The Oracle Paths

The individual shrouded in darkness continued to stare in Jake's direction long after he was gone. After a while, a ghostly, partially translucent blob emerged from the ground behind it. It looked like a giant jellyfish that had finally escaped gravity.

As the weird Fluid Ghost approached it as if to gobble it down, the individual raised its right hand to stop it. For an infinitesimal time, the dark energy blurring its body dispersed at the edges, revealing a pale, graceful hand, albeit with unnaturally long, black, hooked nails.

Seeing this raised hand, the Fluid Ghost halted, barely holding back to wail.

"I know why you're here, Min. But you should give up. "The humanoid thing croaked boredly.

The jellyfish-like Fluid Ghost abruptly shapeshifted, taking on a somewhat feminine appearance. At the same time, an overwhelming and ancient aura invaded the empty hallway, distorting the air.

"Sigmar? You're still as arrogant as ever, I see. " A feminine, slightly coarse voice mocked blatantly. "You know why I'm here. "

"Of course, I know. That's why I'm laughing. Laughing at your stupidity. "

The individual veiled in dark energy fell back into silence, as if he was done with her. The gap dragged on without either of them picking up the conversation. Then Min sneered, and the aura that surrounded her disappeared.

The Fluid Ghost then resumed its previous form of jellyfish and tried to flee. The dark energy maelstrom seemingly overlooked the incorporeal creature for a brief moment, but eventually changed its mind.

The index finger of that same pale hand quickly lowered, as if trying to flick the air, and the Fluid Ghost crashed backwards, as if an imaginary leash had been pulled.

Disoriented from hitting the ground despite its intangible body, the Fluid Ghost tried to fly again, but its intelligence was too limited to understand what was happening to it. Before he could react, it felt a tug.

The Fluid and the mental energy that made it up then began to escape from its body towards the dark energy cluster. The supernatural creature shrank at a furious rate, until it disappeared completely in a long trail of Fluid reminiscent of a black hole swallowing a star.

Inside the energy veil, the individual burped with satisfaction and said,

"I hope that after participating in the grand Purgatory I have prepared for you, you will still be able to entertain me. "

At that moment, footsteps sounded behind it, soon revealing a bearded man with familiar features. If Jake was present, he would have recognized Edmond, the reliable and qualified assistant helping the Titan Pearl's young general in all her tasks.

Except that compared to his benevolent expression of before, he was now wearing a severe face, tinged with jubilation. A denotative contrast that suggested that this person was not totally sane anymore. In any case, his calm image had vanished. Instead, a dark energy comparable to that of a Peak Fluid Master accompanied him.

"Everything is ready. "Edmond declared with an enigmatic smile of multiple meanings.

"In that case, let's start the plan. "

The bearded man, who was clearly just a servant, stood still, seemingly confused by something.

"What is it Ronald?" The energy maelstrom reacted as it sensed his subordinate's confusion. "Were you enjoying your time among them? Perhaps you would prefer I continue to call you Edmond? "

"Why didn't you kill him straight away?" The one whose name was actually Ronald ultimately asked in reference to Jake.

It wasn't a coincidence that he and his Master were here. There weren't many Players that Ronald considered a threat. Alas, Jake had left a strong impression on him.

"Because, he's also one my chess piece. They all are. "

"As expected of His Majesty. " Edmond nodded.

*****

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the station.

In a dark corridor similar to the one Jake and his group were walking down, peculiar looking men and women were strutting around peacefully as if they were out for a stroll. Each of them had pale skin, and all were handsome and pretty. The detail that made them unique though, was their ruby red eyes.

At the back of the group, a young blonde woman with perfectly tanned skin was shuffling along with a regretful expression. She didn't know what was wrong with her and she was certainly regretful.

Obviously, this woman was Sarah.

At first, she had thought she was onto something to make that jerk Jake jealous, but now that the tension had subsided, she was starting to feel anxious. Right now, she felt like an alcoholic coming to her senses after having a bucket of ice water poured over her head. Bad, but with extreme mental clarity.

'God, what have I done...'

She complained inwardly, but the situation wasn't as bad as it seemed. These humans with their dated style of dress, were true gentlemen. Respectful and gallant. The problem was that they were completely ignoring her.

Basically, she was just following them.

The other problem was that they didn't talk much. The weirdest part of it all was that the monsters and parasites of all kinds swarming this station somehow seemed to completely disregard them. The only time they had been attacked was with the other players and passengers on the landing hangar. Since then, not a single enemy had been sighted.

Without any action and in the midst of this emotional turmoil, Sarah just felt horrible. That's why she almost jumped for joy inside when one of them spoke up.

"I'm hungry. "The little girl at the front of the group declared in a whimsical fashion.

The child was holding the hand of a beautiful woman who looked slightly like her, the same woman who had chided her when she had charged towards Jake. On the other side stood another red-eyed handsome man: Wyatt Griffiths.

"A little patience Lily. Our next meal is near. "The exquisitely handsome young nobleman kindly shushed her.

Sensing that her chance to fit in had come, Sarah trotted over to them and offered,

"I have enough food in my space storage for everyone if you'd like. "

She didn't have the nerve to dip into the Faction Vault, but sharing some of her own rations was not a problem. She was already convinced that this Ordeal wouldn't last very long.

Wyatt stared at her thoughtfully, seemingly considering her offer, then shook his head.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I'm afraid it will be useless. "He replied with a faint smile and an amused look.

The other members of the group burst out laughing at his answer. Even Lily and the woman holding hands joined in. Stared at and mocked by all these red-eyed beings, she felt momentarily like a piece of meat in the middle of a pack of hungry hyenas.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Sarah pursed her lips but held back from exploding. She'd been through enough already.

"Did I say something funny? "

"Nothing. You'll understand soon enough. "Wyatt replied in an evasive tone.

After that, the group set off again, and the dead silence returned. A few minutes later, their leader Wyatt stopped, looking at the armored door to his left.

"Our meal is behind that door. "

"Let me. "One of the women, who wore a short, suggestive lace-embroidered baroque gown, strode toward the door, rolling up her sleeves.

The reddish glow behind her pupils intensified and she assumed a sort of karate stance, her right arm folded back like a slingshot gathering energy. A vague dark-red light enveloped her fist before vanishing. Once the light was completely gone, she released a punch, smashing the door.

The thick steel door caved in instantly under the impact, her fist imprinting the surface of the structure. Seeing that her first punch had not been enough, she pouted in dissatisfaction before releasing a flurry of hits at machine gun frequency.

Moments later, the armored steel door collapsed with a loud crash, revealing terrified soldiers on the other side.

"Bon appetit! "The brutish woman exclaimed, licking her lips.

Without waiting for permission, she charged into the room like a ghost, releasing a discreet sonic boom behind her. The nearest soldier was instantly tackled against the opposite wall and spat out a spray of blood.

"What a waste! "She sighed, sensually licking the blood that had dripped onto his armor.

Until then, the soldier was still struggling in spite of his concussion, but as soon as he met her eyes, he stopped resisting, his face ecstatic and full of heat, in the throes of ultimate pleasure. Satisfied, she sniffed his nape, tearing the collar of the uniform hindering her, and then opened her mouth wide.

Her sharp canines sank mercilessly into the soldier's flesh, puncturing his carotid artery to gain access to the noble nectar that the artery contained. Perhaps out of survival instinct, the immobilized man regained his lucidity for a while and weakly attempted to fight back. In vain.

Inside the room, under the terrified gaze of the soldiers and the other vampires, only the noise of the young woman gulping down with each mouthful could be heard. The victim soon stopped thrashing about.

The soldier quickly became paler and paler, then more emaciated as he bled to death. At some point, he fainted and was relieved of his torment.

As the feeding continued, his once shiny brown hair turned dull and gray, his once supple and smooth skin withered like a wilted plant at the end of its life, and then when his frame resembled nothing more than a 120-year-old man, he died.

At that very moment, in front of a horrified Sarah, the other vampires surrounded her, blocking all escape routes. The handsome man leading the group walked calmly in front of her with a smile that was meant to be friendly.

"Do you know why you're still alive? "Wyatt questioned her intimately, to the great displeasure of the beautiful woman at his side.

Sarah cringed at his attitude, but her wariness did not leave her.

"I don't." She stammered with feigned assurance, but by the shifty look in her eyes she had a hunch. Her heart was beating unusually fast and her face was flushed. A reddish sparkle was gradually invading her orange irises.

Grabbing her chin with one of his icy hands, Wyatt forced her to meet his gaze and revealed in a whisper, "Because, you're one of us. "

As if this marked the onset of the feast, the whole gang pounced on their defenseless prey like a pack of hungry lions. Spurts of hemoglobin soon accompanied the agonized groans of the victims, like fireworks punctuating a death requiem.

Soon the metallic smell of blood filled the crime room, quickly stinking up the hallway. When Sarah inhaled the red blood cell-laden air, her sanity snapped and she blacked out.