The glass window on the tank was just as dirty as the window in the control room had been. Whatever was in there, it had been dormant for a very long time. I strained my eyes trying to see what Kalli had.

Suddenly, it happened. Deep red eyes peered at me from the darkness. I yelped and threw myself back, becoming entangled with Kalli and crashing onto the floor. She squealed and shoved me off of her, “Ow! That hurt.”

I knew she was upset. She was talking out loud. I whispered. “There’s something alive in there.”

She reached over and clung to me, reverting to mate chat. Do you think we should leave it alone?

I thought about it. While Lavender had told us not to use the machine, she never said anything about freeing people trapped inside of it.

I think we have to. Why else would Lavender not let us take Shiv? She knew we were going to do this. Maybe these are your long-lost relatives.

Kalli frowned, looking up at the portal. It looked lifeless again. I don’t know. I thought my ancestors were banned to Gaia. None of the stories my mother told me said anything about leaving people behind, and definitely nothing about them being prisoners.

Of course, Luna wasn’t abandoned. Thinking of the gods, I called out to them. “Lamentus. Jagriel. Are you guys there?”

Nothing happened. Kalli gave me a curious look. Do we have to pray to them? Or maybe summon them like you did with Byakko and Lamentus.

I never thought about properly summoning gods before. Since I needed to summon one, I decided to focus on the god I had the most experience with. I formed an image in my head of the massive green ape and activated my summoning skill.

Nothing happened once again and I was beginning to worry that the poison was having an impact on my skills. Then the room began to rumble. Green mist rose from everywhere and nowhere all at once and then the god was standing before me. He glared. “Why have you summoned me here? This place is forbidden, even to us.”

“Why?” I asked, slightly out of breath. “What is this place?”

Lamentus backed into the center of the room, getting as far from the tanks as possible. “This is the sin that got your ancestors banished from Luna. The reason the gods congregate here. To ensure foolish mortals don’t unleash hell on the cosmos.”

“Hell?” I balked. “Give me a straight answer. What’s in these tanks?”

He scratched his furry backside and sat on the floor. “I believe you would call them ancients, for they lived in a time long passed.”

“Shouldn’t we set them free?” Kalli asked, looking nervously at the tank.

“That is a question that has been debated for centuries, young one,” Lamentus informed us. “They were entombed in this room many generations ago by the first of the Celesteans. There is a good chance that they are no longer sentient, just living husks lending their power to the infernal machine.”

“What is the machine, anyway?” I asked quietly. “What does it do?”

Lamentus laughed. “You should know. Do you recall when you invoked world magic on the human named Mardella? You activated the machine for the first time in millennia.”

I was dumbfounded. “That spell was supposed to use mana from Luna itself. Not from prisoners.”

He shook his head and explained. “While it is true that the mana you used did originate on Luna, it cannot be pulled directly from the planet. It must be gathered slowly from a great area. A conduit is required. In this case, an empowered being to gather and process that mana.”

“So they are mana batteries?” I asked, feeling sick to my stomach.

“More or less,” Lamentus agreed.

Kalli tugged the sleeve of my shirt. “We have to do something. We can’t just leave them like that.”

“I agree,” I replied, moving toward the tank.

Lamentus held up a massive paw. “I would advise against that. The occupants of those tanks have been prisoners for thousands of years. You might just bring about the apocalypse if you release them.”

Walking up to the tank, I placed a hand on the glass, wondering what it would take to release the occupants. I shuddered when a withered hand appeared on the other side and pressed against the glass.

I looked back at Kalli.

I think they are sentient.

A surge of raw emotion came through our connection. Kalli was just as passionate about it as I was. What should we do?

Do you want to find out what the red button does?

Kalli’s smile told me everything I needed to know. I took her hand in mine and we made our way back through the maze of the castle to the control room. Looking down at the red button somehow made what we were about to do feel real.

Kalli tossed me a sidelong glance. Isn’t this dangerous? I thought we weren’t supposed to use the machine.

I think we’re shutting it down. Besides, Lavender did say that we’re having an impact on the world. This must be one of those decisions.

I reached out to the red button, my finger lingering above it. Lamentus, who had followed us, watched in silence from the back of the room. Kalli reached down and rested her hand just over mine. If you think this is the right choice then I support you.

I couldn’t be sure if I was making a good decision. On the one hand, I could be opening Pandora’s Box. On the other, I might be saving an entire civilization from an eternity of torture.

Taking a deep breath, we pushed the button. A klaxon began blaring in the background and the entire castle began to tremble. For a moment I started to worry that the building itself was going to collapse.

Then flashes of light shone from the tank room and we heard a strange hissing sound even through the glass. Kalli and I rushed over and pressed our faces to the window.

In the chamber beyond, we could see a strange vapor escaping from the tanks. Before heading back to the tank room, I cast a glance at the status panel.

Current Power Level:

13%

Critical

Connected Locations

0

Disconnected

Error:

Error: Emergency Stop Pressed

Faults found:

666

Reset? Y/N

Temperature

57 degrees

Out of Bounds

I stewed over the readings while I dragged Kalli through the castle once again. We got back to the chamber in time to watch the occupant of the first tank slump to the floor.

We raced over to his side. I wanted to cover Kalli’s eyes because it was a naked man. It was strange because I expected him to be old or at least shriveled up from being trapped in a tank for thousands of years. In contrast, the man looked perfect. His well-groomed brown hair appeared to have been washed recently. From what I could see, he didn’t have a single blemish on his skin.

My observations were cut short when he reached up and grasped my wrist with a surprisingly strong grip. “Who are you?”

Not knowing what else to say, I whispered, “I’m Murphy. Melvin Murphy.”

I giggled to myself when I realized I sounded like a young nerdy James Bond. Kalli approached from behind and the man hissed. I thought he was going to complain about being naked in front of a girl but he said, “Get her away from me. I recognize the foul stench of a Celestean anywhere. What they did is unforgivable!”

Kalli quaked and hid behind me. Melvin, I think we made a huge mistake.

There was little time to worry about it as more of the tanks began opening, depositing their contents on the catwalks all around us. Kalli gaped at the hundreds of people flopping about on the floor. What do we do? There are too many of them.

I didn’t know what to do either. My usual brand of healing was off-limits because of the poison. Then I thought about it. Lavender told me I could use the healing spells I’d worked on.

Focusing my mana into a beam of light, I practiced on the man in front of us. The man emitted a sigh of relief as a beam of invisible magic washed over him.

He looked up at me with renewed interest as he found the strength to sit up. “Thank you. I can’t tell you what it means that you’ve freed us. However, I strongly advise you to get her out of here before the others recover.”

The man was talking about Kalli. I held out my arms to shield her from him. “Hey! It was just as much her idea as it was mine to free you. You can’t blame her for whatever you think the Celesteans did thousands of years ago.”

“Heh!” The man snorted with laughter. “Bad blood cannot be forgotten so easily.”

I was curious to find out more about the strange people from the Lunar machine.

Name

[Not Available]

Class

[Not Available]

Level

[Not Available]

Affection Level

[Not Available]

That was new. Finding no help from the system, I was forced to ask. “Who are you? Can you tell me more about your people and how you siphon mana from the planet?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you wish to use us as well? My name is Iolathar. I suppose you can call us the last of the ancients. The only survivors of our kind. We have been trapped here for an eternity.”

“Who did this to you?” Kalli asked timidly from behind me.

“Do not speak to me!” The Iolathar growled. “You’re people lost that right when you used us as glorified fuel for your wicked spells.”

“Hey!” I spat. “She is a big part of the reason you’re free. I never would have pushed that button without her.”

The expression on Iolathar’s face softened. “Very well. I will at least hear her out. It has been a long time since I’ve spoken to one of her kind, after all. The others might not share my sympathy though.”

“Can we do anything for them?” Kalli asked, looking at the writhing figures around the room.

Everyone was naked. That was the least I could help them with.

Let’s go find them some clothes.

Kalli looked around at all the naked bodies and blushed. Good idea.

Between the two of us, we managed to make a care package for the ancients. I edited hundreds of robes while Kalli had Lamentus show her where the living quarters were. The layout of the Lunar Celestea Castle was similar to the Gaian version.

When we returned, the majority of the ancients stood gathered on the basement floor of the tank chamber. I noticed a pile of unmoving bodies stacked unceremoniously in the back of the room.

Iolathar approached when we returned with supplies. Many of the ancients behind him glowered at Kalli as we stacked the robes I created on a table.

He picked one up and slid it over his shoulders. “Thank you. It has been a long time since felt the comfort of clothing. I had forgotten what it feels like.”

Kalli gathered her courage and announced. “I found rooms with bath chambers that you are welcome to use if you wish for some privacy.”

“Do you speak for all Celesteans?” A woman asked. “Why are children the only ones here to greet us? Are we about to be ambushed by armed guards when we step from this chamber? I warn you, we will put up a fight. This construct of yours will not be sufficient to stop us?”

“Construct?” Kalli asked, looking confused.

I laughed. They were referring to Lamentus. “He’s a god. Have you never seen one before?”

Iolathar gaped at the god. “I do not believe I’ve met this god. Is he related to Polaris?”

“Never heard of that god,” I replied.

Lamentus spoke for the first time since we turned off the machine. “If such a god did exist, he has been forgotten by the living. Such is the only way for a god to perish.”

The woman spoke again. “That still doesn’t answer my question. Why are only children here?”

I wanted to explain to her that I was sixteen, the age of majority. However, I bit my tongue and explained the situation. “As far as I know, you are the only ones on Luna. You and the gods. The Celesteans were banished to Gaia long ago.”

“Good riddance!” Someone yelled from the back of the room.

Iolathar held up a hand for silence. “All feelings aside, these kids seem to have freed us. Whether a prank or not, we owe them civility at the very least. We accept your offer of hospitality.”