Side Note

You know, ending up in this line has reminded me that I've died a lot, haven't I? I died fighting that really round bandit, I got killed by… I don't actually remember how many times I've died or how I died. I remember that I've probably seen this queue more than the average living person… I mean average dead person. Does that mean my next encounter is with a dead person? The Judge of Souls? Oh my god… my dead father? Wait, I met my parents already, I can't make those jokes anymore. Well, first thing first, let's get out of the queue.

I stepped out of the queue and then took a moment to look at my surroundings. I see a whole lot of nothing. Just some ground and a very depressing shade of grey tinting the sky. Oh, and a beach with white sand, a lighthouse, and a cloaked figure standing there. How did I miss that the other times I was here? 

I walked onto the beach, remembering my distaste for sand. I hate sand. I just do. Although this white sand has a really weird feeling to it. Kind of reminds me of the desert that surrounded Hamblin.

"The Bone Desert, right?" The hooded figure faced me, revealing… a skeleton? Croen, is that you? "You saw with your very eyes that Croen was merely a demon. I am Tremom, the true God of Death. I am here to bless you."

"Your blessing? Do I get a cool scythe? Will it be made of darkness?"

"My blessing is an enchantment to your weapons." The God of Death raised his hands towards me, manifesting three tiny skulls that flew towards my Ring of Lurking Darkness, under my skirt to where my daggers were hidden, and to my feet, where I cast magic. I wonder what it does? "You can now deal more harm to both the undead and those who have faced death."

"Oh. That's… alright, I guess." I expected something cooler, like a skull cloak, a skull mask, or even a skull.

"Now, for your adventure to continue, I offer my RSVP for your wedding." He took a letter out of his cloak. "I shall be attending."

"Coolio." I grabbed his envelope. "I'll make sure to make Mel's rescue quick so we can have the wedding."

"Good luck." And onto the next floor, I went.

After a giant gladiator arena, the domain of a vampire noble, and the literal afterlife, I wonder what comes next. Myka sure has made these places extravagant. Maybe it'll be in the middle of the ocean? Inside a volcano? Falling off the edge of the world? Or maybe… it's just a cave… this is just a cave. A fancy cave, though. There are skull decorations, skeleton statues, and even moving skeleton statues… next to moving zombie statues… and moving ghoul statues… oh… my next opponent is a necromancer.

"Indeed, fool! It is I!" I turned to see an expressionless young girl standing next to a serious-looking undead girl who looked as young as the other. "Toten the Necromancer! Although we previously did not partake in combat due to reasons, here we are not bound!"

These undeads will be a problem. Usually, I have the number advantage, but I can't use that here since my Shadowrealm is empty. I've tried creating more, but for some reason, I can't. Fortunately, Tremom blessed me with a boon against the undead and dead… which is oddly convenient. In fact, Sherry was before her family… I'll have to wait for the next floor to see if it's a pattern. For now, I have to deal with the cannon fodder.

I summoned the dark halberd and started hacking and slashing the hordes of the undead. Tremom's boon sure is helpful since one slash is enough to kill most of these guys. However, I've got a bad feeling since the Necromancer and her friend are just standing there… menacingly. The Necromancer noticed I was looking at her and gave me a smirk. Okay… she's planning something.

Eventually, I had cut down almost every undead, bar the one standing beside the Necromancer. "Very well, Madeleine. You defeated my worthless troops… but now, prepare to face my tru-" Before she could finish, she realised I had dashed right under her, ready to give one big uppercut, but I was blocked by the undead that was next to her.

'I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to harm her.' A voice suddenly called out to me from inside my mind. Oh, it's the undead that guided me to the Necromancer. Hello there! 'Greetings.' 

I tried leaping over her, but she pulled down on my leg, sending me right into the floor. I kicked myself up, analysing the situation. Clearly, to get to the Necromancer, I'll have to deal with the undead girl… pitfall time! 

I stomped my foot, which made the Necromancer erect a magic barrier around how, thinking I was attacking her. To her surprise, a pitfall appeared under her undead friend, sending her down a hole. She panicked and undid her shield, creating a magic circle in front of her… that's a Lich summoning circle. It really left an impact on me when I read that book about all types of magic.

I dashed to where the magic circle was being created, disrupting the spell, before bonking the Necromancer on the head with the handle of my halberd. Another easy victory… I hope they don't get hard. I searched her body, eventually finding a teddy bear with a ribbon on it that had some writing that read 'From Samantha'. Aww… how cute… too bad I have to use it to get to the next floor. Like the times before, my legs turned transparent. I wonder who is next?

I found myself inside a… workshop? It's a weird one, though, since it's filled with rocks, raw ores, and… thread? It's tiny, too… the only thing of note is this rock maid statue in the centre of the room that's… wait… why is it looking at me?

Chapter namesake: A Light From The Shore by Kevin Sherwood for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4