"Dare to think!"
― Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment?
"I'd be glad to help!" Chrisopher's face was bright as the sun, an ear to ear grin that forced a laugh from Ven's lips. The Green Man rubbed his hands together, hard enough to trigger thunder. "Now that I'm free to travel, I've been itching to truly explore."
"Thanks," Ven waved a hand and opened a portal. "The others are waiting, I've just got one more stop to make and you can all head out together."
Christopher leapt through and left Ven alone on the grassy fields of the enthusiastic fellow's Earth. The others were enough to probe the labyrinth, but they would need help with the actual construction of a fortress. The next - and last - 'person' on his list, was the Hive. The collective minds of the machine races that had risen while he'd slept.
"Their homeworlds are clustered around the far reaches of the system's star…" Ven was about to step through space when a ripple of shadow drew his attention. Lucifer stepped from the darkness of a shaded tree and flashed a perfect smile.
"I heard tell you're collecting members for an expedition?" The Devil widened his eyes in a parody of innocence. "Is there room for a humble man of god on this journey into the past?"
"Maybe…" Ven squinted at the Devil. The last time he'd put his faith in Lucifer, the Titan had gotten free of his coin. "But you won't be the leader of the group, and you won't have a realm key like the others."
"Fair is fair!" Lucifer vanished in a blink, as if he feared Ven would change his mind. "I'll go meet the others while you recruit the soulless Hive!"
Ven snorted. The Devil could pretend all he wanted, but the drones had souls. Either that, or you didn't need a soul to pray. The vast majority of the faith in his realm came from the Hive's collective. They prayed with every action, a kind of devotion that shocked him. Never a word of need, only thanks for their existence and freedoms.
"Why hasn't any other god of faith exploited this…" Ven tapped his chin as he teleported to the centre of the Hive's nexus. He was essentially capable of printing believers, an infinite loop of faith. "Maybe there's something special about the Hive?"
– – – –
"God has arrived…" the centralised intelligence of the Hive, the unity of all drones, turned a trillion eyes to capture the moment of their Deity's return. "Activating unification of drones… all active drones are now in full attendance."
A tide of atomic sized drones, crafted from mechanically precise runes, swarmed into a stormcloud. They spun and compressed, until a single figure knelt in its place. Positioned before the God, a song of praise and devotion echoed to infinity from their hearts.
"Greetings and welcome, God of the Realm and saviour of our people!" The Unified Hive bowed low, adulation and joy in their voice. "We have gathered the perceptions of all Drones to hear your words!"
The God stood still as stone, an eternity from the Hives perspective. Worry battled with the certainty that God would never harm them, even in anger. An eyebrow arched on the Deity's rune scribed face and his mouth opened.
"I'm looking for volunteers, willing helpers to journey into the Labyrinth Gate on Avalon." The words echoed through their collective like a fire storm, a unified raise of infinite mental hands. "It will be dangerous, and you'll need to rely on yourselves for protection."
"The Hive has downloaded a copy of all done minds into this Earthy Deity level avatar," The Hive avatar stood, and raised a face that was meant to copy the image of their God. "We shall journey as one on the Lord's first great crusade!"
– – – –
"Everything here seems so small…" The lightless plains of black flame still carried on beyond her senses, but all the beings here were so… weak. Lyra raised her nose, a scent in the air that touched her memory like a spark. "Ven said to be careful, but I can't find anything dangerous."
"Dante and I were the biggest fish in this pond," Lucifer flexed his wings and gave the scenery a nostalgic gaze. "It's only when we go lower that we'll run into the real predators."
"That's why your plan is so idiotic…" Cain rolled his shoulders, a new fire in his eyes. He motioned to the two groups. "If you separate, keeping my promise to Ven will be impossible."
The travellers had separated, with plans to divide their labours. Lyra, Brull and Lucifer planned to descend deeper, while Rafe, Christopher, and the Hive would establish a beachhead in this miserable abyss.
"The levels above are not a challenge," Fenrir's voice flowed from Lyra's throat. The wolf arched Lyra's back and flashed Cain a smile. "The real tests are below, in the levels that even the Concepts dare not enter!"
"Ven has tasked us with the construction of this fortress city, and all others like it that are needed on this campaign," The Hive unit opened its mouth and released a swarm of nano drones into the skies. "We shall follow behind the others and lay the necessary foundations."
"I'll be heading up," Rafe waved to the others and headed east. The gate to the level above was within Lucifer's abandoned city, a craggy outcrop visible from here. "I want to see what's happened to my home."
"I'll go with him," Christopher clapped Cain on the shoulders. "According to Ven, the relic world should still be limited by the remnants of the barrier." The green-suited giant cracked his knuckles and let out a joyful laugh. "I'm more than a match for any Earth Deity, and I can call on energy from the realm to stand against anything under a True God if I need to!"
"Fine…" Cain barked out a laugh of his own and turned to Lyra's group. "Then let's get a move on, I've been cooped up for far too long!"