Note: If any of you are curious why the chapters are so short, I used to write one per day.

Chapter 6 - Blissful separation

"Please be careful. If you climb more than ten meters you will be hit with the strains of ascension."

These words definitely did not bode well, even though she already knew that. The curse of the Abyss was a most intriguing phenomenon that definitely required further study. Maybe she could ask Bondrewd if he had any material about the subject.

All of those thought were quickly pushed aside as she stared up in pure amazement at the gigantic beam of violet light that stretched sheer endlessly upwards. With a power that seemed as if the sun itself was striking down into the earth it stood as a testament of near unfathomable might against the surrounding darkness. Even in her last life full of skyscrapers and nation-wide electricity had she never seen anything comparable. If this was a man made structure then this was equal if not superior to all the world wonders from her old home planet.

"Home planet" was a weird thought. In all those years living here she had never processed was that meant other than that she needed to adapt to the new conditions presented to her. The implications indicated that the multiverse theory was correct or that humans had independently evolved on different planets than earth. Either of these possibilities was mind-blowing and she was the only one or one of few that knew the truth. She wasn't sure if that bastard Being X wasn't messing with other people's life too. If so than her sympathies were going out to them.

These damn existential questions and the breathtaking view had distracted her again and she had missed how all kids except her had been taken elsewhere by Bondrewd. She nearly panicked before she realized that this must have been intentional. A man as perceptive as Bondrewd would not have overlooked a single child missing. She was sure of it. So she waited were she was and simply stared up at the gigantic pillar of light. It would have been a bad idea to wander off into unknown corridors anyway.

"Magnificent isn't it?" suddenly asked the familiar voice of Bondrewd from behind.

How was he so quiet? Without turning around she just nodded.

"Is it a natural phenomenon or is it artificial?" Tanya enquired calmly. She had a feeling that Bondrewd was in a talkative mood and she wanted to use that to its fullest.

"We are not exactly sure of it either, but most evidence indicates the origin to be of design rather than of chance."

"How old is it?"

"That is also rather hard to determine. At minimum six thousand years."

What a shame. Tanya firmly believed that the collective potential of humanity was near infinite as depicted by this marvel in front of her. Nonetheless had it never had the chance to actually show itself, because ignorance and arrogance always kept getting in the way of progress. The thought that technology like this had existed at least since six thousand years ago and could still not be replicated was extremely depressing. Had mankind really fallen so far from the ladder of scientific advancement that they had basically regressed to cave men?

"Do you have any idea what could have caused society to forget the workings of something like this?"

"Nothing concrete, but we have some possible evidence that I can show you after you visited your room."

That confused her slightly. She turned around and smiled up at his glowing mask in the darkness.

"And if I may be so bold Sir, but why do I get a separate room from the rest?"

"Do not worry my dear. Come along and I will explain."

They walked away from the purple beacon through a maze of identical brown and grey corridors. Despite the obviously gigantic size of the place everything was so clean as if it had just been built, while at the same time nothing in the constructions seemed wasted. If this was Bondrewd´s tidiness standard then she very much approved of his workplace conditions. She could say from experience that an orderly environment was pivotal for an equally orderly workflow.

"You have your separate room, because I believe the treatment that the others will be getting would be wasted on you. I hope you don't mind if your chamber is near my own instead of your little friends."

"No Sir. I do not mind."

That sounded rather wonderful if she was honest. Should she tell him the truth about her dislike of the other children?

"If you have any close friends among your peers you should maybe say goodbye to them tomorrow. Some of them will not remain here for long."

Ah, workforce distribution. He probably sent them to specialized education facilities in order to more appropriately train their individual strengths. How thoughtful of him.

"Thank you Sir, but I am not attached to my peers in any way. We just share the mutual respect of those unlucky enough to be abandoned by society. Seeing as this is hopefully the beginning of a new chapter in my life I have no intention of seeing them again."

"Wonderful. Then there shouldn't be a problem."

They both continued in comfortable silence until they arrived at another nondescript door. On their way here they must have passed dozens of them. It was disorienting to say the least. Bondrewd turned the doorknob that was barely within her reach and led her into the dark room. He pressed large button next to the entry and the chamber slowly lit up. What she saw came as close to heaven as her beliefs allowed it.

A large writing desk stacked with paper and writing utensils took up the majority of the space. Besides it stood a normal cabinet, a wardrobe and two chairs. The corner of the room was occupied by large bed that looked more comfortable at the moment than it had any right to be. To others it might have looked boring or minimalistic, but to her it was just perfect. Especially after having next to no private space of her own in the orphanage.

"Thank you kindly Bondrewd Sir. You are most gracious."

"Not that I do not appreciate the curtesy, but there is no need for you call me Sir all the time Tanya. Bondrewd will suffice completely."

She wanted to protest that proper title recognition was important part in upholding a hierarchal business structure, but shut her mouth when she remembered that it had been a more or less direct order from her superior. If he wanted a more relaxed relationship who was she to object?

"Very well Bondrewd."

"Make yourself at home. One of my Hands will bring you supper shortly."

He closed the door behind him and she immediately went over to the bed and sat down. With a smidge of annoyance she noticed that her short child-legs were already tired from the walk. She couldn't wait to grow up into a more reasonable size. Being a child was so annoying!

But everything was taking a turn for the better. What luck she had! She couldn't wait to finally get to do real, comfortable work again.