Lampyria, 68,000 light-years from Earth
Noriko Null is standing on the rooftop of the Palace of the Government, using the sensors of her N-Phone to analyze the Iron Key Of Heaven in the palm of her hand.
Lily Elosia lands next to her; despite Noriko’s fame, Lily is the only Lampyrian working up the courage to talk to her; the rest are understandably hiding, having already witnessed an Oracle invasion and the arrival of Apollo.
<Did you find out anything about the Key?> Lily asks her.
<Its chemical composition: iron tetraboride in a fullerene mesh. I think it operates by interpreting the electrical signals in the brain of whoever is holding it, but that’s it: I don’t know how to turn it on. And even if I did, I don’t actually know what it does> Noriko reluctantly explains.
<Can’t you use your Golden Eyes?>
<It was the first thing I tried, but I can’t access them. If we can’t rely on the Key, I’ll have to find a way to hit Apollo with a Final Abyss. Perhaps…> Noriko says, interrupted by a pentagram of fire that spits out a Demon faster than a speeding car. Luckily for him, Kari Zel jumps from the roof of another building and catches Torn before he can fall, then she lands not far away from Noriko.
<Let me guess: the fight didn’t go as planned> she asks, her voice distorted by the 10K Rise.
<Indeed> Torn admits, struggling to get back on his feet: Demon resilience or not, it’s clear he barely survived his encounter with Apollo.
<This system has a gas planet. He just blew it up.> he reveals.
<You mean Llarla!? It’s 10% more massive than your Jupiter! If he can destroy it so easily…>
<Calm down, Lily. We’re the Vanguard, we deal with this kind of stuff all the time> Kari tells her.
<We’re outmatched. A direct confrontation with Apollo is suicide> Noriko says, raising the left sleeve of her leather jacket to expose the tattoo on her arm: a snake twisted in the infinity symbol. When she touches it, the tattoo briefly glows red before she covers it again.
<There, that should buy us some time. Torn, I need some help to get inside my own soul.>
<Ready when you are.> the Demon answers.
<Hold on, hold on! You need to get where!?> Kari asks.
<I’m going to get a second opinion> Noriko says, sitting down next to Torn as his body glows in the aura of Blood energy.
Millions of miles away
Quantum slowly regains consciousness when he feels something on his lips. Which shouldn’t be possible, considering the last thing he remembers is turning his body into neutrinos to escape the explosion created by Apollo; now, when he opens his eyes, he can see Vesta keeping him alive mouth to mouth respiration.
<What the…> he tries to say, hearing nothing: he’s laying on a rock floating in space.
<Oh thank Gaea you’re alive! Can you turn into energy?> she asks with the Neural Transmitter.
<Unfortunately yes.> he answers, losing his sense of touch when he transforms into photons.
<Can you get to Lampyria on your own?> she asks.
<I think so, but at the speed of light it’s going to take about an hour. Where’s Apollo?>
<Oni, get Quantum and get him to safety. I’m going after Apollo.>
<What a second, did you just say…> Quantum says, interrupted by his own teleportation.
Bridge of the N08-Zahhak, moments later
<…Oni?> Quantum finishes his question, temporarily disoriented by the teleportation.
He soon understands that he’s on the bridge of one of the sister ships of the Ragnarok, and that he’s the only biological lifeform here: the crew is made of inhuman robots called Yonkai, and there’s one of the Oni robots on the captain’s char.
<As if things weren’t bad enough already> he says, preparing to blast the robot.
<At ease, Quantum. We are here under orders from Null> the Oni answers.
<Say again!?>
<We belong to the Covenant fleet. The N07-Naraka is escorting Helen of Troy out of this system; it will join us and the N11-Duzakh in the assault.>
<Quite convenient! I just took a planet to the face, where were you guys five minutes ago!?>
<Nine thousand light-years away. The Negative Drive is fast, but we needed additional time to mobilize the army.>
<What army?> Quantum asks, looking at the viewscreen: it shows Apollo surrounded by a hundred Oni robots, in their shining Neutral Matter chassis, shooting plasma charges at the god.
<Okay, that makes sense. What’s the plan now?>
<Null’s instructions were “hit him with everything you’ve got and get the Vanguard to safety”. You are strongly advised to travel back to Lampyria immediately.>
<Not a chance! What makes you think I want to sit this one out!?> Quantum asks, the he has to cover his eyes when Apollo becomes so bright even he has trouble following the battle.
<On second thought, this time we might’ve bitten off more than we can chew.> he admits.
At the center of the battle
The Oni are relentless war machines, created by Viper by modifying the Talos design stolen from Hephaestus. Their Neutral Matter plating allows them to survive Apollo’s blasts, even when the temperature of the battlefield reaches a million degrees, but they’re having little to no success actually harming him: the god’s invulnerability is simply too great for their weapons.
Vesta grabs him from behind, hoping to exploit her only two advantages: the fact that she’s had some training in hand-to-hand combat, thanks to Kari, and her own invulnerability to heat.
<Just stop it, Apollo! This isn’t worth it!>
<I asked your hand in marriage once, Vesta! We could’ve made love under the sweet light of a nebula, and now you side with my enemies!>
Apollo then uses the Heaven-Slayer sword, which he’s still carrying after Quantum’s failed attack, to stab Vesta’s thigh. The blade is sharp enough to cut her, and she let him go.
<And no enemy of the Unconquered Sun can be allowed to survive> he declares, swinging his sword against the Oni. There’s absolutely no skill whatsoever in how he does it… he can’t remember ever holding a sword in his life… but when you’re inches away from your adversary and you’re holding the sharpest blade in the universe, skill is unnecessary.
By the time the warships catch up to him and begin their assault, Apollo has already made short work of the indestructible Oni sent to fight him.
The Mindscape
The pentagram appears on a beach, throwing enough sand in the air to obscure the arrival of Torn and Noriko Null. The latter looks around, at the calm ocean in front of her and the glowing infinity symbol that replaces the Sun, and scratches her head.
<We were supposed to show up at Central Registry. Did you miss?>
<I have never been there and I learned about its existence a minute ago. You tell me if this is the right place or not.>
<Oh he didn’t miss.> is the answer Noriko receives from a Demon, but it’s not Torn. It’s a tall Demon woman who just appeared out of nowhere in front of her, and her eyes are golden.
<Apocalypse> Torn says, kneeling before the woman without missing a beat.
<Torn, you’re embarrassing me…>
<Tell me about it. On your feet, Demon, or have my words been forgotten by my own kind?>
<Demons don’t bow to any higher authority> Torn recites, standing up again.
<I feel like I’m missing something. You know this woman?>
<Apocalypse is one of the most respected Demons in all of Hell’s history, the teacher of our philosophy of neutrality. I had no idea she was a Nexus user.>
<And I guess she’s also the reason we’re not in Central Registry.>
<You are not ready to access the secrets of the Nexus, Null. You failed the test we gave you.>
<You mean the golden eyes? Okay, I had some problems keeping them, but…>
<You don’t even know the price you paid for that short glimpse of infinity, do you?>
<I was just depowered for a few minutes. It’s not a big deal.>
<You lost about a year of your life.>
<What!?>
<Human brains, or Demon or Lar brains for that matter, were never supposed to handle golden eyes. The damage you sustained shortened your life expectancy.>
<So if I use them again, I lose yet another year of my life> Noriko says, looking down and reflecting on the point for a few seconds. Then she looks at Apocalypse with her silver eyes shining.
<Let’s get started. How do I access golden eyes on my own?>
<Null, Apocalypse just said…> Torn tells her, placing his hand on her shoulder; Noriko immediately pushes it away.
<There are hundreds of millions of people on this planet. I don’t care if they’re not human, I’m not throwing their lives away just to live a little longer.>
<Spoken like a true Demon> Apocalypse says, nodding approvingly.
<And a true idiot. No wonder your kind lost the war.> is the comment of another unannounced visitor: a Lar man with grey scaly skin just appeared. Noriko recognizes him from her vision:
<Teraph, isn’t it? You’re the one who built the Key. Why won’t you let me use it?>
<You thought I split the Key into three components and hid the only piece I kept for myself on a forsaken planet just to give it away to the first pair of silver eyes that finds them?>
<You’d rather have Apollo take it or destroy it?>
<Yes. He’s not smart enough to use it, and if it’s lost it won’t do any damage to anyone.>
<Don’t overestimate yourself, Teraph. Your invention is revolutionary, but it’s not a Drylon device. A god would not be automatically locked out.>
<I still say no. Apollo killing her and destroying the Key in the process is far more likely.>
<Thanks for the vote of confidence…> Noriko comments.
<As much as it pains me to admit it, the Lar is right. Allowing the Key to be destroyed is the most neutral option.>
<Apocalypse, with all due respect…> Torn tries to intervene, but the Demon woman won’t listen.
<I have spoken. We’ll talk again after you’re dead, Null. Come on, Teraph, let’s get ready for the next host> she says, disappearing with the Lar without adding anything else.
<Hey! Come back here, I’m not done with you!!!> Noriko yells at the empty beach.
<They’re quite insufferable, aren’t they?>
Once again, there is no warning for the arrival of other hosts. Noriko recognizes them from her previous visit to the Nexus: one is a black woman with voluminous hair, the other one is a man with golden skin who is so immobile he could be mistaken for a statue.
<You guys should put on a bell. Next time give me a warning.> Noriko comments.
<This is your Mindscape now, dear. You should put up some mental defenses, decorate a little bit.>
<You’re one of the other human hosts, aren’t you?>
<Indeed I am. Your immediate predecessor, in fact. Call me Roxiana.> she says, extending her hand to Noriko. Instead of shaking it, she just stares at it.
<I have a million questions. But right now, only one of them matters.> she says.
<“Will you help me or not?”, I know. And the answer’s yes, of course! I’ve never actually met the Lampyrians, but I’m not going to let you be the last human host. We haven’t had the most spectacular run… the Scribe’s a monster, and none of the others did anything big with the Nexus, not even Diomedes… if we’re going out, we’re going out with a bang.>
<I suppose that’s why you brought mr. happy face here?> Noriko asks, looking at the golden man.
<The Key is a bastardized version of a much more advanced kind of technology, forgotten by most of the universe. But his kind remembers.> Roxiana reveals, and finally the man speaks.
<Let me tell you about the First Men.> he says.
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