Kismet looked down at the unconscious Athalia, whom he had just knocked out.
He was happy with the result. If he didn't have the element of surprise, this would have been a lot harder.
He thought about his jagged red sword with a hilt formed by a swarm of bees, Muirchertach. He really didn't want to use that on anyone he knew; it would give him bad dreams and definitely worsen his sleep quality.
He considered the next step in the instructions the 8-ball had given him. First of all, though, he had to take care of any existing risks that could stand in his way. The man with the chisel was already restrained after attacking him, but the other two weren't restrained. Kismet commanded the bees to tie them down and cover their mouths so they wouldn't make any noise. He also made sure to tie up Athalia—even if she was unconscious for now, she might randomly wake up and get the upper hand on him.
The first instruction Kismet received had mentioned there would be strangers at the destination. It said to locate the fireplace, light it, and select one of the four men to cremate forcibly. Kismet found the fireplace and completed that task without issue. Afterward, he was supposed to spread the ash on his own face and the faces of the other three who were left alive. Kismet didn't remember what kind of explanation the 8-ball had given, something about protection…
Then, the 8-ball had told him to retrieve a clump of black leaves from a wooden box by the fireplace. He set some of the leaves on fire and held them near Athalia's nose, while whispering a message into her ear over and over: "Set this alight in a moment of impending darkness, then write the following on the wall as many times as you can: "Show me your heart." "Give me something to fight for." "Nothing can hurt you."
After a few repetitions of the message, Athalia twitched in her sleep.
Kismet nodded in satisfaction. That should be all. By the time she wakes up, I'll be out of here. Of course, I do not know how long that will be… I should be fast.
It said in the revelation that I had 'nothing to worry about', which should mean there's some factor protecting me from a bad outcome upon returning to Alavieska.
To put it simply, I attacked Athalia and even knocked her unconscious. She will be on high alert for my presence on her return trip. I also told her about the way I got across… If she knows all the details, she could certainly prevent my return trip by double-checking the contents of the compartment underneath the tram.
If I can't sneak back across the same way, then I'd have to get to the first stratum before Athalia and Enza and activate the tram myself. But upon reaching the other side, how would the Explorers in Alavieska react? It's normal for nobody to see me for a few days, due to my job taking place underground. I doubt anyone has suspected I'm gone yet, but it's not like that means I could get away with casually coming back across from the Mountain alone. Expeditions—and therefore, tram activity—are closely tracked.
The other option is to make up some explanation for doing what I did to Athalia, like that it was for her own good. Of course, it is for her own good—the revelation said so. But how am I supposed to explain that with the little context I was given? How could I convince them to let me come back with them… Neither Athalia nor Enza are cold-blooded people; they will want to believe that I'm still on their side, but I'll need a good story…
All of this seems so difficult, but the revelation assured me it 'would be alright'. There must be some detail I'm not aware of, something outside of my perception that will get rid of all my problems…
I have to trust the 8-ball. I'm an Alavieskan, aren't I?
Kismet's thoughts turned away from his fear, and toward his plans.
Hmm, I can't proceed with recruiting Hymyläns to explore Blood River, since Azarias is up on the third stratum. I don't know what kind of strength he has to survive there for so long. Since the three Hymyläns I have here will probably always hate me, they wouldn't be any help.
The most productive action is to explore this area some more. I've only been walking around the edges, since I'm worried about being harmed by those strange twisting support beams. There's definitely more secrets in this place… The real prize seems to be whatever's right above our heads, whatever is growing with the help of these beams. Unfortunately, I doubt it'll be that easy to get there.
Kismet walked along the edge of the chaotic darkness, a cloud of sharply buzzing bees following closely behind him. He sent out a few bees to probe the madly waving beams, but they were quickly squashed.
Kismet frowned. He realized that if even the bees could not do it, there was currently no way for him to go further in. He could only safely walk along the boundary. He decided it was time to leave, since he had already seen everything there was on the perimeter. He felt sad, but it's not like he was leaving forever; he had burned the image of that concealed trapdoor on the tram platform into his mind as soon as he saw it. Once he had the right preparations, he would definitely come back. He got down on his knees and kissed the floor of the Chasm, sealing the promise.
As he thought about how to make his exit, Kismet realized he couldn't leave the way he came. There was a ladder leading up from the entrance he had fallen from, but he couldn't climb it, as his body would go numb only a few feet up. The bottom of the Chasm was seemingly a safe zone from the paralysis, but there were who-knows-how-many miles of numbness over his head.
However, Kismet knew there was definitely a way out of here. Azarias had sent Athalia here for a reason, and the 8-Ball had sent him here for a reason. These reasons had to be more significant than just dying. There are much easier ways to kill someone…
He walked over to the other entrance of the building foundation, the one Athalia had entered through. Near the minecart, Kismet found a convenient lever.
He gave one last glance at the 3 tied up men. I still don't know what role they were supposed to play. Why was I ordered to kill one, and only one? Why the strange instructions with the ashes? Hmmm… It's still incredible that the 8-ball's instructions fit the contents of this area so precisely. Maybe it really is all-knowing…
Setting those thoughts aside for now, Kismet quickly figured out the same thing Athalia had—one couldn't just climb into the minecart and then pull the lever. By the time you were inside, you were high enough up to cross the level of the invisible barrier that makes the body lose feeling. After some trial and error with the help of the bees, Kismet figured out the same technique Athalia had. He pulled the lever and made a running dive into the minecart just as it began to move. He commanded the bees to wrap around his shoulders like a cloak, untying Athalia and the three men in the process. Kismet was already midair; that left them no time to try to seek revenge against him.
He crossed the barrier.
As he lost all sensation in his body, all he could see were shifting shapes and angles. It was like a moving painting, and he was only a static observer.
He thought it felt incredible.
He strangely felt a deep connection to this feeling of paralysis. He wasn't sure where it came from.
His mind wandered, and he thought a lot of thoughts, but none of them were that special.
The ride lasted a while, but eventually he was spit out in the mine, in the same tunnel Athalia had entered. There was no brake at the end, so when the minecart slammed into the small ledge, Kismet was sent all the way into the clearing. He regained the feeling in his body before he even hit the ground, and groaned in pain as his body slammed into the wooden fort in the center of the classroom.
Despite the terrible pain, he got up very fast. These surroundings were just too surprising and interesting to see with his own eyes, even if Athalia had already described them to him in her recollection of events.
A classroom? Why is there a classroom set up on the floor here…
I feel bad for messing up the hard work of whoever made the fort.
His eyes darted around the large chamber, landing on each of the three doors. One was grand with elaborate carvings. Another had a mural, and the last was simple green metal with a push-bar to open it.
As he ruminated on the contents of the room, Kismet compared how he currently felt to Athalia's story. Athalia had told him that as she descended into this mine, a strange feeling had come over her, which had reminded her of the feeling one gets while approaching the halfway point of the Chasm. And then, she drew a comparison between that numbing feeling the two of them experienced and the paralysis from crossing the Chasm.
Kismet felt that he agreed with her musings. As he had climbed down that ladder, he had also experienced a progressive sensation. He had attributed it to unease, but now that he thought about it, it really was similar to the mental affliction from crossing the Chasm.
His mind immediately jumped to implications.
If these two phenomena really have the same source, does this mean all the paralysis victims in Alavieska can still see and think?I was able to be temporarily paralyzed and come back from it. If we throw paralysis victims across this strange invisible border, will it reverse the effects and cure them? No, maybe all they have to do is cross the Chasm—obviously without counting!
Hold on, but if we cure this, how will we make sacrifices to use the tram?
Kismet had another thought, something which Athalia had also considered. Sariel's condition is different from the normal paralysis, but this might help him, too… There's at least a chance.
His mind was racing like crazy, but there was an even stronger feeling telling him to keep moving. Kismet felt extremely worried about being here.
When it comes to the games played at the Hymylän Celebration Festival, one can usually at least say for sure that the Hymyläns understand the contents of the game. After all, they designed it.
And if you know they designed it, you know it's a relatively fair game. The Hymyläns abide by their own rules, and maintaining a certain level of fairness is one of them. This didn't mean that you couldn't die during a game, but it meant you at least had a solid chance of leaving with your life.
However, from the information Athalia had given, Kismet knew that Azarias had somehow convinced the relevant authority in the village to let him 'host the game.'
Considering that Azarias was the enemy of everyone in Alavieska—especially the Explorers—it seemed like a suicidal act for an Explorer to play a game with him.
But what made it even scarier to Kismet was that Azarias didn't make the area for this game. Going by the words of the man with the chisel, the courthouse and the mine appeared on the playing field suddenly and without anyone's input. Azarias was only taking advantage of their appearance.
To Kismet, playing this game truly seemed like a terrible idea. A mysterious structure of unknown origin appears, and your worst enemy tells you to go inside? And that worst enemy seems to have secret knowledge about this place?
How did Azarias convince the Hymyläns to give up on their ideals of fairness? Was he able to overpower them with strength, or maybe with words?
I cannot proceed with the plan of recruiting Hymyläns until he leaves. Who knows when that will be, how annoying.
With all this danger and uncertainty in mind, Kismet told himself to ignore all the curious things down here and focus on finding the way out. He repeated to himself to ignore the doors, those delicious doors with unknown contents… They were Athalia's problem. He really just had to get out of here. As for how he would get down the Mountain, and back across the Chasm…
He tried not to think about it. As he walked quickly around the chamber, his eyes sharpened as he spotted the prints of Athalia's boots. He traced their origin to a specific spot, where a red plastic slide led from the ceiling.
Kismet climbed the slide and retraced Athalia's path through the vent. Luckily, the traps had expired. With the bees functioning as eyes on all sides, he made it all the way past the other obstacles and to the entrance level without issue.
Finding himself a little tired from all that climbing, he took a break to rest where the light was seeping into the last section of tunnel. His back leaned against something sharp.
"Ouch, what was that?"
When he turned around, nothing was sticking out of the wall.
But he knew he hadn't imagined the sensation.
In confusion, he leaned against the wall in the same way he originally had. He felt the metal object prodding him again.
Without turning around this time, he grabbed the object. It was a doorknob; he didn't need to look to tell…
Kismet had told himself he wouldn't open any of the strange doors and leave them to be Athalia's problem.
But how could his curiosity resist this?
This door is so specifically placed; it even has some complicated illusion going on. How would Athalia even be expected to find this? It must be an optional easter egg… If I don't open it now, will it never get opened? That would be an injustice.
The truth was, Athalia had found the same door earlier. She had chosen not to open it in the moment, and had instead descended further, promising herself she would come back to open that door afterward.
Kismet opened the door slowly and turned around to face it. Once the door was swung open, the illusion was broken. He could turn around and see what was inside clear as day.
It was a tiny supply closet.
Inside, there was a green fishing rod with an incredibly tough build and unusually thick fishing wire. There was a box of bait next to it that looked more like jagged razor blades.
Kismet could immediately tell it was an Instrument. He also understood how it might be used. As he thought of the potential outcomes of Athalia having something like this, he smirked and closed the supply closet door. The seams immediately disappeared into the wall.
I'd better hope she doesn't find this. I should get rid of any traces I've left on the wall…
Kismet slinked towards the light at the end of the tunnel, beginning the next part of his escape plan—hide and wait.