POWERLESS

by Antony W. F. Chow

  The two men continued walking through the tunnel only to exit into the chamber again. When they turned around, they were shocked by what they saw! On the wall behind them was the square!

  "How is this possible?" Schmendrick wondered aloud.

  Kanorell immediately used his chalk to mark the other two walls. He wrote an equal sign to the left of the square and a triangle to the right of the square. He turned around and looked at the young man, who somehow managed to remain calm. "Schmendrick, I suspect this may be a trap of some sort. I just marked the four openings. We just went from circle to square to square. I'll make a note on the wall now. To break free of this trap, I think we will need to enter through the right combination of openings," he explained.

  The boy's eyes widened. "That's a lot of possible combinations," he remarked.

  "But it could have been worse. The builders could have placed traps along the passageways. We just went through two of them without triggering any traps. I'm confident the other two are free of traps as well," the old man pointed out.

  Schmendrick pondered this theory for a moment. "You believe the builders only wanted to hinder us rather than to kill us," he speculated aloud.

  Kanorell nodded. "The passageways are narrow. If the builders rigged the roof to collapse on us, we have no way to escape," he reasoned. "Let's try one of the other openings. You want to try the equal sign or the triangle?" he asked.

  "Let's go with the equal sign," the boy answered and stepped through the opening. This time, the passageway was longer. Or at least it felt that way to Schmendrick. When he reached the opening, he saw a chamber. To his relief, the chamber was different than before. First, the chamber was circular. Second, there was a gigantic, stone marble on a pedestal at the center of the chamber. Finally, there were five openings in total, including the passageway they were still standing in. Schmendrick turned toward his companion. "What do you think?" he asked.

  Kanorell peered over the boy's shoulders and grimaced. He was very concerned about the ball in the middle of the room. "It looks like a trap," he warned.

  "Yup," the teenager agreed. "Once we enter the chamber, I think the ball will be released. So we either pick the right opening or we'll be crushed by the ball inside the passageway."

  The old man looked at the openings. "One out of four isn't very good odds," he remarked warily.

  "No, it isn't," Schmendrick chuckled.

  Kanorell gave the boy a dirty look. "How can you be so calm? We're about to be crushed to death!" he said angrily while pointing at the stone ball.

  "So you are suggesting that we run straight for an opening and hope the ball won't follow us?" the teenager asked with a neutral tone of voice.

  "What else can we do?" the old man replied exasperatedly.

  Schmendrick smiled. "We need to think outside the box." He pulled out his blades and gave one dagger to his companion. "Let's chip off large pieces of rocks from the wall and toss it into the chamber," he requested.

  "Why?" Kanorell scowled.

  "We'll make the ball stop rolling," the boy replied. "When we enter, I expect the pedestal to drop and cause the ball to roll. I plan to deflect the ball into a corner; the rocks will make the ball stop moving."

  The old man looked at him skeptically. "We'll need a lot of rocks."

  "Yup!" the teenager answered as he chipped away at a section of the wall on the right side with his dagger. "But that's better than having the ball crush us to death."

  "You can keep your dagger. I'll use the shovel," Kanorell said and returned the weapon. He untied the shovel from his backpack and started attacking the left wall.

  Schmendrick chipped away at the wall with both daggers methodically like a woodpecker pecking on a tree branch with its beak. His slow and steady rhythm continually dislodged rocks from the wall.

  The two men worked for an hour, causing a thick pile of dust to rise in the air.

  "Let's stop now. I think we have enough," the teenager said and coughed.

  Kanorell took a drink from his canteen and offered it to Schmendrick, who did the same and then returned it.

  "I'm going to push the rocks to the left side of the opening," the teenager said.

  "You should use a shovel," the old man advised and handed the tool to him.

  Schmendrick used the tool and shoveled the rocks out of the tunnel. While standing inside the passageway, he carefully tossed each scoop to the left side beyond the opening. When the tunnel was clear of the rocks and debris, the teenager peered at the spot where he had placed the rocks. He was pleased by the sight of a big pile on the ground inside the chamber. He returned the shovel to Kanorell, who tied the tool to his backpack. "Are you ready?" the boy asked.

  "I guess so," Kanorell replied with little enthusiasm. He was not convinced that the boy's harebrained scheme will work.

  When the two men stepped into the chamber, the opening behind them was slammed shut by a panel which dropped from the ceiling. As expected, the pedestal dropped and the ball started rolling. However, it was rolling in a different direction--to their right.

  Schmendrick couldn't believe his lucky break! The boy ran right up to the giant stone marble and slammed against it with his shoulder! Ignoring the pain, the daredevil continued to direct the ball to the rocks he had laid on the ground. The ball finally slammed into the wall of the chamber but the rocks beneath it caused the giant marble to settle in place.

  "Phew! That just took a year off my life!" Kanorell remarked. "Are you okay, young fellow?" he asked. The boy had to shoulder-tackle the giant marble some half-dozen times in order to steer it into the rocks. He had no doubt the kid was bruised in his arm and shoulder. Thankfully, his companion had 200% Vitality.

  "Somehow," Schmendrick replied. He tried moving his left shoulder but it refused to obey his command. He gingerly took off his shirt; he saw that his shoulder had turned purple and black. He checked his menu screen and saw that his Vitality was down to "120/200." The teenager walked over to the opposite side and sat against the wall. "You mind if I take a break?"

  "No, you earned it," Kanorell waved his hand and smiled. "I'm going to scout ahead," he volunteered. "Once I find the right exit, I'll come back for you."

  Schmendrick nodded. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  3.8 - The Tomb

  The boy was practicing with his knives in the basement when someone burst into the house.

  "Hey, kiddo! Are you downstairs?" The voice was frantic.

  "Yeah!" the grandson replied and stopped his practice.

  Grandpa was clutching his right shoulder, which was bleeding heavily.

  "You've been shot!" the boy gasped at the sight of blood dripping on the floor of the basement.

  "The bad men who killed your mom tried to take me out. We need to escape now!" The old man opened the back door to escape but found himself staring at the barrel of a gun.

  The man holding the gun was dressed in a custom-tailored black Italian suit. He appeared to be in his mid-fifties, perhaps a decade younger than grandpa. His skin was bronze and his thick raven hair was moussed; not a strand of hair stood out of place.

  The boy immediately hid behind some shelves as his grandpa slowly backed into the basement.

  "Look, can't we discuss this?" grandpa asked.

  "What's there to discuss, Marty? You owe us five hundred grand for your loan. My boss got tired of getting the round around from ya. He thought taking out your daughter will motivate you to come up with the money. I guess we gotta move down the list and take care of your grandson," the apparent mobster said. "Now, please tell us where he is. We don't wanna trash this place to find the kid."

  "You leave Jason alone!" grandpa yelled defiantly.

  "Or what?" the gunman smirked and cocked the hammer on his gun.

  Suddenly, the boy appeared behind the mobster. He stabbed the man in the back. The knife lodged deeply in the man's heart.

  The gunman jerked in surprise and involuntarily squeezed the tri
gger, shooting grandpa in the throat.

  "Grandpa!" the boy yelled.

  "Run, Jason!" grandpa gasped with his final breath. His face dropped to the ground. His body was immobile. Blood started pouring out of the wound.

  The boy wiped away his tears and ran out of the basement.

  * * *

  "Hey, Schmendrick!"

  The teenager felt someone shaking his arm. Schmendrick immediately opened his eyes. It was Kanorell.

  "Had a nice nap?" the old man smiled and offered his hand.

  The boy accepted the assist and returned to his feet.

  Kanorell stared at his face. In the torchlight, the man saw tears running down his companion's cheeks. "Something wrong?" the old man asked with concern. It was the first time he saw Schmendrick cry.

  The teenager wiped his face with his sleeve. "I think it was dust in my eyes," he lied.

  The man nodded. He suspected the boy had dreamed of his past and it was painful. Kanorell respected Schmendrick and gave the boy some much-needed privacy. Kanorell turned around and pointed at the second opening from their left. "That is the exit. The other passageways form a loop somehow. If the giant marble rolled in after us, we would not have escaped," the former archaeologist said.

  "So what does that passageway lead to?" Schmendrick asked. He was glad to change the topic.

  The old man turned around to face his companion. "Another puzzle," he answered cryptically and sighed. Holding the torch high, Kanorell led the way through the passage.

  Halfway through, the passageway began to ascend. It emptied into another chamber. This time, however, the chamber was spacious; the ceiling was at least fifty feet high and the diameter was the same. Sunlight shone into the chamber through another air shaft in the ceiling. Halfway up was a building which seemed to be floating on air!

  Schmendrick started walking in a circle along the wall of the chamber to get a good look at the floating structure. It was either a temple or a tomb--probably the resting place of the powerful entity for whom this pyramid was built. "Why did you call this a 'puzzle?'" the teenager asked while pointing at the floating building.

  "Two reasons," Kanorell replied. "First, I don't understand how this tomb is floating in the air. I see nothing attached to it either from the ceiling or the walls. Second, if this tomb had belonged to some powerful person, it looks extremely sparse. Where are the treasures buried? Where are the drawings and decorations on the walls? To me, this chamber is practically naked," he complained.

  The teenager rolled his eyes. "You just wanted to loot some treasure from the pyramid to bring back home. I have no idea why this place looks empty. Could it have been the final wishes of the person entombed up there? Perhaps," he shrugged. "As for why the tomb is floating, I think the ancient builders may have discovered a way to manipulate the Aether in the air on a permanent basis," Schmendrick hypothesized.

  "You mean the ancients used magic?" The former archaeologist was incredulous of this possibility and he was prepared to dismiss it out of hand. Yet, the use of magic would explain a number of strange phenomena that the two had witnessed during their exploration. For example, the metal door blocking the interior entrance to the pyramid had melted under sunlight refocused through the sunstones; the melting of the door couldn't have occurred unless the gemstones were magically enhanced to create more powerful or intensive beams of light. Additionally, the labyrinth that they had somehow walked out of alive had to be interconnected via teleportation magic; otherwise, how could the two explorers have walked through an opening and exited the passageway into the very same opening?

  Schmendrick quickly held up his hand. The teenager realized that the old man didn't believe him and Schmendrick wanted to defend his idea. "One of my missions in the Recovered Land was to do maintenance work on the wind turbines at the beach. On my way there, I encountered a hovercraft. Have you ever been on one?"

  Kanorell shook his head. "I've heard of hovercrafts but I have never seen them with my own eyes."

  "The pilot explained that the air on the Sanctum was saturated with Aether and it had a certain buoyancy. The inventor of the hovercraft was able to make the vehicle bounce off this existing Aether. Of course, making a vehicle bounce in the air constantly required an enormous amount of energy. Hovercrafts used electricity generated by the wind turbines as fuel. The builders could have used another source of energy, such as sunlight, to make the bottom of the tomb interact with Aether in order to float continuously," Schmendrick speculated.

  "Perhaps, you're right," the old man admitted. This idea of mixing science and magic was simply beyond him. Kanorell was a simple man with simple desires; he only wanted to dig stuff up from the ground and learn more about the past history of the Sanctum. "I really want to see what's inside the tomb. Do you have any suggestion on how to get up there?" he asked politely. Kanorell was confident that the ingenious boy would have an idea.

  Schmendrick smiled. "Can I borrow your rope?"

  "Sure," the old man returned the smile and quickly unwound the rope from his left shoulder. He watched as his young companion removed the dagger from his leg strap and tied the rope to the handle of the weapon.

  Once the rope was tightly secured to the dagger with a triple-knot, the teenager started swinging the dagger like a grappling hook. Schmendrick aimed for the roof of the tomb; there was a small chimney on top which apparently allowed air and light to enter the tomb. The first attempt to hook onto the chimney failed. So did the second and third attempts. But the fourth attempt finally succeeded.

  Schmendrick gave the rope a good tug to confirm that the impromptu hook was secure. Then he started climbing the rope. When he reached the tomb, the boy was not surprised to discover there was nothing for him to stand on. Schmendrick glanced down at Kanorell and said, "I'll climb on the roof. Please find the door to enter the tomb and direct me to it."

  "Okay," the old man waved. He started circling the tomb until he found what appeared to be the door; it was facing south. "I found the door!" Kanorell yelled. "I'll stand right under it."

  Schmendrick carefully walked on the tilted roof until he stood where his comrade was standing on the ground. The boy wrapped the rope several times around his right forearm and grabbed it in his right hand. He slowly descended from the rooftop until he was dangling directly in front of the door. He examined the door but saw no lock. It was apparently sealed. "I'm going to break the door open," he yelled.

  Schmendrick climbed down the rope a little further. He put his boots on the door and hopped away from it. When his feet landed on the door, he pushed away from it again. He repeated this motion many times until his body started swinging from the rope like a half-pendulum. Finally, he straightened his legs and slammed his feet against the door. *BOOM* The door crashed into the interior of the tomb and slammed against the sarcophagus placed on the floor in the middle of the tomb.

  The lid of the sarcophagus was partially knocked loose. A golden light exploded out of the container and engulfed both men!

  3.9 - The Beginning

  In the beginning, there was nothing. The void. The blackness. Improbably, impossibly, a spark came into existence. The existence slowly grew. Time had no meaning for this existence. It was simply there. Eons passed until existence turned into awareness. Awareness turned into curiosity and finally desire. Desire for change. Desire for something different. Desire for something new.

  The existence expanded into the great cosmos and finally discovered other existence. Its hunger for knowledge and its lack of restraint overcame the other. It instantly devoured the other. When the other was erased, the existence experienced an emotion. Regret.

  But the knowledge acquired from the other existence pushed aside this emotion. It hungered for more. So began a campaign to expand and devour other existence until none was left. The Great Devourer was finally sated. It knew all. It was omnipotent. Unexpectedly, it became bored with its own existence. Finally, it sought one thing--removal of its own existence.
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br />   In the smallest measure of time, the cosmos collapsed onto itself. Yet, the spark could not cease for all eternity. One moment, existence was no on more. The next moment, the spark returned into existence. Not only that, the spark exploded and expanded outward in a golden light. Everything the light touched became existence. The others which had been absorbed by the Great Devourer returned to the cosmos. But changed. Tainted by the existence.

  The Great Devourer gradually lost its omnipotence as pieces of it were slowly absorbed by its creations. It was worshipped by its children as the "First." It was revered as the golden light. When the First had lost so much of itself that it was fading back into non-existence, its children intervened.

  A planet was made and the essence of the First was placed, in stasis, inside a sarcophagus. A great pyramid was built. An opening was created atop the holy temple to bathe it in sunlight. Eons passed as the sunlight trickled into the temple and was absorbed by the essence. The First was slowly revitalized. It was finally awoken from its long slumber by a disturbance that had knocked the lid of its sarcophagus loose.

  The First instantly tapped into the great cosmos and learned eons had passed since it had gone into stasis. In its absence, its children had made many wonderful creations. Including the two beings in its presence. The First reached out and touched the two. To its dismay, they died instantly. They were far too weak to survive its touch. Inevitably, the First absorbed them and their knowledge. It began to ponder what was happening to its sanctuary. Or the "Sanctum" as these so-called Reborn had named this planet.

  The First pondered what to do. Its most powerful children were becoming aware of its Awakening. Some were beginning to reach out and ask the First to retake its rightful place as the Almighty. Yet, the First had no interest in doing so. It had spent eons in the great void as one single existence. It learned that being the Almighty was boring. Instead, the First was content to allow its children to resume their activities as creators. Thus, the First used its almighty power to erase its Awakening from the minds of its children. To them, the First was still asleep inside the pyramid on a planet in a solar system in the middle of nowhere. It was safely out of the way while its children played with their creations. Some had feared the return of the Great Devourer. Now, they will continue creating while the First watched.