It's Something Called Obedience! ||

Chapter No.10: A Fatal Rose

Stanza Mei? Like that girl from Skull Crushers? So that's what happened to the first band member, maybe me and her could become friends and escape with the other members of the band. Me and Syte walk in silence for what feels like eternity, not that we don't have that much time after all. We exit the office, which leads me to the outside of Voided-Oblivion. We walk over to 'Purity Tower', "You're on.. Floor 1! How lucky, you have a room-mate and the nicest dormitory!"
If someone had to ask me my first impression of Syte, I would have to say that they're quite the raging optimist. "Here, I need to put on a temporary enchantment to keep you here." Syte looks me in the eyes and I nod. They bring my arm to the sky and burn a sigil into my wrist. "Please, enjoy your stay here, I will be going now and you won't see me till the end of transmission, I will be replaced with Mania Manic." Syte walks off, leaving me in front of the door to my room. I open the door to a girl with long pink hair and orange eyes staring at me, blue streaks flowing through her hair like a river stream.
"You're my new room-mate, I'm sorry they found you." She seems upset but also, content? "You're Stanza Mei right? I heard about your band." I frowned at her, I felt the shock that went through her eyes for a moment. "Sparix and Apostrophe were a part of me a long time ago." I wonder just how long it was that Sparix and Apostrophe left and was so shocked to know I knew her band. "I never introduced myself, did I?" I state the fucking obvious.
"No, you didn't but I know you're Inklyn Bringe. Everyone is talking about you." The 'Lyn' part of my name catches me off guard. She doesn't know better though. "Just Ink is fine." The pink haired girl nods. "You still have your Demonic features, guess they didn't put you through the Ceremony of Purity yet." Ceremony of Purity? What in Dread's gates is that? Stanza must've noticed my confusion because she clarified herself, "You'll understand tonight, yeah.."
Something is definitely pestering her. I mean, I've been here for around 2 months, but I can tell that whatever these investigators are doing to me tonight isn't good. "Stanza, do you want to talk? Even if it's not about tonight, there are plenty of books and such to look at together.." She tries to avert her eyes from mine, and who could blame her? "Maybe in a bit, Mania should be here soon, not that I personally have had her, they just decided to replace my original Purity Knight when you came as to not cause 'jealousy', these Angelics know nothing about us Demonics."
Stanza clearly hated the Angelics, I wonder what happened to provoke that. Maybe taking her away from Sparix and Apostrophe did the trick nice and well. I'd hate to be seperated from my best peers without my consent though. The least I could do here for Stanza Mei was to empathize what a horrible experience that was for her, not like I know why. "I'll talk to you more before the ceremony, I can hear someone approaching at the door."
Not even a second after, someone knocked on the door, it must have been Mania Manic. The only person that it would make sense to be is her. "Hello? Stanza? Ink?" A beautiful girl with long, teal hair, and three eyes. She clearly had the features of a bat demon with her red eyes and fluffy ears. I had to have been thinking for too long because she clears her throat, heat rushes to my face. "Yeah, I'm Ink Bringe, Stanza is behind me." I gesture my wings to point at her. Stanza gives a small, awkward smile.
"So you're replacing Tion Pulse eh?" My breath hitches at the call of that name. Tion didn't only kidnap the people of Skull Crushers, she also regained their favor? Honestly I was about to faint from shortness of breath when just then, Mania placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ink, are you okay? You totally just blanked out on me." Mania recalls, tucking a strand of her teal hair behind one of her bat ears.
"I'm okay, It's just strange to hear of Tion after her sudden death." Being riled up leaves me with a brain empty moment. "Ink, we're not going to judge you. We both know you killed her." Mania hits me with a blow that leaves wind out of me. "That's one way to break it to them." Stanza shrugs solemnly. They knew? My eyes trace away, I am thoroughly embarrassed. "Ink, Miss Stanza already has explained you have no need to be embarrassed." I step back, what is with this place and mind readers? "Oh you've been enchanted so Bat Demons can read your mind." Tion must've done that to find dirt on me.
"Alright you two, let's just go, I'm not making Ink go on this tour alone." Mania nods understandingly and she closes her eyes for a moment before her demonic features diminish, leaving her with purple fade in her hair. "My wings are too big to walk with two people." Honestly, she looked like a galaxy in this form, my face flushed pink as I hid it. "You alright Ink?" Stanza asks me with gentle concern.
"I'm all good, just a little nervous." This hushes her possible questions. Mania recaps the names of where Syte and I conducted the interview and the place where I'll be staying at. Investigation Room 1B, and Purity Tower, names so obvious, I never would have guessed them. "There's actually only one other building here, and it is where all important things take place. Relinquished Dreams, it is where our deity, deity of gray-area species, lives. Kelx Azen. You'll meet with him later tonight so you'll see him then"
That concluded the tour that Stanza didn't want me to be alone for. It raises questions about what her tour was like to stand by me like that. Mania soon leaves us alone on the floor we stay at of Purity Tower. Giving Stanza the perfect opportunity to get back to the conversation we had prior to Mania's arrival. "Ink, there is nothing more I regret than what I let go down at my ceremony" Her eyes drift away, she wasn't ready to talk about this.
"I understand that, I'll be okay tonight though, don't worry about me." I take her hands in mine, "I'm just worried about you." She explains, we both take a seat. My profile starts buzzing, assumingly for a call, I start to bring it out but Stanza stops me. "You can't be so obvious!"
"Obvious? What do you mean by that?" I put away the caller, letting my right hip continue to buzz. "People will know where your profile is, just summon it with your mind." Stanza motions her palms on her forehead and summons her file. I have no idea where her profile is at all! I decided and gave what she did a try, it worked. An unknown number? Huh?
"QXYI SHUT THE FUCK UP I"M TRYING TO CALL THE NEWEST HUE LAKE VICTIM!" Hue-Lake victim? This man is a total maniac, and not the decent kind of one. I can already tell this is one hell of a caller. "How'd you get my ID? And why.?" I shudder out my complaints. "The names Ora Cross, I call everyone before their ceremonies, didn't Mania tell ya?" He acts as if he's stating the obvious.
"No she didn't. You must already know but my name is Ink Bringe, they/them pronouns." I roll my eyes but seemingly as soon as I do so, someone knocks on my door. A purple and white haired kitsron with eyes like Matrix's. "I had Alias teleport me here so I didn't continue to call your profile as I don't have one, it drives away my energy." Again he treats this like the absolute obvious. "Okay but why did you call before the ceremony?" I ask, inviting the multi-colored boy inside of me and Stanza's room.
"To make you aware of my presence, I have something I must give you." He sighs and pulls out an elixir, one the color of midnight. "What do I do with this?" I ask in confusion. Stanza facepalms and shuffles herself in her bed. "You'll drink it right after the ceremony, well Stanza will help you since you'll be temporarily paralyzed." Makes sense, WAIT WHAT? No wonder Stanza has been acting so worried about me.
"I see, well is that all you need from me then?" I ask, already a bit tired from this young Kitsron's appearance. "Pretty much, I'll see you again some time, I gotta go." A portal opens up and Ora leaves. "Are you still certain that you'll be okay tonight?" Stanza's glare sends a shiver down my spine. "Of course, if you make sure I drink the elixir, although who made sure you drank yours?" I see a shiver follow up Stanza's spine.
"No one did, I lost my ability to shift back to normal 2 years ago. I miss being in demonic form, I miss it a lot." My eyes widen and my throat run dry. I had no idea this is what happened to Stanza, I barely even believe it. But I imagine being in a forein form is most painful.''Stanza I am so sorry that happened to you. But I promise we WILL get out of here, and when we do. I'll find an alternative cure for this!" She solemnly smiles but then shakes her head in disagreement. "Already tried, don't waste your time Ink, it's pointless."
I don't settle my face, rather it only tenses further, "Our magic is different and unlike you were likely, I wasn't human whilst alive." I haven't told anyone this, I don't believe I was even planning to at all. But when I was checking on my last life's body, I realized it was more mechanical than humane, it was only then when I started to research my entire lifespan, it was researching the beginning when I saw that I was built purely for Zereph's desires. It was their mistake to give me a mimic soul, it granted me the ability to live in the afterlife, and live a normal way before my predictable death.
"If you weren't human, what were you? Animal? Virus? What else could you.." Stanza tries and fails to guess. "The humans who designed me couldn't have given me a real soul, you know that right? It was enough of a mimic to grant me the normal life of a human, I was an AI." The pang in Stanza's orange eyes, shoot me with sparks of a fire. "Impossible! But the events in your file.. It makes them all make sense! Ink, your idea might actually work! Creatures of the Afterlife without souls have enhanced powers!" I nod back, it's why I told Stanza.
"Of course they do, I studied about it in the Grimoire that Book-Let gave me months ago. Why else do you believe I would bring up being an artificial intelligence?" I sarcastically remark, though Stanza just rolls her eyes. "I hate to break your mood Ink, but the ceremony of purity is coming up, your elixir will be key to transforming back to normal after it is complete but I'll have to feed it to you as you'll be fully paralyzed, so it's best to hand me the drink." She explains, and I hand it over to her. She gently places it on her bed side table.
"Mania will be over here any moment to bring you to Kelx Azen, I won't be able to accompany you then. Are you going to be okay?" She asks once more, laced with worry and concern. "I will, I've been through much worse than this, I assume." Stanza appears to wish to reply but she stays quiet on her bed. The anxiety of this situation appears to rack her more than me, but I assume it was rather hard and I'm the first decent person she has seen in awhile. If I was this cotton-candy haired, sunset eyed girl, and this was my first friend in a while. I would be pretty nerve racked too, as I have abandonment issues heh.
Mania knocks assertively yet gently on the door before I open it to see her bejeweled in sapphires and amethysts, moonstone dress her hair and my cheeks flush rose, "Wow, do you always get dressed up for this kind of stuff?" I scramble my words out, luckily I don't sound like a complete and utter wimp. "Only when I attend them, but as your assigned assistant, I'm required this time to go, though, I should be asking if you're ready to go?" She laughs warmly.
This Mania girl is going to drive me absolutely mad, not that it bothers me. I mean what? Mania, though, notices I didn't answer her question so she takes me outside without warning and waves a goodbye to Stanza Mei. Crimson rushes to my cheeks from the embarrassment, "Oh my lordy lord! I am so sorry, I just started zoning out! I swear I'm ready to go." Mania lets out another chuckle from my silly panic, well I assume it is silly to her. Though, her laugh is so gentle and calming. Oh shit, I was trailing off into my thoughts again. Mania's detransformation has two ruby eyes and hair of a galaxy. Why did the deities come and grant me the star goddess?
"You're all good Ink, I can already tell that Kelx will have a liking for you. Our deities' favor is very important to our culture so I hope I am correct." Her hand takes mine while we walk as I flush in color. It's soft and cold, a bit rough, but nice. "I hope so too, but I also just care about how others view me, especially a person with power and/or authority." I confess, staring up to the stars above us. "I understand that, you know, sometime, I'll have to take you to some cliffside sometime. I found it in my freetime, and it's beautiful."
The pride and admiration in her voice, just for the lovely scenery, it's unbelievably wondrous. This girl in front of me is wondrous! We enter the view of a charcoal, monochrome, throne room, enter my view point. I presume this to be where the Ceremony of Purity to be taking place. Of course anxiety is traveling up my throat, and I'm squeezing Mania's hand, but being this nervous, is just normal. So of course, I start to control my breathing and signal to Mania my nervousness, and we get out the fear, together.