"I do hope everything is set! You'll get only twenty minutes to mine in the Gates, supervised by a Rank C.
"Under no circumstances should anyone cross the Safety Zone! Keep your curiosity to yourself—find another time and place for reckless behavior!
"We enter in twenty seconds!
"Double-check! Fasten up! Keep your items in hand! Understood?."
The miners scrambled to check their equipment after the man's sharp command. Valtor did the same, dusting the snow off his boots and stretching his fingers before securing his axe.
Seconds passed. The miners stepped forward, moving toward the Gate in careful, organized lines. First the experienced, then the rest.
Just as Valtor was about to cross through...
"Hey! You!"
He froze.
The voice was sharp. Too sharp.
"HEY!"
The commanding tone cut through the air, stopping him cold. Valtor's pulse spiked as he turned, forcing a calm reply. "Yes, sir?"
"You're an addition to the number. The New Member?"
His stomach twisted, ('Think fast.') "I... I joined this morning!"
The Overseer of the Mining team removed his helmet, revealing a ruffled black hair which fitted perfectly on his rugged face. A scar slashed through his eyes which were narrowed . "You were the one who came to me for the mining assessment review qualifications?"
Valtor nodded quickly, grabbing at any possible escape from the situation. "Yes, sir—?"
"After you're done, report to my office. "Immediately."
The words hit hard, but Valtor forced himself to nod again, stepping forward before his nerves could betray him. His heartbeat pounded, but his voice had to stay steady.
One thing was clear—he had luck on his side. The overseer never asked him to remove his helmet.
Yet, as he moved toward the Gate, one question nagged at him; How did he know I was the last person to join? Or possibly is it because I answered the question?.
*****
Death.
No birds. No trees. Just Jagged Stumps, broken and Burned, and attached to these stumps were faded crystals. Dull without even a faint glow.
No sun. No Moon. No Stars.
The sky stretched wide and far, with clouds not of moisture, but dusts—red, and spiraling just like that of a whirlpool.
The air here was thin, but it carried weight. Oxygen existed, but, the dark energy clinging to it would make every breath heavy, and every step weak.
The Ground was dry. Not just dry, cracked, splintered and dead.
Valtor clenched his fists feeling the pressure of the world around him. This place wasn't dying. It was already dead.
The Overseer was the last to step into the world through the Gate, alongside another, The Rank C who didn't utter a single word, rather, stood solid on the ground, watching them all.
"Get working, Gather the crystals into the Barrows.
If you feel a hint of nausea after taking off the Helmet during the REST TIME, I don't care how tough you think you are, REPORT TO ME IMMEDIATELY!
And, if you end up in the infirmary because you ignored it! I'll SLAP YOU INTO NEXT WEEK ALONGSIDE YOUR PAYCHECK."
Valtor grabbed the Ax tightly and moved towards one of the stumps, he raised this item against the hard piece, which shattered easily.
Not from the density, but his strength. When other found it hard hitting one piece, he had cracked out ten.
Although during this work, he also kept his eyes on his surrounding, watching the other miners do their harsh work.
Just then, before another strike against the crystal, something slowly moved by his side, and his eyes darted to look at what it might be.
What caught his fear would be the body which looked skeletal, but not entirely.
He dropped his Ax, after noticing it was just passing by, without any form of an attack.
He paused, seeing the body was wrapped in some sort of black smoke, as if trying to escape through the bones.
Then again, another passed, then another, and yet again, another.
Valtor left his work to see the desolate Landscape was filled with them. He watched, noticing they had been there ever since the Mining team entered, but... When the mining began, their numbers grew, it became noticable.
Their movements were slow; Dragging feet which formed a shallow trails in the dusts.
Their heads were low, arms limp at the sides, like something had stolen their will long ago.
And Yet, in fleeting moments, some would lift their heads, as if remembering something. A past life, a fading memory..
But, the darkness always pulled them back.
"The corrupted," A miner stood beside Valtor. "I never knew there were this many..."
Valtor recognized the voice as the boy who had helped him earlier with the changing routine, ".... The corrupted?," He asked, watching their sluggish movement.
"Yes! Many years ago, when Chaos devoured some dimensions, which this desolate Wasteland was among, some of the inhabitants were as well stripped from their life force, and when a life force is gone, replaced by something worse than death, it becomes corrupted from the dark energy which is replaced," The Miner heaved a sigh, before turning to Valtor, "I'm Pete!"
"Valtor!"
"Huh?," Pete said, "What a strange name."
Valtor raised a brow, an expression he wished the boy could see if there wasn't any helmet on. 'So, I have a Strange Name? When yours is Pete?...' He thought to himself, before staring back at the desolate Wasteland.
"Anyways, I'm going back to Mining, would you want to join my side? It got a lot of tough crystals!" Pete asked, throwing his Ax up, but the offer... Declined.
"I'm sorry," Valtor walked back to the previous spot, "I would like Mining on my own."
Pete knew if he tried talking it out, nothing successful would be the result. "Okay... But don't cross the Safety Zone!."
"Hmmm."
When the Miner joined the others, Valtor continued his harvest, waiting for a time, a moment to slip out from their midst.
A perfect setting...
"TAKE THREE MINUTES BREAK!."
Just as now.