Using the same method as beforehand, I open gate No. 7# by splitting the gates in two. Aurora’s corpse doesn’t budge even as the loud twang of metal echoes and tremors I leave in my wake. Yet the tremors make frozen blood crack even further.
But the information I was previously armed with doesn’t even hint at the true scale of what’s behind the gates…
The first thing I see through the gap is a lack of gates. It seems that the next three gates, No. 8#-10# are all open wide. The angle I see it from only lets me see the roof, but the gates can’t hide the monstrosity jailed inside.
My eyes open wide in surprise. What I see is the backside of a massive, white beast. Its body nearly touches the roof of the gated corridor, and it seems to take up space from all 3 of the open gates. Patches of snow white scale-like skin have rotted away and reveal portions of its disproportionate ribcage.
Upon crawling through the gap in the gate I created, I can see the beast in all its glory.
It’s rather humanoid in form. The beast is laid flat on its stomach, with legs so disproportionately small I doubt this thing could even move. I can’t see it fully from this angle, so I walk over to its frontside. As I pass along its body, I can see how it got here.
I finally make it to its head, which almost touches the gate No. 11#. But… It has some interesting facial features. If described vaguely enough, I would more or less assume it was a pet. This, on the other hand, is terribly uncanny.
A head shaped like a trapezoid from a frontal view. Big dull red eyes on the sides of its head and human teeth. Dog ears, but instead of fur, they are made of its scaly white skin. Wrinkles on its forehead and cheeks.
Oh.
I recognize this.
It’s a Pasalana, a bio-weapon engineered around 12 years ago. Or, maybe 16 years at this point? They are capable of using simple Originator abilities, but need to be activated by some sort of DNA key. Their eye colour dictates their purpose. Red means war, blue probably means support. There are apparently yellow ones, but I’ve never seen one.
They were the catalyst to the rediscovery of Origination.
A few participated in the Liberation war, so I got a close up of them. The red-eyed ones have massive Spirit reserves and can dish out enormous bouts of Løslatelse. It seems like this one is dead, as I can't pick up a Soul or Spirit signature from it.
But just like this one right here, they are all terribly uncanny looking. Their inventors created them with solely power in mind, forsaking all morals in exchange for it.
I don’t want to keep looking at it. It’s disgusting.
I turn away and face the next gate, worrying about the calamities possibly hidden within. I will retrieve what I have come here for, otherwise all of my efforts will be for naught.
Gate after gate, I keep trekking forward, destroying each and every gate in my way.
And finally, I made it past the final gate.
It's humid and actually quite warm now that I’m this far inside of the facility. I can hear the sound of running water, like a river. The lights are on, but much dimmer here than before. The expansive hallways extend outwards to both of my sides, and have a minor curve to them, circling around a singular room protected by the massive gate before me. It has the same dark metal plating as before the gates, but much larger to fit the size of the hallway. The gate is twice as large as any other previous instance, and painted in red in important label.
[ CONTAINMENT ROOM ] [ DO NOT OPEN ]
Do not open? Like hell I’m listening to that.
“Oh, how very like you. Just go and open the gate then.”
“Nevermind.”
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I notice two things. One is a label written in tiny characters on the massive gate.
[ FLOODED ROOM ]
And the floor that I stand on isn’t actually the dark metal plating, but…
A massive storm drain. It makes up the entire flooring, including down the hallways as far as I can see. The dim lights barely illuminate it, but I can hear the sound of running water underneath me as clear as day. There's movement down there, and each little wave and ripple reflects a small bit of light at me. But the dim lights and minor reflections are insignificant as the water gives off a faint glow which illuminates itself. A glow I know all too well.
Spirit signatures.
The water emits an extremely faint green glow which while enough to illuminate itself, isn’t still isn’t anywhere near as bright as the dimmed ceiling lights. And inside, I picked up several Soul signatures– hundreds. Hundreds of fish-like entities swim in the waters below, and I can see each and every one of their souls in the form of a core that glows brightly in the colour of their soul. While individually, they only emit a little light, their combined glow now clearly reflects off of the walls and roof, which I hadn’t noticed before.
But this raises more questions than answers; How did they get there? What’s the point of this storm drain? If I want to find the answers to my questions, then I have to dig deeper into this labyrinth than ever before.
What I believe to be the answer behind this may lie behind this massive gate.
This new knowledge means a lot, and combined with my contractor’s unsavoury warning, I can assume that I’ll be unleashing something if I open this gate, already evident by the label on it.
Even if I can already guess the answer, I want to see it for myself.
Steadying my mind, I prepare to hold back whatever may be behind this gate. I summon a stone in my palm and manipulate its shape like water to fit in between the crevice of the gate. Slowly but surely, I adjust the pressure that I exert on the gate. It bends and creaks until it suddenly crashes in on itself.
Immediately, a green glowing water overflowing with Spirit starts rushing like a flood my way. The split second before my defense is raised, I catch a glimpse inside the containment room. It is a massive, tower-like room in an octagonal shape. I can make out what seems like three utterly gigantic chained beasts, similar in size to the Pasalana. One is shaped like a lion, with some sort of gray corruption on its mane. I can’t make out the other two before I react out of instinct.
Right as the wave made it halfway towards me, I activated [ Stone Wall: 100% ] to protect myself while simultaneously manipulating the stone which broke the gate to form a seal, immediately preventing more water from flowing out. Yet even so, thousands of gallons of this green spirit infused water rush out to the sides of my wall and back behind it, narrowly reaching me.
“Solace.”
I didn’t expect him to react, but Solace acted aptly. The instant I said his name, his form expanded to the size of half of the corridor and encased me in green flames. It didn’t burn, the heat wasn’t dangerous but rather warm. I can’t see what is happening as the green flames obscure my vision entirely for almost 30 seconds. I stand completely still and close my eyes, letting Solace act as he deemed fit. The green flames are filled with emotions, and I can feel Solace’s energy and excitement intertwined within the sea of flames.
The fire clears, and I’m completely dry, untouched by the flood that had rushed towards me. Bright green light bounces off the dark plated walls and the raging yet soothing green flames begin to concentrate into a tight ball, glowing even brighter the more the flames are compressed into this singularity.
Those innumerable lamp-yellow eyes begin to reappear all over the bright ball of green flames, all directed at me. He’s practically– no, literally glowing with power, more so than ever before. His flames glow so bright that they overpower the lights that the fishes give off, his very presence dominating over lesser species. The fishes down below can feel Solace's very own will, and they all wriggle and swim away down the ends of the expansive corridor.
But that isn’t what concerns me. Just what was hidden behind the gate? And why? I can guess why, but not what it was.
My confusion and curiosity isn’t dampened in the slightest. In fact, I’m practically brimming with it. Anything and everything that MOTF has done is somehow involved with the Decay, which means any and all information about them has immense value. Aside from that, I still have my own personal questions to be answered.
I just hope I can find out the truth behind ‘that’ woman.
“I’ve wasted enough time here… Solace, let's hurry.”
Accelerating evermore, I speed down the left curved corridor with Solace flying right over my shoulder. Below me, the souls of the fishes glow brightly, and the bright green flames of Solace paint the plating around us green. The world around me blurs from the speed, and it’s a sight to behold; the fishes comparable to shooting stars in a clear night’s sky and the plating like a grassy plain of rolling hills.
Breathtaking.
After a couple of seconds, the first door came into view, situated on the left side of the massive hall. Made of metal with a small slit at eye level and a sign which says [41], it remains undisturbed by snow or people. Today, that’ll change, with me.
For a brief moment, I stood still in front of the door. That was before I bashed the metal door in with a massive boulder-like stone. The metal door flies open, almost falling off of its hinges. Inside this room there is some kind of research facility. Numerous flasks, petri dishes and microscopes are scattered all over the various countertops and cabinets lining the walls and under the countertops. I take my time to open every single cabinet, finding different research equipment beakers, more test tubes, and other miscellaneous equipment of which I don’t know the name. Unfortunately, the thing I’m looking for isn’t here.
As I walk out of the room, I contemplate how I should search for this item and info alongside the truth I’m seeking. I think about the description I was given on it; A box-shaped organism which was genetically modified to grant anyone who touched it some kind of insight about living organisms.
It’s vague and quite frankly weird, but I can narrow it down to a couple of places.
First, a facility where the organism could activate this ability. Second, a specialized facility where it inhabits.
This organism is a priority, while the suggesting info and truth can come later. The only problem is whether it’s even alive or not, and can change the entire course of this mission.
How will I be able to keep it alive once it leaves its habitat? Hopes and dreams.
Just kidding. There's a dropoff point for organic organisms.
I continue sprinting down the curved hallway and scour each and every room I come across. They range from research to storage. The research units differ drastically, from microorganism research all the way to entire workshops dedicated to inventing new weapons of war. The storage units aren’t as interesting; they're mostly filled with old junk while the newer parts are somewhere else.
After opening two dozen doors and rooms, there is a significant change to the structure of the facility. The corridor becomes significantly more open with a roof spanning several stories and wide as a 4-lane road. There is a massive ramp which has a slight curve to the right. It’s made out of a single piece of the dark plated metal with ridges probably meant to aid climbers.
For a manmade ramp it's quite steep, about a 30 degree upwards angle, but not too much of a problem for me as I trek up the ramp. No doors line the walls this time, so I assume that it was built purely for movement. The curve of the ramp continues for around 45 degrees before I spot an enormous square cut hole in the plating lines with gray metal.
The hole is illuminated quite well in comparison to the corridor and the ramp. From this angle, I can just barely see massive cables. And as I approach, the steep ramp I climb turns into flat, smooth plating I had walked on in the first corridor. Just a little ahead, there is another large portion of the floor converted into a storm-drain to my right. It is nowhere near as expansive as the one at the base of the ramp, only about two squares of plating worth and not enough to reach the giant opening on the other side.
Looking to my left again, I realize just how large the opening in the plated wall is. Taller than three stories and just as wide, it dawns over me just what kind of equipment they deal with here on a day to day basis. Larger than any gate I dealt with previously, it towers over them in comparison.
Four massive pillars hold up the corners to gigantic squares of the dark metal plating the same size as the opening. Walking up to the edge and looking up and down leads me to believe that this is some sort of elevator, and peering down confirms my suspicions.
Far below at around 100 meters is a white and gray platform of similar size to the opening. The large cables reach down into the corners of the platform and wrap around it. There's nothing else down there, so I shift my gaze upwards. The cables reach very high up, so much so that the roof of the elevator shaft blurs slightly like the blue tint air casts on faraway objects.
Directly above me are small, long platforms made out of a dark gray metal, similar to the one I stand on.
I move away from the ledge and turn around, only to see another massive gate behind me. It’s familiar, and the labels on it remind me why.
[ CONTAINMENT ROOM ] [ DO NOT OPEN ] [ FLOODED ROOM ]
A gate that’s nearly identical to the one I had opened down the ramp, at the same size with labels painted in white. Laid against it is a skeleton I somehow didn’t notice before, still wearing the same clothes the person had worn before death. The shoulders of the white lab coat are brown with dried blood, the right side of the skull is totally shattered and likewise is missing his right arm.
I cautiously approach the skeleton, watching carefully for any bits of flesh that are still rotting. Once I confirm that the skeleton is somewhat safe to touch, I crouch down and rummage through the pockets of their coat and pants. After a bit, I end up with three objects in hand; an ID, displaying a normal brown haired man. His name and physical traits are listed, as well as a clearance level.
[ Max Boshcoff ]
[ 7/4/8599 Vayhil ] [ Brown hair, brown eyes, 5’8 / 171 cm ] [ Level: B ]
He’s from Vayhil… that’s quite a bit away from Entoria. Could MOTF have a secret Vayhil branch?
Well, that's not of my concern. I’ll be dead by the time I hear more about them.
On the back of the card was some sort of encryption pattern, probably used to access certain restricted areas. There's no DNA key listed, so I assume he doesn’t have access to anything of real monetary value.
The second object is a simple black watch without a clock. Instead, it holds an empty slot, where an object shaped like a coin may fit.
The third object is a black, metal coin, with a thin layer of gold on the side. While it may seem weird, I know what this object is. It’s a hologram recorder, capable of recording 3D holograms and displaying them. It’s relatively new technology, only about a couple of years old. Or maybe around 10 years at this point? I don’t know. That doesn’t matter now. What matters is that the files are intact.
I place the coin inside the watch and it begins to emit a faint blue glow from the tiny etching on the coin, or chip. A layer of bright blue light coats the exposed side, and it automatically turns on. I ponder how it has kept its battery life after all this time, but my question is answered as I feel a tight pull on my wrist where the chip is closest. It seems to be using spirit, or some other organic fuel.
A thin wave of light radiates from the glowing chip, and a simple, blue panel-type hologram is projected close to my face.
I click the button, and a slit on the side of the watch opens up and extends a little stick. From it, a simple, semi-transparent blue panel-type hologram is projected in front of me with white text.
I guess it isn’t using my spirit, judging by the colour.
The panel’s size is comparable to my torso, and as I have great eyesight I have to move it away from my face, extending my arm fully. The panel remains angled towards my face, and I read the white text.
[ DATA SLOT 1 - ORIGINATION TEST ] [ DATA SLOT 2 - EMERGENCY ORDER ] [ DATA SLOT 3 - CORRUPTED ] [ DATE SLOT 4 - VACANT ]
A pretty lucky haul.
From what I remember, these hologram recorder chips could only hold a singular recording. Even if one is corrupted and another is vacant, it’s still much more than anticipated. Besides, it gives better insight on technological progression. Or in these times, their advantage…
“Display slot 1.”
The panel shifts from blue to white as it transforms into a 3D projection of a box. The hologram is crystal clear in full colour, nearly identical to real life. As the projection begins, I see a familiar crimson haired woman alongside two others. A blue haired teenager and a crimson haired girl, probably Aurora’s little sister. Maybe around my age. They all wear that same pure white gown, sitting inside an expansive room with white metal plating.
The hologram starts playing and I can hear a soft male voice relay an order to one of them.
“23, destroy all targets using as instructed beforehand.”
Three dummy targets pop out from the ground on the far side of the room, each with a red and white target on each and every one of their heads. The projection shifts angles from the side to right behind them. The younger crimson haired girl stands up and walks a few steps forward before stopping at a red line.
Two large projections are on both sides of the long room, and begin counting down from 10.
10, 9, 8, 7…
The girl slowly raises her right hand, and the angle shifts again to a little ways infront of her from the walls. This angle feels like the window the researchers may be looking from. It lets me catch her expression mixed with distress and anticipation. In spite of this, her golden eyes reflect a sense of superiority.
…4, 3, 2 ,1–
She braces her shaking right arm with her left, but she can’t her anxiety as her legs visibly tremble.
> –GO–
The red and white targets on all three dummies light up, and she shouts the cast out loud.
“LØSLATELSE!”
Her voice is wobbly and she winces a bit before a massive, pure white beam of Spirit shoots out of her hand, aimed directly at the middle test dummy. There is visible recoil as she stumbles backwards, but manages to catch her footing. The pure white beam of energy reaches the target at the same time, and it disintegrates instantly from the sheer power of the attack. The beam blasts past the two other dummies and smashes against the white-plated back wall with tremendous force. There is visible wind pressure as 23 braces herself alongside Aurora and the blue haired boy.
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The blast wanes and the wind pressure subsides. When the dust settles, a large dent is clearly visible on the white plated wall. It’s not deep enough to pierce through the plating, but the attack certainly left a mark.
She raises her right hand toward the next target, and without a chant, another beam of white spirit is released from her palm. While not as devastating, the second Løslatelse is even faster as it nearly instantly zips towards the target with pinpoint accuracy. The dummy is pierced right through, and just like the first instance, it smashes against the back wall, but quickly exhausts its power. No dent is visible, but there is a scratch.
The crimson-haired girl is clearly exhausted, and breathing heavily as beads of sweat appear all over her face. But even so, she raises her right hand again. She lifts her head and the expression of distress is overcast by the determination in her golden eyes.
Without bracing her arm, she releases the final blast toward the last dummy. It’s a balance between the power and speed of the two other Løslatelse’s, but lacking the accuracy. It zips towards the last dummy, and just barely hits the outer, red edge of the target. The little part of the target it brushes up against is disintegrated, and yet again it smashes against the back wall. This time, a more intricate pattern of scratches is left behind.
“Subject 25, please step forward.”
The blue-haired teenager stands up and walks up to the red line while the golden-eyed girl slowly walks back to where she sat before, grasping her right hand tight.
I’m reminded of the stinging pain like peeled skin all over my right arm, but brush it off as the recording continues.
“Please proceed on the count of 10.”
Three holes appear under the wrecked dummies, and they all disappear in the darkness below. Three dummies with red and white targets pop out of the ground in their stead.
10, 9…
He raises his right hand, similar to the golden-eyed girl. Blue hair appears much calmer, yet a fire hidden behind his eyes.
The countdown ends, but unlike her, he remains silent while a royal blue beam of spirit is released from his palm. It’s much smaller, hitting the middle target but using all its energy to destroy the dummy.
He misses the second shot, and the disappointment is clear in his eyes. The third shot hits the left dummy, but misses the target. He tries again, and I notice he has exhausted enough spirit to be hit by the withdrawals of using lifeforce as fuel. A stream of blood falls from his mouth as he grits his teeth and releases a more aggressive beam at the left target. It hits the mark, and the dummy is disintegrated as his beam also smashes against the back wall just like the first white glowing beam.
Another royal blue beam is released from his palm, but it misses the right target. He's clearly extremely agitated, and two more beams are released in quick succession. Both miss the target, and another stream of blood pours from his mouth.
The golden-eyed girl is worried, but Aurora remains expressionless.
He charges up another shot, and the royal blue wave is released from his palm. But right as he does this, several massive gashes and cuts appear all over his arm, spewing blood all over the floor and his white gown.
The royal blue beam finally hits the last target, and his test ends. He falls on both knees, clutching his right arm.
Two men in white lab coats enter through a sealed door in the white plating. They both make a quick stride towards the blue-haired boy and practically drag him back through the way they came.
The wrecked dummies fall and are replaced by new dummies.
“Subject number 19, please step forward.”
When Aurora steps up, I can actually predict how her test will go. Since she's the Guardian of Light, I can assume that her technique of choice will be Light oriented, and this comes to fruition.
Three large blades of light manifest around her, each pointed at a different dummy. The second the targets light up, the three blades shoot out faster than the frame rate of the projection. The three dummies are all split in half in a millisecond, and the three blades of light are lodged deep into the back wall. All while this happens, Aurora maintains a stoic expression on her face, unrelenting and unchanging from the environment around her.
The file recording ends and pauses before turning back into panel format. A replay option is given to me, but I ignore it and switch over to the second file.
At the same time, I begin moving again up the second ramp with the hologram projector attached to my wrist.
File 2 begins playing as I begin climbing the ramp, the panel turning back into a 3D projection. The save file begins with a pop up, with a message written in big letters.
[ EMERGENCY ORDER ]
[ This is an emergency order from the head executive of Korguire Base. Please watch the following recording and follow special protocol. ]
The message closes automatically and shifts to a tough looking middle aged man sitting in front of the camera with a stern demeanor on his face and hands clasped together. It seems that he himself will relay the emergency order to the staff.
“The Originator test subjects have started a prison break. Contain them through any means necessary.”
He is not mincing words at all… They don’t even seem to think of the Originators as human. I’d assume carefully wording sentences would be helpful for this role, but it seems that doesn’t matter here. My upbringing makes it instinct for me, so I can’t really help it but word sentences as legal junk.
The ramp I’m climbing returns to flat ground as the hologram shifts from a 3D plane to a four-sectioned panel each displaying a different area. Every angle shows a different person or group of people. Each and everyone of their attire is recognizable to me– that simple white gown. It appears to have been a live feed of the subjects during the time of the prison break.
In the top left, a silver-haired teenage boy is running from several security guards as they all shoot at him without restraint. He is an imbuement type Originator, and can easily dodge most bullets and even block the ones that do hit. Each step he takes is quick and precise, and he is so light and his feet it’s like he's bouncing on the hard plated walls. He eventually makes it to the lift on a higher level than me and jumps down.
The top right shows a group of three kids, two boys and one girl led by Aurora running down a straight hallway with numerous doors. They all look younger than the golden-eyed girl. All of them wear an oversized backpack just as large as them. One of the boy's eyes gives off this blue glow. Even through the screen I can feel the sheer power that radiates off him and I can feel a shiver down my spine when his gaze shifts to the camera.
The bottom left shows 25, the blue-haired teenager alongside a platinum-blond haired teenage girl with blue eyes and wielding a large sniper. The glow it gives is all too familiar to me even through the screen– definitely the same kind of weapon Wielders bond with. They are accompanied by two adults, one male and one female both donning dark coats and wearing large backpacks.
Judging by their interactions with the subjects, they're probably working with the kids to help them escape.
There's just something so eerie about them though. The sniper Wielder and adults seem a tad bit too familiar to me, but I can’t put my finger on it. The four of them are in front of the corridor of gates, with battle stances on the ready.
The bottom right shows 23 and four others split into two groups. The golden-eyed girl is back to back with another dark cloaked adult, while three others are back to back a little ways away. The camera angle doesn’t really tell me what’s happening, but I assume they're surrounded by guards.
Even as all four perspectives keep running I scour each and every room I come across, but none of them strike me as anything special. Just more research room with average lab equipment and maybe a few inhouse indev machinery.
Maybe I’m doing something wrong here, but I can’t tell yet.
While I don’t find anything particularly interesting, the recording I’m looking at gets all the more intense. Solace isn’t invested in it at all, but I am.
> *BANGBANGBANG
The sniper Wielder seemingly shoots at a wall several times, and for a second it seems like it was an unnecessary move. But then, on the bottom right panel with 23, several guards which made it on screen start dropping like flies, blood shooting out of one side of their head. She realized that the walls were strong enough to withstand her shots so she used it to ricochet her bullets. The group of 5 immediately counterattacks less than a second after the bullet rain ends. It’s an overwhelming victory as they manage to incapacitate all of the guards who were petrified from the sight of their compatriots' brains splattered all over the walls. The group make a break towards the corridor of gates I entered from.
The silver-haired teen catches up to Aurora, so I can assume they're in the lower levels. This new group meets up with the sniper Wielder group from the corridor on the right, which I didn’t explore. The group of 5 makes it to the gates as well but on the left side, the direction I went. Some of them begin running down the white plated corridor while the few that stay behind seem to be taking a head count of sorts.
Suddenly, the sound of hydraulics echoes around them and the massive first massive gate begins closing ever so slowly. Some seem to panic but keep their cool enough to immediately run through the gate. As soon as they get past the first three gates, several droids and armed guards appear on the other end of the corridor and begin blasting at them with all kinds of weaponry. Bullets fly and blood is spilt as several of the subjects are hit by the bullets before they can take cover behind the dark gray metal surrounding lining the still opened gates. One person from the group of 3 from the bottom right panel– a gray-haired girl with pigtails, has a bullet passed through her head, killing her instantly. Her blood spills all over the plating.
I can see the utterly horrified expression on their faces as the girl's body is repeatedly shot over and over by stray bullets. The few who were injured hold onto their wounds as the rain of bullets begins to calm.
Right at this moment, 2 of them pop out from behind their cover; 23 and the silver-haired teen. As they run out into plain sight from opposite sides of cover, both activate their respective defensive techniques– Utstråling and Uknuselig. A large aura of white energy enveloppes 23 while at the same time the silver-hair’s veins glow platinum blue.
Another silver-haired girl pops out from the same side as golden eyes, and she hides behind her white aura while the three meet in the middle. 23 hides behind silver hair as her white glowing aura spreads around him and protects them both while he spreads his arms out as a final layer of defense.
Then, a deep purple energy pulsates in the shape of a wall in front of them. Every bullet that nears it slows down to a complete stop midair. The guards realize this and cease their fire, but right as they do, the bullets they had fired begin accelerating in their direction.
I’m shook, as I recognize this ability.
“The Guardian of Gravity…”
So… it fell into the hands of that silver-haired girl, huh…
I never thought Jami’s contractor would end up all the way here in the high mountains of Desolate Korguire, especially passing through the Dead Zone…
All of the subjects make a mad dash as soon as this happens and manage to make it to gate 11 before the guards and droids begin their second assault. They take cover again but each gate begins closing one after another behind them. The guards gradually stop firing and it seems that they’re trying the same method. However, the guards have a different weapon this time– or several. They have net launchers, white plated RPG’s, and one of the droids labeled ‘Elite N. 3’ charges energy into its hands.
Even so, the girl who was with Aurora runs forwards and throws her backpack quite the distance.
Her desperate shouts are nearly inaudible among the gunfire and incoming projectiles which I can guess to go along the lines of ‘King, please help us!’.
It opens midair and I see why it isn’t futile– an inactive Pasalana curled up into a fetal position. White scaly-skin, weird scaly-skin dog ears. It’s the one I encountered earlier. With stub-like arms and legs, you wouldn’t think it could be of any threat. But that’s before activation.
Faster than any of the speeding bullets and missiles, a cloud of smoke appears out of nowhere and spreads throughout gates 8#-10#. The guards still open fire, and the various weapons all unleash their might.
Unfortunately for me, the recording ends and a replay button pops up on the panel. It leaves me dazed for a second before I realize this. But man, right as it peaked it had to stop right there… Anyway, I can see if the corrupted file will open.
> *beep
The panel turns gray and a spinning buffer loading thing appears on the screen. But after waiting a while, not much progress is made.
Well, this will take a while.
I close the panel, but make sure the corrupted slot still loads while I search the facility.
Once again, I find another large ramp with ridges and an extremely expansive ceiling. Treading up the ramp is a little tiring, but I make it to the top to see the same large square-cut hole for the elevator. But something here changes. Normally, there would be a large metal gate on the inner wall with ‘containment room’ and ‘flooded’ labeled on it. Instead, there is a much smaller gate with no label on it.
It’s not the gargantuan size seemingly meant for a beast. Rather, it’s small to the point that it’s probably for human use.
So naturally, I immediately tear it in two.
I walk through the now destroyed metal gate to some kind of control room. The first thing I notice is a reinforced glass window at the back wall. The room is dark, but the luminescence of the green glowing water beyond the glass is enough light to make out what's inside.
It’s rectangular in shape and all over the room, control panels are lined up in rows all facing the massive window. I walk in the middle, which leads to a sort of central control panel which I walk up to and sit in that lonely chair.
In nigh perfect condition aside from a thin layer of dust, of which I wipe off in a couple of swipes from top to bottom. I attempt to boot the control panel by clicking a button on the top, and to my surprise, a simple loading bar lights up the screen. I wait patiently as the bar slowly fills. When it finishes loading, the screen opens to a message.
[ CLEARANCE LEVEL A OR HIGHER REQUIRED ]
Aww.
Higher than what I have, but still lower than I expected.
I was thinking that for a central control panel they’d need S level clearance just like at the ‘Infinite Labyrinth’ base, but it seems that the ‘Abyss in Olympus’ base doesn’t deem their inmates to be as dangerous as down south. Well, I guess that’s a compliment, so I’ll take it.
I move back around to the row of panels and boot up the nearest one. It works, just like the central panel.
[ CLEARANCE LEVEL B OR HIGHER REQUIRED ]
I place the side of the card with the key on the back and it processes the key. Once the panel accepts the key, I don’t expect the flood of blue and red nor for it to completely block the screen.
The lock screen opens and dozens of blue popups with messages written in red flood the screen before I can even process that the key worked.
Instinctually, I tap the X in the top right corner, but more pop ups keep appearing. After a couple of pop ups closed, I stop closing them and actually read the message. Almost all of the messages were exactly the same. And that this message wasn’t something I should have ignored. Each window read a simple line.
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Spawn of the Meteor Tundra has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNING: Decaying King has gained consciousness. ]
[ WARNI...
Decaying… King?
Meteor Tundra?
I lean over the panel but temporarily freeze in place, with my eyes glued to the screen and processing the possibility of a biological threat at hand.
Immediately, I run around the panel and up against the giant glass window. Peering into the gargantuan industrial storage tank, I anxiously shift my gaze from side to side and up and down. Giant metal chains hang from a ceiling I can barely see, and each individual chain link is nearly twice as large as me. Some hang freely while others curve from being tied to something. Two enormous beasts catch my attention, held within the green waters.
They’re both bound by the chains and seemingly unconscious. One is an Alpha White Reaper, the largest I’ve ever seen even since the Liberation War. The stronger the reaper, the longer their tail until they start resembling a Quetzecoatl or Oriental dragon. Its massive tail is wrapped with chains from top to bottom. This one… is close to becoming a King White Reaper.
A year ago, 6 months after our group's separation, Taios and I managed to find each other out here in desolate Korguire. Just the two of us, we ventured out to Sarlato city. There, we encountered that monster among monsters, and we were no match for it.
We parted ways after that– Taios traveled south while I stayed behind.
The second beast is a construct made of snow, with its form still maintained even in the waters of the facility. Its head was like a snow brick with six eyes positioned like the sixth side of a die. A disembodied golem, with each limb separated from its torso and tied by chains. Each limb has a metal plate where they would have been connected, which makes me think they were connected telekinetically or magnetically. Same thing. However, that’s not what’s so interesting about it.
On the direct opposite side of the tank, a gigantic dark metal sword is also chained, but only from the handle. When I look beneath it, I can see numerous broken and cut chains. It seems that the blade is so sharp that it cuts cleanly through steel.
This one must be the ‘Spawn of the Meteor Tundra’. I have not the slightest clue what the Meteor Tundra is, but it sounds intimidating.
But…
I don’t see the Decayed King.
“I–... !(*!@$ hav– $@$ NO–”
A static filled voice echoes throughout the silent room, but I know what it is when I feel the tug on my left arm and look down to see the hologram recorder on my wrist. It glows bright, and I hold out my left arm.
The hologram appears while it shifts in shape and colour, matching the tone of the dark plating which lines almost every corner of this facility. Bits and pieces of the recording are missing, leading to several literal holes in the holographic projection I’m seeing. The video quality is significantly lower at about 480p and frame rate below 30. Every audible sound constantly cuts out and all voices are static.
Loud footsteps and heavy panting echo from the recording, continuously cutting out.
The breathing becomes more desperate as the angle being recorded constantly moves up and down. I realize this to be someone's arm, the recording from the very same watch and chip I wear on my wrist.
“NO– !@$!% PLEASE %)!*^ M–Y LEGS ($@! MOVE!!)$!”
A young man, the same as the one who wore this watch, limply walks down a dark plated corridor, clearly exhausted from running or the sorts.
He reaches a ramp leading down, but stumbles on the edge and rolls down the span of the ramp.
Battered and bruised from such a fall, he gets up with an even more noticeable limp, clutching his arm.
He makes it halfway towards the other ramp, but a massive shadow is cast over him.
A roar, so egregiously loud that I have to cover both my ears booms throughout the room I stand in.
> *ROOOOOOOOAR
An ear shattering roar echoed throughout the control room. Solace starts flying all around the control room in a distressed manner, erratically zipping around around and above me.
Heavy footsteps shake the ground the researcher stands on, yet each and every step is completely clear of distortion.
That…
I immediately turn off the watch.
The thud of heavy footsteps reverberate throughout the control room.
While an even louder, more ferocious roar bellows throughout the facility, forcing me to cover my ears again.
> *ROOOOOOOAR
It appears… a king has awakened.
----------------------------------------
Data File: Aurora
Name: Aurora ( surname unknown )
Birth: ?/?/8601
Nationality/Race: unknown, unknown, human
Alias: Guardian of Light
Affiliation: None, unknown
Status: Dead ( ?/?/86?? )
Description: Crimson hair, pale skin, black eyes, 5’7-5’8 or 170-173cm tall, several scars on back
SC: Unknown
Stats:
This information should only be used when considering the roles in a squad.
Origination ( Imposition → GofLight )
Power - 4.5☆
Defense - ?☆
Speed - 5☆
Trap - 5☆
Skill - ?☆
Soul - ?☆
Notes: More info needed
1st Generation Originator
Transfusion technique: No
Body
Physique - ?☆
Fortitude - ?☆
Agility - ?☆
IQ - ?☆
Mental - ?☆
Notes: More info needed
File contribution:
Auraelus
Valose
Data file of the Northern Solace