For a minute, there was a bit of talk about potentially going up to the Seosten ship to have this conversation, but I declined the suggestion about as politely as I could. Yes, we probably wouldn’t have been in much more danger up there than we already were down here, but still. Even if being here only bought us a second or two if things went sideways, those seconds could really make all the difference. If they had to go as far as transporting more troops down here to attack us--well, if they had to send anyone beyond what they already had, it meant we were doing phenomenally well, honestly. Sachael by himself was probably a big enough problem, let alone adding in almost half a dozen other Olympians as well. If this got down to a fight and the four of us (counting Story) managed to conduct ourselves well enough for them to actually need to summon help from their ship, then… damn, it’d be pretty impressive. But I really didn’t want to let it get to that point, because it was far more likely we’d all just end up getting squished like bugs. And not even the sort that turned out to be Sun Wukong in disguise, as fun as that’d be to see.
Instead, we stayed right where we were, as the Seosten summoned chairs for everyone to sit on, surrounding a table right there in the middle of the desert. The table even had an assortment of clearly delicious refreshments scattered across it. Including water, various juices, and wine.
Sachael gestured for us to help ourselves while everyone sat down. The three of us were on one side of the table, while he, Sariel, Apollo, Medea, Kidiea, and Cassiel were on the other. We all stared at one another briefly before the executive officer spoke up. “Well, here is what we know. This energy signature is rather similar to another source that we are familiar with. It's a very powerful source indeed. And one that definitely shouldn't be here on this planet. We also know that it only appeared within the past few hours. But that pyramid wasn't there before. Our people checked the older scans we had of this area, and it's absolutely clear that there were no structures there as of a few weeks ago. We believe the pyramid appeared with that energy.”
Cassiel took a long gulp from a glass of some sort of fruity wine before nodding quickly in agreement. “Yeah, there definitely wasn't anything in that spot until the energy showed up. I'd be willing to bet everything I own on that. Which, let me tell you, is a lot of interesting stuff right now. Although, you know, it's hard to say if the pyramid brought the energy or vice versa. Either way, they’re connected. They just showed up together, and when we came to check it out, there you were.”
It was odd. Looking at her, I had the strangest sense of something. It wasn't quite familiarity, but vaguely similar to that. I really didn't get the alien sort of feeling. Was that because I was so accustomed to being around Seosten that even one that I had just met seemed kind of familiar?
No, I didn't think it was that, because I didn't get the same sense from that Kidiea guy, or Medea. They were both completely new to me as well, and still came off as not being exactly human.
Wait, that was it. When Cassiel talked, she seemed far more human than the others. Even more than Sariel and Apollo did, especially right now. If I didn't know better, I might have guessed that she was actually a human part of their crew. But that was ridiculous, unless the real Cassiel was possessing a human and having her help with the talking? No, that didn't make any sense either. So what was going on there? Because the more I thought about it, the more that seemed right. Hell, to be honest, she didn't even seem like a human from this time period. If I closed my eyes and just listened to her words, it felt like she could be a person from our own time. Which was clearly absurd. I was pretty certain that if the Olympus had had a person from the future as part of the crew, I would probably have heard about it from someone by this point. Unless she kept it secret for that long? But why would that--okay I was really getting out in the weeds on this one.
Maybe she's just got some sort of power that makes her be able to talk in a way that's familiar to people and more likely to ingratiate her with strangers so they feel like she's one of them, Story offered thoughtfully. That would be one reason for them to have brought her along on this negotiation, right? I guess it could even include other effects besides talking that also help make her seem even more trustworthy. You think something like that would fit a Tartarus sort of gift?
Maybe, I sent back uncertainly. That could very well be it. I certainly couldn't rule it out. But if that was true and she really did have some sort of power that made her seem familiar and all that, maybe I should be even more cautious and suspicious of her. It might have been something she couldn't control, but the fact that she was here at all made me doubt it was any sort of accident. Especially given everything I knew about the Seosten in general. No matter what the truth was, I had to be very careful and keep my eyes on this Cassiel girl, whoever she really might’ve been. Something was going on with her, and until we knew what it was, I couldn’t trust my feelings about her.
All of that passed through my mind, including the bit with Story, in only a few seconds. Everyone was watching me by that point, waiting to see how I would react to the girl's words. I couldn't help but wonder if the Seosten were watching closely to see if the hypothetical trust power we thought she might have was doing its job. Unfortunately, there was really no way to tell the difference between that and the ordinary sort of staring they would be doing in this situation even if the whole thing was on the up and up.
Shaking that off inwardly while silently regretting that I didn't have any way to easily share all my suspicions with our parents to see what they thought, I made myself calmly reply, “Yes, well, that fits with what we know.” Again, it wasn't a lie. I really did believe that the pyramid and that energy were connected, and that they had both appeared in this place that recently. I just happened to know more than I was actually saying. I was doing my best to avoid as many outright lies as I could, even if I did still have that ring Gaia had given me to help me get away with deceiving the Committee the year before. I didn't want to push things too much if I could help it. This situation was complicated enough as it was without making it worse. I had to be careful about my words.
With that in mind, I continued. “My assistants and I, dead and living alike, were attempting to reach that pyramid to investigate the source of the energy. But as we have all seen, that's easier said than done. Either the pyramid was deliberately shielded with some sort of spatial warping spell ensuring no one can get close to it, or that’s simply an effect of the energy you mentioned.”
Saying that made me think about it. If the rifts were giving off energy similar to Tartarus, because what else would Sachael have been referring to, was it because Godfather had made the original? That didn’t sound good at all. We had to get to that pyramid, find the rift, and get me through it as soon as possible. Before things got worse. I really hoped that these strange pyramids, or things like them that fit that particular time period, hadn’t shown up at all the other rifts. Were all the other versions of me that were spread all over trying to deal with this magical spatial distortion playing keepaway, or was I special because the Olympus was here? As if they didn’t complicate it all enough as it was.
Sariel was the one who spoke up after they digested what I said. “And um--” She glanced toward Sachael as though briefly uncertain if she should continue saying anything. That wasn’t the Sariel I was accustomed to seeing. Then again, she was quite a bit younger now. Still, when the other Seosten gave no response, she pushed on. “Why exactly do you want to find this energy? Pardon any suspicion, but you are a Necromancer. And a powerful one, it seems. So exactly how many dead things are you going to try to raise if you manage to get any of the power in that pyramid?” As she asked that, the woman turned slightly to look that way. I could hear a mix of suspicion and curiosity in her voice. She was wary about my motives, but it also sounded like genuine curiosity as well. She really did want to know what a strong Necromancer could do with that power. It was probably the Seosten scientist inside her. They liked poking dangerous things.
The bigger question here was how I was going to answer that without directly lying. Or if I should just trust the ring. I sure as hell wasn’t going to assume they didn’t have magical ways of detecting lies themselves, and I double sure as hell wasn’t going to tell them anything resembling the truth. Even if it did briefly occur to me to simply say that I was from the future and that they had to leave this energy alone or the whole universe would end. Why would they listen? And even if they did believe that I was telling the truth as I knew it, Seosten, especially in this time period, were probably too arrogant to really back off. They’d think they could handle it better than me. There was no way in hell I was going to risk trusting them to leave it alone just because I told them it was dangerous. Honestly, the only conceivable way they would listen at all is if they thought I was actually…
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I’m from the future.” The words came out almost before I had fully settled on exactly what I was going to say. They also made Mom and Dad’s heads snap around to stare at me, while also half-rising as though certain that some sort of spell had been done to make me say that.
Needless to say, I had their attention. All of their attention, every last one. They were all gawking at me open-mouthed. Which--well to be honest, it was almost funny to see how utterly shocked someone like Sachael could look when hit by this news. His cool demeanor was gone as he just gave me a baffled, gaping fish-like stare while making a strange noise in the back of his throat.
Before they could recover, I pushed on with the half-baked idea that had only just popped into my head. It was dangerous, I knew that, I knew it was. But all of this was dangerous, and there was a huge chance that I wouldn’t actually be able to keep the entire Olympus away from the rift. I had to take a big gamble on--well definitely not telling them the whole truth, but just the right amount.
You’re right about one thing, Story noted a bit breathlessly, it is a big gamble. Good luck to us.
“You want to know what I am? That’s what. I’m one of you, a Seosten, from the future.” Yeah, this was where the whole ‘only telling part of the truth’ came in, and I had to hope the ring would do its job, because I definitely wasn’t sticking to just telling selective truths now. “I--that is, my father was one of you.” Even as I said that, I was already focusing on summoning up one specific ghost. And now we were far off into the deep end.
Just like that, Doctor Manakel appeared nearby, and I really heard the collective gasps. Yeah, I was kind of going out on a very thin limb right now, that was for sure. If this didn’t work out. I could be completely fucking over the entire timeline even more with every single word I said.
“Manakel!” That was Sariel, who started to fling herself over the table before stopping with a conflicted expression on her face. “Wha--how--who?” Her eyes snapped from his ghostly form to me, then back again. “Is this real? This isn’t real. You’re not--” Now she looked angry, expression darkening as she focused on me, clearly believing that I was messing with them or something.
“Sariel,” Doctor Manakel himself cut in, raising a hand to call her attention to him. “It is truly me. And they are truly from the far distant future. A future in which I have… sadly passed away. I was killed in battle, and my… progeny collected my spirit.” After saying that, he moved that way. Sariel stiffened as he approached, before going very still when he leaned in to whisper something very quietly in her ear. Whatever he said must have convinced her that it was really him, because she gave a weak little choked noise and covered her mouth tightly with one hand.
“It’s alright,” Doctor Manakel assured her. “I have come to peace with it, and it will not come to pass for quite some time. And, in the end, I have… one I can be quite proud of.” He looked to me then, with a faint smile. “One who has inherited my gift, as you can see. Listen to this… Jacob. He has… come to this place and time with a vitally important mission, one whose success or failure will determine the fate of our people, and the universe as a whole. He’s come to prevent the transformation of the Fomorians into a far greater threat than they already are. That pyramid, the energy within it, absolutely must not reach them. Jacob is here to ensure it doesn’t.”
Voice catching just a bit, Apollo managed a weak, “You--you’re up on the ship right now. But you’re here, and--and that means you’re going to… who was responsible for--wait never mind, we can’t ask you that.”
“And I could not answer,” Doctor Manakel noted quietly, giving a brief glance over Sariel that would mean nothing to them but everything to those of us who knew. “The future is set, it must remain so. But to prevent that future from becoming a greater nightmare than any of our people could imagine, Jacob and his aides must reach the pyramid to defuse that energy. That is the only way to ensure the power does not reach the Fomorians and transform them into… into a threat that will sweep over our people. They are strong now, strong enough that we can only barely match them, carrying this war to a standstill for so long. Imagine, if you will, what will happen if they become even stronger.”
Yeah, this was definitely a huge risk, possibly the biggest one I had ever taken. And that was saying a lot after these past couple years. It could very easily completely blow up in all our faces. I could have been setting a torch to the timeline, but something told me I wasn't. Namely, the fact that Manakel was so easily going along with it. I felt like if this was a radical departure from how things had gone for him originally, he would have faltered and hesitated a lot more. He certainly wouldn’t have come right out without any coaching to say all these things just like that. Sure, that wasn’t the most ironclad reasoning of all time, but it was something. I had to take what I could get when we were dealing with this sort of thing. There wasn’t exactly a roadmap I could follow.
In this case, it’s more like we’re driving and hoping Manakel, who does have the map, will shout something if we take a wrong turn and start driving into a river or something, Story quietly noted.
That Cassiel girl was on her feet, chair knocked backwards away from her and forgotten as she gaped at me. It looked like she was trying to say something, but couldn’t find the words. Actually, it kind of looked like she was the most shocked out of all of them, which was really saying a lot.
In the end, however, it wasn’t Cassiel who spoke up. Instead, it was that Kidiea guy, who started to talk while giving a quick glance toward the others. He looked like a Latino human, though of course with the same staggeringly attractive thing all Seosten had going on. He was just visibly old enough to have a bit of silver-gray in his dark hair, which was worn long. When he spoke, his voice was very notably deep despite being an overall rather skinny guy. He could be a movie trailer narrator or voice Optimus Prime or something. “And we should all simply take your word that this isn’t an elaborate trick, that you are a ghost of the real Manakel, who has come back from the future with this strange Necromancer, who happens to be your son, because…?”
“It’s him,” Sariel put in quickly before anyone else could react, cutting off Sachael just as he started to speak. Her voice was a little strained as she nodded when we all looked at her. Still, she was clearly very certain about what she was saying. “Believe me, it’s really Manakel. It’s--he knows things only the actual Manakel could know. Things he wouldn’t have told anyone else.”
That honestly raised more questions than it answered, even for me, but obviously whatever the man had whispered into her ear had been enough to very thoroughly convince her. And if he had whispered it like that, it was private. No matter how curious I was, I wouldn’t pry into that. Especially if it was something big enough to make her so certain. Whatever that secret might’ve been, it was just between them. So, I simply lifted my gaze to look back at Sachael. “To be honest, I wasn’t planning on being this open about the whole situation, but then, I wasn’t planning on running into you at all. Especially your ship. My… father didn’t tell me this would happen.”
“The timeline had to be maintained,” Doctor Manakel noted, probably for their benefit as much as mine. “You were not aware that this had happened the first time around, from my point of view, thus you could not be warned about it.” There was a lot more behind his words than that. I’d interacted with the Seosten man enough by that point to know he was feeling… something. It was hard to say what it was, aside from something strong enough for me to pick up on it even though he was doing his best not to give anything away. And anything that was enough to make Manakel emotional like that was--no, I couldn’t think about it. I had to focus on what was actually happening. I couldn’t worry about what Manakel might know that was making him so emotional.
“I--need to speak with Puriel,” Sachael sounded very taken aback, understandably. It was a lot. “This is outside my authority. Which, to be honest, says quite a bit about the situation. I think--”
We didn’t get a chance to hear about what he thought. Because Mom abruptly shouted a quick, “Down!” I felt her use some sort of telekinetic or wind power or something to shove Dad and me toward the ground. The Seosten reacted quickly as well, throwing themselves against the sand as well.
We were all flat within an instant. Not that it mattered. In the distance, we could see some sort of greenish-purple explosion happening at the top of that pyramid. Before any of us could react, the energy shot toward us, separating into distinct lightning-like bolts. I had just enough time to curse, before one of the bolts struck me. I could see the others all being hit, while a shock of pain went through my body. It was like being electrocuted. Only worse, since I had pretty decent resistance to that sort of thing.
The world went white for a moment. When it cleared up, I wasn’t sitting on sand anymore. I was in some sort of lush green forest--or an orchard, given all the fruit trees around. And I wasn’t alone. My item sense picked out another person behind me while I muttered, “Ugh, what happened?”
“I dunno, but I don’t think we’re in the desert anymore,” the person behind me muttered.
“The question is,” Cassiel added, “did it happen to everyone, or are the two of us just special?”