[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You spew forth a whirlwind of flames

[Assistant] Your body is surrounded by a whirlwind of flames, which quickly begin to blast the howling Behemoth. You fire a jet of flames down the maw of the beast, which begins to burn the the pale gray flesh inside a dark black. The beast lets out a dry gasp, toppling forward as its internal organs cook.


[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 take the hostage with you

[Assistant] You can't leave the man out here like this. It's not safe. You untie the rope holding him to the pole. He gives you a look of pure gratitude. You have him hide in the trailer, and you take off.

[User] You keep going

[Assistant]
There's no time to waste. You gunshots echoed throughout the area, and you doubt those two were alone. With the man hiding in your trailer, you try to drive away.

You quickly find that the roads have been blocked off by debris. They're herding you in a certain direction. You can't get out of the car, either, as you start to see other people watching you out of buildings and behind trash cans. In a last ditch effort to get away, you throw the minivan in reverse.

As you try to back out, you see something: a large truck blocks the way out. They've sealed the road behind you. A man holding a golf club comes out of a nearby building and starts running toward the minivan. In total panic, you speed down the road, away from the truck.

Barbara is gripping her armrests in fear. You would be, but both your hands are on the steering wheel. You drive down the road, exactly where they want you to. You can hear the truck following closely behind you. Suddenly, you drive into a dead end. The way forward is blocked. The truck pulls to a stop behind you, trapping you.

You have no choice but to get out of the car. A mob of people has gathered around your vehicle. Your group follows suit, but the former hostage stays in your trailer.

"Okay, let's not waste time. Give us our hostage, your stuff, and your car, and we'll escort you to your new home," barks a large, bald man. The crowd of angry people with their guns pointed at you reminds you that you'll have to speak carefully.

[User] You give up the hostage

[Assistant] Slowly, with your arms raised, you walk over to the trailer, and open the door. The hostage steps out with his arms raised. "Wonderful," the man says. He grabs the hostage by the shirt collar and hands him over to another man, who drags him away. "Anything else?"


[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 head to the lower floors

[Assistant]
You walk towards the door to the lower floors, unclicking the latch. Before you can pull it open, something slams into it, sending you flying across the ground and onto your ass with a painful thud. Standing there, clad in armor with long, wild flowing black hair and a face contorted by rage and anger.

"Yes! I thought I heard a gunshot! I was hoping for the cripple, but a ghoul will do!" he snarls, approaching.

The vampire charges forward with remarkable speed. You raise your gun quickly, firing. The bullet thuds into Draven's chest, but it fails to even slightly slow him down. He swings the sword as he leaps upon you, slicing through your muscle and sinew and separating your head from your body. His lips immediately wrap around your gaping neck hole as he drains you of your blood, your head rolling to 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] You don't wish

[Assistant]
Something instinctively tells you that "It's not going to be that easy." You remember back when the Shadows first tried to take you, you wished you were back home and it didn't happen, you ended up in the middle of nowhere. There's no telling where you might end up if you tried it again. So far "little wishes" have worked for you, so you're going to stick with the current plan of getting the Empire wizards to send you home and use your "powers" only when necessary.

You eventually fall asleep with your new sword by your side, you're awakened by Qualan in the morning.

"Hey, get up boy let's get going… where'd you get that sword from?"
"Huh? Oh…well uh I found it under the bed."
"Sheesh, I know I've forgotten a few things in my travels, but never a weapon. That's just unthinkable. You probably should have a sword anyway, I'm not sure how it is where you're from, but a boy your age would definitely be somewhat familiar with a weapon of some sort by now in my tribe."
"Where were you?"
"I told you, I was getting directions to the Parran Empire, and exploring the town a bit…well okay I was exploring the tavern, in fact I eventually explored the floor of it. Oh well at least nothing was stolen, not that I have anything left after spending it all at the tavern…hey you still have that silver ring? I think I might need to trade for a horse. I can't be accompanying you efficiently if I'm not on horseback as well."

After giving Qualan the ring back, and uses it to buy a broken down nag, you and he are on your way again. You and he talk during your uneventful travel; he's very fascinated with your world as you are with all the adventures he's been on. Soon you come to a split in the path. You ask which way to go.

"Well, both of these paths will eventually lead to the Empire, but one of them is a lot quicker. There's a catch though, back in town I was told the quicker path is currently under complete control of a vicious goblin tribe. Apparently they're attacking anyone that goes through there. I heard The Empire was supposed to send in some soldiers to take care of the problem, but the Nightmare Tyrant is a more immediate and dangerous threat and as such they're concentrating their efforts on him instead. The second path is supposed to be safe and clear, but it'll take longer. We'll probably have to make a camp somewhere, before we even reach the Empire.

"Let's take the safer route." You say.
"Alright, but keep alert anyway, just because I heard it was safe doesn't necessarily mean it is."

You and Qualan travel further with no unexpected encounters. When it begins to get dark you half expect Shadows to come attacking you out of the sky again, but this is a natural darkness, night is merely falling. Qualan suggests that you should make camp and you do so. You and he eat the provisions he bought from town. He comments on how bad they are and next time he's just going to stick to hunting in the wilderness for food next time.

You've never slept outside before, so like most things in this adventure it's a brand new experience for you. One that makes you really wonder why some of the kids at school have said they like camping so much. You're definitely a city boy!

After trying to get comfortable several times and not worry about bugs crawling on you, you fall asleep, but not for long. A noise awakens you and Qualan. The horses seem agitated as well.

"Qualan?"
"Shhh! I heard it too…be prepared for anything." He says standing up and readying his axe.

Soon a large figure lurches out from the darkness. It's another Shadow, but not like any of the ones you've encountered before, this one is bigger for one thing, almost as if its armored and for another it looks vaguely familiar. The black figure is hard enough to make out by the campfire, but when it speaks you know immediately who it is.

"At last I've found you boy."
"Salzat?"
"You know this…thing?" Qualan asks getting ready to attack.
"Briefly, he used to be one of the Paladins sent with me to take me back to the Empire." You reply backing away.
"And I still have to waste my time escorting you around!" Salzat hisses. "Come boy, my new master the Nightmare Tyrant wants to see you, it would be unwise to keep him waiting, the agony will only be much worse the more you resist…"
"Take the horse and ride boy! I'll dispatch this monster!" Qualan shouts at you.

You're sick of running at this point, and Qualan needs your help. Besides you figure you can actually do something now with your new sword, which you draw out.

"Boy, I told you to get out of here!" Qualan exclaims as he defends an attack from Salzat.
"Ha ha! Good. Saves me the trouble of chasing down the little fool!" Salzat laughs.

While he's laughing you take the opportunity to stab at him. He attempts to dodge, but you manage to slightly wound his leg. This causes him to bellow in a hissing shriek. Qualan hits him with his axe, but it doesn't effect Salzat like your attack did. Salzat retreats back a bit to recover.

"YOU MISERABLE LITTLE WHELP! YOU HURT ME!" he says before getting ready to charge again.

"Boy, your sword can hurt it, but I'm better with wielding such a weapon, toss it to me and I'll dispatch this creature!" Qualan quickly says bracing himself for another attack.

[User] You toss Qualan your sword

[Assistant]
Following Qualan's advice that he would do a better job at fighting Salzat you toss the sword to him and he meets Salzat's charge.

Qualan lands what would look to be a powerful blow, but instead nothing happens! In fact you've noticed that it's stopped glowing. Salzat winces a bit from the hit, but he doesn't stop his own attack which fells Qualan. The sword flies out of his hand and disappears into thin air. It would appear that without your belief in yourself, the sword lost not only its power, but ceased to exist altogether. You attempt to wish for another, but you're too panicked to think straight and you're having a hard time concentrating altogether. Soon Salzat's hulking shadow form has grabbed you, and your mind is filled with nothing but terror. He carries you back to the Nightmare Tyrant. You soon join Salzat and the rest in everlasting shadowy torment.


[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] You ask her about what happened to you

[Assistant]
"Several hours ago, you fell out of the sky," she says. "You weren't the only one, either. There were entire islands collapsing to the left and right, and I had to get the ship out of the way to avoid being crushed by the next giant land mass. Mother Ghared…"

Mother Ghared steps forward at this point. "I was on duty at the front deck when you emerged," she says calmly. "Unlike the others who fell, you had a slim chance of survival. I chose to use my abilities to slow your fall and take you on board. The captain did not approve of my decision, but I was able to persuade her to let you live until we reached the next island."

The captain shakes her head in disgust. "Fat lot of good that will do us, Mother Ghared. If we're unlucky enough to run into a Gahl'vuhr Sehn patrol when we reach Majeruk, they'll want to know why we have an Unworthy on board." She glares at you. "I'll just tell them that you were a stowaway and that Mother Ghared refused to let me throw you over the side. Doesn't matter if the world's splitting down the middle or if islands are falling out of the damn sky – as far as the Gahl'vuhr Sehn is concerned, rules are rules. They must be followed. I'm so glad that the highest-ranking representative on board has decided to break them on my behalf."

"You may defer any responsibility to me, captain," Mother Ghared says. "They will understand. Even the life of an Unworthy can give rise to many new members of the Gahl'vuhr Sehn. The future is always uncertain."

"That's easy for you to say, Mother Ghared, but I like my future to stay as stable as possible." The captain turns her attention back to you. "What else was there? Oh, yes. We brought you inside and had no choice but to put you in the cabin in which one of our prisoners was housed. Not the safest choice, but we are already stretched to full capacity here."

You recall the mutant you saw in your room. "Prisoner?" you repeat.

"Cargo is not the only thing we transport on this airship," she states. "Occasionally we are given the task of transporting valuable and dangerous criminals to far-off locations – some islands are used for prisoners alone. "Prison islands", we call them. Leave them there to rot away, stranded, where they can't hurt anyone. Better than any of those primitive human jails, in my opinion." She sits back in her chair. "I'm sure the prisoner didn't bother you at all. It would be a pretty big problem if that one managed to escape. A single mutant has the means to contact many others of its kind, and those creatures carry grudges against their captors for years. Downright murderous, they are. That's why it's essential that we keep every single one of them locked up."


[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You create a lightning storm

[Assistant]
As high as you currently are, the beast is still several times higher and should easily be a perfect target.

You concentrate and as you do you begin to feel little charges and sparks around you and the air begins to have a faint smell of electricity. As dark as the sky is with the beast blocking the sun with its size, the sky gets even darker when storm cloud gather.

You directly unleash a blast of lightning right at one of the creature's heads. It must be enough to addle what passes for brains in the creature, because the serpentine head begins to flail back and forth making an incredibly loud bellow and knocking into the other head and taking it off its concentrated effort to destroy your fleet. Then a rumbling comes from the sky and you're nearly blinded by the light show that occurs next.

With the storm clouds, the creature takes several lightning strikes to both of its heads. If the creature wasn't in pain or addled before, it certainly is now. Its roaring of pain is so great that it's practically deafening. You don't let up though, you continue to summon the lightning and that's when you learn that you only have so much control over nature. The lightning strikes begin going all over the place. Some hit your ships, so hit the water and some continue to hit the beast.

You struggle to direct the lightning, but your energy ebbs quickly as you fail to do so and you take a direct bolt yourself. It's a quick and odd feeling. You feel a great deal of pain, followed by a warm sensation and then you briefly realize you've fallen from the crow's nest, which was completely destroyed by the blast.

You then feel extreme agony when you not only crash onto the deck of the ship, but also through it. You land on some barrels though all you know is when you land you heard a snap and a numbness wash over your body.

And that's when you know; you're paralyzed from the neck down.

You hear the sounds of battle continue all around you, some of the crew that were manning the cannons on the lower deck call for help when they see you, but there's nothing anyone can do to help you. Everything's blurry, you've probably got a concussion, and death has never been so close to you since you fought the Emperor.

You're going to fall asleep and your body will sink under the water when the ship is inevitably destroyed. There the fish will eat you or possibly the creatures you're fighting will eat you. Its possible Crowley might step up and take command of the Empire, but after him? You don't see it lasting very long. Your own legacy will eventually be forgotten and that will be the story of you.

That is if you had any intention on dying today.

"Get away from me and get back to fighting, you're not done yet!" You weakly command the crewmembers that are standing around gawking at you.

You remember the lessons the Emperor taught you about healing yourself. At this point you're in dire need of A LOT of healing and you imagine you'll easily be shortening your life span quite a bit in the process, but then you aren't supposed to be alive right now anyway.

You focus again. You will your body to mend itself together. In your weakened state you're drifting in and out of consciousness already, but somehow you manage to push through it and feel the magic doing its work.

You start to feel your body again. You're wracked with pain, but you can feel again. You try to get up, but you're still just too weak and drained. You see a fishman coming down the ship's stairway and alert your crew with a shout. The last thing you see is the thing coming at you before you pass out.

"Lover? Have you finally come to join me?" you hear a voice ask.
"Huh? Who is that?"
"It's me, of course."

You open your eyes and see Semra hovering over you. She looks exactly like you remember well except she happens to be completely naked right now. (Though you remember that too)

"Shit, I'm dead after all." You say. "And given that you're here I must be in some sort of hell."
"Ah, I missed that dry sense of humor. I also missed this." Semra remarks and you feel a hand on your crotch.

Normally you'd probably push her away, but given everything you just went through you figure that if this is your personal hell, you could certainly do worse. Just as you're about to give in completely, Semra's head is cleaved in with a single sword blow. Blood splatters all over you and her body slumps lifelessly onto your own.

"Is this what you fucking want? I thought you were stronger than that! The man I married never gave up!" another familiar voice says.

After pushing Semra's dead body off of you, you look up and see Alison in all her warrior maiden glory. You never thought you'd ever see her again though you wish she were in a happier mood.

"Alison I…"
"Nope, don't even try to make an excuse! I caught you and you're not getting off that easy. I'm doing this for your own good!"

You see Alison's sword coming straight at your head, but you don't attempt to dodge, instead you sit up to meet the sword half way…

And you wake up with a splitting headache and your body still hurting all over.

"Hah, told you he was going to wake up. He's not called an Eternal for no reason you know. You owe me two gold pieces Sprog!" Len exclaims.
"Sprog owes you what?"
"Erm, nevermind. Welcome back to the living Emperor. Everyone wasn't sure if you were going to make it or not, but I had a feeling you might."
"Bah, should've died. Was a glorious battle. Be great honor to die in such a battle." Sprog remarks.
"Oh really? Then why didn't you make more of an effort to die then?" Len asks.
"Sprog still need to produce more children first, now more than ever since three sons died on other ships. Must ensure legacy!" Sprog says and walks away.

You look around and find yourself still on the lower deck of your personal ship. You guess that nobody wanted to move you for fear of doing more damage to you body. It's a mess on the lower deck and there's still a hole from where you crashed through, but obviously the ship survived the battle. As you sit up, you nearly lay back down due to the pain. A volley of expletives soon follows.

"Easy there! While I know you just survived something no man should have, I'm pretty sure taking a direct hit from a lightning bolt and crashing through the deck of a ship from a great height still has to be painful. In fact its odd, but you even look a little older because of the experience."

"You have no idea…" you remark.
"Insisting on fighting that beast had to be the single most insane things I've ever seen, but while I was personally afraid I can't help but admire it. Despite him believing you were going to die, I know Sprog certainly admired it." Len says.
"He probably hoped I was going to die. Still glad to see he's honorable enough that he didn't try to take advantage and kill me while I was unconscious though. Glad to see you didn't either."
"I was a smuggler, not a murderer. Besides I don't think anything I could do would actually kill you anyway after seeing what you just survived."
"So did we win? I can only assume us still being afloat means we won…unless we've retreated…"

Len gives an apprehensive look before answering.

"Well…yes and no. Technically we won, though I'm not sure if we actually killed that sea monster. After you crashed through the deck of the ship, the fishmen continued to scale the ship, but the sea monster continued to be hit by lightning. It eventually sank back beneath the waters, but like I said, I dunno if we killed it or it just swam away. Soon after that happened the fishmen stopped attacking too."
"But?"
"But, other than this ship and a couple of others straggling along side us your fleet is gone, along with all of your people aboard them. We had patch up several holes they managed to put in this ship and we're only sailing at half speed due to all the broken masts, but we'll make it back to Nalin okay barring any other attacks of course."

You curse again, but this time it's more at yourself rather than the pain you're in. You wasted a lot of troops and resources on this endeavor for no real prize. You didn't even acquire any new territory. You think back to Trog's words again about getting old and knowing your limitations, well you certainly learned that lesson today hard.

"Well I suppose it isn't all bad, you did teach those fish creatures that you're not to be trifled with. It was like a battle between gods when you unleashed lightning on that beast's heads. They might think twice about popping up on your shores now." Len says in an attempt to cheer you up.
"We can only hope I suppose." You answer.

The first thing you do when you get back home is try to rest. You do so for as much as you're able for weeks and while you do eventually recover, you're never quite the same again. You've visibly gotten older due to the healing magic and it only did so much, you're still experiencing dull aches and pains on a daily basis. Worse than you did before you went on the mission. You'll never be like you were. Those days are long gone.

On the bright side, there have been no more sightings of fish people on the coasts, so perhaps your venture was fruitful after all, unless they're biding their time and trying to regroup which is exactly what you'd do, so naturally you've ordered the building of a new fleet along with proper naval training for potential sailors.

Of course if the fishy people are no longer a threat that still means Trog's vision of a relentless enemy still looms. Which means it's either the Xi Hive or an as of yet unknown enemy.

More things to look forward to as you approach your twilight years.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Year 555

"Reports as usual say that the Xi have been becoming more frequent in the Arat region and that they have been sighted close to Empire borders, specifically near the city of Regnik." David remarks.
"Well that would be the most logical place for them to attack first seeing as it's the closest. Seeing as the Xi like to attack from underground, have all of our kobold units on alert and have the seventh scaly brigade stationed in Arat. I know they're the best of those little vicious bastards and I'm confident that they can slow down or repel such a Xi attack before the rest of the armies get mobilized. Probably can do some tunnel scouting and digging as well." You remark.
"Very well, but I also have a report stating that the Xi have mostly been focusing on the Arat Confederacy. All four cities have been attacked and apparently Eldolith wants to speak with us about coordinating forces to destroy the threat. Apparently she's also been sending people to speak with the Redcap Kingdom too. No idea if that was successful."
"So Eldy's having a bug problem and now she's begging for help. I'm a little surprised that she swallowed her pride enough that she's willing to talk at all. So when is she due to arrive?"
"She isn't, she claims that if you want to talk that you should meet her on neutral ground between Lenay and Regnik."
"Typical svelk arrogance. Call for help and then insist that it be on their terms. (Sigh)"
"You're aren't thinking about going are you?! Surely it will be some sort of trap."
"Of course it will be a trap. But if I did go I could probably learn more about what she's been up to if I go and in the off chance that this isn't a trap and completely on the up and up then I can still better assess what her situation is and the Xi Hive threat."
"But Emperor, your condition…I mean not to say your aren't a fit man for your um…age…but that battle with the sea beast five years ago…well I just mean I don't want to see you walk into something a tad overwhelming for you again. The Empire needs you."

These are some pretty bold words, though David was as diplomatic as he could've possibly been. Really brave on his part, though he didn't need to fear anything from you. He's right, you're still feeling that battle to this day and will continue to until the day you die.

David's actually been a bit of a surprise to you. When he first groveled for the job of being your top advisor you assumed that like most of the senators of the old Nalin republic he was just looking to save his skin while also looking for the best possible position he could get in the new order of things. He got it because he seemed to be competent and the least annoying at the time. Since then though he's proven himself to be good at his job and genuinely care about his work and the good of the Empire.

"While your concern is noted, I'm not going anywhere. Send a message to her stating that if she really wants to discuss terms of an alliance or something similar she's going to have to drag her svelk ass here."

David nods and leaves your presence.

Seeing as all your major business is concluded today you head back to your personal chambers. You spend a little time reading a new book that Jennifer has written with her new husband. It's all about the old Empire and called "The Glory Before the Fall" Fairly accurate, but then again she did have your input on the thing. Still never told her (or anyone for that matter) about you her ancestor being involved in killing the Emperor which indirectly caused the Cataclysm. You suppose that'll just be one of those secrets lost to history when you die.

As you're reading you begin reflecting on your old relationship with Jennifer. It sometimes seems strange that the two of you have remained friends despite not being romantically involved anymore. Of course the two of you just see one another as much anymore either so that might help.

Really your relationship with her was more due to a young crush on her part and perhaps a bit of loneliness on your own. She saw you as a "pillar of strength" and the pinnacle of a "warrior." Basically someone who got things done which was somewhat lacking with most of the leaders and citizens of the republic. You were different and it was attractive, then she slowly grew out of it.

Now she's happily married to someone more similar to her. A scholar interested in history. She even had a son a couple years ago. And that's all okay with you. You're happy for her. You've got so many more concerns nowadays that you can't be bothered to feel pangs of regret of "what could've been."

Besides, Jennifer was and will always be nice and one of the few people you could consider a friend, but she was no Alison. Nobody ever will be.

All this self-reflection and thoughts about Jennifer's family makes you ponder your own lack of one though. Not so much due to an overwhelming desire to have one, but more of what's going to happen to the Empire after you die?

You've been thinking about that on and off ever since your last brush with death actually. To be quite honest you never really thought about a successor mainly because for a long time you were focused on actually being the Emperor rather than passing the title on. It would be easier of course if you could have children, and then just pass it on that way, but then even if you could, that wouldn't be a guarantee they'd be worthy or show the desire or interest. You were unnaturally molded into the way you were, who is to say how your imaginary children would've turned out even if you attempted to mold them into mirror images of yourself.

That of course just leaves passing the Empire on to someone worthy. You've briefly entertained the idea before and believed that Crowley would potentially be the best candidate. Of course given that he's around your age, he's not likely to live any longer than you are, assuming you die of natural causes which isn't necessarily a given even if you are taking less risks nowadays.

You begin thinking that perhaps you should get some sort of list of the Empire's best and brightest and subject them to a series of tests to see if they're worthy enough to be an apprentice of sorts. Basically what the Emperor did with you except without all the magical alteration and the sadistic svelk taskmasters.

You spend the next few days going over records of various soldiers, Eyes, administrators, technicians, politicians and others, though being a warrior yourself you can't help but be biased toward the military types, but you don't want to overlook anything.

During this time David reports to you that Eldolith is actually in Dalt and demanding an audience. That didn't take long though you're a little surprised she actually showed up in person, you figured she'd send a flunky of some sort.

When you go to meet her she's standing with her personal guard and looking around as if just being in a room full of humans is tainting her svelk "purity."

"Hello Eldy, I'm sure you're anxious to get this over with…"
"Don't address me by a shortened version of my name in an attempt to be condescending, I am Domina Eldolith D'vessa of the Arat Confederacy!"
"Hrm, and I'm sure that sounds very impressive when you tell your subjects in that little nation of yours."
"Yes, a little nation that stood strong against the Xi for years and managed to survive your expansion efforts. A testament that it's the QUALITY of the nation rather than the size."

You chuckle.

"Eldy, the only reason your nation is still around is because I've allowed it and I suggest that YOU do not come here grand standing when you are in no position to do so. We all know you're here to beg for my help with the Xi because they're kicking your ass. Now we can make this as easy OR as humbling as possible. Your choice."

Eldolith gives you a look of absolute burning hatred and is silent. Her personal guards shift uncomfortably and your own soldiers are fondling their rifles looking for an excuse to open fire.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Eldolith remarks.
"Actually not as much as you'd think, mainly because I don't want you here anymore than you want to be here, so how about we get to the point like I originally suggested?"
"Fine, here it is. The Xi are beating on the Confederacy's doors. We've been your buffer zone between them and you. If we fall then you're going to have to face them in full force."
"And? You seem to believe that we aren't going to be able to handle that. Not a very compelling argument Eldy."
"Because you're a short sighted f…" Eldolith stops herself. "What I mean is you haven't let me finish. We have an ancient magic weapon at our disposal that could end this threat completely, but the problem is…(sigh) none of our own mages are powerful enough to tap its full potential. As much as I hate to inflate your ego any more than it is, I believe you magical abilities would be able to. So as you can see, you don't need to marshal armies to our defense or waste any resources. All that is required of you is to get up off your throne for one moment and take a trip to Lenay and we can get started…"

You burst out laughing.

"Oh yes, let me just go walking into a city filled with svelk! That won't be a death sentence at all! You expect me to just trust you at your word? Even if you do have this so called powerful weapon, I still have a hard time believing that there isn't some sort of trick or catch or angle that doesn't involve me dead in some way."
"I thought you were the Emperor? Mr. invincible and fearless? Have you gotten so cow…cautious in your old age that you can't handle being alone?"
"Eldy, if you think this pathetic attempt of character assassination is going to suddenly cause me to behave in some erratic manner and go to Lenay you're sadly mistaken. You never were any good in the art of persuasion. The only way you're going to see me in Lenay is if I'm leading a conquering army through it which given your continued insolence is starting to look more appealing, so who knows maybe you will see me there soon. Now get out of my sight before I put an end to your miserable life before the Xi do!"

"Fuck this, I told her this was futile!" Eldolith exclaims and her personal guards surround her with a magic shield. Bullets from your soldiers are absorbed into the barrier.

"Congratulations, you just made this easier." You say and focus on bringing down the shield, while your soldiers advance with their weapons.
"I think not, a lot of time has passed since I was a mercenary captain and you were an Empire puppet who had not yet cut his master's strings!" Eldolith says and suddenly she floats above her own personal guards followed by a red glow of light from her. Her personal guards at this point all begin screaming in pain. Whatever it is she's doing she's sacrificing her own people to do it. Then a super blast of telekinetic energy repels all of your troops back. You even have a hard time not falling over.

Eldolith casts some sort of spell that literally starts melting your soldiers' weapons. Some manage to drop them before the hot metal scalds them too much. Your own Eye mages lob offensive spells at her, but they aren't penetrating the shield. Some aim for her soldiers, but they aren't moved despite some of them even being on fire. They're already in a living death state anyway.

Eldolith never had any magic abilities, and while its possible she studied and trained herself, but something seems off about all this, not to mention her odd comments.

Just as you bring her shield down, a portal opens up behind you. You have no idea where it's going, but you can feel it pulling you in slightly.

"Time to be reunited!" Eldolith shouts and a red beam of magical energy is thrown in your direction.

[User] You dodge the beam

[Assistant]
If you were twenty years younger and not saddled with countless old wounds that cause your body to react much slower nowadays, you'd probably easily dodge the beam, hell if you were just ten or five years younger even.

However, you aren't and your agility isn't what it used to be. When you attempt to duck and roll out of the way, you just succeed in spraining your back with your sudden move, but that's the least of your concerns when Eldolith's red beam hits you directly in the head. You feel a crushing pressure all around your skull for a moment and then a "pop" sound is heard inside our head before your brain is completely scrambled by an overload of…well whatever the hell Eldolith hit you with. All you know is it hurts a lot in the few moments you're actually conscious to experience the pain.

With your brain fried and blood leaking out of your ears you collapse to the floor.

If Eldolith's goal was to get you into that portal, she's going to have to drag your corpse in there now.


[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] You admit you know nothing about her

[Assistant]
You sigh and nod.

"Yeah, sorry. I don't really know you."

You reply. Unexpectedly, she smiles and nods in response.

"Well, that's to be expected. We only just met after all. Maybe we'll get to know each other better in the future."

Allison says, waving and walking away. You give her a short wave back and then decide to have something for lunch, and to maybe find Ian. After a short search through the cafeteria, you find Ian sitting with a girl, with long black hair, brown eyes, and dressed in a goth outfit. Oddly enough, you recognize her as Olivia, the girl you were talking with in detention yesterday. Noticing you, Ian waves you over to their table.

"Hey man, this here is Olivia."

He says, motioning to Olivia.

"We're both in the chess club together it seems, so I figured I should hang out with her a bit to get to know her better."

Olivia looks at you with a mild expression of surprise while Ian speaks, before scoffing at his remark.

"I have a boyfriend you know."

She states, apparently thinking Ian has an ulterior motive.

"Ah, well of course you do. A cute girl like you is quite the catch."

Ian replies, although you can sense he didn't really expect her to have one. Olivia blushes slightly, but it's unnoticed by Ian.

"That's right, I had forgotten you were in the chess club Ian."

You say, finally sitting down.

"Yep, I'm the best damn chess-inator there is!"

He replies while puffing out his chest with an odd sense of pride. However you don't really doubt he's the best there, as he's always been incredibly smart. You gaze wanders to Olivia, who notices and speaks.

"Just cause I look this way doesn't mean I'm stupid. Girls can be smart too you know."

She says harshly to you, apparently thinking you were judging her ability to play chess based on her goth outfit. You quickly shake your head in response.

"I, wait, I never said you couldn't."

You reply defensively. She turns her head away from you, almost in disgust. Ian looks at the two of you confused.

"Am I missing something here? Do you two got some history or something?"

"No, of course not. We just met yesterday after all. Didn't we Jacob?"

Olivia replies angrily, even more upset now. You go to answer but she quickly speaks again.

"I need to go."

She announces, quickly standing from the table and walking away. The two of you watch as she leaves.Ian shrugs as you turn to him.

"Girls man. Confusing as hell, right?"

He says before taking a drink of his milk in front of him. You nod, but can't help but think there was something more to what Olivia said.


[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 say "We come in, uh, peace?"

[Assistant]
You raise your hands in surrender, though still maintain a defensive composure. "Listen, Katar, I have no interest in fighting you. We can settle this dispute with less blood if you could listen to me."

"I wonder if you gave them," he eyes the corpses in the room, "the same offer."

"They have no authority in the Church, and the only way to make us stop peacefully is to comply with our demands."

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," he smirks, though you feel as if he's telling you to continue.

"You need to let us live alongside you and the other humans in this city, and we promise we won't hurt you unless you persecute us. Simple, right?"

"There is no rest for the wicked." He states, drawing his sword. Well, that didn't help.

David just watches, seemingly sure in your chances and not wanting to get in your way while you fight. You set up a defensive stance, planting your feet to the ground and readying your hands at the sides. He, parallel to you, closes the door behind him, and then raises his sword, pointing it at you. "So, you fear God?"

"Not in yours." You laugh back, maintaining composure. He's trying to get me off-guard, that's what this mad-man wants.

"Then perhaps you find fear in his servants instead, fool. Why else would you not attack me before I ready my blade? Katar slowly approaches you, his long sword only a lunge away from your armored chest.

You don't feel the need to respond, instead focusing on his blade. You remember Kelso mentioning to you that you won't regenerate from silver-caused cuts, making this the most dangerous fight you've been in, yet. You can only hope that after you survive this, you can make sure the Church doesn't have too much silver lying about. They probably have some idea of whether it works or not, otherwise Katar wouldn't have a silver katana.

The aloof Zealot chuckles, "Then this will be an easy fight." He holds his sword with both hands, winds up, and swings it at your midsection, expecting you to duck and die. Thankfully, you saw through the ruse, and sidestep, only to slam the sword with your gauntlet out of Karat's hands. Angrily, he punches at you, sending a gauntleted fist at your nose. You get pushed back, but feel alright after rubbing it with your metal-covered wrist. You send a boot at the man's shins, making his knees bend, giving you perfect reach for swinging at his head. You feel his skull from under his skin after the blow, and the Zealot is pushed several meters away-- right next to his sword! Even though Karat is coughing blood, he gets up, using the sword as a cane.

"COME AT ME, DEMON!" The bearded man yells, raising his word once more.

You shake your head, not falling for it. He angrily charges for you, only to be sucker-punched and knocked out before he could swing.

You stare at the man, then spit. "This pathetic being is the Chief?"

"Second in command, actually. Chief is probably fighting Gideon right now. But really, I don't think you realize how close you were to dying back there."

"Huh?"

David touches at your nose, "I think his gauntlet is partly silver, so I don't think you're nose will fix itself."

Both of you laugh. If the worst thing that happens to us is that we get broken noses, then we're doing pretty good. "So what now?"

"Well, before the rest of the Zealots appear, we should probably try to kill Father Tomas, in the Church. Or, we could clear out this building while we--"

"No, we need to finish our mission. The others will be able to deal with the remaining Zealots, easy."

At that very moment, sirens begin to blare, and red lights beam on-and-off all over the HQ...


[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You run

[Assistant]
You try to run, but Doctor Kessel is faster, sprinting forward and grabbing you. You scream, as a needle enters your neck.

"Don't worry, I'm going to help you sleep for the next few hours. When you wake up, it'll be all over..."

You scream as you begin to feel sleepy, before closing your mouth. Your heavy eyelids close, as the needle presses into your veins, sending you into a deep sleep. Knowing what they're planning to do, you hope you overdose on this rather than waking up...


[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]
You walk through the undergrowth, a rifle leaning against your shoulder that you struggle to keep from dropping. You rush  to keep up with father, who is seemingly oblivious to how fast you're having to walk.

"Come on, boy!" father said, his fingers scratching at his thick black mustache.

As you walked out of the confines of the tight pines, you saw home. The stone and thatch cottage that was to be your home for the next few years, until you became of age to find your own place, stood there in the fields. Overgrown fields lay to the West and South, a trickling stream East and the vast forest you'd been walking to took up the North. Judging from the cart sitting alongside it, Mother and Meredith were already here.

The family was tiny by all accounts. Mother was prone to bouts of sickness, making her womb a barren place for a child to be born. Although they had tried all their life, and continued trying despite even you recognizing the futility of the action, two children was all they'd ever have. It was you and Meredith, the "miracle twins" as the doctor who delivered you liked to say, that would be the only ones that had survived. The number of miscarriages had clearly taken its toll on Mother, who was fond of siting my the fire, staring into it as she said her rosaries. From Father's stories she was a wild and untamed girl as a child, a rebellious soul that Father had been ensnared by. Whoever Father speaks so fondly off, its no longer Mother.

Father still retained some joy, a love of the land and and a love of nature, although the glimmer of excitement in his eyes was becoming rarer and rarer as time passed.

That left Meredith. While father's love of nature and positive nature had been instilled in you when you were younger when Father still held the hope of a large family that Mother had long abandoned, Mother's cold, distant nature took hold of Meredith. She wasn't as bad as mother, but she was a pain to play with and even worse to talk to.

All in all, this turned you into the child you are. Without many friends, you've become quite lonely, but there is a certain peacefulness in nature you just adore. With the birds nesting in the trees singing to you, the hares bounding carefree underfoot among the undergrowth and eyes of a thousand beasts and creatures staring at you, you could never truly be lonely in the woods. You'd do your chores and feel the burden of labor required to survive in such a harsh time, but then, you were free to walk under the protection of the greak oaks and pines and gaze at the glory of nature.

You run down along the fields, hefting the weight of the rifle in your hands as father jogs ahead. Soon, you run up to the porch to find mother and Meredith unpacking. You put your gun in the rack, looking at them.

"What can I do now, father?" you ask.

"Nothing, boy. It's up to mother and Meredith to do the unpacking and prepare the catch, Papa says, pulling off his hunting sack and pulling out two hares, their necks broken. "I'll tell you what. Get the bearings of the forest for me, lad. Scout out for any hare paths or wild fruit growing or deer grazing areas."

"Got it, father," you nod, grabbing your rifle once more and swinging around to walk back outside again.

[User] You head to the woods

[Assistant]
You begin wandering up towards the trees, holding your gun tightly in your hands. Whilst nature is no doubt a sanctuary to your young mind to find tranquility, there's many dangers hidden. You point your rifle, making a loud bang sound as you picture yourself shooting a large grizzly bear like that your grandfather had stuffed in his cabin.

You reach the trees, leaning against a large, thick Oak tree and taking a deep breath, taking in all the scents the forest offers you. Your eyes scan the forest, quickly spotting several points of interest. Among the underbrush you spot a slightly trampled hare path, no doubt leading to wherever's a good spot to graze. There's also the stream, which you could wander along for a fair distance in search of anything worth seeing without getting lost. Finally, there's a large oak tree with lots of strong branches. Perfect for climbing.

[User] You head along the hare path

[Assistant]
You begin following the hare path, trudging along with your rifle in hand. You're far from a good shot, but still the thought of bagging another hare fills your mind. Your eyes flicker along the path for the black eyes of a hare staring back. You hear magpies singing overhead as a few peek from their treetop nests. It's a lovely forest, that's for sure.

Suddenly, you hear something. You quickly turn, dropping to your knee to raise your rifle into a firing position to bag your prey as father always does. You don't, clumsily tripping and hitting yourself in the face with the gun. Still, you're getting better. You push the gun off yourself as your rub your nose, before hopping up to a kneeling position. You stare at where the noise came from. Through the blurred visage of your watery eyes, you see in th distance a pale figure,, sprinting past the trees with unnatural speed. You heft your gun to your shoulder and aim, not knowing whether to fire or not. You don't want to miss a chance to take out a… whatever creature that is, but you're unsure whether that's even a good idea.

[User] You fire

[Assistant] You pull the trigger as the gun bucks in your hands, sending you falling onto your back. You push the gun off you, as you rub your eyes, peeking through the trees. You didn't hit it, you don't think. A quick jog over confirms this. You sigh, strolling back to your gun and hefting it up. You spend another hour searching for any trace of the creature, but find neither sight nor sound of it. With that, you tredge back home.

[User] You head home

[Assistant]
Labor and Duty

You never do see the figure again. You venture out looking for it a few more times, but you never do. You must've frightened it. No bother. As you grow taller, stronger and smarter, father assures you that soon, it'll be time for you to finally leave and get your own home, your own wife, and your own family.

You suppose he's write. It's your duty to God and nation to build a strong family like that which raised you. That's what expected of you, and that's what you'll do.


[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 try your cell phone.

[Assistant]
Just like in the movies.

No signal.

All you can do is go back to the main road or travel further up the gravel road and check out the flashing light.


[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]
It's like the first time you remember Kelso. His hand outstretched, asking him to join you... You shake it firmly.

It's crazy, but you trust him. Like a baby chick to the first thing it sees... It's funny. He's become of a master and more like a father. While he may not have the most moral methods, he still knows way more than you and will help you through it. Besides, the Professor no doubt know your origins, before you kill him you might even get that from him. If you stick with Kelso, that is.

As silence consumes the conversation, you attempt at conversing, "So, the lotion..."

"Sun-tan lotion. It wears off after a small while, but it'll protect you when it counts. Spread it on your face, wouldn't want that to peel all the way off. The hoodie and that is the best things I was able to take."

"So you stole it?"

He shrugs. "Took it. We need to hide, remember? Can't have people know about us and our condition. The soldiers are much stronger when they are in control. Also: the Zealot's armor. It's worth equipping, just need to turn off the flashy-light part."

"And now what?"

"You stop asking questions and let me finish." He eyes you with seeming annoyance. "We'll be finding his stronger Creations that no doubt survived this long. They're a violent lot though, which is why having you will be a big help. I figure one of them will know where the Professor is."

As if reading your mind, he continues, "And we find them by trailing the C.E. Division, which have specific DNA trackers on some of us. Not you or myself, thankfully, but a good deal of the Creations were registered to the government. Government program and all... But anyhow, we're going to town soon. I say we wait at the police station, they should have an outpost there. After hearing where they are, we hitch a ride in one of their vans. Not a very elaborate plan, but it'll probably work."

He stares at you, as if expecting resistance. "Unless you have a better idea?"

"Actually...

[User] You why don't we just signal them?"

[Assistant]
Kelso rubs at his clean chin. "Elaborate."

You hold up the walky-talkie, "If they know where the Professor is, then that means they're either working for him, like you're assuming, or are just planning their vengeance; If we can get a message to them, get their attention--"

"Then the C.E. Soldiers will get to us and them."

"Not unless our signal is obscure, something only a Creation would know. Can I assume that we're the only one who refer to the Professor, as, well, a professor?"

Your mentor smiles, "Yes... That's what the greater Creations called him. Myself, the Werewolf, Stein, and several others. We all were forced under the bastard to look over Lessers, like yourself. One of them are bound to be in this town, has the smallest C.E. division in the East. We just have to hope we'll be able to handle them in the case that they're still loyal. So you want us to send a wide broadcast, maybe even a flare labeled 'Professor', and hope we catch some of our brethren?"

"That," you continue, "or we lure the church to us by contacting them with the Walkie, and just beat the information out of them. By the sounds of it, they'd be expecting a trap, so they wouldn't bring all their operatives to this location. Hopefully they have an idea where the other Creations are. It's not a perfect plan, but it's uh, better than yours. Don't think you can just nab one like you did with the last one, now that they're probably on guard."

Kelso nods, considering both of your plans, "Much better. Regardless, Mr. Plans, we need to train."

"Train, for what?" Crossing your arms as a child would, you question Kelso. "I feel like you're not telling me everything. Even if the plan is solid, but we need to be solid, with, umm, each-other."

With a chuckle, Kelso replies, "What do you think we're doing? We're fighting against an elite military operation, as well as bio-genetically advanced Creations. We're not playing here, son, there's going to be blood. I'm pretty certain that you'll be able to be very powerful if we train accordingly. This may be surprising, but I think you should cherish your undeath while it lasts. Not to mention that I'd rather not jeopardize myself."

"... So the Creations are going to be very hostile?"

He shrugs in return, "Maybe, more likely than not anyhow. We're betting on whether they're still loyal or not to their Creator."

"Why would they still be loyal to that... that bastard?"

"Well, he did save our lives." You stand in silence with a confused frown. Kelso continues. "Mind you, he also treated us like lab rats and played with our genetic-material. That's why we're going to find him and his Creations, to put an end to it once and for all, so no one else is 'saved' by that man." You nod in understanding. Kelso and yourself... You're going to help the world together. Clean it.

A hero...

"The valley of dunes at night is the best place and time. We'll train today and tomorrow, and by then you should be ready. Now, more about that plan of yours..."

[User] You contact the other Creations in any way possible.

[Assistant]
You spend the next several nights preparing for action, training with Kelso. Over the course of your tutoring, you've begun to really fit into your new, adaptable body. You're able to fight, and you're able to think, strategize. Be efficient, be in control. You know you're ready, and you don't need Kelso to convince you of that anymore. You feel like you're ready to pull off one of your plans.

It's night once again, with the Moon full and bright. Kelso is clad in your hoodie, his aged but intimidating features showing out from under it. It didn't seem like his ideal clothes (you could see him rocking a cloak) but when at night a hoodie is probably more practical. You're still garbed in the bulky, but inspiring armor of the Zealot, just with the lights on the outside turned off. You look to your Mentor, who's sitting beside you in the half-buried house. You begin to explain your simplistic, though wishful plan to your mentor.

"This is obviously just an assumption, but if we were able to nick a talkie pretty quick, then any other Creation in the area would probably have one." You begin, eyeing Kelso's facial expression.

Blank. "Sound logic."

You cough, and then continue, "But they wouldn't use the same channel that the Church uses to communicate, I'd assume. So if we fiddle with the channel, go through each one very thoroughly, then-"

"We may find a fellow, nearby Creation. Interesting, though it may not work."

"And if it doesn't work then we can try my other plan." You say arguing for your plans.

"Well, we should get this done quick then. You're likely going to get hungry if you don't drink soon. Couple of days, I think."

You shudder; drinking like you did last time wasn't fun. Even if it was tasty. "So, you think it's worth a shot?"

He nods, "Provided you know what to say to them if they reply."

Thoughts begin to form, though you can admit to yourself that you're not a hundred percent certain on what you could say. Hello, we're looking for the Professor? ... Um, want to tell us where you are? Thanks, please don't kill us when we meet.

You laugh, the situation playing out in your head. "Let's do it then, no reason not to." You grab around and find the Zealot's walkie-talkie, and switch it on...

Click

You immediately memorize where the current dial is set at and then begin to move the dial all the way to the left. You wait for a moment, only hearing static. The dial moves about a millimeter to the right-- just static. One centimeter at a time... To say the least, it gets aggravating. More static, keeps going, and going, and no dice.

[User] You trudge along...

[Assistant]
Every time the dial moves slightly less than a centimeter, you pause for thirty seconds, push the button and recite in monotone, "Hello, are you knowledgeable about the Professor?" Hoping you catch something or get a response. Kelso's eventual chuckles are disconcerting, to say the least, but you focus on the problem at hand. You continue pushing the dial to the right, passing it's original point and beyond. Meanwhile, you're praying to no deity in particular that your plan succeeds. You want to impress Kelso. He's like a father-figure, the first person you saw when your hatched out of your tube. On the other hand, he's a teacher who's withholding information, which gets frustrating at times. You remain conflicted about the only person you have met in your vampiric form.

Suddenly, you hear a response. Short and you can't make out what it's saying, but it's something. You push the button and repeat, "Hello?" You stop pressing.

Lots of static, probably bad reception on their end. A gruff, snarling voice speaks out, "Who's there? What's this about a professor?"

"You know who I'm talking about." You reply, hoping. "The Professor, the one who Created us."

"Then who are you?"

"A fellow Creation, and I want to join forces. The Zealots are too many in number for my liking."

"Do you really... Who's with you?"

You look to Kelso, who brings a finger to his lips. "Just... Just me. Why?"

"Because you're lying." The voice coughs, sending over a truly ugly sound over the transceiver, "But no matter. You wish to join the Wolves then, right?"

"Assuming your group can take care of itself. How many are your group and where are you?"

"Five and growing. You won't find it, it's under the ground."

And growing? "So can you lead me to where you guys are?"

You wait a couple of moments, and then he answers, "Hmm... Nah. We don't need more nutbars in this camp. I'd rather not bring attention to our hideout from the Zealots."

Son of a bitch. "Well, you're missing out, Wolfie."

"I'm sure I am, haha."

You click it off. "Sorry, Kelso, that was pretty pointless."

"Though interesting. It doesn't sound like they're too interested in finding the Professor, rather just survival. Perhaps with a little arm twisting we can get in there..."

"If we find out where they are."

"Well, that's what Plan B is for, right?"

[User] You try to lure a Zealot here, in hopes one of them know where the Wolf hideout is.

[Assistant]
"Err, uh, yeah. Let's try my other plan."

Kelso laughs. "Of course."

"Hey, both of my plans were better than your's." You argue, setting the dial back to where it was. Now that you think about it, you wonder why the Church never went out looking for the Zealot which your mentor killed, and you killed. Perhaps they did, just you and Kelso never noticed it. Or perhaps the Zealots often went out in long journeys without communication.

No matter now, You realize, they'll pick up at the signal. Somebody will.

Excitedly, you fidget for the WT, and grasp it firmly. You clear your throat to speak, but Kelso briefs you.

"Remember, just put the channel on. Listen in and wait for a while, and if nothing turns up then try speaking. But only then."

"Does it matter?"

"It might."

You cough again, then breathe in. Out. In.

You put the dial back to where it was in the first place.

Out. Nothing but static, for now. Minutes go by. You stand at the ready. But all is static. Ten minutes turns to half an hour, though your body doesn't stop tensing. Something is coming.

[User] You try to communicate.

[Assistant]
You push the button on the walkie-talkie, and speak into it. "Hello?"

Moments pass. After several more crackles you get a response. A cool female voice speaks out, "Sebastian? Seargent, is everything alright?" British?

Kelso shoots you a sideways glance. You can almost feel him sending you a message with his eyes. Be creative, you call the shots for now.

You blink. Ahem, "I have spotted some of the err, creations."

"Well of course you have." Matter of fact tone. "We've known where the devils that are the Wolves have been for a while now. We just need to strike them. Which reminds me, we should get back to base."

Perfect. Ish. "No! The, uh, lord helped me and I found others."

"Others? What do you mean?"

"There are other Creations that have escaped aside from the, uh, wolves, and-"

The woman on the other side is excited, "More?"

"Um, only one. That I found, at least. But one is one too many. I uh, need backup."

"Stop stuttering, Sebastian. This is important. Where are you? Now searching it up..." Pause. "Your GPS tracker hasn't been functioning for a couple of days. That's probably why security has tightened around the City. Where the hell are you?"

Shit. "Well, uh, the battery died and, uh, things happened."

"Things? Sebastian, I... Did it take you hostage?"

You've decided you like her voice. "It?"

She lowers her voice, "What is your general location, Sebastian? We'll find you. You'll be safe."

You pause, looking to Kelso for help. To tell the truth, you have no idea where you are. Kelso looks the other way. You sigh, annoyed at him. Maybe he's just a bit offended that your plan was better. Or not.

"I..."

[User] You force the reciever into Kelso's hand.

[Assistant]
Scared to risk stuttering more and screwing things up, you take the WT and make sure Kelso holds it. He looks at you with contempt before speaking into it.

"Indeed." He seethes, his voice threatening and just... Cold. Kelso doesn't even need to try to get his voice that way, it just is, even if it sounds grandfather-like when he scolds you, "I have him. It's amazing how the Church has destroyed what's left of this Earth. Only desert left aside from your little colony and houses buried in sand. But believe me, this 'Sebastian' isn't the first human who I've caught." Kelso pauses, and releases the button to see if she responds.

She doesn't.

He finishes. "And he won't be the last."

Click

And it's off.

"Master, wasn't that too dramatic? We don't want them to send more than we can handle..."

"Kid, you never force a person into a conversation he didn't start. You'd think you'd still remember proper manners. Let's just hope to heaven they don't bring every damn one of the king's men."

---

Kelso and yourself find several mounds to hide behind. There are only several clusters of areas around the big City that have the half-buried houses, which means that the religious troupe will likely find them there, at some point. You keep your sights on the city. Every once in a while you'll see moving lights across the landscape, which are subsequently turned off. Then on. And off again...

"Those are the soldiers." Kelso points out to you. A good deal of them too, and approaching quickly on more than one side. The lights seem to travel in groups. You count... Eight groups of five. You wonder how many you can take, and in turn how much more Kelso could.

"So, what's the plan?"

"We capture one and hightail it out of here. This... Is going to be challenging."

Your mentor stands up, watching the approaching mob of Zealots. Two or three are way off, lighting up the opposite direction, but the rest are surrounding your vicinity, though you're uncertain if that's on purpose or not. Kelso motions you to come closer to him, to listen. "This is where we split up. They're trying to flank us, but that won't work when they're spread out like this. We're, funnily enough, a straight, though long line away from the city. The lights are moving toward us, and with other groups closing in from the two sides; a circle. I go one way, you go the other."

"Like we trained, I hit hared and fast."

He nods. "Let's get to it then. Good luck, kid." He begins jogging to the left. It's when he breaks out into a run when you only begin moving leftwards. For the first time since you escaped the Facility, you're scared. You sprint across the sand with your head down, maintaining balance and stealth even with your heavy armor. You ready yourself, the lights shining brighter and brighter until... You see them. Tall, thick, dark; the words that come to mind. Shining Crosses on ebony metal that covers the entire body, down to the legs. His helmet's visor is like a medieval knight's, only more techy. Not only that, but their rifles are huge, with tusks at the end. You wonder what caliber that behemoth could hold...

Still, you have the element of surprise, if only because you aren't a lightbulb shaped a like freaking cross.

You leap up, letting a gust of wind propel you, making a cross of your own in the night-sky, Your body finds itself right above the ringleader, who dumbly looks up when your feet, disguised as sneakers, land on his  helmet. A heavy clunking sound is made before you hear a snap (his neck), which you use for momentum, jumping at another, this time with your fists. Refined rage, like Kelso taught you.

It was going fine until bullets came into the picture. After the second clunk the last three of the group turn and point their bayonets-on-crack rifles at you. What comes out isn't a bullet, more like... Lightning?

It bursts out at you with a mighty roar, and you feel your skin ripping, only to regenerate. Three more blasts, you make another swipe, hitting viciously through the armor of one, finishing him off with blood. Three (who were shooting at you) to go.

They reload, which thankfully takes enough time. One of them doesn't bother, however, and stick the tusks of his rifle into you. Some of your blood spills, and even more of his bursts out when you push his rifle from inside you to inside of him, his armor nothing when your rage takes over. With blood squirting into your eyes, the rest are easy work. You claw at the armored figures, their lightning-shots hurting you but not overcoming you until... You're done. Five of them were killed, and you don't even remember how the last one went down. You lay on the sand, too stunned to move.

More of the Crosses come over to belt you over the head with what must be a bible, because damn was it heavy.

---

Even more bright lights (a recurring theme, you tell yourself), and you find yourself strapped onto a chair. The room is all blue, but your chair is white. For whatever reason, the colors seem pleasant, and calming to you. You wonder what happened to Kelso...

A powerful voice speaks out, "Who are you?"

[User] You reply truthfully.

[Assistant]
"I honestly don't know." You reply to the voice, "But who are you?"

The blue room begins to make funny, scratching noises. Then, the sound of clinking; gears shifting, and a part of the room turns backwards, revealing an opening. Out of it, and elderly man with a flowing white beard, skullcap and robe comes out. "My apologies," His gravely, but strong voice speaks out, "I am the founder of the Church and retired Zealot." As he says this, a hatch in the floor is cranked open, allowing space for an odd chair to form out. "May I take a seat?"

You lick your lips. Still some blood on them, you would have thought the assholes be kind enough to wash you, but apparently not. Seeing you not respond, the Father takes a seat. "So," He begins, "You don't remember... Anything? How have you been surviving alone? You're young."

You nod. "No. I woke up when your 'Zealots' destroyed teh Facility. I'm lucky I made it out alive, with your dogs burning it down. I had a mentor, though you likely got him as well..."

"There are two unlisted Creations? Fascinating." He strokes his beard, "The burning of the facility was necessary. Not that you'd know, you're in the dark, I believe."

You find this funny, though not untrue. "And you're about to enlighten me?"

Tomas nods, "Then end your suffering, through any means necessary."

"So I'm going to die by the end of this?"

"Of course. Though there's always the option of cooperating. Even the saints needed the devils to do their bidding. Sometimes." He smiles.

"I'm not some sort of 'devil'." You reply, bewildered, "Why do you suppose that?"

"You like stories, yes? Because there is a necessary one here, one that you probably never heard of."

Head shaking, you motion for him to carry on.

"For being such a good sport, I'll cut out the dramatic parts and just get to the real 'beef'" He states, his eyes trained on yours. He coughs, spewing out dots of mucus in your direction, then does it again. WIth his throat now cleared, Father Tomas begins his tale.

"The world two decades ago was a much different place. Lush greens were the equivalent of sand today; everywhere you looked, there was grass. Huge cities, several miles in circumference, were common place. Buildings reaching the clouds and mods of transport like griffons, soaring high above. Religion, ironically, was considerably less widespread, and it continued to dwindle as so-called 'science' led many astray. As evil was legalized, sodomy and murder-rates soon became more and more consistent and the government fell to anarchy as horrible diseases began to spread. Militant radicals spread throughout the globe, raping and pillaging. At the time, to those who were looking, it was obvious that this was God's Reckoning; his flood to bring about a New Age. That's where Simon Kurschner's Creations came into play. With government support, he tried to find a way to get out of the apocalypse, not realizing it was God's will, it couldn't be stopped. But he tried, and he received the funding to do whatever he wanted, with hopes of stopping the plague, and creating beings who could stop the barbarians. He took the dead and dying, experimenting on them and trying to create slaves. There is no doubt in my mind he did things that weren't legal, but that didn't matter to them. As long as he saved us, he could go against the Lord's will, using humans as guinea pigs, and secretly trying to make for himself perfect slaves. Kurschner created many different sorts of entities, and for the next several years he was a beacon of hope for the non-believers. But we, the Church, we knew what was coming. The Creations were immune to disease, and had a fighting prowess unmatched by the strongest armies in the world. One Creation could destroy hundreds of Radicals with minimal effort, and it seemed like this would fix everything, but hell on Earth stayed. Even after the threats were stopped, the Creations and their Leader wanted more. They began to kill indiscriminately, with an attempt to rule the world."

He takes a deep breath, trying to remember, "As God decreed, the Earth began to decay in the demons' wake. While Doctor Kurschner ruled his legions from hell, a few of us banded together. The Church was the new Ark; we banded together to maintain what's left of humanity. IT was hard, but we suceeded, with several towns in the Northern United States. But the demons still linger, and it is our duty to destroy what God intended to not let live.

"Because that's is what you are!" He raises his voice, shaking his fists angrily at your helpless self on the chair, "You were supposed to stay dead, like the rest of the infected. But you were given life, and now are doomed to live a cursed life because of that Doctor. That is why the Church will destroy all the Creations that are still roaming the Earth."

"But they're still human!" You interrupt, pointing to yourself, "I'm still human."

The Priest continues, as if not hearing you, "However... It isn't your fault. Perhaps that's why I'm giving you this chance, a chance at a redemption, of sorts. After the men you've killed, there is nothing I can do to save your unlife, but perhaps you can still find favor with the Lord... Undercover."

[User] You hear him out.

[Assistant]
His story is... Interesting, to say the least. So Simon Kurschner is the Professor's actual name.

"So what do you want from me?" You ask, uncertain of yourself. Who is my main enemy? The Professor or the Church? Both? Is the Professor even still alive?

The Father nods, "We need you to lead us to the other Creations, so we can finish them once and for all. You are the last of the Vampires, and you can most likely help our charge on the Wolves. As I said, the Creations are very powerful. Having one on our side could be a huge help."

You smirk back at him, "Why though? It's not like you've given me any sort of ambition to help you wackos."

"Well, I thought life was good objective." He shrugs, bringing his hand close to the opening of his robes.

"You think I'd sell out my fellow Creations just for myself?"

"I'd be surprised if you cared for them-- you don't even remember them! You have no connection to this world anymore." He grimaces, taking a knobby finger and waving it at your chest. "The only thing that may be left is your heart, and even that is subject to debate. Will you side with us, the humans, or die here. The choice is yours. Light and Darkness, that is your only option here!"

Light and Darkness, but is it really that simple?

[User] You redeem yourself in the eyes of God.

[Assistant]
"Very good." The old man grins, "Your training shall commence soon enough. Now, you will be fed every once in a while, we have some animals out back that you can feast from, if you want. But you certainly won't be getting human blood, haha."

Regardless of your reasons for accepting the devil's bargain, you can't help but find him horribly irritating currently. You sigh, realizing that the only thing you can look forward to this week is the blandly colored room and the sneering priest. "Goodbye, then, Vampire of the Light."

The priest happily shuffles away into the clinking gear-based doors, and your mind wanders...

Days pass, and you'd be lying if you said that you weren't surprised that the withered old geezer wasn't mentoring you himself. Of course, this makes sense-- the rest of the Church would probably lynch him if he declared you 'AOK', but it's more surprising how spry the man is. He spends the next few days teaching you boring protocol, not-as-boring use of standardized C.E. weaponry, and a quick, refined crash-course through some-sort of martial art. Surprisingly, he doesn't bother you with the gospel of the Zealots, but you're too busy working on yourself in order to reflect on that.

Within a week, he manages to transform you into what he thinks is a Creation killing machine. And it's then when he reveals the plan you were already somewhat familiar with. "It is necessary that we raid the Wolf hideout, and completely eliminate the Wolf threat once and for all, when they least expect it. We have found their coordinates, finally," he hands you a tablet, showing a mapping of the surrounding desert, "And can now make sure they can no longer harm themselves or anyone else anymore. So, Vampire-Of-Light, do you think you're ready to take on the Demons, as is your holy mission?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

He grins, then outfits you with standard Zealot equipment; armor, rifle, and various gadgets used for communication.

"Now just wait here while I get the rest of the Zealots ready. Tonight, you will banish the evil in our own backyards! Godspeed, soldier." With that, he leaves, finally leaving you alone.

Ah, the open air and the cold night sky. Beautiful in many ways, and-- wait, I'm outside! I can run away from this place! I can't believe they're letting me out unsupervised like this...

[User] You run away, you must inform your brethren of the Church's plans before you're too late!

[Assistant]
You slowly begin making your way up and to the right-side, in the direction of the Wolves' actual hideout. What starts off as a slow walk turns into full-blown running on the cool desert sand. You breathe in the air, and then out. Despite the recent turn of events, you feel absolutely wonderful; though that feeling is soon changed into a horrific one. You suddenly sense your body being pulled back by some sort of shocking force, and then your bleary eyes only make out another cool-blue room.

Difference is, there are several others in the room, all in masks. You try to move, but your entire body seems to be restrained by a cold metal, and your face is covered by some sort of hazy mask and...

Is that a scalpel!?!?

The Father's voice rings out, "See, the funny thing is, you never really had a choice in helping us. In the end, God always opens up ways for his sheep to wander, and always closes the gates on the bad wolves. I had plans to make use of you regardless of whether you actually meant repentance."

Though it's a slow and dull process, you feel your life-energy slowly being sucked out. Even if you could probably survive much longer, you slowly realize that survival is what they want, so they could continue examining your body and organs for whatever purposes and rituals the Zealots want. Soon, your spirit leaves your body, and you feel yourself die on the hospital bed.

You have been killed by the hands of the Church.


[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 respect her wishes

[Assistant]
You didn't very well expect everything to go your way on your very first day of acting like a real person did you? Part of being a "good guy" is not necessarily expecting a "reward" for things you've done. Fortunately even with your low social skills you've realized this fact.

You tell Jessica how you can't wait to see her tomorrow, and how you'll take her on a real date after school. She says she looks forward to it and kisses you goodnight before you leave.

As you sneak back into your house, you think about how much you've changed in one day. For the most part you stood up against things you saw as unjust, yet you still recognized you have to have your own life as well. You'll still have to put up with your Mom's domineering personality and your sister is still a party animal, but you can't change people overnight, let alone the world. All you can do is TRY to do the right thing and hope everything works out for the best.

And so far it looks like it's working out for you. Small victories will lead to bigger ones eventually, you know it will.

Another day arrives and you feel hopeful...