Hello, Dark here with a new chapter! Things are gonna start getting intense, so hold on to your seats!

WB: What if they are on the floor, or standing up?

*rolls eyes

Are you ready? Without further ado, enjoy!

*Lollo POV

"Good. You have finally honed your sense of balance."

After an hour of training, Frost and I had finally managed to stay a whole minute on the post.

"Are we ready now?" Frost asked, out of breath.

"Not quite. Now, you must do it with one leg." Bodil started to laugh, then promptly stopped.

I was a bit confused.

"Why did you stop laughing? I thought that laugh was awesome!"

He looked away for some reason.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why?"

"You don't want to know."

"It's okay, you can tell us."

A small bit of hesitation followed, then he slowly turned back to us.

"Do you really want to know why? I warn you, the story I am about to tell will not be fun."

"We understand." Frost reassured Bodil.

"Alright. Before I started working for Ninja Pig, I had a kind family. Two brothers, and a father. We lived together in a dimension, different from this one. About a month ago, my eldest brother and I were playing together when we accidentally came across a portal. My brother dared me to step through, and I accepted the dare. Right after I went through, the portal was mysteriously struck by lightning, and I was sealed off, separating me from my family. I had no way to return, so I wandered, lost, until I met Simon."

He sighed, then continued.

"Simon and I instantly grew close, doing everything together, including parkour. Usually, the maps we did together, he would fail them all the time. His respawning was of great amusement to me, especially his raging. However, one day, he wanted to try an extra-hard map with me. I was unsure, but he reassured me that he could do it, so I agreed. To troll him, I pushed him off a platform and he plummeted to the ground. I was so sure that he would respawn, just like always, and we would laugh it off like always. However, Simon never respawned, and it was my fault that he died. I've never forgotten that day, and I swore to myself that I would never laugh or troll again. I met Ninja Pig while I was wandering alone through the mountains, and she offered me a position in her army. I had nowhere else to go, so I accepted, and I am still here today."

"Wow, that is so sad. I'm really sorry, Bodil." Frost tried to comfort him.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. Let's get you three back into training. The cat is excused from this exercise, seeing as standing on one leg is physically almost impossible for it."

WB: Bodil, thank you for killing Simon! He sucked!

Seriously? Interrupting in the middle of a chapter? That's low, even for you. Also, you know they can't hear you, right?

WB: I know.

*Israphel POV

"Well, this is interesting."

I searched through my encyclopedia scientifica.

"According to one article, purple blood is a special trait, belonging only to... dragons? Wait, what? There is no way that subject is a dragon. Also, I'm pretty sure dragons went extinct about 200 years ago."

I looked back at the recent capture, and he in no way resembled a dragon.

"No, it must be something else."

I continued looking, and something else came up.

"Purple-blooded individuals tend to have some sort of special powers. Well, that explains the fireballs. Come to think of it, that escaped pig had almost purplish blood, too."

Right as I started reading the next entry, Master Squid came up to me.

"Israphel, do you have a moment?"

"Make it quick."

"I've been hearing from my squid brethren that we will soon be the target of a massive assault. At least three forces are confirmed, and an additional two, which are unconfirmed. It is unknown if they are all allied, or even if they know the other forces are planning to also attack. For all we know, this situation might end up being a free-for-all battle royale."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for that info."

Master Squid turned to leave, but a sudden thought popped into my mind, and I beckoned him back.

"Would you mind if I took a quick blood sample from you?"


*Protagonist POV

I found myself in an empty space, filled with nothing but darkness. Behind me, a rather familiar looking gaseous life-form spoke.

"Welcome back, Chosen One. I haven't seen you since that time with the sleeping darts."

"You again? Wait, am I unconscious?"

"Yes, you are. I think the time has come to introduce myself. You may call me Void. This empty space around you, has existed since before creation. The gods couldn't fill everything, and this is the exact centre of your planet, where nothing can exist except myself, and you. This place is inhospitable even to the gods themselves, and you would not last long here in your physical form. However, your conscience has found a way in. Not surprising, since you are the one and only Chosen One."

"Alright, but how do I get out of here?"

"Well, there is the problem. Your physical body is in rough shape right now, so if you were to go back right now, you would be in extreme pain. Also, I don't want you to."

"Why?"

Void stopped, made a full rotation around me, then continued to speak.

"I've been stuck here since the dawn of time. It can get very lonely here sometimes, with nobody to talk to. Occasionally, a few souls come around, but usually don't stay for long. You've been so talkative, and I appreciate that."

I felt empathy for Void.

"Well, I guess I could stay for a little bit longer."


*Mitch POV

For a moment, everything was dark, then pain filled my leg. Wincing, I slowly got up and inspected my leg. It looked like there was no serious damage, only a little bruising, so I looked around at my surroundings. Stone walls everywhere, with a small tunnel leading somewhere. The only lights came from torches lining the cavern, and far above, a crescent moon. I got up, and heard a moan from beside me. I looked over to see Radha rubbing her head.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, concerned.

"My head hurts, but I think I'm fine. What happened?"

"From what I remember, the ground shook, and we all fell into a deep pit."

"Where are the others?"

"I'm not sure. I just regained consciousness."

I helped her up.

"Well, we should start looking around for them."

After scouting for about a minute, I spotted Venturian and Isaac under a pile of rubble.

"Hey, come help me!"

Radha rushed over, and we managed to get it all off. We waited a minute, then Isaac started to cough, and his eyes opened.

"Huh? What?"

He looked around, then noticed Venturian.

"Oh my god! Is he okay?!"

I looked at Radha uncertainly, and she looked at me with the same expression.

"No! Wait, I need to give him CPR!"

"Do that and you will regret it."

Venturian rose up, looking annoyed at him.

"Sorry."

"Your apology is accepted. Now, where are the others? I know there were more than four of us."

"That's the problem. We don't know."

"Well then, let us proceed the search!"

The four of us were able to cover more ground, and I found SSundee down on the ground. I rolled in over, and immediately noticed that his glasses were a little bent.

"Um, SSundee?"

He yawned, then looked up at me.

"Hey dood. What's up?"

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked, still wary of his glasses.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Though right now, I feel an inexplicable urge to bake a cake."

"Your glasses are a little bent, SSundee."

"Ah, that would explain it. Oh great, Derp SSundee has a small hold on me now."

"We'll find a way to fix your glasses, SSundee, but right now we have to find the others."

I resumed the search, now joined by a somewhat distracted Ian. After a few more minutes, Venturian and Isaac had found Deadfrontier20 and Furrypup12344, Radha had found FrostByte, and we found Dan. Just as we merged back together, Grim began to reassemble from the bones scattered through the cavern, though noticeably missing a leg.

"Grim, where did your other leg go?" Dan said, while looking at Grim.

Grim looked up at the opening in the sky.

"Your leg is up there?"

A bark was received in confirmation.

"Looks like you'll be left with three legs for a while, boy. There is no way we can go back up from here."

"Alright, we are still missing one more-" I started to say, before being interrupted by FrostByte.

"Do you hear that?"

The cave fell into silence, then what sounded like the beat of a drum began to resonate through the tunnel.

"Brothers of the mine rejoice!" A lone voice rang out.

"Swing, swing, swing with me!" A chorus followed.

"Raise your pick and raise your voice!"

"Sing, sing, sing with me!"

"Down and down into the deep, who knows what we'll find beneath? Diamonds, rubies, gold and more, hidden in the mountain store!"

"Wait, there is something up ahead!" One of the voices called.

"Careful, it might be a threat!"

I turned to the others.

"Well, looks like we have been found."

A moment later, a group of dwarves entered the open area, each wielding a pickaxe.

"Identify yourselves, or risk immediate death!"

Venturian stepped forward.

"Greetings, miners! We seem to be stuck down here, the ground above us collapsed, and we fell in! If you would be so kind, could you show us the nearest way out?"

The dwarves whispered among themselves. I caught only small parts of what they were saying.

"...obviously not hostile..."

"...don't trust them..."

"...bring them to..."

"...don't know if..."

The leader of the group, a large, muscular individual turned back to us.

"We would be happy to escort you out, but all visitors must pay a visit to our king. You must come with us."

"Um, excuse me, but one of our team members is still in here somewhere."

"I'll leave one of the men here to search the rubble. Now join us."

He indicated for us to go into the tunnel, and we filed in, one by one.

Yep, connections are starting to happen more intensely! Can you handle it?! Bodil accidentally killed Simon, Israphel is making some interesting discoveries, a mysterious character, now known as Void returns, and dwarves? What could this all mean!?

WB: It means that this story sucks!

Not even close. Can you just leave and bother someone else? Wait, I have a better idea. You could use a job, I hear they're hiring at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. You would be a perfect night security watchman!

WB: Haha, very funny.

Seriously, you need a hobby. Anyways, Have a great day, everyone!