[Recollection Log No. 5: “Temptation”
Date: xx/xx/45CA 341st Sept. Cycle of the Void Sun
Archive Class: Field Log – Artifact First Contact: Peacebringer Location: Alibrean Fortress – Inner Chamber of Inaris Author: Recollector Sho] //
LOG COMMENCE
The Albirean Fortress was abandoned, which made it simple to navigate, though I had to rely on my light baton to navigate my way through the pervasive darkness.
The weapon vault lies beneath the Inner Sanctum of the Fortress, accessible through a collapsed reliquary concealing a narrow stairwell. The location felt arbitrary, and strangely unguarded.
The Peacebringer unceremoniously lay on the ground at the center of the vault, half-sheathed in an ebony scabbard, as if someone attempted to draw it but failed. There were no chains to bind it, no locks, nor any other contraption to prevent it from being stolen. When I unsheathed the blade from the scabbard, I felt an unnatural warmth and moisture in my hands, as if some unseen beast had breathed on it. The blade itself is unassuming in form: a blackened hilt bearing a long, broad silver blade. There were curiously no golden ornaments, as the legends falsely proclaimed.
The only notable feature was a crimson-colored rock – less a gem but more like a bloodshot eye of some wild beast—affixed like a parasite on the crossguard.
For a moment, I could have sworn that the ‘eye’ had shifted to meet my gaze. With the Peacebringer retrieved, there was no reason for me to linger in the Fortress — but I was held captive by a sudden snowstorm which had formed outside. I decided to take shelter for the time being, and initiated low-power mode to suppress non-vital functions. I seated myself against a stone table, and lay Peacebringer across my feet. I turned off my light baton, and the darkness returned.
—INTERREGNUM—
[///KASHOPEA SECRETARY SYSTEM:
This portion of the field log has been marked for deletion upon migration to USER SHO’s personal log. If you are an unintended recipient of this communication, please delete and remove any traces of this log.]
Dear Sister [REDACTED],
We do not need to feign cordiality, but I believe cooperation is necessary to achieve our common goals.
In the spirit of full transparency, I will share with you what I have experienced as I sat in silence in the Fortress, waiting for the snowstorm to pass. This will not appear in my official report, and Father Father Zaleri will not know about this. First of all, you need to know tha this Low-power mode is not true sleep for automata, and passive memory defragmentation cycles occur when in an idle state.
Unlike a human in a sleep cycle, automata are fully conscious during this altered state, which is why I am able to relay this information. Peacebringer spoke to me.
Or at least, I had perceived a sensation of being spoken to, during this state. My passive auditory receptor had recorded our dialogue, so I am certain that this was not a mere hallucination.
To prevent a subjective recollection, I am sharing with you the exact transcript:
//TRANSCRIPTION ENTRY//
[Voice in the Darkness]: You are tired, friend?
SHO: Who’s there? Sister Ell? I told Father I don’t need back-up. It’s not safe for you here.
[Voice in the Darkness]: I am called PAX.
SHO: I am SHO. Reveal yourself.
PAX: I have not moved, friend. I am gently nestled beneath your feet.
SHO: The Peacebringer… speaks?
PAX: Yet you are not surprised?
SHO: You are strange. I have seen stranger.
PAX: You are strange yourself, friend.
SHO: How so?
PAX: I have not seen a mechanical human before. Perhaps I have slumbered too many aeons.
SHO: Then I apologize for the rude awakening. How did you know I’m automata?
PAX: I can hear your heart, friend. It does not follow the rhythm of flesh humans.
SHO: Right. PAX: Can you tell me… how long has it been, friend?
SHO: It is the 341st cycle of the Void Sun.
PAX: A long time. Tell me, friend, have all the flesh humans been replaced with mechanical humans like yourself by now?
SHO: No. Not entirely.
PAX: A shame. Friend… do you have a master?
SHO: I have no master. I serve my Father.
PAX: Mechanical humans have fathers?
SHO: He is my creator. I will not argue the philosophical difference.
PAX: I had a father too, once. I still see him in my dreams. How is your Father called, friend?
SHO: He is called Father ZALERI. But do not address him as Father. You are not like us.
PAX: Zaleri? That is curious. I have known a Zaleri before my long slumber, friend. I believe… “Zaleri the Lich,” is what the Albireans called him.
SHO: That is not possible. It has been two hundred cycles since the Battle of the Thornless Roses.
PAX: A short time for Zaleri, I’m sure.
SHO: Whatever it is, don’t insult my Father, if you don’t want to end up thrown into the void-space… friend.
PAX: I did not mean anything, friend. I was likewise called many things, none of them true.
SHO: Let’s not talk about Father anymore.
PAX: I am sorry. Then what do you wish to talk about?
SHO: The Battle. How did Sartoria manage to bring down an army of 10,000 Albirean soldiers?
PAX: There was no such army.
SHO: What? Then how many were there?
PAX: You do not understand, friend. There was no battle.
SHO: Ah, so the Peacebringer not only talks, but also lies. They should call you the Liar Sword.
PAX: …
SHO: Finally, you shut up. Good. Now let me rest.
PAX: Friend, I have a final query: is there anything you want in this world?
SHO: I serve Zaleri. I want what he wants.
PAX: Is there anyone you want to protect?
SHO: I protect Zaleri. And he protects us.
PAX: You know, there may come a time where even the great Zaleri will fall, and no one will protect you—or your Sister.
SHO: Your dare…Are you threatening my sister?
PAX: A most curious response, friend.
SHO: I just told you, I’m bringing you back to Zaleri. And then he will probably sell you to Viktor Fang, I don’t really care. So just…shut up. Don’t mention my sister again before you end up damaged goods.
PAX: Understood friend, but I have one final question, if you can indulge me. SHO: Friend, my indulgence is plenty, but my patience grows thinner by the second…
PAX: Friend, are you my master?
SHO:
[REDACTED]
//END LOG//
