LOACTION - SIGNAL TOWER 4

|Location: Wasteland, Heart|

-ZERO-

(SAI, I should have asked you about this a while back but can you do something to my eyes to make it less, well hazy. I can't see properly.)

[initiating retina @#$@% error]

[Error, signal disturbance has been detected, system functions will be compromised.]

[Host please exercise caution.]

SAI's monotonous voice faded from my head soon after.

My 'sight' has not been that useful in this darkness that surrounds the place because of how hazy it is. I could only make out the rough layout of the terrain since SIA isn't 'optimal' in this kind of place and it greatly affects me, well I learned that just now, but still I expected something from it. At least the bare minimum, but nothing.

Thankfully there's one thing that gives us the ability to pierce into the darkness and that is a dim light coming from the lamp Dia carries. It paved our path through this dark wasteland, it managed to somehow put me at ease from the suffocating atmosphere, even if it's just a little bit..

I continued to follow Dia's back like she said. It has been a lengthy distance since then, walking with Dia was a great choice. She knew where to pass through and the places need to avoid, making the walk less hectic for my side. As we walked deeper inside it wasn't hard to imagine that this place never got that much attention, looking at how weak the soil is, how many twigs on the ground, and the fact that It's too dark it wouldn't be that debatable if it got any in the first place.

Well this whole 'wasteland' is not even that habitable in the first place, it lacked sunlight , little to no water supply, and especially the high radioactive energy that floats in the air, is not something a person would call habitable and even I knew that.

But nonetheless they still settled at some parts of the wasteland because no monster or rather no apostles would dare go near the place. But I wonder what makes this specific place where we are looks like a 'not a go to spot'.

As my thoughts get flooded in my mind, I find it hard to control myself and not wander off as a result of it. To satisfy my craving I decided to boldly ask Dia in a pretense that I want to start a conversation. It wouldn't be that off since we have been really quiet for sometime now.

"Dia? What's a shelter? You kinda mentioned it previously and I was wondering what made you live here." Dia suddenly stopped from taking another step after I asked her those questions.

I could see how she tightened her grip over the lamp, the sound of emptiness continued for a while before I could finally hear the sound of her breath echoing throughout the stilled forest.

She took a deep breath before turning around looking all conflicted, but then she looked hesitant the next and tried to avoid my eyes. Reluctant as she is, Dia still answered my question in the end. I watched her lips brush off against each other very softly as she talked. "Well it wasn't that different from the norm, as our defense got weak we ended up getting raided by scavengers."

She mentioned the word 'Norm', though it's clear that their norm doesn't match with mine, the way I see the world is much different and if you try to compare it to them who have lived in this world for a long time, you could say I still lack many things.

But that's more reason for me to ask questions on things that I don't know especially the subjects SIA doesn't know, understanding what makes me different from others might be the key for me not being driven by my 'impulses'. Though currently, it's hard to say for myself that it's bad, but the way others see me, that won't need a second brain to figure it out.

Knowing myself, the fact that my eagerness to learn 'all' of it is increasing, it would be best to take things one at a time, since I know that it would bite me later on if I tried to rush things as it is. It's better if I take things slow this time around..

But getting a little sidetrack isn't that bad. Right?

"Scavengers? After that how did you guys live?." Dia looked at me with her eyes wide open, as if she wasn't expecting my question she looked at me and felt like she didn't know how to answer. But it might also be that she's still gathering her thoughts, as to what to say to me.

She immediately turned around after staring at me and continued to walk deeper into the area, before she replied to what I said..

"Before? Nothing much, we share our shelter with another tribe." I could get a sense of discomfort from what she said, but at the same time I smelled a hint of hyacinth, the darker one. "But after the incident we decided to split, we're still young back then when it happened so I don't really remember much. Then…"

I followed Dia as she further led me into this dark forest, climbing over a boulder, and sliding down from a short clift. I meticulously stepped on her shadow that is casted by the dim-lamp that she holds. Hoping I would encounter those 'tiny incidents' again.

"I see." I replied. She glanced towards my direction and for a moment our eyes met which she avoided right away. She immediately continued what she was saying.

"Then at some point we spend almost a year wandering through place to place before they accidentally encounter the wasteland." She said, under her smokey breath, I could feel how relieved she was upon saying those things. "And finally they have a place to settle. It's been five years since then."

"Oh!" So that's how they got here, this scavenger people from the sounds of it they might be similar to pirates or terrorists. I wonder if I will encounter one in the future. Putting that aside I felt like I missed something from what she just said. But I can't say what exactly and only vaguely answer back. "That's quite um."

"Sad?!" She immediately continued my sentence.

Even though it wasn't that, I'll just go with it since I can't even describe what I was thinking. "In a way not that it really matters but at least your tribe found this place after a long time."

"After a long time? You know you're weird." Dia stopped for a moment and looked at me. Her face frowned and her eyes looked at me as if I offended her in some way. "Sometimes you act like you care but the next second you don't."

Why would she say that? She was the one who assumed that and now she got offended by it. Now she points it at me. Sometimes I wish I woke up with this 'common sense' so I can understand what others think or want.

But still what's with her mood swings. Did she eat something wrong?

"That…" I paused. Scratching my head, I continued the conversation as I answered something close to the truth. "You think I don't care?."

She looked at me keenly. "I see, is it a personal thing? That's why you act like that?"

"What? No. " I immediately answered her. Dia looked at me from head to toe.

"Tell me honestly, Zero. Who are you?" I was taken back by what Dia asked me. Since the moment I woke up it was not my first interest to know who I am or where I came from. The first thing in my mind is to explore and to gain knowledge.

Who I am, was just something that came along. Despite me asking myself numerous times, it didn't really strike me as something I needed. There's that time with SIA and I can still clearly remember what happened before, but aside from being afraid of the same thing happening to me, right now I would just compare my thoughts back then as a fleeting moment.

Dia asked me this question, I could only stutter my way cause even I don't know the answer of that. "Can't say.."

"What do you mean?" I looked at her and thought, what if right now might be the best time for me to explain the few things about myself that I know.

I tried to think if it's right or wrong to say it. But things are starting to get complicated, so might as well just tell them. Telling might be also because I felt the need to tell her that much, she told me their past to some degree and it would be fair to tell her mine even though I'm not that certain.

But still, in a way this might be what they call gratitude? Or paying others? As Long it's between those lines it didn't matter to me. But better avoid talking about SAI, something tells me that's the right thing to do.

"Only my name, that's it." I took a deep breath as I said that. Dia squinted her eyes when looking at me doubtfully. "I have been wandering through the desert all my life, well at least that's what I remembered anyway."

"Really?!" She said, still looking at me really suspiciously.

"Yes! During the camp fire event earlier it was my first time seeing food." I protest, trying to convince her I said the truth. "I never tried to eat food, I never got hungry or thirsty in the first place, can you believe that?! And everyone here looked like they can't live without consuming even a tiniest grab."

"Fine, fine.. Let's just say that's true, so I'll just settle with that for now." She said before continuing our trip to the center. "Even though that just make you plain weird."

After that lengthy conversation we went back to focusing not to fall as we walked to 'our' destination. I checked the vague map SIA provided me and saw that we are finally inside the expected radius where the signal tower might be located.

From that movement on I began noticing changes of terrain as I walked deeper into the forest, but it might be appropriate to say that. We might be walking out of the forest. Because the further we go the less trees around us the the terrain slowly turned from a rocky mountain side into a flat plains.

The walk continued for a little longer before I saw something extraordinary.

From afar I never knew it was possible but I could finally see clearly. And up ahead is a huge crater almost a kilometer in diameter in size and I don't know if it's just because I have been inside this place for too long that my brain is starting to mess with me, but a single ray of sunlight pierced through the dense fog and showering the humongous tree in the middle of that crater with light.

"Whoa. What's that?" I said in awe.

"Zero, that's the signal tower."

That moment I was confused, it is far from what a signal tower would look like to me. "But it's a tree."

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