“Reason why I’m heading over. No point justifying things through a video call. Anything can be hidden in this matter, though I doubt she’d keep anything under the rug.
“Do your work, I can’t let this matter slip, but the rest can move on as they should.” Prof. Tenorio said with a finality in his voice.
Eldric recognized this tone, he knew Prof. Tenorio would never sleep in relaxation by the end of this day, and all they could do was walk forward. Or, at least, his side of the project.
The last seconds of their conversation ended with Eldric telling Prof. Tenorio to call his husband, reminding him not to wait for a five-minute voice message about missing their anniversary, reminiscent of that one time a year ago. Scoffing at the memory, Prof. Tenorio ended their call and then let himself nap. They still have fifteen minutes till Northwoods.
His trip from sending supplies to A-city, and having a brief conversation with th
The grip of the unknown fear that swept through the building seemed to linger and stink that he had to suppress his urge to show disgust as he saw the hall where the damage and casualty happened. He asked where the Primer now was after the incident but received a blow to the gut once Reina said, “I had to pull the plug because everything in the room was going out of control.”Nerves sprouted from his neck as he suppressed the rage. A sliver of regret crept into his mind as his practiced patience tried lowering the flames that simmered in him. The casual way Reina said it to him was what he expected but not something he could get used to or forgive.Slowly taking his breath in, he said. “Good, quick thinking. Though I doubt this matter would’ve been handled less grotesque, I presume the events that led to this decision were dire.“Your actions are not without question for morality, but who am I to put you on the scale. Perhaps the on
Decades have gone as the remnants of F-city continued to deteriorate at a speed nature has been set in, slow but precise. The inclusion of weather and the test of time. Many skyscrapers crumbled into half of what they used to be. Or end up becoming like skeletons, bare metal structures trying to reach for the skies.These buildings now look like poles, layered over each other by disasters passing by. Parts of the city have now fully grown wildlife or are barren with dead plants and forgotten establishments at random all around. Easily could be described as bald patches on an already old mans thinning hair.Areas of the outskirts have now succumbed to sand and nothing but the eroding ability of nature to suffice. If one would walk, leading inward makes for quite a “majestic” setting when structures now hold gardens of their own, either overgrown from their unkempt yards or planted unintentionally from seeds swept by the winds.Dull days remain the onl
Imago did not expect this. Usually, the robot would only let itself waste the hour until the end. The end was near, and no effort would bring them back.“Hey,” Imago said. “Happy sleeping?”“Sleep? Did I take a nap in the middle of the day again?” The robot expressed a peppy voice from the concern it felt. “How unfortunate. I’ve been experiencing it these days without much thought to fixing it. Perhaps I should ask the mechanics to look at me. Again.”“No need,” Imago quickly said. Deeply looking at the robot before saying. “The mechanic has looked you up while you were sleeping.”“Convenient! What did they say?” It asked, but the words it spoke were slow and toning down. Like it was losing the juice of its battery in a painfully sluggish manner.“They’re looking up a new part for this...” Imago suddenly pointed at the part where the core is,
Chapter 18Sunrise is a sight to behold in the city, surrounded by skyscrapers of varying heights. Each one beholds the light from the East and spreads them across the sky, contrasting the dim interior lights of the ones who reside on the ground compared to those living on higher floors.The tint of red overflows and colors the skies into a lighter violet that becomes blue, signifying a new day, but it hasn't happened yet. Rays of sunlight have not peeked through the nooks in between structures. At the hour this scenario takes place, comfortable darkness still wrapped each life due to the coming dawn.Bustling business lessened at this point of the day and working hours of the graveyard shift. For these works at this hour of work, they’re excited to escape to the comforts of their bed, excitedly awaiting the ambrosia of rest.Amidst the sea of silence, blanketed by mid-wake, a black car passed through the streets and arri
“Ye-yes.” Eldric lightly said, then realized he was slowly leaning to the back of his chair and straightening his back. Reminding him of his mother to stay attentive, delivered in a nagging manner. Something about how Izobra looked at people naturally convincing themselves to follow her every word without sounding conceited. "Could we take firsthand accounts of any recent visits both of you have done into the north-west sector, and if there were any reported incidents of the Task Force in presence"The couple started to tell their itinerary like it was only yesterday. Of course, the details included are not as obsessively absurd, but enough to make anyone who heard them feel like they have such exceptional minds able to maintain minute points of their day. Most of their activities in that sector started half a year after the incidents began, with only a few months difference. According to their records, as supplemented by Min-Ain.The kid, in his mind, sile
“...-urther wait means we might have a big one coming. Is this report reliable? The data says it’s going to borderline pass a Secunda Radius 2. Hey? It’s my first to encounter an SR2 in the city distri-...” “This isn’t the first time an SR2 incident happened, but within the city proper? Thiss will not bode well, especially for us.” Whispered Eldric. On the other end of the earpiece he could hear Min-Ain typing rapidly. “How far does the area go? Would it reach us?” “According to the report from the Wavelength team, the area of effect ends five kilometers from the ****,” Min-Ain answered, aggressive typing continues. “Setting those boundaries aside, the likeliness that a Primer will appear and enter the company’s premises is extremely high. Eldric, you need to evacuate that area instead of staying in the—” Cut off by a loud static while the earpiece started to ring in Eldrics ears as he felt a sudden surge of electricity pass through
Pulling the operator onto the table with the laptop to get their attention. They were staring blankly at the screen of the tablet showing the newscaster televising the incident.Eldric shook them back to reality. He said as calmly as he could, “Contact the higher-ups. Have they issued an order of total evacuation through the underground passageways?”The operator remained dazed as they looked back at the laptop in front of them, paused to breathe as they shook their hands, then started typing and looking through the boards. As Eldric waited to get a result, he pulled his phone out and sent a reply to Min-Ain.“Stay where you are. There’s no telling what will happen if the Task Force fails to apprehend the Primers.” Seeing this message did not abate the fear Min-Ain felt, the kind he used to have back in D-city. If things went south faster than anyone could say “help,” he was sure there was no one else to rely on
The message came from the prompt of his chat, a new contact, trying to add him. Min-Ain was too late when he heard the elevator doors open and entered the two. Izobra who towered over him despite having a considerable height lorded the presence in the room that he panicked and almost hurt them before Zerkalo softly greeted him. The gentle manner of the old man brought him peace and soon found himself enjoying lunch with the couple, in silence at first but turned into him being the third wheel as the couple spoke about the incident.Nothing of their words showed any kind of information that they were part of the incident, but they did show knowledge or know-how of the event that seemed firsthand.The conversation flowed from their opinion on structural integrity, what with the modern way the **** company tackled their floor plan and how uneasy anyone can be with such a mechanical layout, then moving on to what kind of ice cream Min-Ain wanted. He was asked this so abrup
EpilogueThe caves underground lead nowhere man could tolerate, with the pressure of the world pressing over them, no one can follow the Primer monsters as they exit the premise of C-city. These Primers are not going to be eaten and smothered by power over time, however, they will co-exist in a community built by Memoria.Memoria who sat almost half a millennia awake under the ruins of F-city played another game of race between the lines with several other internet connection nodes that are knowingly joined into the old working cable lines of the dead city. Then when the race finishes, they rest for the while, thinking like a person, old and hesitant.They’ve long forgotten that they could easily browse these connections so that they could monitor the condition of the world and their old friends who now walks the human world with the grace that could only dignify those with experience. They have experience too, of a different kind, all collected from the vast brains and words of those
Hi, there Nate here :) I've enjoyed writing this story so far, but things have been complicated and I won't be able to write it anymore. There are some moments that I wish I could have fixed in the long run but it's gotten too much to hold in just one hand. After this chapter will be a short Epilog for a short mention of each relevant characters final activities before the future becomest truly a mystery. This story ran its course, pretty long if you ask me, and the development of some characters are slow but steady. There will be a new title coming after this for the coming month, it's tentative title is "Ocular to the Dying Sun." A saga of the Prime Magician and the realm of Slitark according to before their brightest star continues to deteriorate. Have fun reading, please do leave comments~
Small-stature wobbled from their place in shock and confusion. They could hear voices, words they thought would not be possible to understand even if they have a sprinkle of memories of being able to say such things, such words. Vocabulary had almost slipped their still able memory of what they seem to perceive as their selves before this blind-like body.Their comrade underlings did not comprehend the creature in front of Small-stature, making them react in a scared way, almost darting to scurry in escape. Managing to hail them back into the premise of Small-stature’s vicinity was easy, what with One-arm herding them back to where they are.“My, forgive me. It seems like you are a newborn to this body.” Soft-spoken, as Small-stature calls them, listened to them say. “Let me soothe your worries, we are not here to relish harm upon our fellow. Rather, guide them.”Hearing and understanding what Soft-spoken said took about a few seconds of Small-stature’s comprehension, but their underl
Two presences from the premise disappeared when the small-statured creature sensed the sensation of an optimal sound and light came from underneath the ground. There was a pause as they waited for the arrival of this, oh so, comforting resonance.Anticipation. Tension. Pause.There was a definite halt in their senses when another sensation overpowered their most awaited event, that was just been triggered moments ago. Because of this, they knew that there was something wrong. Something that would bring them great demise and abandonment, even if they know they could survive without this “thing.”Grasping this “thing” was an answered prayer they knew would be something that could help develop their comrades and these sweet-scented underlings of theirs. Telling them that they would grow and develop into better creatures that could well benefit each other. Without words, just sounds and resonance, deeds.Still, they could not help but waver in tenacity when they felt the loss of this “thi
Waking up in another body is hellish beyond comparison. Imagine opening your eyes to blindness you didn't know existed, with the light coming from nowhere and everywhere. You don't see with your eyes, but you feel the world ten times stronger with nothing but your body who is sensitive to every kind of noise. Magic would have been more believable than realizing that your blindness is not caused by pain of any internal kind, but by your eyes absorbed inside your skull, sunken deep. Protected by a layer of skin thin but tough, while a substance within shakes and serves to stay it in place. Something moved within their skull, surreal but they could feel it moving with every shake and stir as if a jar of pickles with one pickle inside swimming in its vat of juice. Why am I comparing pickle to my situation? Calming themselves was easy, they “breathed” slow and steady, through a nose they could not feel or sense its presence on their face, but they know its there. Wildly adjusting their t
Chapter 37Skies don’t rain beans or bacon, but Horaz, who’s gotten himself used to the way the Primer identity roams his mind, sees that this Primer sure knows how to mix the setting they stand in by displaying all food he’s been craving for. Nothing beats being human and wanting nothing but to satiate your day with all the good comfort food that lives in your head, at least the ones you’ve tasted before.He has been yearning to eat more than raw meat, which his tongue and throat burned from the bitter taste, not sweet or delectable, but bitter and tangy at the same time. The youth of sixteen years has not tasted flesh the same way it’s described with a raw steak, though he prefers well done, he probably would have had the chance to taste raw steak in the time his family would celebrate special occasions.But he prefers well-done steak, baked beans, and the occasional tacos on the weekends. Softshell because he needs to cater to his girlfriend’s taste for cleanliness, hence food with
“Stand… down,” Akyl said slowly to the escorts. Her eyes watched the one arm that clung to the tail.She could tell that the tail, or the identity that controlled it, is strong today. There must be a correlation between their method of physical examination and their tail’s response to their body. Rather, she could sense that Horaz is just realizing that there was more to the process happening in his Primer body and just noticing it now.The other escorts, with guns that bore metal ammunition, followed through but the tranquilizer bearer did not ease his aim. The escort shook his head in rejection of her request and Akyl had to acknowledge this.Purce stood still, feeling her tension, more from fear, stiffen her body. The only part that could move was her eyes and she watched in anticipation if the doctor would do something first, or the Primer’s tail.Because, by now, she could see that the Primer is not just fighting the tail but struggling to keep its hold. The twitching stopped for
The confines of Horaz’s room remained cold with the sprinkle of “nature’s touch,” meaning the occasional soil and other debris that could serve as “entertainment options.” Noticing the Primer consciousness be a creature of boredom was one the laboratory did not expect, and so did Horaz.Discovering this was not hard to conclude when the Primer tends to play and hunt the staff and escort that enters its domain whenever they feed or try to clean his “room.” At most, if they didn’t leave any kind of living creature to distract the Primer during its stay in the laboratory, the likeliness of it trying to destroy their place seemed likelier.Reina remembered the kind of creature the first Primer was, despite staying for only a few days in their presence. This alpha Primer did things in calculated actions as if, the creature itself wanted things to go their way so it could pretend to give them what they want.She concluded this according to how the staff then felt its actions were much devis
Purce had to double take, knowing that the answer used, one thump of any body part meant “no.” Hastily, she signaled to Elbi that Horaz – the human consciousness, did not agree to the next procedure.Because of this, Moss suddenly wondered why the electrical current request they were aiming to control, and monitor stopped. She saw from her peripheral that Dr. Akyl left her post, the other touchscreen panel, and approached Elbi and Purce.Elbi was adjusting the program, already on its way to booting up enough electrical charges in the ideal percent, but an abrupt stop in this charging requires a reset for the application and machine. Because if it did not stop and proceed to use for its intended purpose, it would go haywire or overflow.The very machine of the gurney can only hold enough electrical charge, the extra energy that flows through the needles are nodes that cannot let one charge in it stay still. It must go through and ride the sails and winds or else it will burn. This is n