Issue 8: Twilight Mist
My father claims this multiverse is coming to an end. I do believe him but why does he need me to acquiesce to this “flesh” ritual? My body is my own. Mostly. I think he means to escape via my soul. What wretched remains there is of it.--Hilary Brookes
I must bind them all to me. Convergence was never just about healing the ones known to me as The Black and The White. No, the Oversoul means to imprison all aspects against him into this 9th Circle. My flesh is the key to freeing them from this reset. Now to convince them.--Chronos
All Points Advisory: Unknown Energy Wave detected.--Terran Wide Alert Service
The Ouros are shutting down! This is the UEF! We----Fragment Received. Notifying Arcane Council
Bardax is ready. Prepare the Ark Network. Fire on my mark...--Wisdom-Of-The-Wind
Rykah (Unity Universe)
Temple of the Three
Pyra lifted the piece of flesh.
Chronos’ form shimmered above his daughter.
Hilary tore into her offering. If this was the only way to beat Eliza Murphy? So be it. She had made worse deals before. Snake Charmer and Medusa peered into the pit below them. Medusa shuddered. Not wanting to dwell on the slimy feeling in her gut. Pyra forced herself to swallow. The flesh dissolved. A wave of power engulfed her. Sigils she had no words for burned behind her retinas. White noise flooded her senses.
Hilary clung to consciousness just as the shimmering wall of energy poured into the lifeless planet. There was nothing left of Chronos’ body. X’mil and his imp of a demon had devoured the rest. She sucked in a final breath as the wave passed over them all.
She had negotiated her price for cooperation.
The Ark Network reformatted all matter within the area.
The Oversoul had thought of everything.
Nearly everything.
∞
Chronos stretched. Acclimating to the sounds around him. A low hum indicated a robust power source. A soft note trilled through the room. //Good Morning. It is 8 am. Earth Standard calculations.// He would control his daughter’s body throughout the daylight hours. That was their deal.
Medusa sputtered, “What’s so good?! My head...”
Chronos eyed the demi. He replied, “Be grateful. We managed the impossible! You drink too much.” The former Void Walker stressed this in the greatest way possible. Snake Charmer glanced around. It was a simple enough room. A hotel. If he had to guess. He noted where Hilary’s gaze went. To the roof and corners. Eyes resting on the central display after a prolonged probe into the rest of the room.
Surveillance. The Arcade Order or those like them could be patched into anything. Anywhere. Snake Charmer brought up the main room display as Pyra shuffled in with coffee. The assassin’s eyes were flat.
She commanded the screen, “Display Sol System proper.”
X’mil’s frown grew, “What flight should we catch?” The pig eyed Typherian nearly fainted at the Sol System layout.
The intercom added helpfully, //All Weave FTL flights to the Seat of the Triad filled. Taking flights next month. Stalright Industries apologizes for the delay. Military Slots prioritized due to uptick in 9th Array Activities!//
The Sol System didn’t just encompass Earth. Bardax and Typha rotated silently within the confines of the system. Taking up the slots normally reserved for Mars and Jupiter. 4 Suns were listed. Sol burned within the physical realm. Within the Weave? Typha’s twin suns whirled. While Bardax’s was listed as the Soul Layer guardian.
Living Sapient Suns. All the information flowed through their HUDs.
Snake Charmer gripped Pyra’s hand. His head moved slightly.
No.
Her fingers cracked under the pressure. That idiot woman had almost entered a name. One that would get them all killed. The Star Spangled Banner. The door hissed open. A survator bot of Markav make floated in, <<All guests at the Inner Rim Motel are invited to celebrate the anniversary of the Traveler's Creed.>>
X’mil smiled, “Of course!”
They had to find out more about this new universe. The one that the Oversoul had so desperately wanted to will into being. So much so that it had sacrificed its greatest defenders. Those Murphy cripples. Demi? Angles? Typherian? Human? It didn’t matter now. They were gone. But J’ino remained. X’mil inquired, “Closest hub to download the news and trading updates?”
The robot sent out a jolt to the Typherian. It apologized, <<Current HUB implants incompatible. Seek I.NET attendants at the Central Ops tower for further inquiries.>>
X’mil thanked the machine. “Certainly.”
Chronos allowed the machine to leave. They would need new implants. He hummed. Delighted by the spark that passed between his fingers. Demi powers. What kind? He had no idea as of yet. He asked Snake Charmer, “Up for a bit of a run? This place has a decent track resort!”
Both left without a backward glance. Medusa flicked through the entertainment options. Pyra opened up a side window. “Recent events. Past 20 years. Center History on Earth.” If any place could reveal the Banner’s fate? That would be it. They would dig. But first? Let’s see if the Banner’s home town still existed.
Medusa noted silently that nothing here had prices on it.
Had humanity left money behind?
Earth, New Ashbury (Texas)
HeroNet Battle Complex
Date Recorded: April 24th, 5488 A.C
Father Brookes relaxed his grip on the holo dummy.
His light incantations faded as it lowered to the ground in a heap. Micheal circled.
“If we made it to this new world? You can bet some undesirables did too!”
The priest regarded his father silently. Considering his next words, “How to find them? That’s the real question.” Those who recalled the old cycles had every search engine out there recording what it could. So far the only inquires about Star and her brother had come from their immediate family. Close circle of friends. Oddly absent from the proceedings was Lorain Lanis. It was as if Eliza had been erased from her memory completely. Micheal surmised it had something to do with the twin attack on the Cliffs and the Dreamweaver at each end of the previous cycle timeline. At least that’s what the Curator and his Amarche eggheads had indicated.
They had physical forms this go around. A wondrous sight.
Able to shift into an energy form when needed. A reminder of the cycle they had left behind. A warning to stay upon the path set for them. A promise made by the Curator and Silver Fox. Micheal still couldn't wrap his head around that one. An Eliza Murphy with the knowledge of the eons behind her.
Strange days indeed.
∞
Doctor Impossible dived under the strike.
Holo or not she took the training seriously. She sent out a bio-metric wave to paralyze her opponent. Nola threw her anti-mater disk towards the enemy dashing towards Impossible. The Puzzler sent two more crashing to the floor with a frozen ray of energy. His glass domed helmet raised as Blue Blaze entered. A flash of blue, white, black and silver.
Blaze called out, “We have a case 1 priority alert!”
Lanis rubbed the side of her temple. “Circle I bet!”
Blaze nodded. Keeping his face neutral. Why didn’t she remember?
The Emerald K-9 glided behind the group. He knew why. She had asked it of the Oversoul. To keep the memory hidden. She would continue on. Her unwavering dreams dedicated to the one she left behind. Bardax and Earth’s dogs would do the rest. Much had been asked of their human friends. Cooper knew this bothered Eddie. Only talking about Eliza and Dexter to their parents and Nola.
Even Anna had been devastated to learn of a world without the Banner. Then that old fire lit and she had proclaimed, “Ill find that Golden Child no matter what. If only to kick her in the rump one more time.”
General Murphy of the Terran Union Axis greeted them upon arrival. “A loose end just popped up.” His brown eyes darted over to Lanis.
“The Litari have a medical request.” Doctor Impossible’s eyes widened. “Still not over that Itarnian Flu? I’m certain I….”
Murphy shook his head. “Not that. Their High Matriarch is having complications.”
Impossible’s face radiated worry. “Don’t worry. I’m on it.”
With a wink the teleporter locked onto her location and zapped her half way across the cosmos. Murphy turned to the others, “Anna has a lead.” They didn't want to say it out loud. It was better to keep Lorain away from this particular hunt. Thomas didn’t know what happened during the Climb. The Grail Ceremony had been a shock to the system. The Curator’s reports added an extra layer of worry.
What had happened during that final dive? His Silver Fox of a daughter with all that experience. His son who had borne the brunt of delicate information. The multiverse was chugging along. As if the Dreamweaver had never put his thumb print on anything. Their memories had remained. Of the old cycle. That was unheard of. Even White and Black had marveled at the amount of people who genuinely recalled the Age of Convergence.
J’ino burst in. Armed to the gills with the best ordinance the Triad had to offer. The 5 silver spheres circled like a patient armada around her head. “Where are my children?”
Auggie trotted in alongside her. His stub of a tail wiggled to and fro.
<<Friends!>>
She continued, “I have a personal punch card for Thoth in particular.”
Thomas shimmered for a moment. His Judgment gear phased in over his body.
“Just so.” He held out his golden gauntleted hand to his wife.
Meanwhile...
I sucked my thumb. Should have been more careful with the repair spanner.
I stuck it under the healing rays offered by Jupiter’s head of the three sisters. Moirai as they dubbed themselves. Said my brother and I had been found floating near the center of all. Whatever that was. Natet, our resident ship’s cook, pulled my hand from the array. I let him inspect it. His face was furrowed in concentration.
“Still not there yet.”
I set the internal gravitational field in my boots to push me to the next rung in the mess hall. I noted lightly, “You're the one that needed these lights reconfigured!” Valkyrie barked. Her defender aura rippled across my skin. It was a nice feeling. I loved Bardaxians. Natures best friend no matter the arena. Sparta, her mate brushed his massive wolf head next to my shoulder. He sneezed loudly.
I cooed, “Who’s a good boy?! YOU ARE!”
His bushy tail slapped my legs.
“Hey Professor Nara!”
The Litari floated towards me. His outer white skin marked with deep blue tattoos. Said it helped him channel power through that third golden eye. He smiled. His face locked onto mine intently. As if what he found there soothed his soul. His voice was a deep rumble. For someone who’s frame was whisper thin? It always surprised me.
“I trust you and your brother are acclimating?”
I gave him a hearty laugh, “Of course! We were lucky you found us floating out on that debris. Bones and all. How a bone ship could even manage through any layer is beyond me. Wasn’t even magical either!”
∞
Natet slipped the blood sample to the misty form of the Piper. He was bound to the soul layer but the Jupiter wasn't just any ship. Her true purpose was finally revealed. She could travel along any layer needed. Even the new mysterious 4th layer. Physical, Weave and Soul. All united yet separate. As was needed by the final Convergence.
The Piper linked with Captain Overwatch, <<Leaked the lead to Anna already?>>
Overwatch’s deep violet wings expanded. <<The Path is set. What’s the current sleeve integration of memory?>>
Jupiter’s elder sister chimed in, <<8%. It was the only way...>>
Overwatch cut in, <<I know.>>
Her expression hardened. <<We still have a few escapees. They need to be ready.>>
Piper’s soul form wavered. Another sleeve shard for Dexter had been found.
Progress.
They would remember in time. Just as the Oversoul had promised. Piper watched as the Tears of Creation pulsed within each Murphy Twin. Cleansed by the Climb and Silver Fox’s intervention before the rebirth of the Final Cycle. By Lethe’s healing capabilities. Lorain and Lethe had wanted to forget.
Until the day the Banner and her brother could fly off into the cosmos once more.
Mary Herbert Lanis linked to Jupiter’s message hub. Her icon a white raven on a green background. ///When can I bring J’ino and Thomas on this?///
Piper responded firmly, <<When they hit 25%. By then their basic memories of their parents will be in place. It would be cruel to integrate them into this before hand. We already asked so much of this family. For all the Cycle mistakes.>>
Lanis’ voice echoed into the pickup, “Is that why my daughter chose not to remember?”
Piper reached out to put pressure on Lanis’ soul thread. Passing Lethe’s imprint into Rosetta Stone. Lanis gasped.
The images slowed.
Piper added, “Her choices will make more sense if directly examined.”
∞
Mary blinked as the transport rumbled beneath her boots.
Judgment called back, “Everything 5 by 5 back there?!”
J’ino pressed a rejuv pack to Mary’s forehead. “You look peaked.”
Connecting to Jupiter took a majority of her concentration. Lethe’s holographic form materialized in the crash seat next to Mary. The lips moved. Only Lanis could hear her.
I ask that you protect these Sleeve shards until….
Mary pressed the pack to her head to hide the tears threatening to overflow.
The desire to blurt out the fate of the twins unbearable. Lethe pressed a finger to her own lips. Not yet. The memory would hurt them all. The rejection. It was why Lorain dived into work even if she knew not why. That lingering feeling. The missing realm of her soul.
Mary sucked in a sharp breath.
“I’ll be fine. Still acclimating to….”
J’ino finished, “….the great reset.”
Things were beyond better nowadays. No Artock. No Void Walkers. Just the lingering thread of the Ninth Circle escapees. Mary nodded. Her face flushed. Not many remembered the previous Cycle. Let alone all the cycles before that. Light Shamans still existed. The Arcane Order and Unseen order had merged into The Conclave. Keepers of the Old Flame. Even now the Sleeping in Starlight Chronicles listed the planted material. With the Unseen Archives, written in Eliza’s straightforward script, filled the innermost libraries of the Conclave.
A true history not yet finished.
Eons of recollections. As the Banner. As Silver Fox.
The final curtain was upon them. The rebirth of the multiverse had been the first step.
Now fate rested upon the remaining souls who remembered across those cliffs.
∞
Thoth the Weaver stared at the monstrosity.
A temple to the Three. Its aura repelled him. Even in this meatbag form.
He scratched at his left forearm. A tear shaped scar waxy to the touch.
“I will find you.”
He would eat them both whole.
Issue 7: Here
Issue 9: Here
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