Legend of Mautau: Angelorum Lux

Ch 34: Poltergeist

           Stepping into the faintly lit room, everyone found themselves in strikingly different surroundings. While overgrown with roots, vines, moss, and various other resilient plants growing within the Deus Calx itself, the room had clearly been the home to amazingly advanced technologies as everywhere strange devices and controls were scattered throughout the room. Most impressive, however, was an enormous glass cylinder that was attached to the ceiling in the middle of a large hole in the floor. Looking over the railing around the hole, it seemed as though it were a bottomless chasm. The cylinder seemed to stretch down into the chasm as far as you could see, and within it glowing EDE churned and twisted, overflowing out of a crack in the cylinder far below them. The overflowing EDE poured out like water, but shortly after leaving the cylinder it dispersed into the air. Looking around the room in wonder, Amy had forgotten her fear as she exclaimed, “Wow! Are we really still in a dungeon?” Picking up a dead twig and tossing it into the chasm beyond the railing, as he watched it disappear, Grey muttered, “I doubt it. Just what is this place?” There was a grim look on Alexander’s face as he stared at the glass cylinder. Looking at the crack in it down below in the chasm, he said, “I would say this must be the catalyst that created your humanoid anomaly Catherine…” Likely more fascinated than any of them, Scott quietly said, “I’ve never seen any technology that uses EDE on this scale!” Looking at Serius, as Serius turned to him and their gaze met, Alexander said, “I’m rather certain I already know what this is, and I’m sure you do as well…” Serius closed his eyes and muttered, “Yes. There’s no doubt.” Turning from the cylinder to look at the two with suspicion, Grey said, “Well you think you could enlighten us then? Cause I’m totally in the dark. What the hell is all this?” Stepping away from the railing and starting to look around for what they’d come here for, Alexander said, “Nevermind for now, we need to get the Cruciamentum and leave this place. I certainly don’t want to see what mutation that anomaly went through with all this EDE at its disposal…” Spying a cluster of Cruciamentum growing in the far corner of the room, Alexander began making his way over to it. Suddenly, Amy became rather alarmed, and she shouted, “Alexander, stop! I’ve got a bad feeling there’s something very dangerous coming!”

           On his guard, Alexander scanned the room as loud, eerie laughter echoed through it. Turning to the others, he shouted, “Get ready to run, I’m grabbing the Cruciamentum!” Dashing forward, Alexander had almost reached the Cruciamentum when he suddenly saw a pair of red glowing eyes upon the wall above the plants. In realization, he thought, “It was waiting for me to try and take it?!” Alexander quickly leaped back as from the wall itself long curved blades suddenly swung forth at him. Seeing this, everyone rushed to his side, their weapons ready as they watched the blades sink back into the wall. Staying behind Grey, Amy said, “How did it know?! I mean, it’s like it knew exactly what we were after!” As they all gathered together, they eyed the walls warily, and Serius said, “It’s possible it knew what the word Cruciamentum refers to during its life and it somehow retained that knowledge. Beyond that I cannot say.” Searching the room for any sign of the anomaly, Grey thought in frustration, “It’s like we really are fighting a ghost! I mean, I know Altera Veritas’s anomalies are able to pop outta walls, but usually I can sense a strange fluctuation of EDE when they do that! This thing… I can’t sense it all!” Then Grey felt a bit of dust land on his cheek. Slowly looking up, he saw a dark shadow with glowing red eyes above them, and he quickly shouted, “EVERYONE MOVE!” Grey pulled Amy with him as everyone moved away just as the creature came down and slammed its long curved blades into the ground. Turning to look at their attacker, Grey was shocked at its appearance. While it wore a dark robe somewhat like Altera Veritas’ humanoid anomalies, the blades that came from the sleeves of its robes were curved like the blades of a scythe, and it wore a chestplate over its robe that was black on the right side and gray on the left side. Also, it did not wear a hood, but a regal looking faceplate which almost made it appear to be wearing a crown. Most strikingly different however was that from the back of its head came very long dark grey hair. Staring at it in terror, Amy shouted, “W-what IS that thing?!” Holding his sword ready as he eyed it warily, Alexander said, “I assume this is the one, Catherine?” Looking rather unnerved herself, Catherine replied, “Yes, that’s it! Reaper!”