Inganock: Dark Green Zanthu Start

 

~8th Year in Inganock, Unknown Season. Fantasy City~

...This was before he ascended the Golden Spiral Staircase.

...This was in the Fantasy City.

"Hey, this ain't good!"

Said a round, giant rodent to Gii near the entrance of a small repair shop.

He didn't know exactly when they started to have the expressions and emotions of a rodent. It would have been difficult to remember even if he tried. Especially when seeing them in person who was only three feet tall. To more accurately describe their appearance, they were something of a "round bipedal rodent". Evenmore, they were capable of human speech. Although it wasn't particularly strange when it comes to this Fantasy City. He was talking to two insects who were his employees without hesitation. This would have been more natural if he were Human.

"Really, really. You've come to the right place, Gii."

"You got any problems, Morimoto?"

Morimoto the mechanic. That was the giant rodent's name.

Originally, he was a true Human. However, he changed following the Revival ten years ago.

This was now the 2nd year since Gii and this fine rodent have been together.

It was ever since the Steel Spider incident. It was one where a Great Scholar who was rumored to have survived the Cracking Effect Experiment had created a steam engine weapon that went out of control on the 11th tier of the lower tiers. The rodent knew of this but had cooperated with the Scholar in its creation without complaint and without promise of a reward or threat. As a result, he got caught up in the weapon's rampage and was on the verge until Gii was able to save his life as a result of a call from Ati, and was there to treat the Runner who fought off the weapon.

Currently, he runs a repair shop on the 9th tier. The wounds he suffered have completely healed thanks to Gii using the Cracking Effect, and he had paid the fine from City Management Department for a few months where he successfully reclaimed citizenship.

"I'm a man who never forgets favors, Gii. I'm grateful to you and the Black Cat. I'm someone whose happy as long as he get to play around with Engine Machines and very satisfied for this city. But if I were to die, that would be the end of it."

I see, Gii thought.

Was it normal for a rodent to look down and not say anything while fidgeting? 

"You are my benefactors. Hence why I've prioritized your requests. Even I'm busy with work, I can take your shillings."

"You've saved me there, Morimoto."

"I'm sorry. I really am. It might even kill Ati."

"What...?"

Naturally, he wasn't able to stop observing the staff upon them saying that. Morimoto asked Gii if that was truly the case even as he didn't lose pace were he in trouble or in a hurry. But what exactly did that mean? He spoke to him with a little more force.

"Well, I implanted a new product from the Biring firm into the Black Cat's spine."

"The Accelerator?"

"Yes. It was advertised as being cheap with a low rate of jamming and rejections. But when I checked it out, it turned out to be a defective product...I had to take it out before the automatic nerve exchange even started..."

"What would have happened if you did?"

"They might have died."

Morimoto was getting smaller and smaller. The rodent was curling his back and making his head so close to the ground, it was like he could turn into a mole at any moment. Gii sighed while looking at his head. Though it was a step away from it, it wasn't the worst case scenario. Or perhaps it was fortunate that Morimoto was a man of old-fashioned gratitude and that if he had told Ati of this, the Biring firm would have had a hard time of being in the clutches of a Runner.

"When was it implanted?"

"1 in the afternoon."

Right now it was just after 4.

"How many hours after implementation until the automatic exchange of neural fluids starts?"

"4 hours from now."

"...Got it."

Gii sighed heavily.

Morimoto continued to curl up.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"What's the matter, Gii? What's making you looking more pale than usual there?"

"..."

"What's wrong? It's rare for you to come to a place like this. I do recall you telling me about a live venue show, yeah? This little band is pretty popular on the radio at the moment. The vocalist was a girl I just met briefly at work before."

"..."

"Seriously, what is the problem, Gii? These sort of things aren't your style. You're more like into proper stringed instruments."

"..."

"Hey. You don't suppose we should take back this dusty instrument for repairs, hmm?"

"..."

"I'm sure Morimoto can fix it up. Ah, but Morimoto's ain't good himself either. He never gives me a discount, and today wouldn't be any different. Although I figured the implementation fee would be cheaper than that of a Mechanical Doctor, he charged me exactly the same as the going fee."

"..."

"He's quite the stingy guy, you know."

"..."

"Ain't that right, Gii?"

It was an outfit he'd never seen her wear before, but it fitted her so well.

The black tail was even joyfully dancing around. It seemed fortunate that the nerve fluid exchanged hadn't yet started. There weren't any issues with the black cat Ati's movement on the tails tip. Gii was told of that through his "Right Eye".

"Hey, Gii."

"..."

"Gii. Dr. Gii? Hello, are you there?"

He was tired. He was too tired to even speak up.

He had ran around to mechanical bars and arcades that Ati had likely went to all the while making contact with mutual acquaintances through a small Engine Phone. He had officially requested for a Runner and even called out for a Hacker when he finally remembered about that night a week ago.

The black cat had crawled into his bed as usual where they were discussing something. He figured the cat was in a pretty good mood, but was unable to clearly remember what they talked about.

He'd have to better listen on her talking next time.

Thinking over this, he took a deep breath. Even though he didn't ran here at full speed, he was pretty exhausted both physically and mentally.

"Gii?"

"...Let's go somewhere private, Ati."

"Eh?"

"No. Rather, let's go somewhere where we can rest."

"I'm hoping it's not a coffin. I'd want something where two people can fit on it. Like a motel or a bed."

"Er, what are you on about?"

Ati shook her head in a panic.

"W-what's with you all of a sudden? Why would you suddenly say something like that, Gii?"

Something was off. Could the neural fluid exchange have started already?

No, that can't be. There were still ten more minutes left. Once the exchange starts, there'd be no way for them to speak. Their immune system and nervous system would be ravaged following violent convulsions, and then the person would perish.

"There's not much time. We have to hurry. I don't know a whole lot about this area in the 12th tier, especially Music Street."

"W-what do you mean we don't have time...?"

The sentence right at the ended faded away, with the black cat's head slowly hanging down.

Just like that. Her behavior was similar to Morimoto's earlier. Unlike him, however, Ati didn't cover her face or put her head into the ground. There's something strange about them, Gii thought in a corner of his panicked mind.

"We don't have much time, Ati."

"Not much...?"

"Yes."

"I-I see. If that's the case, I got no other choice then..."

"I've said this many times already, we don't have much time. We have to deal with this promptly."

"Y-y-you mean like dispose of it?" The black cat was at a loss for words. Her eyes were blinking rapidly many times. "Still, this is so rare. I feel like you've only invited me once or twice before, Gii..."

"I saw a few places we can go to on the way here. Let's get to them now, okay?"

"Y-yes..."

The redness of her cheeks were perhaps signs of nerve stress or rejection. She was stroking her eye on the one without the eyepatch, which was a sign of a dangerous situation. That's what Gii thought. That was all he can think of.

"Let's get a move on."

"But we have a duty to go and see the concert but...if you say so, I'll go with you. We're friends, after all... I'll always go with you...it's alright... consider it a special favor."

It's alright. Huh?

Though he had some doubts about that, removing the accelerator and fixing her spinal cord at the same time takes priority.

Gii took hold of the black cat's hand and pulls it hard. He walked straight out of the music venue entrance and head towards a cheap hotel...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"...I miscaluclated and lost myself."

"You nearly lost your life. You didn't lose anything."

"...I miscalucalted and lost myself."

"Why are you puffing out your cheeks like that?"

"...Because I miscalculated and lost myself."

"You didn't lose anything. I've safely removed the defective product from your body...hm?"

"...What? What is it?"

"No. This accelerator is odd."

"...What's so odd about it?"

Inside the cheap hotel. Ati was laying around naked, no scars from the surgery were left on her back. Only those from her work have remained. The Cracking Effect Gii used allowed him to remove the Biring firm's new Accelerator without damaging the nerves, muscles, or skin. The small Crack Engine was now in Gii's hand, which silently caught his gaze. Gii's fingers tore off the translucent protective plate. Behind it was a tiny chrome engine less than an inch in size, engraved with a formula that would forcibly apply neural acceleration in the body.

"This is..."

No. What he had picked up wasn't metal.

It was a crystalline fragment as dark green as the trees in the upper tiers parks.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~End of the year 534 in the Union Calendar. Seikyo~

...This was after he had ascended the Golden Spiral Staircase.

...This was in the Holy City in Seikyo.

He was an odd-looking man.

A tall man with shiny black leather belts covering his eyes.

The man opens up the iron door silently and enters the room. In the dim room lit faintly by a sole Engine Light, the man's face wasn't visible. His tall, slender body was a little thin yet he gave off the impression of being strong. His jacket and shirt were made of black leather like the eye's strap and were made for ease of movement which showed off his ample muscles.

He was a black man with an odd appearance with multiple leather belts wrapped around his eyes.

Despite his blindness, he was someone that seemed capable of doing many things.

The owner of the room stared at the man and shrugged. It was a young woman sitting deeply in a dining chair at the back of the room was the room's owner. The woman had welcomed him in gently, yet the man didn't respond. The woman looked closely at the man whose eyes were hidden. Realizing that he wasn't going to break the silence around them, she shrugged her shoulders.

"Good day to you, Agent M."

Purple smoke drifted about.

The tip of the hookah close by the lips of the woman who spoke.

"It's hard to believe that I'd have the infamous Napoleon of Crime come all the way here to Rome. For what have I done to disrespect your leader, Master Althotas?"

"It's been a long time, Annie Besant."

He spoke quietly.

There was just something "dreadful" about his voice.

It was something the woman missed. Many men and women who had not yet lost their radiance even in dust and smoking guns would have said the same thing as her.

"Yes. Though if you want to refer to me by name, Annie is fine," The woman narrowed her eyes and smiled. "How may I help you, Mister M?"

This place. This room. It was more secure than a cardinal's room in the Holy City of Rome. It was a place not anyone was permitted to enter, not even the Pope. There was simply no way the man could have entered without alerting the guards. And yet, the man came in anyway. This Agent M was a member of an organization whom should be her mortal enemy.

"I'd like to hear your thoughts on something."

"On what?" The woman smiled.

"Inganock."

"...Ah. Well. Seems like you got some free time. I suppose you've come here for Rome for a name?"

She waited for a response, only to have silence. The woman had taken that as a yes.

"Right, now that I think about it. I did in fact sent a letter to him, one of the Three Wise Men and not to you, M. Did you come to ask for that?"

"Yes."

"No. It's just our memories and attachments fade as we get older."

The woman whispered words of an old woman as though it were like a little girl's secret.

Had it been anyone else, they would have rolled their eyes at her. But the man merely stood there, awaiting the woman to speak. It was for the answer he sought for.

"I believe the 41 Steel Ones were named after Babbage's legacy, which had to have been quite a spiritual event and of ritualistic significance."

"Their 'naming', huh?"

"In simple terms, it has to do with the old magic. The law of Naming things as classified by the Circuit as you call it. Naming is something we cannot get away from."

Naming was assigned to everything.

That was the present civilization of earth's human race, which has undergone industrial and engine revolutions.

"In other words. I suspect that the vaguely tenuous Steel Ones inherited that name so as to link civilization to the Old Ones."

"A link..."

"Yes. A connection of names leads to a connection of existences just the same way as it goes for links."

"I see. I guess this wasn't such a complete joke, after all."

The man's tone was mixed with emotions. Was it sarcasm towards the woman, or perhaps self-mockery? Seeming as though his business was over, the man turned on his heels and went to leave the room. Placed on the desk, rather than being that of explosives, poison, or knives, was a set of dirty stacked bills. It was a thousand Franc bills. For others, this would have been nothing. But for the woman, who controls the Theosophical Society which is a desert-based organization now connected to a higher organization, this was a measly amount that needed no complaints.

The woman called out to the man telling him that she had no need for such thing, but the man shrugged and spoke to her.

Though his eyes were covered, he still looked at the woman directly.

"I'll be on my way."

"To where?"

"Inganock. There's something I forgot to get."

...Inganock.

It was the name of a land located on the edge of the Known World, a foreign land that can be reached by crossing through the English northern sea. It was once referred to as the Enclosed City. It was a site full of transiences for a decade, as some fantastical people have said to have been overlooked by two suns. It was an absurd and impossible city where even time was controlled by two suns, where a child who was two when the fog closed them in became 12 when the fog cleared up. It was the remains of a dream that some Scholars claim as the only place in the world to have experienced a stagnation of time nearly five times that.

There was certainly no need of gold here. The Franc's mean nothing here. In the Known World, there were no banking facilities that can exchange bills other than in pounds, and nobody understood what Francs are.

"I see. In that case, do be careful you don't become so engrossed in your search for a beautiful emerald that you might even get caught in the claws and fangs of a strong stray cat."

"I have no need for your concerns."

He muttered softly.

The strange man with his concealed eyes left the dimly lit room.

(To be continued)