ISSUE 9: A CLEANSING FIRE

Going back there with my father was a different experience. He was able to hide via Anubis. Which meant that the prisoners that still dwelled there took no notice of us. Makes me glad that Eliza won’t have to see that place. Not for any reason. Not until we are ready to retake the multiverse. Send that Dragon packing.—Dexter Murphy

I’ve seen many things in my life but this? This place is more than a Tomb. It is a devastating stairwell into Hell. One I will not let touch my children ever again.—Thomas Murphy.

I knew where the epicenter was. I remembered it clearly. What we had to acquire was simple yet each step guided me back to that city. But it was within the hallowed halls of that necropolis. Rykah.—Black

My brother tells me I wouldn’t have survived re-entering that place while Unity was in ascendance. I believe him. Eventually, I would heal that tomb of a universe but it would be my last act. Before the end of everything. The horrified sadness on everyone’s faces remains with me. Not for restoring the epicenter of Unity’s universe but because that final act led to my death. And the realm beyond it. I had no idea what would happen. Only what would happen should I leave all those souls in darkness. Landing the killing blow on Unity was only the beginning.—Sleeping in Starlight, a memoir of the 22nd century

Unity Universe (Rykah)

Former Seat of the Multiverse

April 22nd, 2104

Judgment spat.

The air stale within his nostrils. Smoke curling from the husks of buildings. Their footsteps were muted. Reminded him of that one oil painting with all the people screaming. Surrealist at best. He used Anubis’ sight to navigate the murk surrounding this place. Every aspect here was unnatural.

No wind.

No birdsong. Just a great void where life used to thrive.

The shadow grew as they approached what Black called the Epicenter. Thomas examined the mighty tower. The outer mosaics burnt and broken. What had this looked like in its heyday? When the world was new and pristine. Thomas rolled forward as parts of a building collapsed behind him. Sending more smoke and debris into the air. He glanced over his shoulder. Black tendrils shot out and reabsorbed the crumbling architecture. Making a mockery of the once grandiose edifices. His son’s face was a mask. Tightly controlled. Thomas reached out and squeezed his shoulder.

Dexter’s rigid stance loosened up. Not to the levels of complete relaxation but he appreciated his father’s gesture. His mind voice was low, >>Black says it should be on the lower levels. If the basement still exists.<<

Black dared not take his battle form here. He took could take the form of a colossal tiger. Same 3 golden eyes. Midnight where his sister blazed. No, all of his concentration was going towards keeping Thomas and his son hidden from the roving Sight of Unity. It didn’t pay much attention to this Universe for the moment. It was busy hunting the 100 sent out from Io. Creation level blood was a siren song for the despot soul hunter. More potent than First One blood.

Soot-covered doors creaked open as Dexter pried at them with his fingers. Taking care by channeling his super strength into something less overwhelming. Black reached out. He used Dexter’s voice to convey the message, >>Observe but do not speak. It listens.<<

Thomas rested his right hand on his Khopesh. Its hard brown bone handle warming to his touch. Ra would be ready. Ta’mathon and the others remained dormant. Not wanting to draw attention. Anubis flowed outward. His senses on high alert. There were no entities here but he could feel the pressure of being stripped naked.

As they reached the bottom level, a giant repository greeted them. Its high walls were filled with books and data cubes. Various tables bubbling with compounds and other unsightly things. This was it. Dexter held up a hand. Judgment waited just outside the threshold. Body tense. The itch between his shoulder blades growing by the second. Black guided his host. Past endless shelves. Until they came upon a simple chest. Its markings long faded.

This object was the one thing not giving off a putrid oily overlay. Dexter crouched. Black’s power stretched forth. Gently raising the chest from its resting place. <>

Dexter inhaled sharply. They would need to take this to Io.

Black agreed, <>

Dexter nodded.

Following the command for silence to the letter. He knew that Black was doing everything he could to obfuscate them. As they exited the Ark shrunk in size. Dexter stored it within his suit pouch. He didn’t have a utility belt like his sister but that was alright. Both men exited the dead world. Traveling the ashes of the cosmos. Guided by Black. Anubis commented to Judgement, <>

Thomas frowned.

Anubis could see the protective anger within the human’s eyes.

Dexter landed on an asteroid. His father beside him.

They stared.

The warped remains of Earth.

It had one familiar landmass. From ancient pictures.

Pangea.

Unity Earth

Temple of Set

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Thomas’s jaw clenched at the obscene pictograms lining the walls.

Within this madness were the samples they needed to counteract the sleeper issue.

They would need a strand for each race.

Dexter refused to examine the objects on the wall. The Gray Herald’s influence would not poison his heart. His father was protected already. His parents' trust and love would not break in a place like this. His father reached out and took his hand. Like when Eliza was 6 and scared of the wider world. He leaned into that protection. Black raised a line of power across Dexter’s eyes. Blocking more images.

*****

J’ino woke to a pitch-black cabin. The babies were acting up. Another conga line for her to maneuver around. “Lights, low.”

The room was empty but she swore she could smell her husband’s aftershave. The doorway whooshed open and she saw Cooper poke his head in. <> She patted the bed as the German Shepherd jumped forward. Landing next to her. His soulful brown eyes a comfort.

“I’m alright Cooper. Who’s such a good boy?”

His tail thumped. <>

She hugged the Bardaxian, “Care to escort me to the showers? I don’t think Ill be going back to sleep mode anytime soon.”

She didn’t want to admit it but she didn’t realize how much having Thomas beside her most nights let her sleep soundly.

After cleaning up she found Cooper still standing guard.

None of them wanted her truly alone. J’ino was grateful.

The memory of Sister Nyx was a private terror as the triplets grew within the Typherian.

As they entered the main mess, Eliza was raiding the fridge to prepare more omelets. The rich aroma of coffee just added to the mouth-watering reaction. Cooper danced around them. <>

Eliza put more bacon, eggs, onions, and other cheeses into the mix.

Her daughter tapped Cooper on his big black wet nose, “No. This plate is for momma. I'll feed us next!” His ears drooped but perked up when she added double the bacon to the skillet.

*****

Thomas tasted the eggs, coffee, and bacon.

The influence of Typherian Markers. His wife’s blanket of affection and faith protecting him. That was why Dexter needed even more support. This temple fed off despair, anger, sorrow. To the point that all one could see was the grey morass of helplessness. Just the way Set wanted it. This Earth had never seen the arrival of Humanity. Never went beyond the age of Dinosaurs. The various bones told him that.

They crossed a deep ravine. Dexter floating above the bridge made of an oily substance he didn’t want to examine too closely. His father reached down and placed some of it within a crystal of dark red. One of Ra’s contraptions. The cavern narrowed. Fires snapped and crackled. Purple radiance cast longer shadows.

Within the alcoves before them, hewn from the rock and soil, were vials. Each humming with the resonance of the Markav, Litari, J’uka, Intez, and finally the Scholars. Thomas wasn’t able to find any Typherian source coding. He got to work collecting samples from each vial. His heart dropping as Dexter searched frantically for anything related to Typha. Deeper into the collection room they found empty alcoves.

The one meant for Typha had an additional message:

They are my children. As the Black Father made the Litari. As the White Mother created the Scholars. I have made a race my own. They belong to me. Typharians embody the will of the Gray Herald.

There was no place for the Bardaxians.

Ta’mathon whispered within Tomas:

They only exist in 4 universes now.

Maybe not populous enough to use as weapons of war?

Dawnbreaker read another nameplate: Amarche.

Set’s notes were placed near the alcove. Written within the obsidian surface.

Even with the Dark Mirrors, I find no evidence but hearsay within various Light Shaman holy texts. I believe them to be a myth. Wasted memories of a delirious mind. The Weave grows weaker by the eon!

Dexter remembered what Eliza had said, about her Darkmatter sight. Able to burn through things most thought impossible. The Curator. He had no reason to doubt. They knew how to hide from everyone. Trusting his sister with their gift. That in itself was profound. What ace in the hole did they have against Unity? To the point that their enemies didn’t believe they existed.

Thomas waved his son over. Motioning with a hidden code language.

//Why leave these here?//

Dexter pointed to his belt.

It black sash coiling around them both. The golden symbols were muted.

//Because Set doesn’t know that Black can travel to Unity Universe. White is barred but Set never really cared about Black. Seeing him only as an arbiter of Death or Release.//

Judgment stored the rest of the samples.

They quickened their pace as they retreated from the Temple.

Its outer walls formed from the countless hulks of dead dinosaurs. Set probably thought it was quaint. Thomas only saw the deluded dreams of an insane mind. The sun above them was a red dwarf. Its light feeding the shadowed landscape rather than illuminating it. They slipped through the barrier separating this Universe from the next. Taking the backroads. Last time Excalibur had to create a breach. This time, they had to be more restrained.

Anubis and Black cloaking them from all sight.

Crossing more corrupted Universes.

Within the Darkmatter, others watched. Knowing what awaited Humanity.

The Curator nodded.

He would alert At’lan of the Murphy men’s progress.

It owed the Amarche. The ship was powered by their dark matter tech.

The only one of its kind. Even other universes, other versions, never had a piece of the Amarche powering its central cortex. Its engines. Its lifeblood. Its knowledge. It was no longer wholely Markav. It served another master.

One who wanted to exist beyond the destruction of Unity.

The healing of the Weave.

They would sacrifice their dark matter selves to make this a reality.

They would side with Humanity.

With the Twin Rulers.

And be reborn.

The Jupiter Rising

Hanger Deck

April 26th, 2104

Mom tackled Dad. Not letting him up from the deck for a solid 10 minutes.

From the look on his face, he was overjoyed to be back.

“I let you do that.”

Mom’s response, “And I love you for it.”

Black materialized as a hulking obsidian tiger. Even his stripes were a darker tone than the rest of him. White greeted him with a happy roar. Both sprinting around like kids in a candy shop. Dexter spun me around, “I guess you found what you needed right?”

My cheer was infectious.

He grinned, clapping me on the back as he set me down.

“Yes.”

>>But no Typherian links just yet.<<

My H.U.D ping’d. It was listed as the Curator.

<>

I updated my grandfather and brother.

Union Hall was the next stop.

Union Hall

Earth

Blue Blaze nudged Golden Bulleteer.

His sister was here. As the Banner of course. That meant something interesting was going to happen. He had been training with the Mavericks for a while now. As a junior member but that did come with perks. Like this:

“Look! Up in the COSMOS! Its…..”

His sister winked at him, “The Star-Spangled Banner! For Truth, Justice and the Terran Alliance!” That caused White Lily to laugh, “What? Did someone sue over the American bit?”

Star replied, “Anna suggested it. To irk the Typherian Houses.”

Golden Bulleteer forced his mouth to stay shut. Not because he was upset but because Anna had suggested something fun with regards to his granddaughter. He glanced skyward. No flying pigs.

*****

My grandfather’s bemusement hit me like running water.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll go get the catapults for all the pigs that need them.”

White Lily’s vines pulled me forward until she planted a white rose in my hair.

“Well?! What’s the news then?”

I brought them in close. “I’ll tell you on the way.”

The Curator’s form pulsed. I could see it because of the gift they gave me.

From one fire to the next. Good thing I had backup.