"Dracula?" A man - or something with many men's voices, anyway - said with a short laugh. The group looked over and saw a humanoid figure sitting on a wreck of metal, a knife in one hand, a block of wood in the other. Tekrushar whittled the wood as he continued to speak to the group, keeping his eyes on his hands, face mostly hidden by the brim of his hat. "There's a name I haven't heard in, oh... a thousand years and some." His hands were fast, impossibly so, as he carved. "No such beast here. He's dead." A small smile. "Ate him."
Shuakegu looked up at the group. "Ate the whole damn world, after it went to hell. It's nice, isn't it?" He gestured with the knife vaguely at the crumbling buildings. "I didn't even do that. Didn't have to. Your people cooked themselves and most of the environment for me. You would be surprised how tasty irradiated matter is, and there was ever so much of it." The smile widened to a fanged grin. "Well, there was. Now all that's left to eat is the stone and Earth itself. That... and the nineteen of you." He finished his carving, which appeared to be nothing specific; just a shapeless mass. He tossed it from hand to hand, then bit into it as he put the knife away.
"I thought, as a favor to you, I would show you Earth after humanity's fall. This is it." So-zar stood. "This is the way the world ends. Not a soul left. Empty streets and blasted buildings. Because you see, even if you do manage to complete your quest and kill Dracula, your people will still destroy themselves. It's inevitable." He laughed, a deep, hollow sound. "Or perhaps I'll come by and do the job myself. Anything could happen. But of all the possible futures your race has, this one is my favorite. Silence. An uncaring sun shining down on an unresponsive world. Only dust and ruins on the surface, reminders that no civilization can live forever."
"I suppose I should introduce myself." He gave a slight mocking bow, taking off his hat for the moment. "I have many names. Some of you may even know a few of them." He looked specifically at the witch doctors, Daniel, Marcus, Greenmoore, Weiss, and Malakai. "But you may call me Tel'ars. I've found it's the easiest for your kind to remember. I've brought you here for two reasons. First is that I am bored. There is nothing left to fight and hunt. I am the sole entity in the entire universe. The other is that I'm still hungry." Another laugh. "That's always true, though. I'll still be hungry after I eat all of you. I'll still be hungry when I've eaten every star in the sky. I suppose in the end I'll just have to devour myself... and then there will be nothingness for all eternity."
"Whenever you're ready to fight me, come to Times Square. It's about a mile north of here." He put his hat back on. "And if you're thinking of running away... I wouldn't bother. The most you can do is disappoint me. I'll come and find you and with nothing to eat and nothing to drink on the entire irradiated planet your chances of lasting more than a few days running is pretty slim. Who knows? Maybe you can kill me. You're only here for as long as I will it, after all." Another smile. "Maybe you'll even get to go back to your quest and save humanity, change the future. See you in the square." Tel'ars waved and vanished; even those not particularly sensitive to evil auras felt him reappear almost instantly to the north.
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Topic: CvRTD Bonus: Turn 2: First Phase End (Read 49180 times)