87 - Reliquary Pt. 3 [Cherno]

A few minutes passed while Krahe and Casus both quietly walked through the vault, reading about the various relics. Most of them were wholly organic body parts, both entire limbs or individual organs, or even just particular muscle groups. Some seemed rather minimal, such as an ultra-flexible, ultra-resilient stomach that could break down nearly anything, including solid iron and bone. In fact, the more she browsed, the more Krahe realized these were weird and interesting, but not all that exceptional.

“Do not let yourself grow enamored with these toys,” Firminus affirmed her suspicion. ”This vault is stocked with curiosities of low value, to amuse guests.”

“You would do well to not cast a negative light on holy relics, Brother Firminus, even if they are among the lesser of their kind,” Fidelia said.

“Am I wrong?” Firminus countered. Fidelia did not respond.

“Spines… Spines… Truly, not many relic spines, are there? Barely any in the Outer Vaults, eleven in the Inner Vault, and ah… Four in the Sacred Vault. Looks to be around four that might fit in the Inner Vault and two in the Sacred Vault…”

He didn’t write anything down, merely murmuring to himself as he memorized each particular relic, slammed the records tome shut, and placed it back on the shelf. Needing no prompting, Fidelia opened this door as well. And the next one, and around twelve more after that. One after the next they passed through various vaults of the same design, the doors eventually moving such that the overall layout of the rooms formed a snaking formation. Eventually they reached a door of the same monolithic design as the one into the Three Saints’ chamber, including the protective Zavesh statue. Layers upon layers of security, and it was no wonder, if Casus’s accounts of a graft-saint’s capabilities were to be believed. It wasn’t unfamiliar, either; similar security methods had been observed in high-grade cyberware and weapons storage facilities back in Megacity Gamma.

Upon the door’s opening they entered into an airlock, and beyond that airlock awaited, at last, a vault deserving of the grandiose temple which stood far above. Vaulted ceilings and stone-and-metal statues of graft-saints abounded, the vast, cavernous space echoing the smallest noise. The cold air was filled with a strange chemical scent, yet one which did not agitate the nostrils, and it not only felt fresh, there was a constant, faint breeze seemingly from nowhere. Each statue of a saint was recessed within an alcove, a number of different body parts stored in plainly visible tanks and inside display cases, documentation both in text and memoryslate format arrayed on shelves just below. The size of each saint’s statue and requisite alcove varied a fair bit, correlating to their number of relics.

“Welcome to the Inner Vault!” Firminus exclaimed in a rather grandiose manner. He pulled a cigarette as if out of nowhere, and, as he walked and talked, began smoking it. ”It may seem as though security is lighter within this chamber, but I assure you, the exact opposite is the truth. It merely takes a subtler form than walls and doors. Few alive on Ashametan could break into here, let alone walk out with anything should they be unwelcome, and they would find themselves hounded to the ends of Zastreon if they did.”

He kept on walking, and walking, and walking, all the way through the vault, whose scale revealed itself to be such that Krahe for the briefest moment felt the same as she had many times in Megacity Gamma. An insect crawling upon the works of a being beyond humanity. And yet, the sole purpose of this chamber was to store and make available the sanctified body parts of possibly dead, possibly still-living saints to those who would come after them.

“You mean to test the Sacred Relics first, do you, Firmimus,” Fidelia stated flatly.

“Correct. I suspect Lady Blackhand holds the same sentiment, am I not correct?”

“The fact that you are correct does not lessen my urge to demonstrate the shortcomings of Wards by dislocating your shoulder. Do not make assumptions on my behalf in the future, please.”

“Er, understood. I shall interact with you as I would with Favonia, then. I trust that Casus has spoken to you of his hyperviolent sister, yes? I suspect you two would either get along swimmingly or jump at one another's necks inside ten minutes of occupying the same domicile.”

To Krahe’s great relief, there was no Zavesh’s Ribcage door at the other end of the Inner Vault. It was just a five-segmented door with five different keyholes, which Fidelia opened with five different keys at the ends of thin, mechanical tendrils that emerged from her sleeve. Another airlock, equipped with seating and several shelves of reading material. Beyond another five-segmented door awaited, at last, the Sacred Vault. It was a long, well-lit hallway carved in the same style as the elevator shaft, with alcoves to the sides, one for each Sacred Relic.

“Let’s see here, the spines are…” Firminus squinted, remembering. “Left Thirteen for the Molted Vestige, and Right Seventeen for the Liminal Coil. We mustn’t cross the boundary unless absolutely necessary; the choice is yours alone to make.”

“Ought I not to know their special properties before I make my choice?” Krahe asked.

Firminus agreed: “So it is, however, the specific records are only contained with the grafts. I know not what special properties they possess beyond some guesses based on my knowledge of their past users.”

“Partial intel is better than none.”

“Well, let me see then… Aspasius, the original possessor of the Molted Vestige, was a Mamon Knight renowned for his impeccable swordsmanship. He was said to be capable of copying any technique after seeing it but once, his Wards were known to be near-impenetrable even when untransformed, and he used a coupler of his own creation, which was stolen from him precisely once. The thief transformed and proceeded to drop dead from massive brain hemorrhage. Tests performed on the coupler after the fact showed that its cognitive strain factor would kill nearly anyone and would make it difficult to use even for some Fullgrafts."