Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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"Helps us activate Project Burnout."

His voice was serene and full of emotion, as if he had been holding those words for a very, very long time.

""!""

"W-Wait, I heard of it before, but what even is this project?" Dale asked as he looked at the gate

'One question at a time...'

"... It's hard to explain for someone that never saw it before, I myself had some problems understanding it when I was younger."

"Even telling the fundamental process behind it to some of the teens back in the Sanctuary was difficult."

"As such, it would be easier to explain it after you set your eyes upon it."

"..."

'So it is a tangible thing, well, the chances of being so were already extremely high but it's confirmed now.'

"Still, how do we get inside?" Dale asked as he looked around

"There are multiple ways, the easiest one being bursting through the walls."

"You could also directly access a control panel outside of the Bunker, but that won't really do much as we have no identity codes or means to bypass it."

"Unless you're well versed in the Engineering of the Corps, if so, you would be cutting everyone a great deal of work." He said with a slight chuckle as he waited for Dale's reply

"..."

/Shakes head/

Unfortunately, even after looking at Testros, neither of the two knew even a smidge about the subject.

"Your silence tells me everything..."

"Now then, if opening the gates through the expected means is not possible, then we can always force our ways through it, but not every lock can be cracked open."

"This entire area is encased in a protective layer of a Titanium Alloy, which can be commonly found beneath the entirety of the Southern Coast."

"In fact, it's so plentiful some beaches of the South are completely gray."

"Either way, if it was simply as breaking through it, even I could've done it…"

"The problem is, if we do so, we risk damaging some important components that could lead to the reactivation of the Project."

"But most importantly, we could permanently lock all exits of the Bunker by reactivating old defensive systems, which would lead to us being forced to dig our way out of this place."

"We also can't prevent these systems from activating as we can't really divert energy into what we wish to be powered, we can't be selective about it." .

"It may be hard to understand, but due to the scope of the Corps, our ancestors were forced with coming up with ingenious ideas to manage all of these buildings while also minimizing personnel."

"Automation and Logistics as they once called it…"

"Now, only a big, wobbly mess remains, a web of complicated programs and rules ingrained into the very metal around us, halting our progress by prioritizing something that is already long irrelevant."

"As such, it may be bothersome to some degree, but we need to… Cough… Follow these programs until we're out of this place, or else we may risk being the target of an ancient defensive system."

"I doubt it still works, but even if only for a moment, if our lack of care leads to the death of even one Soul, the weight of its loss will haunt the rest of my short life and the rest of the long lives of those close to it…"

"It's not something I would wish to throw onto your shoulders, a weight like this may not be heavy, but it'll hunch your back over time..."

"And it may be greedy of me to some extent, but if we do succeed with leaving in one peace… I would like to have these places as they are for the generations after us as well, even if by then they're nothing but rust and dust…"

"… I wish them to be remembered as places forgotten by time and not destroyed by those that shared its era with…"

"Albeit… Sigh, I'll make the sacrifice when all other options are over."

"..."

'I do share his sentiment somewhat, I bet Testros does as well, however, I know that I'll likely be unable to grow Resko into an organization that is large enough to manage even distant places like this one.'

'It's not about improving what we can do, it's about people.'

'It would take tens of thousands to just manage these ancient constructions, then ten thousand more to protect them, then a few more to each and every kind of job a group that big would require.'

'The players can't do all of these jobs, and from teaching others to finding them...'

'Resko will definitely grow, but never to same standard as what the Corps once was, and that is okay.'

'Maybe... After several decades, if I still have the drive to do so, Resko will have grown a bit, allowing it to take upon themselves many of these ancient places.'

'But I don't see me being able to retake even the Wall and affiliated constructs even as my life comes to an end...'

'I'm thinking a bit too far ahead, I can barely see what next year will have in hold for me, much less five or ten.'

'I'll just ride the waves, perhaps create some, and one day I'll realize what these thoughts of mine actually meant when I experience it all for real.'

'The end of my story... Or who knows... The start of another.'

"Cough... I apologize, I spoke a tad too much at once... Give me a moment to breath." Sarferato said as he cleared his throat

"As I was saying... To get inside, you'll have to directly interfere with the gate's locking mechanisms..."

"So first, manually unplug all safety pins that hold the gates in place."

"The gates have multiple layers of locks, but right now they're only partially locked, it's not even the first layer if you could say so."

"If we had the keys it would easily open, but the body of the one that has it is likely buried a foot beneath the ground somewhere far away…"

"Once the pins are out of place, just push the doors open and they'll slide smoothly…"

"As smoothly as the dried oil in its gears allows… You may have to put in some extra effort."

"Alright, I understand." Dale said as he looked around

He didn't really question much the authority or the words of the old man(presumed) on the other side of the gate, but questioning him and doubting him won't do him any good.

He had a Quest to complete, a man to help, and a group to save, all of which depended on whatever was on the other side of this door for him to find.

The old man on the other side could've killed everyone, it could be a monster of unknow proportions mimicking the prey it had just devoured, it could even be something else…

His Quests weren't something he should put his trust in all the time.

Sometimes, they could be wrong, sometimes, they could only tell part of the truth...

A Quest give by a liar would only lead him to a trap or a scam.

But Dale needed these doors open by yesterday!

"Hum…"

So he raised his head with determination, scanning the cold metallic gates with sharpness...

But he didn't find the pins…

"I'm sorry but… I don't see the pins." He said out loud with some confusion

Testros also seemed somewhat shaken by this, where were the pins?

Although a part of his thoughts seemed... Elsewhere.

"How come? They should be right in front of you."

"Huh?... Wait... Wait a minute…" Dale replied as sweat started to fall from his forehead

He soon realized what the old man meant by pins…

Two pairs of massive cylinders going all the way to the ceiling, being each over 12 meters long and who knew how deep they dug into the ground above and beneath them.

They were at least the thickness of his arms stretched and they definitely weighted a few hundred tons each.

Massive pillars of metal that acted like screws, preventing the doors from moving even a single bit.

"You mean these four massive metallic pillars?..."

"Oho! And for a moment I thought I had gone senile! Indeed young man, those four need to be lifted so the Gates may slide."

"The opening mechanism of the gates are rather simple, you just need to disable the extra locks that are on the way."

"Were I younger I would've been able to do it through tricks and whatnot, but alas, I'm old."

"We also have no Mages anymore... At least, none fit for the task at hand."

"I can tell the Pins may look daunting, but they're lighter then they look, give it a try."

"Hold them tight and... Throw them up!"

[DING]

[Your Quest has been updated]

"..."

'Fuck.'

His eyelids twitching, it seemed he had no other choice.

Wasn't it a good thing though? Dale was given the chance to do a little power lifting!

It had been a while since he did anything similar, what better time then now to show the progress of his techniques?

With a tap on the shoulder from his companion, Dale approached the pins as he complained:

"Aren't you going to help me?"

"Me? I'm old, I'm afraid my back will snap if I very much entertain the idea of trying." He replied with a shrewd smile as he looked at Dale

"..."

"Ohoho! Indeed, young man, give us old timers a rest."

"Ohohohohoh!"

The two old man started laughing, their laughs almost exactly the same.

It made Dale's expression turn dark.

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Notes

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