After witnessing the reality-breaking power of Telos, the Celestial Wardens were eager to take the forward position and prove to their allies that they, too, could contribute. A fervor had been lit within each of the individually weaker members of the Celestial Wardens. That fire had seemingly extended even to Siegfried, who opted to move with the vanguard rather than with the party of four. The odd energies around the Celestial Wardens made more sense to Telos now that she knew that Siegfried fed off the conviction and belief of his men, and it made the Sovereign more powerful. I wonder if the irony of an Anti-God force being led by a man who’s power source is similar to faith is lost on them?
Oizys barred their path with quantity, not quality. All of the foes, horrors, monsters, and traps that had once existed within the Tower of Oizys were being flung at the assault forces as they pressed towards the one place Oizys couldn’t run from, the Heart of the Tower. Normally Telos would have taken the vanguard position herself, but she and her companions were still coping with the influx of power she’d absorbed from Syltharion, the legion of Archons, and the fact she’d activated five out of fifty of the conduits to Ein Sof from the material plane.
Subtle differences had crept into the appearance of each individual within the convoluted binding of souls. Kallos gained a halo that now floated around the tip of her witch hat, a colorless crystal construct forged solely of Ein Sof. It was a manifestation of her Will, an extension of her power, and it spoke of the precipice she stood before. It should have taken lifetimes to cross the bridge between the sixth and seventh tiers, but Kallos stood on the cusp of ascension to becoming a Sovereign. Telos lagged behind her only because she chose for it to be that way. It felt right that Kallos should ascend first.
Arkaziel hid his physical changes, but Telos could sense the change in the strength of his aura. The Beast Sovereign’s fearsome presence would drive most mortal beings to their knees in fear if the life-sapping strength of his Void presence didn’t drive them to madness and force them to give up on life from mere proximity. Her terrible kitten was being a good boy and keeping his aura sealed so as not to prey upon the Celestial Wardens. A reoccurring question drifted through Telos’ mind, the question that always popped up when Arkaziel gained more strength. Is this reality going to be able to handle him? Can I just let him wander free when our journey is done?
Even Bobbi, the party's newest member, had undergone some metamorphosis from the influx of power. Her claws and horns previously looked solid and genuine, like an ordinary dragons. Now her fingers were tipped in nails that looked like crystallized fire, with waves that gave the impression of explosive force. The curly ram-like horns had gained an internal luster, an undeniable glimmer, and she seemed to be only a step or two shy of being more ornate than an exquisite candelabra. If these changes were being wrought at five Gates, what would happen to them when Telos activated the linkages for all fifty of the Gates of Understanding?
There were one hundred more gates to activate after Telos activated all fifty. The Gates of Repentance were the fifty Gates that Telos thought represented the connection between Ein Sof and Pleroma, but even Binah wasn’t clear about what activating the linkage of those Gates would accomplish. Then, finally, were the Gates of Promise. What’s going to happen when I link the divine to the Void? Nothing bad, obviously. Ugh.
Telos didn’t allow herself to change outwardly. She could feel the pressure of Ein Sof to rework some of her body, but for now she refused to allow it to do so. She didn’t need to be changed by the divine power at this point, and she stubbornly resisted even minor changes like additions of gradients of orange and green to her hair, to blend the aqua and red. Contemplation on the changes of herself and her companions would have to wait though, for the Celestial Wardens came to a halt before a large rock, upon which stood a forty meter tall woman, who’s face conveyed hatred and suffering for all who looked upon her.
“Your final warning. If you insist on this fight I shall destroy Grief! Two billion lives hang in the balance of your decision, in addition to two million climbers, five billion natives, and almost a million dwellers!”
Unhappiness ran through the men and women of the Celestial Wardens. The souls of seven billion people were significant. With that many souls sent in sacrifice one could ascend to the realms of Godhood, or down to the depths of an Abyssal Lord. If you were a Celestial Warden, you could power an awful lot of Anti-God Weaponry with the power of so many souls, and if you were even the slightest bit an empathic being, you could feel the gut wrenching pain at the prospect of being to blame for the loss of such a large amount of souls.
~Can you all handle Oizys if I prevent what she’s threatening? ~ Telos asked through the telepathic bond.
-I owe this wretch a world of pain. Consider it handled, my love.- Kallos responded immediately, without any hesitation.
+I’ve been waiting to kick her ass, and now I don’t have to get upstaged by you at the last minute? Oizys should’ve bribed Elea, because there’s not going to be any mercy for her.+ Arkaziel joked, while Bobbi said nothing through the link, but her determination shone through loud and clear.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Telos activated the fail-safe within the Astrum Nexus by channeling energy through the Flame of Chronos. In the crumbling ruins of time, a cave that was a brewery, the last vestiges of Chronos’ presence in the universe collapsed. The ultimate authority of Time transferred so simply, and Telos almost felt an invisible crown form around her head while the authority settled into her. Time sputtered and flowed forward and back around her, clocks manifested and then dematerialized. Void’s Gaze gained even more tracks of vision, as the branching lines of probability across different lines of time were made clear to her mismatched eyes.
“Well I’ll be damned, time is made of circles after all,” Telos’ unhinged laughter got more than a few looks, but she waved them away and gave an imperious command. “Go!”
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” Oizys panicked screams shook the entirety of the Tower, as Telos made the relative difference in time between the universe and the Tower of Misery so different that it was on the scale of the frozen time falling into a black hole compared to the ordinary time of earth. It would take centuries for any of her commands or attacks against Grief to reach beyond temporal vortex Telos raised around the Tower. Which left the souls still inside the Tower to safeguard. Where could Telos send them?
“I believe your best option would be to utilize Malkuth and form a temporary shekhinah there.” Reverie spoke up so rarely that Telos had almost forgotten the entity sometimes spoke with proactive, helpful suggestions.
The care of Arich Anpin, while a grandness beyond mortal ken, lacks the essential darkness these souls have bathed in. Their souls yearn for the darkness of the Void, the primeval darkness that is the origin of all things. Give them unto my care.
“This is no journey through darkness to find the dawn, but a matter of salvation and protection. All journeys through your realm are fraught with dangers beyond counting. You protest for the sake of protesting, Fred.”
Why should Telos favor you, when I offer suitable solutions as well?
“Oh great, you two can talk to each other now? I don’t want to deal with this right now, I’m sending them to Malkuth. Fred, the Void isn’t the place for refugees, but I will listen to you whenever you have something to say, okay?” Aw cripes, now I have to mediate between these two? Life was so much simpler when the two voices in my head couldn’t talk to one another.
Despite all expectations, Fred didn’t throw a fit when Telos opted to go with Reverie’s suggestion. The Flame of the Void didn’t respond, but he didn’t retreat either. He remained present, observing. Which did feel kind of creepy, Telos failed to grow accustomed to the near constant attention of Fred, Reverie, and others. With vast cosmic power came peeping toms.
Five billion souls was a lot. Even Telos couldn’t hop through the Tower tagging everyone for transportation with Existence Oscillation, her lightning speed, or any other physical maneuver. The best option she saw was to utilize her authority over Justice, Life, and Necessity to create a beautiful miracle. Five Gates of Understanding wouldn’t provide the bandwidth for what she needed from Ein Sof, and so Telos activated five more of the Gates of Understanding. Even in the Tower of Misery, where Oizys literally formulated and regulated reality around them, the universe tried to reach out to her, tried to bond with her in a way she really didn’t like, like a dog too eager for pets who starts slurping your face, that’s how reality seemed to feel towards her.
In utter defiance of Oizys’ Will, beacons of light lit up the souls of Dwellers, Climbers, and Natives alike. Once the light locked onto them, they vanished to the realm of Malkuth. Those who were alive, anyway. The souls who existed as power were fed into the Great Cycle, and would be reincarnated into the world to live new lifes according to the karmic debts they had incurred in past ones. Climbers, too, were caught and transferred to Malkuth. Sure, it would have been easy to forget about the souls trapped in the Towers, and what were even billions of souls compared to the seemingly unending number of souls that, according to Binah, stretched into the centillions.
If scarcity gives value, life is meaningless.
“A single infinity, or ten thousand infinities, the value of all life is infinite and sacred. The absence of the Void rots your logic, and leaves you unable to appreciate the parcel of glory within all things.” Reverie argued to Fred before Telos could even think of a counter-point.
You forget your place, merciful one. I, the flame that burns possibility, and you, the voice of infinite patience, are meant to tend our realms. Keter, and the radiant halls of Pleroma are your domain, not the dusty halls of Malkuth, or the ever eroding souls of the living.
“All sparks must return to the Infinite in time. My mercy only lights the path for their return.”
You deny them the meaning of overcoming, the grandeur of transformation. Without trial against shadow, how will they appreciate the light? By giving mercy, you invite them to fall to the same weakness of Wisdom.
“I, perhaps, have been blinded by my own luminance, or by the Will of Telos to do as I wish, rather than as I am charged. Is our charter not whatever she wills it? Such thoughts belonged to Wisdom once, too. You have shown a degree of Wisdom yourself, Fredrick of the Black Flame.”
Let the mortals grapple with shadows and trials, even in the safety of Malkuth. Sandalphon shall be their trial master.
“It’s a temporary shift while I destroy the Tower, you two. Quit acting like I’m letting these people set up a homeless refugee in Malkuth, and the vast and terrible consequences of my actions. In case you forgot, I’m the one who’s on the Path of Eternal Becoming, not you two. This is only a temporary fix until I can drop them on Nyx or Aetherius.”