Heimer held Karius by the neck and raised him up with one arm, glaring into his eyes with an overflow of murderous intent.
Karius struggled and even at that he couldn't get free.
"How come he's this strong, I'm using aether and his halo isn't even released." Karius grit his teeth.
"It was an error on my path for never setting things straight.
You attempted attacking me even when I haven't shown violence to any of you,... perhaps I've been too lenient...
Do brace for impact." Heimer's voice reverberated through the white space, he clenched his right arm and retracted it backwards in preparation for a punch.
"I'm not going to survive this." Karius thought as he threshed his body — Heimer's punch even without any enhancements would be strong enough to crush his bones.
The more Heimer retracted his arm the more Karius sweated, not from the heat of his own aura but from crippling fear.
[Knock knock]
With a move that broke the tense atmosphere, Leo knocked on Heimer's armour and he averted his gaze to Leo.
"Sir you might want to see this" Leo said to him whilst pointing at the door.
Heimer's expression softened if only a little, but he wasn't done with Karius, he shifted his gaze to him and stared him in the eye.
"This kid…" Heimer couldn't bring himself to harm the kids that were under his wing, it wasn't visible from the outside but he had an internal conflict.
[Thud!] "That's sir to you." He said as he flung Karius to the floor with relative ease.
[Cough! Cough!] Karius landed on the floor with all fours as he trembled, coughing there pathetically as his halo vanished.
"Would you care for some help…" Dan said to Karius as he stretched his hand to aid him.
As Karius looked up to see Dan's face he knew what was coming next; Dan punched him.
–
Heimer looked at the door, others were locked with chains and looked faded in a shadow, but the thirteenth one ha no chains.
The scene bore semblance to one the awakened were familiar with.
"Just like the forgotten plains" Leo thought as he saw the doors.
"You look better than you did some time ago, you were about to buckle." Gustev said to Heimer.
"All thanks to you." Heimer replied as he turned the door handle.
Behind the door was distorted space that they couldn't see through, it had an ominous chill that could be felt by everyone present.
Heimer was the first one to attempt walking through the door, he entered and it spat him out with some words resonating through the atmosphere.
"This Is No Place For A King" As said by the abominable voice.
Everyone covered their ears as the words passed throught their ears, the words seemed to seep through their very minds, breaking any sense of composure.
Their ears bled as everyone in the room became anxious, with wails and squirming from them all.
[Kugh!] "What is this" Caesar thought as his eyes reddened.
He stumbled, but didn't fall as he used Leo's back as support.
"You…o-k?" Caesar asked Leo.
Leo turned to him, he couldn't hear anything but a ringing noise.
"What is he saying, that voice…why does it hurt so much, I feel like my insides are melting.
My head is banging, ahh…" Leo's mind was in as much jeopardy as the others.
[Pat]
A hand touched them both as they calmed.
"Fiona?" Leo muttered as he looked at her moving unfazed.
"The others are still in turmoil, I need to calm them down." She went on to do just so.
Caesar put his hand on Leo's shoulder.
"Just what is the effect of her gift?" Caesar was curious whilst he questioned Leo.
"Well according to her;...
{There is a zone around her that nullifies phenomena automatically in the form of repulsion, it's the same size as her zone and her's as you know is very large.
The downside is that it does the same for her inwardly like repressing everything else, like her breathing, body processes, and even emotions as well.
She can will the phenomena that is exempt from the rejection zone, but inwardly she has to force the ones she needs for life...}
…I think it's way more complicated than that but she simplified it when we spoke" Leo sighed.
Caesar looked jarred from the information he had just received.
"So you mean, that's the reason she seems cold…that must be hard." Caesar frowned a bit as someone slapped the ball of his neck very lightly.
It was Zefroth whom came from behind them.
"Yes, it is very hard.
She was never expressive but not this bland either, it's even to the point where she adds false emotion to look normal." Zefroth looked exasperated.
"Oh, Zefroth" Caesar put his hand on her face moving a strand of hair that was covering her eyes away.
"So that's why sometimes her face doesn't match her emotions…" Leo thought as he looked at Fiona with newly found empathy.
She had put nearly everyone in their right state of mind by coming in contact with them in the process adding her to her zone.
It was now Heimer's turn as she stretched her hand towards him.
"You don't need to pay me heed little one." Heimer stopped the hand from touching him, he was down on one knee not from the voice but from the door spitting him out.
"You've done well" He looked at Fiona.
[Cough!] She coughed on her palm and blood smeared it.
"I've overdone myself." She thought as she looked at the door then began showing perplexity.
"Hehehe" A crazed giggle maneuvering through their midst.
Heimer's focus wasn't on everyone at that time, and everyone else was just still a little out of it, that little lapse gave her the opportunity to run past them.
"The passage, the passage out!!!" Without a moment's notice, the girl jumped into the door without orders.
"Herra!" Clarence screamed with her arm forward attempting to grasp whom was no longer.
"…" Silence was the order of the moment as they waited for it to spit her out;
It didn't.
It was perplexing, truly was.
"Ha…ha" Karius smiled admist the pain from his reddened cheeks, he used his halbred as a support.
Dan looked at him with an idea of what was going through his mind. His eyes widened.
"You better not try to…" Dan said to Karius.
Karius turned to him with a face that said it all, a shrewd smile as he closed his red eyes and his halo appeared.
"I never signed up for this!" He said as he sprinted to the door with commendable pace.
"You idiot!" Dan thought as he released his halo as well and chased Karius, by the time he grabbed him by the neck they were already past the door.
Following them was Cera whom was stopped by Rud as he held her arm.
"I'm glad I didn't take my eyes off you." Rud tightened his grip.
"Let me go!" She pleaded as she looked eager to go through the door.
"That promise remains, you remember?
I'm not letting you out of my sight." Rud held her tighter as two eyes gazed upon them.
The twins sat together with their legs crossed as they watched everything go by, they found a brief moment to converse, with their weapons beside them on the floor.
"Cera is always so impulsive, Karius is hot-headed I don't get it, why can't they be like everyone else." Saul requested an answer from his brother.
"True…they haven't changed one bit since we got to know them, I don't even understand what the rush is about.
If they could just look up they could see, I wish they could change." Paul tilted his head up, he looked above the door.
"Well you've changed…maybe a bit calmer, I don't know how to put it.
Or less stupid, hmmm." Saul held his jaw with his fingers, then interchanged the arm, multiple times.
"Haven't changed a bit, and I don't think I will anytime soon." Paul replied calmer than Saul had expected.
Saul's eyes glimmered from his brother's response as he slowed an endearing smile.
He looked at the door as something manifested on it.
–
"Those are Roman numerals?" Ricia looked intently at it.
"XIII couldn't stand for any other thing could it." Ren said faintly.
"You're literally in somewhere that might not be earth, what makes you think it couldn't." Ricia said then shifted her gaze to Heimer.
"Then that's it, they've already step foot in it then, since that would be the thir-" Heimer hushed Ricia, he was fed up with the word.
"If I can't enter then I have to send the kids there without supervision, can the unawakened even enter.
What could even be behind that, we can't waste too much time as the other kids have already stepped foot within it." Heimer's mind was plagued.
After much thought, Gustev went into the door in an attempt to test something, he was spat out almost immediately.
"How Dare The Unblessed Step Into My Zone" The ominous voice filled the area once more, but this time it beared no animosity.
This confirmed their doubts.
–
Left with no other options, the special unit had to go through the door one after the other, the last two remaining were the twins.
They shook hands and bumped their chests together as Paul walked into the door.
"GET DOWN!!!" Heimer screamed.
Paul turned around to a white blade of light cutting through space at an incredible rate, Heimer and the other commanders bent below its level.
Heimer on noticing Saul was still standing ran to him and attempted to take him down.
Saul pushed Paul into the door as Heimer dragged him down; it was too late as Paul's head was sent flying, and Heimer was down on the ground.
Paul's eyes trembled as he got into the spac, he had seen it all.