forum The Soul Labyrinth <Remake> [Closed]

Started December 03, 2019 by @CasiCasino group

tune

(As expected honestly ;^;)

Some vines have crawled up and twirled around the gravestones. Matthew, being able to control these small things, retracted these vines back into the ground where they belonged. He got out a piece of clean cloth and wiped the faces of the gravestones clean.
Once done, Matthew stood back up straight again. He gave a small sigh and turned back to Hinata.
”I‘ll have to return to the palace. Would you like to follow?” he asked, his eyes holding themselves back from shedding the rivers of tears.

Hinata watched in silence, hands folded in front of her. She nodded when Matthew spoke. She hated seeing how hurt he was, and wanted to make him feel better. She knew better, though. One never truly feels better after something like this.

Oh yes, she most definitely knew.

Matthew nodded and created an interval portal. He walked through and pulled Hinata through as well.
They soon entered the palace’s area. He walked down the hall and towards a large pair of doors. Opening it, inside were ten other Knights and a Viscount.

Hinata let herself be pulled along. She was silent the entire time, eyes traveling around quickly and taking in who all she recognized. She didn't like being around too many people she didn't know if she could avoid it, but it wasn't like she was just going to leave.

In the room, Hinata would recognize two figures; one being the Crow-masked scientist Chris, the other the polite doctor, Cassius.
They gave Hinata a small wave as Matthew introduced her to the group.
”I don’t allow her in here” the Viscount at the end of the table mentioned.

”Please, trust me. She’s trustworthy” Matthew stated with a truthful tone.

The Viscount thought for a bit then sighed.
”Fine” he finally gave in.

Matthew bowed as a ‘thank you’ and sat down.
”Well… let’s start… Ray? We all know where she is” the Viscount started as Matthew made a soft tsk sound.
”Atlas?” “Here”
“Gabriel?” “I’m here”
“Chris?” “Here sir”
“Zac?” “Of course sir”
“Inari?” “Hereeee~~”
“Tanner?” “Mhmm…”
“Ares?” “Yes sir”
“Matthew?” “As always”
“Luna?” “Here good sir”
“Forest?” “Here……”
“And… Cassius?” “Of course”

The Viscount made what could assumed to be an attendance sheet.
”Alright… no one’s late… let us start with a very, very interesting topic…” the Viscount eyed Matthew.
”Explain what happened to Julian, will you?”

Hinata was very, very close to just looking this Viscount in the eye and saying "I happened to him," but one) that wasn't entirely truthful, and two) she figured it'd be best to not speak up yet. So, she kept her mouth shut for now, even though Matthew had been unconscious during the fight. She still had zero regrets, and it showed.

The man looked at the grandfather clock within the room.
”Unfortunately, I can’t. I have to go to patrol” the Knight said, walking over to another part of the room and grabbing the sheathed blade that was leaning against the wall.
”I don’t mean to be rude but please leave. I’ll need to lock the door”

Jade nodded putting the book back carefully "It was nice meeting you at least…Can I have your name?" she asked before she reached the door

Matthew struggled to explain the situation. He was unconscious throughout the fight after all. He was about to answer when a familiar face to Hinata came into the room.
”Why are you here…?” the Vincent at the end of the table asked immediately when he recognized the figure.
”Because I was the one who killed him?” Vincent, the Viscount who indeed killed Julian, stepped through the door.
”… why though?” the unnamed Viscount at the end of the table asked with a commanding tone.
”…” Vincent stayed silent for a bit, looking at Matthew before speaking.
”Do you remember… 14th February of twelve years ago when Knight Ray and her son, Asher Syrain died in what we assumed to be an ‘accident’?”

Matthew looked up at Vincent.
”Julian… was the culprit… I would know—“ Vincent continued ”—before I was with him when it happened”

The moment right after, Matthew’s seat went empty. He was in front of Vincent, grabbing the Viscount by his collar and showed much aggression.
”Explain to me… EXPLAIN TO ME YOU FUCKER!! WHAT HAPPENED?!” his voice was shaking from both the tears and the rage built inside him.

The other Knights eyed Matthew, all of them had different views on the situation. Cassius the Doctor seemed to have the same reaction as Matthew had but to a less aggressive level.

”Damien. Damien Everett” the Knight answered, sniffing the air. He unsheathed his sword and positioned it in front of himself when a mutated creature; one that looked like a mix between a wolf and a large spider broke through the wall of the room. The creature was larger than a human—no, it was larger than perhaps six people standing together in a circle.

Hinata was staring at Vincent in disbelief, shocked. When Matthew grabbed onto his collar, she thought best not to try to stop him. This was… this was definitely not what she was expecting to happen.

Jade jumped back suppressing a scream but shouted "WHAT IS THAT THING!" she pressed closer to the books but not hard enough to knock them over

(This is long, but it’s worth reading through if you want to get a better understanding of Matthew’s family’s backstory)

”Matthew… calm down mate…” one of the unnamed Knights spoke up.
”WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?! FOR ALL I CARE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!!” a large root emerged from the ground and grabbed the other Knight by his neck, covering his mouth and pinning him against the wall.
”Now… EXPLAIN!!!” Matthew’s voice was raspy as if he was mentally breaking down while this was unraveling.

Vincent breathed calmly and started…
”You should all be aware that us Viscounts have different ranks depending on our ‘Combat Power’. Divided into four ranks; bronze, silver, gold, and diamond…”
”Twelve years ago, Viscount Julian was still a Silver ranked Viscount unlike the others who have succeeded in getting the Gold rank and one even got Diamond rank; Noel” he slowly removed Matthew’s hands from his collar.
”Julian wanted the rank, he wanted it bad… so he thought of a way to retrieve such power in a short amount of time… that was to get it from a Knight with a high CP level… Ray, for example, had the third-highest CP level of this generation. Her abilities, though, did not grant her a defensive effect like some of yours do… making her an easy target for assassinating” Vincent paused to take a breather before continuing.
”On Valentine’s of that year, if you all remembered, Matthew and Ray made a plan to visit an old friend back in Realm 57… Julian knew about this so he went there ahead of time to prepare…” Vincent’s eyes and tone showed truth to his story.
”When Matthew, Ray, and seven-year-old Asher stepped through the portal, an explosion occurred in the building just beside the portal, causing it to fall on Ray and Asher. You all should know that the buildings in Realm 57 were specially made with unnatural materials, meaning that they were much stronger, harder, and heavier than normal building blocks. Ray and Asher were killed by the fall and Julian absorbed their energy from where he was within the realm, granting him the Gold rank he craved for… Matthew survived… just barely though…” the faces of the Knights, upon hearing this story, were all distressed to different levels.
”… I knew about the plan ahead of time… yet—“ Vincent clenched his fists ”—I did not stop him. I was a fool for letting such actions slip by” his tone grew into an aggressive one when he talked about himself.
”Two days after the incident, I asked Julian about the events… this was what he said… ‘Ray had a child? Huh, I didn’t know. I don’t really remember useless people after all. She deserved to die for distracting my secretary after all’…” Vincent ended.

Matthew, now on his knees, fought back his tears the best he could. Yet, it would seem that it was not enough.

”So all this time… Ray was killed…?” one of the unnamed Knights brought up.
Vincent nodded.

The Viscount on the table stayed silent. His actions, though, suggested dissatisfaction.

Hinata listened as Vincent spoke, growing more and more enraged. If Julian hadn't been dead already, she would have killed him. She moved silently to Matthew's side, kneeling next to him. She knew what it felt like to lose someone so close, and the way it had happened… Julian had been a monster.

The Knight who claimed himself to be named Damien, waved his sword in a challenging way.
”Not sure… probably a mutated creature from the lab…” the Knight stated as his blade lit up in light blue flame. He rushed the creature and attempted to slice its head in half with his blade… to which he succeeded.

(Well I mean— his wife and son died twelve years ago, everyone thought it was an accident and all of the sudden someone told him that it was a murder, I would probably have the same reaction if not worse ._.)

Matthew’s hands went up to his face, covering his tears and silencing his cries.

Vincent looked down at him and sighed…
”With that story… I come with bad news…” he spoke up again.
”The ‘Julian’ I killed… wasn’t the real deal. That was but a bait, one that looked and acted like the real one…” Vincent claimed.
Cassius’ eyes went up in literal golden flames when he heard this.
”Vincent, do you know where he is…?” the Doctor asked.
”I have no idea… but all I know is that he’s up to something bad…” Vincent shook his head slowly. This was indeed a bad situation for everyone.

The Knight who claimed himself to be named Damien, waved his sword in a challenging way.
”Not sure… probably a mutated creature from the lab…” the Knight stated as his blade lit up in light blue flame. He rushed the creature and attempted to slice its head in half with his blade… to which he succeeded.

Creepy monsters from labs? Jade shivered then straightened up leaving the room but holding the door for Damien "Hope I run into you when you're not busy next time" a small smile came to her face

Hinata's head snapped up to look at Vincent when he spoke.
"Fucking- again?!" She was furious, and she knew if- when, she did get her hands on the real Julian, she'd make him regret everything. She had her hand lightly on Matthew's leg.

Damien sheathed his blade and nodded. He followed, closed the door, and locked it. He soon jumped up and travelled further into the maze.

Matthew turned to Hinata.
”Please… please…” he pleaded with tears flowing from his eyes like rivers down his cheeks.

The Viscount at the end of the table stood up, hitting his hands hard on the table and creating a loud sound.
”I’m breaking the rules this time… Julian Harkin is now a Wanted man by the 12th Generation. Under any circumstances, if you find him, kill him right then and there. This is an order, not a request” the Viscount ordered as the Knights’ faces, especially Matthew’s, lit up with hope.

Vincent smiled barely when the other Viscount ordered the group.

The Knights, except for Matthew, got their weapons and left the room one by one.

”And Matthew… thank you for staying strong for the past twelve years” the unnamed Viscount spoke before he left the room, leaving Vincent, Matthew, and Hinata inside.

Jade looked down then called out hoping Damien had heard her "Hey can you help me find someone?" she looked back down after finishing her question to her locket that hung around her neck opening it to find the picture of A-ya and herself safely tucked inside it I hope i can find you little sister

Damien stopped before he continued into the maze. He jumped back to Jade.
”Did you say something?” he asked, one hand resting on the blade’s hilt.

Jade nodded and repeated her question to him "can you help me find someone?" she looked at Damien steadily as she asked it

Damien raised a brow but still shrugged.
”Who?” the Knight asked quite plainly. He was supposed to be on patrol a long time ago but it seemed as if he wasn’t calling Damien out for being late anymore… or perhaps something happened to him.

"My…uh. I need help finding my sister. She had been in a car wreck a couple months ago" Jade tried not to look down in sorrow as tears brimmed her eyes and pain staked her heart, her voice shaking she let out a sigh

Hinata was a little glad there would be others hunting Julian down now, since they obviously needed as much help as they could get. Still, she knew she wanted to be the one to find him. She looked at Matthew when he spoke, eyes soft but expression hard.
"We're going to kill him," she said.

Damien was a bit surprised by the request. To ask a Knight to help her find a lost soul? That’s got to one of the weirdest he’s ever gotten. He thought for a bit…
”Sure. Tell me her name, appearance, you know—the basic stuff”

Matthew regained his natural posture now. He slowly spoke the words…
”No… I don’t want him dead…” he started.
”For what he did… I want him to suffer for as long as possible before his death…” Matthew said with a merciless tone.
He was enraged, yes, but he wanted to give the Viscount a taste of his own medicine—an actual suffering state.