It was a good dive, but Ishtar missed her prize just by inches, as the darkness suddenly grabbed her. With the girl lying on the lurching floor, the liquid darkness sprang into action, flowing under her, over her, covering the blue-haired student in the black liquid, which felt too much like hands grabbing at her once again. Even the sensation of being fucked returned as the liquid pooled into both her ass and pussy, solidifying into thick rod-like objects and pumping in and out of her quickly. Everywhere, the darkness grabbed at her, covering as much of her body in the liquid shadows. It wasn't long until the floor finally fell away, leaving the girl trapped in the darkness. But it was by pure luck that the pedestal had tipped toward her as it fell away, the golden object sliding off where it had been resting and fall onto the student's hand, instantly dispelling the blackness that had been swallowing her up.

In an instant, Ishtar found herself lying on the floor of the hallway that had been just torn away only moments ago, the golden object within her hand. Just behind her, the doors that had sealed her inside opened as well, revealing the first room she had shown up in before the Marquis had sealed her within the great palace. Not only that, the voice too returned, as strong as she had first heard it. 'You've my congratulations. There has been many who tried to take on the Hall of Curiosity's challenge... Many who tried and failed in turn. You're the first ever to triumph over the challenge, and you're stronger for it. Not only have you won the the object you were seeking, you shall be given the opportunity to choose one of the two possible perks. For as long as you remain within the palace, you can choose to either never be affected by the darkness... Or you can choose for me to go with you, as a guide of sorts. If you choose the former, you need never fear the darkness. If you choose the latter, I will remain with you and provide help whenever possible. The choice is yours...'

Ishtar had just missed the symbol as went sailing by the pedestal, the time travel it was one mistake too many. She quickly rolled over on her back as she attempt to get up before it was too late. Unfortunately, before she could move the darkness covered her body, surround her in blackness. She suddenly let out a shout as she felt her flower and rear get penetrated by thick members as they began to pump in and out of her. She attempted to pull herself away, but the darkness had firmly in place. Worse the floor fell away, the time travel was now at the mercy of the darkness for all of eternity.

Ishtar suddenly let out a loud moan as a powerful thrust overcame her, her hand reached out to grab on to something anything. She accidently bumped the pedestal, which tipped over in her direction. She was struggling the pleasure of the moment, she at first didn't notice something fell it to her hand. The blue haired time traveler opened her eyes and looked over and saw she had the symbol in her hand.

Suddenly she wasn't surrounded by darkness, but was naked on the hallway. The door was open she had somehow survived the challenge. Not only that but she had won, as the voice told her upon its return. She let out a quick sigh before responding, I think I would rather you go with me. Your help was invaluable. I hope the other challenges are as difficult.

Then suddenly... before Ishtar, a glow began to appear, growing brighter and brighter until it was nearly blinding in its radiance, only to fade away, only to reveal a pale individual. The young adult blinked as he looked down at his hands, almost as if both confused and curious, testing them by flexing and clenching them. Then, he stretched his arms and back, giving a soft yet pleasant groan as he looked back at Ishtar. 'Huh, so this is what it's like to have a body...' Dressed in nothing but a simple buttoned up shirt and pant, both of them being white, the man smiled at the challenger who had triumphed over the hall.. 'And you're... Ishtar. You're very, uh... beautiful.' The white-haired youth grinned, seeming quite happy to be there.

Then, his head twitched softly, as if he was listening to a voice of some sort. Then, a nod followed. 'May I have that?' The youth gestured toward the symbol, taking it from her hands gently and motioning for her to follow him. The two of them returned to the central chamber, straight to the sealed doors. There, the youth placed the symbol into the lock, the two of them hearing a loud click as it was locked into place. A small hole then appeared in the middle. 'Part of the key has been completed, it seems. Now you need to find the second part, to unlock the doors.' He then pointed toward the Hall of Knowledge, which were still opened and all lit up. 'I'm supposed to go with you, Ishtar. To help you whenever you need it. It's been made clear, though, that I am forbidden from telling you how to defeat your challenges, but I'm still permitted to provide hints.'

At that, he began undoing the buttons of his shirt, then taking it off completely. The youth held it up for Ishtar, shrugging as he did so. 'It's pretty warm but... I don't think you enjoy doing anything in the nude, maybe? I'd offer my pants too but... Something tells me that would just be awkward...'

Ishtar had just found herself in complete darkness a minute ago, now she found herself bathed in light that kept growing stronger and stronger. Just as was getting too strong, it faded away revealing an attractive young man. The man seemed to happy to exist, even if he had no color to his shirt or pants. It was then that the man had notice that Ishtar was very much not wearing anything. The young time traveler blushed as she covered herself as best she could.

Just as soon as he had mentioned how beautiful she looked, the man seemed distracted by something. He then asked for her symbol and leading her back into the central chamber. There he placed the symbol on the lock and it clicked into place, revealing that there was a second part of the lock left to go. Ishtar sighed a bit, realizing that she had to recover the other piece, and that piece had to be in the Hall of Knowledge. Still she was halfway through the the challenge, there was no sense in stopping now.

At that point, she saw the young man take his shirt off and handing it off to the beautiful time traveler. Thank you. I appreciate the shirt. Ishtar was happy to put on the white shirt and quickly began to button it up. The shirt did nothing to hide her figure but did at least made her less aware of how vulnerable she felt. By the way, do you have a name?

The young man listened to Ishtar as she spoke, smiling gently as he stretched himself, seeming as if to get accustomed to his new body. 'You're welcomed, Ishtar. It only seemed the polite thing to do, truthfully...' He spoke in the same voice as he had in the Hall of Curiosity, making it seem as if he was still nothing more than a disembodied voice occupying a puppet-like body. Though, he looked quite real and would feel quite real. The man shrugged when he had been asked the question of his name. 'I don't actually have a name, per se but... What do you say we just go with something simple and obvious like... Weiss? I'm pretty pale, I'm guessing... Or, you could call me whatever you like. Not like I'd actually care.' The young man then looked at the remaining challenge, the Hall of Knowledge. 'Guess we better get moving, the challenge isn't going anywhere and neither are we if we don't get that second piece.' He then began walking toward the Hall of Knowledge, peering around at the brightly-lit corridor before stepping inside, only to be met with a loud laughter that was followed by a voice. 'Well, what the hell do we have here? Oh, if it isn't the fucking fag from the Hall of Curiosity. Well, I'll be... Someone finally managed to beat that bitch, huh? Where is he, huh? C'mon, lemme see ya, you prick! I wanna see who's gonna try and beat MY Hall of Knowledge!' The young man sighed in annoyance. 'Noisy as usual, aren't you?' The voice growled before speaking again. 'Fuck you, white trash!'

Okay, then Weiss it is, Ishtar said with a smile. The smile hid a bit of surprise from the blue haired time traveler. She had simple assumed that his voice would become....welll....more normal. But the disembodied voice coming from such a normal looking man just simply added to weirdness of the experience. The two began walking to the Hall of Knowledge, when a booming voice immediately caused the woman to flinch. It was sounded pretty hostile and was not particularly fond of Weiss. Then it asked for the person who defeated the Hall of Curiosity. Ummm, that is me. She really didn't want to face someone like this in just a shirt, but in a lot better that facing the Hall of Knowledge with absolutely nothing on.

'Huh? You? You actually beat the Hall of Curiosity? How the hell... The first time that damn Hall get beaten and it's by a woman? Ah, fuck... This place has really gone to shit.' The voice grumbled, clearly annoyed by what it had just learned. 'Well, whoever the fuck you are... Don't think the Hall of Knowledge is going to be that easy! Come on in if you got the balls to take the challenge! Oh, and no clothes allowed in my Hall, sweet tits.' Weiss snorted. 'Liar.' At which, a loud growl came from the Hall. 'Fucker, you're ruining my fun!' With that, Weiss shrugged and stepped in some more, moving toward where there stood three doors. He waited until Ishtar had joined him. 'Well, can't tell you much, since it's actually up to that asshole to explain but... I can give some hints.' Ignoring the loud snarl that followed his remark, Weiss went on. 'There's three doors here. All of them lead to the same place, where the second part of the key is. They also all deal with knowledge, so you can expect that to be the underlying theme... There are no wrong choices here, just different consequences, so it's really your call here, Ishtar.' And then the voice finally interrupted. 'Yeah, pick one and get that ass moving! I don't got all day and I'd like to watch someone get their brains fucked out, thank you very much!' Weiss could only sigh.

Thank you, Weiss. Ishtar took a second to think about it as she looked at all three doors. They all lead to the same place, so each had there own way to get further into the hall. However it was the comment by the grumbling voice about seeing someone getting their brain fucked out that really made the blue haired time traveler pause. However it soon became clear that the woman that the only way out was forward. She took a deep breath and reached out for the middle door to see what lay beyond it.

The middle door, as Ishtar had chosen it, swung open to reveal a vast meadow of flowers, with a small hill in the middle of it. Atop the hill was a single tree, both beautiful and inviting. The tree appeared very much like any ordinary tree, and even had fruits hanging from its branches. The sole exception was that these fruits were not like any the girl would have ever seen. They looked very much like apples, but held resemblances to peaches and pears and a variety of other fruits. Suddenly, the girl was pulled into the meadow, something forcing her into the 'room' she had chosen, with Weiss being dragged closely behind her. It was only when the door had slammed itself shut and faded away that Weiss rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at Ishtar. 'That was... rude. And, it looks like you chose the... Huh, Tree of Knowledge. How appropriate.' The pale youth smiled as he looked at Ishtar, only to flinch a bit when the voice boomed once again. 'Ah haha! Fuckers, out of the three, you picked the hardest challenge! Oh man, oh man, this is going to be hilarious to watch! Dumbass, should have asked me which door to pick. I'd have told you! Weiss sighed, 'Shut up, please?' Then there was silence... 'Fag.' The young man groaned as he looked around. 'I guess we better get a move on. The sooner we get through this challenge, the sooner we can put this asshole behind us... It's your challenge, you lead. I'll follow.'

Ishtar opened the door to see the vast a meadow in front of her. She at first thought her eyes had betrayed her, but it looked very real and very beautiful. There was even a small hill with a tree, the perfect place to sleep on a lazy afternoon. But the jolt behind her made realize trapped in these halls, as she found herself thrown though the door. Before the blue haired student could react the door had slammed shut and faded away. Fortunately for the confused time traveler Weiss had also been thrown through too.

The Tree of the Knowledge? The laughter of from the Hall made her worry that she placed herself in a situation that well over her head. Still as Weiss pointed out she can only move forward. The two moved forward as they got a better look at the tree, walking up the hill until they were near it. The tree had some really weird looking fruit, it was as if somebody had mixed up all the different kinds of fruits in color and shapes. So what do I need to do now?, Ishtar said a bit meekly.

'Afraid I don't know. Or rather, I can't tell you. That's the thing about knowledge... You want to find something out, you can't just sit around and wait for it to happen. You got to get up and go after it! That's what knowledge is really all about, babe... Consequences. Anyone can sit around and make up fancy theories about shit, but they still don't know for sure. You want to find out something for real? You got to risk yourself, risk everything you have, in order to find the truth.' Weiss shrugged as he looked back at Ishtar. 'Like curiosity, knowledge requires action, I believe. All I can say here is that you have a choice to make here... Those fruits are the key to getting through this 'room'. You can either refuse to eat them and be stuck here for all eternity. Life and death has no hold here, and it would be an eternity of doing nothing but sit around. Or...' Then the voice boomed back in. 'Or eat one of those damn fruits and suffer the consequences!' Weiss then continued, adding in any helpful advice he could think of. 'That's pretty much it, so since you have the time to consider your choices, I would give it some thought if I were you. No rush here, except for our impatient host.'

Ishtar sighed, she was going to experiment to figure out what each of the fruits do. At least Weiss was on here to counterbalance the voice of the Hall of Knowledge. She took a careful look at fruit to see the differences in each of the variety of fruit. The time traveler tried to make a mental note where each of the fruit were located so she could find the quickly, though she wasn't sure she able to do that with her memory issues. But at the end of the day, she had no choice she had to eat a fruit to continue. Well Weiss, wish me luck. The young woman picked the most interesting fruit on the tree. Slowly, Ishtar took a bite of the fruit and she was unsure of what consequences would occur from consuming the fruit.

(I apologize for the long overdue response! )

As soon as the girl had bitten into the fruit in her hand, the ground began to shift softly, something wriggling out of the dirt beneath her bare feet. Quickly, thick greenish vines began to wrap themselves around her feet and ankles, gripping her firmly. Beyond that, nothing else happened. "Ah, first one was a dud after all. There's always such a thing as luck, but... most of the time, you get fucked over." The voice chuckled, not really bothering to go further into what he had said. But Weiss, on the other hand, could provide more clues now that the voice had given Ishtar some vague information, such was the deal. 'Ishtar, relax. Every time you bite into one of the false fruits, the vines will just bind more and more of your body. That's the key to this place... Knowing the consequences of your actions, will you push on to find the truth? That's what this is all about, the Hall's hoping you'll give up or fail, but don't think about it. Just focus on taking bites out of them and finding the real one.' Weiss spoke as he stepped closer to Ishtar, trying to be as encouraging as possible, perhaps even using his presence as a support for her to lean on, mentally.

(No problem! RL can force us all to deal with every once in a while)

Ishtar gasped as she felt the ground under began to shift. The blue haired girl attempted to back away, but before she could vines shot up and wrapped around her feet and ankles. No, let me go. She struggled a bit but it was of no use, the vines had her secure in its grip. The voice chuckled at her misfortune as it told her that luck alone would not be enough to beat the challenge. However, Weiss was there to provide some support and advice. As long as she kept trying she would eventually find the right one. Ishtar took a deep breath before she looked for a different fruit. The young lady didn't have much of a choice in the matter, she could give and be trapped here forever or she press on. With luck the next one would be the right fruit.

Weiss watched as the second one only ended the same, more vines shooting out of the ground to congregate around the student's feet as the first vines began to move up, new vines shooting out of the older ones as well as if they were fueled by the false fruits. It didn't take long until Ishtar found her legs almost completely wrapped in the vines and unable to move. Despite having her movement hindered by the vines, there were still a few fruits within her reach. It was then that the voice spoke up again, this time careful to not let on any more hints lest the meddlesome Weiss managed to pass on more help. "Just give up. You can't really expect to find the right one at this rate. Everyone fails, girl. Everyone!"

Weiss only smiled as he stared at the girl, encouraging her on. 'Funny, I seem to remember saying the same thing about the Hall of Curiosity, didn't I?' The young man then pulled one of the fruits from the tree and held it up to Ishtar. 'Ignore him. As long as you keep pushing on, I'll keep helping out. You're not alone here, not in this place, as much as the palace wants you to think so.' Growling, the voice of the Hall didn't say anything else, not expecting the meddlesome bastard to be supportive instead of giving tips. 'I believe the deal was for me to help you out, wasn't it? Nothing was specified about what sort of help it had to be.'