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As Kipley looked around the dust and dirty temple walls, which even the light seemed to avoid. There lay, sleeping skeletons wrapped in their hooded graves set in their praying knees! Curiously, she touched one of the "priests". But the moment her hand touched the frail body, the robe that dressed the corpse fell to the floor revealing a confusing sight!
For half the body still showed its living flesh that pulsed with life! While the other half was as dry as its bones! But what truly frightened her was not its looks but the fact that it was not human… But a fish! A Fishman type that was said to have long since gone extinct! Not because they could not survive out of water, but because it was said they were too dangerous to live! In books and fairy tales, they were said to have been hunted down! For they were servants of a most terrible monster that ruled the oceans.
Frightened, Kipley began walking past each pew, heading towards the door, but as she walked, the unhooded priest's eye moved towards her direction! And with it all the priest that sat in the isle in all shapes and sizes stood as one! And relieving their fleshly bones! While organs pulsating through their forms they talked as one!
[Human! Do you wish to save the girl?] said the disembodied voice
[Ah!] screamed Kipley as she reached for the door handles only to be stopped as the door disappeared from her sight!
Confused and frightened, with no weapon to speak of, Kipley turned around only to suddenly find herself an inch away from the fish priest who looked like a combination of a shark with the head of an eel of some kind. The creature then spoke again!
[Do you wish to save her?]
Not daring to look away, Kipley saw a version in the eye of the shark, of her being forcible held down by a white alien and made to watch as Rebecca's chest exploded outward with a little creature crying its first breaths! All while the blood and tears that dripped down her little body fed the already-hatched monstrosities!
Kipley then felt the cold hand of the white alien around her throat, as it placed her against the wall! There lay in wait, dozens of eggs ready to hatch and do to her what they did to Rebecca!
[No!] yelled Kipley as she came to, from the vision the voice had shown her
[I ask again! Do you wish to save her!] asked the voice
[what was that?] replied Kipley in a traumatized voice
[a vision of what is yet to come! Now answer my question! Do you wish to save her? I will not ask again!] replied the voice, with deep inpatients.
[Yes! I do but…that was a vision of my future?] replied Kipley
[good… good it can listen… as I already said, that was indeed a vision concerning yours and that child's future! Now how do you plan to change it?] reply the voice
[I don't know how?] replied Kipley, figuring this thing talking to her must have a way to help her but of course, It'll probably want something in return.
[I see…] replied the voice
[what you need is power… power I can provide… for a price.] continued the voice
[here it comes!] thought Kipley
[umm… what then is the price?] replied Kipley worryingly
[nothing too much… or too hard… after all you're only human…] replied the voice
[umm… thank you… I think...] replied Kipley
[you need only to reach the bottom basement of this temple! There you will find a group of dead monks in a circle connected by a rope and covered in talismans around a crystal that is half black and half white…] continued the voice
Seeing Kipley head nodding her head the voice continued:
[There you must simply pull out a single talisman! See! Simply!]
As Kipley was about to think deeply about this strange situation, the temple began to shake! The earth above began to crumble as the temple pews, and stand fell over! Losing her footing for a second. Kipley heard the voice say:
[There isn't much time left! Hurry make your choice!]
[But wait! You didn't tell me how you'll help me!] replied Kipley as part of the cathedral ceiling collapsed onto the pew beside her!
As she came to, she then heard the cries of a child ringing in her ear, cries that sounded like they came from Rebecca! Not having time to deliberate her options, she said:
[fine you win!]
[Good! Now quickly grab hold of my servant hand!] replied the voice
However, unknowingly, the moment Kipley grabbed that hand was when her fate was sealed with a black dot that will never fade! A curse that no matter where she is in the world the voice can always find her!
As the earth above fell through the hallowed tomb, the sun's light, mixed with the tint of green cannon fire, reached the temple-stained glass windows, for the first time in centuries! It was then to Kipley's horror, that she was watching history reveal itself, for as those glasses window shattered, they confirmed to her that the books of fairy tales she once loved as a child and feared… were real!
As the glasses flew in the air, the doors that had gone, came back into view like a failing illusion made of mist and blood! Only to be busted open by a horde of aliens! Ravenous in their wake, they charged as the priest dressed in white with octopus tentacles protruding through his cloth played the trumpet of war! As the priest rose to meet their foes, the voice yelled:
[RUN! Human! My servants will prepare the way!]
Using a proper moment given, Kipley ran straight without looking back! Right down the staircase that showed itself as the stone floor that hid it moved like a door, to the sounds of the trumpet, the war priest below!
Noticing its prey getting away, one of the aliens jumped from the crumbling walls, but as its hand was but a hair breath away from its target, a fish-men used its bony teeth to bite his arm away! While the alien cried, another fish-men used a big club made of sea rock to crush the alien! Pouring its blood out like a popping bomb! Blood that flew right towards Kipley! Panicking with her arm raised up, a servant steps in to shield her from the burning blood! Without changing expression, the priest said:
[The master has given you your duty! Now finish your end!]
Quickly escaping the priest's embrace, Kipley continued to run down the stairs. But as the priest sat there watching her disappearing back, while his hand touched an invisible wall, the ceiling above him collapsed in the background crushing aliens and fellow servants alike, as they continued to kill each other during the whole process, the priest didn't say anything anymore but simply smiled as a rock came crushing down upon him! Strangely enough though, even though all the chaos that has happened, not so much as a single scratch befell the statue of the old one! At the end, as the entire church was consumed with rising waters, only it remained with fire ever lit even when bathing in the darkest waters!
As Kipley passed the odd cobwebs and mysterious torches that lit the way, while hearing and fearing the noises above, she arrived at a door! A mural door that warned of what waited should the crystal break. Ancient warriors with wings thrusting down spears into the depths of the oceans! Wrapping the very names of the oceans in black chains! Monks in Eastern-style clothing wrapping their bird heads that shined a hidden jewel embedded in their four's eyes!
And to complement the mural of the war in heaven, there by the door lay countless sleeping dead adventures! Amor and weapons, swords and hard steel, that shined still even though the passage of time tried to eroded them away! There hidden amongst the bodies she found her weapon of choice, for its shine and glistened through the faint light above all the others!
To Kipley's shock, the weapon she found in this long-forgotten temple was a gun! But a type of gun she didn't understand… for it was white in its coat, with a raging fire coil for its top, while its bottom carried a pack of bullets ready to fire on demand! It's a strange combination she was sure only a race like the dwarfs would be able to make! The mysteriousness of the weapon only made her want it more, especially since it was probably the only weapon she could wield down here, for everything else was made for being far stronger than her in strength and height!
But as she held that lightweight weapon in her hands, the crumbling sand walls around her fell, as black alien hands burst forth from the dirt! While through side tunnels she could hear the sounds of hissing and roaring steps!
[these things just don't give up!] yelled Kipley as she pointed her new weapon at the aliens digging their way out!
But it was at this critical moment that when Kipley pressed the firing pin, the gun didn't make a sound! That's when realization came upon her!
[shit! This thing requires a welder with a core!] curse Kipley out loud to herself
That right, for a normal human like herself, she will never be able to fire such a weapon! But not wanting to throw it away either, she tied it around her back with the straps and raced for the three-story door that stood between her and her goals! But as she arrived at the door, she understood that there was no way she could ever hope to open it herself! There wasn't even a hole that she could squeeze through!
[did that voice just send me here to die! How the hell am I supposed to open this big bastard!] yelled Kipley
As the noise of trampled corpses grew, she knew if she didn't do something soon, that future she saw would come to pass!
[No! I didn't come all this way to die here!] yelled Kipley as she slammed her hand against the door in a rage!
And in the wake of her touch, the door became viscous, and like a scanning light, she passed through! And just in time to hear the aliens desperately attempting to break in! An- like a one-way mirror she could see them through the door! She could even feel their breath as they hissed at the door! Not wanting to worry about them anymore she turned around to the shock of giants!
Six winged giant monks with birds for heads stood in a circle around a crystal altar that held in its winged form, a crystal that was black and white! The light from the crystal lit up the sparkly stalactites that hung from the ceiling, while they dripped down their precious water that was infused with palpable mana! While an unknown language littered the altar and walls, the beautiful glowing orange talismans only added to the mysticism of the scenery. Even the very rope that held them all together didn't look like it aged a single day, while the giant bodies looked like they were still alive! Though they didn't breathe or show any sign of life. But each giant cupped a glowing orb in the palms of their hands.
Enthralled by such beauty Kipley almost didn't want to disturb even the dust that obscured the artistry of the title works that path the floor. But knowing that time was short, she made her way up only to be discouraged that her tiny frame wouldn't be able to reach any of the hanging talismans! Confused about what to do, for she didn't have any way to damage a single talisman, the black dot on her hand began to throb!
As the throbbing painful veins pop out of her skin, her right hand begins to move on its own! As it reached for the gun on her back, only to infuse its crystal core with something… infecting it with her curse! As she screamed from the pain, she could have sworn she saw for a brief moment that her hand held onto the heart of a phoenix with metal attributes! As that phoenix twisted and contorted, its once bright orange flame turned purple black!
As the pain faded, Kipley noticed that her hand had fused with the weapon and that her arm had begun to spew the fins of a fish!
[so, this is the price I have to pay! Fine, I can live with this!] said Kipley, as she willingly set fire to the talisman above her head.
The moment it burned! The altar shook! As the giant's bodies holding the orbs aged all their long years to become that which is young too, old to dust in the wind! The ropes that helped them in place disintegrated like they were never there, while all the talismans burned in purple fire! The stalactites in the ceiling fell like shooting stars, while the winging altar opened up their eyes to a booming voice that screamed in anger! As they to wither away! All while the orbs that the giants held fell and shattered! Releasing their ancient prisoners and a mountain of water! For they held monsters long forgotten to be only thought of as myths and legends!
Short troll child POV
[Six beasts for six keys!] yelled a crazy-eyed troll child, locked in her prayers! As the third eye on her forehead opened and bled, she continued
[six keys from six traitors! Six traitors to 3 allies! YES! YES! THE WORLD WILL DROWN IN SORROW! HA! HA! HA!]
Current time
As the water level rose with each orb that broke, Kipley ran to the crystal with everything she had left in her, for she feared the monsters that were waking up to their newfound freedom! But as she arrived at the crystal that once glowed in pristine beauty, now glowed an eerie black, as the white part was slowly being eaten away!
Not knowing what to do, while the light slowly faded into abysmal black, the giant monsters in the water looked up in their glowing eyes and bowed their heads as they felt a pull come from the crystal! A pull that swallowed Kipley in her panic!
Meanwhile far away in the mountains
As the elder cat beast-men sat in their circle meeting, all dressed in their formal attire, the giant glowing 3d projection map that was given to them by their ancient allies, now showed a broken red x on a position that once held a glowing shard that held back the sons of perdition!
[Madam!] yelled the young ones in the audience.
[I know… the time has come… the YEAR OF DROWNING SORROWS!] said the tribe's elder queen.