Opening Monologue
"Every grand structure has a basement. But in a world built on death and memory, the basement is often the oldest floor.
And sometimes, the residents down there have forgotten what light even is."
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Scene 1 — The Deep Descent
Lullaby and the Orb Companion, Solin, plummeted through the ventilation shaft for what felt like hours. The drop was endless, the air colder and heavier the further they fell.
The shaft's walls were too smooth for the Mag-Boots to latch onto. Lullaby resorted to his Memory Resonance, pulsing upward bursts of localized gravity to slow himself. It was brutal, draining, and barely enough.
The fall ended not with a void—but a ceiling.
Lullaby slammed into the thin metal sheet, his Cryshale-exoskeleton screeching under the force. The impact shattered the surface and hurled him straight through.
He hit stone. Hard.
The dense, humid air softened the landing just enough for him to survive.
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Scene 2 — The Submerged Layer
Lullaby staggered upright.
The chamber around him was nothing like the structured metal world above.
This was ancient architecture—massive blue-gray stones, slick with moss and age.
Warm, shallow water covered the floor, glowing faintly from bioluminescence swirling beneath the surface. The air was thick, heavy, almost alive.
This layer felt older.
Older than the Galabies.
Older than the Hallowed Deep itself.
Solin's glow shifted to a cautious yellow and projected unknown runes—symbols of Earth, Weight, and Foundations.
Lullaby had fallen into something primordial.
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Scene 3 — The Observers
He stepped into the glowing water.
The splash echoed—clean, uncorrupted—like a bell welcoming him.
Then came the clack-clack-clack.
Lullaby spun, Void Shield primed, expecting a Gearborn or something worse.
Two figures stood in the distance.
Humanoid but larger.
Skin dark gray, marked with swirling blue bioluminescent tattoos.
Smooth ceramic masks.
Crystal-tipped spears glowing beneath the waterline.
They didn't move.
They simply watched.
Silent.
Measured.
Ancient.
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Scene 4 — First Contact
Lullaby dimmed his Void Shield and brightened his natural yellow glow.
He stepped forward.
"I mean no harm. I am Lullaby of Homelight."
No response.
One figure lifted its spear—but not at him.
It pressed the crystalline tip against a mossy pillar.
A deep, booming vibration rippled across the chamber.
A language of resonance.
Solin translated:
"STOP. YOU HAVE BROKEN THE SEAL. SURFACE INTRUDER."
Lullaby understood.
Words were pointless here.
He placed his hand on a stone pillar, channeling his Memory Resonance.
His message echoed through the chamber:
I AM SURVIVOR.
The sound was so pure, so sharp, that both observers froze. Their blue tattoos flared in shock.
The taller one stepped forward.
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Scene 5 — The True Name
It responded with a deeper, more complex resonant tone.
Solin struggled, but managed a translation:
"The Surface is death. The Surface lies.
We are the Keepers of the Deep Layers.
You speak with the resonance of the Ancient Sun.
What is your true name?"
Lullaby stood tall, his yellow eyes glowing like twin lanterns in the submerged darkness.
"My name is Lullaby."
The tall figure turned to the great archway of stone—silent and ancient.
"The truth you seek is not on the surface.
Follow.
We will show you the Silent City."