There had been no lights. No premonitions or warnings.
Just a sudden lurch in the gut, and then they were back in the cavernous space, staring at the now closed object they entered a few minutes ago.
Eric thought it was some kind of illusion but the new ring that adorned his finger told him it had all been real.
"What just happened?" Victoria managed out after a few seconds of confusion.
"Eric, what is going on?"
"I... I don't know." Eric wished he could give a proper answer but he was also ignorant.
Eric watched his sister stifle her questions through gritted teeth. "You better figure them out before we get out of here." Victoria harrumphed then made for the elevator.
Eric sighed and called to the system while he followed.
'How do I secure Heaven's Loom?'
[BEGIN LOCKDOWN?]
'That's intuitive enough.' He thought.
Waiting till he and Victoria were back inside the elevator he gave the command.
'Begin.'
A low, piercing ring immediately entered Eric's ears. If Eric had not been waiting in anticipation he wouldn't have noticed.
The ring quickly evolved into a gentle rumbling that gradually grew stronger.
Victoria noticed Eric staring at the object and finally paid it attention.
The obsidian coating began to flow like liquid tar, pouring from the top of the object and cascading down its sides. Where it touched the cavern floor, it solidified, welding the entire structure into a single, seamless, black monolithic egg.
[HEAVEN'S LOOM SECURED]
[WEAVE INTEGRITY: 100%]
[SET TO TERRESTIAL TIER: Weave can withstand PLANETARY collapse]
"This has been an odd day." Eric muttered.
Victoria scoffed at his understatement and hit on the elevator's return button.
Neither of them spoke afterwards. Each sibling retreated into their own minds to sort out the craziness they'd just witnessed.
Eric used this time to read the system's messages.
[MAIN QUEST: RECEIVE IMMORTAL CORE - COMPLETED]
[REWARD: HUMAN-FORM CULTIVATION INITIATION ART - AWAITING COLLECTION]
[FAILURE: DEATH]
[SECONDARY QUEST: INFILTRATE PANACEA FACILITY - COMPLETED]
[REWARD: PHYSIQUE REINFORCEMENT - ACQUIRED]
[SECONDARY QUEST: SECURE HEAVEN'S LOOM - COMPLETED]
[REWARD: FIVE FOUNDATIONAL FORMATIONS SET - AWAITING COLLECTION]
[NOTE: ARTIFACT CRITICAL FOR LONG-TERM HOST STABILITY.]
[ALL QUESTS COMPLETED]
[RECEIVE REWARDS?]
Eric dismissed the prompt.
He would receive his rewards when he wasn't within an active warzone.
Their journey back up felt faster than the descent.
Soon enough the doors began opening but before either of them could move out, warm metal kissed Eric's skull.
"Well lookey what we have here..." A taunting voice spoke.
Eric's breath ceased, glancing at the man aiming at him.
It was a wiry man dressed in only cargos and a bullet proof vest. On his face was a smug grin that screamed punch me.
He had companions behind him.
A far larger man who held a wounded scientist hostage and a woman decked in black with only her head and neck visible.
Eric's eyes locked onto the small white talon tattoos with black outlines on each of their necks.
The wiry man turned to his partners and asked incredulously. "Am I high, or am I looking at the prince and dead princess?"
"You're always high Kairos." The woman stepped forward, scrutinizing Eric and Victoria. "But you aren't seeing things."
"Lanette, do we call in to base?" The large man asked. His voice so deep, it made Eric's chest vibrate.
"Yeah. Hopefully the signal can get through all the jammers." Lanette promptly answered. The large man nodded and removed a bulky phone from one of his trousers' pouches.
The woman approached Victoria and asked scornfully,
"I thought you were dead."
A few inches away, Lanette stopped in front of Victoria.
The princess's sharpened eyes softened as though she'd seen something.
"I thought so too." Victoria smiled as she spoke.
Kairos forced his gun harder against Eric's head. But Eric neither budged nor showed any fear.
Kairos was visibly annoyed by Eric's lack of a reaction. "Can I shoot him?" He snarled out as the finger on his trigger trembled.
Silence reigned in the airlock.
Eric's mind raced on the best way to deal with the group but he was one upped by Victoria.
In a flash of movement, Victoria headbutted Lanette.
A disturbing crunch told everyone Lanette's bloody nose was definitely broken.
"Fuck!" Lanette screamed, disoriented.
Victoria's jarring move drew everyone's attention and in that moment of distraction she aimed her pistol at Kairos and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Thud
More blood sprayed Eric's face.
At this point he looked like a spawn of the devil.
He stared at Kairos's struggling body, clawing against a gaping hole in his neck.
Eric was puzzled by why Victoria would take such an unnecessary risk, but her die had already been cast. He could only strive to complete her plans.
Faster than anyone could follow, Eric raised his rifle, realeasing half his magazine into the still dazed Lanette.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT
The staccato of rapid gunfire filled the confined space, the empty shell casings clattering hot at his feet.
Lanette jerked and danced as the rounds stitched holes across her chest, not even having a chance to draw her pistol before she crumpled to the floor.
The large man barreled towards Eric mid-fire, screaming vengeance as he lifted his own rifle.
AR—!
Bang
Thud
The distinct bang of an unknown high calibre gun cut through the noise of the room.
The larger man's roar was interrupted by his head being blown out from behind. More blood was sprayed unto Eric's frame as the man collapsed at his feet.
'Oh come on.'
When he took account of the room, Eric finally saw why Victoria had been so ballsy and the source of his timely rescue.
Raz's solemn face, decked in Panacea guard clothes and wielding a shotgun gently walked towards the siblings.
Ignoring the dead woman beside her, Victoria turned to Raz with a beaming smile.
"Hello Raz."
Raz froze in disbelief like he had seen a ghost. His eyes remained glued to Victoria's face, tears gathering in the corners of his eye.
He wiped them off immediately they appeared.
Falling to a knee he said.
"Forgive me for failing you, Your Majesty."
"Please stand up." Victoria chuckled. "And it wasn't your fault."
With a soft smile Eric left the two to their reunion. He turned and approached the groaning scientist that had been a captive.
'Thea?' To his shock, Eric recognised the woman. She was one of the lead researchers within the base only below Jackson in command.
'She should be on her way out, escorted by dozens of guards, why is she here?'
"Why aren't you being evacuated?" Eric asked coldly, eyeing the bullet wound on her left arm.
"Save me and I'll tell you even more." She hissed out. "Like what it is you saw down there"
'Truly as manipulative as everyone said.' He thought.
Erics lips curled into a snarl. "What makes you think you're in the position to make deals?"
"I'm not. But I'm about to die either way, so why not?" Thea coughed blood to clear her throat before continuing. "Besides, you're a prince. Aren't princes supposed to have principles?"
The prince's snarl turned into a chuckle. 'She is high enough on the ladder to actually know what's going on down there.'
After a brief pause he spoke "Deal."
A visible shiver ran through her at his calm acceptance
Thea began. "Well, to prevent others from seeing it, Jackson—wherever the hell he is—mandated we destroy the elevator shaft. It's the only way in, so it's our only way to contain a breach."
"I was the one ordered to stay behind and initiate the destruction sequence. My escort... didn't make it." She added
Eric furrowed his brows. 'That doesn't make any sense. They'd permanently seal the cavern just to keep others out?' The reasoning threw him off.
'That also seals off my only lead to the system's origins. But if the loom can teleport people out... could it teleport me in?'
He grasped at the idea and summoned the system. 'Can the loom teleport me in from the outside?'
[NEGATIVE. TRANSLOCATION INTO HEAVEN'S LOOM ONLY POSSIBLE AT HIGHER CULTIVATION STAGES]
'Damn,' Eric frowned. The system's concise reply shattered his plan, but the fact it was possible at all meant there was hope. He would just have to figure that out later.
'Wait. If I can teleport out, maybe Panacea can teleport in. Or they could even move the entire object. That would explain why they're willing to seal it. They already had telekinetic egoists and crazed banshees; a teleporter among their ranks isn't far-fetched.'
He asked the system another question. 'Can you locate the loom if it's moved?'
[HEAVEN'S LOOM CAN BE SENSED AT A DISTANCE OF 1000 METERS]
[HOST WILL ACHIEVE INCREASED DISTANCE AT HIGHER CULTIVATION STAGES]
[SYSTEM WILL NOTIFY HOST IF OTHER HUMAN LIFE-FORMS APPEAR WITHIN 100 METERS OF HEAVEN'S LOOM]
The last line baffled him. 'The system isn't as mechanical as I assumed.'
But it also meant if Panacea moved the loom, he would lose it.
'I need to reach those higher stages quickly.'
'Higher cultivation stages must mean getting stronger,' he mused, staring at the system's fading text. 'Good thing I might already have a way.'
Glancing at Victoria and Raz still talking, Eric made a decision.
"Complete your mission." He said.
Thea's brows creased in surprise. She stared at the prince's deep grey eyes and found only still calmness within.
Eric watched the woman scramble to understand why he'd allow her do it. Before she could voice her questions he said. "It's better you get a move on."
Thea's lips thinned.
Nodding, she moved to the terminal and began punching away at it's controls.
Eric regrouped with Raz and Victoria.
"I hope the transport you brought can take an extra person." He said to Raz.
"You want to save her?" Victoria asked in shock.
"She's a high ranking personnel of Panacea. She's bound to know them better than any of us. Plus it wouldn't be too strange if she disappears in this mayhem." Eric said. " And if she becomes a liability..." He let the sentence hang.
"And the elevator?" She pressed.
"Wouldn't want them easily reaching what I believe to be their prized possession." He succinctly replied.
Victoria narrowed her eyes at Eric. "And when did you become a genius at coming up with plans on the go?"
Eric offered a wry smile. "I've had a strange week."
BOOOMMMM
The elevator's explosion startled the trio. Dust filled the room, some even entering Eric's eyes.
"You could have warned us first." He screamed.
The dust quickly settled revealing their dirtied forms.
Eric nodded at Raz.
"Alright Raz, lead the way."