DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE: BOOK TWO OF THE REALM OF ZERROS SAGA

by Shoraz

  Then as they moved ever so quickly to get into position, they had a collective feeling of apprehension as for the first time in the history of the knights they were pitted against each other; army versus army and knight versus knight.

  “We have made visual contact with the enemy,” one of the black knights reported back to the main control room.

  “Very well, continue making your formation and do not attack until we command you to do so,” a white knight in the main control room replied.

  As the incoming carriers of the army of Freedom City and the silver knights led by Ava continued making their way to the Invisible Dome, they were undeterred to the thought of defeat or loss. And in the distance, they could see the Invisible Dome and could also see the armies of the golden and black knights in disarray.

  “What are they doing?” Stryker asked.

  “I’m not one hundred percent sure but they seem to be remaking their formation,” Zeus replied.

  “Strange, especially since we are this close to them,” Stryker said.

  “Yes, strange indeed, they seem to be confused,” Zeus said.

  “Should we not attack them now? Look at them, they aren’t ready for us,” Max stated.

  “No Max, they outnumber us more than two to one, we have to stick to our plan. This battle will be won by strategy, not by brute force. Remember, she is the key,” Zeus said as he pointed to Ava.

  As the army of Freedom City and the silver knights continued making their way towards the Invisible Dome, the black and golden knights were finished remaking their formation and as the sides inched ever so closer to each other they were now mere miles apart and they stood in mid–air waiting for the commands of their superiors so that they may begin their respective attacks on each other.

  Then as they stood face to face, looking at each other, there was a mixed sense of robotic emotions that overtook many of them. On the inside there was a sense of hesitation and uneasiness about fighting their own kind, but somewhere deep inside of their mechanical bodies they knew that at the moment they were given their commands to attack there would be no second guessing and it would be every robot, human, and superhuman for themselves in this fight for survival.

  As the seconds passed by the scene became more and more intense, and then out of nowhere a loud horn sounded, and the noise echoed as far as the eye could see. It was a noise that was raucous and deafening, and then as it stopped; missiles began firing from the Invisible Dome towards the army of Freedom City and the silver knights.

  As the missiles approached, the black and golden knights came charging towards their enemies, and the silver knights stood back and waited patiently for their signal to attack.

  The fight was now on, and the battle had started. The war to end all wars on earth was now set in motion, and the final battle for earth was upon us, and it would be an ending that no one in their wildest dreams could have ever imagined.

  CHAPTER THIRTY–FIVE

  Back in Zerros; Venetia, Yram, Leonis and Zalde looked on in delight as their army made their way to the outer reaches of the universe, and in the process, the army of sentinels began activating the built–in and dormant cells, which once triggered, would cause the universe to begin its implosion of death.

  These cells, known as dark matter, control the underlying physics of the universe which kept the Xerrolux alive for billions and billions of years. Once triggered, the dormant cells would come alive and destroy anything in its path which essentially would cause the Xerrolux to die; galaxy by galaxy, sun by sun, star by star, and planet by planet.

  In essence, the universe known as the Xerrolux, along with the many universes controlled by the Zerrosians were not much different than human beings or any other life forms for that matter, and the core of the underlying physics and patterns which controlled the life of the Xerrolux was essentially the same core that controlled all life, even that of the humans. For the universes however, it was just on a more massive scale.

  The built–in cells, which once triggered, would cause the Xerrolux to collapse into itself and die was not so different than cancer cells in humans and animals. And the many suns, moons, and planets were not very different than the organs of the human body; and the billions of gases and organic matter which was essentially the building blocks of the universe along with the many other universes in existence were not that different from the cells, molecules, and atoms which made up the human body.

  In addition to that, the universe also had a flow to it that was very similar to that of humans and animals and had a circadian rhythm all its own which was one of the many patterns and sequences that was built layer by layer and made to form the Xerrolux.

  And now, after billions of years in existence, the great life form known as the Xerrolux was not given a choice and its life was being snuffed out in a case of cold–blooded murder the likes of which was inexplicable to many Zerrosians.

  In the past, something of this nature would have never occurred given the democratic nature of Zerros, but since Venetia and her clan took power, they have ruled Zerros with an iron fist of dictatorship and tyranny the likes of which was never before seen in the mystical realm.

  If left on its own, the universe would have lived for billions of years more until its destined life was fulfilled at which point it would have died in a natural manner, but now the creators of the universe and everything within it were ready to bring everything to an unforeseen and abrupt end.

  Furthermore, never in the history of Zerros was a universe destroyed in this manner.

  The only times that a universe had died in the past was because it had reached the end of its natural life, or by suicide, which would occur when the universe was ready to take its own life along with the lives of everything else within it.

  While it was an oddity to have a universe commit suicide, it was not unchartered territory as in the past a handful of Zerrosian created universes actually did take their own lives for reasons such as sickness, and unhappiness, as well as physical and mental degradation to name a few.

  As the Zerrosian vessels continued their questionable mission of waking the dormant cells of the universe, Alkazar monitored their progress from the central control room back in Zerros.

  “The plan is going well Alkazar, almost two hundred thousand cells have been triggered, and the Xerrolux will be dead in just over one day,” one of the Zerrosian royal guards said to him.

  Alkazar then looked out at the magnificent universe, and he vividly remembered stories about its birth and of its expansion and growth. And for although he had no choice but to follow Venetia’s orders in destroying the great life form, he remembered the stories of the past, and he remembered the amount of work it took to generate the Xerrolux, and he also remembered the seven days of creation that it took to construct it.

  His mind then raced back to memories filled with happiness and joy for those involved, and now, because of the decision of one Zerrosian, the work and effort that was put into creating it was all for naught, or so he thought. Little did he know that in the grand scheme of life, this was how it was meant to be and this was what was needed to be done in order for the Phoenix to return home.

  CHAPTER THIRTY–SIX

  Back on earth, as the golden and black knights charged forward, and the carriers fired upon them, the army of Freedom City and the silver knights waited, and then suddenly a shield was formed around them as the superhumans, including Ava, used their collective powers to create something similar to an invisible protective dome around them. Then, as the missiles and the golden and black knights hit it, they were instantly destroyed.

  As the commanders of the black and golden knights saw the power of their enemy they began to fall back and upon seeing that, the superhumans lowered the shield, and the army of silver knights began their charge towards their somewhat retreating enemy.

  The carriers also began to make their way closer towards the Invisible Dome, and then, out of nowhere, the leading wave of silver kni
ghts started being torn apart by the arms, legs, and heads to the bewilderment of Ava and the rest of the army of Freedom City.

  Then, in that moment as everyone looked on in shock and awe, the betasapiens began firing missiles towards the carriers and just before Ava could put up a shield to protect her army, the carriers were rocked by the dozens of incoming missiles.

  As the missiles hit the main control room of the carrier, Ava and many others on board were thrown up into the air and violently landed on the floor due to the force of the impact. Then, the carrier that they were aboard began free falling from the sky above into the ocean that lay below.

  As the silver knights continued to be torn apart, the white knights who were fitted with the same matter control technology that Frank used to kill Bridget made their way to the front of the battle and continued their sinister destruction of their fellow knights.

  Meanwhile, as the carrier plummeted into the ocean it violently landed and began to sink to the depths of the murky waters. Then the second carrier began to fire back towards the army of the betasapiens, and although it took quite a bit of damage from the missiles that were just fired upon it, it still fired back towards them giving the army of Freedom City some hope in this battle which started off very promising, and then only within a matter of minutes took a turn for the worse, which was something no one saw coming.

  As the silver knights continued being torn apart by the white knights, a few of them managed to get through, and for a brief moment, they began fighting against the white knights.

  Then, as the golden and black knights regained their composure from the initial shell shock they received from the shield of the superhumans, they began making their way in front of the white knights and created a gigantic wall of black and gold as the silver knights looked on in awe and terror knowing that nearly half of the superhumans, including Ava, were of no help to them as they lay under the water in the crippled carrier.

  Then suddenly the gigantic wall of black and gold began to move forward as thousands upon thousands of black and golden knights began firing upon and fighting the silver knights and in this game of numbers, the silver knights were at the losing end of the spectrum. Some of the silver knights fought back as best they could and as their metallic and mechanical bodies clashed in this epic and grand battle, the noise of metal on metal combat echoed throughout the sky over the Invisible Dome.

  For those silver knights that managed to get through the wall of black and golden knights, their reward was a meeting with the white knights who were fitted with matter control technology and it was a meeting that was quick and harsh and ended in death for the brave and heroic silver knights who fought against their own kind in a battle of good versus evil, and for now the side of evil was winning the war.

  Meanwhile, back in the ill–fated carrier that lay at the bottom of the ocean, almost everyone on board including Ava were injured from the damage sustained by the carrier, including the fall from the sky above. As the alarms on board the carrier went off, fires had started within many of the electrical rooms and began to spread towards the main control room. Smoke was everywhere and in some parts of the gigantic aircraft, salty ocean water began to pour in and fill room after room.

  In the commotion, John slowly began to make his way around to see if everyone was okay and as he looked around all he could see was smoke and damage to the control room.

  “Ava!” he shouted, but there was no response.

  “Hello, please help me,” a voice shouted, and John made his way to the direction of the voice and saw Sarah covered in blood, but she was alive.

  He quickly rushed towards her and began helping her up but there was only one person on John’s mind, and that was Ava, and as he brought Sarah up to her feet he left her in search of Ava, the girl who he had an unknowingly mystical connection with.

  On the other side of the control room, Zeus sat in shock and as he looked at his body his left arm was mangled and he had sustained damage to other parts of his metallic frame. As he stood up he began walking around to help those in need; he first found Stryker who was buried under some heavy equipment and Zeus quickly lifted the equipment off of him and began pulling him towards the wall and attempted to wake him.

  As Stryker came to his senses his first thought went to Sarah and he screamed out her name, “Sarah!” and from the other side of the massive room, Sarah barely heard her name being called by the love of her life. As she heard her name she shouted back Stryker’s name and they both began walking towards each other and hugged and embraced one another as tears of joy and sorrow flowed from their eyes.

  “Where is she Stryker? We have to find her,” Sarah said as the emotions of the gloomy situation began to overtake her and she and Stryker began shouting Ava’s name in hopes that she would respond, but to their dismay, there was no response from her.

  As they shouted they could also hear John shouting her name and then to their delight they heard the words, “I found her, she’s over here,” from John and they ran in the direction of the voice to find Ava lying unconscious on the floor with Max also lying unconscious not too far away.

  John then quickly ran towards Ava, while Stryker ran to Max and as they both tried to awake their treasured friends, both Ava and Max still lay unconscious and unaware of what was happening.

  “Is she okay? Try to wake her up,” one of the silver knights shouted.

  “We’ve been hit Ava, and the carrier is under the sea and it is badly damaged, who knows what’s going on up there, we need you Ava,” Sarah said, referring to the battle that raged in the skies above the Invisible Dome. But Ava didn’t respond back to her; and to Sarah, it was as if everything seemed to move in slow motion as the panic of the situation intensified.

  As the smoke began to fill more and more rooms, and the water of the ocean poured into the carrier by the gallons, everyone did their best to keep the situation under control, but their leader – Ava – was still unable to help as she lay unconscious with no idea of the severity of the situation at hand, and for those on board, any sense of hope which they had was dashed and it was as if the battle was already lost.

  CHAPTER THIRTY–SEVEN

  In Zerros, as Manaka and Yokelis left Jinnack, they felt somewhat confident that he was ready to give his life in the fight against Venetia and her clan, and they hurriedly continued their mission, which Galiac had laid out for them in hopes that one day soon the Phoenix would be back in Zerros and be ready to fight in the ultimate battle of good versus evil. As they made their way to Zrakil, they knew of her importance and also knew that if anyone would be able to tame the Phoenix, it would be her.

  “I feel that something is not right Yokelis,” Manaka said.

  “What do you feel Manaka?” Yokelis asked.

  “I am not quite sure my friend, but something inside me doesn’t feel right,” Manaka said.

  “You are just anxious, we are on the verge of something special, and I too feel strange about it, but I know that we are doing the right thing, as Galiac would never lead us astray,” Yokelis said.

  “Don’t you find it strange that our mission has been quite easy thus far?” Manaka asked.

  “This is only due to Galiac’s wisdom Manaka, he gave his life for this and the reason for that is because he knew that Venetia wouldn’t suspect a rebellion once he was dead,” Yokelis replied.

  “Perhaps you are right Yokelis, perhaps you are right,” Manaka replied as he and Yokelis made their way to find Zrakil, one of the first Zerrosians.

  Meanwhile, back in the main control room, the sentinels of Zerros looked on as the destruction of the universe had begun and as the galaxies which made up the Xerrolux fell victim to the wrath of Venetia, the sentinels reported the progress to Alkazar and Venetia.

  “Your plan is going well my master, and the destruction is well underway and will soon be done,” Alkazar said to Venetia.

  “Very well Alkazar, I will leave this in your capable hands, I must return to the Gra
nd Castle,” Venetia stated, and with that, she, Yram, Leonis, and Zalde headed back to the Grand Castle of Zerros.

  Meanwhile, as Alkazar looked on at the Xerrolux being destroyed he closed his eyes and tried to justify, in his mind, that the murder of the universe was done for the good of Zerros. And for a brief moment he was close to believing this, but then as he opened his eyes and looked ahead of him and saw the life of the Xerrolux being drained away, and listened as the news of the reports of the Xerrolux imploding back into itself made its way back to the main control room.

  He knew that there were other, less extreme options, to deal with the breach in protocol. He then whispered under his breath, “I am sorry my friend, I am sorry that I was not brave enough to save you,” as he turned and walked away.

  Meanwhile, on the other side of Zerros, far away from the reaches of Venetia and her clan, Manaka and Yokelis arrived at their destination. As they looked around the house which they were about to enter, there was nothing special about it, but this was the life of Zrakil, one of the first wave of Zerrosians and also one of the oldest known Zerrosians, as well as the tamer of the Phoenix.

  As Manaka knocked on the door both he and Yokelis waited patiently for Zrakil to answer and then as Manaka was ready to knock one more time, the door slowly opened, and they both bowed in respect and admiration for Zrakil.

  “Rise my friends, there is no need for this,” Zrakil said as she smiled at Yokelis and Manaka.

  “It is an honor and pleasure to meet you, O wise one,” Yokelis stated.

  “My wisdom is not of my doing, the God of gods has been kind to me and to the God of gods I pledge my life,” Zrakil said, as Manaka and Yokelis looked on in awe of being in her presence.

  “Please come in, we have much work to do,” she continued saying.

  “I regret to inform you that Galiac has died,” Manaka said.

  “Galiac the great will never die, he is an educated soul, and I know with everything in me that the God of gods will look after him,” Zrakil said.