Chapter 51 – Beneath the Ruins
Brook woke to pain.
Not the sharp kind.
The deep kind.
The kind that made breathing feel like work.
He opened his eyes.
Darkness.
He tried moving his arm.
Something heavy was pressing against it.
Brook pushed the rubble away and sat up.
"Crowley?"
No answer.
Brook turned.
Crowley was several feet away, half-buried beneath broken stone.
Brook crawled toward him.
"Crowley."
Nothing.
Brook grabbed his shoulder.
"Wake up."
Crowley opened his eyes.
"Stop shaking me."
Brook let go.
"You're alive."
"Unfortunately."
Brook laughed despite himself.
Then he looked around.
They were trapped beneath the fortress.
The chamber above had completely collapsed.
Only a narrow opening remained several meters overhead.
Brook stood.
"We need to get back."
Crowley slowly got up.
"No."
Brook looked at him.
"No?"
"We need to go forward."
Brook frowned.
"The others are up there."
"They're alive."
"How do you know?"
Crowley pointed.
A faint blue light came through the cracks above.
Sera's magic.
"They're clearing the rubble."
Brook looked upward.
"Then we wait."
Crowley shook his head.
"We don't have time."
A deep rumble echoed through the darkness.
Brook looked around.
"What was that?"
Crowley drew his sword.
"The creature."
Brook stared.
"It followed us."
"Yes."
"Then we kill it."
Crowley looked at him.
"You heard what it said."
Brook's expression hardened.
"It said I was made from different beings."
"Yes."
"Do you believe it?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Brook stepped closer.
"Do you?"
Crowley looked away.
"Part of it."
Brook's jaw tightened.
"You knew."
"I suspected."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
Crowley looked at him.
"But it's enough to be afraid."
Brook stared at him.
"What are you afraid of?"
Crowley didn't answer.
The rumbling came again.
Closer.
Brook tightened his grip on his sword.
"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it."
Crowley nodded.
"Together."
They moved deeper into the chamber.
The passage was ancient.
Stone walls covered in carvings.
Some depicted humans.
Others showed beings Brook couldn't identify.
Angels.
Demons.
Something with wings and horns.
Something made entirely of light.
And beneath all of them…
a human figure.
Brook stopped.
"That's me."
Crowley looked at the carving.
The figure stood in the center.
Six symbols surrounded it.
But unlike the other carvings, the human wasn't holding anything.
The Sources were inside him.
Brook touched the stone.
His hand burned.
The first Source reacted.
Then the second.
Then the third.
The entire chamber lit up.
Crowley grabbed Brook's wrist.
"Don't."
Brook pulled away.
"I didn't do anything."
The symbols continued glowing.
A section of the wall opened.
Behind it was a small chamber.
Inside was a stone table.
And on that table…
a glass container.
Empty.
Brook approached.
There were words engraved beneath it.
VESSEL DEVELOPMENT CHAMBER
Brook stared.
"This is where they made them."
Crowley remained silent.
Brook turned.
"They made people."
"Yes."
"Using Source DNA."
Crowley nodded.
"That's what the creature meant."
Brook looked at the container.
"How many?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Brook's voice became quieter.
"How many before me?"
Crowley finally spoke.
"We don't know."
Brook stared at him.
"You keep saying that."
"Because I don't."
Brook turned back to the chamber.
Something was written on the wall.
SUBJECTS: A-01 THROUGH A-12
Brook's expression changed.
"Twelve."
Crowley approached.
"Yes."
"One for each Shinokuni?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Brook looked at him.
"Crowley."
"I don't know."
Brook looked at the twelve numbers.
Only one had been marked.
B-01.
"Then what is B?"
Crowley studied it.
"Maybe the second generation."
Brook's expression hardened.
"Then there was an A."
Crowley nodded.
"Probably."
A noise came from behind them.
They both turned.
The creature entered the passage.
Its body had changed.
The stone plates were glowing green.
Roots moved beneath its skin.
Brook raised his sword.
Crowley stepped beside him.
The creature stared at Brook.
Then it spoke.
"Maker."
Brook froze.
The creature lowered itself.
"Maker."
Crowley tightened his grip.
"Don't listen."
Brook looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because it's not speaking to you."
The creature's head tilted.
"It is."
Brook stepped forward.
"What does the Maker want?"
The creature smiled.
"Completion."
Brook's blood ran cold.
"Completion of what?"
The creature pointed toward him.
"You."
Then it attacked.
Brook and Crowley moved simultaneously.
Brook struck first.
The first Source exploded across his sword.
The creature blocked.
Crowley attacked from behind.
The creature twisted.
One arm caught Crowley's blade.
Another struck Brook.
Brook flew backward.
He crashed through a stone wall.
Crowley released his sword.
The creature charged.
Crowley moved.
His fist struck its jaw.
The creature barely reacted.
Crowley struck again.
Then again.
His movements were impossibly fast.
Brook pushed himself from the rubble.
He watched.
Crowley wasn't fighting like a soldier.
He wasn't fighting like a normal swordsman.
Every movement was deliberate.
Efficient.
No wasted motion.
The creature finally caught him.
Crowley disappeared.
The creature looked around.
Crowley appeared above it.
His sword came down.
The blade cut through the glowing armor.
The creature screamed.
Brook stared.
Crowley landed.
Blood ran from his shoulder.
Brook looked at him.
"You've been holding back."
Crowley didn't look at him.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I have to."
The creature attacked again.
Brook charged.
This time he used the second Source.
Dark energy wrapped around his blade.
The air became colder.
The creature recoiled.
Brook noticed.
"You're afraid of this one."
The creature hissed.
Brook smiled.
"Good."
He struck.
The second Source exploded across the creature.
The armor cracked.
Crowley attacked immediately afterward.
His blade entered the crack.
The creature screamed.
Brook pulled his sword back.
The creature staggered.
For a moment…
they had it.
Then the creature laughed.
Brook froze.
Crowley looked at it.
"That's not good."
The creature's wounds began closing.
Faster than before.
Its body grew larger.
Roots erupted from its back.
The ground beneath them split open.
Brook looked at Crowley.
"What the hell?"
Crowley stepped backward.
"It's absorbing the fortress."
"Can it do that?"
"Apparently."
The creature roared.
The entire chamber began collapsing.
Brook looked toward the passage.
"We have to go."
Crowley nodded.
They ran.
Above them, Henry and Sera were still trying to reach the lower chamber.
Henry pushed another stone aside.
"Nothing."
Sera raised both hands.
"I'll clear it."
She released a controlled burst of magic.
The rubble shifted.
A small opening appeared.
Henry looked through.
"Brook!"
No response.
Sera's face tightened.
"They're alive."
"How do you know?"
"I can feel the magic."
Henry looked at her.
"You sure?"
"No."
She looked toward the collapsed floor.
"But I'm not leaving."
Henry nodded.
"Neither am I."
Elias stood behind them.
"You shouldn't."
Henry turned.
"Why?"
Elias looked toward the fortress.
"Because the ruins are unstable."
Henry ignored him.
"We're getting them out."
Elias sighed.
"Then I'll help."
The three continued clearing the rubble.
Brook and Crowley reached the end of the passage.
There was nowhere else to go.
A massive stone door stood before them.
Brook pushed.
Nothing.
Crowley joined him.
Together, they pushed.
The door moved slightly.
Behind them…
the creature approached.
Brook looked back.
"Little help?"
Crowley nodded.
They pushed harder.
The door opened.
A blinding light filled the corridor.
Brook shielded his eyes.
They stumbled through.
Then the door slammed shut behind them.
The creature struck it.
The entire structure shook.
Brook breathed heavily.
Crowley looked around.
They were standing in a massive underground chamber.
At the center was a circular platform.
Six empty pedestals surrounded it.
But one was glowing.
The third.
Death.
Brook stared.
The Source inside him responded.
A black thread of energy moved from his chest toward the pedestal.
Brook stepped backward.
Crowley grabbed him.
"Don't."
Brook looked at him.
"I'm not doing anything."
The energy continued moving.
The pedestal began glowing brighter.
Crowley looked genuinely alarmed.
"Something is calling it."
Brook's eyes widened.
"What?"
The chamber shook.
A voice echoed through the darkness.
Not the creature.
Not Crowley.
Not human.
"Return."
Brook froze.
The third Source pulsed.
"Return to the balance."
Brook's breathing stopped.
Crowley raised his sword.
"Show yourself."
Nothing.
The voice came again.
"Six will become one."
Brook looked at the pedestal.
Then at his hand.
The three marks burned.
The voice whispered:
"And the vessel will open the way."
Silence.
Brook stared into the darkness.
"What way?"
No answer.
Crowley grabbed his shoulder.
"We're leaving."
Brook didn't move.
"What if this is why I was made?"
Crowley looked at him.
"Then whoever made you doesn't get to decide what you become."
Brook looked at him.
Crowley continued.
"That's your decision."
For the first time since the third Source awakened…
Brook felt something.
Fear.
Real fear.
He looked toward the darkness.
"Then we find out who made me."
A massive impact shook the door behind them.
The creature was breaking through.
Crowley turned.
"Later."
Brook raised his sword.
"Right."
The door cracked.
Again.
Again.
Then it exploded inward.
The creature emerged.
Bigger.
Stronger.
Its entire body now covered in glowing roots.
It looked toward Brook.
Then toward the six pedestals.
And it smiled.
"Begin."
Brook and Crowley stood side by side.
Neither moved.
The creature charged.
Brook released the first Source.
Crowley drew his sword.
The second phase of the battle began.
End of Chapter 51