I approached the loading bay approximately three miles east of the palace, meaning that it was still well within the capital. I ran my fingers through my black hair, clipping my earrings in the process. I had already forgotten that I had dressed up for the occasion. A few years ago, it would've been simple to just walk right onto a Theic military base. Thanks to "my" previous actions, however, getting into the base would be a slight challenge. My conscious had automatically quarantined many of my thoughts regarding Et Cetera. I shuddered at the thought of him, even if there was nothing to be afraid of.

In front of the base was the main entrance, which extended the length of a whole city block. To go straight in was to be met by the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, which was one of Epsilon's most bothersome divisions of government. Instead of pouring money into the military, he put an exuberant effort into security and defending Theia from both domestic and off-world threats. To put it flatly, even if they let me onto the base, they'd strip me of everything and probably refuse me anything besides public transport.

The outer perimeter was surrounded by towering walls made of a durable, gleaming alloy that shimmered in the daylight. High-tech surveillance cameras were strategically positioned along the walls, and automated defense turrets stood at regular intervals, ready to respond to any breach. I had never seen them in action, but I wasn't willing to find out if they actually worked. I would have to somehow sneak past them.

I flipped through the book I had stolen from the palace, trying to find any sort of concealment method using raw energy. Unfortunately, the only thing I found was far too complex for me. It required bending space, which would need way more energy than I could muster on my own. Even then, it seemed more theoretical than physically possible. I would have to use the same method of transport I used to get home from the palace, though, that was a power somewhat beyond my control.

To mask myself with such energy would be dangerous and unpredictable, much as the nature of the energy itself. Several years ago, during the event that painted me as a sort of terrorist and outcast on Theia, I fought an enemy well versed in using this form of unstable energy. He could effortlessly hide himself, concealing even his own existence. The exposure to his power must've made me accustomed to it somehow. In fact, my body was already producing it.

I once again flipped through the book until I came to a page labeled, "Core Formae." Typically the core forms of energy were things referred to by elements such as water or flame, but the book had information that made those concepts look simple. Additionally, it was written in an ancient Theic language used only in some legal documentation. While it was taught in school, I hadn't studied it since I went to the Dicax Holistic School, which I had been expelled from for conduct. Nonetheless, once I began to mentally translate, the information was baffling.

"What...?"

I took a moment to sit on the curb outside of the TSA building. While it was a rather unbefitting thing for royalty, I wasn't much for etiquette in light of such revelations.

The smallest known general classification we can assign to energy in its simplest form can be called Natural Energy. This includes everything that the universe is made of, ranging from the smallest of particles to the biggest of planets. Everything from the oceans to the stars can be considered natural energy in essence, no matter what form it takes, may it be thermal, chemical, or even kinetic.

A great sum of natural energy condensed to a singular point can be called Divine Energy. This energy is what dictates certain concepts and processes carried out by the universe automatically, such as life and death. For example, the soul can be considered the smallest unit of divine energy because it is the amount of natural energy that is needed to convert to divine energy. While beings themselves are made of natural energy, souls are a divine energy nucleus that produce natural energy.

While the soul is a nearly perfect nucleus, it still gives way for the existence of a third hypothetical form of energy. The conversation of divine energy to natural energy is a simple process as it is typically the natural order within beings. The inverse, however, is not as easily possible.

Next to the writing was a crude drawing of an egg cracking with an "X" next to it. While it was difficult to grasp, I took it that to convert divine energy to natural energy was an irreversible process, similar to dropping an egg. Even if you had all of the pieces, it still wouldn't be easy and it would take more energy than dropping it did initially, and there are an infinite number of ways for the egg to be reconfigured. I took a moment to grasp the concept myself:

This guy... hm, a simpler example would be something with less parts I guess. If you dropped a sandwich, you could restack it in an inconceivable number of ways. I see, you just can't patch souls back together, huh? With infinite configurations of divine energy, it must be far more complex...

Chaotic energy is a byproduct of the conversation of divine energy to natural energy. It exists as a hypothetical measure of the energy needed to reverse the conversion, which we can call "n." We could label x as the energy being converted, and (x+n) would be the amount of energy needed to reverse the process, where n would increase in relation to x. Though, for most beings, these numbers are almost negligible due to their size.

Assuming everything true, how could it have been possible for Et Cetera to manipulate his chaotic energy? The amount of natural energy produced in his body would have had to been immeasurable, but that couldn't have been the case. He was most likely amplifying the value somehow, that, or his soul was just incredibly inefficient.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

I pulled myself away from the book, realizing that I was receiving glances from pretentious passerby. I was still well within the capital, and my face was rather known. It was publicized for quite a few weeks after I accidentally leveled a city block taking down the villain who showed me that power. My brain subconsciously tried to suppress his name, but Et Cetera was truly more than just a name. The presence of it within the book was proof that it preceded him somehow, as if he claimed the concept for himself.

I took my phone from my pocket, rushing to text Omega. He was most likely growing bored waiting for me, he was the impatient type.

"I'll be there in five, your Excellency..." I mumbled under my breath.

Feeling educated enough on the subject, I approached one of the side entrances to the TSA building. Channeling the energy within my arms, I focused on a creating a gateway to another place, equally spacing my hands and placing them upon the door. I considered the fact that when transporting home like when I stole the book, I knew both my origin and my destination, even if I was panicked. The problem with getting to Omega was that I only had a general idea of how far he was, I wasn't familiar with every inch of the base. Nonetheless, I removed my hands from the door, entering far too quickly for anyone to notice what lie beyond it.

Though, not even I could witness what was beyond the door for more than an instant before it overloaded my senses. Behind the gateway was an assortment of glowing lights and colors so bright that it were impossible for my eyes to remain open. It felt as if my body was being warped and pushed by something from multiple angles, as if my torso was far too left to be attached to my legs.

30 seconds forward. 10 seconds left.

Without any option but to begin walking forward, I held my goal somewhere in my mind and forced it to reverberate throughout my body. That was the only way to combat the forces pushing on me from all sides. As I walked forward, it was as if the room itself were screeching at me. The air that I cut through as I walked sounded like nails ripping against a chalkboard made purely of wind. The deafening howl almost sounded organic in nature, similar to a hungry whale perhaps. Growing accustomed to the droning sound, I slowly continued my stride. Any attempt to open my eyes was futile, but I could still somehow see the fluctuating colors surrounding me. They pierced through my eyelids, showing me their warped pattern against my will. They pulsed like waves, with vibrant streaks of the entire spectrum. With my eyes tightly shut, the colors poured into each other, showing me a shade of maroon that, paired with the inimical environment, was almost enough to make me collapse. It was unlike anything that I had ever seen before.

How many seconds left?

I had forgotten how many steps I had taken, and any sense of direction I had was long gone. Trusting my instinct, I took a left turn, crashing into a solid structure.

"Delta? About time bud!"

I almost opened my eyes at the sound of Omega's voice, but I remembered the nature of the mind-bending power of Et Cetera. I dashed back, shielding my face with my arm.

"No! Stay away..." My voice trailed as I realized that the sensations had faded. I opened my eyes, the expanse of the military base being revealed to me from within a hangar far from the initial entrance. Omega took a step towards me, to which I instinctively took a step back.

"I'm worried about you brother," Omega had a concerned look on his face. I had informed him of the incident regarding the aforementioned reality-warper after it happened. After that week, I didn't leave my room for at least a month before Omega tore me away from my solitude.

"Don't be worried, Omega. Things are gonna be different soon, I can feel it. Don't you feel the shift?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm itching to become Emperor already, but-"

"But what if that's not what you want? Just a question, not all of us are born with the luxury of predestiny."

"Ha, I didn't think you believed in fate or that destiny stuff."

"Haha, well, maybe not in the traditional sense... But if I had to summarize, I do. Bear with me for a sec, Omega. Imagine your entire life, a function on a graph," I moved my finger through the air, tracing the line for him.

"You know where it starts. It has its ups and downs, but as of now, you can't be certain of where it stops, so we assume it continues. Regardless, the line from the start to the end is a straight line, you can call that fate. The intersections between that line and your life is what I'd call destiny."

"All of this hand-waving is really no help, Delta..." Omega looked at me with confusion, and I knew the concept would be difficult to grasp.

"Essentially, you are free to choose, however, probability dictates the outcomes of your choices. The things that are guaranteed to happen are the intersections between your life and fate--"

"Oh! I think I got you. So is it destiny if I go with you on your secret mission?"

"Well for one, you can't be certain of fate because you don't know where your life ends, which means you can't know what's destined either. Though, I'm fairly certain that we write our own fate in a way. Destiny is just the most probable outcome. But if you decide that your fate is concrete, your destiny will only guide you there."

Omega, growing tired of my lecture, turned away from me and approached the personal spacecraft on our left. It hadn't really stood out to me before because of its metallic slate color. It was an ugly thing really, but I was left no other choice. He climbed onto the left wing, opening the hatch at the top of the craft. There was no way the intended pilot could still fly the ship without an assisted lift, so I was certain that it wouldn't be missed for the time being. Omega dropped in, making a silly face at me through the front window, right above the nose of the ship. I let out a small giggle at his antics, following him through the hatch and sealing it behind me. While it wasn't exactly spacious, there were two main seats in the front and a small cabin for cargo in the back, paired with a bathroom at the very back of the shuttle.

"Omega, set a course for the Malin Galaxy in the northern quadrant. There should be a planet in the eastern sector of--" I had been cut off once again by the prince, for his word was of greater importance.

"Malin? What of the Night Police, Delta? I'm not sure they take too kindly to outsiders, and I've heard they're rather ruthless. You don't plan on stealing something from them?" Omega raised his eyebrows, curious to my motivation.

"Nah, it's a quiet planet pretty far out from the Eclipse Constellate. Though, I'd really love to see that sometime. I heard that in the center of Malin, there's a cluster of planets that all cast shadows unto one another."

"Oh yeah?" I felt the ground beneath me move. I hadn't noticed, but Omega was completely strapped into the pilot's seat and was moments from jettisoning us beyond the ozone. "Maybe we can make a stop!"

I leapt into my seat, strapping myself in for the journey.