KRACK!
The humans were already deep into sleep when they were suddenly awoken by a loud noise and rumbling. Cricket opened her eyes and looked towards Marco who had volunteered to stand watch for the rest of the group.
“Marco…what was that—”
Yet she suddenly stopped herself from continuing, as Marco’s look of horror said all there was to know.
“Everyone…stay quiet. Don’t move a muscle,” he whispered, his eyes quickly darting back over to Cricket before returning them back to the scene.
In the center of the room, loud thunderous punches were being slammed into the mosaic that shook the building. Screeches could be heard across the library, one that sounded as if a raging bonfire were to suddenly gain sentience and cry out in agony. Cracks began to appear on the floor, the former artwork of the golem holding a tablet now forever shattered. And the source of all of this was one giant familiar Golem.
‘No…familiar isn’t the right word. This is nothing like that friendly yet weak-willed Golem from before. This one…different, full of anger and violence,’ Marco thought.
The Golem’s eyes which once were hollow and black now burned brightly with a mysterious blue flame, thrashing itself wildly within the socket. The fists of the golem were slowly shattering, with pebbles and cracks shooting out like shrapnel from each blow the Golem landed on the floor. Yet it did not care. The mindless beast only continued to hit the floor, its anger fully targeted at the golem mosaic.
Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!
Gus slammed his fist again against the mosaic that mocked his very existence. A slave to the tablet, a trial golem made only for the Merchant, and now he was truly all alone.
HOW?!
Letting off one last hit, the mosaic was left barely recognizable after suffering his wrath. Only the cracked head of the golem in the mosaic remained.
Gus stared at the destruction he had caused, briefly stopping to finally think about what had occurred.
It doesn’t make sense! It’s like my connection with her is gone forever! Was it that monster? Did the Merchant do something to her!?
While a possibility, Gus could tell she wasn’t in mortal danger due to her presence still being noticeable. Syuna was merely quiet, devoid of all light. It was like she was hiding from something.
But why do you still show yourself to me?! A sign? A warning? A reminder? What do you want me to do!? Fight that Merchant? It’s hopeless. I’m too weak.
Reminded of his horrible reality, Gus in anger at his weakness pulled back both of his arms high in the air, clasped them together, and then brought it down on the face of the soulless golem in the mosaic like a powerful sledgehammer.
BAM!
The library shook violently from the powerful slam, and finally, the mosaic completely shattered into unrecognizable tiny pieces. The center of the room became filled with the wreckage from the Golem’s fury, and then there was an eerie silence. The rampage stopped, but for how long? Slowly rising, a lone giant made of stone emerged from the cloud of dust. The humans were shivering in fear as they slowly crawled backward, being previously knocked on the floor from the impact of the last blow.
No pain. No exhaustion. Nothing feels better. And nothing still makes sense.
The Golem’s body was in a near-perfect condition other than the cracked stone hands. It was like he could continue for hours, no days.
I just can’t understand. This couldn’t be her objective. Syuna would never do something like this. Unless this is supposed to be my final test? No, it wouldn’t make sense, she was never that cruel to have me kill innocent humans.
But that face of the golem in the mosaic, the one that held up the tablet with no emotion. It was like a reflection of him, body and all, except with one exception. It wasn’t conscious. That thing was merely a slave to the tablet.
That could’ve been me. A me if I got swallowed up by the abyss. Or maybe that was the past owner of this body? Did Syuna put me into this golem to change something? Does it have to do with that book’s plot? Or was it so that I could be an intelligent slave for eternity? A gift to another being like her.
Nothing made sense for the Golem, his conception of the world was now utterly destroyed. Syuna raised him to be human, and now the Merchant wants to train him into a slave. Both are similar in nature, holding divine-like powers that Gus could barely fathom. So similar, yet so different in views. And now neither is with him.
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What is my purpose?
Gus turned towards the humans, seeing the fear in each of their eyes as they pathetically crawled backward in desperation. Was he supposed to be like them? Is that why Syuna raised and taught him?
Ha…ha ha…hahahahaha! Like them? Why they are slaves just like me! That damned book already dictated their fate to be here! They just don’t even know it! Yet here they are, afraid of me?!
But the humans could not understand what he was thinking. To them, all they could hear were muddled noises that roared like fire out of the Golem’s voice, as if the damned souls from hell were trying to communicate to them.
“What on earth…” Larry whispered as he stared at the golem.
Underneath the stone layer of the Golem, his core rampaged like an inferno, burning with both fury and sadness.
Damn it! Am I supposed to continue these tests? Kill them off when they fail? I can’t do that…but neither can I escape this hellhole.
The library around him which he had once viewed as home suddenly looked foreign to him.
This isn’t my home. It’s a cage.
A sense of depressive calmness soon returned to his core of fire, as if the hopelessness devoured the rage inside him and left him only with despair.
Would I ever be able to leave this place?
Gus no longer had the strength to continue his outburst, and let his body fall lifelessly on the floor. The library remained quiet, not a single human daring to breathe.
Good. I just want to sleep. No more of this.
Letting his fire dim, his sight soon became dark as sleep took hold.
Maybe…maybe I’ll finally notice something in this dream.
***
The Messy Room. A room full of paper notes, trash, filth, computers, wires, astronomy equipment, and most importantly a large marker board. Standing in front of the marker board full of writing was a lone shadowy figure, obsessively writing an equation on it.
So it's this one.
Gus had seven possible dreams he would find himself in when he slept. Each one had a name that he classified them by based on their scene. The list went on like this: The Factory, The City, The Messy Room, The Classroom Girl, The Birthday Party, The Burning House, and lastly the Hospital Bed.
Each one of them was filled with shadowy silhouettes that mimicked human behavior, acting out scenes of the past Gus could only guess that his fragmented mind once remembered. Another trait of these mysterious dreams was that he was highly lucid in each one, able to walk around and interact to a limited degree in the world.
But he was never able to interact with the beings who inhabited this world. The residents would always treat Gus's presence like a ghost while he walked around the world, but he didn't mind as truthfully, he was afraid of these creatures. Despite having the outline and movement of a human, the inhabitants were closer to shadows than anything, looking eerily similar to the Abyss that once trapped Gus.
I used to be afraid of these shadows, but now I'm just happy to see them. I can finally just...relax. No duties, no worries, no one afraid of me. It's so very calm. That fan in the corner is blowing a nice breeze although I can’t really feel it.
The abyssal human continued to write its mysterious equation with a mad posture, unaware of the Golem’s presence like always.
Too bad there’s no outside light in here. That damn abyssal human likes to keep those blackout curtains closed all the time.
Gus took a seat on the chair next to the computer, choosing to spend his time watching over the abyssal human to see if its actions could tell him anything new.
And most importantly, when I'm here, I’m free from being a slave.
The room was quiet. Peaceful. No fear, no distrust. Here he could be free, not having to worry about ideas such as purpose or silly notions like that. He could simply—
“Is that really true, Gus?”
The abyssal human stopped writing and turned ominously towards Gus. Its empty face devoid of all light stared directly into Gus's hollow eyes.
“Did you truly forget your purpose?”
What…but…that’s not possible. You’ve never moved before.
“How could you forget what has kept you alive this whole time? That last desire?”
That desire…of course I know it, I could never forget that time.
“...Must know the Truth,” Gus whispered.
Yes. The Truth. How could he forget something so simple?
“Good…you seem to have found your purpose. Now get out of my room, I have to focus on my work.”
And then Gus woke up.
***
Gus awoke to the time of day, the sunlight shining lightly on top of his cobble body. The humans were busy in their work, studying their books with much intensity.
I’m back. How strange, despite such a shitty situation, all I want to do right now is smile.
Must know the Truth. An answer he already knew, yet somehow never connected to the idea of purpose. And now, with the thanks of the abyssal human from his dreams, he has finally figured out his next steps.
I will know it all. The Merchant, Syuna, The Hero of Light, and even Havory itself. I will uncover your masks, and discover what me in the past could not.
Gus swore to it all. Whatever happened in his psyche that allowed for the dream to change, he was going to find out.
And then from there…I will uncover more!
With such grand goals, the task of gaining freedom now seemed to be a trivial step in his coming long journey.
First steps I suppose. It will be tough, but I have a feeling Syuna wouldn’t leave without giving me some information to work with.
And he had just the clue what that might be.