The Underground City

Bo couldn't help but quietly wish for someone else to show up who would be able to explain it in his own words, but for the first time, the dude was actually making a little sense.

"I... didn't know souls could even do that. I thought it was just you die and that's it."

"We thought the same thing," Telós admitted, giving an almost sheepish smile. "I think it's because things have changed so much recently. The world just isn't working the way it used to."

Enide smirked. "That is also like my king. Residing in a palace among cutthroat lords and courtiers, all while under the tutelage of a distant grandfather, for the seventy years before he became king has not done him favors. He tries, though, and he has succeeded in removing those lords from power."

"I should also like to apologize," she continued, speaking louder so Casey could hear her. "I confused someone with something. I...cannot claim to have always had a comfortable life. Nor have I forgotten my old bitterness."

She stopped at what she believed to the entrance to the oversized building. Turning around, she gestured up at the expanse of stone and glass over their heads. "And here we are," she said. "Lexal, would you do the honors of entering first?"

"Sure," Lex said with a smile, and it was then that Aleks finally decided to join the conversation again - or, rather, take back some control of their body. They came to an abrupt stop before the action could even register with Lex. With a single, fluid motion, Aleks grabbed their sword, unwrapped it and held it out in front of them.

What are you doing? Lex curiously asked, peering down at the sword as it glinted in the dim lighting of the area.

Getting prepared. Aleks pushed open the door with his foot. Telós has a tendency to mistake actual things for ghosts, and I don't want to be caught by surprise.

Good point.

Ryder blinked as he saw Lexal reach for his sword.
"Well alright then. Are you gonna go in or are you going to suspiciously stare at the doorway?" he asked, stepping forward.

It took all of Lex's control to prevent Aleks from turning around and swinging said sword at Ryder. The other soul let out a steady stream of swears in their mind as they almost robotically entered the place - it was hard to hold him back and focus on walking normally, especially when Aleks was so determined to turn around and give Ryder a piece of his mind.

Bo smiled weakly, still very unsure about the guy, but wanting to keep things friendly. “Well, life has a way of surprising you sometimes, haha.”

Telós nodded. "Seems like it! My life alone's been pretty crazy, so, you know, I shouldn't be that surprised by this point." He didn't go into detail about what he was talking about. He didn't want to, not when that would mean explaining the monster that he truly was.

Bo smiled. “Now that, I can relate to.”

Enide quietly pulled out her own sword, holding it in one arm and pointing the tip to the ground. She didn't trust Lexal's timing. Following them into the building, she glanced around. Nothing. So far, so good.

The moment his chosen stepped foot inside the building, he knew. The feeling was something that would be difficult to explain Bo - who already didn't really seem to believe him - due to the strangeness of it. It was just something that a god knew. He couldn't explain it any other way.

Seeing that he needed to get to his chosen, he decided to just take the most direct route: he grabbed onto Bo's arm and started tugging in the direction he was sure his chosen would be coming from. Of course, there was the certain little fact of Bo's sheer size to take into account. The guy was gigantic, and he ended up just running in place and pulling on Bo's arm instead of actually bringing him anywhere.

"My chosen are here," he said, giving the arm another tug, "and we need to see them." He puffed out his cheeks in frustration and tried pulling a little harder. "They're just down that hallway! I can feel it."

Casey looked up at the top window as he walked into the building. He could have sworn that he saw movement there. Caught up in catching the movement again, he walked forward, promptly smacking his face into the doorframe. He let out a long stream of seemingly made-up swears and clutched his nose.

While Bo was initially confused, and a little put off at being grabbed, all feelings of suspicion were quickly diffused into amusement. He tried not to laugh, as he finally gave in to the tugging and followed Telos's lead.

"Okay, bud. Take me to your friends."

Pulling on his arm to lead the way was probably a little pointless now, but Telós had already started doing it. He wasn't going to stop now. He led Bo down the winding hallways, trusting that his gut would lead him to his chosen. And it did, just like he had hoped it would: he could make out the shapes of several people at the end of the hallway they were now turning down.

Dashing ahead with Bo in tow, he came to a stop in front of the group of people. There was Lexal, dressed just as he remembered them being. They also had their sword out. A little worrying, but he trusted their instincts. It must have been Aleks who had drawn it, but the expression on their face right now was clearly Lex's.

"It looks like you made some new friends," he said.

Enide eyed the two people approaching. Nope, she wasn't quite sure who the god was, if either of them were. The taller man looked more composed and dignified, like she'd expect a god to look. If it weren't for those golden eyes, she would've considered the smaller man a bit too hyperactive and absurd to count. Besides, she'd made mistaken assumptions before. People, no matter how effective she was at watching and studying them, still surprised her sometimes. Better to not say anything and let the god, whoever he was, speak for himself. She bowed in their direction, though.