Milo never thought a tarot card could have so much power. On what should have been a routine trip through the badlands turned into a catastrophe. The sinister Errings Rising mage, Milo Hierophant, had fallen victim to a card titled The Fool. How ironic, he rambled, and blankly eyed the door before him. It contained the numeral XXI, and to Milo’s understanding, that number corresponded to a card titled ‘The World.’ For a minute, Milo stood unphased, and fixed his hair into a style that wouldn’t molest his face and block his vision. He rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles, and approached the door with calm swagger.
As he neared, a childish, whiny voice murmured to him: "You are now trapped in my little fun house. Try to escape if you dare. Behind each of my little doors in a fun little arena that you can fight my brothers and sisters in. Hopefully you die, because that would be very fun for me! Now then, turn the knob or I will kill you here and now. Please, just make this fun for me!"
Milo rolled his eyes and tried to sense anything beyond the door, to no avail. He frowned and put on his usual scowl, then twisted the knob with telekinesis. Spinning on weak hinges, the door opened with ease into darkness, but as soon as Milo stepped through, it lit up with frightening power. The door shut behind him and disappeared, and Milo grit his teeth in frustration. The jungle laid out before him was immediately humid and sweltering, and the mage broke into a profuse sweat upon entry. His feet felt much lighter, and magic more accessible in this room. He sensed a massive creature nearby, that had spotted him long before Milo was aware. A monster, comprised of stone and moss and wood, with vacant eyes and a toothless mouth, swung from the trees and crashed into the mage. Milo summoned a hurricane of invisible force to redirect the blow, though a malstrom of splinters scraped his face.
The mage bounded off a boulder and somersaulted, gaining his footing in flight. Though, the boulder underfoot sprang up with him and chased him, not ceasing until Milo cut it in half with the Moonrock Sickle. Vines whipped at him from every direction, only to burn up upon touching him. The beast had disappeared, but the world around him was unrelenting. A torrent of water spiraled into the air and formed a face, as well as a tower of stone that sent spikes flying in his direction. The trees swayed and came to life, bending in unnatural ways. The land itself seemed to roar, and Milo was nearly overwhelmed by the sound.
Instead, Milo sheathed his sickle and accumulated a ball of light in his hand, causing the world to ripple before him. The orb grew exponentially in size and temperature, until Milo tossed it into the sky. A ring of fire exploded and singed the trees, falling them immediately. The torrent of water briefly evaporated, but returned as a violent cyclone. Milo examined the ashen battlefield, and took note of the already recovering sprouts. The elements had all formed into coherent creatures now; all representative of the first creature Milo met, but smaller in comparison.
“This will b-b-be fun,” Milo taunted, and casted the Ultimate Unison. A light, more blinding than a white star, began to form in his chest, and took over his entire body. Steam and raw magical power rolled off his body, enhanced by the Sun Summoning spell to an extent beyond comparison. He walked across the barren earth, setting fire with each step, and approached the aquatic beast first. Intense blasts of cold water turned to steam upon contact with Milo’s body, but the sheer force sent him flying away. He recovered quickly and flew at the beast, all the while avoiding the rocky spears flying his way. The Starman soared across the battlefield and struck the water beast with a steaming fist, and summoned the Abyss Eater. With his fist buried inside the creature’s aquatic body, light rapidly escaped and exploded, disposing of the aquatic monster with flashy ease. The force of the blast sent rocky pellets ricocheting every which way, and Milo then stared up at the final stone foe, and charged up chaotic energy within himself.
“Calamity Beam!” He growled, and a translucent ray of light erupted before him, chasing after the stone beast and refracting off its projectiles. Miniature beams bounced off the walls of the enclosure until the field was encased in light, and an eruption of magical energy shook the land. A majority of the field was now covered in glass of all colors. Grassy green glass was painted around him, and ashy black obsidian sprawled across the ground. The grey stone as well was all but petrified now. The ground let out another weak roar, and a crevasse opened up in the ground.
Milo sighed and disengaged the Ultimate Unison, facing the foe with only the power of the Sun Summon and his wits. He unsheathed his crescent shaped blade and awaited what he hoped was the final enemy. From the crevasse emerged a hellish creature, one larger than the former and composed of black wood and magma. Milo felt his hair falling in front of his forehead again, and took a moment to tuck it behind his ear. He raced towards the beast and touched it; only slightly hotter than he was. He then bounced off and stood a fair distance from the monster. A crystallized hand print left behind on the creature’s front. Milo chuckled and evaded the coming strike. The creature slammed its fist right next to Milo, causing a cloud of glassy dust to float in the air. Milo struck the creature with his palm and the Touch of the Stars, causing a heavy crystal to partially encase the monster’s arm. Raising the Moonrock Sickle in the air, Milo cut the beast’s crystal arm from its torso. It wailed in agony before collapsing, but Milo could feel he was not done.
The creature formed a new arm from red hot magma, and Milo could swear it was almost human for a minute. The beast was melting the ground to heal itself, but Milo could sense another presence within the enclosure, buried deep within. His sun was diminishing now, turning into a dwarf star, and Milo could feel its strength slipping away. The young mage still had enough sugar in the tank to finish the battle, and was beginning to sense a solution. He pulled the beast close to him with telekinesis and roundhouse kicked it, causing a spiral of crystal to erupt from its face like a volcano. It collapsed under its own weight, and Milo laughed at the sight, then proceeded to stand atop its flailing body. He lifted his heel and struck downward again, causing crystal to spill out in every direction. The beast’s arms lifted and fell each time he struck, and eventually the heat became too much for the mage, and he found his pant cuffs burnt up to his knees. He leapt off and carried the beast into the air with his telekinesis, only to drop it and let the crystal around it shatter.
It weakly grunted before casting a last minute whip of lava at Milo, striking the mage in the side and burning through his clothes. Milo kissed his teeth and cast Adam’s Light to entrap the beast semi-permanently. He then made his way over to the crevasse formed by the beast and peered below. It seemed endless, with magma and metal spires jutting from every corner. Milo could sense a presence far down below, and leapt down.
[1294/14,000]
As he neared, a childish, whiny voice murmured to him: "You are now trapped in my little fun house. Try to escape if you dare. Behind each of my little doors in a fun little arena that you can fight my brothers and sisters in. Hopefully you die, because that would be very fun for me! Now then, turn the knob or I will kill you here and now. Please, just make this fun for me!"
Milo rolled his eyes and tried to sense anything beyond the door, to no avail. He frowned and put on his usual scowl, then twisted the knob with telekinesis. Spinning on weak hinges, the door opened with ease into darkness, but as soon as Milo stepped through, it lit up with frightening power. The door shut behind him and disappeared, and Milo grit his teeth in frustration. The jungle laid out before him was immediately humid and sweltering, and the mage broke into a profuse sweat upon entry. His feet felt much lighter, and magic more accessible in this room. He sensed a massive creature nearby, that had spotted him long before Milo was aware. A monster, comprised of stone and moss and wood, with vacant eyes and a toothless mouth, swung from the trees and crashed into the mage. Milo summoned a hurricane of invisible force to redirect the blow, though a malstrom of splinters scraped his face.
The mage bounded off a boulder and somersaulted, gaining his footing in flight. Though, the boulder underfoot sprang up with him and chased him, not ceasing until Milo cut it in half with the Moonrock Sickle. Vines whipped at him from every direction, only to burn up upon touching him. The beast had disappeared, but the world around him was unrelenting. A torrent of water spiraled into the air and formed a face, as well as a tower of stone that sent spikes flying in his direction. The trees swayed and came to life, bending in unnatural ways. The land itself seemed to roar, and Milo was nearly overwhelmed by the sound.
Instead, Milo sheathed his sickle and accumulated a ball of light in his hand, causing the world to ripple before him. The orb grew exponentially in size and temperature, until Milo tossed it into the sky. A ring of fire exploded and singed the trees, falling them immediately. The torrent of water briefly evaporated, but returned as a violent cyclone. Milo examined the ashen battlefield, and took note of the already recovering sprouts. The elements had all formed into coherent creatures now; all representative of the first creature Milo met, but smaller in comparison.
“This will b-b-be fun,” Milo taunted, and casted the Ultimate Unison. A light, more blinding than a white star, began to form in his chest, and took over his entire body. Steam and raw magical power rolled off his body, enhanced by the Sun Summoning spell to an extent beyond comparison. He walked across the barren earth, setting fire with each step, and approached the aquatic beast first. Intense blasts of cold water turned to steam upon contact with Milo’s body, but the sheer force sent him flying away. He recovered quickly and flew at the beast, all the while avoiding the rocky spears flying his way. The Starman soared across the battlefield and struck the water beast with a steaming fist, and summoned the Abyss Eater. With his fist buried inside the creature’s aquatic body, light rapidly escaped and exploded, disposing of the aquatic monster with flashy ease. The force of the blast sent rocky pellets ricocheting every which way, and Milo then stared up at the final stone foe, and charged up chaotic energy within himself.
“Calamity Beam!” He growled, and a translucent ray of light erupted before him, chasing after the stone beast and refracting off its projectiles. Miniature beams bounced off the walls of the enclosure until the field was encased in light, and an eruption of magical energy shook the land. A majority of the field was now covered in glass of all colors. Grassy green glass was painted around him, and ashy black obsidian sprawled across the ground. The grey stone as well was all but petrified now. The ground let out another weak roar, and a crevasse opened up in the ground.
Milo sighed and disengaged the Ultimate Unison, facing the foe with only the power of the Sun Summon and his wits. He unsheathed his crescent shaped blade and awaited what he hoped was the final enemy. From the crevasse emerged a hellish creature, one larger than the former and composed of black wood and magma. Milo felt his hair falling in front of his forehead again, and took a moment to tuck it behind his ear. He raced towards the beast and touched it; only slightly hotter than he was. He then bounced off and stood a fair distance from the monster. A crystallized hand print left behind on the creature’s front. Milo chuckled and evaded the coming strike. The creature slammed its fist right next to Milo, causing a cloud of glassy dust to float in the air. Milo struck the creature with his palm and the Touch of the Stars, causing a heavy crystal to partially encase the monster’s arm. Raising the Moonrock Sickle in the air, Milo cut the beast’s crystal arm from its torso. It wailed in agony before collapsing, but Milo could feel he was not done.
The creature formed a new arm from red hot magma, and Milo could swear it was almost human for a minute. The beast was melting the ground to heal itself, but Milo could sense another presence within the enclosure, buried deep within. His sun was diminishing now, turning into a dwarf star, and Milo could feel its strength slipping away. The young mage still had enough sugar in the tank to finish the battle, and was beginning to sense a solution. He pulled the beast close to him with telekinesis and roundhouse kicked it, causing a spiral of crystal to erupt from its face like a volcano. It collapsed under its own weight, and Milo laughed at the sight, then proceeded to stand atop its flailing body. He lifted his heel and struck downward again, causing crystal to spill out in every direction. The beast’s arms lifted and fell each time he struck, and eventually the heat became too much for the mage, and he found his pant cuffs burnt up to his knees. He leapt off and carried the beast into the air with his telekinesis, only to drop it and let the crystal around it shatter.
It weakly grunted before casting a last minute whip of lava at Milo, striking the mage in the side and burning through his clothes. Milo kissed his teeth and cast Adam’s Light to entrap the beast semi-permanently. He then made his way over to the crevasse formed by the beast and peered below. It seemed endless, with magma and metal spires jutting from every corner. Milo could sense a presence far down below, and leapt down.
[1294/14,000]
