In an instant, the scenery changes from dank and dirty wooden walls, to an endless sea of red. Pink clouds swirl within a crimson sky, dancing with the wind which seems to blow from whatever direction and angle it feels like, regardless of the paths of other nearby currents. Distant islands of blood colored stone float in place, connected by massive waterfalls of glittering pink. Beneath the feet of the three mice, a similar pink is visible, but rather than water it is made up of sparkling sands, which flow across the ornate brickwork like a swarm of skittering insects, vanishing off of the stone ledge in the distance, surely to meet the surface of another strange, flying island further bellow. This strange, alien vista seems to stretch infinitely in all directions, but it is the altar in front of them which primarily holds their focus.

It is completely unadorned, and comprised of the same bright stone, simply a series of stone steps leading up to the flat surface. Before it, a familiar face, or, more accurately, the back of a familiar head is visible. Helena the guild mistress stands, arms spread, the three keys floating in the air above her head, shining their colors so radiantly that even the eyes of Mia and Frederich can see them. The mouse woman turns her head, just a touch, looking to the three wounded adventurers with an expression of mild disdain before looking forward once more, paying them no more mind. The three keys float in a triangle shape, the pink at the peak, the blue and green to either side, and from each, the glowing light flows in a steady stream to the top of the altar, blending, merging into a pit of pure blackness, and from this abyss, it takes shape, opening its eyes to look towards the mice.

Helena, Frederich and Mia all see roughly the same thing, even if the image isn't quite the same for any one of them. A dark lord, a cat, lacking any proper discernable qualities. If asked to describe it, they would all say the same: an ordinary cat. If asked to give more specific details, however, they would all stumble. Was it large or small? Light or dark furred? Did it have any markings? Scars? Any time they looked back in their memories and thought they knew, they'd second guess their conclusion, as it would never seem quite right. Kay had earlier described it as faceless, and while there is some accuracy to that, it's also flawed. It has both countless faces and none at all, both at the exact same time.

This isn't really true, either. It only has one proper face, one which cannot be seen by common mouse eyes, but there is one creature present whose eyes are far from common. Snow. That's the vague recollection the naked mouse had as she tried to think back at the briefest glimpse of the true form of the dark lord she had taken in before it had vanished from sight. It wasn't white, but it reminded her of snow. Largely black with white specks rapidly flowing into and out of existence, the entire coloration in a state of flux, switching from darkness to light. Pure static in a four legged form, but even that is only a vague outline, something the chaotic energy constantly bubbles out from, only the slightest bit, before entirely dissipating. Then there's the eyes, the only features recognizable on the strange living silhouette. Pure white this time, with constant flickering black specks. Within this strange realm, everyone can see clearly, and even has shadows beneath their feet, despite there being no apparent source of light. Well, all of them have shadows except for the dark lord standing before them.

NULL. What does that mean, Kay wondered. Is that it's name? No, it may float above the head of the creature, but there's something off about it, and not just that the word would make for a strange title. It doesn't quite look like other names she'd seen, but even that is difficult to quantify or compare, seeing as how even as she could see them, it was historically more like being fed information than seeing actual print. It would need to be, seeing as how Kay, a woman from a small village which lacked luxuries such as books, is entirely illiterate. Then there's the level next to it, distorted values, constantly in flux, the very number of digits in the range endlessly changing. Whether that meant that the value was somehow hidden, or, indeed, the creature had no specific set level of power is difficult to say. Either way, Kay can't take her eyes off of the familiar nightmare before her. She can't say that she really expected to find it here, but at the same time, doesn't find herself surprised, either.

"You have arrived at last." it says. The story is similar to before. A voice which sounds entirely natural to the regular mice, but looking back they struggle to recall whether it sounded masculine or feminine, deep or high pitched. Kay has no sensation of her ears being altered, but seeing as how the curse mark has spread well beyond her eyes, well beyond her entire head, at this point, it should hardly be surprising. Looking back at their first meeting, she would describe the voice the same as any other, but now? Now it was distinctly feminine, completely without the low, throaty rumble the voices of dark lords are so known for. It is beautiful, melodic, effortless to understand, yet still sounds entirely unnatural, artificial, a mechanical mockery of what some alien entity might expect a voice to be.

Even Helena is a bit shaken up, but she does well to maintain her poise. "Oh, great being..." she says, knowing full well that some cats consider the title of 'dark lord' to be an offensive one. "I have brought these artifacts to your altar, and seek your power. My wish is a significant one, but the groundwork for it already exists, and I have little doubt that it is within your obviously significant powers."

The dark lord looks to Helena. It hadn't been before, but that was rather difficult to tell, the eyes just being solid orbs of static without any sort of pupil or iris. From an outside perspective, the eyes didn't really seem to move, but the guild-mistress? She could distinctly feel them locked upon her, and despite her supreme confidence in her own strength, she can't keep her comparably small body from shivering.

"Not you." it purrs, looking to Kay, who feels the same sensation. "Her."

"But-but-but I have the keys!" Helena sputters before forcing herself to remain calm and collected. "That woman over there simply relied on outside powers. She doesn't even have any proper wishes... she's unworthy!" she continues, entirely unaware that the being before her is the source of said outside powers.

"What, those worthless trinkets? Do really think I have any interest in such toys?" it says, before pausing. "Unworthy... unlike you, I take it?" it says.

All the while, Kay, Frederich and Mia are frozen in place, watching the scene before them. Every one of them thinks that they should speak up, but has no idea what to say, feels that they should act, but no proper course of action comes to them. As ordinary as the dark lord might look to the armored mouse and the sorceress, they are fully aware that ir is anything but.

"Yes. That's right." Helena clears her throat, regaining her confidence. "Oh, great and powerful entity, heed my call! I have worked hard to create the experience system. A method of both quantifying and improving ones strength, but, sadly, I am just a single mouse. I lack the power to truly perfect it. But you, however, in your great wisdom and strength... I know you can grant my wish, and bring about a better, a more just world!"

It simply chuckles. "And what, pray-tell, does this 'perfect' system entail?"

The guild mistress smiles confidently. "The current system grants power and knowledge all around, at set intervals. A proper reward in response to ones hard work and devotion, but I seek to make it more specific. Customizable statistics. If one laments their weakness, they can work hard to become strong. If they seek to be smarter, rather than going for a general level up, they can invest experience points into improving their mind. If one seeks beauty, or charm or any other trait they hold and wish were greater, through sheer effort and dedication, they can correct that flaw."

The dark lord sits silently, its static tail curled about its distorted form.

"Just think about it!" Helena chirps excitedly, her earlier calm diction entirely forgotten. "No longer needing to depend on genetics or good fortune to determine our base lot in life! Mice no longer needing to start on unbalanced scales, knowing full well that the hard work will, for some, will go unrewarded, while the sloth and ignorance of others will earn them endless success! Any flaw one has, one can improve! Any strength one has can become greater through sheer will! A perfect utopia where not only do we all get what we seek, but to do so, we are all constantly motivated to be productive, to learn, to grow and have new experiences! Health, money, influence, all those old things one used to largely be born into will no longer matter. All will be equal, all work will be rewarded, and society will similarly grow and the people be happy, and the happier people wish to be, the more the world will improve! Just imagine what such a world would be like!"

The creature shakes its head and chuckles. "You mice really are foolish creatures."

"W-what?" Helena says, taken aback. "Who are you calling a fool? I've engineered a perfect system! A recipe for a perfect world!"

"Oh really? A world where everyone gets what they want, is it? A world where everyone can be strong, smart, beautiful and beloved? Even though such things are only truly valid in comparison to other people?" it says. "So, say someone wishes to become stronger. What good is that if they are still weaker than everyone else? Well, clearly they just need to gather more... experience points? Is that what you call them?"

"Yes." Helena grumbles, paws balled into fists, trying to maintain her calm in the face of the mocking tone.

"Well, I suppose they can. But won't others have the same idea? Not only will this misguided individual need to out-compete everyone else, they'll need to devote all of this experience to strengthening themselves. After all, if they don't, others will. To truly become properly strong, smart, desirable, any other quality, they will need to pursue that end, ignoring all others."

"Well... they don't need to become the strongest in the world or anything. They can just be content with their existing strength." Helena says, having faith she can still win this argument through sheer logic.

"What you desire is a world where all of the power falls into the hands of the fanatics, those who care nothing for love or kindness or mercy or the rule of law. Those who only work tirelessly in pursuit on enriching themselves above all others. Or do you honestly think that the average, sane mouse with a variety of priorities will actually be able to stand up to those who do nothing but grind for experience thirty hours a day?" it asks. "Do you honestly think that those same fanatics, the ones who devote their entire existences to accumulating power will be capable Friends? Parents? Mentors? Leaders?"

"It... it will work itself out, I'm sure." she says, all the more visibly shaken. "Alright, maybe things wouldn't be absolutely perfect, and maybe some will behave selfishly and cause harm, but mice as a whole will be better and have more resources available to help them with such societal problems!"

"You're nothing but a brute." the dark lord says, curtly. "All of you mice are, only you're the worst sort of brute: the powerless variety. Your answer to everything is simply 'more'. More strength, more power, more technology, more magic. More capability to kill and destroy. No matter how much you claim to grow, in the end you're nothing but prey. Domination is all you know, the only lens you understand the universe through. Your methods of 'fixing' the world are simply to become the dominator's. A goal I could almost respect, if it didn't come from such a weak and pitiful place."

"What... what are you saying?" Helena says, arms lowered, eyes locked on the strange creature.

"You really are foolish, aren't you? I can smell it from you a mile away. Let me spell it out in a way that even a child such as yourself can understand." it purrs. "You were never worthy."

Helena takes in the words, bowing her head, paws balled into fists. "Heh. It seems I overestimated you. I honestly thought you were some sort of greater being, that you would understand, but you're just a cat like any other." she chuckles. "You honestly think that-that weakling over there is more deserving of your power than I?" she casts a baleful glance towards Kay. "I made every effort to be respectful, but it's clear that you have no idea who you're dealing with."

"Oh, really?" the dark lord asks. "And who, exactly am I dealing with?"

"I am Helena, leader of the adventurers guild. And maybe you're right. Maybe we mice are weak, but I've devoted my entire life to making us all stronger, and now?" she raises a fist. "I have the combined power of all mice... every one of their triumphs, every one of their defeats... every one of their explorations and discoveries, grand and small. All of their strengths and hopes and determination, I have a little piece of each one, and individually, it might not be much, but combined? It's a power that not even a dark lord can stand up against." She glares into the empty white eyes of the creature. "I'll ask one once more: Will you aid me willingly, or will I have to take your power by force?"

"Forgive me, I'm having trouble getting past the irony here: The fact that you are a puny prey creature, the least capable of obtaining anything through force, and yet brute force is still, somehow, the only thing that you understand. It just proves what I have known all along: That you understand nothing."

"We'll see who's prey!" Helena growls, leaping forward, striking at the face of the dark lord with a speed and power incomparable to anything she had demonstrated in her battle with Kay. Both Mia and Frederich look on with shock. Kay looks on as well, but with little sense of surprise. She already knows full well how this is going to end.

She strikes the face, or more accurately, the space where the face is, but there is no sense of impact. Her momentum sends her forward several steps, through the form of the feline which offers no more resistance than passing through a shadow. Helena regains her footing, stopping herself looking down at her hand in confusion.

"You're right." the dark lord says. "You aren't prey. Prey nourishes, and is desirable to others. You, on the other hand, are simply worthless."

The sky all about them looked pure red at first glance, but it's quickly revealed that is not the case. Actual blood, as it turns out, is much more vibrant in color, quite visible as it sprays from all directions from countless wounds that appeal all over the guild-mistress' body, and tear her ornate outfit to shreds. Her back still turned to the party, she falls to her knees and collapses in a rapidly spreading puddle of her own innards.

The feline vanishes, and in an instant appears directly in front of the three mice, forcing both Mia and Frederich back a few steps. Kay doesn't move in the slightest.

"Now that the uninvited guest has been dealt with, let us get down to business, shall we?" it says. Even though its mouth is invisible within the featureless form, Kay can innately sense its predatory smile.