Chapter 21: The Weight of a Universe
The citadel's plaza was a tombstone for their victory. The cheers of the dream-soldiers had faded, replaced by the grim sounds of triage and repair. The air, once cleansed by the reality pulse, now tasted of dust and despair.
Kael sat on a chunk of shattered crystal, head in his hands. He wasn't crying. He was too hollow for tears. The image of Talia being swallowed by the darkness played on a loop behind his eyes, each time punctuated by the Lady's taunt. You let her go.
Juno stood nearby, arms wrapped tightly around herself. She'd tried to talk to him, her words a jumble of frantic comfort and furious plans for revenge, but they'd bounced off the wall of his grief. She finally just sat beside him, her shoulder pressed against his, a silent testament that he wasn't alone. Calyx moved efficiently nearby, using his healing talents on the wounded, but his sharp eyes kept flicking back to his two charges with uncharacteristic concern.
"We'll get her back," Juno whispered, her voice hoarse. It was the tenth time she'd said it, more to convince herself than him. "We'll find a way. We always do."
Kael didn't respond. What way? They'd just thrown everything they had at the enemy and barely survived. The enemy had taken what it wanted and left.
Suddenly, the air around them… thickened.
The sounds of the plaza muted, as if someone had thrown a blanket over the world. The light distorted, bending towards a single point in front of them. A figure coalesced from nothing—not the hooded mentor, and not one of the radiant leaders. This was something else.
It was a being of pure, shimmering silver, its form humanoid but fluid, like a statue made of mercury under starlight. It had no face, only a smooth, placid surface where its features should be. It radiated an aura of immense, calm power that was entirely different from the violent energy of battle or the cold intellect of the Lady.
Juno shot to her feet, crystals instantly forming around her fists. "Back off, shiny!"
Calyx was at their side in an instant, his medical kit swapped for a small, sharp blade of dream-steel he produced from nowhere. "Identify yourself," he demanded, his voice flat and dangerous.
The being ignored them. It turned its blank face toward Kael.
"Kael," it spoke. Its voice was not a sound, but a vibration that resonated directly in their minds, harmonious and utterly alien. "You have been chosen again."
Kael slowly lifted his head, the profound emptiness in his chest making him numb to the fear he should have felt. "Chosen for what?"
"The forces of Creation and Destruction have convened. The fusion of Astral Flow and the Cataclysm Force is necessary to strike at the heart of the corruption. You are the designated conduit."
The words meant nothing to Juno, but their gravity was unmistakable. "Designated what? What is it talking about, Kael?"
The messenger continued, its thought-voice devoid of emotion. "You will be granted power beyond your current comprehension. Power that could unmake worlds. Your task will be to wield it with precision to eradicate the corruption's core and retrieve your companion."
"What's the catch?" Kael asked, his voice dead. He knew there was one. There was always a catch.
"The power is not meant for a mortal vessel," the messenger stated simply. "To channel it is to risk your own annihilation. Body, mind, and spirit. The choice to accept this burden is yours."
The silence that followed was absolute. Juno's crystals dissolved, her hands dropping to her sides. Her face was a mask of utter horror. "No… No, you can't! You can't ask him to do that! There has to be another way!"
Calyx was staring at the messenger, his usual smirk replaced by a look of stark, clinical understanding. "A cosmic catastrophe . They're making him a bomb."
The messenger offered no comfort, no argument. It simply waited.
Kael looked from Juno's terrified face to the placid, silver form. The hollow ache in his chest was suddenly filled with a cold, sharp purpose. It wasn't about power. It wasn't about being a hero. It was about Talia.
He stood up. "I'll do it."
"KAEL, NO!" Juno screamed, grabbing his arm.
He gently pried her hand off. His eyes, when he looked at her, were no longer empty. They were burning with a terrifying resolve. "It's the only way to get to her. I don't care about the risk."
The silver messenger gave a single, slow nod. "The fusion will be prepared. You will be summoned when it is time." With that, it dissolved back into the light, the sounds of the plaza rushing back in as if someone had unmuted the world.
Juno was hyperventilating, tears streaming down her face. "You can't! You'll die! She wouldn't want you to do this!"
"It's my choice," Kael said, his voice firm. He turned to Calyx. "You said the corruption's realm is separate. How do we get there before I have to become a cosmic bomb?"
Calyx studied him for a long moment, then let out a slow breath. "There's a way. A stupid, suicidal way." He pointed toward the farthest, darkest edge of the Dream Continent, beyond the repaired walls, where the light of the cities faded into wild, untamed dreamstuff. "The Outlands. The rules there are thin. The barriers between our realm and the corrupted one are… permeable. If we go deep enough, the corruption's pull might be strong enough to drag us right into its heart."
Juno stared at him in horror. "You want to just… walk into the nightmare?"
"It's a plan," Kael said, a grim, determined set to his jaw. "We're not waiting for them to summon me. We're taking the fight to her. We find Talia, and we get her out. The bomb… that's the last resort."
He looked at his two friends—one radiating terrified loyalty, the other grim acceptance. They had lost a piece of their trio. Now, armed with a terrible power he didn't yet have and a desperate plan, they were going to get her back.
The weight of a universe was on his shoulders, but all he could feel was the weight of her absence. And he would move any universe to end it.