-- POV General --

"Turn off the torches !"

Ynir had just said this sentence with a proud look and a smile that no one had ever seen on her face before. None of the soldiers presents understood why she had just said such a thing and understanding their incomprehension, Ynir explained her theory.

"Fight what you fear. The answer rests at last beneath starry skies. Do these sentences mean nothing to you ? If we assume that only one fear is evoked here, it cannot be a classic one because we are all different. It is a common fear that is only possible in this room and given the situation, the only thing that undeniably frightens us here is..."

"Darkness !"

Everyone had exclaimed with one voice, beginning to understand little by little what the young woman was getting at. There were no other clues anyway and the Commander seemed to have had a glimmer of genius. As everything fell into place, the Ynir spoke up again to explain what was next.

"Exactly ! Because of the symbols engraved on the pillars we all agreed that darkness represented death but...what if it was also the solution ? Then, the last sentence talks about starry skies, but as you all know, we are several meters underground, but what if it was another sky that we were not yet aware of. A sky that would reveal itself to us once the torches are extinguished..."

Ynir as a butterfly using light to amplify her illusions, knew this element almost perfectly and was therefore the one most likely to come to this conclusion. There weren't many left and for the moment this theory was the only one available, however, making the decision to test it wasn't easy.

Although all the phrases made more or less sense in one's mind, in this room, darkness primarily meant death. So it was hard not to be filled with doubt at the thought of taking the plunge and deliberately plunging into the dark. While the quieter Commanders pondered, Lynn spoke for the first time, trembling and as undecided as the Lieutenants.

"Commander Ynir...what...what if turning off the torches triggers the mechanism ? We...we would have hastened our deaths...I...we can't do that ! That...I...why...!!??"

The succubus had burst into tears and couldn't help but feel uncontrollable fear. She was the weakest of the group and was obviously far from being able to handle so much pressure. Normally, Freya would never have accepted her into the group and for good reason, such experiences were normally unbearable for a level 5 being. Being underground where monsters capable of killing her in the blink of an eye remained, and then going into a deadly room was too much.

Everything was happening so fast that it was unbearable, and the more time passed, the more Lynn began to falter. Never in her life had she felt so much fear, seen so much blood, not to mention her reaction to the sight of her Empress' demonic form. As she crouched down, putting her hands around her head, Nixia did something unimaginable.

As the lamia wrapped her scaly tail around the young Lynn as everyone looked on in shock, she leaned in to speak to her in a strangely soft voice. Like any half-human race with a tail, this was still considered a very intimate place, yet Nixia had acted without hesitation.

"Lynn...get up. We're all going to survive and get out of here I promise. I know this is hard for you but look we're all determined, no one here will give up and we'll carry your burden together if we have to."

The Commander's words, though uncertain of their future, were filled with pure sincerity and tenderness. Coming face to face with death had at that moment made Nixia much softer than she usually was, which was to say...not at all. The young succubus had lifted her head and as she dried her tears and sniffled, Luna returned to the subject.

"We must have fifteen minutes left, twenty at the most, and if Ynir's theory proves to be true, it's not impossible that one last riddle will lurk once the lights go out. We don't really have a choice. Either we look for another theory, which seems impossible to me, or we test the only one we have and try with all our might to find the way out."

Though everyone was panicking to a different degree, what Luna had said was completely true. No one had an alternative, and as crazy as it sounded, Ynir's idea wasn't that dumb. With one look, all the soldiers knew deep down that the best thing to do was to turn off the torches. Liz the tigress, Ralph's second, raised her voice and slammed her fist against her palm, revealing her fangs.

"We will fight ! Surely her Highness would say that it is better to perish trying than to breathe our last with regrets..."

"No one is going to die here, okay ? Now everyone stand by the torches on the walls, we need to turn them off. If my theory is right once the light is off the mechanism shouldn't go off because it's connected to the hourglass !"

Once again, Ynir had raised her voice as everyone nodded. Even Lynn had come to her senses a bit, the willingness of the others and the kindness of her Commander had been a great help. On each wall there were ten torches placed at a perfect distance from each other, so the Empire soldiers weren't enough. However, after all they had been through, it wasn't torches that would make them back down.

"Everyone spread out on the other walls, I'll take care of the ten torches here without a problem !"

"Yes Commander !"

Thorunn had commandeered an entire wall fully aware that taking a flame from each was not possible. As the Lieutenants ran in another direction, right in front of her Nixia had also placed herself on a wall alone having had the same idea as her friend. The time had come to plunge the room into darkness.

"All right ! Everybody ready ?"

Ynir the discreet and kind woman at that moment had taken the commanders for the great joy of Persea who as a partner, knew better than anyone her deep personality. All together, facing a hypothetical death, everyone seemed to reveal themselves in a different way than usual, driven by the instinct of survival, fear but also the fact of not being alone.

In this way, Nixia had shown a soft side of her that was unknown, Lynn had buckled under the pressure for a few seconds, and Ynir had revealed an incredible capacity for reflection. Even the other Commanders had shown a tremendous amount of composure and at that moment, that was all their Empress wanted. In the end, they were all worthy of being Commanders of the Elysium army and far more so than they had thought.

So Ynir stood in the middle of the room and served as a landmark for everyone. She hovered a little above the floor, her black hair with rainbow highlights waving gently and her light blue eyes almost transparent, unwavering. Everyone looked at her and waited for her instructions, which were soon to come.

"We have fifteen minutes to act, the wall to my left and right will be the last to be extinguished. Lieutenants, when I lower my arms you will extinguish your torches then it will be the Commanders turn."

"Yes Commander Ynir !"

The ever-respectful Lieutenants had responded in unison while her friends nodded with a smile. The young butterfly woman didn't want all the torches to be extinguished at once so as not to take any chances and observe any potential changes in the room as they occurred. Everyone trusted her and as she raised her arms, all hearts beat at a frantic and almost deafening pace.

"Go for it !"

Suddenly, the eight Lieutenants were extinguishing their torches with a fist, whip, paw, or with elements. A quarter of the room was now plunged into darkness as only one wall had been extinguished so far but nothing special was happening. Raising again the arms, this time, Ynir looked at her friends of the wall of opposite where were placed Naia, Emilia, Ralph, Trioa, Persa and Caipy.

Again, with a precise and serious gesture, the young woman with the rainbow-colored wings lowered her arms to give the signal. Once again, one of the walls of the room went dark but still nothing seemed to happen. As the darkness began to embrace the room, breaths became shorter and shorter and sweat poured down the foreheads. Only the wall behind Thorunn and the one behind Nixia remained.

"We have 10 minutes left ! Nixia, Thorunn ! On my signal extinguish all your torches at once and at the same time !"

"Good !"

Time was still running out and now it was time to find out if Ynir's theory was right. Everyone was near the walls and Freya still lying against her stallion had her eyes closed but her smile hadn't disappeared and one of her fangs was even visible now. Like a scene in slow motion, for the last time, the half-human butterfly in the middle of the room lowered her arms hoping she hadn't been wrong.

Everything she had said seemed logical and Ynir had not thought about the failure of her theory as she had been so carried away by the adrenaline of the situation. However, now that she was lowering her arms, her heart was beating wildly, scared and impatient to know the outcome of this story. At that moment, as she gave her final signal, her heart screamed and her hands shook at the thought of potentially ruining everything.

"Go for it !"

Perfectly synchronized and coordinated, Thorunn and Nixia were using their elements to instantly extinguish all the torches on the great walls. The beautiful lamia with the black hair and grey eyes had conjured up two huge spears of black fire that she wanted to use. After twirling them in her hands to find a good grip, she had thrown them to either side in equal power and precision.

Thorunn simply closed her eyes and took a deep breath before extending her arms on either side of her body in a powerful movement. From her hands came two blades of wind, sending a powerful gust of wind into the room. They spun with equal speed and cut the heads of the torches one by one before crashing against the stone leaving huge marks.

"Now nobody moves !"

In an instant, the room sank into darkness and no light shone in this black and cold place. No one could see each other and only the sound of breathing could be heard rising to the ceiling. Nothing was happening and the longer the soldiers waited, the more the sound of the hourglass beads falling seemed to become muffled.

"I...this is...impossible..."

Only Ynir's voice could be heard in the room, while everyone could guess at the young Commander's condition. Suddenly, just as Ralph was about to speak, something strange happened. A faint red light began to shine on the ceiling, and then more and more until it covered the entire surface.

"It's..."

"Under the blood-tinted moon..."

"The starry skies.."

Patterns had appeared on the ceiling, previously invisible because of the torchlight, now shining brightly. They were traced by a light that was now scarlet and at this moment, everyone finally understood the meaning of the sentences. Exactly in the center, a circle representing a red moon flickered, surrounded by a multitude of stars of the same color.

In front of all the soldiers was the starry sky mentioned in the mysterious phrases and at that moment, it was shining brightly plunging the room into a bloody red. Suddenly, at the feet of Ynir who had been standing in the middle, new red lights began to shine, following the shape of the slabs to reveal a shape. The door they had been looking for was finally appearing.

___

Under the blood-tinted moon, it waits

Fire and pillars guarding over the gates

Adorned with sparkling lights, it lies

Fight what you fear, the answer rests at last beneath starry skies

___

Ynir was right, "Fight what you fear" represented the darkness finally revealing those hidden symbols that, when lit, glowed a deep red on the floor. The door they had all been looking for was there and it was not on the walls but on the floor. It was huge and more than a normal door it was a kind of stone trap door that could open from either side.

"We've got it ! That was it all along !"

The pressure was off and everyone began to breathe easier with indescribable smiles on their faces. Some of the Lieutenants hugged each other, others fell to their knees almost in tears, and the Commanders looked at each other with smiles. But, as a general euphoria had taken hold of the room, Emilia's voice rang out, bringing the most relieved back to reality.

"Soo...how do you trigger the mechanism that's supposed to open this huge stone trap door ?"

At these words, all the Lieutenants stopped celebrating and turned pale. The pressure had gone down so quickly and yet a moment later it had risen again just as fast. There were exactly 5 minutes left and the exit, though found, was useless if it couldn't be opened. While the Commanders were thinking at an astonishing speed, it was Ralph who spoke first.

"What if...this was just a hint and this time we need to use our power to destroy the ground. If this is indeed the exit, there should be nothing behind it, I think we should try !"

The hybrid Commander was the wildest of them all, and the only one to literally fight like a beast with great power. She wasn't a combat maniac like the Empress, but she wasn't far from it, so it was only natural that Ralph had thought of this option. However, no one knew how thick these stones were and even if they all worked together, there was no guarantee that they could do it.

"Let's try !"

As everyone prepared to hit the huge slabs with all their might along with everyone else, the sound of boots slamming on the floor could be heard from across the room. At that moment, everyone looked up and turned their heads in the direction of the sound, as they heard a cold, startling voice.

"I'll do it kufufu~"historical

____

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Empress of the three colors

Level : 40/70

Exp needed for next level: 0 / 41 000

HP : 150 000 / 150 000 MP : 75 000 / 75 000

Strength : 510

Defense : 510

Agility : 516

Endurance: 513

Speed : 512

Intelligence: 510

Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 300

Married to : Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 1239

Humans killed: 153

Souls: 2/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 6)

Defense - Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 5)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 2) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Detection and control of mana (lvl 6)

Master of souls (lvl 1)

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]