Leo lit his blade with sparks of energy, as Tiam caused their cutlass to glow with clean white light. The dark hall ahead of them somehow felt even more foreboding than before, as the light only highlighted how far the darkness expanded. They delved further, simple stone accompanying them on the walls. It all felt clean, almost clinically so. Leo waved his blade through the dark, occasionally checking on Tiam's nervous frame. Their roles had completely reversed since their little deviation began.
'Adventure, right?' Rather than rubbing it in, he decided he needed Tiam to regain their confidence. He slowed the pace until Tiam responded with a slow, shaky nod. 'You can turn back, if you don't like this.' Leo on the other hand felt like someone who had already murdered to protect a secret. He knew too much, so he might as well go deeper.
'I'm with you, friend.' Tiam said without any further explanation. It was enough to fill Leo with confidence enough to lead on. Nothing would make him back down now.
They rounded the first bend here since they arrived, and immediately came to another large metal door. Before bending it open, Leo noticed a slit which he could peer through, but it was a bit high, as if made for something large. Suddenly, Tiam's arms were around his waist and they were both airborne. Thanks to that, he gazed into the space beyond, and immediately felt like he should have expected it. Dim hellish red light filled the room, with strange desks made of the same black stone that covered hell against the walls. Piles of books and something that bubbled out of sight made the terrifying room somehow exciting.
Leo gestured to be put down and immediately bent the door open. Something metal snapped and fell to the floor. It was likely a piece of the lock, but surely they'd already left other evidence of their arrival. Leo made for the nearest desk, clutching a notebook cobbled together by string and other loose bindings. He split it open, and began to read.
'Our research has led us to believe that although humans will develop powers beyond their normal circumstances, most will reach a ceiling very quickly. There are, however, many born to be even more powerful than the angels here. And again, as I put in my previous notes, I believe there is at least one human out there who can harness a power greater than that of archangels. I'm calling them the King of Angels. I am determined to find this one, as they will be the most useful to our benefactors in the true arena.'
Leo paused his reading and mouthed the words to himself again. King of Angels? True arena? He looked over to Tiam who was nose deep in a few other notebooks. 'Find anything?' He received nothing but a slow shake of the head. 'I have some things, but let's get as much as we can and talk about it later.' He returned to reading, skimming the pages until something interesting came along.
'The decision to craft this arena and circumstance is still something I consider an inhumane approach, but who am I to question such things? It was me, after all, who came up with the idea of the vessel. It's a strange vetting system, but effective in culling the finest from a hundred thousand selected individuals.'
Leo had to stop and think. Was there a set number of people selected from Heaven and Hell to come here? Was Raphael in on this, or was his involvement going to counteract the balance of this grand system for finding powerful people? Leo had to assume that the lack of involvement the archangels had with this colosseum meant that Raphael was a wildcard. Maybe that was the real reason he hid himself behind that set of plain white clothing.
Leo scoured the book for a name of this scientist demon or whatever they were, but found nothing more than the letter M. The owner barely left their mark on the writings aside from that.
'The vessel has yet to show signs of consciousness, but the power we are collecting for it is undeniably accumulating,' Tiam read aloud. They gave Leo a wary look, sweat pouring into their simple teal t-shirt to the point that it stuck to their chest. Leo decided it might be time to go. He had enough information for now. Enough to question Raphael with.
He noticed that another door led onwards, which spurred his curiosity further. It was like an insatiable hunger–driven by something that he couldn't quite remember. Why did it feel like he knew more than this? The new doorway was made of glass, so even if he wanted to go on, neither his power nor Tiam's would be able to pass through without doing considerable damage. But would they ever get this chance again after the demons worked out someone had broken in?
They would need to lie low and continue fighting in the colosseum until they could either come up with something, or another rare opportunity presented itself. The thought that the prize at the bottom of the colosseum might be a falsity scratched the back of Leo's mind, but he had to ignore it. That, at least, had to be real. If Raphael believed it, he would too… for now.
'Uh.' Tiam's voice broke through the sounds of Leo's swirling thoughts. He followed the Tiam's pointed finger to a thin glass tube running from floor to ceiling. It was the source of that bubbling noise. 'Do you think that's the vessel they speak of?' Tiam asked.
Inside the tube was a small black bulb with two strange black rings rotating around it. A small handwritten name was printed on the glass that said, 'Seraphim.'
The small bulb opened to reveal an eye.