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The first thing Thel noticed was the smell; it was the heavy kind that hit his nostrils and went straight to the back of his throat. His stomach protested immediately, not helped by the way he was being tugged and turned. Which was the second thing he noticed. Great tendrils curled around his wrists and waist and ankle, pulling him deeper through the darkness towards whatever waited below. He struggled against them as the light in the far distance, as dim as it was, got closer but they were much stronger than he would have guessed and, with nowhere to plant his feet, it was a useless fight. Thel was pulled into a massive room where the smell was much worse and, as his eyes traced over the lumps of flesh taking up as much of the old Forerunner tech as possible, he finally realised why it was such a familiar smell, albeit much stronger. The giant mass of Flood biomass turned him upright and rested him in front of its gaping maw. Thel clenched his mandibles and glowered; this beast would not devour him without a fight, of that he was sure.
"Relax. I'd rather not piss this thing off."
Thel's head snapped around at the new voice and his eyes rested on the human now beside him, and they widened. "Demon!"
The Flood -- this Gravemind -- began inspecting the demon, turning it this way and that, and making an awful sound as though it were smelling something.
"This one is machine and nerve," it growled, "and has its mind concluded."
Then came Thel's turn. Just as his stomach had somewhat settled, the Gravemind began twisting him around once more and the bile rose to the back of his throat as he was turned upside down.
"This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded."
"Kill me or release me, parasite!" Thel spat back, his irritation getting the best of him. "But do not waste my time with talk!"
"There is much talk, and I have listened, through rock and metal and time," it dragged Thel back to where he was before, apparently satisfied with its observations, or too preoccupied in whatever its goal was, "Now I shall talk, and you shall listen."
Thel huffed to himself. Whatever this parasite had to say would be of no concern to him. He already had his mission -- or, he did. He wasn't sure what it was he was supposed to do now, but he was sure this creature could provide no such answers. It produced two more tendrils, one of which caused him to freeze, eyes wide and mandibles half open. One gripped an Oracle, but the other... It couldn't be... a Hierarch? But one twisted and deformed by the Flood's own doing, fused into the very tendril that kept it there, and looking nothing like those he met with in the Inner Sanctum not only a few days prior.
"Greetings!" The Oracle spoke first. "I am 2401 Penitent Tangent. I am the monitor of Installation zero-five."
"And I am the Prophet of Regret," it forced out with some effort, "councillor most high... Hierarch of the Covenant!"
The Oracle's eye focused on the demon and lit up in what looked like excitement, which is certainly more than what the last Oracle displayed in the short time Thel had spoken with it.
"A Reclaimer? Here? At last! We have much to do. This facility must be activated if we are to control this outbreak!"
"Stay where you are!" The Prophet of Regret snapped, "Nothing can be done until my sermon is complete!"
"Not true. This installation has a successful utilization record of 1.2 trillion simulated and one actual. It is ready to fire on demand."
The Prophet -- though Thel felt deeply uncomfortable thinking of this twisted creature with such status -- turned to him now, glassy eyes focused intently.
"Of all the objects our Lords left behind, there are none so worthless as these Oracles!" he turned back to the Oracle, full of rage. "They know nothing of the Great Journey!"
The Oracle matched his rage, floating as close to his face as it could. "And you know nothing about containment! You have demonstrated a complete disregard for even the most basic protocols!"
"This one's containment," the Gravemind rumbled its disgust, "and this one's Great Journey are the same."
The tentacles sank down again, into the mass of flesh, and the Prophet gave a final shriek of terror before sinking below the surface. Thel struggled harder at this, determined he wouldn't play this game any longer and he certainly wouldn't become some twisted puppet for this thing. The Gravemind was speaking again, spitting Flood spores with every word, but Thel was too preoccupied and was only half listening.
"Your Prophets have promised you freedom from a doomed existence, but you will find no salvation on this ring. Those who built this place knew what they wrought. Do not mistake their intent, or all will perish, as they did before."
As they did before? He paused, glancing back up at the Gravemind. That had, despite himself, caught him off guard, until the demon spoke and he felt all the hatred flood back into his veins.
"This thing is right." it said, "Halo is a weapon. Your Prophets are making a big mistake."
"Your ignorance already destroyed one of the sacred rings, Demon." he hissed back, "You shall not harm another!"
"If you will not hear the truth, then I will show it to you." The Gravemind said, "There is still time to stop the key from turning, but first it must be found. You will search one likely spot," it brought the demon closer to its maw, before doing the same with Thel, and he clenched his mandibles tighter in disgust, "and you will search another. Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us brothers."
With that, Thel was dragged violently back with a whoosh of stale air and, as golden rings engulfed him, the scene of horror disappeared from his vision.