Outlander

That castle...

It had been on his mind for a few days. Shroom mentioned it quite a bit when they talked, and he seemed pretty adamant about taking it over at the time. Was there some sort of significance to it? Maybe it held some ancient enchantment, or a weapon was sealed in its depths. Regardless, it surely wasn't just some old ruin. On a whim, he decided to take a journey out there.

Slinking through shadows, the Demon burrowed through the darkness held within the side of a mountain, popping out the other side overlooking the ruins. Majestic as they were, even now it still looked like just any old castle. Perplexed, Erebos scratched his chin, his eyes scanning for any oddities. Miasma, or glowing stone, or just about anything at all.

Just then, a Mazoku blew past him, hissing something about a fight. How curious.

It didn't take long for Erebos to pinpoint another life form. This one was a Majin of all things. An odd sight in this harsh region, but what sight was normal around here? Erebos leaped from his perch, landing with a soft tap on the ruins of a parapet across from the entryway.

"Hello, down there!" He wiggled his fingers in greeting. "You wouldn't happen to know of any dark evil residing inside the castle, would you? Maybe an ancient curse or magic weapon?"

Something about this Majin screamed drama, but Erebos ignored the warning signs and simply kept himself relaxed. IF anything, his cool demeanor was a greater asset than any defensive stance he could muster.

---

A freaky one. How odd that this keeps happening to him. First Mundo, and now this guy! Did Majin's get a style change in the last decade or so? Where'd all the fun ones go? He pursed his lips curiously, creaking his head around slowly as Halluc landed behind him. Giving a smile, the Demon reached his hand out for a simple handshake. Despite the kind gesture, however, Erebos made sure to activate some of his shadowy magics, leaving a thin layer at the ready underneath his chestpiece.

"I appreciate the compliment. I'm Erebos; does the name ring a bell?"

Curious. With how close the guy had gotten, Erebos definitely recognized him, too. A dark scent lingered. Painfully familiar. Like a bad memory he tried to stow away in some forgotten corner of his mind.

"I was looking for some bad magic. Might be around here somewhere. You looking for the same thing, I assume?" Due to the height difference, his eyes struggled to lock onto Halluc's own. "Maybe we ought to team up. You don't mind a big bad demon helping you out, right?"

He giggled capriciously, his body dissolving into shadows before his true self appeared in the massive doorway below. He flashed a peace sign at the Majin, and gestured for him to follow along. "Unless you want to fight or something. I guess we could do that, too. Your call, pal."

---

Erebos nods, agreeing with the assessment. It was comforting, in some strange way, to know his soul was officially scented with mischief. With a toothy grin, the Shadowmancer places his hands on his hips, mirroring Halluc's stance and nodding. "I'm looking to root it out. I was just going to banish it to another plane of existence, but you can feel free to chow down on it if your diet calls for it."

He allowed the headpat graciously, making sure his body was fully flesh again before the gloved hand made contact. "It's not nice to insult strangers. Unless they're bad guys. You don't seem bad to me, though." He flashed a gesture, pointing a thumb at his own chest. "And trust me; I know evil when I see it."

Grabbing the candy egg from Halluc, he popped it in his mouth and enjoyed it thoroughly. With a quick motion, he swiped a shadow from underneath a stone slab, rubbing it between his hands as if it were moldable clay. "Make sure you stay strong, too." He offered the ball, revealing the shadow to have been transformed into a gray cupcake of sorts.

Were the Majin to take a bite, he'd find it tasted fairly similar to a dark chocolate brownie with a smoky aftertaste.

"Let's keep our wits about us, eh? Who knows what beasts lay in wait?"

"Konats, eh?" The name-drop was worrying. Subtly, Erebos began to put the pieces together. For the time being, though, he kept the solution away from his mind. If Kamae had something to do with this, or Erebos' leaking magics upon falling in that battle, then he would certainly feel a strong obligation to befriend the fellow immediately and take him under his wing.

"Mazoku is the name of a family, sort of. Big family: called a clan. The name of the species is Namekian. Nah-meh-key-yan." He pulled a strand of black from his under his glove, producing a shadow-weaved pamphlet to give to Halluc. Inside he'd find a small diagram explaining Namekians, all drawn in friendly chibi forms. Dragon Clan with staves, Warrior Clans with harsh frowns, and Mazoku with spooky fangs and wings, explaining the differences between them with little blurbs about each.

They crossed the threshold into the fortress, finding themselves in a dimly lit room. The stone was old and cracked, letting light stream into the castle in strange formations. A massive crack in the ceiling revealed the myriad of floors above them, and the missing tiles in the floor revealed some of the many, many levels below. An odd place indeed.

"Sort of. The war happened a long time ago, but the damage was pretty intense. Left a scar in the world. That's the name of this part of the world, actually; the North Scar."

Looking around the room, Erebos let Halluc take the lead, seeing where his sense of evil would take him.

"There was a fight a couple weeks ago, too. Some little guy tried to take over the castle. He can take over people's minds with magic, so make sure your brain is locked up tight, okay?"

Mid-stride, Erebos stopped walking. "What's your name, by the way?"

”Yeah. Mortals are strange, though. They bicker and feud over things. Some people who live here think the fortress should stay this way to honor its old owner. Some people think that the broken world should stay broken, too. People are weird like that.”

Erebos watched curiously as Halluc tore his own arm off, tossing it down into the endless abyss before them. In truth, this was all par for the course for Majin, at least the ones Erebos knew personally. He did wonder how other folks would react to the strange mannerisms of the towering man, though. Perhaps he was one of few who wouldn’t treat him harshly.

Impatiently tapping his foot, he glances upward, watching the clouds roll by from the hole in the roof. ”Nice name. Doesn’t ring a bell, but it rolls off the tongue nicely. Who gave it to you?”

An odd way of sating his curiosity, but if Halluc answered the way he expected, it might add another clue to the pile.

The return of the arm brought with it a nod from Erebos. Their task was to head beneath the crust of the planet, it seemed. If there was some world-ending threat down there, they’d be able to end it first. Hopefully it was something mundane, though. Like a haunted bit of jewelry.

”Shall we take the elevator?”

Reaching out with his hand, Erebos plucked a nugget of shadow from one of the walls. He pinched it with both hands and forced it apart, elongating the tiny piece into a massive sheet of black energy. With a whip-like motion, the sheet became a rectangular box that lay in the corner of the room, and the box opened to reveal a quaint little elevator. He offered for Halluc to enter first, and would follow soon after.

”Should be a straight shot down to the bottom floor. Unless, of course, you prefer the scenic route?”

The two of them entered the elevator, and with a ding, it began to descend. They sank through the floor slowly, like being dipped into a vat of chocolate. When their heads passed through, it wasn't like being submerged, but rather they'd simply entered a new dimension. From the grated doorway, Halluc would be able to see into what was known as the Shadow Realm.

Dark purple swirls mingled with light grays and endless black. It was like closing your eyes, but still being able to see. Shapes could be discerned throughout, but what they actually were was impossible to say.

"This is the Shadow Realm. It's where shadows live when they aren't called upon. Like when it's a day that's a little too sunny."

They traveled down, down, down. Beyond the castle and into the caverns in its depths. Bypassing the mortal realm and its many bits and bobs turned the possibly hours-long expedition into a few minutes. Whilst they traveled, Erebos kept the conversation going, curious to learn more about his newfound friend.

"If that's what you wanna do, feel free. Be warned though; there are lots of folks who wanna live here, but they keep fighting over who gets to live in it. Since it's so big and all, maybe you can share... Or beat them up if they're evil. Up to you."

Nodding along with the rest of Halluc's observation, he leaned against the wall and looked up at his pal. "Yeah. There's this friend I have who healed some of this place a while ago. His name is Nero. Knee-Row. He's the uh... Ruler of the planet? King? I dunno. People call it Guru here. Either way, he healed the land a little, but he couldn't quite finish. Maybe you can meet with him. Help him with the healing thing."

The elevator passed by a massive glob of incredibly bright stuff, which Erebos elected to swipe a piece of. The white-gray chunk sat in his palm, morphing and melding between his fingers as he weaved hand signs with the opposite hand to keep it from slipping away.

"This one here's a newborn. It doesn't have an object to call its own yet, so its still taking shape. Wanna keep some?"

Erebos relinquished the shadow upon request, letting it slip through the cracks into the realm beyond. ”Shadows are an interesting bunch. Some are fickle; others appreciative of attention. I try my best to return them home after using them when they ask, but sometimes their homes get ruined, so they stay with me.”

At the mention of that, he pulled his scarf away from his neck, revealing a ring of shadows around his neck. It led down under his armor, too, but how far it went he didn’t show.

At the mention of death on his soul, Erebos pursed his lips, turning quiet for the first time in a bit. He wasn’t quite sure how to answer. Would Halluc think less of him from learning the truth? Probably. But why hide things?

”I used to be much less kind. Killed lots and lots of people when I was young. But I stopped. Just felt like I should stop, so I did.” His gaze turned away from Halluc, bouncing a ball of shadow between his knuckles absent-mindedly. ”I still kill people, just not innocent people. Evil people, yknow?”

With a high bounce, he flipped his hand around and caught the ball, squishing it in his palm as the elevator dinged. The grate opened, letting them out into the mortal realms once again.

Erebos stepped out, whistling in surprise at the size of the cavern. Darkness permeated the air, and a dull red glow followed it. Perhaps something evil really was here.

”What about you? Do you kill people?”