The grotto stretched, little by little the trio reached a bend then the passage behind... In the silent place Ostribide gasped, her mouth open, at her side the soldier moved the torch here and there making shadow and light dance, the place was seemingly empty, with walls of some whithish smooth material and an even floor doted here and there with little debris, this was by no means a natural place, even the glimpses of the ceiling looking barren and even aside for a massive gap spooke of a great deal of skill in the builders, the soldier stared unto the darkness beyond their pitiful torchlight before turning to his officer, an almost terrified look in his eyes -Ma'm what's this?- his voice a whisper only silence came back...-Ancestors help us... This is a Titan's ruin, or even some of that...of that Ancients!- - Stop that- the tone in her voice hard as steel- she came in and out without eyes, so at least it is safe, let's find the other one and see what to do after that...where did she go?-
Nidia walked, she can hear some of the soldiers byplay, but it hardly registered in her mind, so full off the stiffling darkness it was, proding and chewing at her consiusness, focusing all her will in the next step was the only thing she could do, then another step, heavy , bone-rattling steps and with each one her strengh fading ...dying Im dying... a fear that feels like a physical weight crammed her chest, a cry for help struck in her throath, she limped to her brother's side moving on instinct alone, wishing the pain away, hoping beyond hope that he at least could make it out of this abyssal nightmare... Steps, maybe yells at her back, she moved forward, the eerie glow in the next room her only beacon, and yet that same glow was growing dimmer with every second, as her own mind raced across all the things that she wanted to do, all the times she and her brother have promised to be there for the other, to pull trough every single hardship and tragedy... And there she was, dying... I... I think I'll go first... Sorry Lance... Mother...Dad... Stephan... I... with a last step and a muffled groan Nidia set foot on the chamber were all began.
And fall dead.
A while Back
The... lattice... I made a mistake...
Too much... The energy... input is... Not enough... all is lost...only can think...
...sampl...sample A... she want... what...her kin...useless, useless...the Sca..Scarlet King...my mission...
I am shuting down...
The energy flow... All too weak... you...you made me fail...
FAIL!...
...
... No... I failed...on my own...failed... Long ago...and now... You will cease...to be...no water... No food... Just like me...
...The reservoir is empty, if I can call back the energy in my hands reservoir... It is a pittance, not even enough to wield a small lattice, but...
...enough to open the path...
...ancient and forgotten mechanisms come to life once more, for a last spurt of movement... Then they stop, cold and dead...
...here...
...go...
...fulfill...your...missi ..
...deep within the chamber, the old mind recedes and falls, only the barest hint of sounds as the last mechanisms stop working... little pings of metal and ceramics cooling down, a muted buzz of power sizzling...
I wish I have more time
crystals with a otherworldly hue start to fade and dull...
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I wonder
sizzling, and some sparks of wasted power
If my máster could forbid me...
Only the faint glow that remains in the chamber betrays the outward look of a forgotten ruin...
...or if he forgot me...
And then the chamber and his light went out, with only the hint of a whisper in the air...
...
Nidia was falling... Deep... deeper than anything that she can fathom... Sound and light a vague memory, the touch of the sunlight in her shoulders a mirage in her frayed mind, voices... Voices calling her...to join...
A meaty thud was the cue for the soldiers to break their little impasse, with reflexes drilled from countless repetitions one took a stance near the body lying in the odd polished stone, whit the back resting against what happens to be an archway of sorts, axe on the high looking at every way for hostiles, the other kneeling deftly and looking for signs, signs of life signs of attack, signs of some sense in the whole thing: one minute walking like a possesed, next thing she knows girls keel over, for what she knows the girl is already among... Wathever the northerns go for an afterlife, but she has to make sure, just like every other time she lose a man... a quick series of gestures and a handful of words bring her wristband to life, ether flowing from her to the finely carved paths in the leather, the inlaid of mystical tuned metal and reaching to the young one, searching for life, looking for illness and wounds...
...Then the light came...
...odd light, no light that she have ever seen was so bright yet so cold, moving, like oil in water, blinding at times, dull the next instant, in a weird hue that raised her hackles...
And as fast as it came was gone...
-Corporal Ma'm!- with a start Ostribide realized she was staring ágape in the void room- You with me?!- this time there was no doubt about the man panicked voice fear...fear is contagious... Calm down damn! Clenching her fist, she hold her breath, one two heartbeats, then with a final glance at the body in her grasp she spokes - Yes, yes I'm right beside you- she breaks the little cantrip, sure enough the sad little girl was beyond help now... Should they try and fetch the brother? Or his body more likely?... She was mulling over it...- Just that those lights throw me off, thats all.-
-Lights?-
-Yeah... lights... Didn't you...?-
A yell
That is what I am
Energy... I feel it within my grasp...it is barely there, like an ilusion, a mirage... But it is real... My array has reacted, luckyly it was meant to work in a differential process, should I have picked the influx type I will be doomed... Yes, the energy is flowing, I can asses the reservoir is back to a quarter, I can reestablish my...
Odd, that is not Sample A... It is pulsing with a faint energy emission, it even looks like it is welding some kind of...interesting...the...array, for want of a better word behaves like a laticce AND a matrix of power, quite interesting... I wonder if I can emulate it...
...
...that is Sample A... It has ceased it's functions... How? Why?... That array... Could it be some destructive effect?...I shall analyse it further...
...how vexing... I can not make head or tails of this thing...
...this...goes there...then...it interconects...like so... No this part does not make sense then...what does all this?...
I have to reasses this as overly complicated for no reasonable outcome...
... Fine, I have at least an inkling of what this does, the laticce is fairly straight forward, a diagnosis routine, I never seen one so versatile tough, instead of searching for pre-established failures, finds deviations and backtrack them to any root cause...and this... Clever... Must look into the other functions...
The other part... Now that is a mess... I can not fathom who ever thinked this could work...and why...this is just wastefull...
However, this has been usefull, this lattice is somewhat unstable, but I managed to understand enough of it's datam and unless I am sorely mistaken...
... This property can be fixed, a transmutation here, and here... And here, just to be safe... This one is good as is, I can not change those... I wish I can change this one... Good enough... Influx has been halted, so I have one shot at this matrix, hopefully it will work as intended with minimal deviation this time...
...I shall stop putting myself in this kind of situations tough...
-didn't you...?-
A crawling sensation was the only warning that the soldiers got...
Then the world imploded in light and eerie sounds
With a jolt, Nidia fell trough the dark.
And started breathing again.
-aaww... abyss's fire...I'm alive..-
And fainted.