Vivid Stars Online

Going up the shaft was almost as bad as coming down it. While I had the advantage of knowing that it should be a short and clear run, I lacked the adrenaline-filled motivation that pushed me the first time.

I would have preferred to wait a while and psyche myself up for it, however, I was embarrassed enough about my phobia that I didn’t want to risk revealing it. The best time to avoid that was while Linnea and Elana were distracted.

Somehow I got through it and pulled myself onto the floor above, where I lay gasping on the ground for several long moments. When I’d recovered, I called back down the shaft. “It's still clear up here, come on up when you're ready.”

It took another couple of minutes, then Elana’s head popped out of the shaft. Linnea followed soon after and rushed over and engulfed me in a hug as soon as she was clear.

“Thank you, Jared,” she sighed against me. “I didn’t know what to do when that spider appeared. I knew I wouldn’t have time to find a way around, so I just sat there, hoping the barrier would fall.”

“You’re welcome. Anyone would have done the same thing.” I tried to awkwardly pat her on the back, hoping it was reassuring.

A moment later, Linnea released me, blushing. “OK then,“ she said, turning away. “Where to next?”

I was happy to let her change the subject. “Did you see the golden door on the way? I was picking up Psi energy behind it. It may contain what I'm after.”

“Got it,” she said, taking the lead and moving down the hallway. I followed along, a little confused. Given her lack of close combat ability, Linnea almost always took up the rear in our formation.

Elana moved up next to me and whispered into my ear. “I think she’s feeling a little useless after all that. Let her go first alright, at least for a bit until she feels better.”

I nodded at her as we moved. Now I understood what was going on. I was happy to leave it alone. I would have felt terrible as well if it were me.

Soon afterward, we found ourselves in front of the massive golden door. “Do you think you can get this open?” I asked as I turned toward Elana.

“Probably, give me a moment to connect. I'll need access to your watch again as well.”

I confirmed her access when the pop-up appeared, then waited impatiently, moving my weight from foot to foot. I felt like I was so close to what I’d been looking for these last few weeks.

Yet at the same time, my anxiety was mounting. It would be a crushing blow if it turned out to be nothing after I built it up so much. It was all I could do to hold back from hounding Elana with questions about how she was going.

Several long, torturous minutes passed before she spoke up. “OK, I think I have it. There’s almost no power on this level, so I had to route some more up here. Honestly, it’s a wonder anything’s functioning at all with the facility’s reserves so low.”

The door’s also a lot more secure than most of them, I know I can open it but I might trigger something else.” She shrugged as she finished as if to indicate that anything could happen.

I wonder if that’s why those force fields were failing downstairs, I mused as I moved to take up a position in front of the door. It would make sense if it could only power some of them and prioritized blocking the most direct paths around to Elana.

It almost worked too. The only reason I made it in time was due to finding that maintenance hatch. Shaking myself from my thoughts, I nodded to Elana to open the door.

With a loud grinding noise, the golden door in front of us began to slowly split in half. Before we could even see inside, another deafening claxon sounded around us. The same voice as before accompanied it, speaking again in a language that none of us could understand.

“Hang on,” Elana shouted over the cacophony echoing through the hallway. “I should be able to use your database to translate.” She fiddled with her watch for a moment, then it started repeating the announcement in English.

“Intrusion detected in the Inner Sanctum. All soldiers converge on that location. Repeat, all soldiers converge on the Inner Sanctum.”

I tensed for a moment, waiting for something to happen. Then I slowly relaxed as nothing attacked us. A minute later, even the claxon subsided, and I felt it was safe enough to turn and begin examining the room.

Looking through the door, I found a large, round room. A circle of pillars supported the roof about halfway in, at the center of which stood a gleaming silver throne. More than anything, it reminded me of a temple, with the throne sitting exactly where an altar would go.

As soon as I stepped across the threshold, I could sense an immense concentration of Psi energy swirling in between the pillars. It felt like a vortex of power flowing into the room.

Shuddering at the intense feeling, I moved toward the throne. It drew me in, almost hypnotic with its beautiful carvings and flowing Psi energy. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, holding me back.

“Hang on a second there,” Linnea said as she moved up beside me. “While I’m guessing that chair is what you’ve been looking for, let’s at least make sure it’s safe first.”

Stumbling as if pulled from a trance, I shook myself and tried to banish the odd compulsion. “You're right,” I croaked, my throat suddenly feeling tight and scratchy.

There was clearly something going on with this odd temple, and it would only make sense to explore it before taking any drastic actions. With that in mind, I began circling the room while staying outside the inner circle of pillars.

While it was large, it still only took me a couple of minutes to return to the start. Beyond the obvious things I’d seen on first entering, it was mostly empty, though there was a set of lockers against one wall I was ignoring for now.

There didn’t seem to be any hidden enemies or other dangers, in fact, the entire place had a feeling of quiet gravitas. Sounds felt dampened in the room, as if all you could focus on was the beauty in front of you.

And beautiful it was indeed. Beyond the obvious shining throne in the center, each of the pillars was marble and carved with intricate nature scenes. Every pillar was different, each a work of art in its own right.

This was clearly an incredibly important place to the Arkathians, I mused as stared at one of the pillars. These aren’t mass-produced like the rest of the facility, they look hand carved in fact. Someone put years of work into building these.

With my examination of the outer ring complete, all that was left was the space inside the pillars. Psi energy still swirled within, its movements unchanged. Now that I was closer, I could feel it coming from something in the center.

It felt like a hole to somewhere else, a hole that energy poured out of in a slow, but endless wave. Feeling it, I felt an important clue click into my place in my mind. Psi energy came from somewhere else, somewhere beyond the normal fabric of space.

“OK, I’m going to go in,” I said, turning to my companions as I did so. “Might be best if you stay out here for now. If something goes wrong, I have the best stats to survive it.”

Elana nodded, looking worried. Linnea, however, started rummaging through her pack. “Hold on,” she said, holding up a hand to stop me. “I’ve still got a section of rope I brought in case we needed to climb. If we tie that to you first, then we might be able to drag you out if it goes wrong.”

I smiled at her in thanks, waiting for her to finish searching her pack. That was an excellent idea. Even if I passed out in there, they should be able to retrieve me.

A minute later, I found myself with a long section of rope tied around my middle. Both Elana and Linnea held the end from near the door. If things went really wrong, they should have time to dive through before it could close.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped between two of the pillars. The energy swirled past me, only shifting its movements enough to split around my body. While I could feel a strange pressure surrounding me, it wasn’t enough to be an impairment.

I waited one minute, then two. When nothing went wrong, I moved forward to stand in front of the throne. It looked to be carved from a single block of silver, no joints or connections being visible.

Further, every inch of it had been engraved with the same nature patterns. Instead of a single, massive scene, they appeared to show hundreds of little moments, forever captured in the artist’s skill.

The back of the chair held a more sinister sight, however. Two large needles were recessed into the silver, perfectly placed to plunge into anyone who sat on the chair.

Turning back to the sisters, I pitched my voice to carry over the odd silence of the room. “It looks like it’s meant to inject you with something. I suspect that sitting on the throne will activate it.”

Even from here I could see that neither of them was happy at hearing that, however they kept silent, leaving the decision up to me. Taking another deep breath, I turned to face the throne again.

If there had been some form of writing or instructions, I would have felt safer. As it was, I was simply left with a choice. I could take the safe route and walk away, perhaps never having another chance to progress my class. Or I could take the risk and use the throne.

I mean, what’s the worst that could happen, I thought, staring into the shining silver. It’s still just a game in the end, even if it kills me I'll just respawn. While the forums have been saying that the death penalties are harsh, it still wouldn’t be the end.

While I could have considered it further, could have weighed the pros and the cons, if I was honest with myself, I’d already decided. As soon as I saw the throne, I knew I would be sitting on it.

The least I could do, however, was to let at least warn Linnea and Elana before I do so. Sighing, I turned to leave the circle, walking out of the pillars and back toward the door. While I felt an odd loss as I did so, as the pressure lessened around me, I knew I would be back soon.

“I’m going to do it,” I said as I reached them. “This has to be what I’m looking for. A strange chair covered in Psi energy within an ancient ruin, that’s what I would have set up for gaining Psionic Abilities.”

While I could see that Linnea paled as I said so, she still nodded in response. “Leave your gear here,” she said, her voice wavering slightly. “We’ll do our best to get it down off the mountain if you don’t make it.”

Then Elana surged forward, grabbing me in a side hug. “Be safe, Jared,” she said with a sigh. “Remember that even if you can’t die for good, we can still experience pain in here. You could still suffer a lot if something goes wrong.”

I thanked them both for their concern before shucking off my pack and stripping down to my pants. If the chair was going to be trying to shove giant needles into me, I didn't want to be wearing anything that might interfere. After a second’s thought, I even left my gun behind. If I died, it would be better not to have to pay for another one.

Then, with a last look back at them, I strode forward into the circle. This time, I didn’t stop until I reached the chair. I paused for a moment upon reaching it, mustering my courage, before turning and sliding back onto it.

As soon as my back hit the smooth silver, I felt twin points of pain blossom. Then my body froze as it pumped something into my body. Unable to move, all I could do was focus on what was happening to me.

With my Psi Sense, I could feel a substance with vague traces of energy being pumped around my system. It was rapidly reaching every part of my body, affecting it somehow.

It almost felt like an opening feeling, or a lowering of barriers. Then the swirling mass of Psi energy around me surged inward, pouring into my body like water down a drain.