The combined rhythm of their footsteps gave birth to a dance—the meeting of silver and crimson, sending a storm of lightning and flames into the sky. Their eyes met like serpents.
Beatriz took a few steps as their swords crossed, unleashing a tempest of fire, soon dispersed by the shower of strikes from Candela's illusions, who, from a considerable distance, absorbed every trace of light into her weapon, making the flames an extension of her power.
The young woman with violet eyes remained locked in an internal battle as fierce as the fiery hurricane she embodied. Henri thirsted for blood, eager to gauge Candela's strength and, at the same time, to wield the full power Beatriz had regained.
Her irises gradually lost their intense violet glow, and her body tensed. The swords she wielded grew more incandescent even as Candela absorbed all surrounding light. The blade roared in harmony with Beatriz's heat, granting her a chance at victory. The fiery sword went beyond comprehension.
Candela never ceased her assault; her cleaver increasingly merged with darkness itself, taking the form of a long axe she held with both hands. At its tip was a crystal that directed the shadows' movements and gave them physical form.
As Henri sought to thrust his sword into Candela's body, Beatriz intended the same—with such intensity that she ignored the flames burning her from the inside out. The sword struck the ground, releasing a thick steam. Facing the vast white wall, Beatriz's eyes turned brown.
"Stop!" The illusions dispersed. "Phew, Beatriz nearly destroyed herself." August bowed slightly, holding his sword. "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm August, one of Beatriz's consciousnesses and a scientist from the Wrath Sector."
He swung his weapon, reshaping it into a cleaver. "How could a scientist from there allow such a fierce fight? It would be the perfect chance to split Beatriz in two and serve her as a banquet." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Why are you part of Beatriz? To watch the battles up close?"
"No! I was implanted in this body as punishment. We scientists in the sectors possess immortal souls, fueled by Leviathan's energy." He glanced at his scorched clothes. "Most of my garments are burned; I'll need new ones. My Beatriz is not a girl defined by lust."
He embraced Beatriz. "No worries—I'm also sinless; she may be naked as she pleases." An illusion of Candela appeared behind Killbit. "I'm joking, sister. So, you'd be a consciousness activated when Beatriz faces danger? What's your power?"
"Please don't misunderstand. I still know much magic, but being in a Homunculus' body prevents me from performing or using it." He gently stroked Killbit's head. "I'm more like a mechanism preventing her body from self-destructing, but I can freely use her abilities."
He gathered darkness and shaped it into a cloak. "Put it on, quickly! If Beatriz is the main force and Henri the violence, then you are the calm one." Candela frowned, biting her lip. "Then why aren't your eyes as terrifying as Gustav's?"
August approached Candela, handing her the cloak he had created. She donned it, and he bowed his head in thanks. Sitting on the floor, he began to recount everything.
Leviathan was a project conceived by the scientists' leader—whose name is unknown. He was the one who taught the scientists about magic, how to break dogmas and stigmas without regard for consequences. Creating Leviathan took centuries, but they survived using means that might be considered the worst crimes of all.
Once Leviathan was created, the scientists were no longer the same. The groups divided by function became corrupted by sins that marked their souls, turning them into hollow shells of who they once were. As a result, they no longer followed the project creator's instructions. Consumed by their sins, they devised ways to feed them.
Those consumed by wrath created a coliseum and began researching the perfect gladiators to fight the beasts—creatures forbidden from entering the tower. Bernard, however, smuggled them in by his own means. With every fallen gladiator, a new one was created based on the previous, culminating in the defeat of Henri, the perfect gladiator.
Henri cared not for pain, only for blood, which made him easily destroyed. Thus, the creation of the gladiator of a thousand defeats began—Beatriz, so powerful she defeated the sun of the Beast Coliseum and mastered its fiery sword.
August created the project's extension—a creature based on the beasts themselves, a perfect predator—to be the new sun of the Coliseum. But she refused to fight, sparking a rebellion to free the beasts. For this, August was punished to live within Beatriz's body. The creature's name was Vergil.
"Wow, so this is the creature Bernard said he knew the whereabouts of!" He looked at Candela. "Bernard said his boss—the red-eyed one—wants her for some reason." He turned his head. "But why did you say it so sadly? Isn't a rebellion against oppression the bloodiest of all baths?"
He lowered his head, rubbing his arm. "I didn't say the scientists didn't like her, but the project's creator, leader of Babel, didn't approve. The Beast's nature opposed his goals—the same goals we scientists have forgotten. Vergil has a unique trait: he can absorb sins, which is why I feel so much pain for what I did!"
"Lowering yourself will only make me angrier! I don't know who I am because of you; your tears can never compare to mine!" She looked at Killbit. "But nothing will change no matter what we do. We must keep moving. Do you know what we should retrieve from the Sloth Sector?"
He shook his head, wiping away tears. "It's a small goal that will allow different sector leaders to communicate. I haven't mentioned an event yet." He glanced around. "Because of the rebellion, one sector was utterly massacred: Envy. Only the homunculus of Envy, Zarah, remains. They say she's wandered the tower for centuries, trapped in her memories."
Killbit hid behind Candela. "That gave me chills—is she like a ghost? Protect me, sister!" Candela pushed him into Beatriz's arms. "Thank you for holding me. I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Killbit, Homunculus of Sloth, and that one there is Candela, my sister."
"The Sloth Sector… that makes sense." August swallowed hard. "Do you know what the most frightening sin is? Gluttony. Unlike the others who seek what they once felt, gluttony has never known a taste that pleased it." He looked sideways. "There's going to be another rebellion, and I feel Gustav is one of the masterminds behind it. We need to move fast before they see or hear us—the walls are the ears of Babel's leader."
Silence echoed throughout.
Everyone looked toward the same direction.
The walls shifted, mournful voices rose.
Candela prepared for combat but gave up.
Killbit was irritated but soon focused.
August was already running ahead.