One Through Nine

Ryu took hold of his ticket, his expression no different as though he hadn't accomplished anything special. With smooth steps he continued forward, slipping through a screen of qi and sitting upon one of nine platforms. 

Without a glance to his surroundings, he closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation, his wildly beating heart slowly being reined into his control one breath at a time. 

…

"See what I mean? He does things as he pleases?" Godefride took a swing from a random cup he found on the table without a care for what had happened to it before. There was even a hint of blood on its surface but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest. 

"… That wasn't normal." Sabelle said with narrowed eyes.