Killua is well on their way to the end of the game.
Iason merely quirked an eyebrow at the man, lips pursed into a tight line. There was no hesitation, just a direct interrogation the moment the two met. As the castle is collapsing around them… Meiphanis was choosing then and there, to interrogate Kairakas…
Knowing the boss was also on their tail, he would've thought there was a little bit of hesitation.
Or maybe… he knew the moment they were in the next location; the boss fight would begin.
The question is how does he push the man to at least continue the story to the next part, where it doesn't evolve, shooting Kairakas in the face at point-blank range. Of course, this provided the man doesn't fail his roll.
Because killing Kairakas now… would be a bad idea before the final boss. Iason has his own, plans for the boss which requires Killua's character to be alive. If that means tweaking the artifact's power so the character doesn't die, unless to a specific kind of damage, he will…
But there was another way to prove his point, reminding them of their predicament.
As you point your bow at the Teifling, rubble falls around you. There was a loud noise coming from behind you, a constant hammering against the collapsed passageway you originated from; it reminded you of your situation. The monstrous Tiefling was still on your tail, with each slam of its fist, it signalled that it was getting closer to you.
"I go to grab Meiphanis' bow, forcing his aim to the floor."
"Roll!"
Having grabbed the bow, you redirect its aim, forcing it to the floor. The man growls with animosity, snarling like an angry dog.
"They're a Tiefling!"
"We also have one on our ass! Move it, or I throw you down the stairs and use you like a Sled!"
"What about the artifact oozing Dark Energy?"
"Since Kairakas hasn't cast it aside, it's either now important to them… or cursed."
"Cursed, which is why I can't cast it aside." Kairakas was quick to frown, despising the fact they were aimed at, even though they had no control over their race, on a technicality, or artifact they now possess. Then again, in real life, they wonder if Meleoron would act the same, knowing that they were an alien.
They wouldn't know, unless they accidentally reveal themselves, as they did in DnD, "Whether you like it or not until we find a way out of this dungeon… we're stuck. I'm even stuck with this damn artifact!"
Killua turned to look at Iason, "My character heads towards the exit point, frustrated with the situation."
Kairakas have grown frustrated with their outcome, and head towards the stairs. The building continues to collapse around you, the banging now leading towards cracking walls. With one final slam, the wall collapses, a loud distorted scream echoing through the crumbling walls and roofs.
Korarall lets go of Meiphanis' bow, barely pushing the elf away, "I'm heading after Kairakas, it's either that or deal with the boss here." The Half-Orc runs after the Tiefling, heading down the stairs.
"Wait, Korarall!" Sarmenor runs after his partner, the others now following suit.
Meiphanis was left, cursing at his predicament. He'd rather not deal with the boss on his own. So, dragging himself, he ran down the stairs to join the others.
The stairs led to an open room, large enough to house an army. But seeing as the room was empty for the moment, the group headed towards the other side, noticing an even larger staircase.
Cracks had already begun to spawn towards the end, flecks of light shining through.
"Up the staircase, it's our only escape path right now." Korarall motioned towards the roof.
Animalistic sounds screamed along the walls, small kobolds trying to escape through the same pathway.
That was until a scream filled the room, shadows caking across the walls, tendrils pouring from the walls, reaching over to block their path of escape. With the tendrils encroaching on their only space, they were unable to move away, some of the kobolds standing on the tendrils, forced to back up their boss.
Several of the tendrils moved, the boss coming closer. Their body had already begun to rot away, revealing parts of a cosmic creature trying to escape from their flesh. They drew their finger, pointing it at Kairakas, "Hand over that Tiefling and the artifact… and I'll let you leave, with your bodies intact."
Korarall drew his axe, covering the Tiefling's body, protecting it from the creature ahead "You'll have to come through me… whatever we do, we can't hand that artifact over. Rule of thumb, if the boss says they'll let you live… they plan on killing you anyways."
The others were forced to draw their weapons, placed in an inescapable position.
The creature dropped its arm, telling the others to attack. Before any of them could move, the artifact pulsed, a burning sensation rippling up Kairakas' arm. The artifact had already begun to merge with the Tiefling's hand, a pulse of dark energy rippling outward.
The pulse spread across the room, the boss screaming out in agony, their flesh rotting away completely, along with the tendrils and monsters blocking off your exits.
Before you could think to run towards the exit, more tendrils moved completely blocking off the route.
What was remaining of the Tiefling broke apart, the boss finally revealing themselves. Black holes littered their body, like endless vacuums of space, except, instead of bright stars, it was nothing but pitch darkness.
Its skin was dark red and corrupted looking. With the ability to now focus on the holes, it oozed a constant liquid, thick and red like blood. Its arms shifted, revealing its full size. It stood at double the size of Korarall, around fifteen feet, much larger than the original size of its corpse.
The newly formed monster held a finger, or what they suppose was a finger out, pointing it at Kairakas, "You'll die before I let you keep it…"
Another pulse being sent out tanned the creature's skin, a shriek of agony being emitted before it roars "I will kill you!"
"Okay, so let me explain how this battle will work. The McGuffin, which Kairakas has will hurt the creature… severely, I might add. They won't be able to duel wield during this battle, however, every round, on their turn they'll get an extra two rolls."
Iason raised a single finger, "The first roll is for succumbing to corruption, in which the dark energy pulse they let loose will be for either everyone, but, Kairakas. The second result will be for the boss and their minions only. The boss will suffer four times the damage of their second roll, no matter if Killua's first roll is a failure or a success."
Raising a second finger, he continued "The roll will be based on a 1d6. The most damage they can do is twenty-four, and the least is four. Everyone else will take normal damage during failed rolls. As for damage to the boss, everyone else will only hit them for half damage."
"Seriously…" Everyone groaned. It's going to be a drawn-out battle, the length of the battle decided on Killua's constancy to roll high damage.
"The other thing is if Kairakas dies, it'll count as a loss for you."
"Shit…" Meleoron frowned. He's going to be forced to go against his character's hatred for Tieflings, for the sake of living.
"Now… for the minions, you'll be dealing with five kobolds that need to be killed. You'll need to balance between taunting the boss away from Kairakas, while also keeping those kobolds away from them. However, when Killua does a successful roll, it means all the kobolds will be wiped out. During failed rolls, the kobolds take the same damage as you. Let's begin…"
The group spreads out, Meiphanis and Kairakas forced into the back, far away from danger. Although it was clear, given from Meiphanis' distance, the two were only allies because of the boss.
The creatures pounce, the group only suffering from bruises or skin-deep scratches. After a few rounds of this, when the group failed to kill those kobolds, the difficult mechanic of the battle started.
From the holes in the bodies, tendrils snapped out, roping around the still-living creatures. Within a snap, they were pulled in, large amounts of blood pooling from the places where the creatures were sucked in.
"The boss was healed for twelve damage…"
"You gotta be shitting me!" Meleoron accused the DM.
The boss also had a self-heal dependence on their living allies. This means, if the group fails to balance everything, they were dealing with one long endless fight.
Ikalgo points at the DM, "I assume this is where your point is made, rather than make the fight seem sluggish… considering we're dependant on Kairakas' damage."
"Yes!" The man offered a smile to the other. He doesn't intend to make every boss fight impossible or boring, it's just this one, in particular, he wanted a mechanic that works, without making the boss fight insanely easy… or difficult, for that matter "Every odd round, up to a maximum of five kobolds will be summoned. During every even round the number of kobolds still up, will heal the boss for four hit points per each sacrifice, so you can see why you need to balance the battle evenly…"
Offering a sly smirk, Iason continued to explain the mechanic "But from now on, I'll offer you a pity round. Given that Meiphanis is ranged, he'll always have a chance to target one. However, if you're near a kobold, you'll have a single chance to kill it. Failure to do so means the creature will be healed per sacrifice."
With the new changes added to the mechanic, the group balances their attacks, working together as a team to clear the room and boss.
The creature screams foul insults, annoyed by the endless fight and constant taunting. Even though the others do pity damage to it, it was being weened down, dropping its health slowly and gradually.
No matter how taxing the fight was, even though it was Kairakas' damage that was ultimately hurting it, the artifact had started merging with the Tiefling at an uncomfortable rate.
At what cost, would winning this battle would be to the young Tiefling?
Kairakas wasn't willing to give up, not by a long shot.
The group shifted tactics, now working together to try to whittle the boss down.
It was a long and drawn-out process, with Killua getting a lot of unfortunate rolls in the process. Knuckle was the first to go down, followed by Sarmenor, the two now forced to roll so they don't die immediately. But when Irilrig was about to be incapacitated, they dealt the final damage, knocking the boss right over the edge.
The boss fell to the floor, its posture similar to how one would typically kneel. Even with its twisted words, a softer, hollow voice weakly spoke "Don't finish it off…"
The group raised an eyebrow at the changed tactics, from a blood-thirsty cosmic being; a creature that constantly summons allies to destroy their enemies and feeding off those who remain, until nothing is left of them… was asking to not be finished off.
Irilrig held up his hands, using Detect Good and Evil.
Evil has a presence, a weakened form… but still very alive. There was also another one, a barely budding growth like it was in a state of infancy. However, what was unusual… there was a presence unaccounted for, one emanating from the cosmic being.
It spoke, the same usually soft tone "I'm… not evil… Nor am I good."
"Cryptic, but highly dubious…" Meiphanis retorted with a slight chuckle, "A hulking creature of cosmic infernal, has no right to argue they have any form of good in them."
Iason shifted the conversation, mainly outside of the game "Says the guy, whose favoured enemy is a Tiefling, yet defended one… twice."
When Meleoron frowned at the accusation, a few members of the group chuckled. The man continued the story, building upon the climax of the lore.
"They have already begun to fuse with the mark, the Tiefling." Kairakas looks down at their arm, the artifact protruding from what remained of their fleshy arm. It bares the same types of marks on the boss, open pores that seem to be empty vacuums of space. Will Kairakas turn into a cosmic horror being as well?
The creature barely moved, "I was in a similar position, though it seems like I made the complete opposite choice. I sacrificed my friends, for power."
"You look the part… and act it, considering you consumed kobolds like a starving wild wolf."
"I did… but they are not my friends, nor are they, my slaves. They are the being's slaves. We share the same body now, although, not with my consent. I lost control over my body and only now that it's weakened… I'm able to speak. But it's still very much alive and I don't have much time. I cannot control its power… not anymore. But if the Tiefling is willing to, they have two options."
Iason drew his attention to the other, "First, how are you liking the game…?"
"~"
Killua stopped to think about the situation, they found the whole experience fun. But there is probably an ulterior motive to question being posed at them. They didn't understand the predicament they were going to be forced in, but it's probably concerning how the game ends "I found it to be an enjoyable experience, may I ask why?"
"Sure, but one last question first… could you see yourself joining another game?"
"Certainly…" Killua didn't really, need to think about that question. At a later date, they wouldn't mind joining a game, especially if there are going to be chocolates being offered. Though, they suppose that wasn't the main appeal of the game.
It brought unique perspectives and clashes between personalities and thinking processes. Knuckle was a highly intelligent fellow; he thinks both inside and outside of the box when it comes to solutions. It doesn't come to every possible outcome, but he thinks about various solutions.
The banter was… interesting, but they learnt a lot about how Meleoron acts as an Elf who was aggressive with Tieflings, while also being willing to put it away for the sake of survival.
Shoot was a bit lacking when it came to confrontation, but he did argue a few times, much like Ikalgo. Although Ikalgo had his differences, his lack of confrontation seems to come more from his cleric side of ways, a man of healing, not inflicting discourse amongst his allies, unless it was for the sake of trying to keep the peace.
Iason was an interesting man, he acted both kind and evil as a DM, but there were split moments the man obviously, went against the rules. Possible situations where he could've accidentally killed a player, but instead chose a route of merely hurting them.
It would've taken a keen eye to notice the quick and fleeting glum expression during some of his rolls. But then again, he could've been reacting that way to give suspense to his actions.
"I'm going to offer two choices, in the game, of course…" The man cleared his throat, switching back to the suspenseful tone he had been using during his dialogue story-driven moments.
"The first is using the artifact, you can outright murder what is left of me… putting a further strain on your body… Or you can sever the limb and escape the dungeon, via the stairs. The artifact is cursed as you know, but two beings rule this dungeon, never at the same time. It will eventually consume what is left of your body as it did to me if you continue to use its power. However, removing it from your body will make it unable to continue consuming you."
Irilrig pointed a finger at the creature, "Its comments are highly dubious, but given how much the artifact has been using and what it's done to your body, there is some truth to their statements. The curse hasn't been completely explained, although if it were to come from this creature, there could also be only half-truths in their statement. I say the choice is yours, but be cautious when it comes to dealing with a cosmic being."
Korarall joined into the conversation, "My take is going to be to sever your arm, and leave its power behind for the next idiot to take your place." The man then shifted his expression, speaking as Killua has come to know Knuckle, "There is a possibility that given this is story-driven and Iason's earlier questions, when the creature says to kill them, they mean to free them from their prison… and take their place."
"The choice is yours…"
"I'm assuming one choice kills my player character, while the other lets me live…"
"You'd be somewhat… correct."
"Hmm… then both lead to living, but one as a Non-playable character and the other as a playable character but with a permanent debuff, as you would call it."
"You figured it out… huh. What would you choose knowing it?"
"In-game? To keep living, of course…" I would choose the same in reality, but a missing limb is nothing to my people when it comes to technology, I don't think it's the same for humans… maybe they learn to live without it. Maybe… they do have advances in technology I'm unaware of…
The Alien wanted to learn, but Daniel would be the safest person to ask in this situation "I'd choose to sacrifice my limb."
The creature barely reacts, "So the cycle of suffering continues… Young Tiefling, find what you're looking for… for unlimited power, comes at the cost of solitude."
"Are you sure about this…?" Korarall asked, his axe raised hesitantly.
Kairakas offered a nod, "My objective fails if I stay here… my goal… my dream is… not to stay…" with a genuine smile, they accidentally let loose a secret "To go back to them…"
Knuckle hesitated to make the call, because of something Killua said. It felt too real to be a character-building comment, "Them…?"
Killua stilled, expression remaining neutral for a moment "Something important was taken from me, and I plan to take them back."
Korarall's expression twisted wildly, axe swinging down "Then I'll help you steal it back!"
It was quick and painful, Kairakas' arm getting lopped off without hesitation. The cosmic being started to move once more, reaching out to grasp the arm. They refused to move afterwards, the arm and artifact remaining close to the entity.
The building shook violently, the tendrils now receding from the staircase. Without hesitation to group runs, going after freedom… without the artifact, they sought since the beginning, only a bit of loot… and a new companion to share a meal with.
The group cheered, lucky enough for everyone to survive till the very end.
But even as the group celebrated after successfully, completing a game, Killua was walking away from the session with more than a story… they had new questions and a query they still needed to answer for themselves.
What is it they were looking for with Daniel… and what is the result they wanted for themselves.