Log I: Memories Of Dawn

"[-------], are you listening?"

The little girl asked with a frown. The young boy sighed and nodded.

"I am listening. What do you want, Elma?"

"I already told you! Let's visit the dam again!"

Elma said with a hint of annoyance, but her expression soon turned happy again.

"Uh... Didn't we get scolded last time?"

The boy sat up and looked at the structure in the distance. The dam was looming over the grasslands surrounding it, as always.

The dried-up river ran through the green valley. Beyond the dam, one could see the barren wasteland covered with the "abyss".

"Come on [-------], no one will know!"

Elma smiled sweetly and pulled the boy up.

"... Fine."

Reluctantly, the young man agreed. He couldn't say no to her of all people.

And then...

Blood.

Carnage.

Screams.

Tears.

Betrayals.

And... Her dead body.

...

The "Walker" sat up hurriedly, panting hard. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he looked at the locket in his hands.

"Not that dream again."

A tired murmur left his lips. His eyes then turned towards the gap in the ship's hull.

The place he was resting inside... Was also a stranded ship. This place was supposed to be an ocean according to the old maps... But now, only the remains of such ships proved that point.

It was already daytime, the sun was shining brightly outside. The blue sky and the glittering sand made it look like yesterday's fight was nothing but a hallucination of a tired mind.

Speaking of the battle, the Walker turned towards the corpse. However, all he could find was some ashes. The body had completely evaporated, as usual.

Yawning, the man pulled out some artificial beef jerky from his bag and started chewing. A salty taste spread inside his mouth, ruining his mood further.

Gulping down the remaining jerky with some water, he put his mask on and turned on his bike's engine. A low hum echoed inside the room before transforming into a full-fledged roar.

"Engine... Check. Navi, check. Rad scale... Check. Cargo... Check."

He proceeded to do a routine check on his bike. He glanced over his shoulder at the grey cargo capsule and made sure that it was secured. The "Joker" from yesterday's night hadn't tried to do anything funny with it... So far it seemed fine.

Slowly, he turned the bike towards the gap and moved forward. The UV lights from yesterday night had already lost their charge... They wouldn't be of any use for another two to three days.

".... Then again, the settlement is close enough... So it shouldn't be an issue."

The Walker murmured to himself before riding through the gap and into the open sandy sea.

...

The blazing sun fell on the metal frame of the bike, making the man flinch.

Beep beep beep!

A sudden notification on his AR vision glasses forced him to stop the bike. Pressing a button on the mask, he checked the issue.

Immediately after, he got down and opened the engine casing. Intense smoke came out of the nuclear-powered device.

"Hot... !"

A quick touch made his fingers burn even through the gloves. He pulled out the flask of water and poured some down the pipe. The smoke decreased and the temperature dropped... But the engine didn't turn on again.

"Tsk... Busted."

He grumbled and stood up. Well, he couldn't really blame the bike. He had, after all, pushed it to the extreme yesterday.

And now riding for hours under the heat of the scorching sun... Of course, it would break down.

A quick check on the radiation meter on his arm told him that it was safe to open his mask here. Removing the sweat-covered mask, the Walker looked at his surroundings.

"... The settlement isn't that far... But do I really have to push the bike to that place...?"

A quiet, resigned mutter came out of his mouth. The sun was still blazing hard. If he had to push the bike, he'd have to wait till night.

"With this much heat, I won't be able to survive with this much water..."

He murmured to himself while shaking the half-empty flask.

For now, the man decided to take shelter behind a nearby dune. He pushed his old bike to the shadow and sat down beside it.

The breeze going running through the yellow sea hit his face hard. Then... He heard them.

As always, those voices.

"[-------], look! Isn't that an abyss?!"

"Elma! Be careful! You'll fall off!"

In front of him were a young boy and a girl, staring at something far away.

For a moment, the girl's smiling face came into his view. The Walker's lips curled up slightly, as if remembering a fond memory.

But alas... It was only for a moment. A gust of wind blew by him again, breaking the illusions. He was once again left staring at the endless desert alone.

The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Once again, a voice reached his ears.

"Not again..."

He opened his eyes hoping to clear up the delusions... But the voice was still there.

"Shit!"

It was almost near him... He couldn't hear any footsteps, but he could hear the sound of a hum getting closer.

"[Noxus Blade]"

He murmured and instantly, several blades made out of pure dark energy appeared around him.

With a jump, he turned around and aimed his hand at the approaching silhouette.

"Hm?"

The white-haired young man before him smiled, not showing the slightest bit of fear. His golden eyes focused on the dark blades circling the Walker.

"Careful, you might injure yourself with those."

The Walker waited for his system to start ringing the alarm... But nothing happened. The man wasn't hostile towards him, but he was definitely suspicious.

"... Who are you?"

"Me? I am just a passerby. I saw your bike trail and thought you might need some help."

The young man said in an amicable tone.

"How are you here without any equipment?"

"My resting place is nearby, I left my devices there and came out to check the source of the trail."

"Nearby? Where?"

"I can't just tell you the location of my gear, right? I don't know your intentions. But unlike you, I am not armed so calm down."

The Walker still didn't trust him, but he decreased the number of blades from six to three. Then he slowly opened his mouth.

"My engine overheated."

"Ah... Yes, that would be a problem, wouldn't it. Perhaps I can check?"

"... Can you, now?"

"Wouldn't know if I don't try."

The Walker narrowed his eyes but still stepped aside. He had no choice but to do so... If he waited for the sun to set, the Abyss would be on him again. And that would be a nightmare.

The young man sat down in front of the bike as the Walker kept a constant watch.

He tinkered with the engine for a few minutes before turning to the Walker again.

"Do you have a few spare tubes?"

"... I do. They are in the tool compartment of the bike. Help yourself."

"So cold. But sure."

The young man chuckled before rummaging through the compartment. Soon, he pulled out several custom-made tubes and started working on the engine again.

After a few moments of nothing but the sound of the man tinkering with the device, the Walker decided to speak up.

He was wary of the man, but he was more afraid of remaining in the dark about the man's origins.

"So, why are you here?"

"To search for minerals."

The young man replied without turning. He was focused on the engine and seemed to want to keep focusing on that.

"Minerals? Like, ores or something?"

The Walker raised an eyebrow in question.

"Mhm... Something along those lines."

"So, did you find any?"

Finally, the man looked away from the engine. He smiled at his "guard" before spreading his hands.

His loose clothes waved freely with the wind.

"As you can see, I did not."

"Oh..."

With that, the man went back to his work.

After a few moments of this and that, he stood up and clapped his hands.

"There. I have installed a make-shift cooling module... But it won't hold for long. You'll be able to last until you reach the nearest human settlement though."

"Huh..."

The Walker looked at him with suspicion before turning on the engine. The bike roared back to life... Though the roar was way weaker than before.

It was certainly capable of moving, though. So the man really did fix this.

Sighing, the Walker turned towards the smiling young man.

"So, how many credits?"

He pulled out a data terminal and looked at the young man, who shook his head.

"Ah. You don't need to pay me. I just did it because I wanted to do it."

"Are you sure?"

If the young man didn't want to take the money, the Walker would gladly accept that. Credits were already running low as it was.

"Mhm. Well, I'll be off now."

He gave a short bow and turned around.

"Also, you might want to change those armour plates! The abyss blood is corroding them!"

Without turning around, the man shouted those words as he slowly walked away.

But just before he passed over the horizon, he looked over his shoulder.

"Be on your way now! This is the territory of a Void Walker, you'll get killed if it catches you!"

And with those words, he was gone.

The Walker stared at the horizon and shook his head. The young man was right.

He needed to get out of here.

Before the Void Walker reached him.