novelraw Chapter 606: The End
Chapter 606: The End
The waves crashed against the dark cliffs as the tide slowly receded from the shore.
A pale ribbon of light rose above the horizon, chasing away the night's gloom and the fog that had blanketed the land.
Clumps of fog, as if alive, slowly retracted their tendrils from the land, pulling them back into the ocean depths.
Ancient ruins were revealed on a rocky ledge. Though time had not been kind, leaving only the marble columns that once supported a grand hall, they had retained a surprising integrity. The stone statues within the hall stood unscathed, as if eternally guarding the peace of this place.
Knock, knock, knock...
A soft, restrained knock sounded at the door.
Tesla stirred from a light sleep.
The dead silence of the underground was oppressive, and the slightest sound would tear him from his slumber.
He slowly rose from the narrow cot, threw on a jacket to ward off the subterranean chill, walked to the door, and slid back the bolt.
“What is it?” he asked the two figures holding oil lamps in the doorway. They were shelter staff. It was 6:10 a.m.—just about dawn on the surface.“Mr. Michael Tesla,” the man in front said politely, “your request to observe the surface, submitted three days ago, has been selected. We will escort you to the observation point.”
“Really...?” Tesla nodded, not feeling the excitement he had expected.
True, during his first few days underground, cut off from the surface and worried about his wife, he had been intensely anxious. But that nagging unease had subsided after sending the letter to Lu Li, giving way to an acceptance of life in the shelter.
“Wait, let me get dressed.”
Tesla closed the door. The sounds of him dressing came from within, and soon he reappeared in the doorway wearing the shelter’s standard work jumpsuit.
Although the main part of the shelter was complete, additional work was still required. For instance, expanding the warehouses—one could never have too much storage space—and constructing more presentable buildings. They were set to live here for many years, perhaps until old age, with no hope of returning to the surface, and the initial, primitive barracks couldn't satisfy their psychological needs.
The Shelter Committee had approved these initiatives, understanding that the residents' mental health was just as important as their physical well-being.
Tesla emerged from his personal barrack and followed the shelter staff away from the dark, silent settlement. They passed through several hidden doors that blended in with the rock, traversed a long, narrow tunnel, climbed a winding staircase for several minutes, and finally reached a shallow cave, only about ten meters from the surface.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Tesla’s oppressive mood truly did lift, and the air here felt less stale than it did deeper in the shelter.
A new metal tube hung from the cave ceiling. One of the staff members approached it, turned a gear, and gestured for Tesla to use the periscope.
Tesla pressed his eyes to the eyepieces. Through the fogged lenses, he saw a narrow slice of a dim landscape: the corner of a giant stone statue, the columns of the ruins, and a sliver of the brightening sky.
Sights that were once mundane and unnoticed had now become a privilege, available only to a lucky few or to those who could not forget them.
After a few dozen seconds, Tesla stepped back from the periscope and spoke to the waiting staff member:
“It’s dawn.”
They lowered the periscope, sealed the entrance with Deep Sea Stone, and returned to the shelter with Tesla.
They parted ways at the barracks. The staff headed toward an underground hill to ring the morning bell, and then illuminated several glowing spheres hanging from the cavern ceiling—dim, but bright enough to light every corner of the shelter.
Soon, the silent settlement came to life. Hundreds of residents emerged from their barracks. Some were dressed as if attending a reception—in tailcoats and evening gowns. Others wore simple work jumpsuits.
At breakfast, they gathered at an improvised “open-air” dining hall—in reality, just a few tables pushed together under the open cavern ceiling.
The only food served was simple oatmeal and black bread. Those facing a day of hard labor received two extra eggs.
Tesla nodded to a few acquaintances, picked up a wooden bowl with his bread, and sat down at the edge of the tables.
Amid the sounds of eating and conversation, the usual complaints could be heard.
“Why must I endure such torment? I miss my morning servants and the red wine from Vildo...” one of the overdressed aristocrats grumbled loudly.
The others ate in silence, habitually ignoring him. But this time, a mocking voice responded.
“Shut your mouth,” a young woman in a wheelchair, who had just rolled up to the tables, snapped contemptuously. “Whining won’t make the food taste any better, nor will it conjure up any foie gras or caviar.”
The petty nobleman, recognizing the speaker, mumbled something unintelligible and finally fell silent.
“Lulu, wheel me over to Mr. Tesla,” the young woman said to the short figure in a butler's uniform and thick glasses standing behind her.
“Good morning, Baroness Joseph. Good morning, Lulu,” Tesla greeted them.
“Good morning, Mr. Tesla,” Eileen replied, then got straight to the point. “Has Lu Li written back to you?”
“Letters don’t reach us down here,” Tesla said, stirring his oatmeal.
“Ah, right. I forgot.”
After a little more conversation, a shelter staff member brought over a stack of newspapers and began distributing them to the residents.
They contained a brief summary of the previous day's events. There were no secrets from the shelter’s residents—all news from the surface reached them, albeit censored.
The residents who received the papers gasped, and a grim atmosphere suddenly descended upon the previously calm dining hall.
“What is it?” Eileen asked Lulu, who had just taken a paper.
“The capital of Ellen was invaded by anomalies. An ancient deity, slumbering between eternal sleep and death, awakened and dragged them into oblivion. But the deity itself was then destroyed by an entity from the depths of space,” Tesla answered for him, his face growing serious.
Lulu unfolded the newspaper for Eileen. In addition to what Tesla had said, there were words of praise for the fallen and for the Ancient God.
[We must remember this name.]
[And remember them.]
...
The ash settled, revealing the ruins of the destroyed royal capital.
And a group of survivors with a monstrous centipede on a long street before the city gates.
Rustle...
The ghostly Anna looked up and saw a torn scrap of paper land in Lu Li's outstretched hand.
[Her name is Prada. She exists in the fissure between reality and illusion. She appears in your imagination only when you read these lines.]
[Have you already imagined her as sweet and friendly? But the moment you stop thinking about her, Prada vanishes.]
[Your attention is like a thread binding Prada to this real world.]
[“I beg you, don’t forget me...” Prada whispered helplessly.]