Luminoga's Warriors

Prologue: The Fallen Kingdom of Luminoga


Our story begins long, long ago, on a small, distant, and lush planet known as Nekaria, home to the forgotten kingdom, Luminoga. Though unknown to planet Earth, its past has travelled far throughout space and time.

Luminoga was a beautiful and peaceful kingdom overseen by royalty as chosen by their dragon guardian, Hekono, who selected them not only for their ability to rule the kingdom, but to protect it as well. All those who lived within the kingdom were treated equally, justly, and were faithfully provided their basic needs. Even the royals themselves were seen and treated as equals. The kingdom was so peaceful, that for many decades, it had never seen war, conspiracy, nor rebellion. The Nekarians had hoped to keep this peace forever, however, this dream was soon shattered with the arrival of a frightful foe, Serpentarolius. Those chosen by Hekono had rushed to aid and defend the kingdom they so loved. They had fought valiantly and relentlessly but to no avail. The chosen of the kingdom were unable to continue fighting, and as Hekono lay defeated, sure to die of mortal wounds, he used the last of his strength to fate the survivors to be born again in the distant future, on the planet Earth. Serpentarolius instead travelled across time and space to meet their nigh defeated nemeses the Nekarian's chosen, hoping to once again prevail in battle, and defeat them once and for all.

 

Chapter 1: The Disappearance


Nero Rukuro seemed to be an ordinary student. Every day, he woke up and went to school along side his twin brother, Hiko, and his best friend, Clear. Nero was an average boy of fifteen years. He maintained good grades, and was thought to be quite handsome. He was neither too short nor too tall, and possessed a keen intellect. Accustomed to the humdrum drone of everyday life, Nero thought things might never change. Wake up, go to school, eat, sleep, repeat. Every day. He was not as popular as his brother Hiko Rukuro, although both were well liked at school. Best friends to the twins, Clear Hikoto had been inseparable from Nero and Hiko since their early childhoods. Nero could have never imagined what would happen on this particular, otherwise seemingly normal day. On this day, Hiko told his brother that he would need to stay after school. Nero had taken their usual walk home alone, when he suddenly stumbled upon a small, injured cat in an alleyway. Concerned, Nero approached the poor creature, confirmed its vital signs, ensuring it was alive and well enough to be handled. Relieved that it was, he took the cat into his arms and handled it delicately to assure he did not injure the creature further as he briskly completed the walk home. He called the cat "Kiyo." Once safely home, Nero treated Kiyo's injuries and allowed the cat to rest, while he waited for his brother to return home. Several hours had passed, and yet, there was no sign of Hiko. Frantic and fearing for the worst, Nero had gone out to search for his brother for several hours and yet at never found him. Nero unable to find his brother had gone home and decided to file a police report in hopes of finding his brother. The next morning had arrived and yet, Hiko had never returned home that day.

 

Chapter 2: A Nightmare of Hell


Clear had opened his eyes only to realized he was in an unfamiliar place. He decided to take a moment to survey his surroundings. What he saw was a grotesque and horrifying scene.

"Where in the hell am I? Or rather what hell have I been taken to?" he said to himself aloud.

All around he saw blood, severed, decaying limbs, decaying corpses of both people and a horrifying creature whose species was unknown to him. Whatever this city was before it was reduced to nothing but rubble and carnage now. It was as if he had stepped into the scene of a horror novel with no survivors but himself. The smell of the corpses and the sight of it all made him sick to his stomach as he covered his mouth to lessen the horrifying scent. He wished to believe this was a dream but it felt so real. All of his senses were active and working which worried him.

"What even happened here?" he questioned with his hand cupped tightly over his nose and mouth.

He forced his shaking legs forward to explore this place and see if anyone was alive. As he began to move he saw a figure run swiftly into a house from his peripheral vision. The sight of it somehow made a chill run down his spine. He followed where he had seen the figure disappear to as much as his body rebelled. He needed to know what was going on and this was the best way to know. Upon entering the rubble of a house of where the wall would have been the entire scene changed almost immediately around him. It was as though he was never in that horrifying place. It was a beautiful small little home. Paintings hung on the wall and pictures of two small children with their faces blurred out could be seen.

"How did I get here? This is entirely different from the scene I just saw."

"Daddy! Daddy!" came the voices of two small boys from behind Clear.

They sounded extremely excited as they chanted this over and over. Clear wondered how the scene could have changed from a war scene to the sound of two children happily calling out for their father. The children ran into the room past him but he couldn't see their faces it was just a blur all he could hear was their voices. In front of him he saw a wheelchair begin to form with a blurred figure of a man sitting in it. The children ran towards him but their chants of excitement turned quickly into the voice of two slightly older boys screaming and urgently calling out for their father as though something bad was happening. Suddenly the two boys seemed to age almost immediately and the figure in the wheelchair turned to a pool of blood and the boys continued to scream.

"I need to get the hell out of here! Make it stop already! I don't want to die get me out of this hell!" over and over Clear yelled urgently for help as the boys' voices seemed to grow louder and Clear's screams turned into tears. He had completely lost his usual calm and collected composure.

All of a sudden everything stopped. It was silent and Clear began to get extremely uneasy by this. He was shaking out of pure fear until suddenly he heard the two voices again. This time much older.

"Uncle, don't die! ____ would want you to live! Don't give up! ____ and ____ can't die in vain they just can't! Please! Don't die!" the voices pleaded however some of the words he was unable to hear as though it was a scratch CD.

"What are you saying? What is this hell? Who are you two and why did you bring me here? Answer me damn it!" Clear had yelled out to them hoping for a response.

They did not respond however soon Clear felt that same chill down his back again.

"It's your time to die now. The angel must fall again and I will make sure it's very slow and painful this time. I can't wait to clip your wings and eat your decaying corpse." came a deep demonic voice from behind Clear.

He dared not turn around to see what horrifying creature he would come to face. A scythe was quickly approaching him. Ready to kill him and Clear though it was the end.

Moments later Clear abruptly sat up. He was panting, covered in sweat and shaking violently. He frantically searched for the light switch and his glasses. He looked at the clock and it read 12:01AM.

"Thank god it was only a dream." he thought to himself.

Clear would not sleep that night due to fear and the horrifying scene now ingrained into him.

 

Chapter 3: Beginnings of Destiny Through Darkness

Nero had gotten up to his usual routine. He woke up and looked at his shirtless figure in the mirror. He had examined the voluminous amount of scars all around his chest. Usually he had paid no mind to them, however this was a special day. This day, a year ago his twin brother, Hiko, had gone missing and to this day has not been seen. Nero pondered on his brother's disappearance.

"It has been about a year and yet Hiko is still missing. I hope he's at least still alive."

This day marked exactly one year since Hiko's disappearance. Nero had gotten up from his bed to continue his same routine like he always had; wake up, get dressed and then go to school. This day seemed like any other day to him. Nero had gone his usual way to school and met Clear on the way as he usually had but Nero had noticed something seemed different about Clear on this particular morning. He was disheveled and appeared to be exhausted.

"Are you feeling alright Clear? You don't look yourself this morning," Nero asked expressing concern in his voice

"I just didn't sleep so well last night that's all," replied Clear groggily and slowly continuing on his way with Nero.

"I had a weird dream myself last night about Hiko. It makes me wonder if he's alright and still alive. Hopefully the dream I had last not doesn't come true. I mean it was too fictional to come true."

This statement made Clear stop in his tracks. A very pained expression came across Clear's weary, sleep-deprived face as he hung his head.

"Huh? Are you alright Clear?" Nero asked with deep concern.

"I'm fine. It's nothing I'm just not feeling well I'll head home."

Clear turned around and began to walk home.

Nero had called back to Clear "I'm sorry I mentioned Hiko. I hope I didn't upset you too much. I didn't mean to bring up that painful memory."

Nero had continued on his way to school and had muttered to himself "That's odd he never skips school no matter what. I guess this won't just be another normal day will it? I'll talk to him later I must have really upset him." Nero, Clear and Hiko had always been close with each other. Nero had thought after such a long time he'd be able to mention Hiko to Clear but it seems it's still a painful memory for him. They had been friends since Nero and Hiko were adopted by a new family at the age of five and when Clear had made a pendant with his parents for each of them, an aqua blue one for himself, a dark red one for Hiko and a sapphire blue one for Nero. The three of them had always been popular in middle school and yet once they had moved on to high school Nero wasn't as popular because of his heterochromia and those who knew his past would bring it up to pain him. The only relief from this was the fact that Clear stood up for him. Nero feared what his day would be like without Clear around. He had a very shy nature which prevented him from standing up for himself much so others usually did it for him he was unable to defend himself in situations of bullying. Nero continued everything as normal except he could feel the stares as he went from class to class alone. As soon as lunch had arrived he had gone to his usual spot on the roof and he was followed by the notorious school bullies. They had seen the fact that Clear wasn't around as a golden opportunity to have some "fun" with Nero.

"Hey, look! If it isn't that dumbass freak of nature. Where's your little guard dog Mr. smartass? Not here today or is he sick of protecting your sissy weak ass?"

"Will you just leave me alone? Why do you feel the need to pick on me?"

"Awh well would you look at that! The little rodent thinks he can stand up to us! Ha what's that are you supposed to look menacing you little shit? Not my fault your parents ditched you because you're a freak. No one wants you even your so called "friend" doesn't want you huh?"

Nero rather than fighting back had hung his head in shame and defeat. He was deeply pained by the mention of his past. He thought that they would continue to pick on him when he heard someone yell in the distance. Nero was unable to see who it was but the tone of voice clearly showed he was not afraid of anyone.

"Why don't you leave him the hell alone? I'm so fucking sick of having to chase you asshats away day after day because you think it's funny to pick on someone that you think isn't good enough for you! How about you find something productive to do with your life before I kick your asses."

"Oh shit it's that punk Heki! I ain't messing with him he scares me! I'm getting the hell out of here before I end up in the hospital!"

The boys who were picking on Nero scattered and Nero was able to get a clear view of the boy who scared them away. He was a short boy appearing to be a year under Nero. This mysterious boy was the picture of rebellious. He had a lip piercing as well as several ear piercings on his left ear, he did not keep his uniform well kept as barely any of his uniform buttons were buttoned and his hair was dark brown with blonde highlights. The boy began to approach Nero.

"You alright man? They didn't hurt you did they? I'll kick their asses if they did!"

"Umm no I'm perfectly fine. Sorry that you had to step in to help me. I'm not very good with speaking up for myself and didn't mean to burden you. I'm sorry if I troubled you umm Heki was it?"

The boy offered an outstretched hand to Nero to help him stand up. The boy smiled brightly as Nero took his hand and stood up.

"The name is Heki Kuroshi. What's yours?"

"Rukuro Nero, Thank you for helping me earlier Heki," Nero had said still feeling upset about what had happened he did not take his eyes off the ground for a second.

"Just call me Kuro. That's what all my friends call me," Kuro tapped Nero's nose and pointed at his own eyes.

"You know my eyes are up here not down here!"

"Huh? Sorry the ground just was just such an interesting thing to look at! Sorry I'm actually not the best at making eye contact."

Both of them laughed at Nero's comment and Kuro gave Nero a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Ey don't worry about it Nero."

"Heh you know you remind me of someone I used to know. Someone really close to me.."

"Oh really and who m-" Kuro hadn't the time to finish his sentence as a voice rang out from behind him.. Nero had gotten a look at the boy's face and seen he was the spitting image of Kuro.

"Ah Kuro! So this is where you ran off to. I was looking everywhere for you. I was able to find you as I saw that group of boys run off looking like they were terrified so I knew you had to be close by. Oh? Who's this?" the boy had said pointing to Nero.

"Ah this is Nero. That bunch of asshats were picking on him so I scared them off. They ran with their tails between their legs. Anyway Jekaru this is Nero, Nero this is Jekaru."

Nero had taken a good look at Jekaru. Nero had assumed from his appearance he was very focused on his studies. He had a book in hand and had dirty blonde hair like his brother however his uniform seemed to be well kept and he had blood red eyes like his brother. They may look alike but the way the dressed implied they were polar opposites.

"Don't mind those dumbasses they have nothing better to do than to pick on people. Also sorry if my brother scared or weirded you out. He's a bit of an odd creature," Jekaru playfully punched Kuro's arm as he said this and laughed.

"Hey! I'm not that weird! Why you gotta go calling me a creature?"

Kuro couldn't contain his laughter. Nero put his hand over his mouth trying to hold back his own laugh.

"Well then Nero was it? Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Heki Jekaru but everyone I know just calls me Karu for short. My brother here may be a bit of an oddball and a brute but overall he's cool once you get to know him."

"Gee thanks for the compliments Karu," Kuro had said sarcastically as he began to pout.

"Also Kuro didn't you oh I dunno have a meeting you were supposed to go to with a teacher?"

"Shit!" yelled Kuro as he bolted away and let out a slurred goodbye and a quick wave to Nero and Karu.

"If only he would put all that energy into his studies maybe he would have better grades," Karu mumbled to himself and sighed.

"Say Nero how about we walk home together so that they don't pick on you again."

"Sure that would be awesome. I would hate to run into them again."

"Well I must be heading out myself now. I'll see you after school!" Karu began to walk away and waved goodbye to Nero.

"Kuro is a lot like Hiko," Nero thought to himself.

"I really hope Hiko is alive even though it has already been a year. That dream I had last night really has gotten me thinking about Hiko a lot today hasn't it?"

Many thoughts began to race through Nero's head about this day. He started off to his next class and all he could think about was how odd this day was. Nero knew that finals were coming soon and he would need to study a lot since he's not the best at test taking so he needed to pay extra attention in class for the next few weeks however Nero was anywhere but in his classroom.

"Rukuro? Rukuro? Rukuro!" the teacher yelled trying to get Nero's attention.

Nero suddenly startled back into his senses stood up abruptly. "Yes sensei!" he exclaimed.

"Read the next passage in our book please."

Nero attempted to read but he had no idea where he was as the teacher had expected.

"Next time pay attention in class instead of spacing out."

"Yes sensei..." Nero sat down hanging his head low in shame as he saw some stifled laughs.

The rest of the day seemed to feel endless to Nero. The time had finally arrived for him to return home. Nero had begun to walk toward the main entrance door and stopped for a second to mutter to himself "Knowing my luck they will probably forget and just go home without me."

He began to again start for the door and when he stepped outside he saw Kuro waving frantically standing next to Karu who was intently reading a book. Karu had glanced up from his book for a moment to see Nero and gave him a slight wave before returning his eyes to the book he was intently reading. Nero sprinted towards the two brothers.

"I thought you guys were going to go on without me so I came outside as quickly as possible."

"Nah we wouldn't do something like that. We're friends, aren't we? So anyway, ready to get going?"

"Aye I am!" Nero said excitedly with an approving nod.

Kuro had given Kuro a piercing gaze of disapproval. "You know you could put the book down and actually interact with us?" Kuro said as he attempted to grab the book out of Karu's hands but Karu swiftly turned to avoid Kuro's attempt and stumbled forward.

"I can read, walk and listen to you two all at the same time," Karu said sarcastically. "So don't think you can try that again."

"Yeah right, I would love to see you try and read while walking home," Kuro had said with a snort.

"Psh watch me, Kuro."

The group had continued their walk home much to Kuro's discontent with his brother winning this argument once again. Karu had taken the smart decision of walking in the middle of Nero and Kuro so that he would not run into anything. Nero and Kuro seemed to be having a pleasant conversation when Kuro finally was frustrated and stopped angrily looking at his brother.

"Will you put the damn book down and talk to us already? You know you're not being very welcoming." Kuro said with disappointment.

"At least I do read instead of playing video games all the time and picking fights." Karu said finally putting a bookmark in his book and placing it in his bag.

"Well at least I socialize!"

"With what your game systems? That's some nice people skills right there."

"You're such a smartass!"

"And you're a dumbass!"

Nero couldn't help but burst out laughing at this. In a way it made him think of his own carefree and silly twin brother he had known a year ago. The two twins looked at Nero in confusion and then began to laugh as well.

"There's a never dull moment with you two." Nero said unable to stop his laughter.

"Well at least he put the damn book away." Kuro had said this with a smug smirk on his face.

"Well let's just keep going shall we?" Karu said as he began on his way again when he stopped again.

"Hey does something feel.... Off to you two?" he said looking around.

The three of them took a quick glance around to find something horribly out of place. The people began to disappear one by one. Almost as if a dark cloud was washing over the streets. Nero began to back away slowly as the three of them all looking around in confusion.

"Where the hell are all the people disappearing to?!" shouted Kuro in a state of utter confusion.

"Don't you think if I knew I'd tell you?" Karu responded with a usual smartass comment.

The darkness swallowed everyone around them until it finally reached them and they all fell into a pit of darkness. They all shouted as the fell in utter confusion. Many thoughts came across them. They all felt the same feeling of utter fear however and the same thought all crossed their mind at one point.

"We're going to die here!" Although not all at once it came across each of the minds of the teenagers.

The three lost consciousness as they began to fall into a pit of seemingly endless darkness.

 

Chapter 4: The Pit of Darkness

It was later that day when Clear decided to go see Nero after he had made up for the lost sleep from that night. Today was probably a difficult day for Nero. Clear had already slept most of the day away and felt bad for leaving Nero to fend for himself on such a difficult day. He looked at his alarm clock to find it was now 4:42PM. He sat up and stretched then he began to slowly get out of bed. He walked over to his drawer to pick out a change of clothes which took a few attempts as he always felt he needed to look his best. After he was satisfied with how he looked he went over to his nightstand and put on his blue glasses. He decided he might as well bring his books to see what he missed since he was in the same class as Nero so he picked up his backpack as well. He checked his phone to see if Nero had called or texted him at all while he was asleep. It was very odd to him that he hadn't heard anything. This made a feeling of unease come over him. What if something had happened to Nero as well? He tried to push the thought out of his mind so as not to further worry himself. Maybe Nero was just busy with school work. Clear walked downstairs to the front door and slipped his shoes on. Although he tried to push the thought out of his head more thoughts like it kept surfacing. What if something bad had happened to Nero? Clear began to move with a sense of urgency as well as a sense of fear. He opened the door walking out briskly as he started on his way to see Nero. Something felt odd and yet he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Was it because Hiko had disappeared this same day a year ago? No. He couldn't think of that now. He had no time to stop and needed to make sure Nero was alright. As he continued to walk he felt as though something was odd. Maybe it wasn't simply these thoughts that was throwing him off but something more? Something was very wrong and he knew it all too well but he wouldn't allow himself to stop moving this was urgent, important. It wasn't until it was too late until he finally began to notice. People were disappearing one by one and yet no one else was noticing it as it happened. A huge cloud of darkness began to come over them and approached him. Was he beginning to faint? Is that why no one else reacted was this his brain playing tricks on him? He didn't feel faint at all and yet he saw this black cloud approaching. It was too late the cloud had begun to reach him and he realized it was after him. It was almost as if it was eating the people. He tried to run in the opposite direction but as he turned he found the darkness had surrounded him on both sides. It was too late so he decided to stay still rather than fight it. He didn't know what it was but he wouldn't allow himself to be afraid. He had no other option but to allow it to engulf him. As the darkness finally began to swallow him as well a thought crossed his mind. "Maybe this is what happened to Hiko. Maybe if I let this happen I'll see him again!" the darkness had entirely closed in on him. The ground seemed to disappear from underneath him and he fell into a seemingly endless darkness. He lost consciousness as he feel seemingly to his death.

 

Chapter 5: Xetrik's Deadly Maze


Karu abruptly sat up panting and out of breath. The last thing he recalled was walking home with his brother, Kuro and his new friend, Nero. Something weird had happened and next he knew he woke up here in this dark, dreary and disgusting place. He was disgusted by the acrid smell of death that reached his nostrils. Karu scanned the room to find Kuro and Nero. He found them both unconscious in different parts of the room. At least, he hoped they were simply unconscious. He went over to check each of their vital signs. First Kuro's who was still breathing and quite alive and then on Nero who also was alive. Once he was assured that they were alive he decided it would be best to find out what this place was until they had regained consciousness. It was dimly lit by eight small candles around the room. It appeared to be circular even though it was difficult to see the walls or the floor. It was not very large but was big enough for the three of them to fit in there and there appeared to be a narrow hallway with no door leading directly South of where Karu was standing. Karu thought it best to get a better view of the room he was in so he decided to find his smartphone to get some light from its flashlight feature. He searched around and found Nero's, Kuro's and his bag each in different areas in the room. He crouched down in front of his own, opened it and began to search for his phone. After a few seconds of sifting through books he found it stuck in one of his homework folders. He turned his phone on and turned on the flashlight in the phone and shone the light onto the walls. He immediately regretted this as he saw a horrifying sight. He dropped his phone as he gasped in horror and fell backwards. His shock made him unaware of the fact that Nero began to shift. It took Karu a few seconds to regain his senses and process what he had just seen. Decaying corpses and bones seemed to form the walls of this room. He saw blood and faces frozen in a face of terror. It was a horrifying sight and Karu wondered how he was able to handle it without puking. He saw in the corner of his eyes that Nero began to sit up. Karu crawled over to Nero to check on him as he began to sit up.

"Finally awake huh?" Karu said as he began to sit down with his legs crossed next to Nero. He was relieved that one of them finally woke up and tried to shake the fear out of his voice.

Nero sat up and rubbed his eyes groggily. "Eh, barely but I guess I am awake now. So umm what exactly is this place anyway? It looks like something out of I dunno a horror movie or something?" Nero said questioningly as he attempted to stand up. The remnants of sleep could still be heard in his voice. Curiosity was very prominent on his face as he looked around.

"Well it's kinda dark in here isn't it? I feel like we should get some light in here or something." Nero said as he looked at the dim candles and began to walk over to his bag.

"Trust me Nero, it's better this way," Karu said recalling what he had seen it made him shudder and his voice had cracked at this statement. This gave Nero a clear sign that he shouldn't question into it further.

Karu began to walk over to Kuro since he was the only one who was not yet awake. Karu grabbed him by the shoulders and began to shake him violently as he yelled at him.

"Wake up already dumbass! We're waiting for you to get your ass up!"

"What da hell Karu! You scared the shit outta me!" Kuro said jolting away and quite irritated at this literally rude awakening.

"You coulda been a bit nicer about it Karu!" Kuro yelled quite irritated at him for hurting his already aching back. Kuro tried to stand up slowly due to his sore body from the fall.

"Can't we get some damn light in her or somethin'?" Kuro said squinting as he tried to take a look around.

"Hell fucking no I am not doing that again!" Karu shouted as his voice began to crack yet again with fear of the ghastly scene he had laid eyes upon several moments earlier. Karu began to pace about the room trying to figure out where they were.

"If you somethin that spooked you the big badass I best not question it." Kuro said shuddering just wondering about what Karu had witnessed.

"So what the hell do we do now?" Kuro questioned frantically trying to put his thoughts together of how to get out of here or where "here" is.

"This feels vaguely familiar for some reason. Hush for a second Kuro I think I'm onto something just let me think," Karu said already beginning to fall deeply into thought. He stood like this until an idea seemed to spring to life in his facial expression.

"Have either of you heard of the myth of Xetrik?" Karu said almost with excitement which seemed to confused Kuro and Nero but both of them shook their heads and said they had never heard such a name.

"Who is this umm what is it Xetrik? Or rather what is it? It has such an odd name," Nero said completely puzzled as usual trying to recall if he had ever heard such a name. He turned to look at Kuro who simply shook his head.

"Well," Karu began he seemed excited to tell a story from his vast knowledge, "You see Xetrik is a demon from mythology who would take young people away to his maze. If he had your sights on you you were doomed to be trapped forever in his maze. He would kill you if you didn't make it out within 2 days and add you to his corpse collection until he felt ready to eat you as a decaying corpse. He usually set his sights on those who were of powerful or special descent. This maze looks similar to those of myth and that may mean that it's not simply a myth but a true fact that people were taken away as you can see our current situation." Karu nodded and continued, "He was a very fearsome beast. He would wear his most prized victims' skulls around his neck as a necklace and he had horns out of the sharpened bones of two of the guardian demons that guarded his maze because he disliked them. He is about seven foot and looks like a decaying corpse himself and smells quite putrid. Let's hope that this isn't where we have ended up but I thought it interesting that this cave or whatever it may be that we have found ourselves in is quite similar to that myth." Karu had finally finished his tale and left Kuro and Nero in shocked. Nero was at a loss for words but Kuro spared no time after Karu had finished his thought.

"What da hell are we waitin' for! We need to get outta here before we end up like the corpses on the wall that you saw!" Kuro yelled frantically trying to get his brother to get moving.

"Y-yeah.. If we don't get out of here quick... what the hell will happen to us?" Nero could barely get the words out of his mouth as he shook with fear. This did nothing to uplift the mood of the group but rather made it worse. All of them were filled with fear as Karu stood there utterly calm and collected.

"We can't be afraid it will only make things worse. It's best to keep calm and find a way out instead of worrying. Shall we get going?" Karu said still keeping calm and collected as he guided a hand towards the narrow hallway.

Before they could continue on their way Nero's eyes became fixated on the opening. Kuro waved his hand in front of Nero and tried to tug on his arm to get him to move.

"Ey Nero you awake there?" Kuro said continuing to wave his hand in front of Nero's face but he didn't react in the slightest.

"H-Hiko?" Nero's eyes didn't leave that place in front of the hallway. Nero seemed to not be in control of himself and began to run towards what the others could not see. It's almost as though he needed to follow what he was chasing.

"Don't leave me again! Hiko! Come back!" Nero yelled as he ran through the hallway.

"Fuck da hell is happenin' now?!" Kuro yelled running after Nero trying to keep up with him. Karu keeping close behind although Kuro knew not for long as Karu had terrible asthma. Kuro knew it was up to him to get Nero to come back.

"Nero get the hell back here! It's not safe to go alone friend! You'll get yourself killed! Nero!" Kuro yelled after Nero but he didn't here him. After a few seconds he lost sight of Nero and Karu was panting behind him trying to catch his breath.

"Where....the hell.....did.... he go?" Karu said barely able to get the words out as he tried to catch his breath.

"Well looks like we lost sight of em. It's like he just vanished outta thin air," Kuro said as he waited for Karu to catch his breath. "Do you have your inhaler Karu? I can get it for ya if you need me to," Karu shook his head and stood up. His breath was still a bit shaky but he seemed to be able to manage on his own.

"We need to find him and fast before something bad happens," Karu said continuing to make his way through the maze until he heard a scream. It was Nero's voice.

"Fucking shit! That was Nero just now wasn't it?" Kuro said as he slammed a fist against the wall. The walls let out a horrifying screech as he did this which made Karu jump back startled but the sound. But Kuro was too fixated on another matter. He didn't realize as several bloody, decaying hands shot out from the wall and grabbed his right arm and leg. He was so startled his first reaction was to scream as the pulled on him. Karu instinctively grabbed on to Kuro and tried to pull him away from the corpses. He was barely able to keep Kuro away from where they were trying to drag him. For dead and decaying they were extraordinarily strong.
"Run the hell away! You're supposed to be the smartass not the dumbass!" Kuro yelled as he struggled to break free of Karu's grip so that he wouldn't suffer the same fate. Kuro finally decided to use as much strength as he could to kick Karu out of the way. Kuro kicked Karu in the stomach as hard as he could as Karu was hit backward. He coughed and fell to the ground as he saw Kuro be fully dragged away because Karu was helpless to save him. Karu could do nothing but sit there in utter shock. In a very short time he had lost two companions. First Nero, and now Kuro his own brother. He felt utterly helpless. He wished this were all a bad dream but it felt too real to be fake. He wanted this nightmare to finally end. He was all alone now with the horrors of this maze.

 

Chapter 6: The Guardian of the Maze of Hell


Nero had completely drowned out the conversation going on between Kuro and Karu. He was fixated on the young boy who stood in front of the narrow hallway. He was right in front of them and yet only Nero seemed to notice him. Did they not see him? Were they too engrossed in their own conversation to notice that there was someone else with them? He disregarded everything around him. Everything seemed to fade as he watched stared at this boy as hours seemed to pass. That boy was all too familiar. Nero would be able to recognize the face anywhere. The blood red eyes, the single ear piercing, the light blonde hair and the brown streak, that handmade pendant with the red orb in the center of its silver spirals and the large slanted scar on the boy's face. Nero was positive: this boy was not just any boy, he was Hiko. He could not mistake those features. Nero took one small step forward toward Hiko. Nero was reassured when Hiko reacted by smiling his infamous smile and reaching out his hand to Nero beckoning him to come. Nero continued to walk towards Hiko in a trance-like state. As Nero reached out toward Hiko as he finally reached where he was standing but as he did this Hiko turned and ran. Nero ran after him determined to be with his brother again. Why was he running away? Did Hiko want to see him again? Nero thought as he continued to chase after Hiko and yell for him. No matter how much Nero yelled Hiko did not react or respond. He simply kept running and running. It felt like several hours as Nero chased after Hiko even though it may have been minutes. Suddenly, Hiko disappeared as suddenly as he appeared. Nero was utterly confused and everything finally set back into view. He regained his senses but it was already too late. He didn't realize that he had fallen right into a trap. By the time he had figured this out and tried to turn and run hands reached out from the ground and grabbed him by the legs. Blood began to soak into his pants and he tried to struggle and move his legs but they were horribly strong and he was beginning to be pulled into this dark pit. He was sinking and had no way out. He was able to manage a scream for help before he was suddenly dragged into the ground.

"This is it," he thought in defeat "I'm going to die here and I'll never see Hiko again. I can't believe I let myself fall into this trap!" he thought he feared for his life and knew that this very well may be the end of his life. He would not see his brother again. The one person he sought for the most in the end would be his downfall. He was submerged in whatever place he had been dragged into. He felt as though he was in horribly thick water. He couldn't breath or move. All he could do was simply let these corpses drag him down, deeper and deeper and deeper until he ran out of breath and died or they took him to wherever he was going.

"I guess I was born helpless and will die helpless in this place where no one will find me," he thought with his mind full of thoughts of fear and defeat as well as regrets. Seconds felt like hours as he suffered from lack of oxygen and fought against unconsciousness. Finally after what felt like hours he was tossed out of this sea and fell as his back hit solid ground. Although it was painful he was relieved for the pain because it reminded him that he was alive. He coughed and gasped for air as he tried to regain his senses, He began to struggle to his feet as his legs shook from fear and adjusting to the solid ground. He was finally able to get on his feet even though his legs were still shaking. It was a very dark and cold room that he found himself in. He couldn't see a thing and would have difficulty finding an exit. He didn't have his phone on him to get at least a little bit of light but that wouldn't have matter considering it would have been destroyed by the water or at least what he thought was water. He knew one thing, he was wet and cold and would need to find a way out before he got ill. He was soaking wet and all alone. Nero did the only thing he could do and slowly walked forward with both arms out as he searched for a wall to lean on so that he could use it to find the exit out of this room. He needed to find a way out so he could regroup with Kuro and Karu. After much stumbling and searching he finally found the wall. He followed it making sure to keep his hands on it at all times as to not get lost. When he reached out his hand to his left he found that he had walked far enough to be in another hallway. He continued on this path for quite a long time until he saw a dim light up ahead. He had no clue where it led but when he reached it he sound a huge creature. It was not at all what Karu had described. It was terrifying but at the same time very majestic. It was a lot larger than described and not humanoid at all. Nero stood in the hallway entrance to take in this creature. Knowing his luck this creature would probably swallow him whole in a second. He wished to get away from it but at the same time he was drawn to it. This creature looked very much like a dragon but not the same form as a dragon would traditionally be seen as. This creature had large angel-like wings on its back. It was near four times the size of Nero and had short legs with long, sharp claws. It was black with red markings. Oddly enough it reminded Nero of Kiyo for some reason. Nero was terrified to move forward but he dare not walk back he simply stood still hoping that this creature was friendly or would not notice Nero's presence. All his hopes were in vain seeing as that Nero was not soaked with water but with blood which had a very distinctive smell. Any creature would be able to smell it from a mile away especially a blood thirsty creature. Nero's scent had awoken the creature from its slumber as it made its way towards him. All he could think of was to stand as still as possible and maybe it would disregard him but it was quite clear that the creature was approaching him and not simply about to go out for a stroll. Nero was face to face with this creature and it could very well eat him whole if it wanted. He didn't know how to react he simply stood there shaking with fear.

"Have you returned from your prison to here young one?" the creature spoke which utterly shocked Nero as he fell backwards as he was not prepared for it to be intelligent enough to speak.

"W-what the hell are you? A-are you going to kill me?" Nero's voice shook with fear he didn't know how to react nor why this creature seemed to speak to him with a familiar tone. He was not sure why he expected something normal to happen considering everything else that led up to this and yet it still utterly shocked him.

"I see so you're not that boy are you? You look quite like him, although I assume it would be difficult to tell considering you're a mess. I shall assume a more subtle form as to not scare you further as you seem to be quite startled," as the creature said this he began to assume a more human form. When he had fully assumed human form he was a tall man of about twenty years or older. He had long black hair with red markings in it and he kept his wings just in a smaller form folded on his back. He had yellow eyes.

"My deepest apologies young man." The creature now in human form bowed and held out a hand to help Nero on to his feet. Nero simply just started so the mysterious man grabbed Nero's hand and helped him up not seeming to mind if he got blood on his clothing.

"So ummm what is this place? I uhh I well I don't know where to start.. I have a lot of questions," Nero said trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible as he still was frightened of the man standing before him.

"I believe an introduction is in order first before I begin to answer your questions. My name is Kiju and I guard this maze of lost souls. It was not always like this. It used to be beautiful, lively and full of people but now it's completely destroyed. May I ask your name?"

"R-Rukuro Nero. You said before that you thought I was someone else? I was wondering if by chance well if you recalled that boy's name?" Nero said he was anxious about Kiju's earlier statement and had hoped that maybe Hiko was or had been here. Maybe he could find his brother at last.

"The boy you're inquiring about had entered here a year ago. I met him right after I had defeated the demon that had tried to take control of this place for his own malicious purposes. He made this place become even more depressing and hellish. The poor souls that are here are the ones I watch over until they may see their royal force finally defeat their enemy. The demon that your people know as Xetrik had attempted to take this place over. It took much of my strength to defeat him as I am not what I once was in regards to my power. That was when I met the boy who called himself Hiko. He didn't know who I was and yet he had attempted to treat my wounds after going through this same hellish maze as you have. I had only known him for a short time however I saw the fire in his eyes and felt the courage in his heart. I wish I could have saved him and I hope nothing horrible has befallen him." Kiju had told Nero with a sad expression on his face.

"W-what... What happened to my brother?!" Nero said choked up on the words. He feared the worst had happened to Hiko and he didn't want to find out Hiko was hurt or worse but he knew that he had the right to know where his own brother was.

"An evil group took advantage of my weakened state at that time. I had bestowed power upon your brother so that he may fight however I asked too much of him. He wasn't strong enough nor had enough knowledge of the power I had given him to be able to fight back. The evil organization, Serpentarolius, had defeated and captured him and I was unable to go after him as I have to watch over these poor lost souls. I had hoped that I could restore this place to its former beauty however to do that I must defeat them and allow these souls to rest in peace knowing another planet would not end up like our own." The sadness was very prevalent in Kiju's voice as he recalled this. Nero couldn't help but feel sad as well. Not only for those people who were trapped here but, for his own brother who was trapped in the clutches of this evil organization. Nero was entirely overwhelmed by everything going on. He didn't know what he and his friends had to do with this whole mess. He wasn't from another planet and he didn't think they were either so why was he involved? His home planet is Earth why couldn't those who survived from the other kingdom fight back? He hated to be selfish but he was weak. This wasn't his war to wage. It was far too much for him and he began to feel faint. Nero opened his mouth to speak again but instead had passed out from exhaustion. Kiju had been close enough to catch Nero and laid him gently on the ground to allow him to rest.

"I'm sorry, young man. I hate to bring you into this conflict but, it's your destiny. Rest while you still can, you have a long journey ahead when you awake from your sleep."

 

Chapter 7: The Ruins of the Kingdom Kuro had finally regained consciousness and sat up to find what place he was thrown into this time. He was relieved to find that this place wasn't as terrifying and dark as the maze he was inside previously. It was a very desolate place. It appeared to have once been a small home however, there was barely any walls left to allow it to still be a called a "house". The furniture and everything else inside was either knocked over or destroyed. If you could even call this "inside" anymore. It may have once been a peaceful little home with a family sharing a meal or exchanging stories. Kuro tried to stop dwelling on this as it would only dishearten him further and he had no time to dawdle. He began to walk towards the bookcase to investigate and see if he could find any clues. He moved what was left of the destroyed bookcase out of the way and began to sift through what was underneath. He found several destroyed papers and books that were falling apart. When he picked up a paper to try and read it he found it was in a language he had never seen before. There was barely any text left on the paper so it may be missing pieces of it. He tossed the paper aside and continue to sift through the spilled contents on the floor. He was only able to find one book still intact. It was not only intact but it seemed almost brand new and it was clearly not published. It seemed to be a journal of some sort. The name on the front was quite clearly in a foreign language. It wondered how this one book at the bottom of the pile could survive unless some intentionally put it there recently. He didn't seem that likely because this place seemed abandoned. Why would anyone come to visit this place? He picked up the journal to examine it. Maybe the inside would have something he would understand although it was not likely. He opened it and flipped through stopping at the last page. As he was about to close the book something caught his eye. He could understand some of the words. He began to read them aloud.
"Nekaria, Luminoga, and Lansca," he had read from the journal pointing to each word as he read them. There was one paragraph he was able to understand. It was the last paragraph which he also read aloud.
"This day is a horrible day for Luminoga. Our people are being slaughtered and the Lansca are unable to hold out much longer. If something is not done soon we shall all die. No we all shall die but, the Lansca will born once again. They shall defeat these foes even if it may not be in this lifetime. They will be our saviors and they will avenge the kingdom that Hekono has guarded for centuries." Kuro didn't understand why he could understand this paragraph but it felt important and the language began to look familiar and yet he couldn't read anymore of it. The words felt familiar on his tongue as they left his mouth. Everything just kept getting weirder and weirder for him and he just wanted to get out of this place. He didn't have the time to figure out why this was happening. He had to find the others and make sure they were still alive. He hoped they weren't still in that place with the corpses. Who knows what might happened to them if they stayed there? He tried to assure himself that they were all still alive and well. He began to close the journal when something fell out. It was a map of this place he assumed. The top had written in the same language "Luminoga" and had several small markings, most likely homes, around a large center which he assumed may be their capital or possible a castle of sorts. If he was going to find clues anywhere it was there. He folded the map back up and put it in his pocket and closed the journal deciding to take it with him. He left the rubble of the small house and looked around to see if he could find this building maybe he could find a way out of this place or to the others. He looked around at the rubble all around and it made him very sad. He tried to picture what it may have once been. People walking and talking. Busy and lively little homes everywhere. People were happy and everything was peaceful and happy. No. He had to shake these thoughts out of his head there was no time. Although he felt sorrow for what this place now was he didn't have time to mourn or think on it. The center of Luminoga came first to find the others. He decided the best way to go was left from where he was standing as he saw a crumbled castle there. It seemed quite far off but he had to make his way there. He began on his way clutching the notebook tight. He knew it would be a long walk but he continued on. He tried his best to avoid obstacles of rubble and various destroyed furniture and other things that may have tripped him up. No one else appeared to live here or if they once did they were long gone now. What could have caused this much destruction? Where were all the people or if there was a war or something where were the corpses? Had they evacuated? Or were they all somehow erased from existence? So many questions bubbled up in his mind and yet no answers came. After much pondering and walking he finally reached his destination. It was a sad sight it seemed as though it was once huge and gorgeous. Now look at it, reduced to barely anything. The walls were barely intact but enough that he had to open the front entrance doors to the castle in order to enter. He slowly and cautiously made his way in. It was worse than the buildings had been. He saw dried blood all over the royal blue carpet. There was a banner leading to a staircase but it was torn to shreds. Columns were crumbled and the staircase was barely even usable. There were several rooms on the left and right but he assumed they were also destroyed. He was about ready to make his way up what was left of the staircase when he heard something fall and saw a portion of the wall crumble near one of the doors on the right. Kuro's survival instincts kicked in as he became completely alert. He slowly walked toward the source of the disturbance preparing himself for the worst. As he drew closer he saw the door knob begin to turn. At that moment he was ready to spring forward to attack whatever may be behind it. Kuro gently tossed the journal to the side as to not damage it when he pounced on his assumed enemy. As the door opened Kuro leaped forward jumping on what had been unfortunate enough to open the door. It was a teenage boy. The boy screamed as Kuro jumped on top of him unable to react in other way. Kuro pinned the boy's shoulders against the ground having to use all his strength because the boy was bigger than him. He was a tall and lean boy seeming to be around Kuro's age. He had beautiful sky blue eyes and black hair with light blue streaks that seemed almost white. He was in dressed casually so it was clear he hadn't been dropped into this hellhole after returning from school so possibly he had come here at a different time?
"Who the hell are ya and why are ya here?" Kuro said anger burning in his voice and his eyes. He had expected to see another grotesque creature and not another person.
"Will you get off of me? I'll answer your questions once you let me get up and find my glasses!" the boy responded back in a sharp and agitated tone. Kuro decided to comply with his request and got off the boy and stood up holding out his hand to the boy to help him up. Once he helped the boy he went over to where he had tossed the journal and picked it up which had caused a brisk expression of confusion to come across the boy's face.
"I went through a lotta hell earlier and I thought ya might be another one of those creature things. Sorry I pounced on ya like that I just didn't want to risk it," Kuro said as he bowed as a sign of apology. "The name's Heki Kuroshi but since you'll be stuck with me for a while now ya can just call me Kuro. What's your name? How did ya end up here?" He said brushing both himself off and the journal he had tossed aside.
"My name is Hikoto Clear. You can just call me Clear. As for how I ended up here I have no clue. I went to check on my friend and get schoolwork from him and now I'm here. I had only woken up moments ago and when I tried to see if I could find anything I bumped into the wall accidentally and some of it crumbled. The room in there is in shambles. There's so much rubble I can't move any of it. How did you end up here anyway?" Clear had said while he picked up his glasses and began to clean them off with his shirt and put them back on.
"I'm in almost the same boat as you honestly. I was just walkin home with my brother, Jekaru and someone we had made friends with earlier that day named Rukuro Nero and then boom! Now we're here well we're not all here. We were in a place a lot worse earlier and you're lucky you ended up here and not there. It was like a picture out of hell but we were all together and now we're all separated. I'm tryin to find the rest of em but it seems like all the books and stuff are in a foreign language or somethin," he said shaking his head and shrugging on the last few words. Kuro had noticed Clear's eyes light up at the mention of Nero's name and thought maybe they had known each other.
"You know Nero?!" Clear had said he was very glad to hear Nero was at least still alive. He wanted to think nothing bad had happened to Nero but clearly something bad had happened to all four of them. "As if things couldn't get worse for him first losing his brother last year and this year getting stuck in this hellhole on the same day as his brother's disappearance..." Clear sighed as he felt compassion for Nero's current situation. As if he hadn't enough to deal with and now he was dragged into this place.
"Yeah I know him. So I assume he's that friend you were goin to meet eh?" Kuro asked cocking his head like a puppy who had heard an unfamiliar sound. He wanted to try and connect these situations. Maybe they weren't all coincidence but fate? Kuro wanted to be able to show people that he was at least somewhat intelligent. He may not been book smart but he was most certainly street smart and able to put two and two together.
"Yes. That was Nero I was going to see it's quite an odd coincidence that we all ended up here and you two had met Nero on this particular day wouldn't you say? Anyway onto more important matters. We should get a move on and begin to investigate a way to get to them and to get all of us out of here." He said beginning to walk towards the remnants of the stairway.
"Wait," Kuro said grabbing Clear's arm to stop him. He realized he missed several very important details that Clear would need to know. He decided he needed to sit down and talk to Clear about everything that happened now that he knew that Clear was an ally rather than a foe.
"Is something wrong Kuro?" Clear questioned turning to face Kuro. Kuro let go of Clear's wrist and Clear turned to face him.
"Ya might wanna sit down for this honestly. I feel like instead of just ya know rushing forward I should tell ya everything that has happened up to this point from the beginning of today. I know you don't wanna stick around for much longer but this is really important." Kuro sat down on the floor with his legs crossed and set the journal down in front of himself since he knew he would need to show it to Clear after they finished talking about what had happened.
"Of course! This would be good for an exchange of information. Although I don't have any information to give to you since I already told you what had happened to me before. Although considering the way this place looks I had a dream about a place that was in the same state as this city. Although this city doesn't look as modern as the one in my dream. I don't think the dream I had will give you much information." Clear sat down in front of Kuro so that he may listen to his tale. He looked at the journal with curiosity. "May I take a look at it?" Clear said pointing to the journal sitting in front of Kuro.
"Yeah I was gunna hand it to you at some point anyway. It's in a foreign language but for some reason I can read some of the lines even though I've never seen this language in my life. I want to see if you can read em too." Kuro handed off the journal to Clear. Clear took it and began to flip through the pages stopping to read the last one as Kuro had done when he first saw it. Confusion was very clearly displayed on Clear's face as Kuro looked at him with curiosity.
"I can read some of the passages and words in this book oddly enough as you said. I will read to you what I am able to read. 'Nekaria, Lansca and Luminoga. This day is a horrible day for Luminoga. Our people are being slaughtered and the Lansca are unable to hold out much longer. If something is not done soon we shall all die. No we all shall die but, the Lansca will born once again. They shall defeat these foes even if it may not be in this lifetime. They will be our saviors and they will avenge the kingdom that Hekono has guarded for centuries.'" as Clear read these words aloud Kuro expressed his shock. He couldn't believe it. It was the exact words that Kuro was able to read. What did this mean? Were they destined for something bigger than they could imagine at this time?
"Hot damn. Those are the same words I was able to read! What the hell does this mean?" Kuro said throwing his hands up in frustration.
"I have no clue honestly. I'm as lost as you are." Clear said shaking his head in confusion and defeat. He was unable to come up with an answer. "Anyway I believe you had a story that you were meaning to tell. I apologize for interrupting you."
"Yeah don't worry bout it Clear you're fine! Anyway....." Kuro began to tell the long tale of the maze and arms as well as what had happened to Nero. The portion of when Nero ran off and got separated interested Clear the most.
"So you're saying that he ran off after mentioning a name? It seemed as though he was being possessed or hypnotized? That's very odd. It makes me wonder if whoever brought us here has the ability to control us as well as move us around. There's definitely something otherworldly pulling the strings here and I'm afraid to meet whomever brought us here. More importantly what name did Nero mentioned before running off?" Clear had so many questions that Kuro felt a bit overloaded but he knew which was most important to answer.
"I think it was Hino.. ummm Hito.. No that's not it... I remember it began with an "h". I can't recall. It all happened so fast. Sorry I can't remember it for ya." Kuro said shaking his head and feeling guilty for not recalling such an important detail. It may have been able to give them some sort of clue.
"No no no. That is quite helpful Kuro! He definitely had to have said Hiko. That's his twin brother. He may have seen the image of his brother which would be a very legitimate reason as to why he would run off. Did you see anyone where he was looking?" Clear continued inquiring about Kuro's story. Kuro felt hopeful that maybe the two of them would find some form of a clue.
"Yeah! That was what he said it was Hiko. Also no there was no one there. I waved my hand in front of em a couple times and he didn't even flinch. He kept starin forward like someone was there." Kuro responded hoping to find answers he felt as though they were about to reach some form of a breakthrough and they couldn't stop now.
"I see. I wonder if it's possible that whatever or whoever took us here knows of Hiko. It may be possible that they took Hiko away which would explain why he disappeared without a trace a year ago. It would make sense as to why they might know Nero and know that planting that image would beckon to him and take him away. This entity probably wants us to be separated. This has been quite helpful and lets us know our captor is quite manipulative and most likely otherworldly." Clear nodded and made a gesture for Kuro to continue his story.
Kuro continued through the various other details of how he ended up here. Finally he had reached to the point where he had ended up finding Clear and concluded his story. With this the two of them decided they should get going and continue on since there was no time to waste. Nero and Karu were most likely in grave danger if they were alone for too long. Who knows what this "thing" might want with them. The story Karu had told them when they first arrived had begun to linger in his mind and hung over the two of them like a dark cloud of fear and urgency. The two of them continued up the stairs further into the castle. They found one door facing towards the steps that wasn't blocked and seemed to be very important as it had a large door although it was crumbling. They agreed to check here last and decided to split up. Kuro investigated what was left of the left hallway and Clear investigated what was left of the right hallway. After they had thoroughly checked the available rooms they would meet in front of the throne room and regroup.
Kuro had looked down the hallway to look for any open doors he could find. There were about sixteen doors down this hallway and two sets of stairs. Both sets of stairs were blocked so they wouldn't be able to go up them. Of the sixteen doors that he found only about four of them were not blocked. He decided to examine the first one on his right. The door was difficult to open and required him to use quite a bit of strength to force it open. When he walked into the room there was papers scattered everywhere like before. It looked as though it was a small library. There was only bookshelves and large, rectangular tables inside, He decided to take a look at some of the papers and books scattered across the ground. He couldn't lift any of the bookshelves even if they weren't intact because they were enormous. He noticed the pages were all in the language again. It must be the language of this kingdom and again he seemed that it looked very odd, yet vaguely familiar to him. He was disappointed to find however, unlike the last which he was able to read. He could only find scattered papers and various books here so he decided to move on. The next room he was about to enter was the third door in on his right. This one appeared to be some sort of bedroom. It was enormous but the bed was broken and most of the furniture. He found a wall with swords but they seemed to have rusted. This place must have been very old so it was no wonder it was a wreck although no amount of time would be able to spill this much blood and cause this amount of damage to everything in it. What was this place? There wasn't much in here except a gold ring found next to the dresser that was knocked over. It had an odd insignia of a silver dragon with huge white wings like an angel's wings and white markings all over its body. He had never seen a dragon depicted with angel wings before and he thought this might be important. He found engravings written on the inside of the ring and realized he had seen it earlier. He could read some of it! He recognized immediately the words "Lansca", "Nekaria" and "Luminoga". These words seemed to appear a lot and must have some form of significance. He couldn't read the rest of it but being able to read at least some of it would help. He put the ring away in his breast pocket carefully and made sure there was nothing else important in the room for him to take with him. After concluding he found everything of significance in this room he decided to continue on his way. The next room was at the end of the hallway on the left side. As he went to open the door he was unable to no matter how hard he pushed on it. It appeared to be blocked by something on the other side. That was just one less room for him to look for clues in he thought as he sighed. He decided to open the next door directly left of it. This room opened a bit too easily. As he went to open the door its hinges gave out and it fell while he was still holding onto the knob. He fell face first onto the ground as the door flew off its hinges. He rubbed his nose while he cursed a few times before getting back onto his feet and going back to his search. He noticed that the door seemed to have fallen on top of a case of some sort. He pulled the case out from under the door and took a good look at it. It was quite small and seemed to hold something inside. It would have been just his luck if it required a key but it didn't thankfully. He opened the case to find a beautiful flute. It seemed to be made of very thick glass. On it was a rose made of crystal and it was open-holed. It was beautifully crafted and wonder if it played. He put it to his mouth to attempt to play it but no sound came out which confused him. He knew how to play the flute quite well and it had holes and everything and yet no sound came out. Rather than putting it back he thought it best to take it with him. He placed it delicately into its case. He held the case along with the journal he had collected earlier in his right hand. He searched through the wreckage of what appeared to be another bedroom. He found rusted swords in this room as well and all the furniture was destroyed. Maybe some sort of knights lived on this floor? He found nothing else of importance and decided to head back in front of the throne room doors where he would meet with Clear.
Clear had made his way down the hall to do his round of investigating. There were only two accessible doors. One door immediately on his left and one on the right at the far end of the hallway. It would make sense for him to examine the one immediately on his left so he began to walk towards it. He took note of the huge staircases that may have led to an upper floor at some point.
"This place must have been enormous at one point and now it's reduced to only this floor. Who knows who or what could have done this. This is no man-made carnage and destruction," he thought to himself aloud. He began to open the door to the room being as cautious as possible. They may have seemed alone but who knows who or what may have lurked in this place. This room seemed like a study. It was reduced to only half its size because half the room was littered with rubble. There wasn't much to explore as almost everything in this room was destroyed. He was tempted to simply turn his back and walk out but knew he might miss something and even if this room did seem hopelessly destroyed he needed to explore it. The remains of a small desk were in the right hand corner of the study. On his left he could see a bookcase in shambles. Half of it seemed to be lost under the rubble that was the other side of the room. For a study it had some odd items inside it. He walked over to the desk first since he knew he wouldn't make sense of it and the desk might have something he actually might be able to figure out something from. The desk was surprisingly intact he thought as he went to open the drawer but he seemed to jinx it. As he went to open the drawer it collapsed. There goes any hope of a clue he thought. He would have to sift through the collapse of the drawers. He didn't bother to think of it at the time but for some reason this room felt extremely familiar. It's almost as though he had been here hundreds of times. He shrugged it off and knelt down beginning to move around what was left of the drawers. He found a book that was leather bound. It looked extremely important and he decided to keep it. He continued to look through the the rubble of the desk he had accidentally made crumble. As he had sifted through the drawers for several minutes he decided there was nothing else useful here. As he turned to leave something caught his eye. It shone like something had caught the dim light of outside. He walked over to it and found a feather. How could a simple feather shine like that? Maybe he really wasn't alone. He picked it up out of curiosity but as soon as he picked it up he began to feel dizzy. Fuzzy images flashed through his mind but he couldn't make any of them out. Something about this feather must be important so he kept it although he didn't know what purpose a feather might serve. He made his way out of the room and began to walk towards the room on the far right. He tried to force the door open but it wouldn't budge no matter how much of his weight he forced against it. He didn't have the strength to open it and it was probably blocked with rubble. There was nowhere else for him to go so he decided to meet back up with Kuro. He say Kuro beginning to walk towards the middle of the hallway in front of the throne room. Clear ran towards him to meet up with him. They both agreed that they had dawdled enough and finding the others came first. Clear shoved all their findings into a bag he had brought with him and they continued on their way. They walked over to the doors which they believed led to the throne room.
"Are you ready?" Clear said with both his hands on the large door to the throne room. Kuro nodded to confirm he was ready keeping both his hands on the huge crumbling doors. Kuro and Clear both pushed on the doors with all their strength to get them to open hoping for the best. Upon entering the room they saw a portal which they had believed may lead to another portion of the maze. Neither of them had to even ask or confirm with the other. There was nowhere else to go so they both looked at each other and jumped through the portal seen at the back of the throne room hoping to seeing Nero or Karu on the other side.