The Forgotten Zodiac

((Yesyes.))

Werr put a hand on her shoulder, guiding her forward as the group started to move again. Obelisk took the lead. "See, but not fight. You lot will be like ants to him in that form. I can fight him then. The real chore would be getting him out of Welk's body." He said softly, stepping into the hallway and running his hands down the walls. The hallway itself had no doors; it was definitely very odd to see, but it quickly became apparent that the doors were hidden. Concealed by rock.

Obelisk considered their options. The doors were thick and heavy, pure steel covered with rock, and would be noisy for even him to open. They certainly couldn't break it. So getting them open, much less getting through the right one, was the real challenge.

"We could cut through the wall," Nate suggested when Obelisk voiced his thoughts.

"Oh!" Welk said, fluttering from Werr's shoulder and hovering just between the two. "I can do that! I can light myself up into flames and cut straight through the wall! My fire burns super bright." The little silver phoenix flapped his wings rapidly, fire already starting to circle his body in tight circles. "Point me to the one you want cut down and I'll do the cutting," he said. "Just be ready to catch the door shape as it falls out. We don't want any noise."

"Yes, goodness knows we can't make more noise than we already have," Obelisk snorted. He took a good look at all of the doors, then stopped at one. "This one. This will do it." He nodded once, his bandages sliding under the door to see if any Thing was there. All clear, though. "We need to move quickly, Welk," The eternal being said quietly, nodding at Welk, signaling that he should proceed.

Welk nodded, then whipped into an inferno, spinning faster and faster until he was a small tornado of fire. He darted through the wall, creating a hole, then spung upwards and melted through the wall, shaping out a new door. Obelisk caught it as it fell out of the frame, making no sound at all. Welk slowly spun to a halt, looking dizzy and wobbling all over the place, finally stopping when Werr cupped his hands over the little Spectral and pulled him close. Welk had hardly made a single sound during the process of cutting out the door.

"Good job," Werr smiled at the little Spectral. Obelisk lifted the door with his shadows and rested it against the wall, moving on ahead and leaving the others to squeeze through the gap. He realized that the use of that many shadows was already tripping alarms with Malice. Tiny lines traced by shadows was one thing, but making a large amount lift a chunk of rock and steel was another thing entirely. Malice knew he was here, there was no avoiding it; Obelisk could only depend on the fact that he hadn't found the others yet. So Obelisk plowed onwards, not even hesitating for a second in the next room; he stepped right past the counters and shelves, iceboxes and other obvious kitchen supplies.

The palace was like a labrynth; there really weren't any connecting hallways or courtyards. It was all connected to one another. A great maze of rooms upon rooms. Obelisk didn't care that there were two other doors, or that the others would have no idea which one he went through; he went through the second door, shutting it quickly behind him and looking around.

The butchering room. Cold and damp. Huge slabs of meat hung from the ceiling, obviously chewed on. Apparently this was where Malice fed the Things. There was a variety of things, from cows to dogs. People, too. Although those were little more than skeletal legs with a pile of bones beneath them. Obelisk pushed past the row of rancid meat and bones, his frown deepening with every second.

The others didn't have time to question where the dark lord had gone. They had no choice but to plough onwards, trying to remain hidden as best as they could. Jag gave a soft click of his beak, jittery with nervous excitement. He didn't want to fight, none of them did, but he knew there was no avoiding it. And gryphons had a natural instinct to never back down to an opponant. Probably why most of their leadership battles ended in death.

Lexi held Werr's hand tightly, gripping her heal staff ferociously in her other hand. She was very scared, but determined to do a good job and support her newfound boyfriend. She paused in the hall and suddenly kissed Werr's cheek, murmuring "You need all the luck you can get."

Werr smiled slightly. "You are my luck," He said after a moment, looking around. "Ophile, check behind that first door. We'll head through the third. If both of us wind up at a dead end, we'll check out the second." He nodded. The wolf charged off, turning himself invisible again. The larger group moved much more slowly; of course, they all had to stick with Naybrin, or else they would be vulnerable and visible. Where Obelisk had gone was beside the point.

Ophile returned to the main room, having gone through the pantry for any hidden doors or anything of the short. He waited patiently for awhile, and was tempted to go through the second door, but he turned and hurried off after the others. They had found an elevator of sorts that would take them to the third floor. Not exactly the main floor, where the throne room was, but it was better than being in the cellars.

They passed a room lined with sparkling jewels, and a moment later, they heard the sounds of things being rustled around. Keir was filling his pockets with things that didn't belong to him, as usual, with a wide grin on his face as he did so. He would've stayed and taken everything in the room if the others didn't drag him out, must to his protest. Which, of course, caught Malice's eye. Naybrin only barely covered them in time, and this time the gaze stayed for much longer, as if waiting and knowing that something was there. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the gaze shifted to look elsewhere. Naybrin stepped over the others and all eyes turned to Keir, who jingled the stolen loot in his pocket and said "What? A guy has to make his livin'. But fine, if ya'lls gonna cry over it, I won't take nothin' more. Yet."

"You're not making much of a living by getting us all - yourself included - killed." Werr snapped at him, but they all pressed onwards. Ophile darted ahead again, and before long, they were well on the path to the throne room.

Obelisk finally found the stairs. The main floor awaited him. Should he wait here? He honestly had no idea if Malice had seen him or not. He knew that the sharp, evil gaze had left for a moment...was it looking for the others again? Obelisk thought long and hard, and decided on waiting. He would wait to see if Malice had his eye on him or not. If so, he would make a distraction for the others. If not...he would wait.

"Grand Puppeteer? Hmm. I rather like that."

The creature laying on the couch in the center of the room could hardly be called 'alive'. It was the darkest black and it oozed like a liquid, but never seemed to fall apart. It had half-melted features that vaugely resembled a human mixed with a Thing. A long pair of black, dripping wings spread out behind it, laying in limp puddles on the ground. Worms wiggled about in the disgusting, rotten flesh, and all organs were visible. Some were even spilling loose from the body. Horns wrenched up out of the skull and the fingers on the warped hands were far too long. Completely naked, this sick form resembled little more than a half-dead demon. Which it was.

Malice smiled, showed off sharp black teeth, then said "Well well well...Obelissssssk. How nice of you to drop by. Hee hee..." He extended a long red tongue and licked his lips, nearly purring as he reclined on the couch. "Have you come to join the right ssssssside once more, my little pet?" Malice crooned, resting one hand against the side of his head so he had something to lean on.

"Obelissssk, your wordssss wound me!" Malice said, never stopping in his vile grinning. "I wassss not always like thissss, you know. Thissss issss what happenssss to Godssss that losssse their mortality. We decay." He slid off of the couch, slowly standing. "Oh, you want that brat'ssss body? Whatever for? Ssssurely you don't know what I know..." He chuckled, then moved a foul hand out and pointed.

Welk's body, still twisted and warped to the 'Malice' they all had seen this entire time, was hung in a glass case on the wall.

"When not ussssing my beloved body, I place it on dissssplay," the fallen deity purred. "Don't try to take it down, Obelissssk. It issss cloaked in the Gauntlet'ssss powerssss."

The fallen God smiled away, saying "I could offer you many thingssss, Obelissssk. Many thingssss you already have. Everything...except one. Death is the only thing that eludessss you...and I know the hand of your killer. I know who will end you and grant you your forever-ssssleep. I know the things that musssst happen for you to finally die. But I will not tell you who it issss, nor what musssst happen to lead into your demisssse." He exhaled and the skin around his nostrils bubbled and flickered. "Yessss, I want to be a God again. But thissss time...oh thissss time...I will be the God of Godssss! I will bend all of the otherssss to my will. Titussss, Galai, the Goddessssssss hersssself. All of them! I will force this decay onto them and make them ssssuffer like I have." He smiled away. "I'll not sssstop there, of coursssse. I will erode all life on thissss planet, until nothing issss left. Then I will recreate all life to my wisssshes."

Obelisk continued to frown. "Cici will be the one to end me. And I already know what she'll have me do." He stood, tutting a bit ."We're done here, Malice. I will not join sides with you. To destroy this world and make another is a fool's errand. Even if you are a god, it is clear as day to me that creation has no lasting respect for the creator. They always turn away...whether it's to material things or other deities that don't exist. Yemara, Guinin, Odin, Terrelius...idols of creation that has long since lost its way. This world is already messed up as it is...why would you bother to make another, only to have it follow the same path?"

"Poor little naive Obelissssk," Malice said, shaking his head slowly. "You don't undersssstand." He slid over to the glass case holding Welk's body and tapped a long black finger against it, watching as the door slid open. He leapt forward and Obelisk could only watch as every last drop of Malice's black ooze was absorbed into the corpe. The eyes flashed open a moment later, black and soulless. Malice grinned, stepping down from the case, his boots tapping against the ground. "I will make certain that I am never overthrown," he said, holding still as a pair of black wings ripped loose from his back, growing large and feathery. "What is the one thing that causes people to fight unkindly rulers, Obelisk?" he asked, touching a hand to either side of his head and pulling his hands away, which forced large black horns to grow. "I'll tell you what it is; emotion. Emotion brings about feelings of love. Love for familiy members and friends leads people to try and protect them. It causes people to try and prove themselves. So imagine...if the emotions of every person alive were crushed? That is what I will do in my new world. I will shape humans...without emotions. I will take their spirits as well. Then they will live forever, only dying at my hand when I feel the need to kill them, only being born through my will, and they will only be able to follow my orders. Because they will not have the emotions to think and feel with." He curled one of his long-fingered hands under his chin, humming quietly. "That is where the Goddess messed up with me. I was able to hate, and when they took my powers, I was able to point that hate at them."

Obelisk sat back down at this, deciding he wasn't done yet. "And how would this please you, at all? You will create for yourself the perfect human. Humanity without flaws, this is what you imply you want to make. But what is the point? The Goddess filled the world with many creatures. She gave them emotions, life, hope, spirits, all of this for a reason. It pleases her to see them live out their lives to their fullest. It fills her with joy to see them continue on, day to day. They suffer, yes. They are imperfect, yes.

"But you...you want to make something without life. To recreate humans without imperfections is akin to wishing toast to butter itself. It's useless! Have you even paid a thought to what you'll make your creations do? Worship you, no doubt, but you can have Things do that! They're just as mindless as the new creations you propose, Malice, and if you think for a second that I would support you in any of this, you're wrong! And you're just as thoughtless as your creations will be, to boot!

"The Goddess didn't make you to hate. You chose that on your own. And I know hatred, Malice. I know what it's like to be consumned by rage and fury. If you do win, somehow, and if by some twisted turn of fate, you actually manage to create this universe, all that will fade. The anger and hatred will fade. And then you'll be left with nothing. You'll be just as empty and pathetic as I am." Obelisk hissed bitterly.

Malice's grin disappeared, to be replaced by a thin frown. "But Obelisk..." he said. "There's one thing I know you wish didn't have emotion. One thing I know that you wish wouldn't pester you with constant pain and suffering. Isn't that right...Remor?" He smiled, but this time it was a soft, gentle smile. It was blatently fake, but less creepy than his other look. "Poor little Remor, lost inside a warped body. I know you would much rather go into your new body, the one you made for yourself. Isn't that right, Remor? And isn't it right that you have a gaggle of little brats running rampant around my castle at this moment, Obelisk?" He didn't give him a chance to speak. "Oh, I knew they were here the moment they set foot in my home. I'll have plenty of time to deal with them next." He flared his wings, extending them to their full length, then winked one eye at Obelisk and said "I know you're in there, Remor."

Obelisk immediately grabbed his head, tensing seemingly every muscle he had. "No, no, no, Remor, don't be a fool, he's only tr-trying to..." He didn't even finish his sentence before his hands dropped into his lap. It immediately became apparent that Remor was here; the fidgiting, the small whimpers and flinching, it all started up at once.

"I don't suffer inside...Obelisk doesn't let me. I don't complain, either...but I am often...unhappy with my powers. He does wrong things, he makes choices that I wouldn't make." Remor shook his head, then tilted it up towards Malice. "But...you're right. I want to see through my own eyes, I want to move without pain, I...I want. I'm not even sure I want to die yet..." He muttered, then looked back down.

"He's manipulating you! He wants to use us because of me! Don't take us down this road again, Remor, don't you dare!" Obelisk shrieked from the shadows underneath the chair.