Chapter Text
Seaward ; Date Unknown
The faint sparks of light are quick to fade away as the Juridical cautiously moves away from the opening she had dropped from. Before her, a maw of absolute darkness looms and she cautiously allows it to swallow her whole. Verse works with her armour to accommodate the lack of light, leaving any impairment to her vision to be minimal and her ability to navigate with ease intact. The corner of her HUD constructs a blue localised map of her immediate area, and she is ever glad to have Verse with her. Without him, she would already be lost.
Dull walls of grey metal are all that surround her. Occasional indents are visible, as well as hollow cutouts that were once overflowing with hardlight. Life too had once flowed through these halls with abandon. Life that had been desperate to live independently of their technology and the Ecumene, regardless of the cost.
They’d been the first to go.
The first of many.
Somewhere in this forgotten labyrinth was the means of reclaiming their memory. As much as she did not approve of the falsification of records, being utterly forgotten was not a fitting punishment. Their lives, right or wrong, would be recorded, she would make it so despite the time it would mean spending, and certainly in spite of the feeling this place evoked.
It was a slow, sharp, prickling sensation that worked its way up her spine. The foreign feeling of invisible eyes upon her back that held so much weight she could almost perceive their presence. But no matter how much she checked, or the numerous times she pressed Verse to perform every scan he could, nothing revealed itself.
With a hand never too far from her weapon she pressed on. Cutting her way through whatever doors appeared she would not falter. Small side rooms eventually made themselves known in a manner that was empty and devoid of any sign of life. Bigger rooms weren’t far behind, furnished minimally with tables, chairs and other empty surfaces. All boasted thick layers of dust that were gradually replaced by a dark spongy moss the further she traversed. Moss that she was certain shifted like trembling breath in the old stale air.
Verse proffered his own warning weighted with a concern she had not heard from him in a long time.
> Do not initiate contact.
> Further analysis required. However, initial scans reveal a connection to the Flood-
The hurried shuffling of her feet is quick to echo down the hallway. One hand snaps behind her back, the other to her weapon which she levels before her.
>> You’re sure?
A foolish question she knew. But how? How was it here after all this time had passed? How could it have survived for so long?
> Affirmative.
Fear spikes in her shoulders. It reaches down the length of her spine, gripping it so tightly that all she can do is turn her head. Even in the armour, she feels a chill skitter over her skin almost like-
The air shifts, she can feel it, hear it beneath the muffled warning song of Verse. Weights cling to her legs and press against her chest, almost as if her armour had lost power. It feels just so when she pushes her legs to move. Whatever this was, she couldn’t just- she had to move.
One languid step at a time she forces her body to move. The grip on her spin tightens and pulls, proffering a phantom pain that she clenches down upon. Real or vividly imagined, she dares not turn around to see whatever it was that had been stalking her. Instead, she presses her legs to move faster and faster down the corridor. Perhaps she could lose it, or even create another opening for herself.
The thoughts are warm balm against the icy fear that permeates her skin. Even Verse’s whispers of which way to go settle the unnatural terror that had gripped her so tightly. There is no time to dwell on how she was so overwhelmed as she hurries her heavy body through doorway after doorway. Left, and right, and left again she does not stop moving.
All the while, the prickling chill barely clings to her.
Even as she enters a large room, much like where she’d entered, does it hang in the air. It lingers as she awkwardly scales a wall, her feet slipping against the metal in her own attempt to hurry. It infects her breath as she fights to keep it controlled and measured.
Just a little more.
Verse's marker sits above her, promising the sun and escape.
‘Luminous.’
Verse stops her head from turning.
> Focus.
Against her better judgement, her head still wishes to turn. Every part of her knows that it is not real, just an echo of a memory.
‘Little Light.’
Soft and melodic as always...
Her jaw remains wired shut. One hand after another. She pulls herself up further and further. Just focus. Focus. A hand strains to hold her up while the other trembles in cutting her a way out. Left to right. Up.
‘I’ve got a new story for-’
Right...to...left.
> Input restricted.
Down.
‘- you, Little Light.’
The voice slides into her mind so easily and so quickly. Numbness creeps up her limbs as she pushes and pushes at the crooked rectangular cutout. The metal groans with her as pressure steeps in against her mind. Verses words form from behind a thick barrier. She hears nothing beyond his worry and something that rustles behind her ears.
Sunlight streams in as the metal finally gives way. There is no relief, however, as her fingers reach to grab at the vibrant green moss, and she begins to pull herself out. She’s halted halfway, her body refuses to move regardless of how much she grabs and pulls at the ground.
‘You will listen.’
The sunlight begins to recede. Her mother's laughter dances behind her eyes.
‘Little Light.’