Soft Spot → Sylus

The Final Stand

Trigger Warning: Violence, blood, gruesome method of killing

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Materializing a whole island for the sole purpose of a military base is smart, though the lack of complexity applied to the DAA's barracks beats the purpose of making it the best hideout for one of Linkon's best and most prestigious armies. The DAA's barracks have the same structure as a general barracks would, the only difference is an additional building to the West where it served as an accommodation for the soldiers to live in; to simplify, there's a whole apartment building and a joint public facility for the soldiers to use.

So, by the time Sylus passes by the chow hall, it boosts his confidence that it shouldn't be too hard to navigate around the barracks. But, knowing Ever Science's unpredictability, Sylus thinks it might be quicker to stick around with Caleb.

So far, they have yet to encounter any other staff members along their way. The barracks are incredibly quiet too. It makes him high on alert, in case of an ambush. After passing by the chow hall, the corridor stretched farther deeper into the barracks. Occasionally, they would pass by some doors, which Sylus finds weird when he manages to briefly peek through some doors that are cracked open. Most of these rooms are empty, devoid of any furnishing and source of life. Just a dark room with a polished concrete flooring.

"They used to store supplies there. They moved it into the protofields since the government brought Ever Science as an associate to Linkon's military," Caleb explains, as if he's reading Sylus's thoughts. Sylus hums in response, but says nothing. Instead, he's trying to remember every single detail along the hallway, might come in handy later.

Caleb makes a curt turn to the left, pushing past a silver composite door. Sylus's eye begins to twitch as they step into the desolate room. There's a gaping rift on the right side of the door, on the army green painted wall. "Side note," Caleb turns to face Sylus with a placid expression. "The rift is purposely made to be unstable, so we might be separated along the way."

"Fine by me," Sylus shrugs. "Makes it easier to find (Name) quicker."

Caleb nods in approval. He turns to face the rift, stepping inside as the rift engulfed him in its mysterious power. Sylus lingers a moment longer in front of the rift, feeling his eye twitching every so often. This could mean that there's a wanderer on the side of the rift, a protofield filled with strong protocores, or one he wishes most to encounter, you. Whatever the rift hides in its mystery, he contemplates no longer and steps in, feeling the reality around him begins to shift.

Stepping into an unfamiliar room, Sylus glanced around in search of any source of life - nothing. The walls and floors are made of concrete, there are four doors in front of him and turning his head back, he notices that there are also four other doors with him standing in front of the third door. Unlike earlier, there was no present energy in the lonesome room, as his eye stopped twitching. So, where was that energy from when he stood in front of the rift?

Instead of dwelling on the questions swimming in his head, he turns around and pushes the door behind him open. Inside is an empty room with polished concrete and army green painted walls, very much like the ones he found in the barracks. Leaving the door open, he walked to the fourth door to his left and pushed it open. It's a homey lounge, complete with its furnishing; an armchair, a coffee table, bookshelves lining the walls, and a lit fireplace.

Turning on his heels, he walks away from the fourth door, only then noticing that the third door he had left open is closed. He doesn't think much of it as he goes for the second door, swinging it open. Strangely enough, inside is the exact lounge he saw in the fourth door. With a placid expression, he makes a quick conclusion. Closing the door, he goes for the third door this time, the one he's certain is just an empty room. Lo and behold, inside the door is some sort of track field with a patch of grass in the middle of the track, big enough to play soccer. Strangely enough, there's no walls, the sky hovering above reflects a dark gray.