The Last Dainv-Chapter 85

The Last Dainv-Chapter 85

The elevator chimed as it reached the 52nd floor. Gale's sneakers squeaked on the polished floor while Ollie's dress shoes clacked. They reached the cubicles, and carpet replaced the flooring. No one was working yet, and only the silent hum of the old air conditioning vents could be heard.
"What'd you think of the waffles?" Ollie walked through the rows of cubicles.
"Better than beast meat and protein bars." Gale nodded. Much better than the slop the orphanage provided, too. Most of all, the restaurant even said it was free. Free was the best taste afterall.
"Morning shift doesn't start for another hour," Ollie moved to the cubicle at the wall 5th from the window. Each desk had its own nameplate. The desk he stopped at had a nameplate that read: "Sarah Chen - Business Analyst."
Ollie lifted the desk's phone receiver. The wall beside the cubicle softly clicked. It faded, replaced by a white corridor that stretched inwards into the building that seemed to have went further than what the building's structure allowed. There were no seams nor joints that marked anything that hinted at the hidden compartment. It was just there.
"How-" Gale started.
"Artificing. The Path specialty and
mine
." Ollie ushered him inside. "After you."
Gale stepped through. The smell hit him immediately. Bleach, vinegar, and the rubbing alcohol that had stung him in the hospital after coming back from the Eclipsed. Below him, he noticed no shadow as he walked on the floor. The lights above were shaped in distinct circular shapes that housed multiple light bulbs.
While walking, Gale waved his hands up at the light then looked down to see if there was any kind of shadow. There were none. The attuned that used shadow arts came into mind. That kind of asshole wouldn't be able to fade in and out in this kind of environment.
"What are you doing?" Ollie asked, looking at Gale waving his hands wildly at the lights.
"Nothing," Gale said. "Nothing, nevermind."
"No shadows, no annoying pests from the UK coming in here. This place is top secret." Ollie chuckled. "Had an issue about 2 years ago. Let's just say that whole ceiling was a pain in the butt to pay for."
Gale nodded. Right now, he had no money. He didn't even want to know how much 'pain in the butt' was.
At the end of the corridor, they reached the heavy metal doors that looked more like the ward door in a hospital.
"Welcome to where the magic happens." Ollie pushed it open. "And by magic, I mean cutting-edge research that would make most Path members shit themselves."
"Mr. Glory!" A man in white coat ran toward them.
He looked like a classic Albert Einstein looking scientist. Graying hair spread out everywhere like an explosion. The dark circles in his eyes were also dark, much darker than Ollie's.
The man continued, "I wasn't expecting you so early. The latest batch results-"
"Nathan." Ollie put his hand on Gale. "Meet Gale Hathie. Old friend, new potential colleague. Gale, this is Nathan Brown, lead researcher for Lab 7."
Nathan's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Gale. "The one from the forest? But I thought-"
"You thought wrong." Ollie interrupted. "How's the project coming along?"
"Right, yes." Nathan fumbled with his tablet. "The modified strain shows promise. Crystallization rate reduced by significant margins in preliminary trials. However, the pain response shows us differences in protrusion area."
A scream pierced through the corridor, nothing Gale ever heard before. His hand instinctively moved to the storage box in his left pocket, ready to take out the sword.
Ollie's smile slipped for just a moment. "Show me."
They followed Nathan down branching corridors, each identical to the last. More of the same scream echoed along the white walls. Tendrils of his passive skill showed him dozens of vital signs. Multiple bodies writhed in their beds. Some even chewed on their straps. Few had weak signs of life as their bodies were colder than most.
"Most of our subjects are…
volunteers
," Nathan explained as they walked. "Terminal patients, mostly. People that can't be cured with mundane medicinal practice. We offer hope, even if it's experimental."
"And the ones who aren't volunteers?" Gale asked.
Nathan's mouth repeatedly opened and closed, no sound coming out. Ollie answered instead: "Sometimes hope finds people who weren't looking for it."
They passed sealed doors marked with biohazard symbols and warning signs. Through small windows, Gale caught glimpses of hospital beds and monitoring equipment. In one room, crystals sprouted from a patient's arm, blood streaming down from the base of the crystals. In another, a woman thrashed against restraints, crystals had formed around her chest as her mouth was gagged with a cloth.
"The modified strain shows better integration with existing tissue," Nathan continued, pulling up data on his tablet. "Previous versions caused rapid crystal formation within hours. Now we're seeing controlled growth over days, sometimes weeks. Conclusion says that this strain reacts much slower to mundane entities, a step in the right direction."
"And the success rate?" Ollie asked.
Nathan hesitated. "Better than before. Almost twenty percent show signs of crystallization delay."
Ollie sucked on his teeth. "It's fine. We're making progress. This new strain gets us closer to our goal."
Another scream echoed through the corridor. This one cut off abruptly. Breath of the Void fed him the complete loss of life. No heartbeat from the already cold corpse.
"Sir," Nathan checked his tablet again. "Subject 247 just... deteriorated. Multiple organs complete failure."
"Document everything," Ollie said. "Every detail matters."
He turned to Gale. "This is why we need people like you. The Path ignores the problem. Those knights you saw at the warehouse? They want to shut us down. Meanwhile, people are dying
everyday
."
They reached an observation room overlooking an operating room. Inside, crystals had completely consumed a body on the table. The body was so disfigured, it was hard to tell whether it was male or female or even human.
"How many?" Gale asked.
"Too many." Ollie put his palm on the glass. "But the dust trade keeps growing. More people getting exposed every day. Someone has to try to fix
all
of this."
Nathan cleared his throat. "Mr. Glory, we need to get on the morning data review status."
"Right." Ollie straightened his tie and then his cuffs. He brushed his hair back with his fingers. "Duty calls. Think about my offer, Gale. We could use someone with your particular skills."
"What skills exactly?" Gale asked.
Ollie paused, looking at the patient in the operating room below.
"To be honest, I don't know. Maybe skills that need grit and survival." Ollie started to follow Nathan, then paused. "Oh, and Gale? Everything you've seen here? It doesn't exist. Just like that wall never disappeared."
Their footsteps faded, and the silence that followed only made the flatline's high-pitched wail seem to blare, sudden and deafening. In the operating theatre below, technicians in hazmat suits began documenting the whole crystallized flesh thing on their tablets while taking pictures with their phones.
The forest was much simpler than this. Before, he had told himself that he'd live in the forest. No one to lean on other than the punishing silence of solitude.
Why, Ollie?
"Gale?" A woman's voice cracked behind him. "Is it really you?"
He turned. A blonde woman in a tailored suit stood in the doorway. She gripped the doorframe like it was the only thing keeping her upright. Her big blue eyes were puffy. She could be infected.
"Who?" Gale asked, stepping back, arm already on the storage box in his left pocket.
Then it hit him. The hollow bony cheeks from the basement that pleaded with him for help. She was the only one that dared to actually talk to him when he first appeared. Now she stood straight… relatively, and she was taller than him now.
"I knew it." Tears dripped down the sides of her cheeks. "I was just talking about you with... it doesn't matter. You're alive. You're actually here."
The rattling chains and smell of piss and shit. Every woman in that basement flinched at his every movement. Now she was walking towards him with the grace of someone walking through a warehouse catwalk. Definitely might be infected with how wobbly she walked.
"How are you?" She stepped closer, wiping the tears with a handkerchief. "When did you get back? Where have you been?"
"I..." Gale didn't know what to say other than to keep backpedalling until he hit the glass of the observation deck. "I just got back. A month ago. Are you infected?"
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"No…?" She stopped, studying him up and down. "I'm just woozy from... a job. By the way, you look exactly the same in a different way."
"Yeah…" Gale said.
She chuckled. "I remember that feeling. I was exactly like that when we first came back. Did you know almost everyone who survives the rift comes back changed? Ninety percent awaken after exiting a rift as mundane."
"What happened to everyone else?" Gale asked. "The ones from the basement."
"We made it. All of us. Some run businesses now. A few got married. We do jobs for the Path
sometimes
." She laughed softly. "They even gave us a nickname in Aur. The Blue Witches. Terrible name, but it stuck."
Did Rachel change as much as this woman had? He wasn't able to ask about Annett as well. Ollie and her had quite the friendship. Even the asshole, Lennard.
"Let me show you around," she offered, gesturing to the corridor. "This place can be... intense. I'm guessing Ollie left you alone here."
Gale nodded. His mouth opened. What was her name again?
"What was your name again?"
Shit, that came out blunt. He forgot whether he even asked for the survivor's name or something. Any of them could've died in the mad dash to the exit. Didn't even think most of the convoy would've made it.
"Lily Grace," she said. "Come on, let's look around."
She stepped back from the observation window, heels clicking against the tiles. Maybe that was why she wobbled around. Who the hell wears such high shoes that make their foot go up on the heel? It even clacked and clicked, which would've been a detriment to staying low. Then those shoes meant staying high?
Gale tiptoed upwards. His height was only maybe a centimetre above hers when he did that. Quickly, he stood down normally, shaking his head. Stay low, but stay high. Remember, Gale. Remove the programming.
"You should hear what Rachel says about you," Lily said. "Every time we meet, she-" She stopped, noticing his eyes looking up at her. "But that's a story for another time. First, let me show you what we've built here. What surviving really means."
Lily's heels clicked against the tiles. They walked past more treatment rooms. Through each window, different stages of crystal growth marked the progression of dust corruption.
Some patients lay still, their skin barely showing signs of change, but there was clear pain etched on their faces.
"What Ollie's doing here..." Lily's voice trailed off as they passed a room where nurses in hazmat suits administered injections. "It's not pretty. But someone has to try. We can't just let people keep dying."
Behind the glass screen, a doctor examined a patient whose arm had turned completely crystal. The bone could be seen from the reflections inside of the crystal, devoid of any flesh.
"You support this?" Gale asked.
"Support might be too strong a word." Lily said as her smile almost faltered. "I understand it. Every week we get s of new dust exposure cases. Civilians who got caught in the crossfire of Aurian fights, addicts who just use it for recreation, kids who found the wrong stash..."
"They're in pain," Gale said, though he didn't know why. He didn't know any of these people. He didn't care whether they were in pain or died from these causes. If Ollie was trying to fix it, then it would be wrong to be against it in the first place.
"Like I said, not pretty." Lily turned away from the window. "But you've been in Aur for a bit now, right? How much do you actually know about our world?"
"Not much." The asshole, Carl, never really told him anything other than to join the Path. He couldn't believe him, neither could he believe Emmerson. "All Carl said was to join us and we'll tell you more."
Lily's laugh was obviously fake. "Carl? Oh, you mean Jonathan. His real name's Jonathan, and he's a complete asshole. Division 16 head who thinks keeping secrets makes him important."
"You know him?"
"Unfortunately," Lily said. "That bastard loves his little power plays. Classic Path tactics. Keep people in the dark until they're desperate enough to sign up. Bet he told you nothing."
Gale nodded. "I met some United Knights, though. Ollie seemed to know them. Order 24, I think?"
"You what?" Lily stopped walking. "Wait, was this at that warehouse in the industrial district at Oshawa?"
"Yeah. I was actually practicing in another warehouse nearby when I accidentally stumbled across
something.
"
"You're kidding." Lily burst out laughing. "Of all the places... That's some coincidence."
She wiped her eyes, still chuckling. "God, I needed that. But seriously, let me catch you up on what Jonathan should have explained weeks ago."
They turned down another corridor, this one free of patient rooms. "There are three major factions in Aur. The United Knights control Europe and Africa. Those were the ones you met last night. Traditional types, big on ceremony and proper law-stuff that you wouldn't really understand. The nerd stuff."
"The ones with the golden lights and water magic?"
"Exactly. Then there's the Jiuling in Asia. They're more complex: nine different sects plus four major families, all with their own specialties and traditions. Real martial arts movie stuff, really don't wanna get in their crosshairs."
"And the Path?" Gale asked.
"Runs North and South America like a corporation. All business, all the time," Lily said sarcastically. "Hence Jonathan's recruitment strategy."
She paused at a break room, opened the door, and grabbed two cups of coffee. "Then there are the vagrants. Aurians who haven't joined any faction. Lots of them around, actually. Most keep their heads down, stay out of trouble. The ones with real combat skills usually get pressured to pick a side."
"Like what they're doing to me." Gale accepted the coffee. "The crappy apartment, the surveillance, being stingy on the allowance..."
"Making your life difficult until the Path looks like your best option," Lily said, placing her cup down on the counter. "Classic playbook. You want some sugar with that?"
Gale took a sip of the coffee. Too bitter, forcing him to keep his tongue inside and immediately regretting not taking the sugar. He'd have to get used to the way adults drink coffee.
Lily took a teaspoon from the counter and opened up a container with white powder. It smelled like sugar, and it was. She put in 5 teaspoons of sugar, swirled it before adding milk.
Instant regret. If Lily, who is an adult, could make it sweeter, why couldn't he? Dammit. Next time he'll try it with adult version 2.0.
Lily took her cup from the counter, exited the break room, and continued moving forward.
Gale followed. There must be a reason why there were 3 factions. Maybe he could join one of them other than the Path that seemed to be so good at keeping stuff to themselves. "Why three factions though? Why organize at all?"
"Because someone has to keep order," Lily sighed. "There are criminal organizations out there. Those who'd use their abilities to take whatever they want. The factions maintain balance, keeping our world hidden from civilians. Without them, the mundane world would probably collapse."
The crystals that jutted out from the homeless man's eyes. What if that happened to Andrew? Or any one of his friends in the Adult Learning Centre? Even Ms. Jackson would be susceptible to exposure. Aurian criminals wouldn't have cared about the mundane casualties. Heck even Tank Top and Red Jacket just fired their guns everywhere at Ollie without hesitation.
"So those guys at the warehouse," Gale said. "The ones dealing dust. They're what the factions try to stop?"
"Among other things." Lily sipped her coffee. "Though lately, the lines have gotten blurry. The Path runs 'official' dust research. The Knights investigate 'unauthorized' operations. Everyone claims they're working for the greater good, but..."
"But what?" Gale sipped his coffee as well.
"I should introduce you to the other Blue Witches," Lily ignored him. "Most of us are vagrants, but aligned with the Path. We usually just help out Ollie and Rachel whenever they ask. Sometimes we take on tasks from the Path's job board too, it's still good money. The Path might be watching you, but we look after our own."
"Has Rachel really been talking about me?" The question slipped out before Gale could stop it.
A small smile played at Lily's lips as they entered a lounge. "Oh, you have no idea. Anytime anywhere whenever she would-"
Gale cleared his throat, interrupting Lily. "What's the point of all this? The factions, the powers, the hidden world beneath everything?"
Lily sat down on a seat, and Gale sat beside her. Multiple monitors lined the walls of the lounge, each one showing a table of data. All of them showed 4 distinct columns. Patient ID, Description, State, Life Expectancy.
"You ever notice holes in reality? Places where the world just tears apart?" she asked.
"No." But he had a feeling that it was how they all went to the Eclipsed. Back then, Rachel and Ollie did talk about rifts. Maybe it all related to the tide or the corruption that the Knight talked about.
"Lucky you." She picked up her coffee again, hands wrapping around the cup. "Those are Rifts. They open randomly. They can appear in places like abandoned buildings, subway tunnels, residential areas. Wherever,
whenever
."
A nurse passed by them, running while pushing a cart loaded with syringes and other medical supplies. The wheels squeaked and rammed into the tiles. One of the patients on the monitors turned from "Alive" to "Deceased."
"They pull things in. People, animals, anything living." Lily said. "And if we don't close them fast enough, things start coming out."
"Things?"
"Monsters. Creatures. Whatever lives on the other side. That's what Aur really exists for. We're not just playing at magic and politics. We're the wall between our world and whatever waits in those rifts."
That was exactly the same thing that the knight was talking about. The duty of the Dainv to fight against the tide.
"You've seen them," Lily said. "We've been through that rift together, even if it was only a short while."
"And dust?" Gale gulped. "Where does that fit in?"
Lily's fingers tightened around her cup. "Sometimes... sometimes you're cornered. Something's coming through a Rift that you can't handle. Or you're facing down another Aurian who's trying to kill you. In those moments, when it's death or dust, you'd choose dust."
She trailed off, watching the description of Patient 2237 change in real time. "The boost it gives you might save your life. The rush of power, the pleasure that comes with it, and it just feels like you can do anything. But for normal humans..."
"They die," Gale said.
"Always." Lily said. "One exposure is all it takes. Their bodies can't handle the enhancement. The crystals start small, inside your organs. But once it starts, there's no going back."
"How long?" Gale asked.
"Depends on the strain. Pure dust? About eleven days until complete crystallization. The modified versions work faster. Some kill within three days. Too many strains these days." She set her empty cup aside. "But Aurians like us, we just get the high. The power boost. The addiction, if we're not careful."
"But you use it anyway?"
"I don't use it. But when I have to, I would." Lily smoothed over her business skirt. "Better than dying. Better than letting
them
through."
She paused. "You haven't seen a real Rift yet, have you? Not since coming back?"
Gale shook his head.
"You will." She checked her phone, frowning at whatever she saw there. "They're getting more frequent. More aggressive. The Path has theories about why, but they keep that information locked down tight. Need-to-know basis."
"The factions… are very different from each other," Gale said. The knights he fought had a completely different feeling from Ollie and the criminals. Their magic felt older.
"Each faction has its own specialty, and the major factions all trade with each other. The Path specifically specializes in Artificing. United Knights has a boatload of auxiliary and utility spells. The Jiuling… they have good muscles." Lily said, "When things get hairy, such as a high level rift, the factions coordinate on a response."
"And you all?"
“The Blue Witches.” She cringed immediately after saying the name. "Don't mention that name though. But basically, that's what we call ourselves after Jessica coined it. Supposed to commemorate what we went through in that shithole. But right now, I guess we're all just wanting to help Ollie try to fix what's broken in this whole system."
"The mundane world doesn't know," Gale said. "About any of it."
"And we keep it that way. Build our hidden labs in corporate towers like this one. Fight our battles in abandoned places. Clean up the bodies before anyone asks questions." Lily's phone buzzed again. "Speaking of which, there's some witches at neutral grounds that would love to talk with you again. How about it?"
"I'm not that..." Gale looked away from her eyes, clearly expecting a 'yes.' Reluctantly or not, he nodded anyway.

Chapter 85