Vitae Memorandum

78-Celestial Storm

The four girls descended the short spiral staircase, which opened into the center of a magnificent and huge chamber. The laboratory was itself huge, larger than the work space provided to Sxeiva, but still much smaller than the storage space they had been fighting in.

Rather than what the girls would imagine a mad scientist's laboratory would seem like, their first impressions were that they had entered a clock tower somehow. Gears spun everywhere with an ongoing click sound at a distinct rhythm and an endless faint hum. It was somehow still fitting, such an environment would certainly drive even the most stable person insane. It was all too obvious that this was in fact the core of the entire Fortress, the center of its entire operation. Lwyn could also tell by this significance, this was the root of her father's potential, and deep within such a presence he would have the greatest ability to act upon worldly elements.. such as the world's veil itself.

A storm cloud had gathered straight ahead, surging into the infrastructure above a great dais of the room. Centered below it, shimmering amidst the celestial fury, was the fortress lord himself. Khaexyn turned to them as they approached, himself not caught unaware. The look of disappointment at least made one thing clear, they had shown up to interrupt his diligent work, which might also mean they weren't yet too late. All they needed to do was to figure out how to stop him from completing his work, to whatever means that required.

"I see you three managed to once again entrance my daughter into your cause. I will still seek to deny you your hatred, I will make sure your corruption ends here. No more will the taint of the gifted inspire death and despair, I will ensure we have a world without such tragedy." Khaexyn still managed to speak like he was the good guy in this whole situation, and probably honestly thought that he was. However, the four girls were not so deluded to believe in the same statement, not completely. Khaexyn was not himself without faults, and the means and ends to resolve the issue Khaexyn sought an end for were both a vested problem. Lwyn still took a moment to consider his words, while the others reflected on his own faults.

"Are you serious? You think someone like you is going to end tragedy? Have you seen what sort of things you leave in your own wake? Even your staff here suffered when blindly bound to your cause, left with some of the worst conditions imaginable. Living conditions here were a mess, safety was fully neglected, and seriously I'm all too positive you don't even understand the value of life itself. Entrance? You ensnare your own loved ones and force them into your own bidding, even your own wife and child." "Sxeiva wanted free, but you would never. She could only suffer.. even past death had to suffer. You couldn't even let rest in death, had to force her unwanted shell to work even after. Steal rest, steal resolve.. steal hopes and steal dreams. All just steal everything from everyone.. minds, thoughts, ideas, will. Even from Earth, can't even think yourself, only steal." Thanrie and Mhyl were livid, finally getting the chance to express their ongoing fury at the one who inspired it.

Qheria and Lwyn were taken aback, totally unaware of these details. Mhyl and Thanrie had not shared the scenes they had found within the Fortress, the broken context such problems were left to resolve. Most of all, they had not shared the identity of the assassin who had tried to murder them at the Citadel. Catching on to the blank looks from Qheria and Lwyn, Thanrie threw one more verbal jab at Khaexyn. "I don't even see how you could ever be the one to stop world hatred, you are almost a seed for the stuff. Instead of letting your wife rest, you refit her mechanical parts into an assassin, and then send her to murder her own daughter. If we hadn't been so lucky, your daughter would have died to your own poisons!" Thanrie snarled the last statement, casting blame to Khaexyn. Qheria and Lwyn quickly put things together, realizing what this all implied.

Khaexyn was tempted to call out Thanrie for her lies and deception, but the despair he saw in his daughter quickly led him to doubt such. Clearly, he might have overestimated the thoughtfulness of his artificial intelligence, which might have then almost made a terrible mistake. Still, even being far from perfect, it was still far better than what the living achieved in their day-to-day hatred. "I might have you to thank for, for returning my daughter to me. I might even consider making a memorial out of such, for keeping my daughter safe this whole time. However, this does not erase everything else, you still embody the will of hatred and are still intent on denying the world it's own salvation. For that, you will still perish." At the ending of his statement, electrical surges filled the room by Khaexyn's gift. Clearly negotiations weren't a solution here.