Stepping off the elevator into the ruins, Danang scans the toxin levels displayed on his goggles’ edge.
The reading shows 12%—7% higher than the undercity, but not dangerous for the ruins’ shallow layers. Still, caution never hurts. Tightening his gas mask’s filter, he glances at Eve beside him, sighing involuntarily.
“Eve,” he says.
“What, Danang?” she replies.
“Where’s the mask I gave you?” he asks.
“At your place,” she says.
“…”
“Worried? No need. Lumina’s in my body. I’d need a lethal dose injected directly to die. But I’m curious—why wear the mask and goggles? Just activate Lumina’s bug,” Eve says.
Sighing again, Danang mutters, “To avoid suspicion,” glaring at other ruin diggers eyeing them like prey.
Sure, activating Lumina to neutralize toxins like Eve would make exploration easier. But it’d paint a target on his back.
Undercity dwellers know only one way to combat toxins and darkness: gas masks and night-vision goggles. They monitor filter reserves and battery levels, trudging through the dark. To them, Eve’s immunity is unnatural, and they’d try to steal Lumina’s secret.
So, Danang bought her a mask and goggles, insisting she carry them. But Eve, claiming they block her vision and mouth, refused with flimsy excuses.
“Well, yeah. It’s like camouflage, right? Blend into the environment, stay safe, and take out threats. Hey, Danang, know what a lizard is?” Eve asks.
“Nope,” he says.
“You’re like one,” she teases.
Waving her hand playfully, a seductive smile on her face, Eve strides ahead, moving as if she knows the way.
Danang doesn’t know lizards, but he gets camouflage—mimicking others to survive. Eve must see his toxin gear and weapons as blending in with the other diggers.
“Why’re you standing there? Let’s go,” Eve says.
“…Yeah,” Danang replies.
Her silver hair glinting, five silver wings unfurled, Eve shines in the dim darkness. Unlike the others in muted armor, hiding their presence, she’s a radiant morning star, an oddity. After a week of working together, Danang still can’t read her.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
No… he shakes his head, smirking wryly. It’s not that he lacked chances to know her. He didn’t try—never asked about her past or why she was in the ruins. Claiming he had no opportunity to understand her is a weak excuse.
“…”
Following Eve, Danang spots a group of diggers trailing them—four men, two women, six total. Their silent steps suggest silenced mechanical limbs or ruin relics.
Should he play dumb and set a trap? Or take them out now? Gripping his assault rifle, finger on the trigger, he meets Eve’s prismatic eyes as she asks, “What’s the plan, Danang?”
“…How far to the M-sector elevator and electronic lock?” he asks.
“About two hundred meters,” she replies.
“Got it.”
Better kill them now to avoid future trouble. Without warning, he spins, firing a shot through a man’s forehead.
Blood spurts as the man collapses, his rifle’s trigger squeezed uncontrollably by mechanical fingers. Gunfire and furious shouts erupt. Two diggers lean from the shadows, weapons raised. Underestimating their numbers, the enraged group loses their arms to Eve’s silver wings, blood gushing.
“Hey, Danang,” Eve says.
“What?” he replies.
“We make a pretty good team, don’t you think?” she asks.
“Dunno about that,” he says.
“So cold,” she teases.
Sighs, mockery, and cold smiles… The girl who saves a child’s life and the one who cuts down enemies seem like different people.
“So, what now? Gonna loot the diggers we killed, as usual?” Eve asks.
“Yeah,” Danang says.
“You’re insane. I question your nerves,” she says.
Like a demon-bodhisattva, dual-natured. Shooting a fleeing digger’s head, Danang aims at the last one. “Who hired you?” he demands.
“N-nobody! I swear!” the bloodied man cries.
“Then die,” Danang says.
“Wait! You’re a digger too, right? I’m sorry we attacked! Please, let me go—”
A dry gunshot, an ejected shell. The man convulses, his modified jaw aiming a gun, but Danang’s Heres pierces his spine and muzzle, killing him.
“Merciless,” Eve remarks.
“No need for mercy. Let him go, he’d attack us in the city, beg again, and lie. To eliminate a threat, killing’s certain,” Danang says.
“I get it, but I don’t like it,” Eve says.
“…Fair enough,” he replies.
He doesn’t care if she understands or agrees. If it’s the best way to survive, emotion must be cast aside. Kill to avoid death. Take to live. In the undercity, that’s not wrong.
“Let’s move,” he says.
“No looting?” Eve asks.
“Nothing useful. Used less than ten bullets,” he says.
“What about that awful jelly?” she asks.
“Want it? Take it. I’ve got enough,” he says.
“No way!” she snaps.
“Alright,” he says.
Diggers killing diggers, no trace of camaraderie—a hellish path. In the ruins, you trust only yourself. But glancing at Eve, who kicks his leg in mock anger, Danang mutters, “Eve… you’re probably different.”
“Different? How?” she asks.
“…I trust you, a bit. Not fully, but in a week, you haven’t tried to kill me. You’re decent,” he says.
“Weird thing to say. You told me to make you trust me, didn’t you? Ignoring that would be stranger,” she replies.
“…True. You’re right, Eve,” he admits.
Operating the electronic lock, opening the thick steel door, Danang steps into an elevator filled with stale air.
“Can I really trust you?” he asks, black eyes clouded with doubt fixed on Eve.
“…You’re such an idiot, Danang,” she says.
“…”
“I don’t not trust you. Sure, our meeting was awful, and your actions are questionable. But… your will to live feels real,” she says.
She doesn’t regret giving him Lumina anymore. Dropping her sly smile, Eve approaches with a genuine one, sliding her finger down the elevator’s control panel.
The floor shakes, steel creaking as they descend. Toxin levels spike, and as Danang reaches to swap filters, Eve stops his mechanical arm, yanking off his mask and goggles.
“You need to get used to Lumina. It’s… the power to seize tomorrow,” she says, pointing to the writhing, roaring depths of hell.
