Whispers from the Depths
Click. I connected the neural link port and dropped from the mobile hangar into the blinding white expanse. The sealed tunnel lay abandoned amid the snowfields, strewn with halted heavy machinery everywhere.
Seraphiel, huh…
Aside from the test match I'd fought him in back at Eden, he was barely a presence in the game—just a few lines of dialogue from Gabriel and some simulation battles. An insignificant character.
His build was a standard mid-range fighter, right?
A Nexus with two rifles, a bazooka, and flares. Identification code: PRAY. No real presence, but still a ranked pilot. Higher than Gabriel, even.
For a guy like that to suddenly go missing…
Not just missing—he'd taken his Nexus and vanished. According to the Hermes Network broker, he'd launched without clearance, like he was possessed, and it had been a week with no contact.
Why's the Hermes Network handling this job, anyway?
Normally, his parent company, AAE, would. Some conflicting interests in the middle? Whatever. I didn't care. I stared at the gaping maw of Shaft 6, like a monster's open jaw.
What they were mining inside was some corporate secret—nothing confirmed.
Eh, most of that's loose internal secrecy anyway.
I could dig deeper if I wanted, but I wasn't curious. I scanned the frozen heavy equipment.
Come to think of it…
Shaft 6 was geographically near the northeastern Anatolia Peninsula, site of that disastrous failed experiment. Not as bad as facing A. Saber, but my head throbbed faintly here too.
Probably why they sealed the shaft.
I gazed a moment at the eerie, silent landscape, then entered the tunnel.
True to its name, the shaft featured multiple layered levels.
If you hadn't brought the penetration-specialized scan module, this would have been a hassle.
Tweaking the build before a mission is standard.
The entrance looked like a natural cave turned shaft—irregular, with unique formations intact. If I throttled down the boosters, I might even hear water dripping from stalactites.
Ping, ping—
No signals detected nearby….
Last known signal location, but no easy find. Initial scans showed nothing special.
I mapped the tunnel topography via scan and pushed deeper.
Rumble…
Once-bustling massive machinery. Giant platforms crisscrossed the shaft; entire cranes sat inside. Assembled in here, probably.
Not narrowing even this deep.
Felt more like they'd scanned from surface, found cavities, and started excavating. Natural cave-like scenes continued, diluting the enclosed feel.
Exo-frames have been standard for excavation units for ages. Whatever you're imagining, it won't get that narrow.
Got it.
Nexus-friendly? Good. Depth hit -700m.
Ping—
Nothing here either?
The shaft spiderwebbed deep underground. Hope Seraphiel hadn't veered off the main path—hated messy searches.
Nexus traces continue downward. Recommend tracking.
Traces?
Distinct generator scratches and standard Nexus impact marks detected on scan.
Handy. Trusting SIF, I pressed on. Deeper… ever deeper…
Far down. Then, fresh human traces.
People inside the shaft?
Nexus impact nearby. Seems it stopped here to rest before moving on.
Stopped long enough to rest and move? Must've fired a lot.
I headed to check the campfire remnants. Throttling boosters low, a nearby extractable data signal pinged.
What’s that?
Format suggests diary… or log remnants.
Hacked and read the extracted data.
Date's recent, but heavy corruption. Environmental factors?
Near Anatolia Peninsula. Lingering 'contamination' here. But accounting for that, I noticed it stronger now—and frowned.
That's weird.
Test site was surface far away… stronger down here? Mysterious.
…
I shelved it, read the hacked data. Context pointed to Seraphiel.
[……it's keeps…… echoing……. Ahead, surely it's there. But this unknown shaft keeps…… swallowing me, the thought won't leave my head. Me…… but miners too get gripped by fear of collapse……. Just from being far from surface… maybe. First, from here…… I go.]
Heavy corruption, fragmented. But gist clear.
Drawn by something echoing in the shaft?
No radio signals caught… if 'sound,' only the contamination.
SIF paused thoughtfully, then spoke.
I'll analyze ambient noise including contamination, just in case.
Good.
Saved the log to system, resumed.
Artificial structures thinned. Cranes gone. Fewer exo-frames, excavators. Deepest core ahead.
Rabe, new data.
Gliding silent cavity, another corrupted log. Same format.
[……it's calling. Surely…… calling me. From the shaft's end…… calling!]
Short. Deranged tone.
Seraphiel lost it?
Contamination rising. Doesn't make sense… contamination source inside? Then what about Anatolia?
No idea.
Might be this brain-prodding contamination. Wandered long, exposed—brain damage possible.
Whatever's at the end…
If Seraphiel lived, not intact.
Saved second log, descended further.
This shaft…
Down, down. No narrowing. Natural cave this vast? Depth: 2000m.
No artificials left.
Barren vista. Flickering lights cast eerie shadows. Mist crept up from below. Deep underground, yet felt like night sky.
Soon.
Third… data, Rabe.
SIF's electronic voice, on cue. Contamination matched A. Saber battlefield intensity. Shaft's registered depth end—another log.
Date's yesterday.
Caught up already?
Week missing, plus travel—means he passed here while I flew yesterday.
Read data.
[No doubt… ahead…… see again……!!]
Elated tone. Confirmed: Seraphiel mad.
Rabe, contamination heavy. You okay?
Hm? Yeah…
Head stung, but fine. Not week-trapped like him.
…Might fight.
Saved third, drove toward end.
Flash—
Scan silhouette first, then radar.
Nexus confirmed, Rabe.
Twilight shadow: standard frame. Armor scratched in lights.
Hiss—static, then voice.
"You… ah."
Seraphiel's voice. Remembered from test match. Grating now.
"Rabe! It's you!"
Battle ready.
"Back before me, you shameless bitch! Fine, I'll rip you apart here!!"
Mad scream, Seraphiel charged.