"Ok"
Though having compromised in their face off just now, Alex didn't seem to have relinquished himself as the Leader.
Rather, after a glaring at the two as a final confrontation, he walked towards the white haired boy and raised him up.
"Here Jack, it's all good" revealing a dubious smile, he said, patting off the boy's shoulders as if he hadn't been the one to almost beat him to a pop. While his voice turned cold after.
In silence, he turned to walk forward, with the group seeming divided after having broken their previous neutralism .
But in reverse to what would have been expected, Amelia and Flynn were the ones in disadvantage. Walking a bit behind while observing the ancient structures of the hallway they were walking through, which wasn't strangely completely dark as they appeared to be a bright source of light forward.
Apparently Jack, the white haired boy, after being assaulted didn't even turn a thankful eye to his saviors. Instead his hate for the two seemed to have been ignited.
And at the end, Flynn only glanced at Amelia before turning nonchalant.
While he hadn't said a word, the ebony skinned girl grimaced.
…
Surrounded by the uncertainty of the unknown and dread for their bleak future, apart from the mild echoes of their steps there was nothing but silence. The once darklit hallway was now bright enough to cast a shadow behind their backs. Leaving the group with greater curiosity as to what might be ahead, as there was no touch hanging by the walls.
Though it had been subtle before, the rising change in the atmosphere as they moved forward finally reached a noticeable degree.
First was Flynn.
Raising his brows in surprise as he felt a subtle pull within him. His Seal, which had played dormant since it formed, acted like a revitalizing gear, accelerating with each passing moment until the rest of the group appeared to stop in their tracks, as if similarly noticing the strange oddity within them.
The atmosphere turned tense the next instance, but then relaxed as a wisp of power began to sip into them. The one thing they had failed to acknowledge or take notice since their Tribulation, probably because they had been in a precarious circumstances all this while.
Τια, the energy that came to fill the world in ninety percent of oxygen after the Reckoning, and the ascent of thousands of insidious, diabolical creatures.
While it was unable to be sensed by normal humans, it could be life threatening if they breathed it in even for a slight moment, because it was akin to corruption.
A corrosive hard drug that ate one's sanity till they became lost in their resentment, this was how Τια the same energy that made it possible for Bearers to increase their strength was to normal humans.
If one wanted to be able to explore the world, and have freedom leaving cities, the first step was to become a Bearer, because after inheriting a Will and forming their Seal, not only would they be immune to the corrosive atmosphere but also create communication with it.
All in all, it could be said that the world was covered in resentment, which would influence the mind of a normal human. But for Bearers this effect was somehow negated and instead turned to nourishment.
But the world couldn't be so flawless, could it?
Absorbing resentment was a great deal no matter how one looked at it, which is why Imprints mysteriously existed, reinforcing the Seal and also increasing the capacity of Τια it could take in… but even with this, there often Bearers who lose control of their Will and succumbed to resentment.
Every Bearer was a ticking time bomb of unstable people, this was what they had been told selectively to those who chose to go through Tribulation.
'But isn't this a bit different from what we were taught?'
Realizing the lack of Τια till now, Flynn thought as the gears in his head instantly started ticking.
'If we had been unable to sense it till now that means…?'
About a few moments after…
After marveling a bit , everyone seemed to have realized what the wisp was and looked forward.
And as the one leading, Alex bursted into a mid sprint forward as the rest of the group followed.
Soon about 1 minutes after , there was a dead end, or while it seemed like it the group quickly discovered a quick sharp corner, a smaller hallway to the right that led to a massive ancient Hall of about 20 meters in height alone, hanged with a great giant chandelier burning with surreal yellow flames that illuminated the surrounding in heat.
But that wasn't all.
Further earning the awe of the group, with Flynn and Amelia now standing side by side, there were about four imposing statues that should have been up holding the giant chandelier with their outstretched arms.
Three of the statues had been shattered, their debris scattered across the Hall, and the ground charred and filled with deep scourges seeming to have witnessed a transcendent battle
And for the last of the statues facing opposite to Flynn's group, though its arm was still holding a part of the chandelier supported by chains… there was a diagonal clean cut from its left shoulder down to its waistline. Severed, there was no clue to what its head was, only that it had talons for legs.