CHAPTER XXXV

Omen

"This is quite the place, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"Vacuo, I mean."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Compared to all of the other kingdoms, Vacuo is the one where humanity is tested to its breaking point. The weak are culled and the survivors, well, they become some of the best the world can offer, don't you think?"

"I suppose so."

"Look at the other kingdoms. Atlas is a homogenous society that focuses on centralizing power and keeping its masses under control. Vale tries to balance democracy and authority, but cronyism and greed tend to ruin the works of those in power who are genuinely trying to extend altruism to the people. Mistral is a place where two very different cultures meet, those of native Anima-descent from the south and those of Atlesian heritage from the north. It's also got a quaint feel to it, don't you think?"

"Only you would know such things."

"And then there's Menagerie. What used to be no more than a zoo for the undesirables of human society has now become its own kingdom, its economic and military power matching those of the other four kingdoms. The White Fang is no longer a band of rebels. Instead, it's the official military force of the kingdom and its diplomatic outreach agency, with Ilia Amitola as the head of the organization. And with the new Dust deposits discovered in the east of the continent, Menagerie is on its way to becoming a world superpower."

"Perhaps."

"But this kingdom, hmm? One would be hard pressed to even call this country a 'kingdom.' The word implies a form of order, but until recently this place was the antithesis of the word—it was absolute chaos! In a way, it still is. Only the strong survive here, after all."

"Is that why we're here?"

"Of course not. We came here to relax. The beaches at Vale were too crowded."

"Must I remind you, Azazel, that we are rather pressed for time?"

"You don't have to remind me of anything, Samael. I am well aware of our timetable. I simply like to remind myself of what we fight for."

"You mean the humans?"

"No, not for them specifically, but for what they represent, my brother."

Azazel put a hand on Samael's shoulder and gesticulated to the crowd gathered at the great lake of Vacuo.

"Freedom," he said.

"Free will, you mean," Samael said.

"Mm-hmm."

"He may have his quirks, but there's a reason he's our leader."

The duo turned to face their comrade, who had her arms folded across her chest.

"Tamiel, how nice of you to join us," Azazel said. "Mmm, the bikini looks wonderful on you."

"I don't think purple is your color," Samael said, his delivery as stoic as ever.

"You think red is better?" Tamiel said.

"Yes."

"See?" Azazel said. "He thinks you're hot, too."

Samael sighed heavily. "I'm returning to the hive. Summon me if you need anything."

"I need you here, Samael!"

He sighed again. "For what?"

"Because you're my friend! And you're the only one who understands me!"

"You're wrong. I don't understand a thing about you."

"I'm hurt!"

Tamiel giggled before sitting in Azazel's lap and stroking his chest. "Let him go, Azazel. I wanted to have you all for myself anyway."

"Oh. Ohh. Yeah, you know what, go ahead and report to the rest of the Inner Circle, Samael. I'm going to enjoy some sunbathing with Tamiel. She's the only one out of all of you who seems to understand what it means to enjoy life."

Samael sighed as he turned to leave. "By the way, that girl has contacted me."

"Which girl?"

"The one you seem to have such an obsession with."

"Huh? Tamiel's right here."

"No. The one who once served Salem."

"Oh, wait, the fiery one?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. Did she say she'd meet with me?"

"Under certain conditions."

"Keep me posted, then. In the meantime, Tamiel, would you like a cocktail?"

"That depends," she said. "Is that a euphemism for something?"

He grinned at her. "Did you want it to be?"

She grinned back. "Maybe."

"Okay, I'm leaving now," Samael said before disappearing.

"You'll never stop teasing him, will you?" Tamiel said.

"Never," Azazel said. "I enjoy it too much. He's such a stiff."

"It tends to happen when you're stuck with his job."

—

"C'mon, Perseus!" Lilly yelled as the volleyball headed for her teammate.

"I got this one!" Demetri said as Perseus set up the hit for him, but his spike over the net was intercepted, heading straight for Lilly instead, but she was much too quick and returned the hit with her own spike, sending it straight into the face of an opposing player.

"Goodness," Ariadne said, walking over to the young man. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," he said. "Man, she hits hard."

"She was a contender in the Vytal Festival Tournament, after all."

"Good game, guys!" Lilly said, bumping fists with her opponents before meeting with her group. "Hey, let's go rent some jet skis."

"You really wanna go all out, don't you?" Perseus said.

"Well, duh. Who knows when I'll fall into another coma?"

The two boys stiffened.

"I don't think they find your joke funny," Ariadne said.

"It wasn't supposed to be a joke," Lilly said with a straight face, holding the scowl for a moment before beaming again. "I'll go get some from Helen!"

"I'll come with you," Demetri said.

"You gonna be my knight in black armor?" she said with a smile.

"If that is what you need me to be, then yes."

"You know that spot is already taken, don't you?"

"I wouldn't dare try and replace your knight, but I would not mind being your second."

"I don't mind either."

He gave her a small bow before following after her.

"I think your friend is falling for the girl in the red bikini," Ariadne said, pushing up her eyeglasses.

"I barely know what the guy is thinking half the time, but sure, I guess," Perseus said. "She is kinda scary lately, isn't she?"

"I-I'm not scared of her!"

"You sure about that?"

She growled.

"Honestly, I'm kinda scared myself."

"But you're not the target of her incessant half-joking, half-serious threats!"

That wasn't what he was referring to, though. He and Demetri still weren't ready to share that bit of terrifying information about their friend. But if anyone could make sense of the situation, it might be Ariadne. She was the family's science expert, after all, especially in the field of theoretical physics and the growing field of Thaumatology.

"Hey," he said, facing her.

"Huh?"

"Can I trust you with a secret?"

"Since when have you known me to be a blab?"

"Okay, so, that day, when Lilly passed out, Demetri and I weren't exactly a hundred percent forthcoming with everything."

"What do you mean?"

"All that crap that happened at Mount Horeb High School, it wasn't all just some random magic stuff. It was Lilly herself."

She stared at her brother intently.

"Those five kids who suffered those random effects, and the one kid who disappeared, Lilly did it all. Intentionally, I mean. She...I don't know exactly, but she used some kind of magic to do stuff to them, like the one who went blind, the one who went deaf, and the one who went into a depression. And the last one who disappeared, I have no idea what she did, but a massive...rune thing appeared on the ceiling and it...dragged him in."

"A rune?"

He nodded.

"What did it look like?"

Perseus hesitated before holding up his left hand to show her the image on the back. She closely examined the image of the scales in balance and the closed eye at the top of the center post.

"This isn't like any of the others," Ariadne said, repositioning her eyeglasses. "All of her runes consist of geometric arrangements and runic text, but this has none of that at all. Are you sure this is what she summoned?"

He nodded. "She called it the Rune of Atonement, I think. After she was done with it, this appeared on my hand."

"Have you been able to do anything with it?"

"You mean like what Lilly can do?"

"Yes."

"Not that I know how to, but it hasn't done anything on its own, if that's what you're asking."

"I see. It is possible that you may be a kind of placeholder for it. Still, what a strange rune. It is unlike any of the others."

Perseus recalled the other events on that day, the voice that haunted him as he shifted between the real world and the Labyrinth. It seemed to come from within, yet from outside all at once. And it wasn't so much a voice as it was a sensation that reverberated throughout his entire body.

Perseus...

He looked around. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him other than his sister.

"What's the matter?" Ariadne asked him.

"Nothing. Just, checkin' out the crowd, that's all."

"Oh. From the way you scanned everyone just now, it was as though you were looking for something in particular. Or someone."

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Perseus, what else happened that day?"

His hand twitched, the one that bore the Rune of Atonement on the back. "I...I don't know."

"Tell me what you do know."

"Just that...I guess, it's like, I kept phasing between this world and the Labyrinth."

"Do you have magic?"

"Do I look like I have magic?"

"I just want to cover all of our bases here."

"No, I don't. But whatever it was that Lilly did, maybe that has something to do with it. I can't fully describe to you what the Rune of Atonement did on that day, but we were all forced to our knees the moment it appeared, all of us except Lilly. She was floating in the air and shit. But me and Demetri, and everybody else in the room, none of us could move from the pressure that, I guess the rune was exerting. And I'm pretty sure the entire school and I'm guessing part of the city was also affected because people were running around in a panic."

"That and the fact that you were crossing between this world and the Labyrinth."

"Yeah, I guess."

"I see."

"Ariadne, is it okay if you keep this to yourself for now?"

"Don't worry, brother. I don't intend to let anyone know that Lilly might be responsible for cursing people. I won't bring anything up about your new tattoo either."

"Thanks. I hope all of that helps."

"It might. Honestly, though, it's magic we're dealing with here. I'm pretty sure only Professor Ozpin knows anything about any of this, and even then, this is magic from another world, not ours."

—

"Dr. Cherenkov, all of the Rift Engines are ready for routine testing."

"Excellent. Go ahead and fire them."

"Firing Rift Engines at twenty-five percent power."

"All systems are nominal, sir."

"Uh, this is Rift Engine Three, reporting a small anomaly, but it's..."

"Station Three, come in, what's your status?"

"The anomaly is gone. Was it even there to begin with? Maybe I was seeing things."

"Continue with diagnostics. We'll move on to maintenance phase as soon as—"

"Whoa."

"What's going on?"

"Uh, this is Station Four, we're seeing some major fluctuations with—wait a minute, this isn't right."

"Station Five to Central. Our Rift Engine has increased power."

"Station Six, reporting an unscheduled power increase as well."

"Dr. Cherenkov, what do we do?"

"Try and shut down main power."

"Station Two, reporting power surge."

"Station Four, we're not seeing any changes."

"What's happening? Sir, all Rift Engines are at maximum power!"

"Controls aren't responding!"

"Space-time distortion detected at the resonance convergence point!"

"Shut it down!"

"Can't shut down! Nothing's responding!"

"What the hell is going on, dammit!"

"Drop the dome! Now! Seal the center!"

—

"Finally," Perseus said as Lilly and Demetri rejoined him and Ariadne. "Did you guys get the jet skis?"

"They're out, dammit," Lilly sighed. "But, I did get us a speedboat."

"You wh-what? Wait, I forgot your family has more money than us."

"We also rented some wakeboards," Demetri said.

"First!" Lilly said, throwing her fist in the air.

"I'll drive, then," Demetri said.

Lilly giggled before tugging him by the arm to the pier.

"Do you think he likes her?" Ariadne said as she and her brother followed after the duo.

"Nah, he's in love with Ivory," Perseus said. "I don't get how, though. She's evil."

Ariadne stifled a chuckle. "That's quite a strong word to use to describe someone, don't you think?"

"Did you watch the tournament match between Team LILY and Team IVRY?"

"Oh, the one that had the potential to collapse the entire Amity Arena?"

"Understatement of the year."

"I'd say she was complimenting Lilly more than anything. After all, you would only hold back against an opponent if you thought they weren't worthy of your best effort. Don't you think?"

"The hell? You're not even a warrior type. Since when did you think like this?"

"I may not be a warrior type, but I do a lot of reading, you know."

"Oh, right, all those novels and mangas."

"You know you pronounced that incorrectly."

"Whatever."

As per her declaration, Lilly was the first on the wakeboard. Perseus and Ariadne watched her as Demetri tended to the boat. Their companion seemed to enjoy herself as she hit wave after wave, performing barrel rolls and other stunts.

"I never figured her to be the sporty type," Ariadne said as the boat slowed to a standstill.

"Well, she has been different lately," Perseus said.

"Good point.

"All right, is it Ariadne's turn?" Lilly said, boarding the boat.

"N-No thank you," Ariadne said.

"You're no fun!"

"I barely know how to swim."

"It's okay, I'll rescue you before you drown!"

"Th-That's not the point!"

"Demetri, I'll take the wheel," Perseus said.

"You know how to drive one of these?" Demetri said.

"My family does own this resort, you know."

"Very well, then."

Lilly relaxed herself with Ariadne, cheering Demetri on as he hit the waves, his form perfect.

"It's so obvious he's from Atlas," Lilly said. "He's stiffer than the board he's standing on."

"I suppose it comes with being the son of the country's general," Ariadne said, wiping some spray from her eyeglasses.

"Yeah! You go, Demetri!"

Perseus checked on his companions in his rearview mirror. Ariadne wasn't one to spend much time outdoors, but from the look on her face, she seemed to enjoy herself. Lilly clearly was in high spirits from the way she repeatedly jumped up and down in spite of the boat's unsteadiness on the waves.

In a way, this new Lilly wasn't so bad, though there were plenty of things about her that were beyond unsettling. There was a sinister air about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Perhaps this was the direct result of her constant forays into the Labyrinth. But in spite of the looming darkness, something about her remained pure in a way.

Lilly cheered as Demetri hit a wave and performed a flip in the air. She turned to Ariadne and gave her a high five.

"So, you gonna hit the waves, too?" she said.

"I'm trying not to die before I can start my first quarter at Shade, thanks," she said nervously.

"You're no fun."

"I'm serious."

Lilly chuckled as she pulled Demetri back onto the deck.

"You guys wanna just kick it out here for a while?" Perseus said, joining the others in the back of the speedboat.

"Let's head back to the beach," Lilly said. "There's supposed to be a rave going on, right?"

"You rave?"

"No, but you only live once, right?"

"Then, I shall accompany you," Demetri said.

She grinned before leaning against him.

"I think I'll hang out with our cousins," Ariadne said.

"Quit being such a bore," Lilly sighed.

"She has had more time outside today than the rest of her life combined," Perseus said. "I'll join you and Demetri, though."

"It's always nice to have two handsome, strapping guys take me out," Lilly said with a snicker, turning to Ariadne. "You okay with me stealing your brother away for a while?"

"I don't mind at all," she said.

"Awesome!"

—

It was sunset when the beach party began. Ariadne had made good on her promise to hang out with Helen instead of the trio, leaving Lilly with Perseus and Demetri. Dionysus also showed up at the beach, not one to miss out on festivities, whether at Shade Academy or at the lake resort his family owned and operated.

"Lookin' good!" Dionysus said, eyeing Lilly's red two-piece.

"Hey, DJ!" she said. "You're lookin' pretty hot yourself!"

"Weren't you guys hanging out with my sister?"

"Yeah, she decided to be a buster and go with Helen instead."

"Those two always did get along better with each other than anyone else. Anyway, you wanna join the rest of us?"

"Sure!"

As Lilly mingled with Dionysus and his friends, Perseus and Demetri kept their distance. The latter periodically scanned the environment for any threats while Perseus spent the time ruminating.

"What do you think is happening with her?" Perseus said.

"Hmm?" Demetri said, turning to his companion. "You mean Lilly?"

"Yeah. Think it was the stress?"

"I honestly don't know. You've said it yourself. She has magic. Perhaps what we are witnessing is related to that somewhat. Besides, this didn't start today. That girl we watched curse those students could not have been the Lilly we've come to know."

"That's the thing, though. I'm sure we'd all like to believe that Lilly would never go that far, but she puts so much weight on her shoulders. Anyone's capable of anything if you push them far enough."

"Do you plan on returning to Beacon Academy after the summer is over?"

"Way to change the subject, dude."

"I apologize."

"I dunno. I can't bring Lilly back the way she is, but I can't just abandon my team either."

"At least you have a team to abandon."

Perseus turned to Demetri. His face showed no emotion on the outside, but he was certain that he was holding it all in. That was his team, after all. If his bond with Team PDTR was anything like the bond Perseus shared with Team APEX, losing them in such a horrific manner could not have been easy to ignore.

"You wanna talk about it?" Perseus asked.

"I would," Demetri began, "but what is there to talk about? It isn't as though we had a chance with this whole Labyrinth thing to begin with. Lilly's the only one capable of not being outright killed by the forces in that other world."

"How are you coping, though?"

"I'm trying. It's quite difficult not having any closure, but at the same time, I don't know if I want to know of their fates in that other world, having seen glimpses of it for myself. If I do run into them, I will be the one to end their suffering."

Perseus was going to respond when his scroll rang. He looked at the screen. It was Giovanni. He picked up, turning away from the loud music.

"Hey, Gio, what's—"

"Young master, you must return to the manor immediately," Giovanni said in a near-panic.

"Slow down, Gio, what's happening?"

"Everyone in the manor is missing."

"Missing?"

"Yes. I went out on an errand the master sent me for and when I returned home, the entire building was empty."

"Okay, I'm on my way."

"Is something the matter?" Demetri asked as his companion hung up his scroll.

"Emergency back home," Perseus said, heading toward his brother. "C'mon."

"Hey, what's up?" Dionysus interrupted his conversation with Lilly to greet his brother. "Finally decided to join the party?"

"I just got a call from Gio," Perseus said quietly. "Everyone at the manor is missing."

"What do you mean missing?"

"As in everyone's vanished."

"As in, Labyrinth style?"

"No clue, but if I had to guess, my money would be on that."

"What's up?" Lilly said, joining the conversation.

"Hey, do you think you could come back home with us?" Dionysus asked her.

She grinned. "It's a little early for that, isn't it?"

He grinned back. "It's never too early."

"I'll go get Ariadne and Helen," Perseus said, heading off.

—

"Nothing on your end?" Perseus asked Helen as he drove their car through the night.

"Your mom's not answering," she said.

"Neither is father," Ariadne said.

"Orion," Dionysus said into his scroll. "Yeah, it's me, DJ. Oh, so you've heard? Okay, yeah, Gio called us, too. Are you at the manor right now? We'll be there in about ten minutes. Yeah, she's here with us. Everybody else is here. I think it's only mom, dad, and some of the other guys at the house missing. No, I don't mean it's only mom and dad, I'm saying that the rest of us are fine. Ariadne's sitting right next to me and so is Helen and Perseus. Okay, we'll see you there."

"What's up?" Perseus asked.

"Eyes on the road, bro. Anyway, Orion's at the house with Gio right now. They went through every room and shit and there's no sign of anybody, no mom and dad, no maids and servants, hell, even the gardeners are missing. From the looks of things, everyone just vanished into thin air."

"The Labyrinth," Ariadne said quietly.

Perseus parked the car beside Orion and Giovanni and everyone disembarked all at once.

"It's good to see you up and about," Orion said to Lilly. "Are you feeling all right?"

She yawned. "Kinda tired from all the running around the city," she said. "But yeah, I'm good."

"Dr. Cherenkov isn't answering," Ariadne said as the whole group convened together.

"Do you think something went on at the lab?" Perseus asked her.

"I don't know. The experiments in the Rift Complex are very precise, but there has always been a fear of a runaway event that causes local space-time to destabilize unpredictably."

"And you think this may be what has happened here?" Orion said.

"There's no way to be sure. Only the equipment at the lab can tell us what we need to know."

"Let's get to Shade Academy, then."

"We should split up," Perseus said. "Some of us go to the Academy with Ariadne. Everybody else, try and find clues here."

"I will accompany Ariadne," Orion said.

"I'll go with you," Dionysus said.

"I should get back to the resort to update my mom on what's going on," Helen said.

"Giovanni, could you escort her?" Orion said.

"I will do so, master Orion," the butler said.

"Thank you. Perseus, Demetri, Lilly, I'm assuming you'll stay at the manor?"

"Yeah," Perseus said. "I know you guys've combed the place already, but I wanna get a look at stuff here, too."

"Let us know if anything happens."

"We'll keep in contact through our scrolls," Demetri said.

Perseus watched as the group separated. He turned to Lilly when everyone was gone.

"Are you sensing anything?" he asked her.

"Hmm?"

"Anything magical, I mean."

She shrugged.

"Lilly, c'mon."

"Look, none of this any of my business."

Her words left him stupefied.

"What do you mean by that?" Demetri asked.

"I'm not going back into that hell ever again," she said resolutely.

"But Perseus's parents are in there."

"Shit happens."

Perseus stared at his companion for a bit. If there was any doubt before, it was gone now. This girl standing in front him so apathetically was most certainly not the same girl he had come to know, the girl who would not hesitate to dive into the jaws of death itself to save even one soul.

"Lilly," he said quietly.

"I just—" Lilly began before bringing her hands to her head in pain. "Goddammit! No! Not now!"

"What's the matter?" Demetri said.

Lilly screamed, writhing in pain before floating stiffly in the air, her entire body covered with runic markings that glowed with intense white light. The same markings extended themselves to the environment, covering the entire courtyard before disappearing. She fell to the ground, lying completely still.

"What the hell just happened?" Perseus said as he and Demetri checked on their companion.