The air outside the chamber was thick, a soup of acrid miasma that moved like it had a mind of its own. Stepping onto what remained of a high fortress, I felt decay all around. The city below lay in ruins, the fortress clinging to its outer wall, a once-imposing bastion now bleeding rust and shadows.
The city sprawled before me, a dead giant of twisted metal and shattered glass. Above, the dome that had once shielded it was a fractured skull, casting broken light and jagged shadows that twisted with the haze.
Behind me, a crack in the dome bled a sickly mist. It poured over the fortress, engulfing me, then rolled down the city like it had a grudge.
Descending from the fortress felt like stepping into a droid junkyard. Bits of broken machinery cluttered the path, each stair creaking like it had a personal vendetta against my weight. The walls had given up, leaving the place wide open to the city’s twisted guts.
Streets cracked and curled in on themselves, a maze of grime and shadows. Holo-ads flickered in the mist, like spirits trying to break through the veil. The city wasn’t dying—it had already kicked the bucket, and I was just here to poke through the remains.
When I finally stepped out onto a shattered balcony, the street below greeted me with the sounds of survival. Two beasts tore into something that used to be a person. Gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling.
“Careful, master,” Arvie’s voice hummed in my head, a polite way of saying, don’t be an idiot.
“I see them,” I muttered, inching back from the edge. Not in the mood to test whether city predators had a taste for sarcasm.
This place was a funhouse of shifting shadows and rusty death traps. Every creak, every distant growl kept my nerves strung tight. But through the fog, something else caught my eye—a bright flicker, a neon sign trying to remember its glory days.
The building emerged from the fog, battered but still standing. The door was a twisted wreck at my feet. Inside, the air hit me—stale, like a memory that should’ve been buried. The place reeked of death, its halls lined with busted pods and beds and shattered medical gear. A graveyard disguised as a medical facility.
“Stars Above,” I breathed, the whole scene settling into my gut like bad food. “This is a nightmare.”
Arvie, the realist, chimed in. “The nightmare’s still warming up. Keep moving.”
My gaze fell on a set of storage lockers in the back of the chamber, and I weaved through the remains, careful not to step on anything too squishy. As I approached, something in my mind clicked—a holographic interface popped up. The symbols and prompts were like echoes of a skill I didn’t remember learning, but my mind knew the dance.
With a mental nudge, I overrode the security, and the lockers clicked open. A satchel inside caught my eye, my hands moving on autopilot as I rifled through it. Bandages, antiseptics, emergency rations—items that could mean the difference between survival and the alternative.
Then, behind some debris, a safe caught my eye, its surface gleaming faintly. I stepped closer and the interface flared back to life, more intricate this time—a puzzle wrapped in encryption that practically dared me to crack it, a kaleidoscope of shifting colors and fractal patterns swirling in my mind.
“This one’s got something interesting,” I muttered.
“Oh, definitely,” Arvie chimed in, buzzing with excitement. “Let’s crack it open and see what goodies they’ve stashed away.”
Whoever locked this up wasn’t messing around. I focused, feeling the static hum of the interface vibrate in my mind. Each symbol pulsed with a heartbeat of its own, daring me to engage. “Right. Let’s see if I know how to tango with this thing.” I traced a glowing line, but the moment I did, the symbols twisted and morphed into a chaotic swirl.
“Careful now,” Arvie warned, her tone light but laced with urgency. “This puzzle bites back.”
“Thanks for the encouragement,” I muttered, adjusting my focus and breathing through the frustration. I needed to find the rhythm, to dance with the puzzle instead of against it. “Let’s try a different approach.”
I imagined a clean slate, forcing the chaotic symbols to align. The colors harmonized, revealing a sequence of flashing glyphs. “There we go,” I said, feeling a surge of confidence. “Just needs a bit of finesse.”
As I pressed on, the glyphs formed a series of interconnected patterns, each slide changing the patterns in waves. My heart raced, but as I solved one section, another scrambled, mocking me with its complexity. “You’ve got to be kidding,” I groaned, sweat trickling down my face. “Who designed this? A mad artist with a flair for the absurd?”
“More likely a paranoid vault keeper with a sense of humor,” Arvie replied, laughter dancing in her voice. “You’re doing great, though. Just a few more steps.”
Pushing through, I visualized the patterns merging into a cohesive flow, each connection igniting a spark of hope. Then, a sudden jolt—colors fizzled and dimmed. “What now?” I asked, a flicker of panic rising.
“Looks like you hit a dead end. The puzzle is enjoying the chase,” Arvie said, her tone teasing.
I took a breath, grounding myself. “Okay, let’s regroup. New strategy. If it wants to play, we’ll play smarter.” I reset my mental approach, focusing on the interactions between the glyphs instead of trying to brute-force them.
“Ah, a classic case of less is more,” Arvie mused. “Smart move.”
With renewed determination, I coaxed the symbols into alignment, each successful connection sending a rush of adrenaline coursing through me. Finally, the last glyph shimmered with a golden hue, unlocking the heart of the puzzle. With a satisfying click, the safe opened with a soft hiss, like it had been waiting for this moment.
“Success!” I exclaimed, feeling a triumphant rush wash over me. “Not too shabby for someone with a blank slate of a mind.”
Arvie’s voice hummed with pride. “You did it, master. Now let’s see the inside.”
Inside, a sleek metal container pulsed faintly, glowing with the kind of importance that practically screamed, “Grab me!” I lifted it, its weight solid and… promising.
“Arvie, what’s this?” I asked, guessing something far more valuable than bandages.
Her tone shifted, almost reverent. “A mutacell box. Ancient tech from the time of the Elders, master. This could unlock abilities you didn’t even know you had.”
Excitement flared, “How do I use it?”
“We’d need a well-equipped medical center,” she replied. “Like this one, but functional—with intact medical pods and a skilled medic.”
So close, yet so far. But I wasn’t one to dwell. “Not here then.”
“Not here, not yet.”
I slid the box into the satchel, my sense of purpose sharpening against all the ruin. This wasn’t just about staying alive anymore. Now it was about answers, power—changing the rules of the game.
“Ready to continue our grand adventure?” Arvie’s voice went playful again. “Plenty more surprises waiting out there.”
With the satchel slung over my shoulder, I took one last glance at the graveyard of broken bodies and scrap. The city beyond was still a battlefield, a buffet of opportunity and danger, and I was only scratching the surface.
I turned, stepping back into the swirling fog, with Arvie in my head and the relic of the Elders at my side, whatever nightmare waited, I was ready for it.474Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6lW7KrIDo
