1. Prologue (1/2)

beyond black doors: a knights of obscurity tale

by mai

bolivar & leonard anthony arcilla

prologue

"doctor, the device is ready."

she glanced up at the young blonde assistant researcher

in the pristine white lab coat standing in front of her table. kafra

corporation has always prided itself in hiring individuals with both beauty and

ains. even scientists are no exception.

she adjusted her glasses, nodded

towards the assistant. "thank you, ms. blossom. i'll be with you

shortly," she said. the assistant beamed at her, nodded, and walked out of

her office.

the doctor stood up to follow, but

paused. her eyes roamed over the chaos on her desk: a stack of tumbled

paperwork, a cellular phone blinking solemnly with a single red signal light, a

couple of open books on soul physics and spirit theory, and a small framed

picture of a man in armor holding a baby. she stopped at the last.

he looks so happy there, she thought fondly and wished,

not for the first time, that she could at least call her husband and son. but

there was no signal this far off into mt. mjolnir, location of kafra corp.'s

most secret research laboratory, and even if there was, their research required

them to severe all contact with the outside world. there'll be time for that

later. after this is over, i'll make it up to both of them.

she shrugged into a lab coat

hanging by the door and walked off down quiet lamp-lit corridors towards the

chamber where they studied the device. most of the scientists in the research

facility were inside the chamber, busy checking out energy readouts from

various machines, all connected via long corrugated tubes towards the

containment unit that dominated the center of the room. young interns bustled

about on a multitude of errands.

the containment unit squatted in

the center, like a monstrous octopus whose tentacles ensnared the machines

lining the walls of the circular room. inside the spherical glass container,

the device hung suspended in clear viscous liquid. she walked towards

the device, her thoughts intent on its mysteries. almost two years