An uneasy silence filled the hall, the gentle breeze that slowly swept through the room being the only thing that could be heard, as both Athan and Astarvan were locked in an intense stare down.
Astarvan was taken aback by Athan's statement.
His face creased slightly, as a mist of perplexion now filled the hall, grating irkingky at his mental curiosity, by virtue of Athan's strange question.
"Where is who exactly?" Astravan raised his arm towards Athan in question, the mysteriously floating rabbit letting out a weary sigh on hearing the showman's response.
"Humph." Athan took in a breath, nodding his head in disappointment as he threw a dissatisfied look at Astarvan.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Athan responded ambiguously once more, drowning both Trick and his master in even greater depths of curiosity.
"I'm talking about—" Athan raised his finger towards the crater that laid etched into the castle ground, his purple eyes glinting with a radiant glow as he continued.
"The damn Void beast!"
Like the Katrop emerald that adopts a multifarious number of differing colors based on the tunes of one's innate essence.
At the sound of Athan's wordings, both Trick and Astravan faces slowly morphed, their eyes swelling in shock as they were completely overcome by a pure feeling of bewilderment.
In a swift instant, Trick hurriedly leaped into the air, sliding into the crater that laid within the innards of the ground to begin a search for the Void beast who once rested within it.
"Well, that's not good." Astravan responded with a laugh as he rubbed through the back of his head in mirth.
"Sometimes I wonder if you're confident, or just plain reckless Astra." Athan folded his arms, watching the Trickster continue with his joyous chuckles amidst the slight conflict currently at hand.
"He's not here!" Trick voiced aloud, climbing out of the crater, before running in the direction of both Athan and his master.
Athan eyed the Trickster once more, letting out a soft sigh as he spoke.
"A Void beast capable of transformation…"
"That's a tricky one to let loose." Athan added, dropping his arms as he opened his eyes, formerly shut in thought.
"Guess I was so busy dealing with the Void chief, that I forgot about the one whose head I crushed open." Astravan reached for his hat, removing it from atop his head and flipping it over, its opening being made to directly face the Trickster.
"You know, given that he was so—" Astarvan drew his hand into the floating hat, a pair of spotlessly white hand gloves emerging in his grasp as he retracted his arm, much to Trick's amazement.
"Hopelessly weak."
Astravan's voice darkened into a deep tone as he wore his fresh gloves into his arms, stretching them over his hands as he placed his hat to test firmly atop his head.
"Wow." Trick revered his master in a hushed mumble, his eyes glinting with excitement as he watched Astarvan's little trick.
Athan then peered at Astarvan for a full second, swaying his head as he muttered 5 words in realization of what the Trickster had spun into action…
From the very beginning.
"So that's how it is." Athan whispered into his very own hearing in a hushed tone, before turning their attention to other matters.
Matters of prime importance.
"Well, you guys can chase headless chickens some other time. Astra, don't forget the main problem here."
Astravan dressed his shoulder as the weary rabbit floated towards him, laying firmly onto the Trickster's shoulders for a leisurely rest.
"You're right" Astarvan motioned unto Trick, the child jolting slightly as his master began a trek towards another opening of the desecrated castle hallway.
"Co… coming!" Trick hurriedly went beside his master, the two of them beginning a casual stroll as Astarvan started to discuss the main problems the napping rabbit spoke of.
"You see Kiddo, they're actually three main questions we're yet to answer." Astravan took a look at Trick, as they both walked side by side towards Oneiros' direction.
Astravan then lifted a single finger into the air, beginning his deductive explanation.
"The first is…" Astravan stretched the last word of his sentence comically, his lifted finger swaying in the air as he shut his eyes, almost getting lost within the sonorous tune the lengthened word produced.
"Why did the Void beasts head towards my Trick show to implement their plans?" Astravan opened his eyes with a bright smile, lifting up two fingers this time to literate the second question.
"Question number two."
"Has it ever occurred to you to ask why the Chieftain Void beast hasn't faced off with us directly?"
Trick held his chin in thought, squinting his eyes as a wave of unsettling memories, all hailing from his dreadful encounter with the Void beast assailed his thoughts.
'Tell the bearer of that energy that when I see him—'
'I'LL KILL HIM!'
These were the very words Oneiros had antagonistically uttered, his scarlet eyes burning with a melovalent resentment as he declared them.
Yet, for some odd reason.
'He hasn't come to face Master one on one.' Trick turned towards Astravan, a wide smirk spreading through the showman's face at Trick's sudden realization.
It wasn't that Trick hadn't noticed Oneiros' indirect contact with them, it's just that he hadn't thought that much into it.
But musing on it right now, it was all too weird that the reaper who bodaciously threatened death, couldn't pick up his scythe to implement that very grim promise.
What could have been so important that the void chief would lurk in the shadows against his master.
What could have been so important that the dreadful beast would set pawns on the chessboard to go against the queen in his stead.
And what could be of utmost importance, that the so-called Champion of Zyakoria would lead them from one hindering obstacle to another.
Trick motioned through a myriad of thoughts, each one getting increasingly closer to the truth as he questioned the Void beast's puzzling antics.
And that was when a spark of reason hit him.
"It's almost like he's stalling for time!—" Trick yelled in response to his master's words. Before being interrupted by a heavy pat against his back.
WHAM!
"That's my boy!" Astravan yelled with a resounding chuckle, rewardingly ramming his wide palm into Trick's back.
'HOLY! SH…'
Trick yelled with the entirety of his being, within the confines of his mind as his back ached in agonizing pain, stinging with excruciating pangs of burns as his master's hand came crashing into it.
He almost yelped out with a shout, but tried desperately to just hold out his loud yells. Only a pained tear making it out of his red eyes.
Trick managed to shake off the pain and continue walking, however his back seemed to pulse in torturing pain with each step he took, a level of pain he had never felt plague his skin ever before.
However, he clenched his fist and kept on walking.
'It was probably a mistake—'
"YAWWWWWWWW!" Trick screamed into the air as Astravan sent one more congratulatory pat crashing brutally against his back.
'I'm done for.' Like felled weed, Trick instantly fell onto the floor, a pained stream of tears coursing through his eyes as a wide smile stood pasted across his lips.
"Kid, you alright?" Astarvan took a peak at Trick who laid face first onto the castle tiles, the child giving him a thumbs up in response to his question.
"Hahahaha!" Astravan chuckled loudly, proudly watching Trick's hand shiver shakily as they remained in the air to form a thumbs up.
"NOW—" Astravan's face beamed with a gleeful smile.
"THAT'S MY BOY!"