Issue 15: Brookes Residence
I must find the innermost desires. Twist them to my will. My daughter is filled with distractions. But I must know them to use them. The Wyrm will not interfere. It merely wants to consume past Arbiters. I will oblige its desires. Data will ring true.--Chronos
The Director’s plans always fulfill what is required. Hilary was always a part of that calculation. Even if she never realized the extent of her position. That of a bug within a cocoon. So the superior may flourish.--Sister Nyx
I have everything I ever wanted. Yet a twinge remains. Some aspects are unrecalled. Unwanted. I must find this part of myself and cut it out forever.--Hilary Brookes
A cage within the mind is deadly. You can wish for everything yet gain nothing. The price will be your soul.--Arcane Order Missive on Soul Shard Nets
Chronos? Vicious. Calculating. What he didn’t take into account was the influence of her mother’s blood. It was the one thing neither of them expected. It was the key to their downfall. Even the smallest nudge can change the course of a mighty river.--Unseen Archives Vol 2
Brookes Residence
City of Ashes
Earth
Hilary stretched. The hands paused.
She hissed, “Continue.”
Her shoulders relaxed as the slave continued his duty. His eyes devoid of emotion. Heat coiled about her arms as he applied the salve. She grabbed the bell. Its delicate tones at odds with the harsh opulence of her palace home. At the end of the 5th ring a woman appeared. Her deep green eyes narrowed.
Lanis still had that fire. How quaint.
Hilary kicked off her heels.
“Still wondering about your pet Hybrid, Doctor?” Lanis reached out. Her hand closed around Brooke’s throat. Each digit phased through the skin.
The daughter of Chronos purred, “Shhhhh! What will that Murphy think of you now?” The fingers tightened. Hilary’s brown orbs darkened to pitch black. “As if I need my old body to breath.”
The floor vibrated. Lanis fell backward. As if slapped. The Union bracelet around the human’s arm convulsed. The metal squeezed. Lanis cried out. Drones flowed into the room. Their pale bodies riddled with Nyx’s experiments.
Hilary said, “Summon my father. I have questions.”
∞
Nyx adjusted the matrix. Dominion shifted within the containment chair.
Chronos’ ethereal form ignited across all holo displays within the observatory.
“The Subject requires additional stimulation. These are just surface desires.”
Nyx rose and hovered over Dominion. Syringe at the ready, “Anything for you my lord.”
The tip of the needle rested lightly against Hilary’s chest.
“You cannot hide anything from us, my dear.”
Z’ahramdus remained alert. He did not have any love for Brookes but he didn't trust Nyx or this Chronos mote of consciousness. It was unlike any Soul Shard duplication he had ever seen. In all cases the host would fall to the desires of the cloned form. This “daughter” should have overtaken her father. It was why cloning ultimately lead to the Keeper Drone manifestations. Automatons without a will of their own. To fade into nothing upon final death. For they had no spark of life to begin with. Not even a corrupted form such as his. Living Stone could be harvested from Red King sectors. To be used as shells for basic instructions.
Attack. Defend.
Consume.
It mattered not.
In the end he would find C’alain and make that Typherian wish for oblivion.
Earth (Edenverse)
New Ashbury
Karvax shouted, “Did you not hear me?”
He let the blade brush against White Lily’s exposed neck. She sank to her knees. Her face whiter than her uniform. Bulleteer bellowed, “Your quarrel is with me!” Lily groaned as the remaining vines corded around her. Not in a loving embrace but to restrict movement. Black Scrawl infection.Her vision blurred. Voices from beyond the void called out to her. The connection faint.
Why is he playing?
I must feed.
It was coming from the sword. Lily covered the expanse of skin affected by the blade with vines made from the flower source. Any vines caught near Karvax withered. Their life force sucked into the blade. He was vulnerable. His living flesh tempted the blade. Lily withdrew her vines. Methodically. Let the brute think it was all because of the sword.
She focused on Tidalwave.
<<It eats living energy. Feed it...>>
∞
Karvax had them at a standstill. Tidalwave open the team coms net, <<He will kill Lily just for sport!>> The brute in question smiled, “You hope to use that team net? Please. There is nothing that can--”
Moonlighter rose from the duracrete below Karvax. Melding with the mad warrior’s muscles. Forcing him to pause. Golden Bulleteer moved at the same time Blue Blaze struck outward. Blaze grabbed his grandmother. Molded the metal sphere around them. Tidalwave summoned the water from his katana. It splashed into the sphere formed by Bulleteer. Abraham Murphy slammed the metal covering over Karvax’s head.
Karvax’s blue tattoos glowed. Mordred’s blade howled. The hand holding the blighted hilt withered. The flesh dried. No longer a proper conduit. Karvax reverted to his undead form. The blade clattered to the ground. The Golden Bulleteer launched a series of punches. Karvax went flying. His body slid across the surface of the roadway. A series of bongs resounded as he collided with the energized walls.
Amazing Grace whispered, “We are still on the city grid. How is that possible?”
Moonlighter phased through her body. Forcing her to move within the metallic barrier that the team had erected. She gasped, “Why trap us with that thing?!” The sword lay dormant at their feet. Abraham Murphy said, “I promised to part it from Karvax.” She held back a scream as the shadows behind him coalesced into one of the Anubis guards.
It would be cleansed.
∞
The Howling broke through the domed barrier. Behind him a squad of Bardaxians followed. Two Earth dogs at the forefront. Robert the Great Dane. Arthur’s stalwart companion. Mr. Peabody came next. The Golden Retriever was armed with the latest sigils that Proctor Gansys could develop. Augustus trotted forward but paused when the Howling said, “You have to go brother. To the Arbiter. This battle is ours.” Not through his collar. Augustus straitened. Every muscle tensed.
The corgi flattened his ears against the side of his head, <<Remember to grab the shard of the blade after!>>
Howling sneezed. His black nose quivered.<<Of course! It shall be made whole and then cleansed.>>
The blade was not for them. It had been carried all through the realms. From Soul to Physical to Weave. It had touched places meant for the True mantle. All things came with a price. Just as Excalibur was meant to be wielded by Mortal Men. This blade would be wielded unto the end of Time. Good and Evil circled like binary stars. Mordred’s blade was not a facsimile of Excalibur. It awaited its true wielder.
The one who could swallow death. Curb its appetite.
The Ur-Stone
Ur-Flow
The boy ran his finger across the crystals.
He spoke, “It is to be mine then? This sword of death?” I summoned my spear. Held it out to him. “Take it.” He reached out with trembling fingers. His expression cleared as he listened to the hymns within my weapon. A bench formed. He sat. His arms straightened as he relinquished the spear. “Life unchecked brings ruin. Stagnation. Death unchecked brings about the final days. No growth.”
I replied, “They are not enemies. Equal but opposite.”
The boy said, “Evil does not respect this.”
I leaned back. Black and White were curled around the central heating chamber. Their feline forms relaxed. “Each cycle had its battles. The fault line was not of their making.” This was why the Highest wished his new counterpart to have mortal ties. For mortals feared death. Even I feared it. That which was unknown beyond the physical realm. He peered up at me, “You fear Death? Even though you experienced it?”
I nodded, “Yes. A part of me wishes to remain with my friends. Family. Even though I have a soul. That it will endure beyond the light of the stars.”
Lethe interjected, “Endless life? My waking self would have quite a bit to say about that.”
I squeezed her hand. “Don’t I know it.”
The boy asked, “Is that why you both remain?”
“Yes.” My answer troubled him.
“Why?”
I replied, “No one is ever alone. That is what the Shattering taught me. We rise or fall together. The choice will remain. Those who uphold the Vigil. Those who fall into the pit of the Ninth Circle. Those who see the Paths of Soul.”
Lethe said, “No one can remain neutral.”
The boy called out, “Brother!”
A gem of blue-white fire floated down to us. It hovered at eye level, “Yes?”
“I do not wish a scabbard for this blade. My heart must contest with its urges. To deny the reality would be shameful.”
My brother called out, “I shall bring the Unseen threads to Hephaestus. He will fashion you a proper belt for the blade.”
The truth would attend to itself. Much like an arrow.
City of Ashes
Library of Conquest
Hilary lounged in the chair.
One leg kicked up on the table. Chronos’ inert form open from throat to groin. Sister Nyx hovered over him. Swathed in chains forged by Black Scrawl. “Be a dear and remove the head as well!” All the insults rose within her mind. “I shall make a feast of your brain.” Nyx resisted. Her faith misplaced. Hilary tugged at the Scrawl. The Keeper Gene Splicer’s tentacles extended. Smoke and burnt flesh filled the room.
“Now is that any way to treat family?!”
Nyx slammed her fists against the shrinking barrier.
Hilary flicked one finger towards the wall. Keeper Drones armed with knives flooded in.
“You lot! Remove his head. Pluck out his eyes. They offend me.”
∞
Chronos said, “Interesting. Her body can command the Scrawl. Make sure to put up a gallant fight.” Sister Nyx proposed, “Scans indicate this would be a gift from her Human gene therapy.”
Chronos replied, “Cross reference with Father Brooke’s profile. Is it human quality or the mother’s?”
Nyx plunged the syringe deeper into Hilary’s chest cavity.
She sang, “Sweet little birds all nestled in a row...”
The Tower of the Lidless
Main Observatory
Temporal Threads Detected
Augustus circled the crystal coffin. <<...now I begin to understand Eliza’s patterns.>>
From his own Creation level past to the present. The future glimmered. Waiting to be born into a proper cycle.
The King’s Corgis climbed into the pod next to it. Little John barked, <<We will protect. All elements and rites will be observed. As was written. So it shall be.>> The coffin was made of Physical realm technology. Yet it existed in all Three! The Highest placed the corgi within the coffin. He leaned in close, “That is also its secret. Reach out little one.”
Augustus curled around Murphy and Lanis. His nose quivered.
The Ouro. He could smell them. Not only the one that existed within the Physical. This was made from all three. Mi’thia. Her Son within the Shadow. The final that rested within the Twilight of the Soul. The Father. Soul had existed before the dawn of Mortal Man. The Crystal Coffin sealed shut with a click.
Remember this for them. We all must play our part.
Galactic Core
Edenverse
August 7th, 4201
High above us the Bone Throne glittered in the afternoon sun. Gulliver and Trouble had done their part. My memories contained within the Sleeve were holding up. Just enough to give Thoth a false sense of security. No wonder my other selves had been so reluctant. Scrambled eggs of memory on purpose. Granted? Those future historians who would relive this tale will ask: What is the truth of this narrative? How can one such as I relate it properly? I will hazard a guess.
When the evil is contained.
Abbadon looks to these tales to escape his destiny.
Even as the trap closes about him for good.
The Unseen Archives will relay the whole saga with frank clarity.
Abbadon didn’t have the ability to see within that matrix.
I shall be the fireworks until the stars themselves wink out.
Robin noted, “That foggy mind of yours clearing up?”
I replied, “For the task ahead? Quite so.”
Doc stood, hands on her hips. “I still don’t like it. Why are you always the bait?”
That sliver within my mind unfurled.
To protect you. Always.
Issue 14: Here
Issue 16: Here
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