Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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/A few minutes later…/

/Chatter.../

Before leaving the underground complex, due to the security issues and the complicated procedures they had to go through before embarking on their journey back to North America, Roger led Dale to a restricted side room somewhere within the first few access corridors of the complex as they waited for their call.

It was a somewhat large restaurant built around an aisle where the customers could see the cooks grill and roast meat, it had a unique luxurious atmosphere, making someone forget they were deep underground if even for a split second...

There, they discussed more about the future and the intricacies of the Crucible as the clocked ticked as the seconds passed…

/Chatter.../

Roger and Dale sat down next to one of the corners, eating a vast variety of meats as they waited for their transport to arrive.

"Hum... I can't be certain about what you witnessed in your visions… Much less what they may represent."

"The world has many mysteries and it isn't uncommon for one to find themselves lost amidst the turbulent tides, for all purposes, this may be a mystery you alone can solve."

"I apologize... But you can be certain I'll try my best to collaborate, I still need you to take care of my granddaughter at the end of the day." He said with a chuckle as he finished his food

"Either way, I hope you got some of your answers cleared, and regardless of how you feel right now, at the very least we took this out of your chest." Roger said as he took a sip out of his whiskey

"I haven't said this before but welcome to the dark side of the world, we who wait for the promised time." He said as he raised his drink before finishing it off

"... Sigh, that is true, but this is all so hard to understand… And take in." Dale said with an exhale as he cleaned his mouth with a handkerchief

"I mean, look around us, we are inside an underground megacomplex built by a continental collaboration of a dozen nations over a century constructed around a strange alien relic of unknown origins with reality-bending properties."

"This isn't something easy to take in, it's like finding out the world has turned into a work of fiction only to realize that said fiction was based on reality in the first place."

'I was already somewhat ready for this reality, but it's hard to keep myself steady in this scenario.'

'The scope of this is far beyond what I could ever have imagined... And to a certain extent, it also means my Family will never trully be safe... No one for that matter.'

'I have to do something to protect them from this madness.'

"It can be hard to take it all in, I'm aware… I passed through it as well in the past… You could even say it was worse for me as I had to learn it all during some... Very complicated times."

"It wasn't always like this, regulated... Albeit it still happens today quite frequently, it was far too common to just disappear during those times."

"For just being in the wrong place at the wrong time..."

/Buzz…/

As he talked, a small circular object atop the table began to vibrate, and with a focused expression, Roger continued:

"It's time to leave."

"That was fast."

'From the moment we arrived to now, it didn't even take 5 minutes for the food we ordered to arrive, I thought that given the complex nature of this place, it would take much longer for them to arrange a ride for us…'

'Well, not that I'm complaining, the faster this ends the better.'

"... Since we're leaving, you said before this place was much more than just a complex built around the artifact, care to elaborate further?" Dale asked as he got up from his seat

"That is easy enough for me to answer." Roger replied with a smile as he got up

/Shine!/

He walked towards the entrance, raising the strange cell phone to a machine on the wall, and almost immediately after, it lit up with a green light, causing the doors to open.

"... As I said before, this is an underground Military facility, but I didn't quite specify what it was or its main purpose."

"For once, I said it housed all of its personnel, reducing their contact with the outside world as much as possible, so technically speaking, this place is a Mega-sized Bunker/Independent City, but that wouldn't be accurate either."

"As you noticed by all of the infrastructure around the place, the area's architecture has a mostly 'Futuristic laboratory' look, the kind you would see conducting the most secretive of researches given the overbearing amount of security around the place."

"Which is true given the research being conducted here every single day... So calling this place a specialized lab wouldn't be wrong either."

"Also, you may not see it right now, but these corridors are filled to the brim with security measures, many."

"I was wondering about that… Why is the tablet so close to the entrance? Shouldn't it be more appropriately secured?"

"And what makes you think it isn't? All that security you saw on your way here... If anything or anyone managed to pass through it all and reach the Golden City, would it matter to have it be further protected by the same technology for a dozen more Kilometers of underground tunnels?"

"Would you prefer that after the excruciating process to get here, you had to go through dozens of kilometers of hallways and security checkpoints over a km beneath the earth?"

"That would be too much, and absurdly expensive… But you know people... They did try to do so at first."

"But as things go, they then realized how ridiculous the idea sounded, how hard it was to implement it, and above all, how absurdly expensive it was to run."

"As things go, no matter how good you are with numbers, there's a point it becomes hard to explain or hide where the taxpayer money's going or where someone's husband went to work for the last few months..."

"So instead, they repurposed most of those pathways to what is now a bustling city beneath our feet, trying to cover most of their problems with the simplest solution there is."

"It's one of the most developed areas in the Americas and also the sole underground complex that can be called a city, maybe even a Nation for that matter."

"It's quite the place."

"So those people we saw around us?..."

"Likely residents, if we can even call them that as they were not your average kind, they're the top-class personnel allowed to even work in such proximity to the artifact."

"It may seem like an easily accessible zone to us, but this is a 'Black Class' restricted zone, you're to be shot on sight if you don't have the necessary permissions to be here."

"And I'll tell ya, it'll hurt, a lot."

"A single Anti-Material Bullet may only graze you, but 10000 rounds being shot per second by a few dozen of the best, top-of-the-line weaponry together with a dozen other types of ammo and biochemical weapons and you'll find yourself considering your life choices."

"The people we saw were likely all uniquely special, from old to young, in a sense, they're the aristocracy of this place."

"..."

'No matter where you are there are always those above and below huh…'

"... I can tell what you're thinking, but don't let it go to your head, it's the nature of society."

"And life in this place isn't bad at all, were it not for our lack of time, I would've shown you around the place, there are many interesting places to walk around."

"Special simulation rooms for you to test your prowess, research rooms full of the most exquisite technology, and more."

"They're always eager for 'test subjects'... Back then, I was one of the first to grab and shoot a Railgun Rifle…"

"The ones that would overheat and explode?" Dale asked as he remembered some history classes and videos he watched in the past

"No, whatever technological development you saw on any public channel is decades behind its actual confection time, Railgun Rifles were already a thing before I was even born."

"Depending on where you look, you may even find depictions of rudimentary prototypes having been created as early as the Second World War by Germany."

"That's… Quite early for such technology…"

"The world technological level has always been far ahead of what the population actually believed it to be, that is why whenever there were leaks about secretive technology to the public, the government would usually act nonchalant about it."

"It's mostly because whatever was exposed was of little interest and significance to them, they merely acted to maintain their governance." Roger said as he stopped in front of the elevator shaft

"I spent many years in this place, but amidst my duty and my interests, eventually, duty called, and I went after it." He said with some lingering attachment

"Nothing I regret, of course, that's a story of when my son was born! How far ago that was…"

/DIN!/

Breaking the flow of their conversation, or better put, Roger's monologue, the elevator shaft arrived with a group of people inside it.

But without much conflict, they each went on their ways with minimal interaction.

/Close…/

The doors closed behind them, and soon enough, the elevator began to ascend to the surface.

...

/Meanwhile.../

/Drip.../

Within the same underground parking lot Dale first went to see if Mana was real, a man could be seen standing amidst a pile of disfigured bodies and metal.

He cleaned his visor, whipping out blood as lights began to flash around his clothes.

"Brime Prime, reporting. Over."

"Shit! There are breaches everywhere! How's the situation on your side?! Over!"

"... I've cleared the zone on my side, proceeding to..."

/Silence.../

"Brime Prime? Brime Prime! Report! Over!"

As his communicator flared with inquires, Brime Prime changed his gaze to the darkness at the end of the underground parking lot.

There, several reddish lights flickered in the shadows...

"... Reporting. It seems the situation is not yet over, I'll cut communications for now..."

"In case I do not respond within ten minutes, consider me K.I.A, do not send reinforcements and flee with the targets, as fast and far as you can. Over."

"WHAT?!... Shit!! They're fucking everywhere... U-Understood! Take care and make sure to regroup later! You still owe me for those times! Over!... Piece of shit..."

"..."

Brime Prime shut down his communicator as he heard curses from the other side of the line, turning to the side and looking down at the slowly approaching foe as he stepped out of the darkness.

"I was looking for you, cut me the trouble of finding you myself." He said deeply as he pulled his gloves back

"Judgment Day will come. Why stand with the sinners, Brother?" The man said as he looked at Brime Prime

"..."

Although his silence voiced his unwillingness to reply, his bodily gestures indicated his absolute rage when he heard the man.

"Still upholding your Oath of silence? When will you..."

"Enough, let's end this." Brime Prime interjected as he pulled a handgun from his back pocket

"Brother, have you forgotten what we fight for? There is still a chance for redemption."

"Hund us the Cursed Child, let us stop the harboring of the end." He said as he raised his hand forward

/Click.../

But Brime Prime replied with only the silent clicking of a handgun being loaded with a magazine.

"Hum... To the end, you remain clouded... It is my duty as an Overseer to guide those that strayed and are lost back to the right path."

"... You sicken me... Cultist bastards." Brime Prime blurted out as he tightened his grip on the gun

"You fail to see the truth about the end, clinging to falsehood and heresy, your example plagues the minds of those that seek salvation, if all followed your example, we would all be doomed." The man replied as he reached for his waist as well

"... Even if you what say is true... A rational outcome does not equate to the sole solution."

"Fool." The man in black retorted as his visor flashed red

"..."

"..."

As tension grew, the fate of a family rested at the hands of these men and women.

Maybe even...

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Notes

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