Beyond The Impossible

Dark Galaxy, 10 billion light-years from Earth

Gilgamesh has seen unthinkable things in his long life. He thought he had seen the impossible once he stood by Noriko Null’s side when she conquered Heaven itself, but that was nothing compared to what is transpiring before his eyes.

She just challenged Baal, the Primordial God of Domination, the Lord Of The Flies, the Prince of Pain himself, whose name makes pantheons tremble… and Baal is the one taking a step back.

<Ichor is not yours to control.> the god tells her, witnessing Noriko’s eyes having gone from their typical silver to empty sockets of pure darkness.

<It disagrees with you, Baal. I can feel it, resonating in my veins; it’s not that different from the Blood. You used a fraction of your own divine power to forge it, bathing it with all the pain you have inflicted on others for the past five billion years. And it hungers for retribution.> Noriko tells him, walking slowly towards the god.

She rolls up her sleeves, and a black aura now surrounds her hands.

<All the Ichor in existence will not harm me, mortal. You may have exploited gods antithetical to my power to isolate me to a fixed form, and I may not be permitted to kill… but you have no way to end my existence.>

<I’m not using Ichor as a weapon. I am the Slayer of Gods: I can build my own weapons. All I need to end you is a key… and I just found it.> Noriko says, closing the gap between the two.

Enough to grab Baal’s cloak and open it, exposing the skeleton held together by flies.

She plunges her hands into that disgusting swarm, as if trying to touch a heart that isn’t there; despite their best efforts, the flies can’t get past the black aura she summoned.

<Is this the best you can do? I have no heart for you to break, Slayer!> Baal laughs.

<It is the best I can do, yes… but it’s not the best we can do. Max! NOW!!!> she shouts.

With his attention focused on Null, Baal had not noticed the clouds gathering above her. Not until she uses her Nexus to access the information from this planet’s population, not until the lightning strike coming towards her, not until Quantum transmutes his body into electrons carried by the same bolt of electricity.

Noriko absorbs both, with her black aura becoming surrounded by white flames once Quantum transforms into Aether.

<You may not have a heart to break, but we’re about to break your concept.>

Baal has felt pain before, but he wasn’t expecting to feel it in his soul once Null unleashes everything she has in both mind and spirit.

<Death Resonance!!!> he can hear both Null and Quantum scream into his soul.

A bright light emanates from Baal’s chest, with his divine essence leaking in the form of a powerful gust of wind.

 

Somewhere

Noriko feels like time just skipped ahead. She’s not facing Baal anymore, and she’s definitely not on Ekron anymore.

<Dude, what the…> Quantum says, similarly confused. Especially since he shouldn’t be right behind Noriko.

<Keep your guard up. This might be another of Baal’s tricks.> she warns him, wandering off to explore this weird location.

<Uhm, Nori, I don’t think I have my powers right now.> he admits, looking at his hand: he’s trying to change it into energy, but nothing happens.

<Uh-uh.> she absent-mindedly nods, not really paying attention to his words. She’s more focused on what’s around them, or rather on the fact that she doesn’t recognize anything around her… aside from the fact that they are inside a building with grey walls, and that she can’t make head or tails of any of the pieces of technology scattered around.

<I’m freaking out. Why aren’t you freaking out?> he asks, standing as close to her as possible.

<Because something like this has happened before. Remember when we merged our powers to fight the Eden? It gave us a glimpse into their genetic memory. This is the same thing, and to be honest there’s something eerily familiar in this place.>

<So we are… what, inside Baal’s mind? I expected to see more spooky stuff.>

<It’s spooky enough. Heads up.> Noriko tells him, pointing at the door that just opened itself by sliding into the floor.

A strange creature emerges, floating a couple of inches off the ground. It’s recognizably humanoid, but of a species they have never seen. It has an androgynous figure and ebony skin barely covered by very little clothing. It doesn’t have any hair, or a nose, or ears, or even a mouth: the only feature in its head are two bright golden eyes, larger than a human’s, with no iris.

<Hey there!> Quantum greets it, trying to walk towards the creature until Noriko stops him by pulling on his clothes.

<What are you doing!?>

<First contact?>

<We don’t know what we’re dealing with here, can’t you be a little more cautious!?>

<Says the one throwing herself at the super-evil god…> he shrugs.

The creature completely ignores them, continuing to work on a device that Noriko can’t recognize.

Its six-fingered hands touch controls that bear untranslatable symbols that change shape before they are even touched. The only barely understandable part of the machine is a semi-transparent orb that contains a strange mixture of intermingling energies.

<I think this is Baal.> Noriko deduces, trying to touch the orb: her hand phases through it, since her body is not really part of this memory.

<Wouldn’t that make this thing…> Quantum deduces, looking at the creature.

<Yes. I think this is a Drylon.> Noriko reveals, studying the alien’s look with more care now.

Another door opens, with a second alien floating towards the first; it’s keeping its hands behind the back, and there’s something almost playful in the way it approaches.

The first alien turns to look; its eyes turn silver for a few seconds before it speaks.

<You are not supposed to be here.> it admonishes.

<Definitely Drylon: I recognize the language.> Noriko confirms.

<How is he talking without a mouth?> Quantum whispers to her, keeping his voice low even if that is completely unnecessary: neither alien has noticed the humans.

<That’s not really a “he”, and I think they’re both telepaths.>

<It is one of my qualities. Some of your predecessors found it charming, you know.> the second Drylon replies to the first, leaning against a piece of machinery.

<That is a lie. I know that my predecessors despised you, because I carry within me all the knowledge they accumulated during their service. For I am…>

<Yes, yes, you’re the Thirteenth Nexus, I know. Your ever-so-constant boasting is why you’re such an unbearable bore, Ͻ□▲♦‡.> the second Drylon replies, looking up as if rolling its eyes.

<That word wasn’t translated, but is it just me or that sounded like…> Quantum notes.

<Chaos. I think that’s the name of this particular Drylon.> Noriko confirms.

<If I bore you, why do you pester me while I work?> Chaos asks, returning to its duties.

<Because while you are as dull as any Drylon who is not me, I find your latest creation utterly fascinating.> the second alien admits, trying to reach Baal’s gestation chamber but bumping against a telekinetic barrier before reaching it.

<Careful. This is a critical step of the process; the information matrix is susceptible to contamination by foreign concepts.> Chaos chastises its brethren.

<And perish the thought of the Drylon learning anything new, right ? What is this one for?>

<Preservation of biological life.>

<I thought you were supposed to be the smartest among us, Ͻ□▲♦‡, but in case you forgot we have been biologically immortal for… how long has it been again?>

<Once perfected, this unit will prevent us from death in any conceivable scenario.>

<Is that so.> the second Drylon sighs, wandering off.

<You should find this concept reassuring, ▲‡□►╪▲□. You, of all the Drylon, have always feared death the most.> Chaos says.

<What was that name?> Quantum asks.

<Sounded something like “Asherah”.> Noriko answers.

The second Drylon waves its hand towards one of the walls, which becomes transparent to show what is outside of this installation… and even Noriko’s jaw drops.

A construction of truly astronomical proportions of some crystalline material is holding two stars in place, resembling a Drylon holding a sun in each of its six-fingered hands.

Dozens of planets move around the statue to form a spiral, and in the background a whole Galaxy illuminates the mechanical tendrils holding it together.

<The Drylon Empire holds absolute power over all inhabited galaxies, and the Cosmic Background Network confirms there is no life beyond our realm. We vanquished all enemies; even the Celestial Galaxy is safely contained beyond the Infinity Wall, and the Aether Horizon remains unbroken. We are the immortal masters of all we see: there is nothing left to fight, nothing left to discover, nothing left to…>

<Nothing left for you to complain?> Chaos mocks Asherah.

<Humor does not become you, Ͻ□▲♦‡.> Asherah retorts, clearly resenting the comment.

<Is there a point to these interruptions, ▲‡□►╪▲□?>

<Actually, there is.> Asherah cheerfully replies, going back to its cheerful disposition as it floats back to Baal’s gestation chamber.

<Introduce a little randomness. Make things interesting, for once.>

<How so?>

<I have studied these units of yours. We can make them breed.>

<Breed? Without the Nexus, ▲‡□►╪▲□, you clearly lack the intelligence to understand that these are weaponized informational matrices, each attuned to a single concept. You cannot have more than one of them for each.>

<I’m not talking about sporogenesis, I’m talking about producing offspring that can evolve past its progenitor.> Asherah explains.

<Why should they go back to an evolutionarily inferior cycle than our own?>

<Just because we have won the game doesn’t mean it can’t be fun to see someone else play it, Ͻ□▲♦‡. Anything besides this dreadful triumph of ours is a better existence.>

<I have tolerated your nonsense long enough. You speak as if there were something better than being Drylon.> Chaos dismisses its guest, with a gesture that even across eons clearly shows this conversation is over. The look in Asherah’s eyes is just as clear: it’s the spark of an obsession.

The Drylon leans against Baal’s gestation chamber, directing its thoughts at the unborn god only; Noriko and Quantum are the only other beings who will ever hear its words.

<Sleep until my time comes. For I am death coming for the universe of your creators.>

 

Reality, over 5 billion years later

<Death Resonance!!!> both Null and Quantum scream.

A bright light emanates from Baal’s chest, with his divine essence leaking in the form of a powerful gust of wind. His body cracks, with Noriko pulling it apart from the inside.

Gilgamesh squints to keep looking despite the wind, witnessing his lover hold half of a skeleton in each hand before the bones evaporate into nothingness.

<Did… did she just rip a Primordial in half!?> he exclaims.

<More than that. She deleted him from reality.> Prometheus clarifies; since he doesn’t have any eyes he wasn’t using sight to witness this historic moment.

<What the hell was that!?> Quantum asks, emerging from Noriko’s head as an electric spark and turning back into a human.

<We just won.> she replies flatly, still holding the tattered cloak of Baal… all that remains of the god, once even the dust has vanished.

<You know what I mean! Did we just imagine that whole Drylon thing, or…>

<We saw a memory, playing out in the millisecond before Baal’s death. And given how vivid that was, I think it wasn’t a coincidence… someone wanted this information recorded for posterity, and I don’t think it was Baal himself.> Noriko replies.

<Does it matter? Both of those guys are dead, right?>

<If Chaos was the thirteenth Nexus host, he… it should be dead. But that Asherah… I don’t know what it is, but something in that thing’s eyes scared the crap out of me.> Noriko admits.

The fact that she says this while holding the cloak of the Primordial God that she ripped in half with her bare hands scares Quantum even more.