Closed [Event] A New Building

[Evarista]

Evarista was shuffling timidly through the basement, letting out periodic pulses of ultrasound to avoid bumping into walls. The hope of finding her way out of here hasn't vanished completely, which is what kept her moving at all. A she stopped to do yet another supersonic scan, the returned vibrations informed her that there was something moving ahead. Something that was moving towards her, no less. The girl's heart sank into her boots at the realization, but she wouldn't get the opportunity to react, as a split-second later, a searing stench pierced her brain. Something was in the air. Something very bad. That's all she could think of as what seemed like a bucket of crushed glass was shoved down her airways. Her breathing paused abruptly and her eyes bulged from the indescribable pain. She was reminded that this wasn't her only worry as something sharp struck her shoulder, leaving another searing sensation and almost knocking her off-balance. The 'something' that was once moving towards her in the pitch-black corridor was now attacking. However, she couldn't focus on the invisible assailant as the voraciously destructive air was denying her oxygen. The young aristocrat's body went into a convulsive defense as she felt the vices of death closing around her from all directions. Plates of chitinous armor bulged under her clothes, and a forest of serrated blades sprung forth from every inch of bare skin, displaying aposematic stripes for no one to see and rapidly transforming her into a lopsided and grotesque hedgehog. She flailed her warped limbs blindly as delirium began to claim her, fear mixed with resignation against the hostility of the very air around her. Another tremor at her belly indicated the the attacker was going for another round, strike bouncing off the chitin, possibly not expecting such resistance. The suffocating force flowing through her throat, however, remained unfazed by her defenses and continued its strangulation of her shaking form. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, her body suddenly felt lighter, as if something was propping it up against the weight of gravity, fatigue and despair. No, it wasn't just that her body felt lighter, it actually became lighter. A wave of thirst washed over her, a strange dehydration making itself known. Her dry tongue reached for the trail of foam that has been accumulating at the corner of her mouth. She needed to drink something. Anything. The force that has been crushed her throat let go gradually, but moved onto her limbs, as if wringing water and blood out of them, leaving behind only a desiccated husk. It wasn't pain, but an acute discomfort, though not as acute as having one's throat filled with crushed glass, so her first reaction was a sense of relief. Another strange sense of relief came from the fact that the was no longer being attacked. On a semi-instinctual level, she understood why. The 'thing' that attacked her wanted something she no longer had. She let out another sonar pulse to confirm this, the echo telling her of the retreating form, one that has lost interest in her as a prey. Legs moving on their own, the girl shambled after it, finding some difficulty in moving her rigid joints. A clouded spark of worry rose in her, idly compelling her to ask the figure where she could find something to drink. She already knew that the figure wouldn't be able to answer, since it was currently faces with that exact question itself. Maybe... maybe they could find something to drink together? Both of them searching would be better than one, right? Assuring herself with that, she followed the figure as it ascended a set of stairs. Where the stairs lead appeared irrelevant, as long as it was towards a prospect of sating this thirst. A short period of echo-assisted fumbling through the darkness made the pair bump into a third one; this poor fellow plagued by the same problem as the two of them. A sweet smell reached her nostrils, making the other two perk up as well. There was something edible nearby. In silent agreement and without hesitation, the group immediately set out towards the source of aromatic human blood. To air their navigation, Evarista opened her jaws as far as her rigid muscles allowed, and let out an ear-splitting screech, making the thick window glass rattle in distress and reverberating throughout the entire complex. The non-supersonic frequency was largely by accident as her morphed throat has not adapted to the dehydration, but the echo returned loud and clear never the less, revealing that there were two groups of people nearby. One of the groups had to be her former fellows, the intruders. The other group had to be... well, hard to tell. Maybe they were the mysterious managers of this facility. The young aristocrat was still dead set on filing them a formal complaint about messing up her favorite beach, but only after ripping out their guts and drinking their brains in the proper order of etiquette. Evarista had inhaled a standard dose of vilemoss poison, and as such transformed into a ghoul temporarily. This would probably not be much consolation to anyone who met her and her newfound comrades now, as the three of them shambled through the corridors in their daunting approach towards the closest group victims. They couldn't tell which of the two groups it was, and they frankly didn't give a crap, simply and absolutely determined to shred everyone else in the building to ribbons.

[Xen]

Xen felt deceived. The building was supposed to be his salvation, his sanctuary to keep him away from the monsters. But it was something other than that, something characterized by horror and the abysmal. A manifestation of the dark. And he had stumbled into its mouth, the mouth of the great monster and descended into the bowels of madness.

“ To become all, be nothing. ” Something spoke to Xen with a deep, distorted voice.

Xen was surprised by the sudden intrusion of noise. All that surrounded him since the doors closed and the abominations stopped roaring was silence. So to hear someone speak to him while he suffered lunacy and weakness frightened him greatly. Xen in his suffering listened to the only source of pseudo-sound and voice that decided to accompany him; fearing it but also hoping that it was his escape from perdition.

“ This is the principle behind morphing, my son, ” The voice paused and then growled in anger and disgust. “ It renders the flesh and can change blood to bone. Go on and try it, my son, be like me...you...us...your father.”

Xen looked up immediately after the voice announced itself as his father. But the being he gazed upon was not his father, only a horrendous mockery of his parent stood where they should have been. It had the wings of the chiropteran abomination, its head, and face too but the rest of the creatures form was wrong. The body was reminiscent of a centipede and serpent, yet neither reptilian nor insectoid was the nature or visage of the abomination. It was like a child's impression of a snake and centipede had been given form and spliced with the chiropteran and the evils of the world.

“ You— ” Xen tried to utter his curses, profanities, and reasons why the abomination was not real but it silenced him. The thing's massive clawed hand covered his mouth as it gripped his entire head and lifted him upwards. “ Shhhh... Do not talk back. Do not deny or hide while there are spines still unshattered.” It said to Xen.

“ Let me convey some things to you. I promise it'll be short. I feel utterly and hopelessly lost and forsaken right now. However, I don't know who I should blame; maybe, this lunacy, you and myself all together? ” Xen laughed at the absurdity of his situation and actions. He felt his sanity crumbling away.
“ Now I understand why I feel so hollow and why I see you and this evil! ” Xen laughed. He laughed until he could not discern the difference between the abomination and himself. So great was the madness and hatred.

Then Xen opened his eyes and choked after he inhaled. To feel reality and life again was a pleasure he would never take for granted again. Especially, with his newfound perspectives. Xen pushed his body off the ground with his right hand and forcibly stood up. He then wiped the blood from his ears and looked at Evalin.

“ Don't call me, little, ” Xen said to Evalin as he pointed at her. He was slightly dazed, yet capable of responding. “ I'm taller than you, so, ” Xen smirked and then coughed again.

Xen looked around for a bit and then turned around after the scent of blood caught his attention. That was when he noticed Bartholomew and felt pity for the poor man.
“ He'll bleed out at this rate,” Xen turned away after he spoke and faced Evalin.
“ And that girl foolishly ran further into the building. So, it will be just u—” Xen was interrupted by a sudden and strange sounds.

“ Looks like it won't be just us two attempting to escape here, ” Xen said to Evalin as he stared down the hall with a serious expression. He could sense multiple presences approaching him and Evalin. But did not worry about her too much. He knew what kind of being she was and about her head splitting voice, yet was not confident in his human form. Xen did not believe his frail human body would be able to compete with the speed and strength of the creatures that approached. So he stripped his body of leather armor and shifted into his dhani form.

Xen sacrificed his black clothing to allow jet, black scales to replace them. And larger bones and muscles and a powerful tail sprung outwards from Xen as he completed his transformation and took on another visage. The only piece of armor that remained untorn or damage was Xen's gauntlets, which were originally too big for his hands but now fitted him perfectly.

“ What a chaotic night, ” Xen thought as he peered into the darkness.

[Evarista]

The darkness couldn't hide the tempting scent of nectar, pulling Evarista and her companions closer to the source. Claws and teeth grated impatiently as the three devourers prepared to confront their prey, shambling forward in a close formation. It didn't matter who it was, only that it bled. A final sonic scan revealed three figures to her, two standing and one prone. The latter had to be the source of the scent, as he was probably wounded. That left the other two as potential obstacles. Neither the girl nor her new friends had the faculties for tactics and planning. The wordless consensus was that they would simply ram and shred their way to the target. Adrenaline flooded Evarista's desiccated veins as she readied herself for violence. Her body morphed seemingly on its own, without any conscious input. Her already imposing claws swelled even more, fingers melting together into massive scythes, posed to hew down anything that stood in her way. Chitinous armor bulged underneath her clothing, ready to endure whatever the prey threw at it. Her lower face opened up in an appalling display of glands and mandibles, preparing her greeting for the figures up ahead. It all came completely naturally, as if she has been doing this since forever. No, not even that. It felt like this is what she was born to do. Operating the organic leverage in her mouth to spin her silken surprise, the hardly-human creature let out another deafening screech as her watering eyes finally detected the blurry figures ahead, just as her echovision foretold. Her companions, while unable to replicate her impressively monstrous voice, growled lowly in acknowledgement of the enemy as well. The pressure building up in Evarista's maw was finally allowed release as the pent-up silk burst forth as if catapulted. A torrent of sticky webbing shrouded the air, sweeping ahead to envelop the foes before the imminent engagement. Taking it as a signal, the other two ghouls leapt forward violently, following up the spiderly surprise with their claws, and Evarista did the same just a moment after. Without thinking, she struck at the taller figure, just because it was closer. A jet of nauseating slime sprayed from her still-open maw, incidentally aimed at the dhani's vaguely reptilian face; a fine expression of her contempt for the prey in front of her. Her bloodlust reached its peak as her jagged scythe rended the air, eager to decapitate.

[Xen]

Xen could hear them approaching with his newfound senses. All of them like beasts, yet vaguely human in the way they growled and rushed across the asylums floor. However, there was a sound amongst the creatures that he could not explain: a clattering, clicking sound akin to a chorus of chattering insects. It reminded him of the chiropteran, who's visage he vividly remembered being hellish and utmost chaotic.

“ Another abomination with company as well? Great... ” Xen swelled with enthusiasm and positivity. He knew he had to! One his group members were bleeding and probably near death; one ran off and was possibly devoured by the abominations approaching him, and his only remaining companion did not seem willing to fight. The situation was great; everything was awesome. He could already hear the chiropteran and the other abominations screaming in his dreams, along with the other damned souls he assumed they've consumed.

Then Xen began focusing on his inner djed as he outstretched his focus. The old teachings of voiding circulated within his mind, letting him remember the cold presence of the void and nothingness. Afterward, Xen focused on the darkened, vacant space in front of him and quickly exercised his djedic influence onto it by extending his djed. Then the space in front of him warped and opened, causing the welcoming, coldness of the void to travel through space grace the asylum.

“ !!!! ” But Xen did not have much time to think. When his attention returned to the battle, he noticed a stream of projected substance, threatening to bind him, his surroundings, and team with trouble and difficulty. Immediately, Xen enforced a repulsive-pull on the torrential substance! “ Not tonight, ” He would not let a chance like this pass him. Xen knew if he successfully seized power by returning the opponents, he could end things what a few strokes of his sword. He slightly raised his shield in delight.

The portal exerted a repelling force on Evarista's arachnoid silk, forcing it to back to her, colliding with her secondary projected substance and splashing outward while empowered with the freezing cold power of the void. It would bind Evarista and her monstrous companions while giving them a taste of the voids abysmal depths: of which many creatures against the natural order of fate and natural have come to understand.

[Prophet]

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The Story Continues...

NoteEvalin & Batholomew- due to your inactivity, you are not allowed to rejoin the thread at this point.

The rift in the Void seemed to slow time. In truth, the shielding tactic had worked well enough to temporarily bind the ghoulish creatures in their own mess though the secondary liquid was cast about in such a random spray that it didn’t really connect with the trio of hungry abominations. The silken cords bound one almost completely and rendered it immobile save for one arm but the limb was out of position to help free the rest so the thing simply growled and whimpered as its starving body grew weaker by the tick. The second was behind Evarista so the magical shrapnel missed it entirely except for one piece of the sticky web that blocked its vision. This wasn’t a huge deal since the driving force behind its advance was the smell of blood on the floor.

For Eva, the webbing was a part of her and though it stuck, it did not hinder her movements. The build-up of her defensive plating also helped in that it provided the morpher with more momentum that her new infected brethren lacked. The void was cold and desolate to see but the transfigured girl was neither pushed nor pulled by it. For several long ticks, the voider and the morpher stood on opposite sides of the tear in reality; two sides of the same coin.

The commotion was mixed with a heightened sense of survival for one was starving while the other held on to a stubborn refusal to submit. This created a sense of tunnel vision for the two combatants. The second fiend was somewhat paralyzed by the void. The scentless, frozen air seemed to confuse the creature so it looked to Evarista –the biggest of their kind- for direction. Neither the morphed girl nor the hefty Dhani would get a chance to react any further. A massive gust of wind came from a doorway to Xen’s right and Evarista’s left. Despite her armor and greater size, the mass of the human did not change much with her form enough to allow her the ability to resist such a gale and she was thrown against the near wall. The other two monsters which had formerly been men were also cast aside but their frail bodies shattered upon impact and they died instantly. The Dhani was much larger but was still overmatched by the straightline force of the air current. The big body was pummeled with wave after wave; each blow driving him against the stone floor more and more until there was nowhere else to go.

The winds continued with enough force to pin both the snake and the spider in their places as the source was revealed. A large man –towering and muscular- stepped from the shadows in a flowing crimson robe that bore the mark of the Ebonstryfe. His blonde hair was neatly kept in a tail but the most striking thing apart from his massive size and build or devilishly good looks was a set of milk white eyes that seemed to see all and nothing. As he bound the two trouble-makers with his elemental ability, a man dressed in a black set of trousers, boots and longcoat stepped from the shadows followed by a handful of men in black steel armor. The small fellow walked up to the Void portal and put his hands upon the seams that separated the realities. His body trembled slightly but before the assembled group, the tear began to shrink. This man was a leecher and he quickly drained the djed which supported the void’s presence. Once it was removed, he went back into the shadow of the large man in the red robes; obviously the leader.

Once the void was removed, the soldiers moved forward in their armor with boot stomps and clanking joints. They inspected the dead but avoided the two which were bound by their master. Three stood before Evarista and six more came to stand around the Dhani…all of them had their weapons drawn and prepared to strike. The huge Druvin spoke with a soft and smooth voice though it was easily heard and gradually reduced the hurricane which erupted from his hands until it was still just as the last word was uttered. “I will release you but know that resistance will be your death. I am Lazerin, a Druvin to Rhysol. If you value your worthless lives, you will obey me.”

The winds stopped and the soldiers tensed the pressure in their weapons; swords were leveled, spears were cocked and crossbows were aimed. Each man looked as cold as the armor that protected them. Their eyes were a perfect example of the duality that the Black Sun and Ebonstryfe proposed; a white eye that was emotionless, uncaring and unpredictable sat next to an eye of color that displayed duty, alertness, a train of thought and so much more. The chance was given to cooperate. There was something about the man adorned in the robes of shimmering blood that spoke volumes in terms of what lay on the other side of a bad decision. If one hadn’t heard about Lazerin’s reputation it wouldn’t take long to guess.

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Template inspired by Isaac Iceglaze

[Evarista]

The snakeman's rapid reaction caught Evarista somewhat off-guard. His already blurry form became distorted in her glazed eyes, assaulting her with confusion. The air around her was pierced by a sudden chill. She couldn't mentally process what was happening in front of her, but her every instinct screamed for her to stop. An impulsive supersonic wave darted towards the anomaly before her... only to never return. Whatever was there, it consumed the sound. Her prey wanted to live so badly that it had somehow violated reality to protect itself. After that uncomfortable split-second epiphany, Evarista was left unfazed when her projectiles scattered across the air in unintended directions, striking her own allies and even sticking to herself. Her attention was so focused on the insanity happening in front of her that she hardly noticed this minor fumble, and her bloodthirst was so overflowing that she wanted to charge and tear through the snakelike figure regardless. But something held her. A cosmic intuition, stronger than even her bloodlust, commanded her to stop her charge right at the warped barrier. She couldn't advance and she couldn't retreat, frozen in place and agonized by her powerlessness. This couldn't continue forever, and it wouldn't be long before she could no longer resist to try crossing the black boundary, so she had to think of something. The first thing that came to mind were her allies, who were no doubt as hungry as herself. The dark portal was not large enough to obstruct the entire corridor, but trying to awkwardly squeeze by the side would surely invite the snakeman's weapon. However, if they attacked from both sides at once, it could work. Using her saliva as a marker, she shot a thin jet at the wall next to the black barrier and immediately rushed toward the narrow passage on the other side. Her companion understood immediately, and moved in unison with her to flank the prey and finally end this. The otherworldly chill of the portal raised every hair on her body as she came intimately close to it, nearly grazing the tear in reality with her shoulder. It was terrifying, and she would rather be a million paces away from here, but there was nothing else to do. The prey's snake-like form was set in her sights, barely visible through the dark air. He was almost within reach. Just as she was about to raise a claw to strike him down, a deafening bang pierced her ears and her vision went dark. She felt her body being thrown aside with insane force, almost squashing her against the wall. A sharp pain pierced her neck. It happened so suddenly that she didn't even manage to feel surprised as the world turned into a carousel for a moment, and she could no longer tell which way was up. Her first clear thought was that the building must have collapsed on top of her, but mustering her last strength for an emergency sonar scan, she understood that the walls still stood. But she and her prey were no longer alone. Unfamiliar people seemed to have flooded the surrounding space out of nowhere. Evarista's eyes showed her nothing, and her body was completely numb as she slumped on her knees next to the wall, the only sensations being the ringing in her head and the piercing pain in her neck from the whiplash. Someone's voice drifted to her, as if from underwater. 'Druvin' was the only word she recognized. It seemed familiar. She met a Druvin before, hasn't she? That aura... Flexing her sonars weakly, she sent another pulse directed towards the source of the voice, and prepared her ears to get an auristic reading of the wave as it returned. The dreadful sensation was difficult to describe, but there was that unmistakeable amplitude, evoking hazy memories from her previous meeting. Now she had the chance to meet one again. How exciting. Her concussed brain couldn't produce much more than that, so she simply sat there, half-leaning against the wall, eyes unseeing. Her mandibles twitched weakly and a thin string of dark bile trickled down from her maw.

[Xen]

“ ”

Xen laughed, casting his voice into the hall where it resonated with the darkness that pervaded the desolate structure housing him. He was pleased with the outcome: to trap these monsters; to startle them; to see the fear in their eyes. It was all too sweet for him like revenge topped with honey. However, Xen knew he was not completely out of the fryer yet. His enemies still breathed and occupied the space he tore a rift through with his magic. Something he did not enjoy in the slightest.

Xen observed ghoulish monstrosities near him; his gaze revealing the contempt he had towards the creatures. But one interested him the most; one he instinctively disliked less than the others. It was somewhat different, possessing a more chitinous hide than the others, yet unmistakenly invoked feelings of familiarity within him. And Xen could not understand it. What ties did the creature have with him; were they bound by fate? Such questions materialized within his mind and then faded as whimsically as they came. There were more pressing things that needed attention like maintaining focus and outliving chaotic abominations.

“ Vile creatures, so they do have some intelligence, ” Xen thought as he watched his foes act against him. He was beginning to understand the ghouls; they were pack hunters or at least capable of cooperating with one another to some degree. Xen also noted their speed; they were fast but did not seem to be as fast as he was which gave him hope. “ Avoiding both of them will be difficult, yet probably not impossible. If I succeed I can kill the trapped one, ” Xen thoughts continued; his mind bombarded with ideas. All of them suited the moment spurred on by rolls of Lhex's dice.

Xen reacts swiftly: he relinquishes control of the portal to close the distortion he created. But before he could move his plan into action—even before his portal closed—an overwhelming force struck him. It surprised him, he wasn't expecting the gods to interfere with the tense struggle nor assumed that the power stemmed from anything less. He wouldn't believe it such power could not originate from a mortal man.

“ .... ” Xen gazed in awe as the ghouls were thrown through the air and smashed against the wall. He absorbed the powerful memory into his mind, letting it ooze across the foundations of his soul because he wanted to emulate it and someday obtain the same power. Xen did not resist the tempestuous winds that swirled around him; he remained on his belly and watched as figures emerged from the darkness.

Xen watched them also until the winds ceased. They were men of skill and purpose; opposites to a vagrant like him with nothing. He could sense their confidence, especially within their leader who he now understood was the cause of the winds, and envied them all. And the pain that accompanied loneliness which fueled his insecurities was the source of this envy and longing.

Indeed, Xen felt worthless; his life was misery.

“ I yield, ” Xen dropped his katana and raised his hands into the air. Afterward, he changed back into his human form and bent the knee, submitting to the Ebonstrfye and his agonizing weakness. He did not dare look into the eyes of Lazerin and Rhysol's favored, for they would gaze into his mind; his soul, and see the seemingly perpetual despair, instability and blackened insecurity within him.

[Prophet]

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The large man with two white eyes stared around at the situation for a moment. He was not sure why these people had come but he was absolutely certain that measures had to be taken to ensure the security of the mission. Given the state of the two crumpled bodies as well as the other…ghoul, Lazarin had a good idea of what had transpired. He pointed a strong arm at the odd creature that was weak and wounded. “Take that thing to one of the secure rooms.” Four members of the patrol descended warily towards the girl turned monster. “If the vilemoss doesn’t wear off by tomorrow night, put it out of its misery.” The undisputed leader did something. When he spoke, his eyes flashed in their eerie blankness but the burst seemed to dim the world more than provide illumination.

The Druvin turned his gaze to the Dhani, now in human form, as his men hoisted Evarista up - each taking a limb while avoiding her mouth - and hauled her away. The crimsons robes shifted by an unseen breeze and the heavy white stare rested upon the snake man but then on the katana. There was a long awkward silence while the priest waited. He waited until the sounds of the twisted being and his men were no longer an echo in the empty stone halls. Then, after what might have felt like a lifetime, the handsome mountain of a man addressed his new captive.

“Speak plainly, snake, when I ask you a question or I’ll rip out your forked tongue and slap you with t until your skin falls off.” The words didn’t sound threatening. Lazarin had a voice that dripped with charisma and a slippery ease. If one couldn’t understand Common, he might have thought the god-touched being was making a romantic invite. The powerful figure loomed over Xen while he studied the ‘man’ at his feet. “I might ask why you’re here but now I find I’m more interested in the powers you possess. Why not just open another rift in the void and make us all disappear?” The chiseled features of Lazarin twisted into a grin of such charm that it could hide any malice. If Xen was in danger from this man, he would never know until it was too late.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Evarista would be dragged –either willingly or kicking and screaming- down the hall and into a corridor previously not entered. The walls were partially bricked or not at all. The stilts and frames looked like cages rather than hollow rooms. The further down the men took her, the more the building’s construction became complete. The more finished rooms offered little in the way of comfort, however, as actual cages of steel and stone replaced the shells at the other end.

The hallway came to a halt with four massive doors. The two closest sat parallel to the walls and the furthest two were side by side but angled inward slightly like the roof of a house. Each door was easily ten feet high and nearly as wide across – perhaps wider since the color of the material seemed to be metal but it held an odd sheen which tricked the eyes. Two more Ebonstryfe soldiers stood watch at this end and with non-verbal communication; one of these men who bore a single white eye turned and opened the door third from the left. The huge door swung on its hinges without a sound but it moved with resistance through the entire motion. The thickness of the barrier was half an arm’s length. It was obvious that whatever these rooms were designed for was dangerous, powerful or both.

The detail hurled Evarista inside and quickly slammed the door shut behind her. There was a pronounced click that resonated when the heavy panel closed; it reverberated through the chamber and also the whole wing. The room had no windows only a small hole high up above that allowed a small amount of air and light into the space. She would not be able to touch the walls and each time she got close, a glyph would glow. Most would be the same two symbols but they would illuminate other symbols inscribed into the strange looking stones.

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Template inspired by Isaac Iceglaze

[Evarista]

Feeling many strong arms grab her from all directions, Evarista began flailing violently, trying to worm her way out of their grip. In the first moments she still half-expected the other two ghouls to come to her aid, but soon realized that they were gone. She was suddenly alone against many. An angry growl welled up her throat. How could the situation turn against her so quickly? She was so close to securing her prey, too. She continued squirming in frustration for another short while, but when noticing that the grip on her limbs didn't loosen, accepted defeat and went slack, allowing her captors to carry her wherever they may. The searing pain in her neck seemed to pierce with every step they took, as they were obviously unconcerned with keeping her steady. She actually mustered the focus politely ask them to also hold up her head, but her warped throat was far from able to make human sounds in its current condition. All she could produce was a series of wet gargles, showering the men around her in a drizzle of acid. As the initial shock from the concussion began to wear off, the ghoul's vision gradually came back to her, revealing a blurry panorama of unfamiliar corridors. From the inside, the building appeared even more vast than from the front yard. Although much of the brickwork around her was unfinished, she continued to be bewildered by the volume of the still-empty rooms, imagining what sort of town-citadel this 'hospital' was going to be when it was finished. As the Ebonstryfe carried her deeper into the darkness, the adrenaline rush from the recent action began wearing off. Even though her mind was still clouded by the vilemoss, the overwhelming sense of vulnerability began overtaking the predatory urges that so completely controlled her just a chime ago. She was alone, she was hurt, and she was lost, trapped in a gigantic prison full of menacing figures... and a Druvin - a being of truly upsetting powers and an equally upsetting disregard for the welfare of lesser beings. Ending up in his bad graces was a rather bleak prospect. Once again, now more acutely than ever before, Evarista was overtaken by the sobering sensation of being a civilian girl who's much too far out of her element. Giving a soft whine every time her neck bent at a painful angle, she barely paid attention to the surroundings as she was carried along the corridors of what looked more and more like a prison. For a moment, she thought of giving her surroundings a sonar scan, but quickly threw the idea as her attention was completely absorbed by the blind apprehension of whatever terrible things might happen to her next. She initially mistook the monumental doors at the end of the building for vaults of some sort, and that was not completely inaccurate. She forced out a wet squeak as the soldiers threw her beyond the door and sealed the metal behind her. The sudden top to the rough ride was so pleasant that the girl simply lied where she fell for a moment, leaning on the dusty floor and readjusting to normal gravity. Having gathered some of her bearings, she sat upright and looked groggily around the chamber. So it was a prison in the end, huh? The sheer walls and the truly massive metal door behind her showed that this was one truly high-security cell. Putting her in here was a bit extreme of the dark gentlemen, but as long as there was no one else here... was there? A sudden chill pierced the girl as she hurriedly scanned every corner of the room with a thorough pulse, not trusting the darkness and her still-swimming vision. She was alone. Considering what sort of creature this room was clearly designed for, this was a good thing, but on the other hand, now that the immediate danger has passed, her sense of hunger was beginning to return. Slowly rising to her feet, Evarista shambled in circles around the room, examining the walls idly and wondering what to do next. The flashes of the glyphs was sufficient to keep her from getting too intimate with the stonework; her time at the Institute taught her that an active glyph could mean virtually anything, but seldom anything good, and she had no intention to get thrown across the hall a second time. Even so, her thirst was starting to get unbearable, and there was nothing in here to attack. Nearly squealing in pain and frustration, Evarista rammed the gigantic door repeatedly with her shoulder, scratched it with her claws, and even attempted to bite it with her sharp teeth and spit acid on it, but the metal didn't even get scratched. The trapped girl felt tears well up in her eyes, and a series of heavy sobs began to strangle her. There had to be a way out. Her eyes fell on the small strip of light falling from the ventilation window near the ceiling. It was clearly too small for a person to fit through, but she was determined to get out of here even if she had to fold herself four times to do it. Overgiving was better than starving to death. Climbing up there by normal means was impossible due to the glyphed walls, but perhaps she could reach it in some other way. Shifting her attention to her parched throat, she mustered what seemed to be her last water to make some silk dope. Following an impossibly deep breath, she compressed her stomach until it hurt, firing a sticky projectile at the ceiling just next to the hole. Unlike the walls, the ceiling didn't seem to be glyphed, so her harpoon stuck nicely. A barely visible silvery string now connected her to the ceiling. The problem now was actually heaving herself up there. She tried to pull herself up with only her arm strength, but as exhausted as she was, she couldn't even get off the ground despite the vilemoss empowerment. She tried to winch herself up by eating the silk string, but while the string itself could support her weight easily, her spinneret could not. After several unbearably painful attempts that made her feel like her face was about to come off, she had to give up. There was nothing else she could do. Crumpling down on her knees, Evarista let out a long, agonized howl fit for the wildest of beasts. Droplets of tears, acid and silk dope painted the floor in front of her. Feeling the last ounce of strength leave her, she drifted into a semi-catatonic sleep, still sitting half-upright in the middle of the empty chamber.

[Xen]

“ ”
In the same way, a man would give his neck for the executioner to severe, Xen lowered his body before the druvin. Every instinct within him urged him to flee and escape. To rush through the door that separated him from the monsters perverted by the powers of evil and chaos. Promising him freedom from a doomed existence without logic and reasoning supporting what they compelled him to attempt.

But Xen knew not to trust his instincts this time. The worth of his life was at stake. And being weighed by something undeniably evil and malicous—Lazerin. So, Xen chose his words carefully and cleared his mind of unnecessary details worthy of a magic-imbued punishment.

“ I and three others were drawn to this place, including two beasts that attacked us. ” Xen said while resisting the desire to look into the face of the druvin.

“ The creatures mauled one of us. I don't know what happened to the other person. She went missing after she ran ahead of us, ” Xen almost shrugged nonchalantly “ I don't think she escaped the floor-crawlers; they wouldn't pass up a young prey like her. ” Xen realized he had almost forgotten about the girl from before. The one who didn't listen to and or ignored him while they were outside the mysterious building.

Then Xen grimaced: a dark mental image appeared within his mind. He imagined the creatures feasting on the girl's corpse somewhere in the building. And the haunting visage of a vengeful human spirit overlooking the scene while hovering in the darkness. It filled him with trepidation. But Xen was not sure if he was lucky or unfortunate that the one called Lazerin appeared. Probably a bit of both since he did not plan on leaving the asylum alive after casting magic. Before he was willing to die while taking the abominations to the void with him. Ending his life and theirs in a deadly, cold and dark dance within the void. But fate was kind this time.

“ That is all that occurred, Lord Lazerin, ” Xen stated. “ It was easier to surrender than die while fighting foolishly. ” Xen continued in a respectful tone. “ Though, honestly, I get the feeling that magic alone would not kill a man of your strength and charm, ” Xen added with just a hint of rhetoric in an attempt to flatter Lazerin and possibly sway the uncertain future in a positive direction.

“ ”