by K M McGuire
“The Fragments are returning to their master. Everything that stands will be brought to its knees. There, they will pledge fealty or meet the gallows’ blade.”
The portal shook and sparked, and suddenly, the swirling began to reverse, popping violently. With a terrible explosion, the ether began to shake. Voden looked behind him, and a massive tendril stretched across the expanse. The wild growths began splintering apart, groping for him and all the planets and stars near—
Voden was awakened by a pattering of dust sprinkling against his face. He did not recognize what it was, but he thrust himself upright as if capable of rushing directly into it at that very moment.
"He's coming!" he screamed, feeling his heart beating nearly out of his throat. The soft glow of purple turned silently to him, and he could see he had startled his friends. Then another deep, earthen rumble took his words from his lips as more dust shuffled from the stone above. He wiped his brow of sweat and dirt, taking a moment before he stood, reminding himself it was only a dream. How much he hated these terrors.
“What's wrong?” Yael asked, the purple gleam shifted, and Voden knew she had only given him a part of her attention.
“It's...nothing,” he said. Another rumble rocked the chamber, this time more violently than before. A muffled noise followed that, and it was impossible to discern what caused it. Regardless, Voden’s mind reeled with a shower of fear attached to the reality he had nearly forgotten. “What's going on out there?” he asked, though he knew the response he would receive would be lacking any comfort.
“Nothing good,” said Andar, and he found his way back to the wall, leaning against it.
“When did it start?” Voden asked, wanting to have any kind of distraction.
“A few minutes ago,” Vec said with a shrug.
Voden saw Vec to be deep in thought, his glistening orbs focused more on the damp ground. “I thought, at first, it was someone coming for us, but I knew as it got louder it was something outside. Something huge, obviously.”
They all silently agreed, and Andar sighed. “We’ve been trying to plot,” he said, with a rather dry tone. “But the only variable we can figure out is that…thing on Yael’s head is stopping her from using Syphon- sorry, AD. I don’t know. We need to come up with something.”
“For what?” Voden asked.
“Great Beyond, Voden!” Vec huffed. “If you want to stay in this forsaken pit, by all means, but I refuse to be a prisoner!”
Voden felt his cheeks flush and was glad no one could see his embarrassment. “I’m guessing you tried to remove it?” Voden asked.
“I tried,” Yael muttered, and she mindlessly stroked the surface. “When he placed it on my head, it felt like these...prongs bore into it.” She gave it a gentle yank, gritting her teeth as she did so. “It seems to somehow dull my senses. I can’t really sense any String. It’s all…disrupted…fuzzy. I don’t know how else to explain it.” She sighed and rubbed her face. “There was one thing I did notice, now that I’m thinking about it, though.”
“What’s that?” Voden asked, as more dust sprinkled across his face. The room still rumbled every so often, but it became less important to them the further they engaged with one another.
“Well, it’s not much other than a feeling, at least, I may be making more out of it than I think.”
“A tangent thought can lead down great roads of realization,” Andar responded encouragingly.
“Well, I’ve explained how I see AD, right? It’s an exchange of cost, a sacrifice,” she started, setting a course for them to follow.
“Yes, I think we get that,” said Vec, rushing her along.
“Okay, and I’ve mentioned that I sense them as strings…” She paused, brewing over the words. “These loose threads you can see at the back of a tapestry. I can sense the end of these nodes, like how things are knotted together, or are woven with each other, and basically pull a cord from the cosmic tapestry to stitch it back to where I see fit.”
“Okay. So this device almost makes it hard for you to focus on the threads, or the knots,” Andar added, trying to gauge his understanding.
“Well, yes,” she said, surprised she had explained it well enough. “That’s part of what I’m getting at. Right now, all I can feel, or ‘see,’ are these snowflakes that seem to go in and out of focus. But I remember something odd when I was near Scelus. Every time I attempted to find a thread, there was this strange, tiny blip mixed in with the dissonance, like a semblance of an eye. It’s odd because I’ve never seen them stay that long. The thing is, I didn’t think to explore that spark more.”
“What happens if you do?” Vec asked, his interest cracking his tone.
“Have you ever wondered why more people don't attempt mind control?”
“I never thought too much of it,” Vec replied, stroking his beard, “but I can see how that ability could be abused.”
“It’s one of the most difficult forms of AD,” Yael agreed. “Essentially, trying to find one of these strings inside another person's mind is all but impossible. Well, most blips attached to any creature’s mind is difficult to grab, but especially true sentience. The strings have too many loops, and the ends move much too quickly to snag and hold. If you can manage to grab one, it becomes a war of dominance, and that uses up all sorts of energy, making it difficult to maintain the person’s health and push their mind into a catatonic state, where they are almost trapped inside their head. It’s highly unethical.”
“I think I follow,” Voden said, envisioning the little tips of thread waving through the air. The strange vision of something weaving became a surreally beautiful image that suddenly flipped over, where a knotted mess of string hung every which way, but all he needed to do was pull on one. As he envisioned his fingers pulling a thread, he saw holes unraveling in the image, as though the tapestry had been pillaged by a mob of moths. “So, what you are seeing is a blip you could perhaps snag.”
“Exactly!” she said excitedly. “It’s what I’ve heard they look like. And I'm wondering if this device creates a pathway between our minds, one that hides itself with the dissonance. It must make it easier for them to have control if they have a direct path to hold on to. It’s just...” She shivered as she trailed off.
“What?”
“I’m scared of that cube. I can sense it, or I guess I mean to say I can feel the void, like a deep hole in the world. Using it is like shoving your fist into the mouth of a beast, trying to pull something out. It’s…horrifying. It’s a wonder what uses what.”
They all remained quiet, absorbing her thought. As if in response, another quake rocked the pit, this time casting sheets of dust all over them. A deep grumble echoed above them, and the bricks shuddered, flashing slivers of light and dust on them. The first brick rolled back, littering the room with chalky-brown light, and then the next clattered away, followed by the next, until all of them began to shift and tremble, unfurling the laboratory above.
And there stood Eigan, a curt smile strapped across his face. His hand lifted up, and a black Azucrepyh floated above his fingers, spinning from an unknown source, burning with a lively fire that shimmered inside. His eyes were cold and white. They slowly faded back to their normal shade, and he tucked the cube inside his cloak, his hand lingering a moment inside.
“Still alive, I see,” he said with a smirk that could curdle the light from the sun. None of them responded, and Eigan was soon joined by Koruza and several Azuchons, all of whom exchanged a look with Eigan. He gave them a short nod.
They marched around the edge of the pit, Scelus taking the lead, his false eye glowing violently purple as the stairs slid from out of the wall. "It has come to my attention that you are capable when it comes to Syphon, my dear," he called down to Yael. She gritted her teeth, but she did not respond. "It is of no real consequence to me, my dear girl. Koruza had been hoping for an opportunity like this to arise, and alas, it so happened to fall directly into our hands! What an honor to be th
e focus of study!"
He clapped his hands, and the Azuchons each stuttered a second, and suddenly their metallic arms began to morph, splitting into plates along the top, exposing angry shocks of energy, each flashing a different color, while whirling gizmos swirled beneath the excited cloud of lightning. Finally, the strange plates became a sword, leaving the gears and other strange mechanics exposed. They tipped their blade towards the group, and Andar bore his teeth, the sword around his arm becoming almost barbed, as if it was preparing to slide down his arm. Eigan’s eyes lit up at the dull energy cracking through the polygons writhing around Andar’s arm.
“Obviously, there are several inspirations we took from that magnificent sword of yours, Andar,” Eigan said. “One of the more interesting pieces to have come into our collection, among other things. There are some obvious tweaks we must consider.” He shot a bitter look at Koruza
“All with time, sir,” he responded, bowing his head. “It was difficult to gather adequate understanding of such an…eccentric weapon. We will amend that presently, I’m sure.” He gave Eigan a confident nod, but Eigan hardly acknowledged his remarks.
“These pleasantries are a waste of breath,” Eigan said, and he waved his hand. “Bring those three up here. I can’t have them interfere with this demonstration.”
Within moments, the three were dragged up the stairs, forced to stand next to the man Voden most despised. He stared down into the square pit, the stone walls so high, he knew jumping would only render his legs useless, but he couldn’t bear to see Yael alone with that decrepit Scelus. What made it all worse was the hideous gleam of a smile that almost cracked the shell on his face as he cocked his head, staring at Yael. It was a pity the augmentations could not rid him of those wretched flicks of his tongue. He rubbed his bald head, nearing her, smelling her, circling her, eyeing her up and down. Voden could almost see the atrocious thoughts flashing through the glass globe that scanned her with its violating purple beam. Yael held herself, but she did not show herself as weak, no matter how much those eyes wished to dominate her.
"You are so fortunate to witness the beginning," Eigan grinned, and he tussled Voden’s hair.
Voden pulled at the stout Azuchon binding his wrists, and the metallic arm snapped around his neck. Eigan tutted at him.
"I do enjoy your enthusiasm, my dear boy. It’s…refreshing, at least to some stretch of thought. But I wouldn't overindulge yourself. No, I promise we won't hurt her too much. It's a demonstration, Voden! In the end, it leads to a better future, one that can be without such vile barbarity! I suppose there is some point to the mess of it. The easiest way to enact on one's will is by force. Establish a foundation of dominance, and the knees will bow, even if you must break them." He moved closer to them, and Koruza made a noise, but Eigan held his hand up for silence, "Scelus can wait, Koruza! They have shown such valor, should they not gain an explanation?”
“But, sir, I think—”
“I believe you have done a bit too much of that, Koruza!” Eigan growled, turning to him with his eyes flashing white. Koruza shrunk beneath the rage, and the bricks that had been pulled from the floor flew into the air, pointing their blunt faces towards him. Koruza gulped, his eyes wide, and nodded.
“V-very well, s-s-sir.”
“I thought so,” Eigan muttered, and the bricks fell neatly to the ground, clunking as they settled.
“I find it incredible,” Andar said, pulling Eigan’s attention around. His face flashed for the first time, surprised Andar would speak.
“What’s that, my boy?” he asked, his brittle teeth stark against his pale lips.
“How you found a way to lead Adetia for so long. How you hid your true self and never bubbled over! I’ve never met someone so bifurcated! You are your own weakness. I haven’t a clue how you fooled us for so long! What I really find incredible is how you believe this is right, how you think this is the morally just thing to do!” Andar nearly laughed with a distraught outrage. “You are the truest form of corruption. I just wonder, how you can sleep soundly?”
“It’s called vision, stupid boy. The utility of purpose. The means to the end that justify the course,” Eigan susurrated, leaning close to Andar’s face.
Their noses were all but touching, his dull eyes twinkled in delight, but the more Voden stared (fearing what would come with Andar’s close encounter), the deeper Eigan’s eyes blackened.
“You have been indoctrinated with this idea that masked the secrets of the world. All sentient life has had a very dim view of the truth! But it called to me. It came to me! It told me the way, the plan for a brighter world, a place we could make ourselves without that overbearing figure that is ‘omni-detached’ and cares little for us! You want to know how I am sound?” His hand reached into his cloak, and he held it near his chest where the cube rested inside. “Because I have a king who answers me! We have had a plan that will cap at no value other than completion, and I would be an even greater fool if I had not the patience to make it come true!” He nearly laughed with glee, and again he leaned close to Andar, searching his eyes. “My king is real. He is calling me always! It is amazing that this place has lasted the way it has with such apathy! Your people have long disgusted me, ever since I can remember. Unable to give a mere answer to why anything they do matters! You think that simple obedience is the key? Do you truly believe any of them, if they knew how to make decisions for themselves, whether any of them would choose the ‘morally just cause’? They are all worse than how you think of me! Everyone wishes to do as they please! Most are scared that the Beyond will cast them to the Collapsing Plane if they take one step out of line! They claim their freedom when their fear is the only thing that prevents them from the truest form of freedom. No, freedom must be forced on them, before they can grasp it. We need Zigralime to show us the way.”
“Fuck your king!”
Eigan analyzed Andar. Voden couldn’t read whether or not his anger calculated ways in which to flay him. “Your time for understanding will come. Count on it.” He turned back to Koruza and pressed the color from his lips. “Now, Koruza, I think we are prepared for what you have for us.”
“Thank you, sir,” he stammered and cleared his throat. “Let us begin.”
Voden soon realized the distance between two points was just an illusion to the truth of how far apart two things really were. All the mathematical calculations bridging the expanse between two objects was an obvious ruse to set one’s mind at ease, making it seem things were never so far removed that a known number couldn't fill the gap. There was hope in those values, merging improbable odds together. But the more he stared at the space separating himself and Yael, the more he knew the distance continued to widen, as if he were finding how far east was from west. The only value Voden cared to know was whether he could save Yael from the slimy Azuchon who was bent on whatever kind of torture Eigan would allow him to perform. There was no number or mediation that could stitch the impossible distance together.
There she knelt, so far away in the pit, panting from the terrible surges Scelus had manifested in her body, where purple branches of static flared from any part of her, connecting her to the ground. Each of the stark ribbons rooted her in her convulsions, and Scelus reveled watching her pain.
“You can see how energy, whether stored in the Azucrepyh,” Koruza started to explain, bearing no semblance of concern for the agonizing smoke coming from Yael’s body, “or drawn from any normal condition, creates an output that is astounding. The Azucrepyhs are interesting devices. They can make any simple-minded individual capable of wielding Syphon—medially, but capable, nonetheless. I suppose one with a higher functioning brain could manage even more, especially when we integrate them into their circulatory system like the Azuchons. Regardless, I’m losing myself with my thoughts again.” He chuckled as Eigan tightened his eyes. Koruza coughed and shook his head. “The point is, it requires less focus overall, and we can make a direct connection to one’s mind, essentially
‘hooking’ to a captive mind, so that the focus is maintained."
Eigan shook his head, seeming to listen, but even with his head thoughtfully placed on his hand, his eyes had turned to observe…Voden. His tight lips seemed to slide into his cheeks like an eager viper. “So far, I am impressed with your work,” Eigan said nonchalantly, giving his attention now to Yael, who was struggling to bring herself to her feet.
Voden felt his skin crawl as his heart pounded vehemently. Nausea overwhelmed him. Holding his tongue back with his teeth, he ground down upon his jaw.
“You better let her go, Eigan! I will find a way to make you suffer!” he roared.
“Voden,” Eigan said, his voice calm, “it is rude to barge into another’s conversation. You should show some respect.”
“WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WILL RESPECT YOU?” Voden screamed, feeling the shackles cutting against his wrists. He didn’t care. Let them bleed. Whatever means it took to save her, he felt he was ready. But in a moment, he saw Eigan’s eyebrows thrust down, and his eyes turned searing white. In the next moment, Voden felt the air whisked away from his lungs, and every time he gasped for another breath, none entered his throat. His eyes glossed over, and Eigan approached him. A ball of swirling oxygen twirled in his hand as transparent wisps howled away from Voden’s mouth.
“You should, Voden,” he replied. His voice turned to a harrowing absolution. He looked at the ball of air, swirling it in his hand. “The prince has plans for you. I would recommend you keep that tongue of yours bridled, or I will have much to explain to him when we open the gate." He studied Voden's face, desperate for air, and with a satisfied nod, he flicked his hand. The ball of air vanished, rushing back into Voden’s lungs, and he gasped at the sudden rush of oxygen. “Now, Koruza, I believe there is more you have to show me?”
“Yes, indeed!” he stammered and then clapped his hands. “The true test of my…our work! What the Third Eye was really designed for!” He could not contain his glee from exposing his crookedly cut teeth. “Scelus, please have our young lady give us all a wave.”
