[X] "Zwei is the one that will help me reach the top."
"Zwei is the one that will help me reach the top."
Though your voice betrayed a notable lack of confidence, it really seemed like the only possible answer. If Einz were telling the truth, Zwei and Drei would kill you. But in that case, Drei's claim that Zwei would kill you would be truth, even though Drei is a liar. Therefore Einz couldn't be the right choice. If Drei is the one telling the truth, then Einz and Zwei are the liars. However, Zwei is calling Einz a liar, and that would leave you with two statues telling the truth. Finally if Zwei is the truthful one, then Einz and Drei's lies would make sense. Therefore, Zwei has to be the correct choice.
To your relief, Einz and Drei crumbled to dust, while Zwei sprang back to life. Zwei turned away from you, and stepped onto the elevator behind him. Zwei turned back to you, hand outstretched.
"Come this way, traveler." The statue said.
Gingerly you took his hand, and he assisted you onto the elevator. Once you were safely on the elevator platform, Zwei lifted his stone sword and inserted it into a slot on the platform, then shifting the blade way from him. With a shudder the elevator came to life, the chain straining as it began retracting towards the ceiling and lifting the heavy elevator platform. You staggered a bit as the elevator moved, placing a hand on Zwei to regain balance. But you were glad to be moving again towards your destination. Hopefully you'll be out of here soon.
However... You heard something coming from the ground floor. A sound of something huge and powerful slamming against metal. You looked off the elevator, towards the door leading to the outside. The door shudders as something smashes into it, a large dent forming in the thick, magical steel door, the sound of each hit resonating off the walls louder than the sounds the active elevator was making.
"Oh no..." You muttered as your eyes widened
With one last mighty crash the door was torn from its hinges and was sent sailing across the room towards the elevator, slamming against the very edge and causing the elevator platform to sway from the impact. The swaying elevator caused you to lose your footing, forcing you to stumble towards the edge of the platform, falling from the still ascending elevator. You let out a scream of terror as you twist your falling body, stretching out an arm to catch the edge of the platform. You let out a pained gasp as your arm threatened to dislocate itself from the rest of your body to keep you from falling to the ground.
Ignoring the pain in your arm, you turn yourself around to see what just did that to the door.
And immediately wish you hadn't.
There, sliding in through the tower door, was something completely unknowable. You feltthat ancient, slow, deep presence from the cave once more and knew this thing was here for you. But what you perceive is an entity not so much a creature but rather a festering wound in the fabric of reality. As you look closer (although even looking hurts your eyes) it appears to be a flood of black ooze, mixed with shapes that resembled wriggling swarms of serpents, twisting tentacles, and gnarled blight-infested vines flowing through the sludge. The shapes climbed over each other in a seemingly shapeless heap, yet they all appeared to share a single conscience as they moved between one another with unparalleled precision. Occasionally bubbling up from the black ooze, forced up from the moving shapes, were bones and maggot-riddled decaying meat from beings long since devoured by the dark mass. And the smell that wafted off it was incredibly foul, smelling like somewhere between the spice of vanilla and the bitter-sweetness of pustulant rot. As the thing surged into the room, its ooze seemed to corrupt the walls it touched as they began turning black with decay, quickly ascending up the walls like time-lapsed footage of growing mold.
By this point the ground floor has been completely enveloped by the black mass, and now the twisted tentacles were starting to reach up towards you.
Overwhelmed by a newfound sense of dread you throw your other arm up to the edge of the platform and start pulling yourself up just as the black mass was about to touch you. You pull yourself up and flop onto the platform, the mass narrowly missing your foot.
You lay flat against the platform, breathing heavily and trying to calm yourself down from the extreme existential panic you were currently feeling. After a moment you drag yourself over to the edge of the platform and look down at the black mass. You spy its corrupting horribleness still reaching up towards you, the elevator just moments ahead of it, but you knew that once the elevator stops it will catch up to you.
And soon the elevator comes to a shuddering stop, and you pick yourself up and start sprinting towards the landing that the platform stopped at, trying to get away in a panic. You look over your shoulder and see the black mass surge over the platform, completely enveloping, Zwei crumbling away at the touch of the black ooze.
You turn back towards the landing and see a door. You rush towards the door, flinging it open to escape the nightmare behind you.
And you were enveloped by bright white light...
When you regained your sight you found yourself in a new location. A dank, dungeon-like chamber with torches on the walls, the smells of mildew, feces, and urine filling the air around you. It would make you feel sick to your stomach, but you were distracted by the sight in front of you: Rebecca Lundqvist, but not appearing as a ghostly image but as a real, flesh and blood person.
But in a way worse state than when you last saw her.
She was on her knees, her legs and arms chained to the ground, her hands were gone, severed at the wrist, and her head was held upright by a chain from the ceiling. Her clothes were completely shredded, her body almost on complete display save for the odd shredded fabric that, thankfully, preserved her modesty somewhat. Of course, physically she had seen better days. Her body was covered in gashes and bruises, and was dirtied by grime, dried blood, bodily fluids, and other dried substances that you couldn't begin to describe, and she looked a bit atrophied, like she hadn't eaten in some time. Her hair was even longer now, but even more unkempt and matted, which obscured her face.
"Oh God... Why am I being forced to see this...?" You say, trying to tear your eyes away from the poor girl. But she didn't seem to notice you
From behind you feel the sound of a metal door opening, and you turn to see that it was that Wells guy from before. But... he seemed wrong somehow. Wrong like that old guy... And like Rebecca he didn't seem to notice you.
"Forgive me, but my schedule has changed."
"Wells" said, his voice... distorted a little. Regardless, Rebecca doesn't respond to his presence, opting to remain silent, which seemed to annoy him. "You disappoint me, Rebecca. Have you forgotten me already?"
"Leave me be..."
She rasps. "You're not Wells... Just something wearing his face."
"Hmmph."
He grunted, crossing his arms. "You won't respond to anyone else, so I figured it must be this face you wanted to see, but now you won't even look at me."
"Have I not suffered enough...?"
She asks, breaking down into coughing as "Wells" pulls on the chain around her neck.
"Not until you've eased
my suffering first!"
He yells as he jerks the chain. He lets go, stepping back. "To tell you the truth, Rebecca, I have a bit of a problem. It's about your "antics" a few days ago."
Rebecca says nothing, but looks up slightly at him.
"You know what I mean? It's about your spell that you cast."
He explains. "What kind of magic did you use? Because of you I'm trapped within this forest."
"I'm not telling you shit..."
Rebecca hissed, glaring daggers through her filth covered bangs.
"Must have been powerful."
He remarks, ignoring her look. "But when one door closes, another opens. Because of you I now envy the freedom those who come to this forest have and their ability to come and go as they please. The ability you stripped from me by binding me here. But no matter how much power I amass, I can't break the seal."
"That's your problem..."
"It's in your interest to cooperate, because if you don't-"
"Or what? You'll trow me into that hole again?"
Rebecca gives a bitter laugh, shaking her head somewhat. "Even if you do, I'm no use to you if it breaks me completely..."
"Hmm... True. But I had no intention of throwing you in the Pit again."
He sighs as he begins to pace back and forth in front of her. "Judging by your magical potential alone, I do not doubt you could survive the process, but I had you pulled out for another reason than to just to ask you about the spell."
"Hmm...?"
"Wells" moves close to her, grabbing her by the face and leans in close, almost touching foreheads.
"The Key."
He hisses. "Where. Is. It?"
"Go to Hell..."
She spits venomously.
"I'm afraid that isn't in the cards."
"Wells" growls as he pulls away. "That Key belongs to me, and you
stole it. Hid it away from
me. You did well to break into my home, killed some of my pets, and stole my property, but you just couldn't dodge my minion. No, no, no. No matter how fast you ran, you couldn't get to that old house."
"Why do you need it?"
She asked, almost tauntingly. "If anything I did you a favor by hiding it."
"Better safe than sorry, as people say."
He shrugs. "Now, if you tell me where you hid it I will grant you mercy and put you out of your misery."
Silence.
"...Alright. I was hoping for an answer now, but perhaps you just need a little more time."
He sighs, turning away and move back to the door. "I'll be back soon. I've set up shop not far from here. We'll be seeing a lot more of each other, Rebecca."
"Wells" opened the door to the dungeon and stepped outside, turning to look over his shoulder at Rebecca as the metal door slowly swings shut. Now left alone, Rebecca breathes in and out before she begins to sob. And soon white light envelops you vision once more.
With the vision ended the light fades away and you regain your sight. You now find yourself in an opulent looking room, with wisps dancing all around the chamber. The walls were decorated with bright, colorful jewels and fantastically detailed sculptures of mythical creatures. Behind you is a steel door, the one you entered when you got off the elevator, and in front of you was a statue.
The statue is of a sorceress casting a spell. The sorceress wears an rather revealing robe, chiseled in such a way to suggest the robe was made from animal pelts, and yet there is an air of authority about her, carried by her dominating visage. On her person there are three items that aren't part of the statue but rather placed: a veil woven together with gold and silver thread that shrouded her face, a necklace of beautifully wrought gold, in the shape of two serpents whose open mouths formed a clasp, and inlaid with various jewels, and finally a gold signet ring on her right ring finger with a hexagram engraved on it.
"Thou has made it,"
You hear from behind. You give a startled scream as you flip around to see Orphiel now standing behind you.
"Stop doing that!" You yell at the mist-being standing before you.
"Thy journey here has almost come to an end."
It says, clearly ignoring your outburst. "Thou must now claim the artifact."
You huffed in annoyance and turn back to the statue, looking at each of the items on its person. Clearly one of the three is the artifact, but...
"Which one is it?" You ask.
"Thou must choose,"
Orphiel says. "But choose wisely. For the false artifact will take your life."
Suddenly there is a loud banging on the door. You swivel around to face the door and Orphiel does the same. There is another slam against the door, already a dent forming in its surface. You go pale, knowing full well what is on the other side.
"Choose quickly, if thou would."
Orphiel said as it turned back to you, sounding somewhat... nervous?
Regardless you turn back to the statue and...
[ ] Take the veil.
[ ] Take the necklace.
[ ] Take the ring.
[ ] Try to trick Orphiel into giving you the answer - Write In (1d200)
