Ignacia Feltmane

A rotating crackling sound spread in her ears. One that slowly tore her out from her sleep. Around she heard several footsteps and impatient voices causing turmoil. When she opened her eyes she realized that she was sitting in a military helicopter which was filled with a number of soldiers.

"You idiot, there's no way this is normal! Check where that burnt smell is coming from. If there's something wrong with the helicopter, we're in big trouble!"

The only thing Ignacia remembered was that she had gone to a city called Juban for a diving expedition. After that, however, everything went black.

"Well, look who's conscious again!" a man with military gear and a rifle approached her. He had a crew cut and a slightly crooked nose. She ignored him and tilted her head, believing she could still remember the last events that had happened to her.

"Miss, are you aware that you have violated the basic law of the Oasis?«

He knelt down in front of her to get her attention. His words made her realize it all at once.

"Without a marine explorer divers are forbidden to dive" he grinned at her.

Her dark ochre eyes narrowed at his words.

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

"I don't know, do you have a Project Dive Pass?" he answered promptly.

Ignacia was silent and some soldiers in the background stared at each other for a moment. The soldier in front of her started to grin again.

"Or tell us who the marine explorer is, then we'll see under his name whether you are registered or not"

Ignacia frowned.

"I am Ignacia Feltmane. The granddaughter of the world-famous diver Edugarde Feltmane. You really want to tell me i need to show my ID?"

"That's enough!" a deep, loud voice suddenly shouted to the man. The crowd immediately fell silent when they saw the commander and took a step back. His bad mood was obvious through the thick wrinkles that formed on his nose. He was not happy that one of his men was talking to a prisoner. Even less since he seemed to be more enthusiastic about that than doing his actual work.

"What is this nonsense about? Entering lakes like these without authorization is still a crime. It doesn't matter if she has a contract or not!"

Another soldier raised his hand uncertainly,

"But well, if she could at least show her ID, then her punishment would at least-"

"I said it doesn't matter" he replied coldly.

"Y-Yes, sir!" shouted the soldier, standing bolt upright.

"She'll see what she gets out of it when it turns out in court that she dived alone and thereby violated the highest law of the Oasis! She won't have much daytime left, that's for sure."

Ignacia's features tensed.

"That's a ridiculous law!" she yelled, and rose to attack the commander. Two men grabbed her arms and pushed her back into her seat.

"Let go!" she screamed confusedly.

"I have personal business with the lake!"

"Silence her" he commanded. One of them pulled her arms forward while the other put a veil and shackles on her.

"You may be Mr. Feltmane's granddaughter. But you will still be punished the same as any other citizen. Whether you like it or not."

"We are now flying straight to the prison in Perun. Your fate will be judged more precisely there," he explained bitterly and Ignacia's expression darkened.

After a while the sound of the rotor blades became fainter and the helicopter seemed to be sinking. The commander then frowned and turned away to check the situation in the cockpit.

"Have you been able to identify the problem?" he asked the co-pilots.

"Well, there... seems to be a malfunction with the engine, we're losing lift. We have no choice but to return to Suavit and initiate an emergency landing..." one of them answered.

"A... malfunction?" he breathed tensely, "and that after our maintenance the other day?"

"Well... there's a first time for everything, I guess," one of the pilots muttered in an uneasy voice as he concentrated on controlling the machine.

"But we have everything under control. In autorotation we will make it safely back to the coast.”

The officer sighed and just shook his head.

"Don't you disappoint m-"

An explosion cut him off and suddenly echoed through the whole helicopter. Everyone got enveloped in a blinding light. Ignacia was startled when the shock wave threw her into a corner. She suffered a few bruises and abrasions when hit by a few boxes. She could hardly see anything because of the black smoke that now burned into her skin and eyes. The whole helicopter was filled with flames and apart from the rotor blades and the fire, no one was heard anymore. The helicopter circled in the air and sank ever deeper to the sea.

"Shmf-," Ignacia cursed several times incomprehensibly under the cloth.

She saw a survivor dragging himself to a box near the sliding door. She watched carefully as he took a parachute backpack out of it and threw it over his shoulder. With his wavering legs, he pulled at the heavy sliding door of the helicopter until it suddenly burst open in a flash. The suction that this created catapulted him outside faster than he could react and he was gone. The suction pulled her out too, and cold wind penetrated her from all sides as she was also catapulted into the open sky. The smoking helicopter crashed into a nearby rock and shattered. All Ignacia could perceive was the deep blue sky above her and the sound of the sea before her consciousness finally faded away. Her body hit the surface of the sea with a loud clap.

______________________________________________________________________

Suavit - military base - 3:30 p.m.

"We're sorry, but we can't give you any more information about Ignacia Feltmane. Even if they're family" said the secretary. A large fist struck the table in front of her in distress.

"You don't understand me!" Roberto replied.

"He is a marine researcher," he pointed to Takumi as he reached for the back of his head to bring him forward.

"She works for him. He signed a contract with her a few weeks ago!"

She blinked from Roberto's to Takumi's direction.

"Is that so, Mr. Okuyama?"

Takumi's breath got caught in his throat. This was, of course, a flat-out lie. Nevertheless, because he didn't know what else to do, he nodded in agreement. To his dismay, she reached for his file, which she had recently taken from a shelf, and leafed through it. When the pages with Erwin Lockstock's personal details ended, she tied the file back together and looked up at him skeptically.

"How come you haven't submitted the documents to the Oasis yet?" she looked at Takumi searchingly and he had to smile crookedly. »Well, you... you should know... lots of deaths recently. And we've both had our hands full of it.«

He felt Roberto looking at him strangely.

»There was a death in the Feltmane family and my partner Lockstock also passed away recently. Do you have any idea how much suffering and care that causes?«

"And that's why we haven't been able to put anything in writing yet..."

After these words, the hall fell silent for a moment. The secretary swallowed hard, but then she found her voice again.

"Whatever" she continued.

"She still needs a permit for the lake in Juban, since a lot of different artifacts and other valuable resources are believed to be there. That's why Ignacia Feltmane has committed a crime that can no longer be remedied. If you insist and think that there was a valid reason for it, then contact the West Maestro of Suavit. If you explain your request well enough, he might make an exception"

"Impossible! There has to be another way!" Roberto protested.

"We really can't do anything more! So please be so kind as to leave our building now!" she replied testy.

At that moment Takumi heard two people stepping out of a door behind him in the reception building.

"Air contact has been lost?" asked a man.

"Yes, the location of the helicopter to the Perun prison has disappeared from the flight radar" replied the other, perplexed. Takumi touched Roberto several times with his elbow to draw his attention to them.

"It's probably just a system error, that happens every now and then. The machine was checked yesterday. I'll take a look at it later" his counterpart rambled boredly. He was wearing a military uniform with a large belt around his waist. In his right hand he held a cup. They had probably just had a shift break, thought Takumi. Roberto quickly turned away from the reception and stomped resolutely towards the two of them. Takumi wanted to stop him, but he knew he would never be able to beat Roberto's strength.

"Where was he last seen?!" Roberto interrupted them and before the man with the cup could react he grabbed him by the collar of his uniform. Half of his coffee spilled onto the floor.

"Who are you and what is this disrespectful behavior?!" the soldier shouted beside himself.

"Roberto, please calm down" Takumi pleaded while looking around at other people staring at them. Roberto, however, remained serious and lifted the man in front of him half a meter into the air without much effort.

"Tell me!" he urged. The man swallowed nervously when he saw Roberto's angry eyes.

"O-on the coast... n-near the western alarm tower... of the port city of Barlor... I think" he trembled. The other just nodded. Also in awe of Roberto's appearance. They probably shouldn't have told him, but Takumi probably wouldn't know what to do if a giant like Roberto suddenly confronted him. Roberto then carefully let him down again and walked anxiously to the exit. When they stepped out of the gate into the steppe again, Takumi gave Roberto a reproachful look.

"I want to make one thing clear. If you get us into trouble, i want no part in it!" he called after him. His words seemed to fall on deaf ears, because Roberto was too busy getting into his van.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Takumi shouted and ripped open the car door that Roberto was just about to close next to him.

"Just because I'm helping you find her doesn't mean that I'm going to take her in straight away! Especially if you're putting my position at risk, like you just did!"

Roberto didn't even look at him, which annoyed him even more.

"Do you understand?! I can't afford to lose any more than I already have!"

"I understand that" said Roberto calmly. His gaze however was fixed on the steering wheel.

Takumi's shoulders suddenly slackened and he let go of the door. He had seen this face of his many times. With customers, his boss and even his girlfriend. Always this openness and understanding that he showed others, even though they were wrong. And now Takumi felt as if he was one of them too. He shouldn’t be the one who should let out his frustration. After all, it was about his sister's well-being. And if the soldier said earlier that contact with the helicopter she was in had been lost, then something bad could have happened to her.

"...What's this Ignacia Feltmane, I mean, your sister, like?"

Roberto's mouth relaxed.

"She's... strong-willed, talented and reliable"

"There's no one I'd bet on more than her" he finally said. Takumi noticed that Roberto was very confident in her, but he also heard a hint of desperation in his voice. Without saying another word, he also got into the van and buckled himself in.

"... We'll surely find her"

______________________________________________________________________

Ignacia woke up again, but this time her limbs ached and her senses were numb. A fan was spinning above her head on the ceiling. It reminded her a bit of the helicopter blades just before they fell. She looked around and noticed that she was lying on a leather couch which encircled the entire room. “Where the hell am i now? A living room?”, she pondered.

"Ugh— I hope this is the last time I've fainted today" she groaned and supported her head.

"I hope so too," shouted a short, plump man who climbed down from a ceiling hatch. When he stood in front of her, she realized he was a head shorter than she was. He wore a rain suit and had a mustache.

"How and where... did you find me?" Ignacia asked, puzzled.

"You little brat... how about you thank me first?!" he pointed at her.

He hinted to the seagull perched on his shoulder, "With Kassie. She let me know when she saw you curled up on the beach."

"A seagull saved my life?" Ignacia looked incredulously at the white bird on his shoulder, which was greedily trying to gulp down a piece of bread crust.

"M-my Kassie is smarter than you think!!" he shouted angrily.

"You're the 21-year-old Ignacia Feltmane who was supposed to be arrested in Perun, aren't you?"

"I guess you've already informed the authorities about my situation?" Ignacia asked disapprovingly.

"Not at all, you're the granddaughter of Edugarde, right?"

"Yes, that's me. You know him?"

"Me?... Noooo!" he exclaimed, "Why would I? As if a simple Signaltower keeper like me would ever have contact with such a great diver!" he complained and Ignacia raised an eyebrow.

"I admire him. I've read quite a few articles in the newspaper about his magnificent discoveries and diving records, and you look just like him!"

Ignacia ignored his bragging and turned to the window, wiping the condensation with her hand. Then she realized she was in a tower that stretched several hundred meters up from the ground. She had a view of the entire mainland of Suavit Island. She could see the harbor, small towns in the distance, and high mountains, some of which were covered in ice. The sun was already setting on the horizon, casting a reddish glow over the land.

"I'm... nauseous," she finally said.

"I'm not surprised. You should be grateful that you survived the fall from that height. I didn't find anyone else on the beach. Here," he handed her a can.

"Canned food?" Ignacia asked skeptically.

Ignacia opened the can and saw a mush of vegetables, fish, and something else she couldn't identify.

"You were out there in the rain for hours. You should eat something."

"Fine," she replied dryly, taking the fork Paolo handed her. Does this guy eat this every day up here? she wondered in disgust as she poked around with the cutlery. With difficulty, she brought the fork to her mouth. She was hungry, but wasn't sure if she could trust the food.

"Don't worry," he laughed, "It tastes better than it looks. Trust me. My name is Paolo, by the way."

"What were you actually looking for in Juban Lake? Didn't you know it was taboo?"

"I... went there to search for an Emblem for my grandfather..."

"An Emblem?" he murmured.

Ignacia pulled out a bottle from her leg pocket that contained a rolled-up piece of paper. She untied the knot of a bow that tied the paper together and spread it out on a table in front of him.

"Not that someone like you could do anything with it" she sighed.

Paolo glanced at the drawing on the paper. It was a picturesque white cross with four equally long ends, with dark thorns protruding. Three rings circled it at uneven intervals, and behind the center were two crossed blades.

"A painting?"

"No.. a gate."

"Actually, I can't think of any gate with such motif, but if it's an access to a treasure, you'd better stay away from it. It's a big mistake to mess with the Oasis, and your grandfather should know that. Why of all things do you need to search the depths of a lake for something like this for him?"

Ignacia stared at him silently for a while, but then she became angry.

With a loud clatter, she suddenly dropped the can. The entire contents scattered on the floor, and Kassie eagerly dove into it.

"Ugh... what a waste!" he shouted in disbelief.

"I don't have time to dawdle and tell you my whole life story! The regiment is probably already searching for survivors, especially me!" she exclaimed, running towards a wide spiral staircase that went down several dozen steps.

"Is that the exit?!" Ignacia shouted impatiently.

"Well we have an elevator. This exit is just for emergency. But you don't want to go out in your state and in those clothes, do you?" he pointed to her wet suit. "And where do you actually want to go?"

"Where of course? To a place where the Oasis won't—"

Find me, she wanted to say. But then she felt dizzy. She held her forehead and collapsed onto her knees. Everything was spinning, and it took a lot of effort to keep her wobbly legs upright. Shortly after, the saltwater she had swallowed from the sea came back up, and she vomited.

"Great..." he groaned, half worried, half disgusted as he saw her huddled on the floor.

"This is what you get!" he threw a large towel at her head.

"Go take a bath first you dirtbird and then we'll talk again! 'Kay?!"

The bathroom wasn't hard to miss as it was right in the middle of the room. Silently, she removed the towel from her head and dragged herself to the door.

"Hmpf, she didn't need to act so high and mighty," he muttered as he picked out some clothes from a wardrobe and laid them in front of the door. Kassie, still on the floor, glanced briefly in his direction.

"Right now i have a much bigger problem," he murmured as he went to the window and looked out at the raging sea. "Ughh, it's getting dark!" he noted with concern. Quickly, he grabbed a flashlight from a drawer. Then he climbed back onto the stool under the ceiling hatch. "There must be one up here somewhere."

He squeezed through the hatch with difficulty, crawled across the floor to the wooden box he had previously opened, and rummaged through it again. "Just where is it?! Damn the Maestro is going to kill me!"

He turned on the flashlight and, after finding screwdrivers, light bulbs, and pliers, finally found what he was looking for: a spark plug. He sighed with relief, "Even in chaos, you can still find something here!"

He squeezed back through the hatch, jumped onto the stool, and put on his lace-up boots. "Well, are you coming?" he glanced at the seagull. Without waiting for it, he sprinted to the elevator and pulled a lever. The seagull followed his movements and settled back on his shoulder just as the metal gate closed behind them.

Ignacia looked around the bath cabin. Compared to the tower, it was anything but modern. It was a semicircular room with a bathtub that looked like a barrel. A thin sink was mounted in the middle of the wall, and a tiny toilet stood behind it. Sighing, she climbed out of the wooden bathtub. She took a fresh towel and dried her long felt hair. After putting her wetsuit back on, she stepped out of the door and saw the clothes Paolo had left for her folded by the wall: a sweater and pants. Without a word, she put on the sweater and returned to the main room.

"Where did that weird guy go?" she wondered, looking out the window again. The sea was now pitch black, and the stars were already visible in the sky. Grimly, she lay down on the couch and looked at the ceiling. The soldier's words in the helicopter echoed in her ears.

"Do you have a Project Dive Pass?"

"Tell us who the marine explorer is."

A creaking noise from the tower's steel suddenly made her jump. For a moment, there was silence, but then the tower began to vibrate and make more painful noises. Ignacia held onto the couch.

"What the?!"

A vase shattered on the floor, two paintings, and a calendar slid down from the walls.

"Damn it!!" Paolo shouted, who had just run up from the spiral staircase.

"Paolo, what the hell—"

"We— We're screwed!" he gasped.

"And it's— just because I couldn't replace that damned spark plug in time!!" Ignacia looked questioningly at the piece of metal in his hand. Paolo tried to compose himself and took a deep breath.

"I think we're being attacked by an Offspring", he stated as he held on tight on the door frame. On all fours Ignacia immediately crawled to one of the windows and searched the ground. However, except for the noise creeping closer to them she couldn't see anything in the dark. Then she saw Paolo pressing a button on the wall, and a control panel rose from the floor. The panel had several buttons and knobs.

"This coast was often attacked by them in the past due to its steep sea floor. That's why we've installed signal buoys on the water. Their lights alert us when they approach and also keep them away."

Ignacia peered out the window again.

"But i don’t see them!"

"Exactly, because the generator they're connected to isn't working. That's what I was trying to fix earlier, but the path down was blocked by the damn creature!"

"We're not trapped in the tower are we?!" she asked. Paolo fell silent and his face was pale.

"We need to get the generator running again. That's the only option we have. There's another way to get to it."

"You... are a diver like your grandfather, right?"

Ignacia hesitated and suddenly heard a loud clicking. Something seemed to be rising above the ceiling.

"If you run down the stairs, you'll find windows at regular intervals in all three directions of the tower. Just before the impact point, there should be one about thirty meters from the ground. From there, as a Diver, you could easily jump into the water, right? If you then go a few more meters deeper, you'll find the cables loophole. It leads directly to the source. I... will try to distract the Offspring in the meantime."

Ignacia's features stiffened.

"Just to summarize. I'm supposed to jump into the sea while an Offspring is waiting for me out there?"

"I know you haven’t recovered yet. But if we don't do something, we'll all die! It won't be long before more of them notice this weak spot and attack the coast," he explained seriously.

Ignacia eyed him in disbelief.

"Do you have a better idea?"

She thought for a moment but then Paolo took the opportunity to throw the spark plug at her..

"We have no time. Either we do this or we die!" he shouted and Ignacia almost missed the spark plug by a hair's breadth. "Kassie, show her the way!" The seagull snapped at her felt locks and pulled her toward the spiral staircase.

"Alright, you annoying bird!" she complained, grabbing her hair to shoo it away.

"I know very well what to do!"

"Ignacia!" Paolo called after her.

"What?!"

"I'm counting on you- and..."

"Watch out for yourself!"

Ignacia sighed reluctantly and tucked the spark plug into a narrow pocket attached to her lower leg.Then she stood up again.

"Well, Likewise" she huffed with a narrow grin.

Then the bird glided straight down into the depths of the tower. She darted after it, step by step. Ready to face the abomination.