[img]https://i.imgur.com/H1LfXbE.png[/img]
The metal sung in high pitched shrieks of clinging and clashing as Runa directed her spear into the mad samurai and each of her flickering strikes was to be quickly and masterfully deflected with a series of katana slashes. Nephetos’s hand directing her blade moved against each of the incoming strikes coming from Runa, causing sparks to rise and lit up the space in between them both, sparks reflecting with white and bright yellow shades of fleeting light in the metal of their weapons and in their eyes, with some passion to linger in the air.

Her defense stance Nephetos was soon to redirect in the counter attack, as her sword rose high over Runa’s head and aimed to strike down on her - a blow which upon landing would’ve cut not only the girl herself, but the ground under her feet too; but the swift motion of a spear swinging over her head to again gain a diagonal position over Runa’s head and side, causing the vertical slash aimed on her to meet the metal of the spear and slide down past the demon’s shape - the katana cleave redirected into the ground again. 
Thus giving others an opening to attack. 

“[color=ed145b]Keep your eyes p̸̜̮̅̿è̵̫͗ͅê̴̪̔l̴̰̿ḛ̴̜͑̎d̸̬̬̓͌[/color]”, Runa replied to Nephetos with the same smile she would always wear on her lips and then carefully dashed aside - her motions flickered again as she moved back, allowing the adventurers to strike at the samurai with what they had. For Runa it was a sight to behold as well; or a spectacle, or a demonstration. Watching Akiko provide her counterattack on the white wolf which would also create another opening - for Kanbaru to use her projectile on her. It made Runa to give a light chuckle amidst the fight as she recovered herself with her spear back in her hands properly in the attack position: “[color=ed145b]You did not lie when you s̴͔̪̃͝a̷͓̋ḯ̵̼ͅd̵̡̧̏̉ that you are capable of d̸̜̀r̴̛̩͙o̷̺̎p̸̧͙͒̚p̸̘̞͌͒ḯ̶̞̠͘n̶͉̏́g̴̢͙̕ your pacifism for just a little indeed.[/color]”, Runa said with some praise directed for Akiko - right before she was ready to get back into a fight. 

A fight which would soon come to halt. Runa felt it among the first, an alien, yet all so familiar presence shaping up around the battlefield, and around some certain visitors in here - herself included. Right from that moment of the creeping coldness without a body to shiver through the air to appear she knew that Nephetos would be quick to part. And so she did - her body dissolving and disappearing without a trace in the thick cloud of darkness - leaving only an explosion of dark blades to dart around the battlefield - which Runa would evade by a few flickering motions, calmly stepping from side to side. 

“[color=ed145b]She will come back for m̴͙̒ơ̷͈̰̊r̶̈͜ě̷̳̩̈́. If you all are to survive the ș̵̫̒̍h̴͔̉ā̴͖p̵̮̼̆ē̵̢ of other... ḭ̵́n̸̤̂̉h̶͇̟̄͊a̷͈̪̔b̵̨̓͝i̴̥̕t̵̝͌̚ã̷͇n̷͎̲̄ť̵̩̚s̴̢̲̈́́ of this place.[/color]”

Somewhere along the banks of the Lagoon's outer edges were the remainder of the group. Something was indeed wrong, the sensation Katie picked up on coming closer and closer until she felt the backs of her hairs stick up. Thomas' charge and warning was all but confirmation to the invisible factor. Were she naive, she might have thought it was through their efforts Nephy was driven off, but more than likely it was because of that newfound presence. [color=indianred]"She's fine. As you can see,"[/color] Katie answered Thomas in deadpan, already placing Riku down. [color=indianred]"You can focus on going further into the cave before whatever it is approaches us. I suggest you ask that demon girl for directions-"[/color]

She was in front of Riku in a blur, smacking away the residual dark energies left behind by Nephy as a final parting gift. So quick was her movement the princess barely caught a glimpse of her blade as it already shimmered away and out of sight. Somewhere off to the distance was an echoing crash as Nephy's redirected attack was sent away. [color=indianred]"The others can figure it out sooner or later. This isn't something we can fight..." [/color]

The presence of something [i]other[/i] could be felt by everyone at this point and it turned the waters of the Lagoon colder and more frigid than they already were. Chunks of rocks fell off the tops of the stalagmites that dotted the Lagoon's backdrop, plummeting lile lobbed off heads into the waters. The crabs once under Hellsword's control fell where they stood, some teetering to their sides with undead limbs cycling in the air before at long last they grew still again. But most of all, a chill like no other crept up the spine of the biggest sinner, an edge of an invisible grip curling itself from the tip of Runa's tail, crawling up her back, all the way to the ends of her horns. It was as if two sturdy hands gently pressed onto each of her shoulders with nothing to show for this phenomenon in sight.

“[color=ed145b]Yes. I had a feeling y̸̧͕̑̐o̸̥͐͝ù̴̞ would come sooner or later, attracted by such a d̸̪̥́̍ḭ̶͗ş̸̐̍p̵̯̈́l̸̬̒̕ḁ̵͚̅̀y̶͍͗̇[/color]”, Runa said to no one visibly around, no one certainly in specifics, her eyes directed at the rocky wall of the cave they were in and her shape flickered still. She felt it first, and she was all too familiar with that taste of its presence - a formless shape of coldness yet to manifest but already in touch with the reality she was struggling with. The grip of the cold was to clasp over her shoulders after rising up her tail and spine and apply slight pressure, a hold almost tender was it not so reeking of death. 

“[color=ed145b]My dear guests… These s̷̭͍͌͠p̴̪̘̆͒i̵͚͙͐͗r̶̟̗͋͠i̵̻̪̓̑t̴̰̺̄̈s̶̢̔̓ you can feel by the shivering touch of the cold on your skin are something that you may think of as a c̸̟͖̊ư̸̓͜r̶̲̲͊͠s̷̫̗̾e̷͉̓ taken form and will, haunting presence of a force filled with d̷͉͑̽ḙ̴̌a̴͓̽t̶̥͗h̸̖͈̆̈́... [/color]“, Runa said, her shape flickered again in a manner of her face splitting and twitching, as suddenly while she was still facing Akiko, Kanbaru and the place where Nephy was just a moment ago, the ghostly shade of hers was to be turned around, facing what was behind the demon’s back. 

“[color=ed145b]Ain’t that right, spirits? But even you have your ḻ̴̔í̴͔͕̉m̶̼̑͒í̵͔t̴͕̞̅̚s̵̞̏̏[/color]”, Runa’s ghostly shape said to whatever was behind her, while her actual shape facing Kanbaru and Kanbaru addressed them: “[color=ed145b]We have to move. Ṉ̸̑ỡ̸̹w̴̟̒́[/color]”

Runa's warning wasn't to be taken lightly. Already the same encroaching chill on the first Runa spread to the true one like a plague. The area grew colder, cold enough for Katie to start seeing her breath, though she doubted Kanbaru would be affected by the decrease in temperature. [color=indianred]"You better do what she says,"[/color] she told Riku, Thomas, and Ami. She too was already turned away, moving deeper into the Abyss' inner-caveworks. The ghastly presence moved down Runa's throat from her lips, taking with it breath as it stole away her air and all capacity to breathe. Her saving grace was it was a slow process and not all of the presence was altogether here in complete fashion much like her. But soon. It was coming soon, and in time. The crab corpse's were already rotting away, large chunks of their shells deteriorating rapidly and caving in on themselves. The pressure deepened, as if pushing on Runa's chest....and Riku's as well. 

“[color=ed145b]Aren’t you a feral b̷͖̩̑̓e̷̙̿̆a̸̼̽̄ṡ̸̡̻̈́t̵̮̮̐ yearning for a life to claim?[/color]”, Runa said again with an absent and sterile tone, all while the devouring cold was to spread further around and across her present body, consuming over her tongue, her throat, slipping down into her.
“[color=ed145b]How many times of a time in a lifetime..?[/color]”

The coldness knew no words, it was just consuming everything, coating everything with itself as it was to paint over the air with people’s breaths to be exposed in how they exhaled, painting over the ground with the rot of crabs’s corpses which were left behind, over the rocky walls with the frosty touch, over skin exposed and not with the biting shivering pressure. Runa’s face was to remain unfazed with her lips still shaped in a smile, despite the growing pressure to form around her chest, deeply forcing itself over the demon’s heart. 

“[color=ed145b]M̸͉̌̑à̸̬n̵̺̅y̶̼̆ ̷̗̈t̷̫̉i̵̗̓͘m̷̥̉̌ë̷̲͝s̶̠͑ ̷̯̋̑ĩ̶̮̀t̷͈͆ ̴̢̘̒ẅ̶̫́͘a̶̳͚͆̚s̵͈̽[/color]”, she said and suddenly her presence produce a twitching flicker heavier than the others were before, her presence was to crumble on place, to leave an emptiness of a space where she just was a moment ago - only for her to appear again in a different place but still beside the pair who fought together with her: “[color=ed145b]Follow me.[/color]” Unlike other occasions, this time her wording was simple and direct enough. 

She started to move onward. Her voice seemed to not to be impacted much by the fact she was running - and quite fast so, only she flickered each time she was to say something, and yet the tone was as still and calm as usual: “[color=ed145b]This coldness. Somewhat of a d̸̩̀o̶̩͌͛ȍ̸̥̽m̴̨͐ of this place. Claims everything as its own. First thing local inhabitants learn to do - is to avoid this presence. Or to be c̵͎̯͘ờ̵̧͖n̶̨͈̊̚s̸̻̕ü̵͙͓m̷̞̹͂ë̶̬́̄d̵̮͛ and ̴̥̫̈r̴̨̺̽̀o̵̧̲̍ṫ̷͖̲̾t̷̙̱͘ě̵͉̟͂d̶̳̈́ͅ ̵̻͘a̶͔̗̒ŵ̸̥a̵̦̎͝ỵ̵̉̃[/color]”. She guided the party onward, deeper into the cave lagoon was in, deeper through the rocky formations surrounded and shaped by the eons of the water coating over them, deeper into the area where the light was casted by Runa’s chaotic flickering and occasional spells one would to put, deeper into the Abyss. 

***

In time, coldness remained behind. It never disappeared, not it was to be casted away, only distance grew in between and in so its presence. It was to come back sooner or later - it was something Runa was to tell, but it also was a thing obvious on its own. It was looming over, creeping up after, no matter what one would do. 

In time they reached a landscape to expose before their eyes. Countless buildings ruined, broken, laying lifeless and empty scattered across the rocky formations to be seen - a city once was but now long gone. It had no clear geometry or a foundation, the placement of buildings was confusing, sometimes it was completely impossible - some were just collapsed, but some were turned upside down, the walls absent or grew into the rocky bases of the Abyss, buildings laying on top of each other, crumbled into each other. Scattered around like many pieces of various puzzles unfit to be together but forced so, cut and broken into shapes unfit to exist. And yet there they were. Real and exposed to an eye.

“[color=ed145b]There was no place to live here. N̶͖̕ȇ̶̞v̷̲̝͑͗ḙ̵̡͑͘r̵̡̐ ̶̗̿̓w̶̘͂͗ͅë̶̼́̔͜r̸̰͛̄ȩ̷͗̌. Never was a town here, or a village. It was an empty barren wasteland. Then times before times ago, a land above the Abyss c̸̯͒͐r̵̺̈́͝a̸̮͝c̷̼̈k̶̞̑ͅe̵̢̓d̵̡͎́͐ and broke apart. Its pieces and fragments fell into here, c̸̮͕͒͌ö̸̬̊n̵̪̓̌s̸̤̩͑u̴̧͊̋m̵̱͆e̶͉͛͝d̵̘͂; and what once was a structure of things to be, now became a mere rubble. Though, what might be a ruin in one’s eye is to serve a place to live for others.[/color]”, Runa explained, also pointing out further into the distance, where the said pieces of buildings were assembled and put into place more [url=https://i.imgur.com/yKeytQS.png]properly[/url], more fitting for one to live in and even resemble some actual space of being inhabited. One could even say it was made so with care and a sense of beauty where pieces of broken structure were put to compliment and fit the shapes of rock foundations. 

“[color=ed145b]We can rest there, for as long as there is some distance built between us and the c̵̺͐o̷̲͆͛ḻ̶͕̈́d̸̛̠̬͒n̷̝̔͠e̶̮͖̽͑s̸̰̳̔̍ș̵̓, I assure it is a place safe to be in. Might as well consider it a home for souls lost there, if you are to consider y̷̪͌͜ỏ̶̭u̴̗̐r̵̤̰͂̓s̷̯̀͊ë̶́͗ͅl̷͚̀̚f̸͙̓͊ ̶̟̯̐o̷͕̫̓͂n̷͇̆e̷͕͎͛͆.[/color]”, Runa said and guided the adventurers inside of a little fort constructed out of the broken pieces of the land long gone.