Theo opened the bronze door to the small brown shed. Thalia, at his heels, still not letting up on the barrage of questions for vice-captain Alexander. Her first and foremost question was what squad he belonged to, which he dodged by saying a "good squad, of course." Her curiosity wasn't sated even though she probably knew he had no intention of answering her questions, but it sure as hell wasn't going to stop her from asking them.
Theo froze as they stepped into the building. He surveyed the room, taking in his surroundings. Thalia couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was no way that they were still inside the small shed they initially walked into. The room was massive and at least the size of the assembly hall, if not bigger, because there was no stage. Looking from left to right, Thalia saw nothing but glass cases.
Some were filled with armor, others with all types of weapons, and some with what appeared to be miscellaneous items. For example, the case closest to them contained an old Chinese map and an empty glass bottle, and to the right below those items was a pack of chewing gum.
"Every one of the relics in each of these cases has a special property or ability. However, the first floor's relics are common to rare grade. This means that they have little to no ability altogether. For example, the chewing gum on that bottom shelf is called "rainbow gum." It's a common relic. It has three different flavors red, blue, and yellow. The red flavor gifts its contractor with immense physical strength for 3 minutes. While the blue gifts inhuman speed. While the yellow flavor allows you the ability to fly. All three flavors have a duration of 3 minutes. There are only ten pieces of each flavor in the pack." Alexander explains.
"Come on, follow me!" He says, already walking towards the back of the vault.
"That sounds awesome. I want the rainbow gum so I can finally fly like Thalia." Theo says excitedly.
"No, the rainbow gum is a common rank at best because of its low functionality. For example, if you did choose the gum, you would have to bond with its ego. Which I imagine would be rather easy. However, if you think about it, that means you have just bonded with a relic that can only be used a max of 30 times. What happens when you need one of those abilities on the 31st time?" Alexander says, looking back at Theo.
"Fair point. So basically, if you bond with a relic, ensure that is powerful and has lots of utility." Theo silently makes a mental note.
"So if you bond with a shitty relic and want to change relics. What happens then?" Thalia asks, looking at a red and purple chest plate hanging in a glass cage.
"Well, once you have bonded with a relic, you are bonded by that contract for life. The only way to break the contract would be death since no one has been discovered with a revival bloodline trait. You are shit out of luck." Alexander replies. He stops and pauses suddenly, causing Thalia to walk right into him.
"There is one person who can bond and form multiple contracts with multiple relics. But hell, I have even seen that man use someone else's relic while its contractor was still alive and bonded, and that man is an exception and a rather annoying one at that." Alexander says, shaking his head.
Thalia wonders who he is talking about. However, she is pretty sure out of all the things he has avoided answering, that one was almost guaranteed. She does notice that the further they walk back, the heavier she feels. It started to feel like there was pressure pressing down on her legs, arms, and chest. The pressure felt more severe with every step. Glancing back, Alexander notices the subtle change in her body language.
" The further we head back, the more pressure you will feel. The stronger a relic is, the more pressure it gives off, and the body translates that feeling to your brain as weight. The relics' aura is trying to scare you off by invading your senses. I'm honestly surprised you both went this long without feeling anything. When most people say, they can feel it even outside the vault."
Thalia looked behind her to see if Theo was doing okay with the pressure getting more intense. Although she was shocked to see that Theo was fine. Honestly, he looked like they were strolling through one of those fancy shops in the shopping district.
"Hey Theo, are you doing okay?"
"Yea, I am perfectly fine. I'm still surprised by how large this place is given its small outer appearance."
Alexander leads them to another bronze door with a Green A painted onto it. As the door opens, it reveals a dark stairway leading down to a lower level of the vault.
Thalia felt like she was going to be sick and felt an immense crushing pressure on her head and lungs. Almost collapsing, Theo catches her, wondering what's wrong.
"Down this staircase is what we call the real Pandora's box, and it holds the largest number of legendary and mythic relics in New Roark. These ladies and gents are the relics that everyone whispers about." Alexander explains as he casually lights a cigarette.
"Thalia, are you okay? What's wrong? This isn't like you. Are you sick?" Theo asks, leaning his sister up against the door.
"Yes, my dear, you can always choose from any relics here if your mind and will are too weak. I mean, you do already possess a pretty powerful bloodline trait." Alexander says, blowing the smoke out in the shape of a series of O's.
"Why is this happening to her? I feel completely fine. Why is she like this?" Theo looks to Alexander, concerned.
"I already explained it to you once. The relics' immense aura emits pressure. It challenges the mind and invades the psyche of weak-minded and willed individuals. It's almost like a defense mechanism of sorts, and it prevents any potentially weak candidates from even attempting to form a bond and contract with them." Alexander begins to walk down the stairs. "Honestly, I agree with the relics if her mindset is this weak. Then she doesn't deserve to wield their power."
Clutching her thigh, she digs her nails into her skin to the point she feels the warm sensation of blood running down her thigh. All of her insecurities come flowing in, attacking her all at once. She starts to ask herself if she is qualified to be here. And do heroes really exist in this era? What if she can not become strong enough to meet her Tia's expectations? Her head spinning, and her vision becomes blurry. She started feeling like she was going to pass out.
Thalia grits her teeth. "No, what have I been working this hard for if I was just going to quit? I will change this world with my own two hands. And to do that, I need more power. I need enough power to shape and mold a new world."
Thalia remembers one of her few positive encounters with her father. She was maybe six or seven years old. He had come home happy that day which was rare. He told her that it was his job to conquer this fucked up world. While it was my job to change this cruel world into something better. She had always idolized the heroes in his stories. Her father had always stressed that heroes are not only righteous, but they have to be powerful. It doesn't matter whose philosophy was right or wrong because only the strong get to be the hero of the story.
"...Thalia...Thalia... THALIA" She can hear someone calling her name. She felt her hands sweating, and her eyes finally began to focus. She recognized the voice. It was Theo, and he was lightly shaking her. Pushing herself up to her feet, Theo tries to help, but she pushes him away."I'm sorry for worrying you, Theo, but I am fine now. I promise the pain in my head is gone." Thalia was trying to reassure her brother.
Theo gives her a skeptical look but eventually lets it go. "Well, come on, I think the vice-captain has already gone all the way down," Theo says, walking towards the cobblestone staircase.
Thalia follows closely behind him, trying to hide her fear of passing out again. The staircase looked like it belonged in some old castle people would live in before the war. Torches lined the wall lighting their pathway as they walked down the spiraled staircase. Thalia felt like they had been walking down the stairs for hours.
"How far down do these fucking stairs go?"She asked, gripping the wall to keep her balance. They see a bright light and an archway leading into a passageway. The door already opened.
Comments (1)
See all