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970. The Seventh Level - ??? Meters Below Elysia
🕑 Added 2025-04-03 19:09:46 +0000 UTCIt took 4 hours to descend using appropriate decompression protocols.
They were approaching the last thirty minutes.
At this depth, even Frost’s [Protection Ward] faltered. Its limitation was strictly in its focus on HP rather than pure defense. This meant that it could not protect against attacks that exceeded its HP or bypassed it entirely.
The descent and equally the ascent were forces of nature that did not bend to her whims. An appropriate vessel such as Caldera Industries’ Diving Bell allowed one to reach a maximum depth of approximately 17,000 km beneath the surface of Elysia.
It didn’t seem impressive at first glance, until one had to remember that this wasn’t a hole that was bored into the ground, or a mere unmanned drill. This was a vessel that entered the cavities of the hidden world.
Just how deep could they keep going?
Actually… how deep were they in the first place?
The elevator shaft rocked. What was left of it could barely withstand the speed of their descent. The four-hour finale saw them move so quickly that the frayed edges of the elevator began to glow red-hot due to the immense friction.
“21,000 meters. We teeter on the edge of the Seventh known layer of the upper world.” Morgause solemnly recited.
Frost flicked through the notebook and saw that she was indeed correct.
“It’s also overlapping with the Eight Layer of the Maw of the World. At a depth of 34,000 Meters. Or, 21,000 if you minus the 13,000 from the Maw of the World itself.”
“We’re in the Subderma Layer right now? How come we haven’t properly experienced the bends?” Jury pointed out a crucial detail. “Plus, with how short the distances are from the first few layers… Why does it suddenly go this deep?”
“The Site designs itself.” Horus shrugged. “Besides. If you look closely enough, we haven’t been affected by the Thresholds. Nor is there a visible veil. Well, visible to those who have an eye for it. Like the Seers of Evelyn, or the knack to sense it. Children of Adam included.”
< The Site likely employs a sort of barrier to ward off these forces >
< It should be expected. Caldera Industries’ vessels are able to accomplish this up to a certain point >
The term ‘Threshold’ had come up numerous times before.
The first time she had heard of it were the selective barriers that protected a Beholder’s Workshop. The second it referred to a barrier that defended the Nexus from the forces of Elysia, at least according to the Arbiter.
The third was in reference to the Veil that separated the Expanse and the Beyond.
And now, the Threshold referred to a veil that separated the world into layers that pushed humans and monsters alike to their breaking point; physically, mentally and, crucially of all – their spirit.
Typically, after entering these Thresholds, she would be greeted with a prompt such as < Welcome to ‘x’ >.
Horus then spoke as the dark walls began to turn white.
“The Thresholds are relatively harmless to those of high Temperament. In nature, they’re everywhere. But they are so thin that they don’t truly matter. But, for us, there’s always a breaking point. If you saw it with your own eyes, as I believe you can, you’d call it more of a wave. A type of flow that saturates the body. One small crack is all it needs to erode you. You have two flavors. An abomination, sometimes looking like a plush toy or a mound of meat. Or just an Impuritas. Same thing.”
Frost wished she could see through these walls to view the unseen world. Did the Subderma Layer exist beyond these walls? Or were they stuck within kilometers of rock? Was it even rock?
Was it flesh-colored like the Derma Layer?
“Malgam…” Joy grimaced, right on cue with Morgause whose eyes became strained by the immense pressure of the descent.
“Frost. Are you thinking about blowing a hole in the wall?” Jury asked.
“You read me like a book.”
“Let’s not try to explore. If the Site is the only thing protecting us from the Thresholds and the curses, then we shouldn’t try to breach it.”
“Jury’s judgement is sound… Hm.” Dark Memoria contemplated on something.
Her words dangled on the tip of her tongue, and after a silent moment of deliberation and tapping on her elbows, she finally spoke.
“The truce between Lilith and I has been, for lack of a better word, made null since we’ve become aware of her direct involvement with the Impuritas.”
Horus shifted slightly from Dark Memoria as she silently observed her. Her appearance was identical to Aisyle, a fact that was not lost on Dark Memoria.
“Think of the Sites as a gravity well. You can picture Corrupted in the same light. What occurs within the gravity well is beholden to the star. It warps light to its whims. That would be the manifestation of Corrupted Zones, or in this case, the Site Core’s phenomena. But the Site Core fills a different type of law that I’ve still yet to understand.”
“It doesn’t feel like an anomaly. Or the reflection of a person’s state of mind.” Frost pointed out.
“Indeed. That’s the key component that separates the Corrupted Zones from many. Even the Beholders to an extent. But I must add, their versions are closer to Arbitration. The governance of reality, as per the nature of their Gifts and their corresponding owners. Ah. Forgive me, human and the Honored One of a dishonorable Angel.”
“The blood from the Oasis is not the blood I have vowed to serve.”
“I am aware. I would not speak of these hidden truths in the presence of those that I did not believe were trustworthy. I’ve done my due diligence. Believe me, Amalgam. As long as lingering regrets exist in this world, then I shall stalk every shadow cast upon Elysia.”
Horus didn’t make any stupid remarks or even breathe despite being mentioned. She knew her place, more so in the presence of what she considered an absolute authority.
This being was undeniably a deity.
It was also for this reason that she heavily huffed from her smoking pipe.
“A God of Cognition.” Morgause bowed for the nth time since Dark Memoria had joined them. “White Midnight have made a terrible mistake. Shall I dabble in the tortures used during the Dark Ages?”
“A waste. Do as you wish.”
She did not even see them as a threat. Neither did Frost, but Dark Memoria considered them as nothing but grains of sand destined to be taken by the tides whether she intervened or not.
“But do be careful. This one should have stayed behind.” She loomed over Joy, her eyes narrowing with scrutiny. “My temporal abilities does not allow me to turn back the clock on the living.”
Speaking of which–
–the sound of a ticking clock played the closer they approached the Seventh Level.
“That clock…” Horus murmured.
“Comforting, is it not?” Morgause hummed.
“Depends who it’s from.”
“Aisyle would pass as a ‘good’ ticking.” Dark Memoria stated.
She didn’t add, nor did she dare to ask what their relationship was.
Frost, however, had that luxury.
“None. Our kind never meet. Never acknowledge. Never know aside from what the other represents. We’re fractured shards of a greater whole, but ultimately express enough self-determination to not be bound by cycles... Which unfortunately is not the case. I’ve only marginally peeled mine thanks to your ambition. I cannot say the same for that one.”
The elevator gradually slowed. Surprisingly, they had not yet met any resistance. Then again, only cartoon villains would attempt to keep fighting an unbeatable foe. They must have retreated deeper into the Seventh Level.
Frost expected a last stand.
She could not wait to wave the Lantern before them.
“Wish-seeking Aberrations are dangerous.” Dark Memoria resumed.
The elevator shuddered as it came to a complete stop.
“But I would rather her wish come true than for the White Wing to strike her down.”
She eyed something through the walls. Frost’s [Non-Euclidian Interpretation] could not see anything at all, but Dark Memoria was tracking it with disturbing detail.
A pale world revealed itself to them. The reception alone was over five hundred meters from one end to the other, and from top to bottom. The sheer scale was beyond what was necessary for the Corrupted.
This was a Killzone Site. Not a storage Site.
So why was it so abnormally large? There were no furnishings here.
Just potted plants and golden murals spanning hundreds of meters in the shape of an eleven-branched tree. Each branch held a node. It depicted the pathways taught by the Yetzirah the Arbiter had found deep within the recesses of Paradisio.
The book that contained the origins of the Affinities, and how Nex could be harnessed either to Qliphoth or to Light.
It was through following its reverse process that she was able to create the Captured Star.
“What do you see?”
Frost and Jury followed her eyes.
They landed on a reverse tree of darkness that sprawled beneath a golden tree that sat in the center of the ceiling.
Finally, Dark Memoria answered:
“Qliphoth. It’s worse than I had suspected. The Genesis Stone should be ahead. As for that…”
She took Frost’s arm and began marching off in a random direction. There were no entrances or exists when viewed with the naked eye.
“Hey! Get your own Frost!” Jury cried.
“Malga!”
“Wait, what’s the plan?” Frost demanded.
“We split up. The priorities have changed. Frost and I will deal with the source of Qliphoth. A Genesis Stone should be of no concern to a Beholder.”
Jury clasped Frost’s hand, her thumb brushing over her wedding ring.
“Don’t lose your hand.” She pecked her lips.
So long as she had it, then she would appear by Frost’s side if she was ever in mortal danger.
“Yeah. I won’t. I’ll leave the revenge to you. Unless it’s possible for you to keep them alive?”
“If it’s a matter of keeping them alive…” Morgause trailed off, smiling beneath her visor. “I can make it happen.”
“I can put them in stasis too~” Jury said innocently, despite them hatching the most diabolical plan. “Revenge for Joy!”
“Revenge…!”
“… Is it too late to join them?” Frost sincerely wanted to take matters into her own hands, but the presence of Qliphoth took priority.
Besides, Frost did not want Joy to be anywhere near it. Having two separate teams reduced this risk.
If they had all decided to target the Genesis Stone, the Seed User and White Midnight first, then there was a possibility that the source of Qliphoth would eventually converge on them.
Once the plan was set, and after Frost applied an amplified version of [Protection Ward] – [Absolute Veil], and applied a slight overheal to Joy and Morgause–
–She departed for the nearest wall with Dark Memoria.
Parts of the wall faded, revealing an opening.
This was immediately relayed to Jury who was wondering just where they were supposed to go.
Thankfully, Horus was able to point them in the right direction.
“Alright. Dark Memoria. You have a place in mind?”
“Straight to the point. I do.”
They passed through enormous hallways, sterile of all life and meaning.
Yet ironically, it was in this isolated place that held the imagery of the Tree of Life.
Suddenly, Dark Memoria dragged an arm along the walls. The Site screamed at them. The guttural noises, which used to be mechanical sounds, were eerily like that of a living creature.
“We’re heading for the Site Core. Prepare for the descent. Either this Site takes us, or, we burrow our way down!”
