Blake's mission devolved into a midnight stroll. What would I even say? she thought as she walked through the dimly lit ornate hallways of beacon. Hey Yang. I have been cuddling with your sister because I am a psychotic mess. Hope you didn't mind! Blake sighed after running an infinite loop of catastrophic scenes through her head. It was all utter garbage.
She came to a small balcony over-looking a beautifully lit garden-one of many that dotted Beacon's landscape. She used her far-seeing faunus eye's to read the plaques on the daises of the statues circling the garden. Anything to take her mind off of her shame. As she read off the names of ancient heroes in her head, she found her thoughts cycling between Yang and Ruby. She feared she loved them equally. They will both die!
Blake's eyes widened at the sudden thought. She turned around. The thought was so uncharacteristic of her she swore it was someone whispering in her ear. A shiver ran up her spine. She turned back to admire the garden. She saw Ruby walking across it.
Blake had no idea why she ducked under the balcony's balustrade. Maybe it was the way Ruby had her hood over her head in a mysterious fashion. What is wrong with you! she screamed as she peeked her head up like a child. She caught a glimpse of Ruby's red cloak fluttering as she entered an adjoining hallway leading to the school's interior.
Blake left the balcony and garden behind. Her ears twitched as she followed the clacking of Ruby's footsteps through the twisting-and-winding hallways. She had no idea why she was "sneaking" behind her best friend. Blake suddenly turned over her shoulder. There's no one there! she yelled. As she turned around, she gasped.
Before her was Adam, staring straight at her, his mask glowing red like it would when he would kill someone. Blake didn't realize that Gambol Shroud was drawn and her grip was so tight around the hilt that it made her entire arm shake. Adam didn't flinch. Instead he walked behind another corner. Blake pursued. What Blake saw made her stomach curl.
The entire hallway was caked with blood and corpses. The blood smeared on the walls spelled out help and save me. The corpses were all of people Blake watched die by Adam's hand: soldiers, citizens, businessmen, families. She blinked and it had vanished.
You did nothing! a thought assailed her brain. You stood and watched them die! Blake held her hands across her ears as the thoughts poked at her brain like knives. They weren't hers. She knew they weren't. Tears began to spew from her eyes that she clenched shut. Gambol Shroud echoed as it fell to the ground.
"Hey," a voice called. Not a thought. Ruby's voice. She stood before Blake, wind throwing her cloak around like loose paper. Her arms were stretched wide. She was smiling so hard her cheeks turned red.
Blake ran. Don't! a voice called out. This time it wasn't the raspy, perverse, disgusting voice that had poked at her brain. She looked towards Gamol Shroud. It was the sword's voice. Turning around, Blake fell back.
Ruby had managed to close the distant gap between them in seconds. She was face-to-face with Blake. The stench of her rotting face assaulted Blake's nose. Her eye sockets were empty and the place where her nose was dripped brown liquid. As Blake fell back, she opened her eyes again. Ruby was gone and she was not where she was before.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Blake stood, holding Gambol Shroud. She was in a square room. All three walls surrounding her were pure white and made from huge slabs of concrete. But, the wall before her was marred by an otherworldly sight.
Before Blake was a giant wooden door. Rusty rings functioned as doorknobs. The wood was rotten and peeling. Carved into the face of the doors with what appeared to be gold were dozens upon dozens of hieroglyphics that Blake had never seen before.
Go. The voice called again. Blake looked at Gambol Shroud. "If you say so" she said as she opened the door with both hands. A putrid stench bursted from behind the door. Blake clenched her nose shut as she stepped into a damp stone spiral staircase leading down. She wouldn't be able to see the steps in front of her if it wasn't for the weak torches dotting the length of the wall. She descended, keeping her hand flat against the wall as she stepped on each step two-feet at a time.
For a long time, the staircase was dead silent. The thoughts and voices from before were gone. Sweat beaded down Blake's head and stained her sweater. It's so humid, she complained, panting quietly. After what seemed like forever, Blake began to hear voices again. She feared it was the voices from before, but Blake was sure these voices were being muttered by someone. Human or Not, she thought.
Blake saw intense light pouring from behind the bend of the staircase. She stopped her descent and leaned against the bending wall. She peeked beyond it and saw a large square room dotted with broken and dilapidated stone pillars. The walls were barred and Blake only imagined what could be behind them. From her vantage point, she could see a group of cloaked figures gathered in a circle. In front of Blake was one of the fallen pillars. She forced herself to sprint down the remainder of the staircase, through the opening, and slide behind the cover of the pillar. Of course, her movements didn't make a sound.
From this far away, the chanting was loud and rhythmic. But, Blake had no idea what they were saying. Whatever it was, it sounded very guttural and raspy. It wasn't that difficult to tell they were repeating the same words over and over again.
Blake sat their for a few minutes, watching the hooded people sway back and forward to their chanting before they parted. From behind one of the staircases, another hooded figure walked out with a chain gripped in his hands. The chain led to a collar wrapping around a Beowulf. If it is it must be sick, Blake thought. The creature's fur was ragged and falling off in places. From it's mouth it dripped purple liquid and tendrils flailed in all directions, jutting out from it's body like spears.
The Beowulf was lead to the center of the circle. Blake now saw that inside the circle of figures was an elaborate array or lines and symbols. Blake swallowed when she realized it was drawn in blood.
In the center of the circle was a person, drawn over to match the pattern on the ground. Blake leapt over the pillar when she realized it was Yang.