ODYSSEY (Punishing: Gray Raven X Arknights X OC Characters)

Vol. 1/ Chapter 3: A fresh start

To Jane, it was important for them to learn about Terran culture and just about everything else. After all, they need to have citizenship in certain countries, especially those that are economically stable and offer more jobs. That way, they can have more options.

"So, the country we're in right now is Victoria... Anything important we should know?" Lee asked as he studied an old world map.

They were in County Hillock's library, since Jane convinced them that absorbing sunlight from time to time was good for their health. She inched closer to him and pointed in the far edge of the map.

"Victoria sometimes have border disputes between the neighboring country, which is Leithania. Sometimes, infected refugees cross the border while being chased by the Leithanien Gendarmerie. This would sometimes result in a tense standoff with the Royal Army."

Lee frowned after hearing that. "Infected? Is there some sort of virus here too?"

He hasn't seen anyone going around wearing masks or protective equipment though, but the thought that another virus was present in this world made him...uneasy. Jane lets out a disdainful sigh, before looking out to the window.

"It's called Oripathy, and it's a very dangerous disease. You see, there's this mineral called Originium, and it's where the disease is contracted. No one knows where or when it was first founded, but when they discovered it could be used as means of energy, they started mining it."

"And...the first of the miners got too much exposure to this Originium?" Lee asked.

"Yes, and then it went on and on, until it spread. It's extremely agonizing, since lumps of crystals would form in the infected person's organs, even in their skin. And when it gets worse...the person would be entirely crystalized, before..." Jane's sentence trailed off, as if she was reluctant to say it.

"Before what? What happens then?"

She glances at him with a sad look on her face. "The person explodes, making them even more dangerous. If the particles would be inhaled by another person, he or she would catch Oripathy."

Lee slowly leaned his back on the couch, before blankly staring ahead of him. He thought that this world was like a paradise, turns out it was just a miscalculation in his mind. A mineral, mined to provide energy is the source of the disease, yet the countries still don't ban them. Are all human minds go through its callous phase?

Just thinking about it makes his core shake a bit. Of course he feels fear, since he was born in a world that was ravaged by their own doing. Technological advancements that surpass the morality of humankind caused mass deaths and near extinction of the human race.

Had humans not played gods by inventing and creating sentient machines, the current situation in Earth would not have worsen. Sure, a lot of humans would still die from the disease, but the probability of finding a cure to it wasn't totally non-existent. Of course, that didn't happen due to the corrupted's existence.

Now, he's in the middle of it again. A world rife with death and a killer of a virus. Outside of this country, heck, even this small county, who knows whatever inhuman crimes are happening right now.

Lee sighed and shook his head. "But, there's gotta be a cure for it right? Countries are making an effort to cure Oripathy right?"

His question was left hanging in the air, before Jane shook her head.
"There have been efforts in stopping the disease, but nothing's changed. Everyday, hundreds or even thousands of people are dying around the world. I don't know what they are going through, since I'm not an infected. Even Nino isn't."