POV Rio
I had been staring at the dragon corpse for a while now, and I had tried several ideas already. Teleportation. Failed, it's warded against that. Telekinises. Failed, too heavy, and magically resistant. Incorporeality. Failed, it's warded against that as well. Physical attacks. Failed, too resistant to damage. Scraping the dragon. Failed, the workshop doesn't recognize it as scrappable material. Saying Open Sesame! Failed, for some reason. Trying to seduce the Dragon. Failed, it's dead, I think. So I was out of ideas, save one. And I really didn't want to try and climb out of a dragon's rear. Becoming poop was not on my bucket list.
"Sigh. I'm going to have to do it, aren't I?" I say aloud.
"Yeah, probably. But I cheer you on from here," Cait offers.
"I think as a friend you should be willing to help me," I reply.
"Oh, I will. I will... Uh, by keeping guard. Yeah, keeping guard," Cait offers while avoiding eye contact.
"I hate you sometimes," I reply while walking towards the dragon's maw.
"Ah, please. You love me and you know it," Cait says cheekily.
I flip her off and then let the jaw close so I can't see her response.
'If I die this way, I will be very upset.'
I walked down the dragon's throat and deeper in when suddenly a mist came out of nowhere. I try to see through the mist, but even my Hoshigan can't see through it. I prepare for an ambush, but nothing happens, and I arrive at something that makes no sense. It was an apple orchard.
'What in the...'
I walk deeper in towards some voices I hear and come to a pond with three creatures near it.
"Hello?" I ask cautiously.
"Ah, Rio, the traveler. We have been expecting you," said one of the three creatures made of apples.
"You have?" I ask.
"Of course, we are the keepers of the grove of truth. You may ask us," says the second keeper.
"One question," Says the third.
"Past, present, or future," says the second.
"But be warned," says the first.
"That the truth," says the second.
"May not always be pleasant," says the third.
"Hmm, yeah... no offense, but I will pass," I reply.
"Ah, you don't want to see what is to come?" says the first.
"What about the prophecies?" says the second.
"Perhaps you may know how to stop all he will do," says the third.
I freeze when I hear that.
"Fine, I have one question. Will I succeed in defeating the creature that intends to wipe out all life?" I ask.
"For the answer you seek," says the first.
"Go ahead, take a peek," says the second.
I look down into the pond and see Earth. But unlike how it usually looks, it was gray, lifeless. Slowly, a massive skeletal hand covers the planet, and the planet turns to dust. A deep and menacing laugh echoes and sends shivers down my spine.
"You cannot stop what is come," says that creepy, deep voice.
After the voice, the creature's face appears, and I can see pure evil shining in its empty eye sockets. The skull with no flesh remaining.
"I am the end, and I am coming for you, Rio!" says the voice again.
The vision then shifts to my friends being turned to dust by the creature's power while I am forced to watch, before the vision finally ends in green flames.
I step away from the pond and notice that I was covered in sweat and my breathing was heavy.
"When all the truth does," says the first.
"Is make your heart ache," says the second.
"Sometimes a lie is easier to take," says the third.
"Hmm, nice try, but no," I reply.
"What?" says the first.
"You heard me, I won't take the easy way. Even if a lie might make things look nice, it won't change the fact of the situation. Even if what I saw was the truth, I am doomed to fail. That everyone I know and love will die, I don't care. I won't stop fighting, and neither will I lie to everyone around me to give them false hope. Many already know that we are doomed. I mean, my world is a messed-up craphole. But at least we will die knowing what was coming," I reply firmly.
The ground shakes, and the keepers of the grove move away as the mist rolls back in. I am left in the mist, and I start wandering again. The mist thickens, and I find myself in a new place. It was a battlefield. People lay dead and dying all around me. Some were wearing brown uniforms, others green, some grey, and I also noticed some symbols that made me pause. I knew where I was.
'WW2. Some battle with the Soviets and Nazi's and I think some others.'
The screams were brutal. Plenty of people were screaming in their language for help. I didn't wait any longer and moved to help everyone I could. I couldn't stand by and watch likely innocent people slowly bleed out when I could help. A part of me hesitated as those in Black Uniforms were clearly SS, but I buried that and decided to treat everyone with the dignity of a human being, even if they don't deserve it. That, and they were non-combatants at this point. It also helped that my ability to see inner darkness wasn't working, so I could hope that if they were evil, they would be tried in a court of law.
I worked for what felt like hours on end, healing everyone I could. The most severe were treated with magic. When I ran out of magic, I used my medical knowledge to stabilize them as best as I could. Several soldiers tried to stop me from healing, but I kept going anyway. I couldn't save everyone, and many would likely be permanently maimed, but I did what I could do. When some soldiers tried to kill those I was treating, I had to threaten them to back off. Eventually, those I helped started helping me if they could still move. It was something truly unique to see what would normally be mortal enemies helping each other with their wounds. It probably helped that I could speak all their languages.
After I was done saving all that I could, I took a break and tried to catch my breath. It was at this time that the mist came back. I didn't stand up and waited to see if I had to move to be transported. The answer seemed to be yes, as after waiting for almost an hour, nothing happened. But when I stood up, the rock I was sitting on vanished.
'Figures.'
I kept walking until I arrived at the next area. I was a little curious to see if this would ever end. The next place was odd. It was a massive party. People I knew were here as well as some who did not make as much sense.
'Who in their right mind would invite Batman to a party?'
Batman was just sitting in the corner, brooding. I decided to ignore that when someone came over and spoke to me.
"Rio! Finally, you arrived. They have been waiting for you on stage for 10 minutes now," said John de Lancie.
"What?" was my logical response.
Despite my question, it was ignored, and I was put on stage and handed a microphone. I was really confused, but before I could say anything, people started laughing. I looked down and saw I was wearing a pink tutu.
'Am I on something?'
I was getting more and more confused as people kept laughing at me. I felt extremely awkward, but I toughed it out and took a deep breath, and just rolled with it.
"Hahaha, yeah, it seems I got the wrong memo. I was told this was a dress like a ballerina party. Not all this stuffy formal stuff. But since I am dressed like this, why don't I make it more interesting for everyone?" I say with a smile.
Everyone goes dead silent.
"Oh brother, this guy STINKS!" says a fish man wearing pants.
"Yeesh, tough crowd," I respond while tugging at my collar.
The response was a tomato being thrown at me. Followed by pies and all sorts of other foodstuffs.
Despite all the heckling and attacks, I didn't falter and kept entertaining them. Partially because I was stubborn, and secondly, because I could sense they seemed genuinely happy from my torment. Though I did have to quickly leave the stage when things got a bit inappropriate. I saw some tentacles approaching, and I didn't want to stick around to see why they were shaped the way they were.
"Thank the lovely audience for their time, but I am afraid I must make my leave," I say while running away.
When I got away, I was approached by John de Lancie again.
"Man, that was rough," John says.
"Yeah, no kidding," I reply.
"Looks like even your friends didn't even cut in to help," said John.
"Oh, that's fine, we have fun with each other all the time. It's never malicious," I reply.
"Y-yeah, but surely they should have been a bit more supportive, seeing that you were clearly uncomfortable up there," responds John with a slightly strained voice.
"No, that's fine. They must not have realized. I am sure that if they knew I was uncomfortable, they would have said something," I reply.
"Sigh. Fine whatever. Just have fun at the party. I hear the soup is to die for," John says before vanishing in a flash of light.
'Hmm, that was weird.'
The same mist comes back, and I realise I must have finished this challenge. Or maybe it's a trial?
'I guess it doesn't matter.'