Factory Reset: Divine Corruption

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Out of here Alive

"This is... odd."

Was the sentence produced by Ja'Kle as the door to the hub of the Underground opened with a hiss of pistons firing. A pang of steam rose from the ground that the door rested upon, rising in the air with a bleak-sounding screech. The group grimaced at the sound, the piercing cry of the steam deafening ever since the hours of combat in silence, and the silence of unconsciousness.

"It's so loud..." Viscera commented, their eyes straining in their visor, the ever flowing mark of tears twisted against the pixels. Their fingers tapped their cherry colored metallic thighs. They played with a small ball of their blood as the door fully opened, all protogen or otherwise grimacing as it bashed against the concrete walls.

"It's very loud all right, but then again, they already know we're here. They sent the Silent-Screamers, and because they did not return, they know we're here." Ruinate replied, brandishing his toothed sword at the door. He grimaced a little, his grip tightening as he analyzed the door.

Mason pressed his open palm against the entrance, feeling the inner wall of the door being as cold as ice. His breath lifted from his maw, free-floating into the air before dispersing. His floppy ears twitched gently as his cold, wet nose sniffed the air. Mason shivered, his black fur gleaming in the low light, the dark void ahead of him a miasmic blackness.

The green stripe that sat across Mason's neck started to glow as the protogen behind him softly allowed their energy to rise. The air warmed slightly, and the fur along all of their bodies' stood on end. Mason gave a dark, grim expression as he gently took a paw-step into the doorway, feeling the temperature jump to bone-chilling degrees.

Hesitant as Mason was, he felt no fear in his heart as he stared into the darkness, half expecting it to stare back. Mason brandished his sickle, transforming it with a single swipe of his hand. It morphed into it's true form, the scythe. Seeing that blade morph sent a cold shiver down the spines of his friends, his protogen. Odd, as it hadn't happened before.

However, it seemed that the determination that their captain contained was more than enough to send them into a realm of their own certainty. Of their own confidence. Now, in the darkest recesses of the universe, they felt hope radiate off of their captain that not only would they survive, they would come out the victors to spite the Gods.

Ja'Kle stood beside his boyfriend, his partner, and brandished his own blades. The darkness of which he was blessed formed around him from nothing, the glistening void-blades rising around his body in a spiral, before resting - floating - just before his wings. He gripped his lovers' hand, feeling the importance of the situation that lay before them.

"Let's do this.' Mason commanded, twirling the blade in his hand as he marched towards the inky depths, his purple eyes glowing faintly.

******

"This... This isn't what I expected." Viscera commented from the back, their hands squeezing the blood-ball they conjured. The room they had appeared in through the many minutes of wandering through the darkness was completely divorced from anything that they thought they would encounter within.

Marissa grimaced, her jaw tightening as a thin white glow overtook her body. She could sense something was in there with them, like a feral predator hunting for conscience prey. Feeding off of their terror, and their obliviousness. She held Cardinal's hand tightly, her eyes narrowing as she glanced around.

The aforementioned protogen attempted to once again use her ability to create light to puncture the fog-like darkness around them, but to no avail. Cardinal shook her head, feeling close to useless to the group now. She held onto Marissa for support, her eyes blinking softly as she handled her blades in one three-clawed hand.