Location: The Motherplace
Third Planet of the First Solar System • Universe Wyverno
And somewhere beyond those endless stars something was waiting.
The sky above the Motherplace shifted slowly with rivers of gold and blue light moving across the darkness like living oceans.
Oblivion remained seated at the edge of the stone platform.
For the first time in a long while, his mind was quiet.
No screaming.
No fire.
No memory of Planet Ego burning apart beneath the sky.
Just silence.
Lazard stood nearby with his hands behind his back, watching the horizon.
Oblivion looked upward again.
"When I was younger," he said quietly, "my mother used to tell me the universe ended somewhere."
Lazard glanced at him.
"And?"
Oblivion gave a small shrug.
"I believed her."
The wind passed through the platform.
Lazard looked toward the distant stars.
"That never changes."
Something about the way he said it felt personal.
Oblivion noticed.
"You've seen things, haven't you?"
Lazard stayed silent longer than usual.
Then he answered.
"More than I wanted to."
He turned away from the stars.
"There is somewhere I need to show you."
They left the platform behind and traveled deeper into the Motherplace.
The glowing forests slowly disappeared behind them.
The land became darker.
Quieter.
Ancient stone structures rose from the ground at strange angles, covered in symbols worn down by time.
Oblivion noticed some of the carvings repeating across different ruins.
Circles inside larger circles.
Endless patterns folding inward.
"What do they mean?"
Lazard looked at them briefly.
"No one fully knows."
That answer irritated Oblivion.
Everywhere they went there were half answers.
Warnings.
Mysteries nobody explained.
Eventually they reached the edge of a massive valley.
Oblivion stopped walking.
The valley below looked dead.
Broken towers stretched across the darkness beneath them. Enormous metallic structures lay buried beneath black dust and shattered crystal. Parts of the ruins floated slightly above the ground as if gravity no longer fully worked there.
Cold wind rose from below.
Lazard's expression changed the moment he saw the valley.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Recognition.
Oblivion noticed immediately.
"You've been here before."
Lazard did not answer.
That silence was enough.
Oblivion looked back toward the ruins below.
"What happened here?"
Lazard spoke quietly.
"There was a civilization that believed existence itself could be mapped."
Oblivion frowned.
"Mapped?"
"They believed every universe, every possibility, every living mind followed hidden structures." Lazard stared into the valley. "They tried to reach beyond them."
The wind grew stronger.
"What happened to them?" Oblivion asked again.
Lazard finally answered.
"They found something."
Before Oblivion could respond
TOK
TOK
TOK
A sound echoed from deep within the ruins below.
Metal against stone.
Slow.
Uneven.
Oblivion immediately looked downward.
Shapes were moving between the broken structures.
Tall figures.
Humanoid.
But wrong.
Their movements lagged strangely, like reality itself reacted half a second too late to them moving.
Dark armor covered their bodies, though parts of it floated disconnected from the rest as if invisible gaps existed between the pieces.
And beneath their helmets
nothing
No face
Only darkness.
Oblivion felt something cold crawl up his spine.
One of the figures slowly lifted its head toward him.
Then all of them did.
At the exact same time.
Lazard stepped backward immediately.
"We leave."
Oblivion looked at him in surprise.
That was the first real fear he had heard in Lazard's voice.
The figures below suddenly began climbing the valley walls.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Not running.
Pulling themselves upward in broken movements that made Oblivion's stomach tighten.
CRACK
CRACK
Stone shattered beneath their hands.
"There are only twelve," Oblivion said, pulling out his sword.
Lazard looked at him sharply.
"Those are not soldiers."
The first figure reached the cliff edge.
Its body twitched unnaturally before lunging forward.
Oblivion blocked instantly.
CLANG
Pain shot through his arms.
The impact was far heavier than expected.
The figure tilted its head slightly.
Then whispers escaped from inside the empty helmet.
Not one voice.
Many.
Oblivion couldn't understand the words.
Another figure attacked from the side.
SWOOSH
Oblivion barely dodged in time.
The blade passed close enough for him to feel freezing air around it.
Lazard formed an energy blade in his hand and slashed toward one of them.
SHING
The attack connected
but the creature's body distorted strangely for a second.
Like space bent around it.
Lazard's eyes widened.
"Impossible..."
The creature struck him across the chest.
BOOM
Lazard crashed against a broken stone pillar.
Oblivion felt panic hit him instantly.
"Lazard!"
Three figures rushed him at once.
Oblivion fought back desperately.
CLANG
CLANG
SWOOSH
One strike cut across his shoulder.
Pain burned through him.
Another grabbed his arm.
The creature's hand felt wrong.
Cold beyond anything natural.
And suddenly
images flashed inside Oblivion's head.
Dead stars.
Collapsed worlds.
Screaming voices inside endless darkness.
Oblivion ripped himself away violently.
His breathing became unstable.
The creatures moved closer.
Something inside him reacted.
Fear.
Confusion.
And beneath both
something familiar.
The same feeling he experienced when Aethron brought him back from death.
Pressure built in his chest.
One creature lunged directly toward him.
Instinct took over.
Oblivion raised his hand.
The air distorted.
KRRRRRRRRK
Space around the creature folded inward violently.
The armor compressed with a horrific metallic scream.
CRUNCH
The entire body collapsed into itself.
Silence.
Oblivion stared in horror.
Blood leaked from his nose instantly.
Sharp pain exploded through his right arm.
He nearly dropped to one knee.
"What... did I do..."
The remaining creatures stopped moving.
Lazard slowly looked toward the destroyed figure.
His expression changed completely.
Not shock.
Recognition.
"That distortion..." he said quietly.
His voice sounded genuinely unsettled now.
"You shouldn't be able to do that."
Another creature rushed forward.
Oblivion tried using the power again
but this time the distortion exploded outward uncontrollably.
BOOOOM
The ground beside him twisted violently.
Stone folded inward like paper before collapsing into a crater.
Oblivion screamed in pain and grabbed his arm.
Veins along his hand darkened briefly before fading again.
The creatures hesitated.
For the first time
they stepped backward.
They were afraid.
Lazard stared at Oblivion carefully now
Far below them, deep within the valley ruins, something enormous moved beneath the ground.
THOOOOOOOOM
The entire valley trembled.
The creatures immediately turned toward the darkness below.
Then slowly lowered themselves to one knee.
Oblivion felt his heartbeat slow.
Something was down there.
Something worse than them.
Lazard grabbed Oblivion's arm immediately.
"We are leaving."
This time Oblivion did not argue.
To be continue.