Chapter 93: Worldwide Requiem

The surface of Kiln became pockmarked with several craters of blackened metal. Towers of chromatic make and piles of debris dotted the land as far as the eye could see. Darkness covered the land as both ash, bodies, and zerg still flew and orbited over Kiln. It was a world now controlled by Kay and Virid's Swarm.

The return trip back to the underground refugee camp was uneventful. All Kay had to do was merely form a wormhole at the numerous underground hatcheries and connect it to his location. Kay even used such a power to deliver Alexandriana and Virid to one of the underground hives he relocated to. The zerg that were caught by the falling debris were killed upon impact, though much of the debris had either been burned away from entry or were targeted by the spore crawlers and spore cannons. The casualties were extensive for the zerg, which could have been calculated to be quintillions of deaths in total. The body count was vast, but it all amounted to be nothing more but a statistical footnote. The ability to convert ambient energy in the environment into materials and resources, an adaptation that Evolution Master Corvurn discovered, provided a tactical advantage that the zerg could not have won the 20 year war without.

But as the surface of Kiln was further ruined by the aftermath of an intense battle above Kiln's atmosphere, the refugee camp of the last remaining gilanians were panicking. Their leader, Baroness Tak, was understandably furious and was adressing her frustrations to Kragnon within the privacy of her tent.

"I don't care if the sickness plaguing my people is caused by that godawful emperor. The zerg are responsible and my people cannot stand for this any longer." Tak grumbled venomously at Kragnon, as she gently rubbed the temples of her head as a headache began to form.

Kragnon kneeled before her and bowed several times. "We are aware of the mounting tensions between the zerg and the gilanians, but we had no idea that the bastard emperor would have done this!"

"His defeat had costed the lives of more of my citizens!" Tak shrilled. After a pained sigh escaped her lips, Tak calmed herself and groaned in frustration. "Many of the refugees that fled from Gollog's rule had arrived at the doorstep of my citadel, both before and right when the war broke out. They were all given a second chance, under the condition that they become productive members of the society within the walls of Citadel Gargantua. Of course, it had meant that I had to exercise my tact and made sure none of them were in political or diplomatic positions that undermined my rule, knowing full well that any vital information that endangered my position was more leverage he could force onto me."

Kragnon sighed as he looked up at Tak. "I know. You believed that if you had less power you could wield against Gollog, the less of a target you became and the more well off you would become. But you also knew that he knew that, and you figured that he also knows that you knows this. It's essentially an endless tactical mental game where you couldn't possibly win in the end, so you simply played for points, while Gollog wanted to control the whole playing field."

Tak shifted in her bed as she nodded at kragnon's assessment. "Having only common knowledge as a basic defense against Gollog's empirical subversion is not exactly the best way to keep a citadel safe. However, having redundant and obvious information that any common gilanian can access tends to undermine most best laid plans, especially if the black market in my citadel had developed a gray track record in keeping client information over the years. When Gollog found out about certain deals that had taken place regarding certain members of the black market, he liquefied Asul Corporation and their services. As a result, I had done the same in order to prevent his wrath from taking more casualties than needed. An emperor may control an empire, but an empire is nothing without a strong self-sustaining infrastructure. And with a gilanian like Gollog, he will always find whatever secrets you keep from him. Always."

Kragnon had nothing to add to Tak's reply.

Tak shook her head and growled. "Still, this sudden plague has killed many of the people that had left Gollog a long time ago. They were ranting about something before they suddenly began dying. Whatever it may be, the disease began to spread from them and they are blaming the zerg as the likely source of the plague. That also includes you, Kragnon."

Kragnon shook his head as he stood up. "It isn't that, my beloved. The Zerg Swarm are masters of evolution, and they have the capacity to manipulate and control their diseases. They are not responsible for releasing this pathogen that has affected your people." He explained.

Tak shook her head again and closed her eyes. "It isn't me who you must try to convince. Rather, it is my enraged populace. You are connected to Kay through your brain communication thing, right?" She waved at him. "Please bring him to me and get this sorted out."

Kragnon nodded. "Yes, my beloved. I'll contact him through the zerg psionic hivemind connection now and tell him that you request his audience." Kragnon turned around and began walking to the exit of Tak's tent. 'Kay, whatever the fuck you did, everyone is in a panic. Tak is blaming you for it too.'

'Ugh. I know. And she is right to blame me for it.' Kay bemoaned.

'So when are we going after Gollog again?' Kragnon asked sternly.

'... Actually, I want to hold off on pursuing him." Kay said hesitantly.

'What? Kay, what do you mean by that?' Kragnon asked incredulously.

Kay sighed. 'Think about it. If we attack Gollog again, then he might make another move in desperation. What's to say that it might cost us the rest of the refugees the next time? Or worse yet, add a new element that we have to adapt against as he gets away in another of his escape attempts?'

'...' Kragnon didn't say anything.

Kay could feel his frustration. 'I know you want to be the one to finally end his life once and for all, but we need to act with a little bit more tact for the moment. You might think that I should have held off the swarm from attacking the sky rings so early in the engagement, and waited for the Era Agents to come and pick up the remaining refugees before we continued our assault. However, I didn't want Gollog's empire or the Kiln Keepers to gain an advantage if we let too much time pass. It's very possible they would have caught on that we were waiting for the era agents to arrive, which would have given Gollog the incentive he needed to enact a revenge mission against the last living gilanians on this world. In the long run, it was better to remove Gollog from a tactical position as soon as possible before he began to plan a spitful attack against a lingering non-aligned population. You see my point?'

'... I think I see.'

'Kay then. In the meantime, I suggest that we regroup our forces and rest. Once the era agents come to pick up Tak's people, we will then continue pursuing Golden Star's emperor. I think I'll be taking a little nap.'

'You do realize that Tak wants an audience with you.'

'Don't care. Nap time. Night-night.' Kay abruptly finished.

As a sighing Kragnon left Tak's tent, he was surprised and startled to suddenly see two of his daughters riding upon the squishy abdomen of a broodmother. A lump formed in his throat. Snapping out of the conversation he was having with Kay, he hurriedly ran up to the broodmother. "Wha... What's going on here?" He blurted, hoping that what was happening wasn't too serious.

The broodmother huffed in annoyance as she peered behind herself to check on her passengers. "I have discovered these two playing near a spawning pool. I tasked myself in bringing them back to their genetic progenitors."

Jak and Zak peered from behind the broodmother's wing and weakly smiled, waving at Kragnon. "Uh... Hi bug-dad." Jak announced meekly.

Kragnon stiffened his posture. "Jak. Zak. What are you doing outside of the tent?"

Jak and Zak looked at each other before Zak answered. "Um... Well... There was nothing to do in the tent, so we... Well... Wanted to take a look around."

Kragnon shook his head. "It's dangerous to be outside of the tent right now. People are dying and I don't want to lose you." However, a new lump formed in his throat. "... Where is your brother? Did he come with you?"

Jak and Zak shook their heads. "No, he doesn't know that we're out here." Zak answered.

"He was supposed to be watching you." Kragnon took in a deep breath and grunted out a sigh. He then pointed at Baroness Tak's tent. "Go to your mother. Now."

"Yes father." The both of them announced. They gently slid down the webbed legs of the broodmother and began their guilty trek back to their mother's tent.

Kragnon sighed. Had his focus didn't become too engrossed with the war between zerg and Gollog's empire, he would have noticed that his flesh and blood had escaped from Tak's care. However, gilanians their age were normally restless, and Kragnon knew this well since raising Kragak. After seeing his two healthy daughters go into the entrance of Tak's tent, he turned to the broodmother that brought them to him. "So uh... What is your name?"

The broodmother bowed. "I am Kariza, one of the few broodmothers tasked with managing the creep fields and forming new bio-structures."

Kragnon nodded. "Kariza. Right. There is a possibility that my son went out to try and find his sisters. Do you think you can keep some eyes out for him on the off-chance he went out on his own and ventured into your hive cluster? I'm worried about him, and I would prefer that he returns here safely."

Kariza grumbled. "This task is not designed for a broodmother like me to humor. ... But it can be done. Be warned, however. A broodmother's patience can wear thin over time." She turned away and began to crawl back to the depths she was supposedly spawned from.

Kragnon hissed to himself as he went off to Tak's tent, hoping that his son didn't set off to retrieve his sisters.

Much later, the zerg swarm had entered into a state of peace, despite the uproarious complaints that Tak's people had with their zerg neighbors. However, such verbal whining didn't deter the zerg's leaders by much. Kay knew if the thinning gilanian refugees banded together to repel the zerg away through non-lethal methods, then the zerg would most definitely grant them the space they so wanted. They know better than to use violence against the zerg. It would have been considered an act of war, and the parties involved would be hunted down, infested, torn apart, and eaten. Sometimes not in that order. However, Kay wasn't concerned for such an outcome at the moment.

His eyes were closed tightly as he rested within a gathered pile of tired zerglings. Somewhat after settling into the creep, Kay discovered a rather unusual, yet surprising ability that the zerglings displayed. Many of the ground-based zerg had the natural ability to rapidly vibrate their muscles at low frequencies, which granted them their most widely known ability to burrow into the ground. As Kay rested upon the creep, the zerglings slowly gathered around him and formed what could have been called a small cuddle pile. Kay didn't notice it at first, but the zergling pile began to vibrate slightly and at much lower force that normally enabled them to burrow through whatever earth was below them. It was akin to the sensation of falling asleep while sitting in a massage chair. It was when a zergling tried to lay on top of his stomach and begin resonating like its surrounding siblings that Kay finally realized what was happening and what the zerglings were trying to do. They were very much like loyal hounds trying to appease their master, and they thought that making themselves into a pile of massage pillows would suit their master's needs. After some hesitation, Kay allowed them to continue, even letting a few of them burrow underneath the creep he rested on before relaxing again.

It was an odd sensation. Kay basked in the afterglow of the incredibly long war that waged between zerg and the dominant inhabitants of the Kiln Prison System, and yet after all this time, he had never had the chance to relax in this manner before that moment. Sure, any typical zerg organism tends to begin resting when they're burrowed or positioned in strategic locations that don't have much action going on, while active zerg could fight and war for several days with only a marginal impact to their combat efficiency. Even Kay was subjected to tiredness, even when his mind was utterly focused on a task. It was only through moments of calm or pauses between a battle that Kay would realize how tired he was during his campaign against Golden Star. To finally take time to sleep and relax the brain was a luxury that few insomniacs treasured. However, having one's mind connected to a hivemind of zerg made it somewhat difficult to sleep with. Kay couldn't truly 'sleep'.

But even if he could try to find the time for sleep, Kay was troubled by a few thoughts that were plaguing the insides of his mind. The entire gilanian race within Kiln's prison system consisting only of clones, for one. For Kiln to even exist in the first place, the technology of the gilanian civilization must have reached a point of post-scarcity some time ago. Afterwards, upon developing the technology required for their next tasks, they would gather enough resources to create an entire planet that would have enabled the gilanians the means to create the prison/clone world they needed. The security measures they established, aka the anti-quantum veil which prevented any outsiders or insiders from entering/exiting the prison system, and the myriad of protocols that activate when certain conditions were met, would suggest that the gilanian civilization as a whole had advanced technology that hypothetically rivaled the protoss. Perhaps not in the same complexity that the ancient firstborn can attest to, but instead having the forethought to account for several variables simultaneously.

However, whoever created Kiln and its prison system didn't account for time traveling agents, a group of secret scientists that discovered wormhole technology, a self-imposed unsympathetic immortal tyrant that wants to take control of Kiln and its prison system, and, of course, the zerg that was invited into the prison system simply through the sheer luck needed to create a wormhole at the right time and at the right location in The Void.

Life is pretty funny like that.

But the question Kay's mind wanted to know was not how the non-clone civilization of gilanians made Kiln, but rather wanted to know WHY they made it. Kay hoped that the seneschal of this timeline's Era Agency might have the answers to some of his questions.

If he decided to come back as promised, that is.

A disturbance rustled the zerglings around Kay, which made them make their gentle warbling brays and shrieks. Kay sighed as he got up from the zergling pile to acknowledge the intruding party responsible for disturbing his sleep. Kragnon's son seemed to have visited Kay, it seemed. An annoyed sigh greeted Kragak. "The son of Kragnon. Aren't you a bit far from the safety of your tent?"

Kragak nodded. "I'm well aware. I was looking after my sisters, but I noticed that they were gone. Have you or your zerg seen them?"

Kay raised an eyebrow at Kragnon's descendant. "Let me see..." After looking away from Kragak and closing his eyes for a few seconds, Kay nodded and turned back to Kragak. "Jak and Zak are fine. They were escorted back to Tak's tent by one of the broodmothers. A broodmother will be coming by here soon to guide you back to your tent. ... Actually, it feels like Kragnon is going to swing by here also." Kay then pointed at one of the zerglings. "But if you want to ride your way back on a zergling, I can let you. It's way faster."

Kragak shook his head. "No uh... I can walk back fine. ..."

Kay sighed. He can sense that there was something on his mind. "Well? Go ahead and spit it out."

"What?" Kragak said as he looked up at Kay.

Kay gestured to Kragak. "I can tell that you have something on your mind. If you want to share with me what you're thinking, you can go ahead. I have nothing else better to do at the moment."

Kragak nodded and took his turn to sigh. "I'm just... worried about father."

Kay blinked a couple times at Kragak. "... Uh... Kay? Why are you worried about him?"

Kragak huffed. "This refugee thing is getting on everybody's nerves. Admittedly, even mine. Before all of this, we were afraid that the war between the Zerg and the Kiln Keepers would reach Citadel Gargantua at some point. It did a few times, if mom and dad's stories were true. But when news of a doomsday weapon being fired began to circulate, the paranoia of the general population had reached its peak. However, even with the paranoia choking what lasting remnants of bravery remained, everybody wanted the war to finally come to an end. As we were invited into an underground chamber that the zerg dug out for us, some of us didn't accept the news of a sanctuary that was able to keep us safe from doomsday. There were a few that stayed behind, deciding to allow the doomsday to take their lives instead of taking the zerg's offer to make refuge in their territory. The doomsday happened anyway, and many more of Citadel Gargantua's people perished.

Kragak turned away from Kay. "And now people are getting sick. Mom said that the plague is killing people in seconds, but nobody knows how it is spreading. I'm worried about my sisters, Kay. I don't want them to end up dead. But most importantly, I don't want my father to forget that we look up to him for guidance sometimes. I feel as though he may have lost his way and himself when... when he became your pawn."

Kay paused for several seconds before nodding. "You can blame Gollog for the plague that affects your people. However, it might upset you to know that this disease was my fault all along."

Kragak turned to Kay, startled by what he heard. "... You... You caused this?!"

Kay nodded with a sigh. "I am so sorry this happened. I didn't intend for Tak's people to die like that, and I would have made every attempt to prevent that disease from killing such a large number of people. Most of them once belonged to Gollog's empire, yet they didn't deserve their punishment."

Kragak was silent for a moment, but then began to bare his teeth. "PUNISHMENT?! We suffered this war for such a long time already, yet you have the gall to say THAT to me?!" Kragak said, pointing a finger at Kay.

"Considering the circumstances everyone was forced to live in, no one deserves to suffer for the sins of another party. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with the zerg as invited guests. But more than that, your father sacrificed his health just to ensure that you, your sisters, your mother, and your neighbors in Citadel Gargantua survived the apocalypse that came." Kay snapped back.

Kragak didn't say anything back.

Kay sighed. "Listen. Your father might not be as good-looking as he was before becoming infested, but that still doesn't stop him from being a good role model. Sure, the father you once knew is no longer the father you know now, but that doesn't mean you can no longer cherish the memories you made with him, and fondly reminisce of the fun times you do remember." Kay walked up to Kragak and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Honor your ancestors by what they stood for, rather by what they were spited for."

Kragak paused for a few seconds before looking at Kay with a glare. A quick slap forced Kay's hand from Kragak's shoulder. "I understand what you're trying to say. It won't make me feel any better, regardless if what you said is completely true." Kragak backed away from Kay. "If we somehow survive this, I don't want my people to take part with any of you or your monsters ever again."

Kragak turned away from Kay and began to walk back to Tak's tent, just as Kariza entered into the zergling's sleeping chamber. She then began to guide Kragnon's offspring, despite her half hearted attempt to offer the gilanian a ride on her back.

'That could have gone better.' Kragnon said to Kay.

Kay sighed. 'Like a slap to the face. Kid has got some angst, I'll admit.'

'He's not wrong, either. There was a time in my life where people look up to me for guidance and advice during the moments I was able to assist them. But I see the looks upon their faces when they gaze at me. It's like I'm a different person to them. ... No. Less of a person, really. Like I am some unstable family member, and to anyone else, an animal.'

'Kragnon.'

'What you said to Kragak was hard for him to swallow, but he knows that you're telling the truth. He is young, but he will understand your advice when he cools his temper. Thank you Kay.'

Kay sighed as he flopped back onto the zergling pile. He silently admits to himself that when the Era Agents finally come around to deliver the remaining refugees to safety. Kay was about to begin resting again when the hivemind network alerted him of another intruder entering into the hive cluster he was napping in. A heptagonal door of light slowly manifested near the pile of resting zerglings, which had startled them into a loose defensive formation of snarling, seeming to be angered that their rest was disturbed. This had better be good.

When Zagion had walked through that time gate, Kay immediately reacted by commanding the zerg to back down. Attacking the seneschal that promised to deliver the few remaining refugees to a new sanctuary would definitely make the seneschal break his promise, and Kay wouldn't want that to happen. Zagion looked upon the horde of zerglings being put on standby before his gazed wavered onto Kay. He bowed when his scan of his current location was complete. "Greetings, leader of the Zerg Swarm. I trust that your victory over Golden Star is absolute?"

Kay sighed. "Well... It's about as complete as its going to get. Have you came to get what's left of the refugees?"

Zagion nodded, but that nod was followed by a pause. "... What's left? ... Don't tell me you have... EATEN some of them?!" Zagion replied with a gaunt expression.

Kay scoffed a laugh. "I don't eat gilanians, you dumbass. But uh... I think it's only right to inform you on what happened."

Zagion tilted his head in confusion. "... What happened?"

Kay huffed and placed his hands on his hips as he began to explain. "Emperor Gollog happened. He used his 'divine powers' to talk to the last remaining population of his empire. I think he said some phrases that made them ill, triggering some kind of response that made their medical-micromachines to kill them."

Zagion's face paled even more than before. Looking left and right, he then walked closer to Kay, despite the protesting growls of the zerglings nearby. "You... Didn't happen to hear what he said when that happened, did you?"

Kay nodded. "Only something about his empire being made up of clones, but I don't know anything else than that."

Zagion heavily sighed. "FUCK."

Kay was startled by the seneschal suddenly cussing in front of him. "... Uh... Mind telling me what's on your mind?"

Zagion checked his surroundings again, this time with a bit of paranoia girdling his expression. "How many of Baroness Tak's citizens learned of this?"

"Uh." Kay was dumbfounded by Zagion's question.

Zagion shook his head. "Let me rephrase. How many of Tak's citizens died when Gollog used his divine powers to make that announcement? Did they once used to belong to his empire?"

Kay slowly nodded. "... Yeah, I think Tak said something about nearly all of the citizens once belonging to Golden Star ended up dying. ... WUH?!" Kay immediatly realized something. "Wait a minute! Those people were clones too?!"

Zagion sprinted toward Kay, a surprising feat for someone with a large middle section, and clasped a hand onto Kay's lips. The zerglings chattered and trilled their warnings at the seneschal. "Don't say that out loud, you gods-damned idiot!"

"Say what?!" Kay exclaimed, after removing the hand that attempted to obstruct his mouth.

"The C-word! Right after you said 'those people'! That word!" Zagion chided.

Kay was, in a sense, flabbergasted. "Wait, what?"

Zagion looked left and right again. "Listen. I'll tell you the kind of danger that word contains, but only if you can promise me that you won't say that word to anybody else. ESPECIALLY to another gilanian."

Kay paused for a couple of seconds before nodding. "Uh... Alright. I promise I won't say clo-... the C-word."

Zagion nodded. "Good. Is this location safe?"

Kay looked to the left and right of himself before returning his attention to the seneschal of the Era Agency. "We are in an underground hive cluster, I forced Gollog to self destruct his sky rings, and I can see through any invisibility cloaks that a Pyramidal Guard shadow assassin would try to hide behind. I would say this area is safe."

Zagion nodded. "Good. Because what I'm about to tell you must never be repeated to another gilanian. Especially if they are also a C-word."

Kay blinked a few times, but nodded. He felt as though he was going to receive a lot of exposition on the inner-workings of Kiln Prison System's true nature.

A/N: Holy shit guys, this story has reached 100k views and 300 reviews! :D

I want to say that I am proud that I joined this fanfiction website community, and I'm happy that so many readers enjoyed my ASU story. Thank you!

I also want to give a special shout-out to VexMaster for being the inspiration that drove me forward to create this Starcraft fanfiction in the first place.

Have a good 2019 everybody! :3