"You must kill someone if you want to leave."
My mind froze and my breath caught in my throat as I thought about that... I could feel a paralyzing fear slowly crawling throughout my body, overloading every last nerve. It took everything I had just to breathe in and out.
~CHAPTER 01: To Live; Everyday Life~
But for as heavy as the air felt... all it took to pierce was her sharp words.
Sarth: So? What're you going to do now?
Sarth's words snapped everyone out of a stunned silence.
What're we going to do now...?
Sarth: Just stand around glaring at each other?
Lance: That's absolutely correct! Even in the toughest of situations, the smartest thing to do is to move forward! To forget such a simple fact... what a disgrace upon my Gythian ancestors!
Koshka: Okay, but... what are we moving forward to, exactly?
Taka: Idiot! To look for a way out, duh!
Kestrel: And we totally need to find whoever was controlling that stupid ram and beat the hell out of 'em.
Lyra: But before we get to that, maybe we ought to take a look at the Electronic IDs. It's probably best to check out the Fold's regulations Corpus mentioned before doing anything else.
Lance: True. If we stumble around with no clue what the rules are, something like that might happen again...
Adagio: Tch...
Kestrel: Fine. Then let's snap to it already.
*De-de-dwoo!*
[Vox]
After turning on the ElectroID, the first thing that appeared was my name. So just like Corpus said, the owner's name showed up front and center. From the main menu that popped up, I selected the Fold Regulationsicon.
[Rule 1- Recruits may only explore the castle. Attempting to leave the fold is a waste of time.
Rule 2- "Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off limits at night, so please be careful. Furthermore, water is turned off during nighttime.
Rule 3- Purposefully sleeping anywhere other than the barracks will be seen as sleeping on duty and be punished accordingly.
Rule 4- With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the Halcyon Fold at your discretion.
Rule 5- Violence against the marshal, Corpus, is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.
Rule 6- Anyone who kills a fellow recruit and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they've been discovered.
Rule 7- Additional rules may be added if deemed necessary.]
Feeling a slight dizziness, I looked up from the screen. As I looked around, I saw the same stormy expression on everyone's faces.
Adagio: What a joke. Rules? Regulations? Never has anyone been so audacious as to even *think* they could restrict *me!*
Sarth: Well then, why not wander around the Fold without a care in the world and see what happens? Personally, I *am* curious to figure out what happens when someone breaks one of the rules.
Blackfeather: But if he got punished like what we saw before, I don't think there'd be a respawn waiting for him.
Adagio: ...Tch. Well, I suppose I can't afford to die for such a trivial reason.
Sarth: Oh, so you *are* going to follow the rules. What a shame.
Adagio: Huh? Oh, well... yeah, I guess you're right.
Celeste: Hey, um... I have a question. Rule number six- what does everyone think that means?
[Rule 6- Anyone who kills a fellow recruit and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they've been discovered.]
Vox: You're talking about the second half, right? Where it says "unless they've been discovered"? I was wondering about that myself.
Taka: It's saying that if you want to graduate, you have to kill someone without anyone finding out it was you.
Celeste: But why...? Why do we have to do that?!
Taka: I don't see any reason to worry. Just follow the rules as they've been explained to us.
Koshka: Well for now, let's forget that silly talk about murdering or whatever! I wanna explore!
SAW: True. We need to find out exactly where we are. Is there any way out? And what about food and supplies? There are tons of questions that need answering!
Ringo: Got that right! Okay, let's all start looking around!
Adagio: ...I'll be going alone.
Kestrel: What?! Why? That's a pretty stupid idea, don't you think?
Adagio: Someone here might have already started thinking about murdering one of us. Are you implying we should stay close to them and make it that much easier?
Celeste: Wait a second- that would never-!
Adagio: Don't even bother claiming it couldn't happen. You can't deny the possibility. That's why you all seized up with fear when that graduation rule was clarified. Or am I wrong?
Celeste: B-But...
Adagio: I'm simply acting in accordance with what is best for me.
Lyra: Wait up! There's no way I'd just let you run off and do whatever you'd like!
Adagio: Out of my way, woman.
Lyra: You will not leave!
Vox: Stop it! We shouldn't fight!
But it was too late. Lyra had already started casting a spell. Vox dove into the way to intercept the beams of magic.
*SHI-FWOOM!*
She cast her spell... and I collapsed in a heap. I didn't even see the darkness coming. It was just suddenly right there in my face. One second I was standing there, the next I was lying on the ground. Now that I think about it, maybe I'd kinda forgotten... that I was miles below any of the people I was trapped here with.
That was my last thought as my consciousness started to fade... before it finally cut off completely.
And when I finally opened my eyes again, what I saw was...
Vox: Ng... gah... Huh? Wh-Where am I?
As if it was now part of the norm, I woke up in yet another room I'd never seen before.
Vox: Okay, so... Where am I now?
The first thing I noticed was the item on an upright table.
This must be the key to the room... My name's written on the keychain. That means this is mine, right? I'll keep it on me for now.
A piece of paper hung on the wall. It said:
[Announcement from Marshal Corpus: Each room's lock has been designed to completely protect against tampering or lock-picking. Remaking an individual room key is quite difficult, so please try not to lose yours. Your room comes furnished with a shower, but please note that water is turned off at night. Also, the bathrooms in the girls' rooms have a lock of their own. Finally, we've prepared a small gift for each of you. For the girls, a potions kit. And for the boys, a scout trap kit. The potions kit includes an instructional guide for poisons. One sip should do the job, girls! For the boys, we believe that one explosion from any of the traps should be ample. Don't think! Just feel! And let's all enjoy ourselves!]
Vox: ...
I crumpled up the sheet of paper and threw it in the trash. While I was looking down, my eyes caught onto something else.
It's some kind of lint roller. I guess we're supposed to clean up after ourselves...?
Next was a door on the inside of the room.
Vox: This would appear to be... the bathroom.
*Rattle rattle*
Vox: Huh? It's not opening. I guess it's locked.
With that, my attention focused on another monitor in the room. Not only that, a camera was planted in the room as well. And iron plates covered where windows should've been yet again. At least there wasn't anything strange with the bed. On the nightstand, there was a notepad.
I guess that he must have given one to each of us...
Below the notepad was a drawer. And in it was... a scout trap kit. In it were three typical scout traps, which a user would activate and toss to a location where it would sit until exploding when someone came near. There were also two remote-controlled scout traps which functioned exactly as they were names.
These must be brand new. They're all packaged together. I don't need these things right now, so I'll just leave them here. Anyway, I think I'm starting to understand. This room must be... one of the barracks. Someone must have carried me here after I fell unconscious. So that answers that question. The next one would be... What's everyone else doing right now? Only one way to find out.
I rushed out of the room to meet up with the others. But there was someone waiting for me there.
*WHAM!*
Celeste: Agh!
Vox: Oh-! ...Celeste?!
My sister sat on the floor, clutching at her forehead.
Vox: Sorry! Are you okay?
Celeste: I- don't worry about me. How are you?
She stood up slowly and brushed off her dress.
Vox: You're not hurt, are you, Celeste?
Celeste: Don't make me sound weak, Voxie! I'm completely fine. But... are *you* okay? You know, from when Lyra dazed you?
That's true... I got knocked out right there in front of everyone... and by a girl. How uncool.
Celeste: Voxie...?
Vox: Oh, uh, I'm fine! Nothing wrong here!
Celeste: Okay, that's good. I don't know any healing magic, so...
Vox: Thanks anyway. By the way, what are you doing here?
Celeste: Actually, I came to get you. Since you're feeling better, you should probably come to the mess hall.
Vox: The mess hall...?
Celeste: After you got knocked out, everyone split up to do their own thing. Kestrel suggested it would be more effective to split up and investigate. So we agreed to reconvene at a later time to share our findings.
Vox: Huh? Does that mean it's almost time to get back together? If that's what's going on, I should be there, huh?
Celeste: Good. I'll go on ahead and meet you there, then.
Unsure of why she bolted ahead, I followed her footsteps down the corridor to a large, open area which had several sets of doors. Ignoring the other areas for the time being, I strode through the doors marked "mess hall".`
Celeste: It looks pretty clean, so that's good. Though I guess that's not exactly a top priority, with us being imprisoned here and all.
Vox: Yeah, that's true...
Nobody was there waiting for us.
We don't really have much choice. I guess we should just wait here for now.
Celeste: Hm... Okay, let's wait here.
Vox: Huh?! You heard that?
Celeste: Twin telepathy, remember? Haha, I'm just kidding. I guess I just have amazing intuition.
Is it really just intuition...? Anyway, time to check the clock. I'd really like to know what time it is right now.
Vox: Wh-What?! 7 'o clock?! At night?!
Celeste: You've been unconscious for awhile...
I see... with all the windows covered, I've lost all sense of time. If I'm stuck here for too long... I might just go crazy...
Celeste: I can't believe no one's here yet. They'd better hurry and start showing up.
Almost like he'd timed it, Taka threw open the dining hall doors right as Celeste said that.
Taka: Ah, Vox-vox! Celeste-leste! So you two got here first, huh? Too bad... I was sure I'd beat everyone here. Gyahaha! Well, next time I'll get here first, even if you don't see me!
Celeste: That's a bit much, don't you think?
Soon after that... everyone else strolled in one by one. After a few minutes, everyone had gathered in the mess hall.
SAW: Okay! 'T looks like we're all 'ere! Time to start the meeting! Let's all go around and share what we found out during our investigations! The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we get out of here!
Kestrel: Wait a sec!
SAW: Eh? Something wrong?
Kestrel: What about, uh... what's her name? You know, the dark and mysterious girl. Uhh... oh yeah, Sarth!
SAW: What about her?
Kestrel: She's not here.
SAW: R-Really?!
I took another look around the mess hall. Sure enough, she was nowhere to be seen.
Koshka: Where'd Sarthy go? Has anyone seen her?
Everyone just shook their heads.
Joule: Wait, so *nobody's* seen her?!
Why hasn't Sarth shown up yet? Could it be because...?
"Shanking, choking, smashing, bashing, boiling, burning, beating, how it's done doesn't matter. You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all, okay?"
Is it possible? Was she really...? No, I must be overthinking things.
SAW: To be late for the first rookie meeting... she's almost as bad as Vox!
Vox: H-Hey!
Kestrel: You're being a real jackass right now, you know that?
SAW: Whaddaya expect? Punctuality is important!
Lance: Anyway, let's just begin the meeting without her.
Celeste: Vox... Actually, first of all... I've said enough. Let's listen to what everyone else needs to say.
Vox: Okay.
Celeste: Okay, so since you don't know, let me lay out what's been going on. Everyone split up to check out different parts of the building, but... Adagio and Taka went off on their own, and so did Sarth.
Adagio: I wanted to find some clue as to who's responsible for imprisoning us here... Lo and behold, there was naught to be found. That's all from me...
Taka: Really? That's it?
Adagio: If I'd found anything else out, I'd have more to say. But I didn't. So I don't.
Taka: Right, got it... Anyway, I was looking about the barracks. There, I made an incredible discovery! I found that there was exactly one room for each person!
Skye: Well yeah, I figured that out before anything else...
Kestrel: The doors already had nameplates on them, so I guess the rooms have already been assigned.
Lance: And each room key had a keychain with the owner's name etched onto it.
Which confirms that the room I was in earlier is, in fact, my room.
Kestrel: And Joule and I found out that all the rooms are totally soundproof.
Joule: Your next-door neighbor could scream their lungs out and you wouldn't hear a thing!
Lyra: Well, each room also had a private bathroom, which could also lock.
Kestrel: But it looked like there were only locks on the bathrooms in the girls' dorms.
Huh? But wasn't mine locked too? That's odd. I guess I'll double-check that later.
Ringo: Okay, so they got a bunch of rooms ready for us. They think we'll be here awhile.
SAW: Well, better to have than have not! At least we don't have to worry about surviving like wild animals!
Blackfeather: That can't be all you have to report, can it, Monsiuer Taka?
Taka: ...That's all I've got! Let's move on to whoever's next!
Celeste: Anyway, it looks like Ringo, Kestrel, and Joule all grouped up together.
Kestrel: We went all up and down the school, double-checking windows in all the hallways and classes. We wanted to see if we could get any of those metal plates to come off. And what happened was...
Ringo: Nothing. Not a damn thing. We couldn't so much as budge a single one.
Joule: There's just no way to escape anywhere! This castle really *has* been totally cut off.
Kestrel: This sucks. It *really* sucks. What the hell are we gonna do?!
Ringo: Hey, relax! You're starting to make *me* nervous!
Celeste: Skye, Lance, and Lyra formed another group.
Skye: We thought maybe we could find a way to communicate with the outside, so we searched all over. But... we didn't find a thing. Sorry...
Lyra: I went back to the main hall, thinking maybe we could do something about that giant metal gate. But whenever I tried to phase through it, I couldn't. I activated my talismans, bulwarks, and nothing... It seems everywhere outside of the training gym is a magic nullification zone... and even in the gym, the walls soak magic right up! It was like the ultimate magical defense!
Lance: And even with all my might, I could not so much as make a dent. If we're going to get out of here, it won't be through there. I guess I'll move on to what happened next... It has nothing to do with communicating with the outside world, but it's still worth worrying about. In both the castle and barracks areas, there was a set of stairs leading up to another floor.
Skye: But there were gates there, and we couldn't find any way to open them, so we couldn't check it out.
Lance: In other words, at this point we are only allowed to explore the first floor. We can assume there's something above the second floor, as well. If that's the case, perhaps there shall be a way out.
Celeste: Lastly, SAW, Blackfeather, and Koshka were left over, so they joined up.
SAW: If I'm being honest, I can't say we really did anything together. Rather, we did *nothing* together. We spent the entire time in the training gym.
Vox: What? But didn't you call this meeting to order?!
SAW: Maybe. But, I'm not exactly the type to go running around and play recon. I'm a soldier, not a scout!
Kestrel: What the hell were you thinking, just sitting around the training gym this whole time?
Blackfeather: Well, it's not like any of you invited me along! Nobody said "hey, come with us!"
Koshka: And I was taking a nap!
Blackfeather: Corpus decided to give her an exception to the sleeping rule, since she think's she's a cat and all.
Koshka: Nya!
SAW: I was busy doing one-handed push-ups! Being stranded in a castle is no excuse for skipping your hourly workout routine!
Kestrel: Seriously, you guys are beyond pathetic.
Blackfeather: Hmph. Forget it. As if I'd even want to explore with a wilted flower such as yourself.
Kestrel: Wilted...?
Blackfeather: There's no shame in what you do. Men don't even have to work. It's sickening.
Kestrel: I don't even know how to react to that. How can you say something so rude to someone you just met?
Ringo: Alright, everyone, let's all calm down, okay? Stressing out is bad for your skin, y'know?
Celeste: So that's all they have to say, huh? That just leaves me... I went and had a look around the mess hall... There was this fridge in the back of the kitchen, and it was chock full of all sorts of stuff! Which means we don't have to worry about food, at least.
SAW: Maybe for now. But even with all that, there are fourteen of us. How long would the food last?
Celeste: I don't think we have to worry about it. All the food gets restocked automatically each day. At least, that's what Corpus said...
Kestrel: You saw him?!
Celeste: Yeah, he came out of nowhere while I was checking the fridge, told me that, then disappeared again. He was so fast, I almost couldn't believe he's remote controlled!
Joule: A weaponized toy that can appear and disappear at will! Even I can't figure out how it works!
Skye: But was everything okay? He didn't try to like, eat you or anything?
Blackfeather: E-Eat her? What type of "eating" are we talking about, exactly?
Skye: E-Eww! Gross!
Kestrel: Hey! Stop screwing around-!
Kestrel's voice was cut off.
Sarth: You're spending an awful lot of time just yelling at each other. Do you really think you can afford to do so? Have none of you accepted the reality of the situation?
SAW: Sarth! Where have you been?! We've already started the meeting without you!
She didn't say a word. Instead, she just dropped a piece of paper on the table.
Vox: Huh? What's this?
Sarth: It appears to be a map of the Halcyon Fold.
Vox: A map?
C-Could it be?
Taka: What the...? Where did you find this?
Sarth: It doesn't matter where I found it.
Taka: It DOES matter! You're really freaking us out right now!
Kestrel: Forget about that. What's it mean?
Sarth: Just look at it. The building we're in right now is laid out in precisely the same way as the Halcyon Fold.
Vox: So what you're saying is... this really is the Halcyon Fold?
Sarth: At least in terms of its construction. But it looks like it has had a number of strange... renovations. I don't know the details yet. All I found was details about the first floor.
Joule: So then... this really is the Halcyon Fold! We didn't get kidnapped and taken to some other place!
Adagio: So stupid it's not even possible. *This* is where the army that's supposed to take down the Storm Queen is supposed to assemble?
Skye: But if this is really the Halcyon Fold, where are all the other soldiers? I mean, it's not like we're the first crew of recruits to join the army...
Ringo: Hey, come on, guys. Let's just forget about this for now.
Vox: But aren't you worried? Things don't look very good...
Ringo: Worried? What is there to be worried about? I mean, this was all planned out, right? It's just a hazing ritual or something, right? So we just relax and everything'll work itself out!
Taka: Ahahaha... you can't be serious.
Lyra: Huh? Why are you laughing?
Taka: Because it seems splitting up was a good idea after all.
Lyra: What? But haven't you been listening? We *didn't* find a way out, we *didn't* find out who's behind this- we still have no idea what's going on!
Taka: Huh? Well, that's not exactly what I meant... It's just... It's completely obvious that we're trapped in some secret location with no way out!
None of us had any response to that. We didn't want to accept that reality- but it was staring us right in the face.
Skye: You didn't have to go and say that! I was trying not to think about it!
Lyra: No way out... We're trapped here. What are we supposed to do?
Adagio: It's very simple. If you want to leave, you just have to kill-
Kestrel: Don't even joke about that!
Celeste: Everyone just calm down, please! We need to stop and think about what to do from here.
Vox: There's got to be *something* we can do...
Taka: All we can do is adapt. Adapt to living our lives here from now on.
Joule: Living here?! Are you saying we should just accept it?!
Adagio: A lack of adaptability... is a lack of survivability. Survival is not based on who is the strongest or the smartest. It comes down to who can adapt. Actually, I wanted to share an idea with you all. We all understand that we're trapped here, which means we will be spending the night. However... You all remember the rule about nighttime, right?
[Rule 2- "Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off limits at night, so please be careful. Furthermore, water is turned off during nighttime.
Rule 3- Purposefully sleeping anywhere other than the barracks will be seen as sleeping on duty and be punished accordingly. Amendment: Koshka is exempt to this rule.]
And, of course, Koshka gets to sleep wherever she wants.
Adagio: So regarding this "nighttime," I'd like to impose a rule of my own. Going out at night should be prohibited altogether. Though the rules don't say anything about it, I would like to make this official. This way, nobody needs to worry whether someone will come and kill them in their sleep. However, unlike the rules, I can't force anyone to comply. We'd all have to agree to follow this rule.
Kestrel: Y-Yeah. But, I think we can all agree to that.
SAW: On behalf of all the men here, I agree to comply!
Ringo: H-Hey, you can't just speak for us!
Adagio: Good. We're all in agreement. Then if you would excuse me...
Joule: Huh? Wait, where are you going?
Adagio: It is almost nighttime. I would like to take a shower before that time occurs. So... bye.
With a few flaps of his bright blue wings, Adagio was out of the mess hall.
Blackfeather: So I guess we'll be spending the night from now on...
Lance: Adaptability...
Kestrel: So, Mr. Soldier, what next? One person already left.
SAW: Well... how about we call an end to today's meeting? Like he said, it's almost nighttime anyway. We can meet again first thing tomorrow morning!
Joule: Huh? We really have to stay the night here?!
Kestrel: We don't have a choice. It's not like we can roam around for long without sleep.
Ringo: Which means we're done for the day!
Skye: So what're we supposed to do tomorrow?
Lance: All we can do is split up and check again.
Skye: Yeah, okay. Let's do that...!
Kestrel: Then we're done for today? Good, I'm exhausted...
Taking heavy footsteps, everyone stumbled off to their barracks.
Celeste: Voxie, are you ready to call it a day?
Vox: Yeah, let's go.
I returned to my room.
...Is this really where I'll be staying for the foreseeable future? Oh, that's right. I should check the bathroom one more time before I go to bed. Only the girls' bathrooms should lock, right? Alright, let's open it up...
*Rattle rattle*
Vox: It's no use. It really is locked.
Corpus: Bzzt! Wrong! Not locked!
Vox: Holy crap!
Corpus: Jeez, what an overreaction. It's like you saw a ghost or something! Like... some kind of... robot ram... ghost.
Vox: Wh-What are you doing here?
Corpus: Vox, this is hilariously bad! Your bathroom isn't locked, it just has a problem with the doorframe!
Vox: Huh? So it isn't locked? The door just... doesn't fit?
Corpus: Wasn't there a notice? What, can't read? The boys' bathrooms don't have locks! I mean, a lock on a boy's bathroom is kinda pointless, don't you think? Anyway, there's a little trick to opening this particular ill-fitting door, which is what I'm here to teach you! Got it? Okay, so you just turn the doorknob, then lift up while you pull! Go ahead, give it a try!
Turn the knob and lift the door up while I pull...
When I did that, the door opened without a problem.
Corpus: Kahaha! See? It opened right up! Isn't that crazy, though? Your door's the only one that doesn't fit quite right! You were listed as the Ultimate Luck, but it looks like you're not lucky at all! Anyway, I suddenly have no reason to be here anymore. See ya!
Vox: H-Hey! Wait!
...Dammit.
*Ping pang, ting tang*
{Mm, ahem, this is an announcement. It is now 10 p.m. That makes it officially nighttime. Soon, the doors to the mess hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Alrighty then! Sweet dreams, everyone!}
Looks like it's nighttime. We all promised we wouldn't leave our rooms now. All I can do now is try and get some sleep.
While still mumbling to myself, I collapsed into bed. My eyes closed almost immediately. It's not that I was ready for bed, exactly. I was just utterly exhausted. Soon enough, I was asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Corpus Theater~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corpus: In any normal army, Marshal Corpus would be a kind officer. But when I think about what's coming up... I'm just so full of pride and joy. Our ceremony earlier today was absolutely splendid. Thank you all very much. Remember that you're all recruits of the Halcyon Fold, and strive to refine your ideals! I swear to you, I will send you all off into a new tomorrow!