He jogs ahead then, hopping over the rocky terrain and patting the city walls as if he's searching for something. Aki – who's still swatting the air – and Dent hurry to keep up.
"You're going to have to explain what that means." Aki says through gritted teeth. Piercing white noise roars to life at the familiar words.
Dent grabs her arm to keep her steady as a gust of strong wind hits them.
"Right. So, when the game starts, you get four options for exploration. But when you do New Game Plus, a fifth option gets added. That's when two random higher level areas get unlocked for you to explore. Since the beginning of the game is the only time the date or time of day doesn't advance no matter what you do, it's even possible to unlock every zone if you play it right." Winter stops in front of a piece of the wall and backs up, a confused expression on his face.
"That's…" He shakes his head and continues the explanation. "People found an exploit where you could get high level gear and sometimes levels before ever meeting the first love interest on a New Game. But the important part of this is, you can access an alternate path without fighting enemies. Sometimes it's just a secret area with treasure and other times it gives you straight access to subquest goals that bypass puzzles, enemies, and heart-locked event doors."
Winter scratches his head and gives them a befuddled look. "I figured we wound up in the access area for the temple or the Astral City but I can't find the hidden door. The text only mentioned strange barnacles and 16-bit isn't exactly a reliable visual. Still, the CG did look like the beach we landed on so I figured this was it but now I'm not so sure."
Light flickers then dies, sinking the trio into pitch black.
"Sorry." Aki chuckles sheepishly.
Now in darkness, a faint line slightly less dark than its surroundings jumps out at them.
"Oh!" The sound of wet leather smacking against each other is heard. "I remember now. The heroine's torch gets snuffed out by wind and then she finds the secret entrance."
Footsteps on stone shuffle around. Silence. Then the dark line shudders as stone scraps against stone, opening a space in the void as well as releasing a rancid wind from its depth.
"Your fixation was helpful, Aki." Dent comments from somewhere beside her. "Now please turn your head back on. I'm afraid we are light on light and the winds run afoul."
"Excuse you." Aki nonetheless smacks her head and swats the air, trying to activate her crown. "How does this thing work? Please turn on? Let there be light? I need you? We need you?"
Pain seizes her body and a burning sensation grips her head. Erratic light flashes to life, illuminating the space with volatile consistency. Aki stumbles but manages to keep her balance as the pain fades and the light stabilises into a dim, ghostly beacon.
"I'm alright," Aki waves off their concern. "Just not used to it."
"Strange… there is no visible source but light is borne regardless." Dent remarks. "I shall take point. Aki, stay in the middle and Winter can direct us from behind."
With this formation, the trio advances through the passage. The stale air grows thicker the deeper they go. Scratch marks and puddles of water interrupt the otherwise solid stone of the walls and floor of the passage. The deeper they go, this state is replaced with dust particles hanging in the air and the occasional torn pieces of stone. However, no monsters of any sort appear as Winter had said. Yet, no traces of allies are seen either.
"What happened to the ship's crew? I figured if they weren't on the shore, they might have found their way in here at least." Aki runs into Dent who came to a sudden stop. "Uh?"
Dent's fist is raised in warning. He lowers it and unsheathes his sword. "There's a disturbance. Up ahead, the tunnel opens into a chamber. Sound familiar, Winter?"
"Yeah, it's a save point. If there's something up, maybe the crew made it there from another entrance."
"Huh? I thought that secret door was the only 'back door' for this place?"
Winter shrugs, unable to give a precise answer. "In the game. Real life's different?" He says.
"Fortuitous." Dent sheaths his sword but keeps a hand on it as he leads the way into the chamber.
The closer they get, the lighter everything becomes. Finally, the trio reaches a dusty white door at the end of the passage. Voices Aki recognises as the crew members of the Grand Volume can be heard on the other side. Winter steps forward and presses on an elevated part of the wall.
Grinding slowly open, the white door opens into the chamber within. Finally the darkness abates.
Aki gasps at the derelict majesty of the place. Despite the otherwise simple nature of architecture seen so far, there is no doubting the incredible craftsmanship of the place. Its grandeur lies not in oversaturated design but in the absolute seamlessness of the structure. From the pillars circling the chamber to the railings joining them to the four-tiered fountain in the centre, it all looks as if it was carved from a single piece despite being made of different materials.
Directly above the fountain is a large glowing crystalline structure that lights the chamber. Its points spread apart in five directions, meeting the smaller crystal structures on the pillars that support the illumination in perfect design.
Even the four darkened doorways, one in each direction of the chamber, are perfect copies of one another from what Aki can tell.
Sir Demelkas stands against the fountain with his crew; each of them aiming wands, staves, and swords at the entrance the trio entered from.
Littered around the chamber are salvaged crates from the ship with what looks like food, water, and magical devices that weren't destroyed.
However, of the total crew, Aki only counts fifteen others.
"Is it only the three of you?" Demelkas lowers his wand and the rest follow suit. "Only nineteen then."
"What happened to you guys? And where's everyone else?" Aki frowns. She doesn't sense sadness from those present. Only curiosity and concern.
Demelkas sighs and motions around the chamber. "When we came to, the world was dark. Protocol dictates to gather bearings, establish comms, and prepare monster detection. Given the circumstances, we had no choice but to forgo standards and send out magic flares."
He sits down by the fountain and brushes his fingers over the crystalline surface of the undisturbed water. "By the skies' favour, it seems we merely got separated. Eleven other flares went up following mine. Assuming there are sixteen of my crew per flare, that would account for all but you three. Fortunately you weren't lost. Still, it is strange… where are we and what was that monster?"
"That's -"
Winter is cut off by Dent stepping forward. "Sir Demelkas, while it is fortunate we made it here alive, further speculations must wait. It is more important for us to find a way to reconvene first and foremost. I needn't emphasise the all-encompassing darkness that awaits us outside of this chamber."
Grumbles of agreement come from the crew. Demelkas is hesitant but agrees as well.
"Be that as it may, we are at a loss if an assembly point cannot be communicated."
Demelkas brushes his fingers over a divot in the fountain. Dust falls lightly onto the ground onto another, longer line cut into the ground. Faint as is and leads to the left.
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(Tactician Lv. 2 - Insight granted)
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Following the line, Aki spots a series of markings just inside the doorway. Aki's attention to the discussion falls to the wayside as her curiosity overtakes her.
"These look like claws… but [Precognition] isn't going off and they look old." Her gaze turns to the darkness ahead. The chamber's light barely penetrates past the doorway and Aki's own light does little to extend it. "Coincidence?"
Faint though they are, there are more divots and dents in the stonework of the overly perfect chamber that appear to lead around the chamber itself. The marks are few and far between that they could merely be signs of age but…
Aki kneels down and inspects it carefully. Nothing triggers her abilities and she wants to trust Winter that the immediate area is safe but something at the back of her mind warns her to be cautious.
"Excuse me." She pushes aside a crate one of the crew, a vusivi judging by his short ears, was sitting on.
A long, thin line stretches from one doorway to another. Each old and barely visible until she comes to a stop in front of the doorway immediately to the right of the secret door she entered from.
There in the bottom corner is another indent. Kneeling down to get a closer look immediately makes it obvious, this one isn't old. The roughness of the stone and chipping makes it obvious it happened recently.
"See, Aki agrees with me. That way's the way into the city." Winter waves a gloved hand to call back his shadow. "Just had to inspect."
"It pains me to trust a child but so be it." Demelkas mutters. "Pack up. We move in five."