006

"Partner? Partner?" Her voice rang through my head as I jolted awake.

"HAYA!" I screamed aloud as I jolted up.

"Oh good, you're awake." She said in a hushed tone, I looked around where I am, illuminating my staff, but she's nowhere to be found.

"Where are you?" I confusedly ask.

"In your head, bruh. Ah right I didn't tell you."

'Bruh'? Nevermind that, she's in my head?

"Yeah, I am." She says, "I managed to access your brain implants. Don't worry I secured it so only I get to be in your head."

'So you can read my thoughts, yeah?'

"Reliably so."

'How about my memories?'

"No, well, I can, but I don't want to see what you've seen, being someone with a perfect memory and all.

'I see. That said, are you okay? Where are you?' I kicked myself up and stood up. My clothes are still somewhat wet, but it's manageable.

"They dragged me deeper, I don't know where. I'm typing all of these through my wrist-pad. If you get here, at least give me my medicine, cause they're not treating me here."

'Okay. Okay.' I headed deeper into the cave, as I travelled the walls seemed less cave-y and more… clean. Eventually they stop being cave walls and start being regular walls, sleek white and smooth to touch. It's well illuminated now as well, but the blood trails head deeper so I followed it.

Looking around the clean exterior, I see cameras. All of which, as far as I'm aware, are dead. 'Can you give me some info on your surroundings?'

"They bound me on a chair, I don't know what room this is, there's a light above me but I can't see farther than its shine below me. I hear whispers."

'Can you ping me your location?'

"I'll try, but that'll take a while."

"Okay, I'll look around, just keep in contact in case anything happens."

"Roger."

The complex of long hallways is huge, clean, but huge. I see various rooms as I follow the trail. Some locked, some open, and there I see rooms. It seems the standard room here is two bunk beds side by side, with their symbol in the middle.

I proceeded farther. Wary of any cultists that may come by, but there weren't any. Peculiar for a complex with so many rooms. Of various sizes as well. Looking at the rooms, it seems that they're well lived in. Some of the beds are well made, some seem like the owner jolted awake suddenly, while some have traces of freshly eaten food on them still.

I turned right, still following the trail and saw a large altar. Their symbol, carved into a slab of obsidian, splatter of blood all over it. Surrounding it are candles of similar sizes. Loud, high pitched noises rang inside of my head as I fall to my knees.

The candles flicker, and the altar vanishes. I looked behind me and the hallway that I walked through had changed. I looked back in front and I was faced to a large door that I have not seen before. "PARTNER! YOU THERE!?" Haya's text to speech echoed through my brain.

'Yes!? Yes!?' I replied, sweat trickling down the pores all over my body, 'Are you okay!?'

"Yes. I pinged you, I pinged you already, can't you see?" An echoing ping`aches my brain. Loudly, loudly, louder as I face the large door. Is she there? My head hurts too much, my eyes burn. Aching, aching, aching, I feel like vomiting. "Oh shit-, hurry up hurry up hurry up."

'What? What's wrong?' I tried to reply, but the thoughts in my head are jumbled, memories appear and disappear. I try to stand myself up.

"They're here. Two, three, five, eleven, too many. There's too many. They surround me. I yelled at them and shit they found my wrist computer SAVE ME! SAV-" The word cut off and I jolted up as I heard her scream from inside the room.

Stepping back, "Holy book…" The book floats romantically in front of me, winds howling at my sweaty face as the pages flip one after another, halting to a stop at a particular page. A single word.

I aim my staff at the door, manifesting the world's energy towards it. Wind blowing past me as they all concentrated at the tip, I prayed a silent prayer, and said a single word.

BLAST!

The winds blasted the door open with such force that it flew away. Flew away… into the abyss.

The darkness of the room is frightening. As I take a step, it feels like I'm treading on shallow water, but there is no splash, my boots are dry. The hallway outside, the only source of light. I tapped my staff for light but no light came in.

Then, I walked into the abyss. Walked. Walked further and further until the light behind me blended into the darkness. "HAYA!?" I yelled out with what little energy I could. The pinging stopped moments ago, meaning I should be where she pinged her location to be.

There was no response, and I walked deeper into the abyss. I fired my staff up, hoping that there'll be a ceiling, but the ray disappeared into the abyss. I shot forward, but the same thing happened.

Then, I heard a voice. "Pollus." The deep voice echoed all throughout, reverberating through my core. Rays of light opened high above, to the point where I can't see the source of it.

I looked behind me and saw the corridor just outside. I looked back in front and saw a hundred robed figures. And behind them, a hundred more. In the center, Him.

His face was red, or was it a mask. I couldn't tell.

He sat menacingly at his throne, staring down at me. "You have disappointed me, Pollus." His voice trembled the room, but I tried not to budge. For a moment I felt like I was losing breath.

"Where is she!?" I yelled aloud, yet my voice felt miniscule compared to his. The silence lingered afterwards, and I saw his eyes, yellow. Looking towards me, I feel disdain and disappointment. He stares at my feet and, instinctively, I stared down.

Her. Wounded… Wounded self is all I could describe. It pains me to linger in this memory for longer than I should. This… perfect memory, is sometimes a curse in of itself.

I tried to scream, but the harrowing noise wouldn't come out. Or it did, only to be silenced by the crushing silence of the vast room. I held what remains of her in my hands, or attempted to, at least. I can't even see her face, if that is her face.

"This should serve as a warning for you. Pollus." He said. I have nothing more to say. I held my staff tightly, and breathed. I aimed at him, I aimed at all of them, I feel like shouting out the spells I'll use.

The lights flickered off, then back on. And they were dead. All of them. All the cultists lie bleeding on the floor, the Crimson King, whose face much more resembled a crushed tomato than any discernible human features, sat at his throne. Unmoving.

I noticed on my left, I held Haya tightly and on my right, my staff. My hands are sore. I held her tightly, sobbing at the loss of another partner. I touched her face, or what remains of it, and felt something metallic.

My heart raced as I took it out, and laughed. Laughed cause it's still intact. Her memory chip. I pocketed the chip and went out. Though, I couldn't bear to see her corpse lying motionless in the middle of other dead bodies. I took her with me, and proceeded to head out of the complex, out of the cenote, out of the castle.

As I stepped out of the castle, I heard a familiar, reassuring voice in my brain. "Partner? Partner? Can you hear me?"