WM [87] Bad Feeling About This

Fuyumi led the way into the first open doorway of the new hallway. As they stepped inside, the room illuminated automatically, revealing an observatory. Bjorn’s gaze was drawn to the massive window dominating one wall, offering a view of something. He closed the distance to finally understand what he was seeing.

The window overlooked a spiraling chasm that descended endlessly into the ground. The spiral appeared to be carved into the rock itself, winding deeper and deeper until its bottom vanished into darkness beyond the reach of their light. The sheer scale of the opening was staggering, more than a few hundred yards in diameter from their vantage point.

“Oh, I don’t like that,” Fuyumi muttered, stepping back from the glass with a shiver. “All of that is beneath the Chaos Lands. How is that even possible?”

“I didn’t know you were afraid of heights,” Tanisha teased with a small smirk.

“I’ve spent my whole life with solid ground under me,” Fuyumi retorted, her voice firm as she backed into the hallway. “And I intend to keep it that way. I’ll be out here when you’re ready to check the next room.”

Bjorn barely registered their exchange. His attention was fixed on the abyss below, his night eye saw through the darkness with ease. What the light didn’t show, his sight revealed in detail: enclosed metal bridges stretched across the vast expanse, connecting sections of the chasm’s walls. The spiral structure wasn’t just a mine or quarry.

Bjorn’s breath caught as he focused further down. He could make out clusters of metal structures, the unmistakable outline of buildings. This was no ordinary pit, it was a forgotten city buried in the abyss, hidden far below the surface.

“We’ve barely scratched the surface of this place,” Bjorn muttered.

“Oh that is not good,” Failsafe said. “We have to destroy the security remember or we will run out of time. If this place is that big, who knows how many of those golems there are.”

“Ehh
 you are right there could be thousands down there.” Bjorn said as his eyes widened. “If this facility is so deep there is a good chance that that orange corridor to the core goes much deeper too.”

“With how much we struggled against the Shard golem, we might have a problem. If the other anti-mage defences are that strong I doubt we can beat them at our current strength.”

“Well they are worth a lot of experience. A city’s worth of experience in fact.” Bjorn said.

“Big Man, come on.” Freja called.

Bjorn tore his gaze away from the chasm and followed her to the next room across the hall. It was a vast storage area, warehouse-sized with crates stacked high on multiple levels. Fuyumi allowed Tanisha to inspect a few of the containers. Most held mundane raw materials like metals, crystals, and geodes. The sheer volume was impressive, but nothing stood out as immediately useful.

“Doxy,” Tanisha asked, turning to the nearby terminal, “is there a catalog or manifest for these materials? What were they used for?”

Doxy responded immediately. “Query: The manifest can be accessed at the terminal. This storage room is the overflow for raw metals extracted during operations. These materials can be used for fabrication. Tokens needed: Zero.”

“Tokens?” Aurelius asked, arching a brow. “What’s that?”

Fuyumi chimed in. “I was wondering the same.”

“Query: Tokens are the assigned value for trade goods. All materials and services require tokens for access, except for basic necessities and rest areas. Tokens are earned through completion of assigned tasks,” Doxy explained. “Current available assignment
 error. The Site Manager has suspended all tasks. Emergency evacuation is in progress. Please proceed to the nearest exit.”

“So, it’s basically a currency,” Tanisha mused.

“Yeah, but everything we’ve done so far has been free,” Fuyumi noted. “And with the Site Manager long gone I doubt we will earn any.”

“Well, a room full of crates is interesting, but I doubt it’s what we’re looking for,” Aurelius said, heading for the door. “We can come back later if there’s anything worth taking.”

Bjorn hissed his agreement and trailed behind the swordsman. Fuyumi and Tanisha followed, and the group made their way to a stairwell at the end of the hallway. Deciding to go up first, they ascended to a single door at the top.

They prepared for an ambush. Bjorn and Aurelius in front, Fuyumi and Tanisha flanking the entryway. Tanisha placed her hand on the control panel. The door hissed and slid open, revealing a darkened room.

As expected, a barrage of fast-moving projectiles erupted. Aurelius deflected them with the flat of his blade, while Bjorn’s primana-infused scales harmlessly absorbed the impacts. The two sprang into action. Shadows enveloped Bjorn, rendering him invisible, while Aurelius blurred with supernatural speed.

The fight was swift and brutal. Within moments, the golems lay in ruins, and Tanisha activated the lights, illuminating the space.

The room stretched out before them, a single sprawling floor teeming with machinery. Conveyors and mechanical arms, untouched for countless years. Despite their age, everything was preserved in near-pristine condition, a testament to the advanced technology that created them. Some machines appeared mundane, industrial in nature, but others gleamed with intricate aetheric runescripts that caught Failsafe's attention.

“Some of those symbols were on buildings from your memories,” Failsafe said, his voice tinged with fascination. “And a few are strikingly similar to the formula used in the barrier that protected your hometown.”

“The Gate? I thought that was purely an aetheric construct. Why would these machines share the same designs?” Bjorn asked, his eyes narrowing. “This technology. If humans had it at one point, how did they lose it?”

“Well, with technomancy advancing, especially with devices like Tanisha’s communicator, mana-based tech doesn’t seem too far off,” Failsafe replied, swiveling his head to survey the room. “We’re probably a few centuries
 maybe millennia, behind this, but the foundation is being laid.”

“If we manage to secure this place, we could accelerate that progress exponentially,” Bjorn said.

“And if we fail, we’ll be too dead to care,” Failsafe quipped.

Bjorn chuckled dryly. “Hard to argue with that logic.”

Failsafe shifted the topic, his tone turning more serious. “Speaking of progress, have you had any more visions? I half-expected you to freak out when we saw the city, or the golems, or even this place.”

Bjorn sighed, his large frame settling onto the floor as the others examined the room. “Honestly, so did I. But no visions not since we entered the barracks.. My visions are getting less helpful, and we nearly got wiped out by a blade-armed golem. If I could talk or even just write I could explain myself to the others.”

“Well, converting spells is no picnic,” Failsafe said, as he bobbed the right most head. “And I’m still tinkering with the whole wind-to-sound magic concept. But once you can talk, are you going to tell Tanisha you’re a reincarnated soul in a True’s body? The whole Isin, and King of Chains past life?”

Bjorn hesitated, his heads swiveling in different directions as he contemplated. Partially to make sure that there weren’t any golems hidden amongst the machines but also to stall his answer.

“I’ve thought about it. With the memories I have, I’m technically twenty.” Bjorn said. “I recall flashes of my adulthood and my death, but nothing complete. I want to tell her, but
 what happens when I do? Especially when I tell her my hydra mother is coming to kill everyone.”

“Speaking of complications,” Failsafe said. “There’s something else you need to know. When you finally gain the ability to speak, you won’t be able to talk to them.”

Bjorn blinked, taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t actually know their language. I’ve been translating for you this whole time, but once you speak, I can’t translate in real time. You’ll still speak Angelia, our language. If you want to communicate, you’ll need to learn Valish and Muaian.”

Bjorn groaned, rubbing his snout. “Oh, great. I forgot about that. Guess you’re teaching me once we’re done here.”

“Oh, you’ll love having me as a teacher.” Failsafe’s unsettling grin widened. “I know all the words and some very creative curses I’ve been filtering out.”

Bjorn rolled his eyes but quickly rejoined the group as they reached the center of the floor. Several flat, industrial-scale devices dominated the space, imposing and alien. Unlike the smaller fabricators they’d seen in the barracks, these machines exuded power, every inch optimized for efficiency.

“What
 is this?” Aurelius asked, glancing at the others.

“Doxy! Aurelius’s question please,” Tanisha said.

“Query: This is the Main Floor Industrial Fabricator. This facility is designed to handle final construction of
 [DATA NOT FOUND]. In preparation for shipment to [EXPUNGED].”

“You guys understood that?” Aurelius scratched the back of his head, looking bemused.

“It is here to build something,” Fuyumi said with a shrug. “Let’s head to the lower floor. We need to destroy as many golems as possible before the day’s over.”

“Agreed,” Tanisha nodded, leading the way.

***

The lower floor was a mirror of the upper one, complete with a single door leading into an unknown space. The team quickly fell into formation, preparing for the next confrontation. Bjorn and Aurelius positioned themselves at the front, ready to charge as soon as the doors opened.

A sharp hiss filled the air as the door slid open, revealing a brightly lit chamber. Standing just a few feet inside was a solitary golem, motionless but unmistakably alert. Its blue eyes flickered to life, glowing with a vibrant energy. The construct was eerily human in appearance, with its polished porcelain-like frame and lifelike proportions. It even wore simple all white clothing. Only the faint buzzing of energy and the gleam of its jointed limbs betrayed its true nature. Unlike the Shard Golem from before, which wielded blades as part of its form, this one had twin swords sheathed at its hips.

Bjorn's sharp gaze scanned the room beyond, finding it empty of other threats, at least for now. Before he could process the situation fully, there was a sudden blur of motion. The golem hadn't moved—but Fuyumi had.

She darted forward with startling speed, positioning herself in front of Bjorn and Aurelius. Both men recoiled instinctively, startled by the unexpected action. Bjorn’s heightened senses flared as he detected a surge of aether in the air. Before him, the space in front of Fuyumi shimmered unnaturally. Her ice spear struck against the distortion with a sharp crack, revealing an invisible adversary.

“Tanisha, close the door!” Fuyumi barked, her voice cutting through the tension.

Without hesitation, Tanisha slapped her hand onto the terminal, and the door hissed shut. The shimmering distortion coalesced into a fully visible figure, an exact replica of the golem inside the chamber. It moved with blinding speed, using an Aetheric Flash Step to evade Fuyumi’s relentless attacks, before pivoting toward Tanisha in a deadly thrust.

Tanisha barely dodged the strike, the blade missing her by inches.

“Bjorn, I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Failsafe warned.

Bjorn didn’t need further prompting. He surged forward, jaws wide, aiming to bring down the construct before it could wreak more havoc. The golem seemed to have anticipated his move. As Tanisha retreated, the construct sheathed one of its twin swords and pressed a hand against the terminal.

To everyone’s shock, the door hissed open once more.

“Stop it!” Fuyumi shouted, redoubling her efforts, but it was too late.

Bjorn’s jaws slammed shut around the golem’s torso with a satisfying crunch of metal, but not before it plunged its aether-infused blade into the terminal. Sparks flew as the system shorted out, rendering the door inoperable. The terminal was damaged so they couldn’t close it again. The golem inside like its fallen counterpart vanished as the new assault began.