I'M BACK TO WRITING YIPPEEEE anyways so I'm gonna be rewriting what I wrote for ch2 in the drafts 🫶🏼 it's going great so far :D and won't be as heavy on the shipping because that is obviously not everyone's focus it's literally a murder mystery, the mystery is the focus like c'mon,,,, I was on a shipping craze when I wrote that draft,,,
I was gonna start writing yesterday after my graduation ceremony but I was so drained afterwards that I literally couldn't think of ANYTHING to write and draw
My brain was functioning on task:breathe the rest of the day
Ik I said MynLin isn't EXACTLY canon but the parts of the chapters that I'm imagining happen to be so tender,,,,, ik not everything that's nice and wholesome is romantic but god damn I guess the shipper in my head was like: 😏✨
So heartbreak saga is unfolding through Milin's perspective like he's the protagonist of it.. is the other saga going to be him too or is it going to be a different protagonist each saga? Also the recent chapter is amazing, thank you
Every saga has a different protagonist :D I'm actually trying to figure out who the main mc for the last saga will be lmao
What will happen to the already dead ocs like neo and nohana in this au? And is it possible for the eldritch or higher beings to be eliminated like luck, lady seraphina, Pneuz, Casimir etc.?
Hmmmm, let's just say the Mansion counts as an Eldritch entity, stronger than the rest since it has an entire realm under its command(also being one with said realm helps) SO.
Why wouldn't the Dominan of the Realm manipulate things to its will? Besides, it too gets bored and hungry :)
He stood there for a moment. Some seemed too sleepy to care, some were wide awake.
"So is this a prank or what?", Keio huffed, arms crossed as she stood next to Vysky. Was he sleeping on her while standing up?
"Doesn't seem like a prank", Zenn walked over from the other side, "I checked and a lot of rooms and hallways are missing now"
It wasn't like the mansion to just mess with its inhabitants like this.
"Any idea why this could've happened?", Bee asked as she let Eris lean on her.
"Not really, things seemed to have gotten rearranged though", Millin hummed, "No shit sherlock", Scry scoffed. The anomaly turned to her sitting on top of one of the cupboards nearby.
His wings twitched, "Arguing with you is useless", he deadpanned. Scry snickered loudly.
Most of them did not have the energy to really discuss anything.
Pneuz was off staring into the distance. Ji was busy making sure Doe got some more sleep lying next to Auleida, the pink haired man was completely knocked out on the floor leaning against the wall.
Eris was half asleep, Vysky was somehow sleeping upright and Seril was starting to doze off in a nearby chair.
That left himself, Xadina, Keio, Bee, Scry and Myn. And Basa.
He perked up. Glancing around the room, he noticed the child-sized creature in a corner, watching them silently.
Something clicked, "Maybe it is something with the mansion", Millin suggested, they looked at him in doubt.
"Didn't we already establish that the mansion wouldn't do anything like this?"
Scry shrugged, "We don't really have anyone else in our vicinity who could rearrange the literal layout of the mansion like this", she added casually, "That, and Basa's not freezing anything", Millin pointed out.
The group paused before looking at the creature in question, Basa shrunk back, trying to melt into the wall. There was no ice, no unbearable cold.
Myn stared.
"Why isn't it unbearably cold?", Xadina asked quietly as they turned their attention away from the normally icy being.
Keio looked at Millin, "You're the dimension obsessed freak, you should know right?", he made a face at the fallen angel.
"What? I'm not wrong", he sighed, "Well, this is the mansion's dimension so yes, it makes sense for it to be able to manipulate things within its domain", Millin started.
"And?", he'd punch them but he doesn't have the heart to do so, "It's very likely that the mansion can manipulate the strength of our powers—", "Oh so the mansion can just play with us on a whim?", Keio deadpanned, "—BUT usually chooses not to"
Millin breathed in as Bee gave the fallen angel an elbow jab, "I would ask for more clarity on the situation from the original members but uh...", he drawled on for a second.
It was odd how the others were separated from them.
They looked at each other, then glanced at the other entrances to the foyer.
Or well, the entrances that were still there anyway.
"Clearly the mansion doesn't want us to be interacting at the moment"
"Whatever the reason for its sudden switch up, all I know is I wanna go back to bed", Bee grumbled as rubbed Eris' back, he was dozing off on his sister now.
"For the first time, I agree with you", Keio rolled their eyes. "We can discuss this when we ALL are awake and energised", she added, Xadina quickly shuffled over to the others to awaken them so they could all go back to their rooms.
Scry just looked around, bored.
"Seems fair, wouldn't be a fair discussion when most of us are half asleep", Millin admitted as he glanced away.
Slowly, everyone made their way out of the foyer, filtering out so they could continue their sleep.
The silence became loud.
"Basa?", Millin called out, the anomaly chose to stay for a bit, curling up on the floor he called the smaller one over.
Their ears pinned back as they stood still.
They hadn't moved from that spot in the corner since the conversation began. Millin called them over again.
Basa sheepishly shuffled over, looking around the now empty room. "No need to be so jumpy", the taller tried to sound sincere.
They sat together for a bit, the smaller one sitting next to him. He lowered himself a tad so he wasn't completely towering over them.
The silence between them grew to be pleasant.
Something whispered in the back of his mind.
Millin hummed, "I would go back to the library but I'm feeling kinda lazy", he snorted, "Wanna tell me some things about yourself?", he leaned into his curling tail, looking at the other.
Basa stared at him, their tail was wagging.
Millin smiled, "I'll take that as a yes"
They spent the next few hours having a mostly one sided verbal conversation.
Admittedly, having to figure how to structure his very elaborate questions as yes or no questions was a little difficult.
Basa played with their claws, like how you would when twiddling your thumbs.
He hummed as he went over everything he had found out about the creature. So.
They were a personification of the Ice Age.
They were old. Really old.
He paused for a second when he realised this 'child' was in fact older than him by several centuries.
Their aura, which freezes everything over, is hard to control, hence why they usually stay in the living room near the fireplace.
Odd. Maybe they moved out of there while he was asleep or maybe the mansion moved them elsewhere...
But for the most part, his prior theory about Basa's ability was correct.
And.
They have siblings. Or...used to, judging by the solemn look they gave him when they answered.
"Hm, maybe I could ask Trickster to let me borrow you for a bit", Basa stared at him, "It'll take some convincing but I'm sure she won't mind letting you go back for a bit", Millin offered softly.
Basa jumped up, bouncing around like a little kid. Their tail almost slapped Millin in the face. He laughed, "Easy now, I'll have to ask her for permission before whisking someone away from the mansion like that"
"I also have to figure out a spell to make sure I don't freeze when with you outside of the mansion", the smaller one's joyous bouncing stopped abruptly, the joy draining from their being like an open faucet.
He cleared his throat, "I didn't say I wouldn't take you— I just need to plan properly!", he tried not to sound like a fumbling idiot as he shook his hands around.
He knew the moment they left the mansion whatever restrictions were on their abilities would cease immediately. It made sense to take precautionary measures.
He probably should've worded it differently though.
Basa stared at him with those big adorable eyes, you'd think there was no thought behind those.
Millin deflated, "...wanna read with me?", he offered slowly. They walked up to him again, climbing on top of his curled tail. He leaned back to give the smaller one space.
One hand opened a small portal to pull out a book from, "Anything in par—", he flinched back, harsh and abrupt, holding his hand.
Basa sat incredibly still, staring at the portal as it freaked out. Colours of all sorts frantically jutting in and out and over itself within the portal.
Millin closed it with the flick of a finger.
Both were still for a long and awkward moment.
"Ok", Millin spoke, tone mildly forced, "Plan B, wanna roam the mansion with me?", he tried to salvage the moment as he caressed his hand and fingers.
That was...a first.
He took a moment to look at his hand, finding it mildly discolored now. The pure white was now off-white with hints of an ashy grey at his fingertips.
He put that hand behind him, focusing on Basa instead. They seemed interested in it though.
"I'm fine, just stings a little", he reassured the smaller one. They stared at him for a moment before slipping off his tail and standing up.
He'll have to look into this matter later.
Going through the hall again, he noted some other quirks of the situation.
Despite it having been several hours at this point, it was still night time. One look at a grandfather clock and out of one of the windows along the way confirmed his suspicion.
Time was stopped.
The foliage outside seemed to be stuck in its moment, paused when there was probably a gentle breeze blowing judging by the way it all vaguely leaned to a side.
Interesting.
Another quirk? The library was just gone. It was no where in sight.
Zenn was right. A lot of areas had gone missing. The rooms of the original members and some fifty others were also gone.
Taking their sweet time, they found that the foyer, the living room, the kitchen and most of their rooms were the only places they still had access to.
He sighed, "You wouldn't mind if I share the living room with you, right?", Millin asked Basa as they went through the kitchen for a snack. The smaller one nodded almost immediately.
Millin chuckled at their enthusiasm.
Basa physically couldn't eat which was unfortunate but not too distressing, and Millin didn't actually need much of anything. He just felt like nibbling something.
He hummed as he pulled out a packet of chips that was hidden away, wondering about who he was betraying here, "Anyways, I noticed you follow Seril around a lot", Basa blinked at him.
"You know where his room is?", he glanced their way, they shook their head, "I can lead you there, you and Seril can hangout now that it's not life threatening to be in your vicinity", he turned to Basa.
Their expression had dropped again.
Damn it Millin, stop saying it the wrong way.
"I did not mean it in any uh—", he tried to find words that would not worsen the situation, "L-look on the bright side! You can hang out with everyone now", he decided to deflect.
It seemed to work after a minute of silence as the smaller one's face relaxed, standing very politely as they stared at Millin.
He internally sighed in relief, taking a mental note to be careful of his words when talking to Basa. They were very easy to hurt.
The packet of chips crinkling in his hand brought his attention to it again, "Hm, tomato flavour...?", he read the label in mild confusion.
Millin shrugged, it doesn't hurt to try new flavours. He opened the packet with a loud rip, pulling out a chip to try—
"How DARE YOU—", Scry yelled in his face. She reeled back when her face got smacked in response.
Basa stood next to Millin, having caught the packet when he dropped it. He was holding his face, the wings on his head flared out.
"Don't do that? Please?", his tone was of offense.
Scry stared at the tense anomaly, one tentacle rubbing her own face, "Wow. Uh—", she glanced at the chips in Basa's hands, "Oh right, you're eating MY snack", she grumbled at him.
Millin stared a hole into her before straightening himself, "...Sorry, just wanted a nibble", he mumbled. Silence filled the room again, which only served to make things awkward.
She groaned, "Ugh, whatever. Can I at least eat it with you?", she glanced at the chip packet with eagerness.
"Sure, just...", he trailed off, "It's fine, I get it", she waved it off as she lowered herself to grab the packet from Basa. They readily handed it over.
Scry looked at Millin, he was no longer holding his face but in its place, his wings had now moved to cover part of it, "I forgot you're like that about your face", she hummed.
It wasn't the first time he reacted that way.
She remembered how harshly he pushed one of the other visitors aside after they tried to touch his face despite being told no multiple times. She still loved that moment, the prick deserved it after all. They'd been a nuisance for a while at the time.
She's glad that that specific visitor doesn't visit the mansion anymore.
Millin stared at her for a moment longer before clearing his throat, "So uh, why are you out right now?", he asked quietly as he took another chip from the packet. "Oh right", she hummed as she took a bunch of chips and shoved them somewhere into her face.
Her mouth was always really hard to point out.
She gulped down the chips, "My bottle is in Casimir's room and unfortunately his room is nowhere to be seen", a hint of sarcasm dripped from her words, "You're enjoying the freedom I see", Millin snorted lightly.
Scry snickered, "Obviously! That asshole loves to keep me trapped in the bottle", she huffed, her tentacles spreading out as she got more expressive, "To be fair, you are one of the more dangerous people in the mansion—", the anomaly pointed out.
"Nuh uh, I'm just a sweet little jellyfish creature", she scoffed dramatically, "How ever could I be so dangerous?!—", she exclaimed.
Millin rolled his eyes at her, "Whatever you say", he waved her off.
She paused when she saw his hand, "The hell happened?", she asked bluntly. Beating around the bush wasn't her forte, nevermind how hypocritical that sounded.
He blinked at her, glancing at his hands. He used his singed hand to wave her off.
"Ah."
He was sure it would've healed by now.
Basa took a seat on the counter, watching the two creatures converse silently.
"What did you do?", she asked pointedly, "Why did you frame that like an accusation?", Millin gripped his singed hand.
It still stung, not as much but it still stung.
He usually heals very quickly.
Scry huffed as she put the packet down on the counter, "Do not deflect me young man, you did something if you're singed", she emphasised on the last word, "Don't you have a strong healing factor? It should've healed by now"
Exactly. So why hadn't it healed yet?
"I wasn't doing anything extreme—"
"Uh huh."
"Will you listen to me before letting your skepticism rule your decision?", he jabbed at her.
She scoffed, "You're the most experimental and mind-numbingly stupid one here", Millin tilted his head, "I'm not THAT bad at taking precautions!"
"Right?", he glanced at Basa.
They looked away, Millin felt a feeling of betrayal wash over him.
Millin took a moment to breathe, "Ok look, all I did was open a portal", Scry hummed as she watched him carefully, "I was just going to pull out a book but something happened", he huffed, "It stung my hand when I tried to shove it through"
She stared at him. Well that's—
"That's not supposed to happen", she stated as one of her tentacles moved to touch his hand, he allowed that. "I was going to look into it later but all my stuff was in the library and well"
The library was gone.
"...I can call over Ji and Pneuz later to discuss this", she offered. "No strings attached?", "Oh WOW.", "Hey, it's a reasonable concern to have", Millin huffed at the Wishkin.
She snorted again, "Yeah yeah, whatever", she let go of his hand, "I'm assuming you won't be stupid enough to try using your portals then"
Millin deadpanned at her.
She laughed out loud.
The three of them shuffled back to the living room. They lit a fire in the fireplace to add a bit more warmth for comfort.
"Aw c'mon! Please?", Scry pleaded, "You are NOT using me as your BED Scry.", Millin stood his ground with a huff.
Basa was already asleep, happily napping near the fireplace.
The Wishkin whined, "You're so soft though", Millin grumbled, "That's not a valid excuse", she deflated at his constant refusal.
"Ugh, fine. Don't be my bed", she scoffed as she took a nice cozy spot on one of the couches. Millin rolled his eyes at her again, she was an annoying presence at times.
But then again, she was knowledgeable about a lot of things.
He went through everything again, what happened so far.
For one, the mansion is acting up for some unknown reason, rooms are missing and certain areas have become inaccessible.
Two, their powers seem to have been suppressed. Basa's aura is no longer freezing everything in their vicinity though a level of coolness remains constant around them even now and he can't use his portals anymore.
What's more concerning is his healing factor seems to have been negated as well which... does not seem good.
"Will you sleep already? The night won't pass any sooner if you stay awake", Scry groaned loudly from her spot on the couch.
Right. Time. It was paused. Another factor to consider.
"I'll sleep in a bit, I need to sort some thoughts", Millin replied as stared into the fire quietly cackling in the fireplace.
She shrugged, "If you say so. It better be day by the time I wake up", aaaand she plopped her head down again.
Millin sighed.
He wondered what was happening. This was a drastic change from their usual happenings and he wasn't sure if this was good or bad.
All of this was too suspicious.
What? No. No that wouldn't be the case.
Surely it's just not permanent.
The other members, most of them are also likely to be confused. Are they worried? Or are they as casual as—
The note.
The fire was reduced to a mere ember. He blinked, how long had he been thinking for?
He should really sleep.
His hand reached for his pocket, contemplating it.
The silence seemed heavy, almost weighing down on him. No ticking of the clock, no wind to blow by.
Just silence.
And a single whisper.
He blinked his eyes as he stretched, yawning loudly. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around.
When had he fallen asleep?
It was day now. The sun shone brightly through the window.
Basa and Scry were nowhere to be found.
He stared in no particular direction for a moment, trying to rub the sleepiness off. He reached into his pocket.
Finally pulling out the note again, he read the contents. It was a small note, etched in barely legible handwriting.
He paused.
"What..?", he stared at the words on the note.
What did that mean? What is it trying to tell him?
He stared at the note a little longer before shoving it back into his pocket. He'd deal with its meaning when he was a little more coherent.
