The Flight from Armonia to the coordinates of the temple didn't take long, a good two hours, maybe more, into the jungles of Chorus. As I flew, my mind would wonder back to my conversation with Santa. The creators, the architects, or whatever they're called knew next to nothing of this temple, in fact they feared it. Why? What was so terrible that one of the most advanced races in the universe feared such a machine, and how can they make something that they don't understand? I sighed as I got close to the clearing that the temple was nestled in. The structure had the same sleek design as the others with blue lights lining it. The base and half of the temple was on the ground, while the other half was floating up into the air, similar to some of the others. Shooting through the middle and into the sky was a greenish blue beam of light. I guided the pelican down to the base of the temple and opened the rear door. "So Santa, before we go, is there anything you can tell me, anything at all?" I asked as I turned off the engines.
"No, I'm sorry Agent Washington, but there is nothing else I can tell you." Santa said as he blinked into existence on the dash.
"Well it was worth a shot," I muttered as I stood up and walked out of the pelican, as I did the uneasy feeling that Santa was holding something from me came back, and this time I couldn't shake it off, not like before. Maybe it was because I was so close to the temple or maybe it was something else. "Santa, run a scan of the area, I want to know if we're the only ones here, and find out anything you can about this place." There was a small flash of red light and I knew that Santa was scanning the area. As he did that I walked through the entrance and to the beam of light shooting into the sky. It was similar to the one that Carolina found Santa, though this one seems different. But I didn't want to touch it and find out what will happen, from what I heard the temple of the warrior would show the person a vision to test them. Otherwise it did no harm, but this one, I highly doubt it did anything like that. As I circled the beam of light, I noticed that there was writing along the base, none of which I could read.
"Really wish Grey were here right now." I said as I looked at the symbols.
"It says that anyone with a heavy heart and a guilty past, shall come here for a second chance." Santa said as he appeared in front of me. "There are no other life forms in the vicinity."
"Okay good, is there anything else you found out?"
"Not a whole lot, only the name and what it is meant for. Otherwise I don't know how it functions."
"Okay, tell me what you know."
"This is the Temple of Penitence, if someone who has a guilty conscience or a past they wish to make up for, they would come here and find a way to rid of that guilt."
"That's it?' I asked as I looked around the temple again.
"Yes, there is nothing else I can get from it. This temple still remains a mystery." At this I sighed and turned around.
"Then let's head back. We'll probably have to send Grey here to study and see if she figures something out." And with that said, Santa blinked out of existence again and I walked back to the pelican, but the feeling that something was held back still lurked in the pit of my gut, but now it felt stronger. Like before I ignored the feeling and walked to the cockpit of the pelican and started the engines.
"Kimball, this is Wash. We didn't find anything, we're going to have to send a research team to crack this one down."
"Did you find out if it was dangerous?" Kimball's voice said, though it was staticy, which was unusual since we were able to destroy the radio jammer and comns still worked even in the most dense jungles.
"From what Santa told me, it's not. But you should still be careful. Wash out." I turned off the radio and sat back in the seat. "It seems like the more we find and the more questions that are answered, the more we learn that we don't know anything."
"But with time you would come to learn all you need." Santa appeared in front of me, the red of the A.I lighting the walls and canopy of the cockpit.
"But right now, there are questions that I would like answered now, there are to many mysteries."
"Like the temple?"
"Yes, for all we know it could be another purge, and when we unlock it all of Chorus would kill each other. And from what you said it's more advanced than any of the other temples, so it could be worse." I sighed in agitation for what seemed like the hundredth time today and looked over at Santa, he was just floating there, I didn't know if we was deep in thought or if Windows 10 crashed.
"We may not know now, but in due time we will, we just have to be patient and wait." He then blinked out of existence and I was left alone, questions plaguing my mind and that damn uneasy feeling that has taken root in my gut. I just shook my head to clear it and slowly lifted the pelican off of the ground and started to make my way back to Armonia. As I flew I could feel myself becoming slightly light headed, dizzy, and my vision started to blur. Then a spike of pain pound through my head like a lightning strike. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth as the pain shot through my head and along my body. Like electricity was riding through my veins and scorching the flesh around it. I let out a cry of pain as the pain grew and my vision began to darken. Then there was a flash of white light and the pain ended as fast as it started. I panted heavily and sat back in my seat. That's when I realized I was falling out of the air.