Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
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Hn.
So the Destiny: Infernal chapter seems to have worked out just fine.
I wonder if the same could be said about Euphoria.
Either way, I have nothing to do right now so why the hell not?
Hm.
Anyways, here comes the next chapter of EUPHORIA! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
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Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
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A few moments later... - Berlin Undercity Entrance - Leonardo's Point Of View...
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"So this is the place, huh?" Muttering mostly to myself as I approached a small island in the middle of a lake, I stopped to take note of the rather obvious path beaten into the earth. Anyone that wandered onto the island could follow it to the so-called secret entrance of the Inhuman undercity. Following the beaten path would eventually lead one towards a strange rock formation that looked like it was incredibly eroded on its edges for seemingly no reason whatsoever considering the fact that the water of the lake does not reach even remotely close to it. One particular stone seems to have hand imprints upon it, almost as if it is pushed down on a regular basis.
Shrugging and deciding not to question the fact that something this obvious was not discovered all this time, I pushed down the aforementioned rock. The greater rock formation suddenly began to dissolve, revealing a small computer built into the side of the revealed stones. The almost war-time screen had nothing but a number on it, that is to say ten and it was counting down. Walking inside of the revealed room, I found that the countdown was for the reassembly of the rock formation which hid the place from the outside world.
Taking a look around, I notice the strangely utilitarian style of construction that the room represented with minimalist, black iron-held walls and an industrial, almost mine-like elevator in the middle of the room."Just go down the elevator and I'll see you when you come down." I repeated the words Anna told me over the phone with a slightly disbelieving tone.
Stepping onto the elevator, I found it to be rather unsightly for a multitude of reasons. Reason number one: there was everything from blood to dung and piss staining the thing all over, almost as if it was never really cleaned since its construction. There were only two buttons which represented the elevators function. Up, which was covered in an oily substance, and down, which was a blackened crimson color, most likely dried blood. Each had the visible fingerprints of a thousand different people upon them.
This thing gets used a lot yet nobody is here to care for it...
I feel like I'm walking into a concentration camp.
Deciding not to let my own skin come into contact with either of the disgusting substances, I used gravity to push the button to go down and nearly bit my lip in slight shock as the rusted iron whirled into form, falling downwards at night dangerous speeds and yet, just slow enough to be able to hold on. Naturally, I levitated in mid-air and just followed the open elevator instead as it dunked itself to way below ground.
A couple minutes of continuous metal screeching later and I found myself standing in front of a whole bunch of metal detectors, things that seemed like calculators for mana and other forms of security machinery. The way ahead was also blocked by security stations, half awake guards sitting within them.
It was like the people here were completely uncaring of the fact that there was a war going on up above."Young master!" Anna's uncharacteristically cheery voice echoed from my left, startling the guards awake as the vampiress approached, her wings and fangs fully visible."Hello, Anna."
"I see you've managed to find your way here just fine... though you may wish to stop levitating sometime soon master, the guards here aren't exactly the calm type." Shrugging towards her, I answered with a sneer."Not like they could do anything to me either way."
"You sure about that, freak?" A plethora of men and women alike charged to the front, bearing both strangely high-tech weaponry and medieval swords, maces, katana's and bows alike... though the latter looked to be laser-forged and not something you'd take off an anvil to drench in a barrel."Quite sure."
Was my rather incredulous reply as I turned back to Anna."I assume that the undercities are controlled by HI?"
"Built by them, controlled by them and, sadly, maintained by them... the last part is- as you can see, not at the top of their priorities, sadly." One of the human guards scoffed at that."You filthy monsters should be happy that we're even allowing you to live in the first place!" His friends cheered him on, filling me completely with utter disgust.
I rose my hand towards them and said."You've got this place under surveillance, right?"
"Every, single, fucking, corner. Nothing can happen here without our jurisdiction!" The same man answered with a sneer as I let out a massive breath of relief."Good, good. Because what I'm about to do... well, I just want the people witnessing the event from behind the cameras to know one thing: I. Am. Human."
And with that, I clenched my extended fist.
Gore splashed and decorated the already filthy walls and corners of the place as their entire bodies were squashed formed into small crimson balls of human biomass, their weapons and armor flopping to the ground as I fine-tuned my psionic energy to target solely their flesh. I gathered up the remainder of the bleeding orb of meat and bone and handed it over to the somewhat startled but not quite shocked vampiress next to me."Up for a snack?"
"You do realize that every single guard in the area has seen this, right? They'll be all over us in a couple minutes, young master." She replied with an uncertain tone, yet took the apple of human flesh either way, biting into it with hungering glee."Good, let them come, they'll all die. Let HI learn of the enemy it has made simply by existing."
"That sounds racist." Anna joked, yet the joke gave me slight pause as I smiled."It does, indeed. Quite ironic all things considered, wouldn't you agree?"
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"A human slaughtering other humans without a second thought... hmm, well that's a good way to get some friends around here nice and quick." Yeah.. about that."Right.. so how come you didn't manage to complete your task then?"
Anna let out a sigh and closed her glowing, golden eyes for a moment."The people around here are far too panicked and paranoid due to the conflict up above. We can't really be affected by the battle but we can feel the artillery striking the earth just fine. Naturally, HI claims that the Inhumans have absolutely nothing to do with the conflict and should stay out of it, which means they are just one of the main opposing forces which blocked my path. It does not help that the Inhumans here have established a social hierarchy not unlike a small mafia with an extreme economic problem, with there being a Don at the top of it all. His name is Alfred Posinski, a half russian-half british man who was infected with lycantrophy sometime during the war and somehow managed to stumble upon this place after the fall of Berlin. Despite being a member of the red army and rather young, too young for our standards even, his militant standards and disciplined behavior made him rather popular fairly quickly. Thanks to this, he seized power and established the current social structure in an effort to keep the peace."
"That sure seems to have worked out for him and others." I muttered out in disgust as I looked around, the sheer waste, the depravity and the uncleanliness of the entire place was very close to making me vomit and we have yet to even enter the proper settlement. We were currently walking down a blackened hallway, seemingly purposefully created in order to force anyone trying to break out of this place into a slaughterhouse of bullets and whatever magic the humans used to keep order around here.
Anna beamed me a smile."Actually, in comparison to some others, Berlins Undercity is renowned for its security and stability, despite being rather wretchedly poor overall."
This revelation made me give out a deep sigh."Though that may very well be the sad truth of the matter, there is likely nobody here that would actually be good enough to recruit for my own organization much less for the conflict up above."
She gave out a merry laugh in response."Master, suddenly coming here and forcing these... weaklings to fight to defend their oppressors was a far-fetched dream to begin with. Your desire is to force the human and the inhuman into a singular category, correct? Something like that cannot be done in a single day, as I'm sure you realize."
I bit my lip."Maybe so, but unlike what you might be thinking, I don't intend to make things easy for the people I'm aiming to change. They will conform to my design, not the other way around."
She offered a savage grin as she replied."And I shall follow you to the end for it, young master!"
Finally, we left the disgusting hallway and entered what looked to be a massive red light district, with all forms of debauchery being concocted wherever you turned. Anna tugged on my white coat in uncertainty."Master, perhaps it would be for the best that we do not take the normal roads? There are a few decent places here that I'd like you to visit: a hotel, a monument, a park and a church."
Quirking an eyebrow at her, I asked."I assume you want me to tell you where to go first?"
She shrugged with a mischievous gleam in her golden eyes."I figured that your chaosborne powers may give you some insight on the matter."
Letting out a laugh of my own followed up by a snort, I replied."Anna, I am no longer connected to Chaos. Well, at least not directly."
She blinked in confusion."Really? Hm, that would explain the sudden change in the eldritch energy which courses around you. So who are you connected to now? God?"
Another snort escaped me."Thankfully, no. My new connection... if you can even call it that, is to the origin of Life itself. Apparently, I've been chosen as its newest curator." Rising my right hand up, I focused onto the limitless energies beyond my heart and forged a small pure-white and glowing tendril.
Anna looked closer, seemingly entranced momentarily by the stars and cosmic wonders that could be seen within the tendril itself."Life.. itself?.. and you are its newest curator?.. this is quite the change from the savage and untamed energies we've felt before. Well, the energy is still savage, but not exactly untamed... the feeling it gives of is more akin to.. politeness."
"Politeness?" I blinked in confusion as the tendril retreated back into my body and Anna nodded towards me."Yes, politeness. Back when you were connected to Chaos, your body was brimming with energy which gave off the feeling that it could annihilate anything and anyone randomly and without reason. This energy is much the same but... its like the energy is also saying that it would never actually do that without a given cause simply because it would be impolite or rather... unnecessary."
"Unnecessary is more like it, but thank you for the information nonetheless." Was my still rather uncertain reply. Then I closed my eyes and thought for a moment."Alright, I feel like we should go see this... monument, first of all."
She nodded, bowed respectfully and very maid-like, before pointing towards our right. The direction showed a small hill upon which artificial or magical grass seemed to be growing. The path itself was well-walked which indicated that the monument is most likely a social hot spot and the next field-of-carnage.
I wonder what kind of police those HI mongrels send in an attempt to stop me."Then, please do follow me, young master!" She cheerily said as I nodded."While we are going there, could you maybe tell me a little bit about yourself and your sister?"
She blinked and smiled."Oh? Is the young master finally interested in his servants stories?"
Shrugging and promptly ignoring her ulterior motive, I replied."I suppose its about time for me to get to know the people who have my flesh and blood inside of them."
A blink of confusion and then another respectful nod."As you may already know, my sister and myself are maids by trade. Born in medieval times, sometime after the Slavic people first arrived on European soil. We are both French in origin, having been fortune enough to be born in one of the mayor cities, though centuries of adaption and studying of foreign languages and customs alike, there is very little of the aforementioned heritage left within us. Our mother was a maid, our father was a butler. Both of their names... we have sadly forgotten over the years. Eternity does have its price, after all and memories are just one of the things it may take as its rightful due."
"The human brain isn't really meant to last for so long. Even if you are kept young physically, eventually you'll start to forget things." She nodded in understanding."Yes, though back then we attributed this more to simple vampirism as our predecessors did. Your viewpoint on it is most likely the correct one though, young master."
"So how did you come to meet Istvan?" She giggled at my question, making me feel somewhat stupid for asking."Well, he was a medieval lord-ling. He saw two young, nubile maids. He decided that he liked them so he took them home. Eventually he was turned into a vampire by one of his trusted friends. We were among the first he turned, most just he didn't want to have to make up excuses for his strange and, at times inhumane, actions to us."
"I see... so do you have any life-defining moments that you'd like to share?" Another spree of giggles."You mean apart from meeting you? Young master, us twins aren't as interesting as you might've imagined us to be.. rather, we've spent our eternity as part of Istvan's little harem, living our lives in vampiric debauchery and basic euphoria. Somewhere along the line, we managed to grow old and powerful enough to be called Vampire Queens, a rather prestigious rank of Vampiric Regent which not many can lay claim too. For this, we receive rather fanatical respect from our lesser brethren, vampire or otherwise because those who reach the rank also eventually become Antideluvians, who are the highest societal leaders among the Inhumans."
"Would Yomi fit into that category?" She blinked in confusion."Yomi? As in Yomi Of The Funeral March? Well yes, she would. If, she were alive, that is."
I offered her a satisfied nod as we continued walking towards our destination, promptly ignoring the many eyes which were focused upon our every move. Inhumans and humans alike gathered all around us in anticipation, their hearts beating so loudly that I could hear them from miles away.
It made me feel a bit...
Hungry.
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Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
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That's all I can do for now.
Unlike the Destiny chapter this one actually ended up being slightly better than average, which is a nice surprise!
As per usual, I will do my best to stay online in order to answer early comments and edit out my mistakes.
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Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!