CHAP 18: Revelations

Having another brain on the equation ended up moving things along quite nicely, Alice helped me and Anita work out a solution to the "Earth conversion problem" we've been having, by giving some insight on the Earth equivalent heat transfer system after looking at the data we'd gathered, which proved to be very good since we managed to work out the system only three months after that.

But that wasn't the biggest problem, that would prove to be maintaining life on the deeper parts of the earth, I'd managed to create a silicon alloy that could sustain the heat on the deeper parts of the lower mantle, but the core proved to be impossible to penetrate without being incinerated, so I had a change of plans, we had a natural nuclear reactor at our disposal, and there's no such thing as too much energy.

So I was designing what I would describe as a Dyson sphere around the core, the specific challenge of the design was producing biological energy, in other words, I needed to develop radiotrophic tissue or something analogous to it, how do you develop such a thing? Well, you let nature do its thing, with a bit of a guiding hand.

So I made multiple strains of the fungus with the bio-alloy that could survive the conditions of the outer core, then gave them different combinations of the biological mechanisms I had already discovered that could theoretically allow for radiotrophy. Now we need only to wait for natural selection to work.

"So, old man, what have you been doing to pass the time?"

"Hmm, an excellent question. Since you left, I've been managing the business and doing some research in my spare time."

"Come on, everybody needs to relax, don't you have any hobbies?"

"Not really. I've done things I liked, but not simply to have fun or pass the time, the closest thing would be drawing, but I haven't done it in a long time."

"You should start drawing again, maybe pick up something else?"

"Hm. What do you think, Anita?"

"I think having more skills is always good, and your cortisol levels are always high, so relaxing should be beneficial."

"A fair point, but I'm going to be honest, I haven't the slightest idea on what to do."

"You're telling me you haven't done anything but work?"

"I guess so."

"You're very strange, old man, you know that?"

"Is it that strange to not want to waste time?"

A strong headache hit me suddenly.

[It isn't. This conversation has been pointless, a waste of time.]

What?

"What?"

"What is it? No one said anything."

What was that? A flashback?

"Are you okay, Gray? Your BPM just spiked."

"I'm fine."

"Is thinking about something other than work so eluding to you, old man?"

"No, no, that isn't it. It's just that I've never thought about that, so I'm a little confused, I guess?"

"Confused enough to make your heart race?"

"Yes."

"Sure, keep your secrets to yourself. I'll go take a walk through the city, and you find a way to relax. Do it for me, right?"

"I'll try."

After she left, I turned to Anita.

"Care to tell me what just happened, Gray?"

"I'm not sure, but it's nothing to worry about."

"And what makes you so certain of that?"

"Because I'm not afraid of myself. Anyways, do you have any interests, Anita?"

"Normally, people choose hobbies for themselves."

"I'm not normal, however."

"Like Alice said, why don't you pick up drawing again?"

"I will, but like you said, new skills are always good."

"You like crafting guns, don't you?"

"I do."

"Then pick up something related to that."

"It's a start."

Some kind of craftsmanship, huh? Art could work.

I went through the memories of the fungus and compiled all the information it had gathered about marble carving. After mulling it over, I made chisels and a mallet, brought up a small piece of white marble, and started trying it out.

I spent the afternoon making little sculptures, it turns out that carving is fun, even though I admit I'm not that good, but you can't expect to make a 'Pietà' on your first day. Alice was right, maybe I do need more hobbies, especially considering I'm going to have a lot of free time.

The years passed, and I got better at carving. Also, First World War just started, and the pieces are finally falling into place, Blackroot got the permission to establish field hospitals on the battlefields, Yrga has been supplying all sides with weapons and armor through Express Fox, and Ashen Bank has loaned money to finance the war expenses.

All in all, I'm in full control over the economy of Europe, and that should be the case till the start of the Cold War, after that, I'll move to the background since the deals I've made with the world's superpowers should still stand, and nulling them by that time should be synonymous with an implosion of the economy.

This is the truth about monopolies, you only dislike them if you're not the one at the helm.

On another note, Alice has decided she wants to fight in the war, on Russia's side, nonetheless.

"I can't say I like the idea."

"Why? I'll be fine."

"You can't be sure about that, Alice, I've been on the battlefield before, and I can say that safety is never certain. If you want to go, you should at least let me and Anita make the procedure."

"I don't want to."

"Then I can't let you go."

"I'm a free woman, you can't stop me."

"I can, actually. But I'd prefer not to do it."

"Why are you so reluctant about this, but not about me leaving before."

"Because before it was just a trip through the world, not a goddamn war, and the carriage could keep you safe."

"Maybe I don't want to be safe."

"So you want to die in a pointless conflict?"

"It isn't pointless."

"It is."

"Not for me."

"Why?"

"Because it's the only way for me to grow as a person."

"I'm sure there are other ways."

"There isn't."

"How can you be certain?"

"BECAUSE HUNTING IS WHAT I'M GOOD AT, DAD!"

I sighed.

"War isn't hunting, Alice."

"I... I know, but this is my calling, I need to fight."

That goddamned energy is swirling around her.

"You're lucky, you know?"

She stayed silent.

"Because I don't like letting things not go my way. But I understand."

"So you'll let me go?"

"Yes, follow me."

I entered the workshop and picked up my coat from the locker.

"This should protect you from any stray bullets. When you get there, someone will deliver a fake ID for you, so you can legally enlist, but remember that no one can know you're a woman, at least not before you're deployed. Goodbye, dear, and good luck out there."

I gave her the coat.

"Thanks. Say goodbye to Bea and Anita in my stead."

"Will do."

"I'll make sure to come back."

"You better."

She left once again. I sat down at my desk and picked up one of the sculptures I'd made of Alice. Gliding my fingers over the soft marble, I mulled over my decision. I could've given her some better armor, a better gun, but would she even use it? Stubborn girl, too stubborn, but what would be the point if I shielded her through her whole life? People need to grow.

"Getting old, huh?"

I put the sculpture back on the desk. I should start crafting new things, maybe masks? I've always found them intriguing. I brought some of my bio-alloy to my desk and got to work. The fungus gave me leeway to fuck up and start again, so I changed the design many times until I settled on the one I liked the most.

I passed my hands through the outline, the details were all in their right place. I placed the mask on my face, and it felt good, but it could be better. It could always be better. I modified the design once again, and again, and again, and again.

Not yet.

Not yet.

NOT yet.

NOT YET.

I put the mask on my face and opened my eyes.

Hello, hell, your stars are brighter than ever.

I brought the mask through, or maybe I had not realized I'd come to this place in the middle of my work.

I found the blizzard, but this time, it wasn't just bright, it was kaleidoscopic, chaotic in nature, the shards of ice and light changed colors at every moment, creating a marvelous scene.

I got to to the middle of the blizzard, sat down, and let it take me back home.

When I was back in the darkness, a question echoed through my head, the thought was mine, but not exactly.

Can beginning ever end?

I was holding a mask in my hands, which I recognized as one of the many designs I'd made during my stupor. But the mask from hell had never left my face, It took it off and analyzed it.

It was perfect.

But where did it come from? If I did bring it over from hell, how? And how did it even get to hell in the first place?

As I analyzed the mask, my surroundings changed. I couldn't feel the fungus anymore, the air felt different.

"Hello, Gray."

"Who are you?"

"The being who sent you that letter, and brought back your little gadget. You may call me Death."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Death. Now, can you tell me what is going on?"

"I'm not quite sure myself, and this is exactly why I've brought you here. Normally speaking, the birth of a Worldkiller is easy to sense if you know what you're looking for, and not that big of a deal. But you, Gray, are quite a special case, I've never seen such a surge of energy before, especially not one that raw."

"So this surge of energy you speak of attracted you, and if I'm guessing correctly, all other kinds of beings that can feel that energy."

"Correct. It isn't every day you see a piece of a timeline being detached, especially not in one fell swoop. People assumed this was the birth of a spontaneous Anomaly, one of a very high power, nonetheless, but imagine my and theirs surprise when we reached the center of the surge and found nothing at all."

"So there are others like you watching me?"

"No, not right now. When we found no traces of Anomalies, most of them lost interest, and I convinced the other I'd look into this matter myself. So when I found traces of that same energy, I came to this place, and I've been hiding you from them since then. The Great Time is very big, so no one will remember such a backwater Time."

"So, do you know anything about this mask?"

"It's a Dream construct, but it hasn't lost its stability after leaving your Dream, which should be impossible."

"Dream?"

"The special ability of Worldkillers. I'd need to explain a lot about the working of it. Still, in simple words, a Dreamwalker, normally known as a Worldkiller, absorbs part of the quote-unquote souls of the beings they kill, making said souls strong enough to allow for the creation of their Dream, which is a kind of state of mind mixed with a subdimension over which they have full control over."

"That isn't my case, then, because I don't have full control over my so-called Dream."

"An Anomaly inside someone's Dream? I've never seen that before, but it could fit the bill. Gray, could you please enter your Dream?"

I took out a cigarette, lit it up, and relaxed. After some time of silence, I saw the stars in the sky.

"Are those... Souls?"

I looked over. Death looked like a very tall man in his 30s wearing a suit, who would've thought?

"Didn't you say Dreams were created because people absorbed souls?"

"Only a part of the soul, I've never seen a Dream with visible souls, they're normally blank worlds with a flat surface and a sky with only one color."

"Is the ground normally made of snow?"

"Sometimes it's sand, sometimes it's mud, it relates to your vision of how you killed the souls that power your Dream."

"So this is... The nuclear winter?"

"If you believe it to be, then it must be. Anyways, do you remember anything strange last time you've been here?"

"Everything about this was strange, but the blizzard would classify as strange in this case."

"Definitely. How do you normally find this blizzard?"

"I walk in a random direction until I see it. It glows brightly, so it isn't that easy to miss."

"Let's go, then."

"Sure."

After some time of walking, Death broke the silence.

"I'm curious, how blind are you?"

"Completely black, I tried to fix my vision, but couldn't do it."

"That's to be expected, considering your magical circuits were damaged. But you shouldn't be completely blind, your vision should only be mildly affected, especially since your eyes are healthy, at least on a biological level. Do you have any idea what damaged your magical circuits?"

"The most likely suspect is the blizzard itself."

"Hmm, uncommon behavior for an Anomaly, if it truly is one, that is."

We walked in silence for some more time.

"Where does the name Death come from?"

"I was given it."

"By who?"

"The Great Time itself, like all the other Predecessors."

"You speak as if I understand what that means."

"Predecessors are the beings who protect the Great Time from the Void. We are given titles when we start existing, based on our unique powers, which are called Singularities."

"I see. So what about your Singularity warrants that title?"

"My case is special."

Dodging the question? A sensitive topic, maybe. Better change the subject.

"If this blizzard is truly an anomaly, what is going to be done?"

"Standard procedure is termination on sight. Nothing about this is standard, though, so I think we're just going to assess the threat."

"Understood."

We walked some more until we finally saw the blizzard, Death put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"What is it?"

"We shouldn't approach it. Too dangerous."

"Well, I normally leave this place through it."

"You do? Can't you just leave the same way you entered?"

"No, believe me, I've tried everything I could to leave. The blizzard is the only way to leave."

"That's... Impossible. Whatever that thing is, it should rip anything to shred with the sheer energy it's releasing, and you've interacted with it multiple times and the only thing that happened was an injury on your magical circuits?"

"I'm standing over here, am I not?"

"Yes, and that's the crux of the question. That 'blizzard' should've killed you, but it didn't, not only that, it is certainly the one responsible for that energy surge. It brought you here, it blinded you, but why?"

"I expected you'd know the answers."

"I don't. I expected this to be some strange case of an Anomaly attaching to a Dream, and you were just the unfortunate victim of something beyond your control, but that theory doesn't hold up anymore, because that's not an Anomaly, this isn't a normal Dream, and you're somehow related to this."

"So what are we going to do?"

"A Dream is transient, it only exists as long as the Dreamwalker is inside it. In other words, leave and we'll both be out."

"Can you be sure you'll be safe?"

"If needed, there are ways of forcing a way out."

"Right."

I walked to the blizzard, entered it, and laid down in the middle. I looked at the epicenter of the light, and after some time, I dozed off and everything went black.

"Death?"

Two seconds or so later, he finally spoke up.

"The stars really are complete souls. A self-sustaining Dream, and one that's very hard to leave forcedly, that's something a lot of Dreamwalkers wish for, and it is also another mystery to add to the list."

I stayed silent.

"I have an offer, Gray."

"I'm listening."

I'll do some research, but if we want answers, there'll be some lengthy tests to run, so I can send you back right now, and you can finish what you're doing down there, or you can go back after we run the tests. A week here should be a day on the timeline you're in, but this research could potentially take years."

"I think I should go back."

"Sure."

He put something on my hand.

"I'll send you back, press this button when you're done, and I'll bring you back here. This also gives me time to arrange some things. Goodbye, Gray, it was nice to meet you, and I'll see you later."

He sent me back, and it took nothing but seconds before I felt a fluffy thing jump on me.

"Gray, I knew you hadn't died!"

I was about to pet her when the fungus wrapped around my hand, then all my other limbs, making me kneel before I felt a cold muzzle on my forehead.

"Bea, come over here, NOW!"

"What do you think you're doing, Anita? This is Gray, I can smell it."

"We can't be sure, now come over here."

Bea left my shoulders.

"I must admit, dear, I'm happy about this."

"Shut up. Tell me something only Gray would know."

"If someone tried to pose as me, they'd probably look over all my memories or something like that, but I'll entertain you. When we sleep, you make yourself smaller, grow fox ears, and snuggle your way on top of me. I must admit, I find it very cute."

She stayed silent for some time before she took the gun off my head, and let me free. I got up, then I was hit in the head.

"Ouch."

She hugged me, and Bea got back on my shoulders.

"It really is you."

"I said it was him!"

The fox jumped to my shoulders once again.

"Did you need to hit me with the gun?"

"A little punch would prove ineffective in case it wasn't you. It's not as if it made that much damage."

"You're really attractive right now."

"I always am. Where did you go?"

"Meeting Death, the being behind the letter."

"Death? Strange name. Learned anything?"

"That I'm something called a Dreamwalker, and 'hell' is something called a Dream. Other than that, I got some superficial information about anomalies, predecessors, something called great time, and timelines."

"That's all?"

"Well, apparently the blizzard inside hell is capable of releasing copious amounts of some kind of energy, enough to be a threat to Death, and my Dream is capable of existing without me being inside it, and is hard to get out of. Also, I made this."

I showed her the mask.

"A mask? I saw the one on the desk. What's so special about it, other than the fact it's better looking?"

"It's a Dream construct. They shouldn't continue existing after you leave the Dream, but this one did, somehow."

"Hm, that could be useful, depending on what you can bring back from the Dream."

"If I can bring anything else from the Dream, that is, we can't be sure."

"So, this 'Death' won't be a threat, right? Anything else that could prove to be dangerous?"

"He said there won't be any other predecessors coming over here any time soon. But I'd say the blizzard itself is enough of a threat, just because it hasn't caused much harm, doesn't mean that will always be the case."

"And can we do something to stop it if push comes to shove?"

"We can hope it doesn't come to that."

"I don't like that."

"Neither do I. As a silver lining, he gave me this little gadget."

"A way of contacting him, I suppose?"

"Yes. When we're done with this world, I'm going to help him in doing some tests, see if we can figure out anything."

"And when are we going to be done with this world?"

"When there's nothing more of worth to gain from it."