As soon as Seven inserted the password, a slit appeared in the wall, cutting it in two halves from which light seeped out. He stepped back as they moved outwards, stopping parallel to each other.

[Entrance closing down in 5, 4, 3...]

He hastily went inside as the door shut down heavily behind him.

[Welcome to the 7th Research Station: HOPE. The installments in this facility have the sole purpose of enhancing your survival abilities.]

The smooth as marble walls felt chilly to the touch, and coursing his hand past them, it was no worse than grazing at his own heart with a needle. He hated how squeaky the floor was that every time he took a step, it would produce the annoying high-pitched sound that announced his presence. His breathing turned labored as the white color surrounded him, making it seem like a hospital, except without the scent of flowers that barely covered the smell of aseptic, as if corroded by the putrid aura of decay.

Whenever he visited the healthcare center, he would be unconscious so it didn’t matter to him. Leaving a place was much easier than entering it when you had the means.

However, willingly entering a place that so much resembled a hospital after so many years...Even in the empty hallways, he could envision the doctors on their white coats chatting with each other of things related to work, things that would terrify a normal person, for it was their reality and a way to keep their sanity in check, he measured. The nurses on their blue outfits dealt with bullshit from patients in the waiting hall while others carried them on wheelchairs, either with no more hope to live a good life or blessed in other ways to continue on their way. Men in suit no doubt to be in the industry of pharmacy coming inside the director’s office to discuss the development of a new drug and matters of health and business.

Inside of the children’s ward, he, for the first time, found a friend he could talk to without his parents barging in. They got along very well, but who was she?

-Argh, why this... - he flinched.

It felt like his head would split open. The memories were strange, he could only remember bits and pieces of the place, the rest was cut off like a low budget movie.

It was better that way. He didn’t want to remember what happened back then for his fear to be so intense.

The straight corridor led to a circular room in the shape of a six-legged spider. On the main body, where he was currently at, 8-meter-tall bookcases surrounded a line of floating screens, seemingly controlled by a single spherical device. Digital panels near the bookcases offered the option to insert a book’s code and it would immediately stand on arm’s reach.

To right and left, moving staircases led to the first and second floor, where different kinds of documents and appliances were stored, such as maps, models, small samples and a theater. The bright cyan and white made for a pleasing mixture of colors as they kept coursing through the bookcases and reflecting on the walls, bouncing back and forth to produce a light stage.

The head of the spider was a control room, but the scan didn’t authorize his entry. There was a digital lock similar to the one he found at the entrance, except with a password 54 digits long, with letters both normal and capitalized, numbers and symbols.

“There’s just no way around it”

It could be a bait and it would be actually very simple, but he didn’t feel like wasting his time finding such a long password.

The other six legs led to different laboratories: Biology, Advanced Chemistry, Nuclear Engineering, Materials Engineering, Advanced Programming, and Obscure Technology.

Seven first went to the Biology Lab.

The room branched into several others, each one with a sign pointing to a specific set of tests or experiments. Some words felt familiar, but back at the time he read on biology it was mostly to kill time, he didn’t absorb anything noteworthy to be able to operate on a facility of this level.

“Identification. Should be this one”

The shallow light coverage made it impossible to see the end of the ID room, where four rows of see-through containers held animals, plants and other living organisms detectable to the naked eye. Some of them he recognized from Earth, but many were strange creatures that defied all laws of nature known to humans.

The containers had hanger-ons attachable to a moving platform, which brought the subject to an adjacent room. The control system was embedded in the small booth right in front of him, a hologram showing the words “Guide”

[To identify a species, a definite amount of biological remains is required. 98,9% data completion is necessary before information about the species is disclosed. Information regarding a race can be accessed at any time inside this terminal]

[Artificial species will have the attachment Bellua]

He spent a bit more time understanding how to operate the system and afterward noticed there was a DC Test ready.

||Data Compatibility Test: Subject AAAA-0018// Anna Rosenheim||

||15:13:00 – D15 – M06 – Y256||

||ACC: 99.9% // Matching Data||

||Race: Artificial lifeform (Unclassified+Mutant Ant)||

||Species: Homo Bellua||

Seven dropped the file as soon as he read it.

“Didn’t Kyel say the Queen Ant’s test was underway? I see now...”

The information on Anna Rosenheim was surprising for him, but even more astonishing was Natalya’s message and what it implied.

“She knew everything without visiting the lab, how?”

There were so many possibilities that he couldn’t take a guess. Each one was more absurd than the other.

“... I don’t have all the clues that I wanted, but this is too important to pass”

Natalya’s origins were critical for the development of his book. If he didn’t discover it, he would be way too restless to write anything of quality.

He wanted to know.

He needed to know.

And fortunately for him, there was a way.

“I wonder how Natalya and Kate used their previous rewards... If it’s stackable, what great thing Natalya is trying to accomplish by killing all Queen Ants ahead of time?”

The reward given by achieving a meritorious deed was the most ridiculous thing one could ask for.

A wish.

Whatever it was, as long as it was deemed reasonable by the system, it would grant it to you. Even if it was an arm, Ai said it was possible to recover it and it would be as if it had never been severed.

However, for someone with a month left to live, the value of an arm dropped significantly, thus why he didn’t do it, although the convenience of writing with his dominant hand was tantalizing.

“Ai, I’ll use my rewards now. Tell me Natalya’s secret”

[Do you confirm this course of action?]

“Yes.”

[….... The Main System cannot find out any abnormal circumstances on Subject AAAA-0027, Natalya Wolskev. Additional information is kept at the archives inside the 4th Research Station: DOOM’s Control Room. The coordinates will be downloaded to your Human System, as well as the password]

***

-I lied to you.

-… Huh?

Arthur was bewildered at Kate’s revelation, all sorts of thoughts coursed through him as he reflexively looked at the people behind him.

-There was something I wanted to talk about, but I thought I could take it on my own... Will you hear me?

He sighed in relief.

“What the hell am I thinking? I put my trust in her, does it amount to only this much...”

-I think it’s best if we take a small break, our next steps will be on enemy territory. Be mentally prepared for what is to come, you have to give 120% of your best – Arthur proclaimed and they all sat down, preparing food and water for the rest, medicine and weapons for the approaching battle.

Kate pulled him to a corner farther from the group to talk in private, but her lips barely parted from each other, the silence let her hesitation turn clear.

“I was like that at first, too... It’s time to pay back the favor”

-I know we’ve only known each other for three days, but you can open up to me, you know? Things are all messed up, it’s hard to deal with it on your own.

-Did you record me or something? Well, it’s four days now - she laughed, to which Arthur cheekily poked on his head twice, alluding to his “big brains”.

-So, will the Princess grant me an audience?

Kate smiled wryly and showed her wrists. On careful inspection, two scars were coursing through them.

Arthur was at a loss for words. He grasped her hands carefully and inspected the marks.

-Kate, these marks are recent – his voice was urgent.

-Yeah... Do you remember the day right before you woke up in this world?

-Well, mostly...

-I see... The day before I came here, I slit my wrists in the bathtub. I’m so dumb, hehe, I figured that it would hurt a lot, but I didn’t know it would take so long. I’m just a normal girl and the biggest injury I’ve ever suffered was a small cut to the finger when cutting vegetables, my cut wasn’t deep enough and I fainted from the pain... When I woke up in the hospital... My mother’s face...

Kate clenched her hands into fists.

-I hate myself...

Arthur put his hands over Kate’s, checking that she didn’t repudiate him, and patiently waited for her to continue. He wanted to say something to calm her down, but the words didn’t come.

-Haaah... Sorry about that, it was probably more than you expected...

“Yeah, no kidding...”

-It was... But I’m also thankful that you trusted me on this.

Kate closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing.

-When I came here, I felt liberated... Here, I’m free to be myself... But, it scares me a little bit, the real me...

-It’s okay to be scared. I’m guessing you suffered a lot, acting like a different person all the time for the sake of others.

-I guess... I’m sorry to have bothered you, let’s rest too, I need to cool down before the battle. Ah, by the way, thank you. That opened my eyes a little.

-If you need me, I’m here.

Ten minutes later, they regrouped and went further down to a very bright passage.

-It’s right ahead. Prepare yourselves – Kate cautioned.

Arthur gulped and spearheaded the way along with Kate, and wasn't for his steel-like mental resistance, he would’ve fallen to his knees.

The way led to the top of a maze of golden walls, a red liquid no doubt to be blood traversing the spiraled labyrinth, multiple ants coming and going outside and the biggest warrior ants setting foot in the disgusting river. Enormous torches protruded from the cave walls from the base all the way to the ceiling, enough to burn the cold and raise a warm yet uncomfortable air current, making the ground level colder in comparison.

If one were to follow through the maze, all paths would lead to a single entity. A being so huge that the golden walls seemed like simple specks of dust. It easily towered over 40 meters and its multiple red eyes constantly changed position on its large body to supervise its surroundings.

The abomination had scissor-like teeth permanently wrapped over a gooey substance that gave the impression it was salivating at the prospect of delicious prey, and its body more closely resembled a tarantula spider than an ant. Gazing from a distance, Arthur had the eerie thought that the slight chill he felt from the entrance was the wind blowing in their direction thanks to the colossal arm it flayed around.

Almost as terrifying was the thought that the brownish-red pile that barely reached to its belly was an unrecognizable mesh of skin and flesh, slices of meat old and fresh with blood that would reach to the ceilings were it not already flowing down the earth and inside its stomach.

How much did it need to eat to sustain such a large body?

How many needed to die just for that thing to stay alive one more miserable second?

And there they were, wrapped by the aura of death that almost drew them into willingly offering their lives to that Nameless God.

But a God... Would such a thing exist in that desecrated land of monsters?

***

-How long are you going to take?

Kyel’s youthful voice resounded in the dark room. The constant tapping of a keyboard stopped suddenly with the spin of a chair.

-You asked me the same thing exactly 30 seconds ago. If you dislike waiting that much, you’re free to leave.

-Awwww, you mad at me? Why? I’ve been a good boy!

-Since you are so free, sort these out.

Sheets and more sheets of different kinds of documents materialized out of thin air, piling up neatly into a stack with the scent of fresh paper, still hot.

-That’s some cool tech, I’m drooling!

-Hmph, you should be the one doing this, aren’t you the “hacker genius”?

-Huh? I already got us inside the Control Room, what more do you expect of me? Anything else would go under child labor!

The man ignored him, the clashing of his fingers with the keyboard taking charge of the silence.

-You’re no fun when you're out of character. Now let’s see, what juicy news do I have... Oh?

-What is it? - although the man didn’t like talking to that nasty kid, it was rare for him to be genuinely surprised. As an acclaimed actor who climbed his ranks due to his skills, he knew well to differentiate real expressions from fake ones.

-No, it’s just that I didn’t think there would be someone better than you at acting.

-…?

-A ve~ry interesting story involving our lovely Kate. Hehehe...

||The St. Claire’s Massacre Case file||