INTERLUDE: THE THIRD EYE OPENS

Why was this left to my time? The CTT has been here since its founding in 4024. Yet what makes the 42nd century, unlike all the others that came before it? Timing? Eliza and her people cleared the Arcways, The Dreaming, The Weave Space, all the places that Unity could hide? Yet it falls to us to cleanse the Path of the Ancients.—Scribe Northwest. Circa 4187 AD

I have known many things since my birth. I know why my people were sent to the 42nd century. We had a purpose. In the past, the present, and the future. The Amarche people were born for this moment.—The Curator

I can fill time pulling at me. My records here? I hope they help you in your journey along the Path of the Ancients. I was born to my time. The path will open. The Vigil remains. Transcript relay CTT marker 24-88.—Sleeping in Starlight, recorded April 25th, 5297.

Galactic Core

Edenverse

July 10th, 4201

I pulled on the glass. Odd. The last thing I remembered was settling down for the night. The Terran Typherian Union conference set to begin the next day.

Lorain muttered sleepily, “Just 5 more minutes.”

She rolled over. Pulling my black flight jacket over her torso. Snoring softly. A recording filtered over my eyes. Aether’s concerned face forming.

<>

I glanced about. We were in….

Sentinel, my silver belt, remarked, <> Right, it had the soul of the first Bardaxian Defender within it. My head pounded. From my perspective, I had died. Crawled out of a literal Abyss. Met the Curator of the Amarche who had been a shadow of a living soul in my time, as the director of the CTT. Not to mention, my arm regrowing. I patted my left arm to make sure it was still there.

An old habit.

Went to my brother’s Union ceremony. Gave him the Scion position.

Mom was pregnant with the 10th Murphy child.

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Those were my thoughts yet not. From outside myself. I searched the Omega threads.

Thronebearer marks hovered over my eyes.

Silver Fox. Those had been her thoughts.

She never revealed much. Only enough to galvanize to action.

At this point, it was a race to populate the universe with family. If my brother’s track record was anything to go by I’d have to get at least another 30 presents for Christmas by the time of….

I glanced at my Chrono: It was stuck on July 20th, 2195. With a little message, “INET is experiencing temporal outages….”

The glass moved. Elias’ red-bearded face poked in.

“Murphy! You got sucked into the Ur Time Zone too huh?”

Little John added, <>

The Corgi danced from one paw to the other.

He pulled me out of the Glass Coffin. Doc thought the name just as morbid now as she did then. Her green eyes opened as the sunlight of an ancient world greeted us. Eddie and Nola waved. “The Puzzler has more clues! No wonder your brain got so scrambled.” He hooked his thumbs into his belt. Doc pulled on my jacket. Adjusting the white dress shirt I had on. Ignoring the fact that I was still in my Typherian burial setup.

I protested, “I only just got back and…” I sputtered. Lamely.

“Didn’t have time to change…”

She jumped into my arms. “Let’s figure it out later.”

Time had a weird way of flowing around me. Sentinel formed around us. His silver outline barking at a giant green tree with golden leaves. He pointed at it. Very much like an Irish Setter. Even though he resembled a great green-eyed wolf. In his current manifestation.

Nola hid a grin behind one delicate purple hand. “We are glad you are back Eliza. Hope remained. Probably why Doc entered that thing at the last moment!”

Lorain blushed. I stared down at her quizzically. She didn’t elaborate. She just shot Nola a look that promised retaliation of a confectionery sort. Eddie mouthed, “I'll explain later.”

A bright blue flash sparked overhead.

Silver armor formed over my body. Sentinel forming into a massive Silver Spear that pulsated in my hands. A shout rang out, “Battle Formation!”

Elias readied a red-shafted arrow. His uniform materializing from the very Dreaming itself.

He winked, “Up for a challenge?”

My mind flashed back to the Cliffs.

My gaze hardened, “Let’s go.”

I hurled my spear as the Living Stone dragon emerged from the portal. It shattered into millions of pieces as the light of my weapon grazed it. A blue Defender shouted, “The Silver will guide us to the mirror’s heart!”

A cheer went up.

There was still more work to be done.

Mirrors. Hiding the True reflection!

The Light of Eden had to be unleashed properly! That was why the 42nd century….

Understanding flooded my mind.

I shouted, “To me!” I knew the way. The Highest had left the road marks.

But only as the Silver could I perceive them.

Sentinel nodded. His ears perked forward within my mental landscape.

<>

I replied, <>

The Bardaxian cried out, <>

Lorain squeezed my hand. It was going to be a long road to Rebirth.