Back in the labyrinthine buildings atop the crater, the explorers find themselves tired after fighting a hulking beast of a lost. It had white armor, warped to fit its mutated form, and carried a massive mace that covered much of the small space it was guarding.
After that (kinda bullshit) fight came another building, this one taller and more spacious than most others they've been to, and inside it there was a mistle they could use to rest before climbing a ladder and moving on.
Sliding down the ladder, (Y/N) came bearing news to his companions.
(Y/N): There's more lost up there, but it's only one in this section. Probably more up ahead though...
He bit down on some of his fruit snacks, getting some delicious and nutritious, and very room temperature sustenance.
Yakumo: Thanks for scouting. Now let's get going before we make you late...
Yakumo narrowed his eyes in a mischievous manner.
Yakumo: Big brother.
(Y/N) started choking on his food. He hadn't been called that in a long time, and coming from someone as "sizeable" as Yakumo was, as he put it...
(Y/N): *Cough* Don't. It feels wrong when you say it.
Yakumo: What? But you tried so hard to make it a thing, you even had your cheesy one-liner.
(Y/N): What are you talking about?
Luca: It's true. Something something, "leave it to big brother", something about saving the thirsting revenants.
Mia: Maybe it's because he has a younger sister? Is this better big bro...
Mia herself develops a pensive look. Brows furrowed and eyes closed.
Mia: You're right. It really does feel wrong.
Luca: Maybe it's because he's not brotherly at all.
(Y/N): Wow, you really just took the awkward situation and twisted it into an insult. Shouldn't we get going? We should get going. Lead the way Louis.
Louis: You got it. Remember people, there's still no telling how much we have to go, so pace yourselves.
Luca: Come on, how much more time could this place possibly take?
They got lost immediately. Thanks Luca.
Despite this section being easier to navigate, the spaces were even less distinguishable than before. Walking up and down the seemingly endless sets of stairs, climbing ladders, switching from tower to tower, everything simply looked the same and was filled with similar lost.
So instead of narrating the entire ordeal, here's some highlights...
Pretty early on, Luca spots something out of the corner of her eye. Her personal saving grace...
Luca: Yes! We meet once again my sweet.
Dashing off outside, she loses the others after rounding the archway leading outside.
Louis: Something sounds exciting. Wonder what she found.
Mia: Is it safe for her to be unaccompanied though?
(Y/N): Never leave an amnesiac.
Yakumo: She can handle herself.
The two answers came out at the same time, and the two men stare each other down for a second. Well, (Y/N) stares up at the absolute unit that is Yakumo. Until something breaks through the tension.
Luca: NOOO!
With a start, the others rush to aid the probably endangered miasma repellent. Outside they find...
Luca: Who locks a lever?!
Luca leaning her head on the top of yet another random lever. One would be fooled into believing she was sure the lever opened the way forward, as it probably would in a place like this, but the truth is she just likes pulling those to feed her addiction.
This one lever in question was completely unassuming, if not for the keyhole on the top of the handle and consequently the locking mechanism keeping it in place. That and, you know... it being dark, rusty metal in this place of pure white architecture... who needs different props anyways?
(Y/N): Relax. The key is probably around somewhere, unless some evil person took it to the other side of this place.
Can you guess where the damn key is?
Inside one of the smaller round buildings, Luca, Yakumo and Mia round the pillar that takes up the middle of the structure while the other two wait outside. The place was devoid of any life, or undeath for that matter, just an empty room with a single treasure inside.
Luca bends down and takes a box from the ground. It was almost a foot long, and relatively clean for being on the ground.
Yakumo: What's that?
Luca: No idea...
Opening the box, it contained one of the messiest meals ever invented.
Mia: It's an oden sandwich. What's something so good doing here?
Luca: It's good?
Yakumo: A traditional meal with a modern take on it, it's great.
Luca: Guess we're taking it.
[A/N: This ain't a guide, I'm pretty sure the sandwich is not there. Somewhere in the depths maybe?]
Inside on of one of the most distinguishable buildings, having ladders going both up and down, the group was at the bottom floor. While Most of them bullied a noblewoman, Mia and Louis go around the pillar searching for loot.
Louis: Jackpot!
Mia: A vial full of—
And then it happened again, an ungodly amount of burning orange haze filled the air and chills ran up the spines of all revenants.
Yakumo: Watch your backs, lots of lost incoming!
(Y/N): Can this place NOT?!
About 30 lost later
After all of the lost had been driven off through, of course, extremely violent means, the revenants (+ human) regrouped at the back of the building to catch their breaths.
Yakumo: Yeesh, I've never seen such active lost. Such a hassle.
Louis: It was well worth it this time. Look what we found.
Louis tosses a dark metal vial to Yakumo, who effortlessly and carefully catches it.
Yakumo: Woah, pure blood!
Mia: It was just laying there. Who would just leave blood laying around?
(Y/N): You guys are going to flip once I tell you what the extraction kit I have on me is for...
After a sizeable chunk of time the explorers were finally running out of places to explore, all that blocked their way forward was a door locked by a lever. Yes, a second lever that needs a key.
Even beyond this door there was just one more stretch of building before the path culminated into a grand structure that stood out even among the ornate designs of the whole area. That place was definitely important, not only was it at the end of the area but it was also encased in a weird, orange shell.
Luca: Almost there... I think...
Luca turned the key at the end of the lever, then pulled it. Not vigorously like all the others, but with a simple and effortless motion that wasted no excess energy.
None of the other revenants had any more patience anymore either. They all had, to some extent, a love for searching places and finding new things, but even that had a limit.
Beyond the door was yet another circular, empty building, with another exit on the other side. The path there lead to a mistle, which they used to rest, and bridged into the mysterious glowing sphere.
Yakumo: There's nowhere else to look. This is it.
Louis: It has to be.
Luca: This is the creepiest place around, of course it's here.
Mia: It's not that creepy, thanks to the light colors.
Walking up some stairs, they find someone unexpected. A woman wearing a dark blue and black ivy veil over a heavily torn white dress, her great plot relevance shining through the gaps...
Of the vestige cage she held, of course. A glowing shard of someone's memory trapped inside of it, waiting for a certain someone to free it.
Louis: Io?
She just walked up to us, paying no mind to anyone and just walking straight ahead in a collision path with Luca.
Yakumo: No, it's someone else...
(Y/N): And no one finds it sketchy that she looks exactly like Io?
Mia: It has to be a coincidence, right?
Not Io: Memory...
The doppelganger begins speaking as soon as she reached an arm's length to Luca.
Not Io: ...is what binds the very essence of one's self together.
Holding up the vestige closer to her own face, she stares at Luca through her mask.
Not Io: If you gather broken fragments of blood code, you can stitch them together with threads of memory.
Nothing else existed. Only the mysterious woman, Luca and the vestige.
Not Io: Please... I beg of you, I beseech you...
The woman kneels, holding the vestige up to Luca as a knight would present a gift to their king.
Not Io: Use your power now...
As Luca grabs hold of the vestige presented to her and gives it a long, cautious look, her eyes widen for some reason unknown to the others.
Luca: This vestige is...
She reaches into her little bag, bringing out the other vestiges collected from this area. They all had this pulsing light, like a heartbeat synchronized between the three of them.
Luca: What's in these? They feel... different.
Everyone else stares at Luca as she was puzzled at this whole interaction, somehow even more than the others.
(Y/N): I mean... crack them open and let's find out.
Luca snaps her sights out of the vestiges and looks up at the human.
Yakumo: Right. Isn't that one of your specialties?
Mia: Not exactly what we came here for, but this is still interesting right?
Louis opens one of the cages and holds the open end towards Luca.
Louis: You're curious too, aren't you? We'll do it together like always.
Luca glances down at the kneeling woman, who simply bows her head a little more and speaks with her soft voice.
Not Io: Please do.
Luca: Fine...
Luca reaches into the cage, her hand millimeters away from the crystal that is lethal to anyone but her.
Luca: Let's stitch this code back together.
And she grasped it firmly. Spikes growing through her hand and the blue energy flowing out of her until the flash of light blinded all the surrounding spectators.
Author's Notes
Whew, finally done with this piece.
For those who didn't see my announcement, I haven't been very available to write recently. It's a mix of a writer's block and a just too tight schedule for now, so if there are any updates they'll be slow for now.
I still read and check comments sometimes, so feel free to comment or strike up a conversation if you have any suggestions, question or just want to voice an opinion.
But I guess in the meantime...
Peace
P.S. Proofreading this one was especially rushed, so sorry if you find any errors but please point them out so I can (maybe) fix them.
Edit: spelling in two places, thanks for correcting me.