…Nothing could ever prepare you for it.
How the air somehow felt thick as it entered your lungs, the entire land lost in a colorless sea of black and grey.
The impending feeling of danger when you walk down its streets, hundreds of creatures' beady little eyes watching your every move, every step you take.
The Light has forgotten this place.
… This wasn't what they were taught. The cloud that Lychinus rests on still completely blocks the Light from reaching down here, just like it was said 500 years ago.
No… this can't be right! There's no way!
"This… is Tenebris…!?" Castor exclaimed, He stopped right in the middle of the street—studying his surroundings with a perturbed expression.
And when his eyes landed on the Kingdom of Lychinus above, a chill ran down his spine.
… How long have they been living like this? Light is the lifeblood of every human and creature; it's in their very essence!
Why…?
Why would Aetheron lie about making Tenebris a utopia?
… And how come no one found out about this any sooner?
"Tch." Drashira stood behind him with her arms crossed. "Cut the act. You've been up there preening with not a worry in the world. Don't act as if ye suddenly care now."
Castor snapped his neck in her direction, clearly offended. "There's no actual way to LEAVE the kingdom; even if there was, we're not allowed to! You really believe that I'd be okay with what's happening down here? That there wouldn't be total outrage in the streets when the people find out Aetheron lied to them!? You think they'd do nothing?"
A mocking chuckle suddenly came from behind them; when they turned around, they saw their two new 'companions' they'd been traveling with.
The dark elf stood there expressionless, while the Skal, Galaria, wore a jeering grin.
"You know, he has a point, Drashira." Galaria shot her a taunting glance, then approached Castor, disrespectfully invading his personal space. "The humans would do something if they could see our plight.
They'd look the other way."
With a subtle growl, Galaria turned around and continued walking. The dark elf silently followed behind, his hand still never leaving the hilt of his blade.
Castor shot back at her with a look of disdain, even if she couldn't see it. He glanced over to see Drashira's reaction.
To his surprise, it seemed that she felt the exact way he did. But she dropped her head a bit and stared at the ground. Like she didn't want to look confrontational.
Slowly, she began to walk forward, joylessly following them down the street. Castor's expression hardened as he watched her demeanor shift, but he followed behind as well.
As soon as they crossed into the colorless gate of Tenebris, Castor watched as whispers quickly spread amongst the civilians.
Galaria glanced back at Castor, who began rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "You'll have to excuse them; they're not exactly used to seeing humans who aren't here to torment them." She said.
"What?" Castor replied. "But… Am I not the first human who's been down here in centuries?"
Galaria stopped dead in her tracks, causing everyone else to follow suit. She turned to glare at him with astonishment.
"Where do you think your little Luni go on their expeditions?" She asked, pressing her finger into his chest.
He paused for a moment. "…They go… to find new habitable lands across Gaia?"
…
Galaria laughed and turned around and kept walking.
Then suddenly stopped again. "And for the record, ALL of Gaia is Tenebris. Idiot."
She didn't care to turn back around for Castor's reaction, which was one of visible confusion, or maybe annoyance?
He honestly just looked like he was already tired of hearing her mouth.
Drashira noticed Castor's displeasure; she was going to ignore it at first, but something poked at the back of her mind that made her begrudgingly speak up. "Gah. Don't worry about her; she's… always been like that."
Castor was a bit stunned to actually hear her input, the reassurance surprisingly comforting.
But it made him wonder, what kind of history does she have with a member of Bellator Luminus?
They're both Skal, sure. But he gets the feeling that's not where their history ends.
They have Pollux; that's the only reason Castor agreed to come along.
… But what's Drashira's reason?
And what does the leader of Bellator want with them?
Castor became lost in his thoughts for a while, and before he knew it…
"Oof!" He bumped into the back of the tall dark elf, snapping Castor out of his stupor.
However, the dark elf didn't react or budge. Castor rubbed his head, immediately noticing the form of his back.
It was toned. Annoyingly so.
… Dammit. This guy would've kicked his ass, huh?
"…Mm. Nah, I'd win." Castor thought to himself. Smirking.
"We're here." The dark elf said. His expression was composed.
When he looked around, he noticed the area they were in was… separate from the rest of the city, cut off into its own section of Tenebris.
The entire place seemed barren. Until Castor finally looked to his front.
And saw it.
…The entire building must've been 100 meters in height alone. It was imposing, and yet, it seemed so out of place in contrast to Tenebris's gloomy atmosphere.
It rose tall, towering above the rest of Tenebris, almost like a guardian.
And on the front of the building was none other than their emblem. a bold black emblem with a broad double-edged sword rising in the center, encircled by a perfect ring, and flanked on both sides by two curved blades crossing at the base.
The symbol of Bellator Luminus.
… How did he not notice this when he entered Tenebris's gates?
"…Is this the one?" A bratty voice remarked suddenly.
Castor hastily searched for the source of the voice, but surprisingly to no avail. He felt some strange feeling in his gut, telling him to look up…
"GAH!" He shrieked, jumping back in pure shock.
6 feet tall. She had to have been 6 feet tall! A large figure towered over Castor; both the pupils and scleras of her eyes were entirely black. Though, the first thing he noticed was that her skin was completely red! Just like the creatures he saw in Aetheron's throne room, a daemon, and also the two pointed horns that sat on the ends separated by her black textured pixie cut on her head.
She also wore a Bellator Luminus uniform, but hers seemed more suggestive and risqué than any other he'd seen before. A cropped black top that hugged her chest tightly and cut off right at the stomach, and short jean shorts that clung to her thighs.
Slightly obnoxiously, she rolled around a pink lollipop in her mouth.
The daemon crouched down to Castor's height, meeting his perturbed expression with her own curious look. "Huh. You really do look like a crack whore."
Castor scoffed. "Um, you mean 'Cas-tor'?"
She cocked her eyebrow sassily. "Yeah. That's what I said."
The daemon stood up straight and looked behind Castor, gasping suddenly.
"Drashira!?" She yelled excitedly, pushing past Castor and rushing over to the Skal, scooping her up in her arms and cradling her enthusiastically.
"H-Hey! Put me down, Phyra!" Drashira tried to resist as she was practically tossed up into the air, but her subtle laugh gave away her true feelings.
Castor watched as the two shared a small moment of laughter together. This was the first time Castor had seen Drashira make a face other than an angry scowl, most of them specifically directed at him.
… She looked happy.
He didn't know why, but it made him smile.
On the other hand, it made Galaria gag dramatically. "Ugh. Phyra, can you just take these two damn things inside already?"
Phyra continued laughing, setting Drashira down as their giggling began to slowly die down. "Oh, come on, Galaria. Are you really still pissy even after all these years?"
Galaria's eye twitched. "No. But I could show you 'pissy' if you really want."
"Ooh, I'm so scared." Phyra said dryly, walking over to the two revolving glass doors at the entrance and pushing one of them open. "Right through here." She gestured at Castor and Drashira.
Drashira wasted no time walking inside, as if she'd done so many times before. Castor wasn't so confident, however. Nervously glancing back at Galaria, who just bares her sharp teeth at him and growls. The dark elf just stands there expressionless.
… Yeah, maybe he should just go in.
As they all entered the building, Castor was stunned. It was a main lobby, and it was even more vast than he would've thought.
The lobby was also lively, filled with various kinds of creatures, some standing in long lines or sitting in different waiting areas.
They were all waiting to speak to a lone half-ling, who sat at the very front opposite of the entrance. She seemed very stressed.
Her conversation with an orc at the front of the line could be overheard.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Diender. I truly am, but we are trying our hardest, I can assure you! We just don't have many agents available, especially after! -"
The orc slammed her hand on the desk, her left arm occupied with holding her small baby. "You don't have any agents available!? What the hell are you all good for then!?" She shouted angrily, catching the attention of many creatures in the lobby.
The halfling attempted to quell her. "M-Ma'am! Just please calm down."
"NO!" The orc tossed the papers in front of her to the ground. "The Luni are pillaging! Slaughtering my people! My village! You want me to calm down!? How DARE you?"
Tears began to swell in her eyes, falling down her green skin. "…They killed my husband. What am I supposed to tell my daughter? When she asks why she can't see her father? How do I tell her I'm sorry for bringing her into a world like this!?"
Castor freezes, and his demeanor immediately changes.
… What is she talking about? The Luni…?
They would never!
He rushes over to the livid orc. Drashira and Phyra watch him run off; it happens so fast they can't find the right words to stop him.
"Hey! Hey! Excuse me!" Castor shouted, waving over at the orc as he got closer.
The half-ling at the front desk's heart seemed to drop at the sight of Castor, and when the orc turned around,
Rage surged through every part of her body.
Castor cleared his throat. "Look. I- I'm sorry I don't mean to intrude, but... What do you mean by 'pillage'? The Luni would never do something like that! -"
Suddenly, the orc grabbed Castor by his suit's collar and hoisted him off the ground with her right hand. "…This must be some kind of SICK JOKE!"
Castor flailed in the air. "W-Wait! WAIT!"
"You're just ALLOWING humans to walk in here when they please!? He's even wearing the symbol of that damned tyrant!"
The orc pulled Castor even closer; he saw the sharp canine-like tusks protruding from her mouth as she bared her even sharper teeth. Strangely enough, that wasn't the scariest part of her face.
It was her expression. Her eyes held nothing but utter disdain; Castor had never felt anything like this before.
It was… scary. How he could feel someone's hate for him so strongly, even though they don't know a single thing about him.
Suddenly, a red hand reached past Castor's vision and landed on the orc's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Diender. But it's time to go." Phyra said.
The orc stared Phyra down, both of them locking eyes.
She ultimately decided to put Castor down, dropping him while he dangled, crashing to the floor with a loud thud.
The orc let out a low growl, stepping over Castor as she finally made her way to the entrance, and walked out of the building.
"…Ugh." Castor groaned, mumbling something to himself as he fussed over his clothes. "Gah… Damn, man, always the suit. Why?"
As he continued grumbling to himself, he noticed approaching footsteps out of the corner of his eyes—scaly footsteps.
When he looked up, he was surprised to see Drashira standing over him, still glaring a hole into his soul.
…
She outstretched her hand; it was as if Castor had never seen a hand before, the way he stared at it, like it was foreign.
He hesitated, despite his usual gusto; there was a sneaky feeling in the back of his mind telling him not to trust her, that there was no way this could just be an act of kindness.
To be fair, every creature he's met so far has tried to kill him. Her included, kind of.
…Despite everything, he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.
And took hold of her hand.
She promptly pulled him up; it didn't seem like it took much effort for her either. Castor wasn't exactly a heavy guy, but it still sort of impressed him nonetheless.
"Thanks." Castor said.
Drashira crossed her arms, her calm demeanor not giving much away. Though, her tail began to move slowly and without any specific pattern, independent from her other movements.
"Hah. Don't get used to it; ye just looked a bit pathetic on the floor there, is all."
Castor smirked. "Pathetic? Look who's talking! I mean seriously, what kind of a dragon doesn't have wings?" He said, gesturing to her back and its unfortunate lack of wings.
… Drashira, once again, decided to ignore him.
"Ugh. Light guides us." The halfling at the front desk groaned as she rubbed the middle of her forehead. "I'm guessing you're the human Samyaza mentioned." She said it, not really like a question.
"Dang. Is it that obvious?" Castor replied.
"No. It just isn't likely that a human would walk into a building full of creatures that hate his guts for no reason." The half-ling absentmindedly shuffled some papers.
"Oh…" He responded, caught off-guard by her bluntness. "…Wait, who?"
Phyra suddenly laid her hand on his shoulder, then used the top of his head as an armrest. "Sammy. Our fearless leader." She said.
"…Right." Castor remarked, scratching his chin. "So, um… Where is he?"
The halfling seemed to press a button that was under her desk.
DING!
It made a blinking red light appear just above two doors off to the side; they both opened up by themselves, to Castor's surprise. He'd never seen doors open by themself before…
"Go to the 100th floor." The halfling said it formally. "I should warn you though, Sam has a few... guests over. I would watch what I say if I were you."
Castor crossed his arms. "Thanks, but… He has my friend. I'm not exactly worried about diplomacy."
Phyra chuckled at his words. "Big talk for such a shorty." She ribbed, giving him a small love tap on his lower abdomen.
"Ow!" He yelped, instinctively clutching the affected region.
Drashira sighed and made her way over to the doors with the red light. "Can you two just get on the damned elevator?"
Castor tilted his head to the side, while Phyra gave him a quick noogie before practically skipping over to where Drashira was standing.
"Um, sure!" Castor said skeptically. "But, uh…
What's an elevator?"