A dark wall loomed tall over them, a seemingly and endlessly stretching wall made the atmosphere stand still, a dark aphotic aura was oozing out from it.
The skies behind it were blocked by its design; one that was purely and only recognizable as a prison.
There were giant metal pillars on every corner, with what appeared to be spikes all over them.
Divorced from the idea of home, this place reeked of insanity. Zabulus could only wonder if this was the true route that will lead him to home. Yet, seeing something like this that was so close and in his face about its identity as a criminal safe-haven, he couldn't help but feel a despair overcome him at the sight of it. So despair-filled, it made him smile subconsciously.
He studied its structure further, noticing how jagged the very air around them felt; the wood and metal and other darker colored materials were deliberately all made to be jagged, spiky, menacing. As soon as a human dared touch it, they'd be cut in half by the sheer sharpness and strength behind that material.
At each corner of the Plight of Sorrow, there were watch towers equipped with cannons and rifles, large guns and artillery as well, even swords that could reach from one half of the town to the other, quite literally. For how the cannons were set-up, half rested inside the watch tower, the other half on the actual walls. No visible door was in sight, so whoever was in there, was in there, forever.
The colors were a dirty brown, a dark purple, maybe a jet black. But not a single drop of blood color tainted them, though, the inside would probably explain its significance further.
Tartaros wanted to comment, so she naturally chose the brightest moment, "To think they chose to name a land like this 'The Plight of Sorrow'... What is the difference between sorrow and plight?" Her finger rested on her cheek.
"Madam Tartaros, the difference between sorrow and plight is--"
"Enough... Not now." Zabulus quickly shut down the conversation, paying more attention to his goal, rather than anything to do with a definition to begin with. "How are we to enter... And can we get these restraints off?! My back itches!"
"I apologize for the inconvenience, nameless. But it will have to stay until we are ready to present the identity of myself, as Ixothrozophella, Guard of Onkhivol."
"So cool...! Go, go! Big sis Phantos!" The eager and happy Tartaros' energy never changed, much to Zabulus' disdain.
"Then follow me. We shall cross the bridge and reach the entrance, but be warned, we are not guaranteed peace. A fight is almost inescapable if our intentions aren't made clear."
"Nonsense. Where there are no laws, there is no need to appease to rules."
The three soon notice an impossibly long wooden bridge that connects to the wall-like town in the distance, no solid ground to be seen, just a series of wooden planks that move left and right like wheels under wind pressure, creaking and making the most uncomfortable sounds that a human can describe. And again, the wood they stood on had razor sharp ends, so their footing had to be careful too.
Step after step, that deep ground beneath them was cleared of the fog, revealing a set of bloodied and rusty spikes at the very bottom of this hole that seemed to be an infinite distance beneath.
"Are those... corpses?" Tartaros shakily said, her eyes shifting from one body to another.
Cut in half.
Impaled by the stomach.
Head crushed under a boot.
Blood pooling and oozing down the shaft of the blades.
Decapitation.
Impalement.
A face devoid of any emotions.
A half face cut off due to the spikes tearing through the skin.
Dead around the waist.
Dead, and such a waste.
"How... scary!" Her footsteps were shaky, her hands gripped onto Phantos' hands who was trying to keep her footing. Though,
"Why... Do you walk with such unease, Madam Tartaros...? Were you not once an executioner, too?" Phantos looked back at Tartaros, who was trying her best to look forwards with wide open eyes. Her messed-up, bloody look reminded Phantos of her previous master, Vetro.
The thoughts revolving around her reminded her that there was no proof she couldn't protect her current master the way she wanted to protect her last.
She turned her head around and tightened her grip on Tartaros' bloody hand, walking now with a determination that helped soothe Tartaros' cowardice. It didn't look like something a maiden should do, though, she'll call this determination that she is channeling the presence and strength of the man she once respected and loved.
...
Phantos knew that with a monster of Zabulus' degree close behind her, this bridge and its death trap would certainly activate, certainly...
They were nearing the closed gates of the Plight of Sorrow, but that's when she realized... 'Shoot, we don't have a concrete plan of what I should say to those gatekeepers, do we...?! If they even have people guarding from outside, how are we so sure that we can enter instead of falling down? This is especially bad, I don't know a thing about the culture that they practice in here...' Her thoughts transformed into words, "Mm... Nameless, what are your thoughts about introducing me as Phantos instead of Ixothrozophella, does it--"
"Not a chance in the living world. We have to trick those pathetic gatekeepers the way our plan states, otherwise, it will be a failure of not only the plan, but of my life. You might not care, but..." Zabulus's voice trailed on, before he said, "I'm putting a lot into this. So I suggest you improve your acting skills and act the way a pitiful guard would."
There was a hint of hostility, of course, coming from his view that even considered trying to break off the deal of servitude, causing Zabulus to hate it whenever Phantos 'bothered' him. To an extent, it was only wise to keep a polite mouth when asking, to not annoy him.
It sapped away at the spirit of Phantos, so she was silent, dragging on her steps silently. 'Master... is indeed a curious man. I saw his past as I was resting... All those souls happily clinging and cheering for his rise. Might he be a demon in disguise, I will still, without doubt, follow this path for however much longer you want.' Her footsteps were light, softer now, as she began drawing a fake scenario up in her head, trying to imagine how to deal with the guards of the Plight.
...
On top of a cliff, a gun rested on a pair of feet. "Sir. A guard is coming from Onkhivol with two prisoners, what shall we do? Approve them or risk an altercation?"
The gun peered up at the sky and through the window, where a tall armored man stood, his eyes orange-colored with a pale skin tone, his expression stoic, "They're probably more mouths to feed and less muscle, stop wasting time on trying to identify them and let them in, we'll ask them further details when they're inside."
The male responded with a soft "Understood." And nodded, sending a message to the gatekeepers.
...
As the three of them cautiously approached the gate, it began to creak and open at a rapid speed, the sound of giant chains being pulled was audible, the sound of gears grinding against each other soiled the ears. Slowly but surely, a strong breeze carried out from inside, almost knocking them off the bridge.
They kept their composure and continued forth into the Plight of Sorrow, reaching a platform. The walls surrounded them on all sides, they were thick, unbreakable, and barely able to fit a carriage's width within.
As Tartaros moved, her ears and tongue flickered and she heard the sound of a far-away voice echoing in her ears, someone was shouting. Not quite as the first thought of danger, just... chaos. Chaos. It was nothing more.
The source of the disturbance was on the floor above their level, the tallest structure, a building that connected from the outside to the inside. A light in the darkness, but the voice was not that of their guide. In fact, the guide appeared unafraid or bothered by the circumstances.
Zabulus and Tartaros were both behind Phantos, only looking tattered in order to make it appear as if there was an altercation between them and that Phantos had caught them.
"Ixothrozophella, then." One guard spoke, gesturing his hand towards her, "It seems you have caught a worthy batch of criminals, well done. Follow my lead and make sure the two criminals stay in a safe range." The lead guard seemed to be calm.
To the surprise of the others and Zabulus, Tartaros decided to just kick Phantos in the back which caused Tartaros to almost lose her balance and crash into the ground.
'Madam Tartaros, what are you doing?!' Phantos thought, quickly picking herself up, there was no pain to be had in a fake body such as this one. Despite her mind drifting, she immediately picked up on the act, 'Ah, I see. Act rebellious and unreasonable so that they take the bait, clever. I must commend you, Madam Tartaros.'
"What are you doing?!" The lead guard said as he left behind a whirr of dust on the ground and picked Tartaros up by the neck. "You think this is a joke? You're in prison forever, scum."
Zabulus was barely able to perceive his speed, 'There is no guarantee he knows everything about every single criminal, but if he doesn't... Then we'll get through just fine, maybe I can just kill him...'
"Do we throw these two into the jails or question them first?" Phantos, or rather, 'Ixothrozophella' asked him, ignoring Zabulus' intentions since they could not stop at this point.
"Throw them to the jail, we'll question them after you give your report on their actions and why you decided to send these two here. If they don't comply, then..." He gripped tighter on Tartaros' neck who was struggling to breathe within her artificial body.
He released Tartaros' and pushed her against a wall, making sure that she would not dare try that stunt twice.
Zabulus was calm and quiet, 'looking' straight ahead of him, the Plight reeking of stale blood and regret.
'Ah... Is this... a Utopia?' swirling ideas filled his thoughts, 'it is truly ironic, how this place is our very escape from the land, yet it is a prison of its own right.' These were the thoughts that stirred something deep in his mind, as he couldn't help but smile after all of these ideas swam inside his mind, like a shark through the waves, the kind of shark that enjoyed feasting on flesh.
...
Tartaros and Zabulus were thrown inside the mad prison, but the guards seemed to pay attention to no prisoners' well-being or condition.
Guttural screams of insanity rang in their ears, but none hurt Zabulus or Tartaros' feelings at all, neither seemed disturbed by the sight in front of them.
Heads severed from their necks, and bloodied broken hands all over the ground like a pile of corpses, the dirt they stepped on had eaten more corpses than any meat market would ever hope for. It was certainly a criminal Utopia, where the guards simply threw them in with no second thought.
There were no cells, nothing like that. It was a free-for-all arena, with blood pools and cannibalistic-behavior, nothing Zabulus couldn't imagine.
One man was surrounded by a couple of three others, whom Zabulus could guess was the case for a hungry audience or a starving competition. To let those people starve and cry in their blood; then feast upon the cannibals.
Turn after turn, they battered down the man to the bone.
First were his hands, each finger broken then torn apart, then a powered up kick to where the holes for his fingers once were, turning the hand inside out.
Second were the arms, each ligament was pulled out of its sockets, first his wrist, tearing off the bones to pieces, and then the elbow. At the end, the arm was completely flaccid and boneless.
Third were the legs, which took the longer time because the group couldn't decide whether to rip off the bones or tear out the kneecaps first, but they went with what their gut feeling advised, the kneecaps, all in different directions which somehow sent a sick sense of pleasure throughout his nerves and overloaded his senses, until the pain and shock rendered him half-dead and in a frenzy of uncontrollable giggles and wheezing.
Last was the torso, they cut it open with a dull knife that made it sound like they were cutting wood, the rough and jagged cuts matched their expressions, one twisted smile, the next scowling and disgusted. Once it was cut open, they started breaking the ribs and using them as tools to separate the entrails from the lungs, the kidneys from the upper portions of the organ... The heart took the most care out of anything else, as they eventually decided to stab each individual vein coming out of the heart itself, damaging his spleen too, which eventually rendered him unable to breathe and essentially killing him.
The outgushing blood resembled a waterfall of the darkest crimson, spurting the final breaths of life like a fire sprinkler to the eyes of those who dare watch, bathing in the bloodshed of a petty criminal who's only crime was stealing a purse, which in turn, did not seem to stand out the most from other crimes and actions as well.
"Hey." Zabulus boldly walked up to them intending to ask a question, "Did you or did you not build these corpses up like a child would build a snowman? Is this what happens here? Just a pile of corpses?"
Their laughs were in synchronization as they looked up behind them, their crimson faces laughing at him with the power of thousands of years, then they immediately shut up and glared directly into his eye sockets, "Yup! We did build those corpse piles and see what I accomplished!!? Huuuuh!? Azkite! Do you see?!!!" One of them exclaimed.
"That's excellent, yesss, Marvelous!!! Well done!! We should surely be acknowledged by an Azkite!!!" The middle, deep voiced one exclaimed.
The third one didn't say anything, but continued to laugh violently and pick up the bones of the corpse's skin, which was still barely intact.
Zabulus turned around and walked away, unsurprised, Tartaros was following him.
"HAAAHAAAHAAA! The Azkite has a girl following him like a puppy! She's so pretty! A mermaid perhaps! Maybe a demon girl! Red hair! Red hair! A dragon... Come come! Tell us!! Where are you from?!?! Are you the child of the god of crime? The god of thievery?! The god of lust and the unholy one!? DEEEAATH!?" His shout was unbearably annoying.
"Keep your distance away, Tartaros." Zabulus said.
"That's not excellent, nooo, a name like Tartaros isn't so marvelous! It's a male name! What would happen if she's actually a boy?! Oh man...?!" The other one was laughing his head off.
"Nameless, would it be bad if I killed him?" Tartaros angrily whispered.
"Eh. Do what you want, I couldn't care less. But you're wasting time talking to these thugs. I'm going to find a better piece of information for the plan." He walked the other way, leaving the angry Tartaros to the three grinning criminals.
...
"Hey, Ixothrozophella. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" The lead guard talked to Phantos as they walked across a corridor, his tone telling her that he was trying to 'pick up the conversation', or maybe 'flirt'... Disgusting.
'Based on the information that Tartaros gave me...' She put on a smile and started fully acting like the girl she was meant to act. "Y-yeah... It has been q-quite a while since the last time we saw each other, huh? Uhmmm... A-Ahahahaha!!..."
"Haha, awkward as ever, aren't you? That's what I like about you, no?"
'Nameless. Should I kill this guy?' Telepathic communication always suffices in situations like these.
'What? What guy?' Zabulus got a weird sense from this voice message that entered his mind.
'This guy, the guy that threw you into the prison. He's trying to... Dally with me. Disgusting.'
'Oh. No, you should listen to what he has to say, any information here is necessary. Brute forcing towards the Triandicons isn't a choice.'
She sighed, having to put up with this man was aggravating, she didn't want to hear anything from this guy and she barely knew him for a few minutes.
"A-ahaha... Yeah, that might be true b-but... what can I do?" She chuckled.
She talked and acted more and more like Ixothrozophella, a feeling of harmony with her acting emerged and manifested within her as the awkwardness was slowly melting. This brought her to another idea: the idea that as long as she acted the same for everyone else, she could hide in plain sight until Zabulus summoned her as a book again. She had to fully immerse herself into the role.
"Haha, it seems that you actually took my advice into consideration!" The lead guard said, "Say, Ixothrozophella, would you care to pay a visit to the best wine-bar here?"
"Y-yeah... Sure...!" She faked a bashful look that worked just fine on his narcissism.
...
"No offense! Nooo offense to you, girl! But your boyfriend leeeft you! Ahahaha!" He was swinging a knife around as the third one stared at her with his blank eyes, playing with his hair, muttering incomprehensible things under his breath.
Tartaros stood there with her mouth open, enraged. But calm enough to realize that this clown was nothing compared to any of the Parahumans that she'd seen throughout her existence as a weapon.
"Hey, red-head! Answer me, okey? Do youuu have a history as a wench before becoming this?! Have you seen a hundred lovers all leave you at once and your body eaten by worms in the process?! You think losing a boon or two will actually matter?! How pathetic!" He sneered at her.
'...Wow, disgusting filth. I didn't think that fun could be taken off this easily. Let's see... How much more pathetic can you be? I wouldn't even let you touch me as a weapon, let alone with an artificial body.' The angry smile on her face disturbed the third and the first, though the middle one kept swinging his knife wildly as if to scare her. "And what about you, huh!? What good are you if you just stay sitting and twirling your hair like a little bitch?!" Hitting a sore spot definitely did make his crazy self almost lose it completely, he actually staggered forward towards Tartaros with a murderous look in his eyes.
"Hey, red-head, you know! He's a shy one, he doesn't talk much to people and doesn't like whores like YOU! Look at what you're wearing... A corset? it screams WHORE! Your injuries don't even make you look hot, it just makes you look like a hot mess!!" He shouted right at her face with the knife at the base of her neck, the third one looking afraid, hiding himself among a pile of corpses. "See?! Look whaaaat you did? He's scared, dumb bitch! One's got to take responsibility for this!" The second thug kept cackling maniacally.
"Yeah?" Tartaros wasn't bothered, just wanting to finish this all as fast as she could. He wasn't worth anything at all. "You piece of human filth, I'd rather be friends with an Amalgamate than a disgusting excuse for a human, why, I'd actually gladly make a deal with a flesh pig rather than you." Tongue poking out of her mouth, her glare was no longer angry. Her tongue transformed into an M shaped blade...
"What's wrong with your tong--"
Her bladed tongue pierced his face which immediately broke and hung sideways like the rest of his flesh. It retracted back after he completely ceased screaming.
The red-eyed third pulled a knife out of the ground and flung himself towards Tartaros, and so did the first.
Their dear brother, the second, died. And they had to take revenge.
Well, it was short lived.
They wanted to take pleasure in avenging and gutting the one who killed their brother, but something more twisted came back. And Tartaros turned both her arms into M shaped blades and twirled around, cutting straight through both thugs' necks. Rendering them immediately incapacitated, they were already in a star-shaped pool of their own blood and entrails by the next moment.
...
"Hey, do you know anything about the Triandicon section?" Zabulus asked a man that looked well-informed.
He had a mustache, a fedora, a black suit and a suitcase.
'Is this guy really a criminal?'
"Look, laddie, I need to sell a man's liver to an organ fetishist, I don't give information for free, this is a lawless city, remember? Get off my case if yer' not buying, I only have money, no organs for ya."
'Okay. He's a criminal.'
...
"You know, Ixo, it's been terrible around here... Man, how I wish I could've been with you in Onkhivol! But it's such a pleasant surprise to see that you're coming here now, how long will you be staying?" The subtle, even if noticeable, slight touch made her writhe and try to break out of the situation, all the way pulling her elbow backwards.
"T-that was... Ahahaha, interesting, w-wasn't it? I mean... I didn't think I-I'd be fighting two criminals on my o-own... And managing t-to win it all by myself!"
"Are you serious?" He suddenly stopped and watched her for a few seconds, 'was she acting on a bluff?', then followed with the sentence, "That sounds awesome, we gotta drink after you detail that report!" He said. 'Detail that report if you can, prove that you aren't lying.'
"Hahahaha, you're hilarious, Uraq... Just... F-fancy!" She was throwing out anything to say in order to keep the conversational flow going, 'Man... Even if this isn't my body, I'm feeling really uncomfortable here... Let me kill him, Nameless, I can't keep talking for much longer.'
'Just keep talking about what you just did, describe that faux fight scene like a masterful chef. Do what you can do, if it goes awry, just tell me and I'll summon you.' He made a mental suggestion.
She hesitated a bit, but pressed on, "--Th-then... shall we go?"
He gave her a thumbs up and responded, "Yeah, Let's go!"
...
"Hey, big guy." He talked to... A big guy, giant-type, big and buff.
"Erhuh?" He responded with a drool coming out of his lower lip.
'This guy is definitely a criminal.' He noted mentally before continuing on, "Have you heard of the Triandicon section? Big portals that lead to places around the world and such?"
"Eruh... Mommy!!! Where are you, mommy!!?? Some scary guy is asking about the Tri...Triangles!!! Waaah!!!" Throwing a huge hysterical fit that took a lot of time to pacify, his actions went in opposition to the calm demeanor of the man by his side.
'This guy is definitely not a criminal. What the hell?' He frowned after realizing that everyone here is practically either an unstable child or some stuck-up guy who goes straight back to the business.
Zabulus slumped down and walked away from the sobbing giant.
...
Meanwhile, Tartaros was doing her best with the guy following her all around, creeping closer and closer to her. At the end, he decided to get his batch and leaped at her from behind.
In response, she turned her entire spine into an M shaped blade and had him cut in half. "Eugh, blood and entrails. I hate this... Pfft, he even had a bunch of worms crawling all over his shit, gross!" She complained as she tried to get as much of the disgusting gunk off of her.
She tried conversing with as many criminals as possible but, every time somebody saw that she was a girl, they tried some weird move or to kill her for 'Beautiful guts!', in their words.
It was unpleasant, unbearable. She was a girl, yes, but she wasn't weak, nor a wench, and she'd make sure of that if things were to become awry.
...
In the meantime, Phantos started giving out her testimony for what happened between her and the two criminals, Tartaros and Zabulus.
"I-I was sent out patrolling by Madam Onofre... And, well... I-I saw the criminals, one who called himself Nameless and the other was Tartaros... T-they..." She was trying to think up an adequate lie for the events that have passed, a fake story in order to cover for them... In order for them to be sent to the Triandicons...
'They... Killed a lot of m-men with... O-only a knife!! No that won't suffice, everyone here is already a killer. Uraq told me so.'
'They... Decimated a large crowd using Onkhivol's scribe tools! That would be there somewhere, but... I don't believe this will be worthy of the Triandicon room yet.'
"Hm? What's taking you so long, Ixo?" Uraq was starting to suspect something about her, maybe even her capability as a Parahuman.
"I-I'm sorry... It's just... hard to say..."
'They... Killed the White Queen, Onofre! Perfect... It is no lie, but it would bring trouble to the agency. Can it work? Would this...'
"They killed... T-the White Queen! They said something about their world, whatever that means..." Phantos finished giving her recount.
"What?!" Surprisingly, something about this shocked him, his disbelief was apparent in his posture and face which betrayed the otherwise convincing and professional mask he put up.
"You are saying... They are responsible for the Queen's death?"
"Impossible! The White Queen was a Parahuman who led one of the Towers of Babel!"
"Unbeatable, unbreakable, and unstoppable! You're kidding! She's a paragon of protection!"
"And you expect us to believe this? How?"
All the present guards gave their comments with a shock and astounded expressions, the emotion that couldn't stay hidden inside.
"I-if you look in the d-distance... You'd see that the Tower of Babel has fallen..." Yet, she did not realize the major flaw in her lie.
Everyone except Uraq went to look, their shocked eyes in the distance: In the distance stood a tower slowly crumbling down, while those in the lower parts were scattered and broken.
Their expressions were that of disbelief, shock and realization: they faced their palms towards the ground and they knelt, their heads lowered in defeat.
'The Queen is dead.' They all realized.
'The Tower of Babel is destroyed.' They concluded.
'Nothing can stop the Amalgamates.' They felt.
"However... Ixo." Uraq hid his eyes under his helmet as he spoke, "How did White Queen send you to find those same criminals who killed her? Seems a bit far-fetched... Seems impossible even."
"Th-that was due to the fact that..." She did not finish her sentence, she held an opening for Uraq to fill himself. 'There is nothing for me to do...' "Crap."
Her sudden shift in expression startled everyone in the room.
"What's the truth, Ixothrozophella!? Why would you lie about the White Queen's death!?"
"But the tower of babel is destroyed, her words hold truth to them!"
"Not only that. But for what purpose would she lie?"
"It is only so, but why? Let's lock her away! Send her and those two criminals to the Triandicons!"
Uraq was pondering, not knowing what else to believe anymore. And then he spoke, "Ixothrozophella, are you really Ixothrozophella?"
She couldn't find herself to answer, but the fact that those words held truth was evident to all. 'We've been got, but it was a success either way. Summon me, Nameless.'
The body in front of them disappeared, armor and all.
"What is the meaning of this, Uraq, what is going on?!!"
"Send a message to the nearest patrol group near the Triandicons, there will be two criminals coming soon."
"This is... This means, the White Queen... She really--" One couldn't believe, not the others, nor themselves.
The Tower of Babel will continue to crumble. And they failed.
...
"Nom." Zabulus was munching on a foul spiced corpse of a prisoner, whose remains were splattered all around the dirty empty chamber.
'Nameless! My mission was a success, have you gotten any information?' Phantos was back to speaking through her mind as her artificial bodily form was no longer.
"Ah... mmm, nom. Yesh, It's in one of these 8 big gates, 7 of them are execution trapsh and the lasht one ish the Triandicon room."
'Please eat before you speak, it's disgusting and foul.'
"Shorry. So, yeah, according to whash the prisoners told me through forsh, we should be able to enter by breaking the 100th of the 800th room..."
"Oh! Phantos! Ye'r a book again! Let me pet ya! I'll stroke ya gently!" Tartaros arrived at where the two were, wearing a new pair of bloodstained white jeans and a black tank top shirt. "Ahhh! Nameless, are you eating that guy? Gross."
"What? Yeah. Wait, just one sec, I'm about done."
"Are you serious?"
"About 10% serious." He said 10% seriously.
"Make it 40%!"
'So, Nameless, will we have an idea of what we do?'
"We'll wait until the guards arrive. I don't want to go through the pain of finding the right gate myself and risking death." His plan was simple and straightforward.
"Makes sense... Hey, not that I care or anything, but are ya planning to summon us both as our original forms? Man, I'd be glad for that one, all these humans are pissin' me off! I'm Serious! 100% Serious!"
"Most likely. Sure, maybe."
'You seem troubled, Nameless. What's the matter?' Phantos asked.
"I'm thinking of the possibility of death here, if they decide we are to be executed rather than sent far away to hell, then what'll we do?" He showed uncertainty in his own words, in his own plan.
"Just kill 'em all, can't we do that?" Tartaros suggested.
'No, if we do, then--'
"Why, yeah! Right, that shouldn't take too much effort right?" Zabulus' spirit seemed uplifted.
"It won't take 'em long 'till they arrive now." Tartaros sat down and yawned.
'Why couldn't you have mentioned the part where we have to kill all of their men in order to reach the Triandicon chamber?'
Their chat was cut short by the shout of a guard and the arrival of at least 60 armed Parahumans.
"Nameless, we found you. The White Queen is dead, and you and your accomplice will be sent to the--"
'To the...?' He anticipated the single word that would forever change his life's destination.
"...Triandicon chamber! Execution is but a mercy for your kind!"
Zabulus was exhilarated for a second before he realized he couldn't show any trace of emotion, 'my giddy heart... It feels as if this beat will continue! A world where I continue to exist will see the light of day! Not Onkhivol, but a different world!' He was jumping internally with immense joy. 'Yes, this is the beginning of a true world for me! I'll live in a place where time flows how I want it, where I plant the seeds that I want, where I do whatever I want! This is it, I was wrong in my assumptions, humans can help each other in their own twisted and sad ways, parahumans aren't very different after all! I was an utter fool, foolish and wrong!'
His heartbeat, his pulse and his thoughts were running rampant. In the split second he took to revel in his elation, the six men who charged at him took longer. He put his hands up and said, "I surrender."
Tartaros followed suit.
And in their surrender and calm minds, all the guards froze and stiffened, causing the atmosphere to be truly dead.