Specria stood in the middle of the dark chamber. The light installed on the floor illuminated only the pathway and her silhouette. In the surrounding darkness, the reflective carapaces of the golden humanoid Arachna flashed, reminding her that she had stepped into the unknown territory akin to the dreamland.
Though the Arachna emitted disturbingly cold airs from their joints, they remained in their places with their heads lowered, keeping a respectable distance from her. The bone-like spears and shields they held had the emblems of an iron maiden wrapped in thorny roses embedded on them.
"A warm welcome indeed," a feminine voice echoed behind Specria. Permotir came from behind and hugged Specria. "Lady Specria, you will protect this Big Sister, right?"
"Please restrain your behaviour, Miss Permotir." Specria separated from Permotir and walked towards a golden Arachna. She stared at the symbol engraved on it. "Are you her subordinate?"
The Arachna lowered its head, knelt on the metallic floor, and placed its spear and shield beside its body. It arched groundwards, touching the floor with its faceless head.
Specria stroked its smooth carapace and smiled. Before she could reminisce about the olden past, a stiff footstep caught her attention. Immodulus walked past her and observed the golden Arachna.
"This is the first time I've seen the product of science which creates new species. The Fallen Princess is indeed the harbinger of the new era," he said before turning to Specria. "I must thank you for letting me have a chance to meet her again."
"Mister Immodulus, it isn't me who allowed you to enter this place. If you wish to thank someone, it is Peritia," Specria said and narrowed her eyes. The gleam she saw inside his eyes was ominous, yet she couldn't know what went through it.
"You'll know it soon enough. Before we go inside, may I take a look around?"
Immodulus and the android behind him carelessly wandered around a golden Arachna, observing their carapace pattern and their general body structure. He took out his glasses and wore it before brushing his hand across the Arachna's skin and felt its smooth metallic cover.
Permotir only clung beside Specria and fiddled with her hand while walking side by side. Though she regularly teased Specria, she received little to no response aside from direct rejection of affection.
Along the hallway, the golden Arachna formed two rows on each side. They ignored everyone who walked past them except for Specria, to whom they paid respect.
"They certainly adore you, Specria," Permotir said. "Do you find them disgusting, beautiful, or neutral?"
"How can I dislike what my dear friend created? In my opinion, they look elegant." Specria smiled as her thought wandered. "Though she has become an Arachna, she is still as beautiful as ever."
"You sound like you're in love. I'm jealous. How can I acquire your affection?" Permotir giggled and tightened her arm around Specria's arm.
Immodulus glanced at them and shook his head. He raised his hand and looked into the watch on his waist before he smiled. The android behind him merely synced her pace with his and followed him in silence. She rarely did anything except staring into the darkness or glancing at the hidden cameras.
"Now this is something I can get by," Immodulus said as he came to a halt in front of an imposing metallic gate, which connected the hallway and the Laboratory. "We'll go take a look of the Fallen Princess's achievement a bit. What do you all think?"
Permotir pondered for a moment before she nodded. "Good idea, old man. My legs are sour from walking for so long. Maybe Sister Specria can help me by massaging them?"
"Mister Immodulus, I don't think it is a good—" Specria said before she paused. Inside her chest, the power which Princess gave her suddenly pulsated before it dimmed and vanished into nothingness. "—nevermind, I have no objection."
Immodulus narrowed his eyes before he put the thought away and opened the gate. Without Specria's consent, the surrounding golden Arachna wouldn't let him in, so he couldn't risk changing her mind.
Inside the Laboratory, rows of deformed Arachna suspended within the liquid-filled cylinders, which hung from the ceilings along the path. The cold air congregated at the floor and formed a sea of mist, refracting the illumination from the light embedded on the metallic tiles. A part of it drifted off and fell out of the platform along its edges.
"I wonder how many corpses lie beneath us," Immodulus said as he glanced into the dark abyss below, not minding its bloody atmosphere or creepy composition.
"Sister Specria, you must absolutely protect me. I might not be able to handle such fright," Permotir said before she chuckled. Her hands pulled Specria with her as she entered the Laboratory, getting unnecessarily intimate with physical contact.
Specria absentmindedly followed her as she gazed at the edges of the pathway. Behind the iron fences, the depthless abyss laid in the darkness, where Princess stored countless failed experiments and carcasses. Their muffled wails echoed faintly in the wind, unable to reach the platform on which Specria stood.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Though she knew she was letting Immodulus go on with his antic, Specria ignored the external present and focused on the fleeting wisp of Divinity inside her heart. A looming sense of despair hung above her neck like a guillotine, yet she couldn't find the origin of such fear.
"Miss Specria, I'm afraid the worst has happened," a voice echoed inside her head. A mystical cube manifested in her vision as a hologram only she could see. "I am the core of Shifting Mist, and I'm here under the order of her highness in case of an unexpected development."
"What happened to Peritia?"
"Her highness is dead. Her body and consciousness fused with the Originator completely. Her plan has—" The voice inside Specria, as well as the world around her, distorted and warped her mind. Her body gave in and plunged on the floor. On her expression, confusion and denial manifested.
"How could she . . . fail? Why did she die . . . again? What is the point of all this? I don't want to lose anyone anymore." Specria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The cold wind entered her lungs and froze her heart.
Those for whom she dearly yearned manifested before her. They stood at the horizon before a setting sun, smiling and waving at her. Their destination was where she couldn't reach or follow.
"You guys . . . are you leaving me?" she said.
"Specria, you still have a lot to do, don't you? Your life hasn't ended yet. Keep on living, for us, for you, and for her."
"For her?"
A hand reached out to Specria. She raised her head to see Princess's delicate dark-purple hand hanging in front of her. Specria forced a smile and took the hand, feeling its fleeting sensation of warmth. As she got up and moved closer to Princess, she found nothing within her sight, for Princess had disappeared into the endless void.
Like before, she failed to save her friends. From Princess's first death, to the destruction of City B-34, to False Medoria, to the slaughter within the Holyground, and finally, Princess's second death, she hadn't been able to save any of her friends. Yet she was the one who remained, to look upon the remainder of what was once her happiness.
"Peritia, please come back," she whispered. "Are you leaving me too? Am I not enough for you all?"
"Specria, I have never once thought of you as inadequate," Princess said. Her transient silhouette floated in front of Specria, gradually drifting into the sky. "I know I can depend on you, which is why I left Medoria on your care."
"Peritia, you too are leaving me? I don't think I can live in a world where there is no one left to go back to."
"Unfortunately, there are things I have to do, even if it would cost my life. I hope that you won't blame me."
"You know I won't blame you, but it still hurts in here." Specria placed her hand on her chest. "I really can't do it, Peritia."
"Don't be so down, Specria. Look around you."
Medoria, Pallear, and Ocupas were by her side. They grouped up and watched her expression with their warm gazes. Though they were silent, their presences filled her with gratefulness and resolution. She was not alone. They did not blame her.
"Everyone, thank you," she said before she turned to Princess for one last time. "Peritia, I'll live in your stead."
"Live for your future, and for those who had passed away."
"Your regret, I'll complete it for you."
"My only wish is for you all to survive, and for my dear Angelica to wake up. Specria, the Laboratory might have what you need for that promise of yours. Good luck and farewell."
Princess's translucent body disintegrated into the void, shattering the illusionary realm Specria found herself in. She closed her eyes and engraved the words which Princess told her into her steel heart.
"Sister Specria, are you unwell?" Permotir said as she tapped Specria's nose and giggled. "You suddenly went blank there. Is something wrong? Do you need a hug?"
"Miss Permotir, I'm fine. The gloomy atmosphere here surprises me."
"I'll still hug you though, hope you don't mind."
Specria sighed and followed Immodulus from behind, gazing at the surrounding cylinders as well as observing the android beside Immodulus. No matter what Pormetir said, Specria ignored everything and continued to lose in her thought.
Soon they arrived at the monitoring room at the end of the platform. The hexagon walls were transparent, revealing the depth of the abyss which contained monstrosities of the Arachna. The clanking of the chains and the low, deadened howls echoed throughout the massive room, seeping beyond the dizzy height of the platform.
Holograms manifested in front of the group as they stepped into the monitoring room. The mist-filled atmosphere dispersed as the metallic howls of the invisible ventilation system reverberated, sucking the pale curtain out of the room.
"As expected of the Fallen Princess," Immodulus said. "This is almost at the realm of Divinity, to be able to imitate the art of life . . . if she had more time, she might have been the first person to create corporeal matter out of an incorporeal illusion."
Immodulus stared at the holograms and selected multiple experiment results to view. His eyes glued at the gruesome records which detailed the anatomy of various types of Arachna and how Princess attempted to create the hybrid between the Great Races and the Arachna.
Princess managed to separate the newest species of the Arachna from the control of the Arachna Queen, but the golden Arachna remained mindless, incapable of experiencing emotions and storing memories.
"Store all these data for me," Immodulus said. The android placed her hand on the panel and connected with the database. The Fons which powered Shifting Mist shifted its pathway into the android, seeping into the android's smooth plastic-like skin.
Her body shook as blue glow penetrated her creamy skin and filled the room with rays of azure light. From her joints, electrical sparks emerged and swirled, creating flashes of light which dispelled the gloomy atmosphere.
"Look at that, Specria. That dumb android is getting fried!" Permotir said as she fiddled with Specria's hair. She narrowed her eyes as she realised the air surrounding Specria had turned cold. "Is there something wrong?"
"Miss Permotir, what is your intention on coming here?" Specria said, her voice strangely dull.
"What are you saying? Why don't you try to relax and have some fun with me?"
Specria broke free from Permotir's grasp and strolled to the end of the monitoring room. She stood in front of a transparent wall and glided her hand on it. Her eyes gazed at the bottom of the darkness, where a modified Broodmother laid motionless, waiting for more food from above.
"Why don't you come and stand with me, Miss Permotir?" Specria said. "Isn't it strange that I don't have any hostile intention towards you, and that my mind can't concentrate to channel any Fons?"