Night 65: Grand Ballroom

[avengingfists]

[from here]

The ballroom was just as they had left it. Large. Beautiful. But a wasted space. No one would ever find themselves dancing down here, Ilia was sure.

There was only one door left that they had yet to move through. Ilia started in that direction, steps full of purpose.

Comments

[unpriest]

The ballroom was as splendid as it had been the first time Seishin had gone through it, but the room was now edged with danger and tragedy. This beautiful ballroom belied a sense of foreboding. Another room could not have been more ironic in a place like this.

Seishin followed Silvestri-san down and towards what would be the last remaining door. Compared to the others, they appeared to be rather plain, detailed images replaced by only studs along the edges. Its black stone hardly made it any less threatening than what the former priest had already seen of the rest of the basement, as little as it was.

What would await them behind these doors? He could only so much as guess -- the promise that was implied by the ominous air was the only degree of certainty they had.

[avengingfists]

As beautiful as the door may have been from an aesthetic standpoint, Ilia didn't like it. Beyond this area would probably be just another danger zone. They had already paid in the blood of young children, and neither child was around any longer to benefit from that sacrifice. It was disgusting in Ilia's mind, but there was no helping it. The only way left to make up for Rose's death would be to pursue what it had allowed them.

"Alright, let's go," Ilia muttered, reaching out to place her hand on the door. As big and heavy as it was, the large slabs moved as though on oiled hinges. Quiet, smooth. If only the trials before had been so easy.

Once again, Ilia reached her hand out for her companion, wanting to link their arms as they took their first steps. Wherever this door led, they were going together. She would not lose another through carelessness.

[to here]

[vinesofregret]

[From here]

Even as distracted as he was, the room the narrow staircase opened out into was still impressive. Halfway down the stairs, he swayed, feeling a sudden wave of vertigo at the sheer size of the room he was now in. It passed quickly enough, but he could tell whatever was affecting him was getting worse, not better, as the night wore on.

[stellarregions]

The room was still intimidating, both in its size, and in the sheer weight of the darkness that surrounded them. There was only so much a flashlight could do against that. He once again found himself wondering why this place was here, and whether the institute had simply been built atop it, or of there was a deeper connection.

There were other things to concern himself with, however. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and looked down at the broken stone, frowning slightly. "I don't suppose you have anything sharp on you..."

[vinesofregret]

Hakkai blinked, confused. "Not anything sharper than my own nails, I think." And it was with a great deal of effort he curtailed the thought except for my claws in silent addition. "Why?"

[stellarregions]

"It needs blood to be reset," he replied, gesturing to the ring. "I should have thought ahead." Had he searched the kitchen, he might have found something suitable. Instead, he had no real choice but to bite down hard enough on his own lip to draw blood.

[vinesofregret]

"...Ah," Hakkai said, in a voice that he had intended to be 'Ah, I didn't realize that' but came out as 'Ah, maybe this isn't such a good idea.' He wasn't squeamish normally - hard to be, when you were a healer and a fighter and had seen your own intestines laid out before you - but his stomach did a little flip-flop at the thought of it now.

Too late, though - he could see Gren's little wince of pain as he bit down, and could surmise the rest.

[stellarregions]

It took a remarkable bit of will to bite down hard enough on your own lip to make it bleed, he discovered, and hurt more than a little. But he'd been through a hell of a lot worse, more than once, and he wasn't going to waste this trip.

He wiped a the welling blood with one finger, and pressed it into the shattered stone of the ring while sucking lightly on his wounded lip. He was really hoping the ring would be satisfied with that, and not demand some larger sacrifice.

[vinesofregret]

What was getting into him? Even that small amount of blood was making Hakkai feel a little queasy. But he could at least do something about that.

"Here." Gren was close enough for him to brush his fingertips on lightly, send a small bit of his power out. It wasn't much - he didn't have much left - but it wasn't like the cut was big. He even managed not to sway from the lightheadedness, this time.

[stellarregions]

"Oh." It was a little weird how the pain in his lip faded to nothing in only a few seconds, but he wasn't going to complain. "Thank you." He looked down at the ring, and saw that the red stone was restored, looking exactly as it had before he'd smashed it. "I guess it worked."

They wouldn't know for sure until they tried it, but at least now they theoretically had their short-cut.

[vinesofregret]

"Well, that's good," Hakkai said, his stomach settling down a little, at least. "Should we try to go further in, or just call it a night?" He wasn't actually sure which of the two options he preferred - on one hand, he was tired in a way he didn't usually feel most nights. But on the other, he wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep if he tried.