"For the sake of the dream, for the sake of shattering that dream..."
***
"The answer is obvious. It is- "
The moment's pause seemed to stretch out like a rubber band. Kalzin found himself holding his breath as he awaited the answer. His heart had been hammering in his chest loud enough he feared those present could hear it clear as a bell, the rushing of blood in his ears like a tremendous waterfall.
He was sitting around the camp-fire, a place he was familiar with, in a forest he had grown up frolicking within. But in the presence of these strange beings, and their strange talks, he felt like nothing more than an insect. He locked eyes with his brother, a flash of unspoken communication assuaging him that at least he was not alone.
The nobleman, 'Plutarch Cavitus', was enraptured by the conversation, while his taciturn guard still stood poised and ready, though the sheen of sweat on his forehead belied his nervousness. At last the shrill voice spoke, though its form remained shrouded in the dark from his eyes. What could it be, such a terrible creature, to speak of the destruction of the world so easily?
"It is to simply destroy the abyss! Inescapable doom? There is no such thing for me. For I am the Doom from which none can escape!"
The bold proclamation that destroyed the very premise of the question would have seemed arrogant and prideful, but in that moment, it felt much more like a promise. A shiver ran down Kalzin's spine.
The last flickerings of doubt he held were quickly fading away. The doubt that perhaps these simply were the ramblings of insane travellers. That what they spoke of were nothing but the addled imaginations of a damaged mind.
We don't belong here...
But they were moths caught up in the hurricane caused by a raging dragon, swept up in its inescapable current. Amidst his internal turmoil, he did not notice the Voyager's attention fall upon him briefly, assessing, before turning away.
Even a carp can evolve if it is propelled over the mythical Gate, so too can a mortal become something far greater than himself.
In another era, perhaps...
The Voyager thought to himself. He turned back to Ziriothrax, whose starlit carapace oozed with rage and the arrogance to crush the lofty heavens beneath his feet.
"An arrogant answer, perhaps," he mused. "As for its verity, well, I have no authority on that subject. That is something you shall have to discover for yourself. When the time comes, and all your preparations fall short, only then can it be known. The being called Ziriothrax, what is he truly made of?"
Jeffbob chose this moment to emerge from his catatonic state, the rumbling bass of his voice dispelling the tension like a hot knife through butter.
"You have teased the little cricket enough, would you not say, Voyager? Perhaps it is time we got to the nexus of the matter."
Letting out a brief chuckle, he held up both hands in mock surrender.
"Fine, fine. Well there really is not much to it. This place is a lighthouse for people like us, for Wanderers to this strange world. I am merely its keeper."
He shrugged, before continuing.
"The role of a lighthouse is to be a ward, a mark of danger. A solitary star whose bright light turns all those who see it away, into safer waters. I can say only one thing, lest the eyes that bleed see once more: what it is you seek, that core of your very being, Jeffbob the Bobjeff. You will find clues to it here, but just remember. Sometimes, that which is hidden is hidden for a reason, and not every Seal should be broken, for fear of what might be released."
Ziriothrax's antennae twitched as he listened in, his countless, layered minds cataloguing and cross-referencing every statement. Jeffbob pondered the words deeply, nodding glacially with a stern expression on his equine face.
"I thank you, Voyager. You have done me a great service. Please, let me repay you."
"No, no," the Voyager held up a hand and shook his head softly. "A debt has merely been repaid, even if- well, no matter."
"Then I shall not press the matter any further, and take your kindness in the spirit it was given. For such is the way of Vegetable-kind!"
Jeffbob bowed his head solemnly. Bringing it back up, he added one final thing.
"Let me just say one thing, Voyager. That place where the Sun Sets, it is not a holy place. It is a living graveyard, one that cannot be found from within. You who came from beyond like only one man before you, must break free. You must awaken! Shatter the Pyramid of Dreams!"
The words were accompanied by a crisp shattering sound that hid what was said from all those present. Even Ziriothrax found himself straining against it, but where previously he could notice what was hidden, this time it was beyond even him. Only the Voyager appeared to understand the words, and the deeper meaning within.
An uncharacteristically solemn look on his face, he nodded as if to accept that a burden he had already held was truly his alone. The truth that he saw, that image burned into his mind. A desert world, filled with broken ruins and endless sand. And a single man clad in a brown robe, staring down at him from the peak of a pyramid, before disappearing like a hazy mirage.
He found himself chuckling.
"Well, after eternities of boredom, finally a glimmer of something exciting shines on the horizon. For the both of us, it seems. And yet the threads that intersect cannot intertwine. We leave on our own paths, though I see that they will cross once again. If not soon, then at least at that final singularity. Until next time."
"Until next time, Voyager. Let it be sooner rather than later."
Ziriothrax appeared to want to interject, but his maliciousness was cut short. The bonfire before them blazed, as if someone had doused it with a flammable liquid. As the tongues of flame that reached vainly towards the starry sky died down, the figure of the Voyager, clad in brown robes and blindfolded, had vanished, as if he were never there.