Fortunately, Razor required another convenient errand on Thailea. He came to me the morning after... our one and only night together. He said, "Cascading Light. Have you seen it before?"

The Pain Curator had caught me after a shower—A habit of his, I'd noticed. I was trying my best to keep up with self care like Colita, Lucas, and Merit taught me. While I wrung my hair out in a towel, I answered, "Yes. In Primary Rem's sanctum." I couldn't hide my shudder.

The Pain Curator absorbed it like oxygen into blood as he said, "While you and your crew are out there, I want you to gather Cascading Light for me using these devices." He pointed to several glass boxes—almost like tiny caskets—beside the bed. "Do you think you can manage?"

I left him in the bathroom to study a box, prepared to disassemble it to satiate my curiosity. How did this contain a fire which didn't burn? How could I capture a flame without touching it? Could I steal one for myself—

"Xelan."

Razor said my name as if he'd been calling me for a while.

I glanced at Triss, still asleep on the bed, tangled in the sheets, and shushed Razor with a finger to my lips. With a wary smile, I whispered, "Forgive me. Of course we can manage. How will we find it?"

A deep chuckle resonated in Razor's chest. "On Thailea, finding Cascading Light will not pose a problem."

I stopped telling the story because T.a.o. crossed the room to stand in front of me. Her Atramentous eyes searched mine frantically. Despite my initial uncertainty, I stayed still and let her evaluate whatever she needed in me.

"Father, secrets will unmake you."

I was frozen, unwilling to breathe or flinch for fear it would lend support to her words. This Verse would expose me for the monster I am, but in my time.

Carefully, I cupped T.a.o.'s cheek. With everything in me, I tried to tell her without words, 'Please. Not yet.'

In my periphery, Tameka looked between us with open curiosity, not accusation or suspicion. My relief almost rushed out with a sigh. Especially as T.a.o. appeared to receive the message. Instead of giving away my secret, she took my hand.

I followed the tiniest Progeny to the middle of the pallet pile and sat where she'd insisted. The Shadow surrounded me in a dizzying circle of familiar faces, filled with love, respect, and warmth.

And I'd lied to all of them.

You reach across the coffee table and take my hand. "You'll tell them when it's time. Try not to worry about Celindria."

I feel the need to justify myself to you. To tell you that I've kept careful tabs on Celindria all this time. The reports leave me optimistic about increased emotional activity. I noticed leaks in our supplies for Iona projects from the onset. For every shipment of materials stolen, an orphanage appeared on Pil. Or a new research hospital on Reipon. All of them are kitted out with advanced technology and comfort. Witnesses reported an ethereal beauty in gold and white on the scene. I think Devis' memory did some good for her. But there are other rumors...

"Celindria is recruiting." You say it with so much conviction as if you know—Not suspected as I did, but like you'd seen it in person.

I lift your hand to stare at the lines of your palm, seeking the right path in them.

I've failed. Again. This time I've failed the Shadow.

"Put that from your mind. Tell me about Thailea. Before I killed Nox, Kyle downloaded Celindria's memories and showed them to me. They were static-y. We understand now that's because of Cascading Light, but I glimpsed something about her from Thailea. What happened there? And don't forget Sagan's description request."

I would never let Sagan down.

Enki's conduit into Thailea put us in a snowstorm, six meters from the base of a mile-wide conical mountain coated completely in white. The pristine frost glittered in the starlight, reflecting the sheen in a ghostly halo. It was beautiful, but not as impressive as the tornado encasing it. Fire swirled in a black funnel on a wind of its own making, smelling of—I could only describe it as the strike of steel against steel. Harnessed potential. Beyond it, in the sky, the planetary rings challenged the diamonds for the most remarkable view with a diagonal arc across all that velvet mystery. A rainbow reaching out to meet the cosmos which answered in branches of lightning behind the flames.

All across the horizon, the snowy scenery repeated.

We stared.

I don't know for how long until...

"Dear Elden," Seps breathed.

"Indeed," Lucas contributed, as he straightened his elegant clothes.

Iuo shifted into his tailed form upon entry, and his gear conformed to the transformation. After absorbing some of the initial shock, he said, "I seem unable to walk on this planet."

I tried not to study and analyze my friend despite my curiosity. Instead, I asked, "Has this happened anywhere else?"

Seps and Lucas checked the parameter as Iuo said, "Never." Then he beamed at the discovery. "This will make for an interesting entry to my records—"

"Look!" Seps pointed a meter to our right. "Another."

We followed his gaze to find another split into the Seam—Another conduit. Through it, we saw a world with green skies—

"And there!" Lucas nodded beyond it. "Another one, and it leads to Earth."

Before our eyes, the conduit to Lukemore closed, and a few meters away, another to Cinder opened in its place. All around us, conduits formed and dissolved in a breathtaking carousel.

Iuo startled me out of my reverie as he declared, "They form naturally here on Thailea. The phenomenon occurs at random."

I didn't speak up, but I knew that wasn't entirely accurate. As we'd watched, I'd discerned a pattern. It was only visible to someone who'd seen the shape of the galaxy, and I could see the conduits were formed based on the planet's distance from Thailea in descending order. Furthest to closest.

Wait.

"Do they form like this anywhere else?" I turned and searched Iuo's black and blue eyes.

The muscular bulk of his tail let Iuo pivot and turn away from me after his eyes gave away more than he'd intended.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Seps answered from behind us, "Some say they once formed everywhere until the Ancients harnessed them for travel."

Lucas finished, "Then there was Enki, and the natural order became a construct of control."

Para stopped reading volume one thousand, nine hundred and two to glance over at Lucas, along with everyone else in the room. What they found surprised them. The golden-eyed Icarus was looking at Tumu, and Andrew was doing the same. They were waiting.

Tumu let Lamassau's hand go so he could gesture at Korac as he said, "The Exalted would know this story better, but I see our resident bad boy Atheneum is wasted."

Korac chuckled against Sagan's neck, purring secrets to her while ignoring the proceedings.

I winced.

Preteen you goes right for the same question I was asking myself, "Do you think you drove Korac to drink?"

It's his honeymoon, and he's a grown man. But yes. I'm worried I'd given him sorrows worth drowning.

The smile you give reminds me of an ocean sunset. "You two will move past it. I know you. I'll bet you two strawberry milkshakes that you make up before the end of your Verse."

I tap my temple.

That's a hell of a bet when I already know how it ends, but I'll take it.

Despite Korac's attempts to distract her, Sagan asked, "So Cascading Light creates the conduits to influence the paths in the Probability Matrix?" She was practically bouncing with excitement from the epiphany. "We know from what the Exalted has told us that Cascading Light first occurred when they entered our reality. When the Aegis first set foot on what became Thailea. Does that mean..."

I beamed at Sagan, so proud she'd made the connection. Still, I held up a finger to stave her train of thought. "We're getting there." No matter how much her realization impressed me, my smile faded with the recollection of it all as Para continued.

A few feet from the conduit, a cave heralded us. I pointed at it and stated the obvious. "I suppose we should go inside."

Seps glared at the rock opening in the snowy landscape. "This is nothing like my home."

"Cheer up, friend. It will feel like a tree once we have reached the cavern," Lucas promised.

Iuo nodded in agreement. "Razor said we should find what we need in the 'Oblivion Cathedral.' Like everything else from our cryptic benefactor, he promised we would know it on sight."

Funny, but as all three of them assured each other the cave was the right way to go, neither one of them took a step toward it. There was something about Thailea. I could only describe the sensation as feeling 'found,' the opposite of feeling lost.

I went first, and the three men followed. Each of us carried a box into the cave. It was pitch black until Iuo raised a glowing baton with a nod of his head.

How did the baton work? Was it phosphorescent? Organic or artificial—

"May I have one of those, Iuo?" I couldn't resist. He handed one over, which I pocketed, not intending to activate it until I'd returned to a lab. "Thank you."

I glimpsed a look on Lucas' face. He definitely knew what I was thinking. It made me smile as we—

Fell.

Into a sudden and unexpected ravine.

Next time, I'd let the Lamia with the light wand lead the group.

My sudden yelp wasn't dignified, but I compensated for it with the quick release of my wings. "Careful!" I called, as if the others clearly wouldn't learn from my mistake.

Seps and Lucas gazed at me in the center of an abyss. The drone scolded me, "Tread carefully. My Queen would castigate me if I let you die."

Lucas held his hand out for me. "Yes. The Progeny need you back on Earth once all this Celindria business is concluded, dear Prince."

The endearment made me wince as we clasped wrists. Only Korac had ever called me that.

Lucas caught it and said, "Forgive me, your highness." He pulled me back to the ledge, and we shared a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"If Celindria is here, we must have alerted her to our presence by now," Iuo warned.

It was a good point.

I exhaled and nodded toward the path leading deeper into the mountain. "We keep moving."

The ledge hugged the hewned ice rock which formed the cave. It was smooth, not broken or loose. Instead, it looked almost hammered into this condition—

"Shit," Iuo cried.

—And it was slippery.

I helped him straighten after his tail nearly slid off into the nothing again. "I got you."

Lucas glanced back at Seps, who was counting on his fingers.

"What is it?" I asked.

Seps said, "Four times now you have said those exact words."

Iuo claimed, "And I still find it reassuring."

Lucas smiled at me. "Perhaps the Traitor Prince has a catch phrase."

But Seps stopped smiling. Stopped looking at us. He was gaping beyond us into where the next turn led. The Mon3 drone gasped, "In all of Eternity's creation, I have never seen such a sight."

We all turned and...

The Oblivion Cathedral.

"Superman?"

Yes?

Preteen you tilts your head to the side with concern in your eyes as you say, "You've paused. Can you describe to me what you saw?"

No.

You let out a little incredulous laugh. "No?"

No. I don't remember it. No one does. Except maybe...

In my study, I asked, "Lucas, can you recall it? Do you have some advantage as someone who has touched Cascading Light?"

The entire room focused their attention on my enigmatic friend yet again.

Sagan entreated, "Pretty please say 'yes.'"

With a chuckle, Lucas met all of our gazes before shaking his head. He said, "No nacre can retain it, and I'm afraid anyone without a nacre would simply perish at the sight of it."

Iuo waved for everyone to look his way and said, "But I remember the eye of a tornado went through it—A tight spout of Cascading Light. I remembered who was staring into it as we arrived."

"Celindria!" I called out to where she stood on a higher ledge, of which I couldn't recall the color or material. Not ice nor stone, but only oblivion occupies my memory of it. Her white gown billowed around her as she gazed into the flames. Again, I shouted, "Celindria, what are you doing?!"

"Xelan, the vacuum is stealing your voice," Lucas explained before taking my container. "Go to her. We will collect the flames for Razor."

I glanced at Iuo and Seps, and both nodded for me to go. Without thinking, I pounded a fist to my chest where it felt warm from their kindness. "Thank you and be careful." Steadying my hands, I went to her, alighting behind her.

With her back to me, Celindria said, "I could hear your heartbeat when you arrived on the planet, father. For giving me life, I will grant you one warning. Do not follow where I go. It will break your heart."

I was ready to beg. "Please stay. I have seen your work on L. Capra. We can do more good in this world and undo the ugly done by the Tritans and Nox."

Celindria turned and faced me. Tears poured from her eyes. Crimson, cobalt, and citrine. Rivers of blood rained down her face. She confessed, "I can feel what you feel. This close to the source. Here, where the Ancients first came into our world and pierced this mountain we will never remember, I can feel."

Celindria was right.

It did break my heart.

I choked on the tears as I cried, "Celindria, please. I know you want to feel, but Cascading Light could only fracture you more. By giving you a glimpse into Probabilities where you experienced emotions, yet never able to do it yourself—It will shatter you." I reached my hand out to her. "Please."

Through the blood on her face, Celindria smirked. "You always say this, father. Never once have you understood." She took a step back with violence in her unhinged smile.

I lowered my hand. With tears blurring my vision, I asked, "Where did I go wrong with you?"

With the spout of Cascading Light behind her, Celindria backed another step until a breath kept her from falling off the ledge. "You cannot see the worlds as they could be. Everything I do cascades into reality. We must break events and people to find where we are meant to be."

After a hard swallow, accepting the finality of this moment, I offered one last warning, "If you do this... you will never recover your humanity. Your sanity."

"I will be Imminent."

Celindria fell back into the flames.