Tale:Apathy Illuminated

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I shall become the light of the heavens, but when we meet again, I’ll still be a slave.

This content is a part of Illumination.

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Index / Lexica / Timeline

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Diegetic Page

This page is written from an in-universe perspective. This means information contained within it may be subject to bias or take a much different tone or format from other articles.

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Date

Perspective Character(s)

Location

1099-1102

Unknown

Kyrāne Island

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I awoke to the steady beeping, every second or so, in a sterile white room. Everything hurts, and I feel several times my age. I can’t even feel my tail, my feet, my hands, any of my extremities. They might as well not be there. I can’t turn my head very well, but despite that, I look out the window, seeing the blue sky, so bright it’s scorching my eyes, slowly turning to a sickeningly vibrant violet. I avert my eyes, deciding the monotonous white of the room is much better than the dissonant vibrancy outside the window.

I must have been kidnapped. I can feel myself strapped onto the bed, the soft foam below me contrasting to the abrasive straps holding me down. I look at the entrance, dreading who or what may come through, knowing that potentially it could open to my doom.

I’m just a miner, why would someone take me?

…That’s right. A miner. I work in the mines, swinging my pickaxe at the crystals that form there, the lifeblood of the nation. A very important job, even if there’s many of us. It pays well, of course - nowhere could function without us, from the surface towns to the airships, or even Voi.

Of course, it’s not without its hazards. We lose someone at least every week. Sometimes, they are given leave due to mana sickness - it makes them insane, thinking everything’s going to kill them, that everyone’s after them in particular. Some insist that they’re working us to our deaths.

… Yeah, right.

It’s just the paranoia talking. We need to work hard, to make sure that there’s enough mana for the world to run. That must be why they took me. Sabotage. I’m the best worker in the mines, better than any of the snakes trying to leech off the higher-ups. Without me, it’s going to fall apart. They must be sabotaging the mines.

I think back to the last thing I remember.

It was a normal day, I woke up early, and took the long trek into the mines. Each of us carried our own gear - you’re the one trusted to do so. My group didn’t encounter anything, but another group must have, as I saw the pillar reaching into the sky, of something dying, the mana in their body releasing in a mighty blast, returning to the sky. Several more, then it was quiet. I remember there was a stinging feeling in the back of my neck, and I felt sore, but I kept going. Soon, swinging away, letting my thoughts wander, watching the other miners from the corner of my eye, they might try something. It kept like that for a while, before marching back out to have lunch. What happened then?

Right, they tried to take my lunch. Someone had sat too close, clearly aiming for my food, and I stopped them. Shoved them away and called out their thieving ways, righteous fury filling my body. And then. And then, I woke up here.

I look at my journal, sitting beside my bed, hopefully there’s some answers. Or just memories, either works. The leather cover seems infinite, layers of dark brown endlessly stacked upon themselves. I reach over and open it, letting myself read and fall into memories.

Day 1.

There wasn’t really a choice I could make, other than to work here. Nowhere else would take me, and I need the money. I hear it’s terrible there, someone dies every couple days. I can’t quite believe it - after all, who would turn a blind eye to a death and just keep working? But I can’t do anything else. It’s this or starve, and I’m not a fan of the other option.

The dorm has tension so thick I could cut it. I was met with dozens of glares the moment the door opened, like everyone expected me to start a fight. Their gazes were almost like a physical weight, pushing me down while I made my way to my bed. How do they manage?

Day 5

I can’t stop shaking. One of the guards died today, killed by a crazed animal. I tried to learn his name, but nobody else seemed to know it. Someone died, and nobody knew their name! I can’t believe it. Nobody even flinched when his mana left, his body turning to ash, the shockwave let out as their mana returned to the sky. I swear, I even heard someone comment on the size of the blast, like it was a particularly poor cut of meat. How could they be so calm about this?!

Day 50

Another death today. A fight broke out, someone had succumbed to the insanity, attacking someone who stood too close, accusing them of trying to take his hard work and make him miss his quota. Insane. They had to be taken away, and let go, to fend for themselves in the wider world, keeping them around would be a liability. The other guy was new, judging by the relatively small amount of mana that left his body.

It’s my first time seeing the results of mana sickness. I’m a little worried, but I’ll make sure to leave before that becomes me.

Day 400

A major monster attack happened today. We had to meet up with another group, since there weren’t enough guards left. Nothing really happened, just business as usual. But I have to keep this entry short - someone might take my journal.

… Yes, I believe I remember now.

Day 637

Those damn guards, why don’t they see? They’re supposed to make sure monsters don’t come too close, but one was prowling the mines. The other idiots didn’t even notice it, but I did. I stayed quiet, making sure that it’d take someone else, and not me. I didn’t see it happen, but I heard the scream a minute later. I went back to mining, knowing the thing wouldn’t be after me anymore.

How naive I was, coming into the mines. It makes perfect sense why I wasn’t trusted - new people can’t ever be trusted, you don’t know what they might do. Better they go out before I do. I wonder what idiot they got to replace me, after I was taken. Not one nearly as capable, I’m sure.

My body feels light, and pains all throughout my body, they’ve been getting worse the last few days. Especially the back of my neck. The pain’s just been getting worse, like something’s growing there. It’s getting worse even now, oddly enough.

Snap.

Something changed. The pain’s gone. It must have been a crystal - am I really that sick? I can’t move… It's like my body is refusing to respond. I feel weightless, like I’m a ghost, invisible and incorporeal. Like I’m floating, even while I’m being weighed down.

Everything fades, the rest of the world turning invisible before I disappear.

Then I’m dissolving, breaking into flakes of ash.

And a great pillar of mana explodes from my body, reaching into the sky like a bolt of lightning, signaling my disappearance. My consciousness is long gone, and my body has turned to ash.

When my heart’s turned to ash and my name is lost, will I be remembered? I’m not even writing this down, am I?

Karos - Day 472

The facility where they send the people who are too mana-sick to continue had another fatality today. Someone dead from mana sickness, clearly. One of the largest deaths I’ve seen. Wonder who he was. It was after dark when he went, the soft violet hues contrasting with the bright blue pillar of light.

That was the third one today. I’ve long since learned to ignore it. I can’t afford to feel bad for each one, focusing on my own safety is far more important, and my concern wouldn’t do them any good.

Why must their deaths be so dramatic for something so mundane? It would be more convenient if they just faded away.

I can’t linger on this too long, if I don’t get to bed, I’ll have troubles with my quota tomorrow.