The passage opened up into an expansive chamber. Bliss’s black high-heels clicked on the gray, stone floor as she stepped out of the passage and into said chamber. Her golden eyes came to a large statue at roughly the center of the chamber. The statue was of a hooded individual and had its hands cupped at its front. A large, red stone glowed in its hands, casting the chamber in a dim, red glow. Thanks to Bliss’s Night Vision, she could see well even in the dim lighting.

How interesting. Bliss stepped closer to the hooded statue at the center of the room. Her golden eyes went to the glowing stone in its hands. The reddish stone seemed to almost flicker like flame.

Lati stepped up behind Bliss, almost stumbling as she did so. A few rapid taps sounded at her feet as the snake woman steadied herself. Unlike the succubus, Lati lacked Night Vision and could not see that well under these conditions. Her red eyes went to the glowing stone. “Last time, I’m pretty sure this place was not so empty.”

Bliss blinked and turned away from the light-providing stone. “You know,” her golden eyes scanned her surroundings, “this place is rather vacant.” She turned back to the statue with the sudden urge to twitch her bunny ears. She was still using her Natural Disguise though. “Do you think it’s safe to show our demon bits here? I mean no one is around, right?”

“Should be fine.” Lati’s tongue flitted out. “The sect should be friendly anyway.” The snake woman began removing her cloak.

Bliss smiled and deactivated her Natural Disguise. Her human ears vanished and a pair of white bunny ears popped out from the top of her head. At her back, her black succubi wings appeared, and a cute, white bunny tail sprouted out from right above her medium-sized butt. It feels so great to have my bunny-succubi bits back. She bent forward and stretched, sticking out her backside and spreading her wings. Her big boobs wobbled with the movement, the red fabric of her halter-top containing them.

“Well, you seem happy.” Lati smiled at the bunny succubus, her tongue flitting out again. She held her now-removed cloak in her ivory-skinned hands. “I guess I’ll just put this here for now.” She bent over and placed her cloak at the foot of the statue.

Bliss straightened up and stretched her arms above her. “Feels great to have my Natural Disguise deactivated.” Her bunny ears twitched. “It feels so weird not to have my bunny-succubi bits.” She lowered her arms and looked back to the attention-grabbing statue. The gray, stone statue looked to be in perfect condition, not a bit of wear to it. The stone figure wore a cloak that concealed its face and looked to be standing. Its gray, stone cloak had been carved with exquisite detail.

“Should we look for someone?” Bliss turned to Lati.

Lati glanced to the succubus and then poked her head around the statue. Behind it, there was a gray, stone stairwell going down. “Maybe we should go down there.” Her tongue flitted out again.

Bliss moved towards the referenced stairwell, her bunny ears twitching cutely. “Maybe.” She stepped up to its edge and peered in. It looks dark, darker than this room, but … Her bunny tail twitched. I can see fine in it with my Night Vision though. Her golden eyes went to Lati. “Looks pretty dark. Stay close.” She held her hand out.

Lati nodded and took Bliss’s offered hand, and the two began to head down. They walked slowly with Bliss in the lead and Lati moving closely behind her. The stairwell was silent other than the tapping of their high-heels on stone. In time, they reached the end, the stairwell opening up into another room, this room brighter but smaller than the last.

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Glowing stones of white were inlaid into the walls of this room. These stones provided plenty of light to the room. Lati stepped out from behind her friend and started glancing around the room. Bliss smiled at the snake woman, her succubi wings fluttering a bit, and proceeded to look around herself. A large table composed of black stone sat in the center of the room. An assortment of black, stone chairs had been positioned around it. Apart from the stairwell, there were three other passages leading out of this room. Against one of the walls and not far from one of these passages, an ornate grandfather-clock stood.

Bliss’s golden eyes stopped on the grandfather-clock, and she quickly headed over to it. Its pendulum swung to and fro in a calming (almost mesmerizing) manner. The clock’s wooden frame appeared to be in worn yet well-kept condition.

“Do you think this thing’s time is right?” Bliss’s eyes were still on the time-keeping implement.

“Probably.” Lati’s tongue flitted out as her red eyes settled on the grandfather-clock. With a little smile, the snake woman ran over to said clock to take a closer look. “It is clearly old, but it looks like it is in pretty good condition. It obviously has not stopped.” She tapped the glass over its face. Said glass held only a few small scratches.

Bliss took her pocket-watch out from her inventory and popped the much-smaller time-keeping implement open. Her eyes darted between the pocket-watch in her hands and the grandfather-clock along the wall. The time is almost identical. I guess my pocket-watch is set right after all. She snapped her pocket-watch closed and placed it back into her inventory. Her golden eyes went back to Lati.

“Greetings.” A sudden, high-pitched voice called out.

Both Bliss and Lati jolted at the unexpected greeting. Bliss spun around, instinctively bracing herself. She relaxed her guard, though, when her golden eyes fell upon a familiar sight. A certain jester, a certain black- and gray-clad jester, sat upon the table with her hands clasped cutely together.

Oh. It is just Snek. Bliss breathed a sigh of relief, her bunny ears drooping momentarily. Her eyes went to the envoy who they had traveled to Lalet Village with. Wait. Why should I be so relaxed? She bailed on us when we got to Lalet Village, and there is that whole thing with Alila’s sister. She gulped, and her bunny ears gave a quick twitch.

Snek slipped off the table and took a standing position beside it. “Come.” She gestured to a pair of chairs. “Sit. Sit. We have much to discuss.”

“You mean about the operation, right?” Bliss took one of the two offered seats, her nice rump pressing down into it. For a chair made of stone, this chair isn’t half bad. The chair was smooth to the touch and held not one crack. It even feels a bit warm. She placed a hand on the armrest. Actually, I think it is giving off a bit of heat. Well, if light-up rocks are a thing, why not warming rocks?

“Operation?” Snek turned to Bliss, cocking her head to the side as Lati took the other offered chair. “Oh, right. That operation. Of course. What else would this be about?”

Well, that is quite-blatantly suspicious. Bliss’s bunny ears twitched. Really getting a bad feeling about this. Maybe I should try asking something else. “So … Where is everyone?”

“Everyone?” The mask-wearing jester cocked her head to the side again.

Bliss sighed and crossed her arms. “This place seems a little vacant, doesn’t it?”

“Oh.” Snek’s brown eyes lit up from behind her mask. “That everyone. Don’t worry about them. We have the place to ourselves right now.”

I am so getting a bad feeling about this.