Vyral

Chapter 6: Part 4 - The past never forgets

The group returns to the West Wing of the 6th floor and peeks down the elevator shaft.

Lily: "Bingo!!" She attempts prying the grated door open. "Alcatraz! Gimme a hand real quick."

With his help, they manage to push the doors apart.
Staring down creates an impossible distance between them and their objective.

Kohen: "Okay, this is good and all, but how do we actually get down?"
Orton: "Here." He throws him the end of a rope he's tying to some heavy furniture with Myra's help.
Myrellie: "I'll go first." She claims, before noticing Kohen had already began his descent. "Hey!! What did I just say?"

Kohen: "This isn't the time for that mom. Just hurry when I reach the bottom."

Myrellie sighs.
One after the other, they make it to the 7th floor.

For some reason, the flashlights barely illuminate these exceptionally musky rooms, it's so dark that they didn't notice how much dust and mold is covering the walls. It's almost as if something is eating the energy produced by the Aether. It reeks of rotten, soggy wood, which makes Kohen of all people pull a face. He'd much rather smell a tree being reduced to ashes.

Orton is especially observant. He's noticed some writing on the walls that, at first glance appears to be nonsensical. Sentences broken up by the syllable, spread and drawn across the walls, floor and ceiling of all the rooms.
Few minutes later, they reach the final of this floor at the end of the hallway, where the glass wall would be in all the other floors.
There stands a door, with a dim-lit keypad next to it. Although, some of its numbers have been replaced with letters.

Kohen: "Great. What now?"
Myrellie: "If I'm correct about this, The Order comes up with special codes that are all unique to each of their facilities. They need their people to know it without fail, even if they forget."
Myra: "I don't assume it's something they'd write down?"
Myrellie: "I'm afraid that's right. Symbols, numbers, letters, we have no way of saying what the code is. Especially when several of the buttons have been replaced."
Kohen: "So we're just gonna leave empty handed? After coming this far?"

Orton walks up to the keypad.
"I've seen these before..."
Lily: "Huh?? We're in an underground facility Orton, where could you have possibly seen these? And when?"
Orton: "Scribbled across the walls of this place."

These are Roman numerals.."

Myrellie reacts.
"How do you know about that Orton?" She excitedly approaches.
Orton: "It's really no big deal Myrellie, I learned about them with Myra."
Myrellie: "You're really doing a good job of teaching these boys Myra!" She approaches with a smile on her face, taking hold of both her hands. "I'm proud of you."

Myra's eyes part farther than they're used to, followed by a blush and a quiet smile.
"Thank you... I really try.."

Lily smiles, but shortly after drops it, approaching Orton instead.

Lily: "Okay. I get they're Roman Numerals. But how are we supposed to find out the code?
Orton: "That's new. Aren't you usually the one figuring these things out?
Lily: "Nevermind."
Orton: "I'm just joking. Normally, it would be quite difficult to find a code like this. But I got it already."
Kohen: "Woah woah, say what? Since when?"
Orton: "When we were exploring the floor! Man, you guys are slow. Even Starblessed Snails could keep up."
Lily: "No shit, dipshit! They have fucking space dust in them and we don't!!"
Kohen: "And they glow! How are we supposed to beat that?"
Lily: "We're not." She snaps.
Kohen: "Sometimes I wish I had their powers. I could light this whole place up in a jiffy."
Lily: "The only thing you'll light up is yourself. Fire." She mimics an explosion with her hands.