01-25-2017, 10:29 PM
After a prolonged silence, underscored by the hushed whispering of a thousand-strong infernal host, the over-eager announcer that had started this whole episode let out a loud growl.
"Victory goes to the newcomer; the Slave of Grooota!"
A cascade of booing and hissing fell across Tearen like a wave of black wasps, grating and aggressive. He had the feeling that this sort of reception to victory was far from uncommon. These dogs of Diablo had come to see weaklings crushed under the heels of their peers, not to see a scrawny slave such as himself claw their way to the top of the pile. The raucous outrage began to ebb, and the ringmaster of this carnal circus let his mighty voice shake the theatre once again.
"Your prize...is a most succulent DEATH." he spat, following the condemnation up with a brutish roar for good measure. Tearen blinked, nonplussed. Clearly news hadn't spread that he was a Prime; otherwise they would know better than to threaten him with such inconveniences. The crowd began to chant something that Tearen couldn't quite make out at first, but as they fell into their collective rhythm, the repeated invocation became clear.
"RI-PPER! RI-PPER! RI-PPER!" they screeched, their frenzied cries filling the black and red air. The blood-slick stone of the Colosseum began to shake in intermittent rumbles, heralding the approach of a creature that caught even the seasoned experience of the ex-enigma off guard. The horror was being unleashed from a slowly rising stone wall, which ground heavily from its mooring in the muck ridden substrate. Like a jungle cat, it slunk out from its enclosure. The only noise it made the heavy thumps of its footfalls and the occasional cracking of ancient, arthritic joints. Though its form was scarcely decipherable in the wan, crimson light, Tearen could discern that its entire, skinless body was of a blackened and purple hue. What may have started as an immense humanoid form had either grown or had six more glistening, clawed arms grafted onto its hulking muscular corpus. An elongated spine seemed to extend out from its back at an improper angle, forming what could arguably be called a tail. Two unshod, immense human feet tipped the ends of a pair spindly legs. Tearen could not begin to fathom the face of the creature, for it was covered by a bone-white mask with seven circles carved out of the jawless facade.
"RI-PPER! RI-PPER! RI-PPER!" the crowd continued, acting as the voice for the abomination. All at once, the towering amalgamation of emaciated muscle lunged towards Tearen with great loping strides. Size be damned, it was all he could do to dive out of the way of the monstrosity before its razor talons cleaved great gashes out of the bloody loam where Tearen had just been standing. Alas, it was for naught, because whatever preternatural instincts drove this 'Ripper', one of its superfluous arms snatched the would-be gladiator as he tried to roll out of the dodge.
Though he squirmed, Tearen could not free himself of the beast's iron grip, and shuddered as he felt another cold, giant hand close around his upper half. With relish, the Ripper started to squeeze, twist and pull the ex-enigma in twain. Tearen's gleaming green eyes flared as the pain wracked his constricted body. Acting on instinct, Tearen focused through the agony and condensed his body into the diminutive form of a crow. Though deadly, the fumbling giant was momentarily caught off guard, allowing Tearen's feathered body to quickly flit away to a safe distance.
The hooting and jeering of the crowd egged him on, however. No, he would not run from this Ripper beast. He would not give these meaningless figments of hatred the satisfaction of either his death or retreat. Still, there was the matter of how to assault the monster. Clearly, getting within its reach was a terrible idea. Tearen adroitly shifted back into the shape of a black, stone hewn humanoid and immediately focused his power into the tip of a finger, pointing it directly at the approaching Ripper's mask. A flash of brilliant light briefly illuminated the entire arena as a thread of destruction wove a straight path through the Ripper's skull.
No reaction. The monstrosity continued its noiseless charge inhindered by neither pain nor injury. With a surge of adrenaline, Tearen dashed straight at the Ripper, sliding beneath its rampaging body. The tactic confused the single-minded beast for the span of one frantic breath, but all to soon, its whipping spinal tail had slapped Tearen across the span of the arena floor like a matchstick. He took only a moment to shake off the pain before pushing off of the stone wall with all of his might, narrowly dodging yet another sudden death as the beast careened headlong into the solid black encirclement.
Clearly, catastrophic structural damage was the only way to obtain victory over the Ripper, but Tearen was not sure he had any sort of firepower that could inflict such direct injury against a foe. Aside from the fission-ray he had already tried, there was not much else he had to offer.
Well, that wasn't true.
He may not have been a Godmind any more, but that didn't mean he no longer possessed a brain capable of distorting even the darkened reality of the Underverse. He could certainly figure out a way to defeat this beast, but first, some tests were in order. With a quick, two-step windup, Tearen launched himself into the black air above the killing floor, watching as the Ripper's black eyes followed him. With a loud crack, the beast hunkered down for a moment before launching itself high into the air, single arm stretched outwards to try and grip the prey it so desperately craved. Right at the zenith of its great leap, Tearen took the liberty of slowing the Ripper's temporal progression to the point of near freezing. With the monster's perception momentarily halted, the ex-enigma quickly floated down beneath the Ripper before releasing the monster from its prison in time.
The creature's confusion was evident as it began to thrash around madly in mid-air, searching desperately for its target. By the time it began to descend, Tearen was already on the ground, staring up at it. The Ripper reached out with its greedy arms again, ready for the kill. A low rumbling pervaded the arena as the ex-enigma raised a hyperbolic shield of space around itself, so that when the Ripper tried to grasp the seemingly hapless prey, its hand 'slipped' on the distorted fabric of space and cracked loudly into the ground next to Tearen.
Again, the Ripper made no noise of its own, but the shrieks and cries of denial from the infernal crowd served as the ghastly monster's voice as the beast reared in pain. It clutched at its now thoroughly broken forearm; a moment of imbalance that Tearen capitalized on by causing space to lens inwards next to the Ripper's right hip. The ensuing, dull explosion sent mounds of blood-soaked mud flying in all directions as the beast toppled onto its back like a stricken crab. A satisfying blow, but Tearen could tell that this fight was far from finished. After all, the Ripper still had seven perfectly serviceable arms with which to deliver swift death to the impudent whelp that was Tearen Wover...
"Victory goes to the newcomer; the Slave of Grooota!"
A cascade of booing and hissing fell across Tearen like a wave of black wasps, grating and aggressive. He had the feeling that this sort of reception to victory was far from uncommon. These dogs of Diablo had come to see weaklings crushed under the heels of their peers, not to see a scrawny slave such as himself claw their way to the top of the pile. The raucous outrage began to ebb, and the ringmaster of this carnal circus let his mighty voice shake the theatre once again.
"Your prize...is a most succulent DEATH." he spat, following the condemnation up with a brutish roar for good measure. Tearen blinked, nonplussed. Clearly news hadn't spread that he was a Prime; otherwise they would know better than to threaten him with such inconveniences. The crowd began to chant something that Tearen couldn't quite make out at first, but as they fell into their collective rhythm, the repeated invocation became clear.
"RI-PPER! RI-PPER! RI-PPER!" they screeched, their frenzied cries filling the black and red air. The blood-slick stone of the Colosseum began to shake in intermittent rumbles, heralding the approach of a creature that caught even the seasoned experience of the ex-enigma off guard. The horror was being unleashed from a slowly rising stone wall, which ground heavily from its mooring in the muck ridden substrate. Like a jungle cat, it slunk out from its enclosure. The only noise it made the heavy thumps of its footfalls and the occasional cracking of ancient, arthritic joints. Though its form was scarcely decipherable in the wan, crimson light, Tearen could discern that its entire, skinless body was of a blackened and purple hue. What may have started as an immense humanoid form had either grown or had six more glistening, clawed arms grafted onto its hulking muscular corpus. An elongated spine seemed to extend out from its back at an improper angle, forming what could arguably be called a tail. Two unshod, immense human feet tipped the ends of a pair spindly legs. Tearen could not begin to fathom the face of the creature, for it was covered by a bone-white mask with seven circles carved out of the jawless facade.
"RI-PPER! RI-PPER! RI-PPER!" the crowd continued, acting as the voice for the abomination. All at once, the towering amalgamation of emaciated muscle lunged towards Tearen with great loping strides. Size be damned, it was all he could do to dive out of the way of the monstrosity before its razor talons cleaved great gashes out of the bloody loam where Tearen had just been standing. Alas, it was for naught, because whatever preternatural instincts drove this 'Ripper', one of its superfluous arms snatched the would-be gladiator as he tried to roll out of the dodge.
Though he squirmed, Tearen could not free himself of the beast's iron grip, and shuddered as he felt another cold, giant hand close around his upper half. With relish, the Ripper started to squeeze, twist and pull the ex-enigma in twain. Tearen's gleaming green eyes flared as the pain wracked his constricted body. Acting on instinct, Tearen focused through the agony and condensed his body into the diminutive form of a crow. Though deadly, the fumbling giant was momentarily caught off guard, allowing Tearen's feathered body to quickly flit away to a safe distance.
The hooting and jeering of the crowd egged him on, however. No, he would not run from this Ripper beast. He would not give these meaningless figments of hatred the satisfaction of either his death or retreat. Still, there was the matter of how to assault the monster. Clearly, getting within its reach was a terrible idea. Tearen adroitly shifted back into the shape of a black, stone hewn humanoid and immediately focused his power into the tip of a finger, pointing it directly at the approaching Ripper's mask. A flash of brilliant light briefly illuminated the entire arena as a thread of destruction wove a straight path through the Ripper's skull.
No reaction. The monstrosity continued its noiseless charge inhindered by neither pain nor injury. With a surge of adrenaline, Tearen dashed straight at the Ripper, sliding beneath its rampaging body. The tactic confused the single-minded beast for the span of one frantic breath, but all to soon, its whipping spinal tail had slapped Tearen across the span of the arena floor like a matchstick. He took only a moment to shake off the pain before pushing off of the stone wall with all of his might, narrowly dodging yet another sudden death as the beast careened headlong into the solid black encirclement.
Clearly, catastrophic structural damage was the only way to obtain victory over the Ripper, but Tearen was not sure he had any sort of firepower that could inflict such direct injury against a foe. Aside from the fission-ray he had already tried, there was not much else he had to offer.
Well, that wasn't true.
He may not have been a Godmind any more, but that didn't mean he no longer possessed a brain capable of distorting even the darkened reality of the Underverse. He could certainly figure out a way to defeat this beast, but first, some tests were in order. With a quick, two-step windup, Tearen launched himself into the black air above the killing floor, watching as the Ripper's black eyes followed him. With a loud crack, the beast hunkered down for a moment before launching itself high into the air, single arm stretched outwards to try and grip the prey it so desperately craved. Right at the zenith of its great leap, Tearen took the liberty of slowing the Ripper's temporal progression to the point of near freezing. With the monster's perception momentarily halted, the ex-enigma quickly floated down beneath the Ripper before releasing the monster from its prison in time.
The creature's confusion was evident as it began to thrash around madly in mid-air, searching desperately for its target. By the time it began to descend, Tearen was already on the ground, staring up at it. The Ripper reached out with its greedy arms again, ready for the kill. A low rumbling pervaded the arena as the ex-enigma raised a hyperbolic shield of space around itself, so that when the Ripper tried to grasp the seemingly hapless prey, its hand 'slipped' on the distorted fabric of space and cracked loudly into the ground next to Tearen.
Again, the Ripper made no noise of its own, but the shrieks and cries of denial from the infernal crowd served as the ghastly monster's voice as the beast reared in pain. It clutched at its now thoroughly broken forearm; a moment of imbalance that Tearen capitalized on by causing space to lens inwards next to the Ripper's right hip. The ensuing, dull explosion sent mounds of blood-soaked mud flying in all directions as the beast toppled onto its back like a stricken crab. A satisfying blow, but Tearen could tell that this fight was far from finished. After all, the Ripper still had seven perfectly serviceable arms with which to deliver swift death to the impudent whelp that was Tearen Wover...
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