There’s No Love In the Deathzone (BL)

Thanks to the lightness of their heart, the journey continued more smoothly. They encountered less of the worm, much to Han Shin's delight, and more of a plant-type monster. After walking for who knew how long, the giant worm was finally no more.

But they also met with a dilemma; a fork road.

The river was split again. But this time, both current was almost similar, so they couldn't decide just by their eyes. Both paths ended up in a turn, so no one could see what it would be like further ahead. Bassena sent his kids to scout, of course, but they couldn't detect anything different from both paths. Only that each seemed to head in a completely different direction.

Zein saw Bassena sigh and looked troubled for the first time. He pressed his lips, tempting to tell the esper that he had a feeling they should take the route to the right. But he had no base for his argument rather than his mark pulsing stronger towards that way, and he reckoned he couldn't use that kind of reasoning for such an important decision.

But the esper soon fixed his expression and turned his body to look at the rest of the group. "We'll use that," he said cryptically.

Eugene and Han Shin looked taken aback. "Are you sure, Sir? We can only use it three times..." the male researcher remarked hastily.

"He's right Bas. Didn't Radia say we can only use it once here and save the rest?"

"We're stuck though," Bassena shrugged. "We're so deep inside the mountain now. Do you want to risk heading in the wrong direction and rerouting later?"

The healer bit his lips and frowned in deep contemplation. "What if we meet another fork road ahead? Can't you just send your skill further?"

"I sent them as far away as I can, but I can't sense shit in both paths," the esper sounded annoyed now. "I'd rather we use it now and gambled for the next. It's better to get this one right so we can proceed further."

The two researchers looked at each other, before turning their eyes to Han Shin. The healer sighed and finally shrugged. "Well, it's your artifact, so just do what you want."

"It belonged to the guild. But you're right, I'll do what I want," Bassena smirked, but there was a hardness in his eyes that betray the confidence.

Standing on the side, Ron and Zein shared a look that show how lost they were in the conversation. But they also saw the same confusion on Sierra and Balduz's faces, so it seemed to be an executive-only secret.

They watched with interest then, as Bassena took out a box from his dimensional storage ring. It was a small box, only the size of his palm, and decorated beautifully, like an antique jewelry box. The esper opened the box and carefully took out the content—the artifact.

Zein was already walking closer before he realized it, as Bassena held the artifact in his hand. It was the size of a small ball, smaller than a chicken egg, and so intricate. There was a small round core made of crystal, surrounded by circles upon circles that formed a cage around the core. Celestial rune letters were carved on the length of every circle and moved continuously.

Within the darkness of the underground tunnel, the core of the artifact let out a soft glow that brightened their surrounding. Before any curious soul could ask about it, Bassena already injecting mana into the artifact.

Immediately, the artifact moved. It hovered off the esper's palm as the circles caging the core whirred and moved around until they slot between each other like pieces of a puzzle. After a few seconds, the entire circle joined to make one united ring around the glowing core. At the side of the ring was a sharp triangle, like an arrow, that pointed to the path on their right side.

"Alright, we're going that way," Bassena exhaled in relief. Seemed like the esper had been holding his breath the entire time.

Han Shin whispered from behind. "It really responded...so that thing is really here?"

"What thing?" Zein, who usually wasn't keen on prying that kind of question, stared hard at the artifact that already dimmed and fall back to Bassena's palm. "What is that pointing to?"

At any rate, the artifact gave the same answer as the mark on his nape.

That artifact was definitely a compass. And it pointed to something that made his mark pulsed nonstop for hours.

And not just that.

The moment Bassena activated the artifact, the mark on his nape was pulsing so hard Zein had to clutch his neck tightly, as if they were resonating.

"What...are you actually looking for here?" Zein asked again, staring at Bassena's eyes now. "It's not just the water source, isn't it?"

"No," Bassena replied while putting the artifact back inside the box. "But it's not entirely false either."

Han Shin glanced at Eugene, and the male researcher shrugged, like telling the healer there was no need for pretense anymore. "We're looking for the water source because we thought it would lead to a 'life force' that we discussed in the cave," Eugene explained. "And our true objective is the source of that 'life' itself."

"And what is that source?" despite it being Eugene that gave an explanation, Zein never left his gaze from Bassena's face.

The esper looked back at him, and answered in a solemn tone.

"The shard fragment of [Setnath]."

* * *

When the world was in chaos, and the beasts rampaging free, there was no such thing as Deathzone.

Because everywhere was the Deathzone.

It was not until a Celestial Being convinced other deities to lend their strength to the human that the people of earth started to gain a weapon to combat the invading beasts crawling out of the dungeon.

What made it possible was the existence of Towers and Temples. It didn't just awaken human's latent power and gave them supernatural abilities, but also let out purifying energy that got rid of the miasma. With the new power and the establishment of these safe zones, humanity finally had a chance to rebuild community and reclaim territory.

And all of that could happen thanks to that one Celestial Being.

[Setnath]

The Celestial Being who broke and divided its body as the foundation for the Towers, and use the fragment of its soul as the energy to keep their operation.

That information was delivered after humans managed to conquer the highest floor for the first time.

"The first thing I saw after finishing the last trial was the Beacon," Bassena said. They were in a small cavern that was perfect for a short rest. The executives decided it was time for the rest of the team to know their real objections.

"By the Beacon...you mean the shining crystal like a miniature of the sun on top of the tower?" Ron asked, eyes closed to picture the tall structure.

Zein tilted his head, obviously having no idea what it looked like, since he never saw any tower. His link blinked then, and Zein awkwardly fumbled with it.

"Yes," Bassena took Zein's wrist as he answered, helping the guide navigate the device. "You know that the Beacon we saw from the outside is a projection, right?"

"So I heard..."

Zein looked down at the screen that popped up from the link, and saw a notification on the messaging icon. Bassena tapped on that, and Zein stared at the message under the esper's name. There was a picture on it, of various Towers with various shapes and styles. But there was one thing that identified them—a glowing orb on top of each structure.

"The real Beacon is placed on the highest floor, and we can see it once we exit the trial room," Bassena taught Zein how to zoom on the pictures while explaining further. "It shaped exactly like the artifact we used earlier."

"...so, you saw the real fragment of [Setnath] yourself, Sir?" Sierra asked with widened eyes, the biscuit in her hand forgotten.

"You'll be able to if you clear the peak, Sierra," Han Shin remarked with a wink.

The Sharpshooter whined with a flailing hand. "Please don't joke around, Chief!"

"You need to have the will first to achieve that," Bassena commented briefly at the exchange before putting the topic back. "Anyway, I earned the artifact as one of the rewards for clearing the highest floor. Its official name is [Celestial Fragment Tracker] so you should get the gist of its function."

"But how do you know it refers to the fragment of Setnath?"

"Because who else would it refers to?" Han Shin opened his arms wide. "The other deities only infused their power to the Towers, and the Temple uses avatars. The only fragment of Celestial Being left in this world could only belong to Setnath."

Zein narrowed his eyes at the pictures and tried to zoom even more, but the only thing the camera could capture from the Beacon was a glowing round ball—like a miniature sun, just as Ron stated. He sighed and closed the link.

"So why do you think there's a fragment here?" asked the guide.

"Because it's the only place people haven't explored," Han Shin grinned. "See, when there's a tracker, then there's something to be tracked. We concluded that it must be referring to Setnath's fragment because according to Bas, the tracker is like the miniature of the Beacon made of Setnath's fragment."

"So we made a theory," this time, Eugene took over the explanation. "From the information provided by the Saint classes and reviewing the history, we knew that the Towers only came to be after the Deities infused their power into the fragment that was being scattered first. If so, it begs a question..."

"...what if there's a fragment that didn't get infused with a Deity's power?" Zein muttered the question.

"Bingo!" Han Shin made a shooting sign with his fingers. "There's no such thing as a useless artifact, so the fact that a tracker got released as a reward means that there's a fragment to be find."

"But..." Ron cut in, looking doubtful despite the explanation. "If it's a fragment of Celestial Being, shouldn't it be enough to catch on the radar? Why hasn't any of the Borderland Unit or previous expeditions manage to discover it? No...why do we only find it now?"

If it came down to it, the one with the ability to purify the environment to the point of making it 'liveable' was not the Towers itself, but the Beacon—the soul fragment of [Setnath]. The Tower's structure did amplify it, but even without the Tower, the fragment should be strong enough to at least purify the whole district. But during all expeditions that they ever did inside of the Deathzone, no such thing had been detected.

Even this particular expedition, which was probably the deepest any team had ever managed to reach, only able to conclude after reaching this depth through sheer luck and coincidence.

"Well, we wouldn't be able to know for sure," Eugene answered with a sigh. "It could be that being left alone for so long diminished the fragment's energy. Or it could be that the miasma inside the Deathzone is too thick,"

"Though our best theory is that the fragment isn't complete," Han Shin added. "So rather than a fragment, it should be in the shape of shards."

"Shards..."

If it was just a shard of the fragment, then it would be understandable that only a small area was affected by it. "So you think it's this shard that allows the accumulation of elemental mana that birthed out the Specter?"

"That's our best bet," Bassena nodded. The amber eyes glanced at the quiet guide beside him.

Zein had always been quiet, but he was also usually nonchalant. However, ever since he saw the tracker artifact, the guide had been shrouded in a serious atmosphere. Bassena heard the guide mutter quietly for sometimes, chanting the name [Setnath] over and over again.

"Hmm..." Ron frowned and massage his temple. "This...this is kind of big, isn't it? Are you sure you can share this kind of information with us?"

"Well, it's not like we can hide it from you if we do manage to find it, right?" Han Shin smirked. "That's why we have the secrecy clause. It's not like you want to face Mortix Group in a lawsuit, right Mister Scout?"

Ron chuckled and shrugged. He could sell information to another big guild like Celestia, but of course he had to face not only Trinity guild's prowess but the whole Mortix Group's wealth and authority. For all he knew, Radia Mallarc probably had his claw on the government too, seeing that the youngest son of the minister of defense was his guild's Chief Researcher—

"...the government," Ron mumbled. He lifted his gaze and looked at both Han Shin and Bassena Vaski that looked at him with deep smiles.

"What about the government, Ron?" the smile on Han Shin's face at that time wasn't the usual cheeky one.

There was also a chance that Ron or Zein could bring the information to the government. In that case, even a lawsuit wouldn't be a problem, because it might be Mortix Group that suffered the consequences.

Yet, despite that, they still risked employing Unit members than using their own members. Surely, Mortix wouldn't just let this kind of possibility flew by, which meant...

"Does the government knows about this?"

Han Shin laughed, with a little bit of mirth and a dash of guile. "Not really," he tilted his head for a bit, black eyes flashing in the dark. "But my father does,"

"Ha ha..." Ron chuckled. If the Defense Minister knew, then even if Ron tattled to someone in the government, everything shall end in the minister's hand.

An expedition for a fragment of [Setnath] which was known by at least one body of government—this mission seemed to be growing bigger than he initially thought it would be.

'What kind of situation have we landed into...' Ron sighed and turned to look at Zein—his fellow outsider.

But Zein was staring hard at the ground for some time now, detaching himself from the conversation. Even after they finished their break and continued their journey, he stayed quiet and ignored most of the conversation happening on the way.

His mind was fixed on the fact that the thing making his stigma react was the fragment of Setnath. Or at least, the probability was high.

But why though? Why was something carved in his body had anything to do with the fragment of the Celestial Being that engineered the esper's Tower? If anything, shouldn't it be an esper that had any connection to Setnath?

'Was that why I can draw magic power?' Zein thought hard at the pulsing mark on his nape.

He had never really thought about it before, just thinking it was a trait that was beneficial to him. It was a mark that had been there ever since his birth, and began to be active after his awakening. But since there was never a good thing that would come out of revealing all of your cards in a place like the red-zone, Zein never talked about it with anyone else. And so, he treated it as a natural part of himself.

But now, that part of himself was acting like a lost child being called by its parent.

"Ah...I'm getting bored..." Han Shin sighed beside him.

They had been walking for a while without any changes in the terrain. While the worm monster was no more, it made the scream-less journey become a tad boring for the non-combatant.

"Zein, can you guide me? I had been feeling sluggish for a while..." Han Shin laid his head on the guide's shoulder.

"Oh, it seemed like it's true that staying in a miasma-dense environment will speed up the corrosion process?" Eugene chimed in. "Based on my observation, Mister Zen had been cleansing everyone each night, but it piled up quickly with the slightest of action,"

"That's true~" Han Shin made a whining sound while Zein took his hand. "We'll really be in trouble if Zein isn't the one that comes with us—aah...that felt good—you really have to come to Trinity, Zein~"

"Hmm..."

"Oh! You're not rejecting outright like usual!" Han Shin suddenly perked up. "You must be receiving a lot of love calls with skills like this right?"

"Well..."

"I knew it!" Han Shin swung their connected hand while walking, grinning now after the heaviness in his body being lifted. "Just come to Trinity, Zein. We treat our guide really well, you know. If you don't like to do certain methods, no one will force you."

And then it suddenly became a sales event. "That's true, Mister Zen. I don't know much about the Sentinel world, but Trinity is well-known for their good treatment of the guides among other guilds," Eugene added to the seduction.

"Yep, yep!" Han Shin nodded enthusiastically. He looked at the back of his friend, and then suddenly lowered his voice and asked Zein with a teasing glint in his eyes. "But it makes me curious though—" he leaned closer and whispered to the guide's ear. "Who is it that made you break your principle and do 'that' method."

Zein rolled his eyes inside his night-vision goggles. He shook his head and answered briefly. "I don't know."

Han Shin widened his eyes in disbelief. "Huh? How could you not know?"

Zein glanced at the gleaming black eyes full of curiosity. Someone like this—they wouldn't stop until they got an answer. Like Yath. But it wasn't something that Zein felt he needed to hide anyway.

"It was chaotic, so I don't have any leeway to pay attention to the person's face."

"Chaotic how?" Han Shin pressed further—an obvious fervor in his tone and gleaming eyes.

"That person was on the verge of eruption,"

The healer gasped. "W-wow...so that's what you mean by emergency..."

"Yeah, so it's quite hard to see within the black fog," Zein narrowed his eyes to dig through his memory. "And the face was full of dirt and blood, so the only thing I could see..."

Zein stopped speaking. If someone could peer behind the goggle's lens, they would see a pair of widened blue eyes. Those eyes stared ahead, at the back of the vanguard.

The only thing he could see at that time...was a pair of amber eyes.