Waking Of A World Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Yesterday Night.

Read chapter 5 of Waking Of A World by Victor_WIlliam on NovelPedia.

Yesterday night. Somewhere deep within Veston’s Undercity lay a rotting maze of rusted pipes, leaking conduits, and dark alleys where streetlights couldn’t reach. Law existed here only in rumor. Organized crime, syndicates, and black markets ruled the Undercity. Despite the S.E.C.T.’s best efforts, they could only contain the Undercity’s activity and prevent it from affecting the Uppercity. Within this area, everything was fair game, even the most diabolical crime imaginable. In one of the darker passages, a tall, imposing figure stepped out from the shadow of a wall. The figure was completely wrapped in layered garments of black and gray cloth. A heavy, hooded cloak draped over their shoulders and fell almost to their ankles, its edges fraying into unnatural wisps of shadow that seemed to bleed into the surrounding gloom like smoke. Beneath the cloak, segmented armor plating covered the torso, chest, and outer thighs. Black plates were joined by dark straps and subtle articulated joints, giving the impression of both protection and restraint. The arms were bound in long, black, reinforced sleeves. The head was entirely concealed beneath a smooth, featureless dark cloth mask that clung like a second skin. At the exact center of the face sat a single white symbol. The figure moved with deliberate grace. One moment, they were walking. The next, they simply folded into the shadow of the street and re-emerged ten meters farther down the alley, as though the shadow had carried them, leaving no sound of footsteps or rustling cloth. They entered a large, dimly lit space that looked like three things mixed into one: a mechanic’s workshop, a butcher’s shop, and a surgery room. The concrete floor was stained dark with layers of dried blood, and bits of old flesh were stuck in the cracks. On the tables, there were bodies. Some were whole, some were in pieces, some hung from hooks on the walls, and others lay on metal tables. Alongside them were knives, bone saws, meat cleavers, needles, thick thread, clamps, and other sharp tools, scattered everywhere. Some were rusted and crusted, while others seemed clean and new. In the center of the room, directly under a single hanging bulb, stood a massive being. It was even taller than the shadow figure and barely looked human anymore. Its head was a glowing ball of pale, shifting light trapped inside a thick, rusty iron cage. No face, no eyes, no mouth, just that cold, floating orb of light that pulsed faintly like a heartbeat. The rest of its body was a horror, with long, thin arms stretching out in every direction. Some ended in sharp metal claws, while others ended in crude surgical tools grafted directly to the flesh. The torso was a patchwork of stitched skin, metal plates, and rubber tubes that snaked under the surface. Legs as thick as tree trunks ended in heavy boots crusted with dried blood. The being had been working on something when the shadow figure arrived. That something hung from the ceiling by thick iron chains, a twisted mass of meat, metal, and machine parts that twitched and dripped slowly onto the floor below. The multi-limbed being froze the moment it sensed the newcomer. All its arms paused mid-motion. Then, slowly, its whole body turned toward the entrance. “Ahh… my dearest guest,” it said. The voice came out in many sounds, layered together in unison. Young and old, male and female, overlapping all at once. “You are back,” the voices continued. “I have good news for you!” One of the long arms lifted high in a gesture of celebration, the metal claw at the end catching the light and flashing. The shadow figure stepped fully out of the darkness and into the harsh light of the single bulb overhead. “Where… is the… Aspect…” The voice was deep, low, and heavy, each word dragged out as if it had come from the bottom of a well. The multi-limbed being tilted its caged head of light toward the newcomer. “Ahh, yes! Indeed, I have it right here.” One of its long, thin arms stretched