Milo and Eva stood at the gates of the Bright Castle as the army of the Forgotten Shore, led by Nephis, marched off into the labyrinth to lay siege to the Crimson Spire. Milo wanted to feel bad for stepping out of line, he really did, but Eva said that she had something to do. Milo knew that Eva would not leave a chance of salvation behind for no reason. Sunny seemed eyes widened only for a second as he and Eva stepped away when Nephis announced anyone that wanted to stay behind could. Not only was the lost of Eva and Milo a huge hit on the capability of the army, it was also a half betrayal from two close friends.
Milo hadn't switched off the Engaged mode of his armor. His face hidden under the angular visor, and Eva hadn't desummoned her Mantle either. After all, him and Eva were prepared to go off on their own journey as well. It would be a race of sorts, to reach the hidden cavern locked away from the world itself, and to unlock its secrets before the Dark Sea was sealed away forever.
As the army disappeared from view, being swallowed by the crimson coral forest, Milo and Eva moved from their spots. Coil slithered into view, his scales that were once a sea green were now a stone grey after devouring the Marble Saint. His four eyes were still golden however, instead of turning red, so it seemed only his scales inherited the traits of the Awakened Demon.
Milo climbed onto it, and Eva did as well, with a hiss Coil began to move throughout the coral of the labyrinth. It would take a few days at most for the army to reach the Crimson Spire, so there was no stopping for the pair on the way two. Milo only followed what Eva was telling him.
"Left!"
Coil turned left
"Right!"
Coil turned right, even as injured Carapace Scavengers sprung out from their barrows and swiped at Coil, chipping his scales. The serpent continued to slither forward at maximum speed. Even as countless centipedes rained down and chewed on his scales. Milo and Eva swung at the countless Nightmare Creatures raining down on Coil, slaying as many as they could, but it was overwhelming, more damage was suffered. Parts of his scales were now gone, the exposed flesh ripped out by a Carapace Centurion.
Eva and Milo were not spared either. Milo's armor was torn at certain parts, and part of his visor was cracked, blood spilling from the obsidian glass. All thanks to the work of a Carapace Centurion and gigantic lobster that wanted nothing more than to crush Milo in-between its pincers. His breath was labored and heavy. Eva herself had her armor crushed and dented in on multiple spots, flammable oil covered her armor. It had managed to hold, but Eva more than likely had a few broken ribs at a particularly deep dent at the midsection of her armor
Coil didn't slow down until Eva shouted
"Stop!"
Only then did Coil allow himself to stop, battered, lacerated, and dying. Milo hurriedly desummoned him, his job was done, and he deserved his rest in Milo's Soul Sea.
Looking forward, underneath a rather tall coral cliff, was a small gap that seemed to unnatural to be happenstance. Milo quickly sheathed the Prototype and his arm returned to its normal state. Behind them was the skittering of multiple Nightmare Creatures closing the distance upon them. Milo heaved as he cleared and lifted the coral cliff, the hydraulics in his arm creaked with struggle. As soon as Eva had slid under the opening he had created, Milo dived in as well.
He landed on cold hard rock. A small circular attachment appeared on his head, and it whirred as a bright light filled the cavern they were in. The cavern's walls were desolate and old. The two simply embraced each other in the darkness, both for comfort and for Eva's healing effect to take place. Milo summoned Carmen's Hammer and weakly struck at Eva's armor, its dents slowly repositioning with due time.
After Milo's armor had fixed itself, the visor analyzed the wall. Some mix of brick and clay from what Milo's HUD was telling him as it scanned the walls. Then Eva pulled him forward, and pointed to her side.
There was a reinforced door, Milo stepped forward, thruster charging as he was simply going to bust down the door. Though Eva gently pushed his arm down.
"For someone with Iron Logic you sure jump to brute force really quick" Eva stated with a teasing tone, holding her hand in his, she lead him towards the door, and towards a hidden slot at its center
"Press your hand in"
Milo did so, and a small optic suddenly popped out from the top of the door. A digital blue light scanning Milo and Eva, after the scan it beeped and disappeared back into the door, and the door opened.
The inside was lit by a light, and so Milo turned off his flashlight. The room was like sculptor's room, and there was certainly a sculpture at the side, it was shaped out of stone, however, instead of the being in the form of the Stone Saints and Marble Saint that Milo and Eva had heard of and personally fought, this one was shaped similarly to the construct that the Marble Saint had killed in Carmen's workshop.
Eva approached the stone giant, sparks appeared in her hand, forming a chisel, and she began to complete the construct, adding the finishing touches to its bulky body. It was then that the construct turned into countless sparks of light.
Milo was not looking at the work Eva had done, instead he was kneeling in front of a suit of armor that looked just like his, except cruder. The visor and helmet was circular and smaller instead of angular, the construct was solid fiber and metal that did not seem to change shape at will. It was by all means a downgrade.
Within the helmet however, was a single chip sticking out the side. Milo plucked it out, observing it. As his optic scanned it, a small socket on the side of his helmet was created. Milo would normally be against sticking strange, unknown, and foreign objects into his head. But so long as the armor permitted it, he would as well. Milo injected the chip.
A progress bar appeared in front of him. Once it reached 100% a soundwave display appeared in the top right, and a meek and dying voice echoed through his helmet. Milo's eyes widened as the audio began
"If you are listening to this, I'm dead. I didn't expect to last long in a world that is not mine. I do not mean that the Dream Realm is a foreign world to me. I think it would be more appropriate to call it a universe. This universe is not mine... I'm positive I'm dying in the grasp of the Forgotten Shore"
A deep rumbling suddenly began, and the speaker groaned.
"Listen, my name is not Carmen. It never has been, I'm K****** *****"
'Why did static have to cut in all of a sudden?'
"Whatever you do, do not let anyone else hear this audio, or hear of the truth. The story of ****** ***** is not unraveling as it should. I will not survive the consumption of this world, however my final work should. It is divine, and it should not exist. It defies **** itself"
'Is the Spell interfering with information I should not be hearing?'
"Lastly, do not trust the woman named E-"
A sudden shriek interrupted the speaker, followed by the sound of what Milo could only assume was the murder of Carmen.
{Audio Complete}
It felt mocking of the suit. Milo knew that much, and there was so much... too much to digest. First off, this was Carmen, or rather, the person who took on the name Carmen. What did he mean by he was not from the Universe, what story was being unraveled incorrectly. Secondly, the divine work that shouldn't exist, what exactly was it? What would it do? Lastly, the one who should not be trusted, a woman with a name that started with E...
Milo looked over at Eva. Too much of this really made sense, how did she know of this location? How did she know that she would find the construct here. How did Carmen even know of her eventual arrival? Ultimately, Milo shook his head. While it was suspicious, it was also suspicious that the door had opened despite her presence, and there were many woman names that started with E. In fact there were seventeen in the Forgotten Shore alone.
Milo removed the chip, and held it in his hand, poised to crush it to bits and pieces. He hesitated though, and slowly he reinserted the chip.
{Beginning Download...}
{Download Complete}
Only then did Milo take the chip out and crush it in his hands. Grinding it into fine dust.
Milo then looked at the vacant armor. His heart? No... his very soul was thumping with excitement for some reason. Milo moved the body aside, a small unbroken vault box was hidden behind the body. Milo opened it with his prosthetic, and within the box was a sphere of pure energy. Milo's HUD began to glitch at the proximity of it. Milo desummoned his helmet, his caramel brown skin was dirty, his hair that was once curly was now greasy and straight.
Milo grabbed the sphere, and the Spell let out in a mechanical boom
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]