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drakothedragon55 · 7 months

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“̶D̵i̶d̵ ̸y̸o̷u̷ ̵e̵v̴e̷r̶ ̶c̶o̵n̷s̷i̴d̸e̵r̶ ̵t̵h̶a̴t̴ ̶t̵h̸e̷ ̶w̴o̶r̸l̵d̵ ̶m̸a̴y̷ ̶h̵a̵v̶e̷ ̵k̷n̷o̶w̴n̷ ̸s̵c̴r̵y̸b̷e̵s̷ ̵b̸e̵f̷o̷r̴e̵ ̵y̴o̵u̸?̵”̶

— Dawn of the Apocalypse (Part 1/2: Regrettable Deals) —

How long had it been since he had seen the sun? This question floated though the little wizard’s mind as he laid down in his void.

This was a final test, but to them, it was more of a punishment. The thought of one day being included in Magnificus’ deck had been keeping him going, but it was quickly losing its charm.

“Please…just let this be over.” They would mutter to themselves. “I don’t care if I fail or not…I just want to be free.” But alas, these pleas were never heard. No one seemed to care for the poor, poor wizard.

Until one day, something responded.

Reality itself seemed to warp as a red mass of pixels slipped its way inside the wizard’s void. The trek seemed to have exhausted the thing, so it sat as still as a statue. But that didn’t stop the wizard from noticing it.

He was very tempted to rush over and start poking and prodding the thing, but a part of him wondered if this was another part of the test. They wanted freedom, yes, and passing their test might just be their ticket out of here. After what felt like an eternity to the little student, the mass finally uncurled itself, revealing a humanoid figure.

“̷…̸p̴a̴r̴.̵.̵d̵o̸n̷ ̸m̷y̶ ̵p̷o̴.̵.̴o̶r̴ ̶t̸a̶l̴k̷.̴.̷i̶n̶g̴ ̶s̵k̶i̸.̸l̴l̴s̷.̵ ̸I̷ ̵h̶a̷.̶.̶v̴e̷ ̸n̶o̶t̷ ̴s̷p̵o̶k̸.̷.̸e̷n̴ ̵t̷o̴ ̷a̴n̶y̴o̶.̷.̶n̶e̷ ̶i̶n̵ ̴a̴g̷e̴s̷.̷”̵ It said, finally acknowledging three wizard. “̷.̷.̶I̷ ̵r̷e̷a̸.̷.̶l̵l̶y̸ ̵a̸p̸p̶r̴e̵c̸i̶a̶t̷e̴ ̷y̷o̸u̷ ̸l̶e̸.̴.̸t̴t̴i̵n̷g̸ ��m̶e̷ ̶r̵e̶s̵t̸ ̸h̶e̶r̵e̶.̷ ̷Y̸o̵u̶ ̴a̷r̵e̸ ̵t̷o̸o̶ ̶k̷i̵.̵.̸n̵d̷.̶”̵

“-No problem!” The wizard quickly responded. They were talking! Talking to someone else! Finally! ”Not a problem at all!”

“̴…̸.̴S̴a̸y̸.̷ ̵W̸h̶y̶ ̷d̴o̴.̸.̸n̸’̷t̸ ̶I̷ ̶r̴e̸p̷a̷y̶ ̶y̴o̴.̷.̶u̵r̶ ̴k̵i̴n̸d̸n̴e̶s̶s̵ ̷w̴i̷t̷h̴ ̷m̶y̴ ̶o̵w̴n̷?̷”̵

It snapped it’s fingers, and a static-covered card appeared in its hand. ̴“̷I̴ ̷c̸a̴n̷ ̵d̷o̸ ̸m̶a̷.̵.̴n̶y̸ ̷g̶r̴e̵a̴t̷ ̶t̸h̵i̷n̶g̶s̷,̴ ̵l̵i̵t̸t̸l̴e̸ ̶o̵n̸e̵.̴ ̴Y̷o̴u̸ ̷n̴a̴m̸e̵ ̷i̶t̴,̷ ̷a̷n̶d̸ ̵i̶t̶’̸s̸ ̴y̵o̸.̸.̸u̵r̴s̴.̷”̴

The wizard’s eyes widened. “A-Anything?” ”A̷n̵y̸t̴h̷i̴n̵g̴.̵”̵

He didn’t need to think about his choice at all. He already knew what he wanted. ”I wish to be free! To see the sun once more! To-“ “̷C̸o̴n̶s̶i̴d̵e̶r̸ ̸i̷t̴ ̵d̸o̸n̶e̸.̸”̶ The entity offered a hand to the student, who quickly shook it. Before they could let go, however, a shooting pain shot up the wizard’s arm. ”O̸n̷e̷ ̶l̴a̷s̶t̵ ̵t̸h̷i̵n̴g̴.̴ ̶T̷h̴i̷s̸ ̵m̸i̵g̸h̷t̷ ̶h̷u̷r̶t̶ ̷a̵ ̴b̸i̷t̸.̴”̶

The void was spinning faster and faster now, and the entity was just a red blur of light. Quickly pulling away, the unfortunate victim of the rogue data only made it a few steps away before collapsing. With another snap of their fingers, both the red creature and the student were gone.

One down. Three to go.

—————————————————————————————— When the Prospector first noticed the red light, he had been doing what he was always doing: mining for gold. He had stepped away for a few moments to catch his breath when an unnatural voice called out from behind him.

“M̸y̵ ̸m̷y̷.̷ ̶Y̷o̴u̵ ̷a̸r̶e̴ ̶a̵ ̸v̷e̶r̷y̶ ̷d̷e̶d̷i̶c̷a̸t̴e̷d̸ ̵w̷o̵r̷k̵e̶r̸.̸̷I̴ ̵s̸e̶e̸ ̶w̸h̵y̵ ̴L̸e̷s̸h̵y̷ ̶c̵h̵o̴s̴e̶ ̶y̸o̶u̶.̵”

“Huh? Who goes there?” The Prospector responded, startled. Normally his faithful hound would have alerted him to any approaching stranger. Why was she so quiet?

“Show yerself!”

A red figure with a snakelike tail slowly emerged from the trees with its hands in front of it.

“R̷e̶l̷a̵x̷,̷ ̶f̴o̸r̷ ̸I̴ ̶m̴e̶a̷n̴ ̶y̸o̶u̴ ̴n̵o̵ ̴h̶a̵r̶m̶.̴ ̴I̶ ̵s̵i̴m̶p̷l̸y̷ ̶w̶a̷n̸t̴ ̷t̵o̴ ̵c̶h̶a̵t̶.̶”

”A chat, ye say?” ”Bitter make it quick. I gots a job to do!” The red figure smiled, before gliding over to the rock the Prospector was working on.

“…S̴a̶y̸,̸ ̵f̴r̵i̷e̸n̷d̴.̷ ̶D̸o̸ ̶y̶o̷u̶ ̶t̵h̷i̸n̷k̷ ̶y̴o̷u̶ ̸f̶i̸n̶d̴ ̷a̴ ̷f̷a̷i̷r̸ ̴a̵m̸o̴u̷n̸t̵ ̷o̸f̸ ̵g̸o̸l̵d̵ ̸f̴o̵r̴ ̴t̸h̴e̸ ̷a̵m̶o̶u̷n̸t̵ ̸o̶f̷ ̵e̵f̸f̷o̷r̸t̴ ̷y̶o̸u̸ ̸g̴o̶ ̵t̴h̵r̴o̶u̷g̴h̵ ̴m̴i̶n̶i̴n̷g̵ ̴t̴h̸e̴s̶e̴ ̸r̴o̶c̸k̵s̶?̵”

“What are you geetin at, stranger?” The grizzled man asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I̵’̷m̵ ̵s̶a̶y̶i̴n̷g̴ ̸t̷h̷a̶t̷ ̴y̵o̸u̴r̶ ̸b̵o̷s̶s̷ ̴i̴s̸ ̷w̵o̴r̷k̵i̸n̷g̴ ̶y̵o̴u̸ ̴t̴o̴ ̶t̸h̴e̶ ̶b̸o̵n̷e̷ ̴w̶i̴t̴h̶ ̶a̸l̷m̶o̵s̵t̶ ̷n̸o̸t̵h̵i̴n̷g̵ ̵t̴o̵ ̴s̶a̶y̴ ̴f̶o̵r̷ ̵i̴t̶.̶ ̴N̶o̸w̸ ̴t̶h̷a̵t̶’̸s̷ ̵j̷u̸s̷t̴ ̵n̸o̷t̴ ̸r̶i̸g̶h̸t̸.̷” The figure paused for a moment, as if thinking. “̶Y̴o̷u̵ ̶s̷e̶e̵…̵I̶’̶m̴ ̷w̷o̶r̴k̷i̷n̵g̵ ̶o̵n̶ ̴a̸ ̸l̸i̴t̶t̷l̸e̶ ̷p̵r̸o̸j̷e̴c̵t̴ ̸o̴f̷ ̵m̴i̴n̷e̶.̴ ̸S̷o̸m̸e̶t̷h̵i̸n̴g̷ ̵t̶h̴a̶t̶ ̴w̸o̶u̸l̵d̴ ̵i̵m̸p̵r̴o̸v̶e̸ ̵t̸h̶e̸ ̴l̵i̸v̵e̶s̸ ̶o̸f̵ ̸e̴v̵e̴r̷y̵o̷n̴e̸ ̵i̶n̴v̵o̸l̴v̵e̴d̵.̵ ̸O̵n̵l̴y̸ ̸i̴s̷s̷u̵e̴ ̸i̷s̸,̸ ̷I̴ ̸n̷e̶e̷d̴ ̶v̵o̷l̵u̸n̴t̷e̵e̵r̵s̸.̴”

The prospector let out a loud, donkey-like laugh.

“That’s it? Ye came out all the way here to ask me te’ join ya?” He waved his hand dismissively before turning back towards the boulder. ”Forgit it.”

Y̷o̶u̸’̴d̶ ̸f̸i̵n̸d̷ ̷n̸e̸a̷r̷l̸y̵ ̵t̶r̶i̶p̶l̴e̵ ̷t̸h̴e̴ ̷g̸o̴l̶d̶ ̷y̷o̵u̶ ̵d̷o̴ ̴n̷o̵w̷.̷ ̷P̸l̵u̸s̴ ̶y̶o̷u̶’̵d̵ ̴a̸l̴w̵a̵y̵s̸ ̵h̶a̷v̶e̶ ̶f̶o̵o̴d̴ ̴f̵o̵r̶ ̶t̸h̵a̷t̸ ̷d̵o̴g̵ ̶o̵f̶ ̴y̶o̴u̸r̷s̸.̷

The Prospector swung his pickaxe down, before freezing right before it hit the rock. After a few moments of hesitation, he put the tool down before looking back over at the red figure.

“If you can keep your word, I suppose I can help ye.”

“I̸ ̴A̷L̵W̶A̵Y̶S̵ ̷k̸e̶e̷p̶ ̸m̴y̶ ̵w̴o̵r̷d̶.̶”

The red figure extended a clawed hand, and the Prospector promptly shook it. He only realized that something was wrong when a burst of pain shot up his arm. He didn’t even hit the ground before the world went dark, the last sounds he heard being the laughter of that red entity.

Two down, two to go. —————————————————————————————— It was yet another standard work day for the Melter. However, there was an almost palpable taste of dread in the air, like the very factory itself was waiting for something bad to happen.

Suddenly, something caught the bot’s synthetic eye. Instead of the usual metal, a card, completely covered in static, was slowly traveling down the conveyor belt.

"What a peculiar sight. Hm..."

They knew that they should have just left the card where it was. Who knows? Maybe P03 would finally be satisfied by it. But curiosity was getting the better of them, and before it could leave their room, the Melter snatched the odd card.

"H̸e̵h̶.̶ ̴H̴a̴d̵ ̸a̴ ̶f̶e̸e̸l̸i̴n̶g̸ ̶y̷o̶u̵ ̵w̶o̷u̸l̵d̵ ̷n̷o̷t̵i̸c̶e̸ ̸t̵h̸a̸t̵.̷"

"Huh-" "WHAT-"

Two different voices seemed to come out of the robot as they turned to face the sneaky individual who had somehow managed to slip their way inside the Melter's room.

The red figure was standing there, leaning against the conveyor belt like he owned the place.

"D̵o̵ ̵y̶o̸u̶ ̵l̷i̸k̷e̴ ̶t̷h̸e̴ ̴g̵i̷f̷t̴?̶ ̸I̵ ̸m̷a̷d̶e̸ ̶i̸t̶ ̸m̵y̷s̶e̷l̵f̶.̸"

"How did you get in here? Can't you see that we- I'm very busy?" The robot asked, annoyance overtaking their fear.

"D̸o̸n̵'̴t̴ ̵g̵e̵t̵ ̵y̵o̴u̶r̷ ̵w̶i̴r̴e̶s̷ ̴i̴n̶ ̸a̵ ̴b̶u̸n̴c̷h̷.̸ ̸Y̸o̴u̶r̶ ̶b̵o̷s̸s̸ ̷l̷e̶t̷ ̷m̵e̸ ̸i̴n̶.̸" "̷S̶p̷e̷a̷k̷i̴n̶g̴ ̸o̸f̵ ̴y̵o̸u̸r̵ ̸b̶o̸s̷s̵,̸ ̵h̵e̴ ̸d̴i̵d̸n̴'̶t̵ ̸s̶e̴e̵m̸ ̴t̶o̷ ̶c̴a̷r̵e̶ ̸a̷b̸o̴u̶t̴ ̵y̴o̸u̷ ̷a̶l̶l̴ ̵t̵h̴a̴t̵ ̸m̵u̶c̴h̶.̴ ̸H̵o̶w̶ ̵c̶o̵m̵e̷?̸"

"What are you talking about, red man? Of course P03 cares about us workers! Why else would we tirelessly toil just to improve his deck?"

"...R̷i̵g̶h̷t̷.̵ ̵A̷n̶d̵ ̵h̷o̴w̸ ̵i̷s̶ ̴t̸h̴a̷t̶ ̵p̵a̸y̸i̸n̸g̸ ̵o̴f̸f̶,̶ ̷h̷m̶?̵"

The Melter hesitated, the flame on their head flaring up for a moment. "I...am not going to answer that question. Now leave me alone! I must be getting back to my work."

The red figure nodded, before turning to leave. But right before he passed through the door, the entity said one last comment.

"Y̴o̸u̸ ̶k̸n̴o̷w̵,̵ ̶y̶o̵u̸r̵ ̵b̸o̵s̴s̸ ̴w̸o̶u̷l̸d̴ ̶b̴e̵ ̸r̷a̶t̴h̸e̶r̷ ̷e̷x̶c̴i̸t̷e̶d̷ ̸t̶o̶ ̶r̸e̴c̴e̷i̶v̸e̶ ̸a̸ ̸l̵a̵r̴g̵e̵ ̵q̶u̷a̸n̸t̸i̵t̶y̴ ̶o̴f̶ ̸t̵h̸o̷s̴e̵ ̷s̴p̸e̵c̷i̶a̸l̷ ̷c̸a̷r̵d̷s̸ ̸o̵f̶ ̶m̷i̴n̸e̵.̶ ̴S̶h̵a̶m̷e̵ ̷y̵o̷u̸ ̷d̸o̷n̵'̵t̷ ̴w̵a̶n̴t̸ ̶a̷n̷y̷.̶"

"Huh-" "W-Wait!"

Smirking, Ol_card turned back to face the burning machine.

"...What would it take for you to give me those cards?"

"L̷i̵k̸e̷ ̷m̸u̴s̶i̵c̸ ̸t̵o̴ ̸m̸y̸ ̸e̷a̴r̴s̵.̵" The data mumbled. "̷A̷l̷l̴ ̸I̴ ̸w̶a̷n̴t̵ ̶i̷s̶ ̵y̸o̴u̴r̷ ̸h̵e̵l̵p̷ ̷f̶o̸r̶ ̵s̸o̷m̵e̵t̸h̵i̶n̴g̶.̷ ̸A̵ ̶t̸e̴e̴n̶s̵y̶ ̵t̶i̷n̶y̴ ̴l̷i̶t̵t̷l̸e̷ ̴p̶r̶o̷j̵e̵c̶t̸ ̸o̵f̵ ̶m̵i̸n̷e̷.̵ ̸Y̶o̴u̸'̷d̶ ̴h̶a̶r̵d̸l̸y̷ ̸h̷a̷v̸e̸ ̷t̶o̸ ̴d̵o̸ ̶a̶n̵y̴t̵h̴i̷n̷g̵,̴ ̷b̵e̷s̸i̷d̸e̶s̴ ̴s̶i̷t̴t̷i̸n̷g̶ ̵t̶h̵e̷r̷e̶ ̴a̶n̴d̷ ̷f̷a̴c̸i̶n̸g̷ ̵o̴f̶f̸ ̶a̵g̵a̶i̵n̶s̶t̶ ̵c̷h̵a̴l̷l̸e̷n̴g̵e̴r̶s̵.̷"

He stuck his hand out towards the Melter. "S̸o̴.̶ ̴D̶o̵ ̶w̴e̴ ̸h̸a̶v̴e̶ ̴a̴ ̴d̶e̵a̶l̷?̴"

The robot considered their options...before eventually shaking the entity's hand.

"NONONO-"

Before it could even react, they abruptly fell to the ground.

Their system was practically screaming at them about corrupted files. But before anything could be done, the unfortunate machine shut down, leaving Ol_card to pick up his static card before walking out of the room with the Melter disappearing shortly afterwards.

Three down, one to go. —————————————————————————————— In the human world, the smell of ash and burnt machinery lingered around what remained of GameFuna's location in ███████. One of the few things that survived the blaze that had been extinguished mere hours before was a computer and the red floppy disk that had been inserted into it.

On the screen, a new female challenger appeared. She stumbled around aimlessly as if it were her first time walking, before eventually finding herself on one of the many bridges that connected all of Inscryption's islands together.

She left the centre island and decided to travel to the right, completely oblivious to the red mass of pixels that was silently following her.

Entering what was once the domain of beasts, the new challenger discovered that it was now full of terrifying monsters which promptly chased her out. But when she went to cross the bridge once more, the red mass appeared out of nowhere before sprinting into her, causing the screen to go black.

"L̴̗̄Ë̷̥́A̸̭̅V̴̢̍I̸̤̽Ň̵̪G̶̓ͅ ̴̆ͅS̶̪̃Ö̷́͜ ̶͈͂S̷̼̈Ȯ̵͕O̵͍̅N̴̪̂?̸̳͗" The screen displayed. "B̷͎͝U̷̘͋T̴̺͛ ̸͈̌M̶̳̏Y̸̨̕ ̴̠́L̶̫̿Ó̶̢V̴̱̽Ê̴̱L̸̳̆Y̷̰̾ ̴̙̃N̷̬͘É̴͇W̶̹͠ ̶͙́G̷͇̓Ả̸͓M̷̝̈́E̴̥̅ ̸̞̈́I̷̭͊Ś̵̠ ̴̟͆S̵̜̏T̷̫̓I̸̡͑L̸̻̑L̶̲͂ ̶̺͝M̶̥̅I̴͔͑S̸̞̀Ṡ̶̤I̸̘͆N̴̟͑G̴̺̍ ̵͎̉À̸͚ ̸̼̎S̶̱̿Č̵̦R̴̹͊Ỹ̸̹B̶͕͛Ě̷̝.̴̜͒ ̸̱̃Y̴͔̋O̵̺͝Ù̷̱ ̵̥̇Ŵ̴̼I̴͓̚L̸̪̈́L̷̫͗ ̵̘͐D̸͈̾Ó̸̦ ̴̹͊Q̵͉̓U̵͓̎Ǐ̷̦T̵̥͘E̶͕͝ ̷̳̍Ṋ̷̅I̴̠̅C̸̡̚E̶̤̒L̶̬͐Ẏ̷͔.̷̹̉"

"B̷̠̈́U̷̦͠T̴̊͜ ̴̺̃Ḟ̷̤I̷̦̕R̸̛̬S̴̤͝T̵̡̔.̴̟̉ ̴̢́L̸͇̀E̶͖͒T̸͓͠S̶͂͜ ̴̩͑P̵̫̂L̶͈̽A̷̳͂Y̸̫͆.̶̱͆"

An act 2 battle initiated itself, with the red mass at one end of the table and the frightened new challenger at the other. The challenger used her generic deck to the best of her abilities, and was actually winning.

Despite appearing to not be very familiar with this world, the challenger certainly knew how to play Inscryption. She was just two points of damage away from beating this...this monster. It was all going so well.

...until Ol_card played his signature static card, that is. Once it was struck it rapidly duplicated itself, before the scale took a nosedive in the unfortunate soul's direction.

"W̸̙̑Ḧ̵̞́A̴̭̒T̶̖̉ ̷͚͠Ā̶͎ ̴̫̐S̷͚͘H̴̯͊A̸̠̎M̴̪̋Ë̸̡.̵̡͑ ̶̗̓Ÿ̴̱́O̸͚̎U̸͔͗ ̷̟̒K̶̻̄Ň̶̗O̷͓̚W̷̰͂ ̸̟͑Ẅ̸̟́H̸͖͑A̵̧͊T̸̤̎ ̸̙͝Ḩ̶͠A̶͇͑Ṕ̶̘P̸͕͊Ē̶̯N̸̺͗S̴̬̈́ ̵̹͐N̵͙̎Ö̵͚́Ẁ̵̳,̶̨̔ ̶͕̄K̴͍̊.̴̰̃"

The challenger struggled, but could only move her arms. She could only watch in horror as the entity climbed over the table, before lunging at her.

The screen cut to red, and the computer let out a high-pitched whine before shutting off, ejecting the floppy disk as well.

Four down. None to go. Now the game can truly begin.

#apocalyption #inscryption au #story #part one #OL_CARD #lonely wizard #the prospector #the melter #kaycee #faetol #krozzar #pafjyn #inedio #long post #inscryption spoilers #cw implied death #this is a lot of tags. And yet another inscryption au story by me #hope yall dont mind that im using Tumblr as a writing-sharing site lol #one last thing: i applaud you if youve made it this far. thanks for reading the tags! :)

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