novelraw Chapter 56: Roadmap & Burning Path
Chapter 56: Roadmap & Burning Path
Daniel looked around the dilapidated room. It was a mess. Consoles were smashed, wires hung from the ceiling like vines, and the air smelled of burnt plastic.
It looked like a battle had happened here a long time ago. He walked toward the back of the room, near a large metal desk that had been overturned.
Something caught his eye. It was a small, rectangular device lying in a pile of dust. It was a Databand.
Daniel frowned. He walked over and picked it up. The device was damaged. The screen was cracked, and the metal casing was scorched, as if it had been hit by a laser or a blast of fire.
"Another aspirant," Daniel said to himself. He turned it over in his hands. It was dead. There was no power left in it. But for Daniel, death was not the end. It was just another source of information.
He knew that objects held memories. They held the essence of their owners and the data they contained. He gripped the broken device tightly.
"Show me what happened," he murmured.
A jolt of digital energy shot up his arm. It felt static. His SSS-Grade talent went to work. It bypassed the broken circuits and the dead battery. It tapped directly into the residual data stored within the device’s core.
A series of notifications scrolled across his vision.
[Soul Assimilation successful on Damaged Databand.]
[Gain: Minor insight into Verge Network Protocols.]
[Recovered: Partial Log Fragment.] [Assimilation Charges Consumed (8/15 Remaining).]
The data flooded his mind. It was a voice. A recording left by the previous owner of the Databand.
The voice was shaky, filled with exhaustion and fear.
"Day... I don’t know what day it is," the voice stammered inside Daniel’s head. "We lost Milner in the tunnels. The shifting walls... they separated us." Daniel listened intently.
The voice sounded young, maybe a boy his own age.
"I found a path," the recording continued. "The data... it points to a Central Core. There is a massive power source there. If I can reach it... maybe I can overload the system. Maybe I can open a door out of here."
There was a brief pause. Then came heavy breathing and the distant clank of metal.
"But it’s guarding it. The Guardian. It knows I’m here. I can hear it in the vents. I have to keep moving. If anyone finds this... the Core is the key. But don’t trust the..."
The audio cut off abruptly with a loud static screech.
Daniel lowered the broken device. His face was grim. "Don’t trust the what?" he wondered.
"The system? The path? The Guardian?" The log confirmed his suspicions. There was a way out, or at least a way to control this place.
The "Central Core." That was the goal. The previous aspirant had died trying to find it, but his failure was Daniel’s roadmap. He placed the broken Databand back on the desk respectfully.
"Rest easy," Daniel said. He looked around the desk area again. Now that he knew what to look for, his [Omnivision] picked up something else.
Hidden beneath the overturned desk, stuck into the metal floor plating, was a small, glowing object. It pulsed with a faint grey light.
It was another shard. It looked exactly like the one he had found in the wall earlier, the one that had opened the secret door.
This one was slightly larger, with rough edges that hummed with latent power. "A Verge Control Shard," Daniel identified it immediately.
He reached down and pried it loose from the floor. It felt warm in his hand, vibrating against his skin. This was the key. This was the map.
He didn’t hesitate. He needed to know where the "Central Core" was.
The reaction was instant. A surge of pure, white energy flooded his body. It didn’t go to his muscles. It went straight to his mind.
His Spirit attribute flared. His connection to the Astral Verge deepened.
[Soul Assimilation successful on Verge Control Shard (Fragment).]
[Gain: Spirit +15]
[Gain: Enhanced Attunement to Verge Energy.] [Labyrinth Sector Map Updated: Central Core & Bypass Conduit Revealed.]
[Assimilation Charges Consumed (7/15 Remaining).]
Daniel gasped as a 3D map expanded in his mind. The wireframe lines he had seen before grew more detailed. He saw the room he was in. He saw the corridors stretching out like a spiderweb. And deep in the center of the complex, he saw a massive, pulsing red dot.
"The Core," Daniel whispered. It was far away. Between him and the Core was a maze of tunnels, rooms, and dangers marked in red.
But the shard had highlighted a specific route. A narrow, twisting path that cut through the main sectors. It was labeled "Bypass Conduit."
It looked dangerous. It looked like a service tunnel meant for machines, not humans. But it was a straight shot to the heart of the Verge.
Daniel clenched his fists. He felt the new power of his Spirit stat settling in. His senses were sharper than ever. He could feel the hum of electricity in the walls. He could feel the air circulating through the vents.
"I’m going," he decided. "No more running around in circles." He abandoned any thought of retreat.
He checked his gear. His daggers were sheathed. His bow was ready. Daniel turned toward a heavy, rusted door at the back of the control room.
According to the map in his head, the Bypass Conduit started there. He walked up to the door. It was locked, sealed with a magnetic clamp.
But with his new [Enhanced Attunement], he didn’t need a keycard. He placed his hand on the lock. He pushed a pulse of his mana into the mechanism, mimicking the energy signature of the shard.
CLICK-HISS!
The magnetic seal disengaged. The heavy door groaned and slid open, revealing a dark, narrow tunnel.
Daniel stepped into the industrial underbelly of the Astral Verge. The atmosphere here was completely different from the stone hallways or the control room. It was grimy. It was dirty.
Thick, rusted pipes lined the walls, leaking steam that hissed into the air. Cables sparked overhead, casting flickering shadows on the metal grate floor.
The heat was even worse here, making sweat prickle on his forehead instantly. Daniel moved forward. He activated his enhanced [Omnivision]. The skill flowed out of him effortlessly now.
He could feel the vibrations of the floor. He looked at the ground. The metal grate was stained with dark splotches. He crouched down to inspect them. Scorch marks.
"Someone fought here," Daniel noted. "And they used fire." He traced the path of the marks. They led deeper into the tunnel.