A dark place

Marcus leads you to a staircase, which seems to go down a very long way. The whole time, he is arrogantly chattering, like some kind of terrible movie villain. “I’m sure you’ve figured out my goals by now. I want godhood, and my opportunity to take the demon lord’s power was stolen from me. So naturally, I’ve turned to other sources.”

You struggle to restrain yourself from throttling the man as he continues. “In my time searching for power, I discovered ancient ruins, full of magical things. One of them was a set of chains, said to be able to restrain a god. Unfortunately, they only work on gods who arise naturally. And there’s only one of those left.”

You reach the bottom of the staircase, and arrive at a blank stone wall. Marcus waves a hand, and a doorway appears. “You should feel honored. You’re the first person to come to my lab without being a prisoner. Speaking of, here’s the prisoners.”

As you step into the room, your eye is immediately drawn to a glowing, transparent cube. Within is Lynn, tears staining her cheeks. She leaps to her feet as she sees you, and you see her shouting something, but no sound can be heard. You clench your fists, struggling to keep control.

You’re startled, then, when you hear another voice. “Ahh, you’re back! And you brought Josh, wonderful! Maybe we can get this show on the road, then. It’s not very nice to bring me a roommate and then not let her talk to me. She seems distraught, and pregnant. That’s very rude.”

Bast is chained to the wall, and despite his amused tone, he looks awfully ragged. You notice a quick grimace cross Marcus’ face, and he waves a hand, magically silencing the chained god. You turn to Marcus. “What is it you want?”

Marcus grins. “It’s simple. I need you to kill Bast. I tried, but apparently, only the ‘chosen successor’ can do it. That’s you. You kill him, and I take his power. I let your goblin go, and you go home.”

He crosses his arms. “Now, you have a choice. You can probably kill me and free Bast, but without my magic you can neither free her nor leave my lab. Or you could do what I say. Sure, I’ll become a god, but aren’t you the conquering emperor who defeated the demon lord? I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

He steps closer to you, sneering. “The question is, what kind of person are you? Will you leave this helpless goblin to die? Are you that callous?”

You look towards Lynn, who has dropped to her knees, sobbing. Your mind flashes back to how you first found her, locked up and prepared to be sacrificed. Looking over to Bast, you catch the ghost of a smile on his face.

You take a deep breath, and close your eyes. “I suppose there’s really only one way forward.”

Marcus grins. “I knew you’d see reason. Let’s begin, then.

You turn to face him fully.