Sacred Cave — Negotiations Over
Every tribe has its own traditions.
Some rely on common sense. Others sing songs while patiently preparing to become fertilizer. The latter are called the Utaru.
Aloy recovers from her encounter with the Zeniths and heads to Plainsong to get the Chorus’ permission to enter the Sacred Cave.
Varl, suddenly playing diplomat after finding himself a local girl, convinces her not to go in alone — to show tact, diplomacy, and ask the elders nicely.
The caterpillars of harmony are not impressed.
The Chorus sings so loudly that any voice of reason gets completely drowned out.
At some point, permission stops mattering.
Negotiations are over.
The path to the cordon cuts through waves of machines poured out by Hephaestus and his personal factory from hell.
Our purple friend hasn’t forgotten what happened to Cauldron Epsilon. “Eliminate the threat to the system” — we’ve heard that one before. HADES certainly did.
But Aloy isn’t here for Hephaestus.
And not for the Cauldron either.
Her real target is deeper.
MINERVA.
Hidden somewhere beneath layers of rock and metal, quietly waiting.
Good servers are hard to come by in 3040.
And with a copy of GAIA already sitting in a jar on Aloy’s belt…
…MINERVA might have to make some room.