Issue 21: Snakes Entwined
I only need Lucifer to turn the key. Thoth and the Dreamweaver already served their purpose. This is the last domain the Oversoul has to grow new souls.--Chronos
I may be mortal but I still have the tools needed. I beheld the tapestry as we fused. I have no need of the Tears. Both good and evil desire dominance. I shall give them all oblivion. The very weapons the Nothing forged to make me and the weaver into a puppet have fused to this new body. I will be the Thronebreaker. Not only to Heaven but to the entropic Hell that Chronos desires. Everyone’s crown shall turn to dust. Good, Evil, Innocent, Depraved. It matters not.--Thoth Dreamspeaker
Our Legacy is Charon. Even as he denies us. --Ta’rammon (Outer Ninth Circle Deathwalker)
Upon reflection I should have narrowed it down quickly but each of our enemies? Even under the sway of the Nothing, Chronos’ trump card was nearly sublime in its deviousness. It had all started with Pyra.--Sleeping In Starlight: Post Convergence Files (Conclave Access Required)
Northern District (Historical Sector)
New Ashbury, Texas
February 14th 5490 A.C
Thoth pricked his index finger.
He pressed it against the bark of the tree. It would be just enough to confuse all of them.
All of his enemies. That included the one who made the Dreamweaver. They had all danced to the tune of Chronos the whole time. He was the direct avatar of the Nothing. Thoth secured his long coat. The air was still crisp. The fight with the twins had taught him the valuable connections. The former weapons of “Unity” vibrated against his chest. The sheaths were made from the ether within that dead zone. Ironic that the last bit of the Eden cycle hid them. He was tired of being a puppet to Evil. A thread for Good to beat upon.
The True Convergence revealed so much. Not only about the Nothing but that pathetic thing they called God. The Oversoul. If either side won? There would be no recourse for any mortal soul. They would either suffer endless torment of the body or of the mind. Thoth meant to change that.
Choice was beyond God.
Or the Devil.
∞
Dreamweaver whirled.
His kick went high as Dexter Murphy slid to the side. His twin knives howled. They crackled with dark energies. Entropy sucked from the center of the Nothing. This was true power. The Oversoul’s pet avatars meant nothing. The tiny mortal howled.
Thoth shouted, “He means to eat us all! There will be no Throne! Only his…..!”
Abbadon and the others had been the sacrifice. What did Chronos know of the Infinite Abyss? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He slashed at Eliza Murphy. Even though both were beyond ancient, even by Eden cycle standards, they moved with that catlike demi grace. “Your God shall die. Consumed by the Void!”
Thoth focused inward as the elder entity abused his mortal shell. Enhancing it beyond its thresholds. Each knife glowed milky white within a red vortex. He touched the minds that dwelled there. It wasn't just one mind. It was him. Across every multiverse known to every previous cycle.
Cain whispered, “Now you see it. The swirl of Good vs Evil. The Devourer thinks it can break this hold. It was why it attempted to cannibalize the Oversoul in the first place. What you call angel and demon is the first of many fights between these two.”
That was why the Dreamweaver had wanted his current form. Not quite of Eden make but close enough to contain a fraction of the Nothing’s power. Much like the Murphy Twins. Hunin spat Black Scrawl at Dawnbreaker. While Vixrex sent Eliza Murphy sprawling against the outer edges of the Void. White fire danced around the fragile shell.
The Ark of the Covenant.
This was the Convergence promised by the Oversoul.
Dreamweaver’s arms were pinned to his sides. Dexter shouted, “NOW!”
Thoth forced Dreamweaver to suck the knives into his body. The Typherian cut his own spine open. Time slowed as Eliza Murphy reached for his arm. The one containing the Tear. Chronos would never see this coming. Thoth pushed against the muscle and bone.
Go on. Take it.
Rebuild your worlds.
He spat through bloodied lips, “My gift to you. We cannot stop either of them my dear Niece and Nephew. You will always be bound by blood. No matter the form.”
∞
Thoth stared at the main HQ of the Protectorate.
It wasn't to the opulence of Union Island but it reeked of sanctimonious crusader action. He pressed a cigarette to his mouth. Inhaling the smoke. All those who had consumed Chronos’ flesh to skip out on the reset would find themselves compromised. Not only their souls but their actions. They were all a hive mind. Even if ones such as X’mil had no idea. Oh yes. He had seen it. Pyra hadn’t been herself. Not since her recruitment all those years ago. The death that changed the course of everything.
Civilian Compound
Union Island
Eden Cycle
Pyra circled the building.
Her smoke form clung to the brickwork. Until she sensed it.
A way in.
She floated through the vent. Her nose locked onto the hickory smell. Her altered form combined with the errant wisps within the room. Two men stared at the object. A pyramid about the size of a fist. The object she had been hired to collect. It was made of marble and crystal. Two black panthers were entwined on the bottom layer. The shorter man, balding at the top, leaned in.
“They found it in a dig. Under the old ruins of the Golden City! Within Ta’mathon’s burial chamber!”
The being with coal black orbs bored into her mind.
Leave no witnesses.
An additional 1 billion flooded her account.
The bald man had a pack of smokes in his pocket. She concentrated.
A mote of her smoke form drenched the cigarettes. The other? She floated closer. Allowed them both to breath in the particles she was emitting. It would only last for an hour. But that was all she needed. Medical records would indicate lung failure in both of them. But she would have to do more than that. Especially to the one who discovered the Pyramid.
She had bathed in a nice paralyzing agent before coming here. Her skin had absorbed it. The smoke was the perfect way to deliver it.
∞
Doctor Mitchell lit another cigarette.
They tasted better than he recalled. A new formula perhaps. He’d have to congratulate the tech wizards. Barns had taken the control unit for the artifact to the lower levels. It had been floating in deep space. Agents had shown up to carry it to Union Island. It had cosmic properties unheard of. An element not covered within their universe.
It wasn’t surprising.
This universe alone was vast. Who could tell what else hid out there in the black. A few MiBs provided him escort. Their bland faces focused on any external threat. Not one of them spoke. You’d figure even FBI would make small talk. Even about the weather. The elevator doors opened. His escort filed out. A blonde man with blue eyes reached out to shake his hand.
Director Micheal Brookes. The name badge was immaculate.
A spasm seized his chest.
Brookes noted calmly, “Grab a kit!”
Mitchell convulsed. Brookes took the pyramid. No.
His hands were covered. Different shades.
Mitchell gasped as two other agents lowered him to the ground. His body was numb.
Another blank faced man held out a brief case. Brookes rested the object inside. Burnt flesh filled the room. The Director smiled as a smokey form appeared beside him. It dropped the control unit into the case. He opened his mouth. It was too wide. The feminine shape attempted to flee. His jaws clicked as he swallowed the demi woman whole.
His throat convulsed.
His eyes were pure obsidian. Brookes leaned down.
“They will find both of you.”
Brookes placed the gloves onto Mitchell. The human couldn’t scream. He watched helplessly as the gloves seeped into his hands. His mind froze. They weren’t gloves. Brookes turned each palm over. “It is enough. They will assume so much.”
The Arcane Order.
Who would then tell the Hidden Order. Each side working for the Oversoul.
Chronos removed bits of Black Scrawl from his pocket. It was a special containment suit. He carried everything he needed. These people didn’t even comprehend beyond the basic 3rd or 4th dimension. Only a handful could transcend to the 5th dimension or beyond. Why had the Oversoul limited these creatures?
Their flesh was so useful!
He had skinned five devout dark shamans in order to capture that artifact.
One day he would breach Area 51. Just to throw them off the scent.
The Litari pranced about in their fallen forms. Not knowing the truth.
Typha’s gifts were cursed by Set.
Everyone danced for the Devourer of All. Though they knew it not.
He dropped pure Black Scrawl onto the human’s forehead. It would leave the impression within the Weave he desired. The human’s fingers twisted. Its flesh riddled with false markers. Thoth and the others would be such wondrous instruments. He rose. He commanded his drones to wait. One of the demis would be arriving soon. They would dissipate into the crimson mists. Empty Sleeves without any sparks.
He waited until the vibrations from his body settled. His form shifted.
He rose through the air. Aiming for the closest vent.
He prized his collection above all.
∞
Thoth’s skin hummed as the transporter beam faded.
Union Hall rose to the sky above. Multiple floating islands. But what he wanted was on the ground level. He entered the public archives. “Artifacts of Note!” Three sub categories rose above in holographic lettering.
He pressed his thumb to the middle selection.
Triangle Mysteries and Sigils.
Three men flanked him on each side.
One asked, “What’s wrong Mr. President?”
He had to survive what was coming.
“Get Mystic in here. I’ve had another vision.”
The twin knives hid his true nature.
To everyone he appeared to be a Weave Speaker.
As long as he never spilled blood within this world? They would hide the blight upon his soul. His cover was far more deadly than Lucifer could ever imagine. Even Chronos believed him dead. Alongside all the other castoffs from the previous cycle. He played the part. Biding his time. He had never raised one finger to help the Ninth Array cultists. He had actively used his abilties to find more of them to purge. Enemy of an enemy as the saying went.
These knives would be for when Chronos re-entered the game in his true form.
By skinning that one? He would deny Lucifer. He would inherit the Multiverse.
Bring the Oversoul to its knees. He hummed in the back of his throat.
Another useful trick he learned from the Dreamweaver. For every thread was made to be unbroken. He waved as Mystic and Void Maiden arrived. He dared not peer into the Soul Layer threads to discover their true identities. The absolute trust this world had still astounded him. A double edged sword. He would use it to ride them all into the Abyss. He would use that skill to divine Chonos’ location when the time came.
Lucifer and the other escapees appeared on his senses as bright red blemishes. In passive mode that was all he needed. They were all on Earth. Playing their little games. Chronos had the Icath Ruling Pair of the Soul Layer trapped. They were in stasis within the pyramid. The object that Dexter Murphy and his old comrade Black had tried so hard to find. Even throughout the Eden Cycle.
Mystic traced protective sigils about the area. A bubble formed around them.
“What can I do for you Mr. President?”
Thoth replied, “I dreamed of Twin Panthers. They were climbing a pyramid. Of crystal and marble….”
Mystic froze.
∞
Thomas Murphy linked his son into the proceedings.
“What else sir?”
The President of the Terran Cosmic Council bowed his head, “They are slumbering. Caught in the web of a terrible evil!”
His face was open. Earnest even.
For the billionth time Murphy examined him with the blessed cross his father had given him. Nothing. He hated doing this. Archibald Hammond had never given any indication of being false. Even Anna had a glowing review of the man. He was pushing 800 years old. First Generation Prolong within this cycle. His black hair streaked with white at the temples. Most humans hit 1200. Demis could live twice as long provided they didnt die from direct combat.
His hazel eyes warmed.
“If I dream of anything else Ill page you first!”
Dream. He sent a message to Anna.
Had the Dreamweaver ever pushed past the defenses of a Weave Speaker? As the owls of old had done with his daughter. This go around his triplets were wise beyond their years. Often diving into the Weave to reinforce each aspect they commanded. Eliza had probably known. As the Silver Fox.
She had seen where they’d all end up.
Anna’s response chilled him to the bone.
///Who do you think sent those visions of Eliza and Dexter destroying everyone and everything? If even one speck of the Dreamweaver survived the Reboot? We are in for a ride.///
He motioned to his wife, “Let’s go. We have to check the Octagon.”
It was a code word. J’ino didn’t flinch. She just nodded. Her helmet hid every type of response. As they beamed away from Union Hall he formed the archaic symbols in the air. The energy dissipated in mid transit.
They landed softly on the one exposed scale of Hi’ulk.
“Hello old friend.”
The former Titan rumbled, “They are all on Earth?”
Murphy placed one palm on the serpent’s scale.
“Ahhh! Yes. We must free that pair first.”
J’anu’s holographic form rose from the scale.
She sneered, “Oh yes. Have to save your poor kitties.”
Void Maiden replied coldly, “How’s your father?”
J’anu Urraden froze. Her attitude shifted.
“Fine. What do you want to know?”
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