The Thirty-Fourth Entry: Answer

Our journey was long but quiet. We encountered no patrols, nor a single vessel of the Obelisk. It was strange, as if the portals were purposefully left undefended. This made me more than nervous. I tried to convince myself into calling off our expedition, but I hesitated. A whirlwind of questions, and doubts filled my mind.

“Can you feel it? We’re here.” Aberus said beside me.

Aberus spoke before I could decide, and the view in front of us decided for me.

No stars met us, no dying light upon the face of a black hole – nothing. Aberus looked down at the flight controls and flicked upon a switch that may have not been there previously. Light beamed out from underneath the viewport, and the fleets of the Obelisk drifted in front of us. Sparsely hung in inanimation, the fleets were like a debris field after a large space battle. So many vessels drifted along our path that each one could be a star in a regular universe – innumerable and ever expanding.

No vessels stirred or came to life in the field. The Obelisk had set the stage, and we were the audience. In the distance between the vessels came an eerie pale white light, which dimly lit a path for us to follow towards it – a beacon in the dark. The world that held the Obelisk. Folding between the pale light was a wave of black that deafened the entirety of area around it, like tentacles that seemed to extend into a multitude of directions as if to latch onto something.  Like the book, the Obelisk quieted the entirety of the universe it inhabited – coiling out into the dark of space and claiming it for its own.

Meeting with no obstacles, we arrived at the planet. The planet was nothing but rock and collided matter, and its size was larger than most worlds I had encountered. There was only one structure upon the surface: The Obelisk. Its black obsidian face stretched for miles and miles, taking upon entire swaths of the land. Its top reached into orbit around the planet, where a number of hangers churned capital ships from its structural flesh. Our entry, however, was not here. Instead, we sought lower and flew down against its face to the surface.

“Those are some weird looking rocks.” Yulthar said looking out the viewport.

As we neared the surface, the eerie light that permeated from the Obelisk illuminated the areas around it.

“Those are not rocks. They are Husks. Remains of a vessel without a soul. Waiting to be used.” I said.

Perhaps trillions or more Husks stood or kneeled before the Obelisk, their brackish flesh melding with the ground below, as if worshipping it. Between the flocks of Husks, and close to the Obelisk, was an area for us to land. With a thud we landed and entered the ramp to the surface. Yulthar and A’re prepared themselves, Yulthar attaching his shield to his arm and the items he’d gathered to his belt. A’re brought out a large “walking stick”, but also several weapon attachments – the walking stick doubling as a long-range rifle.

Yulthar and A’re then fiddled with rebreather masks, but Aberus waved them away from doing so.

“You will not need them.” Aberus said.

“Is there oxygen on this planet?” A’re curiously asked.

“You think too logically about a planet that orbits itself. You will breathe on your own.” Aberus said.

Shrugging, A’re and Yulthar put their rebreathers back on their holsters and followed down the ramp.

On the surface of the planet the vastness of the Obelisk was truly felt. Its bleak surface stretches for miles and miles into an unseeable horizon. The eerie light seemed to project itself from nothing and illuminated a roiling mist around its base. No wind or atmosphere was felt, as if suspended in thin air just above the ground – yet each step feeling weighted, and the air we breathed filling our lungs.

Looking back, the Husks showed no signs of noticing our presence – deeply occupied in staggered moans of worship and folding limbs.

“What will happen to them?” Yulthar asked.

“They’ll be repurposed eventually into anything. Building supplies, warship materials, flesh for new soldiers.” I replied before turning back to the Obelisk.

“That seems like a terrible fate.” Said Yulthar.

“Focus, you will need it.” I sharply replied.

The base of the Obelisk suddenly shifted and moved upwards. An archway opened before us, its interior completely dark and unseen. As we entered through the mist, the light disappeared and the dark engulfed us. Beyond the archway, a dim source of light hung above unseen to us – the light barely illuminating the area in front of us. The ceiling was close, closer than anticipated, only some hundred feet above us. The wide-open area stretched the length of the Obelisk which added to an almost claustrophobic feeling.

The walls of the area were lined in small jetting pillars that extended to the roof, each etched with a rune that whispered quietly in the air as if attempting to sway any willing readers to gaze upon them. The pillars progressed just as far as the area - into an unseeable dark end.

At the center of the area was an inner sanctum of larger pillars that punctured their way into the ceiling, covered in whispering runes – which created four separate sections of sporadic pillars. At the center of these pillars was a large stairway which spiraled downwards.

We took a moment to examine the area.

“I don’t see any way to go up.” A’re commented.

“I thought we would perhaps be going up as well.” Aberus said.

Yulthar walked over to one of the pillars but stepped back once the whispers became audible.

“Don’t go near the pillars, got it.” Yulthar seemed to say to himself.

I stepped closer to the stairway, a feeling pulling towards it. It was our only way forward. No other stairways could be seen, or any means of ascending the Obelisk.

“Our destination wasn’t known to begin with. We go down.” I said and proceeded down the stairway.

The others followed behind, and as we progressed – a dim unseen white light illuminated the sides of the polished slate stairway. After a few moments of descending, we were met with numerous sounds of clanging and sizzling, and they grew louder as we approached the end of the stairway.

Beyond the stairway was one of the many manufactories of the Obelisk. We had ascended to the next level, the manufactory covering and stretching across the miles of the Obelisk – steeped in ruinous and techno-smelting forges.

“So, I guess this is where the Husks go?” Yulthar asked.

“Correct.” Aberus answered and then proceeded to explain. “This is only one of the many manufactorums that are spread across the various levels of the Obelisk. The Husks are burned and their materials are used for the regrowth of foot soldiers, and various other monstrosities.”

The sounds of the manufactory were deafening – cogs spinning and churning the fluids of growth tanks to sides of the slate walkway. What came out of the growth tanks was then spliced with various technologies ranging from atomic rifles, to sheering energized razor claw. The process, however, wasn’t random. These improvements are a calculated construction made by the Obelisk, with each new soldier placed into a division of the same type. What may seem to be chaos, was in fact meticulous management.

As we progressed through the manufactorum, larger and more intricate production presented itself before us. Hulking Cybermorphs: creatures several hundred feet tall and spliced with various energized cannons and missile platforms were assembled. Flesh transports and energized barrage artillery, all made of billions of husks and technology scrounged from the billions of worlds that the Obelisk conquered.

At the end of the slate walkway was another stairway, but we paused just in front of it. There was a pathway both up and down.

“We should proceed down to go up, correct?” A’re asked.

“No, we will now follow the stairway up.” I answered, a feeling shifting over my consciousness. “The Obelisk is a complicated place – almost like a maze. What we seek is…deep. We’ll need to follow an illogical path to find what we’re looking for.”

Again, I felt this answer come subconsciously, but I was weary of it.

“Axiom, are you sure?” A’re asked, although it insinuated more.

I looked over at Aberus to my side, and Aberus nodded.

“I feel the same – more than likely this is a trap being laid out before us. The Obelisk, however, is sadistic. I doubt it will lead us away from our prize but dangle it in front of us. We must be cautious.” Aberus answered.

Yulthar took a deep breath, appearing relieved, but fiddled with the hilt on his belt.

“Then lead on.” Yulthar said exhaling.

I nodded and began ascending the stairway, the others following behind.

We ascended the spiraling stairway for what seemed like a much longer duration than we had previously encountered. It was beginning to feel endless, trudging up the bare slate stairway, before flashes of green light illuminated the walls. The flashes of green opened up the end of the stairway, the last step now behind us, and another area before us. Pulses of green stretched over a massive runed wall, its etchings unknown to us and seemingly different in its calligraphy compared to the previous runes.

The wall ran the length of the area, and several hundred feet above us – the green pulses humming behind the runes.

We approached the wall, and Aberus ran his hand over it.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to touch it.” Yulthar nervously commented.

“It’s a doorway.” Aberus said with astonishment. “I’ve never seen anything like it."

“Then we’re going the right way.” I said.

Aberus removed his hand, and just as he did – the wall opened with a loud rumble. Dust fell from the doorway, the large slate parted ways. It opened, however, in parts. We proceeded through, the green light still pulsing through unseen parts of the doorway, and then the doorway closed behind us by sections.

We walked for several minutes when a nearly blinding pulse signaled the end of the doorway. Through the doorway we came upon another large and wide area, but little light or hanging mist washed through it. Only the green pulses gave an idea of the room. The pulses, however, revealed themselves to be streaks of electricity which ran over several large metal tubes that came from the walls – along with smaller wires and tubes which ran along the larger tube’s face.

The large tubes came together at the center of the room, each pulse of green electricity coalescing upon the face of a large dark object at the center. The tubes latched themselves onto the object, the technology pulsing and undulating with each streak of electricity. More wires and tubes spliced themselves into the top and bottom of the spherical object, supporting it in the air. Each pulse thumped against the air, creating waves which lightly washed over us.

“I-Is this the heart of the Obelisk?” A’re asked as if he was unable to find the words at first.

“No. It’s some sort of…cocoon.” Aberus answered although sounding unsure himself.

“We should not linger.” I said feeling a wave of dread wash over me with the pulses. I scanned the room and found through the pulses an unassuming doorway. “There. Our way forward.”

Each thump of the cocoon pulsed through the room rumbled the ground lightly, the vibrations tickling against our feet. We made no effort to examine the room further, and made it to the doorway – which was yet another stairway that spiraled further down. The next pulse, however, hit us and I froze in place. Yulthar began to proceed down, with A’re in tow, and Aberus behind them.

I turned away from the stairway, and with each pulse I could hear and feel it: a heartbeat. A familiar heartbeat. My right hand unconsciously moved to my own chest.

Aberus turned back just as he was about to disappear around the turn and asked: “What is it?”

“Nothing.” I answered and turned back to the stairway, proceeding down behind the group.

We again descended another stairway for what seemed to be endless, however, the lights grew dimmer and dimmer the further we went until finally no more illuminated our path. Several more minutes passed from the time we lost our light – then Yulthar suddenly said from the front: “Oh, we’re here.”

Stepping off the stairway and into the dark, we huddled in close approximation. It was quiet, nothing stirred, and no lights illuminated the room. I switched on my mask’s night vision, the red hue staining the black, but I could only see five feet in front of me. Like a veil, the darkness disrupted my ability to see beyond it.

“Stick close.” I said and walked into the darkness.

We stepped further into the room, but only a minute into the room I suddenly felt it. Then I heard it. The indescribable voice of the Obelisk was all around us, crashing down upon us like a wave. The room became stiff and felt like it was closing in on us. I blocked what I could of the Obelisk from my mind and looked back at the others. Yulthar and A’re were screaming, unable to ward off the presence of the Obelisk. Yulthar began scratching at his face, when I approached and wrapped my arms over both of their shoulders. I could shield them from it, but they had to be close to me.

“You must try to block it out! Think of other things, our mission, your homes – anything!” I shouted over them.

A moment passed before suddenly the Obelisk went quiet, and we were spared from its voice. A’re wiped away the sweat from his forehead and breathed deeply to calm himself.

The room rumbled, and a pale light dimly lit in front of us. At the center of the room was a smaller Obelisk, but large enough to take up most of the room. It hovered over a square pit, which dipped into a deep black with no bottom. The pale light illuminated the sides of the opening of the pit, pushing the light up against the Obelisk. Around the smaller Obelisk, even smaller Obelisks hovered in the air – like small black shards humming and vibrating.

“This is the heart of the Obelisk.” Aberus said, catching his breath.

The vibrations of the Obelisk shards hummed against our ears, as if they were vibrating the entire wide room.

“Stairs.” I said taking a step away from Yulthar and A’re. “From the Obelisk.”

A winding slate staircase circled the Obelisk in front of us and led into a higher doorway on its left side.

I began walking towards the Obelisk when the rumble from before returned. The rumble, I discovered, wasn’t from the lights being turned on.

A large black slate statue walked out from behind the Obelisk, each step shaking the room. It had no distinguishing features aside from its humanoid shape, no eyes or mouth contoured its face – completely blank with a sheen of black slate. As it crept around the side of the Obelisk slowly, we gathered ourselves.

Yulthar detached his armor from his belt and placed it on his chest, where it formed his knightly armor from before – his shield readied and spear forming. A’re transformed his walking stick into an energized long-range rifle, fitting the pieces over one another and melding together. Aberus withdrew his own Excess blade, a black curved blade forming in his hand.

Before I could call upon my own blade – the statue was suddenly upon us. A black pole had formed in its right hand, and it came crashing down between us - smashing the floor. We managed to dodge it, but just barely.

“It’s much quicker than it appears!” A’re shouted and taking a stance from his downed position. He fired an energized round at its head, and the statue dodged it.

The statue reoriented and went after A’re – who ran as quickly as he could away from it but fiddling with the rifle in his hands. The statue quickly caught up and struck down. Yulthar jumped in front of the blow, and to my astonishment, took it with the shield on his arm. Dust flew from the cracked ground around Yulthar, and as it cleared a yellow beam fired from between Yulthar’s stance. The beam disintegrated the statue’s right foot and caused it to fall forwards. The statue braced with its right hand, the pole still in its grasp.

Aberus jumped from behind the statue and plunged towards the back of the statue’s neck. To our surprise, however, the statue turned away from the blow and circled around Aberus who was still in the air. It struck Aberus, who blocked it just in time, and sent him flying towards the wall. The statue had regenerated its foot from the slate floor. Aberus recovered in the air and landed against the walls face – jumping to the ground below.

“On the nape of its neck one of the shards is burrowed!” Aberus shouted.

Yulthar and A’re nodded. A’re’s rifle fell to pieces, perhaps using up all its energy for one large beam – but he quickly refitted it with another piece of metal.

The statue returned to its assault, and before I could join them Aberus shouted at me: “Axiom, go on without us! The time we waste here only gives the Obelisk more time to defend itself! We don’t know for sure what will happen if we destroy the statue either! It may close off the Obelisk!”

I looked at Yulthar and A’re who were busy battling the statue. Yulthar looked over for a moment between deflecting the black pole.

“Go!” Yulthar shouted.

Begrudgingly I ran towards the stairs and followed its path around the hovering Obelisk to the doorway. The doorway was covered in a black mist, which barred my entry. Placing a hand upon it, the mist parted, and the floating shards socketed themselves into the Obelisk. I entered, and the entry behind me closed. It was empty and dark inside, and not very large. I stood at its center, and a vibration shook through my body. A stream of light quickly moved from my feet in the ground and over the entire room before vanishing. The room shook as I felt the Obelisk begin to move, and suddenly I felt it shoot downwards – through the open pit.

The journey down wasn’t long, the Obelisk coming to a slow stop. The doorway I had entered from opened and a bright light streamed in from beyond. I walked into the entry way, and a snow filled plain filled my vision.

A snowstorm passed over a valley, blanketing the sky in grey and hues of white. A set of slate stairs led straight down to the ground below. Snow fell lightly upon me and on the path ahead, but like a wall to my left and right – the storm raged heavily and thick.

This place was familiar. I walked through the snow, and the further I went the thinner it became. Had I passed over the bridge – opened the door?  I wondered. Perhaps only I could have activated that light from before.

I wandered on the path forward for some time into the grey haze of the storm. The snow, however, eventually stopped. Surrounded now only by the haze – I met with him.

Draped in black against the grey, the armored being in front of me waited. Horns protruded from the helmet, a small black fur mane topping the cape draped around the shoulders.

As if on reflex, the voices suddenly breached out of my subconscious and shouted: “The Last Human!”

Billions of voices chanted all at once, either in reverence or in rage – threatening to break my mind. I could barely contain them.

“KILL!” They shouted and chanted all at random intervals.

I couldn’t think over the voices, and yet I had so many questions. Grasping at my head, I tried to silence them, but they were too overbearing.

I summoned my Excess blade in my right hand, and it seemed to quiet the voices. Sated, I caught my breath.

The being didn’t stir, or even seem to acknowledge my presence.

“What are you?” I asked out of breath.

No answer came.

“What am I?”

Again, no answer came. The wind blew around us, defeating some of the quiet.

The voices began to return, chanting and raging, and my frustration grew in the silence.

“What am I?!” I shouted at the being.

No answer.

In an act of rage, I lifted my blade and slashed at the being. It passed through them - like I was striking at air. I again slashed at the being, and again my blade passed through them.

I couldn’t understand what was happening. Never had I slashed at something, even the immaterial, and not drawn something from it.

In apparent retaliation, the being moved. Lifting its right armored hand – a black material billowed down from its arm and into the shape of a sword. I immediately recognized an Excess blade when I saw one. It was a simple and unremarkable blade – with nothing but a hilt coiled in black leather and a steel guard.

I prepared myself, taking a stance, struck down again at the being. Before my blow, however, could strike the being’s shoulder – they retaliated quicker. Their blow fell upon my face, sheering my right eye, and slashing my forearm from my elbow. Red blood dripped onto the snow below, and an intense pain coiled up my arm and near where my right eye once was. I fell to my knees and looked at my severed arm still holding my blade.

I need to focus, my arm will regenerate. Don’t panic. I thought to myself.

The pain, however, didn’t disappear. My severed arm suddenly burst into flames and smoldered into ashes in the snow.

I realized then nothing was regenerating.

Looking up at the being I knew real fear. My remaining hand shook, and my breath quickened.

I have to run!

Standing, I mustered what strength I had and jumped back away from the being. Landing on the snow I felt more than exhausted - like everything was leaving me. I turned and could do little more than walk away, my own blood soaking the ground beneath me. I looked back only for a moment and saw the being’s black figure fade into the grey of the storm.

Trudging through the snow I made it back to the Obelisk, but in the haze, I saw more figures.

“Axiom!” I heard a familiar voice shout.

Yulthar ran towards me and looked in horror at my being. Aberus, and A’re ran up behind him. Aberus quickly took up my right arm over his shoulder and shouted at Yulthar: “Yulthar!”

Aberus’s shout shook Yulthar’s shock, and Yulthar took up my other shoulder.

“Why isn’t he regenerating?” Yulthar said under his shaking breath.

“Enough.” Aberus coldly said before asking: “Did you meet him?”

We made our way up the stairway and into the chamber.

“Yes.” I answered, my own voice shaking. “But I was not strong enough to even be in his shadow.”

My blood lightly pooled on the slate floor, dripping from both my severed arm and eye. Having already lost a good amount, I was beginning to fade into unconsciousness.

“You have to stay awake.“ Aberus said. “We’ll get you back to the ship, and we’ll figure out another way to fight.”

A’re took off a strange object from his belt – one of the black shards from before and placed it in the center of the room. It floated into place and the Obelisk suddenly shot upwards.

“The shard from the statue was able to control the Obelisk like a remote. It may be useful in the future.” A’re said.

We traveled upwards for only a few moments before it began to slow, and then came to a halt. The floating shard shattered into tiny pieces on the ground.

“Or not.” A’re commented.

Yulthar and Aberus brought me out of the Obelisk and down the stairway, which was no longer winding but straight, and past the corpse of the statue. The stairway we entered from came into view, however, it had changed. There was now a path up and down.

“This was not like this when we entered, right?” Yulthar asked with a ting of panic.

I took what little power I had left to devise our way forward. The Obelisk was making it difficult to discern which direction was correct, but I eventually decided.

“Down. Go down.” I said barely keeping myself together.

Aberus and Yulthar proceeded down the stairway with A’re behind us. The journey was tiresome as Yulthar and Aberus took turns taking a lead attempting to guide me down the stairs. My decision was correct, and the thumps from the previous room were felt in the stairs. The thumps, however, slowly dissipated.

We reached the bottom of the stair and proceeded into the room. The green electricity from before had grown dimmer but remained to light the room partially.

Aberus suddenly came to halt and Yulthar looked over at him.

“We have to keep moving, Aberus!” Yulthar half-shouted.

Aberus didn’t respond – his face fixed in front of us. I followed his gaze. In the shadow of the cocoon was a presence. The green electricity gave only clues, the being waiting patiently in the dark.

The being began walking towards us, a familiar mechanical clanking filling my ears. The tubes overhead filled with green energy, which lit the room completely.

The being in front of us was covered in green crystalline armor, which melded together with a mechanical suit similar to my own. Horns made of crystal protruded from the sides of the helmet and jet forward – close to the eye slits in the helmet.

The new Dark Lord was on us in seconds, a blade rendered itself from the immaterial Excess of the new host in their left hand. Aberus quickly jumped forward, summoning his own curved blade, and made it in time to block the overhead strike. The blow, however, knocked us all away from each other – Aberus still standing in its path as the floor creaked beneath its weight.

I could hear their voices, voices I had once heard. Shouting for a merciful end – twisted into a new form.

Aberus slipped the strike forward, allowing the Dark Lord’s blade to slam into the ground below. Pacing himself, he flurried against the crystalline lord. Each strike, however, was parried by the Dark Lord.

“Get to the ship!” Aberus shouted through his battle. “Hurry!”

“We can fight him together!” Yulthar stood and steadied himself.

Aberus was steadily forced back, just barely able to withstand the blows.

“Even together we don’t stand a chance.” Aberus calmly pleaded. “Please, indulge this old fool one last time.”

A’re stood and ran over to me, taking up one of my shoulders, and Yulthar did the same.

“We just need to be quick, then we can turn around and help him escape.” Yulthar said assuredly.

They carried me quickly to the exit, the battle thudding behind us. I looked back.

Electricity gathered in the new Dark Lord’s left arm, and then coursed through their body to their right hand. The electricity streamed out of their figure tips and struck Aberus, who had no defense against it, and lifted him into the air where it sizzled against his flesh.

A’re placed a hand on the doorway, and the doorway opened as it had before. We turned around once we passed the first barrier. Aberus was still fighting to get free of the green electricity.

Using what little power was available – I compressed the air around the new Dark Lord’s right arm, which ceased the electricity. Aberus dropped to the ground below, smoke roiling from his body, and began recovering. My power dwindled, and what little powers I had left me.

The new Dark Lord, however, now noticed my presence. They were upon as soon as Aberus had begun recovering. Not yet clear of the first barrier – Aberus ran and intercepted the Dark Lord. Taking a full two-handed swing with as much power as he could muster, Aberus batted back the crystalline lord and hurtled them away.

The doorway began closing.

“Aberus, quickly!” I shouted.

Aberus turned towards us, his runed mask sparsely burned away – revealing a light blue eye behind it. Just as Aberus turned towards us – the new Dark Lord was already behind him.

“Goodbye, my friend.” Aberus said.

The doorway closed and a speck of blood trickled down the left side of my mask.

“Aberus!” Yulthar yelled as loudly as he could.

This was my fault. My body hung on their shoulders like a doll.

“The doors are closing! Hurry!” A’re said shaking us both.

A’re pulled on Yulthar, and both pulled me towards the exit.

“Axiom!” A’re nudged me from my shocked state. “Which way!”

I looked up from the ground, the stairway again going up and down.

“Down.” I weakly said.

I faded into unconsciousness – still feeling my body being moved. The next moment I was awake was at the entrance of the Obelisk. The archway began to close on us, but we were close enough to make it past the barrier before it closed behind us.

“We’re almost to the ship, keep going!” A’re said between breaths.

We cleared the pale mist – and saw nothing but Husks.

“Where’s the ship?! Where’s the Harrower?!” Yulthar asked in a panic.

The Harrower was nowhere to be seen – a sea of Husks replacing where it should be. The Husks lurched forward, at the command of the Obelisk, preparing to rip us apart.

Yulthar barred his teeth and ducked out from beneath me, taking up his armor and weapon. Yulthar dashed out and swept away entire swaths of the Husks – switching between the spear to knock away a great many of them, and the sword to strike at closer foes.

A’re supported me as long as he could, but his stamina was quickly fading as well.

“I don’t want to die, not yet.” A’re whispered to himself.

A loud boom thudded over us. The Harrower screamed through orbit and hurtled towards us. It slowed as it neared us and used its engines to blow away crowds of Husks to allow it to land. The ramp slid down, and Yulthar came running to help support me to the ship.

Once inside, the Harrower took off and we gave ourselves a moment to breathe. We heard the engine swell with energy – the mechanism which allowed the Harrower to warp between universes energized.

Suddenly a loud creaking sound crept its way over the Harrower, and then a crash. Then the black of space surrounded us. The Harrower cracked open like an egg – a wave of black filtered over us from the Obelisk.

An explosion separated me from A’re and Yulthar – the engine of the Harrower still powering the warp drive. As we floated from each other, I noticed a red glint in the black.

The red gem from my chest floated away from me – then cracked.

An unstable portal burst open. A’re and Yulthar floated away into one portal, and I the other.

The warp portal was suitable only for space vessel travel, and it tore through my armor. I was unsure if I would survive the process, or if I even wanted to.

I had lost everything.