Zoe had only one question in her mind. Why did you push me, Cain?

 

Pitch darkness…

 

Intense darkness that my eyes could never get used to after all this time… I'm not sure if even high-end night-vision eyes, made by the best of bioengineers, could see anything in this darkness.

 

An endless silence…

 

A coldness like no other…

 

A bottomless silence that I cannot comprehend… If only there was a substantial part of my body left so that I could hear its voice. If there was a part of me left to cry and sob, at least I would not forget my own voice. After all this time that has passed, I forgot not only my voice but also the sensation of hearing. I didn't know this was possible... All that's left is this damn pain…

 

How long did my fall last? How deep am I right now? How long is right now? How much time has passed since I fell? How long have I been lying here? It's been a long time since I lost my sense of time… Or hasn't it been a long time? I can't speak clearly because I have lost my perception. What else will I lose? Or what else have I lost?

 

There's not much left worth mentioning of my supposedly state-of-the-art body. There is no feeling. All I can feel is this damn pain. I'm trying to conserve my last remaining energy. I put myself on standby many times and woke up again. I'm afraid of perishing in standby mode. It scares me to die and not realize it. But I'm also afraid of perishing when I am conscious. There is nothing I can do. I'm afraid of disappearing before I can do anything. All that's left is this constant pain and endless rage.

 

Eternal darkness...

 

A Cursed Pain I just can't get used to...

 

Complete silence…

 

After all this time - I think it's been a long time - I started to lose my memory slowly, I didn't have the energy to keep myself alive. And that scares me. I'm afraid of dying as an empty shell. I'm afraid of disappearing without knowing who I am. But I will survive. I must survive. In order to survive and make them pay, I will erase a large part of my memory myself. I want to forget this damn pain. At least the reason for it… Because this damn pain makes me want to give up. Because as I remember it and why it happened, I want to give up. But I can't give up. I must not give up. They say the ones who forget heal. I choose to forget this curse. I have to use my energy efficiently. I don't have the luxury of spending energy to preserve memories. I'm afraid of forgetting. I'm afraid of forgetting who put me in this state. Only two names, a question, and an everlasting rage remain. Why did you push me, Cain?

 

The only thing I remember about myself now is that my name is Zoe.

 

I will repeat it again so I don't forget. Why did you push Zoe, Cain?

 

I'm gazing into the abyss and it gazes into me.

 

I am listening to the abyss and it is listening to me.

 

All I can feel is the damn pain in my chest; the endless pain that I can never get used to. All I remember is being pushed here. I don't know why I was pushed. Maybe I had ideas about it, but I don't remember what they were right now. When I try to remember things, I get the error "This data has been deleted" in my mind. Did I do this? But that doesn't matter anymore. The only thing that matters now is you, Cain. I can feel why I haven't forgotten you. My anger did not allow it. Besides, what would keep me alive if I forgot about you, Cain? How would I survive if I forgot about the person who abandoned me in this pit, imprisoned me in this silence, and drowned me in this darkness?

 

This is the right thing to do, Zoe. You can't forget your fury. One day you will stand up and get the answer you want from this Cain person. I know that. I hope so. I have to hold on to this. Why did you push me, Cain?

 

Void…

Coldness…

Darkness…

And a damned pain.

 

All I know is that I'm Zoe and I was pushed here by Cain. I don't need to know more. I don't have the energy for more. I don't have time to think about the things I've lost. All I have to do is not forget. DO NOT FORGET! Don't forget about the person who took everything from you…

 

The abyss draws me in, and I draw it in.

 

A muted darkness… A dark Zoe… A muted Zoe…

 

A pure eternity... A pure Zoe... An infinite Zoe…

 

How much time has passed? How much longer will pass? Did I live longer before I fell here, or did I spend more time here? If I don't even remember who I am, am I still Zoe? Who was I really? Am I still Zoe or just a part of the Abyss? Where is this place anyway? Was I born into this pitch black? I don't want to give up, but I'm terrified. When I feel that I want to give up, I'm even more afraid. “Why did you push me, Cain?” I don't know what Cain looked like, and I don't even know what I looked like. All I know is this darkness. I don't remember before this. Was there really anything before this?

 

COME TO YOUR SENSES, ZOE! REMEMBER YOUR FURY! REMEMBER THE FIRE THAT DOESN'T FADE WITHIN YOU.

 

WHY DID YOU PUSH ME CAIN?

 

Why did you push me, Cain? This question gives me hope that there was something before. This question screams at me that there is more than all this nothingness. I existed before this and I'll be back there again. Just wait, Cain! Just wait…

 

A damn pain that only gets worse when I think I'm getting used to it…

Darkness that gets darker just when I think I'm getting used to it...

A pit that gets quieter just when I think I'm getting used to it...

 

Why did you push me, Cain?

 

Just this question is keeping me sane. In this vast nothingness, only this question is keeping me alive. You are the one who both trapped me here and kept me alive here, Cain. You won't even let me fade away. The only thing left between me and the void is this anger and endless pain that burns in my chest. I will hold you accountable for all this, Cain. 

 

Darkness…

 

Silence…

 

Infinity…

 

I fear vanishing into nothingness, Cain. Only you are keeping me alive. Only you illuminate this darkness. Only you are breaking this silence. What would I do without you, Cain? I want to destroy you but what would I do without you Cain, tell me. I am grateful for you and I hate you, Cain. I will live and get answers from you. Why did you push me, Cain? Or was I a despicable person? What did I do to deserve to be abandoned here? What could be the worst thing that I have done to you, Cain?

 

Darkness and silence.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Light and noise???

 

ABYSS - 1st LOG

 

Zoe didn't know what to feel when she saw the light that pierced through the darkness. The light she had forgotten even existed was coming to shake the world she knew all about, that was certain. The sound of feet on metal was the first thing she heard, and she would never forget that. Zoe was ecstatic as the light and sound approached her. She had been deprived of these two basic senses for so long that she had even forgotten about their existence… Every noise and clatter sounded like music to her, and every ray of light that passed over her eye made her blissful. She was struggling to not be swept away by the specks of dust floating in the beam of light. She could only examine the specks of dust and think, Fascinating.

 

Intoxicated by these forgotten senses, Zoe was suddenly filled with fear. What if they leave without noticing me? What if I hope in vain? Am I salvageable or have I already crossed this line? What if they don't see me? I don't even have a voice to shout. These anxious thoughts that suddenly flooded her mind were interrupted by the heated conversation between the two men.

 

One of the Abysscrawlers standing a short distance from Zoe picked up a piece of metal that he had examined and apparently did not find useful, he threw it on the ground and said, "Dan, I've never seen anything useful come out of this area, why have we come all this way? We could have taken no trouble, just laze around and tell Lucy that we had come here and found nothing."

 

Dan, who was used to his partner's irritating whining, lifted his metallic head from the holographic radar protruding from his arm and turned to his friend, "Haha, it's really naive of you to think that after all this time Lucy won't know when we're lying. Besides, I'd like to know how lazy you were before you had a cybernetic body, and spider legs, Brad." While saying this, he was moving all of his spider legs to show how energetic he was.

 

Brad sighed, evident in his voice that his pride was hurt. “When did we find anything remarkable here? You know why we haven't patrolled here for a long time. This is the deepest pit of the Abyss. The bastard we found when we came here last time wreaked havoc on our town. We had better not save him! I just don't like it here, that's all. Besides, having six legs makes me three times more tired!”

 

As Zoe was listening to the discussion, she was trying to understand the situation she was in and the structure of the Abyss. So I was thrust into the deepest pit of this pitch-black darkness, a pile of rubbish. And I wasn't the only one who got thrown here she thought. If I am saved, maybe I can get information from this person they call dishonest. Also, I won't even mention Brad's laziness to this apparently important Lucy person. Just don't leave without me!

 

Obviously tired of arguing, Dan looked around with the light he pulled out of his eyes as if to make sure he was in the right place. Even though everything looked alike in this bottomless abyss, the abysscrawlers who had been patrolling here for years could now tell the difference. “This is an important place for Lucy, do you know why?”

 

Suddenly curious, Brad stopped looking around and abruptly turned to him, "Is this place important to Lucy? I didn't know, why?"

 

Dan, whose voice turned sluggish as if he was about to talk about something sad, found himself a seat in the pile of metal. “Yes, this is where she was thrown too. I don't know how or why, or what kind of person she was before here. You know how secretive Lucy is, I feel lucky to even know about this.”

 

Brad, who was a bit annoyed because he couldn't get more detailed information about Lucy, still couldn't hide his shock. “So that's why she asks us to come here even if it's every now and then. Even if we found that bastard last time. I would still like to know more about our Fallen Angel. Where would we be without her?"

 

“Without her, the whole Abyss would be just a cemetery, Brad.” said Dan, unable to hide his admiration. “You know that she built Araf with her bare hands, don’t you? With all these pieces of garbage. That still amazes me.”

 

Brad just nodded quietly in agreement. Hearing about Lucy falling here reminded him of his long-forgotten life above, which he refused to ponder. How long has it been, he thought, since we've last seen the sun? He couldn't find the energy to speak anymore as he felt a vast sorrow deep down.

 

Hearing all this, Zoe felt that she had shared a similar fate with Lucy and she realized what an important figure Lucy was to these people. Although she couldn't help but feel sorry for the person who made this bottomless abyss habitable, it was a relief to have someone she could learn about where she came from. She thought that if the duo, whose names she learned were Dan and Brad, could spot and save her, she should definitely meet Lucy. Maybe she knows who I am? And another thought popped into her head, with rage burning inside her, Maybe she knows who Cain is? Then something happened, perhaps with the flame of that thought that broke the restless silence.

 

A signal from the radar on Dan's arm echoed through the abyss. Brad and Dan looked at each other in surprise at this unexpected event. “Where does the signal point to?” Brad asked as he fired up. He started to look around. He was throwing large sheets of metal with his cybernetic arms, flinging wires to and fro as he was hastily looking around.

 

Dan told Brad to calm down, studied the radar, and turned toward the signal. He started walking to the point where the signal had come, activating the thermal vision. He caught the faintly visible heat in his thermal vision and summoned Brad to his side. “There's a very low temperature coming in. The fallen one is probably in critical condition. Let's get to the body slowly and see what kind of first aid we can do."

 

The idleness of Brad, who had the chance to save someone, was gone. Listening to Dan, he meticulously set to work. There weren't many people who fell or were thrown into the Abyss, and it was extremely rare for anyone to survive the fall. Of course, he was one of the survivors who went through this. He knew what it was like to lie on the ground for a long time, waiting for help, to be trapped in this pitch-black darkness. That's why he could more or less imagine what Zoe was going through, and that's why his desire to help was ignited.

 

Dan listened to directions from Brad and calmly began to clear the way to Zoe. It was astonishing to have someone alive in this area where no one had patrolled for a long time. He didn't even want to guess how much energy she had left to keep her alive. Or how long she has been lying here waiting for help, but he reminded himself that this was not the time to think about these questions, and he focused on his work again.

 

After hasty but careful efforts, Brad and Dan calmly arrived where Zoe lay. They were avoiding extreme movements so as not to cause further damage. They began examining her body, what was left of Zoe, to gauge how much damage had been done and how they could help. When they finished their investigation, they both looked at each other in shock. There was more than one thing to be shocked about.

 

With an excitement that could almost make his cybernetic body tremble, Dan said, “How did she survive, thanks to these alloys? What are these?"

 

Sharing Dan's excitement, Brad said, "I've never seen improvements like this before. I hope we have something left to salvage.” Brad swallowed, the shock in his eyes showing the importance of what he was about to talk about. “Is it what I think it is on her spine?”

 

Dan could not conceal his childlike excitement. “ Brad, I think this is what we've been waiting for ages!: A CyberDeck!”