The Lienus Rail sped through the subterranean tunnels with blazing speed. The low whir of the engine resounded in through the carriage.
"Argos, how much longer?"
[ETA : 2 hours]
"And how are things looking?"
[Quiet]
Silence. Quiet was supposed to be good.
Emphasis on supposed to be.
It really depends on the situation. But for this on in particular? No one knew. Too many variables to determine proper course of events.
To plot a proper course of action. Aedhira would have to wait a bit longer, whether he liked it or not.
He hated the feeling. The odd, inward pressure, as it it pulled everything in with a crushin force. Like sucking the air out of a tin can. Aedhira despised the feeling.
He despised...the anxiety.
Argos, being the aide he was, picked up on it.
[Sire, how about we continue or little history lesson from last time?]
"Hm? You mean the exposition? Or is that the introduction?"
It was the exposition.
[Do you recall the Illyenials?]
"No not particularly"
[.....The Illyenials are...manifestations of the universe.]
"Like runes?"
[Not exactly. Runes are not sentient, and they may take hundreds, often thousands of years to Coagulate. Yet the Illyenials are...born from momentary....mistakes.]
"Mistakes?" Aedhira said, raising a brow.
"By that logic, then does-"
[No, you cannot become an Illyenial then next time you trip]
His sire pouted, in a way it that it almost seemed cute.
Almost.
[The mistakes I am talking of are on a Universal scale. Something must go momentously wrong for a Illyenial to be born. They are, no pun intended, a Cosmic mistake]
"You say that, but you set it up too well for it not to be"
[....Back to the topic at hand. The Illyenials are beings, even beyond deities. They are Concept AND Aspect given form. Given control. They are not all-powerful, but they have all the power over their own concepts.]
"Your talking gibberish? Concept? Aspect? What you on about mate"
[?]
Aedhira, intentionally ignorant and embarrassed of what he'd just uttered out of his foul mout-
He suddenly snapped his head, looking at nowhere in particular, his brows knit in annoyance.
"Whats that feeling I keep getting...never doing that dialect again...I'll just stick to what I got" He muttered.
[You are not strong enough to have any contact with what I am mentioning, so do not pay it much heed. Keep it in, if only at the back of your mind]
"I still don't get it very well though"
[Affirmative. For your understanding, we can take the Illyenial....Hoh]
"Hoh? Like literally Hoh, or are you just being funny?"
[Negative. The Illyenial, Hoh, of the Jubilis. The records are....suspicious at best, but there is little information known on some Illyenials.]
"Some? Not all? This seems like information that I'd keep close to myself, to be honest"
[That's a natural assumption, but there are some that have their records and information completely available to the public. Only most people don't]
"Why's that?"
[You must remember, an Illyenial has power over ALL their aspects. Their past is an aspect of them too. Like poking the body of a Dragon with a needle, they'd feel it. Of course, they wouldn't wipe you out over something like that....in most cases, they'd feel you poking around. That is to say, they'd have their eye on you]
[And no one who ever was, and has been, has enjoyed being under the eye of an Illyenial]
Aedhira digested his words. And after mulling it over, his eye widened as he asked Argos;
"Are you sure that telling me is the right thing to do? Even if it's only the...Hoh? was it? Wouldn't I end up under their scrutiny?"
[Who's to say you aren't already?]
...
"....Oh Goddess"
Aedhira was beginning to understand the odd feelings he was getting.
"You mean-"
[Affirmative. It wouldn't be very surprising if Illyenials don't have their eye on you. Or at least, in this general direction. However, you are likely not to have any direct contact with one anytime soon as-]
"Yes, yes, I'm not strong enough"
[Affirmative. Illyenials are vast existences, surely with much more 'larger' things to keep them occupied. Like looking down on an insect, they shouldn't bother with you]
"Let's hope it stays that way"
[Case in point, Hoh, of the Jubilis, was said to a child to a long extinct race at some point in time. He had experienced a moment of joy, due to a trick he had played on his mother, harmless at most, where in the next moment, he became Hoh]
"....."
[....]
"....."
[.....]
"Are you serious?"
[Affirmative]
"Don't affirmative me! You realise how dumb that sounds?"
[Affirmative]
"....."
Aedhira was about to say something else suddenly he felt a freezing chill in his mind. Followed by what could only be the faint and fading , yet warped laughter of....some kind of child?
In one moment, he was in his skin tight, white, body suit, worn under some kind of short hoodie, that only reached the middle of his abs with shorts that reached to his knees. Followed by the familiar sight, of a lack of footwear.
In the next, he was armored. The Arstra had enveloped him in it's cold, steel embrace in less than a second. It had astonishing speed.
For something that was on the other side of the carriage.
Startled, he blinked to look down at his own, armored figure. He looked behind him to see the ever-excessive armored skirt, hovering no more than a centimeter above the floor.
If one were to look at his figure, they'd notice the also-excessive black visor that enveloped him by half his head was back. The 4 streaking 'comets' by his head, still floating by the sides, only the edges were glowing a warm orange. Really warm.
So warm, that they blurred the air in the carriage around them.
"What.....was that?"
[What was what sire?]
"That"
[Do you mean the Gaze? Or the suddenness of the Arstra?]
"Of course I mean the-wait, gaze? How do you know"
[Anyone would. The Gaze of an Illyenial is MEANT to make whoever it is directed at AWARE. It is natural that I did. Or rather, we did]
Aedhira felt a chill run down his spine at the mention of the Gaze of an Illyenial. The thought that he had inadvertently caught the attention of one of these cosmic beings sent a shiver through his entire being.
"That's... unsettling," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
[Indeed, sire. But rest assured, the Gaze alone does not necessarily indicate any hostile intent. It simply serves as a reminder of the vastness and power of the Illyenials.]
Aedhira nodded, though the unease still lingered in the back of his mind. The idea that he had unwittingly drawn the attention of such a formidable entity was not one he could easily shake off.
"Well, let's hope that's the end of that," he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
[Agreed, sire. Let us continue our journey in peace.]
As the Lienus Rail hurtled through the tunnels, Aedhira couldn't help but feel a sense of trepidation lingering in the air. The encounter with the Gaze of an Illyenial had left him on edge, and he couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, even now.
"What in the actual *BLEEP*"
He was genuinely unnerved. Aedhira was young, very young. In the 6 days, of his total lifespan, not once had he felt this way.
He felt like the Universe was taking a dump on him today.
"Probably is" he muttered.