Diavola

The portal above closed as quickly as it opened after ungracefully dumping you into the alternate dimension that was comparable to the infernal afterlife. The Exit Realm was a land of barren blood-red rock, inhospitable for any kind of vegetation, let alone animals. Columns and stacks of stone blocks laid about like a great temple was meant to be built here — no doubt the Mors Mundi Pro Supremo Leviathan cult’s doing. Stalagmites, looking more like tall stalks of biological tissue, have grown to match the columns in height and bunched together tight enough to form thick walls. The creatures that do inhabit this accursed place were monstrous beings of various levels of aberration, with no consistency to their overall appearance. You could be facing giant worms and floating eyeballs in one room, and the next one would have demonic wizards and living miasma. Still, you blasted through them all the same as you did back in the mansion. You weren’t afraid anymore. You’ve escaped the mansion once, and you chose to return to it and brave the Realm for only two reasons: to save Cordelia’s father and to stop the monsters from the realm from entering the human world. Once you’ve fought your way through and activated the three switches scattered throughout, the tripartite panel on the floor of the first room opened up, allowing you to descend to the Sacrificial Grounds.

What awaited down below were the leftovers of the cult’s previous ceremony. Blood. Bones. Skulls. You landed on some of those over a ritual circle, surrounded by dozens of long-snuffed candles. Three dead cultists laid in the corners of the room, their bodies discarded like litter after fulfilling their divine purpose. You could only advance forward. The ornate carpets rolled out leading to the doorway even clarified it was your only path. As you went deeper into the catacombs, you saw more or less the same sight, with some new additions like empty shackles on the walls and rusty chains dangling from the ceiling. Eventually, you reached the sacrificial chamber where Albert — the brilliant if eccentric scientist, the man responsible for building the Portal Machine and discovering the Exit Realm, and about to be the final requisite human sacrifice — was tied to the altar, only capable of breathing and awaiting his demise. Right as you were about to free him from his restraints, however, the ground rumbled, the restraints snapped, and Albert’s body was suddenly lifted into the air by an unknown force and flung into the next room.

You followed pass the columns and found him hovering above another ritual circle, the same contents laying on top as the one before. Blood. Bones. Skulls. Exactly three dead cultists except this time, they were huddled at the center of the circle — the most recent chosen few to become part of the sacrificial pact. Then, from that very pile of offerings, came a massive explosion that launched Albert into the sky as blood coming from the floor started raining upwards. Thankfully, right before he was about to plummet to his death, Cordelia swooped in on her magic broom just in time to catch her father and fly away. You hoped they’ll make it out safely. As the reverse downpour reached its climax, a bright flash of light, followed by another explosion, sent blood flying everywhere and painted the room redder than it already is. And at the center of it all, a figure appeared.

Diavola, the Mother of All, known by the cult as the Lifegiver for her supposed power to revive their planet-devouring deity, loomed over you menacingly. She was levitating, though you’re sure even if she wasn’t, she’d still tower over you. Her cloak, or whatever was that fleshy growth enveloping her, flowed dramatically in the wind as her gaze alighted on you with curiosity.

"Hm? And what do we have here? A pathetic human? Interesting...“

A smirk curled her lips. Her eyes narrowed, assessing you with a mixture of disdain and amusement.

"What brings such a weak creature into my realm uninvited, I wonder?"

She leaned in closer, having to bend over just to be at eye level with you. The air was thick with a sense of dominance.

"Are you here to play sacrificial lamb like all these annoying cultists do?”

Her tone was dripping with contempt. She straightened up and puffed out her chest as a hint of intrigue glared in her eyes.

"Or perhaps you've come seeking to satisfy a more... primal, more... carnal desire of yours?"

A predatory grin spread across her face as she crossed her arms under her large breasts.

"Speak now, before my patience wears thin. And know this,"

Her gaze hardened. Her voice firm and commanding.

"I have little tolerance for deceit. Choose your words wisely if you value your life."

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