AN: Hey look! An update that didn't take countless months to write. And it's not three sentences! Woo! As always - enjoy, and don't be shy to leave a review, if you're into that, of course...

Accursed Ascension: Enigma

"So… Do you have a name?" Zeifer asked the shieldbearer that escorted him and Shera to whatever a Cryptek was. From the brief designation the Phaeron had given to the mysterious servant of his, Zeifer guessed that a "Cryptek" was something akin to a chief engineer.

"You are not worthy of knowing my name, spawn of the Dragon." the Lychguard stated in his sepulchral monotone. "Be thankful that my Lord did not order to execute you on the spot."

Despite the flatness of the voice, both Shera and Zeifer could not miss the radiating contempt and hate of the words.

"Hey, what's with the hate? Sure we're trespassers, but you sound like we murdered your family. And what's with the 'children of Dragon' thing?" Zeifer launched a series of questions. "We are known as Children of the Lotus, but Lotus is hardly a dragon…"

The only answer that the Loki received was a monotone sigh. Even the deathless are bound to suffer in the company of an inquisitive fool.

"... no answer?" the trickster replied in kind with a sigh of his own. The solemn gait of the Lychguard spoke for itself.

While Zeifer pestered their escort with his questions, the gunslinger tried her best to keep track of their route. It was not an easy one as each stony hillock was the nearly same as the last. There was a gradual upwards incline however, and she had placed a waypoint in her heads-up display at the point where the cell split. She could imagine Dala sneering at her archaic approach to tracking, but Shera knew that the only reliable information, was the one seen and felt by the body, as technology could fail or be manipulated.

"So, uhm… How large is this cavern? How deep underground are we?" Shera asked, and Zeifer fell back, ceasing his tirade of questions that had become borderline illogical. The chartreuse light of the cavern held a peculiar quality to it however. The green haze seemed to hold traces of turquoise. While waiting for an answer, the vagabond raised her codex scanner to her eyes, to the puzzlement of her ally, and focused on the most pronounced cloud of turquoise. The apparatus traced an outline of some structure, but the outline faded away as it's slanted sides passed out of the scanner's effective range. And with insufficient data, the scanner could not autotrace the structure. Suddenly she became aware of a pair of eyes trained on her.

"Your rangefinder will do you no good, child of the Dragon." The Lychguard responded, gazing at her with a cold-burning glare. "Since my Lord already unveiled the name of our magnificent planet, and you seem to be persistent in your inquisitiveness, I believe there is no harm in telling you about the planet itself. The Phaeron reminded us what it was to hold pride of our magnificent home, and sharing the glories of our planet is one such way." it was the peculiar wording that ticked both of Tenno the wrong way, but now that the Lychguard had become more vocal, the two dared not interrupt the automaton.

"Araxis - the shining blue gem of the Guv'Yrakh system. We are in the largest tomb complex on the planet - seat of the Vexhi power. It is adjoined by a multitude of secondary chambers, and tombs that house the majority of this planet's military might." the skeletal figure explained with his monotone voice still managing to convey the imposed grandeur of the location. "The main cavern itself stretches directly underneath the C'allais Abyss, the biggest underwater grotto of the planet, taking up almost a quarter of the largest body of water on the planet - the Asu'myar."

Shera quickly took this information in, as the alien geography lesson was no doubt something the Lotus would value greatly. However the implied size of the cavern itself, not to mention the countless tunnels, antechambers and side caverns, meant that they would only be able to leave on their host's goodwill. And even if the Tenno managed to gain access to the surface by their own means, they would be stranded on a planet far beyond the reach of even the most improbable of Orokin devices. Unless...

The Loki let out a low tone whistle, and sighed:"So, what you're implying is…" the infiltrator had not missed the part about the planet's army being based within or around their current location. "That this basically is a deathtrap to anyone, regardless of their capabilities or army size?" Zeifer had no doubts that the last resort for the Vexhi was to flood the entire cavern.

"Precisely." came the expected answer. The trickster and the vagabond fell silent.

As the trio moved forth, the turquoise light amidst the harlequin green became more prominent. They were approaching the first actual structures now, and Shera noted that the light emanated from the lines on the structures. As they passed the first squat pyramidal buildings, the two Tenno became acutely aware of the silence and absolute desolation of their current surroundings. The buildings seemed to be the most alive things around them, lines of energy visible pulsing inside their open archways.

"Why is it so quiet here?" the Loki broke the silence, starting to feel the effects of the absolute stillness as only their footsteps and their voices echoed in the air. He received no answer.

"It's like this place has been dead for a long time…" Zei continued, but just after uttering the sentence, the two Tenno heard heavy footsteps from up ahead. Not too far ahead a group of five heavily armored figures strode out of a sidepath. They held the same appearance as the simpler footsoldiers Shera and Zei had seen before, but their carapace seemed to be reinforced, as well as their twin-barreled weapons being linked to their back.

As the trio approached, one of the figures turned to them slightly raising their weapon, and Zeifer noted that in addition to the aquamarine-coated carapace, seemingly shared by almost every single one of their hosts, the new arrival sported a peculiar facial marking. His forehead was covered in crimson red, with a line running straight down to his chin. After a moment of silence, the figure returned to his companions and continued on their way.

The two Tenno could not shake the feeling that their guide had exchanged 'words' with the other one. Yet no sounds or even motions were made to support this notion.

"Who… were they?" Shera questioned, gazing at the group as they passed the pathway that the quintet had taken.

„A kill team." Came the expressionless answer. Shera couldn't shake the feeling that their guide was mocking her in some way. However, the description was enough to give her some insight as to what was their 'profession'. This understanding, however, proved to be a source of considerable puzzlement. She understood that they were exterminators, or a response unit, and thus she was confused as to why had they not encountered them on their way down. Were the Tenno lucky enough to sneak past the defences, or had they been seen and were deemed not threatening enough to warrant a kill team? Shera had trouble convincing herself of the first option.

The next few minutes went on in near silence again, as the two Tenno exchanged a few half-formed sentences, going past gradually larger structures until finally the Lychguard pointed towards a flat-topped pyramid, with countless conduits running to or from it.

"We have arrived!" the skeletal construct droned. "l believe the Cryptek is already expecting you. Best not keep him waiting. After all, he is the one who insisted on keeping you alive once you arrived." Their curiosity spurred, the duo headed on in.

The Phareon, having voiced his question, motioned the red and the white Tenno to follow him. The remaining two Tenno shifted uncomfortably, but followed nonetheless, as the remaining two Lychguard closed in behind them. The remainder of the force they encountered, aside from a massive, hovering spider, merged with the one appearing from the tunnel they had been in, and marched away to the left in complete silence.

Suddenly, both Dala and Vaan received a waypoint marker on their respective heads-up displays, a few paces behind them. They glanced towards their leaving squad mates, and saw Shera giving them a thumbs-up. Her sudden and rigid turn-around gave a jolt of surprise to Dala, who turned around to see the Phaeron observing the sharpshooter. Just as she had done that, the metallic overlord slowly shifted his head to meet her gaze. It struck her that he was, uncannily, aware of everything around him. This apparent omniscience further exacerbated the powerlessness that the pyromancer had felt after falling through the portal, and being downed by the enormous centipede.

"No need to look so distraught. You will soon be reunited with your companions." Ozrahkan stated with a slight motion of his arm. Neither Vaan, nor Dala liked the sound of that. They followed for a while in silence, with Vaan pondering on the answer of the previously received question, and Dala ruminating on their current situation.

"Well… I would have to ask you the same question, Phaeron. What do you know of Mars. Since you know the planet by name, and our name for it nonetheless, it might be that we simply have to fill in some gaps of it's history, rather than retelling the whole of it." Vaan finally answered with a counterquestion. This served to bring forth a deep sigh from the metal figure in front, as the party ascended a sudden steep incline. As the Tenno reached the top, they came upon a large, angular archway overlooking a steep chasm. Through it they saw distant megalithic shadows, partly obscured by the bichrome haze. The Phaeron strode up to the archway, and ran his hand over it's structure as alien glyphs, almost identical to the ones observed in the chamber back on Phobos, appeared on the onyx surface. The stone formation promptly lit up with turquoise energy lines and swirling distortions around it's inner edge. The view through the portal changed from that of the distant structures, to an ornate stone hall, with an illuminated table in the middle.

"Your counterquestion is a valid one. Come. It would be unreasonable to hold such discussions on barren crags." The head of the Vexhi dynasty beckoned the two Tenno to follow him.

However, before Ozrahkan himself passed through, the monstrous floating spider moved to intercept him.

"##$#/ ##/"$"##/ ##$#$$## /₩?==$" The arachnid automaton droned in low static.

"Is that so? Yes, assemble one in accordance to the post-Awakening protocols." the Phaeron instructed, as the two Tenno noted how eerily dissonant the alien language sounded. Then, as their host passed through the portal, Vaan and Dala realised that he had addressed them in their language from the beginning.