Finally, after having shown up in the village and fought a murderous not-robot, they were heading out to the cave Damon had woke up in. Damon, Sybil, and Idina walked up the hills covered in blue grass, leaving Han behind to protect the village. Also to finish the traps, since the villagers couldn’t get past the edicts and do that on their own.

The sky was nice and only slightly cloudy; the two suns shone down on them, but the air was fresh, the scent of wet grass still lingered in the wind that blew through the mountains. Damon’s spirits couldn’t be any higher, with an extra spring in his step. Especially since he had a shield in one hand and a big reinforced club on his hip. Which was a shame, since the group’s travel speed was more like a leisure walk when he was looking forward to a jog.

“Are you sure you need another rest?”

“Yes, Damon, we need rest. You might make it in one day, but we need two.” Sybil’s tone was strained. She tucked her hood lower, gaze flickering at Idina before her shoulders slumped. “Unless you’re interested in fighting any monsters that show up along the way on your own?”

There was a hopeful edge in her voice, she wanted to see him fight some monsters and it wasn’t a secret. Damon just shrugged at her. “You’re right. It’s safer if we don’t push ourselves too hard.”

His proclamation made her slump further. Her mood hadn’t exactly been the best one since leaving the village, not that Damon could really guess why. He would’ve figured she’d be ecstatic since she’d been so enthusiastic about the whole “place of power for Janus”.

Rather than sit down with either of them, he searched for some pebbles around the area, pulling out a length of rope with a small pouch in the center. Placing the rock on the pouch, he began spinning the rope. Soon it was whizzing as it spun at an increasingly frenetic speed.

“What’s that?”

“A sling.” He declared, releasing one of the two ends of the string.

The rock shot out faster than he could track, bouncing against the ground and definitely missing the tree trunk he’d intended as his target.

“It’s a weapon.” Idina looked more closely at his second throw as the rock missed the tree again.

“Yup.” Damon proclaimed, starting to spin the third rock. “Where I come from, it was very famous for being the weapon a tiny kid used to kill a giant.”

“Your world has giants?” Sybil turned to him with suspicion, looking him up and down. “Or are you one of the giants?”

“I’m just slightly above average height.” He began spinning it again. “But slings were a really popular ranged option for anyone that didn’t have bows or wanted to avoid throwing spears. Personally I’d rather have a gun, but apparently, gunpowder isn’t a thing. Somehow. Even when you have freaking robots.”

“How do guns use the powder made out of other guns?”

“It’s called gunpowder, but it’s not made out of guns.” Damon grumbled. “I’m not even sure what it’s made of, sulfur and charcoal and some other stuff. But the fact that you guys don’t have guns as a concept is unnerving.”

“Is it really that odd?”

“It feels like some steps were skipped somewhere along the way.” He muttered, rolling the sling and letting loose another rock. “Why wouldn’t you have projectile based weaponry past throwing sticks with a bow or as a lance or dart?”

Both Idina and Sybil grimaced, shaking their heads and sharing a confused look. Sybil was the one to speak-up first. “It’s just a silly idea. Grafts and your own skills are more than enough.”

“If killing monsters were easier, it would save lives.” Damon spun up the next rock as hard as he could.

With a grunt, he released, the stone sailed. It missed the tree he was aiming at, but impacted the next one over. The bark exploded at the point of impact, a crater the size of his fist, made of crushed splinters and sap, the stone embedded half-way through the tree. The vegetation being less dense than back on earth was convenient to make a point, it seemed.

“Like that.”

Idina paled, Sybil’s eyes narrowed. Of the two, it was Sybil that stood up and marched straight towards Damon, pointing at his chest, glaring. “Janus gave us the axons so that we may prove our worth. To fight monsters is his way, and to slaughter them off-hand is nothing less than to squander your gifts.” Her voice shook slightly, and she was very intently avoiding looking at the tree Damon’s rock had struck. “A powerful user fighting a weak monster deprives a weaker user from learning. To rely on tools that cheat and give a false sense of power is nothing but folly.”

“So if a user could’ve saved themselves with a better tool but dies instead is… acceptable? I can’t agree with that notion.”

“To die fighting a strong opponent is an honor to all users. To stand above the challenge more so.”

“Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree.” Damon snorted, crossing his arms. “I don’t tell you how you fight is wrong.”

Sybil recoiled. “What about how I fight?”

“Nothing, that’s the point. If I disagreed with how you did things, I wouldn’t be on your face trying to shove it down your throat.”

She stopped, taking a step back and blinking, confusion flashed across her brown eyes before she turned. Quiet steps led her out of the clearing and away. Damon frowned, moving to follow but stopping as Idina quickly reached to grasp at his sleeve. “I’m not going to be able to keep up.”

The sasin was a non-user, helpless if a monster came out.

“Sure, one sec.”

Reaching out, he pulled her over his shoulder. The young woman shrieked as he carried her across his shoulders in a fireman's carry, starting his march to track down Sybil as she’d gotten quite the lead on them. Fortunately she’d stopped not too far off, still within the map’s detection range.

He expected her to lash out, instead, he found her pacing.

“What was that about?” He asked, putting Idina down. The sasin’s face a deep blushing green as she muttered a quiet thanks.

“I don’t know.” Sybil stated.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I had to get away from… the thing. It made me angry.”

Damon could only blink in confusion. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Um… it made me angry too.” Idina’s raised hand made them both focus on her. Her long silver ears drooped. “After the shock, I just felt… wrong.”

Sybil nodded. “I fought a shrieker once, and… this felt similar.”

“Pretend I don’t know anything and am increasingly confused about what just happened.”

“Shriekers, they attack your axon, they make users angry, aggressive, furious. It is a monster that tests your self-control and skill because if you hunt it with another, you might end up fighting your friend instead.” She explained. “Looking at what you’d done to the tree with the sling, it… it made me feel the same way.”

“Ok, but why?”

“I don’t know.” Sybil muttered, turning to look away. “We should focus on the cave.”

“The gaper re-birthed.”

It had been a decent if awkward couple days walking up the mountain. The teethers had mostly avoided them, and the other monsters in the area hadn’t popped out to meet them. It had practically been nothing more than a stroll since Sybil and Idina moved more slowly than Damon did. The only thing that had hung over them being the awkward silence and long contemplative looks Sybil kept giving as she’d stare at Damon and then off into the distance.

And with the proclamation of the big ugly monster having returned, Damon’s mood dropped.

“So…” He glanced at Sybil, who looked back, crossing her arms.

She crossed her arms. “You killed it once. You can do it again.” She made a gesture at his hip. “It’s newborn, the club should make it simple enough.”

“Not gonna talk about the rocks?”

“That is that, this is this.” She stated, hesitating and turning away in discomfort. “I only wish Janus’ blessing upon your battle.”

Damon let out a heavy sigh and turned his focus to Idina. “You’ve been here more times than me. Got any suggestions?”

“It… usually hides on the left side of the cave.”

“Anyone ever get it to come outside?”

“Gapers don’t like ringing noises.” Sybil stated, arms crossed but looking more interested in confirming the area was safe.

“Awesome.” He walked up to the entrance of the cave.

It was about nine feet tall, and he climbed to the top of the hole. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out the shovel and banged it against the rock. A steady loud rhythm, making sure it wasn’t so hard it would break or bend, as he didn’t have any desire to repair the thing.

After about three minutes of clanging, he heard movement from inside the cave.

So he lifted the large club in one hand, while keeping the clanging going with the other.

The monster moved with shuffling stomping sounds, small hops that followed a half-waddle. The thing was incredibly awkward about how it moved through narrow spaces. It seemed it’d only really be dangerous in wide areas with few obstacles.

Damon really didn’t care to test it out. As soon as the monster’s head was peeking over the lip of the cave, he jumped down, swinging the club with everything he had. He expected there to be cracking sounds and instead found the thing’s head bending inwards like he’d just hit a gigantic cardboard box.

It just died, blue blood bursting out from its mouth and ears, eyes bulging out of their sockets and blue ooze leaking out from underneath, the face contorted into a twisted grin of fangs.

The body collapsed. It was dead.

[…]

Congr-

[…]

“Dismiss. Also, what the fuck?” He’d rolled out of the way and prepared for a follow-up, but there’d been none. He glanced back at the other two. “The last one was… tougher.”

“I told you. It’s a newborn.” Sybil’s tone was almost scolding. “The longer a monster lives, the hardier their bodies become.” She walked out from behind the trees with Idina. “Gapers that are just a handful of days of age wouldn’t be able to survive jumping head first against a wall. The one you fought first likely was several months old.” She shot a pointed look at their guide.

Idina nodded vigorously, keeping herself a step behind Sybil as they both observed the enormous monster’s body froth and evaporate.

“You could’ve killed this one with your bare hands.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.” He kept his eyes on the corpse. The fur was dissolving as well. “Just how durable can they get?”

“Monsters never stop becoming stronger. I’ve heard of gapers in the land of terror that have grown metal plates around their bones.” Sybil said. “Of course, the stronger the monster, the more they leave behind once they die. It is recompense for the tougher fight.”

“‘Land of terror’ doesn’t sound friendly.”

“It is a continent, far south and east of here, across the black sea. The monsters there are the most dangerous. The continent itself has only one city, at the coast.”

“I somehow get the impression you want to go there.”

“Yes. One day.” Sybil nodded solemnly. “All followers of Janus must, at some point of their life, make a pilgrimage there.”

“Huh.” Damon rubbed his chin. “Anyway, let’s go check that cave. Ladies first?”

“Are you afraid of encountering another monster?”

“I have poor night vision and no sources of light.”

“You have the big shield.”

“This is a small shield that’s nearly a medium at best.”

Sybil’s eyes narrowed. “Do you really intend to enter a place of power of Janus by showing cowardice?”

Damon’s brows knit. “I killed the monster, didn’t I?”

She rolled her eyes and stepped into the cave, pulling out a rock of some sort from her pouch. With a little squeeze, the rock began to shine, its light bathing the cavern walls in a pale, white glow. The smell of rot and stale air was the first thing Damon noticed, and it became more intense the further inside they went.

The cavern room opened and revealed the debris of crumbled stalagmites and stalactites. Damon’s mind leapt back to that first fight and he grimaced. There were stains of blood, both green and blue, staining the cave in some sort of grotesque abstract artwork.

Damon’s eyes fell on a small hole on the stone floor, a half-sphere perfectly formed, and so smooth it looked polished. He remembered there’d been a vial within back then, glass.

“The gaper ate the corpse.” Sybil proclaimed nonchalantly, cutting off Damon before he could speak up.

Whatever she was looking for, it wasn’t here, her sweep of the immediate area being rather quick. She didn’t wait for either Damon or Idina as she stepped further into the cave, past the curves of the round room and into the area he’d come from. The white light washed over the bleached gray walls, the stone was bent, scratched, and… twisted. Damon remembered seeing this kind of thing in a book once, of caves that had water running through and had, over time, eroded the stone as if it were slowly melting away.

The gasp from Sybil made him rush further in, club at the ready.

She stood in front of a wall.

A wall made of metal, covered in dust.

Sybil dropped the glowing stone and rushed forward, pulling a metallic bottle from her backpack and emptying the water onto the metal surface. All around her the floor was littered with debris, broken stone, dust, and dirt, but she paid little mind as her hands moved to clean the surface of the metal that had clearly been buried until not that long ago. The speed with which she moved was dizzying, a whirlwind of action, using her own cape to scrub away grime and dirt.

The metal was a dark gray, unscratched, unblemished. And as she continued her work, she eventually reached its center, revealing a singular symbol, etched onto the metal with perfect precision. Damon recognized it instantly. After all, it was-

“Janus.”

An archway with a person walking into it, a sun contained within.

Sybil stumbled back and away from the door, falling to her knees.

With trembling hands, she reached up to her marred hood and took it off. Shoulder-length fiery red hair sprung free, two triangular fur covered ears standing on top. The cowl was lowered, revealing her face, beautiful high cheeks and pristine smooth skin, marred only by a jagged black scar that started at the side of her nose and reached all the way to her left temple.

Whatever apprehension of her looks there might have been, she ignored them. Sybil’s cape was thrown to the side as she lowered her head, facing the symbol on the wall. She muttered several things Damon couldn’t quite pick out, but judging by the aghast look on Idina’s face as she joined Sybil on the ground, he figured this was of some religious importance to them.

Meanwhile, he quietly remained near the back, eyes glancing around in search of a button, wondering if there was some way to open the thing and get inside. Finding none, he waited.

After a quiet handful of minutes, Sybil raised her head, keeping herself kneeling, eyes firmly gazing at the metal door. “Idina.” She spoke in almost a whisper. “Your father had users killed here.”

The young woman nodded, head head lowering as she trembled. It didn’t take long before she started to sob. Damon felt a twinge of concern at the somber tone in Sybil’s voice.

“I led them here.” Idina spoke with a shaking breath, her hands caressing her ears. “Had I known…”

“What’s… going on?”

“The knight and his daughter desecrated this sacred place.” The answer was simple, but resolute. “They have forsaken the gifts of the Gods. The punishment is clear.”

“Death?”

“Worse.” Sybil shook her head slowly. “They will have their grafts removed, and be exiled from the kingdom.”

Damon nodded, stepping closer to the metal wall and touching it. “Has anyone ever opened one of these before?”

“They are indestructible, and only the Gods may open them.” Sybil spoke with a frown.

“I’m no God.” He traced the perfect etching on the metal. “But my axon says I’m an administrator. Maybe that’s enough. Sys? Open the door.”

“Don’t be-.”

Whatever Sybil was about to say, it was cut off as a synthetic voice spoke out. “Administrator Damon confirmed. Welcome back.”

There was a loud thumping sound from behind the metal. Screeching and grinding followed, the icon on the door glowing with dim greenish light. The cave shuddered around them.

And just as quickly it started, it stopped, the synthetic female voice speaking once more. “Critical damage to all systems. Insufficient power. Janus Entry Point #241 inoperable.”

“Well shit.” Damon let out a long sigh, turning to look at the two women that had remained kneeling, looking at him through wide eyes and slack jaws. “What?”