(Warning: From this point onward there will be heavy "The Owl House" spoilers, if you aren't up to date with the show I strongly suggest you come back later. Also, the story will follow accordingly as the show progresses.)
A simple hand gesture was all it took for the Abomiton to turn the valve once more and let the magic bile flow through the clear tubes into the apposite crevices of the makeshift portal door. Emperor Belos' mask and various blueprints of different Key designs laid across the long pipes scattered across the room.
"Let's try this one more time shall we…" His soft voice whispered to himself as his hand proceeded to raise yet another magic infused key and slide it into the now glowing portal door only to watch in disappointment as it crumbled after a mere few seconds.
"It seemed to last even less. The designs we construct are not working. Kikimora!" As soon as the emperor called, the imp presented itself by running into the room with her short legs.
"Yes, my lord?" Her voice was always humble when in the presence of the Emperor. She had an incessant and almost pathological need for his appreciation, which Emperor Belos was wise enough to use to his advantage. He raised his staff and activated it's magic thus materializing a sealed scroll in the hands of his faithful servant.
"head to the mines and seek the Eclipse lake. I require you to fetch Titan's blood." Even though he was giving orders his accent made his voice almost soothing.
"I'll organize the troops immediately." She walked her way out of the room.
Sound of paper rustling echoed in the chamber as Emperor Belos scanned through the blueprints, checking even the finer details for a possible solution. Until Kikimora came back, finding another option was the only alternative. Belos would only have to hope she didn't come back empty handed.
"Did you hear that?" The golden guard turned his head from the door to his newfound palisman who was quickly turning out to be a valuable companion. It chirped back, signaling something along the lines of 'affermative'. How Hunter understood such a thing was unbeknownst even to him.
He had been eavesdropping Emperor Belos for quite some time now, and up until then he seemed rather upset with how things were proceeding. It had been a constant process of trial and error, of examining past attempts and constructing something better and yet even with improvements there was still an important ingredient lacking in the process. Titan's blood… he had already heard of such a thing. It was a power source so potent it could breach the limits between the two realms thus creating bridges through reality. The little knowledge of the human realm he possessed was all thanks to it.
"That task was mine to pursue not hers! Is this… punishment?" Hunter stared at his palisman who simply stared back. He softly chuckled, realizing that he had began to pretend too much from the wooden cardinal.
Either way this was off-putting. He had disappointed Belos once and he was already getting left for someone better. There must have been a way to fix his mistake…
He walked inside the room as silently as he could to watch the Emperor. Perhaps he would find a way.
Café Leblanc's few returning customers seemed happy to see Ren return. They had grown fond of him and seeing him again was a small delight. As the afternoon fast approached the leader just couldn't stop thinking what those doors might mean. Was the return of the Metaverse true?
A smirk escaped his daydream and plastered onto his face. He hadn't grown power-hungry by any means, it was just the feeling of nostalgia that coursed through him whenever he thought of using a persona once again. But, sadly, the feelings of nostalgia and excitement were usually followed up by the endless nightmares that came with those memories. Ren had to hold his composure as the traumas of the past surfaced again: the interrogation room, Akechi's betrayal, being deleted from reality, facing the god of control and the demiurge. However despite the hell that he had endured he had become tougher through his bonds, through his Arcanas. He could vividly remember Lavenza's voice signaling him that he had forged yet another bond.
"hmm? Are you ok?" Sojiro's voice resurfaced to the front of his mind and Ren regained clarity. He turned to him, rapidly nodding.
"Sorry, I lost myself in a daydream." He replied. Sojiro sighed, as he realized that Ren was pretty much the same as when he met him.
"Your friends are here to see you, you can go upstairs but at least try to be quiet." Ren turned to the door and immediately noticed all his friends staring back at him, smiling. He couldn't help but exchange the favour. Apron off, it was meeting time.
The room was already bustling with chatter despite Sojiro's orders. Everyone exchanging tidbits of information, almost forgetting the reason they met up in the first place.
"Alright team, let's start the meeting. First off, have any of you seen the door appear again?" Ren was intrigued to see how each Phantom Thief had their own way of expressing 'No'.
"Nah."
"No."
"I haven't seen any when I checked around here."
Ren wasn't surprised.
"Futaba, have you found any info?" Futaba had been typing away at her laptop for quite some time now and she had results.
"Wait till you hear this! I've scanned the web for people who have seen the doors, mainly on social media. Mostly it's just the same boring and cliché stuff about ' ooo I've seen that weird door, it's real!' but there's this one guy in particular who keeps on insisting that the door always appears in a spot near where he lives."
Ryuji was quick to doubt the claims.
"For real? This smells effin' fishy, how do we know he's not just some dumbass chasing attention and stuff?"
Futaba replied with a smug grin and by turning the laptop so the rest of the Phantom Thieves could see.
The computer displayed a social media post and a picture.
Theo_2009 posted a picture 1 day ago
I've finally took a photo of the eye door that keeps appearing! I think this is the fourth time this happened this week, follow for more updates!
The photo was taken from above, probably from a window or a balcony, and it showed a decently clear image of the door. The Phantom Thieves could now clearly see the intricate mechanical-like patterns that the door had, as well as the giant yellow cat-like eye that seemed to be cracked.
"That's the door I saw!" Exclaimed Haru, happy to know she wasn't just hallucinating.
"That doesn't look like anything we've ever seen from the Metaverse." Morgana commented, and the others found themselves nodding. It was different, almost cartoonish in nature.
"I've used my skills to pinpoint the location shown in the picture, and look where it is!" She switched tabs with a click, now displaying a map. The Phantom Thieves were quick to figure out that the map pointed at a specific location in Jongen-Jaya. Ren could recognize the spot.
"It's just around the corner!" finished Futaba.
The rest of the team was quite surprised to hear that.
"Do we just… go and check now?" Asked Makoto unsure of the validity of such an idea.
"Why not? Bein' here won't do much, and it's not like we have to do anything right away! We just swoop in, check out the place and see if it's true!" Ryuji was ready to get in action and it clearly showed.
"Very well. I will go along with this." Chimed in Yusuke.
"Yeah, I agree!" Ann continued.
Soon the Phantom Thieves achieved unanimity and their mission was set.
Check the mysterious door
MISSION START!
After saluting Sojiro, the Phantom Thieves now stood in the alleyway where the picture was taken in. Looking around they could see every element of the picture was left untouched, from the dirt and leftover bricks to the plants. Looking up they could even see the window the picture was taken from.
"There's no door here…" Ren was quick to notice, he sounded almost disappointed.
"It appears for a brief moment and at random times from what we know. We'd need to stay here for a long time before it would even sho- huh?" Makoto was interrupted by the sudden glow that presented itself in front of the whole squad. It had materialized, the door was now in front of them and it was just as shown in the picture.
They didn't have time to think, and they realized that immediately.
"It's the door! Come on! Someone, open it!" Exclaimed Futaba, already panicking at the thought of a time limit.
The Phantom Thieves scrambled at the idea of opening the door as they thought they'd be just checking the place out. Nobody wanted to risk, yet everybody was curious.
"It's so intricate! Who sculpted this masterpiece?" Yusuke was too enchanted by the finer details to act. In the end, through everyone's uncertainty only Ryuji was decisive enough to act.
"Come on guys, we don't have much time!" He said as he lunged forward and grabbed the door's knob.
"Wait, RYUJI DON'T!" The cat's screams were too late as Ryuji pulled. The door seemingly slipped out of it's frame and began glowing an even stronger light. Before anyone could properly react, everyone was engulfed and the sound of screams was lost in the void.
Theo_2009 posted a picture 1 minute ago
The door appeared again, and some people actually managed to open it! I don't exactly know what happened after but they're gone. I'm worried.
The picture was nothing more than a white flash.