The Dark Ages [Dark Data]

[Okor]

”A tale for another time, it seems,” gurgled the giant, his claws pressing themselves to either side of his head as he twisted his vertebrae back into alignment with a sickening snap. ”For now, we have some poor fools to send screaming back to whatever hell they crawled out of.” He began to turn off the well-travelled path, the aftershock of the agonized scream still rumbling through the earth, crushing shrubs and small stones beneath his tread. The intoxicating scent of blood and fear was on the wind, his twisted maw slavering with the thought of feasting on fresh flesh, animalistic instincts driving him forward as he tightened his grip on his ancient blade. Hiro moved alongside him, the hacker’s blade remaining in its sheathe as the digital daimyo effortlessly glided over the wilderness. Their most recent acquisition was barely visible, an ethereal shadow at the edge of vision, a vengeful wraith stalking through the woods.

It was hard to determine whether the Darklings or the Hunters were the true terror.

Okor vaulted over a mossy boulder, greaves digging deep into the mulch-coated earth as he pressed forward, the shattered fragments of his mind being forced back into alignment by his will. ”Hiro, it just occured to… me. What are we actually here to kill?” His compatriot paused, looking oddly at Okor from beneath their glowing goggles. “Ah. Right. Forgot you’re crazy enough to agree to this without knowing what we’re fighting.” Hiro mantled over a fallen tree, its rotting innards resplendent with new life growing on the ruined remains of its forebears. “The gist of it is that some corp by the name of Nebula’s flooding the Omniverse with these chips made of this dark energy shit, and it’s-”

”-Corrupting the user, driving them down the path of darkness, and fomenting… unrest that Nebula is taking advantage of? The blood in the air set his hearts hammering as he loped forward, the roiling emotions and instincts within his rotting brain momentarily suppressed. Hiro turned towards him, an 8-bit eyebrow cocked. Okor shrugged, shoulders shifting as he spoke, his body still dragging him forward towards the slaughter. ”It’s one of the oldest tricks in the… book, Hiro. Drugs call to the bored and the desperate alike. Propagate it enough, and all levels of society become septic.”

“Right, right. Keep forgetting that whole ‘Cultist of a Death God’ thing you have going.”

”Nurgle is not a Death G-”

“Whatever you say, big guy. Now, Okor, you take point. Madotsuki, head around the side. I’ve seen Okor fight after having his head lopped off, so don’t worry about him biting off more than he can chew.”

Madotsuki answered with a nod as they drifted off into darkness, twirling her blade around her delicate fingers.

“Now let’s go earn that paycheck.”