Deepwoken: Divers

Freedom: Caged Beasts

The three younglings were talking to the diver apprentices in Castle Light, boasting about their success.
Kevin stood beside Klaris near the massive hole, looking at the trio. "Klaris... Today, your Divers will quit. They'll go outside the Depths... Some of them for the first time ever." He said, with a proud voice.
Klaris looked at Kevin, arms crossed. "Are you going with them?"
Kevin nodded. "I'm still worried about them... Even though they've grown so much... ....But I can tell you... You've raised these kids right."
Klaris looked away. "....Just be careful, okay?"

Kevin pulled Faust, Colt and Pakki aside. "Listen... The Ignition Union has something called a Deepdrill. It was made for travelling between layer one and two - But as a Deepdelver, I can use it to get out of here. Issue is..."
Pakki tilted his head. "Yeah...?"
Kevin shifted his orange eyes to look away. "... There's only space for two. I'll help whichever one of you with the tri-"
Faust shook his head. "Nah, me and Pakki will take the trial."
Colt looked at Faust. "You... Why..?"
Faust looked at the bell on his waist. "Me and Pakki have already unlocked our resonances... Pakki makes us effectively immune against monsters and I'm just awesome."
Kevin sighed. "Alright..."
As Faust turned to leave, Kevin grabbed his hand. "Just... Promise me something. Don't die in there... Okay?"
Faust was a little taken aback but nodded. "Yeah... You got it."
Colt hugged them for possibly the last time. "Don't you two die... I can't afford to lose anyone else..."
Pakki smirked. "After coming so far... I just... Can't die like that."
And so, they split into two groups, waving goodbye to each other as Pakki and Faust went to the City of The Drowned, whilst Kevin and Colt went back to the Chariot's Spire.

As Kevin sat in the shaky drill, he really reconsidered his options, thinking long and hard. "Kevin Donnet... I've an oath as an arcwarder, wield a blade designed to fight the second layer. Colt Kalinof; though he doesn't wield an oath or a resonance yet, he is mentally extremely strong. He wields a Rifle Spear alongside Thundercall so he can really control the distances. Even after the loss of his lover, he keeps pushing on... Faust Ytreshi; an Etrean with natural born fighting skills. Combine that with 17 years of training and you have a killing machine... He wields a Darksteel Greatsword, is a visionshaper... And has some kind of Resonance. Extremely powerful, but acts recklessly to cope with trauma... Possibly Melodias' brother?
And Patrick Jaeger; a Canor with a fiery determination. He dual wields a Crescent Cleaver and Gwen's Katana, in a way I've never seen before. In a way no one has seen before, most likely. Even if he isn't a natural fighter, it's safe to say that some part of him obtaining his resonance was through sheer willpower alone. And there's that resonance, Songspeaker. It allows him to control monsters, although he seems unable to control some of them which are too strong. ...No, sending those two really was the best option."

Meanwhile, Faust and Pakki entered the City of The Drowned.
"How... Do we open that gate?" Pakki asked.
"There are four bells littered throughout the city. Once you ring each of them they should open." Faust replied.
Pakki nodded, searching the city. He eventually saw one, high up in a tower. "Got it..."
He let out a loud scream, similar to that of a Megalodaunt's, as red sparks came off of his body.
A megalodaunt approached him. "Heh, this one's gotta help me get up there..."
The megalodaunt picked Pakki up, placing him on the side of the building from where he could easily climb up.
Moments later Faust heard the bell ring.
Faust and Pakki went around the city, ringing the other three bells in a similar fashion before returning to the District of Commerce, standing before the Cathedral they had opened up.
Pakki gripped his necklace. "I've been waiting for this all my life..."
Faust offered him a fist bump. "Let's do this."
Pakki took it. "Yeah... We're leaving, now!"

The two stood atop the elevator, pulling the lever and slowly ascending to a room littered with cages and lamps. After a few moments, it was like something entered their minds - voices.
"What a fetid lump of waste these ones are..." One said.
"Oh little ones... You mustn't leave your cage... Though it is simply adorable to watch you struggle..." Another continued.
"These ones are fit for crushing... I shall relish in scraping their remains off the floor." A third said.
The first voice spoke again. "Just be quick about it, will you? Their stench is already... Nauseating."
And just like that they went quiet. Once Faust and Pakki opened their eyes, they saw two massive humanoid creatures going for them, about twice their size.

One of the Enforcers, wielding a greatblade pulled Pakki in, attempting to slice at him.
Pakki parried it with the katana, slamming his cleaver into the Enforcer's side.
"It's useless... The armour blocks it!" He said, as the Enforcer attempted to kick at him, to which Pakki floated, making himself intangible.
Meanwhile, Faust blocked a hit from the Enforcer, lighting his greatsword in fire as he spun around to save his momentum, slamming it into the Enforcer's head, making a dent in it's helmet. "If you use enough force you can break through it!" Faust replied.
Pakki returned to normal, slicing at the Enforcer's chestplate rapidly with his katana, spinning around after the last one to use his cleaver to block another slash from the Enforcer.

Faust ducked under a swipe from his Enforcer's hammer, delivering an upper slash with his greatsword, knocking the Enforcer's helmet off.
Pakki saw his Enforcer go for another slash, moving alongside it's blade to dodge it before going under it and slamming his Crescent Cleaver against it to knock it back, focusing on the same point on it's armour.
Faust threw two flaming knives into the Enforcer's eyes. "Gotcha..." He said as he pulled his greatsword back, finishing off the Enforcer with a heavy strike to the head.
Pakki sheathed his katana and Cleaver focusing his shadow energy to the side as he put his hands together, forming a shadow greatsword. "I call it..." He said, stepping forward as he delivered a large sideways slash to the Enforcer's chest, breaking a hole in it's armour, the slash ripping up some of the ground near it. "...Shade Bringer!"
Pakki took his Crescent Cleaver out while the Enforcer stumbled back, running into it and impaling it before slamming it over his head in a signature move.

For the next few moment there was silence. Then, a new voice spoke up. "The conditions have been fulfilled. They are to leave unscathed."
And just as it finished talking, Faust and Pakki felt as though their souls are being ripped from their bodies, their eyes being forced shut.

When Faust opened his eyes, he was laying on sand. The quiet sounds of wind howling and birds chirping could be heard. He stumbled up, looking around. He was on a sandy beach. For the first time in his life, he was outside the Depths. As he scanned the area, he saw Pakki looking up at the Sun and out into the vast ocean that reflected the sunshine.
"Hey..." He spoke up, his voice a little shaky. "I told you we'd do it, didn't I...?"
As Faust approached him, he saw Pakki with a few tears rolling down his face. In one hand he was gripping his necklace, while the other was stretched out towards the sky with an open palm. "I told you... Gwen... I wish you were here... It really was worth it... The sunshine is just as beautiful as you said it would be..."