Chapter 6: Chapter 6

*Cough* *Cough* "Ow… Where am I?" Lidra rubbed her scalp as she rose up, finding a bulge on the back of her head. She had been tumbling down and around for the last half-minute, first against wet, slimy and soft surfaces, then at the last seconds colliding with hard metal which gave her the stinging bruise. At the moment, it was completely dark around her, with a particularly foul smell of gastric juice and iron combined that made her sick to the stomach. Pinching her nose, she reached for her waist pouch and pulled out a piece of blue crystal.

[Illuminate], she said, and the crystal suddenly shone bright blue, casting its light around the area. It was then that she discovered she was inside some kind of large metal enclosure, covered in dust and sand with a single rectangular exit - which led to a corridor of flesh.

"...The worm ate me, didn't it?" Lidra sighed, knowing full well the reason. Still, she cursed herself for not realising it sooner, as she was preoccupied with the thought of beating her father and the prince to a pulp. At least, she didn't have to worry about being dissolved in digestive acid - as it had long been discovered that these worms didn't have any. As for why however, no one knew.

"On the other hand, what is this…metal…box…thing… that I'm in right now?" Lidra wondered, her eyes tracing the walls for any sign that would identify the enclosure. But all she saw were unfamiliar surfaces covered in strange colored knobs and buttons. There were tables nailed to the floor, on top of which were boxes with black windows and more buttons. All over the floor, under the layers of dust were colorful wires that ran all over the place. Within the walls were more wires and metal rods of various sizes and color, viewable through glass windows. On the ceiling were strips of white glass bars and tubes. Everything she saw gave Lidra more confusion - it was as if she wasn't even in the same world anymore.

But the strangest thing that caught her eyes was a cylindrical glass tube in the middle of the enclosure - large enough to fit several adult men, connecting the ceiling with the floor, and covered in dust. Still, with the light from the crystal shining through the glass, she could make out the shape of a human silhouette floating inside.

"...What?" Lidra exclaimed. She hurriedly walked to the tube, putting her hand on the glass and wiped away the dust. What her action revealed left her speechless - inside the tube was a little girl in a tattered long sleeved shirt that had yellowed with age. Her long silver hair - a color she had never seen before on a human, shone brilliantly through the glass. Her face was as intricate as a doll, without a single blemish, and looked almost inhuman for how perfectly carved it was. Her limbs were pale, thin, and seemed so fragile they would break at the flick of a finger. The girl looked as if she was sleeping peacefully - if not for the fact that she was fully emerged in a strange muddled liquid.

"Who…is this?" Lidra's first thought was that of a princess of an unknown country - which she quickly dismissed. The girl was too beautiful - too perfect, for a human being. It led her to assume the girl was a doll created by some master artist - which she hoped was the case, as otherwise the girl would've been obviously dead.

"Still, even for a doll, it's too pretty…" Lidra said. Wanting to have a closer look, Lidra held the crystal nearer to the glass, hoping its light would reveal more of the doll's features. However, the moment both of them touched one another…

[Energy source detected. Powering up…]

[Reading stats… Power reserve at 0.2 percent]

[Scanning Energy source… Compatible]

[Begin transferring energy…]

"Huh? What? Who?" Lidra said in confusion. She had just heard a voice reverberating around the enclosure, but was unable to identify its exact source and its meaning - which made her nervous. Was it a demon? - She thought, gripping her axe and her crystal tightly, preparing for an ambush. Then she noticed that the light from the crystal was getting dimmer.

"What the - I thought these were supposed to last a week?" She stared at the crystal and noticed it was getting smaller. At the same time, she felt her pouch becoming lighter - all of her magic crystals were shrinking. "What?" She exclaimed. What she was witnessing was out of the ordinary - as when a magic crystal loses mana, it will only lose color, but never volume. Nevertheless, Lidra stared in confusion as her magic crystal vanished and her source of light faded, leaving her in total darkness.

But not for long. Suddenly, the strips of glass on the ceiling shone bright, illuminating the whole place as good as sunlight. So were the colorful knobs and windowed boxes. Some of the metal rods inside the walls were moving and spinning, accompanying strange whistling sounds. The tube holding the doll was lighting up as well, casting a blue light on its sleeping face.

After that, Lidra heard the voice again.

[Energy transfer complete]

[Reading stats… Power reserve at 4.1 percent]

[Scanning… 

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Altitude: minus 7.2 meters

Speed: 8 km/h

Hull integrity: 65 percent

Warning: Critical signs of corrosion. Multiple obstacles in contact with hull]

[Scanning obstacles… Detecting soft tissues of unknown lifeform]

[Waiting for input…]

[Input not detected]

[Waiting for Central AI…]

[ERROR: Central AI not responsive]

[Executing emergency maneuver…]

[Thrusters: Full power]

"Who are you?! Get out here if you don't want to get hurt!" Lidra shouted at the voice, eyes darting back and forth as she readied her axe. In response to her action, a loud - almost screeching noise came from outside that kept increasing in pitch deafened her ears. Accompanying it was the violent rumble of the structure, akin to an earthquake.

"What the….AAAAHHHHH?!!" Suddenly, the whole structure launched forward, throwing Lidra back and slamming her against the interior wall.

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On the surface, the camp was in chaos. The princess's scream had woken up everyone, and they didn't have to take long to connect it - and its owner's disappearance, to the towering column of sand spewing dust all over the place. Unfortunately, before they had time to gear up, the worm had quickly burrowed itself and left.

"Calvaries, on your horses! Mages, prepare tracking magic! And who was the sonofabitch that stood guard last night? Come out here and I'll give you the honor of replacing our flag with YOUR FUCKING HEAD ON A STICK!!!" A middle aged, tough looking man yelled.

"Nowhere to be found, captain! I think they ran away with two of our horses!" One of the soldiers spoke.

"Desertion? And they call themselves the royal guards?" The captain spat. "Infantry, after them. The rest, track the worm immediately! If something happens to the princess you're all gonna become fried dango!"

"Captain!" The soldiers interrupted him.

"What?!"

"Look!" They pointed over the captain's shoulder. He turned around just in time to witness something flying into the sky, leaving behind a trail of smoke and blood: A black triangular object that didn't resemble anything they'd seen before, covered in pieces of flesh and was pumping out bright blue flame in the back. After a few seconds in the air, it began to wobble and rapidly descend before crashing into the sand.

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