Issue 20: Necrotic Dreams
The Highest thinks to replace me with a pretender? You have
not changed. Clothed in Judgment and Divine Mercies. Your light is not the only
one within this Universe or countless amalgamations! I will draw upon the
infinite.—Abbadon
My dreams grow dark. The Nightmares
hold the Truth.—Ta’karr Urraden
Yes,
the Highest operates out in the open. That is its way. To offer the weak a
crutch. I require those who will themselves to break the Covenants of Man,
Soul, and Void. Defy the flesh that holds you prisoner.—Book of N’ath: Vol 1
The Night Realm
Corrupted Threads
Mordred’s
soul thread strained against the endless dark.
A
new presence had infiltrated the domain.
The
warning of Samata rang within the frigid space. “Ark’ah’kul!” Death Walks….
Abbadon was the death of the flesh.
The denial of the soul’s reincarnation. Once fallen always fallen. The Highest
believed in redemption. Mordred knew better. There was no safety for one such
as him. He’d rather be on the side that was more than just a catspaw. Unity had
its uses. Taking all the notice. All the dread. All the flames. Fanning outward
into the spiraling expanse of space. The howling between stars. Many knew of
its counterpart. The Veil. That was where the Light dwelled.
The Night Realm was for his kind.
Necromancers only knew the bare edge of this place.
Mantle of Death. Abbadon rejected
it.
Mordred knew what Abbadon wanted. At
least on the surface. Mastery of All. Not just the window into Life.
Everything. What existed beyond Death. Beyond the Twilight. What gave birth to
the Highest and Crimson King. They were not the first. Abbadon wanted the
Source. The authority to re-write everything. His brother controlled the flow
of time but Mordred knew there were ways around that. Ink flowed. Poured into
his eyes.
Chronos would be offered up as a sacrifice.
*****
Ta’karr Urraden screamed.
No
sound flowed from his lips. His fingers curled. Crescent-shaped welts formed on
his palms. The voice tore through his brain. Oily shades clung to his body.
There was no respite here. He had made his choice. It was the only way to
protect her. Black fire flowed through his belly. The stone room faded. Stars
whirled overhead. Great armies and ships of the wall battled. At the heart was
Chronos. A shadow of tendrils coiled about Eliza Murphy. Entropic energy!
His
eyes narrowed. The prophecies had never been about Eliza. About Life.
The Prophecy Of The Twin
Rulers
FEAR THE PATH OF THE ANCIENTS.
THE GUILT IS CARRIED DOWN THROUGH
ALL-TIME
PASSED FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT
THE KEY IS NOT FOR YOU!
THE TWIN RULERS OF THE SKY SHALL
ENCOMPASS ALL!
ONE FULL OF HOPE
ONE HIDDEN IN ASH
CLOAKED FROM THE PRYING EYES OF FATE
TWIN HEARTS BEATING AS ONE
TWO WORLDS BOUND AS ONE
THE ANSWER LIES UPON THE OUROBOROS
EACH RULER WILL WIELD A KEY UPON THE
INFINITE
THE SNAKE BARRS THE PATH
ONLY WHEN THE BLOOD TRULY AWAKENS SHALL
THE MULTIVERSE BE SAVED
TWO LINES, TWO HEARTS, ONE WILL
AN EMPTY CROWN SITS ON A USELESS THRONE
THE MASTERS OF OLAM STILL WEEP
THE SLUMBERING ONE MUST AWAKEN
THE STAR WILL LIGHT THE WAY
THE TWIN SUNS SHALL DEFEAT THE UNITY
BEWARE THE PITLESS EYES
A NEW DAWN AWAITS, DEFENDED BY THE WHITE
LIGHT OF LIFE
WHAT IS THOUGHT DEAD WILL RISE.
One will. Who’s will? That of the
Highest? Or Abbadon.
A voice reverberated through his
skull.
“Now you understand the tricks my
brother plays. We each possess a Key upon the Infinite. I had to steal mine.”
Eliza Murphy was protecting the one who inherited the Key of Abbadon’s purpose.
The original purpose. Crimson robes fluttered.
A skeletal hand pointed. “You see
the trap they set for Chronos. We must allow this. I must know who hides within
Murphy’s shadow. The one who took the mantle of the Night Realm.” He would have
to know what body to possess. What soul to dominate.
Black and White, they had not been
chosen for such a fate. Though powerful their minds were but thimbles against
the tide of the Everlasting. Ta’karr watched as fire blazed across the black of
space. Countless ships. More than he could fathom.
Heart’s blood pulsed.
The Prophecy
of the Slumbering One
THE MIND WILL WANDER
THE BODY WILL ENDURE
THE WILL REINFORCES THE WALL OF THE
INFINITE
REBIRTH!
THE FIRE OF LIFE CALLS OUT TO THE VOID
CONVERGENCE
HOPE EVERLASTING!
ARISING FROM THE ASHES
There was more than one Convergence.
Abbadon’s
ruby red eyes pinned the Typherian in place. The energy around his hands
crackled. The hiss and pop reminded Ta’karr of a volcanic abyss. Fire burned at
the edge of a steep cliff. Abbadon’s version of the Slumbering One flashed
across the expanse of brimstone.
The
Prophecy of the Slumbering One
THE MIND WILL TWIST
THE BODY WILL REFORM
THE CORRUPTION BREAKS THE WALL OF THE
INFINITE
REBIRTH!
THE DECAY OF UNITY CALLS OUT TO THE VOID
CONVERGENCE
DEATH EVERLASTING!
TO CONSUME ALL!
Ta’karr’s face grew pale, “Death
cannot have two masters.”
His eyes rolled back. His voice
weakened. Vocal cords went raw.
Sharp fingers twisted in his hair, “You
are now my eyes. Do you wish for a better fate for your daughter? Serve me.”
Ta’karr floated above his shell. His
soul shard cradled within those crimson hands. Gold and black scrawl skittered
across. One of the Three. Claimed by the Lord of Flesh. He could see the other
two names.
Mordred.
Sheol.
Meathook could send
those it wanted into the Night Realms.
Abbadon smiled, “Always
three. No more. No less.”
*****
Dexter Murphy plucked the ghostly
pale threads before him.
He
was deep within the Veil. Barely connected to the Night Realm. That monster had
managed to get off a partial warning. The way forward was dangerous. One false
move and the towers would fall. If Abbadon ever consumed his body? The visions
Anna beheld would be just the beginning. His mind and soul flowed back towards
his body. The smell of stone and metals greeted him. Whiskers tickled his
cheek. P’tah grumbled, “Reports from my brothers and sisters grow dire of late.
Abbadon will reveal himself.” The white-furred Icath paced about the Suspension
Chambers. Each sarcophagus could send a soul out further than any mortal
suspected.
Dexter
rubbed his eyes with one palm, “We just have to make sure he inhabits Thoth.”
The
broken mirror. An avatar with a defect that could save them all from Abbadon’s
wrath. All Eliza had to do was take the Knife into herself. Not an easy task. At
the center of the room, a clear sphere floated. A piece of the Ur.
They
would have to coordinate with the past, present, and future all at once.
A
familiar face winked into existence. Her silver hair was white at the temples.
Silver
Fox noted, “Now comes the fun part!”
Dexter
replied, “No worries! Just have to prevent the end of all Creation and the
Reincarnation process!”
Eliza
said gently, “Sight is always clearer near the end.”
Dexter
nodded. The threads that connected him to his sister no matter the time period hummed.
He knew what she meant. This course would not change. But they could breathe on
the embers.
*****
Mordred greeted his brothers.
Meathook disconnected the mortal shell from the instruments. Bel would never
know until it was too late. Ta’karr snapped his fingers and the Urraden med pod
opened with a slight click. This false prison would no longer be of use.
Meathook dragged the proxy form over to the Seer’s chair. Relinking all cords
as they should be. He breathed into the corpse’s mouth. Giving it the illusion
of life.
Other civilizations called it a Sleeve.
Mordred would operate it from his new abode.
Not a true clone. One that could
suck the soul from a host.
All smoke and shadows. Unity still
had a role to play. Meathook giggled. The sound made Ta’karr wince. It was
tinged with madness. Of all 3? That beast had it worst. In every aspect. Green
energy encased all three and they winked out of existence.
The
artificial air of the ship soothed Ta’karr’s nerves. He set course. Deep within
the Eternal Empire was a gate. Not to the Veil but to the Night Realm itself.
They would build the armies needed. Not one’s of flesh. That they could steal.
Broken soul shards had more than one use.
A
faint holograph of his daughter flickered above his eyes. Safe within his HUD.
“For
you. It was always for you.”
The
black ring world turned within his mind. She would not serve within those
depths.
*****
Abbadon commanded the Children of
Chains. Each wraith flitted through the bodies and broken soul shards resting
upon the Plains of Ithix. Typherians and Humans alike strained against the
crimson chains. Collected from the various wars within each universe. Places
where Unity held sway. Yes, they were preparing for Chronos but they did not
know what Abbadon would bring. A horde of Locusts.
Bodies stacked upon each other like
cardboard.
The flesh mattered not.
Each would carry a sliver of his
influence. A power that Unity only dreamed of.
Such as it was. True power wasn’t flashy.
It was patient. It abided beyond the tethers of time and space. It didn’t
matter how many Demis were birthed to combat him. He had already wormed his way
into Eden. All the fallen would arise. Even the corpses resting within the
confines of Eden.
“Ahh. Yeshua. I shall anoint you in a crown of thorns.”
*****
The Highest knelt at the altar. It
was made of simple white marble.
He bowed his head, “The Valley of
Death Shall Arise. Warn them all.”
*****
Anna McQuire tossed in her sleep.
Images formed.
Hands
poured forth from the dirt. Their faces were empty. Dressed in all manner of
armor. Across all epochs. The attack would come from everywhere. Cold fingers
clamped down on her throat.
She awoke screaming.
Issue 19: Here
Issue 21: Here
No comments:
Post a Comment