CHPT 239: Possibilities Grow Wilder within Darkness...

Another Tangent fiasco completed-- barely.

What came after was celebration, celebration of surviving and defeating a foe so powerful. Most of the group joked and cheered while the magical process of Loot rising from the many corpses on the field grabbed their tired eyes.

Causing another curios phenomena to take place in the clearing. The Loot-- even the Loot was working to reveal Claude's truths as if he wasn't doing a good job of that on his own.

Among the sea of insectoid bodies, the weapons and armor they all used in combat rose to the surface-- some good, some bad. Light and heavy armors, swords, shields, bows and daggers. The weapons they'd all used in combat and developed a deadly level of proficiency with-- nothing out of the norm.

Except for the dozens of spears that cluttered the bloody rock floor around them. Spears of all shapes and sizes from all portions of history. barbed Angons, beautiful thick-bladed Framea, and even lightweight Javelins that gleamed a metallic shade of silver under the beaming sun.

His weapon of choice, calling to him just as it always had. Luckily, he wasn't in desperate need of one-- and the questions never reached him due to the Professors and other Students reaching the site. What transpired after wasn't enjoyable.

It also stuck to his mind like glue-- even after they left the Tangent. Even after they reached the University to pack their things and return to their homes for the weekend, he sat in his room facing the cold night sky for a long stretch of moments thinking it over.

Him and Prof. Raizen's first argument...maybe he was being dramatic. The dispute ended on good terms, but the exchange pointed out that his view of the University of the Phoenix and Heroes in general differed from the status quo of what the word meant.

The Professors found them with Conroy's team and immediately began asking questions. Claude spearheaded the idea and fessed up that he was the reason the rules were broken-- to his surprise, the rest of his team tried to take the brunt of the blame as well. Even Chase was trying to place himself within the mix.

All that did was make things worse. Prof. Raizen's odd look of sadness changed to one of booming anger like a flickering thunder-cloud. He began firing off reasons as to why teams of students don't get involved with others and how it had no real world implications, saying things like; "You think after you graduate and get accepted into a Guild, you'll have a backup team in there with you? To save you because you're not enough? No. You won't. You'll die. You all have to rely on yourselves and your team, because if you go into fights hoping you'll have backup, you've already lost. This is not a game-- nor is it simply a dangerous activity. We are training you to face an impossibly dark and dangerous world."

His words brought with them a tinge of realism that some of the onlooking students didn't enjoy. Claude didn't enjoy them for many other reasons, it pissed him off in a way not many things did.

Maybe because he'd just wrestled a horned Bug-man inside an electrical Blizzard. Or maybe the vastly unknown Lunar Artifact had side effects. Either way, he shot back.

Then, the verbal battle began. A man hardened by countless hours of experience against a student filled with naivety and close kept ideals. Both too stubborn to quit.

As their voices climbed, storm clouds collected and life beneath the rocks shuddered. Lightning on the verge of falling and nature at the ready to rise. Their elements fit their clashing opinions the way swords fit in sheaths. Perfectly.

By the time they reached their apex, the students cleared the floor and left Claude and his team to face the three Professors. He ended the conversation snarling, "We're here to be Heroes! If we have the power to save people, why the FUCK wouldn't we use it?!"

After that, Prof. Raizen ordered everyone to begin heading out while Claude and him hung back. He left him with one oddly cryptic message that flooded Claude's already full mind.

"Alright, hotshot. Keep this in mind. In your second year, The Silver Reapings begin. This is the time when you'll all regularly go into mid-high Silver Ranked Tangents, Students that slack off and don't give it there all into every aspect of the University will die an agonizing death in those Tangents. They're very different from these little playgrounds you're all fighting in now."

"Why are you telling me this?" He remembered asking angrily.

"Because, this is when you'll learn. Everyone can't be saved. You can not save everyone. Those like you often learn another startling fact. You're just as unlikely to save yourself in the process. All those attempts to give it your all only to watch innocents die right in front of you. It does more to the mind than simply seeing a death you weren't involved in. You'll never know how many previous Heroes-in-training roam the wicked Halls of the Basilisk. People who had their ideals tested against reality and a weak mind that snapped under pressure. That's where you stand out though, I know you-- your mind is not weak. So, i'll let you stick to your ideals for now. Be the Hero you speak so highly of. But you better not go dark on me. You got it?"

"Yea..." Claude said the words again while he watched the stars from his window, as if he was responding directly to the memory playing within his mind. "Don't go dark..."

KNOCK!.....KNOCK!

The wrapping on his door pulled him from his thoughts with a jolt, just in time to hear the voices on the other side.

"Why do you knock so loud though???" Warren asked-- his voice hushed by the thick metal door split between them.

"So I don't have to keep doing it." Maris replied flatly.

"[Oh dear. Those two are quite the pair....if you could consider oil and water a pair.]" Arne commented as Claude closed his backpack.

"...Or fire and gasoline" Claude added to the joke, gaining a chuckle from Arne as he opened the door and joined his group to retrieve Frosty from the Training field and leave the University.

***

He continued to stay in his mind for the remainder of their travels until they stepped through the portal and and exited the SkyLight Guildhall. He was curious about something and knew at least two people in his group of recently made rebels would know something.

"Hey, Ursula."

The usually talkative Berserker was in her head as well, but she hung close to him so when her name was called, her head rose , "Sup?"

"What is The Halls of the Basilisk?" He asked while pushing through the doors to step out into the cold November streets of SkyHaven.

Ursula flung him a wild expression, on the opposite side of him Isaac appeared with a similar look on his face. One thing was for sure, they knew what he was talking about.

The realization reminded him that he often envied the knowledge of the world that Nobles held.

"Why are you asking about that? Where did you even hear that?" Ursula asked.

Claude shrugged, "Prof. Raizen spoke about it. He said a lot of failed or broken Heroes are there."

Isaac nodded, "That's about all that is there."

Maris's head poked out from beside the Knights bulk, "Broken...Hero? Why won't they heal?"

"Mental injuries can do damage in a way physical injuries don't. Sometimes it's too much to heal from." Ursula replied.

Aside from her words feeling oddly directed at him, Claude gained a bit of understanding, "So. It's like an insane asylum?"

The Knight and Berserker both shrugged.

"Insane Asylum...Prison...Correctional Center. It checks all boxes. It's more or less just the opposite of places harboring Heroes. They're all over the world-- just with different names. Here, we have The University of the Phoenix. A place symbolizing our Rebirths and climb towards the heroic heavens...." Ursula replied with her tone slowly turning to a mocking one as she finished speaking.

"....Since we have the Phoenix, a creature of rebirth and immortality, the opposite would be....well, a Basilisk. The reptilian Monster thats said to be able to kill with a single look. The Halls of the Basilisk represent those Heroes that failed to rise and instead slithered into the hellish dark aspects of the world and of being Reborn.... and taking life. The place is full of mentally deranged or corrupted system powered individuals that are on constant watch and barred from Leveling."

"...Wait. Isn't that were that one member of The Nine was Reborn?" Warren asked.

"The Dominator...a Prison Guard Reborn with a specialized Class made to subdue and physically or mentally overpower opponents...yea that's her." Claude put the pieces together after the image of her artwork at the C.S Academy flashed into his mind.

"Why did Prof. Raizen bring that up?" Ursula asked.

"He said people that try to save everyone and end up facing the fact that they can't end up there."

Ursula stared at him for a long moment-- her usual stare that made Claude feel like he was naked on stage in front of a million people.

"What do you think about that?" She asked.

Claude shrugged, "I don't know what to think. Hm.... I can't imagine myself going mentally off the rails like that....but I also haven't seen much of what the world has to offer-- which I know won't be pretty by any means. Even so, I made promises. I've been taught things. So i'll try to stick to my own ideals. One thing I do know is that, my definition of the word Hero isn't the one most people hold....."

His words carried the experiences of the past and recent events that showed him both cruelty, injustice and vengeance. They held a weight with an added truth only him and Arne understood, and yet...

"That makes two of us.....more or less." Ursula added before bumping shoulders with him.

"Three....definitely three." Isaac added with a puff of his chest.

"Four....when I'm not scared shitless..."

"Why are you all counting?" Maris cut in, causing the group to laugh as they traveled the dark streets towards the Aslan Estate for a night away from combat and gore-- well, a night away for some at least.

Claude's eyes shimmered a shade of green as he looked up at the crescent moon above the icy howling winds. It watched everything. It watched them all heading to Isaac's home. And it would also watch him step back into the quiet expanse of night as someone else.

Another night of NightRunning, another night of possibly meeting the HellBreeder's offspring and their gruesome work. Or even the Demonic Monstrosity itself. First, he just had to sneak out as he did before...

Another night of risks. Under the watchful gaze of Luna, many things are possible...