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Fade, the Dread Sorcerer stood before Jonathan with a vial clasped between his fingers. The liquid within swirled with an unnatural luminescence, a potion concocted by the arcane arts that promised to play a pivotal role in their audacious plan to ensnare the Emperor. Beside Fade, Flankenstein, the fleshshaper, watched with a detached curiosity, his eyes never leaving the vial.
Jonathan's heart pounded in his chest, a staccato rhythm that echoed the uncertainty of the impending operation. He knew that the success of their plan hinged on the convincing portrayal of Fade as the bait, a decoy that would lure Emperor Tarthis into their trap. Yet, the thought of swallowing the unknown contents of the vial made his stomach churn with apprehension.
"This is it, Jonathan," Fade said, his voice a low rumble that reverberated through the chamber. "Are you ready?"
Jonathan swallowed hard, his gaze locked onto the glowing tincture. "Let's do this thing," he replied, the resignation in his voice barely masking the underlying fear that he felt.
Flankenstein stepped forward, his eyes meeting Jonathan's in a rare moment of solidarity. "You are not alone in this. We have prepared for every eventuality, and this will ensure that the Emperor believes his prize has been captured."
With a nod of acknowledgment to Flankenstein, Jonathan reached out and took the vial from Fade's outstretched hand. The glass was cool to the touch, a stark contrast to the warmth of his own trembling fingers. He brought the vial to his lips, the liquid inside casting an eerie glow upon his face.
"Bottom's up…" Jonathan muttered, more to himself than to the others in the room.
As the potion passed his lips, a wave of bitter cold washed over him, seeping into his very bones. His vision blurred, the walls of the chamber melting away into a kaleidoscope of colours that swirled and danced before his eyes. The last thing Jonathan saw before the darkness consumed him was Fade's smile, a menacing grin that seemed to mock him even as unconsciousness claimed him.
When Jonathan's senses returned to him, he found himself bound in chains, the rough iron digging into his wrists and ankles. The air was cool against his skin. He was no longer within the confines of Fade's domain; instead, he appeared to be in a dank and musty cell inside a wooden structure.
"Welcome back, Jonathan," Fade said, his voice laced with an undercurrent of dark amusement. "The day of our grand performance has finally arrived. Let us hope that you can play your part convincingly."
"What the fuck Fade?" Jonathan pulled against his restraints.
"Unfortunately, Flankenstein's abilities are a bit more limited than we led you to believe. He can't actually disguise people as others, some kind of bullshit limitation when he chose his ability." Fade sighed. "So you will be taking back over the role as bait."
"You could have asked you know." Jonathan's eyes narrowed.
"I really couldn't. You see, I'm not going to attack Tarthis directly with my forces, I do not have the numbers to do so and it seems the Cult of Sisters have found a way to block my ability. It would be a slaughter, and I would lose. So instead, I'm gonna blow Tarthis up. Unfortunately, you will need to valiantly sacrifice yourself. Alistar and the Sentinels too."
"You son of a bitch." Jonathan spit. 'I should have listened to Lily.'
"Don't worry, you will be remembered fondly, and your sluts will be taken good care of. I promise to fuck them each and every day in your memory." Fade produced Jonathan's liquid metal spear from his robe and swung it around. "Also, thank you for the artefact, I've been meaning to get myself one of these."
Marra made her entrance from a door behind Fade.
"Everyone is in position, and I have sent the message to Tarthis. It shouldn't be long now." Marra crouched down to Jonathan's level. "Such a shame we couldn't harvest your power, it was intoxicating, I will miss it."
"Have the explosives been set?" Fade asked as he steepled his fingers.
'Motherfucking cartoon villain.' Jonathan thought to himself.
"They have, they will explode on your order and so will this region of the forest." Marra's tail whipped happily.
"Good. We will wait here until Tarthis and his forces arrive. Once they have engaged the decoy force we will leave and I trigger the explosives." Fade sat down on a chair in the corner of the room. "Oh it is going to be so good being the new Emperor. The anticipation is killing me."
"Why did you even need me?" Jonathan asked. "You could have just lied to the Emperor and left me out of this."
"Perhaps. But that wouldn't have worked. I needed proof you were alive. That is why I sent them a miniature homunculus of you." Fade laughed. "Think of it as your very own action figure that proves you are alive. It is kind of like a real-time voodoo doll that only works one way. You to it. For example, if I cut off one of your fingers, your homunculus would also lose the same finger."
"How did you make a-" Jonathan stopped as pieced together everything. "The tincture."
"Bingo!" Fade pointed to the sky. "That tincture was the homunculus creation potion."
The next few hours were spent in silence as Fade surveyed the surrounding forest through a magical view portal, like the one Marra had created in the tower. Alistar, the Sentinels and some sacrificial brutes laid in wait for the Imperial forces, oblivious to their sacrificial status.
The ground began to shake, evidence of a vast military approaching.
"Tarthis sighted. Well Johnathan my boy, that's our cue to leave. I hope you enjoy your final moments. I'm still working out which one of your sluts I'm going to console first. Any suggestions?"
Jonathan looked up at Fade, staring him directly in the eyes. "I do have one suggestion."
"Oh, go on, I'm listening." Fade laughed.
"Why don't you go fuck yourself." Jonathan's words sent fire down Fade's spine.
"What… the hell." Fade's breath began to heave with desire. "But you didn't touch-". Fade looked over to Marra.
"My lord?" Marra didn't comprehend what was going on. "We really must go now if we want to escape the explosion radius."
Fade's eyes darkened, the air around him pulsating with a raw, unbridled power. The walls of the chamber trembled, not from the approaching army, but from the sorcerer's wavering control over his own desires. Marra, her body pinned against the wooden wall, looked back at Fade with a mixture of surprise and defiance, her cries unheeded in the face of his overwhelming lust.
The Dread Sorcerer, his thoughts clouded by an insatiable hunger, paid no heed to the chaos rapidly unfolding outside their cell. His focus was solely on Marra, and sating his lust by thrusting into her, the sound of her flesh slapping against the wall filled the room. Marra found herself caught in the whirlwind of Fade's passion, her own traitorous body responding to his forceful advances, despite her desire to resist Jonathan's power overwhelmed her.
Fade's hand gripped Marra's throat, his fingers digging into her soft skin as he claimed her. His other hand roamed her body, groping and kneading her breasts, as though by dominating her, he could regain some semblance of control over the situation. Marra, her breath coming in ragged gasps, began to moan in ecstasy. Jonathan watched the scene unfold, looking for an out. Some way for him to escape the cell he found himself in.
As Fade's movements became more frenzied, Marra's initial resistance vanished, her body succumbing to the relentless onslaught of pleasure that coursed through her veins. Despite the gravity of their situation, the succubus found herself swept away by the tide of Fade's lust, her own desires awakened by the raw power that flowed through her.
The ground shook once more, a stark reminder of the impending doom that was rapidly approaching. Yet, Fade remained oblivious to the danger, his mind and body ensnared by the web of desire that held him in its thrall. It was as though time itself had slowed to a crawl, the world outside their cell fading into insignificance as the Dread Sorcerer and his second-in-command surrendered to their basest instincts.
Jonathan continued to struggle against his restraints. But it was no use. They were inescapable without some sort of assistance. The rumbling sounds grew louder as the far wall of the wooden structure crumbled inwards. A pack of wolf-bear hybrids looking creatures bursting through the gap. A top of the pack's alpha, a small familiar faen sorcerer with a filthy mouth stood triumphantly.
"Hey Jonn, did you miss my ass?" Painsley grinned. She ordered the alpha to break Jonathan's chains. It reached down with its claws and shattered the metal links like clay.
"Painsley. I'm so happy to see you." Jonathan smiled as he discarded his broken bindings and retrieved his spear.
"What's up with those two?" Painsley pointed to Marra and Fade who had barely registered that half the building was gone. They were still going at it.
"Long story and we don't have time right now. We need to get out of here and warn Alistar and the Sentinels, they are in danger." Jonathan looked at Painsley's pack. "Just how many beasts do you have following you?"
"About fifty, give or take. I've been a busy girl." Painsley giggled.
"Why am I not surprised? Let's get the hell out of here." Jonathan turned around to Fade. "Just one thing left to do." He shaped his spear into a metal hammer and wacked that asshole in the back of the head. For origınal chapters go to 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚~𝙣𝙚𝙩