The god of the nameless world loomed over the Fringe wastelands and blotted out the sky. It writhed above mounds as grand as small mountains, lifting a curtain of vermillion dust through the atmosphere like a rippling wave - a great serpentine creature of carapace and might who cast its titanic shadow on the young woman who now entered its vicinity.

A low rumble shook the lands as it spoke; its segmented body convulsed with each uttered phrase. The woman’s mind, body, and soul felt its voice assaulting her very essence, undulating through her core as she struggled to maintain composure in awe of its pervasive presence.

“As the old ones pass,” the god said, “the new carry the honor of the mantle. And for our purpose – for our end – we seek to usurp the power that unbinds all, chaos and order, everlasting. It is this which has brought you before us, and we, as its hosts, shall listen.” No sounds of any known language were spoken, and yet, she understood it all. Sharp pangs then assaulted her mind. She wasn’t going to last much longer.

The woman, clad in a simple traveling robe, mouth covered in wrappings, resolved herself. With the little strength in her legs that she had left, her breathing hoarse with each contraction of her muscles, she forced herself forward and approached the deity. Her eyes watered from the dust as sweltering heat pelted her skin. Beads of evaporating sweat rolled down the side of her cheek. She was tired from the long journey, parched, and teetering at the edge of hunger and sanity. She squinted at the imposing figure before her, and her body struggled to remain still. Fear gripped her. Not just the fear of the god itself, but fear that her journey would be all for naught; that she would be sent home or, should the worse come to pass, she would perish here and be fed to the monsters of the land, forgotten eternally.

But she did not understand why she felt this way. She will not have been missed. There was no one in her life left…except for maybe one friend. Regardless, she believed her living was necessary for the future. As long as she lived, many lives could be saved, and to reach her ultimate goal of securing the means for a better future for all, she’ll undertake this grueling trial of mind and spirit, as her predecessors had done before her.

Her mouth opened, wrappings protecting her throat from the swirling dust around her, and a dry, cracked voice broke through the torrential sound of swirling debris and earth which continued to enclose the wasteland.

“I come from the great city…the last city. I seek to restore the tenets of the past – lost to all but a few. I seek to rebuild and revive that which was lost to us. Our society. Our history. Our purpose.” The woman began coughing. The torrents of dust grew, but the god continued to watch, unmoving. She felt as if it could sense her feelings - her desperation.

“Great deity. The world of Onyx is gone, but its legacy – the mantle – remains. I wish to carry it into the future. Our existence is but a dying flame, and with your power, your will, I humbly request that you grant me the strength to carry this knowledge, our burden, in perpetuity. I am not strong enough on my own, and I do not believe myself worthy. But I care. I care about those who still fight, who still stand, and though we have become corrupt – though we have become complacent – I believe our potential is still alive and well. Please great deity. Become my strength, and I shall become yours, so that we may save that which we believed to be lost forever. Our humanity. Our potential. Our soul.”

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Something in those words appeared to ring a chord with the deity. It looked to the sky, like a spire, and its form was majestic. It shrilled loudly, a sound which pierced nirvana and the stars. Voices began rattling in her head again, becoming too much for her to bear. The

Madness was overtaking her, and she cried out in pain. Make it stop. Make it…

The woman’s heart began to beat loudly, a sound which now echoed within her mind. Her vision began to swim in a world of colorful splendor, and a sense of calm washed over her. The voices which had plagued her mind grew still, and she was finally at peace. It was at that moment that she realized what the Madness truly was, and how wrong we all were in choosing to go against the one force in this land, which could destroy us all.

This was how it all started. And, she suspected, this is how it will all end.

The giant deity bent down to meet her gaze. Its head towered above her own - its features a picture of beauty and horror, and of awesome splendor. Tar black tendrils protruded from giant flower petals made of shimmering scales, which extruded from its face, each refracting the sun’s light above, glistening across its skin in patterns of rippling octagonal colors. It’s compound ruby eye glittered like water under the sunrise as it continued to watch the woman knowingly. A vastness unlike anything the woman had ever seen could be seen in the depths of its gaze, a shadow which touched upon the edges of infinity.

“You, young one, are peculiar. Not greedy, nor self-important. You carry a will of Onyx, the voice of your kind. A voice many now believe to be lost. The squabbles of the present do not affect you, as you bear keen eyes and open ears towards the future. From henceforth, you shall carry that will, the voice of your soul, back to humanity and seek to unite them once more. Our path…your destiny, rests on your shoulders – just like the brothers and sisters who came before.”

The god lifted its head up again, and roared a bestial roar that shook the lands around. Clarity which had washed over the woman expanded into understanding. Memories, emotions, sensation, and anticipation – all became as one, as visions of the past and beyond were relived again and again within her mind. Truth and destiny imparted upon the young woman this day, but the choice to act upon the truth was still hers to make.

The monster then turned slowly and began to retreat back into the dust and storm, it’s silhouette growing dimmer by the moment. As it left, it rumbled a low warning to the woman one last time, “May our paths cross again one day, in this life, or the next.”

Alyx gasped as she sprang up from her bed. She clutched her head, sweat streaming down her temple.

“A dream?”, she panted before slowing her breathing. The same dream…

Maybe not. No use thinking about it now, she thought, putting on her slippers. She knew that event, in a way. But she didn’t understand why she dreamed about it.

Feels like an omen, she thought. Whatever the case, she had to get back to her research. Alyx sighed audibly as she pulled on her work cloak.

It’s going to be another long day for the Onyx Technicians, but a job’s a job, and there were people who needed her help.