The air hummed gently, as though the gentle voices of many people, frozen mid speech. Dust flew through the air wildly, the earth broken and shattered. Nekea's eyes slowly opened as a voice like the impersonation of Earth itself, spoke.
"Herald, awaken."
She slowly raised herself, and her eyes met the bone-chilling sight ahead of her.
The entity was like many beings warped into one. Nekea couldn't compare it to anything she had seen in her life. It levitated, slightly above the ground. It had many faces; some masculine, some feminine. Bodily reactions took over, and Nekea began to shake and shiver, as though she were about to die. She gripped her hands hard, but to no avail. They continued to shake even more. Her eyes were locked on to the entity, unblinking. She feared that it would make an unprecedented move in the darkness.
The entity had many arms. Nekea counted eight of them, long and powerful. Four of them spread out radially, two of them were crossed over its torso, and two of them hung down. It's body was black, with dark red veins, lining its body. It wore a long robe that flowed within space, oblivious to air currents. Upon each of its faces, crimson eyes stood, so red that they seemed to consume her. A cold, authoritative expression stood on its face. Staring at it, she remembered. The entity had appeared in one of her dreams.
She watched the entity, and one pair of red eyes locked on to her sharply.
Nekea's heart lurched.
The entity spoke, its voice deep and authoritative, from every one of its faces.
"Herald, I am a servant of the One, whose name I am not worthy to mention. My name is Naab'al li ruq'."
Nekea's breaths became hoarser as she listened. The entity's voice seemed to command the wind itself.
"Do not fear, child of dust. I am a mere servant. I cannot act against my Master's will. No harm shall pass to you through me."
Her heart slowed down within her chest, and the shaking ceased, suddenly. A strange calm set over her, and her neck was free once more.
Naab'al li ruq went on.
"I have been sent to bring you to the One, my Master, the destroyer of Chaos. You have obeyed her instructions, and she wishes to see you. Be elated, for you are highly favored. There are many who cannot even behold her voice."
Nekea listened keenly, her eyes focused on Naab'al li ruq'.
She turned slowly and spied her surroundings.
Nekea saw great structures that pierced the grey skies, made of metal and glass. Many lay in ruins. Thick, dark clouds coloured the sky a mournful grey.
The ground was broken and cracked, and the structures were laid out to the sides, as though it were a road.
All these sights were alien to Nekea, as the dust blowing in the wind, whizzed past her ears.
Everything felt real. Either that, or her senses had gone haywire.
"Herald."
Her mind was suddenly drawn to the entity, Naab'al li ruq', and she turned to face him.
"Follow me. I will lead you into her light.", it said.
Nekea obeyed. Her survival instincts raged, but she didn't utter a word.
In a sudden movement, Naab'al li ruq' took her up, her dress billowing in the world's wind. With a quick blast, they sped through the skies. They seemed to cross entire worlds as they flew. Nekea's chest tightened as her frame coursed through the sky, alongside the large entity.
Nekea wasn't expecting to be so high in the skies, flying faster than the speed of sound. She cried out desperately trying to control herself. Naab'al li ruq' directed her movements alongside him.
Everything whizzed past her in a blur, yet at the same time entire scenes were formed.
Nekea saw whole cities of metal breaking down and collapsing into dust. Children dancing together like lights in the sky, suddenly disappeared. The sky folded in on itself as they tore through it, a thin trail of clouds in their wake.
Nekea could feel the air violently blowing past her, however, she remained unharmed.
Beside her, the large Naab'al li ruq flew. Each of it's faces unfazed. It's crimson eyes seemed to tear through the air before it's body reached it. Pulsating with a deep power that set the air in vibration, as his dark robes fluttered behind him.
Nekea could feel the surges of power coming from him, even as they moved at breakneck speed. It kept surging past her, splaying out and filling the air behind them.
They broke through the thick clouds, and a blinding light fell on Nekea. Not from a sun. But something else at the center of a titanic halo. It was absolutely radiant, with a light that warmed her pale skin and cut into her soul. She drew her arms ahead of her, trying to block the light, and trails of air and light splayed through.
As they flew towards the light, Nekea realized that the source was closer than it seemed. A mountain began to form on the horizon. It grew larger and larger as they approached, becoming titanic as they reached it. It sat above the clouds, a sphere of light surrounding its peak.
Naab'al li ruq' directed them to one of its sides. Slowing down, they landed on the rockface.
The light illuminated its dark body, even making it difficult for Nekea to stare at him.
Naab'al il ruq began to move towards the top of the mountain. The wind blew against her and she struggled to keep up with Naab'al li ruq'.
Naab'al li ruq spoke as he moved, his voice seamlessly reaching Nekea's ears.
"Before us is the One. Her great light fills this realm."
They approached the mountaintop.
The light grew brighter.
The wind blew stronger.
Naab'al li ruq' drew closer to her.
They reached the top of the mountain.
Naab'al li ruq' suddenly covered her with a dark veil.
"No mortal may endure the One's light.", it said ominously.
The source of the light was revealed.
Nekea could see a figure seated at the edge of the mountaintop.
It was a woman.
The brightness of the light had reduced, but only slightly.
Nekea watched in fearful anticipation. The awe had died away. In its place, a deep dreadful fear was. The sort of fear, that rang with the futility of struggle against impending death.
"Prepare yourself. The One speaks."
Naab'al li ruq's voice rung within Nekea's mind.
It slowly prostrated its frame, still sticking close to Nekea, as though anything could happen to her at any moment.
Her eyes wide in anticipation, she could only imagine what lay ahead of her.
There was a long pause.
Suddenly, the entity spoke.
"Child, do you fear me?"
Her voice ran past Nekea's ears, rather permeating her very spirit. It eliminated every thought. Time and space shook, their foundations breaking apart. The fear in her heart, abounded.
"Y-Yes. I fear you.", she responded.
The One spoke.
"So should it be, child."
Nekea stood eyes wide, staring at the entity called the One. Her spirit began to shiver within her.
"Whatever you take me to be, I am beyond those things. I do not conform to them."
The One spoke with an authority that made the earth shudder.
She went on.
"I know you, child. Nekea, is your name. You were born to nobility that rejected your wonderful gift and treated you poorly. A mere woman, so they saw you. A lump of human-looking flesh, with a semi-functional brain, and a vessel for creating children. That is what they took you to be."
The air itself upon the mountain, stood still, seemingly listening as the One spoke. Nekea continued to stare. Every truth from the entity's mouth hit her hard. Her chest began to tighten in shock.
"Dejected, and desiring nothing but knowledge, you fled from them. Away from a life of slavery, to a life of freedom. You dedicated yourself, absorbing every mystery of the world. Finding power within space itself, you drew from it, and began to use it."
Nekea's mouth hung open as she listened. Her fingers began to twitch uncontrollably.
"You rescued a lost soul, and she became very dear to your heart. As a child is, to her mother."
Roe'nika, Nekea thought, her heart pounding.
"A little time past, you rescued another beautiful soul. The one with the amber eyes. And with that soul, came something of mine."
The One's tone remained constant as she spoke. Her voice was above everything. Nekea knew who she spoke of.
"He has been seeking me for millennia before your time. My heart cries out to him, and he responds, even as the chaos of the world etches away at his strength."
The One's voice became slightly distressed. As though there was a pain gnawing at her heart. Her light continued to shine seamlessly, the veil protecting Nekea from its intensity.
"Naab'al li ruq'", the One announced.
Naab'al li ruq slowly turned, its back facing the One, and moved right in front of Nekea.
Its large frame imposing, it said.
"Turn, for you cannot behold her countenance."
Nekea stared at him, wondering, and obeyed.
Naab'al li ruq' covered her face with its arms.
Her heart pounded in her chest with a deep anticipation, and fear.
In a single moment, a wave of energy and radiant energy burst across the mountain. Nekea could feel the energy clawing at her little body.
The sudden luminosity poured around Naab'al li ruq's dark frame like a raging river. She grit her teeth and clenched her chest. It felt as though her own energy was drawing away from her, being pulled away to a greater, more perfect source.
A deep feverishness built up within her, as her legs grew weaker.
"The One faces us", Naab'al li ruq said, his voice calm within the storm of light.
Nekea couldn't believe it.
A powerful entity shielded her.
A veil that dimmed reality itself was upon her.
Her back was turned to the One.
It still felt like she was going to die.
Perhaps this was the reason for Naab'al li ruq's presence.
Without him, Nekea would certainly be dead.
"Nekea" The voice rang, deafening. The mountain shook even more now than when her back was turned. The One's voice sounded with pure authority.
Nekea now realized why there was a great light ahead of the One as she spoke with her.
The One continued, commanding, authority and power pouring all around Nekea.
"I have deemed you my Herald. I shall speak through you to my Chosen one. The fragments of Chaos shall be mine. He shall collect every one of them and burn Chaos in the fire of non-existence. I shall delight in Chaos' pain."
A sound like laughter came from the One, like a scream of creation itself.
The mountain began to crumble beneath Nekea's feet with the sound of the One's voice. Naab'al li ruq' stood strong, holding Nekea to itself. The sky began to tear apart, leaving behind a vast emptiness.
"Hear me, Herald. The rabid dog shall turn into a harmless mutt. The snakes will be tread upon. Their venom nullified. The great tree shall cut down and burned. Its fruits will be destroyed. My Chosen one will show the world no mercy, and will rend the darkness from its back, violently. He shall return to me and I shall be one with him."
The mountain crumbled away completely, great rock breaking into mere dust. The air shook with vibrations of its destruction. Nekea felt her bones withering within her. Her mind was slowly going blank.
"Laa'in yos has spoken."
Nekea was violently pulled away into a warp. Naab'al li ruq, disappeared in the light.
She suddenly woke up in her sanctum, her two servants looking up in shock.
She suddenly felt it.
A pair of blue eyes looked down on her, from the Workstone.