***
Darkness.
Consciousness was a prisoner ascending from a bottomless well, slow and reluctant. The senses returned in fragments. First, sound: a profound, ambient hum, the rhythmic pulse of distant machinery, and the muffled thud of his own heart. Then, scent: filtered, faintly metallic air, tinged with the sterile tang of ozone. Finally, sight.
When Berwick's eyes fluttered open, he was not looking at a ceiling. He was looking at a dozen children standing a few meters away, their faces obscured by bizarre masks of wood and metal. They were silent, motionless, their unseen eyes fixed on him from the gloom.
He vaulted from the soft webbing that had caught his fall, instantly assuming a defensive stance. A quick survey of his surroundings revealed they were in a cavernous, natural grotto. In place of a sky, the ceiling soared kilometers above, studded with colossal, faintly luminescent crystals that bathed the area in a perpetual twilight. Beside him, Hyogaki was adjusting his glasses, still trying to get his bearings.
"Berwick… Are you alright?" Hyogaki asked, his voice echoing in the cavern's acoustics. He, too, rose to his feet, startling as he noticed the assembly of children. "Who in the world are they?"
"I don't know," Berwick replied, his voice low. "But they don't exactly look friendly."
A hushed whispering rippled through the children. Their language was unfamiliar; rhythmic and melodic, yet utterly indecipherable. One of them, the tallest, who held a staff that glowed with a soft inner light, stepped forward. He gestured with his staff toward the cavern's depths. It was an invitation. Or a command.
Berwick and Hyogaki exchanged a look. "It seems we have little choice," Hyogaki murmured. "We need to find the others." Berwick gave a curt nod.
Guided by the silent children, they proceeded into a wide tunnel carved from the very rock of the cavern. As they walked, they realized the walls were not entirely natural; they were laced with a network of ancient yet advanced cabling and pipes. Under the dim crystal light, they were venturing into the heart of a living world, the very antithesis of the desolate surface they had left behind.
***
Simultaneously, in an entirely different corner of the city, a rude awakening was taking place amidst the clang of metal on metal.
Alchio's back slammed against a hard, cold surface. "Agh! My spine! What kind of welcome is this? I was expecting a five-star metropolis, not a scrapyard!"
Scrambling to his feet, he found himself in a dimly lit tunnel, surrounded by groaning, steam-hissing pipes and rusted gantries. Beside him, Ren was already standing, a silent shadow with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his eyes scanning their surroundings.
"At least we're alive," Ren stated, his voice flat and echoing in the metallic confines.
Alchio brushed the dust from his attire. "There's a fine line between being alive and being scrap metal, my friend. And I think we've just landed on the wrong side of it." He peered into the gloom. "Where do you suppose the others are? I hope they had a softer landing than I did. Especially Kiko and Hana; they're so petite."
"It would be wise to focus," Ren advised, pointing down a corridor where a rhythmic, mechanical clicking could be heard. "We're not alone."
A grin spread across Alchio's face. "Excellent! A little action would be a welcome change. I was growing tired of this staring contest with the plumbing. Speaking of which, why can't a robot and a camera be friends?"
Ren started walking, ignoring him. Alchio followed. "Because every time it sees a flash, it just shutters! Get it? Shutters! Hah!" Alchio's laugh bounced off the walls. Seeing Ren's utterly impassive reaction, his face fell slightly. "Was it that bad?"
Ren shrugged. "If your wit were as sharp as your sword skills, you might have a place on the Council."
By Ren's standards, it was practically a compliment. Alchio's face lit up as he turned to his ornate rapier, whispering, "Did you hear that? I could make it to the Council!"
Ren sighed. "By your wit, I did not mean."
***
In a third location, the awakening was far more serene. Akemi opened her eyes to a soft, ethereal blue light. She, Kiko, and Hana found themselves in a tranquil garden housed within a colossal glass dome, filled with bioluminescent flora and fungi.
"It's… beautiful," Hana whispered in awe.
"Too beautiful," Akemi countered, instinctively checking her bow. "And too quiet."
Before long, they were surrounded by curious faces. Masked children and cautious adults emerged from the foliage, their expressions a mixture of fear and wonder. Akemi kept Kiko and Hana behind her, her grip tight on her bow.
After a moment of tense silence, Kiko stepped forward with a disarming smile. "Hello! We mean you no harm."
The locals exchanged bewildered glances. An elderly woman stepped forward, speaking in her native tongue. Instantly, Kiko and Hana replied in kind. Akemi watched them, a frown creasing her brow.
"Wait a minute," she interjected. "How… how can you understand them?"
Hana pointed to her Universe Watch. "It's our watches. They have a built-in universal translator. It analyzes any language and translates it in our minds. Isn't yours working?"
Akemi glanced at her own watch. A hairline fracture spiderwebbed across the crystal face, an injury from their chaotic arrival. A small notification blinked on the screen: Error: Lingual Module Malfunctioning. "Mine… I think it's broken. All I'm hearing are unintelligible whispers."
A knot of anxiety tightened in Akemi's stomach. For the first time, she felt utterly defenseless and isolated beside her teammates. She was now completely dependent on them to understand the world around her.
***
After a thirty-minute walk, the procession of children brought Berwick and Hyogaki before a monolithic structure, seemingly carved from a single, massive crystal, that stood apart from the rest of the city. Its doors slid open without a sound. Inside, the cyborg Maeon awaited them on his throne.
"Welcome, young Gardiyans. I have been expecting you."
Hyogaki stepped forward. "Who are you?"
The old cyborg smiled faintly. "I am Maeon, the Information Nexus and Guardian of this realm."
Berwick's hand rested on the hilt of his sword; something about Maeon set him on edge. "If you're an 'Information Nexus,' then you should have some idea where our friends are. Or did you separate us?"
Hyogaki shot Berwick a worried look. "Berwick, that's incredibly rude. We can't make such accusations without cause."
Berwick merely met Hyogaki's gaze with a hard stare. To his surprise, Maeon let out a dry, rustling laugh.
"Let's say fate separated you," Maeon said. "This city has its own way of welcoming outsiders. I'm sorry, young man, but do not worry. They are safe, dwelling within different 'memories' of the city, as I am."
"And you know where they are?" Hyogaki pressed.
Maeon nodded. "I do. But first, I wish to tell my guests the story of this sanctuary, if you have the time."
Berwick cut in impatiently. "We can listen to stories later. What I want to know is, have any other Gardiyans ever set foot on this planet?"
Hyogaki's look turned sharp, and Maeon's gaze on Berwick became suspicious.
"Impatience," Maeon mused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "The greatest virtue and the greatest sin of youth. You will learn everything. But first… you must understand the day my ancestors saw the sky for the very last time."
His voice took on a distant, sorrowful tone, echoing through the grand archive. "Our world was dying. Its surface scorched, its atmosphere a venomous shroud. In a final act of desperation, we turned to the most dangerous and forbidden power in the universe: the heart of a 'Wish Creation.' Our wish was simple: 'We wish for a sanctuary where our people and our knowledge can survive for all time.' And the universe… granted our wish."
Berwick fell silent, humbled by the weight of the old man's tale. This was far more than the theoretical dangers Master Tomo had spoken of; this was a tragedy, lived and breathed.
"The universe gave us this city. Aethelburg. But every wish has its price, does it not?" A bitter note entered Maeon's voice. "Our price was the wish itself. The energy required to sustain Aethelburg was drawn from the last vestiges of life on the planet's surface. We sacrificed our sky, our sun, our stars… all as fuel for our sanctuary. We are prisoners of our own salvation."
***
Meanwhile, in the industrial arteries of the city, Alchio and Ren pressed onward.
"Hey, buckethead! Need any rust remover? You're looking a little worse for wear!" Alchio shouted at an arachnid-like robot that scuttled into their path.
The robot's red optical sensor locked onto Alchio, and a piercing alarm blared. It began firing small plasma bolts from its chassis.
"Ha! It worked! But… I think it worked a little too well! AHHH!" Alchio yelled, diving behind a large pipe for cover. In that instant, a shadow blurred past the robot. Ren's dark blade hissed through the air, severing the machine's legs in a single, fluid motion. The robot crashed to the ground in a shower of sparks. Ren silenced it permanently by driving the tip of his sword through its sensor.
Alchio emerged from his cover. "Wow, you really are a ghost. Next to you, I feel like a walking disco ball."
They continued, navigating the labyrinthine tunnels. After disabling several more malfunctioning automatons, they arrived at a colossal, blast-proof door. Faded lettering above it read: 'Cryogenic Archival - Sector 7G.' The door was bent and slightly ajar.
"This place does not look inviting," Alchio noted.
"There's something here…" Ren said simply. "I can feel it."
After a shared look, they slipped silently through the opening.
***
In the gardens, Akemi, Kiko, and Hana had been accepted by the locals. An old woman served them strange but delicious food. Kiko and Hana translated the woman's words for Akemi.
"...Maeon says he protects us," the woman explained, according to Hana's translation. "But sometimes this protection feels like a cage." She gestured to a small, glowing orb mounted on the wall in the corner of the room. "His 'eyes' are everywhere. He hears everything, sees everything. We must not disturb the balance."
Akemi ate the fruit she was given while looking at Hana. "He? Who is he?" she asked after swallowing her bite.
The fear in the woman's voice planted a seed of doubt in Akemi. Beneath this seemingly peaceful society, there was a deep undercurrent of oppression and despair.
***
When Maeon finished his story, a profound silence filled the Archive. Berwick stepped forward. "Your story is a tragedy. But it doesn't answer my questions. How did you know we were Gardiyans? Has anyone else been here?"
The sorrowful expression vanished from Maeon's face, replaced by a cold, calculating look. "You ask questions so similar to the ones they asked, young man… They disturbed the balance," Maeon said, his voice now devoid of warmth. "They asked, just as you do, if there was anyone else here… And then they wanted to leave. They wanted to carry the secret of this sanctuary out into the chaos. Aethelburg's survival depends on its isolation. So, I offered them a choice."
Berwick and Hyogaki were stunned. So, others had been here…
"What choice?!" Hyogaki demanded, his voice tense.
"The same one I now offer you," Maeon said, as the light from the terminals behind him intensified. "You can either become a part of this sanctuary, contribute your knowledge to Aethelburg and live here in peace for eternity…"
***
Alchio and Ren had entered the cryogenic chamber. The room was deathly quiet and freezing cold.
As Alchio examined the pods, he suddenly froze, stumbling backward and falling to the floor. "No… It can't be," he whispered, pointing at a Gardiyan insignia on one of the pods.
When he wiped the frost from the pod's glass, they saw a woman in a blue Gardiyan uniform, her face a mask of frozen terror. Her eyes were open but saw nothing.
"How…?" Ren breathed, his voice tighter than ever before. "This universe was supposed to be uncharted."
Just then, the heavy, metallic tread of footsteps echoed from the far end of the chamber. They spun around. A hulking security automaton, far larger than the others and modified for combat with massive drills for arms, stood there. But this one was different. It bore the faded, bullet-riddled insignia of a Gardiyan on its chassis.
Its optical sensors glowed a malevolent red as its drills whirred to life.
"Well," Alchio said, conjuring a massive shield and sword of ice. "It seems the welcoming committee is not so friendly after all."
Ren drew his dark blade, taking a position beside Alchio. "That's not just a robot, Alchio. Look at the insignia on its arm. That was a Gardiyan."
***
While Akemi, Kiko, and Hana were talking with the old woman, a commotion outside startled them. Through the window, they saw several security robots forcibly apprehending a young man.
"Dissenters must be culled," one of the robots announced in a monotone.
At that moment, the glowing orb in the corner of the room pulsed red. Maeon's synthesized voice filled the small home: "Warning. Classification-3 Aliens have made unauthorized contact with the local populace. Protocol 17 initiated. You are now designated as fugitives. Surrender."
The robots outside immediately turned toward them. The door to the house splintered, blasted from its hinges.
"We have to run, now!" Akemi yelled. The three of them scrambled out the back window, sprinting into the city's narrow alleyways as alarms began to shriek and the metallic footfalls of robots echoed behind them.
***
Maeon completed his sentence: "...or, like the Gardiyans before you, you will take a quiet place within the memories of our city. You will be archived."
In the tunnels, the corrupted Gardiyan robot charged toward Alchio and Ren with terrifying speed. "Alchio, battle formation!" Ren commanded.
In the gardens, Akemi, Kiko, and Hana found themselves cornered in a dead-end alley, surrounded by security robots. "What do we do?!" Hana cried out in fear.
In different places, facing different threats, all of them understood the horrific truth at the exact same moment.
Berwick whispered as he stared into Maeon's cold, cybernetic eyes. Alchio swallowed hard as the massive drills bore down on him. Akemi held her breath as the red optical sensors of the surrounding robots focused on her.
"..."
And from three separate locations, as if spoken by a single voice, came the first sentence of the seven's shared fate:
"We're so screwed…"