Lucky Souls
Chapter 6: The Ivory Prison
"Hey, hey girl! You're…you're human, aren't you?"
The burning inside her continued, it seemed omnipresent now. What was once a dull pass every now and again had turned into constant searing pain, and it grew worse every day.
"Girl, please, look, you gotta wake up. If the guards catch us talking, oh, but you know what they do? Those squid-headed monsters…please, please answer me."
Wherever that racket was coming from, she couldn't discern, the man sounded unnerved, a little crazy even, even in her half-conscious state she could still tell this man was a nut. Her blue orbs opened, just a wink, but they were met only with darkness. As she slowly sat herself up, she rubbed her eyes just to make sure she hadn't gone blind suddenly, why was it so dark?
"You came from the outside…but, no, no that's impossible. There is no outside, it's gone, it's all gone. There are only the chains now, the rattling chains all around; you have to stay in the chains, or the squids, the squids…" The mans babbling continued to seem ever further incoherent, he was on his last ropes. The twin-tailed girl fully became aware of her surroundings at last, and it was about she expected, dark, smelly and unpleasant.
Wherever she was, it was in a cell, and wherever that was, she couldn't discern. Slowly stumbling her feet, Kagami made her way over to the bars across her cell to see what she could find out. She was in a prison, this much was clear now, the cells that lined the walls of this place seemed to go on forever, up and down, in all directions nothing but cells. The walls were covered in vines, thick and growing like wildfire across the walls, it gave the prison an almost apocalypse quality.
The place was dark, lit only by the torches that illuminated its halls, and by strange green luminescent lights, being carried in lanterns, by…something, she couldn't tell. The creatures resembled men, from the neck down, but beyond that, their heads were composed of what appeared to be squids, probably what the man in the cell next to hers was rolling on about. She had never seen a squid before, but she had seem them in books, and this definitely isn't how she pictured she'd see one for the first time.
As she heard the whimpering of the man in the cell adjacent to hers, she sighed to herself, she didn't really enjoy conversing with whackos, but she didn't really have an option, she needed to find out what was going on. Crawling on all fours, she pressed herself against the wall, cupping her mouth for silence reasons. She had no idea what the man had been muttering about, but it seemed that silence was necessary.
"Hey, buddy! What's going on? Where are we?" Kagami questioned, not really expecting any sort of coherent answer from the man, but she figured she might as well give it a shot.
A light silence filled the air before she heard the man begin to giggle to himself quietly. The giggling eventually erupted into a raucous laughter that seemed to echo in the halls of the dreary prison.
"You mean you didn't come here on purpose? What a shame…great vacation spot, doesn't matter anyway. You'll either be taken by the squids, or you'll rot like the rest of us!" The man angrily screamed, and as he did so, Kagami heard several clangs of objects he was kicking and tossing around in his rage.
"Hey, are you stupid! Weren't you the one who said we needed to keep it down?" Kagami angrily hushed as much as she could, instinctively covering her ears at the high-pitched piggy squeals of the prisoner.
"What does it matter! Die today, tomorrow, the next day! It's all the same, and I've had it!" The man's insane screaming could only be matched in the creepiness factor by his cackling laughter, which seemed almost inhuman. Just how long had this man endured the horrors of this place? Then again, the sane could join the husks in a matter of minutes in Boletaria, it was actually quite the miracle this man was still kicking around, let alone able to speak or think.
That was when she heard it, the bells. They were faint at first, just an echo in the distance, but they gradually grew ever louder, until it seemed as though all else was drowned out by their quiet jingle. As the bells grew closer, Kagami beheld her first look of what she would call 'the warden's' of this prison, and she wasn't too far off. They were just as grotesque up close as they were far away, and she couldn't help but gag as one of the slimy things slithered past her cell in a trance.
She knew what was coming, she didn't want to watch, she didn't even want to listen. She bundled herself into the corner in a heap of quiet whimpers, her hands clasped over her ears to silence whatever may be happening, and her eyes bolted shut.
What followed next she couldn't describe, she heard muffled screams, followed by the jingle of the squid-heads bell and then…silence. She dared not open her eyes to check, or un-hand her ears to listen, she dared not. She would heed the man's last words to her; she would need silence in this place.
Gently opening herself to the world around her once more, she realized the demons were gone, for now. Wherever they had gone, she had no real interest in; she was just worried about where she was going to go. Slowly shuffling to her feet, she made her way to the bars of her cell, it was open, this much was clear. There wasn't even a discernible lock keeping her within the claustrophobic environment.
She assumed that was actually the point, and that the only thing keeping one in their cell was themselves, they were the lock, and they were much safer within than out. Slowly and silently, she pushed the door to her cell open just a crack, peaking her head out of it just an inch or two, just enough to get a feeling for her surroundings.
The halls were much thinner than she had anticipated, barely enough walking room. They seemed to stretch forever up the floors ascending and descending in all directions. Who had built this place she wondered, the architect didn't even seem to know what they were doing, it seemed as if they just placed random staircases, rooms, hallways and the like wherever they pleased.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the faint green glow of the bell, and she knew what it would be held by. The creature seemed to pay her no mind; in fact, it seemed to be looking in her direction, but not even caring.
Taking a step or two out of her cell, she ground a few gears in her head, and decided to put the man's words to heart. Reaching to the ground she picked up the smallest rock of the bunch at her feet, and hurled into the deep chasm of the prison.
As the rock clanked and clunked against whatever it had hit, she saw the man's advice had come in handy after all. The squid-headed warden immediately turned in the direction of the noise and slowly began to shuffle to whatever had disturbed it. They were blind, and as long as they couldn't hear you, you were safe, this much she could tell.
What of the man? If this was the case, why didn't he escape long ago? Surely in the state of mind he was in he had been here for quite awhile, and thus would know the little details of the beasts that lurked its halls, seeing as he had somehow survived here. It hurt her to even think it, but maybe she figured the poor creature just wanted to die, in this place, she couldn't blame anyone if they had that line of thinking.
As she silently made her way to the cell next to hers, she nearly heaved at the sight. Whatever that demon had done to him, there was nothing left to even discern that it had once been a human, it looked more like a soup than anything else, and she couldn't stand to even imagine what fate had befallen him.
As she leaned against the wall next to his cell, Kagami allowed herself a moment of thought. Whatever had happened when they were attacked by that elephant beast, she couldn't recall. She remembered burning, constant burning throughout her entire body, setting her ablaze, heightening her sense to new levels she never thought possible.
She felt a soft lump form in her throat as she probed herself deeper for information, the immediate thought to enter her mind, what of her friends? Wherever they were, if they even still lived, they certainly weren't here. Even though she was past blaming Konata for all of this, she really still had a hard time letting it go.
Konata was her friend, her best friend; she would do anything for the girl she cared for so deeply. When the bluenette had come to her that night, the night her father had vanished, she had never seen her so serious, so sure of something, she didn't just suspect foul play, she outright knew what had happened. At first, Kagami was right to be skeptical, but she couldn't irk the feeling in the pit of her gut, that ill wind in the air, Sojiro's disappearance was just the beginning of it.
Her friend wasn't the only thing on her mind, however. The burning would never let her forget, it would never give in, it was a part of her now, whether she liked it or not. No matter how hard she cried, complained, or cursed, she couldn't blame her friend for what had happened to her, what had happened all of them.
Slowly reaching to her ankle, her hand glided over it gently, it stung to the touch, but it also served to alleviate the pain somewhat, seeing as her hand was cool at that moment. How long until the inevitable? She didn't know, not even the knights could tell her, so she just decided to chalk it up to destiny that she was still kicking around, and that she had some greater purpose in all of this.
However, when faced with impending doom at such a young age, the mind wanders to all the 'what ifs'. What could have happened if you were to just live a while longer, all the experiences one might've had, the friendships, the loves, and it hurts knowing you can never do all the things you wanted to, life was just too short, too fragile. She mused that if she were to survive all of this and return home, even if the chances were low, she'd do everything she wanted to do with the little time she had left, she'd do it all.
At the thought of doing everything she wanted, Kagami couldn't help but blush a little, even when she was alone with her thoughts, that little blue devil couldn't leave her alone.
The jingle of a bell broke her train of thought, and she nearly cried out in terror, only to be relieved when she saw the beast still stumbling a ways away from her, unaware of her presence. The thoughtful tsundere didn't exactly decide to test her luck with the beast's perception however, and decided to high-tail it out of there while she still had the chance.
The prison sure had gone through some rough times, she noted as she surveyed the place. She was amazed prisoners were still even being kept here, there were certainly no guards, well, none of the human variety, anyway. And the prisoners, they were even worse.
As she passed cell after cell, she saw less and less life. What few cells did still contain life would be an understatement of the word 'life'. The prisoners within were malnourished in every sense of the word, a sheet of skin on a skeleton, disheveled and dirty. And any others who weren't holding on by a string had joined the legions of the Dreglings long ago, and had become the same mindless, soulless husks that roamed the lands of Boletaria in search of souls.
Casually noting the area in an extremely dangerous place isn't really the best idea, and the lilac-haired girl only realized this a second too late as a decrepit hand suddenly thrust out from the bars of one of the cells and grabbed onto her pigtail, yanking it to and fro, and causing the girl to screech like a tiny dog.
She couldn't help but cover her mouth, quiet, she had to be quiet! The deed was done, it was too late for silence, she heard the ping pang of a bell behind her. She turned to face the squid-headed demon, only to realize she didn't have her sword anymore.
"Great time to lose it…" Kagami mumbled to herself as she scanned the area for a weapon, and to her surprise, there actually were weapons on the ground. "Huh, lucky." She smirked to herself as she scooped up a sword, holding the blade to her face and calming herself.
Kagami wasn't really the warrior type, she always pictured herself in a more scholarly profession, passing on knowledge to others, but it wasn't skill that pushed this girl to fight without fear.
The warden was slowly shuffling towards her, almost as if it had lost interest, only for its speed to suddenly shift into overdrive as it centered on the escapee.
Where the sudden burst of speed came from, she wasn't sure, but she had to try something, she didn't want to end up like her prison-mate. She would need to be careful with this opponent, its arms were long and gangly, at least twice the reach of her own, its legs as well, meaning it could cover distance much faster.
The beast let out a squeal almost reminiscent of a swine as it closed the gap, but Kagami misinterpreted its movements, the demon suddenly stopped several feet away from her and raised its bell to the air.
Without warning a large shockwave suddenly exploded from the tiny instrument, not only blowing the tsundere back several feet flat on her face, but completely obliterating anything near it.
Grumbling and groaning as she slowly crawled to her feet, once again she underestimated its speed, the explosion from the bell was followed up swiftly by another, which not only sent her flying back into a cell, but sent her into a cell full of Dreglings.
"Are you kidding me?" She cursed her luck as she wasted no time in jumping to her feet. The husks were all looking in her direction, ready to pounce, the warden still at her front.
They say the best laid plans often go astray, and she didn't really have the time to think of any. Sitting back and dying certainly was an option, but a quick flash of 'things she wanted to do' chirped through her mind, and she knew that wasn't the option she wanted.
At first she wanted to keep her distance from the squid-headed monster because of its bell, there seemed to be no other option, but that was its weakness. Without that bell, what was the beast? Nothing but an average demon, not even that, a man who was just a few feet taller than normal, and also happened to have a squid for a head.
She needed to get close, the bell certainly was dangerous, but range wasn't really an option for her, it was times like this she wished she had joined Miyuki when her friend had trained to be a mage.
Charging like a bull was her option, it was simple, and she went for it. As the husks attempted to pull her into their cell and drag her into the darkness, she wretched as much as it took, knocking the Dreglings every which way as she burst out of the cell, directly towards the warden.
The scene played out in slow motion, the demon raised it's bell, ready for another strike, but she wouldn't fall for that trick a third time.
Outstretching her arm as much as possible, and by extension, her sword, she swung downwards with all of her might, cleaning lobbing off the beasts arm that held the instrument.
As for the coup de grace, she drove the tip of her blade directly into the skillet of the beast, right into its squid maw, and exploding out the back of its head, sending whatever ooze it called blood to splatter in every direction.
As the warden tumbled dead to the ground, she groaned as she heard her second problem rearing its ugly head in once more. The husks were numerous, but that was their only strength, she just needed something to take them all out at once.
Her eyes wandered to the dismembered appendage of the warden, still clutching its bell harshly. Could she use it? Perhaps it was a demon only thing, she had heard stories that only demons could wield the weapons they wrought, a human couldn't handle the artifacts.
Then again, at the thought of being entirely human herself now, she really did wonder. She scooped the bell up in her hands, jingling it back and forth and listening to its light rhythm, it seemed to connect with her, resonate with her, it didn't disagree to the partnership at least.
She focused on the group of shambling former humans before her, and lashed the bell violently at them, and it worked just as she had hoped. The horde was literally blown apart, mangled remains being flung every which way she could imagine, but that only cleared a path for her with which to escape.
Kagami charged through the monsters as the survivors stumbled to recover from the blow, running clear into a different room, which seemed to be filled with staircases leading to the many levels of this demented prison.
There was no real time to pick a direction, so she opted for down, and just rolled with it. She descended the many staircases, her heart still thrashing in her chest from the encounter with the demons, escaping this place would be no easy task, and definitely not alone.
"One methane molecule." The voice of a prisoner humming in the darkness, to herself, not really anyone in particular. "Two oxygen molecules." Her hands shivered gently as she placed them to the ground below her, which was covered with drawings of seals and magic workings.
The scribbles of equations lined the walls, and the corner was piled with musty old writings of long forgotten authors, her cell was like any other, but it had something the others did not, her as the prisoner within.
"One carbon dioxide molecule." She mumbled to herself in a trance, the gentle shivering was no more, and her entire body was now slowly erupting into a violent shake. "Two water molecules." With the final touch to her seal, her eyes snapped open, nearly knocking off her large glasses in the process.
What was before her no normal person could describe or understand, but she understood it perfectly. It appeared to be a bubble of sorts, floating several feet off the ground, bathed in a dull light, but on the inside it was filled with water, swirling to and fro.
"Perfect!" She giggled to herself, readjusting her spectacles as she slumped backwards in a cold sweat. Magic strained the soul, mind and body, but even more so if the magic in question was harnessed by the power of demons souls.
Crawling over to her pile of books, she pushed through the texts for the one she sought, but stopped on one of note near the bottom of the pile. She slowly lifted it into her hands, cradling it as if it was dear to her. The cover read: 'The Soul Arts' and the author, as ashamed as she was to admit it, was someone she knew quite well, Hiyori Tamura.
She grumbled as she tossed the book to some aimless corner of her cell, she didn't need to be reminded of her sins. "Why did I even write that blasted book anyway…why did I ever…AGH!" She shook the menacing thoughts away, she couldn't be deterred now, she was on her way to a major breakthrough, and had no time for wallowing in self pity, she reserved that for mornings.
As she snatched a random book into her hands, she began writing in it furiously; there might have even been smoke coming from that writing utensil. When this woman had an idea, she needed to get it down on paper, and fast. Her worst fear was losing an idea when it came to her, and on the off chance it did, saying she was 'depressed' would definitely be an understatement.
Hearing the usual jingle of the many bells of the many wardens, she grumbled. Being trapped here for so long, one would think she'd be used to it by now, but this was not the case, each time she heard it, it was nothing but a reminder to her that after all these years, she still hadn't found a way to escape her cell.
She had talked to other prisoners in her time here, and existed as a prisoner of this damned place before everything was consumed by the fog, so she knew how the cells normally worked. The prison was a prison of the self. There were no locks on the cell doors, and if one wanted, they could technically leave at any time.
The only things keeping the prisoners within their cells were themselves, but that was the whole point of the prison. The prison was designed to make one want to be forgiven for their sins, to make them repent for what they had done, and while the cells held no locks, many prisoners would find they would not open.
If one was truly sorry for what they had done, if one really wished to live life anew after having their pasts cleansed, they would find the door open for them, and the guards of the prison would allow them to leave at their leisure, knowing they had done their time.
That was the whole problem for this young mage Hiyori. She admitted she was guilty for what she had done; she lowered herself to the floor like a dog in front of her king, begging for the forgiveness she knew she did not deserve. The king was her dear friend, and she would have done anything for his majesty, but when the castle guard stormed her shack of a home that day, accusing her of aiding in the destruction of the kingdom of Boletaria, she did not try to deny what she had done, she felt awful for it.
"Then why…?" She whispered to herself, slowly stopping her feverish writings as she heaved a sigh. "Why can't I leave?" She truly did feel terrible for what she had done, but did she regret it? Were she given a second chance, would she do it differently? That is what puzzled her so, because even after years in this damp and dark prison, she still could not leave.
Once again her train of thought was ruined by the bells. "Always with the damn bells…" She grumbled, but at the second sound of a bell, she noticed it wasn't followed by the usual pig-like squeal of the squid-headed wardens that roamed the halls.
She crawled her way to her cell bars, peaking outwards, and what she saw she couldn't even believe. It was a young girl, probably around the same age as her, bell in hand, using it to fight against the demons of this place, and with an odd grace. That wasn't what irked her though; it was a survivor, and a sane one at that! What luck!
"Hey! Hey you!" She called from her cell, noticing her yell had alerted the lilac-haired girl several floors below her, but pretty much every warden in the area as well. "Oh no…ah, sorry!" She nervously apologized, watching the squid-heads slowly making their way to the girl below her.
"Wow, thanks stranger!" She yelled sarcastically, drawing her sword as one of the wardens shook its bell in a rage, hoping to blow the girl to pieces like it had done so many others.
"I…er, look! Make your way over here! They can't kill what they can't hear!" At her suggestion, the young mage only realized a second too late that actually saying so, loudly, completely defeated the purpose anyway, and she could almost hear the warrior's groan below her at the absent-mindedness.
She needed to assist the strange twin-tailed girl, as skilled as she seemed, she wouldn't survive against this many opponents. However, being bound to her cell wasn't doing in her any favors, and as much as she hated to do it, she would need to waste a months work. She eyed the floating sphere of water behind her, and with a sigh, she plopped to the ground and centered herself.
This sphere may have been her ticket out of here, and not only did it take her almost a year to scrounge up the knowledge and ingredients to create such a thing, it took over a month of endless preparation, and she felt nothing but dismay as she closed her eyes, ready to give up her freedom once more to save this girl.
It took only a second, and as her eyes flashed open, the sphere before here was gone as quick as it had come, she slumped backwards in a groan. "All that work…"
"Ugh, come on…!" She couldn't outrun them, it just didn't seem possible. Wherever they got this inhuman speed from she didn't know, but didn't have the time to question it either. She was coming in on a dead end, and they would have her right where they wanted.
She stopped at the end of the hall, surveyed her options, which were pretty simple. Stand and die, or jump off the railing and die, good options she mused. Before she had the chance to pick either, a sphere suddenly made its presence known in front of her, and before she could question that either, it zoomed at high speeds towards the wardens.
As the ball touched the beasts, they seemed to be sucked into the globe like a tornado, and before she knew it, all of her tormentors were trapped in the sphere. Its job done, the ball slowly floated to the air, filled with the souls of demons and husks alike, and exploded on queue, causing a light mist of water to cover the area in the aftermath.
"What the…?" Pondering what exactly had just happened would have to wait, she heard yelling, rather obnoxious yelling as she noticed, coming from the same prisoner who had nearly gotten her killed but moments ago. If anything, this girl might have information, something that might help her escape or survive this place.
"All of that work, gone! Gone! Gone! Gone! Ah, who even cares…" The humble mage Hiyori spoke to herself, she couldn't even believe she had wasted all that time working on the damned thing, she didn't even know fully if it would work, in fact, she knew the odds were low that it even would.
She didn't even understand why she saved the strange warrior girl, she didn't know her, she didn't even care. She had seen so many people come and go, live and die, what did one more matter to her? And maybe that was it, she considered for a moment, maybe she was just tired of all the death. Considering what she had done, what foul project she had assisted in, she had enough blood on her hands, enough to fill an entire country.
"Hey." A voice suddenly sounded, breaking the girl out of her trance and alerting her to its speaker, which unsurprisingly, was the girl she had just rescued.
"Oh! Uh…greetings!" The mage fumbled out, rubbing her head bashfully as she adjusted to the feeling of speaking to another human being again. She couldn't even recall how long it had been, was it a year? Two? Five? She could scarcely remember, it had been long enough for her to forget at any rate.
"Thanks…for your help, I mean. As unorthodox as it was, I probably wouldn't have survived if you didn't intervene. So, thanks again." A small smile curved itself onto the twin-tailed warrior's face as she extended her hand through the bars of the cage.
The mage could only stare at the girl's gentle hand, extended to her. It wasn't only the simple gesture of affection that struck her, it was also envy, the warrior could pass through the bars so easily. She reciprocated the handshake with a smile, which slowly faded as she watched the girl's hands leave the confines of the cage, how she wished to do so as well.
"The name is Kagami Hiiragi." The twin-tailed warrior greeted, and as the mage noticed, she was still obviously cautious, her hand hadn't left her blade since the two had began the conversation.
"Hiiragi-San, good to meet you. I'm Hiyori Tamura. What brings you to this foul place? Surely you didn't come here by choice…?" The mage probed gently, adjusting her glasses on queue with the question in wonderment.
"Ah, no, not exactly anyway. I was transported here somehow…but that's what I don't know, how." The tsundere began to explain, her free hand rubbing the bridge of her nose with a dark scowl. "I was traveling with my companions, we sought the palace of Boletaria, we were searching for someone." At the mention of King Allant's castle, the tsundere couldn't help but notice the slight change of facial expression on the young mage. "You…know what I speak of?" Kagami asked hesitantly, her hand gripping her sword ever tighter, she wouldn't hesitate to cut the mage down if she presented herself as a threat.
Hiyori weighed her options carefully before proceeding to answer. The knowledge she held of Boletaria, its king, and what had befallen it was more than anyone should know, or should allow others to know. The knowledge she held could save or damn an entire kingdom, just as it had Boletaria. She didn't know this girl, so she could not trust her with information of such magnitude, and decided to just answer how she best saw fit.
"Yes…I know of the kingdom, terrible things have befallen it. The fog, the demons, the destruction. I know what its king has done, and I know it must be stopped." The mage answered as seriously as possible, trying to not outright reveal the information to this stranger, but try and make the warrior reveal her nature, be it good intentions or wicked ones.
Honestly, Kagami wasn't in the mood for mind games, or leads-ons, she just wanted straight information. This mage was not only suspicious because she was a survivor of this place, but because she was a mage period. Kagami had been taught that mages could never be trusted, that they were harbingers of death and destruction. They were willing hosts for demons and their power, and this mage was likely no different.
But at her pit, Kagami couldn't help but sympathize. One of her best friends was a mage, taught in the ways of magical arts at a young age, and while Kagami did trust her pink-haired friend, she was always cautious around her, just in case. Her parents had always warned her of mages, and how they would use any trickery to get what they desired.
And while Miyuki was her dear friend since childhood, this mage, Hiyori, she was certainly no friend of hers. She wanted to trust her, she figured the young girl wouldn't have saved her if she didn't have a good heart, but she simply could not irk the feeling of distrust when around a mage, she had seen the ill effects of what magic can truly do.
The two girls locked eyes for a moment, and the tsundere didn't hesitate, she had to know for sure. She tore her blade from its sheath, thrust it through the bars and placed it at the bespectacled girl's throat, pressing into the soft flesh gently.
"Hey, hey, whoa! Calm down! What do you think you're doing!" Hiyori called out as she shook her hands back and forth. She really didn't want conflict, she was a peaceful girl, she had never taken a human life willingly, and she didn't intend to start any time soon. At the back of her mind, she knew she could probably end the warrior girl before the blade pierced her throat, but she bore no ill will, and seeing as she was still alive, she figured the twin-tailed girl might not either.
"I don't trust you, mage. I do thank you for your help, but I would be doing the world a favor if I just cut you down now, give me a reason not to." The glare in the lilac-haired girl's eyes could not be matched, it was sharp as any hawk, but there was something else the young mage noticed.
The changes in her appearance were subtle, one would have to be really looking to see them, but to a mage with a sharp eye, they were clear as day. The slight curve of the girls nails, not-quite claws, but definitely filed to a point. Her bared teeth showing, slightly sharp and jagged. What was most noticeable was her eyes, the deep blue orbs held a dull yellow in the center, overlapping colors mixing into a strange human-demon mix. She wondered how long ago it happened to this poor creature, barely a woman, and yet afflicted with such a curse, her heart wept for the warrior.
"…I can help you. I know what ails you." The mage whispered, it was barely audible, but she noticed the slight shift in the warrior's demeanor, she was intrigued, even if she struggled to not show it. "What awaits you need not be the end, Hiiragi-San. I can help you…" The mage urged once more, hoping to get through to the girl.
Kagami knew what she spoke of, even if she dared not speak of it herself. The knights told her there was no help, there was no cure, this was just a mages trick was her first thought. As she stood silently with her blade to the girl's throat, she really considered it for a moment, what if she was telling the truth? The possibility of that was low, so low it probably didn't even qualify, but it was still a chance. What awaited her was a fate worse than death, and if there was a way to stop the process, even delay it, she would try anything.
She slowly took the blade away from the girl's throat, sliding it back into her sheath, but never losing eye contact her. Grabbing a hold of the bars, Kagami leaned in as much as she could, trying not to lose her intimidating stance as she prepared to probe the mage for answers.
"…Speak."
Author's Note: Another experimental chapter, but I ended up not being able to resist halfway through. Originally, the chapter was going to be about solitude, and being alone with ones thoughts. The first draft didn't have any dialogue whatsoever, and was going to be a chapter filled with nothing but Kagami alone with her thoughts, but this turned out to be pretty difficult. Having an entire chapter with no dialogue just irked me, so I ended up abandoning the idea. I know the general direction the story is going in at the moment, but I don't really have an idea how the girls will get back together again. Once again, originally, they weren't even supposed to split up in the first place, but plans change I guess. Stay tune for next chapter where I fail epically whilst attempting to write a Tsukasa chapter. Normally, I dread writing anything with Tsukasa, because she's so hard to write, it's hard to get into her mind. You either make her too stupid, too smart, or just not Tsukasa, so it'll be an interesting learning experience nonetheless.
P.S. : Guys, it's really awesome when I see how many people actually read my story each time I put a new chapter out, but at the same time, it's pretty discouraging to see no new reviews popping up, dig? I personally think I'm a pretty piss-poor writer, and there are tons of great writers/reviewers on this site, so I'd really appreciate it if I could have some reviews! Hell, I would appreciate it if someone made a review saying "Your story sucks." Because at least I would know that not everyone is enjoying it.
P.P.S. : REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.