human
The winding pathways through the abandoned mines were eerily empty. Through the cerulean glow of the old stones and chuckling waterways, the young songstress had managed to find her way through. She was driven on by the hope of finding Nero somewhere along the way. Despite knowing that he was capable of defending himself, she hadnt been able to sit still in the safe houses of Fortuna with the others, unable to do a single thing.
She hadnt been able to believe it when she finally did come to the end of the mine to face the sprawling tropical forest on the other side. They had played there often as children, getting lost and found again, picking up and saving the most beautiful of stones. But they had never found the untamed emeralds strewn out in lush foliage created by the disturbances in the Hell Gate. Unlike the empty trek through the mountainous caverns, the sense that the forest was filled with strange and terrible devils occurred to her. Yet, it didnt stop her. It was a foolhardy venture, to be sure, but somehow she believed that she could at least outrun or evade and hide from whatever might threaten her.
Credo would be furious if he caught any wind of where she had gone and why. She already felt guilty already for not staying put where he had ordered her. She hardly disobeyed him. Ever since their parents had passed away to leave them orphaned, he had taken care of her, and she respected him more than anyone. Shed apologize to him later, if and when he ever found out.
The confusion and the monsters that plagued the city, the brutal death of so many people, the safety of both Nero and her brother, constantly swarmed through her mind as she pressed through giant ferns and reaching vines. The climate was growing hotter with each step, and so was the fatigue. Just as she thought that she should stop to rest, completely and utterly lost, she heard a rustling through the brush. The sharp sounds of rusty metal sliding against one another. Even in the heat, she felt a cold chill roll down her spine, and soon enough, scarecrows were following, their patchwork bodies squirming with pests as they stumbled towards her on wooden stumps of legs, slashing axes and scythe-like arms.
She screamed, running, and was soon caught over a tree root throwing her to the ground to knock the wind from her lungs, left with little time to evade her pursuers.
gpt
Credo was trying to evacuate everyone out of the city when he realized the safe-house was now in the center of the attack and the edge of the city was slowly becoming a war zone as well. He had seen several devils before today but he had never seen this many on a battlefield, let alone in the city. When he raced to the safe house, he found out that a battle had broken out and had came to late. He went through what was left and found evidence of devils and men fighting, some still left on the ground breathing their last breaths, when Credo found one man who seemed to be calm and able to talk. "Soldier, wheres my sister," Credo asked as he walked over to the man.
"She went that way, right before the battle here sir. We're sorry, we would have gone after her but the civilians were here and the devils were coming out of the woodwork. I'm sorry," the soldier stated.
Credo normally would have sent the man back to training for this but he understood what the man was going through. His job was to protect the citizens and if his sister did run away, towards the mines, then he understood staying put and helping out in the fight in the city.
"You did alright. Tell the men to rally up in the square and get the civilians out of here. I'm going after her," Credo told the soldier before he left towards the mines. Before he could get to the mines, he ran into three devils that look all misshapen and were patchwork scarecrows with blades attached to them. Credo didn't waste a second as he pulled his blade out and sent the devils to the ground without a second thought hesitation. He then got back on the trail and followed the path through the mine that was most recently disturbed by human activity. He knew Kyrie had gone this way but he also knew, coming back through would be a problem because once the demons had the city, they would spread out and at some point, take the mines as well.
Within moments of following the cool dark paths, he found himself at the paradise in front of him that was warm and humid. Green as far as the eyes could see and lucky for him, Kyrie was wearing white so she stuck out like a sore thumb. But he also saw more patchwork devils chasing after her and swore at himself. He cut through the forest with his blade, his heart pounding in his chest as the adrenalin coursed through his veins. He knew that this deep in the forest was bad for a single person but of course, he wasn't just some single person. He was a Captain for Fortuna's City Guards and an angry brother protecting his sister. He heard the screams and part of him felt like time was slowing down. His blade was at the ready, four of the patchwork devils were in a line.
Time seemed way to slow to Credo as he brought his blade down on the far back one first. He could see the first one drawing up the bladed limb. Credo swung the blade in a circle and sent the third one in the air, obviously going to die when it came back to earth from the impact. The first one had started back down. Credo sent the second one into the river nearby. The first one was inches away from Kyrie when Credo slashed through the devil and stuck it to the side of a tree, not dead but obviously would be soon. Credo check the area quickly before he saw Kyrie on the ground. His blade returned back to its sheaf, he dropped down to the ground and picked her up, holding her as he asked her, "are you safe? Hurt at all? Please tell me you're all right."
human
It wasnt until she realized that she could be dead in a matter of moments that she knew the deep and the awful truth of how foolish she had been. What a terrible way to die. The girl didnt even turn to look at the guillotines blade coming down over her head. She knew that it was in full swing. She could hear it, feel the gravity of the wicked blade curving downward against her prone form as she threw her arms over herself to cradle her head. A series of quick and lightening like sears of metal struck out, too precise and sharp to be the clumsy swinging of the devils looming over her. The fatal and inevitable blow never came, her shallow breaths returning to her as the time continued to tick on without pain or otherworldly experiences. Everything seemed to feel the same.
She didn't know when she would be able to move again, or dare to peek and see what had happened. The idea that Nero had come to rescue her in the nick of time, despite his own mission to look for the devil in red who had slain Sanctus, heartened her. She was just letting her arms relax enough to slide down from her head when she was lifted to sit up in the arms of someone much more familiar. She recognized his voice before she had even opened her warm ochre eyes to see him.
"Oh... Credo..." She murmured, trying back the feelings of shame and self-censure. "I'm sorry, I... I'm all right. Thank you." She threw her arms around his neck and embraced him closely, completely relieved and happy to see him. Even if he could be just as scary as the devils, at times. "I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble. I just thought... I had to make sure Nero was all right."
gpt
Credo listened to Kyrie and said, "where Nero is going, I wouldn't go to. These demons seem to be getting grouping more and more the deeper in you go. Eventually, if you did catch up to Nero, he would have to defend you and himself at the same time." Credo had let go of Kyrie and noticed the eerie calmness of the paradise. He figured those four devils weren't the first ones here and he doubted the last ones to. He was about to point out the way he had came when he realized the path seemed to change now, like it was the same path a moment ago but also a different one at the same time. He looked back over at Kyrie and said, "look, right now, yes I am a bit mad at you for leaving the safe house but it got attacked so in a way, I am also not mad at you. Now, we have to find a way out here and fast, I think the devils changed this place which gives them an edge in this place over us." Credo kept one hand on the handle of his blade and the other in Kyrie's hand to keep her next to him as he guided them through the maze of paths that belonged to the devils now.
human
"I know... but--" Kyrie tried to explain herself and her actions, trying to make them at least sound somewhat reasonable. Everything had seemed to make sense in her head. She supposed that the error came when she acted on her emotions instead of using her common sense. She didn't have a chance in that forest against the demons, would only be a burden to Nero, and even now, felt as though she had inconvenienced and burdened her own brother. For the time being, it seemed that he was willing to spare her the lecture and chastising that she deserved to get her back to safety. But the safe house, along with the rest of the city...He had left his entire squadron of knights with the destruction in the city just to come to retriever her personally, she realized.
"What do you mean 'change'?" Kyrie inquired, a worried edge to her tone as she looked at the surroundings again. The edges and shadows that weren't immediately besides them seemed to waver and shift, or the place they walked towards seemed not to be the same place they ended up in when they reached it. It soon became apparent that the knots in the trees were distinct despite being common and similar, as if they were repeating. Kyrie never let go of his hand, trying to keep up with his long and sure strides, staying close behind as she helped to look out for anymore devils.
Whether it was the heat or the humidity, the enchantment of the forest, or all of the above, it soon became apparent that they were soundly trapped within the labyrinth's spell. Time felt warped. They could have been wandering for a matter of minutes, but it felt like an hour or more. With some wry amusement, she couldn't help but to feel a bit like Hansel and Gretel trying to make their way through without a trail.
"Credo... Can we stop a moment?" She asked weakly, sorry to have even suggested it. Her legs felt as though they would melt from beneath her, and the heat was beginning to make her dizzy. The long sleeved, high collared, robes of the order were hardly helping.
gpt
Credo looked back at his Kyrie and realized a bit she wasn't condition for times like now. He nodded and stopped at a building that seemed to appear. He checked it quickly to find it small and empty, as well as cool. He looked over at Kyrie and helped her into the building before he closed the door behind them. When he got her a place to rest, he started to look through the place. It seemed to be a home at one point or another, furniture laid covered in white sheets and dust seemed to settle around the place. He sighed a bit, figuring that the home was abandoned long ago and wondered if it to was part of the changes that the devils were causing. He looked over at Kyrie, noting she looked like an angel sitting there in her attire and took a place next to her. "I think the devils have corrupted the place so that where you walk to ends up being different then where you want to go." He didn't want to voice it be he wondered if Nero was trapped as well in this maze or if he was lucky to get out before now. "If anything, the devils know the place well enough. Hell, maybe they are even mobilizing and corrupted the area for them to have the shortest distance to travel and all others get the long route." Credo didn't like it much but he did have to be happy about one thing, Kyrie was safe for the time being.
human
The small brick cottage must have been ancient; caught up from a faraway country into the strange void of the gate to have been brought there. Regardless of its origins or past, however, she was glad for it, and the temperature inside was much improved from the heat of the high afternoon outside. She sat at the end of one of the long and covered couches, having pulled down one of the sheets from it to reveal an old peridot velvet couch with golden scrolls decorating the edges. She might have appreciated it all much more had they not been caught in their present situation.
Sitting with her hands clasped over her knees, Kyrie listened quietly to Credo's briefing of the situation, nodding a bit, but not offering too much in way of replies or solutions. She was tired, hungry, and thirsty, but she didn't complain. The silence was all that attested to her upset. Credo must have suffered more on her account, and the best she could do was to follow his strong example.
Eventually, when she did feel as though she were cooling down and able to breath a bit better, Kyrie wordlessly gathered up Credo's arm between both of her own and leaned in against his shoulder. Thankfully, the house that they had found some respite it didn't hold any witches in it. Resting against that certainly and closeness, Kyrie eventually dozed off into a light repose.
gpt
Credo sat there with Kyrie, not surprised by the fact she took his arm but it did seem a little odd to him that she fell asleep on his shoulder. Normally, he would have protested but he figured it was long enough time already. His mind then raced through thoughts of what was happening and found himself actually enjoying the cottage, providing a place to rest for a while. He looked over at Kyrie and looked at how beautiful she looked to him. He didn't like the fact that her and Nero were together but he wouldn't stop his sister's happiness, if that is what she wanted. Credo then found himself slowly falling asleep. Before he did fall into sleep, he kissed Kyrie on the top of her head and said a silent prayer before he dozed off. War takes a lot out of person, regardless if they were a warrior or not.
human
She hadn't intended to fall asleep in the first place, much less for so long. The exhaustion of the day, beginning from her much anticipated performance in the church, all the way to her near-death experiences, took a toll on a girl that was by no means a trained and seasoned warrior in any sense of the word. It was remarkable that she had even made it for as long as far as she did. By the time she began to awaken again, the sun had set in the strange forest, leaving a shaft of moonlight to filter through the old windows and across the empty cottage floors. There was nothing that startled her awake. Because of Credo's presence right beside her, she wasn't even startled to find herself there, remembering how they had come to be. Very quietly and slowly, Kyrie lifted her head and looked over towards her brother, trying not to rouse him.
The stern and harsh angles of his handsome face were softened by the moonlight. And all men, whoever they were, looked as peaceful and innocent as children again when they slept soundly. She smiled in spite of herself at that note, remembering what it had been like to watch Credo when he had been but a teenager. It seemed so long ago. Looking at him now, his features lined by the beard he grew even began to remind her of their father, brief as blurry as her memories made him out to be.
She leaned in to kiss his cheek, happy that she was with him. "Credo. We should go." She whispered softly, feeling much better. They'd find their way out sooner or later. It didn't matter if they were helplessly and hopelessly lost. So long as they were together.
gpt
Credo slowly woke, feeling a little stiff from staying on position for so long, when he felt a kiss to his cheek. He rubbed at it for a moment and then looked up to see Kyrie standing next to him. In the moonlight, she still looked like an angel to him. He heard her speak and got up, stretching out his back and groaning a bit. He looked around to see it was still quiet but darker now, he said, "hate to say it but it might be a good idea to move out now." Preferably, he would have liked to move out during the day but with the devils, he wasn't sure when they were the least active. He nodded his head at the door and walked over to it, opening it up and glad to see the cottage hadn't moved or the place hadn't changed. When he walked out the door, he left a mark on the frame, a line through a circle, to state to both of them that if they were separated, this place was safe. He looked around and could see the rippled edges of the changes to the paradise but he wondered how far in they would have to go before they could get out.
human
Even though the night was darker, making more shadows and hiding more unknowns, Kyrie felt a bit more sure of herself. A large part of that was due in part to Credo's presence and defense. The other part was because she finally felt well rested and at peace, far away from the strife and worries of the world that had been inadvertently left behind. She still felt terrible for leaving the safe house and all those people, still thought and worried about Nero. She wanted to know how everyone was doing and what was happening. But for the time being, this was all they could do.
"Do you think I should learn how to use a sword?" Kyrie asked her brother, perhaps a bit out of the blue. The quiet was pressing in around her, with nothing to threaten them, and it felt safe to fill in the space with their voices for the time being. Besides, she was curious, and her suggestion seemed a valid one. Despite the fact that everyone knew she'd never hurt a fly. "Then I could defend myself. You make it look so easy..."
gpt
"It's not easy," Credo told his sister as he guided her through the forest, noting the turns and changes that happened. the most common one he could find was their position to the Hellgate seemed to change, one minute its on their left side, the next, their right, and at one time, behind them. "Besides, we only have one blade right now and what you would need to learn to fight would take longer then we have." He looked back at her and said, "if we had another blade and more time for training, then I would say yes. But now, no." He looked back in front of him and was noting how quiet the world was. No birds were chirping, no wild animals on the prowl, nothing at all. Not even the devils were on the move, maybe they had a sleep cycle as well. Credo was about to say for them to stop when he noticed a bag in front of them, and the Order's seal on it. Credo hadn't brought a bag with him and only Order members had them. He was able to figure based on its size, it was a basic pack which meant it has supplies in it, namely food and water. He went to it and opened it up but before he could realize what had happened, Kyrie was no longer with him and a rift had opened up.