The tunnel stills so hard it feels held under glass. From the blue glow, a tall white haired man steps forward, his gaze sliding past Mercedes and the others as if they are only weather in the room.
Xero Matou
Sakura Matou. At last.
Sakura Matou
I know that voice...
Porsche Machina
Oh, fantastic. Another family problem.
Evan shifts closer to Sakura, hand tightening on his greatsword. Mercedes catches the new man's attention for half a breath, and it is chilly, clinical, and gone.
Mercedes Machina
He is not looking at me.
Xero Matou
You have hidden long enough. Come here, daughter.
The word lands in the passage like a dropped blade. Sakura goes rigid, while Allison's face drains of color in the blue light, caught between shock and recognition.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront Allison
✓ Quest Accepted
Figure out what Xero Matou wants
✓ Quest Accepted
Find a hidden path to Xero Matou's lair
“Does Xero Matou have a known hideout in this sector?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 74)
Mercedes scans the surrounding tunnel walls and the flickering blue light for any sign of a secondary path or hidden lair belonging to Xero Matou. The shadows reveal nothing but bare stone and the damp, empty silence of the forgotten tram works.
“Does the blue light react if I touch the wall?”
EXCEPTIONAL YES (Likely, rolled 3)
As Mercedes presses her palm against the cold stone, the blue static flares into a brilliant, rhythmic pulse that cascades across the entire tunnel wall.
The masonry shifts and dissolves like mist, revealing a hidden, opulent corridor lined with ancient, glowing artifacts that hum in perfect harmony with the light.
Mercedes Machina
This is not just a lair, it is a vault of everything he has been hiding.
“I step into the hidden corridor, prepared to fight.”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +2)