After exiting the door, the two once again came across small puppets hovering about on the ceilings.
"Your sword, give it" Novem stretches his hand and asked politely
"No, what will I use then?" Ayrene hugged her sword. "I got this after completing my first level in this Hall by the way for those who care"
Novem pulls out the dagger in his boot and hands both to her.
"Wow, sweet!" She throws her ordinary sword at him and snatches the daggers. "These are quality daggers, I feel bad for giving you that junk"
"It's no worries, I like swords better" Novem unsheathes the sword and examines it. 'Very ordinary' he thought
"Then, if you don't mind. Hehe" Ayrene hides the daggers behind her back in case Novem would want to change his mind
Novem, who couldn't care less, took bold steps towards the puppets. His invasion caused the puppets to launch at him
"Yeah" Novem smirked
Before they could even get too close, Novem was able to sever them cleanly without too much effort.
This was something he wouldn't be able to do with the daggers. While using them, he would be allowing the enemy to get too close. And the sword to him was much easier to use.
"That's really cool." Ayrene exclaimed, "The sword was really dull when I used it"
"Any sword can be sharp, so long as I'm using it" Novem smirks
"Whoo-" Ayrene claps proudly, "That's my big bro for you"
"Heh" Novem's head was threatening to swell, so he quickly slapped his cheeks and regained focus. "Let's focus, we need to find a way out of here remember"
"Alrighty, let's focus". Ayrene squints her eyes and eyes every corner suspiciously
Novem pauses, the door in front of him slightly opens and there, he sees a small lean arm with black painted nails. The arm was covered with a stylish black sleeve and with the owner's forefinger, she beckoned at Novem.
Ayrene, "..."
November glances at Ayrene, and then back at the finger. "Don't mind me"
"Ha!" The girl couldn't believe this older brother
Novem slid to the slightly opened door and slammed it wide open, "I knew I would find you again, witch!" He grinned widely
The said witch, Ivory, after beckoning at Novem made her way to her seat and sits. "Join me for another tea?" she said calmly, picking up another tea cup
"Of course!" Novem made his way over, "I forgot to ask you how to get out of here"
"I'll tell you" Ivory smiles, "Before that, tea?"
"You and tea, 5 and 6" Novem smiled wryly. He didn't like the tea, it tasted like ink and sugar.
"Where's the girl?" Ivory asks, her black lipstick not too different from the inky tea
"Ayrene!" Novem called
Ayrene peeked from outside, "Oh, you're that witch from before" she walks in and shuts the door. "Do I have to play another game?"
"No" Ivory squints her eyes unpleasantly.
Ayrene shuddered, "W-why do I feel like you hate me"
Novem looks between the two, "Is this because of your problem with Hope?". He picks up his tea cup and glances inside, "She's not Hope, she also doesn't know Hope, and Hope's been in HQ since… She was five years old so you could say we're the same age. This girl here is 16, so there's no way they would know each other"
"It's their appearance that's the problem!" Ivory slammed the table. She then turned around to the nearest corner and started to murmur, 'Ahh…Hope my dear nemesis, your end will be by my hands… but don't worry... after all...'
Novem looks at the time on the clock by the cupboard. It was exactly 12:00 pm, and he then looked back at Ivory, "Are you done?"
"Give me a minute" she said
Novem takes a sip of his tea and looks back at the clock. The second hand was moving, it was moving but the minute hand showed no sign of doing so. "Hmm" I wonder how much time has passed on the outside
"I'm back!" Ivory takes her seat again, her expression as naturally stoic as ever. "You asked how you can escape this place"
"Yes-" Novem answered
"This Hall is endless" Ivory said very calmly, "There's no way for you to find a way on your own" she sips her tea,
"Does that mean, this hall is something we can't pass no matter how much we try?" Ayrene asks
"You're repeating my words" Ivory glared at her
"Why am I the enemy here!?"
"I remember talking to you, November" Ivory smiled
"She's petty…!" Novem and Ayrene thought
"Not on our own at least, but perhaps someone or something can help us leave?" Novem asked
"Yes, for example me" Ivory wiggles her fingers and got back to picking up her tea cup
"Also, I don't remember telling you my name, my full name at least" Novem mused
"How do you think I know then?" She sips her tea, "As I was saying, the only way you can leave here is if any specter inside of these doors chooses to help you. Finding your way out is impossible if you merely walk down these corridors. It's never ending"
"You mean, if we don't befriend anything… like you. If we don't befriend anything inside this door that can help us escape, we'll continue to roam endlessly till our deaths" Novem huffed, "This is dangerous."
"So, how do we escape" He asks
"Follow me". Ivory stands up, and saunters to a corner of the room. Upon getting there, she crouched in front of a medium large cupboard. "The girl", Ivory beckoned
"I'm here!" Ayrene waves and strides over
Ivory didn't look back, as Ayrene got closer, Ivory took her by the collar, opened the medium sized cupboard revealing dark blackness and threw her inside. Who knew where it led to.
Ivory looks up at Novem, Novem looks down at her.
"Is she still alive?" He asks
"What do you mean, it's the only escape route" Ivory shrugs, "Your turn"
She moved aside and Novem crouched In front of the cupboard. "It's probably another level?" He asks,
"Of course, the more levels you go through, the more people you'll see" Ivory ruffles his hair
"Alright. Maybe then I'll find that Morim guy". November balances on the edge of the cupboard. He then remembers, "Oh, is there a way for me to leave this place without reaching the end?"
"Unless you have an ability that allows you distort wavelengths" The witch spread her palms,
"Distorting wavelengths" Novem hummed, Like shockwaves? Grace has that ability, and the Seventh emperor too.
"Welp, to leave this place alive is what matters".
Ivory moves behind him, turns his head up and places a light kiss on his forehead. "Any love of Julius is a love of mine" her thin lips made a small smile. She then frowns, "Except Hope"
Novem laughed, "Dunno what that means but okay"
"Off you go" Ivory urges him, "Let's meet again on the outside"
"Alright". Novem jumped inside the dark void.
The feeling of nothingness surrounding Novem was instant, and he immediately found light when he opened his eyes.
Novem blinked twice. He was laying down on the floor. He propped himself up and a few meters away from him was a red door.
He stands up and walks towards it. There, he saw on the door,
{Level 4;
Welcome to Hall of Darkness, a Hall filled with pockets of complete darkness where Host is forced to rely on other senses to navigate}
"I only have a good sense of smell" Novem didn't think too much, "How will I use that to navigate?" What's there to sniff out in this hall? Sigh
On the outside…
Nearly all the Agents in the Oren kingdom had gathered. Some vent their frustration on the buildings, some paced about nervously, others drooped and waited silently.
It's been two days since November disappeared. No matter how much they tried to keep the citizens from finding out, this many Agents gathered together at the same time with worried expressions on their face is bound to attract suspicion.
"Miss, you really have no other information you could share with us-?" Damien asked the middle aged woman who had reported about her missing husband to Novem for the umpteenth time.
"I'm sorry, I really don't" She blew her snot on the handkerchief Damien handed to her
"Hoo" Damien sucked in a deep breath sighed exasperatedly
Since Novem disappeared and Agent Mary had informed Damien and the other Agents about it, they had tried going through the alleyway themselves but the instance was already closed to everyone on the outside.
Grace, who had the shockwave ability had tried to cause a rift in it but all her attempts were rendered futile. "Ah jeez" she huffed, staggering as she slumped her back on the wall.
Kelvin handed her a bottle of water which she appreciated. "You need a break, Grace"
Grace downed half the bottle of water and grinned at Kelvin, "Why do I need to take a break when you make a face like that"
Kelvin's eyes were puffy. It was proof she had been crying for a while. "I'm alright, we just need to-"
"Novem will hit you on the head if he finds out you've been crying". Nathan hits a bottle of water on her head before handing the bottle to her. "And then he'll hit us for not trying to comfort you"
"What do you expect, I'm such a darling" Kelvin smiled helplessly. "But more importantly," she points to a lean Agent with long purple rich hair hugging her knees with her head down. "I think she needs more comforting than the rest of us"
"As long as you're okay, that's fine," Nathan said. He turned his head towards Isla to find Damien already talking to her. She nods and puts her head down again and Damien leaves.
"Those two are more like siblings than she and her real sibling is" Nathan murmured, glancing at Reo.
The purple haired dagger user and two other Agents were busy calming down the citizens who were starting to cause an uproar.
Nathan clicked his tongue, "He should pay more attention to his sister"
The red haired really didn't know how to comfort someone, but now that the responsibility was up to him, what could he do.
Nathan, given his small height, didn't need to bend so much to get close enough. He walked up to Isla and leaned down
"When will you learn that Novem is not going anywhere" He frowns
He really didn't know how to talk.
Isla who was silent this whole time sniffles. She raised her head up revealing teary eyes.
"Holy-!" Nathan covers his mouth and falls back. "She's cute!"
The red head did a one-eighty and bolted out of the way to find the elder brother.
Upon arriving, Reo ruffles her hair and she raises her head. He whispers a few words to her, she smiles wryly, and he leaves.
"It's hard to know someone you like might be in a dangerous situation and there's nothing you can do. That feeling" Kelvin sighed as she watched the purple haired Agent.
Grace frowned at Isla as she thought to herself, 'There is always that one person getting in my way' she grits her teeth. 'When I had feelings for Marl, Arie stole him from me. Now when I left him for Novem, here Isla is getting in my way'. When will they all disappear-
"Isla…" Kelvin smiled, "Who doesn't like her-"
"I don't" Grace threw the empty bottle away and got back to tearing open a rift.
"Hm? What did you say?" Kelvin couldn't believe her ears
"Nothing." Grace smiled, "The stress is getting to me".
"Real, that's why I said you should take a break." Kelvin watches Grace unleash her ability as she changes from wavelength to wavelength.
Kelvin grinned, 'Everyone is crazy, this one and that one'
"You seem like you're angry with me" Isla asked
Grace's heart skipped, 'When did she walk over here?'. She however quickly calmed herself down and didn't move. "How would you know that?"
"I have an eye for things like this." Isla smiled, and the subtle aura she gave off was just a little inferior to Insanity. "You and November eh?" Her smile was craze-inducing
"What's that mean?" Grace couldn't back down either
"Hm?" Isla hummed, "What did you say?"
"Nothing. I thought you asked me a question?" Grace smiled
"I did?" Isla grinned and wondered
"I thought you did" Grace contorted her face in mockery
"Quite the thought you thought then" Isla cracked a crooked smile, "Heh"
They each got their subtle message,
'Hands off November, or there'll be a problem'
'Back down, or I'll ruin you'
"Jokes aside, Novem should come out already" Isla sighs in heartbreak and crouches beside Grace.
"Yeah" Grace sighed also, focusing back on her work
The place where Novem had disappeared had already been marked with a circle and at the circumference was where the two stood.
Isla absentmindedly tapped on the circle,
"Don't touch the circle, you are getting in the way of my work-" Grace paused
"Eh?" A rift opened right where Isla's hand was, and it pulled her in
"Wha-?" Grace snapped her neck and shoved her hand inside also.
"Get back Miss Grace, only one person can go in!" Isla argued
"I opened the rift, it's only natural I go in!" Grace argued back
"Well I was the catalyst for the rift to open so It's only natural I also go in!" Isla argued back
The two argued back and forth and shoved each other aside until the rift tore even more and they both fell in.
At that time, both Vassals and Agents were already gathered by the side watching.
After the two entered, Mathias simply went to the marked circle and placed his leg inside. Nothing happened
"It's closed back" He announced
They all sighed.
Sure, both Isla and Grace were strong, no one knew they were that much in disagreement. In fact no one knew Isla could argue that much with a person. They wondered what caused it.
Damien waltzed in with a deep frown. "I told you to inform me when Grace opens the rift"
"We didn't even know when it opened, she and Isla started arguing and they fell inside" A blonde Agent responded
"Hoo" Damien sighed, "It can't be helped. Let's just hope they come in one piece".
On his way back to Felix who he was previously chatting with, he patted a sighing Reo on his shoulder, "Your sister will be fine" he comforted, "Chill"