Factory Reset: Divine Corruption

Chapter Eighty-Eight

There was a faint vibration in the air, Mason noted, as his group felt the pull of the Beacon ahead. It felt like a tender pull now, a hand in the smoke drawing their minds towards the object they were searching for. In the darkness of the trenches, nestled quantly in between the craggles and cracks of the world.

The ground was vibrating, a gentle hum, a serenade of vibrations strumming it's strings through the rocks and the metals. The air was played like an instrument as they moved forward, gentle invisible fingers plunking at the strings of the air itself. Mason could feel his fur stir and waft in the air, as if a hand were dragging itself through the fur. It felt strikingly uncomfortable.

Dust was levitating in the very air, as if there was no wind to disturb it. It wasn't even drifting down, Mason gently pressing his hand into his snout and coughing. It was near total silence, the only sounds being the rustling of the dust and the serenade of the planet. The song of the core of the world.

Not a single one of the members of the group wanted to speak about any of the music, or the strangeness of the silence beyond that noise. It felt wrong to even want to speak, to break the dead silence. Mason felt his throat become dry, and the rabbit gently gripped his neck, rubbing just beneath the outline of his Adam's apple.

JaKle's wings were rustling through the air, soft sprinkles of dust flowing from his fur and falling upon the earth. There was little light within the cave, only the dainty glow of the visors of the protogen, and the burning green stripe across Mason's neck. His many eyes were wide, attempting to grab any and all details that he could.

Mason wanted to speak as they continued on, that gentle pull slowly drifting towards a more aggressive tug. Like a leash was tied around their throats, and is slowly becoming taut before being yanked forward. It felt cold, like the warmth was slowly, gently, sluggishly getting sucked away into nothingness.

And yet, he couldn't speak. His ears were perked up, as if they were straining to grab ahold of the sound coming from the deepest crevices of the planet. The darkness is ever encroaching, the feeling of stress fading away. They were getting close to the beacon, so very close.

The distant sounds of explosions were now completely silent. Everything was silent, besides that hum and the sounds of their movement. Mason gently grasped Ja'Kles hand, that tugging becoming more and more aggressive. The beacon was so close now, it was so close.

A loud noise jutted from the darkness as Ruinate started into a hard sprint, the sound so loud compared to the last few minutes. Ruinate drew his sword, eyes glimmering before completely fading into the darkness. The sound was so loud compared to everything before that it shocked his teammates for a few seconds, before they all started into a hard sprint.

It no longer felt wrong to speak, to make noise. Mason could feel his breathing once more, releasing a breath he was unconsciously holding. Mason's paws slammed against the ground, his eyes sparking as he realized that they had been walking this whole time, fearful of some repercussion for making noise. There was nothing to be scared of.

"Ja'Kle?" Mason called out, fear lacing every fiber of his being. Ja'Kle reached a hand out and grasped his, clamping their hands together via some absent matter that he controlled. Mason felt comforted by that, and his eyes rested on the void ahead of them. He could really feel the pull of the beacon now, that enchanting serenade now feeling dangerous. Now feeling almost ominous.

Mason gripped at his side, grabbing at his weapon, at his sickle, and unleashed it. Something had to be coming, it's not going to be as simple as running in and grabbing the thing. Whatever the beacon was, it was not going with them easily. Mason steeled his nerves, running as hard as he possibly could, calling at the scientist that had taken off in pursuit of the beacon.