Dia shrugs smoothly. "Darling, I acknowledged long ago that I would give up just about anything for power and dominance, and this is quite the expedient path to both of those things." The succubus's eyes flare with blue fire, and her wings flutter as she accepts An'zig Vra into herself with a slow, cold smile.

"No." Madison says. "I just.." she physically squirms at the thought of giving her life for an eldritch horror, to be a slave to an entity she neither liked, nor understood. "The price is too high. This..Umbra, will own you, completely, body and soul. Nothing is free! You can take, but how much will it ask you to give!? I can't..I just can't..I can BARELY comprehend where we even ARE."

"Do you refuse?" The Herald asked.

"Yes." Madison said. "If this is my end, then I will die happy knowing I did so with my free will."

"You were never free, child."

And with a thought, Madison was completely vaporized. The Herald extended her hand, and a path was laid clear. What lay ahead would truly test us. We knew each step we took now, especially, we walked closer to be in the presence of a God.

"May the stars guide you, and the universe be all the wisdom you need. Should you survive, untold power and knowledge will be yours. All you must do is serve." And the Herald was gone.

"I had wondered if she would cling to the ways of the Order even if it meant killing herself. Apparently she would."

"That was a shame. Such a waste, she did have potential," Dia observes before stepping through the portal.

Father had expected the door to simply hurt them as the others did, not put him to sleep. In his drowsiness, he heard them speak to someone, offering them powers and gifts if only they served Umbra. He stirred fully awake just as he saw Madison get absolutely vaporized by the mysterious woman. "And then there were four..." He mumbled as he brought himself to his feet only to then kneel before the herald. "You honor us with your grace, and we all humbly thank you and Umbra for the gifts."

(If still able, he'll take the Shard of the Black Empire gift)

He stands straight at her departure, his lips thinning into a slight frown as his eyes brought themselves to look where Madison once stood. "A fool, through and through." He merely shakes his head and follows behind Dia through the portal.

BEYOND SPACE AND TIME

You step through the portal and find yourselves on another world. You stand on a tall spire of rough black rock with steps leading down. Down below, the entire ground is nothing but organic black writhing tentacles of various sizes, filling the entire landscape as far as the eye can see. The ground, if there is one, is not visible. The tentacles are all various sizes, some like hairs, some as large as buildings. Among the living ground, poking through it, massive skeletal remains of creatures the size of entire cities litter the world. In the sky, a massive black star is close, close enough that it fills most of the sky, and that it should vaporize all of you completely, but it does not. Shades of purple dominate everything - a color, a hue, that is unfamiliar, yet welcoming. The only sound you can hear is the deafening movement of the slimy tentacles like worms, innumerable worms, moving without purpose. Finally, one landmark seems to stand out: another monolithic tower of black rock, but on top, a temple. 

You can see that you can traverse the steps down into the living ground and head towards the temple. You realize that you are closer to a terrible cosmic entity than ever before, and you're not sure if what you are seeing is truly what is reality - perhaps altered for you so your minds could process and comprehend paths, or sensations - or an illusion as to prevent insanity.

Before you take your first step, the tip of a massive purple eyeball the size of a large town emerges from the mass of tentacles, just enough to peer up at you from the ground. The mere sight of it instills many sensations. You can feel it scanning you, observing you, waiting for you. The tentacles part to reveal a path to the temple on top of the other black spire.

Villanelle follows the path to the temple.

Dia flutters her wings and heads towards the temple as well, eyes sharp with curiosity and a slight smile on her face.

Tora follows after Dia on the ground, her claws clicking slightly along the path. Her eyes remain cautious and alert. 

As you reach the bottom of the portal tower, the tentacles worm and writhe and provide a path - a trail of perfect black stone. The path goes deep, the tentacles forming walls - sometimes over a mile high on each side as you follow the way. The sky is a bright purple, with the massive star filling half the sky.

You all follow the path to higher ground and climb the steps to a massive temple complex - ancient and evil. Miles below, the massive eye watches as you ascend. You enter what appears to be a rough circular structure, open, and littered with runes. On the other side is another portal, an exit.

All of you are restored as if had taken a long rest. A voice in your head speaks to you with the sound a billion voices:

ONLY THREE WILL PASS, ONE MUST DIE. WHO IS NOT WORTHY AMONG YOU?

Villanelle swings her halberd at Dia twice.

Attack: 21 Damage: 20

Attack: 26 Damage: 17

 An'zig Vra: 21

An'zig Vra: 99

Smite: 11

Smite:25

Tora growls and roars in surprise as Vill's blades and Smite hit her body. Almost instantly she turns and lunge jumps at Vill, her claws extended and teeth bared.

Guess: Attack: 26 Damage: 6 

We're: Attack: 27 Damage: 6

Killing: Attack: 28 Damage: 10

Sassy: Attack: 25 Damage: 11

Gushing wounds:

Attack 1: 30

Attack 2: 41

Attack 3: 35

Attack 4: 61

Stunning strike: Failed

OP ac?

Attack 1: 83

Attack 2: 46

Bonus action attack 1: 53

Bonus action attack 2: 86

Init for next round: 23

“Wow, didn’t even take a moment to talk it out, huh?” Father questions, watching Villanelle try to strike Dia. “Wrong move trying to attack the one with a guard dog...”

The priests stands back and casts Heal on himself and merely watches the fight for now.

Init when needed: 13 

Shard Roll: 95 

As a reaction, Villanelle will use Cruel Riposte on Tora.

Attack: 11 Damage: 19

Smite: 19

Initiative: 9

From the air, Dia tilts her head. "Interesting." With a quick flick of her wrist, Villanelle's mind explodes into shards of confusing thought.

Villa must make a DC 18 Int check or take 23 psychic damage, half on success. If she fails, she also subtracts a d6 from all attack rolls and ability checks for the next minute, as well as Con STs to maintain concentration on spells. She can repeat the ST at the end of each of her turns.

Sexy Twilight Destruction: 74

An'zig Vra: 22

Init: 16

24

Dia considers, then sends another wave of psychic static through Villa's mind.

Another DC 18 Int ST from Villa or 21 psychic damage, half on success. On fail, subtract a d6 from attack rolls and ability checks, plus Con STs to maintain concentration. You can repeat the ST at the end of each turn.

Sexy Twilight Destruction: 18

An'zig Vra: 98

5

Standing up, Villanelle compensates for the confusion by activating the Accuracy fighting style.

Attack: 22 Damage: 16

Attack: 24 Damage: 24

Smite: 23

HP: 49

17

Tora growls and hisses in pain, moving to dig her claws and fangs into Vill, attempting to tackle her down again.

The: Attack: 13 Damage: 7

Fight: Attack: 17 Damage: 10

Of: Attack: 29 Damage: 7

Ages: Attack: 12 Damage: 9

Gushing wounds:

Attack 3: 27

Ac boost:

Action 1: 99

Action 2: 79

Action 3: 71

Action 4: 52

Stunning strike: Fail

Cruel Riposte: Attack: 19 Damage: 33

6