As much as it pains me to do that to Margaret, I'd rather not be in her presence while she's like this. I would much rather my bones be intact than broken.
Further down from where the entrance to Margaret's store was, a breeze brushed past me. A breeze made from artificial circulation designed to prevent the uncomfortable stale air in the city robbed of the sun's kiss. It carried no scent, no feeling, just the loneliness of the dusk that crept onto us.
Today was a disaster; it was only a miracle that I survived. Still, to think that the same pistol that I nearly took my life with, thanks to that monster, was used to save my life. I needed to buy Rinne something to thank her.
[WARNING LIFTED: Steam pressure across all areas has been restored. Thank you for your patience in this matter.]
The automated message played overhead. I kept walking forward, towards a corner where two streets met. Behind a building was a shadow, one so bulky that I could tell without even trying.
"So you decided to take my side over Margaret's." A deep voice called out as I approached the corner. As I turned, a man came into view, leaning against the wall like some thug, thanks solely to his metal arm. He gave me a strange expression, as if I had chosen wrongly.
I shrugged my shoulders and stared into his disapproving eyes. "If you want to sound like some kind of brooding edge lord, lose the arm. It just makes you look like some kind of B-rated thug."
"Heh!" Muller snorted. "I don't wanna hear it from someone chasing ghosts."
"Touche."
"Anyway," Muller kicked off the wall and began walking. I followed closely behind him. "Why did you choose me over Margaret? You know she won't forget that you did this."
"If I had to choose a fight between a bear and a tiger, I'd take my chances against the bear."
Muller laughed a little before letting out a hollow sigh. "At least the tiger has an adorable side to it. A bear…not so much."
His words lingered in the air. Several people walked past, giving these suffocating streets life. Many were dressed in work clothes, either on their way to work or returning. Then there were the others, the ones dressed in nice clothing with their hair neatly styled. They were headed to the same place we were, to where the nightlife of the Middle Core was strongest.
"Quite a grouping tonight," I said, looking at the ones passing over to the section line to the Middle Inner Ring. Of course, by line, I mean a line of buildings that divide the Middle Core and the Middle Inner Ring. Honestly, the contrast was jarring. On one side, where I call home, was a jungle of metal pipes that lined every worn-down building it could reach. But here on the other side, water flowed from high above, willing fountains that poured into more fountains till it reached either buildings or deeper towards the Lower Layer.
"Hold it, Golden Steam," Muller stopped, holding out his arm. Some people behind us turned and looked at us before moving forward. "Let's go around."
A few blocks down, a large group of people held candles. Several members of the congregation were preaching at the edges of the fountains while holding their own candles. From what my ears could pick up, they were talking about the incident at City Hall today. I followed Muller wordlessly towards a back alley path that led to the main elevator to the Middle Outer Ring.
I have to wonder, what do the people of the city think of what happened today? How did they perceive the supernatural events? Will they think that some mob was violent and slaughtered everyone in the building? Will they believe that this has some connection to the cult after I exposed the Mayor for his ties? Or will they understand that humanity is fighting against forces driving us to extinction?
"Relax, man," Muller said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "The goddess has her ways, but we will overcome this trial."
"It's hard to overcome something that I sabotaged—ow!" I felt a hard blow to my arm caused by metal.
"I told you to relax." Muller glared at me. "That look in your eyes. It's obvious you haven't taken those pills today."
Well, it's been a long day, though I suppose that would not be a justifiable excuse.
"But," he continued, softening his voice. "We all make mistakes, but it's up to us to respond to them. Will we run or face them? You have chosen the ladder, even though it pains me to see you suffering, I respect that you chose to follow her footsteps."
"It's the least I can do."
"So tell me, what did you mean about this project?"
"As I told you, I have limited information about it, but I get the feeling that there's a connection to Rinne, Rinara, and the cult. And I want you to look into it for me."
"One condition," Muller said, stopping in his tracks. He turned around completely and thrust his human arm out to me. "This mission that Margaret has lined up for you, take Sara, have her bond with Rinne."
"Oh?" I said, a smile lining my lips. "Does this have something to do with you secretly telling Sara to apologize to Rinne on your behalf?"
"You heard that—erm, no," Muller tried to keep his face as straight as possible, but I could tell by the slight movement in his eyes he wanted to look away. This big teddy bear. "Sara…she might be traumatized, and I want her to have someone she can be close to."
Might be would be putting it nicely. With all that she's gone through, it would be surprising if she wasn't messed up in the head.
"Fine," I said, "I'll take her with me on this job. It might make Rinne more comfortable around me that way."
"What?" Muller tilted his head, his tone failing to mask the surprise in his voice. He pulled back his arm. "She seems to completely trust you. Well, enough to hide behind you."
"Heh, in what world?" With the way that she glares at me and keeps her distance when alone, I'd think she's forcing herself to stay near me simply because her mother said so in her final message.
"You never change, do you?" Muller turned around and continued walking.
We exited the alleyway onto a fork that connected several streets into a single path through a guard's tent. Lines of people walked through, each holding their ID as they passed through.
I reached for mine. The name on it was a fake name I devised for traveling to the Lower Layer.
"Mason Vander?" The guard took my ID and looked at me with skepticism. He then sighed and pulled out a pistol and pointed it at me.
"Whoa, hold it there!" I pushed the barrel away from my face. "What's the holdup?"
"Drop the act, fixer." He nodded his head towards the weapon on my back. "Drop your weapon off here, and then you can proceed."
Muller huffed and pulled out a crest from his garments. "He's with me on official church business."
"…" The guard had a conflicted look in his eyes as another guard approached him from behind.
"What's the issue here?"
"These two…we received orders that—!"
"No need to worry; these two are trustworthy." The senior guard said, while looking at me. "But what happened to you?"
"Dealt with the ground zero of what happened today," I said.
The newer guard was confused, while the senior guard looked at me with an "Oh…" leaving his lips. "There have been rumors that a skilled doctor came up from the Lower Layer and opened shop out in the Outer Ring."
Is that so?
"Thank you for the information," I said, walking past the two guards.
A doctor from the Lower Layer. If she's skilled like he says, she might be in touch with the fixers down there. Should that be the case, then she might know a thing or two about artifacts and void spawns. Once I find Kelly's whereabouts, I'll look for this doctor.
As we moved, the metal path we traveled on began to split a large pool of shallow water that cascaded from high above us. Floor lights guided us to a large platform where several people were patiently waiting. Two guards, each with a friendly smile, nodded to us and a few others behind us. Once we stepped onto the platform, they secured two mesh gates firmly and rang a handbell.
The soft rumbling of gears filled my ears as I felt the ground move. We ascended at a slow pace, passing rows of lights that dimmed until we reached near the top, where the loud rumbling of gears was followed by the hissing of steam. A large hatch above us opened, and the metal walls soon gave way to an open sky arranged in a beautiful spectrum of autumn-like colors.