Lullaby of Discord

Now

“This... this is the final area I've yet to explore,” Sara explains, gesturing upon the center platform.

“Shall we continue onward, then?”

Leon makes to follow Sara, but Joachim, unmoving, halts his progress.

“The final area is a chapel. If I recall, it will lead into a lower level where you will fight... some manner of parasite. You must do this alone,” Joachim informs her, speaking as much to Leon as to Sara.

“But... why is that?” Sara asks.

Leon lets out a small “ah.” He continues, “Sara-vampires cannot enter holy spaces. If Joachim and I attempt to follow, we will like be deeply weakened, and... more a burden than a help to you.”

Sara halts for but a moment, considering their words.

“I see. In this case, I promise you, Leon Belmont, I will return to you."

Leon gives her a soft and bright smile, fangs poking through just slight. “I shall hold you to this promise, Sara Trantoul.”

Sara steps foot on the platform, continuing onwards alone.

The moment she is out of sight, Leon paces. “I find no joy in this feeling of... of utter helplessness.”

Joachim settles his hand upon Leon's shoulder. “Let us hope she will return, elsewise we will have no means of escape."

---

Sara appears within a large room, atop a balcony, met by two set of stairs, adorned with statues and windows of stained glass. The music of great organs floats through the atmosphere, sourceless yet present nonetheless, the music of a cathedral, yet... darker, a sense of forboding pervading, though Sara finds that despite her efforts, she cannot divine what reason there is for this.

She leaps over the bannister, greeted by the expected party of skeletons which lie in wait below.

Upon dispatching them, Sara stalks through the halls, and finds herself within a room with some manner of floor switch, reminiscent of the statues within the garden.

And so this is her lot. Yet again.

She only hopes it proves to be of some use in this case.

She continues on, through various differing pulpits, one leading to the next.

She finally makes her way through the varying pulpits, and onto a hallway, one which she finds to be entirely swarmed with some manner of... flea... men?

To be sure they do not stand up to the whip, but this would assuming she can manage to land any of her lashes upon them in the first. They bounce and spring from place to place, surrounding her, taking small slices into her and taunting her.

Sara's method to solve such an issue is, or course, to slash and whip wildly.

It is, in the end, an effective method.

She continues on to a room with strange walls she can see through to the other side, yet they are not of glass. The strange walls seem to form some manner of maze.

As she attempts to find her way through this maze, she catches glimpse of a small circle which follows beneath her feet. She gazes upon it, attempting to puzzle it out. She steps this way and that, as it follows her, and she thinks it a harmless companion, small and unobtrusive, 'till as she walks on, asudden it sends spikes through the ground in the place she only just stood!

She leaps to dodge it, managing at most to do so, yet still it robs her of her balance, as Sara takes crucial moments to regain it.

More follow it, trailing her path, and she walks with growing haste, until she sprints through the maze, leaping out of their path and in front of a door to a new room.

She travels down a long corridor, and after reaching a similar room, she finds herself in one which is afill of holes within the floor. She walks onward, only to find rows of spikes fast approaching. She panics, standing in her place as they approach, in attempt to devising a plan with little time to spare, then, at last moment, bounds upward, toward the wall, using it to push her higher still, above the spikes, as they pass her. She makes toward another door, which leads to yet another floor switch, and Sara stands upon it, making her way onward.

And after traversing another room of spikes, Sara discovers another floor switch, and continues toward her goal.

And with this, the way forward is opened, and she finds the room which the floor switches have opened, continuing past to fight a suit of enchanted armor.

There follow many large rooms, most containing balconies, leading her to a room whose door locks the moment she sets foot inside. She searches the room, hoping to discover what shall unlock the door, finding some manner of pedal on the other side of the room.

Sara knows the steps to this particular dance at this point.

She walks toward, standing upon the pedal, and makes to return to the door, and though it has unlocked, there seems to be a wall of thunderbolts impeding her oath forward.

After a period in which Sara examines this effect, she hears the pedal click, and the thunderbolts cease, as the door locks itself once more.

She searches the room for an escape, a way in which to negate the thunderbolts which would impede her, and is near admitting defeat, when she spots many railings along the ceiling.

She will be damned if it is not another puzzle for her whip. Heaven only knows where she would find herself had Rinaldo not gifted her with it.

Sara huffs, returning to the pedal. Standing upon it until it sinks fully into the floor. She pulls herself atop the balcony just near to it, and quickly leaps and lashes her way across the room, entering the next.

Sara considers the question Rinaldo had earlier put to her. Does she trust Leon? Can she?

The Leon Belmont she had known before all this she had trusted implicitly, would follow him to the ends of the Earth. She knew him an honest man, a man who valued honor.

But this new Leon. Does she trust him? Can she trust him?

Surely she blames him not for the travesty which has befallen him. He hardly had any choice in the matter, and has only done as he needs to survive.

Yet... it seems his time in isolation has done him no good, and were she to remove her cloak, Sara knows not whether he would remain capable to restrain himself from killing her outright.

He has, after all, spent months upon months utterly starved.

Yet... for all these events have changed him, is he not still the same man at his very core? Holding the same thoughts, ideals, and memories? The same love of her?

She had seen the wounded look upon his face when she regained her wits, when she made her wariness of him plainly evident. 'Tis a delicate situation. She knows not even her own feelings yet, despite her own best efforts.

Sara continues down a set of stairs, into what appears to be a long abandoned section of the chapel.

It takes defeating only two large ogre-like creatures, creatures with execution-sacks over their heads, (a feat which seemed so difficult only mere hours ago) before she arrives at the holder of the penultimate orb.

It is not a creature which can easily be described, the room itself seeming almost made of flesh, a large worm crawling its way about, with strange masses of seeming ashen, burnt flesh, near corpse-like, stalking her every move. In the center, four small holes, an eye-like object peeking out of each, surrounding one larger empty one.

Sara spends precious time and energy fighting the worm, the flesh-masses, before an errant whip lash strikes an... eye of some sort, which recoils from its impact as it is stricken.

Sara leaps and bounds around the room, slashing and lashing at the strange eye in the center of the room, as the ashen masses begin to pursue her with greater haste. She moves quickly from one eye to the next, to the next, until all have been destroyed.

A great thunderbolt strikes all five of the holes, crashing loudly, as her true quandary appears: a strange, bulbous mass.

Sara approaches, making her first lash; she had thought the ashen masses furious before, yet now it is as though a fire has been lit under their very feet, would that they had any, as they continue attacking her with increased ferocity. She dodges and weaves around them, striking the bulbous mass again and again, and suddenly the massive worm-like creature, too, seems to take interest, writhing its way through the chamber, attempting to barrel over Sara, and she must take a moment to dodge, before it situates itself in another hole. Sara begins thinking 'tis over, yet the writhing mass reappears, pursuing her yet again, only stopping to spew flames in her direction. It continues this pattern, and Sara must find a way to dodge as it spews its sweltering flames upon her, while still striking true upon her opponent.

But even through the flames it spews, she succeeds, evading attacks as she does so, and eventually, the fleshy mass of the creature is felled.

---

Sara returns to the entry foyer of the castle, successful, as the fourth orb alights.

Joachim wears a satisfied look, stating "very well. 'Tis time we move forward.”

The two vampires make their way forward, toward the orbs.

“Wait!” Sara exclaims.

“Are... are we not... missing an orb?”

Joachim seems to ignore her, and Leon gives a warm and soft, yet knowing smile.

“Just as I showed you.”

Leon nods. “I... am not proficient in magic as you are. Should something go wrong-”

“-then I will find you inside whatever afterlife creatures such as us find ourselves in after death, and I shall haunt your existence.”

Leon gives a slight smile, one which shows plainly his nerves. "Of course."

He then proceeds to gouge his fist into Joachim's chest, Joachim gasping and choking for the breath he needs not.

Leon makes to withdraw the hand which he has buried within the torso of the still living Joachim, worried look painted upon his brow, but Joachim forcefully places a hand upon Leon's arm, urging him to allow his fist to remain plunged within.

Sara marvels at the scene, grotesque yet... in some strange way beautiful. How such a man could place such trust in Leon as to put his life in his hands, knowing Leon could choose to end it at any point...

And yet he doesn't.

Because past the madness and vampirism, the despair and isolation, he is still Leon.

And Sara has known this, has found she can hardly deny such a thing at this point, though it is only now she truly realizes this.

Leon seems to search for something within for a moment, brow screwed in concentration and effort, until he finds what it is he searches for, and grasps it, withdrawing his hand slow, steady, with great care.

He holds the final orb.

Joachim collapses, hands upon the ground., as Leon quickly places the final orb on its pedestal, before swiftly crouching to assist Joachim. “You have done well, Leon.”

And with that, the seal upon the inner castle is shattered.

And all at once Sara truly realizes.

Whatever vampiric needs or instincts may now arise within him matter not. Those are not Leon.

This. Trustworthy and duty-bound, loyal beyond words-this is her Leon.

---

As Sara makes her way to the cabin of Rinaldo, she pushes open the door to his cabin, and speaks a single “yes.”

Rinaldo looks up at her from the book he now reads and responds. “Sara, you return. What is it you speak of?”

“You had asked me whether I trust Leon. My answer is yes.”