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Chapter 169 - Pierce the Heavens
🕑 Added 2022-03-30 17:26:25 +0000 UTCThe crew of the Queen Pelomyx watches on their screens from afar as the massive colony section of the Rhodos station finally begins to move. Communications have been cut off for a while now, so they don't know the status of Exla and the new humanity. All they can do is observe as the structure separates from the cube-shaped center section housing the Imagination Engine.
"Huh, I feel like some people are missing." When Korenga returns to the bridge alone after delivering Elaine to the infirmary with Kerry, she looks around and remarks. Sintress turns to her at those words, then peers at the faces of the gathered.
"Where are Tokomaha and Tahiri?" Aurelia asks with her eyes narrowed. She was sure they returned to the Queen Pelomyx together, but they must have slipped away somewhere along the way to the bridge.
"Reports of flooding, a lightning storm, and earthquakes have been reaching us." General Willis informs Exla as alarms continue to blare throughout the command center. The structural integrity of the colony is at risk.
"Some people closer to the cube section came within range of the failing Imagination Engine." The cloud girl looks at the large screen displaying the status of Rhodos city. Although it's the inside of a space colony with artificially-controlled weather and a perfect gravity system, it now looks like a scene from a disaster movie. "We can only hope we escape its sphere of influence before the station breaks apart."
The others in the command center stare at Exla in shock. The Rhodos station may have many safety features, but if the structure is compromised to the point that the colony is exposed to the vacuum of space, it could collapse on itself. At that point, all the humans will die even if they're inside the shelters.
"What can we do?" The general asks, desperate to keep her people safe.
"Pray." Exla shrugs with a wry smile. She may be able to suppress conscious imaginations to a high degree, but she can't deal with the results of unconscious thoughts. And all of new humanity only has the latter type of imagination since they were indoctrinated into believing they couldn't use the Imagination Engine. "Ah, but make sure you pray to the right gods. So, not me or any of my brethren. I've already given my all, and the others are either powerless or dead."
Although the cloud girl sounds casual despite this dire situation, as if saying that they will get through it without a problem, it doesn't instill much confidence in the new humans. It's clearly gallows humor at this point.
Exla sees some of the people in the command center close their eyes and clasp their hands in prayer as she suggested. All that can save them from themselves now is Senka completing her work near the heart of the problem.
Suddenly, a new alarm joins the cacophony of noises in the command center, and everybody looks up in shock. The live schematic of the Rhodos station shows that its outer armor has cracked due to the continuous earthquakes conjured by a troubled or perhaps innocent mind.
"The nanites coating is insufficient to repair the damage." One of the operators reports in an alarmed tone. "An aftershock could tear open sectors three to fifteen."
Exla peers up at the schematic and realizes that the aforementioned sectors make up almost the entire length of the drum-shaped colony. A tear that large would cause such quick decompression that the air inside the station would be gone in a matter of minutes.
"Can't we speed up and get out of here already?" The cloud girl inquires, knowing that they would have already if they could. Even with Alverost's genius in creating inertia dampeners, the Rhodos station is a massive ship. If it were as fast and maneuverable as the much smaller city-sized ship that the Queen Pelomyx used to be, he would have brought that to attack Arkaim in his attempt to free Zenlith instead.
As if her question was a signal, another warning pops up. This time, it shows that the rear end of the colony section has been damaged. One of the four massive thrusters has been ripped off in a gigantic internal explosion, causing the other three to stall to prevent a chain reaction. Then, the entire rear section separates from the slowly-drifting ship, much earlier than it was supposed to.
"Without that, we'll be pulled back into the Sun's gravity!" One voice in the command center laments.
"The heat shield was damaged in that explosion! We can't leave the Rhodos station's umbrella, or the Sun will fry the colony." Another cries out. Perhaps they believe that there could still be some way to escape the Sun's gravity well, but with the heat shield damaged, they couldn't even try.
General Willis only stares at the screen amidst the racket in the command center. She silently curses her powerlessness as the world she grew up in and is charged with protecting threatens to collapse before her eyes. And when she sees that even the Guardian of the Soil has no answer, the general isn't sure prayer will be of help either.
That's when warning windows appear all over the schematic in such rapid succession that it seems like a glitch. The noise of error messages becomes so overbearing that the operator in charge of the sound switches it off. But even without the sound, the angry red popups layering over one another make it clear that there has been a catastrophic system failure.
"What's happening?" General Willis inquires in horror. Due to the inertia dampeners and gravity engines still working, they can't feel any of the destruction that must be happening inside the colony. "Give me eyes on the inside!"
"Ma'am, we have reports of the lightning storm disappearing! The flooding is stopping, too!" One of the operators explains before bringing up a camera feed from Rhodos city. The black clouds looming in the center of the drum have all but dispersed, and the tidal wave washing over parts of the city has begun to recede.
"Then what are these warnings?!" The general points at the schematic still spewing out too many errors to count. If the colony has broken open and been exposed to the vacuum of space, the clouds' dispersal and the water's receding could be explained. Either they're being sucked away, or the minds conjuring up that imagination have perished. But these readings indicate an almost uniform breakdown of the station.
"There are too many errors to tell. All the sensors are overloaded." Another operator responds to the general's question in a desperate tone while typing away on his console. "But these aren't false positives. Something is happening in the walls, but-"
"We have visuals on the outside!" The first operator cuts in and opens her camera feed on the big screen. It's a view of the entire length of the colony section, with the rest of the Rhodos station still slowly moving away in the background. Their inertia keeps them from going backward for the time being, but it's only a matter of time until the Sun's gravity pulls them back.
The armor plates on the colony's surface bend and quiver as if something is moving underneath them. Some panels pop open from the internal pressure, revealing dark tendrils spreading throughout the structure. This must be causing all the error messages, as the sensors find these foreign objects pushing aside or outright destroying the systems they're meant to monitor.
"What is that?" As everybody watches the occurrence before their eyes, somebody in the command center breaks the anxious silence in a terror-filled voice. Knowing the colony section's sheer size, one can tell that those tendrils are titanic.
"Once again, the real gods save the day." Exla suddenly declares and laughs from the depths of her heart. Everybody turns to stare at her, unsure what to make of their god seemingly losing her mind. But she doesn't care and leans back in her chair to look at the spreading tree roots digging their way through the structure on one screen and the situation inside the colony calming down as the weather dissolves.
It's Tokomaha and Tahiri.
Everybody aboard the Queen Pelomyx watches as the surface of the Rhodos station's detached colony section shifts and changes. Massive roots grow from within and tangle together to cover the exterior. Soon, the entire ship is encased by the growth, and not a single piece of the original surface remains visible underneath it. Then, a field of white flowers opens across the roots in a cascade, covering the colony's outside despite the vacuum of space.
Finally, one massive flower opens on the far side of the drum-shaped colony, replacing the damaged heat shield. It's almost as large as the cube section of the Rhodos station, making it more than sufficient to protect the colony from the Sun.
Korenga chuckles when she recognizes the God of Growth's handiwork. Once more, Tokomaha shows her prowess as possibly the most powerful god of Adanak in this most spectacular fashion. Her presence over there also explains Tahiri's absence. Be it the desperate-sounding conversation with Exla or a general sense of unease, the two decided they were needed on the colony section and returned there before the Queen Pelomyx departed.
Suddenly, a smaller screen overlay opens over the outside view and shows Exla's face. She wears a broad smile, but there's a hint of unease in her expression even now.
"It would seem that we're saved. For now." The cloud girl says and glances aside, most likely at General Willis's reaction to her words. "We have lost propulsion, so the Sun will pull us back in very soon."
"And that's where I come in." Another screen pops up, and Senka's giant stitched face appears, almost touching the camera. Several people on the bridge, but especially Runa and Dregana, let out a small shriek upon seeing her like that. Even after everything, they can't deal with her appearance. "The tesseract is fixed. You can let your imagination run wild again."
"That's great, Senka!" Exla stares at the screen with newfound hope in her eyes. It would seem that she was merely putting up a strong façade earlier, and only now does she show a genuine smile. "I'll make sure the colony is on its way then. We will send a shuttle to get you."
"No need." The doll girl replies instantly, causing Exla to frown in surprise.
"What do you mean?" She asks cautiously as if expecting the worst.
"I got something left to do here." Senka smiles wryly while typing on her console. "Don't wait for me."
With these words, she cuts off the connection and gets up from her chair. The glitched-out Shelnir hologram still hovers in the air above her, staring down in shock and disbelief. With a few quick taps on her console, the power inside this control room is shut down, and the holographic projector with it.
Senka quickly exits the room and flies down the stairs before running down the corridor toward the door leading into the cube. Just outside, the newly built tesseract looms where she expects it to be, and she climbs a set of hovering stairs she added for ease of access for those who can't fly.
As she travels through the infinite recursive interior of the Imagination Engine's core, she listens to Chaos and her kin's thoughts as they formulate their master plan for the millionth time. Time has no meaning on the other side, so it has no meaning on this side either. Senka merely decided that she had to complete her task before heading there, so she put them on loop.
"Don't do anything stupid until I'm there." The doll girl mutters as she rounds the corner and enters the core chamber. The barrier around the tear in space has been replaced, and it holds the other side's influence back while letting probability flow through.
Senka extends a hand toward the crackling force field, then pushes through it without hesitation. Her clothes are disintegrated at an atomic level, but her naked body passes through without sustaining any damage. The full extent of the grievous wounds her stitches hold together become visible for but a moment. Then, she disappears into the tear in space.
"Let's see if this theory is correct." I say with a nervous smile. If it fails, it will be not only the end of the five of us but possibly the entire universe beyond.
"Here goes nothing." We say in unison and anchor our minds in our very center. As Mataku's universe bears down on us, shaving our mass away with the power of genesis itself, we concentrate on this instinctual feeling every Crawling Chaos has within them.
Inside each of us lies a dimension. I always thought it was a separate one for every individual, but that's not the case. All of us born from the same progenitor have always been connected, even if the infinite vastness meant we couldn't feel it until we became one like now. But that doesn't extend to Mataku or the Outer One.
On a silent signal, we turn inside out as one. The force that held our body together is reversed in an instant, and everything on the outside becomes the inside. Even for us, who have glimpsed what lies beyond eternity, it's a sensation unlike any felt before. There are no words to describe it, no natural or unnatural phenomenon to compare it to.
It feels like we're dying.
All our matter appears to be escaping from us into the surroundings, and what used to be our surface gathers into a single point in space. We're becoming a singularity, threatening to disappear into nothingness along with our strained minds. It's like when we crossed from the other side to this but amplified infinitely.
"What have you done?!" Mataku exclaims when his dimension mixes with ours and collapses. Even as we fade away, we can tell that the same is happening to the Primordial Terror. It didn't go as planned, but if we can take him out with us, the other side will be safe.
The universe of the Outer One contracts toward us at the speed of eternity before suddenly bouncing back and spreading outward beyond the scope of our dimming understanding. In an instant, this realm has spread further than it ever has, surpassing mere concepts such as space and infinity itself.
This is how two dimensions become one, and it is truly a spectacle to behold. Mataku's scream of terror as he melts into nothingness echoes endlessly, food for our fading thoughts. Indeed, the greatest meal with the most magnificent view in our final moment; there is nothing more we could ask for.
"I told you not to do something stupid until I'm here." Senka's voice suddenly resounds in our wilting minds, now clearer than ever. Be it because of our imminent disintegration or because all we have left is our minds, but it sounds like she's right next to us. "I am here."
And with that, our insides return where they belong. The universe of the Outer One is restored as the brilliant celestial tapestry it used to be before we broke it down to confront Mataku. Asoko, Uten and Saten, and Flann are all separated from me as if our minds themselves repelled each other. In our midst floats the naked doll-like girl with shoulder-length black and white gradient hair.
"You saved us, Senka..." I mutter solemnly.
"And the universe on the other side as well." Crossing her arms, Senka acts haughty. But I fly forward and embrace her with all my heart. "Hey, careful. Don't break me when I'm vanishing already."
"What?" I draw back from her and look her up and down. Then I realize that her limbs are fading into space. "What's happening?"
"This isn't a place for anybody but your kind. I knew the risk in coming here." The doll girl gives me a warm and resigned smile that overwhelms my emotions.
"No, we're getting you out of here! Where is the exit?!" I squeeze Senka to my chest and look around in desperation.
"You can feel it, can't you? All of this is part of you now." She peers at our surroundings, taking in the beautiful sight of the stars unfiltered by an atmosphere, windows, or screens. "And there is no exit large enough for any of you."
I understand what she's saying. When we inverted ourselves, our interior dimension mixed with Mataku. And now that we're split in five again, each one of us carries inside us a part of this new dimension - a fifth of this infinite universe. And with that, we have become the Outer One just as Mataku did before us.
Without Mithra, we can't ever leave this space. Even though Flann has the same powers as Mithra, she is trapped inside this space with us now that she has taken a part of it into her. In defeating Mataku, we have sealed ourselves into this dimension forever.
"But I believe in you, Makoto." Senka declares in a confident tone, although her voice sounds faint. When I look down at her, only her head and torso are left, as everything else has faded into the stars. She doesn't seem to be in pain, but her consciousness is disappearing as well. Still, she utters words of encouragement toward me despite her own dire situation. "You will find a way to return. Just don't take too long."
"We will give you a part of us." I squeeze her and bury my face in her hair.
"We both know that it doesn't work that way." The doll girl's calm tone stabs me through the heart. She has resolved herself to meet her end like this, and my unsightly struggling only makes it harder on all of us.
"I don't want you to die." I whisper in despair as tears blur my vision.
"I'm already dead, dummy." Senka replies, but none of her usual sass can be heard in her voice. It would seem that, at the end of everything, she's not putting up her typical attitude. But when I look at her face, I find a mischievous streak still left in her now. "This isn't goodbye forever, Makoto."
"What do you mean?" I blink my eyes in confusion. The doll girl's body is disappearing, leaving me with barely anything to hold in my arms.
"I'm not fading into obscurity; I'm becoming one with legend." She grins, stretching her stitches and baring all of her teeth. As if that was the signal, her fading speeds up as even her hair begins to vanish.
"No!" I cry out as Senka becomes intangible and melts into the universe.
"Don't cry for me, Makoto. I'm simply moving on to the next franchise." Her voice echoes through this infinite space one last time, leaving me with stardust flying off into the celestial background and a cryptic message, both of which I'm unable to grasp. But then I gather my emotions and wipe my tears.
"I will hold you to your words. We will see each other again!" I declare toward the stars even though much of them are part of me. Then I turn to my kin surrounding me, who each show different levels of sadness for Senka's passing.
For a long time, there is only silence. Uten and Saten wipe their tears, and Asoko smiles sadly. Only Flann maintains her emotionless façade, but I can't fault her for that. She and Senka never got close enough to warrant any reaction from her. But I can sense that she has empathy for my emotions.
Suddenly, I glimpse a speck of dust flying by and grab for it. As I open my hand, I find the Earth itself hovering on my palm. Although we're in another dimension altogether, and the Imagination Engine has been repaired, we can still see into the dimension we came from.
It's so small within my perception that I can't even make out the landmasses. I can only tell it's the Earth because of instinctual knowledge. But no matter how hard I try, I can't shrink myself further from my current size, let alone imagine how to return to human size. My body is shrouded in stars as if I were part of the universe itself. People on Earth couldn't fathom my presence even if they could see me now.
In other words, I can no longer interact with the other side in any meaningful way. None of us five can.
"There is a way for you to return. All of you." Flann suddenly says, causing us to turn to her. But when I see her expression, I can tell what she's going to suggest even before she continues to speak. "Give me your part of this realm, and you will be able to leave this space."
For a moment, I ponder this possibility. Asoko and the twins do the same. If we could discard this unwanted mass and the power that comes with it, we could surely fit through the tear in space and return to our world.
But I can sense Flann's emotions. There's not a hint of falsehood or greed in her mind. Instead, all I feel is reluctance, sadness, and resolve. She's willing to sacrifice herself so that we won't spend eternity in this prison. In doing so, her consciousness will soon disappear, and she will become the Outer One - a vast being of infinite possibilities and no consciousness to use them.
"No." I float over to Flann and embrace her. Only now do I notice that she's shivering. I silently praise her courage and resolve. "I promised that I would give you a normal life once this is over."
"I can stay." Uten and Saten say in unison, then stare at each other in surprise. Although they try to appear strong, they have tears in their eyes and are shivering visibly. The prospect of losing one's self over the course of eternity is undeniably worse than death itself. "We can stay here together. We won't be lonely, then."
Perhaps they would be able to keep each other entertained for a long time if they shared the burden of infinity. It would certainly be preferable to being here all alone, left with nothing but one's own waning thoughts. But I can't let children, least of all my children, take on this burden.
"Guess I'll have to bite the bullet." Asoko comes forward with a casual shrug.
"Get with the mood, sister." I shoot her a glare, and she ducks her head. I can tell that she was joking to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
In truth, none of us would want to give up our future and fade into eternity, but we're all willing to help the others. I'm glad that I have such a great family.
"Come here." I declare and wave my children over. They fly into my arms and hug Flann and me. Asoko meets my gaze, causing her to look away in embarrassment. But finally, she rolls her eyes and comes to join our group hug. "Nobody gets left behind. We will find a way out or spend the rest of eternity here - together."
Comments
I can't believe this story that started, let's be honest, as a kinky tentacle isekai, now became so deep and existential. Every time I thought you couldn't surprise me anymore, you upped the ante again. This turned out to be one of the best sci-fi I've read in recent years.
