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Nina glowered at the older spawn, reactionary with the response he had given. He was making it increasingly difficult to ignore the seriousness of their situation; or perhaps, making her angry would help, despite the feeling that it wasn't. "You say void, and you expect me to think you didn't mean a hole through it? When I think of a stain, 'void' isn't the first word that comes to mind," she scoffed, miffed. Her frustration left her blind to what Cody was trying to get at, however, and his explanation didn't quite register until he was already moving away. Not surprising, considering she caught him talking to the inanimate skull once more instead of the only other living being in the room.

She was exponentially more patient with him once she noticed Yorick's head missing from the teen's hands, but grew more tense when she realized what had taken his place. Glancing first from the knife to Cody himself, she urged herself to pay attention. No, she wasn't afraid that he would use it on her, but a crazy person wielding a knife never seemed to make a good combination.

A swift inhale of breath in surprise as she watched the blade tear into the boy's hand was all the further sound she made on the matter, and the pieces began falling into place. Watching with interest as the door phased out of view, she was surprised to take note that no glowing runes had appeared on the door before it disappeared. Maybe a different set of hands had built this part of the labyrinth? Despite herself, she commented, "Well, I suppose it helps to be a little crazy sometimes, huh?"

Likewise, she couldn't help but feel she had been complimented when Cody had mentioned his 'friends.' Sure, he was getting a little frustrated with her when she couldn't respond with some of the answers that he had seen clearly enough, but she understood a great deal of it. Roundabout way of saying it, but could it be possible? She figured she'd let the previous mishap slide a little, in that case, or at least put it on the back burner in the off-chance she was wrong.

Of course, another one of her theories flew out the window once they were able to see the hallway more clearly. Runes... more glowing words, seems it was still done by the same people after all. "Any way they can scare people into turning back, I guess," she answered as she stepped into the dark hallway. At the very least, she was glad that there wasn't any rot and decay in this path; well... at least as far as corpses were concerned. Although still trying to convince herself that everything was but a prop, she couldn't help but think that since there was so much death in the previous room, there would be considerably less to come. Who else would manage to get so far, through all of this?

Then again, they were only kids...

Seemed the next room was much more dim than the one prior as well, but the runes were still just as bright. It took a little getting used to, eyes adjusting to the much more gloomy atmosphere, but Nina saw the glint of the structures in the room right away. At first, it appeared to be an optical illusion, the runes floating away from the walls, until she saw the metal frame. "Mirror?" she blurted out, keeping a distance from it while simultaneously trying to get a better look. It's not booby-trapped, right? Strange, why would they put a mirror right after a room for murder? Were they so vain that they had to see the outcome of such a vile act? Who would do su--

"Ack!" she coughed, jumping back out of the view of the mirror. Were her eyes just playing tricks on her? Whatever was staring back, in the brief moment she saw, was most definitely not herself! "Coyote, that's no mirror," she concluded, worried.

She watched as Cody paced around, glancing toward mirror after mirror in frustration. His actions seemed to get more and more erratic with each image that caught his eye. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn he was getting scared. Or angry. Or both, even. There was one thing she knew: she wasn't looking forward to getting any closer to those bizarre mirrors. For now, she was just out of sight of them, and that was just fine with her.

Yes, she knew she had to proceed if she wanted out, but that didn't make her any more willing. Okay, maybe a little bit more. The eerie tone to Cody's voice didn't help with her confidence, either, but she inched forward when she realized the direness of the situation. The dizzying effect the floor had didn't go unnoticed, despite the lack of a misstep as she neared a mirror. Seeing a wraith-like apparition appear in front of her, it grinned maliciously from a frame devoid of most definitive detail. A mild shiver ran down her spine as she realized the bloodthirsty intent, despite the almost unreadable expression of excitement. It scared her to notice she could identify it so easily, and in a shadow of a body much like her own.

She backed up, hands clutched around the collar of her dress. "Coyote... what is all this? What are we suppose to do here?" it took a lot of willpower to keep her voice from shaking, especially after seeing the images that appeared in Cody's own shadow. What were all these suppose to mean? She wasn't like this, she couldn't be. Ears pinned back, she told herself to look at these projections as if it were a screen on the television.

The girl couldn't help but turn back to the image on the mirror, disgusted with the look of it. True selves, huh? This one couldn't be it. Sure, she could identify with the creepy image that reflected back, but she knew that if it was anything like her... as much as she hated to admit it, it was only a small portion of herself. She would have preferred it if it was nothing like her, though. Scowling at the grin that glowed back, she stepped away from it, getting the feeling that if she stood any longer in that spot, the image may have reached out to grab at her with it's lengthy talons.

Passing by a few broken ones, she came across one that looked rather normal. Raising an eyebrow, Nina inched closer, but cautiously. Tendrils of darkness seemed to snatch hold of her in the mirror, holding tight, making her freeze in place in confusion. Her misty wings seemed to melt away, the background turning darker, as if the runes had been blown out like a candle. It wasn't until the apparition of a demonic face in the background appeared that she noticed the tendrils were the same color. It lunged at her, and she shrieked on an inhale, hopping backward so that her eyes met with only the reflection of the wall.

"I don't like it here!" she stated, as if the emotion had been lost to either of them. Deciding it would be safer, she stuck beside Cody again, in time to see the split-screen reflection. She may have been slightly grumpy because of all that was happening, but the reflection caught her interest. Partly because she didn't think that the broken mirrors could still reflect magicked images, but also because Cody was so sure that it was the correct one. His true self, huh? Suppose it wasn't so surprising, with the split personality he seemed to exhibit when they first met, but for him to actually... semi-admit it? Color her impressed.

Glancing up, she realized that the teen's expression had grown rather unreadable, but it definitely wasn't like earlier. Suppressing emotion, perhaps, so it was nearly impossible for someone to identify what he was feeling. All for the better, she supposed. If she knew, on the off-chance that he was scared, she wouldn't be nearly as willing to go on. "We touch it to go through, then, right?" she asked before doing just that. Standing off to the side, she couldn't see what she may have looked like until her hand was pressed against the glass, nearly a ghost of an image. There was something else there, an off shadow behind the reflection, but before she could get a closer look, the image was obscured by the rippling of the mirror before the glass disappeared entirely. Slightly disappointing, but then again, she probably didn't want to know what it was. "Guess you were right, Coyote," she congratulated, leaning in to look at the room that appeared. "Another hallway..." she sighed, anxiety starting up again when she thought about what may be on the other side of it.

She was hesitant to enter the hallway that appeared before them within the face of the mirror, wrinkling her nose at the effect. Her mind even went so far as to recall episodes of plotless children's cartoons as she peeked behind the frame of the entrance, only to find nothing but the back of what was once the mirror. Wonder if they've got paint somewhere in here that will magically reveal portal holes, too, she grumbled to herself. Despite her exasperation, the idea hadn't failed to arouse amusement in the child.

Sliding her feet along the floor down nearly the entirety of the hallway, Nina couldn't help but to half-expect to find another mummified corpse as she went along in the dark. Never mind the fact that the smell of death was no longer saturating the air, she would just stick with being careful. And in denial. And sticking close to Cody.

Having little time to examine the teen that she was following, she was only able to determine that he was taking things a lot more seriously before the lights snapped on. Startled, she nearly found herself jumping backward, only just able to catch herself in the throes of curiosity. Well... nothing that looked immediately deadly. That was a plus, at least to her. Then again... that lead the way for the opportunity to take a surprise turn instead. Again, she was on her toes, and tread the ground as lightly as she could.

Creeping toward the edge, she was able to feel the emanating heat before ever laying eyes on the glowing magma that pulsed beneath them. In fact, the room seemed uncharacteristically simple. Then again... Glancing to how far away the next door was, she immediately pitied any human that may have come thus far, only to be turned away by the impossible as she came to the same conclusions as Cody. Then again, who was she to think so lowly on them when she herself couldn't have made the trek on her own?

"Coyote..." she breathed, turning away from the lava to face the older spawn with a frown, "I'm not sure... I don't know if we can make it--" She cut herself off before speaking any further. She couldn't risk attempting to learn to fly in such an area when her wings could just as easily cut out on her, but would Cody leave her behind for it? He had such a difficult time carrying her across a fraction of the length that was currently between them and the next door without a dramatic drop in altitude. Emotion suppressed, she also concluded that there was no way she was going to be left behind. There was no telling if Cody would come back for her, or if he would even survive long enough to try, past this point. Her look turned scrutinizing, and she started walking toward the farthest edge to gauge the distance. "Seems pretty far. Think you'd be able to handle it?"

Despite what Cody had said moments before, Nina ended up moving back to the edge of the platform as the leathery-winged teen took off above the magma, trying to make sure she didn't miss anything. She squinted through the steam that permeated the air, trying to decipher if anything was moving or if it was all just a play of the heat. Across the room, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She glanced skyward, half-expecting something to fall from the ceiling, something to shift, or, heck, more runes to suddenly appear. Nothing.

Backing up slightly as the boy came in for a landing, she couldn't tell if she should be on-edge about this particular room or not. Seemed rather straight-forward. Sure, it wasn't much of a puzzle, but that was only because Cody had the wings to make this endeavor more of a piece of cake. Did they only expect a human to break in here? Suppose it wouldn't have been so far-fetched -- the two of them weren't exactly living on natural means.

However, she determined that she would much rather play it safe rather than be sorry in the end, as the saying went. Well, as safe as one could muster in such a place, that is. "Lava isn't going to randomly erupt from the doorway or something, is it?" she asked, frowning, "Or are things just getting easier because we're almost at the end?" Shouldn't they be getting harder, though? Or was this merely for the prospect of the creators of the building possibly wanting to come back? She didn't seem too keen on the idea of this being "the eye of the storm"...

Red-on-red eyes turned back up to Cody at his question, scrutinizing, perhaps a little irritated at the situation, but nothing accusing. With a nudge of a smirk she responded with a simple, "I trust you more than I trust this building." Taking a slow breath to examine the area again, she shrugged, "Yeah, I suppose I do." He may, as well as she knew it, be as insane as he acts, but at least he's followed through with everything he's said that he would. "Sounds like you have a plan. Anything look abnormal from where you were out there, or does it all look as normal as it looks from over here?"

Concern, the creeping fear. Nina couldn't see anything else out-of-the-ordinary about the room, and she didn't want to be surprised when something leaped out at them, trying to veer them off course. Or... really anything that could be hazardous. She never prided herself for thinking on her toes, but so far, she seemed to have been pretty good at it. Half the time, at least. How much more could they take before they slipped up? Any mistake could be fatal, after all, and she wasn't ready to go out this soon into the game.

"Maybe... someone had gotten this far before? Maybe they already triggered the trap, and that's what the lava is?" she queried. Perhaps there was no 'reset button' for the room, where the others before had one? Had it something to do with the voices that came from the walls, that seemed to have vanished as they came into this cave of a room? Seemed implausible, but maybe it was on the right track, at least.

She sighed, at a loss. "Well, at least there are two of us to look out for anything that goes wrong," she concluded. Where one may fail to notice something go awry, the other might catch it. To that effect, their chances of survival were double those of someone going it alone. Perhaps even more so, considering they weren't just normal people. It was worth a shot, at the very least, even if it was a shot in the dark.

However, she wasn't all that eager to climb onto Cody's back. Sure, it was true that she trusted him enough to, but she wasn't so keen on having a repeat of what happened when the floor had dropped out from under them. "Better get this over with..." she grumbled to herself, careful of her claws as she grabbed onto the older boy's shoulders. Peering ahead, the child asked, "Think you can make a running leap?" If only holding one's breath made them lighter, since Nina couldn't help but do just that.

Despite Cody's comment not entirely being a bad thing to point out, Nina still seemed to take it as a personal attack. At least, at first she did. With her breath still hovering silently in her throat in stasis, she managed to peel a frown from her fear, a nearly-automatic response to her thoughts. She couldn't help but be optimistic when she was trying not to freak out -- it was the body of her virtue, after all! However, on second thought... Her face relaxed, and suddenly she was having a hard time blocking the smile that threatened to take over her expression. It rarely happened, but... He's comparing me to hope, not revenge! She could hardly remember the last time that happened, with anyone.

Pulling back to the situation-at-hand, she nearly let loose with an almost-immediate retort that she didn't know the first thing about flying. In fact, she opened her mouth just in time to get a mouthful of heat-strangled air, and she had to hold back from coughing. Or even choking on a gasp, as a matter of fact. Her grip tightened exponentially as Cody followed her suggestion, just when she was about to believe he was going to shrug it off. "You jerk!" she managed to yell over the whipping of the air currents around her ears, the only words that managed to pop into her mind at that moment. Scared to death, and all she could think of were insults...

Her eyes were closed tightly, trying to come up with a way she could help out. Her mind was a whirling torrent, making it difficult to grasp onto even the simplest of ideas. She even stopped breathing, the notion not coming to mind in the sauna-like air. Even with eyes shut, she could always tell how close they were to the bottom -- it was much hotter, and the air pressure was considerably different the more they neared it. Despite rising high above the molten floor, she refused to open her eyes, for fear that she may jinx the two of them by looking.

Turning her head skyward, and against her better judgment, she opened her eyes. Frowning, she focused all her effort on scanning the scenery for any booby traps that may spring out at them. Finally breathing at a careful pace, she urged, "Careful... careful..." This was more in an attempt to get herself to settle down, loosening her grip slightly as she did so so as not to strangle Cody. Nothing lept out at them, nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all. Well... if one ignored the giant mass of molten rock they were currently suspended above, that is. It put her on edge, not to find anything as she searched. In fact, she was beginning to hope the door wasn't just some sort of hologram to give them a false sense of security, no matter how microscopic that security was...

Alas, of course she would be speaking too soon in this respect. Or rather, thinking too soon. As the idea of something leaping out at them was gradually leaving her frame of mind, the two of them over halfway to the exit of the room, the piercing noise flooded the room. Flopped ears pulling back almost instantaneously, she whipped her upper weight around, almost losing balance in the process. All she could make out of the thick screen of funhouse-mirror-style heat was a shadow of a figure, one she likened to the gargoyle guarding the outside of the building. The creature flew at them at speeds that could rival a free-falling stone boulder. Snapping back to her senses on Cody's command, she yelled over the buzzing in her ears, "Left! Quick left!!"