The room was dark, illuminated only by the faint glow of a few data panels, and the thin lines of light outlining the lids of several stasis-pods. Large cables crisscrossed the floor, connecting the assembly of four to a larger system at the head of the room. Xanarken quietly manifested in the midst of them, and turned to look at the one directly to his right; his own.

One hand set onto the glass face of the capsule, and wiped a clear smear from left to right. Liquid within shimmered with an iridescent, oily sheen, lightly bubbling along the walls. The Eidolon leaned closer to get a better look through the haze, and spotted the visage of his own fleshy face; it looked as he did in his mantle, but with dark brown-black hair instead.

“…First time I’ve looked at my own face in quite a while,” He said to himself, but then moved over towards the pod on its other side. The name above it, emblazoned in small font on the screen displaying the user’s basic vital signs, was that of the Fifth Eidolon; Dr. Etienne Cisneros. As before, Xanarken cleared a window through the accumulated fog on the lid, and looked upon the face of the sole (remaining) female amongst the Council leadership. Skin a dark hazel color, with freckles on her cheeks, and short chocolate-brown hair, she – like all the others – was connected to the life-sustaining mechanisms of the pod by a number of I.V.s, and an oxygen-line. The Eidolon System itself was a crown of wires and inter-woven metallic latices around her head.

“Snooping again, are you?”

Xanarken lifted his head and glanced behind him; outside of her pod, Etienne could choose to look however she wanted – as Rylen had. The humanoid aspects of her Eidolonic mantle mostly looked as she did in life, but there was an ethereal glow to it, and a decidedly insectoid-like style to the whole thing, including large, elongated eyes – two main ones and two smaller above them - tipped with wing-like lashes, bright red and magenta-streaked hair interspersed with small flowers, and ears that rose up to trail along the sides of her head like long, rear-facing antennae. Massive moth-wings hung behind her back, draped down from the front of her shoulders as if a long cloak, covering three long vulpine tails that wavered behind her legs. All the way down her thin frame, she wore clothing that looked more like shaped wood, leaves, and feathers…and her feet, bare, and shaped in a way to match her tails, never touched the ground. Her golden, faintly green-streaked skin glowed lightly, leaving a mist-like trail of vapor in her path as she floated away from the rather plain-looking-by-comparison Fourth Eidolon.

“Are you going to tell me what happened now?” She asked, opening a smattering of panels above Rylen’s pod, “He’s been having mini-seizures ever since the first. He’s not responding to any of the treatments I’ve given him…and he refuses to come here to tell me himself how he’s doing.”

“That’s because he doesn’t want to know anything might be wrong. If he did, he’d have to acknowledge that my idea has merit.” The Fourth explained, heading over to her with his arms crossed in frustration.

“Idea?”

“Having a back-up.” Xanarken glanced down upon the first pod, which had been completely cleaned off since the first assault, and was visible in its entirety. Within, Rylen’s thin frame floated in that iridescent medium, pale and frail-looking after more than three centuries motionless in that hybrid-stasis, “…If he’s been having aftershocks, he’s been hiding them well.”

“He probably made some adjustments to his mantle’s programing so it wouldn’t flinch if it detected any kind of cerebral jolts.” Etienne explained, clicking through the panels with speed, those multiple eyes scanning the data easily, “If I could get him out of the pod briefly, I could do a more thorough evaluation, but…well, unless he gives consent, I can’t just open it.”

“You could.” Xanarken tilted his head over his shoulder at her, “He couldn’t stop you either.” He reached a finger over to the ‘open lid’ button on the pod’s top, “I could do it for you right now, and take the blame.”

“Don’t you dare!” She swatted his hand away, and he laughed, “I’ll just ask him when he gets back. Once he’s past the equator, the Aegis will be within the World Cloud’s boundaries again, so it’s not like he can hide from me anymore.”

“As you like.” The Fourth smiled, “In any case…my idea; I’m creating a new rank in the Council; Vice Eidolon.”

“What’s that for?”

“After what happened to Rylen, I started to wonder what would happen to the Council if we lost anymore Eidolon.” He answered, and turned to look out at the other three pods, “We’re supposed to be six wings, but Rylen’s in charge of two of them – after we lost Arianna - and we never even had an Eidolon of the Second.”

“Arianna was never an Eidolon though, so the Sixth didn’t either, without Rylen.”

“She was supposed to be one.”

“So was Caeros, but Rylen doesn’t count him as the Second.”

Xanarken made a face, “…As you say.”

“It’s only fair, since they both died before the Eidolon System was finished.” Etienne said, and hovered upward until she could sit her small frame on the Fourth’s left shoulder. She set a hand onto his right, and looked down on him softly, “You tried your best with him, but there are always going to be some people who just…can’t be helped.”

“So, Caeros was just a lost cause from the start?”

Etienne looked on sadly, “Looking back on it? …I think so, yeah.”

“I prefer not to believe that he was born that way, and couldn’t be guided down a different path.”

She pet his hair, and moved off to float overtop of the First’s pod, “And that’s okay. …So, a back-up to the Eidolon, huh? What’s that going to entail?”

Xanarken quietly stepped away, and headed for the front of the room; though the pods were all side-by-side in a line together, they wrapped slightly in a semi-circle around a much larger central fixture. It wasn’t even a stasis-pod like the others…it was more like a massive tank, plated at the front with glass, and filled with a clear-blue translucent liquid. Within, a vertically-suspended figure, bent slightly forward to make room for the massive crystalline spines breaching from her back. Those spines fused together at their bases, and expanded nearly 30ft to each side, splitting at the tips until they looked eerily like six massive wings. That pale face, transfixed with the neutral expression of a woman who’d died long ago, was held up by the amethystine cluster of rocky tracks that grew from her eyes, and encircled her head like a crown until it blended with the crystal behind her. Xanarken put both hands on the glass, “…It would…give us some breathing room.” He started, transfixed, “When Gabriel was old enough to start actually working with me, the relief I felt for knowing I could pawn off some of my duties to him was…inexplicable. I thought that by promoting him to High Negotiator, it would actually take some of the pressure off, and split the duties of the Fourth amongst more hands. …As much as I used to grief on Rylen for running two Wings alone, the First and Sixth combined don’t do as much as the Fourth does alone. I practically need a small team to manage everything.”

“Why fuss with this Vice Eidolon label then? Isn’t High Negotiator enough?”

“It’s not. People still demand to go around Gabe and insist on speaking to me instead. Making him V.E. would make it easier to refuse, since…he’ll have roughly 95% of the same power as a full Eidolon. I think it will do better to make him ready than what’s already been done.”

Etienne crossed her arms, and floated closer, “It sounds to me like you just want to take a step back, and are using what happened to Rylen as an excuse.”

“…It is rather convenient. If I could turn over just Sargon and Kitez to Gabe, it would take half the work off my plate.” He agreed, “I’ve been doing this for so long, I don’t even remember what it was like to do my original job anymore. I was just supposed to be a communications officer…not this…timeless being that people look to like one of the gods of this world. And Rylen was never meant to run an army, either.”

“He did his best after Arianna died. I don’t think he’s done too badly for himself.”

“I think he’s ready to put the gun and sword down.” Xanarken continued, and pulled his hands back, “He’s determined to get Kitez into the Accord by any means available. If not for them, there’d be no need for most of the Sixth. He would much rather turn over half of those SkyFortresses to the First and push into the southern hemisphere. Expanding, cultivating, developing the land…that was always his passion.”

“Yeah… Every time someone mentions the south in his presence, it’s like a switch gets flipped.” The Fifth agreed, and crossed her elbows across Xanarken’s shoulder, “But…I know as well as you that we can’t just push into Kitez aggressively. Sargon is on the cusp, isn’t it? That must be a huge relief.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Until it happens, it’s still just on the cusp. But that’s why I want to turn it over to Gabe anyway; he’s done extremely well out there, bringing the Emperor closer to the Council. If not for him, I don’t think we’d have gotten the Prince to transfer to Agartha this soon.” Xanarken glanced at her briefly, then took a few steps back to behold the entirety of the massive tank, “If only she could see how far we’ve come…”

Etienne lifted her eyes, “Syraph would’ve liked it here. But…I think she would’ve been happy to know that her legacy has continued on, even if it had to be like this.”

“Legacy…” The Fourth echoed, “Can it still be described that way when it wasn’t on purpose? Capturing the energy radiating off of her was never part of the plan.”

“No, but senselessly dying and decaying into nothing would’ve been worse, to her.” Etienne rephrased, “Sometimes, all you can do is make the best of a bad situation. The senseless tragedy of that day led to the full development of the Eidolon System and the subsequent World Cloud, and look at all the good we’ve done with it. Imagine how much longer it would have taken - and more difficult it would’ve been – if we had to physically travel to every place we needed to be.”

“…Yeah, I don’t deny it. The Eidolon System has to be one of our greatest achievements. If I thought it was even half-appropriate to ask Gabe to hop into it, I would.”

“You don’t think he’d agree? Even as Vice Eidolon?”

“I think he deserves to live his life as he is.”

“He’s followed so closely in your footsteps though that he’s never really bothered with the things he could’ve done as a regular guy.” Etienne pointed out, “Getting connected to the Eidolon System would just…put a point onto the fact that he lives like an Eidolon already. He’s kind of handicapped without it.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah, I mean…maybe he’s not void-locked like we are, but being immortal was never a requirement for being an Eidolon. It was just convenient for continuity. With a mantle, he could go decades without anyone ever realizing he’s getting older.”

“But he would be…and he’d eventually die like the old man he’s destined to become. In good conscience, I couldn’t subject him to a life like we have, devoid of all the things that once made us human.” The Fourth shook his head, eyes to the ground sullenly, “Not when he’s hardly had a chance to live as it is. He’s 32 years old and is only just now starting to form a bond with someone. Fleeting as it is…”

“Fleeting?”

“Nearly five months with Dame Ren have been good for him – they even conspired together to keep her in the Fourth to finish the program after the disaster in Kitez - but…Rylen’s taking her back now.”

“Oh…”

“Anyway,” He shook his head, and turned where he stood, reaching up to take the Fifth’s small hands into his own, “I don’t want to overwhelm him with the possibilities. He already hates the idea as it is.”

“Maybe I can talk to him? He’s always been amenable to me.”

“No… We can revisit the idea in a few years. For now, let’s just allow him the time to adjust to his new responsibilities.”

.

Seth lifted his head when he heard the door to the Captain’s office shift open, and watched not just his brother, but Ren as well, come through. He quickly hopped up and approached, “…Miss Ren? Weren’t you going to-”

She shook her head, “Gabriel wanted to go take a walk on his own.” She answered, and gestured at her long blue uniform-jacket, “Lord Rylen moved me back into the Sixth permanently right as I suggested going with him. He’s not taking it well.”

“Oh…”

“I feel terrible…” Ren hugged her arms around herself, “Things were finally starting to work out.”

“What about before that?”

Furion reached for his brother’s shoulders and spun him around to walk him back into the room, “You are far too nosey for your own good.”

“Nosey!? But it’s me! You owe me!”

“I owe you nothing.” The Captain laughed, “That conversation far outranks you.”

Ren tried to smile as she watched the duo go on ahead of her, but then turned back towards the office before the door could slide closed again. Her brow crinkled slightly, “…I should’ve gone with him anyway. What a terrible moment to leave it on.”

Furion just came back and fluidly slid a free arm around the woman’s small frame – carrying Seth in the other like a wiggly puppy – and nudged her further into the apartment, “Nothing for it now. Brooding is what he does best; this time he’s probably actually entitled to it.”

And brood he did, straight back to the weather-deck, sitting apart from any wary passers-by as he looked through those massive windows. The afternoon sky had shifted towards dusk, and Hadira’s dual-moons were vivid on the horizon.

Those same moons that rose over the Aegis rose over Kitez though, far to the north-west, and the locked-down R&D facility’s lights dimmed as the last staff on-site left for the evening. Still inside, however, Kourin was at her desk, hidden beneath the cloaking shield of her affliction. She waited a moment for the silence to overtake the space, and once certain she was the only one left, made her way quietly towards the stairwell to the lower floor. She put in her access code, waited for the door to open, and slipped through.

What she saw at the bottom made her pause a moment; boxes of audio equipment, ready to be installed. She narrowed her eyes at it slightly, “Looks like I’m getting on top of this right in time…”

She quickly stepped up onto the platform and wove through the overlapping walls until she found the front of the repurposed blasting-room. As usual, Scyrexianori was there idling, but with her affliction active, its eyes looked straight up and followed her behind that thick glass. She wasted no time and immediately clicked a finger down onto the intercom, “You’re watching me, so I take it you’re aware I’m here.”

“Of course.” It answered, “I’ve been waiting.”

“…You have? Why?”

“That fellow you brought before was eager. Before I was interrupted…I was certain he was going to try to make a deal.”

Kourin steeled herself, “That task has fallen onto me.”

“Then?”

“Explain to me first why Gabriel is so important. Why any afflicted can’t be suitable…or why not me.”

Scyrexianori lifted its head, but leaned forward to perch its elbows onto its knees, “To open a gateway, I need a Limitless connection of immense power. And there is precious little that is more powerful than a Prime Mover.”

Kourin tilted her head in confusion, “A what?”

“How do you describe it now…” Scyrexianori contemplated, “…This host’s memories go back to a moment…he says that Gabriel Lugios has always been a Limitless user. It wasn’t bestowed upon him later in life.”

“Right, he was born with it. But why describe it as a Prime Mover?”

“The last one with a connection to the void that immense was capable of linking different locations in space-time as though there was no distance between them at all. He could see where he wanted to be without ever having been there…and move to that place. The rules of your reality broke against him.” The entity explained, and lifted one hand to point a clawed finger at her through that one-way glass, “You gave him a name…”

“…Caeros.” She whispered, “…Did you contact him back then? Is that why the fleet crashed!? All those void gates that opened…”

“No.” It answered simply, “Don’t you remember, girl? You were there.”

Kourin took a step back from the glass, “…The Hell…?”

“What happened back then was a blight of his inexperience and hubris. But…I could sense him.” Scyrexianori elaborated, and lowered its arm again, “Gabriel Lugios is similar, but…has his own flavor, as one might say. Now…what do you want from me? What must I do to get to Lugios?”

“I can’t do anything for that. My proposition is providing a way for you to get out of this chamber. You’ve been done with your weird metamorphosis for some time now. Unless there’s something else that’s come up, since the last mention…”

“That something else is still in play. There was a fragment of my essence that had been trapped nearby, and upon my inexplicable arrival, became active again.” The entity noted, and tilted its head; the wide, twisted horns above its crown giving the movement a sinister edge, “If you release me, I can use it to summon Lugios to me.”

“…And then you can do whatever you need to do to get him to swap places with your current host…and you’ll be strong enough to get what you want.” Kourin surmised, and the creature nodded, “Then our proposition is thus… I’ll help you get out, and you come with me for one service. After that, you can do whatever you want.”

Scyrexianori gave a questioning look, “This body is a weak, blind thing. My power is limited. Even a dead afflicted has more raw potential. I may not be able to complete your task without an afflicted host. What do you want?”

Kourin grit her teeth, “I need you to release someone who’s stuck in a void-locked state. Someone whose existence has been secret from the world for more than 300 years, and who deserves to be free.”

“That’s quite a hefty request for something as paltry as letting me out of a box.”

She scoffed, “Well, if you can get out on your own…”

Scyrexianori narrowed its eyes, “I could just latch onto you.”

“Yet you don’t.”

That made the entity smirk slightly, “As you are, you would need to allow it…”

“You’re not touching me. Not again. Not for anything.” Kourin felt a chill go down her spine, and she sucked in a breath, “Try this then… I’ll let you out, you can go track-down Lugios, swap, and before you leave, you come find me. Then, once you’re done with my request, you can open that hole and crawl back into your realm. Is that more balanced?”

“Hmph… You’ll let me take the time to find Lugios; how generous. From where I sit, it appears that you are rather trapped by that condition.” Scyrexianori lifted its head, and crossed its arms, “I require more.”

“What else do you want?”

“…How about a little fun.” It answered greedily, “If you won’t be a vessel, then I’ll need another. One that can’t refuse me.”

“I already had someone in mind.” She explained, “One who is touched by the affliction without possessing it himself.”

“That would suffice… Now for the truly fun part.”

“That wasn’t even it?” Kourin looked at the beast skeptically.

“This vessel has thus-far refused to allow me to fatally harm its compatriots. To lure Gabriel Lugios, and force him to do as I require…I will need sufficient bait. That bait is a Fafnir Knight named Ren Nibasai; they’ve been together both times I was active out there, and I have reason to believe one would come calling if the other needed it. None of Fafnir will take kindly to what I intend to do to get what I want, nor to learning the fate of their ally. Are you ready and willing to allow those chips to fall where they may? Once I have a body unaffiliated and unattached…I will likely end up killing them all to get back to you to complete our bargain.”

Kourin’s illuminated eyes widened, “…You…would kill all of the Fafnir to get away? You would have the power to do that…?”

“I don’t particularly enjoy having my time wasted. This host has done that twice now, hindering my progress with his abiding connection to that group.” Scyrexianori answered stiffly, “Not only would I have the power to take them all out…I would revel in the process.”