LUCEM
Lxxix Chapter

Marbella said we should all get together, but Magenta was nowhere to be seen. The door we entered before was no longer in place, it was like it was gone, like it never was.

After a brief discussion we all disbanded back to their respective busies. The protective chamber fence is restored and the serenity is back.

I stood back to stare at that smooth, uncoated stone wall of wallpaper. At least I had been down the place for fifteen minutes before I checked my wrist which again emitted a soft blue light for a moment.

I looked back at the wall, sure that was where the door had been before. But as long as I stare at the wall, the door remains non-existent.

When I was with Magenta or Venus, I didn't have much flexibility to look around, but standing here gave me time to examine my surroundings freely.

A door, like it had just appeared on the side of dindinng when I turned my head unintentionally. I walked slowly and opened it. The passageway was very quiet, empty of anyone. There are long vertical bars under the feet where the floor should be, and I have stood here long enough to adjust to the water droplets and the unrelenting mechanical roars filling the background.

I glanced at my wrist again.

Glanced around the room.

The walls are not gray, as I thought. It turns out that it's dull white. Thick shadows make them appear darker than they really are and in fact, make this entire floor appear darker. The overhead lights are an unusual collection of beehives arranged along walls and ceilings. The oddly shaped lights spread illumination, throwing oblong hexagons in all directions, making some walls go pitch-black. I took a careful step forward, peering closer to the black rectangle I had previously ignored.

It was a passageway, I realized, entirely covered in shadows.

Suddenly I felt an urge to explore its depths, and I had to physically refrain from stepping forward.

My previous goal was here to find Magenta, at this door. I know it is impolite to explore or ask questions unless I am explicitly asked to explore or ask questions. My brain is arguing about norms.

My eyelids are shaking.

The heat pressed down on me, the fire like fingers digging into my mind. The heat crept into my spine, wrapping around my tailbone. And then it shot upwards, fast and powerful, forcing my eyes open. I was panting, circling.

Baffled.

Suddenly, it made sense that I should explore the dark passageway. Suddenly it seemed like there was no need at all to question my motives or the possible consequences for my actions.

But I only took one step into the darkness when I was aggressively pushed back. A girl's face peeked at me.

"Do you need anything?" she said.

I raised my hands spontaneously, and then I hesitated. I may not be able to hurt this guy without a reason.

He stepped forward. He was wearing a casual woman's outfit, and appeared to be unarmed. I waited for him to speak, and he didn't.

You're who?" I demand. "Who gave you the authority to be here?" The last intrusion incident has taught me a lesson in suspecting anyone I didn't know before.

“I'm Anna. I have authority everywhere.”

I dropped my hand.

Anna is the daughter of Venus and Magenta, Marbella once discussed this with me personally. I don't know what Anna looks like, so this girl might be a con. Then again, if I take a risk and I'm wrong—

I can be the most guilty and I have to take responsibility.

I looked around and saw nothing but darkness. My curiosity, and anxiety grew minute by minute.

I glanced at my wrist. A brief blue blink.

"Who are you?" she said.

Anna looked at me, her eyes watching me from head to toe.

I heard a blunt click, like the sound of something opening, and I turned around, looking for the source of the sound. There's no one. You've unlocked your message, Mars."

"What message?"

“Mars? Mars.”

Anna's voice changed. He suddenly sounded like he was moving. His voice echoed. I heard footsteps stomping on the floor, but it seemed so far away, it seemed like he was not the only one running.

“Mars, no much time,” he said. “This is the best I can do. I have a plan, but it's impossible. This message is in case of emergency."

“They brought troops from the valley of rats and owanna in this direction,” he said as he pointed towards the darkness. “I'm on my way to try and find you. But if I can't—”

His voice began to fade. The light that illuminated his face began to be troubled, almost like he was disappearing.

"Wait—" I said, extending a hand. "You are where"

My hand moved straight past him and I gasped. He has no form. Face illusion.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice starting to warp. "I'm sorry. This is the best I can do.”

As soon as his form evaporated completely, I pushed myself into the darkness, my heart pounding. I don't understand what's going on, but if the daughters of Magenta and Venus are in trouble, I have a necessity to look for her.

I knew that my disposition was more important, but that strange and familiar heat still pressed down on the inside of my mind, calming down the urge that told me to turn around. I feel grateful for that. I realized, a long time ago, that my mind was a strange mess of contradictions, but I had no more time to think about it.

This room is too dark for easy access, but I have observed before that what I once thought was a decorative indentation on the wall was actually an insert door, so here, here, instead of relying on my eyes, I used my hands.

I moved my fingers along the wall as I walked, waiting for a distraction to the pattern. The hallway is panjag, I expect there will be many doors to sort through, but there seems to be very few doors in this direction. Nothing is visible with touch or sight, at least. When I finally felt the pattern of the door I was familiar with, I hesitated.

I pressed both my hands against the wall, preparing to smash it if necessary, when suddenly a crack opened under my hand, as if it was waiting for me.

Expecting me.

I had moved to another room, my sense of alertness increased. A faint blue light pulsed along the floor, but other than that, the room was almost completely dark. I kept moving, and although I didn't need to use a weapon, I grabbed the gun tucked in my waist, there was a slight sense of security that came when I had that thing around my body. I walked slowly, my feet moving softly without sound, and followed the distant, pulsing light. As I moved deeper into the room, the lights began to flicker.

The overhead lights in the honeycomb pattern light up, opening cracks on the floor in an unusual slope of light. The dimensions of the spacious room began to form. I stared into the large dome-shaped room, into the empty water tank that filled the entire wall. There's an abandoned table, slanted chairs. Touch panels are stacked on the floor and tables, paper and binders are piled up everywhere. This place looks haunted. Slender.

But it was clearly once used completely

Safety glasses hung on a nearby shelf. Lab coat from the others. There was a large empty glass box standing upright in a seemingly random and disjointed location, and as I moved further into the room, it was, I saw a stable purple light radiating from somewhere nearby.

I'm around the corner, and that's where the source is.

The eight glass cylinders, each room-high and table-wide, are arranged in a perfect line, just across from the laboratory. Five of them contained human figures. Three at the end remained empty. Purple light came from within each cylinder, and as I approached, I realized that the objects were suspended in the air, bound completely by light.

There are three boys I don't know. A girl I don't know. The other

I stepped closer to the tank and gasped.

Anna!