The air on the peak of the mountain shifted from stillness, seemingly vibrating alive with energy as the Three centered their upon the stone altar. A dim, yet richly nourished hue began to emanate from the altar; thrumming just abound the very atoms that composed it. A single second's reprieve stretched onward to an unseeming infinity as the energies within the atmosphere around the altar were quelled for but an instant; almost though the Mountain itself was bearing witness to an event not seen since it had begun to rise upward. Anduro, Ksenxi and Aitu Xiore raised their right hands to face the altar. Lee looked on from behind the safety of the Paragon of Threshold's cloak as he noticed the ground beneath them begin to tremble.
"Hey; my actualization isn't going to cost anyone their lives in the aftershocks of that tectonic shift, is it," Lee asked with a fair amount of worry. His Paragon offered as much reassurance:
"This realm has long since been abandoned, else we likely would not have needed to awaken the leylines if even a single living thing remained therein. The power of soul had left this place..." As his words faded before they could come. Ksenxi followed him up on the absence of interchange.
"So we had to revitalize it, or bring it back. Depends on your perspective. By the by, this tremor was neither the result of a tectonic shift, nor is it going to last much longer."
Surely as she said, a moment was all it took before the quaking ceased. Not a faultline buckled, not a grain of dust on the surface miles below them was shifted from its original position. More than that, the stone altar now glowed with the same incandescent illumination which shimmered around Time's Keeper. Anduro, Ksenxi and Aitu Xiore bent down upon their knees; almost reverently, Lee inferred silently. Anduro, seemingly on queue, stood up first to explain.
"This is our birthplace. In a time almost certainly forgotten to this realm, it was in a state of devastation, rather than its current state of desolation. At that time, while the rest of the world teetered on the brink of ruin at the instability wrought by both foreign incursions and internal strife, as well as what can only be described as 'Misbegotten Causality' gone awry; at that time, there were three humans who made a pilgrimage to this place in desperation, on behalf of the rest of their species, and all sapient life.
"There was an elderly scholar, who had spent his twilight years wandering untold lands of mystery, intrigue and mystique only to return to a homeland ruined, and falling further into disrepair by the moments passing themselves by. All his wisdom accumulated over an impossible lifetime could not impede oblivion's encroachment upon his home, and was ultimately forced to flee in shame, humility and grief. He had lost his wife, his son, his community, and almost lost his sense of belonging before being compelled to travel Eastward.
"Secondly was a practitioner of medicine, having wandered from wasted city to desolate village to abandoned homestead, and everywhere in between. Aggregated therein her mind was untold amounts of medical knowledge entailing herbs, physiology, toxicology, immunology and everything around and in between said fields of knowledge. She had lost her twin sister, a husband, and two children, before the last village she attempted to save perished. It was not for her lack of trying, or that her knowledge was flawed, but ultimately she found herself dragging her feet to the West soon afterwards.
"Lastly, there was a child. This child was almost wholly insignificant. He had been born with poison blood that would see its vessel dead before it reached the age of ten, and had been bedridden for the first three years of his already short life. He did however, in spite of his blood's toxicity, contain an unparalleled compassion for all living things under the sun, and a desire to learn. One day, he had awoken at the age of seven, to find every other living thing in his home city of Farroneia, lifelessly inert, sprawled across the streets. He knew not how it had happened, or how he found the strength to do so, but he got out of his bed, walked down the hallway, opened the front door... and he ran for the North."
Anduro permitted a moment of silence after mentioning the child, but the City he mentioned caught Lee's attention. After holding the question for a few seconds out of respect, he asked:
"Your Brother first designated me as a Child of Farroneia back in... I think you called it 'The Origin?'"
"You would know 'The Origin' as what was originally your side of the Wall dividing fiction and non-fiction. You were pulled into a narrative from the moment that raindrop graced your brow. So yeah, consider the 4th wall broken. Through."
"Wait wait wait... broken through? I understand broken, but you're saying... Oh fuck me sideways..."
Anduro sneered. "I'll pass, though I'm glad you're quick on the uptake, mortal. You're going to want to commit this story to memory, as it will keep your continuity anchored." He turned to Aitu Xiore, then Ksenxi who each nodded in response. Then the Paragon of Vessels continued.
"Each of them wandered for what seemed like an eternity in their respective directions, until each of them met one another for the first time at the base of the mountain we are atop of now," He explained as the air around the altar began to shimmer and dance. "Each of them introduced themselves, and a way opened to the mountain's first pass."
"Were they not able to enter before they were familiarized with each other? Sounds almost ritualistic..." Lee pondered.
Ksenxi nodded in agreement. "Well, that's rather quick on the uptake. Yes, the leyline this mountain sits atop is not a 'conventional' leyline. It's a bit too abstract to explain in complete detail while you are still vulnerable, so let's have you place your hands on the altar."
As she did once before, The Paragon of Phases took hold of his wrists, granting him corporeal sensation and interaction, despite lacking a proper form. It was still an unusual sensation, but a little easier to bare this time. A slight shiver crawled down where Lee's spine would have been as he swallowed a breath of air.
"When you make contact with the altar, all you need to do is imagine the ideal form for yourself. Able to withstand the ravages of time, unable to stay dead, and mental fortitude beyond physical means to compromise. You need not worry about how to envision the structure of form," She touched Time's Hand with her free hand as they began to walk forward, "as it seems my elder brother has granted you a mirror self to help manage the whole of your ability until you can do it on your own. Coming into contact will also show you the rest of the story my younger brother was weaving other after you've actualized your form. Once you've managed to stand witness to the events leading to our creation, naturally you will also understand our purpose. When this is accomplished, we will bestow upon you a Spark."
Anduro and Aitu Xiore stayed behind while Ksenxi and Lee passed through the shimmer. Beyond the distortion, the space surrounding the altar stretched across a plateau hidden away from the rest of space-time in their previous locality. An energy storm encapsulated the whole of the space, whipping all forms of matter into a frenzy unlike any mortal before had seen. Ksenxi cleared her throat after sighing quietly.
"Give me just a moment, let me adjust the atmosphere."
She lifted her left hand to allow her palm to face Lee, with a barrier being erected around him before he could even ask her course of action. Ksenxi immediately followed with raising her right hand and eyes to the infinite sky containing them. From her lips, she let part a single word.
"Cease!"
A shockwave resounded omnidirectionally from the atmosphere directly above the Altar, before being drawn back into its epicenter; dispelling the torrential cascades of energy and halting all molecular activity within a ten meter radius of the Altar. Lee could only stand in astonishment as the Maiden reached out once more. The path to the altar was now clear.
"Life, Corporeality and Energy. Each of these aspects of existence falls within my domain, so long as the burden otherwise were to belong to a sapient entity," Ksenxi explained. She took a step forward and the previously ravaged soil turned lush and overrun with foliage. Saplings and stalks grew about with impossible acceleration and matured to adulthood in seconds. "Among my brothers, I am the equilibrium. From Vessel's birth to Threshold's precipices, I enable the capacity for each Phase of existence to achieve actualization." Lee took her hand and walked forward with her.
After a few minutes of meandering towards what appeared to the North, they had finally reached the Altar itself.
"So, I need to merely visualize the ideal form for myself in my own mind with my hands on this thing?" Lee hoped to understand his task a slight better. Ksenxi responded with a nod.
"This is as far as I can take you. The rest is up to you, child of Farroneia. We will be awaiting your return to send you on your way."
"You've done more than I could have dreamed of asking for as it stands, please..."
"Boy," Her tone shifted, expressing a stern sorrow she could not divulge the depths of herself. "Don't lessen yourself before me. This iteration of me is not an inherent creator, but you... you've already created. You created an opportunity for someone to act on behalf of the rest of your kind, and believe it or not, through the same medium that we came to be - self-sacrifice, in the very literal sense... It seems as though Arius was successful after all, or maybe... he just utilized what another had either accomplished or realized themself."
"... I still have no idea-," Lee attempted to complain, but the Paragon interjected before he could complete his sentence.
"Don't worry, you will come to know in time. If you'd like, I will -remind my elder brother- when you're done..."
"That's not necessary. Alright,
Lee put his hands on the altar and he could see in front of him the faces of an old man, a young woman, and a little boy. Each speaking something in an incomprehensible tongue, but speaking in sync with the other. But as Ksenxi brought her head up from his hands, she stood aghast in reverence at the sight of one only she would recognize as-
"Mother...?"
A flood of tangible information spilled over Lee, engulfing him. Knowledge of old, archaic wisdom of worlds never before explored, and the physical sensation of his imagination being stretched to its limits unfolded like an eternity unto itself as Lee drowned in its depths. For seeming ages, he floated unconsciously, before a voice broke the deafening roars of the ocean of data like a whisper from nowhere, stirring him. With a dreary tone that sounded almost older than Time itself, something alien to reality posed a single question; slicing through each, singular iota of datum attempting to lead Lee's mind astray.
"Does the concept of 'Enigmatic Grasp' mean anything to you, my ---------*?"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ksenxi returned to her brothers with frantic haste from within the barrier; nearly overwhelmed by what she had just borne witness to, they rushed to her side. The two brothers dared not speak first, as they surveyed their sister's expression. For an eternity unto itself; they stood unwavering, silent.
"He bore witness to our Progenitors," Ksenxi finally broke the silence. Anduro and Aitu Xiore both took a singular solemn step back, and exchanged glances.
"Oh, so you didn't tell me a comforting lie just to cover your own ass," Anduro surmised with mocking assurance. "Well that's the first bit of reassuring news I've heard all da-."
"Anduro, even you knelt to that 'kid'. Are you saying this now to rile me up, or to cover your own insecurities? Because if it is either of those, you'd sound more professional if you didn't make a sound," Aitu Xiore retorted coldly. "You know as well as I that he is a legitimate heir. You yield to nothing, and yet you have yielded to someone. A mortal. You, the First Face of Conflict, -yielded to a mortal.- If you seriously mean to tell me through your underlying omissions of silence that you yourself don't get it..."
Anduro furrowed his brow, but digressed in his demeanor soon after. His brother had him dead to rights... and chose not to finish his sentence intentionally. He knew, nonetheless how it would have ended... Needless death, pointless blood-letting, and a perpetuation to the suffering of all sapient beings both living and deceased. Not something any of the three, nor the worlds they held together, had reason nor rhyme to be subject to.
"I get that he's a child of Farroneia, brother," Anduro clicked his tongue. "It's also not implausible due to his bloodline heritage that such a resonance could take shape as a physical phenomena, but surely you, as the Sentinel of the Mind, first and foremost; can level with me for a moment to understand that this is a whole lot to take in even as divinity, especially for us when we've not had contact with them on that side for aeons beyond remembrance as far as those we protect are concerned!"
Aitu Xiore sighed with bitter acknowledgement.
"I have become preoccupied with my own position and the needs of my successor to the point of negligence with regards to your position, Anduro; you are correct. Forgive me, interacting with mortals means entangling yourself with them, and it has been far longer than any of us would care to recollect since we last walked among our progenitors. That's no less than thrice that I have spoken out of turn in this day alone."
"Forget it, there's more important things to focus on right now," Anduro recanted with a shifted expression. "You're going to have to find a way to explain to him how to utilize the abilities of Time's Keeper. Sure, you left him with a mirror soul to help modulate, amplify, magnify and all-around control his power, but the one time he actually used it was on a whim of desperation. If you leave him to his own devices, even with his backup, he's liable to unmake himself without a proper idea of the form of that power. That wouldn't be a very good look for you."
Aitu Xiore shook his head.
"If he can't grasp it on his own after I bring the comparison, then I was the one who made a mistake, not Arius."
Anduro took a solemn step backward, and Ksenxi looked on in shock. They each stood there, unwavering for yet another seemingly eternal moment.
"You'd be willing to stick your collarbone out for him simply for his origin?" Ksenxi finally broke the silence with a shaky pitch.
"If that were all it was, I'd be a sham of a Paragon; it would also be fallacious, however to say that it wasn't part of the reason," Aitu Xiore shook his head. "I did speak out of turn first with him, but I only spoke after he had decided to take action. The way he responded to my call, even if the call itself was one worthy of taking offense to; allowed me to gain clarity of his character. So no, it was not simply for his origin, but an educated gamble. Plus..." He rose his left hand of bone to reveal the very tip of his foremost index finger's bone as it collapsed into dust, much to the further shock of Anduro and Ksenxi.
"It appears my worse half is starting to collect its toll. Meaning, even as the Paragon administrating its stability, we all are running out of time. I would imagine... that it's related to why that grudge took root in the Origin, as well as how I was forcibly superimposed upon the Origin just before it broke loose, and maybe... just maybe... why you were able to see our Progenitors, Ksenxi."
Anduro scratched his head for a brief moment, then he lowered his hand slowly.
"Something from Below is trying to mess with What works Above," He choked out in disbelief.
"Yes, 'it' seems to have found a very... very undeserving ally. I can only imagine that right now... Lee is conversing with Arius, meanwhile I can only hope was is to be imparted will be enough to break the storm... There's no hope of weathering it otherwise," Aitu Xiore murmured.
"Does that mean that-," Ksenxi began to question, but Aitu Xiore cut her off.
"It would mean the obliteration of us, those Below us, and those Above us," He grimaced.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Something clicked in Lee's mind the moment those words washed over him.
"Apparently so," The Voice responded, having noticed the change in his mind, it slowly came into a tone of waking. "This is good, it will serve you well in more ways than you can currently understand."
Lee attempted to speak, but found unlike before that no words came. The entity behind the Voice seemed to understand though.
"Your being is not adjusted to existing within raw information; you are, however, easy enough to understand without being adjusted, so don't worry about getting used to it. You were trying to ask 'what I said at the end,' yes? You need not worry about it... No, I was not using 'my' as an expression of possession, you have been the first to visit me in a very long time."
He took a moment, trying to wrap his currently imperceptible head around this, but nothing came to him.
"There will come a time for you to know, but it seems the Narrative does not think it worth denoting at this point in the story... Yes, *that kind* of Narrative, wasn't that already explained... Of course he'd say something as pompous as 'broken through', he's not wrong though... No, it would not, in fact, be wrong to say so. To break through the fourth wall, you'd be descending a narrative layer, which is what ended up happening when you took in that grudge."
There was a still silence that covered the infospace between the two of them. Lee struggled, but managed to ask with a word.
"Why?"
The Voice mused over this question.
"Do you need the reason? Or do you want it?"
The response seemed to agitate the information around Lee.
"Does it matter? Very much so, but... oh? Is that so? Very well then."
A brief silence fell over them.
"My name is Arius. It's because you are my -----------."