The Midnight Temple

John had left the maids in Ophelia's care, and spotted no other, similarly enslaved men or women among the butlers and maids. Most were older, John noted, and now he wondered if the occasional young maid he ignored might've been screaming for emancipation in their data. He couldn't know, now. As she promised, she dropped him off at his house before taking the ladies with her, and the sapphire-blue sedan was the last he saw of the Marine that night. Hopefully not forever...

John turned to regard his home... and the absurdly long day he just concluded. Well... not quite... Sighing, he started considering how to deal with Tara as he walked in and prepared for supper.

That night...

John glared into its warped surface, and ever more felt the weight on his body. Awe had frozen him still. It was a myth. It was a lie. So how could it be here now, a near-perfect sphere of translucent dream? He breathed. It quivered. Did it notice him? Slowly it was appeased, and returned to its slow shrink, and slow enlargement. It was disgusting, it was cute, and he couldn't be sure but he was almost positive it was blasphemous.

The snot bobble continued its shrinking and enlarging as Lily very quietly snored against John's chest. Her face, the only part sticking out from her pink rabbit pajamas (delivered freshly clean from his temple by Fairy, much to the latter's chagrin), was at peace for the first time since John had returned. She had been sure that John's mother was stalking her and, sure enough, John had to assure his mother many times that it was alright to leave Lily be. His mother's obsession would worry him, if it wasn't warranted; Lily was here on a lie, after all. That lie, and her pitiful plea for sleep, and her only trusting him, is what got him into his current predicament: lying on his bed, flicking through his interface lazily as she slept. He considered turning off his sleep immunity, but thought better of it.

Still, it was a nice change to see her so at peace, even without her glasses, folded neatly on the nightstand as they were. He afforded her three hours; she said it would be enough, given his promise that his mother was dead asleep by eleven. "You can lock the door, too," he had told her, and at once she thought he was taunting her. We didn't even talk about the bounties, or the Extinction King... she was so tired... God, she looks so fragile... She seemed so innocent that it hurt to remember how eager he was to ravage her while under her influence. He petted her head softly, and she managed a softer smile... followed by a bite of her lips and some **** grinding against his body.

The image of innocence was gone, and he rolled her onto the guest bed, popping the snot-bubble. "Buh-huh- NO, I WAS WORKING I SW-mmmhf!"

John smothered her mouth as she started to wail. "You'll wake up my mom!" She piped down at that, and squinted up at her protective blob shape while its hand still covered half her face. "Lily, I have to go."

"But... I'm still sleepy..." She pouted... and then started to snore anew.

Slightly relieved, John crawled slowly out of the bed before getting changed out of most of his casual clothing and into his adventuring gear set, complete with the plain black slacks borrowed from his uniforms. Satisfied once he was able to meditate to full, he blinked back to his bedroom and readied to enter his temple.

Spiraling Snake style increased to level 11!
New style ability can be chosen.
Choose now?

John cancelled the hearth spell and impatiently affirmed.

Please choose one:

SERPENT'S STRIKE: Serpent's Venom
Serpent's Venom, +50mp
Serpent's Venom: magical modifier for Serpent's Bite or Serpent's Lunge. Is ineffective against targets with more than 25% of their maximum HP remaining. Venom has a potency equal to the damage the attack would've caused, and reduces that damage to zero. Target is affected by venom for [venom potency - target's endurance] rounds. The effects of venom deteriorate as it wears off. 1-5: weakened. 6-10: exhausted. 11-50: stunned. 50+: target is instead comatose for [duration / 10] hours. Serpent's Venom has no effect on targets immune to poison or sickness.

PORTAL: Bridge
Bridge, variable mp
Bridge allows travel between distant points within a reality or directly into or between Kingdoms. Other, non-quickcast spells, and other style spells regardless of speed, cannot be cast while maintaining a Bridge.
Reality Bridge: casting time and mana cost are one minute and 50MP per 100 miles crossed. A reality Bridge can only span a maximum of [style level x 300] miles. A Reality Bridge acts as a Tunnel with stricter rules: each end of the Bridge has an HP of [style level x 10] and no damage reduction. The Bridge ends can only be anchored in reference to the Earth's core (that is, static places in the air). Any significant pressure on the edges or back of such a Bridge opening deals damage to its HP. A broken or closed Bridge shunts anyone or anything in the middle out to its originating point, unharmed and in whatever position does the least harm. Maintaining a Reality Bridge costs 50MP per minute; no mana is reserved for a reality Bridge.
Dream Bridge: casting time and mana cost are a minute and 50MP per layer of the Dream crossed. A Dream Bridge creates a warded, physical bridge through the Dream, themed after the intent and soul of the caster. Such a bridge is 50 feet long per layer crossed to a maximum of [style level x 300] feet in real length. Both ends remain open for the duration of the bridge. Closing the bridge shunts inhabitants safely to their originating end. Maintaining the dream Bridge costs 50MP per minute.

PORTAL: Trap
Trap, +1mp reserve per tunnel inch
Trap: modifier for Tunnel. One or both points of the tunnel can be turned into traps: invisible holes in reality that suppress all noise, heat, and sound from the other end except from effects or bodies that pass through. Trap takes one full round to set, and is visible while setting.

DISPLACEMENT: Displace Object
Displace Object, 50mp: **** target object to suffer displacement, causing it to be randomly moved between 1 and [style level] feet in any direction. If the target is being held, then your [style level + intelligence] must be higher than the holder's [(level / 2) + wisdom], or [level + wisdom] if the target is being worn or tightly secured.

John read the new abilities carefully, and hovered between Bridge and Trap. In truth, he wanted to figure some way to manage the latter before this presented itself, to help with those too wary to fall for his tunnel tricks... but the sleeping succubus downstairs, and his possible need to travel freely between these alleged "Kingdoms", ultimately won him over. With a bit of hesitation, he clicked the Bridge spell.

The hand was sheathed in a darkness that writhed like electrocuted flesh, and the mists of the way parted, revealing the empty blackness of the path home. The business was done; another King reduced to dust, another Throne returned to the Dream-

John inhaled sharply, and his lungs burned with the relief of air.

How long had he been out? It couldn't have been more than a few minutes... but he had certainly been out, as the messages still waited in the air for his acknowledgement.

Achievement unlocked! "The Snake Advances"!
You've learned a new move for your style. Practice makes perfect!
+1,000XP
+1 style level

Spiraling Snake style is now level 12!

Was that... real? There was a hand... and... John rubbed his face as he tried to remember it, but the vision fled like a dream, and with it all meaning and sense.

As the mystery dissolved, the moment he was dreading remained. Right... can't put this off forever... John inhaled deeply, and hearthed.

The world fell away... and John squinted, and then covered his eyes as the new world blinded him. A radiance wholly alien to his temple before now shone overhead, and he could tell, through wincing glances around, that he was surely again in his temple... but the foyer of white bricks and marble never glowed so bright, or sparkled with such beautiful fractures on their seemingly perfect surfaces. Bands of gold now traveled up the pillars and, as his eyes slowly became adjusted, joined the golden frames of the new, vaulted glass ceiling of his inner-sanctum. A cloudless blue sky hung overhead, and only partially covered by the golden apex of the roof was what appeared to be the sun. Or merely "a" sun. It was entirely alien regardless, and the sconces that once lit the temple were now replaced with golden statues of women, each one rising from the wall with arms raised and palms offered to the sky. The doors of his sanctuary were now painted white and gilded with gold from the knob to the hinges. That simple fountain was now a reflecting pool that ran the course of the temple entrance, beyond which that same plaza waited, similarly enhanced and with his statue now more rigidly defined, posing with a humble head facing down at the pools below, and open palms offered to the sky in a low pose.

Newman's eyes were comfortable at last with this shining, sun-lit temple... but there was a distinct discomfort as he caught sight of them as they approached in turn: Alysha from the psychosphere chamber, wincing and emotionlessly cursing the light, Captain Woofroot barking happily as it sprinted towards its master, Thumalk peeking shyly, then eagerly out of the armoury, followed by Fairy seemingly returned to her natural form, then the wobbling Tita... but the one he wished to speak to the most, of course, made no appearance.

"Master-!" Thumalk started, his short, erect cock bouncing as he ran.

"Back to the armoury!" Thumalk turned and obeyed John's vicious command with a sigh. "And no more getting naked without my permission!"

"Oh... so naughty-"

"You will never have my permission!"

Once Thumalk returned to sulking, the others greeted him in turn, most without that eager display, and even Tita was subdued, though perhaps more from polite breeding. Woofroot, an expected exception, dove up at John's stomach and nearly tackled him with its surprising weight. He did his best to hold the creature up, and scratched the wood behind what was probably an ear based on the happy grumbling the bush-dog offered.

"She is at the end of the eastern wing." Alysha's words were cold, but John didn't let that stop him from sitting down on the teleportation pad and continuing to play with Woofroot. "She was confused at first, until your spell wore off... after which only your Commandment against **** kept her from harming us. She tried, all the same... right up to the point it could truly do anything."

"That yappy fern's lucky it survived trying to cuddle with her," Fairy mused. John looked Captain Woofroot over, but if he had been burned he had already regenerated it. "The fountains do a pretty good job of healing us, it turns out... even when we're deformed by you, Master."

"I'm sure they didn't do that before," Tita interjected, "but my husband has a newfound benevolence... and so our temple is beautiful at last, a tribute, stone-carved and sun-lit, to the moon-palaces of my Matriarchs!"

"Benevolence...?" The small coterie fell to silence as John looked down at Woofroot. "Huh... I wonder..."

"W-We saw how you freed those slaves, Master," Tita happily encouraged.

"Some of us even realize the hypocrisy of your mercy," Alysha added, and the elves exchanged bitter glares.

"I need to see Tara." John finally put Woofroot down, and marched mirthlessly towards the main room when the swollen body of Tita blocked his way.

"Please, Master... we've missed you so..." John eyed them each, assessing their relationship scores with the full knowledge that two of them were being affected by his hive tyrant's ring.

Captain Woofroot: +90
Alysha: +1
Fairy: +23
Tita: +200
Thumalk: +184

John blinked at Thumalk, who remained at the absolute legal edge of the armoury, and wore his clothes... save that his pants were lowered just below his butt-cheeks. "Fully dressed and proper at all times, Thumalk!"

"Such cruelty~"

John walked around Tita and disregarded her pleas for attention. The temple's main plaza was as magnificent as it seemed from afar, and a gentle breeze occasionally blew from some unknown source. When at last he was before the eastern corridor, he saw her there... and then saw her framed by hellfire.

Tara Newman uses Hellfireblast on temple wall for 0 damage.

"FUCK!"

John slowly walked down the long hall, ignoring the prompts for new rooms. Like all the temple, this space too was beautiful and radiant, save for the black scorching on the opposite end. Standing before the massive, charred end of the hall, and the cleric spirit that worked hard to cleanse seemingly sourceless soot, stood the naked majesty of his third wife. At 6'2", curvy, and only partially composed of hellfire, her turned back was gorgeous as it glistened with the sweat of her efforts. His mind started to drift from its purpose until he saw her info:

Tara Newman / Shvoorrf Newman
Level 11 Evoker / Level 9 Hellfire Elemental
989/989hp
390/402mp
Formerly a weapon and spy of the Cabal, Tara Newman (formerly Tara Dase) fused her body willingly with a Hellfire elemental in a bid for power that ultimately became her shackles. Shvoorrf, the elemental in question and now part of her personality, remains docile so long as it remains her inferior.
Status Effects: Furious (3 crimson hearts)
Relationship: +1

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that she'd hate me without this ring... He was only a dozen feet away when she stiffened, and slowly turned to confirm she was no longer alone. John stopped his approach, more out of respect for her nudity than fear.

Her fiery hair raised in volume, and John could feel the heat rolling off of her in waves. "You..."

John cut her off as empathically as he could manage. "I'm sorry... but you really didn't leave us much choice."

Her fury only grew, and her body trembled as she tried to muster an attack against her **** and enslaver.

He shook his head.