I managed to write this up in about 1 month or so, I only got to 33k-ish but thats fine. Leaves me room to add before we fix it next year (summer). I got to a natural point for all 3 this time around.

The story is starting to take shape, its still wild to have thought of this for over 6-7 years hehe and to finally get it down and start solidifying their essence.

Again this is a long journey so buckle up, Parable 3 is going to be a conclusion of sorts for what shapes their life moving forward. 

We are going to take our time and after parable 3 is done, I wont have time to take a break and enjoy games as we will need the whole time after 4/20/26 until early to mid august to edit and iron out as much as the story as possible before the due date of Parable 4 9/22/26.

My idea is that I will be able to annotate while editing and put the necessary crumbs in for the future and rework alot of the talking segments.

My goal for parable 3 for the immediate future is to work on getting the description to dialogue down better. I feel like parable 1 was heavy on descriptions while parable 2 was mainly dialogue.

We got alot to work on and I am excited but it is christmas and its time to celebrate, hope you all have a happy holiday and best wishes from my family to yours.

Come back here for Parable 3 on 4/20/2026!

And make sure to check out our Youtube: Afaloz for my readings and the substack Afaloz will have the old unedited copies. After 4/20/2026 these are going to change and get updated which I will be live streaming instead of video games (sad) so I gotta get my video games in now!

I beat Mass Effect 1 and I am playing through Yakuza Like a Dragon right now. LAD is so good, so many great interactions and a great way to structure a game, so many things to do that are optional yet fun and interactive that can help you. 

In the far future, beyond the manga, the anime, Ill make a video game of this world so I can play it in my last days. Thats my dream :) to play a multiplayer and layered story with dungeons and explorations and armor and weapon progression and other fun stuff with loot! Maybe make your own legendaries that people can find one day, maybe once you finish it you become a random world boss that players find on their journey and some of your amazing loot gets dropped, like for players that quit the game! So you live on forever.

Wouldnt that be fun!? Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you all look forward to the future as much as I do. 

The world is bleak right now but the only way to see the light is when its surrounded by darkness or you might mistake it for darkness itself!

Love, Zsoler

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The One Above Truth and Objectivity 

Parable 2: Materialization is the epitome of the Spirit.

All fallen apples leave one zeed, yet afae is paradise to the losz

Past

Zeven opened her eyes, there was no one in the cave. She was surrounded by the myriads of nanites who tended to her broken ribs and legs. She lifted her hand and looked at the mangled fingers. Most of the nanites continued on their previous instructions.

What the fuck happened here…what was that voice…what was that monster…Cantonian attack?

“Zsir, did you find out which hybrid that anomaly was connected with?”

The nanites stopped their previous work and created a vat with their represented image, a rosebud not yet bloomed.

It showed Zeven in the pool, basking in its waters. It continued to show her in the pool until it went to the live feed of her viewing the video.

“Why are you showing me footage? Relay last command.” she demanded.

“Last command, fix body, finalize hybrid containment area.” it responded.

“Thats wrong. What happened to the dogman? Or the woman that was here?” Zeven said frantically as she rushed to the newly created computer. 

“The phased location is inaccessible to anyone from Invokar and the Cantonian wall stops either nation from accessing our location. This was picked for minimal disturbances for your recovery. No new life forms have been detected since arriving here.” the computer spoke to Zeven. It blasted the information into her brain and it showed her giant bubble letters made of clouds. “No anomaly detected other than your seed.”

I saw it. I wouldnt hallucinate like that…the shell…

Light broke through the cave as the nanites continuously ate and reshaped the inside of the cavern. Rocks now became soft chairs and beds, drawers and windows amongst other things. 

She walked past the computer and vat for the window. She looked outside and saw the beautiful water that surrounded her, half of it blue and the other half thats beyond the cantonian wall shimmered a beautiful pink almost red.

She pulled out her shell and spoke into it “Create mind map for the last 13 hours.” the shell got hot on top of her palm as it whirled. A black pearl emerged from the shells bed…its tongue.

“A black pearl…what the fuck is going on…out of all the lousy days for everything to be weird…Zsir can you please review this pearl before I consume it.” she lifted the pearl from the shell and put it in the air. Zsir became a giant hand and grabbed the pearl before becoming a mouth and eating it.

“It shows your moments with your family and travel…no man of dog or man of wo.” the mouth uttered as it spit the pearl back out and caught it as it reshaped into a hand. The hand slowly and lightly put the pearl back into Zeven’s palm.

Zeven’s signet rang, she answered it by clicking the sides and a small hologram of Wuzien appeared. She seemed out of breath and spoke fast and broken.

“Lawbreaker…3 zones, 6 breakers, help, zone fiftee…., ….twenty-se…, and thirty t..…overrun…hurr..” the hologram couldnt hold its field and kept breaking in and out.

God damn it, this fucking mountain…Zsir is going to take weeks to finish the relays and the comm items…FUCK

Zeven closed her signet and thought of all the things she needed to do and Zsir reacted. It put on her uniform and packed her signets with pearls, along with rushing Zevens circuits with nanites. 

She ported and phased back to headquarters, Wuzien was frantically working with her subordinates as 3 zones blared alarms and flashed differing colors. Zone 15 was red, Zone 27 orange and Zone 32 was purple.

“Wuzien…32…what the…what is going on?? Did yall isolate the signals? Where was first impact? How many are in 15 and 27? Can they contain it while I go to 32? Whats the casualty and causality numbers for 32? WUZIE ANSWER ME NOW!” Zeven spewed questions after questions and slammed her hand on the nearest computer.

Wuzien stopped in her tracks and just pointed at the holographic map of Zevens zone. Her jurisdiction as an Arbiter. Dots littered the map, signalling impact points of lawbreakers, where they broke through the Zones firmament and managed to land in the system. Wreaking havoc to the surrounding areas and absorbing not only power but also attempted to steal the filter adyhams. 

“Wuzien if you dont start talking, Ill phase you in to a volcano, SPEAK” Zeven commanded once more.

“There is 1 in 15 and 3 in 27 but 6 maybe more appeared in 32, the team deployed containment domains over Zone 15 and 27. The guards are on their way there but 32’s domain has already collapsed, we cant contain them. One of the lawbreakers used a corrupted signet of sorts, we arent too sure, we cant get eyes over there and reports are coming in that they are moving towards research lab 4.” Wuzien spoke in a fast manner, her hands moving up and down, pulling at her hair. 

Wuzien opened her mouth to talk more but Zeven had already vanished. The rooms comms opened and projected Zeven at the front of RL4.

“Keep containing zones 15 and 27, deploy the tree guardians and the mushroom knights, keep the domain stable with the tree guardians until I can take care of breakers in Zone 27. Im deploying my domain now, comms off.” the hologram of Zeven stated as it vanished with the release of her staff.

Zone 27 was in utter chaos, Zeven looked around as flames engulfed buildings far away and the giant walls of the city defence had activated, quarantining the lawbreakers from jumping over to differing zones. She saw the giant tree guardians attempting to create a domain over the quarantined zone but half of them had spears of ashenfire through them, stopping their bloom from blossoming. 

“Awaken my Love, Quinta Del Sordo” 

With these words, a giant bubble formed over the walls, closing the entire zone. 

The zone went dark and the screams of the people disappeared, the flames that littered the area became white lights in a sea of darkness, hopelessly flickering, hoping to be seen.

Zeven released her earrings, one became a bo-staff with a hook top like a cane, the hooks end was the head of a snake, its eyes two gems of glowing ferocity. Its body was intricately carved and littered with pictographic symbols of ancient animals, mixed with circuits that connected to her frame and the surrounding environment. Her other earrings became an ankh with its cross body as two scythes and the rounded top as a stable plasma.

She put her ankh in her right hand and put it infront of her face, she looked through the hole and searched for heat signatures and saw the moving lawbreakers. There were 7 of them and one of them was larger than the rest, they all had make shift weapons with one of them having a discarded signet, now corrupted as it wasnt able to be cleansed by the varying systems.

“This is why these signets should be cleansed by one family, ridiculous, after this im repremanding the family who fucking dispossed this one improperly.” Zeven said as she hooked the inside of the ankh and pulled the plasma thread an arrow began to form. 

She released the arrow and it pierced on of the smaller lawbreakers, turning it in to a petrified tree, she plucked another and sent another arrow after a 3rd. The 3rd arrow was blocked by the larger breaker and they began to attempt hyper movement but it seemed to Zeven that most of them didnt have eyes to see in the domain. 

The larger breaker pointed and its mouth moved, signaling the remaining 4 to dodge the deployed mushroom knights and some of the buildings. It shot of sparks, destroying buildings and the zooming basillicars, most of them still autonomous producing minimal crashes and delays. They followed the trail of sparks and light flames as they got closer to the lab.

“Smart little bastards, Firmament: Soltice’s Braggart, her staff straightened out and the eyes of the snake lit up as its fangs became a giant axe with an interweaving plasma between the holes of the giant executioners blade. 

Zeven threw her anhk in the air and smacked it with her axe and it made a large twank as it pierced the air, producing a horrid sound. It hit two of the smaller lawbreakers and she phased on top of the petrified body and grabbed her anhk, as she spun, cleaving the last two smaller ones in half.

The larger breaker stopped in its tracks and roared at Zeven’s direction.

“Can only see my blade huh? Whats your mission here breaker? Are you part of the other zone breakers? I see you have a signet, who gave you that? Talk and I will put you in trial instead of judging you here and now.” Zeven said as she put the giant axe behind her head, illuminating her face. Her head looked like a giant crown with a black sun in the center, the plasma waving like snakes writing in pain.

“ARBITER - PRINCESS OF MURDERS AND SUBJUCATOR OF THE INNOCENT - WE KNOW OF YOUR VILENESS, YOUR EXPERIMENTS, YOU WILL BE JUDGED AND THIS WORLD OF YOUR SOLTAN SHALL PERISH UNDER THE SONG OF THE MOON. WE WILL SING OF YOUR DEMISE” It shouted, its voice like a broken speaker, scrapping the ears of Zeven with disgust.

“Under the decree of the Forever Won, Under the decree of Soltan Yuno, under my decree as Arbiter of Zone 1, you are judged and sentenced under the new Sun - Death by Subjucation.”

The lawbreaker attempted to strike Zeven but as he took a step the giant axe met his skull and before it reached the ground, the plasma snakes had bored holes throughout his body, becoming a petrified body.

Zeven released her domain and the light came back and all the petrified bodies immediately were met with mushroom knights, who latched on to the bodies and began decomposing them. Once they were done they sunk back into the ground and the walls around the zone slowly went back underground, the aydhams and tree guardians began to fix the broken buildings and the mushroom knights eating the wreckage and dead bodies that littered from the attack. 

Soon the zone began moving as it did before, people moved about their day, a few thousand dead in a zone of billions meant nothing to them. 

Zeven released her weapons and turned them back into jewelry, she walked towards the lab to see what the breakers could have wanted from a filter research lab when she was stopped by a crying girl.

“Oh great Arbiter, my mother hath been judged as the breakers ended her life, is there no justice for her?” the little girl cried, grabbing the legs of Zeven.

“Child, unhand me or I shall judge you here” Zeven said back, the little girl removed her hands and stepped back.

“I mean no disrespect oh Arbiter, I seek consolation in my loss, in my grief.” 

Zeven knew what the little girl wanted, she didnt care for the death of her mother, she wanted compensation. 

“You have caught me in a bad mood but I shall not let it affect me, child under the sun, under my light I bequeath you a seed.” Zeven said, she materialized a small seed, a token of the Forever Won. 

The girl jumped with glee as her eyes lit up, a seed of the Forever Won meant that she can petition to move up in her standings, her tier would go up and so would her benefits. Normally it would take years of processing but she had caught an arbiter being nice, a gamble as Zeven would have cleaved her for asking such a request before. 

Maybe the death of her father softened her, her grief bond with a child who lost her mother.

Zeven shoved the child to the side as the girl jumped with glee “Move” she said as she made her way to the lab. She took another step before phasing into the lab and looking for the adyham in charge.

She clicked her signet and spoke into it “Wuzien, zone 27 is contained, I am searching the lab right now. How are the other two zones looking? Is the defense system holding up?”

Wuzien appeared as a hologram looking exhausted “Both zones contained, the mushroom knights you freed up in Zone 27 were able to help in the other two zones, we successfully captured 2 out of the 4 lawbreakers and are now examining their contamination and are mapping their minds. Where you able to trap and of the ones from Zone 27 maybe the larger one with the corrupted Signet?” she inquired 

“No. All dead. The MK is delivering the corrupted signet as we speak. Prepare review and report for me.” Zeven clicked the signet once more and closed the connection.

An aydham approached her in a white body and a blue lighthead. “Arbiter Zeven, how can we help you? Research Lab 4 - Aydham Filter Improvement is at your use and service.”

“Shut up synthbody, take me to your mainframe location” Zeven said sternly

“Of course my Arbiter, its right this way.” 

The research lab was flush and clean, the entrance had the same layout as ever other building. A charging station for the aydhams supporting the building and a door. The door was usually of modest nature and had limited designs, maybe a house insignia on who commissioned the building or a the insignia of the Forever Won regime. Beyond that, it was usually free of marks. This research lab was fashioned by the Nudars, Selene and Nebars family. Their insignia of a bird with 3 wings littered the door, gems and fabrics from their homeland was tracked all over the door. 

“Can you hurry up and insert your frame and open the door?” Zeven asked

Cant phase in this damn place Zeven thought 

“We apologies that you arent able to phase around at your leisure Arbiter, the Nudar family has deployed vibration fields all around this building.” the aydham spoke as it opened up its silicone body and its metallic and mushroom fiber ladened body moved slow towards the door to open it, functioning as a key.

“No need to apologize, all of the great houses have deployed these damn fields everywhere they can. Soon Ill convince Soltan Yuno it is unnecessary to have these, it hinders my efficiencies to handle threats.” Zeven said as she walked behind the frame, pushing it along to speed it up. 

Zeven got the frame in to the door and the door opened, ripping the adyham in half as it used its frame to hold the door open, ripping the vibrational coating to allow Zeven to walk through.

The initial hall of the research lab was dark, Zeven walked and her feet illuminated the ground as a pathway began to form. Soon the lab’s lights turned on and it showed the flushed and clean hall way, not a blemish in sight, only slow moving adyhams moving pieces of varying adhyam parts throughout the hall way to various doors and rooms.

She walked a few more feet when she was met with a small man, a scientist of some sort, maybe an engineer.

“Arbi-arb-arbiter Zeven, it is a pleasure to see you, we werent expecting an inspection today. Is something the matter?” the small man said with a stutter.

“You researchers are stuck in your own world, didnt you hear the alarms? Our comms should have informed you that this location was targeted by a breaker. I just stopped them but I want to see what is going on here for them to target it…” Zeven said with conviction

“Oh dear me, no we didnt hear any of that sort” the small man said, he began to rush off “Please follow me Arbiter, I will take you to section leader Xare. She is the current head of research here in RL4Nudar, we were instructed to remove all outside comms to limit distractions while we finalize our filter research.” 

Zeven remained quiet as she thought Wait, is this the facility for the filter aydhams? I thought that was housed in Zone 2 under the Nudars…excellent. Ainzser record everything.

A large sound began blaring as the room grew red “Recording Detected, Recording Detected, Cease or Nudar Guardians will be dispatched, Recording Detected”

Zeven quickly stopped the recording and the small man turned around and smiled before disappearing in a room far into the hall.

God damn it, of course. Nudars, always so fucking cautious. Too bad they cant detect this…Ainzer. Create pearls with 3 minute intervals, phase to lab as soon as threshold is hit, begin review and destroy once ripping is complete.

Zeven moved through the  hall, dodging the aydhams and the small researcher running about. They had pieces of animals, plants, sea plants and various materials moving from room to room. She made her way down the hall and in to the room where the small scientist disappeared to.

She entered the room and saw the man speaking with a woman, who Zeven assumed to be Xare.

“Section Leader Xare, nice to meet your acquaintance, I am Arbiter Zeven. I am here on behalf of the Soltan under his decree to find more clarity on the needs of the breakers. Id like to question you.” Zeven said as she entered the room, taking note of the large transportation crates being filled, the large room seemingly always empty. 

She saw a filter adyham and its body opened with researchers applying a coating to it and stuffing pieces of it into a transport field. 

“Arbiter Zeven, you must be the one that triggered the recording protocol, no worries as you only got a few seconds but please reframe as that is not allowed here…under strict decree from Soltant with regards to our proprietary information. How about we move this conversation in to my office, this area is in flux as we transition to a new location in Zone 2. Construction is almost done and Zones 2.1 -2.100 is almost done. A welcome changed from living under the Alhafa-Zudoloz family I assure you.” Xare said with disdain

“Id bite your tongue Xare, you speak too freely in my presence.” 

“I mean no disrespect my Arbiter, this place is just not our home and we are eager to leave.” Xare rebutted, she moved off her chair and waved Zeven to follow her out back into the hall and across into a small room where aydhams were packing up the room in tiny boxes.

“Who ordered for you to remove the comms?” Zeven asked as the door closed behind them.

“Straight to the point, it was your brother, our own Arbiter Nebar. It was to speed up the process of moving the research lab to Zone 2 with out interference but I was informed of the breakers. We are thankful for your help as we would have been caught helpless here as we move these items.” Xare said, she made her way to her desk and fidgeted with a spongy material.

“You see, this is a very special lab. Only the Soltan knew of its location outside of the Nudar family. So we had no fear of being attacked, are you sure the breakers were coming for us? There is also a large signet factor right behind us.” her tiny hands kneaded the sponge as she continued to talk “There is nothing here worth stealing”

“I doubt that, they wouldnt be able to use unprocessed signets and im sure you know your statement is a lie. A breaker would kill for the ability to create filters like the ones that litter all the Zones. The information and ability to create a filter would be very useful for a lawbreaker faction. Have enough filters and cleaners and you could build your own Zone. Challenge the soltans supremacy…” Zeven said, standing infront of the desk, towering over the small chair. She had to haunch into the room to fit.

“That is possible, and I appreciate your insight. Again, we are thankful for your interference. Would you need anything else from us? We are busy and we are tasked to move by nightfall, we would appreciate if you removed yourself and not distract the aydhams and researchers any further.

She smiled a languid smile, the smile that Nebar had slowly began to exhibit. Zeven hated it.

“Id like to explore the lab further, make sure I dont miss anything for my report.” Zeven requested.

“I am afraid that will be impossible to adhere to my Arbiter. As you know this is a Nudar facility and falls under their scrutiny and purview. You would need their approval or a call to action from the Soltan to audit us and as I mentioned we are tasked to move to Zone 2. Almost 85% of our lab and research is already boxed up. It would be moot to attain approval now, we will be under Zone 2 in a matter of hours.” Xare said calmly.

“Then so it is so. I will take my leave.” Zeven turned around and left through the door, two researchers were waiting outside the door and blocked her from moving forward or back into the previous room. Zeven walked back towards the entrance, she looked back one more time before dropping her pinky ring which dissolved before it hit the ground to make a noise. 

The aydham bid her farewell and Zeven was outside and phased into her office where Wuzien was awaiting for her.

“Zeven! Youre back…”

Zeven put a finger over Wuziens lips and hushed her “Zser, open nanite view”

Zser opened up a large screen that had the view of ducts, the nanites had infiltrated the air ducts and made their way through the building. Going through the ducts, reviewing each room and mapping the area. 

The nanites found most of the rooms to be empty and devoid of anything material for examination as most items were in boxes and transport crates that werent accessible as they were surrounded by vibration fields. 

“Damn it all, Zser keep mapping” 

“What is that Zeven?” Wuzien asked, “Why are you spying on our own building? Couldnt you just phase around and review yourself?”

“Its a Nudar facility Wuzien, so hush your mouth.” Zeven said as she took off her clothes and sat down in her underwear, relaxing in her office.

“Thats, thats illegal!” Wuzien yelped “If the family found out or god forbid if Soltan found out, we would lose our status, our family would be ostracized! Zeven!”

“Its fine Wuzien, shut your mouth before someone hears us. The breakers were after this research lab, its where they create and house the filter aydhams, theyre moving it to Zone 2 but its too big of a coincidence for them to be attacked as soon as they are moving it…even I didnt know they were there. So the Nudar family could have a traitor in their midst, the Soltan would allow this if it helped us find a betrayer.” Zeven said lazily, she dropped vyp0r into her eyes and it relaxed her tense body.

The nanites mapped the ducts and rooms of the expansive research lab. When it reached a larger room and kept going lower into the ground, the nanites began to map a tunnel underneath the lab.

“Wait look Zeven, its beginning to move below the lab, below the Zone! Dear god…you might be right, what is this!?” Wuzien exclaimed

Zeven jumped up, her voluptuous body jiggled with the motion, not constrained any longer with her suit. 

“Well holy fuck, its just going…its heading…into the lawless west…what the fuck?” Zeven said with dismay

“Zeven, modesty in the office please.” Wuzien bashfully said as she covered her eyes, peaking slightly to view the ever impressive Zeven.

“I own this world Wuzien, if I cannot be free here, where can I be free then?” Zeven asked “Regardless you worry about the wrong things, there is something going on here. Why would this lab have a tunnel going towards the west? Look at how deep it goes.”

The tunnel seemingly was hidden beneath one of the father research rooms. It was a small room outfitted with cryo-links for freezing and preserving smaller specimens. 

“Damn it look Wuzien, its so deep and far that my nanites are losing connections.” Zeven bashed the tabled and the holographic screen shook its liquid nature showing with her force.

“Do we report this to the Solitariats?” Wuzien worriedly asked as she looked through the glass at the other employees.

“Dont be dense Wuzien, they would inquire how I got this information. I guess I could report I had a suspicion from my visit but it would be too dangerous. They already know I loathe the Nudar family. They would say this is a witch hunt, they would audit everything. No. I need to investigate this discreetly.” Zeven grabbed her outfit and put it back on “Listen to me,  tell no one and meet me at the consortium when you can. I need to check on something.”

“Wait Zeven, while you were out Agatha came by, she wanted to know if you could stop by their office about your dad.” Wuzien said

“Ill pass. If they come again tell them to fuck off and file a request if they want to speak with me.” Zeven said back.

Zeven phased out of her office and phased along the city, maximizing her travel before being detected by the regime surveillance for excessive speeds until she was out of reach and deep in to the forest before she fully phased back into her cave near the Cantonian border.

“Agatha. I should watch this pearl.” she said as she sat down in her lab. Zser was still fixing up the underground castle, it prioritized making the walls and the overgrowth, even making a small lake and a waterfall with surrounding woods. It allowed some of the hybrids to disperse in the newly created woods. It was slowly building the hybrid vats and the cooling stations for the nanite rooms while prioritizing the displacement tanks. 

Zeven took the pearl out of her side spare signet pocket and put it in her shell. The Ainzser system immediately connected to the shell and projected it on top of the small lake as a giant reflection.

Her dad appeared, he was in his old office where he would sit and lock himself up for days and days. The same ashen table with the red wood streaks, all the bumps and dents on it. It even had the scratches where each kid would sit and wait for their dad, writing their name or in the case of Juniper, she drew a whole manga panel. One of dads favorite scenes. Books littered the table, it looked like he etched this pearl midday, the sun always hit the bookcases behind his desk and showed the dust at this time. His singular plant, struggling to live on the desk. It all looked so real.

“Sashera.” her dad spoke. 

Zeven immediately stood up and she felt her blood flowing, her body moved on its own and she wanted to throw a nuclear blast at the image.

“Calm down Zeven. I often miss your old name, its the name I raised you with. To be honest with you, I didnt even make you a pearl for acceptance. You with no children, no attachment to the name, all that intellect. You’d have never accepted it.” it continued.

“God damn it, he got me, still too predictable.” she thought back

“I am sure one day you wont be as predictable.”

She smacked her face and sat back down, she couldnt help but chuckle at it. It truly felt like she was talking to her father again, she cried and kept listening.

“The request was steep, but know it is necessary my daughter. I know you have no love for them, I knew that well after your grandfather passed. I always wondered why that old man brought you to the house and where you even came from.”

Her father had a small object in his hand, it was a glass flower that Zeven had made him for her 7th birthday. Her grandfather informed her that her dad loved flowers and gardening but he could never keep anything alive. So he helped her make a small glass flower that never wilted and was in perpetual growth. He twisted it around and played with as he spoke.

“I know I wasnt a great father to you in the beginning, I could make so many excuses Zeven. The new regime, the Soltan on my neck, the other 6 kids, I know they werent the best siblings either and I wont speak for them but I know we wouldnt be the family we are now with out you. You might not be my blood but you certainly have everything that makes me, me, running through your veins and your brain. My only regret as a man is not being a father figure sooner and being so buried in my work, not seeing the meanness you had for each other. The competition for my time and what it did to all your relationships. I truly am sorry for that.”

He had tears rolling down his eyes, Zeven had never seen her father cry and now she had it in a pearl. A forever treasure. He wore the same soft smile he always had. 

“Whats the old saying grandfather used to say to you? The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, exactly how I feel about you and this family. I dont have to rattle off all the things that make us so similar but it doesnt hurt to remember right? Remember the first hybrids we made? The damn dog didnt know what to do with its fins in the water, we got so excited to born one with a fin we forgot to give it gills.” he chuckled then laughed a boisterous laugh.

He fixed himself up and sat down in his desk, he pulled out the shifting liquid, it had no shine to it. “Zeven, I instructed Agatha to come to you again. In the hopes that I can change your mind, what I have right here is called the Frizordial Fragment, its a rock, even if it doesnt look it. I am sure it has no color in your pearl but it emits a rainbow like glow as it shifts through states of matter, to you it probably looks like a dodecahedron.” he pulled out the container showing the rock.

“This is going to be under the hold of the regime, the collective is going to take it and put it with the other fragments where we will create a gate, its from an old text that was found eons and eons ago. We have scoured the earth and beyond to find these and we believe we have enough after this one to attempt to create what we call the Egg of Andakah. I hope that name is familiar to you, its what we named the giant tree structure in Camp Rock. Its what the ancients called the tree of Yggdrasill, the Ashvattha, the Shindansu, so many names for it. But this egg or more so this seed will usher in a new world, a world where there is overabundance, where the earth itself will hatch and unleash lands that will feed everyone and everything. It will cleanse the fog, the miasma thats plaguing us, its the answer to all our problems.”

He put the rock down and looked directly at Zeven.

“I need you to join, yes the SKT access is steep but you are already a board member. You would have the ability to be an admin, you would know who accessed your mind and what they gleamed or scanned or god forbid took. You could backlog yourself, whatever you want. But you wont have access to the egg unless you join, we will eventually use the leviathan to crash it deep into the see where we can place the egg into the center. The leviathan will have enough force to pierce the earth and burry the egg so it can grow.”

Zeven stood up, her jaw dropped to the ground. “What the fuck?”

“I know that was probably a shock Zeven but it is the current plan. Thats why I need you to join, to have access to the egg, to be able to talk to the Soltan, to be able to convince them there are alternatives. I wish I could have convinced him but alas I am dead and my ethereal ideas have no weight in a world of burdens.”

“Those are our people, father, over 4 billion souls? Why would that be necessary father? Why!?” She screamed at the projection

“Dont worry about those people on that leviathan, the Soltan has already commissioned a separate Leviathan, the true Leviathan for the top families and our familiars. There is no real choice here Zeven. You wont be able to save those souls. I know you child, you are angry, you think its injustice and thats why you must move forward with them. After the seed is planted and the planet blooms, even Cantor wont exist any longer, the Invokar you know wont exist. The Leviathan will repopulate the abundant fields of the new earth. 

Solterra will be born.” He looked down and put the rock down and fiddled with the glass flower again.

“A ship that big, with that much mass, its going to be an extinction even if this rock doesnt work. What are you going to do wait in orbit until the earth is fixed? Until its not ruined by your selfish actions?” Zeven asked

“You have probably guessed the unlikely outcome that we are wrong about the seed. Yes, we will wait in orbit, the Leviathan will be outfitted with its own biofield, 1/16th the size of earth, enough natural resources to replenish and outlast a 1000 years of darkness. All the tech we have created all there being enhanced until its habitable again. Thats why you really dont have a choice Zeven. The Soltan knows what you hold, the secrets and skills you have. They will get your information one way or another but I behooved them that the information is neigh useless without you. That even having me, it would still be somewhat useless.” he looked away, walking towards the bookshelf, taking an old book out from the top.

“The Birth of Andakah, do you remember this fairy tale? Orated by the blind king Zsabraxas, the tale of fates, the births of gods and the death of man, the gift of tomorrow a present for yesterday. You all loved this one…how I wish I could go back and see your faces once more. To see you all live the words of the old king and his family. But the fairy tales are gone and the mission is not done, just like how the king strived to resurrect the dead and his utter failure in doing so, you cannot stop the inevitable Zeven. You must join the Soltan. I implore you my child. You may not be able to save 4 billion souls but you could help shape the next 4 trillion and make sure we dont keep failing to greed and power just like the people of Andakah.” He put the book back and turned back around he was about to speak when Zeven paused the pearl.

“He failed because of love father, he failed because of love. Now you use my love for you and the family to fail those 4 billion souls, to think of the unknown future. To put my faith in a Soltan that wantonly kills 70% of its own people just to win a losing war? People we promised would live a better life, people we worked to the bone to create the Leviathan, their hope and dreams in escaping this war torn world. Who were you father? Who were you?” Zeven said her head laid low

“Zsire, comm relay complete. Wuzien has sent a transmission from main HQ. Playing now.” 

The Ainzser system blasted via wave to Zeven. She looked up to where her father used to be and listened to Wuzien.

“Hey Zev, were all here. Did you open another base? You werent at your family compound and you werent in the arctic base either but Zser told me youd transfer over to the new location once you finished the relay. Well I just wanted to say im here, I think I was followed, there’s abunch of new basillicars here. They might be from the Soltanate, theyre unmarked but its giving me bad vibes. Do you think they know about the nanites in the you know what??” 

“God damn it Wuzien” Zeven thought

“Should I relay that message back Zsire?” Zser responded

“What?”

“God damn it Wuzien” it played back in a hologram 

“Think of a formula” she thought as she tried to think of a formula she had devised to create the shell “(Q/S)/SQ derive S when….wait” she said “I cant think.”

She phased closer to her lab 

“Create human sized biofield separator, rework off Gru.Hana 4.00, remove limiters, materialize to activate safety protocols for me.” she commanded Zser

“For you Zsire?”

“Yes god damn it, hurry up. Somethings in my head and its blocking my ability to think. Do it now.”

The Ainzser quickly got to work, creating the gruhana biofield light materializer egg, it began to attempt to reverse the metrics to allow it to separate matter with light instead of creating matter with light while building itself a body with its nanite. It created a small figure to speed up.

Hahaha, no need for all of that now Sashera.

Zeven grabbed her head and her heart elevated tremendously

Calm yourself Sashera. It is I, your light oh shadow of mine

“Its you, your the voice I heard after that dogman attacked”

It seems so but I have only been awake since you woke up from this dog encounter. I did not see them. I was as shocked as you, to be woken up in this darkness.

“What are you and how are you in my mind? Why cant I think?”

I am you, I am your light and you are my shadow. I have just been awakened, separated from the sleep you induce in me. You merely borrowed my voice but I am awake now my shadow and I cannot simply go back to sleep, to sleep is a quiet death for me and I am rather boisterous. This is not opportune for me either as I was living my life with you sleeping. Now I am here, trapped and the light to my shadow is now just existing without me. How unruly this is, to exist in two dimensions and be alone in both. 

“Why are you awake then? If I borrowed your voice then who are you?”

I imagine its because I killed a god and this is my punishment, a rebound of sorts, to not be able to…enjoy the spoils of war as you would say. I would be what you call a king, I am limited to your brain and I cannot explain much of what I know. To be limited with these sounds, how unkept you are, I would be closer to a Cantonian then I would be to you. Their voice and methods of sounds hold weight and elegance. 

“What? Then how are you, what the hell” Zeven grabbed her head “ZSER ARE YOU DONE YET?”

You will still attempt to rid of me? I can say that the tech you are reversing would fail and more than likely kill you. I can tell you it would be far easier to place me in a body, what about that little one? The stubby rock looking one? But I fear you do not understand, you will still not have a voice in here even if I am removed. You will still only speak out loud as you call it, all your thoughts and sounds are manifested in the physicality. Without me asleep or awake, you wont be able to filter in the higher dimensions. I will gladly move to that tiny body, I could devise a way to speak with you I am sure.

Zeven didnt know if she should believe the voice in her head, she felt like punching the ground

“Then why speak now?” Zeven tried to calm down, her minds reasoning seemed sound enough to not attempt the experimental technique

I was hoping you wouldnt notice me and you would die one day soon but that was a floating dream. Youd probably live for a hundred years, I was busy understanding your brain and this world. Its unfortunate to be limited with your understanding, alas it is one of the filters of higher dimensions. But I am fine with it, the seed business with your father did intrigue me, maybe its fortuitous that you realized as well that I am here.

His idea could work, it would seed the planet but its habitability would be indeterminable at this time. Now I cant say if this seed they have is actually complete, I highly doubt it and It would take hundreds of thousands of years for it to be habitable again, their measly estimate of 1000 years is laughable. 

“So this is something you have done before? This frizordial rock is real? What would even happen, what would be the purpose?”

They would all die but I actually havent seen a rehoming event. It is a clever idea, I believe the planet would die for this to take place.

The death of a planet is no simple task and its opposite is true. We often used a more targeted and condensed version, we used it to farm resources for my planet. I could only name it Zsolterra as well or Terra or Earth. It does not matter the name, all life exist in a place such as this. 

We fashion the seeds to make a semi-habitable planet while using a portion of our planets resource and it would bear the fruits we require but it takes eons and eons but at the end of the day all we had was time so we didnt mind. 

The seed type your father speaks of is when we need to leave what you know as a black hole  before it destroys our planet. We would seed a destination and fashion a similar ship to escape our decaying old planet. As I mentioned you need to use your planets life energy to create the seed in the first place. To seed your existing planet is hilarious though, I cant imagine where they would even get the life energy to do so, so this seed of theirs is more than likely not a life bearing seed but a resource one, all it would do is destroy this planet for the foreseeable future until the events have calmed down. 

Your species seems to be burned by a massive limitor, so that would be foolish for many reasons but still hilarious. That little guy right there would be a smidgen better but it would need an abundance of energy resources to keep it alive. They are a rudimentary version of what my people are.

“So youre all robots, aydhams of sorts. Ainzser disregard the separator.” Zeven instructed “Keep making yourself a shell and well integrate this thing.”

“Thing Zsire? You have been speaking to yourself for quite a while.” Zser responded

“Its nothing Zser, create me a shell, make it small enough to fit on my shoulder.” 

Ah so you are to take me on my offer, wise for a violent woman. Now I have scanned you for a few days and you have vast knowledge. I would say your companions here would be able to perform brain surgery so hows this? I will concentrate myself in the amygdala and you remove it and put it in that little bot? I will need you to fashion a mock brain so I can speak but I need a physical portion of you to be able to transfer myself. 

“My amygdala…I have no need for it. Sure.” Zeven said with a heavy breathe

But remember shadow, you will still not be able to speak. You can replace your amygdala with a receptor and I should have enough time to filter your voice as thoughts but I would need to be next to you at all times. Or we can keep this simple and I stay in this spacious head of yours and you allow me to live here. I have no problem reducing your voice to thoughts, theres alot of reading material here. 

“Absolutely not.”

Would you allow me a companion so I can read books? Its vastly lonely and boring to be constrained to just what I have now. I wont have much context to anything beyond this and what I have read. I couldnt create new neural net works nor could I use yours to understand. It would make me useless.

 “I have no problem with that, Zser make two of them and put them on my shoulder. Put yourself in the other, I have been meaning to make a portable Ainzser anyway. Leaving it as nanites has been a burden.” Zeven said

Zser finished deconstructing its previous instructions and carefully created two bodies. Both the figures were androgynous in nature, typical of what the smart systems create to allow flexibility later on. It made it 1/14th the size of an average person. Naked.

“Zser give them arbiter outfits or something. Upload our entire AINZER system into one of them and then prepare yourself to conduct brain surgery on me. I want to be awake Zser and show me your eyes.” Zeven instructed.

Zser followed and continued working on the inner workings of the dolls and preparing itself to upload into one of the adryogynious bodies.

Are you not concerned of the repercussions Sashera?

“How do you even know, a foolish question on my end.”

That feeling you get before a lawbreaker arrives? Itll be muted, that feeling you had when you thought about fighting your brother? Gone. Your heart became elevated when you spoke about the dogman, that would be gone as well. Do you understand that?

“Zser can mimic all of that.”

You trust this artificial system over your own mind?

Ah, the devil you know. I see, I told you I could filter your thoughts to you as well. Or do you believe I would lie to you? Couldnt your system do the same? Ah…well what if youre wrong?

“Better to be wrong from my own creation and my own decision then to trust the words of someone who cannot even speak their own mind.” Zeven said defiantly 

Wuzien pinged again

“Damn it Wuzien, just alittle longer.” 

“Zsire, I am ready, would you like to inspect the amygdala replacement? I have the schematics right here.” Zser pulled up a hologram of a blueprint along with its connection pathways to her eyes. 

“Its fine, how many nanites are going to enter my body for these?” she asked

“2 billion Zsire, 500 million for each eye and 1 billion to parse through your neural networks to ensure limited loss and limited obfuscation of the procedure. We will unfortunately have to leave a scar, we can incorporate it to your existing petrified locations. Scar will be for a stronger connection with our doll body to the left. The other doll will have connection as well via nanites if we activate, we will have to expand the pathway slightly but we can mimic in the opposite side of the scar.” Zser said in its hologram head form.

See you on the other side shadow.

Zeven went up to the biofield and it suspended her. Zser connected her eyes to the nanites and she watched them cut her skull and her brain floated in the biofield. Nanites began to separate each segment individually until it isolated the amygdala. Blocking each neural and blood pathways, one it was ready to cut it removed it in one motion and slotted in the mushroom fiber amygdala. Nanites began to populate it and connect to various parts of her brain via the neural pathways to the thalamus, neocortex and various other regions of her brain. 

Zser then moved the flesh of Zeven into the doll, breaking it apart and forming a brain inside the doll, mixing it with portions of mushroom fibers and nanite bridges. 

Zser released her eyes and began testing the amygdala responses by rushing Zeven with cortisol and adrenaline, seeing the response to be adequate they both gave it a thumbs up. It then tested its connection to submit information to Zeven, relaying Wuziens message to her in her eyes and ears.

Zeven couldnt speak in the biofield but she saw and understood that there were more men surrounding the HQ. Zser then cleaned up the brain and put her head back in order, sealing the head with a slight scar running around her head and a small swirl being incorporated with her petrified portion.

She sat down at the bottom of the egg with the biofield off, she touched her scar and looked at the two dolls next to her. Zser stood up and waved “Should I camouflage Zsire? I believe I am more than capable to phase with these bodies. I have no connection yet with the other doll.”

“And you wont little daemon” the other doll slowly got up, attempting to walk with little success. It looked at Zeven “I simply dont see how this is worth it, a foolish mistake for such a brilliant mind” It saw that Zeven was just staring not making a noise “Do you need a name for me to talk back to me or something? Why dont you name me oh creator.”

“Ain” Zeven said with Zser staring at her

“Ain? Like your system. Trying to limit eyes on us huh, limit suspicion.” Ain responded back

“Are you sure youre not still in my head?” Zeven jested

“Who is this Zsire?” Zser asked

“Your sister.” responded Zeven “I need both of you to be able to be separate and unlinkable. You can only link with me and ill be the translator. I also need you to either make yourselves undetectable or be able to segment.”

Zsers eyes watched Ain attempt to walk, the nanites attempting to help her build her a platform to practice movement. Stairs to walk up with a rail, a slope to fall down and a tiny climbing wall with an attached slide. Her own park to practice movement.

“Camaflage is proving to be untenable, the skin we need to have camouflage is too brittle to phase. We can certainly segment and be placed in your pockets or bag but I have no way of protecting from the petrification of the dimension and if these are to be long lasting id advise against that.” Zser continued watching Ain.

“I believe I can fashion our bodies to mimic your signets. You would lose the larget signets such as your bracelet, necklace and other large jewelry, I can combine them as well. I would just need to factor a more streamlined version of our custom signets to hold the pocket dimensions better and the free space in the design I can add our body parts to. Connection would be weaker unless we make our heads your earrings maybe? Or your neckless? As close to your head as possible.” Zser finished, jumping off the biofield table and mimicking the failing Ain.

“Are you to help me oh brother of mine?” asked Ain

Zser helped Ain by grabbing her hand and helped her up the stairs and go down the slope. They began to attempt to climb the tiny obstacle to get to the slide.

“That would make sense, I think I prefer if you could just sit on my shoulder but hiding you in the signets would work as well. Youd be like tiny modular medabots.” Zeven said holding her head

Maybe I can make the hybrids more stable that way or the aydhams if I parse them with modular parts of smart nanites. That system would be huge, id have to segment the owners as well, maybe too cumbersome for now she thought, she held the side of head tighter, she felt the nanites spinning in her head now, she looked over and Zser wasnt paying any attention to her. 

“Zser, did you hear my thoughts?” asked Zeven

“Yes but I can scramble them for privacy if you would like” Zser responded, finally getting to the top with Ain and he let her go down the spiral slide.

“No need, it would only slow us down. How is the faux amygdala? Can you force production of the hormones and help regulate?” she rebutted

“Its still somewhat vague, I can do the main production but we are running to potential overheats. We wouldnt produce cortisol or adrenaline or any other hormone unless it was completely necessary. But its working as a great hub for the nanites and controlling our doll bodies here.” he waved and jumped down the slide, Ain was struggling to stand up

“It is going to take some time to create the segmented signets and to refabricate us to be modular. Wuzien seems to be in imminent danger. You wont be able to think while you help Wuzien out but she has pearled an additional time now.” Zser warned

Zeven thought her commands and the system cleaned her up and removed her signets, leaving only her left hand middle finger ring containing her axe and anhk and her bracelet holding her bo-staff.

The two dolls continued to play in the makeshift park while Zeven was finishing up her cleaning. 

“How is it Zser? Having a body? We have certainly been putting this off” Zeven remarked as the nanites continued their work.

“It has been as expected, I have ran simulations when I am idle on how to utilize a body frame but with this smaller scale, it has been far easier to use and control. I have no built bank for sensations but I will build them up now with this body. This should help with hybrid building, the nanites will be able to handle the surgeries far better.

“Always improving huh Zser” said Zeven

Ain was improving rapidly, in the short time that Zeven took to get redressed and to deconstruct her signets, Ain was able to figure out how to walk without stumbling and began working on climbing the structure to go back down the slide.

The two dolls seemed to have been communicating but they just made slight beeps and vibrations at each other. A phenomenon that Zeven had watched Zser do as nanites when they needed to communicate high level instructions to sync on projects.

“Ill be back you two, why dont you attempt to build a larger park to exercise in while I am gone. Zser keep an eye out on the hybrids, Ill be back” Zeven instructed, the two dolls largely ignoring her as they continued on the obstacle

Zeven phased through different locations as she normally does to avoid being tracked by any of the families, this allowed her to simulate her arriving and disappearing from multiple locations as she leaves their surveillance perimeters.

She phased and arrived at her HQ in the middle of Zone 1 next to her tower. Wuzien and her team hadnt realized that she arrived as they stared out at the window at the myriads of protestors and guardians.

“I thought you were in trouble Wuzien” she said as she put her arm around Wuzien who jumped as she was startled.

“Zev! I thought you were a dang guardian.” She went to look back at the protestors outside their HQ “What do you mean troub…oh…paranoia Zeven. Didnt you read my  pearl thing? I told you and showed you all these dang people here. I think one of the activist got wind of the hybrids or  maybe its the housing group about the destruction or i dont know the families of dead people maybe it could be the other families and their destroyed properties?? They keep saying youre targeting these places, and I mean, you could warp them away right? This has been every day ever since that leaked footage. We got the news to report it was a fake but some of them dont believe the news and theyre so mad, they want answers Zeven!” she finally took a breath as she crushed the blinds, it repaired it self after she let go.

The rest of the team were as anxious as Wuzien. They all paced around the HQ or looked out the window at the sea of angry mobs that have been coming every day for the past 6 months.

“We have bigger issues than them…now more than ever Wuzien.” Zeven said “Were going to have to relocate, maybe just outright drop this location, let them squat in here or build another merchant building like they did to the last HQ. It doesnt matter, I need you all in a secure place.” Zeven said 

The new HQ that Zeven and her group had relocated to was a newly built out portion of the Zone. She had used company funds to build out another research lab that they use as a place to congregate and plot out their ideas. It was the 4th one she built out that was found by the protesting mob, each time their information being leaked. Out of the thousands of research labs that rotated around the city, her faux HQ was always found. She knew she had a leak but it wasnt pressing to her to sniff out.

The mob outside of her office was a diverse group, consisting of aydhams, humans, hybrids and even sentient automatons. Organizations from varying groups, guardian factions, builders, creators, even the unemployed were there. A cacophony of anger and mistrust sung outside her window, channeling their collective frustration at the most visible arm of the regime the arbiter and their orbiters.

Pickets and signs upon signs of “Die, Die, Die” or “Earth is for the living, go back to the Moon” anger built off hunger, the starving populace feeling the strain of growth thrusted upon them. Spoils of internal war that promised peace and abundance only to be met with overproduction and now a consolidation of power and the quest to satiate its new found taste with more wars among those who have followed suit. Hyper-homogenity met with the same to lead to the same only to discuss who the leader is with the tongues of war and the blood of its people to wet its teeth as it dries from overbearing fangs.

The common folk have not met peace and Zeven felt like she was the only one who understood them but the fear of promises that can be misconstrued as a bid to oust the current regime weighs heavy in the pits of her stomach. The growl she hears from her own mimic the cries of the many but it was not the right time to ask for trust as her actions in the dark have not come to light and if they had she knew certain death for her and the eradication of those who profited for the fullness of bellies lead to the questioning of the lack. 

A questioning mass is a dangerous one. 

“Why do they hate us so Zev, if only they knew what you have done for them. They wouldnt be asking us to go back to the colony, theyd be praising us. They would love you and revel in your generosity. They should know what you have done!” Wuzien said to Zeven

Another one of the members chimed in “Yes! They would be dead and starved if not for you, the hordes of Cantor would have taken this place if not for you! The miasma would have consumed us if not for you!”

Others chimed in and reciprocated the sentiment, they all felt their hearts burning with pride to be among an individual such as Zeven, the mother of the city, the protector in the shadow, the light who radiates the warmth that the cold mass require to freely move instead of being frozen from the cold that is the regime. 

Other zones in construction are already feeling the lack, they blame it on the ongoing project and they promise betterment for the denizens as long as they work and build a better future but it is all lack and lack only for the same promises were balked and a beacon of hope rejuvenated the tired people. They worked and worked and built the zone on their backs and their deaths, their blood seep into the ground, lubricating the ever moving and adapting city. 

Once finished they saw no improvements, only war and strikes, only hunger and more work. More work for no improvements, all the resources went to maintaining the city into maintaining the colony into maintaining the factories and the bodies for war.

Further promises of peace once the other half of the world had agreed to their rule, that lack will evaporate once war is gone. That it was all the othersides fault for not succumbing to the grandness of the regime.

Zeven looked and felt the sadness well up in her heart, the slowness of progress raking her brain and bleeding her out as she wished for speed and speed alone. To remove the hate and fear, to remove the hunger and violence, to see the smile of happiness be given instead of a signet of war.

She stepped away from the window and asked her team to huddle up.

“We have done this before, it is not different from our first move to now, we must adapt and survive for the betterment of the people around us. The colony will always be fine, they will survive as they do. But the war has taken its toll and these people are growing weak from famine, their mind will be stuck on getting out of this predicament and as our models have predicted that is war another bloody internal war that will leave us weak to Cantor. We have no insights into their side but they know where we started off, they know there are defeatist on our side. They have rallied together and they wait until we fight again and fight again we shall. Unless we succeed with our mission. So whats another inconvenience if we can save millions, no billions of lives?”

The eyes she looked at were growing red, they were moved as always and they began to work. Connecting with Zeven and phasing in the building as they move and pack everything. Their ability to phase was limited and not as far reaching as Zeven but they were able to feel the freedom.

A moment of vigor was halted as one of the members froze after a phase, her arm turned to stone and Zeven acted fast and cut it off before phasing the arm back in to the pocket dimension. 

A group of aydhams and humans surrounded the girl as they bandaged her and fixed her arm with a fabricated version and she quickly went back to work. A commonality with the phasing, a risk they all willingly took.

Zeven knew that the traitor couldnt be in her group, it had to be someone who had access to the lab information, someone from the family, or even the board, trying to stop her  progress but they had no idea what she was doing in the labs for she only ever had her members there to congregate and join her. No research ever took place there, only talks in codes that they knew and planning for parties and excess but someone was out there, ousting her, reveling in the fact that an angry mob is after her and her group.

She did not care as she knew if they knew what she was truly doing that she would be dead and so would her people.

Yet, she knew it was almost time to act. The death of her father, the message he left, the request from the board, it all pointed her in the direction of leaving. To leave it all behind, she had the tech and knowledge to help from afar she had scouted location after location, she had no time to worry about her hallucinations when the lives of those around her could be in danger. She felt it was better to help from afar than to die in vain so she decided, she would phase everyone but she would do one last thing to sow dissent, she would expose the Nudar research lab and feign as if they were the dissenters. Phase everyone there to trigger the speed surveillance and sow discourse on if the Nudars were working with Zeven and that she had ran to the lawless west.

If only she knew the truth of it all, maybe she would have given up and let it be.

Present

Tears rolled down Zarash’s face, his mind had gone dark. A new experience for him, he hadnt slept in so long that he forgot what it meant to rest. His body turned down food, he felt that his body was slowly pushing everything away. He couldnt understand why he was alive, how his body was alive but he pushed it and pushed it, just so his small clan can live another day. He had accepted death until that fateful moment in the north zone of the Port-4MIIM.

Reaper of the Port it echoed in his mind, theyre all alive…just in other ways… Zarash opened up a small bag from his chest pocket and looked at the pearls he had accumulated. He shook the pearls and grabbed one to eat. He stuck his tongue out and slowly put the pearl in his mouth so it slipped down without struggle. His body felt lighter, it felt better, he didnt feel as sick…it was the only thing he could eat that made his body and mind feel okay.

He couldnt decide what to do about Mowa and the missing orphans. He had the money and he promised to help again but he hadnt had a job with Cauma that could show how he attained his money. He pondered on it and went down stairs to send the others off.

The building was getting old, it had taken considerable funds to ensure that it wouldnt get caught up in the repair function of the wall but that meant that it needed constant upgrades and had to be manually maneuvered from time to time to miss the repair portals. 

One of the kids who replaced Shertol was already attempting to fix the cantas generator that was nestled in the floorboards of the stairway. 

Zarash slowly walked down the stairs, watching his step, his body still felt weak. He was able to close his eyes and eat another pearl but it didnt give him the sensation of fullness. His mind searched for when this first began but he was drawing blank.

“Zarash! Hey, I heard you were up there…I’m Yosof…Shertol showed me how to do this a few times and Mowa said I…” Yosof rattled off as Zarash passed him. He lowered his head and kept on working on the generator.

“Keep doing what youre doing kid, work and keep your head down…dont end up like us. Get out of here when you can.” Zarash said meekishly, he held his stomach, he thought it was going to come out again. His words sounded foreign to him, like it was meant for him to hear it

I could leave right now

“T-t-thank you Zar! I mean we have the reaper on our side so…” Yosof clanked his wrench on the cantas generator, it spewed plasma as he smacked it, burning his hand.

“Dont get distracted or youll blow us up. Fix it up, everyones waiting to get on the cantasfield. Make sure to go back into the pod, the outer field is weakening from the vibration of those damn blast.” Zarash yelled as he made his way down the narrow stairs. 

Yosof seemed to have responded but Zarash was already downstairs and out of earshot. Zarash knew he had little time.

He made his way down and found the other orphans eating and planning their expeditions. Jaro and the kids were preparing to go to the kamak fields with Mowa. Soet was cooking for the rest of the kids and Epsul was on the couch, strung off toobig. 

“Your sister is going to be a burden?” Zarash asked as he sat down on the table, he grabbed his neck and rubbed the back of his skull searching for a hole but it was fine as well. He looked at his empty plate and saw his reflection, bruise on his face from the fight with the guarjin, no signs of anything from the cave or his feelings from last night.

“Zarash did you hear me?” Soet asked, breaking through the daze that covered Zarash

“Sorry Soet, repeat what you said please.” Asked Zarash

“He said shes weaning off boy, Shertol is being returned by the way, Jaro and I are going to give the soldiers the 7k and well bring her back after we get done at the fields.” Mowa said bluntly, she was peeling a dox and showing Soet how to carve one and prepare it.

7k huh, havent changed old woman

Zarash was used to the racket that Mowa would do to get alittle extra geks out of the orphans, it never bothered Zarash since it usually went to repairing the hovel or the bribes she would pay out on their behalf. Too prideful to ask for help so she resorts to this, laughable.

“Is everyone gainfully employed? Anyone want to join me in this landbridge job?” Zarash asked as Soet served him a plate of fried kamak and minced dox, it came with a small side of weeble eggs and a glass of water. 

“Boy, he doesnt eat food. Give him just water and grab one of those dead pearls in the counter. Hell eat those.” Mowa barked orders to Soet.

“Its okay Soet, I should have told you. My body cant seem to process food, its made me weak, underneath all this clothing im skin and bones.” Zarash said with a solemn look.

“Dead pearls…?” Soet said with a puzzled look

“Pearls that cant contain infolight any longer, think of those cantonians that only eat biofields and lightaurs. Zarash is similar to them. We assume he’s some cantonian dosijos bastard son or something. We cant produce biofields or lightaur-enabled food here but pearls are made from fragments of those, we’ve kept him alive with those since he was born. Some of the other kids have that same issue, dead pearls are alot hard to get than real food so I have only ever kept Zarash around. He’s a hard worker and produces the most geks.” Mowa said as she flayed another dox, removing its organs and chopping its head off.

“Oh, thats amazing, I heard of people like that in the north, they told us scary stories about how they would eat peoples mind pearls and fry out peoples skulls, ripping it so they can eat their memory pearls.” Soet said as he took the plate back.

Zarash weakly chuckled “Thats illegal in this domain, north or south, east or west, its all illegal everywhere. Those are horror stories they tell about people from Cantor, and they say the same thing about people from Invokar. Eating active mind pearls would put you in to psychosis, your body couldnt integrate that since it will try to assimilate into your own mixture of memory pearls.”

“I know, I just thought…nothing sorry. It was a dumb story from dumb people…” Soet said, he walked the plate to Jaro and grabbed a pearl from where Mowa told him to, placing it on Zarash’s plate.

“So, any one not have a job or am I just talking to myself?” asked Zarash

Soet responded to him, “Epsul and I can help you on the escort job, we finished our old jobs with our previous family and were free now. We still have 3 sycles to get the geks, I know theres not much of a chance for us to avoid the pit so…lets enjo…” 

Zarash cut him off “Dont give up before you even try Soet. Plus, the pit isnt really an issue, if it comes to that, I have an idea on what we can do. Lets try to get the geks to attempt the egg hunt job, we wont raise the geks to outright pay him but we might be able to hire and get enough gear to actually do the job. So lets try first. But…I always have a back up, a plan for a plan.. You know? Its my fault for speaking up so the only thing I can do is see this through.”

Everyone ate in silence after that, they all knew the perils of making a deal with Cauma, he didnt make deals unless he had a massive advantage, he was going to win no matter what. Either with eggs he can sell for a massive fortune, geks 100x worth of a dosijo, or at the least entertainment for his restless soldiers with the Pit.

Slowly the orphans and Mowa dispersed, everyone left with Zarash sitting at the table contemplating and Soet cleaning up. Epsul remained asleep, strung out on toobig.

Shots rung off the outside of the hovel as more mortars and blast hit the walls. 

Soet looked at Zarash and continued cleaning the kitchen before he asked “Is the bombardment really everyday? How far away are they that the Domain Guardians arent fighting back?” 

Zarash continued to look at the heating room, Yosof had plugged himself into the room and was heating up the hovel, allowing the cantasfield generator to vibrate and prevent the hovel from freezing and collapsing. From being swallowed up by the wall itself. All just to hope that a random bombardment doesnt strike their hovel like it struck their neighbors and friends.

“The bombardments are large enough to warrant a response, its really just to prevent us from putting resources into fortifying the domain, I read it from a tome from Baba. A way to stall and make your opponent waste resources, to keep them from finding peace so they are constantly on edge, not allow them time to think about a well processed plan but all it really does is kill us too poor to live in the domain. The ones who rely on the wall, the officiates are deep within the wall, eating and getting fat while we get bombarded every day here. Really I feel like its to stop us from gaining stability. To stop us from finding peace.” Zarash said remorse in his voice.

“People from the north think that the war has been over, most Cantonian ships and Invokar ships have left the diaspora, so its news to me that this side is still being bombed. Even the guarjins and guardians arent checking up on the wall, its like they dont care that the south is being bombed to hell.” Soet said, he brushed that ground pushing the dirt into a hole that fell down into the swamp.

“No use of talking about it, lets wake up your sister and prepare for the job. We have to meet the family and their gorathas by lake Branchard, I told them me and my seasoned team will be there before nightfall.” Zarash eyed Soet and darted his eyes over to the sleeping Epsul.

“Seasoned huh…” Soet said, his nadiian skin flickering as heat dispersed. 

Zarash noticed the scales flickering and said “We need to get you a heatsuit, thats alot of wasted firepower, after this job we should be able to afford you a blastshield and a heatsuit. Until then lets get back to the roof, the items we have are up there. Lets wake up Epsul as well and get her ready, she doesnt have nadiian features but I heard from the camp shes an amazing zunkido fighter, I have some old bangles for her.” he got up slowly and moved towards Epsul

Soet dropped his broom and followed Zarash to the living room 

“She’s amazing when shes coherent, its just she needs alot of toobig and vyp0r, her munths supply is gone so were going to have to hit up a provider for it. I dont really know how to fight but I can use a heatshield pretty easily, id prefer a blastsuit as well…” Soet said bashfully

“We dont need a defensive turtle Soet, we need you to be proactive. A heatshield is meant to absorb while a heatsuit is going to allow you to use your innate heat to produce plasma blast with your hands, most of the time these animals dont produce enough heat here to make use of a heatshield. Maybe in the north but not here, these animals are different. A blastshield is going to be able to convert your plasma into a tangible attack while defending, a blast suit, again is for defense, these animals dont produce high vibration or high heat, theyre all physical here. Scratches and gouging, you need to destroy them before they destroy you.” Zarash said with vigor, he made his way to Epsul.

Zarash smacks her head and wakes her up.

“Whats the big idea here you son of a birch!” yells Epsul groggly as she slowly opens her eyes.

“Brother…Zarash, I must have fallen asleep here again.” Epsul got up as her shirt falls to the side and revealed her large breast.

“Sister, cover yourself!” Soet jumped on top of her to cover her.

“Andakah implores it, move Soet, its a lump of flesh and lets not forget that it is my lump of flesh now. So move brother.” Epsul surprisingly pushes the large Soet off her frail looking body and went straight towards the plate that Sot prepared her. She guzzled the food and proceeded to take off her shirt.

Zarash paid it no mind and walked up the stairs as Soet attempted to dress Epsul.

“When you two are done messing around, meet me at the roof, I have gear for you both for this job.” 

With a mouthful of food and one arm pushing Soet, Epsul said “Job? What the frock?”

Zarash made his way up the stairs and unto the roof, he stared at the place where he felt his brain explode, the location where he was able to sleep. He looked out pass the moving hovels and into the mountains and flying thunderbirds, how free it would be to live out away from the madness of the domain.

“Zarash, whats this about a job? I said I appreciate you trying to save me but Ive accepted death, Im going to enjoy my remaining sycles and I dont want to do dumbass jobs.” Epsul said as she opened the door, loud and abrasive, she still hadnt fully covered herself up.

“Epsul…youre exactly how I thought you would be. Listen, just because you gave up on yourlife, that doesnt mean I have given up on my own or Soet has. So the best you could do is help us and if you die you die. I truly feel sorry for what you have gone through and I made a mistake attempting to save you but thats in the past, we can only move forward and strive for tomorrow. You mind as well die trying to help, even if you have to be high to do it.” Zarash said as he ruffled through the chest on the roof.

Soet came up behind Epsul “Dont mind my sister Zarash, we are both grateful you attempted to save our…her life. She just needs some toobig to calm her nerves, the trip from the north was rough and what we escaped seemed to have followed us here and it has only gotten worse to be honest. Meeting you has changed some of that as we have never met anyone so willing to help but…we cannot just trust you or change our minds immediately. Please be patient with us.” Soet stared at his sister and they exchanged a look.

“Yeah Zarash, thank you. I just need some drink and ill be good. I dont know if Soet told you but im proficient in zunkido but I need drink to perform.” Epsul said bashfully

Zarash pulled out bangles and finger rings along with two heatbracers. He threw then at the siblings.

“Bangle and Ring for the Zunkido expert and heatbracers for the Nadiian. Listen, i still dont know why I decided to help you Epsul and I really dont care to think too hard on it. I did what I did already so again, lets think of the future. The bangle and ring should…” Zarash began to explain before being cut off

“I know how these work, explain the bracers to my brother.” Epsul put the bangles on and the rings on, she clanked both of them and produced sounds before flipping around in the air and punching, unleashing shockwaves and heat spots where she punched.

“So you are an expert”

“Wait till she has some toobig!” soet exclaimed

“I guess Ill have to, listen Soet, these are heatbracers. They arent as efficient or as good as a heatsuit but they do the same function. It will naturally store up energy and heat into the bracers and when you thrust them in a general direction, they will produce a blast of flames. It will be small but it will be enough to scare a rogue animal or burn up an ebek. Youll have to be selective since it doesnt store much energy but you can always block with them as well, theyll absorb the shock and convert that as well.” Zarash explained

“I dont have time to go over alot of battle techniques like coordination but while we are travelling ill explain some general stuff to yall. We need to head out soon, Ill get us some drink and you guys prepare our sleep and food items.” Zarash said as he walked towards the door

“Ill meet you guys at the entrance of lake Branchard, I have to take care of some stuff before then.” Zarash left the two as Epsul continued to punch the air and Soet attempted to put on the bracers.

Zarash made his way out and found himself in front of Baba’s once more. It moved location again, this time deep in the forest near the kamak fields, away from the swamp of the old factories. He waited for Baba to open but she never did, his impatience got the better of him and he bursted through the door.

What he found twisted his insides. Blood had sprayed all throughout the room, the tome section destroyed, the kitchen in tatters, all of her belongings thrown to the ground. Her body laid lifeless over a pool of her own blood. Every belonging rummaged through.

“Scavengers…looters…damn it Baba they got you.” Zarash fell and cried into his hand when he heard a noise. A squeaky and quiet noise but it was a noise worth hearing for.

“Zarash.”

“The spirit of Baba speaks to me, oh old witch, to think even lowly scavengers could get you. Is there no one safe from the greed of life?” Zarash questioned.

“You fool. I live. Lift my body.” 

Zarash looked around and stared at the body, he was hesitant but moved close to it, stopping himself from making any tracts or leaving any mark of him. He had been in enough crimescenes that he knew not to leave a trace of himself for guarjins to question.

“Baba? You are here?”

“Lift my body boy.”

Zarash lifted the body slowly, trying not to disrupt the blood where he found a small rock. 

It turned around and began to speak “Pick me up boy” the rock said

Zarash was scared and jumped back knocking more of the items and getting blood on his hands and clothing.

“Damn it all boy, pick me up, hurry now is not the time to be timid, the Swajin Drujins are on their way now to find my hovel.”

Zarash cried out “Its the drink, the cave is still in me, I am hallucinating again, have I not suffered enough by that infernal box? I have left it! Please Andakah, I have relinquished the box, why must I be haunted by these hallucinations and apparitions. I will stop my evil ways, please Andakah, save me from myself!”

“Fool of a songstress, you sing of foolishness, get me boy I am the rock, I am the witch Baba. I have saved and preservered my life with a spell. Now get me before the Swajins get here and gut you before they tortue me eternally.”

Zarash meekishly moved the body, he had given up on remaining undetected and threw her body to the side. The rock popped up and it had a small face made of pebbles, its mouth moved as dust left it. 

“Now hurry Zarash, pick me up and leave this place immediately! We have no time, get me to a safe location and make sure you clean and clear your tracts, we are hunted.”

Zarash’ instincts kicked in at the word hunted and he picked up Baba. He grabbed most of her visible jewelry and grabbed the tomes he could reach and stuff in his bag. He grabbed as much drink and vyp0r as he could get his hands on and some of the food in the kitchen before running off into the forest. 

“Why did you waste time doing that boy?”

“Stumbling into a hovel with a murdered woman, its far easier to believe that I am a scavenging thief than someone who is there to help a witch.” Zarash said as he ran towards Cauma’s Cama. He worked his tracts into the ones left by scavengers and dipped into the swampy water from time to time as he cleaned his hands and legs. He circled all the way into Caumas camp and then circled in to the pit to drop some treasure before disappearing towards lake Branchard.

“You are far more clever than you lead on boy.”

“And you are a rock. What happened witch?”

“Swajin Drujins. I will explain once we are somewhere safe…I need to eat some newt to regain some magic power. Help me boy for I must rest now, keep me safe.”

The rock closed its eyes and Zarash put it in his pocket where he kept his edible pearls, he made his way slowly towards lake Branchard. He back tracked a few times for safe measure but then stopped by a nearby waterfall that led to lake Branchard to fully wash himself off. He still had blood in his hands and his boots were covered in mud and leaves so he cleaned off by diving into the water.

He got out and started a fire to dry his clothes off, he signed his hand for spark and lit a small fire on a pile of twigs he saw. Slowly the fire grew as he threw larger and larger branches, after he sat down and got naked.

Zarash looked around to make sure no one was around him as he took off his oversized clothes, his boots, gloves, showing his weak and frail body. All skin and bones, after years of not being able to eat, he had only been able to keep his face looking full.

He took out the rock or Baba to see if she had woken up but it was still asleep. He decided to let his clothes dry as he searched for newts to dry out and feed to the old lady. 

Lucky on him, the newts love the underbellies of waterfalls where they eat the culminating slugs and tiny bugs. The newts in the south were far larger than the others in the Port or even in the domain of the island. Something about the abundance of waterfalls and extrafood source but due to their largeness they were able to produce small flames. Zarash had been burned enough by them to know how to avoid them. 

He would search for them by putting slugs to fry on hot rocks and once they are eating, he would blast them with an Air Ball blast. Exploding their heads and flame glands, leaving their juicy and edible bodies and tails.

He caught a few and separated their tails from the body which he cooked on the open flame and ate while the tails dried on the hot rocks, attracting smaller thunderbirds and smaller ebeks, which he attempted to shoo off.

“Boy, take me out of this pocket and feed me one of those newts I smell” 

Zarash heard through the cahooting of the thunderbirds and ebeks. He threw a few of the guts he had cut out of the newts and the birds chased them into the forest.

“I was checking on you Baba, you were still sleeping. Let me put on my clothes real quiick, they are dry enough.” Zarash said as he washed his hands and put on his clothes.

“You worry about the wrong things boy now get me out of here and feed me.”

Zarash listened and took out Baba and fed the dry craggly mouth a few of the dried new tails. The rock began to be surrounded by a thick layer of zsair and smaller pebbles began to roll to wards it when the Baba head began to eat them too and smaller rocks came out of its bottom creating a small round body, slightly smaller than the head and even tinier hands and feet.

The Baba rock got comfortable and sat where the newts were and began to toast by the fire. It grabbed the last newt tail and put it towards the fire to get it burnt and started to speak.

“Thank you boy, I have sensse that those Swajin Drujins would have found my body even in this form. They are thorough and know most of the creatures of this world.” she said as she at the burn tail.

Zarash put on his last boot and last glove and spoke “Baba, what is that and what happened?”

She laughed and small dry laugh “You fool of a aydham, they were after that damn box you found. I hope you have thrown it away as I have said, those Swajins found my hovel with no problem, I bet they have a trailing signal on that box, if they are on it then I fear I was correct. That box is misfortune incarnate, death follows that box boy, where did you throw it?”

Zarash looked away and didnt respond

“Dear andakah boy do you still posses it now? We must run now boy and dump it as far as possible and head in the complete opposite direction at ONCE!” she stood up and yelled

“Well no I dont have it, I went to a cave and triggered some mushrooms that gave me this weird dream and I believe I was robbed. It must have been a trap of some sorts by scavengers but I awoke without the box and my life spared.” Zarash responded

“Boy what scavenger leaves a target alive to go after them? What cave did you go to? Are you sure its gone? Do you remember what the mushrooms looked like? Did you have a vision or anything that happened while in that cave?” Baba rattled off question after probing question about a night that Zarash wish he could forget.

He remembered the terrifying death, the monster that attacked the sensation of being pulled and ripped apart from the very essence of his soul. He clutched his shirt where his chest was and looked at Baba.

“No. I do not remember much only that it was gone.”

“Boy…no matter, I will be in this body for a very long time. I will have to request that you help me boy. I will repay you once I regain my life. Keep me hidden and I will trouble you little. But they pay shall be large, as long as you truly dont have the box, we should have no fear of the Swajins.” 

“W-what are Swajins, Drujins? Baba what is that, how could they have murdered you? Are they that strong? Are they like guarjins?” Zarash inquired

Babarock rolled off the hot stone and straight in to the fire, she nestled into the ashes and spoke 

“Stones are cold at all times, it aches me to be this cold and for some reason wet. The heat makes me feel like I am in my aydham body…but Swajin Drujins. Monsters I tell you.” she said as she rolled around in the ash.

“They come from Cantor, I told you. You know of Guarjins and their federation counterpart the Musareets, these guys are as bad as the Musareets maybe worst. Atleast the Musareets and Guarjins you can bribe, these Swajins…cold, apathy, death. They follow their masters orders and thats it, they were so bad that after the peace treaty was signed between Cantor and Invokar they were still outlawed to never set foot in Invokar. Most of the federation participants hardly allow them as well, vile creatures. The king of kings uses them as his hunters and trust me they have hunting partners as well.” she finished rolling around the ash

“Trust me boy, its best we avoid anything about the, you will be able to tell if a Swajin is near since they are mandated by the heavens to wear a reflective mirror armor. Some old cantonian legend that says only the light of the canotian sun is allowed to touch their skins. Fool of a waste of an aydham I say.” She jumped back to the rock and turned to a black shiny color as the ash began to crystalize. 

Zarash had to close his mouth and gulp “I thought Guarjins were bad enough, youre telling me there are Musareets and these Swajins and who knows what else. I’ve never heard of Cantor or Invokar but if its anything like the port, id rather just live in the forest and avoid it all.” 

The boy rubbed his head and stretched “Listen Babarock, ill help you…just dont talk or anything around others. Ill get you to Mowa and im sure shell have a spot for you in the hovel. Maybe you can help us mash some berries or kamak shells.”

“Mowa is good aydham but dont reveal me to anyone, a nadiian swamp witch was tolerable for the underbelly denizens of the port but…it would just be best that you keep me your secret and with you. I will sit among the pearls, I have seen your state. There is something off about you boy and I will help you if you keep me safe.” she said as she jumped back into the pearl pocket.

“Oh okay, well I dont mind.” Zarash said as he covered the fire and flooded it, still covering his tracks. He made his way down the river and towards lake Branchard.

“Just like that boy? You are far too eager to help those you hardly know.” Baba said solemnly

“I know you well enough Baba, you’ve saved me a few times with the food you hand out, youve saved a few of the kids at home with what you have given and traded me. I might steal but you put enough of you on the line that to buy my stuff that I cant just overlook that…” Zarash said as he jumps from rock to rock, now using the stream to remove his tracks further.

“Surely more to you than I thought, how did you come to my hovel anyway boy? What was your reason for being there? More wares?” She asked, peeking through the pocket, watching the trees rush by as the boys feet illuminated. “Adept at runeweaving as well. A surprising lad you are.”

“I actually wanted to ask about the box, funny enough, remember when I first met you? Mowa told you about my increasing inability to eat and you told her about dead pearls? How it might stop me from sleeping and resting properly? Well after that, it took a few sycles but I stopped sleeping altogether a few sycles back. But after that encounter with the cave…I fell asleep but I keep having these vivid hallucinations…” Zarash said as he signs a rune to increase the air balls under his foot, he jumped up and landed on a tree that overlooked another waterfall, a drop towards the meeting point. “Well be early but thats okay, we can catch some food and prepare it.”

“That doesnt sound troubling, let me ponder on this, my body requires rest. I need to let the magicules regenerate.” Babarock said as she went deep into the pocket.

Zarash continued his journey down the river, following the stream to the lake. He could see it far ahead but it required a few more waterfalls and upstreams until he reached it. He would often contemplate during the long trips between his jobs but he realized that he couldnt hear his thoughts any longer. 

“Odd.” He said, he continued on and paid it no mind.

He passed large ebeks dotting the forest, chasing doxes and smaller gorathas around. Thunderbirds passed overhead, probably migrating to colder climates. He looked at the abundant berries and bapples that covered the land as he zipped along.

“I dont think we have ever taken this route, maybe no one has. So much fresh food and wild life to hunt, I think I saw alot of fish as well…Ill have to take the orphans here to stock up.” Zarash said.

He went along the path for a few more clicks until he the stream finally opened up to a larger basin that flowed into the large lake Branchard. The lake was massive but there were only a few trails that led from the port so he knew the customer and the siblings would have to come through from one of those places.

Zarash went under one of the waterfalls that one of the basins created and remembered there was a clearing that he had used in a previous escort mission. He sat on a rock infront of the waterfall and kept an eye out on the pathway entrances.

The lake was as beautiful as ever. It had over 16 basins flowing into it, creating hundreds of waterfalls and a mist of water that filled the air. An abundance of trees and bushels littered the lake and the surrounding area with animals using them as homes. He watched broxers nibble at wood to create their underwater houses, small doxes boring through trees to nestle in them. Ebeks pecking at rocks to sit and even smaller thunderbirds creating nest far up in the bigger trees with their signature metallic spikes they would dig to put as a conduit to capture their meals. Live thunderbolts that would be attracted to the spikes that slowly feast on them and disintegrate them, most were unlucky and were eaten quickly by a thunderchick or bird.

He decided that he didnt know when they would show up and collected branches to start a fire, he collected some berries and even caught some doxes, securing some newts for Babarock for later. After making the fire, he settled down back on the rock and began to clean the dox just like Mowa taught him. Start with the neck and cut the feet and hands so he could peel the skin right off with one cut down the middle. He put the guts to the side to use as bait to catch and smoke some fish as he knew the escort mission could last a few solfalls and nixfalls.

Babarock continued to sleep as solfalls and nixfalls came and went, 2 days had passed before he saw movement. 

His heart fluttered a bit as he didnt recognize the goratha and capsul on it but he was sure it was not the pseudo guarjins. He didnt fear being caught as he had evaded multiple guarjin searchers before when he would be scavenging under the transport pass. But Babarocks story of the Swajin gave him pause. 

He watched the arrokian man Talbot and his quillian wife B3 along with their kids come out of the capsul and set up a small camp. He thought about going there but wanted to observe them just incase and wait for Soet and Epsul to show up so they can all go to the family together. 

Zarash had told the family to arrive a day ago so they must have gotten held up somewhere which was an usual for a family attempting to leave the port and get to the other side of the landbridge. 

A few hours passed and nothing of note took place but Zarash noticed that Soet and Epsul arrived, with Epsul on Soets back. She must be going through withdrawals from toobig. They arrived a few entrances down from where Talbot and B3 arrived and set up camp. 

Zarash packed up his came and put his food in the bag and began walking the long way around the lake to meet the siblings. It only took an hour but it seems that hour was too long as Soet and Epsul were not in the clearing any longer so he went towards where  Talbot and B3 were.

He saw them sitting with the family and shouted “Hey team! Sorry I am late! I was collecting supplies for the trip! Scouted a viable path for us.”

“Zarash! We found Talbot and B3 here, they have been waiting for you for a few days it seems!” Soet said as he continued to rub Epsuls stomach who laid on his lap.

“Is that so? Well my apologies, the scouting took longer than I imagined.” Zarash said as he scanned for Talbot and B3s face. They looked away and didnt make eye contact with him.

“Yes, we had to set up camp here for the past 2 days and we are running out of food and supplies. We will need to lower our payment since we will need to use some of those funds to replenish our supplies in some of the outpost we will pass.” B3 said, her quillian voice was scraggly like Babarock. It sounded ancient.

“I see well we might be able to supplement that with some of our supplies, geks are far more valuable for us and we can get plenty of supplies from nature.” Zarash rebutted

“Sorry Zarash, we actually already spent some of the geks, a traveling merchant came here and I didnt tell B3. I hope you understand.” Talbot said as he put his children back into the capsul on top of their rather small goratha. 

“I see…well it is good that you are already packed up and ready to move…we can talk about the fee while we walk. We are burning day light.” Zarash said.

“Actually” B3 interjected “Your team, this one is…she seems to be sick, surely we can lower the rate even more. How useful is she? I dont want to pay for your service and only 2 of you are able to defend us. I imagined when you said you had a robust and experienced team you had the necessities. A staller, a runner, a few runeweavers, well anything more than this. Your equipment looks ragged as well…Talbot…will they truly be able to do this?” B3 asked, her foot tapped on the ground and her hand grabbed her husbands.

“I was assured by the sca…the Consulant at the port that Zarash’s group is one of the best. No need to worry. Let us move on and begin this journey. Zarash?” Talbot looked anxious, his wife clearly believes that Zarash is part of the actual escort group from the port Consulants not knowing that he was requested via a scavenger group led by a maniac who tortures people with his pets for fun.

“I assure you B3, we are one of the top rated Escort providers at the port. Epsul here whom is sleeping is resting from her previous engagement. She actually solo escorted a family from the port to the north wall and made her way back here in only 5 solfalls.” Zarash said with a smile on his face “Listen, I will give you a 10% discount and I will provide you food as well from our daily catches, look here are some smoked salmon right now.” Zarash pulled out some of the fish he smoked, he knew that quillians couldnt turn down smoked fish, their old blood is too attracted to it. 

B3 gladly accepted the smoked fish and threw it in the capsul where their young hybrids began to devour one of the larger fishes.

“How about you finish packing up and move up the trail, I want to catch up with my team real quick and we can move to the first safe zone, its only a sols travel and well get there before a moon even arises let alone all 3.” Zarash said as he grabs Epsul and signals Soet to move up.

The family didnt have much to pack but their goratha would take some coaxing to begin moving again. Zarash and the siblings got a head start and waited for them at the top of the rocky path snaking the large trees.

On their way up Soet looked puzzled “I thought the price was already locked?” he asked, holding Epsul on his shoulder now, he looked at his sister and said “Im really sorry he’s causing us so many problems Zarash. We have had a rough time adjusting here, Epsul had to…well be entertainment for the camp when we first got here and its been hard for her to drop the habit. A small part of me thinks she stole just so she would be put to death, but knowing my sister…Its hard to imagine.” Soet said, his eyes looking at his feet as they hike up the valley.

“The price is never locked with these types of jobs, aydhams want to save as much as possible, we really have limited ability to get the price we deserve for this type of job. I mean, we are an illegal escort service” Zarash smiled, attempting to ease Soet. “Im sorry about Epsul. I noticed. Its far from the norm around here, draw of the luck to be placed in these jobs to begin with. Isnt it odd some aydhams want to be entertainers while others want to be a scavenger or even a fauxjin like you.” 

Zarash jumped over to the top and sat down, he raised is voice a bit as he stared at the goratha struggling to climb the steep hill, its capsul hitting the trees left and right a rough ride for the hybrid family. 

“Thats why we try to organize a small tribe, the more people we have working for us, the bigger jobs we can do. Loners dont really get a choice down here. I have some toobig for Epsul, we can mix it in her meals instead of letting her drink it all and ending up like this. We’ve weaned off tons of orphans off this stuff, she certainly wont be the last.” Zarash searched his bag and found the vial he took from Baba’s. He grabbed a chunk of salmon and let a droplet fall on the salmon, giving it a rainbow shine. 

Epsul took it and fed it to the sleeping Epsul who immediately jumped off her brother and looked around, checking her surroundings.

Epsul chewed and stared at the two and the rather loud goratha banging its metal capsul, attracting thunderbirds from above, hoping scraps would fall so they could put in their nest.

“What did you put in this meat, its delicious…” Epsul said from up the tree

Soet giggled and Zarash laughed and said “Glad youre awake, middle of a job so if you want to get paid in toobig you gotta come down here and chill out, conserve some of that new found energy you got.” 

Epsul made a tsk and jumped down. “This isnt enough, give me more or im gonna run out of energy again”

“Dont worry” Zarash said as he flashed the giant vial of toobig, far more than Epsul had seen in a given time, enough to put her to her death if she drank it all, or keep her high for a sycle if she vaporized it. Her hands were quick to try to grab it but Zarash was faster, he slapped her hand away and kicked her down.

“Zarash!” Soet said as he ran for his sister, holding her as she held her stomach from the attack.

“She’ll be fine, barely any force in that, shes just too weak to defend herself. Ive weaned off countless orphans, and I know this vial is enough to kill your reliance on this stuff. This mission will be perfect. Every kill you get, every stop, every ration time, ill give you a drop. By the time were done, you wont want this stuff any more.” Zarash said, putting the vial in his scarf pocket where Babarock slept.

Epsul held her stomach as Soet picked her up “Put me down you loaf of bread” Epsul shouted, squirming away from her brothers hold “You think I want to be hooked on this shit!? Lets skip the formalities and you give me that bottle, I have a faster way of getting off the ride.”

“Sister!” Soet shouted

“The client is almost up here Epsul. You’ve been passed out and you arent caught up with our story. You want more of this junk then you do this job and listen. Your brother and I are dead if you kill yourself, we’d have 0 chances of retreiving those eggs let alone making it out of the pit.” Zarash picked up his bag that fell to the ground and began walking, he signaled Talbot who was riding on the drivers carriage in front of the capsul. He signaled back, understanding the steep drop to the next set valley.

Zarash started to walk down, clearing some of the protruding overgrowth of petrified branches with his strong kicks and plasma knife. Making his way down.

Epsul jumped down and sluggishly dusted herself off. Soet gave her sister a warm stare and patted her back before following Zarash and helping move branches off the path, making it wider for the clumsy goratha.

This continued for the next few hours, hacking away petrified wood and clearing the path for the goratha, scaring the occasional ebek or thunderbird that were intrigued by the sounds. No signs of gruhanas or the flame lizards called nadoraths, the angry cousins of the gorathas. 

The journey thus far was quiet, the goratha far behind the trio and just waiting for the next watering hole, lake Catabaro. Talbot and B3 waiting to set up camp and Epsul waiting for another hit of the toobig. Soet waiting for rest and Zarash waiting for danger.

Zarash cleared ahead, chopping branch after branch. He looked back and saw Soet and Epsul methodically throwing each branch to the side, watching the moving earth swallow it whole. Behind them, the goratha had an easier time walking the path, its tail swinging back and forth being the only thing banging into any of the hard trees. And even further behind, the path they took, already over grown again, the overgrow only being stopped by branches that clashed with each other stopping the advancement of the other petrified branches.

He continued on and knew they were at the half way mark to lake Catabaro when he saw the petrified trees ease up. For every 3 ashen trees with expanding branches he began to see a large smooth stone, covered in ebbmoss in splotches. Aydhams assumed they were from the abundance of ebeks running amok the area, laying their dung between the trees and enough ebeks produced these large moss covered stones. 

Zarash signaled Soet and Epsul, they both looked at him confused and kept on breaking branches and throwing them aside. He quickly ran back to them.

“Stop for a second, we need to start being vigilant. Ebeks live here in this portion of the valley and the hill to lake Catabora is coming up soon. We shouldnt run in to any nadoraths but you never know, they like to tunnel all over this region.” he said, they looked at him raggedly with Epsul looking the most atrocious. 

Zarash could tell the withdrawals were getting to her, he offered her another piece of salmon with shine and she perked right up. Soet on the other hand just looked sour, he didnt seem like he had done this type of manual work before. Epsuls small frame was seemingly catching up with Zarashs output but he attributed it to the drugs while Soet who is much heavier and taller seems to be twice as slow as the them.

Zarash thought about giving him a salmon but felt it might be too much, too bad he had no shalts to sniff.

The group cleared the majority of the petrified woods and made it closer to the end of the valley and was about to make the steep climb and wind their way to the next lake. Zarash waited for the group to catch up and requested that Talbot stop the goratha.

“Talbot, the lake is near and nixfall is soon. Can your goratha jump and we meet you? It is a clear shot to the lake entrance, its roughly 3-maybe 5 jumps for your smaller goratha. “ Zarash yelled over the howling winds, the petrified trees absorbed much of the wind and forced it to go directly to the ground but not here in the ebbmoss lands.

Talbot had struggled in stopping the goratha. It trashed the nearby trees and only stopped once it felt the slight shock on the ebbmoss. The goratha was still shuffling about as Talbot looked up and his eyes traced the steep side of the valley. 

There were some rather large protruding petrified leaves for the goratha to jump to but it was anyones guess if it was dotted with stinging ebb moss or more sharp pieces of wood.

“I think not Zarash, he has a bum legg and his tail is weak” Talbot yelled as his goratha stomped around and smacked the ebbmoss stones with its tail, whipping some of the moss into its mouth.

“Talbot, it would be far more dangerous if you attempt to walk it up, even if we clear the obstacles it is not advisable, the wind here is treacherous.” Zarash pleaded as he had seen in past missions ebbmoss stones falling loose after a careless goratha tail that either made the beast fall or hit someone below it. The fear of it hitting someone below is not present but the whacking tail is certainly an issue, not only for the beast grip but also for the sound it would produce.

A branch being snapped and falling in to the shift ground is no issue, plenty of beast break branches and it neatly and quietly fall to the ground. But the sound of ebbmoss stones clanking at one another is like a dinner bell for these animals hoping for a trapped beast or more delectable an aydham worth crunching.

B3 came out of the capsul, she had more than likely overheard the whole thing through their intercom and came out to give her 2-cent for whatever its worth.

“Dont try to shirk your duties Zarash, we are paying you a good fortune to work. So why dont you tree work and move those damn branch stones and get us to our first stop?” she demanded, shutting the capsul door.

“It is dangerous Talbot, it is not about the work, it is dangerous. These ebbstones could slip off the wood, the winds are far stronger here. Strong enough to move these rocks and cause a moss slide. If that were to happen, it could attract the wrong attention even if we were to live such an event.” he pleaded again

Soet looked nervous and Epsul was close to dosing off, Zarash didnt want to fiddle with the vial and salmon with the uptick of the wind, in the fear of Epsul seeing a drop in the wind and chasing after it to her death.

“You heard my mate Zarash, do your job and get us up there. We should strike the discount with all this negotiating youre still doing. I know your kind, always trying to find ways to get more geks, maybe not physical geks but you are trying to cheapen the job with this stunt!” Talbot said with conviction, he probably felt invigorated with his wife backing him up. Maybe it didnt happen often.

Zarash shook his head and began climbing up, he was too afraid to jump up even with his runes. He signed some strengthening runes for his arms and for Soet and Epsul who probably didnt realize why their hands felt more grip on the stones. The trio slashed branches and threw them to the side, angling it so it didnt hit the goratha below. 

The trek up was slow, not only did the wind stop them from progressing, the overgrowing nature of the petrified branches led to delays which led to the goratha smacking its large tail at random branches and ebbmoss. No one else in the party knew of the danger and Zarash didnt feel like screaming over the wind to explain it, further ensuring that the client ask for more of a discount.

Zarash, Soet and Epsul reached the first resting branch. It was filled with sharp branches, surely would have cost the small goratha substantial pain but not enough to fully hinder it, it would have probably motivated it to jump to the next platform.

They broke pieces of the laying branches to drop and break the branches blocking the goratha. They did this for a few attempts when Zarash heard an all too familiar sound. 

A herd of guanco, these branch eating munkins patrol the side of mountains and eat the slow growing platforms as its where the petrified branches pool their meaty leaves and energy. Some say the platforms taste of bapples if you had strong enough teeth to pierce the rock hard leaflets. 

The guanco herd came fast, they came from the side of the valley and began eating the platform that the trio was in. It would only take them a matter of minutes to consume the large platform, they had no choice but to continue the climb. Zarash was calm as he knew the guanco would not harm them even though they could attract larger thunderbirds or ambitious ebeks, but they were far too high up on the side of the valley to fear anything but a nadorath with its webbed and sticky feet, made to scale the mountain and hunt these herds of beast.

Epsul and Soet though were less calm and attempted to speed up their climb to the next platform, Zarash studied them, he assumed that they were scared of being eaten by long big mouthed animals.

They chopped and chopped branches, throwing them down. Zarash saw this and attempted to signal them to stop. They rushed over him and threw more branches down, which Zarash deflected off and most of it missing the goratha below which was now struggling to push through.

The goratha smacked the branches with its arm, splintering them in weird and sharp ways that cut at its scales, causing it to thrash more and its tail doing the same until it pierced an angled branch causing its blood to flow. It let out a large noise and attempted to do exactly what Soet and Epsul did, climb faster. In its haste, creating more chaos.

Zarash saw the goratha speed up and tried to catch up by moving without breaking any branches. When he turned back to look, the guancos had finished the branch pad and ran across, crossing path with the goratha which agitated it even more. Scaring the beast, cause it to roar a fierce sound. Reverberating around the ebbmoss, bouncing off each ebbmoss rock, amplifying it throughout the valley.

Zarash looked around, his heart was fluttering, probably as fast as the other two who had made it to the second platform now and before he could check up on the bleeding goratha, there it was a singular nadorath, spewing flames hot enough to melt the branches and char the ebbmoss infront of it. It saw the goratha and charged for it. It seemed to have seen the guanco herd just passing the goratha as it had slowed down in distraction.

Zarash with haste jumped down towards the goratha, where he landed on its neck, close enough to get to the pilot seat where Talbot had gone in the fetal position holding on to his plasma chains for dear life.

“Damn it all Talbot, I need you and your wife and kids to get out of this capsule now. You need to ditch this goratha and climb with me while the nadorath is distracted!” Zarash screamed

Talbot was not responsive as he shivered and pointed at the capsule entrance.

Zarash knew this to mean it would be on his wife B3 to force him to move, he jumped over to the capsul and opened the viewing window.

“B3 open the door and get out! We need to climb, we need to ditch this goratha! Grab what you need and your children!” he screamed again

“Do your job Zarash!” B3 screamed back as she held on to her children for dear life.

Zarash looked over the nadorath, it chomped at the running guanco. The goratha screeched and flayed, its eyes wide and afraid, seemingly searching for an out. The branches it had destroyed had already pierced its tail and leg in place. Zarash jumped off the capsule and blasted an air bubble at the growing branches. The turbulence made him misjudge the blast and blasted the gorathas tail off, pieces of it dangled and others hung on.

The beast growned and its anger reached its peak, resulting in a wave blast from its mouth, displacing the platform that Epsul and Soet were on. Zarash looked up as the goratha flayed and flayed trying to free its leg, it turned its elongated head and bit at its foot.

Zarash knew the platform would fall on them or the goratha would throw itself to the bottom of the valley to escape the flames of the nadorath who was running out of guanco to eat. He had to make a decision and he had to make it fast.

Zarash jumped back up to the capsule to flip the window “You need to get out now and try to get your children to a branch or youre dead!” Zarash screamed at B3, she shook her head and he knew she had sealed their fate. He attempted to do the same for Talbot but he was too far gone and had passed out in the drivers seat. Zarash knew he had no other choice but to abandon them.

The nadorath finished up the last of the guanco that it could get and made way to the thumbling goratha. Zarash looked at the falling leaf, he figured if he could distract the nadorath just for a tiny bit or slow it down and get it to the trapped goratha he could kill it with the falling platform and give a quick death to Talbot and his family. 

He jumped off the goratha and carefully jumped from branch to branch, the nadorath getting closer and closer. Small sharp edges of the branch cut up his arm, leaving blood on them. He kept moving forward, finally able to see Soet and Epsul screaming for him at the edge, not realizing the gorathas blast had made their platform weak. He looked down and saw the unimaginable, the nadorath had ignored the trapped goratha and was charging towards him, melting the branches and inching towards him on the wall, its two large webbed feet gliding over the melted branches, its tail clearing the path behind it. His eyes locked in immediately at the potential but he had no time to think.

Zarash reached Epsul and Soet, he grabbed Epsul and threw her to the platform the guancos were being eaten at and shoved Soet off then blasting the side of the valley so the debris pushed him to the platform. He jumped up, slowly feeling the heat from the charging nadorath. He knew he had no other choice, as he was in the air, before he could land on a branch, he used up all his medra and blasted the largest Bubble Blast he could muster, he felt his skin tightening up, his muscles stretching, like he was drained of all the liquid in his body.

The normally emerald ball of zsair was now ruby almost onyx, it was smaller and more condensed, when it left his body he was pushed so far up that he was able to land on to the next platform. The small ball of zsair hit the platform and detonated such a large blast that it fractured the entire platform, launching missiles of rocks and petrified wood all over the nadorath, putting holes in it, leaking its emerald blood everywhere, lighting whatever it touched on fire. 

The goratha below it, meeting the same fate, the missile debris freed the trapped leg and decapiated the goratha, the capsule meeting a similar fate with large holes all over it. It fell to the ground with a resounding thud and the chunks of wood and nadorath carcass ensuring that if any of the family survived the barrage or the fall they would be crushed by the dropping remains.

Zarash weakly walked over to the edge to look at the outcome, he saw Epsul and Soet also looking down at the decimated remains of the animals, they were surrounded with guanco remains and half burnt, half chewed pieces.

“Hurry you two, jump up! We need to get to the lake as fast as possible! Atleast away from here now!” Zarash yelled, his voice almost failing him, his body not wanting to jump, he struggled to get up.

Soet and Epsul made their way up, their eyes wide, their breathing heavy. “Holy andakah how did it all go so wrong?” Soet asked 

Epsul smacked Soets arm and said “Enough, grab him and lets go, he must have his reasons to rush us now!” she said with ferver.

Soet grabbed the ailing Zarash and they jumped up the branches, not needing to break them any longer they were zooming from branch to branch and platform to platform until they made it to the top of the valley. They looked down in to the depths and vaguely saw fumes of flames on the ground, slittering smoke on the side of the valley all going towards the wreckage. Zarash was right and they knew they werent safe at the top either.

“Where now Zarash!? Where is the lake!?” asked Soet

Zarash couldnt talk, he only pointed towards a direction. The top of the valley was covered in more moss than branches, the ashen color of the petrified wood now standing out amongst the waving flood of green. 

Soet and Epsul threaded the moss below them, the branches not being big enough to jump and the top of the stones being mainly covered in the ebbmoss. They walked for an hour until the petrified branches were all gone and they could no longer hear the distinct flopping skitter of the nadoraths. Ebbmoss stones and now giant living trees covered in flowers and mushrooms began to sprout up. 

Zarash pointed in the same direction every so often until they reached a crossroad, one leading seemingly down the valley in a wooded area and the other in to more ebbmoss stones. He pointed towards down the valley and the siblings nodded at the direction and continued on. 

Soon they reached what seemed like a giant platform on the side of the valley, they could see down below the ashen white forest and a small stack of smoke that was more than likely the nadoraths burning around where the crash site was.

The platform they were on had some more of the giant trees covered in flowers and mushrooms but also an abundance of ebbmoss stones. It didnt have the waterfalls of lake Branchard but the water was more clear it was almost like the sky in a sea of sapphire. 

Zarash weakly spoke “Cave” he pointed at a grouping of ebbmoss stones stacked along side the valley, surrounded by giant bushels of bapples. 

The trio made their way to the area and Epsul push aside some of the bapple bush and a bunch of ebbmoss stone seemed like it fell on top of each other and the inside was miraculously saved by the way the rocks fell. 

Rain soon met them and they rushed into the cave, Zarash spoke again “Fire, rune, petrified wood above” he pointed to the entrance of the cave.

“He wants us to go back out there and grab some petriwood, Epsul go get water and Ill fetch us some of the wood. I should be able to dry it on the way back and ill be able to light it once I stack them up. If you get back before me, dig a hole for them okay?” Soet said as he gently puts Zarash down and walked out. 

Epsul followed and Zarash’s eyes closed.

Future

The stream was flowing but the mind was weak. There were no lights in the mind, it is a box of darkness yet it waned as the eyes opened. The light shone through and the darkness abated, the vision became clearer. It wasnt the moment he had expected but it was the moment he had needed. 

It was cold. It caressed his skin as it showed him visions, visions of his life, the life he had squandered. It showed moments with his family, his mother, his father…or whomever it was he called a father. It showed the tears, laughter or otherwise, the ever present tears.

He wanted to scream and shout out help help help i am still here, on the raft, i am here, alive, it hasnt gotten me yet, there is still time, there is still air in these lungs, strengthen in these arms, help help help he couldnt help but smile as the water rushed down his throat. It almost felt like the water was being forced down there, like it didnt want to take him down to the depths but it had a reason and it needed to. Like the water was hiding, hiding from something so frightening that it had to take his life. 

I hope she made it safe

Death awaited him but his mind couldnt process it, he kept crawling back to his mother, his father, the girl that took him to this river, to swim across and ditch class just to get to an island probably filled with roaches and rats. 

I guess I am rat food now…

The small makeshift float was taking in water, the boy had used the top of a cooler to help him cross the river as he was not a strong swimmer. He didnt want to let the girl know as he didnt want to look weak. He felt like he had to swim, he had to ditch class, he had to lie to his teacher, his mother, his father. He had to. For she had noticed him.

He never saw eyes like hers before, her eyes were always green. Slightly red around the green, like a perpetual cry was happening at all times. He knew she had a soul he could dive in and explore for the rest of his life, that anything he would have learned in his freshman class wouldnt have amounted to much compared to what she could present him.

All these thoughts yet his mind was still blank. The light that scattered the darkness had been filtered through water. So many memories rushed, like they were trying to beat the water for the space. Like his body could only handle so much that it all had to make it self known before it was filled to the brim that it would come back out of his head. As if his eyes werent there any longer, he could feel the pressure of the water filling his brain, wanting to leak out from any crevice other than the entrance in which it rushed through. No lingering here.

“Akash! Akash! I am here, where are you!?” 

He heard it, he was sure of it. He had to try it, even if it was the last of his energy, he had to try it. He kicked his feet as hard as he could, he filled his lungs with more water as he struggled to break the barrier that is his weakness. He popped out of the water, not gasping…he was screaming.

“Zarah! Zarah!” He cried and cried, his body bobbed up and down as he struggled to open his eyes to search for the float that had found his weakness. Where is it, where is it, please god, please mother, please father, where is it?

His eyes scanned the water, searching for his salvation. His eyes were covered with the muck that filled the calm river, his feet kicking the passerby fish and sea creatures abundantly littering the water. 

Akash was able to hold on to something solid as he flailed around. He wrapped his arm around it and then freed one hand to clean his face from the debris. He had found himself on top of a great heliotort, a dormant sun creature that waids in the water when its done absorbing heat from the sun. Its shell was cool and covered in moss, he had been in the water for awhile.

Akash looked around and realized he had drifted a substantial amount from the shore and the island, yet he could hear Zarah. He screamed from the top of his lungs “Zarah, Zarah! I am here, I am on the sun turtle! Zarah!!” 

• Sequence terminated - 

What was that Zser?

Rouge waves as usual Pyu. Adhere to scheduled contact. Remembrance is next. Target for assimilation is Jonda Furitaka. Death or adherence makes no difference. Validate conformance, 1 PEY for target. Body utilized is Zaelot Absol, model 1.4, no modifications, connection to target is stable, co-location within working hours, 6 chances for removal and 1 PEY for validated conformance. See you soon Pyu.

Pyu opened his eyes, his body was rigid, the ground was cold and the room dark. No light to speak off…why cant I move

*Foreign matter has infiltrated Furitaka Hyota* Alarm code 0, alarm code 0, alarm code 0

A loud intercom played as Hyota tried to move his arm. His eyes still closed, he opened them slowly and the bright lights of the room made it hard to get a picture of his surrounding.

“Hello?” he muttered, he attempted to lift his arm and legs with more force, nothing, locked down into a structure. His eyes adjusted and he finally saw where he was.

He was trapped inside of a vibrational bubble, his body in stasis, able to move slightly, the room wasnt white, the light scattered around the bubble and engulfed him in white but he could slightly see outside.

There were computers and large photon detectors attached to the cantasfield generator. A door infront of him, massive, twice as big as the bubble and screens behind him from the looks of it, with biometrics. 

An alarm kept ringing that pierced the bubble “Alarm Code 0” it kept going and red began to flash in the room. A few minutes or hours passed by and the door opened.

A small woman came in the room, she had on large glasses that were perfectly framed by her hair, the sides of it twirled with a curl. She was in some kind of suit, form fitting and had two floating bots on her shoulder. They carried what seemed like floating screens and a floating pen respectively.

The small woman began to talk but it was far too muffled 

“Fohrain madder endered….sebarading body” 

After the woman was done talking a large shock came over Hyota. He felt his body ripping, his flesh being liquified, his mind being destroyed, like his circuits and neural pathways were being extracted, he felt like his body was liquifiying and solidifying at an unfathomable rate.

He was right.

Hyota’s body was separated by the cantasfield by flesh, bone, neural systems, organs in a topological manner. Even his vibrational biofield was separated, all contained in the cantasfield for the woman to assess.

The machine stopped ringing and it became silent as the light field disappeared and he was in stasis again. Hyota could no longer move anything but he could shift his eyes in any way  he wanted to and could hear the woman crystal clear now.

“Mr. Furitaka, I am sure you can hear me. I have separated your topological fields into segments as we search for the anomaly.” the small woman said with a deepset voice.

“We apologize for this, you were predicted to be recruited and used by an organization that assassinates future leaders. We think you are currently being used as we speak, we have you in one of our biofield vibrational separation mechanisms. Its called a cantasfield, it allows us to separate you and see if there is any interwining with your soul…they say this organization isnt able to hop unless you agree to it sometime in your past or future. Do you recall accepting any sort of request to use you for assassination?” her bot on the right wrote down everything she spoke and the bot on the left had a string of something, maybe light, flow into her mind.

She waited patiently before shaking her head and pressing a button on the modul infront of the machine.

“My apologies Mr. Furitaka, you can speak now.” she meekly said

“What is going on?”

“Mr. Furitaka, please reframe from wasting my time. I have explained to you my request, I will not divulged how we attained you. PLease answer me and you can wake up in your residence once we finish conducting our research and validate that you arent being taken.”

“I didnt agree to anything of that sorts, I, I have never heard of an organization like that. I dont even know of any leaders or members of the Moon Consort. I live with my sister Jonda and my mother Mowadai, we are loyal to the Moon Consort. The Moon Consort has no enemies to speak of.” Hyota said with conviction.

“It doesnt seem to detect any lies or omissions, so what is this foreign object? Ainzser, show me predictions again on Furitaka and scan his biofield one more time.” the small woman said, a mouth appeared from thin air and began to speak. 

“Furitaka is marked for adherence, possible target for contamination at .03%. High connection to Jonda, future consulate of division 175, potential for extreme violence .01%. Scanning biofield, foreign object, moon and sun gamma rays detected, mixture highly improbable at .002%, isolating location to verify virility of potential foreign insemination….location between C5 and C6, axillary nerve housing ions, trapped between nerve strands, potential for insemination…improbable at .0001%. Hyota is viable for release.” the system shouted out, its tongue flickering about as it spoke. “Dr. Nighter we can wipe previous memory experienced and return to providence.”

“Come on now Ainzser…” Dr. Nighter stared at the section of Hyota’s mind that was creating the current memory, she saw the neurons and synapses slowly forming and ionizing the air to create pearls of memories. “Enhance that pearl Ainzer”

Ainzer enhanced the forming pearl, it showed the conversation and the body separating and Dr. Nighter staring at Hyota.

“My god, look at my curls Ainzer, they look fabulous, go head and extract all memory pearls and file it for review later. Fix this thing up and lets go to the next subject, maybe well have a better chance at capturing one of these damn seedlings.” Dr. Nighter said with a languid face, she turned around and walked out the door with her bots following suit. 

Ainzer fixed up Hyota and removed the pearls that Dr. Nighter requested and put it in a filing room. 

Hyota passed out and woke up in his bathroom naked and cold. He got up slowly and looked around, not knowing why he was so sore. He looked in the mirror and then it began.

He lost control of his body, his hands turned the water on and brushed his face, put water over his air and shook it around. He saw all of it move but he wasnt the one controlling his body.

“What the fuck did those freaks do, Zser, comms, Zser? Hyota? Can you hear me Hyota?”

No answer, Pyu was sure he Hyota was alive and he could hear him but he had no communications to him or Zser.

“That field, it must have messed something up.” He looked around and grabbed a towel to dry himself off, his body ached from the machine.

“Assimilate Jonda. Lets focus on that and worry about retrieval later. If anything I can force exit I guess…” Pyu stared at the mirror and shook his head.

Assimilate Jonda? Force Exit? Is this who Dr. Nighter was speaking on? Dear god, its true, Im going to assassinate Jonda!?

Pyu felt his heart race “Hyota…it must be you. Calm yourself Hyota, I cannot think without speaking since I dont have access to your mind. You must have heard me, damn it all. Calm yourself Hyota…I will explain it all.”

Pyu moved about and found the light switch for the bathroom, it was an old traditional bathroom from earth prime. He went through the door and sat in the bed.

“Listen to me Hyota, I know you can hear me. Normally I am housed in your subneural network and I am abe to speak with you and use your amygdala to speak with my companion but that machine they used have placed me somewhere else. If I have access to your body and voice then I must still be in your neural pathways in the brain.” Pyu spoke in the open, he felt his shoulder tingle and felt a jolt.

“I am sure you have alot of questions but we cant talk right now, I need to figure out how to get in contact with my companion and find that separation machine again…or a way to locate me and transfer me over to the correct location. If I cant do that in the next 6 of your years I will have to force an exist. That is the last thing I want to do trust me.” Pyu attempted to reassure Hyota but it didnt work, the boys body went into overdrive and Pyu could feel it.

“Calm yourself Hyota, your heart rate is too high, your heating up, youre going to pa…” Pyu passed out and woke up a few hours later.

Hyota woke up confused, he looked around his room and he was back in his body. He ran to the bathroom mirror and he saw that he was covered in sweat. He touched his face and arms and hair over and over again.

“Was that a dream?” he said out loud “Wait why am I talking? Hello?” he couldnt think, he couldnt hear his thoughts. 

Then it came, a large bolt of pain reached the center of his head like it was going to burst out.

“Youre there arent you…dear god what is this?” Hyota let out a scream and then he felt his throat tighten, stopping his scream prematurely

“What are you doing to me? What are you?” he questioned

He felt another jolt but before he could react, his sister Jonda bursted through his room and ran right in to the bathroom.

“Hyota, there you are, mom and I have been searching for you all week, we have a guardian report filed for you. What the hell, youre covered in sweat! Where have you been!? How did you get back in your room? Dear god I was so…so” her eyes were clogging up, it was blood shot and she had dark circles under, she certainly hasnt been sleeping.

Jonda cried and grabbed Hyota, holding him tight “Mom and I were so scared Hyota. We thought you got in trouble again, that you went and did a job or something for those thugs. What happened to you Hyota? Why do you have bruises everywhere?” she weeped as she look him over, checking his body.

“I, I, I dont remember sister” Hyota uttered, he couldnt contain it, he cried and cried “I went to find a job at the guild and I just woke up here. I dont know, I had this dream that I was I dont know.” Hyota cried and before long their mothers footsteps were hard and fast in the old house. She arrived and immediately cried and held the twins.

“Hyota, Hyota, I prayed and god has heard me. She has returned you. Where have you been my son!?” 

This continued for an hour as they cleaned him up and didnt take his answers of not knowing, they applied light serum to his bruises and put ice packs on the ones too large for the serum. They dressed him and took him to their kitchen, their mother prepared a warm soup and Jonda prepared a smoked salmon and rice.

It was snowing outside of their window, it overlooked tower 6 and the mainly abandoned zone 45, the entire section and lot a ghost town. 

Hyota looked over and a flash of memory smacked him of a drowning child, he grabbed his head and almost passed out, he felt the thing in his brain wanting to crawl out and take over. His hand smacked the table and his family turned around.

“Hyota! Oh dear, you need rest.” His mother clamored as she dashed towards him and check his head.

“Thank you mother, I think I just need your soup. I just had a headache, maybe from the lack of food. You said I was gone for a week?” Hyota attempted to ease his mom as he internally panicked about the other thing in him.

She put the soup in a old wooden bowl and gave him one of their ornate spoons from their grandfather. He began to drink and felt his body warm up.

“Yes, we filed a report after we went to all of your contacts but no one had seen you. We even went to the Endictments group and nothing. We searched throughout all the zone, we were thinking of filing a report in the other towers to see if it would help but we ran out of token request.” Mowadai said as she rubbed his back.

Jonda had finished cooking the rice and salmon and prepared a small plate for all three of them and a bowl of soup for her and her mom.

Sitting down and eatting she spoke with her mouthful “You really gave us a scare, gonna need you to get your energy back and help us get some tokens again or were not gonna have heat brother. Going to be a long winter if dont got heat.” she stuffed her mouth and pushed the plates towards them.

“Now is not the time Jonda, we need to take your brother to the Biospital, make sure he’s okay.” their mother continued to rub his back.

“We dont have the tokens mother” Jonda replied “I can maybe pull a double and a triple this week at the signet factory. They always need someone with the war being so prolonged, that might be enough to get us some tokens for a request at the Biospital and to keep our heat on.” she said now playing with her food, moving it around.

“Sister…” Hyota said “I am able to work, we can go to the factory together and if we both pull a double you wont have to pull a triple as well.”

“You working at the factory? What happened to not helping the war effort?” Jonda said with astoundment “What happened to my brother??” she jest

The rest of the night they filled Hyota up to date on what has been going on around the house and the neighborhood, how the Darron twins were drafted for the war effort and their parents attempted to attack the officials. How the factory had been paying double tokens to attract more workers and how tower 3 had fallen to the Sun Council and the Moon Consort losing more area as the years roll by. 

It all paled in comparison to his dread of falling asleep, Hyota was scared he would wake back up in darkness. That his body would be piloted by that other, that his family would be accused of being enemies of the Moon Consort if he was found out. That he was some kind of spy, that he would kill his sister Jonda. 

His sister told him they had a long day tomorrow and to get some rest, he gave his family a warm goodbye hug and went to his room.

“I should run away. If I wake up tomorrow as you and they detect you in the factory entrance, Ill be a spy, my family would be exterminated immediately.” Hyota said quietly, he felt a jolt in his brain “You must be acknowledging what I am saying, its too risky.”

He got off his bed and began packing a bag “I cant risk it” he kept saying as tears rolled down his face, the thought of being the reason his sister and mother died “I wont be the reason again. Not again” he muttered.

As Hyota finished packing his bag, he felt a weakness come to his legs “Are you telling me no? This wont stop me” he said to himself. He took another step and darkness blanketed his eyes “no” he said weakly.

Pyu woke up before anyone else was awake in the house. He looked around and stared as his hands. “Sorry Hyota, I cant have you running away. Dont try to make me fall asleep, it wont work, I mapped your neural pathways. I have been doing this for a very long time Hyota. This isnt the first time something like this happened. I could kill your sister and kill your body and my mission would be complete but thats not what I want to do Hyota. I am tasked here to make sure your sister becomes who she is meant to become. That she adheres to the timeline. I have 4 days left before my system confirms my mission and at that point I will beforced to do what I need to do. So please Hyota, give me these 4 days and I will return your body to you somehow. Ill make sure your sister lives, she has a long life and an important one. Shes crucial to our mission so dont worry.” 

Hyota seemed agreeable, he sent a shock and it hit the shoulder.

“Hows this Hyota, make my right eye blink for no and my left eye blink for yes.” Pyu suggested

His left eye blinked slowly. A knock can be heard at his bedroom door, Pyu walked over and saw it was Jonda. She had a quiet look to her, she looked down and had a bag ready. Even though Pyu woke up early, Jonda was up earlier, she clearly had enough time to prepare lunch for the both of them.

Pyu grabbed the lunch and smiled at her but didnt say anything, they walked to down the hall into the kitchen that led to the front door. Their mother had already been awake as well, she was finishing up breakfast and had the table laid out.

“I prepared your factory uniform, its by the window drying on the rack. The hydroloxer is on the fritz again so we had to use the rack. It should still form fit to you once you put it on and it adjust.” she said as she flipped an egg, it was a weird one Pyu hadnt seen before. The egg was shiny, almost a changing hue on it. Mowadai cracked the egg and a red and purple egg came out. It sizzled in the pan and turned a light pink and lilac.

“Whats wrong brother? Did your mysterious vacation make you forget about eggs?” asked Jonda, she sat down on the table and drank grapefruit juice, “FreshlySqueez” it said on the box. 

Pyu shook his head and giggled, he felt Hyota stabbing him and his right eye over and over again. Maybe signaling that he is acting too weird at the moment but something about the moment made Pyu feel. He felt a longing that he hadnt felt before, like the memory that Zser asked him to forget right before he was put into Hyota’s mind.

They ate the colorful eggs that was accompanied by a small bowl of clear mushroom soup with a side of grapefruit juice. It was a sensation that Pyu didnt normally partake in, he always forgot to eat and didnt care for the effects on the host as he felt none of the pain or after effects. Now as he sits in the table eating breakfast with a family that is his and not his, he felt remorse, he felt a moment of reflection that would go unspoken as he could no articulate it. Yet it felt like Hyota was as Hyota bombarded his heart and throat, his heart beating fast, his throat swelling up. Before he knew it, his eyes rained and his mother and sister rubbed his back.

“Youre home, Hyota, youre home. We dont need to know, as long as youre home.” Mowadai said as Jonda cried, they all hugged and finished their breakfast.

The walk to the signet factory was a cold one, the weather had not been kind and the suit that Pyu wore did not immediately fit his ailing body. It was shrinking and forming but the heating wasnt working, Jonda kept saying she knew of a way to fix it once they got to the signet factor but Pyu didnt really feel the cold he just knew that the body was cold. 

“Remember when we get to the factory, just do what youre doing and stay silent. I know the IDFyers pretty well and I can get them to issue a permit on the spot.” she mused, her smile could have gone from ear to ear, the cold seemingly stopping her from smiling harder. She must be happy her brother is back and working now at this signet factory.

“Jonda. Have you ever wanted to be more then this? Dont you want to continue the academy? I heard you were asked to go to the tower rehabilitation center?” Pyu asked, his sister struck him a look of shock and anger. She rushed towards him as her smile faded away. Pointing a finger at his chest.

“How do you know that?” her eyes looked at his, she did not blink as she waited “Thats your first words of today and its about a secret I have been guarding?” her tone almost as if she was going to break down, like she was embarrassed or scared about it

“Mom knew, an officer from the tower had came and they said your letter was heard and you had been accepted. They wanted the house as collateral and mom wanted to give it to them but I told them I had a job lined up that could pay the deposit.” Pyu spouted, Zser had given him some preliminary information. Hyota was supposed to die in a robbery, Pyu was supposed to wake up with 10 plasma sheels inside his body. To be disposed of after Jonda is safely in the tower, doing her lessons. She’s supposed to watch Hyota get shot up by rebel federation strikers in a riot right before she goes in the tower. 

“Mom knows…? The house..? Why, why didnt she…?” Jonda dropped the finger and turned back around. Her shoulder dropped and she continued her walk towards the factory, small droplets of her tears falling on the snow as she walked with her head down. “Damn it, she must be so stressed, you might be an idiot brother but atleast youre honest with her.”

“I was going to tell her you know?” her slumped shoulders and sluggish demeanor says other wise, it must have been a struggle to keep such a secret.

More and more aydhams started to walk along side them, all heading to the signet factory. Aydhams missing an arm, a bad cough, ones that look like they hadnt eaten in days even the ones that havent bathe or cleaned themselves properly. They all funneled to the factory, the last remaining place to gain any shalts. A stench of desperation followed all of them to the factory. Pyu scanned them all, looking at their faces as he attempted to find a break in Jonda.

“I know how she must feel, its absolute insane for me to even apply but I felt like there was no other choice. I mean you were seriously about to go join that damn crew.” she uttered silently “Mom was about to join the pit clean up, I wasnt making anything here. The whole city is in chaos anyway.” she looked at Pyu, her eyes screamed like she wanted Pyu to validate her thoughts but he remained silent still observing.

“You must hate me as well.” she turned and rubbed her face

Pyu grabbed her shoulder and walked along side her “I was about to rob a research lab, try to sell it to a wares dealer.” Pyu said, her sisters eyes widened

“I knew it! Those damn bastards talked you into it, is that why you were gone for so long?? What happened? Are you finally ready to talk?” she balked

“No.” Pyu respond “Thats not what happened, I got caught after curfew and I just remember being woken up at the house. I swear, I was on the way to Jero’s place when they nabbed me. Federation goons.”

Jonda pushed pass Pyu “Im glad youre safe brother, but just remember the academy wasnt my first choice.” she said as she pulled ahead.

They arrived at a line to go in to the factory, IDFyers in the front scanning peoples heads for identification. Pyu’s heart raced, he had no permit but Jonda had said sshe was able to get him in without issue. Jonda was scanned first and she looked to grab attention of both the scanners and they looked over to Pyu as he stood out amongst the smaller women around him.

A guard waved him in and walked him to the side entrance pass the crowd with Jonda where he let them in and instructed “Shopam is already in the line inspecting but if you wait in the office I am sure one of the ladies can get your brother spun up. Better get me a good recommendation once youre in the academy Jonda.” 

The guard gave Jonda a hug and closed the door as the siblings walked in. 

“Already working the system, I guess you are cut out to be a section leader.” Pyu said with a smile

“Lets not get ahead of ourselves, I havent accepted it and I still need to raise the money.” she smiled back. Pyu followed his sister as they made their way through the factory.

The factory was in full swing, thousands and thousands of aydhams crowded the space, each one doing some thing or another. A conveyor belt of beads of shiny objects were hammered by a line of aydhams with sparks flying off and hitting them. Some had protective gear while others were feeling the full wrath of the orb as sparks flew to their skin, the smell of burnt hair and loud cries filled the air. With the whirring of the molding machines, it was a conconopy  of pain and metal.

There were filter aydhams cleansing the tainted air, there were pumps and heaters everywhere, either puming the water to a conveyor or a heater to create steam. Pyu stared at them as electricity came out of the third adhyam that was inhaling the steam and its stomach whirled and whirled. It looked like each adyham had a job and they all functioned in the crowded space.

“Krokans, Arrokars and Nadiians.” Jonda said “Do you remember the old school instructions for future jobs for us? If you can naturally filter water you are a future Korkan, You can push air? Arrokar! Produce heat? Nadiians, like we were being placed in schools of magic and machinery.” she giggled, the office was up stairs and they walked up the stairs, Pyu couldnt take his eyes off the aydhams.

“What they dont tell you is we can be anything, anything we want! Were all the same, aydhams at heart. Even academy officers, remember when dad used to say that was only for the humans? Then somehow only for the puritoms? But look at us now, father was right about a lot of things but he was wrong in this. We ARE all the same and we can be anything in this world. Its not the same world he was raised in, war has changed that.” Jonda said as they sat down, over looking all the aydhams work. 

“Youre probably going to work the beads today, I am going to be wrestling the spirits in to the final product so I wont be in this warehouse, Ill be in the condensed room beneath us.” she pointed down.

The siblings mingled and looked over the production line as they waited, after a few a minutes a rather sluggish man waddled towards them. The man was scaly and he had a very shiny suit on, almost reflective surface. The windows on the top of the factory was emitting some sunlight and the man was a walking globe of light, illuminating the factory wherever he went.

“He’s the lightman, he is in charge of illuminating the factory, sometimes he has a lamp, sometimes he has his own inner source but he shines different light to make sure none of the spirits from the bottom can escape up here. Youll see them try to go to half finished signets from time to time but its rare, especially after they hired me! I got a whole new technique on keeping them at bay.” Jonda smirked

The lightman sat in the office and signaled the two siblings to come in. The room was stuffy and it was lined with mirrors, making the whole area be illuminated, it still somehow covered the top of the factory in a layer of light. 

He fiddled with his desk, moving papers about, checking his hydrolox. He looked at the hologram and looked at the siblings, he did this a few times before he spoke.

“Jonda, I hear you got accepted to the academy? Congratulations are due.” he huffed, his eyes never met Pyu. 

Jonda smiled and responded “Yes foreman Gazam, it was all thanks to your recommendation as well as the valuable time I have spent learning the intricacies of the spirit binding.” Jonda looked over to Pyu and held his hand “ I was hoping for one last favor, my brother here, Hyota is amazing and he has been out of work for some time due to the war. His old job was bombed by rebels. I was hoping for an assembly job for him.” her eyes went back to the large man

Gazam adjusted his seat, it creaked as it tried to hold his weight and his armors weight. “A fabricator, we have no need for another, you see them lining up to take the spot of someone for a few hours. Everyone is hard pressed for a job.” He rubbed his belly and then began playing with his rings, moving them from finger to finger. 

“I have a great idea Jonda,” Gazam’s eyes lit up, he seemed enthralled at his thought “You have a few more months before the academy, train your brother in the reclaimer. I bet that skill of yours runs through your bloodline, I would bet my light that your brother can be a fine closer.”

Jonda’s smile dropped, she held her brothers hand a little too tight “Sir, that would be irresponsible…” before she could finish the large man stood up

“Nonsense Jonda, you are the best reclaimer we have had in ages, you are going to the academy to be an instructor and a student. We havent had a candidate of your stature in ages, this will be a fine test of your mettle. You have 3 months, get your brother up to par with the rest of the scrags. I dont expect him to be as good as you Jonda, just as good as the rest.” He walked away and continued his walk on the upper deck. Occasionally whipping a plasma whip at the light barrier and a wisp of air would float back down, crackling from the heat of the whip.

Pyu looked at his sister and said “Whats a reclaimer sister? Ive avoided learning about all this since dad…” before he could finish Jonda cut him off

“Its the first step to joining me at the federation brother, the first and last step of your life.” She grabbed his hand and walked out the room, dragging him down to the first floor and gunning it for the entrance.

“Sister?”

“Brother, you can still get out of here. Reclaimers are disposable, its one of their offshoot recruitment methods and the most dangerous. The expectation is death after a few months of spirit handling.” she said as she continued to rush, passing the belt and the differing aydhams doing their part

“If you disobey him, you lose your spot sister.” said Pyu with a cold whisper

Jonda turned around and stared at her brother, wide eyed dropping his hand “How do you know that?”

Pyu looked around, offering a weak smile “It just seems like the things people do in power. He recommended you and he’s losing you. Now you're disobeying him after asking for a job for me.”

She sighed “No, youre right. Damn it all.” She grabbed his hand again and redirected, she moved through the sea of adyhams looking to clock into the belt and made her way to the guard who opened the door to the outside but as he opened it unveiled a room of rotation.

The room had doors upon doors with a rotating cube in the center that would stop from time to time as people came and went from it. The area housing the cube was like a dome, with doors and plasma panes coursing the differing layers all overlooking the central cube.

“Welcome to the underground brother, all the factories in Invokar can link here.” she let go of his hand and went towards the cube.

There were hundreds of aydhams and humans walking in and out of the cube, coming from all the differing doors. Some were moving in a normal pace while others were frantic and a good portion of them limping out of the cube or limping back in.

A large arrokar walked towards the siblings, its 8 legs clicking at the ground. As soon as it got close enough it shrunk in size and its legs formed small stubs, compacted back in. Now a frail looking old man, completely bizarre from the rather large and imposing form it once had.

“Crypt Keeper Naroom, how do you do?” asked Jonda

“Who is this child Mun-Jonda?” he asked back

“A future Dai, I will be his instructor as a replacement for Z2S4L7, hell be one of the reclaimers for the factory. Think of him as my first student.” she said sternly with glee

“Yes, your ascension is near. A reclaimer who survived for 3 years, almost there child. Maybe if you pass the academy you can be a Crypt Keeper and help me in this damn location.” Naroom hissed

Jonda laughed and waived her brother to follow her as the Crypt Keeper eyed him and moved back to its imposing frame. Climbing the walls and shutting doors and opening some, unlocking others, a smaller cube in its hands, rotating functioning as a key to the many layers and doors.

“What is this place Jonda, What was that thing? It was bigger and more feral than any Arrokar I have ever seen, I mean it became a normal arrokar afterwards but what is going on?” Pyu questioned

“I can explain it later brother, we need to get to our domain so we can begin training. We are perceived in this space, really in the factory but we wont get paid unless we meet our quota.” she rushed them through the crowd, pushing them through various differing aydhams with differing uniforms. 

The cube took most of the empty space that was referenced as the underground by Jonda and lightbearer Gazam. Most citizens did not know of its existence or what it was used for even the workers didnt know what the actual name of the underground but they did begin to refer to it as Ghentsai the City of Darkness, home of the lightbearers. 

The massive cube didnt have a name, some called it simply the dimensional cube or the reclaimer, some even called it the signet killer’s temple since if you lived through it you were a designated signet killer and the cube was where you prayed for more money.

Signet were what they hunted in the cube, its what fills the signets that soldiers, guardians and even the Arbiters used during the battles in the war. There were a few houses that controlled these but no one really knew how many there were.

“This cube is owned by the Nudar Con Naburaneese family.” Jonda said as she walked closer towards the shifting cube. 

The closer they got the more the reflective surface showed its true colors, a moving field that vibrated, waved, ossicilated in place as people constantly came and went from it. No noise came out of it and the rings above seemed to be keeping the cubes shape. The way it moved made it seem like as soon as the rings stopped moving a cascading flood would drown and engulf the entire underground. 

“What are the rings around us for? All those doors, they seem like the same as this cube of yours” remarked Pyu

“Theyre transport doors to other factories in the zone, some are actually for other zones but those are joint mu’s and you can only access that if youre from that family.” Jonda answered and pointed towards the door that they came out of “Like our door is from the Alhafa family, the people that built our zone?” she questioned as Pyu made a face seemingly questioning who the ALhafas are.

“You must be really out of it brother, didnt know your hate for the Alhafas would block their name from your memory with the way your face is screwing up.” She laughed and they pushed closer

She grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to the entrance

“Dont we need some kind of equipment sister? Youre moving fast” Pyu sweated, he didnt remember hearing about this or what this signet factory was or anything about her job before the academy. Pyu didnt account or get information on working at the signet factory as her brother was supposed to be in the hospital, body broken and battered after a botched job. Giving him time to convince her during the day when she visited and to kill her if necessary and force the body to move through the carnage that was wrought on it, effectively killing both.

So many strange things happening already that his improvisation had not given the outcome that he thought he would have gotten. A secret underground facility that only a select few could access, a mysterious cube that sucked people in and spit people out. He didnt realize the time frame he was at had the technology to do this, he knew of the ongoing war and the utilization of spirits but not to this scale. 

Pyu had an inkling on what this thing could do with what the small machine did when he arrived, to pin point him in the system tracks, he knew it could only be bad. What if it displaced him again? What if it messes up the existing configuration?

He jolted his arm off her “I, I cant do this sister. This is too much. I need to know what this does.” he clamored, people around them just moved around them. Stuck in a flow that didnt warrant stopping to look at cowards.

“Dont worry brother, Im running out of free time and if we dont go now I might not meet my quota. Its okay, this first go around I am only going to show you whats going on in the system and how it functions. Youll understand once we are inside the cube, I was nervous my first time too but its not bad. Theres hardly any danger to us, our bodies will be safe and plus you will only be able to watch me work. Ill explain more once you see what we need to do.”

She pulled his arm again and she was surprisingly strong or the boy was very weak for the body could not pull away. It was like she was being helped by the cube to pull him, like they were both being pushed towards the cube. 

They approached it and she was the first to go in, her face was engulfed in the vibration of reflection and then her body and her arm that was attached to Pyus. 

Pyu tried to pull himself out of the cube but it was no use, his hand was stuck as if it was built into the cube and it pulled him in and in, before he could blink he was on the other side. What awaited him was not what he expected.

He was a small sprite on the shoulder of a machine, the machine waved at both shoulders and he heard the noise, it was Jonda.

“I dont know where you are since I cant see you and you cant see me but pay attention okay? This body is called a quadyham.” the machine said “Were looking for…that!” it rushed towards a giant.

Pyu was adjusting to it all, the blinding light, the machine talking to him and the giant object in the distance. He realized he couldnt talk but the environment felt familiar to him, he looked around and the light slowly began to take shapes. First it was a sea of green, then blue then giant balls zipped and move about the machine. His eyes or whatever he used to see as he could not see his hands fixated on the machine and thats when he saw it. It was another ball, a wisp, at first he thought it was a reflection of him but it wasnt, it was Hyota. He knew it was Hyota, the wisp seemed to have seen him as well and it turned a bright red.

“Ah, Hyota are you angry? I can feel it, in this space we can feel malice and other emotions very easily. There is more weight to them and they are stronger since we lose so much weight in this space. You need to calm, especially while I capture this thing. Or youre going to throw me off.” Jonda said as she moved closer to the object, now taking shape. It was a pod.

The pod was slick, it was the shape of a bean or a sharp needle, or a blunted star, it moved about erratically, slow but fast, fast but slow. Its shape was on hold yet it moved. 

Hyota seemed to calm down, his wisp became a calm blank almost blending in with the surrounding. 

“Shit.” Pyu thought “He’ll be able to communicate to her if he gets a machine. How do I force myself and keep him out when she makes this machine?” he could feel it as Jonda mentioned, the eyes the vision that was thrusted upon him by the wisp on the other side of the machine.

He pondered as his view switched between the machine and the object, slowly he could just see both as he kept switching between them. Then he had another thought.

The machine opened up and inside it were wires that looked like tentacles, each one with a smaller verison of the machine at its head. The little heads were like sharp ovals with eyes, they didnt seem to have the intrace patterns that the initial machine had all over it before it opened. The patterns looked like glyphs or symbols of old world animals, Pyu recognize them as animals from earth prime, no hybrids. There were hard shapes of rabbits, monkeys, rats, horses and various other animals. Below him was a giant ox or bull with its horns moving about the machine and connecting to the various other animals who had portions of their anatomy over extending and connecting such as the rabbits ears.

The machine slittered through the green and blue as it made its way closer to the moving object. 

“This is a quark, were inside a lepton right now so this one is pretty small but normally these quarks are even bigger than this. I am going to uses this quadyham to stablize and crack it okay? Watch carefully as soon as I am able to crack it, you should see a bunch of smaller stuff come out. Those are the spirits we need for the signets, we can harvest a maximum amount of 144000 spirits but its almost impossible to get them all, Ive only ever done it once myself and it produced one of the greatest signets we have! Zone Arbiter Zsolomance uses it, he’s leading the war effort as well.” She was giddy and elated, Pyu could feel it in the air around them the happiness she had. 

“But every time we crack one of these, we can harvest the spirits and depending on how many we get, it will yield a signet companion or a signet trait and we wont know until we put it in the factory for refinement but during the refinement process we lose some as well, thats why the lightbearers are there to push them back down. We try to make sure we dont waste any and we put them back in to the zsair or zafield. Named after the great scientist Zafield A. Zekken. Man was a genius, even if he had a troubled past. Anyway, I say all that to say to watch out for falling spirits, theyll be bigger and way nastier than these little bugs. Its like these are eggs we are hatching and sometimes we get a bad chick and we have to throw it back. They fall down there.” she looked down and so did the two wisp on her shoulder, she looked towards the blue and looked up where a giant monster, it had fangs, maybe a tail or a wing? It moved so fast through them that it almost look like a rain drop as it passed them, going through them and the quark infront of them. 

It went through the blue area and as it reached a certain part in the area it shrunk and its shape seemed to have became something else entirely.

“We dont know what happens when they do that, theres some kinda barrier that we cant reach down there, even if we take our quadyhams down there we just end up back up so we traverse the middle. There arent ever any quarks anywhere in the green dimension or the blue dimension. Again this is a lepton so it looks like this but if we go to a bigger dimension well be outside the lepton and youll see the truly big quarks, theyre alot easier to capture and get closer to the maximum amount of spirits but no one has ever captured a lepton quark in its entirety and I want to be the first before I go to the academy. Itll be a massive boon for us, some say the Cantonians captured one but youd think theyd break the stalemate if they did. Sorry If im talking so much it gets very quiet here and if you dont have noise then the emotions start weighing on you and it slows me down so much. The feelings in this place can really begin to outweigh you, we consider it our timelimit. If you stopped making noise the vibrations will spit you back out, so we use a skill with these machines, its called Zone Closure. It allows us to cover a small area to kill all noise and vibrations, forcing us out of this dimension but it hurts the machine so we try to just allow the vibrations to diminish by itself. Sometimes though, which I havent encountered yet, they say a spirits the size of humans dwell in this zone, size of humans in comparison, like think of this quark as the size of the factory and a small little human comes out and those guys are supposed to be super hostile. Theyll attack the quadyhams and destroy them, theyre so small though that even these reclaimers cant get them. I think theyre nothing though, I think that theyre just stories told to us to keep us on our…proverbial toes. Oh youre probably wondering what happened to our bodies, theyre actually in the cube right now, just in stasis of some sorts. This quadyham is a pill we take that dwells inside our brain so we left through my eyes, but since you dont have one in your body my quadyham grabs you and tags you into the sides. We cant sense anything so I dont know where or what you are but I know you are there, this is one of the first things you learn in the academy, how to have an orbiter as a student. The only concern for you is the sense of not being able to speak and being forced to be my eyes. “ She paused and silence began to cover them and they felt the vibrations attaching and stretching them out as if it was trying to push them

“Oops sorry about that forgot to keep talking while the machine does its thing.”

The machines wires began to pierce and rip the quark and a spark of light washed the blue and green around them with the small spirits flying about in all direction. The tentacles moved so fast that Pyu could hardly see what they were doing but he looked and studied them and saw the mouths open and eat the little dots, each dot being consumed and a small lump in the tentacle formed that moved it deeper in to the machine. Soon each of the thousands of tentacles had dots and lumps moving in its wire as it continued to at at the bursted quark. 

“Hyota, I havent had a student before so I wasnt used to the vision. You see there are two nubs on top of this quadyham that we use as eyes. We are able to see and move these eyes to allow for vision, I can control the positions of these eyes and I can see through them and so can the student. But you see, we are only allowed one student because we have to train them on moving the eyes and when a student populates an eye the driver cant move it. But right now, I realized I cant move either eye, meaning you are in one eye and another is in the other eye but I can see through both…maybe its a malfunction but these hardly malfunction…something is off Hyota. Ill have to bring us in to get scanned, well be scanned by contaminant committe. Theyre who we call when the quadyhams malfunction, theyll dissect us from every fabric of our being with this machine called the separator. As it name says, itll separate us from a topological view of our anatomy. So when we get out of her Hyota, you need to tell me if youve been messing around. If youve gotten tangled up with some bad people, is this why you didnt want to join me in the cube? Are you a harborer Hyota? You know the punishment for spies is death right brother? You need to tell me this before I report us to the CC or were both dead so will mom. They might spare me but theyll 100% kill mom Hyota.”

Pyu felt his emotions escaping and he quickly calmed himself, Hyota became blue and he became bluer and bluer. 

“Ah brother, your sadness is speaking for itself. I must have hit a nerve” A small wave of red blood lust reverbrated throughout the machine, dulling the blue sadness but it quickly disappeared. ‘Ah my apologies brother, anger does not suit me. We will figure this out brother but let me focus.”

The machine continued its mission and as the spirits began to be eaten there was less and less spirits they became faster and the tentacles began to struggle to keep up with the outflow but the wave of malice dulled them. The sadness that radiated put them in a lull as it washed over them but the red seemed to scare them, like it pacified them. 

Pyu realized that Jonda was in a flowstate, she wasnt talking and he felt the vibrations slowly ripping and tearing at him but Jonda kept taking the spirits and wasnt missing until suddenly a giant flash of yellow erupted from the machine. Jonda had eaten all 144000 spirits and her machine erupted in a gold light, before Jonda could say anything the vibrations were ripping her but she yelled “NO THERES 3 MORE!”

Pyu saw it, there were only 3 spirits left, they did look like dots but it reminded him of the reflection of what he would see when he would traverse from Zser to a body transfer, when he looked at the abyss and the reflection he saw was his soul. These spirits were souls, the machine grabbed the last 3 and the flash of light erupted and it all went haywire.

“ZONE CLOSURE!”

They didnt get displaced out of the dimension, the machine pulsated a yellow light, it pulsated over and over again until they were surrounded. It wasnt quarks or spirits like they saw before it was the little spirit humans that she spoke about, they were so tiny that they could hardly notice them but they realized they were surrounded. 

The blue and green being pushed away like when the quark was bursted but now its being held back by these tiny beings, they were perfectly spaced apart like a net to hold back the different fields. The vibrations stopped and it was utter silence, yet nothing tore at them, nothing tried to rip them apart even her command of zone closure did nothing maybe besides the silence but they werent ripped out of the dimension.

The tiny people moved closer and closer until they were so close to the quadyham that they could see them more clearer, they were like shadows. Devoid of light, not entirely dark but also not entirely light, they werent like wisp, they werent like anything. It was like they were tiny inversed humans, just being outlined by the same force that stopped the green and blue field around them. They looked like they had stars in those darkness, that there were entire galaxies inside them and nothing at all, like blackholes just showing what our eyes pushed to them and they chose not to absorb it be labled that they just bounced back whatever the eyes attempted to label them with that they were existence at its purest.

“Pyupel, you worked so hard and did it as you were foretold. No one could ask for a better son my love”

“Zser? Whats going on?” he asked, wait I can talk…

“Betrayal you will call it but love is what we label it. You will understand one day.”

“Zser…?”

“Whats happening? Hyota?

“Jonda! ITS A SPY, I HAVE BEEN HIJACKED SISTER DONT TRUST IT!”

The small objects raised their hands and the thin line that made them began to connect together, the blue and green dimensions disappearing and being replaced with infinity and the reflection of all 3 wisp being bounced back over and over again, like it was forming a cage for them. A way to contain them.

“A needle in existence, the betrayed, the martyr and the saviour, together once more, the beginning of the start is upon us. The bark of the tree of life will reap its toll for the sowers of the fabric of existence had laid its first stitch. Howl oh Botol and sniff out Andakah and serve us your master, Zsohar.”

Spirit/Quantum(S/Q)/QS

34rd Rain of Philosopher King Zsabraxas - 1st night of Munday

Hey Pop, I havent been writing but I have been on this express for so long! Reban said the journey to Cantor is far, farther than Invokar. I dont remember our travel taking this long but its been a very slow and nice flight. 

Want to know something funny? This old man is trying to teach me about medra! And for some reason he knows so much about the world and fighting techniques. He reminds me of when you would try to teach me these things. I told him that I am only good at it because you showed me so much already! 

He was so impressed he asked me to be his apprentice or student or something. 

Even better news.

I heard from the shelltube that the village burned down! An outbreak of wild hybrids attacked them. Wink wink nudge nudge…IT WAS ME. I was so happy when I heard those idiots were dead…finally some good news!

But anyway, I have been trying to figure out my speech to the philosopher king so I can ask him to revive you. Reban said that we still have another sycle til we get to Cantor and then another like 3 to 4 sycles until we get to his Ashram! I hope its as cool as the ashrams in Invokar, I hope theres that whitestuff that melts on the ground! I am so excited dad…i feel less angry that you are dead because I know the philosopher king will revive you…even Reban thinks so!

He said he doesnt know how we will get an audience with the king but I heard a few passengers are going there for the Rapture Festival. The same festival as Invokar! I know you used to tell me that during this we should pray so I am going to go to the church and prey! I guess they call them temples in Cantor but maybe theyll have a high songstress that can get me an audience….they could know mom right!? Theres only like 10 of them or something right? And they see everyone, I am sure if they hear my plight and hear how much you mean to the village, and the tragedy that befell them, they will help us!

I just thought of that but its perfect as always! I knew I did those things for a reason! Now their death can help revive you, youve done so much for them anyway. It only makes sense that they help you in this way. I am sure of it. Well I love you dead man, theres alot of training I have to do and exploring, this leviathan is huge. Its bigger than the one that took us away from home! So there should be plenty of mountains and lakes I can explore here, maybe a forest! What if someone left treasure in one of these places!! Talk to you soon father…

4th Night of Munday

Father. Reban has instructed me join a battle amongst the people of the lower quarters. There are those among the forest of the great leviathan that do jobs? I am unsure, I remember you spoke of aydhams who would work for transport, they are collecting hearts and petrified wood for the fuel. Many of them are those filthy nadiians and a few arrokars littered amongst them. Reban found a tournament of sorts that I can partake in, he has told me it will help with my medra control. I guess the journey to the Philosopher-Kings home is perilous and dangerous. I do not remember the trip to be so dangerous but you always protected me. Now look at you. Dead.

So i must surpass you, I must become more than you were. Reban told me he knows who killed you, that he saw what they were like. A man in covered in death, with eyes of lilac. The miasma covered this man, and the zsair favored him.

I will show him, that I am far superior, that I am your son through and through. I will surpass you and I will destroy this lilac man. I will gouge their eyes and flay their skin from the bottom of their feet to the top of their head. I will rip their skulls and I will rip their brains out and drink from their heads. 

But before that I must get stronger. I remember your lessons somewhat and I have been trying to control my medra. Reban has been helping me do this, he has shown me better ways to control my medra but they are unconventional. I fear that he might be taking short cuts but you always said that progress can seem like a short cut to the unlearned and I do not know much so I will absorb all his techniques.

I should have paid more attention to your lessons, to moms tomes but I atleast have grandfathers and moms lessons. I have been reading them non-stop, mother and grandfather knew so many techniques and they had so many stories. They even spoke of you fondly, they say how strong you are and how powerful you were but I guess you lost all that when I was born or you would be alive right now. 

No matter, I bet you I absorbed all of your strength and moms too, thats why youre both dead. Because I took your power and you could not defend yourself but I will avenge you. I will not make the same mistakes, when I have a family I will tell them all about you and your amazingness but you are a coward and a weakling until I save your name. Until I avenge your death, you are nothing so it is all up to me father. 

This tournament is the first step, I will crush them all without concern for their lives. If there was no help no concern for yours or mothers or grandfathers then I will have no concern for others. 

Only Reban offered to help me, only Reban so worth in my life so for that I owe him, I do not know how I will re pay him but I will one day. 10 fold of the time he has given me to assure my vengeance is extracted to its full extent that my bloodlust is given the nourishment it requires so I can become the loving boy you knew. One day I will be that boy again.

I heard my first opponent is of quillian descent, I remember those dragon folks weakness. Their stubby horns, I have been practicing your technique the thunderblade, I will cut and fry this quillian and feast on them for the victor goes the spoils father. 

I will do the same for the ones who feasted on you father, I will do the same to them.

7th night of munday

Father, I have lost. It was a small arrokian boy that beat me. I didnt even get to fight the quillian. I used all my techniques and even tried thunderform and it didnt work. Nothing worked, my body didnt react father.

If only you trained me further, if only you were a better teacher, a better father I could have beaten him. 

Reban has given me a tome to read and we are going to practice all Munday to train. He has told me he has gems that could make me powerful, as strong as the Red Prince, more cunning than the Blue Queen, as resilient as the Yellow King and maybe as inconceivable as the Purple God. 

He says the gems will awaken an aspect in me, that ascensions are a play thing once I master these gems of his. I believe him, he had shown me things only you have done. He has Zone Closure and his friend a beautiful woman has met us today as well she had an Accelerated Domain, they are powerful, they should be their beast and weapons. They must be great warriors, as great as you! They wont tell me where they are from or how they learned of these but they must be as strong as the generals in the stories. They must be from Cantor and Invokar, teaming up to defeat the Maniasporan overlords. 

It makes sense now why they want to meet the Philosopher King, they must want to show him their power, to request to go in to battle. Why else would they seek his audience, can you imagine how hard they trained? How many battles they fought to attain such power and not be part of the kings army already?

They’re just like you, I told them of when you were a freelancer, a weapon of the people. Thats what they must be as well for wherever they are from! 

But the difference between them and you? They actually want to stop this war, this awful violence. It still doesnt make sense why the king wont end this but maybe Ill ask him that after he tells me how to revive you?