Diablo 3: Hell's Eclipse

After ensuring that Jondar had nothing on his body, save for a journal that Kormac collected since it might have valuable information on how he became the traitor that needed to be slain, the trio headed down the stairs and entered another floor of the cathedral's domain. All three of them were still surprised by how much was down here, as not even Leah knew the full extent of the Skeleton King's domain, making her wonder if her uncle knew how large the cathedral's lower levels actually were, since he knew more about the figure than she did. None of them were surprised to find more risen and the assorted skeleton as they started to explore this floor, since those seemed to be all the Skeleton King had in his army, but Luna knew his greatest forces would be guarding his tomb. Luna and Kormac slashed their way through the undead that were in front of them, doing what they could to avoid the damaged or destroyed portions of the cathedral, as it looked like the Fallen Star had damaged the structural integrity of this place.

As they moved, however, Luna glanced out at the surrounding pillars and support structures, where she could tell that the majority of them were slightly cracked in places, meaning they would have to pick up the pace somewhat, otherwise she had a feeling she would be using her magic to keep them safe.

"You know, despite the danger that New Tristram is in, it's still amazing to see the sheer power of the Fallen Star... to bring back all these undead with such ease." Leah commented, though at the same time she loosed a flaming arrow into one of the bloated risen and set it on fire, causing her target to run around in pain before collapsing into a heap, before letting out a sigh as she glanced at the others for a few seconds, "I just... wish we hadn't lost so many since it crashed into this place."

"Forgive me for being out of the loop, but has something happened to New Tristram?" Kormac asked, taking a moment to stab one of the risen with his lance before swinging and crushing it, before he glanced at the pair and found that neither of them required healing, which was within his powers as a templar, among other skills and abilities.

"You could say that. After the Fallen Star crashed into this place, after falling from the Heavens it looked like, the undead all over the region started to rise." Luna explained, backing away from the enemies they had taken out, mostly so she could make sure the area was clear of foes before they continued exploring, and she could see that both of her friends were doing what they could to make sure they were safe, "The Skeleton King was affected as well, and Leah's uncle, Deckard Cain, was able to determine that the Fallen Star, the key to potentially solving the End of Days prophecy, fell all the way down to where the Mad King was buried. So we'll kill two birds with one stone, take out a threat to the town and learn more about what the future holds in store for us."

Kormac nodded his head before they continued down one of the other side passages, he understood the danger that the town was in, not to mention the rest of the land if they failed to stop the Skeleton King from raising his army, hence why he joined them in tearing through their enemies. While that happened Kormac asked Leah about her abilities and she told him that she was still learning how to use her magic, a power she had been so fearful of since it had been uncontrollable for the majority of her life, but meeting Luna changed that. She spared some time every now and then to mention her training, all of the various methods Luna had used to teach her how to channel her power, and the week she had spent doing so had given her far more control than she had ever thought possible. Sure, she knew that there was more to her magic that she hadn't unlocked yet, a week was too short for Leah to learn everything that was available to her or even master her powers, but she had figured out the flaming arrow with ease, fire was just her element apparently, hence her current moves.

As he cut down another risen, avoiding the vile liquid that came out of the retching mouth, Kormac asked Luna about her own powers and abilities, since this was his first time seeing someone like her, though that was met with some laughter as Luna chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Kormac asked, as he wasn't aware of anything he had said that could have been taken in a funny manner, while at the same time Leah loosed a flaming arrow down one of the passages and he found that she was trying a new tactic, it separated into multiple smaller bolts that slammed into the risen and skeletons.

"There's too much to explain to you right now, but know that I am the Princess of the Night back home, and that I'm known as the warrior princess between me and my older sister." Luna said, though that was really all she could say right now, due to the fact that she was more interested in the Skeleton King right now, before she considered something as she glanced at the templar for a moment, "I'll tell you and the others more later, once we're no longer dealing with the Skeleton King."

Kormac agreed with that fact, it was a fair trade in his eyes, though following that Luna located the path down into the next floor of the cathedral, where they noticed a shift in the air as they walked down into a darker crypt that had more cobwebs and more coffins. Luna could feel the change in the magic as well, the Skeleton King's power was more potent down here, to which she rounded the corner and opened a gated frame, revealing a slightly lowered area that had a phantom sword in the center, and when she touched it the magic disappeared. It did, however, create a scene around them, four knights, a fifth figure that looked like a captain or something, and an armored figure that seemed more like a king, causing them to realize that they were seeing what had to be Leoric's last living moments before he was executed. Sure enough that was what went down, the captain, Leoric's son no doubt, stabbed the Mad King and Leoric told them that the armies of Khanduras would serve their King no matter what, be it in life and in death, which is likely what gave way to him rising as the Skeleton King in the near future after this event.

Following that Luna moved up the path behind where the phantom sword had been resting and found an area that had four dark pillars, not connected to anything other than the floor, and as they entered the area a specter rose out of the ground, the ghost of the Skeleton King.

You DARE to bring the warmth of life into MY tomb?! the Skeleton King stated, where it was easy for them to tell that he was annoyed, like he expected only the dead to roam this portion of his dark domain, and before they could respond he just raised his hands and necromantic energy gathered inside the four pillars, causing the skeletons of long dead warriors to rise from their graves and attack them.

Luna found two things out immediately, the first being that the Skeleton King's spirit fled as soon as the pillars were powered by his dark energy, while the second was that as long as the pillars were active there was an endless horde of skeletal foes to fight, something Leah and Kormac noticed as well. With that discovery made the three of them separated from each other, targeting one of the four pillars and lashed out at them with their powers, Luna crushed hers with her weapon, breaking it as she switched to a halberd, Kormac smashed his with holy energy, and Leah's flaming arrows tore hers down. After that they wiped out the group of skeletons that were coming at them, just to open the area a little, before they crushed the fourth and final pillar, causing the undead who were rising to collapse once their power source was gone. Following that Luna tore the door that was in front of them down, revealing a new path for them to follow, and her friends continued after her as they just tore through the skeletons, scattering them as they tracked down the final door that would bring them to the resting place of the Skeleton King.

Fortunately it wasn't long before they found their target, a black ornate door that matched the one that was near where the pair had found Deckard previously, and while Kormac was confused Luna raised the crown and opened it, allowing them to enter a chamber that was collapsing under the destruction that the Fallen Star had caused.

"And there he is." Kormac commented, gesturing to the large throne that was resting in the raised arena that was across the way from where they were standing, the main bridge collapsing as they walked forward, though Luna used some magic to lift them across the gap, as on the throne rested the large body of the Skeleton King.

"He's... larger than I was expecting." Leah remarked, as Leoric's undead body was definitely larger than a human's, in fact, if she believed her uncle's tales, the Skeleton King looked like he had been empowered by Hell in some manner, causing the growth they were seeing, before she switched her stance and readied her bow, "Luna, place the crown on his head. Let's take him out!"

Luna nodded and used her magic to place the crown on the skeleton's head, where they watched as the pieces of armor that had fallen from his form were pulled back into place, causing the large figure to pull himself from his throne as he cracked his neck and pulled out an imposing two-handed mace. It was clear that his spirit had merged back with his body, especially with the cackle he gave when he was fully in control of his body once more, and in the next moment Luna switched weapons as she used a sword and shield, the latter raised to block the incoming blow. She found that the Skeleton King, despite being just bone, magic, and armor, was incredibly strong from the single attack, yet she was fine with this as she pushed him back and slashed at his chest, finding that the blow cut into him while the magic seemed to heal him. Such a thing informed her of what they needed to do, they had to whittle away his mana, that was what was powering him, and if they did that he should be unable to heal himself, where Luna suspected they would be able to crush his soul and put him to rest at last.

Leah and Kormac seemed to understand that fact as they lashed out at the Skeleton King, the former staying some distance from their target as she loosed flaming arrows into his individual bits of armor, it was better than targeting the bones, where her attacks blasted into his defenses. Kormac followed Luna's lead, using his shield to block attacks, even though the power caused him to stagger backwards a little, as he was surprised by the Mad King's physical power, but that didn't stop him in the slightest, not when an entire town was in danger. In addition to swinging his mace around the trio found that Leoric had the power to vanish and appear in another area of the arena, which he used to get away from Luna and tried to trap Leah in an area with a few skeletal soldiers that he magically summoned into the area. Even though it was to even the odds the trio found that it really didn't chip away at the magic that was keeping their foe alive, which was annoying, but Luna was fine with this, since the figure's summons were easy for Leah to wipe out, plus she rolled to the side to avoid Leoric's swing.

Luna smiled at that, as Leah had come a long way since they started training, she was even improving while they fought the various enemies they faced, even when she wasn't in melee range, though following that Kormac and Leah damaged their foe with their attacks, causing Leoric to let go of his weapon, which Luna used to smash his body into shards and dust.

"Good, that hellspawn is dealt with." Kormac said, as they could see that the fragments of Leoric's soul were gone, Luna had smashed him good enough that the magic keeping the figure alive had been disrupted, though at the same time Leah picked up the dropped crown, as it was a relic of the town and she was sure her uncle would want it back.

"Yes, and now we can focus on the Fallen Star." Luna remarked, which was when they found that the throne sunk a little, just after their foe collapsed due to her attack, before moving out of the way to reveal a path down, another set of stairs to be exact, causing her to glance at the others, who nodded their heads in agreement.

In the deepest and darkest depths of the Skeleton King's domain the trio found the crater of the Fallen Star, which had a vast amount of blue energy swirling around it, and when they approached Luna discovered that it was another person, a man this time, who was dressed in a brown robe as he laid there.

"Wow... deja vu." Leah said, as this reminded her of when Luna fell out of the sky, which had been the greatest thing in her life, while this person falling had been one of the worst moments, even if it allowed her to gain more confidence in fighting and using her magic, to which she knelt by the Stranger, "Are you all right?"

"I am... I was... I remember falling." the Stranger replied, his voice definitely weakened from falling, though at the same time it was clear that his memory was fractured, unlike how Luna fell and knew everything about herself and her powers, but as he said that Leah gently helped him onto his feet, "I... I know that I am not your enemy. I... came with a warning, about the darkness, but... now I cannot remember what that warning was."

"Let's bring him to Deckard. Maybe he'll have an idea on what to do next?" Luna commented, it sounded like a good idea in her head and she could see that Leah agreed with her, bringing the Stranger to New Tristram seemed like the best plan right now, and fortunately she spotted a teleportation device nearby, meaning they could return to the town quickly, where Kormac helped the figure walk.

Luna waited until all four of them were near the device before activating it's power, allowing them to warp out of the depths of the cathedral and return to New Tristram, where they found Deckard standing in the same area they had left him in, like he had been patiently waiting for their return.

"Uncle, we found the Fallen Star. It's a person." Leah said, though at the same time Deckard looked over the figure that was brought to him, where they found that the Stranger was able to walk after some time and offered some thanks to Kormac as he was let go, "He said he came with a warning, but cannot remember what that warning is."

"I see. Let me and the healers tend to him... I imagine we'll be back in a few minutes, as no mortal could have survived such a fall. You three should rest while you can." Deckard replied, though at the same time he was proud of Leah, she had faced her fears, about using her magic, and was now a confident warrior in her own right, enough to face down the Skeleton King and win, as he took the crown back from her.

Luna and Leah sat on one of the benches that were nearby, after getting some fresh waterskins and some food from one of the citizens who wanted to help them out, while Kormac talked with Haedrig about upgrading his gear, since he insisted on following them into battle again, making them wonder what the Stranger might reveal and what the coming hours had in store for them.