Chapter 1084: The Outside
– Totality…
It is a sprawling domain, not at all meant for mortal minds to perceive or hear of.
It appears as both a boundless and a small place. One where what you’re looking for is what you’ll find.
The place is painted in colors unrecognizable to the human eye. It is splendorous and shocking all at once.
It is almost always quiet here. There are few occasions for outbursts or dramatics of any kind.
The denizens of this place are divided into three.
The Aeons, who, using gifts from the First, create and lord over the thing called mortality.
Suspended in place, they are featureless, but some have given themselves their own sexes. Perhaps they have become affected by their own creations more than they know.
They sit cross-legged, never moving or turning their heads in any other direction.
In their hands, they hold the multiverse of their creation.
They watch it turn constantly. It is their only source of joy. Their function is to watch and admire.
The Archivists are different. They are smaller, like the stars dotting a galaxy. Their function is to learn and to record.
They can always be seen shooting across the vastness of Totality, entering the multiverses of Aeons, and recording the interesting things that they see. Of this, there are many.
The Archivists record what interesting things they find and bring them to the Tree of Embers. There, Life holds the stories in her hallowed dwelling and reads her favorites, over and over again, for all of time. She believes it will help her not to forget such special stories.
Sometimes, the archivists get bored with their jobs. Sometimes, they become too affected by what they see. Such is Free Will.
Rogue archivists are called Dissenters.
They are born when, instead of quietly observing the things they see, they step out into the spotlight of an Aeon’s multiverse.
They usually become Conquerors. Great Kings. Beings reveled and admired by all who appreciate ingenuity, capability, and beauty.
Because of this, some Aeons do not permit Archivists within their verses. And they alone have the final say as to whether or not they can come in.
Dissenters typically go after Aeons who have given up hope on their multiverse, or those who, for some reason, appear to be dying.
With no supervision, the Dissenters go where they want, when they want, with impunity.
The First do not interfere in the acts of those beneath them. There are laws against it.
In their eyes, everything that happens as a result of their births and functions is another thing to be studied. They aren’t permitted to take charge unless the actions of a Dissenter would directly afflict the life of an Aeon.
The First are usually all quite divided. But their influence can usually be perceived all over the realm.
Only the sisters stay in close proximity to each other. The Spring of Possibility directly nurtures the Tree of Embers.
With all of that knowledge in her mind, Eris wasn’t all that surprised when she opened her eyes in a cylindrical chamber.
Floating in the air around her were various items, some of which she didn’t recognize.
There were calculators, clocks, rulers, and more scientific tools of measurement.
And there was string. Lots and lots of string…
Eris couldn’t move her body well. She was pretty sure she didn’t have one currently.
Nonetheless, she shifted her perspective upward and looked upon herself. Or rather, the person she used to be.
Trying to identify her was almost a waste of time. There were so many different appearances she could take. So many different features she could have. The possibilities were endless.
Looking at her for too long hurt Eris’ vision.
My mistake. I forget how small you are now.
Eris blinked, and suddenly she was staring at a figure who was much easier for her to process.
A formless bundle of soft, yellow energy with orange eyes, the color of a new sunset.
She wasn’t quite featureless, appearing with lips and a nose and the other hallmarks you would expect from a female deity.
She wore a dress made of black, shifting metal with a white coat over her shoulders.
She didn’t stand; instead, she floated around the room, concerning herself with her tasks while not even sparing Eris, or what was left of her, a glance.
Speak quickly and plainly. It would not do if they notice I am behaving unnaturally.
Eris swallowed, even though she currently had no mouth. If she had a pulse, it would have been through the roof right about now.
“I want you to send me back home.”
Want is common.
“I also want you to acknowledge my wives and I as the inheritors of Life and Possibility.”
Oh my. I can never say that you’re not interesting, can I?
Possibility flittered from place to place without so much as a change in expression. Eris, for all of her knowledge, had no idea what she was actually thinking.
“I’m not asking for this lightly.”
I would certainly hope not.
“This doesn’t just serve me and my family. It will help you get out from under the thumb of Bal-”
Do not say their name! Not here.
Eris cursed herself for her shortsightedness. In her haste to convince possibility, she’d risked unraveling everything they had going instead.
“…I’m sorry.”
An unnecessary gesture, I’m afraid. The best apology is an unrepeated error. Or at least that’s what she tells me…
“I only want something that will benefit us both.” Eris continued. “I know you want to be out from underneath their thumb. I know you long to explore and see-”
I long for nothing. They have seen to that. Longing makes one distracted. Ineffective. I cannot efficiently fulfil my roles if I am consumed by other thoughts. Want is poison. You have seen that with the unruly one, no doubt. You would have me become like her?
“Want is the basis for living. You may be something beyond comprehension, but you are alive, are you not? There are many who live and want who are not Chaos.”
Possibility did not respond.
“You deserve to experience a life. We should know what it’s like to love and be loved, to frolic and play, to experience grief and disappointment, or to-”
You are a bit too overzealous to be speaking of ‘we’. As of now, you are a shell. I am a driving force of creation. The gap between us is grotesque.
Possibility glanced at the whisp of Eris’ soul out of the corner of her eye.
I discarded you so that you might go and live your own life. Do the things that I could not do because of my duties. Now you have endeavored to come back here for reasons I do not understand and are attempting to coerce me into unification once more.
“I risked everything to get here because the future demanded it! I’m pretty sure that a Dissenter faction is heading for my Aeon, and I need your power to help protect my family!”
The very family you lied to about your identity in not one, but three separate timelines? The one you did not warn before you sacrificed yourself and filled them with unimaginable grief?
Eris was in shock. “You’re watching…”
I can see them, yes. Though it’s blurry. Oblivion’s influence no doubt…
At the mention of the oldest Egoless, Eris felt something familiar flutter in her heart. She pushed it down for the moment and continued her efforts of persuasion.
“…I might’ve made some mistakes. I might still be making them. But I love my family. And i’ll get back to them by any means necessary.”
A bold statement for someone with very little power in the matter.
“You’re going to listen to me! You’re going to return me, and give me your blessing. I’ll convince you through any means!”
You know not what you are saying.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything, I’m afraid.”
Possibility paused with a small clock in her hand. She turned to stare at Eris with openly annoyed eyes.
What do you believe will happen if I grant your requests? Are you willing to risk never seeing the women you love again to protect what you hold dear?
“W-What..?”
I am almost as large as the meddlesome one, little Shell. For me to have a vessel of any kind, I would need the unified body you all share. And if that comes to pass, then-
“We won’t… ever be able to separate again…” Eris realized. “We’ll be one.”
Many, but one. Yes. That is the way it must be.
Eris was floored.
Being inside of Ayaana was the peak of physical intimacy for the wives. But it wasn’t everything to them.
They liked cuddling just as much. They liked playing with their children together. And they loved waking up in the morning to see each other’s faces.
They were in love with each other just as much as they loved the man who brought them all together. If a day ever came were they were suddenly unable to see each other again, she didn’t know how she would survive.
Possibility smelled the discontent wafting off of Eris’ soul. She shook her head at it and returned to her duties.
Sacrifices are the driving force behind what is possible and what isn’t. You can be tenacious, but the only figures who get something for nothing are characters in storybooks.
I know your grief. Even now, I feel it trying to infect me.
But this is the way it must be. For you to get what you want, something must be sacrificed.
I thought you were more serious about this. But if you are not willing to let go of something to protect another, then I might as well return to my tasks. You can’t help either of us with such selfishness…
guys yesterday I almost ended the chapter off on a cliffhanger just to be mean. I have been told that it was wrong and I should apologize for my actions