Books sat piled in a familiar mountain that brought back rather unpleasant memories from the last time he had stumbled on this scene. At the top of the pile sat his friend, the boy's light blue hair immediately drawing one's attention to him as he sat slouched on top of the pile with another book in his lap. His high collared shirt hid the bottom half of his face but the furrowed brows and oddly fixated look in his eyes made it clear that he was focusing for once.
He turned his head to another familiar pair that was supposed to be supervising his friend's punishment but instead chose to laze about as if the boy didn't exist at all. The smaller of the pair leaned back in his chair with his legs propped up on the table and a book of his own resting against his knees. The long white scarf wrapped around his neck and over half his face still dragged along the ground under him. Across from him was a taller man carefully balancing books on the toes of his partner's black shoes as if the other wouldn't notice the growing pile. His long, dark brown hair was pulled back in a high ponytail instead of it's usual braid and it seemed like he hadn't bothered to change out of his pajama pants even if he still wore a white button up and a blue pinstripe vest.
A sudden thought left him forgetting what he came for and instead he quietly approached the pair. Once close enough, he grabbed the chair and yanked it out from under the other. Disappointment set in immediately as the other remained in place as if nothing had happened. The man in red flicked his wrist and he was weightless, flipped over and hung upside down so he was face to face with the other. "You know I could sense you when you came in, right? Why do you still try this?"
"Put me down," He stated, ignoring the other's words as he squirmed a bit in the air to hold his shirt in place. When nothing happened he narrowed his golden eyes and met the other's eyes. The same gold stared back blankly and they stayed that way for a long moment. Then he shrugged, waving his hand and tossing the boy aside.
"I honestly don't know why I have to watch him, Kid can take care of himself." The comment was certainly directed to his partner more than the boy who landed with a thunk on the cold floor but he still caught the concerned glance checking to be sure he wasn't seriously injured as he got to his feet. Choosing to ignore the pair as if nothing had just happened, he approached his friend with a raised eyebrow.
The blue haired boy glanced up from his book on seeing his approach and the concentrated scowl on his face twisted up into a wide grin as his loud voice piped up. "Kid! Here," He hopped down from the pile of books and shoved the one in his hands at his friend's face. "Check this out! See? There's this neat thing I found in this book about a disappearing city!"
Kid leaned back instinctively, not bothering to glance at the passage offered to him and instead asked, "First, I already know about Atlantis. It sank to the sea floor. Second, aren't you supposed to be putting those away?" He nodded towards the pile as he spoke. The other boy glanced back and shook his head.
An arm was slung over Kid's shoulder and his friend smacked the book against his chest. "First, that's boring. I'd rather read. Second, you didn't even look at this! It doesn't say Altantis, see?" The book was flipped open back to the same page and held in front of his face yet again. This time Kid set his eyes on the passage, curiosity poking at him ever so slightly. He scanned it briefly to get what information he could.
"Shambhala? I've heard about it before, it's a mythical city where magical creatures and humans all lived together." He stated plainly, not really as interested as his friend. Before the other boy could retort, the man sitting a bit away chimed in as loudly as he dared.
"It was real before its disappearance, father told me about it when I was smaller to frighten me."
Across the table his partner perked up and chimed in, brushing a few stray hairs from his face as he turned to the boys. "It was originally created by humans. Those who didn't want to convert to Kalachakra Buddhism were driven from their homes and after they were invited back, the ones who refused to return built Shambhala. I'm not sure how it became popular among magical beings or even how true that may be anyway, but it is interesting. No one knows where to find it but stories of Shangri-la have led many to believe it was in the Himilayan Mountains before it's disappearance."
He smiled at his partner as he finished his ramble, making it painfully obvious what his intentions were. The shorter of the two returned it, hiding his own smile in his mess of scarves. "Thank you Vajra." Then he directed his words at them, "As you heard, it was real once."
"I have some questions but mostly, how does an entire city disappear? It's not like Atlantis, it was on dry land." Kid asked, crossing his arms and peering back
at the book still hovering in front of his face while his friend listened to the information with an excited grin that left Kid feeling nervous.
The shorter man shrugged, "Who knows, it's not like I was around when Shambhala was. My concern would be more that Black Star can read. I was not expecting that."
The boy in question puffed up, squaring his shoulders and slapping the book into Kid's arms as he struck a pose. "Of course I can! I'll be greater than God so something like that's easy! Don't doubt me or I'll kick your ass!" The man stiffened, gold eyes flicking from the pages of his book to glare at the boy. A moment passed in silence as they stared each other down. Then he set his book aside and stood, the books stacked on his shoes tumbling over with a loud clamour.
"If you think you can, go ahead." He stepped forward, looming over the kids as he approached. An annoyed snarled twisted his lips up as he stalked towards them with narrowed eyes. The blue haired boy met it with a wide grin, all too eager to jump into a fight with the other. Kid had to reach out to stop Black Star from rushing forward and he could see the man's partner rush around the table to stop him.
"Asura no! You aren't allowed to fight the students or you'll get disowned again." Vajra stated, earning a glare for a moment before his partner's expression softened. There was a quiet grumble from the smaller man before the tension eased and he turned away from the kids. Vajra visibly relaxed at this, breathing a heavy sigh and rubbing his temples at the behavior. "That goes for you too Black Star. You aren't allowed to fight Asura or you'll get detention with Professor Stein."
The boy in question flinched at that and relented with mild annoyance. "Fine," He turned back to Kid again and took the book back, "Anyway, let's go find it!" Finding the passage again, he tapped on it harshly. His hands shook and eyes sparkled at the thought of an adventure, but Kid cringed. The disgust on his face made his friend pause. Then he cringed as well, lips curled up and glancing away as he remembered the last adventure he'd proposed. But he shook his head and grinned again. "This'll be different than that! We're looking for a place this time."
"You have a point…" Kid tapped his chin thoughtfully as he reached out to turn the pages. The next page held a drawing of a valley filled with temples, their peaks reaching high into the air. It looked very neat, the buildings aligned evenly and centered around one central building. With a pleased smile, he nodded. "It is very symmetrical. Though the city is older than Asura so it may be in ruins, but if we find it then we can have it restored."
Black Star's eyes brightened, if it was possible for them to look brighter than they were already. He pumped a fist into the air and let out an excited, "YEAH!" before patting his friend's shoulder. "This is gonna be great! I'll go get ready and we'll get going." The book was tossed over his shoulder as he slung an arm around Kid's shoulder again and steered them away from the library. Excited voices could be heard discussing their course of action and whether or not anyone else should be invited until they faded completely from earshot.
For a long moment, Asura and Vajra stared after them. Bending down to pick the book up, Asura brushed it off and turned it over in his hands. The soft leather was well cared for but worn as if it saw much use, but any title that could have been written on it had faded or peeled away as if there had been nothing there. It's slim shape struck him as odd for a book about a lost city so he flipped it open to a random place and skimmed a few pages. Gentle looping script covered the yellowed pages accompanied by hand drawn images and the small dates scribbled in the top corners of each entry marked it as a journal.
He let out a thoughtful hum as his partner's weight leaned against his back to peer over his shoulder at the book. Though many journals were stored in this library, he had read them all at this point and this one was unfamiliar. As if sensing his curiosity, Vajra spoke up. "I heard we were supposed to get a new delivery of books, why not go peek at the records to see what it is if you want to know."
Nodding, Asura closed the book and shrugged the other man off. Though it was fairly common for his brother and friend to pull such stunts a weight had settled in his gut. Somehow the book in his hands left an uneasy feeling in his gut and he'd learned that those were hardly ever wrong for him. And as if to add to that, the persistent weight of magic kept trying to build itself in the area. It could be a coincidence. Maybe it really was. He hoped so but it would still be best to at least investigate where it came from in case the two were tied together.
"I think we should try that." He stated, tucking it under his arm moving away quickly to leave the taller man behind with a minor complaint trailing after him.
.
.
.
Once again Kid ran through the list he'd made for his adventure. Liz and Patty were not coming with him despite the younger girl's complaints. Liz had clearly bribed her so that she would not need to wander around an abandoned city where she would undoubtedly be scared by anything and everything. That was fine by him, as it seemed he and Black Star were in agreement that this was their thing. Like Mario Kart competitions between the blue haired boy and their albino friend Soul.
The book Asura had checked out for him, much to the boy's surprise, sat neatly atop the backpacks he'd prepared. Speaking of, the older reaper was seated across from him with his legs crossed and chin resting in his hand as he stared down his brother. It set his anxiety on edge, wondering if he was in some kind of trouble or had done something to piss the older god off. But Asura said nothing as he watched the boy.
Finally Kid spoke up quietly at first but raised his voice to a normal level in an attempt to hide his anxiety. "Is there something you need? You've been staring at me for a while."
He shrugged at first and glanced over to the book. "I looked into that since it's quite new. Did you know the librarian in charge of giving Black Star his punishment didn't remember telling him to sort the new books?" His fingers drummed against the arm of his chair, gold eyes brimming with suspicion. Kid could only roll his eyes at that. Of course his brother would be suspicious of a book.
"I'm sure the librarian had many tasks to do. It would be easy to forget something like that. It's not like the book isn't in our records." He pointed out, something heavy settling in his gut as Asura's blank expression became one of unease. "Even if it isn't that's an easy mistake to make with how many we get."
Sighing, the older god responded with surprising reassurance, "It is in the system according to the people I asked." There was hesitance as his gaze flickered towards the book yet again and Kid could hear the 'but' in his words. It took a moment for him to continue but he did so with caution. "Father is particular about keeping impeccable records on everything. The book was a donation from a new investor in the school, but there was no information about them."
"So?" Kid asked, turning around fully to listen to whatever Asura was trying to get at.
"Every other donation is logged with the full names of the donors whether it's on behalf of an individual or an organization such as a business, as well as addresses and any other relative information. It is a safety protocol that's been implemented after a few unfortunate instances for the safety of students. The donor left their name but only their given name, their family name and affiliation were left unmentioned. It's strange that it slipped through." He stated as if it was obvious despite this being news to the younger boy.
Ignoring his questions about how Asura knew so much about the process for donations to the school, he thought about it. Though it seemed suspicious at first that didn't mean anything. It could all be the result of a lax employee or just an oversight. He voiced as much, mild annoyance peeking through at the paranoid nature of his brother.
Asura frowned at his disagreement but seemed to relent. He stood, hands on his hips as he loomed over the boy. "I understand if you do not believe me but as I was left in charge of everything while father is gone, then I forbid you from going."
He paused at that, gold eyes narrowed and brow furrowed as he glared up at the other. "You're really going to pull that one? Really? You've never stopped our adventures before."
"Your other adventures so far were exploring the ruins under the city and tracking down Excalibur, who we knew where he was." He waved a hand in a vaguely dismissive gesture as he said Excalicur's name, a slight scowl tugging at the corners of his lips. Shaking his head, Asura continued, "This time, you plan to run halfway around the world with just a small journal and a hunch to find a place that's been lost for hundreds of years and may full well be reduced to dust. Ever since you mentioned it, I've had a bad feeling and I think you should not go."
The finality and slightest bit of concern in the god's tone took him by surprise as he stared wide eyed at his older brother. After a moment of silence, Asura straightened and added with an awkward cough, "If you really want to go then do it on father's watch and not mine. I will not shoulder the responsibility for your untimely demise should my suspicions be correct."
That was more in line with what he expected to hear, but the concern he heard earlier had put him off. Still, he shook off the surprise and crossed his arms defiantly. "This attitude of yours is partly why you keep getting disowned you know."
Asura bit his lip at the comment, tensing up for a moment before brushing it off with a dismissive, "That has become routine by now, if it happens then I know father will go back on it eventually. And it is not relevant to what I said. If you try to go, I will drag you back kicking and screaming." With that said, he trudged off.
A part of him felt a bit guilty for his words but it was the truth. It wasn't easy to brush those thoughts aside yet he managed. Instead he turned back to finish his task. Once he finished, he knew he would need to call Black Star. His determination to run out on this quest was now backed by spite and they had to plan ahead now if they wanted to sneak around Asura.
The pages of the book flapped wildly as the wind picked up along the barren path up the mountainside, shrouding the pair in a haze of snow. Kid pinned them down as best he could while he skimmed through the pages for anything to help their search. Beside him Black Star huddled against his side and peered over his shoulder, his presence keeping Kid safely on the path as he focused on finding the right pages. From time to time he would glance up to check on the other and catch glimpses of light blue hair peeking out from under the blue hood of his quilted winter coat. Though the other boy claimed he was only 'keeping you warm since you're probably cold. A god like me isn't affected by something like this!", his shivering could be felt through the layers of clothing they had on. He spared his friend a glance, one eyebrow raised as he buried his nose in the scarf stolen from his brother's collection to hide a small grin.
Black Star brought his gloved hands up to his mouth and puffed on them in an attempt to warm them up. His eyes scanned the open page of the book as he spoke up, "Y'know, I kinda thought we'd already be there." The comment only made Kid roll his eyes.
"Finding the place is always the boring part. Remember how bored you were while we looked for Ex- I mean, that sword?" The other boy's face twisted, nose wrinkled and eyes narrowed as his lips pulled back to bare his teeth. If he weren't so cold, Kid was sure his friend would have flinched away from the mention of their first adventure. Before something could be said, Kid continued, "Anyway, I don't think I properly thanked you for this book."
"Huh?" Black Star tilted his head slightly, brows furrowed and mouth hung open slightly before he closed it. A smile spread across his face as he met Kid's gold eyes, crinkled by an amused grin hidden in his scarf. "Of course! You're very welcome! I did find it after all!"
The scoff from Kid went unnoticed so he spoke up. "You don't even know why I'm saying that, do you?"
A flinch came first, followed by obnoxious laughter from the blue haired boy. He threw his head back at first and as it died he returned to his position plastered to the reaper's side. "Well yeah, I know why, " He paused for a moment, glancing at the open book as if it would give him an answer to his unspoken question. "...but, uh, you should tell me so I know you figured it out!"
Another roll of his eyes and a moment of silence passed before Kid cleared his throat. He halted their walk and turned to shield the book from the wind as he turned the pages. "Well, at first it seemed like just a regular book about ancient civilizations but once you reach a certain point…" The pages stopped at a point where the neatly written lines became a bit off. Small captioned pictures sat side by side with messily written notes, as if their creator scribbled them in a hurry. Spaced in between those were choppy entries dated in the upper right hand corners. "Whoever wrote this wrote everything they knew about how to find it. See?"
His finger tapped a passage scribbled messily beside the image of a simple emblem vaguely resembling an animal skull. Though Black Star was unable to read the words written beside it, he could piece together that the image was important from the other doodles on the opposite page. In them the same symbol repeated across many things. Carved into stone path markers, painted across the walls of a cavern, centered in an array of unfamiliar symbols, even as the focal point of a necklace of animal teeth in an unnaturally religious fashion.
"So all we gotta do is find a cave, right? Or are we lookin' for this thing?" Black Star asked, tapping the book himself. His other hand came up to stroke his chin thoughtfully. Though he was all for the adventure, a part of him was already bored. Only the promise of the discovery kept him there despite the building boredom. Seeing these pictures set an uncertainty on him. If they were looking for a cave, there was no guarantee that they would find the right one. They were on a mountain so there must be plenty of caves beneath their feet, right? And if it was markings, they might be long gone.
Kid shrugged, stepping forward and sinking into the deep snow as he continued onwards. "Yeah, but it would probably be difficult to find them. It has been a very long time after all."
Nodding along Black Star matched his pace. "Ya sure you didn't see anything when we circled the place?" He asked as he nudged his friend in the side and peered around in search of a cave. Kid only nodded, flipping through more pages as they rounded a corner on the path. Snow obscured their vision as it blew down the mountainside, turning the world white and forcing them to stop in their tracks. "Man, it was easier last time…"
"Last time the book pretty much told us where to go. This one is less about finding it and more about the place itself."
Their vision cleared as the snow settled and Kid focused back on the book infront of him as Black Star scanned it from over his shoulder. Suddenly the book was snatched from his hand and he whipped around to face the other with a complaint. It went ignored as the boy turned the book every which way. He tilted his head to match the book's position, then straightened and held it out in front of him. "Look at this Kid!" He pulled the reaper closer with one hand before fixing the pages and nodding to it.
Sketched in faded ink on yellowed paper was a mountain range, it's view dipping down to show the valley below. In the corner of it, sat a small scribble the Kid read aloud for his friend. "The view from here is unlike any other." He paused. From where? From the city? It was drawn as if the city sat right on the mountain side, yet if there had been anything left it should have been visible from an aerial view like the one they had when they flew around the mountain range.
Black Star turned to him with a grin. "I guess so but I meant this!" He ignored the glare Kid sent him as he brushed off Kid's words. The book was slowly lowered and they could see the mountain range in the distance. Tapping the picture again, Black Star gestured ahead of them. "The mountains are more that way than they are in the picture," He pointed to the left as he continued, "So we passed it! We gotta go back that way!"
He could see what Black Star meant almost immediately. The mountains were close to their position in the picture, but something still felt off about the scene. Plucking the book from the other's hands, he carefully approached the edge and looked down. Finally if clicked and he turned around with a smile. "We also need to be higher. The valley drawn in this picture is much farther away than it is here." Black Star's smile grew wider at the pat on his shoulder and quick thanks from Kid. His cheeks hurt from the strain of his smile as he glowed with pride, puffing his chest out.
"Of course, we cannot be sure this was drawn in Shangri-la. It could simply be something done on a whim." Kid stated, holding one hand out to summon his skateboard. It appeared easily and he held it tightly in his free hand as he stared up the mountainside.
"It's the only lead we got though, right?" Crossing his arms, Black Star tipped his head back to follow Kid's gaze. If the picture was drawn where they thought it was then they could finally get started with the meat of this adventure, the exploration. If not, it was probably closer than they were already so he wouldn't be as bored. The other boy nodded in agreement, much to his glee.
Kid tossed his skateboard to the ground and adjusted his backpack so it hung off of one arm before stepping on top of it. He gestured for Black Star to hop on behind him and the other obeyed. The boy wrapped his arms around his friend's waist and buried his face in Kid's shoulder to shield his face from the biting wind he knew would hit them higher up.
They rose into the air slowly and Black Star's grip tightened on the reaper. Kid opened the journal yet again to compare their position with the picture they found until it seemed like they were hovering at the right height. From there, he backtracked, being sure to remind his friend to keep an eye out for any buildings on the mountainside or notable cave entrances. Cold wind and stinging snow pelted their faces and forced them to shield their faces as best they could. Eventually, the mountain range and valley below lined up perfectly.
As if on queue, Black Star loosed one hand and pointed to something a bit higher on the mountainside with an excited, "Up there!" So he steered them closer and finally they could see the dark stone rails buried beneath mounds of snow. The moment the wheels hit the ground, Black Star was off of it and leaning over the rail with a familiar sparkle in his eyes as he stared down at the drop below. "We're sooo high up! Look Kid, we gotta be hundreds, no, thousands of feet above that stupid little trail."
Kid's heart skipped a beat and he rushed forward to drag his friend away from the edge. It wouldn't be good if the old railings gave out, sending him plummeting to an early death. He only earned a glare as a frown tugged the corners of the other boy's mouth down in annoyance. Before there was a chance to complain, Kid was already scolding, "You need to be careful Star. You don't want to fall to your death, do you?"
His response was a scoff at first, but a smile soon crossed the blue haired boy's lips as he spoke, "Awww, I knew you loved me! Fussin' over me like this, you're so obvious but who wouldn't love me. If I'm gonna beat god one day, I can't let a fall like this kill me." The teasing tone didn't go unnoticed, but Kid still punched his arm as hard as he dared. With a yelp Black Star jumped back and whined at him. It went ignored though as Kid fixed his bag and began to trudge up the snow covered steps. Black Star scrambled to keep up with him, slipping a few times on patches of black ice.
It wasn't too much longer before the duo reached the top of the stairs. Looking back, it occurred to Kid how high up they had gotten. It wasn't quite to the peak but close enough that most wouldn't bother trying to climb so high in the frigid temperatures and biting winds. And for those who would, he assumed they were more likely to choose one of the taller mountains around simply for the sake of the challenge. Shaking his head, he turned back to the structure before them.
Carved into the mountain's stone face was a small and simple rectangular opening shielded from above by a wide overhang, pillars of ice on either side. It was strangely plain, with no designs or religious symbols carved into it. Light from outside barely filtered past the doorway, leaving most of the interior shrouded in darkness. For a moment, Kid felt more than saw the shadows shift. Something stared back at him, unseen in the dark but the burn of eyes on him was all too obvious. He reached out for Black Star to be sure his friend was still there and latched onto the fabric of his quilted jacket before the other decided to stroll inside.
Black Star felt tense under his grip, shoulders shaking. He didn't know if it was from excitement or if the boy could feel what he felt. Looking away to confirm either was not an option though. Whatever sat inside could easily attack the second he looked away. It wasn't until Black Star clamped a hand down on his shoulder that Kid tore his eyes away. The feeling faded as he met his friend's green eyes, a bit of concern shining in them. "You're not getting cold feet now, are ya Kid?" The grin splitting Black Star's face was accompanied by a chuckle at his awful pun.
Glancing back to the entrance, he noted that nothing seemed out of place. There was no movement, no eyes sizing them up, just an opening into a dark room ahead of him. Did he imagine it? Maybe Asura's paranoia was rubbing off on him and he ended up scaring himself. That seemed to be the case as nothing was really out of place. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and turned to answer.
"I'm alright. I just thought I saw something, is all." He swung the bag off of his shoulder and rummaged around in the front pocket for a moment before pulling out a flashlight. On seeing this, his friend did the same.
"Thought you didn't need one of these?" Black Star asked as they swung the bags back into place and flicked on their lights. It reached quite a bit further, revealing the rough flagstone floor but nothing else. The structure must have been a lot larger inside than they thought it was. Just thinking about the beginning of their adventure left him giddy and restless, excitement bubbling up until he thought he might explode.
Kid huffed in response, leaning against the door frame to peer inside as he shifted the light. There was nothing that could have caused the movement he saw earlier and he hadn't heard anything scurrying away so it must have been his imagination. "I don't, but last time I checked you can't see in the dark."
"So you did it for me? I'm touched but next time you can just hold my hand and lead the way." Kid raised an eyebrow at the comment while he chuckled to himself, one hand still over his heart as he jabbed the light into the reaper's side. It was shaken off with a roll of Kid's eyes as he stepped into the opening. Black Star followed quickly, immediately flashing his light around the room to see more of it.
Evenly spaced pillars lined the edges of the room, punctuated by more simple, rectangular doorways leading to rooms on the side. They stood still for just a moment, swinging the lights around. It lit the walls near them in a light grey, flecks of white dust floating gently down from the ceiling in chunks. Black Star broke away first, jogging to one of the side rooms and peering inside. Even from his place by the door, Kid could see his shoulders slouch and his head shake. He bounced back quickly and flitted to the next one, repeating the same actions as earlier.
While his friend was occupied with his self appointed task, Kid swept his own through the shadows ahead of him. One foot went ahead of the other and he slowly walked through the center of the room. Much like the entrance, there was nothing of note to see despite the familiar structure. Vajra had lectured him before about the functions of different structures for Buddist monks and he was fairly sure this was one such place, probably a vihara if he recalled correctly. But the photos of cave temples he had seen contained either paintings or carvings along the walls, yet here there was nothing.
A frown tugged at his lips. Something nagged in the back of his mind so he approached the wall nearest him. What he was seeing didn't quite register at first. It just looked like piles of rubble and a rough stone wall. The feeling that settled in the back of his mind pushed him to crouch down and inspect the rubble lining the wall. He rolled a larger hunk over, gold eyes tracing the lines and knobs and grooves that were almost certainly man-made. The flashlight was pointed away from him and towards his friend to serve as extra light while he prodded around.
Shifting his attention to the wall, he spotted the scrapes of a chisel in lieu of any religious or ornamental carvings scattered across its surface. One could easily see that the original carvings had been completely destroyed. The itch to fix it hung over him, mind already trying to piece the weathered stone remains back together. That feeling was easily overcome by curiosity. Who or what destroyed the art? Why? Keeping one hand against the wall, Kid scooped up his light and stood. Following along it he eventually found himself before another row of openings. Shining his light around revealed that all opened into the same chamber.
Faded colors coated the walls, covered in dried muck and obscured images. Directly against the back wall sat a large, circular image carved into the wall, it's pattern vaguely reminding him of a mandala. Around it black vines and deep green moss crept out, bunched tightly near it while they spread apart farther from the central piece. Ruins of a statue lay scattered across the floor, it's long rectangular base holding five deep gouges where he assumed the statue once sat. It seemed like the stone carving had been smashed in a single blow by… some kind of monster.
He held one hand out, fingers curled as if he were baring claws. The marks matched, four fingers and a thumb, almost certainly tipped with massive claws, and so much bigger than his own hand that even imagining it sent shivers down his spine. What kind of creature could do something like this? There were many non-human species with the strength but the size of the claw marks was bigger than any he could think of off the top of his head. His arm would fit easily if he stuck it in.
Another light joined his own and he turned to face Black Star. The other grinned brightly at him, face specked with a bit of dirt and bright blue hair weighed down by water. He could only raise an eyebrow at first, trying to figure out how his friend could have made such a mess of himself in such a short time. Just as he was about to ask Black Star spoke up. "I kinda tripped over some stupid vine and landed in a drippy spot." The awkward laugh as he scratched the back of his head trailed off. His eyes turned to the ruined statue before flicking up to the mandala against the wall. "So whatcha got here?"
"Rubble and I have no idea what that is." Kid stated, gesturing towards the floor first and then the design on the wall. His shoulders slumped only a moment before he straightened his posture. "Did you find anything?"
Shoulders slouched and a long, drawn out grown escaped Black Star. He walked over and rested his head against Kid's shoulder. "Nah, all the other rooms are empty…" There was a pause as he turned to kick at a piece of rubble. A scowl set itself on his face as his brow furrowed. "And I thought we actually had something!"
Kid set his free hand on Black Star's shoulder with a reassuring pat. "We may not have hit a dead end yet you know. Why don't we check the book again and see if there's anything about this place?" His friend perked up as he pulled the book out and set it down on the statue's base, careful to not let it fall between the gashes in it. Black Star squished himself against Kid's side as the latter flipped through the pages to reach the place they had left off.
Something tugged at the back of Kid's mind. A flicker of something entered his soul perception only for it to be pushed aside easily without a second thought as he focused on the text before him. The worn pages contained drawings of the interior of what he assumed was the structure they were in now. Carvings and wooden pillars decorated the inside. Any blank spaces on the walls had been filled with paintings instead. A part of him wished he could have seen it before this destruction had been caused and he voiced as much. Black Star made a noise of agreement beside him and turned the page to an image of their current room.
A sketch of the mandala took up most of the page, revealing details that couldn't be seen on the worn and plant covered carving before him. It seemed more like a spell circle on paper, tiny symbols arranged in a flower shape around the skull emblem in the middle. The passage on the next page rambled on about the symbols and emblem, but Kid narrowed in on one particular sentence, reading it aloud for his friend, "The door to Shambhala."
Almost immediately Black Star snapped his fingers, a bright smile back on his face. "So we just gotta find that thing yeah? Then we can get in!" He pumped one fist in the air with a loud cheer before turning back to Kid's amused stare. "So does it say where it is?"
Kid returned the grin offered to him with one of his own and nodded to the wall. "Right here. I thought it was odd that this was still here when the rest of the carvings were destroyed." He said as he walked around to the circular pattern to inspect it. Black Star popped up beside him and began to pull chunks of moss and vine away. He paused for a moment, nose scrunching up in disgust and holding a hand out to stop Kid from helping.
"Ya might wanna stand back princess." The teasing tone was not lost on Kid, but he still puffed up at the nickname with a retrot on his lips. Black Star cut him off immediately as he held a handful of vines out to show the other. They oozed an unusual dark liquid that smelled faintly of rotting meat, coating Black Star's gloves in the sticky substance. The consistency seemed similar to honey and clung to the boy even as he tried to wipe it away.
With a grimace, Kid stepped back. There was no way he wanted to get that on him. Sure he had packed some spare clothes for the both of them, but he had no intentions of using them so soon. "Sure thing…" He relented and backed away to keep the disgusting liquid away from him, instead choosing to read ahead for any more information the journal could provide. Again something flickered to life at the edges of his soul perception and this time he lowered the book to glance around.
He was reminded of the feeling he'd had standing outside, that something in the ruins was staring back at him. It made him shiver to remember, the cold creeping down his spine and freezing his limbs in place. With a shake of his head he decided to go back into the central room and check again. If there was something in here with them, he should find it before they go any farther. With his decision made, he closed the book, tucked it into his bag, and set off to investigate.
Two steps past the doorway was as far as he got before he was caught by the collar of his coat and lifted off of the floor with a startled yelp. He could hear Black Star spin around and stumble over something behind him, probably fumbling for the light as he tried to come to his aid. Kid struggled, kicking out at the person who had caught him in an attempt to free himself. When that failed, he glared down at them. Burning gold glared back at him, glowing in the darkness as the owner growled at him. Almost immediately Kid relaxed, knowing full well that he wasn't face to face with a monster...sort of.
"KID! WHAT'S... Ah, it's just you guys," Black Star's disappointed voice echoed through the room as he came through the opening. His blue jacket had the sticky, dark liquid smeared all over it and Kid could see his gloves were practically dyed black now as Black Star stood there awkwardly trying to shake loose the flashlight now stuck to his hand. "Hi Vajra. Why're you guys here?"
"Hi Star." The taller man returned the greeting cheerfully, as if his partner wasn't holding a kid a good foot or so above the ground. "Asura came to hunt you down once he realized you snuck out and I'm here to stop him from committing fratricide."
Kid scoffed at that, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he tried to weasel free of Asura's grip again. "You're doing a wonderful job at that."
"You're still breathing, aren't you? I'd say he's doing a great job." Asura snarled at him, drawing his brother closer to him. The older god's glare burned and Kid found himself tearing his eyes away, ashamed not for disobeying but for being caught. "Now what did I tell you?" Kid muttered under his breath, face buried in his scarf.
Realizing that he wouldn't get put down unless he played along so he sighed loudly and slumped in Asura's hands, "I believe it was, 'If you try to go, I will drag you back kicking and screaming.'. Or something along those lines." For a long moment, the older god only stared down at him expectantly. It took a bit for him to understand and he heaved a heavy sigh as he added, "And die on father's watch, not yours."
Seemingly satisfied Asura let him fall to the floor with a thunk. He turned to check on Black Star, taking a moment to look over his dirty face and stained clothes and the flashlight still glued to his hand before he spoke up. "What the fuck happened to you?"
The boy paused and looked up to meet his eyes. A grin broke the frustration that had settled over him and he chirped out, "Thick, sticky, vine juice happened to me." As if to illustrate his point, he tried to shake the light free again only for it to hold firmly in place. "It's starting to dry and I can't get it off." Vajra tried to help pull it loose only to get his own glove stuck to it.
"Ah… This is a problem." The weapon turned to his partner with a pleading look, Black Star shooting one to Kid as well when the boy stood and brushed himself clean. "I wonder what this stuff is? It reminds me of GOOP, but they didn't smell like a rotting corpse. More like what I assume an endless abyss would smell like."
"I told you. It's thick, sticky, vine juice." Black Star reminded him.
Asura sighed at the exchange, muttering quietly to himself before saying, "Please never say 'thick, sticky, vine juice' ever again. Call it sap or something."
"Okay, thick, sticky, vine sap." Black Star's shit eating grin was met with a half-hearted glare.
Trudging over to the duo, he reached up to weakly smack the boy's forehead. "...No. It's sap. That's all." He stated evenly as he inspected their stuck hands, careful to avoid the sap. A minute passed, then two before he spoke again. "We have two options, you can lose your hands or take off the clothes." As soon as the words left his mouth he realized his mistake.
Vajra didn't miss a beat, the smug grin giving away his intentions as he tugged at his collar in mock nervousness. He pretended to look anywhere besides his partner as he spoke up slowly, "What… Here? The kids are here but I guess if you insist I ca-" A hand clamped over his mouth, cutting him off before he could finish.
"Your glove Vajra. Take off your glove." The exasperation in Asura's voice was painfully obvious as he stared with wide eyes at his partner. Black Star giggled from beside them, his hand already free from his own glove. The glare sent the boy's way only turned his giggles into raucous laughter as he doubled over to hold his stomach.
Kid had appeared beside them now and only shook his head at this before he pulled the book from his bag again and tapped on Black Star's shoulder. "Did you get those vines off? I at least wanna see if we can open that door before we get dragged home." The younger reaper grumbled. He shrugged off the glare sent his way as he waited for his friend's laughter to die down enough to get a nod of agreement.
Vajra pulled away from Asura enough to escape the hand over his mouth, dark eyes gleaming like a child on Christmas day at the mention of a door. Excitement filled his tone as he asked, "You found a door? We should investigate then! It might be the door to Shambhala!" He slipped by Asura to stand with them, peeking at the book and ignoring the betrayed squawk that followed him. At the reminder of his trapped hand, he turned his glove inside out to cover both Black Star's glove and the light's handle.
Once Asura joined them, suddenly quiet as if he had given up, Vajra switched the flashlight to his gloved hand and took one of Asura's in the other. He ignored the initial protest and simply added on a quick, "My hand's cold now." as his excuse. Much to Kid's surprise, Asura seemed to visibly relax despite the slight awkwardness around him. Now that he thought about it, Asura must have been at least a little scared to be in this place. It was dark and damp, too cold and too quiet, and it showed signs of suspicious activity. Things that, when combined, made it the perfect setting for a horror movie. Something like that would undoubtedly make his brother anxious.
With a shake of his head, Kid led the way to the carving jutting out from the wall in the other room. He passed the book to his brother, who took it slowly from him with wary eyes, and walked back to the 'door'. Though it's outer edges were worn and crumbling away in bits under his hand the symbols stayed intact. Now without all the vines and moss, one could see flecks of gold peeking through the sap still coating the door. It matched the picture drawn in the book as far as he could see, until he turned his attention to the center. A shallow groove occupied the place of the emblem shown in the sketch, shaped exactly like the small skull ornament that was depicted.
A frown pulled at Kid's lips, baring his teeth as he glanced at the pile of discarded vines and tried to ignore the nausea building. Anyone could have seen now what the emblem was. The key to the door. But if one had been left here it was almost certainly stuck in the mass of sticky, rancid vines. Just as he was about to ask Black Star to help, Asura stepped forward. From inside his scarf he pulled out the emblem they were looking for.
Strung on a rawhide string beaded with fangs and claws was a simplistic ivory carving of a wolf skull. It swung in Asura's tight grip like a pendulum, mesmerising the excited boys as Kid reached out for it. Just as he was about to grab it, he paused. The older god's hand shook violently, his knuckles white from a hold strong enough to draw blood as teeth and claws dug into the skin.
Kid tried to meet his brother's eyes, curious and concerned and more than a bit uneasy. But Asura had focused on his partner instead, lips pressed into a thin line and brow furrowed as the color drained from his face until he was paler than the snow outside. He wondered why at first, but the strangeness hit him soon enough and he asked in a low voice, "Where… where did you get this?"
Frightened gold eyes flickered to him briefly as he spoke, gripping Vajra's hand tighter and turning away again quickly. The weapon had already dropped the flashlight in his hand to pry the necklace from Asura's bloodied one. Handing it to Kid, he matched the boy's tone to answer for his partner, "Someone gave it to us when we passed them on the way here. They had a bunch of weird stuff they were selling but they gave it to us for free and said it would help us. I just thought it was like, for luck or some other kind of vague traditional thing so I took it."
"I think we should leave. This," Asura said, finally meeting his brother's eyes. The fear had started to fade into unease as he watched Vajra hand the necklace to the boy. "It's all so strange. It feels… wrong." His voice cracked as he emphasized the last word. He wiped the blood on his hand on his black pants and checked over the wound. It had already stopped bleeding and began to close so he dropped it back to his side as if nothing happened.
Kid nodded, he understood what Asura meant. The journal itself wasn't suspicious, but now he was starting to get the feeling that they were being guided. The journal, the abandoned vihara with its destroyed art, the claw marks in the ruined statue, the door, and now Asura somehow having just been given the very emblem they needed to open it? It didn't just feel wrong, it was suspicious. It felt like… a trap.
"Oh c'mon! You guys are just being paranoid! We came all this way and I'm not going back yet." Black Star's voice cut through the tense silence that had been building between them. He walked up to Kid, snatching the necklace from his hands and rushing away. Kid whipped around, trying to snatch it back but the other boy had already bolted back to the door. He wasted no time slotting the emblem into its place.
The black of the emblem's eye sockets flashed a sickly green until it finally steadied. Asura rushed to the door, trying to pry the key from it's place to no avail. It wouldn't budge no matter how much he pulled. The green glow spread from the center, creeping out along the symbols and burning away the sap stuck to the door. The kids were dragged back as a grinding sound echoed throughout the room and the older god retreated.
Vajra came forward to help hold Black Star back and they watched as the door spun. Each section turned the opposite direction of the ones beside them, the central piece clockwise, then the next counter-clockwise and so on in a repeating pattern until the entire circle spun. His eyes sparkled even when the floor shook beneath their feet as the central section sank back into the wall. Dust rained down around it, the rest of the door following the first piece until the entirety of it fit and rolled out of the way to reveal a nauseating swirl of pale greens, blues, and whites. The quake settled then, and they stared at it for a long time.
"It's… a portal?" Vajra spoke quietly at first, but his tone changed and he released Black Star into Asura's custody as he approached with an unusual gleam in his eyes. He stood in front of it, leaning side to side and forward as if he could see anything past the pastel vortex before him. A grin broke across his face as he laughed, one hand on his hip and the other brought up to scratch at his head. "It's no wonder no one could find it! The city was moved through space! But to have such a stable portal, this is really something else. I don't think even the portal to the witch's realm is this solid."
"That's fascinating Vajra but let's get away from here now!" Asura's shaky voice called out, dragging his partner's attention away from the portal.
He turned back, shoulders slumped and lips pursed as disappointment settled over him. It was gone quickly and replaced by a casual smile and a half-hearted shrug. "Sure. I'm sure I'll have other chances to investigate it later once we get some back-up." The smile fell once he saw the guilt flash in the reaper's eyes, so he offered his most reassuring tone as he put a hand on Black Star's shoulder to help steer the boy back through to the central room. "Don't worry about it, I also think something's off and I know from experience to not take a risk like this. There's no need to feel bad!"
Though Asura visibly relaxed at the words, Black Star crossed his arms with a frustrated huff. Suddenly, he perked up and turned to look up at the older reaper with a cheeky grin. "I think you should feel bad." The god and his weapon paused for only a moment and he took the opportunity to tear away from the hands on his shoulder, ducking quickly under their arms and running full speed back towards the portal.
Vajra was the first to give chase, leaving the stunned brothers behind as he crossed the room quickly. He was too late to catch up and could only watch as the blue-haired boy vaulted over the statue's base and dove headfirst into the portal. The weapon cursed as it's surface rippled like water, tossing a quick, "Be right back!" over his shoulder before following after the boy.
"Sh-shit!" Asura swore, running back to the portal and stopping in front of it. He folded his arms tight against his body, bringing one hand up to chew on his nails. One foot tapped restlessly against the ground, a mix of fear and concern coming over his face as he worried for his partner's return.
Beside him Kid shuffled from one foot to the other. They waited for a moment, but it soon turned into two and then three. After five minutes of waiting in silence the portal flickered. It's color faded slowly and a familiar rumble started beneath their feet. Turning to Asura, Kid could see the horror dawning on his face and knew he had come to the same realization. The door was closing and Vajra hadn't returned with Black Star yet. "Asura! We should-!" Kid didn't have time to finish the sentence before he was suddenly grabbed around the chest and dragged along. His world filled with fading colors for just a second, then it all went black.
.
.
.
Footsteps echoed across the chamber, long, wavy hair flowing alongside the pitch black cloak drawn over their shoulders. Their steps drew to an end in front of the circular door. If they could smile they would have, but settled instead for a relieved sigh. The voice drifting from motionless lips dripping with excitement spoke to the empty room, "What a relief, and here I was worried that they wouldn't follow through with it! I suppose it's time to go now before they get too far along. I don't want to miss out on all the fun."
They lifted a necklace of claws and teeth from around their neck and replaced the emblem in the door with their own. It's eyes flashed a brilliant purple, seeping into the symbols around it as the all too familiar rumbling began again. The door rolled away to a transparent purple portal. On the other side, the dim room held only a white basin illuminated by the faint white glow of its contents. Gleaming silver could be seen lining the racks along the wall, decorated with all manner of tools.
With folded hands tapping together in a sound that couldn't be from flesh, they stepped through. "O' great old one, may you enjoy the prey I've sent to you this time. I will see you soon."