When the chisel was an inch from Kismet's neck, a swarm of bees suddenly wrapped themselves around it and pulled it away, saving him. They proceeded to angrily cover the attacker's head, who let out muffled screams of pain as he suffered countless stings.
The victim of the assassination attempt—who had recovered from the shocking news that he was currently at the bottom of the Chasm—shook his head in disappointment as he looked at the one who had attacked him.
"Was the previous lesson not enough for you? No matter how much you surprise me, you can't surprise my many good friends clad in yellow and black."
Kismet waved his hand for the bees to stop attacking. They complied, although they seemed reluctant to do so. He then ordered the bees to restrain the man, which they accomplished by buzzing so furiously that they pushed him against the wall.
Kismet then turned and stared at the other two men, silently warning them not to try anything stupid. They shrank into a corner, terrified of him and the swarm of bees that made a sound like a chainsaw roaring.
With that taken care of, Kismet celebrated. Grinning brightly, he grabbed Athalia's shoulders and shook her playfully. "The Chasm really does have an end! They all said it was impossible to climb down… Everyone told me I was wasting my time searching for a way! All this time with no real progress, and now to have a breakthrough like this so suddenly…!"
Athalia wasn't celebrating with him; she was terrified and didn't even meet his eye. She had never had an especially strong fear of the Chasm, at least not compared to some other people. But to suddenly be told she was there, at the very bottom? She could feel the weight of the unknown pressing down on her head, trying to break her into pieces.
For some reason, she didn't doubt the words of the man with the chisel for a second. As soon as he said those words, Athalia knew in her heart that they were true. Right now, her mind was running at top speed to process these words, despite or maybe because of her fear. She was putting together a jigsaw puzzle, and the knowledge that she was currently at the bottom of the Chasm was the final piece.
…When an Explorer crosses the Chasm, there are certain risks. This is true whether it's the trip out to the Mountain or the trip back. One risk is occasional turbulence from wind gusts, which blow from some unknown source in the Chasm. Theoretically, a large enough gust of wind could snap the tram right off its cable; however, this hadn't ever happened. The turbulence was usually just uncomfortable and a little scary. Part of the reason for this was that the Institute possessed sensors on the Alavieska side that predict when the turbulence gets heavy. This ability to plan decreased the risk significantly, although it didn't eliminate it.
The bigger and more immediate risk of crossing is mental. While the tram moves across the Chasm, some unknown force starts to mess with the heads of the Explorers. It isn't simply the psychological effect of being in a cramped space, as the phenomenon begins shortly after leaving the station and occurs consistently in all passengers of the tram. Luckily, there's one simple thing that can be done to prevent anything bad from happening. Those in the tram have to continuously keep their minds occupied, using a task that does not require deep thinking. The accepted method is to keep a mental count of how long the journey has been. Since the journey is three days, this means the Explorers can't sleep for quite some time during the crossing.
When it comes to this mental danger, it tends to peak right at the halfway point of the ride—which is interesting, since it isn't the point when the Explorers are at their most tired. During that time spent at the halfway point, the Explorers feel intense mental stress and have to switch from counting internally to counting out loud in order to preserve their sanity. Even with this precaution, safety isn't guaranteed—if someone stops counting for too long, they become completely paralyzed, unable to move a muscle or say a word. This state is utterly permanent, and can happen at any point in the crossing, although the halfway point has the highest number of accidents.
Even without losing themselves to paralysis, anyone who crosses the Chasm feels the effects creeping up. Athalia knew clearly what the beginning of that loss of control felt like, as she had spent a decent bit of time in the tram car now. However, since nobody had ever made it back from that total paralysis, she had never really been able to imagine the full effects. Nobody was even sure whether the paralyzed Explorers were still conscious or not in their comas.
And now, when she had descended into this strange mine on the third stratum, that feeling had crept up. It was like she was becoming stupid. She had considered it some unknown mental ailment, but now that she thought about it, it was the exact feeling you get when you stop counting for too long.
And then, that experience while traveling in the minecart, that total loss of sensation in the body while keeping her mind intact…
She was thinking that what she had experienced was connected to why the Chasm paralyzes people.
But why was it all connected? How did any of it make sense? What was in the Chasm that caused this mental affliction, and what's the reason for the affliction in the first place? Also, why did she feel entirely unaffected by it now? Is the bottom of the Chasm a place where you aren't affected by its curse?
Just earlier, she had been terrified. However, Athalia was an Explorer. Had she trained for nothing?
On an expedition, fear and curiosity are both commonplace. Those who explore are those who are friends with both.
Right now, as more and more questions popped into her head, Athalia began to forget her fear. Curiosity was winning out. However, it didn't look like the man with the chisel, the watering pail, or the pickaxe would be able to provide any answers to her questions, so her thoughts bounced off the walls of her skull with no way to escape.
Is there something in this building foundation that causes the mental issues during the crossings? No, maybe the source of the problem is the building itself, right above our heads. But why would the bottom of the Chasm be a safe zone from the curse? Shouldn't the bottom be the most dangerous part? Why is there even a passage that leads here from the Mountain in the first place? If I believe what the man with the chisel says, Azarias didn't create the mine or the courthouse. They appeared there on the third stratum's playing field overnight… That makes no sense at all. Setting aside the question of how it's physically possible for such large structures to simply appear like that, how was Azarias immediately familiar with the layouts and contents, to the extent he was able to set up an elaborate game? Was trapping us in the Chasm his plan all along? No, he can't possibly have predicted that Kismet would be on the Mountain…
Athalia couldn't take it anymore. The unanswerable questions felt like they were going to destroy her brain. But suddenly, that painful feeling went away. Her mind, in its frantic state, turned to a calm ocean. It was perfectly focused on a single point, a single question that had already been dodged twice. This was a question that she could certainly receive an answer for.
"Kismet, why are you here?"
Kismet sighed lightly. "Athalia, you're persistent. I thought I could distract you for a little longer, but you can't get everything you wish for in life. I said before how I was planning to piggyback off your and Enza's progress, right? I was hoping to do that all the way up to the third stratum. You see, so many people in Alavieska simply hate the Hymylän villagers without considering their usefulness. Nobody wanted to join me in exploring Blood River, and Hymylä seemed like the only other way to recruit anyone. Of course, while I am indeed interested in Blood River and will still explore it in the future, what I wanted most out of it was a way to get closer to the most enticing prospect, the bottom of the Chasm. It's funny how that doesn't even matter now…"
"So you went against everyone, behind all of our backs, just for a chance at getting what you want? Using the Hymylän villagers… Azarias somehow pulled it off, but he clearly has something unusual going on with him. The Hymyläns aren't the kind of people you make your subordinates without getting yourself killed. What made you suicidal enough to think it was a great idea to walk into the village by yourself and request labor? Why would you take all these risks getting here for such a slim chance?"
Kismet first said, "Is what I did really so bad? Explorers must explore; approval is just a series of words. Who have I hurt that you care about?"
He then quickly followed up, "The plan to acquire villagers isn't the only reason why I'm here. Placing all my bets on my ability to pull that off successfully was far too risky in my mind, and it was the goal I considered less realistic out of my two. I wouldn't make the effort to come all the way here if I wasn't pretty sure I could gain something, but what's happening right now is truly my perfect scenario. It really feels like I'm dreaming. Not only did I randomly accomplish my life goal, but another goal is also standing right in front of me."
As he spoke that final sentence, Kismet waved his hand. A portion of the cloud of bees rushed Athalia and pinned her to the floor.
Athalia might have had time to reach for a weapon in that moment. But how was she supposed to see this coming? Kismet was an ally.
But the figure towering over her was all too real.
Kismet spoke to her in a gentle tone. "After what I just did, you might not believe me, but I actually have no intention of hurting you. And no, that isn't a play on words that means I'm still going to do something evil; I'm really trying to help here.
"Anyway, the other day, out of desperation to reach the bottom of the Chasm, I stole the magic 8-ball and received a revelation. Everyone wants to use it to keep our world just, but I've always been sure that the depth of its capabilities is unfathomable. The revelation I received didn't seem to answer the question I asked, but I listened as if my life depended on it. When something as almighty as that 8-ball speaks to you directly, only a fool wouldn't heed its words. The message informed me that there would be two more that followed, meaning I had to steal the magic 8-ball again at specific times in the future.
"In that first revelation, I was told that I must save you, Athalia, from a great peril. The 8-ball told me that it would be the very one to inflict this punishment, and even apologized for it. It told me to follow you on your upcoming expedition, and that I would meet you once you reached a mine. We would find each other in the 'eye of the storm'. The next step in the instructions was to do this… I'm sorry."
Kismet kicked Athalia in the head, knocking her out instantly.