Bambi quickly led him up the stairwell to the second-floor command deck. Then, they had to go through a bunch of steel doors. Layers upon layers, it wasn't until the seventh door where they reached the holy grail of doors.
The door towered over them — easily three times Luciel's height and wide enough to fit a small vehicle through. The surface was a mosaic of interlocking gold plates, and as they approached, every single one of them began to move on its own.
The contraption disassembled itself like a puzzle — some pieces slid upward, others retracted into the door or walls. Luciel couldn't guess which piece would move next, or how.
After this grandiose overture, the command deck revealed itself.
'Wow.'
The deck looked like it came out of fiction. It opened up wide to a circular room lined with curved consoles and holographic displays, all facing a panoramic screen that stretched across the entire front wall. Gleipnir's status in real time was displayed there.
He saw Belynda at the center on an elevated platform, looking up at the flashing red screen. He couldn't get a good look of her, but he was sure her expression didn't bode well.
Then, a tall man with short dark hair and brown eyes approached them.
"Hello, Ayla. Long time no see."
Ayla nodded.
"Glenn."
Luciel's lips curved into a slight smile.
'So it seems only Belynda, Joanne, and Franne know about her true identity for now.'
Glenn then approached him and offered a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Glenn Freiser, operator of Gleipnir."
Luciel shook his hand.
"Luciel. Likewise."
He looked friendly and professional. Dark stubble, tired eyes, and callused hands… he had clearly been in the field for a long time.
After the greeting, Glenn gestured toward the front.
"Please, this way."
They moved toward the wide monitor where Belynda was standing. Still glued to the monitor as the Grey Space unfolded, she said:
"Good. Everyone's here."
Bambi stormed to Belynda and stood beside her.
"Is this what I think it is?"
"…We're preparing for the worst."
While the two were talking on the platform, Luciel thought it was good idea to get a grasp on this.
He turned to Glenn, who was standing beside him.
"May I ask what's going on?"
Glenn glanced at him, then motioned for him to follow.
"You're rather unlucky, experiencing this as an Awakened."
Luciel narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
Glenn led him to what it seemed to be a navigation chart.
"Dimensional traveling within Tellus has clear paths, as you can see here. These green lines are established routes maintained by the DTC."
Luciel saw a web of glowing green lines connecting nodes like the subway maps in Narae.
Glenn tapped a blink point along one of the routes.
"This is us. And this…"
He dragged two fingers outward, and the chart shifted. The green line they had been following flickered, then broke apart. In its place, an irregular red line cut across the map like a virus.
"…is what happened."
Luciel stared at the screen and zoomed it in closer. The red line didn't follow any route. It veered sharply off the grid and bled into an area of the chart marked in black.
Sensing ill omen, he looked at Glenn, hand slightly trembling.
"What does that… lead?"
Glenn's jaw tightened.
"The Shattered Realm."
'Fuck.'
These past three days couldn't have gotten worse. The Shattered Realm? Luciel was an Awakened and certainly ill-prepared, so going there was suicide.
'Everything has gone to shit.'
He didn't believe in gods whatsoever, but this series of events made him seriously reconsider whether some higher being was controlling his destiny. Otherwise, he didn't know how anyone could explain this.
On the other side, Luciel could hear Belynda's serious voice.
"Liliane. Convergence rate?"
A small girl, barely reaching Belynda's chin, stepped forward from one of the consoles. Brown ponytail, round glasses, and an expression that was all business despite her stature.
"24%, Captain."
"Any chance of evading it?"
Liliane hesitated, then gave a measured nod.
"We'll see what we can do. Glenn!"
Glenn, who was beside him, nodded at Luciel and ran to Liliane immediately. They went into a room beneath the elevated platform. He assumed it was the cockpit where the pilot steered the ship.
Belynda and Bambi came down from the platform and walked toward him.
"Kid, are you nervous?"
Luciel's eyes swept across the wide monitor, then looked at Belynda.
"Not exactly. I just think luck's been pretty bad lately."
Belynda sighed heavily and nodded.
"I feel the same. In my 35-year career, you're the first Awakened I've seen go into the Shattered Realm—well, if we fail to separate ourselves."
He was confused, to say the least. Weren't they in the Grey Space, fifteen minutes away from Narae?
"Can you tell me exactly what happened? How are we crashing into the Shattered Realm on the way to Narae?"
Bambi suddenly stepped forward and chimed in.
"Dimensional Convergence."
Luciel tilted his head.
"What's that?"
She continued, lips trembling slightly:
"It's a rare phenomenon where the fabric of reality becomes unstable, and as a result, the line between the two worlds blurs. Then it becomes a guessing game: you choose one path out of thousands, hoping it leads back to the Grey Space."
"If incorrect, we're going to the Shattered Realm then."
Bambi nodded.
"The path between Tellus and the Shattered is called the Cesura. We must avoid that."
Before Luciel could respond, the ship lurched.
The floor buckled beneath them like something had slammed into the hull from below. He staggered, grabbing the nearest console to keep himself upright. Bambi caught herself against the railing.
Belynda, however, didn't flinch.
"What the hell was that!?"
The monitors flickered, and a deep guttural sound ran through the walls.
[Captain! The path is closing in!]
The operators panicked voice could be heard through the comms.
Bambi stomped the ground hard, surprising Luciel.
"Fuck!"
Belynda bit her lips and mumbled under her breath:
"Shit. We're going to the Shattered."
Then, she gave out an order:
"Ops. Usual protocol within the Cesura. Prepare to activate the Leno barrier and push the GenDrive to maximum output. Get to the Shattered as soon as possible. On my mark."
[Yes, Captain!]
After giving out instructions, she looked at them with a resolute gaze.
"You guys. Come."
Belynda swiftly led them to a small room off the side of the deck. It was windowless and reinforced, with seven harness chairs bolted to the floor. Each one was reclined at a certain angle, fitted with over-the-shoulder restraints and thick padding along the headrest.
"Strap in. Tight."
Luciel dropped into the nearest chair, heart pounding a bit faster than normal. The harness clicked over his shoulders and locked across his chest with a heavy clunk. He looked to the right where Bambi sat, and she was already secured beside him, pulling the straps taut without hesitation. Her expression told this was no joking matter.
Belynda took the chair closest to a wall-mounted comm panel and fastened herself in with ease.
"Brace yourselves."
After a few seconds, she pressed the comm.
"Mark."
[Executing.]
Immediately, the ship surged forward with impact. The engine screamed in pain as it pushed itself into overdrive. It sounded just like a freight train.
A force then slammed Luciel into the chair so hard the restraints groaned. This wasn't like the jump before. It wasn't even close in terms of speed. The first one had been a pull in a certain direction that didn't exist, but this one was like every direction, all at once. He felt everything that belonged to him being torn apart and stitched back together in the same breath.
His body folded, his mind overlapped with blurry images, and his soul distorted. He wanted to scream, but his mouth wouldn't obey. His jaw was locked, his teeth clenched so tight he thought they'd crack.
This horrible feeling went on forever, or at least, it felt that way to Luciel, until it finally stopped.
He tried to speak, but his throat was dry, causing words to stuck in between. He felt his energy begin to seep out of him, as though his soul was bleeding out slowly. So instinctively, Luciel lit a flame inside to warm himself.
He groaned, enduring the sensation of his organs being scorched alive. He knew it was just a devilish feeling trying to play mind games with him, to keep him from using the flame as much as possible, but that wasn't going to happen. He had already told himself that he would rather burn himself alive than be weakened to this state.
Gradually, Luciel regained his strength. His hearing, vision, olfaction… everything returned to normal. He sighed a breath of relief, then turned to his right to find Bambi, but she was nowhere to be found. Belynda also wasn't in the room anymore. He must have taken much longer to recover himself than he had thought.
Luciel slid out of the chair and looked up, only to find a face blocking the ceiling.
"Fuck!"
His heart jumped, and his body jerked with it.
"You scared me."
Bambi came around the chair and stood in front of him while showing a playful smile.
"Scaredy-cat."
Luciel swore he only let his guard down like this around Bambi. Even if a Class 7 Discordant lunged at him, he wouldn't flinch.
"Your face's just so ugly that it made me jump, that's all."
Her eyes smiled along with her lips.
"Really?"
Seeing her eyes closed, which was dangerous territory, there was nothing he could do anymore.
"No…"
"Good! Anyway, you figured out the mystery about your fire?"
"More or less. I believe it heals physical wounds and soul damage as well."
Bambi cupped her chin.
"Ooooh! I guess that's the salvation part, right?"
Luciel nodded.
"Yeah. That's my guess."
Bambi nodded, then walked toward the exit and stepped one foot outside the door. But she abruptly halted.
She traced a few steps back before closing the door, her back facing against him.
"Bambi?"
"Luciel."
"Hmm?"
Luciel was unsure what expression she was making, but her voice sounded solemn.
She stood in silence for a moment before continuing:
"I don't want to lose you."
He narrowed his eyes, confused and worried.
"Bambi, what's wrong?"
She replied, her voice contained a hint of quiver:
"I don't ever want to lose you, so you have to promise me. Promise me you'll listen to me."
"I… What do you—?"
"Just promise me!"
Her fists were clenched tight at her sides, trembling ever so slightly. Something must have happened to her in the past, but she had no intention of speaking about it — at least not now.
He didn't want to force it out of her either, so all he could do was reassure her.
"I promise."
Bambi huffed, and then opened the door. Luciel watched her retreating back, and somehow it felt lonely and heavy. What kind of burden had she been carrying all this time?
He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath.
'What happened to you, Bambi?'
The question lingered, unanswered, as the hum of the Gleipnir filled the silence around him.