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Darkstalkers
The power of the great Pharaoh Anakaris the First spread wide throughout Egypt, and he founded a grand royal house to rule over the Nile valley. Pharaoh Anakaris would often use the phrase "Epitome of Prosperity" to describe his kingdom.
"In order to preserve this propserity, entomb my remains in a pyramid after my death. This way, I will be able to ascend as a god and protect the future of my people."
Anakaris' vassals obediently proceeded to construct a pyramid for their pharaoh. Eventually, Anakaris was struck down in a battle against a rival kingdom, and he found himself upon his deathbed. Anakaris' remains were reverently delivered to his final resting place within the pyramid.
After some time, Anakaris regained consciousness in total darkness. He found that he no longer possessed his mortal form, but he was able to freely manipulate the golden mask and layered wrappings that covered his body.
"I did it! I have returned!"
The intense joy he felt was quickly replaced with shock and despair when he climbed to the peak of his pyramid and looked down upon his realm. The prosperity he had once known was gone without a trace, and was replaced with a barren stretch of desert. In that moment, Anakaris instinctively knew that he had awakened in a world that was thousands of years beyond his own time. He also knew that he would now have to correct whatever mistake he had made that would have led to the extinction of his people.
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Darkstalkers
It's always the same... Waking up begins with scenes of unspeakable violence. The moment I regain consciousness, my mind is overwhelmed by the memories of the crimes I have committed. The nightmare began the moment I laid hands on the cursed sword and armor. I was such a fool. Orin tried to stop me, but I laughed off her concerns. The moment I donned the armor, I could feel its power twisting my soul with evil... It was all I could do to tell Orin to run. The cursed armor was real... and no one knew that better than I did now.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!!" That awful laughter filled my ears. The armor had gained awareness, and was speaking to me. It filled me with a cold sensation, and no matter how hard I tried to deafen my ears, or how tight I closed my eyes, the spirit of the armor mercilessly cut into my very soul...
"Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Give me more blood!!" Orin... where are you now? I hope you are safe... and I hope you never show yourself to me. If I saw you now, I would no doubt cut you down with a smile on my face. That is the one thing I must not allow to happen.
My vision quickly went from blood red to pitch black as I felt my consciousness slip away. As I fell into the silent darkness, the last thing I heard was a chilling and unfamiliar voice. Whatever the voice had to say, it seemed to perk the armor's interest, as I felt my body shake with laughter...
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Darkstalkers
The area is saturated with clear moonlight. Shrouded in a pale blue haze, everything in the area seems tense with suspense, as if resonating with a soundless yet glorious hymn. Looming silently within the misty forest is the castle of Lord Demitri Maximoff.
Every full moon marks the night of a royal ball within the halls of the castle, where magnificently dressed ladies and gentlemen gather... but not a single one of them is a living human being. All of the attendees have been granted eternal life by Demitri, and can never again return to the sun's warm embrace.
"My Lord Demitri... what shall we do tonight?" The servants call upon their master; who had shut himself away in his coffin for the past 100 years. This night, however, their eyes are met with an empty coffin.
"We have a beautiful moon tonight. A truly ill omen; can you not feel it? How truly delightful! It would seem that there is still at least one soul bold enough to face me in battle." The corners of Demitri's mouth curl up in a chilling smile.
At one time, this particular smile was known as the mark of absolute confidence, belonging to the one who had the whole of Makai cowering in fear - the "Nobleman of Darkness."
"Tonight, we shall feast on exquisite blood... Prepare the hall for a banquet."
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Darkstalkers
Oh man, it's raining today. I knew it. I couldn't stop yawning yesterday, and that always means rain. Does this mean I'm more cat than woman...? Though I admit it's a nifty little perk. This is the first day of my big journey, and it's raining... that kind of sucks. Oh, well. I dry pretty quickly anyway.
I don't have very many good memories in this town, but there are some really nice people here... like the nun at the church who took me in and cared for me. She nurtured me even after she realized that I'm a monster. Of course, she's dead now...
I wonder if everyone is afraid of me? I know my hands and feet look like paws, I have a tail, my nose is really sensitive, I have bad posture (I should probably fix that), and I may have transformed into a kitten in order to steal a fish... but I paid for the fish afterwards. Still, everyone left me out of their little groups, and no one would ever play with me. It's not like I did anything bad (well, anything too bad)...
Anyway, I've already made up my mind. I'm going to leave this little town and explore the big wide world. If I become this thing called a musical star, maybe then everyone will say nice things to me. I would get to play all I want! I'm pretty confident about my dancing and singing, and I'm quite a looker. My claws are pretty useful in teaching bad people a lesson, too. If I keep doing the right thing, God will reward me some day, right?
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Darkstalkers
Long ago, Earth was visited by extraterrestrial beings, and these visitors created "them." Their purpose? To end all life on the planet's surface. 65,000,000 years ago, it was "they" who brought a sudden end to the age of the dinosaurs. Eventually, when most of the lifeforms on the planet's surface had been eradicated, the entire planet was shaken to the core by a largescale earthquake. Everything, living or otherwise, was trapped deep beneath the earth's layers.
Present day, at the Teotihuacan ruins in Mexico... A single unidentified form emerges from the ruins. The source of their commands had long ceased to exist, but the last command that had been inputted into the system had survived tens of millions of years and had reactivated "them" again.
"...Terminate All Lifeforms..."
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Darkstalkers
Sparing one final glance at the city lights, Jon Talbain turns to walk away, knowing that he can never return. At least, not to this world of lively voices and sunlight filtering through the foliage.
With his last remaining strength, Jon Talbain was struggling against the tainted blood that flowed through his veins.
The effects of his diseased blood came to life rather suddenly, though it is likely to have remained dormant within his system since birth, waiting for the chance to unleash its power over its host.
Above all else, Jon Talbain had grown fearful of himself, as he slowly came to accept the inevitability of his fading humanity.
"Am I fated to become some simple beast?" Furrowing his brow, Jon Talbain fights to maintain his humanity as he looks down at his hands, which have already transformed into something clearly inhuman.
At that moment, Jon Talbain is struck by a divine revelation... to fight. Perhaps fighting and overcoming his personal limitations is his path to salvation.
Still, he cannot remain here. Every moment of his hesitation gives way to the darkness swelling within him. He cannot allow himself to victimize innocent human beings (though Jon Talbain finds it ironic that he could ever use a term like that).
Even as a wave of absolute solitude washes over him, Jon Talbain realizes that he must make his decision. "I have little choice. I must become stronger... stronger than anyone else."
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Darkstalkers
20 years ago, on the outskirts of the Gold Coast, the rock star Lord Raptor had a monopoly over the support and adoration of all the young Aussies.
The circumstances surrounding his crime of mass murder and ensuing suicide are still shrouded in mystery to this day.
Fans fainting at his concerts were common enough, but a violent brawl had broken out amongst his waiting fans that day, and the law enforcement officials had advised against hosting any sort of event.
Despite such warnings, Lord Raptor gathered over 100 of his fans into his underground studio and proceeded with his concert. By the time the law enforcement officials responded to reports of a disturbance, it was too late.
Uniformed officers arrived in Lord Raptor's underground studio to find all of the fans floating in a sea of their own blood. There was not a single survivor.
It is said that Lord Raptor alone stood on the stage, holding his guitar aloft and screaming, "Emperor Ozom, I have given all that you have asked! Now, it is my turn to receive...!"
With that, Lord Raptor's body crumbled away, leaving behind a pile of bleached bones.
Further investigation revealed a disturbing fact... not a single one of the over 100 bodies at the scene bore any external wounds, and yet loss of blood had been the cause of death for every single one.
Present day - the marker that had been standing silently over Lord Raptor's grave has been disturbed by unknown hands.
Perhaps now, the countless questions will find their answers.
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Darkstalkers
"Miss... will you be leaving for the human realm again tonight?" Without even a hint of rebuke, the question that had by now become routine fell casually from the attendant's lips.
"Yes... I trust you'll look after things here." Morrigan's similarly routine response hung in the air as she disappeared into the void amidst a cloud of bats.
The Master of House Aensland, Morrigan's liege, had not been seen much of late. Much time had passed since the humans had stopped dreaming. At one time, humans produced dreams faster than Morrigan could steal them, but now she was lucky of the could find one good dream every 10 years. At this rate, the long line of succubi would end with her generation. Oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, Morrigan had become interested in the human realm itself.
"As long as I'm having fun, isn't that all that matters?" Such carefree thinking is what led to her secret visits to the human realm. On that particular night, Morrigan had felt a strange new sensation tingling through her skin. It was clearly something that had been directed specifically at her. The unknown, the inexplicable, the mysterious... these were things that Morrigan was drawn to. She was instantly enthralled by this new feeling. When you feed on dreams like the succubi do, you simply cannot live in a world without thrills.
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Darkstalkers
Far above the sparkling blue planet called Earth, a dimly glowing spherical mass mumbled to itself. This mass was Pyron, the ultimate lifeform that had spent the past 200,000,000 years meandering through space. As he had no permanently defined physical shape, Pyron could best be described as a shapeless spiritual identity. Originally, Pyron lived on some now-forgotten star with other intelligent lifeforms, but he but as he evolved he became an immortal super-being. In pursuit of a reason to exist... that is, a "reason to live," Pyron started a collection of beautiful planets. Traveling through space at the speed of light, Pyron looks for planets that peak his interest. Whenever he found an intriguing specimen, he would use his incredible powers to force the planet in question onto an orbital path around himself. The orbital path surrounding Pyron spanned over 400,000 light years, and he planed to include a sun in his collection soon.
"Oh... I see some lifeforms inhabit this planet."
Pyron could clearly see the shadowy forms of fish in the ocean that spread out below his gaze. It had been several thousands of years since Pyron had last encountered another lifeform. Emitting a unique energy pulse over the entire planet, Pyron was pleased to find that several lifeforms on this planet had reacted desirably to his probing pulse. "Hm... It seems I may get the opportunity to have a little fun."
"Battle" was Pyron's other "reason to live." Shrinking his energy field into a more limiting form that somewhat resembled a human being, Pyron submerged himself in the Pacific Ocean. In his eternal, unchanging life, there weren't many things that particularly excited Pyron... but now he was fairly certain that he was preparing for one of the most titillating experiences ever, and he was going to bide his time wrapped in the dark shadows of the ocean depths.
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Darkstalkers
The sparkling reflections on the surface of the deep green waters sent shadows dancing down onto the bottom of the lake. Emperor Rikuo, leader of the underwater empire located deep within the amazon, was out alone, exploring the uncharted territory far from his borders.
"I would not trade my beautiful kingdom for anything in the world. Nothing makes me more proud than to think that I belong to this place..." Some time after the fact, Rikuo would look back upon this moment and realize what a miracle it was that he was there, in that place, at that time.
A sudden explosion ripped through the calm waters, sending Rikuo straight through the surface of the water. "An underwater volcano must have erupted... what kind of fool emperor fails to predict such a thing...?" Rikuo had little time to continue down this path of guilt and self-loathing as his vision was swept away in a flash of white light.
When Rikuo regained consciousness, he found himself on dry land. Feeling a nervous tremor jerk through his body, Rikuo quickly scanned his surroundings for any potential enemies. As soon as he was certain he could not sense any life forms nearby, he began to relax... until he realized what this meant. "No... my people..." A deep fissure stretched out in front of him, and as Rikuo peered into its dark depths, he felt he might be peering into hell itself. All of the water from the lake had spilled down into this jagged opening in the earth, and the only thing coming out of it was an unmistakable aura of evil. Instinctively, Rikuo stood to face this evil.
"Is this your doing? Unforgivable!" Rikuo's eyes narrowed as he spat this declaration out at his new, but as yet unseen, enemy. For he who had lost his home and his people in one foul swoop, there was only one thing to live for now... vengeance. In order to accomplish this, Rikuo would have to set foot into the unknown world of the surface dwellers. Though unfamiliar as it may be, Rikuo would have to venture forward; as an emperor, and as the last merman alive.
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Darkstalkers
"Next up is the final match!"
The "Who's the strongest in the village" tournament was approaching its climax. As usual, the elder was sitting calmly, his beard wavering under gusts of breath coming from his nostrils. Sasquatch was unusually nervous about the coming match. It was Sasquatch's hope that his winning the tournament would prove his superior strength, and would therefore convince the other villagers to hear him out. Everyone in the village was nice, but they could be very stubborn.
"Ready... Fight!!" The competition was going to be a traditional match of snow sumo. Using all of his might, Sasquatch was able to win an easy victory over his opponent. "That's it!! The winner is Sasquatch!!"
The crowd went wild as Sasquatch approached the elder. "Elder! Now that I am officially the strongest in the village, will you reconsider my request? Elder...? Uh... hey! Elder!"
"Huh? Hm...? Oh, yes yes. I must have dozed off... what were you saying?"
"Don't you remember? We talked about it yesterday! There are many monsters roaming the outskirts of our village. I want to go out there to face them and keep them from invading the village!"
"Oh, right right! Yes, of course. Have at it, boy!!"
...I wonder if I really had to go through the whole tournament to get his permission...? Feeling strangely unsatisfied with the elder's nonchalant attitude, Sasquatch walked courageously away from the village as the villagers gathered to give him a warm send-off.
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Darkstalkers
Making a few final touches, Professor Victor Von Gerdenheim nods with deep satisfaction.
For 30 years, he had devoted himself to his work. For 30 long years, he had cut himself off from all human contact, focusing on what truly mattered. His research would make history.
Life was God's gift to give, and yet here stands a man hoping to give life to his own creation.
The various pieces sewn together to make one whole have been treated with a special chemical to keep them from rotting away, and are now connected to a large power source. All that is left now is for the Professor to wait for the right time...
That night, amidst loud roars of ground-shaking thunder, huge bolts of lightning shoot through the lifeless mass, infusing it with life.
In the same moment, the vast electrical charges tear the very life from the body of the Professor, leaving him an empty husk. In exchange for giving life where it was not meant to be, he has lost his own.
The Professor's last scream thus marks the first moment of the construct Victor's life. With mind-numbingly slow movements, Victor rises to his feet. "I... am... strong."
Victor is driven by simple thoughts of victory and the notion of being the strongest, but in the back of his mind is the childlike longing to please his father.
His eyes fixed on the remains of his father, Victor lurches forward.
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