DanMachi: The Tale of Ansem

by kaziquad

Spoilers in Review Some time has passed since the Daedalus street outbreak and the terror that wrought itself upon the Dungeon. For some it sees that things have gone back to normal. For others their trials continue when the Dungeon cries out, sending Orario into a standstill. And when a sole survivor from the Deep Levels escapes to the safety point, Rivira, only questions remain..

22. CIII: PIII - A Hymn Never Forgotten

PART III - A Hymn Never Forgotten

Author's Preamble: Hey there everyone as a quick heads up, I've implemented a small edit in the last chapter. Super small, but leads to subtle interactions. It'll be noted with an asterisk. Main jist of it being Riveria notices Mathis' left arm has no feeling from the nerves being fried from the Deadly Hornet venom.

In the back room of the smith's shop, three people gathered around the table and cauldron as Mathis began selecting the ripest of stems from the thorned foreleave bush. Taking the parring knife in hand and carefully piercing the base of the stem, he let it fall into the cauldron of water that slowly came to a boil.

"We're going to need to start with the basics. I'm sure you understand what I mean by that." Riveria said.

"Yeah, the parties involved, what happened in order, where they happened et cetera. Right?" Mathis said as he focused on not piercing his own skin.

"Precisely." Riveria said with a nod. "Most importantly, what your role was in all of this."

After finishing running a stem of the bush bare, he gently placed it on the tabletop as his eyes remained downwards.

"I was-.." Mathis paused in order to find the right words. His eyes drew themselves up and around the room as if the word he were looking for lay hidden in the floorboards above them. "I was their leader. Their captain."

"Very well, of which familia?" Riveria said, patiently ushering as she was beginning to compile every bit of information that he was willing to spare.

"We served under Lord Vishnu." Mathis said.

Riveria let out a quiet hmm at the name.

"I don't believe I've ever heard of that deity before."

"A lot of people haven't. It's intentional. He often led us to various destinations. I guess you could say he had 'nomadic tendencies'. And whenever we found someplace to stay, it was never long. Either way, it was much easier to keep to ourselves or limit the attention on us to increase the ease of operations wherever we went." Mathis began as his voice, though tired, struck much like an officer while he began debriefing them on whatever he could share.

"I suppose it's just like you said before.. Very, very carefully." Jai chimed in as he leaned his bottom against the top of the table.

Mathis nodded, as he cut another stem from the bush and started to pick the ripest from that.

"Your familia then acted more like a group of mercenaries then?" Riveria prodded.

"No, we offered…" Mathis paused to find the right word. "Collaboration and provided aid and relief wherever and whenever we could."

"And what about the members in your familia?"

Mathis let out a subtle sigh as he leaned against the rim of the cauldron.

"I can give you everything but names." Mathis said with firm intent.

"Oh? And why's that?" Riveria knew that it was unlikely for a captain to forget the name of their members, or subordinates. But this reluctance came as a surprise. "Were their names something you forgot recently as well?"

"No, I could never forget their names.." Mathis said as he stared into the water. "Because it's a part of my familia's culture to not say the names of those who died." Mathis brought his royal blue eyes to meet Riveria's with a look that held no sign of backing down on this.

"-It's our way to honor them."

"That I can understand, but you have said one name quite a few times. A woman named Serene." Riveria said very carefully.

Hearing that name, Mathis dropped his head over the cauldron and pointed to Aiz with an open hand.

"That's because I thought Aiz was her."

Mathis released a deep breath as he held his head low after hearing her name. Caught in the conundrum of violating his own familia's culture, their code, all from a sense of grief and being disillusioned from the trauma he sustained.

"He did look as if to recognize me as someone else while on the eighteenth floor.." Aiz softly admitted as she sat on a chair beside Riveria. As her words reached Mathis, he gave her an apologetic gaze.

"I can't remember much about what happened around that time, but if that made you uncomfortable, I'm truly sorry. You look just like her."

Riveria carefully watched Mathis whose face wore an expression of regret, then she understood why he had called her 'The Ghost' from before. She couldn't help but soften her gaze as she tried to imagine what it would be like, to see the face of someone you had loved on another knowing that it wasn't them.

"You did nothing wrong." Aiz said back softly in her plain manner.

Riveria narrowed her eyes at Aiz, pondering if that truly was all that happened to have her be so gentle with the man before them. While that curiosity plagued Riveria she knew all too well not to look a gift horse in the face. Mathis was willing to talk, and she couldn't afford to lose this chance at information.

"Very well then. Getting back on track, what was you and your familia's involvement in the events that led up to now?"

Finishing another stem, Mathis picked another one up. As the water began to grow to a slow boil, the faint smell of sweet onions and peppermint began to gently rise into the air. It was the natural scent of the bush.

"We had two teams of eight. I guess you could call them 'Team A' and 'Team B.' Each team could operate in the same capacity as the other. If one had a healer, so did the other team. So on and so forth. I was a part of 'A' where we were to go down ten floors and investigate the spawning of that monster."

"-And who was 'Team B' led by?"

Mathis took a pause as he tried to restrain himself from saying her name.

"My sister. That was the plan at least. But it fell apart quickly." As he spoke, he couldn't help but shake his head as the events played in his mind.

There was no question for Riveria to ask, instead she waited, allowing the silence to pass and for Mathis to continue.

"I was separated from my team when an ambush broke out between two rival familias. Our smith was caught in their feud. And uhh-.."
Mathis took a pause as he caught his breath as a faint tremble passed.

"She didn't make it." Mathis paused as he stared at the stem of the thorned foreleave bush. He was desperate to distract his mind as his eyes trailed along the grain of the stem. It's green veins that brought nutrients from the roots that sprawled across the dungeon.

Riveria had her eyes locked onto him, watching the tension wash over his body. With the white of his knuckles showing from his grip on the paring knife, she wondered how much more the smith's knife could handle.

"Ahmm. What happened next?"

Mathis glanced up to her, as he was brought back to the present world.

"By the time I met up with everyone else, 'Team B' had gone down in our place. If they would have waited a little bit longer.."

Mathis trailed off as another ripe segment fell into the boiling water. His tone fell flat and weary with each and every addition of information.

"It was supposed to be myself and my team to go down. We were considered the 'muscle,' where if anything happened, we could try to end the threat there while we performed our investigation."

"But that's not what happened was it?" Riveria patiently asked, trying to guide him through the process.

"No.. We were supposed to have around ten floors of buffer to try and incapacitate the monster. The second team, 'Team B' was basically formed a barricade to prevent it from going any further in case my team couldn't hold it back. While our teams were similar, their skills varied. Meaning that for them to go down in place of mine.." Mathis shook his head, it was an act that never should've happened. It never should've been her and her team to go down there.

It was exactly like the orders given to them by Ouranos. The buffer zone, two teams. But why the Hestia familia? Such a small familia with limited resources being forced into such a role made no sense. There were better alternatives surely, and that's not to discredit the familia that Bell and Hestia had formed. But why not the Ganesha familia, or even the Freya familia?

She couldn't help but internally scoff at the later suggestion. For the Freya familia to cooperate in a joint mission would require the sake of the city to be put on the line. This wasn't that.

Though all the while it became clear to her that Ouranos knew something and must've personally selected the two familia's for some reason. What that reason was, was beyond her.

"And what floor was it that your sister's team supposed to be holding at?"

"The fifty-ninth floor. The Glacier Territory. She was supposed to wait there for us."

Mathis stared into the boiling water, as another segment of the bush fell into the cauldron.

"Uhh.." Riveria was about to begin. To bring up a fault in the story, that the Glacier Territory was no more. Instead in its place was a vast jungle. The exact opposite of what it had been. But before she could say anymore, she felt a gentle tug on the elbow of her sleeve.

It was Aiz. She slowly shook her head, trying to tell her to stop herself. To listen. For whatever reason, Riveria couldn't help but accept such a simple request that went beyond her comprehension. It was absurd to think that anyone part of a familia that barely anyone has heard of going down to the fifty-ninth floor, none the less having such outdated information. It didn't line up.

"And what was it that you were looking to find if you were to be the one's going down?"

"I-.. We were looking to find out why and how the monster kept coming back. There is a ritual of sorts that could have given us an answer as to what was keeping it alive. So that way we could end it. To keep it from reaching the surface. It was supposed to be something that only I could do. But when she came back with just two others from below.. She said just one thing."

"△▼△▼△▼△"

"You-, you made it?" A young man's voice called out from behind his mask and goggles. He stood there in awe at the sight before him as their leader approached from the depths of the blizzard. Wasting no time his pace remained steady as he entered the camp that barely sheltered them from the frigid winds.

His eyes scanned the camp, noticing they were down eight members. The sight alone left him uneasy.

"Where are they? Where are the others?" Mathis called out, exhausted as hot breaths pierce the frigid air. And a gentle stream of steam waves off of his body from the race down. His sister and her team was nowhere to be seen in the makeshift camp. It was a place that was set up some time ago when it all started. Left to manage on it's own against the elements when a team never returned from the depths.

He'd barely managed to escape, and his body wore the wounds to show it. From the cruel clutches of people he wish he'd never met, to the blood on his body that wasn't his. He survived.

The harsh winds blew wave after wave of snow that clung and stung his exposed skin. But against the endurance and durability of an advanced adventurer, he could manage some time but not for long in these conditions after everything. Immediately he sought his lucky backpack, for the warmth of his armor and coat that was held within. It was placed in the center of the camp, nearest the fire that kept the frost from sprawling across the metal and porcelain plates. The thing that he left Serene to hold onto until he caught up to his familia.

The fire itself spewed a constant stream of dark smoke as a makeshift marker for those far off and its heat provided a faint comfort that thrilled his body.

"They left some time ago.. But-.. But what happened? You said it wouldn't be long?" The young man said, his voice innocent, pure, full of faith in the person before him. He was just on the edge of turning seventeen, and already from the blessing that he was given, he made strides. "It's been days.."

Beneath his mask, held light blue eyes that glimmered with a future so bright. Eyes full of youthful hope. The eyes of a dreamer who reached out for his and was determined to make them a reality.

"Muro.. There's no time for that.."

Another voice chimed in, one of refined stature and one as sharp as the most lethal of blades. One that Mathis recognized right away as he reached for his armor.

"Where is she?"

Mathis dropped his head as he held his coat by the shoulders. He didn't make an attempt to even put it on, choosing to turn to his comrade, as his friend took off his mask and hat, revealing his pure white hair and long elven ears and amber eyes that demanded an answer. Eyes that were normally shaped so sharp and pointed it would scare anyone off. It was an expression that rarely left his face.

"Where's Tessaryne?"

"Eisiah..." Mathis could only muster his comrade's name, the name of a man he called his brother. And it was that alone that gave Eisiah an understanding of what happened.

Eisiah's eyes narrowed as his breath escaped him and a sharp scowl swept over his face.

"No." The single word weakly escaped his lips. Upon his face came the horrible realization that he had said her name for the last time.

A name that Eisiah often would say endlessly as it rolled off of his tongue in a private admittance of his desire and yearning for the woman who stole his heart. No longer was that a name he could say. No variation.

"I'm sorry-.."

"Who did it?" Eisiah demanded, his voice grew sharp as a knife. "Tell the name of the bastard who did it!"

There grew a heavy weight on Mathis' shoulders as the face of the man who sparked the attack crossed his mind. It was a Devil who played God with his damn snake tongue that brought this all upon them.

"Tell me, damn it! Who took her?!" Eisiah shouted.

"Eisiah, please.." Muro interrupted politely. Eager to ease the tensions that were already high to begin with since they departed from the surface. For Eisiah, that was the last time he saw his love.

"Guys.." A femine voice tried to break through the sound of the wind as she stood guard at the front of the line, peering out over the rolling hills of snow that mindlessly blended into one white mass. There a speckle in complete contrast broke out over the horizon.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Eisiah shouted to the young man with a finger pointing at him. "One of us was killed by another familia, that means war, don't you understand?"

"I mean-..." Muro began to utter but quickly shut down as Eisiah turned away from him.

"What do you plan to do about it?!" Eisiah shouted as he turned to Mathis. "We're going to hunt them down, and make them pay! Right?"

Leaving Mathis utterly exhausted he still hadn't even put on his coat amidst the freezing winds. Holding the coat in his hands, he sighed as he carefully put it on. Grimacing as his body remained sore from events prior.

"No war games. No trial. Justice. We're going to find the bastards!"

"When we're done here, after we put an end to this thing and the damned bastard who's keeping it alive, then we'll get justice. We have to focus on one thing at a time or else we run the risk of losing the edge that we've always held."

"Guys.."

"You're kidding!" Eisiah shouted in anger, any and all composure the elf had seemingly gone with his heart torn and stabbed. "To let them get a free pass and expect us to be fine with it!"

"-That's not what I'm saying!-" Mathis began as his jaw tighten and brow furrowed, this conversation was going downhill too quick for him with Eisiah. Normally a cool rational person, he'd never had experience in calming him down.

"-Then what are you saying, oh glorious leader?"

Rubbing the inside corner of his eyes, Mathis bowed his head as he took a deep breath in. As their leader, he had to lead them on the right path, to keep them safe physically and spiritually. But this? To travel down the path of justice, would Eisiah see it as such? Or would he see it as revenge?

"When we're done here, Eisiah, then we'll get closure. But right now, I need my brother at my side so we can end this."

Mathis slowly extended his hand out to Eisiah.

"I know this is a lot to deal with. It hurts. It hurts a lot. But will you allow me to lead you to victory, so then we can bring justice to her?"

Eisiah looked into Mathis' eyes and there he saw the faint tremblings of grief at work but yet behind those eyes, Mathis knew of Eisiah own pain that he held behind his walls. Amidst the anger and grief that Eisiah felt so unexpectedly, it blinded him to even the fact that their leader had to bear witness to such a thing and be able to do nothing. Perhaps it was a testament to their bond as brothers separated by blood, but without words they could read eachother like a book.

Sighing in exasperation and defeat, Eisiah swung out his hand to Mathis'.

"I hate you."

"I love you too, brother." Mathis said.

"Guys! Look!" Asurien shouted, pushing her voice past the deafening tone of the wind that rushed by. The lead scout of 'Team A' pointed out to the horizon capturing all of their attention.

Mathis' chest heaved as his breath slowly caught back up with him and then he approached Asurien's side.

"What do you see?"

Following the direction of her finger, there were a few faint speckles of discolored snow that raced towards them. Rounding the next hilltop in front of them poked out three heads as they desperately ran through the waist high snow.

"Serene.." Mathis said under his breath, and despite his own exhaustion he summoned enough strength to battle the wind that fought him every inch.

It took but a second to reach her, as he leapt through the air in a way that seemingly defied the rules of the world. As he carefully landed in the waist high snow, white powder shot up into the air and got caught in the wind, whipping him in the face as he raced to her. Serene's face covered by a mask and her armor battered and worn with pieces missing. Her body still was covered with the under armour that was specifically tailored to the dimensions of her own body. But even then, it looked worn as if the worst had happened.

"Serene!" Mathis shouted as he rushed to her, catching her before she fell. Her body was light, as if it were a feather, but not that it was a sign of weakness; as he knew that she by far one of the strongest. But as she sank into her brother's arms from exhaustion, he couldn't help but feel an inexhaustible fear wash over him. Never had he seen her in such a state of desperation and utter exhaustion. .

As the wind kicked up the residue from the black fog that clung to her skin and clothes, as well as the coughing fits that wreak havoc on her lungs. She couldn't talk, with the effects of the black fog, it was a miracle that she was still breathing.

"Messiah! We need an antidote over here!" Mathis shouted. Not even a second later Messiah appeared from his peripheral with a vial in hand already out for Mathis.

Lowering her mask, he could see the faint trail of blood that trickled from her mouth against her fair skin as he poured the contents down.

The antidote that trickled into her mouth was of a concentrated dose, mixed with a high health potion and a stamina potion, it was one specifically designed to get back into the fight even after being subjected to the black fog. It was thing that they had used time and time again. After all it was thanks to Eisiah, their botanist, as well as their comrade Noshuwah, Team B's own botanist and mage. In the short time it took for the potion to activate he counted only two others instead of their being a total of eight. Leaving her to return with only herself and Yellen and Seira.

He shook his head, that's not right. It's anything but right. They had some of the strongest members in the city of Orario. The others have to be busy making preparations, or falling back. Maybe even setting up countermeasures for the Beasts advance. Yes, that had to be it.

As the contents took effect, her eyes widened as she took a breath in coughing out the black residue that no longer clung to her lungs.

Soon enough the other two followed suit after being administered the antidote by Messiah.

Hunched over, she heaved and finally with her lungs cleared she breathed breathes of frigid air that stung her lungs.

"Serene. What happened? Where's everyone else?" Mathis said as he knelt beside her.

And there was a loud bang that sounded as if it split the air. The sound drew their attention to the peak of the hill just beyond them. Carried by the wind the black fog had caught up to them. It's ominous presence carried and mixed by the gust of snow created corona wisps that peaked over the horizon like the dawn of a new day with a black sun amidst the pure white landscape.

Then the all too familiar sound pierced their ears.

The Beasts roar echoed from the distance.

As the breaths escaped her lungs, and her body's stamina restored, she turned to him with a horrified expression as she ripped off the rest of her hat and mask revealing her fair skin that lay battered and bruised.

"We need to run."

"△▼△▼△▼△"

Everyone sat in silence, watching Mathis as he leaned over the cauldron, as if hypnotized by the memories playing back behind his eyes. The water had finally reached a boil after some time, and the last stem was in hand with Mathis beginning to select the ripest of parts.

"We started losing people left and right as we ran. The damned thing got faster, stronger.. It wasn't the same as it was before, it wasn't an incremental growth. This time it was an exponential growth.. All we could do was run. We weren't given a fighting chance in the snow with my team. That's not how my team was structured. And then-.. Every floor just became a blur, a never-ending fight. Where it soaked everything in black."

"Before we knew it, we reached the deep floors. In total we only have five people left. Myself included. I uhh.." Mathis reached to his stomach as if he could see the wound before him that played on the other side of his eyes..

Clutching his shirt where the injury once was, he could still feel the burning sensation of inflamed nerves reacting to the oxygen and the black fog. It was unbearable. Unthinkable. The amount of blood that came out from his gut.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

As they ran, Mathis felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck. One that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand, and as he couldn't bear its sensation he gave in and turned. The white of his eyes shown as he stopped in horror. Muro had fallen behind without a peep nor a call for help. Despite his bashfulness, he wore great pride, but that pride put him in a situation that he could not escape.

"MURO!" Mathis shouted at the sight of the young man frozen in fear as the Beast approached the young man. Eager to claim another life of the familia that had brought it so much pain.

He couldn't hesitate, and so he didn't, but in that split second he didn't even have time to breathe. The ground groaned as he stepped forward with one powerful leap immediately bridged the gap between him and the boy. Gripping Muro's shoulders, he spun around and threw him towards Serene and the others, all the while the young man shrieked at the sudden weightlessness.

Using the momentum he gripped the hilt of his sword and drew it to face the Beast. The edge of the sword glowed white, and there lay a faint hope that it'd be enough for them to escape.

As he prepared to swing, his body froze as a wave of pain shot through his body from the top of his stomach. A faint gasp escaped from his breath before he looked down to see the damage. And there he saw for the first time a fracture in the porcelain armor. For the first time in his life, it happened. After being worn and abused, it never chipped, never scratched. It survived years. It was Tessaryne's pride and joy, made solely for him and his cursed body. But at last the Beast itself has garnered such unprecedented strength, that not even such blessed armor could withstand it's blow. And across Mathis' gut a horizontal cut and a mess of red liquid spewed down his white armor.

With the center claw piercing his gut, Mathis looked up to see the snarl on the Beast's face. Releasing a chuckling bellow in it's ultimate act of revenge, the moisture clung to his face just before he was thrown back to his team. His familia.

Coming to a stop, his head pointed in such a way that his view consisted solely of his sister. And his breath seized, his vision faded with black coming in from all sides. He was going to be engulfed in the darkness as mass amounts of blood fled from his body.

He was going to die.

They were all going to die.

All that was around him seized to be as his consciousness fled to a place where there was simply nothing. An oblivion where there was no Heaven nor Hell. Just an emptiness surrounding him. Even with eyes open, there was nothing to see.

For the others he could not be so certain whether they'd share such a fate. This cruel line of thoughts linger in his mind. But soon it was broken. As if being awoken from a deep slumber by the rising of the morning sun a light fought the darkness.

And in the blinding light, he could see her.

The subtle shape of her face.

Was this heaven?

"Mom?" It was the most ridiculous thing to utter. It was a face that he had forgotten a long time ago, back when they were but years old. Before they were taken away. But in this delusional state nothing made sense.

And yet, she smiled. A smile that could bring any one under her thumb.

"It's going to be ok.."

"Serene?"

Across her cheeks he could see the faint glimmer of a tear strolling down her cheek as she smiled in relief at the fact that he was alive. Somehow he was alive. The hole straight through his stomach and his back had been healed. Whatever she did worked.

Was it the water?

Or was she hiding something from me this entire time?

Standing before him as he lay on the ground, she opened her mouth to say something but the only sound that reached his ears was the sound of her bones snapping as the Beast struck her from the side.

Whatever breath that resided in him suddenly vanished as his eyes watched her body crash to the ground.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

"Light…" His voice trembled. "It doesn't like light."

Before Riveria's eyes, his body tensed and trembled.

"If you want to kill it. You're going to need light. It doesn't matter if it's fire or not. But for whoever uses that light, they will become the sole target of that damned thing."

No one dared interrupted for what could they say?

"We're sorry."

"My condolences."

"Let's stop for today."

Yes there were some sentiments, some grief being shared as part of being a decent human being but the main reason why they didn't interrupt was because he wasn't finished.

For Riveria, though, it was the light bulb in her mind that lit up.

That's why they were chosen..

Bell's one shot ability, Argonaut. The summoning of such grand light and sound that could rallying hope in the darkness. In times of despair in the face of defeat. For if the Loki familia couldn't handle the thing called the Beast with strategies and sheer might, perhaps the one weakness, the ace in the hole, Bell Cranel might.

It was such a string of thoughts that left her with more questions than answers. How did Ouranos know of such a strategy? Were the members of the Vishnu familia working in cooperation with the deity? Or were they operating alone?

One question led to another, and in the time that Mathis took to formulate his words, she came to one conclusion; that she was going to have to see someone she's been reluctant to see for so long. Someone who may hold some of the answers that have spawned in her mind.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

"No.." He said in denial as he crawled against the floor. His mind in shock as he couldn't process what had just happened. And his legs seemingly hell bent on remaining asleep.

"To aide in the damning of the damned, I utter to thee to breathe." Eisiah called out as he began concurrent casting. Desperately trying to maintain his focus as he drew the Beast's attention away.

The level around them was different, no longer were they surrounded by the cavernous passageways of the dungeon, but rather they took cover in the twists and turns and deadends. They were on the labyrinth floor. Level thirty-seven. At some point they moved, they carried Mathis' broken body up an unknown number of floors.

"To breathe life into this world of chaos and embers, to stoke the flames of life and give pause for the fallen. I urge thee to breathe.." Striking his staff onto the ground with each mentioning of the word breathe, the air shifted and stirred with the darkness in a manner that could only be described as hypnotic as a clearing began to form in the darkness.

In the background Muro cast the long spell that he had been chanting.

"Esterio freeze!" Pale blue eyes streaked through the hole in the darkness giving safe passage for Muro to maim the Beast. Striking the tendon, the Beast cried a foul shriek as it tried to whip away the nuisance.

"Breathe." Eisiah chanted once more, striking the base of his staff into the ground as Muro held off the Beast. Trails of the black fog slowly approach him, like snakes slithering to an alluring tune of a song played before them. Slowly the black fog had reached him in such a concentration that it seeped under his armor and burned his skin. Groaning in pain, he had to endure, to give the opening needed for his ally.

"Breathe." He chanted once more as it reached up to his neck as if to engulf his being in burns that crawled up like vines in a jungle.

The Beast groaned and shrieked as the spell finally took effect on it, where the pores on its skin ruptured and bled, denying it it's ability to produce such a toxin.

As the two cast their spells keeping the Beast at bay, two others quickly approached Mathis as he crawled on the floor. Finally reaching the still body of his sister Serene, he gazed upon her lifeless eyes as he lift her head off of the cold ground.

"Wake up.." Gently aiming her eyes towards him, there was nothing behind the veil. Solely a solemn stillness. An unbearable truth.

"Please wake up."

This was the woman he was born and raised with. Taken away together by some unknown being, and thrust into a world where there were so many consequences for every single action, every step they took. Good or bad. And no matter the trouble, no matter the circumstances, they always overcame them together. As brother and sister.

"Serene.."

He didn't want it to be the last time. It couldn't.

Asurien was the first to approach, her normally smooth and sweet voice turned hoarse from the black fog. She reached for his shoulder to pull him away, for there was nothing they could do except to run. To run fast and as far as possible in a desperate attempt to escape this horror. To survive.

"We've got to go!" Shouting her voice barely reached his ears from the sounds of battle as the walls of the labyrinth level crashed around them.

But no matter how much she shook and shook, his view never left his sister. There was one thing, one thing that he was certain that he possessed. And while the thought lingered that maybe she too possessed a similar ability. He couldn't allow her to die, not in this place.

There he decided to commit the ultimate taboo in the last place that he should ever try.

"No. There's one thing.."

Releasing the backpack from behind, he swung it in front and reached in. He pulled out something not for him, but for his ally, Asurien. Wrapped in a fine white cloth, it's shape was long and thin. Immediately her amethyst eyes recognized what it was.

"Take this."

Silence overcame her as she reached for the sword. She knew what it meant. It was a parting gift from their father. A man both Mathis and Serene barely knew, and only by news of his declining health had they finally met him in the worst of circumstances.

But what Asurien held in her hands was one of the last of the Crozzo magic swords. More accurately put, it was a short sword. It's use limited. A desperate measure.

"This will buy us some time. Then we'll go." Mathis said with a faint trembling voice. "Pass the word to Eisiah, then assist Muro in any way you can."

Asurien was there on the day that they tested the magical blade, after witnessing its ability to cause mass amounts of devastation, she knew it was enough. They both knew.

Nodding, she carefully gripped the hilt of the sword and held it close. Never had she held such power. There was no time to examine it's silver edge that was lined with the twisting colors of white and black as the darkness quelmed any light from witnessing its magnificence.

"Go." Mathis said softly, but somehow his voice pierced the cacophony of noise and reached her ears, where she could not say no.

She nodded, and then just as quickly she left to join the frey.

Watching her go, he turned back to Serene, and in his hand a small unbreakable vial of water. Water that he had the utmost faith in. But it was something that was solely meant for him and him alone.

"Damn it all." He said to himself as he poured over her body.

The water seeped through the white under armour and onto her fair skin. Trailing it's trickling stream up to her face, her skin glistened. And there he began, for the first time committing such a taboo. And thus he began something that there was no turning back from.

"Son of the Light, of the Auroras, with bones etched with trials and tribulations through time. With a heart that was once strong, now grown weak, I beckon the Light that I possess to give rise to life. To restore the bonds that were lost as the light of another's grips onto this unforgiving world."

It was as it was before. A blinding light summoned at his palm. Knowing all too well that this would paint a target on his back. He continued and dared not to waste such precious time and energy. Nor the efforts of his people.

Even if it ended in failure, he would do as he promised. They would leave.

"Find it in yourself to release your grip upon this soul, this mind, this body to cycle of life. Restore it's flesh. Replenish the light within it's soul. And to deny those the grief that this loss will cause. I beckon you, Light of mine, as Son of the Auroras, to give rise to life in exchange for any and all that I may have."

As the light grew into a blinding light, it ate away at the darkness. Overcoming the despair that wrought itself upon their soles. But the Beast eager to end this ideal, sought out it's source. Without looking Mathis could tell, as the pounding footsteps raged closer and closer.

He wouldn't stop.

He didn't want to lose her.

Simply because everywhere she went, she left it in a better place. Serene made this world a better place.

But him?

That he couldn't say. So he offered it all in exchange.

"Take it all."

He said with trembling breath.

The Beast was quick on it's approach, rushing into the light that combated it's own darkness. Willing to endure the pain to make a point.

"You will die. You all will die. I'll make sure of it."

"Alterum diem vivere."

The white light grew and enveloped all and the sounds of battle came to halt. The Beast was nowhere in sight. And the darkness was gone. The remaining members could breathe, Muro, Asurien, and Eisiah as they stood in the center of utter devastation. Wall of the labyrinth had crumbled around them giving an open view to the four layers of the labyrinth. Never in their life had they thought such destruction was possible. From them, nor from such a monster.

But in the center of it all, kneeling over Serene's body, Mathis held his breath as he waited to see if there was any glimmer of hope in this act of desperation.

"Did-.. Did we win?" Muro said softly in the silence.

All of the eyes of the remaining members scanned the area, waiting for any indication of a new wave to battle.

"No.. It has to be around here somewhere." Asurien said as she wearily scanned the environment with the magical sword at the ready. "It must be licking its wounds.."

Eisiah's eyes slowly drifted over to their leader. Where they sharpened in dismay at what he had known to have just happened. He had set them down a path of no return, the start of a contingency plan.

"You damned fool." Eisiah growled.

"Shh.." Asurien hushed them as she struck a defensive stance holding the magical sword out in front of her as she slowly back tracked to Mathis along with Eisiah.

"Did it work?" She whispered but the answer she received was a simple shake of his head.

Hanging his head low, unable to bear the truth before him, that it failed. Lifting her body up and off the ground, he met Eisiah who finally approached him. There wasn't much time, the spell, the act itself stirred the pot of the dungeon enraging it.

"Please take her." Mathis said as he held her out to Eisiah.

Standing before him, Eisiah resisted at first but right on cue at the taboo that Mathis had committed, the dungeon itself groaned in defiance and the floor shook. Offering his arm, Serene's light body gently sat in the knook of his arms as he cradled her. The sensation was surreal all throughout, that this never was a possibility to happen. That Serene would die, that Eisiah would hold her lifeless body. The grey and golden curls of her hair bounced and dangled as a few became unravelled with one another.

It looked as if she was merely resting with how peaceful she looked.

"You're really going to do this aren't you..?" Eisiah said in faint disbelief as his scornful tone hid underneath.

As the Vice Captain, Eisiah knew immediately what he had done and the contingency plan that was set in place for this single action.

Mathis nodded.

"Everyone." He gave them all a quick glance. "We're initiating the Luminance Protocol.."

There was a gasp, another released a dumbfounded breath that was no word in particular.

"Make your way to the exit. Warn the people of Rivira. And when you reach the surface-..." Mathis paused as his eyes got caught on the young man before him. Muro stood in silence, his eyes trembling. He could see the defiance building behind his eyes, a daring explosion of denial that this was going to be the last time they'd see each other.

They were going to leave Mathis behind.

"-You know what to do.." He said as his eyes drifted to Serene's still eyes then to Eisiah's.

"But that doesn't mean we want to." Asurien objected adamantly as she shook her head, taking a single step closer.

No, if she were to go anywhere, it'd be with him.

It was the same for everyone else. Even though the protocol dictated them to leave, after everything they had been through since they were adopted into their familia, they couldn't. It was written on all of their faces. Even Eisiah's scornful face couldn't stand the thought of following the plan.

But for them to survive against the Beast, who had actively sought out Mathis first, time and time again, they needed to be selfish and run. Something he knew that they never could do. Their loyalty to a man who offered them refuge was undeniable. That was what made it so difficult.

So he gave them no choice.

An innocent warm smile crossed his face, as their determination warmed his heart. Not just the bonds they shared, but the love that was accepting and unconditional. It was the one time he allowed himself to smile. A rarity that few had seen, even for his brother, Eisiah.

"I'm sorry." Mathis said slowly with the bottom of his face containing a smile, but his eyes and brow shaped mournfully. "But you have to go."

The magic sword that he had given Asurien would keep them safe, and it'll be able to clear the rubble that surely would now be blocking their exit. And as long as he stays here, a new collapse would be bound to happen, sealing the floor off. All they would have to do was follow the marks painted on the wall throughout the maze. If those marks disappeared for some reason, hope would not be lost. Time and time again they have ventured to this labyrinth and it's path imprinted in their minds.

That was the plan at least. For them to survive. A plan that was ingrained in them from the beginning.

And despite how much they desired to remain still, he could see Asuriens feet slowly back away with trembling amethyst eyes that began to pool with tears. One small step, then another. And like a rubber band, she snapped forward closing the gap before them and she wrapped her arms around his waist as she burrowed her face into the bottom of his chest. And on cue, Muro did the same. Striking him with a force that he barely managed to stay on his own two feet, he could hear their muffled sobs as they dared not to let go.

There wouldn't have been enough time to recount the days and night spent awake all for their sake. Keeping them safe, to watch them grow to become the strong individuals that they had become now. For when they all were strangers at first, throughout time they became a family. And now, despite all that time they had spent together, there was so little time to say goodbye.

Ruffling their hair, he kneeled down before them, for though he was tall, and they were still in their teens, he wanted to reach their eye level. To give them this one last moment.

"I'm so proud of you two. You have no idea the joy you have brought Serene and I." Mathis said, cradling their cheeks and wiping the tears with a gentle swipe of his thumb. Seeing how much they have grown it brought a smile to his face that he tried so desperately to hide. To shelter them from the rarity, he held them close, and as the Dungeon roared and rumbled he had to let them go. Facing Eisiah there was a pause between them as Eisiah said nothing but only glared at his brother with both parts frustration and sorrow.

"I-.. I never once hated you." Eisiah said finally. Almost reluctant to accept this moment, though knowing all to well it was too late to stop what was set in motion.

"I know. And you are like the brother I never had." Mathis said as his final farewell. "Keep them safe."

"I will.."

"Eisiah.. One last thing." Mathis called out.

He stood there just a distance away with the other two.

"Find Hermes."

Unsure, Eisiah narrowed his eyes at Mathis as if posing an unspoken question. And Mathis simply nodded. That was all the confirmation Eisiah needed, to set him on the path of justice for his love. Even at the distance away, Mathis could see clearly the faint trembling of his jaw and the swirling grief and anger. But therein lies a love.

"Thank you."

Time was short, and the farewells couldn't have been any longer. For soon this position would be overwhelmed. Watching them leave and turn the corner he waited for the last light to vanish from his view.

The pressure and anxiety in his chest tensed as he exhaled a single deep breath as he tried to gain his focus. Trying to accept that this was the end of the line.

Dropping down to one knee, he bowed his head as he slit his hand open. Wincing at the pain that he had never gotten quite used to, he carefully drew a circle with and wrote in hieroglyphs. Dotting his i's and crossing his t's, the impromptu magic circle was finished. Striking his sword in the center, he prayed in a tongue that was undecipherable to the untrained ear. Only to end it with simple request in koine.

"Please keep them safe. And I will do my part."

Gripping the hilt of his sword, the blade glowed a pure white light that burrowed deep into the ground, reaching far into it's depths and wide through the floor with rays of light peeking through the cracks.

Then the Dungeon roared.

"You will die together."

The light faded, and the ground shook. They were coming. A horde of monsters. And somewhere in that mess of mayhem was the Beast, waiting for a prime opportunity to strike.

Off in the distance, he heard a faint rumble and then another.

"They found the exit.. Good."

Rising to his feet, he pulled the sword from the ground. With his eyes set on the horizon, waiting for the horde to come into view, the only thing that was on his mind was a hymn. One of two hymns that he could remember from days so long ago. Hymns that his mother had sung him when he was just a child. And though he had no memory of his mother's face, he always remembered those two songs.

With a plain thoughtless expression he sang as he swung his sword in the palm, his hand capturing an unrelenting grip as he squeezed the blood from his palm.

And so he sang.

"Oh, how the mighty fall,"

There on the horizon he could see a shuffling. It was a group of Spartoi. Skeletal warriors that exceeded the combat strength of most humanoid combatants. Taking a few steps forward, he began his march. They had found him, and once their sights made contact with him, he could see them rush forward.

"And oh how far they fall,

All while freeing and fleeing from the depths of despair,

Into the light that shines from above."

Scooping the empty unbreakable vial from the floor with the tip of his sword, he swung it in a perfect arch into his palm. With a flick of his sword, a single streak of light broke through the air and struck the rushing Spartoi, ultimately decimating the first row. Their bones cracked and rattled as they fell to the floor and turned turned to ash as their remains were trampled by Spartoi behind.

"In the twilight sky you shall see,

The Twin stars of Alastair."

Closing in at great speed, he flipped the vial in hand and struck with the end of his sword, sending the vial straight down the center where the Spartoi had concentrated most of their numbers. As the vial whipped through the air, the air wrapped itself around it in a way that made an eerie whistle. Impacting the first Spartoi's shield, as if it anticipated to block the puny vial, it never anticipated the blessing it had received would allow it to pierce through the shield and through itself. As well as the number of Spartoi from behind.

"So no matter how far you shall fall,"

Right from the beginning he was going to be surrounded as the horde took advantage of the now open area. But that didn't phase him. He was waiting for a sigh a clue, of the Beast's return. With his blood freshy spilled, there was no way that it'd deny itself of the aroma of fresh blood.

"Never forget-

The permanent truth,

Your names are written in the sky."

Swinging his sword out in front of him, another ray of light streaked across the battlefield. Impacting the Spartoi and the mass of rubble behind it, sending debris and dust into the air. And finally it happened.

"-With my never-ending love."

The Beast had signaled its return with a mighty roar.

Surrounded by Spartoi, they all froze, seizing the battle and stared at the source of the new threat.

Behind the mound of rubble, the black fog seeped into the area across the floor like a dark mist and slowly it arrived with the crumbling of a labyrinth wall. Stepping out from the ruin with crimson draped over its skin, it grumbled and hissed at its opponent surrounded, staking its claim, it's kill.

Finally it'll have it's prey, it's revenge.

"This one is mine."

Even with such fearful odds, at the fate that he had set for himself to buy his familia time to escape, he chose to fight.

But the Spartoi couldn't resist their own blood lust. Breaking the silence, the one closest rushed forward to strike an opening. With a swift swing of his sword, he deflected the monster's blade, and grasped it's skull. Without losing his gaze to the Beast he began to slowly he squeezed tighter and tighter until finally a loud crack broke the silence.

Then all hell broke loose.

There was no time to breathe, only to fight. As a furry of blades and shields rushed towards him, reaching out in different swings and swipes, he dodged, countered and struck blows of his own. Some got lucky, others luck ran out. For every Spartoi that would fall, and four more would follow as he swung his blade that struck light into the enemy. All the while fighting his way towards the monster, who too raced towards him.

In the sounds of chaos, the Beast drove itself closer, leaping over the horde where it landed in a spin, whipping its tail out to strike. Mathis, preoccupied by the Spartoi, only managed to grab a shield from one of the horde and rose it to block.

Bones and metal flew as his boy felt weightless as he shot through the air, and suddenly impacted a standing labyrinth wall. For a second no more his vision blurred but a blinding pain shot through his body as he slid to the ground, and there he glared at his foe.

Before him amidst this battlefield of bone and blood, lay an opening to the Beast. And so he leapt forward giving no pause to the cacophony of noise they were creating.

Picking up the shield that had fled from his grasp mid-flight, he swung his blade releasing an arc of light that the Beast desperately dodged. And there was Mathis's window. Flinging the shield at mind numbing speed, it streaked through the air like a blur, with the human eye unable to comprehend it's speed. Humming as the air rushed around it.

Then the Beast roared a foul cry as the shield dug into its collarbone.

Followed by a series of descending booms that pulsed through the air, bone and metal flew through the air with a torrent of light streaking through the darkness like the rising sun breaching hell itself.

Bearing its teeth the Beast prepared to meet it's foe head-on. Raising its uninjured arm, it brought its claws down with all of the malice that it possessed. Striking the ground, it trembled and broke in a manner most unnatural. As the pieces of rock rose, it gave way to something that the Beast hadn't anticipated.

An attack from above.

Releasing a warcry of his own, Mathis swung the blade overhead as he descended after having used the force of the rising earth as steps. In a single moment that consumed most of his remaining strength he brought his sword down through the uninjured shoulder of the Beast. Slicing clean through meat and bone, the blades force carried it down to the ground, breaking the ground beneath their feet.

Tremors rocked the entire floor, not from the strike, but from a cry of the Dungeon.

The swung down with what strength it had in its most viable arm. With barely enough time to react as exhaustion set in, he raised his sword to block. The force of the strike from the Beast even with an injured arm was a force to be reckoned with as the blow sent him cartwheeling backwards through the approaching horde of Spartoi.

Rising to his feet, coughing fits escaped from his lungs as his body screamed to run, to find air. To live. And as blood escaped from the pool in his mouth he screamed. Screamed at the Beast that sought him out time and time again, and everytime taking away the people he had loved.

To be damned to never see the light of the sun again.

To be cursed to never utter their name.

To bid the fresh air that his body so desperately craved farewell.

Forfeiting it all, so that in turn no one has to endure this Beast's onslaught again.

Racing forward Mathis swung his blade in a fury as a blinding light engulfed him leaving a trail of blood in his wake, not from the monster but from his own wounds. As he sped forward at such speed, it looked as if for a second no more, the blood that escaped from his wounds hovered mid air.

Within arms reach, the Beast swung, and Mathis ducked and slid over the breaking ground. Where at a glimpse he could see nothing but an ominous black through the cracks. Lifting his head up, he prepared himself to rush in once more but as he gazed up he saw the palm of the Beast rushing down to him. Rolling on the floor, he rushed in the opening before it's open jaws could clamp down on him. And with open arms, against an immense opponent, he dove into the Beast's chest in a tackle as the floor around them began to crumble.

Then the Dungeon cried a furious roared prompting the world around them to fall apart and crumble.

"You will die together."

As inhospitable black and glorious white met one last time, in a determined struggle for revenge, they fell far from the light of the labyrinth.

Far from the eyes of the world.

Into an oblivion.

As both bodies lay entangled and ravaged, there was finally a stillness that swept over them. Stuck in a pose like intricately placed toys. Their state unending. Enduring the fear, the adrenaline, the pain. The irony of the Luminance Protocol, was at the end of it all, the light would die to hold the darkness in a stasis.

At least that was the plan.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

"I-.." Mathis paused. "I-.. I don't remember what exactly what happened then.."

Diverting his eyes away as he tried to remember with an anxious flutter within his breath.

"Something happened.. But-..."

The anxiety grew and grew. Something felt off, and horribly wrong.

"It's ok, just take your time.." Riveria tried to reassure him as they all waited.

Taking a deep breath in, and then another slow breath out, he closed his eyes and tried to calm the trembling in his body. The after effects of the adrenaline.

"All I remember is waking up, surrounded by Spartoi.."

"△▼△▼△▼△"

As the Dungeon floor bubbled up and a white brilliant light burst through, there lay an ominous silence as a long figure emerges from the rubble. Beaten and worn, with dried blood staining his face. Heaving deep breaths of exhaustion, as he fell to his knees at the edge of the crater. Gazing around he found the remains of the Spartoi that had circled this phenomena. Slowly their corpses turning to ash as they didn't even have a chance to fight back.

His head trembling and bobbing from side to side, he lifted his gaze expecting to see ruin. But all his saw was the claustrophobic confines of the Labyrinth floor.

"What?" He weakly uttered as he swallowed the saliva that pooled in his mouth that was painfully dry.

"This-... This isn't right.." He said in confusion and horror.

Standing on his own two feet, he marched down the corridor that was before him. The same corridor that his familia fled through. Running his hands against the wall for support, he held his sword at the ready in the other.

Following the slow arch of the corridor, the walls lay bare with no marks from their previous march down. Which still wouldn't be a problem for Eisiah and the others. But as he pushed on, he couldn't help but feel a horrible sensation in his stomach. One that he was determined to ignore, until he had no choice.

As he reached 'T' in the labyrinth, he decided to go left. That would be the way to the exit, but not even a few steps in had he reached a dead end. Staring at the height of the wall, he shook his head at the sight.

"No, this shouldn't be a dead end.." With fluttering eyes, he turned around to the 'T' and reluctantly took the other path, hoping that surely he must've just missed something.

Passing the intersection, he carried on down the corridor with his eyes taking turns staring at his feet, and to the path before him. All that he knew was that he needed to go left, and from his internal map of the floor, it told him that taking the left at the 'T' would've lead him closer to the exit. But after hitting the dead end, he had no other choice but to continue down the other path.

Which he hoped would have led him closer until again he met another dead-end.

Then came the slow and horrible realization that he had no idea where he was and that he prayed that his familia was able to escape before the walls returned.

Rushing back to the crater, to the remains of the Spartoi, he had no choice but to dive deeper into the labyrinth. As he traveled further and deeper than he would've liked, he began to notice strange red marks on the floor as his eyes switched from his path to his feet.

Down some corridor past the crater, he knelt down to touch it. It was a part of a magic circle that was already activated. And as he gazed it's wide lines, he trailed it's arch to the edge of the wall where it must've continued on the other side. But what dumbfounded him was why there would be someone who wished to use such a thing.

Following the corridor at a hard left turn, the path lead into a 'U' shape, following it he reached the end of it and the beginning of another 'U' turn that veered deeper into the labyrinth. And what stood before him gave him both relief and worry.

Relief that finally he had found another adventurer, a potential ally. And worry that he wanted to prevent them from experiencing the same horror he had just survived.

"Hey!" He called out, his voice weak and dry. "You gotta go! You gotta get out of here!"

The adventurer who stood still, slowly turned to face him. Dressed in a black robe, and face adorning a silver mask, they gazed upon Mathis as if they finally found the person they were searching for.

One step forward, then another, they reached for their belt under their robe and slowly drew out the longsword that was stained black like an obsidian blade, anticipating their kill.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Mathis said as he slowly backed away with one hand out.

Closer and closer the adventurer stepped, and from underneath the mask came an unnerving chuckle.

"You can't be serious right now.." Mathis said as he readied his blade. "You don't want to do this, you're just going to get yourself killed!"

Slowly the masked adventure stepped closer and before their final leap in order to lay claim to the kill, pebbles fell before the masked adventurer.

"Huh?" Those were his last words.

A set of massive jaws dropped down from the width of the corridor and clamped down on the masked adventurers body, all the way down to his legs. There was no scream, no pleas for help, just a deafening silence at the horror before Mathis.

It was the Beast.

Lifting it's head up to swallow its prey, bones snapped and crushed as the life was squeezed from it's prey and down it's gullet.

Mathis trembled, as his breath escaped him. Backed against the wall, there the Beast stood before him, slowly setting it's gaze on him with a cruel and delighted bellowing chuckle. Taking a step close, antagonizing it's prey, it revealed it's set of teeth. It had wasted no time in finding its rival by the scent of his blood.

It was bigger than before. It's shoulders nearly matched the width of the labyrinth walls.

"No. No. Nonononono." Mathis uttered as it took another step closer.

Darting to the right, to try and escape down the path parallel to the Beast, he took one step down it until the Beast came bursting from the other side. Chunks of labyrinth wall falling around it, it released another series of chuckling bellows. Taunting Mathis.

"There's nowhere to run now."

It was back, of course it was, larger and stronger. Any hope of making it to the surface and rallying with his familia was taken away like the breath in his lungs as he stood there trapped. Inching closer and closer, with the only sound being Mathis' racing heart and the breath from the Beast in pure anticipation.

Oh why, oh how, was this to be the end? His mind raced.

Not only had he failed to hold it down, but it had returned once more and has grown into something that made even him tremble.

How many times was it going to be until the end?

From the first time he had witnessed the Beast's malice, to now.

Oh why, and oh how, was this to be their dance, their destiny?

Bitter rivals until one has grown overwhelmed by the other's brute strength.

It slowly crawled, leaving some distance between them until it'd make it's final leap forward. That Mathis knew. For that was the natural reaction for a predator to pounce at it's prey.

Until, somewhere off in the distance there was a hollow raspy cry. A sound that neither Mathis nor the Beast had heard before as both briefly diverted their attention to the sky. From the back of the Beast's throat escaped a curious chirp as it peered behind itself. And though it was only a second, when the Beast returned it's gaze to it's prey, Mathis was gone. Furiously the Beast leapt through the hole in the wall anticipating to catch it's prey mid-escape only to find nothing. And then the Beast released a mighty roar, declaring that it will find him and finish what it had started.

The world around him became a blur as he darted down the various pathways. From one deadend to another, and backtracking until he found the right way. His breath couldn't keep up and his legs burned and begged for him to rest. But there was no time for such a thing. Every fiber of his being urged him forward to see his familia, to get that breath of fresh air.

He wanted so desperately to live.

The walls of the labyrinth narrowed and stopped as he approached a small wide area that held a few different passages. And there he came to the understanding that he had reached the fourth wall of the floor. But what took his breath away was not that subtle fact, but the presence of something so unusual and overwhelming that he couldn't take his eyes away. Through the gap in the towering walls, a large ominous structure stood before him. The sight alone sent shivers of dread down his spine and his being begged and urged him not to go near what looked as if it were a coliseum. It were as if he were on an entirely different floor. But to his knowledge there was only one floor like the thirty-seventh.

Listening to his body, he backed a few steps away and prepared to turn to one of the many options before him that could lead to his escape from this floor.

Cautiously stepping back he paused and there he felt a strange sensation, as his breath calmed, and the deafening sound of his heart pumping eased on his hearing he began to hear something he had missed from before.

There was a sharp creaking sound that lingered above him, and as pebbles trickled down from the wall behind him, only did he give in to the horrible curiosity that plagued his mind. From the corner of his eye he saw it as he turned. It was clad in white armor, no-.. Armor didn't grace it's being, it held no protection against its body. What comprised the surface of this monster was nothing more than bone.

What he found, or rather what found him, was the Juggernaut.

Turning to face the new adversary, he tripped and stumbled to the floor, landing on his bottom causing him to scramble on the floor as the monster felt no need to dive in for the kill as it slowly descended from the wall. And from it's skull came a raspy hollow hiss as it's red eyes fixed themselves upon him. It was assessing its prey.

Tucking his feet under him, he leapt up and swung his blade releasing a single arc of light. But the monster simply stood undeterred by the attack hurling towards it leaving Mathis in faint confusion. Then suddenly a barrier activated and the strike of light that once raced towards the monster now was reflected back at him.

"Oh shit!.." Mathis shouted with the white of his eyes showing in pure surprise. Crossing his arms there was no time to dodge as the magic barrier reflected the strike. Not even a second later it struck Mathis sending him through the labyrinth wall behind him. With dust and debris drifting in the air as the wall collapsed, Mathis tossed and turned breathless and in pain. The porcelain gauntlets had shattered by his own attack.

Gasping for breath, his groans were drowned out by the sound of another cry. On his back, there he saw the black figure of the Beast leaping down onto the Juggernaut. Roaring at the heresy of Juggernaut's attack against the Beast's own prey. As Mathis desperately rushed to move the rubble that trapped his body, he couldn't keep his eyes off the two sparing monsters.

The Beast landed on the Juggernaut as it bit down onto its neck, causing the monster to send a hollow cry out into the Dungeon floor that sent Mathis' stomach churning. Immediately the Juggernaut struck the Beast's side with its spear spear tipped tail as it wrestled out from the Beast's grasp. Once free, the Juggernaut vanished from the sight of the Beast in the blink of an eye, only to stop in the Beast's blind spot nearest its hindlegs and there it swiped it's claws out to maim the monster that defied it's wrath.

Mathis on the edge of hyperventilating, tossed the last piece of heavy debris from his legs and rose to his feet, and ran as fast as he could through the corridors as the thirty-seventh floor became engulfed in a brutal battle between life and death. With walls crumbling down around him, it felt like the apocalypse had brought itself down on this small bit of hell.

From one end of the Dungeon Floor to the next, the battle raged. And the last thing Mathis remembered seeing was the horrific sight of the Beast plowing into the Juggernaut's side, gripping it's bone body with it's claws and with a determined roar that shook the depths of the Dungeon. The Beast had impaled the Juggernaut on a stalagmite that stood amidst the ruin and swiped its tail to the walls that brought the walls down on it, burying the Juggernaut alive.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

"I never saw anything like it.." Mathis muttered as the memory flashed before his eyes. The memory of walls crumbling down around him as two devils fought. "It was Hell fighting with itself. And all I could do was run. I never felt so helpless in my life."

Mathis' eyes drifted to no place in particular. His blank stare for pause in the room and silence filled the night. They all were tired, and possibly no more tired than the man who shared his retelling of the events that had transpired.

"You can't blame yourself for that, guy.." Jai said with crossed arms.

"I'm not.. It's just that-.. I-.." Mathis sighed as his body yearned to release the tension in his chest. "I don't know anymore.."

Shaking his head in defeat.

"The entire time I tried to find any trace of my familia, and everywhere I went I found only blood. I just don't get it.. In all of my years, I've never once seen it. They had to have gotten out, they must've.."

Mathis looked to Riveria and Aiz seeking some affirmation that that was what happened, that his familia escaped successfully to Rivira and warned the people, all while escaping to the surface. But their faces were bare with only silent concern.

"They had to have warned somebody here, right?" Turning to Jai who sat silent with his arms crossed in front of him, he shook his head.

"No, you were the only one to come out.." He was reluctant to tell the truth, as he turned his gaze away. Knowing that it was a truth that would break him. "You were the only one who warned us."

Whatever bodies that were on the floors beneath them were already ravaged and consumed by the Beast. That he remembered from his trip down for the bush, and from Riveria's and Aiz's reaction, they didn't find any survivors either.

Clenching his fist, he dropped his head.

"God damn it.." He said under his breath as his breath trembled. Everything that he held dear was gone. He failed to keep them safe. To hold the Beast down, and now countless people are dead or missing. With the Beast recently slain, it was going to come back stronger, and they still didn't get to perform the ritual on what Serene had found.

"It's all my fault.."

Riveria took a step forward with a narrow gaze.

"Don't say that." Her voice contained mixed parts of concern and sternness. But those words cut off his train of thought as he gazed into her sharp jade eyes. "You were overwhelmed and facing exhaustion from a threat that far exceeded you and your own familia's capabilities from developments by an unknown party. Something you, yourself had admitted. And if what you said is true, and a familia interfered with the order of your operation that sent it spiraling out of control, you can't blame yourself for that, despite how easy that is."

"Yeah, guy. Listen to Nine Hell over here. What you went through, it's not something that just anybody walks away from." Jai offered in conjunction with Riveria who both tried to reassure the man.

Mathis shot them both a confused, exasperated look as tears pooled in his eyes and he pointed firmly to the ground.

"You don't get it.. It is all my fault because I went where no one should ever go and when I did, I found that thing."

"I'm the one who woke it up." Mathis declared with his voice choked full of regret. If he hadn't stumbled across the Irregular, then none of this would've happened. No one would've died, and the Beast would never have left it's domain.

At first their was silence in the confusion, but never once was there anger. They couldn't jump to that. Riveria herself wouldn't allow it. Not after he expressed such guilt and determination to thwart off the threat that not even he could handle on his own. But to come up and make a plea for the others to flee it's wrath.

"If I never went down there Serene would still-..!" His voice grew louder and suddenly cracked once he realized he said her name. Covering his mouth and closing his eyes his breath trembled and shook as tears fell from his eyes that lay hidden under his bangs.

"They all would be-..." He mumbled under his breath.

Riveria saw it all, the cracks sprawling across Mathis as he barely managed to hold it all together. The breaking of his culture from grief at being the sole survivor. At being so utterly alone, with no one around him knowing him. A stranger.

"We have one week.." He uttered in between sobs. "One week before it comes back stronger than before.."

"Huh?" Someone mumbled in surprise.

"It'll make it's push for the surface, and when it does, not even the gods will know what will happen.."

"Wait, you're saying it's going to come back?" Jai gasped in exhaustion at the thought, the terror only to return so soon. Mathis' sole response was a nod as he rubbed his face.

"But did your sister ever say about anything she found below fifty-ninth floor?" Aiz asked softly as her golden eyes carefully watched Mathis.

Still holding his hand to his face, he nodded and then took a deep breath in.

"Ok, then what was keeping the monster alive?" Aiz continued.

Rubbing his face, Mathis drew his hand away and crossed his arms that looked partially like he was hugging himself.

"She said there's a deity keeping it alive.." Mathis said plainly.

Riveria froze at the thought. How could this have slipped under the radar for so long? First Evilus, and now a deity was involved? Her mind raced at the possibilities. Was it Enyo or an accomplice? Or an entirely different deity with no true affiliation to Enyo?

The only thing that she could draw a conclusion to was that no matter the connection, Evilus was involved, a radical group of individuals whose usual goal was the destruction of Orario through any means. Which meant that this Beast was no different, a tool in Evilus's pocket. But what would happen if it reached the surface, she didn't want to find out.

"A deity? Were you able to find out who?" Riveria asked.

"No.. She said that when we returned to the surface that there was a contact who would be waiting, she said it was someone excited to meet us. All I know is that person has the book with the scriptures we need to perform the ritual. But now that she's gone, I have no idea who or what to look for."

Mathis said as he rubbed his hands down his face as if slowly waking up his mind, but Riveria knew it was a desperate attempt to stay awake.

"So unless whoever her contact is reveals herself, this thing is going to keep coming back until it reaches the surface?" Riveria said.

"Mhm.. And that's something that cannot happen."

"Agreed." Riveria nodded as she held one hand to her chin in deep contemplation as she was faced the unbearable truth of where she must go once they bring the Hestia familia to Dian Cecht familia for care. "Is there anything else that you'd be willing to tell us?"

Mathis gave Riveria's eyes a quick glance, then darted to nowhere in particular as he racked his brain for anything.

"The monster has a name. Unofficially, but it's still acknowledged by Ouranos.." Mathis took a slow deep breath in as he tried to steady himself. "It's called the 'Harbinger'."

Riveria's mind rested on the name as it grew an unsettling feeling within her. It was the name of a monster that she had never known. But so what the Juggernaut, if it weren't for Bell and his friend Ryuu, they never would've known such a thing would exist. But why, Harbinger? Her mind was plagued on what it's role was within the Dungeon, if any at all.

"Yeesh, now that really sounds like something we can't let get to the surface." Jai said with a weary huff, leaving Mathis to shake his head at the thought.

"No, it can't.. That's really all I can think of right now. The oils will take some time, maybe a few hours, you all get some rest and I'll take care of the rest." Mathis said as he inspected the stems in the boiling water, before leaving the small room.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get some air."

"Don't go too far." Riveria called out softly to him. "If we come up with anymore questions, it'd be convenient if you were nearby."

Mathis stopped in the doorway, and gave her a soft gaze, his eyes locked with hers and his face held a look of faith that no matter where he went, surely she'd find him.

"Trust me, it'll be easy to find me. That's usually how it goes." Mathis said before he left the room.

She couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the sly comment.

"Insufferable.." She said under her breath.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

Stepping out into the artificial moonlight, the streets were barren and still and faintly light by the torches that the people of Rivira still had yet to take down. But with the safe point cast in the warm and cool colors of the these lights, it felt mildly peaceful despite how much his body groaned and his mind wept.

With one deep breath in, he tried to imagine the moonlight against his skin, and the gentle breeze of the fresh air wrapping itself around him. Letting out a satisfied hmm, it seemed real, but only remained to be a disappointment when he opened his eyes.

"Oh you're outside. Everything all good?" A woman's voice said on approach.

"Hmm?" He said as he turned to meet the voice. It was Tione, the Amazon who had tailed them down to the twenty-fourth floor and eventually ran into. Whether she allowed it to happen or not, remained unclear to him, but as she returned she held a small sack that softly clinked in the night. What she held were the potions.

It was obvious even from his perspective, his eyes and face must've still been red and blushed.

"Yeah, everything's alright. Just getting some air. You can put those inside, it'll be a while until it's ready to get mixed." Mathis said as he glanced through the doorway aiming his gaze to the kitchen. "And thanks again for getting the potions."

"Ehh, don't mention it. It was your valis afterall." Tione said as she left him outside.

"Yeap. Rest up." Mathis said as looked at his empty hands. He couldn't help it, to offer concern for others.

Returning to silence, he couldn't help but turn his gaze to the window that shades lay open, allowing him to peer through. It seemed that all of the Hestia familia were asleep, if not asleep, possibly in too much pain to move. Whatever the case, it'll be a while until the oils are properly extracted, and to use any potion on them now wouldn't be beneficial but a waste of resources.

But beyond the makeshift beds, a figure stood leaning against the closed door, dressed in a black t-shirt and a head full of white hair.

It was the boy from before. Bell. But he stood there as if he was waiting for something that would never come.

Mathis couldn't have been looking at him more than a few seconds, until the boy turned and directly met his gaze. The sight sent shivers down his spine at how he knew where to look with slight adjustment.

"Ehhyea.." Mathis mumbled as he shook his head and turned away from the boy. Leaning his back against the wall, he slid himself down to sit on the dirt. It was soft, and relatively cool in comparison to the wall of Jai's shop. The perfect time to sit and just be alone.

At least that was the plan, until a pair of light footsteps traveled out from inside the shop.

Opening his eyes that were already closed, he found the boy with reddened eyes standing in the doorframe peering out into the street.

"Hey." Mathis said with a wave of his hand to indicate his presence, and drew his hand to behind his back drawing out an item. "I'm sorry about your friend.."

It was the Hestia Blade. Holding the flat sides of the blade, Mathis held out the handle to Bell, where Bell gently retrieved it.

"Thank you.." Bell said, his voice hoarse. Wearing an expression of pure gratitude on his face, he looked as if there were more to say. But from Mathis had heard, he spent a long time out in the black fog where the Harbinger was hunting them down. Speaking those two words alone must've taken a lot of willpower.

"You're welcome." Mathis said with a nod as he cradled his hands to his knees that rested just before his chest as he sat on the dirt.

There was a gentle thud as Bell leaned against the back of the wall and slumped down beside him. And from Bell's breath a deep sigh escaped his lips. Mathis couldn't tell what it was from. Frustration? Exhaustion? More than likely it was both at such a great amount that it's a miracle he could still stand and walk. And yet he chose to sit down by him, was beyond him.

As Mathis peered over to him, he could something stirring in the boy. A purity of heart trembling.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Mathis said as the boy met his gaze, and slowly gazed to the dirt that the heels of his boot dug into. Honestly, Mathis expected a nod, no words.

Shaking his head, he tried to speak but not even a letter would escape from his lips. Instead, his mouth opened and closed, leaving Bell to reach for his throat.

"Don't strain yourself.. In a few hours, the elixir in there should be done, and then you can talk all you want ok? -For you and your friends."

The statement left a perplexed look on Bell's face that Mathis didn't quite know how to respond to. It looked again of mixture of gratitude and exhaustion mixed with an underlying sense of guilt and grief. A horrible cocktail, but a common thing that was served by the Dungeon. But the point remained the same, even if he wanted to, Bell couldn't sleep. After everything that had happened, it'd be a little concerning if he was able to get a peaceful night's worth of sleep on his own.

As Bell turned his gazed away with a gentle nod, they sat in momentary silence. As Mathis stroked his thumb against his left palm, there lay no sensation. Somehow, the water had reached its limits, and his nerves were still fried and his left eye blind. But as he stared into the palm of his hand, he softly sang a nighttime hymn, the second of the two. A hymn that would always succeed in putting himself and his sister to sleep.

"When your mind casts an ocean with waves that keeps you awake,

Reach out your hand and call out thy name,

For the light of our hearts, together they remain,

Even on these sleepless nights, sleep soundly.

Without a sound, without a worry.

Sleep in a slumber, with a mind of bliss.

Sleep so I shall see you tomorrow."

That was the last song he had heard from her. There was no tomorrow, not for them. And yet he held onto those words. Words that always brought him and his sister peace whenever they needed it. That was the power of their mother's love. The mother they never truly met.

As his eyes drifted down from the artificial sky he began to ponder, how was it that even after so long he was able to remember her words and her voice? Along with the faint sensation of her hand reaching for his. But why couldn't he remember her face?

There as he sat, it felt like he truly had nothing. No memory, no familia. All he had left was Lord Vishnu, the deity who brought him and his sister in. That and the one place that could call home. A place in the northern section of the city. He just hoped that when he returned to the surface that it wouldn't be like before. That the trial of fifty-eight days had ended.

Where he'd see the one deity who treated him like how his father once said his mother was to be.

Fair, loyal, and compassionate.

And maybe then he'd recover.

Just maybe.

And then to put an end to this madness once and for all.

From his left, there was a subtle sound. An easy breath in and then another out. Bell sat fast asleep.

"What the-?" Mathis said dumbfounded at the sight. The boy must've fallen asleep to the hymn. He'd never known it to work on anyone but the few people he sang it to. That being his sister, Muro and Tessaryne, whenever the nights bore such a weight that would keep them awake. But Mathis didn't anticipate it having any effect on Bell.

Sitting there in brief confusion, he couldn't let him stay out here for the night. As he rose, he gently lifted Bell from the ground and carried him across his arms. And after carefully opening the door, he spotted a set of golden eyes from the other end of the room, carefully watching him. Aiz sat on a chair, struggling to stay awake as she kept watch over Bell's team.

Up the stairs and down the hallway, there he met Riveria in the hallway who was speaking with Tione.

Tione let out a subtle "oh," as Mathis stepped into view. Surely enough, Tione was giving Riveria a rundown of what happened. But after his unexpected entrance, Tione dismissed herself to her the room she was assigned leaving just Riveria and Mathis.

"I don't suppose you know which room he was staying in?"

With well kept eyes, she opened the door to his left.

"I do." Riveria said quietly as to not disturb the boy's slumber.

Entering the room that was solely lit by the artificial moonlight, he set him down on the bed and covered him up.

Life truly is a delicate thing, even with a deity's blessing and faulna. And how quickly that life can be put in peril by the Dungeon was by no means a surprise for Mathis. This boy, and his familia being a prime example. Victims of the Dungeon's creation, it's malice incarnated in the form of a beast.

And as he carefully stepped away he couldn't help but ask.

"How bad were their losses?" Mathis spoke quietly as both him and Riveria peered into the room.

Riveria released a deep breath, facing her own demons at the thought.

"Only one." As her eyes lay locked on the resting boy.

"And their captain?" Mathis asked as he followed her gaze.

"You're looking at him."

Jolting his head back in faint surprise, his eyes narrowed in uncertainty but also in awe at the idea.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not. He's also the one that killed the thing you call the Harbinger."

Standing in silent awe, he couldn't believe the words he was hearing.

"Huh.." A subtle puff of air escaped his breath in humble awe. "He's just a kid."

"The last I heard, he's a level four.." Riveria said, truly astounded at such a feat that the boy had amounted to. "And he did that within seven months."

For a brief second they shared glances, one bearing the expression of doubt at such an unheard of feat, but the other with jade eyes silently assured him that was the truth. And that even she couldn't help but wonder how.

"How have I not heard of him before?.." Mathis said to himself in awe as he stepped away scratching the back of his head in confusion. Leaving Riveria to stand in the doorframe, watching his figure trail down the hallway and then the stairs.

She couldn't help but watch. As anything else felt strange, like she were stuck in place with her eyes locked onto the last place she saw him. And for a brief few hours, that was the last she saw of him before her eyes grew too heavy for her and a deep slumber welcomed her.

Author's Note: It's a been a while, about a month. And yes for some it's been too long. There were a few factors, one structuring this additions plot (making sure it makes sense), use of dialogue and exposition, flashbacks etcetera. There were times in which I considered scrapping the idea for this addition and rewrite the ending of the previous addition solely because I felt this chapter would take a lot of space, and it does(it's the longest so far at 15k words). But in turn I found that it gives us the information necessary to help propel different aspects of this story along. I did want to slim it down, but as the addition took a life of it's own it couldn't really be helped. Though I do aim to be more concise in future additions, especially after studying more on plot structure, character building et cetera.

That and brainstorming these stories usually come in mental storyboarding, so deciding and translating the visual pace into a readable format has been interesting. Especially considering everyone has their own unique interpretation of literature.

Then there is work, I won't dable on that, for we come here for a sense of escapism.

And then there's writer's block. Oh boy this was a fun one for that. But alas we perservered!

And for those who have gotten this far, thank you. I'm glad you're sticking with us. We're just about ready to finish up this book (one of three) with the next few additions. And yes we'll finally reach the surface and see how and what happens once our heroes of the Loki and Hestia familia return to breathe the fresh air and how the ramifications of everyone involved in the past twenty-four hours affects the state of Orario.