Siren's Elegy Volume 1: Orphans of Ashen Earth

Chapter 55: Into the Sunken Forest

October 04, 4021 06:00 [Chasm Entrance]

"All set?" Stanley asked, leaning against the side of a Crawler with his arms crossed.

Indra finished packing the last of his gear in the front compartment of the machine, turning to the tailor with a grim smile.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he stated. "Thanks for everything, Stanley."

Two weeks had come and gone. The day of the expedition had arrived.

Stanley raised an eyebrow, clicking his tongue. "You say that like it's the last time I'm going to see you, kid. I don't want to hear that kind of talk. However long it takes for this expedition to conclude, I'll be waiting to hear back from ya, deal?"

Indra managed a weak chuckle. "Deal."

"You better hold up your end then, because I wouldn't have upgraded your suit if I thought you would kick the bucket easily. If you aren't going to put up a fight, you might as well roll over right now, got it?"

"Got it. So, these upgrades, do they reinforce our defenses in any way? I'm asking because the previous suits didn't do much in the way of shielding us from each other's Traits," Indra pointed out.

"Yes, one of the upgrades bolsters your defenses. Believe me, I would've made them a lot more durable from the get-go had I known how quickly your batch would outgrow the suits' capabilities. Those suits were practically made of paper, the way you kids tore into them," Stanley chuckled.

Indra shook his head. "Still, I'm grateful. The suits, the upgrades, the pills, everything. You've done more for me than I can ever thank you for. I don't know how to repay you."

"You can live. Do your best to survive, and keep your comrades out of harm's way. If you can come back in one piece, that's payment enough," Stanley replied, his eyes crinkling.

"I'll do my best," Indra nodded.

"Oh! One more thing."

"What is it?"

"In addition to the durability upgrade I installed into the new DIVE Suits, I implemented a little something extra to spruce up their designs. The suits now come with built-in holographic displays, so you can customize your look however you want. I may have also taken the liberty of designing a few presets for you," the tailor explained.

Indra checked his Nerve Cord, a new icon labeled [Suit Customization] present at the top of his dashboard. He pressed the app button, scrolling through a number of designs, intricately and meticulously crafted from scratch, each with its own unique personality and flair. There may have been a time when Indra would have scoffed and rolled his eyes at the new 'feature', finding it impractical and ridiculous. Now, however, with the looming threat of death hanging above his shoulders, he could do with some levity.

One design, in particular, had caught his eye, its make reminiscent of knights' armor. A cloak of red fur, fastened by golden chains, flowed behind metal pauldrons connected at the neck of a dark green cuirass with a set of greaves to match. Indra selected the preset, grinning as the outfit materialized onto his DIVE Suit instantaneously.

"Now that is a very good choice, my friend—a personal favorite of mine," Stanley whistled, admiring his handiwork.

Indra inspected his body. The DIVE Suit felt just as light and flexible as before, yet the topographical mapping of the projection software seamlessly rendered the new design in real-time. It was as if he had really donned a set of knights' armor.

"If I'm going to go out, at least it'll be in style," Indra joked.

"That's the spirit, kid. A little morbid humor goes a long way. Just make sure you don't give it any real thought," Stanley advised.