"Hello, apologies for the…unsightly scene. Unfortunately your arrival has forced me to expedite my plans." The towering, lanky white-eye said, fixing his simple layered robes with bone plating. He brushed his long-fingered hands through the dark, sparse hair revealing rotten bald patches on his grey scalp.
"You planned on wiping them all out at once after using their zombies to dwindle the region. Clever, but why kill them now?" Cassi asked as I scanned the area for any signs of a trap. The edges of his thin lips curled into what resembled satisfaction, though his facial expression hadn't twitched since he bit that necromancer's head off.
"I take it you don't know what I am either." He said, glancing amongst the three of us.
"intriguing thus far, to say the least." Korbin quickly answered, sounding genuinely interested in this thing.
"Kind, but I've grown quite weary of compliments for another lifetime." The white-eye calmly replied, their whispered voice slowly hanging heavier in the air with every word.
"Care to explain who or what you are exactly? And why did those others back there act so feral when you seem in complete control of yourself?" I asked, taking another step closer feeling confident they had no allies nearby.
"My living name was Cindral, but most know me as The Unashamed. What I am, well…isn't it obvious?" The white-eye asked, lifting their palm and summoning an orb of writhing shadowy faces that screamed hollowly as they ricocheted in his boney hand. This 'Unashamed' humanoid then crushed the orb, immediately dispersing a massive dark cloud that engulfed my vision.
"I am free." The Unashamed whispered, their voice echoing from every direction. With a few slashes to the air, I managed to clear enough of the clouds to make out my own body illuminated by the lightning mana surging through my blades chains.
"Cassi, Korbin?" I called out, only to receive no response.
"Why did you come here? Were the legions of undead not a great enough warning to leave me alone to enjoy my meal?" The Unashamed hissed, his voice twisting and fluttering on the wind. Listening closely for footsteps, I slowly crept toward Cassi's side.
"Is it greed? Certainly none of you could have lasted this long without reaping the system's rewards for killing. That is a level of shortsightedness that I could understand." He continued, adding a subtle inflection that hinted at some sort of mourning. Ripple Striding forward, I slashed at a glimpse of his noseless face in the darkness only to find no purchase.
""Maybe it's a sense of duty? Like your skill with a weapon somehow inherently merits you serve as life's bastion of ethical righteousness. The worst kind of liars." The Unashamed hissed, sounding far more bitter.
*CRACK*
"Or is it fear that's poisoned your mind with a fatal mixture of hatred and prejudice? Fear that even the 'wicked' could unite under a single cause, without the need for your bullshit codes only those with no power have to abide. That you aren't truly as safe as you might've thought." He continued with the sound of bones crunching somewhere in the depths of the dark fog.
"Whatever the case may be, you each play a pivotal role today in testing m-"
*BANG*
A bright orange flash erased half the fog, replacing it with whirring flames that immediately subsided. Korbin stood under the only visible lowlight other than my lightning, arching another fireball over my head before jogging over. I followed the flames' path as it cut through the shadows in a burst of hot light. Spotting a tree limb visible through the dwindling fog, my grappling hook fired out as I yanked myself skyward. Piercing my blade into the bark, I peered down at the mixture of dark fog and flames slowly clearing to find Cassi in a vicious melee with The Unashamed. The pale creature looked nearly double his previous height, his white eyes replaced with a sharp red glow. Cassi's staff sat clutched within his insanely long fingers, though she clearly didn't seem to mind landing a strong hooking punch to his jaw.
Leaping from the bark, I could see Korbin sprinting in with his battle ax in-hand from the opposite side. Cassi ducked under a shadowy swipe from The Unashamed's claw-like nails, landing a stiff uppercut in response before snatching the creature in her arm by the neck. In one fluid motion, The Unashamed tucked and rolled forward with an arm clutching around Cassi's. Locking her legs around the creature's incredibly cut midsection, Cassi looked to have him in prime position to start doing serious damage to his spine. That's when the color quickly faded from her face as she fell limply off The Unashamed's back.
Shit.
Without a word, Korbin tossed a stone spear over my shoulder as I Ripple Strided toward the grey-skinned creature palming Cassi's skull. Lightning surged along my shoulder as I lunged straight out of my Ripple Stride, letting the water mana spay across The Unashamed's lanky bare feet. The lithe creature already began to disperse into incorporeal transparency to avoid Korbin's spear when my blade phased though his form, causing the foggy image to spiral around my arm. Yet, a pained groan faintly echoed across the dark fog cloud, indicating to me something hurt.
*BOOM*
A ball of fiery fury ripped through the soil only a few paces away, dispersing the cloud and earning an even louder, more guttural pained growl. A dark smoky cloud spiraled across the camp, reanimating into The Unashamed's physical form in the middle of slashing their sharp nails straight toward my head. Quickly flicking my blade outward, I managed to aim it directly on the long limbed creature's Flow point. The millisecond before my steel pierced his grey skin, the creature's entire arm turned into a dark ball that phased through my blade and skull alike.
I shuffled back expecting to nurse the damage, or at least some physical indication I'd been hit. Instead, The Unashamed's arm reformed whole again as Korbin closed the distance with a heavy slash with his battle axe. The lanky creature bent back under the strike deceptively quickly, latching his hands around Korbin's polearm. Korbin dropped all his weight at once with his arms glowing with orange flames, yanking The Unashamed down before throwing a leaping knee strike. The red-eyed creature's head twirled like smoke after a heavy exhale, his dark cloudy figure spiraling a step past Korbin then reanimating. Already caught up with both of them, I flipped up over Korbin smashing my heel into the Unforsaken's arm blocking his grapple attempt on Korbin. The Unashamed dissipated before my slashing combo could do more than disperse the dark cloud left in his wake.
"Hell no." Korbin grumbled as his arms ignited with orange flames before throwing several punches into The Unashamed's dark fog.
"ARGH!" The Unashamed's hoarse, guttural voice screeched as he quickly reanimated, revealing burns across his face and hands. The enraged creature pressed Korbin with a flurry of swipes and bite attempts from every angle, forcing Korbin to retreat a few paces before sneaking a pommel strike to The Unashamed's gut. The grey skinned creature took the blow, electing to snag Korbin by the elbow instead of defending himself. Korbin ripped free relatively quickly, only to be lifted up by the back of his opposite knee. Circling their melee, my blades twirled around my body as I spun and slashed across The Unashamed's back. Dark blood spattered from the creature's wound through his cut robes as it stumbled back, before leaping forward toward Korbin. The creature's form suddenly dropped into the ground itself, sinking under Korbin's downward slash with his battle ax.
"Impressive indeed." The Unashamed's voice echoed once more on the air, before feeling a tight pressure around my shoulder. Immediately, it felt as though my energy was being flushed from my system all at once. My head wrapped around to find the monster clutching my shoulder, but his arms clamped around my head before I could escape.
*THUNK*
A hollow impact sounded off behind my head as I felt The Unashamed's long, clawed fingers' incredible grip finally release. Sure enough, it was like the floodgates for my energy levels had abruptly sealed shut the moment he did. A glowing orange wall suddenly cascaded down in front of my face, fully sobering my mind to the fight at hand.
"Shit!" Korbin grunted as I looked over, finding The Unashamed shuffling just outside of Korbin's infernal dome. His axe fell down to his side, cutting off the mana stream supplying the dome as I felt this strange physical and mental grogginess subside. Turning heels, I sprinted after The Unashamed who continually backpedaled away facing both Korbin and myself. The wind blew though my cowl as I sprinted by Korbin, who tossed another fireball at our retreating opponent.
The Unashamed's body faded transparent as the fireball flew through his arm, though the flames seemed to pierce his evasion as the sleeve of his simple cloak was covered in flames. Without hesitation, the towering creature ripped his sleeve off at the shoulder and slapped away one of Korbin's stone spears in one motion. I slowed my pace to allow Korbin's fireball to do its work, now providing the opportunity to slide in from the side of the creature stabbing my blade deep into his thin calf. Dark smoke poured from the wound as my blade ripped free, when suddenly The Unashamed snatched my shirt using his feet like hands. Ripple Stride failed to free me as I fought to keep my neck away from his growing nails, though I once again felt all of my energy being rapidly drained from me.
*CRACK*
My eyes fluttered while fighting to not pass out when Cassi's blurry yet unmistakable outline landed a brutal leaping kick to The Unashamed's ribs that freed me from his foot's insane grip-strength. Korbin leaped over me as I popped up to my feet, his arms and legs glowing with orange fiery mana and his battle ax in hand. Turning and immediately sprinting back toward the towering creature, Cassi was already in an unarmed melee with The Unashamed while Korbin circled the two. Seeing a gap, two big steps launched me toward the lithe creature's side. His arm swiped back without turning his head, no doubt assuming I paid any mind to his eyes in the first place as I twisted around his strike.
Cassi landed a brutal straight-to-hook combo, the impact from her fists whipping The Unashamed's head back violently. Unfortunately, she also knocked him out of the path of my Lightning Strike. Luckily, Korbin was charging in from the other side, leaping into a jaw-crunching switch-kick that made the Unashamed twist around 180 degrees. Cassi dipped down as I shuffled back to reengage, tapping The Unashamed's knee. Immediately, the towering red-eyed creature's leg became transparent. Meanwhile Cassi's feign hand drifted, landing a brutal overhand punch to the creature's face, sending a cloud of smoke spewing from his cheek.
Sliding around Cassi as she leapt back to avoid The Unashamed's wild swipe with his now incredibly long claws, my blade parried away his strike only to get caught in the web of his fingers. More shadows poured from The Unashamed's wound in his hand, though he refused to release my blade after two attempts to pull it free. I was going to go for attempt number three as the creature slapped away another one of Korbin's stone spears, when The Unashamed's nail began to grow down the blade and toward my wrist.
…fine.
Releasing my blade hilt, my free hand turned and fired my grappling hook around a tree at my back. Cassi managed to land a brutal knee to the creature's gut as he tried to follow me, while I willed the hook to retract. It cost The Unashamed three of its fingers before releasing my blades, sending the towering humanoid into a physical flurry everywhere but in his facial expression. I jolted at the tree, having to drag my feet before releasing the hook from the bark. Cassi pressed The Unashamed yet again, this time using the water mana she wielded around her body to parry away the monster's slash and grab attempts rather than wildly attack. The Unashamed continued trying vehemently to break her defenses as I caught up, suddenly thrusting both clawed hands at Cassi's ribs before I could intervene.
*CRACK*
Cassi's arms crossed as she slammed her palms into the sharp end of The Unashamed's Claws, now with two watery orbs twisting around them. At her feet lay the creature's long shattered nails, which were immediately replaced as he quickly grew new claws. Cassi's watery orbs passed by one another, crossing her back and back down her arms as she threw two splashing punches to The Unashamed's ribs. Ripple Striding in, I was about to slash into the creature's neck when his finger flicked up, making my path a one way to his claw through my throat. Flow Inverse transferred my momentum from my upper to low body as I kicked up into his extended elbow. Cassi snatched his wrist as my foot impacted, yanking it down hard.
*SNAP*
The Unashamed didn't flinch as dark smoke billowed from his crooked arm, instead reaching out and grabbing Cassi's hand. Korbin immediately snagged The Unashamed's arm in response, using one of his fire-boosted arms. Cassi's knees buckled before she ripped free, meanwhile the creature's arm faded to near-transparent trying to escape the grapple. Yet he couldn't seem to pull free from Korbin's burning grip, allowing me to snake a heel kick around his only functioning arm. The Unashamed spittled a puff of dark smoke, as it dawned on me he'd shrunk from being taller to Cassi to roughly my height.
A billowing orange dome descended around us as the creature sunk into its own shadow, flying through the dome as nothing more than an outline.
"For fucks sake?!" I exclaimed through a frustrated sigh,when several fiery chains launched from the dome, sinking into the ground and snatching the shadow by its legs and arms. Korbin audibly laughed a satisfied cackle as he sprinted by, preemptively throwing a head kick as The Unashamed emerged from the ground's shadow and into the dome.
*THWACK*
The Unashamed's head whipped to the side, sending him stumbling out of the dome and getting ripped back in. Korbin was about to land another brutal punch to his jaw, when The Unashamed's neck extended up, arching over his punch and clamping his long sharp teeth down on Korbin's shoulder. Korbin stabbed his stone spear through The Unashamed's gut as it spun behind him and cut across his incredibly long throat, sending a massive stream of shadows spewing from the wound onto Korbin's chest. My eyes shot up realizing I was under a shadow, dodging instinctively as Cassi confidently hurtled down with her staff now in hand.
*CRACK*
The Unashamed fell off of Korbin's shoulder, his shattered skull billowing dark smoke like some kind of black flame. Korbin chugged down a health potion, winching while rolling around his shoulder.
"Ff-ffreedoms, f-fel-felt to fails t-" The Unashamed rambled, his eyes no longer a pair of bright glowing red lights and instead dim, hollow white flickers. Cassi stomped down on The Unashamed's open skull, shattering it and letting loose one last massive puff of dark smoke before his corpse disappeared. A massive burst of blue engulfed the world's color pallet for a full two seconds, erasing the clouds above as the orange sun rays broke through.
"Shit…that guy wa-"
"Yeah, kind of cool." Korbin said, interrupting me. I shook my head rapidly in surprise.
"What? No, he was tough." I corrected. Korbin just chuckled, shaking his head and walking past.
"I don't think I need to say what that thing means, right?" Korbin asked Cassi with his back to me. Cassi's thoughtful expression quickly curled into a worried look, sighing heavily with closed eyes. After a few seconds of them whispering really fast, and a terrible wafting stench of a sour iron mixed with plastic whipping through my sinuses, I impatiently made my way over.
"You guys done arguing yet? If not, just let me know because I'm so down to meditate." I asked, feeling a little pumped for the much-needed down time.
"We're not fighting, and no, save your leisure for after our victory." Korbin shot back, immediately walking away into the forest. I looked over at Cassi as we slowly followed, sharing a confused look.
"…the fuck was that?"