With Storm I sit, leaning back, on a plush couch. I go through my bag as I do. From the messages I'll be sent back to my previous job, cool and war will be sent to bastion, boo. How bad of a idea
"A long time ago, the Demon of Fate and the Demon of Dread played a game. Only, being insane bastards, they played with Great and Cursed Nightmare Creatures instead of game pieces. And - what would you know? - Kai and I got sucked into the Death Game realm and given a choice between winning an unwinnable game or meeting our deaths. So, we went and won."
I laugh
"yeah. I don't think I like dread much anymore. First the tomb now that damn game? How terrible, plus it was based on the ash and snow kings, how disrespectful!"
Sunless laughs
"I've got to agree, demons and their overly complex and insane creations. Anyway, where do I begin? First, we eradicated a swarm of one hundred Great Beasts. Then, we graduated to fighting Cursed abominations. The first one we killed was an infinite worm. And I mean literally infinite. That thing seemed like trouble, but actually, it died when I simply stepped on it."
They all look at Kai who's looks quite miserable
"It's true. it's all true."
I take out some of the mountain I took
"I even took some mountain and heart tree for the trouble!"
They all turn to me, kai and sunless seem a little exasperated everyone else seems either confused, not shocked or in seishans case very entertained.
"Oh and I also took the corpse of the cursed tyrant. Its mine now. Can't have it"
Sunless looks at me
"Well I'd best get a real nice coat out of it"
I sit in my ice PTV the wind hitting it. After a few more minutes someone knocks on the passenger door. I lean over opening it.
"So what trouble are we getting into this time sunless?"
He sits down and I drop a large coat in his lap. He picks it up then stops
"You actually made it into a coat?"
I nod
"You asked."
He nods
"I heard that one of you is making a map can I see some of it"
I summon the mirror and I gloat it over the map. Death looks up then goes back to drawing
"Damnation that's big"
I snicker
"Thats what she said"
He ignores me then points to a point on it.
"That seems to be where I want to go"
I finally start driving
"So whats there anyways. Im sure death picked that one clean. It had some sacred soul shards if I'm correct. Oh and that it was like super horrifically dangerous"
He smiles and starts doing the weird things with his hands again.
"Oh just a spear used by a god"
I nod
"Cool seems useful."
He seems a little dejected at the fact I didn't react much.
With Sun I finally lay down on my real bed. I mostly stay in the waking world, for reasons of not having my own citadel. They plan on making my citadel the temple to shadow god but great tyrant being a great tryant is a problem. I open my eyes at a message from storm
Storm: [birth day sunless! Cake! Pay in new cursed tryant blanket!]
I groan and I send a message out that ill get it and i get up. I'll get some blanket for my troubles so I guess its fine enough. Now I do doubt that crazy person would actually make a blanket out of it but still. Hey at least I did get a new attribute because of their foolishness.
[Gemstones of ash]
Description: [When the snow and ash tyrants where but transcendents they swapped valuable Gems. A set of 5 beautiful kyanite crystals cut by the snow king himself was given to the ash king. A group of 3 enchanting obsidian glass gems found in the deepest parts of the volcano was given to the snow king.]
It can be used to power up one self or allies. So that's cool enough. I hope i won't have to do any more stupid missions. Although I am very sure I will have to sooner or later. A cake though, that's easy enough to get.
3rd person
Sunless comes out of the water. He looks around the destroyed ruins of true bastion. He sighs deeply turning into a shadow for a second to dry himself off. Effie comes out of the water steaming swearing quite loudly
"Darn, damn, dammit, damnation, what the actual hell?!"
She flips her hair back out of her face
"Kai gets to have awesome hot springs in Ravenheart, but I get to be cooked alive in a boiling lake? I almost became soup! How is that fair? Man... Nephis really did a number on this place."
Sunless sighs agreeing with the statement
"Yeah. The ruins are completely destroyed. It's strange, though... she mentioned that there would be no water in the lake, but it seems no different from before."
"Well, it is an illusion created by the Demon of Imagination. Those can very well be more real than reality itself."
Sunless looks out at the water
"There's a drowned city on the bottom of the real lake here, right? But there is nothing like that in our version of Bastion. That is also curious."
Effie sighs and starts walking towards the shore
"You've been to Rivergate, I presume? Well, there is actually a twin complex of great dams north of True Bastion. This one was utterly destroyed thousands of years ago, though—my theory is that it was by the same blow that shattered the moon and turned Imagination's castle into ruins. That was how the city drowned, I think."
Sunless turns his head looking at her
"There is another dam upstream from the Mirror Lake?"
Effie nods simply
"There is in True Bastion, but not in the illusory one. I think both dams were built by the Demon Imagination, and that they had something to do with the Mirror Lake. She seems to have been fond of playing with water, for some reason. It's such an ancient past that there is no way to know for sure, of course."
Sunless gets a surprised expression on his face
"Huh? Since when are you interested in exploring ancient history?"
Effie chuckles more to herself then anything
"Since I was put in charge of Bastion? I need to know the background of the city I am meant to rule to avoid unpleasant surprises. Ancient past tends to become present problems quite often here in the Dream Realm. Now when is ■■■■ arriving. I want to get this show on the road"
Sunless jumps as two pale soft hands put themselves on his shoulders and a soft and almost cheeky voice comes from right behind him
"Their already here"
He spins around seeing a very tall bottom heavy woman with four arms, long soft hair, a two part long dress, and a mischievous smile on her face.
"Who are you? And I'm a taken man don't be putting your hands on me"
The woman laughs
"I'm the spider queen and war is already here"
Effie blinks
"The-"
"echo?"
With loud yet almost impossible to notice steps a figure in large full plate armor walks over.
"Oh ■■■■ I didn't know your echo could turn into that. I dont know how but you keep getting some of the most attractive echos around"
War makes no attempt to respond looking at sunless who is wiping his shoulders off
"Let's go already"
The four walk through a maze of mirrors together
"Oh how cruel are you sunless not letting a lady eat"
Effie huffs
"Yeah its real cruel. If you dont feed me, maybe ill just eat you"
The spider queen lifts sunless's arm
"Hmm he's far too thin and small. Look at him built like a twig. That fiend echo would be far better"
Sunless grimaces
"I am not too thin!"
Soon the group gets to the hall and sunless summons saint.
"Oh my, how very pretty. How lucky you are, to hang out with such beautiful people all day"
Sunless huffs to himself
"Ah. I dont like it"
The group all surround him
"Just think about your favorite food. Actually, I've tried something very delicious recently! Have you ever tried... a barbequed Cursed rat? If not, I cannot recommend roasting one over lava enough..."
Effie simply pushes him forward and the cohort enters the hall of imagination.