Beyond The Impossible

The Tavern, Heaven

Noriko Null takes a large sip from the mug of beer, only to immediately be asked by Quantum:

<Are you sure that’s a good idea? You know you have bad history with weird drinks.>

<We’re in Heaven, Max. This is the only place where I can have a drink strong enough to affect me despite the Nexus, but not strong enough to have embarrassing side effects.> she says, then she puts down the mug. She decides not to take another drink even when it magically refills itself.

<And I am going to need a pick-me-up if giving the Tablet Of Destinies to my mother is really the only option left.>

The bronze-skinned barmaid with no face leans on the counter to talk to her.

<Then you are ready to go, yes?> Siduri asks.

<As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go, people.> Noriko orders.

The Tavern at the edge of the universe is full, but most of the people present are not real: they are mostly from Gilgamesh’s memories of lost lovers. He doesn’t stand from his seat at the counter.

<Not interested. There’s a reason I brought the Tablet to Heaven… nobody should have all that power, not even the gods.>

<I’m also staying. This place reminds me of home.> says Theodoros, the old man recreated by Vesta’s memory of her dead husband.

<I’m not going anywhere he’s not.> Vesta points out, holding his hand.

<Small minds. Control of the Tablet means control of the universe. I have wasted enough time already following you all.> Reaper protests, taking steps towards Siduri until his son Torn moves in front of him to stop his path.

<You won’t take the Tablet. You’re here only because you can’t die until we take you out of Heaven.> he clarifies.

<Well, you keep an eye on him. I want to see this thing!> Kari excitedly exclaims.

<You explain to your servants this is not an open invite, yes?> Siduri asks Noriko.

<Hey! Who are you calling a servant?> Kari protests.

<Settle down, Kari. What’s your point, Siduri?> Noriko asks.

<She means that you can’t take your whole entourage with you. She’s very protective of her inner sanctum.> Roxiana points out.

<Heirs to the Usurpers may pass, yes? I will allow you to bring one servant, no more.>

<She means Nexus users.> the ghost of Teraph reminds them.

<We both qualify. Choose one companion and we’re ready to go.> Roxiana tells Noriko.

She thinks quickly. Gilgamesh declined, and she doesn’t know him enough yet to trust him with such a delicate mission.

Reaper is just waiting for an occasion to defeat them, and Torn is the most qualified to keep an eye on him in case he tries anything.

Vesta would typically be her first choice, as the most powerful member of the Vanguard and expert on ancient history. But Siduri showed little respect for the gods, plus Vesta’s heart wouldn’t be on the mission considering her constant worry for her husband.

Kari is her second-in-command, and as such the best suited to keep things together while she’s away. That leaves only one option.

<Quantum, you’re with me. Alright, Siduri… show me what you’ve got.> Noriko challenges her.

There’s no visible reaction from the faceless barmaid. She just turns away from the counter and touches the wall. A section of it slides sideways, revealing a hidden passage that glows brightly.

<What you seek is this way, yes?> Siduri asks, moving aside to let her guests pass.

<Finally!> Reaper exclaims, jumping towards her location.

Torn’s swords cut through his flesh attempting to stop him, but his father is determined enough to power through the pain in a rush to get through that door.

<No.> Siduri simply states, grabbing Reaper by the throat before he can even see her.

Two daggers made of black Ichor appear on her neck, stabbing her. Nothing stops the weapons from penetrating her flesh, but she doesn’t show any discomfort.

<I said one servant. You were not chosen.> she reminds him.

Without touching him, without a gesture and without any warning, Reaper’s body is consumed by a flash of white-hot plasma and reduced to a pile of ashes on the floor.

It only took her a fraction of a second to execute him. Then she just tilts her head and repeats:

<What you seek is this way, yes?>

<Should we… do something?> Quantum asks Noriko, shocked by the speed of the events and recalling that the entire Vanguard had trouble to keep up with Reaper.

<He’ll be fine, he can’t die in Heaven. Let’s move on.> she incites, being the first one to walk through the secret door.

Roxiana follows her, then Quantum, and after Siduri leaves through it the door vanishes to be replaced by an ordinary wall.

There’s an uncomfortable silence in the tavern. Torn moves on the other side of the counter, standing before the pile of ashes that used to be his father.

<Are you okay?> Kari asks him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

<We must stand guard. He will try it again.> he says, while the ashes are already stirring and growing in mass as Heaven starts reconstructing Reaper’s body from nearly nothing.

<After that embarrassment? There’s no way he’d get past Siduri.> she points out.

<I know my father. He is stubborn beyond belief.>

<So is Roxiana. I hope Null didn’t sign her own doom when she trusted that woman.> Teraph comments, taking advantage of the barmaid’s disappearance to pour himself a drink.

<I didn’t see you landing a hand!> Kari criticizes him.

<I’m dead. Just the aftertaste left by the real me spending time in Heaven… I literally have no skin in the game.> he shrugs.

Kari would continue the argument, but another person objects first: Theodoros, standing from his table despite Vesta’s feeble attempt to keep him there.

<You are wrong. We are here for a reason. I just know it.>

<This might be hard to grasp for an insufficiently evolved species, human, but not everything happens for a reason.> the Lar ghost dismisses him.

<Your time here has made you cynical, Teraph.> Gilgamesh tells him, walking Theodoros back to his table and sitting between him and Vesta.

<My apologies for dismissing you earlier, times are frantic. My name is Gilgamesh as you’ve heard, but I have not heard yours.>

<I’m Vesta, and this is my husband Theodoros. I have to say, you’re not really acting like the Gilgamesh I’ve heard about from my brother.>

<You’re also not acting like any goddess I’ve met. You must be Zeus’s younger sister.>

<Oldest sister, actually. You know my brother well, and yet barely ever mentioned you.>

<We fought together, drank together, slept together. Joined forces to dethrone your father. He spoke highly of you; he said you were the future of his family, more than once.>

<Doesn’t sound like Zeus. Except the “sleeping with” part, that’s totally him.>

<But I’m intrigued by your husband. I’ve had my fair share of indulgences with races of more limited lifespan than mine… the Ur live longer than all other mortals. Your undying love fascinates me; I believe you might indeed be able to assist Null in her quest.>

<Have you always been this philosophical?> Vesta asks; she can barely recognize this aspect of Gilgamesh from the boisterous bruiser of their previous encounter.

<I have passed the past million years in an endless cycle of exciting action and pleasures of the flesh. You’d be surprised how much this makes you appreciate deeper things.>

<Then you regret not following Null?> Theodoros asks.

<I don’t; there’s nothing I can do beyond that door to help her. But you have second thoughts?>

<Not about myself. I wasn’t a man of action even when I was in my youth. But you, my love, should have gone with her.> Theodoros tells Vesta.

<I already told you, I’m not letting you out of my sight. I’ve lost you once and I’m not prepared to lose you again.> she says.

<You will have to. Mortals are not meant to live forever, and we both know I’m living on borrowed time.> Theodoros replies, pointing at the handcuffs still firmly attached to his wrists: these devices created by Rei.

<We’ll figure out a way to allow you to exist even without those things. If Noriko really can’t do it as she says, we’ll find someone even smarter than she is.> Vesta reassures him.

<And NOW you’re piqued my interest.> Teraph interrupts the discussion, joining them at the table to examine the handcuffs more closely.

<I thought you said you have no skin in the game.> Gilgamesh pokes fun at him.

<I didn’t. But if there’s any chance to demonstrate that even after a million years after my death I’m still the smartest Nexus host who ever lived, I just can’t drop it!>

 

The Empyrean

Whatever Noriko expected to see on the other side of that door, it wasn’t this.

Siduri is leading them up a flight of stairs, with each step is not sustained by anything: it’s a spiral staircase suspended in a void, surrounded by an endless expanse of white fire.

<Where are we, exactly?> she asks.

<This is the Empyrean; you are comfortable, yes? You are the first physical beings to access it since Gilgamesh. You like it, yes?>

<Nori, I can’t even begin to describe the particles I’m seeing all around us. It doesn’t even look real!> Quantum tells her, sounding more than a little afraid.

<This must be Heaven’s natural state. An hyper-dimensional field of nearly limitless energy, able to be shaped by thoughts. Absolutely fascinating.> Roxiana comments.

Wanting to break the awkward silence, Noriko decides to take the opportunity to ask their guide:

<Siduri… what we’re seeing is not your real form, isn’t it?>

<Of course not. You would not survive proximity with my real self, yes? This form was shaped by Gilgamesh’s thoughts.>

<Yeah I get why he’d want you to look like a buxom woman of his race, but why no face?>

<Even in this form, I have no need to consume fuel like physical beings. It is more efficient, yes?>

<But you could be anything. Why stay like this for so long?>

<Only since Gilgamesh saw me. It wasn’t that long ago, yes?>

<A million years is relative. How old are you?> Roxiana asks.

<I don’t know exactly. My people have little interest in timekeeping, yes? But in your terms, I would say seven and a half billion years. Watch your step, we have arrived.> Siduri warns her.

Noriko is still taken by surprise: just between one step and the other, she’s no longer on a staircase but she has crossed an entrance to a room. And it’s equally stunning.

Surrounded by glass walls that allow the sea of white fire to illuminate everything, there’s an elaborate expanse of bookshelves that extends as far as the eye can see.

It’s clearly not human architecture, full of curved support structures that don’t seem to obey the laws of physics in unnatural twists and turns.

Two things in particular get Noriko’s attention. The fact that all the bookshelves seem to be empty, and the pillar of blue light that ascends towards the non-existent ceiling and that is clearly supposed to be the centerpiece of the entire place.

<I’ve seen this described in the oldest texts I’ve ever found. Is… is this Drylon architecture?> Roxiana asks, with the sheer joy of a child on her face.

<I did my best to recreate what the Usurpers accomplished. But I could not replicate the actual contents of the real Infinite Library, yes?>

<Null… based on my historical research, I believe we are standing in a perfect recreation of the original collection of Drylon knowledge… dating even further back than the creation of the Nexus itself!> Roxiana exclaims.

<The contents of the Infinite Library disappeared with the Usurpers. I thought it would be the best place to house the most dangerous relics they left behind, yes?> Siduri asks rhetorically.

The mortals approach the pillar of light with caution and silence: it’s really a sight to behold.

Resting on a pillar of glass, there’s a small unassuming object. A rectangular piece of highly polished black rock, no larger than a book but just a few millimeters thick.

<Is that it?> Noriko asks, somewhat disappointed: it looks deceptively ordinary.

<The Tablet Of Destinies.> Roxiana identifies it.

<I thought it would be bigger. Even the freaking lamp looks more impressive.> Quantum points out, looking at the lantern just sitting on the floor next to the glass pillar… both Noriko and Roxiana were too focused on the Tablet to even notice it.

<Oh, this little thing. Just a souvenir, yes?> Siduri says, picking it up to show it: there’s a spark inside it bouncing all over the place, trying to escape from the lantern.

<Gilgamesh says this is the Soul of Kronos. It really ties the place together, doesn’t it?>