Arriving at the second room, I put my hand on the rusty doorknob and twisted gently.
As I opened the door, what greeted me was some kind of meeting room. There was a large rectangular table in the center, with fancy chairs all around it. In one corner, a sofa stood next to a small table with a potted plant on top. The big selling point of the room, however, was the view. Since this was the leftmost room on the second floor, I hadn't seen this large window from outside at all. This room, curiously enough, seemed much more in tune with modern architecture and aesthetics than all the others I'd seen up until now. This looked like an actual meeting room you could find in a corporate building somewhere.
The table was made of dark wood, and although it seemed expensive, it had an austere look to it — as opposed to some of the more colonial-style furniture in 01 and 02, for example. The table was simple, but the chairs were a bit more fancy-looking. They were made of wood too, but more intricately crafted. It gave the room an air of restrained luxury, which I found quite pleasing to the eye.
I swiped one finger at the table's surface and checked. A bit dusty, but not enough for me to reach any conclusions. I approached the sofa and examined the potted plant. Normal, as far as I could tell. My brows creased and my frown deepened; nothing in this entire floor was suspicious, which was, in itself, suspicious. I had not forgotten the two bodies I'd seen down on the first floor.
Approaching the window, I looked outside, anxious. Going back to 01 would not be a simple matter. The sun was already teasing an orange tint, and considering the time it took me to get here, it would be a very close call. Would I make it in time? Ugh, that damn office room ate too much of my time.
The prospect of spending the night here was not pleasant. I was not going to stay in a place with two corpses. Not only because it was macabre, but because it might attract things to this place. And even if it didn't, the corpses were evidence enough that those things do walk around here — and that was the biggest problem. This was enemy territory, no doubt.
"Still, the view here sure is nice", I commented, almost absentmindedly. The horizon stretched out with nothing but green slopes and scattered trees around, the faint orange glow in the sky making everything look so... peaceful. As if it were trying to lull me into a false sense of security, making me believe that everything was fine — that those two dismembered bodies were just a fleeting nightmare. Were they? I still wasn't sure I wasn't in a coma, dreaming.
Taking one last glance at the place I decided to hurry on to the next room. Time was precious.
Huh.
I stood before my third and final stop on this floor: a strange blue door, slightly ajar. It was mostly azure in color, with golden details adorning the handle. Some golden runes or ideograms ran along its surface, giving it an ethereal aura of sorts.
Feels like I'm entering a boss room.
Taking my knife out and leaving my sack of supplies on the corner, I prepared myself to enter. Maybe that was not the wisest choice, but this was too intriguing to ignore. Plus, the door was open already — if there had been something dangerous inside, it would’ve gotten out by now.
Before my motivation bottomed out, I pressed on the door and slowly opened it a bit more, just to peer inside.
The first thing that caught my eye, directly across the room, was a wide, glassy table. It looked a bit out of place, especially considering the furniture I'd seen until now.
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To the left, a cluttered research station stood, its surface a chaotic sprawl of glass beakers, metal pincers, scattered empty vials and papers. Among the mess was a strange machine that resembled a microscope but with oddly placed handles jutting from its sides. Okay... also out of place. Let's see...
Heading inside, I took a better glance at the entire room. Above the station hung a grid of shelves, crammed with an eclectic assortment of items: jars of powders in every imaginable color, a cluster of dried herbs bound together with fraying string, and tiny boxes with crystals inside.
To the right, against the wall, was a simple leather couch, with a small coffee table in front and a rolling chalkboard to the side. On the table sat a single tiny metal holder bearing the remains of an exhausted candle.
I decided to start with the countertop on the left. The items and vials didn't give me any clue, visually speaking — I had taken enough chemistry lessons to know that sticking your nose or fingers into unknown vials was far from a good idea. Instead, I turned to the microscope. It was also made of metal and looked like it served a similar purpose. Maybe it's a perfectly normal machine that I simply don't recognize?
Yeah, I didn't believe that either.
The papers, on the other hand, gave me more clues. They seemed to be brief reports of small experiments: "Failure: No catalyzation with S5 Distilled-Essentia"; "Failure: No catalyzation with S5 Refined-Essentia"; "Failure: No reaction with S5 Natural-Essentia"; "Failure: No reaction with S3 Natural-Essentia"...
All of them were failures. In the description section of the report, nothing was ever written — only "FAILURE" in big letters.
On the last of the scattered pages, however, I found something different:
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Theoretical Framework for #66
Spiritus: Definition according to Silmach's 'Spirit and Metaphysics' (983).
Essentia: Definition according to Silmach's 'Spirit and Metaphysics' (983) Gulakoto's 'Essentia in Natura' (32)
Qualifiers: Definition according to Vollsia's 'Qualifying Uniqueness and Deviations' (1122)
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These words felt familiar. They were the same ones the magical crystal ball projected that time, back in 01. So much occurred since then that I unconsciously moved that matter to the background of my mind. What did they even mean?
I flipped the sheet, in search of more, but that was it.
Apparently, the right approach was to use Galakoto's definition of Essentia, not Silmach's. Whatever that was supposed to mean.
Leaving that side of the room, I went to the glass table. Which secrets do you hide? I wondered, looking at the weird piece of furniture. As I placed both hands on the surface, the glass blinked once and projected a sheet of light upwards.
I staggered back a couple of steps, startled, but quickly recovered and moved toward the table again. Bingo.
Now, the light screen displayed the following:
SPIRITUS DIAGNOSIS
Aspect: Null
Essentia: 0/0
Qualifier: *¨[[]¨&*
[Warning]
* Extremely Low Essence saturation
* Prolonged exposure to Low Essentia Atmosphere
PHYSICAL DIAGNOSIS
Constitution: 13
Vitality: 15
Perception: 20
Strength: 11
Agility: 12
Capacity: -
[Warning]
* One unknown affliction detected
"FUCK", I loudly exclaimed, regretting instantly after. First of all, this was crazy. What is this, a videogame? Am I in a simulation?
Second of all, what do you mean "one unknown affliction detected"?
Am I infected? A chill crept up my spine. Will I turn into one of those zombies?
Shit, I might have even less time than I thought.
No. Affliction could mean anything. Let's not panic. You have things to do.
The light screen went out, and I put both my hands on the table again. The same thing showed up. And why is this spiritus diagnosis full of errors?
I tried placing other items on the table, even the blue marble, but nothing really worked. Apparently, it only worked on living things.
After tinkering with the table some more and concluding that it also didn't make sense — why and how it produced holograms was a complete mystery — I left the room.
I gathered myself and left. I'd have to hurry if I wanted to make it before absolute darkness. Descending the stairs, I headed straight to the exit on the first floor. Passing the courtyard, I kept my gaze fixed ahead, refusing to glance toward that room. I still wasn’t sure how I hadn’t puked at the sight.
Outside, I took a moment to reorient myself, then started jogging. This would be a close one.