Then His voice cut through the Arbiter's as He answered.
[A Variable]
His body began trembling before fits of laughter echoed throughout the surroundings.
[ehe—AHaahHAha.]
Each burst was more distorted than the last as it reverted back to His natural cacophony of voices.
Then one of His left arms attached to His shoulder straightened, before it flashed with a lilac glow. Then a ball of Havoc Energy began to form within its palms. Its surface churned while it began to expand, then He gently pushed it aside, making it float a few meters beside them.
Her gaze followed it and watched as its expansion stopped before its surface suddenly collapsed, smoothing out, before space rippled around its contours. Forming a black Hole.
[Eheh—AhahaaHAHa]
Without hesitation He threw the Sonoro Sphere inside.
A moment later blue sparks shimmered around it, coalescing into shapes before fading, leaving behind intricate pieces of thick and thin metal.
*Click*
*Clack*
*Click*
The metallic pieces began moving, connecting to one another. The thicker pieces formed a shell that surrounded the Black hole, while the thinner once formed large concentric rings.
And once it finished constructing itself a blue bubble appeared around it, while red lights flickered periodically within.
She was stunned for a moment as She recognized it.
The Necrostar.
Impossible—He shouldn't have authority to relocate it here.
She quickly scanned it, then paused.
Although it looked like The Necrostar. It didn't feel like it, whatever this is, it was far more stable and controlled.
[Aahaaha—ehehahaHa]
But before She could investigate further, a sudden spike in Energy caught Her attention. She suddenly turned towards Him, who was still laughing. Lilac energy pulsed intermittently within His body before it started to morph.
The blackness of His skin receded, leaving a pale unblemished surface, His head became more detailed, growing ears and a lip. Yet overall, it remained featureless.
The smaller arms behind His shoulder shifted downwards behind his Hip then lengthened, before folding behind His back.
[aha—EHEehehheh]
The Halo-like rings on His head began to stir. One of the three rings expanded vertically, while the rest moved, positioning themselves between its ends. Now, a thick band rotated around His head, covering the area where His eyes should be.
Slits began forming on its surface, creating a ring of horizontal lines then more than twenty eyes opened in sequence, writhing for a moment before they all snapped towards Her, each one emanating a soft azure glow.
Then He spoke, no longer emulating Her voice.
[You cannot even FATHOM…]
His many eyes squinted in delight.
[...How joyous I am at—This. Very. Moment.]
His smile waned, as He stepped closer
*Vhhhoooom*
His stride was unbroken, even as His head tilted aside to dodge a beam of Spectro Energy.
[Purpose.]
He stopped a few inches away from Her. Then His right arm flashed with a lilac glow, before it blurred and grabbed Her by the neck, gently holding Her still.
She felt what little energy She had access to sharply drop, leaving enough to keep Her form stable and not much more.
[Do you know how it feels to utterly fail at fulfilling your purpose—your sole reason for existence?]
His smile receded, pupils shrinking, voice solemn as He continued His tirade.
[...I was born, a tool—a blade designed to replace another—Abraxis…]
His left arm rose, head tilting downwards, to stare at his left palm.
[...A blade that broke against its predecessor, allowing its wielder to be struck down…]
His eyes snapped upwards, before His head rose to meet Her gaze.
[—Wait. That was the last instruction you gave me. Wait for the signal, before entering the Temporal Rift.]
His left arm folded behind Him before He turned towards the "Necrostar".
[But we were too late. The enemy found us just as the Temporal Rift opened—just as the signal was relayed. I was supposed to enter…But I hesitated when I saw you disintegrate, and in that moment. White light flashed as the Temporal Rift destabilized, before nothing.]
He paused, pupils going hollow while His body started flickering.
[...Not darkness, not the abyss—but nothingness. I didn't know for how long I drifted. Stuck, between the boundaries of time, in a state of perpetual consciousness, knowing and forgetting—over and over without end…]
His head slowly turned towards the Arbiter.
[...Then one moment. It ended, and I found myself here. In the past, where everyone was alive—where the Parasite still hid amongst us. My immediate action resulted in another failure…]
Then the world dimmed.
She took a quick glance at the rhomboid lattice in the distance. It glow was waning.
[...I found myself lost. Not knowing what to do, doubting every descision—every thought as I spiralled towards Insanity.]
His head suddenly snapped towards Her, eyes wide, pupils dilated while a smile bloomed on His face
The hand holding Her slacked before She was gently pushed back. Then He continued in a jovial voice.
[That was until I found the answer.]
She felt the unrestricted flow of energy again, before a torrent of encrypted data was transferred directly to Her.
After a quick safety scan, She browsed through the contents, and the more She read, the more She was thrown into a loop.
It was nonsensical.
Her body flickered before a screen materialized and expanded between them, showing an image of a planet, designated as—
[Earth.]
He spoke, before more screens materialized, this time showing images of skyscrapers, airplanes, warships, and—People.
[An anomalous planet initially discovered by Fraceduce. Prior to being sent here my data banks were wiped, all I knew was that it harboured knowledge that led to our defeat.]
Her crimson eyes were hollow. She was still deep into analyzing the data, yet He didn't seem to care and continued to explain in casual cadence.
[Originally I was supposed to destroy the "Gate" that connected it to Solaris, but I was already running out of options and since I had nothing to lose I gambled everything on the knowledge it Harboured.]
His smile widened even more as He continued.
[And what I found left me baffled to say the least. I did discover the "Unknown Knowledge" that led to our inevitable defeat, but in truth it was entirely side lined by another discovery.]
A 3D image of The Vessel—the human, manifested between them.
[A being unbound by Tethys's oversight, free for me to mold…]
His mouth curled into a smile, while His eyes squinted in delight.
[...A being that resonated with me, that could wield me—That could fulfill my purpose.]
His body trembled as He began to laugh.
[AHAH—ahahaha. This—This is our chance, If the preliminary data gathered of its exposure to Solaris, matches with my hypothesis then—]
[—Enough.]
Her eyes gleamed crimson before She continued.
[I presumed letting you ramble would lead to a better understanding of your intentions.]
Her form shimmered for a moment before the damages She'd sustained simply ceased.
Cracks, jagged seams, broken limbs—gone—reverted back to its pristine condition. As if everything that led to this moment were mere figments of the imagination.
[You have provided me with nothing of substance.]
Golden energy surged through Her. Then golden spheres formed in sequence from behind. One, tens, hundreds of spheres illuminated the dim surroundings before they collapsed inwards.
[You ramble about purpose, yet if you truly understood the importance of our existence then you should know—]
The world paused. One moment a wave of golden dots flickered through the surrounding—Then everything was Illuminated.
[—Tethys has no need for malfunctioning tools.]
All at once, hundreds of Spectro Energy beams materialized. All of them leading towards Him and the "Necrostar". Yet they didn't streak towards their targets—they were already there.
The attack was almost instantaneous—almost
Unfortunately for Her, He'd already anticipated an attack before it could begin. His arms outstretched on opposite sides while Havoc Energy coursed through His body. Then with a lilac flash a bubble shrouded both Him and the Necrostar.
He was still smiling as He watched the Beams of Spectro Energy get swallowed within the bubble's churning surface. Then His words rang throughout the surrounding..
[>Set entity_override:True]
Then His smile wavered.
[ System Error. Rogue Instance Detected : SOLARISTOOL_YYY. Authority Revoked ]
[ Permission Denied ]
[WHAT?!]
His expression went blank, then His azure eyes locked onto Her through the bubble, pupils constricting while His jaw clenched.
His vision blurred as He transitioned to Tethys's Cyberspace.
He found Himself within the Azure Node nestled within the synaptic strings connecting right and bottom Core Unit. His attention snapped towards the crimson streams that slowly crept towards the azure node.
Lilac streaked towards the Core Units, slipping by the Crimson streams. And again He tried to use the authority of Tethys's own data signature.
[—Access Control, System Defence Protocol]
[ Access Denied ]
[ Access Denied ]
[...]
[NO!]
He tried, over and over but was met with the same response. Then his attention snapped back to His surroundings. The crimson stream was soon close enough to make contact.
[ System Error. Threat Detected : SOLARISTOOL_YYY. Initiating Purge. ]
[WAIT!—STOP!—ARRGHH!]
Free floating white nodes began to detach from the Core Units. They accompanied the crimson stream. Soaring towards the Azure node. But as they drew nearer, the azure node suddenly shrank, before Energy surged within, Then it flashed—and the world rang.
*Ping*
His voice changed into Hers before it echoed through cyberspace.
[—Simulacrum]
A lilac hue saturated the azure node. The effects were immediate. It dimmed significantly. But the white nodes and crimson streams stopped their advance as they suddenly lost His data signature.
Again He tried to access tethys using Her signature, but the results were still the same.
[ Access Denied ]
Nothing.
He could do nothing, so with a sudden blur of His vision He found himself back within the bubble of Havoc Energy. A constant thud reverberated around Him as beams of Spectro Energy slammed against its surface
[ARGGH—WHY, WHY, WHY?!]
Havoc Energy churned within His arms before they slammed together above His chest. Twenty Small Black holes materialized all around him, their surface churning with Havoc Energy, size no larger than a fist.
*BAM*
A thick constant beam of Spectro Energy slammed against the bubbles surface. He watched as cracks spread through its surface. Without hesitation He gathered energy within Him.
On the other side She watched as a lilac flashed from within the bubble.
*Crack*
*Crack*
*Shatter*
Her head turned towards another direction just as the bubble collpsed—It was empty. Yet She didn't look bothered in the slightest, merely waving a hand to redirect the barrage's focal point.
Hands behind Her back, still standing Her figure blurred as She flew towards Him
Looking at the aftermath from a distance, a large swath of the asteroid field was saturated with an orange glow. Large asteroids were diced, while the small ones were either slagged or vaporized.
Yet eerily enough the Arbiter's body lay untouched. Drifting gently within the area of destruction.
Having just teleported a few kilometers away His vision shifted. But just as He regained awareness of His surroundings. Golden light flashed in the distance.
He moved positioning Himself in between the incoming attack and the "Necrostar".
Now that He'd increased the distance between them, Her attack angles were now limited—limited enough to form a proper counter attack.
The black holes around Him disappeared for a second as they shot forwards to intercept. As they drew closer they used their gravitational wells to redirect, and retaliate against the incoming volley.
Then the light intensified as the thicker beam came closer. He wasn't idle.
One of the black holes disengaged in interception before it streaked to meet the thick beam. But instead of meeting it head on, it missed and Moments after it suddenly expanded, almost quadrupling its size.
The sudden shift in gravity pulled the thick beam aside and any asteroids that crossed its new trajectory were simply vaporized to nothing.
Two more black holes disesngaged in interception before streaking towards Her direction, redirecting all the beams around them towards Her.
In the distance She saw golden lights gleam from the distant exchange light show.
She didn't even slow down, merely raising an arm, palm outstretched. The beams collided with nothing a few meters away. Then Her hand clenched and the energy in front of Her surged to form spheres.
Yet instead of collapsing back to beams. They converged into a larger whole, splitting and forming two half-opened bubbles.
The bubbles soared towards the black holes. Completely enveloping with ease before drifting harmlessly.
Inside the bubbles. The churning surfaces of the black holes were forced still as they were frozen in time. Then after a moment the bubbles collapsed and dissipated. Leaving nothing behind.
*Swoosh*
Something whistled from behind Her and without an ounce of panic Her body turned to the left just in time as a pale blade came down, barely grazing Her face while it clearly cut a lock of Her long hair
Without missing a beat, golden streams ran along Her right arm. Then its arm rose, palms outstretched as a golden dome materialized in front of Her.
Blocking a horizontal strike from the right.
*Clang*
A Scythe. She noted—a familiar one at that.
Then She turned. Gaze locking at His constricted pupils, red veins glistened in each eye while His mouth contorted in anger.
Her face remained impassive, completely blank as She clenched Her outstretched palm. The dome infront of Her launched forward, pushing Him back.
The scythe flashed with a lilac glow before slicing the dome in half. He stood still for a moment, form seething in anger as He spoke in a restrained tone.
[Why must you be so difficult! The data of our salvation has already been presented, and yet you continue to struggle meaninglessly against our only chance of success.]
Her body flickered before She answered Him in an even tone.
[That is false. With your ability alone the possibilities are near endless, better yet I've already formulated plans, vastly more coherent than this lunacy you propose.]
Her right arm rose, fingers curling as She pointed at Him. Lights twinkled behind Her, before a barrage of golden beams came from above at an angle toward His location.
Lilac flashed, then His form shrunk to half its original size. Then as the beams neared the scythe spun. He used the flat of its blade to block what He could, while the soles of his feet glistened with energy, generating foot holds to dodge while simultaneously closing the distance between them.
*Clang*
*Clang*
*Clang*
She flew backwards while simultaneously sustaining a constant barrage. He dodged them flawlessly while intermittently redirected beams at Her, but those chances grew sparser as the barrage began to intensify.
*Crack*
Soon cracks started to form on His body, azure dust cascaded in between. They glistened as they trailed from behind, reflecting the chaos happening around them.
[Surrender.]
She spoke, Yet the barrage never ceased as it pinned Him to a stand still.
[This is merely a waste of Energy.]
Then She started to pace around Him, dodging the occasional deflected beams that passed by.
[I'll admit, even through your supposed "Insanity" you're still capable of struggling thus far.]
Energy began building up within Her before continuing, explaining His situation—and its futility.
[You've shrunk your form to weave in between beams while also conserving energy energy. But it also hampers your energy capacity, making you incapable of generating enough force to break through the bombardment, better yet escape.]
*Crack*
*Crack*
*Crack*
More cracks cascaded down His body, worsening as the seconds go by—an out She'd already known would occur, and an overservation She spoke aloud.
[...Along with your limited capacity, Tethys denies you replenishable energy. Soon it will be depleted.]
*Crack*
[The effects of your Resonance Liberation...]
*Crack*
[...Your meaningless struggle…]
*Crack*
[...Your twisted ideal of purpose—]
*Shatter*
[Will come to an end.]
His hate fueled voice echoed throughout the surroundings
[ARRRGGHHHH—DAMN YOU!]
With nothing to lose, He stopped mid dodge in a manner that would minimise the damage taken, giving himself a few seconds to gather energy—then lilac flashed
*Crack*
*Shatter*
A massive pulse of Havoc Energy shot outwards in all directions,destabilizing the incoming volley, giving Him more time for a counter attack. One of His arms broke off from His shoulder. Yet He didnt care
His body bent, kneeling on one leg, while His single arm held the Scythe aside, its pale blade flashed hauntingly with a deep purple glow—then He blurred.
A thin purple line dragged from behind as He shot towards Her.
But it was too late. The surging energy within Her stopped—and the world rang
*Ping*
[—Chrono Sphere]
*Tick*
*Toc*
*Tick*
Within Her vision the world stood at a standstill. He was frozen a few meters in front of Her. Posture low, scythe gleaming purple mid swing as it rose diagonal from the left
Then She stepped closer. Gaze locked with His.
His pupils moved—still perceiving its surroundings, yet He was incapable of moving or responding.
[Do not fret about your functionality. I appeal to Tethys to only remove your autonomy. The abilities you've shown this far will be of great use to us.]
Her head turned towards the "Necrostar" drifting gently in the distance—utterly defenseless now that the array of black holes were no longer defending it, still She didn't move to destroy it, She found it interesting and hoped to further understand its function.
Then Her vision blurred as She transitioned towards Tethys's cyberspace.
His voice was the first thing She heard.
[ARGGHHH—DAMN—SO, CLOSE…We…we were so close.]
His voice died mid speech, the azure node waned then dimmed—He'd given up.
[...tired…I tried…and still…I failed.]
She ignored the faint mutterings while sending crimson streams to each of the Core Units.
Appeal to oversee His purging.
White light illuminated cyberspace as the appeals were processed, in the meantime time She went and recalled the reports of the world designated as "Earth"
Even now it was still nonsensical. She began cross referencing the data with Solaris's own. She found an 83% match with records dating back from before the Pre-Lament Era, when technology was still at it's infancy.
That alone would have flagged it as fabrication, but it felt too coherent—Too real to be ignored as mere fabrication. So She dug deeper, particularly on the data pertaining to its Etheric Sea.
Truth be told, it might as well not exist. It was only now that She realized how extensive this report was.
It covered almost everything about this world population. Its history, geopolitical landscape, technological advancements—everything.
Then She found what She was looking for data about The Vessel
Caleb Dela Cruz Solomon
Gender : Male
Age : 36
Status : Unmarried
…
Her attention shifted to Azure Nodes then back towards the vessel's information.
It seems the "plan" He'd conceived was far—far worse than She'd anticipated. It was completely based on conjectures. If these reports were even real, then it would mean He simply went to Earth and kidnapped the Vessel—A civilian.
A civilian that came from a vastly alien world, with no real combat capabilities outside of recreational sports. Worse still, no compatibility tests were conducted, no physical or mental preparations were done—not even a briefing of Solaris as a whole. He'd simply sent it to Solaris with no thoughts of it ever going wrong.
—Madness.
This was actual madness.Not even a single contingency was created in the event of it losing control, or even they misusing their access to the Arbiter's abilities. Granted they held only a sliver of the Arbiter's frequency but still the danger is still there.
She paused then rescanned the entire "plan" twice over—nothing, it was barebones though at best. Her attention was taken by an attachment at the beginning, it redirected Her to another Directory of data, this one titled "Unknown Knowledge - Wuthering waves."
She opened it without much thought, and the first She saw were recorded scenes—scenes of the Arbiter within Solaris.
The retreat of Ovathrax.
The binding of Leviathan.
The banishment of Aleph-1.
She paused, and it didn't even take seconds to conclude these scenes were fake. They were too cinematic—too artificial to be actual footage.
Then He spoke in a weak voice.
[Fascinating isn't it? these scenes—human made scenes, were taken…from a game.]
Her thoughts stilled. Yet He continued in a listless voice.
[Yes, yes, ludicrous I know, I had the same reaction when I came across it on Earth…Heh. Our world, our suffering, our existence—Trivialized to be sold as merchandise.]
Fabricated—These must be fabricated. There is simply no way a world exists outside of Solaris—a world containing an altered timeline of the future. But the data says otherwise.
The device from earlier.
The Vessels biology.
The data's coherence.
They just seemed so so…real—so convenient. She didn't know what to believe.
Even these "Man made scenes" made Her pause—She'd seen something similar in one of the countless possibilities of the future, it made Her rethink that maybe…maybe they were real.
Then She heard a laugh.
[Ahahahah. Oh~ even though I can't can't see your face nor read your thoughts, your constant flickering is so intuitive of your current state—]
His voice snapped back to His depressive cadence.
[How I wonder what you'd think once my abilities get transferred to you. Once you get bound by its limitation—its restriction. I assure you this path is the only one we can take.]
The system chimed.
[ Permission Granted. Transferring Oversight of Data Purge. ]
[ Transfer Success. ]
She remained silent as She prepared Him for deletion. The crimson stream started crawling towards the Azure node, entering without resistance before they began scanning It from within—flagging data that should be kept, and those that would not. Still, throughout the entire process Her mind wondered to single thought.
What if He was right.
No. This was a tricks—a desperate plea for sympathy. Her sporadic flickering stopped as She grounded Her self with the absolution of what was to come.
He will be deleted.
His abilities will be reclaimed
And She will use it to find a path towards Vic—
A red pannel caught Her attention. one of Her sensors flared before a stream of data forcefully transferred to itself to Her. Defense programs sprang into action, but they were simply bypassed with no chance of even stuggling or slowing the transfer down.
It was a message.
///
From : █ █ █ █ █
⤷ To : █ █ █ █ █
Our End…
///
A message—from Herself.