Carissa had expected to enter an unconscious state but this time she was thankful that the absolute darkness gave her enough personal privacy to grip the shark tooth necklace around her neck and grip it. The palms of her hands had been cut by her own tight grip but she ignored it. Another small pain which would eventually pass.
No. It had been the sheer presence and power of the thing which had inhabited the body of Matthias. The eyes saw her as an insect, an experiment gone wrong.
No. I am me.
I am me.
I remain my own.
A will stronger than her own had tried to suppress her own sense of identity without malice, without even trying to make the threat or perhaps even on purpose.
Carissa vaguely recognised the words power level; she had never been into video games when she was younger but Liam had tried introducing her to a few of the most popular when they had been at university for the sake of party conversation.
Matthias.
She needed to check on Matthias. Check if he was still breathing and how much physical and mental damage had been done to the young man by the presence of the being that likely was one of the drowned gods. It had never introduced itself as such or even given her a name directly but that could be been out of protection for them both.
In the unlikely event that she met an ocean god then all she’d be able to say or if she had her own memories scanned was that another god had wanted to kill them all.
Out of boredom or madness or self-hatred. Not that much of it mattered. Carissa needed to survive this place first.
‘Matthias.’ queried Carissa.
Her bare feet on the cold of the metal floor Carissa concentrated her attention on the grey suit which had half melted and half flowed off her skin to pool on the floor.
If she was granted it by the ocean gods, the same as her weapon and spatial bag then it would belong to her and anything that was hers in this place would respond to her will if she focused. She didn’t need to see it to make it function, any more than she needed her eyes open to clean her hair in the shower.
‘Back onto me. Cover me entirely as protection but leave my hands and face free.’ murmured Carissa.
She highly doubted that this room would be flooded with water and they would need to survive. This time was meant to be a combat situation, not a swimming lesson.
‘Move. You belong to me. Not anyone else, not a god or goddess, you belong to me.’ said Carissa.
The sensation was similar to a jellyfish but without the risk of a dangerous sting to her bare sting. If the grey suit had flowed off her easily, then as it tried to reattach itself to her body it struggled to remain attached to her skin before it would peel off.
Crouching to her feet Carissa tried to adjust her eyes to the absolute darkness but found little purchase, this was more than a simple absence of light in the room. She knew her eyes were wide open but they simply couldn’t see. Unless the so-called god has disconnected her optic nerves temporarily this was down to more magic tricks and the results of the ocean gateway system.
Her hearing remained perfectly functional if limited. She hadn’t heard the metal door to the room close, nor had she heard any trace of the alarm klaxons that had rung outside since the being had said it would turn them off. Her own voice was entirely clear to her ears.
‘Matthias. I’m here. Your sword. He forced you to drop your sword but I can’t pick it up for you. He turned off all visible spectrums of light to my own visibility.’ said Carissa.
Refocusing her available energies on the suit there was a sensation by her foot again but this time progress was made as it stuck entirely on her lower leg.
The suit began to climb onto her bare form, slowly covering her skin on both of her legs, then her lower abdomen and finally the rest it flowed over her shoulders leaving her head and hair exposed.
‘Better. Are you still here ocean god? I’m not making prayers to you. You told me you’d release Matthias and then leave us to complete our mission. Unless our goal is to face you directly in combat and I think we’re a little bit unprepared at this point. You want to help me? Provide us with enough food and drink and give Matthias medical aid. You inhabiting his brain might offend his...Lady.’ said Carissa.
An itch on her brain rather than pain this time filled her senses. It was more akin to someone politely knocking on the door on her consciousness and then waiting for a response.
The itch came once again and Carissa silently gave her own permission as a message from the Ocean Gateway System flowed into her mind’s eye. This time the message was different as there was no trace of water but a series of wires and lights, interconnected but ancient in a way.
[Player-Candidate Number 5428119402 Carissa
-Warning: Due to Illegal Usage of the Ocean Gateway Entry System Candidate will be pu-
-Warning: Due to Illegal Usage of the Ocean Gateway Entry System Candidate will be punish-
-Warning: Due to Illegal Usage of the Ocean Gateway Entry System Candidate is being rewarded by temporary Demi-Goddess-Level Administration Access.
Error. Error.
Correction Access Revoked.
Direct Override from O-O-Ocean God.
Access Granted.
Permanent Personal Ownership Available as bonus reward for completion of hidden quest objectives.]
Another message followed suit.
[Nice to meet you in borrowed flesh. Your friend will be fine or his Lady will have her own revenge. I left you a present, temporary activation for this stage only. You’ll need it. And congratulations on your promotion in the system. I want to see what your tech can do given the right incentive. I repeat temporary access only.]
Carissa then knew with certainly that the grey suit was her possession, the statue, the bone tooth blade, the spatial bag with the few sundry items inside were hers and hers alone. An item which she had long neglected came into her mind, the time in the Deep Temple, the trip down and the events inside this place hadn’t given her enough time to think, to consider.
The message from the unknown being had queried Carissa with one question. It was keen to assist her, to turn her into a goddess but it had never told her its name.
Another god had been named if she recalled, Grumera. Unfamiliar to her but all of the players had been brought from their own worlds to this place.
Either summoned or forced her as in her case. Even Mike had told her that he was from a place called Earth. A strange name but she was certain that her own world of Terrus was the same to him.
‘Unknown Ocean God with your plans. You clearly don’t want to tell me your name out of safety, but where are you from? A planet? An ocean, a reality? It’s not as though I’m going to know the name and I highly doubt that your fellow gods care much either. A mighty god with the power to command, destroy and alter base reality refuses to tell me? Only a weak god would refuse to give any form of answer. I appreciate the gift although I don’t understand why the system tells me permanent and then you repeat temporary access.’ said Carissa.
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Freely allowing her mind to receive a form of message Carissa waited expectedly. She was certain the unknown god was male. But regardless of gender she would appeal to the one thing those with power had a weakness for.
Ego.
‘I’m not praying. I don’t care if it goes against the rules you made. I’ll pray when you turn the lights on and I can see Matthias is settled and well once more.’ said Carissa.
Another message flowed, this one made of copper wire and clay with sparks of electricity forming the words.
[Player-Candidate Number 5428119402.
-An unknown Ocean God has answered your prayer with the following message.
Names are dangerous things to express. Even on this stage. Call me….Apkallu.]
‘Apkallu? Your name is Apkallu? Or a title? Thank you for the response. Can you reactivate the lights in this room? I would think you’re scared for me to face combat for a specific reason.’ said Carissa.
The room was still entirely dark to her senses aside from breathing. Her only voice was the sound that she could hear. The isolation would have affected her more had Carissa not spent a decent amount of time by herself working in her home of Last Refuge and then trained herself to handle isolation tanks.
If necessary, she could run through the schematics for the technology implants within her and the changes to her own genetic structure. Memories of how she had experimented with cloned half-baked copies formed from her own borrowed flesh would keep her mind occupied.
Her stomach was mostly full from the meal which Matthias had shared with her but she knew that the experiences and the pain of reactivation meant her body needed more calories and although the grey suit limited her appetite or reduced it in a way it wasn’t a clear substitute.
‘Gone. All gone. Not an issue. I’m not going to keep talking... Apkallu.’ said Carissa as the suit flexed across her movements.
Recalling the location of her spatial bag she fumbled for a moment before releasing it and plunging a hand inside and taking out the item she had been given an age ago in the floating wooden base belonging to Mike. A simple torch.
The description of it clear in her mind’s eye.
[Player-Candidate Designate: Carissa.
Tool Received from Ocean Gateway System
-Water Powered Torch
-Item cannot be transferred or sold to other players.
Torch recharges when submerged in water.]
She considered that the gods weren’t stupid enough to give her an item without use and she had been soaked in water several times for long enough since she had received it. Logic told her it would have a full charge.
Holding it in her hand she made sure she held in her bare hands, careful not to drop it in the absolute darkness. There was no catch or button in her fingers but as with the suit, it would operate according to her own intent and will. If she had Ocean Gateway System control over her own possessions and belongings in her name then this would work.
A hunger struck Carissa then, an ache deep inside her body which called out to an animalistic part of her mind which demanded calories, proteins and fats. The surfaces of the skin on her hands began to warm up as did the skin on her exposed face.
Energy.
She required energy if she was going to be expending it. Placing a hand on her grey suit covered abdomen she felt a pulsation deep within. Ignoring it, she put her hands on the torch and willed it to turn on. Light appeared with the pure darkness of the room. It was no longer bare as before with stacks of boxes along one of the sides.
Several of them had been torn open with discarded packages dumped on top. There was a familiarity to them but Carissa had another aim in mind. She needed to find her companion, the one in her team who was acting as her ally.
Matthias stood in a corner holding his sword in both hands, raised and visibly shaking. When Carissa shined the light of the torch on his eyes he blinked rapidly and almost immediately put a hand to his eyes to reduce the strength of the light in his eyes.
With the torch on his face, Carissa recognised tears in his eyes and a sheen of sweat across his face. His grey suit unlike hers had remained completely unchanged, his hands and feet were covered and his face was open with his short platinum hair showing.
‘CARISSA! A DEMON! THERE WAS A DEMON!’ Matthias began to frantically call out.
When someone was experiencing a rapid influx of emotion, Carissa knew that talking calmly was one of the best actions to take. But when the person was a young man clearly armed with a sword, combat trained and they were stuck inside a dark room together with the only exit locked then she needed to think a little.
‘Matthias…’ began Carissa.
She didn’t need to know him well enough to understand his type of mindset. His understanding of modern technology had been either implanted in him by the Ocean Gods, the Ocean Gateway System or from his own divine patron she only knew as the Lady.
‘You promised to protect me Matthias. To give me training in combat and support by working as part of a group. Is this how a Knight in Training from blessed Avalon acts when faced with extreme danger? There was a... presence yes but we need to work together. The room is dark but I have a light source. A torch. I’m going to count to ten inside my head and you need to do the same and calm yourself down. Can you do that for me Matthias?’ cooed Carissa.
Keeping her own voice at a higher pitch than normal with a touch of a commanding tone ought to do the trick. Matthias in her view was a young man used to being guided and then following others, she wasn’t clear why he had been chosen for this flooded world but it was clearly a challenge for him.
Cracks it seemed didn’t always show on the surface. Only deeper down with greater pressure would any flaws be found.
‘Matthias...remember your promise to me. Remember your opportunity from Mike. Believe in his words. We need to work together, as the group in which we formed. I need your help and protection in case anything else comes out of the dark or that doorway.’ said Carissa.
Without waiting for his permission, she touched the top of the torch using her hand which had rested on her stomach, there remained a low-level ache within her body but she ignored it.
The lens on the torch slid apart to increase the width of the light. Slowly moving it away from Matthias's face she moved it towards where she remembered the doorway had been. A small sliver of light appeared from the door which lay slightly ajar.
Putting the torch on the floor so it brightened up a decent part of the room without shining directly in the face of Matthias Carissa focused her attention on it. If this item gifted by the Ocean Gateway System belonged to her then she could do with it what she wanted, even overpowering it a little.
Light began to spill from the sides of the torch as small cracks appeared, the metal room began to illuminate further and both Matthias and Carissa had shadows form behind both of them. Matthias had removed his sword and placed it back inside the storage bag which was attached to his belt. He held both hands up and bowed in the direction of Carissa.
‘My...apologies. The demon...no the presence which took me over reduced me to a mere observer inside my own mortal flesh. I have heard talk of other Knights who have experienced direct conversation with the blessed Lady but this was far different. I will keep to my promise, can your torch sustain the light for long? I have a memory of a man with a suit who promised us a starting gift and then a difficult trial ahead. He was on a beach I frequented as a young boy with my deceased father. A gift of sustenance for us both.’ said Matthias.
Carissa smiled. The training of the young man or conditioning had done a decent job to enable him to so rapidly calm down his own emotions after nearly screaming to her about demons.
She gestured to the boxes inside the room, a sense of familiarity about them tugged at her senses.
‘I think we should inspect these gifts first as long as the torch has remaining power. I’m overcharging it, more light for a reduced life expectancy but I think we need to inspect them and get out of this room as soon as possible.’ Carissa said as she gestured towards one of the stacked crates.
Matthias took slow, steady steps as he walked next to her. He continued to turn his head towards the doorway at regular intervals as he placed and kept a hand on the storage bag on his waist.