Sinner of the Spades

Lumière retreated back into the mental abyss. In this place, he lost the aesthetic of Ophelia, as his 'persona', his 'truth', was what resided here. He glanced over at the personae of Ophelia and Despair, as well as the crazy Lain who still lay unconscious next to the ancient rune-strewn stone wall. He walked over to this man, frowning.

"Wake up, asshole."

Lumière kicked at Lain's unconscious body. The black-haired man shuddered awake, glancing up at Lumière with a worried expression. He pushed himself back against the ancient stone wall with his hands, scowling before saying, "did you really need to do all that?"

Lumière nodded, crouching down as he placed his hands on Lain's shoulders. 

"You were interfering with my thought processes, so it was necessary. I've had time to think, that's all I needed. You can have my body now. I need you to blaspheme… well, anyone really." 

Lain's eyebrows furrowed, a little disgusted. "You want me to go crazy? Don't you yourself know how bad it feels to go through that? Why would you volunteer me for it? Give the task to one of these other guys…"

Lumière looked him plainly in the eyes, calmly adding, "if you don't do it, this time I will kill you. I'll replace you with someone who listens better."

He stood up, chuckling. "You're not a necessity, you're just who happens to be here. That can always change, never forget that."

Lain glanced up at Lumière, his face still bloodied and bruised, wiping the blood from his lip as he spoke in a deep, sullen tone.

 "Perhaps you're the crazy one."

Lumière reflected for a moment, pulling the Two of Spades card out of his pocket before grinning.

"It's in my nature."

—

When Lumière appeared back in the Carnival Hall, his features temporarily took the appearance of Lain, with short black hair and a dark gaze. He temporarily fell into an unconscious state, Lain's 'judgment' having taken over his body completely, just as he had when he had fallen to madness amidst his mother's grave.

Lain reached into his jacket, rife with Lumière's recent memories, and procured a Crown of Thorns necklace he had kept as a replacement for the last time he had used Blaspheming.

"'Blaspheming' or 'Godly Mimicry'?" Lain smirked as he raised the necklace. "What to do…?"

Lain snapped the necklace between his fingers, shattering it instantly. Strength rushed through his body, enhancing him temporarily, and causing black blood to pour from his eyelids down towards his chin. He grasped at his face, grinning madly as he felt endless and countless thoughts pour into his mind, strange illusory murmurs shouting endless profanities and declarations of ill will towards him, as if his brain were trying to destroy itself, unconsciously using the illusory murmurs to do so. 

If madness were a virus, then the body would treat it as such, even if it were bound to one's brain. In the end, death was a cure to pain.

Lain recoiled, curling up into a ball on the cold surface of the black stone spire's peak, grasping at his hair as if to pull it out. 

"Fuck… why is it always me…?"

Moments after, his hair turned a bright-white colour, his eyes a violet hue, and his gaze grew soft, calm, and contemplative.

'Ophelia' re-emerged from the mind abyss. 

Of course, because the persona of 'Ophelia' wasn't yet finished, the true consciousness behind it was Lumière playing the part. That much couldn't be helped. Until he learned to act the part perfectly, the consciousness wouldn't form like it had for Lain. Attempts to let Ophelia's consciousness take over his body had failed, so all he could assume was that the figure that stood in his mind abyss was equivalent to a hollow doll, a mindless form. It carried itself calmly and loftily, but that was just like a fancy suit without someone to wear it.

He felt the strength coursing through his body, free of the cost of madness because of Lain's work. He chuckled wryly as he considered that point- the personality of a crazed murderer being beaten into submission. It was laughable.

Of course, he didn't worry as to whether or not laughing at other's misfortune would be antithetical to Ophelia- that was truly the personality of a Demon.

'I have, perhaps, fifteen minutes left to escape this danger. How reasonable.' 

Lumière stood up atop the black stone spire, glancing down into the distance where his mirage was still running in circles, guiding the small horde of Demonic Clowns behind them.

'This is the exuberance of a Demon.'

He began to guide his mirage towards the black stone spire, reaching into his jacket to procure a satchel filled with a mixture of ingredients- saltpeter and soot. This was the mixture he had used during his final performance to create a veritable explosion, cloaking his use of silver flames and landing safely amidst the audience. He stuck his hand into the satchel, brushing it against the powdered mixture before putting it back into his pocket, walking towards the edge of the black stone spire and falling forward off of its surface. 

Lumière hurtled towards the ground at high speeds, raising his hand towards the approaching horde as he smirked and whispered, "Ignición.". The mixture in the palm of his hands grew alight with blinding silver flame, a massive eruption of crimson flames and smoke bursting across the cold floor of the Carnival Hall. Torrents of wind blew outwards, and the Demonic Clowns caught up in the flames cried out in a shrieking manner, a cacophony of pain and regret ringing out into the vast Hall.

Lumière emerged from the smoke, adjusting the glove on his hand as he glanced around. Bits and pieces of the Demonic Clowns sat around him in heaps, smoking and letting off a putrid, horrid scent. He coughed slightly, raising a hand to his mouth to see that blood had collected at the edge of his lips.

Pain suddenly erupted through his body, his strength given by Blaspheming having faltered. The poison coursing through his body had begun to take effect!

"This…" Lumière sputtered as he frowned, "is truly unbefitting of a Demon…"

As he collapsed to the ground, the floor suddenly shifted underneath him. Lumière fell upwards, and soon he sat in a pool of pearl sand, gazing out at a vast black sea. The sandy beach was surrounded by a backdrop of large trees, and bushes that could have concealed any number of dangers. Dozens of grey stones littered the shoreline, perhaps brought in by the waves.

The craggy rocks were blanketed by the crashing of violent waves, and the abyss-like night sky was devoid of any stars. Still, there was a calm peace that rivaled the Carnival Hall. It was silent, but not eerily so.

Lumière sucked in a heavy breath, coughing as the poison gradually dissipated. Poe's Gnosis had begun to glow a familiar faint silver colour, its heartbeat pulsating erratically. Still, he could pain no mind to this. He felt exhausted once more, and he had only done so much since forcing Lain to blaspheme in his place. 

'What a waste of an opportunity. If it weren't for the poison, I could have done much more… no, perhaps I wouldn't have blasphemed if the poison weren't present in the Carnival Hall…'

He crawled slowly to the edge of the sandy shore, placing his hand in the cold, lapping water of the black sea. As it washed over his hand, Lumière felt sated, as if his energy was gradually becoming restored simply by touching it. The corners of his lips quivered, and he was urged to crawl closer, placing his mouth against the sand as the sea poured into the depths of his mouth. 

The water wasn't salty as he had anticipated, rather somewhat sweet, and while he hadn't felt too thirsty prior to drinking it, it seemed to refresh him as if he had been suffering from dehydration. His body pulsed, revitalised, and he felt warm and calm in its presence. 

As he caught his breath and sat back in the sand, propping himself up with his hand, Lumière flitted his gaze around, taking in his surroundings. When he considered the moment safe, albeit without true certainty, he risked taking a look at Poe's Gnosis. After all, the most valuable information he could gleam came from within.

He scrolled through the pages of Poe's Gnosis until he came to the silvery-glowing page, frowning as he observed its key information on the Zone.

— [Zone, Beta-5]

— [Class 8 Danger]

— [Entity Count: Null]

— [Notable Hazards: The water has many peculiarities surrounding it. The shore itself is rife with edible hanging fruits, but all of the plants littering the ground are poisonous and should not be consumed. At night, a wave of strange phenomena will rush over the shore. Anyone caught within the wave will suffer strange occurrences. These occurrences may happen now, or in the future, and will follow one caught in the wave outside of the labyrinth. The wave of phenomena can be easily avoided by ducking into a cavern.]

Lumière's eyes shuddered as he glanced at the final few lines of the Zone description. Wasn't it night now? However, no matter which direction he looked, he couldn't spot anything but flora and lines of tall trees with spiked branches. 

On the lone shore, Lumière let out a relieved sigh.

'I should find a cavern, as Poe's Gnosis suggested. But… now I can take the time to truly rest and recover… it seems that the higher the "Class Danger' score is, the safer it is. An eight would be quite safe, and a one must be extremely dangerous… considering that the Carnival Hall was rated a 'five'…'

'…just how dangerous can this Labyrinth be…?' 

As Lumière stood up to walk away from the shore, he glanced back at the black waters that crashed against the craggy rocks, frowning. 

"Perhaps I'll stay just a bit longer."