The Archives

The Archives were one of the most protected places in all of the NQSC. 

Not because it held secrets, although it did, but because it held something far more precious. 

Knowledge. 

In the far-distant past, the library of Alexandria had served a similar purpose. When part of the ancient storehouse of learning caught fire, scrolls with untold amounts of wisdom were forever destroyed. 

Likewise during the Dark Ages of humanity before the Spell descended, institutions of learning were ravaged by continued senseless war. Would that lost information have helped when the Nightmares began? 

The world would never know.

What they decided, however, was to guard all future findings like they were more precious than gold. The Archives' information was backed-up in other places, but only the Academy had it all collected in a single spot. 

That is why Noble was convinced that this spot under the library was even more secure than Government Headquarters. 

Even if humanity were to die out, the bunker below the Library would still be there in a thousand years. It could survive even more than a nuclear fallout. 

Which was good, because nowadays there were things far more dangerous than that.

Pushing on the alloy door, Noble should have found archivists feverishly working behind desks. But the room was empty except for a single soul. 

A man stood in the far corner of the room, staring at one of the Archives' mainframes.

As Noble entered, the man spun away from the whirring machine and his piercing eyes shot toward her.

The intensity of his gaze was unlike anything she had ever seen, and it sent a chill down her spine. 

His clean-cut beard and shaved head looked vaguely familiar, but Noble could not rightly place him.

Was he one of the new people on the Academy staff that she had only seen in the cafeteria?

He didn't seem friendly. Maybe Noble had come when they were short-staffed. Or had she startled him by her abrupt entrance?

Noble winced as she coughed lightly. "Sorry to bother you. I wanted to turn in a research report for publication." 

The man's expression softened slightly. That was somehow more unnerving.

His measured cadence crossed the space between them. "I don't work here, My Lady." 

His voice seemed familiar also, further confusing Noble.

'Not an Academy employee. Could he be associated with one of the Great Clans?'

"No title, necessary. I'm Professor Noble." She didn't want there to be confusion between them. Her brow furrowed. "If you don't work here, are you waiting for someone to come back?"

The man's expression turned slightly amused. What about her question had been funny?

Nothing, and yet, she felt like she was suddenly the butt of a joke she didn't understand. An uneasy feeling grew in the pit of Noble's stomach.

The stranger chuckled. "Waiting? Yes, something like that."

'If he is waiting, why is he by the mainframe? Was he planning on messing with its protective array?'

The stranger eyed her carefully, putting her even more on guard.

He showed no fear at having been discovered close to one of the archive's precious storehouses.

In fact, he showed no emotional change to her questioning him at all. He just stared at her hiding his intense hatred behind a polite smile.

'This is wrong. Terribly wrong.' 

Why was this man here when no one else was? Thanks to her flaw, Noble's senses were dampened. But even with the lower range, she couldn't feel anyone in this room or any of the other chambers that made up the underground complex. 

It was too weird.

'Did he…did he murder them?'

"Do you know where everyone ran off to?" Noble asked, trying to hide her suspicion.

"The only person I can positively place right now is you," the man answered evenly.

Suddenly, Noble felt the urge to run. Run far and fast. 

But if this man was dangerous, she couldn't just let him leave, could she? 

'I need more information…and some reinforcements.' Noble peeked at her communicator. It had no signal down so low. 'Just great...'

Taking a deep breath, the professor resisted her primal instinct of fight or flight and instead chose to stay put.

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Too long," the man's expression turned dark for a moment before the pleasant smile resumed.

"Then what you are looking for must be very important," the professor mused.

The man moved slowly toward her. Barely half the room was between them now.

"The information is vital."

The professor was startled by his honesty. "Then I hope you get what you are looking for soon. I am sorry that I cannot be of assistance."

The soft lips of the dark-haired man curved upward. "Perhaps you can be. Would you care to join me?" 

There was a pull behind the words which Noble did not like. She resisted the tug on her iridescent soul.

'Is that part of his Aspect?'

"I cannot spare much time," Noble answered a little too politely. "But I can join you in finding an archivist who can assist us both." 

The stranger frowned. "I will wait here." 

Even though the man's expression showed that he was displeased with her, Noble didn't feel his emotions spike.

In fact...

'I haven't felt his emotions change at all.' 

After years of using emotions to read people, Noble knew that people's moods changed almost constantly. They went from happy to elated to sad to angry all within a short time. It was natural, and by now Noble could take the constant change and nuance and use it to easily inform her decisions. 

Yet, she hadn't been able to do that in this situation. She had barely sensed the man at all before entering, which in and of itself was strange. 

Was he somehow blocking her powers from reading him? It was possible.

'The only thing I feel from him is hatred.' 

The sensation was not unlike what she got from Nightmare Creatures, yet even they had levels of fluctuation. This hatred was deep and unyielding...and powerful. 

Noble felt weak under the intensity of his gaze. His power was overwhelming, even for a Master like her. 

"Are you sure you do not want to join me? You look like you know a lot of people. Perhaps you could introduce me..." 

He took another step toward her, coming almost within arm's reach. Noble's lips parted in a stifled gasp.

"Introduce you? I don't even know your name."

"I'm Yosh." The man's smile turned cruel.

The name pricked something in Noble's mind, but she didn't have time to process why. 

His hateful presence was becoming suffocating, and Noble felt her chest tighten under the intensity of the feeling. She shut her eyes and turned away. 

'I need to get out of here.' Noble gritted her teeth.

"Well, Yosh, I think I will go find an archivist, and I can introduce you to them." 

"Stay." The hatred in the man grew momentarily, and Noble reacted defensively.

She wasn't about to let anything happen to herself after returning to her family.

"No."

In reaction to the man's overwhelming malice, Noble countered with her love for her family, which was stronger than any invitation or command. She pressed the emotion against him with all her might. Like a shield and a sword in one, the feeling crashed against the man and sliced deep into his hatred. 

The sudden change would have broken a mundane human's mind. 

Yosh recoiled with a hiss. "You…" 

Then his face changed to something wrong. Something sinister. Something malevolent.

Something inhuman.