"Of all the fighters we had to recruit, we had to be assigned to the damned hunter." A short, young woman complained to her middle-aged counter part as they walked through the violent storm and what they found at the other side was an expansive dessert of black, ashened sand under the pale moonlight. Just from looking at this land, it was painfully obvious that it was a land that had been burned to the ground long ago, a world of ash and death. "Christ, what the hell is this place? It's giving me the creeps." There was no wind, not a sound. Silence encompassed the entirety of the black dessert. 

"The paradise, Elysium, a holy land of self-indulgence that was engulfed by the pyre of Tartarus. This is what is left of it." The middle-aged man spoke in monotone, observing his surroundings with an analytical gaze. The being they were trying to find was supposed to be around this area, but there is quite literally nothing in this wasteland. Perhaps they had arrived at the wrong location? No, they had pinpointed exactly where this hunter should be so what is going on? "It seems like we will have to investigate further."

The young woman paced around, her already thin patience thinned by the minute. "Investigate what? In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of fucking-" She cut herself off when she felt the lack of weight beneath her feet and before she knew it, she fell down a hole screaming her lungs out before she went silent with a thud, followed by her groaning.

"It seems like our man is well prepared for guests." He muttered to himself, gazing down at the pitch black hole that his partner fell in. The man pulled a lighter out from his pocket and tossed it down the hole. "Hey Elyse, what do you see down there?" 

The woman grumbled some obsceneties as she felt around for the lighter that the man gave her. Soon, she found the small contraption and was able to get a tiny flicker of flame. It wasn't going to light up the whole place, but she could make out that she was in a dungeon of some sort. "I'm somewhere, but I'm not exactly sure where this is exactly." She was feeling dizzy and her left arm flared up with a searing pain. "Crap, I think I broke my elbow." 

"Hm, I'll look for another way around then. No point in me breaking my bones too. Be safe." With that, Elyse's partner left to go find a way into whatever complex they had found, leaving her alone. 

She approached a wooden door and grabbed its handle, giving it a good shake before giving up. "No good, it's locked. Thankfully, I've got the master key for any situation." She pulled out her 'master key,' a pistol, and with a bang she shot the lock. The door slowly opened and cautiously, she had begun her search for a way out. Deeper and deeper she went and the further she explored the depths, the quieter the place got. It was as if sound was forbiddent to enter and out of pure instinct she was breathing as softly as she could. Every cell in her body was starting to scream at her that whatever she did, she could not make a sound. 

The darkness obscurred everything around her save for the flickering flame of the lighter. The darkness covered all and the darkness nearly took her life; while she was walking, she accidentally stepped on a pressure plate and a from the left wall next to her, pikes of bones shot straight towards her to pierce her body. It was at the last second that she was able to see it with the dim flame and hit the deck, letting the pikes fly over her head. They stayed like that for a minute before a mechanism caused the pikes to retract back into the wall.

"Crap I got lucky... So there are traps here. I can only assume that I'm getting closer to the center of this place. Gotta be careful..." She muttered under her breath and definitely, she was far more careful with how she approached the pathways. Honestly she was not sure where she was going, but this had to be a sign, right?

Further and further she went, but soon she saw something odd: a dim light in the distance. Whether or not was a trap was completely up in the air, but she did not have any other options. Slowly she was getting closer and closer to the source of the light and found that it was the lamp that her partner had. It was meant to lead them to a being called Actaeon, but instead they were trapped in this place. 

Elyse picked up the lamp since it was far brighter than the lighter and well, what she saw was a trail of blood. The blood in her veins ran cold and her body shook while she slowly approached the source of the blood. What she found made her scream the most blood curdling scream a human could possibly make; her partner was pinned against the wall with a single bone pike lodged in his mouth and pierced out the other side. 

Then she felt something breathe on her shoulder. She did not want to turn around. She did not want to turn around. She did not turn around. She turned around. 

[hr]

How the hell did she get in this situation? Right now she was sitting in what looked like the actual home of the creature, sitting in a chair while she was watching the Noctis cooking a steak made from her partner's flesh on an open fire. His body was cut into pieces and the majority of his flesh was being preserved through different methods, such as pickling and smoking. 

She looked around this dark room lit only by torches and saw that there were shelves of books and scrolls neatly organized. Then there seemed to be an area where the Noctis crafted objects, especially weapons and other gadgets. 

[color=0072bc]"I'm sorry about your friend, human. I know you must think I am a monster, but I need to eat too and I refuse to let fresh meat spoil."[/color] The Noctis spoke, much to Elyse's surprise. 

"You can speak?" She asked in disbelief. 

The monster grabbed what seemed to be a plate made from gray clay and put the slab of human steak on it. [color=0072bc]"Among other things."[/color] He set the plate on the table and sat down across from her. [color=0072bc]"I'd offer you something to eat, but I doubt you would be very hungry."[/color]

"No shit I wouldn't be hungry. You're eating my partner and soon you'll want to eat me too."Elyse stated coldly, giving the beast a sharp glare. 

[color=0072bc]"I'm only eating your friend, not you and I said already apologized. Just who are you anyway? You don't smell like you're from around here." [/color]

Her eyes widened when she realized she had forgotten why she was even there up until now. She was so busy trying to survive and watching her colleague being eaten as a slab of meat that it was pushed to the back of her mind. "I, um, well you're right. We... I am from not around here. I am looking for Actaeon for an important matter... I assume that you're Actaeon the Apex Hunter?" 

The Noctis cut the steak into pieces and kept putting the pieces into his maw. [color=0072bc]"You're speaking to him. What is it that is so important that risked your life to speak to me?"[/color]

"I was sent as a representative of the Inquisitional College to recruit you for a tournament. The winner gets their greatest wish granted and the losers die." 

Actaeon gave her a bored stare that expressed how much he did not believe her words. [color=0072bc]"No amount of magic in the world can do that. Let's say that it is true for the sake of argument, why would I want to risk my life to join in something that may not even work?"[/color] The beast kept on eating, dismissing the woman's message. Just how stupid did she think he was? 

"I know that you want to be loved." The hunter froze in place when Elyse spoke. "You're the only one of your kind that possesses human intellect, albeit I did not assume that you could actually speak. I also know that the humans loathe and fear you. I can't say I blame them. You're a threat to their very existence. What a lonesome life you-" 

[color=0072bc]"Enough. Why do you know all of this? Who are you, really?"[/color] Actaeon stood up, towering her with his claws dug into the wooden table. 

Elyse gave the beast a coy smile seeing that she struck a nerve with the beast. "At this point it doesn't matter who I am or how I know this. I laid out all the information you needed to know. What matters is what you want, Actaeon. Is living without love that important to you or will risk your life to gain it?" 

Actaeon glared at her with his piercing blue eyes through the dimly lit room. If what she is saying is true then there is a chance for him, a chance to no longer be hated. [color=0072bc]"Lead me to this tournament, human."[/color]

For better or for worse, Actaeon had taken part of The Crucible. Whether he lives or dies, well, only time will tell.