The Savage Brawl [Round 5: Battletopia]

Originally posted on MSPA by Ixcalibur.

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Ziirphael sat against the cold metal wall of the building, his heart pounding, his head spinning, and slowly the panic drained away and he was left feeling exhausted. He could feel his eyes starting to close, and even though he was aware that it was a potentially fatal mistake to fall asleep now there was little he could do to stop it. As his eyes closed he found himself right back in that cave in the afterlife staring into the eyes of The Cultivator as she locked him into this body.
He awoke with a scream, there was rage and hatred in that scream but mostly it was one of horror. For all his life he had moved from body to body, using them up, killing other bodies and moving on. He had never been attached to one like he was now, when one had fallen asleep he had moved on, or otherwise extricated himself. He had never dreamt. That he had done so had been reminder enough of what The Cultivator had done to him, that the dream had been of that moment had been infuriating.

Though perhaps this reminder was one that he was due. Here was trying to destroy an irrelevant slime monster, when The Cultivator was his real enemy. Maybe he had been too hasty in dismissing the idea of working together to destroy The Cultivator; surely the others could see that she was their real enemy here. Plus, a powerful enemy dead is one thing, but a powerful enemy made a powerful ally is another thing entirely.
Something outside threw itself at the heavy door, snapping Ziir out of his reverie. He climbed to his feet and proceeded to completely ignore the thuds and scrabblings at the door. He walked down the corridor, which was lit only with dim red emergency lightning and peered through all the doors until he found the one that he wanted; a staircase. Ziir stretched out his awful wings and propelled himself up through the stairwell, slowing only as he reached the top floor. Here he levered the door off its hinges and threw it idly down the stairwell behind him. He steps out onto the roof and walks to the edge, peering down at the fire escape through which he entered. He could not make out what the thing at the base of the building was, but one thing was clear in his mind. That thing was The Cultivator's; a distraction against what they should really be fighting. He would bring the contestants together and they would make a stand against her. The thought brought a smile to Ziirphael's face as he took flight from the building.