In the secondary vault of the legendary city of Elysium, not a single sound could be heard, but a fierce battle was happening in the most unsuspecting of places.
It was in a small item that was on the ground, and although it looked as if it was not even moving, there was a lot going on inside.
[Evading countermeasures deployed by target. Identifying target location. Retargeting. Deploying offensive measures. New countermeasures found. Developing evasive maneuvers.]
Only 10 seconds had passed since the moment when the bone had come into contact with the billowy figure of the one who had walked through the doors, but even in those 10 seconds, it was as if a war that could be sung about for ages and ages had been fought.
The only change that had happened in the vault was that all of that fog had disappeared, to reveal a shining, oval-shaped diamond in the middle which had fallen to the ground, on top of which the bone had settled.
Ever since then, the fight had all been hidden, and if Daneel was asked just what was going on, he would definitely not be able to answer.
He didn't know exactly what he had expected. Well, if he was being honest, he would admit that he had been hoping that they would be able to directly overpower and take control of the object that the being that they were up against was using to sustain its consciousness.
This was not a new phenomena- it was what he had seen happen in multiple cases when a single object held multiple consciousnesses: stronger ones would subdue the weaker ones and be able to stow them away or even destroy them, and that was why it was always taboo to allow someone inside a place where one's spirit resided.
However, right after the attack had been initiated, they had found out that their opponent was quite a wily one.
The way it worked was that even though it might not look like a large space, each and every object that was designed to hold consciousnesses had a lot of 'virtual' space within it where the consciousness could roam around. This was mainly because of the gap in perception that was present between one's physical and mental world, and these Artefacts were also designed in this way so that it would not feel as if the consciousness was trapped in a cage.
Hence, right after they entered its home, the being had been able to flee away from them. If it hadn't done that, they might have crushed it right away, but they hadn't let up- although none of them were really well-versed in the methods in which consciousnesses fought, the system was as a boon here. It was able to manipulate all of their consciousnesses as a single force that it used like a blade, and the one that was formed did not look like it would stop no matter what came in its way.
A cat and mouse chase began, and it was so dizzying that Daneel couldn't even detect half of it. Essentially, he was just not experienced in being in this form, and hence, much of the information that he was getting could not be processed correctly in his mind. If the system was free, it would have interpreted everything from him, but it was too busy carrying out the fight.
Thinking about it, Daneel had realized that this was definitely just like the case where a few people who were capable of astral projection back on Earth were fighting it out. If someone wasn't practiced in those arts, then all they would see was a blur or just some random lights flashing, whereas in reality, the spiritual bodies of multiple beings would be colliding and fighting for dominance again and again, in the exact way that was supposed to have happened in the epics of many major religions.
Daneel only knew about them vaguely, so after this thought passed his mind, he just thought back to how this plan had come to be.
After all, he needed something to occupy his mind with, or otherwise, he would concern himself with the fight and that might make him faint.
The idea had come from the statement of the man in the bone, where he had said that he could do nothing as he was in that form.
That was when Daneel had recalled the explanation that he had been given: after killing this man, the being that they were up against inside Elysium had had the gates closed behind it, making it so that it would have no idea regarding what had happened outside ever since then.
Even though he apparently sent letters and often communicated with the man in the bone, the latter had never mentioned that he had revealed his exact method of existence to that being.
No one in their right mind would do so- it was his trump card, so it did not make sense for him to reveal it.
However, he was actually not in his right mind, so Daneel had needed confirmation whether he had ever shared that information.
After finding out that it had not happened, the plan had been set in stone.
Over time, the system had become more and more capable in controlling his body and making it look as if he was really present, when he might be elsewhere in some other form.
So, the plan was that it would control the three of them and make it look as if they were putting up a desperate fight, while they would actually be lying in wait to assault the place where the spirit of the being who wanted to possess them so badly was residing.
It hadn't been that easy, though: even though the system had gotten better, it needed perfect instructions regarding what to do, and Daneel had actually acted out everything that he wanted to be shown on their bodies so that it would all seem authentic.
It had worked well- anyone would have been fooled, and that had led to the situation where their opponent had walked up to within a few inches of their bodies.
Only one who wasn't afraid of being hurt through any physical means would do so, so the entire crux of the plan was that this being didn't know of the existence of a method in which consciousnesses could be stored in human bones.
Even the old researcher had admitted that he had never shared his research into this Path with anyone else, both due to greed and due to the desire to make a lot of money out of it if he managed to succeed, and this had also worked in their favor.
If that being had known that he might face any kind of risk, he would definitely have avoided acting so casually. Thankfully, the moment before victory was always one where an individual was most vulnerable, and they had been able to use it perfectly to start this war.
[Target weakening. A final push is required. A certain strain will befall the consciousnesses of host and the other three individuals. Should this push be deployed?]
"Yes!"
As soon as Daneel give the command, he suddenly felt as if someone had struck a red-hot poker in the middle of his head.
Of course, it was all an illusion as he had no physical body, but if he did, that was the sort of thing that would cause the pain that he was now going through.
He knew that the others must be screaming, too, but he trusted them- they would be able to hold on, and if the system said that the push would be useful, then it would definitely be so.
It finally stopped after a few more seconds- as the pain started to recede, Daneel wondered whether it had resulted in a victory or a loss, and thankfully, it spoke again at right that moment.
[Target has formed a protective cocoon on which breaching attempts are being made. Target took this defensive method after realizing that it would only be crushed if it continued the chase. Host can now converse with the target. Multiple restrictive means have been placed around the target to ensure that it will not be able to retaliate and catch host off guard.]
Well… It was neither of those, but still, Daneel was really pleased.
And the reason behind this… Was that he could tell that his body had not be crushed.
One of the biggest negative aspects of this plan was that they would be done for if the assault failed and if the being decided that they were too much trouble. If it commanded the monsters to crush them into pieces, then all would be for naught even if they won this battle, but thankfully, for some reason, it had not taken that step.
[Post battle analysis in progress. Target is in a thoroughly weakened state. Initially, the analysis was that this was because of existing for a long time. However, it has been detected that this must have been due to a pre-existing condition, because the parameters do not match. It is because of this weakness that the outcome that was achieved was able to be brought about. It has been detected that multiple small parts of the target are missing. It is possible that the location of the small parts can be traced using the connection that has been detected between this Artefact and another of the same type. Further analysis underway.]
[Post battle analysis in progress. Target is in a thoroughly weakened state. Initially, the analysis was that this was because of existing for a long time. However, it has been detected that this must have been due to a pre-existing condition, because the parameters do not match. It is because of this weakness that the outcome that was achieved was able to be brought about. It has been detected that multiple small parts of the target are missing. It is possible that the location of the small parts can be traced using the connection that has been detected between this Artefact and another of the same type. Further analysis underway.]
Daneel let out a sigh of relief as he heard this.
Indeed, he had been really hoping that they would find a weakened opponent after they managed to get to the place where he was hiding in, as that had already been so damn difficult.
It had been filled with so many risks- their opponent might have gone too far, killing them in the process, or they might have found that they had been wrong all along, and that their consciousnesses were no match for someone who had been able to do so many impossible things all those years ago.
Thankfully, it had worked out. Daneel had always known that taking risks was one thing that was required if one wished to achieve victories that they would never otherwise have even gotten a hint of, but this risk was just a bit too much.
And now… there was one other thing to do.
"Deploy secondary plan."
[Deploying. Target shifted.]
"Congratulations! That actually worked! Wait, wh-AH!"
The voice of the old researcher who had been so instrumental in their victory, if it could be called that yet, suddenly changed to one of shocked madness as he felt himself being shackled by multiple layers of seals.
Consciousnesses were wonderful objects that could do all sorts of things if they were powered in the right way. Drakos had done so much even though he had just been in the form of his consciousness, and from him and from all the records obtained from the Empire, the system had obtained many methods that could be used even if there was no physical body and no Mageroot. Mainly, this required breaking off a part of oneself and using it as a seal that would constrict and limit another consciousness's actions, and even though it was painful and very difficult, there was no problem as Daneel could disregard the rate of failure mainly because it was caused by people losing control in crucial moments due to the pain that would always be accompanied by one's very soul being ripped into pieces.
In his case, though, all he needed to do was handle the pain, and the system would do the rest. It had worked perfectly, and the seals were not in place.
As for why he had done it… He just couldn't trust the man.
True, he had acted all this while as if he believed each and every word that he had said, but anyone would find that all of the events were dubious. The letters, the madness, the part where he allowed people inside after talking to them- taken together, they presented too many loopholes that Daneel just couldn't ignore.
With this task done, even though he had a heavy feeling in his heart, Daneel turned to the main culprit.
"Let's take care of you, now," he said to himself, while he made his way over to the one who had almost succeeded in ending his journey.