*Here again with a new chapter I barely managed to write due to a lot of circumstances. I hope you'll enjoy it. Let me know what you think about it. Also, discord server plug in :))
https://discord.com/invite/8RcQy2aQ36
I hope to see more of you there. Until then, peace out and Deus vult*
On their way back, Mark could notice that Stelle seemed a bit out of it. She kept looking left and right, as if searching for something that remained unseen. For the others, it was weird, but for Mark, who knew what was going on, it was just another day of random shit happening.
"Equilibrium..." muttered Stelle, her voice barely a whisper. Mark nodded, while the others were confused.
"Yeah, equilibrium. Quite the thing we're looking for in the world. A certain balance to all things. I guess you're tired, Stelle. Let's pick up the pace. I'm so tired I could sleep even through an earthquake."
He placed his hands behind his head and simply went ahead by himself, speeding up a little. The others followed suit, but March had to complain.
"Awww, Mark, you're walking too fast. Slow down a little."
He chuckled and looked back over his shoulder, shrugging.
"You're too slow, March."
Big mistake on his side. She did just that and simply jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck, nearly choking him in the process.
"Fine, mister 'tough guy', time to teach you a lesson. That's not how you treat ladies, understood?"
Everyone burst out laughing, and even Dan Heng couldn't hold back his smile. Mark simply leaned forward a bit to get a better grip on her, but he didn't turn back at all.
"No one must see how damn red in the cheeks I am right now. Hell..."
With one swift motion, he lifted her a bit higher on his back and carried her with ease, not complaining.
"Fine. Hold on tight and don't fall, ok? If you do, it's your fault, not mine."
March didn't need more persuasion. She clung to him and just rested her head on his shoulder, her hair gently tickling Mark's right cheek. She did notice how red it was, but she chose to remain silent. Slowly but surely, she fell asleep on his back, her grip weakening slightly.
As Mark felt that, he leaned forward and walked like that despite his back screaming at him and calling him every possible word known and unknown by the universe.
"No way I'm letting her fall off of my back."
Behind him, the whispers were flying left and right, which were clearly focused on him, but it mattered little to him—at least that's the lie he tells himself all the time, despite his cheeks betraying him by getting flushed.
Quickly, he dashed ahead, entered the hotel, carried March to the room he saw her walk in on the first day, and gently lied her down to the best of his abilities, trying to not wake her up. With one careful motion, he pulled the blanket over her and just stared at her sleeping face for a moment longer than needed. She did look so innocent in her sleep. He wondered just what sort of memories she's lost.
"It's not my business either way... but still... she looks so..."
He shook his head. It wasn't good to linger around for longer than needed. In an instant, he was in his room, lying on his bed. He didn't even bother changing, and the sword and scabbard flew right to the floor, along with the metal pipe. Little was his time awake after his head found the pillow. Sleep soon enveloped him, cradling him softly.
Darkness... cold... and again, he was home. The nightmare kept repeating in the same manner, over and over, enslaving Mark in the horrors of his own mind. He couldn't rid himself of it. All he could do was watch it repeat over and over, then bury the mental wounds deep within. Again, he woke up in a cold sweat, his eyes teary, breath heavier than usual.
"Damn it..."
He wanted to cry and let it all out, but he had work to do. He stood up, gathering his wits and forcing it all to work together like nothing had happened.
"Regret... what a damn joke... it's heavy..." he whispered, as if testing his own voice and thoughts.
Indeed, he silenced his mind and just went along with the rest. Stelle, Dan Heng, and March were waiting for him outside.
"Took you long enough, sleepy head," chuckled March, and Mark gave her a sarcastic look.
"Should I remind you about how nicely you slept on my back yesterday?"
Her cheeks flushed a bit as she remained silent.
"So, everyone... ready to go?"
Indeed, the answer was yes. The group walked together to meet with Wildfire, yet no traces of Bronya were left. Seele was quick to inform them of her decision to go and talk with Cocolia directly. Mark had suggested she do the same, and yet he worried about her. As far as he knew, which was just a hunch, it didn't go all that nicely for her.
"Oh, she also told me to give you guys this letter."
She handed it over to Dan Heng, who quietly opened it and began reading. Stelle, March, and even Mark joined at his side to read. Mark did it merely to lower suspicions about how much knowledge he holds.
"Landau siblings... that's nice. Serval and Gepard. Nice, it's all going full circle for me. Heh, how peculiar."
At the mention of Serval's name, Sampo shuddered, memories of how scary she could be echoing in his mind.
"Heh, let's not mention that name for now. She's the scarier one of the siblings..."
With a loud sigh, March nodded, not really taking Sampo seriously.
"Yeah, yeah, let's just go to the surface. Come on, Sampo, lead the way, and you better not ditch us once again."
Said and done, they all set on their journey, climbing more steps than one would have ever liked. Mark could feel the sting in his calves, but luckily for him, walking and climbing were some of his favorite activities, so he endured with ease.
Outside, the air was crisp and cold, chilling Mark, who wore just a shirt on. Still, it didn't bother him too much. He had gotten used to it slowly as time went by, even before being sent to this world.
"Mhh, I forgot what fresh air tastes like... nom nom nom..."
Both Mark and Dan Heng gave March odd gazes, like she was crazy.
"What flavor is it?" asked Stelle, while Seele just scanned them both with the same confused look as the others.
"Freedom... Cold... Mainly cold. Come on, let's go."
Mark took a quick glance to the side, and Seele did the same. Both of them groaned in annoyance.
"Damned Sampo..." echoed their voices in unison.
"Where to now?" asked Stelle, looking at Mark. Everyone turned to him at the same time, expecting his knowledge to kick in.
"To Serval, of course. I made a promise to make sure things turn out well... If we need her help, I'm sure she'll lend it. Follow me."
Mark casually began strolling around, despite the number of Silvermane Guards that patrolled the streets. Somehow, no one bothered to look their way, mainly because of how calm Mark was and how easily he walked around. Truth is, he was scared and felt like any moment he'd have to make a run for it with everyone.
Once at the workshop, he tried the door, but it was locked.
"Who is it?" came a voice from inside, a voice that he hadn't heard in a while.
"Just the random guy who chose to make a sword in your workshop a while back."
Serval chuckled then opened the door, peeking outside.
"Quick. You're crazy to be wandering outside like this. Everyone is on the lookout for you. A lot of Silvermane Guards have been called back from the frontlines, and the entire city is in a panic. What have you even done?"
Mark chuckled and scratched the back of his head, pretending to be fully innocent.
"Oh, nothing much, just a little bit of digging here and there into the issue I told you about."
Dan Heng let out a tired sigh, taking out the letter and handing it over to Serval, letting her take her time with it. Meanwhile, Mark took a step back, allowing Serval to talk a bit about her relationship with Cocolia and their shared past. It was a sad fate, one that Mark wished to change.
"You know," came his words, interrupting anything that was going on. "I might be prying too much where I shouldn't, but... I'd like to see you and Cocolia on speaking terms once more. The situation sucks, I know, but..." he took a moment to look down, pondering a bit before meeting her gaze head on. "It wasn't fully her who got into those fights with you. The Stellaron's influence runs deep, deeper than expected... I ask that you try and make up with her, should the change arise."
She simply stared at him, silent. It took her a moment, but she let out a heavy breath, so heavy that it seemed to contain all her anguish and anger from years spent trying to understand Cocolia's choice of pushing her away from her research topic on the Stellaron.
"I... can't make any promises, but if she's willing to apologize, then maybe... just maybe... I'll give her a chance."
A tiny smile appeared on Mark's face as he took a seat on the counter.
"Well then, Miss Scientist, do tell us what you know about the Stellaron. It's the location we need, to be more precise."
The whole group turned to her, waiting. It was their quest, and they were finally about to get answers that led to the thing they sought.
"Well, according to survey results, the Stellaron is likely to the north of Belobog... somewhere in the vast Snow Plains."
"Could you tell us how to get there?" asked Dan Heng, already trying to assess the situation to the best of his abilities. Serval shook her head; the answer was not exactly what they expected.
"Telling you wouldn't be of much help, since that zone has been more or less swallowed up by the Fragmentum. If you wish to get to the northern Snow Plains, you'd first have to get past the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone on the front lines first."
At that point, Mark simply disconnected his brain. He knew about whatever she had to say, so he just allowed Stelle to talk with Serval for a good while, time during which he simply looked around the place and tried to sort out his thoughts. There was one thing that did catch his ears, that of Serval wishing to see the Stellaron. With a drop of blood, he knew that she didn't get her wish to be fulfilled, so it was his duty to try and help.
As she got ready to leave and lead the way, the door rattled as someone tried to open it. Mark didn't even need her to tell him that it was Gepard. He quickly dashed away on the tips of his feet, motioning for the others to follow. Instantly, they were all hidden in the tiny room where he had lived for a while. He motioned for all of them to shut up as Serval did her best to send Gepard away with no suspicion.
It took a while, and she nearly lost her cool when he wanted to take a look in the back for something he had forgotten there, but in the end, he went away with business.
"So, the coast is clear," muttered Mark as he walked out, stretching a little. He didn't like that sort of situation, yet he was capable of utmost silence, like he was dead.
"Time to head off then," said March, ready to just walk out. It's what they did, following Serval in silence, walking away quietly and pretty confidently, acting like they weren't wanted as some criminals that wished to overthrow the Architects.
The walk was surprisingly short, which did surprise Mark a little. There was no way for him to have an idea about distance between places since the in-game mechanics prevented him from doing so. Still, some estimations could be made, but he failed miserably in this case.
Serval made quick work of talking to a soldier that was guarding the entrance, using her past reputation and relations to quietly get them in. Before their eyes was a large gear bridge, which had a part of it broken.
"The restricted zone is on the other side. It's an endless Fragmentum with a few tired Silvermane Guards."
Once again, Mark just stared off into the distance, and to his surprise, the cold didn't get to him that much.
"How curious... I don't feel that cold, despite this place being closer to that frozen hell."
He chose to slowly touch his chest, his fingers hovering gently over the area before settling down blisfully. Thud, then another one quickly after, it kept beating. It felt normal, and yet the lack of cold as expected worried him a little.
"Could it have something to do with those supposed powers or whatever that creature mentioned?"
Shaking his head, he snapped out of it, forcing his mind to focus on the task at hand.
"Yeah, let's find those terminals," he repeated, making sure that he was in line with what Serval had said. Slowly, he was getting closer to that moment, the one he dreaded and hoped to change—with no clear clue in mind.