Part 11 - We Could Burn It All Down

Chapter 190 - What Time Let be Forgotten

Future Miles and Jacob were transported aboard a Quintari warship, in the world between worlds, by a few words from the latter. Almost immediately, a Quintari security squad had them surrounded.

"Why do you board this vessel without invitation?" Demanded the sergeant in charge of the squad.

"We need to see the High Aether. It's about the Scarlet King." Replied Jacob.

"The only thing you'll be seeing are the brig walls."

"At ease, sergeant." Interrupted a Quintari from the door.

Miles had spent enough time talking to the High Aether in his numerous lives to recognise him. He bowed his head a little as a mark of respect.

"Do not bow to me, Tiratearae Kronor. Come, let us speak."

Miles and Jacob followed the High Aether to his quarters where they sat down facing the Quintari monarch.

"No mortal human can wield Fusis þinutir with such ease, Ðusu Tiratearae Kronor. Tell me of the future you have left behind where not even the High Elder Gods could withstand the wrath of mortals."

"It wasn't wrath. It was Dei Volente's idea." Jacob replied.

"Dei Volente? Ah, Gods Willing. The Mortal Immortal. I am correct in my guess he has not even been born yet?"

"Nope. Not for another five years. He's mine and Gwen's kid. Or was." Miles replied.

"And what made him a High Elder God?"

"He asked, the HEGs wanted to keep the Scarlet King away, so they gave him their powers once he proved himself."

"You have fought the Scarlet King? Ah yes…I see it now. The Battle of Zaltoxir, supposed to be the end. But it wasn't?"

"Everyone survived in Bastria for a while, then Dei Volente reset Premis, things went bad with the TVA and a whole bunch of other narrative defying people, we lived three googolplex years in the future, then Jacob panicked cos some 'holier than thou' people had the Ethereal Plates and he brought us back here." Miles explained.

"It was an accident." Jacob added.

"Messing with time is dangerous. You may ultimately undo the good that has been done."

"That warning came a bit late." Miles mused.

"What damage have you caused?"

"Me and Gwen from my time tried to stop the Scarlet Crucible being handed back to the Scarlet King and…he killed her and looked in my head. He knows every little mistake he made last time, and he's coming."

The High Aether's eyes narrowed.

"If you have fought the Khnith-hgor you must know the old tales of the First Scarlet War?"

"Vaguely. I know the Quintari were created as a last resort to fight, and it happened a couple hundred billion years ago."

"That is correct, Miles Morales. But just as humanity has forgotten the details of such things as the conquests of the Roman Empire, so too have the five Tari races forgotten the details of the First Scarlet War. The horrors are forgotten, and we are left with little more than children's stories of great heroes vanquishing foul beasts. But with the power of hindsight, Khnith-hgor may remember. More blood will spill in this war than all others combined. Rest now, for tomorrow the five Tari races will meet in Bastria and we will together remember what time let be forgotten."

Bastria was much duller than Miles remembered it being. However, now he was visiting a part he'd never been to before. It was the very foundation of the afterlife and where Death spent its free time. Miles was teleported to what appeared to be a round table floating in the abyss, but his feet felt a solid floor beneath him. As well as the High Aethers of all five Tari races, Death and Conall were there as well. Jacob had made a last minute decision, that nobody had expected, to remain on the Quintari ship that hovered overhead. When asked why, he'd said he didn't think Death could forgive him for killing Max. So Miles walked over to Conall.

"I feel like we've met before…" Conall mused.

"Very funny. This meeting's serious."

"I think 'council' would be a better word."

A bell chimed in the abyss and the High Aethers took their seats. The spider and immortal joined them, and the cloud that was Death took an empty spot. The High Aether of the Quintari stood again once everyone was ready to begin

"Greetings, my brothers and sisters. I must apologise for the haste at which I have called you to this table, but the matter to be discussed will wait for no mortal. The Scarlet King, the Khnith-hgor, has returned as we all knew before. But this is a mere fraction of the issue at hand." The Quintari raised one of his top-most limbs and pointed at Miles. "This is Miles Morales. To his species, and a number of others, he is a hero. But they would be foolish to assume this is the same Miles Morales, for this one has been to the furthest reaches of time. He has seen the rise and fall of the Scarlet King before, as well as the ascending of a mortal human, his own son, to the throne of a High Elder God. He has seen a world where the Gods are worshipped as we used to. And lastly, he has slain four of those Gods and consumed their very essence."

"You summoned us to tell us about a time traveller, and state the obvious?" Asked the High Aether of the Tritari.

"No. I summoned you to take up arms against the Scarlet King. Now I will tell you why the past of this Miles Morales is so important. Upon his return to what we see as the present, but is his past, he attempted to hinder the Scarlet King by seizing the Scarlet Crucible. In this attempt, in which he failed and lost his lover, Khnith-hgor looked inside his mind and saw everything which he failed to do before. The Scarlet King has seen the future and his defeat and will stop at nothing to prevent its repeat. I need not remind you of the stories passed down to us of his Leviathans. High Aether of the Pritari: I believe you have gathered together what information you could in the time you were given?"

The High Aether of the Pritari stood, nearly impossible to make out as little more than a shadow in the abyss.

"I have. I must tell all of you it has been extremely difficult to recover anything from two-hundred billion years ago, but I believe I know some things that should never have been forgotten." A light appeared in the centre of the table that became images as the Pritari spoke. "Two-hundred billion years ago, the Scarlet King and his army of Leviathans reached the Tree of Knowledge in what we now call Zaltoxir. They came close to victory, but in our darkest hour thirty-six great wielders of magic placed seven seals on each line of the King's offspring. The Leviathans were no more and were cast down to walk immortal but not omnipotent. Many were killed by a creature I could find nothing about other than its name: Koitern. Now only one former Leviathan of each line remains, and we know a few."

Miles frowned at the next image that appeared. It depicted SCP-682, but the hard-to-destroy reptile was already pretty tough. How could it get any stronger?

"This is Atanti-ql-Paneu, the Indestructible Reptile. Now it goes by a mere number, as do all the known former Leviathans: SCP-682. It still holds its father's ideals high and gladly seeks to destroy any life it can get its teeth round. Next we have a creature I could find no Leviathan name for, but now is known as Shy Guy or SCP-096. It kills anything that sees its face, hence why I do not risk showing you it here. Third, and the final one I could identify, is known as SCP-058 or the Heart of Darkness. It does not care whether it destroys organic or inanimate things, and its only weakness is being crushed. That concludes all I know of the Leviathans."

Miles saw a chance to say something.

"I…think I know the other four."

The Pritari sat and the spider stood up, feeling a little intimidated at all the power staring at him.

"Speak, Miles Morales." Instructed the Quintari.

"The first one I think I remember…or not really…SCP-055. I don't know anything except it isn't round. The next one was some sort of giant metal thing with one eye: I think it was destroyed by the Gate Guardian. Then there was SCP-239, the Witch Child: she nearly killed my son, Max, when he was trying to prove he was worthy of being a High Elder God. Then there was…err…SCP-999: Hastur, one of the King's generals, killed it in the same battle the metal thing died. 999 fought on our side."

"This is very helpful. Thank you, Mr Morales."

Miles nodded and sat down.

"Unless there are any that remember more, all that remains is to discuss strategy and to…"

Suddenly, the meeting was interrupted by the appearance of a large greenish-yellow eye surrounded by a mass of tentacles. Immediately, the High Aethers got to their feet and bowed their heads in respect to the High Elder God. Conall copied them, although not entirely sure what was happening. Miles, on the other hand, just stood up and stared directly Hermaeus Mora's eye.

"What arrogance you possess…mortal." The God said in his yawning voice.

"I've killed you before."

"I know, for I am Hermaeus Mora, Knower of the Unknown, Master of Fates. I invite you to my realm. All knowledge of all things is hidden within the shelves of Apocrypha."

"No thanks. There's other stuff I gotta do."

"Khnith-hgor will not hold back any fibre of his strength. It would be wise to know what that strength may be."

"The only wise thing to do when you're involved is poke you in the eye."

"I've got a stick if you need it." Said Conall, reaching for his back and summoning what appeared to be a spear in his hand.

Miles took the golden weapon and climbed up onto the table, then pointed the tip at Hermaeus Mora's eye.

"It will be your undoing, Tiratearae Kronor."

"So's going into your library. What was it Max said that completely destroyed the place?"

The God didn't answer. Instead, the eye closed and the mass of tentacles withdrew. Miles chucked the spear back to Conall as he climbed down from the table, who broke it down and re-absorbed the power from it.

"I guess you've got some beef with that guy?" The immortal asked.

"Not exactly. I've just killed him before and ain't exactly happy to see him again."

"So…'yes' is the answer to that."

"Let's just say he tried to kill Max."

"Didn't Jacob do that and succeed?"

"That was different."

"Oh…OK then. I don't understand the future so…what's happening now?"

"We go and see if me and Gwen from this time found any help."

"Where'd you leave them?"

"The same place you last saw them."

"Cool."

After a few things were concluded with the High Aethers, Miles, Jacob and Conall returned to New York, 7065, Premis. They warped into Times Square and were greeted by one of the enormous screens displaying the news. Miles and Jacob paid no attention and started thinking about where this time's Miles and Gwen could be hiding. Conall, on the other hand, did check it.

"Umm…I've found them. Or one, anyway." He said to Future Miles and Jacob.

The pair followed his gaze to the screen where a reporter was standing outside a maximum security prison. The trio read the subtitles to follow along:

"…was apprehended yesterday in a major military operation. Gwen Stacy will be put on trial in two weeks' time, but in the meantime she's being kept here in 9578 under military protection. As for Miles Morales, he remains missing in action. Some reports claim he was spotted fleeing the scene of his lover's arrest, but these are yet to be confirmed by official sources. There are also rumours that he has been murdered, but these do not appear to have any evidence to them."

The trio exchanged looks.

"I guess let's go see Gwen. She might know something." Said Miles.

It took a bit of persuasion to make the guards let Miles into the prison where Gwen was being kept. Once inside, he was escorted to a room with a bulletproof glass window. He had a sense of deja vu, and a wave of sadness with it, but couldn't remember what was significant about this place. On the other side of the window, a door opened and Gwen was pushed roughly into the seat on the opposite side from Miles. It was obvious she had been crying.

"Hey."

She didn't say anything, just stared at something in her hand.

"Err…Gwen?"

"What do you want? I know you're the other Miles; mine is dead."

"So that rumour was true?"

"Nobody will tell me how or why. All I have is his ring."

She opened her hand to reveal a silver ring. Miles looked down at the identical one on his hand. He knew what Gwen was going through, but he didn't feel it was his place to comfort her. What he might be able to do was discover how.

"They were saying on the news he ran when you were brought in."

"I told him to go."

"Where?"

"To warn the SCP Foundation. I guess I can tell you the story. I don't have anything else to do."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Skyrim
- SCP Foundation