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"Damn it!!"
Soone roared inside the eting room. The already tense atmosphere seemingly snapped because of this.
"You all are useless! How long have you been tasked with monitoring the void!? How could you miscalculate the timing!? Did none of you even think of double checking everything before letting anybody pass the gates!? What the fuck are we supposed to do now!?"
The person that's been dishing out harsh words looked like a mantis with mostly fenine features and voice. The sounds of her mandibles echoed across the room; they clucked in agitation and anxiety.
Despite her barrage of questions, none dared to say a word. They won't dare, and she knows that they wouldn't. Honestly, she's not expecting them to say anything in return, because if there's one thing clear here, it would be the fact that she's being unreasonable. And she herself knows this too.
"Get out! All of you! Back to your work! If this ever happens again, I swear I'll be the first one to kill you!" She screeched at the n around her.
Said n didn't waste any ti and hurriedly excused themselves out of the room, not daring to even breathe too loudly or look back.
However, so people remained. One of which was a Titan who had shrunk himself so that he could fit into the room. Even so, though, he still easily stood at 10 ters tall and couldn't get any smaller than that.
Unlike the rest, this titan wasn't even remotely intimidated by the sharp and foul attitude of the mantis lady. If anything, his eyes just showed deep compassion and sincerity.
"That was a little much, Scylla. You know that they aren't to be blad for that, right?" he spoke. His voice was gravelly and rough, but kind.
The mantis lady, nad Scylla, glared harshly at the titan, who raised his arms in feigned surrender or in a pacifying manner. He inwardly reminded himself to be careful with his words, or else this lady will personally carve out his coffin for him.
If there's one thing this thing shouldn't be tested about this lady, that would be her patience. Because she evidently doesn't have a long one.
"The Void has always been unpredictable. Even our distant ancestors couldn't understand everything about it."
"This isn't about a lapse in our judgnt or a deliberate plot. It's the Void itself that decided to ss with us. Don't take out your anger on them."
The mantis lady just looked at him. Despite her harsh glare, he could see the deep grievance and worry in her face. Her mandibles still clucked with anxiety, and her blade-like arms were trembling ever so slightly.
Your journey continues on empire
"Had I known this was going to happen, I wouldn't have let him participate in this mission," she whispered.
The sheer contrast between her tone earlier and now could give anybody a whiplash. But hearing this, one would also realize why she acted unreasonably earlier.
"But you didn't," the titan said with finality in his tone. "We didn't. Our calibrations were correct. What happened was a freak accident. The Void Shift happened earlier than we expected, and there's nobody we could bla for it aside from the void itself."
"But my brother..."
"...has a high chance of surviving." The titan interrupted her. "He is trained and experienced. It wasn't his first ti Void Walking, and he's just as competent as any other team leaders out there."
"We have already predicted that he and his team arrived at the first safe zone on their route before the Void Shift happened. It is very likely that they're taking refuge inside."
"If he follows the protocol, he and his team will stay there until the end of the void shift and wait for rescue. We will do our best to search for him, so hold on and hope for the best, okay?"
The mantis lady went silent.
Inwardly, she still felt uncertain. She knows her brother more than anybody else. He knows how he easily succumbs to pressure despite his seemingly confident exterior. She's afraid that he would crumble under the duress of this unexpected event and die because of it.
This was the main reason behind his anxiety and fear. And yet, despite all of his brother's flaws, Scylla didn't want him to die out there. He's the only one left of their family. As the big sister, it is her duty to look after him. Thus, she couldn't help but bla herself and others for this, even though she knows that none of this was their fault.
She looked at the Titan and said, "You will take with you in the search and rescue operation."
She wasn't asking for permission. She's declaring her intent to him. And the titan knows that this was the best way she could cooperate in this current state. If he were to deny her of this, she would no doubt do everything in her power to go out there anyway, even if it ant dooming everyone else.
"Yes. You will be coming with . Make your preparations because we will move as soon as the Void Shift is over."
She's essentially forcing his hand, but it's fine. It's no big deal anyway.
Hearing his words, Scylla wasted no ti. She exited the room and marched to her quarters to prepare. She's going all out here, and nobody can stop her.
Alive or dead, she will see her brother.
If he's alive, good. He's grounded until he's 300 years old, though.
If he's dead, then there's no reason for her to live either. But of course, she's taking out as many Void Creatures with her.
'Damn it, Helmut! You better not do anything stupid. Sit your ass in that cave and don't go anywhere. Big sister will co and get you as soon as I can! '
**
The Void Shift is still happening...
Fortunately, though, the wall has been made. The entire team has been hidden behind it, and so was their aura. No void creatures should detect them because of this. If anyone ever wandered near the cave, they would only see a bunch of stacked rocks inside, making it look like there's nothing there, yet in truth, this was the wall that Cedric built to isolate their presence.
There's nothing else they could do aside from waiting this one out. They could only hide behind the wall that Cedric created and co out once the Void Shift was over, hoping that sobody would rescue them soon.
That said, this might be the longest week they'd ever have. Since they only brought things that's necessary for the mission and a limited amount of rations, they don't have anything to distract themselves with. There's only so much they could talk about, and even that costs energy, so they have to limit it as well.
Cedric might be the only one here that's not really as concerned with energy expenditure. He possesses a lot of it, greater than most people at his level. Actually, he has more than the team leader himself, and he's at the transitional realm. So, really, so long as he doesn't engage in any life-or-death battles, he could easily last for an entire week.
His other teammates were either sleeping or ditating to preserve their sanity. These are trying tis after all, and whatever they could do to stave away the madness was valid.
Cedric has given them enough hope that they'd make it out of here, alive. They believe that so long as they could wait this out, soone will find them and bring them back to the camp.
So swore that they'd never step into the void again after this.
Whatever they felt, however, didn't concern Cedric too much. Right now, he's busy distracting himself with sothing else.
He's still monotoring the scene outside. He could still see that the world outside was in constant motion. Sotis, the entrance to the cave could be found blocked; sotis, it's clear. Sotis, he could see nothing but a vast expanse of void, too. Other tis, he could catch glimpses of gigantic creatures probing the cave.
Again, if it weren't for the wall he built, they would've been dead by now. Fortunately, their presence was isolated by the wall.
Cedric already gave up trying to search for any visible patterns during the shift. He didn't have high hopes to begin with, but he still tried nonetheless. In the end, it was a wasted effort. But he wasn't surprised. This was the void, after all.
Deep down, Cedric hoped that the shift didn't take them too deep within the void. Which was roughly the sa thing as what their team leader was thinking and hoping.
This wasn't revealed to anybody because it would just cause even more duress to the team.
When it is said that the Void Shift changes the void as they previously knew it, each word was ant seriously. They could either end up remaining close to the gates or as far as the real depths of the void.
But since this was completely out of anyone's control, there's nothing they could do aside from waiting, hoping, and praying that things don't get worse than they already have.
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