Welcome to Gaia! ::

The impromptu trip to the stars with four others, leaving them with more questions than answers, as well as magical rings was.... concerning to say the least. More, nothing in that place hinted to any one force. Only that it held something hostile guarding a chest that housed some kind of power- perhaps if he were to give a stretch, a specter even.

He'd spent a good deal of his holiday mulling it over, between taking care of the twins, getting the family together, helping Marlo set up the acquisition of the Dubai property, Elzo hadn't had much time to devote to researching about the ring nor asking the others present about any discoveries they might have made.

It ate at him when he went to his world to experiment with it, only to remain at a loss. Its power was certainly unique, if fitting for his own sphere and dominion. But it begged so many questions. To that, he knew few might offer some for of answer.

The method he'd attempted once before to contact Cosmos had been a rather... failing attempt. Yet she said she would come if he had need of her.
As such, Castor waited at the edge of the city, far from the suburbs and buzz of the metropolis and he shifted, wings at his back and laurels in his hair.
"Cosmos." He closed his eyes, willing her to hear him. "Please, I need to speak with you."

There was a breath of air that left him when she spoke, a general wave of relief he felt with her arrival and presence. His shoulders and posture slackened, limbs looser and more relaxed, a smile warming his features as he greeted her.
"Your eminence." He gave a flourishing bow, teasing ever present in his demeanor, though the firm hold of his gaze spoke of his hesitance and remote caution.

"I'm sorry to have called you so suddenly like this- while you've told me it doesn't bother you, I dislike calling on you as frequently as I do." He held out his hand to her, in front of him as if he might have been offering his arm.

"A little over a month ago, myself and four others found ourselves among the stars- and despite out best attempts, it was not familiar to any of us. It did not even remind me of that from the Silver Millennium." The ring shimmered in the starlight, blue glittering on it's surface.
"I can tell you it's powers if you like- but I wanted to perhaps pick your brain for any insight. The ring that affixed itself to me upon my arrival, and now stays on my person seems benign, yet I'm hesitant to trust a power when I don't know the source- much less what we may have set loose upon the cosmos with out actions."

Every little sign of her smile, of happiness or mirth from Cosmos was like a precious gift. Human she might no longer be, but she was he own person, and in his eyes, even she deserved a measure of happiness even if so simple in the form of his own antics.

"I would be a poor prince both to my people and to the senshi if I wasn't at least a bit worried. Power always comes at a cost- even I know this much." He had seen crystals great and small both help and harm- he'd nearly lost his own brother to the death of a royal and their crystal's power. Still, he was a royal, and no matter how much the senshi resented him, he was honor bound to look into something that gave him power, no matter it's source.

"There are five rings total. Each, I assume has it's unique properties. Mine is ironically enough, aligned with my dominion- ice. Both now and as a human I can cuase a gentle radiating cold from my hands while I wear it if I wish. However, it has the power to create something akin to black ice or slick frost. A layer that is smooth to the touch and covers a decently sized area. What powers the other rings have I don't know. Only that they belong so my sister Scylla, the knight Celsus of Chronos's guard, Tortuga of Jupiter, and the young Lacerta." He pulled the ring off, offering it to her to inspect.

"As for the location- we each awoke in our own 'cells' if you will. There were worn frescoes and carvings into the stone, yet time had worn them down to almost nothing. No windows there either- When we left these rooms, we were in what I would surmise was once a place of worship- the size and grandeur would suggest as much. The windows allowed us starlight, but it was not the same sky I have seen here on earth, nor, on my own world or that of my brothers. Clouds were there- but I was in my eternal form, and was not willing to shift lest we had hostile captors and they discover the length of my power."

"As such we never got a good gasp of the outside- and what the atmosphere or landscape might have been unfortunately. Not to mention some worlds are not .... kind to human bodies; the risk outweighed the reward so we chose to err upon the side of caution. Rightly so in some aspect. Later in our investigation we went down a hall that had seen clear signs on conflict. The likes I can only equate to the power of a youma give the markings and depth of damages wrought." He paused.

"Ah, yet another strangeness of that place was the call- I- I felt strangely distant from my world yet it was still there.... But when I wished for you to hear me- your reaction tells me you did not. Which... is a concern renewed I fear."
He didn't like this. Caedus was still gone, his cryptic saying he would return, the silence among the negaverse, and now being taken to another place where not even Cosmos could hear him.

"Even so- the path led to a chamber that housed two white statues of size- one which was broken, the other mostly intact. Between them, a chest, sealed with some sort of magic. None of us seemed to recognize the runes or magic but it was something of importance- as when we approached, the remaining statues became animate and attacked us.
That said- It was old Cosmos. I would place it from perhaps before the Silver Millennium even. The weathering was worse than that of my home, and the fact it was damaged yet un-repaired and seemly abandoned makes me think whoever left the chest there with it's guards left it with the intent to have it forgotten. And for a time, it seems it was."

He couldn't help the incredulous look he gave her at the mention of other universes.
"Surely, we would know if we had been taken elsewhere? Even Ares once said she did not feel... whole here. If it were true- That's slightly horrifying to think whatever it was had enough power to summon us five" Maybe it was nice to think that no danger was to be had, but he would err to caution, to speculation. Things could have gone wrong, and have been much much worse.

"That does seem to be the case in a way- the place seemed like a temple in a sense, a place designed to hold meaning, to be both a part of something yet also isolated." He took the ring back, but did not put it on.

"I- am worried. Perhaps I am simply jaded and pessimistic, but there is more to the encounter Cosmos. A note I fear might hint to a possible... more dubious purpose to the building we found ourselves in. I suspect it might have been a tomb of sorts. Or worse, a prison." His unease came, flipping the ring between his fingers.

"When the chest's guardian fell, the chest itself opened. In it, was both lights- and a figure. A female one- and. Cosmos I have heard Serenity before. Luna told me herself- the Princess of the White Moon lingers even if she is lost to us now. Yet that was no Serenity. Whatever, who ever it was locked away with the source of power for these rings was freed. I couldn't sense chaos, but I could also not sense order. It was but a moment before we found ourselves... falling, returning as it were."

He fidgeted.
"And- No. I felt no true call, not a familiar one at any rate. Nor a comforting one. It was like being coerced. Choices removed, a compulsion to obey and head this unseen will." A thing that clearly had not sat well with him.
"Pollux is all but married to Scylla at this point. Celsus- I met him several times before but we're are not fond of each other. Tortuga and Lacerta however? No. They're young, and I hadn't encountered them before. As to anything odd- no. Nothing overly unusual. It was just before winter- but with my sphere, I'd link it to that perhaps, but it wouldn't mesh with the others. It also makes little sense in the Celsus is of the Zodiac Guard. Tortuga of the Moon Court's retinue." He was shaking his head.

"I can't- Please Cosmos. I am afraid. I know the darkness in my own heart well enough. This is power. And I want to use it. I want to learn it, manipulate it, cultivate it into a proper weapon to better fight for our cause. Yet power is the easiest lure for any who'd seek the darkness to grab onto, even as I am, I am no exception. This ring isn't taking it's power from me. It's magic isn't mine. It does not resonate with me, it calls not to me though it can be used by me. I have seen my own death enough times to know that such a gift comes at a price. So far, I just have yet to find the price tag, and I fear that whatever we unsealed will come to haunt us and collect it's due in time."

He reached out, tentative before taking her hand in his, bowing to her like he truly was a prince of old.
"Thank you- I know that you try not to meddle in the affairs of senshi and knights, but even so, speaking with you is comforting." There was no kiss, no other grand gesture, but a gentle squeeze of his hand to her own before he let go, melancholy in his feature.

"I will try as I do- But I will always worry. Despite it all- sometimes my mind thinks back to what could have been changed, had I more power. Such thinking is what has lead many to the hands of chaos, and I'm more than aware even as a royal I'm still just a man. For now I will test the ring on my world, and speak with the others. The won't like hearing the warnings, much less hearing such warnings and advice from me, but it is good to know that our risk in having these comes more from outside sources than not. Tell me if anything comes up- and..." He sighed.
"I will try. To reach out. Just promise me this cosmos- that you'll also reach out. We ask you for much but even if you are who you are? I'll still remember the girl who liked sweets and ran a helpline. You deserve us more than we deserve you. "