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endbook rogue 3 1 3
Magallan is walking along the plains spread across the subterranean realm.
The land is vast, yet few know of the wonders here beneath the surface.
Three days ago, she rappelled down one of the deep holes found across Sami, trying to discover the secrets within the 'scars of the earth.'
In her investigations, she finds plants attached to the rock wall as well as slimy secretions, increasing in frequency as she descends further.
Past a certain depth, the plants and secretions fill virtually the entire space.
But Magallan finds a way to keep going down, down, down.
Searching in the vegetation, reaching out in the darkness.
Finally, her hand finds wet, slippery rock. She has reached the deepest part of the hole.
This place is like an ethereal paradise, the mist veiling everything that the light touches.
The earth below and the rocks around are damp, but the air feels slightly dry.
It feels less like Sami than a forest in Victoria or Leithanien.
Magallan checks the equipment that she brought.
All instruments are silent, and her other equipment is less responsive than it should be.
She must light a torch and proceed in the darkness.
......
It hardly feels like she is underground. She might as well not be, except for the solid rock where the sky ought to be.
Moss and lichen have thoroughly covered the few fallen rocks.
Plants the likes of which Magallan has never seen grow in abundance. Their fruits look tasty, but eating them is a risk that she will not take while she still has rations with her.
There are even streams and rivers in this underground space. Real water, no different from above ground. It is cold and sweet, with a flavor that Magallan cannot describe.
Ancient? Lost? Or—
Magallan savors it again.
It is the sound of silence.
It is a soundless lament.
Magallan follows the water and finds a cave at the end.
Magallan follows the cave and finds a regularly blinking light at the exit.
Attached to the cave, it spreads out far and wide, branching and blinking constantly.
But the light in the middle is the brightest.
Magallan follows the light.
She does not know how much time has passed. Time no longer seems important.
......
She has already cast aside all her gear. She holds a single walking stick in her hand, and her long hair hangs down.
She has not started a fire for a long time, for the rock wall continues to provide light from time to time.
Rations have long since run out, replaced by fruit and spring water.
She keeps walking, walking, accompanied by her most loyal companion.
Passion for exploration.
The thirst for knowledge.
Finally, Magallan finds herself at the end of the road.
There is a great tree there, not unlike the clan trees that Magallan has seen before.
It is wrapped in an oval membrane that expands and contracts.
Each cycle sends a ripple into the darkness in the distance.
That light led Magallan here.
The end of an exploration, a journey for knowledge.
Magallan decides to seek her reward in the most primitive way.
She reaches out and touches the membrane.
It throbs powerfully and repels her hand.
A light shoots out towards the distance from the rock wall above, splitting and glowing like stars in the night.
Magallan thinks.
She puts her hand to her chest.
She feels her heartbeat and that of the tree.
She understands now.
It is no plant.
It is the heart of Sami.
She has walked across Sami's spine, challenged Sami's will.
She has descended into Sami's scar, and wandered inside Sami's body.
Through Sami's bones, following the lights of Sami's neural network.
Sami forgives her intrusion.
It has shown her Its scars and vulnerability, as a gift to the explorer.
No one knew of Sami's pain, until now. Compassion from a kindly spirit gives comfort to Its tired soul.
Magallan turns around and finds the rope she came down from.
All she needs to do is tie it around her, tug on it, and she will return to the surface.
Or...
Magallan keeps walking.
The wall at the end of the road.
There are symbols there, which Magallan has seen on sculptures.
Sami's message.
A message of concern, not for Sami Itself, but for Magallan.
The path ahead will not be so smooth.
But she keeps walking.
Past the illusion of the end, past Sami's mirages, from light into darkness.
Sami does not understand. Sami is silent.
Magallan keeps walking.
She wants to reach Sami's brain, understand the source of Sami's memories and emotions.
She wants to learn about Sami.
She wants to understand Sami.
