((Alright, this is book two of the Skorm and Avo series. this is a continuation of the Song of Skorm, found here http://allboards.lionhead.com/showthread.php?t=212475) Avo was furious. He stormed into the bar and slammed his fist into a wall, leaving a deep indention. "Something the matter?" Scythe questioned, breaking the awkward silence. "Skorm is gone. He locked himself into the Folly and now I can't even sense his presence, he is no longer in this blasted dimension." Avo was shaking, he couldn't get it through his head why Skorm would do that. "Wait, wait, wait." Briar started. "Skorm? THE Skorm of legend? First it's you calling yourself Avo, and now you are reffering to a Skorm! What the bloody hell is going on?!" She ended nearing a scream, she felt people were playing games with her. Avo was fed up with her ignorance and finally confronted her, he was already in deep thought on his brother and she finally pushed his limit. "Woman, I have seen more than your so-called 'Hero lifestyle'. You have fought Jack and his minions in the past right?! Well, it so happens that Skorm and I have discovered where they come from, and if you want to believe that we never exist, then you can just forget about ALBION EVEN EXISTING!!" The candles in the bar went out and the earth shook, not even nature had seen Avo so violent before. "Ugh... I'm sorry..." Avo said as he saw Briar visably shaken by the situation. "It seems that in his absence, the negative energies are starting to flow to me. Now I fully understand why there are two of us." "Don't worry," Briar said when she was able to collect herself. "it was my fault for not thinking it was actually you..." Scythe walked to the doorway and looked outside, the villagers were looking around for what caused the earthquake. Avo stood up and walked outside. "I'm going to the Folly to see what left..." Avo started to say before Scythe intervened. "No, I have a better idea..." ************************ Skorm was amazed at this world. It was exactly like Albion, only mirrored. What was light, was dark. What was right, was left. He stood in what would have been the Folly of their world, except it wasn't lava and stone. It was sand, all of it. It was cold to the touch, and extremely silky. The gate behind him was slightly opened, and footprints led into it. "Well there's my man..." Skorm said as he walked along side the prints, peering into the crevice. There he saw what he had seen in the Necropolis. The nether army, waiting for orders; except the final masked demon was in front of them, barking out orders. "About face and go back to the castle, NOW!!!" He ordered violently before he, himself, teleported into thin air. The army, confused, finally turned around and, in no particular formation, walked back down the paths and out of sight. "The castle...?" Skorm thought to himself when he looked at his sword quickly, and remembered the portal that opened when he had slain Jack of Blades. "No... certainly not... the guild?!" ************************ Avo was flying over the ocean while holding Briar Rose in his arms and Scythe lying on top of him. "Surley their could be an easier way?" Avo suggested as he was getting extremely tired. "I'm afraid not old friend, since your brother destroyed the guild, all of the cullis gates have shut down." "Skorm destroyed the guild?!?!" Briar let out angrily. "Down to the river." Avo finished off. While Briar Rose fumed, Avo made small talk with Scythe. "So where exactly are we going?" Avo asked. "Why the topic of discussion, the Guild." Scythe answered. They touched down in front of the shattered gate, and Briar almost broke down into tears. "Why?...." "Because..." Started Avo, "This is where Jack of Blades entered this world... and where ten more have." Briar Rose averted all of her sadness immediately. "Jack of Blades is back?!" "Well," Avo replied, "not exactly." "So why exactly are we here?" Avo asked Scythe as they walked down the ruined paths, stopping in front of the graveyard. "To learn the arts of resurrection." He answered as he kicked open the lid of one of the tombs, and they all looked down upon the Guildmaster's resting body.

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When all is said and done, when everything around you is dead and burnt to the ground, you still have yourself to answer to.

Glad to see you're posting your stories again. You haven't lost your touch, the way you keep us interested then at the end leave us with a cliff-hanger wondering what's going to happen next. It's that kind of writing that keeps people coming back for more, and I'm having that same reaction, keep it up. Hopefully you're not too busy to post the next chapter soon.

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"It's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Don't be so open-minded or your brains will fall out.

A story that more about Avo now, I always thought he was cooler anyway. But it's about time. I've been checking the forums everyday since the song of skorm ended. Anyway, I love how all the evil energies are heading to Avo now. And the opposite dimension was pure genius. That was a fine bit of creativity. I liked how Briar got told off. She's always seemed stuck up to me. And you always leave on a cliffhanger. Very suspenseful Can't wait till the next part. EDIT: Oh, looks like Big_To beat me to it.

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Omne ignotum pro magnifico.
(Everything sounds more magnificent in Latin.)

work, I'm hooked once again. Can't wait for next chapter.

"It's not possible..." Avo uttered to himself as they stared at his resting body. "Once his soul has left to the afterlife, it is impossible to pull it back." "Not exactly." Scythe reassured him. Briar Rose was now crying, and with a hysterical scream and cry "when the hell did THIS happen?" She fell to the ground sobbing uncontrollably. Avo shuddered, her pain was forcing itself into his body. "The demons killed him when they stormed into the guild." Avo said as he placed his hand on her shoulders. "But how did they get here, I wonder?" Scythe feignly asked, provoking thought into their minds. "To bring someone back from the dead, we need a powerful catalyst; maybe something dedicated in YOUR name Avo..." Scythe suggested as he looked down into the tomb, Avo was immediately reminded of the Holy Sword that he blessed and granted to the people of Albion. Holding his hand over the stone, a magnificent sword appeared out of thin air. He grasped it and held it firmly. "Scythe, how did you know...?" Avo started before he was cut off by Scythe. "In time young one..." this comment really tweaked Avo's mind who was wondering just what he meant by that. "Now take the sword, and jab it through the Guildmaster's heart." "WHAT?!" Briar screamed at the thought of it. "Calm down, Briar, he will be just fine." Scythe continued, unperturbed. Avo looked confused "Anything I should say to mark the occasion?" And at that moment, Scythe put his dry, decrepit hands upon Avo's forhead, and immediately Avo's eyes glazed. Incantations in an unknown tongue flew from his lips and wrapped around the blade of the sword. "Gedotbar geh, amgedpha. Ixomaxip oit oali zonrensg. Torgu, APILA!" With the final word spoken in a yell, Avo thrusted the blade into the Guildmaster's chest. His mouth and eyes shot open as a blinding light emmited forthwith. A scream emerged from the gaping mouth and his pupils opened once more. And with a magnificent chorus of unseen beings floating around the miracle, the sword dissolved into his body. The Guildmaster gasped and hastily looked around. "WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!!! ATTACK!!! AT-" Scythe knocked him out with a well aimed chop to his neck, and picked him up with relative ease and cradled him in his arms. Avo regained his senses and almost passed out, he had to sit down as it felt his energies were being sucked out of his body very quickly. "Well that was... strange." Avo said as he chuckled slightly; Briar just sat there with her mouth open, unable to comment on what she had just witnessed. Scythe layed the Guildmaster down onto the ground, and bid him to wake, which he did. "What's... going on?" He questioned as he looked around at Scythe and Briar, but when he saw Avo, resting not far from where they were, he went into a complete loss for words. "They are back?" He exclaimed when he pulled himself together. "Is Skorm here too?!" "Not exactly..." Avo replied, still breathing heavily." "Wait..." the Guildmaster ordered as he looked around nervously. "Where's Na'Shagul?" Avo finally stood up and walked over, feeling he was most qualified to answer the question. "Yeah... whatever happened to him?" Briar questioned as well." Avo looked skyward for a few seconds, wondering how bluntly he could put it. "Not here, not anywhere. He has become Skorm." And at that point, Avo told them everything that had transpired, up until his disappearance into the Folly. "So... there are more Jacks?" The guildmaster asked when he finally accepted the facts that his guild was no more. "How did they enter this world?" "Quite easily..." Scythe started to answer. "Within their mirrored world, they contain a stronghold that has a direct link to this one, and you won't believe me even if I told you where it was." "Scythe you know I hate your riddles," The Guildmaster said sternly "where is this link?" "Why, in your very own Chamber of Fate." Scythe replied to everyones suprise. "Name fits, don't you think?" ********************** Skorm waited until all of the soldiers were out of sight before he wandered out onto their lands. He couldn't feel the emotions of Albion anymore, but this world was just as potent, if not even more hateful. He had not walked two feet before he was hit over the head, and he passed out. When he awoke, he was in a room that looked exactly like the Chamber of Fate. His arms and legs were shackled to the wall, no matter how hard he pulled and writhed, he couldn't break the enchanted chains. "Just my damn luck..." he uttured out loud as he dropped his head. "Speak for yourself." Said a very familiar voice that ran down Skorm's spine, he looked over and saw a face he never wished to see again; chained not too far from him, hung Thunder.

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When all is said and done, when everything around you is dead and burnt to the ground, you still have yourself to answer to.

I didn't see that last part coming, you have a way of shocking us and leaving us wondering what will happen next. I like the way you make even the most commonly dull moments of the stories interesting and new, where you get your ideas is a mystery, just hope you don't stop getting them. Keeping a daily tab on this thread now, glad to see you're back on track.

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"It's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Don't be so open-minded or your brains will fall out.

 Quoting: Big_To

where you get your ideas is a mystery

The shower. No lie.

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When all is said and done, when everything around you is dead and burnt to the ground, you still have yourself to answer to.

 Quoting: xXGottSteinXx

The shower. No lie.

In that case I think I'll go take a shower. It can't be all from the shower though, I bet you get some of it from reading novels/fanfic or playing video games and don't even realise it. Hey I'm not going to debate whether taking a shower is a great place to get inspirations, I've heard much stranger actually, some that will make children blush. Hopefully you don't decide to build BO anytime soon.

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"It's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Don't be so open-minded or your brains will fall out.

Still very good, but one thing confused me. Why does scythe call Avo "young one" when Avo is a god? And why does Avo seem so weak all of a sudden? No criticisms though, just questions. Keep up the good work.

 Quoting: Smalfie

Still very good, but one thing confused me. Why does scythe call Avo "young one" when Avo is a god? And why does Avo seem so weak all of a sudden? No criticisms though, just questions. Keep up the good work.

Both of those will be answered in time.

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When all is said and done, when everything around you is dead and burnt to the ground, you still have yourself to answer to.

Oooh now I know that they're there on purpose and not just accidents, I'm pretty excited Hope you post the next part soon!

"How did you get in here?" Skorm questioned Thunder after an awkward silence. "Well, after I was murdered," Thunder spat out the word 'murder' violently "I was left to lie in some spirit realm to power the Archon's Shrine. But not long after that, figures that looked like Jack appeared and ripped our souls..." "I'm sorry to hear that." Skorm replied, holding back laughs. "And you? I've never seen you before I died." Thunder asked of Skorm suspiciously. "I.. uh... came from another country." Skorm baffled out, thinking of what to say. "Oh really?" Thunder continued, still suspicious. "Which one?" "That's not important right now..." Skorm spat out quickly to end his questions. "What is important is that we try to escape." " luck with that." Thunder retorted "We aren't going anywhere." Skorm sighed and hung there, wondering what Avo was doing. ************************ They stood in the center of the Chamber of Fate, which, suprisingly, was still in perfect condition. They all looked at the altar in the center. "So this is where the link is?" Briar Rose asked to no one in particular. "Yes, and where we can enter their world..." Scythe answered, turning around and walking back outside. "Wait, Scythe. Where are you going?" Avo questioned as he caught up with Scythe. "We have insufficient knowledge to open the portal. We need to travel to Bargate Prison." "Bargate Prison?!" The Guildmaster repeated "wasn't it under Jacks control? And why do we need to go there." Scythe stopped walking and turned to face them. "Firstly, since Jack has been eliminated, his guards have fled like cowards, leaving the place desolate. Secondly, and much more importantly, the prison used to be a castle of the Archon, if you remember. And there is a secret library that he deemed heretical and it's contents dangerous if put into the wrong hands. He only allowed himself and his closest advisers to ever go in, and it is where we can learn to open portals to go into the other world." "Scythe, PLEASE tell us," Avo began, being tired of not knowing how Scythe new the arts of resurrection, and now about the secret library of the Archon. "How do you know all of this?" Scythe took a long inhale and closed his eyes. After a long silence, he finally opened his eyes and exclaimed. "Because I AM the Archon." They all gasped, the being that succumbed to the power of Skorm, the being that led Albion to ruin and to fend for itself against a demonic horde, was standing right in front of them. "And it's time I amend my sins." ((Sorry this one is short, I have to get ready for college orientation tomorrow.))

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When all is said and done, when everything around you is dead and burnt to the ground, you still have yourself to answer to.

Wow, *clap* *clap* you should've seen my face when I read that. Stroke of genius. God bless that shower

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Omne ignotum pro magnifico.
(Everything sounds more magnificent in Latin.)

 Quoting: StonySpider

Wow, *clap* *clap* you should've seen my face when I read that. Stroke of genius. God bless that shower

That statement just made me laugh, no idea why. I have to agree, although short, it still gets the same eye catching, breath holding reaction as the other much longer chapters. Don't know how much my praise is worth, but keep it up.

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"It's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Don't be so open-minded or your brains will fall out.

Wow Didn't expect that. Bravo! Keep it up, loving the twists and the story

Wow! Awesome story I must say! I love this whole take on the gods of albion thing and how it goes outer-dimensonal. Bravo

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If this is a signature then why am I not signing anything?

great job.... except i kind of suspected scythe was the archon, but cool, bargate prison and what happened to skorm's sword? dont they really want it and now they do?

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The Labyrinth

Shisou:

Just because I'm a man. A manly-man. In fact, I'm currently eating a Manwich, no joke.

 Quoting: SfK-Pyro

great job.... except i kind of suspected scythe was the archon, but cool, bargate prison and what happened to skorm's sword? dont they really want it and now they do?

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH rofl. I'll post more tomorrow after I get back from the dentist.

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When all is said and done, when everything around you is dead and burnt to the ground, you still have yourself to answer to.

Avo, Briar, and the Guildmaster stood dumbfounded. The true ruler of Albion, still alive after aeons of horror and violence. Carefully staying underground, protecting the land he once failed to save. "It was not easy, regaining my sanity..." Scythe said, breaking the silence. "The weapon of a god is not easily wielded by a human. But through such power, I was able to become something more; forsaking my mentality in the process, however. I became a force of nature. My flesh hardened to the strength of bark. And from crimson blood, my veins became filled with sand and dust. "I became... nature. Chaos declared me to be the guardian of the land. I am immortal; as long as nature is balanced through Skorm and Avo, I shall be around to protect it. Such a position forced me to go into hiding, until it was theorized that the Archon, myself, was dead. Centuries later, Jack of Blades came into this land and wrought havoc across Albion. You, Avo, and Skorm were forced to go into hiding or face execution. This forced me to deal with Jack of Blades through the aid of the guild alone. When Maze adamantly considered my mission to reawaken the oracle foolish, I knew he was in league with the demon known as Jack. But Na'Shagul, whom you now know as Skorm, became victorious, and gloriously brought back the power of himself and you, Avo. But now, it's our time to help him." Avo pulled out his sword and looked at it calmly. It was starting to tint red and corrupt the metal. Listening closely, he could hear the Song of Skorm, and became terrified. "With my brother gone, all of his kingdom is slowly becoming mine... and I fear it will rape my sanity." Avo stated worriedly. "That is why, it is of the utmost importance that we assault this parallel dimension as soon as possible." Scythe commanded as he opened the door and walked out. The rest followed in time. As they trod through Lychfield graveyard, Avo began to slowly mumble to himself, trying to keep his common sense in good tastes as the souls of the grave were tearing apart his mentality. "Don't worry, we are almost there." Scythe said to calm Avo down, the area was deadly silent. They stood at the opening tunnel and peered into an open door. "Someone is already down there..." Briar said cautiously as she saw that the torches were lit and drew her weapon. "Be on your guard, the enemy might have already opened a portal to this area." Scythe summoned up his massive reaper, while Avo unsheathed his weapon and placed it on his shoulders. The Guildmaster's hands glowed brightly, it seemed that Apollo had resided inside the palms of his hands. They cautiously entered the opened gate, and immediately heard a growl that seemed to be getting louder and louder. With two glowing eyes, a beast roared and set upon the group. ************************ Skorm was slowly giving up hope, when he heard the door open across the room. The demon he had fought at the Archon's Folly had entered, flanked by two minion spell weavers. "Well, well, well... it seems you have finally awakened." Skorm glared at him with pure hatred in his eyes. "I have to admit, you almost killed me back there." The demon continued. "But it seems that fate is on my side, Hahahahaha." The demon laughed for quite some time, openly mocking Skorm. "We are going to use you for... entertainment." The demon finally started again. "You are going to go against a very familiar face." The demon smirked, and snapped his fingers; with an ethereal scream Thunder vanished into the air, and soon after that, Skorm blacked out. He awoke in a small, cramped cell. With a loud fanfare, a section of wall slid open and he peered out. Once again, he had appeared in the Arena. And on the exact opposite sides, with his name being chanted in the air with jeers from shadowed spirits and demons, stood Thunder. But to make matters worse, in the dead center of the open and dusty arena, was Whisper, tied to a stake. Thunder was almost in tears, and Skorm was reliving an old memory; when another fanfare sounded. The pyre in which Whisper was tied, bound and gagged, caught aflame.

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When all is said and done, when everything around you is dead and burnt to the ground, you still have yourself to answer to.

What can I say? I've ran out of words for very good.

It was great, can't wait to see more from you.

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"It's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Don't be so open-minded or your brains will fall out.

Wow I absolutely love your story. It gives Fable the truly epic ending it really deserves. Top notch. You should write books for a living. I'd definitely read them. Anyway good job, keep it up and all that. Don't forget the book idea.

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Omne ignotum pro magnifico.
(Everything sounds more magnificent in Latin.)

 Quoting: StonySpider

Wow I absolutely love your story. It gives Fable the truly epic ending it really deserves. Top notch. You should write books for a living. I'd definitely read them. Anyway good job, keep it up and all that. Don't forget the book idea.

I agree, get it copyrighted, your story is brilliant enough to be worth plagiarizing.

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"It's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Don't be so open-minded or your brains will fall out.

these storys abouat scorm and avo are absoutly AMAZING i just love them

Skorm was about to explode into laughter; not only was his rival engulfed in flames, but his sworn arch-nemesis was in tears over it. The head demon was standing upon the podium over the mirrored arena. He thrust out his hands to silence the crowd of spirits that came to view the nether-worldly combat. All was silent, all that could be heard were the cackling flames and Thunder's open weeping. "Today, we witness the strongest of Albion's warriors tear each other apart." The demon stated loudly while the crowd went wild once more. After they silenced, he continued "The rules are simple, eliminate your opponent in time to save... or destroy... the prize in the center." With another fanfare, the demons shouted out bets and jeers to the contestants, the fight had begun. Thunder stood and pulled himself together, and with tears still lining his face, he roared with such bestial vigor that a few stones on the walls fell downward. He charged at Skorm, who realized to his dismay, was weaponless. Skorm began to panic, apparently the Demons had taken his Sword when he was imprisoned, and it just made this fight a hole lot one-sided. Thunder jumped into the air, his sword raised above his head and his shield off to the side. With fire in his eyes and tears running behind him, he brought down his sword towards the defenseless figure below him. Skorm had only time to move his arms in front of him in an x shape, in hopes that he could protect himself. It seemed time had slowed down, rage and hatred flowed from Thunder as if he was a beacon of hell. When the sword came close to cleaving into Skorm's arms, something miraculous happened, Skorm attained immediate tunnel vision. Screams and cries from an unknown source funneled into Skorm's arms, and with a loud crack and flash of light, a barrier appeared between the two combatants. The second Thunder came in contact with the barrier, which was at full speed and force, his weapons, armor, and his flesh, melted away instantly. He was shot back against the opposite wall, a pile of muscle writhing and screaming in pain. Skorm was dumbfounded, his arms were on fire yet they were warm and soothing. With a vile smirk, Skorm rushed over to Thunder's body and lit it even more. He picked Thunder up by his neck and looked Thunder dead in the eyes, noting the fear and terror that was consuming his heart. Skorm brought him within nose-length and whispered calmly to him. "Hows this for a 'farm boy'?" Skorm could tell by the surprise in Thunder's eyes that he finally realized who he was fighting, but it was too late. Skorm roared and sliced his hand into Thunder's neck, forcing his arm all the way down into his living carcass. With a violent, blood-curdling howl, he pulled out Thunder's still beating heart. He laughed until he couldn't laugh anymore; the crowd was no longer cheering, it was dead silent. The flames that had engulfed Whisper had disappeared, she was now heaving heavily and crying, her flesh was greatly peeled, but she was still somehow alive. Skorm looked upward at the Demon, extended his arm out and pointed violently at him and crushed Thunder's heart in his hands. The demon knew he was coming for him next. With the Song of Skorm running violently through his body and mind, his majestic wings shot out of his back and he flew at breakneck speeds to the leader of the Demons. The arena was being evacuated, the cries of the spirits and demons filled the air with terror. When Skorm reached the podium, he discovered the Demon all by himself, wielding the Sword of Skorm in his hand. Skorm took a step forward, the demon took a step back. "You know, the power of the God of Hatred might be too much for you to handle..." Skorm said lowly as he kept taking steps toward the frighted Demon, who cowered backwards with the sword in a position to make it seem that he was going to strike. "But go ahead, see if you can manage the responsibility..." With that, Skorm shot out his left hand towards the masked Demon, and forthwith flowed the Song of Skorm. As it entered his mind, he fell to the ground; the sword still clinging to his hands no matter how hard he tried to pull away. As more and more cries and screams entered his mind, he became steadily insane. The leader of this demonic race, the power who sought to control Albion, was on the ground right in front of Skorm, writhing and screaming. All was silent, the demon dropped the Sword of Skorm onto the ground, and exhaled. he fell backwards and looked upward. Skorm walked forward and grabbed the weapon that was his by fate. He stood over the demon and looked him in his still conscious eyes "Tell me, what is your name?" He asked with a smile. "I.. am.. M-Maulise.." he said in a whisper filled with fear. Skorm shook his head and chuckled "No, my good friend. You WERE Maulise." and with that he thrust the Sword of Skorm into his chest, piercing his heart and shooting black liquid in all directions known to man. But much to Skorm's dismay, the demon started to laugh in his final moments. "Th-there is... one... more.. h-haha..." and he passed away. "What...?" Skorm asked himself, a small tint of fear running through his mind. He turned and jumped down into the dust of the Arena, and walked over the the stake that contained Whisper and cut her down. After removing the gag, she openly coughed and wheezed until she was stated, and stood, looking at him in the eyes, wondering what he was going to do to her after she saw what he did to Thunder. Skorm looked at her calmly, before turning around silently, and walked away. *************************************** A massive corpse of a Cerberus laid fallen on the cold stones of the Bargate entrance. Avo's armor was stained with blood and entrails, and he himself was standing against a wall, completely exhausted. The guildmaster was tending to Briar's wounds, and Scythe was peering into the darkness. "We are getting very close, something must not want us coming here..." Scythe said as Avo walked up to and stood next to him. "What, exactly?" Scythe was silent and glared forward before finally replying "...Chaos..."

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When all is said and done, when everything around you is dead and burnt to the ground, you still have yourself to answer to.