Against the backdrop of a sea of stars, an almost imperceptible ship moved through the innerspace of the Spire. Constructed from sleek, black metal, the ship appeared as a dark void moving over the expanse of celestial bodies. Massive, jagged spires adorned the exterior, almost like black horns jutting out from the surface.
The ship, known as the Obsidian Dreadnought, housed a formidable force that had traversed several layers of the Spire to reach its destination. Deep within the bowels of the ship was a room forbidden to all, save the vessel’s commander and his lieutenants.
In this spherical chamber, the three lieutenants surrounded an ornate pedestal, above which floated a shimmering crystal. The strange object pulsated with an otherworldly glow, almost mesmerizing to the lieutenants.
“We’re close.” The one who spoke was a rail-thin man, almost emaciated. Robes hung off his body that appeared too heavy for him, but somehow he moved freely despite them. Long, silver hair spilled down his back and where his eyes should have been, there were only dark crevices. His face was almost skeletal in appearance, with a thin layer of skin stretched across his bones.
“So you say, Draven. I’m still not convinced that this Nexus Shard of yours can properly navigate the Spire.” That response came from the sole woman in the group. Whenever she moved, her lithe figure, draped in a form-fitting dark suit that had a strange shimmer to it, caught everyone’s attention. Her black hair hung in a long braid and her eyes were not unlike those of a shark’s, both a sharp contrast to her pale skin. Her back housed twin crescent-shaped curved blades and she stood with her arms crossed.
“My dear Sylva, I’ve been studying the cross-dimensional energies of the Spire since before you were born. All the research I’ve done has led to just one, irrefutable conclusion—the Nexus Shard is the one known artifact that is capable of navigating the Spire. And now, it’s in our possession.”
Draven’s voice had an almost sing-song quality to it as he spoke, betraying his own excitement. But Sylva rolled her dark eyes.
“Legends and hyperbole, this is what we’re staking everything on,” she said.
“And what would you have us do?” asked Draven. “Continue hopping from dimension to dimension in the hopes that someday, we might reach the one inhabited by the Quantum Group? We’d die before we came close.”
Sylva grunted her response. “That’s not what I said. I just think there should be more certainty before embarking on this risky a gambit.”
“High risk comes with high reward,” said Draven.
“It also comes with the prospect of losing everything we’ve struggled to build these long years.”
The third lieutenant stood as a silent sentry, towering over the others. His arms were bare, displaying golden tribal tattoos etched on crimson skin and stretched across bulging muscles. There wasn’t a speck of hair to be found anywhere on his body, with the tattoos reaching all over his bald scalp and face. His eyes were the color of amber and bore a weariness at again having to listen to Sylva and Draven’s bickering. This was obviously not the first such argument he’d been privy to.
“I sense Malakai and I are kindred spirits in this discussion.”
This fourth voice belonged to their commander. The three lieutenants turned to face the tall, imposing figure of Lord Xerath. His skin was pale and his physique lean, yet muscular. Intricate patterns of glowing runes adorned his bald head, and his eyes bore the appearance of molten gold. His cloak almost lingered behind him as he moved towards the pedestal to examine the Nexus Shard.
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“Then might I ask where you stand on this, my lord?” asked Draven.
“Don’t stand on ceremony, Draven. All in this chamber are equal,” said Xerath. “We’re united in the goal of ending the Quantum Group’s meddlesome tactics once and for all.”
“Sycophantic language aside, Draven poses a good question—where do you stand on this?” asked Sylva.
Xerath considered the question for a few moments. It was rare for Sylva and Draven to come to agreement on any single point, so it warranted an answer.
“Sylva is right to be cautious, but Draven is correct that we’ve come too far to turn back now,” he said. “The Obsidian Dreadnought is home to denizens of thousands of realms. The one thing we all have in common is that we’ve all lost so much due to a shared enemy. And with the Nexus Shard, the stage is set to settle old debts.”
“Will the Quantum Group sense our arrival?” asked Malakai.
Xerath shook his head. “No, the Nexus Shard should hide our breach.” He paused for a moment and then added a cautionary note. “At the very least, it will delay our discovery. Give us the opportunity we need to set the plan in motion.”
“The Quantum Group has been seeking out breaches for centuries,” said Malakai. “There is the possibility we are unable to evade detection.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that, Lord Malakai, and it’s an eventuality I have already prepared for,” said Xerath. “Our plan is simple—we will distract their dogs as we begin to make our move.”
“Provided Draven’s magic actually works,” added Sylva.
Draven turned the cavernous black holes that served as his eyes towards the assassin. “It will work. Once more, I have studied—”
Sylva sighed and rolled her eyes. “You’ve studied the ancient scrolls and performed the kind of research we’re all too feeble to understand. Yes, I know.”
“Enough!” Xerath’s eyes flashed to signify his growing frustration at the squabbles. “Both of you, remember your places. There is none in all the worlds we’ve traversed who knows more about the Spire and its workings than Draven.”
“Precisely, thank you, Lord Xerath.”
“And there is no greater warrior I’ve seen on any world than Sylva,” added Xerath. “Those skills will prove of prime importance once we inevitably confront the Quantum Group’s hounds.”
Draven tossed a quick glance at Sylva. “Or to put it another way, when we need some stabby-stabby, we’ll call you. Until then, let me do my work.”
Sylva held up her hands and shook her head. “Fine. I hold concern, is all. If this fails, all our efforts will be for nothing. And the sacrifices of billions of people across multiple dimensions will go forgotten.”
Xerath focused his gaze on the shard once more, monitoring the energy pulses it gave off. “Yes, we’re taking a substantial risk by using the Nexus Shard to attempt a controlled breach. As far as we’re aware, nothing even remotely like this has ever been attempted before in any verse.”
He turned from the shard to address his lieutenants.
“However, when I brought each of you onboard, I told you the risks. We’ve all known that this mission has a high capacity for failure. But Draven was correct when he noted that the riskier the gambit, the higher the reward. Sylva is also not wrong that we mustn’t lose sight of what’s at stake should we fail. That’s why it’s all the more crucial that our mission proves successful.”
Sylva sighed, but then bowed her head. “I have pledged my blades to your service, Lord Xerath. Despite my concerns, I will honor that promise until the final breath leaves my body.”
“This is not for me, Lady Sylva. This is for all those who fell before. A day of reckoning is coming for the Quantum Group and all who serve them.”
Xerath gestured towards the pedestal. “Lord Draven, please begin.”
Draven nodded and held his hands out, reaching for the Nexus Shard. He held them on either side of the crystal and it responded as if it could sense his presence. The pulsating glow softened and dimmed. Sparks of light appeared in the dark crevices of Draven’s eyes and other-dimensional energies manifested around his arms. The energy channeled into the shard and it responded by feeding its own power back into Draven’s skeletal hands.
Malakai cast his gaze across the chamber, looking for the source of a low noise, almost like the growl of a beast waking from a long slumber. Sylva’s hands instinctively went to the hilts of her blades, but she hesitated instead of drawing them.
And Lord Xerath just stood and watched, the runes along his scalp humming along with the pulses of the Nexus Shard.
“I can feel it…” he whispered under his breath. “The reckoning is at hand…”
Outside the ship, strange energies circulated all around its massive hull. In the recesses of space, there were no witnesses to the strange phenomena. The energies punched a hole in the fabric of reality and pulled only the Obsidian Dreadnought into another dimension. That tear knit itself together seamlessly, as if nothing had ever occurred.
And there was not a shred of evidence that the Obsidian Dreadnought had ever existed in that space.