Work Text:
Soma brushed his coat as he took a deep breath, the flame from the statue above warming his face comfortably. This whole experience was starting to make him hate castles, especially cursed ones. Running around and dodging dancing ghosts, skeletons, evil knife-wielding butchers and murderous maids wasn't exactly on his to-do list for fun trips. What he wouldn't do to get back home with Mina.
(A teeny part of him begins to protest. It's been nagging him since that first encounter with that Winged Skeleton, growing louder and louder as he made haste to the throne room. Soma hates that he hasn't squashed it yet.)
Now, he stood near the entrance of... a garden. As expected from an evil vampire castle, it too was populated with monsters yearning to skewer, peck and god knows what to him. Nothing a well timed sword swing and a long distance soul couldn't fix.
(The Ghost soul hummed under his skin, somewhere in his chest. Its homing power could be useful to take out those birds...)
(Soma tugged on his shirt to scare the feeling away.)
He checked his coat one last time. All his equipment seemed intact, the warmth of the flame seeping enough into his bones. He took one step outside, all traces of relaxation off from his face.
As it turned out, dodging giant chicken-looking creatures with laser eyes eager to turn him into stone was easier said than done. Soma awkwardly slid backwards, dodging just enough to avoid being fully petrified; the same couldn't be said for the edges of his coat, the sudden weight threatening to make him falter.
Shaking off shards of stone into a bush (he had no empathy for whatever demonic groundskeeper resided in this area, after his experiences with the Inner Quarters), he rushed forward, sword striking the beast right on its face. His other hand glowed, a vortex of winds assisting his task.
The cockatrice screeched, eyes lighting up once more. Fire, dodge, strike, whirlwind. Fearsome as these monsters may be, locking into a pattern made them a lot easier to take down.
(Just like talking to people, a more normal part of him spoke up. Granted, this will certainly make that even harder now. At least back then he had an idea of regular conversation topics.)
One well-aimed stab finally ended the monster's life, one final screech before fading. Soma moved forward, the Ghost soul's eagerness finally sated as its spheres chased after bloodthirsty crows and annoying imps. Across the greenery, an undead horse raced back and forth, its rider fiercely preparing to strike whenever it spotted white and blue.
He felt the Ghost soul leaving his hands, the bow and arrow of the Skull Archer taking hold. A group of them manifested in his vicinity, taking aim at the frenzied soldier. A mere flicker of his eyes was all it took for all to fire, scraping the Dead Soldier. Despite damaged, it continued on, riding towards a battle it would never reach.
Soma hissed as his power dwindled, unable to manifest any more arrows. He dodged just before the soldier's naginata swung at him, cursing under his breath as he brandished a lance. He blocked the second swing with some effort, hastily thrusting forward and piercing armor.
At last, it surrendered, disappearing back from where it rose. To the teen's dismay, he didn't feel its power flowing into him. Great, more wastes of his time.
(He's not sure if he should feel disturbed at that thought. Why did taking lives of monsters feel more and more natural to him?)
Soon enough, he rushed towards a strange, golden platform with intricate designs. It hovered effortlessly, moving up and down like a buoy at sea, unbothered by the strangeness of its surroundings.
Probably because it was just as strange.
Soma jumped on it as soon as it reached down, letting it guide him up and away, deeper into the gardens. It flew through a hole in a... wall? Ceiling? Floor? And took him above the pillars, towards more enemies.
-
Soma would never look at statues in gardens the same way ever again. Not after being petrified five times in a row now.
Oh, wait. He can't move again. Make that six. With an internal growl, the teen broke out of his stone cocoon with a frantic swing, sword barely touching the Gorgon's face. It simply huffed at him, preparing another breath.
He cursed, his dodge less smooth and elegant, the risk of tripping on his own feet growing disturbingly large, a shiver of panic going up his spine every time his legs slammed into one another.
Soma launched himself onto the monster's back, gritting his teeth as he switched weapons once more, a hammer swinging from his hands. It bashed the demon's head once, then twice, then three times, before it howled and vanished.
Soma snarled to himself, his coat back to a disgraceful state, scratches stinging as his skin met eerie air. He felt his pockets; no potions to back him up, courtesy of adrenaline and poor planning, and no way in hell is he facing the Dead Soldier and its flying army of annoyances just to rest by the statue.
(Statues and gardens. Eugh. Suddenly, all of his childhood memories of running up staircases under the watchful eyes of kings and counting the months and star signs felt strange and wrong.)
It certainly didn't help that it was somehow even more maze-like than a real garden. The teen lost count of how many times he had run into the same platforms, the same rooms, the same pillars. Maybe he should start jotting down details in a notebook, the same one he should jot down the things he should have bought from Hammer.
If only said notebook existed in cursed castles. Or if he considered bringing one at all.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Though it could also be from the bloody Imp poking him. He was sure he killed it already—or maybe he was finally losing his mind. Neither kept him from swinging his weapon anyways.
Soma finally swatted the little devil away from him, swinging viciously. Like its brethren, it squealed and faded into nothingness, allowing him some respite. He hissed as one of his legs buckled, clearly begging him to go back and rest.
He decided to ignore that and walk up the stairs right in front of him. Like always, the castle had some way of surprising him.
He paused. Blinked. Checked his map. Blinked again. Checked again. The magical sheet marked his location in a box above the castle; an oversized, square-shaped star in the sky. The door he had just walked through seemingly connected to nowhere.
Great. He's tired, far too wounded for his liking, and now the place is fucking with him again.
The room was... well, in line with what he's seen so far. The name "Floating Gardens" definitely made sense: another ornate, elegant room, only suspended far above the castle. Ivy surrounded the entrances, stone walls a foreboding blue as the moon served as spotlight.
(Why did that teeny part of him seem to sigh? Perhaps he's mistaking relief at the lack of petrifying enemies for something else...)
Stone paths laid before him, one above and another below. If his experiences thus far taught him anything, both will lead to the same place and he could scour for something for his wounds. Or at least more money to throw Hammer's way.
Soma tossed a coin in his mind. Heads, he goes up; tails, he goes down. It flipped around in his imagination, rotating in ways a real coin would be unable to. He blinked, the shiny figure now fully visible.
Heads.
He kept picking heads. Maybe he should start doing this with a real coin.
His legs complained as he hopped off the stairs onto another flight, narrowly missing slamming his feet on the edge of the step. His hair stood on end, heart jolting through his chest.
(Mina had once managed to spook him, sneaking up behind him and poking his sides. She had ignored his glare, choosing to comment how his hair poofed up like a frightened cat. If only she knew she was the only one he allowed to see him in such a state.)
Regaining his balance, Soma ran up the stairs, expecting somewhere to launch himself higher (with or without kicking the air; who knew double jumping was an attainable and useful ability outside of games?) or just some form of mercy.
The demon materializing right in front of his eyes told him it was neither. He nearly tripped on the stairs a second time as it swung its arms, determined to knock him away.
Soma entered into autopilot; a mistake considering his injuries. One mistimed sword swing and the Devil's claws tore through his shirt, a gash weeping red on his chest. He didn't even have time to howl in pain, arm covering the now ruined clothes.
Shit, he's cornered. Under normal circumstances, victory was certain; but now, staining his coat red, free hand weakly raised to summon... whatever he had equipped? His chances were dwindling by the second.
Something formed right before his eyes. A bow and arrow? A ghost? An axe? Or maybe just a bone. He was a bit too preoccupied with staying alive to care. He needed to get out of here. To Mina.
Whatever he had on hand fired.
BANG!
...Wait. None of his Souls sounded like that. Maybe he had the Zombie Soldier equipped—?
BANG!
That was no grenade. Gunshots...?
"Aww, can't find someone your own size to pick on?"
Soma barely had time to roll as a red blur swooped from above, the Devil – its hands bleeding, one more than the other – roaring as it was struck. It staggered backwards, twitching once, then twice.
The blur, definitely more human-shaped now that it wasn't moving at wild speeds, backflipped away from the demon, landing just a few feet away from the teen. They turned in his direction, flashing a toothy, cocky smirk, twirling their weapon: a sword nearly their height.
Were it not for the circumstances, Soma would've decked them. Nothing he despised more than cocky assholes. He hoped he still looked hostile enough to get the point across.
His savior was either oblivious or simply uncaring of his glare, casually rummaging through their pockets with one hand. The Devil growled, bloodied hands ready to strike its new enemy.
"Hey, hey, one second. I'm trying to be nice here!" They huffed, though not the least upset about it. As expected, the Devil did not wait. Its hand rushed forward, just in time for the figure to toss something Soma's way and cartwheel out of harm's way.
The thing hit Soma right in the arm, a jolt of pain coursing through him. It was sharp as well: green, star-shaped, aimed as if to be proud to be the finishing blow. Great. "Saved" by a double-crosser. As he was preparing to swat it off with his minimal energy, however, it began to dissipate before his eyes.
Moving his limbs felt easy again. Not fully perfect, he still felt the sting of some cuts and scrapes, but he could get up and and gather his bearings, eyes focused once more as another pained noise left the demon.
The figure had rolled and flourished their way behind it, driving the sword up its back with a battle cry. In one swift move, they put away the sword, drawing two pistols, bullets raining from above.
"Get some." They quipped. Oh, great, a showoff. Soma supposed they earned that much, the Devil finally fading into nothingness.
Finally, the figure stopped, stretching almost lazily.
"Ahh, missed doing that. These have to be the most boring monsters I've come across!"
The two finally faced one another, doing a quick double take. Two near-identical pairs of eyes widened, one more than the other.
With the blood staining Soma's supposedly pristine white coat a deep scarlet, they nearly passed as twins… or copycats. Maybe the latter felt more appropriate.
His savior couldn't be much older than him. They had hair the exact shade of silver-white as his, though maybe just a teeny bit longer and unkempt, brushing down their neck, bangs falling over their eerily bright blue eyes no matter how many times they blew it away.
To his surprise and slight discomfort, their upper body was completely exposed, the red blur belonging to their rather striking long coat. It was just as long as Soma's, maybe just a bit shorter… and also quite literally the only thing shielding their torso from the castle's uncomfortable air. It seemed to fit them perfectly, the strap holding it wrapping snugly around their chest.
The rest of their outfit seemed a bit more comfortable: brown pants and snug boots with zippers in the front. In their hands, covered in black fingerless gloves, were the two pistols. Soma didn't know too much about firearms, but they certainly didn't seem normal, definitely modified to hell and back. Maybe Hammer would know…
And to top it all off, Soma could see the hilt of that giant sword of theirs peeking from behind their shoulder. It didn't look too out of place from the weapons he had found in the castle, but just like the guns, something made him squint. Something about them unsettled him.
For a moment, only the wind spoke between them, rustling the leaves of the ivy right behind the teen. He was still reeling as he stood up, awkwardly stretching his arm, the gash it protected now little more than a mark on his skin, his beloved black turtleneck now ripped.
The moment was shattered by an annoyed huff.
"Aw, c'mon, I go all the way here and I get the silent treatment as thanks? Rude."
Oh, right. Savior cocky asshole dude. God, his voice sounded so smug as well. Unfortunately for Soma's patience, he was right.
"Oh… yeah. Thanks." He barely remembered how to speak, adrenaline finally allowing his brain to be coherent, so he hoped his "dealing with people" filter was back on. "How did you…?"
The other grinned, Soma's eyes widening in shock. His teeth were sharp, not human. Had he been saved by another monster? As he was about to reply, the teen immediately fetched his lance, pointing it right at his chest, mind suddenly clear.
His savior-turned-potential-traitor lazily put his guns away, hands raised in surrender.
"Whoa, easy there! Not the kind of thanks I asked either!" He quipped, eyes glinting in amusement. Did this guy not take anything seriously? "Don't waste that on me!"
"Who are you and what's your plan?" Soma sneered, narrowing his gaze, hands tight on the lance. "Saved me so you can have a go? Get in line, the whole castle's doing that already."
As if he couldn't be even more irritating, the red-clad figure rolled his eyes almost playfully.
"Just as annoying as he said he'd be."
Soma blinked. He? Maybe this guy didn't feel that out of place with the castle. Both seemed to really like to fuck with him. The older teen shrugged as he noticed the change in his expression.
"Okay, fine, he said something like 'being uncomfortable with loud people'."
"Quit with that. Who the hell is 'he'?"
The lance dug into the strap not even remotely protecting his chest.
"Better yet, who the hell are you?"
For a second, his savior's grin faltered just slightly, hair poofing a bit. His pose tensed just slightly—definitely not out of fear, though.
"Hey now, one at a time, yeah?" His hands moved in a placating motion. "I know I'm devilishly handsome, but no need to panic like that."
So much for Soma's "dealing with people" filter.
"Less talking, more answering."
The older teen huffed. The younger was sure he had more to bicker but was somehow miraculously holding his tongue.
"Chill. I'm one of the good guys. Killing things like that big asshole's how I make a living." He finally conceded. "I run a shop and got hired. Something about a shrine…"
Oh, great. Just like Hammer. Sort of.
"Anyway… fine, I was messing with you. He didn't actually tell me anything about you." He paused… then smirked. "It's just not hard to understand that."
The lance threatened to cut the strap.
"Names." Soma hissed.
The elder tilted his head back.
"Fine, fine! Geez, didn't your parents teach you patience?" That felt awfully bold coming from him. "Fine. Name's Dante. You?"
Dante. He was getting somewhere. Dante the smug prick with a giant sword.
"…Soma."
Dante's eyes seemed to light up in recognition, the blue in his irises somehow intensifying.
"Ahh. Guess I hit the jackpot then! You see, I ran by the guy who hired me and he mentioned a Soma to me. Guess that's you!"
Soma blinked. The chances of knowing Dante's employer were surprisingly high.
"I'm guessing you weren't ordered to kill me, then?" He finally relented, moving the lance away. The elder's hair finally rested down as he crossed his arms.
"What, and ruin that fur on your coat? Not my style." His fangs were showing again. "And you're not really giving me a reason to. Even if you think you are."
Something in that made him bristle deep inside. He could definitely sense something he's not saying.
"…You're not human." Soma tried, allowing his expression to soften. That earned him a scoff.
"Human, monster… does it matter to you?"
"It does when you're being chased by monsters."
Dante simply shrugged again, head swaying lightly.
"Y'know, I can hear your head entering overtime. Worried you're not human or something?"
Soma wanted to tell him to piss off so badly. Was he reading him just to poke at all the sore spots?
(Not to mention, he's definitely faking that inkling of concern he noticed. So far he's been everything but concerned.)
"Long story, okay?" He snapped. "Look, thanks for the help and all that, but maybe leave the analysis to another time."
Dante whistled, casually grabbing his sword. It seemed weightless in his hand, the way he twirled it almost casual.
"It's a date then." He strolled right past Soma, patting his shoulder patronizingly. "Probably much sooner than you think. This place isn't that big when you think about it."
The older teen then thrusted his sword forward, sliding down the stairs effortlessly and backflipping down, likely through the gate Soma had entered. For half a minute, the younger let himself sit under the moonlight, its brilliance reflecting on his pale skin and cold gray eyes.
He hoped he'd run into Arikado beforehand. It definitely felt like something he'd do… and far more likely to confess to him he hired some shirtless weirdo to the castle. At least he doesn't sugarcoat it nor hide it for the sake of annoying him.
Plus he wanted to wipe Dante's smug smirk off his face once he figured his employer's name.
It was definitely a date then.