Just like that, another uneventful year passed by while the three of us got situated into the Altair Lodge, located in western Calvard. We transferred out right underneath the Cult's nose. They hadn't a clue. Oh, and did I forget to mention our previous location was the infamous Sun Fort? The very same Lodge that the SSS would penetrate during Zero's finale?
Back inside the Sun Fort...
A white-haired man wearing glasses could be seen inside a secluded lab, deep within the Sun Fort. It was connected to the area that held those historical orbment terminals that predated the current generation ones, likely holding onto the history of the cult and what it did.
A few hooded figures could be seen standing near the lab, guarding it. They had several different types of weapons at their disposal. As for the lab, several different types of devices, test tubes, beakers, et cetera, could be seen. Even a couple of smaller figures could be seen strapped to harnesses, passed out and eyes closed.
If one looked closely, some forms of blue liquid could be seen in these test tubes, waiting to be administered. This lab was closer to the center room of the Sun Fort which held The Cradle, and was the primary site of conducting the Cult's experiments. As for the white-haired man, he seemed to be a priest, dressed in a full-blown robe, and didn't bother hiding his face. After all, he was the High Priest, a guy named Joachim Guenter. He happily hummed away while mixing some random compounds, doing another attempt at making the Gnosis drug.
"I dare say this first trial of Gnosis is going quite well. Especially those three who reside in cell block nine. Test subject 69 was the first to come. He holds a remarkable resistance to it. Test Subject 333 also hasn't shown much reaction, so it is leading me to believe the changes of this one are internal. As for test subject 420, she was one of our quickest ones so far to experience a change in adaptability. I wonder what one more dose would do to those eyes of hers...", Joachim uttered to himself.
Before long, Joachim finished his current mixture, and completed another round of Gnosis. Looking toward one of the metal tables with some devices laid on top of it, he soon found a syringe, only to put the next batch of Gnosis into it. After that, he looked toward his guards.
"It is time to administer the next batch. Go fetch me those three from cell block nine.", Joachim commanded, and smiled. He tapped the syringe a couple times to make sure it didn't spill. And yet, as he said that, the guards appeared confused.
"Umm, Head Priest, you recently authorized a transfer for those three children. We just finished the process, and took them out of the Lodge.", One of the guards said. The moment the guard said that, Joachim's gaze turned serious.
"I did no such thing.", Joachim responded. "Take me to cell block nine at once."
"As you command, High Priest.", The guard said, and gave him a light bow. With his guards in tow, Joachim made it through the darkness, crisscrossing multiple pathways that made it very easy to get lost in. But he had the entire layout memorized by heart. It soon led him further and further away from the Cradle. The closer he approached the cell, the sinking feeling he started feeling grew bigger and bigger.
After what appeared to be an hour or two of walking, he finally approached cell block nine. He ignored the screams of pain along the way. He soon was greeted by the couple of guards that Naoto successfully captured.
"W-We didn't know you would be arriving today, High Priest. What can we do for you?", One of the guards said.
"I don't need to announce my arrival now, do I? I am here to check up on cell block nine. The next batch is ready to be administered.", Joachim said, which drew the same confusion from the guards to those who accompanied him.
"That...", One of the guards said, still confused. Hearing that, Joachim rubbed the bridge of his eyes. Joachim became annoyed.
"Let me guess, I signed off on their transfer, didn't I?", Joachim questioned.
"You did, High Priest. It might be better for you to see it. The paperwork came from you directly, so we didn't question it.", The guard said, quickly answering him in a state of panic. Seeing Joachim grow impatient, the other guard unlocked the cell.
Sure enough, the children who were here residing in this cell, the violet-haired boy, the lilac-haired girl, and the bluish-haired girl were no longer to be found. Faint traces of blood remained inside the cell. Seeing this, anger marks appeared on Joachim's forehead.
"FUCK!", Joachim cursed out, and shouted. He slammed his fist on the cold, hard walls. This sudden disturbance caused the other captives to cry out of fear. He raised his other hand, which had the syringe ready, and threw it onto the floor out of anger. The blue liquid seeped into the stone floor beneath him...
Joachim then turned around to look at his guards again.
"Do you have ANY inkling to who it was that I was keeping inside of here? ANY!?", Joachim exclaimed. The guards gulped, but didn't answer. "I will tell you. It was the perfect vessel for us to receive Lady KeA. And you are stating that I transferred him out!? I couldn't give two shits to anyone else here!"
"B-But High Priest...", One guard tried to say, only to see Joachim quickly shut him up.
"Did I tell you to speak?", Joachim asked, still angry. His fist slammed against the wall again. "Damn it, this puts a bad taste in my mouth. This mere vessel managed to fool me?"
After questioning himself, Joachim surprisingly sucked in a cold breath of air, and calmed down a bit. After that, he asked the guards another question. "Since this was marked as a transfer, there is a destination on the other end. Did it state where it was going?"
"Of course, High Priest. All entries and exits are documented in our records. Those residing in its cell were---!?", The guard tried to respond. All of a sudden, the guard felt his throat close. His eyes turned dim. At the same time, the same guard reached for his hand, and pulled out a small dagger without warning. He slit his own throat, and ended his life right then and there. A lot of blood was sprayed onto High Priest Joachim. His eyes turned cold, seeing one of his guards now dead.
High Priest Joachim spoke to the second guard, making the guard nervous.
"What about you? Did the Vessel say where they were going to?", Joachim asked. The guard shivered but nodded his head and responded.
"Yes, High Priest. Those who were staying in this cell were---!?", The second guard said. Just like the first guard, he too pulled out the same-looking dagger, and slit his own throat. The guard tried to say something like 'No, not like this1', and collapsed onto the floor, dead. More blood spewed onto Joachim, painting his glasses red. The murky cell became riddled with the stench of blood.
High Priest Joachim no longer said anything after seeing this result. The first time it happened, he figured it was a fluke. But now, the same thing happened again, establishing a pattern. His eyes remained cold as he spotted more guards in the distance.
"Clean this place up. I will go check the cameras."
"Yes, High Priest.", The guards replied. They saw their own brethren perish just like that, but felt no remorse. This was the DG Cult after all. Death was common here.
Working his way back up to his lab, Joachim quickly went through his exposure quartz. Very similar to how orbal cameras worked, but these provided full video feeds. He made sure his own security network was setup while carrying out his operations here. He started to play the footage back from a certain time.
Everything appeared normal at first. However, Joachim spotted a brief moment where he saw the two guards, the same guards who had just killed themselves, stop moving in front of the locked cell. At the same time, he saw the violet-haired boy do some weird movement of his hands.
It was then the violet-haired boy shifted his attention. Not to the guards. No. Directly into the orbal camera feeds that watched over their cell.
It abruptly cut off after, leaving behind no more feed.
"FUCK!", Joachim cursed again, slamming his fists down onto his desk, almost smashing it apart. The orbal camera shattered into several pieces, making it no longer operational.
It was then he heard a strange laughter, almost as if it came from a small child...
"Hehehe...", The voice said, which seemed to be that of a girl's. High Priest Joachim came to a sudden halt the moment he heard this voice...