Beyond The Impossible

Throne of Poseidon, Aegian Galaxy

Noriko Null can feel Ulysses trying to tap into her mind, the same way she’s probing into his soul.

But more importantly, she can feel her life being drained by the tremendous stress of the Eternal Abyss she’s using.

<Stop resisting, Null. If we work together, we can rid this universe of gods.> Ulysses tells her, standing up; his body and his soul are proving to have far more stamina than she anticipated.

<A little late for diplomacy, Ulysses. I’m getting to the bottom of this.> she replies.

<Warning. Irreversible host failure in 77 seconds.> the Nexus warns her, speaking to her mind.

<Whether it kills me or not.>

 

The Monk’s sanctuary, 1779 A.D.

Noriko Null has already seen a vision of this place in the Mindscape, but this memory from Ulysses dates back to when the building wasn’t in ruins yet.

The design reminds her of a Buddhist temple, and everything looks deceptively simple. The wooden walls must be made of something more sturdy, however, considering the laser blasts from the defense robots didn’t even scratch it after ricocheting off Ulysses’ shield.

Ulysses walks towards the only human in the building, a bald Asian man in his eighties who is sitting in the lotus position on a pile of cushions.

<You’re a hard man to find, Monk.> Ulysses greets him.

<By design. I have left the troubles of my birth galaxy behind, but you cannot outrun the past. Something you are intimately familiar with, Ulysses.>

<You know of me?>

<I carry with me the memories of all previous Nexus hosts. Diomedes has spoken of you; he would not be surprised to still find you alive. Would you indulge an old man’s curiosity and answer a question that has vexed both myself and Diomedes?>

<I’m not accustomed to have such a cordial welcome after invading a high security base; people who find out mostly want to kill me.> Ulysses answers, sitting in front of the Monk.

<Death is an illusion; we are all information, the sum of our history and knowledge. I would never end your story before it has reached its conclusion.>

<I was warned you would be irritating. What question you want me to answer, Monk?>

<Why did you never attempt to seize the Nexus? Athena considered you its perfect host. I know she offered it to you more than once.>

<Nexus hosts can’t transfer their minds into cloned bodies without losing access to its power. I learned that from the Scribe, as I’m sure you did.>

<You fear death, Ulysses?>

<I look forward to it. The weight of millennia are taking their toll, but I have a job to finish first: ending divine rule by killing all gods.>

<And that job has taken you to me.>

<I’ve kept my eye on Nexus hosts. And I heard of a host who developed an interesting power, akin to the way Demons use the Blood but available to humans. It should prove useful.>

<Soul Control, yes. And you wish to employ violence to force me to teach you? Be warned, Ulysses, I may not be worth much in physical combat but I am far from defenseless.>

<I know. Athena sent entire armies to capture you. Not a single soldier survived.>

<Which is why I took refuge in Poseidon’s galaxy. Am I to believe Athena didn’t send you?>

<I know you can read souls. Mine is an open book, Monk. As strange as it may sound, I’m not even trying to lie to you.>

<You have a powerful soul. Easily the most powerful I’ve ever seen: you could learn Soul Control, easily. But I am a pacifist, why would I help someone with such a violent intent as you?>

<A universe without gods, Monk. Where nobody would interrupt your study of the meaning of life. Surely that’s worth enough for you, isn’t it?>

The Monk’s silver eyes shine, then they turn golden as he probes deeper into his new student’s soul.

<A reasonable price. Let us begin, you have so much to learn.>

 

Second Circle of Hell, 1842 A.D.

Ulysses steps through a pentagram of fire, protected from the harsh environment of Hell by his own personal forcefield. The Demon greeting him looks a great deal like Torn, even if the Vanguard’s alien member won’t be born for decades.

<Reaper. I didn’t expect to receive your message so soon.>

<I need your expertise. You know the prisoner.> Torn’s father replies, wasting no time in pleasantries as he walks Ulysses towards a cell with bars made of solidified Blood.

<A prisoner? I thought Demons executed all trespassers.>

<We do. We couldn’t kill her.> Reaper admits.

<Finally! You guys sure took your time.> the prisoner complains. Ulysses stares at her: it’s a dark skinned teenage girl. His first hunch is that this is a goddess, but he’s learned to identify gods by their soul… and he simply cannot read hers.

<A child broke into Hell?>

<Hey, I’m fifteen. The name’s Roxiana, by the way.> the girl replies, walking towards the bars and simply passing through them like the Blood wasn’t even there.

Reaper reacts by creating a Blood sword and pointing it at her, but she just responds with a smile.

<Oh please. Like that’s going to work.> she snarks, her silver eyes shining.

<A Nexus host. I take it the Monk is dead then.> Ulysses understands.

<Yeah that old fossil kicked the bucket years ago. But I learned everything he knew about Soul Control so don’t try anything funny.> she tells Reaper.

<Demons have no use for a sense of humor. Or buckets.>

<You learned Soul Control in fifteen years? An impressive feat.> Ulysses acknowledges.

<Get real, I was twelve when I got the Nexus and it took me a full year before I entered the Mindscape. Compared to that, Soul Control was nothing. The Monk and Diomedes had lots of interesting things to teach me, and Apocalypse gave me a real insight on Demons, too.>

<You talked to Hell’s greatest leader?> Reaper asks, his voice almost showing emotion.

<Yep, she was a Nexus host too. In fact I talked to lots of former hosts, and that gave me an idea on something that you guys will be interested in.>

<Finally I’m getting what you’ve been up to, Roxiana. What’s your real goal?> Noriko wonders.

<Warning. Irreversible host failure in 70 seconds.>

 

Second Circle of Hell

Ulysses and Reaper sit at the same table, in a secure room protected by miles of rock and Blood; this is one of the most secret places in Hell, and only a high ranking Demon can access it.

Roxiana is explaining herself, aided by holograms projected from one of her devices; there’s a manic energy in her voice and even in her body language.

<I did a lot of digging into the memories of previous Nexus hosts; studying the past is my obsession. There’s this guy in the Mindscape, a Lar named Teraph. Easily the smartest Nexus host who ever lived, I’d say the only one smarter than me so far. He helped Zeus overthrow Kronos; he wouldn’t tell me how, but he then got rid of some weapon Zeus used by throwing it into Heaven.>

<What’s Heaven?> Ulysses asks.

<That’s the billion obol question, isn’t it? I’m probably the only non-Demon who knows. Heaven is an artificial dimension created by the Drylon that holds infinite power.>

<Explain.> Reaper simply adds, as laconic as his son.

<You know how gods work, right? They have a direct link to the universe’s energy; basically they have an inexhaustible power source, and their only limitation is how much energy they can harness at once. Heaven, however, holds as much potential energy as the universe itself: accessing it would mean wielding the power of all gods who ever existed, combined.>

<What’s the catch?> Ulysses wonders.

<There are three. First, Heaven is nearly impossible to reach: it has more than four physical dimensions. Second, and not even all gods know this… gods cannot enter Heaven. They worked really, really hard to prevent mortals from knowing about it, so they wouldn’t get any ideas.>

<What would happen if a mortal entered Heaven?> Reaper asks.

<They’d be virtually omnipotent, but that’s the third catch: only as long as they stay in Heaven. Teraph is the only mortal who got there, but once he returned he lost everything he gained.>

<Sounds like a worthless prize. Why are you interested in Heaven, and why should we be?>

<Heaven is the last thing the Drylon created before they disappeared. The only chance to learn what happened to them, the greatest mystery in the history of the universe, lies in Heaven. And learning history is what I’m all about. As for you two… I did mention what Teraph brought there, right?>

<A weapon capable of defeating Kronos. The greatest of all gods.> Reaper realizes.

<Let’s help each other. I discover what happened to the Drylon, and you two get a weapon capable of destroying all gods. Everybody wins, right?>

 

Aegian Galaxy, 1915 A.D.

An elderly Roxiana is hunched over her holographic computer, when she has a coughing fit. Once she’s done, she stares at the blood she coughed into her own hand.

<The years are catching up to me. But I can still sense a soul like yours, Ulysses.> she tells the man who just leaves the shadows he was hiding under.

<I’ve heard you lost most of your forces in the latest counterassault by Poseidon, along with your last living child and some grandchildren. I’m sorry.> he offers his condolences.

<Eh, none of them was particularly bright. Brilliance is not a hereditary trait no matter how much genetic engineering you put into it; believe me, I would know. Is that why you’re here?>

<I also heard you’re dying. I told you to stop using your Golden Eyes so often.>

<Did I ever tell you how I kept doing it? And why I am so damn smart? I was the first to discover you can use Golden Eyes as often as you want, as long as you absorb the brain capacity of others.>

<You mean wipe out the minds of entire worlds. Tell me, how many civilizations did you slaughter to gain the title of Angel of Death?> he asks, interrupted by another coughing fit.

<Enough. I’ve got enough in me for one last mission, and this will be a masterpiece.> Roxiana responds, showing off to Ulysses the hologram of a planet. It’s Earth.

<I’m sure you recognize it, since you were born there. I discovered that’s the same planet where Hestia was exiled, but more importantly: it’s where Zeus hid the Heart Of The Universe. But you knew that already, didn’t you? I suspect it’s why you hid the Palladium there too.>

<That planet is off limits for you, Roxiana.>

<No, I don’t think so. I’ve figured out a way to use the Heart to access Heaven. I just need to get to the planet and use my Golden Eyes at full power one last time. Of course, to do that I’ll need to absorb and destroy all knowledge on the planet, but you lose some you win some, am I right?>

Roxiana smiles one last time before a plasma bullet passes though her chest, punching a hole through her heart and her torso. She unceremoniously falls to the ground, the silver light in her eyes quickly fading away.

<Indeed. I lose you, and Athena wins the Nexus.> Ulysses declares, holding a laser scalpel to cut open Roxiana’s skull.

<Warning. Irreversible host failure in 63 seconds.>

 

Aegian Galaxy, today

The energy storm that links Noriko and Ulysses stops, with all the information flowing back to her.

<I get it now. Roxiana could keep using her Golden Eyes by feeding off information, like Viper did to power up. That’s how you were able to resist me: you were latching on to my soul. Clever as always, Ulysses, but you forgot something: Roxiana is a prodigy, and you are the most talented human who ever lived. But I. Am. Null.>

<Warning. Irreversible host failure in 27 seconds.>

<You’ll have to murder every mortal on Atlantis to use your Golden Eyes on me, Null! And you don’t have what it takes to make that sacrifice!>

<The only thing I’m sacrificing, Ulysses, is you. Remember when I used to rely on the God Eraser? Here’s what happens when you combine it with the Cosmic Background Network and the power of the Final Abyss! ETERNAL…>

<Warning. IrrevØØØØØ data not ØØØØ error error errØr>

<…ERASER!!!>

A massive golden electrical charge is released from Null’s hands, hitting Ulysses much like the Final Abyss would. But it goes much further than that.

His mind isn’t simply overwhelmed by information: it’s completely wiped clean. His brain is annihilated, his soul is ripped to shreds, and it doesn’t stop with him. Every electronic device on his person is permanently disabled, reducing it to a hunk of metal.

The attack radiates from Ulysses, moving at the speed of thought itself thanks to the connection to the Cosmic Background Network: the effect reverberates through the Galaxy and beyond.

Every copy made of his brain, every cloned body ready for transfer, it’s all deleted: any emergency plan to allow Ulysses to cheat death forever fails completely.

Even copies of his DNA break down at the molecular level: for all intents and purposes, Ulysses has been deleted from the universe.

At the center of it all, Noriko Null’s eyes turn from golden to their natural brown as her body shuts down after having exhausted any drop of energy to spare. The last thing she hears before slipping into a well-deserved sleep is the voice of the Nexus in her mind.

<Safe mode activated. Hyperclocking disengaged. Cosmic Background Network disconnected. New functionality unlocked by host archived for later examination and use. Nexus powering down and closing all non-essential activities.>