Crystallized Shadow

"My great Lord, there has been a disturbance in the Multiverse."

The dragon opened its eyes, its meditation interrupted by its underling's wheedling voice.
"Tell me," the dragon said, "Why should I care for disturbances any longer? Now that the Eldrazi have been defeated, the Multiverse shivers every day."

"My lord, this is something different. The disturbance echoes from… beyond the Multiverse."

The dragon stared in actual startlement, something it had not felt in eons. "What do you mean beyond the Multiverse?"

"My lord, I do not know the meaning of it. All I know is that nothing in the Multiverse calls as this does."

"Interesting…" the dragon mused, "Perhaps this strange new disturbance can finally allow me to regain all I have lost since Jeska's accursed spell. I shall investigate it myself." With that, Nicol Bolas spread his wings and planeswalked away.

The underling had been correct; this disturbance was unlike anything Bolas had ever felt. Where was it coming from? He tracked the sound through the Blind Eternities.

Innistrad… he thought. Was this the work of that vampire? But no, he had been on Tarkir when Sarkhan Vol travelled back in time and created an alternate reality. So who was it?

There was only one way to find out.

Julna stood in front of the rift, contemplating the void beyond. He was on the precipice of more exploration, the brink of an unknown universe teeming with even more universes tucked away inside it. There simply wasn't the proper word to describe what the Infinite was besides its name: infinite. Neither Julna nor Lukarme knew where the beginning of it was, the Epicenter, but both knew that it somehow created the endless number of worlds and realities before him.

Thalia sat demurely next to him, shrinking slightly away from the rift with awe. Once Julna left, she would be on her way to Kaladesh; when Julna had told her about some of the more famous planes, she'd immediately sparked an interest in Chandra Nalaar's home world; she'd never seen thopters or clockwork machines or anything like that, so the idea had intrigued her.

Come, Julna, Lukarme said, sitting on the kitchen table next to him, Let us be off.

Julna did a final once-over of himself just to make sure he was really ready. Thalia chuckled. "You're fine, Julna," she said.

"Not entirely," he replied, "This is my first real excursion into the Infinite itself. That incident with Perseus and the Hero of Time didn't count; the Outlets had temporarily fused with the Multiverse because of Boj."

"Because of who?"

Julna paused. What was he talking about? Who was Boj, or Perseus, or the Hero of Time?

This is strange, he thought, I clearly remember kidnapping the last two and finding Timdis somewhere, but nothing after that. What could it mean? And he knew nothing about something named Boj. It was almost as if his memories of whatever had happened were almost completely erased. No, it was more like they were never there. Like something had just froze after those memories, like a story that had never been finished.

Wait, Lukarme said, Where is Shadowseer?

Julna snapped out of his reverie and sighed. "It's upstairs, sitting in the closet."

Why in the Multiverse aren't you taking it? After all the trouble you went through to create it?

"Even after we defeated the Eldrazi, part of their taint is still inside it. It's not still gray and lifeless, but its power has been… truncated. That's the only word I can think of to describe it."

Does it still affect the powers of those that come in contact with? Does it still kill supernatural beings?

"...Yes."

Then take it.

Julna sighed again, then snapped his fingers. His sword appeared in his hand a moment later, the stars as bright as they had been before he'd killed Kozilek with it.

One of Lukarme's tentacles snaked over and rested itself on the blade. You're right, Lukarme said, Kozilek must have drained some of its power right before it died. He was silent for a moment. I could probably restore it, if you want.

"Actually," Julna said, summoning the sheath and strapping Shadowseer to his hip. He could summon it whenever he wanted, but he was starting to enjoy the secure feeling of having the sword by his side. "I don't think you should."

Why not?

"I think there's such a thing as too much power. Even though it was necessary, no one should ever have the kind of artifact that lets them defeat gods and Eldrazi titans single-handedly. I don't need that kind of responsibility."

Lukarme grumbled mentally. The Gatewatch would like to disagree with you on that point.

"The what?"

That other outlet that was created when Sarkhan travelled back in time? A group of planeswalkers have created an organization to protect the Multiverse. They call it the Gatewatch.

"Huh. I'm assuming Gideon Jura is heading it?"

You assume correctly.

Julna smirked; It would be Gideon who'd willingly take on the responsibility for protecting the Multiverse. Not Julna. He was a blue mage at heart, and being such compelled him to explore and learn about the Infinite.

Speaking of which.

"Alright then, enough of this talk," Julna said, breathing in deeply, "Let's go." He gave one last kiss to Thalia, who kissed deeply back, and he stepped into the void.

He'd been in the Infinite once before, and knew what to expect, but the sight still took his breath away (which was quite abrupt, considering he'd just taken in a deep breath). It was… well, infinite. An endless void of possibility, broken only by faint colorful lights indicating different Outlets.

Well, Julna? Lukarme asked, Where should you go first?

He studied the Outlets around him and could somehow study what was inside them. He inspected a magnificently multi-colored Outlet.

Oh no, Lukarme said, Not that one. I don't think you're ready for Equestria yet.

"Equestria?"

You don't want to know.

Julna shrugged, turning away from the Outlet. He figured out how to move around in the expanse of the Infinite, and eventually found an Outlet that looked interesting.

This is one of those Outlets based on the planet Earth. It focuses around a kid named Steven, so I like to call it the Steven Universe.

"Falderin? Niredlaf? What do you think?"

Niredlaf was the one who replied. We will follow you wherever you go. This seems perfectly fine.

"Well, I guess my mind's made up for me."

Good. Reach your hand into the light, until you find its core.

Whatever that meant. Julna tried to touch the outermost light of the cluster, but his hand passed right through. He reached deeper, until eventually he touched something solid.

As soon as he wrapped his hand around it, he was falling through the air. He'd entered the Outlet, but there hadn't been any indication that he had. One second he was in the Infinite, and the next he was here.

He hadn't appeared too high, so he landed face-first a second later. His etherium body absorbed most of the impact, so there was a jarring sensation, but no pain. He grunted and sat up, brushing off sand from his face. He'd landed on… a beach? Yes, it was a beach. Strangely enough, a few hundred feet away was an enormous statue in the shape of a woman with six arms. At the base of the statue was a large archway, and through it Julna could see four women, all with very strange outfits, hairstyles, and overall appearances, playing in a band beside a man with very long brown hair.

"What…?" Julna said, "Where am I?"

As he watched, two of the women started dancing in a rather intimate way. Suddenly, with no warning, their bodies merged together in a flash of light, leaving only one, much larger woman in their place that looked like what the two would have if they had been somehow fused together.

Julna watched in stunned silence as the… whatever he should call it, danced for a bit, dropped to the ground, and broke apart again.

He decided this would be the time to leave before they saw him. He ran along the coast until the statue was out of sight, then leaned against a cliffside. Not from fatigue, but just from confusion and curiosity at what he'd seen.

Something was pressing into the base of his neck. He turned around to see whatever protrusion of rock was guilty, but the wall was perfectly smooth. He leaned against it again and felt the same pressure on his neck, but there was still nothing on the cliffside. Curious, he felt around his neck to see if what was causing it had stuck to him.

His hand bumped into something hard and smooth right beneath the bump at the base of his neck. He was a bit startled as he felt it, and determined that it was some kind of rock or stone that was somehow a part of his body. He couldn't see it, of course, as he he couldn't see out the back of his head, but he determined from the size of it and the numerous facets that it was some kind of gemstone. It was about four inches wide and didn't move when he pushed it; the stone was definitely attached securely to his back.

Ah yes, he heard Lukarme's voice say, I forgot to mention this. Your powers conform to however magic works in the Outlet you're in; here, those who have powers get them from the gems that are a part of their person. If you think that's weird, look at Falderin and Niredlaf. He directed Julna's gaze to his right. Julna gasped; Falderin and Niredlaf were no longer wispy, semi-formless shades. Instead, they looked exactly like Julna, except that Falderin was pitch-black and Niredlaf was pure white. As Julna reached out a hand to touch Niredlaf, confirming that the shade was now solid in form, he was rather surprised to notice that his entire body was now colored blue. The two shades also had gemstones on their bodies; Niredlaf's was a sparkling white stone on his left hand, and Falderin's was a black stone located on his right hand.

This, he thought, was certainly a strange Outlet to visit first.

"What happened?" Niredlaf asked, speaking through actual vocal chords instead of telepathically, "Why have we been separated?" He sounded distressed, which was understandable; the shades were a part of Julna, and being separated from him had never happened before. "What do we do?"

"Calm down," Julna said soothingly, though he was a bit panicky himself, "I'm sure that we can find a way to fix this." Fix this!? They'd better; Julna couldn't stand having them as separate entities instead of pieces of his own self, friends that he understood in their entirety. He needed them to join with him again somehow, so that awareness of their minds could return.

Wait, maybe that was it. What if those women he saw earlier had done something similar? Their bodies had fused together after that dance they did. What if that was how his powers had "conformed" as Lukarme described it?

Excellent deduction, Lukarme said, I was hoping you'd figure it out on your own.

"Figure what out?" Falderin asked, "What do we do?"

"Did you see how those two women joined together back there?" Julna asked him, still staring at his blue skin.

"Yes," Falderin said, sounding confused. Then his eyes lit with realization. "Ohhhh… you mean we have to dance together, or something like that?"

"That sounds like the most logical decision," Niredlaf said, jumping in excitement. It was only a single jump, however, because he never landed back down on the Earth. Julna and Falderin looked at him in surprise.

"Huh," Julna said, intrigued, "Apparently physical bodies don't stop you from being able to fly."

"Apparently," Falderin agreed, "So, how will this dance work?"

Julna blushed slightly. He'd never been that good of a dancer, even though the Dekatia had required him to take a class on Meletis' traditional folk dances. "I suppose… we could do the Trianothen." The Trianothen was a dance for three people, with one dancing without changing positions and the other two circling him. It seemed the most appropriate.

His shades were a part of him, and they knew the dance moves. So, very self-consciously, Julna began the dance. He hadn't performed it in what almost felt like forever, and it took him a while to remember all the steps. As he danced, it felt more natural. He got into the dance, one designed to be performed without music, and started to admire the intricacy of it. The fact that Falderin and Niredlaf were flying around him added to the hypnotic qualities of the step. With the last move, a flourish really, Julna struck the end pose and the two shades slammed into them.

It was the strangest experience ever, stranger than even his first sojourn into the Blind Eternities. It also felt somewhat familiar, as their bodies merged and Julna was once again filled with the awareness of the other two. There was a final feeling of intense compression, but only for a moment, then all was still, with Julna breathing heavily by himself. A quick inspection of his body revealed that it was back to its normal coloring, although the black stone Falderin had and Niredlaf's white stone had now taken their respective positions on the backs of each of his hands. He felt around the base of his neck and once again, his hand bumped against the gemstone.

He heard the smallest sound of something heavy swishing through the air towards him. He instinctively ducked and rolled backward, coming up to see one of the women from inside that statue pointing a twisting spear at him, the weapon entirely bluish-white.

"Who are you?" she demanded, keeping the spear pointed at him, "Where did you come from? Garnet! Rose!"

He was unsure who she was calling for until two more of the women, one of them entirely a dark red-purple, the other normal-looking except for an enormous head of bright pink hair, ran up. They stared at him in shock and some hostility. Without a word, the dark woman Julna surmised was this "Garnet" (judging by the red gemstones on her palms) held out her hands. The gemstones flashed, and her hands were suddenly covered in heavy gauntlets molded into fists. The woman called Rose held a hand to the pink gem on her stomach, and an enormous sword with the pommel in the shape of a rose (go figure) emerged. All three of them stood there, weapons pointed at Julna.

What should he do? Fight back? Garnet and Rose had summoned weapons from their gems; could he do the same? He reached a hand to the gem just below his neck and concentrated on summoning Shadowseer. The gem grew warm, and the sword appeared in his hand, just like it always had. The two stones on his hands flashed, and two familiar shades spiralled out, back to their ethereal form. They circled him, arms raised to fight these women if they should have to.

Rose lowered her sword, eyes wide with curiosity, but Garnet and the pale woman still eyed him with hostility.

"You're a… fusion?" Rose said.

"A what?" Julna replied, not knowing what the word meant. Was that what they called it when they morphed together? Possibly, but he didn't want to say anything else until he was sure.

"Don't act stupid," the white-skinned woman said, "Are you from Homeworld?"

Oh great, an even more confounding question. Was it good or bad to be from this... Homeworld?

He decided to make his answer ambiguous. "I don't mean you any harm, if that's what you're asking," he said. He let Shadowseer dissipate back into light and retracted Falderin and Niredlaf.

She still didn't trust him. "You didn't answer my question."

"Pearl!" Rose said, "Calm down."

But Pearl didn't want to, apparently. "Are you from Homeworld or not?"

Well, with no information about whatever Homeworld was, the only option was to be truthful.

"I am not," he answered, "To be honest, I have no idea what Homeworld is, or even where I am."

As he said that, something bit down hard on his leg. He yelped, jumping to the side and glancing downward. The perpetrator was a small girl, entirely lavender in color, chomping happily on his leg. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was still disconcerting.

"Amethyst," Rose said, trying to keep from giggling, "Get off of… what gem are you, anyway? Each of yours are different."

He inspected the gems on his hands, but still couldn't see the one on his neck. "I'm Julna," he said, not knowing if that was what she wanted to know.

She frowned. "That's not a gem I've ever heard of."

"It's my name," he said defensively.

"A gem with a name? I've never heard of such a thing." She walked up to him and took his hands, looking at them. "Onyx… Moonstone…" she said to herself as she examined the stones embedded in Julna's hands. She spun him around and poked the one on his neck delicately, "And I think this one is Aquamarine. No wonder you need a name; I can't imagine what kind of fusion gem these would make. May I see you as individuals?"

It made Julna uncomfortable, but he figured the best way to keep these women from attacking him was to do what they asked. He focused, and somehow managed to separate himself from Falderin and Niredlaf. His body glowed and split, forming back into the three separate beings they were in this Outlet.

Rose's eyes widened in amazement. "You all look the same," she said, "But you're different gems. You're certainly a strange one."

"This shouldn't be," Niredlaf said, "We're parts of Julna; we're not supposed to be separate."

Rose glanced at Garnet. Why? The tall… gem, Rose had called her, hadn't said a word. "That's understandable; you're not the only ones," Rose said, "Feel free to fuse again."

If Julna had felt self-conscious performing the dance before, the feeling was even more magnified doing it in front of people. He was sure that his face was as red as Garnet's gemstones by the time he struck the final pose. The feeling of compression and… well, fusion, returned, but only for a moment. Then he was Julna again, perfectly normal.

"Well," Rose said, smiling warmly, "That was an interesting fusion dance, to say the least. Come with us, Julna; you'll need a place to stay."

"No, thank you," Julna said, "I can make my own way."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked, "The rest of the world doesn't seem to be so accepting of outsiders."

"Oh, don't worry," Julna said, smiling mysteriously, "I won't be going to the rest of the world.

Lukarme? he said in his mind, I think I've had enough of this Outlet for now. It's been quite strange.

There wasn't a reply. Julna became just slightly worried. Lukarme? Are you there?

Another spinning black hole opened in the air, but there still wasn't a reply from Lukarme. He heard all four of the gems gasp as they looked at the hole into the Infinite. Julna didn't look back at them as he stepped through.

"Honestly, Lukarme," Julna said as he stepped through, "Considering you're my link back to the Infinite, you should pay a bit more attention…" He trailed off in shock.

Of all the individuals he expected to find in the Infinite, the worst and least expected by far was Nicol Bolas. And yet there he was, an enormous dragon clutching Lukarme in his claws. The dragon's infamous touch had obviously suppressed Lukarme's entire consciousness, and Julna was amazed the former shade had managed to create the portal.

"So," Bolas said in a deep, surprisingly melodic voice, "You're the one causing the disturbance in the Blind Eternities."

"What do you want, Bolas?" Julna asked, summoning Shadowseer. He still had the gemstones on his neck and hands. Would those go away at some point?

"What I have always wanted," Bolas replied smoothly, "My power back. The Mending lost us so much, Buras. I am but a shadow of what I once was."

"Yes," Julna said sarcastically, "And your 'weaker state' is still more powerful than any other planeswalker save Ugin."

"You insolent brat!" Bolas roared, "You cannot fathom what I have lost. Despite this, you will help me find a way to get that power back. Find me power from this place, or your only means of getting back to the Multiverse will be crushed in my claws!"

Julna looked at Lukarme in the dragon's clutches. What should he do? There was absolutely no way he would ever help the likes of Nicol Bolas, but he couldn't leave Lukarme to die either. He stood there, calculating possibilities. He came up with only one solution.

He calmly floated up to the dragon, face neutral. "Excellent," Bolas said, "A wise choice."

"I'd like to think so too," Julna said. He then stabbed the back of Bolas' hand with Shadowseer.

From any other weapon, the hit would only have been an annoyance to the Elder Dragon. Shadowseer, however, was a different story. Perhaps against such a being it wouldn't completely suppress their powers in its weakened state, but the pain was still enough to make Bolas drop Lukarme. Julna quickly scooped up the shade-stone and lunged for the Steven Universe outlet.

This time, it wasn't a smooth transition into the Outlet. Julna was thrown violently about as an almost unbearable flash of heat and light enveloped him. He could no longer feel Lukarme in his arms.

Even with etherium strengthening his body, he blacked out.