It was pointless. No, it wasn’t pointless, that wasn’t the thing with it. I didn’t want to use the Prophecy, I wanted to avoid it. It was a weird feeling of intuition, but my mind told me that if I waited I would surely be rewarded. They were the words of the emperor that kept me from using the Prophecy. The second day would bring much greater rewards, but it was also because Glim had confirmed it too. I was inclined to trust Glim on system related matters at least.
I wanted to wait.
I fiddled with the crystal a bit more. It was tempting, anything to get stronger and leave this place. I was stuck. I knew it, just a single thought was all it took, and in retrospect there was no way I could climb back that ramp, not without killing the Guardian King at least, and who knows if the Queen would come after me. The entire place reeked of danger, but at the same time, there was still a timer to account for.
[Incubation Period: 3 days 4 hours 23 minutes]
There was a little over a day before the so-called second round would start. But even after, after the second round, assuming nothing happened I would stay stuck here.
I thought about it some more, before truly wondering.
What happens after the time runs out?
[The New World is created, and the Skirmish space ceases to be.] Glim answered solemnly.
“Would I be teleported out of here if I wait?” I asked weighing my options, or rather the worst case scenario.
Glim waited, floating by my side for a few seconds.
[Yes…] It took another second to continue. [But, that would be a waste of your potential Blair, among SGAs, you’re what we consider—] It trembled. [Uh oh, classified information! But you’re important, however should your standing change then… Well, you know.]
“I wouldn’t be important?”
Glim bobbed as if affirming it, but it didn’t reply. I simply moved the crystal around in my hands for some time. Glim finally decided to speak.
[I ultimately think you’ve done well. The things outside are… Strong. Though keep in mind that this is the absolute worst case scenario, look for silver linings. For instance, you have found a safe spot in this place!]
I slowly nodded, and pondered once more. Glim was right, I was safe for now, worst case scenario I got absolutely nothing for three days and that was the end of it. I wouldn’t starve to death in three days, and I could also survive without water even if I was tired.
I was in a safe space. I relaxed hearing the raging sounds outside, they had become a lot quieter, probably because the Guardians were done fighting. There was no notification about either of them dying, or any notifications about more things dying. I couldn’t remember if I had actually attacked either of them, but maybe now they were gone.
Some more minutes passed as I breathed to myself. Finally deciding to explore what would be my new living space. Aside from the radiant lamp that was Glim, the place was— my gaze stopped on what seemed to be a four legged animal, or its corpse? Its flesh was dried, and it wore something akin to a backpack. My eyes darted some more and found what seemed to be a sword but its hilt was curved outwards, the blade leaning onto the strike rather than being completely horizontal. There were a few scratches on the nearby wall, and I found what seemed to be a different tunnel, just as small as the one I had entered into.
What? I stood up, stowing away the Prophecy and approached the corpse. Inquiring did absolutely nothing, as I arrived I got a closer look, it was similar to a Loa Vulpe, but its body much more lean and refined, albeit dried. Its fur was practically destroyed, but that wasn’t what I found weird. It wore small leather boots, and red clothing around its body, a backpack sat atop its torso. I approached it fully knowing it was dead, and simply scanned its body, finding nothing unusual.
Then I turned to look at its backpack, and feeling a bit unsure about it, I prodded the button it had open. In an instant I saw the contents of it. The first thing I saw was a water pouch, and the other thing was a stick with a glowing mana stone atop of it. It gave me a bit of pause, but it was the same kind as in the cave. However, the stick itself was highly ornamented. I looked at the animal once more but made nothing of it. It had a brown fur with auburn spots, a small but delicate snout, and its legs seemed strong yet nimble, it had a small tail though its body had long dried.
I turned to look at the sword, and found the grip a bit weird. But it was usable, so I put it at my waist. It was weird to desecrate the corpse of someone, but alas. If the animal could be considered someone. I wanted to call it a monster, but it was smaller than a Loa Vulpe or anything that I had encountered. I turned to the cave wall, momentarily ignoring the backpack. Why had it been scratching? The question floated in my mind as I looked at the indented, scratched stone.
The scratches seemed almost rhythmical, with normal separations and followed downward lines, there seemed to be a sense to them, and then. A word entered my mind.
Exploration—
I paused, once more examining the scratches and every single time I read them from top to bottom I would translate them to language. Is it a written language? I took a deep breath and began reading, the scratches continued for a few meters so it must have had a lot of things to say.
Exploration Report:
I was transported here against my will, I don’t know what is happening. A technological god, the ones of our legends spoke, the one we thought lost. Now I am here, stranded, alone. I don’t know who will read this, but this is a phenomenon. It’s been close to a day, and I barely managed to enter this small chamber I sensed through the wall.
The Suvia Ants I had been investigating grew in size and became obsessed with the Fractalite deposits and their unique energy, oddly enough they cannot sense them unless said energy is released. They seem to be fighting some type of worms for them. Things are awry and chaotic.
Someone that had been initiated into the system? They were the ones to find this chamber?
Exploration Report 2:
Killing a Suvia Ant past its larva stage has proven to be impossible. Their bodies are highly resilient and have evolved past what we considered their limits. They seem to be obsessed with Fractalite, and so long as one ignores it they remain docile.
My thoughts changed reading the second report. It was someone familiar with the ants, from the same world as them.
Exploration Report 3:
I might just die. I dug to the closest chamber to mine and found a water source, but unfortunately food is out of the question. The very thing I need to survive, out of reach. Should I try to even touch it all the ants will turn on me and kill me...
I relaxed a bit knowing I could find water nearby, but continued reading just in case.
Exploration Report 4:
I forgot the timer. 2 days have passed. I am dying. I can tell I am running out of Fractalite, my body is no longer responding properly nor can I use my tools. Things are awful outside, the Suvia Queen has begun to fight a gigantic worm, one that spews ice and freezes everything. They seem to be vying for the Fractalite deposit on the ceiling. I theorize that destroying it could end their battle, but it might aggravate it as well. Based on my scans, destroying the Fractalite deposit would cause a chain collapse of the ceiling, the main chamber would be exposed to the unknown elements outside. That is all.
I committed the information to my mind as I kept reading on, the scratches after ‘that is all’ became slightly less clean and unkempt, but there was clear effort put into them.
RePorT FivE:
ThE GoD sPEAks of Stars, I Wonder What it means? WhaT will come Off the Ants ANd WorMs? I Really Hope ThEy Go Away By The ShIfTS in FracTal eNerGy.
This was about a day ago. And then the scratches returned to normalcy. But the contents made my heart pause.
Final Report:
I don’t wanna die… I don’t want to die. I am sorry everyone. I am sorry that I couldn’t go to your birthday party, Head Director. Mom, Dad, I am sorry for becoming a researcher, I just wanted to make you proud… I never thought it would spell the end of me, perhaps I should’ve listened to the both of you and worked in herding…
Sorry… I don’t think I can keep writing these with the Fractalite remaining in my body. I just hope someone reads these, this is my last one. If someone is reading this, I hope you can survive. This place is hell. Buried deep underground. An unstable structure that just gets worse with the passing time. Sorry I couldn’t help in the end… Sorry. — Lara
I stood there as I finished reading. Looking at the scratches there was an uncomfortable feeling welling up on me. I looked at the animal, no, the one that called herself Lara. An explorer from another world that had been stuck here without food, someone that had no hopes to survive and starved to death.
How would I feel in her situation?
Helpless. Desperate. Crazed. A sigh left me as I looked over her body, and made my decision. I was going to give her a burial somehow. Suddenly, taking her things felt a lot less appealing to me, I didn’t really need the sword so I decided to leave it. The pouch was loaded with water, and the stick with the rock was unknown to me.
[Wand (Basic)]
I decided to leave it with her possessions, only taking the pouch to transport water in the future. I had been relying on water streams so far. Still, things had gotten a bit more complicated. I shook my head and decided to check out the other chamber, in which I had to crawl through once more.
A room greeted me, it was just as big as the last one, the ceiling sparkled like purple starlight and the walls were uneven. But the main highlight was a small pond covering a quarter of the room, crystals littered its bottom like an ethereal nebula of different shades of pink. The entire atmosphere was almost calming, the sounds of battle had become nothing but a distant memory.
My body relaxed, and the pain I was feeling suddenly became a lot more prominent. I was tired. I didn’t want to end up like Lara. I didn’t want to hide here, but I wanted a small break. Suddenly I became aware of how filthy I was, how I hadn’t washed myself for well over a week, how I had been running through mud, blood, and sweat alike. I stared at the pond, and sighed. I needed a small break. I was always in a rush, everything had been happening in the blink of an eye.
I ran my hand through my cloak, feeling the silk like fabric. It was clean, but I wasn’t. I had no boots to speak of, only a glove and a pauldron that frankly just covered my clavicle. My rags barely covered my breasts and my pants were closer to underwear at this point. Slowly, I stripped, making sure to not damage what was already damaged. Mostly my underwear.
A sigh left me as I scooped a bit of water, my hands were bloody, and rashes ran throughout my body, even in unexpected places such as my thighs or arms. I drank the water, savoring the oddly sweet taste. I relished in the feelings of the cave, the dampness, the water, and my cold sweat. As soon as I was aware of my filth, shivers ran through my body, my skin even felt sticky to the touch.
Ha… What kind of life had I been living?
It was pointless. No, it wasn’t pointless, that wasn’t the thing with it. I didn’t want to use the Prophecy, I wanted to avoid it. It was a weird feeling of intuition, but my mind told me that if I waited I would surely be rewarded. They were the words of the emperor that kept me from using the Prophecy. The second day would bring much greater rewards, but it was also because Glim had confirmed it too. I was inclined to trust Glim on system related matters at least.
I wanted to wait.
I fiddled with the crystal a bit more. It was tempting, anything to get stronger and leave this place. I was stuck. I knew it, just a single thought was all it took, and in retrospect there was no way I could climb back that ramp, not without killing the Guardian King at least, and who knows if the Queen would come after me. The entire place reeked of danger, but at the same time, there was still a timer to account for.
[Incubation Period: 3 days 4 hours 23 minutes]
There was a little over a day before the so-called second round would start. But even after, after the second round, assuming nothing happened I would stay stuck here.
I thought about it some more, before truly wondering.
What happens after the time runs out?
[The New World is created, and the Skirmish space ceases to be.] Glim answered solemnly.
“Would I be teleported out of here if I wait?” I asked weighing my options, or rather the worst case scenario.
Glim waited, floating by my side for a few seconds.
[Yes…] It took another second to continue. [But, that would be a waste of your potential Blair, among SGAs, you’re what we consider—] It trembled. [Uh oh, classified information! But you’re important, however should your standing change then… Well, you know.]
“I wouldn’t be important?”
Glim bobbed as if affirming it, but it didn’t reply. I simply moved the crystal around in my hands for some time. Glim finally decided to speak.
[I ultimately think you’ve done well. The things outside are… Strong. Though keep in mind that this is the absolute worst case scenario, look for silver linings. For instance, you have found a safe spot in this place!]
I slowly nodded, and pondered once more. Glim was right, I was safe for now, worst case scenario I got absolutely nothing for three days and that was the end of it. I wouldn’t starve to death in three days, and I could also survive without water even if I was tired.
I was in a safe space. I relaxed hearing the raging sounds outside, they had become a lot quieter, probably because the Guardians were done fighting. There was no notification about either of them dying, or any notifications about more things dying. I couldn’t remember if I had actually attacked either of them, but maybe now they were gone.
Some more minutes passed as I breathed to myself. Finally deciding to explore what would be my new living space. Aside from the radiant lamp that was Glim, the place was— my gaze stopped on what seemed to be a four legged animal, or its corpse? Its flesh was dried, and it wore something akin to a backpack. My eyes darted some more and found what seemed to be a sword but its hilt was curved outwards, the blade leaning onto the strike rather than being completely horizontal. There were a few scratches on the nearby wall, and I found what seemed to be a different tunnel, just as small as the one I had entered into.
What? I stood up, stowing away the Prophecy and approached the corpse. Inquiring did absolutely nothing, as I arrived I got a closer look, it was similar to a Loa Vulpe, but its body much more lean and refined, albeit dried. Its fur was practically destroyed, but that wasn’t what I found weird. It wore small leather boots, and red clothing around its body, a backpack sat atop its torso. I approached it fully knowing it was dead, and simply scanned its body, finding nothing unusual.
Then I turned to look at its backpack, and feeling a bit unsure about it, I prodded the button it had open. In an instant I saw the contents of it. The first thing I saw was a water pouch, and the other thing was a stick with a glowing mana stone atop of it. It gave me a bit of pause, but it was the same kind as in the cave. However, the stick itself was highly ornamented. I looked at the animal once more but made nothing of it. It had a brown fur with auburn spots, a small but delicate snout, and its legs seemed strong yet nimble, it had a small tail though its body had long dried.
I turned to look at the sword, and found the grip a bit weird. But it was usable, so I put it at my waist. It was weird to desecrate the corpse of someone, but alas. If the animal could be considered someone. I wanted to call it a monster, but it was smaller than a Loa Vulpe or anything that I had encountered. I turned to the cave wall, momentarily ignoring the backpack. Why had it been scratching? The question floated in my mind as I looked at the indented, scratched stone.
The scratches seemed almost rhythmical, with normal separations and followed downward lines, there seemed to be a sense to them, and then. A word entered my mind.
Exploration—
I paused, once more examining the scratches and every single time I read them from top to bottom I would translate them to language. Is it a written language? I took a deep breath and began reading, the scratches continued for a few meters so it must have had a lot of things to say.
Exploration Report:
I was transported here against my will, I don’t know what is happening. A technological god, the ones of our legends spoke, the one we thought lost. Now I am here, stranded, alone. I don’t know who will read this, but this is a phenomenon. It’s been close to a day, and I barely managed to enter this small chamber I sensed through the wall.
The Suvia Ants I had been investigating grew in size and became obsessed with the Fractalite deposits and their unique energy, oddly enough they cannot sense them unless said energy is released. They seem to be fighting some type of worms for them. Things are awry and chaotic.
Someone that had been initiated into the system? They were the ones to find this chamber?
Exploration Report 2:
Killing a Suvia Ant past its larva stage has proven to be impossible. Their bodies are highly resilient and have evolved past what we considered their limits. They seem to be obsessed with Fractalite, and so long as one ignores it they remain docile.
My thoughts changed reading the second report. It was someone familiar with the ants, from the same world as them.
Exploration Report 3:
I might just die. I dug to the closest chamber to mine and found a water source, but unfortunately food is out of the question. The very thing I need to survive, out of reach. Should I try to even touch it all the ants will turn on me and kill me...
I relaxed a bit knowing I could find water nearby, but continued reading just in case.
Exploration Report 4:
I forgot the timer. 2 days have passed. I am dying. I can tell I am running out of Fractalite, my body is no longer responding properly nor can I use my tools. Things are awful outside, the Suvia Queen has begun to fight a gigantic worm, one that spews ice and freezes everything. They seem to be vying for the Fractalite deposit on the ceiling. I theorize that destroying it could end their battle, but it might aggravate it as well. Based on my scans, destroying the Fractalite deposit would cause a chain collapse of the ceiling, the main chamber would be exposed to the unknown elements outside. That is all.
I committed the information to my mind as I kept reading on, the scratches after ‘that is all’ became slightly less clean and unkempt, but there was clear effort put into them.
RePorT FivE:
ThE GoD sPEAks of Stars, I Wonder What it means? WhaT will come Off the Ants ANd WorMs? I Really Hope ThEy Go Away By The ShIfTS in FracTal eNerGy.
This was about a day ago. And then the scratches returned to normalcy. But the contents made my heart pause.
Final Report:
I don’t wanna die… I don’t want to die. I am sorry everyone. I am sorry that I couldn’t go to your birthday party, Head Director. Mom, Dad, I am sorry for becoming a researcher, I just wanted to make you proud… I never thought it would spell the end of me, perhaps I should’ve listened to the both of you and worked in herding…
Sorry… I don’t think I can keep writing these with the Fractalite remaining in my body. I just hope someone reads these, this is my last one. If someone is reading this, I hope you can survive. This place is hell. Buried deep underground. An unstable structure that just gets worse with the passing time. Sorry I couldn’t help in the end… Sorry. — Lara
I stood there as I finished reading. Looking at the scratches there was an uncomfortable feeling welling up on me. I looked at the animal, no, the one that called herself Lara. An explorer from another world that had been stuck here without food, someone that had no hopes to survive and starved to death.
How would I feel in her situation?
Helpless. Desperate. Crazed. A sigh left me as I looked over her body, and made my decision. I was going to give her a burial somehow. Suddenly, taking her things felt a lot less appealing to me, I didn’t really need the sword so I decided to leave it. The pouch was loaded with water, and the stick with the rock was unknown to me.
[Wand (Basic)]
I decided to leave it with her possessions, only taking the pouch to transport water in the future. I had been relying on water streams so far. Still, things had gotten a bit more complicated. I shook my head and decided to check out the other chamber, in which I had to crawl through once more.
A room greeted me, it was just as big as the last one, the ceiling sparkled like purple starlight and the walls were uneven. But the main highlight was a small pond covering a quarter of the room, crystals littered its bottom like an ethereal nebula of different shades of pink. The entire atmosphere was almost calming, the sounds of battle had become nothing but a distant memory.
My body relaxed, and the pain I was feeling suddenly became a lot more prominent. I was tired. I didn’t want to end up like Lara. I didn’t want to hide here, but I wanted a small break. Suddenly I became aware of how filthy I was, how I hadn’t washed myself for well over a week, how I had been running through mud, blood, and sweat alike. I stared at the pond, and sighed. I needed a small break. I was always in a rush, everything had been happening in the blink of an eye.
I ran my hand through my cloak, feeling the silk like fabric. It was clean, but I wasn’t. I had no boots to speak of, only a glove and a pauldron that frankly just covered my clavicle. My rags barely covered my breasts and my pants were closer to underwear at this point. Slowly, I stripped, making sure to not damage what was already damaged. Mostly my underwear.
A sigh left me as I scooped a bit of water, my hands were bloody, and rashes ran throughout my body, even in unexpected places such as my thighs or arms. I drank the water, savoring the oddly sweet taste. I relished in the feelings of the cave, the dampness, the water, and my cold sweat. As soon as I was aware of my filth, shivers ran through my body, my skin even felt sticky to the touch.
Ha… What kind of life had I been living?
