Deep in the Mine
Deep in the Mine
Brushing away the memory fragments, you and Aisling flee deeper into the mines.
Shing—
Abruptly, you freeze as a cold, foreign pressure floods your skull. The consciousness attack is back. This time, its target is no longer your Mind Beacon.
It feels like ice water down your spine, a subtle burn spreading from your nerve endings, creeping up to cloud your vision.
Something is being woven into existence around you.
Boom—
Before you can move, the path ahead transforms into a sheer cliff.
You pull back your outstretched foot, certain that a tunnel should be there.
Yet the precipice is undeniably real. As you start to doubt your own memory and reach for a pebble to test the edge, the girl panics, clutching your clothes.
What's going on?
BOOM—!!
A violent tremor cuts you off. The beam of your light device shudders, yet you fail to locate the source of the explosion.
Could that be coming from Liv's position?!
Alert, you draw your gun and scan in all directions, only to find nothing unusual.
...Commandant!
A voice, faint but undeniably Liv's, echoes from the tunnel on the right.
You decisively abandon the path ahead, take the child's hand, and turn toward the tunnel on the right.
Darkness swallows the passage ahead. You manage only two steps before a Hetero-Creature erupts from the shadows behind the rocks.
Bang—
The shot echoes off the stone, the creature dissolving into nothing.
Someone, or something, is weaving illusions to control you, to guide your steps.
You fall back to the previous tunnel. The illusion holds firm; the cliff still looms.
You just spoke with Liv over comms. She couldn't possibly be in the right tunnel.
You pick up a stone from the ground and toss it forward.
It vanishes as if swallowed once it reaches the edge, yet you hear the unmistakable clack of it hitting solid ground.
It's an illusion caused by interference with your visual nerves.
But woven by whom, and for what purpose?
Your boot steps onto the edge of the supposed cliff and, unsurprisingly, meets solid ground beneath.
Suddenly, the world flips inside out.
Commandant...
Her voice echoes from all directions, and when reality snaps back into place, you're standing on the brink of a cliff again.
After confirming your Mind Beacon is stable, you stride forward without hesitation—
And in the next second, you are standing in a sun-drenched conservation area.
Huh? You're back so soon.
Melinoe went looking for you. Did you run into her—
The bullet smacks into the wall behind the supervisor. A spiderweb of cracks erupts, and the entire facade begins to peel away.
The illusion shatters. You are still in the mine tunnel, as you knew you would be.
It seems the "illusion" can only interfere with your visual nerves, not a true mental trap.
Without further deliberation, you check the terminal map, scoop up the girl, and hoist her onto your back.
...!!
You lock the screen to Liv's communication channel and point to the large green icon.
...Press this and it'll start the call.
She repeats your words, barely understanding.
When someone answers on the other end, call...
She presses the communication button. A dozen, two dozen dial tones pulse into the silence, each one a fading hope before the call predictably fails.
O... okay.
The little girl falls silent, the only sound the relentless busy signal at your back. She's following your instructions perfectly.
Will we... ever get out of here?
With your supplies rechecked, you press on, one hand skimming the rough rock of the right wall.
You navigate by the mental map drawn when you first entered the mine with Liv. According to it, a right turn at the second fork will lead to the Rodent squad's secondary safe zone.
Your landmark is an abandoned crane—a distinct silhouette that serves as an ideal meeting point in these labyrinthine tunnels.
Everything around you peels away like faded wallpaper, as various scenes flicker into being like rapidly changing stage sets from Golden Age films.
Commandant, there's a cliff ahead! You can't go any further.
Commandant, the transport craft is going to crash!
[player name]... Honey, will you be home for dinner tonight?
The moment your foot touches down, both her voice and the world around you shatter like glass.
Just one more turn.
It's... it's those monsters...
The little girl on your back suddenly clutches your clothes, her grip tight with fear.
The Punishing concentration spikes abruptly, and your monitor flashes a warning red.
The Hetero-Creature's howl of pain is an unfortunate proof: this is no illusion.
Hearing the creature so close, the girl whimpers quietly.
As your gun barrel grows warm from continuous fire, several more Hetero-Creatures burst from a narrow passage on the other side.
You dodge the attack from behind, but fail to evade the Hetero-Creature lunging from the side—
You repel the monsters ahead, but fail to dodge the attack from behind—
The Hetero-Creature's claws tear through your military boot.
You... you're hurt!
Ammo is scarce. Every shot must count. The recent wave of Hetero-Creatures was manageable, but your reserves are dwindling.
As you sprint for the planned route, the busy signal echoing behind you turns to white noise... Did the call finally get through?
Only a static hiss answers; no voice breaks through.
They... they're catching up to us...
You fire again, the shot count ticking down in your mind as you slam in a fresh magazine.
The empty one hits the ground with a sharp clatter. No time for words—you rush forward, evading the creatures on your heels.
The left path is shrouded in darkness, your light barely illuminating the ground beneath your feet.
The right path is rugged and uneven, littered with stones and soil dislodged by recent tremors.
Bodies of dead Hetero-Creatures lie at the entrance, and the rest seem unwilling to follow, likely deterred by your weapon and their kin's fate.
So much blood...
A soft sniffle draws your gaze down. Aisling points at your calf, where the untreated wound weeps a slow trail of crimson.
As you move to tear a strip from your clothes to bandage it, your eyes lock onto the terminal. The screen still reads: "In Call."
...Commandant?
Liv's deliberately hushed voice comes through from the other end.
The signal remains intermittent.
Commandant... you're... hurt?
...emergency kit... your waist...
She repeats these words, as if terrified of omitting any potentially life-saving detail.
You're just reaching for your emergency kit when the world swims before your eyes. In the distorted haze, shapes move: Hetero-Creatures, slipping from the mouth of a side tunnel.
It's the monst—
You and Aisling hold your breath, pressing into the rough stone of the tunnel wall. All lights have been killed, plunging you into protective darkness. Ammunition is scarce; for now, avoidance is your only strategy.
The Hetero-Creatures don't come any closer.
What's... hunting... you?
The Hetero-Creature at the tunnel junction twitches, a grotesque spasm. You can't tell if it's real or a trick of your frayed nerves...
The gunshot is a dull thunderclap. The creature shrieks, lurching upright—
You seize the stunned girl's hand and plunge deeper into the suffocating dark.
The call cuts out again.
They are toying with you. Hetero-Creatures keep materializing from the shadows where you least expect them.
Some are just illusions; others are lethally real.
You rely on the Punishing detector to tell the difference, but the fatigue of endless combat is a tide washing through your skull, eroding your focus.
The tunnels are a labyrinth. You navigate by the crude map, all sense of time lost.
Bang—
After loading your third magazine, you do a mental count of your remaining rounds. As you approach the next junction, the sounds of combat freeze you in your tracks.
Is it another cruel illusion, or a fragment of reality?
You round the corner. A Hetero-Creature screeches and collapses. Beyond it, a figure struggles to steady her weapon. It's Liv?!
She is slumped against the wall, covered in wounds. The simple act of lifting her arm seems to require tremendous effort.
...Commandant! I'm here!
She clearly notices the two people approaching as well.
Thank goodness, I finally found you... Ugh!
As vital fluid continues to leak from her wounds, she lets out a pained groan.
Commandant... could you give me a hand? My legs... I can't quite stand up by myself.
Commandant? What's wrong...? It's me, I'm Liv...
This isn't Liv.
Not even bothering to say her name, you turn to leave—
Shh... Commandant!
Just as you round the corner, a familiar figure approaches, firmly gripping your shoulder and guiding you in a different direction.
Commandant... that one isn't real. I'm the real Liv.
Liv furrows her brow, her face etched with worry and tension.
Something's... not right here. It feels like an interference, something that can affect the human brain and a Construct's M.I.N.D.
I've been seeing a lot of "illusions"... of you, and of others too.
I'm not sure if it's the minerals in this area, or something else entirely...
Let's avoid this area for now... Follow me.
She gestures for you to follow.
