Chapter Text
Opening the door, Uri and Joshua stepped into a hallway crawling with Amber Dawns. Their dark, leathery top-skin rippled unnervingly, like a thick sludge was shifting beneath its surface. Glowing amber nodules peeked out from cracks in their armor, giving the impression of eyes, watching.
The creatures disengaged from a chaotic pile, spilling over one another to reach the two spirits.
Suddenly, one launched itself at Uri, jagged jaws stretching wide.
Food! Food!
Panicking, Uri didn’t raise his rapier in time. Instead, Joshua’s blunt axe bashed away a leaping worm.
A strained whisper escaped Joshua’s lips as his axe struck. “Why?” His eyes were unfocused, like he wasn’t entirely present.
Because! Hungry! the Amber Dawn hissed, still writhing, as more surged forward.
“What food do you wish to feast on? If we know, we might be able to deliver it to you!”
Uri’s peaceful half spoke for him, as his warlike half prepared for the oncoming swarm.
You! A leaping worm said, jagged teeth splayed outwards as if to rake at his flesh. Uri barely pierced its unprotected belly in time, before tossing it away.
“Besides us!” Uri countered. “Is there anything that would fulfill that?”
For a moment, the swarm stilled. Fulfill… What is ‘full’?
Joshua batted another away, his arms moving on their own. “Why are you hungry?”
Dunno! The mass chirped, resuming their attempts to tear chunks out of the spirits.
A pacifist by nature, Uri felt he had to warn away the Ordeal. “If you don"t give us a response to why you are hungry, and what you need - other than us - to fill your hunger, then we’ll have to get a bit more brutal with you!”
The swarm awakened, chirping. Then we’ll fight, and the winner eats!
Joshua gripped his blunt axe in both hands. “Are you sure your stomachs aren’t lying to you?” He yelled, sweeping the approaching swarm away.
That, somehow, was the tipping point.
The swarm recoiled.
We’ve always been hungry, never been full… They murmured, curling in on themselves.
Uri gasped for air. “Keep going, Joshua. Whatever you just did, it got you the upper hand.”
Joshua blinked, looking around in a daze. “Was it really me who did that? This fixation on lies,” he stared into the flat side of his axe, his EGO weapon. “It’s not me.”
“Don’t focus on that!” Uri coached. “You need to focus on getting them to understand that peace is possible!”
The door opened behind the two spirits.
“Peace isn’t your goal!” A rough voice shouted an order. “Your aim should be to break their narrative.”
The whirring of servos was all the warning they had, before a fleshy mimicry of a greatsword was leveled between them. Its eyes, looking every which way.
Behind the greatsword’s imposing presence, a red-hued boxbot stood, her name emblazoned upon her forehead. “Gebura, Disciplinary Sephirot.” She barked out, using her free limb to point at herself. “Good job holding out ’til I got here.”
“Let me show you how a true warrior fights in this world.” The swarm began awakening once more.
“Your attack starts before you even move a muscle.”
“You decide what you’ll argue,” Gebura prepares to swing, “and use your strike to hammer the point home.”
“Amber Dawn. Your hunger is a mimicry of the real thing.”
The sword splits the hall.
Perhaps… we were never truly hungry in the first place.
And when the red mist fades, nothing remains.
“Or, you could let yourself be wielded by your equipment.” Gebura glared at Joshua, before ripping her sword out of the wall.
“Welcome to Candle Corp., rookies.”
At that awe-inspiring display of power, Uri could only bow, drawing his rapier close to his chest.