Ray was at first relieved to know Lloyd had survived the Altar Room. The last time Lloyd had been mentioned was when Beecher had argued with the General back on the bridge. When the General had mentioned Lloyd would survive on his own, Ray had felt troubled, heard nothing. He had felt...ill.
He had not felt ill for a very long time, thanks to his military training and his build. But that feeling of being ill hovered at the back of his mind as he looked upon the person in front of him, and he could not understand why. It was a feeling in the pit of his stomach.
In front of him stood the Lloyd he knew, the Lloyd who would know what to do in this situation. The swordsman's well-polished katana was held in his left-handed grip and his dark hair was ruffled.
But something stood out about the Lloyd in front of him. Taller than usual frame. The steel of the samurai weapon looked cold, unwelcome and out of place. Where Lloyd stood in the shadows confused Ray's mind, and for a moment he thought he saw blood staining the swordsman's armour. And then he noticed something about the eyes: they looked as if they were illuminated from within, by the mind.
In the air around him, he heard a slight murmuring of voices, as if trying to speak over each other. The words articulated sounded momentarily human, but then they descended into a darker tone.
Ray squinted into the shadows behind Lloyd; he could not be sure. "Lloyd? Is that you, Lloyd?" He was sure it was him, extremely sure.
Deadly sure.
He expected a reply in a clipped accent, if only to confirm what he knew. But instead, the silence lapsed. Lloyd raised his head to glare up at Ray like some form of predator. Like one of them. Ray's index finger subconsciously went to the trigger. "What are you doing?" he said, not knowing what else to say.
Lloyd breathed unnaturally deeply, and then blood spluttered out of his mouth as it formed into a smile. The liquid pooled on the floor and Ray instinctively took a step back as to not get splattered. "Woah what the f..." he began saying, but as he looked back up to Lloyd, his heart seemed to slow.
His katana made a dangerous sound as he dragged it along the floor slowly. Ray's heart skipped severally beats and he exhaled loudly. "That can't be you." Ray said aloud, allowing confusion to cloud his judgement again.
Lloyd took a step forward and fear seized Ray's mind with a cold grip. He felt ill, but much more scared. What was this...apparition? This illusion? The swordsman's footfalls sounded unnaturally heavy, echoing down the corridor, and his armour clinked.
This was the second time in his life he felt he could absolutely nothing, and both times he had lost control through thoughts of Lloyd. Ray had helped Lloyd out, not long before the arrival to the Third Castle. So he could not understand why 'Lloyd' seemed to have turned on him.
Lloyd blurred and flickered, his now inhuman, dead gaze holding Ray in place. Another footfall, Lloyd's irises disappeared, and then reappeared. Ray swallowed, stepping back and raising his gun arm.
"You stay away from me." He said, trying to muster courage and force in his voice. But his voice broke.
Ray looked down the sights at the shadow walking slowly towards him. God help me. His arms felt like lead. But Lloyd did not seem to comprehend Ray, whose fear was now turning to frustration.
"Stay away from me!" Ray yelled, and then pulled the trigger.
Etrius was struck as if by a storm and his body hit the floor heavily.
The gunshot echoed and Ray's arms jolted with recoil. He nearly dropped the pistol: this was too much for him.
Lloyd remained standing, leaning forward at an impossible angle, head rolled back. Fall. Ray's mind said.
Cradle falls, unholy walls.
Lloyd did not fall, but snapped his head back. His irises had dissipated and sunk back into a white that was more chilling than the deepest black. Ray gasped and jumped back in fright and shock, and then clutched his head as a headache closed like a vice around his skull. He felt gravity slowly disappeared from under him.
Blood ran down the side of Lloyd's face and a deep, distorted voice began speaking. Different from the one before. "Do you know what it is like being torn apart alive?" Ray lowered his gun, noting how Lloyd's mouth didn't move as it articulated these words.
The words came from elsewhere. Above, below, everywhere.
Ray shivered. He felt his flesh crawl as if it were being torn into my teeth, claws. The feeling only got worse as Ray looked back up into Lloyd's eyes.
This where the light
And the dark will meet,
Hand in hand carry
Blood into the street
From bent to broke claws
Shred into their truth
I've seen this place before
I've seen this place before.
"You will never get out of here." the voice continued. Ray gasped, nearly dropping his gun out of disbelief. "NEVER." the voice blazed.
The corridor around him and Lloyd went the deepest black, and Ray felt something crushing his mind, like a vice. The figure of Lloyd seemed to fill his vision and Ray fell backwards into blackness.
Lloyd remained standing for a few moments, before splitting into two afterimages and fading away, leaving the corridor barren and silent.
Ray got up slowly and looked up at the rift he had just fallen through, expecting to see the blazing white eyes there, staring down at him. Ray's eyes slammed.
No...
Whatever was using Lloyd as a puppet must have been extremely powerful to overwhelm Lloyd. Unless Lloyd was dead. Ray shuddered as he remembered the deathly look on Lloyd's face, and then wondered if there was any soul or entity actually even controlling Lloyd.
He pushed the thoughts away and reached into his pocket to pull out an object. He clicked Beecher's lighter and a flame momentarily lit the gloom. He was in a very narrow passage leading into a dark area. The light did not reach far.
Ray looked closely at Beecher's lighter and wondered if the sniper had made it out alive. He felt cold seep like fingers into his armour, which wasn't protecting him from what he knew to be his enemy. As he thought more of Beecher, the headache began coming back...
Ray realized he was lingering in an unsafe area, feeling eyes burning into him. He looked around and pulled out his torch, switching it on. A weak beam of light filtered out in a cone illusion and Ray walked forward into a chamber.
He saw in front of him four identical, plain archways, illuminated by the torchlight. He became lost in indecision and rising despair as he tried to work out which one to follow. He caught sight of glowing eyes in an archway, the second from left, and frowned. It seemed to be the eyes of a creature, but not of Lloyd.
He flicked off his torch and walked into it, seeing the eyes disappear. He pulled out his gun, feeling the weight steel of the weapon and feeling elated by it. He heard nothing, no footsteps or snarl. The elusive creature had disappeared and Ray's eyes were quickly adjusting.
Ray appeared on a thin ledge and below him was a dimly lit rectangular chamber. And then something caught his gaze that invited him to freeze, in fear. In the centre of the chamber stood a figure.
At first, he thought it was Lloyd. It was standing in the dead centre of a circle of blood. He realized that the dark liquid on the walls was not damp but blood. His eyes drifted back to the figure, expecting it to turn around and be Lloyd. His finger went to the trigger, but he was in indecision on who to shoot; himself or his tormentor.
It stood straight one moment, but with a sickening crunch it lurched forward, rooted to the ground. Ray winced and his heart jumped in his rib cage. It was then Ray realized what he was looking at was a Being, not a human. And it was evolving. It's left arm burst painfully into bulging muscle, and the Being growled like a cage animal, baring its teeth savagely and ripping into its other arm. More blood dripped to the floor.
It was obvious that whatever transmutation the creature was under, it was in extreme pain. Ray looked across the thin ledge he stood on and saw another archway, his only exit. Flattening himself against the wall, Ray began to walk across to the archway. Growls drifted up from below, traumatizing him. His heartbeat felt like bass drums and blastbeats.
Three. He was nearly there.
Two. His heart skipped a beat.
One. He was standing in the cool breeze of the archway.
He entered the archway and turned, his gaze locking with that of the Evolved below.
Sweat dripped from his brow. He was afraid may fall from his brow and hit the cold stone below, shattering the silence. The white gaze locked him into place, blind but seeing. A message passed between them and Ray's legs became weak, and he turned and bolted for his life. A deafening roar echoed behind him and the Evolved give chase.
Ray ran for what his life was worth, breath heavier with each footfall.
When Ray was sure it was safe, he stepped out of the crack he had hid in. He heard voices in a corridor, one deeper and familiar, and the other...
Ray turned around and there was a gunshot, a shell hitting the floor, and silence.