Beyond The Impossible

Myridian Palace, planet Myridia

When Demeter conquered the planet three hundred years ago, she forced Myridia to hold back its technological advancements.  There was one exception: since she wanted to use the planet to breed never-ending crops of soldiers, medical technology is vastly superior to everything else.

Laying on his medical bed, Old Man Vor slowly opens his eyes. The first thing he sees is the radiant face of Kari Zel, the girl he mentored for years.

<How do you feel, Old Man?> she asks, her blue eyes filled with joy to see him alive.

<Did you bring Torn with you?> are his first words.

<She did> Torn confirms.

<You’re both idiots. Why did you come back here!?> the Old Man complains, struggling to sit straight. Kari tries to help him, but she’s pushed aside.

<Don’t you know a trap when you see one? You’re lucky the Guild didn’t kill you.>

<I thought you were dead. I came back to pay my respects> Kari answers.

<Hhrmpf> the man groans.

The rest of the Vanguard chooses this moment to enter the room; Noriko Null is leading them, Vesta closes the door behind them, and Max Black a.k.a. Quantum appears next to Kari to say:

<Is he always like this?>

<No, sometimes he’s grumpy> Kari shrugs.

<Mister Vor. I would like a word with you> Noriko announces.

The two of them have met before, on Null’s previous visits to Myridia, but the Old Man is apparently reluctant to talk again.

<I’m done taking orders from goddesses.>

<Come on, that’s not fair, Noriko didn’t ask to be considered a goddess> Kari defends her.

<We could really use your cooperation, Mister Vor> Vesta adds, sitting next to his bed.

The Old Man may not like dealing with a goddess, but he’s still vulnerable to her charm and his voice mellows considerably.

<Alright, alright. But please, you can call me Ordman.>

<“Ordman”? – Max repeats, confused.>

<What? You’ve heard me call him by his first name all the time> Kari answers.

<I thought you were calling him Old Man…>

<What gave you that idea!?> Kari asks, finding the concept ridiculous.

<I don’t know, the fact that he’s a hundred years old?>

<Ninety-seven> the old man corrects him.

<As much as this is interesting… which wouldn’t be if you’d memorized Myridian birth records like I did… we have more important topics to discuss> Noriko reprimands them.

<You want to know how I got involved with the Guild> the old man understands.

<They know you have the coordinates of the Dragon Tomb> Torn explains.

<You were not supposed to tell them about it!!!> the old man shouts.

<You were not supposed to keep the coordinates> Torn replies, calmly.

<How about you both tell us what the Tartarus is the Dragon Tomb?>

Kari’s question seems to hit the two old friends, until Torn nods approvingly and the old man finally decides to talk:

<It happened 50 years ago…>

 

Zagmuk, 7.000 light-years from Earth

I was a colonel in the Demeter Army… still the finest infantry this galaxy’s ever seen. Someone decided to blow up one of our stations near the Persephone sector, so I was sent there with an entire battalion to assess the situation. It was a strange mission: usually one or two Oracles followed us to make sure we knew who was calling the shots, but even those ασσηολεσ didn’t want to land on Zagmuk. You see, the planet used to belong to the Sumerian god Namtar, Lord of Disease or the Plague or some nasty σηιτ like that. Zagmuk had been abandoned since before Zeus grew hair on his chest, so the station was really there just to keep the scavengers away.

But we found a person on Zagmuk, the same one that killed every soldier guarding the station. The first Demon I’d ever met, that everyone I knew had ever met. Red skin aside, he was just a kid… he looked like he was twenty at most. We ambushed him inside one of the temples.

I had two thousand soldiers under my command: fully duplicated, they made up an army of twenty million properly trained and heavily armed soldiers.

The Demon slaughtered all of them without saying a single word. I served in the Army for sixty years and let me tell you, that’s the hardest battle I ever fought. The Demon was tough, but I wouldn’t accept my men to die for nothing: I put everything I had in that fight, even managing to injure the bastard, but at the end I came up short.

So there I was: on a dead planet, inside the temple of an evil god, surrounded by dead bodies, with a red energy sword about to cut off my head.

But another sword appeared out of nothing, deflecting the blade. There was a second Demon on the planet, who I hadn’t noticed because I was busy avoiding death.

They began to argue in a language I couldn’t understand. They weren’t mad, they could’ve been discussing taxes for all I knew. Then all of a sudden things escalated and one of the Demons killed the other one. Just like that: no drama, not a single word. Then it talked to me.

<لېىڤې > he said.

<If you want to kill me, just do it already!> I shouted at him.

<ۆليمپiىن?> he asked.

<I don’t speak your language, you red-skinned son of a…>

<Olympian? I speak> he struggled to say in the worst possible accent.

<Good, then listen to this: when Demeter hears what you did to us, you’ll be sorry you were born.>

<Demeter not want you live?>

<What?>

<You live. I save. Demeter not happy?>

<You killed my entire squad!!!>

<No. ءڤۆك killed. Not I> he explained, pointing at his dead friend.

<While you stood there and watched!!!>

<Yes> he nodded. He looked around to witness the slaughter: it was a very messy fight, with blood and body parts all over the place. I don’t think a single muscle on his face moved, but he sounded sincere when he apologized…albeit briefly.

<Sorry.>

<That’s all you have to say!?>

<This wrong. Not Demon way. No justice in death. We better than this.>

It was hard to understand what he was trying to say. I was in no condition to fight, so I did what any other soldier would’ve done: try to get information from the enemy.

<What are you doing here anyway? Zagmuk is a dead planet.>

<Came for Tomb. Was nothing. Everybody dies for nothing.>

<What are you talking about? What tomb?>

<Dragon Tomb. Drylon weapon. Bad. Very bad.>

That word filled me with dread. Drylon weapons were the most sought after artifacts in the known universe… and the most dangerous too. There were stories of fools finding some and accidentally erasing entire solar systems from existence… their power was legendary to say the least.

<If you think I’m going to let an enemy of Demeter steal a Drylon weapon…>

<Not enemy. Demons neutral. Always neutral.>

<You call that neutral!?> I shouted, pointing at the other demon.

<No. I call him ءڤۆك> he answered, repeating his friend’s name.

<How is stealing a weapon neutral anyway!?>

<Dragon Tomb too dangerous. If one god takes, can kill all others. Then kill Demons. Cannot allow.>

<So you want the Demons to have that kind of power?>

<No. Dragon Tomb too bad. ءڤۆك wanted to bring to Hell. Cannot allow. So I kill.>

<I though you said you didn’t find the weapon.>

<Found this> he explained, showing me something he’d taken from the temple: a small rock tablet, filled with cuneiform writing. I couldn’t read it, but I knew what it was.

<Coordinates. You think the Sumerians wrote down the location of the Dragon Tomb?>

<Sumerians knew power. Marduk used it. Left clues. I take clues so nobody can use.>

<Why are you telling me this? Not that I mind, but you don’t have any reason to keep me alive.>

<Battle won, need not kill you. I take clues, you no danger. Kill you now wrong. No Demon way.>

<And what are you going to say to your people? You have a dead Demon there.>

<Zagmuk dangerous planet. ءڤۆك died. Many Olympian soldiers died. Mission fail.>

<That only works if I keep my mouth shut, though. You’re taking a big risk keeping me alive.>

<I know. Not Demon way. But right to do.>

<I…I don’t know what to say.>

<Then say nothing. Words have power. So speak only when something to say.>

<That’s the Demon way?>

<No. That is Torn way.>

 

Today, planet Myridia

The room falls silent when the old man finishes his story. Unexpectedly, it’s Torn who talks first:

<You were not supposed to keep the coordinates> he says once more.

<And pass on a chance to kill Demeter? I was promoted to General for killing that Demon, even though that didn’t happen. It made me realize that Demeter wasn’t all-knowing and she didn’t care about us. When I rose through the ranks and became her Minister of War, I tried to divert her forces to the location of the Dragon Tomb.>

<I assume it didn’t work out> Kari notes.

<The coordinates are for a sector deep in the Ares sector. There was no way to send armed forces there without starting a war.>

<So you contracted the Guild to search the Dragon Tomb for you> Noriko deduces.

<But that doesn’t add up: if they already had the coordinates, why pretend killing the Old Man to get them?> Quantum asks, confused by the whole situation.

<Because they expected the Vanguard to investigate his death, find the coordinates, and start the search for the Dragon Tomb. Remember the Mist was trying to pass as an ally? He was probably tasked with stealing the Tomb from me once I found it. More complicated than how I would’ve done it, but I have to admit it’s a clever plan> Noriko concedes.

<Your story, Ordman… I heard the name Marduk> Vesta recalls.

<On Earth he was the patron deity of the city of Babylon> Noriko explains.

<I met him once, on Olympus, when he signed a non-aggression treaty with Zeus. It’s hard to believe he would need a Drylon weapon… Zeus told me they were essentially equal in power.>

<Did he tell you about the time he fought Tiamat?> Torn asks.

<No, but I heard the stories. She was a Primordial, the few gods that were alive at the time of the Drylon. She ruled what would later evolve into the Olympian Galaxy until Marduk killed her.>

<With this “Dragon Tomb” weapon, right?> Quantum speculates, joined by Noriko:

<Hence the name, I suppose: several myths refer to Tiamat taking the form of a dragon.>

<Who calls a weapon “Tomb”? I mean, seriously…> Quantum complains.

<Nori, this is serious. I can’t overstate how powerful Primordials are… any weapon capable of killing one would be able to wipe out an entire galaxy> Vesta explains.

<It does sound interesting> Noriko agrees, raising an eyebrow as her silver eyes shine.

<Hold it. You’re not seriously considering finding this thing, right?> Quantum asks.

<Of course not. I have no desire to own such a weapon> she lies.