Holding the strap of the red bag on my right shoulder and my left hand over my satchel, I embark towards those perilous mountains ensuite of the truth behind those words uttered to me that day.
***
I ended up bringing Solace with me.
With Solace, a green ball of fire floating at my side, I trek at a minor upwards incline, following an old highway that’s cut into the north side of a mountain. The way it was made leaves the south side as a mere rock wall while the northern side is opened up to be able to view the other mountains, like a window. There are concrete pillars every couple dozen of meters on the right side to support the structure.
This coverage has made it rather untouched by the torrents of snow which plagued Korguire during the Primordial Storm, letting me see the old asphalt highway, making the yellow and white lines more visible than anywhere else. The only snow there is here is the angled pile near the edges where there's a lack of cover, unprotected by the mountains.
The whirring of wind can’t reach me in here because of the aforementioned reasons, so I can lessen the power of my ignition bracelet. However, the pillars and the carved out highway make the wind whip against them in a very peculiar way, making some unusual sounds.
My map has the lab marked down in this region, about 20 km north-east from my current location. Unfortunately, the pre-Decay L485 highway only reaches within 8 km of the facility. It’s obviously this far out from the nearest public road to conceal its existence, which is even more evident by the area’s topography.
Like I described earlier, I’m currently in RocheFell, a mountainous plateau plagued by frequent landslides, making it difficult to inhabit the region, save for a few animals like birds. Despite this, her info dump suggests that the facility is located at the bottom of a valley, rather than in the middle or close to peak.
A very risky place to host such a vital research station. Maybe there is something hidden there that no one is aware of?
Well, I’ll figure it out when I get there.
***
Approx: 3 hours later
I’ve reached within 8 km of there.
The same window-like holes to the north are still present.
It’s deathly quiet for the most part compared to earlier, it seems the wind stopped blowing.
The view into the far mountain ranges is stunning. Specks of snow dot the mountain's surface, while others form streaks of snow following the mountain’s formation. The mountain's angle and altitude means snow can’t stick in most places, revealing the gray stone underneath, unperturbed by the Decay.
My view is barely obscured by snow falling slowly and gently, a rarity for post-Decayed Entoria, Especially for a region like desolate Korguire, known for the harsh weather conditions during pre-Decayed winters.
Moments like these remind me of what normal winters could be like… I think.
I can’t exactly recall most of my life before the Decay happened. All the hard fought battles, gut wrenching moments and loss of close allies has clouded my memory of an unfulfilling life into one filled with trials and tribulations. Besides, I don’t have much to remember from those times anyway.
All I have is the present moment, spent in solitude.
An 8 km trek up and down mountains is tedious, time consuming, and a waste of energy. To combat this, I can simply use telekinesis to throw stones far away and shift with them.
This starts with me summoning a sizable rock and throwing it down the mountain side. It tumbles down the mountainside faster and faster like a snowball, sometimes hitting bits of snow or even the mountain face itself. But since it’s more durable than the sedimentary rock, it leaves cracks and sometimes even breaks bits off to fall alongside it. This continues for an entire minute before I finally see it stop.
Solace picks up on my goal and changes his form to wrap around the majority of my right arm like a bandage. The green flames aren’t hot, it’s more like his temperature blends nearly perfectly with mine, to the point that I can only feel his presence. But, for him to pick my right arm means he knows my affliction, and like clockwork, the heavy, numb pain in my right greatly decreases.
Stage 2…
Shifting with this stone, I and Solace end up at the foot of two mountains; essentially just a valley. This mountain is separate from the one I’m headed to, which is much further away.
I summon a rock and using telekinesis, I launch it as far as I can. Shifting positions between this thrown rock, I summon another rock, launch, and shift again. I continue using this method, roughly taking 10 seconds in between each shift and making 200m~ of distance each time. While my maximum manipulation range is 100m, the residual force doubles that for projectiles.
For 15 minutes, I shift up and down mountains and in between valleys before pausing in the middle of a deep valley. Far out front to my left I see a large cave opening and some sort of old concrete road mostly covered in snow. Instead of shifting like before, I began walking up to the cave. Upon reaching a certain distance, I could make out a metal corridor. And when I reach the mouth of the cave, I can see all of the remains of this facility.
The hydraulic metal gate is wide open, exposing a dark corridor plated with a smooth, dark metal on all sides, ceiling, floor, and walls. It’s too dark to make out any other discernible features.
“Solace?”
I point with my left hand towards the darkness, signaling him to move forward.
Solace moves off my right arm and the numb pain begins to slowly creep back to me. His form shifts into a ball and momentarily floats at my side again and I summon a large stone to feed the flames. The green flames incinerate the stone, and he begins to glow brightly, showing that he absorbed the Spirit content in the stone I summoned. Following this, he flies forward, albeit erratically.
Solace’s flames emit an even brighter glow, illuminating the dark corridor in a green shade. It’s more than enough light, but I can now see what’s inside. A couple steps in and I can see the dead ceiling lights every couple of meters. Their wiring is exposed, inside the corridor to make sure the plating has no weaknesses.
It’s terribly quiet, aside from my footsteps that echo alongside the metal walls as the environment gets magnitudes darker than outside. Solace’s flames counteract this, dyeing the walls in even more green light.
The temperature inside is slightly warmer than outside, but only by about a degree or two.
Solace and I reach a corner which turns a hard right.
Several small puddles of frozen water litter the wall ahead of me. Similarly, drops of water fall down from various places in uneven intervals and varying distances. For some reason, this portion is a damaged concrete hallway. Numerous large cracks and potholes allow these puddles to form more easily. Because of this, I can see that the metal wall is actually some kind of plating, and some mysterious factor has had it removed here somehow, or maybe it was never here in the first place, but that’s too farfetched.
Solace and I move forward, while he is ahead of me to illuminate the surroundings. The plating covers the concrete once again, and as it seems, our first real and useful finding is right here. The green fire illuminates a massive hole in the plating. The hole was made briskly, exposing rock and dirt in its wake, so it was probably some kind of post-Decay monster attack.
Or maybe some kind of prison break scenario. You can never be too sure with MOTF.
This can be looked over for now.
My footsteps echo along as I tread past this landmark.
The further into the darkness that I venture into, the more it looks like a battle took place.
Old and rough scratches line the metal plating from time to time, and some parts of the plating even seem deformed by heat, following rather orderly lines, like they were welding the plating for some reason.
Solace stops in place, can I see why. An object, flat and damaged, blocks our path. A barricade is set up here, made of the same dark metal plating the walls. It stands upright, blocking the bottom half of the corridor. Bullet marks are riddled all along its surface, and those same bullets it defended against litter the ground before me.
Solace floats up and above the barricade and I follow, walking up to the barricade. Bullets roll and make ‘clink’ sounds as I walk over them, but some bullets don’t roll at all as they have been deformed on impact.
Once at the barricade, I begin leaning against said barricade to see what’s on the other side.
With Solace’s light, I peer over the barricade and spot the mechanisms which put this in place. Half of a square plating on the floor is missing to reveal the concrete beneath, while the platings on the walls on roof are unaffected. Unlike the concrete before, this has a reason to be here. Some large wiring and two hydraulic mechanisms are laid against said concrete and connected to the barricade, which is what holds up this barricade in the first place.
I nimbly climb over it, and land on the other side, making sure to avoid the wiring. Upon peering into the farther reaches of the hallway, Solace’s green flames illuminate the wreckage and remnant’s all too familiar to me. Blood splatters, rotting disembodied limbs, numerous bullets and various unidentifiable organs. All of these things litter and paint the surface of the corridor ahead of me.
Sure, it’s bloody, gross, and traumatizing. But one ought to get used to these things to survive out here.
But something is itching at the back of my mind.
Why were the bullets coming from an invader perspective, and not a defender one?
It's hard for me to believe that this base was raided post-Decay. First of all, its secluded location makes it nigh impossible to find. The only reason I know about it is because of my cooperation with her. Second of all, MOTF is a military arms manufacturer, and would be more armed than any other faction.
Well, I can’t be certain with just this corridor alone.
Once again, we move forward and Solace illuminates the pathway for us. I narrowly avoid stepping on the bloody mess that was left here, but in doing so I have to maintain prolonged eye contact with the mess.
It’s warmer this deep in, but it’s barely noticeable. Maybe 1-2 degrees warmer from outside, but for there to be any heat at all is a tell-tale sign of at least working infrastructure.
More of these blood spatters dirty the corridor on all surfaces, and I avoid them as best as I can as most people would. Sometimes it’s unavoidable due to the sheer amount of blood, making it seem like someone spontaneously combusted. On the other hand, there is occasional weld-like damage to the plating like what I saw earlier, this time on a much larger scale.
Or– well, I guess that’s an understatement.
Four pieces of plating; floor, walls and ceiling, are all deformed beyond belief. Rather than just a few streaks of melted melted, the area of damaged plating makes it seem like a ball of pure heat was created here.
It’s cooled down since this occurred just like all of the other welding lines, so I walk over it while paying heed to the little bumps in its wake to maintain my balance.
There's a bunch more wreckage the further down the hall I tread, but they all blur in my mind until I reach something a lot more interesting.
The green flames illuminate a giant metal garage gate which sits on the right side of the wall, replacing the plating. The roof is higher to accommodate it, and there's a much wider and taller corridor to the left. There's a label on the gate with something written in blue and white paint.
[ LOADING BAY ]
Self explanatory. It’s the loading bay to the laboratory. Solace and I approach the garage gate and I summon a stone in my hand. I telekinetically place it underneath the gate, and manipulate its shape upwards so that it forces the gate open.
As the gate lifts and bends, natural light shines into the dark hallway, and I can see concrete flooring on the other side. The gate lifts up fully and the loading bay is in full view. While a little dark, my eyes still need to adjust to the brightness in comparison to the dark corridor. Solace doesn’t seem to react, so I don’t think he has any of the same problems as humans.
The bay is quite open, so much so that it’s basically empty. Aside from a few racks and small ramps for semi-trucks, there's nothing notable stored here. The light source originates from outside. Out in the far corner, one of two massive outdoor gates to the bay is wide open, revealing the mountainscape and valley outside where I was just moments before. A tall mound of snow, about a little taller than me, piles up and spills inside the bay
Since there doesn’t seem to be any danger, I walk further inside. For a loading bay, it is utterly massive, with the two aforementioned gates up to scale. And not just warehouse big– it’s as large as a military or airplane hangar.
I mean– *HuFf* It probably has been used as a military hangar. MOTF Technologies primarily focuses on manufacturing military equipment. The loading bay’s size was probably needed for assembly and testing.
Other than what it infers, nothing here is useful for my mission.
After looking around a bit more, I go back to the dark plated corridor and begin walking down the now expansive corridor, with Solace at my side now instead of front.
Conversely, my eyes now have to readjust to the darkness of the corridor, and Solace’s flames begin to dim again. I summon another stone, much larger than the last one I summoned for him. Like clockwork, his form envelopes the entire rock and it disappears in an instant.
Now, his flames are glowing brighter than ever before, able to illuminate this larger space just as he could in the smaller hall.
Unlike the wartorn corridor I saw earlier, this larger one is rather tidy. No crazy damages, no bloodshed, bullet marks nor barriers. There’s only a thin layer of grime coating the floor plates. But this is honestly a little more eerie than the constant stream of new blood stains. This buildup of anticipation is what is actually terrifying than the threat itself, and I notice that my heart has started beating a little louder than before.
Solace and I stop in our tracks as we both notice a gate made of a light metal dosed in blood and grime. It’s much stronger than that garage gate, maybe several inches thick just judging by the design. A diagonal slit goes down from top right to bottom left, showing that the gate was made of two parts, probably connected by hydraulics. Pillars made out of a steel encase the edges of the gate, hiding and protecting the mechanisms that make it operational.
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A large sign painted on the gate in white with yellow and black stripes
[ SECURITY GATE 1/16 ]
Uh…
That's kind of a design oversight, just telling any intruder how many gates there are…
Maybe it's a deterrent? Or possibly a trick?
Well, whatever. All I want is to get past this gate.
I summon a stone in my hand, and like its shape contorts like water to fit in the crevice between the gate. By surging Spirit into the stone, I manipulate the portion in the crevice with a lot of torque, causing the gate to slowly bend and creak before the opening is wide enough for me to squeeze through. Artificial light floods the dark hall that I’m in, and my eyes have to adjust to light again.
The power seems to be on inside the laboratory.
To make sure the gate is stable, I manipulate my stone to create numerous small supports within the opening of the gate.
Quickly peeking my head through the fissure, I scour the perimeter carefully. There's another gate on the other side, just barely close enough so that the room is cube shaped. It’s identical to the gate I'm leaning on right now. On it, it reads; [ SECURITY GATE 2/16 ], exactly as expected.
After verifying that the coast is clear, I crawl through the gap in the gate and set my feet down on the other side. Solace flies right through after me. With no obstructions to my view, I find details of the gated section all the more clear to me.
The plating is definitely different. Covered in grime, white coloured plating in elongated rectangle shapes rather than squares protects the floors of this section. Looking to my sides, the walls are made out of the same white plating, but with a X-shaped truss spanning from all four corners of the wall. It’s made out of steel, just like the pillars in the corners of the corridor.
Looking up above me, the roofing is the same white plating. The one difference is the four rectangular grid lights attached to the roof– the source of the artificial light.
I follow through and break open the next gate with the same method, and it’s no different than the last. Same white plating, same X-shaped truss, same steel pillars and same ceiling light.
Gate N. 3 is broken the same way, and the next section is identical. Same with N. 4..
But gate N. 5 is where things change.
Sure, I said that his section is identical, and yes it is. But that doesn't undermine the giant hole melted into gate N. 5. Like the welding of the dark metal plating, an entire hole was welded out of this gate.
There’s not much else to say about, so I nonchalantly walk through the opening to the next section.
I break through gate N. 6 with a little extra force, and a pungent odor floods my senses.
A smell all too familiar to me– blood, and a rotting corpse.
The air that rushes through the crevice is, again, slightly warmer, but still in the negatives. Colder temperatures lessen the smell, but I’d assume the source had gone cold as well.
Accidentally using more Spirit than necessary means that I don’t need to crawl through this time, and I instead duck underneath the bottom left opening of the gate
The smell becomes all the more apparent, and on the further half of the room, a massive, frozen puddle of blood lies completely still.
And there she was– a bloodied corpse, laid up against gate N. #07. Surprisingly, only the spilled blood had been rotting, while her corpse was rather well preserved.
She looked about 18 years old. Her long, flowing, crimson hair was indistinguishable from the pool of blood, and what caught my attention.
Or, was– until I saw the disturbing bits.
She had been brutally torn in two, her bottom half torn from her waist and nowhere to be seen.
A pure white gown, heavily drenched in blood. It veiled the gory mess that was underneath.
Solace didn’t seem to react as we stood in front of that puddle of blood. For how unsavory of a death this was, I was only surprised at her body's preservation.
Then, this weird feeling surfaced in the back of my head. It was purely psychological, but this feeling somehow translated into words.
…Help…
“…”
I stood in silence, listening to these words beckoning to me in the back of my mind.
…Please…
“…”
…Kill… Me…
“…”
I understood a message which none of my senses could detect. Sure, she is probably the origin, but I can’t tell how I understand this message.
The corpse was completely and utterly still.
No voice spoke, the only sound I heard was the buzz of the ceiling lights above.
I could only feel the cold of winter on my skin, and the numb pain in my right arm.
Only the smell of blood and gore filled my nostrils.
And nothing popped up in the furthest corners of my mind.
But these words…
Felt like instinct, and more than anything, a part of my soul.
…Please…
“…”
…I beg of you…
It was then that I was conscious of her final expression. That stiff expression, so, so still it was like a carved statue, wasn’t merely dreary…
This was agony.
Pure, and utter agony, despair.
I had to pry my gaze away to maintain level headedness.
“...”
…
“...How long have you been here?”
…
“No answer, huh…”
…Five…
…!
Even if it was against my own volition, I for some reason stepped forward into the frozen puddle of blood. Each step I took made the blood ice crack and split in intricate formations and several numerous shards. I only stopped when I was standing directly in front of her, the horrific odor invading my nose. Yet I stood there and looked down at her, forsaking my own ideals of cleanliness.
“Five what? Hours? Days?”
…Months…
That’s a long time.
But I don’t have to kill her, do I…?
The Regeneration Amulet, a Guardian Artifact with the ability to regenerate one's body from any severe or fatal injury, at the cost of a large amount of Spirit. It may be able to save her if she has enough Spirit. Emphasis on if.
For a short moment, I grasp the green amulet tied around my neck with my left hand, reflecting on the situation. See, if the revival is successful, then there’s an Originator I have to deal with. On the other hand, I’ll have to–...
.
Now holding it by the string, I dangle it closer and closer to her body until it touches her body.
“...”
“Worth a shot…”
Suddenly, a dim white glow emanated from her heart. And like clockwork, a bright purple glow emanated from mine. These two were resonating. Not from the amulet, but from something else.
The Guardian I have contracted.
“Oh hoo, I never expected that your favourite warrior would be reduced to nothing but a mangled corpse, left alone to rot in sheer agony.”
“What a crude greeting, though I would have expected that from you.”
A distorted, deep, bellowing male voice spoke from within the purple glow, while a gentle yet also distorted female voice responded to the cruel welcome.
“Oh? It’s not just your host that has fallen, but you, yourself?”
“Well, it’s not like you're one to speak. How far have you fallen to let your own host overtake your will?”
“For a mere shard, you still speak like your primal self. Not to mention, much more foulmouthed for a supposed Saint.”
“...Well… I’ve only woken from my dormancy to ask you a simple favour.”
“Let me guess. Is it–”
“Yes it is. Please, end my dear’s agony.”
‘Dear’…
I don’t know what's happening between these two… But she’s asking what I just felt earlier, to kill the crimson haired woman.
“Ahh, straight to the point. This girl truly has changed you. Don’t fancy riddles anymore, do you?”
“They are parables, and I needn’t complicate things any further for your host.”
At my mention, I would interject between their ill-fated reunion.
“I can hear you two loud and clear…”
The white glow emanating from the crimson-haired girl's heart began to glow brighter than ever before in part due to my response.
“...I never expected you to choose one of the Cursed as your host either. You’ve also changed, the once cunning fragment you were has thrown his pride away. But if this boy can even merely perceive us, then I can understand why you’d forsake your own ideals for him.”
“Hmph. As if I wanted to. You said it yourself. His Authority is equal to our own.”
These two are having the time of their life, having an argument like this. Or maybe afterlife? And I’m stuck in between their bickering. But unlike the fragments, my time is limited.
“Anyway… May I pose a few questions?”
I could feel my contractor snicker inwardly, and the ‘Saint’ shard responded in kind.
“Go right ahead.”
“How did your host die?”
I stood in silence, calmly awaiting her response. Even though I’m speaking to her, I subconsciously subverted my gaze from her corpse.
“Well, I don’t have enough spirit due to your contractors nagging to explain in full. To cut it short, powerful beasts were accidently released during the prison break.”
…?
Powerful beasts? Prison break?
While it’s no wonder these gates are sealed shut, the real question is how monsters ended up there. MOTF is a technology manufacturer and developer, and to my knowledge doesn't have much to do with genetic engine– nevermind, Pasalana’s and stuff.
But, the fact that MOTF had been keeping Originators here captive means…
.
“...What Guardian fragment did you further divide from, and is the reason her Soul still remains because of a full-sync AKA awakening?”
She strained her voice to answer my question, nearing closer to becoming braindead.
“...The fragment of Light– and yes, full-sync is why her soul remains.”
Simultaneously, the white glow significantly dimmed, alerting me of their Soul’s limits.
“And lastly…”
In silence I stood, contemplating my final question. Judging by her previous sentiment, I have to take into consideration how long the answer to my question would have to be. If not, I may not even have my final question answered.
Then, after careful consideration, I ask my final question.
“...What do you know about Esir?”
“...I do not know ‘Esir’.”
It was worth a shot.
So, this is a brief rundown on the information I just received. Firstly, powerful beasts of unknown origin have been released within the facility.
Secondly, the Soul that I’m speaking to is a mere shard of the Light fragment. As my contractor says, her state has been reduced to ‘nowhere near a fraction of your former self’. Awakening causes the two souls to closely intertwine, nearing fusion. When the crimson-haired Guardian died, their close bond made it too difficult to separate their souls, inadvertently shattering the Light Fragment and forcing the Guardian to stay conscious.
This is a revelation for me, but not a worry as I don’t exactly get along with my own contractor.
Thirdly, just like all of the other Guardians and their Contractor, she knows nothing about Esir.
But most importantly…
“What happened to the other shards…?”
“It should be quite obvious. They were taken by others for their own benefit.”
“Hmmm… sure. I’ll listen to your answer this time”
It seems like others have been here before me if the remaining shards were taken.
…Please…
Ah, right.
She had asked me a bit ago to end her misery. A quick flash of purple light and a stone is in my left hand. I begin manipulating its shape, first to form a handle then to the blade. After I complete my creation, I’m left with a stone dagger with a curved edge.
Instinctually, I raise the blade to my side and take a deep breath in and out. While I feel a little regret having to kill someone, I do what I must.
The dagger raises overhead, and I take in another deep breath.
But then, I caught another glimpse of her face, which I had been steering away from doing again.
A dreary expression of pure and utter agony, that of who wished to die. Or rather, something akin to death stared back at me within those sully eyes.
My muscles tense up, and I froze in place with my dagger held above my head before dropping it to my side. As it seems, I can’t steel myself. At all.
“Please, end my darling Aurora’s misery in my stead.”
“Then beg for it.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Despite the word echoing in my soul, I froze with my gaze locked onto her final expression. There was something I was reminded of by her, but it didn’t actively pop in my mind. Even so, it was enough to make me hesitate, so I stood there in complete and utter silence, letting the voices of the dimming white glow and growing purple glow duke it out while I am powerless to do anything.
“Please… I beg of you, W–”
“Hesitating, gray-eyed one? Or perhaps you’ll fail again?”
His words shook me from my trance, and I reacted instantly. An intense feeling boiled up inside of me, one I wasn’t able to distinguish as different from what I feel passively. Yet I acted on some unknown desire to oppose… someone.
“Where? Do I strike?”
“Ah, now out of your trance now?”
“Where you can see my glow–”
I held my blade in both hands and raised it, pointing my blade directly at this ‘Aurora’s’ rotting corpse. Even as my right hand hurt like peeled skin, I refused to even partially lighten the grip on my blade. I let go of all thoughts in my head, and swiftly thrust my blade forward, piercing her heart. In my head I could hear something akin to glass shattering, and an abrupt explosion of bright light blinded my vision.
It takes a couple of seconds for me to regain my sight, but when I do, set my gaze towards the woman, now with a gaping hole in her chest. Among the bits of bones and organs I could sense a large amount of Spirit being released into the air. From my vision, it looked like dense, glowing fog originating from the hole in her chest. It was like a window to an inverted dimension, where everything turned to black and white.
The more it spread out into the gated room, the dimmer this glow seemed to be. When the glowing fog eventually enveloped me, my view of the world around me changed entirely. It was like an inverse of before– everything outside of the neon fog seemed to glow white, and everything inside the fog was reverted to their normal colours. The upper half of my body was normal, but my bottom half, which hadn’t been covered by the fog, was inverted and now glowing white and black.
Aside from the visual change, a foreign sense of dread fills my mind before shifting to relieve, as if being freed from chains.
Because of this, I noticed a shard resting in the gaping hole in Aurora’s chest that I hadn’t been able to perceive before in the blood and gore.
The Guardian shard which was still bound to Aurora– a shard of light. My Soulsight didn’t pick up any anomalies regarding the shard. But that’s the eerie part. Usually, a Guardian fragment will take a form with relation to their power, and glow brightly to those who can see unfiltered Spirit. However, this one was devoid of any soul. It must have died when I pierced it moments beforehand. To me, it just looked like an otherwise normal glass shard.
I convert the shape of the stone dagger in my hand to encase the shard and its shape contorts like water before re-solidifying. Once the shard was contained within my stone, I telekinetically brought it to me and let it levitate into my left hand. There are visible bloodstains, so I wipe them off before putting the encased shard into the red bag slung over my shoulder.
Right… I have a mission to complete.
Armed with a new mindset and the knowledge of the beasts that reside within the labyrinth, I make my next move.
I turned my head back to Solace, who had been floating silently behind me the entire time. His lamp yellow eyes and pitch black mouth displayed an expression reminiscent of confusion, yet had a sense of awareness akin to caution.
“Let's go.”