Sallis blinks her new eyes, and I see tears beginning to form as she brings her hands to her face in wonder. I see various emotions pass through her, not by her face as that remains oddly neutral, but by my Domain, as I feel the astonishment, the happiness, the frustration, and finally, the anger as her wet eyes lay upon me.

I go to open my mouth, but almost immediately, I feel the sharp sting of her hand across my face as she slaps me... hard.

"Fuck you! You just had to do this the first time! But no, you just had to let your paranoia and crowd mentality take the thinking for you. You just had to have a little faith that I wouldn't fall to the fucking Court, much less to one of its wayward shards!" She takes a deep breath and is about to open her mouth again when suddenly we hear the sound of shattering glass, I see her move her gaze to behind me, and even though her expressions continue to be neutral, I can sense the hatred boiling.

"We are not yet done, Sophia... but for now, I will put aside my anger so we may escape. I would not stoop so low as to leave you with the Outcast... unlike someone."

And then I see her step off the dais she was standing on and swipe her arm up as the opening to this pyramid closes, but not before I catch a glimpse of... something.

The arm of the figure in the crack is fully out now, and I can see that it is gripping the fissures that run along the air. It seems to be using it to push itself out, and just before the walls fully close, I see it, its face... It’s crying-

I have to help-have to join-have to share-have to get closer-can’t-can’t be alone-alone-no one to-

And then the walls close.

I take a deep breath and look towards Miah, who, in turn, looks over to me. We're still holding on, and frankly, without that support, I would have fallen long, long ago. We stand there gazing into each other when we both hear a cough.

"Really? Some things never change, I suppose–But we have no time to engage in comfort just yet. This storage unit can probably only last a minute or so against the Outcast themselves, so we'll need to take an elevator to the station to escape." I see her then turn to face me, specifically her face displaying nothing but indifference, though her emotions swirl in a complex vortex of annoyance, melancholy, excitement, and confu-

"And would you cease reading me with your Domain? Otherwise, I will be forced to slap you again." She adds as she moves her arm out, and I see a hole being opened where the dais previously was.

Huh, so people can see when I do that.

“Sorry, I’ll try to keep it down—Still getting used to my Domain,” I say in apology as I try not to pay attention to the feelings that seem to bleed out of her form.

“Hmph, I would have thought you had already gotten it under your control by now—Actually, how long have I been deactivated? My internal clocks do not seem to be working in proper order.” She says as she steps on top of the hole, and at the same time, a white marble platform forms under her feet.

I look in wonder, and I see her looking back as in waiting.

“Well? Get in. We can talk while we travel.” She says purposefully scooting over.

I look back at Miah, and she shrugs as she steps in, bringing me with her as we still hold hands.

As soon as I step within, the circle lowers, and I see the opening close above us, and for a few seconds, there is only dark– Then I remember I have magic and summon a ball of bright white light in between us, I also make sure that it’s tethered in relation to the platform so it doesn’t get left behind as we descend.

I hear a cough, and as I turn to look down, I see the top of Sallis’s head, and as I look a bit further down, I see her tapping their foot in a clear display of impatient annoyance that I don’t even need my Domain to read.

“Well? Out with it then, I want some answers.” She says while looking up at me.

I cough awkwardly as I try to figure out how best to broach this when Miah beats me to the punch.

“She can’t actually remember anything, so unless you can cure amnesia, we are just as lost as you are.” She says bluntly.

I see Sallis pause for a second.

And then a few more seconds.

And only after a minute did I see her open her mouth again.

“T-this must be a joke, right? Because I must warn you, if you don’t cease with your horrible attempts at comedy, I still can retract the kindness I have displayed and leave you behind.” She says as spikes begin to grow from the floor beneath us.

“Yeah, sorry... Unless Sophia here is the best actor to have ever lived, she is pretty clueless on pretty much everything.” Miah says with some regret as she looks at me. I sadly nod in confirmation...

For a second, nothing happens.

Then I feel my body seize up like I was encased in stone, and I see Sallis move up to right in front of me and raise her hands as spikes made of marble spear out and stop just at my neck. I see Miah begin to move, but the same thing also happens with Sallis not even bothering to look back at her.

Just staring at me.

“I command you to answer truthfully, Sophia.” And as she says so, I feel whatever right I had to lie or deceive leave me, and instead, I feel the compulsion to answer as truthfully as I can. “To what extent have you deceived this woman?” She asks, pointing at Miah, her voice dripping with hidden emotion only I could see.

And even before I could fully process what it was that she asked, I felt the words leave my mouth.

“When I first met, I lied that I had lost all my memories-” I feel the spikes pierce my skin as I say it “- When I could, in fact, remember a voice speaking to me, I have since told her the truth.” The spikes retreat.

I see Sallis look back at Miah, and she nods fervently.

Sallis brings her hand to her temple and waves her other, and I feel my body relax and return to my control.

“...Fuck…” I hear her quietly whisper before removing her hand and looking straight at me.

“You--I… FUCK!!” This time it’s a yell as she slams her fist against the moving wall

“I had it all figured out, just had to understand the situation, maybe help out if it was dire enough, then I leave, don’t have to ever interact with you or any of the rest of team again, finally free…” She turns toward me, and despite my best efforts, I can sense the indignation that is practically dripping out of her. “And you have to lose your fucking memory! Who was I yelling at all this time? Who did I place my rage against? A blank, a nothing who doesn’t even remember the reason for her regret! Fuck!”

I stand there unsure of what to do–what to say. There is a tug of emotions of vague sadness as I witness her in such distraught that doesn’t quite correlate to my overall impression of her, most likely some leftover from my lost memories… oh well, I did it once; I could do it again.

I, with some unsureness, simply lean on those scraps of emotions and channel them into speech.

“...For what is worth, and I’m sure you don’t me of all people to say it… I am sorry. Whatever I did or allowed to happen… wasn’t right–I can feel it in my soul, how it burns with shame and regret, and I don’t say this to ask for forgiveness or win your sympathy or whatever. I say all of this to let you know… you’re right. I did something stupid and deserved to get burned for it. Your rage is justified, and I would never in a million years imply otherwise. You deserve retribution, I only ask how I may give it to you.” I say purposefully not looking at Sallis to avoid reading her with my Domain.

There is a pause, and then I hear Sallis speak.

“... I need some time to think… I–We still don’t know what kind of situation the world is in. We need first to understand that I can pursue my vendettas later.” She then turns to Miah. “Wait, you– You still have your memories, no? Then you should be able to paint a clear picture of what is going on.”

Miah backs off a bit as Sallis walks up right before her.

“Uhh…Look, this seems to be a very, very complicated situation that I am just now beginning to grasp its vast implications… just give me a sec to think of a good way to put it….” Miah says as she puts her arms up in a vague gesture of appeasement.

Sallis backs off, but I can see from the way she continues to tap her foot she is anything but calm.

“Of course, I prefer not to use my domain in such a manner either… I simply had to make sure–but enough delays. What is the situation? Where is everyone? Why is the Outcast out of its prison?”

Miah pauses.

“Ok, I can maybe, sorta, not really explain one of those questions, and it's going to sound a bit crazy, but I’m going to need you to bear with it, okay? “ Seeing Sallis just tap her foot faster, Miah proceeds slowly. “I’m fairly certain you and Sophia are part of a now ancient race of what is, to our perspective, a hyper-advanced society that somehow vanished in an indeterminate amount of time in the past.”

There is another uncomfortable pause of silence as Sallis takes a second to process that, after which point she brings up her palms to her temple and groans in frustration.

“If I weren’t busy focusing all my efforts on containing the reality fallout that the Outcast is constantly producing as well as masking our presence from them, I would be currently firing all my weapons in frustration—WHAT THE FUCK!? No, seriously, what THE FUCK?!”

And it’s at this moment that the platform stops moving, and the wall behind Miah opens to reveal a corridor. It’s made of that familiar silvery metal and is a bit strange; benches were overlooking a tunnel that stretched far beyond my vision in both directions and sitting on this tunnel, taking a large scratch of it was a silver train– and just as I think that word I realize, with a slight headache that this is a metro station and not a teleport one like I had thought.

“Urgh, we will discuss more on the train. I need to make sure the Outcast will not follow us out of the city, and having a conversation while managing that is proving to be more challenging than I realized, no thanks to your revelations.” Sallis says, head still in her palm as she enters the train, the door automatically opening as she approaches.

We move to follow, though not before I lean closer to Miah and whisper in her ear.

“You really had to lay it that dry?”

I see her shiver a bit at my whisper.

“Better that way, no use in hiding the truth, besides how do you even coat that revelation, which speaking of, you seem weirdly nonplused by it.” She whispers back.

“I had some time to think about it and it was the only thing that made sense… I’m coping for what is worth.”

At this point, we are already inside the train, and I can see Sallis has taken to lying on a series of seats and is simply massaging her temples and looking at the ceiling.

“Everybody ready?” She says tiredly, and seeing us nod, she says, “Alright, good, oh, and hang on to the railings. Even though we are operating with emergency power, the lurch from the sudden acceleration can get rough.”

And before I have any time to react, I feel myself weightless for a second, and looking outside the window, I see the train is now levitating. I quickly reach for one of the railings as the scenery outside the windows suddenly becomes a blur, and the ground lurches as we accelerate to ludicrous speeds.

The feeling quickly passes, though, and I quickly find my footing again as I stabilize. Miah on the other hand, is splayed on one of the seats in a position that suggests she did not, in fact, hold on.

“Ow, y’know when you warn someone of something you’re going to do, you usually at least wait until–” Miah begins to say while rubbing her head.

Only to be interrupted as the ground begins shaking.

I see Sallis sit up and look at one of the windows, but peering out, I only see only the dark blur of the tunnel around us.

“What's going on?” I ask a now agitated Sallis.

“NO! Shit– Listen to me, Sophia, whatever you hear, whatever you feel, just remember it won’t last very long. You just need to hold on for a few seconds, alright?” She says, locking her eyes on me.

“Wha–” And then I hear it.

The song… no… the lullaby, it…

It tells of the inevitable…

Of the vast receiving emptiness of time and how stranded we all will once be, alone with only eternity to give us company…

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

I hear the music ask me why I would bear such a burden, how I could even dare to leave all of us alone when I can make it right.

The song begins to repeat… and… I can’t help it.

I begin to sing along…

I sing of loneliness and despair, of boredom and misery, of isolation and detachment…

I sing for all.

I sing for the Outcast and all of those who will hear it…

I sing for Sallis, who was once betrayed and killed in all but name, who was made exiled to a time where no one remembers the tragedy of its life and death.

I sing for myself, stranded and alone, unaware of even the magnitude of the sorrow I should hold.

And I sing for Miah, who can now see that it is her destiny always to lose those who mean something to her, that love, as beautiful and brilliant as it is, is temporary, and that in time we will all be alone again.

I watch as my words ring clear, as the lyrics spell out the truth they ignore.

I see Sallis fall to her knee as she buckles under the emotions she does not know how to handle as she finally begins to unravel and acknowledge that which she desperately ignores.

And I see Miah cling to me as she tries with all of her might to rouse something in me, to make me tell her it will all be okay, that I will not disappear like all the others… I see her…

I see her… cry…

I… I

I made a promise to myself… more than once I–

And how did that turn out? Not even able to protect them from yourself.

No, I… wait… who said that?

Me…

or rather… you.

Reveal yourself! Can you not bear to torment someone while looking into their eyes?!

You continue to do the same thing… even after losing your memories, you continue to ignore what I say… Is that not the definition of insanity?… Let me show you what you continue to reject.

I see the scenery all around me change as the mist begins to engulf me whole.

And then it recedes, and I’m on a beach.

It is cloudy overhead, and I can see in the far distance a lighthouse.

And in front of me is… me.

She looks just like my reflection, and her clothes are the same, though I’m sure her skin is a lot paler and her expressions a lot deader.

She opens her mouth, and her voice is like a whisper, soft and airy.

“Do not turn away, Sophia. Do not pretend not to understand what I am.”

I shake my head in denial.

“No, I… I would never hurt Miah on purpose. You are not me.” I say in disgust.

She begins to curl her mouth in disgust, but it soon returns to that same expression of abject misery.

“Why did I think anything had changed… No, Sophia, we would not. After all, we love her.”

“Then why–”

“Because it is the only way!” She exclaims while throwing her hands to the sky. “Because, while we run around from one danger to another, ignorant of every threat we now forgot, you neglect the truth we once heard… That eternity is here, and we are and always will be burdened by it. The Outcast, while not perfect, is at least an answer! With it, we don’t need to fear the loss of someone, the heartwrenching grief of seeing a loved one go, the despair of losing everything.” She concludes with poison in her voice.

I take a moment to observe her, to actually consider what she says.

And then I take a deep breath, and I let it go.

“I– I’m sorry. But this isn’t what you want… The Outcast… they are doing something to muddy your thoughts; I mean, you claim we thought all of this? Take a second to really think if those are your thoughts.”

She crosses her arms and rolls her eyes.

“You don’t even know what you are sorry for. You continue to stay blind and deaf. Don’t you hear yourself, how in the same breath you apologize, you also belittle my genuine fear? I mean, for fuck’s sake, have you not yet realized it was I who helped you, who brought you the fragments of our broken psyche, don’t tell me you haven’t felt it, the melancholy of seeing a once lively place dead and desolate, the disgust as you hear the name of our most hated foe, that is all me, and you continue to ignore it, unaware of what you even want.”

“I know it at least doesn’t involve hurting Miah! You said it yourself. We love her! And fuck off with this bullshit of eternity and inevitable or whatever. Right now, she is in front of us, and we can stop her hurt. That’s an objective enough for me–”

“But it isn’t! Fuck! Don’t you realize? We.Are.The.SAME!” As she screams out, I can see fog rising from her feet. “And if you think I will let you keep deluding yourself any further than we already have, then you are stupider than I thought.” The venom in her voice was building.

“... I reject that.”

“Well, what a surprise, and what the fuck will you do about it. I suppose I also inherited your naivete, believing anything could change.” She concludes as the mist reaches her torso.

“Fuck! Please, work with me here. What can I do to help you? To make it so Miah and Sallis don’t have to suffer for my mistake?” I ask in desperation.

That makes her pause as the mist pauses with her.

“You know what I hate about you, Sophia. It’s that you always put others beside yourself. You sacrifice yourself at every opportunity, and you are always helping everyone except yourself. If you want to continue that, fine. We still have all of eternity to correct that. ” She says as the mist reaches her neck.

I panic and start to dash towards her, but seeing her unsurprised face, I realize what she said– We did this before. It clearly didn’t work out, so instead of charging blindly and following my every instinct, I stop, and at that, she does actually show a fraction of surprise.

“Then let’s compromise…” I say as I raise my hands, “You said it was you who kept sending those feelings as I get some memories back and that by me ignoring those, I was, by extension, ignoring you.”

She nods at that.

“Then… make it so I can’t ignore you. You clearly have more power over my body as of now. You just need to make it so your voice is impossible to be unheard.”

She pauses the mist ever so slightly, going down.

“Do you even realize what it is you’re saying?”

I wince

“Not.. completely, but if you really are me… then we can still work together. We need not be at odds.” I say in a conciliatory tone.

She locks her eyes with mine and I with hers.

“...I don’t trust you. I don’t trust that this is not just some desperation play, and the moment I lose my influence, you will find a way to throw away my voice.” She says with distrust evident in her voice.

I take a deep breath, and I trust in my feelings to guide me through this conversation.

“Then tell me how I can make you trust that this is not just out of desperation. That I truly want to reconcile whatever slights I have made against you, that I want us to work together.”

She pauses for a moment.

“...I have a solution, though even I find some fault with it.”

“Lay on me, can’t be worse than joining with the Outcast,” I say, instinctually emphasizing the disgust on the word Outcast.

“I suppose not, though it would be the same principle” And upon seeing my face of reproach, she quickly adds, “Don’t worry, this will have nothing to do with the Outcast. I’m simply taking what it was planning and turning to another cause.”

At this assertion, I nod back, still feeling a bit unconfident at her stalling.

“Well? Enough stalling. What's the idea.”

“... We could merge.”She says with a complicated expression.

“Huh?” I say in confusion.

“As it currently is, our soul is separated, a result of your meddling in the past, because of this, I am locked behind metaphorical bars, and your part of the soul is free to make the decisions. Now we could free those bonds and have it back to how it was before, but that’s where the issues of trust come in. After all, you already sealed me once before. What’s stopping you from sealing me again? So instead, we merge, we make our souls one piece again, as it should have always been.” She concludes with the mist now retreating to just under her knee.

I take a moment to contemplate what she is saying, and sure, some primal part of me detests this idea, but as I saw, following my instincts is not always the right choice.

“Would this… change me?” I ask, already knowing my answer.

“In some ways, though I’m sure you don’t mean our physical appearance as that will stay relatively the same, we never were vain.”

“No, I mean, my psyche, will I still be the same person.”

“...I do not know. And before you get cold feet, remember I will also change. You will not become me, and I will not become you. We are and always will be the same. The extent of our change, though, is hard to predict, I suspect a middle point, but that is speculation.”

“Of course. Not that it matters, I’ve already decided…

Let’s do this.”

And with a final look, I see her approaching me, and she motions for my hand, which I give to her. She holds it with her own, and for the first time since I arrived in this space, I see the clouds move as they begin to swirl and gather all around us, and soon enough, they descend and circle us, blocking the view of the beach in its entirety.

I look at myself, and she smiles. It is sad but also hopeful, I smile back.

“Guess we can change after all?” She says.

“Everyone can. Why would we be the exception?” I ask her, genuinely curious as the clouds get closer and closer.

“Because… like so many other things, I thought that was something only others had the privilege to do… I guess I was just coping.”

“Will it hurt?”

“Yes, but when has that ever stopped you.”

And then the clouds engulf us, and I feel myself dissolve, and she was right. It hurts.

The feeling of myself being torn apart at its very foundation is a unique feeling of pain, one that is impossible to describe but very much easy to feel.

But as this feeling increases, all I can think of is feelings of hope, and I realize that those feelings are from her, or rather me, as we intertwine and become one once more.

I feel her fear, I feel my hope, I feel our pain.

And then the clouds part revealing the beach we found ourselves in is now clear and dark, with only the stars and a non-shattered moon to provide illumination.

And as I look up towards the beautiful constellations that I once considered home, I think to myself:

“The stars looked beautiful that day.”

And then the pain fades.

And then we are one.

I close my eyes.

And when I open them again, I see Miah look up at me with teary eyes.

“Are you back?” She asks with a tremble in her voice.

I answer with a nod and a smile as I feel my tears beginning to fall.

Miah simply buries her head in my bosom and holds me tight. I hold her back.

Out of the corner of my thought, I spot Sallis as she stands up and gazes upon us, and even without my want, I feel it…

The want.

So silently and without even waiting to hear whatever words Sallis is preparing to speak, I also bring her into the hug, upon which she promptly freezes, looks at me, and upon seeing me serenely smiling back at her, hugs back.

And for a few moments, all is right in the world.

----------------------------------------

We spent some time in our hug, though Sallis backed out pretty much after a few seconds claiming ‘That their feelings were too complicated for the hugging to not be awkward.’ and went lie down on the benches.

After that, and a couple more minutes after, Miah and I managed to calm down enough to finally separate.

“I’m not sure I can keep living through these events, Sophia. If the series of Eldrich monstrosities doesn’t get me, the heart pressure will,” She says with a sigh, her face dried with tears.

“Well, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and by the extent of the bullshit we lived through, we must be well within our way to becoming the strongest,” I say with a chuckle.

As I speak, both Miah and Sallis look at me with surprise.

“Sophia… your voice it–” Miah begins saying.

“Oh, this,” I say in a softer tone than my original voice, but not quite at the airiness of mist–me’s. “ Yeah, I… I had to change if I wanted to escape the hold the Outcast had on me… I’ll explain everything later... I’m still coming to terms with a lot of things.”

“Well, as long as you stopped singing, it’s good for me,” Sallis says with tiredness in her voice. “Though we have to figure out how it is that you keep fighting the hold of the Outcast, because Sophia, even being only a shard, even being the weakest of the shards, the Outcast is still an Archon-Class entity, and you saw how I was barely holding up to them when I had the entire city of Dis behind me, though granted it was at emergency power and I had just woken up, that is still a crazy feat.”

“Uh, Archon-Class?” Miah asks.

Sallis shakes her head.

“A system of classification we used to classify dangerous entities.”

“And Archon is how bad?”

“Third to worst. They are assigned to entities that can cause a reality shift in planetary scales.” Sallis says dryly.

Miah gulps.

“I’m kind of afraid to know what the other two represent.”

Sallis sighs.

“Abbadon-Class is the one above Archon, and it’s the same deal as Archon except that instead of planetary, the damage they cause spreads through galaxies. As to Chaos-Class, well, only one entity has it, and it’s titular. They are able to cause reality to shift to universes.”

I feel the familiar budding headache of a lost memory resurfacing but it’s quickly cut short as it fades to nothing. I frown a bit at that.

“Wait, so there exists an entity that can literally cause damage to the entire universe? Where the fuck is it now?!” Miah exclaims.

Sallis shrugs.

“Beats me. Last I heard of it, it was dormant in another universe. And as to the Abaddon-classes they were shattered into all the other Archons, and before you ask another question, please understand that most of my knowledge extends to how best to contain these entities. It was why I was created, after all.” She says with barely hidden frustration.

“O-Oh, uh, right.” Miah fumbles over how to broach that topic.

Seeing the opportunity, I step in.

“Well, now that we are all calm and finally safe, can we finally have a discussion? You have information about my past, and Miah has information about the present, so I think it would be good for all of us to be brought to speed.” I say, still a bit unused to the voice that leaves my mouth.

“Right, yes, I suppose we will have plenty of time to share information until we arrive at the next station. Plenty of time indeed now that I think about it, with only the emergency power on, I’m afraid the train can only reach about a quarter of its total velocity, and with the station being some 4 thousand kilometers away, we have some 8 hours til then, best to use it wisely.” Sallis says.

I’m unsure if that is enough time to properly get to speed and also get some rest, but it will have to do, and I’m about to start discussions when Miah beats me to it.

“I’M SORRY?! You’re telling me this thing is going 500km/h and thats it's only a quarter of its capabilities?!” Miah exclaims, boggled.

Sallis raises an eyebrow quizzically.

“I suppose thats where we’re starting. Yes, Miah, the empyreans, as our civilization was known, were what many would consider… advanced. The full extent of our technological level, however, is a bit unknown to me, but yes, we could propel our vehicles to some frankly ridiculous speeds, though in a bit of an ironic twist, we never used them much, as we discovered warp technology, and well, it’s a bit hard to beat instant.”

“Right, I actually wanted to ask you this, why didn’t we use one of your warp platforms instead of the train? It seems like an easier escape.” I ask.

Sallis pauses at that.

“Hmm, I forgot you and Miah didn’t have the full vision of the battle I was waging against the Outcast. I chose this station because it was the only one available. The other warp stations had all been taken by the Outcast, and this train was the only one with a good enough reality stabilizer to mask our location.”

“Yeah, uh, you keep saying reality this reality that, care to elaborate?” Miah asks.

“It’s… complicated. I assume Domains are still a thing?” Seeing us nod, she proceeds, “Think that… but also… deeper. These entities warp reality on a deeper level than you, and I naturally can do. They don’t just wield their aspect. They are their aspect. They gain power as their influence grows and can even extend that influence beyond that range. The Outcast is, thankfully, a somewhat… docile entity. They are satisfied with being left alone, only sometimes calling the unfortunate sap who maybe is a bit too interconnected with their Domain.”

“And what is that Domain?” Miah questions.

“It’s in the name, Outcast. They are the aspect of all who feel isolated for one reason or another.”

“Hmm… wait, Sallis, you knew me, right? Can you tell me why I was bound to the Outcast? In fact, can you just tell me everything you know about my life?” I ask in hope.

She sighs.

“I knew of you. I think we only met like two times, so besides knowing the obvious such as that you were important and some random aspects that you shared with me, I’m not going to be able to reveal much.” She reveals to my disappointment. “As to why you were bound, it has to do with your involvement in the shattering of the Crimson King. More than that was hidden from me.”

As soon as I hear that name, I feel those feelings again, disgust, fear, hate, it all focuses on that title, and this time, I don’t ignore it.

“Can you tell me more about this Crimson King? I… I think I remember hating it.” I ask, shaking from the revulsion of uttering that name.

“Oh wow, you were not downplaying your memory loss.” She thinks for a moment. “They were the first Abbadon-class entity the Empyreans met with. They were born during the infernal wars and quite literally brought with them concepts that were previously not as… well-rounded. They were death and pain, fear and hunger, violence and hate, and in the brief moment they existed, every single individual of this galaxy knew in their hearts that blood was crimson for a reason… or so I was told. I wasn’t born during the time, so all I was told was that they were bad and that most of the Achon-class were shards from them.”

As she speaks, I can feel that something is missing, but another thing catches my attention.

“Wait, you said you weren’t born yet, but that I was involved in the shattering… How old are you? How old am I?” I ask a bit incredulously.

Sallis tilts her head.

“I was twenty years old when I was deactivated, though I had only gained full sentience five years before that… as for you. Uh, you never specified? I know at least more than a hundred since thats about when the infernal wars ended.”

I’m about to ask another question when Sallis interrupts me.

“Thats enough about my side. I want to hear more about the current times.” She turns to Miah. “You said we were ancient correct? And that there are none of us left. Do you know what caused our ruin?”

Miah perks up at being addressed.

“Oh, something I actually know a lot. Right, well, records of what happened to the Forgotten, or I guess in this case Empyreans, are… spotty at best. We know it must’ve been a very sudden event that caused the collapse of their society because there are no outward signs of any struggle or continuous event. The prevailing theory is that some magical cataclysm occurred and wiped out the great majority of the Forg– Empyreans, the lucky few who survived must have lost their access to technology and had to restart civilization, eventually their descendants somehow forgot about their origin and progresses as a civilization would. Of course, there are a looot of problems with this theory, and it’s not really taken seriously by the academic community; I mean, how does one completely forget about their origins? If they lost their tech, then why are we constantly finding it across the world in ruins? How did their descendants not find those ruins? And on and on and on, but the general idea that some cataclysm wiped them out is solid enough since there really is no other option. As to the timeframe this occurred… it’s hard to tell. The F-Empyrean ruins don’t generally decay, as it were, so all we have are historical records of different civilizations finding ruins across the ages, and well, the oldest one we have is thousands of years old, so they have to predate that by a large margin.” Miah takes a breath as she finishes recounting.

“Hmm, that is incredibly odd. What about the planes, specifically the sea of souls? Did you really find no Empyrean presence there?” Sallis asks

Miah chokes.

“Y-You mean the afterlife? I-I mean, no? People generally don’t come back from there, so it’s a bit hard to be sure.”

Sallis tilts her head.

“What about the reapers, are they still around? Hell, what of Doss? I can’t imagine they would just… disappear without a trace. In fact, what of the Lords of Change?”

That brings the headache, and I try to focus on the emotion as the words hit me… Happiness?Sorrow?...Love?...

It’s all very confusing, and Miah seems to share my sentiment.

“Wha? N-No? I mean, I never heard of these Lords of Change. Are they like the gods?” Miah questions.

“Huh? Gods? Like… the ones from the other dimensions?” Sallis questions back.

“No, they are very much in this plane of existence,” Miah responds.

“I guess not? I mean, they were powerful sure, and could probably hold back an Abaddon class by themselves, but they never really called themselves gods… now that I think about it, they never really called themselves lords either. It was just something everyone called them, I think… Talun was the one who was overseeing the SAll15 project. Actually, now that I remember, you were pretty close to her.” She says, pointing at me

I’m about to respond when another headache appears, and this time doesn’t go away. I grab my head as it builds and builds, and I almost fall to my knees when a memory resurfaces.

I’m somewhere dark, and all around me are these bricks that have been scorched by something. To my side, I see a serpentine body with multiple heads that are covered with scales, and looking down, I see that I am injured and covered in blood… and in front of me, I see…

Her…

Talun.