Page 93 of Remnants: Disruption
It’s apparently how this place works.
They reach the door and begin to turn the handle as I speak again.
“Am I a prisoner here?” I ask softly. The memories of last night are tinged with that ever-present hopelessness.
Azazel’s body language is really the only part of them I can interpret. And they turn to me as if the question I just asked was unfathomably stupid.
“There are likely only two beings that could stop you from doing whatever it is you want. Even in your current state. And one of them is on your side. Whether or not you believe that is up to you.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question. I don’t really want to fight my way out should I discover you all to be—”
“As bad as Darkrend, yes, I remember your diatribe. And no, you are not a prisoner. Though if you should wish to journey to the surface, know that your identity as the Dark One has been leaked.”
I stare back at Azazel as the words strike like a lightning bolt to my nerves.
“The people have deemed you a villain and a murderer. Some may know better, but DAEMON controls the media and the Guild has their finger in every police force and military on the planet. You are now an enemy of Nye Verden.”
“I never wanted this,” I say, not sure why I feel like I need to defend myself to Azazel.
They turn again, hand still against the door.
“Remember it is they who have deemed you a weapon to be swung. It is the corporations and the authoritarians that have deemed you abnormal. They are the ones who put those ideas and thoughts into your head. Do not give them more power. Do not let them steal the freedom that is rightfully yours.”
Tears prick at my eyes as Azazel turns to go.
“They will either accept us or die in the fires of their own making,” a darkness creeps into their voice that feels fathomless. “We begin in an hour.”
Then the door closes. Leaving me with a whole new set of demons.
For all of their power, the asshole never actually told me where we were meeting. After leaving my room, I wandered about the dormitory area I had apparently been placed in yesterday.
It was only after a solid half hour of fruitless walking that I found the exit that led to the lower floors.
And only then did I find the way back into the main cavern.
The thing is expansive. I noticed it yesterday, but my mind was still reeling from the hurt, betrayal and general angst.
It genuinely feels like an entirely different world. There’s light within the cavern, but it’s spread so thickly that telling the true source is impossible. The streets along the mountainlook as though they’d been carved there generations ago to accommodate for countless people.
The general pattern is two sequential U’s with the first wrapping from the base of the mountain and ending at the gathering basin. The other U is maybe more like a W that switchbacks up the mountain itself. At the very top sits the single elevator that I’d bet is not the only exit.
The dormitories I was placed in sit towards the end of the U where my hospital bed had also been. So, I make my way towards the party basin in the hopes that I spot the red-clad mage.
Whatever the fuck “mage” means.
“You certainly are quite the subject of discussion,” a cool female voice startles me, and I spin to face them.
The figure from the Cradle stands behind me like she’s been there the entire time. Her cat mask looks as if it’s a genuine part of her face and the purple gown down her form hides any clue as to her figure.
“I’m the main character, after all,” I say, giving her what I hope is a charismatic grin. Though my insides feel leaden with the shadow spikes of the night before.
“That is what I believe, too,” she says and gives me a slight bow. “I am Bast. I do not believe anyone explained how this place works and I understand Azazel has work for you.”
“They left after a cryptic speech and no instructions on where to meet them,” I grouse. “I’ll take a history lesson if you give me directions.”
“That sounds like Azazel,” Bast says. “Follow me and listen closely because I am the only member of the council who will give you a straight answer.”
“And why is that?” I ask, falling into step beside Bast.
