The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere

Inner Sanctum First Floor | 11:13 AM | Third Day

"Oh, for goodness sake, what now?" Kamrusepa snapped, putting a hand over the left side of her face.

"It's gotta be the killer again," Seth said, scowling. "Trying to screw with us after we got away. We'd be better off just ignoring the fucking thing."

"What if it's Hamilcar, though?" I asked. "Wasn't he supposed to be down underground? He could be trying to contact us."

"One doesn't exclude the other, I fear to say," Kamrusepa said flatly. "Assuming it wasn't some sort of golem, we've only three unaccounted for among our number. Gods, he could very well have been the one we saw--"

"I don't wanna interrupt you guys," Ptolema interjected, her teeth gritted, "but we've still got someone on death's door here. Whatever's going on, if that doesn't come first, she's not gonna make it!"

Seth looked like he was struggling to calm down, his breathing still ragged. "R-Right. You're right." He nodded. "Let's finish getting her downstairs, then." He frowned at me peculiarly, his eyebrow slightly raised. "You... Okay, Su?"

I didn't understand why he was asking at first. When I took a moment to analyze myself, however, I realized that I was profoundly not okay. My heart was still pounding in my chest at a rate I hadn't known it capable of, and I was desperately pulling air into my lungs at a rate where you'd think I'd just been deep sea diving. Sweat covered my body, and it felt as though I'd developed a fever on the spot.

I'd been terrified. And I wasn't even sure why. Well, way beyond the level that seemed to have afflicted everyone else. The weight of Lilith's body, so light a moment ago, felt like it was pressing down on me like a 10 ton weight.

"I," I said, still catching my breath. "I think I need to sit down."

Seth nodded, while Ophelia looked on at me with some degree of concern. "Alright. Uh, Kam, can you take Lilith? Put her on the... Sofa, or something."

She blinked at the request for a moment, before nodding hesitantly. "Er, very well," she said. She approached me and slid Lilith off my shoulders, and my whole body slumped downwards as soon as the exertion was gone. I felt like I might collapse, but managed to stay standing.

"We really gotta hurry," Ptolema said urgently.

"Right," Seth said, moving back towards the chair. "Let's get moving."

He and Ophelia hefted Mehit back up and headed for the doorway to the security center, and I followed listlessly for the time being, looking for somewhere where I could sit down. Linos and others in the middle of the room, who'd been watching the scene play out since our return, moved to meet us as I all but fell into one of the lounge chairs around the logic bridge in the center of the room.

"What happened out there?" Linos asked, wheeling himself closer. Theo stayed at the table, looking on anxiously.

"Lilith and her mother were spotted by one of the golem patrols, sir," Ran said. "We found them held up in the printing room. Mehit took two shots in the abdomen."

"Gods above," he said, putting a hand to his mouth. "What's her condition?"

"Critical," she said. "She's breathing, but losing blood fast. Her brain might already be suffering from oxygen deprivation."

With the Power, the brain, the one organ on which it couldn't be reliably used, was what mattered the most. Though any serious damage to the body had repercussions for longevity in the long term - even if you repaired tissue damage, the process of interceding at all subtly disrupted the plate-spinning effort that was medicine at the frontier of the human lifespan, where hyper-exotic cell mutations began to exceed human knowledge's capacity for accounting in diversity and complexity - almost anything could be restored to functionality by a Biomancer quickly as for the foreseeable future. Wounds could be closed, blood vessels and nerves stitched back into place. Blood could be replicated. Organs, unless obliterated, could be regenerated. Bones and even whole limbs could be regrown.

But if the brain was damaged, options were limited. Though the Power couldn't be directly used, most people in the modern era were seeded with artificed nano-organisms designed to remember neural makeup and perform repairs in the event of catastrophic cell death, but such things were limited. Even if you got the brain working again, it wasn't like stitching a kidney back together. You were losing part of a person.

Linos nodded severely. "That's very serious - I hope we're not too late, then. What about Lilith?"

"Fine," Ran said, but then hesitated. "...at least, physically fine. It seems like she might be in some kind of dissociative state."

I glanced over at Kamrusepa, who was laying the girl down on the sofa, placing her head gently against a cushion. Her eyes were still wide, her expression unchanging.

Linos sighed. "I suppose that's understandable. For a girl like her, all this stress... Combined with that happening to her mother... Well, I wouldn't be surprised were it too much, to put it bluntly." He frowned worriedly. "At the very least, Anna will be down there, and she's the most capable healer out of any of us lef-- ...any of us present, rather. If there's anyone who can help her, it's her."

I frowned a little. Despite knowing full well how qualified she was, it felt strangely difficult for me to picture Anna healing anyone.

"But enough about that. Did I overhear right? You saw the killer?"

Ran glanced downward for a moment, her gaze growing analytical. "Possibly. We think we saw a figure try to chase us down the hall."

Kam frowned. "You 'think' you saw it?"

"We saw something that looked roughly humanoid moving in our direction from the other side of a long, dark hallway," Ran said, her brow flat. "It could've been a person, or something else. It's difficult to say."

"Ohh, I get it," Fang chimed in. "You mean, someone could've stuck a blanket on a wheelchair and rolled it down, or something like that? That kinda vague shape."

Ran nodded.

"Huh," they said, looking upward. "Hearing that, I almost wanna go out there and check it out--"

"I would like to exercise a firm veto in regards to unbarring the door to the area wherein the potential serial murderer was spotted," Kamrusepa said, both sardonic and sharp in her tone. "Rather, we ought to be on high alert, and keeping an eye on all entrances."

"Hey, if you say so," they said, throwing their hands up.

"Fuck me, what's going on now?" Zeno asked, stepping down through the hall once again again. "The logic bridges in both rooms are going off, and two of you just came through bearing that girl's mother in some half-dead state." She shook her head. "I swear, I can't take one moment to focus on my work without something or another going to shit out here."

Linos grunted, frowning at her. "While it's clear enough you're not paying the specifics much heed, you'll be happy to hear the situation has, in fact, improved. Despite their... Respective conditions, we've managed to see to the safety of Lilith and her mother, which was our largest outstanding concern." He glanced towards the logic bridge. "As for the call, it may or may not be unrelated. They think they spotted someone out in the hallway, but aren't certain."

"They didn't look... Human," I said, slowly starting to recover, though my breathing was still labored. "They had long limbs... A strange face..."

"That could've been part of a costume," Kamrusepa said grimly. She glanced to the side. "Or perhaps more evidence of Fang's theory that it was an awkward prop."

"Are we going to answer this fucking thing, or not?" Ezekiel asked sharply, moving over from where Ran had sat down. Based on the context, he'd probably been questioning her about her engravings, though were that the case, he'd certainly taken a long time to get through the task. "If we're not, we should shut it off. I can't even process the conversation."

Linos frowned, looking downwards.

"I say we answer it," Kamrusepa said. "There's no benefit to avoiding doing so. As Su said a moment ago, it could well be Hamilcar... And even if it is the culprit and they're intent on having us listen to another megalomaniacal lecture, they might let slip a clue as to their identity. Gods-- Perhaps the very fact they'd be calling us after the event which just transpired is, itself, a sort of hint."

That was a good point. Having this call occur so soon after the sighting we just experienced suggested some manner of connection between the two events. And when you considered that someone would need to either broadcast the message, or - were it pre-recorded in some capacity - activate a logic bridge...

"I'm not sure," Linos said. "Whoever is doing this probably knows that they'll need to divide us at this point to succeed in their plans. They could have tailored their message to precisely that end."

I felt like there was a lot going unspoken in this statement, too. After all, to do any sort of tailoring, the culprit would have to be in a very specific position - one which would radically narrow the pool of suspects. Unless they were able to predict our actions.

It also said something about Linos's priorities. Everything he was doing was probably partly motivated by a desire to protect his son from suspicion. Things were stable now, but if worst came to worst, and it really did look like he was the culprit... Well, to say the least, I didn't expect that the others would be content with a set of handcuffs.

"Well, I don't care what the rest of you idiots do, but I for one am going to listen," Zeno said, stepping forward. "We must get in contact with Hamilcar regardless, and I'm accustomed to avoiding manipulation. "

"If we're not turning it off, I'm going to listen too," Ezekiel said, stepping towards the bridge.

That's it, then. If two people had already decided to listen, then the outcome was inevitable. After all, exclusivity of information would just serve to enhance the culprit's power if they delivered a message attempting to divide us.

Linos sighed. "...alright," he said. "Let's do it, then."

"Um," Theo said, obviously not in a position to get up and touch the logic bridge himself. "Should I--"

"You stay there, Theo," his father told him, turning his face towards him and out of my line of sight. "We'll tell you what happens after the fact."

Oh, that's clever, a logical part of my brain picked up on. He's making sure he can't be framed as the one broadcasting the message somehow, because he won't be attuned to the bridge to begin with. It won't deflect suspicion completely, but it's a good step!

...well, assuming the culprit didn't account for it.

"Shouldn't we wait for Ptolema and Seth to return?" Kamrusepa asked, but then sighed as she realized that Ezekiel had already touched the logic bridge. "Nevermind. We'll see if they keep us waiting again." She stepped forward, along with the others who hadn't already - Ran, Fang...

I was close enough, myself, to just reach out and touch it. So I did.

As soon as the image appeared in my mind's eye, I knew what we were dealing with. Once again, it was a black void featuring the solitary figure of Aruru staring straight ahead. This time, however, the speech hadn't waited for everyone to connect. It already seemed to be in progress.

"...master wishes to convey his congratulations in regard to your efforts in his game up until this point," it said, monotone as ever. "You have performed nobly in working together to undermine his servants' pursuit of your lives, with few of your comrades claimed, and have even displayed bravery and camaraderie in the face of strife. For this reason, in the infinite mercy of heaven, you have been afforded a respite."

"However," it continued, "in spite of this, you are still betrayed by your conceit and lack of fundamental virtue, and have presumed yourself to have triumphed over him. As too with your belief that you are above your mortality, you will not be permitted to persist in this notion. So far, you have contended only with the lesser of the divine beasts. But now the greater of the two, the serpent, shall take the stage, and strike such to refute your presumed invulnerability. You are offered this warning only as a courtesy; preparation will be fruitless, for there is no defense against the power of the gods."

And that was it. The transmission came to a sudden stop. The room was silent for a moment.

"...well," Kamruspa said, crossing her arms. "I suppose the notion that the culprit might try to manipulate us into infighting was giving them too much credit. That was rather basic, all things considered."

"A waste of everyone's time, more like," Zeno said disinterestedly. "I've heard better empty threats from my university funding board."

"Indeed," Linos said, his brow furrowed. He looked towards Ezekiel, the first to have touched the pillar. "Master Iladbaat, did we miss something? Was the message already in progress when you first saw it?"

Ezekiel shook his head. "No, I think I saw it from the beginning. They said 'thank you for your attention', but you all probably saw the rest."

"I see," Linos said, putting a finger to his mouth.

"W-What happened?" Theo asked, looking on in confusion. "What did they say?"

"Not a great deal, past the flowery language," Linos told him, turning his head. "They congratulated us on surviving up until this point, then threatened us that they were planning on attacking us in a way we can't defend against."

"Obviously they're trying to rattle us," Ezekiel said. "It's the same as before-- They're using complicated and heavy language to try and get under our skin and make us panic. It's basic psychological warfare."

I was starting to recover a bit, now-- For whatever reason, seeing that message hadn't really spooked me at all, despite that being the obvious intent. Maybe my fear receptors had already blown out from the experience I'd had a few minutes earlier.

I glanced around the group. Their faces ranged from troubled to unconcerned, but Fang, alone, seemed to be deep in thought. Was there something about what we just heard that I was missing?

"They said that we 'believed we'd triumphed', and were going to refute that presumed invulnerability..." I said, frowning to myself. "That makes it sound as though they knew about our current situation - locked down in these two rooms."

"You think so?" Kamrusepa asked, raising an eyebrow. "By my accounting, there was a remarkable lack of specifics. That we've chosen to unify and seal off all avenues of attack possible was hardly a course of action beyond assumption-- It could easily have been a pre-recorded message."

That's a good point. Taking a moment to think about it, a better question than what I was missing was what I could be sure of at all. There were several questions: Was the message pre-recorded, or sent directly from another person? And if it was pre-recorded, then had it been triggered by someone, or was it simply set to arrive at a particular time, scripted into the system like the false lockdown which had begun all this?

No, it couldn't have been set to go on its own, I recalled. At least, not from within the system. Anna would have seen it. Unless it was so minor a function she wouldn't have noticed...?

If the message had been more specific about our circumstances, then it would have to have been sent directly, and we could use that knowledge to try and determine based on who, physically, could have been attuned to a logic engine. But it hadn't been. Was that because the culprit didn't know the truth, or that they realized saying more could betray them? And what was their motive for sending it to begin with?

"I think what's more important than the nature of the message is if they can back up their words," Linos said, troubled. "I'm skeptical of master Iladbaat's conclusion that this was to make us panic. We have to take it seriously as a statement of intent."

"What are you suggesting?" Kamrusepa asked, her gaze focused.

"To start with, someone should check on the others in the underground. The message itself could have been a distraction, and since you're already here, Zeno, I don't feel confident in trusting miss Ic'Nal to have kept a close eye alone."

Yantho held up his tablet. If he had any thoughts of protest against Linos characterizing his adopted sister as unreliable, he didn't voice them. I'll take a look at once, sir.

Linos nodded. "Good." He looked between us. "The rest of us should stay close together - everyone in everyone else's line of sight. Don't leave anything to chance."

"If we don't keep an eye on the doors," Kamrusepa said, her eyes narrow, "couldn't that leave us open to an attack? We're approaching the time where it's no longer clear what's scripted in the central logic engine. Bereft of defeating us by subversion, they could make an attempt at doing so by sheer force through a surprise attack."

Linos's lips went tight. He considered this for a moment. "...Perhaps. We might be better all heading down below, armed or otherwise."

Though there was a reluctant acceptance of the proposition in the air, no one looked remotely happy about it. It'd been difficult enough to relax in the comfort of the lounge. No one was warm to the prospect of forsaking it to delve into a dank and cramped hallway.

"...what do you think they meant when they said that we'd only faced the lesser of the two divine beasts?" I asked, after a few moments had passed. "And that the more powerful one, the 'serpent', would be sent after us?"

"My assumption would be that it's simply part of the narrative the culprit is coaching all of their actions in, Utsu, rather than anything literal." Linos said. "After all, we've come this far, and still seen no evidence of anything particularly supernatural, let alone divine, at work." He hesitated, glancing downwards. "...well, unless you count leaving a body in a inhumanely awful condition."

"I suppose," I replied.

"Eh, I dunno..." Fang said, speaking up for the first time and still seeming half lost in thought, looking at the ground "I think it bears thinking about, a bit? I mean, the way they put it was so deliberate. Like they were giving us a hint."

Kamrusepa rolled her eyes. "This isn't a cheap mystery drama, Fang. Why would the culprit be leaving 'hints' to begin with?"

"I mean, kinda weird to assume they're a rational actor," Fang replied. "Like. They're a serial murderer, y'know?"

"It could be a reference to the Epic of Gilgamesh," Ran speculated. "That's the obvious observation. If we assume it means something deeper, though... I guess the best way to think about it would be in terms of what snakes do."

I frowned. "What they do?"

"I mean, what are the qualities that you'd pin on a snake?" she asked me, an eyebrow raised.

I blinked. Stealth. Subversion. Lying...

I looked up at her. "You think they're--"

"Um, excuse me!" Ophelia said suddenly, rushing down the hall back into the central chamber. Yantho, despite only having just left, followed closely behind her, looking a little overwhelmed. "We have a, um, serious problem!"

The conversation stopped in its tracks. We looked at one another, trepidation in the air.

Linos looked to her. "What is it, Ophelia?" he asked.

"The Power," she said. "It's stopped working downstairs, too!"