Eternal Eye
A Story And Addendum For Memoirs Of The Heroes. (Previously "Memoirs Of An Adventure's Child."))
(All Characters Are Ficticious And bare no resemblence to living people. Any resemblence to fictional characters is only by chance. Special Thanks to Howard Phillips Lovecraft)
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I couldn't believe what was happening. The second we all arrived at the Guardian Base, JaNa had fallen ill. Only hours ago, I told her how I felt about her, and I had rescued her from the creature that held her captive in the Spirit World. I couldn't help but think that that thing did something to her, but what. She had collapsed in pain when they were taking her to an examination room. I waited outside the door for what seemed to be an eternity. Finally, a man exited the room and walked over to me. He looked at me and said, "Are you related to her?"
I replied, "I am her boyfriend."
The man had a solemn look on his face. "I am afraid that something in the Spirit World did something upsetting to her."
I was starting to get scared. "What happend to JaNa?"
"A dead creature raped her. It probably happened and she didn't realized what happened." It all hit me. When I rescued her from the creature, it was part of the walls. It was the black ooze that covered her body. I remembered that Lena told me about a man who attacked JaNa in the Ancient Ruins. That must have been him.
"So what's happening?"
"The dead tissue is starting to replace her living tissue. As of right now, it might be easy to cure, but if we don't stop it soon, we may have to replace parts of her body with metal and make her a Cyborg."
I thought about what life with JaNa would be like if that was the case. I could adapt, but my heart began to race as another thought seized my mind. "What if you're too late for that?"
"We will have to kill her. At that time, her spirit would be consummed by the condemned dead shell, doomed to unrest forever. It is neither dead, nor alive. It exists, but doesn't exist. Eventually, the dead tissue decays, but the spirit of unrest is sent to the Void." I didn't need to hear that.
"Then save her." I turned and walked away. I was upset, but I knew I would be in the way if I stayed. The lower levels of the Guardian Base were like another world, all mechanized. I walked by the Great Vault, where most of the Ancient artifacts were kept. In fact, I knew that soon Lena would put that gem in the vault. I couldn't help the sence of dread that over came me when I thought of the gem, and even the Dwelgs.
Eventually, one of the guards came up to me. She was a human, but she had one of the highest ranks in the Guardians. "Max. Radr and all the rest want you in the main computer chamber."
I nodded and followed her to the main computer room. I had never been in the room before, but Isis and my father said it was remarkable. All I knew was that Radr was one of the people who help my father in the quest for the Magi, and now he was the main computer of the Guardians, as well as the leader. When we finally entered the room, I saw my father look in surprise at the Guardian and said, "Meg, is that you?"
I noticed that the woman nodded and then Radr said, "YES, RICH, IT IS MEG. HER SISTER WAS A GUARDIAN UNTIL TWO YEARS AGO."
My father looked at her and said, "What happened?"
Meg looked at him, "On an attack that the Route made on one of the still free lands, she was fighting with the Guardians. During the attack, strange robotic beings appeared and captured several Route members. At that time the Guardians started attacking the robotic beings. My sister was captured."
I looked at them and said, "Your sister was taken by Crystoids."
Radr spoke up and said, "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THEM?"
Isis just looked at him sternly and said, "We've encountered them, Radr. I had to tell them."
My father walked over to Meg and said, "I didn't know. I was surprised to find out you had a sister."
Meg looked at him sternly, and said, "If you would have taken me on the quest when you left all those years ago, I could have saved her."
He looked at her and said, "I choose who I choose for a reason. Radr could adapt and become stronger. I had chosen Skiz because he was a monster and could become stronger. Vet had her magic abilities."
"And look at them now. Skiz is dead. Vet is killing people, and Radr is confined to Immortality."
"LT. COMMANDER MEG!" She stopped talking and stood staight when Radr spoke. "I HAVE NO REGRETS ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME. SKIZ DIED PROTECTING VET FROM HER SON. AND IT IS NOT VET'S FAULT FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING. ST. MARIUS HAS POSSESSED HER AND LEADS THE 'ROUTE'."
"Sir, I mean no disrespect, but I, as well as others, believe that if this ends, Vet must be punished." When I heard that, I was glad JaNa was in the medical area. "She is too powerful to trust anymore. We should prevent this from happening again."
My mother then said, "You cannot mean to say that when we stop the 'Route', you are going to punish Vet for what Marius did while he had control of her body." My mother had seen how things occured when she first met my father.
"LI, I AM IN NO WAY ABLE TO SAY YES OR NO RIGHT NOW. I MUST WAIT FOR TIME TO PASS. JUDGEMENT CANNOT BE MADE YET. BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, WE MUST EXAMINE THAT GEM THAT LENA HAS. IF IT IS A THREAT, WE MUST FIND A WAY TO PREPARE AND STOP IT. GUARD, COULD YOU BRING THE GEM TO ME." I watched the guard walk over to Lena.
Lena pulled out the 'Eye', as Isis had named it, and said, "Take this vile thing away. I don't ever want to see it again." As the guard touched it, I saw my sister's eye go wide.
The guard pulled away from the 'Eye' and collapsed. He then screamed, "What's happening to me?" I watched as his arms lengthed and his body grew in bulk. His whole features change, and then he faced us. He started to leap at my father, but Isis let loose a blast of lightning that exploded the being that was once a guard.
When the blood was done flying, my father looked at the scene and said, "Radr, do you have any idea what happened?"
"APPARENTLY, LENA CAN'T GIVE THE GEM AWAY. WHAT IS IT CALLED?" Radr responed.
"It is called the 'Eye of Shub'," Isis said with an errie calmness.
Radr just replied, "THE 'EYE OF SHUB'. I READ ABOUT THAT IN A BOOK WE FOUND. IT WAS WRITTEN BY ONE OF YOUR PEOPLE ISIS, BUT LONG BEFORE YOU WERE BORN. IT WAS FOUND IN ONE OF THE DEEPEST LEVELS OF THE NASTY DUNGEON. IT TOLD THAT IF ONE LOOKS INTO THE EYE, ONE CAN SEE THE SUPER-DIMENSION WHEN THE 'GREATS' LIVE. IT ALSO STATES THAT THE 'GREATS' AND 'ELDERS' HAVE LIVED LONG BEFORE OUR WORLD BEGAN."
"How is that possible?" Isis said as if she didn't understand. "The beginning was when Redor and Shoac were fighting to keep balance in the universe."
"ONE STORY IN THE BOOK STATES THAT IN AN ATTEMP TO CONQUER OUR DIMENSION IN THE BEGINNING, THE GREAT KNOW AS SHUB CREATED A POWERFUL ENTITY THAT WAS EVIL. THE BEING WOULD WORK TO BRING THE DIMENSION TO EVIL. ONE OF THE HIGH ELDERS FELT IT WAS NEEDED TO HAVE A COUNTER, SO THEY CREATED AN EQUALLY POWERFUL ENTITY THAT WAS GOOD."
I looked at Radr and said, "You mean to say that this Shub character, or as the Dwelgs call her, 'Mother', created Shoac."
"YES, BUT SHUB GAVE SHOAC THE ABILITY TO REASSEMBLE HIMSELF IF HE DIED. THE ELDER'S DID NOT GIVE REDOR THAT OPTION BECAUSE THEY NEVER BELIEVED IT WAS NEEDED. AFTER THE TWO KILLED EACH OTHER, THE SEPERATE PARTS OF SHOAC WAITED FOR THE RIGHT TIME TO REJOIN OUR WORLD, BUT THEY MUST ALL BE PLACED IN ONE BODY, AND ONLY ONE PART KNOWS HOW TO DO THAT. ONCE IT IS REUNITED, IT IS TO BRING SHUB INTO OUR WORLD."
Lena then said, "But this gem created a portal to Shub's world at the Final Passage."
"ACCORDING TO THE STORY, WHEN SHOAC AND REDOR DIED, AND WHILE SHUB WAS WAITING, SHE GREW IMPATIENT AND PLACED 7 OF HER EYES IN THIS DIMENSION. THE DWELGS WERE SENT WITH THE 'EYE OF SHUB' SO THEY COULD SEND HER VICTIMS. WHEN ENOUGH WERE SENT, SHE WOULD ENTER AT THERE POINT OF LIVING. BUT THEY CANNOT DO THAT ANYMORE, BUT IF WE CAN FIND THE OTHER 6 EYES, WE CAN POSSIBLY PREVENT THEM FROM BEING USED."
Isis looked at Radr and said, "What do you mean by that?"
"ANOTHER PASSAGE IN THE BOOK STATES THAT SHUB WOULD RECRUIT A MEMBER OF HER ENEMIES TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE GATE. THIS GATE COULD NOT BE DESTROIED, BUT COULD BE PREVENTED BY THE SACRIFICE. THIS SACRIFICE IS NEVER MENTIONED, BUT THE RECRUIT WOULD SEE A SIGN, BUT EVEN THIS IS NOT MENTIONED. MAYBE LENA WAS CHOSEN TO PROTECT THE EYE FROM THIS TRAITOR." I noticed that my sister nodded, but I could tell something was bothering her. Radr then said, "LENA, COULD YOU HOLD THE EYE UP TO THE OPTICAL SCANNER." I saw a lens open up, and Lena held the 'Eye' up to it. Then, I heard Radr go, "THIS IS HORRIBLE."
I looked at the monitor and said, "What is it?" My mother gave me a stern look, but I also saw that she was intrequed as well. Soon the screen flashed to life as we saw into the Super-Dimension of the Greats. Walking around and into sight was a Shambler, but the creature was bearly the size of a toy doll. I was scared to think that Shub was so tall that a Shambler was a flea in comparison. Creatures emerged from the lava surrounding the area, serpentine in nature, and swam in it like it was water. Soon the view looked upward, and I saw the Shambler that had taken the Cyborg in the Dwelg town. It still heald part of them there. I then noticed the walls zooming by, and eventually, the Shambler was level with the view. I had also seen other huge being, probably half as tall as the chamber we were viewing. I couldn't begin to describe them. I turned away from the screen. I noticed that everyone had, except for my sister.
Eventually the visions stopped, and Radr said, "THIS IS DISASTEROUS. IF THESE IMAGES ARE CORRECT, WE CAN ONLY HOPE TO MAKE SURE THAT SHUB CANNOT ENTER OUR WORLD."
Lena put the 'Eye' back in her pack but then said, "Radr, if you scan the 'Eye''s structure, you may be able to find the other six." My sister had hit upon a remarkable idea.
Radr responded, "IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME, BUT YOU MUST REMAIN HERE UNTIL IT IS DONE. THE REST OF YOU SHOULD REST UP." I noticed that Lena stayed behind as we all left the room. I decided to go back to the medical area. I was hoping that they managed to save JaNa.
When I arrived, the doctor was standing there. He saw me and said, "I'm glad you came back. She has been asking about you. She keeps rambling that it could have been worse. What does she mean?"
I looked at the doctor and said, "The spirit that did that to her was someone with the 'Route' that was assigned to stop her. From what my sister told me, the man had a charm ability that allowed him to control any woman. I think he wanted to kill her in that way so he could do that to her forever."
The doctor just looked at me and said, "I understand. To picture that happening to someone for eternity is an awful thought. That must be why she has been asking for you. We did, however, tell her what had happened, and we did save her body. She can leave the area, so you can take her with you when you leave."
I nodded and entered the room. On a table was JaNa. She sat there, a little scared, but who could blame her. When she saw me, she jumped up and ran over to me. She hugged me and said, "Thank you. I didn't know what had happened to me, but you saved me from something worse then what had happened."
I held her in my arms and whispered, "I know. I will always protect you. I love you that much."
She looked up at me, and I saw tears in her eyes. I knew why they were there. She was afraid that she was going to lose me. In my heart, I was afraid of that as well. She then said, "Please, don't leave me alone tonight."
I held her in my arms and said, "Alright." I then lead her to where everyone's rooms were.

When I woke up in the morning, I remembered everything about the last night, mainly because I was not in my room. I turned and faced JaNa. I notice that she was still asleep, but was her mind full of the thoughts that were running through mine. My parents always told me to wait until I was married before I do something like this. It was drilled into my head, but it was after the fact. I had spent the night with JaNa. The strange thing was, for some reason, it felt as if I did nothing wrong. I heard her stir and turned to face her. She kissed me and said, "Good morning."
I was nervous when I said my next words. "JaNa, how do you think everyone is going to react when we tell them."
She then became worried as she sat up, holding the sheet over her body. "I don't know. My parents brought me up to believe it is best to wait until after marrage, but I didn't think it was right to wait. What if we die tomorrow?"
"Both our parents faced death before they got married."
"My parents were no older than you were when they fell in love. As for your father, he was in his 30's before he fell in love. What may be right for them, may not be right for us? Tell me, does it feel right?"
I looked at her and nodded. "But, they may not approve."
She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "They don't need to know." She was right on that one. Besides, she was old enough to live on her own. And age meant nothing, my own father was almost 2000 years younger than my mother, and people always did live long lives. Some humans have lived to be 5000.
We started to kiss again when I heard Radr's voice. "JANA, MAX, RICH, AND LI, LENA AND I ARE DONE WITH THE STONE. ISIS HAS SAID THAT IT IS TIME TO MOVE OUT. YOU ALL MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A ZONEHOME WITH YOU. IT MIGHT KEEP ALL OF YOU SAFE FROM THE 'ROUTE'." I almost panicked when I heard that, but then I realized that Radr was talking to everyone.
I said to JaNa, "We better get ready, or else everyone might check on us." She nodded and we quickly got dressed. Moments later, we had joined everyone else in the exit of the Base.
My father turned to all of us and said, "I think it is time for us to go the Earth World. I hope it won't be like the World of Air." With that, we were off to retrieve Vet's Earth Component.