Thasseldar stood quietly near the back of the funeral for Linia. He had not known her for long, but she did give her life to buy him a few seconds... and he had only been given such a sacrifice once before. The other fellow he was able to save... but not this one. He had been too weak to be able to pull her into another dimension, one where her wounds may have been less effective... one where he could have found help.

[i]The staff had exploded, there was nothing to be done.[/i] he told himself even as he thought with sadness to his long-serving staff. A gift from his old friend Epsilon, a long time ago. He still didn't know where Epsilon had found it.

[i]We need more assistance, and quickly...[/i] He had tried to brief as many of the heros as he could to meet at the funeral and then the hotel. Hanson was still there; Thasseldar didn't really know what he did. Nor was he paying attention as he was recovering, and trying to figure out a way to get another item to channel his power through. He would be weaker now until he found something else; even then, he would never be the same.

[hr]

Igorossus gazed upon the city from one of the taller buildings, standing at the very top on a ledge that would have terrified some humans. But there was no reason to be afraid. Indeed, he almost pitied the humans.

The city looked to be in a state of recovery. The so called 'fish folk' as his master had called them seemed to have done their work well. A huge scorch mark, completely unnatural and out of place, was visible down the line of buildings. [i]A realmswalker, then.[/i]

His mission was to ultimately find the weaker side, assist it until it became strong enough to challenge the other and then backstab them. This he would do, as he had done many times before. It had become a reflex, almost.

Drawing a portal in a distant forest-like area in the other side of the city with his mind, he appeared to the side of a building, out of view of humans. He checked his hand to verify he was in human form and stepped out. Walking to the cemetary gates, he stood at the side, gazing over the crowd. [i]Perhaps I will meet someone interesting here...[/i]

[hr]

Zelan's yell echoed through the darkness as he realized he was no longer burning. "AAA... oh..." he looked down at his body. [i]Impossible...[/i] his tridant was to the side.

He looked around. A large room, very dark, yet seemingly with a spotlight on where he was. The floor was hard, like polished gray rock. He stood up, still remembering the painful tingles of whatever his opponent had thrown at him. Whatever it was, it melted Zelan and destroyed his army. It was obviously very powerful.

"Where in the depths am I..." he muttered as he looked around, still seeing no feature.

[color=darkred]"You were dead, but now you are reborn. This is my realm."[/color] A dark, booming voice had come out of nowhere.

Zelan looked around, trying to find the source of this voice. "I can see that, but what am I doing here? What is this?"

[color=darkred]"I have a plan for you, Zelan. A worthy plan indeed for someone such as yourself. But patience... time does not pass as it typically does here..."[/color]