Sarah
A cylindrical room with a slightly eerie atmosphere. Great pillars line the walls of its interior, each flanked on either side by what appears to be coffins hewn of a luxurious, smooth stone. It appears to be an honorable place of burial, yet is overcome with what appears to be recently-placed, shabby wooden coffins lining the walls.

Once he had reached the top of the incredibly long spiral-staircase, Gaige would encounter what was, literally, a **Solid roof.** However, the moment he were to place his foot upon the third-to-last step before the slab of stone that marked the end of the spiral-staircase, he could hear a **Subtle `clic`,** As the roof above him slid to the side, revealing an entirely new location with an atmosphere quite different to that of the caverns below.

Departing from the spiral-staircase, he'd find himself within the direct center of the strange room whose walls and pillars were lined with coffins. A place of the dead, yet not one as decrepit and disgusting as the one he had found before; no, rather, this place seemed to have a strange aura of holiness to it, likely granted to the strange system of lighting that illuminated its interior. Indeed, it almost felt like a place of reverence, tranquil, and displaying of architecture which had civil intelligence to it, greatly unlike the cave overrun with roots below.

It appeared that he had entered through a **Secret door.** The slab of stone that slid to the side was now clearly revealed to be a **False tile in the floor,** Moved to the side by some form of autonomous mechanism. Luckily, he was going *Up,* Not *Down;* Who knows how long it would've taken one to find the method to reveal that door...
_ _

As Gaige accustoms himself to his new surroundings, he may take note of... A most *Imposing* Presence, some distance ahead of him. Positioned close to one of the walls of the cylindrical room, there was a **Knight, donning full, golden-tinted armor, and wielding what appeared to be a brazen halberd.** The knight wasn't just tall — it was bordering on *Massive,* At a staggering 250cm in height. Judging by the shape of its thick metal armor, it had an incredible physique to match its incredible height.

Luckily for Gaige, however, it hadn't taken note of him, completely motionless, with one hand rested on its halberd that stood upright. **Behind the knight is a staircase leading upwards, and likely the way he would have to continue, were he to wish to keep ascending.**
Carl
Upon reaching the top, Gaige let out a silent yawn, stretching his arms out after having climbed the tens of steps. He hadn't really been paying much attention as he climbed the staircase, brushing the trapdoor off as a normal occurrence. Blinking his eyes repeatedly, he examined the room he had found himself in. Cleanly and bathing in rays of gold was the room, Gaige relieved to be out of the cave finally. `Good change of scenery from the abandoned state of that cave. Wonder just how big this tower is...?` The man thought to himself, imagining just how expensive this room alone would be in the modern world. He abandoned those monetary thoughts quick however, turning his attention to the oblivious knight that stood by the staircase. `More stairs huh... And what I can assume is a Knight of Sol as well.`

The man took cover behind a nearby pillar, gathering his thoughts to create a plan. `The best way to handle this guy would be just killing him from here right now while he doesn't notice me. Though, I could learn a lot about how these knights fight if I were to garner his attention...` Gaige's thought process could definitely be described as... Eccentric, when faced with danger. The man often went the most insane and irrational plans when it came to situations like this, and this situation would end up following the status quo. Gaige had concocted a plan on how to deal with the knight: conversation.

_ _
Gaige stepped out into the open corridor, exposing himself to the grand knight. "Yo," He shouted to gain the knight's attention, his hands raised in a sign of peace, "Willing to have a chat, _Knight of Sol_?" The man utilized the official name of the order which the knight—assumedly—belonged to. This was in an attempt to showcase to the knight he was no random adventurer, but one who knew who they were. In the end, his plan did rely on the knights being able to understand him. Due to his conversation with Okot, he had a fair deal of confidence that they'd be able to converse. Gaige kept his hands raised, prepared to take action against the knight if they were to advance upon the man.
Victor
The knight's posture shifts, as it appeared to have taken notice of Gaige's presence. Its grip on the halberd in its right hand visibly shifted, and no longer does it rest it against the ground, instead brandishing it at its side, demonstrating that it was prepared for battle. It tilted the halberd, resting its lower half within its left hand, facing Gaige head-on. Moments before it could take summary action to attack the intruder before it, however, Gaige spoke, and it seemed to hesitate...

*```fix
"𝙼𝚖𝚖..."```*

The knight gives a low grunt, acknowledging the statement that he made. The knight did, indeed, seem to understand him, pausing for a moment, as he contemplated...

```fix
"𝚈𝚘𝚞, 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚋𝚎𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝙶𝚊𝚝𝚎, 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚘𝚕..."```

—he spoke, the ROSWALT system within Gaige's ear mirroring his speech of a foreign language in English. The knight's voice was deep, masculine, yet was not rasp, rather smooth, free-flowing and quite elegant. The essence of duty was in his tone, and so too was it in his aura and very appearance.

```fix
"𝚊𝚛𝚎, 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍..."





"𝑼𝑵𝑭𝑰𝑻 𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑵 𝑻𝑶 𝑬𝑿𝑰𝑺𝑻."```

***The knight two-handedly slams the bladeless end of its halberd into the ground, as a palpable aura of physical might rouses from within his armor.*** A clearer demonstration of hostility could not be found — the knight had disregarded both his request to speak as well as his usage of the title *'Knight of Sol'.* To the guardian of the Ground Gate, all such semantics were irrelevant. *An intruder was before him, and so they must be struck down.* Adamant in its position at the front of the stairs, the knight would not make a movement until Gaige first approached, in which time, the knight would certainly attack.
Carl
The hero did not react to the knight's show of force, continuing to stare him down. `Hm... The translation is nice I will admit.` Gaige did not approach the knight either, the two being at a stand still temporarily, the man saying nothing for a period of time. Eventually, he spoke again, "You considered it, didn't you?" Not appearing phased at all by the stature of the knight or his threat, Gaige continued trying to converse. "I don't have any intention to cause harm here, _Knight of Sol_. As of now, your order has been nothing but a benefit to me." Gaige stayed where he was, not moving any closer. `Maybe I should continue to recite what I've learned...`

"In fact, the concept you've created—Unity in Disparity by using only Sol... I find it interesting myself. In the time I've been here, I've come to understand a great deal about your order." He began reciting knowledge he had learned from the cave, mixing it in with compliments. "_I'm even capable of utilizing your prayers, Knight of Sol._" The man took one step forward, ending his recital of knowledge for the time being as he awaited a response from the knight.
Victor
```fix
"𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒂𝒕𝒆,"
"𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒚."```

The knight spoke, his voice demanding, and thundering even from across the moderate distance between the two. Still, having made not a step, the knight holds his ground, halberd clasped between his two armored hands without a sign of loosening.

```fix
"𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐥, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲."
"𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞."
"𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞,"
"𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍, 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒛𝒆𝒓, 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒆."```

An acknowledgement, yet also a disregard of Gaige's attempts at using the things he had learned of the ways of the Knights of Sol to convince himself. 

```fix
"𝑵𝒐𝒘, 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒂𝒕𝒆..."
"𝑩𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅."```

Such a statement was not just a solemn warning, but a promise. Duty, unto the very end, was a core characteristic of the unerring knight before him. The Knights of Sol had no influence on him like the promise of purity, and the promise of purity had no influence on him like the duty of guardianship. And, even the duty of guardianship, had no influence on him like that of the Ezer's, his lord, his king, and the one to whom his oath was given.
Carl
Gaige held his ground still, not complying with the knight's requests. He still had his ace in the hole after all. He stood in silence, appearing to be in thought as the two stared each other down. Gaige spoke, "I possess the ability to use _the Sun of Reversion_." He gave the knight a friendly smile, "Does that change your mind, knight?" The man knew that the prayer he mentioned was one of _Ukue's_, who he had pieced together as an enemy to the _Knights of Sol_.

Despite the knowledge he had of _Ukue_ and his assumed relationship with the _Knights of Sol_, he utilized his knowledge of the prayer as a show of force. The prayer itself was not the threat, but instead the existence of another being _capable_ of using it. "I assume you're well aware of why I'm telling you this, correct? One last chance: are you willing to have a chat?" The man took another step forward towards the knight, mana beginning to surge around his figure.
Sarah
Descending the stairs, Kuouo would find himself in a most precarious situation — **Directly behind what was about to become a fully-escalated fight.** Dead-ahead of him, once he had begun to descend the stairs, was the figure of a **Giant, gold-armored man,** Halberd held within his hands, facing a most familiar face: **Gaige.**
Victor
```fix
"..."```

No further response. The knight is holding his ground, irresponsive and unthreatened by Gaige's further attempts to speak and even threaten the knight.