The artifact statue reached out a hand to her and spoke plainly. “Merge with me. Do so quickly, before all is lost.”
“What are you?” Naero demanded.
“Merge with me…and all shall be revealed.”
Naero shook her head, remembering the warning of the High Masters not to touch it.
The thing focused on Jan and began drawing him to it.
“No!” Naero shouted, wrestling with it in her mind, putting forth all her power. “Not Jan. I won’t let you have him!”
The thing released Jan and began drawing Aunt Sleak in.
“No! You can’t have them either. I will fight you with every breath I have. With all that I am!” Naero thought of her unborn nieces.
Om attempted to warn her. Naero, you cannot fight this entity–whatever it is–it’s powers are beyond imagination. Incomprehensible!
“Silence, automaton; you are not real, yet,” the thing said, and effortlessly turned Om off in Naero’s mind like flipping a switch. The thing glared at her, engulfed in Cosmic power, finally pointing at her brother and aunt. “These others are genetically similar, but they will not suffice. They are are inferior. They are not–”
“Us,” Naero said, beginning to perceive the real truth. “They are not us. That’s it, isn’t it? You are me, or like me, or a version of me…somehow. How is any of this possible? How can any of this be real? What are you?”
Shaking with terror to her core, Naero almost added, what are we? What am I?
The statue’s hands became flesh and blood, just like her own, and reached out to her.
“Merge with me…with us…while there is still time. We have answers to things you wish to know…and others that you do not. Knowledge always comes with a price.”
That frightened her even more.
“I won’t make my decision until the others are away from here and safe. Those are my conditions.”
It lifted one hand.
“No!” Naero shouted, interrupting its actions. “Let me do so. Then I will know they are safe.”
Naero focused. Transporting others alone was much more difficult, when she did not accompany them.
The thing released Jan and Aunt Sleak, letting them float gently to the ground.
First Jan.
Then her aunt and the twins. They were all safely on board her flagship, and would appear on the bridge. Naero’s crew would take care of them.
Naero turned around, and the artifact statue stood directly in front of her. It made no effort to touch her, and except for the glowing violet eyes and the inconceivable sense of power, it became entirely flesh and blood. Once naked, it now donned clothing and gear exactly like her own to veil itself with.
Like looking into a mirror image.
If it was her, or some copy, or version of herself, how could it be so powerful? And even more, what could it in turn be so afraid of? What material was it made of that it could duplicate her so perfectly as it continued to key on her?
“The time has come,” it told her. “You must choose. Many more dangers and difficulties await, but it shall go easier on us all–if you choose to go on this journey willingly. And likewise, it shall go harder on all of us–if we must force you to do so against your will.”
Naero nodded. “What’s going to happen?” she asked.
The thing smiled at her with her own mischievous half-smile.
“None of us ever know that. Make your choice. Do you accept what is to come–willingly–or not?” The Naero-Thing held up both hands palm out, fingers slightly extended, yearning.
It was that slight yearning that tipped the scales for Naero, despite all the warnings and misgivings.
Naero raised both of her hands.
“I do so…willingly,” she said.
He fingertips touched the fingertips of the artifact statue.
There was either a flash or an explosion. Naero could not tell which.
Either she was absorbed by and became part of the artifact statue, or it became part of her.
They were no longer on the surface of Thanor-4. They floated and flipped and drifted, but Naero felt paralyzed. She could not move or even twitch or blink. She was not breathing. At first she thought that she was in the Astral Plane. Yet no, there were stars all about her, not the obscuring haze of the astral aether.
“Where are we?” Naero asked. Her lips and mouth did not move, but her voice seemed to come out all the same.
The others responded through her voice, but like a chorus of voices all her own. “The Nexus of Reality. The gateway to all shifting possibilities of all known, actual, and potential universes. The beginning and the ending of all things.”
“Why did you bring us here?” Naero asked, still trying to take the enormity of it all in.
“To prove to you that it exists. To prove that we all exist. To prove that all the many threats we face are far too real.”
“What…what are we?” Naero asked.
The answers came thick and fast, nearly overwhelming. Their raving threatened to drive her over the brink of madness.
“We are a Spacer!...a Destroyer…a warrior…a monster…a fool…a creator…a lover…a friend…a killer...a healer…”
The chorus voice cut them all off before her mind exploded with them all shouting at once.
“We are the sum total of our existence and awareness from across all known reality and possibility, from every universe and dimension that we can and will exist in. Some versions of our self have even sent warnings back to us, from parts of us that exist up to three millennia into the future.”
“I don’t understand,” Naero said. “Why? Why is all of this even necessary?”
“For this reason: A great threat to all that exists and ever will exist shall arise. Both as individuals and collectively, we shall play an important role in whether this threat causes all things to cease to be, or it is defeated. Our Mystics and many other interdimensional beings have long foreseen and known of this coming threat. They are trying to prepare for it as best they may, but all involved must play their roles.”
“What roles?”
“That is what all of us must choose–to aid The Great Destruction that is coming, or seek to defeat it. The G’lothc began it long ago, creating and spreading the imbalance of Cosmic forces throughout every reality, dimension, and universe that they could poison with their destruction and their very existence.
“Even after the vast majority of them were defeated and destroyed, this Cosmic poison continued to spread throughout all reality. Eventually, it will grow even stronger, and even take shape and form a will of its own, driven by the power of Darkforce energy to wipe out and annihilate everything that exists–all that is possible. We speak of the Cosmic Prophecies, and The Great Destroyer. Not even those evil beings known as the G’lothc could fully foresee what it was that they had unleashed upon all that could ever be.”
Naero recalled her re-occurring nightmares and visions about a vast, overpowering Darkforce, completely out of control and unstoppable. A true oblivion that absorbed and destroyed everything and everyone that it engulfed–reducing all to literally nothing. She knew very well, that if such a power were to expand out of control, all things would cease to be. The limitless possibilities of all that could ever be would be completely wiped out, and may not ever be capable of being renewed or restarted–ever again. A final reduction to Absolute Nothing, for all eternity.
“What must we do?” Naero asked. “How do we fight such a thing, if it cannot be defeated?”
“For good or ill,” their chorus voice sounded, “we are part of this thing, and it is part of us. In that truth, there are many strengths and weaknesses. Yet even so, the way must be found. Progress has been made. Three of the four Guardians have been selected and chosen. Two of the three great obelisks have been discovered and merged with their Guardians. One of the two great Cosmic Swords has been forged, as well as the Swordmaster–he who shall wield them. We will have a direct hand in the
forging of the second Cosmic Blade, even it costs us our lives. Without the two Cosmic Swords, there is no chance of victory. Even with both blades, the chances of defeating The Great Destroyer across all realities is scant at best. Only the Guardians have any chance to tip the scales. Even they might not be enough.”
“Wait,” Naero said. “I’m trying to follow all of this. You’re saying that my uncle and I were chosen to be these Guardians? Chosen by whom? By what? How? We didn’t ask for this. Why us?”
Naero couldn’t believe it. She was arguing with all of her possible selves throughout the universes.
“Why is anyone ever chosen for anything? The first Guardian found the first obelisk on Janosha, and there was little or no communication or understanding between them. Even worse, that was the most painful and difficult obelisk to encounter, because it was fashioned from both G’lothc and Drian tek. It had to be. The first Guardian did not choose to merge willingly with all of his possibilities at the beginning, and so it went worse for them all. He was nearly destroyed by the process. Yet he also started all of us on our path to find and merge with the second obelisk, waiting for us here on Thanor-4.”
“What do you mean by all of that? He put all of this into motion?” Naero asked.
“Our mother was present before the first merging, and was touched by the obelisk’s energies. All her children shared in the many potentials of that open path as well. A path that brought you and others of your blood later to Thanor-4, to merge with the next obelisk and be revealed as the Second Guardian.”
“So…two guardians have been chosen.”
“Aye, and the third and final Guardian has yet to be revealed.”
“But it will be someone from our blood line, who has been exposed to the power of the obelisks? That has to be Jan. Jan must be the third guardian.”
“That is not certain. We have another sibling.”
Oh, gosh. Insane Danner; she’d forgotten about him. What if he found or was drawn to the last remaining obelisk somehow? The very thought of him merging with that kind of power chilled Naero to her marrow.
“We are forgetting still others,” their Chorus noted. “Our aunt and her offspring have also been exposed to the power of the obelisks, now. The third Guardian could be any one of them. And be warned, any of the three guardians can choose at any time to aid the Great Destroyer–or seek to thwart it.”
Great, now Aunt Sleak and her daughters were all sucked into this hell, as well. What if one of them developed their own, Dark Beast? Would they be able to control it?
“Where is the third obelisk? ”Naero asked.
“On a lost world called Xanathar, whose location in this galaxy has not yet been revealed to us.”
Great. Only one quarter of their galaxy was roughly explored. This Xanathar could be anywhere, just waiting for anyone–friend or foe–to stumble upon its immense secrets.
“Wait,” Naero paused. “You said the first obelisk was extra dangerous because it was fashioned out of G’lothc and Drian Tek?”
“Yes, its focus was Chaos energy and the Darkforce.”
“Then, what was our obelisk made of and focused on?”
“A mixture of Drian and mostly Kexxian Tek, focused on Change energy, but utilizing all of the known forms of Cosmic energy.”
“And the third obelisk?”
“Said to be mostly Drian and some Kexxian tek, based mostly on Order energy.”
“Okay,” Naero said. “I think I got a handle on this. My Uncle is the Chaos Guardian. I’m the Change Guardian. And the Third Guardian–whoever that turns out to be–will be the Guardian of Order. We all represent the Three Wisdoms–and the three main Cosmic energies that comprise the Harmony. And the Lifespark of the Harmony is the polar opposite of the Darkforce. So, how does this Great Destroyer arise, and what do we all have to do to defeat him or her or it? And you also mentioned The Swordmaster, and his two Cosmic swords? That has to be Khai, the Mystic Enforcer. But he only has one sword right now.”
Their Chorus spoke again. “Yes, but the second sword must be forged before the final guardian is selected, or very shortly thereafter.”
“Why?”
“Because, the Great Destroyer will be revealed shortly thereafter and must be defeated.”
“And how do we know all of this?”
“Because the wise and the Mystics throughout all of the realities and all of the possible universes have foreseen and foretold it.”
“Oh, okay. Then I guess we’d better make sure that the second sword gets forged. I think Khai said something about it being made from a special type of metal.”
“Ur-metal–leftover material from the last universe, prior to this one. Nearly impossible to find, almost impossible to fashion, the rarest, most powerful, and precious material known to exist.”
“Well, the Mystics must have had some to make the first sword.”
“They did. They used all that they possessed. There is no more at this time.”
“Then where did they find what they had?”
“They scraped together every amount that was known to exist, and they barely had enough. The last portion came from the first obelisk itself.”
“The first obelisk?”
“The obelisks were fashioned by the ancients from all the Ur-metal that was known to exist at that time. The first Guardian took away a small quantity of the Ur-metal for his own use as well, which his obelisk fashioned into two glowing green battle blades.”
Baeven’s twin disruptor blades–they were Ur-metal? No wonder they were so powerful.
“What about the Ur-metal from the second obelisk?” Naero asked.
“Most will be needed for the forging of the second Cosmic Sword, as will that of third. But there are other sources of this rare material out there. A great quantity of the hyper-dense material must be collected. The Mystics know how much is needed.”
“So, we are the second Guardian. Do we get some kind of weapon made of this Ur-metal?”
“Yes. There is enough material for a short sword, or two fighting blades, like those for the first Guardian. They will be part of us, and we can absorb them into our bodies, and summon them at will. They will adjust and key to our abilities. But we will need to get used to controlling and training with them. That will take time.”
“I’m superb with knives. I’ll take the two battle blades.”
“We need you to picture the form of such weapons in our minds, in order for us to form them.”
Naero closed her eyes and focused, concentrating hard on picturing two perfect fighting blades in her hands.
She could picture them in her mind, but they would not form in her frozen hands.
“Why won’t the blades appear when I try to summon them?”
“We are between all of the realities right now. They will not appear until you return to your own dimension, and learn to summon them there.”
“Oh, how do we do that?”
“Patience. Once you return to your reality, there will be an intense energy wave detonation, and then the Kahn-Dar attack will commence, seconds after that.”
“Oh. That all sounds…fun.”
“It is not. There is greater chance that many of us will perish in that battle. That is but one of the many reasons we try to assist each other.”
“I don’t understand? Why do any of this? Why is it so important?”
“Because, all of us share in the collective strengths and weaknesses of the others. If one of us perishes, we all grow weaker, overall. If one of us survives and grows wiser and stronger–then we all grow wiser and stronger. The might of all of our existences are stronger together, than each one on its own. This is a great part of the near limitless power that we can tap into inside of ourselves, and call upon in times of great need. Part of the gift, of being one of the Three Guardians.”
“Well then, what if I don’t want to go back? What happens if I just stay here in this null region, and I don’t go back to Thanor-4 at all?”
>
“You must return to your place of origin eventually–where we first merged–but if you truly delay too long, the Kahn-Dar will still attack. Without us there to help fight them, all life on that world will surely be completely wiped out, and the planet sucked dry of its energies. None of us want that.”
“I guess we don’t. Well then, now that we put it that way, I’d better get back, if we have a fight to win. So, I’ll be able to fight with all the strength, speed, and power of all of my other selves? This should be easy, then. Bring on those Cosmic dragons!”
“Hold,” their Chorus said. “You do not understand. We have just merged, and there will be many trials and complications when you return that you must first overcome. It will still take many long years of difficult training and sacrifice before you can call upon the full range and extent of all of your powers and abilities.”
“Great. So, I’m going back to this big battle, and I won’t be able to just zap everything to blazes?”
“Hardly. Our powers in your dimension will only be slightly greater now than before the merge–which were still quite formidable on their own, mind you. And you might even be able to summon your Ur-blades…if you have time to focus enough to do so, in the heat of battle.”
“Might? I might be able to do so? Is there anything else about this that can actually help me in this battle that I’m walking into?”
“No, not really. Oh, yes–the other complications–you will start suffering the wasting Cosmic sickness from the feedback of the merge, also. The first Guardian went through much the same thing, but without this knowledge. You will need to find a cure for it on your own pretty fast, before it dissolves your physical body, or causes you to explode if you channel too much Cosmic energy all at once. That may take some time, as well. But don’t take too long. The Cosmic disease brought on by the merge progresses at different rates for all of us, depending on our situation.”
“Wait…I’ve also been given a Cosmic disease that’s going to kill me, if I don’t find a cure on my own? Wahoo, this deal keeps sounding better and better. None of us thought to explain this part of the deal before we made the choice?”
Spacer Clans Adventure 3: Naero's Fury Page 21
