Issue 4: Posideon
Truth within the layers. Each cycle had a piece of the puzzle. But to save everyone? It had to be weaved within the embers of dying stars.--Markav Histories
We Hatheon have guarded the Origin of the Oversoul since the beginning. We had visions of the Highest’ arrival. Before Abbadon was a thought. We saw it all.--From the Primer of Stars: Hatheon Vol 1
The Highest already existed as a proper force for Light. Creation. Good. Death was never meant to be an enemy. Abbadon’s goals corrupted his purpose. He always thought his role was one of containment. The truth is often a revelation. Thus my brother was made to take up that forgotten purpose. That mantle.--Unseen Archives Vol 1
Hatheon Circle
Amarka
Age of Arrival
Posideon sighed, “They still think us dreams!”
The Amache fluttered about the Dark Matter Cluster. So sure that it was the only thing that existed in the whole wide universe. The Weave reached out. Singing the deep song of Creation. The Twins would arrive. One swathed in Light. The other remade into the peace of the Dark. For without Death? Life would have no meaning. They were the first race of the Weave. The Amache were the first of the Over realm. The way of mortals would be born.
Yet they took no physical form.
The Songs rang out. The Light of all Life was coming.
A brother would ruin the Song. The Cycle would be built upon a lie.
The Red King would rule an empty tomb. While the Bone King would offer shelter.
Souls would cycle through properly. But only after the Betrayer was entrapped within the realm of Hades. Hell. The 9th circle of Dominion. As a warning to the next generations that evil came with a price. Posideon held his green trident towards the apex of Amarka’s primal magics. Each layline would be given unto the Followers of the Oversoul. Made in the image of the Highest. Their hands would safeguard the Legacy.
One day the Amarche would find their footing. Redeemed within the warmth of Creation.
Even now the first vibrations of the great Shield World Elysium phased through to touch the outer marks of the Weave. Noah’s people would not be the first. The shard bearers would guide their people.
One male. One female. To maintain the balance.
This is what the Dreamweaver promised.
A spark of radiance encircled the city.
∞
I watched as the white stag galloped between the corridors of the city.
Its hooves kicked up sparks as it passed. Behind it ran a swine wreathed in fire and ash. The Highest vs Abbadon. In a way I could comprehend. I could tell because of the third eye ringed in gold around the stag’s forehead. Each black antler was tipped with white. I sucked in a breath. We all had a piece of the Highest within us. That vital component that Abbadon never understood. Thus he was rendered as a massive boar. His tusks a milky gray color. Rows of Hatheon merfolk ringed the Leylines. They kept the cosmic energy from overtaking the city. A shield world the size of three Jupiters floated overhead. Its outer metallic layers ringed with Light Shaman energy. Thronebearer sigils attempted to repel the birth of Unity. A lone ship, Noah’s Ark, sailed forth among the sea of Stars.
Hoping to seed the multiverse with life.
Posideon linked with the Haethon envoy. 12 men had been selected to record the rise and fall of Elysium. Each gave their life to add to the Unseen Archives that would help oust Abbadon when the time came. The final Watcher linked with his Patriarch.
<<We have found the Golden Host reliquary. Shall I change the line of Bearers?>>
The living tapestry. It would need to be shifted. Just enough that even Lucifer would not recognize the alterations. The Highest’s commands flowed through the Hatheon people.
You have my blessing. I thank you.
This will save creation cycle souls. Alongside those yet to be born.
∞
The clash of antler and boar’s tusk dotted my vision. The great battle over souls from each countless cycle. Brothers raising an army against each other. For one followed the Path while the other denied it.
Posideon nodded, “You see the truth of the pattern. Though it is translated to a level you can comprehend. Each cycle has the original hope of Elysium. Abbadon’s taint cannot override that commandment easily. It is why everyone can choose.”
Unity had Abbadon’s threads but it never had commanded itself beyond the base purpose of corruption. A giant shell game. As dad would put it. A book of silver and gold phased into my chest. Posideon smiled, “It is the Word. Carry it with you. When all other lights go out.”
My vision grew dizzy. He was running through fire and ruin. The screams of those who remained etched upon his soul. He would not be able to save their bodies but the soul shards? Those could be carried to a distant future. One to help seed the foundations of Earth. The crown jewel of the Eden sector. His legs failed him as fire rained from the sky. Elysium would go dormant until the Rulers of Bone and Rebirth walked the surface once more. A spark of the Weave remained.
The Hatheon watcher fused with it.
To carry on the last message.
“Arbiter of Rebirth. Arbiter of Death. Here my plea. You must restore Elysium. Not only for Life but for Death as well. Bring the one wreathed in Twilight. Together you shall remake the cycle. It must be repaired.”
That’s why prolong had become robust.
Earth was infused with the first souls of Creation!
Brought forth during the 2nd phase.
Posideon indicated the golden doors, “They shall open properly now. Lucifer will be drawn out. Listen to the Word.” I could see the flash of the Fallen One’s eyes. His mouth curled, “No wonder we couldn’t find him. I’ll cut him from you crippled wing!”
A vision of the future. The Ur Flow closed in.
“It is the time of the Twins.”
The prophecies. Everything came in twos or threes depending on the function.
We wouldn’t replace the Highest. My brother would replace Abbadon. Thus closing the cycle to its true purpose. One of Birth, Life, then Death. The Ouros would mix and match souls were needed. Instead of being funneled to the Night Realm. Unity’s home universe had been a pale reflection of that reality. I would face it head on. But not alone. The Climb would not just be for me but for us all. Dexter whispered, >>Now you see but a piece. Guard it well.<<
I blinked as the room came back into focus. My father was cradling my head as I floated there. I sucked in a deep breath. “Oh.”
The word came out mild enough that Mary did a double take.
She replied, “That’s it? You see a slice of the big picture. Never mind. I suppose that’s better than gibbering into the winds.” A bitter note trailed off.
I took a sitting position next to my father.
Flight did have its perks.
“It’s like pieces are falling into place. So I can drive the spear home into the heart of the void.” I wondered what I would see upon my 2nd brush with death. It was needed because of Dexter. My three bouts would empower him.
My left hand twitched. It tapped my knee.
Correct.
I was the smokescreen for my brother. Lucifer would find out via Elysium.
Yes.
At the time of Dexter’s choosing.
As required.
The Highest had linked with him from the start. Since our birth.
To save us all.
Dexter had a piece of the Highest within. Alongside the shard rejected by Abbadon.
All in one my dear sister. It is why you had to be ignorant in the first phase. They think you a mere puppet of the Highest. You are our shield. We shall drive the spear into the heart of Evil. Always.
My eyes widened, “My hand is not my own.”
I hide within your shadow. As before. My cloned nodes are the key. Until I take the Throne of Death Uncoiled.
My father nodded, “We will have the forces needed to assault Elysium. To take her back from the Living Stone masses. It shall end. On the terms promised.”
The vision hit me then. My eyes clouded over.
I saw us.
I sat upon a throne of solid black. Its obsidian surface marked with golden runs.
My brother reclined on a throne of white. Ice blue runes sparkled against the twin backdrop of planets. On one side? Typha. On the other? Earth herself. Always circling. Our blood mixed with mortal works. We were wearing our Defender uniforms. Black stood to my leftmost side. White had one hand on Dexter’s Throne. Her eyes blazed.
Beyond them were countless other twinned Soul Shards. Previous Arbiters of the Arcane Order. Of the Unseen Order. All linked alongside us for all time. The Vigil would be passed on. To forever oversee the realm of the Ninth circle. The Titans cirlced its blackened sphere. Lightning crackled along the surface. It resided between Earth and Typha. We would guard it always. The souls of the condemned would howl. Aether bowed, <<This was my choice.>>
He would be the warden. His mortal form was a cover.
Aether pointed, <<I shall not be alone.>>
Argos and Cerberus circled. Their head’s held high.
The future swirled.
J’dax sat upon a sheet of purple grass. An unlit cigar in his mouth, “Look how they bleat. They hate seeing the Dark Star in the skies but it is a reminder of the House folly. Not only in us but in all others as well.”
The Ninth Circle pulsed.
Elysium rose in the west. Its metallic plates cleared. Crystalline Ouroborous circled. The Terran Alliance fleets patrolled every facet of the space above us. The Commons joined them. The Typherian hulls gleamed dark indigo in the reflected rays of Elysium. Tarkanan circled the Earth. Opposite of our Moon.
I whispered, “Creation Level souls reborn into later cycles. Within each race that walks upon the Multiverse.”
Mary let out a low whistle. “That explains a few things.”
I replied, “The Floridan Blood Curse.”
They were the remaining soul shards of Elysium reborn into the current cycle.
That was why the Hatheon created the Triangle.
To commune with Florida in particular. Earth’s maps updated. The sigils for Posideon’s Trident replaced the Markav word. HeroNet updated as the Legion of the Sunset Palace registered. Another red herring cloaked with Truth to distract the enemy.
Sunset Showdown added, << Bait placed your Arbitership! We even put down a nasty set of necrotic hoards. Unity had a necromancer waitin’ in the wings. Ill update the Unseen Archives with the goods.>>
An odd holo flickered. A pale gray Koala floated in the space above the habitat rings. A giant, “Kick Me” sign attached to its back in elegant writing. A red music box was dangling next to it. Beady black eyes stared into the pickup. It blinked slowly. A discordant note floated over the Thronebearer line. I examined it.
Its seething rage flooded my senses. What remained of that soul shard was corrupted beyond any hope of redemption.
“What a way to go.”
I clicked on the report. Sunset Showdown had been a busy demi.
∞
Pandora shouted within the meat sack that held her soul shard, <<I know you can hear me Unity! I don’t care what happens! MAY YOU ROT UPON ABBADON’S LIMP #(U%#Y#!>>
Black Scrawl erupted from the Australian mammal's nose, eyes, ears and mouth.
No response.
Typical. She attempted to bite Adam Lazer as the demi floated toward her. Small green constructs floated behind him as Green Defenders assisted. Florida would burn for this. What was that damnable blood curse anyway?! Useless Necromancer.
Narmon.
His mousy thin face contorted in pain. His black hood in tatters as he fled into the depths of the Triangle. Being bound to that mortal was unforgivable. Her koala hands battered uselessly against the green construct. Her host body was necrotic. Not like she needed air. She would find the owls that had consumed her mortal form. She would get her revenge. But how to leave this useless creature? Her last act would be to burn its body into the heart of Sol. From the sounds of it the star would quite enjoy immolating such a thing.
Her bulbous nose hit the edge of the square.
A Bardaxian in the form of a Springer Spaniel yipped anxiously.
<< Koalas are nature’s redundant systems. But I sense an ancient terror within its fat innards!>>
Lazer said, <<Noted. I’ll get this to the lab so we can help Sunset track the necromancer.>>
Black Scrawl exploded outward from every orifice to cover the construct.
<<Nasty little bugger.>> Adam Lazer added a shell of specialized metal over the construct. Thanks to Bulleteer and Blue Blaze. It was carved with Light Shaman sigils.
Pandora seethed, <<I will eat your flesh from your bones!>>
The Bardaxians growled, <<Not if we burn you in the loving rays of Sol first!>>
Pandora raged, <<Ith nara solcum!>>
She bit back a scream as the curse backfired. Her skin was covered in boils.
Useless.
Sol came online. It asked, <<Arbiter! I shall monitor the small mote of Unity. This won’t require the Arc of the Covenant. Anywhere my light has touched? Even within the Weave, I shall find this darkness and help the good people of Florida.>>
∞
Doc glanced up from her reader, “I know that look. What happened?”
I replied crisply, “Sol wants to recycle a koala.” Her right eyebrow raised.
“...does this have to do with Florida?”
I held my head in my hands and leaned back against the bedrest.
I felt her arms go around me. “You can tell me after this next phase shifts.”
Another update hit my H.U.D.
Two alligators.
One an albino. The other was a mix of green, red and black. Obviously modified. <<Tick and Tock! At your service oh Arbiter. We have a few notes from the Unseen.>> The lazer guns attached to their backs fired. Small dark shapes fled deeper into the Triangle. A mix of the physical world intertwined with the Weave. A kaleidoscope of color washed over them as a Hatheon female wrapped her arms about them.
<<They are such wonderful friends.>> She scratched their bellies.
<<Saved them from the Necro’s lab! Now the sharks have friends!>>
I maneuvered so I could rest my head on Doc’s chest.
I closed my eyes as her healing pulses took care of a headache.
<<I saw Sunset’s reports.>>
The Hatheon princess grinned. Her hair ticked by the waters around her.
<<Posideon’s influence expanded suddenly.>> She winked at me.
I checked my Chrono.
Mondays.
Issue 3: Here
Issue 5: Here
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