Felix, Chevalier of the Order of Remembrance, had been afraid of the dark since he was a little boy. It'd never ceased to bother him. He tried to avoid spending time in it, he tried to avoid being awake when it took over the landscape, and he always tried to have a light on hand. It wasn't something he often had to think about.

It might've been because of this distaste for the dark that he originally joined the Order of Remembrance as an initiate years ago. It was a group dedicated to the exploration of the unknown, and the unveiling of ancient secrets. That, to him, was a symbolic banishing of the dark. It'd made signing up easy.

How a man horrified by the dark ended up in a network of dim tunnels deep below the once great metropolis of New York, he was uncertain. He just knew that along the way something had gone very, very wrong.

He heard a noise, the moving of a stone.

"Jax, was that you?" He whispered. He was half-afraid that something had gotten the other Chevalier that was within the tunnels with him.

"Yes, you girl. Quit worrying." Jax's voice responded. It sounded like it was immediately next to his ear. It wasn't, they were both just using the Chrysalis System to transmit their words to each other. Still, Felix jumped a little at the noise.

"I'm moving towards the point of intersection. I'll be there soon."

They had found on a wall near the entrance an ancient map of the tunnel network, labeled with numbers, letters, and paths of various different colors. The dark concrete cavern they wandered through stretched for miles beneath the city, some of which surely hadn't been explored since the Ascension of Fools when the System began. They'd split up to cover more ground, following the map and agreeing to meet where the two paths next intersected.

They weren't just there to explore. They were looking for someone, a young man who had wandered into the tunnels a week ago. His parents, both incredibly wealthy, were worried sick about him. They'd managed to use their considerable social clout and deep pockets to get the Order to send a team of Chevaliers looking. Jax and he were in the region, so they drew the short straw.

"I'm already there. There's not much going on here. A handful of benches, whole lotta trash. Smells awful. Gonna sit down for a second."

Felix could hear the annoyance creeping into his partner's tone. Jax was waiting on him. Jax could wait a little while longer, Felix figured. Better safe than dead.

"Got it. I'm on my way."

He stumbled a little bit over a particularly nasty pile of debris, kicking up dust as he steadied himself. It wasn't the kind of place he'd go exploring for fun. He didn't know what the kid was thinking. In truth, they'd spent the better part of a day looking with absolutely no sign of the twerp. Felix doubted he'd even made it down here, to begin with.

It wasn't the easiest place to navigate. There seemed to be rubble, mostly broken brick and jagged metal, distributed everywhere throughout. He wasn't sure what'd torn up the metal lines on the ground, but he knew he didn't want to find out.

He walked some more, hand against the wall for support even though he could see somewhat fine. One of his System traits, [Bright Eyes], saw to that. It had been taught to him by a Knight Master of the Order and was quite useful. He visualized his [Status] in his mind, and soon the overlay partially filled his vision. He kept walking as he read.

Felix

Vestige: None

Might: III

Arcana: I

Intellect: III

Dexterity: II

Traits: [Bright Eyes] [Hardened] [Quick]

Abilities: [Empower II] [Dodge I] [Reinforce I] [Commune III]

He wasn't one of the lucky few to be granted a boon such as a Vestige from the System, but, for a Chevalier of his thirty-five-odd years, Felix thought his status was rather impressive. Most in his cohort hardly had one trait, let alone three. He'd earned them through constant practice, conditioning, and seeking out answers for the Order. He'd been a model Chevalier, and it had rewarded him kindly.

[Commune] was how he spoke with Jax. It was required to be approved by the Order to go on quests and allowed you to communicate with anyone else who had the skill within a certain range. At the 3rd rank, Felix's reach was somewhere around a mile in any direction.

[Bright Eyes] was the crown jewel of his [Status]. It was a fairly uncommon trait that could only be developed by constant exposure to a specific kind of light. It was the kind of trait the people envied, and the process by which one acquired was one of the Order's most closely guarded secrets. In addition to an interesting visual effect above ground, it made you able to see the outline of shapes in complete darkness. It was an instrumental tool in their mission to brave the unknown. Jax didn't have it.

He stopped walking. All of a sudden, Felix found himself at a fork in the tunnel. There was nothing like this on the map they'd discovered earlier in the day. He was confused, it'd been entirely accurate up until that point.

"Jax, there's a fork in the tunnel on my side. One that's not on the map."

There was no response from his fellow. This was not overly alarming. It wasn't unheard of for [Commune] to struggle to go through walls of stone, especially in a region with as low nanite density as this one. There were too many people far above them for the System to function at its best, it was stretched too thin.

Felix tried to imagine what the other half of his pair would say. Probably something along the lines of 'Just pick one' and then some vaguely insulting phrase, like 'pansy' or 'milksop.' He wasn't going to do that, no matter what he thought Jax would recommend. He was going to try and choose the one that led to the agreed-upon rendezvous point. He decided to try and [Commune] again, but he wasn't holding out any hope.

"Jax, I'm at an unmarked fork. I'm going to take the side that appears to be older."

Still, no response. Felix was starting to worry. He resolved to hurry forward and put a little more effort into his step.

To the left, Felix had a tunnel that looked much the same as the direction he had come from- it had the same metal lines, bricks, and pillars of concrete support. To the right, Felix had a tunnel that looked like it had been dug straight from the earth- it was wide and almost entirely circular with large, natural stones lining either wall. He guessed that whoever made it was not able to move them. The walls were an inconsistent mess of roughshod, poorly-packed dirt. It looked like it had been added after the rest of the network.

Upon a more thorough inspection, he noticed scrawling lettering where the new tunnel broke into the old. He wasn't sure by who, but, these walls had been branded with a message. The phrases, "SL33P3RZ!" and "SHHHHHhhhhh" were spelled out in paint.

His studies had taught him that the ancients used to have an aerosolized, mist-like paint application device. It was not uncommon to find examples of it in old places, especially ones with a significant presence of concrete. It was a cultural practice used to claim an area. The use of numbers instead of letters within that text was also not unheard of. In the end, he decided, the message was something neat but not particularly noteworthy.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Felix took the tunnel to the left. He really did hope that his partner was alright. He'd try to [Commune] again in a few minutes, once he thought he was meaningfully closer.

He noticed something as he walked. The air down this way felt cool and moist. Was there a body of water down here? He was surprised. It was a welcome change of pace compared to the rest of the cave. Maybe the groundwater leeched in and formed a cistern, he thought. Then the smell hit him.

It was strong, unpleasant, and quite possibly the worst thing about the trip so far. That was saying something. He hated the dark. Jax had made an offhand comment about the smell, but he didn't think it'd turn out to be anything. He figured now was as good a time as any to [Commune].

"Jax, I just reached the smell. I think I must be closing in on where you were. Can you hear me?"

It took a few seconds, judging by the space in-between where he could hear water drip onto stone from the ceiling above. Drip, drip, drip. But this time, Felix got a response.

"Listen to me. You need to be quiet. Now."

Jax sounded stressed. His voice was serious and fast, and it sounded like the man had been breathing hard. Felix waited for more, but nothing came.

"Jax, is everything alright?"

Drip, drip, drip.

There wasn't any response. Felix kept going into the dark. The smell kept getting worse.

His mood had evolved from worried into full-blown scared. If his fellow was playing a cruel practical joke on him, Felix would have him brought before the Grandmaster of the Order and flogged. It wasn't unlike Jax to take mischief too far.

Finally, after continuing onwards for what felt like an age in his anxious mind, Felix reached the point where their two tunnels met. It reeked: it smelt of a mixture of rotting meat, urine, and wet dog. It had permeated outward via the stationary air of the underground space. He wasn't sure what he'd do for an ocean breeze right then.

The metal lines on the floor met and ran parallel to each other. There was an elevated platform of stone on either side and railings along their edges. He looked around, but he didn't see the tell-tale light that he'd come to expect from Jax's ability. The elevated stone platforms had metal rungs that could be climbed to get on top of them. He'd climb one. Hopefully, the better vantage point would allow him to spot his companion.

Jax hadn't been a successful, or gifted, enough member of the Order to justify earning his [Bright Eyes]. That wasn't unusual. The trait was something special, after all. It wouldn't be if everyone had it. However, Jax did have an alternative.

[Glow] was an activated ability that involved exciting the nanites around an object to make it create light. True to its name, it made things glow. It was an effect that didn't need to be constantly reapplied at its higher ranks. During their travels together, Jax had usually just used it on a rock and carried it with him.

Felix thought it looked ridiculous. It made him stick out like a sore thumb. Or, he supposed, a light in the darkness.

He made his way up the rungs. The metal felt brittle and rusted under his hands. His eyes were beginning to water because of the smell.

The top of the platform gave him a glimmer of hope. He could see that an additional network of pathways existed on this level and that the platform was only used to access them. They were made of a different style of smooth brick and shaped like rectangles. They were very clearly of the Ancients.

It only happened for a brief moment, but Felix thought he saw a flash of light coming from further down one of the newly revealed tunnels. Jax. He felt a weight lift off his chest. He’d need to chase the light. It’d definitely come from his non-responsive partner, there was no other explanation. There wasn’t another source of light in those catacombs.

A thought briefly flickered across his mind that maybe it was the boy who they’d been sent to search for but Felix dismissed it out of hand. There was no way he’d made it this far in. He walked slowly across the space that was on the level of the platform, careful to watch his step. He didn’t want to chance falling, not with Jax’s warning that was equal parts strange and vague.

He rounded a sharp corner. The light became visible at the end of the hall, bobbing up and down due to the motion of someone walking with it- it was definitely from [Glow], but, it was hard to make out any shapes at this distance, he just knew that Jax was close. The light stopped moving and it wasn't very far away. It took him a handful of moments to make up the rest of the distance.

Hmm. That was odd. It was the smooth circular rock that [Glow] had been cast on, but his partner was nowhere in sight. It sat against the ground about a dozen meters in front of him. He looked around, but even with the aid of [Bright Eyes] he was unable to see where Jax could've gone. He made another attempt at [Communing].

"Jax, is that you?"

It was quiet for a moment, and then he heard his friend's voice. It was louder this time, Jax's normal speaking volume. It was only through [Commune], not from his proximity.

"Felix, you need to come back to the intersection. Whatever you do, do not go into the light."

He saw movement originating on the other side of the light in front of him. A man's silhouette stood on the edge of its proximity. His hand went to the blade sheathed at his waist. The silhouette took a few slow steps forward, gradually exposing its features to the light of [Glow]. The first thing that Felix noticed was that it, like he, wore the customary traveling regalia of a decorated Chevalier of the Order of Remembrance.

The next thing he noticed was the twin axes hanging from a bandolier crossed over its chest. They were just like the pair Jax had. Then, he got a look at the silhouette's face. It was a man's face, completed by a beard beginning to gray. It was unremarkable save for the fact that it was distinctly, undoubtedly, Jax's. Jax's face wore a panicked expression, his eyes wide, and he was rapidly making gestures with his hands and arms, crossing them repeatedly to form an X, and then pinching the thumb to the other four like a mouth. He was frantically signaling for Felix to stop talking.

Felix didn't understand how the other man was there. Hadn't Jax just instructed him to head back to the intersection?

Water slowly leaked out of a nearby pipe, pooling on the floor. In the subterranean pathways that were as quiet as a tomb, it was as loud as a roar.

Drip, drip, drip.

Felix looked at the other man and raised both his hands up with their palms open as if to say 'what gives?' Jax looked at him and then changed what he was trying to say through gesticulation. First, he pointed with a shaky finger towards the path Felix had come from. Next, he fiercely shook his head back and forth. Then, he turned that same finger back on himself.

Jax was fully in the light of [Glow] now, and Felix could see all of him. The man looked normal enough. It didn't take a genius to understand that he was telling Felix not to return from the direction he had come. This directly contradicted the advice of the Jax he'd just spoken to. Then, he'd said to avoid the light and return to the intersection. Felix had no idea who to listen to: the voice he [Communed] with, or the man standing in front of him?

This situation was far too strange for his tastes. He didn't like it, just like he didn't like that damnable darkness. There was nothing good that could possibly come from a place such as this. [Bright Eyes] was a trait that was supposed to help him find his way in the dark. It didn't help him see through deception. The Jax nearest him had the stone with [Glow], and the Jax furthest from him had the man's voice. To Felix, that evidence was a toss-up.

An idea came to him. What if he put the Jax in the light to a test? If he passed, he was trustworthy, and thus the real Jax. If he failed, then Felix would bolt for the point of intersection. It seemed like the safest course of action for him.

Felix made eye contact with the man near the stone. He drew his blade, a plain steel short sword, and waved it around through the air in front of him. Then, he mimed tossing it on the ground. He repeated the motion three times and then pointed to Jax. He figured that if one of the two options was some kind of System-created illusion, the real Jax would have Jax's weapons. He'd never heard of a System ability, no matter how powerful, being capable of replicating metal.

Jax looked at him, shook his head, and crossed his arms. He looked agitated. He wasn't going to throw down his axes. The more he thought about it, the more Felix realized that it probably wasn't a reasonable request.

Drip, drip, drip.

That damned pipe kept dripping. It was starting to get on Felix's nerves.

He'd try to propose the test again, this time with a slightly different approach. He waved his blade through the air in front of him, mimed tossing it on the ground, and then held up a singular finger. It was the universal sign for 'one.' He was hoping that Jax would be willing to part with at least one of his weapons to confirm his identity. This way, if he was actually Jax, he wouldn't feel like he was temporarily leaving himself defenseless.

Thankfully, this time Jax agreed. He pulled one of the axes from his bandolier, carefully set it on the ground, and slid it across the floor toward Felix. It stopped just before his feet. He lowered himself down to a crouch and picked it up, keeping his eyes on the man near the stone the entire time. The axe felt real; the weight was right, and the texture of the blade was hard. It even had the right signs of wear and tear from regular and well-maintained use.

Felix felt fairly certain that this man was Jax. This was Jax's axe, and his mannerisms were too uncanny. It was totally in character for Jax to refuse to surrender his weapons.

But if this was Jax, then what was waiting for him at the intersection of the tunnels?