POV Preston Garvey
I was discussing strategy with Commander Athena when I heard a blood-curdling scream. I grabbed my gun and ran towards where I heard it. As I got closer, I could see several people around Mama Murphy's house. I moved through the crowd and got inside. Once I got in there, I saw Mama Murphy on the ground with a horrified look and clutching a pen.
"What happened? Did someone attack her?" I ask Sturges.
"I don't know. Nobody saw anyone fleeing the house. But if I had to guess, Mama Murphy was using again. We found some empty Chem containers in her bathroom. We also found some notes, but I haven't read them yet. But what is strangest of all is her condition. Look here," Sturges says while pointing at her face.
I get closer and see something very odd. At first, it looked like blood, but upon closer inspection, it was a strange, black, vicious material. I went to touch it, but stopped when someone yelled at me.
"STOP! Are you insane!?" screamed Captain Guto.
"What? What do you mean?" I ask.
"Don't touch that stuff. It's Dark Magic. The foulest I have ever seen. I can't say for certain what would happen, but whatever it was, it wouldn't be good. We need an agent of MIMIC here to deal with it. They are more likely to know what to do. Or ask Lord Rio. He would also likely know what to do," Guto says with what I now realize is a freaked-out look.
All of his feathers were standing on edge, and I could tell he was nervous. I moved away from Mama Murphy and sent someone to retrieve the only member of MIMIC present in Sanctuary. Meanwhile, I would have the house locked down, and I would send a message to Rio.
Sometime Later...
"Don't worry, I will handle the cleanup. I have already gone through the house and confirmed Miss Murphy was not practicing Dark Magic. Instead, I believe she was afflicted with a Dark Magic Curse. I don't know who or what did it, but it seems like the most probable answer," said Agent Smith.
"Okay, thank you. Rio said you would be able to handle this, so I will trust both of you," I say while walking away.
I was given some papers that Mama Murphy wrote; apparently, they were important. The first one was addressed to me.
Dear Preston,
If you are reading this, then that means I have died. Know it isn't your fault. I saw a vision. A vision of when I was going to die. I wasn't long for this world, so I decided to go out on my own terms. The Sight. It is a gift that I needed to use. So, I used Chems again. The papers you found with me are all the visions I ended up having. Sorry, I had to put you through this, but I know that you are strong. You are destined for great things, Preston. Tell the others that I cared for them, which is why I did this.
The Little Old Lady of our group,
Mama Murphy
I teared up a bit but took a deep breath and went on to the first note. The first note nearly gave me a heart attack. It told of a weakness in the defenses of Sanctuary that the Raiders used to bypass our defenses, allowing them to kill and enslave everyone. I ran to the command center to check if what she said in the note was accurate, and I was able to see a small but usable gap in our defenses.
The second note was a bit odd. It read:
Ahhh... wait, wait now... it's comin' back... stronger this time. Like a memory that don't belong to me, carved in ice and sealed in tears...
It's a dead world. Not dyin', dead. Nothin' but cold, stone, and silence stretched from one horizon to the next.
But not all's lost. No, there's still a beatin' heart left in that frozen corpse. One last breath of life, tucked away under a shimmerin' shield. A bubble of warm, glowin' light and love. That ain't no tech, neither, that's magic, pure and ancient. A shield spell, strong enough to keep the cold, and worse, out.
Inside that bubble? A city. The last city. The last place where flowers bloom and creatures still laugh, still cry, still remember what life's supposed to feel like. Streets paved with crystal, towers that sing in the sun, gardens green with things that shouldn't still grow.
And at the center of it all... her.
Oh, yes... I see her clear now. Regal. Graceful. Eyes full of sorrow and strength. But she ain't no woman... No, she's like him, Rio. She's held that city together for a long time, longer than most folks even live. It's her will keepin' the cold at bay.
But it ain't just frost gnawin' at the edges, no. There's a rot inside. Traitors, whisperin' in the shadows. Pretty faces, hidin' twisted hearts. They say she's ruled too long. That her time is over. That a new order must rise. But they don't see what she sees. They don't feel what she feels.
'The Hell is this supposed to mean?'
The next paper read:
Ahh... oohh... oh no, this ain't just a vision... this one's rememberin' me, like I lived it and forgot… but it ain't mine. This is old. Older than the bombs. Older than the war that broke the world…
There's a place. Hidden. Sealed up tight and locked behind more than bolts. A cache of knowledge, buried deep beneath the earth, below a lab you have seen papers on... yeah, you know the one. Clean walls, full of old-world technology, that ain't friendly. You didn't go there yet, did you? Didn't feel right, maybe?
That's 'cause it wasn't time. But it is now.
Underneath that lab, deep, deep down, there's a hidden door. Not just hidden from sight, but from reality. You won't see it unless you say the words...
"Destitite spem, omnes qui hic intratis."
Say that. Then the door will show itself. And when it does, punch in the code, 8... 4... 5... 2... 7... 1, and it'll open. Not to a vault of riches or weapons... but a library. The last one of its kind. Built by people who knew the world was darker than it ever let on. A government agency, secret and silent, made to handle the things no one was ever meant to see. Spirits. Shadows. Whispers in the blood. Things the bombs never could kill.
There ain't much power left down there, most of it's just paper now. Writin'. Theory. But that's what makes it dangerous. Knowledge like that don't need bullets. It needs a mind brave, or foolish, enough to understand it.
And one book... one book still breathes.
A codex of forbidden theory, written by hands that knew how to use limited magic to get things done. It don't just tell you how magic works, it shows you how to bend it. Shape it. Maybe even break it.
There's a spirit, too. A remnant. The last watcher of that place, still echoing in the stone. The one who built the cache. Gave their life to hide it. You'll feel 'em, even if you don't see 'em.
Just... be careful.
It ain't the monsters in the dark that scare me, sweetheart. It's the curious minds that go lookin' for 'em.
'Hmm, this Lab sounds familiar. Isn't it the one that Rio mentioned in a report a week or so ago? Something about it needing a lot of power to run. Or having tech we can use.'
It wasn't that useful for us right now. Sure, knowledge would be nice, but we might not head there for a while. Next came the second-to-last note, which read:
Ohhh… oh child, this one hurts… this vision, it burns. Like lightnin' in my blood, like my bones are screamin'. Somethin's comin'... no, somethin's already here...
I see a man, but he ain't no man no more.
It falls from the sky, all fire and steel, like a star that hates the world. Where it lands, the ground don't just break, it screams. People cry out. The sky goes white. And then... then come the machines.
He makes them. From creatures that used to be gentle, kind, whole. Twists 'em. Tears out what made 'em alive and stuffs 'em full of wires, gears, metal bones. Turns 'em into things that serve only him.
Ain't nothin' sacred to him. Not flesh. Not soul. Not the sky itself.
He's got eyes like lenses now. Heart like a furnace. A skin that's cold to the touch.
He says he wants peace. Progress. Order. But every time he reaches out his hand, people die. Cities fall. Nature screams. It's all lies, honey. All cover for the truth, he wants to replace everything. All life. All thought. He wants to make the world into a machine… one he controls.
He used to be a man. I think. I hope. But now?
Now he's just metal in the shape of an... egg?
And I'm tellin' you, straight from the Sight: he can't be trusted.
He'll lie. He'll promise you safety. He'll wear a kind face, maybe even a familiar one. But behind it? Cold circuits. Iron thoughts. A hunger to remake the world in his image.
You're gonna have to stop him. No one else can. I seen it. You stand between his dream and the end of all things that still breathe free.
But don't worry, he's still mortal like us. He hides in the sky away from it all, but he is fragile. Find him, and his plans fail.
'That is not good. But it's also kind of vague. Like, what's all this stuff about the sky? How can he hide in the sky? Also, an Egg? Like, does that mean the guy is fat or something? But I guess if Mama Murphy thinks it's dangerous, I should tell Rio.'
The last note was a bit unsettling. It was the last one she wrote. Literally. She had the pen and paper clutched in her hands when we found her. It read:
...oh no... oh, child, no no no... I didn't mean to... I didn't want to...
I looked too far this time. Reached out too deep. There's somethin' in the dark... beyond the dark. It ain't just evil, it is evil. Pure. Ancient. Older than time, older than fear.
It only wants one thing. Death.
Everything. Life. Light. Hope. It doesn't kill like a beast or a monster; it annihilates. It plans, it kills everything that lives. Mercy doesn't exist with it.
I saw it... But gods help me, it saw me back.
Its face ain't a face, it's just... emptiness, with teeth. Eyes like holes in the world, bleedin' rot and silence. And its voice... oh, its voice, it's not a sound. It's a command. And I heard it in my bones.
"Cease"
And just like that... it marked me. Branded me with a curse deeper than fire, colder than the void. My blood turned black. My breath caught like glass in my throat.
It knows I told you. It knows you're reading. It's always known. It ain't bound by rules or runes or rites. It just is. And now it's... here.
It ended the world once, but that was the prelude. Now... Now it has come to finish the job.
And when it gets here... it won't just end the world. It'll make sure the universe ends.
Nothing in this world can kill it. But, there is hope...
Use the M...
The note ends abruptly with a long strip of ink going off the page. I felt cold just reading it. Like I now know something is out there. Something ancient. I was also worried as she never got to finish the note. She only managed to write an M. But I had no idea what that meant. It made me fear what was coming, but I knew we could figure something out. Mama Murphy wouldn't say there is hope if there wasn't any.
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Author's Note:
So lots of visions this chapter, but I thought it was a bit unrealistic for Mama Murphy to just stop using after so many years. Especially when she knows it can be very helpful. It also gives you guys some time to speculate on what they mean. I made them somewhat clear but still vague enough. Some are much easier to guess than others, but they are all based on things Rio needs to do in the future. They aren't in a true order of timeliness, but they are important nonetheless. The next chapter will be the true start of the Siege of Sanctuary. I didn't want to leave you guys with a cliffhanger over the weekend, so instead, you guys get this chapter. Until next time, Ciao.