Chapter 137: In Which We Learn The Truth
The atrium snapped into existence around us like someone had changed the channel on reality.
I’d been here before, multiple times now, which didn’t make the architecture any less offensive to human perception.
Crystalline formations stretched in impossible directions, surfaces both transparent and reflective showing nothing and everything at once, floor made of frozen starlight or something my brain interpreted as starlight because it couldn’t process what it actually was.
Everything glowed with sourceless light.
I still hated it.
But this time, instead of annoyance, I felt relief wash over me like finding WiFi in the middle of nowhere.
"Finally," I said to the empty space. "We have so many questions and you’re the only ones with answers."
Azryth materialized beside me, our consciousness pulled here together through our connection.
"The last time you summoned us," he said calmly, "the connection broke before you could finish."
"Yeah," I agreed, remembering how everything had shattered mid-sentence, the Arbiter trying to tell us something important about a fragment before the whole thing collapsed like a dropped call. "That was frustrating."
The crystalline structures pulsed brighter, reorganizing themselves in ways that made geometry file a restraining order, and in the center the Arbiter appeared.
Still too tall.
When it spoke, words bypassed my ears entirely and went straight into my brain with the familiar discomfort of thoughts that weren’t mine.
Three voices layered together, slightly out of sync, some higher, some lower, some almost human and others distinctly not.
"Kael warden. Valek demon." The voices harmonized directly in my skull. "Communication restored. Previous summon interrupted. External interference. Information incomplete. Requires correction."
"We noticed the interruption," I said. "What happened?"
"External force severed connection," the Arbiter’s three voices said. "Powerful interference. Prevented message completion. Entity signature detected. Fragment blocked communication. Deliberately."
My stomach did something unpleasant despite not technically existing here.
"The fragment blocked you?" Azryth asked, voice still measured but sharp underneath.
"Yes. Fragment possesses power over dimensional connections. Severed summon to prevent information transfer. Strategic action. Not accidental."
"Which fragment?" I asked. "The one from Switzerland? Tokyo?"
"No. Fragment very close to your position. During previous summon." The Arbiter’s voices paused, and I felt weight settle over the crystalline space like reality holding its breath. "Fragment is entity itself."
Wait.
What?
"The fragment... is the entity?" I repeated slowly, brain trying to process that.
"Yes. Not piece of a larger whole. Complete entity. Was sealed. Escaped during nexus closure. Reverted to diminished form."
The atrium went very cold as pieces started clicking together.
Entity escaped during nexus.
Fragment very close to us.
Something powerful enough to block Arbiter communication.
Small and floating and...
Oh no.
"...Void," I said, the name coming out quieter than I’d intended.
"Yes," the Arbiter confirmed. "Void is complete entity. Was sealed. Escaped during your nexus closure. Reverted to incomplete form. Survival mechanism."
I felt Azryth’s reaction ripple through our connection, confirmation of something he’d been suspecting since the London fragment didn’t disappear, certainty crystallizing into grim understanding.
"The entity fractured itself," Azryth said, and his voice was still calm but I could hear the edge beneath it. "During the escape."
"Yes. Void escaped sealing at nexus. Dimensional collapse too severe. Could not maintain cohesion. Power fractured across dimensions. Consciousness fragmented. Eight separate pieces. Reverted to purest incomplete form to survive. Became small. Weakened. Fragmented."
I thought about Void bouncing happily when it learned to say Mama, about it creating sparkles to show affection.
"So the eight fragments," I said, brain still trying to catch up with cosmic revelations, "they’re not separate things. They’re pieces of Void."
"Yes. Eight fragments contain entity power and consciousness both. Pieces of Void scattered during escape. Each holds portion of original strength. Portion of original awareness. Without them, Void incomplete."
"And every time Void absorbs a fragment," I said, understanding dawning like the worst sunrise ever, "it’s not stealing something. It’s reclaiming what was already its own. Becoming more itself."
"Precisely. Each absorption restores power. Restores consciousness. Restores memory. Void has absorbed four fragments. Switzerland, Tokyo, Seoul, Cairo. Four pieces reclaimed. Currently fifty percent complete. Growing stronger with each reunion."
Azryth was very still beside me in that way that meant he was processing rapidly.
"Switzerland, Tokyo, Seoul, Cairo," he said. "The pattern matches perfectly with Void’s changes, growth after each gate, the horns after Seoul. The power expansion..."
"Yes. Each fragment brings Void closer to original form. Horns manifested as power increased. Memory returns. Entity remembering what it was."
The crystalline space pulsed with something that felt like urgency mixed with dread.
"...What was Void before?" I asked, not entirely sure I wanted the answer. "Before the sealing?"
The Arbiter’s light flickered in ways that suggested bad memories despite being a cosmic entity that probably didn’t have memories in any way I’d understand.
"Entity in complete form possessed absolute power. Dimensions and reality itself. Spatial manipulation. Dimensional merging. Reality corruption. Original form turned world upside down. Literally. Metaphorically. Dimensions merged uncontrolled. Reality fractured across planes. Chaos incarnate. Threat required sealing. Forces we do not fully understand."
"But you know it was bad enough that someone went through the trouble of sealing it," I said.
"Yes. Entity was contained. Sealed to prevent dimensional collapse. But when you sealed nexus, entity found opportunity. Dimensional chaos. Escaped during final sealing moments. Fractured itself to survive pressure. Scattered power across dimensions. Eight gates appeared. Manifestations of Void’s scattered power. Each connected to Earth. Each containing piece of what it was."
My brain was doing mental gymnastics trying to process this.
"So the gates aren’t random dimensional rifts," Azryth said. "They’re Void’s power distribution points. Its consciousness and strength scattered across realities, waiting to be reclaimed."
"Yes. Each gate leads to dimension touched by entity influence. Each contains fragment of Void’s original self. Void cannot access fragments alone. Gates require warden and demon power combined. To open properly."
I waited for the Arbiter to say that’s why Void had attached itself to us, but the words that came next weren’t what I expected.
"Entity found you immediately. After nexus closure. Drawn to something specific. About Kael warden. We do not understand what. Gates did not exist yet when Void chose to remain. Manifested later. After entity established attachment."
I processed that carefully.
"So Void staying with me," I said slowly, "that wasn’t just about accessing the gates. It could have found another way eventually."
"Yes. Entity possesses dimensional manipulation. Could access gates given time. Chose to remain with you instead. Drove away equilibrium threat. Established bonds. Called you Mama. Behavior unprecedented for entity."
Beside me, I felt Azryth’s attention sharpen like a blade.
"Why?" he asked. "What about Riven specifically draws the entity?"
"Unknown," the Arbiter admitted, and the fact that it didn’t know something felt significant. "Two possibilities exist. Both uncertain. First: Void absorbing power strategically. Waiting for completion before returning to destructive nature. Attachment and cooperation are manipulation. Deception. To ensure fragment access. Second: something about Kael warden prevents entity’s chaotic nature. Something about Riven keeps Void peaceful. We cannot explain. Attachment may be genuine. Alongside strategic."
I stared at the shifting light that was the Arbiter, trying to process that.
"Something about me keeps an apocalyptic entity from destroying everything?" I said.
"Possibly. Entity behavior around you unprecedented. Before sealing, Void showed no restraint. No control. No attachment. Immediate chaos. Destruction followed wherever it manifested. But with you. Remains small. Cooperative. Shows affection. Loyalty. Calls you Mama. Protects you absolutely. Never observed before. In entity behavior."
"Could it be related to the equilibrium connection?" Azryth asked carefully.
The Arbiter’s form pulsed with something like curiosity.
"Equilibrium emissary appeared at nexus. Recognized Kael warden immediately. Attempted to kill Riven. Called him abomination. Before Void drove it away. Connection exists. Nature unknown to us. We lack information about equilibrium organization. Their purposes."
My chest tightened remembering that moment, the Emissary’s fury, its immediate attempt to end me.
"But they might know more about why Void responds to me," I said.
"Likely yes. Equilibrium emissaries serve higher powers. What you call gods. Existed since beginning of time. Knowledge predates our awareness. Would understand entity nature. Kael connection. In ways we cannot. But contact extremely dangerous. Emissary attempted to kill you on sight. They reside in divine realms. We cannot access. Even if you wished to ask. We do not know how you would reach them."
So helpful information existed but was completely inaccessible behind divine bureaucracy and murder attempts.
Typical.
The crystalline space pulsed again, stronger this time.
"Critical question remains," the Arbiter’s three voices said with weight. "What path do you choose. Regarding remaining fragments. Two options exist. Both carry risk."
"Let me guess," I said. "Both options are terrible and we’re damned either way."
"Essentially yes. First option: continue closing gates as planned. Void absorbs the remaining fragments. Becomes complete. Full power restored. Full consciousness restored. Possible outcomes include: Void returns to original destructive nature. Causes reality-wide chaos. Or alternatively. Whatever keeps Void peaceful around you continues. Completed entity remains non-threatening. Cannot predict which occurs."
"And the second option?" Azryth asked.
"Cease gate closures immediately. Prevent Void from absorbing fragments. Keep entity incomplete permanently. Preserves current stability. Prevents potential catastrophe. However, gates unstable. May open spontaneously without intervention. May collapse, merge dimensions with Earth. Uncontrolled. Contents of dimensional prisons may escape to your reality. Risk of reality fragmentation exists. Regardless of choice."
I felt the weight of cosmic decisions pressing down on my consciousness like trying to hold up a collapsing ceiling.
"So our choices are let Void become complete and hope I keep it peaceful, or leave the gates alone and hope they don’t explode reality anyway," I said.
"Yes. Void currently fifty percent complete. Four fragments absorbed. Each gate closure brings Void closer to completion. Each gate left open risks spontaneous catastrophe."
"What do you recommend we do?" I asked, even though I suspected I knew the answer.
The Arbiter’s form pulsed with something that looked like it might be the cosmic equivalent of a helpless shrug.
"We observe. Do not dictate. Cannot predict outcomes with certainty. Void unprecedented. Kael warden unprecedented. Combination creates variables. We cannot calculate. Decision yours. Consequences yours."
Fantastic.
Save the world by completing an apocalyptic entity or save the world by leaving dimensional rifts to collapse on their own.
Choose your own adventure, cosmic horror edition.
"How long before Void wakes up?" Azryth asked, practical as always.
"Hibernation cycle varies. Based on fragment integration. Cairo fragment currently being absorbed. Processed. Estimate minimum twelve hours until awakening. Maximum thirty-six. Uncertain. When Void wakes. Will seek you immediately. Will know if fragments secured without presence. Response cannot be predicted."
"It might be angry that we took a fragment," I said.
"Possibly. Or desperate to reclaim what it sees as self. Or violent. In pursuit of completion. Or understanding. If attachment genuine. Entity consciousness incomplete. Behavior unpredictable. Void has demonstrated affection. Loyalty. Protection. Strategic manipulation. Simultaneously. All appear genuine. Aspects of fragmented nature."
The crystalline formations began fracturing around us, our time clearly running out.
"One final information. Kael warden," the voices echoed as everything collapsed around us, "remember this. Something about you prevents chaos. Do not know what. Do not know why. But significant. Critical. Essential. Without you, Void would have destroyed already. Whatever keeps entity peaceful. You are key."
Then nothing but white light fracturing into pieces, then black, then the horrible sensation of consciousness being snapped back into a body like a rubber band pulled too tight.
And then... everything went wrong.
