Cain paused his steps. His eyes squinted as he scanned the details in the panel, regarding the object in front of him. Because of that, the others also stopped next to him.
The black vortex that kept spinning between the circular objects buzzed as if to tell them it was ready to use, but no one dared to step in.
"Cain, what's wrong? Why did you stop?"
Abel's question drew Cain's attention to the side. The others were silent, yet their eyes spoke volumes, revealing they had the same question in mind.
The boy crossed his arms over his chest. He looked down, deep in thought. Then, fragments of events in this mission seamlessly connected the dots, creating a bigger picture of how it all started.
'So that's the reason why virus beasts suddenly flooded this place.'
According to the researchers, the information he stored in his head indicated that the source of the attributes was an elemental power within the planet itself. As for how it was created, Cain didn't know the details.
If that were true, no wonder the virus beasts were swarming the northern area. They were looking for that hidden power and wanted to devour it.
However, there was still one point missing: why now?
Where were the virus beasts when this place was abandoned?
And why could the attributes buried inside only be detected recently?
Was there someone orchestrating all of this?
That question spun inside Cain's brain. The throbbing in his skull returned, forcing him to gnash his teeth to keep his vision clear.
'Tch, never mind. I don't care about that right now!'
Cain shook his head, ignoring the pounding in his heart that sent a chill down his spine. The boy clenched his fist tightly and raised his face forward.
'No matter what, we must get that attribute first before those monsters take it.'
"Cain!?"
Abel froze, his raised hand stopped midway, seeing that Cain's expression was flat. But hidden beneath those jet-black eyes of his was a sharp glint that choked the breath out of him.
"Are you still hurt?"
Cain raised the corner of his lips and showed a subtle smile at the overly worried blonde boy.
"No, I'm just sorting out the information I received earlier, and if my assumption is correct. Then in front of us is something we must get no matter what."
His voice was calm, laced with a sharpness that cut through the silence that enveloped the area. The other four members exchanged glances and chuckled softly as they saw their leader return to his usual self.
With renewed determination, Cain lifted his heavy legs to approach the teleportation device. He stood, looking at the black vortex that tore through the fabric of reality, connecting a tunnel to another space.
Cain kicked the floor, sending his body flying forward and into the wormhole. His body hit a thin membrane that massaged his tense muscles before throwing him out to the other end of the hole.
He peeked over his shoulder. Rika, Abel, Louise, and Peter followed from behind. They were now in a cube-shaped room, the whole place was covered in grey metal, illuminated by streamlines of white neon.
"Where is this? Hmm!? Wait, Cain, don't act arbitrarily!"
Ignoring Rika's warning, Cain stood in front of the only door in the room. His black pupils turned blue, and he swept his gaze to the side as he read the data inscribed on the small machine attached to the door.
'3071!'
"Hey, Cain, what do you want to do?"
Cain pressed the correspondence number. Rika, who wanted to grab the boy's arm, stiffened when she heard a hissing sound coming from next to her.
The door slid to the side, revealing a spacious room. On the right, it was separated by a translucent shield, a thick synthetic glass that could protect against an attack from an advanced-rank virus beast.
He patted the girl's back gently. His action made Rika flinch; her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"H-How did you know?"
"Let's go in!"
Just as he said that, a sudden tremor coming from the ground shook Cain's core. His expression hardened when he heard the eerie whisper, which told him a threat was lurking close.
'We don't have time!'
"What was that?"
"The ground is shaking!?"
"C-Could it be an earthquake?"
Abel, Peter, and Louise voiced their concerns. Rika turned and tried to open her mouth, but Cain cut her off harshly.
"Everyone, calm down, and follow me quickly!"
The boy stepped inside, his footsteps firm and full of conviction as he looked around the room.
The interior was long, layered with silver, sterile metal that reflected a tiniest light around the room. On the left, there was a large twin door, tightly closed. And a giant monitor sitting on his right shows a black screen.
Without further ado, Cain opened his eyes wide. His blue pupils shrank, focused on breaking through the firewall buried in the hardware before him.
[...Access Code: Initiate, main computer with ID: E.C.H.O start.]
"Initiate, main computer with ID: E.C.H.O, start!"
The lights in the room dimmed as if all the energy was sucked towards the large monitor, which emitted a bright light, celebrating its wake from its long sleep. The large screen blinked, then showed a large letter that read: Welcome.
However, standing behind Cain, the other four members were silent. Their gaze shifted to the back of the grey-haired boy, who was grinning, glaring at the screen.
They lowered their hands, giving up on asking how Cain could do something miraculous as easily as breathing.
Usually, people who found preserved data from ancient civilizations would take a long time to decipher the code before retrieving the data stored inside.
However, all of that common sense did not apply to Cain. His sharp eyes stared at the screen as if he wanted to kill it, and his fingers danced gracefully on the holographic keyboard that appeared out of nowhere.
Cain, who was unaware of his comrades' thoughts, moved the holographic cursor on the table. He kept copying all the important information about attributes and how to install them on humans.
'Come on!'
His eyelids twitched, feeling a scorching heat stung his dry pupils. But the boy persevered until he finally found the main issues. It was the 'attribute injection' process.
"Good."
The boy took a deep breath, then several images began to appear on the screen. There were five tubes as big as a grown man's thigh, each containing a different colour: red, yellow, brown, green, and black.
His facial muscles melted, happy like a child who received his first toy. But, all of that had to disappear when a red light started to fill the room, pulsating and followed by a blaring alarm.
"Cain, what's going on?"
Rika appeared beside him, and together they looked at the screen, which was filled with exclamation marks that read: Danger!
"The defense of this place has been breached."
"Breached? By what?"
Abel's question was drowned out by a sudden vibration from the floor, sending an invisible shockwave through their minds.
"Leader, what should we do?"
Peter came from behind, his big, rough hand squeezed Cain's shoulder, who remained fixated on the information in front of him.
"E-Everyone, p-please look at that screen?"
Louise's voice was stammering, but her intention was clearly conveyed. Everyone, including Cain, followed her gaze.
From one of the smaller computer screens, they felt a chill coiling around their neck. The image was flooded with a crimson glow that crawled, their pointy iron legs scraping the untouched metal floor.
"Virus beasts!?"
Rika lowered her tone. She glared at her leader, who had drawn his katana sword. She raised her eyebrows, wondering what was on the boy's mind.
"Cain, we have to get out of here immediately!"
Without giving her time to breathe, Rika took a cold breath. Her legs stepped back as she saw Cain growing closer.
His presence felt bigger than usual. Both Rika's shoulders were tightly gripped, and she could see her blushing face reflected in the boy's black eyes.
'W-What are you doing at a time like this?'
"Listen, take the others to enter the chamber across this glass, then take the four attributes except for the black one, do you understand!"
The boy's heavy tone seeped into her ears. His intensity prompted Rika to nod as the roughness on her shoulder faded, leaving a lingering warmth.
"Good, I will hold off those monsters. You guys go ahead and pick, but remember this! Follow your hearts and never touch the black-colored attribute."
After saying all he needed. Their leader went towards the door. A moment later, somehow, the door hissed open.
Their bodies shivered in the cold when they saw dozens of virus beasts coming closer.
"Wait, Cain!"
Rika saw the large door slowly closing in; it brought a heartbreaking silence to those who were left behind.