Null Tower, New York City
The sound of someone moving in his sleep wakes up Todd Slate. It takes him a few seconds to get his bearings: he has slept in this room only a few times and he’s not accustomed to it yet.
Noriko is sleeping next to him, which is unsurprising since this is her bed. What is worrying is how agitated she is: normally sleeps like a baby, but now she’s clearly having a nightmare.
She’s mumbling something that sounds like “get away”, followed by several “no”. By the time Todd has decided to wake her up, she does it by herself in the most dramatic way possible.
She lets out a scream of pure terror, opens her eyes to illuminate the room with eyes that shine like flashlights. She sits on her bed, breathing heavily while she gets back to reality.
<It’s okay, it was just a dream> Todd tries to reassure her, even though his heart is still racing.
<Lights. Mirror. NOW> she orders.
The room obliges. The lights come up and a holographic mirror appears in front of her, which she uses to very carefully analyze her own eyes. A very odd behavior for anyone else, but while this is the first time Todd has witnessed this she’s talked about it before.
<You didn’t turn into Abyss. Everything’s going to be alright>– Todd reassures her, trying to put a hand on her shoulders. She retracts immediately, getting out of bed.
<I’m fine> she answers, with the angry tone that only an upset girlfriend can use.
She rushes to the bathroom and washes her face with ice cold water five times in a row. She looks at the mirror for another confirmation: her eyes are still silver. But it’s not an entirely comforting sight: there’s blood on her T-shirt. She lifts to reveal that bandages on her stomach are once again failing to keep the pentagram shaped scar from bleeding.
<Dammit> she says, hitting the sink with her fist. She looks at the mirror to remove the bandage, watching the reflection of Todd standing in front of the bathroom’s door.
<I don’t wanna talk about it> she says, expertly removing the bandage and soon reaching for the disinfectant. The stitches are still there, but the scar simply won’t heal.
<Are you sure? It might do you some good> he tries to push.
<What would do me some good is figuring out what that bastard injected in me and why, which wouldn’t be so hard if I could just go five freakin’ minutes without this thing hurting like hell.>
<The doctor said…>
<The doctor doesn’t know s##t, okay!?> she snaps, turns to yell at him with shining eyes.
<Yelling at me won’t solve the problem> Todd answers. The fact that he stood up to her seems to have some effect, because while she’s still upset she’s suddenly less hostile.
<You’re right. Sorry, it’s just that these nightmares are very… well… disturbing.>
<I was serious when I said that you can talk about them.>
<Trust me, you wouldn’t be able to sleep for weeks. These dreams come from Abyss and her mind is… disgustingly graphic, and let’s leave it at that.>
<Come on, I’m not a baby. How bad can they be?>
<Very, very bad. They start with her opening my intestines with… I’d rather not say.>
<But this pentagram thing… what does Torn have to say about it? Didn’t you say is planet is called Hell? Quite a coincidence…>
<I thought of the connection and asked for his opinion on the subject. He said he would’ve sensed the Blood on me if this was the act of a Demon, but…>
Todd recognizes the way she zones out with her silver eyes shining. She just had an idea.
<That fu##in’ b##ch> she comments, touching one of the bathroom’s tiles. The wall slides inward, revealing a secret compartment that houses a suitcase. Without missing a beat she recovers it and marches towards the door, not caring about the fact that she’s still wearing a bloodstained T-shirt and shorts; with her free hand she touches her ear and activates the Neural Transmitter.
<Torn, meet me at the Mirror Lab. Seventieth floor, there’s a secret door inside the broom closet, you can’t miss it> she instructs him.
<I don’t know about any “Mirror Lab”, what’s going on? Where are you going?> Todd asks her.
Noriko stops only to retrieve the Genius Gun, then answers:
<I know how to track that bastard.>
Argos, 100 light-years from Earth
Once the capital of a loose coalition of planets, Argos has been selected as the de facto headquarters of the Alliance. Located roughly near the center of the territory under the control of the Alliance, Argos has been nominally under the dominion of Artemis for the past thousand years but has had a sovereign mortal government for the past six hundred years.
Alexer Syzar is enjoying his tea on the balcony of his recently purchased villa, overlooking the beautiful Argos Parliament. His eyes are not focused on the artistic values of Argos architecture, but on the woman standing next to him. He knows her as Ganos Lal, Supreme Pontiff of the Church of Null, and she is the reason for his presence on Argos.
<I have spoken with my congregation. Twenty of my most trusted clergymen are ready to leave Myridia to start the census, once you supply enough ships> she reveals.
<It will take a few days, but I’ll deliver them. Are you sure twenty people will be enough?>
<We are Myridians, Syzar. Twenty people equal 200,000 duplicates, more than enough to conduct a census for the thousand or so planets under Alliance space.>
<I hope so. The sooner we know how many planets and how many people are now free from divine rule, the sooner we can hold elections for the first Mortal Congress.>
<You don’t strike me as an impatient man, Syzar. Give history some time.>
<I’d like that luxury, Your Holiness. But unless we can create a strong civilian government, the Guild, the Mortal Liberation Front and the Hunter Pirates risk going to war against each other.>
<It’s only natural, Syzar. The Alliance was just a military… well, alliance. Without a well-defined enemy and a strong leader, the various factions will split up again.>
<Well, I didn’t found the Blue Rose and risk my own life to depose Hermes and Diana just so that I could see the Alliance degenerate into the Scribe’s personal dictatorship, the Front’s police state or the Hunter’s glorified loot. What we need is to create a Galactic Mortal Union under a civilian government> he declares, as if he’s preparing a public speech.
<I agree with your passion, Syzar, which is why I’ve come to you. While Null’s doctrine prevents me from seeking political power, I still believe that if she won’t take charge, somebody has to.>
<I haven’t had any contact with her since the fall of Artemis. How is Null?>
<What do you mean? She’s a goddess. She’s fine.>
Syzar looks at Lal in the eye. He has to remind himself that, no matter how important she is to his cause, she’s still a fanatic. He can’t trust her completely.
<Of course. I wanted to ask you, why did Null disappear so quickly?>
<I don’t know. But she’s not the only one; Ulysses has left the galaxy, if you believe his words.>
<Which is not always a good idea with Ulysses. But I wonder… if Null wanted to, she could be President of the Mortal Union tomorrow.>
<It is not my place to question her will.>
Syzar nods politely, even though he still thinks that Ganos Lal is not entirely sane. Null’s behavior worries him: her disappearing in such a critical moment is very strange.
If only he knew the location of her planet, he could keep a close eye on her. The Guild and the Front know it, but only at the highest levels, and they would never divulge such a critical detail. Hermes and Artemis know, but the former has vanished and it’s impossible to arrange a meeting with the latter. Although, if he recalls what he read about the teachings of the Church of Null…
<Lal, if I remember correctly, hasn’t Athena visited Null once? I have some estate in the Athenian Federation… would you be interested in sending one of your duplicates there?>
<Of course. I welcome any opportunity to spread the word of Null.>
The Mirror Lab
This is by far the creepiest room Todd Slate has ever seen. The dim lights enhance the alien feeling of seeing a human being floating inside a transparent cylinder, surrounded by a viscous liquid.
What’s weird is that the girl inside the cylinder looks exactly like Noriko, the only exception being the long dark hair that reaches the waist. She’s wearing what he would consider a futuristic medical suit, with many tubes inserted into her right arm.
<I still can’t get my head around the fact that you keep your own clone laying around> he says.
She told him about the clone she created weeks ago, but it’s still unnerving to see her.
<I knew she would prove useful> Noriko answers, inserting a syringe into her own arm to draw some blood. Todd handles her the self disinfecting band-aid, glancing at the contents of the suitcase she carried here: neatly organized, there are innumerable medical supplies inside.
<Why do you keep all that stuff in your room?>
<In case I need to do some brain surgery on myself.>
<Please tell me you’re joking…>
He’s glad that she doesn’t get to answer, because Torn chooses this moment to arrive at the lab. He’s wearing his duster, of course; Todd wonders if he sleeps in it. The demon glances at the clone, then his attention goes back to Noriko.
<I thought humans only had one heart. Didn’t you take hers?> he asks.
<Yes, her heart is inside me, but I kept her alive with an artificial one. I already used her as a blood donor, but today she’ll do a lot more: she’ll tell me how to find the guy who assaulted me> she answers, taking the syringe filled with her own blood towards one of the tubes.
<You lost me. Isn’t she brain dead?> Todd asks, scratching his head.
<Exactly> she answers, injecting the blood into her own clone <There. Now she’s infected too.>
<This is messed up> Todd shakes his head.
<Don’t be ridiculous. Now, Torn, you can start making her bleed.>
Todd looks at Noriko like she just suggested drowning a cat, and Torn raises an eyebrow.
<What? It won’t make her more dead> Noriko shrugs.
<Usually I need a reason before I stab someone> Torn objects.
<I sure hope so! What the hell, Noriko!?>
<My blood carries an unknown chemical that interferes with my body’s ability to heal; it can’t survive outside of me, and it dissolves far too quickly into the bloodstream. The only way to produce enough of it is inducing massive amounts of bleeding. Luckily I don’t need to do that to my own body: I can study the infection inside my clone’s body in a perfectly safe and controlled environment.>
<I can’t believe you want to make your own clone bleed to death!!!>
<Todd, what part of “she’s already dead” wasn’t clear enough?>
<I don’t know, the fact that she’s still breathing maybe? C’mon!>
<You can breathe and be dead at the same time. Why are we arguing about this?>
<Quiet> Torn interrupts them.
Noriko and Todd didn’t expect Torn to interrupt their discussion, but what happens next scares them. Torn has stepped towards the cylinder, raising his hand towards it… and inside, the clone has done exactly the same motion, until both are touching the glass on opposite sides.
Noriko’s first reaction is to take out her Genius Gun and take aim, while Todd screams:
<What did I tell you!? She’s alive!!!>
<She’s not. Watch> Torn says. He closes his arm in a fist, and the clone mimics him.
<You have ten seconds to explain before I blow her brains out> Noriko warns him.
<Soul resonance. She’s harmless.>
<You always have a hard time understanding the concept of “explain”, do you?>
<I couldn’t feel it while it was inside you, but with two sources it’s hard to miss.>
<Torn, I really mean it: tell me what you know or I’ll shoot her. I don’t want another Abyss around.>
<You have the Mark of Damnation on you. Hell sentenced you to death.>
Noriko lowers her weapon, and she comments shaking her head:
<Oh, well, that makes me feel a heck of a lot better…>
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