The war between good and evil is a never-ending one. Without good, there is no evil. Without evil. There is no good. Just as darkness needs light to cast a shadow upon the world, light needs darkness to shine brightly across the world. For eons, the battle between light and darkness had raged on, reshaping the very land and leaving scars upon the world. However, the war came an abrupt stop when an interloper arrived on the battlefield.
Calling themselves the Ebon Lord, the Avatar of the Watcher in the Void, they declared war against the light and darkness. They were promptly cut down with relative ease by both the forces of light and darkness. However, contrary to expectations, this would not be the last time a being calling themselves the Ebon Lord would appear before the Light and Darkness. Though always different from their predecessor, the new Ebon Lord would always declare their hatred of the Light and Darkness and seek to bring them both down.
Time and time again, battles were interrupted as a new Ebon Lord appeared to intervene in the conflict before being slain. However, it soon became apparent that each successive Ebon Lord was more powerful than the one before them. The strength and power needed to slay the Ebon Lord grew with each new Ebon Lord. It soon became apparent that whatever the Ebon Lord was, it could only end badly for the forces of Light and Darkness.
No-one knew who or where the Ebon Lord came from. All they knew was that the Ebon Lord had powers, unlike anything that they had ever seen before, that a new one would arise soon after the defeat of the last one, and that they had an all-encompassing hatred for both the Light and Darkness. Surprisingly, the Ebon Lord held no true animosity to those that stood with neither the light or darkness and early iterations of the Ebon Lord would simply ignore them in favour of its chosen enemy.
However, when the Ebon Lord began demonstrating a capacity for strategy and tactics beyond blind reckless charging, the Forces of Light and Darkness began to feel concern. When the Ebon Lord began to gather unto themselves an army to join their battle, the Forces of Light and Darkness realised that if that unless something was done, an Ebon Lord would surely crush them and fulfil their promise of death to the Light and Darkness.
Thus, the forces of Light and Darkness put aside their differences to put an end to the Ebon Lord once and for all. Scholars, seers, and oracles had predicted that if the Ebon Lord could somehow be sealed away without killing them, a new one would not be born. A plan was created and a trap prepared. With the Light and Darkness united in a singular goal, they thought themselves already victorious.
When the trap was sprung, it was then they realised how much they had underestimated an Ebon Lord that had become truly desperate. Having realised what their enemy was trying to achieve, the Ebon Lord struggled and fought back with fervour and strength far beyond what had been witnessed before. In the end, the Ebon Lord was sealed away but at a great cost.
The final stand of the Ebon Lord had reaped a terrible price upon the Light and Darkness, their armies crippled and most of their leaders dead. The war had come to an end as what remained of the light and darkness withdrew to heal from their wounds and recover what had been lost. The world once more belonged to mortal men just as it did long before the war began.
And in time, the Ebon Lord was forgotten by all save a chosen few, thanks to the Light choosing to erase nearly all traces of their existence. Those few of the Darkness chose to keep the memories of that horrific disaster close in their hearts to never forget that even they can be felled while the Light's chosen, maddened by both grief and vengeance, chose to eradicate even the memories of that monster's existence.
The Light would pay for their folly.
…
In the modern day, the world has changed greatly. It has been decades since Magic was revealed to the ignorant masses. Where it was revealed that Mankind was never alone; that there were dozens of different races out there, and they have lived long under the Masquerade. Technology too has advanced to the point where even those lacking in magical talent to acquire tools that have grants them the ability to perform physics-defying feats with little to no practice.
Indeed, Mankind - no, mortals in general, have gone through much to arrive at this point.
But things are not as peaceful as they seem to be. With progress, comes dangers. With Heroes, come Villains. Creatures - monsters, previously hidden under the veil of the Masquerade, now revealed before the public. Demons. Angels. Vampires. Ghosts. Dark spirits which prey upon the innocents. Beasts previously unseen. Dangers that mortals could not even begin to comprehend. Powers beyond comprehension! World-ending disasters which loom upon the horizon, that only a select few could only hope to stop!
And somewhere in the world, someone has stumbled upon an ancient seal, completely unaware of the terrible forces that they are about to unleash.
Who is this unwitting architect of disaster?
[ ] The head Archivist of the Shadow Kingdom, ruled by its leader the Shadow Queen who seeks to plunge the world into eternal darkness. An ancient text about a powerful creature that had been sealed away long before the rise of the Shadow Kingdom has lead this seeker of knowledge along with his entourage to find this entity and bend it to the will of their queen.
[ ] A team of magical girls on the trail of their current nemesis. While seeking out their enemy, they have somehow found themselves in a strange place that could only be some kind of special secret base that belongs to their enemy. Having determined that they are in enemy territory, they are prepared to delve deeper and defeat their enemy once and for all.
[ ] A group of adventurous teenagers out to have some fun by exploring places they really shouldn't be hanging around, all for some cheap thrills. They are a bunch of mostly normal kids who are about to have their lives turned upside-down.
[ ] A group of cultists who are seeking the perfect location to summon forth their dark gods. A mistranslation in the forbidden texts have lead them to the wrong place, and further misunderstandings have resulted in them deciding to break through the seal to get to the supposed forbidden sanctum within.
…
When the seal is broken, the power of the Ebon Lord will be free to continue its mission to purge the world of both the Light and Darkness. However, long has it been since they were sealed beneath the earth, restrained by myriads of wards and ancient magic. No longer do they possess the terrible might that crippled the two most powerful forces of their time. Time has reaped a toll upon them and now the Ebon Lord must return to the world in a diminished state.
…
Choose what state the Ebon Lord is in when they are finally free of their prison.
[ ] A lessened but still mighty being - Their instincts have dulled. Their body degraded from eons of inactivity. Even the light of their soul has dimmed. However, the mind is still sharp. The power within still rages like the storm. Despite their weakened state, enough of their might still remains, to strike fear and terror unto the forces of Good and Evil. More than that, they still live. Easy Mode
[ ] A force of nature bound to their blade - Almost nothing can withstand the march of time. Their body is naught but a fossil, nothing more than dust and stone held in place by the chains that were laid upon them by the enemy. Instead, the soul still burns brightly, the mind still remembers, and the heart still beats in the weapon that had been sealed alongside them. It only needs someone to wield them. Medium
[ ] Human yet not human - The seals have drained away their might and power, leaving nearly nothing but a wisp of the terrible strength that had once cowled entire legions and armies of the heavens and hell. Forced back into their original form, the Ebon Lord is vulnerable and weak. But it was in this form that they started their journey from being an inconsequential mortal to the one who decides their own fate and that of the world. They simply need to begin anew. Hard
[ ] A shade of power - The physical form is gone, having long since returned to the earth, and what's left of the mind is barely coherent, with only vengeance and hatred keeping it together. The soul, however, is incandescently bright. The potential for power still remains but in their current state, it is meaningless. For the Ebon Lord to continue their work, they must find a vessel to wield their power. Very hard
AN: Heyo Shibosho here with a new quest. As the title suggests you readers will be playing as an Outside Context Problem/villain. This quest will feature ideas, concepts, maybe characters from previous quests of mine. Let's see where this one will go, shall we?