{Enki | Pantheon}
“Where is Uncle Nock?! You promised to take me to him and Auntie Rayne.”
“Not much longer now, son.”
That was the twenty-eighth time Remorse had repeated the line during their swift journey through Enki’s labyrinth of conduits. He’d reduced himself to half his height, now at thirty feet, to fit through rifts of energy, while keeping compression enormous enough to carry the child in his hand.
Bol.
That Primary had sided with his brother and partner in all endeavors since Rem had betrayed Quet. Primary Bol was the only one being left in the Vast Collective with the reinstatement of the Tritan species as their highest priority. The three of them—Bol, Rem, and Pax—would escape Enki with the evacuated stock of Weapons and return to the Vast Collective, prepared to reconquer it in the name of all things Tritan.
Pax was instrumental to this revivification. Without him, they wouldn’t contain the necessary genetic material to create brainless receptacles for procreation. Surras without the intelligence.
Yes.
That was the key.
Let Rayne wipe out Enki and take their enemies with her. Xelan could burn for all he’d betrayed Remorse’s gifts. Razor made for a better son in more than surrogacy. Even Vi would have approved of adopting the Aegis prodigy—
Where was Bol?
Primary Rem arrived at his brother’s sanctum to find it empty.
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Pax squirmed and huffed. Bored children made for quite the bother. Pax asked, “Where is Skylence? I like her.”
Did the boy know by saying it in such a way, he was alluding to not liking Remorse?
The Tritan grandfather hated to admit the sting was lasting. “That’s a good question, Pax. You’re such a smart boy.”
Midnight blue bled into the child’s eyes, and his voice triplicated in pitch. “I knew all things which occurred that led to my making. Who I was and who I would be in multiple strands of reality. I saw across the flaming vista to Rayne’s end and felt cold beyond it. I was afraid without Celindria’s guidance.” Pax hyperventilated in terror. “What happened to her? I don’t believe she would retreat without me. And mother. Where is my mother? Father? Uncle Nox? You are not my family. You are a parasite which preys on us. Mother? Where is she—”
The boy fainted in Remorse’s hand.
Primary Rem needed to find some of Rayne’s blood before Pax awakened. It was the only way to guarantee a defense against his draining ability. He’d need enough for both him and Bol, and possibly the soldiers. There was no way to predict how malleable Pax would be, especially with this unexpected burst of consciousness.
Where was Primary Bol?
“Hello, all those not currently possessing a Dyson’s Sphere.”
Razor.
“I’ll be your guide to Enki for the next two hours before expulsion. In the meantime, enjoy the fireworks. The Pantheon is currently providing one phenomenal display, and I have the perfect soundtrack for it.”
Music played over an all-encompassing communication system Primary Rem had never known existed. It could only mean the Shadow had uploaded Razor to the bridge.
A victory for Imminent, and it had arrived with a hidden message.
Remorse left Bol’s sanctum and headed straight for the Pantheon. If the Shadow had amassed their forces there, Bol would meet them, if only to take samples of the greatest among their enemy.
Silence was most likely there as well.
Rayne.
Yes. Once they collected the necessary samples, they could evacuate the Tritan bulls from Enki and start fresh. Before the two hours ended, they’d also detonate the Tantamount and destroy Gait’s rogue half. Perhaps he could contact Razor and figure a way to download him out of the Dyson’s Sphere. Hopefully, Abresson was already there and could update Primary Rem on how the depository evacuations went.
Surely the Eminent wouldn’t risk his life by failing Remorse again.