Eternal Elysium

I remained silent as my gaze awkwardly shifted away from Chris.

I coughed trying to change the topic and said with a joyful voice.

"Oh, hey, Chris. You are okay! Nice, isn't it? The plan worked perfectly."

Chris, hearing my cheerful voice, snapped back.

"Oh, did it? How could I know when my last memory was of sparks flying around?"

He grumbled slightly and crossed his arms with an irritated look on his face. The torch light flickered briefly as I moved my gaze around the room before glancing back at him.

I knew he was not mad at me. Rather, Chris, who left, was confused about what actually had happened. After all, how could he be mad when he wasn't even truly aware about what had gone by after his time froze?

His eyes gave a curious look but at the same time showed a brief moment of hesitation on what should be asked and what shouldn't.

Seeing this I sighed and scratched the back of my head and took a step forward.

I should be a little nicer… We would be working together after all.

Keeping secrets. Finding new mysteries and getting no answers has currently blinded me.

The answers, even though I have found them till now are so far and out of reach that I am scared of never reaching them.

Chris might be feeling something similar to what I always do.

The fear of the unknown.

And the thirst to still reach it.

"Chris, are you aware that the last attack by the monsters was not dodgeable? Maybe I could have if I gave it my best. But for you, that's not possible, is it?" I asked with a confident gaze.

Chris' eyes narrowed slightly, the gears turning inside his head before he nodded.

"Yes, I am aware of that. But why do you ask?" Chris blurted out as if asking the obvious question.

I smiled slightly.

"Yes, it's great to know you are aware of that. I think you are also aware of my ability to stop enemies."

Chris frowned and again nodded but not before asking aridly.

"I do and I also know you used that ability on me. That's why I couldn't remember what happened during the time you stopped me, right?"

"Exactly but there is more to it. In that state you can't be harmed. That's why I used you as a shield since I didn't bring a real one with me. Think of this information as a payment for helping me, or more like saving us."

My words seem to have the desired effect, as I saw Chris' eyes clear slightly. He gave me a satisfied smile and nodded with a reassuring gaze, filled with a small amount of trust. I didn't tell him that this was the first time I had used my ability this way and in a way he was accidentally part of an experiment.

"Alright, I will be satisfied with that for now. Since you didn't use it on yourself, it means you can't use that ability on yourself, and you need to hit enemies with correct timing, huh. That's an unexpected weakness, Asher." Chris said with a smirk, telling me that he also has some dirt on me now.

I shrugged, expecting this much.

"Maybe." I muttered and started to walk ahead.

"Oh, hey! Wait for me!"

Chris yelled, making my ears twitch in irritation.

'This guy is not the brightest of them all.' I thought and started to look around the room.

The white light tore through the darkness, showing me what was hidden inside the room. It was a room so large that the light couldn't uncover it at once. We remained silent, afraid of another attack from monsters. Chris started to walk behind me as I moved closer to the edge of the room.

A panel covered in dust caught my eye; unknowingly, I raised my hand and moved it closer to touch it.

It glowed slightly as my hand pressed lightly on the cold panel.

Suddenly something left my body before I could even react.

'Ah… did it just absorb my essence?'

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I couldn't contain my shock as it happened. I let out a small gasp as my eyes widened slightly and my hand jerked back in surprise. But I didn't let it bother me for long, as blue veins suddenly glowed around the panel.

Chris glanced at me and then at the glowing panel from which blue veins started to spread around.

"Did this just?"

"Yes, now back off!"

I replied as we both hastily stepped back.

Just then the blue veins moved further, spreading across the whole wall in its entirety, covering it in strange patterns that moved like spider webs. In the next split seconds they spread everywhere. Illuminating the room further.

"Oh?"

We stared in a daze as the veins vanished, blending away along with the light that now shone in the room with a dazzling sense of white.

However, it didn't blind us nor affect our vision.

Rather, I couldn't even tell I was in the presence of a light. That's how natural and gentle this light was.

"I do not like this place." Chris muttered as he looked around after the strange incident.

As our gaze roamed around the room, which was filled with moss and white flooring, along with the tree roots that had penetrated from above, it certainly told us that this was an ancient place that had served an unknown purpose.

There were tables stretched out at another corner and at the edge were some kind of tubes, broken, old and transparent. There were metals of strange shape and size attached to them. I didn't dare to go closer, as seeing those gave me chills down my spine.

"This place is really strange. However, even if we see these things, understanding them is a different matter, isn't it?" I said, unsure of the surroundings. But I still had an unknown inkling, something that I couldn't put my finger on.

"Hmm, that's true. Since nothing is found. Asher, I think we should leave."

"I agree… Let's take our leave from this room. We have other rooms to explore as well." I said, turning around and walking toward the door, which had been cut down by Chris' strike.

"That's not what I meant…" Chris grumbled in a low voice.

I ignored him and tentatively left the room, feeling nauseated all of a sudden.

Rubbing my temples to let the pain subside, I gave a last look behind.

The place was eerie. It was vexing not knowing why… But my heart felt heavy just by being here.

Chris took a step forward and put his spear away with a restless face.

"So where should we go now?"

I looked at the dark corridor and grimaced at the thought of going there. The instinct of danger was gone by now. However sure I was of the danger, an eerie feeling was still etched in my heart.

"We don't have any choice, do we?" I whispered with frustration.

Chris raised an eyebrow seeing my displeasure.

"Do you really hate this place that much?"

I nodded grimly.

"Yeah… Well, we have also not seen any churners. That's also a problem, isn't it? We had seen a large number of them after all."

"That's true." Chris agreed. "Maybe they are not hiding here. Captain Maira never said she had seen them; she only mentioned it was a guess."

I didn't say anything but agreed with his logic. The only clue we had regarding the Churners was the tunnel they had dug not far from our previous camp.

The monsters coming out of it was an oddity but strange things happen. And accepting them was the norm here.

Therefore, we needed to investigate it. And make sure it's not too dangerous here.

"This place is still working… I don't know how. But many will wish to come and conduct their research here. This place has undeniable value."I muttered with a smile forming on my lips.

"Why are you smiling?"

I turned my gaze back at Chris, who looked at me dumbfoundedly. My lips curled up even more, turning into a smirk as I raised my finger, pointing to the hallway.

"Oh, I saw a Churner. It is hiding behind the small bulk on the wall."

"Huh? Why are you telling this to me now? Shouldn't you have said it earlier?" Chris said in a low voice, his gaze now locked at the slight bump on the wall.

"I would have if I knew it from the beginning. But I just noticed it now." I said, raising my hands in the air.

Chris sighed and took a step forward. I shot my hand forward and grabbed his shoulders, stopping him. He turned his head back with his brows raised in confusion.

"What?"

I shook my head and said in a low voice.

"It has not noticed us yet. Let's wait and watch where it goes next."

Chris hesitated for a moment, his gaze going past me and then landing on the bump on the wall. In the end he sighed as we closed the lights.

"I must have gone mad."

"No, I am sure you are the sanest one here, right now."

Chris kept his mouth shut as he heard my comment. His eyes shook momentarily enough to be noticed in the dark as he let out another heavy sigh. He seems to have taken my comment way too seriously.

'Can't even take a joke.' I clicked my tongue as the silence deepened, pressing heavily on our ears.

We hid behind one of the corners, making no sound.

The churner made a clicking sound as it finally started to move.

We held our breaths, not daring to make any sound as we followed behind. As the corridor went dark, the Churner round body of the Churner got hard to notice. It was like looking for a shadow in the dark.

"Can you even see it?" Chris whispered as we approached it closer.

"Barely." I answered, squinting my eyes.

Then suddenly the Churner vanished. I couldn't see it anymore.

Momentarily I was at loss but as I moved closer, clicking sounds intensified.

Click-Click

Click-click.

They were here.

Chris gulped as we both crouched low, peering through the ragged hole in the wall.

It was big but not big enough for us to enter inside it.

Ba…Thump!

Ba…Thump!

My heart started to beat rapidly as if I had seen a ghost. My blood ran cold as my hands started to shake. This time the reason felt different than before.

Beyond it, the darkness pulsed with veins of pale blue light, crawling like roots across every surface. Grease and mucus glistened wetly, dripping into the black.

Beds. Rows of them, stacked high. And on each… round shapes. Dozens. Hundreds. Their surfaces glowed faintly as Churners slithered across them, clicking, curling their bodies around the spheres as if nursing them.

Eggs.

"Haa…" I let out a heavy breath as cold sweat trickled down my neck.

"What happened? Why are you shaking so much?" Chris asked, looking at my dreadful face.

The eggs were dormant… Dangerous but only in the long term. Right now we could destroy them. It was not that dangerous.

I was aware of that.

However, this place… I hated this place. Just being here made me sick to my stomach.

I wish to destroy it.

Turn into dust.

But there was something far deeper that haunted me. It was my rationality toppling my desire and asking a single question, whispering it inside me—why do I hate this place?

I didn't have an answer.

"I—I don't know." I answered honestly, whispering back with trembling words.