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You, The Player, stood there within the castle walls, you had went through the icy platforms, braving the wild creatures that plagued this land, you had fought a few enemies before coming here and had managed to raise your HP, priortizing that was important, especially for what you knew was coming…
The inevitable encounter with The King himself, you doubted you could just waltz up to him and ask if he'd hand you the Ice Dagger, he wouldn't, it'd be a foolish act, so you had gotten prepped, though nothing could of prepared you for what happened next… All had went surprisingly well.
You came so far, found a treasure room of sorts, gotten a key after fighting multiple guards with your party, ah… Your party… Three of them, they were nice, they helped you out the best they could, though they could not help you now, you had found the abilty to shrink, to get through tiny cracks in the wall.
This made that treasure room a walk in the park …But …After using that ability …You and your friends …They were all stuck, you were stuck tiny, you tried your best, trying to reverse what happened but no matter what you did, nothing worked, and now all of you sat, hid within the treasure room, unsure of what to do.
If you fought the king, it'd surely be a death sentence, there is no way you could take him on, at this size, it'd take a whole army, and yet you all came so far, it was just simply too late to turn back now, you couldn't afford to, so you had no choice but to stand up, you sigh before turning back to your party.
"We… We have no choice, we… We'll just need to try our best, we came too far now, we can't turn back so let's just… Try… That's all we can do" Your party hesitantly nods, pulling out their weapons, you didn't have many weapons, two of you wielded the Wooden Sword, the other two wielded balls.
…They did at least have bombs on their person as well, it was better than nothing, though all of you really don't want to go through with this being stuck tiny, there is no choice… You head out from the room you all hid in, leading your party toward the throne room.
You didn't feel particularly as confident as you were before about it, so you head there with great hesitation, it doesn't take long before your party arrives, the room was so much colder in here, it was going to make it that much difficult to do this as you and your party shakes, looking up at The King himself…
Cruel King …You heard stories about him, despite his title, some might think he is cruel but there's a lot more who respect him rather than fear him, it seems like Cruel King had seen some haunting visions that plagued him of his kingdom's demise, and so he had apparently taken matters into his own hands with the Ice Dagger.
Thus why his kingdom is frozen in time, quite literally, his kingdom is an icy shell of its former self, you supposed maybe he thought this would keep his Kingdom and its subjects safe for eternity, you could understand it in a way …But you also had someone to stop from wrecking everything…
And so you needed that Ice Dagger to do so, so you stare up, your own Wooden Sword wielded in front of your face, staring up at The King before you, his guards almost immediately attempt to stop you all but Cruel King gently bangs his scepter against the ground. "Enough…" He simply commands, they obey and back off.
"There is no need… They have come this far after all…" The Knights stand down, as Cruel King then turns his attention to your party, he could see you were all a lot… Tinier than what the others described. "…I take it an ability went rogue for you all?" He addresses you all, not in a mean or mocking way.
He is just… Polite… You nod at his words, and for a moment he pauses, but then nods. "And yet despite this newfound predicament… I presume you still want the Ice Dagger, yes?" As you and your party nod, Cruel King sighs and shakes his head. "…I at least also presume you understand why I cannot allow you to just simply take it…?"
You nod along with your party …For a brief moment, there is some reprieve on Cruel King's face, he still clearly knows you all won't go without trying but he seems to feel relief that you all know somewhat. "…Good… …Then you understand …Somewhat…" With that, Cruel King stands from his throne.
"…Then you also must understand… Why I'm about to do what I need to do…" Cruel King expected you all to nod, when you did, he nods back, he looks apologetic for what he's about to do for a split moment before he raises his scepter, pointing it at all of you. "And just because you are all smaller now, it does not mean I'll hold back so… Prepare!"
And thus the fight was on, you encouraged your party to not hold any punches back, trying to help them have more confidence. "Just because we're small now and have a disadvantage doesn't mean it's impossible, so c'mon! Let's get that Ice Dagger for Shedletsky!"
You and your team raises their weapons high and prepare, you knew this would be extremely difficult, Cruel King does offer some leniency, not from himself, but he tells his Knights to not interfere in this fight, that it would make this fight unfair, and he wasn't unfair in the slightest.
The fight begins, he allows you all to go first… It's a nice gesture, he isn't doing it to mock you, even though he intends to stop you one way or another, he doesn't want an unfair fight. You rush at him, attacking him with your Wooden Sword …It doesn't deal a lot of damage, not as much as it would if you were normal sized.
You feel discouraged for a moment, stepping back slightly before shaking it off, you can't allow your other party members to see you afraid, not with what's at stake, you blow it off, allowing them to attack, the other attacks with their sword, it also does measly damage.
Then the other two throw bombs at him, doing significantly more damage than the balls would of, it's relieving, you all aren't completely outclassed just because of your size, Cruel King's attack though is a bit brutal, it does a lot of damage, he really meant it when he said he wasn't going to hold back.
Though you had to remember, Cruel King also had noble intentions like you did, he wasn't doing this for no reason after all… You all had your reasons for this, despite not wanting to fight, but there was no choice, you didn't get a choice for a lot of things in this world after all.
His attack doing as much damage as it did had admittedly frightened one of your party members. "I-I… There- There's no way this is possible man…" You encourage them not to give up and reassure them it'd be alright, that they aren't alone in this fight, it seems to help though your own confidence is more false than you'd care to admit.
You trade blows with Cruel King, sometimes his attack missed, it seemed to miss a lot more than he would like, probably the only advantage you all had with your small heights, you swung swords at him, threw balls, aiming for the head, the eyes more specifically, the damage was like chipping off paint little by little.
But it was something at least! The fight drags on, it's tediously long and you all do your best, but ultimately, the height difference proved to be your undoing, the damage was just too significant for you and your party to take, one final blow and you and your party fall to the ground, defeated.
You along with the others had bruises all over, you were battered and exhausted… Cruel King stood tall, victorious in the fight, though he does not look triumphant or smug about it, no, instead he looks down upon all of you with pity. "…Fools…" He scolds, shaking his head as he gazes at your battered forms.
"While it is admirable you still sought to fight, you should have known you were no match in this condition…" His words are not mocking, he's scolding you and your party more than anything, but he does sound genuine about admiring your will, your strength be as it may, foolish of course.
You can't move, your body feels too weak, you try, you try to at least turn around, you look at your party members, you feel a tinge of guilt, you let them down, you let yourself down and worst of all, their hurt… You hear Cruel King speak, though you hadn't focused on his words to hear what he was saying.
Until his Knights come closer, you watch helplessly as they scoop your party up, they all groan a bit in pain and try to squirm free though there are clearly in no condition to be doing so, of course you worry for them, you don't exactly know Cruel King's intentions since the fight is done.
You reach out for them, reach out for the Knights, as if you could grab them and stop them from moving, yeah right, with your size, they'd drag you along with them… You watch as they hold your friends, they seem like their being a lot more gentle than normal, keeping them in place before taking them off.
Cruel King seems to pick up on your anxiety and he immediately speaks. "Relax… …They won't be harmed, just imprisoned for a while…" His tone is gentle, a lot more kind than you'd expect. Cruel King sits back down on his throne, looking down at your battered form, he notices you shaking a lot more now.
"…All that I do… I do it for Blackrock …For my Kingdom, my home… …You understand this, don't you?" …Despite not nodding, Cruel King seems to sense that you understand and he nods for you. "Of course …So you understand why I must do this then…" You figured he meant that you understood why he whooped your asses.
As you lay there on the ground, it felt so cold… You felt colder than before, being unable to move around really didn't help, it just made you colder, being this tiny was really not as fun as it could be, ugh… Cruel King watches you for a few moments, he almost hesitates himself but no, he had to push on, if you stayed and recovered here, you'd just keep on.
He couldn't allow anyone to take the Ice Dagger from himself, he supposes maybe he'd wind up living up to his title just this once despite not really wanting to, he stands from his throne, he approaches your tiny form, watching as you shake, he knows it's from the cold but he can't help but wonder if maybe you are a little afraid of him.
Afraid of what he might do now that you are completely helpless, you can't exactly run away in this state… Cruel King sighs, he lowers his hand, positioning it underneath your small form, he can see the little flinch you did before he scoops you up, he is mindful not to jostle you around.
Cruel King then begins to walk back toward his throne, he sat down with you in his palm, he knows his hands don't help the cold, he strokes your head, brushing the hair from your face, he uses his thumb to tilt your head up to look at him.
You look up at him, staring up at him, he looked so much bigger than before, sure, you got it, you were tiny now and he was a giant, but looking at him from this angle made you tense up, in all honesty, it just sunk in for you just exactly HOW small you were compared to him.
Cruel King could easily crush you until nothing remained, he could just toss you to the ground and step on you, he could… …You don't want to think about that, no, he could do a lot though… And it seems he may of read your mind as he asks. "Tell me, what do you think I plan to do with you now?"
…For a few moments, you don't respond, but somehow you find a way, it hurts to talk too much all things considering but you can respond with simple, small words… "Ja…il…" You feebly speak, and for a moment Cruel King pauses before he chuckles, though the chuckle holds no humor in it, not truly. "…Well …I suppose you could look at it that way, yes"
Cruel King sighs, looking down at your bruised form, he looks down at you, both a sad and yet determined expression on his face, as if he's made up his mind though not necessarily a choice he wanted to make either, which you definitely understood… Cruel King then lifts you up closer.
"If I may before I do this… Can I ask your name?" …You say your name weakly, he repeats it, as if he plans to remember it from now on. "…Well, it would've been nice to meet you under other circumstances" He admits, at first, you are confused, he's lifted you closer to his face, you look at him, you look at his expression, trying to gauge him.
Cruel King sighs. "I just hope you will forgive me next time for what I do this time… …I hope you'll understand this, I can't and won't risk anything happening to my Kingdom, there's so much at stake so I can't afford to lose, so I must do this …Maybe next time we meet, you will reconsider fighting me"
And with that being said, you quickly realize what he's about to do, it becomes a lot more obvious when he begins to open his mouth, he opens slowly, allowing you to glimpse inside the dark, cavernous maw, his breath isn't warm like most' would be, but it's cold as well… Your eyes go wide.
This is NOT what you expected to happen at all actually, you tense up, staring into what's about to be your fate… You feel your breath hitch as he lifts you closer to it, and yet you are completely exhausted, you can't move, you do try and squirm while being in his hand but it just hurts your body more.
Cruel King then slowly tilts his hand back, he doesn't toss you inside carelessly or let you drop inside, he allows you to slide into his maw, your tiny body slides, unable to stop yourself, though you do try, a weak and shaking hand tries to grip his to no avail, you slide inside with the slightest ease.
The cold immediately seeps into your bones, it's both uncomfortable considering you know what he's about to do and yet it soothes the ache, the bruises all around your body, it helps but you can feel your breath getting more heavy with each passing second, you stare helplessly at the outside world.
You reach out a hand, you speak quickly despite it hurting you further to do, your tone is frightened beyond belief "N-No please…" And then you are encased in darkness as his mouth closes, you can't see a thing anymore, but you can hear it, from inside, you hear his soft breathing, a sigh rumbles around you.
Cruel King knows his sigh shouldn't sound so… Content, deep down he is conflicted… Especially as he can hear your muffled pleas, he hears you begging him… "P-Please don't eat me" You cry. …It's uncomfortable to hear… And yet, despite this, he indulges, not too deeply or he'd scorn himself the rest of his life.
He already feels guilty enough as it is… …He also knows he must do this, he has to keep the Ice Dagger, to keep his Kingdom safe, to keep his people safe, he must stop you… No matter what… You breathe heavily as you are gently swished around inside, his movements might not be rough or painful but this is still nightmarish.
You are trapped inside his mouth, being swirled around and savored like a sweet treat, and it's clear despite not wanting to do this, Cruel King does seem to enjoy your taste, that sigh said everything he wouldn't dare say aloud.
You can feel his tongue, icy cold rather than warm, his tongue flicks around you, licking at your body, it makes you try to squirm more, trying to get out of his mouth, though that was impossible, because even if you did manage to inch forward, his tongue pulled you right back, your body was simply too weak for you to truly struggle.
His tongue laps at you, lapping at your bruises, it seems to be an attempt to soothe, and while yes, admittedly it does ease the bruises on you down, it doesn't soothe you nor comfort you, you are quite literally being tasted, he continues to swish you around gently, pressing you against his cheeks and the roof of his mouth.
You wind up coated in his saliva by the end of this, he was probably coating you up like that to make it easier to swallow you down in the long run of things.
…But then Cruel King snaps out of the small indulgence he took, no, he needs to end this, indulging like that was so uncouth, unbecoming of a King like himself… Cruel King begins to tilt his head back, you can feel it, your whole world is tilting back, you feel tears pricking your eyes before they fall down your face.
Cruel King can taste the salt on his tongue, he can't speak yet with you about to go down his throat, he could honestly kick himself for not saying it beforehand, he knows you must be terrified that this will hurt, that this will be excruciating even, he should of said that before, it wouldn't of gotten rid of your fear completely but it'd help.
You beg, your tone warbles from both crying and fear, your small voice echoes in the large maw you are trapped within. "P-Please don't…" …Though of course your pleas don't work, you can feel yourself tugged down with the slightest of ease, a couple of swallows is all it takes before you feel those muscles.
His throat muscles squeeze you, not too tight, it does make you wince a little but they hug you as you slip down, they aren't warm either, you wondered if ANY part of Cruel King is warm, but then you remember where you are heading, his stomach, stomach acid was burning hot in fact and you felt a pang of dread course through you.
Cruel King traces the little lump that is you going down his throat, his finger delicately slides down his own throat, his swallows are audible 'glrks' before he feels you disappear inside, and this makes him sigh in relief that the process is done… You of course, are terrified, finally landing in his stomach with an audible plop.
You expected uncomfortable heat, you expected any kind of heat at all actually, but no, much like his mouth and throat, Cruel King's insides were just as cold as he was… Which made you wonder, if there was no stomach acid in here, then… …Oh god, you were going to be trapped in here forever…?
You didn't know what'd be worse, just being trapped in a giant's stomach or being digested …Both don't exactly have good outcomes necessarily… You feel tears run down your cheeks, your tears are warm, the only warm thing you felt, you begin to sniffle and sob a little bit and Cruel King can't take that.
"Shhh shh sh…" He shushes you gently, he can hear you inside his gut, and oh man it is NOT comfortable to hear you crying …He scolds himself mentally, saying how he should of at LEAST told you what'd happen… "My… My apologies, I should have told you this beforehand …But, I promise you, you won't feel any pain"
Cruel King swallows thickly, his own spit nearly forming a lump in his throat, despite how easy he found it to swallow just moments ago. "As you can tell, my anatomy is different …While I won't sugarcoat it, you will ultimately perish in there, you won't be in any pain…" He tries to soothe you as best he can.
Well, on one hand it is a relief to know you won't wind up dying an agonizing death, it was still uncomfortable …Death in a way for you worked, well, a bit… Differently, you would die, you would respawn, it was like immortality in a weird sort of way but still, despite knowing this, it was still a terrifying experience.
You lay in there, completely defeated, quite honestly, you hadn't expected this fight to end like this, not once did you think Cruel King was going to literally eat you…! …On one hand, you did understand in a way, he wanted to prolong it, to stop you from getting the Ice Dagger, to make you give up on your quest.
You lay there in his stomach, there was nothing else you could do, too weak to move, and if you tried to beg …Well, both you and Cruel King would know its a lie if you begged him to let you out, saying how you wouldn't come back, you wouldn't get a choice, you HAD to come back…
You lay there listening, he does have a heartbeat, his heart is beating slow, rhythmically, his stomach gurgles and churns like a regular one would, only difference is there's no hot stomach acid, his stomach does have liquid you are laying in …You don't quite know what it is.
Laying there, you breathe raggedly, Cruel King remains silent, there's nothing more he can truly say in this moment, you do hear a muffled sigh, you can't tell if its one of content or if it's a sad one …Mayhaps both… …You don't know what's going to happen exactly so you curl up into a ball, laying there.
.
.
.
.
.
…But after a few minutes you quickly learn, you can see nothing, you can just feel it… …It's not burning, and it's not painful in the slightest, but you hear something, it sounds like …Ice…? …It sounds like something is freezing…? …You are confused as hell, you didn't exactly understand his anatomy.
For a few minutes, you just hear what sounds like ice, and then you feel it, at first it makes you jump, but you feel a part of your body get colder …Somehow it's not painful much like Cruel King said but still, your reach down, desperately feeling with your hand and your eyes widen when you feel it…
Your ankles, it's started at your feet, there is ice encasing your feet, you try to move just an inch but you can't, and it's not just because you are truly exhausted, the ice holds you in place, and after another few minutes pass, you can feel it spreading up your legs, it takes you a few minutes but you realize what's going to happen.
This must be what his digestion is like, instead of melting in stomach acid, you are going to wind up being frozen, that terrifies you all the same, despite Cruel King telling you it wouldn't be painful, it didn't ease the fear.
The ice keeps spreading like a disease, his stomach gurgles and churns louder as it processes its latest 'meal', you can't see but you can feel it, the ice spreading up your body, it's slow, it's really slow but it keeps spreading up, it feels so cold, you feel so cold… …You are shaking both from fear and the intense cold.
…It somehow isn't hurting, though you would expect being frozen to death would ALSO be just as painful as melting duh, but it wasn't…? …You weren't sure how, you didn't know but you were at least thankful it DIDN'T hurt, you cringe though as your HP begins dropping.
It's slow, annoyingly slow, you honestly just want this process to be done… You close your eyes, too tired to try and fight back, to fight against it, too battered from all that happened, you simply allow the cold to take you, at some point, things go dark for you, the ice now fully encasing your body.
Cruel King can tell all your HP has been depleted, he waits for his digestive system to take care of the rest… Your body will melt, the ice will simply turn back into water, and there'll be no trace of you within anymore.
He holds his stomach in a gentle, tender manner. "…Goodbye …For now I suppose…" He sighs and then he closes his eyes to rest after the long fight he had earlier, for he knows you will return at some point.