The Dark Order

1.2

Down in the basement of an abandoned church in what equates to a moldy dungeon, where the rats have claimed ownership. Now, nearly stripped of all its light, grime has infested from floor to ceiling, turning this once holy place into a forsaken hell.

A BONE CHILLING SCREAM.

"PLEASE! I- I swear, I SWEAR! I don't know!", were the dire pleas of a twenty-five-year-old, White male, Holy Knight from the World Government. He lies chained to a metal table in the middle of the room.

Surrounding the table are thirty black-cloaked figures, positioned in ranks of five, standing at attention. Musi circles the table, his presence is powerful, and his followers' eyes follow his every step. He's like a messiah.

His fingers drag across the man's exposed chest, fresh second-degree burns cover his upper body. There's an arcane circle branded on his chest, just above the heart.

He sweats profusely, whimpering, and crying in pain, "I swear to you- I don't know anything about them."

Without a word, Musi's index finger GLOWS BLUE, and a blue flame burns at the tip before he presses it into the man's skin, melting and searing his flesh. He flails violently as he hollers in agony as his blood cauterizes and smokes. "I don't know anything!"

He screams out as he BANGS his head on the table.

"Once again, your commanders underestimate me." An insidious smirk. "I was too eager to believe that change could be made diplomatically. It seems the only way to get their attention is violence." He rubs the man's head as though he's consoling a child.

"My child, your debt has been repaid. You shall suffer no more."

"Don't do this... Please. I don't want to die. I don't want to, please."

He's hushed, "And you won't." Musi steps back.

"I remember when I considered Valon my home, even though I never had the chance to travel the realms. It was before your government made its mistake... I was naive then but now, I have clarity and I must say this world has a disease- It's been infected by parasites who believe their power is absolute, only doing what benefits the elite."

He stares at the man with a soulless gaze. "Naturally- It will continue festering and that sickness will spread until it can no longer survive." A blue glow fills Musi's irises. "It's why I've been chosen. The power of life is now in my control and I'm destined to rid this world of the infection, using your hollowed shell as a vessel for power that ensures it's destroyed."

Black smoke latches around his neck like a noose. "You will not die, my son." The vessels in his eyes start to burst and his sclera fills with blood. He squirms wildly but his fight quickly subsides and his body twitches before going still.

Musi snaps his fingers and it echos through the room like clock chimes. Suddenly, an aura of blue and black violently strikes the corpse and injects itself into his skin. Musi leans down, whispering into the corpse's ear, "Because death evades you."

The flesh on the body starts blistering and rotting, moving up the torso, rotting away the branding, and continuing up the neck... The face. Finally, the magic floods into his eyes, his pupils turning a sapphire blue and his irises black. In a corpse-tone voice, "Death evades meeee..."

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When searching for balance, whether you're magic or the unfortunate, there's a place that lies as the median for the two conflicting worlds, a traveling tavern called FRANKLIN'S. Free of violence. Magic. Well- Except for the drinks which range from an Autumn Lager to Zebra Cobra Coolers. All species are accepted. On the exterior, an aged two-story, tattered wooden building with its squeaky swinging doors and stained windows resembles a saloon and once you've crossed the threshold, you're transported to a speakeasy. Plenty sitting. Universal music fills the place with energy.