Steven
```diff
- "Mmm..."```

The man grumbled as the tabaxi, analyzing her surroundings with Detect Magic, continued on. She continued through her odd digression on the terrifying nature of infinity, and the man seemed vaguely intrigued, his once-disinterested gaze directed beyond the golden window now partially presenting of the subtle figments of interest. There was a sense of familiarity to be found in what she said, and the process through which she described the cosmos was not unlike what he thought, many-some years ago. The words, to him, were familiar; he, himself, had once believe the world and macrocosm about it to themselves be doleful entities solely for the dreadful infinity that formed their firmaments. It seemed naught but a sea of empty darkness, ceaseless in nature, like an all-devouring void that extinguished all existence in its abysmal wake. To him, it was once terrifying for the very fact that he believed it to embody absolute *Nothingness.* Life, light, matter and time — all which delved into its fathomless depths would be lost, never to return, entrapped within the clutch of that very infinity of nothingness. 

Or so he once thought.

```diff
- "Pilferers of our sort... Dabblers in the territory of the absolute... Those that seek the mysteries of the cosmos... All plucked from the same tree, so I discovered."
- "The call of the Claw of God that cascades from the fissure in the sky - it beckons those who dare stare unto the abyss."
- "Yes - so it's said. When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back.

- "...Ahhhhh, but inevitably, those that stare long enough, will one day learn... It is not the abyss that stares back."

- "Someday, you too will realize."
- "Heh heh heh..."```

The man chuckled in hush.
Lea
The dice collide with the wall of strange, chalky gray marble, and rebound off its surface. It seemed as though the wall was made out of something physical, after all—-

—-***`Sssssssssss...`***

Sound, like steam hissing from a cracked pipe, erupts forth from the figure of the wall encompassed in potent illusion. The mana that once encased its odd shape and form begins to fade, and so it is revealed that the wall never existed in the first place. A mere illusion, as expected; though, it seemed that anything short of an intentful impact against its surface would not reveal it to be such — the dice physically rebounding off its once-existence surface would serve to reveal that much.

Beyond the form of the illusory wall is another section of the church that once went unseen. Directly behind and at the center of what was the illusory wall, was the figure of a **Statue.** A third statue, front-and-center, and much larger than the other two. A gargantuan, armored figure etched in stone and decorated with accents of gold, silver, and a red gemstone at its forehead now dominated the atmosphere of the room, its figure dwarfing any and all other objects or people within the church. The helmet-face of the statue seemed to have a strange rune engraved into its surface — like that of the image of the sun — which glowed a deep, crimson hue, like that of a dying star. Within the grip of the statue's right hand is the stone image of a **Twinblade,** And, at the foot of the statue, is a slab of stone, undamaged, briefly describing the statue's origins...

**```fix
PRAISE THE UEZER EIKOKUE
BEGETTER OF TWO GUARDIANS
HERO OF THE SUN
MENTOR OF OUR LORD, THE TAAE CHEIT EZER.```**

Aside from the statue, there is a single revealed object of interest, once hidden behind the illusory wall: a **Large set of stone doors,** About four meters in height each, closed and yet not locked, which was located a short distance behind the gargantuan statue.
Jonathan
"Well, there's that..." She says under her breath in regards to the new room, glancing back over to the prisoner kept here. *If it's cursed... Mayhaps this would be explored when everything is tucked away... He said it was cursed, after all — but, also implied he might not know what lay behind those doors.*

"What stares back when there is nothing to stare unto the beholder is nothing more than just the reflection of one's inner self... A speck hidden in the sand of the mental desert called one's mind, sand so perfectly melted that it, in one way or another, turns to the glass that defines a mirror; a way to look inwards upon oneself. When there is nothing to behold, there is yet *Everything* Remaining to be uncovered..." She walks forward towards the now-revealed room, sure that this man certainly wouldn't attack as he speaks of a lesson she is already well-informed of. *"The teachings of everything and no-thing."* She speaks, both inwards and outwards, touching the base of the statue. "A hidden statue mentioning two guardians..." She places her paw to her muzzle as she turns around, left eyebrow raised in curiosity as she walks back to the plaques located at the base of the two aforementioned statues in the un-illusory room.

_ _
*Well, there's no harm in trying, right...?* She thinks to herself, raising up her gauntlet — Detect Magic still firmly in effect as she __**Attempts**__ to cast *Mending* On the bottom of the un-destroyed depiction; the one on her right when she walked in, a few lasers emanating from each of the five fingers on her right hand. *This would be so much easier if I had the resources to repair my left...* Tabby the tabaxi curses herself, yet continues diligently working away at whatever the hell it was she was trying to accomplish. Certainly, this would take a while, as a single casting of *Mending* Lasts one minute and can only repair one foot of material at a time. 

The purpose? Tabby intends to see one little thing — if the third statue had a plaque detailing it as a *"Hero of the sun"*, the curious cat intends to see exactly what *This* Statue says. One could *Assume* It was part of the aforementioned guardians, but... Better safe than sorry, yes? As she works around attempting to get this bout of interest out of her system, she decides to ask but a few more questions, of course, why wouldn't she? Is this all this cat can do?

"These statues..." She sweeps her free hand from one side to the other as she *Tries* To make heads or tails, "Would you happen to know what they said? While I'm at it... What is the Eikokue?" *Suddenly things got a hell of a lot more suspicious, now that the 'cursed' wall jig is up.*

_ _
Ah, but of course... Safety first! Tabby remembers to pull her goggles down off of the top of her head, covering her eyes. Remember to practice safety!
Lea
The statue to the right — shattered, decrepit, and destroyed, as if on purpose — did, indeed, have small chunks of rubble at its base, and enough to perform a basic sort of mending on the plaque at its base. With some careful manipulation and expert use of the spell, she would be able to *Partially* Repair the plaque, enough so that some portions of the engraved text would be readable once again, yet not as perfectly enough to wholly restore its phrasing in its entirety. For, of course, loose chunks of the rubble left on the ground had been kicked and ground down far beyond usable forms over the many years that the statue laid in waste.

Nonetheless, at the very least, *Some* Of the text is readable, and it is as such:

**```fix
SOLAR GUARDIAN A[—]KUE
FIR[ — ]N OF THE TWIN GU[—]IANS
TO WHOM [—] BEQUEATHED EZERO
HEAD KNIGHT OF [ — ]```**

Further, with Detect Magic enabled — and her being within close proximity of the statues — she would note that the destroyed statue had no magical presence in effect upon its form. However, the statue to the left (the one depicting an unboastfully-armored knight) was enshrouded in an aura that suggested it was enchanted with a spell of the school of **Abjuration.**
_ _
Steven
```diff
- "..."```

The man squinted at the tabaxi, who continued to mill about through the church, sticking her nose in far too many things than she should, his gaze now careful and cautious of her nature. The moment that she brought down the illusory wall, his attitude towards her appeared to have shifted, as if he had grown suspicious of her, strangely enough. Yet, there was no aggression in his nature; simply caution and leeriness as she continued to prod about through the church. He could no longer humor a conversation between her on the nature of infinity, withwhat reservations he had against her, now.

Initially, he would give no answer to her questions. The leeriness that now overshadowed every other conception he had of her prevented him from doing such, as he instead continued to squint, his arms folded, and his body no longer relaxed in the windowsill, instead stood with an attentive posture. Now upright, she could aptly garner an image of the man's stature — he stood at no taller than 179cm, with a somewhat muscular frame, as one who was in a more laborious field of work would appear. His eyes glaring at her from afar, he would slightly purse his lip, mumbling something, before granting a vague answer.

```diff
- "...Mmm. Suppose you could find that out for yourself. Seeing as you've some sort of ache to meddle with all sort of inhumed secrets, putting back together texts that were never meant to be read..."```

He paused upon her mentioning of Eikokue, tapping his gloved right hand against his wrist. His unease, though slight, grew more and more noticeable as time passed on, the malevolent aura that enshrined his body slightly piquing in intensity as he itched against his chained left glove.
_ _

```diff
- "Let me give you a word of advice."
- "Ukue. Eikokue. Aazkue."
- "Those names may seem initially tempting. Right, you and I heard it when we first heard that the Vektet had made contact with our respective planes of existence... The call to pilfer. Knowledge and riches... Of a divine realm, ripe for the taking."

- "But there is no sympathy to be given to these 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔. Afford not even the attention for their history... Their natures... Their ambitions... You know they are inconsequential to you. You know you do not want to make yourself accustomed with these... Beasts."```

He spoke with the unhidden notion of *Disgust* At the tip of his tongue, his words, laced with hate, carving against the repute and humanity of those who resided within the Vektet.

```diff
- "Devaluate your life if you shall; I will not stop you. Progress if you will to the 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯... And 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 if it is your calling. I am not at liberty to tell you where you should and should not go."```

He spoke, most cryptically, and much against his typical nature of speaking, communicating as vaguely and riddle-like as possible, as one who would attempt to avoid perjury in court. That which he referred to, and that which he warned her against, would be no mystery, given his careful placement of emphasis in places which he *Could not otherwise elaborate further on.*
Jonathan
"A-kue..." She speaks aloud, seemingly confirming the suspicion that the third statue implies that it came before the other two, perhaps an ancestor of sorts... Begetter does mean parent right? Well, Tabby has no idea. But, who the hell is *EZERO*? Inferencing from the other statue, the 3rd missing word is likely to be "Guardians", but... The 4th and 5th, Tabby has not the faintest idea. Akue, obviously, is a name, and the 2nd one... Well... Fireman comes to mind but would that really make sense in a situation like this? *I think not.*

When the man begins to speak, Tabby's ears twitch much like any regular cat would, pointing towards the source of the sound in the room. *If they weren't meant to be read, they wouldn't have been constructed...* She replies, biting back her tongue to allow the man more time to give information. 

*Ah..* It occurs to Tabby that she's missing something... Where else has she seen the names of **UKUE** And **A__AZ__KUE** Before...?

*Right.* The prayer room.

_ _
Tabby uses her *Keen Mind*, attempting to recall the only information she actually absorbed off that mini-essay of text presented before her. Something about suns of destruction and purity... Whomever was dedicated to whom was entirely lost on her — if only she had stopped to read a few more seconds before chasing after that incredible *Wretch*!

". . . Of course not. I am just a simple... Adventurer." She stands up and does a forced curtsy, which is rather hard to do in armor without a skirt, but she attempts regardless. "**I have my bonds to a patron already, I don't want to betroth myself to a foreign power.**" Tabby is, of course, a *Cleric* Multiclass, so despite the man having no way to know this, this information **DOES** Check out. "All I hope to achieve in this Ark is to further my knowledge of this world we both reside in — whether our residence be intentional or unintentional. I am a woman of science, and intend to further hone my skills..."

She reaches her hand out for the vial. "Once I'm done in the place beyond the original scope of this church, I will help to free you as agreed upon. I only ask that you please *Write your notes down* So that when I return, we have no reason to think the other is lying..."

Sensing the growing distrust in the room, she grabs a piece of rolled parchment out from her *Trinket* Bag and extends it to the stranger as a sign of goodwill. "As part of our agreement, take this scroll... It's dear to me; something from my homeland, gifted by a friend. I wouldn't leave the Vektet without it." Ironically, it is a *Scroll of Animal Friendship.*
Steven
Watching as she gave what was vaguely akin to a curtsy, the man's head dipped in a half-nod, his chin lowering and his eyes more straight-set towards Tabby, in a gesture whose impression danced between the inferred notions of *"Really?"* And *"Uh huh."* Raising his head again, he continued to tap his finger against his left glove, his aspect of suspicion against her still maintaining as she continued through her explanations for being here. Her words, her self-definitions — of being a woman of science, of searching to hone her skills — moved him not a jot. He, one so thoroughly hung-up on the idea that they were all pilferers, intruders upon a structure he defined as 'divine' with no intent but to plunder to their hearts' content, was utterly unconvinced that *Anyone* Could have *Any purpose* But to do likewise. Whether it be to loot and pillage rare relics, or steal away untold knowledge of a world of another universe, anyone who stepped foot in this Ark must have done so for one selfish desire or another.

```diff
- "Bonds to a patron, mmmm..."
- "I did say you and I were cut from the same cloth... Therein that statement, my accuracy may have been... More or less than I initially thought."```

He spoke with a neutral tone, neither scornful nor deferential. He was not moved in one way or another by the statement, yet seemed ever-so-slightly intrigued by such a revealed fact. Perhaps it made him closer in nature to her, or perhaps much farther in nature...
_ _

```diff
- "...Mmm..."```

The man quietly grumbled with displeasure that she requested him to do *Anything.* Though it was a request as little as to ask him to simply write notes, the man appeared a hint irritated to place an ounce of effort beyond asking another to do it for him; even with all the time in the world, he could scarce be bothered to dedicate *Any* Of that time towards something that actually took effort.

```diff
- "Fine, fine..."```

He spoke, his gaze shifting — him almost rolling his eyes — before he glanced back to witness her extended hand. Slowly dropping the red vial of a most malevolently-enchanted nature, he swapped it for the scroll which she offered, peering down at it with a brief bemusement.


```diff
- "What's this... A scroll of magicks?" 
- "You should know that I'm no spellcaster."
- "...Mmm, whatever."```

The man, coarsened in demeanor by both the culture of his homeland and by the duress of being bound to a place such as the Vektet, was not one to swiftly pick up on the nature of such pleasantries. Or, for a matter of fact, even *Acknowledge* Them, were he to understand them in the first place. Nonetheless, taking the scroll with some caution, he stowed it away within one of the interior pockets of his dirtied coat.