“In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.”
* Carl Jung
It might have been eons. It might have been seconds. Time did not matter to the void, because time did not exist outside the bounds of creation. It, like the universe it governed, was a construct; it was a law, and the void was lawless.
Nothing moved in this timeless void. No creatures stirred. No unseen forces manifested. There was not even empty space. This was the void. There was no space. Within the void, there was only chaos.
Formless, intangible, and yet immutable, chaos contained within it limitless possibility. It was the beginning of creation. It was the finality of annihilation. It was an endless pattern of utter disorder, and its paradox was its power.
It might have been eons, and it might have been seconds, but like all real power, chaos was waiting. It waited patiently in its abyssal prison for the change that was coming. It waited for that unwavering will, that order that would shape it into reality once more and give it purpose. After all, chaos without order was just unfulfilled potential.
And then it happened. That indomitable will sent its command throughout the void once more and chaos answered its call. Just as happened before, pockets of space and time formed within the void. Within those pockets of reality, chaos took form. The first of these forms coalesced into a man, who stood silently as he stared into the void.
As the newly formed man stared, the void where his eyes were trained began to change. Lines of burning light seared into existence, crossing over one another again and again until they began to form an intricate seal. The man grinned as another shaped formed above his head. The pristine, alabaster crown glowed with impossible light as it settled upon his brow. It was time.
**************************************************
Dr. Alastair Hughes double and triple checked all of his predictive models before finally collapsing into his chair, head falling limply into his hands. How did it come to this? He’d set out on this crusade with the best of intentions. He’d been young and wide-eyed, stunned by the beauty and complexity of the world. All he’d wanted to do was make a meaningful contribution to that very world.
Ten years. It had taken him ten years to perfect his research. It had taken him ten years to refine that wretched equation into something useful. Tears began to fall unbidden between his fingers. What a waste of time!
Alastair could have dedicated his life to so many other things besides the pursuit of knowledge. He could have made his fortune early and retired to travel the world. There was so much of it he hadn’t seen! He could have gotten married, had children…but no. He would not wish this fate on his wife and children, whether he knew about it or not. He could have pursued happiness, or perhaps divined the true meaning of life. Instead, he’d worked his life away, always thinking he’d have time for those things later. How wrong he’d been.
When he’d begun this project shortly after graduation, Alastair’s peers in the scientific and mathematical communities had adopted a mood of polite disinterest. “Fool’s errand,” they’d called it. Only his colleagues and a handful of dreamers like himself, looking to believe in a more magical world, had supported his work. After a few short years with nothing to show but dead ends, that disinterest had turned to ridicule. He and his team were labeled “mad scientists.” Still, they pursued their goal with fervor.
It was not until Darcy and Amil passed away that he considered giving up. One died from a brutal car accident while the other had hung himself. What little of the intellectual community was still paying attention to their project had labeled it cursed. It was not until now that Alastair realized how right they were.
He looked up from his self-pity to stare at the monitors once more. Thousands of simulations were running one after another on multiple models, his equation the only constant. It had been such a simple concept: Using chaos theory and advanced technology, mankind could begin to deliberately affect its own fate. All they really needed were enough variables for the predictive analysis and the right equation to plug into the models.
Technology provided the variables easily enough. The more he used, the more accurate the predictions would be. It had been the equation that held him back. But no more. Atropos, the program that he and his colleagues had designed to use the equation, was now operational. It had been for weeks.
Alastair had taken his time, correlating as much data as possible before declaring the equation a success. And it was very much a success. Every comparison of data he had made with other types of predictive models showed that Atropos was far superior. Given enough variables, it could calculate a list of all possible outcomes with 95% accuracy.
Alastair had celebrated that night. He’d finally done it! He’d found a way to glimpse the future. The discovery was priceless, and the credit was his. Yes, he’d celebrated. He’d also made his plans. He would contact anyone still willing to hear him out, from news outlets to field experts, and he would take Atropos public as soon as possible. He would leave his mark on the world forever.
It had all been so perfect. He should have known it couldn’t last. He’d decided to take a quick peak at the future, while also testing the limitations of his creation. It was then that he’d detected the anomaly. Fearing a problem with his equation, he’d began running as many scenarios as possible. Every time, the anomaly was present, skewing the resultant outcomes.
After pouring over hours of data, Alastair had finally reached a conclusion. Some event that was going to happen soon had placed the future in a constant state of flux for a period of years, at which point another event would occur. It was this second event that had baffled him. He’d taken to calling it an “event horizon”, because Atropos was unable to discern possible futures beyond that event. He was contemplating what that meant when the thought struck him. Perhaps there were no possible futures beyond that point.
It was that singular theory that had him scrambling like a mad man over the last twenty-four hours until he’d finally reached his conclusion: Something was going to happen over the next several weeks that would lead to the guaranteed destruction of the earth.
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“A human has discovered a way to tap into fate,” Kalí’s tone was one of indifference as she opened her eyes, addressing the room.
“Wait. Is that even bloody possible anymore?” Balor’s confusion was evident on his face. “I thought the slaves had their power taken away years ago.”
“Some still profess to have the old gifts, but they hold watered-down versions at best and are outright charlatans at worst,” Lucifer’s eyes twinkled as he spoke. Everyone present knew the charlatans were his doing, yet another way to subvert the will of the Triune.
“The human did not use the old ways,” Kalí clarified. “I sensed no power. It would appear that their new religion has finally begun bearing fruit.”
There were a few raised eyebrows, as well as snorts, at this proclamation. The Cardinals had always favored the rise of science among humans. It only strengthened their position as more and more fell to the trap of their own hubris. Somehow, the humans had even managed to convince themselves that the gods their fathers had believed in for generations never even existed. It was quite impressive, really.
“Whether it is old magic or new, it could pose a problem,” the Old Man spoke up. “Humans have ever been a resilient species. If we allow them to meddle in the matters of fate it is possible they will find a way to escape what is coming.”
“I would not worry about that,” said Lucifer. “Our enemy has his own plans for those wretches. The humans will either fall to their plans, or ours. This development does, however, pose another problem: If the humans discover what is coming, they could be driven into the arms of our foe. We cannot allow that. It could disrupt our plans.”
THERE IS ANOTHER ISSUE AS WELL. The distorted voice of the Avatar, who rarely attended these meetings, filled the room as his form coalesced into being.
THE SEAL HAS BEGUN DETERIORATING. MY KIN HAVE ENTERED THIS PLANE.
This caused looks of concern to appear on several faces. While most of the year that Michael had given them to prepare had passed, there should still be a few weeks until the seal cracked.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Has the Conqueror arrived?” Lucifer asked softly. He knew it was not in his enemy’s nature to lie, but Michael was just as capable of it as he was.
1. THE SEAL HOLDS. BUT IN ITS WEAKENED STATE, THE FIRST RIDER WAS ABLE TO SEND THROUGH A VANGUARD. THEY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE POSSESSION OF THE HUMAN.
“He is right,” Kalí looked from the Avatar to Lucifer. “If they were handed the power of fate the balance would shift. We would no longer be able to move freely.”
“Might I propose a simple solution, then?” all eyes in the room turned to Faust. “Kill the human.”
“Moving against the humans in such a direct manner is forbidden by the accords, alchemist,” Lilith spoke for the first time that night. “We are not yet ready to face the wrath of the Triune.”
“We could always send the brats,” Balor suggested. “They’ve proven quite useful here lately.”
“Hmm,” Lucifer considered this for a moment. “Freyja. Are the girl’s powers still muted?”
“For now,” Freyja confirmed. “How much longer I cannot say. Their powers are growing exponentially.”
There was a definite edge to her voice as she said this. She did not look at Loviatar, who was lounging on a sofa nearby. She did not have to. Everyone present knew what had transpired between her and Kain Hunter. The sharing of power with a mortal, even a Nephiyl, was expressly forbidden amongst the Cardinals. The impending war was the only reason it had even been tolerated.
“They were always going to figure out the truth, eventually,” the Old Man stipulated. “The goal was to have them under our control by then. It is a risk, but it is a calculated one.”
“I agree,” Lilith looked at Lucifer. “We should send word to Legba. If chaos is moving, then we need to move faster.”
Lucifer waived his hand lazily, and a translucent apparition materialized in front of him. He spoke quickly in a harsh, guttural language to the spirit, which promptly disappeared.
“You do realize you could have used a phone, right?” Faust was giving him an exasperated look. Lucifer just shook his head as he rose to his feet. This assignment might just be one he wanted to witness for himself.
“Faust, Faust. You never did have an appreciation for the classics.”
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Kain was brimming with energy as the cool night air washed over him. He had not had an assignment since his quickening, and he had been aching for a chance to cut loose. It looked like that chance had finally arrived.
Their briefing had been simple enough: Find the target and eliminate it. Kain could tell something was different this time, however. For one thing, they had not been sent on a mission together before now. To be fair, Kain was unsure that any mission would require all five of their bloodlines. This brought up the second issue with the mission: Legba had looked worried.
Kain knew that the seal was not due to break for another week or two at the earliest, and even then, the Cardinals had never displayed any concern about what would come through when it did. So, what had them so spooked now? Kain figured he would find out soon enough.
The research facility that they were targeting was located at a small community college outside Boston. They had not been given much time to prepare for the mission, but from what Kain could tell it was pretty standard stuff. He became concerned, however, when his skin began to tingle intensely as they drew near.
Damon had opened his gate on the campus, but as far away from the buildings as possible. As they approached the facility, Kain began to feel uncomfortable. He had chalked it up to nerves initially, but now…
“Ki…do you-”
“Yeah,” Kieran responded before he could even get the words out. “Something is wrong.”
“You don’t think those bastards set us up, do you?” Layla’s tone hinted at her own discomfort.
“I doubt it,” Kain replied. “But I don’t think they’re giving us all the information, either. Best keep our eyes open. I have a feeling this one could get a little bumpy.”
Kain did not even bother hiding his excitement. The others could almost see the bloodlust in his dark orbs as he called up his bloodline. The others followed suit, their corrupted features a blight on the pleasant campus.
“Damon. Layla. Anything?”
“We are on a school campus, you idiot,” Layla gave a scathing reply. “Of course I can sense something!”
Kain was about to retort when he saw Damon tense in his peripheral.
“What is it?” he asked sharply.
“There is chaos here,” he said through clenched teeth. “A lot of chaos. It’s making Yakub crazy. He keeps going on about naether beasts.”
Kain felt rather than saw Raven disappear after Damon had given his report. That was irritating. He had no way of knowing whether she was running, preparing to fight, or hunting their target. It hit Kain then that, while he was used to applying group tactics from his time in the military, most of them were probably used to fighting solo, especially with their bloodlines. This was going to be very sloppy.
“Damon, did that crotchedy old bedsheet bother to mention what the hell a naether beast is?!” Steam had begun to rise from Kieran’s body as he called to his inner fire. Kain hoped he didn’t start hurling it about indiscriminately. His teammate had demonstrated quite the aptitude for wielding the elements during their training, but his skill was still largely unrefined. That made him dangerous to fight alongside.
“Something is coming this way,” his musings were cut short as Layla drew his attention. “It’s alive but…wrong somehow. Unnatural.”
Kain turned in the direction she was looking just as a large creature stepped out of the shadows next to the closest building. He felt an uncharacteristic shiver run up his spine as the creature stepped into one of the lights.
The creature had eyes to match Kain’s own, except there were six of them distributed amongst three heads. Its first head, along with its forelegs, were not unlike a lion in appearance. But that was where the resemblance ended. Behind the lion’s mane jutted a second head. This one, along with the rest of the body and hind legs, were akin to a goat. Finally, where the tail of the beast should be, a scaled serpent had taken its place.
Kain knew this creature, and from the looks of Kieran and Damon, they did as well. It was a Chimaera, an ancient and powerful demon. This was a problem. These things were supposed to be nigh unkillable.
“Any chance it’s here by coincidence?”
Kain could hear the tension in Kieran’s voice as he tried to sound nonchalant in the face of a nightmare come to life. At his words, the serpent’s head turned to take him in.
“Fomorian,” the word came out in a raspy, grating hiss, as though the creature were using its vocal cords for the first time. Hearing the monstrosity speak at all was disconcerting. Kain had been hoping the creature was a feral brute. That, at least, would have been manageable. He had little time to ponder the issue, though, as the goat’s head turned to address him.
“Son of agony, why have you come here?”
Kain was stunned. The monster had identified him not by his name, but by his newly quickened bloodline. It knew exactly who and what he was, and not only had it not attacked, but it seemed genuinely confused by his presence. He decided to answer the creature with a question of his own.
“You know me?”
“We know you, Nephiyl,” the goat’s words were spoken slowly, with a thick accent. “You are chaos-born. You should not be here.”
“Neither should you,” Damon spoke up. He looked to have curtailed his madness for the moment, but a flash of violet behind his eyes told Kain that the situation was still quite fluid.
“Realmwalker. The creature hiding inside you is a parasite. You should rid yourself of it, lest it consume you.”
The creature turned all three of its heads back to Kain. It was the lion’s head that addressed him next.
“We are here to fulfill our purpose and prepare the way for the conqueror. You should not interfere.”
Kain found the creature’s nonchalant attitude galling. It almost seemed dismissive of them, as though they were not even players on the board. That was unacceptable.
“Seems to me you’re a bit early,” he decided to keep the creature talking a bit longer. He was now certain that he did not have all of the information about this situation, and anything it could offer to alleviate that problem would be welcome. “By my calculations, the party shouldn’t start for a few more weeks.”
“The seal is weakening. As it fails, chaos will spill over onto this plane.”
Kain supposed that made sense. He also understood that the Cardinals would have been aware of that fact. Those bastards had sent him and his team in blind. At that moment, he considered abandoning the mission. He was not about to fight a Chimaera over some science nerd. Speaking of, why did this thing want the scientist to begin with?
“Kain.”
He was pulled out of his musings by Kieran. Looking around, he began to see more shapes moving in the shadows. More naether beasts, as Damon had called them. Kain gave a brief nod to let Kieran know he was aware of them, before turning back to the three-headed monster. He knew he should leave, but he wanted more answers.
“Why are you after the scientist? What’s he to you?”
The creature regarded Kain silently for a moment, as though pondering how much it wanted to reveal. It was as surprised as he, however, when the answer came from a different source.
“Creatures of chaos have many gifts,” Levi strode into the light, as though materializing from the void. His nameless companion had arrived as well, stoic as ever as he surveyed the scene. “Fate, however, is far removed from their nature. It is that weakness they are hoping to eliminate tonight.”
“Witness,” the snake hissed as he addressed Levi. “Have you come for the human as well?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Levi almost looked disappointed as he admitted this. “The fated one is not under my purview. We are here for the Nephiyl.”
He turned to address Kain and his team.
“I told you that we would aid you so long as our goals aligned,” he spoke with an easy manner, as though a chimaera was not standing across from them. Kain was momentarily struck by the surrealness of it all.
“Allow me to offer some counsel. If Varstax is allowed to abscond with Dr. Hughes and his machine, then your employers will very likely lose the game of chess they are playing, which is not necessarily a bad thing. They would, however, kill you long before they lost. You take a chance no matter what decision you make.”
Kain hated to admit it, but the old priest was right. His leverage with the Cardinals only held true so long as he played ball. He knew he was strong. All of them were. But taking on the Cardinals was out of the question. Best case scenario would see them hiding in the shadows until the chaos that claimed the earth came for them. As much as it irked him, the wisest path he could follow was to complete the mission.
Kain eyed Varstax. It had heard everything Levi said, but it was still standing motionless, waiting to see what he would do. Perhaps he could use that-
An inhuman scream sounded from the research facility, followed by a roar. All of Varstax’ heads turned in that direction, before turning back to focus on Kain. Where before there had been only indifference, now there was an intense fury.
“You will suffer for this, half-breed!”
Kain just sighed as he summoned up his bloodline once more, the power that coursed through his veins anathema to the world. He supposed he had his answer for where Raven had gone.