Zen launches a chair across the room, resisting the urge to toss his phone. The chair shatters against the wall. The black screen on his phone laughing at him. Since yesterday no one has answered at Var. The sun has come up on his attempts to reach base. Something is wrong at home base. The elders never leave phones unattended. They hate surprises more than anything else. And, boy, does he have one hell of a surprise to report. His experiment has proven two things. First, is that the gate is indeed partially open. The second, and more important discovery, is that there is an Astro close by. Really close. While in the Abyss, the chain had reacted to an Astro. He has never seen the chain glow such a bright blue before. The chain couldn’t travel very far into the Abyss. It is less than twenty feet long and part of that would have been lost reaching the gate. The Astro had to be near the gate - the Solace gate. He had panicked at the reaction and tried to pull the chain back through. It had felt like he was pulling a person. There had been a ton of resistance, like tug of war. However when the chain returned through the seal it had been alone, and no longer glowing blue.

Without any response or orders from the elders, Zen is unsure what to do. He can’t seal the gate on his own even if he wanted to. For now the town is safe. But that won’t last long with an Astro playing in the Abyss. He isn’t even sure if the Astro can get out of the Abyss. He remembers hearing stories of Astros getting stuck in the lower levels of the Abyss because they couldn’t control their powers. Whether it is true or a myth told to scare the young recruits he can’t remember. What he does know is that if the power of an Astro is consumed by one of the more powerful creatures, the battle is already over. The creatures would easily be able to blast the Solace gate wide open.

The only lead he had on the Astro’s location is the other house outside of town. It was on the other side of Solace from him. Zen recalls that it had been sold off a few weeks ago. The laws of the Death Walkers state that he should leave the house and the Astro alone, instead focusing on the safety of the town. But he can’t. This could be another Heinzer event being created. Or worse an Astro could be in jeopardy. Scared and alone. Just like she had been all those years ago. Helpless.

He shakes his head. He isn’t going back to his childhood. He has to focus on the here and now. One wrong move at this point would doom him and the town. Regretting the past would get him nowhere. Besides he had made sure it couldn’t happen again. After sealing her memories and her powers, Var had sent her into hiding. Turning her into a normal human who just also happens to carry Astro blood. Oftentimes as the bloodlines get weaker the powers disappear so she shouldn’t have ever caught anyone’s attention.

Zen scoops up his keys and runs out the doors. He ignores the small imp like creatures hanging around the house. It seems like the seal is changing again. Or another gate really has opened up nearby. He hesitates for a moment - should he send them back through the gate or just ignore them? He debates for a few minutes while they stare at him. Decisions. At this point he could better spend his energy. If all he does is fight off the creatures he will never find the source. But what are they looking for? Sliding into the corvette, he decides to check out the old house. See what kind of family has moved in. It has always been easy for him to spot an Astro on sight. If it proves to be a dead end, he’ll search the town again. He isn’t going to let Tyr win.