Lex's sense of reason begins to slip, faster than before, memories, some real, some fabricated, flash in his mind. It's an isolation, a feeling deep in his memories, one that permeates throughout them all, like meat soaked in broth. Flashes of words spoken by Mrs. Brown and Eren playing in his mind, pulling him away from the lonely isolation, ever tempting in the back of his mind. Yet something still watches, it waits for the right time to strike but can't seem to dig its claws into him. And Lex feels his consciousness slip away.
When Lex comes to Zen, he is propping him up against the cave wall, his hands feel cold like the stone around them. Lex smells smoke... "Must be the candle." He thinks. Lex can feel his lost finger; it's a mess of blood and tissue now frozen in time, the numbing effects of the space settling in.
"What did you scavenge?" Lex hears Zen's voice from the corner of his consciousness.
Through his hazy eyes, he can see Zen moving away from him and tapping Lilly's shoulder.
"There were two swords from the guards and these strange bone things," Lilly responds, turning around, having placed the items against the wall.
Lex shakes his head violently and feels bile forming in his throat.
"What happened?" He asks, putting his palm on the floor. He can feel the tension in the air, pushing against him even more than the claustrophobic cave.
"Just a regular outburst. Looks like we are going to be finding the exits soon." Lilly notes, seemingly disinterested in his condition. "Here, take this, you won't be able to use it well, but it is better than nothing." She throws Lex a longsword which has fallen to the floor.
Lex catches it, feeling the rubbery leather of the sheath, and he feels strange having such a familiar worldly weapon in such an alien place. The dissonance causes him to unsheathe it slightly, just to check that the blade is really there. Lex looks back at Lilly, hoping to smooth things out, but he gets distracted by the other spoils.
"And what are those?" Lex asks, looking at the two chalky bones which Lilly has in her hands, they remind Lex of bat wings. Some of the chalky substance that comes from them seems to have rubbed off on most of Lilly's clothing and the weapons; she appears to have given up wiping it off a while ago.
"Don't know, seems to be similar to the material on the blindfold though," Lilly replies, sitting down and handing one to Lex as if in invitation. Her deadpan expression demonstrates little care for the interesting artefact.
The texture of the bone is dusty, and as Lex plays with it in his hands, it dissolves in his sweaty palms, leaving little imprints, but it is so compressed that it doesn't make a difference to the overall structure. Overall, it seems a lot weaker than something you would expect to hold up a body.
As if reading his mind, Lilly continues, "I don't think it was originally part of the skeletal structure of the creature; it is more like a parasite." She twirls a strand of hair and grimaces.
"But I thought parasites were forbidden from entering the room?" Zen questions, a hint of curiosity and exasperation in his voice.
"I don't have any answers for you." Lilly replies bluntly, looking at Lex, "What happened when you picked up that fragment?"
"I saw the haze again and had a vision, it was like I was watching someone's life on fast forward, stopping at important parts," Lex replies, stopping to try and remember exactly what he saw.
"What parts were they?" Zen prompts, eager to hear more.
"A knight, whom the person cared for, a sunset, a desk and a procession leaving him on the throne and taking a body with them," Lex says, unsure if he remembers correctly. He jumps up, satisfied with the bare minimum report.
"Are you sure this isn't just more of the space's torment, it always warps your mind, but normally it is personal..." Lilly says deep in thought.
Zen shuffles, eager to go, as Lilly absentmindedly passes him the bones.
"If we are done with that, should we try to exit this place? I'm sure with that emotional breakdown from Lex, it should've opened an exit room somewhere." Zen replies, almost oblivious to the effects that it had on Lex.
"It was the blindfold that caused it. Not me." Lex says, trying to regain some rapport with the group. But his words seem, even to him, full of air.
"Just don't do it again. For a moment, we thought you'd snapped- and with all of these visions. I'm tempted to keep you out of the fight." Lilly replies, fatigue tinging her voice. Unapologetically, she stands up, seemingly convinced of something.
Zen quickly uses the torn sheet he was using as a bandage to tie up the bones around his back and Lex begins walking towards Lilly until she says, "Lex your weak-" She hesitates but decides to continue, "that's what is letting these things control you and what led to Everlyn changing. You need to change and stop hiding, otherwise you're going to bring more people down with you." Her words hang in the air, perhaps they are spoken from the accumulated fatigue or the ever-present threats, but they sting Lex to his core. Lex's breath quickens; the words force him out of the small sliver of a fantasy he was living in and force him to face the present. Yet he can't let go, not yet...
Lex looks at her with a steady face as words play around in his head, "Lex, whatever you're carrying in your heart, it'll be okay. This moment doesn't define you; it will pass." A voice echoes in his head, a teacher, a light. Yet something is off, it is refined, too refined, too perfect.
"Is that an excuse?" Lex mutters, turning away.
Lilly continues forward down the stone tunnel, Zen trailing behind her. Lex just stands there looking at his hands, the generic words of Mrs. Brown ring in his head... "Generic. When did I start thinking that?" Lex sighs and puts on a serious expression. His hands wave in front of him as he stumbles out of the cave.
The familiar scent of the mansion returns, giving some sense of normalcy to the already messed-up situation.
Despite the sprawling hallways, Lilly heads straight down the stairs. The sound of her footsteps is exaggerated, pushing against the carpet, forcing their unwanted words into Lex's ears. As they turn around to the underbelly of the balcony, Lex sees a huge steel door that definitely wasn't there before. The door is ornate, with depictions of humans running from chariots, tiny spears waving, stuck in time. Fires burn at the other end, a duality, stuck between man and nature, the depiction resonates with Lex, yet somehow the fact that it does with others, too, brings a heavy burden to him. This piece of art, definitely once hailed as a masterpiece, has become a simple door to the unknown in a deserted landscape.
Where did it come from? Surely this isn't something that could be created by this space, this is art, beauty comparable to the Bayeux tapestry. These thoughts move inside Lex's head as a sense of foreboding washes over him.
As Lilly touches the door, blurs cloud the sides of Lex's vision, and he shouts, "Barrier!" Just in time for Lilly to react. The rush of wind around them directs spikes into the ground, splitting the well-kept carpet and flinging splinters everywhere.
"Lex, get them!" Zen shouts, pointing to the same blindfolded spirits they saw earlier. Despite the dire situation, he has a goofy smile on his face. Now that his wound has healed, he thinks he can take on anyone.
"I can't, I don't know how to call upon that power again," Lex yells, stamping his foot to the ground and drawing the sword.
"What is that going to do?" Zen yells over the sounds of flying spikes.
Lilly shakes at the next volley, her arms look heavy, and her eyes are unfocused.
"What is anything going to do? We're all going to die if you just stand there. Look, Lilly's already tired out." Lex replies.
"Of course, she's used her power too much; before long, she'll start burning like a piece of firewood." Zen jokes.
"Shut it, you two. Just do anything, I can't block these spikes for much longer." She shouts, forcing her voice out of a parched throat.
"Zen, you go, see if you can find a way to kill them," Lex yells.
"Okay, boss." He smirks, then disappears.
Lex steadies his stance, readying to charge the spirits if the barrier goes down and waits for something to go awry.
The spirits look through their blindfold and barely visible bodies down, homogenous, and dangerous.
Not long after, Lilly's arms begin to glow as the next wave of spikes land a volley. Zen hasn't visibly tried anything yet, and the next wave of spikes is summoned. Lex can see a bead of sweat dribble from Lilly's forehead. She mouths, "Run."
At that moment, the sound of a blade slicing through the air tears Lex's attention from Lilly. A ghost dissipates. Then another.
"Lex, the powder works, it works!" Zen says from nowhere.
Lex, understanding, draws the sword, still covered in the dust from the bone and runs towards a spirit. Drawing a wide arc in the air, he cuts right through it. It feels as buttery smooth as cutting silk. The wisps of the spirit dissipate into the air like the last breath of a fog machine.
"Anyone else want to die?" Zen grins, balancing the sword on his shoulder.
Lilly's ragged breathing is the only thing that can be heard after that. As Lex walks towards her, he can see awful burns on her arms all the way up to her shoulders. She is slumped down against the wall, cradling her arms, clearly in a lot of pain despite the suppression.
"You overdid it again," Zen says, worried at seeing her state.
"What was I meant to do?" She hisses, narrowing her eyes. She tries to relax and asks, "So that dust could cut through them?" But her voice is shaky.
"Seems like it," Lex replies, sheathing the sword.
"So, the only other option is to rush this room and escape so we can all return to normal?" Zen asks.
"Yeah, I won't be of much help though." Lily responds, "Takes way too much energy to block three at once. Did you pick up the blindfolds?"
"No seems pointless since they are going to disappear anyway," Lex replies, moving towards the door.
Zen offers a hand to Lilly, who shakes her head, "Look, it's pointless, just go fight whatever's in there, I'll just drag you down." She croaks. Her voice is parched, as if the burns which stain her arms are also crawling up her throat.
She takes the pressure off her arms.
"Fine, but don't get trapped by any more ghosts, okay?" Zen replies, giving her a strained smile. "And try not to die."
"Maybe I'll just be sent back home?" Lilly says seriously.
Zen's eyes narrow, and he leans against the door. "It's not worth the risk, Lilly. Do all you can to stay awake." He replies with real concern in his voice.
Lilly nods like a child being berated, all of her previous energy drained, as Zen turns on his heel, his expression worried. "Lex, let's do this quickly. Lilly could be attacked at any time, and she is out of defensive options."
Lex nods and pushes on the door, trying to look away from its captivating design. "Let's wrap this up."
Lex sees Lilly's mouth moving but can't make out the words as they pass through the door.
As Lex and Zen enter what they assume to be the final room, they get hit by a sense of megalophobia. The room, seemingly designed for giants, is a massive library, and despite the apparent age of the mansion, this is a library one could expect to see in any modern city. The design is circular, with many huge bookshelves towering many stories above both Lex and Zen. The books are written in an illegible script completely different from any human language, without even pronounced characters to pick from. The wooden bookshelves continue towards the centre like a maze until they stop, allowing room for a central glass desk with a computer and a grandfather clock at the very middle. Strangely, the items on the desk are the same size as Lex and Zen despite the magnitude of the other objects.
Lex looks up to see the vista of the library extending on forever, it never seems to end, like the halls that he has become so intimately familiar with. Lex shuffles his feet, bringing Zen's attention back towards the centre of the room.
"So, I assume we go towards that clock?" Lex asks.
"Look, man, there is something we have really explained about the Hall spaces..." Zen stares Lex dead in the eyes, trying to gauge something in him.
"I thought we needed to hurry so that Lilly doesn't-" Lex begins.
"This is more important..." Zen interrupts, "Hall spaces can have many people go into them, but they are mainly based on one person; that person is chosen beforehand as the subject of the space. If you can't get over the space or dissolve it early, we'll all die or get kicked out." Zen hurriedly explains, playing with the drawstrings on his hoodie.
"Got it, so basically keep a level head, easier said than done with the thing that got in my mind earlier." Lex says, "But I'll do it." He confirms putting a hand up.
Zen gives him a high five, and they walk towards the desk.
Passing the first bookshelf, each step to Lex feels like a step through quicksand, memories like pictures in a slideshow run past with every breath. The very walls begin to breathe as Lex feels an immense pressure from the centre of the room. His face tightens as he pushes against the flow of emotion. A back-and-forth battle, one that he had already experienced before, in his first hall space; this time, this time it is different. He has Zen, he has strength, and he doesn't have a weakness.
A voice coaxes him to a stop.
"Let's just go, leave him alone. It's not worth it." A line he has never heard before from a mouth he wouldn't have expected.
"Eren?" He asks, knowing there will be no response.
"Quiet."
"Boring."
"Burden."
"No, this is just made up, this is a trick. I can see behind the veil now." Lex shouts, waving his hand in front of his face. He pushes a foot forward.
Zen turns around with a puzzled expression. "What are you doing, Lex?" He asks, running back and shaking him, "We haven't even started fighting."
A clueless Lex, sweating heavily, starts to panic, his vision blurs, and before he even understands what he is doing, he holds the blindfold. "Soul, control, warp, force." He smiles at the familiar words despite them meaning nothing.
Again and again, he chants, as if doing so will block out the visions, the implanted memories, the cracks. New emotion spreads through him, blotting out the visions, and in his mind, he can almost hear something laugh.
"Get a hold of yourself!" Zen shouts, ripping the blindfold from his hand and Lex's iron grip.
Almost immediately, Lex chokes and falls to the floor.
"It's controlling you." Zen realises with a feeling of dread.
Lex, desperate to reclaim the emotion, the strength, the solitude of the words, yet it is no use; the pattern is broken, the words are gone.
Lex reaches for the air, then falls to the floor.
As if waking from a dream, he slowly gets up and looks around. "Are they gone?" Lex asks Zen.
"Are what gone? The voices?" Zen questions.
"Yes, Eren," Lex replies.
"No," Zen begins to sweat, "Lex, seriously, you need to be strong, ignore the voices, paying them mind will only feed them. This is a test, and you're balancing Eren's very existence on it." Zen looks around, trying to find something, anything to turn the tide of the mental battle. But nothing pops out.
"To the clock," Lex murmurs, pointing towards the grandfather clock, trying to avoid the inevitable confrontation.
Zen nods and walks purposefully towards the clock. He occasionally looks behind to make sure Lex is following. Every time he seems half awake, just stumbling across the wooden floor after Zen.
As they reach the desk, a bell that they couldn't see before reveals itself.
"Okay, so I guess I'll press it?" Zen wonders and clicks the bell.
An unpleasant grating sound echoes across the room, forcing its way into the ears of Lex and Zen, standing helplessly as they watch spirits begin to appear. However, this time, they aren't trying to kill them, they don't even have blindfolds, they are just moving around, picking up books and reading.
"It's strange to see this place being used." Zen comments.
He waits for a reply before realising Lex is lost in a spiral of his thoughts.
"Hang in there, buddy." He mutters.
Lex then approaches the bell. His mind is a mess. The once composed walls of his thoughts have been broken down, no more thoughts about survival, school, or work. Just appreciation, "Do my friends like me?" He questions himself, confirming and denying and getting nowhere. Like an ouroboros, he circles, eating himself with no end. As Lex absentmindedly rests on the desk, he presses the bell. This time, an ominous laugh rings throughout the halls, a calculated joy from one about to consume.
Zen jumps backwards, but Lex, too, lost in his mind, continues to rest.
The room darkens as the spirits start to coalesce towards the clock, objects like mirrors and phones join the amalgamation until it is the size of a car. Heads grow and disperse in the mass of fleshy spirit. Items fade in and out of sight, as Lex watches the devices, he can see messages from people, friends. Those he has lost, and those he has yet to gain. Breaking him off, leaving him alone. The heads whisper songs of solitude into his ears, which are far too receptive after the mind-bending power of the blindfold. As Lex leans against the glass, the mass begins to make its way towards him, the spike of the grandfather clock's hands pointing directly at him.
"Lex, run!" Zen shouts, reaching for Lex's collar.