[center][h1][color=f7976a]The Prisoner[/color][/h1]

[h2][color=f7976a]Level 1-[/color][/h2]

[color=fff79a]|||||||||| (2/10)[/color] 
Word Count: [color=fff79a]1191[/color]
[color=fff79a] +2 EXP[/color]
Frozen Highlands - Ruins Dungeon

[h3][color=39b54a]Malaise Counter: [/color][/h3] ////////// (0/10)[/center]

[hr][hr]

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2th00f15dw[/youtube][/center]

Yet another day The Prisoner had perished, forcing himself to find another corpse to serve as his vessel. Lucky for him, there seemed to be decent amounts of beheaded corpses down in the dark, damp corridors of the dungeon he resided in. Crawling into the hollowed body of the corpse, the vines of the malaise crawling into every corner of the body allowing him to take control of it. Clenching his fists tight, he forced his ethereal head to appear over the beheaded area.

He had no choice but to make it to the end of it as he had always done, in an attempt to slay the king and change the cycle yet again. However, The Prisoner had not noticed one crucial detail with this dungeon that was abnormal. [i]This was not his dungeon and he did not know that.[/i]

As he sprinted through the corridors of the large underground ruins, he did however, manage to find multiple common undead enemies such as [url=http://pm1.narvii.com/6859/d67ee3f260a62d0561b38575b877c907620b0fd0v2_00.jpg]zombies[/url], [url=https://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/dead-cells/8/8e/Undeadarcher.jpg]archers[/url], and [url=https://64.media.tumblr.com/0affad37085b1a8557be47d05ddbcb58/tumblr_oyg9y45E6i1tbkg6vo1_540.jpg] bone golems of sorts[/url], which he removed of by thwacking them in the head with his metal frying pan. There was plenty of enemies to kill and if there was good loot to find amongst the darkness, it took no particular interest to The Prisoner, as he was happy with the weapons he had currently.

It was within a few hours of traversing the dungeon that The Prisoner had come across a [url=https://media.criticalhit.net/2018/07/Dead-Cells-Concierge-2.jpg]larger golem enemy[/url], clearly guarding what was assumed to be a next area of the dankness. A trapdoor. As he rapidly approached the beast. it quickly roared to life, a rush of wind blocking both exits and entrances alike. That trapdoor was what he needed to shoot for. Keeping his frying pan and shield handy, The Prisoner dropped a Wolf Trap in his rush, rolling underneath the Concierge with grace as he quickly picked himself back up. He quickly landed multiple blows with his frying pan to the golem as it enraged and released a red forcefield around. Knowing that this could damage him should he get to close, The Prisoner dodged backwards as he waited for the effect to wear off.

As soon as the field went down, The Concierge prepared to strike The Prisoner with a direct jab. Before the blow could land, The Prisoner swung his shield into the attack, parrying the attacker backwards, stumbling directly into the Wolf Trap, which clamped into the leg of the Concierge, forcing him to be stuck in place. Pan in hand, he repeatedly struck down the Concierge with slams until it was able to free itself, prompting The Prisoner to yet again perform a roll behind him, chucking a grenade into his behind. To The Prisoner's surprise, this was enough to beat the familiar foe, reducing him to nothing but rocky rubble, and then slowly fading to ash. As if commanded, the doors which had slammed shut, now came open.

There was no loot to be collected from this familiar boss, yet The Prisoner saw no fault to this. His trusty Vorpan had served him well before, so why should he abandon it now? Now headed to the trapdoor parallel to his view, he approached it, climbed up the ladder, and was greeted by a collapsed room which had leaked light through the room. Amazed to see that he had seemingly found a way out, The Prisoner suddenly began searching for the first-most exit he could find. There was a small crack in the wall to his left, which he managed to adjust some rubble to enable easier access through. When he was no longer able to move the large rocks, he forced his body through the tight wall, the bones of the original corpse surely dislocating as he pressed through.

Once he made it through to the other side of the wall, he was blinded by the sight of white snow. [i]Snow...[/i] The Prisoner had never seen snow before. He watched as flakes gently floated by his face, curious as to which part of the dungeon he could possibly be in now, only to realize something. The sky was empty, and there was land as far as the eye could see.

He was not in a dungeon. This was the outside world. Not a hellscape of piled up bodies and flying soot and ash, but rather fresh air, snow, and blankets of white. He didn't know what to do with the new land he had found... There was so much new terrain to discover, and most importantly, the freedom to be his own person...

...

The days had begun to pass by and The Prisoner was lucky it was as cold as it was, otherwise he might as well be dead yet again, but it seemed the cold had temporarily held off the spread of the Malaise within his body. The lifeless man had made camp within the ruins he had found outside the dungeon, complete with a simple pile of snow for bedding and a fire, which had begun to thaw the cold limbs of The Prisoner. Sure, cold and warm meant nothing to him, but it was a nice thought regardless, which is why he got pissed when some passerby began desecrating the wild life nearby. One of them was clad in silver and gold. If it weren't for his size, the man would have made a great vessel.

They seemed to use some sort of dark magic, though The Prisoner had no clue of the validity of this thought, to keep the animal carcasses alive long enough to produce food. Even the Prisoner was familiar with the ashen death of every creature and human alike in this world. He decided he could watch them closely for the time being ([i]or as long as he could keep interest[/i]).

It was after a bit longer that even [b]more[/b] travelers had made their way to the entrance of the ruins. Specifically a young man, a young lady, and a child, who followed behind the group. [i][color=f9ad81]I'm lucky. They haven't seen me yet...[/color][/i] He thought to himself. He reached for a weapon, now that the thought of strangers crossing his tuff came across his mind. He equipped his green Balanced Blade, holding it at the ready as he eavesdropped on their conversation. 

What the power had been described as was golden, so perhaps his theory on dark magic was overruled... Yet, he knew that something was fishy about this whole ordeal. Scratching at his chin, he watched as just as quickly as the new crew had arrived, they began parting. Yep. Something was definitely off. The new group seemed uncertain about these... magic users, and now that they gave The Prisoner that vibe, he felt the need to follow suit. 

As they began to pace away, The Prisoner quickly and scrappily packed up his belongings before snuffing out his embers and making way to the woods adjacent to the crew. He'd be keeping his distance as he watched the travelers quietly from the shadows of the pines. He kept and snuck along each and every tree, trying his best to avoid being seen. 

[hr][hr]