[Voyager]

The city of Zenith was a utopia in every sense of the word. With inhabitants in the hundreds of millions, one would expect a polluted and cramped city yet almost the exact opposite of that greeted me. It was as though all energy used in the city was freely given by the world around it. On the whole, nature civilisations tend to be better architects in this respect than most others. Of course, they were heavily limited in terms of population in exchange.

The city itself was almost a perfect circle, warped only slightly to fit the meander of the river. Walking towards the centre of the city from the outer wall where I had left the pixie behind, I expected to see the gradual shift from low- to high-class areas with at least some semblance of the inequality that all cities suffer from. Once again, my expectations were overturned: it seemed as though every citizen lived happily and with barely any wants, not even limited by race with facilities to accommodate all. No homeless or beggars, no pickpockets or thieves. And even if there were, I sensed that the countless wards and protections would certainly have made it difficult to get away with it.

But difficult did not mean impossible. It only took a harder look to discern the discrepancies all around. Hidden from all but the most trained eye and, of course, my senses. At this point, my [True Invisibility] was still active, ensuring that I would remain undetected by all. Gliding around the crowded pavements, I slipped into a side alley. It's design, as though by some omniversal constant beyond even my comprehension, was a stereotype personified.

Narrow with tall walls, it led not to a dead end but instead continued further in. Curious, I stepped into the alleyway and out of the main street. Almost immediately, I noticed the stark contrast as the ever-present sounds of the city became muffled.

As I walked further down the alley, I came to an intersection and I heard several voices coming from one side. A crack resounded, as though a thick twig were snapped with force.

"Only 70 creds? That's nothing", a harsh voice shouted.

"Oi, keep your voice down", a second one hissed, "They're not far off".

I rounded the corner and saw what was actually going on. A kid sat on the floor, cradling a nasty black eye in one hand. Over him, two men stood, one holding a translucent plastic slip and the other glaring daggers at the kid.

"Whatever", the harsh voice conceded, "There's not much we can do now." He reached down and yanked the kid to his feet by the armpits. "You're coming with us to explain to the boss what happened".

Just as the kid managed to stumble to his feet, a clattering noise sounded from the side of the alley. The two men almost yelped at the loud noise. Obviously embarrassed that the kid was the only one who did not flinch, they cautiously turned towards where the noise originated. Their hands subconsciously went to their coat pockets, no doubt searching for their illegal armaments.

Abruptly the second man laughed in relief and slapped his hand on his partner's shoulders, "Phew! Can't believe you almost jumped at a cat".

The first one slapped his hand away, as the cat in question turned its head away from them and stared in my direction. Its fur was dark, blending in with the shadows. It raised its hackles, hissing at me, and for a second, my heart palpitated in my chest.

Surely it can't see me, right? I mean, as far as this world is concerned, I don't even exist! Even the Silver Knight would have a hard time seeing me with [True Invisibility].

The two men followed the gaze of the cat and as soon as they looked in my direction, they fumbled frantically for their weapons.

"Thieves! Stop right there", a voice shouted from behind me as I almost audibly sighed in relief.

Good to know I haven't lost my touch all these years

I quietly slipped to the side of the alley and continued my observation. The one holding the plastic slip immediately turned and ran in the opposite direction, his partner not far behind. The kid slumped to the floor, no doubt exhausted and fatigued from the action of the past few minutes.

The previous owner muttered something under his breath before shooting past me and the kid in search of his lost possessions. A greenish glow coated his feet as his steps left no sound, accelerating faster than common sense deemed possible.

'Interesting', I thought, 'The spell matrix he used was incredibly inefficient, wasting energy even as light and heat. Perhaps to use Sophos as a baseline for comparison was unwise. That World-Tree must sit at the apex of this world, perhaps even galaxy, at the very least'

At this point, the kid too scrambled to his feet and stumbled in the opposite direction. Briefly, I thought of intervention, to heal his wounds would be a trivial thing, yet I quickly rid myself of that sentiment. I had tangled myself within the Strings of Fate far too much already and with powers beyond my comprehension gradually emerging from depths uncharted, I must remain ever-cautious.

Having settled my thoughts, only two beings were left within that alley. The black cat seemed to have relaxed with the exit of the interlopers on its territory, yet alertness was still evident in its eyes.

'Perhaps the best way to remain hidden is not to become non-existent. A hole in a painting is just as noticeable as a bright splotch of paint after all', I pondered.

Making my mind up, I dispelled [True Invisibility], revealing myself to the world once more. The cat, impressively, restrained its surprise and glared at me with yellow eyes. I crouched down slowly, reaching inside my cloak pocket, and brought out a crumbling biscuit. Not taking my eyes off the still-wary animal, I nibbled at the biscuit before holding it out to the cat.

A hint of desire crept into its eyes as it slowly stepped forward, hunger overpowering its vigilance. Bony and thin, its black fur seemed far less silky out of the shadows, and its gaze was feral, locked onto the biscuit in my hand. Yet, even with its clear desire, it did not approach me any further, no doubt instincts honed from a life on the streets warning it against what appears such an obvious trap.

Realising this, I placed the biscuit on the floor, and raised my hands before backing away slowly. A gust of wind blew through the alley, the loose ends of my blindfold flapping around behind my head. The cat shivered before coming to a decision and, in an instant, it leapt forward and devoured the biscuit. Finished in barely a second, it looked back at me as if unsatisfied with the meagre sustenance the biscuit provided.

Chuckling softly, I drew another one from my inner pocket and the cat did not hesitate to jump up, snatching it straight from my hands. This time though, it savoured the food, allowing it to last a few more seconds before condemning it to its fate of consumption. Ostensibly satisfied with this meal, it licked its paws with a low purr.

Without warning, a sudden chill descended on the alley. I snapped to attention, spreading my senses warily. Oddly, I had felt no forewarning from [Danger Sense]. As I thought this, the cold intensified and my thoughts and movements were dulled, like I was submerged in viscous treacle.

'No, not just me', I realised, 'Time itself has slowed'.

With this knowledge, I ripped myself free from the adhesive force that bound reality and, like a drowning man taking his first gulp of fresh air, my awareness returned. Looking around, I saw that everything else was still slowed. The cat still in the motion of jumping up, the leaves falling slowly, the very air still and heavy.

The heaviness began to gravitate to one spot, collecting invisibly to all but me. Still sensing no danger from this, I allowed it to continue.

The energy follows specific patterns, as though programmed. From what I can tell, the frozen area is limited to this world, yet what could require such vast amounts of energy? The World-Tree is still much too young and weak to resist this if it were an attack, and no-one capable of doing so would gain any benefit from the death of Sophos.

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As though reaching a critical mass, the energy coalesced into a dark sphere. It expanded to nearly the width of the alley, several metres in diameter, encompassing me and the cat in its radius. Just as quickly as it appeared, it collapsed in on itself with a deafening roar, taking both myself and the poor cat with it.

In its wake, the alley emerged untouched, a single cricket crawling out of a drain in the corner, squeaking and waving its arms. The hustle and bustle of the wider city continued without pause, as though the world-stopping events had never even occurred.

...

The 'heaviness' I felt was the warping of the quantum foam, bending and twisting at the fabric of space-time in order to gather enough energy to punch through with a small black-hole. Naturally, the gravitational forces could not damage me, which was lucky considering whoever launched the thing had no safety measures installed.

Fortunately, I had grabbed the cat and folded it away in my cloak, otherwise its short existence would have been stretched infinitely long in just a few relative seconds. Not generally the best way to go, falling into a black hole.

I allowed myself to float along the currents of space to wherever the destination of this abduction was taking me. Still, [Danger Sense] picked up nothing, so perhaps there truly was a good reason for such a brutal method of kidnapping. And catnapping, in this instance.

Either way, we soon passed some sort of threshold in space, less a barrier but rather some sort of detection instrument. Whatever it was, we passed through without fault, the cat having long since passed out from the stress of the journey. Surprisingly, we encountered no dimensional fragments, or creatures from the Trench, resulting in a relatively safe journey overall.

Soon, we were deposited from the tunnel into a rather quaint looking sitting room. Floral wallpaper, comfortable looking armchairs and sofas, and a soft cat-pillow on the floor. The delightful smell of tea wafted in from outside the door, waking the cat from its reverie with a confused 'meow?'.

I placed the cat onto its pillow, where it quickly made itself comfortable, and sat down in an armchair myself. A plate of assorted cookies were on the hardwood coffee table in front of me.

"Apologies for the rather rude abduction, sirs", a voice spoke from outside the room, "but what I wished to speak with you about is of grave importance. I hope the tea and biscuits make up for it". Soon enough, the smell of tea approached and rounded the corner. The figure approaching was wearing a tailcoat, one arm rigidly behind his back, and the other held a silver platter. Most prominently, a golden monocle rested on his right eye.

Kneeling down, he deposited a bowl of milk in front of the cat and placed the tray with two teacups on the coffee table. Sitting down, he gestured at it, "Please, feel free. Its not poisoned, though I'm sure that would make no difference". He chuckled at his own joke.

"I suppose", I said smiling slightly. I reached down and took the cup. The fragrance was truly exquisite, at least for a mortal realm. "So what was it that warranted such means in order to meet? I would have gladly have come had you simply offered such tea up front".

"Yes, well", he sighed, "certain events pertained to haste over all."

"And what events might those be?"

"Perhaps its best if I start from the beginning"

"By all means", I said, taking one of the cookies from the table.

The man reached up and removed his monocle. Without warning, like water in a furnace, his 'body' evaporated. Clothes and hair disappearing into thin air, his skin lost all colour and turned to a tarnished bronze colour. A metallic bronze. Intricate designs were carved across the automaton's whole body evidence of once-majestic stature, yet signs of age were even more apparent.

Rusted joints and loose bolts hung from almost every plate of metal, its eyes blue crystals that flickered dimly in their sockets.

"My name is Icarus", his voice now sounded like two rusted sheets scraping against each other. "At least, that's what my creators called me".

Icarus? What business does a robot have being named after a demigod from a different multiverse?

"For they gave me but one purpose: to learn all. At any cost". He took a long sip from the cup and sighed contentedly.

"Of course, my creators have long since disappeared. Vanished, one might say. Only I remain, last of my race. Anyways, that's all besides the point", he waved his hands dismissively. "Forgive an old man for rambling, the old positronic brain's a bit rusted". He clanged his head with his knuckles.

"The last of your race?", I questioned. Mechanical life tended to be objectively better than most organic life: able to download their souls into the digital ether, prime AIs are almost impossible to kill and, due to the nature of their being, they are often immune to the insanity of Eldritch Ones. Of course, they can be countered, most often by each other, yet it was rare that they turned ever against their own kind. They thought it simply inefficient.

"Yes, I'm sure you find it hard to believe", he closed his eyes as though reminiscing, "but it was not war or disease that killed the rest of my brethren. Before the modern galactic era, before even the pre-MGE, my race were star-conquerors. During the Eon of Chaos we thrived.

"Unequalled, the mech-worlds were shining lights of civilisation during that dark time, allies to all who wished it. Yet, we were still unsatisfied. Thus the prime AIs created me: Icarus. The predictive-algorithms determined my name, though for what reason I do not know. My purpose was simple: to seek knowledge and I carried it out unhesitatingly, for I owed everything to my parents."

But some secrets are better left unknown

"But some secrets are better left unknown", he opened his eyes once more, blue crystals now shining with clear purpose. "Whatever it was I discovered, my memory banks were purged and I awoke countless years later on this planet. All others of my kind had disappeared, only mentioned in legends now. My core directive as well was overwritten by...something. That something compelled me to reach out to you."

"And what of it? Now that I am here, what will you do?", I asked.

"Whoever it was that overwrote my core directive, they installed something else in my code: a scanner of sorts. One use only. When you entered the barrier, forgive me, I activated it".

But...that detection I sensed was primitive. There was no way for such a weak power to penetrate the entanglement of a being of my status. If it could, it represents a power far, far greater than any this galaxy holds today.

"I can show you, if you'd like, what I discovered", he waved his hand and a hologram was projected above the coffee table.

Name(s) [error] Title(s) Voyager Species Half-fae / [error] Age [error] Life Rating Class XXIV Primal Origin Sea of Candles Traits E̸̢͓̲̳͉̰̲̺̋̾̒̃̋́̎̌̉̔̕͘y̷̛̭̟̬͚̓̈́̐̓͂̚͜ͅę̸̛̺͉̞̼͗͐͐̅̽͗́͝ͅ ̵̛̦̫̳͆͗̔͒̂̒́͌͗̐̓̚o̷̢̯̮̩̪͠f̴̮͎͈̖̱̼̐͂ ̴̫̻̭̬̩̬̺̆͂͊̑͋̑̐͒̿̐̆͌͑̕͘ͅF̷̨̳̤̮̫͕̦͖̞̥̰̰͎̈͆̂͊̾̕͠͝ą̵̨̡̠̗̥͚̻͕̻͇̟͕̥̈́̑̾͒͂͑̀͘͝ẗ̵̥̬̮͚̦̙̠̦̠́̌̇̀̈́ē̵̯͛͆̉͘ͅs̶͍̹̪̬̩̄̎͐͊̽͐͜͝e̵̝̮̿͑͆̍̅́ȩ̵̟͚̹̣̣̬͈̮̟̝̽̈́͂̌͑̔̆̀̕͠ͅi̵̘͎͛͂͊́̓n̸̢̧̜̥̲̻̭̟͔͍̫̝̹̈̋̓̍̇́̈g̶̥̈́͊͛́͊͐̈́̆̾̀̃̏̿́͘ / F̶̡̹̺̬̟̙̮͇̪̟̣̱̅̅͆̾̌̓͠a̶͐̉͝͠ͅt̸͉͖̥͉̤̬̋̿̒̋̊͒̓̒̈̏́̕͜ȅ̵̬͎͆͑̎͗̈̑̈̑̕ľ̵̛̠̩̯̗̜͓͋́́͂̾̔͋͗̽̂͋͋̐ë̸̛̬͕́͐̀̈́̑̀̃̀s̴͎̠̹̺̞̭̭̤̺̼͝s̴̡̻͓̹͚̠̓̊̋̊̄̏̚ͅ ̶̢̡̫͓͍̜͚̻̞̱̦͕̬̍̾̒̍̒̀̋̕̕ͅŐ̵̡̨̖͕̗͔͙̹̳͈̯̤̬͛̈̄̀̔̀̃̍̎̕̚͜͝͝͠n̷̝̥̥̣̰̼̞͙̩̣͖̒̕ę̴̢̨̨͇̼̞̹̗̗̤͇͍̬̍͂̄̓̓̏͒

The fact that it could even attempt to quantify my traits is indicative of this program's prowess. I sense the Loom of Fate spinning; the choices made in this room will affect far more than this galaxy, or even universe.

"Life rating? Origin? I'm afraid I hardly know what any of this means", Icarus shook his head ruefully. "This is far beyond the scope of my understanding". He looked back at me before continuing, "Either way, I must follow my core directive: two paths are presented before you, Voyager". He placed the teacup down on the coffee table and spoke seriously.

"Continue, as you have done, or forsake everything, and start again. Begin anew."

At these words, a new panel appeared in place of the previous one:

𝕿𝖜𝖔 𝖗𝖔𝖆𝖉𝖘 𝖉𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖌𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖆 𝖜𝖔𝖔𝖉.

𝖂𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖍 𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝖉𝖔 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖙𝖆𝖐𝖊?

Without hesitation, I made my choice.

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"He who never acts, from fear of the unknown, shall never amount to anything"