Child of Aidon
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SS [5] Something Was Broken
🕑 Added 2025-06-03 16:36:17 +0000 UTCIt took a week to clear out half remaining rooms of the upper floors. There wasn’t much of a challenge to them; it seemed only the antipersonnel gun androids, Silhouettes and Shards were the main force in the upper floors. The first time Tanisha and Bjorn came across the Shard they had to run. If not for Tanisha’s increased resilience it would have killed her. Aurelius managed to take that one down later but it cost him his shield.
That android was far more dangerous than the Silhouettes but there was only ever one at a time. The next few they encountered they fought together to test out team coordination but the idea was floated around to fight them one on one. They were dangerous but also always solitary. It made them perfect for one on one battles with real stakes.
They saved two rooms both with a solitary Shard inside for after they cleared the rest of the upper floors. It would be a test for both Aurelius and Tanisha. A test Tanisha was really looking forward to since last time the metal golem sent her and Bjorn running. It would be a redemption for that bad performance.
Between clearing rooms the group spent a lot of time training. Cultivation was a slow process and Aurelius apparently had to solidify his realm since he just recently broke through. Tanisha didn’t really know what Fuyumi and he were talking about but meditation was a big proponent to understanding her magic as well, so she just accepted the explanation at face value.
When they weren’t training or fighting Tanisha occupied herself in the lab they found in the R&D department. She recognized alchemy equipment but not everything she saw in the lab was for alchemy. Some of it was new and totally different from her understanding of chemical science.
“This is not an alchemy lab,” Laxy’s voice echoed crisply.
Tanisha turned from a bench cluttered with glassware. “Then what is it?”
“It is a chemistry lab,” Laxy said. “A field of non-magical science focused on matter, reactions, and molecular structure.”
Tanisha frowned. “What is chemistry?”
Laxy seemed to consider her words before speaking. “The art of understanding and manipulating the building blocks of the world—but without magic.”
Tanisha blinked, glancing back at a small centrifuge she couldn’t name. “Without magic… why?”
“During the time humans lived within this facility the majority of them did not possess any form of magic. An aether connection was rare as well. They were forced to survive in a world of magic, using only mundane tools to resist it. Something I suspect you’ve never had to consider.”
Tanisha thought about her time in the academy. She may not have had the best control of magic back then but she did still have it. She never thought about what it would be like to be completely without mana. The magicless were extremely rare amongst the wendigo and she never wanted to consider herself one of them.
“I guess… no. I haven’t.” Tanisha said.
“Mondanity is not a curse; it allows for a deeper understanding of the natural world. While I am unfamiliar with modern humans, the ones that lived here lived, conquered and thrived without it.”
“What could they have done without magic though?” Tanisha questioned.
“All of the androids you have met, including myself, can function without aether and with very few modifications.” Laxy said with a soft smile. “Aether is a powersource but chemistry, material science, computer science, robotics, these are the disciplines that brought us to life.”
Tanisha looked over the lab again, it was like discovering a parallel world, one where people bent nature not with spells or incantations, but with knowledge, precision, and time. The thought left her both curious and eager to learn. Past humans had something like this and built the most advanced things she had ever seen.
“Can you teach me chemistry and all of the other sciences you mentioned? If I understand them I can implement them into my alchemy and spell work. Even if there is not much crossover the knowledge could be invaluable.”
“I can teach you, yes.” Laxy said.
““I also need to repurpose part of this lab for potion-making,” Tanisha added, already mentally redesigning the workspace. “I need to make potions, magical ones for healing, mana recovery and stamina. I figured out how to get the food fabricator to give me some ingredients but Doxy doesn’t have a large catalog for many of the high grade potions.”
“When you get down to the lower floors, look for my sister.” Laxy said with a nod. “Her name is Ivoi and she is located in the Xenobiology Lab, she may be able to help. If anything she could possibly synthesize usable alternatives.”
“You mentioned your sister before, you said she may be able to help Aurelius fix his old shield. I didn’t ask then but what is the Xenobiology Lab?”
“It was the facility dedicated to studying and storing data on creation beasts and other exotic biological entities,” Laxy explained. “The archive isn’t as extensive as she liked but humans had a difficult time collecting samples.”
“Because they didn’t have magic.” Tanisha offered.
“Yes,” Laxy said, “and because they were in hiding. As I told you, the Site Administrator was the reason they fled. When she found them, it ended in a massacre.”
Tanisha’s brow furrowed. “ Who was the Site Manager?”
“Nuriel Acavari Ni, Lightbearer of the 33rd Lesser Chorus.” Laxy said.
“Lightbearer? Lesser Chorus? Wait like the Chorus thing aether comes from?” Tanisha questioned.
“Lightbearer was a military rank,” Laxy clarified. “Chorus is both a universe in the Upper Planes and a concept of reality. The Chorus-Universe was likely destroyed in the past seventy thousand years. With Sites like this one going unused for so long… I can only assume they did not succeed. It is highly likely my creators are dead.”
“Uh.” Tanisha's mouth hung open. “That is… what? The Upper Planes can be destroyed?”
“Some realms, yes. Though I do not know how,” Laxy said.
Tanisha just looked at Laxy for a moment, mouth open unflatteringly like she didn’t just say something completely unbelievable. If anyone else casually mentioned Upper Planes being destroyed she would have called them crazy. They were the realms of the True Immortals eternal. Or at least she had always thought that.
“But-but, how?” Tanisha managed to say after she organized her thoughts. “Joha talked about maya and aether powers come from the realm of origin. If I went to another realm like the demons that now live here I would be a mana arcanist because my power would come from a different realm. If the Chorus is destroyed wouldn't the aether disappear?”
“That is an insightful question.” Laxy said with an approving nod. “The Chorus-Concept is where your connection to aether would comes from if the Chorus-Universe is gone. Or the Plane was not destroyed at all and your power still comes from the Chorus-Universe. It doesn't matter though, those are the concerns of the True Immortals. What matters is that we begin your chemistry lessons. Before you run off to destroy more androids.”
***
“Lemon Surprise!” Aurelius yelled.
Tanisha and Fuyumi sprang into action using Arcane Shift and Blink to appear on opposite sides of the hallway. A torrent of water flooded the space from Tanisha Hydromancy just as fast the liquid froze, freezing dozens of anti personnel android’s tracks in place. At the same time leaving a clear path between each one which Aurelius ran between his sword flashing against each one.
The cuts were clean and aimed at the androids cores which disabled them in a single motion. They had been fighting these androids for a while now and had memorized their attack patterns. Taking out a group was not an issue and even offered them opportunities to try their coordinated attacks.
“No Silhouettes,” Tanisha called out, scanning the aftermath. “All standard units.”
“That was the largest group of this type we've seen so far,” Fuyumi noted, stepping over a bisected torso. “This was the last hallway, right? So where to now?”
Aurelius sheathed his sword with a sigh. “I still don’t like the name. The maneuver’s solid, but really?”
“You’re the leader, not the naming committee,” Tanisha said with a smirk. “We voted.”
“I wasn’t aware voting had infiltrated battlefield strategy.” Aurelius said
“We’re calling it Lemon Surprise,” Fuyumi added, straight-faced.
Aurelius exhaled, exasperated. “But why Lemon Surprise?”
“We all got to a name we liked. Fuyumi liked this one.” Tanisha said. “You got to keep Iron Leeches.”
“Iron Legion not Leeches.” Aurelius said. “What does Lemon Surprise even mean?”
“It is the name of a dessert where I come from,” Fuyumi said.
“Fine, one door left and we have finally gone through the entire upper floors.” Aurelius said.
“Doxy what is this door to?” Fuyumi asked.
“Query: This door was once the Security Center. However, after expansions to the facility were completed The Security Center was moved and this became an observation room. It has camera connections to the upper facility. This room is off limits to non security personnel.”
“That hasn’t stopped us yet, Doxy.” Tanisha said.
Just as her hand hovered over the interface, a blade burst through the wall.
It skewered the terminal and slammed into her gauntlet with an aetheric jolt. The metal flared red-hot on contact but inside, Tanisha felt no burn. She knew something was broken but it didn’t slow her down. She recoiled on instinct, eyes narrowing.
“Blackout Accord now!” Aurelius said. “You okay Tanisha?”
Tanisha quickly used Arcane shift to teleport to position as the final point of a defensive triangle.
“Armor held.” Tanisha said.
Spell-chanting already poured from her lips, orbs of coalesced water formed at her sides. Aurelius raised his shield, stance solid. Fuyumi crouched low, twin blades gleaming with anticipation.
