Dungeon boss:
The true giant, Greater diamond elemental,
Vayne Nox
Level 900
Continuous beams of white light devastated the entire landscape to the point that Moyo was glad this was some dungeon and not a planet, no planet would survive such devastation. Hunkering down under his core realm like the rest of the masters, teeth gritted, he watched as each beam slammed into his realm, shaking it to the foundation as a testament of its strength. The very ground shattered like brittle glass as each concussive blast chipped more and more of the landscape.
Glancing at the other masters who took the time to top off their strengths with elixir, he shouted over the loud blasts,
“This won’t do!” he said,
“You have a better plan?” Killian asked back,
He turned back, watching as a master’s rune shield was shattered, the mage flying around in a zig-zag manner to avoid the lances of white light, making all haste for another shield when a beam caught him, melting his flesh to bones that shattered and blew away like dust. Cursing, Moyo opened his vault, searching for something he could use to protect himself against the beams. Stumbling upon the mithril armour of the titan made for him by Boyle, he put it aside, perhaps when he left the dungeon he could work on it, just not now.
The beams finally stopped, the skies clearing as the clouds parted, revealing a man, reflective grey skin with golden eyes, golden glowing hair and a large blunt weapon resting on his shoulder, on closer inspection, Moyo realized it was a mace. Stretching his other hand out, he spoke, his voice reverberating around the entire area,
“Welcome once again ascenders” he said with a broad smile,
Clapping slowly as he descended,
“Excuse my hospitality, I had to make sure the masters who would be facing me for the last round would be true masters, not cuddles bastards that no doubt your excuses for rulers have been pushing” he said,
Angry murmurs broke through the crowd of masters as moyo sensed more than two masters expose their blood lust and rage. The being grinned,
“oh?, have I angered you so?, no worries!, soon you’ll fight to your hearts content!” he finished,
Moyo saw Duval take one step forward as he stretched his hand out, halting the master,
“Wait!” he hissed,
The masters turned to him,
“Something is wrong with this boss, I can’t put my finger on it, but I promise you, you do not want to be the first in his line of sight” he murmured,
A large column of earth shot out of the ground, rising higher till the feet of Vayne landed on it, his mace shaking the ground as it touched the platform,
“Some of you came here to grow stronger, I applaud such” it started again,
“You love to hear yourself speak” a master said as he appeared in a fraction of a second next to the dungeon boss, fist cocked back with aura and authority that warped reality around his arm.
Every master held their breath, the speed of the master catching them off-guard, except Moyo had seen when the master moved. He had watched as the body aura dominant master had activated whatever construct was in his hand, teleporting behind the being and he had shaken his head,
The boss had seen it as well, had watched in slow motion as the master activated the construct, appearing next to him,
No one except Moyo and Vayne saw him catch the master, his head firmly within the grip of the dungeon boss’s fingers as he continued speaking like he didn’t just catch a master with his bare hands like a fly,
“Some of you came for primordial shards and aspect shards as well, good, hopefully you leave this dungeon with them” he continued, eyes flashing past them with a grin,
He knows, Moyo thought, gripping dominion tighter,
Of course he knew, if he was the dungeon boss, then everything that happened within the dungeon was under his supervision. No doubt he would be coming for them. Vayne continued,
“Some of you just decided to test your mettle against monsters of master rank, and so far, you’ve been doing well” he said,
“Except one tiny itty issue” he said as he grinned and crushed the skull of the master,
Then Vayne proceeded to tear the crushed skull off the neck, tilt the body and drink the blood, the masters shifting backwards in shock and revulsion. Moyo slammed everything into place, mantle, titan’s body, Digi aye, sage’s eyes, everything that could give him an edge in the battle about the break out. Throwing the body of the master aside, a bloody looking Vayne with eyes that now glowed crimson red spoke, his voice harsher,
“You all will live to regret coming here” he said,
“You will die, your flesh will be feasted upon, your bones for kindle and your essence will nourish my kingdom!” he roared,
Moyo saw his HUD blink to life,
Dungeon notice!:
* Special event!:
greater diamond elemental, Vayne Nox, true giant and blood king has activated the event: kingdom of blood and sorrow!. The entire dungeon is now his kingdom, minions of the blood king (level 850) will hunt you all for the glory of the blood king. The rules are as follows:
* Kill blood wraiths and secure blood gems
* Blood gem when crushed will transport you to the blood hall where you will face the blood king
* Failure to secure a blood gem in the allotted time frame means death by the hands of the blood king,
* None may reject these rules
Rewards are:
for whosoever kills the blood king:
* 10 mythical aether shards
* 20 legendary aether shards
* 10 mythical dungeon cores
* 20 legendary dungeon cores
* Scythe of the blood king
* Elixir of the blood king
* 1,000,000 diamond coins
* 10,000,000 gold coins
* 100,000,000 silver coins
* Primordial aspect shard of the blood king
Participants alive by the end of the event:
* 1 mythical aether shard
* 5 legendary aether shards
* 10,000 diamond coins
* 100,000 gold coins
* 1,000,000 silver coins
“Great, a special event” Killian growled as he unsheathed his blade,
Moyo was about to ask what a special event was when the skies became blood red, bathing the entire dungeon in its crimson colour as a loud shrill broke out and shapes began to fall from the skies. On large diamond wings looked to be soaked in blood, their faces horrible and with dark sharp talons. Looking like a hybrid between a bat and some abomination, the creatures with yellow eyes and red serpentine irises covered the landscape,
“Prepare yourselves!” Duval shouted as he blazed to life,
Leathery skin that blended well into the darkness of the dungeon, Moyo prepared himself for what was about to be a most bloody fight. Shouts of ‘for the archailect!’ broke out around him as core realms were summoned and legendary weapons were brandished. All around runic circles broke out, different path abilities burst forth and the masters hunkered down for the beginning of the battle. Vayne clapped in glee as he laughed, his voice reverberating around,
“good!, I love what I’m seeing!” he said, maniacal glee in his eyes,
“you think you have what it takes to get the last primordial aspect shard in this dungeon?, then come get it!” he said,
“I, Vayne, ruler, ancient and primordial ascendant of the great house Nox, blood king, heir of the true giants and skull smasher demands to see your strength, not even your paltry excuses for rulers would dare to tread on my abode during my days” he said,
Pointing his mace at them, he finished,
“Come for me, or I come for you, kill, shed blood and ascend the steps to the blood hall and face me, get stronger or die, begin!” he ordered,
The creatures swooped down for them, shrieking in their unholy tongues as Vayne receded back into a blood red castle that had appeared in the air, its gates shutting behind him. Moyo sealed his core realm shut, letting one of the blood wraiths fly into his realm before slamming it to the ground with gravity, the creature exploding into bloodmist before reassembling back with a screech, talon coming for him with speed. Catching the talon on dominion, he parried and tore the creature in two, watching as it began to stitch itself back together again,
“of course it wasn’t going to be that easy” he growled,
Summoning veneration to his hand, he shaped it into a blade of gold and purple light, slicing the creature in two as it shrieked, burning up in red smoke,
You have obtained one blood orb:
* Proceed to blood hall
* Absorb for vitality +20
Moyo paused, stared at the orb and then grinned, glancing at the masters who were busy fighting off wraiths,
“Hey Killian!” Moyo called,
“Kind of busy here!” the stellar blade replied as continuous beams of moonlight tore the creature to shreds, his blade coated with elemental lightning flashed around, dicing the creature to ribbons as fast as it could heal back.
Moyo took one step of Ogun, appeared above the creature and with veneration long with titan aspect coating one hand, smashed the creature to a pulp, a blood orb forming. He tossed it to Killian who huffed,
“Check it out” he said grinning,
The stellar blade’s eyes widened, glancing at his HUD and then back at Moyo,
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“This is as much a boon as it is risky” he said,
“I know right?, what happens if it gives that blood king guy control over our bodies?” Moyo said still grinning,
“Why are you grinning?” Killian asked sceptically,
“isn’t this fun?” Moyo replied,
“Please stop grinning, you remind me of that bastard” Killian complained as Moyo laughed, pure chaos happening around them,
***********************
Vayne Nox hardly remembered sleeping, yes, he had been asleep, and by what the archailect was feeding him, for many millennium. The last thing he remembered was entrusting his last bit of aspect to the cosmic dragon, a thought that drove a spike of anger through his skull as the blood hall, his room morphed, shapes screaming into being,
“silence” he commanded, his eyes glowing,
The blood fortress and blood hall was a peculiar structure, created from the souls, blood and essence of his foes he had accumulated till he reached the rank of ancient. It was a most grotesque and terrifying work of arcane power and mana, arts that had been banned by the supreme beings themselves through the cosmic dragon,
“Eses” he thought as he clenched his mace tighter in his hand,
That lying serpent had promised them worthy ascenders who would carry on their legacies, and yet, even as he woke with the hundreds of masters that had invaded he and the great fathers abode, he couldn’t help but rage. They were worthless, useless pieces of masters that weren’t worthy of the title except for few of them, like those who had gathered the aspect shards of the great father and his emissaries, shattered into three parts and now within the possession of three different masters.
He cocked his head, feeling one of his blood wraiths demise, its spectral throes of death echoing around his head. Closing his eyes and witnessing its death, he smiled,
“That child again” he thought,
He hadn’t been mistaken, he sensed the powers of a primordial within the child, except what primordial, he had no idea. The flavour was one he couldn’t recognize, but it was brimming with unleashed power, just waiting for him to attain the rank of ruler. Whatever primordial took the child under his or her wing had good tastes and was a judge with a keen eye, the child could become a monster in the future. Vayne smiled, beginnings of a plan already millennia in the making began to take shape in his head, who said he had to willingly give his aspect shard to some bastard?.
Vayne had been forced into that battle with the prime lord of the abyss by the great father, that bastard Shango had threatened to tear his empire asunder if he didn’t answer the call of the cosmic dragon, a call he was loathe to obey as there was no love lost between himself and her. And now he couldn’t take out his anger on Shango, the bastard already giving out his aspect shards through his emissaries that had chosen the child and his allies for their new bearers.
Then he would take the child, he would ensure that child reaches his blood hall and he would take complete control of his body. Sure, master rank was a hassle, but the thought of a new life was one he couldn’t overlook, like a tasty treat dangled in front of him,
“Yes” he thought as he began to salivate,
He would enjoy breaking the willpower of the child, taking his body over and wreaking havoc on the archailect again. It was time for house Nox to rise from the ashes again and take its place among the brightest and bloodiest stars in the archailect, taking a seat on his throne made of blood, he grinned,
“Come young one, come to me” he crowed as the pitiful moans of his past enemies begged for respire from the blood walls.
**********************************
Moyo and the masters fought back-to-back across the bloody landscape, eyes averted from the slain and torn bodies of both masters and wraiths. To think of masters being killed in this manner was both shocking and repulsive, no doubt, most of them who would survive this dungeon may never go dungeon delving again, the scars and risks too much for them despite the rewards. Finding a crevice to hide, the masters opened elixirs, endurance and healing and gulping them down. Skatha peeking out from where they were,
“that’s fine, the sooner we help the other masters the earlier we can get to the blood hall” Duval answered,
The masters for once had agreed, all factions deciding to go as one into the blood hall and take down Vayne, although more than a few had quaked on their feet, the claim of the dungeon boss being an ancient and soon to be primordial terrifying them to their bones. Other considered it a bluff, but Moyo had nodded slightly to the masters when they glanced at him,
That creature, that monster had been an ancient on the cusp of becoming a primordial,
Moyo couldn’t explain how he knew, it was just a feeling that resonated within him, like one primordial meeting another. It was why he was weary of the being, especially when a blood red hand had come out of nowhere, grasping a certain master that had been healing the rest without fighting himself, crushing him like an ant.
The other factions had berated the allies of that master for not providing at least one blood orb for the master in advance, but Moyo could understand, everyone was in the heat of battle and hardly could remember such. Slowly wearing down the numbers of the wraith, the casualties had been bloody on both sides, and Moyo couldn’t help but purse his lips in grim realization, that this dungeon run had been a mistake.
There was a bigger war being fought on the outside, one that masters were needed for, and yet, here they were, wasting their lives away for loots. He had brought up his thoughts to the masters when Killian had revealed a disturbing explanation for him,
“You think the war council and powers that be aren’t aware of that?” he asked,
Moyo scrunched up his face, confusion on it as Killian sighed,
“it’s a power move Moyo” Duval said,
“Except the dungeon is no war zone” Moyo said grimly, realizing the point,
The masters nodded,
“In truth, most of the masters coming to the dungeon weren’t coming because of loot, they came to quietly take out the opposition” Killian said,
“And it would had gone without a hitch if that being didn’t appear and force us all to work together” Moyo finished,
Moyo doubted they were up to fifty masters left in the dungeon, the ascenders far and in-between, fighting tight knit battles of two to three masters together. The dungeon wraiths were sparse as well, moving together in flocks and besetting any master they could find if they were alone seeing as they were close to the blood castle already. With the masters gone, the diamonds that had grown strong enough would be finally elevated to the rank of masters, commanding entire planetary forces in the coming invasion of the inner Molrik planets, a fact that Moyo detested.
However, such issues could be handled later, now though, they had a battle to win. Sensing a flock of blood wraiths near their positions, Moyo shot out of the crevice as the creatures screeched, diving for him. Duval stepped out, swinging his blade as a burst of both elemental and solar flames now cleanly interwoven together slammed into the creatures. It was a testament to his strength that he had begun to slowly integrate the aspect shard into his path. Burning the creatures that turned to dust, Moyo took out the last few that were still alive, acquiring their blood orbs.
Glancing around, he extended his Digi aye, cautious of any ambush when his HUD pinged,
Dungeon notice: all blood wraiths have been slain, ascenders left will be automatically transported to the blood hall!.
“Ah shit, guys?” Moyo called out as the masters appeared next to him,
“We see it as well, prepare yourself” Duval said grimly,
A bright red light shone around them as they winked out of existence, appearing within a barely lit hallway, their HUD’s pinging again,
Dungeon notice: welcome to the blood fortress, seeing as there are more than one of you, ascenders would have to make their way through the fortress to the blood hall itself to have the honour of facing the blood king, goodluck.
Glancing around to make sure the masters were next to him, they came close, staring at the long hallway,
“Can you feel it?’ Duval whispered, the rest nodding slowly,
He entire structure reeked and felt like a slaughter house, the aura of death, terror and pain filled their surroundings and Moyo gripped dominion tightly, his eyes blazing to life, his HUD pinging,
Masters remaining :40
Masters remaining: 39
They froze, eyes wide at the notification before slowly walking down the hallway, weapons glowing. Passing by walls that moaned in agony and eerie looking structures and creatures that were moulded from what Moyo soon realized was congealed blood, he did his best to hide his revulsion, but he could see it in the eyes of the masters as well. Getting to a large door, they entered the room to see a large being clad in blood red armour sitting on the steps that led to a dais where a throne was meant to be situated.
The moment they passed through the doors, it swung shut, the being groaning as it came to life,
Notice: welcome to the room of the exiled, defeat the crimson exiled knight to pass!
Crimson exiled knight (870)
Immediately the masters went to battle mode, Moyo activating his sage’s eyes as he cursed and stumbled backwards,
“Woe unto whosoever stumbles into my abode, there will be no light nor peace for you to find here, only agony and death!” the knight rumbled as he stood to his full height,
Standing at almost seven feet tall, gripping a blade that began to manifest, made of blood that manifested from around the room, Moyo stared on grimly,
“Thousands of years ago, I failed my ruler, now I am cursed to pay penance by shedding the blood of his foes” it said,
“Then you will find that your penance is at an end, for you will find it most hard to shed our blood” Moyo replied,
The crimson knight chuckled, gripping his bastard blade with two hands as he raised it high,
“Many have said such, none have kept their words, neither will you” it said as it made to swing its blade when it paused, as if an otherworldly voice had spoken to it. Crashing to its knees, it raised both hands up,
“my lord!, your servant hearkens to your call, your will is my existence!” it cried,
Moyo subtly activated Digi aye around the room, recoiling in disgust at the aura and aether he felt, not even the skill would drink from the polluted aether around the room. Their attentions were dragged back to the being as it clambered back to its feet, their HUD’s pinging,
Notice: the ruler and master of the fortress has granted you all a boon, one master may decide to pass straight to the blood hall among you without facing the knight!
Wary of whatever game was being played, they turned to the knight that pointed one gauntleted finger at them,
“You, master with the purple aura, my master requires your attention in the blood hall” it said,
“Why?” Moyo growled back,
“Far from me to question the will of an ancient, question his will again and I rip your mortal tongue off your mouth” it replied,
Moyo grinned, unleashing both aspect and veneration as purple fire burned around him,
“no” he replied,
The being hissed, paused and cocked its head, no doubt receiving more orders,
“Fine, then my master has ordered your death, you should had taken the offer when you had the chance!” it rumbled before shooting for them,
Realms slammed into place as the masters prepared for the attack,
“kneel” Moyo commanded, the knight crashing to the ground as the titan aspect descended on it,
The being struggled under the power of the titan as Moyo felt what he now recognized was the aspect of the blood king through his knight fight back. Revulsed, he swung dominion, the blade clashing against a blood shield that had manifested out of nowhere,
“How?” the knight grunted,
“Who do you serve emissary?” it asked,
A loud laughter broke out around them,
“Impressive young emissary!” the voice of Vayne Nox echoed around them,
Moyo glanced around, pressing his aspect down on the knight that roared in rage, straining against his power,
“What do you want?” Moyo asked,
“Simple, a way out for you, face me, or is your primordial whispering in your ears to back away?, has the knowledge of who I am scared whoever they are?” Vayne goaded,
Moyo smiled grimly, dominion moved once, aiming for the neck of the creature. He felt reality shift, the blood aspect of Vayne surging as a force held him back, straining against his control,
“You dare!” Vayne rumbled angrily,
Moyo smiled,
“release” he commanded,
The working of power from Vayne unravelled, the knight seeing his chance shot backwards,
“Enough of this!, come!” Vayne commanded,
Reality twisted and bent around like moulded clay, Moyo feeling himself being transported to another part of the fortress against his will. Vayne commanded the greater authority right within his abode, the same way the blood king would be at a disadvantage if he came to Asa or dominion itself. Steadying his feet, he glanced around where he was, staring at the bloodred tapestries where different crests of gold hung on the bloodred banners. He turned to the crimson throne where Vayne sat, his face furious,
“Who do you serve?” he said quietly,
“I serve the titan, I serve order” Moyo simply replied,
Then the full brunt of the aspect of the blood king fell upon him, Moyo twitching a little,
“Good, better to know who to turn my ire to when you cease to exist” Vayne said,
“Now die!” he commanded,
Moyo twitched as he felt the command grip reality and attempt to end his existence, his titan aspect however shattered it, Vayne standing up in shock as his mace flew to his hand, the weapon glowing,
“no” Moyo commanded as he shattered the command of Vayne,
“Let me make things clear again” he continued as he began walking towards the throne,
“I serve order, I serve the archailect, I am one of the founding aspects of creation, I, the wall, shield and blade of order” he said as he unleashed his aspect,
Vayne grinned as his mace exploded, molding itself into a red scythe that glowed,
“I am the titan blade, and my will is supreme” he finished,
Vayne laughed, eyes wide in maniacal glee,
“Good, show me!” he said as his aspect blasted out in a torrent of blood,
“gladly” Moyo replied, his titan aspect clashing with the blood king’s.