There wasn't really anything else to do here. Ares had gotten everything he wanted out of this lab so he was ok to leave but... Well, the prince of Kazaz was currently taking a dirt nap on the cold metal floor.... Was Ares supposed to roll out the red carpet and kneel for royalty when they woke up? He wasn't going to but these two absolute nobodies being a prince from an ancient dynasty was... Quite something... Ares still couldn't remember their names though! Well he knew they were Kazaz, that was good enough... Although really Ares would still call them Water Guy and Lightning Guy whenever they were split up as it was just easier that way. It was either that or Kazaz 1 and 2. Actually they had an interesting dynamic and their fighting style would be quite different after finding that artifact Sevorus mentioned. Sure they were weaker separately but teamwork could make up for that and allow them to outnumber a single foe on demand. On the flipside, they would inevitably be way stronger combined so they'd have to carefully consider how they went about each and every fight and even whatever puzzles they came across. In this Riddlemyd, for example, they could split up and take different paths in mazes and other such little tricks. Ares was curious as to who would take control when they combined, or if it would be a third person entirely different from the other two behind the wheel, but there was no way Ares could figure it out without actually seeing the end result alter.
Then there was the matter of whether the duo would be interested in hanging around in the sect. Ares assumed they would prior to finding out they were a literal prince... That discovery might change things up a bit however. Why be a disciple or an elder for a sect when you could be a prince with everything you want right at your fingertips and have people across the cosmos bow before you? Still, knowing the Kazaz dynasty had fallen on hard times left wriggle room for Ares to slither into the cracks and cement himself as a player in this game of politics. Offering to help the duo's kingdom, in whatever way they needed, in exchange for them allying with the sect was in the cards as long as Ares played his own correctly. So what if the kingdom had enemies? Ares could develop his war aura if anyone had issues with him picking this side! Ares' support was not something the Kazaz prince could realistically ignore so, despite him, or them, having less reason to remain in the sect in the long run, it was actually surprisingly likely there would still be a connection. Hell they might even just stick around permanently if it's worth their while. They might not be the strongest people ever right now but, based on what was written in the diary, that was going to change just like Ares predicted on the way to this lab earlier. This place was just one huge power-up as far as the duo were concerned.
Even if the Kazaz prince ultimately wanted to distance himself from Ares and the sect, for whatever reason, the Duo were still currently a part of the sect so Ares wasn't going to just abandon them here and go do his own thing elsewhere. It's not like he had much to do other than progress through the Riddlemyd and search for the other labs so he could wait. He wasn't too interested in recovering his DNA anymore, as Sevorus would only ever use it in ways that was to Ares' own advantage, so he wasn't even fussed with finding it. Sevorus mentioned some resources being left behind in the Riddlemyd and that was what really struck Ares' fancy but, again, he was in no rush to leave the prince alone here. The resources probably wouldn't be anything other than cultivation aids or body tempering herbs and plants but it's not like Ares had any of those in his possession currently, at least not high quality stuff, so finding more wouldn't hurt... Though now Ares was wondering if Tom Tom would hand over the fine grind he was defending if Ares explained, roughly, the situation. Tom Tom was definitely stubborn though and would either not believe Ares, even with proof, or he'd just scoff and say it belonged to Sevorus regardless. If Tom Tom gave it to Sevorus and then Severus gave it to Ares so be it but he wasn't skipping that process no matter what. That was the kind of overgrown kitty he was. In the end, Ares was going to have to beat it out of him... So the real issue was how overboard did Sevorus go with Tom Tom's clone body anyway? Up until now Ares had only ever seen the clone's head popping up around the Riddlemyd on walls and ceilings. What did his actual body look like? There was a nagging feeling inside Ares telling him he'd already seen the body before but he couldn't for the life of him figure out where...
Worrying about future problems was pointless, though, so Ares did a little pressurising while he waited for the Duo to wake up again. He'd been pressurising his treasures for a while now as he came into possession of a lot of good stuff from the pagoda to now, all of which would take a few weeks to pressurise individually. Juggling between the Converter and the Deep Blue, ever since he acquired both, meant he was far enough along that he was able to fully pressurise one of them during his short break from Riddlemyd exploration. He ultimately chose the Converter. It provided more immediate benefits by improving his mana regeneration rate drastically and making every soul he devoured improve his magic even further. There were also retroactive improvements to the souls he'd already absorbed, like the shadow stepper's soul he stole from Xhilihx while it was chomping mindlessly on the monster, so Ares' magic was getting incredibly ferocious and rapidly catching up to his other methods. The war aura flag was indomitable and reigned supreme for now but it alone would not be able to contend with the destruction pillar for long. When it came down to it, fundamental magic would always find way to sit atop the combat option hierarchy no matter what.
As for the Deep Blue, and the other treasures Ares was working on pressurising here and there, they'd likely all be done by the time his adventure in Xasca and Isasz ended. That was Ares' goal and he wanted to return with a clean slate. He wanted Garmr ready and available, he wanted Dominus up and running constantly, he wanted his treasures all pressurised, he wanted to have cultivated the incredible fine grind being hidden away here, and he wanted the Moongate Mountain rattling around in his skull. It was a lot but he was already on track and didn't need to do anything special to make it happen. Ares had no clue what he needed this much overwhelming firepower ready for but he'd rather have it than not have it as the Torchbearer issue was seemingly still only in its infancy and there was more yet to come involving him.
Eventually the princes woke up from their royal slumber on the floor like a bunch of beggars and it became clear to Ares that, while they were regaining their memories, they didn't have enough of them yet to paint a full picture regarding what happened before they split. They had some visions of their homeland, and that was great and all, but they couldn't remember any of their family nor the discussions they had with Sevorus about this matter. There were also some other memories present that clearly didn't belong to them, and came from the millions of souls, but they had made this choice and had to pay the price for it whether they liked it or not. Ares offered them a tentative alliance and they accepted, as following Ares was a surefire way to climb through the domains in relative safety as he was a powerful backer, and they decided to talk about the specifics at a later date when they recovered more memories. They didn't know what kind of state their homeland was in so they weren't really in any position to bargain or make absolute decisions. Generally, though, they seemed to prefer the idea rather than be opposed to it as the Ares' faction was pretty impressive as is.
Afterwards the three of them all took off and began climbing through the Riddlemyd again to look for more labs and find whatever had been left behind for them. Ares tried convincing Tom Tom to let him have the fine grind but he stubbornly turned his wet nose up at the suggestion and refused cat-egorically. Even when Ares told him he wasn't interested in the DNA anymore Tom Tom just wasn't having any of it and so it seemed like Ares was going to really have to fight him at some point. For now, though, Ares managed to drag the duo through about thirteen floors over the course of the next two days. Aejaz showed up during the second day and joined in and, unsurprisingly, was still unable to contribute to solving any riddles. Ares also got his first riddle wrong... Or, to be more accurate, he didn't even answer as the timer ran out and nobody in the group figured it out. The riddle was more like a task and Ares was asked to describe a 'somewhat common and reasonable occurrence in which a person might, daily, look through three different transparent objects at once'. This was pretty tricky as even a single see-through object wasn't exactly common but three at once? Ares' throughs trended towards something involving a glass and, while he was on the right track, he didn't figure it out in time. Just before the buzzer he realised a glass of water was technically two see-through objects but even then he couldn't figure out the third... The third was a pair of glasses. Not as in the glass used to hold the water but the optic aid you wore on your face. A person with glasses looking at a glass of water was the correct answer, essentially. A pretty fair riddle but one that stumped the group and forced them to avoid five minutes of poison tipped arrows flying at them from holes in the walls. It was actually the Lighter Duo who figured out the riddle the second time around as Water Guy owned a pair of reading glasses and eventually put two and two together,
There was also an incident in which Rox finally came out of the Blade, as Ares had made food for everyone and invited him and the eagle to eat, but there was a slight problem... Ares' 'reward' for Rox, that he promised him was inside the Blade, was the succubus! She needed to get down and dirty with someone for sustenance and neither Ares or Aejaz wanted anything to do with her so this was a solution that benefitted everyone. Rox got laid, the succubus got food, and Ares and Aejaz didn't have to do anything. Wins all around!... Or at least Ares thought as such but when Rox emerged from the Blade disguised as Ares he realised there was a very big problem! He dragged the succubus out of the Blade too to check his theory and she started calling him a 'rapist'... This idiot Rox had used Ares' face and body when doing the deed! Also 'rapist' was an exaggeration as Rox had done no such thing! She was just insistent on it because she'd been trapped this whole time and blamed Ares for it even though her other option of staying in the Riddlemyd labs was objectively worse. At least she didn't have to do it with an animal or whatever... Though Rox wasn't exactly a human either... Being a mimic he had one hell of a tongue though! Still, the major issue here was that Ares couldn't convince the succubus he hadn't touched her and now there was yet another misunderstanding to add to the already expansive list involving his insufferable demoness. According to Rox's testimony she'd ben really up for it in the moment, and enjoyed it quite a bit, so to complain now was two faced trickery! She gleefully took Rox' purity and then acted like a victim of Ares! Rox wouldn't have touched her if she refused him even once! Whatever, at least Rox was happy. He didn't really understand what she was complaining about so he'd gotten off, literally, Scot free. It was Ares she seemed to despise and Ares didn't really care about her opinion so he shoved her back in the Blade, after giving her some food, and went back to forgetting she even existed. Maybe Rox would start some weird relationship with her but, again, Ares really didn't give a damn. Rox was all grown up, he could take care of himself!... Although Ares did tell him to stop using his face and body! Though he'd done no wrong, Ares couldn't help but feel like this was indirectly cheating on his wives...
Near the end of the two day deep dive into the Riddlemyd the group came across another lab and this one actually had Ares' DNA in it. He ignored it and left it to be slowly transferred through the Riddlemyd. He could have picked it up and moved it along himself but it seemed like it was being tested and evaluated by automatic machinery so Ares didn't interfere. He was ignorant of what was happening, exactly, but he was a smart cookie and knew when to just leave well enough alone... There were plenty of red buttons he very much wanted to push, though, so he really had to restrain himself! They could have been harmless or maybe they could have started a self destruct sequence; unfortunately Ares would never know. That wasn't the only interesting thing in the lab, though, as there were also a couple of miscellaneous resources, the exact kind Ares was looking for to improve himself with, as well as a few more notes from Sevorus. They contained a comprehensive list of most of the monsters he'd experimented on and in what ways. The stepper brood mother was mentioned and apparently he shoved an invisibility core into the brood mother's 'womb'. The brood mother only really had one hole through which it defecated its spawn, apparently, so the brood mother, though not invisible itself, was constantly shitting out invisible steppers... There was a lot of graphic detail in this cursed note but Ares read it all anyway as he was going to fight this monster soon and knowing these things was actually quite helpful.
Interestingly, though it was a strong monster, the brood mother wasn't even stronger than the Anubis at full blast, supposedly. Of all the big baddies Ares had to kill and strike off his long list it seemed like the brood mother would be the least of his concerns. Tom Tom, whatever was in the hub room, tool, and the corridor creeper thing lurking in Sevorus' labs were all probably stronger on average. Regarding the latter of those four, the creeper, it was only briefly mentioned as a method to clean the Riddlemyd but it had begun evolving at some point. After eating enough corpses it began to crave human flesh and, well, it ran rampant. Sevorus didn't much care about this incident so he left it but it was still running around and being a problem. This was official confirmation it even existed and now Ares was really going to have to keep an eye out for that thing. Even Tom Tom couldn't really find it so Ares was going to have to watch his back on the later floors, especially at night and near hidden labs.
Finally, there were also a few notes here and there about the Scylla! Sevorus didn't kidnap it himself, somebody else did and he just happened across the scene of the crime. He killed the original kidnapper and decided to do the exact same thing himself because the Scylla was an interesting specimen. He couldn't return it anyway as those who were trying to recover the Scylla misunderstood Sevorus' involvement and figured he was the original perpetrator. Undoing this borderline pantomime level series of events wasn't going to happen so he just committed the crime he was accused of and abducted the Scylla and brought it down here with him. He was aware that the destruction champion was supposed to play a major role in this world so he was considering gifting the Scylla to Ares as a pet of sorts anyway. Ares could be the person that 'rescued' the Scylla and freed it form captivity, boosting his reputation. Funnily enough it ended up in Ares' possession Anyway and would go on to serve as a guardian for his sect after he planted the heart in a moat or whatever. Maybe Ares would return the Scylla to its home later, when Ares managed to actually reach hell, but for now it could stay by his side. As an aside, the artifact the Lighter Duo were searching for wasn't found yet so it was probably located on a higher floor.
Ares felt like he'd made enough progress for now, and he was finally at the floor everybody usually got stuck on that had never been completed before, so he stepped outside the Riddlemyd and set his Elliot on autopilot to head to the east as he cultivated. Aejaz tried to cultivate as well but the massive sandstorm Ares kicked up, that followed the Elliot and made it look like a moving tornado of sand barrelling through the desert, was far too distracting and so he promptly gave up. Ares going up a single stage had altered the environment and turned the skies dark before summoning a portable hazard that swept through various monsters. At least twenty steppers and ten scorpions were dragged into the raging whirlwind of sand blitzing past them and shredded to pieces by the time Ares finally broke through and went up a stage of cultivation. He was now at the 7th stage of sensory enhancement and he still felt like he could go a bit further if he wanted to and put the time in. Ares' rough guess was that another decent fight would allow him to comfortably go up to the 8th stage and then, from there, the rest of the fights in Xasca would push Ares to either the peak of the ninth stage or may even allow him to enter the tenth stage before leaving for Isaz. Ares would then just need to drag himself across the finish line and enter bloodline awakening so he was feeling pretty good about it all. Even if Ares didn't use his Canis Stimulants before he reached bloodline awakening he could technically save them in case he ever died. A revenant could only ever take three Stimulants but that didn't mean they couldn't take them across multiple lives and having access to Garmr if his cultivation was ever reset would still be helpful. Maybe Ares would try and keep one Stimulant handy just in case if he could manage it but, knowing his luck, he'd wind up needing it at some point or another. one of the two he had remaining was for Tom Tom so whether the last one could survive for one or tow more cultivations stages without needing to see the light of day was up in the air.
Before Ares arrived at the eastern wall he received another letter from Enyo and Bellona, thanks to Mr. You... Have... Mail... Loris Lax himself, and he took some time to read it. Enyo was giddy because she was getting closer and closer to Bellona while Bellona was still making threats about helping Enyo buy a whip. Ares would continue to play along with the latter, just like he did the last time she wrote about this matter in a letter, because Blo Blo seemed to be having fun with that empty threat. What she didn't know was that Enyo already had a whip, a backfire gear she got from Bea's shop a while back during the international period. Still, Bellona was enjoying herself so Ares pretended to beg for his life. He was actually rather lucky as the whip hadn't been used on him as of yet, at least not to the degree it potentially could have been, and he hoped things could stay this way. Unfortunately, knowing Enyo, she was probably practicing with it in secret to become an expert with it for whenever it made its grand debut... Ares hoped he could temper his body with the resources he got from the lab, and would find in the east of Xasca, so that he could maybe resist the sting coming his way... As an aside, maybe Enyo would become proficient with the whip as a weapon? It was a rather unintentional development but if she was swinging whips around anyway then she might as well consider it...
Ares wrote another letter in response, one that brough up the concept of eating steppers as food and asked if the sisters were interested, and would send it later tonight when he returned to the city to sleep in the sect again. He wanted to check on the quarry and Massai, to make sure progress was being made on clearing the contamination, as well as possibly kill Brainiac. He'd outlived his usefulness now that Ares knew where the scavenger base was. Ares also still wanted his brain so maybe now was a good time to harvest it. He was reconsidering, as he had Sevorus', and his master's, brainpower on his side but you could never have too many smart allies so Ares ended up not changing his mind.
After writing the letter, Ares arrived at the eastern wall and talked with the lady guard again, asking her to mark the location of any major monster settlements on his makeshift map. It's not like Ares needed to fear them for any reason and he was planning on exploring all their territories to look for good stuff to take back to the sect with him. He was going to have to procure resources for his disciples and elders in the future so he might as well get started on that now as it was as good a time as any. Large settlements would need large amounts of resources and monsters would no doubt hoard them jsut like how humans did for the sake of improving their cultivation. Picking up batches of resources from these settlements was Ares' main goal but he also held out hope to find one of the other two resources on his list. He still needed something to help the old sect master of Heaven's Path either extend his life or reach transition realm as well as a healing resource to fix Sandy's meridians. Anything else was a bonus but this was what he was really after. Regarding the latter of the two, Ares wasn't too stressed because the fine grind she was absorbing would be enough for now to keep Sandy competitive with other genius and prodigious cultivators. Plus Ares figured he would get enough materials from the dead western monsters, when he cleared them out, that Allie could maybe concoct a pill or something with all the rare goods he brought back. Allie was an expert alchemist so if anyone was going to be able to create a healing miracle on demand it was her, hands down... Or more like hands on, given her preferred alchemical method. Either way, Sandy was in good hands!
Ares and Aejaz coasted through the eastern desert in the Elliot and didn't even have to leave the treasure to obliterate the settlements. Ares channeled his war aura flag to follow the Elliot, currently ramming monsters, and cause carnage and that seemed to be enough to clear out even mid sized settlements alone. Larger ones did require Ares to throw some destruction magic out the windows but it wasn't necessary as Aejaz was stealing his affiliation for the destruction pillar and tossing out various annihilation bombs like a kid tossing marbles anyway. Aejaz enjoyed going buck wild with the destruction pillar so Ares stuck to remotely flying his flag and getting practice with it. There wasn't really much to practice but improving his timing with it, and how easily he could control it with his thoughts so as not to impede him in combat when he was doing other thing too, was at least something. Unfortunately most of the monsters in these settlements were too weak to really catch Ares' attention but that was true before he dredged up his hidden war aura so they stood absolutely no chance now. Leopards, iron lions, copycats. Nothing stood a chance and Ares was blasting through the east at record speed, gaining all sorts of random resources. Very few were worth keeping for himself, and those that were were all pretty random items that could be mindlessly thrown into a bath to body temper with so needn't be named. No big treasures were found and the resources he was on the lookout for seemed to not exist here... At least that was what he thought up until Ares caught sight of Lilly's group from the Riddlemyd. The girl that reminded Tom Tom of a 'magical girl', the unnamed assassin, the researcher, and the spendthrift layabout. They were all here and all in trouble as they'd poked a hornet's nest so Ares figured he might as well drop in and say hello to lend them a hand; they looked like they really needed it right about now.