{Loading…}

{Loaded.}

[>>Now replaying: Log 1.32 - To Nothing and Back]

Date: 8.9.175 AA / 4404 LTC

Location: The Bunker at Haven-Of-Progress // Zephyro’s Domain

//Can something as a complete vacuum even exist? Even in space, there is light. Even if you were to encase yourself in a large metal shell and float through the cosmos, the shell would still exist, and you could still touch it.//

//No. Nothing is impossible.//

[>>DATA CORRUPTED]

E3 %I don’t think it’s taking. The machine isn’t doing anything, at least.%

E2 %Try another of the holes.%

[Now loading ZEPHYRO’S DOMAIN…]

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[>>Alert!]

[>>Detected idle state in DPM: Samantha_v1.]

[>>Traumatic personality stasis imminent.]

[>>Employing sanity-preserving countermeasures…]

[>>Searching records…]

[>>No relevant records found.]

{FAILSAFE ACTIVATED}

Do not fear, little savior.

{SCANNING PRE-LOG MEMORY.}

mantha Christina Feirer! You are going to get back in here right now or so help me Go

{REMEFZSFING…}

Oh hi Dagger, how are you today? You got a package on your desk from R+D, and I think the boss is looking for y

{REMXXBERING…}

and that is okay Sam but who do you want to b

{REMEMBERING…}

ALL HAIL!

[>>Relevant records found.]

[>>Relevant rIcXOds found.]

[>>Relevant memories found.]

[>>Now replaying memories…]

Date: 8th of November, 2019

Location: Alex_Rook_Building, Berlin-Mitte, Germany.

[>>Replaying Memory.]

The sun gleams through the windows of the meeting room, heating the back of the suit jacket I brought to make a good impression on the stakeholders.

Not that any suit would save me from disappointing them.

“Nothing, guys? Absolutely nothing?”

“This sort of software just takes time…” Steffen says.

Vincent is quick to add “You’ll get some top-quality stuff when we’re done. We promise, Dagger.”

Again with the dumb nickname, but I have much bigger things to worry about.

“But you said you’d be done this spri—

[>>Data Corrupted!]

[Now loading ZEPHYRO’S DOMAIN…]

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[>>Detected idle state in DPM: Samantha_v1]

[>>Traumatic personality stasis imminent]

[>>Employing sanity-preserving countermeasures]

{REMEMBERING…}

Date: Unknown

Location: Unknown

[>>Error: Parameter $DATE or $LOCATION must contain a valid statement.]

[>>Adjusting…]

[>>Supplementing missing data by cross-referencing database matrix…]

[>>Done.]

Date: 1.1.0001 AA — Arrival Day

Location: “The Little Forest” - 3.1 kilometers north of Peruti, Kingdom of Wexler

[>>Replaying Memory.]

There are birds singing I have never heard before. I open my eyes and see grass, and a few flowers that look like easter lilies, but bright red.

I unfurl my arms from around my knees and slowly stretch my legs, emerging from the fetal position they had told us to take when the plane crashes.

I can only spot glances of a clear blue sky through the thick canopy of the trees that surround me. I can hear the ocean.

None of the other passengers are here, and the angel is gone. I am alone.

When it all sinks in, hitting the deepest parts of my soul and I feel the sheer amount of possibilities and uncertainties sparking like the first fluttering embers of a brushfire, I hear it.

A bell, its sound unfathomably deep and immeasurably unending, tolling infinitely, over and over, its power shaking the very foundations of my soul.

I know it could soothe me if I let it.

I also know it could destroy me if it wanted.

I start crying—

[>>Data Corrupted!]

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

[Now loading ZEPHYRO’S DOMAIN…]

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[>>Loaded.]

[>>NOW ENTERING - ZEPHYRO’S DOMAIN]

In the moments before I opened my eyes, I remembered darkness and fear and barely suppressed anger. For a moment I was tempted to tell myself that that was all just a dream, and I almost had to laugh out loud if I hadn’t been so nauseous. No, that hadn’t been a dream, but a real memory.

The memories that assaulted me while the Domain was loading had been so vivid I felt like I’d just traveled untold kilometers and endless days in the blink of an eye. I almost expected that journey to continue; that this, too, was just a random stop, but something about the memories had felt so very wrong. A moment later it hit me. I hadn’t been able to act on my own will as if my entire being was prerecorded, and no choice was truly mine. I wished I didn’t like it.

Eyes still closed, I tried to even out my breathing with a few deep gasps of air, and when nothing happened but smoke filling my lungs and an accompanying coughing fit, the whiplash finally started to fade.

Then I smelled spices and blood and heard the rumble of collapsing buildings, and when my eyes flashed open, I saw fire.

I’d never been happier to see a city falling to ruin, no matter how callous it felt. Anything was better than that lonely, pitch-black dark, even in my current dizzy state.

“Sultana! Thank Allah, you are back!” I reappeared exactly where I’d left, and Zephyro stood at my side, looking as relieved as I felt. Despite the looming threats always gnawing at the back of my mind, I smiled, even if it was brief.

“I promised I’d get to the palace, haven’t I?”

That coaxed a rare smile out of the Vizier, too, and I hated that I had to wipe it away so soon.

“They tried to shackle me, Zephyro,” I said, clenching my fists at the thought. Now that I finally felt the dangerous heat caressing my skin again, I was ready to set my mind to revenge.

“You mentioned, Sultana. Is the threat banished? Has the Maker lent you their aid?

“They have,” I said. “We had to kill the connection, and that has bought me some time, but I think they’re going to come around for a second pass soon.”

Zephyro’s expression darkened as he turned toward the palace, lost in thought. Whatever he thought about, he quickly came to a conclusion, however, and put his attention back to me.

“Do you have any idea who they are, Sultana? The attackers, I mean.”

“I was hoping you’d tell me,” I replied, but Zephyro just shook his head.

“We have never been attacked before, Sultana, and certainly not like this. It feels almost coordinated.”

“Do you think they know I’m in here? Did they come for me specifically, I mean?”

Zephyro gave it some thought, but ultimately, he shook his head once more. “It is unlikely, Sultana. If they knew, why not come sooner? Also, why would they bother with all of this?” He swept his hand across the blazing hellscape that used to be his city. The gesture was curt, trembling ever so slightly with barely contained fury. He was doing a good job of masking it, but his anger was quite obvious if you knew where to look.

“Not Conservationists, then,” I put forward, using the old term the Mage Lords had used to describe their loose coalition.

“No, Sultana. It is unlikely.”

“Are there even any Mage Lords left?” The question had been bugging me ever since I reclaimed my memories, and I didn’t know which answer I wanted to hear. I wanted them dead, but if they were still alive, then I’d have a reason to— a long-term goal.

“We do not know, Sultana,” Zephyro said, oblivious to my thoughts in his own agitation. "But I think we can say for certain that whoever is attacking us, they aren’t Adherents, either.”

He was right. My own people would probably be able to walk straight in. Not that there would be any alive by now. As always, it seemed as though every question just led to more questions, and there was never enough time to get some answers.

I was so looking forward to the Palace, and the peace it promised, even if I also quietly dreaded what would happen if all the pressure holding me together would suddenly fade away.

I pushed that worry down hard. First, and foremost, I had to survive. I reached for my Torch, found it hanging securely on my waist, and pulled it free.

“Whoever they are, they have compromised the open network, but I have no idea how. Did you add any open ports?” I asked.

Zephyro paled visibly, and that was all I needed to know.

“Fuck, how did they get into the Bunker, Zephyro?!”

“Sultana, are you connected to the Secure Network?”

“Yes,” I said through gritted teeth. I was fully aware the Vizier hadn’t answered the question, which was probably for the best. My blood was boiling, and even though I knew it wasn’t necessarily his fault, he was the only one within reach of my ionizing fury. If I kept talking, I’d say things I would later regret.

“Then you must contact the Old Guard! I offer you one thousand apologies for being so direct, but if there are truly intruders within the Palace, then they are the ones who need to deal with them.”

“The Old Guard?” I asked.

“Yes, the sacred defenders of your palace,” Zephyro replied urgently.

I remembered. He had mentioned them what felt like days ago, back when we trekked down the mountain.

“Wait, you mean… you mean the automated turrets? The ones in my bunker? They’re sentient now?”

Zephyro just nodded as if that was totally obvious, and that made my temper slip.

“Look, if you could just lay off of your damn metaphors for a moment, I would fucking know what you are talking about, and none of this would have—“ I held my breath, pinched the bridge of my nose, closed my eyes.

“Sultana, I must offer—“

“Shut up!” I snapped, My eyes flew open, brimming with fury.

For a second, we just looked at each other. Me, angry and panting, him, apologetic and forlorn.

“Fuck!” I yelled, turning away. “Fuck!!!” I screamed into the fire and dust and whirling ash. My entire body trembled with rage and I gripped my Torch so hard it ignited. My palm must have slid over the switch.

“Chris?” I said when I managed to reign myself in.

Beep?

“Can we contact the Old Guard?”

Beep… The sound was contemplative, this time.

[>>User CHRIs is currently busy: Code_dojo.exe]

I winced at the headache, but it also helped distract me from my anger. To my annoyance, when I tried to massage my aching temples, I found that my cheeks were wet with tears.

> I smell Patti’s scent, always like fresh linens. She is holding me tight, and I wish I could stay in this tent forever, never go back out there, and face a world where friends could die.

> “Hey, Sam… it’s okay.”

> “No, I’m getting your clothes all wet, and I really shouldn’t be crying—“

> “Ah! None of that. It’s okay to be sad, Sam. Tears are made for pain to dissolve in.”

“Fuck,” I whispered and angrily wiped my cheeks clean with my soot-stained clothes before turning to face Zephyro again.

“I’m sorry.”

Zephyro didn’t reply for a while, fighting his own demons, but in the end, he nodded. “You do not need to apologize, Sultana. You are right. I have come to terms that it was my duty to defend your Palace, and I have failed. Sometimes, I feel as though your words are too kind a punishment.”

“Fuck that,” I said with a sigh. “Nobody’s perfect, and until we contact the Old Guard, we can’t even be sure there’s people in the bunker. For all we know, they found some sort of exploit from the outside, or are using one of their Shackled as a relay or something.”

“Even so, Sultana, I will not fail you again. Once we reach the palace, you have my promise that you will be safe.”

Of course, that was when the other shoe dropped.

{EMERGENCY ACCESS OVERRIDE INCOMING FROM UNKNOWN}

{Open, Sesame.}

{ACCESS GRANTED. NETWORK 99999999999999919 NOW OPEN TO INCOMING CONNECTIONS}