Ghost was hard pressed to look away from Lilith’s retreat. It was less so from admiration and more so out of a realization that she was leaving him to his own devices. He could just… Leave. She was basically handing him an escape. Could he do it? Could he just leave this disaster? He was already on camera losing his mind. This was bound to chase him to the ends of the multiverse. He had no real escape anymore and she knew that.
Ghost looked forward at the task ahead. How was he ever to move missiles onto a ship and up to where she was? He had no doubt in his mind she’d make a path of desolation for him to move freely but it was up to him to first find both a ship and the stash of missiles that existed somewhere in this enormous silo. His thoughts were muddled and it was intensified by the sounds of Lilith’s destruction from above.
“THERE’S ONE OF THEM!”
A booming voice echoed Ghost’s direction. He looked towards its direction to see several armed guards aiming guns and magic in his direction. The completion of thought would have to wait. He sprinted away from the guards in an attempt to escape the fray whilst also covering ground to find his objectives. Two birds.
Ghost fled with great speed away from the projectiles flung his way as he scanned the room. There were multiple places that the objectives could be and it would require at least five to ten minutes to see the whole thing even at max velocity. That coupled with the adversarial side of things could push this to an hour long ordeal. That was too long. Lilith was making quick work of her project by the sound of things. Why was it that even mattered to him?
His continuous thinking did not do him any good. A stray bolt of fire shot through his kidney and he responded in kind with a large yelp. Now, his speed was reduced and that sort of a blow was deadly. He now had less time to finish and moved slower. This was suicide. He was going to fucking die here. It didn’t stop him, though. He kept running. The only thing he knew how to do was complete missions. So he kept pushing.
The long metal walls finally led into a staircase that rose into rafters above that may give him a better vantage. The railing of these rafters would offer minor deflection from the incoming bullets and spells that threatened him. As he sped as fast as he could across them, bobbing and weaving to avoid further injury, his eyes locked onto something. Another door. A large one at that. Something that could potentially harbor exactly what they needed. When God closes a window..
ZZRAAAPPP.
Another bolt connected with the rogue. This time piercing straight through his stomach. Ghost choked as he fell flat on the rafter and rolled to his side. The pain was too much. This whole fucking day was too fucking much. Maybe it would be best if he just died. Let all this go to waste and even disappoint that succubus. What a retort that’d be. Have fun getting out on your own, monster.
Ghost, in incredible pain, laughed in his head at the entire scenario that he’d been thrust into. His own wish for something greater had appeared in a fashion he had completely not expected. Now, here he lay, a corpse waiting to be.
“Gideon.”
A feminine sound muffled by static rang in his head as his eyes slid shut.
“Stand up, Gideon.”
—
Lilith’s cheeks flushed red as she watched the chaos unfurl above her. The Axe having fulfilled every wish she could’ve imagined as friends and comrades tore each other to shreds with devastating magic and Arcadian machinery. It was her own personal fireworks show and how kind of them to put it on for her. It got her excited witnessing them fall like drones to the sound of the weapon she held in her hands.
She started to wonder what was taking the lithe man so long. She was anticipating a fun reunion for the both of them and clearly she had done her part of the bargain. She looked back towards the wreckage she’d caused to get here and winced at the lack of his arrival. The carnage continued to play out above her as she put a fist to her hip and cocked her head.
“Sure is taking forever. At least I know he’s not a two pump ch-AHH!”
Without warning a line of lightning struck across the woman’s cheek from an unknown source. A trickle of ichor flowed into the winds of war as she turned to face whatever dared challenge her. Upon the landing pad for the helicopter stood a lone electromancer brandishing another bolt ready to fly as if Zeus himself had hurled it.
“Can’t get enough of me?” She smirked and charged forward while the spellcaster let loose his spear.
—
Ghost’s eyes opened to a new place. The air here felt liquid and there was naught but blackness. Wherever he was it wasn’t the same place he had been. There was a weird calmness here. A break in the chaos. He realized he was sitting in this place. Not only that but he was not wearing his normal cyberpunk getup. Now he wore a cream colored tunic and ragged deep green pants. His hair was down and long enough to be laying across the obsidian ground.
Ghost had never seen this outfit before. He certainly didn’t own it. But it felt familiar? That was odd. He liked it here. It was peaceful here. It was quiet her-
“Gideon, darling, stand up.”
That same voice. The one that sounded like heaven wrapped in shredded metal. It was coming from directly above him. He tilted his head backwards and looked straight upward. Floating above him was the image of some cosmic nightmare. A four armed giant wrapped in what looked like scripture stared back at him with an open hole in its face. This hole was ringed with rows and rows of razor sharp teeth. No eyes or other features, just this horrid maw.
Its skin seemed to be made of the same air that swallowed this whole… Room? What was this place? What had it called him?
Ghost couldn’t remain on one thought. He hadn’t even lingered on the design of the monstrosity that hovered over him. He felt as if in a dreamlike stasis and was not in control of things his mind conjured. He did not feel any fear either. Something else was willing the things he thought in this place.
“Who are you?” Ghost asked in a brief moment of lucidity. He wondered why he wasn’t afraid of the thing. More than anything he felt warm as if he was wrapped in several blankets. There was that odd familiarity again.
“My sweet child.” Its voice rang out. “This is not where you should die.”
Ghost listened to its harmonious voice as if it was the sweetest song he’d ever heard. It was so ominous and yet it held him tight like a mother would.
“I am so sorry for the agony you’ve experienced today. Understand that it is for your benefit.” The large monster dipped a hand towards him.
“Born years before, you have left the place you knew as home. Not of your own volition nor your making. We found you then. Amidst the aether. Gave you a chance in the Crossroads.”
What was it this thing was saying? These words were heard by the rogue but he did not understand them. After all; he was but a mercenary. Nothing more, nothing less. Was this a glimpse into his past?
As if the eldritch thing could read his thoughts it spoke;
“This is now. You are now. We brought you to the Beyond in order to survive your previous ordeal. Gideon, one of those we stole from Earth; know that we love you.”
None of this made any form of sense to the dying soldier. The words that escaped its lips were heavenly but said almost nothing. It was telling him things for no rhyme or reason it seemed. This thing just wanted to talk at him with no expectation of reply or understanding.
“Speak some sense, will you?” Ghost asked the being. “Where am I? Who are you? What am I doing here? I was on a mission.”
Right. He wasn’t here before. Right? This place was messing with his head. He couldn’t remember what EXACTLY he had been doing but he knew he had been on a mission. With who though?
“You ask me to speak sense when you act without any.” The voice came back from the haunting tunnel that was this thing’s face. Finally it would reply to him as if it had been addressed by him.
“You decided to follow someone you could’ve easily escaped. Reputation aside, she poses no real threat to you. Not if you don’t want her to. Perhaps you would be unable to best her in combat but that does not leave you helpless.”
The heavenly tone altered into a scolding one. One of disappointment. As a parent who’d caught their child stealing.
“You’ve tossed your life and hope aside because you wished for something greater. More meaningful. A selfish and common act among those of flesh. While we’d considered you to be above such petty notions it seems you are still naught but human. We love you, Gideon, but we will not allow you to make this mistake again. Follow the succubus led by the dragon. Slay them both when the time is ripe. If it is greatness you wish for, this is how you will find it. May this boon we offer remind you of your transgression.”
Ghost was stunned. Unable to say anything. Who did this deity think they were? Think HE was? They obviously had the wrong person.
“I’m sorry to say this but I don’t deal with Gods. You must have mistaken me for someone else.”
At that moment the enormous hand that dipped towards Ghost swooped him in its terrifying grasp and at an incredible speed launched him towards the maw of teeth. The last thing Ghost heard before his eyes shut once more was;
“I am Volug, The Reversion of Stars, and you will remember your void, Gideon.”
—
A show of sparks danced atop the roof of this Arcadian facility as lightning and muck flew about in a violent pirouette. The electromancer was quick to understand that his time in this fight was limited and had swiftly accepted his death. He would, however, do what he could to keep this she-devil from ripping the city to shreds beyond the damage she’d already done.
Lilith was herself getting rather bored of the little magic man. She’d had enough of skinny dudes with attitude today especially considering she would have more to deal with once Ghost got off his lazy ass. Waiting for him was growing exhausting and the weaponry and magic Arcadia had to offer was truly proving to be amateur; at least in her jaded eyes.
The monstrosity flew towards her opponent, closing the distance between her and the spellcaster in a second. Upon reaching him she reformed and gripped the tiny mage by his soon to be shattered neck. She grinned.
“You dumb fucks think you can handle me?!” The electromancer did not speak. He simply shot a cacophony of streaking bolts into her face before teleporting from her grasp. The blow was irritating but paltry. His magic was clearly not built for attrition.
The man conjured more magic in his hands as his sharp and uneven breaths entered Lilith’s ears. Perhaps if she was made to wait this long she could at least play with her food a little more. She sauntered towards him in her glistening, gory glory and kept a wide smile. The mage’s face darkened. He knew the end was near.
—
Ghost’s eyes opened to five or so Arcadian guards surrounding him. His hands were bound by irons and a voice was radioing to someone out of sight. His hearing hadn’t entirely returned to him yet. The event that had just transpired felt as if he was coming to from a dream born of a concussion. His sight was fuzzy and his hearing was ruptured. The words between the radioman and whoever was on the other side was frantic but too muffled to make out.
“Your boon; my child.” The voice from the darkness snuck through one more time. All of the sudden there was a sharp and immense pain in Ghost’s eyes. He yelled out loudly to the surprise of all the guards who’d assumed he’d been unconscious.
“The infiltrator is awake.” The first words he could clearly understand and they made him so…
Angry. He felt such a fury passing through him. He was suddenly so fucking sick of everything around him. This pompous fucking kingdom, that bitch monster on the rooftop, these stupid pointless fucking useless guards. That feeling he’d had when he’d killed the target earlier today was now exacerbated tenfold.
“Whoa what is happening with them?! Back away from the infiltrator!”
Their voices were like someone taking a cheese grater to their fucking teeth. He hated it. He hated them so fucking much. He opened his eyes fully to see the same facility but it was layered in black smoke that seemed to be hazing over everything around him.
“What the fuck is that?” The sounds of armaments being readied and spells being prepared started up again. Another annoyance. Another fucking loud, awful noise.
Ghost wasn’t even entirely aware of what happened next. He remembered standing up but he didn’t remember putting his hand through one of the gunner's stomachs. What he did know was how god damn good it felt. He pulled his arm out, now slick with blood and exhaled deeply.
“You’ve impeded my progress.” Ghost said calmly. He looked to the ceiling. “Now I’m late.” Whatever died with Ghost today; his pragmatism seemed to not. The amplified mercenary wasted no more time. He rushed one of the mages and snapped his neck without thought. As bullets and magic came back into the fray Ghost noticed how easily he was able to avoid them. He was different; stronger.
The remaining of them fell easily. The radio they dropped continued screaming. As an ode to what Lilith had done to him, he heeled it into the ground. More would come soon enough. Or maybe he could find them first. That door he’d seen. Before he’d collapsed. That would hold his answers. Ghost went to leap from the rafters when he finally saw his own hands. They were clawed and black as pitch.
Was his poisoning spreading? Or was it the boon this horrid beast had so lovingly bestowed? It wasn’t worth thinking about now. He had to finish this. Ghost jumped from the rafter and landed into a roll towards the massive door he’d seen. In long strides he crossed the silo quite quickly and smashed his hand against the button to open the next room. A large alarm rang once to notify of the door’s opening followed by a slow lifting of what looked like the entire metallic wall.
Ghost’s impatience was only growing. This needed to be over with. He was far too sick of playing games with Lilith and now entertaining these Arcadian fucking nobodies. He put his newly clawed hands to the bottom of the rising wall and flung it upward. It didn’t so much as fly completely open but rather jammed and cocked with barely enough room for him to squeeze through. The door lifted itself even further but lodged itself sideways and became inoperable.
Before him, Ghost could see a large hangar of some sort. An exit runway for departing ships and various cargo was immediately visible. He stood next to a railing with two parallel staircases leading downward to the hangar floor. A single ship was docked on the runway with some of its crew turning their head to the sound of the breaking door. And, to Ghost’s immense relief, he could see a single crate by this ship with large warnings of flammability and possible explosions.
Bingo.
Ghost descended the staircase at immaculate speed and the sound of frightful shouts could be made out coming from the crew members who were now fleeing from the sight of the intruder. Whatever he looked like right now it must be causing incurable distress.What a bittersweet feeling. Is this how Lilith felt all the time? No. She had lost much more humanity than he had. If she ever had it to begin with.
As Ghost approached the bottom he sped up so he could catch one of the fleeing crewmen. The man turned and upholstered his pistol. Before it could raise to his attacker’s head the man felt a painful grip on his wrist. Ghost’s clawed hand crunched down on the arm of the man and shattered the bone. The rogue took the pistol and aimed it straight into the man’s nose.
“If you value your life you will help me lift this box of missiles back into the ship.”
The man shook his head. “This isn’t a threat…” He said as he raised his working arm in surrender. “But you don’t want to do this. Making an enemy of Arcadia is a terrible idea, mate. You’ll be hunted to the ends of the universe for attacking a base like this.”
Ghost mockingly chuckled at the man’s plea. “A bit passed that part, aren’t we? Grab one end of the fucking box. I don’t care if your arm is broken.”
A large blast rang out from above them signaling the arrival of reinforcements. They’d blown through the broken door and were back to aiming down towards Ghost. Quite cyclical, wasn’t it?
Ghost didn’t hesitate and aimed upward at the new interlopers in the plan. One shot rang from the stolen pistol and crashed through the back of one of the mages' skulls. His body slumped forward over the railing as the other began to open fire. Ghost shot back with the stolen weapon as he proceeded to move behind the ship for cover.
The clip in the inferior weapon ran out quickly. His hands were deadlier weapons anyways. He tossed the pistol aside and extended his hand;
“Petal.” He said firmly as his bow manifested in his hands. He cocked a void arrow back and turned to face the assailants. Letting it loose it pierced through the heart of soldier and the stomach of one standing behind them. It would be just two or three more arrows to clear out the remainder of the intrusion. This was it. He was so fucking close to being done with this. No more interruptions.
The crewman had been cowering next to the missile crate. He had been lucky as all hell the guards hadn’t blasted it sky high. Ghost, too, was grateful for that. Ghost pointed towards the ship.
“I changed my mind. Get it running, I’ll move the crate myself. If you try to fly away I will kill you.” Ghost picked the crewman up and pushed him towards the front of the smaller cargo ship. He walked towards the missile crate next and gauged it. The missiles inside must not be very large but likely quite destructive. Intended either for direct bombing or maybe a defense system.
It was weird. Looking at a prize that would put you in a dragon tyrant's favor. This small box alongside whatever power he’d been granted to accomplish this will have changed his life forever. To think it hadn’t even been a full rotation of the suns. He chuckled.
Ghost squatted down to lift the box with his legs. Even with his new strength the thing was heavy as shit. He could certainly carry it but not for much longer.
“Hey!” Ghost called out. “Let the ramp down!”
A distant voice responded;
“What button is that?!”
Ghost shook his head. “How the fuck should I know? Figure it out!” The sounds of mechanical fiddling could be heard from the open door of the cockpit. Ghost could feel his knees getting tired. Jesus, what were these things made out of? Dark matter? Ghost set the box back down as nothing seemed to be happening yet.
“What is taking you so fucking long?”
“Dude, I’m an engineer, not a pilot.”
For fucks sake. Ghost stomped over to the cockpit door and shoved the crewman into the passenger seat. He took a look at the control panel. Yeah, this thing was super confusing. The guy had every right to be lost. The rogue started messing with random buttons and switches that he thought might be what he’s looking for. Nothing seemed to be happening at all which didn’t make any sense.
Just his luck. After all this, even an epiphany with some stupid fucking God, the only ship he finds just outright doesn’t work.
“Hey, uh...” The crewman started. Ghost looked to him with the plan to scold him until he saw what he was pointing at. The big red ‘start’ button that was presumably not pressed. Slowly, uncomfortably so, Ghost reached over and pressed it. The ship roared to life with a whir and lights all across the dash lit up, clearly indicating which buttons should be pressed. Ghost and the crewman just sort of looked at each other. Ghost got out of the ship once more and told the stranger to open the ramp. This time, it was done with extreme ease.
The young rogue had never felt stupider in his whole life. With the ramp actually down, Ghost was able to lift the box of missiles into the ship. He swung back around into the passenger seat and made the crewman pilot. While the crewman was figuring out what to do, Ghost reached under his seat to find another pistol. This city sure loved its guns. He pressed it to the crewman’s temple.
“Ten seconds.”
—
The electromancer severely underestimated how much this one liked to play with her food. He stood up again from one of the several batterings he’d received and turned to look at his opponent. The woman who seemed to have no wounds. No fatigue, even. Whoever was to finally bring her down would have to be immaculately powerful. Not too hard to find in the Crossroads. The mage of lightning’s breathing was sharp and too fast to be healthy.
“Wh-why...” He started. “Why are yo-you doing this?”
Lilith rolled her eyes. The dying always wanted a goddamn explanation. She began to saunter towards him and teasingly put a finger to her lips as if she was thinking reeeeaalll hard about it. In truth she was just considering what would be fun to say to this. Give him a quick laugh before she finally did him in.
Where the fuck was Ghost?! She’d been fighting this guy for like ten minutes waiting for him. Had he really just fucked off and she had gotten so wrapped up in this little game that she didn’t notice? That skinny boy was fucking in for it if that was the case.
“Tell ya the truth, yellow guy.” She said playfully. “I just like making people scream for me.” A grin resurfaced to contrast the stranger magician’s deep scowl and bloodied face. He shook his head while he pulled something electric out of the ground at his feet.
“That’s such fucking garbage.” “He said back to the monster. “Just for kicks? Bullshit. You would have been killed by now if you kept doing that. Who do you work for?”
This conversation couldn’t be more boring to Lilith. Plus one she’d heard a hundred thousand times from other would-be heroes. People loved to put themselves on a pedestal when they were about to die. She shook her head exhaustedly. Both from the boring fight and the waiting for her partner to pick his pace up.
“My master, hmm? You wanna know who punishes me when I fail?’ She smiled. The electromancer could barely believe what he was hearing. She just treated all of this like some fucked fantasy. The young mage took in a deep breath and exhaled it. His eyes went stalwart but sad.
“Nevermind. You can’t debate with evil.” The man finished pulling what he’d been pulling out of the ground. A large snake made of lightning coiled itself around him and looked towards the large woman. It hissed and bolts of lightning fell from its fangs as it did so. The man conjured more lightning in the form of swords in his hands as he prepared to rush down the woman in his final stand.
Lilith shook her head once more in a mocking fashion. At least he’d accepted his death. This had been getting boring for a while now and it was time to put it to rest. She was readying herself to stomp this man’s flame out when something in the air caught her attention. An odd gray blob had appeared above their fight. It was a jarring sight and clearly unnatural.
“What is tha-'' Lilith started before the blob came down from the sky like a meteor. The electromancer had almost reached Lilith before the said blob landed square on top of him. A loud crunch and crack to indicate the decimation of the man. A large red stain now lay beneath the cargo ship that landed just in front of Lilith and the clumsy piloting left a crack in the helipad they were fighting atop. The cockpit door opened with a man holding his hands up and backing away. He stumbled to his backside.
“Wait wait wait we had a deal we had a d-” Before the man could finish a loud bang followed by the man's brains being spilled on the pavement interrupted him. Footsteps sounded and out stepped Ghost. Yet he looked quite different to Lilith. His eyes and mouth poured out a black smoke and his hands were clawed like the devils. He looked like a feral demon.
The rogue looked towards Lilith with disinterest.
“Get in. Before I change my fucking mind.”
4405 + 5632 = 10037/10000
Used 1 focus to increase Krav Macabre's strength and alter appearance (cosmetic only)
