[Casual] The Two Gates

"Choose your path, soul of Baldur Marek. Do you want to try to make it through the maze and back to Entherium, but risk true death in the void? Or do you want to go on to the afterlife and stay there forever? I can't tell you what you'll find there though. So choose wisely." announces a seemingly female being to Baldur's soul.

"No... I can't be dead... How? How did it happen? Am I really dead?" The soul asks.

"Of course you're not dead. This is all a dream and you survived when the Shadow cut off your head." The female says

"Oh. Good... Wait. That was sarcasm, wasn't it?" The soul says.

"Bravo. Here have a treat! Now decide what you will do, or else I'll feed you to my horse. It's always hungry..."

Baldur's soul sighs and looks again at hos options. "Alright. Off to the afterlife, I suppose. Good bye Death!" The soul lowers its head, walks through a white gate and dissapears forever.

"And another job done."  Death turns around and walks away.

"Oh Danbi. Even if you are capable of obtaining what you desire, one day I'll get your soul nevertheless. Why don't you resign now already? Look, all you have to do is to leave through the white gate over there and welcome the afterlife." Death approaches the kitsune in the shape of a 4 year old girl, carrying a miniaturised scythe on the back. "Hihi. You mortals never learn." The girl looks curiously at the bells and begins to smile. "Ah... the last guy who tried that is still wandering through the maze by the way. He's gone insane..." Death giggles inhumanly. "I guess you know the rules of the maze, necromancer? If so, enter and walk into your demise..." The girl winks at Danbi and takes out her scythe, stroking it carefully. "Well. Except you have any questions, Danbi Silvertounge."

"Well then Death, I'm certain we will meet again shortly, then hopefully, never again."

Danbi steps through into the maze, speaking quietly as she crosses the threshold.

"To eternity."

"Yadayada, that are your options. Afterlife or through the maze and back to the living. Your decision. And if you take too long... Well, my horse is always hungry..." Death says to the two souls that just appeared. One of them, a guard in life, sighs and walks through the gate in the afterlife. The other however, in life a member of the Crag gang, hesitates and looks at Death.

"Say Death, if I survive the maze, I'll be able to go back, stronger than before?" The soul asks.

"Well. That depends on what you do after you survived the maze. You will have the option to come back as an undead for example. Or, depending on how much your body has deceased, as a skeleton. Additionally there's the way of the zombie. But they are ugly. The last option is to come back like you were before your death. Whatever you choose, it's your decision. But you'll need some time to recover, don't forget that..." Death replies.

"Thank you Reaper. I now know what I'll do. Good bye!" With that, the soul steps into the maze...

"Hm. Strange fellow.... oh. He wants to take revenge. That, could turn out interestinly..." Death chuckles and dissapears.

In a flash of light, both Danbi's appear in front of the gate to beyond.

"WHO ARE YOU!"

"Why Danbi don't you know, I'm your own worst nightmare, what you  see in the mirror, what the maze showed you, I am the you that may have been, I am the you that should have been, I am the final guardian of the maze, In short, I am your replacement . . ."

"Thats ridiculous, we are within the planes of death, there is nothing you can do to me here."

"Normally true, but you know the rules as well as I do, what is it again, you must choose to pass through the gate to beyond? Right? Well, I am you, and I think your ready to go. . ."

It is with those final words, that the duplicate steps forwards, and grabs Danbi, throwing her back over her shoulder and into the portal.

After she crossed the threshold, all went black, and the real Danbi was left alone with her thoughts, most of them murderous towards that strange copy, that is until she hears it, a melodic voice piercing all her mental barriers, all the enchantments against intrusion with only six words.

"So, you didn't want to go?

"That is perplexing, your trapped here now, you need to decide to step through to even come near, let alone to this place. You give us a conundrum, do we leave you here? But no, this is an opportunity, we could use you to solve two problems, but it would have a cost on your point, return from here would bend your mind, it may break your will, there will be a cost on your physical form."

"You still want to go back? Your desire for vengeance burns brightly young one, you will want to hold onto that . . ."

Colour returns to the world Danbi was in, the realm of Ertral Vernai, but as it does the cost come into play, and her mind begins to bend, goals change, it continues until she is but a shade of whom she used to be, but what is she now? She is the warden of the maze, is she not? Was she not always? She isn't sure, it seems as if she was, as the pressure of the dead bears down on her mind. Did she snap here? Did her sanity snap? Her will break? She doesn't know all she knows is that the job must be completed, and for that she requires her tools. For Danbi never returned, she died the moment she set foot through that gateway.

She raises a hand, and the realms pulse in return, a series of chimes sound and the maze bends to her will, each of the missing clappers coming back to her, the set complete. She turns to the copy, who is stood there in bewilderment, and exacts a cost upon her, to the tones of Saraneth, Kibeth, Belager, and Dyrim she renders the copy incapable of will, movement, thought or speech, to forever lie there, trapped in a prision constructed solely of her own mind.

But where is the old Death, you see my friend, nobody knows, perhaps she passed on through the gate herself, or perhaps she was trapped by the one from beyond, they say you can still hear her cries for freedom, for justice but they fall only on deaf ears, for the dead care not.

"Hmm... the scent of corpses, blood and decay. Together with this bone-freezing cold and them strange noises of damned souls. I'd say, he made me start this thing in the realm of death. Sigh." A girl approaches the two gates, having appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Are you for real? Yes, I'm talking with you, you jerk. Making me start in hell? Godsdammit, screw you. I'll get back on you for this!" She sighs deeply and tries to feel the area around her, but there's not much, except for two gates. "Hmm. This is kind of an odd death realm. Oh well. Then I guess, I'll have to call the other jerk to give me some kind of ridiculous choice." The girl breaths in deeply and exhales loudly. "HEY! DEATH! I'M NO SOUL, BUT COULD YOU TELL ME HOW TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS PLACE AND UP TO ENTHERIUM OR WHATEVER IT'S CALLED? Thank you very much!"

"Oh Lara, one such as yourself should know you dont have to shout to get my attention, a life such as yours , a guttering flame that only needs a nudge, in either direction."

Danbi appears in front of the visitor, walking out from the grey mists.

"There is no need to be rude here, it certainly wont help your chances of me deigning to help now will it? And please, call me by my title, Abhorsen."

"For those who take the normal path here, there are only two ways to leave, through the Gate to beyond or back through The maze, but for those such as yourself, there is a third option, to make a deal with the warden for your freedom, is that such a ridiculous choice?"

"Oh hey! That's where the smell of decay came from. You probably should do something against that. I've heard, vanillia covers that smell very well." Lara touches around, using her invisible 'hands' until she gets a grip of the speaker. "Can you belive it? My creator- Yes, you, you idiot- made me start here of all places. Blah. Just blah." She turns to Danbi and glances at her with empty eyes. "A deal, eh? What kind of deal would that be, oh mighty Abhorsen?" Lara courtseys mockingly and grins at the warden.

"Hmph, I'm sure your creator will appreciate this."

Danbi reaches down and lifts two of the new bells out of the bandoleer, Dyrim in her left hand, Saraneth in her right. She allows each to sound a single note, and as they ring, Lara finds that she cant speak a word.

"Now, there will be no more interruptions, nor will there be any mockery, or I will have to choose, a more permanent combination.
As I was saying there is a third option for those who have never died, they can make a deal with me to leave, in this case, I require no more than your promise, to alert me to any actions of the undead abominations, or of the necromancers that control them, that may damage the balance severely. This deal would be sealed by the placement of a Geas upon you, is that understood? "

With that said, the bells cease ringing, and the effect dissipates rapidly.

"Fine. I'll do it." Lara mumbles something about bells and earplugs and sighs. "I swear, I'll get at him for this." Looking at Danbi she nods. "Well then, we got a deal I'd say. Anything else, or was that all?"

"That was all, you may now leave. . ."

"Well, good bye then, Danbi" With a grin, Lara steps backwards and dissapears, mumbling the words "I swear, if she sends me now to..."unfortunately, the rest of the sentence couldn't be heard anymore...