Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Riddles

WARNING: GAMBLING AND MENTIONS SELF-HARM!

This chapter was originally going to be Nim Type Zero, but that would have taken too long for me to write, so I decided to instead use this chapter as a chance to write more about riddles, which I love.

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Freed walked through the hallway, having separated from Rufus shortly after leaving Midnight. He wasn't saddened over the loss of the Sabertooth mage next to him, he honestly preferred going off on his own to look for other keys. He supposed that it would be best if he had one other person with him, in case he got into trouble with a den owner, but he's been around enough people since arriving here. If they split up, then they will get the keys sooner, which means, the sooner they can leave.

As he walked and scanned the signs on the door, his mind turned to what had happened earlier. What had happened to Lucy? He had noticed that something was wrong, but he has yet to figure out just what it was.

He wasn't surprised that Lucy seemed to be on edge and not as happy as she used to be. She had been through something horrible, and it was understandable that she was negatively affected by it, but it seemed like there was more to it.

If it was just the torture and loss of her friends, then wouldn't Lucy be more moved to defeat Terra, Lust, and Nyx? Freed couldn't help but notice that she seemed to be bothered by other things. He didn't know how to explain it, even to himself. All he could say was that he had an inkling that there were more reasons for Lucy's behavior than there seemed to be.

Freed thought back to when this suspicion became more noticeable to himself. He had risen out of bed, noticed that Lucy was still buried underneath her bedcovers, got dressed, and walked into the main room. He was surprised to find that Rufus was standing in front of the couch, staring wide-eyed at something on the floor.

He had asked the blonde man what was wrong as he approached, only to stop in his tracks when his eyes fell upon the floor. A chill rolled over him as he stared down at the small pool of blood, trying to keep his thoughts from running wild. He and Rufus hadn't wasted much time in going back into the bedroom that Lucy was in, both silently reasoning that she might know what happened due to being the last one to go to bed. They found her in bed with Virgo sitting on the side, but were unable to get any answers out of her. All that would happen was Virgo telling them to leave, that Lucy was unwell and wanted to be alone.

Freed was worried and almost desperate for information on where the blood came from, but he could tell that pushing Lucy would do no good, and that they needed to hurry with collecting gate keys. So, he decided to drag Rufus and Midnight out, hoping that Lucy would be feeling better by the time they returned, even though he kind of doubted it.

He was still worried about what could have caused the small pool of blood. He doubted that Lucy was sick, she didn't look sickly and there wasn't anything or anyone around that could have made her sick. So, what happened? He had a guess, but he didn't dare think it, much less speak it aloud. If he were being honest, he wouldn't exactly be surprised if Lucy had harmed herself, resulting in the blood. A sickened feeling swirled within his gut and he grimaced at the possibility. He prayed that he was wrong.

Freed sighed. He had no idea what to do. It was obvious that Lucy was going through something terrible, but he didn't know how to help, despite how much he wanted to. His chest hurt and his stomach twisted at the thought of Lucy being in pain and harming herself. How was he supposed to help? Should he talk to her about it? Should he encourage her to talk to him on her own by assuring her that she can freely? What was he supposed to do?

He stopped walking, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath through his nose before releasing it through his mouth. He then opened his eyes and continued walking, searching the signs that he passed by for one that mentioned a gate key as a prize. He would worry about Lucy later, but right now, he had an important job to do.