Chapter 1248: The Problem and Solution

Chapter 1248: The Problem and Solution

The Yphelion came to a gentle stop in its assigned dock. Zac was about to order immediate disembarkation when the screens suddenly became a uniform beige. Connecting to the ship systems did nothing to improve Zac's vantage.

"What's going on?" Emily asked.

"It looks like a barrier's been put up around the ship," Zac said.

"There's an incoming transmission," Jaol said. "Uh, it uses an unknown format. Give me one second."

Jaol's eyes flickered for a few seconds before a static voice appeared in the intercom.

[Welcome, guests. Please be advised, ---------- is currently facing a Tier ------- containment breach. For your safety, only personnel and authorized guests are allowed to disembark. Remain cautious and practice the [Starfall Scripture] provided during orientation. Should you notice any irregularities, immediately inform nearby staff.]

Zac grimaced at the sharp tone that cut into the message, making certain words impossible to make out. The voice was a gentle woman's, and he couldn't tell whether it was an old recording or a synthetic voice installed into the security systems.

"To think those two words were blocked out," Ogras commented, his suspicious tone speaking volumes.

[Security will remain at an elevated state until the breach is contained. Certain sections might be cordoned off. You can consult your liaison on how your station is affected. They will be with you shortly.]

"What liaison?" Kruta scratched his head. "And are we even authorized? Coming here won't do us much good if we're considered invaders."

"We wouldn't have been brought all the way here if we weren't considered authorized," Zac said, suddenly looking around. "The corruption is abating."

"It's the shield. It's added a filter that blocks out most of the madness," Galau said as he fiddled with a console. "And that's not the only thing it's doing. The Yphelion is being fed materials and energy. Its natural recovery arrays have more than tripled in speed."

"Such a generous secret base," Ogras whistled, his suspicions growing deeper.

"If they can afford to build superstructures, they can afford to fork out the money for ship repairs," Emily shrugged, not nearly as bothered.

"Let's hope you're right and that they won't stick us with a bill after the fact. I don't relish the idea of being held captive until the debt is paid off," Ogras said. "I doubt Nexus Coins were legal tender back when this oversized tin can was built."

Kator, who'd been silent until now, cut through the chaff. "What now?"

"I think we'll have to go with Scenario Two. Strike teams one through three will set out while the rest stay put," Zac said. "I don't trust the Yphelion's teleporter in its current state, so we'll have to leave through the hatch."

There was nothing else to prepare for. While they still didn't know what waited for them inside the base, they'd been as ready as they could be since the rune led them out of the storm. Those who would set out were already gathered in the bridge, so they moved toward the closest hatch at once. It opened without issue, and Zac exhaled upon seeing the corruption wasn't much worse outside.

The Yphelion's hull and shielding were clearly incapable of dealing with the corruption, which was good news in Zac's book. The concentration would no doubt be higher inside the base, but they should have already faced the brunt of it during their final approach.

Zac was confident in dealing with much greater concentrations. The same couldn't be said for the others. Safety concerns aside, things would become complicated if Kator was forced to stop early. Zac had already modified and prepared Esmeralda's bypass on the [Solidarity Link], but he didn't actually know whether it would work as intended. Things rarely worked out exactly as how Esmeralda envisioned it because of her scrambled memories.

Using it would also bring about a collapse of their cooperation, something Zac wanted to avoid until he'd lit the Centurion Beacon and ordered the Foreign Gods to deal with the Kan'Tanu. Seeing the planet-sized hole in the superstructure only strengthened Zac's determination to complete his mission. The base was made from an unknown C-grade alloy, and the walls were miles thick and undoubtedly reinforced using formations.

If the Foreign Gods had the strength to cause such severe damage here, what could the Kan'Tanu bring out against them? A few Foreign Gods should be able to level all of Zurbor if given enough time. Kator didn't care in the slightest what happened to Zecia and Earth, and he was well aware Zac did. It gave him another advantage over them. For now, the reaver seemed content with following along, though he clearly intended to let others pass through the barrier before him.

"Let me," Ra'Klid said, and Zac nodded after some thought. Beyond himself, who'd somehow swallowed the beacon, Ra'Klid and Rhuger were those least likely to trigger any alarms. Ra'Klid had already showcased the benefits of being a Reignender of Ultom in the Centurion Lighthouse, and they already knew the Centurion Project was under the Starfall Court's authority.

Ra'Klid warily passed through the barrier, which did nothing to stop him. Beyond blanching at the much-denser corruption, he was clearly fine, nor were there any signs of defensive arrangements coming alive. Zac followed, and then one sealbearer after another. They only ran into trouble when it was Ibtep's turn to pass through. The large opaque barrier shuddered, and it actually denied Ibtep passage.

'Another recording just came through. It reminded us that only authorized personnel can disembark. She didn't sound pleased.'

"Alright. Come over for a bit," Zac said.

'Me? I'm not a fighter,' Jaol squeaked.

"Neither is Ibtep. You're my only other Planeswalker," Zac said.

Jaol arrived a few moments later, his face a mask of horror and reluctance. He looked like he'd won the lottery when the barrier acted the same way toward him, not even bothering to feign disappointment.

"The Farsee Court isn't allowed inside?" Ogras said with surprise, looking in Kator's direction. "Was there animosity between the two?"

"How should I know?" Kator asked. "Everything about the Left Imperial Palace is obscured in mystery. Intentionally so, I think. The details have been obscured, and that extends to the lower courts. The bits and pieces we've managed to gather over the past years don't come close to covering a topic like that."

"We'll have to make do without them," Zac said, slightly regretful they couldn't bring a full cycle into the base.

Zac was about to join in the slaughter when his head suddenly snapped around. "Wait, stop!"

"I don't think these guys will listen," Emily said, her tomahawks shredding Qriz'Ul by the dozens.

"Our fight is waking up the whole hangar," Zac said. "Contain your energy."

"Let me deal with it," Ogras said as hundreds of shadows extended from his legs.

The others entered a purely defensive stance to hold back the onslaught while the shadows struck like vipers that left no trace as they came and went. There were only so many creatures gathered in the city, so it didn't take long for Ogras to finish the job with Zac's assistance. Zac noticed that he could intuit where their core hid, something he'd been unable to accomplish when first encountering these things. It was likely a by-product of using so much lake water to cultivate.

Their swift victory didn't change the big picture. Settlements were waking up one after another. The ambient corruption was being dragged toward the larger citadels, including the one nearby.

"Damn, they're everywhere!" Ogras wheezed.

"Go back!" Zac urged before rushing toward their own hangar village.

"Shouldn't we return to the ship?" Emily asked.

"No," Zac said. "They didn't react to the Yphelion or the shield. We're the ones who woke them up, so we'll keep going."

"You're picking the door that thing came from?" Kator asked. "You saw how dense the clouds were when it emerged."

"I bet the environment is the same everywhere. The puppet clearly didn't want us going that way, and I felt the threat of death behind the gate it led us toward," Zac said. "I think the base is at least partly working as it should. We were in the right place from the start."

"I agree," Ogras nodded.

Zac led the group toward the door, only stopping at the last moment. "Prepare yourselves for a drawn-out battle. We might be forced to fight these things all the way to the center, so conserve energy."

The gate opened when they got close enough without needing Zac to even bring out the [Court Cycle Token]. The dozen Qriz'Ul pouncing on them the moment they entered were quickly dealt with, and Zac relaxed upon confirming there wouldn't be a follow-up. The gate had already closed, though a quick check confirmed they could open it without issue.

"Can you hear us?" Zac said with a low voice through his communicator.

'No problem!' Jaolanswered. 'Whatever you woke up before is already calming down.'

"Thank God. It'd be over if they besieged our ticket out of here," Galau whispered. "Could you give me a refresher course on these things?"

"Nasty things, these bastards," Ogras said before sharing his experiences and the things he'd discovered in the Ra'Lashar Heritages he'd scoured.

"Don't put blind faith in my experiences," Ogras cautioned at the end. "These Qriz'Ul are familiar, but they have a different 'flavor' than the ones we encountered. I don't know what kind of changes that could mean. I've never seen one that smart, either."

"I'm not sure that one was, either," Galau said. "I think it borrowed the puppet's intelligence. Or rather the intelligence of the Mother Array that was supposed to control it."

"That doesn't make it much better," Emily said. "Who knows how many puppets there are in here or the grade of the best ones? And what if one has fused with a Computing Array to become hyper-intelligent?"

"There might be a whole hierarchy of Qriz'Ul with humanoid intelligence. Even the Foreign Gods might have gained a new consciousness," Ogras somberly nodded, looking around. "And seeing how the mist is growing denser, the dumb ones will be getting stronger, too."

"We'd already be overrun if they were that organized," Zac said. "It doesn't hurt to be extra careful, though, especially as the corruption grows stronger. It'll become harder to trust our ideas and opinions."

"Is there any room to take a remedial orientation course? Wouldn't mind having that [Starfall Scripture] right now," Bubbur grimaced. "This blasted mist is driving me up the walls."

"Don't force yourselves," Zac said, looking around at the group. "That goes for everyone. If you feel the density growing too high to handle or if you feel you're about to lose control, tell me. You going insane won't help anyone when we already have Qriz'Ul to worry about."

"Don't worry, boss," Bubbur assured. "This much won't do me in."

"His idea isn't bad," Ogras said. "Finding the scripture would make exploration easier, and it can't be too rare if they handed it out to all guests."

"A map wouldn't hurt, either," Carl commented.

Zac looked at the many buildings around them and the dozen paths leading further into the tower. "You're right. Ogras, Carl, Rhuger, and Vilari. Spread out and investigate the area. Avoid fighting if possible. The normal Qriz'Ul are perceptive of energy."

"What about the rest of us?" Emily asked.

"Check out the neighboring buildings for clues while our scouts push deeper. I refuse to believe it's all picked clean by these creatures," Zac said. "We've identified the problem; now we just need to find the solution."