Aurora Over a Dead World

"..." Ashlyn approaches the table, eyeing the various flasks laid out on it. Some have labels clearly indicating danger, while others are unlabeled. She knows she’s doing something wrong, and she feels stupid for going through with it.

’S-Still time to stop... I-I should stop...’

"[I can’t see exactly, since I’m not awake, but I know exactly where each flask is. Drink the soft green one without a label, in the large glass flask. It’s a slightly viscous liquid. Ignore the others.]"

"[And above all, ignore the dark green flask that resembles this description. That’s a dangerous acid, and you cannot drink it. It’ll be releasing tiny bubbles, so it’s easy to tell the difference, aside from the color.]" Mycena speaks to Ashlyn, who stands there hesitating.

’Should I really do this?... I-I don’t even know if she’ll really keep her end of the bargain...’ She stares at the flasks for a moment. She knows nothing guarantees her safety, but she’s desperate to be able to sleep.

Ever since Zenith made her sleep that one time, she simply hasn’t been able to forget how good it was to truly rest. But she’s been too restrained to ask for it again.

"..." She picks up the correct flask and looks at the strange liquid inside. Nothing specific comes to mind that resembles this liquid.

"This won’t kill me or infect me with that parasite you have in your brain, and I won’t be controlled, right? Are you sure?" Ashlyn tries to see if she’ll lie.

"[What would be the use in killing you? There’s no reason for it. And I already told you, you won’t be infected by the same parasite I have. It’s as simple as that.]" She speaks to Ashlyn, who gently swirls the flask.

’No bubbling, no strong smell either...’ Ashlyn looks at Mycena, bound to the tank.

’This is so stupid... I shouldn’t drink this... but... if it works and she helps me, couldn’t I get Zenith’s help?... But I don’t even know what’ll happen to me if I drink this...’ She questions herself, hesitating, while Mycena just waits.

"..." With trembling hands, she grips the flask with both hands and brings it to her mouth. She knows full well this is a bad thing to do, but the lack of sleep simply destroys any chance of her not doing it, or of reasoning correctly that the problems are far greater than any small advantage that might come from this deal.

"A-Ahh..." She tilts the flask into her mouth, starting to drink. The taste is intense and bitter, and as she drinks, an immense urge to vomit rises. She stops, hurling the flask to the floor with half the liquid still inside, coughing and spitting because of the taste.

"Th-This tastes awful... w-what the hell is this!!!" She screams at Mycena. When the flask hit the floor, it made contact with one of the few light sources in the room besides the tank, a small sensor emitting a green and red glow.

In the liquid, some kind of small, purplish thing writhes on the floor. There are several of them. They weren’t visible until they came into contact with the light, and they are so tiny they went unnoticed in the liquid.

"[Why do you think there’s a rule against turning on lights down here?]" Mycena says, as if nothing were wrong.

"YOU LIED!!"

"[About what part?]"

"Look at that!!! Th-There are things in the liquid!!" Ashlyn starts to grow desperate, her heart beating fast as fear floods her heart.

"[I never said there wasn’t anything in the liquid. I only said you wouldn’t be infected. I didn’t lie about that. Just because I didn’t mention something doesn’t mean I lied. You know, when a parasite invades a body, it’s natural for it to reproduce where it is.]"

"[But relax. I guarantee you won’t be infested or anything like that. Like I said, this liquid was meant for disposal. Those things in there are already almost dead. I never lied to you. I only answered what was asked. You never questioned whether there was something inside the liquid or what exactly it was.]" Mycena blames Ashlyn, who puts a hand to her mouth.

"Haa..." Ashlyn thinks about saying something, but she realizes that Mycena truly never lied in what she said. However, she never said anything relevant to the situation that didn’t arise from Ashlyn’s own doubts.

"I-I’m leaving..."

"[Now? After you’ve already done what I wanted? Don’t you want my help with your teacher? After all, I know Zenith. Commander Zenith... that woman is incredible, isn’t she?]" Mycena taunts Ashlyn.

"..." Ashlyn looks at the liquid on the floor, and then at the water tank in front of her. She’s already done this, and leaving now would be a waste of all the effort, just as it would make the fact that she drank this stuff completely pointless.

She’s already gone too far to give up. If she gives up now and there’s some dangerous side effect, it would mean having thrown away help after dooming herself.

"You... will really help?..."

"[Of course. I know that woman relatively well, even though I’ve never seen her in person. If you want your teacher’s trust, it’s not through conversation or effort alone.]"

"[Zenith will only trust you when you prove you deserve trust. The methods are simple: save her, save something that matters to her, or prove you would help her if needed in a truly critical moment.]"

"... I-I don’t know... h-how I would do that..." Ashlyn grows frustrated. This is kind of obvious. If she saved her teacher from something dangerous, of course some trust would arise between them. So, a feeling that all of this was in vain washes over her.

"[An opportunity will arise very soon. You know, I’m quite attentive to things, and I can assure you, something big is going to happen soon. Something dangerous. Stay in contact with me. I will help you with what you need, and in return, be my eyes.]"

"Hmmm... o-okay... I-I think... it’s... I’ll need your help... y-you better keep your end of the deal!!"

"[I will!! You can count on it, my new eyes! Now leave. You’ve been down here too long already. I’ll contact you through telepathy, and don’t tell anyone about this.]" Ashlyn looks at her stomach, wondering if she’ll have problems for having actually trusted someone who openly said they want to destroy humanity.

"W-Why did you want to help me?"

"[Because I need eyes outside of here. Nothing more. Don’t feel so special. I would have tried this with anyone else. You just happened to seem more suitable.]"

"B-But why are you only telling the truth? W-Wouldn’t it be better to lie?" Even though everything has a very manipulative tone, Mycena’s honesty bothers Ashlyn. Even now, she just admitted she only wants to use Ashlyn as her "eyes" to know what happens on the outside.

"[Because I need this favor. Honesty is the best path. You wouldn’t have drunk that if you imagined I was lying. So, I laid the terms out on the table from the start.]" Ashlyn walks to the door, typing the exit code. But before leaving, she glances at the liquid on the floor. The small things that were writhing have stopped. They seem to have died.

"..." She leaves the room with a deep sense of defeat. Not only did she not achieve anything concrete to get closer to her teacher, she was "deceived" and, of her own free will, drank something suspicious that might have contaminated her with a possible parasite.

"[Ah, and don’t think a doctor will find this. I suggest you keep very quiet about having drunk that stuff. You wouldn’t like to be arrested for breaking in here and drinking research material, even if it was meant for disposal.]" Mycena speaks with an amused tone to Ashlyn, who closes the door and starts to walk away.

"[By the way, stay tuned for my communications. Now we can talk even if you’re on the other side of Aurora Island. Isn’t that perfect? I hope we become good communication partners.]"

’She said something dangerous is going to happen... and that she wants to keep an eye out... Is she going to use that to escape?’ Ashlyn starts to grow paranoid about what such a suspicious person wants to do.

"...What are you doing here!"

"Ah!!?" Just as Ashlyn is climbing the stairs, her hand is grabbed by Zenith.

"T-Teacher... h-how did you find me..."

"Why are you in a restricted area?" Her teacher’s severe gaze makes her bite her lips.

"S-Sorry. I-I was looking for someone to talk to a-about what you asked..." Ashlyn doesn’t lie, because for most of the time, that was truly what she was doing, until she was called down to the basement.

"Do not enter restricted areas. They’re restricted for a reason. And besides, never enter rooms with negative numbering. The government uses positive numbers for rooms that are more normal and suitable for staying long periods, and negative numbers for rooms that contain risks too great to have people inside for long periods." Zenith starts pulling Ashlyn to the upper floors.

"I-If th-that’s the case, w-why wasn’t there a w-warning?"

"No warning? There was a huge sign on the door that said RESTRICTED!! No one has to warn a visitor that they can’t enter a room with negative numbers when the door that accesses those places has RESTRICTED written on it..." Zenith speaks with sarcasm, pulling out a lollipop and letting out a long sigh.

"Whatever. At least you’re okay... You could have gotten involved in something dangerous..."

"Eh..." Ashlyn stays quiet, not only because she did something wrong, but because she doesn’t know how to explain everything that happened. After all, it all only started when Mycena first began speaking to her and guided her to the restricted area.

She stays silent, receiving a scolding from Zenith for having come to this place. Ashlyn wonders if she should say something, but she’s indecisive, so she just stays quiet.

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