Varren's Report #1: I have learned from my mistakes. I've come to understand not just the world, but the entire universe that surrounds me. I know that I might sound a bit arrogant when I say this, but I'm simply jotting down my emotions in this journal, and it feels as if I can understand everything. All that surrounds me has such a great story to it, every detail and every flaw, all this knowledge is buzzing around in my head. The best part of this situation is that I can actually comprehend all of it. Such knowledge, such power, such information—it's all so grand and wondrous. At the same time, though, it's seemingly nothing at all. What's so great about knowing everything if you've no one to share it with? What's the purpose of this knowledge if I can't use it? What am I to do? I suppose I'll never know… In even worse news, I found out that my twin sister, Megan, has been killed. There's no saving her; I'm completely alone. Nobody can come back from the dead… it's physically impossible. I suppose I'll have to get used to being alone then. I'll also have to get used to keeping all of this knowledge to myself… It seems rather hard to do, but I can manage it. On a different topic, there's a part of me that's yearning to explore this city—no—this world, beyond that, even! Something in my heart is calling me to go somewhere, but where, and why? I suppose it's because of my loneliness, considering the fact that I have no friends, no family, none of that. It's understandable that I'd be lonely, sure, but to hear someone calling you to go somewhere in the middle of the night, to hear someone whispering your name, urging you onward to leave your home and go out into the wilderness—surely that is something more than simple loneliness? Yes… Yes, I can feel it. Something or someone wants me to go somewhere. It's calling me each and every night… I need to go and check it out. Why not? I've got nothing to lose. Very well then, it's been decided. If I 'hear' that thing calling to me one more time, I'm going to explore it… Its voice though… why does it sound so familiar? Why on earth would it remind me of someone? It sounds so loving and full of care… as if it knows me. This strange connection further increases my desire to check out what it is, and therefore increases the resolve of my decision to explore it. It's been settled.
Varren put his pencil to the side of his desk, closing his journal. He looked up into the mirror, observing himself. The gentleman's dark brown eyes were hard for him to acknowledge the dimly lit room. He smiled at how his regularly brown fedora seemed to complement his dark brown suit that he wore. Varren adjusted his hat, tidying things up. His brownish black hair hung just to his shoulders, barely visible because of his hat. Varren's smile soon faded, his face blank and emotionless. "You're alone now, Varren," he said to himself. He stared into his own eyes, knowing that nobody else would do such a thing, so he might as well do it for them.
What a shame, Varren thought, his gaze shifting to his desk, eyes empty. My sister dead already. I told her not to go to that city. Of course she didn't listen to me… she's far too kind for her own good. She wanted to change those who were evil into better poeple, even though she knew she couldn't. In the end, her kindness was her undoing. Varren looked back up at the mirror, on the wall in front of his desk. I won't be so foolish, Megan. Not only have I learned from my mistakes, but I'll learn from yours as well… May you rest in peace.
Varren stood from his seat, letting out a sigh. Varren grumbled, complaining to himself, his gaze on his reflection never leaving. "You really are alone…" he said. "Alone and bored, too. There's absolutely nothing to do…"
Varren looked from the mirror to the front door. "I suppose I could go outside to observe my surroundings once again," he thought aloud.
The gentleman adjusted his hat once more. He opened his door, then looked around the area to contemplate about his surroundings. Varren was in a quaint neighborhood, houses everywhere. Each house had its own lawn and backyard. Some houses were two stories high. Varren looked around the street. It was empty. He let out a sigh, beginning to walk down the street. Certainly is quiet today, isn't it? he thought to himself, trying to get entertainment from his mind. I suppose I could use some peace and quiet… Varren groaned in complaint. Oh, who am I kidding, this is boring!
He sighed once more, looking around the area to have something to think about. Something in the sky seemed to catch the gentleman's attention. Varren looked up, holding his hat. There appeared to be a black object up there… It wasn't a plane, he knew that much. Planes were silver, where he came from, and he was pretty sure that they were silver everywhere else in the planet as well. He started thinking about what it could be. There's a chance that it's a failed rocket, crashing from the sky. There's also a chance that it could be a meteor… but a black one? Stones aren't black. Well, hold on, considering the temperature of falling through the atmosphere it'd probably be black, given the fact that it would be covered in ash. But wait, if it were a meteor, it should've already made impact by now; it's falling too slowly to be a meteor. I suppose that that also rules out the possibility of it being a failed rocket from outer space. But then again, if it were a failed rocket, then it wouldn't have gone that far, and therefore not that high up. However, it would have to have traveled a long way to get here, considering the fact that there isn't a space station anywhere near here. Varren stared at the object, simply fascinated by it. What could it be? Varren's thoughts were interrupted by someone bumping into his shoulder.
"Oh, excuse me," said a man. He smiled at Varren friendlily. "You should really be careful where you're standing, alright, stranger? I'm pretty sure that you don't want to get into a fight with someone. Not everyone is really nice around here, so it's best if you mind your manners."
Varren tipped his hat to the fellow. "Greetings, sir," he replied. "I believe that you'll find that I'm quite well-behaved, but that's beside the point. I was looking at an object that was up in the sky." Varren looked up again, pointing at it. "I was wondering if you could tell me if you recognized that device from anywhere."
The man looked up at the sky. "Um, oh, I see it. Eh, I think that it's probably a helicopter. Don't concern yourself too much with it." He smiled at Varren. "Oh, and by the way, my name's Tim. It's always nice to meet someone who's 'well-behaved' like yourself."
Varren smiled at him, taking off his hat to bow politely. "My name is Varren, Tim. It's a pleasure to meet you." He began to walk passed Tim. "Thank you for your help in deciphering what that object was."
Tim smiled, waving goodbye to Varren. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's what neighbors do for each other, right?"
Varren didn't reply to that question. He simply continued to walk onward. My, a helicopter. he thought, questioning Tim's reasoning. Well, I suppose that he's right. Just a simple helicopter… all worked up over that. Varren continued to walk down the road, his destination unknown. It feels like it's something more though. That thing... He shook his head, dismissing it from his mind. Bah, enough of this overthinking, Varren. You've got to remember why you're here. You came outside to observe your surroundings.
Varren looked back up at the sky, staring at the object. So observe I shall. To his surprise, the object seemed to be a bit bigger than it was before. Varren tilted his head to the side. What on earth? It was traveling at a slow pace, moving to the left, yet it seemed like it was going downwards. Wait a minute… that's not simply the angle of the machine… it's actually crashing!
Varren took off into a sprint, running towards the supposedly crashing object. He looked up at the object in the sky. From last time he saw it, it was even bigger. It was confirmed, then, that that machine in the sky was crashing to earth. Varren, now with newfound resolution due to the confirmation, ran even faster. The gentleman's heart was pounding in his chest so fiercely that he feared it might break loose from his body. He continued to sprint though, ignoring his already-exhausted state.
Varren kept his eyes on the object, and he saw that smoke was coming from it. A piece of the black object fell off as well, straying from the object itself. The black machine in the sky was almost visible by this point. It was a saucer-shaped figure, spinning round and round. Glass rectangles were on the edges of it, and they were flashing a bright red.
It didn't look anything like a helicopter! What was that thing? Varren's concern was replaced with curiosity. He knew that nobody was in there. Nobody of thisworld, at least. He smiled in joy. At last, he thought, something to sate my knowledge! Something that's completely extraordinary, something that's so grand that this world can't even contain it! Varren chuckled, sprinting even faster.
The gentleman had made it into the woods. Off in the distance, he heard a loud crash; it was obvious that the machine had landed! He ran passed a mass of trees that were in his way, squeezing through to reach his sought destination. There was a massive crater in the ground, and in the center of it was the black saucer, the red lights still flashing. Trees around the area were all bent over in the opposite direction of the strange machine.
Slowly, he began to walk towards the saucer, his eyes shining with curiosity. Varren let out a chuckle, observing it with an inquisitive passion. My word, what could this be…? Such a strange object... Suddenly, realization struck Varren. "Wait a minute," he thought aloud, "this thing, someone must have been driving it" He began to pace around it, walking in circles. "If that's the case, then this is meant to have an entrance somewhere, quite obviously." Varren stopped in front of it, just where he'd started to pace around the black saucer. "This thing is meant to be used for travel." His eyes widened. A smile spread across his face in delight. "So why not use it for what it was meant to be used?" He placed his hand on the black saucer, feeling around it. "Now all I have to do is figure out how to activate this door."
Suddenly, Varren's mind was transported elsewhere. He saw himself, placing his hand on the machine. Unable to control himself, he flew backwards, then high up into the air. He went above the forest, then zipped forwards, just next to it. Jolting downwards, his vision landed on the ground. He found himself staring at a piece of the machine…
Varren gasped in shock, his mind returning to where it had originally been. "What on earth was that?" he thought aloud. The gentleman looked at the machine. "It's as if it… it wants me to find the missing part of it and fix it. Like… like it has a mind of its own or something."
Suddenly, Varren heard a soft voice speak within his mind. It sounded familiar… it was that same voice he'd heard every single night! "Varren…" the voice said. It was female… how strange. "What you've come across will lead to your destiny…"
Varren looked around the area, trying to find the source of the voice. "Tell me, who are you?" he asked.
"You'll find that out in due time, Varren…" the voice gently replied. "There are many things more important than my name at hand, though… Varren, a darkness is rising, far away from this world… For the sake of your home, and many others, you must find the darkness and stop it… Only you can do this, Varren…"
Varren blinked, utterly baffled. "Only me?" he echoed. "Why does it have to be me, if it's so important?"
"It can only be you, Varren, because you are kin to me…" the voice replied.
Varren tilted his head, unsure if he understood. "Okay, but, what's this darkness that's coming to destroy everything? And why don't you stop it yourself?"
"The darkness is unknown to me, Varren… I do not have the power to see it for the horror that it truly is, simply because it feels as if its power is unlimited… There are two reasons why I can't defeat this darkness myself… I'm not in the same Realm you're in, Varren… I can't do a thing… to top that, my knowledge isn't as great as yours, Varren… Your mind, your fantastic mind, is the only thing that can defeat this darkness…"
"But how is simple knowledge going to defeat a darkness that has unlimited power? Surely there must be more?" Varren asked.
"Do not fear, my kin… You will gain power of your own in time… through this journey, you will find out more about yourself, and what you can do..." Static began to buzz about in Varren's head; he clenched his temple in annoyance. The voice said quietly, "I'm afraid that I must take my leave, Varren… I beg you to find the fraction of this ship, the one I directed you to… everything depends on you…"
"What? No! You can't just leave like that and tell me that I need to go and find something! What do I do after I find it? Do I go into this machine and look for the darkness? If so, how does it work? How do I operate it? I need more input!" he demanded. There was no reply.
Varren sighed, looking down to the ground as he shook his head. "Fine," he thought aloud, "I suppose I'll figure it out on my own. I am a rather clever fellow, after all." Varren turned left, beginning to walk towards where the piece was, according to the vision that voice had sent him.
That mysterious voice... Varren thought to himself, looking up in the sky. 'I'm kin to that voice somehow… It was the voice of a female… could it be Megan…?' Varren shook his head, dismissing the thought. 'No, that couldn't be. It's impossible for someone to make communications from beyond the grave; Megan most certainly did not speak to me. But if that's the case… then who on earth was that…?'
At last, Varren made it out of the forest. Something powerful was in the air; he could feel a powerful source of energy around this area. Varren smiled. He was obviously close to finding the fragment of the saucer. He didn't know how or why he could detect it, but he was thankful that he could, and would most certainly use that to his advantage. The feeling grew stronger as he progressed. In front of him was a large boulder. Varren put his hand on the rock, then lifted himself on top of it, looking behind it. Sure enough, there was a black object. It looked as if someone had taken a fraction out of a circle… Varren smiled. That was the exact shape of the saucer! Varren jumped down from the rock, landing next to the ship's piece. He picked it up, then ran as fast as he could back to the ship. My, he thought, this certainly is an adventure.
After a while of running, Varren made it back to the ship. He was panting, out of breath once again. "At least I'm getting the work out that I desperately need," he said to himself, wearily walking towards the black saucer. Varren put his hand on it, walking around the ship once again. "Now, where on earth does this go…?" he thought aloud, observing the ship carefully.
Varren got to the side of the ship, and there he saw a chunk missing out of it. He looked at the piece he had, and saw that the chunk missing out of the ship seemed to fit the piece in his hand perfectly. Varren placed the piece back. Dark blue energy glowed from the piece as it began to fit itself back into place, the light shining brightly in Varren's eyes. The gentleman took a step back, observing the ship. "So did that do it, then?" he asked himself, staring at the dark blue light. As if the ship had heard him, the dark blue light vanished, sealing the piece in tightly. Varren chuckled. "Now that's a good way to answer," he said, walking back to where he assumed the front of the ship was.
He stared at it inquisitively. In a response, the bottom of the wall began to slide upwards, revealing the inside of the ship. What Varren saw absolutely fascinated him. There were tubes hooked up to a massive jar stuck to the wall in front of him, and inside this jar was a black ball of energy, which was spinning rapidly. On the wall to the left of him, there was a massive, black screen, along with censors which were in front of it. Above the screen seemed to be something similar to a web camera built into a laptop. To the right of him were several seats. Varren assumed that they were made for passengers, or perhaps they were built so the driver could relax while operating the machine. "Truly remarkable…" he said, awing over the area. Slowly, Varren walked into the dark saucer. He stared at the black energy ball, which was constantly spinning round and round. "What on earth is that thing?" he asked himself.
Suddenly, a voice coming from the computer screen spoke. "Oose eichen. Zeir hoiatata…"
Varren blinked, startled by the sudden voice from the screen. "What language is that? Doesn't seem like any language I've ever heard…"
The computer screen spoke again. "Eichen oose: English. Zeir hoiatata…"
Varren stared at the machine. "My, how fascinating," he said. "It seems to know what language I'm speaking. This machine… how on earth could it possibly know my language? It's come from a completely different world!"
In an instant, the camera above the computer screen projected a blue, see through woman in front of Varren. She was wearing a sleeveless suit of some kind, with a strange symbol tattooed on her shoulder. Her voice was monotone as she spoke. "Answer: the CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN is built to contain the universe's knowledge, and is therefore built to contain all the languages within it."
Varren blinked at the projection in confusion. This machine… it answered his question like he was owner of this ship. "Who are you?" he asked, choosing his questions carefully.
"Answer: I am your guide for this ship, leader," she replied, her face emotionless.
Varren tilted his head at the guide. "Okay… why do you call me your leader?" he asked, curious as to how something that had just arrived on a new planet could instantly claim the first thing that entered as its leader.
The woman responded to his question formally. "Answer: My former instructor, who is not to be named due to his requests as such, gave me his final command of finding an intelligent soul, one which could process the universe itself. Once I found this being of intellect, he was to become my new leader."
Varren could go on asking these questions forever. There was so much that he wanted to know! "Where did you come from?"
"Answer is undefined. My former instructor was a traveler. He was searching for someone to pass this onto, an intelligent soul like him. He was doing so because he knew that his time with the CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN had come to its end, as all journeys do."
"Ah, I see…" Varren looked around the area once again. His gaze fell upon the black energy ball within the jar, spinning around rapidly. He pointed at it asking, "What's that?"
"Answer: That is our power source," she stated, her voice completely emotionless.
"Well, I knew that much, but what is our power source?" Varren asked her, stepping closer towards the black energy.
"Answer: what you see in the jar is a fraction of a black hole."
Varren's eyes widened. "A-A black hole?" he echoed. "How on earth can this machine withstand even a portion of such a power? Is the CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN so powerful that it needs something as strong as that to power it?"
"Answer to question number one: as I've said, the CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN is programmed to understand the universe. The universe is never ending; it's equivalent to infinity. In order to understand everything, it must have enough power to do so. A black hole has the power to destroy everything. Therefore, it is also equivalent to infinity as well. Even a portion of it would be equivalent to understanding the universe. However, it can only understand so much at one point of time; it cannot travel from one end of the universe to the other, and can only go so far in one trip before needing to 'recharge,' if you will."
"Answer to question number two," the guide continued, "the CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN's power often varies from person to person. I have had three leaders, or instructors, in the past, and each one of their levels of intelligence was different from the others. Based on how much information their brains could take in, and retain their sanity at the same time, that determines the strength of the CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN. Therefore, it has no definite power."
Varren blinked, staring at the power source to the ship. "Something that has the ability to understand everything… goodness gracious… That must've taken an eternity to develop, and an even longer amount of time to have figured out how to retrieve that kind of energy source. But still… something that can handle the information of the universe itself…" Varren smiled, his eyes brightening. "Say, that reminds me a lot about myself, actually!" He clapped his hands, turning to face the guide. "Alright, I was told there was a darkness that was threatening to destroy everything, and only I could stop it. Do you know about it? If so, what is this darkness, exactly?"
The guide replied as efficiently as always, "Answer: the darkness of which you speak is an evil overlord who wishes to enslave the universe. He's already taken over three galaxies so far; he has a powerful army. His name is Darmaque."
"Darmaque, eh?" he echoed, raising an eyebrow. "Certainly not a human name…" Varren smiled, popping his neck. "Alright, let's start our adventure right away! Point me in the right direction towards this 'Darmaque,' fellow. Take me as close as you can to him in a single trip, can you do that?"
The guide dissipated, the projection vanishing away. However, her voice could still be heard. The guide said, "Yes, master Varren."
Varren smiled, his brown eyes shining in pure delight. An adventure, a villain, a quest that I need to fulfill, planets to discover—all of this is simply fantastic! He stood in front of the computer screen, smiling happily as the ship began to shake and shiver. Slowly, it rose into the air. The black energy sphere spun faster than ever, and there was a mighty push in the air. In front of the ship, a wormhole opened in the air. The ship shot through the wormhole, zooming towards its new destination. Now this is what Varren called a new life.