Editing KSGU:Volume 10 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 4===

The gusts within the gravity block hammered away at the “Unicorn”, the water of the severed fountain blowing down, the forests surrounding the Vist residence, the trees too rumbled, the windows shaking, almost sounding like they were about to break, the noises echoing throughout the porch..

Banagher, having climbed out of the cockpit and was about to descend the simple ladder, was met with an unexpectedly strong gust of wind, causing him to be blown back and pinned onto the “Unicorn” No artificial installation could have caused such a massive gale, nothing would have, except for a breach in the outer wall. Letting air escape into vacuum—

“You’re saying this will happen every time?”
 
“Yes. Once the gravity block stops revolving, the air will move on inertia, and the cryo…will…’

The howling noises of the wind jammed the signal, and Banagher could not hear Conroy and Gael’s words completely, “Mr Gael!” Banagher called. “Banagher, look!” But Audrey’s voice rang, and he looked into the cockpit.

“The fountain’s water…!”

The all-view monitor covered the cockpit, showing the fountain behind the “Unicorn”. The water spewing out was scattered aside into countless droplets, and the basin receiving the water was throbbing like jelly. “Has gravity weakened?” banagher muttered, and clearly felt the force weaken on his body. The residential block stopped spinning, resulting in loss of gravity, and the air that flowed became strong gales, but what did that have to do with the cryo? The tremors at the feet continued, and as Banagher looked around with skeptical eyes, “Oh…!” Audrey’s sudden cry had him jolted.

“It’s like an old styled rotary lock. This revolving residential block is a double structure.”

“A double structure?”

“There’s another residential area outside of where we are, and normally, both sides spin in different directions. They only stop when the cryo’s going to open, so the entrances in the outside block and here are connected. ”

Is she referring to the impact belt? After some thought, “Is the cryo in the outer block?” Banagher figured it out “Probably.” Audrey answered, passing through the cockpit hatch.

“Both sides usually move in opposite directions, so that side’s moving quickly at relative velocity underground. It’s not wrong to say that it’s beneath the house, but not completely incorrect either…they couldn’t find the cryo, because it’s not at a single place. ”

Banagher shielded Audrey from the incoming gales, looking at his feet. The gravity block of the ”Magallanica” was half the size of a typical colony, revolving at 200km per hour. If the cryo was located in the impact belt revolving in the other direction, it would mean it was revolving beneath this gravity block at a high relative velocity. Only when both blocks stopped, when the house was connected to the cryo, would the door leading there open. “Mr Gael!” Audrey exclaimed, ignoring Banagher as he finally understood this.
 
“Where is the entrance to the cryo? We have to hurry in while it’s still connected…!”

The noise got dire, fudging Gael’s usual voice… “The seal of the ‘Box’…is opened…”  Banagher stared at the wall that was no more than 10maway from him, then at the second floor window pelted by the wind. The shut window was shaking, probably because the wind had seeped through the gap, like the seals were slowly being unraveled—

“…Over there. ”

The tapestry image he imagined shot through his mind as an instinct of firm belief.  “Banagher?” Audrey lifted her head, and Banagher held her hand, taking a step out of the cockpit, looking at the front entryway of the house at his feet. Luckily, the wind was blowing towards the residence, and the “Unicorn” would shield them as they went down. “Let’s go.” So Banagher said with this thought, and Audrey held his hand, nodding firmly, looking towards the front entryway. He cupped her shoulder, held his breath, and stepped off the cockpit hatch.

With his head looking down to the ground, Banagher went down the machine. Though they were caught in the currents, but he and Audrey stomped off the “Unicorn” knee, practically rolling into the corridor before the entryway. They were in no mood to check the door rings shaped as lions, and nudged aside the unlocked doors, shoved in by the gales, passing through the entryway before their feet could land.

The air they scented upon was the same as it was a month ago, the icy scent lifted by the incoming gales, causing the grand chandeliers hanging upon the high ceilings to sway slightly. As they drifted as though they were upon an alien spaceship drifting in space, Banagher removed his helmet, and before he could call for Audrey, she called out, “I know. That one, isn’t it?” She closed the door, hopped off the floor, and drifted with the momentum into the corridor. Banagher gave chase after the spacesuit that showed no hesitation, kicking his legs towards the room.

They passed the entryway, glancing aside at the garden with various sculptures, and moved along the long corridor. They entered the connected building, made a trn, went down another corridor, and arrived at the tall room with six tapestries. Banagher was driven by the memories of this residence a month ago—no, the days he spent living here much earlier, and walked towards the mahogany doors. There was no other place he remembered. Within this room, his mother was playing the piano, his father’s voice narrating about the depictions of the tapestries. He opened the heavy doors with bated breath, and his legs weakened as he saw the scenery before him.

There was the wall with the six tapestries hanging upon them, along with the grand piano placed in a corner. It was no different from his memories.

The photo fame atop the piano had Alberto and his mother giving seemingly reproaching looks at the intruders, but it was not the reason why his legs were buckling. Suddenly protruding in the room was a conical, tent-like thing  resembling the tapestry. The stone structure three  meters tall opened a dark hole, probably leading to the underground. It appeared to be a structure lying underground, floating up as the changes occurred in the gravity block. While Banagher was mentally prepared for this, he was momentarily unable to process this development, and cautiously stepped into the room with his heart throbbing wildly.

Atop the conical structure were the embossed words ‘A Mon Seul Desir’. This structure akin to the ‘tent’ was too dark, and large enough for a person to pass through, but there did not appear to be stairs leading to the underground. Faced with this opening of the darkness, Banagher and Audrey exchanged looks. The latter’s emerald eyes were saying that they had to do, and Banagher nodded back, took a deep breath, and leapt into the darkness. For a moment, he felt himself floating in the air, and then there was the roar of a beat, the two of them instantly sucked underground, a falling sensation engulfing them.

It was not that gravity had returned. One could sense a shaft, or a similar machine, being activated, pulling them down. Unable to see anything in the darkness, Banagher grabbed Audrey’s hand to his chest, shriveling as much as he could to endure the fear of falling. The entrance above his head instantly vanished, and they were probably tugged around in the tunnel. He had lost all sense of direction, not knowing whether he was going down or up. They were moving at high speeds down the dark corridor, the wind pressure delivering them further into the abyss.

A minute later, or shorter, the sensation suddenly stopped, and both of them were tossed into darkness devoid of noise. They stared at the darkness, their eyes not blinking. Soon after, there was a weak light by their feet, lights forming one after another, drawing a straight line. At the same time, the lights on both walls to the sides were lit, and only then did they realize they were floating on a narrow path.

There was a wall behind him, the floor and ceiling showing no signs of an exit. There was only a metal door at the very end of this windowless path, and they had no idea where they were, how they got here. Having witnessed this pitch dark space, Banagher and Audrey exchanged looks, their elbows hitting the wall. Once they touched, the gravity bogged their bodies down, their floating bodies dragged to the floor.

“Gravity has returned…”

“This is the outer block…isn’t it?”

It was half a G, but the sudden gravity left them with the heaviness of flesh and blood being ripped from their bodies. Holding themselves up, their feet stepped on the lit path as they once again looked at the metal door 30 meters away, blocking their path. This was the cryo room of the Vist Foundation’s leader, where the “Laplace Box” rested. They grabbed each other’s shoulders, their palms showing tension as they gulped, before they gingerly took the first step forward.

The lights vanished one after another as they walked on, the path behind them erased by the darkness. Since gravity had occurred again, the spinning function of the residential block should be back to normal, and there was no option to return to the Vist residence. Seemingly pursued by the darkness, Banagher stopped before the slightly curved door. The final light extinguished, and the door slid aside like a sigh. Beyond it was a space as pitch dark as the path, the returning darkness covering their eyes.

“I’ve been waiting for a long time.”

There was a voice coming from deep within the darkness, the echoing voice seemed to imply a massive space. Their shoulders shook, their still bodies frozen in place.

“All to tell you one thing.”

A weak light seeped through, stinging the eyes already used to the darkness. Countless silver lights were flickering, and one could tell those were stars of the galaxy. There was nothing distinguishing the floor, walls and ceiling, all everything within the eyes was an endless sea of stars, that one would have a feeling of being tossed into space. With Audrey’s shoulder as his only vantage point, Banagher took a firm step on the floor he could not see. The door slammed shut behind him, and it too showed the stars. The gaps on the floor could not be seen, and a panorama view of the starry space surrounded the two of them.

No, not two. There was a source of the voice in the darkness, and with focused intent, banagher stared at the starry space with a high detailed definition. Banagher convinced himself that it was simply a ridiculously oversized all-view monitor, easing himself from panic, but there was a black shadow appearing in his eyes. Center of what was probably a spherical cryo was the shape of a bed, illuminated by the surrounding stars, a lone shadow there. Banagher could tell there was a person on it.

On the slightly tilted bed was an old man with his hands outside the blanket, looking back at them. Banagher was instantly reminded of Cardeas Vist’s eyes, his still body quaking.

Banagher could not voice out, not because he was overly shocked, but that the moment he saw the eyes, the searing emotions in his chest exploded, the scattering shrapnel stuffing his throat. He clenched his fights, looking back at the eyes similar to his own reflection. Standing next to him, Audrey eked out a hoarse voice, “So you are the leader, Syam Vist…am I correct?” The old man remained on the bed, still motionless as he turned his eyes towards Audrey. The head brace functioning as a vitals control glittered like the stars, his frail face making a smile or sorts. There was an irresistible impression within Banagher’s heart that told him, yes, he knew this man.

“The descendant who inherits our bloodline, and the Princess of Zeon…there are none more worthy to inherit the ‘Laplace Box’ than you.”

An earnest smile appeared on his lips, the dark brown eyes giving a look of geniality and kindredness. That forlorn smile stabbed deeply into Banagher’s heart, but he did not look away from the face of Syam Vist. The eyes lost no sharpness despite the smile, shining a sharp glint back at him. There was no trace of intimidation, merely a silent stare faltering unwittingly, shone a lonely glint after a passage of years.