Aetheral Space-Chapter 532 - 17.4: White Light, Black Night

DAY 2

Atoy Muzazi ran for his life.

There was no more dignified way to put it than that. Ignoring his wounds and ignoring his exhaustion, he pushed himself beyond his limits and fled. Thrusters blazed from his body, tinged red by his own flying blood, as he flew through the skeletal city-ring. As he flew, he left behind an exhaust trail of his evaporating sweat, carving a path through the air.

He understood that he might bring about his own death through how hard he was pushing himself right now. Even so, that would be preferable to the sort of death that One Star had to offer. That man had a reputation.

The Supreme before Kadmon, Henri the Glutton, had assembled a stable of madmen and degenerates to enforce his will and share in his revelries -- informally dubbed the Kitchen. While the only true requirement for membership had been to pique Henri's interest, a hierarchy of strength had naturally developed. At the top of the Kitchen had been those strong enough to impose their vile predilections upon the world around them, those that were called the Sous Chefs. God Trash, Terminal Verdict, Clown Gut…

…and One Star.

His crimes were unspeakable and uncountable. More partner than subordinate, One Star had been at Henri's side for the most depraved days of his reign. Many members of the Kitchen had been hunted down in vengeance after Henri's death, and common wisdom was that One Star had been among them, executed by his victims and buried in a nameless grave.

But no. If this man spoke true, then even such dark justice had been denied. One Star had been here, on Nehr Müt, serving the Director of the Pandershi Foundation.

So Atoy Muzazi ran. Atoy Muzazi flew like a desperate bird. He had accepted the fact of his death many times before -- but he would not die like this. He wouldn't let himself fall into the hands of this demon. He wouldn't --

"My," chuckled One Star. "You are very fast."

Before Muzazi could even turn his head to look, he'd been struck -- the flat side of One Star's blade slamming into his face and spiking him into a neighbouring building. Dust exploded out of each and every empty window-frame, evacuated by the sudden impact. One Star sheathed his sword, walking casually towards the ruined building.

"You have a splendid reputation, sir," he said as he approached. "Therefore, I would be surprised if my strike just now was fatal. I know I said the Director wished you dead, but he is not an unreasonable man. Should you surrender, I'm sure we can plead your case together. What say you?"

Muzazi said nothing.

Instead, he blasted right out of the building again, breaking through the other side and out into the night. No matter how fast One Star was, Atoy Muzazi had never heard any anecdotes of the man being able to fly. If he simply gained enough altitude, he should be able to --

The building exploded.

There was no fire, no smoke. One second, the building was intact -- and in the next, it simply burst, flung apart into debris. Muzazi was immediately knocked out of his flight-path as massive chunks of rubble crashed right into him. The world became a blur as his thrusters sent him into a tailspin.

For a moment, he struggled to reclaim control -- but that had been a moment too long. One Star was coming for him.

It didn't matter that One Star couldn't fly. In that horrifying moment, Muzazi looked on as the knight leapt from rubble to rubble, ascending into the sky on a stairway to heaven. He moved with such swiftness and skill that it was as if this split-second arrangement of concrete chunks was an obstacle course he had cleared many times before. Within seconds, he was upon Muzazi, leaping above him.

This time, he didn't even bother drawing his sword. One Star slammed his shield down into Muzazi's torso, launching him far down to the ground below. A pillar of smoke marked his impact.

No time for pain, Muzazi begged himself. Get up. Get away!

He wasn't lacking in resolve -- but when he tried to rise to his feet once more, he found that he was unable. No matter how much he strained and twisted, his body wouldn't do as he said. His hand remained flat on the ground beside him, and his feet refused to rise.

His breathing quickened.

Something was wrong. This wasn't just exhaustion or injury. It was like he was being held down by a powerful magnet.

That was when he saw it. All around him, all around this patch of ground he'd been slammed into, was the faint buzz of pale blue Aether. That same Aether twitched across Muzazi's limbs.

He already got me.

"You infused your back to protect yourself from the impact," One Star's kindly voice echoed throughout the courtyard. "But because of that, I think you neglected your limbs a little. The infusion I planted here beforehand was able to take advantage of that."

Muzazi strained against the invisible force. Just as One Star said, he was able to lift his back off the ground, but his limbs simply wouldn't follow. All he could do was squirm. He was a rat in a trap.

One Star emerged out of the darkness, his peaceful face with eyes still closed, like something out of a nightmare. He'd put his shield back on his hip -- there was no further need for it -- and drawn his sword once more. The blade scraped against the ground as he approached.

"My ability isn't much to boast about," he explained calmly. "It's a simple power that sticks objects together. In situations like this, though, it can be quite useful."

Radiant Ablaze!

A wall of Radiants appeared between Muzazi and One Star -- but with a swing of One Star's sword, they were reduced to specks of light.

"I see you're still quite belligerent," One Star sighed. "I urge you to consider my earlier offer, sir. There's no need for further violence or suffering."

"You say that," Muzazi said, forcing his head off the ground to glare at his opponent. "Yet you're the one approaching me with sword drawn."

"Why," One Star smiled. "That's simply to cut you free once you surrender."

Liar.

Liar liar liar liar.

I know what that sword is for.

"You became rather agitated once you heard my name," One Star continued casually. "I'm guessing you've heard of my reputation, then? That saddens me. I think you've misunderstood things a little. I won't deny that my past is quite sordid, but can't a man do his best to seek redemption? I am not the same man I was back then, I assure you, sir."

Muzazi struggled as One Star slowly approached, his footsteps echoing through the courtyard. Click. Click. Click. He was taking his time. The fact that he was taking his time told Muzazi all that he needed to know.

But, even with One Star taking his time, it didn't take him forever. Within moments, he was standing over Muzazi, silver sword in hand. The calm smile hadn't faded from his lips.

"Alas," One Star said. "It seems you're not willing to surrender to me. As a warrior, perhaps that's the best decision, but it still saddens me. Human life is such a precious thing, after all."

He lifted his sword high…

Kill yourself with a Radiant, now!

…only to be interrupted before he could bring it down on Muzazi's forearm.

A dolphin leapt out of the earth.

The shining blue animal -- almost certainly some kind of Aether construct -- was the size of a truck, writhing playfully as it flew through the air. It flipped end over end, high-pitched squeaks pouring from its very being -- before it came down. One Star leapt back warily as the dolphin descended, colliding with Muzazi's body with force that surely should have reduced him to paste.

However, when the blue light cleared, both Atoy Muzazi and the grand dolphin had disappeared. All that remained were the sight of crackling blue Aether and the fading sound of popping bubbles.

One Star frowned, smoothly sheathing his sword.

"Oh," he said softly. "How strange."

Ruth kept low as she followed the girl, the unconscious body of Reyansh Patel still slung over her shoulder.

"Where are we going?" she hissed.

The girl looked back at her, brown eyes wide, holding a lantern in her hand. Despite the fact that she was Ruth's rescuer, she was the one who seemed more frightened. In that Neverwire smoke, she'd rushed Ruth along so much that she almost hadn't been able to grab Reyansh before following her into a nearby hatch.

Now that Ruth got a proper look at her, though, this girl was younger than she'd thought -- young enough that it was embarrassing to be saved by her. She couldn't be more than sixteen at the most.

"Somewhere safe --" the girl began, before correcting herself. " -- safer. I don't know who those guys were, but they're dangerous. They probably work for Pandershi. We need to get far away."

"My friend's still out there," Ruth protested. "I can't just leave him."

Was Atoy Muzazi her friend? The word didn't fit quite right, but she didn't know what else to call him.

The girl took a deep breath, turning away from Ruth. "He was still there when One Star showed up?"

Ruth furrowed her brow. "Who?"

"The guy on the bike."

"Yeah."

Another deep breath. "If he's lucky, he's dead. We need to keep moving. I'm sorry."

Ruth didn't believe for a second that Atoy Muzazi would die that easily -- but she couldn't exactly go back to check on him, either. The whole point of him staying behind had been so that Ruth could escape with Reyansh Patel. Besides, there were so many weirdos out there right now there was no way Ruth would make it back unscathed.

So, for the time being, she'd play along. She ran a hand along the wall of the cramped tunnel they were moving through. It was small enough that you had to go through single-file -- hell, she had to be careful not to smack Patel's head against the wall as she walked. A couple of times now, the tunnels had branched off, but the girl had known which way to go without hesitation.

"What is this place?" Ruth asked, frowning.

"Spy tunnels," the girl replied. "The secret police used them to get around the city, back when the Foremen were in charge."

"Who?" Ruth asked again.

"The guys who were in charge before Pandershi," the girl replied quickly, exasperated. "Look, I don't want to be an asshole, but can you not be so loud? Someone might hear us above."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Nah," Ruth said. "I already did a ping up there. There's nobody around apart from us."

The girl looked back at Ruth over her shoulder, her thoughtful expression illuminated by the orange light of her lantern. "You're an Aether-user?"

Ruth nodded. "You're not?"

The girl shook her head. "All the Aether-users around here work for Pandershi. I've only ever met one who didn't… apart from you. How did you get here? I didn't see any ships coming in. Did you use the Lovers?"

"You sure know a lot," Ruth frowned.

"Not by choice," the girl muttered.

"Look," Ruth said. "You helped me out -- I'm real grateful, and I'm happy to tell you whatever you wanna know. But I need some questions answering too. Who are you? Where are we going?"

After a moment's trepidation, the girl replied.

"My name's Haisley," she said. "We're going to Ward 8 -- it's the only place in Zepan where nobody goes, ever."

"Okay…" Ruth said slowly. "Why?"

She'd meant to ask why nobody went to Ward 8, but Haisley seemed to think she'd been asking why they were going there in the first place. For a moment, the girl frowned -- surely it being empty was reason enough -- before she took another deep breath, found another answer, and spoke it aloud.

"I want you to help me kill Zephyr Pandershi," Haisley said.

"Why, One Star," Zephyr Pandershi said, putting a hand on her hip. "You're uncharacteristically empty-handed."

One Star looked up as he ascended the great staircase into the fortress Auberon. The main headquarters of the Pandershi Foundation was only accessible through the grand antechamber that was Ward 1 -- and this grand staircase, which from the bottom seemed to stretch up into infinity, made quite the impression on the citizens there. It was the dream of every Ward 1 resident to be invited into Auberon -- perhaps to join the Seelie Rangers -- and make that climb themselves.

Those same Seelie Rangers stood guard along the stairway, two on each fifth step, forming a corridor of human bodies. They were clad in suits of white spandex, with bug-like helmets covering their heads, their military stances exact and precise. Those Aether-users that developed naturally on Nehr Müt were invited to join the Seelie Rangers, the bulk of the Pandershi Foundation's military force, and trained to perfection in martial arts and weapons usage.

From the moment they began their gruelling training, the glory of the Pandershi Foundation was drilled into them. They fought with perfect loyalty to Zepan, and they fought with perfect faith in their Director. For them, it was no doubt the ultimate honour to be posted along the esteemed staircase like this.

For One Star, however, this was simply his commute. He liked taking the stairs rather than the hidden elevator -- there was something mythic about striding up the steps to the huge doors, cloak swishing behind him, which he quite enjoyed. Pandershi clearly knew that too -- hence why she'd been waiting here for him.

The Director had appeared in one of her younger forms, a girl with puffy white-and-orange pigtails. She raised an eyebrow as One Star approached. He stopped before he reached the top of the staircase, so they were at eye-level as they spoke.

"Alas," he said. "Things didn't go quite as I expected. It wasn't the variants that had attacked the transport, but rather Mr. Atoy Muzazi. I engaged him, but he managed to escape."

Pandershi frowned. "Escape how?"

"Why, he disappeared right in front of me. Some sort of ability, no doubt. A dolphin was involved. I searched the area, but he was nowhere to be found."

Pandershi sighed, putting a hand against her forehead. "Ugh… it's not ideal to have that man running around causing trouble. I was hoping he'd die quickly and I wouldn't have to factor him in for future decisions."

"I'm sure your decisions will be correct all the same," One Star said kindly. "That's why you're our Director, after all."

He reached over and patted the Extension before him on the head. If that bothered Pandershi any, she didn't show it -- she just put her knuckles to her mouth, deep in thought. One Star only withdrew his hand when he saw that they weren't alone here.

"Oh my," he chuckled. "Now there's a nostalgic sight."

Niain drifted out from behind a pillar, a matching smile already on his face. He was quite the novelty in Auberon -- in this shining palace of white, the sheer blackness of his hair and eyes and cloak made him seem like a living inkstain. Before the great doors of Auberon, Niain was the only shadow.

"Wow," Niain replied cheerfully. "Of all the places to find my former instructor… I expected you'd look much older by now, haha!"

Indeed, as Henri the Glutton's right hand, One Star had been a constant presence on the Sheshanaga during Niain's youth -- although the vibes he'd given off had been much different back then. Among others, he'd also served as a combat instructor for several of Henri's children, Lämen and Crati and Niain and so many more. Niain liked to think he'd advanced beyond mere swordsmanship at this point, but One Star's teachings had certainly formed the foundation of his combat skills.

And now here he stood before Niain again -- and, just like Niain, he hadn't aged a day. In fact, he probably looked younger than he had during his time as a Sous Chef. The only sign of his advanced age would probably be those hands he kept hidden under gloves.

Niain suppressed a smirk at the thought of the haggard claws.

"I could say the same for you," One Star mirrored his cheer. "I have the Director's anti-aging surgery to thank for that… but I don't believe that's the case for you, is it, sir?"

"The thought of someone else poking around in my body gives me the shivers," Niain put a hand over his heart. "So I do all the poking around personally. I basically have all the benefits of being a corpse and a living person combined at this point, haha. It's so cool."

"Well, I hope you being like that hasn't dulled your sword skills," One Star replied. "I took such care teaching you, after all. Your father would be saddened."

"Mm-hmm, okay," Pandershi scowled, her eyes flicking towards One Star's lowered hand. "Yes, you know each other, we're all aware."

Pandershi's face was sour as she looked between Niain and One Star. Both of them had dealt with her enough to know that she became anxious and unhappy when she was not the subject of a conversation, or at the very least was not the one dictating the subject. When Zephyr Pandershi was among others, all those others must orbit her. Anything else would invite her irritation -- and to persist with that irritation would invite retribution later, whether passive-aggressive or just plain aggressive.

Both Niain and One Star knew well how to deal with that quirk of personality.

"Well, a reunion like this is only possible because of your own eye for talent, haha," Niain smiled. "Did you learn about me through One Star, or was it the other way around?"

Pandershi smirked, waving a hand. "Nonsense. I learnt about both of you at the same time. I don't do my research piecemeal. One Star has been in my employ for a long while -- and then, once you escaped the Sheshanaga, I judged it was the ideal time to make contact."

"Ah, I see!" Niain clapped his hands. "How prudent!"

"It's saddening that the intruders were able to evade capture," One Star said as the three of them walked through the great doors into Auberon proper. "But there are greater labours before us still. Tell me, ma'am -- have we made any progress in locating the Sagittarius?"

"The exterior cameras tracked each Aether signature as they went flying," Pandershi explained with relish, walking at the front of the pack. "We've been tracking down the variants one by one and confirming their characteristics. It's only a matter of time until the Sagittarius is located."

"I don't want to be a nag, haha," Niain said, black cloak dragging along the white floor behind him. "But how much time do we really have to search? Once we capture the Sagittarius, you'll need to finish analyzing it, and then I'll need to go through the construction process. That could take a good little while. Meanwhile, the UAP and the Supremacy will be doing their best to get here as quickly as possible. I'm thinking we might get interrupted, no?"

Pandershi dismissed his concerns with another wave of her hand. "The early warning systems will tell us when any lightpoint-equipped ship is one jump away, and Zepan's shielding can withstand a siege for weeks. It doesn't matter who shows up, or how many people they bring. They simply can't do anything in time."

"Splendid," One Star said, turning to Niain. "Preparations are well in hand, as you've just heard, sir. The birth of a new god has become an inevitability."

"That's your wish, too, One Star?" Niain cocked his head. "What do you get out of it?"

"As a knight, the wishes of my liege lord are my wishes too," One Star replied calmly. "I can think of nothing better than the fruition of her grand dreams."

When Pandershi spoke next, even though it sounded like another response to Niain's earlier qualms, it was clear that she was laying out the future for herself more than anyone else.

"We will acquire the Sagittarius in due time," she said, voice low. "We will acquire its essence in due time. We will replicate its being in due time. In due time, in due time, in due time… we will be victorious. We're already victorious -- there isn't anything anyone can do anymore. We simply have to wait…"

She giggled.

"...and let everything fall into our hands."

His mind existed on the edge. The moment before the drawn-out end. A sword coming down. His heartbeat dancing in agony. A sword coming down.

Dying!

Dying!

He was dying!

Muzazi woke with a start, his sharp gasp like a gunshot in the confined space. His body was covered in sweat and aching from what he'd put it though -- but, he noticed immediately, someone had already applied fresh bandages. He looked around wildly.

It seemed he was in the basement of some building, probably still within the city-ring. He imagined Zepan proper would be more advanced than this dusty old place. A makeshift bed of torn curtains and towels had been made on the floor beneath him, and -- above -- a single lightbulb weakly flickered.

Steadying his breathing, Muzazi put a hand to his head. That was when he heard it.

"Bad dreams? You passed out from your injuries, so I wasn't sure how long you'd be out. At any rate, welcome back to the world of the living."

That voice.

That voice.

Slowly, Muzazi turned to look at the person who'd spoken.

Dragan Hadrien.

He looked different from the last time Muzazi had seen him. Rather than the white cloak he'd worn as Supreme, he was wearing a black cossack with a white band around the neck. More than that, though, he'd clearly been injured. One of his eyes was covered by a large black eyepatch, with a silver design like a dolphin gleaming over it.

That in itself was strange. Given Hadrien's regeneration, it should have been impossible for him to suffer an injury that required an eyepatch long-term. Of course, Muzazi wasn't thinking of any of that. He wasn't thinking about anything at all.

All he was doing… was acting.

He moved without hesitation. Atoy Muzazi ignited his Radiant and threw himself out of the bed in an instant -- and before he could so much as blink, he was holding Dragan Hadrien up against the wall by the throat, light-blade ready to sever his head from his body. Hadrien looked right back at him, blue eye wide in shock.

"Any last words?" Muzazi growled, voice low.

Hadrien's eye flicked down towards the blade of light that could end his life with just the slightest movement. "I take it we don't get along?" he replied quietly.

Muzazi felt his blood boil. It was a miracle he didn't push the blade in there and then. After all of this, after everything that had happened, this bastard was making jokes?

Hadrien kept speaking, though.

"Listen," he said slowly, lifting his hands in surrender. "I know this must sound unbelievable… but I'm not the Dragan Hadrien you know. The name I've taken is Brother Wyrm. I'm part of the Final Church, Superbian branch. I even have ID, if you'd let me get it --"

"Not a chance." Muzazi's voice was murderously quiet.

"-- okay, okay," Hadrien lifted his fingers placatingly.

It was only then that Muzazi registered the eyepatch on the man's face, and considered the implications. His scowl softened into a mere frown, and his Radiant moved just the tiniest bit further away from Hadrien's neck. It could barely even be called relenting, and yet he cursed himself for it all the same.

Still far too naive, Atoy Muzazi.

"Start explaining things, then, Brother Wyrm," Muzazi demanded. "And pray that I believe you.*

"We're here," said Haisley, opening the hatch above and climbing up and out of sight.

At some point during their expedition through the bowels of Nehr Müt, they'd moved out of the old spy tunnels -- through a blasted hole -- and into what seemed to be the maintenance network for Zepan. It made sense that such a sealed environment would need a way to quickly get around to repair systems -- but it seemed like whoever performed those tasks were probably automatics, considering how cramped the tunnels still were.

Ruth followed up after the scrawny girl, climbing the ladder.

"So," she called upwards. "This is Ward 8?"

"That's right!" Haisley's voice echoed downwards. It seemed like she wasn't concerned about making noise anymore. Her shadow was peeled away from Ruth's face as she climbed through a door at the top of the ladder.

Ruth followed a moment later, and almost wished she hadn't.

The place beyond, Ward 8, was darker than she could have ever believed. It was even worse than the eternal night outside Zepan -- here, it was more like the sky itself had disappeared entirely. Without the lantern Haisley was holding and a few string-lights Ruth could see here and there, they would have been in complete darkness in this massive space.

Eerily enough, the few things Ruth could see as they walked -- plastic prefabricated buildings and shiny smooth streets -- were absolutely pristine. There was no damage, no decay. It was as if one day, someone had just turned out the lights and everyone had vanished. A shiver went down her spine.

What happened here?

Ruth almost asked that, but she thought better of it -- because, when she'd looked down at that same moment, she'd seen the telltale dark red crust. She'd seen it enough times to know what dried blood looked like. The more she looked, the more she found, old puddles drifting past again and again as they walked down the hollow streets.

Puddles.

Rivers.

An ocean -- an ocean of dried blood, creeping out of the darkness.

Ruth swallowed as she looked out at the sea of crimson stains, and her nose twitched as it took in the stink of old death. There was no happy story here… so, for now, she didn't ask. She'd already heard enough unhappy stories to last a lifetime.

Even if she had asked, though, Haisley would not have told her. The horror had long ago been hidden behind a wall inside the girl's brain. But, if Ruth Blaine had asked anyone else in Zepan, they surely would have told her. They would have told her of the deaths of countless men, women, and children. They would have told her of the single crime that, four years ago, reminded this planet what terror was.

Yes… anyone in Zepan would have told her.

They would have told her of the senseless massacre of Ward 8 -- at the hands of the demonic swordsman, Nigen Rush.