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Inner Sanctum First Floor | 11:13 AM | Third Day
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goodness sake, what now?" Kamrusepa snapped, putting a hand over the left side of her face.
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been the one we saw--"
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not okay. My heart was still pounding in my chest at a rate I hadn''t known it capable of, and I was desperately pulling air into my lungs at a rate where you''d think I''d just been deep sea diving. Sweat covered my body, and it felt as though I''d developed a fever on the spot.
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terrified. And I wasn''t even sure why. Well, way beyond the level that seemed to have afflicted everyone else. The weight of Lilith''s body, so light a moment ago, felt like it was pressing down on me like a 10 ton weight.
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happened out there?" Linos asked, wheeling himself closer. Theo stayed at the table, looking on anxiously.
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all entrances."
"Hey, if you say so," they said, throwing their hands up.
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now?" Zeno asked, stepping down through the hall once again again. "The logic bridges in both rooms are going off, and two of you just came through bearing that girl''s mother in some half-dead state." She shook her head. "I swear, I can''t take one moment to focus on my work without something or another going to shit out here."
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I for one am going to listen," Zeno said, stepping forward. "We must get in contact with Hamilcar regardless, and I''m accustomed to avoiding manipulation. "
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That''s it, then. If two people had already decided to listen, then the outcome was inevitable. After all, exclusivity of information would just serve to enhance the culprit''s power if they delivered a message attempting to divide us.
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Oh, that''s clever, a logical part of my brain picked up on. He''s making sure he can''t be framed as the one broadcasting the message somehow, because he won''t be attuned to the bridge to begin with. It won''t deflect suspicion completely, but it''s a good step!
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master wishes to convey his congratulations in regard to your efforts in his game up until this point," it said, monotone as ever. "You have performed nobly in working together to undermine his servants'' pursuit of your lives, with few of your comrades claimed, and have even displayed bravery and camaraderie in the face of strife. For this reason, in the infinite mercy of heaven, you have been afforded a respite."
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However," it continued, "in spite of this, you are still betrayed by your conceit and lack of fundamental virtue, and have presumed yourself to have triumphed over him. As too with your belief that you are above your mortality, you will not be permitted to persist in this notion. So far, you have contended only with the lesser of the divine beasts. But now the greater of the two, the serpent, shall take the stage, and strike such to refute your presumed invulnerability. You are offered this warning only as a courtesy; preparation will be fruitless, for there is no defense against the power of the gods."
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That''s a good point. Taking a moment to think about it, a better question than what I was missing was what I could be sure of at all. There were several questions: Was the message pre-recorded, or sent directly from another person? And if it was pre-recorded, then had it been triggered by someone, or was it simply set to arrive at a particular time, scripted into the system like the false lockdown which had begun all this?
No, it couldn''t have been set to go on its own, I recalled. At least, not from within the system. Anna would have seen it. Unless it was so minor a function she wouldn''t have noticed...?
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I''ll take a look at once, sir.
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Stealth. Subversion. Lying...
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