by Paul Centeno
Xen’tarza
Book Three of the Twelve Dimensions
This is a work of fiction. All characters, creatures, regions, poems, scriptures, and events were created by the author’s imagination. The series represents a new fantasy universe with never-before-seen galaxies, lore, mythology, and mythical beings. Any similarity to something outside of this novel is merely coincidental.
Illustrations by Paul Pederson.
Interior Book Design by Sandra Gonzalez.
Copyright © 2020, 2021 by Paul L. Centeno.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9781095594407
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my uncle, Joseph DePascale. Your hardworking nature has always rubbed off on me, which is how I was able to get this far and then some. Thank you for being such an awesome uncle and Godfather.
Prologue
Hidden Treasure
A jewel is found in the deepest of cosmic seas
The gem radiates anew within the darkest cavern
Like a crystal, it sparkles akin to the myriad stars above
We search hopelessly for such marvelous treasures
Never quite realizing what true fortune lies before us
Divine magic conjured
Spells of arcane rebirth
Cast upon the everlasting
Yet what fortune remains evermore
Is unsighted by those of dark obsessions
Above all, one treasure remains richer than any stone
Such a relic, even death shan’t defy its untouchable prosperity
For it is unification beyond mortal veins that ties our souls abound.
Oracle of Marauder
Chapter One
Beneath Lost Paradoxes
— Cycle 81972.163 M.E. —
I
Searching the Cosmos
Deep in outer space, a supernova remnant inhabited a quadrant beyond the usual inky blackness of the void. Interstellar clouds infested the region, swarming around an eerie green glow of radiation. For quite some time, it seemed that all the electrons whirling around the phenomenon couldn’t be any faster. But then an invisible, unstoppable force zoomed through the quadrant faster than magic.
The incredible force reached the center of the supernova remnant, creating a tear in outer space. Lightning struck as an enormous fissure opened. Emerging out of the cosmic chasm, the Marauder flew amid the infestation of ghostly clouds. Gas and dust clung to every wing of the vessel as it flew at an unnatural speed. Slowing down, its neon-blue sensor arrays emitted a scan through the molecular clouds, searching the area.
“Any progress?” Shirakaya asked, rising from her chair.
Just a few meters below where the freelancer stood, Narja sat piloting the vessel. “I’m not quite sure. It seems we successfully averted the Drift Void. But our sensors are not functioning at full capacity yet.”
“That’s probably because of the diffused nebula we’re in,” Yarasuro stated, checking the starmap on his terminal.
“Then we must be bordering the Syichi Photh-Kos Galaxy,” Xorvaj said.
Shirakaya crossed her arms. “It’s true most diffused nebulae are around that galaxy, but we shouldn’t linger here too long unless we know for sure. How about you, Myris? Do you sense any magic?”
“I’m afraid not, fearless leader,” the young oracle answered, cuddling Xeza.
“Damn it,” the captain said with a sigh. “Our destination should be near. Let’s continue exploring the soudarian quadrant.”
Narja accelerated the interstellar battleship, ionized gas clinging to its side wings like phantoms. Despite the haze ahead, Yarasuro relied on the vessel’s superior sensors. Stationed at his terminal, his vertically-slit eyes remained focused on the radar. Only after half an hour did he notice a multitude of dots appear on the map. Before speaking, he waited for the pilot to draw closer. Eventually, his terminal revealed the glowing spots to be a vast asteroid field.
“I’m picking up something big,” Yarasuro said, copying his visuals to the main screen located above the wide windowpane. “According to my radar, we’re approaching a field of planetoids.”
“This has to be it,” Shirakaya said, confidence in her voice. “Narja, get us to the center of those rocks.”
“Aye,” she replied.
Maneuvering the vessel, Narja swerved past the small asteroids with relative ease. Only a few were larger, prompting her to swerve farther away to avoid hitting them. After traversing deeper into the asteroid field, she drew the vessel to a halt, noting that there were too many rocks in close proximity. She thought of using guns to destroy them but feared smaller pieces hitting and possibly damaging the ship.
“Use the twin SGW-97 gravity cannons,” Vokken suggested, acknowledging the pilot’s hesitation.
“Brilliant idea!” Narja said. “Thanks.”
With no time to waste, she activated the battleship’s gravity surge weapon. Marauder’s pincer-shaped cannons, located at the fore of the vessel, widened while gathering tremendous energy. As soon as an ethereal-like wave manifested, the cannons released it at the obstruction ahead.
A wave of gravity surged toward the blockade of asteroids, reaching them within seconds and pushing the enormous rocks away without smashing them into countless pieces. The wave pulsed outward for several kilometers before dissipating. With the path cleared, Narja cheered and accelerated the spacecraft.
“Robo guy ain’t so bad after all,” Myris said.
“An impressive solution,” Rah’tera agreed.
Vokken produced a cybernetic snort. “Everything that I do is beyond impressive. In fact, all of my actions are perfect.”
“Right,” the captain said, rolling her eyes.
Myris’ pupils dilated as she gazed at the drifting rocks. “I’m sensing something totally rad. It’s round here…just kinda fuzzy cos we’re not nearby.” She soon pointed at a hazy strip of planetoids straying from the field. “It’s like a road camouflaged by poison.”
“Or magic?” Vokken posed.
The sìsô whined, snuggling beside Myris.
“Don’t be such a pussy, Xeza,” Dojin said, sneering. “Magic. Traps. Poison. Who gives a shit? My guns are ready to fuck shit up.”
“As are my blades,” Rah’tera said, twirling the handle of a plasma dagger.
“In any case,” Shirakaya began, “it’s clear we have a clue. Narja, part from this region and follow that stripe.”
“You got it, Shira.”
The pilot shifted her throttle, changing Marauder’s direction from noquria to wescaria. It drifted for a moment in the heart of the vast field like a lifeless meteorite before zooming ahead. Although it was a narrow strip, its girth still rivaled that of a planet. Being shrouded by what appeared to be gas didn’t make the flight path easier for Narja, either. Considering her piloting skills, however, she wasn’t intimidated.
At a junction where two other strips of rocks emerged, Narja drew the battlecruiser to a halt. Xeza tilted her head as if perplexed. Yarasuro’s terminal remained ineffective, and Myris’ clairvoyance had reached its zenith for the time being. The pilot grimaced at the intersection of innumerable planetoids, uncertain.
“Fucking choose already!” Dojin snapped.
Narja sulked at his remark.
“Dude, take a chill pill,” Myris commented.
“These pathways...it can only mean one thing,” Shirakaya said. “This is, without a doubt, the Maze of Abaecas.”
“Then we’ve made it,” Xorvaj said.
“Close,” she replied. “We may have finally entered Syichi Photh-Kos, but we still need to locate Vei-Pyirye’s
Remnant.”
“There goes another ten hours,” Dojin said gruffly, exiting the bridge.
“Myris?” Shirakaya called out, allowing the renegade to leave without a fuss. “Are you able to sense anything else?”
“It’s weird,” she said, hovering to the fore. “It’s as if a spell is holding me back.”
Shirakaya grimaced, tightening her hands into fists. “We need to find it. Otherwise, this mission of ours is going to end before it even begins.”
II
Inner Turmoil
Using an X-Phaser near the bridge, Dojin teleported to a corridor in the residential sector. The usual indifferent expression on his face was replaced with one of resentment as he walked toward his cabin. Waving his KLD by a wall panel, the door opened. Stepping inside, Dojin appeared pensive, gazing at the windowpane beside his bed.
“What am I doing here?” he asked himself.
Just then, the window turned into a TC screen and Vokken appeared on it. “If it will help you stay focused with our mission against Koth’tura, I can assist you.”
“Fuck off.”
The AI sneered at him, vanishing from the screen. Once the pane of glass returned to normal, the renegade sat on his bed and continued staring at the drifting asteroids. All he could think about was what had happened to Zadoya. Losing her had manifested a rage within him that kept eating away at what little respect remained in his obnoxious mind.
Dojin hated his existence. He hated most people—aliens and humyns alike. He hated the chaos of life, and he hated this moment; it was a lingering bereavement that wouldn’t disappear from his mind. Ironically, his hatred and utter resentment were what he relied on to keep himself together.
After a few minutes of unbearable silence, someone knocked hard on his door.
“Who the hell is it?” The answer he received was more of a growl. “Why are you even knocking?”
Xorvaj entered the cabin. “It was either that or tear down your door. I guess next time I’ll just smash it.”
The renegade let out an amused snort. “Are they still dumbfounded?”
Xorvaj nodded. “Is that soldier’s death still disturbing you?”
“She has a name,” Dojin said through gritted teeth.
“Had,” Xorvaj retorted, provoking the renegade. “Like my homeworld, she’s dead. It is best to move on.”
“No!” he said, raising his voice. “Never!” Dojin stood up and tried shoving the hunched ghensoth, but he pushed himself backwards instead. He cursed, throwing his nightstand across the room. “I’ll never move on.”
“There must be something we can do to stop this madness.”
Eyebrows twitching, Dojin gawked at him. “Madness? I will show them what madness is. I will find them. I will tear their throats inside out. I will not rest until they’re gone from this universe.”
“Sounds exhilarating,” Xorvaj said. “Who is them?”
“The hoisters whom he blames for separating him and Zadoya from their love affair,” Vokken intervened, rematerializing on the telecommunications screen.
“Dojin? Love? Impossible,” the ghensoth said, cackling.
Porting his plasma shotgun, Dojin aimed it at his windowpane. “What would a cyber scumbag like you know?”
“It’s only a matter of time before I become the Transdimensional Ethernet itself,” Vokken said. “Reports of heists reach my cybernetic ears quite often. If you can guarantee your loyalty to this mission, I can help you track them down.”
“Tell you what,” Dojin started while charging his gun, “I will refrain from blasting this glass if you can repeat seven words.”
Xorvaj cackled again. Then he took a step back, realizing Dojin wasn’t bluffing.
“Considering that I am an arcane intelligence and not psychic, you’ll have to challenge the oracle with that one.”
“Repeat after me: I am a rotten, shitty ass cockmaster.”
Silence fell for a long moment, broken only when the AI saw the plasma gun at ninety-eight percent.
“I am a rotten, shitty ass cockmaster.”
The Psychomania brutes couldn’t help but laugh.
“Right you are,” Dojin said, holstering his gun. “Now get the fuck off my window and stop disturbing me.”
Vokken mustered a demented grin before dematerializing.
“What a freak.”
“Perhaps,” Xorvaj said. “But his ability to hack the TDE can come in handy if we’re to track down those thugs.”
“I’d rather commit suicide than rely on that piece of shit.”
“To be honest, he’s not far from the likes of you and I.”
“That may be true. Still...”
“Still nothing. You need to move on. What’s that pathetic humyn saying? Time heals wounds?”
“Something like that. But for the last time, I don’t move on, pup.”
“Pup? Pup? Do not ever call me that again.”
“Then don’t tell me what to do, bitch.”
Xorvaj grimaced. “Deal…”
III
Obscure Echoes
The intergalactic battleship advanced esoria as Narja maneuvered above and below gargantuan planetoids, only flying between those that were not too large. Marauder’s velocity increased over time, the pilot gaining confidence in the plot she was coursing. Despite being partially blinded by ionized gases and not able to rely on the sensors due to electromagnetic interferences, she pressed onward.
“Fascinating,” the mutant said, acknowledging the steady flow of a single cloud. “All this time we’ve been in a nebula.”
“I figured we were within the Ar’jeheen Nebula,” Rah’tera said.
Shirakaya crossed her arms. “That would explain why we’re still unable to determine where we are. But that doesn’t explain why our bold pilot decided to take us esoria. Care to explain, Narja?”
“It’s just a hunch.”
The oracle pressed her fingers against the windowpane. “Not a bad one, racer gal. Turn soudaria just a tad, would ya?”
“You sense something?” Shirakaya asked.
“It’s a faint presence, but our destination’s totally there. Between the esorian and soudarian quadrants.”
Narja accelerated, breaking off from the esorian region. At first, it seemed as though nothing surrounded Marauder. Moments later, however, the hazy cloud waned, revealing innumerable asteroids. To the crew’s surprise, one of them gleamed with radiant lights. Shirakaya saw it, her eyes widening.
“Vei-Pyirye’s Remnant!” Shirakaya exclaimed. “That bastard really found it. Full speed ahead, Narja. I want to make this memorable.”
“One elaborate entrance coming up.”
Marauder closed in on the dazzling asteroid. As the ship approached the enormous rock, the crew could see it wasn’t an ordinary planetoid. Embedded within it hung an upside-down pyramid made of votrigon. It drifted like an iridescent citadel trapped in granite—a marvel to Shirakaya and her comrades.
“Quite fascinating,” the sandstalker commented, his entranced eyes fixed on the structure.
In less than a minute, Narja reached Vei-Pyirye’s Remnant and entered a mana shield that enveloped the entire rock. Unconcerned with the multitude of cannons in the vicinity, she landed her battleship in a basin-shaped crater that appeared to be an excavation site. Every cannon on the vast asteroid immediately targeted the intergalactic spacecraft.
“Attention,” announced the militia’s AI in a composed tone, “non-military crafts are not sanctioned here. You have ten seconds to explain your presence or you will be destroyed.”
Just then, the starship’s ramp unsealed. Shirakaya emerged from the entryway with her bodyguard. A dozen soldiers approached the duo, aiming at them with their rifles. The military leader used his visor’s binocular features, zooming in on the freelancer and her mutant knight. Upon seeing them, his eyes widened.
“Hold your fire!” he commanded. “That is Shirakaya of Aarda, former military captain of the Tal’
manac Order.”
The soldiers obeyed him, holstering their weapons. Walking forward, Shirakaya and her guard passed the brigade. As they climbed a set of makeshift steps leading to a dome-shaped command center above the crater, the military leader approached them. He removed his helmet, revealing a shaved, dashingly bald head and wrinkled face that didn’t appear as scrawny as his body thanks to his thick white beard.
“Commander Jeyphen?”
“In the flesh,” he said in a less hostile tone. “What brings an excommunicated captain to this region of space?”
Shirakaya looked amused. “I suppose my reputation precedes me.”
“I’m certain everyone in the realm of Ensar knows who you are after what took place at the Temple of Yun’sara during Uyosh’gi’sath. I don’t want to ask again, Shirakaya. State your business.”
Glancing around the construction site, she replied, “I came to steal my brother, Khal’jan of Aarda. Would you be so kind as to direct me to him?”
“You’re as politically incorrect as they say,” the commander said, snorting. “I suppose you’re expecting me to be grateful for your honesty. And maybe I am. But you can’t just take our best archeologist away. He’s been assigned to this research mission and cannot leave until we’ve completed our research.”
“Can you at least tell me where he is?”
The commander sighed. “He’s inside that bizarre structure, which, by the way, is off limits to non-military personnel. I am, however, a reasonable person. I’ll grant you a brief meeting with him as long as you promise not to cause—”
He was interrupted by the scream of a miner.
“Trouble?” Shirakaya asked, raising an eyebrow.
The yelling worker exited a cavern in an upper crag on the site and jumped down. Using his boots’ built-in gravity boosters, he landed safely and then ran toward his commanding officer, a terrified expression written across his pale visage.
