“The one you love and the one who loves you are never, ever the same person.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters
“I still think they would be better off on Eden, while we finish our tour…” Ven gave Huan a bemused smile as she dressed the twenty children up like porcelain dolls. “These aren’t really ordinary kids, you know?”
“It will be fine!” Huan pinched the cheeks of a little girl, tight enough to inspire the girl's eyes to fill with tears. “They can learn about their Father and the realm of their rebirth as we travel!”
Ven shrugged his shoulders with a sigh. He would give the group of newborns time, before he questioned them about the spirit forged slime. The construction of these twenty children’s souls was bizarre. They carried all the same properties as any other he’d encountered, but created with unfamiliar techniques.
‘It’s like seeing convergent evolution, where unrelated creatures evolve into crabs independently…’ None of the beings from the different multiverses had this oddity, except the spirits he rescued from the melange. ‘I wonder why?’
“Everyone is dressed,” Huan seized a trio of children and swung them around in an embrace. “Let’s move to the next Earth and introduce our babies to the realm!”
“Alright… but you realise most of these ‘babies’ have countless years of memories?” Ven waved his hand and summoned a portal to their next stop. “They have the minds of adults, not inexperienced newborns…”
“Look at this innocent face!” Huan ignored his words as she shook a dark haired boy in Ven’s direction. “I bet you’ll be the troublemaker of the bunch!”
Ven’s eyes rolled in a reflex of futility. No matter what he said to the dragon-kin, she continued to exist in her own, bizarre world. A wave of his hand and the portal slipped over them. A landscape of lush trees, contrasted with tall skyscrapers, replaced the darkness of space.
“Let’s move to the stage and get on with it,” it would take some time to visit all the worlds on Huan’s list, and those were a fraction of the planets within the realm. A flicker of an idea slipped around in his mind. “You and the kids go ahead and get things ready, I need to make a call…”
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“These drones sure are industrious,” Rafe dusted himself off. Christopher had refused to let him down, until they’d passed through the gate into Lucifer’s Abyss. “They’ve created quite the fortress city…”
“We follow the will of the Lord God,” the Hive formed an avatar of micro drones and tilted its head at the pair of ragged travellers. “You both have elevated stress levels… recreation facilities are limited, we suggest a walk through the courtyard!”
“No time for that,” Christopher gave the machine collective a shake of his head. “We need to seal this gate and report back to the realm, something is very wrong in the levels above…”
Before the Guardian’s words finished, the Hive moved to swarm the gateway. Layer after layer of microscopic drones, arranged in a runic seal. Half of the constructed buildings flowed into action, a fusion of technology and magic that chilled Rafe to the bone. The Hive would be considered an abomination under the rules of his old world. Machines with souls, capable of cultivation and self replication.
“We have dispatched a messenger to Lord Vendak,” the Hive avatar’s eyes flashed a deep red, the signal for thousands more to rise from the nano materials of the fortress. “We shall monitor the gate and defend this outpost if necessary.”
“Like I said, industrious…” Rafe shrugged and patted the closest avatar on the shoulder. “You keep watch, Christopher and I will poke our heads into the level below and see if we can find Cain and Lucifer.”
He didn’t know how strong the Hive’s barrier was, but it would be best to have multiple powerhouses close by. The strange mercury in his mind still weighed heavy, a remnant of whatever creature existed beyond the horrific mirror. Nothing he did shifted the silver orb, a bad omen.
“Wait!” The Hive snaked out a hand and halted Rafe’s movements. A dozen avatars moved forward, sensor light directed from their eyes into the Halfling’s body. “An abnormal energy form has been detected in your sea of consciousness, please hold still for further analysis…”
“Hey!” Rafe flinched as metallic hands clamped onto his limbs. The avatars pressed their faces against his skull, eyes bright enough to bring him temporary blindness. “What are you…”
“A foreign body has been detected! Initiating isolation protocols!”
The avatars dissolved into a wave of metal that wrapped around Rafe’s body like a vice. Runes formed within their structures, bright scripture that descended into his mind. Falling stars wrapped the silver orb, dense chains that hid the object from sight. A tension he’d failed to notice slipped from his body like dirt under a summer rain.
“Are you ok in there, Rafe?” Christopher’s voice filtered in through the machines, filled with worry. “Say something, or I’m going to start chopping you free!”
“I’m fine… I think…” Rafe relaxed inside the Hive’s embrace as the machines continued to layer runes upon his soul. “The thing in the mirror planted something in me, but Hive is suppressing it…”
“We can contain the infection as best we can, but it is recommended to inform Lord Vendak about your situation,” Hive pulled back from Rafe’s body and settled the Halfling onto his feet. “Our knowledge of runecraft is insufficient to remove the problem, we know nothing, compared to the Lord.”
“Alright,” Rafe rubbed his temples. With the seal in place around the orb, a clarity returned to his thoughts. “I think I should stay here… before you locked that thing up, all I could think about was getting lower in the labyrinth.”
“Should I still try and call back the others?” Christopher tapped his foot on the ground. “Suspicious influence or not, it’s still a good idea to reinforce this place.”
“Go… but be careful,” Rafe shuddered. Without the orb to numb his mind, the reality of the lower levels returned in full. “Stay close to the gate, or you might not return at all…”