City of Gold [4]
We were escorted through a sleek, silver hallway, our destination seemingly inside of walls as if hidden. Wall after wall revealed itself to be a maze, making un-guided exit very difficult. When British had brought us to the main room, I could not believe what I was seeing.
A core the size of a small stadium filled the humongous room, lights beeping on and off and wires connected everywhere.
“This, my friend, is Entropy.”
I gazed at the technology before me, symbols I’ve never seen flashed on screens, colors of all hues shaded around wires and monitors. I was awestruck.
“It is quite the sight,” a voice beside me stated. “I almost wept when it was complete.”
A large arkn stood before me, brandishing a notepad and an odd needle-like contraction.
“Pardon the interruption, my name is Erasus, I am the project director of Entropy.”
I greeted him and we walked around the core, Lazarus followed.
“For eons we have strived to create a perfect ai that could rival that of .reality’s Nexiumadris. Eternity after eternity we have slaved away, searching for the right equation, solving the right formulas, etc. Here, what stands before you, is the outcome; A perfected reality generator!”
I stared at the core, and for a moment, it felt as though the core stared back.
“There are five of us, you know. Nexia took thousands of Dekn to perfect, it took us five Arkn.” I turned to see another arkn enter, talking.
“Ah, that is Dilveic, our supervisor.” Erasus led me over and we shook hands. I began to introduce myself, but was stopped.
“Yes, Mr. Kharon, Cedric. I have heard of you. Lazarus has told us a great deal about what you are.”
I turned cold. They, they knew? Lazarus, sensing my discomfort, chipped in. “It’s fine Cedric, they aren’t exactly the most lawful creatures ever, right, Quadjeck?
Another Arkn had entered.
"Well, apparently creating an Arkn blood-fueled device meant to split existence into separate timelines based on probable outcomes is, actually, outlawed in every Golden City, so…”
Quadjeck was cut off by a thunderous quake that ran through the building. Lazarus regained footing and looked over at me.
“You feel that?”
I shrugged. British returned in, shocked and frantic.
“Sir! The first attack is underway, we need to hurry!”
Attack? I was confused, but Lazarus had this handled. In one swift motion, the arkn was gripped by the throat and in the air, Lazarus ready to strike.
“Tell me what just happened, what attack?”
British choked a bit. “Th-the Golden City,” he coughed, “is under attack.”
Lazarus lifted British higher.
“What? By who?”
Suddenly a blade was thrust through Lazarus, releasing British who fell to his knees. Standing behind Del'Phar was another Arkn. The nametag read Mizarak.
“We’ve been intercepting Dekn signals for weeks and, while I’m sorry to have stabbed you, can not let this go to waste. Sure, we could have prevented it, but why prevent a Dekn attack when you can use that power to create a world with no Dekn? One not plagued by humans, or Dekn, or anyone but those allowed?”
Lazarus coughed.
“You’re fucking insane.”
Mizarak walked past him and picked up British before dusting him off.
“Insane? Perhaps, but we have a machine here powerful enough to boost .reality to existential levels! Not even the Void would be able to escape this spider’s web. If you could save billions at the cost of thousands, would you take it?”
That question was directed at me. I shuddered thinking about it. A universe where Arkn and Dekn were divided, unable to fight. The war would be over. It was incredible. No more fighting, no more death. Lazarus got back to his knees as the building shook again. “Cedric, think about this choice, please. I read these guys wrong, they’re fucked!”
His words blotted out as I stared into the machine’s core, the purple and black light swirling around mesmerized me. The world drifted away. “CONTROL, CONSUME, ASSIMILATE, CONTROL, CONSUME, BECOME.”
Another explosion. From the monitor I could see the City walls collapsing. Hundreds of guards were charging at an unseen enemy.
“We just need your blood, Cedric. Dekn blood powers .reality, but imagine, the blood of a Hethe, powering Entropy! It would be the start of a new world, Cedric, one we have power in, one without war, witho-”
The world was falling apart around me, dark veins entrapped my vision, I could see a blackness, a void. It was calling to me, I was stuck in its web of tendrils and darkness. “Void… web…” My arm began to sting. Onyx blood dripped down my forearm and trickled from my fingertips. The darkness lapped it up.
“Void… web…”
I opened my eyes. I was sitting in a chair being bandaged by British, who was apologizing to me. Next to me, Lazarus was healing when I noticed the blade. It had apparently absorbed more than three-fourths its length, but I only gave a minor amount. Perhaps Del'Phar gave some to?
The building shook. For a second, the power went out, only to come back on brighter. The core was spinning faster than before and all the lights were flickering.
Mizarak stood before it clapping.
“We did it! This is it! All the hard work, all the lives lost, all for this. Today is a beautiful day, my friends, I’m sorry I came off so hostile but refusal was simply out of the question!”
The core began to flash, emitting black and red lightning.
“Oh what a day! Dilveic, check the date of success, Nexian timeline A time, please.”
My vision began to falter, and I could see unnatural black tears. This wasn’t blood loss. Something was wrong. The words echoed in my head again.
“…Void…web…”
“Ah, timeline A time seems to be, hm,” Dilveic stuttered in his excitement.
“Sunday, May fifteenth, twenty-sixte…”
In a flash, Theatre Mask had appeared and issued some sort of forcefield around myself and Lazarus, and before anyone else could react;
“...Void…web…”
The core exploded.
