Time's Mistress

Second Floor

Cassidy and Sae looked at their sister in slight worry at her tired looking features. They had all returned to their rooms early because they knew that they were going to be up early this morning. But Iris didn't want to get up this morning, and she looked worn out. Cassidy had asked her about it, but she had only smiled and said that it was nothing. But Cassidy could admit that Iris had this very calm aura about her this morning. It wasn't as intense as it normally was.

Cassidy also noticed a few new marks on Iris's neck. She had also questioned her about them. But all she got as a response was a blush followed by a blissful smile. She wondered what could have gotten into her since yesterday when they said their goodnight. They waited as the leftover soldiers gathered together in front of the tower once again.

Once all of the soldiers were accounted for, Iris shook herself out of her stupor before clearing her throat. Her face turned stoic, but her calm aura remained floating around her and filling the area. Even the soldiers appeared to relax slightly from the effect. Cassidy's eyes widened as she turned and saw the marks on Iris's neck move to intertwine further and spread it seemed. Once it stopped, the energy dissappated turning to little drifting sparks around her. Cassidy grabbed Sae hurrily and made him look.

They saw Iris grab her neck, and a small smile crossed over her face before a soothing aura radiated, coating the field. They saw the soldiers gasp in shock as different colored flower petals started raining down onto the barren field. The sweet floral scent permeated the gentle wind drift. The field began to glow softly, and as the petals touched the ground, plants and grass and trees grew in their places. Cassidy and Sae looked to Iris in disbelief.

She only glowed a golden color that swirled around her body. They saw faint traces of blue aura swirling inside of the gold. Iris had her eyes closed, and she spoke softly. If Sae and Cassidy had not been so close, they wouldn't have heard her.

"So you gave me a gift, my love." Iris chuckled lightly to herself. "I will have to thank you for such a beautiful thing. I could only imagine how it would be if you were here in person with me." Iris's other hand moved to touch the spot her heart was beating. "I feel you here still. But soon, we will be united again and forever." Iris opened her eyes, and her siblings saw the colors dancing wildly like they had a life of their own. Her glow finally slowly dimmed before disappearing, taking all of the environment with her.

It returned back to the barren field that it had once been with the darkened sky. Iris chuckled again. "And it had to be in front of all of the soldiers." She chuckled before shaking her head. She guessed that they both had a knack for the dramatic. The soldiers looked on in silent adoration of Iris and her power. She looked over them with a smirk before her face turned stoic once again. Her voice rang over the soldiers. It was serene, but still had that command behind it.

"Today, you will all have to group up in teams of five. This is because my final choice will be down to five members only that will end up forming my elite team. So, since the twins and triplets finished first, they will get to pick first. Then the rest of you will pick after. And they will also get an advantage on this floor. So decide now."

The twins and triplets paired up before looking to Iris with a nod. She smiled before nodding and had the rest form up into teams. After that was settled, Iris started talking again. Only five teams can enter at once. That is because there are five halls. The first team will get to pick which corridor they want. After that, the rest will be random." Iris walked over to the first group containing the siblings. She pulled out a scroll and opened it.

"On this scroll contains the symbol of each corridor. These symbols resent the element of the challenge that you will encounter in some sort of way. You must pass this in order to get to the end. Your last advantage is that I will advise you what a separate obstacle that you will face is after you have picked."

The group looked at the scroll in thought. There were five corridors and five different elements. There was the god element, which could be anything, fire, earth, wind, and lightning. They looked at each other in thought before starting to discuss.

"The God element could be anything or a combination of things, and the rest are pretty self-explanatory. I say that we go for the God corridor. That sounds the most interesting." Howl said in slight excitement. The rest looked at each other before shrugging.

"Sure, we will go with the God corridor then, my lady." She smirked at them before nodding.

"That is definitely an interesting choice. But I will be looking forward to watching the show." She chuckled lightly. "You guys never fail to surprise me. But if your team finishes and finishes the fastest, then you will get a reward in tomorrow's floor as you have today. But the last thing that I will tell you about today is that all you have to do is make it from the entrance to the light on the other side of the corridor. But the only thing is, you will be in complete darkness."

Their faces fell in shock. This challenge is in pitch darkness. How in the hell are they going to manage this one. They looked to her in question.

"This is a challenge that has happened before in the past. So this is a real-life challenge, basically. Besides, demons are creatures of darkness, so it's not uncommon to walk into a place completely blind." They nodded in understanding before she turned away from them.

Sim watched their ruler as she spoke to the rest, telling them which hall they would have to pass through. She noticed something on her lady's neck move slightly, and she froze. She quickly grabbed the closest person to her so they could also see. Before, the whole group had their eyes on their rulers neck. They watched as a very faint blue aura danced across the marks on her neck, causing her golden aura to come out. They caressed each other, causing the marks to seem to dance as they got closer.

A very far away memory crossed in all of their minds together as they looked at that mark. They had all seen it before and on their lady, but they had also seen it on another before, and it was identical to that one. But all they could see was pale skin with silky hair-line thin ruins carved into the skin before they lost the rest of it. They looked to each other as the chains fell from the door. They were going to have to talk about it after the challenge. They walked in to see five stone doors. They stepped up to the one with the God symbol over it. They nodded to each other as the other teams took their places. Let the challenge begin. The doors creaked open, and they stepped inside. It shut behind them quickly as they heard what sounded like a seal being placed on the door. They looked forward, and in the distance, they saw a golden light that was at the end. They looked at each other and nodded. It was showtime.