Prologue:
It was a dark and stormy night, which was rather usual for a place like the shadow realms. The shadow realms, was a place of death and destruction. The underking ruled over there, ensuring there would be pure chaos all over the kingdom. Usually, whoever decided to explore the shadow realms never was seen again. However, one young man, was intent on proving the exact opposite. Let's call him CN, shall we?
CN was an adventurer and explorer, and today he was very determined to find out what was so mysterious about the shadowlands, and why no one who ever went there came back out.
He was currently exploring the dungeons, very careful not to disturb or interrupt anything. Eventually, he somehow stumbled upon the orb. The orb was the very thing that kept the shadow realms functioning, but of course he didnt know that.
What is this thing, so full of power, and yet so corrupted? CN wondered.
However, in doing so, he accidentally dropped his guard, which you should never do and can lead to immediate death.
Behind his back, he felt his shoulder twist, and someone grabbed him and slammed him into a wall from behind in a blink of an eye. Before he could even react, the person pulled his shadow knife, and slit him across the stomach.
M-my lord, CN said telepathically to HT
Yes, CN?
Te-Tell them, tha-that I failed.
Chapter one:
"Move over, Move over," said Toxic, supreme commander of the official KOTL army.
He was inspecting and training the army. As supreme commander, it was his job to make sure the KOTL army was in their top shape for the war up ahead. Compared to the Underking's army, his seemed puny. However, what the KOTL army lacked in number, they compensated for brute strength and strategy.
"Yessir," The soldier replied.
"ATTENTION EVERYBODY, QUIET DOWN PLEASE," Came HT's voice through a microphone.
What's this all about? Toxic wondered.
"May I please have the names of these tributes. Toxic. Pin. Noobiest. Louis. Gautham. Cbc. Pug. Austin. Extreme. And FST. If you are any of these people, please report to me immediately."
This couldn't in any way be related to CN, could it...?
As Toxic was wondering, he accidentally bumped into Pin, an old friend of his.
"Why hello there, Pin!" Toxic greeted his old friend. Pin returned the greeting with a sly smile, as if he knew something Toxic didn't.
"I waas wondering, do you think HT's sudden announcement could be related to CN in any way?"
"Hmm, There is a chance that's why HT requested us. As unlikely as it sounds, there is a chance CN might have been captured. It's probably wise not to discard that possibility, or any other ones."
"Very well, I was thinking the same way," Toxic replied
Pretty soon, they reached HT's kingdom. HT's kingdom was a thing of wonder, and it was rumoured to be almost invincible. Almost. Nothing could really be truly invincible, but HT's kingdom was as close as it came.
"State your identities, please," Said the guards stationed at the entry of the kingdom.
"I'm Toxic, supreme commander of the official KOTL army, and this is my friend Pin. He's the co-owner of HT's palace and the one responsible for our defenses," Toxic replied
"I believe HT requested for us?" Pin asked
"Very well."
The guards granted access to HT's kingdom, and Toxic and Pin easily teleported to the stronghold, where most of the meetings were held. When they got there, they found out that everybody else was already there.
"Welcome, fellow kotlers. Now that Toxic and Pin are here, I believe we can start our meeting," HT said.
"Unfortunately, as sad as I am to say this, one of our fellow KOTLERS, who goes by the name of CN, has been captured."
"What???"
Almost as soon as HT had said that, chaos had immediately broken. CN was an important kotler, and the loss of him was very costly. He was also one of the best explorers out there, and almost nothing could hold him back.
"Calm down everybody, I said he was captured, not killed. I believe there is still a chance that he might be alive. I suspect the underking wants to interrogate him for useful information."
"So how do we rescue him?" One of the kotlers asked.
"Hang on, I'm getting to that part. We'll have to hold a stealth mission if we want to have a chance of rescuing him. I believe Toxic and Pin would be the most qualified for this mission."
"But if I go, then who'l do our jobs?" Pin asked
"Don't worry, I have that part covered," HT replied.
"And what about the rest of us?" Extreme, another kotler asked.
"I'm getting to that part. All of you know what the infinity stones are, right?
All of them replied yes. The infinity stones were the stuff of legend. Each one of them held control over a specific element. The first one held control between life and death, the second held control between reality etc. Separately, they wielded considerable power. Together, they wielded almost unlimited power. However, the catch was that they could only be wielded once. After that, they disintegrated and simply vanished.
"I believe we have finally tracked the locations of each stone. The hard part will be getting to each stone and beating the shadow realms though. While Toxic and Pin are away to rescue CN, I'm thinking we each go to duos. Any thoughts?"
"I'l go with Cbc," Gautham replied
"I'l go with Noobiest," Louis volunteered
"I think me and pug would be a match," Said Austin
"I guess that leaves me with FST," Extreme signed
"Very well. If you guys fail, then the entire world will be in danger. Good luck!"
Chapter two:
"What do you want with me?" CN growled as he was brought forward to the underking.
"Now, now. Let's not be so hasty, shall we?" The underking replied, "I might have brought you here for many reasons. Maybe I want to interrogate you, or maybe I simply want to see the terror in your eyes before I slowly kill you. Who knows, I suppose."
Hmm, I suppose he has his reasons, CN thought. If I cooperate with him, then the entire universe will be in danger, but if I don't, then there's a chance that I'll probably die. I wonder what that orb was, though...
"I'l give you a chance CN. If you answer whatever questions I have, then I'll let you go."
"What's the catch?"
"If you don't, then I'll grant you a slow and agonizing death, of course," The underking grinned.
There's no way he'll let me go just because I answer all his questions. It has to be a bluff of some sort.
"First question, exactly where were you doing in my kingdom? Beware, I can see through your lies."
"Hmm, I suppose I was exploring your dungeons and seeing whatever there was to see. I have to say, the dungeons looked very gloomy, and they also looked like they hadn't hosted prisoners in a loooong time. In fact, I didn't even see any-"
"Stop stalling for time, CN. I know exactly what you're doing," The underking replied, "Second question. Exactly, where are the infinity stones?"
AHA! So he doesn't know the location of the infinity stones. This will let HT's kingdom a HUGE head start on the stones. Little did he know that the underking was bluffing...
"Well, if you don't know, then how am I supposed to know? I dont know anything about the infinity stones."
"Nice try, CN. I'll give you one more chance. Exactly, where are the infinity stones?"
Ahh, so the underking saw through my bluff. I suppose there's only one more thing left to do...
"I'd rather die than tell you," CN replied
"Very well, let's put that to the test, shall we?" The underking grinned evilly, "GUARDS! Take him to the dungeons!"
Good luck getting all the info out of me, CN thought
"Oh, and I can sense your thoughts. Just thought of saying that!"
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Cbc and Gautham immediately arrived at the desert. The desert was a vast plain, with lots of sand venomous animals.
"How the hell are we going to find an infinity stone???" Gautham wondered, "The desert is so large and vast, there must be some sort of hidden spot, and there are probably thousands of them hidden in plain sight."
"Hmm, I suppose you're right. How bout this, we fly at top speed and each covers half of the desert. If any of us finds anything suspicious, we immediately contact each other, and if that doesn't work then we relocate at... Let's say right here," Cbc replied.
Hmm, I suppose it might work. Sounds legit, Gautham thought.
"Aight, I'l cover the northern part while you cover the southern part."
"Okay, sure I guess."
A few minutes later, Gautham immediately noticed something sus.
Wait a minute, why does it smell like darkness has been here before. And are those footprints...?
Cbc, I think I found where the infinity stone is hidden, said Gautham telepathically to Cbc.
"Alr, where? I'm coming to you."
Gautham gave cbc his location, and a moment later Cbc immediately teleported to him.
"See those footprints leading to a cactus? And notice the smell of darkness, like an infinity stone has been here? I think we found our jackpot."
"Hmm, it looks like there might be a few hidden traps around the area. I think you're right though," Cbc replied
Somehow, Gautham managed to trigger three of the traps as soon as he moved. Plasma beams of death, an enchanted net, and five bolts of lightning were all fired at him in an attosecond. Luckily, he easily dodged the plasma beams and bolts of lightning, but Cbc took care of the net.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say these traps are motion-detected," Cbc said
"If that's true, then how are we even supposed to reach the stone?" Gautham asked
"I guess we'll just have to use our fast reflexes," Cbc replied
"Very well."
Gautham and Cbc immediately teleported to the center of the darkness, where all of the traps were fired at them. They both immediately deflected and dodged all the traps, but somehow one of the traps caught gautham, immediately electrifying him."
"Are you okay?" Cbc asked
"Yeah, I think I'm fine. The electricity did zap a bit of my strength though. I have to admit, these traps are top-noch though."
After a few minutes of digging, they felt something stone-cold and hard.
"Hey, I think I found something!" Gautham said
"Me too, I think it might be a trapdoor of some sort."
A few more minutes later, they both discovered it was a hatch that immediately opened, revealing a bunch of stairs.
"I guess whoever created this abomination WANTS us to enter."
"If that's the case, then I don't see why not."
As soon as they both reached the bottom, the hatch immediately closed.
"Woahhh, it looks like..." Cbc gasped
"A labyrinth" Someone said behind both of them before Gautham had a chance to react.
Dun Duun Duuuun
Chapter 3:
"Careful," Pin said as Toxic summoned a katana out of thin air, "It's better not to waste any more mana than we have to."
In case you were wondering, mana is the source of your magical power. The more mana you have, the stronger you have. Mana allow's you to do stuff like summoning a sword out of thin air or reacting in the blink of an eye. However, there is a limited source of mana in everyone, and if you use up all of your mana then you'l be completely exhausted, and you wont be able to do a single thing until your mana fully manage's to recharge.
"Yessir," Toxic replied.
Both Toxic and Pin were instantly teleported as soon as HT declared that they both would be the best duo to rescue CN. Both of them were currently disguised as creatures of the dark in the village surrounding the kingdom.
Hmm, why do I feel like someone is following us... Pin wondered. He glanced behind his shoulder instinctively, but of course, no one was there
"Are you oka-" Toxic asked, but he was suddenly interrupted by multiple shurikens all thrown at him and Pin. They both easily dodged and deflected all the shurikens
"Child's play, I've been doing this ever since I was a kid," Pin said with a gleam in his eye.
"It's better to show yourself, than to hide like a coward," Toxic agreed
"Very well," came a voice out of the shadows. Suddenly, there was a young man looking about 18 or 19. Of course, in the KOTL multiverse, age didn't really matter, but whatever.
"I have many different names, but the one I prefer to go by is Angel," He said.
Toxic threw his katana at this guy, but the katana somehow passed through him harmlessly.
"Fool! Only weapons of darkness can kill me!"
"Hmmm, I suppose we will have to craft one," Pin mused, "But of course, weapons of darkness such as a phantom dagger or the unforgiving blade are extremely rare..."
However, what neither of them knew was that as co-owner of HT's kingdom, he could easily summon any weapon from the armory he wanted. Being co-owner had it's advantage after all, doesnt it
Toxic, give me a sec. You go distract him, while I'l take care of him.
Okay, sounds legit. Toxic replied
Toxic summoned his preferred weapon, a chainsaw plasmasaber, and immediately went on the offensive. Angel summoned his gauntlets and immediately went on the offensive.
"If I can't kill you, then I suppose the best I can do is injure or harm you," Toxic whispered as the two passed each other in a blur of speed.
Alright Pin, I've distracted this guy. Now go take care of him.
Very well. Thanks Toxic, you gave me just the time I needed.
Angel immediately punched Toxic with his gauntlets, and he slammed into a wall. Of course, he wasn't injured. In fact, he was far from being injured, but it gave Angel just the distraction he needed.
"Come on Toxic, I thought you knew better than to be distracted in a fight-"
"I wouldn't talk if I were you," Pin whispered in Angel's right ear as he stabbed him in the back.
"Yo-you wouldn't d-are," Angel gasped as he struggled his breath. It didn't matter anyway, as he disentigrated to dust within the moonlight.
"Wow, that was harder than I expected!" Toxic said
"Indeed, I suspect we will have to be more on guard if we want to have a decent chance of rescuing CN," Pin replied
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"What are you doing?" Ry asked HT he followed him.
"Pretty much nothing," HT replied. As Ry was responsible for the kingdom's defenses, HT had asked him to select soldiers he thought were strong enough and give them jobs to secure the kingdom's defenses.
Why do I feel like something bad will happen... HT wondered. He had decided to consult the oracle in his kindgom as reassurance.
"Come on, let's go!" HT said.
"Yessir," Ry immediately replied.
They both were teleported to the Oracle's private chamber.
"Uhh, what are we doing here?" Ry asked HT
"This, is the Oracle's private chamber," HT revealed drammatically to Ry, "I just have to check something."
Suddenly, the Oracle immediately turned to face HT, and a white orb suddenly appeared in her lap. The oracle glanced straight at HT, and began to recite the prophecy.
"When the tower shall fall, only then will the dark sun rise. The hidden raven in your midst, will be the case of your demise. The forgotten dance, led by an innocent child, would break the chains of night. And only then, shall you realize the importance of light."
The oracle immediately collapsed after reciting the prophecy, and the white orb stayed still with the writing of the prophecy.
"Oh, no no no no no no no," HT stumbled, "This can't be good."
"What do you mean, HT?" Ry asked
HT looked him straight in the eye and said, "There, is a traitor in our midst."