Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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Despite being highly limited on who they could interact with, the group of spirits traveled down a long hallway below ground. The arena of the castle had been restored, it wasn't exactly like what any of them would think of. There were posters along the walls of warriors and the ground was dusty with various larger arenas already having been found.
There were stadium seats all along the room, thick stone walls and ceiling, pillars and various food stalls for an audience. With actual 'food' not just racks of wine glasses and a place for barrels of blood. There was some large 'windows' that were glass and frames, but they lead only to walls with paintings of outside.
"I wish we could go into the library, with Soma here the Master Librarian would 'have' to help us," Maria grumbled as she floated along.
"Yes, it would be helpful," Maxim admitted while studying various posters and quietly was internally measuring up his own peak physique compared to the images.
Unaware the whole time that Lydia was hovering there, fully aware of what he was doing and quietly shaking her head.
"Since the living aren't here... I wish Soma was in better condition so he could bring down whatever it is keeping us here. Simon, or any of our stuffed family members must know 'something' about what's going on." John admitted with a sigh.
"Maybe seeing that it was Jonathan, when it comes to 'seals' only he and Charlotte really dealt with 'that'. Well..." Erics' head tilted to the side in thought, his arms crossing his chest as he frowned. "I remember there was a girl... A woman who fought Dracula and dealt with seals as well... Only it wasn't seals on 'Dracula' it was on the Belmonts themselves..."
"Shanoa?" Loretta supplied readily. "Yes, her tale was tragic in its own way. She was tricked into learning to use a skill very similar to Soma."
"... yes... I..." Stella nodded a frown crossing her face. "Yes, now that you mention it I recall her, she was etched with mystic tattoos that allowed her to absorb part of a demon's power? Even the powers of Dracula himself, but the cost was so high... Much the way as the Vampire Killer is to those not of Belmont blood."
The others pulled back from their observations to look at the twins in various expressions of surprise. "The power of Dominance can be replicated?" Maria asked alarmed and curious in equal measures.
"Not the soul," Stella corrected quickly. "The power, its different, she wasn't going to be commanding monsters that she took the form of. It was in the same fashion of how Soma started out just using the souls in combat. He never commanded them, even after he was told what his power 'was' it seems. For that matter the familiars were almost independent of their actions compared to him originally. Though now the Alura Unes and several others can be controlled by him directly. But she talked about how her adopted brother, Albus, was able to seal the Belmonts away. Though in fairness they weren't warriors, they were just of the blood."
"If we could only go back to the Other Side and inquire about matters with her and Albus." John grumbled.
"Yes, but we can't leave the castle and until that happens..." Lydia pointed out as she looked about at the large room.
"Perhaps we can get Alucard to get Death?" Maxim suggested as he moved closer to the group.
"We shouldn't push it, he's only a proxy lord at the moment. We know Death serves Dracula and is Dracula's friend and confidant. But have we asked ourselves what Death's role is 'without' Dracula or Soma's presence? Its here and its helping, and we shouldn't make it feel like its some type of servant to 'us'." Loretta pointed out, as she lightly fussed with her gown.
"Because if we treat it like its 'our' servant as well, Death might just leave out of annoyance? Soma isn't commanding it after all..." Stella finished, though it was more a question seeking confirmation.
As Loretta nodded with a pleased smile Maxim slowly came to a realization of the twins point as well. "And what happens if it leaves 'with' Soma? Right now its because Soma is physically in the castle with Alucard near by that we're getting anything done to start with. The turned humans don't have time for us to try and play hide and go seek with someone like Death."
"Especially since we can't leave to look to start with!" Maria realized in growing distress.
"And there is no one here currently, not even staff," Lydia noted while she gestured about the room with a simple sweep of the hand.
"I wonder if Soma would even come to this place," John thought aloud as the group of spirits began their way out of the Great Arena. "I get a lot of the modern stuff the castle has implemented are because of him. But this is so old, would he be interested?"
"True, he doesn't strike me as a guy who would sit and watch some type of bloody sport that such a place would call for..." Eric admitted as he looked around. "Though I suppose it could be for the cults. A good number of them are blood thirsty enough to want such a place."
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It felt stupid.
Really stupid.
It felt like playing 'hide and go seek' while being invisible.
Humans couldn't see her, yet here she was hiding behind a pillar and peeking out, too afraid to step out just in case. Fearing that, given his out of place attire, the person on the other side of the room would notice her. The servants could see her and her kin, yet was this one of Dracula's faithful servants?
She wanted to blithely say 'yes' and continue on as she had been. Yet she recalled the stories of her family, from Maria and Richter. Fearful that she was right, Annette had taken her hair and pulled it over her left shoulder as she peeked around the right side of the pillar of the large room. It was an incredibly beautiful room, she had seen such as she had traveled with her family.
Palace rooms of France and Spain, the English palaces that she wanted to spend time observing. The walls were painted so elegantly in rich colors of subtle blues and crisp whites. Many of these rooms were now parts of 'museums' and not really 'palaces' anymore as she understood it. Meant to express how they were designed once long ago. During the times she was alive, times before she was alive, and times after she died sleeping in bed that cool autumn night.
Despite being the wife of Richter, she was never afforded an invitation to such lofty places. The most any of the Belmonts visited was the Vatican, and at the time she had not been invited. So here she was, distracted by the beauty of the room, admiring the furniture and designs that had been famous when she was alive. Not strange like this modern age, or really different, just richer...
Then Orlox came into the room.
He had strode into the room, carrying a massive painting that he then laid against the wall. Richter had spoken very little of the Castle regarding his second 'trip'. Maria had been more forthcoming about the building hence Annettes' ability to recognize the vampire. He was pretty much the way that Maria described him. He wore this rather stern, sleek pants and coat set of indigo.
Then there was the helmet, this full head covering design that left her unable to see anything about him. Which Maria had explained that Orlox wasn't a 'handsome' vampire, rather one of those who was disfigured.
'Why is he here though?' Annette pondered as she peeked at the Vampire from time to time. He didn't hang it up, and instead just stood there staring at the painting, his back the only thing that Annette 'could' see. 'Oh come on, talk to yourself! I want to know what you're up to!' she thought to herself in irritation as she tried to figure out what the painting was about.
He was in her way, blocking the view with his towering frame, unmoving and silent as the grave. 'Why a Vampire? If he were human I could walk over there, he wouldn't be able to see me. Maria said he never showed any ability to use sealing magics so its not like he's a threat...' Annette told herself as she stood there. And kept standing there as she tried to find the courage to walk forward.
'You're being stupid Annette! You faced down 'Dracula' for Gods' sake!' But this wasn't Dracula. Seals were being placed in the Castle, 'Dracula' wasn't the threat, her husband was in a plush state and unable to help her. 'It was one thing when there were a few of us, I could risk the bravado back then. But this... I can't risk this. There are too many innocent lives, only to find out this vampire is capable of something dangerous.'
Because he 'could' just be one of Dracula/Soma's loyal servants. Somas' power subjugated any soul he had absorbed into himself as long as he willed it. Only she didn't know if this was one of those souls.
"Boo!"
Annette literally floated herself up several feet in the air, her cheeks puffed out with the scream she had fully wanted to let out! Long deprived of physical sensation and yet suddenly she could remember in 'vivid detail' the feeling of panic. That hair standing on end, goosebumps along her arms and the desire to propel herself forward feeling. She whirled around in a state of barely contained terror and found herself looking down at Soleils' highly amused, dare she say impish, expression.
"He..." he didn't get much else out when she floated down in a rush and covered his mouth.
They were dead.
They had no physical bodies to speak of.
And he could totally ignore her attempt at getting him to be quiet on the grounds of those two facts and his curiosity. Annette was very beautiful, she was also very married and family so he half rolled his eyes as he grew silent.
Yet he also noted her worried glance around the pillar, which caused him to lean over and check as well. 'She did get kidnapped by Dracula so maybe she has a good reason for this weird behavior?' All he saw was the back of a vampire dressed in a purple suit and with a rather unnecessary helmet on his head. Though he couldn't avoid the feeling of oddness of seeing a vampire just staring at... a painting? Why wasn't it up on the wall?
The room was large, not just wide along the sides but also with a high ceiling, only walls of the room were bare of any paintings. Soleil drifted forward to study the vampire and this painting, only for Annette to grab and pull him back. She shook her head rather stubbornly and for a moment he resisted before resigning himself to backing off.
Annette looked around before diving downward towing Soleil in her wake as she moved. There was nothing there though, only thick stone and anxious to get this dealt with she began hurrying off in a direction towards faintly recalled rooms.
Soleil obeyed the trip though he didn't see the point to it, and eventually they arrived in a side room. A bed was resting in the center of the room though pressed up against the wall, with the walls and floor shades of warm maroon and various pieces of furniture.
"Ok Annette what was with the silence..." He asked settling to turn and face the blond.
She was turned to face the way they came, her arms crossing her chest as she did so, "my sister told me about him. If that's Orlox, he's 'not' one of Dracula's minions or servants. He's, well," her head tilted to the side slightly. "A traitor, he serves only himself and was kept a prisoner in the castle. Though not in the classic idea of a cell, he had a section of the castle possibly for some form of sport. Richter was possessed by Dracula at the time. I wouldn't put it past Dracula to use Orlox as the 'sport' for Richter when my husband got bored. From what I understood Orlox was similar to Dracula having a second form that was fought. Thus easier to get Richter to confusedly fight the lesser vampire. So the question remains, why is he here... Why bring a traitor back?"
Soleil blinked in surprise before slowly nodding, cursing his own flippancy when Annette came from a later time. Time was not in stasis and she, even not as a vampire hunter, had the foresight and forethought to realize the situation. "You have an excellent point, pray forgive my childish greeting..."
"Well so long as he didn't notice us, no harm no foul... I just worry because while the living not of our blood can't see us, the servants of Dracula 'can'. But where does he stand amid all this? We can't afford the risks, not with civilians trapped between being human and not."
"Right, he didn't say anything?" Soleil asked as the pair turned to return the way they came.
"I wish, he had only arrived not long before you in fact. That painting in his arms and its unusual given how that room has no paintings of its own." Annette recounted before sulking, "why couldn't he be more like Dracula and like to monologue about his genius?"
"He didn't know we were in the room with him? Though... do..." He paused and gave Annette a look. "Do people do that? Talk about their inner thoughts out loud to themselves?"
She blinked a little in disbelief before slowly nodding. "Yes, haven't you ever thought of something then when you said it out loud realize how stupid it sounds? Or realize a flaw to the idea only when its passes your lips and goes to your ears that way?"
They stood there for a moment staring at each other quietly before Soleil began drifting back to the room with Orloxs.
"I'm not the only person, I've heard Maria talk to herself too. And it 'was' to herself not her little animal friends either." Annette pointed out shooting needle vision into Soleils' back.
Soon they were floating slowly up into the room, peeking up before hiding themselves behind the pillar. Rising up they peeked cautiously around the pillar with roughly the same apprehension that Annette felt before. It was mostly empty save the sound of crackling, a fire that was now burning. Further out into the room all appeared as before save what was possible the painting.
It rested on an easel in the center of the room. The painting was sizable in and of itself, easily the size of a person. Draped with a thick red fabric that pooled below it and was burning with bright red flames that were licking their way up the fabric to the painting. While through out the room there was no visible sign of the vampire.
"I don't like this," Annette announced, breaking the silence first as she approached the painting. It was useless of course, she couldn't touch anything given she was a mere spirit.
"Lets get the servants in here..." Soleil decided as he started to get to the wall when Annettes' voice stopped him.
"Oh that's easy! HELLO! WE NEED ROOM SERVICE!"
'Room service?' Soleil thought to himself, while Annette wore the expression of a very pleased woman.
"They taught me... Oh here we go!" She turned her gaze, leading Soleil to do the same and found a maid rising up from the ground. Emaciated, with her red hair bunched up in an effort of professionalism under her cap. The maid turned to look at Annette with that all to familiar 'here but not here' gaze all the maids had.
"I don't even... Help, take the cloth off the painting before it burns. We need to see what it is!" Soleil ordered the maid and for which she answered with a blessed promptness.
Walking over her shoes clicking on the marble floor, she grabbed the fabric and began working it off the painting. A testament to the sheer size of said painting as she struggled while another maid rose up from the ground. Soon the pair, a brunette joining the red head, was finally able to pull the thick cloth off the painting and began stomping out the flames under undead feet.
The pair moved to the front of the painting... "Its just a painting right? After everything that's happened I'm not sure but... it 'has' to be just a painting... right?" Soleil asked the trio of women with him.
"We must report this to the Young Master and have this painting brought to him!" the red headed maid spoke. Worry and alarm in her voice before she and her fellow maid sank back into the floor.
While Soma slept on the stairs of a burning staircase rising to hell.