Continued from here: Link

The journey leads Dante outside the city. The winding roads twist and turn as nightfall. The full moon slowly rises as he reaches a dense forest haunted by lost souls trapped within the dense canopy. Hushed voices meet him as ventures further into the wilderness. Inhuman voices mutter phrases in a language he may not be familar with but there are some he can understand.

"It's almost time..."

"It's time! It's time for the gathering!"

"Gathering of souls...gathering of the damned..."

"May there be blood..."

"May there be despair..."

"Despair...Despair and death..."

The journey through the woods is a winding road dividing the twisted trees and the further he goes, the greenery lessens until there is only dead trees reaching out to him like giant bony hands. The blackened earth parched from life giving water with river beds bearing only deep red streams along the bottom. The stench of brimstone, sulfur, and death strenghtens the deeper he goes. The road soon leads to a clearing where an old manor stands. Dead vines cover the dingy exterior with shutters beyond repair. Many of them broken and others barely hanging off the hinges.

Some of the shingles are missing from the roof with patches of moss covering it. The front yard is framed by a wrought iron gate now rusted. Long forgotten graves stand in the yard. Names on weathered marble no longer legible with cracks in the sinking headstones.

Then, the bright red doors open, revealing two muscular figures. They appear to be humanoid with their skin stone gray. Their heads are like goat skulls. Each one had two pairs of horns on their heads. Long tails adorned with deadly spikes on the ends trail behind them. Each demon lifts their tails like weapons. They chuckle as they lumber from the doors, pausing as their talon-like feet meet the ground. Though, there is something odd about the pair. Scratch and bite marks cover their forearms and hands. Fresh bruises adorn their abdomens, appearing that something or someone was hitting them repeatedly. They look quite deep despite being made by a human.

"So, he is here..." The first one says,

"Finally! The legend himself." The second snickers, "I have waited for this moment! Son of Sparda, here at last!"

Both of them stand before Dante, towering over him.

"Welcome, welcome! We've been expecting you." The first demon growls.

"Master has sent us to greet you-and test your abilities." The other adds lowly.

Suddenly, the ground rumbles and figures rise from the graves. Hordes of skeletal creatures that are black as the night sky. Red eye pin Dante as they wield spears and blades, ready to charge at him at their superiors' orders. "Best us all and you shall be granted access to the temple!"

Rachel looked around the room with morbid interest, she’d never thought he’d allow her access to their “Demonic” room but it was fascinating to see how each one held its own little story. She’d stopped at a cute little toy carousel which was anything but sweet and cute once she’d heard the story. “It’s a good thing you did otherwise I shudder to think what could’ve happened to her. How old was Judy when that happened?” she mused softly she could hear the hurt in his voice when told her the demon latched on and tried to kill their child. She found herself moving away from that item to continue her search. “Is that the only time something in this room attacked someone in your family?”

(Michael)

A wheeze and a cough was all that left Michael for a moment before he finally glanced up at Velvette’s name. 

“You.. Y’know Velvette?” 

Right, this person was offering to help, weren’t they? He finally nodded; shakily supporting himself on the wall again. “Could’ya gr-grab my cane? S’round here somewhere..” 

Watching the other struggle, Mason knelt down beside them, flicking his eyes up to the sun at the mention of it's brightness.

"Oh, I gotcha. Hold on a sec.." Pulling his jacket off as he spoke, he finally worked it into a position to shade the other; giving a small smile when they asked where.

How bad was it to have passed out and forgotten where you where?

"Heh heh heh...Pathetic mortal..." A dark figure chuckles in pure amusement. His breathy, soft voice hisses in the latest victim’s ear. It cuts through the silent darkness like an icy knife penetrating a beating heart. Harmony stops dead in her tracks. Wide eyes stare ahead of her with the EMF reader in hand and her flickering flashlight in the other. The lights shift from green to red with a sharp beep blaring through the musty corridor. But she pays no mind to the alert of an entity nearby. She’s petrified in fear with the freezing pressure crushing her in place. 

“You are foolish enough to tread on my domain.”  The invisible spirit adds. Harmony’s heart plummets into her stomach when she heard those words. The rumors must be true after all! This could be the sinister spirit called the Shadow Man, a demon summoned by dark rituals in this abandoned hotel where tormented souls remain from the hotel’s long and bloody history of passion, betrayal, and murders so vile, no one in town dares to speak of it! 

The cursed hotel is nothing but the decaying remains of its former glory. The moon’s silvery light pours in from shattered bay windows lining the wall of the corridor with some areas of the rotting floor missing. Doors to suites remain locked on the other side of the corridor, but behind them are rooms long destroyed by time and neglect. Paintings faded and damaged by mold. Some tilted and others rest on the floor.  She stands before one of the broken floor boards that reveals the two floors below that ends at the lobby. It would be a deadly drop if anyone fell in. 

 Lips part, but she can’t scream or even call out to Takumi who was just further down the corridor.

 She can’t find her voice! Why can’t she make a sound?! Her mind can only think of one word and one word alone. 

Help! Help! HELP! 

If only she can cry for help. She stares ahead, desperately begging the other ghost hunter with her eyes, but he doesn’t seem to notice. It’s like someone or something is holding her still and forcing her mouth closed. 

“No matter. You shall join the other souls soon enough!”  Then, a powerful cold force slams against Harmony’s back. 

“DIE!” 

The flashlight and EMF reader fall from Harmony’s hands. She sees the world slowly shifting around as she falls forward. She doesn’t hear herself scream and though it is only seconds, time drags on as she falls through the large hole in the floor. Her vision turns black as she braces for impact. 

Then, her body jerks upward, stopping the fall. A vice grip embraces her hand. She blinks, then shakes her head to snap herself out of the fearsome daze. Her head tilts back to find green eyes looking down at her. 

“Ta-Takumi?!” Words escape hoarsely, finding him holding onto her hand. He is the only one who is preventing Harmony from falling to a terrible fate. Her free hand shoots upward, grabbing the ragged edge of the floor and she pulls herself up with the ghost hunter’s help. 

Harmony finds herself on her knees on the floor.  She stares at the hole before them. She was almost a goner. Just a few precious seconds away from the end and Takumi put a stop to it.

Reality crashes around her, and her shocked expression softens as tears brim her eyes. “I...I...I...” How can she explain herself? She was so careful about where she was walking. It wasn’t an accident. It was a terrible spirit that tried to kill her and she’s sure it is the infamous Shadow Man. 

Eyes shut tight and her arms wrap tight around Takumi’s chest. She knows that move isn’t fair. He probably didn’t want to be touched. The last thing she wants is to disrespect his boundaries. 

“I’m sorry!” She cries, her sobs waivers like her trembling body. “I’m so, so sorry! I-I-I- I heard a voice! So-something pushed me a-and-” The girl couldn’t bring herself to speak another word. She plans to release Takumi. She will do it right away if he tells her to. It’s just right now, she wants some way to ground herself. A reminder that she is still alive, that she is here, and not alone.