The Soul Labyrinth <Remake> [Closed]

Hinata ate her apple quietly, listening to the two foxes talk.
"Get in trouble with who?" she asked, swallowing. The apple was nearly already finished, and though she didn't say anything it was a clear sign she was lower on energy then she wanted to be.

”The other Viscounts” the nature fox answered.
”There are a total of twelve Viscounts in the Labyrinth; some are nice, some are not, and some are just more suitable in Hell than here…” Shinrin explained with a hint of anger emphasis on the last part.
”Shin, calm down—“
”Calm down? Oh did you just tell me to ‘Calm Down’? Look, Rai, we have three fucking days to make our move and if we fail, we’re going with him. I’m doing this Matthew, yes, but it’s also for us… I’m not letting anyone of us die, I’m not…” the nature fox cut off Rakurai’s sentence before sighing.

Three days? Damnit, that wasn't much time at all. Still, she wasn't concerned with getting in trouble. She understood where Shinrin was coming from too. She fell silent.

”Look… we’re getting close to the end of today, leaving us two more days to plan and the third day to execute the plan or if possible, we’d want to do that as soon as we can” Shinrin claimed. Being the youngest and most thoughtful of the fox brothers, he was stressed out.
The concern for Matthew’s life was high but he was more afraid about his remaining family members and himself as everyone would be.
”We’ve got a strong person on our team…“ Shinrin eyed Hinata with slight drops of tears in his eyes ”…but that doesn’t mean we can guarantee a win. Julian isn’t a man who keeps just one trick up his sleeves” the nature fox stated.
”I think we need more people to participate… especially those who are strong, strong enough to beat someone like him and perhaps on par with Hinata… but who…”

(Cassius?)
(Chris?)
(Serena?)

[Special Choices?]
[Holding onto the Antique Wooden Horse]
(Ichika?)

Hinata listened quietly as Shinrin spoke, moving slightly closer when she saw the tears. She had an idea of what he was going through, but not entirely.
"I agree," Hinata finally said. She thought for a moment, going over everyone and everything that had happened since she had arrived. That's when she remembered the wooden horse Serena had given to her from Matthew, pulling it out of her pocket as she continued to think. She was hesitant, but finally, she spoke.
"What about Ichika?" she said. Still, she had her worries, especially after what she observed with the Viscount and how Ichika acted.

Shinrin thought about it for a moment then turned to Hinata and upon seeing the miniature horse sculpture, froze.
”Where did you… never mind. Yes, he would do so just fine if he’s interested, that is” the nature fox stated.
”Take it from me, but I don’t think the four of us, the fox brothers’, powers combined could even beat him” Rakurai added to which Shinrin nodded in agreement almost immediately.
”You wanna go talk to him?” Shinrin asked, clearly to Hinata.

"Sure. Hopefully, it won't hurt to ask." Hinata tilted her head a bit at Shinrin's reaction to the miniature horse.
"Serena gave it to me. She said it was from Matthew. Why?"

”Serena… right…” Shinrin muttered to himself before turning his attention to Hinata.
”Oh, it’s just that that specific item belongs to one of Ichika’s companions; one of his team members, basically. You might have heard Ichika bring up his bounty hunter job before, well, he doesn’t work alone. He’s part of a bounty hunter group named ‘Jewelry’ consisting of five members, each possessing insanely strong abilities—” Shinrin went on ”—that belongs to Kazumi, bounty hunter name ‘Emerald’—“ and on ”—he probably left it here when he was doing a mission here ages ago and we couldn’t find it anywhere! Who would’ve known that such an innocent girl like Serena would be the one keeping such an important piece of artifact. And the fact that Matthew was the one who gave it to her and told her to give it to you—“ and on… ”—is quite unacceptable—“

”Would you shut up?” Rakurai broke the fanboy rant Shinrin was having.

Shinrin stayed silent.

”Thank you”

Hinata blinked a few times when Shinrin got started, settling into a small grin as she leaned back on her hand and listened to him talk. She was noting down everything he said, just in case it was needed later. She chuckled very softly when Rakurai told him to be quiet.
"Interesting," she said with a smile.

The female figure moved from behind Kye to in front of him.
”Is… is everything alright sir? You seem a bit unstable…” she asked with a harmless tone with an equally harmless expression. She looked like she wanted to help… but then this is the Soul Labyrinth we’re talking about, not everyone is trustable if any is.

Kye jumped super hard when the person appeared from behind him. A protective sphere pulsing out around him with enough force to crack, but not shatter, the sphere already around him. Once he had calmed himself down again, he looked at the woman. His eyes seeming to glow from within the sphere, their purple reflecting fear and something else. "Who are you?"

”Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that you might be able to persuade him into joining us given that if he joins you’ll return the sculpture” Shinrin summarized his whole fanboy rant quite simply. What’s worth noting was the fact that he seemed to know a lot about this ‘Jewelry’ bounty hunter group.

”Name’s Lucana Pirskul, Knight Code 11E, do you require assistance? You seem… scared” the female figurine examined Kye’s behavior and concluded fear to be his current status.

"No," Kye stammered. "No, I am alright. Thank you though." He was on his knees looking out at Lucana. "Sorry, that was… unexpected. Will you let me down now? I think it would help more to be on the ground." His voice was a bit shaky still but he definitely seemed to be recovering from… whatever that was.
Had to happen right then didn't it.
Talk about bad timing.
Can you figure out what triggered it this time?
I have no clue, the figure asked what I was looking for, I saw mom again, and then… I do not know.
Hm, well, let's be a little more careful shall we.
Yeah, no kidding.

Hinata nodded, seeing Shinrin's logic.
"Okay, then I'll get to it." Hinata moved to stand up, but sat back down again.
"Oh dear." She was a little dizzy, eyesight blurring a bit before going back to normal.

Lucana slowly nodded as the sphere disappeared around Kye.
”If you say so…” she was still concerned. She had an earpiece with her of which she reached up to touch.
”Yeah… yeah I’m on my way… right…” she hung up the call soon, that was possibly one of the shortest conversations one could have on the phone.
”Well, I’ll leave you be” the lady walked away before disappearing in the grassy fields.
The butlers appeared again; this time all of them were present.
”Do you ever wish for something that is… impossible to get?” the butler in red asked.

Ichika, upon seeing Hinata coming his way, stood up from the rock he was sitting on to approach her.
”So? What’s the verdict?” he asked plainly. ”Got any new info?”

"Yeah," Hinata said. "I was wondering if I could get you to help with something." She'd put her jacket back on, wings bulging out underneath.

”State your request and I’ll consider it” the man said almost immediately. He was looking forward to what Hinata might ask of him. Perhaps some action? Investigation? He didn’t know. With the Multiverse jail escapists roaming around everywhere, he’d need to bring up some old tricks of his.

(Might be good to bring this up now— things and stories that the characters in the Purple Cauldron Tavern bring up are 100% CANON to this storyline. Take notes if you’re in for some deep theorizing)

(Perfect! _{ma, where's meh notebook?!})

"Help with killing off a Viscount. Specifically, the one I was just talking to." Hinata's eyes hardened a bit. She was dead serious. Her hands were in her pockets, left hand holding the horse to pull out if she had to use it as leverage.

Ichika thought for it a bit.
”What will I get in return? If it’s some amount of cash, I don’t need it. I’m already stocked up for the rest of my life probably” the man stated, tapping his feet.

Hinata, expecting this, pulled her hand out of her pocket, revealing the horse.
"I've been told this belongs to someone you work with," she said calmly.

(Random update : I’m currently at a place called “Lotus Mountain” in Guangzhou, China… this place is f—ing amazing…)

Ichika gasped a bit at the sight of the sculpture. He rethought his decision and sighed.
”Alright… if it’s for that thing, I’m alright with it” he gave in.
”The Viscount we’re dealing with is Julian, Matthew’s boss, right?”

Lucana slowly nodded as the sphere disappeared around Kye.
”If you say so…” she was still concerned. She had an earpiece with her of which she reached up to touch.
”Yeah… yeah I’m on my way… right…” she hung up the call soon, that was possibly one of the shortest conversations one could have on the phone.
”Well, I’ll leave you be” the lady walked away before disappearing in the grassy fields.
The butlers appeared again; this time all of them were present.
”Do you ever wish for something that is… impossible to get?” the butler in red asked.

Kye looked at the red butler and thought for a moment before dusting himself off and shaking his head. "I was always told that nothing is impossible, so the technical answer would be no. However I have also been told that it is impossible to bring back the dead so yes."

"Um… hi," Adara mumbled, studying the crow mask. Why were all of the Knights wearing masks? She shook the thought away. It wasn't important. She gave a hesitant smile. "I, uh… I'm Ada," she said, after a pause.

(How did I not see this)
(And are you sure on the ‘masks aren't important’ part…?)

”Nice to meet you” the crow masked scientist spoke up again.
Matthew smiled a bit at the interaction.
”Chris, can you—“
”—Examine this for me. You’ve said this way too many times and as always, yes” the scientist cut off, grabbing the item in Matthew’s hand and placing it on his working desk.
”Thanks” Matt said before turning to Adara.
”He’s friendly and approachable, might be great for the mission set you’ve gotta complete”

(Random update : I’m currently at a place called “Lotus Mountain” in Guangzhou, China… this place is f—ing amazing…)

Ichika gasped a bit at the sight of the sculpture. He rethought his decision and sighed.
”Alright… if it’s for that thing, I’m alright with it” he gave in.
”The Viscount we’re dealing with is Julian, Matthew’s boss, right?”

(It sounds beautiful)

"Yeah," Hinata said, slipping the sculpture back into her pocket.

The butlers nodded.
”That isn’t entirely true. They say that because the process in bring someone back is horrendous even for some gods and goddesses. To meet them, is one task, but to bring them back is another much worse one” the butler in blue replied to Kye’s words.

Ichika yawned.
”Can we just like… get it over with today perhaps? I mean, I am stronger than him in all honesty” the Knight shrugged. Every word that came from him was truthful.

The butlers nodded.
”That isn’t entirely true. They say that because the process in bring someone back is horrendous even for some gods and goddesses. To meet them, is one task, but to bring them back is another much worse one” the butler in blue replied to Kye’s words.

Kye let his gaze travel around them seemingly aimless. "I also learned that sometimes, the dead are best left the dead. And if you have a choice to either bring them back or talk to them, take the chance to talk to them and properly say good-bye."

The butlers all nodded in unison again.
”There’s a thousand possibilities of actions from here to your leaving of the Labyrinth. Some are wise… some are not. We will take our leave now…” the green butler said as the other two were about to turn and leave. The blue butler stopped halfway though, turning back to Kye.
”Bring the Sapphire Eye to the Draconic child of the East, Kyoshun…” he ended as the butlers disappeared into thin air, leaving Kye with the silence and the breeze of the Garden.

Ichika yawned.
”Can we just like… get it over with today perhaps? I mean, I am stronger than him in all honesty” the Knight shrugged. Every word that came from him was truthful.

"Ah… okay then." Hinata was likely to be stro her than the Viscount as well.
"But don't forget strength isn't everything. We should at least have the bones of a plan"