The shadow woke, startled from the nightmare. They slipped out of the large bed, the only light being the glowing moon. The shadow's muscles suddenly contorted and shifted into a masculine form. He put on a dark purple tunic and grey pants. He gave one last look at the dark room before strolling out of his quarters.
"Ah! My king!" Basil commented, standing guard in the hallways.
"Don't call me that," the shadow ordered, "just call me by my name."
Basil's large body changed stance and he said, "Royal, the scientists downstairs have some news for you tonight." The castle was at the center of Azuma and was the highest point in the city's walls. However, the castle was only the tallest building in the city, there were plenty of higher-class citizens that owned wider mansions that were formed from rare wood.
The lab was very noisy, with brass tubes blowing steam from various contraptions, the noise didn't reach the higher levels only because of the thick wood and stone flooring. A short demon with faded wheat-colored and slicked back hair sat in front of a machine, tampering with its gears.
"Dr. Goldstein," Royal called out, his tall and sturdy body towering over the little demon's.
Unfazed by Royal's sudden appearance, Goldstein slid around to the other side of his chair, saying, "ah, Royal, you're here."
"Basil said you wanted to speak with me?" Royal questioned, looking around the unkempt laboratory.
Goldstein nodded slightly and informed, "my team and I found something you might want to hear." He pulled out two midnight weapons and placed them on a clear table nearby. "We were doing some testing with the half-breeds, as you requested, and we found something—unexpected." Royal cleared his throat, not expecting what Goldstein was going to say. "See these two midnight cores, midnight weapons as the humans would call them. Do you see anything particularly off about them?" Royal store down the two midnight weapons, one was a standard sword and the other was a bow.
"Nothing particularly," Royal said, inspecting the sword's sharp blade. Goldstein picked the sword out of his hands, pointing to symbols of an upside-down U, a B, an A, and a bunch of numbers between them. They all were imprinted on a metal ring around the top of the handle.
"See this?" Goldstein asked, turning towards a nearby trunk.
"I do," Royal admitted, "but what about it? Midnight cores are famous for their power and their decorated designs, their pictures often depict ancient stories, like Souk Eye and his core." Goldstein pulled the metal ring down the handle a little, and from the blade emanated a click. He then began spinning the metal ring, which was now easily slidable.
"It's a combination lock," Goldstein said, "we did some scans and—there's a small canister inside the handle." He began playing with it, spinning the metal ring in a random order. "As you know, midnight cores are indestructible, so we can't just break it and get whatever is inside. However, I believe that if we can research these and find the combination, we can eventually crack it."
"Very well, keep the focus on the half-demons though," Royal ordered, "where are the half breeds being held?"
"Down there," Goldstein pointed, "in those fancy rooms you requested, remember?"
Royal turned and stood at the foreboding steel door nearby and asked, "do they feel alone?"
Goldstein turned and questioned, "what do you mean?"
"I will be open with you on one thing, Goldstein," Royal explained, "I have an extreme distaste for loneliness, I don't wish it on my worst enemy. So answer my question, do they feel alone and scared?"