Gazing into the Abyss

Gazing into the Abyss is an encounter in Melody of the Maze. It comes after Goresnout's Boys or Culinary Colloquy.
==Enemies ==
*Faustus (1100 Gold, 120 Xp, 75 Energy, 5 HP Normal, 6 HP Hard)
==Transcript==
===Introduction===
The robed man stands at the edge of the stone floor, staring down into the pit that stretches away to the distant wall and sinks down to the gods alone know where.
Incandescent blue light radiates from the chasm, casting a soft glow across his colorful clothing and gaunt features.
"We all stand on the precipice sooner or later," Faustus says. His eyes remain downcast, their gaze locked with that of whatever mysteries he fathoms below. "But I've stood at its edge for longer than most, cheating death and the universe until finally they sent you as their assassin. Now I'm dead, slain by your hand. And yet I still can't take this last step. Cannot accept oblivion."
He finally turns to you, his face impassive but his eyes bearing a luminescence born of more than just the abyss' reflected glow.
"My mind is not ready to surrender existence of its own accord. You must force my hand."
He raises his arms. Lightning flashes across his fingertips.
===Conclusion===
The wizard resists as you lift him above your head, grasping him by robe and throat. But his struggles are halfhearted -- the last lingering tirades against acceptance and inevitability.
He doesn't even scream as you toss him over the edge, and his body plunges towards the azure energy that fills or else conceals the bottom of the trench.
His tumbling face turns towards you for a moment before his revolving descent hides it for the last time. His eyes are closed, his expression tranquil.
Real or not, phantom or fabrication, that's how you'll prefer to remember him.
Category:Melody of the Maze