It hadn't taken much time for Sunny to guide them into the Citadel, almost every animal which lurked within the deep and dark forests seemed naturally drawn away from his presence, the chirping of birds silenced by the simple acknowledgement of his existence.
Frankly, that made the trip even more awkward as he stole glances behind him, locking eyes with Jessica only to quickly divert his attention in an effort not to raise any questions. Despite this, he was quite certain that the people around him had noticed.
Leaping into the air, Sunny hopped on a ledge that seemed to mark the end of his journey as he turned around to face the crowd which followed behind him. "This is it. This is the citadel." He commented as each of them took turns leaping up to witness it.
Jagged obsidian walls stood like a monolithic fortress, stretching high enough to scrape the cloudless sky. The temple stood like an imposing colossus; its surface plated with layers of reinforced blackened steel that had been tempered over hundreds of days of battering.
Across its walls, were ancient grooves that drink in the light, towering battlements bristle with jagged spikes, each one designed to impale anything foolish enough to scale its ironclad exterior. As their sights took in the gigantic structure, each one of them felt a slight chill run down their spine as they could only wonder what remained in there.
"There are about forty of these in the dream realm, I don't know when or how they were created. But what I do know is that there are different trials, whether it be auditory or physical challenges in there to test you. Don't expect to brute force your way through. Everything there is poisonous, so don't touch what you don't need to."
As Sunny finished his monologue, he turned to Nephis who studied the building silently for a few moments with a sense of melancholy as well as faint sense of familiarity that was not lost in Sunny's attentive gaze. "I'll keep them safe." Was all Nephis said, and in return Sunny simply gave her a nod.
"Don't die." Was all Eubin said as she ran her hand across his stomach with a smile that she didn't even bother to restrain as Sunny offered her a warm smile. Shocking both Eubin and Nephis, Sunny pulled her into a warm hug, something which was quite shocking for someone who was so averse to physical contact.
"I wouldn't think of it."
Clearing her throat, Nephis caught the attention of all of them as she steeled herself for what was about to occur. "Alright, as Sunny has said before I'll be the official leader for this expedition to the citadel. You all may not like me, for reasons justified or not. But what I won't have is putting each other in danger simply due to a grudge, am I clear?"
A resounding "yes" was her response, although Eubin couldn't help but call her a bitch immediately afterward. Thankfully, Nephis ignored the reply and spun on her heel, walking towards the monumental entrance of the citadel before taking a glance back at Sunny who was staring at them with Jet.
"Be safe, Neph" were Sunny's words to her, although he was out of earshot the way his lips moved always served to capture her heart in a way that nobody else in the world had been able to do. With a nod and a blinding smile, she spun on her heel and walked in.
As the last of them made their entrance into the citadel, they noticed that from appearances alone, the outside of the structure appeared much smaller than its insides. There was only one word that could describe the veritable fortress that they had been trapped in.
Monstrous.
The air was thick, oppressive and carried the faint tang of scorched metal and ancient blood, the corpses of three men being barely illuminated by the torches that were littered across its walls, as they proceeded forward, the sight only became more mysterious.
Seeing as Nephis was the frontrunner, she took a few steps forward, leading ahead of them only for her foot to sink into the dark stone tiles. In the next moment, Clara leapt in front of her, raising her sword with the blade facing forward as she clashed with an invisible force.
A wire, almost imperceptible to all those within the room flew forward with monumental force, flinging Clara backward yet giving her the opportunity to warn everyone to duck downward. Thankfully, it worked. As it flew overhead, there wasn't a visible explosion indicating it had stopped.
It was like it had faded into the shadows and ceased to exist.
"Watch your fucking step leader." Clara growled with annoyance as she dusted herself off. Whatever had thrown those wires was strong, impossibly strong. In fact, she had only been quick enough to react due to sheer luck alone. If not, Nephis would have died.
"So, I assume this is it then, the floor is trapped?" Nephis whispered to herself, her voice low as she continued her steady pace. "Don't lower your guard." She ordered, continuing to make her way forward down the hallway. Suddenly, the stench of blood hit all of them in unison as the sound of steps made their way towards them with calm confidence.
Soon enough, a short figure came into view, his hands slightly bloodied as his face was hidden by a mask that appeared like a pathetic imitation of the excellent craftmanship that Sunny's mask was made from.
Immediately, all of them were on guard. Each of them preparing their bodies for combat at a moments notice.
"You know, isn't it rude to get ready to fight a little kid who hasn't done anything to you?" The boy asked, his voice calm and almost jovial as he skipped towards them. Oddly, his steps were quite calculated. Each one placed in specific locations like anything else would spell his doom.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" Nephis asked, narrowing her eyes at the boy as he shrugged his shoulders. "I could ask you the same thing, but why would I bother answering questions from someone who got ready to attack me. What did I ever do to you? Do I not deserve to exist in peace?"
His bombarding of questions took Nephis aback, but before she could reply, Jessica had already started speaking. "We're not going to apologise for being on guard when we almost died, also, you smell like blood. Lots of it."
A low laugh permeated throughout the immense walls of the citadel, mocking and taking genuine joy from her statement.
"And you smell like you just kissed Lost from Light!" He cackled, causing everyone to have restrained reactions as Jessica simply narrowed her eyes. "Maybe, maybe not. The more important thing we should be wondering is why you're here. So, I need an answer, now."
Suddenly, silence filled the hallway, the young boy staring at them, his facial expression hidden beneath his mask as the atmosphere became heavy. "You wouldn't be able to stop me if I decided not to give one, so don't make threats weakling."
His voice was cold, it wasn't the type of thing you would expect from someone of his age. But before Jessica could prove his statement wrong, he had already began speaking.
"Anyways, I'm here to guide you all through the trials of the citadel, although I might be unable to accompany you, I can give you information. But watch your step, one false move and this hallway will explode."
'This guy's tone keeps shifting instantaneously like he's an actor. I can't get a read on him.' Nephis thought to herself before releasing a sigh. "We'll be in your care then. Lead the way forward." As she said that, the boy's head snapped towards her as he cocked his head to the side.
"Or what?" Silence followed.
Suddenly, it was broken by immense laughter as he slapped Nephis on the shoulder gently before giggling to himself once more. "Haha! You should have seen the looks on your faces! Call me taskmaster, and follow my lead like obedient dogs, ok?"
At the back of the crowd, Eubin pulled Jessica backward with her wires only to whisper into her ear. "We're killing this guy once this is done. Also, what was this about kissing?" She asked, her voice sickly sweet as they mirrored the path taskmaster had laid out for them.
"I plead the fifth." Was Jessica's calm response as she made her way forward briskly, dodging another round of questioning from the woman.
Soon enough, they found themselves in front of a door, comparative to the size of the building they were situated in, one couldn't describe it as anything except for minute. Despite this, taskmaster continued to stare at the door with a hint of curiosity lingering in his unseen gaze as he glanced between Nephis and the door.
"Only one of you can enter. Specifically, only Nephis can." Taskmaster commented firmly. "How do you know my name?" Was her reply, eyes narrowing as the young boy refused to give an answer once more. "Within the room, you will be confronted by the memories of those closest to your heart. If your mind breaks, you and everyone here will die. If not, then you may proceed."
"The one closest to my heart?" Nephis whispered, reaching the answer almost immediately. "Your mind will break if you do that Changing Star." Eubin commented dryly, her gaze piercing through taskmaster as she sighed with disappointment.
"Leave it to someone with more mental strength, you wouldn't want to become an emotionless machine, no?" She asked, sarcasm dripping from her tone as she smiled at Nephis. Nephis offered no reply, staring at the door with an indifferent expression for a few moments before Taskmaster cut in.
"If it makes you all feel better, you'll be experiencing the equivalent of a single day within their memory and the time will rush past quickly."
"A single day sounds easy enough. I'll do it." Nephis commented, determination dripping from he tone as Hel stood in front of her with narrowed eyes. Nephis didn't even notice her, truly Hel had earned her reputation as being a highly skilled assassin.
"*Sigh* Although I'd love to sit back and watch you endure and come out victorious like this is an anime, let's be realistic for a second. Why you?" Before Nephis could respond, taskmaster clapped his hands loudly to gather their attention as he cocked his head to the side in confusion.
"Excuse me for my crass language, but when the fuck did I say you had a choice?" He asked, hand on his chin as though he was in deep thought. Pointing at Eubin, he blurred over to her before resting his elbow on her shoulder as though they were friends.
"Hey, you. Did I say you had a choice? I didn't, did I? Oh, ok. I see, maybe I did. Maybe I might've. Maybe I slipped up. Maybe I made an error. If Nephis does not take the trial right now, I will kill you all."
As he said this, Eubin wrapped him up in her strings like a well-trained spider, causing light cuts to emerge from his clothing as he cocked his head to the side. "Don't fuck with us. Who do you think you are?" Eubin growled, only for taskmaster to laugh in her face like she was a peon in comparison to him.
"Who said I'd beat you in a fight? I didn't say that. Did you? You said that didn't you? Ah, well I'll explain it for you mentally inept cripples. I control whether this citadel explodes or not, no matter how strong Sunless is, he won't get here on time. If I die, you die. If you annoy me, I'm perfectly willing to kill us both."
In the next moment, he flexed his muscles, snapping the wires that coiled around his body as he walked up to Eubin, staring her in the eyes with a crazed expression that felt visible even despite his mask.
"So, Song Eubin. Are you going to take the risk? I implore you, gamble with me! Kill me! Slaughter me! Butcher me! Rip me to shreds! Just make sure to send Sunless a message saying you love him before you fucking explode!"