Lord Shadow

Everyone was so engrossed with the story, digesting it that no one even notices that many of the people here were sweating.

This goes beyond their understanding.

First there was the revelation that there is a race of ancient alien that have lived for so long that they exist long before Earth even exist

And this is trillion and trillion of years ago.

Then they heard a story about a technology that enables its user to view the beginning of time itself.

What kind of civilization is this and what kind of power they possessed to exist for so long and not be forgotten by time?

Even Azief was shocked.

He heard stories of the Orvanian, the Protector of the Myriad Realities but he always dismissed it as a myth.

No one have ever seen an Orvan and even though some travelers from some distant galaxies would tell stories of how they met an Orvanians many would consider it just a tall tale in their adventures like pirates boasting about they met mystical creature in the sea.

However different people have different understanding and have different degree of fear and dread.

Azief understand more than these people because he had traveled to many of the places albeit unintentionally during those four years he was stranded with Will

So he felt more at awe of Orvan.

Their civilization was around even longer than the Olympians and even the Asgardians and even more earlier.

They truly are an ancient being.

But he still didn’t understand the part about the multiverse and how it connects to Sithulran other than the fact that Sithulran created a device.

Sith’lenor then look toward Hirate and then he answers.

‘She did see it’ Azief face turns solemn.

Everything has a price. To see the beginning of time….thinking about it Azief don’t know if that is a curse or blessing.

So he ask Sith’lenor

‘And what is the price of doing such thing?’ Azief ask sharply. Sith’lenor then closes his eyes and there is a bitter smile on his face.

‘You humans must understand that while what Sithulran was wrong…..we at the time did not think it was wrong at all. We were all young and impetuous, arrogant and full of hubris. Like the Ethernian we were mistaken. None of us believes an old prophecy. None of us heeded the Old Ones. In a way even I help her in creating that device’

Sith’lenor said and Hirate eyes shines.

He was not the only one. Jean also looks at Sith’lenor with renewed interest

‘Then you know how to build it?’ Jean asked.

Sith’venar behind Sith’lenor shakes his head.

‘The Captain had his memory erased’ He simply said and Jean then nodded. Paulette rubs Jean back gently.

Jean was clearly disappointed

Sith’lenor continued his story.

‘The thing she sees when she saw the beginning of time was a finger. At least that is what we deduce from her ramblings. Our brightest person turns into a mad person just by seeing that finger. From her rambling we deduce she catches a glimpse of a finger that seems to be imbued with such an immense force of creation that there would be no other and no comparison with His power. That finger was depositing the speck that would become the entire cosmos. She saw how the Nothingness of Things were filled with life essence and how Universe started sprouting without any Laws’

The scene of the History Projection did not change. Clearly even this projection could not visualize the image that Sithulran saw.

Sith’lenor then continued his story

‘Her device exploded at that instant and the force of the explosion of her device fills with the energy of All-Universes causes an unthinkable thing to happen. Reality at that time….only have one. But because of the explosion of her device it causes the strong and sturdy reality to rips apart and infinitely, Laws of the Universe to multiply and mutated infinitely’

‘The Universe then scattered causing the creation of the entire Multiverse. The Universe then replicates into an infinite number of parallel universes’

Then the History projection Orb died down as the floating Orb in the middle of the table stopped spinning and the bunker room return to normal.

The Orb floated back to Sith’lenor hand as he put it back inside his sleeve.

There is no longer the image of the starry skies, or the planet Orvan.

The people in the room are all thinking about this matter seriously. Sometimes they look at each other like they don’t know whether to believe this story or not.

Silence descended on the room.

Then the moment passed. Raymond look toward Sith’lenor and Sith’venar and then he asked

‘None of you Orvanian did anything to reverse it?’ Raymond said in disdain.

Weakly Sith’lenor answered.

‘We did try…to no avail. However the more we tried the more disaster seems to happen. Meddling with the very fundamental Laws that make up the Universe is not wise. It unleashed disaster upon disaster upon all existence. We learn a very terrible lesson.’

Then Sith’lenor said

‘Sometime I even wondered if that prophecy is really a prophecy and not actually the written thing about what is to come, inevitable and destined. It was like that prophecy carved in Eluvian stone was actually a record of what is to happen that could not be changed. We Orvanians sometimes wondered if the Five Seats of Orvan knew what was about to happen when Sithulran created her device and that whether it was all predestined.’

Azief knows that this is Sith’lenor personal opinion of the matter

Azief heard the story or Orvan and the Multiverse. It is shocking….however there is nothing he could do about it.

It happens millions of years ago.

But Sith’lenor still did not explain how Sithulran could not die.

Azief then ask

‘You still did not answer how Sithulran is unable to die’ The other around Azief suddenly was reminded of this and nodded.

Raymond nodded as that is why they were listening to Sith’lenor story.

Oreki on the other hand while he is appearing to listen attentively to Sith’lenor story his eyes seems to be bursting with golden lightning like something unstable is happening in his body.

Azief is the only one that notices this.

Azief seems to sense that there is something wrong with Oreki but not knowing what is wrong with him Azief could only ignore it.

Boris on the other hand is relaying all of this matter to the Senate with video feed.

The same could be said for the World Government as Hirate is sending information about this matter to the new Quorum members who are full of people who were loyal to him and Raymond.

It is funny now that the situation did not happen as they were expecting they began improvising on the spot.

Anyone that comes here was prepared to die. Even Hirate. Even Boris. Surviving a war could change any person.

They sometimes went against each other for benefit and profit but they also were changed intensely by their experience in the war.

Fighting and dying for profit and benefit…everyone understand this especially Boris and Hirate.

But what they saw in the Weronian War…as long as they are a human with any decency they would surely not wish upon the world such a war again.

The brutality, the cruelty….it was something unimaginable.

Azief did not see all the cruelty that was inflicted upon humanity because the moment he returned he fights Purunghasa and then passed his Purifying of Fire and then were sealed inside the Ice Mountain.

But Hirate saw what happen during the war and its aftermath. Raymond, Boris and the others all saw it.

Broken homes, war orphans, tragic stories all around.

Because of that, because they know what would happen if another war were to erupt they were all prepared to put their life on the line.

They were prepared to stake their lives out today if the alien fleet intended to start another war.

Azief could see their determination and their resolution.

Like he was being awakened from a reverie, Sith’lenor then nodded

‘Ah, Sithulran. Like you said she had to pay a Price for what she had done. The moment she returned to Orvan after she saw the creation of the Universe, the Creator trillion of light years away appear upon the skies of Orvan.’

Sith’lenor was present at that time to see the divine face of the Creator.

‘The Creator?’ this time it was Raymond that asked. But Azief gesture to Sith’lenor to continue without explaining

So Sith’lenor continues explaining. He already determines the dynamics of power inside this room and hierarchy of power among them.

And he surmises that the leader of humanity is Azief.

They all seem to defer to him and out of all the people inside the room, Azief seems to know more secrets of the Universe than the others.

‘Unlike his usual appearance and all-embracing aura, his arrival changed the skies of Orvan to black, the sun dimmed, the Sea thrashed wildly and the mountain all trembling. His anger reached millions of Universes. It was like all creation could feel his anger and his displeasure’

Hearing this all the people inside the room has complicated expression.

What kind of being possesses such power? If not for how serious Sithulran is explaining, they probably thought he is lying

‘All of the Universe tremble and shakes and his aura encompasses all the Multiverse as the Creator lays claim to the unending splitting of parallel universes. All life under him and His Life Command take control of the Multiverse. His power over Life and Creation was restored. On the Dark Universe the Great Destroyer stirred and while He did not awakened at that time, His aura permeated and causes a change in the composition of the Universe as an Anti-Matter Universe is created by the emanation of power from the Destroyer unleashing great destruction’

‘This is great magic from two of the greatest being to ever exist, eternal and invincible’

‘The Creator seeks to punish Sithulran. For someone who was obsessed to find the truth of the Universe regardless of the price to Life what would be the cruelest punishment one could inflict to such a person?’

Sith’lenor asked.

Nobody answer and then closing his eyes and then opening it back he said

‘The Creator removes her memories of what she saw and of who she is. Then pointing His divine finger he turned Sithulran who also one of the strongest person in Orvan into a creature of pure energy. She was stripped of her body and her mind and she was imprisoned by the Five Seats in the Dark Universe with all manner of darkly beast and creatures’

Azief is intently listening and concentrating to Sith’lenor.

Because Sith’lenor is now about to tell them the reason why Sithulran couldn’t die.

But by now, Azief already had an inkling of why.

The moment he heard the Creator and recalling Sith’lenor said that Sithulran was cursed, he had a bad premonition of what that curse entails.

Sith’lenor is still talking

‘But before the Creator went away, he also cursed that Sithulran would be cursed with eternal immortality. As long as the heavens exist, as long as He, the Creator exists, Sithulran would exist. No matter what it is done to her, she would forever, and eternally alive to always wander around the Universe to seek who she is and failing each time. That is her punishment’

Hearing this Azief face was pale.

He had confirmed his suspicion.

‘And we….the Orvanians were tasked by the Creator to guard the multiverse from events that would cause its destruction. Like for example people bending time and space, breaking through barrier of dimension and traveling through the many realms recklessly’

Sith’lenor said as he look at Azief and then at Hirate and Raymond. His eyes also took a slight glance at Jean and Oreki

While Sith’lenor did not oversee Earth Multiverse he could sense that Azief and many people in the room are full of many atomic particles that are foreign to this planet and this reality.

Each time someone jumped through the barriers that separate worlds and parallel universe it weakens the wall between worlds.

And the weaker the walls of reality, the easier for some other Breachers to break through the Infinite Multiverse.

Azief hearing all of this could not hide his helplessness. To be cursed like that by the Creator….how could he kill something that is unkillable.

Azief did not underestimate himself but he is also is not an arrogant idiot.

The Creator…..even Azief had heard of this supreme entity. He could birth an entire Universe with just a thought.

How could anything or anyone kill him?

Azief do not even know if he could even reach the Creator level in the future.

And he doubts anyone could surpass the Creator level of power if level of power is even applicable to a supreme being like the Creator.

‘Then….how do we cope with her?’ Azief ask Sith’lenor entirely serious. It won’t matter how many times Azief killed her.

She would always come back

Sith’venar smiles and then he said

‘Fortunately she did not know she is unkillable eternally. After all her memories would be altered. I think she must think that she has spare life because of the five triangles on her forehead. She would be cautious to make trouble now that you have annihilated her once. We did after all deal with many times before. And even if she knew it will not change what is about to happen. ‘

‘What do you mean?’ Jean asked

Sith’lenor then said

‘While it is true she is unkillable, she could be sealed. And that has always been the way of dealing with her’

Then like he has been telling this many times

‘We Orvanians understood that the Creator gives her immortality not as a blessing but as a curse. To always suffer the fact that she, the one that wanted to see the truth of everything could not even understand anything about herself. No matter how powerful she becomes, she would always be tormented by the fact that she did not know anything about herself. Who she is and what she is and for what sins she was punished for. That is the true torture’

Azief could somehow understand. At least he knew that if he did not have his past experience he would not become who he is.

The past has always shaped the future. To not know who you are….is truly a torture. Without knowing who you are, finding own Grand Path would almost be impossible

‘She was caged and sealed in the Dark Universe having to suffer thousands of difficulties and tortured by Tribulation Lightning every day. Imagine her frustration and despair of being tortured for something she did not know. She did not remember what she did and so she must felt unfair. Why is she the one being punished? For what sins? Who is she? What did she do to warrant such treatment? Imagine that. That someday someone captured you and put you in a cage as you are being tortured every day for billions of years without you ever knowing the reason? Imagine that anger. Imagine what you must have been feeling?’

Sith’lenor said and in his tone Azief could detect some hint of a pity.

Azief then look toward Oreki that sit not too far away from him as he could see that Oreki now seems a bit calmer than before.

Then looking at Sith’lenor he asked

‘Then what should we do now?’

‘We have a few suggestions. In the beginning we lock her at the multiversal junction point where some of the Universes were linked together. But at the time there was Speedster that seems to be running through time that weakens the lock so we were forced to caged her at the Dark Universe by improving the lock and locking the Dark Universe with it’

There were a lot of things people don’t understand from what Sith’lenor just said but they push through.

However they knew the most important thing. In the end they still have to bring that Sithulran to them

‘And how do you suggest we lure her to us?’ Hirate ask.

‘Sithulran possess supreme genius intellect though it is clear she did not yet recover all of her intellect or power from what you have shown me. But she ultimately has no change in personality. She is still arrogant, lacking in patience, short in temper, and above all….her insatiable hunger for knowledge. Like always it will get the better of her. In a way her insatiable hunger of knowledge is her fatal flaw. Madness in itself. It is this madness that brings her constant defeats through the many times we had to face her.’

Azief then look at Sith’lenor and then said the solution like it was the most obvious solution

‘So, we just need to lure her with the promise of a knowledge she want’ Sith’lenor smiles as he nodded in agreement.

‘And there is only one thing that could tempt her here. I don’t know if one could call it destiny or fate, but I think there is a reason she escape and arrive here on Earth prime. We only need to spread the information but we need to do it without alerting it to her that it is a trap for her.

‘Then what is the bait?’ Azief asked.

‘The All Source’

***