Hey everybody! I'm a little mixed on this chapter, though I think it establishes some pretty good world building I've been meaning to do for a while now. Plus, it also brings in some elements of the bigger story that need to be addressed, since the scope needs to be there.
That does mean that there's only one line break in here, meaning there is a lot of things going to happen one after another. So be prepared for that.
Either way, I hope you all enjoy and I'll see you in the next chapter!
Karkat had only a few things to thank when it came to the media circus hitting the school and that was it gave them some extra time. They still did things online of course, but until things calmed down, class was about ten times easier than it would usually be. Tests turned to assignments, which they could do during online class if they wished.
While he honestly wished things would go back to normal soon, it did provide him a perfect opportunity to do this.
"Why are we doing this again?" Sollux was gripping the hover pack tightly, somehow still feeling naked despite wearing the hazmat suit. The Ghost Zone, despite looking cool in pictures, was terrifying up close. "This is great and all, feeling like a real astronaut, but this seems like a really bad idea."
"I need to know what that whole "bloody hand" thing is. It might be a new power and I'd really like to make sure it isn't dangerous." Karkat kept a tight hold on the two of them. They'd insisted on coming, despite the fact it was in the Ghost Zone. "Plus, we might learn more about ghosts and my fucked-up biology some more."
"And look at the ruins here too!" Aradia really wished that she brought a camera, but the hazmat suits didn't have pockets. "Why didn't you tell me Pompei was in here? You could've at least mentioned it!"
"If I did, it would take Terezi in dragon form to hold you back from diving face first into the portal to get to it." Karkat sighed. He really hoped that Muelin and Horuss held down the fort at the portal well enough to not get bored. "Just hold still. I want to make sure I'm not going full demon here instead of being a halfa."
"Actually, now that you bring that up, I have a question to ask." Aradia put her hands together, her pointer fingers aimed at her mouth. "Do you think early sightings of demons may have just been ghosts with fire powers and some slightly inhuman looks?"
"…It is way too early for a religious crisis." Sollux held his free hand over the glass of his helmet, mostly to complete the feeling of a facepalm. "We're not far from the meeting place, right? Please tell me, even if it isn't true."
"We are, relax." Karkat wasn't exactly happy to have that question thrown at him either, forcing him to fly faster. "Keep your suit on."
The meeting place really wasn't that far away. It was near Redglare's courthouse, which earned ooh's and awe's from Aradia and complaints about the architecture from Sollux. Terezi and Nepeta were hanging out nearby, talking happily while Vriska was pouting a little way away.
"Well, looks like the gangs all here." Karkat jerked his head towards Vriska, letting go of his friend's hands. "What the hell is she doing here?"
"Aranea's talking with Mom about the plea deal and she doesn't trust her to be on her own." Terezi chuckled at the glare she got from the girl. She raised her hands up into the air, smiling wide. "So how the hell have you been? Feels like I haven't seen you assholes in weeks."
"It wasn't that long. Sorry we couldn't include in the past ghost fights." Aradia rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "You know how things are up top."
"Any word on Tavros? Sorry we had to dump him on Redglare after the whole fight." Sollux shrugged with some embarrassment. "He's at least got a home here right now, right?"
"Yeah, Redglare sent him to some housing not far away from Vriskat's." Nepeta smirked as the nickname caused the Serket to twitch. "I think he might be afraid of his neighbors, though."
"If that Peter Pan looking ass is afraid of me, that's not my business." Vriska flipped them off, groaning. "Where are you guys taking me again? Just because I agreed to cooperate doesn't mean I want to do team building exercises."
"We told you this already." Terezi rolled her eyes at the girls' antics before moving her attention to everyone in the group. "Karkat here apparently might have a new power, and I think I know what it relates too. It's a big thing, though, and huge part of culture around here. You're all probably going to want to listen."
"Great, more revelations." Despite the sarcasm, Karkat was a little excited, especially since this might give him an edge against ghosts in the future. That didn't mean the thought of having more things to remember didn't annoy him a little. "I really hope this is just a normal field trip."
"With ghosts? No way!*" Aradia chuckled to herself at the joke, waving off the confused looks from everyone else. "It's a reference, don't worry about it."
"Please stop tempting fate, AA." Sollux motioned for everyone to get on with it. The Ghost Zone was cool up close, but it still creeped him out being inside an underworld. "Alright, Ms. Frizzle's, let's get started."
"Finally, I thought we were just going to be talking all day." Vriska started flying off in a random direction, guitar at the ready to hit someone. "Let's go before I start getting bored."
"Vriskat, that's the wrong way!" Nepeta waved her arms futilely at the retreating blond. "You don't even know where you're going."
"Don't tell me what to do!"
The group collectively sighed before Terezi and Karkat flew after her to collect her.
Despite the mishap of having to force Vriska to go the correct way, it hadn't been much of a hassle to get where they were going. Nepeta and Terezi had taken turns holding onto the errant humans, mostly to make sure they didn't drift off.
When they finally did make to their destination, it became pretty obvious to them why Terezi felt the need to bring them here instead of simply explaining it over Ghostian.
In a space that felt the closest to static in the Ghost Zone, there stood twelve towers, each colored brightly, though ominously. Their height was comparable to small skyscrapers, making them stand out more among the large emptiness around it. Each was decorated with deep engravings into each side, as if carved there by giants.
They were all arranged in a circle, large enough that it gave each one ample room to stand out. A cobblestone center connected all of them together, separated into twelve sections colored the same as each building, along with a symbol in each one. Some were obvious, such as a sun, a gear, and a heart, while others were harder to determine at first glance.
The aura of the structures gave off was one of power, of something old and incomprehensible to everyone who saw it. But the buildings themselves looked as new as they day they were built, clean and untouched. Nothing like the green of the Ghost Zone surrounding it.
"Holy shit, this place actually looks pretty metal." Vriska hovered near the entrance leading to the courtyard. "Not exactly my style, but hell if isn't kinda cool."
"What is this place?" Karkat actually had to take a minute to articulate that question. He didn't know why, but this place was calming and alarming at the same time. "Not that I don't appreciate the tour, but I don't exactly understand what this has to do with my powers."
"It has everything to do with your powers. Well, kinda." Nepeta floated towards the center, the others following behind. "This place is pretty important to ghost culture and it might be the reason why the new one's showing up."
"You didn't exactly answer the question." Sollux squinted at the buildings. He swore that he saw some of the colors moving. "This looks like temples. Is this some kind of holy ground."
"In certain terms, yes. I wouldn't say it's an actual religion." Terezi was still joking around, but she apparently as wary as they were. "It's closer to a zodiac, in some ways. Or it can be both, depending on your definition of religion."
"Zodiacs?" Aradia's was definitely wishing she brought a camera with her now. Her feet settled on the cobblestone, almost causing her to stumble as she switched off the antigravity. "Seems like a lot to build for something related to star signs."
"That's because these aren't star signs. These are the Aspects." Terezi waved her hand at the symbols, drama in every movement. It would've been funny if it wasn't for the gravitas of the place. "All ghosts are connected a certain concept depicted here, whether they know of this or not. While there are no confirmed gods, these buildings were built for something. Nobody knows by who or who for."
"There are twelve known ones, each with their own meaning and power behind." Nepeta stood over the heart symbol, looking down at it fondly. "Some are obvious, some aren't. Some powers related to it or subtle, some are extremely obvious."
"And all ghosts have some relation to it." That was a weird thought, but Karkat figured that it'd make sense. Ghosts having religion wasn't that weird, especially since a lot of people with different faiths died every day. "And this relates to my powers."
"Exactly! You said that lately when you're making a deal with someone, you're making their hands bleed, right?" Karkat nodded to Nepeta's question. "Then I'd suggest standing over that symbol over there."
The cat eared ghost pointed at the part of the circle containing a symbol that looked like a wound. It was painted as a red diagonal cut with three strands of red dripping off of it, a stark contrast to the darker background. He moved to it carefully, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, the part of the circle lit up, causing him to pause. However, nothing else occurred afterward, the glow dying down immediately.
"Huh, looks like we were right." Terezi shrugged, nodding to herself. "Looks like you're connected to the Aspect of Blood. Interesting choice."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sollux took a step back. "What does that even represent? I swear, if Karkat starts blood bending-"
"Oh relax, Captor. It's nothing bad." Terezi shrugged, pointing her cane at the symbol. "Blood represents a lot of things. It's commonly accepted that Blood is related to the ideas of Unity, Bonds, and Obligations. It makes sense that his powers activate when he's making a deal, I guess."
"Wait, are you saying I made a literal blood oath with this guy?" Vriska shot over to Karkat, grabbing the jumpsuit with balled hands. "Get me out of it. I may have agreed to help you out here, but I ain't fucking with demon deals."
"That theory about demons actually being ghosts might be true after all." Aradia laughed a little as Vriska manhandled the halfa, who looked half ready to shoot her with an ecto blast. She did give a look towards their ghost friends, worried. "What exactly should we expect to see from this type of thing? And I guess from other Aspects too."
"It's hard to say. It differs from ghost to ghost." Nepeta pointed at the heart symbol with a slightly annoyed gaze. "I'm connected to the Aspect of Heart, but I sure as hell don't know how Self, Emotions, and Feelings manifest. I mean, I'm pretty good at understanding other people's emotions and have amazing gut instincts, but that can't be it."
"I'm a Mind Aspect myself. Thought, Decisions, and Strategy are my thing." Terezi shrugged, humming to herself thoughtfully. "I can determine if anything's true or not because of it, usually finding facts a hell of a lot easier than most people. Makes me perfect for a prosecutor role."
"Okay, fine. I have a demon powers that focus on friendship, apparently." Karkat pushed Vriska off of him with a huff, straightening out his hazmat suit. "What happens if someone tries to break a deal with me then? And will I get other powers related to it?"
"I'm actually sure what happens when someone breaks a deal with you, but it can't be good. Plus, ghosts can only naturally produce one power related to their Aspect. If you want more," Terezi cringed slightly, looking at the buildings with a faint sense of caution. "You might want to pledge yourself to your Aspect. Which isn't really recommended."
"…This sounds a little too important not to ask questions about." Karkat narrowed his eyes, feeling dread push through him at the thought. "What does pledging myself to my Aspect do?"
"Kinda the same as pledging yourself to any other religion. You'd essentially be giving your time to it in exchange for other powers." Nepeta rubbed the back of her head nervously, wincing. "Of course, whatever your Aspect wants can vary wildly. Some devote their entire lives to it all of a sudden, some don't. It really depends the Aspect and the kind of person that subscribes to it."
"Karkat can become a warlock." Aradia grabbed at the halfa's suit, making him wonder if it was everyone's life goal to stretch the material out. "Karkat, you can be an undead warlock. Just like in Dungeons & Dragons. Please, tell me you're considering it."
"AA, you just heard them say that it might be dangerous." Sollux's eyes wandered over to the Blood symbol again. "For all we know that thing might make him a religious zealot hellbent on "spreading the word" or something."
"Don't forget possible blood sacrifices." Vriska supplied 'helpfully.' She received some glares for the comment, causing her to get angry back. "Hey, you said he might be pledging himself to a blood god. That sounds like it would lead right to human sacrifices."
"There's not going to be any blood sacrifices today, so don't worry about it." Terezi rolled her eyes before smiling mischievously. "Then again, we do have two virgin sacrifices Karkles supplied us with."
"What's Dungeons & Dragons?" Nepeta asked, which only furthered the confusion as the entire group erupted into chaos.
Karkat rolled his eyes as he watched it all unfold, though it was at least manageable. He took a little step back so he could get a better look at the buildings themselves. It seemed like the moving colors thing wasn't really an illusion, judging by the fact he could look at one building for a while and have it suddenly change when he wasn't looking.
That fact almost made him miss seeing a cloaked figure above the Blood building.
Karkat froze at the sight of the figure, taking stock into this and hoping this wasn't going to be a fight. A quick check confirmed that the hooded figure was the only other person here other than their group. It was easy to tell the figure was masculine, along with being somewhat in the thirties, forties range in age.
The hood itself was gray, shrouding the man in darkness as it surrounded him fully. Karkat could see some pants and boots as well, black with red lines etched into them, but cloak covered the rest. Eyes as red and blank as his glowed under the shadow.
Karkat gulped, taking a brief look behind him before raising his hand and waving. "Hey!"
He heard the conversations stop behind him, though the figure himself didn't respond. He hadn't blinked either, which set him on edge even more.
"You, uh, wouldn't happen to be a priest around here, right?" Karkat was leaning more towards cultist, though all religions started as cults anyway. "You guys got any pamphlets to share? Something informative hopefully."
The only reaction he got was the figure turning away, flying off into a random direction.
Karkat didn't know why, but he felt the need to follow. Immediately.
"Wait up!" Karkat flew forward, hearing shouts behind him as he moved. Sollux and Aradia were the loudest, though something in him made it ignore it. It was like they were already miles away from him. Blood roared in his ears. "I've got questions!"
The figure didn't seem to hear him or was ignoring him entirely. Karkat felt a growl of frustration as the man took a turn at a floating island, disappearing entirely. He sped up himself, a desperate feeling forming in his heart.
He stopped as the man had been replaced by someone else, though moving in the same direction. They looked completer and more open, though a different shade of red. It had the symbol of a gear on it, like the one on the circle.
(whoareyou)
"Where the hell did he go?" The halfa muttered to himself before noticing the new figure was almost out of sight. "Hey!"
He flied forward, trying to catch up to the new figure. He disappeared around another corner too, causing him to fly faster.
Another person this time, a girl. Wearing a lot of black, accented by green. He could see dog ears on her head, green sparks flitting around her. He couldn't see her face, covered by the hood and long hair as she zapped from place to place.
(whatareyou)
Another corner this time, a zap making her vanish. There was a blue boy this time, his head dragging long behind him. Karkat could hear laughter, as the boy seemingly moved with the wind, created it around him. There was a sense of freedom to it.
(pleaseanswerme)
He hadn't meant to lose the boy, he just flew up ward, behind another island. When he caught up, it was another girl. Light colors, the sun symbol on her back and a smile saying many things without meaning too. Blonde hair floated as she moved towards another island, her smile growing wider as she slowly dove behind it.
(soachinglyfamiliar)
Karkat was met with empty space this time. He blinked, breathing hard even if the flight hadn't strained him. He looked around frantically, seeing none of the people that were there before. A heartbeat he shouldn't have possessed in this form died down, the roaring blood leaving his ears.
The shocking amount of despair of losing them almost made him miss the sound of shouting that was following him. He gained his bearings well enough to turn around as Nepeta nearly crashed into him.
"Dude, holy shit, don't do that!" Nepeta weakly punched his arm as he blinked blankly at her. "I've run after pretty red lights before and stuff, but that doesn't mean you have to too."
"Jesus, Phantom, the hell is up with you now?" Vriska was weirdly just behind the cat eared ghost, frowning deeply. "Have you snapped or something? You started flying after air and we could barely keep up with you."
"What? I wasn't flying after air; I was following that guy in a robe!" Karkat raised his arms, vaguely motioning where they should be. "Then there were other ones floating around, trying to get away from me. Hell, the first guy was standing on the Blood building when I found him."
"Karkles, we didn't see any of that. We have no idea what you're talking about." Terezi had finally caught up, having been the one to grab Aradia and Sollux. "You just started speaking to empty air and then shot off into nowhere. We didn't see any robes."
"Have you been getting enough sleep lately? I know some of the annoying ghosts have out lately, but are you getting insomnia again?" Sollux really hoped that wasn't the case. Last time Karkat was tired enough to start hallucinating, he had to take some melatonin and slept for nearly eighteen hours straight. "We could take a break from ghost hunting. I'm pretty sure the Box Ghost isn't going to cause any real damage."
"He's got a point. It was pretty bad last time." Aradia tried to check to see if there were bags under his eyes, but it was hard to tell when he was in ghost form. "Maybe we can get Aranea to do some rounds for you and work off her sentence. That's a good way to use it, right?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm crazy! I know what I saw." Karkat crossed his arms, scowling a little. Just because they were right about the lack of sleep didn't mean he was hallucinating anything. "Besides, I did fine last time my insomnia came up. Helped me ace all those final exams freshman year."
"I'm pretty that isn't- wait." Nepeta's sentence died on her lips, ears twitching as her gaze became vacant. Her ears continued to twitch for several seconds as all the attention went onto her.
There were a few moments of silence as they tried to listen carefully along with her, though couldn't hear a peep. It took them a bit to finally hear the sound of rockets burning bright within the Ghost zone.
"Skulker." Terezi pulled the two humans with her into a hiding place, followed behind by the rest of the ghosts. "Keep quiet, we don't know if he's with anyone right now."
Everyone remained silent as they heard the rockets get louder overhead, before eventually passing over them. They slowly tried to follow it in order to keep an eye out for the robotic ghost, though made sure the distance was a good while away. They weren't able to fully see him through the cluster of islands until they reached the epicenter.
Several things were odd about this situation. In the center of the cluster of islands, there stood a golden coffin covered with blackened glass. Carvings in black swirls were deep within the edges, all stemming from a black helmet portrayed at the top.
The second strange thing was Skulker was not only completely rebuilt, but he actually had someone accompanying him. That wouldn't have been too weird since he probably didn't always work alone. There was also the fact that he apparently did some work for other ghosts when need be.
But whoever he was bringing here wasn't a ghost. It was very clearly a human.
The group tensed at that, especially since they couldn't see the human's face, obscured by full face gas mask and a protective suit of their own. Whoever it was, they weren't a prisoner since they arrived prepared, along with being unnaturally relaxed while being guided by the hunter ghost.
"I really hope you know what you're messing with here, old man." Skulker growled loud enough for them to hear, the silence around them carrying the noise. "You're messing with things I doubt you have any true power over. It was a serious risk bringing you hear."
"And when the time comes, you will be rewarded." The human's voice was muffled and somehow filtered to be unrecognizable. They were holding a device in each hand, casually and carefully. They looked almost ghostly in origin. "I just need some time and we'll be on our way."
"You better not be lying to me. I'm not even sure how you my contact information." Skulker huffed, checking over the landscape. He failed to see the group as he kept talking. "How did you learn about this place? I didn't even know it existed, and I'm the greatest hunter in the Infinite Realms."
"So you keep telling me. It's usually not a good thing to brag about it so much." The human replied, moving towards the coffin with slow purpose. "And much like how I was told to contact you, I learned about this place from a very good friend."
Karkat strained to hear more, but felt an elbow sharply hit his ribs. He bit back a yelp at the pain, giving a glare to Terezi. The absolute alarm on her face stopped him from getting pissed at her though.
"We can't let them get any closer to that." Terezi shook her head slowly, nose twitching. "There's something in there that is really powerful. I don't know what it is, but we can't let it out of there."
Karkat frowned before nodding. He formulated a plan quickly in his head.
"Everyone spread out. Aradia, Sollux, you hang back and fire from a distance since you guys can't really fly that fast on your own." The halfa received confirmation from his friends before moving on to the others. "Terezi, Nepeta, Vriska, you surround the place and pounce on him when I give the signal. We don't know if the human is packing anything on him, but I'll distract them before they do anything rash."
Even if some of them (mainly Vriska) didn't seem happy to go along with the plan, but he didn't give them any time to. He slipped out from behind the floating island they used as a hiding place and started get attention to himself.
"Hey, Skulker! I didn't know you did part time work as a tour guide!" Karkat felt the smallest bit of satisfaction of getting both Skulker and the human to nearly jump. "Is being the Infinite Realms greatest hunter not working out for you?"
"Whelp!" Skulker had one of his guns come out of his arm before pointing it at the halfa. The robotic ghost winced, though, changing the gun out for a smaller one. "I wasn't expecting to find you here. I figured you'd be too afraid to step in here, especially after our last battle."
"Are you talking about the one where you got beat up by a gorilla, or when I cut your arm off?" Karkat eyed the weapon, figuring it was a nonlethal option. Oberon must've told him to hold back since he was another half ghost. "Doesn't matter. I'm more curious about your friend here."
"I would appreciate if you'd address me directly, young man." The human replied. Now that Karkat was closer, he could almost tell that the human was a man. Then again, it was still hard to tell with the bulky suit. "I'm sorry if this intrusion on your world seems unwarranted, but I happen to have some business here."
"Does it have to do with the coffin here? I'm not sure you should mess with that." Karkat floated off to one side to get a better look at it, squinting. "Usually if something is locked in with gold casings and black glass, that's usually a sign that you might not want to open it. Trust me, I've seen movies."
"I assure you; I know what I'm doing." The human didn't seem phased by the banter at all, keeping things light. Oddly cocky, yet formal. "I've done my research and I know how to do this without putting myself into danger."
Karkat cocked his head, eyes narrowing. "And what about everyone else?"
The human paused, putting a hand to where his chin would be. He eventually shrugged before sighing. "I suppose you have me there. Skulker, please drive this young man off while I do my work."
As Skulker's gun was charged up, Karkat rolled his eyes. He grabbed his sickles, charging them with ecto-energy before shouting.
"Now!"
The next few minutes were an absolute shitshow.
Karkat swerved to the side as Skulker's shot fired, swinging the sickle to let the ecto-energy move outward. Skulker rose up to dodge, only to be hit straight in the back by a tackle. Nepeta's claws ripped into one of his arms, causing significant damage before he knocked her off of him.
The assault was only furthered as Karkat swung another wave of ecto-energy at him, hitting him back before he was hit by several shots from Aradia's hidden spot. Sollux's ecto-bazooka flared to life, hitting the robotic ghost with a beam of energy hitting him by the side.
While Skulker was being unfairly bodied by the four, the human himself cursed before trying to hurry over to the coffin. Before he could take two steps, Terezi and Vriska flew between him and the coffin.
"Can't let you do that, dude." Terezi pulled out the sword from her cane, hoping that she wouldn't have to use it on him. Humans weren't as durable as ghosts after all. "Put whatever you have down, and we'll get you out of here quietly."
"Or you can keep holding on and get taken out kicking and screaming." Vriska strummed her guitar with a smirk, a little bloodlust peeking through. "Feel free to choose whatever you like."
"Hm," The human's hand reached for a pouch, grabbing what looked like a blank white orb. It sparked with yellow as the human tossed it up before catching it. "I'd rather have a third option, thank you."
The human shot his hand forward, the orb lighting up to create a burst of light aimed for the two of them. Terezi and Vriska dodged, curses coming from both before Vriska strummed her guitar to send sound waves toward him. A spark of green caused him to teleport away from it, dodging completely.
Terezi tried getting close, swing her sword at the human several times. He kept teleporting away each time before sending another beam of light towards her, which grazed her arms. Hissing softly, she opened her mouth to send out a stream of fire make him back off.
Meanwhile, the other group was faring pretty well against Skulker, especially since he was outnumbered. Karkat had gotten closer, swinging his sickle around, trying to cut off a limb. With a great swing, he caught a hand of his and chopped it right off.
"Oh, looks like someone's getting disarmed." Nepeta cackled at the pun while the others rolled their eyes at her. Aradia had to stifle a laugh at the corny joke herself, though. "Maybe you should just tell us why you're here and we'll let you go. Don't want to make another suit again, right?"
"I will never concede to the likes of you! Besides, he's the one that wanted to come here, not me." Skulker waved an arm to the human, who was still dodging the other two ghosts' fruitless attacks. "If you want answers, ask him."
"We'll be sure to." Karkat suddenly moved forward, grabbing the other sickle, and crossing his arms in front of his face. "Fire Sollux!"
Sollux fired another charged round of the ecto-bazooka, the stream of energy sending Skulker forward. Karkat waited until they were close enough to each other before they connected. The robotic ghosts head and some of his upper body were separated, effectively taking him out of the fight.
The human, taking a moment to pause, saw the end of the fight. He only hummed softly to himself before shaking his head.
"This is clearly not going to end well for me." More sparks of green energy, and he moved next to the coffin. Before the others could move to stop him, he grabbed something else from his utility belt, slapping it onto the coffin. "I wish that this didn't have to end in violence, but so be it. Good luck on surviving what's next."
The human vanished before they could reply.
"Where the fuck did he go?" Karkat growled. He turned, grabbing Skulkers head and quickly cutting it of from the body he was still connected to. He could see the little feet of the ghost blob as he stared into the robotic head's eyes. "Skulker, how the fuck did he do that, and where did he go?!"
"Like I said before, whelp. I. Don't. Know." Skulker scowled, the expression becoming less threatening when it was only a head. "Maybe you should've focused on capturing him first."
"Yeah, but he was just armed with a fucking party ball, you discount Terminator." Karkat could already tell he wasn't going to get much, causing him to pull out and use the thermos. He turned quickly, seeing Vriska and Terezi inspecting the gadget. "What did he put on that thing, anyway?"
"Not sure. Kinda looks like a small, tiny…" Vriska suddenly jerked back, grabbing Terezi before flying towards one of the islands for cover. "It's a bomb! Everybody get down!"
Despite the warning, Karkat and Nepeta had only a few seconds to react as an explosion ripped through the Ghost Zone. The two were sent, hitting the islands with force as the area shook, some of the islands crumbling. Karkat could distinctly hear shouting, but none of them sounded pained.
When the explosion was over, Karkat felt himself recover slowly, blinking his eyes to adjust them back to normal light. He breathed heavily, the adrenaline from it all bleeding out as he turned back to the coffin, dread forming in his gut.
The island that had been supporting the coffin was now destroyed, though the item itself remained in its place. The gold didn't appear to be affected by the blast, almost as ornate as it was since they first saw it. The black glass that had kept it closed, however, was broken, revealing the figure inside.
A knight dressed in fully black armor was laying there, arms uniform at his side while, peacefully sleeping. The armor itself had spikes on the forearms and on the helmet, looking much like the symbol that depicted on the coffin. Where the armor wasn't black, it was a dark gray that marred his shoulders, forearms, and shoes.
Karkat didn't know who this person was, other than it was dangerous. Something about the man in armor set him on edge, turning his thoughts darker with fear. Anxiety began to spike, his hair was standing on end, but he didn't know why.
All he knew that it was slowly opening its eyes.
Like I said, a lot of world building. Plus, this will all play later as the story progress in one way or another.
Also, random announcment; Vriska has her own playlist now! I added in a lot of rock and some new songs I haven't heard of before, at least in an effort not to repeat music.
Here it is: playlist/1NSDshNDYTrilT5iLraGNr
Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all in the next one.