2025-01-21 12:48:35
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Bargain Infernal Episode 21: Love in the Shadows
Standing next to Mara, the cold, menacing energy of the temple weighed on Alex.From the impending threat of Astra and the realization of what lay ahead, his heart raced.Every instinct yelled at him to cover Mara from the chaos, to save her at all costs. She was his anchor, his incentive to fight, and he could not allow the Abyss to claim her.Astra was illuminated in an unnatural light, and in front of the gate her body was displayed. Her malevolence was like nothing Alex had ever experienced.She was something much worse than a mere messenger by now. She glowed, eyes locked onto him, her lips curled in a mocking grin.With the weight of the Abyss in her voice, Astra said, "You are wasting your time." You can't prevent the unavoidable.Alex stood in front of Mara, his ready and rigid body. "Wrong," he growled. "This ends in here."Astra laughed, the sound ripping like shattering glass through the temple."Great words, but bravery won't save her." She pointed at Mara, her smile turn
Bargain Infernal Episode 22: Beyond the Final Gate
Heavy and stifling, the oppressive quiet coated the room. The burning ashes of Alex's dying inferno just barely revealed the aged temple walls. Every glowing rune pulsed menacingly, throwing flickering shadows that appeared to be living and observing.Despite the turmoil they had just gone through, Mara stood close to Alex, her breath calm. Her presence was his mooring, a reminder of what he was struggling for.As though speaking more to himself as much as to her, Alex whispered, his tone mild but resolute, "Stay with me." Mara nodded and brushed his hand.The gentle contact kept him anchored, but it also brought to mind what he stood to lose; they helped him to recall. Regardless of the cost, he had to keep her quiet.The room's heart beats with an unearthly brilliance before them. Towering and hideous, the gate loomed there with a surface a swirling whir of shadows and light. And Astra stood before it. She had changed even more since they last met.Her once-human look had totally ch
Bargain Infernal Episode 23: Showdown
The air was eerily quiet, full of expectation. The torchlight flickering against the stifling darkness, Alex firmly held Mara's hand as they progressed further into the deteriorating temple.The runes engraved along the walls pulsated softly and threw odd shadows that seemed to rise with every pace. Close by, The Abyss pulsed its evil energy through the very rock, grasping for them like unseen tendrils.Though Alex's heart pounded in his chest, it was not Andy but Mara who weighed on him. Walking beside him, she had daggers out and a face set in determined rebellion. Notwithstanding her determination, Alex observed the tiredness etched into her face and the small quivers in her hands.She had given everything to get them here, and he couldn't stand to lose her now. Not when they were this close.Alex said, his voice soft but strong, "We are nearly there." “Draw close to me. Whatever happens, I will not let anything touch you.”Mara turned her head, her eyes softening somewhat. "You wo
Bargain Infernal Episode 24: The Final Defense
Alex grabbed Mara's hand more tightly as the chilly wind screamed over the desolate field. Its runes glimmering menacingly, the gateway to the Abyss stood before them.Though they had advanced so much, the last fight was down upon them. Flickering around Alex like a living being, his hellfire abilities reflected the tempest brewing inside him.Mara gazed at him, her eyes unwavering notwithstanding the anxious dancing within them. "Alex, we are going to pull through this."”He nodded cautiously and swallowed hard. "I'm going to protect you," pertains to.With a deafening shout splitting the air, the earth shook violently out of nowhere. From the gate rose a great creature born of the Abyss itself.Its shape varied continuously, a fusion of horrible limbs and shadows. The eyes of the creature seared with malevolent intelligence, fixed on the duo with icy purpose.Mara whispered sharply, holding tightly to her daggers, "Alex this is it." We stop this now.”With a shout of resolve, Alex l
Bargain Infernal Episode 25: The Abyss Stirs
The oppressive darkness of the Abyss loomed greater than ever, its malevolent tendrils coiled and writhing as though sensing its final victory. Alex and Mara stood shoulder to shoulder, their backs pressed against the cold stone of the crumbling temple. The air around them was suffocating, thick with the energy of the gate threatening to unleash chaos upon the mortal world."I won't let it end like this," Alex said, gritting his teeth, his hands glowing faintly with hellfire. Sweat dripped down his brow, but his gaze was locked on Mara, who stood at his side, her daggers shimmering in the dim light.Mara turned to him, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. “You’ve been fighting this battle for so long, Alex. But you’re not alone anymore. We’ll face it together.”Her words steadied him, grounding him in the moment. Alex reached out, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Not now, not ever.”Mara was unable to answer before a deafe
Bargain Infernal Episode 26: The Light
The temple was silent, deafening. Mara stood in the ruins as the light from the gate disappeared into nothingness. The oppressive energy of the Abyss was gone, but so was Alex.For a moment, she stood there, her mind racing. The man who had fought so hard to protect her, the man who had promised to return, was now gone. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as frustration and despair threatened to overwhelm her.But then she remembered his words: "I'll find a way back to you. I promise."Mara rubbed away her tears, the set determination chiseling on her face. She was not going to let him go in there alone.Meanwhile, Alex was surrounded by such darkness it was suffocating. The Abyss was a place of pure malice; its air thick with unnatural energy clawing at his soul. He could hear the whispers on all sides, voices promising him power, revenge, and destruction.Alex ignored them, focusing on the faint connection he still felt to Mara. It was a fragile thread of warmth
Bargain Infernal Episode 27: Shattered Bonds
The city was a labyrinth of shadows, its towering buildings casting long, oppressive shapes across the streets. Alex walked ahead, his steps deliberate, his eyes scanning every corner for danger. The battle with the Abyss had left him more than scarred it had left him changed. But nothing could deter him from keeping Mara safe. Not anymore.Beside him was Mara, the quiet, steady reassurance. Warm and steady, her hand rested in his, a reminder of everything he had fought for. It was more than a lifeline; it was a bond, the tether that pulled him from the jaws of the Abyss. More than that, it was a promise: never to be alone again.Are you sure you're okay?"Mara's voice cut through the silence, soft but laced with concern.Alex looked at her, flashing a half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. The exhaustion was etched into every line of his face, the weight of the battles he'd fought, both physical and mental. But he couldn't afford to show it. Not when Mara was by his side.“I’m f
Bargain Infernal Episode 28: The Cost of Protection
The city was alive with a dangerous energy, its streets pulsating with the chaos of a world on the edge of unraveling. Alex Mercer and Mara stood together beneath the dim glow of a flickering streetlamp, their fingers intertwined, the bond between them stronger than ever. But they both knew that this was only a facade the calm exterior because the truth was that the peace they had fought so hard for was fragile, and the shadows of the Abyss had not been banished completely.“You sure you’re okay?” Mara asked, her voice quiet but laced with concern. She had seen the strain in Alex’s eyes, the subtle tremor in his hands when he thought no one was looking. His battle against the Abyss had left scars deeper than the physical wounds he wore.I am fine," said Alex, but he never sounded that honest. He was lying, of course; he knew Mara would never probe him to find out what he was really feeling. She was too nice, too maternal to pry into someone's soul. Instead, she simply squeezed his han
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Episode 224: One Final Strike
The world fractured.At the moment the boy lunged towards him, his sword clashing against the Hunter’s blade of shadow-steel, reality shattered like glass.His feet were no longer standing on solid ground.The battlefield the stars, the ruined earth pulsed, tremblied, shifting like an unënded painting.For one terrifying second He felt himself being torn in two.Not by a blade.Not by the Abyss.By time itself.He staggered back, gasping, his vision going double, reality fracturing into two separate lines of incident at once.One he stood here, fighting, existing.In the other he had never been born.Never consumed mermaid flesh.Never imagined, never suffered, never fought.Just gone."This is the correction."The Hunter’s voice remained steady, uemotional."Your existence is an error."Kaiza bared his teeth, pushing forward, screwing his sword back alight."You talk too much."And then he attacked again.The Impossible DuelThis time he moved faster.He could still taste the Abyss
Episode 223: The Last Throne
It was no longer their place of battle.The sunless sky was now a filthy mirror of a world that had perished before history.”Under Ethan and Asha’s feet, the ground shook, not with ruination but with something trying to rewrite existence itself.And the whole thing revolves aroundThe light wasn’t from this world, and now it burned behind their eyes, finally exposed by the broken perishable mask.They weren’t human.They weren’t divine.They’d been something before all of those things.And the closer they got, just their walking warped the air next to them.“You have walked too far, Hollow King.”“You’ve shattered too many chains.“And now you will see what should have been forgotten.”Ethan’s hands made fists.Asha inhaled slowly and deeply.They had no time to think.Because the First King moved.And the final battle began.Before Ethan even had the time to react, he found the First King in front of him.Their move defied space itself—not teleportation, not speed, but the here and
Episode 222: The Ones Who Devour
The sky was breaking.Helena became the epicenter of the battle that should have never been.The Firstborn were no more, their sacred monarchy rent asunder, their celestial kingdom fallen to ruin.But the universe had no love for vacant thrones.And now.It had been supplanted by something else.Reality tore, the sky splitting open like a wound that wouldn’t heal.Out from the void, they came.Not Hollowed.Not firstborn.Something else.Older than war itself, something.They did not have names.They did not have faces.They were churning, writhing aspects of the consummate void, their nacreous flesh contorting into a thousand forms at once—humanoid, monstrous, holy, forgotten.And when they spoke.It wasn’t with voices.It was with thoughts that did not belong to Helena, curling into her thoughts, unwinding her like leaves of an old book."You do not belong here."Helena’s entire body tensed.The Hollow King did not move.The Old One merely watched.Silver fire sizzled along the edge
Episode 221: The Thing That Should Not Wake
The Silence Before the EndThe battlefield was quiet.Too quiet.Helena found herself in the ruins of a war that had rewritten history. The Firstborn's God-King was vanished, their form crushed into void, their heavenly horde blown away like dust.The Hollowed had won.And yet.The heir was wrong.Heavy. Tainted.Like something was waiting.“Yup,” Cain gasped, running a bloody hand through his hair, his silver eyes showing some signs of uneasiness. “Please tell me it’s not just me that feels this.”Helena gripped her throbbing fingers, the black-fire dagger still buzzing in her hand. "You’re not."The Hollow King hadn’t budged.They froze there, their shape like a void, their head cocked slightly, listening.Helena stepped forward slowly, the ground crackling beneath her boots. The Firstborn were disappearing, their godly light blinking out like red stars in the firmament.They had lost.So why did it seem like something worse had just begun?Then.The world shifted.The Veil Splits O
Episode 220: The Forsaken vs. the Divine
Helena did not kneel.Not to kings.Not to gods.Not to the Firstborn, who had cut history to shape and made it fit.She had stood against death.She had stood against fate.And she would stand now.Even as the God-King of the Firstborn loomed before her, his celestial fire coiling in the air like an executioner’s blade.As the burden of their command bore down upon reality itself, compelling everything to bend.Helena stood tall.Her dagger blazed with black flames, oscillating between the Hollow King’s strength and something more ancient.Something that was hers and hers alone.The battlefield was silent.Even the Hollow hesitated.Because no one had ever disobeyed the Firstborn’s command and survived.Until now.The God-King’s expression did not change.They took a slow step forward, their silver eyes calm and infinite, burning with cold.“Then I will break you.”The world shattered.A void pulled inward, the air itself ripping apart as the God-King began his assault, faster than l
Episode 219: The Forsaken Queen
Helena felt everything.The Hollow King thrummed through her as she surged forward, a scintillation of wicked pleasure that burnt in her blood like a fire that would never run soft. Not only did it fill her, it transformed her.No longer was she Helena, the fighter who had resisted destiny.She was something more.Something that never was meant to exist.And as she stood at the very center of the battlefield, surrounded as she was by another ruin crumbling around her, one of a war older than time itself, she understood.The Firstborn knew it, too.They had expected a rebel.They had expected resistance.But they hadn’t expected this.They had not believed she would survive the Hollow King’s might.And they did not expect her to turn it against them.”His silver eyes, previously flooded with naught but icy apathy, now sparkled with another emotion.Fear.And Helena?Helena smiled.Then she attacked.Her movements were like a storm, her new blade slashing through the Firstborn’s ranks.
Episode 218: The Moment When the World Picked a Side
The battlefield froze.Helena’s voice still rang in the ruins, suspended in the air like a blade poised to fall."I will fight for the truth."And just like that.She had chosen a side.The Hollow King turned its void-like eyes to her, unreadable.Cain gaped, his breath ragged, his silver eyes bouncing between disbelief and something else. Something closer to fear.The Firstborn did not speak.They didn’t scream in rage or throw accusations of betrayal.Instead.They smiled.And Helena learned something a little too late.She had walked into a war older than she could understand.And each side had been waiting for her to make a choice.Now.There was no turning back.The Gods Strike FirstThe Firstborn moved first.Helena didn’t have time to react before the sky itself lit on fire.The clouds parted, hurling javelins of heavenly fire onto the battlefield. The Hollowed howled, their flesh caught alight, their bodies liquidizing beneath the assault.The pallor of the air cracked apart b
Episode 217: The Gods Must Bleed
A Sky That ShattersThe heavens collapsed.The sky literally ripped apart, opening like a wound in reality itself, and Helena hardly had time to scream. The battlefield below was engulfed in golden fire and infinite darkness, as though the universe itself was tearing in two.The Firstborn were the falling stars, their weapons blazing with heavenly fire, their silver eyes lit with righteous fury. The Hollowed howled back, their broken voices rising like a war hymn, thair void-forged blades craving vengeance.This wasn’t a battle.This was annihilation.Helena moved.She ducked, avoiding a sweep of a Firstborn warrior that cut through the air where her head had only seconds before been. The heat of their blade seared against her skin, too near, too quick.But she was faster.She spun, her dagger slicing through their divine armor, and, for the first time, she heard the sound she never thought she’d hear.A firstborn screamed.Helena’s breath hitched.She could kill them.And if she coul
Episode 216: The Ah Which Ends Worlds
A Throne of Lies, A War of TruthHelena’s breath was quick and brittle, her heart pounding against her rib cage.The Hollow King knelt before her.Not as an enemy.Not as a monster.But as a warrior awaiting a response.The gods had walked the earth before her, and the earth had been their altar. They stood behind their King, all soulless eyes on her, waiting for her to make a choice.And in the distance.Something else was coming.Something worse.Cain moaned next her, spitting blood from his mouth. “Well,” he muttered, “this complicated fast.”Helena barely heard him.Because she wasn’t looking at Cain.The throne of the Hollowed, upthrust from the ruins, split reality like a jagged wound.It was waiting for her.And deep inside, she knew.If she did that, if she chose the Hollowed, there could be no undoing it.She would not only be battling the Firstborn.She would be waging war on the very gods themselves.And it was a war no one had ever won.The Hollow King’s voice was gentle,
