Issue 13: Laylines of the Abyss
Little Star searches for me. I will please the Red King. My purpose is terror. Not by tearing them apart but by lingering within their thoughts. She will not find me. Unless I want her to.—Meathook
My skin is not my own. It never was. I must shed the last layers. Only then shall I see the path. On of wrath and ruin.—The All-Father
Avandar blames himself. But nothing could have stopped the All-Father’s transformation. That was why he had broken down his soul shard into cloned bodies. To get at the horrifying truth. Some origins should never be unearthed.—Sleeping in Starlight: Climbing from the Abyss
Planet Otish
5th Cycle Outpost
January 19th, 2125
Meathook prowled the outer ruins.
The heavy golden chain held the crimson gem of the All-Father. The former ruler of Tarkanan gestured within the hybrid’s mind, “My whole life was a lie. As long as it was. Those vast centuries. To hide my true purpose. Not from my enemies. That was expected.”
Meathook marveled at the conversational tone. Patient as stone. A bloody hued outline appeared. Two ignited coals for eyes. Urraden pointed once more. To the crumbling ruin. Above ground, it was little more than a cluster of stonework. The barren landscape was home to mountains of bleached bone. Meathook crept down the open tunnel. His vision matched the near-infinite dark.
Hard compact rock twisted into uneven shards. His hands and feet slid. The rush of the wind drowned out his cries of alarm. Frigid waters rose to engulf Meathook as he barreled over the cavernous lip of the cave network. The crimson jewel rose. It filled the hybrid’s lungs. Meathook’s eyestalks twitched. His lungs burned. The water pulled at his limbs. Within the dark a light pulsed. Not one of the midday sun. To Meathook it flickered within the ultraviolet.
Red pulsed.
The pressure of the water vanished.
Meathook beheld a sight burned into memory.
The Red King’s arrival. Birthed beyond the material the humans dubbed Dark Matter.
A solitary voice that echoed through the endless expanse.
Before the Dawn of the Multiverse
Dark Layer Expanse
Amarche Cluster
The one who would be known as the Curator luxuriated within the cocoon of dark matter. The Amache had found no other life floating within these hallowed spaces. There was nothing but the constant flow. His brothers and sisters clustered around him. Through him. There was nothing else but the comforting warmth. They had no words for good, evil, pain, or horror. Life began within the threads.
Unbeknownst to the Curator? Those threads formed beyond the layer of Dark Matter. It allowed other beings to bore their way into a realm previously unblemished. The one who they would call A’ka’mid’i. The Tendril of Infinity. Its red glow was hypnotic. At first, it pulsed with a gentle light. Within a realm of the utter dark? It was a clarion call. Its voice joined with the Amarche. The Curator balked. The words.
Those words were torture upon his soul.
Two pale eyes.
Let me in.
The Curator wrapped himself around the center. The first node of Dark Matter.
The voice persisted.
Let me in.
Talons brushed against the surface of his mind.
LET ME IN!
*****
Meathook said, “Ahh. Father is clever. Came before the Twisted Light.”
It watched as the Amache fell upon themselves to unite with the A’ka’mid’i. Flesh given form. A being who could exist within all matter. All layers. The flesh only had to let him within. Glorious. The Curator fought the advances. A pity.
Meathook cooed. “A power greater than Unity.”
Abbadon's voice rolled through Meathook, “Do you wish a true name?”
The dark water flowed through his body. His bones hardened. Followed by muscle. A coil of red fluid exited his throat. Nyx’s mark. That same mark he had shared with Murphy. He was free. “I offer my body to the cause.” Power curled around his fingers.
The Red King asked, “What is your inner desire?”
Meathook gurgled, “To strike fear into the hearts of those who the Highest adores most.”
The Red King bowed, “So you shall.”
Hidden paths through the Abyss opened to the hybrid. Laylines that were only known to Abbadon. Meathook dragged his body across that vast corridor. His form twisting. At the time of his choosing? He would reveal himself to the tools of the Highest. Bask within their despair. He was the first disciple of the Ruler of Flesh.
Unity could no longer mock him.
Midden Moutain Range
Paradise Falls (Shield World)
June 3rd, 2136
There it was again. That faint flicker of heart beats.
I landed 10 miles from the current battlefield. It was moving quickly. Yes, the Snake duo could be dangerous but whatever this thing was? That had to be my priority. It could hide beyond my senses. Including my Thronebearer augmented abilities. A voice wafted through the trees, “Little bird. One death gained. Two more await.”
It was low. Inhuman. Black Scrawl speech.
It continued, “You are correct. For all your abilities? I am the answer to you.”
That was in Urraden mental speech.
The triple beat hummed against my skin.
Its next words chilled me to the bone.
“Be seeing you.”
It wasn’t finished.
*****
Meathook circled. Its long yellowed fingers left no trace upon the ground. It mocked Murphy by broadcasting its hearts. She would only get what little ques it would allow. Unity openly fought its enemies with endless hordes of cannon fodder. That august body had never realized it had been the Red King holding it back. Guiding it. Otherwise, the foolish Amache demons and the Fallen of the Host would have been aware of the delicate threads. The Curator knew only the barest of information. He would not interfere.
Not directly.
Meathook’s teeth pulled back into a smile. Lips stretched to fill its face.
It told Murphy, “Ask your dear friend the Curator. Unity is a small fish within the sea of Madness!” It twisted its body to hug the hardened earth. Flesh compliant. Murphy’s form passed over him. The tendrils of light quested as the vaguest hint of Thronesight pulsed. Those wings stung but Meathook continued to observe. She couldn’t even see her true power.
Not yet.
For the body to be a proper sacrifice the Red King needed her to walk the Path. So he could have all the knowledge of the Highest. All flesh across all Universes would bow to the sacred words. Abbadon would encompass all. Meathook waited. It had all the time in the world.
Murphy didn’t. It could smell the blood.
Her allies needed her.
The air around it compressed as the Star-Spangled Banner retreated.
It crept between the threads of the physical world and the Laylines of the Abyss.
Those lines had been here since before the arrival of the Light.
Meathook cooed, “Little bird. Pretty cage. That will not save you. Your flesh belongs to him.”
*****
The wind whistled in my ears. I still heard its parting remarks. I gritted my teeth. Slammed into Snake Charmer hard enough that the corpses of trees around us imploded. My father was bleeding from a wound on his shoulder. I tossed Charmer high into the air. Spun in place to counteract Pyra. She was ready for this. So was I. I sucked in a great breath and swallowed the gathered ashen armor she had put up around herself.
Slapdash ran counterclockwise. Providing an anchor for our parents.
X’mil’s headless body charged at me. Green energy held him to the deadened earth.
I lashed out with my right fist. His body went flying. I heard the dull thud from 106 miles away. I caught Snake Charmer on the way down. Headbutted him. At about 10% of my strength. His head lolled to the side. Out cold. This was merely a distraction. “Mama Bear” aimed her remaining canons at Medusa, “Don’t even think about it.”
Medusa’s hands shot up, “I yield!”
Slapdash said, “What now?”
I replied, “Now? We give them a choice.” Medusa paled at my words.
*****
X’mil shouted, “Let go of me!” His head bobbed. Carried by an invisible source.
He spat leaves and roots from his mouth, “Careful! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!”
His body was miles away. Damned Banner.
A voice akin to sandpaper rasped out, “Oh yes.”
X’mil let out an undignified squeal as the force sent his head rolling down into the muck below. The Dark Mirror lens opened. That black-bodied mechanical spider awaited. Its outer shell peeled back. A brain floated within. Its neural nodes lit up along the spinal column. E’ratha mused, “Oh. It's so nice to see you!”
X’mil snarled, “You.”
E’ratha replied, “Such a happy family reunion!”
X’mil spat, “I need my body.”
Black pinchers gripped his hair. Hoisted him up and into a slot along E’ratha’s back.
“Let’s go find it.” The lens dissipated. The voice rolled over them both, “Remember the plan E’ratha.” She bobbed within her glass containment. Her voice took on a fanatical edge, “Of course!”
X’mil grunted, “What use is she?”
Cold fire tore through his gray matter, “No words from you. Only your sheer incompetence is useful to us. The enemy underestimates you. We can use that.”
The Typherian quailed. “I have power!”
E’ratha mused, “Oh you do. It shall be put to better uses.” Her tone hardened, “Your vendetta towards J’ino Ayeer is a thing of the past. Forget it. The Red Tide is here and I plan on drowning Unity in it.”
The Jupiter Rising
Captain’s Situation Room
I paced. I dived into the Ur-Flow. Nothing. The Highest had a blind spot. Just thinking that made my heart pound a bit faster.
No hint of the Red King or its plans. Mom entered. A slim box in her hands. No adornments. Just a plain white box. I drawled out, “What’s in the box?”
She replied, “Put your hand in and find out!”
I cracked a smile. “Next I’ll be getting swords from lakes.”
Mom reached up to brush my hair away from my forehead, “You need a haircut.”
“Yes, mother.”
I unclipped the black clasp. “Symbolic.”
Within was a clear-cut jewel. No colors at all. I picked it up.
I rolled it across my palms. Nothing.
I tapped it. No response.
I asked, “Who gave it to you?”
Mom replied, “Di’axi.” She placed the box on the table.
“During your senior prom.”
I gawked, “What made you think to give it to me now?”
She held out a flimsy. In Lorain’s neat script.
“A gift freely given. From the light of the first sun.”
I dived into the Ur-Flow. The world faded. I blinked. My mother whirled.
“What on Earth….!”
A pinprick of light flashed. Stars flowed outward. At the center? A shield world floated. Its golden and silver spires rose. The first sun wasn’t a star at all. It whirled. Its massive rings were coiled. Emitting a glow just as bright as Sol. Below us, Elysium sprawled. Its glory was undimmed. Perfect in every way. We rose. Mom blinked rapidly.
“You’d think I’d be blind.” The gem’s outline pressed into my palm. I saw the energy flash across my mother’s brow. I was shielding her. I could feel it in my bones.
“Time to turn the key.”
I held the gem up towards the whirling rings. It vibrated in time with the music.
“Welcome Thronebearer. Mother of Change. Remember the Path. The Red King wishes to supplant it. Do not let the Fleshwalker twist the spheres.”
Before us rose Creation.
The first steps of the Highest into the realms of Mortal Man and Universes.
I checked my Chrono: Friday.
Mom squeezed my hand, “At least it's not Monday!”
Issue 12: Here
Issue 14: Here
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