"So…was all of this fated to happen then?"
Artorias grimaced at the question, opening his mouth to speak, only for Seirios to continue.
"I mean, what are the chances?"
Sighing, a part of him couldn't help but agree. He wasn't blind after all; he knew that the chance of something like this happening was slim, extremely so.
Really, the more he thought about it, the more apparent it because just how unbelievable it was. The chances of two cousins who had never met each other before, meeting in an infinite maze, like ruined Japan were so close to zero that it was astonishing.
"It's best not to think about it." He finally said aloud with a grimace. "Stuff like this is better saved to think about when not in a death zone."
"Yeah, I get that, I do, but…" Seirios trailed off, waving his arms when his words failed him.
"I know," he understood exactly what his new cousin meant. "But you need to bring yourself back to reality. We're in a death zone, if your mind isn't focused on survival then you're a liability."
Seirios opened his mouth, but he raised a hand, silencing him.
"For now, just think of it as a stroke of good luck, a one in a million chance to happen that did. Trust me, the mind will have an easier time processing that, than the existential crisis you will inevitably pull yourself into thinking about fate."
Seirios opened his mouth again, before closing it with a click of his teeth and releasing a deep sigh.
Artorias glanced out the window again, noting how night was still prominent. They had four, maybe five hours before the sun rose and a new day began.
Plenty of time in theory to get through everything they needed.
"This is insane." Seirios finally said.
He couldn't help but snort, thinking back on the past few weeks he had spent surviving in the streets of ruined Japan. In comparison, fate and its limitless possibilities felt like a drop in the bucket of insanity this world still had to offer.
"What part of this world isn't insane?" he asked, quirking a brow in amusement, his body relaxing a little more.
Seirios grimaced, "I hate how much that makes sense."
Artorias snorted again, feeling lighter than he had in quite some time.
Shaking his head, he decided that it was time to focus. If they wanted to get out of the death zone alive, then learning more about each other's abilities was paramount.
"Let's move on, the more spend we time talking about it, the more we get distracted. We need to talk strategy, abilities and I need to tell you where the Tartarus Gate is located too."
"Right, that…" Seirios said with a sigh.
Shaking his head, he spoke. "Listen well you dumbass, once I tell you, I need you to remember it so well you'll be able to recount it in your sleep."
Seirios scowled at the insult but nonetheless straightened his shoulders.
Satisfied, he began. "Right now, we're sitting in Kawaguchi, the north. The eastern garrison is in Chiba, the southern garrison is Kawasaki, and the western garrison is in Hino, correct?"
His information was from three months ago, after all, anything could have happened to the garrisons to cause his knowledge to be incorrect.
Luckily, Seirios nodded.
"Yeah, the east and west garrisons are keeping the cities furthest away from Tokyo safe, watching over both the land and sea. Whilst the west is keeping an eye on the mountains and forests."
That was good, it meant whatever was keeping the gate open was staying close to it and keeping the worst of the abominations close by too. Which, whilst concerning, wasn't something he'd worry about now.
This was a marathon after all, not a race. Keeping things small and not getting overwhelmed with everything else was the key to surviving and keeping himself mentally stable.
Or as close to mentally stable as he could be after the disaster of the last twenty-four hours.
Pushing those thoughts away, he focused.
"They know that the Tartarus Gate is located somewhere in the north, but they can't find it right?"
Seirios nodded. "Yeah. With the skies, land and sea filled with fallen spawn, all they've been able to do is detect the general area of where it is, but not its exact location."
He hummed in thought. "Have any of the Grade 7 Ascended tried toughing it out?"
He asked more out of curiosity than any relevant reason.
"Lord Osiris led a group of six in, but they were back before the sun had even fallen." Seirios revealed, a small scowl on his face. "You know how it is, strength begets strength, the instant they got far enough into the city, they got swarmed with fallen spawn of the rank deviant and above."
Ah, he had forgotten about that little twisted fact.
It wasn't anything scientifically proven to exist, but it was something that all Ascended understood was there. The best way to describe it was by calling it a smell, or a scent, that only grew more prominent the stronger one got.
Some people believed it was the traces of your growing soul leaking out of the body, whilst others said it was a curse placed upon the Ascended by one of the Empyrean Spawn, the last of the original six Dievas to be born and to fall to corruption.
Those were just the two major beliefs, but he knew other, smaller theories, also existed.
Even Artorias and Seirios, two Grade 1 Ascended had such a scent attached to them, but because of their singular Soul Core, it was minute. It was why they could spend hours in this apartment complex without anything finding them.
It was why he had primarily forgotten about it in the first place, it didn't affect his survival enough to consider it.
"Lord Osiris is here?" Artorias couldn't help but be surprised. The man was a legend in the world, having been one of the first to ascend in the beginning of the collapse.
"Oh yeah," Seirios grinned at him. "I didn't meet him personally, but I heard he wiped the floor with some cocky bastard who challenged him to a duel."
Artorias couldn't help but roll his eyes. No matter where you went, you'd always encounter someone like that. Ascended who got lucky with their abilities being combat oriented and got arrogant.
"That's actually quite good to know," he murmured, "With Lord Osiris here, we might actually stand a chance…anyways, the Tartarus Gate. Its located north of Tokyo, a place my Fireteam and I were lucky enough to reach, it's in Kazo."
"Huh…" Seirios frowned, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Last I checked a map, that was quiet far away."
Artorias couldn't help but agree.
"From the east garrison, it's at least a two, maybe three-week journey. But I'm basing that estimate on my Fireteams progress. For all we know, it might take longer, or slower with a team composed entirely of Grade 7 Ascended."
"Probably slower," Seirios muttered.
Artorias hummed, with him having forgotten about the powerful scent which followed Grade 7 Ascended, his original plans of who would be brought on a team with him when he revealed the information had begun to change.
'They'd probably release multiple teams into the ruins, maybe having one or two Grade 7 per Fireteam? Some would undoubtedly be of Grade 1, others would be a little higher in power, maybe focusing on supporting or defending the strongest? Pah, they'd probably all be turned into eventual meat shields too if it was necessary.'
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see a way he'd be able to get out of it with his life intact.
He sighed, pushing those thoughts away.
For now, he'd focus on surviving and getting out of this maze. After that…if he lived long enough to see that day, then he would allow himself to worry about it.
"Alright Seirios, I think it's time we moved to the really uncomfortable part, our abilities."