Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Consequences

Ryun was thrown out of the hole in space, the power of Ra’azel’s Soul baring his path. He felt his body burning, injuries on his body screaming from where the portal had collapsed on him.

With a subconscious thought he willed the pain to END. Then Selia was next to him, and he felt new Essence being created, filling in the gaps in his body, repairing him.

Their world broke around them, the Dark Forest disappearing and the floating Island that was their battlefield reappearing. His vessel felt heavy, and his Authority kept expanding while the vessel remained the same. The sheer size of his being was growing at an incredible rate, as were those of Selia and Erdania—he could feel them.

He had made a Way for his own Being, his own Soul. He had gathered his entire existence and gave it a precise meaning. He was the End. He expanded to encompass the entire flying Island. Then they expanded beyond it.

Their beings interacted with each other, but he could feel the conflicting ideas. He understood that they couldn’t interact fully. The only reason they weren’t hurting each other was that they all had a single common thread, True Death. They were Concepts that were opposed, with perhaps only Erdania serving as a bridge between them.

Their density, their being, the authority of their existence stretched until it covered the entire territory, then expanded beyond it. They were still changing, becoming something else, evolving. This was not complete.

Ryun focused his mind, as much as he could under the onslaught of the changes, and tried to open the portal through which Ra’azel had escaped. But he did not create, so he tried to find a way that the concept of the End could get him what he desired. Willpower billowed through every piece of him, shaking the Essences within his Authority.

Suddenly, as his being stretched to cover the sky and into the Void above, as he felt a pull from the world beyond, a notification rammed itself through his filters.

Ascension initiated—Heavenly Gate Descending

Stolen story; please report.

Axiom of the End acknowledged.

Warning—Oath not present!

Warning—Image not present!

Error—Error—

—Overseer override—

Ascension canceled

Between one instant and another, everything came crashing down. In one moment, he was a being of a vast power, he was the End. And in the next, he was once again small.

A moment later, he was in a dark place, with no sound, with no sense of Essence around him. His sight was returned to him, and his being stuffed back into a vessel, his human body.

He sat at a table, with a figure sitting across from him covered in black cloth with a hood raised. Darkness stared back at him from within. The moment he realized where he was, the being’s presence was expected.

What was not expected, however, was that he was not alone. Two more chairs were next to him, and as he turned he saw Selia and Erdania.

“Two iterations of Reality,” the Dealmaker started. “And in both you find ways to deviate from the intended path. I should not be surprised, yet I am.”

Ryun reached to the side and took Selia’s hand in his, and she did the same with Erdania on the other end.

Then he turned back to look at the Dealmaker, waiting to hear what fate had in store for them.

Zha Miya looked at the screens, her entire being shivering. She had managed to interfere in time. It was a close thing, she didn’t know what would’ve happened if the Heavens were opened now, before they were fully formed. Only five, well, technically six, Ways were in existence. That could not be nearly enough to make the Heavens stable in any shape of form. If it had been opened…

She pushed her thoughts aside, it was no longer necessary for her to dwell on it.

“Overseer,” a voice of a startled operator said. She had pushed him out of the way and accessed the terminal on his console.

She glanced at Marg’har, then spoke.

“Apologies, I had to interfere.”

Marg’har gave her a shaky nod, and she allowed herself to relax. Everything was good now, there was nothing to worry about.

“Overseer, where, uh, where are they?”

“The Dealmaker will handle the situation personally,” she answered.

It could’ve been very bad, cataclysmic scale bad. If her instincts were correct, a deviation of such magnitude at this stage would’ve probably spurred the Three to just reset everything, start again from scratch instead of trying to repair the damage.

“Uh,” Marg’har’s voice drew her attention and halted her spiraling thoughts. “The future projections are back.”

Zha Miya blinked and then turned to a different screen, pulling the projections that had been silent for a long while up.

She saw that Marg’har was correct, they were back. She could see the probability of the events that could happen.

“Ah,” she said as she realized what the issue had been. It was never about Ra’azel, it was what his actions would cause. The projections went black once the certainty of the Heavens opening became the only option. It had to have happened during the battle between Ra’azel and Zacharia. His Time reversal had to have rapidly changed projections, enough so that they hadn’t seen any sign of this coming.

Or perhaps it was the possibility of the Three interfering themselves. That would’ve broken any projections they had too.

She shook her head, glad that they had diverted the disaster. Even if they would have to make adjustments to the plan. The three had gained Axioms, and she had to wait and see what the Dealmaker wanted to do.

This was far above her level of responsibility.