Ch 11: The Merge

Grey's next trial is already underway, and gathered together at the Seeker's tower, Eazel reveals the truth of Vas Initio. After a sudden earthquake, the people of both worlds behold the Merge.

            With a surprised look on his face, Richter pointed at the old man who had come out of the tower as he started to say, “You’re-” Staring at the old man as well, Alexander cut in, saying, “Eazel, the Plane Stalker!” Fox turned to Richter with a smirk and said, “Haha, you just got line-jacked!” Heaving a sigh, Richter shot him a glare and said, “Can’t you go be annoying somewhere else Fox?” Smiling back, Fox simply replied, “Nah, I like it here.” Standing to the side with her students, Elizabeth eyed Fox strangely and muttered to herself, “That one’s certainly carefree.” Picking this up with her sensitive ears, Mythra suppressed a laugh and thought, “Lady, you have no idea…” Suddenly stepping forward, Serius said, “You are truly Eazel, the Observer of Life?” Seeming to look in his direction despite the fact he clearly could not be looking with his eyes, Eazel replied, “Ah, the Lord of Mautau! I must thank you and your people for safeguarding Origin.” 

Slightly surprised, Serius said, “No, what my people have done warrants no thanks. Parading ourselves as gods, instigating needless wars and filling cities with churches dedicated to us, all for nothing other than our own satisfaction…” Gesturing for him to stop, Eazel smiled and said, “A mistake you had no part in. Forget such concerns, I know I have. In fact, what were we talking about?” Eazel fell silent, looking as though he was actually expecting an answer, and then Xanth finally said, “Are we going to get He of the Infinite to a bed, or will we stand here all day talking?” Seeming to have forgotten, Eazel said, “Oh yes, he certainly can’t be very comfortable there now can he? Someone carry him in and we’ll put him in Claire’s room. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

            Carrying Grey into the tower, Amy in tow, Alexander followed Eazel up the spiraling stairs to the top floor. Stepping through the door of Claire’s room, Alexander moved to a bed that white sheets and pillow covers and placed Grey upon it. Amy grabbed a wooden chair and moved it over to Grey’s bedside, while Alexander took a better look around the room. Sunlight streamed through old fashioned windows set in the walls, the only real lighting the room had at the moment. Beneath one of the windows was a small wooden dresser with two drawers, and there were several piles of books lying against the wall in various places. On the opposite side of the room from the bed, a table was set up against where a banner hung from the wall, displaying a golden crest against a purple background. On the table itself, multiple items were left out on top of it, such as an hourglass, a rolled up scroll, a quill, and a glass bottle partially filled with ink. 

Turning to Eazel, Alexander said, “So this is really the Seeker’s tower? It seems like rather comfortable living conditions for a traitor to humanity.” Nodding and looking around with a senile air about him, Eazel said, “She spruced it up quite a bit. Claire is the type that when life gives her lemons, she simply makes lemonade.” With a cynical laugh, Alexander muttered, “Starting a war to destroy humanity that instead nearly ended in the extinction of her demonfolk allies, all because she had a prediction of the future. She deserves worse than lemons…” Donning a knowing grin, Eazel turned to him and said, “Ever since that day, you’ve considered the soothsaying art untrustworthy, haven’t you Alexander? You went to a soothsayer while you and your brother were searching for power, and it was he who foretold of the book that was supposed to guide you to what you desired. Instead, it granted you a thousand years of suffering.” With a sour expression, Alexander turned to go as he muttered, “I don’t need to be reminded.” 

Before he made it out the door, Eazel said, “Claire is anything but evil Alexander. In fact, she may be the one person who can relate to what you’ve been through.” After Alexander left, Eazel walked over to Grey’s bedside and said, “It’s only a matter of time now before his memories are restored, however Claire has foreseen that this final trial is something he cannot overcome by himself. It might be dangerous for you Amy, but as the Sage of Memories I believe you can help him.” Staring at Grey in concern, Amy mustered her courage and said, “What should I do though? Persona?” Nodding in agreement, Eazel replied, “Yes, I believe that would be the most expedient course of action. You will have to do it alone this time though. Also, be warned that you may learn more about Grey than he knows about himself.”

            Stepping off the stairs onto the first floor, Alexander arrived in a spacious room with a large wooden table with many chairs in the middle. Along the wall opposite the tower’s front door was a wood burning stove along with old looking kettles and cook pots, as well as a large wooden cabinet containing antique dinner plates and silverware. Sitting at the table were Richter, Mythra, Fox, Serius, and Xanth. Noticing Elizabeth and her students absent, Alexander said, “What happened to the Headmistress?” Leaning back in his chair and resting his eyes, Xanth said, “Those little terrors were being noisy, so their teacher took them to get everyone some water from the water pump outside. You can see it through the window over there.” Looking out the window, Alexander could see Johnny struggling with a water pump as Marcyl cheered him on, Elizabeth and Pyro standing there looking amused at the amount of trouble he was having. 

Taking a seat at the table as well, Alexander said, “Well, this has not gone as smoothly as I’d hoped, but we’ve finally found him.” Leaning against the table and resting her head on her hands, Mythra sighed and said, “Yeah, even considering his memory got pretty screwed up by whatever happened to him.” Looking over at the antique plates in the cabinet with interest, Richter said, “Yes, just what did happen to him I wonder? Well, as the Sage of Memories, Amy should be able to bring him back shouldn’t she?” With a sly grin, Fox said, “Considering the relationship between those two, I can think of plenty of ways she could jog his memory…” Shooting Fox a deadly stare, Mythra said, “Shut it Firefart!” In great indignation, Fox said, “Hey now! It’s Fireflash! FireFLASH!” 

Trying to change the subject, Serius said, “We should be more concerned about the fact that Altera Veritas has obtained Vas Initio.” Looking out the window again, Alexander said, “True they have obtained a great amount of power, but they did not get all of Vas Initio it seems. Though I don’t know what we’ll do about that girl.” Having been wondering for a while now, Richter asked, “Just what IS Vas Initio?” Opening his eyes, Xanth said, “I do not remember hearing of it before either.” Shrugging his shoulders, Alexander said, “Something the Nameless One was after, some form of power. We don’t have all the details…”

            Coming down the stairs, Eazel said, “Vas Initio, the Vessel of The Beginning. As Grey has likely already learned from his encounters with Malum, this world is a world of balance. Light and darkness holding each other in check, filling the hearts of mortals and maintaining the endless cycle of life. To obtain such a balance, this existence was stitched together with the raw power of the very elements, all combined into one.” Approaching the table and taking a seat, after making sure he had everyone’s attention, Eazel continued, “Light and darkness hold a position of great importance among the elements. They are the powers of creation and destruction. The Old Gods themselves had the power of light within them, but the power of darkness rested within an entity called Nox, the Embodiment of Darkness. Neither good nor evil, it was the manifestation of destruction. Somehow the power within the Old Gods became too weak to cancel out the power of Nox, and over a long time the darkness unraveled existence bit by bit. Finally the Old Gods realized their world was in danger, but by that time their existence was already collapsing. Using Vas Initio, the Old Gods contained Nox, and after sacrificing many of their own, they created Deus Amictus, which embodied their combined power. With the two in hand, the remaining Old Gods opened the way to the Inanimate Dream, and unmade their existence.”

            Drumming his fingers on the table a moment, Richter said, “If it is this Embodiment of Darkness that holds the power that corresponds with light, just what is the power within the Observer who became the Nameless One?” Amused by his insightfulness, Eazel chuckled and said, “Summoning the other elements by combining the powers of Deus Amictus and Vas Initio, the Old Gods created the great Seventh Spirit of Light, Lux, whom people came to call Origin. At that time, Lux recreated the life within the world using the power of seven other fellow spirits of the different elements, and declared that they would rely upon the power of mortals to govern the elements and protect the balance. One of these seven spirits is the being whose power is now tainted, the being who has wrought so much suffering. The Seventh Spirit of Darkness, The Embodiment of Emptiness, Vanitas.” 

Leaning back in his chair with a sigh, everyone was hanging on Eazel’s words as he continued, “As you can probably assume by now, the Observer seeking to become a god and Vanitas merged. Vanitas was a being of emptiness, as though he were the void left behind by Nox’s absence. He may have thought that perhaps he could fill that void with the power of the Observer, while the Observer sought only to control the spirit with his own power. Yet they instead gave birth to a separate, evil creature, one that lives only to fill itself with power. The Nameless One possesses great power, but as tainted and twisted as he has become, he can no longer directly use his true darkness without corrupting it. If he or Alastor desire to obtain the power that holds this world together, then they will need pure darkness as well as pure light. That is why they want Vas Initio.”

            In the skies around the Ruins of Noctivagus, The Guild Special Forces air fleet was closing in around the Citadel of Noctivagus, which had been floating there without moving since its revival, still shrouded in dark clouds of the Nameless One’s essence. Staring out the bridge windows of his flagship, the Draco, a man with tan colored hair and blue eyes who looked in his early thirties and wore a suit of silver and blue armor with gold designs upon it turned his attention to one of his crew as they called out to him, “High General Pendragon, the fleet is in position! Awaiting orders, sir!” In a voice that showed clear authority, the High General issued his orders, saying, “Bring all ships to a halt! Every ship is to take aim at the enemy craft and prepare all cannons to fire on my command!” After a brief few moments had passed, another crew member seated at one of the many control terminals on the bridge reported, “All cannons ready to fire on your command High General!” 

The suspense was maddening as the High General stared out at the citadel for a moment. Then the High General suddenly raised a hand out in its direction as he shouted, “Fire!” Sounds of cannon fire filled the skies around the ruins as countless EDE cannons opened fire on the citadel, and for almost a minute they continued to fire, countless EDE shells soaring forth and disappearing into the cloud of darkness around their target. Finally the High General commandingly said, “Cease fire!” The cannons went silent, and turning to one of his crew, High General Pendragon said, “What do the scanners say?” Examining the data on the holoscreens around his control terminal, the crew member’s eyes went wide as he stammered, “N-no damage at all sir! It’s as though every shot missed!” Gritting his teeth in frustration a moment, the High General said, “Carriers launch squadrons A through D! We will not back down! All pilots exercise caution and watch your scanners, those dark clouds are more than they appear to be!” 

The launch bays of the numerous carrier type airships among the fleet quickly opening, hundreds of small fighter ships burst into the air above the ruins and took formation. Flying fearlessly into the clouds around the Citadel of Noctivagus, as the fighters all disappeared from view, the High General waited with bated breath for his fighter pilots to report in. Suddenly panicking, one of the crew turned to him and said, “S-sir, they’re in trouble!” Quickly the High General said, “Switch the transmission over to the bridge speakers immediately!” As the crew member carrier out his order, the fighter pilots could be heard throughout the bridge as they shouted cries for help, one of them saying, “We’re completely blinded, and all systems are going out of control! The scanners are showing this entire cloud as some unknown form of EDE, we can’t-” The pilot’s transmission cut out, and as the other pilots’ transmissions began to cut out one by one, the High General clenched his fists and shouted, “Get them out of there, now!” Solemnly, one of the crew stared at his holoscreens as he said, “It’s too late High General… Squadrons A through D are completely annihilated…” A bead of sweat rolling down his face, the High General stared out at the citadel and said, “All ships pull back. We’re retreating…”

            Sitting on the porch of the Governor’s residence in the Sanctuary of Aerennis, a man with green hair and green eyes who wore all black clothes, except for a black vest with two large blue stripes going across the top of it, was turning a new looking pair of green tinted sunglasses in his hands as he muttered, “Just ain’t the same. The ones I had before had somethin of a sentimental value to em, y’know?” Sitting next to him, a man with spiky, sand colored hair, red eyes, and cone shaped horns who wore tan colored robes said, “Hearing that from you just seems wrong Douglas.” Putting on the sunglasses begrudgingly, Douglas said, “Shut it! There’re just some things ya can’t just replace in this here world!” Heaving a sigh of irritation, Claus said, “If they’re gone, they’re gone. More importantly, are we actually going to continue to wait for that woman? It’s been days since she sent us back here and told us to prepare to head into Gaia. She is supposed to be an enemy, it’s foolish to trust her. For all we know it was some sort of ruse…” 

Getting up and stretching, Douglas said, “Whatever happened to not worrying about the details? We ain’t got much else we can do, and honestly I’m thinkin she’s legit on this. From what I could tell about Gisette, she’s the kind of gal who prefers to be on the winnin side, and even if they are a bit weird, those characters are the kinda guys I’d be betting on!” Smirking, Claus simply said, “That doesn’t do them much justice, considering your gambling record.” Noticing an old woman with long gray hair and green eyes coming towards them, Douglas refrained from retorting to Claus’ comment and said, “Ah, there’s Ma. She said she might be bringin us some lunch, even though I told her I could go buy us some myself…” Noticing she was indeed carrying what looked like a picnic basket, Claus smiled to himself and said, “From what I hear about mothers, it’s only natural for them to want to do something nice for their child, even if they do grow up and become independent.” Shrugging his shoulders with a sigh, Douglas muttered, “Yeah, but it still gets irritating.” 

As she reached the porch, Douglas’ mother said, “Lunch time you two! Bert gave me a special discount on these.” Standing, Claus said, “Thank you Tabatha, I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.” Smiling, Tabatha waved away his concerns as she said, “It’s nothing. You two should really get out of the house and take a look around sometime though. Aerennis is a wonderful town.” Glancing at Claus, Douglas said, “Ma, like I told ya before, Claus is what they call a demonfolk. He can’t exactly mingle an’ all…” Opening the picnic basket and distributing sandwiches, Tabatha said, “I suppose. It really is a shame though…”

            All of the sudden, the ground seemed to shake and sway. Losing her balance and starting to fall, Tabatha cried out, but quickly Douglas caught her. Struggling to keep his own balance, Claus said, “What in the world…?” Noticing something in the sky, Douglas said, “Claus, up there!” Turning to look at the sky, Claus’ eyes went wide as he exclaimed, “Gaia?!” All across the skies, the landscape of Gaia had appeared. It was as though someone had peeled off the parallel world’s outer layer and then stretched it across the heavens of Teramis, but at the same time it was transparent, the blue skies and radiant sun visible through it. The shaking of the ground only lasted a few moments, yet the view of Gaia in the skies remained. Letting Tabatha stand on her own again, Douglas said, “You alright Ma?” Nodding, Tabatha said, “Y-yes. What in the world is going on though?” Staring up into the sky, Douglas said, “I wasn’t in the inner circle, but I heard Alastor talkin bout somethin called the ‘Merge’ from time to time.” Suddenly a voice said, “Yes, this is the Merge. Interesting, isn’t it?” Turning in the direction of the voice, Douglas saw a woman with dark skin, golden eyes, and blonde hair that was short with long bangs. She wore glittering gold pants, a white and gold top that left her stomach exposed, and golden shoulder pads and shoes. She also had a long tan scarf with specks of gold sown into it draped around her body. Smirking, Douglas put his hands on his hips and said to her, “Bout damn time you showed up Gisette!”

            At the Obsidian Citadel in the snowy city of Daemonholm, the current Lord of the Demonfolk, a half demonfolk man named Loki who had a head of short silver hair, a black mask that hid most of his face except one of his green eyes, a pair of black wings on his head, and horns that spread out as though they were also wings, walked the halls with the members of Gibolu’s Traveling Circus. Speaking with Loki was Gibolu, the ringmaster and magician. A strange looking halman man, his black hair was combed neatly and was crowned with a small top hat with a striped black and gold ribbon tied to it. His eyes were two different colors, one brown and the other gray. Gloved hands floated separately from the seemingly empty sleeves of his white coat, the sleeves themselves moving with them as he made dramatic gestures, as though they were invisibly connected by unseen arms. One of the three others walking with them was Loki’s half brother Ace, bodyguard and knife thrower, a demonfolk man with green eyes and blue hair tied back in a ponytail who wore black clothes. Then there was Dewie, clown extraordinaire, an elven man with gray eyes, short yellow hair, and pointy ears who wore traditional clown attire, complete with a painted face and red rubber nose. Finally, there was Mana the butterfly tamer and fortune teller, a half sprite, half halman girl with long curly pink hair, white cat ears, dark cobalt eyes behind glasses with pink frames, and pink butterfly-like wings. She wore a pink flowery looking dress, and her shoes were adorned with pink artificial flowers. 

Gibolu was saying to Loki, “Our act has been well received by the people of the city! I only hope it brings them some small bit of joy in these desperate times. You should come see it yourself Loki! Let go of all the stresses of leadership for a while and enjoy the splendor that is Gibolu’s Traveling Circus!” Due to his mask, Loki could not have shown him a smile, though the many problems on his plate at the moment regarding his people’s future made it difficult for him to smile at all. Politely, Loki replied, “I’m afraid I cannot. As much as I’d like to see my brother perform now that the matter of his ascendancy to the throne has been resolved, the situation between my people and the halmans is to the point where we’re almost guaranteed to have a war on our hands…” With a solemn look, Gibolu nodded and said, “I see. It’s truly dreadful business, to think he’d destroy his own city and then blame it on you and our friends, Angelorum Lux.” Suddenly showing a fired up look, Gibolu added, “Worry not! When the time comes, he will face the spectacular wrath of Gibolu’s Traveling Circus!” Heaving a sigh, Ace said, “Yeah, yeah, spectacular wrath… I just hope they find He of the Infinite and get back here. They only left Bella behind to look out for us, and if this war happens, we’re gonna be right in the middle of it.” Clearly unconcerned, Gibolu said, “It simply means you’ll have to pick up the slack while they’re gone.” Ace merely groaned, and Mana said, “Ringmaster, that’s a bit unfair…” A dull look on his face, Ace simply said, “Story of my life.”

            Suddenly the halls of the Obsidian Citadel shook violently, and Dewie swayed comically as he exclaimed, “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” The shaking persisted for a few moments, and then stopped as suddenly as it had begun. With a sigh of relief, Gibolu said, “My word, I do hope that doesn’t happen too often in these parts!” Starting to walk off hastily, Loki muttered, “Something of that magnitude… It’d be all we need right now to have an earthquake level the rest of the city!” Staring after him sadly, Mana said, “He’s really under a lot of stress…” Suddenly the ring of a phone sounded through the hall, and pulling out her cell phone, Mana opened it and raised it to the side of her head, the earpiece specially extended for use by someone with animal ears like her. She quickly answered, “Hello?” 

Standing out in the streets of Daemonholm, having been assisting the residents of the city in rebuilding the city after it had been devastated by a battle between Mythra and Giselle, a balding old man with brown eyes and a brown mustache who wore a gray uniform said to Mana through his cell phone, “You folks seein this?!” On the other end of the call, Mana said, “Seeing what Schmitt? Did something happen with the earthquake?” Staring up at the sky, Schmitt said, “I dunno whether it’s because of the earthquake, global warmin, or a gaggle of flyin pigs, but somethin sure as hell is happenin out here! Look out a window when ya get a chance!” Confused, Mana said, “A window? Okay…” Walking over to a window, as Mana looked out, she dropped her cell phone and said, “Oh my…” Walking over to look out the window as well, Gibolu said, “That’s a bit extraordinary even by my standards.” Joining them, Dewie simply stared, while Ace could only manage to say, “Oh s**t…” Layered across the skies, a transparent view of the landscape of Teramis could be seen against the snowy clouds.

            As Alexander and the others sat there discussing the brief earthquake that had happened only a couple minutes ago, the ringing of a phone suddenly filled the first floor of the Seeker’s tower. Her ears perking up, Mythra said, “We get reception here?” As Alexander moved to extract his cell phone, Xanth said, “Those other friends of yours I presume? I heard how they arrived in Daemonholm with that cure just before I left.” As Alexander pulled his cell phone out and answered it, Richter said, “We sent everyone else back to Daemonholm. Alexander had a feeling Ferid would involve us in the destruction of Gatria, and we didn’t want to bring anyone who couldn’t fight their way through a tight spot in case the Syriota city guard tried to arrest us. Hopefully a war doesn’t break out before we return. Loki was very concerned about the situation.” Looking completely lost, Xanth said, “Gatria has been destroyed?” 

Suddenly, Alexander said, “Rufus! Calm down! Just tell me what this is all about…” After another moment, Alexander bolted up and exclaimed, “What?!” Looking at him in confusion, Fox said, “Somethin wrong there chief?” Ignoring them, Xanth said, “What’s going on? Ferid is fingering you as criminals? Is he mad? The halmans worship you as gods!” Watching Alexander rushing over to a window, Richter said, “Well, a lot has happened…” Suddenly the door to the tower burst open as Elizabeth and the students rushed in, Marcyl’s eyes sparkling as she shouted, “Everyone! Outside in the sky! Some kind of ghost world!” Nodding, Pyro said, “Yeah, you can totally see land in the sky, but it’s see through!” 

Raising an eyebrow, Mythra said, “Ghost world? Now that’s one I haven’t heard before…” Quickly Johnny sputtered, “After the earthquake, it all just appeared in the sky! On my name as Johnny Spark!” Looking unimpressed, Mythra said, “Yeah… Unless your name comes with a ghost world certificate, I’m not inclined to leave my chair, sorry…” Still hoping it was all a mirage, Elizabeth said, “Well normally I wouldn’t be either, but something very strange is happening outside.” In realization, Serius turned to Alexander and said, “Alexander… Why did you rush to the window?” Having been watching things unfold with an ear to ear grin on his face, Eazel said, “Yes Alexander, how does Teramis look? I hear it’s lovely this time of year.” Turning away from the window, Alexander said, “It must be what Schwartz told Grey and Amy about. Alastor has used the power of Vas Initio to link the two worlds. The Merge.”

            Contained in a device that was suspended in the middle of a dark room filled with highly advanced technologies, Vas Initio glowed with power as massive energies were being drawn from it. Sitting at a control terminal, his one black wing folded up against his back, a man who had blue eyes and spiky brown hair wearing a suit of high tech armor used his left hand to enter commands into the terminal’s interface. Where one would normally have a lower arm and hand, extending from the man’s right elbow was a high tech looking arm cannon. Suddenly the door to the room, set in the wall behind where the man sat at the terminal, opened and a halman man entered, accompanied by a woman with long ears. He had neatly combed blonde hair and gold eyes and was dressed in fine clothes that were colored black and gold, his collar adorned with black, feathery plumage. He also wore a long black and gold cape over his shoulder. The woman with him had long black hair tied in a ponytail and wore a silver mask with no eyeholes, just a zigzag crack straight down the middle. Her clothes consisted of a black bodysuit that left her legs exposed, long black gauntlets, and long black boots with silver buckles on them. Approaching the man at the terminal with the woman in tow, in a strange, somewhat nasally voice, the halman man said, “Hoho, you do good work Scathe! Judging by the view outside, I take it the Merge Generator is running smoothly, hmm?” 

Blankly, Scathe replied, “Affirmative Count Ferid. The worlds of Teramis and Gaia are now linked through a selective portal system being generated within the atmosphere. It’s calibrated so that it will not hinder the effects of sunlight or other weather based phenomena. By connecting the two worlds in this way, the conduits leading to Mautau’s outer layer that existed on both Teramis and Gaia will intersect, disrupting the barrier that prevents physical beings from entering and creating a spatial rift leading directly to Mautau itself.” Rubbing his hands together with a sinister grin on his face, Ferid said, “Excellent! Now we can move our forces at our convenience, instead of using those dreadfully limited portal generators.” The woman with Ferid added, “Not to mention the people of both worlds will be in utter disarray at the sight of a parallel world hanging in the skies. With halman society eating out of your hands Master, we can easily blame this on Angelorum Lux and the demonfolk.” 

Glancing at her, Ferid smiled and said, “Ah Rend, your cunning never fails to delight me. Indeed, you’ve already guessed my master plan. Before we reveal ourselves, we’ll simply manipulate the foolish masses of this world into fighting with each other! Brilliant, hmm?” Nodding, Rend said, “As always, a perfect plan Master.” Looking rather pleased with himself, Ferid said, “But of course!” Then with a thoughtful look, Ferid said, “Still, Alastor has yet to explain what purpose there is in conquering all the worlds when he simply plans to undo them. It seems peculiar to me, not that I’m complaining…” Continuing to work the controls of the terminal, Scathe said, “When the Old Gods reformatted the Inanimate Dream, they created a security system to prevent others from entering Last Remote and tampering with the Inanimate Dream in order to alter the workings of the world to their own design. We have yet to determine all the details of its mechanisms, but from past data we have concluded that the key to opening the way only shows itself during times of great chaos and turmoil.” Getting the picture, Rend said, “So once all the worlds fall into darkness, the Inanimate Dream will be ours…”

Author's Note

To anyone annoyed at the large amounts of descriptions of repeat characters, both in this chapter and others, it was my idea to do this as a reintroduction, helping to refresh the reader's image of the characters after such a long time.