[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/kCP8PFd.jpg?4[/img] [h3][b][s][color=00aeef]Chinami Nadakai[/color][/s][/b][/h3][/center] [center][h3][b][color=00aeef]"Liliya Montoya"[/color][/b][/h3][/center] [@Dezuel] [color=32CD32][b][i]"Hurry,"[/i][/b][/color] urged the sibilantly rumbling voice from within. "Liliya" grimaced, as she tentatively took several steps down the long hallway. She had drawn the lighter again, and flickering orange light illuminated things enough for her Spirit's unreasonably acute vision to pick out the hallway's details in shocking detail. Several holes in the walls stood ou- [color=32CD32][b][i]"Time is a luxury, one thou art bereft of!"[/i][/b][/color] "This One" urged more strongly. [color=32CD32][b][i]"Thine target makes good on his escape, and thine foes shalt soon fall from behind!"[/i][/b][/color] [color=00aeef]"I know! [i]Fuck[/i]!"[/color] Liliya spat, grinding her teeth and really wishing she could throttle the voice. It galled her all the more that her every violent and private impulse was on full display to the demon, but she managed to suck down a series of calming breathes, trying to ignore the clamor of the enraged chess pieces in the room she'd just left. [color=32CD32][b][i]"Thine intellect is a formidable foe, even to thyself,"[/i][/b][/color] This One chided unwaveringly. [color=32CD32][b][i]"Thou art 'overthinking' it. For thine Spirit's ward shalt be sufficient for thee. Thou hast only to sally forth to overcome a triviality! Go!"[/i][/b][/color] [color=00aeef][i]"Motherfu-!"[/i][/color] Liliya bit her tongue to stifle the multitude of unkind things her mouth wanted to uselessly say. Why even say anything at all, after all, when those thoughts would be conveyed the moment she so much as conceived the consideration of them. One closed fist briefly hammered into the wall to her left, fissuring brickwork with a ringing crack. Gnashing her teeth, Liliya clawed back control of her temper before she could devolve into further pointless destruction and bolted down the hall. [color=00aeef]"You better be telling the fucking truth!"[/color] Pressure plates sounded underfoot to her Spirit's acute hearing, subtle wards brushed over her shielded skin with a touch she couldn't even feel, such was their futility. Darts whizzed from the walls here and there, but she swatted the projectiles away, their threat trivialized by accelerated perceptions. Skidding up to a sudden drop, she didn't even bother humoring the stairs, her Spirit's lift aiding her in a guided free-fall of a glide down into the depths. The path forward was getting less straight-forward, now winding and curving in a gentle arc. It made enough sense. The library above was only so big. If they wanted to hide a space down here within property lines, that might need some adjustment. A second door lay carelessly open. Reverio's doing, no doubt, as Liliya slowed down and extinguished her lighter again. The scent of long-settled dust, ink, paper and parchment hung heavy in the air. If it weren't for how deep she had some grasp of them being, Liliya might have wondered at the height of the ceiling and the subsequently looming rows of bookcases. Crouching low, even with her mission in mind, she found her gaze wandering, as she crept forward silently, her Spirit liberating her of the need to touch the ground by all of an inch. Liliya couldn't help the bubbling feeling of... anticipation(?), nostalgia(?), trepidation(?) or even glee(?) that welled up within her at the sight of every untouched dusty surface, so many fonts of knowledge and enticingly deceptively mundane objects all too amazingly untouched by the ravages of time. Preservation magecraft? Perhaps. She couldn't help but visualize grand scenes of the empty armored suits lurching to life to loyally defend their trove of information against thieves and plucky adventurers. Her mind's eye could paint images of the gorgeous, looming tapestries lurching to life a cursed facsimiles of magic carpets to smother the unwary. She could see wards and traps and guardians without end, almost expected them even... which made it somehow more unnerving that, even with the delicate materials within, not a one of those eventualities came to pass. Even so, there was a low buzz in the air that set the crimson-eyed girl's teeth on edge, eyes narrowing at the distant piercing white glow of Reverio's magic. [color=32CD32][b][i]"Thou feels such?"[/i][/b][/color] the demon within rumbled in seeming bemusement. [color=32CD32][b][i]"A fortunate turn. Thou must cradle some portent of magical potential within. Hrmm... This One supposes such would be only natural."[/i][/b][/color] Liliya stifled the urge to snap at the demon for silence, but he quieted all the same, perhaps exercising some tact for once to allow her to concentrate. She crept up to the outskirts of a large "plaza" of some sort, furnished seemingly by only stone benches and tables and ringed by more sizable bookcases, one and all stuffed to the brim with more surely forbidden knowledge. On one end of the room, a shimmering barrier thrummed with a sensation she could almost swear was rumbling in her bones, even from this distance. On the other end of the room, casting yet more light upon its darkened expanse... was Reverio. She'd finally caught up. [color=32CD32][b][i]"Careful,"[/i][/b][/color] suddenly came the demon's voice, raising Liliya's hackles. [color=32CD32][i][b]"That book..."[/b][/i][/color] Crouching, still not even physically touching the ground, Liliya ensured she was out of sight and listened carefully. In the emptiness of the vast room, words seemed to bounce off stonework surfaces with ease, and Liliya imagined her own approach was only concealed by the chatter Reverio was currently engaging in. Chatter with... a book? No, [i]the[/i] book, the one the demon had felt compelled to mention. Ghastly words echoed off the walls, and Liliya couldn't help a small shiver of tension crawling up her spine at the almost double toned(?) voice. [color=00aeef][i]'What about it?'[/i][/color] her returned mental inquired prodded. [color=32CD32][i][b]"There lay significant magical bindings upon it,"[/b][/i][/color] This One replied, his tone considering. [color=32CD32][b][i]"They conceal what lies within from This One's gaze, but should a soul be contained as it so claims..."[/i][/b][/color] [color=00aeef][i]'Then it's probably something that shouldn't be allowed to go free,'[/i][/color] Liliya finished the implied statement. [color=00aeef][i]'Like the Great Evil, for example?'[/i][/color] The demon didn't dignify her prodding at his hypocrisy with an answer, which perhaps in and of itself was a victory. Was she supposed to be worried, when this demon seemed interested in freeing one of his kind's most legendary enemies? Assuming there was anything left to truly free. It had been centuries, even millennia ago. Crimson eyes narrowed, her Spirit's enhanced vision clearing up the distant cover of the book, a velvety-crimson expanse was marked only by a metallic symbol depicting three swords arranged in a triangular arrangement with their points meeting in the center of the book's cover. She reviewed what her Spirit had committed to memory of the conversation she'd caught the tail end of. Three swords. One "Great Door". A seal, which presumably held a portion of the Great Evil. Unfortunately, almost as if by some twisted design of fate, it seemed Reverio already had one of those swords, and given what she had heard from Ken's Nightman session and the events afterwards... Liliya would have bet good money that he had the second blade, that wind sword. Her intuition agreed. Former archeologist and tomb raider that she was, while her memory was a bit fuzzy on some things, a legend of three swords sounded familiar. Far more confirmable in the modern era, she could definitely say that Izumo possessed a royal sword that could command the winds. As a royal himself, she could easily say Reverio would be informed on the artifacts of his rival nations, especially given his wielding of one himself. Which meant, Reverio... already had two of the three pieces of the puzzle all but in hand. The only mysteries were the Albion "Key" and the Great Door itself. [color=32CD32][b][i]"He is leaving,"[/i][/b][/color] warned the demon, jerking Liliya's attention back to reality. Across the room, she could see Reverio being prompted into revealing a secret passage. [color=32CD32][b][i]"This state of being may be impractical long-term. Hunger. Thirst. Rest. Eventually, thou shall fall behind inexorably."[/i][/b][/color] It wasn't exactly an incorrect assertion. If she was unable to freely approach Reverio...? Or worse, if he realized he was being followed by her and had time to discern her methods and be on guard for them, she wouldn't be able to hunt him as easily. Besides, she had a life, and could she really afford to put it on hold for an indeterminate amount of time? Ideally, this "Liliya" guise would be free to be as close to Reverio as she liked. Was the demon suggesting that she... openly collaborate with him? That sounded way too risky, especially with that obviously evil book around. Who knew if it had some way to see through her guise. She'd be revealed! And she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out if Reverio realized she was Chinami. Besides, as far as he knew, she was a complete stranger! And while she knew he was overly trusting, was he really dumb enough to let her just walk up to him and join his quest that she so "conveniently" overheard? How was she supposed to sell that?! [color=32CD32][b][i]"Easily,"[/i][/b][/color] the demon prompted. Liliya felt a nudging within, and her gaze followed it to... the Tome of the Trium Throne? [color=32CD32][b][i]"Obtain what he could not for the sake of his so-called grand plan, and the royal simpleton will accept you into his inner circle gladly and without qualms."[/i][/b][/color] She hoped the demon realized that she had not a prayer of doing shit to that barrier, right? Even the first trap's defenses had nullified her! Though, granted, she hadn't wasted time trying to pound through the barriers directly to find out, but the point still stood! The book could still find her out! [color=32CD32][b][i]"It will not,"[/i][/b][/color] the demon asserted confidently. [color=32CD32][b][i]"This One detects no attempted intrusions upon thine mind and soul, and This One shalt rebuff them regardless. Thine deceptions shalt hold for so long as thou art wise. Rather, This One hast been warding thee since thou intruded upon these grounds. Thou shalt leave no trace for even divination to follow."[/i][/b][/color] As much as she really didn't want to admit it -and hated that she even needed the aid, that was a comfort to Liliya. She knew, in theory, that her Spirit could have -and had- done such warding itself, but its coverage wasn't complete or direct. If someone had scried in a spiritual manner, she'd have been made... at least partially. She still had her disguise as an extra measure, but that could only go so far if the postcognitive was able to trace her even further back than she'd had it. With the demon's own measures included? She might as well be a ghost to investigators. That still didn't mean she could break the barrier, unless it was somehow also going to have her Spirit as a hole in its defenses. [color=32CD32][b][i]"It does not,"[/i][/b][/color] the demon confirmed, to her relief(?). [color=32CD32][b][i]"However, that shalt matter none. Simply approach the barrier... and This One shall do the rest."[/i][/b][/color] Liliya's expression fell, but she grimaced in resignation. The obviously evil book Reverio had found could be anything or anyone. There was no guaranties it would lead Reverio where he wanted to go, that it would tell the truth. In fact, there was no certainly that it even knew where to find what Reverio wanted at all and wasn't just lying out of its nonexistent ass. They [i]needed[/i] the Trium Tome. And they needed to pray that it wasn't a red herring itself. Then it was time to reveal herself and hopefully create an "in" to Reverio's ridiculous plan. Question was, just what "flavor" of this persona she was crafting did she want to lead introductions with? First impressions were important... and she already had unfortunately recent first-hand experience in how they could be unusually deceiving. Still... even if it was transparently blatant, the play she was about to make, she needed to at least make a token effort to not give her demonic leech anything for free. [color=00aeef][i]'So, you want me to join up with Reverio openly... is that a request?'[/i][/color] After all, she could still perform the demon's plan once Reverio was out of sight. In fact, it might even be better that way. She knew where two of the swords were, so all she needed to do was get to the third Albion one first, along with the Great Door. With the Trium Tome's presumably illuminating contents as evidence, Ken would be easy to goad into joining forces with her. She could reveal Reverio's plans from the get-go and put an end to this foolishness. In fact, why was she even entertaining this? In the end, the only result that mattered was finding where the Great Evil was sealed. It didn't matter how she did that. And moreover, freeing it wasn't part of the Deal, simply an assumed result of allowing Reverio to do as he pleased... [color=00aeef][i]'How much do you want the Tome of the Trium Throne?'[/i][/color] she inquired leadingly. [color=00aeef][i]'Or rather... how much more useful to you is the ability to follow Reverio in your suggested manner?'[/i][/color] It had better be good, because in the end, she was willing to wait for her soul to heal naturally. If it might cost her everything else she'd built to get just that back, why in the world would she make that trade? The demon remained silent, before finally... [color=32CD32][b][i]"This One spoke of thine mystical talent, uncultivated but... innate to thine kind..."[/i][/b][/color] That was a confusing statement, Liliya could only think. Humans didn't have any innate magic, to her knowledge. The capacity for it was always a divine "Gift". [color=32CD32][b][i]"This One will teach you to awaken that sorcerous potential... and how to use it."[/i][/b][/color] Once more, strange statements continued to pile up. Sure, she had a Gift, but she'd never really felt herself a spellcaster. Even so, if this was true... Magic... It was one of the most flexible Gifts in existence, coming in every shape and size, potentially unlimited in possibilities. She'd always been a little jealous of Cel, whose talent for such things was undeniable. She often wished her own Gift had manifested in an innate grasp of such things. She would have been able to do so much more with her powers in public without turning heads. So then... [color=00aeef][i]'Is that a [/i][/color][color=f26522]Deal[/color][color=00aeef][i]?'[/i][/color] She felt that familiar [color=f26522]power[/color] on her tongue. Might as well make it formal. [color=32CD32][b][i]"So, shall it be."[/i][/b][/color] This felt like such a bad idea. [color=00aeef][i]'In exchange for joining Reverio's cause directly-'[/i][/color] [color=32CD32][b][i]"-This One shalt provide mystical tutelage."[/i][/b][/color] It seemed almost strange that the demon would be so accomodating. [color=00aeef][i]'And until such a time as the Great Evil is found-'[/i][/color] [color=32CD32][b][i]"-So mote it be."[/i][/b][/color] But given the lenient wording... [color=f26522][i][b]"The Pact is struck."[/b][/i][/color] She wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. [hr] As the shelf pulled open into a newly-revealed passageway, a metallic 'clink' and the light clap of footsteps began to echo upon the vast room's stonework. The owner, a bespectacled girl of bone-white hair and ruby eyes casually entered the area with a disaffected look of placidity upon her face. In one hand, she held an open book, and in the other, she held a flickering orange lighter as a makeshift candle agaisnt the darkness. But her gaze seemed far more focused on the tapestries and great painting of the chamber. The faintest smile seemed to cross her lips, as her head tracked to the still shimmering barrier around the Tome of the Trium Throne. She spared Reverio barely half a glance, as if it were utterly unusual for him to be present whatsoever. In fairness, the sweater-clad girl similarly appeared a bit too young to be a trusted member of the library staff, and she had no escort. She glanced at the passageway opened by Reverio, raising a single pale brow, before stepping towards the domed barrier without a word.