A tingling sensation like static electricity danced up her arms, making the hair there stand at attention. A moment later, Leta gasped as a force not unlike the touch of god itself struck her like a spear from on high. Her back arched as her mouth opened in a silent scream, eyes wide and unblinking as power moved through her form that was barely equipped to handle it.

De Mar shouted for her in shock, fearing to touch her as crackles of metaphysical power and lightning snapped the air like deadly fireflies around her body.

All of this was ignored by Leta as her mind was propelled into the darkness of the weapon’s hive mind.

Colors danced across her vision. Streaks of blues, yellows, pinks, and whites sped past her like a jump to hyper space as seen in an old sci-fi movie until all was white.

Then, suddenly, it wasn’t.

As fast and as sudden as a car crash, there was darkness.

She beheld a true void, a vacuum in space and time. She could not tell if it was hot or cold. She had no way to judge if a roaring loudness had deafened her or if there was truly no sound.

She couldn’t perceive if she even had a form at all or if she was just a soul lost among nothingness.

A sudden sense of agoraphobia came crashing through her.

The vast emptiness made her feel like an untethered astronaut, floating forever lost in the vast emptiness of space.

She instinctively wanted to scream and lash out, but she had no vocal cords or arms to do so.

The only thing that kept her grounded and prevented her from going insane with fear was the knowledge that she was who she was. No matter where, when, or what form she took, she was still Leta.

The knowledge that she was still herself gave her some comfort as she tried to take a deep, steadying breath - even though she had no lungs with which to do so.

In the void, she sensed two other energies.

One was by her side, tethered to her by unbreakable forces, and would be with her till the day she died. The energy was a steadfast, unchanging form that was familiar to her and hummed rhythmically with a steady ‘thump…. thump… thump’ like an even heartbeat.

She easily recognized this presence to be the hive mind of her own nanites, Gada.

The other was constantly changing.

One minute it seemed large and almost airy, then it shrunk and brought its great mass together so tightly it was as if it could begin to warp the fabric of reality around it.

Like water without a vessel to give itself shape, the energy fluxed in and out of itself without reason or pattern in an endless cycle of change.

This entity hummed and vibrated like a broken tuning fork in an uncoordinated and out of sync confusion.

In the void, she felt the energy shift with curiosity and frigidness, like a dragon slowly opening one eye to see what had disturbed its slumber.

~Who… are… you…? ~

It wasn’t words that echoed slowly in the darkness, but more the echoes of intention, like sensing the body language of someone you couldn’t see but was in the other room.

Next to Leta’s existence, Gada vibrated in response, [Protector-Commander Class Weapon, your previous master is dead. You have been in stasis for over 4,000 years.]

The alien energy paused momentarily, almost contemplative.

~I…am without… a master… adrift in shadow…. ~

Leta observed the void around them. Now that the shock of everything had quieted some, the idea of being trapped in such a place for quite literally thousands of years was probably the most terrifying thing she could imagine.

Not pain.

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Not dying.

Just nothingness; an endless cycle of unfathomable and intangible existence as you slowly go insane.

No solitary confinement could compete with something like this, and this thing had been here for eons.

Though it was a nanite hive-mind, she got the impression that this one was more human-like than her own system. She wondered if its human masters had rubbed off on it because communicated in a very human and expressive way that lacked the mechanical rigidness of Gada.

~I desire to serve…I desire to… do as I was made to do. ~

As it spoke, its form began to fluctuate and shift less and less as if the longer it communicated, the more organized its particles began to be.

And it was turning out to be a massive thing.

In the void, the hive-mind felt as if it was several times her size and had a compartmentalized mass like a black hole. It felt as if it could easily increase the volume and suck her in, obliterating her very existence.

She felt like a mouse conversing with a tired lion.

~I was made for a purpose. ~ The entity spoke, ~Will I be able to serve my purpose once again? ~

Gada paused before her energy seemed to take a step back, as if allowing Leta a moment to draw the attention of the great entity before them.

Its focus shifted to her like the eye of a colossus. Despite everything she had been through, this… thing in front of her was more terrifying than staring down a hungry Minotaur.

It was like being eye to eye with a sentient black hole that could be the size of galaxies one minute and the size of an atom the next, never loosing its deadly power.

She was so small compared to something like this.

Even without form or sense of self, she found her being vibrating in answer and speaking words she had not voiced out loud, not even to herself.

“I am the Monarch. I am alone. I do not know if the Atlantians have survived, but I am all that remains of the Atlantians on this planet.”

~Monarch…~ The entity seemed to hiss the title as it pulled its terrible mass inward until it had gone from the size of a skyscraper to the size of a baseball. For a moment, she felt a pull on her being as if its smaller mass caused a strong gravitational pull like a planet pulling in a meteor until even that dampened as if humbling itself before its lord.

“You know what I am?” She swallowed past the lump in her throat to ask.

The entity vibrated in response, but this time it did so in such a way that almost seemed like something else was speaking through it.

~For thousands of years, I stood vigil before the Lady of Mysteries and guarded her secrets as she weaved the Godseed in her shadow halls. ~

As she listened to it communicate, she could almost swear that what was speaking was the Captain of the Guard that she had glimpsed like a memory earlier. It was speaking in long, complete sentences now without the drawn out lulls, like it had finally begun to wake up.

~There are moments where I heard her refer to the Godseed as the Monarch - a demigod made with the intention of transcending into godhood, or so the mortals would perceive. ~

Let felt her existence shiver with this bit of knowledge.

‘The Atlantians called it the Godseed?’ she mused to herself before asking, “Why did they create the Monarch system?”

Its mass shivered for a moment before answering.

~I do not know, but I remember my Lady weaved her wonders with a passion that could only be described inspired and yet fearful. It was her great love - more so, it seemed sometimes, than her husband, Doctor Aetes Domine. ~

Leta blinked in shock. “Pherenike was married to Aetes?” She remembered when Gada had given her a history lesson at the very beginning of all this, that Doctor Aetes Domine was the person in charge of the Atlantian colonies.

~Correct. Doctor Pherenike Chilonus, the Lady of Mysteries, and Doctor Aetes Domine, the King of Earth and Stars, were a married couple. I have no memories of their story before they arrived on this planet, but both were truly dedicated to their mission and their designated charges. ~

Leta could feel her existence expand and deflate slightly, as if her soul was exhaling.

Strangely enough, the knowledge made the Atlantians sound more human.

Her being turned to the entity to ask, “What was Pherenike’s mission?”

Its vibrations shifted again to the hive mind’s. ~Pherenike’s official role in Project Black Fire was to ensure the stabilization of the planet’s atmosphere and to oversee climate maintenance. Unofficially, Doctor Pherenike was tasked with the development of the Monarch System, which was designed to ensure the survival of the Atlantian genetic composition and structure. ~

“Holy shit…” Leta exhaled in shock.

‘It sounded like my system was a secret, even from the other Atlantians. But why?’

[It is recommended that the Host complete the imprinting process.] Gada interjected. [Prolonged exposure in this state can be dangerous to the Host’s mental and physical health.]

Leta nodded and addressed the entity. “What was your mission?”

It expanded ever so slightly, as if it were puffing out its chest.

~All weapons are designed to act as an extension of the Master and, in turn, the Master’s objective. As a Protector class weapon, my and my Master’s objectives were to guard and protect the Lady of Mysteries. This classification allowed my physical form to change to whatever suited my Master’s needs. As a Commander grade weapon, my design was of a higher quality than others and something that was only given to those tasked with safekeeping the Atlantians. As such, other Atlantian weapons are subservient to my weave and will generally be weak or dull when striking my physical form, unless they are also a Commander grade weapon. ~

“So, you’re sharper than other weapons and can become whatever you want?”

~Not what I want. I have no concept of desire, save for a need to protect. My weave requires a Master to be effective, or else I am as you see me here; formless and without consistency. ~