As the careless girl bounded upstairs, Zander found himself wandering around the room they were in. Maybe it was the way that young girl (what was her name?) had carelessly dumped that body in the living room, or maybe it was shock from having heroes tell them they were pawns in some game involving a serial killer, but he needed a moment to clear his head. All this was too much to take in at once, and he didn't want to try to fake conversation with anyone right now. He flinched slightly, imagining his mother's reaction to such a sign of weakness... but she wasn't here right now.
He shook his head, trying to stay focused. They couldn't afford to waste time now, not with a killer on the loose somewhere. He looked around, trying to find something, anything... this house, the way it kept energy within the walls... it didn't feel quite right. He traced his hand along one of the symbols as it glowed, wondering what it meant. A noise from the bedroom upstairs and then a crash from the attic drew him out of his mind, as he noticed a strange flow of power. Energy seemed to be gathering in the attic, probably with whatever caused that crash.
He started heading up, hesitating slightly when he heard Zeal's voice. ”There's another Celeste up here!” she called down. The younger girl had come back into the house and went with Zeal, causing Zander to pass them on the way to the attic. Some energy was pooling in the bedroom.... but they'd be fine, and honestly, he didn't think he could handle being around that young girl right now. Whoever this second Celeste was would have to wait.
As he reached the attic, the first thing he noticed was the smell. Next, he saw the coffins, dimly lit by a circular window on the other end of the room. Five were chained shut, with the sixth laying open on the floor. A loud bang echoed from downstairs, making Zander jump, but he moved forward anyways. The energy was gathering in the open casket, slowly filling the corpse within. It appeared to be male, no older than 30, with distinctly Asian features. Dressed in only a hospital gown, the man had markings covering his arms that seemed to fill with the energy from the house.
"Anything cool in here yet?" called Zeal as she clambered into the attic.
"The energy from the house is pooling somewhere... he replied. "Looks like it's gathering into this dead body? He's starting to look a bit... less dead, though." The energy continued to fill the man, and as it gathered, color returning the the marred flesh. "What was going on down there? I heard noises."
"Celeste was a poser. She's dead now." Zeal motioned behind her, and.. Celeste emerged? Likely the second one that Zeal had mentioned earlier.
Turning back to the casket, Zander tried to absorb some of the energy. It felt heavy and slimy, causing him to retch as it coursed within him. "That's not... not natural. Something's off here."
"Isn't that what makes it all exciting?" Zeal grinned. Zander glanced at her incredulously - what about this was exciting? Nothing made any sense, a serial killer was loose, and all she could think about was the thrill of a rotting body?
"Couldn't even get my name right, stupid ****er," muttered Celeste(?) as she approached the two. Behind her trailed the young girl, and Zander found himself tensing up. "Now then, what have we got here... Ooh, a Hominus, didn't think these were still around." As Celeste(?) spoke, the smaller girl stuck her hands in her pockets and grabbed something from within.
"How'd one get here of all places?" questioned Zeal, making no effort to hide her excitement. God, it looked like she was about to bounce off the walls.. Did she have one too many cups of coffee this morning?
"It's not like it's hard to sneak things by when they're all meant to be gone," spoke the younger girl softly. "Id be surprised if there actually weren't any more Homini."
"I guess.. but still." replied Zeal. She leaned in towards the corpse, almost falling into the open casket.
Zander rolled his eyes and turned to Celeste(?). "So you're the real Celeste then? What was up with the fake?"
"Long story, boils down to a piece of **** hero stole my identity while I was... indisposed. And it's Celestia, actually." she replied.
Zander eyed her suspiciously. "Nothing personal, but... Is there anything you have that can, I dunno, vouch for yourself? How do we know that you aren't the impo-"
Before he could finish his question, the body lurched up and grabbed Zeal's outstretched arm. Jesus Christ, did she actually try to poke the glowing corpse?
"Free me. Free me. Free me." it rasped.
"gETOFF!!" shrieked Zeal, yanking her arm back. The Hominus flaied backwards, falling over the open casket and onto the floorboards. The younger girl jerked her hands forward, unleashing blue chains that wrapped around the body.
"No. Peace. No harm. Just Free. Just Free." the corpse gasped.
"Pease, sure. But no freedom. Stand." the young one commanded. The Hominus stumbled to its feet, using its head as leverage to stand. It turned its head and made eye contact with Zander. Something about it made Zander feel pity for the creature - it looked tired, like it wanted to give up. Like it just wanted... well, peace.
Zeal reached forward and put her hand on it, but it kept eye contact with Zander. "You. CLean. Kind. Clean. Free. Yes?" He wasn't sure if it was talking to him or Zeal anymore.
"Clean like. A shower?" asked Zeal. "Or what?"
"Hm, how odd," remarked Celestia. "Seems it's using a soul from this deathtrap as fuel to stay alive."
Zander's mind was spinning, trying to process all this information at once. "Is that the energy I can feel here? It was in the house before, but most of it is in that... thing... now."
"Those markings on the wall, they act as flytraps for spiritual energy. It starts out as a small drain, like a mosquito bite, but grows exponentially until you're nothing but a husk. Nasty work." replied Celestia.
The younger girl gazed at the rotting figure before them and asked, "How did you get here Jacob? If you remember."
"Clean. Untainted. Jacob. Yes. Jacob. Art. Yes, Art. Masterpiece. Life's Work. Dark. Cold. Alone. Then Came House. Warm. Family. Trap. No Free. No Peace." Jacob(?) responded to her question, trying to string words together into a tangible tale. It seemed to be enough for the smaller girl, as she let the chains fade from her hands.
"So this house... drains people of their energy?" said Zander as he started to put together the puzzle. "And that's what happened to err, Jacob here?" His mind began buzzing again.
"Oh!" remarked Zeal. "That fake lady told me something about keeping 'masterpieces' or something around the house! Maybe that's what he's talking about!"
Celestia turned her gaze to Jacob. "They drain you based on your passions, your creativity, any strong emotion you create. He was trapped in here, unable to pass, unable to watch as the world saw what he made. The kind thing to do would be to let him go Beyond." She turned to face Zander. "Seems like he wants you to do it, Suit-And-Tie."
Zander felt his heart jolt as he heard Celestia's words. Why would this corpse want him, of all people, to be the one to end its existence? He opened his mouth, about to scoff at her, but was stopped by Jacob's next words.
"Free Me." he muttered, still looking directly at Zander. "Free Me. Yes?"
The younger one stepped forward. "He's too squeamish. Let me do it."
Something within Zander made him take a step as well. What it was, exactly, he wasn't sure. Did he want to prove he was stronger than this stranger thought he was? Or did he want to give this suffering soul a more respectful end than what had happened to that other corpse that she had dumped off earlier? No matter the reasoning, he responded, "N-no. I can help. He's suffering here, right?" He took a deep breath and looked back into Jacob's eyes. "W-what do you need me to do? Drain the energy, or..."
The younger girl looked at Zander, taking his eyes away from Jacob's gaze. "I understand you're only trying to help, but you're no killer. If you do this, it'll stay with you for the rest of your life. Can you have that on your conscience? I don't think you can."
Celestia interrupted, "Harukaze, could you open these other coffins? I think this isn't the only one up here."
"Sure, if he decides to go through with this." replied the newly-identified Harukaze. "If he can't I'll end Jacob's suffering first."
"I can help with that too!" chimed in Zeal. "But I'm leaving once that happens. I'd like to look at something else besides dying bodies, gonna be honest." The five other coffins were opened, revealing five more Homini.
"Amen to that, Zeal." remarked Celestia. "Come on, you can fill me in on what I should know."
As the two of them left the attic, Zeal turned towards Harukaze and Zander. "Welp, good luck you too."
Alone with the person he least wanted to be around right now (well, maybe second least if you counted his mother), Zander began to become overwhelmed by his thoughts. Was Harukaze right? Would he be able to handle ending another person's life? It wasn't quite the same as cold blooded murder, and one could argue that Jacob was really dead to begin with... But... He felt the pressure of all the previous events of the day building, the severed body parts, the corpses, the death of "Celeste", it all came crashing down on him at one moment. He found himself frozen in a single moment, doubting himself, and wishing he was back home. Life there wasn't a ride in the park, but at least he was used to it. At least he knew he could do it. At least -
"Well?" Harukaze looked at Zander questioningly, snapping Zander out of his thoughts once more. Why did that keep happening? Why did he keep relying on others to break his spiraling train of thought? Alexander Antonov, heir to a country, he was more than this! And yes, he could do this. He had to. That's why he left home to start with, to make decisions for himself, to be who he wanted to be!
He blinked, and turned to Jacob. Grasping the corpse's feeble arm, he whispered, "I'm... I'm sorry. Be free." A flame danced across Zander's hand, trailing across the decomposing flesh it gripped. The room danced with orange light as the fire spread to the other coffins, engulfing them, and setting their contents ablaze.
"Free. No Chains. Farm. Free. Freeeee......" Jacob uttered his last words as he crumbled to ash, leaving the flames to dwindle to nothing on the floor. Zander wiped moisture from his eyes before glancing at Harukaze, and then quickly returned his gaze to the attic floor.
Harukaze turned around and walked past Zander, before briefly pausing. "Good work."
Zander took a moment to compose himself before following behind her.
