With Pandora as a guide, Xaryus and Zadius flew across several rooftops in the outer sector of Castillan.
Rosaly led them westward near the wall of the middle sector. At points where they came closer to outcroppings and stalwart watchtowers, they opted to descend from the rooftops and move through several alleyways.
Eventually they entered a dreary area in the northwestern part of the outer ring; the wall of the middle sector now several kilometres behind them. Many of the buildings were well made but of wood instead of stone. They were worn and some of them were even broken down.
They saw many men, women and children along its damaged cobblestone road, laying on the floor sleeping.
They had entered a slum.
The brothers looked around, a sense of nostalgia quelling within them.
It was hard to believe that they were once just like the people around them.
Hungry, tired, afraid…Weak.
"Never again!" Xaryus thought defiantly.
On a part of the damaged cobblestone road, Xaryus and Zadius landed on the uneven street to avoid falling through a weakened wooden roof.
Pandora softly hummed and stayed in the air, guiding the duo through streets and alleyways.
As they moved through the area they received a plethora of different glances from its inhabitants. Some glances were filled with curiosity, confusion, and most of all… fear.
Two strange, cloaked figures wandering through a slum, adorned with armour and weapons wasn't a welcoming sight to these people; especially if the thieves had established a base in the area.
Xaryus and Zadius carried on ignoring the gazes and finally made their way onto a long street.
On it, two houses sat across from each other looked to be in much better condition than the others. They seemed to have been worked on in the past, several pieces of material used to replace old and worn parts of the homes; giving them a patchwork appearance.
"The traces lead to the larger house on your left." Rosaly's voice echoed from the call stone stashed beneath Xaryus' chest plate.
Pandora soared above their heads and towards the larger of the two houses on the left side of the road.
Rosaly's now faded words tightened both Xaryus and Zadius' focus onto the large wooden building. Zadius' hand became loose, ready to unsheathe his daggers at any moment.
"This is it." Xaryus thought.
As they moved closer to the building, they both began to suppress the animus surging through their bodies. Feeling their strength weakened, they continued to move forward.
"I can't sense anything inside." Xaryus strained at the extent of his capabilities.
Although an awakener's ability to sense animus is useful, weaker awakened find difficulty sensing things through objects.
Only after their core ascends to higher levels does their ability to sense animus become less like echolocation and more of a radar sensory type ability; relaying information based on the difference in animus that each object holds within the awakener's sensory range.
Approaching the front door of the two-story building Zadius slowly pushed it open, his other hand tightly holding his sheathed long dagger.
The door creaked as it dragged across the wooden floor. As it did, both his and Xaryus' senses flooded into the home; yet still, they were unable to sense any other awakened.
Zadius peeked inside to see a large room with no furniture. It was dimly lit by a lantern to the right of the door.
Slipping inside, he lowered his body and drew his second long dagger. His eyes darted around the room, noticing a thin staircase built into the wall across from the entrance and a door right beside the base of the step.
Xaryus then entered, Pandora floating quietly above his head.
Within the Royal's Den, Rosaly sat at her tea table leaning at the edge of her seat. Her eyes locked onto Pandora's ring, the space between the red ring was filled with a mist that reflected the inside of the wooden home.
"Entu Recori." Rosaly whispered.
In the silence of the dark room, Xaryus and Zadius moved towards the door at the base of the staircase.
"Recording." Pandora sounded softly in a robotic female voice, almost similar to Law.
Xaryus' blade suddenly swung around, stopping half an inch away from the floating device.
Zadius' head had also whipped in the direction of Pandora, the shadows in the room seemingly growing darker as he did.
"...Sorry." Rosaly's voice sounded softly from Pandora.
There was a moment of silence before she continued to speak, "The signals lead upstairs."
Xaryus glanced at Zadius who had an irritated look on his face before both their eyes shifted up the stairway.
It was a single flight of stairs leading up into a hallway with three doors. The closest door to the left and the last two further down the hallway on the right.
"The hallway is littered with animus." Pandora whispered once again.
Slowly, Xaryus placed his hand on the first door, pushing it open very slowly.
But before he could see inside the dark room the door frame splintered, bright light began to shine through its newfound cracks and an explosion boomed.
With a flash of light behind the door and a booming sound, Xaryus' body flew past Zadius and through the wall behind them
Where the door once stood now held a large hole filled with splintered wood and raised dust. Standing there was a large woman with dark skin and short curly brown hair.
She was very muscular and adorned in armour, in her right hand was a longsword aspect and in her left was a golden shield that looked like a coiling snake with its head at the centre; two rubies taking the place of its serpentine eyes.
Sensing Xaryus' animus behind him, Zadius kept his focus forward.
Instantly, he noticed one of the ruby eyes of the golden snake crumble and fall to the ground.
As the dust began to settle, the woman's eyes finally fell on Zadius and then to her shield. Lowering her stance, she prepared to use Rosaly's aspect once more.
"Die." she quipped.