PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE
Chapter 74: Soldier of the Deepest Night
The world around Sailor Zarnik appeared as a narrow tunnel of darkness peppered with small streaks of lights from stars and planets. She could feel her soul being pulled against her will to some distant location from Earth. She was already hundreds of light-years away when she consciously realized where she was going.
I'm… going back home…
After what felt like an eternity of falling through the tunnel, she descended upon the very epicenter of the universe; Sagittarius Zero Star, the location of the Galaxy Cauldron, where all life was created, destroyed, and reformed anew. It appeared as a bubbling stream of energy flowing out of a tear in space, being overseen by a simple cliff with a pillared gate at the entrance. It was the birthplace and the grave for perhaps billions of stars, some of which matured into planets and Sailor Soldiers who protected those worlds. A sense of peace washed through Zarnik, as she believed she had done her job well and could sleep quietly, reduced to just pure energy. She could let go of the burdens of war and betrayal that had threatened to break her and relax for eternity.
As Zarnik's soul dove into the Galaxy Cauldron, she sank upside-down past innumerable Sailor Crystals of an impossible variety of colors. Since she had destroyed her own irrevocably tainted Crystal, she had no place left with these sleeping warriors anymore. She would continue diving, diving, and diving further into the unforgiving black abyss. The twinkling gems faded in the distance above her, and she gazed with no hesitation upon the void that she was destined to sleep within.
Things were not going to unfold as she expected, however.
Unseen by anyone other than her, a trio of bright white eyes popped open into existence, creating a sudden contrast to the endless blackness that surrounded her. Even though Zarnik had never seen this creature before, her heart seemed to tell her exactly who it was.
Chaos…
"Gwaaahh…"
A horrific murmur shook the sea of nothingness, powerful enough to reduce a solar system to dust. Zarnik felt detached from the raw power that the ultimate entity of evil emanated.
"Ah, that energy… The power to turn formless evil into a weapon of destruction," Chaos' voice resounded in her mind. Perhaps it was using telepathy because its actual voice could actually cause tremendous damage to their immediate surroundings. "It has been a long time since I sent the malefic entity called Arsen to Alkima Galaxy. I have waited countless eras for you to come home to me, scion of the Fallen Hero."
Chaos has been… expecting me? How is this possible?
"Everything has led to this moment. I knew Arsen had given birth to scions, but I did not anticipate that one of his children would become a Sailor Soldier. I have bided my time for so long, seeking to bring you back to the Cauldron. That is why I created Eris; she was the catalyst needed for this meeting to be possible. Your death from using Arsen's evil power to destroy her wound up corroding your Sailor Crystal, which gave me the link I needed to plant an aspect of myself into it. It has now become part of your soul. We are linked forevermore by the bonds of absolute darkness."
So everything that happened on both Alkima and Earth was planned by Chaos. Does this mean it waited for me to be born ever since the ages before the Silver Millennium? Since Eris was part of Chaos' ultimate plan, then Selene banishing her to Alkima had to be part of it as well.
Zarnik had no idea how to feel about Chaos' ability to concoct such a convoluted scheme that actually worked. Disgust? Respect? No matter which one it was, she kept it repressed and continued listening to the eldritch entity that she was descended from.
"Now, after waiting eagerly for your return, my darkness has found its way into you. Accept it and become a Sailor Soldier of the deepest night, rather than one of the brightest light. In exchange, I will carry the burden of your soul-crushing sorrow and wield it as my own weapon of destruction in the future. Shed your former self and manifest as Guardian Chaos."
Guardian Chaos? I've never heard of that before…
She felt her brooch open up, and a brand new Sailor Crystal formed. It shone a deep green, but unlike the other gemstones that had a bright core, hers was purely black.
"Now go, my one and only Sailor Soldier. Until my time is nigh, you may not return to my darkness."
Even though she didn't have a body, Zarnik felt like she was being pushed away by some invisible repelling force. The embodiment of nothingness and evil faded into the infinite darkness while watching her leave, its three glowing eyes transfixed on her as if saying a silent farewell. The gaze gradually vanished from her view, and she was left wandering back in the sea of colorfully glowing Sailor Crystals while staring in fascination at her own. Compared to the brilliant glow the millions of other gemstones radiated, the black essence of her stone was completely out of place, like a small blemish on an otherwise perfectly white sheet of paper.
A Sailor Soldier of the deepest night… That's what Chaos said. My Sailor Crystal must be a reflection of that concept…
"Guardian Chaos…"
Zarnik could hear a woman's voice calling to her in the distance. She turned her head and found a woman with ridiculously long white hair who was as small as a fairy, and she wore a see-through dress shaped like a bubble around her lower body and legs. She floated before the catatonic Sailor Soldier and smiled gently.
"So you are Guardian Chaos' new host," the woman said.
"Who…?"
"Ah, forgive me. Allow me to restore your strength."
The woman raised her staff and generated a soft light that healed Zarnik's weary spirit. Once she regained her energy, she asked the woman, "Who are you?"
"I am Guardian Cosmos, the holy spirit and guardian of the Cosmos Crystal. I reside within the Galaxy Cauldron in order to protect and guide the ones who have lost their lives, helping them through the reincarnation process. But Chaos' existence has merged with the Cauldron, so unless the Cauldron itself were destroyed, there is truly no method of killing it."
"Cosmos and Chaos… The ultimate antithesis," Zarnik murmured.
"Yes. Both Chaos and Cosmos consist of three aspects; its own existence, its Crystal, and its Guardian. A thousand years ago, Eternal Sailor Moon united the powers of all the Sailor Crystals sleeping within here and scattered Chaos' power, granting everyone a reprieve from its tyranny. However, she did not destroy it. Over the last 1000 years, only Guardian Chaos regained enough power to reawaken, but it could not do anything without a body worthy of following its will."
"So Chaos is destined to return someday?"
"Indeed. The greatest battle between good and evil will be told in the far future. However, in order for time to move forward properly, the Galaxy Cauldron must remain the way that it is. It is Sailor Cosmos herself who proved that Chaos will return in the future as Sailor Chaos, the most powerful enemy in the universe. She had traveled to the past to beg Sailor Moon to destroy the Cauldron, but by doing so, she had thus sealed the future's fate and cut off the countless possibilities that could have been."
"I see… That must have been a mistake she did not foresee."
"Ironically, that means Chaos must not be disturbed. Any threat to Chaos and its Crystal will cause tremendous damage, perhaps irrevocable, to the endless stream of time. That's why Guardian Chaos exists in the first place."
"Sailor Pluto is responsible for maintaining the Space-Time Door. Should this not be in her realm of expertise?"
"You're partially correct," Guardian Cosmos nodded. "However, she is only responsible for protecting the Door from being abused. As an ally of Cosmos, she cannot do anything to prevent any threat to Chaos from twisting time as we know it. That is where your role as Earth's newest defender begins."
"To identify any threats to the Galaxy Cauldron and keep all of its contents safe, inevitably including Chaos and its Crystal. This is all to preserve the proper flow of time and allow the future – which Sailor Cosmos inadvertently locked us into - to occur. Is this assumption correct?" Zarnik wondered.
"Yes. When you sacrificed your original Zarnik Crystal to destroy Eris, it became so steeped in darkness that Chaos managed to implant Guardian Chaos within it without risk of destroying it due to a clash between light and dark. He steeped your very soul with Guardian Chaos' existence so that you may live on as its physical manifestation. Since your planet will not be recreated in the Galaxy Cauldron, you have lost your planetary guardian and thus the source of your powers. However, Guardian Chaos will provide you with its power and allow you to become a Sailor Soldier wielding the power of darkness alongside those who use the power of light. Although you wield different forces, you would stand equally in the battle against evil. That is, until the time is right."
"Are you saying that Guardian Chaos residing in my Sailor Crystal is part of the normal flow of time?"
"It is. Worry not; this does not mean your Sailor Crystal has become the Chaos Crystal. That has been dispersed along with Chaos. Guardian Chaos' role is to protect the Galaxy Cauldron from external threats, while I, Guardian Cosmos, remain within to safeguard the Cosmos Crystal and all of the sleeping Sailor Crystals."
"It almost feels like the yin-yang. I, as a being of darkness, reside in the light. You, as a being of light, reside in the darkness."
"It is to maintain the balance between Cosmos and Chaos. Many might not understand the necessity of your role, but in the greater scheme of things, it is an absolute essential."
"I can protect my deceased friends from Alkima so they can be reborn as new guardians without hindrance. In this way, I'm sure Earth's guardians will understand. That's all the consolation I need."
"Very good," Guardian Cosmos bowed. "Now, return to your body and awaken as the personification of Guardian Chaos."
"But my body was destroyed by my own hand…"
"Worry not. You will have a vessel when you return."
The patient, confident look in Guardian Cosmos' eyes told Zarnik that she had everything covered, and that it was needless to fret about the details. The fairy-like woman raised her scepter and announced, "From henceforth, you are Sailor Zarnik, the secret guardian who oversees the Cauldron's welfare from the darkness."
"It is my honor to accept this task," Zarnik acknowledged. A brand new gem-studded bow and arrow with her sigil materialized and floated into her hands, and she could feel a kind of power she had never felt before. It was definitely born from the darkness, but it was as quiet and gentle as a summer night, not oppressive like a pitch black void as many would expect. A refreshing cool wind blew the Cauldron's stifling heat of creation away, and Zarnik began to slowly fall from Guardian Cosmos as if the floor suddenly disappeared.
"We will meet again when your role expires. Until then…" Guardian Cosmos murmured, and her voice faded as Zarnik continued falling. The tiny woman's form vanished into the darkness, and Zarnik realized she was floating out in the middle of space. She didn't feel any ill effects from being exposed to the normally harsh and unforgiving environment, which perplexed her.
Is this a dream, or an out-of-body experience?
No one could answer that question, least of all her. In the end, it didn't matter. The only thing she could do was return to the conscious world and tell the Sailor Soldiers what just transpired. The problem was that she had no idea where to go.
Where is Earth? I can't see it anywhere.