Nyx watched from a distance as Seren bashed the side of his shoulder against the barricade. With every hit, he let out a low grunt, apparent that he wasn't holding himself back. The double swing door behind it slightly shifted with every blow, though never fully opened.
"Well?" Acher asked, standing the end of his glaive against the floor below.
"Yeah..." he murmured, stepping away whilst peering up and down what they had constructed, though switched to a slightly mocking tone. "It's sturdy. If I can't get through it, it'll take him at least a few seconds."
"Drop the attitude. As long as it works, even just for a moment, then it's good to go."
"A moment? As far as I'm aware, a barricade is meant to keep out, not to be a slight inconvenience."
"We'll take what we can get. That thing will be here any moment and we won't have time to reinforce it. Speaking of which..." He shifted his gaze upwards, glancing toward a small stairwell tucked in from the side of the gallery. "Have you seen anything yet?" He yelled.
Silas stood at the top of the bell tower, kneeling behind a small parapet as he peered out over the town. From his vision, it somehow managed to look even more desolate than when on the ground. Even still, he wasn't there for sightseeing.
"No Terror's nearby!" He shouted back, "And no sighting of the Coalescence either!"
Seren scoffed. "That name actually stuck?" He walked back and forth, lifting and placing small stones, lodging wooden planks into the crevices to further secure their position.
Acher sighed. "Well, we need something to call it. Also, can you stop with the damn barricade-?"
"First off; No we don't. Second, it's just a few finishing touches, that's all."
"We haven't even started on setting up the bell yet, and you're here wasting our time with something that barely matters."
"It would be going faster if there weren't two unhelpful pricks just watching me work- but fine... let's go do the damn bell."
As the two began to walk off, Nyx couldn't help but give a quick glance towards Rei before following. Her eyes were lost in space, head slightly tilted and endlessly peering toward the monolithic clock on the back wall.
Deep down, Nyx felt bad for her. Part of him didn't even know if her plan would be possible without it. He wanted to try and say something, though he knew she needed to be alone right now.
This, in a way, was her final trial. She needed to prepare. And quite depressingly, his mind only went to a single place.
It was only a sudden voice which got him to come back to reality. "Nyx- you coming?"
Acher stood on the upper walkway, leaning over the balustrade and Peering down, though Seren seemingly ignored the conversation and proceeded up the winding staircase just behind without even looking back; Two small buckets in hand.
"Right- I'm coming!" He yelled back, quickly rushing to make his way up.
The way to climb the tower was only accessible to the upper walkway, and directly underneath attached to the main chamber was what appeared to be a small storeroom.
Due to its winding layout, by the time he had made it to the top, all three of the others were already hard at work making preparations.
The roof of the church seemed much more damaged than the rest; not just in the sense of having sunk into the canyon, but clearly had been neglected for what looked to be years.
Wood was rotten, and the tiles of the roof were chipped and slipping out of place. Moss covered every imaginable surface, and even the bell had semblances of wear and tear — the center appearing as though it was beginning to cave downwards and collapse under its weight.
It gave off an unsettling moist appearance, and for good reason. Water was actively dripping through the planks above and onto their heads. It was a presence that they already understood completely.
Seren stuck his head out from behind the bell, giving a tight gaze towards Nyx. "Green eyes, go help your man with the rope. I'll climb the roof while Blondie does this end."
Acher murmured from underneath his breath. "It's Acher..."
Silas shifted his weight back, underarming the rope high into the air and tossing it over the wood beam in the center. Nyx grabbed the other end, giving a slight tug downwards for it to fill a small crevice in the timber.
"Remember- not too tight," Silas said, eyes still scanning over the horizon for any potential threats, "We don't want to accidentally trigger it too early."
"Right." Nyx nodded, giving only a few more small tugs before letting the rope loose. For some reason, that thought remained on Nyx's mind. He couldn't help but think back to that time. "Silas... I think I now have an answer to your question."
He slightly tilted his head. "What do you mean? I asked a question?"
"Yeah. Almost exactly one year ago. When we were in the grand hall, and Sir Vaelis was delivering his speech."
Silas's eyes lit up, gaining a slight smile as he paced towards the parapet. Slowly did he place himself against it, overlooking the shattered city with a demoralizing sense of awe and recollection. "Right... it's hard to believe that it's already been one year. What was it that I asked you again?"
"You asked me... what I was going to do."
"Right. Does this mean you've decided?"
He nodded. "If we make it out alive, then yes. I know what I want to do."
Slowly he joined Silas by the rail, head hanging high and looking up towards the stars. "I think I want to go back. To Hearth."