Rumble...
Rueben looked up as he felt the entire labyrinth shake. He stood up and threw the sheet that he had just held and turned to looked around, trying to find anything that might be the cause.
Upon seeing that nothing really happened except for the initial tremor, he shrugged his shoulder and looked around for objects that he could use.
Rueben walked out of the room and stared at the endless hallway. The darkness was only illuminated by the moonlight, and even then, with the windows boarded up, not too much light peeked into the hall.
Everything was dilapidated, there were even wet spots on the carpet while holes were prevalent on the ceiling. It was too gloomy and eerie, could probably be called a haunted mansion if it were normal.
He looked at the endless hall before sighing.
He then closed his eyes and sat down while leaning his back to the wall.
Rueben looked up at the ceiling as he opened his eyes.
Was this all truly worth it?
He thought to himself.
After all, he was just going to investigate but now he got himself trapped into this labyrinth. He could feel in his gut that everything was nearing its end but he couldn't muster any happiness.
He met someone, someone that he could have a genuine relationship with and yet infront of his very eyes, he found the truth. The little girl he found was a girl that had suffered immensely.
At first, Rueben wanted to cling to such a genuine relationship with the girl. The relationship of friends.
Rueben rubbed his nose as he closed his eyes.
No. Their relationship felt like siblings, parents even. Platonic.
He cared about Sara, he really does.
But that care is out of sheer selfishness. It was selfish of him to force a relationship with someone else just because he wanted to be connected to someone.
He was cold hearted, that was what he had thought but deep down, he craved for something. He desired... Family?
Was it family that he had desired? Friends?
But why?
He asked himself.
Why did he crave for a relationship of that level? He was a Hunter, after all. A profession that is dangerous, which everyone will die while hunting.
Hunters have taken an oath to never be close to anyone, to never feel emotions and only be machines of hunting in order to protect. He had also taken that oath to protect himself.
During these days, Rueben was forced to confront his own self, well, a shell of it. The shell of what's left.
He knew his mind was already broken beyond healing, hell, he hallucinated quite a lot. He even had audio hallucinations, talking to himself.
He was tired.
Really.
A life filled with nothing but killing and hate. He was tired of such a life. It was a life without meaning.
It was a life filled with sin.
He let out a sigh.
Did Gwynne survive?
He asked.
Is she safe somewhere? After all, he didn't know where he was nor where she was. He didn't even find any clues as to where Sara was either.
Gwynne. Probably a person that he would care.
The woman was weird, someone that he didn't understand that well. It was hard for him to understand her, after all, he didn't know what made up of her brain.
She was a mystery to him. A mystery covered in darkness in which he cannot solve without shining a light to dispell the dark.
Gwynne was probably the only person that he didn't understand. Thomas and Riza were also a weird bunch but they were kind and helpful.
The two were with him for years now so he understood them quite well but Gwynne? She was weird as hell.
The first time he met her, he was copulating with a beast, even enjoying it. That time, he thought he had seen everything but the sight of a woman having sex with a beast, enjoying it was such a mind boggling experience.
Though she was weird, Gwynne was someone who treated others genuinely, though not honest. It was a trait of hers that he respected.
Rueben let out a sigh as he crossed his arms and put his elbows on his knees. His fists clenched tightly as he closed his eyes once more.
The darkness around him turned even darker as the moonlight that peeked from the gaps slowly dimmed. Only darkness remained in the halls.
Silence surrounded him as the halls turned peaceful, unmoved from everything.
Rumble....
Suddenly, the entire labyrinth trembled as if an earthquake had erupted. Rueben swiftly stood up and looked around as the shaking increased in intensity.
Just as he was about to walk away and find a safe place to stay, he heard the voice talk once more.
—Its beginning.
Rueben turned to the very edges of space as he felt a terrifying aura that made him want to kill himself.
"...What's beginning?" Rueben asked as he felt his entire back sweat cold as nervousness piled up within him.
He held his shaking hands as he looked straight at that edge, as if he would die if he didn't continue to look at it.
—An Apotheosis Ritual.
Rueben didn't know what Apotheosis was so he asked but the voice didn't answer anymore. Gritting his teeth, he turned to run but then the entire space behind him twisted with more exact copies of itself from different spaces.
It looked like a mirror that was shattered and reflected the same thing.
Rueben then turned to the edge once more as the aura intensified even more.
"..."
Rueben swiftly turned around and ran away from the edge. But then he stopped and turned to the back only to see the edge in the same place.
Then he looked down and saw that he was standing still in the same place that he had ran from, his entire being screamed to run far away as his instincts overroded his rationality.
His mind couldn't comprehend what had just happened. He did run, he felt that he ran but he was still in the same place as before, as if he didn't move at all.
—Its useless to run.
The voice spoke in a somewhat serious tone.
—Her Apotheosis Ritual as already began. This entire space is already within her domain of influence, nothing will be able to leave and nothing will be able to enter.
The voice let out a sigh before speaking, —You only have two options left. You either run to the edge and find out what is going on or....
Rueben stared at the edge as he wiped his sweat.
—End yourself now.
The voice said as the tremors increased in intensity even more, the various furnitures had alrady bounced around, some smaller object were even floating around as he felt his entire being vibrate.
"..."
Rueben gritted his teeth as he hesitated, before dashing towards the edge and threw himself inside it.
Just as Rueben was about to enter the edge, he crashed into a doorway that was locked tight. He looked at the doorway in surprise before hearing voices talking from behind the door.
He hesitated for a moment, before grabbing the doorknob and twisted it to the side, opening the door. Once he opened the door, a rush of wind blew past him, dangerous wind that could injure.
Rueben saw his entire body was immediately riddled in wounds as he tried to protect his vital areas. Thankfully, the wounds were superficial at most so he wasn't in any real danger as of yet.
He endured the wind and opened his eyes to look at the scene.
A woman with a worm like lower half with hands for its feet turned to him as a mannequin like woman kneeled infront of her.
The woman smiled as she laughed, [The Body.]
Rueben then turned to the side of the woman as he saw someone familiar, then he screamed out, "Sara!!"
The woman pointed with her palm as she spoke, [The Heart.]
Then she pointed to herself, [The Brain.]
Rueben stared at her as he tried to walk forward only to feel the same thing happening earlier, he walked but he didn't move from his spot.
[The Soul.]
She pointed towards the woman that was in a fetal position floating in the air as a blood colored lump of mass was roating around her, trying to fuse with the woman.
"....Gwynne." Rueben's eyes shook, before he gritted his teeth.
The woman raised her two arms up high in the air as she yelled fanaticaly.
[All the parts have come! The stars have aligned!]
MOVE!!!
Rueben screamed at himself inwardly. As he gritted his teeth, blood have already spewed out from his gums as his hand went to his back and slowly pulled out a knife.
He could feel his entire arm that he had moved crumble and break but he held into the knife tightly.
After one last push, he dug his feet to the floor, leaving a mark before dashing with all his might towards the woman.
Pain soon followed after him as he felt his entire body break, his bones fracturing in every step he took, his muscles burning in searing pain as he coughed up blood. But he didn't mind, after all, this type of injury was of no consequence to him.
He drank the blood that he was about to cough up and continued that until he could reach the woman.
The woman stared at him with a wide smile as she screamed, [It is time to create the Witch!]
Rueben screamed to the top of his lungs as he thrusted the knife towards the woman. The woman only stared at him with a smile before Rueben suddenly crashed down to the floor, breaking the entire fall into cobwebs like marks.
He felt a crushing force on his body, as if something was pressing on him, something heavy that he couldn't lift. Gritting his teeth as blood spilled from all his orifices, he felt his entire body get crushed under that weight.
Rueben stared at the woman with intense hate on his eyes as he felt his entire being scream in agony.
The woman only chuckled and bent down to his level, patted his head, [That is an intenst face you are making, child.]
Spoke a phrase before standing back up and turning her back to Rueben as she smiled at her new creation.
Suddely, her eyes glowed as she turned her head to look at the ceiling.
Then her eyes went crescent in amusement.
A white wisp, nay, Frotus was staring down on her from above, on his hand was thousands upon thousands of crystals, Axerilites.
Soon after, Jun and Jamaica formed, with them hundreds of boxes filled to the brim with Axerilites.
-You're downfall has arrived, wench. Frotus spoke coldly as he threw the boxes of Axerilites he was holding down to the woman.
The woman only laughed, [You are truly my child! What you have done will only aid me!]
Then she raised her arms up in the air and the entire boxes of Axerilites dissappeared along with the hundreds of boxes that the three of them carried.
[Infront of Space and Time, plans will never work!]
Frotus looked at her coldly, before saying, ‐Then that must mean we haven't planned enough.
The woman's heart was then pierced by an arm with scales, her smile turned brighter as she looked behind her and saw a being come out from Rueben's back.
The being was also grinning as it tore apart the woman's heart from its body and put it into his mouth.
"Ah." He moaned before shivering in delight, "The heart of a God is truly powerful."
Rueben looked at the being in shock, the being that suddenly showed itself was none other than the huge beast from the Blood Sea. The being that he had thought killed him.