[System] Narrate a dark fantasy text adventure. The setting is harsh and morally complex. Describe scenes vividly, react to player choices with fitting consequences, and never shy away from the reality of the world.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Whatever defenses the Torites are going to muster within the time you come back with the Storm as far as you're concerned aren't going to be enough to save them. Better you should come back prepared and your soliders better rested as well.

"I think it's time to leave. In fact I think it'll be best if the entire army moves away from this area." You say.
"We're retreating?" Flevas asks.
"Call it a tactical withdraw. I'm not done with this place though. Not done with you either, your input on this was very useful."
"Um, thank you Emperor." Flevas says unsure of how to take the fact that he's called attention to himself to the ruler of the Empire.

When you return, you give Ackerson an earful of his failure to use his resources wisely and not even informing you of the potential of certain soldiers who could come in useful. You also explain that the only reason why he isn't being demoted is that he had the intelligence to at least see Flevas' combat abilities and send him with you in the first place.

You have the army relocate to one of the towns closer to the Empire for resupplying and reinforcements. There is a bit of downtime, but there is also some routine patrolling which allows you to engage in battle against a group of those centaur creatures. Tedious foes. Constantly galloping away while firing their arrows. You appreciated the bull creatures' attempts at caving your skull in with their axes a lot more.

Eventually you get the message you've been waiting for and that's when you make your way back to the vicinity of the forest. When you arrive, you and the back up mages begin to prepare for your assault on the entire forest.

You call Flevas over, who you see nearby.

"So what do you think to this plan? Be honest."
"Well Emperor, as I said the svelk in the stories attempted something like this as well and while I know that you certainly have powerful magic at your command, I'm not certain that the rest of your mages having your same abilities."
"I see. So you don't believe Empire mages are up to the challenge of setting one measly forest on fire and completely burning it to the ground."
"I didn't say that…"
"Oh, well you must've also implied that even if our mages fail that I would not have the capacity to pick up their slack."
"I definitely did not mean…"

You start laughing.

"Relax elf, I'm fucking with you. Beside this isn't the entire plan, the rest of it is over there in the near distance." You say and point over at the airship slowing making its way towards your position. Most of the army is looking in that direction too.

"I heard the rumors, but is that the ship that can fly?" Flevas asks.
"That is indeed the Empire's new pride in the skies. The Storm. And that's exactly what it's going to do over that forest. Those dryads might be expecting us to attempt a magic firestorm, but I guarantee they're not going to be expecting one that involves a lot of explosions."

The Storm is indeed an impressive sight and you can imagine how it will terrify your future enemies. For right now though, you're content on it just killing them.

Along with the airship and your magic, you also have a row of catapults continually barrage the forest with flaming material. You and the army periodically move and keep on the outskirts of forest while the Storm works its assault within the center of the forest. Between the two, the decimation of the forest is certain even if it does take a few days.

Forest creatures, but more importantly Torites eventually come running out of the forests, some manage to get away, others attempt to fight your army in an attempt to kill you and the other mages, but they naturally fail.

You actually do lose a few of the weaker mages who can't keep up their energy and collapse completely drained of life. Hardly matters since you accomplish your task with vicious efficiency. Eventually the forest goes from being an inferno to a blacked wasteland with only burnt tree husks and stumps left. Whatever is still alive, is going to be easy to find.

You order a search and participate in it yourself, as you are eager to see if there might be some sort of evidence of this mysterious dryad or dryads. It might be that you just burned down an entire forest for no reason, but then it is one less area for the Torites to hide in.

You do sense a faint bit of magic though. Very weak, but there none the less. You immediately follow the trail until it leads you to your goal.

And there you see a naked, heavily burned female creature. Its limbs are slightly longer and thinner than even the average elf. It has a very delicate appearance and might even be considered pretty looking if it wasn't covered in burns and struggling for life.

It pathetically lays on the ground semi-curled up near a stump that is nearly completely burnt. It looks at you with its big eyes and then over nearby at some other bodies you didn't even notice. They look like more dryads though, all dead.

The dryad shakes and clutches tighter to the stump as you approach. It even begins making a few sounds, which causes you to immediately raise a force shield, expecting some sort of last attack.

"She isn't casting a spell Emperor. She's whispering some sort of prayer. I think." Flevas remarks.
"About what and how do you know what she's saying?"
"I…don't know! It's like she's in my head all of a sudden and I can understand some of her language. Something about…back to earth…child of nature…unnatural force of death…she's very sad."
"I would imagine so." You reply.
"Yeah, but it's not for herself, it's for me." Flevas says.

Flevas at this point walks past you and over to the dying dryad. She looks up at him sorrowfully and stops whatever it was that she speaking about. He kneels down beside her and for a brief moment he looks at her sadly as well, but then his face then turns to one of anger and he ends her suffering with a knife to her neck. She gurgles a bit and then dies.

"Another victory for the Empire." Flevas says and walks past you.

You stare at the dead dryad for a moment and survey the surrounding desolation.

"Well, I guess we know they're flesh and blood creatures now." You remark and tell the rest of nearby soldiers to start heading back to the camp.

When you get back, General Ackerson tells you that they're holding a courier from the Broki Kingdom. The courier works for one of the opportunistic barons. Baron Divilak

Apparently this Baron Divilak has heard much about the Empire and sees no reason to resist your inevitable annexation. He claims that he can make things simpler for you by giving out information of major strong points, security secrets, that sort of thing as well as providing his own military support. Of course he wants to meet in person before all this so that you may hammer out any other stipulations and agreements, but basically what he asks in return is to govern over the new Empire province and that he get to execute King Tiklov himself.

It certainly would be easier with inside help and you were originally toying with the idea of taking advantage of the disorganized nature of the Broki Kingdom by having one or two of the barons side with you in the first place. Of course you never know with those scheming types after all if they're willing to sell out everything for their own personal gain now, what's stopping them from doing something similar to the Empire in the future? At the very least, the amount of corruption might tend to be higher than what is acceptable.

With the recent display of power by the Storm, you're wondering if you shouldn't just make a gross display of force and cow them all into submission and dispense with any pretense of a "friendly" take over. Of course the problem with this plan, is you might actually unite the kingdom due to your brutality and it might take longer to conquer the place.

[User] You use the Storm

[Assistant]
Negotiating has never been what the Empire has been about. You go in; you crush your enemies under heel and then sort out the details later.

Without another word, you draw your sword and sever the head of the hapless courier. Blood splatters on the onlookers nearby as the head bounces once on the ground near your feet. You give it a small kick towards one of the soldiers.

"Have that courier's head sent back to the baron in a bag. That will be our answer to his proposals. Well actually the Storm will be the real answer, but for now his courier's head will do." You remark.
"Oh. The flying machine? Won't that need time to resupply from bombing the dryad forest?" Ackerson asks.
"Yes, but it'll be fine. Let them wait and sweat it out. When he receives his messenger's head I'm sure he'll mobilize all his little soldiers, ready for an attack. Won't do him any good though when the Storm is laying waste to his castle. Then the rest of us will come in and clean up. After we've annihilated nearly everything within the baron's territory, THEN we will give our own demands to the remainder of the Broki Kingdom. In the meantime, tell everyone to keep alert as usual and enjoy this little respite in what is going to be the shortest conflict of this western campaign."

You retire to your tent where you go through a couple of more traditional letters you've received since you were away destroying the dryads. Two of them are from Decena. One talks about how she's confirmed the rumors of the winged Torites or harpies as they're known. She explains that they're even more tedious foe than the centaurs due to their flight ability. The standard practice is to fill the skies with arrows and bullets whenever possible. Galen has been pulling his weight, but as you've come to expect the Torites have been systematically targeting mages, he's barely escaped death several times and is one of the few wizards Decena has left. Fortunately she doesn't report anything close to the dryad activity Ackerson experienced, but you'll have to send her a message back warning her about them.

Her second letter is something you're hesitant to open, since you know it's going to be of a more personal nature. You sort of thought that maybe her time away from you and her apparent enjoyment of battle would slowly erode her feelings for you, but that hasn't happened.

In any case, you put aside the letter for later and turn your attention to another letter which is from Warrick giving you an update on his findings. He mentions that he's uncovered nothing that would suggest an internal conspiracy yet, but just says that the elven population has been complaining more than usual as of late. So far there is no evidence that they're planning anything from the ones he's brought in, but that doesn't mean that they aren't.
This gets you wondering about something that occurred earlier and you have Felvas brought to you.

"So…that was quite the show back there with the dryads." You say.
"I'm afraid I don't quite understand sir." Flevas answers.
"Oh come on. You don't need to hide it. You were upset to see dryads get killed. Hell, you probably were upset to see the forest burn to the ground."
"It was necessary."
"Of course it was necessary, but the point is you REALLY didn't like it. Not only did you not like it, you were personally offended. Why something like could cause a man to habor ill feelings that fester underneath the skin and come out in ill advised ways."

Flevas is silent as you study his reaction to what you're implying.

"Emperor, I am not a traitor to Empire. I would never…"
"Yes, yes, yes, I know. You would never betray an Empire that oppresses your people…well if your people's complaints are anything to go by."
"But I finished off the dryad without your orders!"
"So? You've probably done a lot of things you don't like doing. Hell, it was a mercy kill anyway. One might even think that you did it just for my benefit. Believing that you were the good loyal elf. Tell me, is that what your people are doing? Are they emulating the shadows and just biding their time?"
"What?! I don't know! I mean no! Emperor, I…"
"Silence!" you shout and backhand Flevas to the face causing him to stagger.

"Now then, you've got two options. One is bad, and one is to start telling me the truth."

Flevas rubs his face and then composes himself. He doesn't display anger like he did with the dryad, but he does do that elf thing with his eyes, like they're looking right through you and that you're nothing at all. Semra was really good at it.

"So what do you want me to say? Yes! I HATE the fucking Empire! Yes! I HATE every fucking human I have to work with and put up with their shit! I HATE the fact that my people are the lowest rung of society even though that includes fucking kobolds now! FUCKING KOBOLDS!"
"Kobolds are very loyal and eager to serve." You respond.
"And they're damn idiots! So are the brainless orcs and look at what you did to them! They're nearly extinct because you have them soak up all the major fighting during the Felkan War!"
"They enjoyed the fighting. Besides, they're building up their numbers now."
"Yeah, so you can use them in the next big ass war! Well I'm fucking sorry we sveld don't feel that way! We don't enjoy conflict and bloodshed! We cherish freedom! Freedom we haven't had for centuries! If it wasn't the orcs hunting us down it was the accursed svelk massacring and torturing us!"
"Exactly, and you'd think that you'd be grateful for the Empire for saving you from such things like the orcs and svelk."
"Right. Because humans are so much better? Humans fucking enslaved us."
"Actually there are probably just as many human slaves than there are elven ones right now."
"Yeah and all the human ones are criminals! And even if when the sveld aren't outright slaves, they're so destitute or desperate that they're worked like slaves. It's a fucking sorry existence, yet as much as we bitch and bitch and BITCH about our plight, we've got nobody to blame but ourselves."
"You believe that?" you ask a little surprised at his claim
"Honestly? Yeah, I do. I believe the sveld have been kicked around so long by everyone and cowed into submission that we love playing the fucking victim. It's actually gotten to the point where it's more enjoyable than actually trying to DO something."
"I dunno about that. There have been sveld rebellions in the past and a lot of them border on being dissidents to this day." You say.
"The full blown rebellions consisting of nothing but sveld are a rarity and considering how badly we've been treated why there haven't been more just confirms my belief that sveld prefer playing the victim. In fact the Empire has had more problems keeping humans in line. As for dissidents, I know the Empire frowns upon anyone who dares to look at it wrong, but I guarantee the main ones bitching probably aren't doing anything other than just that, bitching."
"Sort of like you are now?"
"Yes, damn it. Exactly like how I am right now! You asked me to tell you the truth, well that's what I'm doing as ordered! Why? Because I'm that good loyal sveld!

You stay silent and continue to listen to Flevas rant, other soldiers have entered your tent believing something amiss, but you wave them away signifying that everything is fine.

"You know why I ultimately killed that dryad? It wasn't out of mercy. It was out of anger that such a creature that attempted to know my thoughts and feelings and dared to feel sorry for me. Fuck that, we have enough of that shit going on in the sveld community. Even some of the so-called kind humans will occasionally do the same and it's sickening every time. In the scheme of things, I'm not an old sveld, but I feel like I know a hell of a lot more how to deal with this shitty life I've been handed. Don't complain and try to just do your job. The best way to do this is in the military. You never have a choice here; it's kill or be killed. It's follow orders and don't think."
"So is that why you joined the military?" you ask.
"I joined because I wasn't going to have my wife blowing disgusting humans for coin or have my children begging on the street like paupers. I wasn't going to clean privy holes for some human piece of shit who probably can't even read, yet thinks that they're somehow better just because they're not sveld. I wasn't going to fucking whine about my position in life and get my ass whisked away in the middle of the night by the Eyes or just killed on the spot. I was going to at least TRY to make the best of things even if I hate every damn moment of it."

Flevas' at this point isn't doing that elf eye thing anymore; he's long since lost his calm demeanor and looking far more emotional. You get the impression that he's probably wanted to say this to SOMEBODY for a very long time. And now he has the advantage of telling it directly to the Emperor. You know that has to feel good for him somewhere.

"And with any luck… I'd get to kill some humans in the process. That's why I joined. " Flevas says ending his rant which causes a nod from you.

"Well you'll get your chance soon in the Broki Kingdom."
"I thought you were using that flying ship."
"I am, but it can't do all the work can it? Besides, it's just going to be there for added terror for the most part. As usual the regular army is going to do the clean up work. It'll be grim business. Despite the civilian population, we aren't going to be leaving much alive in this particular battle, but as you probably can guess, it's necessary."

Flevas nods and continues to stand at attention unsure of what to expect next.

"You're dimissed." You say.
"That's it?" Flevas asks.
"For now at least. If anything else comes up that I think I need to talk to you about, you'll be the first to know. Oh actually there is one more question. Is there anything that you do like about the Empire?"

Flevas doesn't think about it too long.

"There was a law instituted to have svelk killed on sight."
"Heh, yeah that is a good one." You say and Flevas takes his leave.

You make a mental note, that Flevas should be promoted in the future. His attitude and views are clear, but he's no traitor. As you've always believed, you don't need people to like you, you just need them to be loyal.

In a couple of days the assault is in full force on the Broki Kingdom, or at least Baron Divilak's land. You specifically tell your troops that only Divilak's land and people are to be attacked. Of course if he gets any help from neighboring barons or the king himself then the order is to show them no mercy.

Divilak doesn't receive any help though, or if he was, his allies lost courage when they saw the Storm raining fire down upon Divilak's castle. You can imagine that the Broki have never seen such a thing before and probably hope to never see something like that hovering above them.

To their credit, Divilak's soldiers hold their ground initially, but in the end your army scatters them. You imagine that Divilak probably had one of the stronger militaries in this dysfunctional kingdom given that they didn't run immediately when they saw the Storm. Of course now, that has been reduced to nothing.

While your first plan was going to be to utterly wipe out everyone within Divilak's territory as a message of sorts to the rest of the Broki population to fall in line lest they suffer the same fate, you decide to hold back and the civilian population slaughter and come up with another plan.

"Flevas, there you are. Got an important job for you." You say stepping over several bodies on the battlefield.

"Emperor." He reports.
"You're going to get to do something very important for your people. Hell, you may even go down in history as a hero to them. Would certainly be a more worthwhile story than about some tree hugging dryads. I want you to round up the remainder of the civilian population with this territory. For every one you bring in, you free one elf from his slave chains. We'll work out the details later, but for now take whoever you think would be best to help you for this mission and if you get any trouble say this is a direct order from the Emperor. I'd also advise you to limit the casualties, but I imagine you already know that."
"Yes, my Emperor." Flevas says and instantly runs off to perform the task.

With any luck, this is the sort of thing that MIGHT cause the elves to stop complaining so much. Maybe they'll all start following Flevas' example and not only accept their lot in life, but to stop complaining about it. In time maybe they won't even be your "problem citizens" anymore.

Of course the Divilak's people aren't going to enjoy their new designation, but then they're not suppose to. You're still sending a message to the rest of the Broki. Submit or this is what will happen. Your armies scattered, your buildings destroyed, and your citizens enslaved.

Soon after the razing of the barony, you are visited by a very frightened Broki courier. He is escorted by your soldiers and nervously gives a message to you. It's from the king and apparently he's sending you this message even though his advisors have told him not to. He says for the good of his people and he hopes in your mercy that you will cease your attack as he is formally surrendering the Broki Kingdom to the Empire.

A few days later you meet with King Tiklov who makes a formal showing in front of his people that the Broki Kingdom is now no more and that it now will be the Broki province of the Empire. Tiklov will still remain in power, but only as a figurehead and to be involved in the day to day governing, assisted by some of your own administrators of course.

The annexation goes more or less smoothly, but you come to find out a disturbing discovery. You come to find out that some of the barons had secret dealings with svelk advisors. In fact Divilak was one of them. Certainly explains why the kingdom was involved in civil wars before you arrived. Hell, Divilak's offer to meet with you might've been an attempt on your life.

These svelk advisors of course have all fled to who knows where by now, but you definitely think you know who tried to have you killed aboard the Storm. You also know that it has to be Semra masterminding all this, wherever she is. You'll have to keep alert, but then you always are.

You have the barons that had such dealings with svelk executed. It wasn't like they were necessary any longer anyway.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Year 42

While you doubt this is going to be your last battle with the Torites, you're at least hoping it's going to be the one to break their spirit to the point where they become less of a problem.

Still, the fact that they've finally unified their forces into armies shows you that they realize you aren't going to just go away and their hit and run tactics and attempts to win through attrition aren't going to succeed. It shows you that this is a concentrated effort to get rid of you once and for all. It won't work either and really works to your benefit. It allows you the opportunity to kill a bunch of them in one large grouping now.

Maybe there will always be pockets of Torites lurking in the untamed wilderness but one thing is certain. The territory WILL be the Empire's and the Torites can either submit and see the light like the kobolds eventually did or slowly be driven into extinction like the gnolls.

But that's in the future, right now you're drawing up the plans for this impeding battle. Considering how large the Torite horde is, you've combined your available forces with Decena's army. It was quite the happy day for her seeing as she hasn't seen you for five years. You still aren't quite sure how you exactly feel about her, but she's definitely been winning you over as far as her victories have been concerned. She remains professional always in front of everyone, but the first time she got you alone, she literally jumped on you and wrapped her legs around your waist, planting a kiss on you.

But again, you can sort out your possible complications with Decena later. Now is the time to make sure the both of you come out of this alive.

"We should have the second airship here before we begin our assault. Hopefully that will take some of the pressure off of the Storm to deal with the harpies." You remark.
"Its isn't just the bird bitches that flap about though. Don't forget, there are still those manticores and those chimeras." General Ackerson remarks.
"Yes, I'm well aware of both, Ackerson. Thank you for pointing out the obvious. However, I'm more inclined to believe the Torites will be relying on those beasts to attack our people on the ground. The beasts aren't the most graceful of fliers and would most likely just be big target, which they will be for us anyway, but they'll still do more damage to a group of soldiers on foot and horseback rather than a flying fortress before going down." You remark.
"Those chimera things don't even fly very high. The wings are almost so small that they're just for show. Never had one swoop down on us." Decena adds.
"Wouldn't be best to have us mages together so that we can join our energy and create a shield for the majority of the army?" Galen remarks. He isn't complaining, but he's definitely trying to find a loop hole to possibly make himself safer and not have to do as much work."
"Galen, you know that the Torites attempt to target spell slingers as soon as possible. If they actually get you in a group and strike lucky, well there goes a powerful chunk of our fighting force. It'll make things harder for them if you're all spread out. Besides, you're personally going to be hiding behind a small contingent of golems and backed up by Captain Flevas' men. You couldn't be any safer."
"Huh. So my backup lies in the hands of an elf? Might as well kill me now and get it over with." Galen remarks. You just shake your head and ignore his last comment; he's too valuable to punish right now.

After hammering out the plan, you and the rest start setting things in motion and preparing everyone. You know the Torite horde is on the move not too far from your location. But they aren't here yet and won't be for at least a half-day's time. It gives you a bit of time to at least get some rest since you've been running around attempting to take care of everything and haven't slept. You didn't even realize how tired you were until you lie down on your sleeping bag.

Just as you lie down and close your eyes, someone enters your tent and you instinctively grab your sword.

"No point in that, I'm not really here you know." You hear a familiar voice whisper.

You sit up and see Semra standing before you, or rather the image of her. She's no doubt using the same kind of magic she did when she tried to convince you to kill Casimir. She's probably nearby somewhere though.

"I thought you said we weren't going to see each other again." You say.
"I didn't think we would. I truly believed you would die on Mortos. I suppose I underestimated your ability to survive even there. Quite impressive and it's no surprise that you assumed Casimir's throne soon after. Everything worked out for you, but tell me how did you accomplish such a feat?"
"Just luck I guess. Look, if you came here to kill me, you'll need to get behind the long line of Torites marching towards this place." You say while lying back down and shutting your eyes.
"My, you're quite confident to stay in such a vulnerable position if you really believe I'm here to kill you." Semra says.
"No, I know this is just grand standing. If you were really going to kill me you'd have your underlings conspiring with little plots in the shadows."
"Yes, I'm aware of the troubles you've been having lately and while I'm flattered you believe it to me, I'm actually here to clear my good name."
"Hah!" you snort.
"Okay so just my name. In any event. I'm here to tell you that it isn't me, though you do have enemies of the svelk persuasion."
"I've got enemies of every persuasion and that's not a very convincing argument that you're somehow innocent."
"Okay how about this then? It's not me because I've been keeping an eye on you and so far you haven't warranted anything that needs me to stop you yet. My daughter on the other hand disagrees. She claims that my…past with you is clouding my judgment."
"We never had a past Semra. I don't know what YOU think it is, but WE were and never will be an item."
"Oh yes, that's right. You've got that vicious little young thing on your dick now. Decena is her name? She is quite the warrior. Lot of those moves are familiar, they're all the ones I taught you. Hey have you taught her any of my other moves when you're bedding her?"

At this point you sit back up, annoyed with Semra's remark.

"Is this going anywhere because I have a shitload of beast men to slaughter tomorrow and you're keeping me awake!" You snap.
"Oooh! Struck a nerve did I? Haven't been able to do that for quite awhile, I really missed it. Tell me though; is it very serious with this one like it was with Alison? Didn't think you'd get over her so quickly. Really though I don't know why you pick any of these females. This new one is just likely to wind up dead, if not by the sword then by age. Her youthful appearance with eventually wither and fade like it does with all of those lesser born."

At this point you lie back down and close your eyes again. You're not playing this game.

"You done already? Disappointed, you used to be so much more fun. Very well, just listen then Eternal. I know you have a hard time with that, but maybe you'll actually heed what I have to say for once. I am not your enemy. As I have said, my daughter is your enemy and she makes her base of operations in a city-state called Ryglik and lies south of the former Broki Kingdom. Of course that whole area consists of several city-states and she may very well move around, but that's the main one she's operating from.

You remain silent while Semra continues to talk.

"Well I'll take your silence that you're at least taking it under consideration. Oh and while you're at it, you still might want to consider giving up all this foolish nonsense. Perhaps you're a better Emperor than Casimir ever was, but you're still mindlessly following a path that you think has been laid out for you. It's almost like Casimir is still barking orders at you."
"I guarantee Casimir's not saying much of anything anymore." You answer.
"Be that as it may, I'd hate to see you follow in his horribly misguided footsteps and make the same mistakes he did."
"Well, I don't have you as an advisor, I'd say that already puts me ahead of the game."
"Pfft, you'd be lucky to have me by your side. Not my fault you can't see and accept the truth. Anyway, I'll take my leave now. Perhaps we'll see each other, perhaps we won't. Perhaps we'll even see each other in the flesh again, wouldn't that be fun?"
"Sure would, I could give you your dagger back." You remark.
"Mmmm, I bet you would. Well if that day ever comes, you make sure you give me a long hard kiss as you're sticking it in me. Oh one last thing, your General Ackerson is planning to betray you at some point during tomorrow's battle. Not sure when and how, but he's got quite a few soldiers willing to work with him on it. More of my daughter's work no doubt."

With those final words, you cease hearing Semra's voice. You briefly open your eyes and find that her image is gone as well.

"Fucking bitch." You mutter, as now you're never going to be able to sleep with this last bit of information she just gave you.

The big problem is she may very well be telling the truth, because for the most part Semra has never really lied to you. You didn't believe her at the time, but she told you the complete truth about Casimir and his intentions. She didn't have Alison killed either. As usual in her own fucked up way that you still don't understand she has attempted to help you.

Of course that was in the past, she could be lying about everything right now. While she has confirmed your own beliefs that it's been the svelk working against you, she's also trying to put the blame all on her daughter. Granted you know they probably don't get along, but still.

There also has never been any evidence that Ackerson has shown signs of being a potential traitor. Doesn't even make sense, but then again you can't trust anyone nowadays.

Now you have to play a guessing game to as whether or not someone on your own side is going to kill you in the middle of battle. You miss the days when all you ever concerned yourself with were the people on the other side trying to kill you.

[User] You deal with Ackerson

[Assistant]
"Shit." You grumble and get up.

After getting dressed, you march out of your tent with sword in hand. Multiple soldiers on duty ask if you're okay, but you just ignore them and head directly to where Ackerson's camp located.

When you arrive, you tell the soldiers on duty that you want to see Ackerson immediately. The general is of course still asleep and when he gets out of his tent he's still slightly groggy.

"Apologies my Emperor, but what can…" he begins to say and then you cleave his head in with your sword. His face displays a mixture of shock and confusion as the blood trickles down from his head.

You pull the sword out with a sickly sound following it and strike again, this time practically chopping the general's head in two. At this point the weight of Ackerson's now lifeless body pulls downward off of your sword and you wipe your sword off in front of the astonished onlookers.

"Alright, listen up because I'm only going to say this once. This man was a fucking traitor. He was planning to betray me at some point during tomorrow's battle. Don't ask me how I know, the important thing is I know because I'm the fucking Emperor and I know ALL."

You continue.

"That being said, I also know he had some of you in on this plan because he was too damn cowardly to face me like a man. I KNOW who you all are and consider this your reprieve from your benevolent Emperor. Help bring us victory tomorrow against the beast folk scum and I'll forget all about this. However, if I ever get the slightest hint that ANY of you are planning to assassinate me, betray me or be involved in any other type of treason, I WILL make sure that you do not suffer the quick death like I so graciously handed out to the late general here. Do I make myself clear?"

"YES EMPEROR!" everyone shouts.

"Good. Colonel Sini, you're in charge of Ackerson's command now. Have someone remove this traitor's corpse from this camp. I don't want the aura of his failure and cowardice to rub off on anyone else longer than necessary."

You take your leave and head back to your tent. You know what you did might not have been necessary since Semra very well might've been lying, however you're fairly confident that you handled it in such a way that it doesn't matter. You put so much fear into the rest of them that if they didn't think you were all knowing before they certainly do now.

If it is true though, it is sort of disturbing to you that Eldolith managed to somehow convince some of your own military to try to kill you. That's the group you rely on the most and feel you have the most identification with, though perhaps you're taking it for granted that most of them LIKE the military and battles like you do. A lot of them probably joined just to feed their families. Some of them were even conscripted. You can only imagine that she offered a shitload of gold as it doesn't seem likely that she'd have anything else worthwhile to offer.

You'll be glad when the orcs have finally raised their numbers back up and the new Eternals are of age to fight.

Despite everything that went on last night, you miraculously actually manage to get a little sleep before the arrival of the Torites. You're still a little tired, but you think when you get into the thick of battle the thrill of it will kick in and you'll be invigorated. You usually are.

It seems word of what happened spread fairly quickly to the rest of the camps, even to Decena's army. You imagine that will at least have to put Galen in a good mood, maybe he'll whine less now.

When the Torites arrive they certainly look like a chaotic rabble, but it's no mistake that they mean business. The number of harpies fills the sky to the point where you hope that the Storm can take care of such a flock. The second airship is in far distance behind you. Hopefully by the time it gets to engage in battle it won't be replacing the Storm so much that it'll be supporting the Storm.

The cannons and rifles fire as soon as the Torites are within range. Their centaurs return fire with their accurate arrows. The saytr wizards up the ante by casting their elemental magic which rips solid chunks of rock and earth out of the ground and goes flying at your army. It can't be said that the Torites are any less dangerous just because they're less technologically advanced.

High above you the Storm takes on the harpy warriors. Even from here, it looks like a swarm of locusts descending on a single blade of wheat. Looks pretty damn grim for the Storm, you just hope if the crew does get overwhelmed they can keep the ship from crashing near your location.

The bull creatures lead the charge along side their horse beast brethren. Another volley of shots takes out some, but they remain relentless in their charge. The satyr rank and file advance steadily behind. They WILL arrive and there will certainly be enough of them left to give your army a good fight.

Your own cavalry meets them and while they have the best training, they can't overcome the sheer savagery of the minotaurs and as for the centaurs, their very bodies are half horse. They already have the advantage over your own cavalry as far as maneuverability.

Breaks in the Torite army form as they allow their war beasts participate in the charge. Several manticores and chimera of the largest size make their way straight towards you. At their pace, they're going to be the first ones your people will have to fight. A cannon blast rips through one of the chimera and fireball from one of your mages brings down another, but before you know it, a manticore is shredding apart your front line with its talons and impaling others with its spike tail.

What comes next is utter mayhem. Swords and axes cutting and stabbing. Fangs and claws tearing and biting. Magic on both sides destroying several lives in the blink of an eye. It's all very glorious.

Decena's army is holding its own on her front, but then you never had any doubt about that. The only problem they do have is the blasted satyr magic manages to turn the golems against them. Hopefully, Flevas managed to get Galen's ass out of there before they crushed him. The newly appointed General Sini seems to be doing well on his end. You're glad to see that the reinforced fear in their ruler has motivated them.

Still, the battle is far from over yet. The fact that you're simultaneously facing down three bullheads by yourself and a chimera closing in is a great reminder.

You cast a lightning blast at the bulls, which fells two of them, but the third fights through the pain of having his body fried from the inside out. You dodge his axe and follow up with your own sword swing to his meaty leg. The beast roars, but is still undeterred. Two nearby soldiers attempt to help, but are mauled by the chimera which has finally arrived.

The minotaur swings again, but this time you cast a force shield to block the blow. This one has to be some sort of leader or hero or some great warrior to his people because when you swing your sword again to strike, the creature catches its blade and snaps it off leaving you with a broken sword.

"Okay. I get it. A challenge." You say and step backwards from the minotaur who ignores his deeply cut hand to solidly grip his axe once more.

The bull will have to wait though since the chimera has finally gotten around to attack you. The clumsy beast attempts to pounce, but you leap out of its way and blast one of the its misshaped animal heads with a bolt of fire. Roaring in pain and anger, the creature desperately tries to put out the flames by rubbing the flaming head into the dirt. It hardly stops it from continuing to attack with its scorpion tail. While it misses with its tail, one of its other goat like heads spits a cloud of gas at you. You didn't even know they could do such a thing, but then these chimeras are rather random beasts.

The gas is certainly poisonous enough to kill the average person, but then you aren't average. Unfortunately it's still potent enough to make you feel sick and you gag and wheeze when you inhale a good bit of the stuff.

A paw smashes into your side and you go crashing to the ground. You barely get out of the way of the stinger tail again. Then your old bull friend is there to help with his axe as usual, fortunately someone distracts the bull by attacking him from behind causing him to drop his axe. Unfortunately they fail to kill him and he turns around and breaks their neck with his bare hands, still it's given you a temporary respite on what to do next.

[User] You pick up the axe and strike back

[Assistant]
Despite being woozy from the gas attack, you grab the minotaur's axe. The weapon is incredibly heavy, in fact a little heavier than you were expecting. The minotaur advances on you and you clumsily swing at it, but miss completely and you feel the smashing fist of the minotaur across your face which has quite likely broken your jaw.

Sprawled to the ground, you attempt to cast a cone of frost, but the minotaur has already followed up its attack and picked you up off the ground with both hands. Then with one quick move he slams your back over his knee breaking it and throws you in front of the chimera, which has successfully put out the flames you bestowed upon its face earlier.

Your last moments are the chimera's lion head sinking its fangs into your throat.


[System] Narrate an interactive dark fantasy adventure. The world is brutal and unforgiving. Respond to the player's actions with vivid, immersive descriptions and let their choices carry real weight.

[User] You go kick Vlad's ass

[Assistant]
Its long over due and its time. You need to go fucking kill that bloodsucker or die trying. You need to prove that you are and always will be the baddest of the monsters. You also need to prove to these wolflings that they need to be proud of their fucking heritage and not play second fiddle to some overgrown leeches.

"All right you cubs! We're going to go raise some fucking hell. We're going to Dracula's Castle. We're going to rip the place apart brick by brick, and every fucking bloodsucker in the goddamned place and I'M going to rip Fagula apart limb from limb, drive a stake in his heart, cut his head off and then shove his dick in his mouth!"

The Wolflings look very apprehensive about your suggestion, in fact they outright refuse.

"You're a fucking crazy old coot; if you think we're gonna follow you to Dracula's Castle! Fuck that, he's got an army of bloodsuckers and ghouls and who knows what the hell else! We can't win that Wolf! Can't we just bust up a bar or something?" one of them exclaims

You can't believe your ears! These snot nosed pups know nothing of their heritage! Back in the old days they would've been killed and eaten for such cowardice!

"Goddammit are you Wolves or fucking Chihuahuas? Vampires have been taking OUR rightful place in the monster hierarchy for centuries! We need to set the fucking record straight on this shit! Now are you going to run with me and be a fucking Wolf or are you going to go back home with your tails tucked between your legs?"

After looking at each other for awhile they all begin to leave and head back to the studio.

"Oh fuckin' fine then, play werewolf in a movie, but I can see I'm the only fuckin' REAL Werewolf here, the rest of you are just goddamn overgrown dingos! Fuck this, I don't give a shit, I'll kill Dracula my own goddamned self. I don't need anybody's help!"

You get on your Harley and ride. You only make a few stops on your way; you're completely driven to have your final showdown with Vlad. Finally after a few days of riding you reach Dracula's Castle. The place looks exactly the same. You get off your bike and scale the high iron gate. As you jump down into the courtyard you half expect yourself to be overwhelmed by vampires, or even ghouls, but nothing happens. This is weird, there aren't even any guards patrolling or even at the door. In fact it sounds like a party is going on inside. You hear lots of laughter and music. Suddenly someone comes outside and sees you. It's some Vampire chick.

"Ohhh, a Werewolf! Wow, I didn't know any of you types were invited to the party; I thought Drac hated you guys. Well what're you doing standing outside? Come on in the party's just starting!" she says waving you in.

A bit of a different approach than you were preparing for, but you enter. You entrance to the ballroom is immediately a big event. You're the only Werewolf there. Everyone else is either a Vampire, a ghoul, or even a human "servant". Everyone is staring at you, some with wonder and interest, most with hatred, a few in awe. Most probably haven't encountered a Werewolf like you before. The staring would probably continue if another slightly out of place being didn't come shuffling up to you to talk you in a friendly manner causing the bloodsuckers to go back to partying. It's Im-Ho-Tep. You're surprised to see him here.

"Wolf?! YOU got an invitation to this thing? I can't believe it! What the hell did you and Dracula kiss and make up?" he remarks with his scratchy sounding voice.
"Not in this life time Teppy. What're you doing here?"
"Me? Oh you know Vlad, he's always gotta put on a show. Likes to play up the whole royalty thing to the other bloodsuckers, so he always invites me to these things to prove he's got connections or something since I was a Prince. I always keep telling him, it's a meaningless title since the Egyptian Empire fell thousands of years ago, but he insists on flying me out here, making a big fuss and everything so what the hell, it's not like I got anything better to do plus I get a kick out of watching the bloodsuckers get drunk and make idiots out of themselves, well that and I like to look at some of these Vamp chicks. Heh, guess that makes me a voyeur, but again what the hell, its one of the few pleasures I get in this world anymore. But enough about this dirty old man, what brings you here if you weren't invited? Just randomly crashing the party?"
"Sort of…I didn't even know there was one…I'm here to kill Fagula." You whisper quietly.

Tep's eyes widen a bit under his bandages. He isn't entirely surprised (At his age barely anything surprises him anymore) but he was caught a little off guard by your statement.

"Wow Wolf…I can tell you're really not joking about this. All I can say is… what took you so long? I thought this day would come long before now. Lost some bets because of it, oh well easy come easy go. Well you know your secret's safe with me, though I suppose it won't be a secret for too much longer! You're still the craziest sonofabitch I know, but then you always did know how to liven up a party! Ha ha! Ol' Vlad will probably be making his grand entrance soon, so just wait awhile. He threw this party for some kind of special announcement he has to make. I still got a bet with Erik that you would win if you and Drac ever got into a battle to the death. I'll be hoping to collect that bet from Erik. Good luck!" Tep then shuffles off back to where he sitting.

Erik bet against you? Fucking little depressed shit! You're going to have a little talk with him after all this.

You put your back against the wall, watching everyone while waiting for Dracula to arrive. An hour passes and you're fucking sick of waiting, you don't feel like waiting for him to make "an entrance". You're here to commit major mayhem on him, not listen to anything he has to say. While you're surveying the place, you see a disheveled man peek out from a corner across the room and then slink back. That was Renfield, you'd know Fagula's sycophantic bitch boy anywhere.

[User] You wait a little longer

[Assistant]
You figure he really can't be that long now, and decide to wait. Soon you see Renfield come back, he tells everyone to quiet down on orders of his master.

"Excuse me everyone, I know you're all anxious to hear what my master has to say, but I have been informed that he will not step into this room until a certain infestation has been taken care of first. Namely THAT ONE OVER THERE!"

Suddenly all the Vampires, Ghouls and Human servants look at you and advance! You're beyond out numbered. You put up a good fight for someone in your position, but ultimately you are scratched, bitten and sucked dry. And not in the good way either. You are then skinned where your pelt is hung up over Drac's fireplace, where he always brags about how he defeated you single handedly.


[System] You are the game master of a dark fantasy text adventure. The world is dangerous and choices matter. Narrate with immersive detail and let the story unfold naturally from the player's decisions.

[User] You crawl away

[Assistant] You scamper backward, before the creature charges toward you with its blade. You grab the earth, your frail strength still managing to pull your light body away, but the ork swings, the blade sinking into your shoulder, cutting through bone and flesh with ease. You let out a yell, as blood stains the ground.


[System] Narrate a grim fantasy text adventure. The Empire's world is brutal, its people hardened. Respond to the player's choices with immersive storytelling and let consequences flow naturally.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
INTRODUCTION: This game is stupid, unrealistic, and not time specific at all. There will be weird references to things that haven't happened yet, misplaced musical cues, and a bunch of other lazy mistakes. Hopefully it will be fun, though. Try to do the stupid stuff, as it's usually funnier. Dying doesn't matter much and please don't take this too seriously.  Good luck!

Also, you'll come across items which represent proficiencies that will enable you to overcome certain obstacles you'll face in the story or alternatively cooler ways to solve problems. Click them once, and you'll take them. You don't need to use an item, it'll just unlock alternative choices throughout the plot.

If you like music, we have also developed a few minute-long tracks to further induce the trance-like state that the '90s should provide for you.  download them here. You'll know you've unlocked a song when some text at the top of a node tells you. Or, feel free to just play the songs whenever you feel if it helps you get immersed.

Like This if Time Travel is Real and I'm in the '90s Again

The calming glow of your computer screen splays a dim light across a complete collection of Nicktoon posters. You've liked your last 90s Remembrance page for the night, and close Facebook before settling back for another viewing of Jerry McGuire.  You're 46 years old, your parents are dead, and Tony just got married.  You reopen Facebook, idly spitting some tobacco into your Catdog Licensed Cup, and navigate to Tony's page.  Wow, looks like he just got another award for some bullshit science achievement.  You're sure mom and dad would be proud of him, just like they always were.  Rocco jumps on your lap, purring excitedly, as she can sense some hot fire about to be spat on your idiot brother's face.


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You stop Bobby

[Assistant]
You might be Bobby's girlfriend, but you're not his fuck toy. You're not going to just give in because he happens to be horny right now.

"Bobby, fucking STOP! Seriously! I'm not in the mood!" you say and pull yourself away from his arms.

At first he look hurt by your rejection, then his face turns to one of anger.

"What the fuck? I thought we were back together?!" Bobby exclaims.
"Exactly! We JUST got back together! I mean we got a lot of shit to talk about before we can just hop in the sack again!"
"Are you fuckin' kidding…Suzy I just told you that you don't need to worry about Diana if that's what you're still on about!"
"It's not just about her, but that's certainly part of it. It's about not treating me like some glory hole because your dick's hard!"
"Suzy, you know that's not even the fucking case. And since when are you not into me being affectionate with you? Shit, you were probably splittin' the kitten and thinking about me before I even came over here! Now maybe YOU can turn your feelings on and off, but I genuinely missed you! Excuse me if I want to express that in a physical way!"
"Bobby, I can't turn my feelings on and off, and this isn't one sided. I missed you too, but we still have things to work out before we can just continue as normal."

At this point Bobby rubs his hands over his face.

"(Sigh) You know what…fine. I'm not arguing with you. Play your little game. Let's just get your shit and get over to the compound."

Bobby's obviously mad about not getting any sex from you, but at least he isn't pointing out how you should "give it up" because he's helping you out or something similar.

Bobby grabs some of your bags and you grab the rest and the pair of you leave out the front door. Bobby silently loads your bags in the van and the pair of you gets in equally as silent.

You break up the silence by mentioning how crazy the town seems as you drive through it. And it is pretty crazy. You're seeing police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and large groups of people fighting. This has to be the liveliest this town has ever been.

"Wow, you weren't kidding about it being nuts out here." You say.
"Yeah." Bobby says.

You don't say anymore since it seems like he's content on sulking, but then he surprises you.

"Look, I'm sorry for being an aggressive asshole back there. I just got overly excited I guess." Bobby says.
"Well I suppose I can't blame you, I am pretty hot." You say which causes a smile between the both of you.

"And I want to say, I'm really glad you're helping me out by letting me move in with you." You say.
"Don't even mention it. I mean I would've wanted you to move in sooner…well anyway it's probably best we're doing this now. This compound is a lot bigger. You'll be happy to know you can have perfect solitude to yourself and not be bothered by anyone."
"Nice." you respond.
"And you're right, we probably do have a lot to talk about and we can do that and address all your concerns when we get there. We'll work everything out." Bobby says and smiles again with an optimistic tone.

For a moment there's another pause of silence and you think about how Bobby is a pretty great boyfriend in the scheme of things. So you come to a decision.

"So…you want a blowjob?" you ask.
"What?" Bobby says being caught completely off guard.
"Well I can see from here you're fidgeting with your man parts every two seconds while driving. That either means you got some severe issues with your underwear or you're still horny."
"My underwear is fine."
"Well that pretty much leaves one option. So you want one or not?"
"I always want a blowjob, but now? I mean the streets are pretty fucking crazy right now and I'm trying to concentrate on the road."
"Well you're not concentrating completely on the road now, because you're still groping yourself." You say.
"What about all that stuff about not being a fuck toy?" Bobby asks.
"Oh that was when you all over me, this is different because it's my idea." You say.
"…I'm not even going to argue with your female logic, I'm just going to say yes." Bobby responds.

"Smart boy." You say with a smile and slowly slide over to Bobby and start unzipping his pants. Fortunately there's enough room for your head so you aren't going to be constantly hitting the back of it against the steering wheel.

Considering Bobby's pretty ready as soon as you pull it out, you get right to it and start doing what…well one of the many things Bobby loves you for. You focus on the job at hand and you can hear Bobby making some sounds of enjoyment as you really start to get into it.

Any other time, this probably would've been a nice little thing for Bobby and probably a way for you to gain leverage in the next disagreement the pair of you would have inevitably had in a future about something. Blowjobs are the keystone to any successful relationship after all.

However this probably wasn't the best time to showcase your dick sucking skills.

As you're deep throating Bobby into ecstasy, he's having an incredibly hard time paying as much attention to the road. Normally he probably wouldn't have been an issue in this normally sleepy town, but with as crazy as the streets are right now, he doesn't see the fire truck barreling down the side street and smashing right into his side

Bobby's van is hit with great force and actually topples over twice. In the process you end up biting Bobby's dick off and choking on it. Bobby is somewhat lucky in that he was knocked unconscious on impact, but he's not going to survive long due to several severe wounds and that's not even including his dick getting bit off.

You're also in no condition to even move now due to several broken bones, and your last moments are gasping for breath with a dismembered dick lodged in your throat.


[System] You are the narrator of a dark fantasy text adventure. Describe the world and its consequences with unflinching detail. The player's choices shape the story — for better or worse.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Walking over to the corner of the room, you find two glass boxes filled with what looks like razor wire. Bending down you shine the flashlight into the first box, trying to see through all of the wire and spotting something in the back of it. Craning your neck you eventually are able to make out a key at the back of the box. A quick study of the other box reveals a syringe at the end of it.

That sick feeling in your stomach is back, making bile rise up inside your throat. Sticking your hand inside either box is going to be extremely painful. A thought slides into your mind that it may be for the best if you just go for the syringe. Dying doesn't really concern you if you're completely honest with yourself. You've been gambling with your own life for a decade now. Clinging on to another year or two of prostitution, robbery, and drugs seems so pointless. Maybe one last high and dying here in this room surrounded by pictures and candles wouldn't be so bad? It certainly would be a kinder death than what may await you out on the streets or an overdose.

But, life is life. Maybe if you make it out of this place you can hang on for another few years. You're past the point of telling yourself that you will check into a rehab somewhere. You won't do it and you don't care to lie to yourself anymore. But a few more years of life sounds less scary than being entombed in this place forever.

[User] You reach For The Key

[Assistant]
You reach into the box with the key, balling your hand into a fist to keep your fingers from getting snagged in the maze of razor wires. Gritting your teeth, you slowly push toward the back of the box. The wire slices into your fist and forearm, but it is a familiar enough pain that you manage to make it to the back of the box and grab the key.

Removing your hand is more painful than putting it into the box was. The razors drag across your already bleeding flesh, but you eventually pull your hand free of the contraption. Just as you are almost out, you feel your wrist snag on wire. Taking a deep breath, you decide to treat this like a bandaid and just yank your hand out. The pain is sharp and takes your breath away, but you make it out of the box with the key in hand.

Looking down at your blood slick arm, you wince as you see a strip of skin dangling from the top of your hand. You aren't sure if you should finish the job and remove the skin flap or set it back in place over the top of your hand and use some cloth to secure it in place.

[User] You remove the Skin

[Assistant]
Putting the key in your pocket for now, you try to think of how to remove the skin that is dangling from the back of your hand. It is torn up from the wrist and still attached at your knuckles. If you aren't careful you'll just tear it up from your fingers as well. You've never been one for doing your own first aid. A wound like this would score you some good quality painkillers at the ER, but that isn't an option yet. Maybe after you get out of here you'll drop by for a prescription.

The flap of skin hanging from the back of your head looks daunting as you grip it with your other hand. The blood covering it is slippery and you can't get a good grip on it. Looking around you try to find anything that might be able to trim it off, but nothing catches your eye.

After a few moments of thought, you bend over and ball your injured hand into a fist against the floor so that the flap of torn skin lays on the ground. Planting your foot on top of it, you yank your hand up as hard as you can. Pain licks up your arm as the skin rips down past your knuckles and tears some off of your fingers as well. But it does come off of your hand completely, freeing you from the loose skin.

Taking a moment to breathe through the lightheadedness brought on by the pain, you try not to look at what you've done. Ripping the skin off the knuckles had also taken it off your fingers to a degree. It turns out there isn't a whole lot of meat on a finger, mostly bone and tendon which you can now clearly see.

[User] You open The Door

[Assistant]
Taking the key back out of your pocket, you hurry toward the door. Your injured hand burns where the skin has been ripped off and the raw flesh is exposed to the air, but you push through the pain and push the key into the lock. It turns and you can hear the loud sound of the mechanism turning as the metal door screeches open.

Stepping through, you find yourself in a hallway with harsh fluorescent lights in the ceiling. You walk down it, but many of the doors are chained shut with warnings against trying to open them painted in red letters. It is cold and damp out here, making you shiver as you hurry down the corridor.

Finally, you come to a door with no warnings and a cassette labeled 'play me' taped to the middle of the door. Plucking it from the confines of the tape, you put it into the recorder and hit play.

"If you are listening to this, then you chose freedom over your addiction. This is just the first step to reclaiming your life, Ciara. For years you have blamed the people who came into your life for what you have become. Perhaps, you are right to blame them after they made you feel powerless over your own fate. But your obsession with blame keeps you from moving on. Beyond this door is someone who influenced your life early on. Today, you choose whether he lives or dies."

The tape comes to an end, leaving you feeling apprehensive about what is beyond the door in front of you.

[User] You go Through The Door

[Assistant]
Opening the door, you have to squint as bright lights cut on when you walk inside. The room is harshly illuminated as you step inside, the door crashing shut behind you and locking. As your eyes adjust to the harsh lights, you find yourself staring transfixed at the scene before you.

A man is strapped into a large mechanical device of some kind which holds him upright facing you. His eyes are locked onto you as you step forward. His mouth is sewn shut, but he isn't staying quiet. He struggles against the binds that hold him in place, making incoherent sounds as an old television on a stand nearby cuts on.

The tape plays, showing a puppet like head on the screen with painted white skin, red spirals on the cheeks, and red eyes. It's mouth opens and closes as the voice from the tapes begins to speak again.

"Hello again, Ciara. You should remember the man before you very well. When you were still a girl, the two of you were inseparable. You thought it was love, that he would save you from your own personal hell. But, instead, he introduced you to the drugs that have ruled your life ever since. He used you for years and when he was done with you, he burned you one last time for good measure. Now he is the one who will get burned unless you are willing to pay the price for his freedom. But, does he deserve that freedom, Ciara? Make your choice."

The screen goes to static before showing a clock counting down from sixty seconds. Turning back towards the man in the device, you now recognize Forrest as you look at him strapped down into the device. It's been over a decade since you saw him last, the memory of it is burned into your mind and no high has ever been able to erase it.

For years the two of you had been a teenage Bonnie and Clyde. Mostly robbing convenience stores more than anything, using the money to buy weed, cocaine, and any pills you could find on the market at any given time. At the time, you had believed he was your ticket to freedom. He had sold you so many stories of taking you away from your family and getting an apartment together. But, he never did save you. Instead, he damned you.

As the years went on, Forrest had gotten deeper and deeper into drugs and crime. Eventually, he was dealing for a man who had his filthy fingers in on every kind of black market scheme in the entire city. He was too stupid to be careful and ended up owing the man money. Not having any money, Forrest had offered to give him the only thing of value he had.

You.

He waited until you were too doped up to fight back, then Forrest had stuffed you into his car and driven you to a filthy house in the middle of the worst part of town. There he traded you over to a man you didn't know and walked away free of debt.

Now here he is, strapped down to this contraption completely at your mercy. You have hated him for so long, wished for an opportunity just like this. To watch him suffer for what he did to you. His eyes are wide as he stares at you, watching you contemplate just what it is you want to do as the clock quickly races toward zero.

[User] You taunt Forrest

[Assistant]
"You ruined my life," You spit out at him, watching as he struggles to get free.

"Do you know what he did to me?" You can't help the bark of near hysterical laughter that escapes you. It's a pointless question though, he can't answer you with his mouth sewn shut like that.

Fidgeting a bit, you glance over at the screen once more. It's now counting down from ten seconds. You don't know what happens when it reaches zero, but you step back a bit just to be safe. Forrest ruined your life in so many ways, it feels fitting to be given this kind of power over him.

The countdown finally hits zero and you jump as flames shoot out of small metal pipes at his feet. Forrest's screams are muffled by his mouth being clamped shut, but the sound still rattles around inside your head even as the acrid odor of burnt flesh hits your nostrils.

[User] You try to Save Forrest

[Assistant]
You look frantically around the room as Forrest begins to scream in pain through his closed mouth, the muffled sounds an agonizing groan that fills the room. Spying what looks like a large box covered in a tarp, you hurry over to it. A card set on top simply reads: Which one has the key?. Tossing it aside, you rip off the tarp and find yourself staring down at a metal box with three holes in the top just big enough to reach your arm down inside, but it looks like the box is deep enough to go up to your shoulder.

Forrest's screams of agony spur you into action. He's a horrible person, but you aren't sure if you want his death on your hands. Taking your already injured hand, you dip it down into the first hole in the top of the box. Nothing happens at first, but once you are elbow deep a loud whooshing sound like air explodes up from the box. Intense heat scorches over your hand, causing you to yank it back out with a shriek of pain.

Holding your hand, you look down at the skin that isn't covered in the cloth. It is a dark red, but not blistered, at least not yet.

More mechanical sounds behind you cause you to look over your shoulder as the next series of three torches cuts on, burning Forrest's thighs, hips, and middle. He screams in agony, no longer able to form words. He just screams and struggles. The smell of his meat burning makes you want to vomit.

[User] You keep Trying

[Assistant]
"Fuck...FUCK!" You shriek, turning back around to the box.

You don't know which one has the key, but it's the only way to open the locks on the straps keeping Forrest trapped. Taking a deep breath, you shove your hand back into the first hole as fast you can. The steam cranks on and burns hot, but you reach the bottom. You feel around for a second, but find nothing and yank your arm back out of the oven of steam.

Pulling it back out your enter arm is now covered in heat blisters and an angry, shiny red color. It surges with a pain you can barely stand. Tears stream down you face as you cradle your burnt arm.

"I can't do this..." You mutter to yourself as Forrest continues to scream in agony.

[User] You keep Trying

[Assistant]
Taking a shuddering breath, you plunge your arm into a different hole in the top of the box. The steam burns hotly, but this time you feel something when your burnt hand reaches the bottom. Gripping it, you pull it back out and stare at the key as you hold it in your horribly burnt hand.

Turning back to Forrest, you hurry towards him. You fumble with the lock for the strap around his neck, but get it undone after a moment. His squirming and screaming doesn't help. The next series of torches cuts on just you finish undoing the last strap, burning one arm and his sides before he falls forward to the floor, free of the trap.

He's still groaning and screaming in pain, writhing about on the filthy floor as you stand over him. His feet burnt down to the bone, as is most of his legs. There is no way he'll walk out of this room. But you did your part. He can crawl out of here for all that you care past this. It's his problem now, not yours.

You startle as the final set of torches cut on in the now empty machine, flames shooting out where his shoulders and head had been just moments before. It would have cooked his brain if you hadn't gotten him out when you did. He might still die, but at least now it won't be your fault.

Cradling your burnt arm, you look around the room as a creaking metalic sound catches your attention. The door out is now open, beckoning you through it. Stumbling around Forrest as he cries and shrieks, you hurry toward the door and into the next room.

[User] You go Through The Door

[Assistant]
Walking through the door, you find yourself in a hallway once more. Many of the doors are marked with warnings not to try and go through them, prompting you to pass them by for now at least. Watching Forrest burn to death still has your stomach churning, but at the same time you can't help but think about how he deserved it in so many ways. He ruined your life, set you on a destructive path and then left you with no way out of it. Just as the tape said, he burned you one last time before he left. But, he was the one burnt nearly to ash now.

Coming to the end of the hallway, you find another tape and put it into the recorder and hit the play button. That same voice starts speaking to you once more.

"Hello, Ciara. Beyond this door, are the two people truly responsible for putting you on the wrong path for life. They chose not to save you from themselves and now you must choose whether you save them from each other. In the next room, you will find yourself as the spectator of their game. You can watch and see which of them has the will to live, or you can intervene. Make your choice."

Taking a deep breath, you push through the door and into the next room. The lights inside the room trip on when you step inside, triggered by the door opening. A large cage takes up more than half of the room where two people jolt startle and shield their eyes as the lights blind them momentarily.

You swallow nervously as you recognize your mom and stepfather in the cage. Both of them have strange metal devices around their heads. It looks almost like a medical halo, but with thicker metal and two large screws on either side of their skulls as thick a rail spike. The devices clasp beneath their chin and are locked in place by a lock around the neck.

They recognize you once their eyes adjust to the light, both of them hurrying toward the bars of their cage and calling out to you. A numbness settles in your stomach as the adrenaline starts to pump through your veins. Watching Forrest nearly burn to death before you could get him free had been hard enough, now it's your parents? This is all just too much...

"Ciara? What's happening?" Your mom asks, her voice sounds panicked as you continue to finger the metal device around her head.

"I don't fucking know," You snap, glancing furtively at the television on the stand to the side of the cage.

"She did this. We're in a cage and she's walking around free," Your stepfather, Greg, nearly snarls out the words.

Looking at him through the bars, you feel nothing but disgust for him. Not that your mother is any better for marrying him, much less staying with him all this time. The man was a monster of a different sort than Forrest. It had started shortly after he had gotten together with your mom when you were still young, too little to understand what was going on.

It started with visits to your room in the middle of the night. Confusing conversations that you couldn't comprehend as a child, then it turned into late night games of dress up. Then it had become something much worse. For years it had gone on and no one did anything. No one saved you.

And she knew. You know that even as you stare into her eyes now. Her gaze is as accusing as always. She had never seen it as you being a victim, rather she had blamed you as if you were some kind of seductress trying to steal her new husband. The older you had gotten, the worse things got. But, she wasn't angry enough about it to rat him out to CPS when they came calling. She covered for the son of a bitch then they both made sure you never talked to anyone about your nightmare of a homelife ever again.

"Ciara, get us out of here." She demands, her voice somehow both fearful and accusing at the same time.

[User] You refuse to Help

[Assistant]
"Fuck you," the words come out as a growl from your throat as you stand still and watch them through the bars.

"She's a junkie, a whore. That's all she's ever been and all she'll ever be," Greg spits out the words like bullets, but the insults feel empty in the current situation. You have the power here, not him.

"That's rich coming from you. I'd rather be a junkie whore than a pedophile, you sick fuck. You deserve whatever is about to happen to you," You lean forward as you growl out the words, "And I'm going to enjoy watching you die."

The television cuts on before any more words can be said, the now familiar voice commanding everyone's attention.

"Hello Greg and Karen. The lives you have lived have brought nothing but harm to those around you. A pedophile who abuses his stepdaughter and a mother who turns a blind eye and allows it to continue for years. You have lived your lives caring only for yourselves. Today your will to live will be tested. The devices you wear can only be unlocked with the key that the other has down their throat. You only have to pull the line out of the other's mouth to free yourselves. The screws on either side of your head will slowly drill into your skull once the time starts. You have three minutes before they pierce your brain. Live or die, make your choice."

The screen cuts to static then begins a countdown from three minutes. You watch as both of them try to pull at what appears to be fishing line hanging from their mouths and secured to their shirts to prevent them from swallowing it completely. Both stop pulling almost immediately, gasping in pain. Moments later you hear the drills start up, slowly cranking their way continuously tighter as the clock ticks by.

[User] You try To Help

[Assistant]
Not able to watch anymore, you quickly glance around looking for some way to help. After a moment, you spot a card hanging from one corner of the cage on your side. There is metal sheeting keeping anyone inside the cage from reaching through to the card. Walking forward you head toward it, only to feel the tile beneath your foot give way and a sharp pain stab through your foot.

Looking down, you can see that the tile floor has given way under your weight and nails have come up through small holes in the floor to prick your feet. You slowly pull your foot back, feeling the nails piercing the sole of your foot slide back out roughly. Blood stains the tile floor now and your foot throbs painfully where the nails went through to the bone.

Angry swearing draws your attention back to your mother and stepfather in the cage, they seem to have turned on each other now. Greg has your mother by the shoulders and is trying to force her down to the floor, likely to rip the key out of her throat. If you're going to help, you'll have to act quickly.

Still, the thought enters your mind that she never did help you when you had been the one he was hurting. How many times had he come into your bedroom as a child, hurting you and you had looked over at the door to see her watching with disgust on her face. But, she never intervened. Just looked at you as if it were all your fault before walking away and going back to sleep, leaving you at the mercy of a grown man many times your child self's size.

[User] You push Through It

[Assistant] You try to guage the distance between yourself and the note then make a jump for it. The nails rip into your feet on the landing, but the momentum lets you pull your feet up from the nails quickly enough. The pain shoots up your legs as you stand on your bleeding feet, but at least you made it past the bed of nails hiding beneath the floor. You pick up the card and read it, surprised that is much more straightforward than Forrest's. According to the note, all you have to do is press the button to speed up the bolts being drilled into their skulls. Both of them have their own button welded onto the metal sheet on the wall of the cage facing you. It must be remotes. Your mother's name, Karen, is on the left and your step father's name is on the right. You could kill one to save the other... Or both.

[User] You kill Greg

[Assistant]
You slam your hand down onto the button under Greg's name, peering around the metal sheeting to see through the uncovered part of the cage wall. Barely a heartbeat passes before the bolts drilling into his skull speed up, the sound filling the room as he falls to his knees and grips the device in his hands. A pained grunt escapes his mouth as he thrashes about, trying to get the clunky metal device off of him with no luck.

Your mother scurries to the other side of the cage, her own device still drilling the bolts at the same slow pace. It isn't long before the bolts break through Greg's skull, sending his body into convulsions as foamy saliva drips from his mouth. The bolts drill in a little deeper and her goes still, blood dripping from his nose.

"Get the key!" You urge your mother.

She seems to be in pain from the bolts on her own device as she hurries over to Greg's body and yanks on the fishing line down his throat. It comes up slowly, but she manages to get the key and remove her own device. The bolts have already made their way into her skull, but not all the way. She thrashes about for a moment before it finally comes loose, blood trickling down either side of her temples where the bolts were.

"Thank you..." She mutters as she looks your way, gingerly touching the spots where the bolts had been drilling their way into her head.

"You never helped me, you know." You blurt out before you can stop.

"I'm so sorry, Ciara."

"Fuck you," You spit out the words as a door opens off to the side of the room, your exit.

She doesn't say anything else, the guilt is written blatantly on her face. Every time she saw him hurting you and doing nothing about it flashes through your mind as the anger wells up in your chest. The times she had accused you of seducing that sick fuck. As if a girl not even in her teens would ever do something that sick.

After staring at her hard for a few moments longer, you swallow down the anger and turn your back to her. She isn't worth it and all you want is to get out of this shithole.

[User] You leave

[Assistant]
Stepping through the doorway, you find yourself in another dimly lit hallway. Looking at the doors that are blocked off with warnings painted on them, you wonder if perhaps the warnings are empty? Maybe escape from this place is just a matter of breaking the rules?

Stopping at the door you are meant to walk through, you pick up the tape waiting for you and put it into the player.

"Hello Ciara, you are so close to facing all of your demons. Only two more remain. Beyond this door lies a woman you might not recognize, but her choices directly affected the direction of your life from early on. Inside the next room you will find everything you need to know about her in order to make your choice regarding her fate. Will you show her the mercy she did not show you? Make your choice."

The message makes you frown, unsure just what it could mean. Looking at the door in front of you, you can't help but be afraid of what is in the next room. You've already seen enough people suffer, even if they did deserve it. Glancing back down the hall you just walked through, you eye one of the doors warning you from opening it.

[User] You try One Of The Other Doors

[Assistant]
Tired of playing this sick game, you walk back down the hall and look at the door which has warnings against opening it painted in red letters. After staring at the door for a few moments, you try the doorknob and feel surprise when it is unlocked. Pushing the door open, you see a dark room beyond it.

As you step through the door, a strange sound from above startles you as a mist of water sprays down from a hose nozzle above you. For a moment you stand still in confusion, but within a few heartbeats, the liquid then begins to burn. You try to wipe it away, but it covers you and even your clothes are starting to dissolve beneath the acid.

Your skin feels like it is melting as you frantically search for a way to get it off of you but there is nothing in the hallway or the room you have just opened to help. The pain is excruciating as you fall you to the floor, still trying to wipe the acid off of you. A horrible slipping sensation brings your attention to your arm as you see the skin has come loose with your attempts to wipe away the liquid covering it. Blisters bubble up where the skin is still attached as you feel the acid start to burn down into your muscles.

Thrashing about on the filthy floor, you lose all concept of thought. You just want to get this stuff off, but there is no way to achieve that. Instead, all you can do is wriggle about and cry in pain as the acid slowly eats you alive.