01-27-2017, 12:23 AM
Tearen watched the Ripper clamber silently back to its feet, its remaining arms spreading wide in anticipation of brewing rage. Despite the creature's fleeting consciousness, he could still make out the flickering of a mind steeped in potent anger. This was good. Tearen could use that anger to his advantage. The Ripper had already proven to be single minded in its pursuit of prey, but with the lust for vindication clouding its mind, it would be easier to trick the beast into more costly mistakes.
Standing on spry, bouncing toes, Tearen waited for the Ripper to regain its composure. His viridian eyes gleamed keenly in the heavy darkness; a defiant speck of green among a wash of luminescent red putrescence. With a new surge of vigor, the Ripper rushed forwards again, bestial and undeniable. Then, in a maneuver of fiendish ingenuity, the multi-limbed marauder tore its broken appendage free from a dry, rubbery socket and flung the entire arm at Tearen. To say that the ex-enigma was caught off guard was more than an understatement. Everything went black as the solid mass of bony flesh bashed him into the wall once more. This time, there came a sharp chunking sound as the talons from the discarded arm embedded themselves in the wall behind him. In one fell swoop, the Ripper had pinned Tearen to the wall, and was closing fast. A fusillade of giant, grasping hands all surged forwards to rip Tearen asunder, and just one of them would be sufficient to end his winning streak in the Underverse.
There was nothing for it. Tearen reached deep into his mental core and summoned the power that his old Master had imbued within him. The ex-enigma threw his head back in a piercing telepathic wail that elicited a startled shower of screams from the entire arena. Even the Ripper had to pause for a moment, staggering backwards as the overpowering shriek drowned out its senses. This was followed by a sharp blast of destructive telekinetic power, blasting the entombing limb away and sending the Ripper reeling. A blind swipe from the beast caught Tearen smartly on his left flank, and he could feel the cold ebb of life as a gout of black blood was torn from his body.
His vision blurred and wavered as he writhed in the black muck, trying to block out the pain. Distantly, he could feel the heavy thumps as the Ripper closed the distance between them. He needed time, but the strength to slow the temporal river was beyond his reach in this weakened state. With a last gasp of desperation, Tearen summoned as many Aspects as he could, a dozen of the shimmering black prisms winking into existence above his body. Immediately they set about swarming around the Ripper like a cloud of artisinal flies, blasting it with lances of destructive light. The feckless giant shuddered and swiped wildly as the needle thin rays poked its otherwise unassailable body with a hundred holes.
In the confusion, Tearen staggered to his feet and weakly trod towards the large stone gate that hung above the pen where the Ripper had been kept. The sea of demonic patrons booed and hissed at the perceived escape, but in reality, Tearen was ensuring they would have their dose of satisfying carnage. With a mental whisper, Tearen called the Aspects away from their assault of the Ripper, gathering them by his side as he stood beneath the obsidian threshold. Instantly the Ripper was upon him, no longer distracted by a futile but enraging attack. Tearen stood firm as all seven of the Rippers hands closed around him, their crushing claminess threatening to wring free his remaining life. Gazing through the eyes of his Aspects, Tearen targeted the locking pins keeping the gate aloft, and had his faithful servants fire searing blasts of fusion at the mechanism.
With a great crashing thud, the immensely heavy gate came crashing back into its mooring. It was all Tearen could do to render his body into a spectral form, allowing the solid matter to pin and crush the Ripper's beloved hands into oblivion. With calm strides, Tearen walked forth from inside the smothering darkness of the stone gate, looking up at the Ripper's masked face as it thrashed madly. The shade of Nealaphh glanced over towards the center of the arena floor, where the Ripper's discarded arm lay. Tugging on it with his telekinetic strength, Tearen carefully guided the newly animated limb through the air over to the Ripper. With dextrous skill, he willed the arm to snatch the exposed vertebrae of the Ripper's neck. The honed, sharpened talons of the Ripper's own arm cutting through its undead flesh with grim efficiency.
The demonic chorus of spectators reached a new fever pitch as Tearen slowly, decadently tore the Ripper's spinal column away. Yes...he had ripped the Ripper. The loathsome monster collapsed in an unceremonious heap at Tearen's feet. For good measure, the ex-enigma stalked forwards and callously snatched the Ripper's mask off of its face, holding the bone-bleached souvenir high above his head. A refrain of damnation and hatred rained down on the newcomer, and Tearen reveled in the hatred. For within their hatred lied fear. Here was proof positive that Tearen was stronger than any of them. Satisfied with his victory, the shadow of Nealaphh slowly sat down on the Colosseum floor and blacked out.
Standing on spry, bouncing toes, Tearen waited for the Ripper to regain its composure. His viridian eyes gleamed keenly in the heavy darkness; a defiant speck of green among a wash of luminescent red putrescence. With a new surge of vigor, the Ripper rushed forwards again, bestial and undeniable. Then, in a maneuver of fiendish ingenuity, the multi-limbed marauder tore its broken appendage free from a dry, rubbery socket and flung the entire arm at Tearen. To say that the ex-enigma was caught off guard was more than an understatement. Everything went black as the solid mass of bony flesh bashed him into the wall once more. This time, there came a sharp chunking sound as the talons from the discarded arm embedded themselves in the wall behind him. In one fell swoop, the Ripper had pinned Tearen to the wall, and was closing fast. A fusillade of giant, grasping hands all surged forwards to rip Tearen asunder, and just one of them would be sufficient to end his winning streak in the Underverse.
There was nothing for it. Tearen reached deep into his mental core and summoned the power that his old Master had imbued within him. The ex-enigma threw his head back in a piercing telepathic wail that elicited a startled shower of screams from the entire arena. Even the Ripper had to pause for a moment, staggering backwards as the overpowering shriek drowned out its senses. This was followed by a sharp blast of destructive telekinetic power, blasting the entombing limb away and sending the Ripper reeling. A blind swipe from the beast caught Tearen smartly on his left flank, and he could feel the cold ebb of life as a gout of black blood was torn from his body.
His vision blurred and wavered as he writhed in the black muck, trying to block out the pain. Distantly, he could feel the heavy thumps as the Ripper closed the distance between them. He needed time, but the strength to slow the temporal river was beyond his reach in this weakened state. With a last gasp of desperation, Tearen summoned as many Aspects as he could, a dozen of the shimmering black prisms winking into existence above his body. Immediately they set about swarming around the Ripper like a cloud of artisinal flies, blasting it with lances of destructive light. The feckless giant shuddered and swiped wildly as the needle thin rays poked its otherwise unassailable body with a hundred holes.
In the confusion, Tearen staggered to his feet and weakly trod towards the large stone gate that hung above the pen where the Ripper had been kept. The sea of demonic patrons booed and hissed at the perceived escape, but in reality, Tearen was ensuring they would have their dose of satisfying carnage. With a mental whisper, Tearen called the Aspects away from their assault of the Ripper, gathering them by his side as he stood beneath the obsidian threshold. Instantly the Ripper was upon him, no longer distracted by a futile but enraging attack. Tearen stood firm as all seven of the Rippers hands closed around him, their crushing claminess threatening to wring free his remaining life. Gazing through the eyes of his Aspects, Tearen targeted the locking pins keeping the gate aloft, and had his faithful servants fire searing blasts of fusion at the mechanism.
With a great crashing thud, the immensely heavy gate came crashing back into its mooring. It was all Tearen could do to render his body into a spectral form, allowing the solid matter to pin and crush the Ripper's beloved hands into oblivion. With calm strides, Tearen walked forth from inside the smothering darkness of the stone gate, looking up at the Ripper's masked face as it thrashed madly. The shade of Nealaphh glanced over towards the center of the arena floor, where the Ripper's discarded arm lay. Tugging on it with his telekinetic strength, Tearen carefully guided the newly animated limb through the air over to the Ripper. With dextrous skill, he willed the arm to snatch the exposed vertebrae of the Ripper's neck. The honed, sharpened talons of the Ripper's own arm cutting through its undead flesh with grim efficiency.
The demonic chorus of spectators reached a new fever pitch as Tearen slowly, decadently tore the Ripper's spinal column away. Yes...he had ripped the Ripper. The loathsome monster collapsed in an unceremonious heap at Tearen's feet. For good measure, the ex-enigma stalked forwards and callously snatched the Ripper's mask off of its face, holding the bone-bleached souvenir high above his head. A refrain of damnation and hatred rained down on the newcomer, and Tearen reveled in the hatred. For within their hatred lied fear. Here was proof positive that Tearen was stronger than any of them. Satisfied with his victory, the shadow of Nealaphh slowly sat down on the Colosseum floor and blacked out.
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued