Time passed; Eric didn't know how much time, but he knew he'd been here longer than a single day.
He went through trial after trial. Manipulating blood, sensing blood, forming blood into art pieces, for some weird reason.
For Eric, there was no feeling accomplished. He felt exhausted and nauseous, but never happy to finish a trial. But he still completed them with the sole goal of escaping this wretched place.
Which brought him to the current trial…
"Launch!" Eric shouted.
Three blood missiles shot out of the nearby pool, leaving a dripping trail on the dark stone floor. The missiles slammed into three dummies that stood before Eric, each one shattered on impact.
A small chorus of applause rang in the boy's head. "Great show, descendant!" The voices of the clan's ancestors cheered. "Your training is going splendidly! You continue to impress us all day by day!"
Day by day. Yeah, that sounded right. The passage of time was usually the most confusing part of ruins.
"My first time being trapped in one of these, I was stuck for four months and didn't know until I was out. I don't think it's been that long, but it must've been at least a few weeks by now." Eric estimated in his head.
He was exhausted. Test after test, trail after trail. Sometimes he'd get stuck for much longer than he would've liked, but manipulating blood is not something that he'd been training for.
Not that he wanted to be trained for it.
"Ahem!" The ancestors coughed to gain the boy's attention. "Comrade! You have worked hard during this time. Now, there remains but one duty for you to complete!"
"Could you stop being so vague? I just want to get out of here!" Eric yelled. "Man, you guys talk so much! Just tell me what you want me to do!" Eric gasped.
"Oh no... I've become Mama Wolf!" More dread than ever before, came to his face.
"...Fine..." The echoes relented. "Go through the wall like usual and you'll be taken to the exit. You take all of the fun out of this descendant. We're wondering if you're really ourdescendant?"
"I didn't want to be, but you already know that by now." Eric let out curtly. He pushed his way through the wall. Once again, he was pulled into the wall.
Hopefully, for the last time…
His world became confusing, his vision filled with the gray from the walls. Before long, he was spat back out into the world. His hair and clothes were dishevelved by the process.
He picked himself up and looked around. This space was much more open than the previous spaces he'd been. There were still walls but there were much further spread. Also more smooth and spherical.
Also there was no blood pool in this room, a relief for the boy had grown sick of seeing them in every room. Eric felt rather surprised by all of this. This room took away his claustrophobic feeling.
It almost looked like a...
"Is this an arena?" Eric asked.
"That it is descendant!" The echoes answered with pride. "This is the final stage of the tests. Where two spirited souls clash for the right to bear the next part of the Sigil! This is the Hall of Blood Handlers!"
"But I'm the only one here? Who am I fighting?"
"...No one..." the voices say, all displaying the same amount of sadness.
"Then how do I do the last trial?" Eric asked, a trace of fear in his voice.
What if he couldn't leave now? What if this was all a trick?
The echoes quickly quelled his fears. "You can't. Simple as that. We apologize, but this is where the challenge ends." The sadness in the voices in Eric's head doesn't match the joy that he felt.
"Yes!" He cheered! "I'm done with this place! Oh, thank the gods! I thought something awful was going to happen, like last time." Eric sighed in relief.
With how things went last time, he was sure that he was going to have to fight something!
"This couldn't have gone any better!"
"We apologize, descendant. This isn't how things were supposed to be!" The voices in the boy's head spoke with deep hurt. "This goes against the very foundations on which the clan is built! Alas, it seems our time of prosperity has truly ended. But with your help, we can… de-descendant?" The echoes stuttered as Eric ran his hands along the walls.
"Hey, where's the door? My friends must think that I'm dead or something. And I'm craving some air that doesn't reek with blood and old stone."
"Wha-de-descendant!" The echoes called out. "But-The clan's return to power! Don't you want to know where the other ruins are so that you can become a Rune Master?"
"Do you know where the other ruins are?"
"Well… not currently. But we could help point you in the correct direction!"
Eric grabbed his chin and pretended to think. "Hmm, do I want to help the clan of battle crazy, bloodthirsty devils come back with me as the center? Now that is a tou-no!" Eric's face twisted in disgust.
"Why the hell would I want to do that? I don't even want to be a Rune Master! Mama Wolf just thinks that I have to if I want to stop my blood crazed fits but after meeting you freaks I realize that it'll only make things worse!" Eric took a moment to catch his breath.
The echoes sat in stunned silence. "This is...unprecedented." Their voices held an air of conflict. "Fine, go." The dark, stoned walls shook causing a momentary loss of balance. Across the arena, the walls split revealing a darkened staircase.
"Woah! How did you do that?"
"It doesn't matter. You are no true follower of Sanguine. Get out...we never wanted you anyway!" Eric's brows creased in utter disbelief. The so called, Echoes of the Bloody Council were acting like he just rejected their confession of love. He rolled his eyes.
"This is why I can't stand ruins." He marched up the long stairway. His brain filled with thoughts of concern and fear.
'What if I'm not in Amal anymore? What if I'm still there and they left me behind because it's been so long?'
These thoughts had been ruminating at the back of his mind during his captivity, but it was only now that they were loud enough that he could no longer ignore them.
After walking for what felt like eternity in darkness, a light made itself known. It was still distant and faint but he could see it.
Despite his worry, Eric was happy to finally see natural light again. He rushed up the stairs.
His heart raced. The thought of getting out of this hellish landscape overtook any fear he had.
His movements went from hesitant to desperate, he leapt up the stair's stride by stride. The light grew brighter and brighter. He was almost there! He was almost free!
'Finally, no more blood or voices! No more of that sickening scent that makes my nose tickle! No more of this cursed place! Just free-'
"Oof!" Eric grunted as he bumped into something. He tripped a few steps down but managed to catch himself before suffering a horrible fall. "What was that?"
"What? You mean who!" A voice called out. "Man, who the hell sprints up stairs? What the hell is wrong with you!" The person growled out annoyed.
Eric looked up, the voice sounded sort of familiar. Like, eerily familiar?
Like a person he hadn't heard in-
His eyes widened as the voice found it's owner in his memories. He lifted his head to get a real look at the figure. "You..." He called out hesitantly. He felt the mark on his chest burn slightly but not a burn that he's felt, at least in a while.
In the darkness, a faint red light started to glow from the person in front of him. A light he recognized as similar to his own. The darkness pushed back by the resonating lights that came from the marks.
One person in this light was Eric, but the other...
His shaggy, short burgundy hair. His amber eyes that always shined with adventure. His sharp, almost jagged teeth.
There was no doubt about it...
"K-Kendall?" Eric called out in shock. "Is it really you?"
The boy looked up when his name was called. His own eyes lighting up in recognition of his old friend. "Eric!" Kendall, dashed down to Eric and gripped his hands tightly.
"You're here!"