I Decided To Live Forever Just In Case She Ever Woke Up [PKMN X THE LOCKED TOMB]

Consume and Be Consumed - Part 2

The League Building - the only remnant of the First House, Cradle of the Emperor Undying - was eerie in the middle of the day. The manor had been untouched for ten thousand years, elemental exposure corroding the structure. In places, the ceiling had collapsed, blocking off hallways, though not those used by the guests. Aside from them (and the Priestess Joy of the First, and the fleet of skeletal servants that kept the building in shape), there was not a person nor pokemon that resided there. So when the planet was not facing Dominicus, the yellow dwarf star that sat at the centre of the system, the house was downright nightmarish. The presence of some entity killing off the residents only made navigating its empty halls a worse experience.

The wing of the League Building Irida took her to was somewhat unfamiliar to Akari - but that could have simply been the all-consuming darkness that stretched and distorted the halls at nighttime. Akari's hand rested over the hilt of her sword the whole way, wary of every shadow and crevice where a killer could lie in wait. Irida walked a steady pace ahead of her, until Akari pointed out that as her temporary cavalier she should be in front should anything happen, and they switched positions.

Irida directed Akari to a doorway. It looked as old as the rest of the house. "Through here," she whispered, then shouldered it open; it scraped along the floor in a manner that made Akari jump, and would have alerted everyone in the house to their location if the jangling of Irida's jewellery had not.

Irida spun around. She reached out and brushed over Akari's hand, then took it and pulled her through the doorway. It led to a stairwell. Light filtered in from where the roof had collapsed far above.

"It's downstairs," Irida whispered. The sudden movement, the sudden touch, made Akari's heart flutter. She could feel it in her throat.

They descended the staircase until the light was no longer visible. It was likely they had reached a point where the League Building was built into the cliff, as the windows disappeared at a point, and the only light source was from the hole in the roof. Akari could only tell where her new charge was from the breath on her shoulder and occasional brushing together of their clothes.

The lower into the building they climbed, the thicker the air got. By the time they reached the foot of the stairwell the air was well and truly musty . This was not a place the cleaning skeletons had visited. Their footsteps shook up the thick layer of dust that coated the floor, and Akari tried not to sneeze.

In front of them was a hatch in the ground. It protruded out, a tripping hazard for anybody who had the lack of sense to venture this far into the house. Irida passed her to heave the trap door open. Beneath it was a ladder that stretched further down.

"Would you like to climb down first?" Irida asked.

So what? She could lock her in the basement with whatever horrible monster was a part of the Lyctor Trial? Said the part of Akari that was being hunted for sport. She didn't say it out loud, because if Irida was the killer, the worst place to accuse her of it was alone at the top of a big hole.

"Maybe you should go first," she deflected. "For-" she looked around, and noted Irida's skirt. "For your dignity. It'd be impolite for me to go first."

"Oh." The Lady of the Ninth folded her arms, her face quickly turning red. "Well. I suppose-"

"And so you can show me the way," Akari added, because as much as she didn't want Irida to think she suspected her of murder, she also didn't want her to think she was some kind of pervert.

"That is a wise idea," Irida said quickly. She took a deep breath, and climbed down the ladder.

Akari paused. The ladder stretched on for further than she could see. But if Irida was unphased at taking the descent, there was no reason not to follow her. And she had already come this far without being murdered, so, steeling herself, Akari carefully followed her down the ladder.