Volume 2 Chapter 17 Hopelessness

Chapter 17 Hopelessness

I

In the underground cavern, the wall of which was made of sandstone, Aislina, Floria, Yanni and Starsha were sitting in a circle.

They were looking at each other but remaining in silence. Yanni was lying on the ground and Aislina was healing him. Starsha was looking at the ceiling of the cave, zoning out. Obviously, she was thinking about her father.

They just met each other but he died within 24 hours. She felt sad but failed to cry. She wanted to revenge but she was too weak.

Hopelessness. There was only hopeless in this stuffy cavern. After bathing themselves in the Spring of Sylvana and starting the adventure with Aislina, they hadn’t met such a strong enemy.

The enemies they used to fight against were vincible. Though some of them were stronger than them, they could still win if they fought together.

However, this time it was different. Leaving a small bleeding wound on Nephrenbethys’ skin was the best they could do.

They had no chance to beat such a fearsome enemy.

A campfire was set up, illuminating the dark tunnels. They were surrounded by darkness but they were not afraid at all because the world was going to be mechanized and nothing was worse than mechanization.

After the mechanization brought by Macchina Gloriosa, they were going to lose every precious part that humans had. They would have no emotions and no love. There would only be ration and digits.

Maybe Nephrenbethys was right. The whole world was composed of numbers. All things were number and all things could be analysed by machines. There were nothing higher than numbers and machines. Mechanization was a process that brought humans to their substance.

Their believes were broken. Aislina loved the world of nature and greenness, but they might be compose of combinations of numbers; Starsha loved music and art, but they could be analysed by machines too. The material and the universe might be a huge unity of numbers and digits.

What they once believed and what they had been fighting for meant nothing. They once scorned those rubbish-like villagers, zombie-like citizens in Scholomance City and automaton-like residents in Le Meraviglie, because they were living in nothingness. They lived for nothing and fought for nothing.

But now they had understood why.

Since life was nothing, machines and algorithms could add some meanings, because every programme had an aim, a meaningful function, which could be the source of all meanings.

“Maybe Macchina Gloriosa was right,” purred Starsha.

“Don’t you want to revenge your father?” queried Yanni.

“For sure I want! But what can we do? Macchina Gloriosa was insanely powerful! I had fought my best! You have seen my moves and you have all seen how dexterous I am when I am fighting with Nephrenbethys. But it is not useful! What I am fighting against is a machine made of unbreakable metal!” shouted Starsha.

The others didn’t say anything because Starsha was right. The power of Macchina Gloriosa was beyond their imagination.

“We cannot give up!” blurted Yanni suddenly.

“But there is no chance for us to win. We have no hope,” reminded Floria.

“There is always no hope for me. Even if we defeat Macchina Gloriosa, I will still worry about losing you three because elves can live for centuries. I don’t know what you three want, but the best end of my life is dying together with you three, dying together while fighting side by side for our belief, even if we don’t know what our belief actually is,” whispered Aislina.

“You’re right, Aislina … I’ll fight together with you even if … Even if it means dying together with you,” agreed Yanni.

“Me too,” consented Floria.

“You’re all idiots, but I will join you,” Starsha nodded.

“That’s great. Let’s have a good sleep tonight and we’ll set out tomorrow,” proposed Floria.

“Where will we go, sis?” questioned Yanni.

“Santo Cielo. Though we cannot stop Macchina Gloriosa by fighting them head-on, we may stop them by stealing Cuore Celeste. They need to use the power inside Cuore Celeste to upgrade the Mother Matrix, doesn’t they?” suggested Floria.

“Anyway, we have to leave this cavern first. There must be a way out,” Starsha pointed out.

II

Two weeks later.

Santo Cielo, the archipelago in the sky was floating above the land of the desert. Someone said it was the magnetic field emanated by it that enabled it to float in the air.

Blocking the sunlight, it cast a gigantic shadow over a vast patch of land. Because Santo Cielo was enormous, the shadow it cast was enormous too. Walking below Santo Cielo was like walking in a dark cavern without source of lights.

To illuminate this dark area, Macchina Gloriosa had built several beacons to guide their explorers.

On the centre of that shadowy area underneath Santo Cielo lay a fearsome fortress made of sandstone. It was Ombra Fortress, a stronghold built by Macchina Gloriosa as a base to explore that floating archipelago.

Inside Ombra Fortress, there were hundreds of workers. When working, they struggled with those machines soullessly; when not working, they listened to music box and read trashy books soullessly.

Fixed on the walls of this building were turning gears. They functioned perfectly inside this fortress powered by a Submatrix, an extension of the original Matrix in the Pyramid of Macchina Gloriosa.

The fortress was functioning well, and everything was under control.

There used to be explorers working for Macchina Gloriosa who explored Santo Cielo for Achnosiris, but now, the Mother Matrix had designed autonomous drones successfully.

From now on, those human explorers would not be needed anymore, and after reducing wages, there would be less expenditure. After all, Achnosiris had spent too much money paying for those explorers. Now, he could get rid of them.

Santo Cielo was floating in the sky. Its mystery was still unsolved and Cuore Celeste was still unfound. Even the Mother Matrix could not compute where that gemstone was.

Maybe it didn’t exist at all, but since the Mother Matrix thought that it existed, it must exist.

The Submatrix was built in the office of Achnosiris.

Achnosiris was a man in his 40s. He was bald but he thought baldness made him look sexy, and thus he had never tried to cure it. He was a confident man, after all, he has all the reasons to be confident, since he was the most successful man in this world.

There was no one in this world richer than him and there was no one in this world more influential than him. Soon there would be no one in this world more powerful than him too, because he was upgrading his power armour at the moment.

He was so absorbed in his work that he didn’t even notice that someone had entered his office.

Suddenly, the door of his office was slammed open by someone.

It was a muscular young man. He stared at Achnosiris angrily.

Achnosiris was staring at him too. He had no idea who this young man was. Anyhow, he looked really angry and he was ready to tear Achnosiris into pieces at any moment. Achnosiris looked at the ring on his finger. There was a button on it.

If that man dared to attack him, he would press that button and the strongest power armour would wrap him. With this thought, Achnosiris smiled and looked at that wrathful man eyes to eyes. Nothing in this world could harm him.

“דוֹוֵוי סְטַאיְ רַאגַאזّוֹ?׃” [Who are you, lad?] probed Achnosiris.

“אִילְ מְיוֹ נוֹמֵי אֵי֫ סֵיטוֹ. סוֹנוֹ אוּן אֵיסְפְּלוֹרַאטוֹרֵי גְייוּסְטוֹ.׃” [My name is Sethus. I am an explorer,] answered the young man, introducing himself.

“מַה נוֹן אֵי֫ אוּן אֵיסְפְּלוֹרַאטוֹרֵי אוֹרַה גְייוּסְטוֹ?׃”[But you’re not an explorer now, aren’t you?] smirked Achnosiris.

“מִי לִיצֵינְזְיַאסְטֵי, מַה יוֹ סוֹנוֹ אִילְ טְווֹ פְּיוּ֫ אֵיצֵّילֵّינְטֵי אֵיסְפְּלוֹרַאטוֹרֵי!׃”[You fired me, but I am your most excellent explorer!] shouted Sethus, the young man.

“אִילְ מְיוֹ פְּיוּ֫ אֵיצֵّילֵّינְטֵי אֵיסְפְּלוֹרַאטוֹרֵי? דַאיְ, נוֹן נֵימֵّינוֹ קוֹנוֹשֵׁירְטִי!׃”[My most excellent explorer? Come on, I don’t even know you!] sneezed Achnosiris.

“צִי סוֹנוֹ דְוֵי צֵינְטֵי אֵיסְפְּלוֹרַאטוֹרֵי אִין קְוֵיסְטַה פוֹרְטֵזַّה. אַבְּّיַאמוֹ נוֹיְ אַלֵّינַאנְטוֹ פֵּירְ דִיוֵוירְסִי אַנִّי, אֵי קְוֵיסְטוֹ אֵי אִיל פִינוֹ? טוּטִّי דוֹוְויַאמוֹ דַהרֵי לַה נוֹסְטְרַה פַאמִילַייה דַה מַאנְגַייארֵי. טוּטִّי אַבְּّיַאמוֹ מוּלֵיירֵי אִילְ פִילִיי. אַבְּّיַאמוֹ בִּסוֹעִי דֵילְ סַאלַארְיוֹ! נוֹן פְּווֹיְ סוֹלוֹ לִיצֵינְזְיַארְצִי קוֹסִי֫ אֵי֫ לַאשַׁארְצִי סוֹסְטִיטְוִיטִי דֵייְ טְוִי דְרוֹנִי!׃”[There are two hundreds explorers in this fortress. We have been training ourselves for several years, and this is the end? We all have to feed our family. We all have wife and children. We need the salary! You cannot just fire us like this and let us be replaced by your drones!] demanded Sethus.

“קִי קוֹנוֹשֵׁי פֵּירְ קוֹנְטְרוֹלַّארֵי אֵי רִיפַּארִירֵי קְוֵיסְטִי דְרוֹנִי נוֹן הַאנّוֹ אֵיסֵّירֵי אֵילִימִינַאטִי, גְייוּסְטוֹ? שֵׁילְגִיי דִי אֵיסֵّירֵיטֵי אַבַּّאנְדוֹנַאטִי דִי קְוֵיסְטַה סוֹצְיֵיטַה֫ אֵי אוֹרַה סֵייְ נְיֵינְטְ אַלְטְרוֹ קֵי סְפַּאזַّאטוּרַה פֵּירְ מֵי. אֵי֫ לַה רַאגְיוֹנֵי פֵּירְ קְוִי סְטַאיְ לִיצֵינְזְיַאטוֹ!׃”[Those who know how to control and repair those drones haven’t been eliminated, right? You choose to be abandoned by this society and now you’re nothing more than rubbish to me. That’s the reason why you’re fired!] scoffed Achnosiris.

“נוֹן אֵי֫ סְפַּאזַّאטוּרַה!׃”[I am not rubbish!] yelled Sethus, his face reddening wrathfully.

“רֵיאַלְמֵינְטֵי? סְטַאיְ פְּרֵיזְיוֹסוֹ פֵּיר נְיֵינְטֵי פֵּירְ מֵי!׃ לַה טְווֹ וַואלוֹרֵי נוֹן אֵי֫ נֵימֵّינוֹ אוּן נוּמֵירוֹ פּוֹסִיטִיוווֹ פֵּירְ מֵי פֵּירְקֵי סֵייְ קוֹסִי֫ אִינְפַאסִידֵינְדוֹ! אֵישִׁי דַאל מְיוֹ אוּפִّיצוֹ אֵי וווֹיְ אַלְ צֵיסְטִינוֹ! סֵייְ דִיסְגוּסְטוֹסוֹ! אֵישִׁי!׃”[Really? You’re not valuable to me at all! Your value is not even a positive number to me because you’re so annoying! Get out of my office and go into the trash bin! You’re disgusting! Get out!] commanded Achnosiris.

“קוֹמֵי פְּווֹיְ פַּארְלַארֵי קוֹן מֵי קוֹסִי֫! אַנְקֵי סֵי סְטַאיְ פְּיוּ֫ רְיוּשִׁיטוֹ קֵי מֵי, יוֹ סוֹנוֹ אוּן אוּמַאנוֹ, אֵי קְוִינְדִי סוֹנוֹ אוּגְוַאלֵי אַ טֵי!׃”[How can you talk to me like this! Even if you’re more successful than me, I am a human, and thus I am equal to you!] argued Sethus.

“נוֹ, סוֹנוֹ פְּיוּ֫ אַלְטוֹ קֵי טֵי, רַאגַאזّוֹ. וֹעִי קוֹסַה הַ אוּן לִיוֵוילّוֹ. אִילְ נוֹסְטְרוֹ מוֹנְדוֹ אֵי֫ קוֹסִי֫. נוֹן אֵי֫ דֵיטّוֹ דִי מֵי. אֵי֫ סְקוֹרְפֵּירְטוֹ דֵילַّה מַאקִّינַה גְלוֹרְיוֹסַה.׃”[No, I am higher than you, lad. Everything has a level, this is our world. It is not said by me. It is figured out with the Mother Matrix,] teased Achnosiris.

“דַאנַّאטַה מַאטְרִיצֵי!׃”[Damn Matrix!] cursed Sethus.

“אוֹרַה, לַאשַׁארֵי דַאלְ מְיוֹ אוּפִّיצוֹ אֵי֫ נוֹן פַארְמִי וִוידֵירֵי לַה טְוַה שׁוֹטוֹ פְּיַאנְגֵיינְדַה פַאצַّה!׃”[Now, leave my office and don’t make me see your little silly crying face!] growled Achnosiris.

III

Two weeks after Sanctuary of Assassins was slaughtered by Nephrenbethys, the four arrived near Santo Cielo.

At first, they just saw some blurry shapes in the distance. They thought they were some sort of mirages but they weren’t. When they got closer, those blurry shapes became clear too.

They were some isles floating in the air. They were not small isles. They were big ones, covering an area of at least 10000 square kilometres.

Therefore, searching for a small gemstone in such a vast archipelago was not so easy, and besides, there were only four of them.

Sunlight was blocked by Santo Cielo, so that the area covered by it was a world of darkness.

Macchina Gloriosa had built lots of beacons in that shadowy area, and by walking along those beacons, the four found out where Ombra Fortress was.

Ombra Fortress was a small fortress built by Macchina Gloriosa, which served as a base of operation to explore Santo Cielo. There was a great elevator built by Macchina Gloriosa which connected Ombra Fortress and Santo Cielo. It was a long tube which rose from the ground and cut up all the way into the sky.

In Le Meraviglie, there were many thieves who wanted to steal something in the Pyramid of Macchina Gloriosa so that the pyramid was always guarded by guardsmen, but Ombra Fortress was different. It was deep in the desert and no one would travel for one month in the desert only in order to steal something in it.

Therefore, there were almost no guardsmen at its entrance so that the four sneaked inside it quickly and easily.

Starsha stroke her tuning forks and created a silence barrier, so that no one would hear their sounds.

Although this fortress was a pretty big building, Floria was good at directions, so that in her lead, the four soon found the entrance to the elevator to Santo Cielo.

However, that entrance was locked. Starsha tried to pick the lock by hearing the sound of the inner structure, but she failed. This lock must be designed with the Mother Matrix, and thus its inner structure must be beyond the intelligence of humans.

“I cannot pick the lock,” sighed Starsha.

“Don’t worry, Starsha. We’ll find the key,” Floria reassured her.

“Anyway, we shall act prudently. If we’re discovered by Nephrenbethys or Achnosiris, we’ll be doomed. We’re no match for them at all,” Starsha pointed out.

“But where is the key?” questioned Floria.

“Maybe it’s in the on-call room,” guessed Yanni.

“Yes, it’s possible. Let’s go to the on-call room,” proposed Floria.

“Floria,” called Starsha suddenly when they were about to head for the on-call room.

“What’s up?” asked Floria.

“What will we do after we steal that Cuore Celeste?” queried Starsha.

“Maybe we can find a way to destroy it. We can throw it into the lava lake that used to be Infernal Mountain and let it die in the same place as the Cube of Necrus,” replied Floria.

“Good idea, but after that, Macchina Gloriosa will be angry and start to hunt us,” muttered Starsha.

“If that really happens, we will die together. Without Cuore Celeste, the world will not be mechanized for now, and perhaps there will be heroes in the future who can beat Macchina Gloriosa,” answered Floria.

“But who will those heroes be?” pursued Starsha.

“No one knows. We cannot travel to the future,” responded Floria.

“There is one more problem. Finding Cuore Celeste is difficult for Macchina Gloriosa, let alone us. Even the Mother Matrix cannot figure out where that gemstone is,” Yanni pointed out.

“I think I know where Cuore Celeste is,” whispered Aislina.

The three turned to Aislina and looked at her.

“I think I can feel it. It is strange, but … I think it is calling me. I first heard its calling when I arrived near Santo Cielo. At first, I thought that it was my hallucination because of sunstroke so that I didn’t tell you, but as I move closer and closer to Santo Cielo, the calling becomes clearer and clearer. Now I can hear the calling pretty clearly and I’m sure it isn’t hallucination. It’s a miracle that the Mother Matrix hasn’t detected its calling signal,” explained Aislina.

“Cuore Celeste is calling you? That’s weird. Anyway, let’s find the key first. We can’t access the elevator without the key,” commanded Floria.

Sneakily, the four went to the on-call room. The duty officer in the room was sleeping so it wasn’t difficult for them to sneak inside the room.

However, although there were many keys in that room, none of them were the key to the elevator.

When they walked out of the room frustratedly, they ran into a familiar face.

“Wait, it’s you four!”

It was Hetepasis.

“Hetepasis …” greeted Starsha.

“How the hell did you get here?” demanded Hetepasis.

“By walking … surprised?” answered Floria.

“You’re really a group of madlings! I’ll tell Achnosiris …” grumbled Hetepasis.

Hetepasis wanted to leave the scene and warn Achnosiris, but Yanni blocked her path. Pressing the button on the ring, she summoned her power armour.

“You won’t win us four put together! Your power armour was far weaker than Totanchinpys’ and Nephrenbethys’” warn Yanni.

“Really? I have upgraded my armour the soundwaves have become far more powerful than they used to be. They can bewitch not only males but also females! It will cost a lot of energy but I guess killing you four worths it!” threatened Hetepasis.

As soon as her voice broke off, Hetepasis started to shoot bewitching soundwaves. The four covered their ears with their hands but the soundwaves could penetrate through their hands, flew all the way to their eardrums and corrupt their minds.

Aislina could somehow resist the soundwave, perhaps because she was an elf and the brains of elves were different in structures than the brains of humans to some extent.

Yanni, Floria and Starsha were not so lucky. All three of them had been completely controlled by Hetepasis.

Now, it was Aislina versus Starsha and the siblings.

Aislina conjured some magical seeds and threw them towards Yanni. The seeds grew into a cluster of vines and trapped Yanni inside it.

Floria shot an arrow towards Aislina. Knowing that she was not agile enough, instead of trying to dodge it, Aislina summoned a barrier of vines to shelter herself from Floria’s arrows.

Starsha walked up to Aislina’s barrier and dug it crazily with her daggers. The daggers were made of lunarite and they were rather sharp. Soon Starsha broke Aislina’s barrier successfully, but the instant the barrier was broken, Aislina gave off a cloud of paralysing gas. Taking in the gas, Starsha passed out.

Aiming at Aislina, Floria reloaded her bow. Aislina conjured another strip of vines, hurled it towards Floria’s bow and disarmed her. Floria charged towards Aislina, but Aislina conjured a vine under Floria’s feet and tripped her, making her fall over.

Now Yanni had disentangled himself from Aislina’s vines and charged towards her. Starsha had woken up from the coma too and been ready to attack Aislina.

Without a shadow of doubt, Aislina was in danger. She had nearly run out of mana now and the remaining mana could only form one single bolt of spores.

Luckily, she had come up with a plan.