Shadowbane

"Are you sure you won't meet with the head of clan Inoue? He really wants to thank you, even if he is nothing more than a vassal to Uruguay now. And it seemed like he had something else he wanted to talk to you about, but he wouldn't tell me when I probed him about it." Irvine said.

I strapped the armored backpack onto my back and turned off the TV. "... I don't think I will. I really don't know why either. I'm just so..."

I could have been celebrating this entire time, surrounded by people who would praise me endlessly while attempting to bring me to their side. In other words; I'd be a very useful pawn for them. I'm glad I came back here, because this place is definitely amazing, but over time I've grown weary of the game. The game of words, hidden meanings, people using me for a means to an end, and so on and so on... I'm just gonna get the codes, buy my army of mercs and super soldiers, and then chop Viktor into a million pieces. Oh right, that includes his two fucking stooges that follow him around everywhere.

As happy as I am to see my Uncle again, and to meet that cute little cousin of mine, I'm having a really hard time seeing this place as 'my home' or somewhere I should be staying for a long time. Instead, all I can think about is how I belong in Gaia with the others. However, even if Viktor was already dead, I'd still be going for those codes and waiting to see if Yulong can decipher those texts. This is the one chance in my never-ending life to unravel those mysteries, and I'd rather not leave em as unknowns until the end of time.

A light smile formed on his lips and he ruffled my hair, "Okay, I get it. I won't ask you again. You do whatever it is that you want to. You're an adult now after all, which is something I'm still having trouble coming to terms with..."

"And you used to be this hyper-focused Uncle of mine who wrote books and argued for hours on end about different topics with anyone you met, but now you look worn-down and exhausted all the time. Which is fine by the way. I think it'd be stranger if you were still overly-enthusiastic about everything after almost a hundred years had passed."

Irvine looked up with a distant look in his eyes, "... I haven't been like that in ages. The last book I wrote was before you all left for Urza." All at once a look of pure rage appeared on Irvine's face as he hit the small with the side of his fist, "I told them... I fucking TOLD THEM not to travel to those shithole moons! But noooo, my weak little brother just had to listen to his domineering wife about how it'd be good for them to travel for a living. Oh the money was definitely good, no doubt about that, but there are plenty of ways to make a living in Arcadia, and yet it wasn't enough for that stupid fucking...!!"

I stayed silent as he raved about my parents (mostly my Mother) for several minutes. Eventually he just shook his head and walked over to the couch, plopping down on top of it before sighing. "I'm sorry, Hime... The truth is, I hated your mother. The weakness infesting our society began with people like her, and as if that wasn't bad enough, that fucking fool talked your father into bringing both of their daughters with them on their last trip to Urza. To 'show them the world' or whatever the fuck she said. I can't remember the exact words she used but I know her reasoning was complete garbage." He sighed and rested his forearm over his eyes, "Did you know that Sera had just been picked up by one of the main three clans? She was phenomenal at piloting the spider mechs, and she was the main pilot. Not a co-pilot or one of the weapon pilots. I'm pretty sure your parents just wanted to spend some time with her before she was whisked away by another clan, but still..."

I didn't know that, but it was by choice. When I first came back here and had dinner with him I was going to ask him about my family, but I realized in that moment that I really didn't want to talk about them.

It's just how I've always been. It's how I've survived and pushed on despite everything that's happened. I lost my family in the Xerath realm, then my friends in Xelba, and then Shana and Ishar... I just try my best to not to think about it while continuing to push forward.

My Uncle noticed I wasn't responding and smiled sadly at me, "I shouldn't have said all of that... I did notice that you haven't talked about your parents or sister once since returning, so I was avoiding the topic as well, but it still gets to me sometimes. And now every time I see you in this new form I feel a surge of anger toward your parents again. Except uh, yeah, I know I shouldn't be blaming them for my downward spiral into the person I am today. Sneering and complaining all the time while actually doing nothing."

"Would settling down with someone help? What about that Shannon lady at the head office."

"She..." Irvine sighed, "I really don't know if it would help. Whenever a relationship is entering the emotional attachment territory I feel this strong urge to run away now. And Shannon actually reached out to me while you were getting the emblems, but I've been avoiding her since then."

"What did she do that's making you avoid her?"

"She showed up at the bar with... Cookies."

"Oh my god were you okay?!"

Irvine rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah, laugh it up..." He paused for a moment, "Maybe I will call her today. I don't want to, but some part of me really wants to at the same time."

The console began to ring, and after a quick check I could see that it was Yulong calling. I reached out and pushed the button on the right side, connecting the call.

"You find something?"

"Perhaps, but we'll talk about it upon your return. For now, I am merely wishing you luck for your journey ahead. Try not to get killed out there. You are one of two people that I can talk to now, so don't reduce it back to one."

"Heh, will do... See you soon, Yulong."

I hung up as my Uncle stood up from the couch and walked over to the door. He looked back at me and said, "I'll walk you there. I always like the initial part of any mission. A lot of people hate the cold and the snow, but I think it's beautiful, and it'd make for a great place to live if it weren't for the bloodthirsty machines."

"I love it out there, but I barely remember what it feels like to be cold, so that obviously helps."

My Uncle and I walked to the elevator in silence, but once we were inside he said, "You only need to sign up for the mission and you're ready to go, right? You already prepped yesterday after all."

"I also need to visit Arkaios really quick. I was going to visit him the day I went to Yulong's place, but I've been putting it off until now for whatever reason."

The elevator stopped at R-4 and my Uncle and I made our way to Arkaios' temple. There were a few people around this time, but it looked like they were residents of the area. Nobody was going near the temple though, as per usual.

My Uncle sat down on a nearby bench and waved me off, "I'll wait here. I don't think I'm in the mood to feel even more disappointed in myself."

Understandable I suppose.

I entered the temple and immediately I could feel Arkaios' aura around me. Soon after that I could feel the connection between us being repaired. This time however, it felt far more dense, like it was packed with ether.

{That machine cut the connection as I was pulling you back. I've made it as durable as I possibly can this time, but I would still only use it in cases of emergency. Even now it may not hold up long enough for me to finish the transfer.}

Straight to the point huh?

"I see... I was really hoping I wouldn't have to wait for the Leviathan to return to Arcadia, but it looks like that's going to be the safer option."

{It is. Hide as you usually do and hibernate until the train arrives.}

"Will do, and thanks again, Lord Arkaios."

I entered a prayer pose but Arkaios immediately cut my concentration by speaking again.

{Its energy was Demonic in nature. It overpowered the connection with its own mana, so I could feel it directly. It was one-hundred-percent Demon energy.}

"Do you think the machines were made by Demons? But with how powerful they are, how come I haven't seen them anywhere else? You'd think Eremnon would be flooding every planet and moon with them if they were his."

{Sadly, I have no answers to this. Hopefully the codes will enlighten us. As I said before, I have long since given up on understanding the reasoning behind all of the Demonic corruption in my lands, but I am now cautiously optimistic about what you may find.}

I said goodbye to Arkaios and headed for the Expedition Lounge. It was currently packed as everyone was watching an important match of Blitz-Flag, but as we walked through the building more and more people turned to look at us, and that included the maid from before. She walked in front of us and blocked our path, causing us to stop as well.

"Shizue... Right? Do you need something?"

"Lord Reimia, I would appreciate it if you'd reconsider assisting my Masters."

Lord??? Now that's a new one...

"I don't know what they need, as I'm currently refusing all special requests. I have my eyes on something else right now. But after that's done, I may consider it." The answer will probably be the same though. It's not my fault they sold their souls to Uruguay while I was out acquiring their emblem.

Luna, do you sense anything off with this girl's soul?

{It's different, but that's all I can tell without touching it directly.}

Shizue stared at me unmoving for a few seconds before stepping to the side, allowing me to approach the main desk. Her movements are so crisp, I've never seen anything like it before. And then there is that weird soul of hers...

"Welcome, Irvine and Reimia." Evette said. She appeared calm, but I could see her eyes swimming. She was clearly wondering what I was going to ask for.

I leaned back and whispered to my Uncle, "Should I really say out loud which mission I want? There's a bunch of people nearby watching us."

Irvine shrugged, "You could just do the mission without actually signing up for it. That'd be unbelievably stupid for anyone else, but it's not like we'll be able to assist you out there."

"I heard that." Evette cut-in and sighed, "If you're really that worried Miss Reimia, then you are free to write it down so only I can read it. I'll destroy the paper afterwards, but people are going to know what mission you signed up for by tomorrow. I can only delay it that long. However, it is true that you can still do the mission without signing up for it, but as your Uncle just said, you won't receive any assistance out there if you do that, nor will you receive the rewards."

"Bah, you know that's a load of shit, Evette." Irvine continued, "You'll get the reward, Rei, just not the one posted on the mission itself. Which is admittedly a shitload of money and a bunch of other rewards, but you'll still be paid quite well for uh..."

Evette narrowed her eyes as my Uncle described my future rewards. Since she works the desk that gives out those very missions, she would know the potential rewards of any missions posted better than anyone else.

Instead of responding to my Uncle, Evette held her palm out and said, "Pass".

I handed my keypass to her, and she quickly inserted it into a nearby machine. Shizue stared at me without blinking the entire time Evette was typing. I haven't seen her blink a single time yet... Is she inhuman like me?

Evette handed my keypass back to me and I inserted it into my portable console. I went through a few menus until I found my current mission log, and sure enough it showed Arcadia's number one mission; 'Retrieve the core's codes: Danger level - MAX'.

"Is this the correct one? If you actually complete the mission and return here---Ah, never mind. Too many ears and you already know what I'm trying to say." She said with a smirk.

"... It is. Thank you, Evette."

We left the building with the maid and a bunch of others staring at us. We then went to the head office, where Shannon merely sighed and said 'See you soon' after approving my departure. Apparently she was already consigned to the fact that I'd succeed, but she was obviously more interested in someone else. She was staring at my Uncle the entire time we were in there, and as we were leaving the office he finally told her that he'd call her when she was off work.

Once we were outside all we had to do was wait on one of the nearby benches. The Leviathan comes straight through the dome and stops, so it was convenient for anyone who was planning to use it for transportation. And from the looks of things, I was going to be on a packed train. There was hundreds of people waiting around talking, while some groups were lighting up fireworks for some reason.

"Seven minutes." My Uncle said as we sat down on a bench with two other people on it.

"Just to confirm, it's going to take me twenty-nine days to reach my disembark point? And I can't help but wonder if the coordinates for the codes are correct. I mean, they're only ten miles from the train station."

Irvine chuckled, "You've seen how much of the map between the station and the codes are shadowed, so you know just how far the other groups have advanced in those 'only ten miles'."

... They barely made it a mile when all the connections to their consoles were lost. I'm really worried that the consoles had become completely inoperable, instead of just having their connections blocked. But even if that does happen, Luna says she should be able to pinpoint the location since she can calculate distances from maps down to inches. Still though, if possible I'd prefer to have the console. Plus, I want the damn thing to record my journey. Having it saved in a physical form instead of my soul realm sure would be nice to have.

I watched a group of people shooting fireworks at one another until I heard the sounds of the dome's walls on the left and right sides rising up. Soon after that the Leviathan entered the dome and slowed to a stop in front of us. Everyone was cheering, which seemed odd but I had to admit, it was an amazing sight.

"My god... I can't believe they call this a 'train'."

Irvine laughed as he stood up. I got off the bench next and followed him toward one of the dozen entrances waiting for us.

The 'train' was around one mile long, but the impressive part was everything else. It looked like a futuristic train on the ground level, but built on top of it was something that looked like a fortress. There was a large amount of cannon barrels sticking out of it mixed with energy weapons and glass domes all around it that had weapons mounted on them. They were clearly meant to be manned, but I couldn't see anyone inside of them.

"Is it really true that nobody has ever been inside the fortress portion? The fortress part makes up like ninety-five percent of the Leviathan."

Irvine nodded as we arrived at the open doors (which was a fifteen-foot wide glass partition that had detracted to one side), "Anyone who tries is immediately melted by the energy guns mounted on it, and o one has tried again in probably thirty years, since there's plenty of documented history about what happens to those who attempt to enter it. But like I said before, you're free to go anywhere inside the train itself. It's also nice that the machines won't approach it, nor will they fire at it."

{It's so cooool!! I never cared about power armor or tanks or any of that stupid stuff, but this is awesome!!}

It really is... At first it looks odd when you see a bunch of energy weapons protruding out of the walls next to the cannons, but it's bad ass looking no matter how I look at it.

"I'd love to see this thing in action. Forget Viktor, I bet I could destroy his entire nation with this thing. Not that I'd be able to do that since it's stuck on a set of a tracks."

"Now you're talking like a true Arcadian." Irvine smiled, "Every time someone here sees this thing, they want to control it for their own purposes. Most of the people here would destroy the machines though. You're in the minority who would want to take it somewhere else."

I looked around, watching all of the people boarding the train from it's multiple entry points. Most of them were boarding, with a few groups being seen off by their family and friends. I just noticed that over half of them don't even have any luggage. Uncle told me beforehand that it's used as a tourist vehicle for those with money to spare on the on-board meals that are produced from god-knows-where. But it's still surprising to see them treating it like a tourism vehicle... Or maybe it isn't? Technically this thing is the safest place to be on Aetheria.

"Alright Uncle, I'll see you in about four months. I know you're worn out and disinterested these days, but try and be ready for whatever the hell is going to happen after I come back."

"You don't need to worry about that. Bertram and I haven't been this excited in years. I watched that old fucker grow up, so I know it when I look at him. He has that old glint in his eye."

I said goodbye to my Uncle and boarded the train. The 'compartments' were abnormally wide and not train-like at all. They appeared to be around one hundred feet wide, which meant that even if hundreds of people had boarded the train, it still felt like the train was abandoned. Right now there was only one group of people in my compartment and they were settling in to play some of the games in the corner of the room.

I walked toward the back and entered the next compartment. It opened up to a room full of numbered doors on two different floors. I did what my Uncle told me to do and inserted my keypass into a nearby console. It flared to life and showed a long row of vacancies. I picked a nearby door on the first floor and it changed to 'taken' on the console with my initials next to it.

I took my keypass back and entered the nearby room. At first it looked like a regular luxurious room with a large bed, a couch, a table, and my own bathroom. Plus the machine that delivers food was in the corner, but that aside, it looked ordinary. However, the console had different themes on it that my Uncle swore would blow me away, and he was right.

Underwater, fire, sky, translucent... It had all sorts of themes that would change the way the entire room looked. But as amazing as it all was (Luna absolutely loved all of them), I settled on translucent. It made the wall ninety-five percent see-through. So you could clearly see the outside while just barely recognizing that there was still a wall there.

I took off my backpack and turned the recliner around so it was facing outside.

"I was stupid to think it was odd that people were treating the Leviathan like a vehicle for tourism. It literally looks like that's what it's designed for. Although, the fortress on top sure looks like overkill... Greatly appreciated overkill given the situation on Caedrus, but overkill all the same."

{It's so weird that the trip to the codes is like a luxurious cruise. Mom showed me memories of the one Termia used to have before an Eldritch ate it and the people on-board.}

"What a lovely story, but I'm not too worried about that happening here."

{But don't you think it's weird?!}

"It's definitely bizarre... It really shows just how weak the people of Arcadia are compared to what is waiting for them out here. Those forts in the high threat zone are nice and all, but they'd be completely destroyed by the machines in the dead zone. So when I think about it like that, those forts almost look ephemeral. Dreams of what they wish they could do."

And the codes are only ten miles from the place where I'll be disembarking. I can't stop thinking about that... It's not hard to understand why Luna thinks it's so weird. The luxury train ride is one thing, but the fact that their most coveted item is only ten miles away from the safety of the Leviathan is truly wild. I can't even begin to imagine what I'm about to run into out there.