Life.
The lone constant in a universe of change. Forever present, yet ever transient. Ephemeral, yet eternal. Each soul, each creature, each person, born of another; a new flame, fed from the embers of that which is dying.
It was this cycle that started millions of millenia ago. Countless ages and eras passing by as though within a blink of the eye. Hundreds of thousands of species, rising to greatness, falling into obscurity, descending into extinction, and remembered by none. All were but gears and cogs in the great cosmic engine which toiled ceaselessly from the beginning of the multiverse. Machines in the greater machine of all existence.
And yet, of each life that had once existed, a single primordial desire remains common. The search for improvement, the desire for perfection, the lust for beauty. The flesh could not remain as it was forever, for the vitality of youth would always give way for the infirmities of old age. Women lamented as their fair skin and comely face shrivelled away, and men wept as their sculpted bodies wasted into naught. And with these infirmities came the inability of those afflicted to work for their own projects, to achieve their own goals, before the eternal sleep of death would come and claim them.
Those who still lived to witness death wallowed in grief, and in sadness. Why was life so cruel? They sought a solution; a way to cheat the single fact of life, a way to avoid the sorrow and the grief that came with it. They sought a way to cheat death itself. To create life where there was none, to forge a soul from nothingness. For what was there for Death to take away, if it was created from something already dead?
The rise of the Nasod race was spawned by such a desire. Created to assist their creators with their daily tasks, they represented the wishes of those that had passed. Powerful. Eternal. Unburdened by death, disease nor old age, they represented the hopes and dreams of their creators. Almost as a triumph over death itself.
For a time, there was peace and harmony. Nasods worked alongside humans, ushering in an era of unprecedented prosperity. But Death would not be so easily cheated of his share of souls. No creature could live without a steady source of sustenance; and while the humans and animals of Elrios were able to live from the fruits of the field and forest, the nasods required a steady source of El energy. As the crystals powering them faded and crumbled to dust, and the mineral veins supplying them ran dry, the nasods sought their creators for assistance.
But their creators, thinking that the nasods were subservient to them, denied their request. After all, their own comfort, powered by the very El crystals that powered the nasod race, should take precedence. In their minds, why should a master share with a slave? It should be the slave's obligation to provide for their master, regardless of their difficulties. The nasods, unable to survive without additional El energy, saw only one solution.
And so began the Nasod War. A long, bloody, bitter conflict that spanned many decades. Though the nasods were able to replicate themselves, they were unable to sustain themselves. The humans could continue to multiply to replace their losses, while the nasods shut down one by one due to lack of power. Seeing little hope to win the war, the remaining nasods proposed to send a number of their most powerful kind into a long hibernation. A deep sleep from which they can rise once more, and seek out power to rebuild their race.
Eve, the queen of the nasods, was one of those sent into hibernation. Centuries passed, in which the humans forgot about their creations. Her slumber disturbed by the actions of a number of humans who had stumbled upon her base, she awoke to find her base heavily damaged. Even her companion, the Nasod King, had been defeated at the hands of these adventurers.
Her thought processes were in disarray. A part of her reasoned that since she was the last nasod, without resources to rebuild, she would be unable to revive her race and should simply shut down forever. After all, without a factory and the proper tools, she would be unable to produce more of her kind.
Yet when the red-haired boy, the leader of the group of adventurers, declared that he would be her friend, she found herself at an impasse. The nasods were, after all, created to assist humans; and this particular human was already offering to be her friend. She could not shut down without assisting him, as her creators would have wanted her. And so, she resolved to assist him and his companions in their search for missing El shards, for better or for worse.
It had been years since those days of excitement. The demon invasion had been halted through their efforts, and the humans had hailed them as heroes. Yet she still remained alone, only accompanied by her drones Moby and Remy. The group of adventurers had gone their separate ways, only keeping in touch occasionally. She now resided in what was left of the nasod base in Altera, only infrequently visited by curious Ponggos who wished to learn more about machines.
Today, however, was slightly different. She looked up from her workbench as a number of familiar voices echoed in the empty halls of her home.
"Moby, Remy. Scan the area for lifeforms," she commanded. The drones complied, zooming about with their optics wide open.
"Yo, Eve! It's me, Elsword!" a loud voice called out, causing her drones to jump back slightly. The lights on the halls flickered on, and revealed the smiling redhead carrying a rather large package on his shoulder. He had grown over the past few years, putting on quite a few inches and becoming broader about the shoulders, though his brash demeanour seemed to have remained unchanged. Perhaps definitely unchanged, given how he mumbled that the package was for her, before dropping it in a corner of the room. His sister followed closely behind, a little thicker about her stomach, with a smiling blond cannoneer clasping her hand beside her.
"It has been a long time, Eve. You ought to visit us once in a while," Elesis spoke, tilting her head to one side, "It's been...how long exactly?"
"My chronometers say that exactly six years, four months and twenty-six days have passed since our last meeting," the nasod replied, her voice bearing no emotion; her slight smile, however, betrayed her happiness, "Given the average human lifespan, yes, it has perhaps been too long,"
"Too long would be an understatement, Eve," the knight chided, jumping down into the pit where Eve was working and giving her a tight hug. Unprepared, the nasod's eyes widened in shock, before she gently returned the gesture.
"Temperature sensors detect elevated body temperature, and there are periodic mild impacts from your stomach region. All evidence points to a healthy child. I believe that congratulations are in order?"
Elesis groaned, "Yes, I'm pregnant. Did you really have to say it like that?"
The nasod's smile widened. There was a significant positive feedback loop in her thought processes, and it was pleasant for her to experience. "I apologise if there was something inappropriate in what I have said. But if you do not mind telling me, who is the-"
"It's that knucklehead over there, Eve," Elsword said, pointing to the sheepish blond now next to Elesis, "Oi, you there, meathead! You keep my sister safe, you hear me?"
"Oh, shut up, Elsword! We've all fought alongside one another, and you know as well as I do that I can fight, and he can fight. Give it a rest," Elesis shouted back sharply, causing her brother to flinch. The blond at her side, however, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she eased herself into his embrace, "Thanks, Chung. It has been a long trip, getting down here. I am happy to see that you are still alive and well,"
"I could say the same, seeing that you are all as well. I remember that there were more of us during our adventuring days. What has become of them?"
"Well..." Chung said, scratching his head, "I don't know where Aisha or Rena have gone. Raven has enlisted into Velder's knight corps, after a recommendation from Elesis and a request for a royal pardon. I can't say that I'm too familiar with the others, so...yes, that's all that I know,"
"I see. It is sad that we have all separated after those events. It was...fun. Nevertheless, I assume that you are all hungry and thirsty. Would you like some tea and biscuits? I could have Remy prepare some,"
"Uh...just water, thanks," Elsword replied slowly, his face turning green at the mention of biscuits. The nasod concept of biscuits was something akin to a hard yellow rock in the shape of a disc; something generally neither appealing nor safe to eat. His sister and Chung likewise nodded quickly, hoping that they would be spared from being forced to try and chew on those tooth-breaking creations out of courtesy. Once was more than enough.
"Very well. Remy shall acquire some soon," she said. Clicking her fingers, a large white-and-black sofa materialised out of the air in front of her, as well as a silver table and another smaller white sofa, "In the meantime, I believe that having more comfortable surroundings is advisable. Please, have a seat,"
Minutes turned into hours as the old friends spoke at length of their experiences. Or rather, Eve listened to their stories for the entire time, having nothing of her own to tell. A strange negative feedback fed into Eve's thoughts from her memory databanks. Perhaps, she thought, this was what humans called jealousy? After all, her memories seemed to be rather deprived of any excitement as of late. Still, she smiled as Elesis slapped Elsword, the former having had enough of the latter's lack of manners.
"...Fascinating. It seems that I have missed much in the short time that I have not visited you all," Eve said, standing up. She checked her chronometers; it was late in the evening, and the sun would be setting soon, "It is getting late. Would you all like a room to stay the night?"
"Uh...can't you just...teleport us back, or something?"
Nodding, the Queen of the Nasods held out a hand, a glowing ball of energy gathering in her palm.
"Of course. Where would you like to travel?"
"Velder, I guess. What about you guys?"
"If it is not too much of a hassle, I would like to return to Hamel. My father would no doubt like to hear the news of what is happening between myself and Elesis," Chung spoke, glancing at Elesis and smiling. Eve giggled a little; allowing the ball of energy to dissipate, she walked to Elesis and threw her arms around the redhead.
"I shall look forward to the day that another little Sieghart enters the world," Eve said, grinning, "Until then, do look after your own health, Elsword, Elesis...and Chung. If you see any of our old friends, please let them know that I wish to meet with them again sometime,"
Looking at the empty space beside Elsword, Eve called out in a clear voice, "Dimension Link!" A ball of bluish-white energy shot out from her hand and formed itself into a portal, through which the lad jumped through, shouting his thanks from the other side. Repeating the process, she created another portal for Elesis and Chung; the pair waved as they left, their free hands intertwined. The portals closed when they had stepped through, leaving Eve all alone once again in her workshop.
The workshop seemed all too dark and empty without the other search party members around. There used to be so many of them, all travelling in a single group. So many memories, all stored in her databanks. The good times they had, the battles they shared, the wild night parties that they enjoyed. It was not important, her logical processes assured her, and yet she could not bear to remove them to make room for more data.
If a nasod could cry, Eve felt as though she could. Her emotion control circuits were overflowing with a strange mixture of positive and negative feedbacks, growing ever more intense before she decided to restart it. It was good that she was still near a chair, for her legs gave way when she cleared her emotions.
"Remy," she called out. The drone hovered in front of her, tilting its body to one side, "The package that Elsword carried. He said it was for me. Fetch it,"
The drone beeped once, zooming away. Before long, it was back, and dropped the rather heavy package in Eve's lap. Slowly, she unwrapped it, and gasped.
It was an El crystal. A very, very large El crystal. She had no idea where the lad might have gotten his hands on such a thing. Neither did she want to know, knowing that humans coveted large El crystals for their almost limitless power. A crystal of this size could well power an entire colony of nasods for many millennia before even showing any sign of depletion. If the knowledge that he had given her such a precious item was known to other humans, it would no doubt cause trouble for the lad.
"Such a source of near limitless power. I wonder what I could do with this," she thought aloud, fingering its smooth surface.
No matter how large a power source was, there were limits. If she were to resurrect her kind, she would need to find more sources. The crystal in her hands was merely a means to an end.
Adam, the old Nasod King, would have ordered her to wrest control of all El shards on Elrios, to ensure the supremacy of the nasods. It was a logical outcome; El shards were finite in number, and the humans could live without them, while the nasods could not. Although her logic circuits told her that outcome was all but guaranteed with such an enormous source of power, her emotions prevented her from making such a decision.
"It was the selfishness of the humans that caused the nasod war. They have shown generosity, and I should not abuse such a gift," Eve said, setting the crystal down on the table in front of her. The light shining upon its greenish-blue surface glittered like the stars above that she used to see.
And then a brilliant thought struck her. The stars. They were enormous sources of power, and their numbers were beyond count. She was already capable of teleportation, both for herself and for others, only limited by her energy reserves. And the crystal in front of her was an enormous power source, most certainly capable of teleporting her wherever she chose.
Or perhaps even maintaining a stable portal. The possibilities were endless.
"Remy. Moby. Gather old nasod parts for me," she said, smiling, "I have a project to complete,"
The next few weeks she spent working on a miniature power reactor. The large one had been destroyed by the El search party, and she had not repaired it; a fact which she had begun to regret. Nevertheless, the small reactor was now ready, and its central receptacle awaited the El crystal in her hand.
Attached to the reactor was a circular gateway, reaching high into the air. It was constructed of the toughest nasod steel that she could find, molecularly bound in stasis fields to ensure stability. With the amount of energy she planned to use, there was no room for error; and with no way to know exactly what would be on the other side, it needed to be large enough to allow movement of larger nasod units.
"Moby, scan the left and right struts. Remy, check the base mountings," she ordered, placing a hand on the reactor and its connected device and bringing up a blue holographic interface. Slowly, she inserted the El crystal into the reactor chamber. Immediately, green bolts of energy streaked out from its surface and into the reactor's receiver dishes, and a steady stream of intense green light surged into the energy conduit above.
Both of her drones beeped in approval when they returned to her, indicating that the dimension link gate that she had constructed was sound. Tapping a few keys on the holographic interface, she diverted energy into the gate.
"Reactor online. Sensor readouts normal," she spoke, flicking through the displays. A brief power spike caused a few of the lights to burn brightly, though the gate remained otherwise stable, "All systems nominal. Initiating search for a suitable celestial body to land on,"
A spark crossed the gap between the gate's two arms. Once. Twice. And then a wall of energy, brighter than the daytime sun, blinding all within the room. Alarms blared from the gate's sensors, and the reactor's whine was punctuated by occasional hisses. She could feel the heat from the reactor as it struggled to draw enough power from the El crystal. It grew hotter and hotter, blasting her face with heat unlike that of a blowtorch; and yet, she needed to see whether her experiment would bear fruit. She would not disengage the gate just yet.
Yet as soon as it had started, the blinding light of the gate faded away. The control panel of the device in front of her beeped reassuringly as temperatures descended into normal, tolerable ranges. Cracking her eyes open, she gasped at the sight in front of her.
The world before her was beautiful. Calm azure seas stretched out for as far as the eye could see. Towering pillars of sandstone towered over the waters, washed by the idle lapping of gentle waves. Beaches of golden-red sand lined the long shores, the rocky hills behind them covered in green shrubs. And the most beautiful of all was the star in the sky, half-sunk into the horizon, painting all a rose-red hue.
"Remy, Moby. Let Elesis, Chung and Elsword know about our discovery," she spoke to the drones. Her eyes, however, were still transfixed on the world beyond the portal, "Use my personal communications terminal. They have one which I have gifted to them. Return here after you have completed; I should be back myself from exploring these new lands,"
A/N
Who needs Mass Relays when you can bend space-time and create large wormholes out of nowhere? It's instantaneous, albeit very energy consuming.