It took Kyle two days to get his preparations completed, and he was happy with the results.  Using broken pieces of furniture, strips of cloth, and bits of scrap metal, Kyle created several dozen small decoys.  Figuring out the weight of the metal components was the most difficult piece, but with some trial and error, he managed to find a size that would get caught in the magnetic fluctuations without getting swept too high or simply falling into the glass.

The wooden furniture remains, secured by ballistic cloth, dragged across the black sand wildly.  Kyle knew the chunks of wood wouldn’t last long against the abrasive material, though he hoped it would buy him a few hours at least.  That should give him enough time to get in, access the lab, and run away.  Hopefully.

The plan in general was simple: Kyle would release the decoys from several different spots, watching for a reaction from the sand.  If things looked too dangerous, he’d leave and gamble with his current results.  If the response seemed manageable, he would move forward with the infiltration.  He hoped that the fish relied more heavily on their mana sense than the movements on the volcanic glass, which would give him the best opportunity.

“C.H.A.D.D., are you ready?”

[ALWAYS.  RELEASE THE POORLY MADE DISTRACTIONS, DR. MAYHEW.]

“Come on now, they’re not that bad.” Kyle griped, following the drone’s instruction anyway.  The strange contraptions began to float across the surface of the dunes, misshapen pieces of furniture tracing odd paths through the glass as the metal swayed along with the magnetic pulses.  Kyle trusted that C.H.A.D.D. would track their movements as he walked to the second location, then the third, releasing decoys in each. 

He grimaced as he watched several of the cloth ties get cut through, while another decoy got snagged in a dune, unable to free itself.  The plan wasn’t particularly elegant, and Kyle was thankful that his opponents were unthinking fish rather than sapient beings.  Ger’Sinh wouldn’t be terribly impressed, Kyle concluded.  Of course, nobody else will be either if C.H.A.D.D. decides to share the recordings.

“Hey buddy, there’s no need for anybody else to see the decoys, ok?”

[I AGREE THAT IT ISN’T PARTICULALRY NECESSARY, DR. MAYHEW.]

“Good, I’m glad we agree becau-“

[HOWEVER, I’M CONFIDENT THAT MS. ROCHELLE WOULD FIND IT AMUSING.  AS WOULD MS. TILLIENNE AND MR. CAIN.  TREX MAY ALSO ENJOY IT.  NOT TO MENTION AMALIA AND GWEN WHEN WE NEXT MEET.]

“Sometimes I wonder when you got so petty.”

[WHEN YOU MADE ME SIT AND OBSERVE YOUR LACKLUSTER ATTEMPTS AT DECOY CREATION, DR. MAYHEW.]

“It wasn’t that boring.”

[OH LOOK, THE DECOYS ARE HALFWAY ACROSS.]

Kyle felt a grin on his face as he looked out into the swirling storm of black glass.  He’d lost sight of most of the decoys, but trusted C.H.A.D.D.’s scanners.  Kyle was used to the sound of fish exploding out of the dunes, and so far, it was blessedly quiet. 

“Is anything coming for them?”

[NOT THAT I CAN TELL.]

That… was unexpected.  He thought at least a few of the fish would have come up to check out the disturbances.  For none to be in range of C.H.A.D.D.’s scanners was odd.  Of course, the lack of attacks didn’t mean that there were no enemies in the vicinity.  Caution was still a must.

Kyle drew in a stabilizing breath, focusing on suppressing and containing the flow of his mana.  It was the first time he’d tried to do this in a while, and he immediately ran into trouble.  His ascension to D Grade and subsequent levels made the suppression much more challenging as the energy raged within him.  He grit his teeth and clamped down on it immediately, restraining the energy as it resisted in turn.  His focus on Intelligence and Willpower paid off as, slowly, his internal mana settled. 

That’s not to say that Kyle fully accomplished his goal.  He felt like a balloon that was slowly filling with water, knowing that at some point the natural D Grade aura would have to be released again.  Still, he had time.  Raising his arm to cover his face, he stepped into the swirling sands.

He felt tension as he took each step across the black glass, waiting for an assailant to come.  None did.  C.H.A.D.D. projected a map of its scanner radius directly in front of him, showing all of the functional decoys still ambling about in the storm.  One foot followed another, and within twenty minutes Kyle had crossed halfway to the lab. 

There were no ruins to be seen in the inner area apart from the single, imposing tower at the center.  The houses had long since been destroyed, and Kyle was surprised when C.H.A.D.D. indicated he should stop.  “What is it?”

[BODIES, DR. MAYHEW.  FOUR HUMAN REMAINS ARE ROUGHLY THREE METERS BELOW YOUR CURRENT STANDING POSITION.]

“Are these the first you’ve detected?”
[YES, THOUGH NOW THAT I KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR, I’M SPOTTING OTHERS.]

Kyle nodded gravely.  “It’s sad, but not unexpected.  Humans weren’t meant to live in environments like this.”

[CERTAINLY, ALTHOUGH THEIR CONDITION IS UNUSUAL.]

With that, C.H.A.D.D. projected an image of the skeletons in orange light.  Even without the color, Kyle could see what the drone meant.  The bones were clearly human, though it looked like the bone had been fused with the black glass, reminding Kyle of fossils.  It was easy for him to imagine the obsidian color instead of the orange of C.H.A.D.D.’s projector.  Crystalized skeletons, not what I expected, Kyle thought, considering.  Are they valuable?

He dismissed the idea, continuing to trudge forward.  There were still unknowns in this part of the settlement, and Kyle didn’t believe for a minute that the area was truly empty.  Whatever beasts lurked here might not respond to him walking on the glass, but digging into it was a surefire why to stir up activity.  The smart play was to stick to the plan, and get to the lab. 

C.H.A.D.D. highlighted more skeletons as they walked, the numbers in their path alone growing into the hundreds.  It was sobering; the lives of so many snuffed out virtually at once.  Kyle wasn’t sure what happened on this planet; but his heart ached for Earth.  Would it float, desolate?  Would it continue to rotate?  Or would it crumble into dust, its core destabilized?

The duo moved in silence, until they finally set foot on the entrance to the lonely tower.  Unlike the other buildings, there were no windows.  The outside wasn’t crumbling; it wasn’t slanted.  It stood tall, a dark sentinel over the devastated land and rolling dunes.  It was then that Kyle realized he had a problem.  The building had no door. 

A full circle of the tower revealed the same, with no discernable entrance.  At this point, containing his mana was growing truly uncomfortable, and he knew he didn’t have much time.  “C.H.A.D.D., can you see an entrance?” Kyle whispered.

[NONE THAT ARE CLEAR, DR. MAYHEW.  THERE DO APPEAR TO BE MANA SENSORS INSIDE, HOWEVER.]

Kyle considered.  If he would need to release his energy to open the lab, attempts at stealth would be far less successful.  At the same time, he wouldn’t be able to make it all the way out of the inner area while suppressing his energy.  The timing will be a gamble either way.  Kyle closed his eyes for a moment, resolving himself.  “Show me.”

Orange highlights appeared on the building, indicating the panels.  Kyle reached out, resting his palm against the hot stone.  His skin sizzled, though the burn was swiftly negated by Adaptive Regeneration.  Again, he was thankful for his resilience.  Even most of the D Grades he knew, with the exception of Duroc and Arhades, would have been burned severely by the tremendous heat coming off the building.

He focused his mana, and let go of the suppression.  His energy flowed freely; the shift physically painful to him as the telltale D Grade aura reemerged.  At the same time, the wall responded.  With an ominous groan and creak, a panel on the sealed wall of the tower moved to reveal a triangular opening.

Heat like a blast furnace struck Kyle from the entrance, but he simply gritted his teeth and walked in, trusting in Adaptive Regeneration to keep him standing.  The panel on the wall returned to its position, sealing Kyle inside.  When it did, the dull red glow of daylight was gone, leaving Kyle in darkness.  “C.H.A.D.D., can you give some light?”

[CERTAINLY, DR. MAYHEW.]

The gentle orange glow revealed the area, showing an empty room covered in ash.  He’d hoped that there would be notes remaining, but with the heat scorching the interior of the tower for centuries, that was dashed.  Red light joined the orange as Kyle activated Ignition, boosting his healing even more.  He suspected he’d need it to reach the top.

Their ascent was quiet and unimpeded, save for the heat.  All furniture had been long burned away, as with all decorations on the walls.  The occasional scorched shell of a tablet could be found, though its contents were long destroyed.  On the ninth floor, they found a couple of the crystalized obsidian skeletons.  They were slumped against a wall, which gave Kyle pause.  “C.H.A.D.D., have you seen any of the volcanic glass in the tower?”

[OTHER THAN IN THE REMAINS YOU’RE STARING AT AND TRACE AMOUNTS THAT BLEW IN WHEN WE ENTERED, NONE.]

Kyle assumed that the strange crystals formed on the skeletons due to prolonged exposure to the heat and pressure of the sand-like glass outside, making these a bit of an anomaly.  Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to investigate it further, his skills pushing hard to mitigate the damage from the extreme heat.  “C.H.A.D.D., can you make sure to get some quality scans as we move past?”

[CERTAINLY, DR. MAYHEW.]

More skeletons appeared as they rose, until Kyle finally reached the top of the tower, the thirtieth floor.  The now-familiar lab doors were warped and cracked, with an orange glow coming from behind them.  The ancient metal didn’t budge when Kyle pressed his hand to the normal panel, but his Ignition-boosted Strength was enough to pry the damaged material apart. 

Suspended in the air was the final shard of obsidian, though unlike its counterparts it wasn’t in a containment sphere.  What’s more, it was the source of the dreadful heat, energy pouring off of it in veritable waves.  His skin was beginning to burn, despite the power of his healing.  He didn’t have much time. 

Casting a glance around the room, he spotted the remains of a shattered and melted containment sphere on the ground below.  Otherwise, not a single protective inscription remained.  “Any idea how to grab this thing?”

[WITH CARE, DR. MAYHEW.]

Kyle rolled his eyes.  “You know what I mean.  The heat is going to be a problem.”

[THE MATERIALS FOR THE CONTAINMENT SPHERE ARE DAMAGED, BUT NOT DESTROYED.  PERHAPS YOU COULD USE THEM AS MAKESHIFT PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT?]

The drone’s idea was the best he had, so he grabbed some of the warped metal in each hand.  Gently, he pressed the pieces together on either side of the shard.  He almost laughed at the absurdity, the orange glow’s contrast against the metal reminding him of a molten slag hot dog.

The moment he pulled the shard out of where it was floating, the glow receded.  It was still emitting heat, though far less than it had been.  What the hell?  Before he had a chance to examine the shard with Identify, the whole tower shook.

SKREEE-AAAAAAAWWWW

A prolonged sound that made the whole world tremble stopped him in his tracks.  He could feel the sound reverberate through his body, and his eyes went wide.  Mana at a level he’d only recently experienced began to suffuse the area, and Kyle exploded into action, darting immediately for the door.  What’s a C Grade doing here?

He only made it two steps down the stairs when he heard the scraping of crystal against crystal.  An obsidian skeleton turned the corner, looking up at him with empty eye sockets.  Another appeared, then a third.  They moved like puppets, each motion jerky and unnatural.  Kyle stared at them, ignoring the searing pain in his left hand and side from the shard. 

One of them blurred toward him, its hand outstretched to claw at his face.  He ducked underneath, smashing its ribs with the baton he held in his right hand.  The skeleton was far heavier than it should have been, and it turned unnaturally in the air, preparing for its next attack.  I just had to get the last shard.