[h2][color=gray]Underwater Cave, Crypt[/color][/h2]
[@Lexisheeps], [@WhiteAngel25]

[hr]

[i][b]"Where'd you find your mask at?"[/b][/i]

She stared up at him sheepishly as Stella set her down. The mask was clutched in her pocket defensively. [b]"I... When I was traveling around dark corridors, I saw a room filled ceiling to floor with-- Arrrgh!"[/b]

Her knees buckled as the white ring around her neck activated, sending a convulsing shock through her body. She tried to speak, or at least finish her sentence, but would receive more shocks that inhibited her ability to speak without crying out in pain.

Finally, gasping for air, she staggered back to her feet. [b]"I didn't find it [i]here[/i]."[/b] Her eyes were wide, trying to convey some sort of meaning beyond what she could actually speak.

At Nick's suggestion to trade him his puppy for her mask, she stared hard at the small wolf. Uncertainty painted her expression as her clash with the pup's mother replayed behind her eyes. She gave the mask a squeeze, teetering on making a decision. Nick would have to say something to sweeten the deal.

[b]"Maybe if you trade me, I can see why the man and his orb feels sad, yeah?"[/b]

At that, her eyes lit up, and she willingly offered the mask to Nick, a huge smile on her face. [b]"Would you really? Oh, that would mean so much to me! You don't know how much I've [i]wanted[/i] to help him. I just... don't know how to."[/b]

[i][b]"Nick, I don't think you need to trade your new pet. Look at this. There are a few dozen of them within a ten-meter radius,"[/b][/i]

Indeed, Stella's eyes proved fortuitous. There were some masks similar to the one in Subject #3's possession, but with a chipped face, and different stylized lines. If she tried to 'activate' any one of these masks, it was similar to activating an augmentation. One would simply just have to think about it willfully.

All of the masks in this crypt appeared to have the same power, strangely enough. Upon activation, dark ice crystals would grow out from the mask, slowly enveloping anything it touched in a frighteningly icy grip. Although the power differed from Subject #3's mask, the dark ice power could prove useful.

[i][b]"That's because it's a memory AI. Someone preserved their consciences in that orb."[/b][/i]

[b]"So... like a spirit?"[/b] Subject #3 asked, eyes bulging, trying to consider the mind-boggling process of having one's essence encoded forever.

She turned to Nick, arms outstretched as she held her breath. She waited for her new pet puppy.

[b]"Don't bite me, Ivaylo..."[/b] She said tentatively, forgetting all about her traded mask.

If the path to the right was explored, Nick and Stella would find the eroded stairs circling down many levels before opening up into a large cavern. The heat would increasingly rise on the descent until they made it to the bottom floor of the crypt in the dark energy-created cave at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. 

Before their eyes, Nick and Stella would see a floor ringed with several rivers of molten lava, cris-crossing across dark patches of volcanic stone. On the far side of the room, beyond the rivers, was a pedestal with a [url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/The_%22Thinker.%22_Large_figure_of_a_seated_man%2C_Karditsa%2C_Thessaly%2C_4500-3300_BC.jpg/133px-The_%22Thinker.%22_Large_figure_of_a_seated_man%2C_Karditsa%2C_Thessaly%2C_4500-3300_BC.jpg]small sculpture[/url] on it. Stella's eyes would be able to pick up that the shape of the scultupre's base matched that of the dust markings on one side of the bones that the orb hovered over.

The way to the sculpture was nearly impossible. The rivers were too wide to simply jump across, and dangerously hot to even consider wading through. However, the walls seemed cool and reliable. Perhaps another way that guaranteed everyone's safety could be found...