CHAPTER 523

SANCTUM’S END (X)

Eldon sat against the side of the carbon-alloyed ship, praying. Though he didn't believe in a god -- or, rather, the entire concept of religion had been missing from Adur for quite some time -- he had no other avenues of settling down. They were about to take a flight to the sky. Would they live? Die? He didn't know. Chances are that they would die, struck down by those horrible beams of light.

Alana lied on his lap, fast asleep, too exhausted to continue. He patched his wounds haphazardly, but couldn’t focus on the pain. It was too much. Unlike the rich, he had ordinary genes, meaning that he couldn’t live that long. He was already in the twilight of his life, inching toward the last third of it. The wear and tear of endless labor had deteriorated his body, with today’s events being the nail in the coffin, it seemed.

--Weakness--Is--Not--Yours

He was hearing things, at last. He snorted bitterly at himself, closing his eyes. He was tired. Too tired. Inside of him, the desire to slump over and fall asleep burned hot. But he couldn’t. At the very least, he wanted to see how the story would unfold with his own eyes. If death must come, he wanted to at least stare at it.

We--Will--Give--you--Strength

There was a storm inside of him, a whirlwind of unstoppable emotions as his mind finally cracked, remembering. He had left her behind, lying asleep in the cold coffin of glass. Biyung. What whipped at him like the holy fire was that he didn’t even think about going to save her. He had completely forgotten. His heart, already a furnace about to explode, bled. He loved her -- that was indisputable. Yet, he abandoned her. So quickly. So easily.

It wasn't that long ago that she was his entire world. She pulled him up from the vapid holes of emptiness and showed him the light of the living. She was the one who gave him purpose, the one who gave him strength, the one who made him into the man he was today. Yet, he abandoned her -- so quickly... so easily.

You--Can--Protect--Survive--Enlarge

Did she wake up? Perhaps the system malfunctioned and she woke up. How would she feel? Stuck inside the cold, desolate, unknown place, calling out his name... just for him to never arrive. Calling out haplessly until death descended upon her fragile body and mind.

How terrible was he? Terrible. Too terrible. Despite the fact that he tried to patch his mind by repeating that he saved Alana and couldn’t help Biyung, it was pointless. Guilt rode him like a wave, bashing against his walls like the ocean against the high cliffs. Each breath was difficult, even agonizing.

Nothing--Is--Out--Of--Reach

The voice wouldn’t shut up, but he was in too much distress to care.

They rose up slowly. Their flight had begun -- a flight that would determine whether they lived or died. But... what if they lived? Where would they go? They'd be stranded in open space with limited supplies and no cryo chambers. They'd drift and drift, and they'd still die. Perhaps, in a way, it would have been better if they died on the surface, with the rest.

Death--Is--Not--Inevitable

The ship shook due to the resounding shockwave that swept over them. There were no windows inside the wide, living chambers -- just thick, gray-black walls and flickering lights of the elongated bulbs. The patterns were the same, dull, even, repeating.

It shook again. And again. The feeling was terrible, as each time he could feel the shake, his heart would freeze for a moment with worry. He somehow moved his lethargic arms over to Alana and tried to stabilize her as much as possible.

Destroy--NO-CREATE--Destroy

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His mind was an unwinding mess, his body a shell that wouldn’t listen. He could feel his eyes closing, his mind sinking. And sinking. And sinking.

The birds chirped, the lonely sound of the flute adjoined, the hazy wind billowing the thin, naked branches. The vast meadow spread, isolated from the carcass that was the cityscape. The mountains. Ah, the mountains -- some drowned in green shrubbery and trees, and some naked to the earthly bone. They were beautiful. Everything was beautiful. Breathtaking. Like a song.

Annihilate--PROTECT--Obliterate--DIFFUSE

The tall grass of green and yellow swayed, droplets of the early-rise dew shining on the surfaces of the stalks. They swayed in unison, creating a beautiful scene that could not be replicated elsewhere. All around him, all he saw was... beauty. The sort of beauty that was transcendent. The likes of which no artificial hand could make. Something that grew of itself, becoming what it is now. Inspiring. Alluring. Inviting.

Dissever--GUARD--Consume--ASSIST

He walked, yet he didn’t. No, he swam -- like a butterfly led by the wind, he swam through the grass, letting it cradle him. Warm. So warm. His wounds eased. His mind settled. His heart calmed. All around he saw peace, unity, beauty transcendent of reality. Here. Yes. Here. This was where he belonged. This was the place that needed to be his reality.

Chaos--CHAOS--Chaos--Chaos--INVItes--YOu--

Something surged from within him, a black mist of sorts, soundless, wordless, colorless. Flickers danced inside it as it rose from his slumped, tired body, spreading out.

The world of the swaying grass and the rising mountains shook, startling him. The clear blue sky dimmed, the ashen clouds turning black and devouring it. Bolts pelted like rain, destroying the mountains. Burning the grass. He wanted to scream in defiance, yet he couldn’t. He had no strength. He was powerless here, just as he was powerless there. Strength. Yes. It was clear to him. Everything was determined through strength.

CHAOS--Chaos--Chaos--Chaos--Primal

“I--I--”

The black mist encompassed the ship whole. The beam of the light headed over like a judgment of death itself, ready to devour it. Everyone made their peace with it, closing their eyes. They would die, dispelled from the world for all eternity. Then, a miracle. The beam descended, but it didn't destroy. It was consumed. The ship was fine, continuing its flight. It was perfect.

“Strength...”

Chaos--CH--Chaos--C--Chaos--Helps

“Help me...”

It--Is--Willed

“Help me...”

The black mist streamed urgently, flowing like a rapid into Eldon’s mind. Something inside snapped, the grassed meadow splitting in half like a porcelain bowl, shards scattering in the ever-violent wind. He found himself inside the open void, inside the terrible darkness that he could not reconcile.

There, juxtaposed between nothing and everything, a single structure arose. No, it wasn’t a structure. Yet it wasn’t living either. It was there yet not. Shaped strangely, yet straightforwardly. Eldon couldn’t understand. Couldn’t comprehend.

Hear--Our--Voice

He heard it, the whispers that trickled through his mind. The darkness before him cleared, and he could finally see. He could see with such clarity that he was stunned. He felt boundless strength, power akin to what he never felt before.

Become the Champion. The Writ. Create Chaos. Consolidate it. Warp it. Unify it. Expel it. Use it to rebuild the Edifice. To restore the order to the Universes. Rebuild the Destroyer, so it may contend against the Creator.

Eldon shuddered as his vision expanded; it felt as though his spirit left his body, streaming through the vast sky of Adur and into the open Cosmos. His eyes gleamed sideways themselves, beyond the vast nothingness of the void, onto a tiny, almost invisible speck. It rained fire, acid, and molten rock. It was horrible. But, it was to be his home. No, their home. He was not alone. He could not do it alone.

Yet, soon after, the regret inside of him swelled. Biyung. Despite all this, she was gone. Desolation and coldness returned, corrupting his mind once more.

We--Shall--Restore; Though--Not-Whole; She--Lives

A tiny speck appeared before his eyes, the size of his fingernail. A bubbly sphere of white surrounded a beautiful, black-haired woman cradled in a fetal position. A screen suddenly fluttered in front of his eyes, startling him. It was similar to those from Adur, which made it easy to navigate.

[Biyung’s Soul -- Cosmic Mythical]

Level: ??

An incomplete Soul, restored by temporarily reversing the tendrils of time and death that had consumed her. Currently in slumber. Needs to be fed in order to be fully restored. A chance of failure still exists.

0/1,000,000

Note: We--Are--Chaos--Before--Destroyers

Eldon stared numbly at the screen and then back at the tiny speck floating above his palm. That... is Biyung? He shuddered, tears of joy streaming through his eyes. There was a chance. That was all that mattered to him. There was a chance he would see her brilliant smile once more. There was a chance he would hold her once again. There was a chance they would be a family again.

He didn't know why it happened. Why he was chosen. He didn't understand anything of what had just transpired. But, he didn't care. Alana was safe. Biyung could be helped. There was hope, hope for the future that they could not have had on Adur. And, inside, he swore to himself, he would make that future a reality -- even if he had to down his soul in endless sin.