly. Because she was too damn brave. "Damn it Thalia I am a grown man. I can look after myself." Ashford argued midst the talk between the two that were connected by home. Nothing more.

And when the champion made the suggestion that Thalia was here now, alone... Now alone, because she ignored her Queens orders... He tried to be angry, but he couldn't, the small smile on his face telling so. Chances are, he'd have done the same, had done the same. He was like that. Seems even Thalia had her own free spirit too.

He didn't have longer to smile as the champion attacked, a swarm of bats, his signature movement ability, only, he didn't move. Not yet, as Thalia dived out of the way and Ashford hid his face with metal, he did not see the truth of the attack till it was too late, a sword aimed for the opening in his coat. He was going to be skewered and not even attempting to deflect it now would change that.

Yet as the wet sound of flesh being punctured by metal came, it was not Ashford who was injured, in fact, he had been pushed back, instead, the second smallest person in this broken district was stuck to such a sword, a smile on his face despite the searing and obvious pain he was in. "Oww... This body... Really sucks.. Haha."

Ashford stared in surprise, unable to act, to move really. Too surprised by what he saw. His youngest friend, bleeding profusely, not blood, but strangely, coffee. "Hazel?" The man called out, but Hazel seemed to have ignored him, as he attempted to pull a star lit sword from his arm to swing at Sulyvahn, a bloody smile still on his face as he did it.

A wide grin graced the first champions face as his sword pierced flesh. That grin would fade as a realization set in. He did not hit his intended target. Instead a small child had stepped, no, more like appeared between Ash and Sulyvahn’s blade. Was Sulyvahn’s cursed immortality to be constantly plagued by little people getting in his way. First the queen clone and now this boy. He tightened his grip around the handle of his sword. He attempted to drive it deeper into the boys body, and to send a wave of ice coursing through the blade.

Sulyvahn would find that quite difficult to do as he had a hard time pushing his arm forward. His burning red gaze drifted down to his arm. A bundle of scarlet hair ensnared his arm and prevented it from moving. “You sneaky lit-” His words would be cut off as he felt an insane stinging sensation overtake him. The pain was centered around his chest. Immediately his grip on his sword eased up and the blade vanished back to wherever it was summond from. Stumbling back, Sulyvahn reached up to the burning area.

The boy’s sword had found its mark and cut deep. The ancient being hissed in annoyance as his wound fought to stitch itself closed. If he wasn’t angry before, he most certainly was now. He had come here in the hopes of regaining some of his lost strength, but instead he found himself on the opposite end of a three versus one. Thalia’s presence he could understand. She was Madeline’s little hunter. It would make sense for the queen to be on the look out for him since their encounter in Egypt, but these other two.

Before his wound could close, Sulyvahn took his hand and drove it into the opening. His blood trickled out and not only covered his hand, but also splattered on the floor. With a wave of his hand, the blood would fly outwards in a crescent pattern. In the middle of his, the blood would form tiny daggers. While the fan of blood knives was meant to keep Ash and the boy busy, Sulyvahn advanced at Thalia. He had seeming vanished from where he stood and appeared at the little hunters side in the blink of an eye.

Thalia was almost completely blindsided by Sulyvahn’s speed. She would have been caught more off guard is she hadn’t just finished hunting something with a similar speed. Her immediate reaction was to swing her mace at him, and she did. The sound of shattering glass would fill the room as Thalia’s attack was deflected by a wall of tendrils that rose from the ground to protect Sulyvahn.

Without giving Thalia so much as a glance, Sulyvahn would take advantage of her off balance strike and snap his fingers. The snap would summon a razor sharp shard of ice from the ground. The icicle would shoot up and pierce the little clone in the side of her abdomen, pinning her in place for a moment. The pale man would then spin around and deliver a swift punch to the poor girls face, dislodging her from the icy skewer and sending her flying towards ashford and the boy. “You should have never come here, that was your first mistake. Your second mistake was disobeying Madeline.”

Hazel collapsed as the blade that had cut him vanished, his own sword taking the form of slowly melting coffee. His hand, becoming like ash, ash that vanished into nothing, the open wound in his chest too, was disintegrating. Ashford crawled up to the small man and held onto him, unsure what to do, how to stop this. "No no no no. Hazel..."

His eyes went to Thalia, who was facing with the champion, but he couldn't move. Not with the boy slowly dying in his hands, a hand found his cheek and Ashford looked down, seeing Hazel smile still, as he died. "She was wrong. You're nice. Nice still... I'm sorry. Cain told me not too. But I am a hero. I had too... I... Would do it again." The boy coughed and choked, as the ash found it's way to his face, the only thing that seemed to remain, was his scarf, untouched by the dust that was taking Hazel.

But his smile broke at the end, as Thalia was thrown towards the two of them, as a fifth being made its way down them, steps loud and thunderous, seeming to shake the very ground as she finally appeared. A woman, tall, impossibly tall, much like the fake god that Ashford and Thalia had seen back in the desert tomb, she had a chain mail for a chest, seemingly attached to her skin, leather pants and braces along her arms. But most notably, her hair was white, her eyes the same. She had a smile, a smile so deranged, so terrible that you could consider the ends of it as scars. "Dream.." Ashford got out, as the smile lit woman stared down at him, a spear embedded into her back, several of them actually, they looked fresh and wooden, strange, considering they cut though her chain mail without a metal head. But when her eyes saw the now silent Hazel, the eyes showed a hint of anger, as she vanished along with Ashford, slamming him into a wall near the Champion.

"My Hazel. A Traaaaitor. You're dead Ash." The woman spoke, a voice the sound of screeching flesh and bone. Terrible, in a monsters way. Hand squeezing Ashfords throat, and slowly growing tighter as the seconds past. "Kill the la... Demon." She paused as she corrected herself, looking to the champion. "I'm not a friend. But I. Am. Yours."

*Two down, one to go* he thought with a smile as Thalia crashed to the ground next to Ashford. Sulyvahn could see the man cradling a pile of ash, which meant that boy had been taken down to. Just when he was about to revel in his victory a series of thunderous steps drew closer and closer till an extremely large woman entered the room. If he truly believed in a higher power he’d be cursing it right now. At least that was until the large woman snatched Ashford up and drove him into a well near Sulyvahn.

He arched a brow in curiosity when the large woman addressed him. What the hell was she on about? He didn’t call for any back up, and she certainly wasn’t one of his. “I don’t know who you are. But do not expect thanks for assistance that was not required or requested.” He’d wave the woman off before preparing to go deeper into the room. He’d freeze in his tracks at the faintest sound of a ringing bell. Darting over to Thalia’s side, the ancient champion would pry the bell from the little hunters hands. “It’s too late for that. You had your chance.” He’d say before slamming his boot into the hole in the little demon’s abdomen.

Thalia would let out a groan of pain. She wouldn’t be taken so lightly. Sulyvahn had made the mistake of getting close to her, and she was going to make him pay for it. Her hair would spring to life and quickly latch onto the champions arms and legs. He was like a fly caught in a spider web. While he might have been insanely strong, he hair had a pretty tight hold on him, which restricted his movement. Furious at the little trickster, Sulyvahn would crush the bell in his hand. He’d let the chunk of metal fall to the floor before pointing his palm downward at her hair. A stream of ice would shoot from his hand. The sudden burst of frost would turn the little Arcadian’s hair brittle, which made it easy for the pale man to pry himself free of her grasp.

“I’ve had quite enough of you.” he said backing away from Thalia as she struggled to get to her feet. The hole in her side made it problematic to stand, but she had to fight through the pain. She had already made a mess of things by fighting Sulyvahn when she was clearly told not to. Struggling to do anything but cradle her side, Thalia attempted to retrieve another one of her tools from her hair. Unfortunately for her, that bundle of hair lay in a frozen mess to her left. She could see the demon blood pellets sitting there. Sulyvahn wasn’t about to entertain the idea of what the little hunter would do next, as amusing as the thought might have been. Little did the first champion know, that Thalia had already played her cards. It was a hard pill for her to swallow, but she was prepared for what came for her when this whole thing was done.

The pale man would attempt to attack the little queen clone, but would quickly find a hand around his throat. A familiar golden hand. His body was soon raised a few feet of the ground as the queen of Arcadia herself hoisted him into the air. Her burning amber eyes locked with his, and the disgusting smirk of hers made an appearance. “We really have to stop meeting like this. This same old song and dance is getting old.” her grip would tighten around his neck, you could almost hear his bones breaking under the pressure.

Madeline was a cruel beast when she needed to be, and right now she was in a foul mood. Not at Thalia for disobeying her, no, she knew that was going to happen. She even welcomed the disobedience. After all, if she was meant to be the queen’s replacement in the unlikely event of an emergency, then she needed to start acting like it, and this was an okay start. No, Madeline was truly pissed at Sulyvahn. She knew he didn’t know her daughters location, but the proximity in which he shared with Johanna was enough to evoke her wrath. That and she just really enjoyed tormenting Sulyvahn after he dedicated his immortality to being a thorn in her side.  

She knew the man’s powers inside and out. And while she might not have been able to physically kill him, she did know he had a pretty decent healing factor. So every time she squeezed her hand, bones would break. Every time she loosened her grip the bones would heal. And so she did this over and over again with a great big smile on her face. Eventually her eyes would fall to the the ashen haired giantess. “I would greatly appreciate it, if you’d put the man down, darling. He means quite a bit to the little one.”

Ashford found himself hard of breath, the grip on his throat was tight, and it kept getting tighter, harder to see. Yet. Every couple of seconds, he could feel the grip lighten, could see the woman known as Dream, one of the three destroyers, frown in worry. Not worry for herself, not worry for him, but worry that what she was doing, could be considered her own actions. It made him wonder about Hazel. If Lucian was here, well, around. If she made these copies, somehow. She was more powerful then he had ever known her to be. Yet Hazel seemed to still be himself. If he had been like Dream now, he would have not jumped from the stairs to the sword, but jumped from the stairs to push Ashford into the sword.

But the grip truly fell when a certain Queen entered the room, taking hold of the Champion and very easily dealing with him. Enclosed space like this, his advantage only came from his power, and he wasn't even that powerful. Yet. "I really wasn't here for Ashy... Ash." The woman corrected herself again, dropping Ashford and looking to the Queen. "If my Hazel had not just died. I'm sure he could have broken himself out."

She finished talking, sounding very sure that her throat would not be where it was now if Ashford wasn't in the inquisitive mindset, but with that, she would pounce forward, the ground shattering as she appeared to the side of the champion and the Queen. Her smile, never dying when she talked, nor when she stared in the face of the Queen, a hand covered in fleshy spikes rising to knock Madeline away from the woman's captured prey with immense strength.

Ashford, free of the dangerous grip of the Dream, made his way right to Thalia, doing his best to avoid the visage of Hazel, yet his eyes were drawn to the remains anyway, which was nothing more then a scarf atop ash that was still vanishing from this world. He grabbed it as he made it to the little hunters side. Attempting to move her a little's away from the sure to be ensuring conflict. "Didn't have to call her just yet you know. Given a chance, me and you could have taken them both down with our hands tied together." The man said, hoping that his words had some impact. He knew the little hunter only a little. But fights often bring many together, and Ashford simply... Cared. Too easily. Just as easily as he killed.

Madeline rolled her eyes as the large woman attempted to attack. The queen was feeling far too lazy to bother blocking the attack. She also didn’t want to tank the hit either, as much as she easily could have. Instead, there was a very quick flicker of light that signaled the formation of a large wall of hardened light. One that for as quickly as it was constructed, was able to take the hit from the giantess before fading. The source of the wall of light? A feminine figure that stood between the queen and the ashen haired giant.

This woman was no ordinary woman. While her form might have appeared very human like, her lower body was covered in tiger fur. Her upper body was quite built as well, boasting several scars. Her head was adorned with long golden hair, and a singular horn protruding from her forehead. A small sigh escaped Thalia’s lips as she moved off to the side with Ashford’s assistance. “Awe man. She brought Diamond. I’ll never hear the end of this now!” she sobbed. Of all the knights to have accompanied the queen, why did it have to be Diamond? Though the little demon supposed it could have been worse, she could have brought Spade with her.

Spade and Diamond were of similar minds when it came to Thalia. They believed her existence was an insult to Madeline. That being said, when Diamond’s gaze shifted to Thalia, it wasn’t condescending at all. The little hunter even swore she saw the stoic knight crack a smile.

Sulyvahn had grown increasingly agitated by Madeline’s torture. He had tried to struggle against it, but there was something about having your throat crushed repeatedly that made it very difficult to fight back. That being said, the ancient champion in his frustration managed to unload a kick into the queens face. The force was enough for him to be freed. The goddess would growl in annoyance as the two stumbled away from one another. Diamond would quickly turn away from the giant woman to attend to her queen. “I’m fine Diamond. Though I’m a tad disappointed you’d think that would hurt me.”

After sorting herself out, Madeline’s amber eyes would scan over where Sulyvahn was supposed to be. She clenched her metal fist tight. If it hadn’t been made of metal she’d have drawn blood. In the brief moment it had taken Madeline to recover from the kick to the face, the champion had already split. The pale man was not going to sit around and wait for Madeline. He had something to find. If the giant woman was supposedly on his side, then she could buy him time to find the essence he needed to regain his strength.

He wasn’t in the business of working with others, but now that the queen was here, he welcomed the distraction.

Madeline looked over the large woman clad in chain mail and then to Diamond. She let out a sigh. She really wanted to fight Sulyvahn. He was the only one here that was remotely worthy of her time even if she couldn’t kill him. Sufficient to say, she’d have to leave that task up to her two Knights and the human. Moving past Diamond, Madeline would stare the ashen haired woman in the eyes. Without taking her glance off the woman she’d address Diamond, Thalia, and Ashford. “Since I’m unable to kill Sulyvahn myself, I leave that task up to you three. In the meantime I’ll entertain myself with this one.”

Dream stumbled back, more from the surprise of being interrupted then not, but her interruption had served it's purpose, the dark man was free, and fleeing. She managed. And despite the fact she could have kept attacking, now and then. The Queen, the Diamond. The hunter. The chosen. She remained still, white eyes and a dangerous smile stuck to the visage of the Queen. Waiting.

Ashford, took note of that, but knew it was a sort of custom for his people... But then, this Dream looked about as weird as Cain, and even Hazel. Using his metal arm, Ashford would help Thalia up as it was needed, knowing the small hunter could easily pick herself up still, and nodded in the direction of the Queen when she spoke for the two and this new one. Diamond, to hunt Sulyvahn. He'd remember that name this time.

Moving to follow after the champion, he'd stop to take a look at Dream, who's own eyes flickered towards his for a moment before looking back to the Queen. "Dream. If he could do it. You can." The man said, before nodding to the two woman that were to accompany him and heading in the direction that would lead him towards their prey. After all. They had a champion to cause great pain too.


Soon after the three left, Dream would look to the... Well, nothing remained. Nothing remained of the small man that had let himself die to keep an immortal from killing another. "Stupid boy..." For the first time since she had come down to this dark dungeon, that endless smile faltered, turning to something bland. As it turned out, she did have scars along her mouth, keeping the smile alive. "Let's do this quickly, before Ashy turns out to be right." The woman spoke softly, but loud enough to be heard. And in the second after, she lunged at the Queen with more strength and speed then she had shown before, her body covered in fleshy thorns the size of daggers as she brought her arms and body down onto the Queen.

Madeline watched as the trio darted off into the darkness. She knew they had what it took to bring Sulyvahn down so she didn’t have much to worry about. Her glowing amber eyes would look up to the giant woman with a smile on her face. “So what’s your story? I know Sulyvahn didn’t hire you.” she’d be interrupted by the giantess’ attack. With minimal effort, Madeline would take a small hop to the left, avoiding the attack. Her hands had shifted from being out, to now being in her pant pockets. Showing she saw this fight as a casual affair and wasn’t taking it as serious as she should.

As her heels hit the ground she’d begin speaking again, her gaze never leaving the massive woman. “Someone else sent you. You reek of it. So tell me, who?” she’d finish. Again, she simply stood there. There was no reason for Madeline to attack this being, as much as she loved fighting. She’d take a totally casual approach to this fight, only lifting a finger if or when necessary.

Sulyvahn had used his time wisely. Using the shadows and a combination of his insane speed, he moved about the lower levels of the church like flowing water. He was completely unabated. It took him all the time he bought himself to wind through the corridors till he finally found the room he was looking for. A large stone slab stood between him and full power. He had to move quickly, as he could already hear the voices of his pursuers off in the distance.

Diamond led the small trio, he singular horn shined brilliantly and illuminated the dark hallways. She glanced over her shoulder to the tiny hunter and the human. Her gaze seeming to be fixed more so on Thalia. “I can’t believe you. Ignoring the queen’s orders.” her voice sounded stern. It definitely put Thalia down, enough so that she attempted to apologize before she was cut off by laughter coming from her fellow knight. “I was beginning to wonder when you’d grow enough backbone to pull a stunt like this. Madeline saw it coming, but I didn’t think you’d ever pull it off. Good stuff.”

The little hunter was extremely confused by this uncharacteristic behavior coming from Diamond. As far as she remembered, Spade and Diamond didn’t like her. Only Club and Madeline did. So what was with the sudden change of heart? Thalia wanted to question Diamond about her behavior, but the sound of stone scrapping against stone interrupted that. Diamond came to a sudden stop and held her hand out for the other two to stop as well. The sound was echoing all over the hallways, it made it hard for the shining knight to pin point the exact location. That’s when Thalia brushed by her and tilted her ear to the ceiling.

Her metal hand then shot out and pointed down the corridor to her left. “That way!” Diamond quickly shot back out ahead of the group and motioned for them to follow. “Come! I’m sure whatever he’s doing isnt good for us. The quicker we catch up to him the better!”

Ashford moved, no need to use his hand for the smallest light source, the one called Diamond served as a torch well enough, and he was thankful it was more then just he and Thalia. He wasn't sure if Lucian had more clones, deeper into the chruch, but he suspected that the clones could only come from outside the church, which meant the Queen was bound to be busy... If more came.

But more, his attention was on the two Arcadians who were more to themselves then he. A third wheel. He didn't belong among them, their foe wasn't his. He had already decided this, but he decided now would be the last time he gave it a thought. Soldiers fought battles, and he would fight this one. Because he wanted too. But he was also a man of words. And as he listened to the two talk, he gained even more a sense of the world these beings came from. Thalia looked as if she was about to for though something she knew, suffer words of abuse of some kind, yet the woman's words were that of someone proud.

Diamond, Club. Hmm. The Club one was proud enough of the little hunter, and Ashford understood that the reason this one was proud, was because she did something stupid. Doing stupid things was his profession, and being careful all your life would never lead to anything good. "She's right you know. Backbone is a virtue, hard to attain, but when perfected, will ether get you killed or kill your foes. A fun trade off, but a dangerous one." Ashford offered, following after them as they seemed to have tracked Sulyvahn. He wasn't much of a tracker of the stone and magic kind, so how they did it, he did not know, but he followed.

He had other tricks to give to this group anyway. No matter what, he'd fight and he'd lose whatever he needed before these two did. Most certainly, it wasn't his fight. But like he thought. He didn't care much for what was his.


Dream smashed into the floor, the ground cracking throughout the small dungeon and causing cracks to climb the walls, yet Dream didn't look happy, standing to full height to stare Madeline, far more annoyed then she wanted to be. "My story. Is far too long to explain, and half, is not even my own." The woman spoke, her voice itchy and screechy, but dying down, as her smile turned to a slight frown, a spiked hand tapping her head with little damage.

"Void... She said the lass... Demon... Lass was like Ashy, but you are more like him. He never like... He likes a fight. Loves a fight. Loves the idea that he can kill anything. Yet he will talk and talk and talk, even when a sword is at his throat, when his body is broken and when he is suppose to be dead... He will talk." She sighs, as her body seemed to harden and grow more spikes, as the ground seemed to crack under her feet just because her bare toes dug into it a little.

"But I will die before I-" Dream would pause, a frown upon her face at the same time a hammer stuck into her chest, breaking though the chain-mail and lodging into pale skin.

From the stairs, Cain sat, leaning against the wall, hand reached out as if he had thrown something, if only the gash of a claw on his face was the only damage, a wooden log, sharpened and thinned stunted out his chest, another in his leg. "Sorry Dream. Not enough time. Soul Break." With those two final words, the hammer would collapse, and so would Dreams chest, crumpling and shifting as she shifted in and out, between flesh and coffee, it's sweet smell engulfing the room.

With a sigh, Cain would stand himself, looking to the Queen with a sigh. "Lucian. This one retains the curse of evil. And someone more dangerous then Dream comes, not because he is strong. Not because he is powerful... Would... Would you mind carrying me to Ashford? After... Of course, you deal with them." The man spoke, walking as far as he could before he collapsed onto a nearby wall.

Following after him, a small woman, tall enough, yet still small, with the exact same look as Dream, only her hair and eyes were black. Following after her, was a large woman, more bulky then Dream with a Mace and finally, a dainty looking thing, with battle like gloves and amazing blond hair. Rather then talk, rather then wait, all three lunged forward, all attacking with varying speeds, ways and styles. All not enough to kill the Queen, but they were not meant too, but they were bland, unlike all those that came before. They were true dolls.

Madeline arched a scarlet brow as the woman spoke. She was quite the literal one. She obviously didn’t get the meaning behind the queen’s question, but that was fine. What was not fine, were the cryptic words the large woman spoke next. None of them made sense to the goddess. Pile that on top of the hangover she had, and a nasty headache started to form. If that wasn’t enough, just as it seemed like the giant woman was ready to start round two, a hammer came flying from the direction of the stairs.

The queen’s head would snap towards the injured man. “Ok, just who in the fuck are you?” Her question would fall on deaf ears as the old man mumbled something. The words seemed to do something as the massive woman began to collapse in on herself. The sweet aroma of coffee filled the air and lingered long enough to make Madeline slightly sick. Pinching her nose she’d turn back to the man. “You are literally going to ruin coffee for me.” The man would collapse shortly after that, but not before making a request of the queen.

As his body fell to the floor at her feet. Her gaze tracked his fall before turning back to the stairs as a trio appeared. “Oh for fucks sake! Are you kidding me?” she let out a small sigh before cracking her neck and then her knuckles. She really didn’t feel like wasting her energy on these three at all. She could tell they were no match for her, but she needed something to do. After all, it was going to take the other three some time to deal with Sulyvahn. The question then became how did she deal with them? With a smirk on her face Madeline decided to do something truly reckless. She’d let them hit her. She’d let every one of their attacks land. A few left a small sting, others managed to put small cuts in her skin. Soon however, The attacks would stop having any effect at all.

Madeline would wait for this moment before cracking a large smile and going on the offensive finally. Her eyes would flair with excitement as she lunged forward. She moved like a boxer, no, better than a boxer. It was almost like she glided across the floor as she moved. Her fists would shoot out almost faster than the eye could see. Sliding up to first to the blonde, Madeline would throw a series of rapid body jabs before sliding over to the one that wielded the mace. She’d throw a hard uppercut aiming to knock her off her feet. Lastly, Madeline would spin around and stop righting in the small one’s face. The queen’s metal arm would rocket upward towards the girls jaw.

While Madeline had her small brawl, the other three had finally arrived at the room Sulyvahn had fled to. When they arrived the large stone slab had been moved. Behind it sat a room so pitch black that not even Diamond’s light could pierce it. A sound would fill the room, it sounded like muffled screams. Almost like they were coming from someone trapped under water. A bright flash would fill the shadows, only showing the silhouette of a figure attacking three over figures. “W-were too late!” Thalia mumbled.

A moment later a corpse would come flying out of the fog. It looked like it had been completely drained. The flesh clung tightly to the bone. Sulyvahn would step out several seconds later, gripping an man by the head and dragging him along. The man screamed in agony as Sulyvahn siphoned the life out of him. The man known as the first champion, no longer looked pale or frail. He now had a relatively fair complexion and sported a well built and toned body. “Ah, Well it seems you’ve caught me at a good time. I’m all out of drink!” he said, throwing the mans drained corpse at the feet of Diamond.

In the blink of an eye Sulyvahn would appear in the knight’s face. Diamond would not budge, not even as the renegade champion drew his arm back and fired forward a devastating punch. The Knight would shatter like glass, and a foot would rocket forward to catch the champion in the face. Sulyvahn did not stagger or fall back however. Instead his form merely dissipated into smoke. “Still using that same old trick?”

“Was it a trick or a distraction?” Diamond would say, signaling to Thalia and Ashford that now was the time to attack. Thalia would dart forward, being led by a massive shard of ice she had fired from her glacial eye. Once she knew where Sulyvahn was going to move to, she caught up to him just as he appeared. Her metal arm would shoot upward from his chest. At the same time her arm started moving, there was a loud bang. The gunshot came from the gauntlet on the little hunters arm. It propelled her fist, and the steak attached to the gauntlet forward at insane speed.

The three clone dolls were easily vanquished soon after their attacks proved to have no more effect. Attack still, they had, yet when the Queen attacked back, true it was, they proved to be of no power. Each crumbled to coffee and ash, leaving nothing behind soon enough. Leaving the Queen and Cain alone in the room, he who had found an object to carry his weight, so that he could stare at the Queen and the fallen. "I'd say well fought, but pigs do not fight a butcher." He coughed, looking to his wound, coffee was faint, but there, more, the liquid took it's true form, that of words, runes.

"Perhaps if the goddess Dot was alone... And real... Matters not. I apologize for this. Lucian took this as a moment to be an annoyance. It is what this Lucian was. An annoyance. But one more god comes. And he is near perfect... I don't think... I'll be able to rune Ashy's weapon... One final time... Heh... What a blacksmith I am..." The man grew sully, attempting to pick himself up and walk after the three that had left, before falling to his knees with another cough.

"Stupid fake bodies. Only reason I talk is because of my soul. Woman hates me. Hates everyone she made." The man spat out, attempting to stand once more, only to continue his cycle.

Ashford, deeper in the church came with the other two to the end of their hunt. A failed hunt, he'd call it. He would like to fight something strong, at their strongest, bring them down to weak... But this world was far too powerful sometimes, and from what he saw of the Queen, this champion. The little hunter and the Diamond, Club. They would all be able to kill him easily. They healed. They had strength, they had weapons and powers. He had some poor magic and a coat. Yet he would live because of that.

He would live despite the strong man that stood before them, fast, powerful. And he was planning on killing everyone in this room. Beyond this room. For once, Ashford decided. He might just want this man dead. Nothing more.

So with his left hand, Ashford pulled out his rapier. Hoping it wouldn't kill them. Last time he stuck it in the man... Well, the shadow husk, it had little effect. Of course, this was a man. And if Hazel could harm him. The rapier could. It harmed the unkillable. Normally it killed the unkillable. Hell he believed that it'd kill him, and he was as unkillable as the void walkers.

And when the Knight have the signal, Ashford was not slow. He was not as fast as all of them, but he was fast, quite fast. So while Thalia went right for Sulyvahn, Ashford did the same, he just did so from the side, waiting for him to make his move so he could lunge with both rapier and claw. No thoughts on anything, but the idea that he could harm this man, that he could hurt this man. It had to drive him now. His strength and his speed. Whatever he could with it.

Madeline came to a full stop as her opponents fell apart around her. Slipping her hands back into her pockets she turned to the old man. It was a damn shame the fight had ended already. “That’s quite a bit harsh old man.” she said, moving away from the three piles of ashes and over to the blacksmith’s side. Those words he said, it echoed in Madeline’s mind. It was something she surly would have said back in the day, but more as an insult. These three, while they didn’t put up any challenge, still tried and she admired that.

The man went on to talk more about things that the queen either found lost in hearing, or just didn’t care. She was only here for Sulyvahn. The presence of these other beings was disturbing to say the least. She’d walk along side the old man as he tried to carrying himself down the hallway. He looked really rough, enough so that it called Madeline’s attention. “You ok old man? You’re not going to say ‘I don’t feel so good’ and end up like them are you?” she said pointing to the ash piles. After collapsing for a third time, Madeline scoffed and rolled her eyes. She wasn’t about to bend down and offer the injured man a hand, but she also wasn’t going to wait for him to get up.

With a snap of her fingers a quick flash of fire illuminated the room as a Large Gorilla looking pygmy emerged. Where a normal Gorilla would have fur on its body, this demon was covered in bone like armor plates, similar to Thalia’s cheetah. With a nod of her head, the beast would pick the man up. Once he was secure, Madeline would continue their stroll down the maze like hallways. “This Lucian you mentioned. Tell me more. Mainly why she’s trying to interfere here.”

Sulyvahn wasn’t too surprised that Diamond would try a fake out. She was basically out matched, especially with the other two at her side. This was a fight they couldn’t win. Still, he applauded their efforts. Upon seeing the little ball of hair fire a large shard of ice at him, the renegade champion would simply dodge out of the way. His eyes would shoot wide open when he heard the loud bang from Thalia’s gauntlet. The steak would pierce his torso, right under his ribs. Blood shot out of his mouth.

He might not have felt the impact, but the force and damage done by the driver on his otherwise human body was clearly visible. He’d stumble back several steps, his blood pouring out of the wound as it began stitching itself together. Then came the next attack, the thin blade of Ashford rapier piercing through his chest, narrowly missing Sulyvahn’s heart. The champion would let out a guttural yell as be unleashed an omnidirectional blast knocking both Thalia and Ash away from him. The two had done their part, and now it was Diamond’s turn.

Running up the middle, Diamond would dodge and weave as Sulyvahn tried to force his blood up from the ground in mini deadly spikes. Diamond would get to what she felt was adequate enough distance and would unleash a blast of concentrated light from her horn. The blast would hit the champion square in the chest, causing him to hiss in pain as she stumbled back again. Sulyvahn looked at his three attackers. How was he getting pushed back? He was Arcadia’s first champion. He had felled entire armies single handedly. His only conclusion was that he hadn’t absorbed nearly enough energy. Growling, he’d glance about the room. The massive wall of pitch black fog was at his back. He’d use it. Holding his hand to his side, the black fog began to get pulled towards his palm, forming an orb of darkness.

“Both of you, get behind me now!” Diamond would shout to Thalia and Ash.

Ashford's weapon found it's mark. A notion that made him smile. Also slightly terrified him. He didn't want to kill Sulyvahn, not with the rapier. He wasn't sure how the Arcadians and the Champions treated death, but his death would come ultimate if the rapier took him. But there was at least blood, and Ashford attempted to follow up with his claws, but Sulyvahn was not a man to let himself be a bedding for weapons.

Knocked back, but at least not badly harmed by that wave of darkness, and the older knight continued the fight, attacking with her own seemingly magic power. Powerful at that. Sulyvahn was alone, and his soldiers of clones, not his own, but someone who wanted this to not be as easy as it could have been. Maybe even have him win, after all. They were not done. "At least you're a fighter Sulyvahn." Ashford spoke as the man gathered his own magic, and the older champion called for them both to get behind her. So he moved. Gloved hand out in the direction of the champion in case he didn't make it. His glove would protect him, somewhat.

Cain grunted as the furry beast picked him up, letting out a annoyed groan as he stared ahead to the cold dark, coughing, before taking in a breath. "Old man. I'm 34. I just got trapped in a box with Lucy for several hundred years, sure. Aged, yet didn't." The man said, pulling the broken wood from his leg and summoning an emerald, small, but when he crushed it, it became a ashen dust, which he held to his leg.

"What to say. There is a lot. To say. But much you perhaps do not care about. So I will not give details of who they are. Lucian is a menace, this one anyway. She is free of the bonds that contained her, still chained, but no holder of the leash. The chained parts made her want to annoy... Well. You. Thinks you're too similar looking and perhaps thinking." He'd give the Queen a look, curious eyes looking her up and down.

"I think I see an honor in you. Or perhaps it is because Ashy has taken a liken to you and your lass. If he hadn't. He'd have sided with the bastard that Lucian is using without using, then she'd have summoned us for you. God damn pest she is, festering the wound, making us, pulling us from our world. Not the real us, but those with the hero soul, or powerful enough to take sentience the stronger the clone she made- Slow down you oath. We'll want to give the lass and Ashford their chance." Cain finally complained after his many words, looking more in pain then he hoped to have let on, and taking it out on the pygmy demon that carried him.

But soon after he sighed, looking ahead once more, hands shaking as he took off his blacksmith gloves. "...Well. Maybe that thing will catch us before we get there. The god of choices. Considered one of the weakest gods in terms of power. The strongest in the damn fact of who he is. Mr Ford. Queen. You might have one final annoyance before we reach your lass." The old man warned, before letting his head lull, but more to relax, then letting go. He wasn't letting go just yet.