Hunt the Executioner (Sojiro)

Your finger slides through the course stone opening in the door until you feel the hole stop. The tip of your finger gently brushes the backside of the stone door as you patiently wait for what is to come. An eerie silence befalls the area, your breath quickens, a bead of sweat drops from your forehead, and finally, something happens. The eyes of the skull begin to glow a deep red, as if by magic. The door shakes for a brief second as a demonic voice billows forth from the door.

"The Demon has found you worthy"

Then in an instant, without warning, a cold piece of steel slides across the opening of the hole, the very hole your finger is currently in. It happens so fast, you barely have time to react before the pain sets in, warm red blood pooling around the opening of the hole. The steel slides back, releasing your finger, only to reveal that it is no longer there. Blood begins to pour from the cleanly cut wound as the stone door shakes even more violently this time, sliding sideways into the earth revealing a dark hole boring its way into the earth.

A warm, dry and musty smell meets your nose as you slowly make your way into the tunnel. Its dark, all around you a stone corridor descends deeper and deeper into the earth, but you push forward. After a few moments the tunnel levels out, only to open up into a small stone room. It is incredibly dark, however a few beams of light can be seen from the ceiling, tiny cracks in the stone and ground allow for slivers of sun light to enter, giving you just enough light to help you see. The room is made of stone for the most part, and is a perfect square, twenty meters by twenty meters. You look around the room taking notice of the fact that it seems to be barren. Until your eyes see it, and stop.

Directly across the room from where you entered, against the wall is a massive stone statue. It depicts an evil looking man, his face covered and his eyes staring intently at you. In his hands, a stone depiction of the very blade you came here to find, The Executioner blade. On either side of this statue is a door, one on the right side and one on the left, shrouded in darkness. As you take in the awe of the statue, you notice a stone plaque at its base, with words etched into it. You close in on the statue to get a closer look, seeing that these words appear to be scratched into the stone.

"Here, the final resting place of a man with no name. Feared through out history, only to meet his demise by an emotion no one knew he possessed. Thousands of men slaughtered, cities cleaved, and nations shaken, only to be conquered by love. This is not the story of the Executioner, but the story of the woman who finally tamed him. For this tomb belongs to three souls, The Executioner, his wife, Vivian Stern, and the sword that coated this land in blood. Those who stumble upon this grave, take this as your warning, turn back, leave this cursed place alone. For the man who holds the blade is not the demon you must fear."

The words linger on your mind, unsure of what to make of what you just read. You take a moment to gather yourself, you now have one of three choices to make. Do you take head of the stones warning, turn back and leave the tomb? Or do you venture deeper, taking either the left or right tunnel, both that without a doubt take you on a surprising and unexpected journey.

You turn to the right, eyeing the right tunnel, that is the path you choose to take. As you make your way down the right tunnel, it gets harder and harder to see, as the light from the previous room slowly starts to fade away. Eventually you are engulfed in pure darkness, unable to see a single thing around you. You place your good hand against the tunnel wall, using it to guide you along, until the wall is no longer there.

Even though you can not see, you can feel the room open up, the air circulating around you. It is warm, dank and dry, however you can feel a light breeze coming from the other side of this darkened room, signaling an exit of some kind. You stand at the end of this tunnel, staring blankly into a pitch black room. You do not know its size, or what lies beyond, only that to venture further you must cross this room.

[Infrared Vision] 1/3 Posts

150 - 10 = 140 CP
215 CP

As sojiro activated his jutsu and looked around the dark room, he would notice two different signatures, changes in temperature. Above him, hidden within the stone ceiling, was a warm colored gas or cloud of some kind. Five meters in front of him, the ground changed. It moved from solid stone floor to some kind of cool colored surface. The room would be split down the middle by a different surface of some kind, with the exit resting beyond the cool surface.

As the information of the room would fill out, he would take a moment to take it in and formulate a plan. He'd try to take a few breaths to see if he could distinguish whatever the warm gas could be; he had a few ideas but he'd rather be safe than sorry. Regardless of whatever the gas was, he was more curious about the other half of this room that seemed to be made of some cooler surface, "I wish I had brought a torch..." He mumbled through his mask before he would take a few steps back, and move into his iconic stance of being on all fours.

Sojiro would move with great speed, combining his normal speed with that of this motion, so that he could perform a pounce to send him flying across the room and land on the other side. Sojiro didn't know what the other part of the floor could be, but he'd rather avoid it altogether. So, he'd add 5 extra meters to his movement with this so that he could hopefully land gracefully on the other side of the room and in the exit.

[Beast Mimicry Movement]

Infrared Vision - 2/3 Posts

140 CP
215 - 5 - 5 = 206 SP

With a giant leap, Sojiro managed to clear the metal surface that was on the ground. He flew through the air just barely landing on the other side of the surface, his feet meeting solid stone. A light breeze could be felt blowing through the tunnel, the man now standing at the opening of yet another room. Taking a few steps forward, the man would see nothing once again, as this room was just as a dark, if not darker than the room before. Yet again, the man was faced with a dark room, not knowing its contents or its size.

[Used a Flashbomb]

3/4 Flash left.

Entering the second room, Sojiro would take out a flash bomb, and attempt to use the light that the device emitted to illuminate the room. As the bomb went off it would fill the room with a white pulsating light, giving the man just enough time to take in the scene. The scene that unfolded before him was not one unlike the previous, a stone room, ten meters by ten meters. Sojiro would see that the room was incredibly barren. However, much like the previous room, the floor had more to offer. The stones were lined up in a grid pattern, with every other stone being marked with red paint, creating a checker board design. After scanning the floor, the mans eyes would shift towards the back wall, where three identical wooden doors rest, planted into the stone wall. The doors would be shut, and separated by a meter of space between the three.

Sojiro would use his wits this time, and traverse the ceiling using his chakra. He would remember what the room looked like as not to forget where eh was going or what he needed to do. As he cleared the entire room upside down, the man would eventually make it to the other side, where the three doors where. He would then reach out and pull open the middle door. As he did so, a sickening feeling would enter his stomach as the door did not reveal the exit, but instead a solid stone wall, built directly behind the door. This one was not correct. In addition to the door being wrong, the room suddenly began to shake, as the sound of grinding stone could be heard from above, the ceiling appearing as if it was moving. Sand and dirt fell from the ceiling as the smooth stone surface began to lower its self down the room, inching its way towards the floor, and ultimately Sojiro.

[Running like a beast]

140 CP
206 - 10 = 196 SP

Sojiro would quickly move to the right door, trying his best to move as quickly as he could as the ceiling continued to move downward. This door was correct, and as he swung it open, a hole could be seen on the other side, opening up in the stone just beyond the wall. Quickly moving through the door way, the man jumped down the hole before the room had time to close in on him.

He would drop into a smaller, more dry room, sand at his feet this time. As he stood, Sojiro would notice that he could suddenly see, a deep red glow filling the room around him. The room was a small five meter by five meter room, with no doors to be seen on any surface. What he did see however was another statue, almost identical to the one he saw in the first room. It was a large stone statue that depicted the executioner holding a stone version of his famed sword, another plaque at its base. As he approached the statue he would notice that the red glow was coming from the statues eyes, two red crystals implanted into the eye sockets. On the plaque read:

"Through the eyes of a demon, ambition was sought. Through the blade of a man, battles were fought, but by the heart of a woman, it was all for naught. To conquer the demon, you must destroy what conquered the man. "

Sojiro would look around the room, inspecting the statue to see if there was any hidden doors of any kind. Towards the back of the statue, pressed against the wall, would be a very tiny slit, with a minor amount of wind pushing through it. There was indeed a hole behind the statue, but the stone depiction of the man and his blade was just so heavy and to massive to move on its own. Something in this room had to be the key.

The man would then climb the stone structure and reach the head, taking out a cloth and attempting to remove the red stones from the eye sockets. It took a few moments, but the crystals eventually popped out, landing in Sojiro's hands. As he held the stones he would notice that they continued to give off light even when not attached, like two little red beacons that could guide his way. However nothing else seemed to happen with the stones being removed, as the statue was still in place.

Sojiro would take the eyes in his right hand and let out a soft laugh, "Well, I guess I have a light source now." So, with the eyes glowing, he would take a moment to ponder all the information that he had in front of him. He knew that love was what conquered the man, what what could he destroy that resembled love?

Knowing that there was some type of opening behind the statue made Sojiro want to just punch the thing out of pure rage... And then he had an idea. The heart was were you loved, and there was an opening behind the stature somewhere... So, he did what his gut told him to. He would rear back his right fist and would throw it forward in a punch aimed at the center of the statue's chest, using all of his might!

As the mans strike was jabbed into the stone chest of the statue, it actually gave way, a chunk of stone being pushed inward as if it was a loose pressure plate. A hidden button built into the statue where the heart would have been, now sliding inwards, only to click, releasing a contraption of sorts. The statue would shake and rumble, sliding side ways in the sand until it finally stopped, revealing a hole in the wall. Sojiro would step through, only to be met with an oh so familiar sight, complete darkness. From the feel of it, this room was massive, and had the familiar cool breeze blowing through it. It was hard to tell the shape and size of this room, but it was the largest one so far that the man had entered.

Sojiro would push forward with the stones in his hands, entering the hole in the wall to reveal the next room. It opened up into a large hallway with smaller hallways branching off from both sides. The main hallway extended straight down towards a solid stone wall. The wall had a slit in it, implying it was a door and could somehow be opened. On the surface of the stone door were four circular indents, where something like a coin or medallion could be placed. On either side of this main hallway, were two more hallways, making four extra passage ways in this area. The passage ways were not very long, but ended at dead ends as well. From the dim red glow Sojiro could make out what appeared to be tables at the end of each hallway. A number marking each path on the stone walls.

Sojiro let out a soft breath of relief when the statue gave when and slipped to the side. The man would let out a grunt as he moved into more darkness, eventually finding his way into a room with branching paths. Using the red glow of the stone, he saw the tables at each end of the small halls and took in a deep breath," Alright, well, let's get rocking and rolling..." And with that, the man would move into hallway number 1. If nothing bad happened, he would walk into each hallway and examine what was in each.

Sojiro would make his way down the hallway marked with the number one, using the red stones to light his way. The tunnel was creepy, made of dark stone, with etchings of history across its surface. The walls appeared to tell a story, with various different depictions of war and battle. He eventually would make it to the end of the hall way to see a wooden table built into the wall. On this table rested four round tokens, like giant coins, and looked like they could have slotted into the holes on the wall back in the main chamber.

On the table would be an inscription that read:

"The lowliest of creatures, living beneath our floor boards, the final splinter in the board of death."

Beneath the writing would rest four tokens, each one being made out of a different material and would bear a different picture. There was:

-A wooden token bearing the picture of a rat
-A golden token bearing the picture of a snake
-A copper token bearing the picture of a hawk
-A silver token bearing the picture of a skull

Sojiro would look at the artwork that was decorating the walls as moved down the hall, curious of what stories it could be speaking of. There were many it could be attributed too but he decided now wasn't the best time to start trying to go through a history lesson. As the bestial sun shinobi came to the end of the hall and looked upon the table, which held three coins, he couldn't help but furrow his brows, "This... Seems direct enough." He muttered to himself before he would go to grab the wooden coin with the rat on it.

Assuming things didn't explode or walls started to try and kill Sojiro, he'd make his way towards the second tunnel and down the end of the hall.

Sojiro would make his way down the hallway marked with the number two, still using the red stones to light his way. The tunnel was creepy, made of dark stone, with etchings of history across its surface. The walls appeared to tell a story, with various different depictions of war and battle. She eventually would make it to the end of the hall way to see a wooden table built into the wall. On this table rested four round tokens, like giant coins, and looked like they could have slotted into the holes on the wall back in the main chamber.

On the table would be an inscription that read:

"A winding brass road, deadly with each turn, the lowest of three, but a king of his realm."

Beneath the writing would rest four tokens, each one being made out of a different material and would bear a different picture. There was:

-A wooden token bearing the picture of a hawk
-A golden token bearing the picture of a rat
-A copper token bearing the picture of a snake
-A silver token bearing the picture of a skull

Sojiro.... would nod his head and touch nothing. Leaving the second hallway to go and examine the third.

After examining the third, he'd then explore the final hallway

Sojiro would make his way down the hallway marked with the number three, still using the red stones to light his way. The tunnel was creepy, made of dark stone, with etchings of history across its surface. The walls appeared to tell a story, with various different depictions of war and battle. She eventually would make it to the end of the hall way to see a wooden table built into the wall. On this table rested four round tokens, like giant coins, and looked like they could have slotted into the holes on the wall back in the main chamber.

On the table would be an inscription that read:

"The second brother of wealth, but still the king of the sky, a weaker foe to be preyed on"

Beneath the writing would rest four tokens, each one being made out of a different material and would bear a different picture. There was:

-A wooden token bearing the picture of a snake
-A golden token bearing the picture of a rat
-A copper token bearing the picture of a skull
-A silver token bearing the picture of a hawk

Sojiro was starting to put together to puzzles in this room, understanding what the gimmick was. He would let out a soft breath, some part of him regretting grabbing the first token when he did but he still kept it near him.

He didn't touch anything in the third tunnel, instead he would turn around and go to check on the fourth tunnel to see what it help.

Sojiro would make his way down the hallway marked with the number four, still using the red stones to light his way. The tunnel was creepy, made of dark stone, with etchings of history across its surface. The walls appeared to tell a story, with various different depictions of war and battle. She eventually would make it to the end of the hall way to see a wooden table built into the wall. On this table rested four round tokens, like giant coins, and looked like they could have slotted into the holes on the wall back in the main chamber.

On the table would be an inscription that read:

"We all bow before the king, a shining inevitable end"

Beneath the writing would rest four tokens, each one being made out of a different material and would bear a different picture. There was:

-A wooden token bearing the picture of a hawk
-A golden token bearing the picture of a skull
-A copper token bearing the picture of a rat
-A silver token bearing the picture of a snake