1033. The Waiting Room
They were closer now.
The bottom of the floating fortress blanketed the skies like a giant storm cloud. It stretched as far as the eye could see and plunged the world into darkness.
Yet, the faint light of the star shone through the structure. It guided them deeper into the concrete plains, and before long, they were plunged into near total darkness. The blue hue of the fog surrounded them till they could no longer see past 50 ters, and within the fog they noticed passing humanoid silhouettes.
The sound of slashing, and clashing steel accompanied the figures. Frost could see their souls and Light, aning they were not Impuritas.
Additionally, the strings overhead gave them away.
“Act X Personnel. They don’t seem to be concerned about us. Wait, there are still monsters here?” Frost was surprised that monsters were able to reach this far into the Nex galopolis. “What’s Act X doing with a purgatory this deep inside of their territory?”
“Training.” Orth answered somberly, and Thras continued: “As per the Script requires. Acolytes surround us in the Waiting Room. The place you call Sector String J – Jack and the expanse we traverse is the Waiting Room.”
“… Never heard of it.” Res said. “Nav doesn’t know either. Must not be a common term.”
Indeed. Nav didn’t have any information about it. Act X had sohow managed to keep the na and function of this place a secret, even to the Nexus.
Raoul lit a cigarette and answered for them.
“Purgatory is the sa way we put it.” He deeply inhaled. “The Scripts decide how long you wander for till it’s your turn. Never been here personally. But I’ve heard of it from a Construct Herald. Wandered, got taken up, and ca out admitting he didn’t want to be human anymore.”
“Then the purpose of this place is to wear people out?” Frost asked.
“Act X uses it as a training ground for Acolytes, soon-to-be Heralds, and people wanting to get into the better parts of the City of Strings. From what I know, past this is a whole sprawling city. The most devout to the String live there. Must look like hell.”
“Any idea how long we’ll be waiting for?” Frost approached him.
“No idea. I’m telling you everything I’ve heard. It’s our turn when it’s our turn. Not sure for what, but Act X is smart. They’ll bring us straight to their Grand Reception. Different from the Stage Narrators. These big wigs will be close to the Living Loom. Not sure if they’re the only big wigs they have. Makes you appreciate the simplicity of Justica Arm’s hierarchy.”
Their obfuscated operations irritated Frost. But then again, Act X was a pillar of the Nexus, and their secrecy was likely what had kept them in majority control over the Fate chanism until she arrived.
Frost wanted to believe there was a better way to operate Act X and the Fate chanism. If possible, bringing the Fate chanism into the Nexus could perhaps solve everything. It was optimistic, but she had always wondered why the Fate chanism hadn’t been brought in when it was right next to the Nexus.
“I don’t believe anyone knows who to move an Advent. The Eternal Library happened to be at the sa site as the Nexus.”
Yeah. That’s true. It doesn’t help that it can also be accessed outside of the Nex galopolis.
More and more Act X personnel passed by. The groans of monsters subsided, and they were replaced with the murmurs and recited lines of stories that were vaguely familiar to Frost.
“Roo! Roo! Where art thou Roo!” A woman called from what seed to be a window judging from the shape of the silhouette.
Are there buildings behind the mist?
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” A man said. Following him were multiple Missionaries dragging their colossal swords over their shoulders, the tip scraping along the concrete.
“Sing to of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns, driven ti and ti again off course!” The sound of thunder broke out, and they could feel the sprays of water coming from the direction of the reciter.
Suddenly, the silhouette of a ship five tis larger than the Leviathan – spanning easily nearly a kiloter in length alone – groaned with a whale-like cry as it sped ahead.
“What the– we’re on dry land, aren’t we!?” Cer shouted.
“We absolutely are! There’s no lake or coast within the next few hundred kiloters from the Nex galopolis! The coastline is nowhere near where we are!”
It reeled its front up as it crashed into imaginary waves before slamming down.
“JOY! HOLD ONTO JURY! GRAB THE TRIPLETS AND ALCINA!” Frost called out at the top of her lungs.
“JOY! Hold onto mama!”
“Juwy!?
“Alcina! Orth! Thras! So bones might break, so you better hold onto like your life depends on it!” Cer shouted.
“Orth. Thras. Please wear this.” Res spoke to them calmly and provided jackets made of paint. “It’ll keep you safe.”
Invisible waves rocked the Leviathan, causing its front to rise until it was nearly vertical. Frost slamd her fist into the deck to anchor herself as she ford a [Starlight Barrier] to prevent the others from falling. It wasn’t necessary, since they all had the sa idea.
“Raoul! Did your friends tell you about this part!?”
“Never heard of this! Tsk. Act X…”
“Acedia! Will the Leviathan be ok!?” Frost shouted at an Acedia who had spread her body thinly across the deck and now resembled a giant fungal growth with thousands of eyes and teeth.
She replied with many distinct voices.
“Yes (partially) (Inevitably) (Surely). Your blood (Sacred) (Untainted) (Beloved) will help us fuel a miniature Reality Replicator (Impure) (Thief) (Material) to repair. Icara (Icaraus) (Wingless) (Witch) is an expert in this regard!”
The Leviathan, after twenty seconds of remaining vertical, slamd down and they suddenly found themselves sailing across an ocean.
“W-w-w-w-w-w-w– WHERE THE HELL ARE WE!?” Cer exclaid. “Frost! Permission to scout ahead!?”
“Stay here! I think reality is warping around us. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able find your way back!” Frost dashed to the side of the train and doused the ocean with a stream of flas.
It vaporized the water, forming a hole that was tens of ters deep. It was well beyond the height of the Leviathan, yet it did not reach the bottom.
“We’re… floating? But this isn’t a ship. How on Earth…?”
Frost was stumped. They hadn’t received a ssage to tell them whether this was the effect of a Corrupted Zone, or Beholder Marionette’s powers. Nor did it seem like it was the effect of the Fate chanism itself.
Sothing else was at play here.
“Waves! Breaking them down!” Cer sent out an [Electric Fang], only for it to phase through. “… What…? Hey, Frost–!”
“It can’t be… Nav… If this isn’t a Corrupted Zone, or anything like that…!”
“I believe that is what is happening currently.”
These were Nav’s last words before water phased through the Leviathan. Frost attempted to burn through it like last ti.
It did not work again.
“Why– Gah! JOY! JURY!”
It swallowed them whole, and they were plunged into total darkness.
The only light Frost could see as she desperately thrashed to find Joy and Jury’s hands was a warning.
//////// < EXTRE WARNING > ////////
< You are approaching a Gift of a Star >
* * *
???
< “Apologies, Amalgam. The Fate chanism and the Moirai aren’t directable per say. But, fear not, what you see will not physically affect you!” >
< “I must say! It was a surprise that you arrived through the Waiting Room! You should be able to hear now that you’re close to the Fate chanism!” >
< “Ahem. Amalgam?” >
< (Aside) “Oh dear.” >
< “Your group was taken into the Audition, weren’t they?” >
User Comments
0 comments from readers