NTR Quest 26 - Academy - Less Bodies

Familiars were cut which slimmed the group significantly. It was only you, Aiden, Esther, Merit and Serane. According to the Seraph, the slimmed down group would be better equipped to slip past the threats present in the deeper sections of the academy. Even considering that there are threats in a place that has otherwise proven fairly peaceful was hard to wrap your head around, but you also could not doubt it. It made you consider the nature of the space.
“What types of dangerous things do we face, exactly?” You questioned. You all had already been walking for a half hour. Each long hallway and left turn seemed to only lead to similar halls with slight variations.
“And why are we walking through these same halls over and over again.” It was getting on your nerves.

Esther looked up at you, then stared at Serane pointedly. “This is filler. It's the reason you use the folded space to get around. These halls technically lead to spaces within the Academy but they're so long and maze like that people will get lost. But that's not a huge issue because if you get lost you just use folded space to get out, anyway. It's pointless, basically.”

“That's not the reason.” Serane claimed smugly.
“I understand it's the one you read though. It's also not common knowledge, so good job, girl.”

Esther bared sharp little teeth at the woman. “What's the reason, then?” As they argued Merit hung back and glanced around at the various paintings adorning the walls. There was art and sculpture and all the trappings to make the repeating halls look like they were different and lived in and decorated but ultimately as you joined her in admiring it you realized just how hollow it was.

The portraits on the walls were accurate, and some would even qualify as highly competent but there were slight aspects that were off. A bone or a joint in the wrong position. In particular, hands seemed to have extra fingers or strange shapes that curled terrifyingly into weird, foreign appendages. The sculptures were smoothed over and looked the same where they portrayed a bust of a person or animal. Competent but not quite right. Finally, you were not positive if they were of any real person, at all. It seemed so much like they were simply there to populate a wall that would otherwise look blank and that there was no real subject or reason except to provide an appearance that someone thought 'right.'

Your attention was drawn back to the argument between Serane and Esther, More importantly, it was Serane's explanation.
“This space is not infinite. I believe it exists with quantity and is limited in space. It is just that the space was formed into this shape quite purposefully which bent it around and made it into this mess. But, if I'm correct then the limited space does not just go on like this forever or loop around. It has a depth, a core and, of course, an end.”

“That didn't answer the question.” You commented from the middle of the pack. Aiden was beside you and Serane was up front with Esther behind her.

“Right. Well... Even though this space has taken a different shape there are certain aspects to it that can not be usurped. I believe those will become more clear the deeper we go. Ideally traversing without interfering or presenting too much of a presence should allow us through safely.”

“That still didn't answer the question...” You echoed what you assumed to also be what Esther was going to say before you beat her to it.

Serane shrugged. “Truth is, I don't know. It's all theory. I've never seen a 'live' one.”

“A live what?”

“Good question.” Serane nodded.

“Do we get anything for this?” Esther complained.

“You get the satisfaction of being a part of a discovery that has so far been exclusive knowledge to a select few individuals in existence.” The Seraph glanced back and offered the goblin a little wink. It shut Esther up. Oddly, it seemed to be enough.

*

The group continued walking. “It feels like... We aren't making progress.” You announced.

“We are.” Merit stated out of the blue.

“Huh?” You looked back and saw her point off to the side.

“Oh...” If the progress was not felt in a change of scenery it certainly began to show in the details of said scenery. The mind-numbing pace that Serane set lulled you into not noticing that the art had become progressively more jagged and disorganized. Discolored and collage-like in appearance where once it at least looked serviceable. Some paintings had multiple heads or bent and twisted limbs  and bodies to match the hands you noticed before. It was as though less effort was being put into creating a more accurate facade the deeper you went. Even the walls did not stand up when you looked closely. In some places the wall was folded and accordion-like. In others it began to slant inward or outward and you did not see while looking straight ahead but jarringly you got a sense of vertigo as you looked back and felt as though you were actually looking down. The floor was curving and twisting. The more you walked and looked back the more the hall behind appeared like a corkscrew.

As you stepped forward you tripped over Esther. She cursed up at you quietly, which was surprising. You noticed Serane had stopped. She crouched down and pointed up at a breathing, lidded eye on the ceiling that was as big around as you were tall. You thought 'breathing' because it was slowly growing and shrinking, but you had no idea what it actually was. It was certainly a lidded eye the color of stone, however. It just looked like it was the consistency of stone wall and marked the beginning of where the facade of an academy began to fall away in favor of a stone hall with metal engravings and runes all around in place of art. There were still the occasional sculpture or statue but they were far more grounded and 'normal' than others you saw.

“Incredible...” She whispered.
“I don't think we want that to open, though, so be silent.”

You all cautiously walked under the eye. You held your breath. It was anxiety inducing looking up and thinking that at any moment a large eye of unknown origin could be staring at you all. Then what? You thought. It would do something that, according to Serane, you did not want it to do. It was worse to have the thought of something bad happening without knowing what it is going to be. There was no preparing for it. As you all made it past you released the breath you held and relaxed just a little.

“I hope there aren't more like that.” You whispered.
“Oh, I think there's quite a few, just to be transparent.”

You spoke through your teeth. “To be transparent you would say so before we got this far. Do you actually not know what you claim to not know?”

Serane lifted a brow. “I know the nature of the threat but not the exact source.” As she said that she continued moving forward slowly and more purposefully.

“What is the 'nature' of the threat?” You asked.

The Seraph motioned with her head towards on of the sculptures. “Well... Doesn't this art look quite a bit better than everything that came before it.”

You humored her and took a look. The thing in question was a literal bust held within a standing, skeleton-like bracket of smooth silver. The first thing that struck you, of course, was the attractive rack portrayed by the 'artist.' The well-positioned nipples and the muscles that were carved so precisely that they seemed alive. The sculpture had exceptional curves and even an intricately carved sex, but no arms or legs. The brackets held it around the shoulders and thighs and there were pieces of the upper arms and legs but where those should have continued they were instead capped by the same metal that composed the skeleton. There was no neck. Instead, above the shoulders a smooth capsule encompassed where the head should be and contained a similar-looking eye to the one on the ceiling. Closed. It was not the same material and color as the giant eye, but the metal. On further inspection, the sculpture itself was the same material as the eye on the ceiling in appearance. You reached out and touched the breast and jumped as you felt give, as though it were real.
“W-what?”

Serane scratched her chin. “Hmm...”

You tried again and groped. It was not exactly real. What it felt like was some type of solid but soft material, not unlike the unripe fruit you had in the shape of a student. The whole body, even the muscles felt the same and had some give.
“What is t his?”

“I wonder. Do you think we want this to open, as well?” She pointed to the eye.

“I don't think so...”

“I wonder what is under this helmet-looking thing. Other than the eye portion. It's the same material as this skeleton.” Serane questioned.

“Are you suggesting this is-”

She smiled. “You don't think we're the first ones to come this far, do you?” She looked ahead at the other, similar pieces. Statues that looked exactly the same.
“I just wonder what the Core of these things looks like...” She mused. You gulped.
“Maybe we could experiment a bit? I could run some tests and you could take it ans see how 'functional' different parts of it are.” She winked, motioning towards the body portion.