Мастер Исандер
Verse and Dimensions: Stories
Matharin's Omniscience^3 made her aware that the Collapse was getting closer and closer. She couldn't afford to deviate anymore, now focusing on getting back to Beyond as soon as possible. On a clearer path, Peralitus began to catch up quickly, meanwhile Abstractil began to lose control as Xenixel took more and more control over the automaton's movements, causing Empiroxus to fall behind. Matharin was about to resign to the fact that she wouldn't be able to escape Peralitus before she saw Hellensoerensen moving at absurd speeds towards her. At the last metasecond, she jumped out of the way, embedding herself within the surrounding Trosinium and allowing Hellensoerensen to directly strike and injure Peralitus. With limited capacity due to the missing pilot, the force of the attack was also reflected back on Hellensoerensen—immediately depriving the automaton of the energy and structural integrity necessary to move, immobilizing it within the Tunnel. The force of the attack embedded Peralitus within the Trosinium on the edges of the Tunnel as Empiroxus arrived and tried to force open Hellensoerensen to rescue Abstractil.
Xenixel willingly disconnected from Hellensoerensen to face Empiroxus and Abstractil. He declared Empiroxus a traitor to the Council and ordered Abstractil to step away so he could be executed. But Abstractil stood her ground and refused. Xenixel claimed Empiroxus disobeyed his orders. Abstractil stated Xenixel's decisions were threatening the Council's survival. Xenixel shouted that Empiroxus had tried to protect another traitor who had destabilized Beyond. Abstractil shouted back that it wasn't Peralitus who had caused the instability! Xenixel warned Abstractil one last time to step away or he would be executed too. But before anyone could do anything, Matharin chaotically re-emerged from the surrounding Trosinium looking even more terrified than the others, badly injured and covered in a strange Logical Liquid none of them recognized.
As they wondered what was happening, countless Tunnels around them collapsed, leaving them in open Transcendentem. A wave of the Collapse had just swept over the Cohort. Abstractil screamed that they didn't have metatime; they needed to get back to Beyond immediately! But Matharin knew that they didn't even have metatime for that; it was too late already. Matharin could tell using her Omniscience^3 that the second and third waves would kill them if they were still in open Transcendentem, and they were due any metasecond. Noticing Hellensoerensen was still in a solid and relatively stable condition, Abstractil and Empiroxus quickly attempted to take shelter inside the deactivated robot.
Xenixel grabbed Empiroxus as he attempted to enter Hellensoerensen and snarled that he had done enough damage to the Council already, and that he was ending this right here, right now. The second wave of the Collapse occurred as the Trosinium Fundamentalums around them began to shake rapidly, restricting movement. Xenixel was finally struck with the reality that if he didn't put these matters to the side for now, he and his subordinates really would die. He and Matharin desperately entered the automaton as they could visibly see Beyond Bubbles collapsing around them. At the last metamoment, Matharin quickly reached out to Peralitus and helped him enter Hellensoerensen just as Empiroxus, Abstractil and Xenixel attempted to use their Omnipotence^3 to separate Hellensoerensen from the outside Transcendentem. Everything went silent for just a few metaseconds, before Transcendentem exploded in a massive, loud and prolonged flash of light as Hellensoerensen shook and lost significant stability. Once the Collapse had ended, Hellensoerensen was still intact, and the Supergods were still alive.
Within Beyond, Conceptilum and Matharin's third child hatched. While most newly born Supergods would be profoundly confused by their odd surroundings, Kalyutim was born with his mother's Omniscience^3, and so instantly gathered that his Beyond Bubble was on the verge of collapse. Quickly noticing the Trosinium Empiroxus had left inside Beyond, Kalyutim immediately opened his mind to learn how it needed to be embedded within Beyond. With very limited strength, knowledge and metatime, Kalyutim performed the task extremely poorly, but was still mostly able to repair the Bubble and survive the Collapse, though some Monocosms were destroyed. This exercise quickly taught him how dangerous his Omniscience^3 could be, as opening his mind to even such a simple thing had also shown him visions of futures where he abused this power, overwhelmed himself and destroyed his mind.
One of the many things he had learned when briefly opening his mind was that his parents and many other Supergods he didn't recognize were trapped in a small metallic object of some kind with little chance of escape. Kalyutim quickly gathered that this Beyond Bubble was in desperate need of far more thorough maintenance which he could not perform and made it his primary goal to rescue his family and the others. By slightly and very carefully opening his mind again, he learned of their exact location relative to him, along with how long they could survive on their own. He determined that the best way to reach them was through the strange passageways known as 'Tunnels', but also learned that many Tunnels had been destroyed during the 'storm' and he would need to rebuild many of them if he were to save the other Supergods.
After a few metamoments of silence, Peralitus immediately charged an energy blast ready to fire at Matharin, while Xenixel charged one to fire at Peralitus. Empiroxus refused to let Xenixel murder Peralitus and charged up an energy blast aimed at Xenixel. Abstractil ordered him to back down as he'd only make things worse, but he refused, and Abstractil charged a warning shot to fire at Empiroxus. Xenixel demanded Empiroxus allow him to execute Peralitus—it was his treacherous actions that had caused this crisis to begin with! But Peralitus claimed Matharin had confessed that she caused the instability! Empiroxus confirmed his claim and told Xenixel that while he detested Peralitus, he didn't deserve execution. Matharin retorted that she had merely said that to buy Empiroxus metatime to escape. A simple diversion, nothing to take seriously! But Abstractil quietly whispered "liar".
Everyone turned to her as she explained in a quiet tone yet with seething rage that she witnessed Matharin frame Peralitus to protect herself and her children, starting all of this out of a refusal to place any trust in herself or Xenixel to make the right decision. With Xenixel distracted by Abstractil's revelations, Peralitus decided he had heard enough and fired a blast at Matharin. Conceptilum jumped in front of her and took the attack, barely injuring him, and used his Omnipotence^3 to restrain Peralitus. Xenixel didn't wish to fire on a loyal Supergod such as Conceptilum but was willing to do so if he had to. Abstractil refused to let Xenixel execute her son and once again stood up to the orange Supergod, this time threatening to attack.
Xenixel demanded Empiroxus and Abstractil get out of his way, but they refused. Abstractil claimed she remained loyal to him, but his vision had been clouded by his deteriorating mental state, and the Council needed a new leader until he could be treated. Xenixel perceived this as a coup and threatened to execute them both, but Conceptilum and Matharin both stood by their side. Unsure what to do, the two younger and terrified Supergods stood by their parents as well. Xenixel was shocked and appalled that his entire Council had turned on him so quickly. Xenixel was more than prepared to execute all of them if given the opportunity, however the more he thought about his situation, the more he began to realize doing so would only doom the Council. He could not trust Peralitus and was intending to execute him anyways, and even if he were able to overcome every single member of the Supergod Council at once, he would then be trapped in Hellensoerensen with no clear way out, having nothing of his glorious Supergod Council left. Xenixel truly could not believe he was about to do this… but he ultimately decided the only choice was for him to stand down.
Xenixel agreed to not exile or execute anyone yet, and he also agreed to end the oath of absolute allegiance towards him, but he demanded that he remain the singular leader of the Supergod Council, both officially and effectively, and all other Supergods must still follow his orders at all times. Conceptilum and Abstractil were quick to agree. Being too terrified by their surroundings and the recent events to make thought-out decisions and really just hoping to take the path of least resistance, Paradoxus and Logixel agreed too. Empiroxus and Matharin utterly despised the idea but once they saw their partners agreeing and realized they had found a solution that involved nobody dying (yet), they too reluctantly agreed.
As angry as Abstractil was with Matharin, she ultimately understood the red Supergod's position and why she did what she did. Abstractil was also equally furious at Xenixel for exiling Peralitus so quickly, and at Empiroxus for chasing after them instead of just repairing Beyond while he was there, but there was nothing they could do now. Ultimately, only one person had any malintent throughout this. As Peralitus screamed and demanded he be released to get his revenge, Abstractil told him that she was unwilling to release him at the moment but also didn't want to kill him. Matharin thought leaving Peralitus alive was a terrible idea and supported an immediate execution, but ultimately was outvoted by the other Supergods. After a quick inspection of the outside Transcendentem, it seemed clear they would be stuck in Hellensoerensen for quite some metatime and had to find some way to work together until then.
While Xenixel went along with the others for now, he had no intention of letting this continue once they returned to Beyond. He was furious at Matharin's tricks and schemes, Peralitus's violent outbursts, Empiroxus's "heroic" betrayal and Abstractil's clear mutiny. Only Conceptilum and his two sons had remained loyal to him and once they made it back to beyond, he had every intention of exiling every single one of the four traitors.
For now, all the Supergods could do is try their best to work together, and hope they'd be able to survive until Abstractil completes her newly devised plan for returning to Beyond.
Chapter 2: The Stranded Council
Paradoxus wandered around the remains of Hellensoerensen, ensuring the Staterium generators were still functioning. Paradoxus had thought a great deal about what exactly was in the Beyond Bubble they had left behind. Having been trapped in a Monocosm for much of his life, only to now be trapped inside this stupid wreckage, he almost envied whatever collapsed hellhole his younger siblings may or may not be living in. anything had to be better than this.
The relatively young Supergod had expected this to be another mundane check on machines that had yet to falter substantially—yet surprisingly, an entire sixth of all Staterium generators were functioning at only half capacity; some far less. Paradoxus quickly worked out that these Staterium generators were specifically the ones linked to the third of Hellensoerensen’s six core modules. He immediately opened the center of the third core module looking for the fault, not noticing anything out of place whatsoever until he inspected the heart of the device and noticed that a large chunk of the Trosinium powering the entire automaton had completely vanished. The rare variant of Trosinium used to create Hellensoerensen was powerful and had very high abstract field potential—if it were nearby, Paradoxus’s Omniscience^2 would no doubt alert him to it. Yet, he felt nothing. Very worried, Paradoxus quickly left to report this strange finding to a senior member of the Council.
Empiroxus and Logixel were horrified at the turn of the events the Collapse had taken—Logixel feeling deeply upset about what had happened to the mortals left to die in the Beyond Bubble along with his three younger siblings. Empiroxus had felt similarly, although he had experienced a fair share of loss worse than this in his life and he had grown used to coping with it. He didn’t fully agree with Logixel’s views towards both mortals and those who Unfairly harm mortals, reminding him distinctly of his partner’s worst traits, but nevertheless saw Logixel as a kind-hearted Supergod with potential; one who could make a fine Council member with a little mentoring. One thing they both had in common was their massive appeal to Hellensoerensen’s mortal population compared to the other Supergods. Logixel was seen as a compassionate "friend of the people", who could be relied upon to ensure mortal interests were represented in Council decisions. Empiroxus, meanwhile, was seen as a powerful and appealing figurehead who would stand up for their protection among the other Council members, along with less formally an engaging storyteller.
Logixel very much looked up to Empiroxus on advice for how to deal with mortals, however saw much of his showmanship as rather abrasive and wondered if Empiroxus really saw the importance in mortal life the way he did. Logixel especially thought this now as he watched Empiroxus desperately try and fail to ease the concerns of the countless mortals demanding answers about their sudden loss of energy sources across Hellensoerensen. At metatimes like this, Logixel wondered just how hard it had to be for him to simply admit he didn’t know what the issue was, and say he was going to look into it.
Paradoxus approached the two Supergods, hastily separating the different -verses in his way and severing the many informational connections between them and the Supergods. Paradoxus quickly and bluntly informed the two that an entire sixth of Hellensoerensen’s Trosinium had completely vanished from the automaton, to which Empiroxus quickly responded by telling Paradoxus they were already well aware. A mechanical Monocosmic God emerged from a collection of Archverses to angrily add that the specific module the Trosinium has vanished from was the one with the highest mortal population, negatively impacting them far more than the Supergods.
Paradoxus aggressively dismissed the entities’ concerns—prompting a complete lack of shock and bewilderment from the mortals controlling the mechanical god—and further pressed Empiroxus and Logixel for information. Both Supergods had nothing else to share, with Logixel adding that they weren’t able to investigate yet due to attempting to aid the large number of mortals who had been negatively impacted. Paradoxus shouted that he couldn’t believe they were wasting time trying to console mortals or whatever instead of actually attempting to figure out what had happened (a sentiment that went over amazingly with the mechanical god he had just accidentally knocked into an Ultraverse), and that surely informing the other Council members and attempting to locate the Trosinium should be a much higher priority? Logixel was about to voice his disagreements, but Empiroxus very quickly agreed with Paradoxus and set off to find the other senior members as fast as he could. The mechanical god furiously queried if Empiroxus was really willing to abandon them that quickly, to which he immediately responded that of course he wasn’t, and that Logixel was going to help them with whatever issues they had! Before a very confused Logixel could question what the hell Empiroxus was doing, he and Paradoxus quickly vanished in search of Conceptilum, leaving a very timid Logixel attempting to respond to an uncountably infinite number of concerns.
Paradoxus and Empiroxus were very easily able to locate Xenixel, Conceptilum and Matharin, the former of whom was very intensely shouting at the latter two over the large number of dysfunctional Staterium generators. Matharin and Conceptilum both tried to explain they only learned of the issue when Xenixel did and weren’t able to search for the cause of the issue before he questioned them, although Xenixel didn’t seem intent on listening. Xenixel berated the two for their apparently poor maintenance of Hellensoerensen, extending this criticism to Empiroxus and Paradoxus once he noticed they had arrived as well. Once Xenixel had finished, Empiroxus and Paradoxus quietly informed them that a large chunk of rare Trosinium had completely vanished from the mortal-oriented third module of Hellensoerensen.
It took quite a number of attempts to explain to the now utterly outraged Xenixel that they literally meant vanished, without any fraction of a trace whatsoever. Nobody knew how it had disappeared and nobody knew how they might be able to get it back. Before Xenixel could get even angrier, Empiroxus quickly tried to explain that there was no guarantee it was completely irretrievable, and with a thorough investigation it could possibly be located. Conceptilum was not so confident however, pointing out how its high abstract field potential should allow them to sense it if it were anywhere within the wreckage of Hellensoerensen—something even the two Omniscient^3 Supergods were unable to do. So, Conceptilum argued, in the circumstance that the Trosinium is permanently lost, they needed to develop some form of contingency plan.
While Conceptilum and Empiroxus attempted to form solutions for the lack of power towards preservations of mortal -verses, Cora refinement and other equipment, Matharin seemed preoccupied performing an apparently very concerning mental calculation. When Conceptilum asked what she was doing, Matharin worryingly explained that their long-term efforts to restore Hellensoerensen and use it to return to Beyond could only be achieved if all six pieces of Trosinium were available. The automaton simply did not have enough energy to transfer eight Supergods from one location to another without all six modules being fully functional. With less than 85% of its standard power, they would only be able to transfer six Supergods, and the remaining two would have to be left to die in Collapsed Transcendentem. Matharin began to panic and over-exert herself, desperately trying to look for solutions that might protect her and her children. Conceptilum began to worry that she was once again straining her Omniscience^3 to its breaking point. Meanwhile, Xenixel began to furiously rave about how this act of theft was absolutely unacceptable and whoever committed this indiscretion must be exiled as soon as they are discovered.
Paradoxus reasoned that nobody really cared about getting Peralitus back safely after everything he’d done, so if they threw him into Transcendentem and then burned up Hellensoerensen’s Archverse infestation for more energy, they might be able to transport the remaining seven Supergods at least into some nearby Tunnels. Empiroxus couldn’t believe that Paradoxus was seriously contemplating genocide just to save seven Supergods and insisted that they weren’t leaving any mortals nor Supergods behind. Xenixel was enraged that even now Empiroxus was still naively trying to protect Peralitus, even after Peralitus made a direct attempt on his life. Xenixel argued soon his foolish determination to put himself and others in harm’s way, even for those willing to work towards instability, would go too far, and he'd suffer the consequences.
Paradoxus angrily interrupted the two and insisted there shouldn’t need to be any debate over a solution where all innocent parties survive and little of value is lost. Empiroxus didn’t exactly take too kindly to that and began to lecture Paradoxus and Xenixel on the dangers of not valuing those who are different from you, claiming it reminded him of one adventure he had out in Transcendentem. You see, once upon a metatime, he met a lonely Senchip floating around near a collapsed Beyond Bubble…
Xenixel forcefully threw an Archverse at Empiroxus, shattering the -verse and marking his Godsmoke, demanding that the cyan Supergod focus instead of rambling on about his terrible and meaningless stories! Empiroxus argued that stories weren't meaningless; (his tone warning Paradoxus and Xenixel of the agonizing monologue that was to come) that stories can deliver ideas, can inspire people, can make metahistory! If you asked Empiroxus, stories could be just as important as people, and can be all that's left of the tales and memories of those that have come before us—"We're all stories in the end!" as a far more eloquent Fourth Wall once told him. Paradoxus countered that they'd definitely all be 'stories' soon if they didn't decide on a solution!
Conceptilum could tell this situation was deteriorating rapidly and attempted to calm everyone down by reminding them that it was Abstractil who had initially devised their long-term plan, and it was possible that if they asked her, she might be able to develop a solution to their current issues. Xenixel refused to even entertain what Abstractil had to say on the matter, still in disbelief that he would even attempt to perform what Xenixel saw as a mutiny of his perfect council, but the others were more willing to listen and asked if anyone knew where Abstractil was.
Abstractil approached the sixth core module of Hellensoerensen and through a series of complex logical manipulations, unlocked the cage-like structure in the center. Numerous logically solid beams removed themselves from the structure, allowing it to melt into a logical liquid and freeing the spring green Supergod in the center. Multiple depressive Synais detached themselves from Peralitus's Godsmoke, removing his paralysis and allowing him to slowly and grumpily glide towards Abstractil. Despite her actual opinions of Peralitus, she did her best to greet him kindly in the hopes he didn’t become even further alienated from the Council. Abstractil informed Peralitus that Xenixel had approved the offer for him to begin constructing -verses again as part of his rehabilitation, to which Peralitus responded with extreme disinterest. Abstractil was confused; this is the job he had previously and was content with doing; she had hoped he would be pleased to have it back? Peralitus explained he didn’t really care what the Council thought of him anymore—he just wanted to get out of here alive and that meant continuing to work with them. Hopefully then he’ll be able to find a real leader to serve.
Abstractil guided Peralitus to the fourth core module of the robot, where he could practice constructing Archverses. In an event Abstractil was very surprised by, Peralitus actually attempted to talk to her for once! He asked what exactly made her and Empiroxus choose to work with Xenixel? Abstractil explained they never really agreed with his ideals, but they had lost their home and saw his Bubble as a safe and stable place to live out the rest of their lives, and hoped they could persuade Xenixel to perhaps alter some of his practices for the better. Peralitus seemed intrigued by her answer, and proceeded to query that, if before the Collapse occurred, they suddenly found some better and more stable Bubble, would they have abandoned Xenixel? Abstractil pondered the question for a metasecond, before Deciding that they certainly wouldn’t have left Conceptilum, Matharin and their children behind, but if there were a safe way to transfer everyone out without harming themselves or Xenixel, they certainly would’ve considered it. Peralitus found her answer interesting, while Abstractil began to feel concerned about some of his activities… particularly noticing he was clutching a small -verse that she didn’t recall him ever picking up. Peralitus suddenly told her “Then this isn’t personal,” and threw the -verse at her. The strange object exploded into a bright blast of Thet, temporarily obscuring Abstractil’s vision as Peralitus sprinted away.
Abstractil immediately began to chase after him, winding around Hellensoerensen’s many small Archverses in pursuit. Abstractil quickly began to catch up due to her Omnipotence^3, however Peralitus began destroying and destabilizing Archverses all around him to impede her progress, erasing countless miniscule civilizations in the process. Abstractil could have moved through them far faster than Peralitus, however she didn’t wish to bring any unnecessary harm to the mortals inside and so began maneuvering around them rather slowly, allowing Peralitus to escape.
Abstractil reached the center of Hellensoerensen at the convergence on the six core modules, looking around for which of the uncountably infinite pseudo-directions Peralitus may have gone. Facing towards the third module, she noticed a Supergod holding an Ultraverse and analyzing it with great interest. Abstractil couldn’t discern which Supergod it was and questioned them as to whether or not they were Peralitus. The Supergod then dropped the Ultraverse, stared at Abstractil, and shot towards her at immense speeds. A stunned Abstractil did her best to create a barrier in front of her to defend herself against the Supergod as a large blast of bright red light shone from every direction.
A colossal burst of energy was detected at the center of Hellensoerensen as both Matharin and Xenixel received visions of Abstractil being attacked. All Supergods rushed immediately to her location and materialized there so quickly nobody could tell who had just arrived and who was there already. The other Council members, upon arriving, were shocked to see Abstractil, fatally injured and fading from existence before them.
A horrified Empiroxus quickly attempted to see what injuries she had sustained and desperately tried to figure out how he could potentially heal her, but Abstractil merely smiled and told him they both knew there wasn’t anything he could do. Empiroxus began to break down and told her he didn’t know how the Council could carry on without her, but Abstractil tried to calm him and said she thinks they’ll make a fantastic group on their own. Abstractil asked Empiroxus to look after Conceptilum for her, to which Empiroxus responded that he promises to, before she slowly vanishes rom existence, leaving a pile of mildly dispersed but largely intact Godverses behind.
Empiroxus was effectively paralyzed as Xenixel carefully examined Abstractil’s remains and concluded that the attacks he sustained were extremely powerful and could only have been caused by a Supergod. He also noted the attacker had specifically targeted Abstractil’s pre-existing injuries to avoid the level of power usually required to harm an Omnipotent^3 entity, meaning even an Omnipotent^2 Supergod could have performed the attack. Xenixel assumed that whoever performed this attack was also the one who stole or destroyed the valuable Trosinium powering Hellensoerensen, and that there was a traitor among them hell bent on sabotaging their chances of survival. As the Supergods began to ponder who this could possibly be, a rage-fueled Empiroxus suddenly unleashed a colossal blast of cyan energy directly at Peralitus, greatly damaging his constituent -verses before grabbing him, immobilizing him, and slamming him into the side of Hellensoerensen while screaming “MURDERER!!!”
Conceptilum and Logixel desperately tried to calm Empiroxus down and reason with him, stating that there was nowhere near enough available evidence yet to know for certain who killed Abstractil. But Empiroxus shouted that it was obvious Peralitus was behind it! He had attempted to murder both Matharin and Empiroxus himself during the Collapse, he had been maligned against the Council from the very beginning and he was the only one they knew for certain must have been with Abstractil when she died! But Peralitus claimed that he wasn’t with Abstractil when she died—a claim Empiroxus and Xenixel both found absurd, as Abstractil was keeping constant surveillance of him whenever he was outside of module 6. How the hell could they have possibly been apart?! Peralitus began to explain but halted for a metamoment, before reluctantly admitting that he had attempted to escape Abstractil before she died.
Xenixel was beyond livid to hear that Peralitus had defied explicit orders and attempted to escape from his very specifically assigned confines. Even if he hadn’t murdered Abstractil, this was still treachery against the Council’s most basic principles of order, coordination and unity and must be punished severely! But Empiroxus was not at all swayed and still insisted Peralitus must have murdered his partner. The fact that he was willing to try and escape his imprisonment should show that he has clearly gone rogue a second time!
Conceptilum and Logixel still felt reluctant to immediately make a call on such a serious and important decision that they absolutely must not get wrong, with the former reminding them of what happened last time they pre-emptively blamed Peralitus for something. But Paradoxus was angry that they had even allowed it to get this far when it was so obvious what the outcome would be: Peralitus was the killer. They all knew it, and Conceptilum and Logixel’s insistence on delaying the inevitable was nothing short of stupid and irrational. But Peralitus argued that this insane jumping to conclusions was just part of a coordinated attempt to oust him, and none of them were willing to consider the facts objectively. The energy released when Abstractil was killed was far, far too much for an Omnipotent^2 Supergod to exert, and he had never performed any actions like that in his life! But Matharin suddenly claimed that Peralitus has.
The rest of the Council turned to Matharin, confused, as she explained that not too long ago, she had recorded a similar burst of energy, though far lower in intensity, resonating from just outside of module 6, right after Peralitus had been released for a round of rehabilitation. Matharin wondered if Peralitus was possibly testing some technique to use against Abstractil later. Peralitus argued these allegations were ridiculous, claiming that Empiroxus was monitoring him at the time, and he could confirm Peralitus never performed any such “technique”! But a still furious Empiroxus retorted that just because he didn’t notice anything doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Peralitus had no response and just made a shocked expression, in complete disbelief that the entire Council would turn on him a second time, after they had just begun to slowly trust him more!