I had not at that time seen Vanier so furious. He had implied that he knew what they were after before we had even left, but upon seeing the mechanism that the cult had been assembling, it was almost as if he had no idea until this moment exactly what they planned. As he briskly paced the area examining the runes and demanding to know who their leader was, I spoke softly to the woman who was chiseling closest to me. "So, I heard you guys are Eternity? The cult?"
The woman laughed softly at the term and rebuked me gently, "It isn't nice to refer to others by such crass terms. We are simply those who tire of this passing world. No one wants to die, rot away, or cease to be. But we don't very well want to stop being ourselves either. So we put a little bit of ourselves into these runic networks and when it is finished we can be rejuvenated forever. Constantly refreshed and restored forever." It did seem tempting, but something about it seemed off. Like there were details missing.
Still, I was curious, so I asked, "Infinite youth sounds great. I can see why you guys have so many members. But what do you mean by a little of yourself?"
She laughed at me and explained slowly, "These runic networks will preserve our essence, namely our memories and such, and will restore our bodies. I know I'm young now, but I've seen what old age can do to a mind." She got back to her chiseling, waving the hammer like she was a teacher giving a lecture, "I don't want to be like cousin Lima, kneeling in the barn and braying like a cow. No thank you, ma'am. I would rather die." As she ended her thought on that, she seemed to redouble her efforts to chisel and block me out completely.
Okay, that was more about her personal life than I had ever wanted to know, but I think I understood the similarity here to the basement. It was only as I looked at the ceiling and examined those runes that I realized something odd. The crucial aspect of a runic network was the spirals. While these seemed to be similar to a normal runic network, there was something off about it. Taking more care to compare the two I realized that it was mirrored. The shape and form of the network were perfectly mirrored between the two, even the symbols almost appearing backwards. As I was watching, the leader of the group stepped into the antechamber, a flowing purple cloak billowing behind her. Vanier narrowed his eyes at her for a moment as she spoke, "We have come so far, and while we are open to all joining us in our ideal, we continue to find ourselves questioned by those who do not share our vision and ideals. They claim us mad for seeking perfect restoration. They say it is an impossible goal for the insane to seek. To demonstrate this, we must be willing to take risks. The necessary runes are in place for us to ascend into eternity. To walk the endless spiral and claim the infinite. Come, my new family. Let us all gather at our marks and ascend so we may show the world our brilliance." The all gathered together, each one standing on what I now recognized as smaller runic networks within the room spanning one. Spirals within spirals all assigned to the individual. Vanier grabbed my arm and tried to pull me out of the room. Due to my substance, he nearly pulled his arm free from his own shoulder in the process, which elicited a chuckle from me. Curious as I was, I cooperated until we were in the hallway, but refused to budge from there. This would prove to be a mistake on my part, but I couldn't have known at the time.
I watched the chamber as the tiles and bricks that formed the room began to shift, the runic network beginning to glow with energy as their internal electricity began to power it. After a few moments, the glow shifted into a dark shade of purple, the ceiling above beginning to glow red at the same time. I watched in horror as the light left everyone's eyes and their bodies began to disintegrate into its base material, layer by layer. I was thankful that I had no stomach and that they had clearly already passed as the process was grotesque and looked like it would have been horribly painful. As this process was mostly underway, the floor began to rise to meet the ceiling, blocking the rest of the results from view. As the "Floor" returned, I saw it was now glowing red as the ceiling once was. As I looked at the runes they seemed to even be mirrored just like the ceiling once was. trying to get a better look in the room, I was horrified. While there was nothing coherently human, what was happening was plain as day even to someone like myself. As the floor produced new bodies and forms for the cult, the same way I had been born as an Ulur, the ceiling was taking it at the same rate and disintegrating them. I asked myself if they were aware. Could they feel their every atom being torn apart and being reassembled every second of existence they were having? Could they even truly experience it?
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Vanier sighed, explaining to me for the first time, "They called it the Spiral Staircase when I was in training. The idea that if you have a runic network making something from scratch at the same time you take away the old parts that you have something infinite and perpetual. Undying because it never has the chance to be effected by time and entropy. Usually, it isn't possible because they are two forces that flow the same way. You have a runic network that pulls down and breaks down and another one that produces everything beneath it. Usually can't connect the two and therefore the matter just perpetually is generated and thrown away with no overlap. But these crazies thought that if they allowed the runic networks to pass through each other during the process they could interconnect the two." He pulled his hat over his eyes, "They were technically correct, but I have no idea if I would call this a success. Seems like hell to me."
Vanier turned to walk away, clearly content to wash his hands of all of this, but me? I couldn't. This seemed so unnatural to me. It was people's lives they had simply thrown away on the vain hope of living forever. Senseless and so swift was their end that my mind couldn't accept it. Just as quick as I had arrived, I had watched hundreds die without anyone ever knowing what happened or what their case would be. I could let this run forever and see how it worked out, but an existence like the one I saw here was an abomination even if they were without pain. In my fury, I punched one of the walls, a giant stone fist coming through one of the walls of the antechamber and damaging the runic network. As it grew unstable, I threw a few more, trying to free this wad of information from this infinite sorrow. Eventually, the damage I did was so intensive that I found myself buried in the rubble of the ruins. When I eventually stepped free from the stones, Vanier was sitting at the top of the massive staircase, smoking a pipe as he waited for me. When I looked him over, I felt nothing. Not anger. Not sorrow. Not regret. My only remorse was not stopping them before they started. Not trying to break through the pretty words to the desperation they held beneath the surface.
Immortality is a myth
A lie we tell ourselves to desperately hold onto the perception that nothing has to change
But even those of us that are timeless change
The girl known as Cathrine is dead. Whether in her sickbed or here in these ruins, she is no more.
The woman known as Cathrine is different than she was before today. I am different.
This would not be the last time Vanier and I crossed paths, and each time we have, I have found my life changed. It will continue to change. Those who fight change will find themselves endlessly climbing a staircase to nowhere until it all comes crumbling down.