[07: 06: 54: 11]
...
THUM
A distant, heavy thud shattered the silence. The floor trembled beneath Cassian's boots, its deep, resonant pounding echoing off the cold, cracked walls.
THUM
Damn, that's some strong vibrations… like Hulk is stomping in the corridors… Oh shit! Please don't be that…
Cassian edged toward the heavy metal doors. He squinted into the dim light as he saw something huge approaching, and soon he saw there, moving with a slow but heavy gait, the behemoth emerged. The monster loomed nearly ten feet tall. Its chitinous armor glinted under the flickering lights, with the same squirming worms dancing through the gaps in its armor.
FUCK, this thing is massive… Man, I wish I could see the HP of the monsters just to have an idea of who I can fight…
Then suddenly the behemoth paused the moment it was about to cross the admin doors. Cassian didn't even dare to breathe in fear that this monster might find him, as he very carefully observed the monster's moves. The behemoth sniffed heavily like a dog around the area outside the doors and soon its face looked down at the Admin offices doors; that's when Cassian saw the fucker had no eyes, just a maw filled with teeth as it stepped closer to the admin doors.
Shit!… Please don't find me… Just go, man, I know you have a lot of other important work to do…
Cassian pressed himself against the wall, moving further away from the bent door as he saw the monster's face trying to enter through the gap. Cassian's pulse pounded in his ears. His fingers tightened around his weapon, but he kept any thoughts about fighting deep down. The massive fucker tried to push its head into the gap, but it was unsuccessful; with a gruff hiss, it withdrew its head back as Cassian felt its presence linger around the doors, and with thums, its presence faded away.
Only then did Cassian allow himself to move—to breathe.
"That thing… I can't fight that right now, for sure… It did feel that this variant or rather elite, is dumber than the smaller ones."
"Phew~ still something I'm assuming with a lot of HP… regardless, I better loot this room first and then find my way to the barracks; some weapons, if not at least armor, should be lying there."
Taking in the whole room as Cassian scanned the area until something caught his eye—a metal sheet etched with detailed floor plans. Stepping closer to the wall, he noticed the engraving was worn, corners scraped away possibly by time and not being maintained; the alien growth only accelerated the damage. Trying to glean anything from it as he saw it depicted the B1, B2, B3, and B4 levels.
Huh? There are 4 basement levels… Wow, that must have been difficult to build, but then again the people here were experimenting on something forgotten; better they did it underground.
His gaze drifted to markings on the B1 plan; it was rusted and the details were scratched, but he still made out the security rooms and, notably, the barracks. But the other floor plans weren't so lucky; either rust or the alien growth had made it nearly impossible to glean anything from the sheet. Sighing, he saw several sturdy boxes stacked against the wall. They were too fully coated in dust and rust.
"Fuuuu!"
Cassian made a mistake by blowing the dust away as the dust got into his nose and mouth, leading to very unfortunate coughs. After a few seconds, he shook his head, chuckling at his stupidity. Drawing his machete, he used the handle to break the small locks, which broke easily, and with a few cautious tugs, he pried open the first box.
Inside lay neatly folded 3 blue papers which, when he unfolded them, turned out to be meticulously drawn maps, or rather floor plans, of B1, B2, and B3. He ran his fingers over the paper, feeling the leathery texture and noting the intricate details of corridors, security checkpoints, and hidden rooms. Although the plans were complex, all he needed was an idea of where his objective lay.
Okay, so the important places in each level would be these, huh…
***
{Facility Floor Plans – Levels B1 to B3}
B1 – Administrative and Security Wing
Key Locations:
1) Administrative Offices.
2) Security Hub and Secondary Data Terminal.
3) Barracks and Armory
Okay, so I'm already at the admin offices and got floor plans, which are already a big help. I'm assuming these other boxes must have logs and reports.
Hmm, not sure what I'll find at the security hub, but the barracks and armory are a must… On the plans, if I'm reading them right, it should not be far, but the security rooms would be closer. Let's see what's on the other floors.
B2 – Medical & Enhancement Research Wing (Biological Experimentation & Human Adaptation Labs)
Ugh, the name of the floor is straight-up sending ominous vibes… damn, should this stuff be done on lower levels?
Key Locations:
1) Cryostasis Pod Chamber
bruh? The first lab on the floor is straight up a pod chamber…
2) Surgical & Augmentation Labs
3) Restricted Research Wing
4) Medical Waste Disposal Tunnels
Hmmm, yeah, not sure how I feel about this floor; I can feel it, something bullshit is for sure gonna happen in this level.
B3 – Weapons and Deck Engineering Division
1) Prototype Deck Lab
Wait, deck… as in cards? Were the people here messing with cards?
2) Containment Vaults
3) Energy Extraction Chamber
4) Core-Security Terminal
***
Setting the plans aside, he opened the next box. He picked up a yellowed sheet; its creased cover yielded to his steady hands, revealing a jumble of day-to-day reports and miscellaneous logs; at first, it was a blur of ink, but then the text reassembled itself into something he could understand.
{General Facility Reports – Daily Operations}
– Request from B3 Research Team: Bulk shipment of synthetic material labeled "Metacite."
– Personnel Transfers: Noticeable shift
– Medical staff moved from B2 to B3; high-clearance engineers were reassigned from B3 to an undisclosed section.
– Power Usage Logs: Highest consumption noted in B2, not in B4.
Cassian frowned. The Medical Wing was consuming energy at levels that made no sense unless this was where things started to go wrong.
Also, there is a mention of B4, so are there a total of 4 underground floors… possibly even more. Haaa what's in the next box?
Next, he eased open the third box. This one was a disorganized collection of personal journals, internal notes, and fragmented messages. The faded ink began to clarify.
{Senior Engineer's Journal – B3}
"The artificial deck prototypes keep failing. No matter how much Metacite we refine, the cards remain unstable. Ours just… burn out. If the higher-ups keep pushing, someone is going to get hurt."
He flipped to another page, his eyes catching a hastily scrawled note:
{Researcher's Private Notes}
"Rumor: Patients in B2 were not volunteers. They were transferred from outside the Bastions. Something is very wrong…"
A final, terse memo caught his attention:
{Administrator's Memo – Personnel Morale}
"Security is requesting more personnel. Incidents in lower levels. Whispers of things moving in the dark. If HQ doesn't act soon, we're losing staff to paranoia."
Cassian's grip on the journal tightened, "I guess the nature of this facility was not very ethical… so it's quite possible what happened here caused the destruction of this world."
He then turned to the fourth box, its label hinting at materials import and export reports. With deliberate care, he pried it open. Among neatly arranged shipment records, his eyes scanned for anomalies. The pages slowly resolved into familiar details:
{ Materials Import and Export Reports }
– High-Volume Imports: Synthetic "Metacite" to B3; Biological Samples to B2; "Reclaimed Assets."
– no details beyond "Central Authority."
– Unaccounted Exports: "Project Aether" shipments sent off-site with no recipient; the entire batch from B2 is missing.
"Oh," the term 'Reclaimed Assets' might have been a polite phrase for something unspeakable—perhaps human test subjects repurposed into experiments he could scarcely imagine. Finally, Cassian opened the fifth box. Its contents were handled with an almost reverent caution. He extracted a sealed envelope containing confidential communications from the B2 labs.
The paper was marked "Urgent."
{ B2 Lab Director's Final Report }
"Subject Adaptation Rates Exceeding Expectations. The process is no longer limited to external exposure; it's happening internally. Subject 17 was terminated today—looked at me and called me by name. These are all slum dwellers; how did they know that? Regardless, if the process stabilizes, we won't need to beg from anyone anymore. The new generation… will be it. "
He spread the documents out on a splintered desk, allowing the quiet of the ruined room to emphasize each revelation. Blueprints, logs, journals, shipment records, and final reports.
I guess this is what the Eternal Wanderer meant; the level of detail is too high to be a controlled simulation… So this world is doomed and lost to time, and I am exploring a simulation of the real thing.
A grim resolve hardened in his eyes as he realized what he must do next. And with that, Cassian stepped away from the offices into the uncertain corridors. He moved down the hall, the silence broken only by the distant hum of the building's aging infrastructure. His thoughts danced between caution and determination, the weight of his discoveries urging him to press forward. Then, as he rounded a corner, his eyes caught something that froze him in his tracks. In a narrow stretch of the corridor, bathed in the weak glow of a flickering light, four MF Kalrachs were feasting on a gruesome sight—a humanoid corpse, half-devoured and strewn carelessly among broken debris. Their sharp claws tore at the flesh, and the sound of crunching bone mingled with guttural, inhuman gurgles.
Cassian's stomach churned as his gaze locked onto four pairs of unblinking eyes that met his own in that grotesque feast. Every instinct screamed at him to flee. He took a single, silent step back, his breath shallow and rapid. The creatures had already sensed him, their heads twitching as they caught a hint of his presence.
"Fuck," Cassian whispered, the single word laden with dread and disbelief.
Without a second thought, Cassian spun on his heel and dashed back the way he had come, his heart hammering against his ribcage. But safety was fleeting. Cassian didn't pause to catch his breath; instead, he risked a backward glance at his pursuers—and those fuckers, they were closing in, their heavy strides echoing his frantic steps. As soon as he reached the open hallway, a surge of adrenaline pushed him into action.
He whipped around, raising his hand to cast his spell. The destruction attunement energy lusted for death and carnage.
" [Lightning Bolt] "
The air around his fingertips shimmered with raw, electric potential as he released the spell. In an instant, a searing bolt of lightning shot forth, its brilliant arc cleaving through the dark corridor. It struck one of the feasting Kalrachs squarely in the chest. The creature convulsed violently, its guttural cry echoing off the stone walls as it collapsed into a crumpled heap of smoldering flesh and shattered exoskeleton.
[ DING! YOU KILLED A KALRACH (DRONE) ]
For a split second, time seemed to hold its breath. The sharp, sizzling sound of the spell's impact reverberated in his ears. Then, even as he braced himself to cast again, his eyes caught the unsettling movement of the remaining three Kalrachs. They fanned out deliberately, their stances unnervingly coordinated. Their eyes, reflecting primal hunger, fixed on him with unnerving precision. A chill crept down Cassian's spine as he realized something deeply unsettling. These monsters… they were adapting. Their movements, their spacing, even the way they hesitated—they all suggested a response not only to his presence but also to his methods.
Fuck! They know I can't multicast and are waiting for whom I'll hit, and then most probably the other two will lunge for me… Shit shit.
Cassian's heart pounded in his ears as he clenched his fists around his machete.
I'll have to trade injuries… there's no other way.
…