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Splinter Resshūken - 900 Ki Points
Generating a field of energy that coalesces into a minefield of tiny energy balls, The Lord then coalesces the balls into a single ball that she then kicks to her opponent. The scattershot effect of this technique effectively ensures that hopefully the opponent gets hit at least once, and appears to display homing capabilities.

Bushōgoma - 800 Ki Points
The Lord rotates with both blades facing in opposite directions creating large wind blades that fire toward an opponent from their hands. The wind blades join together forming a spinning circle of wind that upon contact with a target envelops the target with tornado-like intensity.

Shibari, Benihime - 800 Ki Points
This technique condenses the energy generated by the Lord into the form of a tangible blood red net, generated from the finger length and simply thrown over the intended target (typically from above) with a simple slashing motion from the lord. The net further binds and restricts an opponents movements by constricting to its form. This net appears elongated and somewhat narrow

Hiasobi, Benihime, Juzutsunagi - 900 Ki Points
Upon using the Shibari technique The Lord stabs the net generated by the technique with the tip of their fingers creating orbs of fire along the outside length of the net, which explode like linked land-mines in a domino formation leading toward the intended target that is bound under the net. When the orbs come into direct contact with the intended target it creates a tremendously large and devastating explosion. *(Must Know Shibari, Benihime)

Anima opened her eyes, and took a look around. so this was Hell, then? Honestly, it was more or less what might be expected. not in the fire and brimstone sense, but in the sheer oppressive sense of hopelessness that seemed to permeate the very air. There wasn't quite enough light to see, it made the shadows lengthen and writhe. she stepped forward, and realized she was standing ankle deep in water. Warm, turgid water. Wait... not water. She took a closer look as she lifted a foot, her eyes widening as she saw her foot stained red. Blood? Morbid but appropriate, she supposed. She took another look around, wondering how she would manage to find the Lord of this level of Hell. There wouldn't happen to be line to wait to be seen or anything, that would be far too convenient.

So she simply chose a random direction and set off. The feeling of walking through a massive pool of blood was rather disturbing, further by the sounds that such movements created. She steadfastly refused to even try thinking about where all of this blood had come from. Just focus on one foot in front of the other, she told herself. Time seemed to drag on slower and slower, yet she had the sinking feeling that time was meaningless anyways. As she walked, she slipped into a bit of a trance state, from the repetitive movements and lack of change in the scenery.

As such, when the attack came, she was completely unaware of it. The sphere of energy hit her in the small of the back, sending her hurtling forward. As she fell, blood sprayed up in the air. Not her own, but the enormous splash of her impact into the endless pool of crimson fluid. She got up after only a moment, spitting out blood that she had almost swallowed during her cry of shock. She whirled around, white hair now sodden and pink from the dunk. At first she couldn't see anyone, until her gaze moved up and took in more of the scenery. There was someone else there! Female, she looked younger than Anima, slender and clad in a red and blue outfit. Lavender hair in a pixie cut framed eyes that seemed to hold equal amounts of mischief and malice. And the wings, those were pretty noticeable. Blood red and black, two pair. One sprouted from her back, the other seemed attached to her head. The young winged attacker smirked down at Anima, before gesturing at her, beckoning her to come closer.

Anima hesitated, which seemed to be a mistake, as the unknown attacker swooped down toward her, flying rapidly. The Dragon moved an arm up to shield her face as she felt a gust of wind, then peeked past her arm to see what had happened when no impact came. The attacker was hovering there just an arm's reach in front of her. She took a half-step back from shock, glaring as the stranger laughed at her reaction.

"So, you're the latest arrival? Not much to look at, I bet your soul isn't even tasty. What a letdown!" Anima blinked, she had been expecting some ominous threat or something. "Sorry to be such a letdown!" She huffed angrily, feeling insulted at the comments. She lowered her arm, having the feeling that she wouldn't be attacked again, at least not without some form of warning. She was beginning to think that she had made a horrible mistake in choosing to go to Hell.

"Now now, don't get mad. My, mortals sure are touchy about things like that! You came here to get strong, right? Well then, let's see what you've got!" Anima blinked, was this stranger challenging her to a battle? She hadn't even given her name yet! Nonetheless, she was kind of irritating, so if she wanted to be on the wrong end of a Dragon's wrath, she would be all too happy to comply!
(663 plus 5906 is 6569 out of ???)

As the multiple volley of Ki blasts detonated, the still unnamed opponent laughed, a melodius tone utterly out of place in this grim and blood-tained land. She threw her head back, the urge to laugh at her latest challenger's feeble attempts to harm her downright laughable, if not pitiable. So they had fallen, just as all the others. If that was as far as their convictions had got them, then she was no worse off then before, they wouldn't have been able to survive her training anyways. eventually, though, eventually one would come to her, one with enough spiritual fortitude to survive the literal training of hell, and become her chosen warrior. After all, she wasn't just another pretty face, she was the Lord of this entire domain, the Lord of the East Circle of Hell. That title and position carried with it heavy responsibilities, which was why she couldn't make time to train every recently-deceased hopeful. Instead she had to give them this, a hazing of sorts. And only if they showed enough promise would she even consider deigning to teach them of her skills and power. So far, of the thousands of lost souls who had come to her, only four had done well enough to receive her dark blessing. Only four, in that long list of souls otherwise consigned to the eternal void, even deeper into the darkness than where she was now. Even she didn't tread into that unhallowed place lightly, there were things that that gave even her pause. Ah well, that was just how it went. She gave each soul the same test, and if they didn't measure up...

Her though was never finished. A bloody hand, the blood only partially from the immense lake of the crimson liquid below them, lashed out of the water, grasping the unnamed Lord's ankle and pulling savagely down. Those Ki blasts hadn't finished Anima off at all, only stunned her, left her unconscious for a moment. As well, they had gotten her mad. With this sharp rise in her emotions, her strength and speed were noticeably stronger than before. Rather than succumb to her rage, instead she had focused it down to a razor's edge, used it to hone her instincts and wait for the perfect moment to attack. It may have been underhanded, but she had the sneaking suspicion that her opponent would have done something very similar, were their positions to be reversed. So instead of debating with herself if it was the right course of action, instead she put her all into her attack. Pulling them below the surface, she cut off their sudden cry of shock and rage, and instead focused on lashing out with a clenched fist at any part she could reach. Operating by feel and not sight, for they were both still under the surface of the lake of blood.

While Anima's sneak attack did have the element of surprise, there was only so much advantage that could give her. And compared to what added up to several millenia of experience, that advantage was minuscule, and fleeting. The young draconian had only managed to land a half dozen unwieldy awkward blows before she found herself shook off, and her foe rose up out of the water. They had suffered only marginal damage, but now being covered in blood, they actually seemed angry for the first time since the encounter began. Where before they had laughed at Anima's bad luck, now they were positively incensed.

"You dare... you dare to get me dirty? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get bloodstains out of this outfit!" Their voice rose several octaves between the start of their angry cry and the end, lending credence to just how upset they actually were. By this point, anima was realizing that her opportunity to land a blow might not have been worth it after all. WEith the chance of ambush already used and wasted, she slowly rose out of the water, knowing better than to try to hide, or even worse, run away. Whatever came next, she'd try to face it head on. Or at least that was what she told herself, until she saw the sheer size and scope of the mammoth ball of compressed Ki that her foe was gathering. The bright carnadine sphere started small, only the size of two clenched fists. But it rapidly grew in size, in bursts and spasms, it's size seeming to almost shudder as it reached each new growth phase. It grew and grew, soon becoming larger than her foe, then larger still. By the time it reached over forty feet across, Anima stopped paying attention. That much of a Ki blast? There was no point in calculating it, or in trying to run. It could likely destroy all of Earth itself, let alone whatever meager defenses she might have to protect her lonesome. No, this was it, this was what had come from her last-ditch effort. She sighed, letting her hands fall to her sides, out of the ready stance she had shifted into instinctively. No defense she could muster could possibly block or deflect such an attack, the least she could do was face it with dignity. Her pride as a Dragon demanded at least that much. She glared at her still unnamed foe, as if daring them to go ahead and finish it, even as she growled, deep in the back of her throat. If onyl she was stronger, she could have done so much more! She cursed her weakness, even as one taloned hand clenched into a tight fist, going so far as to actually draw blood from where her talons pierced her own hand.

Her opponent stared Anima down for several long moments, the madness in her eyes evident that if there was mercy to be had, it would be only the mercy of a quick death. But then, just as sudden as her anger had gathered, it seemed to dissipate. Perhaps... "Maybe getting blown into your constituent atoms would be too good a fate for you, scum. I think I'll take you for my own. Before the end, you'll be wishing I simply destroyed you. Do you accept, or will you take the coward's option and die in shame? Make your choice now, I won't ask again."

Anima's eyes widened, what was she suggesting? That rather than die with grace, she should deign to serve the one who had bested her? That grated at her pride like a rasp, she couldn't bear such humiliation, could she? The alternative to that was death, but what sort of a life could she live, knowing she had sold her pride? Then again, if this gave her a chance for revenge... That, too, was the draconian way, her kind held grudges for centuries, if that was what it took for a chance at vengeance. In the end, the possibility of becoming strong enough to return the shame five times over was too tempting. She couldn't bring herself to speak the hated words, however, so instead, she just nodded her head, bowing to the fullest degree her remaining pride would allow.

"Hahahahaha! So even the arrogant dragons can know when they are beaten? How interesting! Well, lizard, let's make you spit blood and curse life!" The still unnamed foe, the Lord of the East Circle of Hell, laughed merrily, even as the gargantuan sphere of gathered Ki was sent spiraling high into the sky, and out of sight. Moments later, a shockwave bombarded them, it had exploded. It had detonated, even that far away, and even at that distance, they could still feel that much of a shockwave? Unbelievable, and that much power had been directed at her?! Anima gave a subconscious shake of her head, cowed at the casual display of power that so utterly dwarfed her own as to stir up her namesake vice, that of greed. She thirsted for that power, power enough to make any who dared cross her suffer in agony before finally being destroyed. To punish all those who would sully the Dragon Balls with their filthy greed-filled wishes, to make them pay for the heaped indignities that had been gathered on her and her kind. So she would follow this foe, if it gave her power, power enough to triumph over all those who sought her own ruin and shame. That included her new teacher. Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she turned to face her newfound mistress, and for the first time, simply looked at them, judging them not as a foe, but as someone who held knowledge that she desired.

They were young, or at the least they appeared young, hardly more than a whelpling themself, yet what she had already seen was more than enough proof toward their very real strength. even so, now that they weren't fighting, and were, in fact, trying to wipe off some of the blood that still clung to their rather immodest raiments, they seemed nothing more than a child, in manor, and action as well. Nonetheless, she realized she still didn't know their name. "So, teacher, do you have a name? Or shall I just call you teacher?"

Her teacher turned to glare imperiously at her. "Did I say you could speak, lizard? Do so again out of turn and I'll turn you into a pair of boots! But if you must know, yes, I have a name. If you show promise enough to not die within the first week, maybe I'll let you hear it. For now, though, you got blood all over my favorite outfit. How do you propose we fix this insult to your mistress?" The utterly malicious and devilish grin the young girl gave her was enough to send chills down Anima's back. There wouldn't be something so mundane as a washing machine in this realm, she somehow knew that. And there seemed to be no clean water to use for washing either. What other options could there possibly be?

Anima spit out a last mouthful of blood and stalked off without a word. Her brow seemed lowered in a permanent furious glare, and by now the blood had slowed to a mere trickle from where her talons had savaged both of her hands. She was outright furious now, as angry as her new Mistress had seemed before. As for what happened in the time between now and then, she wasn't about to even think of the shame she had brought down upon the Dragon line she came from, at the act she had been forced to do. She could still taste the filthy blood in her mouth now, the copper tang of it. She was a Dragon, normally the taste of blood was a special treat. But this time, the blood had been cold, tasteless. Unsatisfying. This coupled with the humiliation she had suffered in the process, it ate away at her like a corrosive acid, burning away at the tattered remnants of her pride, dissolving her dignity and shredding her prestige. She growled, a fury-filled guttural rumbling that would normally have sent all but the most stalwart of foes running. How dare she! She looked around, eyes wide, pupils dilated, literally seeing red, for something to vent her own rage upon. She had an all-consuming fire within her, she needed to release it's conflagration into the world before it burned her to ash. Finally, unable to hold the rage back any longer, she threw her head back, and roared. She put all she had into it, the scream echoed in the dead landscape. As her roar strengthened in volume, she transformed, shifting into her fully draconian form. Even that wasn't enough for her, however. She slashed wildly around her in a blind rage, attacking unseen enemies that all wore that impish, gloating face. Oh, that self-satisfied smirk her Mistress had worn, how she would love to rip it to shreds. Get her hands around that slender throat and just squeeze, squeeze until she heard the final breath leave that accursed shell, squeeze until the blood that coated her hands was fresh and hot. She roared again and again, lashing out, lost in her rage.

This continued for well over an hour. When she finally had released at least a majority of her anger into the void, she collapsed back, sitting on her haunches in the cold red pool, shifting back into her smaller form as the stress from holding her other form finally got to her. She was panting now, chest heaving from the sheer whirlwind of emotions that had run free through her body, her mind as the conduit. Now she felt empty, the numb nothingness that had followed was refreshing in it's absence. She raised her head to look into the sky. There were no clouds, not even the ones one would see on an overcast, dismal day. No, the sky was a uniform blackness, like it had been cut from whole cloth, or perhaps an immense dome surrounding the entire area, blood lake and all. She had no way of knowing, she had cast her senses out as far as she possibly could, and had sensed nothing in every direction. The only other source of energy she could even faintly detect, was that of her newfound Mistress. And she would not go and seek her out, not so soon after what had just happened.

Unfortunately it wouldn;t be as easy as that, she wouldn't be granted solitude to deal with her still-present rage over what had happened. She had just calmed down, when all of a sudden an all-too familiar face appeared in front of her. Upside down, the pink-haired girl was hovering upside down compared to her, bent over as if peering into a small tunnel or something. "There you are, lizard. Ran off to lick your wounds? I can't blame you, I suppose, but really. Isn't your kind supposed to be made of sterner stuff than that? One little test and you're already going to pieces? We can't have that, up and at 'em! Come on, time for training! Get ready, these blasts can do some serious damage!" Without even waiting to give Anima time to dodge or even prepare herself, the girl lashed out with a vicious kick that sent Anima sprawling, following that up with a flurry of small but severely painful Ki blasts that peppered the area. With the multitude of them that were fired off, it was impossible to escape withou8t getting hit by at least a handful. The young Shadow Dragon growled in pain at the even half-dozen that had hit her side, each of them delivering pain enough to normally take the wind out of her sails. But now, however, they only made her angry. She could use that anger. She channeled it, feeding it from a small fire into an inferno. Then, with a roar, she rushed at her hated foe and Mistress, claws raised to rend her into small pieces. The girl dodged of course, and countered with a small number of Ki blasts, one of them hitting Anima square in the back and sending her into the blood once more. She growled and pushed herself up, her rage demanding she keep fighting, to get closer and punish her enemy.

"Come on, don't get distracted! You'll have your chance at me later, for now, just try to dodge. You're too slow, are you a turtle instead of a lizard?" Another volley of Ki blasts, another handful of them struck home. Another roar of pain, and this time it took Anima longer to get to her feet. But she still managed to, still managed to get up, to rise into the air under her own power. This time, as much as she would like to rend her foe into bite-sized pieces, she nonetheless listened to what she had beren told, and focused on instead dodging the numerous Ki blasts. Her speed enabled her to do that much, at least for a while. The more she managed to dodge, the faster they came, and in higher number too. Eventually the sky was alight with what had to be hudnreds of the small but painful blasts. Anima was panting now, but still maanging to keep just ahead of the spheres, winging over, taking turns sharper than anything she had ever attemnpted before, diving, swooping and banking like she had spent years flying. And still, more and more of the spheres came, until eventually there was simply no room to dodge. At that point, the spheres all seemed to change direction and dart in toward her. Hundreds of them, thousands even. She flinched and threw her arms up in a pathetic effort to avoid the worst of the damage. Which never came. She dared to open her eyes a moment later when the final blow never came, blinking when she realized all of the spheres had vanished without a trace. where had they gone? She relaxed her posture somewhat, and took a closer look around. Only to cry out at the sudden kick to her backside that sent her crashing into the mud once more.

"That was sloppy lizard! But you did good before that, so I'll consider it a passing grade for now. I'll be back later for your next test. Try to heal up, get some rest. You'll need it!" With another melodius peal of laughter, the girl flew off, Anima's glare impotently chasing her off.

-----------

Time seemed to pass quickly after that. There was no day or night in this level of Hell, so what passed for a training regimen was really just divided into two sections. Time when she was awake, which was considered 'day', and time in which she rested, which was of course 'night'. The two were woefully imbalanced, however, as Anima was seldom, if ever, able to get more than two or three hours of sleep at any given time. This was likely part of her training, or perhaps it was just her Mistress being needlessly cruel. Though she had stayed true to her word. Upon surviving for what had seemed like a month rather than a week, Anima had been given the honor of hearing her Mistress' name. She still wasn't allowed to speak it of course, but that was something, at least. Though in return, a further indignity had been heaped upon her. As if the earlier shame hadn't been enough, she had been forced to start wearing a collar, a thick and uncomfortable thing, complete with a section of chain already attached. The chain was surprisingly heavy, even for such a small amount. When it had first been forced upon her, she had barely been able to move, and had suffered greatly in that day's session of training. And while her Mistress would never admit it to her, that in itself had actually been impressive. Some of the last victims to wear that collar had found it so heavy that they hadn't been able to move at all, paralyzed by the subtle but unmistakable Ki current travelling through it. Those poor souls had subsequently fallen facefirst in the blood and drowned. The fact that Anima hadn't had only solidified her place as her Mistress' chosen disciple. Even if at times she felt more like a pet than a disciple or student. As for her Mistress, she had almost seemed to warm up to her latest student. Or at the least, had seemed to derive more enjoyment from tormenting her even more than before, waking her up whenever she had finally drifted off to sleep for last-minute 'training', or other inane practices. And all of this, for what? Anima hardly felt stronger, in fact, with the continually increased difficulty in her training, she almost felt weaker. And while she had been given permission to hear her Mistress' name, simply knowing that the Lord of the East Circle of Hell was also referred to as 'Lilith-sama, the beautiful and wise and powerful and awesome and much better than you' was really even more of a mouthful than her other title. Even by that point, however, Anima hadn't been foolish enough to even consider asking if she could just call her 'Lilith' or even 'Lilith-sama'. No, it would surely be that entire title, as ridiculous as it was. Exhausting, just like all of her other dealings with the young-looking demongirl.

Her reverie was broken when she recieved a sharp kick to the side, sending her rolling over, off of the single sharp-edged rock she had finally found that served as her bed, to splash into the blood. Or rather, almost. She awoke from her light drowsing state in an instant, using her Ki control to cause herself to hover just an instant before falling into the blood. This was a part of their games that seemed to never disappoint Lilith, that of 'how abruptly can Anima wake up, to avoid falling into the blood?' If she failed and fell in, the training that day was particularly hellacious, but if she succeeded, then the training was at least partially bearable. Still ungodly difficult, but not to the extent that it was outright impossible. So she had learned to wake up rapidly, in a split second, for the lofty ideal of basic survival.

"Not bad, lizard. Guess I'll have to take it easy on you today, eh? I guess that means no game of exploding world, such a shame. You're lucky I'm so generous, you know that?" In spite of herself, Anima shuddered. 'Exploding World' was one of the worst training exercises that she had endured so far, and in fact she was convinced it was actually a method of execution. What it entailed, she wasn't entirely sure, large sections of her memory of those traumatic events had been blocked by her own subconscious for being too horrible. What little she did remember was first and foremost grievous pain. as well, being trapped in a rapidly shrinking bubble of Ki that seemed to simultaneously glow red hot and yet be as cold as ice at the same time. Whatever else she had learned from her time here, she knew that she absolutely did not want to endure that again. She must have sighed with relief at this revelation, however, because she recieved another kick, this time to the shoulder to send her cartwheeling through the air.

"Don't relax too much, lizard, or I'll change my mind. Let's get started, today's game is tag. You're it!" At that, Lilith flew off, rapidly, her Ki leaving a visible trail behind her, marking her progress and direction. Anima sighed, and swiftly rose to follow. She felt confident that she might have gained a small amount of speed from all the games of tag she had been forced to play, but even then, she still never stood a chance of actually catching Lilith, even when she intentionally slowed down to mock her. It was frustrating, and more, the punishment for failing was rather painful. Nonetheless, that only inspired her to try harder. She put more of her internal Ki into her flight, and flapped her wings vigorously, jetting through the pitch-black sky, following the pink trasil of diffuse Ki left behind by Lilith.

-----Will continue later----------


(2944 plus 973 plus 7207 is 11,124 out of ???)

Consciousness was slow in returning to Anima, like dragging herself out of a deep pit of mud. At first, she didn't even remember what had happened before she had last passed out, but then recollection came back with a start. She sat up sharply, but then remembered the heavy injuries she had received in her last encounter before wincing in pain. Or... not? She blinked when she realized she wasn't in pain. What had happened? Had she been healed, somehow?

Looking around, she recognized her surroundings as the same bed she had been in before. Thankfully this time she was alone. She felt rested and recovered, though hungry. Which was odd in and of itself, she had thought that she couldn't get hungry once she had died and come to this place. She had no way of knowing if there was any food to be found, but staying in bed certainly wouldn't solve her problems.

She got up, stretching as she got to her feet, her tail sticking straight out for a moment before it returned to normal, moving sinuously back and forth behind her. Only after she had gotten out of bed, she noticed a sheet of paper. Picking it up, she read it before frowning angrily.

Pillow, Last night was simply amazing, I look forward to our next encounter. Your first clue is 'Reverse in except, truth the show I?'

Anima glared in fury as she crumpled the note between her claws. If what the note said was true... She'd known that Lilith was underhanded, but a cheater, too? A deep growl could be heard as her tail lashed angrily behind her, and her wings drew close. She didn't know if she even wanted to play these games any more; but for the moment, she had no choice. At the very least, she had to find Lilith and find out the truth. If she had done... that, then she'd take it out of the Lord of Hell's hide.

But first, she'd have to find her. It seemed she truly had no choice but to play one last game before she discovered the truth. The scrap of paper had included a cryptic riddle, with horrible grammar. What could it mean? She looked at it in confusion for a long moment, stymied. It just didn't make sense, the wording was so irregular that it couldn't be understood. It was almost as if... Lilith had scrambled the order of the words! Maybe that was it!

She inspected that last line closely, trying to reorganize the words into some other order, something that would make more sense. Now that she considered that idea, the answer became obvious. The line included 'reverse', so why not reverse the order of the words! 'I show the truth, except in reverse'. That made sense, grammatically at least, but she still had to figure out what it might be referring to. Something that showed the truth, except reversed. Did it show lies? No, that didn't make any sense. If the truth wasn't reversed, then maybe what was shown was? Like- a mirror! Turning, she saw the floor to ceiling mirror on the opposite side of the room.

Approaching cautiously, she didn't know if Lilith would have booby trapped her own room for these games. She could see her reflection as she got closer to the mirror, but nothing more. There was no scrap of paper taped to it, no sign of what she should do next. Was there a different mirror in the room? She didn't think so, but there was a large dresser nearby, there could be a handheld mirror in one of it's drawers. Even so, going through someone else's drawers felt wrong, improper. What choice did she have?

So she moved to sit at the dresser, her tail awkwardly curled around her since the chair wasn't built to facilitate someone with a tail. Sighing, she took stock of the numerous drawers, before she chose one at random, and pulled it open. A few small bottles and vials, nothing she wanted to experiment with. Who knew what sorts of poisons Lilith might keep on hand. The next drawer seemed like another failure, until she saw a corner of a small sheet of paper. Had she found the next clue?

She dug through the carefully folded clothing before her fingers closed around the scrap of paper. Pulling it out, she found it was attached, not to a mirror, but a sinfully immodest piece of lingerie. The stuff that Lilith wore during the day was bad enough, but that?! Shaking her head, she focused on the scrap of paper, her free hand going up to scratch at one of her horns idly.

Sorry, Pillow, this is not the next clue. Instead, this will be your penalty if you lose this game! I look forward to seeing you in it!

A muted growl of anger could be heard as Anima was sorely tempted to rip the offending garment to scraps. The only reason she held herself back was the fear that the game's penalty wouldn't be affected by the state of it. If she still had to wear what was left, in spite of the damage she'd done to it... That was a chilling thought. Shaking her head, she put the lacy affair back in the drawer and resumed her search.

The last drawer had been searched, but no mirror had been found. It seemed the only mirror in the room was that large one. So she got up and approached it once more. There was nothing changed about it, it was still just a large mirror that showed a reflection of most of the room. But no clue, nothing to point her in the next direction she needed to go. She sighed, heaving a great gust of warm air. This was frustrating!

However, the moment she exhaled, she saw something, for just a moment. When the hot breath met the cold mirror, it formed a thin veneer as the mirror misted over. With the exception of a few lines where somebody had slid a finger along the mirror's surface, forming letters! Excitement building, she inhaled a great lungful of air, before exhaling directly on the mirror. This time, the letters stood out, more easily read and seen. Still, she had to read fast, they began fading into invisibility once more after just an instant.

In the end, it took several more deep breaths, but she had managed to piece together the entire message. Glaring in annoyance, she recognized the tone of the message as purely Lilith's.

So you found it! I can only hope I get you breathing that hard later! For now, here's the second clue. 'This is a land where it rains every day. But as much as it pours, it never will stay.'

Another riddle! Anima grumbled as she tried to piece together what this riddle meant. A place where it rained every day? Well, back in the world of the living there were places where it rained almost every day, but she certainly couldn't get there from here! No, there had to be an answer that was closer at hand. Outside of Lilith's home, it had never seemed to rain. It had just been an endless shallow ocean of blood, nothing more. So it couldn't be anywhere outside, either. That just left inside of Lilith's home. That shouldn't have come as a surprise, the last game had been kept to the confines of her home, too.

But still, where did it even rain inside of a house? That just wasn't possible! Houses had ceilings, so the rain didn't get in. Not the other way around! No, wait, she was thinking about it all wrong. It didn't have to be real rain, just something that could be called rain. And what was rain? It was a multitude of drops of water, that fell down from above. There was one room of a house where something like that could happen every day. A shower!

But where was it? She still had a lot more of Lilith's home to explore, there were rooms that she suspected it had, but had yet to see. The showers, the bathing facilities, were one of them. It looked like her next challenge was to go exploring. She left the bedroom, and looked down the hallway, wondering where she should start. Just go to every door and check it, one after the other? That would take forever! No, what she needed was to think about where the best location for a shower would be, to try to intuit just where it would have been placed. This was a simply enormous mansion of a home, but it was still a home. And from what she knew of Lilith, she valued comfort and ease. That meant that she wouldn't want to go off in search of a shower when she wanted to bathe. In turn, that meant it was more likely than not close to her bedroom.

That made her task easier, she could spread out in a concentric point from where she was now, rather than going off down one or the other direction. Starting at the closest door, she found it locked. That was something she hadn't expected, but there was nothing she could do about it. It was possible she could break the door down, but what would be the point? If her clue was to lead her to the showers, then they surely wouldn't be locked. No, as challenging and frustrating as this 'game' was, there wouldn't be an obstacle like a locked door in her way, she was sure of it.

So she left the locked door alone, and moved on to the next. It wasn't locked, but when she peeked inside, she saw it was just a bedroom. Smaller than Lilith's, it was likely a guest room. Regardless, not what she was looking for. So she closed the door and moved on. It took another three doors before she finally found one that seemed promising. Stepping inside, she saw what appeared to be marble walls and flooring. Nothing like the carpeted floor and papered walls like the hallways. As well, she caught just a hint of a whiff of sulfur, like from a hot spring. Looking around, she saw that this room was just a small annex, complete with a series of small cubbies, open-faced shelves to stow clothes in wicker baskets while bathing. This seemed to belong more in a public bathing house, rather than any single person's washroom. But trust in Lilith to have something completely over the top and ostentatious. So she continued on, only to stop when she saw a small sign at the entrance to the next room, what had to be the actual baths.

Now now, Pillow, you should know better than to go into a bath with your clothes on!

Grumbling, she looked around suspiciously. Was Lilith watching her even now, to know that she was about to do just that? No, that was crazy, she would have noticed her by now, if Lilith was merely hiding. No, she had to have merely assumed she would do so. And if that was the case, she might well have affixed a trick to the next clue, so the only way she would get to it would be by actually taking a bath. Honestly, just how much trouble was she going to have to go through? It still beat the alternative, but it was beginning to come closer and closer...

Still grumbling, Anima went back to the cubbies and spotted an empty one. Really, they were all empty, so it wouldn't really matter which one she used. Even though she was sure she was still alone, she still felt self-conscious as she set her clothing in the basket. Only once she was done with that did she try to enter the baths again. There seemed no further obstacle, so she went further in, and looked around. Even if she had been expecting it, the sheer size of the tub was a shock. It had to be several hundred feet across, and almost the same wide. It was practically a lake! She could see the steam rising off of it, too, so the water was obviously quite hot. Shaking her head, her tail lashed with agitation as she moved to the wash stands to sit down and scrub down before slipping into the tub. As she did so, she kept an eye out for any clue. The last clue had been hidden in plain sight, so she assumed the next one would be just as difficult to spot. She had to think outside of the box. Or outside of the tub...

She looked around more closely, but it was no use. Without some form of indicator, she simply had no way of knowing just how to look at things to find the next clue. It could be visible on the ceiling when she was in the tub. Or it could be based on the arrangement of shampoo and body wash bottles. Or any of a myriad of other unlikely coincidental effects. There was no way to know which was the right one, not until she stumbled over it. Sighing, she rinsed off before going to the tub and slowly sinking into the water, hissing as she did so. She was right; it was hot, very hot! If she hadn't been a Dragon, she likely would have been heavily scalded by now. As it was, it was still hot, but not enough to be truly uncomfortable.

As she remained in the water, gradually it began to leech away at her stress and frustration. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. Taking a break might lend her a fresh viewpoint when she returned to the hunt, and trying to find the next clue. Though on that note, how many clues were there? She'd only found a few so far, how many more would she have to endure? One, two, twenty? She didn't think she could handle that much frustration. Never mind the fact that if she took too long, Lilith might simply decide she lost and dole out another humiliating punishment regardless.

That did it. With that thought urging her to hurry, she finished her soak, getting out of the water and almost flinching at how cold the air seemed, in comparison to the hot water. She'd feel better once she dried off and got dressed again. Putting thought to action, she grabbed a towel and brusquely dried off, before returning to the baskets and her clothes. Or at least, where her clothes had been. In their place was a note. Growling, she picked the slip of paper up and read it.

Your clothes were dirty; I'll make them clean. Your next challenge is a simple search, find that which is on fire at church. They'll make your burden light, if you know what I mean.

Anima growled again before crumpling the note into a ball, glaring at what had been left in place of her clothes. It was better than that piece of lingerie, but even so! How could Lilith expect her to wear this?! 'This' being a frilly maid uniform, complete with lace headdress and a garter belt. Still, it beat going around naked... Sighing, she knew that once more, she had no choice. So she pulled the uniform on, trying to ignore how her tail made a mockery of wearing a skirt, and how she knew her feet would hurt if she had to wear those damnable heels for too long. Hopefully there wouldn't be many more stages to this accursed game!

What had the last clue been again? Something that was on fire at a church? That seemed obvious, a candle. A candle would make 'light' her burden, too. So that had to be the answer. But where was she going to find a candle here?! Something like that, where would it be stored? She doubted Lilith's mansion ever lost power, so there was no need for an emergency light source. What else were candles used for? Aromatherapy sometimes used scented candles, but where was something like that stored? Normally, she would say the bedroom, but she hadn't seen any back when she was looking for the first clue. Or was it the second?

No matter, that wasn't the right type of candle. What else could candles be used for? Then it hit her. She hadn't seen them used thus personally, but there was that movie she had watched. Humans had ate dinner by candlelight, even though they clearly had other sources of light if they wanted. It had lent an interesting element to the scene, almost making it seem romantic. Candles could be used for light while eating. That seemed to make as much sense as anything else, and there was surely a dining room in a place this size. So she just had to find it. That was easier said than done, though. Even though she'd explored the mansion for several hours already, she still had no clue just where most of it's expected rooms were. Or just how big it actually was. She knew it was enormous, even for a mansion, but was it still on the scale of mansions, or was it even bigger than that? The few windows she had found had all been locked or sealed, so she couldn't go outside to look at the building from the outside.

A moment later, Anima realized she'd been wandering while thinking. She wasn't sure just which way she had gone to get there, nor did she see anything to help her figure out where she was in relation to the places she'd already been to. That was just great, now she was lost in addition to having another clue to figure out! She growled and looked around, scrutinizing her surroundings. Even if she'd been distracted, she wasn't usually the type to go wandering when lost in thought. There had to be something, some reason she would have gone this way, rather than another direction. Maybe her subconscious had made a leap of insight and chosen the destination that she needed to go? That wasn't likely, but it was a nice thought for a little while. Sighing in renewed frustration, she forced herself to stop walking, before she pivoted on one foot and leaned against the wall.

Taking a moment, she let her head drop back, to look up at the high arched ceiling. All else considered, she couldn't deny that Lilith's home was very well-made. Even that high in the air, she could see that there were regularly spaced crystal chandeliers, each aglow with what seemed like dozens of small lights. Every time she paused to look at a detail of this place, she realized it was exceedingly high-class, almost deliberately ostentatious. Even so, it wasn't repellent, there was still a certain warmth and comfort in it. It was hard to relate that warmth to Lilith, though. The Lord of Hell, rumored to have committed countless atrocities in battle, and slew millions, had a warm and cozy home? That just didn't make sense. Yet it was the truth, she could see it right in front of her, all around her. Unless... unless the rumor was false? But Lilith was strong, and the only other being she'd seen once she jumped off of Snake Way. So she had to be the Lord of this Hell, didn't she?

Sighing in frustration, she stopped her pondering before it got even more off track than it already was. Closing her eyes, she tried to simply relax, to regain that sense of composure she had acquired after taking that bath. Exhaling deeply, she tried to will herself relaxed, visualizing the muscles in her neck and back slowly becoming less tense. As she breathed in, she almost idly noticed a detail she had overlooked before. The air, there was a scent! She inhaled deeply, trying to find out what it was, and why she would have only just noticed it now. Dragon senses were generally pretty sharp, for her to not have noticed it before now was almost a self-inflicted insult.

It took a few moments' time sampling the air, but she eventually figured out what she was smelling. Food, something savory. A hint of spice, and a touch of smoke. As she continued to smell the aroma, she heard her stomach growl, making her pause. She hadn't gotten hungry before now, but the smell of food could inspire hunger, that had to be the reason. A bit embarrassed, she realized it must have been her nose that had guided her this far. Maybe, maybe it was time to take another break. Just a small one, to see if she could nick a bite to eat. After all, she had been looking for a candle, and her last thought on the matter had been to find the dining room. So really, that would kill two birds with one stone. Or at least that's how she tried to convince herself.

She followed the tantalizing aroma as it led her unerringly down the hallway and through several twists and turns. All the time, the smell of freshly-cooked food growing stronger and harder to resist. She realized her surroundings had changed somewhat, though it took her a moment to realize just why. Then it hit her, the lights had gone lower, it was just a bit darker. Not nearly enough to make it hard to see, but enough to take away the sharp definition of the brilliant lighting from before. It made her surroundings grow just the slightest bit hazy and indistinct, blurred slightly at the edges. Even so, she saw the small staircase before tripping over it, and quickly descended the quartet of steps.

She found herself in a more compact room than she would have expected. It was still fairly spacious, but the ceiling was at a more traditional level. As well, the carpet on the floor seemed a bit more plush. Perking her head up, she heard a faint sound of music from somewhere deeper in the room. Soft, just barely loud enough to hear. It was pleasant, soft notes coming from a violin. She was a bit confused by what these seemingly disparate notes had to do with her search for a candle, though.

Just as she thought that, she saw a small tongue of flame appear from the opposite side of the room. She recognized it as a candle, held in a stand of some kind. She advanced, seeking it out even as she was forced to take a fairly circuitous path to dodge around several large-leafed potted plants. Finally, she arrived, and got a better look at the candle she'd finally tracked down. At the same time, she saw the table it was set upon, and who was sitting there.

"Ah, Pillow, you finally arrived. I was worried you wouldn't show up!" Of course, who else could it be but Lilith. She had foregone her usual outfit in favor of something almost as frilly as Anima's own peculiar outfit, though it was still the deep red color she seemed to favor. She had stood up when Anima arrived, but now gestured for Anima to take a seat, as she did the same. She reached out to pick up the crystal goblet set in front of her, taking a small sip of the ruby-colored liquid it held. That drew Anima's attention to the fact that the table was already set for a fairly elegant dinner for two. Several dishes were set out, each covered with what looked to be a silver cloche. They couldn't mask the aromas that the different foods were giving off, though.

Anima sat down guardedly, trying to avoid getting too worked up over the trap she'd been led through by the nose. Literally. Finally, though, she just had to ask. "If you just wanted me to come to dinner, why didn't you just ask? Instead of leading me around through those silly clues?"

Lilith gave her a knowing look, before saying the reason that should have been obvious from the start. "Would you have agreed to come if I had?"

Anima huffed in annoyance, unwilling to admit the truth. That no, she wouldn't have, that she would have thought it was just a trick or something. Annoyed, she grabbed her own glass of wine before downing it in one pull, setting the now-empty glass down with a muffled thud. Even if she was annoyed, she wouldn't be so crude as to break the glass. She had drank the contents so fast that she hadn't even realized just how strong of a wine it actually was, not until she felt that familiar tingle in the back of her throat. She didn't drink alcohol very often, but she did indulge from time to time, and she recognized this for what it was.

"Goodness, you seem to like the wine! Feel free to have as much as you like." Lilith gestured, indicating that Anima's glass was already full once more, even though she had clearly seen it was empty just seconds before, and nobody had touched it in the interim. Another trick, surely! A moment later, she looked up once more, as Lilith formally invited her to dig in, while everything was hot. The cloches had disappeared, revealing their contents in an almost physical wave of savory aromas. Despite her reluctance to play along, Anima's mouth watered as the scents triggered her appetite. Surely there was no harm in playing along, what sort of trick could be hidden in a meal?
[4305 + 3642 = 7947 out of ??? ]