Private - The Wise King of the Forest | Page 6

She felt better that Sola had understood what she said or at least pretended to, It was hard to tell with that girl sometimes although she knew Sola usually meant well in the short period of time she had gotten to know her.
Sola's smile reliefed her somewhat, giving the impression she had indeed what she said to heart and understood a bit. Now she wondered what Sola would do next to help Seto in the back If she wanted to after being scolded by him, She thought maybe she take a different approach to helping him. Her silence thinking as well as Sola's silence was interuppted by Seto's rolling and talking to himself, she hadn't noticed it before but after what she had witnessed today, it didn't bother her as much as it apparently did to Sola since she asked her If there was anything they could do. Christina shrugged before speaking. ​

"As much as I would hate to say it Sola, sometimes......you can't save everyone, he probably knows that better than anyone including us. The pain he feels is not something that can be healed by magic, at least by us, only he can do it from what I've heard so far but you know what you can do? You can still support him in other ways you know, maybe holding him tight like hugging him, you never know, a simple hug could make the difference between death and life. I know am only a kid myself but when it comes to things like this, you can't afford to think or act like a dumb kid."

The fires of hell rained down there along the two as Seto and Kurama stood still staring each other. Despite the horrors of war on both sides with thousands lying dead on the floor with their combined blood taking over the street and ruins, Seto stayed strong, he knew all this destruction and death was all in his head although deep down he knew these were the memories of Kurama, showing him some of the entire villages and towns he had destroyed. Saying it was horrifying was an understatment yet he wasn't fazed by it, he had seen it before his time in this world, the real world wasn't any better with conflict. The bloodshed and destruction only reminded him of the war in the middle east he fought in under the banner of the UN, villages destroyed and there people dead were common place, terrorist spared no one, not even their own people. With his legs and arms still crossed, he contiuned to beam his eyes at Kurama whom did the same, there was little talk as Kurama played his memories to Seto who knew them all too well. "Until you find the answer, you will never stop me from my sins, all this destruction and the spillage of crimson blood splat on the ruins of civilization, This is what I will cause until you find the answer through searching through your very own being boy, you show convinction and will but we shall we see If that gets you through this endless battle.

Seeing the destruction of civilization and the streets covered in blood made him twist harder in the game world, almost rolling himself into the sides of the wagon while he began to talk to himself in his sleep "I may have seen the slaughter of thousands where their blood rain down the streets and I may have seen entire towns destroyed but I refuse..." Seto rolled over yet again, preventing him from finishing what he was going to say.


​

 

Helping with just a hug or a hand wasn't necessarily enough to Solaria- not when Seto worked so hard to protect them, even in his sleep. However, if even that little bit would be of some aid, she certainly wouldn't refuse the idea. "A hug, huh...I'd probably do that anyway, but...Is that really enough to show my appreciation?"

As Seto rolled over, the seemingly more upbeat girl paled yet again. Wasn't there some way he could at least get peace in his sleep? Seeing his fighting internally was far too troubling. A soft sigh escaped her as she curled up, bending her back as far down as she could, huddling her arms into her lap and her head into the space it created.

"Fighting awake, fighting asleep...What I really wish is that there were a way I could at least make sure his sleep is restful. He's going to run himself ragged at this rate...Not to mention-"

Noticing a bump about to come upon the road, she hopped in back without finishing her statement, moving to at least make sure if Seto rolled, he wouldn't fall and hit his head. How did she do this? Positioning herself lower to hold him up, like an elfin guard rail on a bunk bed. "Maybe I'm just over-protective myself, but...If I can at least keep him safe from the outside while he's inside, maybe that's still something."

 

Christina listened to Sola's words well and understood what she meant, she felt the same way about the people at home but she also knew the reality of life, she couldn't save everyone no matter how skilled she would become in the future, Sola wouldn't be any different. The longer she listened, the more paler Sola got before she finally sighed and curled up into a ball being depressed. The thought that Sola Loved Seto had came into her mind, it did make sense due to in large part told her how much she cared about him, sure she said she cared about everyone equally but to her, it seemed like If Seto would die, it would be the literaly end of the world for her, she seemed too attached to Seto for someone she preseumed she just met anyway. She had to ask her and If she told her she did love him, that could make a difference in Seto's suffering. Playing with her index fingers pushing against each other's tips , Christina's face turned red as she began to speak to Sola nervously "Well.....If you care soo much for Seto....You could always love him..." She hesitated, being so nervous, talking about such things, she didn't love Seto but she had never thought of love or romance for herself really, the town always came first. She needed to take a deep breath before she could contiune. "You know......like a lover since......you want to care.....and support him so much....."​

She wasn't sure how she react after hitting the bump on the road a few feet ahead of them, She watched as Sola flopped herself into the back of the wagon to protect Seto's fragile head. Coming up on the bomb, She nearly flopped a few inches off her seat when the driver's front wheel drove itself into the hole and back out with the wheel behind doing the same. Chrisinta sighed in relief when she looked back towards the two, Sola was still holding Seto and Seto was still asleep, She gave Sola a thumbs up before dragging her eyes to the front of the wagon again. Following the bump in the road, Christina went silent for a few minutes, leaving Seto to Sola as she thought, she thought hard If there was any type of way to help Seto, she knew there wasn't any healing magic that would work on him but maybe an insight spell could help? Looking over her own shoulder, she tapped Sola's shoulder to get her attention. "Hey, I got a idea but it's crazy....I was thinking, there isn't any magic that can heal him but maybe there's a way that will help you understand the threat better, I was thinking you maybe use a spell to look into his mind, like your mind will be temperory linked with his, you might see what he see's and maybe you understand what's goes on? I dunno but I ain't doing it, you might be mentally scared for life If you do it, am not going to lose my sanity over it."
​

 

Solaria laughed timidly when Christina let out a rather unusual idea. "While I do think well of him, I don't think I fall in love that easily. I mean, he does remind me of a guy I liked a long time ago, so that might be why you got confused. I'm pretty well known for projecting that memory on people who're similar."

Just mentioning it brought a rush of the past to the forefront of her mind. They were good days, days she spent tirelessly playing games with her closest friend, days she met strangers far more than now, but never knew a thing about them normally the way she could learn of them here. They were days she'd still been able to spend with her mother, who she never even talked to about those moments, or that person.

It was painful to think about, so she pushed it out of her mind quickly- though, she did take a mental note to see if she could find out how the man was doing, eventually. Instead, she focused on Seto and, soon after, on what would soon come next from Christina's lips.

"Is there such thing as a magic to peek into someone's head? I'm not that strong with illumancy yet. I'm way better with a sword than with minds." She wasn't a psychologist, and she wasn't about to try to play one using magic- not if it was likely to cause more trouble than help. "How do you even do something like that...? Have you done it before?"

 

"Oh yeah tat makes sense, coming from a girl who'been crying almost non stop for a man she barely knew!" Christina pouted angrily , she didn't like the fact that Sola was laughing at her over the idea, sure it was unusual but that didn't mean she had to get in her face and laugh! Sola's reasoning for her answers didn't make any sense, how can you care for a person so much just beacuse they look like someone else you know? The more she tried to understand the reasoning, the more her head started to hurt. At least though her thoughts were soon gone as Sola nearly jumped at her with curosity and possibility excitment when she told her of magic that could peer into one's mind even though she was amazed like something that even existed. She really couldn't blame her for thinking that way, she only knew of this type of magic through her mother who she knew used it to calm the mind of one's sins. Christina knew of the spell that needed to be cast but on her own, she wasn't nearly as powerful or skilled to pull off such a spell but with Sola, they could for a limited time cast it but there would most likely be drawbacks, she doubt Sola would understand what she would see in his mind but it seemed she was hell determined to fix Seto someway. Christina seto as she recollected her posture and her mind to think clearly before she turned to Sola to speak after she was asked by Sola to explain. "There is and I know due to my mother having a spell that can enter the mind of a person, they can't do anything in it from what she told me, you would be more like a spectre or ghost in someone's mind, able to watch but never be able to interact. I know the spell since I have raed my mother's notes and I have seen her cast it but I wouldn't be able to cast it on my own, am not powerful enough on my own but If we worked together, pulling our mana together, We could probably send you in for a few minutes but I wouldn't know what would happen, You probably only see images, I doubt you be able to make sense of it but what do I know? I've never done it and am not trying it today. If you do this, you may mentally scarr your mind peramently."​

"

 

She smiled gently, calming her laughter and moving to fluff Christina's hair gently. "Sorry, sorry. It's just...The last time someone told me I was in love with someone, it was quite a similar situation. I was worrying sick over that person, and my best friend had told me I looked like a girl in love for the first time. You remind me of her quite a bit, and it just kind of all came back at once and made me laugh realizing how simple I am."

Her words were said with a hint of sadness despite the bright grin she held on her face- she had always been a bad actor, especially where her heart was involved. Taking care of people was her passion, her reason for living- but some people really kept her attention more than others.

"My mother died because she was always trying too hard. The first man I loved, who looked much like Seto, was a person I could never have. We bickered like cats and dogs, but we were closer than any strangers could be normally, and yet to him, that's what we were the entire time- merely strangers, sharing a space."

Shaking it off, she tried to focus back on the issue at hand- the man that was still fighting deep in his heart, deep in his conscious, just to protect them from his inner demon. "I'd heard rumors there's the ability to learn exorcism. If I could learn that...maybe I could really help him. I don't think going into his mind, particularly without his consent, would be fair. He's already against us getting involved. I want to help him...But if it means waiting until he's more ready to share his burden, I'll just have to keep near him to watch over him until he's ready."

With another giggle, she gave her friend- which, now, she could easily call Christina in her head- another beam of warm joy. "I guess now that I think of it, I really do sound like I'm in love with him. But...It probably wouldn't work anyway. I heard him speak of this Alia person. His words were far lonelier speaking of her. It is all too likely she's already taken that role. I'll just act as his supporter instead, until there's something even I can more readily do. I just have to believe that someday, he'll be willing to rely on me- or rather, on us. You know?"

 

Christina's anger eventually faded, forcing her to accept Sola's apology, She didn't consider a mean person and she understood why sola acted the way she did, she hoped she just wouldn't do it again, She could see how she angered Seto but at least she didn't do it intentionally. She did think it was wierd Sola played with her hair, it was in a good way she supposed? It was just kinda wierd she starting doing it while she started story mode, talking about being in a similar situation before with a boy she loved and her best friend reminded Sola of herself, There was no way this was a coincidence Christina thought in the deepest parts of her mind, especially when Sola told her the boy she loved, look famously similar to Seto. Sola telling her the nature of the two being together as If they were together sounded strange, it sounded similar to what she believed would be her relationship If Sola would even be with Seto If that could ever be a thing. Sola tried changing the subject to learning exorcism so she could help Seto purge whatever was in his body. Christina nodded in agreement with Sola, it probably wasn't the best thing to peek into someone's mind without asking, really she had been thinking outloud, she had never wanted to do it in the first place since she had too much respect for Seto who had helped her and the townpeople of Dawngrave many times over and she didn't want to ruin that respect. Of course she was a little surprised Sola didn't learn by now that Seto would never ask for help on something he could on his own.

"Sola....You know that will never happen right? You know Lord Kurama or Seto is strong, swift, brave, a natural leader and warrior but he has also had something many of his kindhad,.....Pride. You know he will never ask for help unless under the most dire of times where the world probably ending or something and even though we don't know, there are many other reasons he is the way he is, you know he is.....a complicated man with a complicated history......not everyone can he helped in the same way.....Whatever this nurse thing is that you are, you need to change."

Christina wanted to face palm her face, she became awful close after watching Sola change from being depressing to gigglingly happily as she started talking about how she really did sound like she was in love in with him but than became a buzzkill when she noted it would probably never work out since she heard of Alia. To some extent, there was truth to her words but even she and the townpeople didn't know of Seto's relationship with Alia. Alia was considered special to him since she was his closest friend and alley but Lovers? She and the townpeople had always suspected it as much before they including herself have never seen anything between, it had always been all business and no pleasure whatever that meant? Hell even sometimes they didn't even act like friends and Sola was here acting like she knew the situation, even she didn't know dammit! Christina pouted angry, slapping Sola across the face enough to make her feelings known but not hard enough to make it hurt.

"Don't jump to conclusions Sola! Lord Kurama and Lady Alia are close friends only, I would know! I've seen the two in town together when the few times Lady Alia is around and the two are all business like, I've never even seen the two hug or kiss before, there even times the two don't even act as friends, it's wierd ok, I don't even get it, the townpeople don't either.....there friendship is wierd and complicated alright?"

Christina relaxed slightly into her seat slightly, Seto on the other hand clung tightly to Sola's waist as he slept with his head face down on her clothes. The mental battle between himself and the monster raged on in his mind within the depths of hell but at this time, it was different. Flashbacks of previous events of Terrasphere and in his personal life took shape causing pain he had not witinessed in some time, causing him to mumble loudly agianst Sola's clothing, luckily the other two wouldn't be hear it most likely. "AM SORRY!....I had never meant to hurt you! That was never my intention!" ,"Dammit! I wasn't fast enough! I couldn't save them! Hs hands clung to Sola a little tighter as tears ran down from his eyes and onto his face and eventually Sola's clothing as the thought of their's death intensified and the dishonour he brought on to those he cherised highly, no matter what he did, he knew thing's wouldnn't change. Even if Seto and Ryosuke were different physically, the two still shared the same mind, making them a reflection of each other, Did the monster know of this however? Whatever the case, this beast seemed to enjoy the powerful emotions the two brought out.

​

 

As she felt the hand across her face, she shook her head in response. "I said it was from how he spoke, not from actual knowledge. We can never really know what's in a person's heart, Christina. Heck, some of us barely know our own, much less other people."

Sure, there was a part of her that was mostly just irritated she was hit- but she knew Christina meant well, or at the very least, it felt likely. And even then, Christina was already 'her friend'. There was no way she would hit back, a and instead just sat idly, face slightly red where she was hit, hoping Seto wouldn't wake up to notice it.

"Looking into his mind is becoming more and more tempting...But it's also tempting not to find out what's going on in there. You said yourself I might be scarred...But I might be just as scarred seeing him this way all it's own. Seeing a friend in pain is never pleasant, you know."

She'd feel the same, she was sure, if it were Christina that clung onto her as Seto now was, his pain clear in his actions even if his words weren't audibly able to be noticed to her. Running her hand through his hair, she found her lips tugged further into a frown, her face somehow in just as much pain s her racing, anxious heart.

"If I were to ask you to let me see what has him in such distress, Christina, tell me...How would I get out in the first place? Even if I were not physically there and could only see, I wouldn't know how to return...And it would put a lot of strain on you in doing so, wouldn't it? Even so, I want to know now more than ever. I need to know what's going on in there...So that these tears will make sense at once."

 

"Still! Don't jump to conclusions! uhhh...Your killing me Sola, you know that?" Christina sighed quite heavy before falling on her back on the seat, choosing to lay back on the seat to look at the sky. She understood why Sola was trying to say to her but even still, she shouldn't have talked like that as If she knew the full story. She still irriatated slightly when Sola jumped ship again, could she not make up her own mind? At First she said she didn't want to, now she was talking on and on how she was tempted to dive into his main and she didn't care If she would be scarred from her trip. Seeing Seto in such pain wasn't easy for her either but she wasn't selfless, well at least compared to Sola, she wanted to help Seto but not in a way she lost her sanity, after all processing what you seen in someone's mind is like doing a puzzle in the dark. Eventually Sola cracked under the pressure after Seto beginning to cry in her lap, it was apparent she couldn't take his suffering anymore when Sola asked her for details how the magic worked.

"uhh right.....Well it's like a regular spell so to say, You would cast and it would last for a time, after the time's up, you would be thrown out of his mind immediately and back into the real world, of course I can't speak for your mental health, I can't say what you see for sure honestly but anyway the spell itself once casted, I'll be fine. I'll be tired out for sure yeah, my mana reserved will almost be gone but I'll be fine once it's casted. As for how much time you have, probably five minutes If we combine our mana but that's at the most, I couldn't say for certain, this is a powerful spell that requires a powerful person to use for any long periods of time. My mother could do it for half and hour but that her's limit and she's a master in white magic or at least I think so? Why you asking? You sure you want to go in? You probably come out as a different person."​

 

"I know it's probably a bad idea, but...He's crying, you know? I won't understand his burden if he won't tell me, and if it's going to hurt him so badly, I can't just sit by and do nothing..." She hated herself on the one hand for it, but on the other hand, Solaria prayed she could find a resolution by taking a peek. "Though he may very well hate me if he finds out...I think that's the thing that'd hurt me the most."

Realizing that thinking this hard wasn't really like her, she began to shake her head violently. The fight between her natural need to protect those in pain and her equally natural need to save herself from the torture of other's problems was an outstanding battle below the surface. Her throat let out a growl, the two sides of her mind going back and forth with great venom in their arguments. But thinking it over wasn't going to make the two sides stop bickering. If anything, it would do the opposite.

With a deep breath, she hugged Seto tighter, feeling over protective in some way or another. "No, if I don't do it, I'm way more likely to regret it. Show me the spell, Christina, I'm going in no matter what the cost. At least if I look, I can better share his burden. Maybe then I'll be more confident to tell him I like him anyway."

 

Christina's eyes widened, shocked it was hard for her to believe Sola was really going to go into his mind which all she could know it could be hell she could be walking into. Seeing Seto's pain, she understood, she really did Sola but now she was starting to fear for Sola's life as well but she also knew at the same time there was no point in trying to stop her. She couldn't say how Seto would react If Sola told him or found out somehow, it would probably blow up in her face or he wouldn't care, she couldn't pick one honestly, it was hard to figur out. She could tell Sola was killing herself inside, she didn't know her for very long yet in the small time she had spent with Sola, she could really tell she cared about people although she was still convinced she loved Seto somehow or at least had strong feeling for him. Now that she thought of it, Seto's romantic love life sure was complicated, when did he become such a ladies man? She still remembered the first time he appeared in Danwgrave all those months ago.​

Watching Sola hug Seto's sleeping body, Christina shrugged one last time sighing at the two after Solar demanded her to show the spell, "Show Time" She thought to herself as she turned to Sola. "Listen closely, the spell itself is simple to understand, first lay your hands on mine." Christina laid her hands on Seto's forehead on top of each other that formed a cross. "Our hands will become conduits for our mana. I will begin the spell by dispersing my mana on his forehead which in a sense will begin to open a portal however I alone do not have enough mana to fully open this mental portal, this is where you come in, you will channel your mana to your hands than mine and send it into the portal, thus the portal will have enough mana to keep itself open. Once that is done, the person who is YOU will need to say the words exactly like this "Miiraak Bex! gaar dii hah kotin vorey, making zey feimaan ful Zu'u aal paagol voknau sovaar do geinro hah! " Once you say that, your mind will be transported to Seto's for a limited time which you already know......oh and don't ask about the language of the spell, even I don't understand it. It was in some acient tome or something my mother found a long time ago. Anyway once your in, you can't pull out until the spell wears off and your body...errhhh....well let's just say it will be a doll while your away, I don't even wnt to think about what would happen If your body was destroyed."

With a deep breath of her and some nervous laughing along the way, she nodded her head at Sola trying to hint it was time to peform the spell. "Ok lets start now and ol don't you dar chicken out on me now Sola! I don't like this anymore than you do." Placing the palm of her right hand on Seto's forehand tightly, she pressed slightly down in an effort to make sure her hands wouldn't slip from their current situation. Christinna inhaled and exhaled slowly as she closed her eyes, focusing on her innerself, she searched deep within her body, slowly she collected the mana from all over her body and pulled what she could into hand, creating a warm yet white aura around her hands. Transferring her mana in her hands to the top of Seto's forehead, a white light began to buss from under hands, trying to escape the darkness her hands had formined, in her mind, she saw a white circular ball of energy in her mind. At first she thought she was getting tired but eventually she realized it was​

The Portal to Seto's mind

Once Sola did the same as what she had done with her man and transferred it into her hand so she could keep the portal open, Sola would as well see the portal in her mind, the only thing she would have to do is say the words she told her and Sola's mind would be suckded into the portal, sending her into Seto's mind.​

 

She hugged Christina in thanks as she learned the spell, memorizing it oddly well considering it was the first time she'd heard it, and she didn't seem to require a second. The words, as Christina taught her them, felt as if they etched themselves deep in her subconscious. Was this one of the healer's special skills, or was this some of Solaria's old self showing it's face in the heat of the moment?

"I won't chicken out. I'm not going to give up until I can find a way to share his burden wit him, even if he doesn't like it." Well, 'sharing' wasn't really the right word for it, she realized- but it didn't matter at that time. What mattered was getting as far in as she could, even if she knew she'd be unable to do a thing about what she saw.

Her heart demanded it, and her mind. Her inner martyr wanted nothing more than to be at his side in his endless battle with himself and his (rather literal) inner demon. As she was signaled to join in, she put a hand lightly on Seto's forehead, rubbing it gently before casting speaking the spell at Christina's side.

"Miiraak Bex! gaar dii hah kotin vorey, making zey feimaan ful Zu'u aal paagol voknau sovaar do geinro hah!!"

She felt herself fading, until she found the portal with her very soul. Touching it with her astral form, she could feel it sucking her in. Soon, it went black yet again, until she found herself farther than she'd ever been from reality before. She was really inside Seto's soul- or at the very least, his mind.

 

Sola's mind would fade away, her eyes would shut down, making her vision black, her hearing would be gone, she wouldn't hear a thing from the game world as her mind was absorbed into the shining portal made by Christina and thrown into the chaos she so desperately wanted to see in an effort to understand Seto's suffering. Her physical body would become no more as far as she knew, She would become ethereal, taking the form of a blue like ghost or spirit that would be in Terrasphere. At the other end, there was nothing, it was blackness.....Everything would change after this.

After some time had flown by her, Sola would awake to nothing, only revealing the blackness of the void itself and yet not even a few seconds awake in the mind of a fiend knight, It wouldn't take long for Sola to hear a chilling voice in the air of the void without a body, nothing would come from it at first, only the ominous and frightening laugh of a familiar tone she had already heard once in the distance. By it's sheer tone of the laughter, it was clear this mysterous yet familiar voice relished in the very fact she was here, in Seto's mind. In the moment afterwards, the blackness of the void went silent, something that could cause insanity on it's own before the same voice would speak finally to perhaps enlighten Sola

"Mortal.....you have stepped forward into my domain.......Why is that? It is perhaps....you seek knowledge of the two who dwell deep within this world? Do you wish to see the wirkd through their eyes? What other purple could you have mortal? So be it! You shall see the horrors of the living host and the delights of the curruption that seeks the destruction of all things.......Very Well than mortal."


Following the voice finishing it's words, they were followed by more silence, nothing as Sola would be force to stay where she was, unable to move. With the silence that thad aken over, from behind, despite hearing no movement or any sound for that matter, Sola's back was pushed a few feet fowards as a white portal took form. There wasn't any time to react or move out of the way, Sola found herself falling into a portal that she didn't know where it would lead. In her last moments she could see, hear and think, she heard the same voice she had heard just a few moments ago, only this time it's message was simple....................

"WELCOME.....TO HELL! UWHAHAHAHA!

​

Hidden: Seto's domain of oblivion

THEME

Ripped into the portel, she would be thrown into the worst of realities she could think of, she would witness the nightmare of the one who dreamt of this realm every night. Finding herself laying on the ground after some sort of blackout from being thrown in the portal, her eyes would reveal the domain of Seto's mind. Here she would see the horror through her own eyes of what he witinessed every day. Awakening on the hot, smelting, rocky ground, in the immediate distance infront of her, she would see what looked like humans but at closer glimspe, it couldn't be further from the truth. Their skin was pale, rotten, smelted to the point they stuck to their bones, they were slim where they had no fat, cleary by the shape of there chest which housed only their ribs covered by their tightly skin. Being of a degenerative state, There was no hair or facial characteristics , there was no genitals either to display their gender. Many of these shells of a human were naked, some of those who were lucky were able to cover themselves up with rags and some even had broken swords or other tools. Like zombies from a horror movie, they wandered aimlessly through this hellhold yet some laid on the ground while a few sat against rocks or some other hardy material and shook their heads back and forth with their hands on their hands as If they had a headache. Sola obivously wasn't their in her physical body but these shells of humans proved to be non hostile towards her as If they could see her and themselves.

In the distance, the furthest she could see was a wall of intense fire that raged over the orange skies of this world, beyond the fire was a burning of a large town filled to the brink with "HAAAA" , "SOMEONE!! ANYONE!....HELP!", "BY THE GODS! WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO DESERVE THIS?" , "ANYONE BUT THE CHILDREN! KILL US INSTEAD!" amongst many others the screams of countless victims, of women, children and men begging for their lives, all slaughtered by the thousands, something this horrifying could not be described by anyone who lived.​

 

At first, there was nothing. Just a black, still silence that made her ears want to bleed. Then, there was a blood-curdling voice, a voice that felt oddly familiar, yet not at all. To her surprise, it spoke to her. It greeted her, welcomed her to the abyss she'd entered.

"And I was sure there would never be some sort of welcome party..." Giggling slightly despite the clear despair trying to crawl through her spine, tickling her nerves, she mused a response to the strange voice. "I seek to understand them more than to know them. I want to know their burden, so I may understand their pain."

Her lips were somehow smiling, though the sadness cast shadows over her eyes. As the silence returned and she was welcomed to 'hell', she couldn't help wanting to know why they were going to Michigan or Mississippi- two places where "Hell" was quite literally a hometown for some. Alas, this was far from her world she was seeing as the storm cleared.

There was fire as vast as the depths of a demon's lair. There were cries for mercy that could never be heard by god- if there even was such a thing. No, this land really fit her idea of what 'hell' might look like. It was heated by flames, yet she felt cold. As cold as a corpse, awaiting her own judgement day...

That the creatures ignored her, like undead mortals risen as an army, yet they seemed to at least sense her presence. "She said I wasn't really here, but it feels like I'm here enough that I can interact...They're even giving me nods on which way to go, it seems like..." Following the group's discretion, she moved forward, further towards the cries for help. She reached a wall of pure flames, keeping her from being able to reach the voices on the other side, barely able to see through the smoke and mirrors the red rushed in her face. "But...Where's Seto in all this...? And that beast, for that matter. All I see...I don't see them at all..."

 

It was as if the unpassable inferno that raged over the skies knew of Sola's presence and decided to grant her access to the flames that had engulfed the entire town. Opening like a side door, a large portion of the flames moved horizontally away from each other, leaving a huge breech in the impenetrable wall of the everlasting fire long enough for Sola to gain entry however If she would wait too long, the Fire would fall back into place, preventing her from entering. Once passed the flames, she would be forced to walk a short distance through the rocky, steamy and melted ground to the town with nothing alive as any vegetation found along the path was dead, rotted or burnt away as well as the occasional human shells she saw only a few moments ago, this time however, they raised their hands out to her as If they could sense her presence and knew as If she was a healer, there moaning and the pain the must have to endure would weight heavily on any sane person If they wern't outright terrified! Past the shells of the humans and anything else essentially dead was the massive town itself that would lay infront of her eyes. Walking through the burnt gates of this once great town, Sola would be welcomed by a street engulfed with the blood of the dozens of corpses that laid in the streets, many laid in their own blood while some were smashed into building and some even missed entire limbs. If she thought she wouls escape this sight, she would be sadly mistaken as the streets of this town all shared the same fate. Once more the screams and pleading began once more as the many asked to die for the sake of saving others, over time the screams became worse and longer yet they all orientated from the same spot, the town center.

If she choose to walk further into the town, she would only meet the destruction and the death of all who once lived here or what was there, as she walked closer, the screams, the pleading and the moaning got loud and louder until she eventually find herself at the center of this presumed madness. Through the inferno and the smoke laid hundreds of corpses, many ripped to pieces while other looked as they were devoured with their entrails everywhere. There was however survivors but not in the way someone would want to see........All the men and many of the children laid dead in their own blood or in the arms of their loved ones but a few, a select few remained alive chained to the ruins they claimed as home, only they had became nothing more than the shells of the humans Sola had seen the entire time since she arrived. These could talk, albeit in an dying and erie tone, crying out, pleading for the monster who caused this to kill them, to finally grant them mercy but non was given. At the center of all this madness and destruction, stood a warrior from head to toe cladded in ebony armor, at his side were the many naked corpses of the women he had deflowered for his amusement, they were all dead but one. Laughing to his heart's concent in his victory, he contiuned to have his way, raping a beautiful blonde woman claded in steel armor. "Wh.......Whyy Seto?.....We took you i...in...as one of...our....own....I...respec......respected......you.....I saw....the....light iin....yu....I doonnt un." She couldn't finish her sentence being so worn out from everything that happened, the female paladin eventually tried to plead to Seto but there was no words from the ebony warrior as the woman wingled her waist trying to escape as he penetrated her while standing. Despite her heavy moaning and begging for mercy, there was none as he unleashed his seed into her, breaking her. Dropping her nearly dead body to the ground, In a dark, horrifying tone he laughed once before turning around and began walking in the opposite direction. As he began walking through the fire, his cape flickered into the air as the fire began to engulf the center and soon within the moment, the ebony warrior was gone.

Eventually as everything began to settle down, at least for such a place like this and what just transpired, in the center where the dying paladin laid, barley breathing after her engagment with the ebony warrior, a magical wooden door took shape, on the middle of the door, read the word "Ryosuke"​