The black mage, Nova, walked into a room no bigger than a small storage closet. A large portal covered the wall. He stared at it, dread churning in his gut.
I hope I can find my way this time, he thought.
Stepping through, Nova found himself in a dimension of white, with countless other portals and pathways. "Hey, can anybody guide me to the main tower?" he shouted, his voice swallowed by the void. Frustrated, he moved from portal to portal, sticking his head through each one, but found nothing. Navigating this place alone felt impossible.
How long have I been here? If only I had that video, I wouldn't be in this mess.
He pulled out his phone, only to see the screen was dead. Oh yeah, the only reason I had the beetle was because my phone was dying.
Nova slumped to the floor. "If anyone can hear me, I'm getting really hungry. Just get me out of here," he pleaded, or so he thought. A rattling came from his cloak. The metallic beetle. He tossed it aside, annoyed by the noise, but the beetle flew into a random portal.
Wait, that beetle just came from the outside, he realized.
He scrambled up and sprinted after the zippy beetle. He didn't catch it, but jumping through the portal it had just entered proved to be the right decision.
Tumbling out, Nova found the beetle on the ground. He picked it up and headed to an elevator in front of him. Upon entering, an automated voice played, "Manick signature or I.D."
"I.D.," Nova replied.
A small slot opened. Nova removed his phone case, revealing an I.D. card, and slid it into the slot.
"I.D. recognized. Student S.15-06."
The automated voice cut out as the elevator began to rapidly descend. The creaking and scraping of metal against metal disturbed Nova to his core. He grabbed the railing, planted his feet apart, and pressed his back against the wall. His stomach churned with every floor they passed.
Every time I go in here, I feel like I'm going to plummet to my death.
After a minute of pure agony, the elevator slowed to a stop on Floor S. Nova tried to compose himself, on the verge of passing out, but he stumbled into the lobby on legs of jelly. He was greeted by Ian and Gala, who were sitting on a couch.
Gala's voice pierced his head. "Hey, Nova."
She ran to him, taking his cold hands and guiding him to the couch. "Come get approved with us!"
"When did you guys leave the sect?" Nova asked, still in a daze.
Ian peeked around Gala. "Around 14:15. We answered a distress call from Jill. He said to join him for 'safety reasons.' When we got there, Lower was barely conscious, so I told Gala to distract his parents with her abilities, but not to hurt them."
Gala chimed in, "I'll never get used to hearing someone's voice in my head."
"Anyway," Ian continued, pushing Gala aside. "I kicked Lower a recovery vial and told him to drink it. I'm sure no one noticed, and if they did, it was too late—"
Nova interrupted Ian. "If he was damn near unconscious, how did he even get up?"
"It doesn't take that much energy to drink a vial," Ian retorted, frustrated. "Getting your hands on that specific type, though, is the real problem."
Just then, a voice came from the PA. "All keepers approved, please continue to your desired locations."
"Ian, Gala, let's go," Nova said, stretching.
An isolated door opened with a smooth glide. The lack of noise put Nova at ease; this door was much more refined than the mechanical horror he had just descended in. Gala was just happy to see it open as if it were a luxury. A dark hallway came into view, appearing to have no lights. The three mages walked through, their different-colored cloaks illuminating the path. A few minutes later, Nova began to branch off.
Ian, unbothered, pressed on down the hall. Gala, however, turned to face Nova. "Hey, where are you going? The sect is this way." Her orange rays shone all around her, but Nova's black rays seemed to swallow them whole.
"I'm taking a shortcut."
"There's only one way into the sect, though."
"Not necessarily. One time I got lost because I didn't have the beetle and couldn't use light. I explored, feeling the walls until I found my shortcut." Nova headed down a branched path. Gala followed his voice and the trail of his Manick Joules.
They continued down the hallway until they reached another door.
"So how does this door work? Is it Manickal, or is it purely tech?" Gala asked, curious.
"Try it out for yourself," Nova said, gesturing to the doorknob with a theatrical bow. Gala eagerly twisted the doorknob and opened the door. They had reached the entrance of the dormitory. Gala looked to Nova, eager for an explanation. Nova took a deep breath, but before he could speak, Ian scooted past both of them.
"Gala, it's a regular door, like the ones you see for regular people. Nothing special." Ian's input immediately killed Gala's excitement.
"If this was a shortcut, why did Ian get here at the same time as us?" Gala asked, her gaze forward.
Nova chuckled instinctively out of embarrassment. "Maybe I was walking slower to help you pace yourself."
"Let's just go," Ian uttered, breathing heavily.
"Why are you breathing so hard?" Gala questioned, displeased.
"Don't worry about it."
The three walked into the foyer. The walls formed an octagonal space. Straight across from the entrance was a path to the Rec Center. On each side of that path, two sets of stairs were labeled "Females" and "Males," respectively. The right walls were research & development and the library, while the left walls were storage and health services. Ian headed straight for the Rec Center to rest.
"What's on the agenda, Gala?"
She pondered for a minute. "I'm going to force Ruby to do her nails with me. And you?" Gala's devious smile made Nova try to steer the conversation away from the malicious manicure.
"Well, I'm going to see if I can find some footage of Lower. I'd rather not have to take the elevator again. I'll ask Nikola for some footage when I return the scarab."
"Good luck with that. Nobody has heard from Nikola for like—" Just then, a yawn came from in front of them.
"Hey, guys, what time is it?" A girl stood groggy in the hallway, with her messy chestnut bun, eyes barely open, and skin as pale as snow.
"Oh, Ruby~ come here!" Gala crept over, tiptoeing so Ruby wouldn't hear her.
Nova quickly blocked Gala. "RUBY, RUN!"
But Ruby couldn't comprehend his warning in time. Gala pushed Nova aside and grabbed Ruby. All Nova heard was a fleeting, unenthusiastic "Nooooo" as Gala took off into the Rec Center.
_That poor girl,_ Nova thought as he walked towards the hallway and took a right into the "Testing Facilities" area. He made his way down the chambers, going past multiple rooms labeled biology, atomic, dimensional, and transmutation.
I wonder who studied here before us.
He finally arrived at the biggest chamber. A rustic sign read, "Multi-purpose," but someone had scratched it out and written "Pandora's Box" below it in crude letters. Nova approached the giant door.
He knocked. "Nikola, you in there, buddy?" No answer came, just the echoes of his knocking.
He knocked again and paced, expecting a quick answer, but nobody came.
Is he even in there? Nova grasped the handle with both hands, straining to open the door, but it didn't budge.
After two minutes of trying, Nova gave up. "This clearly isn't gonna work." He huffed and sat down, thinking.
I swear, if he fell asleep in that stupid lab, I'm having Jenti burn it down.
Something felt off. The door looked odd, with a 6x6 pattern of circular indents pressed into it. Nova pulled out the beetle and pushed it against the dents. One stood out; it was a decent margin bigger. "Did Nikola do this?"
Nova decided to head to the library to find out more. Once inside, he gawked at the massive room—five stories tall and stretching back half a football field. He immediately looked up, saw a lofty woman floating, returning books to their places, and shouted, "Yo, Wisdom, you here?"
She floated down in front of him, her umber skin barely visible beneath her light gray leather cape. "Why are you yelling in a library?" she questioned, barely audible.
"I need you to tell me what the multi-purpose door is made of and how to destroy it."
"The door is made of tungsten."
"Since when!?"
Wisdom gave him a disappointed look. "Since the door blew open and almost killed Gala with the shrapnel."
"Uh-huh, so how do I get in?"
"The entire chamber isn't made of tungsten... yet. But damaging anything in there might cause more harm than good. Don't you have any of his gadgets?"
"I do have this beetle," he said, handing her the scarab.
She blinked, then sighed, pointing at the jagged head horn. Her insight embarrassed Nova. "Thank you, Wisdom. Your brilliance is only second to our resident scientist."
She motioned him toward the door. He left, but not before gifting her a book. She sheepishly accepted it. "Being trapped here isn't ideal, but at least you make it comfortable. Thank you."
"I'll keep trying to find the other books in the collection. I know it's your favorite series."
He made his way back to the chamber. Approaching it for the last time, he inserted the beetle's horn into the keyhole and turned it. He heard a click, then pistons released steam, and the door opened like a vault. The smell of sweat, soldering, and chemicals flowed out, stinging his nose.
By the greats, it smells like stale piss, he thought.
He collected himself; he'd been through worse.
Infiltrating the room wasn't easy, but he was in. The chamber was a tangled web of cables. He stumbled, catching his foot on a wire and face-planting on the floor.
"What the hell, man?" Though the chamber was massive, his face-plant didn't echo. The wires and machinery trapped the sounds, making it impossible for even a bat to navigate.
Recovering, Nova groaned. "Where the hell are the lights!?" He felt around for a switch. "I never told him to clean this place, and now I'm paying for it," he complained. After a few minutes, he found a large lever and pulled it up. He was met with the grim sight of the resident scientist.