"Zaria…Zaria…wake up…honey."
Only darkness could be seen.
"Wake up."
Zaria's eyes quickly opened, and she noticed she and the others were stuck in what appeared to be a raging sandstorm, with nothing but desert all around them.
"Huh? Weren't we just in the pyramid?"
"That's what I asked," Kōichi sighed.
"It seems this 'god' has changed our surroundings," Atsushi grumbled. "Such a pain."
Nonoka pointed up. "Dad, look out!"
Sand spikes dropped from above, nearly piercing Atsushi, but he formed a stone arm to block them.
"Even the sand can kill. Everyone, stay sharp!"
Broken ruin-like objects began to rise from the ground, but they disappeared as soon as they were spotted. In the distance, strange figures appeared.
"Are those…people?" Kaoru asked.
A large sand head appeared, with a familiar voice echoing from it.
"Heed this word of advice, mortals."
〈Rule: Don't Let *Chaos* Reign.〉
And sure enough, the sand swallowed them all, as the sky turned blood red.
???—-
Atsushi rose from the sand, coughing.
"Damn desert…it will take eons to remove this sand from my armor!"
Next to him Kōichi emerged, brushing the sand out of his hair. "Yuck. It got in my pants."
Kōichi noticed Atsushi. "Huh. They split us. Again."
"Kamishiro," Atsushi remarked. "Being stuck with you is already a punishment alone."
"Oh, don't make it sound so depressing."
As the sandstorm died down, Atsushi looked around. "We need to find the others. Fortunately, this storm has cleared up some."
"I wouldn't get used to it," Kōichi shrugged. "Us Kaidanchō can never catch a break."
More fragments of ruins appeared before them, pulsing red with energy. Atsushi held out a hand.
"Careful, Kamishiro."
"Yeah, whatever."
The ruins began to shake, and both Atsushi and Kōichi grabbed their heads in pain. "Argh!"
Atsushi's vision began to blur with red, and the world began to invert and twist around him. A menacing voice echoed through the desert.
"Ahh. You've got an imbalance inside of you. Let's bring out the discord, shall we?"
A human hand burst out of the ruin, followed by another, and a female with beautiful features pulled herself out of the rubble.
"N—no," Atsushi gasped. "No way…"
Kōichi looked between the two. "Ahh, shit…"
The woman stumbled forward, before straightening herself and walking toward Atsushi, who stared at her as if in a trance.
"Aya?"
Kōichi immediately got into a fighting stance. "Don't fall for the freak's games, Sunahara! That's not her!"
He immediately gritted his teeth. "Jugen-Kōbisha: Noroi no Fūin!"
A portal opened, but before it could suck her in, the woman held up her hand, and snakes wrapped around Kōichi, trapping him and forcing his portal to close.
"Release these snakes, you damn witch!"
Without hesitation, she stuck out her hand, and snakes wrapped around Atsushi's arms and legs as she tilted his chin upward towards her.
"Come, dear. It's time to come home."
A large red tornado emerged from the ground, sweeping both Kaidanchō inside.
Meanwhile—-
Zaria, Nonoka, and Kaoru all awoke near a river.
"Phew," Kaoru sighed. "Finally, some water!"
"Wait, Miss," Zaria interrupted. "I don't think you should drink that—-!"
As Kaoru got close to the water, it suddenly turned red, making her yelp and jump into Zaria's arms. "Ahh!"
"Hmm…" a voice spoke. "Let's see what darkness resides in you three…"
A red cloud appeared around Zaria. "Hmm…a girl broken by trauma…obsessed with her master…reckless to no end…"
"You don't know me!"
Another descended upon Kaoru, as she tried to bat it away frantically. "Famous and respected, calls herself a Kaidanchō…but the kindness is just a mask…"
"H—hey!" Kaoru demanded. "Stop talking!"
The final cloud swooped over Nonoka.
"Hmm…and you. Burying yourself away. Pride and ego give way to something much more sinister…"
Nonoka clenched her fists. "Stop talking!"
"I cannot break your minds alone. So let's bring someone who can."
The river began to shake, and sure enough, Omariro appeared, holding his staff in hand and stunning the girls.
"Sir?" Zaria questioned.
"What are you doing here?" Nonoka asked. "Did you come to help us?"
"Oh! Hi, Mr. Nyugawa!" Kaoru waved.
As he stepped forward, Kaoru paused. "Wait, umm, something isn't right…"
Omariro stepped in front of Zaria. "Girl."
"Y—yes, sir?"
"Come close."
She bent down as he leaned into her ear. "Must tell girl something…"
"I'm listening, sir!"
His voice came out like a distorted growl. "You have failed me, Zaria."
"W—what?"
Without warning, Omariro smacked Zaria with his staff, sending her flying into Kaoru. Nonoka watched, utterly shocked.
"Sir! What the hell?"
"You," Omariro hissed, pointing his staff at her. "Are not welcome, outsider."
"What? No, please, you promised—-!"
Without hesitation, Omariro swung his staff, catching Nonoka in the face and sending her sprawling to the ground.
The air got heavier as the sandstorm returned. Blood dripped from the sky, as Omariro's eyes shifted between crimson and black.
"Kaoru…" he noticed, as the girls got up.
Kaoru backed away. "Y—yes, Sir?"
"Watch."
"Watch…what?"
He extended his hand, and a dark red cloud-like tendril burst from his palm, wrapping around her and pulling her towards him.
Zaria got up, her eyes watery. "Sir…you…you don't want me anymore?"
Nonoka got to her knees. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Yes. Wrong. Both, wrong."
They both stared as if they'd been punched in the face, but Omariro held out a welcoming hand. "Girls can redeem themselves."
"How?" they both asked.
"One can survive," he declared. "Girls fight to the death."
They both stared at him, before staring at each other. Kaoru turned toward Omariro. "You…you're not Sir Omariro! He would never say something so heartless! You, you're just pretending, you sick asshole—-!"
A tendril wrapped around her mouth, silencing her, as both Zaria and Nonoka remained silent. Kaoru tried to say something to them, but Omariro kept her quiet.
They both stood in front of the other, energy crackling.
"Sorry," Nonoka told Zaria. "But I can't lose him."
"No," Zaria corrected. "*I* can't."
Nonoka touched her neck, buffing herself, as Zaria formed her spear, with Omariro watching on, curiously.
"Begin!" Omariro ordered.
The two girls began clashing, moving at extreme speeds while Kaoru struggled against her bindings. Zaria jabbed her spear at Nonoka, while Nonoka dodged the attacks, before swinging a kick at Zaria's face, which the latter met with a kick of her own.
"You're the Kaidanchō here, Kaoru!" Kaoru told herself. "You need to stop this! Or they'll kill each other!"
Zaria tried to impale Nonoka's shoulder, but Nonoka jumped back, her body beginning to shift.
"Jugen-Sōunsha: Ningensei Tōki!"
〈Humanity *Discarded.* Buff Timer: 1:30〉
Her body formed armor, and she and Zaria began engaging in more vicious attacks, while Kaoru struggled to move.
"Just give up!" Nonoka ordered.
"No!" Zaria shouted back. "YOU give up!"
The two both slashed each other's shoulders at the same time, and the sky became even darker, with more blood raining down. As Omariro became more absorbed in the conflict, his grip relaxed, and Kaoru slipped out.
"Hey, you two!" she called out. "Stop! This is what the room wants us to do!"
They both continued attacking, and Omariro tried to grab Kaoru, but she put distance between them.
Nonoka aimed a strike for Zaria's head, and Zaria aimed for her chest, but Kaoru jumped in between the two, holding out her hands.
"Jugen-Kaiseisha: Shinkei Fūji!"
Both Zaria and Nonoka's bodies froze up, and they hit the ground, unable to move.
"What did you do?" Zaria exclaimed.
"Stay out of this, woman!" Nonoka spat.
"That's about enough! Don't you see that's not the real Sir Nyugawa?"
She pointed to Omariro, whose shape had become more monstrous and distorted. The room was now filled with storms and covered in blood.
"Look what you've done to the room! What are we gonna do about the others?"
Omariro reached out to try to snatch her, but she touched his arm. "Jugen-Kaiseisha: Shinkei Fūji!"
His body froze up as well, and using a tendril, he pulled himself back into the river. Zaria and Nonoka's bodies both returned to normal.
"That won't hold him for long," Kaoru admitted. "We should go. But first…"
She grabbed both of them by their collars. "What's wrong with you? How could you try to kill each other?"
Their faces turned red.
"I'm sorry…" Zaria apologized. "Disappointing my master is my worst fear…"
"He's the greatest opportunity I've ever had," Nonoka explained. "So, whatever it takes to impress him is what I'll do."
She noticed the unstable room around them. "Starting by fixing this."
Kaoru groaned. "We should…erm…go find Mr. Atsushi and Kōichi before anything worse happens…"
"Yeah," Zaria agreed. "And I need to have a word with that 'god' for using Sir."
Somewhere else—-
Inside the sandstorm, Atsushi and Kōichi were stuck to pieces of debris as they floated around, lightning striking in every direction.
In the center was the image of Aya, floating around.
"Aya, please!" Atsushi begged. "I know my wife is in there! Somewhere!"
"Wife?" she questioned. "WIFE? You don't have a wife! You left her to die at the hands of the dungeons!"
"I apologize, please! Let me make things right!"
"Stop making conversation with the damn ghost!" Kōichi shouted.
More lightning struck, striking both men in their legs. Aya reappeared in front of Atsushi, holding a hand out.
"No more games…come with me, dear."
She touched Atsushi's head, and red enveloped his vision. Two young children, a boy and a girl, appeared by her side.
"Daddy…"
Atsushi kept his gaze on them, almost transfixed. "Akira…Amina…"
Both of the children and their mother grabbed onto Atsushi's body, which slowly began to distort and change.
"Get a grip, Sunahara!" Kōichi shouted. "They're turning you into a freak!"
Kōichi noticed three pairs of eyes staring through the sandstorm, all watching Atsushi with a menacing look as his body became even more twisted.
"Damn it," Kōichi realized. "That god wasn't kidding. If Sunahara falters, this sand will become our graves."
Atsushi's bindings slowly released, and he began to ascend. "My family…my beautiful family…"
They all crowded his body, dragging him upward.
"Hey, you stony idiot! You still have a family! Your daughter? She's in this room with you right now! You're just gonna leave her for some has-beens?"
Atsushi paused, his eyes widening. As soon as Aya noticed this, she gripped his shoulders.
"She is not your blood…" Aya whispered. "We are."
"Nonoka…daughter…"
The storm began to slowly calm down, causing Aya to shift into a more demonic form. "Fool? Do you or do you not love us? Come be with us—-forever! Leave behind that poverty child!"
Atsushi looked between Kōichi, the sand, and finally back towards his family, gripping Aya's arm with a firm hand.
"Aya…children…"
A tear fell down his cheek. "I'm sorry."
Suddenly, his body began to turn to stone. "Jugen-Henshōsha: Kokuyōseki Gōremu!"
He turned into a large golem, causing the illusions to hiss and disappear, and as the storm calmed down, he grabbed Kōichi and ran right through it.
Once they were free of the storm, Atsushi set Kōichi down and shifted back to normal, collapsing to his knees.
"Almost thought they had you," Kōichi scoffed. "You just couldn't keep a grip, could you?"
Atsushi slowly got up. "It weaponized my family. The one thing I want more than anything else."
"Well. You still got someone, at least."
He pointed a few feet away, where Zaria, Nonoka, and Kaoru were rushing over.
"Nonoka!" he called out.
"Dad!" she answered back.
Before they could reunite, a large sand form of Set emerged from the ground, lifting his hands and causing the sand to shift and change, forming monstrous beasts.
"You may have survived the room," Set hissed. "But can you survive long enough to leave?"
A gate appeared in the distance, hovering over the ground.
〈Rule: Escape.〉
"Run, everyone!" Atsushi ordered. "Run!"
A large bison slammed the ground next to them, and Atsushi batted it away with a fist.
"The gate's closing!" Kaoru realized.
Immediately, they all bolted, sprinting as fast as they could toward the gate in the distance, just as the room began to fall apart.
——