"Well now, that was quite the show." The smiling man nodded appreciatively as he put a hand on the hollow king's shoulder.

The shriveled-up man was lying up against a wall. He looked more like a corpse than anything else. Even in his slightly disheveled suit.

The hollow king had no answer for the strange man who always seemed to be obscured by shadows. He just lied completely still with his mouth agape and eyeless face staring off towards nothing in particular.

Up on the karaoke stage, people were shifting around. It seemed a small group of monsters wanted to make some sort of pseudo band and all sing together. The crowd was full of excitement as they jumped up and down. Even without music to guide them, they seemed to be bursting with energy.

"Phew." Abraham wiped sweat off if his forehead as he forced his way to a seat next to the hollow king.

He slammed down into the ground with a grunt. Slowly, a contented sigh poured from his lips as he kept his eyes affixed on the mass of beings that made up the crowd.

The smiling man leaned down and looked over at Abraham. His smile was broad as he tilted his head to the side. "Interesting choice of outfits."

Abraham didn't look down at his outfit. In fact, he seemed to be trying to ignore the smiling man, as he was acting almost as if he wasn't there at all.

The smiling man reached down and traced a finger over Abraham's stomach. Shreds of fabric parted ways as his finger traveled up. His finger's twirled around and found their way to a long chunk of cloth that hung loosely from his collar.

Abraham's clothes were in absolute tatters. Every slice, scratch, stab, explosion, and everything else thrown his way had been easily shrugged off by his body, but his clothes weren't able to recover the same way. So, bit by bit his outfit was made more and more immodest.

Now, Abraham's clothes looked more like the end of an exploding cigar than anything resembling a real outfit. It certainly didn't do anything to protect his modesty.

Still, as the shadowy man touched Abraham, the aggressive man ignored him. His eyes were affixed loosely in the distance, and he seemed determined not to interact.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Finally, the smiling man withdrew his finger and shrugged. "My my, you really are irritable, aren't you? I'm gracing you with my time, and you can't even seem to muster up the respect to speak to me?"

The smiling man leaned in closer, until his face was mere inches from Abraham's. "Or maybe you're just afraid? Too petrified to even muster up the courage to turn and face me. What? Can you actually tell just how further up the food chain I am compared to you?"

Abraham's reply was just more silence.

"Now now, no need to tease him so much." Gzemnid chuckled as she floated over towards the three of them.

"Looks like you've been having fun," the smiling man chuckled. "I thought the fighting was over?"

The portly woman ran her tongue over her blood-stained teeth. Her mouth looked like it had a fresh coat of red painted around it. "Well, someone had to clean up from that whole mess."

The eyes held by her hands darted around. They were soon followed by the large eyes that made up her chest while the massive eye that was her stomach stayed focused on the smiling man.

"Seems we have company." she cooed with a vicious smile.

"Hey guys!" Will called out as he walked up to them. "How have you been enjoying the party so far?"

The smiling man nodded at the human. "It's been interesting. I definitely feel extra drained though."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Will sighed. "They're fun, but a party really saps your energy after a certain point."

"Must by why you're locked away in this corner then," Gzemnid giggled. "Instead of showing the crowd what a mosh pit really means."

"I don't think they do mosh pits for karaoke Gzemnid," Will said.

"Of course, they do." She countered. "It's not about where the music is coming from, it's about the kind of music. The energy from it."

Abraham's eye started to twitch.

"I mean, maybe. But I've certainly never seen anything like that." Will shrugged. "Still doesn't seem very likely. That'd be like starting a mosh pit over someone playing a CD."

"It's a little different," The smiling man interjected. "After all, there is still the thinking body leading the way up on stage. In their position of power, they direct the crowd. Like a military leader, or a king."

"Do you mind?" Abraham interrupted angrily. He looked up at the three people that kept talking. "Maybe there's a reason some of us came to a more isolated corner away from the other babbling idiots..."

Gzemnid's eyes all tilted down to look Abraham over. She smiled hungry as she took in his form. "Very bold of you to jump in like that."

Will looked down and then let out a loud laugh. "Wow, and I thought I was letting loose." He started to unbutton his shirt. "Here, let me help you with that."

Will took off his buttoned shirt. Underneath was a white tank top that covered him surprisingly well. He draped the button up shirt over Abraham's waist and then gave him a thumbs up.

"I don't know Will," the smiling man teased. "Perhaps he would prefer to rut around without any clothes like a wild pig?"

Abraham put his hand up onto his forehead and slowly brought it down over his face as he let out a sigh. He turned to the hollow king and said, "Seems things are a little too social here now. Afraid I'm gonna have to leave you alone with this crowd so I can have some peace and quiet for a bit."

And with that, he stood up and started to walk away. However, he kept ahold of the shirt, and as he left, he tied it around his waist sort of like a chef's apron.

"Come on man, what if he doesn't know you're teasing?" Will sighed as he shook his head and looked at the smiling man.

The smiling man's smile spread especially wide as he simply replied, "What makes you think I was only teasing?"

Will looked at him dumbfounded for a second. Then, he and Gzemnid burst out laughing.

"Ahaha, good one." Will nodded.

The smiling man started to laugh as well, but he didn't say anything else. And his laugh almost seemed to have an undertone of a threat mixed into it somehow.

Meanwhile, the hollow king hadn't moved an inch. He just lied there completely still as they all interacted around him.