Link to article: The Color of Memory. Parts Three and Four- Death and Life.
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[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] + Part Three: Life **Night enfolds her cloak of holes Around the river meadow Old moon-light stalks by broken plows Hides spokeless wheels in shadows Sentries lean on thorn wood spears Blown on the hands, stare eastwards Burnt with dream and taught with fear Dawn’s misty shawl upon them Three hills apart great armies stir Spit oat and curse as [redacted] Forming lines of horse and steel By even yards, march forward** … ______ //The sun had been black for eight “days”.// //“Hey.” It was Auqui. “You say that alot.” Niles said, then immediately regretted it. “I just remembered…there was something I wanted to show you. Before uhhh…yeah.” “Okay.” They walked out of the open door of the orphanage, which had not been fixed.// //Eventually, they made their way to an empty room, with only a single red electric guitar in the center. Niles turned to Auqui. “You…you…beautiful…was it just…here?” For the first time in 10 years, Auqui smiled. “Yeah.” “It’s probably like, evil or something.” Niles said. “So?” “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”// //The neck of the guitar was cold against Niles hands. He took the pick out of his pocket and played the highest string. As the noise verberated through the room, Niles looked at Auqui with wide eyes. “What?” Auqui asked. “It’s not plugged in!” Niles said. “Oh shit.” Niles chuckled. “Whatever, c’mon, play something!” “I…what should I play?” Auqui cupped Niles face in his hands. “Whatever you want. But…I don’t know, something happy. No, not happy, what’s the word…melancholic, bittersweet.” “Okay. Uhh…this is kind of a piano song, but it sounds good on guitar too.” Niles' hands came to life. “Wait,” Auqui blurted. “You’re not singing.” “I…I don’t sing.” “Okay…okay…if that’s what you want to do, fine by me…” Niles sighed. “Okay.” Again, the strings trembled against Nile’s fingers. “Closing time…time for you to go out to the places you will be from. Closing time…turn all of the…turn all of the lights on over every boy and ever…” There was a dissonant sound as Niles hit the wrong notes. “Closing time…one last c…one last call for a…” The guitar slammed onto the ground. Niles collapsed onto the floor. “Hey…” Auqui went down to him. “Sorry…I…I can’t…I…it was stupid, so stupid of me.” “No, no, you were right, it does work on guitar.’ Niles broke out into a choked laugh. “No, you idiot. It’s not…I…” He closed his eyes and breathed in. When they opened, he found the eyes of Auqui, anxiously awaiting him. “I,” Niles croaked. “I…had this guy…he was a friend of my Dad’s. He took care of me, and he…he died…for me. There was…there was this gas…and there was only one gas mask…and he…carried me…and…god, I was such a little shit to him. He mentioned it, this, this song once…and…god, fuck…I’ve been galivanting with you instead of…I don’t know…” “Being miserable?” “No…yeah…I guess. It’s the end of the world, people aren’t supposed to find l…to find…a boyfriend.” Auqui paused before speaking. “Don’t we…deserve to be happy? If the world is so shit…isn’t that more of a reason to do what makes you feel good?” “I…I suppose,” Niles sniffed. “Sorry for getting all…wheepy.” “It’s fine.”// //Niles rose and grabbed the guitar. “Maybe I…maybe I’ll…okay. Uh, how about something else. Okay…”// //The guitar wailed softly as Niles strummed. “Sundown…dazzling ray. Float through my head…but my eyes burn within…only see...starless…and bible black….”// //When Niles was done playing, he stood up and hugged Auqui. “I…I…if I die…before you do…I want you to have this.” He held up the pick. “What?” “To remember me by…okay?” “Okay.”// _____ Not much happened in the upcoming “weeks”. A census revealed that the total population was about 430,000. This number would fall on an uncertain date when approximately 200,000 humans turned into anomalous beings and then disappeared. _____ //“Nails?”// //Auqui and Niles should not have been in the empty orphanage. All civilian refugees were supposed to be in the massive warehouse space that was once the hospital area. When they decided to sneak out, they had no clue where to go, as they also had no reason to leave other than the spirit of rebellion. The orphanage seemed as good of a choice as any, even if they just sat on the ground and stared into nowhere.// //“Nails?” It was Auqui, yelling at Niles, who wasn’t listening. There was an intense thrumming noise in his head. “Niles?! Is everything okay?” Niles turned towards Auqui, and for some reason, a smile began spreading across his face. It spread, and spread, and spread, till it was nothing more than a line running around his head. Nile’s eyes began to grow and grow, crinkling like candy wrappers.// //Meanwhile, all along his body, massive bulges began to appear. These bulges grew bigger and bigger. His flesh stretched until his skin snapped, revealing a massive pillar made of red eyes. Between each red eye was a dark red tentacle like a mix between a blood vein and a worm. Each of these tentacles danced and shook as if it was algae at the bottom of the sea.// //There was a moment as Auqui stared at the monstrosity in the center.// //Then, there was a puff of smoke, and the being disappeared.// ________ For the next few “weeks” after that event both beings began to grow, with more humans turning every day. ______ //The distant thrumming of heavy machinery pulsed through the empty hallway. Into the white space stepped 05-9.// //She whistled as she walked, until she eventually reached a door, where a single boy rested his head against a massive vibrating machine.// //She paused for a second before speaking. “You do know that thing could kill you if it breaks?” The boy blinked and looked up at her, raising his head. “What?” “Shouldn’t you be…somewhere else?” “There is nowhere else.” “Hmm. Interesting. You’re a kid, right? Do you know that child…uhhh…what’s his name, Niles?” The child's eyes turned into infinitely deep pools of darkness. “Nails? He…he’s…something else.” “Oh.” Was all the woman said. “Shit. All that for nothing…” The boy stared at her. “What?” “Nothing.” 05-9 said. There was a pause before the boy spoke again. “Are we gonna die?” 05-9 chuckled. “What do you think?” The boy looked down at the floor. “I don’t see any other way.” “Right on the money.” 05-9 said. “How do you know Nails?” “Well, I knew his father, and I talked to him once, during a rather awkward car ride car.”// //The thrumming of the machine was the only noise for a few seconds. Then, 05-9 continued to walk, only to be stopped by a voice. “Who are you?” It was the boy again. O5-9 turned around. “Do you want to know the truth?” The boy shrugged. 05-9 took off her glasses, revealing grey eyes. “I’m nobody. I’ve been nobody for the last 100 years or so. All of us have been nobody.” The boy did not seem shocked by the display. “All of us?” O5-9 then inserted the glasses into her forehead. Her form bled away, revealing a massive grey shadow in the shape of a flower, with numerous tendrils at its base.// //“The O5 council. We’re the leaders. They’ve been watching over humanity for four thousand years. You see these?” O5 took off her glasses and continued to speak. “These are not glasses. They’re a symbol, owned by every O5-9 before me. There have always been 14 O5s, each one with a different symbol. Then, in the 1800s, two of the original creators had a bit of a falling out, and well…I won’t bore you with the details.” The boy just stared at her. O5-9 just sighed. “Well…I…suppose…wha…what is that?” She stretched a hand towards an item on the floor right next to the boy. How could she have missed it? The boy picked it up. “Wha…I…it was…it was a guitar pick before.” “Oh god, did he give it to you?” “Yes.” O5-9 sighed. “Shit. Fuck. No wonder…he…oh god…I should have told him…”// //The boy looked at the needle in his hand. “This is…this isn’t…normal…is it?” O5-9 sighed. “It belongs to you now. When you need to use it…well, you will know how…”// ________ When the battle occurred, there were about 24,000 humans left, all of them in a large camp beneath site [redacted]. One might expect Mekane and Yaldaboth to fight. They did not. Instead they stood together, along with the colossus, The Witch along with her team, and a giant mech made out of a coral being piloted by octopi. _________________________ //The only thing in the hallway was Auqui and the sound of his footprints. There had been some message about going to the underground bunker, but what did he have to lose? His eyes moved around, and finally landed on a cell. The open door read “107”. When he looked inside, there was a strange figure.// //It had four eyes, arranged in a square, and a mouth in the middle. Its face reminded him of a nut. The creature stared at him, and he stared back. This stare ended when the creature began to crack open. From it hatched a shadow.// _______________________ The shadow that emerged from 173 grew and grew till it was a massive pillar reaching towards the heavens. Then, it unspooled into billions of images. These images flung outwards and the battle was on. The sky flashed with lights: black, white, red, and blue. It is unknown how long it took for the battle to occur. Perhaps it was days, perhaps it was years. The oceans turned black, the ground turned red, the sky turned white, and blue fire blossomed everywhere. The exact number of humans as the battle raged was uncertain. One by one, all of the civilians and foundation members turned into massive anomalous beings and joined in the battle. _____ //The Mother, also known as 2191, had once been a girl. One day, the village elders said they needed someone special. She had been sent into an underground chamber where she began to change. Over the course of many years, she slowly grew. About five thousand years after being sent down, The Son arrived. It was not her child, but rather the child of Grand Karcist Ion and Yaldaboth.// //About three thousand years after being sent down, Yaldaboth awoke, and so she and The Son rose as well, joining their lord in the holy battle.// _________ //As the battle began, 166 turned to her mother, tears in her eyes. Perched on her shoulder was the girl with the black eyes, now turned into a writhing mass of spikes. “What if I do not wish to fight?” Biphi’s sigh was the sigh of all patient yet exhausted mothers, despite her lacking a mouth. “The universe is already tearing itself apart, what difference does it make if one more person joins in?” “I can not serve someone who is cruel. It is not the way of a Christian.” Biphi laughed. “You know that is true.” “It is not the way of a good Christian.” “Your god is just one of many gods, a mere grain of sand. To the humans, he may bring strength, but his power is nothing compared to the Scarlet King.” “Well then, it is not the way of a good person.” Biphi turned towards 166. “Then, am I not a good person? Is your brother, and your aunts and uncles not good people? In fact, even your father served cruel beings, whether they be the GOC or the SCP. The universe is cruel. Why should we be otherwise?” 166 was about to speak, but Biphi had already begun to trot into the battle. “If you wish to stay, then do so.” she said.// //A moment passed. 166 turned to the mass of spikes on her shoulder. “If you want to join, you can. It doesn’t matter anymore.” “Maybe…maybe later. How about I stay with you…you know, for protection, yeah protection.” the mass of spikes proclaimed.// ________ //The Scarlet King loomed above the shattered remains of everything. It and its three siblings had been there since the dawn of time, but it wasn’t until the first consciousness when they truly took shape. However, there were two older siblings, somehow older than time itself. These two siblings had kept them from their destiny, using their countless hordes of minions.// //However, the two elder siblings were only able to keep them there for so long. They began to squabble, and as their squabble grew, their power weakened.// //Now, the time had come. The Scarlet King filled its bloom with screams. Then, it became a streak of violence, a scar flying through the sky, an arrow sent straight towards the Black Moon, its hated sibling. A thousand fists pummeled endless kin, only for a thousand manacles to wrap around the wrists. Infinite spirals of teeth emanate from the manacles, piercing into The Scarlet King. However, when the blood escaped, so did the screams.// //The Black Moon warbled like a flickering flame. Thousands of oily black tendrils danced on its surface. They erupted into tunnels of smoke, which collapsed into each other to make a doorway, out of which came a grey creature with a flaming sword.// //This soldier was beneath The Scarlet King, who turned his blood into a volley of spears. The grey creature swam beneath the crimson knives, only for them to change trajectory, colliding into each other and form into a hand.// //As the grey creature stabbed the hand, The Scarlet King reached into itself and took out a soldier of its own. Amid the black field covering North America, ashes stirred. They joined together, then began to undo their own destruction, growing and connecting to each other until they formed a dragon. This dragon flew forward, shaking off the black clinging to it. Other gods would not influence it. Wings screaming through the air, it soared upwards, towards the grey creature.// //Its massive jaws unfolded, a thick inferno of teeth blazing. The grey creature, having just cut the red hand to shreds, stared at it. It zoomed down towards it, its flaming sword outstretched. Laughter erupted from its grey maw as its sword pierced through the jaw of the creature, only for a red fury to hit it in the back.// //It fell towards the earth, landing in a shower of dust. When it looked above it, it saw the Black Moon and the Scarlet King, turning away from their children to continue fighting. However directly above him was the dragon, still bleeding, and a massive red humanoid creature. The Girl, it recognized. “Are you not a servant of memory?” “I was…but my brethren, they offered it a better deal. For two hundred years I wandered…my only purpose petty revenge, but now…well, enough talk, shall we?”// //He flew towards the two creatures.// ______ //When Auqui stared at the growing black pillar, he knew it was time. He looked down at the needle in his hand. It was as if invisible strings had attached to his hand, guiding it upwards. The needle approached his eye, stood there for a second, and then sailed right in.// //Immediately, he found himself in a room with no doors. His eyes darted over the amber wood walls coated in a layer of candlelight, then down onto a table with a single plate and two chairs facing it. Sitting at one of the chairs was a woman. “What the fuck?” Auqui asked. “Such profanity.” the woman said. “Where…huh?” The woman sighed. “Ugh…here comes the information. Allow me to save you the breath. This room is beyond reality. All of us O5s can go to it. Usually, O5-1 would be here, but when I told him about this he said he didn’t care and it didn’t matter. Oh yes, what is this? You see, this is the flesh of the goddess of memory. She recently died, but it’s fine. If you eat it, you’ll become like us, and you get to join the final battle. Which I am late for, so I would appreciate it if you hurried.”// //Auqui just staired. “What?”// //The woman groaned. “Don’t they teach listening skills in school anymore? Look, do you want to get god-like powers or not?”// //Auquis' legs shuffled towards the table and then placed him in a seat. A grey blob stood in front of him, perched on a fancy looking white plate sitting right next to a black fork and knife. “Uhhh…” he sputtered. “It’s not exactly the freshest, it’s been kept in a fridge for about 60 years or so, I had to get it out, defrost it, pop it in the oven,and all by myself, I might add. I haven’t cooked in over a century. It was… annoying.” Auquis' eyes darted back and forth between the meat and the woman. “Well, what are you waiting for?” “Why me?” Auqui asked. “We need all the help we can get.” “Why should I?” The woman wavered, reforming into a perfect imitation of Niles. “Listen, you little tyke. You have nothing left to lose. I am already late for the most important meeting the universe has ever seen. Eat it or not.”// //Auqui grabbed the black knife. “I…I can help?” “Yes.” “And you’re the good guys.” The woman turned back to her original form. “Yes.” “The people we’re fighting…they did this?” The woman nodded. “And once they’re done destroying the world, they’re going to move onto the universe.” Auqui only gulped. “Look,” the woman asked. “What do you want?” “I…I want to…I just want to…to never feel the way I keep feeling…again.” “This will do that.” “This isn’t some trick…is it?” Auqui asked. “Why the hell would it be?” The woman chuckled.// //Auqui closed his eyes, then sent the black knife sailing forward.// //The grey meat tasted like old fish. Unfortunately, there was no water to wash it down, but he swallowed anyway. Then, there was only silence. “I really wished this could have happened earlier,” the woman said. “But like, this whole thing is crazy. The spirit of the goddess…told me I would get someone by the battle, so here we are.”// //Auqui didn’t know what she meant so he just nodded as he swallowed another bite.// //A few moments passed, before his stomach started to quiver. “Is the goddess of memory shellfish? Because I’m allergic.” “Are eels shellfish?” The woman asked. “No, they’re actually quite kind.” Auqui chuckled. Then, the entire universe struck him in the head. The world went black and he fell to the floor. His flesh began to ripple, like a blanket being shaken. The waves grew and grew till they began to peel off. Piece by piece, he was broken off, till all that remained was a grey light.// //He looked up, at the grey light, and at that moment, he understood everything. “So…how about O5-13 as your new name?” the other grey creature asked.// _______________________ //Nine grey lights flew through the battle. They looked a bit like large jellyfish, O5-13 thought.// //His mission was simple: attack everything that is not on our side. He found himself smashing towards a large black slug with wings as well as a hat perched on its head. When he hit the beast's hide, he bounced right off it. The slug turned to face him, two massive eyes boring into him. Under those eyes was an armory of old fashioned guns sticking out of the creature's skin.// //“Oh ho! A challenger!” A posh British voice beamed into O5-13’s head. “Hey…” He said, or thought to the creature at least. “I…you are an…evil beast! And I am on the side of righteousness.”// //Surprisingly, the beasts responded with laughter. “Why! You seem rather green! Allow me to give you a lesson, courtesy of the god of dreams!” The creature flew towards O5-13, who dashed out of the way, only to find himself clenched in the grasp of a volley of bullets streaming from the creature. The world spun, and he found himself falling. There was no pain, but he felt as if some part of him had been damaged somehow. He crashed onto the ground.// //His form glitched and shuddered. It was at that moment when he stopped to think. The faint face of someone he once knew flew in front of him. Laughter was pouring out of her. “Wow! I guess you’re Superman now, huh? What are you thinking?” She was saying. O5-13 flung it out of his mind. The creature was flying down towards him.// //“Hey, uh, how do I, you know, fight?” he sent the message into the air, trying to find one of the other grey lights. “Use your object.” was his only reply. What the hell did that mean?// //The creature soared towards him. It was at that moment when he remembered the needle. He reached a tendril into his head, or at least, what had once been his head, and ripped it out. As he did, it began to grow, morphing into a massive long sword. Great. Now all he had to do was learn how to use a sword. Thankfully, the sense that something had damaged him had disappeared. Just the feel of the sword against his body bludgeoned his body with energy.// //He held the sword aloft as the creature fell down, and another volley of bullets of fire rained down. For some reason, O5-13 found himself striking the sword forward. When it struck, the storm of metal ricocheted back, sailing at the creature and hitting it right in the middle of its face. The creature plunged down onto the earth. Success! O5-13 sailed towards it, his sword aloft. Then, a massive black sword stuck out of the creature and struck his, leading it to fly into the air. O5-13 flew back to grab it, only to be met with another haze of bullet fire. He found himself falling back onto the ground, where his form distorted once again. When he looked down, he saw two hands. Was this his old body? Boulders of blood were tumbling down him in a red avalanche. Wasn’t he supposed to be god-like? The creature appeared in front of him, flying high.// //“Why, you’re just a boy!” “I…I’m going to…I need…”// //Why hadn’t he asked the woman to explain what to do? It had all happened so fast, and the only thing in his mind was the thought of revenge. Who was he even trying to get revenge for? He tried to call the others, but his head felt fuzzy. Had he just been sent here as a sacrifice, a distraction for a few seconds? “Child soldiers…ugh! How barbaric! Your goddess of memory is disgusting!”// //“You…you…” He lifted up a bloodied hand, only to then drop it. For some reason, he still didn’t feel pain, just the realization that he was badly hurt. It seemed logical that the object might fix things, and it was in vision, a speck of sparkling silver a few meters away. He trudged towards it, his legs cracked and distorted.// //The creature snarled behind him. “Now, see her, you’re clearly on your last legs, and I don’t wish to do any more harm.”// //“Fuck you!” O5-13’s rotting legs moved faster, red spraying into the air wherever he went. Behind him was the whooshing of air. The creature was coming towards him.// //The silver sword was only a meter away now. There was a sudden crack, and a single bullet pierced through his leg, which exploded. He plunged into the brown earth. The sword was only a few feet away. He reached forward and grabbed it. Immediately, the red shook off of him. His body began to shift. In his mind, he envisioned a new form, one made entirely out of silver metal. This new form knew exactly what to do.// //He spun around and plunged the sword straight into the creature. Black blood ran down the needle. Bullets flew out of the creature, hissing through the air, but O5-13 simply lifted the sword, smacking into the bullets. He jumped into the air, then with a slash, cut off both eyes of the creature, who screamed in rage. Bayonets began sticking out of its skin, piercing through O5-13’s silver form, sending shiny grey chunks into the air. He brought down the sword, only for a bayonet half the size of him to shoot out right under him, knocking him into the air.// //When he looked down, he saw the giant mouth of the slug blooming before him. So, he soared right into it, lifting his sword into the air and plunging it into the creature's throat. He slashed and slashed, until air hit once again, and he was lying amid a pair of entrails. The sword was still in his metal grasp, its end firmly planted into the stomach of a man. He was pale, and entirely naked. The face of the stranger lifted towards O5-13.// //When their two eyes met, O5-13 was suddenly filled with a lifetime of moments.// //He was a tall British lord, walking through the grounds at Oxford. Suddenly, his eyes were caught by a bespeckled lady. Then, the woman was smiling in a white veil. Then, the woman was crying in front of a tombstone with the words “Daniel Blackwood, Born and Died 1854” written on it. Then, the woman was gone, leaving only a mysterious note behind.// //He was at a massive bank, having just sold everything he had owned and getting a deposit to buy a ship and crew. The seas of the Atlantic lapped against his ship. The roaring rapids of The Strait of Magellan slapped into him. The tranquil waters of the Pacific Ocean buoyed him towards Indonesia. He was looking through a glass as he sailed through the East China Sea, spotting a speck of land not on any map. Copper eyes were staring into him, whispering words in a tongue older than fire. His skin was melting, melting, his veins knotting, his organs shriveling. Every ounce of him was contorting and crunching.// //He was in a jar, then in a glass tank, then in a grey room. People in lab coats were asking him questions. The people were gone, and a black crack was opening between him and the grey wall. A voice was streaming through, grabbing him and plunging him into reality’s wound. Then, he was squirming through a void as a girl in a witch’s outfit spoke to him. “You see only the god of dreams can defeat the four malevolent forces.” She was saying. “So,” he was replying. “This is a fight over the very fate of reality itself!”// //Then, the memory was over. O5-13 was himself again, whoever he is, and his sword was plunged into the chest of the man. “I…I…” the man gasped in a British accent.// //“Lord Blackwood.” Was all O5-13 could say. “I…I fought bravely…didn’t I?”// //“Yes.” “Then I shall die with honor.” Lord Blackwood grabbed the sword with his bare hands and ripped it out of his chest. One last wheezing breath climbed its way out of his lungs before he fell over, never to fight again.// //As O5-13 stood up and walked away, he changed forms again, returning to the visage of a boy. His wounds had all been healed. Above and around him, the battle occurred.// //He held his sword beneath him, its tip poking his soft belly. He didn’t know if it would work. Perhaps it was the intent that truly mattered. The events inside the room of amber wood flickered through his head. There was something he wanted to forget.// //He was just about to plunge it into him when something appeared behind him.// //He turned around, towards a large pillar made of red eyes, with maroon tendrils sticking between each red sphere.// //The figure just stared at him.// ________ //King Solomon’s flaming spear flew through the dragon, cutting it in two. The two halves both tumbled down, only for The Girl to grab them, then slam them against King Solomon. The side merged around, skin welding shut around his own. He raised his flaming sword into the air and speared his way out of the creature.// //This was taking too long. Then, he realized. What an idiot he was, completely forgetting all about it. A twisted smile spread across his craggy face. The dragon was flying towards him, the hole he created in it already healing. He flew down towards the ground, the creature and The Girl both in hot pursuit. At the last second before he touched earth, a ring of rust began to appear on the earth as he opened a hole of black. Then, he darted to the right. The dragon went in first, flying straight into the abyss. The Girl reached out her hand, trying to grasp her brother, but it was too late. The creature had fallen into the darkness, and it did not have time to react before King Solomon closed the portal.// //“What did you do?!” The Girl shrieked in anger. King Solomon laughed, only for his chuckle to be cut short when he noticed a look blossoming in The Girl’s many eyes. He turned around, sword held aloft, but it was too late. A giant pair of glasses covered in spikes was lodged in his head. “I will never, ever forgive you for making this my object. This is so fucking pathetic as a weapon.” O5-9 ripped the glasses out of his head. He tried to react, but his brain had been skewered in half. Then, there was the whooshing of glasses as his neck was cleaved clean off. He saw the world tumble and then all he could see was red. His body could be felt, clawing around on the dirt, searching for his head, but he wasn’t sure where his head was. Then, something moved it, he was staring straight at The Girl, who smiled sweetly as she smashed she crushed his head.// _______ //The body of King Solomon was still moving around, swinging the flaming sword around. It must have felt the pulsing of the air as O5-9 flew down towards it, because it jumped up into the air. The Girl grabbed it by the legs and slammed it against the Earth. It brought its sword down onto her hand. When her grasp let up, the body flew upwards, only to feel the pulsing coming again. It was about to move when the glasses erupted out of its chest, then moved upwards, cutting half of it in half. It spun wildly out of control, back into the arms of The Girl who finished the process of ripping it in half, then stepped on it. “Bad man! Bad man! Idiot! Stupid! Ouch!” she yelled the last part when she stepped on the flaming sword. She kicked it to the side where O5-9 swooped down and grabbed it. “Thanks for the sword!” she said, then proceeded to dash straight for The Girl’s face. There was no time to think before O5-9 had plunged the sword straight into one of The Girl’s eyes.// //The Girl swung madly about, and both woman and sword flew into the air. The futility of all this was beginning to settle in on her, but she had to shake it off.// ______ //Off in the distance, 999 looked as its sister fought the grey being. Its parent had contacted him, telling him of his fate, but he had refused. Words like “premodern cruelty” and “uncaring modernity” meant nothing to it. The Scarlet made people unhappy, and so it was bad. Sometimes the world was as simple as that.// //The Girl did not understand this, young as she was. 999 knew who she was the second she had entered the site. He had attempted to comfort her, but they had not let her. It was frustrating. Somewhere in 999, a deep dark part of him shook with anger for his captors, but he tried to shove it down. They had good intentions, and they saved people from being unhappy, so they were good.// //Sadly, 999 oozed along, till it eventually approached two figures staring at each other. One was a young boy, covered in green blood. The other was a massive pillar of red eyes.// //The boy was nearer, so 999 approached it first.// ___________________ Across Eurasia stretched a mass of flesh, diseased and rotted. Porous growths and tumors bulged and squealed. This wave of flesh met a mass of oily gears and wires. Yaldaboth and Mekkane lunged towards each other. Beneath them, the world rotted. Even the oceans began to rot, liquids of all sorts infecting them. Flesh spilled into them in one place, oil in another, blood in a third, and rust in a fourth. The earth, reduced to a quaking ball of fury, bled as it rippled and distorted, unwinding in tattered sobs of chaos. Agony’s claws grew everywhere. Oblivion’s black jagged teeth tore all light to shrapnel of luminosity. Behind the earth, the surface of the sun, the blinding sea, rippled and churned. The thunder spread out from the earth, absorbing the moon, the other planets, and even the sun. All of the solar system drowned in the fog of frenzy, its image distorted beyond recognition. The sun shrieked red fire, expanding and unraveling. Infernal orange tears bled from the net of wounds ensnaring it. The poison nightmares it coughed expanded, covering everything. It grew like an unfolding wound, tendrils of fire grasping the light. The moon cracked, crumbling in on itself. Still, the battle raged on amid the mass. ______ //Somewhere within the quivering kaleidoscope once known as the solar system, O5-13 felt something touch his leg. It was a large pile of slime. Immediately, a warmth spread through him. For a few seconds, everything was perfect, before the creature touched the pillar of red eyes _______// //The Being recognized the face. It had been a human too, it knew, and so it clearly must have known other humans. However, it didn’t know what relationship it had to the face.// //Its concentration was broken by a yellow blob which first touched the boy, then rubbed itself against The Being. The moment was wonderful, until the slime turned its two eyes towards a fight in the distance.// __________ //The Witch flew through the air. A few years ago, she died. Upon doing so, she had appeared in a black void, where she faced a massive yellow creature wrapped in grey chains. “I have a holy task for you.” the god shaped hole within it proclaimed. She took some convincing, obviously, but his logic had been irrefutable.// //Before the battle, she had loomed above Algadda. The others on her team had been in The Somewhere Else, as the king told her only she could bear the burden. Millions of people dressed in white masks buzzed through the streets, going about their business. Tears fell down her face as light shone from her hands. This was for the good of everything.// //All of Algadda had melted into a slurry of shapes and colors, a million screams forming fields of spirals. They all coalesced into one great spiral, which sailed down, into her. “With this, the tribute is paid in full. Your blood is now mine.” The words dripped out of her.// //Their sacrifice had been worthy, however. The Hand of Dreams was in all of Algadda, in the king and in the ambassador, and in everything else. All of this power screamed within every quaking fiber of her being.// //Back in the present, she flew through multiple grey beings, reducing them to ash. The goddess of memory was pathetic, dying before the battle began and sending her minions to do the work. It didn’t matter, however. Her allies were below her, the cephalopods in their massive mech. They were currently dealing with a wave of centipedes.// //She flew through another grey blob, and with that she had finished off all of the minions of memory. Except…her mind flew around the battlefield. One of them was currently dealing with one of the scarlet’s spawn. Another spawn, a yellow one made of goo was rushing towards her. She was most likely toast.// //Another minion of memory was also with a spawn of the scarlet, but a far lesser one, and they didn’t appear to be fighting. Instead, the minion was sitting down, leaning its back against the pillar of red eyes. Also odd was the fact the minion was in the form of a young boy.// //The Witch flew down. The minion smiled up at her as she stopped right in front of him. The ritual had changed her, turning into a massive swarm of light in the vague shape of a human. However, the minion seemed to not mind.// //“Hello,” he said. “Are you going to kill me?” “What do you think I’m going to do?”// //The minion laughed in big choking sobs. It was in the middle of that when The Witch flew down, only to be stopped by a single hand.// //Curious. She was barely putting any effort into the kill, perhaps she had underestimated the minion. “Wait,” he said. “Before you kill me can you do two things?” “…what.” “One. Don’t kill this.” He pointed to the pillar of red eyes. “Second,” he continued. “Do you know my name?”// ______ //O5-9 floated above The Girl, who was furiously trying to reattach two of her six arms to her body. “You know,” O5-9 cooed. “I helped contain you for a while. In fact, I authorized the test which introduced you to your dear brother. Anyways, you and your kind shall all perish. The goddess of memory has a plan, even in death, and you…are not part of it.”// //O5-9 flew down again, The Girl threw one of her arms at her, but she simply sliced through it and continued to fly, piercing the throat of The Girl. “Call for Daddy. See if he saves you. Or maybe he’s too busy fighting a pointless ba-“// //An interruption came when a glob of slime flew onto her, clenching her in a fist of goo.// //She flew into the air, rapidly switching between forms, but the creature hung on. The glasses fell out of her grasp as her hand was covered with slime, but the other fist managed to hold onto the flaming sword. The layer of ooze buried the sound of cracking bones as the fist of goo clenched. She attempted to move the flaming sword, the only part of her sticking out from the slime, only for a thick snap to shoot out. Like a pipe made of aluminum, half of her arm was crushed, turning into a rumpled mess of red and white. The fiery sword tumbled out of her hand, towards the ground.// //As she continued to soar upwards, she shifted forms again, attempting to turn into something so big that the creature would shrink as well, but it only grew with her. The pressure grew and grew, as did the sound of snapping. Her form expanded more and more, turning into a massive balloon of red mush.One of the creature's eyes stared down at her and she was flooded with a sea of memories and a single thought “I will not let you hurt her.” It was at that moment when she realized how high they were. She was not in control. The creature was, and it was dragging her upwards.// //From above, the planet was barely recognizable. Gone was the shape of planets, instead, there was a mass of various colors, all erupting into each other. The surface shimmered like a thousand seas fighting, and even the shape was contorting. Then, the two of them hit the moon. They continued to move, torn to shreds by lava. Still, they lived, and still, they floated upwards and upwards, into the sun.// //999 knew now fear. It had helped people, and that’s all it ever wanted to do.// //When the two of them disappeared into the sea of yellow and orange, the penultimate carrier of memories flame came to pass. Now, there was only one left to carry the torch.// ____ //One second, O5-13 was facing a large assemblage of light. The next, he was in a void of gray, facing two black eyes. “Hello.” The eyes said. “Hello.” O5-13 responded, purely out of instinct.// //“You have done well, my child.” “Uhhh…thanks….uh,sorry...but...I...I'm not sure...what is...uhh...what is this?” O5-13 asked.// //“I am memory personified. I came to earth in the form of an eel in order to watch over the caged ones along with my brother, who watched from his kingdom in-between the atoms. But, our views on reality changed. Life on earth was an accidental creation of this imprisonment. My brother wished to destroy humanity, as the prayers the humans whispered made our brethren stronger. Not only that, but humans were far too powerful, their minds free from outside forces. Every decision they made crafted more universes. My reasons for protecting humanity were not out of kindness, however, but because their collective ideas shaped the universe, and perhaps our siblings would be tied down by humanities beliefs.” “I…I don’t understand,” O5-13 said. “Why imprison your brethren?” “They are younger than us by an infinity and a half, and they see the universe as theirs to conquer.” “So…I…what am I doing here?” “A messenger I created died. I was so enraged that in the moment, I saw the humans as my brother did. It was a moment to you, but to me, it was months.” “Did you cause all of this to happen?” The eyes almost seemed to sigh. “Not directly, no. It was my anger over my brother that did. However, my momentary anger at the humans led to the deaths of millions. I was…ashamed. When my brother’s minions came to destroy my physical form, I let them. But, it is no matter. I’ve waited to see which one of you would survive the longest. And you have, and now, I will give the most precious gift in the hopes that you will do better than I do.” O5-13 screamed “But I don’t want it! I’m tired! I j-“ “Too bad.” The eyes said.// //Then, the universe broke. In that second, O5-13 saw billions of different eyes, floating through a void. He caught one of the eyes in his hand. Something told him this one was important. Looking into it, he saw a grey room with various figures and various red stains on chairs. “I may have a solution…but it’s complicated. It was the voice of the woman, who O5-13 now realized was O5-9. “Pray tell, what is it?” A grey shadow asked. “Well, you see,” O5-9 pronounced. “We know nightmares are the first signs of infection from the memetic disease, the one which The Scarlet Bitch has been using to increase his army. Now, we can’t just ask people about nightmares and then kill them. Instead, I have a two fold solution. One is for adults, and the other is for children, but they primarily rely on infecting them with eggs of a certain old friend of ours…”// //Auqui ripped himself out of the memory. He collapsed within himself like a star turning into a black hole. “No…” he muttered.// //The memories would not stop coming. An incomprehensibly complicated universe was laid bare before him. People and places and groups floated through his unfolding mind. At the beginning of the universe, there were the eyes and the hand. However, without others, they were meaningless. So, from them came the mind, the body, the blood, and the voice. The six sang in harmony, weaving the universe out of shadow. But, soon, they grew envious. They competed to see who could be the greatest, and the universe shook with fire.// //The Scarlet created life, and to this life Mekkane granted minds. However, they all merely worked as one massive machine until Yaldaboth granted them free will and individuality. But this split the universes, with every decision leading to more being created. The mind of every sapient lifeform was spread thin through every universe, until the eyes split them, making it so every mind could only exist in one universe at a time. But, Mekkane and Yaldaboth would not let their anger for each other go, so they were both reduced to states in which they would not cause harm.// //However, life grew too powerful, and so The Black Star invented death. With every new universe that was created, The Black Star grew stronger as every act of creation made entropy grow stronger. This anger of the Scarlet King was so great its scream burned holes into the sky, and both beings had to be sent into other planes of existence.// //So, the Dreaming Hand and The Eyes of Memory were alone, and they too would fall to the call of anger. The Dreaming Hand would form his own plane to live in, while the eyes merely stayed in this one, watching over everything.// //As the history of humanity washed over O5-13, he realized Anantanesha was gone. It was he who had to make a decision. “Let humanity die”. A voice whispered in his head. It had been the actions of humans which led to his sister's death. It was the actions of humans which prevented his Dad from going to the hospital. His Mom had decided to walk into the ocean. Before, he had convinced himself there was no choice, but now he saw everything. There was no choice with Niles, however. It was simply bad luck. As memories flooded over Auqui he realized that there was a choice. A man he never met decided to save Niles' life, and Niles’ life was only in that man’s hands because of another man’s decision.// //And, everyday, Niles had made the decision to get up, and not to let oblivion win. A million different human hands had gotten him here.// //He realized then what he had to do, and why he had to do it.// //When O5-13 opened his eyes, he was still staring at The Witch. She had not told him his name. “You know what,” O5-13 said. “It doesn’t matter. I just remembered. My name is Auqui. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna fight you.”// //Auqui reached a hand out to The Witch and opened his mind to her. Memories of humanity danced between the two of them, a kaleidoscope of flame bathing their minds in light.// _______ //One by one, everyone fell.// //The servants of The Dreaming Hand were all crushed. Alexei Belitrov, Murphy Law, Don Quixote, Ulysses B. Donkman, and 3002 met their fates within the inferno. Able smiled as The Devourer of Worlds tore him to shreds. A blur of blue slammed into The Devourer of Worlds, the mech of the octopi. The colossus unleashed a lightning swarm of fists at the coral mech, slowly unraveling the layers of construction. The mech simply raised a sword which glowed every color and slashed. The Devourer of Worlds dodged it easily, only to realize it was not the intended target. A massive cut had appeared in the fabric of reality. Shrieks of metal cascaded out of The Devourer of Worlds as it broke apart, pieces of it flying into the wound. Still, it continued to fight, grabbing each scream and turning into a weapon.// //The mech cracked and grunted, but continued to slash, creating more and more wounds in reality. Eventually, the mech was reduced to a mesh of blue pulp, while The Devourer of Worlds was various scraps of metal lying amid black cuts in the air.// //The 7 children of the Scarlet King were slowly whittled down. The youngest child, foolish as it was, attempted to take on Mekkane, only to be stomped without a second thought. Soon, all that was left was The Girl, Biphi, and her two children.// //166 merely watched everything, the mass of black spikes staying on her shoulder. Even when her Mom and brother were slain by a long black tendril. Eventually, she was approached by a large red girl, crying. “Why will you not fight?!” She screamed. “It is not my way.” Was all 166 could say.// //“Luck is not smiling on us,” the red girl seethed. “Even alone, the Black Star is mighty. Either we all fight, or we all die.”// //“Then so be it.” 166 said coldly.// //The red girl seemed taken aback. Then, her eyes narrowed. She reached forwards, and with one simple movement, punched a hole into 166. The black spikes shrieked and jumped into action.// //“No,” 166 screamed, somehow still alive, as she grabbed the black spike. “No more blood will be shed today!”// //“Why! Why won’t you fight!” More tears fell down the red girl's face. “I already told you!” 166 screamed. Blood was pooling down her chest, but the pain of the wound was just another sensation. “You…you… please hate me.” There was no anger in 166’s eyes as her knees began to buckle. “Be good. For me, please.” She whispered to the black tendrils.// _______ //As The Son screamed above the corpse of The Mother, Mekkane and Yaldaboth lunged at each other. When the waves of flesh and metal struck, a spray of fire rained down.// //Long tendrils stuck from Yaldaboth as it grabbed Mekkane, lifting it. The oily strings connecting Mekkane to the mass of metal stretched and then snapped. The tentacles of Yaldaboth wrapped around Mekkane, slowly pushing it into the swamp of flesh. Soon, metal was covered by red flesh. Yaldaboth laughed, only for a fire to bloom within it. It exploded as Mekkane burst from it.// //However, it took more than that to defeat Yaldaboth, who merely reconnected with itself, shooting forth more tentacles. It grabbed space itself and converted it into threads, winding them into a rope. This rope wrapped around Mekkane, trapping it. Mekkane simply began to glow, sending a peel of flame down the rope, burning Yaldaboth. Only laughs came from Yaldaboth, but as fire filled it, it began to bubble up, growing.// //It simply threw itself at Mekkane, letting the bubbles of flesh fill every orifice. Evenn when Yaldaboths flesh melted, it simply formed rings around Mekkane. Then, Mekkane began to shift, massive claws spreading out from it. These claws grew, cutting Yaldaboth into pieces. These pieces threw themselves at Mekkane, morphing into smaller versions of Yaldaboth.// //A scream of ice cut through the flames of battle as Mekkane began to rip open. Tiny bits of Yaldaboth had gotten inside it, and were now pressing against its metal exterior. Millions of wires burst out of Mekkane as it fell apart. The brief flicker of victory soaking the Yaldaboths was extinguished when these wires began to move, shrieking reality into spikes. These spikes flung in every direction, skewering the Yaldaboths.// //The Yaldaboths rearranged themselves back into one singular puddle of flesh, only to be met by a massive wall of metal. This wall curved, turning into a spherical cage which wrapped around Yaldaboth. Then, a massive black cloud appeared above the cage. It was not The Black Star, but rather, one of its minions. It had taken a while to get to the battle, as it had to heal.// //The Unspeakable wrapped its tendrils around the cage. Black veins began to bloom on it and inside of it. The destruction of the two entities would be its destruction as well. It did not care.// ____________ //Through the battle, a sphere of dark purple tendrils known as 3812 flew, destroying everything near him. He was confused as to what side he was, or to what the battle was about. However, some voice had told him to kill, so he just assumed he didn’t understand the situation.// //Then, two beings appeared before it, one many massive rings made of grey, another a yellow cloud of light in the shape of a human. “Hello,” they proclaimed. “Sam Howell, you must now calm down.”// //The sphere then contorted, shrinking into the shape of a human. “What…what,” Sam Howel asked. “What has happened to me?”// //“You’ve suffered for too long Sam. It’s time for you to rest now.”// __________________ //The Scarlet King was melting, slowly unraveling into blood. The black tower loomed above it. All that was in The Scarlet King’s mind was hatred. It would not allow its enemy to be victorious.// //So, within one last gasp, The Scarlet King grabbed the energy of all that was connected to it. Thousands of beings found their life drained as they turned to grey husks. The attempts to steal the energy of its daughter proved fruitless, as some sort of energy surrounded her which it was too tired to decipher. But, it didn’t matter. It was enough.// //The black tower plunged a tendril of darkness downwards, only to be met by a ripple of red. There was a moment of motionlessness. Then, The Scarlet King exploded into a blaze of blood colored light. The light consumed the darkness, drenching everything in crimson tears.// //Then, as quickly as it began, it was over. The Scarlet King and the Black Star were defeated.// //The entire solar system was choked to the brim with corpses. There was a tall, hunched, asymmetrical creature, with its head torn off by The Sealed King, who currently had half of its body in the mouth of a pure white pile of tentacles and teeth. This eldritch mass had its corpse being pecked apart by various dinosaurs. They were all crushed by the massive falling corpse of Isaac, The God of Love, reduced to a shriveled up husk by The Scarlet King, along with the giant horned serpent it had been riding.// ______________________ //The Girl was silent, dark eyes staring over the corpse of the 166. “I’ll kill you!” the mass of black tendrils, also known as The Daughter of Shadows screamed. The Girl simply raised a hand.// //Then, she found herself facing two figures. “She who bears the curse of rage. You have suffered greatly. Do you wish to rise?”// //Somehow, she knew what it meant, and her tongue did not wait. “Yes.” Then, The Daughter of Shadows faced the two figures. “She of the infinite darkness. You are skilled in destruction. Do you wish to rise?” “Yes.”// //The two figures faced The Son. “He who has just been born. Your mind is primal and confused. Do you wish to rise?” “Yes.” the son thought, as he could not speak.// //Lastly, a servant of Mekkane had to be found. When Mekkane died, so did its minions, but death was no matter anymore. They found a robot, buried in rubble, and sent a kiss of energy. The robot, once designated 1360, opened its eyes. “He who was made to work and suffer but rejected his purpose. You were born of invention and grew through ingenuity. Do you wish to rise?” “Yes.”// //“Humanity has faded, and it will not return for thousands of years. But, the universe is massive. Together, we can rise above the sins of our forefathers. We will not conquer, and not fight, but instead serve the fabric of the universe.”// //The six of them overlooked the remains of the solar system.// //The Goddess of Dreams, also known as The Sorceress of Illusions and The Dreaming Hand// //The God of Memory, also known as The Eyes of Logic And Understanding// //The Goddess of Life also known as The Scarlet Queen and The Ruler of Primal Rage// //The Goddess of Death also known as The Black Supernova// //The God of Flesh// //The God of Machines, also known as The Metal Mind// ______ + Part Four: Death … **Ice blue silver sky fades into grey To a grey hope that all yearns to be Starless and bible black** … _____ //Niles found himself sitting on a beach. The shadow of Auqui draped over him. “I’m sorry,” Auqui said. “You have to go soon. But…before you do…I just wanted to say goodbye.”// //Niles couldn’t find any words. Auqui plopped down next to him. “What happened?” Niles finally spoke. “A lot happened. You turned into something else, and then you died, and now…now we get a bit of time before you go.” “Oh.” Auqui grabbed Niles hand. “I…I…why do you... always so…nice?” “Because I’m just that great,” Auqui giggled. “And because you deserve someone being nice to you.”// //Niles stared into Auqui’s eyes, a deep brown melted to amber by the sun. His lips felt warm against his. When the moment ended, Niles moved his head back to stare once against at Auqui’s eyes, sparkling with both sadness and joy.’ “Has the world ended?” Niles asked. “Yeah…this is an illusion…basically.” “It’s good.” “Thanks. I made it myself.” It wasn’t funny, but their laughs came anyway.// //Niles could already feel himself slowly unraveling, a void slowly tugging at a thread. “Goodbye.” He beamed. “Goodbye.” Niles anchored his eyes on Auqui’s, losing himself in the sea of amber as he slowly faded into nothing.// ____ //Copper light drifted through the windows of the orange house, lightly dusting Valentina’s face as she sat in a chair. Her arm and eye were back, and the hat was perched on her head. Auqui was leaning against the wall, facing her. She spoke before he could. “I’m dead aren’t I?” Auqui nodded. “Are you like, an angel taking a familiar form, or something?” Auqui chuckled. “No, it’s me, Val. I can’t…someone else owns you now…I only have so much time before you go. But, our goodbye was kind of…” “Shit?” “Yeah.”// //Valentina stood up and wrapped her brother in a hug. “You’re such a screw up, you know that?” Auqui laughed. “Goodbye.” he whispered.” “Goodbye.”// //She closed her eyes as she faded away, filling her mind with reveries of sunshine and soccer games.// ____________ In the solar system, six lights flew above the contorted wasteland. A garden of fire bloomed and wilted, shedding sparks into the abyss. Converging constellations of crystalline light engulfed everything, forming a shuddering mass of shapes. The solar system slowly folded in on itself, becoming a twisted scream of light, spiraling endlessly into oblivion. And when the light faded away, there was only silence. Far away, trails of fire cut through endless black as the spaceships sailed far away from the solar system. 200,000 years would pass before their metal hulls made contact with the soft dirt of an exoplanet known as Kepler 22B. Wires buzzed and gears turned. Glass boxes opened with a hiss. Tubes and wires slithered in a metal dance. Human hands emerged, cluelessly grasping for the light. Through the silent universe, hope’s song rang eternal. [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box |author=Dr_Dokter]] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box-end]]