The Dark had never been a big issue for me, not like it seemed to be for others. Especially humans, who were without any form of Night-vision to begin with. Maybe it was because my nose and ears had been just as useful to me as my eyes, meaning that I had things to fall back on even before crafting the [Night-Vision; Half-Grimm] Skill to compensate, even before I had been in The Game.

A little rustle was all it took to find movement in the Dark, if you knew how to listen. Had to get your heart out of your ears first, which could be hard to do, but otherwise a simple process of not making noise and waiting for anything else to do it first. And I had experienced Silence before as well, all the way back on the Mount seven months ago, relative to me. A woman appeared and sucked the sound from the Air, stealing it and making it feel just as eerie and unnatural as it felt right now, walking slowly down this dry Corridor.

But faced with both Darkness that stole the light and air that stole the sound I made as I moved?

I was a little unnerved.

This feeling was not helped by the fact that the sounds that I could actually make out was the low whispers that I had come to associate with the Ghost, rattling off in the Old Tongue. I paused as I considered the voice and realized that the tinny and metallic sound was entirely different to the Whispers that had been following me around Campus, eating away at my patience for three weeks straight.

And these words were much more familiar to me.

Continuing my trudge, eyes aglow as I tried my best to stay aware of my surroundings as I tried to place the feeling of the Silence underneath the whispering and cast a thought into the back of my head.

[I've made some progress on Translation Boss, fire up the Subtitles and I should be able to piece together what they're saying. Just, uh, don't expect any miracles.]

Fenrir, pulling through when I needed him to. Idly opening the [Options] Page with a thought and turning on the Effect, I was immediately greeted with… the Old tongue.

[Air adhart. Air adhart. Air adhart…]

'Fenrir, you furry fuck,' I growled into my head as I continued walking, blocking out the fact that the Sand made no noise as I shifted through it. Instead I was treated to my [Notes] Page opening on its own and flipping randomly between pages, like Fenrir was doing it himself while I watched. And finally the page stilled long enough for me to see the Title of the Page, "Nonsensical Shit", before it closed and the Subtitles changed to Common.

[Forward. Forward. Forward…]

"Directions?" I questioned aloud, easily relying on the only source of sound in this Brothers-Forsaken Dungeon. "Maybe Marsha trying to get in contact with me or something, who fucking knows. Not like I have a fucking choice or anything, the Hall is a Straight shot." I continued forward as the voice told me to, with very little choice in the matter with no other options available. I followed the Straight hallway for what felt like half an hour until I came to a sheer face of a wall and the end of my road. With a Grunt I stepped into it to slam a mailed fist into the wall as I tried to think of some way out that didn't require putting the structural integrity of the Hallway at jeopardy.

And then, with the suddenness of a sandstorm in the Frozen Sands, the constant whispering stopped, plunging me back into true silence.

Warily, I stopped with my left hand on the wall, looking back down the hall for some shift in my Gray-tinted vision before there was a sharp bark and another Subtitle appeared in my view.

[Fosgailte.]

Underneath my hand the stone wall began to vibrate and I reactively jumped away as the stone I had just been leaning against fell into the sandy floor and disappeared from what my Skill allowed me to see. Instead, I was greeted by the much more defined image of a room with a light source, no matter how small it was, with a floor covered in what looked to be the crisscrossing roots of some tree. I did allow myself to sigh in relief as the Opened door brought with it noise, small pebbles clacking against the floor as they were shook loose to fall to the floor.

I stayed still as I waited for whatever nonsense was sure to come from the Room, and was greeted by the Magical red hue of a ghost as it floated through my [Night-Vision], bypassing the Steely gray of my Aura, much like the Blue words had in the Nundu's Cave I noted with narrowed eyes as it floated into the floor.

I waited a second, not exactly sure what to expect, before the Roots, branches, or whatever they were rattled and shook in place before a select few moved towards the Spot that the Ghost had disappeared. All was still before a skeletal hand erupted from the floor with a crackle and a rattle, gripping the floor as steel plates rattled across the floor and attached themselves to the limb as it emerged and pulled the rest of a skeleton from the Floor, becoming more and more armored as it appeared.

I could only watch in genuine confusion as it stood up tall, looking out at me with only one eye, not a biological one like I had but the Orb of the Spirit seemed to be housed in the Right eye of the thing. The Socket emanated wisps of red energy, and I could feel its attention resting right on me even as a helmet clopped and clanged over to it. A gauntleted hand swept down and scooped it up before placing it on its head while its other hand dove into the Bones before coming back up with a Greataxe that it hefted onto its armoured shoulder.

[?]

[Level 35 Skeletal Warrior]

The thing stood half a head over me in its crude and rusted plate armor crackling with its Red Aura. Half a dozen questions flew through my head as I wondered at the possibility of its existence before I just blamed Magic and refocused. My blood began to sing sweet melodies of death and destruction as the thing took a step forward and swung the Axe down towards my neck, but I caught the Swing with my right hand.

I couldn't stop the feral smile that tore itself across my face as I looked back at the uncowed Skeleton and realized that there would be no holding back.

Three weeks of waiting and irritation boiled to the surface as I crunched the metal blade in my right to get a better grip to pull as I drove my Left into the torso of my opponent. Another step and the metal shaft of the Axe snapped as I drove the back of the Axe head into the Helmet of the thing hard enough to split it in two. My right foot broke through the plate of metal that protected its knee before rebounding off of the Bone.

My left arm [Blocked] the desperate swing of it arm before I dumped a third of my Stamina into a [Thundering Blow], feeling the elation of that Skill being used after such a long period of stagnation and demanded that Fenrir never let me set in a Library ever again as My heel crunched through the Knee and my right fist impacted the side of the Helmet so hard it crushed like an empty can.

My eyes followed the Red globe as it fled upwards, snarling wickedly as I realized that there was a hole that led out into the Night sky, and watched as it was replaced by a swirling hue of about a dozen Ghosts as they plunged into the Floor. As limbs began tearing out into the dank air I launched myself through the Hole, laughing as the Voice on the wind began to rapidly bark out commands at a speed that made Fenrir's translations useless, so I turned it off to get as much of my limited sight as I was able.

[Detect Bloodlust] blared out a warning as a Blade came crashing in from behind me, digging into my neck about an inch before I spun around to grip the Skeletons Wrist and Slam my Left fist into and through the general Neck area of the thing with a sound not unlike a Mortar. As its body slumped to the Ground I saw an open door with another pile of Bones, spinning around to find a door open on each of the Walls even further, without a sign of stopping past that.

With a crouch I launched myself up the hole that the shaking and commotion of the Opening doors was extending and breaking out of the ceiling of the Room followed by sand that poured in like water, ignoring as the Skeletal hands that caught a hold of my clothes were ripped from their bodies as I passed into the Cold air of Outside. The dead air torn asunder as I passed through it, rocketing out of the funnel of Sand and sailing through the air as my eyes drew in the sea of sand underneath me, cloaked by a layer of dancing souls that floated through the air all around me, countless in number.

I landed in a roll, sand tossed into the still air as I stood once more, turning about as My minimap let me in on exactly what was going on.

The entire Campus was buried, with only the spires and roof of the Temple still standing above the suffocating layer of sand.

Not giving me even a moment to try to figure out what I needed to do the Voice returned in guttural and biting words, which caused the Souls milling about the air to drop towards the Sands. With a weary sigh as the field of colorful stars fell into the Gray sand I unfurled the chain wrapped around my hand and swung it in arc around me to prepare. When a wave of Spirits fell through me and into the sand, leaving only a tingling sensation as they passed.

Limbs and skulls began to pull themselves loose from their prisons, all of their right eyes alight with the glow of their Souls as equipment and weapons that had been buried for a literal millennia heeded their undead owners calls, finding dead and rotted hands to hold them once again.

And this Horde was standing between me and my Team, my friends.

I could not stop the growl that tore itself from me as I remembered exactly what was at stake here. I snarled as I looked around decided that this might take a while. Couldn't afford to pump every other strike with all of my health if that one skeleton managed to do damage with a simple swing of the sword.

I began to swing my chain above my head as I activated [Overclocked], and was greeted by a Screen in response.

[Which Skill?]

With a grin I selected Skills that I hadn't tried before, but the game accepted it easily and I felt the difference in how my Chain began to whip around faster, the movements of my wrist beginning to be easier with each swing even as I felt the taste of Blood in my mouth from the Cost of the Skill.

[Overclocked; Chain Mastery] Increased effectiveness by 70%.

Hp Cost per sec = 170 Hp.

Stm Cost per sec = 45 Stm.

[Overclocked; Brawling] Increased effectiveness by 70%.

Hp Cost per sec = 350 Hp.

Stm per sec = 100 Stm.

Base Attack = 3869 Damage.

Hp Regen per sec = 1103 Hp.

Stamina regen per sec = 222 Stm.

And if I pumped every basic attack with the Stamina I recovered in a second, I wouldn't be down any resources to heal myself. And from the way that the now armed and armored skeletons were sprinting my way was any indication, I might be needing that.

Which meant...

(Thundering) Basic Attack = 32492 Damage.

Hp Cost per Attack = 512 Damage.

Hp Regen per sec = 941 Hp.

The First Skeleton to catch my chain to the face erupted into a fountain of steel and marrow while the strike carried through and tore a gouge into the Sand with a detonation simply from the force of the blow that sent nearby skeletons staggering away. The force of it also tore small cuts up and down my Forearms, but they were just as quickly healed up.

"Well come on, ya bastards!" I called as the horde suddenly began to show some caution as I pulled the chain over my head, before leaping towards the nearest enemy who had come to rest barely ten feet away from me. The Chain scythed through it and its armor, the Soul that was piloting it rocketing away to join the other freed spirits that danced about the sky. The creaking and rattling of age old bones stilled as they began to form up and ranged weapons began to appear at their feet, quivers filled to the brim with Arrows and Javelins appearing haft up as they began to circle around me, forming tighter ranks as Shields came up to provide them defense.

Like that would help them.

With a crouch I jumped towards one of the many forming armies of Skeletons and hit the Front shielder with [Smackdown] and then stepping into the swing of my chain to cut through the ranks barely noticing resistance as the undead were torn asunder by the tide that was my weapon.

The undead were my obstacle. The roadblock in my path to my friends.

The sky filled with arrows as they began to fire them with abandon, for what fear did a bag of bones have of being stabbed or pierced. Everyone knew they had to be Smashed. I ignored the first volley as it pierced my back and stuck to the Shields and plates of Armor of my enemies. This was familiar. Me surrounding by the pounding feet of boots, the rattling of Metal against metal as Weapons were hefted and wielded, and the unending violence that was demanded of me to get what I needed to do done.

I swung my weapon once more, relishing in the pain as rusted, chipped and barbed arrows were pushed from my skin from how quickly I was healing. The clash of the links of my weapon upon the armor and shields in front of me as a literal tidal wave of enemies pressed in around me swelled in my soul, my Aura beating in time with my heart as I found myself in my element. The taste of blood in my mouth made me feel alive, and the way my arms were tearing themselves apart even as the bones made of steel rang with each strike reminded me through the catharsis of the fight that I had things to kill.

For but a moment I cancelled [Overclocked] and activated [Second Wind] before Dumping all of my Stamina into a single hit, my fist reducing the top half of the first enemy to dust upon contact while sending the lines bodily into each other. Immediately, I called upon [Overclocked] and swung my weapon around in a circle to clear up space, but with the same lack of abandon that I had they threw themselves towards as though craving the violence I had brought to their place of rest.

The others couldn't survive this, I realized as I continued to stomp through my enemies. And I knew for certain that there were more skeletons downstairs in the Pitch Black to tear them asunder. The entrance to the Temple was under the sands, and if the hallway was anything to go off of, all of the buildings were connected. Marsha could sort the cause of this issue out quickly enough, she was a magic wielding Huntsman after all, but I would not leave my friends to fight off a horde alone.

For all I knew they could be dead already. The mere thought alone made my Stress Level increase so much that I heard my Blood vessels constricting under my rocketing blood pressure. But the thought, no matter how macbare or maddening, was right. I had very little in terms of recourse other than throwing myself into the tunnels once again, but the thought of them making their way to the surface…

Only to find an entire Garrison of Undead, already in Formation, waiting for a target?

That would not be allowed.

If I didn't know where my friends were and if I had no means to find them safely, I'd have to settle for destroying those that would harm them.

[Stress] Threshold Broken!

[Wroth] Sin Activated!

Bones in my hands hardened once more, the tendrils of pain that shot up my arms at the action ignored, and [Panic!] activated as energy began to build in the back of my throat. My very blood was now singing for this, to end them, to end the threat, and I was obligated to comply. With a Roar that sent sand flying away from me, that shook the shifting earth that I stood upon, I welcomed the red that fell over my vision.

"No signal," Raul stated as he checked his Scroll once again, much to her annoyance. Of course they had no signal, it seemed that they were on some plane of the Afterlife, with shambling corpses walking outside their enclosure.

She must have missed the Legend about the Younger brother being a walking CCT Tower.

"Any progress, Hazel?" She asked instead, quickly reigning in her temper before it made the situation any worse. Though, if she were being honest, Janette was hoping that people were looking to the Huntsmen in the life threatening situation and not the glorified secretary that was the Headmaster. But they were children, so she would do her best to not give them a reason to panic.

The Big Man shook his head, "No Ma'am. No way out so far," He turned to look at her from where he was standing with a hand on the barrier that stood between them and freedom, "But the good news is, that means that they can't find a way in."

"Thank you for that, Hazel," She bit out through gritted teeth, not even chancing a look behind her at the mention of whatever unnatural things were walking by, "But please keep looking for me," The big man bowed his head guiltily at her tone of voice. Here she was, stuck in what could have been an auditorium, possibly a Dinner Hall if the tables and stacks of chairs leaned up against the Wall were any indication, with two Huntsmen with much to be desired in bedside manners and the rest of the people who were in the Cafeteria when… whatever happened, happened.

Which meant she was basically alone, dealing with two gruff huntsmen and roughly… two hundred elementary school age children.

She felt a tug on her suit jacket and looked down to see a young boy standing there, no older than five, sporting a black eye and pitiful look on his face. "Mrs. Newman," He said quietly, "I need to use the bathroom."

She took in a deep breath and gripped the bridge of her nose, and realized just what kind of experience this day was going to be.

'If I find out who did this I'm going to gut them like a fish,' She thought mercilessly before she began looking for a solution to the problem, immediately looking towards the dust covered and empty Storage Rooms that Hazel and Raul had searched for an exit. She was momentarily distracted as the distant sound of crumbling rock, explosions, and a roar that shook the walls of the Stone Hall and the Child standing by her side immediately clung to her leg, and pursed her lips grimly as her mind filled in the gaps. 'If I find who did this before Austin does,' She amended as she grabbed a chair and pulled out the pocket knife that Raul demanded she took everywhere with her to start cutting out a hole in the seat.

Some part of her mind told her to look up at the Front door right then, call it instinct or the Shenanigan-sense of anyone who dealt with children, but out of the corner of her eye she saw a Flash of yellow light zip past the barrier and disappear just as quickly as it came.

"So…" Roman asked as he wiped at his glasses with a handkerchief that he kept in his back pocket and watched the fuzzy image of his partner and the ball of energy rolling around in the sand like it was going out of style, "Do you plan on taking that away from him?"

"Are you kidding me?" Cosma returned as she began rubbing at the Pup's belly, "That's the first bone that's lasted longer than half an hour! At this rate, I might take a few home with me."

"It's lasting so long because its half-petrified," He returned as he leaned out of the doorway with his Scroll's flashlight on high beam, "He's chewing on a rock." His ear twitched as the air in the hall thrashed once more, but he couldn't tell if that was Austin or an enemy. The blast of air and dirt suggested Austin. He steadied himself as another shockwave rocked him on the spot, with Cosma squawking as she tipped over onto Tank, who was simply loving the place. Roman had been a bit… Concerned when one moment the forge he had been using went out and between one blink and the next disappeared entirely.

Cosma had been more vocal.

The seemingly open door had turned out to be an invisible door, proven when a figure stumbled by in the dark, who had not even flinching when Cosma began pounding on the door and trying to shine their light into the Hall that seemed to just swallow light. Twenty two minutes later he fell backwards into the Hall as the wall he had been leaning on disappeared from behind him. He groaned as he stood back up, only to watch in disbelief as a skull erupted from the Ground, startling him and Cosma into simply watching in shock.

That was, before Tank grabbed and ripped the skull off before shaking it savagely it in his teeth like a toy as he ran around the room. Roman struck his face with the heel of his hand as the rest of a skeleton blinding slapped and clawed its way towards the surface, with bits of metal rolling towards it, beginning to form a suit of armor.

Cosma fumbled through her bag before tossing a grenade at the thing as it stumbled towards them, the Chestplate enclosing into the thing before it erupted into a pillar of flame and thrashed bone surrounded by smoking metal. As the thing slumped to the floor, he became aware of the sound of boots in sand, quickly turning off his light as a stream of the things passed by in the Hallway, some running and others walking, but all going in the same direction of the figure that had passed earlier.

And now here they were, him and Cosma sneaking through the maze of tunnels and rooms doing there best to find any way out, or anyone else that happened to be teleported who the fuck knows where. Honestly, he wasn't too concerned. The itch was back, and that was more concerning. Simply being in the Ruins caused it to spring up quicker than it ever had before, and he couldn't stop himself from thinking about the place in sterile terms like it was a test.

And despite what the voice in the back of his head was saying, it was most definitely not a test.

The good news was that the explosions covered most of their tracks for them, what with the shifting of sand to cover footprints and the noise to cover footfalls. Which was good, when Cosma was treating this like they were simply taking the dog for a walk. It seemed that the itch was still going strong in her as well, though hers was much less self-destructive than his own drive.

"Who's a good boy?" She cooed at the Monstrous Puppy caked in Dirt and powdered bone that had already gained fifty pounds in less than three weeks. Roman was of the opinion that its blood was replaced with steroids. As he met its happy brown eyes, he was just glad that it was on his side now, let alone when it finally stopped growing.

The air thrashed once more, and the rapid beating of feet on sand. He thought about pressing himself against the wall, but the speed and cadence was one that he recognized. He leaned out of the room to confirm it, and bolting down the Hall was a Ball of Yellow Aura, the only thing visible to his eyes.

Cosma smushed herself between him and the Doorway, also leaning only her head out into the Hallway while adjusting her hat to see better, "If I didn't know better, I'd say that looks like Taylor, but I'm gonna be nice and hope she's not stuck in here with the dead bitches like we are. And who knows, maybe the explosions aren't Austin either. Maybe its just an excited Ursa or something." He glared at the top of her head, wishing for a moment that she could take this even slightly seriously, but relenting when the voice in his head said the same.

He had no proof, but he'd bet the small amount of money he'd stowed away that they were indeed Austin. Something about the way that things exploded, continued to do so for almost an hour, and drew almost every single enemy in ten square miles just spoke to him on this one.

And then he could only yell as the Massive Puppy knocked both of them sprawling into the Hallway as he jumped and slid on the sand turning his huge head around, despite the dark, and Barking once down the hall for good measure. "You just had to say his name, didn't you?"

"Sorry," She apologized as she stood and faced down the hall,"Tank, he isn't here buddy, settle down," She explained to the dog, whose ears were standing up straight just like the fur on his back. He let out another loud bark as he spun around in place, obviously not believing her for a second. Roman stood and turned his light towards the Yellow blur that was now on them, covering his eyes as she deactivated her semblance and slid towards them in a wave of sand.

He lowered his arm from his face, plastering a disappointed frown on as he regarded her, even as Cosma spit out a glob of sand and Tank shook out his fur. She didn't even have the decency to look bad about covering all three of them in dirt, instead only huffing and puffing as she leaned her hands on her knees, eyes shining blue as they darted around the none too expansive confines of their prison.

Wait… Blue?

"Either of you seen…" She gave the dog a quick glance because everyone knew the rule, "the Dumbass?" She asked feverishly, and Roman had an answer to his unasked question. She had indeed gained the same drive that the rest of the Students had, and it was her first time trying to scratch the itch. That would be fun for her, and anyone that gets dragged along really. The others may not have had the time or attention to give to those around them, what with the itch coming back so strongly all around campus, but Roman was not blind. In fact, part of his drive was to be observant, so he was better equipped to watch and observe the others as they were pulled through the wringer.

Roman might be pulled towards being a Tactician who was cautious, but that was only because he had been without caution and patience when he was young and now wanted to make up for it. In the same way, Shebul closed himself off and now found himself being torn apart between his literal need for isolation and a want to grow closer to friends, which was perfectly reasonable. Cosma was never trusted to look after something, now she had a dog that she clung to.

The list went on.

"Follow the sounds of destruction," he bluntly told her as he wiped sand out of his hair, not even that annoyed. Mostly just… indifferent. It wouldn't stop him from trying to leave to be covered in dirt.

"That was the plan," She agreed in between breaths, and he watched as her ears twitched like antenna and told her more accurately where her target was than anything he would have told her, "It's worked before. Alright, Good luck!" And like that, she was off once more like the rocket her Semblance turned her into.

For a moment, there was only silence, Then a flabbergasted Cosma spoke up, "Did that bitch just leave us!"

"Yes, it seems she had. Now, come on let's try to get out of here," Roman demanded as he began to jog down the hall in the direction Taylor had come.

"Shouldn't we be.. I don't know, concerned about that?" Cosma asked as she picked up the pace to catch up with Tank happily panting as he chased them.

"If I'm honest," He bit out quickly as he continued to try and find any type of exit, "I'm trying to get us out of this tunnel before Austin collapses it. If she's smart, which she usually is, then she'll be out, too."

'Where is he?' she thought frantically as she took out another one of the armored fucks in her way. Where she was going? That wasn't a simple answer, but it basically came down to the Campus not being that big for someone who could move at mach two and she was just speeding around the dank ass corridors looking for light. The spray and pray approach for search and rescue; run around until you find something.

But hey, she already found the rest of her class along the way. Can't argue with results.

She was now, after having torn through about twenty stinking masses of steel and bone, beginning to tire. She didn't exactly know why she was running around in the dark like a maniac, but god damn was her conscious acting up. Going on and on about doing the right thing like she was some kind of saint, and some other less saintly thoughts as well.

'Bad,' She chided herself as she rounded a corner and sniffed at the air for even a small hint of where to go, 'Bad Taylor, now is not the time. Now is the time for getting out a dank ass dungeon.'

She'd save those thoughts for later.

But that didn't stop her feet from moving, so off she shot, looking for the guy who protected her when she needed him to. Because she needed time to smack some sense into herself. Her head moved side to side as she sped past door after door, judging images as best her mind could at the speed she moved at, finally coming to a halt as a familiar smell filled her nose.

Shit was on fire.

She covered her eyes as a sudden burst of light flooded her vision, her faunus night vision making her particularly bad when dealing with changes in light. Warmth licked at her feet as she blinked away the spots in her sight, gritting out angrily, "Dammit Ash!" She stood in the middle of a junction of two perpendicular hallways, and turned away from the one on her left as the heat and light lanced through her eyelids.

"Just be glad you didn't get burned," she returned as she made her way towards her, the rustling of plastic making Taylor's ears twitch in recognition. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Not a damn clue," She responded as she gave her the once over to check for injuries, quirking an eyebrow at her choice of attire, "What the hell is in the bag, and why are you in your pajamas?" Loose fitting clothes that fluttered in the slight breeze from what Taylor could see in the lowlight of the flame that Ashley held in the palm of her right hand.

"I decided to relax in my Dorm today," she explained dryly before shaking the bag in her direction, "And I wanted to make some food in the Dorm, so there I am, after having to listen to the Lunch Ladies bicker at each other for about fifteen minutes, walking to the dorm when all of the sudden I fall through the ground. Imagine my shock when I have no reception, no idea where I am, and more importantly No Weapon. And before you ask, I am not taking my anger out on the suit of armor walking around," She sniffed and looked away from her, not even trying to act like her usual prim and proper self, "Because that would be childish."

"Right," Taylor agreed, just happy to see that she was alive more than anything else, "You know how to get out of here?" That she hadn't seen Austin went without mentioning. She wouldn't leave his side if given the option, enjoyed the feeling of power that came with having him around, if she had to guess.

But the point still stands that she needed to find her bestie, at least for the sake of her sanity if her conscious was to be trusted on the point.

"Yes," She answered with a nod, startling her out of her near decision to just blow past her and keep looking. "Down this hall," She pointed down the Hallway in the direction she had been moving, "I've been following the changes in temperature with my Semblance, and I think there is an exit down there-" She explained as she also stepped into the Corridor, but was shaken out of speaking when the entire structure began to shake and rumble around them. Before either one of them could respond, walls of solid rock slid up to block off their exits and the floor began to shift underneath their feet.

"Shit!" Taylor squawked as the Floor rolled a tilted under her, with Ashley echoing the sentiment as she threw her bag of food in the air. She leaned her back against the newly formed walls and watched as the floor began to shift and chunk itself until the shaking was too much for Ashley and she had to put her flame out to stabilize herself against the wall with both of her hands. Taylor scrambled as the rock under her feet fell away and flipped and turned until she was precariously perched on a small piece of rock that was quickly growing smaller. As the rocks she heard none of them hit a bottom and suddenly every panicked thought she'd ever had reared their ugly heads as she realized that there was a hole of indeterminable depth under her.

She cried out in alarm when the Rock under her ass fell a good three feet with a crack, nearly losing her control and blubbering like a child right then and there. How far would she fall when her seat gave out under her?

As the question came close to being answered the rumbling came to a close, and she was stuck on a platform of rock the size of a laptop, nearly hyperventilating. Give her Shebul anytime, at least with his semblance the heights weren't real. "A-ash!"

"Still here," She croaked in response before her hand ignited once more and illuminated the confines of the trap. Taylor absolutely refused to look down on principal and instead followed the sets of rock that jutted out of the wall, "We're both still here and we seem to be in luck. The heat is rising and circulating, which shouldn't happen if this were a closed system. The top of this thing must be open.

Up. They had to go up to get out. She pinched her eyes shut for a moment and counted to ten, moving as little as possible as she shot a glance downward, where the light from her cohort stopped after thirty feet. With a squeak she bunched herself up against the wall and spoke aloud, "I-I'll stay right here, thanks," She huffed in her anxiety as every instinct in her body made her want to twitch and panic.

"Taylor?" Ashley asked in confusion, obviously unaware of her struggle, "Something wrong? My step is holding up fine over here," She explained with a hop to prove it that gave Taylor heart palpitations.

"S-stop!" She frantically hissed as her fingernails scrabbled for purchase fruitlessly before her Aura came to full force and let them crunch into the stone of the wall like it was made of sand.

"Look," her compatriot explained as she pointed her lit hand towards the wall, "We have Stairs that lead up to, we're gonna be fine. But I'll tell you one thing, sitting there isn't going to help."

"Like I don't know that," She hissed once more as she slowly pulled herself up straight, as her hands dug into the wall to get a grip. She stood on shaky legs and looked over shoulder only to be met with receding light as Ashley climbed up the bizarre set of stairs. With a yelp Taylor did her best to follow, her knees tingling with adrenaline as she took her steps slowly and carefully.

And then, as she whispered to herself, Ashley cursed to herself and the light winked out of existence. Taylor, properly spooked and in the middle of taking a step hit the lip of the next platform with the tip of her boot and tripped.

The stone that she had dug into fell apart under her hands as she toppled into the darkness below her.

Some say that when faced with your biggest fears you see your life flash in front of your eyes, but all taylor saw was the dark overtaking her as she hurtled towards certain doom.

All thoughts quieted, even the damned annoying voice that she blamed on puberty, and were replaced by a mantra; I Don't want to Die. The resounding thought echoed in her suddenly empty mind as she activated her Semblance in a panic, now watching her fall in slow motion, unable to do anything about it. She heard Ashley call out from above her, distorted and elongated in her ears, but all she could focus on was the fact that she was approaching the ground at speeds she only reached with her semblance.

As her mind began to blank a new thought emerged from the rubble of her mind, speaking in the same tone as the new voice; What would Austin do?

A simple question with a simple answer, one she knew all too well from the relatively brief amount of time dealing with him. If he were in danger he'd throw everything he had against the wall and see what stuck. Relentlessly thrash until Death overtook him. She took stock of what she had and found it lacking as her weapons were too short in reach to hit the wall. She still tried, watching as her fingers bounced off of the rock as she fell past.

Think, think, think, there was either a way out of here or she was dead. The thought terrified her, but not nearly as much as the Floor she could now make out in the yellow light of her Aura, jagged with rocks that had fallen away from the floor and ceiling and sure to make mincemeat of her, Aura or Not. It had pushed itself to the forefront, but what good could her Aura do now, there was no ground to run on.

Might as well try.

She pushed all of her Aura out of her hands and feet just like when she ran, the jets of Aura doing what they had always done; Propel her. Miraculously, she stopped moving as fast as the hold of gravity lessened and she watched miraculously as she stopped falling all together, mere inches away from the spiky death that had awaited her. A smile spread across her face before she started moving upwards and a look of confusion replaced it.

Almost like it was outside of her control she spun and flipped as she moved her limbs about, but she continued to speed upwards, towards the Top of the Staircase without a hint of slowing down. "By the brothers, this is difficult!" She yelled as she hurtled upwards as record speeds, passing a stunned Ashley as she followed her ascent with a gout of flame aimed at a skeleton at the top of the Stairs. With a crash she impacted with the top of the Tower, hearing cracks in both the stone and her spine as she slammed into it facefirst, but she simply dug her fingers into the sloped roof of whatever room she was in and tore her panicked aura from the grip of her Semblance, returning her to regular speed and the force of gravity all the same.

She hung from her fingers dug into rock that was already tearing away as she looked about, spying a break in the circular cap that she found herself in. With a yell she threw herself to the ledge and clambered up, breaking out into sobs as Ashley ascended the last of the Stairs and entered the same room she had just flew into. She planted a few quick kisses into the ledge that she was laying across, "So close, too close. Too fucking close. Don't leave me ever again, solid ground, I beg ya."

"A fat load of help you are," Ashley angrily called as she dodged the swing of another Skeleton before placing a hand on its chest. As it pulled its weapon back up to chop down onto her head a burst of fire exploded out from her palm and sent it careening to the same fate she had narrowly avoided. The black-haired girl huffed an irritated breath of air at her as she angrily moved her bagns behind her ear and out of her face, "You do remember that you have Aura, right? A fall from that height wouldn't even cause a sprain."

"Don't care," She replied hoarsely, now realising that she had been screaming at the top of her lungs the entire time, "Didn't die. I didn't die, oh thank the brothers, I didn't die," She feverishly laughed in euphoria as she hung from her new and improved perch, content that she wasn't facing that particular death. She glanced to her right, where Ashley was kneading the bridge of her nose and walking around the small ledge that surrounded the Twenty foot diameter hole in the bottom of the sphere.

With a sigh of relief she turned to look out the opening, before her eyes widened as she found a literal battlefield waiting for her. Another gust of wind swept across the sands, reflecting the unnatural blue light of the Moon and stars and brushed her hair off of her shoulders. An army of Steel marched, individual pieces of the whole spinning and whirling, throwing whatever weapon they had or could find at the figure that slammed through their Bulk.

"That's not great," Ashley said as she hoisted herself onto the makeshift windowsill and plopped down next to her, squinting down at the brutal melee with her all too human eyes. The great crashing sound that had been muffled by the sand and stone between the catacombs and their quarry now sounded in full force, so loud from even the five hundred feet away that they were that it threatened to blow out her Eardrums. The rending and tearing of metal under immense force and pressure, entire clouds of sand erupting into existence as blow after blow rained down on the mass of enemies, and various roars that sounded like the Grimm themselves sounded as they watched in amazement.

A whirling figure that was all too familiar spun and struck, causing so much mayhem that she could barely see him clearly, but the way that the red of his eyes blurred in the night air left little in the way of doubts as to his identity. Unless there was another Crazy man running around with Grimm-Red eyes that she didn't know about.

"Should we help him...?," Taylor asked noncommittally as several bodies flew away from the central mass of movement followed by a Blow that had both of them clinging on to their seat for dear life. Dust Explosions and weapons fell from the sky like some apocalyptic scenario, but that didn't stop him much. He didn't stop in his barrage to even register the attacks and instead laid once more into those that were surrounding him.

"I think he has it covered," Ashely responded through gritted teeth, "How about we focus on surviving him handling the situation?"

There was no describing the elation of a good battle. The singing in your veins, the burn of muscles, and the pain of new wounds. I was conscious enough to feel that, but not nearly enough to change the course of my swings, of my chain. When that got in the way, it was wrapped around knuckles for more control. My breath burst out of me in uncontrollable pants, but I cared not for the burning in my lungs. The beating of my heart, the empty numbness of my mind. Those are what I lived for.

Peace was nice and all, but eventually all returned to war. To violence.

To Home.

Words rang through my head, bolstering my mind, my soul as the ragged beast in my mind tried to push itself back into the foreground.

Blood.

My fists would not cease their movements, nor did I want them to.

Metal.

Those that I battered and broke did fell apart under my hands, bones steely and black where the skin gave way.

Blood.

I ignored the weapons as they pierced my skin, all defense forgotten in my haze, and pushed forward, on to the next enemy.

Stone.

All that was left was me and the one in front of me, and after they were gone it was the one behind them.

The Words, they call to me.

Its one unblinking, unnatural eye met my own and I roared a bestial Roar into its helmet as I slammed my fists into the crown of its head.

They call to me alone.

Reduce all Bone to Shards. Rend all metal into scrap. Smash the Stone into Gravel.

This was my Purpose.

Deadly Sin; [Wroth (Level 2)]; You wouldn't like me when I'm Angry.

When overstressed, 90% chance that your body will attack the source of stress.

10% chance to increase Str by 20 until stress level is down.

The screen went unheeded as something burst through my head, a spear from behind perhaps. Ragged breaths and Angry thoughts made themselves known as the red fell over my vision once more. My weapon hand came back up, caked in blood red mud and sand, and I roared my defiance at the world.

It wanted to take what was mine. My fist ploughed through the helmet of a skeleton and I paid it no mind as it slumped to the ground in a pile of bones. It wanted to keep me here, away from my people. Then here I'd stay, until there was nothing left in my way.

Back in to the Horde I fell, accepting the sweet embrace of unconsciousness as I went.

End of Chapter.

Austin Staín

Class: [Outsider]:

Title: [Main Tank] ([Fist Whisperer])

Lvl 25: 75/2500 exp to Next Level.

Hp: 62274/62274 HP Regen: 1453 Hp/Sec

Stm: 2179/2179, Stm Regen: 322 Stm/Sec

Ap: 10600/10600, Ap Regen: 265 Ap/Sec

Current Stress Level; [259/1103]; Natural Stress Relief; 1.05 per Minute.

(+5 per even Lvl, +6 per odd Lvl)Str: (150) 161

(+2 per odd Lvl, +3 per even Lvl)Dex: 51

(+7 per Lvl)Con: (194) 208

(+0 per Lvl)Agi: 9

(+0 per Lvl)Int: 1

(+0 per Lvl)Wis: 5

(-10 per Lvl)Cha: 1

(+5 per Lvl)Res: 105

Free Points; 0.

Attribute Points; 0.

Atk: 1338

Max Thundering Blows Damage: 53864

Pistol Atk: 304

Def: Phys; 80%.

Mag; 0%.

Debuff; 80%.

Shell: Phys; 588 Damage.

Mag; 21 Damage.

Attributes:

[Iron Will]; 50% decrease of Debuff effects applied to Austin. Ex. [Cripple]; 30% decrease to speed → 15% decrease in speed. Inherited from Nan.

[Big Bad Wolf]; +2 to Con and Str per level, -15 to Cha. +100% to experience gain to the [Osteogenesis] Skill. Race set to [Half-Grimm]. Inherited from Fenrir.

[?]; ?. Immunity to [?]. ?.

[Relentless]; Immune to [Fatigue]. 2*Str when Hp below 50%. Gained through Staying Below 20% Hp for 24 hours or more in one period.

[Self-Respect]; How can the World respect you if even you don't respect You? Gained Through The Little Things.

[Guardian Angel]; + 10 Cha to those that you have saved.

[Fast Regenerator]; When most people lose limbs it's permanent...

Regenerate a fourth of your Con score worth of Hp per Second, half of your Con's worth Stamina per second.

[Deadened]; I Will still fight...

Become 2% more resistant to Debuffs and Status Effects per point of Res.

Receive -1 points of Damage per attack for every 5 points of Res.

Once per Thirty seconds, upon hitting 0 Hp or Lower return to 10% Hp.

[Juggernaut]; Wade through Blows…

For Every 1 Str take .25% less physical Damage.

+5% Atk

[Team Player]; Allows use of the Skill [Teamwork] despite Stat Requirements.

[Direct Approach]; Hard heads Prevail!

When Attempting a Cha-based Skill check against someone with Res higher than Cha, Use Res as the Base instead.

[Strong Back]; Changes the Carry Weight equation from (Str*2.5+50) to (Str*3.75+50).

[Destiny Breaker]

The Chains that Bind will be severed, and I shall be the shearing force.

-20 Luck.

(100 - Luck)% chance to Break [Curses] and [Blessings] applied to you.

[Marked; [Subjects of Prophecy]]; All of those within the affected Group shall recognize you as [Chainbreaker], with the potential to be hostile.

?

-[Pack Animal]

Familiarity is your comfort.

(-50)% Relationship increases with those with Relationship Statuses below [Trusted (Level 3)].

(+100)% Relationship increases with those with Relationship Statuses above [Trusted (Level 3)].

-[Rampant Mutation];

Constant Regeneration has left you more able to fight.

Add 25% of con to Base attack.

For every 5 points of Con ignore 1 point of Physical damage.

Ah Christmas, what a great way for the world to remind me that I am Broke and can't afford to buy presents.

Thanks world, I really needed that.

Anyways, Next chapter should be the Climax of the arc (Don't quote me on that, every time I give an estimation on time or length for this story I'm wrong).

A good bit of people scrambling around in the dark and contextualizing the consequences of having an Austin around. Taylor facing her biggest fear, as hinted at in Chapter 6 and Chapter 13 with throw away comments. People facing their growing obsessions the longer they exist inside the Dungeon. Austin becoming the master of his wrath, slowly but surely. A bunch of other small things and world building put in the walls that'll be referenced later.

Thanks for reading, and as always leave a review if you have something to say.

Jericho Out.