November 20, 2056
1:38 A.M.
Vicerole, Underground Caverns
Renee Luna
"They're getting closer!"
"Close it! Seal the fucking entrance!"
As the last person enters the tunnel, an Enhancement is shot upwards towards the entrance causing the rocks above to collapse onto the pursuing soldiers and stalkers. There's heavy breathing and coughing among everyone as I'm put down to rest against the cavern's wall. I let out a groan of pain while the medic wraps a bandage around my eye, and Alice attempts to reset my jaw. Across from me, they tend to the siblings.
"Luna? Luna!"
It doesn't take long for Frost to find me and come to my side as I muster the strength to look up to him. It hasn't even been long but just seeing him is enough to make me burst into tears.
"O-Ost..." I struggle to say.
"What happened!?"
The horror on his face is enough for me to realize the severity of my injuries. Yet that's the least of my concerns right now... I could care less about what happened to me...
"I-I... Acy... Acy!"
"Try not to talk," Alice informs me, "Your jaw needs to be as still as possible."
I ignore her advice and keep on shouting her name. A stream of tears flows down my cheeks all the while I try to shake the last image of her out of my head.
"Muh-my... fault. Ah-ah... fault. "
"Luna, please calm down. You're only hurting yourself more." Alice's voice is all but a mumble to me as I hang my head low and grind my nails against the hard surface.
"Luna!" Frost rests his hands on my shoulders, "Look at me! Luna! Can someone tell me what the fuck happened!"
There's a brief silence before I hear a set of footsteps coming closer behind Frost.
"She was like this by the time I arrived..." Cruz's voice makes me peer up slightly as Frost gets up to meet him.
"Cruz... what's going on?"
"There was an UnHoly User. A strong one. I took what survivors I could find... I'm sorry..."
"What UnHoly User? W-Why are you apologizing?" I watch Frost scan around him at the remaining shards before turning back to Cruz.
"Where's Macy?"
"..."
"Cruz, where's Macy!"
"Dead! She's dead..."
His words hang heavy in the air. I can feel myself start to tremble as a wave of sorrow and disbelief sweeps through everyone.
"No... no, that can't be true," Frost's voice is barely a whisper.
"Frost..."
"It can't be! You don't know what you're talking about! Maybe she's injured! We need to go back!" He starts to move towards the caved-in entrance but not before Cruz grabs ahold of him.
"Frost stop."
"Get your hand off of me!"
"You're not thinking straight."
The two continue to struggle before eventually Cruz overpowers him and pins him against the wall.
"Listen to me!" Cruz shouts, "She's dead! And I know this may come as a shock to you, but you have to face the reality! I just had my Flag Bearer sacrifice herself for the rest of us to get away and I'm not going to let that opportunity end up in vain. So, I ask you this... What would Macy want you to do in this situation."
With shallow breaths, Frost's eyes dart around as if deep in thought for a few moments before looking back up at him.
"She'd want me to take command and ensure the safety of the Company..."
"Good," Cruz exhales before letting go of him, "Believe me when I say that I feel the same pain you're feeling, but at the end of the day, we're still soldiers. We all knew the risks of coming to this island. We can mourn their deaths another time. For now, let's get moving before the enemy breaks through."
With a solemn nod, Frost follows him as I watch the two walk up to a small figure sitting on the ground with her head buried between her knees. I can't make out who it is but that soon changes when I hear Cruz say their name.
"Aria, that's your name, correct?" Cruz goes to one knee to be at her eye level.
She looks up at him and that's when I notice the still frightful expression on her face from before. There's blood on her clothes but I have a feeling it's not hers.
"Y-Yes..." she nods slowly.
"Okay Aria, I know you may be scared and it's alright to be but I'm going to really need your help. You're familiar with the passageways down here. If you remember, we mentioned wanting to get to the surface as close to White Shard's position as possible. Do you think you can help guide the way for us?"
There's hesitation behind her eyes but eventually, she agrees and rises to her feet. Not long after Cruz turns to address everyone else.
"If you have Divinity to spare, cast them on the injured and get ready to move out. We still have a mission to do. So, let's get it done."
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I don't know how long it's been... I could check my watch... but I don't want to.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
I know we've been walking for a while now, yet I can't seem to remember the steps I've taken. I have my arm around Alice... but my body feels heavy as if I'm being crushed by the pressure of the ocean. I just... feel so tired...
"What's wrong?"
"What is it now?"
I turn to see Alice looking at me. At first, it's a look of concern but it slowly twists into a look of loathing directed at me.
Please... Don't look at me like that...
"Nohhing..."
"Just let me know if you need to take a break, alright?"
"Why am I even bothering carrying a dead weight like yourself?"
You're right... you should just leave me here. I'm useless...
I always am and will be useless...
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"I thought this was the way out, why are we going further down?"
After reaching the end of the tunnel, we now find ourselves looking down into a pitch-black hole that apparently will lead us to the outside. Fair to say that everyone is a bit skeptical.
"Fiducia. It's not a passageway we use often, but it will get you as close to the other shards as possible. Here we will pass through the ruins before reaching the surface." Aria explains.
"I don't recall Andino mentioning any ruins," Cruz adds before dropping a light stick down the opening. "What would ruins be doing this deep underground?"
"I'm not sure myself," she continues, "but they might be remnants of the Incident you brought up before."
Cruz scratches his chin as the sound of the stick hitting the bottom finally reaches us.
"That's a long way down." Flash whistles, "How did your people even make their way down there?"
"When you are a child, you find ways to entertain yourself in an enclosed place. So as a kid, I would climb down the rocks with a... few of my... friends." Aria stops mid-sentence saying with tears forming in her eyes.
"I-I see... I'm sorry... You don't have to continue." Flash rubs her shoulder which seems to work in easing her.
"Looks like we have no choice," Cruz says, concluding, "Our lights are still dying so I'd rather not waste any more time. Do we have any ropes still available?" He calls out.
"Yes sir!"
"Alright then, secure the lines and prepare for the decent."
After the lines are set up, Cruz along with his Pyromancer are the first to rappel downwards. There's a moment of uncertainty when their lights disappear into the darkness, but it's swiftly replaced by a surge of relief when they return and give the signal to proceed forward. So, one by one we each descend into the next lower level before cutting the ropes behind us and proceeding to follow Aria's lead. It's a tighter squeeze from before but we're not in here for too long.
Up ahead, another opening comes into view as we step into the large hollowed-out area, similar to the village. With what little lights we have left, the shards scan the surroundings and come across the remains of decaying structures, machinery, and what I would guess to be, vehicles from a bygone era. At its current state though, I would hardly label it a vehicle.
Walking further in, the ruins become more apparent with massive broken-down pipelines arching overhead and piles of undisturbed gravel and rocks. If I were to guess, these ruins must be an excavation site that was left behind during the evacuations. Makes me wonder if Vicerole had an abundance of minerals, it would certainly explain these caverns that seem to span for miles.
Continuing onward, Aria guides us through to the other side where we once again enter a tunnel system and navigate through twists and uphill for another hour or two. My legs are practically dead and I'm sure everyone else's are too. We're on our last light and just as it begins to die the words that everyone has been wishing for finally arrive.
"There it is. The surface." Aria points ahead.
There's a resurgence of determination as a few shards take it upon themselves to rush towards the entrance. I don't blame them; the heat down here is enough to make anyone go crazy. Unfortunately, the pleasure of finally exiting the caverns doesn't last long. From a furnace, we now find ourselves amidst a blizzard with its winds bashing against the entrance of the cave. It's darkn, visibility is near zero, and the snow is up to our knees.
"Fuck! This can't be happening... this can't be happening..." A shard's sudden outburst causes a commotion among everyone.
"No way we're getting through that," another shard states, "We won't last five in that temperature."
"I say we wait it out. Rest and let the storm pass by." Another adds.
"We can't do that," Cruz reinstates behind me, "We don't know how long it will be before the weather clears up and it's only a matter of time before the enemy catches up to us."
"As much as you all want to rest, I agree with Cruz." Crimson's Pyromancer now joins in, "You saw what happened when we attempted to stay at the town. Staying on the move is the only thing keeping us alive." He crosses his arms before turning to Aria, "How well do the machines fair against extreme cold?" He asks her.
"They tend to stray away from it if possible. Otherwise, it freezes their joints and circuits," she explains.
"And how long would you say it would take us to reach the compound?"
"Around forty-five minutes I think."
"Then this is the perfect time to traverse. With the Stalker threat eliminated, we can make it to the compound without being slaughtered. What do you say, Captain?" He says before turning to Cruz.
He thinks for a moment before looking up and nodding.
"I say it's the best option we have. Frost, any objections?"
When I turn to Frost, he's in a trance-like state and doesn't respond the first time until Cruz calls again which snaps him out of it.
"N-No, but how do you intend we get through the storm?"
"That won't be an issue," the Pyromancer responds. "If we huddle close and move at the same pace, I can use an Enhancement that'll keep us warm enough to survive the storm."
Immediately, I notice the Shards from Crimson react worryingly to his statement as Cruz walks up to his Pyromancer and pulls him to the side.
"That's not how that Enhancement is used, Clayton." I overhear him whisper.
"You don't think I know that? But I thought about it and the blizzard should be able to counter the heat just enough to make it, so no one gets hurt."
"That is beyond what I call reckless and dangerous... I can't let you go through with this."
"Cruz... Zoe put her life in front of the Companies. I'm willing to do the same. Let me do this. You trust me, don't you?"
There's a deafening silence between the two before Cruz back at us and then to him.
"Yes. I do trust you." He sighs before eventually patting him on the shoulder and whispering something in his ear.
The two then return to the group where Cruz acknowledges the plan.
"Alright, it's settled. I will allow for another short break for everyone to catch their breaths so in the meantime get your harnesses ready to hook up to each other."
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Trudging through the snow, I've come to the realization that my legs must've gone numb at some point in the last twenty minutes. It takes all my energy just to pull my feet out as I force myself to keep pace with Alice and the rest.
After casting the Enhancement that goes by the name 'Divine Arts: Relentless Flame' we journeyed into the darkness where the heat emitted from Clayton raised the temperature around us to the point where it was only mildly chilly. As long as we didn't stray too far from Clayton, we would stay warm enough not to die. Apparently, the Enhancement is usually used for stopping projectiles and is not at all recommended in circumstances like this, but desperate times equal desperate measures.
We're thirty minutes inside the storm now but every minute feels excruciatingly long. We've made good progress, but I can already see the fatigue setting in on Clayton's face. Thirty-five minutes now and I'm already trying to slow down to catch my breath, but the pull of the rope sends me forward. With the help from Alice, we push forward as I force myself to keep going.
We've hit forty-five minutes, but the base is still nowhere in sight. The cold is starting to seep through, and the surrounding heat is slowly being diminished by the minute. As if things couldn't get any worse, the storm has increased in severity which makes it so bad that I am actively fighting against the wind to not topple me over.
It's been almost an hour and Clayton is on the verge of collapsing. Ice is forming on my clothes and goggles as the last bit of heat hangs by a thread. Another minute and just as I feel myself start to lose the strength in my legs, the rising sun pierces through the clouds above as the wind begins to settle down. The blizzard has passed.
There's a cheer as shards come to Clayton's side to hold him up. He actually did it, but I doubt he'll be able to do anything else for a while. He must've gone through his entire Divinity reserve.
That aside, we also spot what we've been looking for. The mere sight of it is daunting.
With the sun directly behind it, we notice the snow enveloping the sides of the buildings. They almost seem abandoned for years, yet it's only been a week.
This is it.
This is where White Shard was stationed.