Kaleth hadn't expected Carcer to be as big as it was. He and Mel had been walking through its unending sterile, white corridors for over two hours, and so far, it only looked like they were just going deeper and not nearing an exit. They couldn't use Mel's bulletproof tactic when deciding where to go all the time when there were dozens of doors and corridors, so they chose at random. Kaleth hoped they were getting somewhere.
They had originally tried the main entrance, but that had been sealed off. What Relioth had said was true—large parts of the building had been closed off, most likely to stop Kaleth from freeing the Umbra. Not that he particularly wanted to, they were terrorists, after all. Kaleth was slowly losing hope that there was another way out of here, but he didn't dare say anything like that to Mel.
Kaleth could tell Mel was trying to pretend he was okay, but he clearly wasn't. Kaleth was afraid to bring it up, but whatever Relioth had done, it was affecting him. Mel was jumpy and his memory seemed to be spotty. For example, when Kaleth had asked him when and how he had gotten captured, Mel looked like he was about to answer, only to admit a second later that he couldn't remember. It was like he hadn't even noticed a gap in his memory until Kaleth had asked.
Mel had confirmed that everything Relioth had told Kaleth was true, which meant that Rayni and Kara had been right. Kaleth would have grudgingly accepted it, but he couldn't understand Relioth's motives. Why did he need Kaleth's help if he was so powerful?
"Why didn't you tell me that the entirety of Luxarx was being lied to?"
"I didn't know," Mel answered, but despite that, he still looked guilty. His lack of self-esteem was worrying. Kaleth hadn't noticed it from the texts Mel had sent him, but now, speaking to him directly, it was painfully obvious. "I'm sorry. I would have told you, of course, but you never asked."
That was because Kaleth had assumed Mel had known at least the basic facts. "Is it possible that Relioth has given every—what did you call us? Eternals?" Mel nodded. "Right. Is it possible he's given us fake memories?"
"He's certainly capable of it."
"Is that why you recognized Rayni, but she didn't recognize you?"
Mel flinched. "Oh, right, that happened...." Well, that reaction was concerning. "I-I guess so. I mean, I didn't think it was her at first. I know she wouldn't join Luxarx out of her free will, but if she doesn't remember being one of us, then..."
It wasn't just that Rayni didn't remember any of this, though. She had memories about a whole life she apparently hadn't lived. And this was most likely true for most of the Eternals in Luxarx. How could Relioth have been so thorough? Granted, he was apparently extremely old, but he must have had many other things to do.
"Oh! I think I know where we are," Mel blurted out, beaming at Kaleth, unaffected by the other's bemused expression. "This is Carcer. We should get to the original tunnels soon."
"What original tunnels?" Kaleth inquired as he followed Mel through yet another featureless white corridor. The air was much heavier here, for some reason.
"There used to be a prison for, um, people like me here. Or I guess there still is, but this one is much older. Relioth built it a few centuries ago. I've never been here myself, but no one ever got out of here."
Mel's smile faded when he said this.
Something was bothering Kaleth about this, besides the obvious. Sure, he didn't have extensive knowledge when it came to mythology, but he knew some parts of it. If Relioth was this old and as important as he seemed, it was odd that Kaleth wouldn't remember hearing anything about him.
"So, um, how old are you?" Kaleth asked Mel. He would guess that Mel was younger than Relioth, but that didn't narrow it down.
"I...I don't know anymore," the Eternal replied, his shoulders sagging a bit, as he turned to look at Kaleth. "I think something over four hundred."
"So, I'm guessing that we don't age slowly because we, in fact, don't age at all, correct?"
"Yeah."
At least Kaleth assumed it worked like this for him as well, but with how Relioth had kept going on about him being different, maybe it didn't. And he had no idea how to tell if the life he remembered was actually real or just a fabrication. Or was that what Relioth had meant? That Kaleth had been born thirty-nine years ago with these powers, which made him different?
"Okay, I think this will get us to Carcer," said Mel, pointing at a circle of metal that was on the ground. The corridor ended here—there was just the door. There didn't seem to be any way to open the circle, no matter how much Kaleth studied it and its surroundings.
"I think I can open it," Mel informed him and stretched out his hand. The metal creaked and slid away, revealing a dark hole. Kaleth raised an eyebrow at Mel for moving such a heavy-looking object without touching it. Kaleth could barely raise a pencil like this.
"Oh. Thank you," he said, and the Eternal grinned. Kaleth smiled back, before turning on the two flashlights that were built into the goggles and sticking his head into the hole in the floor. Normally, he would have just used night vision, but this model didn't have that yet. In fact, it was barely more than a prototype.
All he could see was yet another corridor, but this one wasn't white and sterile—pretty much the opposite. The walls were made of stone, as was the floor. The air smelled much fresher, though. He hoped that meant they were on the right track.
"Be careful. I have no idea what might still be down there," Mel told him, his eyes full of worry. It was kind of touching that the Eternal was worried about him. He smiled at Mel again and jumped into the old tunnel under them.
It was a short fall, but he was once again reminded that the shoes he was wearing were less than ideal for this. It was completely dark, but fortunately, the light from the goggles was very strong, so he could see quite far ahead of him. Not far enough to help Kaleth relax though.
He took a few steps further into the tunnel, so Mel could join him. It was only then that he noticed that the Eternal's eyes were dimly glowing with a light blue light.
Realizing he was staring, he looked behind Mel instead to hide it. There was just the end of the tunnel that looked the same as the rest of it—jagged rocks, moss, lichen, and slime. Kaleth wondered how long the tunnel was since it must have been made with pickaxes if it truly was several centuries old. He also wondered how it was possible he had never heard about something like this being built.
"There is only one direction we can take, it appears," he said and needlessly gestured to the darkness in front of him as he turned around again and studied the walls. He was feeling a bit paranoid after what Mel had said. This had been a prison for Mel's kind, and if they truly were immortal, it was theoretically possible that some of them might still be here. And if they had been stuck here for so many years.... He probably shouldn't think about that too much.
"Do you know how to use a gun?" asked Kaleth, and Mel nodded, smiling. No, Kaleth still couldn't imagine the Eternal killing anyone. Kaleth shook his head and handed the other the handgun, even though the best they could hope for was slowing any Umbra here down.
"I'm better with a sword, though, I think," Mel said, studying the weapon in his hand. "You don't use those at all anymore, do you?" He sounded so disappointed, but his pouty expression was oddly endearing. Kaleth had to fight the urge to grin.
"No, not anymore," he replied and started walking deeper into the tunnel, the Eternal doing the same a second later. "But I have to admit, they do have their charm. It's a shame they are so damned impractical."
"You talk...different," Mel commented but kept smiling, so Kaleth doubted it had been meant as a criticism. Good, Kaleth was very tired of Rayni making fun of his accent. "You're from Imbera, right? I don't think I've ever met anyone from there."
"You've lived for a long time," Kaleth argued with a frown. Sure, Imbera wasn't the biggest state, but they had ruled the entire Enorian continent for a very long time. Mel had even been alive during that time. How could he not have met at least one of them?
"W-well, I guess, but I usually try to stay away from people. Relioth has a lot of spies, and I didn't wanna get caught."
Mel's face fell as he finished speaking, and Kaleth immediately felt bad for bringing that up. The Eternal wasn't okay, that much was obvious. It only made Kaleth want to kill Relioth more.
"I could show you around later if you'd like," Kaleth offered and smiled. Mel looked almost shocked for a second, but then he grinned widely.
"I'd love that."
"Just a warning, though, it does rain a lot."
Mel continued asking questions about Kaleth's home country, and he tried to answer them without sounding bitter. He hadn't set foot in Imbera since he'd originally left, which was over twenty years ago now, and he couldn't say he missed it much.
However, now he needed to go back there for three different reasons. He needed to find out if his father was indeed actually his father, to keep his promise and show Mel around, and to hide from Luxarx.
He had lied to Nef a little when he'd said there was nowhere he could go where he wouldn't be found. Any of his father's ridiculously large houses would be one of the places where he wouldn't be followed. Luxarx might not have been controlled by the government, but pissing off a member of one of the most influential families in Imbera wouldn't be in their best interest. They would just leave him alone if he didn't cause trouble.
A moment later, the tunnel became two, and they both came to a stop. Oh good, another decision. If this place hadn't looked so old, Kaleth would have thought that Relioth had built it just to screw with him. At least there weren't cameras in here.
Kaleth scanned both of the tunnels with the goggles, finding nothing useful that separated the two passages. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. How were they meant to figure this out? He supposed they would just have to choose at random once more.
What is this? a woman's voice suddenly said and Kaleth jumped, quickly looking around, but he couldn't figure out where the voice had come from. Next to him, Mel seemed shocked as well, but even more so.
What is a Garen doing down here?
Kaleth's eyes widened. The voice was in his head. It wasn't coming from his surroundings. He hadn't experienced full-blown telepathy before, and it was kind of terrifying.
"Who are you?" Kaleth snapped, hoping that whoever it was could hear him.
You wouldn't be using that tone if you knew.
"That's Mereria," Mel whispered with disbelief. "B-but she's dead."
Kaleth didn't have to spend a lot of time remembering who that was. According to myth, Mereria was the second most powerful god and the leader of the opposition against Enor, the Umbra. She had been described as insane and evil because of that. That was who the Umbra Kaleth knew worshipped, but he'd never thought she was real.
Oh, one of my faithful. How many of you still remain?
Mel winced as Mereria's bitter voice said in his head. "I-I'm not sure, maybe a few dozen? I'm sorry, Commander."
Kaleth couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mel was working for Mereria? But he had said he was a deserter. Then again, Mereria seemed to be imprisoned here, so maybe someone else was in charge of the Umbra right now. Luxarx never had found out who it was, after all.
You can apologize by releasing me from this prison.
Seeing Mel flinch again, Kaleth decided he'd had enough. "Mel has nothing to apologize for."
You truly have no idea what you are talking about, Garen. You mortals never do. You let yourself be manipulated so easily. Even when the lie is right in front of your noses, you just don't see it.
"You're talking about Relioth," Kaleth said and started walking again, choosing the tunnel on the right. It wouldn't stop Mereria from talking to them, but it at least gave him something to do. They needed to leave anyway.
I'm surprised you managed to put that together after he told you.
It was then that Kaleth realized she had to be taking the information from his mind. How else would she know any of this? The thought made his skin crawl. No one should be able to see inside his head—he had been trained how to defend himself from this sort of thing—yet Mereria did it effortlessly. Kaleth wondered if Mel had done it too yet and shot the Eternal a slightly nervous look.
Mel wasn't smiling anymore. He seemed upset and kept looking at the ground as he followed him. That itself almost made Kaleth regret he had argued with the goddess.
"Do you know how to leave Carcer?" he asked before she could continue insulting them. Somehow he enjoyed talking to her even less than his bosses. He wasn't sure how that was possible.
Of course I do. I have been here for almost a century. But I'm not just going to tell you.
"What if we help you escape?" Kaleth was sure she was thinking the same thing but let him ask, anyway. He should probably feel sorry for her being stuck here for a hundred years, but he was too annoyed with her to manage it.
Will you? Are you willing to betray your master?
"I do not work for that narcissistic bastard," Kaleth growled, and Mereria hummed.
Interesting.
It was obvious she didn't believe him at all, which was strange since she could just look into his head for confirmation. Maybe she didn't think his view was objective enough to be a reliable source of information.
But about your deal—if you release me from my prison, I promise to help you leave this place.
Kaleth frowned at her sudden change of attitude. It wasn't hard to figure out Mereria was planning something he wouldn't like. Why did everyone have to have ulterior motives? It was exhausting.
"Wonderful," Kaleth said flatly. "Do you mind telling us where to go?"
They spent another hour going from tunnel to tunnel with the help of the imprisoned Eternal. Despite his attempts to get some information from her, he had learned nothing. It seemed Mereria could dodge questions very expertly.
Mel kept shooting him concerned glances, probably assuming Mereria would betray them as soon as they let her out, too. The problem was that she could hear what Kaleth was thinking. He tried not to think about the topic too much, but he suspected she already knew he expected her to stab them in the back.
"She's somewhere around here," Mel said, but he didn't sound happy about it. He sounded scared, in fact. Kaleth immediately felt even more resentful toward Mereria. If she used fear tactics as a way to control her subordinates, she deserved to stay here. But unfortunately, they didn't have a choice. There was no way they'd get out of these tunnels on their own. He had become sure of it once he saw how huge they were.
Left.
The direction was a little unnecessary because he would have to be blind not to see the glowing metal door. Well, the door itself wasn't glowing, but there was a white glow around it. Much like Relioth's. Kaleth looked at Mel, and, seeing his grim face, he knew this was the right place.
Open the door.
"Yes, it's occurred to me already," Kaleth muttered back and started fiddling with his lockpick for a second time that day. This lock was a bit more challenging, but it didn't stop him for long, anyway. He didn't open the door once he unlocked it, though.
Open it!
"Why don't you open it yourself?" Kaleth asked as he took his rifle into his hands. Mel shot him an alarmed look but held his own gun at his side shakily.
Don't you think that if I could, I would have done it the moment you unlocked it? Mereria growled.
Kaleth didn't want to do it, but he didn't have much choice, so he took in a deep breath and pulled the door open. The goggles should have at least partly protected him against intensive light, which he'd been counting on, but they didn't, and being completely blinded made it impossible to aim and shoot.
You dare defy me again? For a mortal? Mereria yelled angrily in Kaleth's head. He desperately wanted to see what was happening, but the light made it impossible. What was Mel doing?
Y-you say we shouldn't possess living people, a second, shaky voice replied, also through telepathy.
It's a Garen. That's what they're for!
Kaleth felt like he should have gotten offended, but he had no idea what they were talking about. Eternals possessed people? But Mel had a body already, didn't he? Unless that body wasn't really his....
Oh. That's what Mereria wanted to do—use Kaleth as her host. And Mel was somehow stopping her from doing so. Kaleth stumbled a few steps back until his back collided with the wall as if that would help him hide from her.
No, leave him alone! Mel yelled although the underlying fear was still there. And suddenly the light lost its strength. Kaleth opened his eyes and blinked furiously, trying to get his vision to normal. Mel was looking at him guiltily, but unfortunately, Kaleth didn't have the time to even thank him for saving him. They needed to follow Mereria—she knew where the exit was.
"Come on!" he told Mel, throwing the rifle back onto his back as he ran further into the tunnel. He could see that it was still somewhat illuminated by Mereria's light, but it was quickly dissipating, so they had to get a move on. Once again he was reminded that he really should have taken the time to at least change his shoes before coming here. There was quite a lot of water in this particular part of Carcer, and at the speed he was running it was only a matter of time before something went wrong.
Just as he thought he was catching up to Mereria, he stumbled and lost his footing, but instead of simply falling, he found himself almost falling to his death. Thanks to his reflexes alone, he was now hanging from the edge of the tunnel by just his right arm, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his palm. It took him a few seconds to process that he was technically outside. He managed to pull himself up with Mel's help, letting out a huff.
"I believe we've found the exit," Kaleth commented drily as he looked out of the tunnel, studying the ocean underneath them. These tunnels were truly incredibly long if they went all the way to the coast.
"I-I could change and fly us out of here," Mel suggested hesitantly, and Kaleth smiled at him. The gesture seemed to help Mel relax at least a bit.
"Do you think you can carry me?" Kaleth asked, and Mel gave him a toothy grin.
"Don't worry, I can carry a lot," he said, and with a blue flash, Mel was a dragon once again, but this time looked much happier than when Kaleth had last seen him like this. It looked kind of funny how he could barely fit inside the tunnel but still found the space to stretch his legs and neck.
Mel waited patiently for Kaleth to get on, which he gingerly did after a moment, settling between his neck and wings. He had expected the scales to be rough and sharp, but they turned out to be more like flat, polished pieces of glass, so he didn't have to worry about cutting his legs. And they were also quite warm. That didn't mean that Kaleth wasn't worried about the small but sharp horns on the Eternal's neck, especially the one that was just at the right height to put one of his eyes out. At least he had the goggles to protect his sight.
"You should hold on. I haven't really tried this before," Mel admitted apologetically. Kaleth just hugged the Eternal's neck loosely without commenting, seeing how unsure of himself he already was. "Okay."
With that, Mel ran out of the tunnel, jumping and finally stretching his wings out. While Kaleth didn't know much about biology, he was quite sure those wings, while gigantic, weren't big enough to carry either of them. But somehow Mel was having no problems. He effortlessly flapped them, flying away from the ocean and back to the mainland. And so Kaleth pushed his questions concerning the wings aside for now because right now he had more pressing matters to deal with.
And the first thing on that list would be to figure out what they were going to do next.