Chapter 365: Declaration

The team did not talk for several minutes after the gap closed.

They stood in the blank sector amidst the broken remains of the measuring constructs that drifted away from them. The path that led away from the gap opened up towards the known realms. The path in front of them was sealed off again, heavier than it was previously. The metronome pulse continued to sound somewhere in the distance without changing its tempo, as if the interruption was not worth changing.

Lucifer kept watching the spot where the window was located. The vision of Damaris and Lilith, who were still clearly chained up and bloodlessly, but conscious, was still clear in his mind. The fact that they saw him and he saw them changed everything.

Aeloria was the first to speak. "We confirmed what we needed to confirm. They are alive. The orb is real. The being that is running the harvest is not interested in negotiating. We are not that strong to breach with this team. This is the current truth."

Nyx stood with her arms crossed, living darkness moving around her boots. "Truth is only valuable if we act accordingly. What we know is that the harvest is closer to completion than we were willing to believe. We also know that the being is watching Lucifer specifically. This is even more dangerous than anything we knew previously."

Heron remained silent with his spear leaned against one shoulder and empty gaze fixed on the sealed off dark ahead. The two Origin operatives remained in their positions, prepared to fend of the second wave of the being’s subordinates that never came.

Lucifer finally turned around facing away from the gap. "He looked at me and called me the late seed. He talked of my growth as if it was planned to happen. He is not only harvesting the old generation, but he is waiting for me to become dense enough to be of any interest to whatever he plans to bring back."

Before anyone could respond, the blank sector in front of them shimmered.

It was not another formation of the measuring constructs. The interference itself cleared in a wide circle around them, not enough to create a gap that would lead to the enclave, but enough to provide a channel of clear communication. The tall being of layered white and pale gold light appeared in the empty space in front of the team, the same one that the team saw within the chamber of the harvest. It seemed to prefer the edge of the outer perimeter to where the final walls of the enclave were located this time.

The starfire of Aeloria burned bright, Nyx’s darkness spread out to cover the team in a veil of protection, but Lucifer made no move to attack.

The being addressed them first.

"You have created a window and you witnessed the work. You confirmed the state of the captured progenitors. This is enough for one visit. I am here to make the rest of the situation perfectly clear so that you do not bother us with your misguided hopes."

Lucifer’s crimson eyes remained fixed on the tall figure. "Then make us clear on the matter."

"You are the primary product of Aeloria’s garden," the being said. "The progenitors were useful, their authority feeds the foundation, but you are the late seed that grew beyond the expected limits of this sealed universe. Your density is already high enough to be considered relevant to the restoration of Father. Every time you grow stronger you become more valuable to the final threshold. Resistance is expected. It makes no difference. The harvest will continue to reach completion. When the orb is completed, Father will return and the Loom will be stabilized. The independent path of this garden will come to an end."

Nyx’s voice echoed in the distance. "You talk as if it is already written. We just started pushing."

The being turned its attention to her. "You are old enough to understand the difference between a local struggle and a structural correction. This is the latter. The Loom is coming down, Father is the only remaining corrective option. The authority of this universe’s strongest is the material needed to bring him back. You may fight the one’s that are chained. You may even reach the enclave in time to disrupt the work being done on a small scale. You will not change the necessity."

Aeloria stepped forward, silver streaks of her hair dancing in the air. "If the cost of your correction is the destruction of everything this universe has built?"

"Then the cost is accepted," the being replied. "A damaged Loom serves no one. A restored Father does. The garden was always secondary."

The weight of the being’s words settled over the team.

It was not threatening, but more of explaining the process that interested it.

Damaris and Lilith, the two chained up progenitors, were not really prisoners. They were material that was already allocated to the purpose.

Lucifer took a step forward. The True Divine pressure around him thickened and expanded, making the blank sector feel smaller.

"I saw them," he said. "They are still fighting off the drain. That means the process is not complete. As long as it is not complete I still have the option to act. You can call me a late seed and consider my growth, but it does not mean I will be convenient material for you."

Something close to mild interest passed through the being’s features. "Good, a seed that refuses the harvest is more valuable in the long run than one that readily accepts it. Grow, hybrid, and push against the schedule. Reach the enclave and do everything this garden has to offer to reach the threshold. We will see if your resistance was an obstacle or another form of preparation when the time comes."

The channel of communication began to narrow and the figure of pale gold and white light disappeared back into the interference field, leaving the sector blank and silent once again.

Aeloria exhaled. "He is not going to stop. He does not even think of stopping. The only options to him are us being material or temporary resistance on the way to the result."

Nyx’s darkness curled inward. "Then we stop pretending we can time this rescue to our liking and start racing against the clock. The orb has a threshold. We need to reach the enclave and break off the siphon before that threshold is reached."

Lucifer turned his gaze on the sealed of dark once more, the vision of Damaris and Lilith still fresh in his mind. So were the words of the opposing being on the matter of his growth. He was not the late seed growing on his own, he was a part of the overall equation.

"We return," he said. "We invest in a full breach and we gather everything this universe has to offer to reach the enclave before the counting finishes. I am not going to leave them in these chains and I am not going to become the convenient material for their Father."

No one argued.

The team turned around and headed back towards the known realms. Behind them the hidden sector sealed itself away once more and in front of them the slow metronome continued to mark the progress of the harvest. It was too late to stop it, but not to reach the enclave in time.