The Mysterious Manor – Team Distraction
Zenta listened to Lucifer momentarily and turned to face him as he walked away. A piece of him felt excited about the challenge the Angel issued, and it was clear that he enjoyed himself. Like Lucifer, the beast bowed and parted ways, heading towards the tower Spina assigned them to. However, as he turned his back to the others, he held a wicked and toothy grin, his tongue moving over his teeth and lips as if unable to contain his excitement of what is to come. A gentle chuckle slipped past his maw as he turned to where he sensed Lilith within his shadow, almost as if talking to her directly.
"The silent eyes of Lucifer watch me through you, Lilith. Heh, I welcome it."
Thanks to Bernkastel, the light from the crystal ball provided just barely enough to see the various things that were completely shrouded in darkness. Firstly, there were windows covered by pitch black blinds; it makes it incredibly hard for anyone from the outside to see what goes on in here, even if they somehow managed to bypass its barrier. Secondly, there were various portraits of figures framed on the walls; however, due to their age, it was impossible to make out their appearance due to its crumbling appearance. Each portrait looked very important, having golden frames with odd markings on it that resembled eyes. Even though the portraits had no faces, it felt as if they were watching the Breaker's every move from beyond the frame.
The freezing cold started to settle, and the howling winds blew by, there was an unsettling nature of how oddly silence and incredible it can be at times. Never mind that their footsteps, those who decided to walk and didn’t levitate off the ground, echoed loudly throughout the halls as if to go on forever. Even Zenta, whose footsteps were unable to normally be heard, thumped like thunder through the halls. He was unable to properly maintain his sly posture and move discreetly, given that's how he normally moved. The darkness did not bother him, given that he was blind, so he moved through the hall as if there was a bright light before him. His mind; however, was elsewhere.
Moving ahead of the Breakers, Zenta walked, his mind was preoccupied with several things. The devastating information from the Xy’pher that a “Breaker” they’ve captured was killed and now working for the Red King. Worrying over his student’s safety caused him a few moments of grief, then hints of anger of what he remembered afterwards: the callous disregard from Vegetto forgetting about Cuki. It was one thing that perhaps one didn’t remember such a person after a long time; it had been a long time if they never made contact for three years. From what he understands, Vegetto admitted to spying on the Breakers this entire time, making his callous remarks even more revolting to his stomach.
He acts as if he does not know who gave him a roof and food... Ungrateful gnat.
Suddenly, once he remembered the intense feeling of anger boiling from within, the words of Lucifer eroded in his mind. His expression contorted to show his sharp canine teeth and exposed gums as he turned his hand into a fist. His wicked smirk hidden entirely within the darkness. As he traveled away from Bernkastel’s light, the darkness swallowed him to the point that even his pristine white fur faded within the deep darkness and was out of sight from the others. However, Lucifer's words remain heavy within his head:
Do try to stay out of trouble, my boy... Make sure you’re at the front, rather than chasing tail from behind.... Otherwise, you might have another “moment” and lose your eternal composure...
As Lucifer's words echoed within Zenta's head, he turned around to gaze at the Breakers. They could not see him but he could eye them down easily, clear as day. His tails swayed harmoniously behind him, silently watching the Breakers from the confines of the darkness, like a predator watching its prey.
I will not have another moment; I will make sure of it...
Just as he finished his train of thought, he sensed the strange energy from this specific door. It wasn’t the source of tremors nor the increased levels of gravity; it was completely alien to him.
The rest of the doors, broken through brute force, had rooms that were disorganized, robbed, or ransacked. Inside the rooms, were leftovers relics and artifacts that were completely strange and alien—even to their world’s unusual standard. But the door Zenta noticed was different. It wasn’t locked, but rather stuck; scratch and claw marks on the edges of the doors were visible as if something tried to escape, but clearly failed to pry it opened. Next to the door was a picture frame of an unknown person. The photo was torn apart, but it showed traces of what appeared to be a woman. Under the frame was a small solid gold plaque that had most of the name corroded away, with only the letter Y visible near the end.
Examining closer, he can see the energy leak and ooze from the door but dared not to touch it. Yet, for some reason, it was enticing him to enter this room. "This energy... it is not of Xy'phers... But what is it?" Zenta clenched his fists and step away from the door and turned to the others. “Ah…” He realized he went too ahead of the group.
As Zenta emerged from the darkness to rejoin the group, the way he returns was rather unsettling. Since the darkness and Zenta mingled into one, it looked and felt as if a monster was approaching the group. Something with a massive murderous intent unlike the Breakers have ever felt. Razor sharp teeth glistened in the dim light to show a wild beast holding a hand out in what looked like an attempt to grab Bernkastel. However, once the enormous beast came into view of Bernkastel's light crystal, it was none other than Zenta who held his hand to the Witch. In that mere instant, the murderous intent instantly disappeared, as if scared away from the light and coming near the Breakers. Zenta turned to the Breakers, giving them his toothy grin, which obvious looked much scarier in the dark than in the light. He seemed a little bashful from going on ahead without the Breakers.
“My apologies… I went off ahead without thinking.” He said to Spina. “But I found a very suspicious door a bit further down this hallway. I do not know if it is the Xy’phers, but I sensed a very strange energy behind that door and it was very intense. Perhaps the hive's entrance is there?”
The Mysterious Manor – Team Stealth
On this side of the tower, there was a plain main area that was filled with vegetation and other foliage. Green mosses pierced through walls and covered everything in plain sight, making the inside look like a jungle of some sorts. There were no other doorways aside from the entrance, and seemingly no stairs for Team Stealth to safely move onto the second floor. There were plenty of windows, but most were covered with black blinds like the ones with Team Distraction. There were portraits everywhere, and the increased pressure of gravity was growing far heavier here than in the other tower. One particular photo showcased multiple figures, but all their faces and bodies were scratched out. There was a mysterious energy at play that prevented them from flying. Those who were capable of natural flight (Bara and Lucifer) could not fly, no matter what they tried. Bara's energy would not allow her to fly or stretch her body, and Lucifer's wings refused to listen to him. Those who were unable to fly would not feel this force (Avalon, Spawn, and May) but instead, felt a heavy air, no doubt from the increased gravity.
"Infrared specks? Sounds pretty cool if you ask me! It's way too dark to see, so if these help with that, I could use one for sure." Avalon said to May, whispering. "We should be extra careful around here... Things just feel off. ...And breezy?"
As Bara tried to sense the surrounding area, she would feel humidity and a draft within the room thanks to the open hole above them. There were no traps, at least none she could sense or feel, making the room safe, for now. While all the windows were covered with blinds, only one stood out and it was one that was not covered with blinds. There was a clear full view of the Vortex Moon from afar watching down on them from the window on the second floor. If they were to look up towards the ceiling, there were glittering pieces falling from a hole to the second floor: crystals that formed for a while. At first glance, it seems to be Black Crystals due to the darkness, but upon hitting the floor and exposed to the moon's light, it was crystals from the Xy’phers. The crystal pieces were dismembered body pieces from previous Xy'phers who were stuck together in a disturbing cluster. Hands and legs jutted out awkwardly while some faces were frozen in time. Unlike the usual way Xy'phers died, these did not revert to coins, almost as if they were prevented from being 'Coin'ed'.
The only way to reach the second floor is to climb the dismembered pieces of the dead Xy'phers because they formed a way up to the second floor. A ladder of Xy'phers forcfully combined into a cluster, all reaching out to end their misery, never to revert to Coins or return to their King. They were truly dead in their petrified statue-like state.
