“…Final report. This is the Deep Dive Team, operation codena ‘Coming of Age’…”
A faint voice echoed in Yu Sheng’s ears, leaving him frozen in place.
He raised his head and saw the mysterious control hall lose all color. Foxy and Irene were suspended like two phantom figures in a black-and-white world. Even the falling bullet hung in midair, a few centiters above the ground. Only that low voice continued, echoing through the stillness as if spoken by soone right next to him.
This scene was exactly like those tis he experienced “Conversation With The Dead.”
The voice kept speaking, as though the speaker stood less than a ter away. Yu Sheng saw nobody there, yet he heard soone muttering into so sort of recording device—not directed at him, but rather a self-recorded report:
“…Everyone in our team has lost the ability to move. We collapsed in this hall. Our bodies are lting like wax. Our minds…are tangled up with all sorts of strange things, all mixed together…
“My na is…is…no, I can’t rember.
“This is the final report. I don’t know if this recording will ever reach headquarters, but I want to record what we’ve seen.
“Anka Aila was a ship—at least when it first set sail. After it made contact with that device called the ‘Umbilical Cord,’ we learned many of its secrets.
“I…don’t understand where this ship originally ca from. The mories passed to us through the Umbilical Cord were wild and chaotic. It seems to have drifted for a very long ti, so long it’s beyond rational understanding. It ca from a place entirely different from our known universe… Perhaps it’s that ‘Outside’ the Scholars once guessed at.
“But now, that ship has turned into sothing beyond our grasp. I can’t find the words to describe all I saw when I connected with the Umbilical Cord. I saw steel lt in the light. I saw blood flowing through its fuel pipes. I saw it grow flesh. Its engine roared with a burning howl. It kept talking to , saying countless things, and the droning noise nearly destroyed my mind…
“We escaped from the chamber where the Umbilical Cord lies and ca back here to wait for death. The damage it caused us is irreversible. Our protective gear failed. This change is happening from the inside out. I feel sothing watching us right now. It’s looking through each of our own eyes.
“[I think I understand,] we are all becoming part of it.”
A heavy bout of breathing followed. Yu Sheng sensed the voice drifting strangely through the hall, then it steadied in a different spot:
“We don’t know what cos next—death, or sothing worse. We were prepared for anything when we set out, and we don’t fear it. But we worry about the disastrous consequences once ‘it’ breaks free.
“Anka Aila, this otherworldly ark that has learned to think, is still trapped for the mont in that dream called ‘Fairy Tale.’ One day it will tear itself free. Deep inside, sothing is growing—so kind of new life maturing at the far end of the Umbilical Cord. But that Cord is damaged. We can’t be sure what that new life is. One thing is certain: the mont it utters its first cry, Borderland will witness countless deaths.
“To whoever gets this recording—whether Special Affairs Bureau reinforcents or so other team investigating later—you must stop that thing from being born, no matter the cost.
“If you pass through this hall, you’ll find a short corridor. At the end is the room housing the Umbilical Cord. Inside, a mortal mind can barely connect with Anka Aila. That might be the only way to fight—or at least drive out—these Dark Angels. We failed; our minds couldn’t endure its onslaught. But if you’ve made it here alive, if you can still keep your sanity and understand these words, then maybe you can succeed.
“Try it—there’s no reward or paynt. We have nothing left to offer you, not even so grand noble cause…
“All we can do is beg you to try…before ‘its’ child enters our world…”
Suddenly, the bullet hanging in midair fell to the ground with a crisp clang. Colors rushed back into the control hall, and the world whirred to life again.
Yu Sheng looked down and saw the bullet bounce twice, rolling to a stop by his foot. Nearby, a dark stain—like dried blood—spread from the strange machine to where he stood.
Could this be the blood that “they” left here seventy years ago?
He lifted his gaze and found a figure standing quietly nearby, staring straight at him.
It was a hunter’s outfit floating in midair. Beneath the hood was empty darkness, with no face to see. The entire form looked like an illusion, without a trace of reality.
Yu Sheng glanced at himself and noticed his own Hunter garb had vanished at so point.
Foxy was beside him, carrying Irene. Irene held Squirrel in her arms. All three looked at that hazy figure. In unison, they gasped, “Hunter!”
Yu Sheng’s expression did not change. He steadied himself, then stepped forward.
“…It has been so many years,” ca the hollow voice, echoing directly in his mind.
“We’ve been trying to return to this place for so long, even though we forgot why we had to co back. Anka Aila turned us into ‘Hunters’ within the Black Forest. This hunter’s outfit beca a strong shell, trapping us in that angelic dream that repeats over and over. We tried to speak with the ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ who wandered in, but we weren’t allowed to do anything except shoot the Evil Wolf. Each ti we tried to rember our mission and purpose, the mories wore away during the rembering.”
The figure raised a hand, pointing to the center of the hall.
“Ten bodies lie there, but there are twelve souls. At the last mont, we managed to send two of those bodies back to reality. We hoped the leftover nerve signals in their brains might bring news of what happened here to headquarters. Ever since, we’ve been waiting for reinforcents—but honestly, we had no real hope. In those days, the two bodies we sent out were already heavily contaminated. It was impossible for them to carry any rational ssage.
“So when you showed us that group photo, we were stunned. It broke the ‘role’ that Anka Aila forced upon us.”
“Yes, you all snapped out of it,” Yu Sheng said with a faint smile. “You even fired a bullet at . It hurt, you know.”
“…We’re sorry, but that happened on the Black Forest stage,” the Hunter replied. “It was the only out-of-bounds act we could manage. And that was only because you had taken in Wolf’s blood at the ti. We could then ‘treat’ you as an Evil Wolf. Death in the Black Forest is always temporary. Repeated deaths lead to deeper corruption and wolf-like transformations that are even more dangerous.”
Yu Sheng thought for a mont. [Probably best not to ntion I physically entered that place, so that bullet really did kill .] He decided to stay quiet.
“Anyway,” he said, “your reinforcents are here.” He pointed to himself, then to Foxy, Irene, and Squirrel beside him. “We’re not from the Special Affairs Bureau, but they hired us. Sorry we’re a little late.”
The Hunter only shook its head in silence.
Then it raised its hand, pointing to a door on the other side of the hall.
“Through there is the room with the Umbilical Cord.”
“What else is inside?” Yu Sheng asked, his face growing serious. “What do I need to do?”
“It’s a small room that seems like a maintenance platform. The Umbilical Cord is in the center of that ring-shaped platform. It connects to a lower level we never reached. We don’t know what’s down there, but that’s where Anka Aila’s ‘child’ is being nurtured.
“If you touch the Umbilical Cord, you can form the deepest link with Anka Aila. But as for what happens next…”
The Hunter trailed off. After a long pause, it shook its head slowly.
“I don’t need to tell you it’s dangerous. We can’t promise you anything. In fact, no human has ever connected with the Dark Angels and erged unscathed. From a purely logical standpoint, it’s fine if you just leave now.”
“If I’d been logical about this,” Yu Sheng said with a grin, “I wouldn’t have co in the first place.”
He waved a dismissive hand and continued, “That’s enough. I’ll go check it out. You all can rest here. It’s been so many years—you deserve a break.”
He turned and walked toward the door the Hunter had pointed out. Foxy followed at once. Irene and Squirrel both looked anxious, but since Irene was in Foxy’s arms and Squirrel in Irene’s, they had no choice but to tag along.
Behind them, the Hunter’s voice called, “Wait—”
Yu Sheng only gave a small nod without turning around. He wore a faint smile.
“Don’t worry. I’ll try.”
He opened the unlocked door, revealing a dimly lit corridor. At its far end, a ring of dull red lights flickered in the darkness, like a silent invitation—or perhaps an ominous warning.
That baby’s cry echoed again. This ti it wasn’t distant or faint, but close and painfully real, as though it ca from within that pulsing red glow.
Yu Sheng’s lips curved slightly. He took a step forward and walked into the shadows.
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