Chapter 10
The Infinite Darkness
The ship had no difference from the last time Julna set foot inside it. He thought that it would be filled with shades, or anything to indicate that an immensely powerful being called the Old One waited inside, but there wasn't. The ship looked exactly the same. The only thing that was different was the atmosphere. When Julna first found the abandoned ship, it felt that way: abandoned. Now, it was almost as if the darkness and shadow were tangible, slowing him as he made his way down the hall to the captain's quarters, where he was sure the Old One resided. Even being as used to shadow as Julna was, he drew Urza's cloak closer around him, becoming more nervous of what was to come. What if he couldn't defeat the Old One? What if he failed? Avacyn, Sorin, Thalia, the entire plane of Innistrad, all of them would be overrun by the Old One's shades.
Stop it, Falderin said harshly in his mind, You cannot think like this. They are counting on you, I am counting on you; despairing thoughts will not help. You have the star-sword, you have me and Niredlaf, you will prevail.
"You're right," Julna said aloud, mostly to break the silence, "I'll just have to think more positive thoughts."
What surprised Julna the most was that he most feared the thought of Thalia being killed by shades. Why was that? True, he wouldn't want Avacyn or Sorin to die, but Thalia was the one that he felt the most emotion at the thought of her life being extinguished.
He pushed those thoughts out of his head as he reached the door to the captain's quarters. Inside was the Old One. Inside was the culmination of why he came to Innistrad in the first place. Inside was the being that had destroyed the shade civilization he had tried to set up. Inside...
Inside was the end. One way or another, it would end here.
COME TO ME, he heard it say through the door.
He shoved the door open. He was not prepared for what was inside.
The entire room was covered in shadow; he could hardly see the walls on the other side. This room was the only one hardly damaged and rotted like the rest of the ship. He understood why the Old One resided here.
Where was it? Where was this all-powerful being capable of shoving Julna out of Nyx?
He wasn't sure what he had been expecting. He almost thought of an Eldrazi from the power that it had, maybe a shade larger than the storm elemental shade he had created in his battle with Ral Zarek. He looked around the room, and then saw something moving on the desk.
There was a pedestal made from… were those pieces of the Helvault? On it was the Old One.
Gods of Theros. Whatever Julna had expected, it wasn't what he saw before him.
On the pedestal was an incredibly large shade stone. Most shades dissolved into powder; the storm elemental shade, which had been the largest shade Julna ever created, had only left a shade stone the size of a pebble. The one Julna beheld was as big as his head. It wasn't perfectly round; it was slightly oblong. Five thick tentacles protruded from the stone; four from the cardinal points and one out of the top of the stone.
These tentacles looked horribly familiar.
Julna gasped. "It was you. You infected me with black mana when I first created this body."
You are correct, the Old One said, It was indeed me. But do you now see why it was necessary? I could never have made it to Innistrad without you.
Wait, what? Julna was confused. "Why Innistrad? Why couldn't you just steal shadows from the Ravnicans?"
You do not understand my power. I can see both the past and the branching paths of the future. Ravnica was not where I was to go for my ideal future to happen; I needed you to travel to Innistrad so you could learn of Æther mana and create Shadowseer.
"But why? Why would you want me to create things that could stop you?"
If the Old One had a face, he was sure the thing would grimace. I can perceive the future, but sometimes the smallest things cause the greatest shift in the paths. You were not supposed to meet Thalia in the woods when you brought us here. She was not supposed to be the one to care for you after that angel gave you white mana. She was not supposed to be the one to teach you swordplay and help forge Shadowseer. Throughout my schemes, she has been the one outlier, the odd factor out that I could never control. If not for her, I believed I could eventually control you.
Another revelation. "That's why you focused so much on her! You continually tried to steal her shadow or kill her so she wouldn't help me!"
Everything was making sense now. The number of questions Julna wasn't even aware he was asking throughout his stay on Innistrad were being answered. But…
"Why are you telling me this? Why not kill me as soon as I walked through this door?"
I- it hesitated. I suppose it was so you could understand how close you were to winning. Thalia made your victories possible. But now, she is not here, and you will fail. Cease calling me the Old One; that is not my name. I am the Heart of Lukarme, and you will be destroyed utterly!
Lukarme. Julna assumed that the Heart was referring to the name of the body it had while still a shade. But how did Lukarme turn into the Heart? Normal shades didn't shrink into lithomantic stones; only shades created by Julna did that.
One of Lukarme's tentacles latched onto Julna. All turned to blackness.
Thalia was pacing back and forth worriedly outside the ship with their forces. "We should be with him," she said angrily to Sorin and Avacyn, "Not waiting out here. He could be dying and we wouldn't even know until the Old One sends out shades to kill the rest of us."
"If Julna fails, we will attack the Old One ourselves," Sorin said.
Thalia stared at Sorin incredulously. "So that's it then?" she asked, "We're just going to wait until he dies and then die ourselves? What if he needed our help to kill the Old One?"
"He certainly didn't feel that he needed it," Sorin sniffed, "He's been wanting none of our help since this whole thing started."
Thalia lost it. "What is WRONG WITH YOU!?" she screamed at the vampire, "Let me tell you something right now: I couldn't care less what happened between you two on Zendikar, wherever that is! If Avacyn's church and teachings tell one thing, it's that you help those who need it! Especially those you love!"
There it was.
Now it was Sorin's turn to stare. "What… what did you just say?" he said tentatively.
"That's right, I said it. I'm starting to love the man. I love him because he is courageous and sincerely wants to rectify a mistake he made. He asked for my help to create the sword he uses; I helped create what he calls a GOD WEAPON." She blushed a bit. "He even has the decency to turn around when he stumbles upon me taking a bath," she said, somewhat quieter. "And if you do not barge into that ship and help him with every ounce of your power, both of you, you will have ME to answer to!"
Julna heard all this from the void-like place that Lukarme had transported him to.
Isn't that wonderful? He asked, full of sarcasm and glee, You can hear a woman profess her love for you right before you all die. If there is a heaven or hell, maybe you can meet her there.
Thalia… loved him? When had that happened? As far as Julna knew, she believed him to be a friend, but nothing more.
Even with all your power, you are as blind as every other man. I told you she was a powerful block in my schemes; how else would she keep me from controlling you? Even with all of my power, I cannot stop love. Lukarme spat out that last word like it was pure poison. From what he just said, maybe it was. He fell silent, muttering to himself.
This gave time for Julna to look where he was. There wasn't much to see; it was almost entirely blackness around him, even the surface he was standing on. If he didn't reach down and feel it, it didn't even look like it existed. There were no stars, nothing.
Wait… there was something. Off in the distance, he could see something. It was hard to make out, but it looked round, and glowed softly. It looked like the Blind Eternities' representation of a plane. Were they in the Blind Eternities? It didn't usually look this… dull.
We are not in the Blind Eternities, but it does not matter. You will die, and I will personally command the shades who will sieze Thalia.
In response, Julna drew Shadowseer.
Thalia, Avacyn and Sorin burst into the captain's quarters.
It was empty.
Thalia howled in frustration, but Sorin was already looking at the strange pedestal on the desk. He frowned. "It looks like this is made from pieces of the Helvault," he said, confused, "What is this on it?"
Thalia looked at it. It was a glass ball, slightly larger than her hand. Inside it was something moving. There was a black surface spanning the middle of the sphere. Standing on it was a miniature Julna. There was a strange tentacle wrapped around his neck. The tentacle was coming from a strange black stone with five of the tentacles sprouting from it. Julna had Shadowseer in his hand, but he wasn't able to do anything; he didn't seem to be aware of the tentacle.
Cut it! She thought, wishing he could hear her, Cut the tentacle!
Julna blinked in surprise. Where was he? There were people around, and he was standing outside a grand building.
Is this the Dekatia? Am I back on Theros?
"Master Julna!" shouted someone from behind him. He turned around and saw a student running toward him.
"Yes?" he said, a bit confused. Who was this person?
"Master Julna, why aren't you preparing your lesson?" the student asked, "You're supposed to be teaching the finer points of lithomancy today. I, for one, have been waiting for this for a while!"
"Lithomancy?"
"Yes! Great Heliod, has Athreos wiped your mind already? Go, get ready!" The student almost pushed him through the gates of the academy.
Lithomancy? Teaching? I was on Innistrad…
But that thought faded in his mind. When would he have been on Innistrad? He had no reason to; he hadn't spoken or even thought of Sorin since they trapped the Eldrazi together. As Head Professor and trustee at Dekatia, he had hardly had time to planeswalk at all. Besides, he hated fading into the Blind Eternities; the forces trying to keep him out seemed almost too hard to get through.
Just use Urza's Cloak… something said in the back of his mind. But what was Urza's Cloak? He felt like he should know, but how would he? Dominaria was in ruins, and Urza long dead.
He let these strange thoughts flow out of his head as he hurried to his office to prepare for his lesson. He didn't see his shadow flickering in and out of existence behind him.
Nothing was happening, and it made Thalia frustrated. "What is the Old One doing to him?" she said, almost hysterical.
Avacyn looked at the sphere and frowned. "He's… showing Julna something. I can't tell what exactly Julna is seeing, but I can sense that it is meant to tempt and control him. He is meant to be lost in it forever, which makes me believe it is a life he could, and might still want, to have lived. This cannot be; Julna has to defeat him." She touched the sphere, gasped, and crumpled to the ground. Sorin and Thalia rushed to her side.
"Avacyn!" Sorin cried, "What happened?"
She struggled to sit up. "I… I think I was in the vision Julna is seeing. I was in a strange place, where people lived in a golden city and dressed much differently… There was a doorway behind me, and I walked through it and ended up back here."
Sorin's eyes widened and he muttered something. It sounded like "Theros", but Thalia had no idea what that meant.
She did, however, know what she had to do.
"I'm going in there," she said with a note of finality.
Sorin and Avacyn looked at her in astonishment. "And do what?" Sorin asked.
"Find Julna and help him break free so the Old One can die," Thalia said simply.
Sorin knew there was no arguing with her. All he said was, "Hurry."
She nodded and placed her hand on the orb. All went black.
She found herself in the city that Avacyn described. The architecture was unlike anything she had ever seen; so many columns with gilded artwork. She had never seen any city so extravagant. She was outside the gates of what looked like some sort of school. Was this the Academy Julna had told her about? She saw students milling about in the courtyard, talking among themselves. As she walked in, she heard one of them say, "-can't wait to attend Master Julna's lecture. They say that's the art he was made a thaumaturge for!"
Her heart began to race. He was here, and she needed to find him.
"Excuse me," she said, approaching the group of students and thinking quickly, "I'm new here, could you direct me to Master Julna's classroom?"
The students didn't even blink. One said, "Of course, we were just going there ourselves. It's this way." She led Thalia into a building to their right, down some hallways, and stopped at a door that had unintelligible writing on it, except for one word.
Buras.
The student looked in the room and gasped. "It's already started! Come on!" They dashed in, and Thalia followed. She sat down in a seat at the back.
There he was. He looked exactly the way he had on Innistrad, which was unlike any of the denizens in this "Theros" place, but none of the students commented on it. He was saying something she didn't understand about magic. When he looked at her, he didn't react; it was like he had never seen her before. He just went on talking. Then she saw something.
Falderin and Niredlaf were circling him, trying to get his attention, but he seemed to look right through them.
He doesn't see them, Thalia realized. She looked closer, and saw that the Old One's tentacle was still wrapped around Julna's neck. It was controlling what he saw and thought. He probably believed that he had never met Thalia before. She whistled, just loud enough for the two shades to hear. They looked at her, and she saw their wispy eyes widen. She gestured with her hand, asking them to come to her.
Thalia, how are you here? Niredlaf asked in her mind, The last thing we remember was Julna speaking to Lukarme, but then Lukarme grabbed Julna and suddenly we were here, and he couldn't see us.
Lukarme? That must be the name of the Old One. "I could see Julna and Lukarme in that strange place through a sphere in the captain's quarters. They were inside it, and I saw Lukarme trap Julna. When Avacyn touched it, she found herself here until she let go. I decided to go in here and see if I could free Julna. This is a fantasy designed to trap him."
"Excuse me, miss, did you have something to say?" Julna's voice rang out through the classroom, and in that way all teachers say things, every student could tell that he was talking to Thalia.
Thalia jerked her head back toward him, and the two shades hid in her shadow. She blushed, realizing she was now the center of attention in a place where she definitely didn't want to be. "Um…" she said quietly, "Not really, no."
"Then would you be so kind as to not talk during my lesson?" She nodded.
Julna made to start speaking again, but then his face took on a look of confusion. "I'm sorry," he said to Thalia, "But I don't believe I've seen you here before."
"She's new," one of the other students said in her defense.
"New?" Julna said, still confused, "But this is advanced lithomancy; I don't think anyone new to the Dekatia would be able to handle the curriculum."
"Well…" Thalia said, thinking quickly. She needed to stay here. "I do know the basics already…"
"Really?" Julna said, surprised. He quickly drew something on the board without even touching the chalk; it moved by itself. "Then please explain what lithomantic structure and some parameters for measuring its power."
A pop quiz. That hadn't been what Thalia expected. She looked at the board, and with a large amount of surprise and relief, realized she knew what it was. "That's a Helvault," she said, trying to recall what Liliana had taught her about it when the woman charged her with opening it, "It is designed to hold magical beings, and the power of it depends on the size, the stone being used, and the amount of mana infused during the construction process."
Julna nodded. "That is correct, although Helvault is only a slang term, not the technical name. Its technical name is 'entrapment hedron', but it wasn't necessary for you to tell me that."
The other students looked confused. "Sir?" one asked, "I've never heard it called a 'Helvault' before…" Other students agreed.
Julna was flustered. "I was sure I heard it called that once, and evidently she has too…" he trailed off. "In any case, she…" he turned to her. "What's your name?"
"Thalia."
"In any case, Thalia was correct."
The rest of the class went by without any incident. When Julna dismissed them, Thalia ran out with Falderin and Niredlaf trailing behind her. She got out the door and turned to them. "So what can we do?"
Lukarme is the most powerful being I have ever seen. I can't imagine how we could break his hold on Julna's mind and body, Falderin said worriedly.
Thalia was silent for a moment, thinking. "Maybe we don't have to. If we can just remind him that this is fake, maybe he can gather his will and cut the tentacle with Shadowseer; I saw it in his hand."
But how do we do that? Niredlaf asked worriedly.
She thought for a moment. "Can you two phase into my shadow like you do with Julna?"
They responded by doing so. It felt strange, seeing two shades simply turn into her shadow, but it helped.
"Can you still hear me?"
We can. Our presence also gives you a small amount of umbreomantic power.
"What does that mean?"
It means, Niredlaf explained, That you have a small amount of shadow magic at your disposal. Julna has no shadow of his own, so he can no longer do the things you can. You can detach your shadow from your feet and have it interact with others. Anything's shadow you move will move in the same way.
"So if I grabbed that chair's shadow and lifted it up…"
The chair would move in the same manner.
Well, that was an interesting development. "But what can I do with that?"
We don't know; we were simply telling you what you can do now.
Thalia wondered what she could do. "You two have telepathic powers. If I got Julna to stay still, could you enter his mind and try and break Lukarme's hold on him?"
There's only one way to tell.
Thalia took a deep breath and walked back into the room. Julna was gathering up papers from his desk. He looked up and saw her approaching; again, there was no recognition whatsoever. "Ah, Thalia," he said, "Did you need something?
"No," she replied, "But you do."
He, as she expected, looked confused. "What are you talking about?"
She drew another breath and called out to Falderin and Niredlaf. They detached from her shadow.
Julna was, in his mind, seeing them for the first time. "What are these?" he asked, more curious than afraid, "I sense lithomancy, but these are definitely umbreomantic creations… Wait, how do I know that?"
Thalia didn't answer. Instead, she tried to will her shadow to grab him. It detached from her feet and reached to grab his. Except she hadn't thought of one thing.
Julna had no shadow.
Even as Falderin and Niredlaf entered his mind, there was nothing to restrain him. He flinched and yelled "Get out of my head!" He stared at her with anger, and she backed away; Thalia had never seen him look at her that way. He moved toward her, but was stopped, most likely by the shades. She used her shadow to grab a chair and crack it against his head. He may not have known that he had an etherium body, but he did have it, so the chair did nothing.
"Guards!" Julna bellowed, "Assassin in my room!"
Thalia didn't know what to do. This was her only chance. Logic and reason fled, and what she did next, she did from pure instinct.
She lunged forward and kissed him full on the mouth.
Thalia could feel his surprise, but Falderin and Niredlaf were helping her. Recognition trickled in, and a moment later he pulled away and said, "Thalia…? Where am I?"
She ignored the question and said, urgently, "Cut the tentacle, Julna. CUT IT!"
He stared at her for more than a moment. She heard the security guards running down the hall toward them.
So close…
Julna vanished, and everything went black.
Back in the ship on Innistrad, Thalia's body was sucked into the orb.
Julna found himself back in the strange, black place that resembled the Blind Eternities. His arm was up, Shadowseer swung, and the tentacle released its constriction on his throat.
Lukarme mentally howled in rage. How is this possible!?
It was then that Julna saw Thalia laying beside him. Somehow, she had travelled to this place as well when the mind-Theros collapsed.
"It's just like you said," Julna said defiantly, "The one variable you can't control."
He raised his sword and drew on every single Æther mana source available to him.
Shadowseer exploded with energy. Julna ran forward, and Lukarme shot his other four tentacles back at Julna. Julna ducked the first and cut it, flowing through the forms Thalia taught him. Lukarme dodged Shadowseer as Julna sliced at another tentacle, and tried to grab him with another. Julna grabbed it with his bare hand and brought up his other hand, cutting it off.
Lukarme growled in frustration, but it didn't seem like it was directed at Julna. He looked, and saw that a second tentacle was hovering in midair. It had probably been planning to grab Julna from behind, but what stopped it?
A shadow was holding the tentacle in place, but it wasn't a shade. In utter surprise, Julna looked at Thalia. She had a hand up, and she had no shadow; it had detached and grabbed the tentacle.
Thalia was using umbreomancy!? How was that possible?
Wait… didn't Niredlaf and Falderin attach themselves to her shadow back in the mind-Theros? Julna had wondered what would happen if pieces of himself attached themselves to another. Apparently they gave the host a small ability to use umbreomancy.
Julna shook himself out of his shock and cut the restrained tentacle. Now that three of them were gone, he ignored the others. Instead, he lunged forward and stabbed Lukarme in the… well, the heart.
An unearthly howl filled the void. The remaining two tentacles shook violently. Julna stepped back as Lukarme screamed, still impaled by Shadowseer. Pure balckness bled from the wound, forming a cloud that grew steadily larger. It rose up and seemed to be trying to take on some form. Julna wouldn't let that happen. He summoned the last shred of Æther mana he could and threw it at the blackness. Another scream sounded, and the blackness dissolved.
Lukarme lay on the ground, but the screaming was gone. Julna summoned Shadowseer back to himself. He approached Lukarme, wondering how he could still be alive. Suddenly, the two tentacles left moved, doing something to the gash on the top. The wound closed.
I cannot thank you enough for what you have done, Lukarme said, his voice more quiet and gentle than before, I have been possessed by that creature since I gave you black mana.
"Wait, what?" Julna said, confused, "I killed you!"
You killed the thing that needed killing. All that is left is me, and I will still serve you to the end of my days.
Julna still didn't get it. "Serve me!? You tried to kill me on multiple occasions!"
Thalia stepped forward. "Julna," she said, "Let him speak."
I was not the one doing those horrible things. I would never steal shadows and consume them, or try to kill you. What you killed was an Eldrazi Titan named Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre.
Julna flinched at the name. "Ulamog did all this? And I killed him?"
Ulamog possessed me because I was careless. When you travelled to Ravnica, I knew that it was near time for you to start down your path. You nearly died after planeswalking, so I revived you. That only alerted Ulamog to my presence. When I interacted with you again to give you black mana, he was able to take control of me.
"But the Eldrazi are still trapped on Zendikar."
Not so. Their prison has been weakening ever since the Eye of Ugin was destroyed. But they no longer wish to consume the Multiverse. They have set their sight on a much bigger prize. Look around us.
Julna already had. "It looks like the Blind Eternities, but you said it isn't."
That is true. What we are looking at is called the Infinite. Think of it as a much bigger Multiverse. Your Multiverse, with all the planes, is but one "outlet" of the Infinite. There are many other outlets, some just a single planet, others solar systems or even Multiverse-like worlds.
Julna was stunned. "And the Eldrazi wish to…"
They wish to consume the Multiverse by first consuming at least a section of the Infinite. They have already begun attempting to break out. They have set their sights on certain outlets, which you must defend if they ever do break out.
"Do these… these 'outlets' have names?"
Some do. They are strange names; they are, after all, entirely different universes. I will show you some, and Thalia too. Open your mind to me.
Julna looked at Thalia and nodded. They both closed their eyes and allowed Lukarme to guide their vision.
They were not able to see the outlets themselves, but Lukarme gave them glimpses from his memories. He named some outlets with names. He was right, they were strange names. Places called Westeros, Middle-Earth, and Lyrian. Other outlets had no names, but he named some of the most important people in those outlets. Rand al'Thor, Belgarion of Riva, Eragon Shadeslayer (Julna really didn't care for that name).
Lukarme laughed. You'll find that shades are much different in Eragon's world. You wouldn't like them.
He directed their vision to another Multiverse-like world. That place is called the Cosmere. It is an entire solar system controlled by sixteen different shards of a single, omnipotent being called Adonalsium.
Julna caught sight of another outlet. "What's that one?"
Lukarme seemed embarrassed. I don't really like to talk about that one. It seems rather… strange to me. Stranger than the other outlets. Julna caught of glimpse of what he was talking about. A bunch of tiny horses, ponies even, were living in houses like humans. One, strangely colored entirely pink, seemed to be defying the laws of physics.
There also seem to be a great many outlets that focus on a single planet called Earth. I have no idea why so many are set on the same planet. Some places only exist in one outlet, never appearing in any other. Places called Hogwarts, Camp Half-Blood, and Fablehaven. I find it rather odd. Perhaps Earth is the outlet of the Epicenter.
"Epicenter?"
Just as Dominaria is the center of the Multiverse, the Epicenter is the core of the Infinite. It creates new outlets constantly, some surviving, others being destroyed as soon as they are made.
"And the Multiverse is but a single outlet in the Infinite?"
Correct, but it is the one that can do the most damage. No other outlet has beings as powerful or terrifying as the Eldrazi. They have gathered enough power to break out of the Multiverse and attack the Infinite. You must do what you were unable to all those years ago; defeat the Eldrazi and stop them from destroying the outlets.
Julna shuddered. "Well, at least I'll have your power to help me."
Lukarme was silent for a moment. I will not be able to go with you. I must stay here in the Infinite.
"But why?"
You remember how I told you I can vaguely see the future? I must stay away, or what must happen cannot, and all will be lost. But do not worry about me. Once you defeat the Eldrazi, you can use Urza's cloak to center itself on me and return you to the Infinite to retrieve me.
Julna sighed. "So I have to fight them without help?"
You have Sorin, and I believe there were other planeswalkers asking you for assistance in defeating the Eldrazi. And by the way, you can use Urza's cloak to transport non-planeswalkers as well. That might come in handy, because a certain fledgling umbreomancer standing right next to you will be needed in the battle to come. But, you must train her.
Julna looked at Thalia. She looked pensive, but nodded and smiled.
Julna turned back to Lukarme. "Alright. Where do I start?"
Return to Innistrad and tell Sorin and Avacyn that the Old One is defeated. Ulamog called himself that, not me, so it is true. Then tell them everything I have told you, and begin training Thalia. After that, you're on your own.
Julna nodded and took Thalia's hand. "Come on," he said, "We'd better get started."
As he and Thalia vanished back to Innistrad, Lukarme whispered something that he was sure Julna couldn't hear. Remember me when you face Emrakul. Remember, or all is lost.
End of Part 2
The story will conclude in Part 3: Zendikar.