SAKROSANKT

Chapter 4

Based on the horror game "SIGNALIS" by rose-engine


SAKROSANKT

written by Matthew Leonard Oliver Adam N.




AKT-EINS: VINETA

VIERTE BEWEGUNG: WINDHOSE

Footsteps echoed down the hall, sounds bouncing off the ivory, abandoned walls. As he advanced, Ameise scanned the area with his azure eyes. No sign of movement. Keep a clear line of sight on all angles, as opposition could come from everywhere. In front, behind, from the sides? An unseen ambush of EULR units could be coming. Fail to look above or below? An ARAR could get the drop on his or drag him under the floor. Atleast, now he knew what Gestalts meant when they said they found something nerve wrecking. The first office door was passed. No response came. The door was barely hanging on, open in a crooked manner, displaying the decrepit interior. A workbench, cracked in two by what Ameise assumed was to be blunt damage. Powertools strewn about, with a hammer embedded in the wall right above the bench. Must've been thrown with quite the impact too, as it was buried quite deep, enough to penetrate both concrete and steel. Even if he wanted to retrieve it for personal use, Ameise figured it was too deep for him to pull it out. Perhaps if he had the strength output of a BEAR or a MHNR Unit, he would be able to.

No use ruminating on it, however. Instead of pondering what could have spiked the hammer into the wall, Ameise moved on, hoping that whatever had caused it was no longer here. Step out, and move ahead. No movement detected. Makes sense. As long as he didn't cause any trouble or accidentally misfire his gun, everything would be alright. . . right? As he approached the second of the 4 office doors, he could see that it was non-existent. As it, the interior was reduced to rubble, the debris preventing entry. That aside, the only thing remaining was an arm sticking out, surrounded by a lake of blood. The Replika buried was hard to determine, but judging by it's build, it was most like a combat oriented Replika, likely a STCR or a STAR. What was most fascinating, however, was the damage dealt to the weapon she had used. It was a standard issue hangun, one mass produced by AEON, with the slide and the barrel completely torn off the handle of the gun. Taking hold of the handle, Ameise ejected the clip. And it would appear he had struck gold. 10 mm ammunition. 14 bullets in the magazine, sans the one that was most likely in the chamber. Normally, not just handgun, but all sorts of equipment produced by AEON is rather sturdy. So what exactly did accost the dead Replika? If it was the same thing that had spiked the hammer into the wall, then it must have ridiculous amounts of strenght. Once made loose, Ameise slid the ammunition into the pocket of his trousers. This was no cause to be lax, however. If he wasn't careful and didn't aim properly, he was highly likely to be done for. Placing each individual bullet into the magazine mid combat just wasn't feasible, if not outright ridiculous. As he held this inward debate, Ameise's eyes fell upon the window, casting his look outside. Something didn't look right. As it was when he first arrived. Thick fog, indeterminate light. It was all grey. Different shades of grey. It was impossible to determine the time, even under the best of circumstances. In fact, it was with great difficulty that he could see the towering spire just before him, leading ever upwards. That was not the way he had to go, however. His duty was to go down. That in itself was a task of its own. All he knew was that the supposed monolith was somewhere underground. But where exactly. Wait. . .

Was it a gate? Or a monolith? His eyes gazed to the sky, where one would be able to see the Sonne, or the Mond orbiting Vineta, giving the flooded planet its illumination. What was it that was drawing him to it? Just endless grey. There was nothing else, so what gives? His eyes narrowed, trying to focus on one particular spot, for some unknown reason. Just as he lost focus for a split second, a flash of red, and his body froze. Was that. . . a moon?

No. Moon's, especially Vineta's Mond, wasn't red, and wasn't adorned with specks of black. And most certainly wasn't surrounded by spiked elipses. Ameise attempted to move his body, but he couldn't. His frame shook feebly as he attempted to bring his limbs in motion. His vision grew corrupted, shaky. It was akin to someone turning on a TV with its screen smashed. Every little detail was lost in the static, save for the redness.

>ACHTUNG

>ACHTUNG

>ACHTUNG

What. WHAT. WHAT??? What was he looking at? What was this feeling? Slowly, so very slowly, the elipses glid down from the top, a second rising from the bottom. As they met in the middle, the maddening redness ceased for a split second, and Ameise knew what the feeling was. The moment where time is slowed, where one is aware of every little bit, the blood rushing through their veins, the pounding of the heart in their chest, the dead silent moment, seconds before the predator tears into its prey, it was the quintessential, pure form of DREAD. And that only skyrocketed once the elipses shot open, the red swallowing him like a sinkhole devouring a ship, dragging it into the inky depths, and Amesie knew deep down why such terror had gripped him; he was looking at an EYE. In place of the Mond, there was a red eye in the sky, watching him, its tenebrous iris trained on the hapless Replika.