Chapter 7

Death is the ultimate safeguard against the very worst of sapient beings. Was...

Mikael

Fire on its skin, the fat melting and catching fire, hair becoming ashes, its body quickly devoured by this incandescent monster…

He opened his eyes, soaked in sweat. His bedroom was coated in darkness, the only light being the soft glow of the stars dotting the night sky. As he had become accustomed to, the firmament was devoid of any Moon. Lauryne was sleeping peacefully next to him, using one of his arm as a blankie, her breathing slow and steady. Without waking her, he extricated himself from her embrace, letting her alone in his room to get some fresh air. He went down the stairs, reaching the tiny balcony overlooking the garden. He took one of the chairs and sat down facing the greenery, enjoying the nocturnal spring wind, letting his gaze drift for an unknown time.

“Pshhh…” The noise of working sparkstick echoed, followed by the feeble glow of a small flame, startling the young man. Nathalie quietly ignited her pipe, dragging a deep breath of it when the tobacco caught fire.

“Yah’re not sleeping well, boy ?” She asked in a puff of smoke before dragging another breath.

“I’ve nightmares.” He answered while looking at his window.

“And the little one worries me.” He added while moving back his gaze to the starry sky.

He was concerned. Lauryne was sleeping here with him each night since almost a week ago, and she stayed silent nearly the whole time, following the young man through each day. Nana did try once to take the little girl with her, but she just curled herself up in a ball and started shaking, motionless. The nearest thing from speaking she had done were lengthy session of cry in the arms of Mikael. Nana blew a majestic cloud of smoke while watching the face of the young man distort because of his thoughts.

“When yah told me yah were good with children, I didn’t understand it was to this point. Go back to bed, she need yah, boy. Aside, it will make a fuss if she wake up and yah’re not there.” She told him with a smirk.

He kept gazing at the night sky for an handful of seconds before complying to Nathalie’s request. He started walking toward the door but was stopped by the hand that Nana put on his shoulder.

“Today, it will be a difficult day. Her brother will ask where she is, he will search her and find her here. Don’t try and stop him from taking her with him, yah will just get yourself killed. We can’t do anything for now, but Heli is working on something, so try to make the little one hold a little bit longer, understood ? We will take her back as soon as possible since she seems to have taken quite a shine on yah.”

He turned his gaze toward her and nodded slightly before going back to his room. The little girl seemed to have a start of nightmare, her tiny face wrinkled by dread. Mikael gently slipped under the blanket, bringing Lauryne closer, who hugged his arm again like a barnacles its rock. He gently stroke her hair until sleep claimed its due from him.

***

He was peacefully cutting a piece of pork, Lauryne watching him silently and with great focus for his every last moves, as if he was the only thing in the room.

“Dling-dling !” Rang the bell.

A tired man in his forties just walked through the door. A young boy was following him, thirteen, maybe fourteen years old. With beautiful blond hair tied in ponytail and smooth and white skin like satin, he looked awfully like his sister, a similarity aggravated by his feminine face and his blue eyes.

“G-good day, I’m here to pick up Lauryne.” Said the father, a smile stuck on his face, fractured by the fear it was trying to cover.

“You, heel, now.” Said the boy, Joseph, to his little sister.

Yet, she didn’t move, her eyes still focused on Mikael, who was watching the father-son pair with a disgust he had a hard time to hide.

“Heel I said !” Exclaimed the young boy, raising his voice, once again without effect.

He thus went behind the counter, moving closer to his sister and, with the back of his hand, slapped her in the face, which made her fall on the buffet, splitting her lips and making her bleed abundantly. Mikael interposed himself instinctively between the sister and the brother, a knife in his hand.

“And who are you to stand in front of me, lousy ? Scram or I’ll burn you !” He then said viciously while creating a fireball above his hand.

Heat brought Mikael back to his sense. Remembering Nana’s words, he gritted his teeth and stepped back, letting Joseph move toward his sister with a smirk. She was getting up by relying on the desk, her blood dripping along the drawers, splattering the ground and her outfit.

“Stand-up ! Faster !” He then screamed while hitting her back, making her stumble and bump her head against the cutting board.

“Fucking failure.” He said to himself while catching his sister by the shoulder to lift and turn her toward him.

“Shlll !” A sound was suddenly heard, one from a blade sinking in flesh, cutting through skin and veins. Joseph took a step back, lowering his eyes to look at the knife Lauryne just stabbed in his stomach. His face writhed in anger and, in an furious motion, he threw to his sister the incandescent sphere he just conjured, making her catch fire. He then felt on his bottom, giving a look at his father.

“Dad, Argh ! Do something ! Help me !” He nearly screamed, panicked. His father, however, was hesitating.

“Come help me or I swear, I’m freaking killing you !” He roared while creating another fireball, making his father help him.

He lifted his son, taking him in his arms. He gazed at his screaming daughter that was rolling on the ground, burning alive, his eyes full of tears while he exited the butcher’s shop under the magic threat of his kid. Mikael then came back with a bucket full of water he poured on her, all for naught, the fire seamingly clinging to her body like a fiery beast, devouring her more and more, burning her skin, melting her fat, turning her hair into ashes, the little one still yelling painfully, even more when the flame entered her mouth to incinerate her from the inside. Mikael was putting his all to try and extinguish the flames, joined in the meantime by Heli and Nana, but nothing did the trick. Two more minutes and there was nothing left but a charred corpse smoldering. Helianthine was throwing up in a corner of the room, Nathalie was collapsed against a wall, her blurry eyes devoid of any emotions, Mikael on his knee near the corpse of Lauryne, crying every last tear is body could muster, his fingers stabbed in his arms till they bled. The fire scattered quickly as if it had never existed, letting only ashes from what was a little girl just five minutes ago. the young man gathered a handful of it, making it flow between his fingers, and something broke inside his mind. A blinding light engulfed the room, extinguished as fast as it came, and Mikael collapsed on Lauryne’s remains, his white gown slowly pulsating white wave of light in harmony with his heart…

* You’re never alone, Sanctuary, especially against adversity.

Said the voice to an unconscious Mikael.

Syphony

“Bip.”

“Bip.”

“Bip.”

The sound of a cardiovascular monitor was prevalent in the room. Every last inch of her body was hurting, but her back and her legs were radiating a singular pain.

Hurting is good. She thought.

You’re hurting only if you're alive.

She opened her eyes with much difficulty, her eyelids as heavy as lead seemingly battling against her to stay close. She won the battle and could finally see where she was. The room was white, pristine, devoid of anything but her bed and the whole multi-usage standart medical package, origin of the noise that woke her up.

...Of fuck. It’s a sealed room. She thought, noting the airtight glass and door, and the walls, ceiling and floor that were made of one biotitanium monoblock.

“Hey ! Anybody out there ?” She asked while sitting straight in her bed.

Fuck, why is it so painful.

“Oh, you’ve already woken up ?” Asked a voice through speakers.

“Doctor Rahato ? You’re the one taking care of me ?” Is this a joke ?

“I’m afraid that it’s indeed the case, dear.” Respond the lady, apologetic.

“I’m infected that much ?”

“Yes. You’ve an infection level of 37% to RV-a1, in rapide increase. I’ve never seen someone being overrun this quickly before, if you want to know.”

“I don’t.”

“I’m only honest with you. You will die, Syphony, and i can’t do anything about it.” She said, waiting for a reply from Syphony but, seeing her staying quiet, she started talking again.

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“What I can do, in contrary, is harvesting data from you while you’re still alive.”

“As practical as always, I see.” Said Syphony while falling back in her bed. She raised her hands above her head, watching them with intense focus. Her nails were black, as were a lot of visible veins.

“How much ?”

“I’d say maybe forty-eight hours before passing out, after that, hum… maybe another day before your death, then another day and you will be an undead.”

“What ? It’s ten time faster than the standard case !” Screamed Syphony will violently standing up in her bed.

“I know, i’ve already told you, your infection is progressing far quicker than anything i’ve seen so far.”

“Shit !” She said strongly, exasperated.

“And the target I’ve extracted ?” She asked while thinking about the seventeen-year-old girl she saved.

“She’s alive and well, put she don’t talk and reject all interaction with our spokesperson.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake I hope I didn’t do all of this for nothing !”

“I can assure, you, it’s well worth it. By the way, even if you’re dying, you could maybe still do somethings to help me.

“Really, even if i’m infected ?”

“Well, you see…”

???

She was sitting in a corner of the white room, viciously staring at the spotless door. She didn’t know since when she got here. Time was confusing. She was visited by people, a lot of people, but people were also confusing. She understood each of their words taken individually, but their sentences were akin to porridge, a vile and senseless gruel. Men, women, young or old, tall or short, beautiful or not. Every one of them were mixed in a vague manner in her memory. Her recollection, memories.

Memories… Eleonor ! Where is she ? Why isn’t she here ? Haaa, my head !

She started again to it her head against the wall and, like the last time, she noticed the metal was harmless to her. Or she would have noticed if her brain wasn’t like an overripe watermelon, ready to explode.

What’s going on with me ? I want Eleonor… ! She thought while crying again. Her red hair were dirty, as was her body. She was afraid to use the shower that was concealed behind the little left door, beyond the bed. She was hungry and thirsty, consuming the thing she received only when her natural needs were becoming unbearable. She suddenly raised her eyes, tears still flowing down her cheeks. Something was coming. She could feel it. She knew it. Something...familiar ? Something comforting, maybe ? Something like her. She violently stood up and flattened herself against the door from which the visitors usually came from. Every time, they were covered by white metal, cold, their head visible through their transparent helmet. She tried to reconstruct her memories, stitching back her mind, trying to prepare herself for the thing coming.

“Pshh.” Made the opening door. The young woman, pressed against it, couldn’t stop herself to fall on the person behind.

“Hola, easy there !” Said Syphony while catching her.

Eleonor ? No. It’s...she’s the one that saved me, no ? She asked herself while burying her head in the hair of the woman in front of her, taking a deep breath to smell the bodily scent of Syphony.

“Heuu… ?” Syphony who, by the way, didn’t know how to react. She stayed shocked for one or two second, time her brain took advantage of to restart. Once she had recovered, she pushed the young woman back.

“Why did you do this ?” Asked the dying girl.

“You are, familiar ? The hair, the face, the smell maybe. Yes, the smell. You’re very much like someone I know…” She tilted her head, curious. “ Why… ? Urghh.” She asked before taking her head between her hands, feeling another seizure looming on the horizon.

“Something wrong ?”Asked Syphony, concerned.

“Head...hurting. It’s difficult… to remember.” She said uneasily, squinting her eyes from pain.

“You were in a stasis pod for god know how long, at least twenty years, and seeing the way I woke you up, it’s not surprising you would suffer from memory fragmentation.” Said Syphony, feeling guilty, helping the girl to sat on the bed.

“I’ve a question.” She suddenly said

“Of course.” Answered Syphony, ready to explain the underlying principle of memory frag.

“Can you tell me your name ? And be more cosy ? I’m not some kind of monster you know ?”

“Ha ?” She took time to put herself together, her brain derailing for the second time in what, five minutes ?

“Heu, ok ?”

“Good.”

“...So my name’s Syphony.” Said the soldier with a smile.

“Syphony. Syphony, Syphony, Syphony. Syphony-Syphony-Syphony.” She rehearsed, making the name roll in her mouth to test it.

“Hhhl. I like it, I really like it !” She said while erupting with joy, taking Syphony in her arms and putting her head against the hearth of the dying girl.

“Wow-wow-wow easy there I said !” Replied the soldier, trying to push the girl back, in vain.

After two minutes in this position…

“...Can you let me go now ?”

“No.”

“No ? Why not ?”

“There’s something with your heart. Something is wrong.” She responded while tightening her arms around Syphony.

“There is something not right ?”

“...You’re being eaten from the inside. You’re battling against an invader. I don’t understand why? Why do you wage war against the whispers ?”

Syphony could only frown when she heard those half-mad claims.

“You’re talking about the virus that infected me ?”

“Maybe…”

Why doesn’t she accept it ? Asked herself the young girl.

It’s because she struggle that she’s eaten… She must not be eaten, she must not die ! She thought while clenching her fist with determination.

She raised her gaze and look at Syphony right in her eyes.

“You must not die. Do you want to die ?” She then asked, thorough.

“No ! Of course not ! If there was a cure for this goddamn crap, I would have already taken it !” Respond firmly the dying girl.

“So you don’t want to die…” Said the young girl while tilting her head, pensive.

Suddenly, in one go, she wrapped the head of Syphony with her arms and brought her face against her, kissing her strongly.

“Hhhm !” Tried to retort Syphony, attempting to struggle with the stranger, in vain, this one really to strong for her age and her body type. A fluid started flowing from the mouth of the strange girl toward Syphony’s, who was forced to drink it in fear of drowning. This kept going for a couple of minutes and, already after the first, the stranger no longer needed to hold Syphony to keep the kiss going, the dying girl too absorbed in the stranges sensations the liquid was giving her to think about something else. The young girl wrapped the soldier with her arms and put her in her bed next to her while closing her eyes, the two still kissing while the stranger glued herself tightly to Syphony.

Eleonor

Like always after each mending, she woke up in the middle of her tiny room, Genèse especially quiet after this difficult task that was body modification.

Character sheet. She thought naturally.

[Eleo?nor?]

[Level : 1 (47%)]

[Ressources :

* Health Point: 250/250

* Stamina: 250/250]

[Body : 5]

[Mind : 1]

[Soul : 1]

[Natural Armor: 4]

[Natural weapons:

Fangs: strength*1 damage (25), anti-armor 2

Feet and fists: strength*2 damage (50), anti-armor 1]

[Capacity :

* Abyss Eyes

* Black Hook

* Armoured storage bags]

She checked it, frowning when she saw her name wrote in such a strange way, but she didn’t linger on such petty detail.

Good, good. Pretty good, in fact ! My armor and Hp have increased well, and maybe now my natural weapons will be of some use. She thought while pushing on the name of her new ability.

|Armoured storage bags : You’ve developed extensible bags useful to stock food or interesting items. Internal armour have been added to mitigate their relative weakness, canceling their Weakpoint status. Each bag can stock up to one hundred litre of objects. However, be careful of the weight, if you carry to much you will be impaired in your moves or, worst, the bags could tear apart. The whole integration slightly lower your Agility.|

Overall, she was pleased by the changes. Only…

Agility ? With a capital A ? She asked herself while nitpicking with her sheet, trying to find this stat somewhere, if only it existed. Not finding it, she gazed at her sheet, pensive, before suddenly getting and idea. She pushed on the Body word.

[Body : 5

* Strength Modifier : 5. Overall Strength : 25

* Agility Modifier : 4.5. Overall Agility : 22.5

* Constitution Modifier : 5. Overall Constitution : 25]

O-k ? So i’ve derived stats from my three main stats ? She thought, surprised and curious, closing this window and opening the one of Mind and Soul successively.

[Mind : 1

* Thinking Pace Modifier : 1. Overall Thinking Pace : 1

* Memory Modifier : 1. Overall Memory : 1

* Magic Affinity Modifier : 1. Overall Magic Affinity : 1]

[Soul: 1

* Faith Modifier : 1. Overall Faith : 1

* Resolve Modifier : 1. Overall Resolve : 1

* Empathy Modifier : 1. Overall Empathy : 1]

All in all it’s quite intelligible but some stats could be interesting to investigate further, like the Faith or the Magic Affinity ones. I’m wondering if someone could explain those to me but, hey, with the kind of neighbourhood I have, I think I can forget it , nah ? She thought with a grin on her face.

She walked toward the genesis pond and immersed herself into it as much to talk to Genèse as to enjoy its coziness. She felt the usual tentacle wrapping gently around her abdomen.

Helle Genèses ! She said with a nearly palpable good mood.

HELLO MISTRESS, YOU SEEMS INSPIRED TODAY.

Why wouldn’t I ? I’m not hungry nor thirsty, I’ve new shiny modifications, you’ve the result of the analysis and I will go find something to eat and to feed you, maybe even have a battle with something of my level. I don’t know you, but I call this a lovely day in sight !

PRESENTED THIS WAY, I CAN BUT BE CONVINCED, MISTRESS.

You know you don’t need to fake empathy for me, nah ?

UNDERSTOOD MISTRESS. KNOW HOWEVER THAT THE IDEA TO BE FED SOME BIOMASS IS HIGHLY STIMULATING. I’M EAGER TO RETRIEVE SOME PART OF MY GENETIC MEMORY TO START WORKING ON YOU WITH MORE INTERESTING MODIFICATION, MISTRESS.

… Very well. Whatever, the report please.

YOUR EXTERNAL MODIFICATIONS SEEMS TO BE THE OUTCOME OF SOME KIND OF ACCELERATED NATURAL SELECTION, UNLIKE THE MODIFICATIONS I MAKE ON YOU, THEREBY THE REDUDANCES, THE USELESS GENETIC MATERIAL AND THE ANCESTRAL REFLEXES.

THE SWARM ALSO USE THIS PROCESS OF NATURAL SELECTION, BUT IN CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT THAT LEAD THE EVOLUTIONARY PATH TO ATTAIN A SPECIFIC GOAL. WHEN NATURE HAS MADE ITS JOB, THE INTERESTING DNA SEQUENCE ARE EXTRACTED, PURIFIED AND OPTIMISED BEFORE BEING USED BY A GENESIS POOL LIKE MYSELF TO CREATE THE BLUEPRINT OF A NEW SPECIALIZED UNIT, BLUEPRINT THEN DISTRIBUTED TO THE GESTATION POOLS TO START PRODUCING THE NEW UNIT ON THE BATTLEFRONT WHERE IT’S NEEDED. YOUR MODIFICATION, IT’S LIKE THE FIRST STAGE WAS DONE TO AN INCREDIBLE LEVEL, BUT THE NEXT STAGES WERE TOTALLY BYPASSED. SO THEY HAVE A VERY BARBARIC STRUCTURE, BUT A LOT OF INCREDIBLE NOVEL IDEAS AND STRUCTURES COULD BE EXTRACTED FROM THIS SAMPLE. HOWEVER, I’VE NOT THE THINKING POWER NOR THE BIOMASS REQUIRED TO USE THEM FOR NOW, I’M DEEPLY APOLOGETIC.

Bah, don’t worry, I wasn’t expecting anything from this anyway. Well, I’ll get going, trying to find something to eat and to evolve, i'm coming back soon. She concluded while exiting the pool, a big smile on her face despite the inconclusive result. Her fists were itching, eager to see what the day had in stock for her.