Umbra was not sure whether to be pleased or not at his apparent escape. He had been a real problem for the Enemy to torment. He loved the touch of pain beyond all things, and his mental powers were hard to disrupt. So he had ended up tormenting his tormentors as much as the other way around. And, of course, only he enjoyed the experience. His tormentors had been experienced at the delivery of pain, but nowhere near as much as he was. He, who had spent a thousand years learning the delicate art of inflaming every nerve fiber. They had ended up mostly leaving him alone in his captivity, believing that boredom was the only pain he could not bear. Accurately, it turned out. He had been tortured by the passage of time in his infinite existence, and generations of the Enemy had been and gone, leaving this monster of the shadow realm to his lifetimes of boredom.

It had nearly been enough to break his mind. But they could not stop him from hurting himself, and his little pains kept him barely sane, such as he was. Digging razor edged claws into his own flesh, or biting his own tongue, were torments they could not prevent, as hard as they tried. So he was always just the tiniest bit satisfied.

But now he was free. He studied both his benefactor as well as his fellow captives. None of them bore the markers of his own kind, so he judged that they were not kytons. Perhaps future victims, he mused? But that was something he could try to tempt them into later. If they were here, then they must have been considered a major threat to the Enemy. Thus, they were likely as powerful as he himself was. And their mutual benefactor could be considered to be even more so. So he could not simply horrify them into giving up and leaving him in peace to recover his Cube. Perhaps they may be of use. He had learned of the value of companions when he fought the priestess Christine. She had allies, and they had proved the difference in his original defeat and subsequent imprisonment. So now maybe he should form his own team of allies and companions. They may not understand pain as he did, but no one was perfect. Even he continued to aim for perfection in his bodily modifications. So they may prove useful.

"I am Umbra. I assume you know that already," he says to the undead figure. "But for the benefit of the rest of you, I greet you. I have not spoken in over a hundred years. You prove to be handy people to have broken my silence with."