Day 1 - Some kind of afterlife

[Corporal Light]

Darkness. Darkness everywhere. It seemed to be all-consuming, like even a light couldn't extinguish it. Fire couldn't, not even from the wick, which is saying something in and of itself. Fire from wick could burn forever if one wanted it to, something about striking a wick against a hard surface, seeing it spark for a few moments, seeing the sparks fall against the snow. Then finally seeing the wick light up, feeling the warmth of the fire against your hand. Given a few seconds, he could probably remember the feeling of downright joy when he first felt the comfort of fire. It was back at Frozen Over, inside his house with his family. They were sitting next to the fireplace, reading over some kind of story. He couldn't remember the exact words, but they were evidently important to everyone else around him, as he could remember seeing his mother letting a few tears loose by the time it was over. An emotional moment, it must have been... too bad the darkness around him would probably crush his spirits no matter what positive thoughts ran across his mind.

That's when he realized his eyes were closed. Cursing himself silently for making such an idiot mistake on his part, he slowly opens them, only to be met with the exact same darkness. So dark, in fact, he thought that his eyes were still closed for a few seconds. It was then that he noticed a smiling figure somewhere off in the distance. He couldn't move at all, and that's when he realized the position he was in. He was lying on the ground, or what was supposed to be the ground, even though there wasn't any ground below him. That makes no damn sense whatsoever. How can one be lying on the ground without a ground to speak of? Just bouncing the question around in his head was just gonna give him a headache, so he resolved to just concentrate on the smiling silhouette.

At this time, the figure appeared to be talking, about what he didn't entirely understand. He mentioned something about the... Omniverse? He didn't remember anyone mentioning that... at any point.. What was it? Just then, a rainbow orb blasting colors all over appeared in front of him, causing a great pain in his eyes. The colors briefly illuminated the darkness, though it was just giving Ballad a good amount of discomfort. Damn his inability to close his eyes... or move.. pain..

It was then that he realized that his left arm, specifically the shoulder portion of it, was paining him greatly. Why, he couldn't recall. In fact, he couldn't remember ANYTHING from about a week in the past. The only thing he did know was that he invented a gun, used a pickaxe a lot, escaped a war, lived alone in a shack, and his arm hurt like hell. Oh, and he was stuck inside a pitch black void called the Omniverse. Go figure.

These thoughts ran through his head, almost forgetting the seizure orb flashing colors in his face before snapping back to reality, listening to the smiling figures explanations. It was apparently called... Omnillium. It can do anything, apparently... like the wick. Or at least a counterpart. The special wick established entire industries, and helped found one. Rather strange...

Continuing to stare at the orb, he grows a little bit tense inside his chest as the orb suddenly dashes towards him, impacting with his body. He doesn't move, and he feels no pain. Or at least no pain from the impact of the orb itself. Speaking of pain, one thing the smiling figure was telling him was that he basically couldn't die. He didn't really know how to feel about that. For starters, that essentially meant he could be tortured forever and feel eternal pain, and he would probably go completely fucking nut-bonkers if that happened. He decided not to think about that any longer than he should.

Suddenly, the smiling figure starts to disappear. At first, Ballad took this as a sign that he was basically going to be left alone forever and ever. Normally, he'd be perfectly okay with this, but he couldn't move AT ALL. What if he had to go to the bathroom? Would he be laying there with eternal constipation? What about food and drink? He'd be sitting there, slowly starving to death and silently begging for water. Only he couldn't starve "to death" or "dehydrate" because he COULDN'T DIE. This entire thing is some sort of weird torture session or something.

Just as he thought he couldn't lay still any longer, the darkness around him begins to fade. Just as quickly as it faded did Ballad become transported to a far different landscape. He was now laying down on a hard, white floor. It felt cold, though he hardly paid attention to it. He grew accustomed to it a long time ago. In front of him was a fountain, with his ears picking up the sound of flowing water from the fountain. He could feel his stomach start to feel a sense of desperation, realizing he hadn't even tried to take a breath. He slowly attempts to breathe, letting out the breath when he feels his stomach muscles move, taking in his breath. He then rolls his eyes down to his torso, seeing his left arm slumped against his left side, his left hand wrapped a little bit around his stomach. Okay, he can breathe, and he can move his eyes around. Time to try the next best thing: wiggling your finger. Slowly, he felt his left index finger wiggle about on his chest. Letting out a satisfied sigh, slowly sliding his hand down to the ground. He slowly pushes himself off of the ground, finding that his left arm doesn't hurt anymore. Groaning, he stands up, looking towards the fountain. He then moves his hands around his body, seeing he had clothes on. Winter clothing, to be exact. He had a red scarf around his mouth, muffling his voice slightly whenever he spoke. On his head was a green trapper hat, clipped around his chin, which explains why he didn't see it fall off when he stood up. He had a green winter coat on, made of what looked to be furs on it, with similarly green pants that were comparable in feeling to silk. His hands were covered in black, leather gloves, and his feet were covered in black winter boots. Those same boots also appeared to be covered in snow, which looked astoundingly similar to the white floor underneath him.

As his right hand slid down his hip, he felt a slightly bulge underneath his coat. Confused, he slowly parts the coat, revealing a belt with plenty of bags, as well as a leather holster. Opening up the leather holster, he pulled out a black, stainless steel revolver. Just then, he remembered. Oh yeah! I made this gun, among about.. hundreds, I think. Double-action... six shots.. hardly any recoil and no drop in accuracy. A true masterpiece. Chuckling to himself, he slides the gun back into its holster, opening up the bags, revealing a bunch of ammunition for the revolver. Continuing to pat himself over, he feels a sudden weight against his back. Annoyed, he turns his head, seeing two straps against his left arm. Connected to those straps was a two-handed pickaxe. Mining pickaxe, to be exact. He should know, considering he's worked with one all his life.

After taking a few minutes to inspect himself and his arsenal, he looks back up to see the fountain. It was about as white as literally everything else in the area, with the only color being the blue water that flowed from it. It had about three levels, each one getting smaller as it went upwards. The levels themselves were circular, with a bunch of ornate decorations to them. The sound of the water called to him, and he smacked his lips a bit underneath his scarf. His tongue felt dry, like he hadn't drank in a while. That's when a light bulb lit up in his head. Didn't that smiling guy mention that this... Omnillium could do pretty much anything? Let's start with making a canteen!

He slowly holds his left hand out into the air, palm facing the sky, or what was probably a sky, considering it was the exact color as literally everything else in that area. Ballad stares at his hand, closing his eyes, thinking of a canteen. Anything that can carry water. Anything. Holy shit, what is taking so long?! Ballad was getting pretty impatient by the time he opened his eyes, only to see the canteen was already in his hand. About three minutes had passed by this time, something Ballad hadn't realized. He was concentrating pretty damn hard.

Opening the canteen, he walks up to the fountain, canteen in his left hand. He then pulls back his scarf, having to tug rather hard due to how tight it was. He then gracefully glides the tip of the canteen against the water, filling the canteen. He then leans his head back, downing a few gulps of water before capping it back up, making a satisfied grunt. He then clips the canteen to his belt, turning away from the fountain. He looks off into the distance, the situation finally seeming to take hold of his mind. He was in a completely white area... with seemingly no way out.. with a fountain to give him water. And he can make literally anything in the world. After some thought, he could only say this:

"What is this place? Some kind of afterlife?"

[Corporal Light]

"Goddamn it, why does this place need to be literally ONLY the color white? I mean, I'm not saying that I'm not used to it, but still, there are other colors out there that aren't white that could mix things up a bit. You know, red, orange, brown, green. Anything that doesn't make me feel like I've been staring into a pile of snow for fucking ages."

Ballad relayed his thoughts into words in an annoyed tone of voice. After about thirty minutes, he had sat down alongside the fountain, occasionally taking sips from his canteen as he continued staring out into the white void. Or at least it feels like a void. He was seriously starting to wonder whether or not it would've been better if he was just in the darkness void, rather than the white void, purely because he at least suspected he would suffer eternal torture in there. But here? He had a fountain which gave him water, the ability to move AND conjure up whatever the fuck he wanted. And he was able to see past his eyeballs, which may or may not be a positive.

"Hey, I just realized, how the hell AM I seeing out here? I don't see anything lighting up the place. At least back home, you had candles from the wick which could be used as a light source during blizzards. But nope. No blizzards here." Ballad said to himself, still annoyed as ever. He could probably go on and on for hours about this place, but at that point it wouldn't really matter. He was still stuck inside this place that looked like it had snowed and it wasn't even cold out.

Letting out a sigh, he caps his canteen again, strapping it back to his belt. He grabs his red scarf that he had set on the ground, taking a moment to make sure it hadn't fallen through the friggin ground itself. That was a big problem with the place. Everything was all white. No color changes anywhere. Only way he'd know if he had fallen off the edge of the place was if he already fell off it and felt his legs break underneath him. Continuing to talk to himself, his voice muffles slightly as he wraps the red scarf around his mouth and nose. He was discussing to himself whether or not the place he was in was a dream, or the afterlife.

"Well, let's say this IS the afterlife, hypothetically, even though no one has any logical proof that has been presented," Ballad says, "If so, which is it? Heaven or hell? I mean, the book the Church guys gave us never said anything about a smiling figure that gave us colorful orbs and transported us to a completely white realm with only a fountain for nourishment. Sure, it looks kind of pretty, but I can still feel thirst, which means I can still feel other things. Things like pain and hunger and other things like that. Typically, you'd think that sort of thing would be something you'd see in hell."

Ballad keeps on discussing with himself, moving his hands about as if discussing with some guy with an opposing view in a bar somewhere. If he was there, he'd probably keep talking until the guy simply ignored him, in which case he'd get himself a drink before walking out. Then again, those guys rarely ignored him, so he usually had to tell them off in other ways, not necessarily including punching them and threatening to bury them in ice or anything like that. Heh.. that would be something to see. Ballad was really enjoying his own imaginary argument, so much so that he didn't notice a few visitors coming from his right.

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A tall stormtrooper lets out a giant sigh. Why the hell did I volunteer for this crap? It takes friggin forever to walk around The Nexus, and half the time we don't even find any Primes, let alone anyone at all. And worst of all, we can't go back for who knows how many hours. We've already tried about three times, and command said we can come back and rest after one more goddamn search. I bet they'll blame our ineptitude once we come back with no Primes at all.

This tall stormtrooper was flanked by about four others, two on each side of him. They were walking in a variation of a column formation, with the tall stormtrooper taking the lead. In their hands were E-11 Blaster rifles, and despite their obviously intimidating physique and equipment, most of them were more or less new to their line of work, and the tall stormtrooper knew it. If they get attacked, he'll have to make sure they stay in formation and follow his orders, or it'll be his ass once he has to explain how he was the only survivor of a five man party.

Continuing to walk through the whiteout of The Nexus, the squad finally comes across the Fountain of Infinity after only two hours of walking. Seeing the fountain for himself, his heart softens slightly. If only he was a Prime. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about himself dying. He'd just come back here, to this fountain. A lot different than he remembered. Last time he was there, the Fountain was a giant geyser with a silver arch overhanging it.

Turning around, he was just about to tell the squad that they could rest when a muffled voice got his attention. Frowning underneath his helmet, he silently raises his left hand, gesturing for two of them to follow him as he raises his E-11. Two of the recruits looked at each other. Stuff like this could go either way. On one hand, if they caught a prime, they could brag to everyone else, especially if this one was dangerous and they got to kill him. But on the other hand, they might die themselves.

It was a risk they wanted to take. Raising their rifles, the three troopers slowly walk towards the sound of the talking. After what felt like an eternity, they turn the fountain and find

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Ballad couldn't even hear the stormtroopers approaching over the sound of his own imaginary argument. It wasn't until they walked in front of him did he give reality that much thought, and even then it wasn't until one of them said "Prime," in a nonchalant manner did he finally look upwards. What he saw took him by surprise, making him do a double-take.

Standing above him were three white figures, all pointing weapons at him. If it weren't for the guns, he probably wouldn't have even noticed them. Hold on, why the fuck would these guys just walk up to people at random, wearing all white no less, and point guns at him? His mood quickly goes from surprise to annoyance, and he is quick to express it.

"Seriously? Is THIS how you guys talk to people? At gun-point?!" Ballad says as he moves his left hand up to the top of the fountain, his glove getting wet as it touches the water, dragging himself up to his feet.

The tall stormtrooper said nothing, simply raising his E-11 blaster rifle as the... Prime stands up. His eyes were covered by the black visor of his helmet, as were everyone elses, so the Prime couldn't have seen past it no matter how hard he tried. However, behind his helmet, he was honestly perplexed by this one.

"No need to get upset. We'd like a word with you," the stormtrooper replies. He wanted to pick his words carefully. Didn't want to scare the recruits.

Ballad looks towards the stormtrooper, his eyebrows remaining in a frowning position that they never really left. He brings his arms up to his chest, saying "Little late for an apology, you know. If you didn't want me upset, you shouldn't have walked up to me with your gun drawn wearing only white without so much as a polite 'Hello, how are you doing?'" His rude tone cut like a knife, even if it was muffled. The tall stormtrooper frowned in response, keeping a tight grip on his E-11. He couldn't tell if this Prime was insane or just a plain retard.

"Watch what you say, Prime. You are vastly outnumbered, outgunned, and it wouldn't be good if we had to kill you," said the tall stormtrooper threateningly. He hoped that this made the Prime rethink his words a little bit.

All that did, however, was just make Ballad even more annoyed. He can see three of them right in front of him at the moment. He was pretty sure if one of them got too cocky, he could grab them and hold them hostage if needed. He couldn't quite remember how many people he could handle at once, but he was pretty sure it was more than three.

Ballad lowers his head slightly, staring at the tall stormtrooper. He raises his hands slightly in a mock surrender fashion, saying "I really do hope you realize that three of you isn't exactly that big of a deal for me. So please, for your sake... and your other friends sake.. just lower your weapons and be a bit more polite in what you say. That's all I'm asking." As he says this, he rolls his eyes to his left, seeing one of the stormtroopers aiming right at him. He keeps his gaze on him as he ends his sentence, seeing the trooper flinch a bit.

The tall stormtrooper shot a glance at the flinching trooper. He wasn't stupid. The Prime was trying to scare them, make them think he was more dangerous than he really was. That kind of leverage could help him, and it nearly worked on at least one of them. But he was smarter than that, and he wasn't letting some tall-tale teller threaten his men.

The tall stormtrooper replies "If you think you can threaten my men and expect to get away with it you are sorely mistaken." Looking behind the Prime, he saw the other two stormtroopers slowly sneaking up on the Prime from behind the fountain, rifle's aimed at him and ready to fire. The stormtrooper remained silent. He wanted to see how this played out, but if things got ugly, he wanted them ready.

Ballad did not look behind him, mostly because he didn't have much of a reason to. What he DID know, however, was that this idiot-savant was going to sigh his own death warrant soon if he didn't leave him alone. Not going to back down from a bunch of goons. Not a damn chance in hell.

Ballad slowly moves his left hand to his waist, parting his coat. As the stormtroopers flinch a bit, he holds his right hand outwards in an attempt to calm them, reverting his tone of voice to that of someone pleading as he says "Woah, woah, woah! No need to hold me at gun-point. I... realize the.. error of my ways.." As he says this, the other stormtroopers appear to calm down, though only the recruits lower their weapons. Good... make this a bit easier on me.

"As a... token of my appreciation, I'd like to give you a.. special something that we have back at home. It isn't a weapon.. rather a... valuable element.." he says, trying to keep them convinced. He then opens up one of his bags on his belt, brushing his revolver as he digs through it.

As the Prime digs through whatever was in his bag, the tall stormtrooper keeps his E-11 rifle aimed at him. He stares at the trooper to his right as he lowers his weapon, shaking his head a bit. He wanted to see what this guy had up his sleeve. He wasn't at all convinced this man didn't have a plan.

Finally finding what he needed, Ballad slowly takes out an object from the bag, zipping it back up. He then looks up at the tall stormtrooper, left hand clenched. As the tall stormtrooper looks down, he sees his hand open, revealing a

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A white, almost crystalline object. The tall stormtrooper frowned underneath his helmet. What the hell was he showing to us?

"This is a wick... from the world of eternal winter. If you break ice there, you can sometimes find this stuff encased inside. If you strike it against a hard object, it will ignite and make fire. This wick has created a revolution back home like you wouldn't believe. I'd like you to try it out.. to see its wonders.." Ballad explains as the stormtrooper gently grabs the wick. The tall stormtrooper inspects the wick, lowering his E-11 slightly as he stares at the wick. Ballad remains silent, though he is screaming through his thoughts. Just take the bait.... take the fucking bait..

Eventually, the stormtrooper nods, saying "Interesting... at ease.." before waving off the stormtroopers behind Ballad. Ballad turns around, seeing there were two more behind him. Good thing he took the bait... ambushes fucking suck.

The tall stormtrooper slowly walks past Ballad, moving towards the fountain. Holding the wick in his hand, he looks down towards the circular edges of the fountain. He didn't exactly know why, but something was compelling him to try to test out this theory. If the Prime's claims were true, he might be a useful ally to the Empire. Besides, wick encased in ice that can make fire isn't exactly the most far-fetched thing he had ever heard, much less seen.

Digging the wick against the stone fountain, he quickly slides it against the edges of the fountain, jumping back a bit as the tip of the wick erupts into fire. He stares into the fire for a few moments, with the two troopers beside him moving in for a closer look.

Meanwhile, Ballad was smiling behind his red scarf. His plan was working perfectly. The only two true threats were the ones behind the fountain, but they shouldn't be an issue. The plan was, as their attention was on the wick, he would push the trooper on the left into the two other troopers, causing them to fall down onto each other. As they get back up, he'll shoot and kill the other two standing.

The stormtroopers continue staring at the wick as Ballad moves to their left, right hand moving past his coat and grabbing the handle of his revolver. The tall stormtrooper, after a few more moments of staring, finally says, intrigued "Rather... interesting.. and you said this sparked a... revolution?"

"Of course," was all Ballad said before forcefully pushing the left trooper into the two others.

[Corporal Light]

The stormtroopers were completely caught off guard by this action. It honestly should've been expected, considering their leader was skeptical anyway, which only serves to make their ambush all the more embarrassing. The trooper to the left of the leader lets out a cry of shock as he tumbles into his leader, causing him to stumble back and hit the recruit, all of them landing on the ground in a bit of a tangle. It will take them a bit of a while for them to get back up.

Ballad lets out a "Ha, ha!" as if he was some stereotypical villain who had just made an incredibly obvious trick and wanted to gloat in front of their faces. With his revolver in his right hand, he quickly raises it, seeing the other two having already raised their own weapons. Aiming at the one to his left, he squeezes the trigger.... and again... and again.. and aga-

"What the fuck? Fire, goddammit!" Ballad yells out in an exasperated tone of voice, the cylinder of the revolver continuing to slide. It was then he noticed the hammer of the revolver wasn't pulling back each time he squeezed the trigger. Oh shit... does that mean I-?

The other stormtroopers, having watched this rather amazing fuck up, look at each other for a few moments. As Ballad looks back up towards them, they shrug and open fire. One of their blaster bolts manage to graze Ballad's left shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain and annoyance as he shouts "No fair! My gun stopped working!" He takes cover behind the fountain, blaster bolts deflecting off the stone edges. He looks to his left, seeing the downed troopers about to get up.

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Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Should've known, should've fucking known I was being duped. These thoughts cruised through the tall stormtrooper's brain as he desperately tried to stand back up, his left hand still gripping the wick while his right held onto the handle of the E-11. The other two troopers were similarly in a pickle as they tried to stand back up. The shock of the ambush was keeping them from being their best.

It was then, as the trooper got pushed finally stands up and rushes towards the tall stormtrooper, that the first casualty occurred. As he stopped next to him, left arm outstretched to pull him back up onto his feet, that a loud bang was heard. Then a bullet passed into the head of the trooper. Then silence, then the trooper fell on top of the leader.

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"Man down! We have a man down!" These words punched through as the shot was fired. Ballad said "Oh, shut up!" as he leans to his left, pulling back the hammer of his revolver. He hoped that, with the leader on the ground, he would be able to take on the rest of them without trouble. Seeing no body parts to shoot, he quietly slides underneath the edges of the fountain, peeking outwards to see the two stormtroopers about to move his way. Suddenly standing back up, he fires a single bullet into the chest of the first stormtrooper. Blood gushes out of the hole that is created as the stormtrooper topples forward. The second one frantically tries to fire into Ballad, managing to get a shot out before Ballad grabs his head. He then forcefully shoves it into the water of the Fountain of Infinity, the trooper letting out a muffled scream before Ballad ends his life with a shot to the back of the head. The water slowly turns redder and redder as the stormtrooper's body slumps downwards, his head hanging within the water.

Pulling back the hammer of his revolver, he walks back around the fountain, seeing the leader slowly pushing the body off of him. Shaking his head, Ballad raises his revolver, about to fire

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The recruit slowly aims his E-11 rifle at the man. He was shaking underneath his armor, but he knew this was his chance. If he manages to kill this Prime, he wouldn't be a recruit no more. A true soldier. And the leader would be proud of him, he was certain.

Without a moment to spare, the recruit shoots a single round towards the man, hitting him in his side around his chest. He lets out a cry of pain, moving his left hand to clutch his right side. The recruit was sure he had killed him. No way he could've lived through that.

Suddenly, the man stands back up, shouting "Fucking sneak!" as he turns around, revolver aimed at the recruit. His voice was full of anger, and before the recruit could do anything, he felt the world go black as a sharp wave of pain sweeps through his chest.

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Ballad let out an angry grunt as the soldier toppled to the floor, shouting in pain. He says "God dammit... fuck.." in a pained manner as he clutches his right side. Did that asshole really need to shoot him there, of all places? THERE?! Don't have time to think about it. Let's just kill this last guy and get this over with.

Just then, as he turns his head to his left, he finds that the leader was already getting back up. Eyes widened, Ballad knew that, of all of these goons, the leader was the most dangerous. It was vital he was killed quickly, with no chance of escape.

Running forward, he manages to get close enough before the tall stormtrooper could fully aim his rifle, though a shot almost manages to hit him along the stomach. He leaps forward, tackling the leader to the ground. Sprawled on the ground, the stormtrooper makes a jab at Ballad's left shoulder, making a grunt of pain as Ballad quickly lifts his left hand, punching the stormtrooper across the helmet. The stormtrooper gasps in pain, giving Ballad just enough time to pull back the hammer of his revolver, and aim it at his head.

However, the tall stormtrooper wasn't giving up. This Prime was dangerous. If he could kill him, it would make up for all the shit he just pulled here. It would be all worth it. The stormtrooper grabs the revolver, attempting to jerk it to the side to prevent his demise. As they struggle, the trooper manages to roll onto Ballad, still fighting over the revolver. During this time, the stormtrooper starts punching Ballad across the face with his left hand as he struggles with the gun using his right, hoping to bring it out of his hand.

Ballad lets out a few grunts of pain as his face gets assailed by gloved hands. His face becomes more purplish as the stormtrooper keeps punching. This battle wasn't going to last much longer if he didn't kill this guy, and Ballad knew it. Using the rest of his strength, he punches the stormtrooper across the face again, giving him enough time to aim the revolver at his neck, and fire.

The bullet ends up en-lodged in the stormtrooper's neck. The stormtrooper falls to his right, choking on his own blood as he holds his hands to his throat. Behind his helmet, his eyes were nearly bulging right out of their sockets, staring at the Prime as he got back up. This can't end like this... it just couldn't... no.. no!

That Prime was the last thing the stormtrooper ever saw before eternal darkness...

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Ballad kept the revolver pointed at the stormtrooper as the adreneline coursing through his body started to fade away. Here, the pain in his wounds started to reemerge, earning a few grunts as well as him saying "Fuck, man.... that shouldn't have happened. Should've... known that the revolver needed to.. have the hammer pulled back. Cheaters..." in a slightly self-criticizing manner as he opens up the rotating cylinder of the weapon, sliding in four more bullets. He wasn't certain, but he had a feeling that, if five of these guys were able to bang him up decently, than he wouldn't want more after him. So, looking towards his left, he starts to jog.

Ballad is heading to the Camelot gate, though he does not know this.

[Corporal Light]

Two hours later

"Fucking, fucking, FUCK," Ballad screamed out as he clutches his right side. The stormtroopers got him pretty good in some places, and at this point he was only focusing on getting the hell out of this... white void of a place. Assuming he even could, considering he couldn't exactly SEE any exits. No matter. Right now, he just needed to get far enough away so that he could treat his injuries.

Ballad continues to gripe to himself as he walks through the white plane of existence that was this place, his left arm and right side stinging like crazy. He grits his teeth underneath his red scarf, which thankfully didn't fall off his head during the struggle. He turns his head to look behind him to see if anyone is following him, letting out a thankful sigh as he doesn't see anyone there. Turning his head back around to face forward, he starts talking out loud some more. "In retrospect, if I had known my revolver wouldn't fire double-action... and if their weapons didn't hurt as badly, I probably wouldn't have fought them. But.. it's too late for that. Not even a day, and I've already killed five people I hardly even know. Story of my life, really.." He still couldn't wrap his head around how his revolver could've gone from double-action to single-action in the amount of time it took for him to argue with himself. Something was seriously wrong with this place, and he STILL couldn't figure out what. IS this some kind of afterlife? No, it couldn't be. The Church didn't describe it like this. They described it as a giant ball of flame that you couldn't be burned by, where you then played patty-cake with the other angels and burned infidels. So far, he hadn't found any other angels... unless...

"No, they couldn't be angels. Angels are... peaceful, I guess.." Okay, so he's narrowed the margins down a bit. This place, if it was an afterlife, couldn't be heaven, because he was attacked by not-peaceful angels. And he could still feel pain, which should've clued him in earlier. So the only two options are the following: Hell, or he's asleep and this is just a really long, hyper-aware dream.

"Alright... hell or dream," Ballad says, still walking through the white void, "Let's look at the evidence so far. I'm in pain, I got attacked by white guys with guns, and I can feel hunger and thirst and a need for clothing. Seems like Hell to me... shit, the Church guys weren't kidding... wait.. they didn't describe Hell this way either!" Fucking shit, this isn't an easy thing to figure out. So if it isn't Hell, then am I dreaming? How could I be dreaming?! Wouldn't me killing those guys result in me waking up from the intensity of the dream?! WHAT IS GOING ON HER-

Ballad momentarily stops himself from screaming at the top of his lungs when he looks back up from the ground, seeing a huge gate about twelve feet tall and wide. The gate was made out of clean, hewn stone, and looked like it had been there for ages, yet never exactly aged. It just sort've... endured, without so much as a single scratch to the framework of the gate. Below the archway, and surrounding the gate, was a swirling, purple... black hole type thing. Ballad stares in awe at the portal in front of him, finally saying

"Okay... this is a new one.." in a slightly unsure tone of voice. What exactly is this thing? Is this a test? What is it even for? Ballad clearly had no idea what the thing was, else he probably would've just walked right on in without so much as a single thought. However, instead, he just stood there, staring in absolute disbelief at the portal.

Eventually, Ballad let out a sigh. "Alright... this.. purple.. hole.. thing.. is right here. That white.. goon squad.. was to my left back at the fountain. So, for all intents and purposes, if they came from anywhere, it isn't here. So.. do I enter it? Or not?" Ballad continues debating to himself. On one hand, this purple hole swirling thing that looked like the rear end of a snow beast could possibly kill him if he misjudged its use. I mean, he didn't have a fucking clue what it was even for. On the other hand, he couldn't die.. in which case, why is he worrying about that. Come to think of it, why was he worrying at all? His injuries aren't killing him, otherwise he WOULD be dead. So, naturally, he can assume that, regardless, this rear end hole thing won't kill him either.

Having decided his course of action, Ballad lets out his seemingly final words "Anyways... let's do this. For the glory of yabba-dabba-dabba..." in an almost accepting, if not annoyed tone of voice as he runs forward, hopping into the purple portal.