Issue 7: The Word Against All
My sister is back to her normal chipper self. Its sorely needed in this dismal place. Where we are going? That surefire optimism will burn through like a beacon. As intended.--Dexter Murphy
I will remain. Though my body breaks upon the shore.-- Markav Proverb
The Murphy Twins exist beyond the fallout of the Light Mirror Transference. Their ship made it through as well. Keep tabs for now. The ceremony of the Grail must continue...--Unseen Order High Magus Entry
Memories hold power. Chiefly hope. I will cling to that as all other sources wink out.--Last entry: Private Journals of the Silver Fox. //Unseen Archivist notified. Gather all Materials to the Medical wards for re-integration//
Cain’s Dominion
First Circle
Pathway to the Cliffs Of Helios
Cain’s vision blurred. He fell to his knees as blood dribbled from his nose and mouth. Dreamweaver’s clawed digits buried themselves into the murder’s throat.
You did not do what I asked. Now they carry your brother to the cliffs.
Cain wheezed. He spat, “Its better to rule in Hell than suffer the love of the Oversoul.”
Bones shifted as the Weaver pierced blood, flesh and soul.
A sharp crack and hiss followed.
Cain’s lifeless body slumped to the earth. Whipcord wraiths tore into his flesh.
Another puppet wasted. His spectral form rose to the turgid sky above.
The Oversoul would not win. His precious reset would fail.
∞
I winced as fire lanced down my back.
My sister had Abel in a fireman’s carry. Using her free hand to knock more Living Stone constructs aside. Cain was no more. Charon’s voice reached me in the dead drops left within the Unseen Order network. ///All Sleeves in Position.///
He had come a long way from the child learning within the Ur-Stone.
My mind shifted for a moment.
Echoes of myself cascaded about. From the distant past of Ta’mathon’s Era to the far flung futures yet to be. My sister, upon meeting Silver Fox before all the Feather Drop missions, had already been primed. Convergence was all about one basic survival feature. Make the Climb. All souls beyond redemption would be thrown into the Ninth Circle by the Feathers from my back. My sister would carry those salvageable beyond the Climb into the rebirth cycle of the Final Cycle Ouroborous chambers.
We would be remade. Yet again. Each cycle another experience. The weight of memory fell to me within this juncture. While my sister carried it near the end of of this last spark of the Pre-Convergence Cycle. It was why so much information had been crossed. It wasn't just about waylaying the Dreamweaver. It was to protect our allies as well. Silver Fox’s timeless visage filled the last message. Delivered within a micro second.
Fire blazed from my eyes as I turned another construct to molten ash. Nothing here remained but the echoes of souls long buried. Her knowing smile bloomed.
///About to step into the chamber. Dreamweaver will bind Thoth completely now.///
Color swirled behind her. Like before I would be in her Shadow until the last moment.
She continued. Those ageless black and gray eyes warmed.
///What did we always say? I just want a normal life? Might be in the cards. See you on the other side my brother.///
That wouldn't be in the running for us but the Oversoul did work in mysterious ways.
My fist connected with black vines. They thrashed. Their bodies wiggling as snakes caught in a river. The Unseen Matrix sent one last burst. ///Beginning Multi-universal Reconstruction. Arks online. Shield worlds online. Mirror network engaged. Ourobouros Fields at Maximum. Syncing with Sleeve Platforms across all ages and cycles.///
The shock wave expanded outward.
Our bodies were finally free from rejuvenating Black and White. Constructs exploded into minute particles. Meathook quailed behind me as the truth of my power and my sister’s manifested. We hadn’t been made to be Caretakers. We had been made to climb Helios. The Dreamweaver’s perfect construct of malicious delights. There were still those worth saving. My sister would find them.
My fists would meet our foes head on.
Gloves no longer wanted or required.
I flexed each finger. A satisfying crack of the knuckles.
I kept my expression steady.
∞
Doc’s Defender sash materialized to anchor her via my waist. Sentinel darted between foes. Following my dark matter bursts. I never felt so energized. What was this sensation? I felt like I could lift the whole multiverse on my back. Abel whispered, “Just so.” Past memories flooded my mind. Bursts that lifted my spirit. Nothing could touch me here. My brother darted forward. Taleer gave a shout, “To the sky!”
A beast emerged from the black, blue and red vortex.
Its bones formed. Then the flesh. Finally two pale suns for eyes locked onto us.
It bellowed, “Allow not the soul of Man to enter here!”
My brother catapulted into the sky.
An elder demon. Its rusted skin marred with flecks of molten lava.
A wave of dust rose. I pulled Taleer, Sul and Doc toward me. Sentinel circled then curled up under my cape. His nose tickled the back of my neck. The massive Bardaxian added his power to the cause. Doc’s Defender aura rippled across all of us as I used my body as a shield. The sonic boom hit moments later. The outer layer of Cain’s realm vanished. White bulbous stalks rose. Debris rained down.
I squinted through the fire, ash and smoke.
My brother continued to punch at the demons clawing their way through the breach.
He was building a staircase of bones.
∞
Meathook’s belly scraped against the white surface. His eyestalks locked onto the silver and yellow brilliance above him. Why shield him? It made no sense. The All-Father’s gem was burned away. Abbadon’s. That ruby red glow dimmed against the onslaught of the Dreamweaver’s hexes. No one had a chance. He examined The Star-Spangled Banner. No one except for them. The bitter thought flitted against his mind like a thorn. All had been played. Right into the hands of the Oversoul. The Twin Spear and Shield. Many had thought it would be from Black and White. Ruined by the previous cycles. His black orbs shied away from the light. Dexter Murphy. Hidden from All. Should have known. Would have but those like Cain and Lucifer had acted against the will of the Dreamweaver.
For what? A small space within that dreaded Ninth Circle?
The hybrid clutched his head as the death bellows rang out above.
These were the oldest of the Dreamweaver’s Fallen. From the First Cycle itself!
How could one mortal demi hope to prevail? The answer came as the final steps of demonic bone fell to the ground with a sickening splat. Boots sounded as the Markav male hauled Meathook to his feet. His special name forgotten. Taken by Catherine Bel, Mary and the Brookes Mortalis Line. The female took his other arm. They dragged him as if he was nothing more than a sack of potatoes.
Star clapped him on the shoulder, “Second Floor! Spear chucking was my brother’s specialty.” The words didn’t match the movement of her lips. His eyes crossed. Each stalk akimbo.
She was insane. How could one smile in such a wicked place as this? A spark of golden light flashed. The cosmos filled her eyes. A brilliant blaze. Just like in those old HeroNet vids of her first battles. His eyes.
Watching. Always watching.
∞
I placed my hand on Meathook’s shoulder. Doc’s hands balled into fists. He was deteriorating right before our eyes. Even with the protective wards of Silver and Yellow at our call. The Dreamweaver’s abuse evident in the purple blood sigils scrawled all over his body. His shoulders were the only thing not taken by the foul symbology. Sul pressed her fingers to my neck.
Signing in code.
He will not survive the climb.
What little soul he had has fled. His perceptions are submerged within the realm of the Weaver.
We had an audience. Everything Silver Fox mentioned was coming to fruition. Doc gasped. She cupped my cheek, “Your eyes.” My vision blurred. Every fiber of my being sang. Everything snapped into focus. My brother’s heartbeat. Doc. All those I had loved or ever met. Each beat thrummed. Pulses from the Sleeves. I gave them my memory freely. Just as my brother had done for his. We would coordinate the Climb with the Final Jump. Into the new world. One filled with vigor and promise. Unbowed by the Dreamweaver’s gluttony.
No matter the cost.
Rykah (Unity Universe)
Temple of the Three
Pyra twitched as the ship settled down upon the dead world.
She shivered as the enviro system chirped, ///Hazard suits advised. Class 4 Unknown. Unknown. Unknown.///
Snake Charmer barked a harsh fit of laughter.
“Makes one miss civilized lands.”
Hilary grunted and shifted to her Keeper form. The unit containing her father’s body rocked to the side as it followed her motions. A sick form of companion. It was a complete freak show. The former assassin schooled her features into steely calculation. It would do no good to show fear here. At the end of everything. That weird trill hit the sensors once more.
The ship added unhelpfully: ///Signal detected. Origin Unknown.///
X’mil donned his gunmetal gray hazmat gear. He had painted a giant green X onto the helmet and chest piece. With three blue circles upon the back. White worms stenciled inside each orb. Pyra thought he was just as certifiable as the rest of them. The haggard black circles under his eyes a silent testement to the kinds of dreams Dark Shamans endure.
∞
X’mil grunted as Karvax wiggled his forked tongue against the outer shoulder plate. Karvax purred, “Want to make sure you get to meet J’ino in the end? Follow the lights. Jump into the river as it flows. You know of what I speak…..”
The constant notifications of the ship burned against his eyelids.
He sent a delayed message to Pyra. The assassin would listen. For his power was written upon his face. Etched in his body. The blood price of the Devoted. The Dreamweaver was calling all of them home. Abbadon and Unity had fled. They would not see the new world. A way to poison the last solution of the Oversoul. Karvax bobbed his misshapen head. He had been handsome in life? Now the demi was the twisted servant of the Ninth Circle. Only a brief glimmer of blue within those demonic slits showcased the remnants of the man he used to be. Feminine arms encircled his waist. Medusa exclaimed brightly, “Where do we take his corpse any how?”
X’mil grated out, “To the Temple. Where the Knife stuck the White.”
Dominion replied, “Just so.” She tested the air as if she was rutting around on all fours.
X’mil sneered out of her line of sight. Only a little longer. Then J’ino’s blood would be his to drink for all eternity.
∞
Chronos watched the bickering with indifference.
It mattered not. He had what he needed to make the ceremony work. Now all he had to do was get his “daughter” to play along. Luckily he had the perfect scenario to please her. A land without the Star-Spangled Banner. A place where they could make their own destiny. Without this Dreamweaver to muddle it all up. Another glorious cycle in service to the grandeur beyond the Void of the Oversoul.
A place where he would reign eternal.
A duel dark star to encompass all Life.
Issue 6: Here
Issue 8: Here
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