You know, there are many questions in Michael's head ever since arriving in this world.
How did I get here? Why did I get here as an Ethereal? Why is the moon haunted?
Now, another question, one Michael didn't think he needed to ask until now, popped up in his head. "What the hell are they doing here in Hollow Zero?"
It has been a week since he acquired his new ability to transform. Ever since then, he had done as usual, wandering Hollow Zero, scavenging for supplies, refining his abilities, and, of course, making sure to look behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed, just in case.
Today was supposed to be no different, but that routine was thrown out of the window when he stumbled upon a strange sight. A mother, with what he presumed was her child in her arms, was being chased by some Ethereals.
In Hollow Zero.
Without an ounce of hesitation, Michael followed after them.
The clothes the woman and child were wearing were strange. More fitting for a religious setting, both of them wear matching white robes and pants, with hoods covering their heads.
Not only that, while running, Michael could hear the mother incessantly mutter prayers to some kind of being called 'The Creator' to save her and her child and to forgive her for leaving a group she called 'The Exaltist'.
One thought crossed Michael's mind when he heard all of that from her. 'Are some people really revering the Hollows and the things inside of them?' It took about a second before he answered his own question. 'Of course, why wouldn't some be?'
Perhaps he should've realised sooner that, with the world being as broken as it is by the Hollows, it would be within reason that some would naturally begin to turn to them as a means of coping mechanism, worshipping the Hollows and the Ethereals alike.
It wasn't only that, but both of them reminded him of the fated mission. The day he was labeled a traitor. He still remembers that day like it was yesterday...
.....
Michael gulped as he aimed his rifle, his hands shaky at what he and his squad were ordered to do by his commanding officer to make sure the stealth operation could proceed smoothly.
Although by how his commander was looking, it seemed as if he was just looking for any way to vent out his frustration from the last mission.
He looked through his sight where the red dot pointed. A cult dressed in strange clothes, which his squad had encountered in an abandoned temple by chance during their mission. In the middle of them, a child, eerily quiet, was looking at him and his squad with curiosity in his eyes.
'You're just following orders. You're doing nothing wrong,' Michael repeated in his head, his breathing quickened. 'The mission is important. They could be spies.'
As the squad was ready to fire, he looked at his captain, finding him sadistically smiling in glee, and then to the child, his innocent smile still there.
'No...' In a split second, he changed target, his rifle swinging around to aim at his commanding officer.
Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
.....
Michael shook his head to clear it of the memories replaying in his mind as he focused back to the present and to the pair.
Whatever the reason was, to willingly go into Hollow Zero with your own child? It was beyond stupid and reckless, bordering on suicidal, as, looking closer, it seems like they don't have any means of getting out. Doesn't mean Michael won't be helping them, though. He just had to find an opportune time to do it.
The opportune time presents itself when the two found themself cornered in a dead-end with no way to escape, Ethereals slowly closing on their position.
The mother's prayer is becoming full-on manic, yet strangely, after all this time, the one person anyone would think would be the loudest, the kid, was strangely quiet. No cries, no nothing. Although the one strange thing he noticed was the kid's irregular breathing.
'Something doesn't seem right...'
Hiding behind a wall, Michael thought about his next move. While defeating the Ethereals would be no sweat to him as they're just Tyrfing, it was getting the mother and her kid out that would be a problem, or rather, making them follow him to safety. He had a feeling that the mental state of the mother was... not all there.
'Wait a minute.' It was then that an idea struck him. If the woman believes in a deity-like figure in the Hollows, why not impersonate as a sort of creature sent by this 'Creator'? Or in other words...
"Guess I'll have to larp as an angel, just this once," Michael cringed a little bit as he whispered to himself. Although to roleplay as an angel, he needs to look the part, which means somehow giving himself a pair of wings.
Michael may have trained a bit with his transformation ability, reinforcing his limbs to make them tougher or lighten them up for more mobility and even transforming them into blades for added firepower, but giving himself completely new limbs? That was something he had not attempted before.
'Guess there's a first time for everything.' Michael then began to concentrate on the surrounding Ether. In theory, adding limbs to himself should be the same principle as transforming them, aka, adding or removing Ether in his body.
'Just imagine yourself as clay, and then you can mold yourself however you see fit.' Slowly, he gathered Ether into his body, gently guiding it to his back as he then began the process of transforming the Ether into something more tangible.
Michael didn't need the wings to be pretty, just there to sell the illusion. However, he does want it to at least serve a function of some kind.
'Yes. That should be easier.' With the Ether he gathered, he slowly shaped them, converting them into Ether Crystal, which began to sprout on his back, forming a pair of structures resembling wings.
Michael inspected them for a moment, feeling the rough texture with his hand. In his opinion, they looked butt-ugly, but it should work for now. As for their functions, he decided to make them some sort of Ether vacuum and storage combo, gathering and storing the Ether in the environment in them for later use or in case of an emergency.
Michael then gave them a flap. The experience was... weird... to say the least. It felt natural yet not at the same time in a way he wasn't sure there was a word for. Not only did he himself feel different... He felt the same as he had shortly before the Mall Incident.
'Now's not the time to dwell on it.' Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, with his wings complete, Michael looked back to the mother and child, the Ethereals surrounding them closing in by the second.
"Let's do this."
.....
"O' Creator, please grant my son your mercy." Caroline prayed. Prayed with all her might. Yet, all she received was silence. Silence that has been with her ever since she joined the Exaltist in the hope of curing her son's Corruption.
She still remembered it clearly nine years ago. The explosion, Hollow Zero expanding rapidly, her husband grabbing their one-year-old Lukas as they looked for help, and then her lovely husband sacrificing himself to fend off Ethereals chasing them, which had bought her and her son enough time for rescue to come.
It was a miracle that they managed to survive and escape Hollow Zero before the detonation of the Shiyu Pillars. Yet, it didn't come without a great cost.
While she had managed to leave relatively unscathed due to her Ether Aptitude, her baby wasn't as lucky.
Being exposed to such a high amount of concentrated Ether at such a young age, the Corruption was severe enough to be terminal.
She remembered when the doctor told her of the diagnosis.
Six years. That was how long they had expected her son to live. Yet, by some divine blessing, he managed to live past that, and she couldn't be happier.
Even if her son could barely walk on his own or had to be assisted when at school, he was, on all accounts, a healthy boy.
Until a few months ago, when his health took an unexpected nosedive. Etheric substance began growing from his body, and his blood vessels would be darkened in some areas, giving him intense pain.
When she had brought him to various doctors, all they could do was prescribe him painkillers while giving her a look of sadness, as if they already knew his time was up.
Still, she refused to accept that her precious son was beyond saving, spending two weeks and almost her entire savings searching for anything to save her son.
All yielded nothing but disappointments.
She had begun to lose hope when she stumbled upon a member of a notorious group in the past. The Exaltist.
She knew that they were a shady group with an even shadier past, but they had promised her the one thing she wanted. A way to cure her son.
With no other options, she joined them as a devout member, praying to the one they called 'the Creator', attending gatherings with their leader, the Overseer, and contributing to the organisation, be it money or something else, and in turn, they would be looking after her son.
Yet, as days and months progressed, her son's condition only worsened with no signs of improvement. Worse still, when she asked them for help, she had been met with dead silence and the occasional advice to merely have faith in the Creator.
It wasn't until today, when she found her son's unresponsive and abnormally breathing body, that she made the decision to leave.
When she, carrying her son, had told the others of her decision, the other members turned hostile. They called her blasphemous and an apostate and were even told that her son was being 'blessed' by the Creator.
Right then and there, she ran past them, exiting where they had been staying and leaving for the nearest Hollow with members of the Exatists, chasing them all the way.
With her grip on her son tight, she ran as fast and as long as she could, entering unknown fissures, hoping that it would lead them to safety and not into a death trap, until she could hopefully no longer hear footsteps behind her.
When she no longer heard their footsteps, she stopped, breathing a sigh of relief. But as she caught her breath and looked at her familiar surroundings, that was also when she had a horrifying realisation.
Somehow, someway or another, the fissures had taken her to the Hollow where all the pain in her family began.
Hollow Zero.
The very Hollow which had given her son the Corruption in the first place. With no Bangboo or Carrots to lead her way out.
As if it couldn't get any worse, a group of Ethereals had spotted them, forcing her on the run while carrying her son again, only this time, her pursuers didn't relent. Even as she went street to street and random fissures she found, the Ethereals were still hot on their trails.
It all led her to where she is now, surrounded by Ethereal in a dead end. Her only hope for survival is to pray that the Creator is real and would protect her and her son.
"O' C-creator, p-please save us!" She yelled with all her might, her scream echoing through the nearly empty streets.
Silence.
When one of the Tyrfing raised its blade at them, she hugged her son close, turning her back to the Ethereal to shield her son.
Brrt Brrt
Just when she thought she was dead, the sound of gunfire echoed behind her. Looking back, she saw the Tyrfing drop dead, its Core shattered, and the remaining Ethereal looking away from her and at something else.
She followed their gazes, expecting to see Defense Force members, yet what she saw took her breath away.
Perhaps it's the Corruption affecting her mind, but standing there was perhaps the most beautiful Ethereal she had seen. Its pair of majestic wings spread wide, as if it had fallen from the sky itself, and in its hand, it held a gun aimed at another Ethereal.
Brrt
Helen quickly averted her gaze as the Ethereal pulled the trigger, ducking onto the floor while holding her son close to shield him from any shrapnel.
While she lay there, she couldn't help but glance at the chaos unfolding behind her, watching as the Ethereal mercilessly destroyed its own kin with a single thought in her mind. 'Thank you, O' Creator.'
.....
Smashing the Core of the last Tyrfing, Michael turned his attention to the pair as he slowly made his way towards them to check if they were okay.
When he got close, the mother was instantly on her knees, bowing and uttering prayers towards him.
"O Messenger of the Creator, I beg of you, please help my baby boy!"
Before he had time to even react to her sudden request, the mother had already picked up her son and taken off his robe, exposing his upper body to him.
Michael almost recoiled in shock and broke his character at what he saw.
Looking more like a corpse than an actual living being, the boy's face was littered with crystalline growth and blackened veins stretching all the way down. His upper torso was no better either.
Michael honestly has no idea how the boy managed to hold being turned into an Ethereal by now, but that wasn't what he was worried about the most.
What he was most worried about was what the mother had requested of him. To cleanse her son of corruption.
He was stumped on what to do. While he can purge inanimate objects of Ether Corruption depending on their complexities, this was the first time he had done so with another living being.
Yet, hearing the mother's desperate pleading and seeing her tearful face, Michael knew he had to do something.
Remaining composed and mentally preparing himself for the difficult task ahead, Michael activates his Ether vision as he holds his right hand out towards the boy.
The boy's internal Ether was a mess, for the lack of a better word. Michael quickly glanced at the mother to compare them both.
Even though she was showing small signs of Corruption, the Ether activity in her body was still calm. Compared to the boy's much more chaotic internal Ether activities, it is safe to say, he will have his work cut out for him.
'Let's just start slowly, now.' Focusing back on the boy, Michael began to slowly absorb the Ether from him, starting with the superficial ones before going any deeper.
He also made sure no more Ether was entering the boy's body by absorbing Ether from the environment with his wings. Luckily, the Ether activity in the area was calm as well, making the process easier.
'Thank fuck I had thought of use for my wings instead of just making them a glorified cosplay costume.'
Starting the procedure, strands of Ether began to flow from the boy's body and into Michael's own. The effect was immediate; the growth of crystals on the boy's skin halted and disappeared gradually, leaving behind some nasty-looking scars.
It took almost thirty minutes of non-stop focus before the last crystal growth was dealt with, all the while, the mother was at the boy's side, uttering prayers and assuring her son that everything would be alright.
By the time he was done, aside from the scars, nothing visually would indicate that the boy was suffering from Ether Corruption in the first place. Internally however...
'Here goes nothing.' Michael immediately moves to the internal corruption in the boy's body. This time, he needed to be extra careful, as although the corruption was small, some of it had reached and begun to corrupt the internal organs, and one small slip-up would probably flatline the boy in no time.
He started with the lungs, as that was where the most major corruption was located, and, to him, it was probably the easiest to address. Not only that, but the lungs would also make good practice for him before going to the much more delicate organs.
As Michael pulled the corruption away, the boy's breathing began to stabilise, his chest rising up and down in a steady rhythm.
'Looks like it's working.' Michael went again with much more force this time to quickly finish it up.
When the lungs were fully cleared, he went for the liver, finding it in a similar state to the lungs. Aside from the boy puking a bit, nothing bad happened. The stomach was also the same story.
'Now comes the hardest part.' Michael turned his attention to the boy's heart, the most important organ and the most delicate.
With a shaky hand, he began tearing Ether from it. The boy immediately had a reaction, coughing out large, Ether-Corrupted blood from his mouth while his heart continued to beat faster and faster.
'Fuck fuck fuck...' That was all Michael could say in his head as he saw the boy cough up blood. A large amount of them, in fact. He decided to speed up the process, as, at the rate the blood was leaving the boy's body, the boy would die from blood loss.
"Lukas!" The mother yelled out, futilely trying to wipe the blood from her son's mouth.
Michael ignored the mother's cries, his attention squarely on the boy's heart as he pulled the last of the Corruption as fast as he could.
'Sigh... That should do it...' Michael internally sighed in relief after he was done; the boy was no longer convulsing or spitting out blood. Probably still need to be checked by a doctor, though.
The mother hugged her son close, thanking him and this 'Creator' for having Their angel protect them. It honestly made Michael proud at what he had done.
"Thank you, thank... y-you..." The woman's voice trailed off as her strength gave out, the adrenaline that had kept her going finally stopping.
She would have fallen onto the floor if Michael hadn't caught her. He carried her on his arms while putting the still unconscious son onto his back.
'Now to find a way out.' Michael thought to himself as he began the journey to find out the nearest exit of the Hollow, or maybe get some kind of help.
.....
"Put those two on the ground right now and don't move! And drop your weapon!"
After entering a few fissures, Michael found a squad of soldiers on patrol. The soldier there immediately became alerted, drawing their guns and taking their aim.
They probably would have shot him by now if not for the woman and child he was carrying. He could see their hesitation, which was definitely a good sign for him.
Slowly, Michael stepped forward towards them, carefully watching the soldiers' reaction.
One almost pressed the trigger, but was thankfully stopped by his buddy next to him.
When he felt he was close enough, he gently lowered the unconscious woman and child onto the floor next to each other.
"Now drop your weapon!"
Clank
As not to complicate the situation, Michael complied, dropping the SMG he had onto the ground as well.
"And stay there!" Michael did as ordered, watching as the soldiers began circling his position.
"Wait!" Just as he began eyeing a potential escape route, the woman unexpectedly woke up, flailing her arms up in the air, stopping their movement. "Please don't hurt it!"
"Ma'am, please calm down. Do you know what that thing is?" The commanding officer asked, confused as to why someone would defend an Ethereal.
"Yes! It's a Messenger sent by the Creator!" The woman instantly answered. "Please let it go! It didn't hurt us, I swear! It even cleansed my son of Ether Corruption!
"The Creator?" One of the soldiers whispered to another.
Their commanding officer, meanwhile, had a look of uncertainty, his eyes darting between the woman and Michael.
Seizing the opportunity due to their confusion, Michael bolted out of camp.
The soldiers were trying to take aim, but they were blocked by the woman who stood in front of the soldiers' guns.
"It's getting away!" One of them shouted.
The commanding officer wanted to chase after it, but ultimately made the decision not to. "All of you stand down! We have civilians here." His soldiers reluctantly lowered their weapons. "Good. Now where's our medic?"
.....
"Caroline Pearson. That's your name, correct."
Captain Roland and Obol Squad watched as Colonel Isolde interrogated the woman that Geode Squad had brought in, the woman herself being very cooperative. Ray would have joined in if she weren't so busy analyzing the recording captured by Geode Squad's Bangboo.
They had all watched the recording and, to put it simply, they were even more baffled and shocked at the same time by what they had watched.
It was the Tyrfing, the same one they had watched killing its own kin three weeks prior, and the one that had breached and escaped from a base the very next day.
The same one that had barely escaped from the clutches of Obol Squad, much to Captain Magus' frustration.
The very same Tyrfing that had somehow gained itself a pair of wings, and the one that the woman being interrogated had called a 'Messenger' or 'Angel' of the 'Creator'.
The Tyrfing that had carried the woman and her son to Geode Squad in the first place.
Even after rewatching the recording many times, they all still had trouble comprehending what they had seen. An Ethereal, carrying humans to safety, and if the woman is to be believed, even managing to purge her son of severe Ether Corruption.
They had brought in a doctor to examine the boy, and what she had told them defied all they had known about Ether Corruption.
By all accounts, from the marks left on the skin and even the internal organs, along with the boy's medical history, he should've and, in normal circumstances, would've turned into an Ethereal, and yet, the doctor had found nothing.
Not even the smallest traces of Ether Corruption. It was as if something had pulled the Corruption from the boy. The boy was now, by all metrics, aside from some minor complication, a healthy individual.
"Thank you for your cooperation, ma'am." It seems Colonel Isolde is done with the interrogation.
"Can I leave now?"
Isolde shook her head. "Unfortunately, due to your circumstances, we may have to detain you for a few days. I hope you understand why."
The woman nodded. "I understand. Can I at least... go see my son?"
"Very well, just head down to the infirmary."
"Thank you." With that, the woman took her leave, passing by Captain Roland and Obol Squad, who had their eyes glued to her.
Isolde approached them, a serious look on her face.
"Colonel Isolde, how's the interrogation?"
"It went smoothly with no problem." Isolde then began to tell them all the information that she had gotten from the woman, all the way from the beginning nine years ago, and how she and her son were saved by an Ethereal.
"Any questions?" Asked Isolde after telling them everything.
None of them had any except Magus. "She said she was a member of the Exaltist. How are they still active all these years, and should we send a squad to sniff them out?"
"I don't know. Perhaps the reports of their activities were not complete after all. As for sending a team to investigate, there's no point. From what Ms. Caroline had told me, she had mainly spent her time in one of their many disposable base of operation. If they're even slightly smart, the base would have been abandoned by now."
"Dammit." Cursed Magus at Isolde's answer. "What about the Ethereal then? Should we do something about it?"
"The Ethereal..." Isolde thought for a moment on the best course of action. "As for now, I will be relieving your hunt operation."
"What!? Why?"
Isolde clarified further. "I realise that finding this Ethereal would be a nigh on impossible mission now that we know of its higher than average intelligence. This is why. Do you understand, Captain Magus?"
"I... I understand, Colonel." With all that Obol Squad had gone through to search this single Ethereal, Magus reluctantly agreed.
"Thank you, Magus. Now, please leave Captain Roland and me alone; we have much to discuss with each other."
"Understood. Obol Squad, let's go..." With that, Obol Squad left the interrogation room.
.....
'Huh? I'm pretty sure I'm in a different Hollow.' Michael thought to himself as he wandered the foreign sights to him.
Gone are the ruined apartment complexes and business areas, replaced by industrial plants and abandoned mining tunnels. Even with its dilapidated nature, there are still some signs of life around. Primarily, the ominously red mist that permeates the area.
'Welp. Guess it's due time for some fresh scenery anyway.' And so, he heads deeper into the Hollow, intending to find out where he is currently.
Hopefully, he could also find a new weapon. And also, what's with this tiny ass Hati following him? Pretty adorable though.