Hunt the Executioner (Imino)

You let a kunai drop down into the hole, letting it disappear into the darkness, but the sound of it hitting the bottom never arrives. You then call out, hearing your own voice echo out through the dark pit. It continues for several seconds, indicating that this chamber is massive, and incredibly deep. You decide to take a quick leap of faith, literally, as you leap downward into the dark abyss. You continue to fall, wind rushing past your face, as the seconds grow longer and longer. You quickly realize this hole was way deeper than you expected.

Shizuka pulled out her Katana, ready to ruin it, she would stab hard into the wall of the tunnel chute she fell down. This was done to try and slow down her descent so she would not break her legs in the fall. When the blade would give, she would try and land as gently as she could as all shinobi did with their heroic landing.

Trying the best you can to find the edge of the dark hole, you shift your body around mid air, whipping your blade out and swinging it around to find the wall. You eventually manage to find the edge of the hole as your blade collides with the stone, creating sparks as steel digs into the solid wall. It catches just enough to slow your descent, allowing your body to slow down as it falls towards the bottom. You brace yourself against the wall, sliding down it until you finally reach the bottom. You land not on smooth solid stone, but in sand, with about a foot of water at the hole. The red glow of familiar crystals meet your gaze as you take in the scene.

You are now in the base of a massive round hole. The room is illuminated by three small red gems, each stone lodged in the wall above a door, for a total of three doors. The middle door is closed, a wooden door with a sword etched into it. As you attempt to open the door you realize it is locked. You look left, then right, looking at the other two options. The left and right are not doors, but openings that lead to another tunnel. Above the left tunnel is the name Vivian Stern and above the right is the name Mohamuro Stern

There was water to break her fall, better save than sorry she figured. She felt the knicked edges of her blade, spent. She sheathed it, planning to use it as a throwaway or repair it at a later date. She washed her hands her body roughly of the caked blood. Dried blood could really, hinder your movements and overall condition. It was something she did not need. Shizuka tended to her missing finger, replacing the bandages on it. The bleeding had at least stopped.

She inspected the room, three gems lighting each of her paths. The middle had a door, one she naturally would fiddle with and realize was locked. The other pathways were doorless tunnels with names to state what. So, she had heart of Vivian stern, the Skull of Mohamuro Stern, the Centre was demon sword? She would move right first because Right was all Right.

You ultimately decide to go to the right first, walking underneath Mohamuro Stern's name and through the dark tunnel. After a few seconds of walking the room opens up, a square stone room illuminated by several red gems. In the center of the room lies a giant stone coffin, an inscription etched into the surface of the lid. At the back of the room, built into the wall, sits a stone table with a metal box of some kind.

You first inspect the coffin, using the dim red glow to read the words scratched into the lid.

"Here lies Mohamuro Stern, the man who became a demon. While the man lies dead, his spirit lives on. To kill the demon, you must win his heart"

Beneath the words, embedded into the stone surface sits a rusty metal object, what appears to be half of a key of some kind. After inspecting the coffin you inspect the back of the wall, trying to figure out the table. On the stone slab sits an odd box, and above it, in the wall a hole. This hole bears the shape of a skull, and is roughly the same size as the crystal skull from the lever room. As you take in all this information, you take a moment to decide what to do next.

As you place the crystal skull into the back of the wall, it fits perfectly into the hole, rattling for a second before clicking into place. As soon as the skull slides into its resting place, the top of the metal box flings open, allowing warm air to escape into the room. You peer into the box, using the dim red glow to try and see what was inside. What meets your gaze is a small gold locket attached to a chain necklace. The locket is in the shape of a heart and appears to have two letters etched into the face. The letters read V.S, and as you flip open the locket, a very old hand painted portrait of a beautiful woman stares up at you, her smile causing a sense of comfort, if even for a moment. You quickly remember where you are as you take the necklace, deciding what to do next.

Ana, took the locket. The gold was cold in her hands, the chain sliding across her fingers. Inside was the picture of Vivian Stern, a beautiful woman.

"Careful of that Witch." Shizuka listened to her spirit curious to know why he cautioned her. "A rabbit may grab the curiosity of a wolf but a beast is never tamed by anything other than a bigger beast."

Shizuka went back to the left tunnel. Most likely she’d find the tomb of Vivian stern and perhaps a lockbox to fit the heart in.

You now decide to go to the left, walking underneath Vivian Stern's name and through the dark tunnel. After a few seconds of walking the room opens up, a square stone room illuminated by several red gems. In the center of the room lies a giant stone coffin, an inscription etched into the surface of the lid. At the back of the room, built into the wall, sits a stone table with a metal box of some kind.

You first inspect the coffin, using the dim red glow to read the words scratched into the lid.

"Here lies Vivian Stern, the woman who loved a demon. Her love brought a man back from the edge, and saved a nation. To save the soul, you must remind him of who he is"

Beneath the words, embedded into the stone surface sits a rusty metal object, what appears to be half of a key of some kind. After inspecting the coffin you inspect the back of the wall, trying to figure out the table. On the stone slab sits an odd box, and above it, in the wall a hole. This hole bears the shape of a heart, and is roughly the same size as the crystal heart from the lever room. As you take in all this information, you take a moment to decide what to do next.

As you slot the crystal heart into the wall, you hear another click, much like the previous room. The metal box flings open, revealing a very old and dusty book. You pick up the book and inspect its pages, flipping through the old thing. You learn that this was a poem book used by Mohamuro to record poems, love letters and other scribbles. They were all directed at his wife, Vivan. You grab the Book, the Key from the coffin and the red gems, deciding what to do next.

You approach the center door back in the main pit, taking both the necklace and the book with you. You piece the key fragments together, and slot them into the door. A thin click echos out in the pit as the door slowly creaks open. You step through, only to be greeted by the red glow you have grown accustomed to seeing. You step into a large square room, 20 meters by 20 meters. Directly across from you, on the other side of the room, is a very large iron door with bolts and iron brackets lining its edges. It the center of the room is yet another statue, however this time the statue is not of a man, but instead of a woman. The statue depicts the woman standing at attention with a stone version of the infamous Executioner blade. At the base of the statue a bundle of very old, rotten and decrepit flowers can be found resting on a plague. You slowly step into the room, approaching the statue and reading what is written on the plaque.

"Approach the shrine of the demon who cleaved a nation, rendered thousands and brought death upon this land. Speak its name and behold they who truly conquered a demon. Come face to face with evil and claim its heart."

Shizuka looked at the woman or the witch as her inner Yurei liked to call it. He did have a point though. For all they knew, she stole his heart with ulterior motives. She examined the figure of the woman, the flowers all wilted and long beyond recognition.

She moved towards the statue, a shrine of the demon huh?

"Vivian Stern."

Who said the demon that corrupted him wasn't the same woman? She could have been the demon inside the blade the entire time? It could have been all a mirror or a juxtaposition.

The name "Vivian Stern" leaves your lips, as the room instantly begins to get cold, a chill sweeping through your body. The red glowing room starts to fill up with a cool mist, water vapor seeping out of the floor and walls. The whole room becomes a white misty color, illuminated by the red glow, giving the area a very demonic and ominous feel. That is when you see it, emerging from within the statue appears to be a ghost, a spiritual image of a woman. She gently hovers forth, a ghostly version of the Executioner blade in her hands.

Then out of no where, her calm, loving face turns into a very demonic one, distorting and twisting, as a loud shriek echos out through the stone room. The mist begins to swirl around you and you suddenly begin to lose your breath, as if you can no longer breath. The mist feels smothering, as if it is choking you, as the demonic spirit of Vivian rears back her ghostly blade and takes a giant sweeping lunge at you with the blade.

You raise your sword, side stepping the womans strike and moving forward, attempting to counter strike the ghost with your own technique. However as you move to slice through the woman, both your weapon and your entire body moves right through her, as if nothing was there. You feel a cold icy sensation grip at your chest as a flood of pain engulfs your body. It feels as if lightning has coursed through your head as your vision goes blurry, then fades. However you do not fade to black, and instead your vision fills with an illusion of some sort. You see two individuals standing next to each other, a man and woman on a cliff about to get married. The man stands in a handsome black robe while the woman wears a beautiful white dress. They kiss each other as you snap back to reality, watching the spirit move right through you. You whirl around to see that the woman is now on the other side of you, between your body and the door you entered through.

You whip out the book, flipping through its pages, and begin to recite a poem that her husband had written. As soon as you speak the words the ghost halters for a second, the mist settling. you can feel your throat loosen some as breath fills back into your lungs. A moment of silence lingers before another loud shriek fills your senses. Your vision blacks out again, dropping the book to the stone floor, your mind is filled with another illusion.

You watch as the man Mohamuro walks off into the distance, equipped with ninja gear and weapons. Vivian sits on a wooden porch with her head in her hands, tears streaming down her face. Then the scene flashes, you see fire and destruction as Mohamuro is pierced through the gut by an enemy, left to die on the battle field. Once more the scene jumps as you now watch a funeral take place, the mans body in a wooden coffin being lowered into the ground, Vivian sobbing in the rain as she watches her husband being buried.

You snap back to reality as the room as altered. Instead of screams and shrieks, the ghost is crying. The floor feels wet and moist as a layer of water has formed, rising up from the floor.

As you raise the locket, the ghost screeches once more, causing the room to shake, dirt and sand falling from the ceiling as the room continues to flood. Once again your vision goes black, your head numb and your body weak. You have prepared for this now.

Your vision is replaced once more with another scene. This time you see Vivian standing among a burning pile of rubble, dead bodies around her, the Executioner blade in hand. Blood soaks her clothing as she watches the village before her burn to the ground. The illusion jumps to a a rainy day, storm clouds overhead as Vivian peers down into a massive hole. All around her people work to construct some kind of building. She stands over a stone coffin, grasping a locket as she raises the sword, thrusting it into her heart.

You snap back to realty to see the spirit solemnly hovering, neither screeching or crying. Her ominous figure floats, simply pointing the sword. At first it appears as if it was being pointed at you, only to quickly realize she was pointing at the statue of herself.

You rush over to the statue, pulling out your blade once more and strike the heart of the statue. The blade sinks into the stone as if it was made of soft soil. The blades pierces the statue where the heart would be, as you hear a clank from behind. You look over to see a large rusty key as been pushed out of a cavity located on the back of the statue.

You grab the key and head to the massive door at the back of the room. Placing the key into the rusty key hole, you hear a click as the door pushes open. Behind the door is a steep inclined tunnel that pushes up towards the surface. red gems line the tunnel walls, guiding you upwards to your final destination.

After several moments of climbing, you level out and enter a small circular room. This room has no door or windows and is completely bare. You scan the room, using what little light is left and notice that in the dead center of the room is the Executioner Blade. The sword stick upright, the handle of the weapon buried in the stone floor, the massive blade sticking up, pointing to the ceiling. Silence falls over you as you take a deep breath and approach the sword. Written on the floor, in a circular design around the blade is one final inscription.

The Demon must always have a heart

You hover over the blade, biting your lip, coming up with a heart breaking choice. The room is dead silent, darkness consuming you as you stare down at the cold steel protruding up from the floor. In this moment you feel as if the world fades away, death is knocking on your door, and then....you take the plunge. Your body slides onto the blade, your eyes closed as you feel the steel cleanly cut into you, piercing your heart. You thought death would hurt more than this, but oddly enough, you feel comfort, at peace with yourself. Then, in the deafening silence, a voice whispers to you.

Thank you

You snap up, looking forward while hanging there on the blade, hanging onto your last breath. You see the fading images of two people, a man and woman walking hand in hand. They exit the room, vanishing into the void. For some reason you force a smile as you feel your life leaving you, you heart takes its final beat....

Then you hear it, another voice crashing into the back of your mind.

"Imino Shizuka"

Your body lurches, blood being forced through your body as you feel a sudden burst of energy. The room begins to shake violently as the walls and ceiling start to crumble. You have no idea what is happening as debris starts to crumble around you, causing the room to completely fall apart. Light burst through the ceiling, almost blinding you for a moment as the room opens up, letting fresh air and light in. The building continues to crash, breaking open completely, only to open up to the world outside. You feel cool rain begin to pelt the back of your body as the sky opens up, drenching the earth.

"Arise, Executioner Imino Shizuka"

The voice commands you, and your body moves, sliding up off of the sword. You look down to see your word rapidly healing, blood coating your entire body. You stand there, rain flooding around you, as the floor cracks, splintering out, down the tunnel and into the rest of the building. The stone holding the blade falls away, revealing its handle to you. You grab the blade and lift it, feeling a rush fall over you. Something is different, something has changed.

All around you the ground crumbles and breaks away, burying the tomb beneath the soil. You have survived, freed Mohamuro and vivian, and have claimed the legendary Executioners blade.