As this occurred, the rest of the Undying dug into the earth with a great fury, as the sky above their persons blackened from the gathering of many electrically charged endarkened clouds. Whilst this gathered further, Brutus's body, along with a few others, fell into a hole. Here, he called out, "Found something," which called attention to their Lord.

Of whom quickly came upon their persons, and peered into the hole. There, he did spy not only Brutus, but skeletal remains of animals and bipedal creatures. "Very good, Brutus," rumbled the voice of their God. Of whom then reared back and singled out a pair of skeletal Undying who were still in their illusory Human forms, "You two will stay near Melephas, and make sure he is protected until his spell is unleashed upon the town. Afterwards, you three are to join us beneath the earth."

"What is it exactly, Master?" inquired Rojaahn as he prepared to leap into the hole.

"An illusion, Rojaahn. One that sacrifices many victims to appease that which is called the Blight. All of this is done so that they could remain safe, peaceful, and blissfully ignorant of the world around them."

"But, the world we saw was 'pretty'," the Bear Beastman spat the word out, his own features twisting into a snarl as he did so.

"Yes," agreed Karastak, "However, it is, but a facade for the unsuspecting and unwary."

"Then, how did they get Sia and the others?" This was spoken aloud by Amira, who appeared to be rather worried about the others.

"More than likely it was by their want of something fluffy to cuddle with, but no matter." Here, he leapt into the hole, where Brutus was there to receive his person as the others did repeat the action.

After all, save two illusory Undying descended into the darkness, they did shed their illusions from their bodies. Whereas the Fallen God did not, and instead chose to become a Great Serpent of the Earth. One that was able to freely traverse underneath the ground at will, and was large enough to accommodate his underlings, but not in a comfortable manner. Instead, these would need to hide underneath his scales as they traveled, or else risk being dragged off by the force of his speed.

Once each was safely secured throughout his body, did Karastak begin to move. Of which began slowly, as the earth was unfamiliar, even if it was the same anywhere else upon the world.

After a few moments, he did pick up his speed, which caused Brutus to holler out behind his person, "He's about to dive! Secure yourselves!" Of which they did so, and not a moment too soon. For just after he had spoken, did their Lord's body buck a little, then sank into the ground below.

Yes. Such an action created another tunnel, one that was newly made by he who desired his servants returned. However, as he continued onward, his illusory body allowed his person to track any and all who were moving within several kilometres of where his position was. No. He could not tell who or what they were, only how many, which direction, and how far he had to travel.

The first group his body had found, by the by, was a contingent of something pushing and dragging another large something off to his immediate right. However, it was slowly disappearing, which meant he had to hurry, and yes, he did perform thusly. Which, in turn, gave him some hope that this was what he desired.

However, as he grew closer, he noted that such a group had stopped, and were now milling about with some haste. It appeared, to his mind at least, that such an effort was with great haste. Therefore, he had to make sure to disrupt whatever it was that was occurring, and sent a sliver of a thought to those attached to his bodies like parasites did. Whether or not they heard his thought would be another matter entirely, for they were now upon the location of the disturbance.

*****

"Hurry, hurry," a Goblin frantically jumped up and down as he and many forest creatures pulled six healthy females with a hypnotic stare in their eyes. However, such a gaze was not as though they were trying to hypnotise others, but that they were the once enthralled.

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In any case, the area in which this creature, whose skin was decorated with many swirling tattoos, many appearing to be infected, resided within was a crumbling ruin deep within the earth. Of which held the appearance of a sealing chamber for something old and powerful. However, such a thing needed to be fueled with the essences of the living to keep it functioning properly.

As to what it was that was kept sealed? Well, such was the mystery to these creatures, but their ancestors had long ago told their children to keep it fueled. For such a monster hidden within would destroy their world. Therefore, the descendants had all banded together in an effort to find those who would be used as fuel. Of which were any and all who came to their world in search of relaxation.

For such was their world to all without, a destination where one could relax and enjoy themselves without much care.

Unfortunately, such a world was soon discovered to hold a deadly secret. Where one out of every ten visitor would disappear, never to be seen again. With the arrival of Humans from a world called Earth, such a thing spread far more quickly than many would have believed. For such Humans did not die fully, and came back at a later date. Therefore, word traveled quickly throughout the Hub that this destination was to be off limits to all, and that they should find a different world to traverse.

As to why the residents were so frantic? The time limit until the seals ran out of their energies was within a few turns. Therefore, the six that they had captured were to be sacrificed immediately to stave off their destruction. For it was believed that their own lives would not be able to perform thusly.

Even though it worked nonetheless.

"Hurry, hurry," called out the Goblin, as the females were laid upon one of a dozen altars where their blood would be collected below. Of which would cause an unknown mechanism below to activate, spearing their bodies whilst an old spell enacted. Thus, their essences would be ripped out of their bodies and used as fuel for what was needed to keep an unknown terror at bay.

"Kill, kill," howled the same creature, as the earth around them shook heavily. Each within paled, believing that which was sealed was awakening, and in turn lashed out against the females with their blades, desiring their end.

However, such a thing did not occur, for just as their blades sought purchase within that which appeared to be soft flesh beneath fur or scales, quickly became iron. Thus, their blades were blunted heavily as the wall behind them burst open, revealing a giant worm. Upon its front were five flaps of thick skin, of which opened to reveal thousands upon thousands of sharpened teeth as it howled in anger at all before it. This reverberated throughout the chamber, stunning the living for a few brief moments.

"Eeee," screamed the Goblin, who sought an escape as his ears rang and bled. For although it had a job to perform, it was still cowardly by nature and had placed its own life above all else.

Unfortunately for him, the worm crashed down on the spot it had landed upon. Thus, smearing its body, bone, and blood across the floor.

*****

"Get them off of there," called out Brutus as he leapt from his Lord's scaled back, and dashed towards a group of forest animals. His form, now released from the illusory confines, unleashed the wrath of the Lich. Of which contained a ghostly horror which even those who claimed to be Gods ran from.

A Wendigo.

This creature did howl with great hunger, paralising a great many creatures as it charged their positions with a drooling maw. Whereas the other, along with the rest of the Undying, fell upon any and all who were unlucky enough to hold their blades above their comrades. These were subjected to horrific deaths, such as being torn apart, their abdomens ripped out whilst their insides are torn free, and many others.

Yes. They did scream a terrible scream, as they did plead for their lives, but it soon became a plead for death. Unfortunately for them, such an experience would only continue for them for quite some time.

As this occurred, however, Karastak had become his Devil King self, and drifted down to where his female Undying lay. Each of these were gently removed and awakened as they were in his arms. Of whom were then set aside, their eyes growing wide as they stared about their persons, not understanding what had occurred or how they had become entrapped. For all they remember was petting and cuddling the furred animals, then awoke in their Lord's arms.

"Wha-," began Sia, who was the last to be removed from the altar, and found herself in her God's arms, "My Lord? What-?"

'Hush, Sia,' came his mental voice, of which was full of relief, causing her to become more confused.

Upon placing her person with the rest of the females, Amira appeared before them, crying out, "I'm so glad you're all alright," and drove into the group. Whereupon they were then given a short briefing as to what had occurred, whilst the other walked towards the centre of the ruin.

'Let's see what you've been hiding, shall we?' His mental voice reverberated throughout everyone's skulls, calling forth the living, the damned, and the dead's attention upon his person as he called upon his strength.

Here, a few shouted, "NO," as he gathered much of what he had, and shoved it into the ground where a great seal in the image of a flaming eagle had been crafted. As he performed thusly, however, a crack appeared upon the image. Of which quickly gave way to reveal a great pool of darkness, and within such a place, something stirred awake. Just as he spied a large and Avian eye pop into life, the world around him and his servants faded into darkness.