[QUEST] Failure Imminent

[Rocket!]

This... was not night.

This was not the interval that the sun took a calm break from it's duty, resting beyond sight, allowing the land some refuge and time for a cool jaunt of it's own.

This was not the warm night air, with a beautiful view of the Sea of Stars viewable from a quick twist of the neck, not made for a romantic evening.

This was a menacing and evil darkness. One doomed to never end, without heroic intervention.

The night was harsh and cold, a cold unfamiliar and foreboding. The creatures of the Dearest were scuttling to find shelter, while the monster bone spiders-- Faces-- took refuge in their webby fortress. Were it not for an almost green light shining in the night air, the world would seem to any ill fated passerby to be uncivilized as a whole.

But if it wasn't civilized, then Dante and Iznan wouldn't be here.

This was a nightmare world, designed and controlled solely in the most foul of all darkness, with sole intent to do harm. The inhabitants were a fair step above Heartless, rivaling the sheer ill will and destructive capabilities of even Nobodies.

Anyone, forewarned or otherwise, would spend a good long week to consider simply not going.

The most important facet of this strange, lost world is the namesake-- Madam's Manor, a dominating structure constructed of a series of malformed pillars and a strong wood-like material. It was a longwise building, built with the strength of a castle and the stylistic flair of a demon lord. It consisted of a row of blackened stone and wood that stretched across in a wide span of space. Pillars seemed as though they were wrought from stone from below the ground, raised to encover the entryway to the manor itself.

The Madam in question was a titanic individual, empowered by darkness both swift, clever, proud, and strong. She was a woman of dark power... power of the most strong and deadly kind. Her reaches led her to beginning creating her apprentices, youths stolen or come of their own volition to learn the ways of darkness. Her own ambitions behind these efforts are unknown... and not surprising, given her low profile.

But this world... this "home"...

It was frightening. The pale, unearthly green spike of pure energy radiated from just behind the building and out of view was conceived from a great level of power unknown to the unlikely duo. It was undulating, spreading slowly for the sky above at a fair pace.

This could very well mean that the mistress of the manor was otherwise occupied.

It might very well make for the opportune moment Dante and Iznan seek.

Dante Hyubasi, former apprentice to the Dark Order, and Iznan Harker, current leader of the Barons, have come here with a mission.

This mission will not be easy. It will be one of the most challenging trials either of the two will endure during their lives.

• Defeat and destroy the Dark Order and it's leader, Madam.
  
• Do not die. [ XP ]
  
• Prevent anything... fishy from taking place.
  

[Dante]

All of the memories came back to him in a flash, almost as if it never happened. He could still feel her presence, even after such a massive period of time away from her. Her eyes still burned into his neck, her voice echoing throughout the workings of his mind, her image still freshly etched into even the deepest crevices of his mind. This world, Madam's Manor, hadn't changed a single bit. The petrified, twisted trees loomed over those who walked under them. The endless darkness that engulfed the beings of this area felt as if it were now attempting to suffocate Dante himself. He couldn't tell if Iznan was feeling what he was, given that he never knew the world like he did.

He remembered the feeling of the Darkness and all of the power that it gave the warrior. The sheer idea of using it at its full potential again gave him a feeling of euphoric ecstasy. Was all of this really behind him? Did he truly believe that the energy would leave his veins forever? At first, he thought that everything would be fine, but after that, he knew that his past wouldn't remain locked within his Heart. The memory of this place was just too cumbersome to hide.

The main question to be pondered, though, was one that proded his thoughts endlessly. Would he be able to eradicate Madam? A whole year had passed since he last encountered the witch and, although his skills have increased, he can't brush off the fact that there was so much for him to learn. Iznan seemed to be the only person he could look to in his time of need ever since Magus, Kassom, and all of his other friends seemed to be out of touch.

"To think... That after all of these time I would be returning to this place for one final confrontation. I just hope that they all haven't grown that much stronger." That's all he had to say as his careful eyes examined the front doors of the castle.