Ch 31: The Moon.

The Moon’s light fractured through the smog. After hearing that the beast was only seen at night, the Spearhead was forced to wait sundown to make their move.

They surveyed the Crystal Powerplant from a nearby grassy hill. From here, they could see the colossal concrete structures and metal tubing, covered in layers of grime. After being shut down and left to decay, nature had reclaimed what once was hers. Tangling fauna rose from the cracks in the concrete, climbing its walls and sprouting through its rust.

Oden turned with a soft smile to Snow. She nodded. Then, closing her hands together and her eyes as if praying, her frosted hair and pastel frills swayed as light emanated from her. Glowing, floating runes shimmering in and out of the air around her, she opened her eyes again.

“Five. Five people. Four people now. Looks like they’re fighting.” Her voice was gentler than a whisper.

Oden gently ruffled her hair as he turned to the rest of the Spearhead. “We’re slaying this beast and then coming home—all of us.”

Feeling the rifle in his grasp rattle, Ace tightened his fingers.

That’s right. I’m not by myself anymore. We’re fighting as a team.

With each other side by side, the Spearhead ventured into the Crystal Powerplant.

                                                                      ***

Vines overflowed the concrete. Oden led the way, cleaving through the fauna, swinging his axe both effortlessly and efficiently. Noticing the fluctuations of aether in the air, Mira warned the rest of the Spearhead. Snow could feel it too. Was it from the powerplant? The aether crystals should be dormant by now, which meant that someone or something was suppressing their aether. They tightened their formation to be on the air of caution. Oden was at the front, followed by Shell and Mira, while Hiro, Ace, and Snow were supporting from the rear.

“There. Down that way.” Snow murmured.

“Down…there? Are you…sure?” Oden peered into the abyss.

The Spearhead walked to the edge of a chasm. A gaping rectangular hole in the ground that stretched for hundreds of metres. Metal platforms overlapped at various levels, forming a network-like structure. At the same time, cylindrical tubes ran across the sides and along the platforms—a nightmarish labyrinth of metal reactors and wires connected by metal platforms, stairs, and scaffolding. It descended into the void as it was far too dark to see the bottom.

“The fluctuating aether. It’s coming from down there,” Mira said, shooting a small flame into the chasm. The flame descended, illuminating the metal platforms and tubing around it, until it became smaller and smaller. Just when she thought it couldn’t fall for much longer, it only continued. The depth of this chasm was like an ocean—an ocean of metal structures.

Everyone stood frozen. “No way we're going down there.” That’s what they were thinking.

“Can we not lure the beast out?” Hiro said.

“Fourth Echelon,” Mira chanted, her diamond necklace shining as bright as her eyes. “I call upon the great ocean spirits of the Azure, grant me strength, Striking Tides!!!”

Water swirled around the glowing rune circle, gaining turbulence with each rotation, before crashing down into the chasm. Collapsing a platform with it, the spell dropped into the void, returning only echoes and then silence.

“Can we wait for it to resurface?” The last thing Hiro wanted to do was to climb down into this monster's lair, especially after the Commissioner’s warning.

“There’s no telling how long that could take. What if there are people down there waiting to be rescued?” Oden replied.

“Well, Mira might’ve just crushed them so…”

“I did not!” She scrunched her brows as the tips of her pointy ears blushed.

“The chances of someone down there are low anyway.”

“But never zero. Off we go.” Oden leapt to a slightly lower platform, beginning their long descent, and the others glanced at each other before following.

Snow cast a ball of light that followed above their heads, illuminating the way. The platforms creaked under their weight as they journeyed down, their footsteps echoing through the hollow metal tubes.

Blood. Both fresh and dried, trails and pieces of flesh began appearing. With each level they descended, the closer they were to hell. There were signs of struggle, bloody footprints and handprints, and metal pipes that had been burst open.

Being dragged down this endless pit by a monster. That’s terrifying. So why am I diving down here like I’m Dora the Explorer or something?

Ace looked back upwards to see how far they’d gone. The night sky was crossed with platforms and staircases.

Too deep to turn back now. Let’s hope Shell cuts it in half, and we can call it a day and get out of here.

“Wait.” Mira held up her hand. “Do you sense that?”

“That’s corrupt aether.” Hiro’s eyes widened.

“That means that this leads to the…”

“Hexgrid,” they said in tandem.

“Contact Hellia! Quick!”

Both Oden and Shell tried, but neither could reach her. Was it a signal jammer?

“We might need to start climbing back up for a signal,” Oden said.

“We should be more than halfway to the bottom now. What if it’s just a beast that escaped from the Hexgrid?” Shell signed.

To lose all that progress would drain their energy, all before even coming into contact with the beast. But before they could decide to climb or descend, a blood-curdling scream rose from deeper in the chasm.

And with it, a torrent of aether. The entire chasm shook from the sudden pressure.
Hiro’s eyes met Mira’s. Both mages hit with disbelief that anything alive could be this strong. We’re f*cked. That’s what their looks said.

“RUN!” Mira screamed at the top of her lungs.

Ace choked on the sudden change in the atmosphere. It was so thick it was hard to breathe.

They scrambled across the metal platforms, not daring to look beneath them. But it was catching up. It was fast, and as it approached, the density of aether only increased. The closer it became, the harder it was to crawl away from it.

Knowing they couldn’t run fast enough to escape it, Hiro turned to see what it was. But it had already passed them.