Anaïs reunited all of the people she had come across, including the group of Awane, in the forest where they could talk about the next threats. She had given a hundred lives to the others as compensation. Awane and Karin said they learned how to live in harmony with the landscape of Perseus all this time. And on their side, they themselves found important intel on the main Perseus roadblocks.
"Just so we're clear, Grid and Influenza are not direct enemies, it will depend on the circumstances and how it unfolds. They saw others before us, probably Helios himself."
"They must have their own system based on Perseus' way of life. They can't ignore their position as a roadblock for newcomers, even for locals. They expect a decent amount of people trying to break free, but Amphelise, you know this better than us, no?"
The jealousy on Genova's face was visible, like an aircraft on open sky, right above the city.
"Loovis told us not to meddle with the likes of them, a portion of their influence could do some serious damage. Grid is the diplomacy, Influenza is the insane one, the internal special soldier, the killer. She doesn't have o do much, she's much more like a trained assassin. They hold a massive foretress few miles from here."
"When we get there, make sure to remember every stupid detail, I would hate to spend more than an hour there. We're leaving now."
Ismael gave the order and the rest followed. On the way through the massive forest a large pit blocked the mission.
Ismael had the idea of grabbing two knived and jumping as far as he could to then using the blades to climb. Upon arrival, he said "do it!" and they all looked back at him with dismay.
Ten miles ahead, finally the foretress was visible, a white building and torn apart flags on the walls, glassed windows and shadows moving on different floors.
"Look at him. You can narely see him but I bet he's got his eyes on us clear."
"That's him", Amphelise confirmed. "That's Grid."
The one looking at the window said "they're here. Let's greet them."
He went on to shave and brush his blond hair in the back and dressed more appropriately. At the end, he had a white shirt and his headphones around his neck. In front of the doors, he psyches himseld up, sighs and focuses, then open the gates.
"Welcome, welcome. My name is Grid. You've made it to the next part of Perseus. Come on in."
Ismael, doubtful, looked at them with uncertainty and nodded in the direction of the building, asking them to follow him.
Once inside they were led to the living room, a large hall with couches and areas to relax and read and more.
"You always look for the way people live and that usually tells you the first twenty percent about them. They stay here and probably do nothing until someone comes in. Meaning they expect visitors while remaining realistic most people give up quick way before Helios. Hence the village in the first place."
"Make yourselves comfortable. We would like to first and foremost nintroduce ourselves. My name is Grid, and this is Influenza."
The woman on his left had pale white skin and white hair of the same shade, making her red eyes only brighter.
"She's not every talkative until she really is, you'll have to converse with me for the time being, if that's all right with you. Concerning the very first obvious matter, congratulations for killing Helios, this does merit a break, doesn't it? Secondly, and that's me going straight to business, we need to know how far you wish to go in Perseus."
"Thank you for that, Grid. I managed to kill my dad thanks to my friends here, they all contributed in some way. Now, what we need is not a break per se, we'd rather have clear view of Perseus as a whole considering some of us are are from Cressenie, a different place. We know there is a place called the Dead Zone."
"Mortal Area. Dead Zone. Hell. It's here. It's limited, but it doesn't seem to be spreading in size, strangely enough. I have to say, for I see you are still doubtful of our words, we are not roadblocks to the end of Perseus, contrary to what people say. The area in itself is a incomprehensible death trap, we approached it once but it seems it's trying to keep people away from it by diverting attention and modifying the overall surrounding topography to make it impossible to reach the deepest point."
"So if we get there, we understand what is Perseus all about?"
"Yes."
"What happened during your trip to the Dead Zone?"
"We saw what was required to go there and knew immediately that we could not get there in a million years without any help."
"And we are the help?"
"I assumed so."
"Strange assumption. How are we supposed to help?"
"The reality is, adventurers think we are roadblocks because we are violent like Helios, but we are not. We simply tell them the truth about the rest of the challenge that Perseus is and they hate us. It's understandable to some degree, yet still a lot to take in, partially why Influenza doesn't talk to strangers anymore."
Amphelise took a stance, leaning forward.
"Loovis told us you took lives and made your nest in the depths of Perseus to kill people and have your ways."
"Loovis had close calls with some of our...investors. Understandbly so, he thought of us as threats, and demonizing us was the key to keep people away. Which ultimately and ironically, worked in our favor."
"What do you do outside of warning people about the upcoming dangers?"
"We strive to keep our place in. This used to be a prestigious university, but after the shooting, we had to resort to keeping up the entire infrastructure running with just the two of us. Believe it or not, a lot of wrongdoers would love to kill us and trash this place in."
"Grid, I assume you two tried multiple times to advance further and further. Did you ever manage to come close to the Dead Zone?"
"We stumbled upon more and more obstacles the more we tried. It's like the place itself has awareness of us. When you do, as we guide you, we'll take you as far as possible. Knowing is the goal. We've lived our whole lives on this black planet of death and I refuse to die without knowing what it was all for."
"To get Ismael to kill Helios, and for everyone at the Structure, a circle was put in place to grant them a certain amount of lives to increase the chances at survival and victory. We could use this for you if you're ever ready to come back to the challenge."
"How mnay lives can you grant us?"
"Five."
"Gracefully we'll take it. Thank you. We can start tomorrow or next week. Because one of us always has to stay here, I'll go first with you, then come back to report on it."
"Fair enough."
"Grid. One of us is still out there, in the woods. Hidden. You'll never see it because Helios never saw him, so don't try anything. I'm not saying that as a threat, I know you won't. But the way he might be right now, he won't hesitate to shoot."
"I'll remember that."