Gate: Thus, the CELESTIALS have Judged There

by ceroxon

The Gate opens again ... and Sadera's army leaves to conquer the country beyond... But this country is not Japan on planet Earth in the milky way. It's a [Star base / Dyson sphere] belonging to the Cosmic Gods on the edge of another universe. Will Falmart survive the judgment of the CELESTIALS?

17. Beyond the Gate (Part 02)

Well, this chapter has been written for a while, which is why it's coming so "quickly" compared to usual. However, I may take a long time to write the next chapter. I am going to go on a trail for at least 2 months, and up to 6, during which I will not be able to write since I would be living in a tent. It is not the best place to write.

-O-

BEYOND THE GATE (part 02)

Colt Formal really wished the Celestial was there to tell him what to do. The day after his departure, an unusual event had occurred.

When Kaine had entered Aurea's room to see if the young girl had woken up from the events of the previous day, she had thought that she would be awake, or be asleep.

Not enclosed in a white ball.

Of course, Kaine had immediately warned the Count, too afraid to touch this thing.

The count, a man having received the best possible education by various professors, had immediately identified what was going on.

"It's a cocoon. Our little Aurea is moulting."

"Already? I thought the Medusa only moulted once around the age of 14. Aurea is too young."

"I imagine that the events of the past few days have accelerated the process…. But that's not the main problem."

"What is the main problem then?"

"When she wakes up, she will probably be disoriented and hungry. I'm afraid those instincts will drive her to feed on the first living creature within reach. In other words, to empty it of its spiritual energy until death."

Kaine was seized with deep concern.

"So, what do we do? Monsieur le Comte, we are not going to…."

"To kill her? Of course not. There is a solution to this problem. "

"So, what do we do?"

"Bring some living pigs and poultry here with food and drink for a few days, until Aurea emerges from her cocoon, then double-lock the door. Place about twenty guards in front to constantly monitor and wait. When she wakes up, she will have enough to eat until she comes to her senses, and we can get her out. "

"At your orders, Monsieur le Comte."

Aurea was now encased in a yellow cocoon, a normal thing for a Medusa…. but not at her age. She was too young.

Kaine had immediately warned the Count but what could he do? Following Aurea's transformation when she attacked Amiek, he couldn't be sure what would come out of the cocoon. A monster ?

With concern and to his great sorrow, he had sentries placed outside the room as well as pigs and poultry inside, while having a moved thought for the poor animals. He also had a blinder dug in the door so that a guard could observe what was going on inside and come and change a lit torch from time to time. No way to take your eyes off the cocoon for a moment. The guards took turns constantly monitoring what was happening and had orders to warn the Count if anything happened at any time.

Myui was even more worried than her father for her best friend. Aurea was the only girl in the castle her age, and Myui had always felt close to her. Her father had allowed the two girls to play together with certain precautions (a specially forged helmet to be put on Aurea's head when they were alone, so the Medusa was not in danger of committing a tragedy in a moment of emotion and, well course, several guards were always there to watch the children).

In her cocoon, Aurea dreamed. Dreams of her people's struggle for survival and building an Empire on a distant world. A world where snakes no longer crawled but walked on two legs. A world where her people were one. The proud race of serpent-men then ruled this world.

In her half-sleep, Aurea was fully aware that these visions were sent by her god, Set, who was opening her mind and accessing a dormant spiritual heritage deep within herself.

Set, however, left out certain details, such as how the snake men practiced the sacrifice of some of their congener to their god or how they devoured broods deemed "weak". He still didn't have enough control over the girl's mind to allow her to reject him. It was like a rope on which he would crawl to Falmart, but that rope was still very thin and could break easily. It was first necessary to strengthen it, to tighten it, to enslave it without breaking it.

The serpent god breathed a bit more of himself into the girl. She would have all the tools necessary to help him effectively for the work to come until he no longer needed her. The fate of the girl was not yet decided.

From where he was, Set had witnessed the whole scene between Colt and the housekeeper.

"Stupid mammals." he thought simply.

If the Count had been foolish, cowardly or brutal, he would have had the girl killed now, while he still could, and thus close the door through which the great serpent would pass. Luckily for Set, Colt was a smart, kind, and reasonably brave man who didn't give in to fear easily.

His kindness and courage would be his downfall.

But it was still too early to laugh. There was still so much to do but the first steps were encouraging, and the path was less difficult than he had feared at first.

-O-

When the corridor connecting Dyson's sphere to Falmart had been stabilized by the Celestials, certain modifications had been made for their own purposes. Including various devices to perform all kinds of measurements. A positive point for the humans was that the corridor was now lit.

Amiek and his…. "guests" arrived very quickly on the other side and there, the unexpected…. was waiting for them.

The place had been transformed since Sadera's armies first came. Certainly, the walls and the floor which seemed to be made of living metal and crossed by luminous lines of color were still there, as well as the pillars of hyperconductive crystal in which one could see important energy flows flowing. However, now there were Alnus-like robot species everywhere moving through the air. This isolated place was now very active.

"Is this your country Sir Amiek?" Pina asked.

"Yes."

….

….

….

….

"How can it be this ugly." pondered Grassac simply.

The impressions of his companions were nevertheless a little more subtle than the aesthetic considerations of the young man.

"This place…. What did the officers and soldiers who came here, thought? Where are the people of Amiek? I feel so insignificant here…. What do the people who build all these things look like? Are they humans like Sir Amiek? Why did the Empire even come here?" Pina still believed that there was a humanity here that Amiek was from before he was chosen as an Apostle for his god.

"At least this place looks more like Duncan's forges than Hardy's underworld" thought Rory, who didn't like being "underground" completely unaware that she was actually in space, incredibly far from any form of "upper ground".

"It is…. Gigantic. I don't see the end of it. I wouldn't even know where to go." thought Persia.

"I HATE THIS PLACE!" thought Delilah, feeling a strange anger welling up inside her.

"What can all these things be used for?" thought Lelei.

" Above all, I must not get away from the Princess." thought Bozes.

"What are the people who live here like? I thought it would look like the flying city, but not at all. What does all this mean?" thought Pina.

"How beautiful." Tuka thought with a giant smile on her face. Her new powers of perception showed her a pure and sacred place. Where her companions only saw gray walls, she saw all sorts of patterns, hyper-dense and structured links, like a gigantic tapestry made of all sorts of esoteric patterns that intertwined, merged and formed other more complex patterns even further perpetual change.

In the city of Neo-Alnus, Tuka could see the flows between things, in perfect balance. Here she saw the same thing but multiplied by 1000.

The Princess put her hand on the gray floor.

"It's strange. Looks like metal and stone at the same time. It's warm and... I feel like there's a kind of heartbeat."

"This substance is called « computronium ». It is the most basic matter possible that can process information and thus can be used as programmable matter and simulate any real object." Tuka replied.

"I don't know what's weirder. What you just said, or the fact that…. I understood?"

"These brain supercapacitors around our heads increase our intelligence and provide us with knowledge far superior to that which we possess naturally. That's where this feeling of understanding comes from when we know we shouldn't. It's very interesting." explained Lelei whose heightened intelligence allowed her to make this deduction.

Before anyone could dig into the question one of the surrounding robots came to rest near the group and did a basic scan of everyone, before leaving.

"We can now [go to the summons/to our meeting/where we are expected]."

"What do you mean? This place is huge. You could walk for days without feeling like you are moving forward." Bozes asked.

Amiek then pointed to two metal pillars about thirty meters away.

"Please follow me to the transportation point. We are expected."

With no alternative, the group followed Amiek to the « transport point ».

A flash of blue light then immediately they appeared directly in front of the Celestials.

On this side of the Gate, teleportation was not a particular problem. There was no reason not to use it so the "Falmartian delegation" was brought directly to the destination.

Of course, a transport vehicle could have brought the natives of Falmart to their destination in a more conventional way, but since on this side teleportation was now perfectly available, what was the point of wasting time?

The group therefore appeared directly in front of the Celestial Host. It was like the appearance of insects in front of the faces of a dozen giants. There were more, but due to their ridiculous size compared to the Celestials, the group couldn't see them. How can you count the number of trees in a forest when your view is completely blocked by the first three.

Everyone had their own reaction.

Bozes and Pina were scared. They hadn't considered that at all.

Rory knew the Celestials were plentiful from the "movie" she saw at the "cinema" when she first arrived at the flying city of Alnus. It was the same for Grassac and Lelei. Seeing the entire Celestial host in front of them was therefore very impressive, yes, but not surprising.

Tuka bowed down and joined her hands in prayer. Her gods, in which she did not believe a few weeks ago, were granting her audience.

Persia had her ears wide open and the pupils of her eyes tightly closed. Far from panicking, she was assessing the situation as best she could. It was a psychological reflex deeply rooted in the psyche of her people. It was very difficult to instill a sense of panic in them. Even now.

The most surprising reaction came from…. Delilah who felt a strange feeling of anger seeing these…. These…. These things ! An anger that reminded her of her former queen Tyuule. It was not an instinctive reaction due to fear. It was something else.

Soon, however, their loaned brain amplifiers kicked in, altering their hosts' neurochemistry to prevent overreaction and allowing them to better cope. Which was extremely useful in the present situation so that they did not have a fit of hysteria.

A Celestial in red armor stood before them.

"You are before Arishem the Judge, Princess Pina. You [requested/expressed a desire to/wanted] to speak to my fellow. Please now [provide your information/convey your message/say what you have to say]."

"THE JUDGE?! I AM IN A COURT?! IT IS US THEY WANT TO JUDGE?! BUT WHY?!" thought Pina.

In general, speaking to the gods (or considered to be such) would be considered by any Falmart dweller a huge honor. An incomparable privilege. Yet no one here envied Pina's position, except Tuka who hoped to be able to plead for her people.

The Princess felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Until the last moment, she had believed that she would meet the Apostles of the "gods" of the other world and she had mentally prepared herself as best as possible for this meeting, hoping to find an interlocutor easier to speak than Amiek.

She had never imagined for a second that she would appear before the "gods" themselves.

The princess was all the more disturbed (and she was not the only one) that thanks to the cerebral amplifier she finally understood what the Celestials really were. Her faculties of understanding were, for the moment, greater than those of any mortal except those who accompanied her and also carried an amplifier. Therefore, no one before her had ever understood the nature of the Celestials better than Pina at this very moment.

And this revelation, while illuminating her mind, opened a bottomless abyss at her feet.

But she could not find the strength to convey her message, because in truth what could she say?

"I come to broker peace between our worlds. What tribute do you want to end the war? Please spare my people?"

The princess's heightened intelligence told her that the Celestials didn't care about such things because they had a completely different view of the situation. Finally, she and Bozes were truly waking up to the truth.

At the same time, Pina could no longer back down. There was far too much at stake in the balance. How much would she have preferred being a battlefield facing an army of bloodthirsty barbarians seeking to rape and dismember her. She would have felt much more comfortable than she did now.

The Princess, however, found the courage to step forward and open her mouth.

"I…. I…. I want…. I…."

It was even more difficult than when she had wanted to offer herself to Amiek alongside Bozes and Panache a few days ago, but she succeeded, nonetheless.

"I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS PEACE BETWEEN YOU AND MY PEOPLE! "

Pina had mustered all her courage and managed to overcome her anxieties to make this statement. Undiplomatic and formulating very naively but perfectly understandable.

This strength of character sparked interest among the Celestial Host. Especially with one of its most prominent members. A "woman" wearing purple and gold armor stepped forward and passed Arishem. As she walked towards the group, her height shrank and her armor gradually disappeared to make way for a dark-skinned woman.

On Earth, she could have passed for a woman of Indian origin, but since this kind of hue did not exist among the humans of Falmart, Pina equated her appearance with that of a light-skinned Dark Elf. She hadn't thought to examine her ears.

"I am the Celestial Ashema "the listener". You will address your message to me and I will pass it on. Please take a seat."

While saying this, walls began to grow around the group. A moment later, a desk behind which Ashema sat and seats for everyone appeared in the room where they were now. Everything was real but created to best accommodate mortals. The Celestials had wanted to see their reaction when they stood before them. They had obtained the result of their test. Now Ashema could truly receive the official message of the…. "Falmartian Delegate".

It must be said that it was she who had wanted this meeting when the princess had requested it the day before. Ashema was "the listener" and had spent some time with mortals. Through Franklyn Richard, she had had full access to the humanity of the world he had created and accessed the very essence of every individual in that world.

This total revelation of humanity could reshap even a Celestial and it did. Ashema had been transformed by the experience.

She was therefore much more understanding and willing to listen to the Princess by nature. Considered like the soul of host Celestial by virtue of her office, no other Celestial had objected to such a humble request. Her peers were themselves curious about the motivations and conclusions of their "sister".

"Okay, take a seat. Please."

Everyone sat on the chairs that had been arranged for them. The princess was invited to sit directly in front of Ashema.

"Now you can speak more at your ease Princess. All our conversation is transmitted directly to the Host."

Which was true. In fact, an outside observer would simply have seen that the group of Falmartians were actually in a "box" the size of a living room, suspended in the air in front of the host Celestial who was watching and listening (and using thousands of other perceptions unknown to humanity) what was going on inside the "box".

The princess didn't know it but since she had made her request yesterday to come to this side of the Gate to discuss, she had become a subject of experience. Every step had been meticulously planned. Each of her actions and gestures had been analyzed. Even her thoughts and dreams had been observed (this had raised no perplexity anyway. Having analyzed the minds of an almost infinite number of creatures of all kinds and studied their mores, the Celestials had already seen many things more…. Uh…. Unusual).

Several situations had been deliberately provoked. Her discussion with Ashema was just another experience.

"I…. Do not understand. WHAT are you exactly?" asked Pina, who no longer understood. She had clearly seen the armored giantess, transforming into a human-like woman, but the gods didn't take shape that way, that's why they used Apostles.

"I already introduced myself earlier. I am the Celestial Ashema the listener."

"Are you a Celestial or an Apostle?"

"Apostle? Like the demi-goddess who accompanies you? No. I am a Celestial and if I take human appearance now it is to facilitate communication. As Amiek did when he came to your world. »

All eyes turned to Amiek.

"Don't tell me that…." Bozes said.

"So…. he is not an Apostle?" Persia asked.

Delilah was calmer but had nothing to say. She felt a strange hostility towards Ashema and the other Celestials she had seen earlier but not at all towards Amiek.

"No. He is the Celestial Amiek," replied Ashema simply.

Rory, Tuka, Grassac and Lelei already knew the truth but for the others it was a revelation.

Pina's discomfort kept increasing.

"It means that the other day…. Me, Bozes and Panache, we tried to go to bed with…. a…."

Luckily, the device Amiek provided the princess prevented her from fainting, keeping her neurochemistry in a stable state.

Bozes was pretty much in the same state. Fortunately for the two knights, they were already seated.

"Good. Let's treat this situation as a normal negotiation. After all, that might be enough. This woman looks more... Uh…. Understandable and intelligent than Amiek." thought Pina.

"That's because Amiek is one of our youngsters and I've had a lot of experience with your species," Ashema explained.

"Eh?"

"You were wondering why I am speaking to you in a way that is more understandable to you than Amiek. So, I'll tell you the reason."

"…. Did you read my mind?"

"All your thoughts are being received by my mind right now. It's a language like any other, although you have a very poor command of it."

"I will have to be careful what I think." thought Rory.

"It is useless. You can no more hide your thoughts than select the air molecules you breathe," said Ashema.

Realizing that they were unable to hide their thoughts despite their best efforts, no one dared to say anything anymore.

"I don't want to offend anyone but to make this perfectly clear. Speak freely and without fear. Be aware, however, that no manipulation, deception, lies or artifice will work here."

The Princess resigned herself. Somehow that eased her anxiety a little. She no longer had to plot or try to manipulate. All he had to do was worry about the future. She had no choice but to be honest and hope for the best.

"I would first like to say that, as a negotiator, my authority is limited."

It didn't matter since Ashema had no intention of "negotiating" anything anyway. Simply listen to what the princess had to say and analyze her reactions.

"I take note. Now what is your message? "

"Actually, these are more questions than a message. What I want is for the war between the Empire and…. your people, stop. What are your conditions for peace? What do you expect from us? What are your goals? "

Ashema thought for a few moments. The Princess' questions indicated that she was not fully aware of the situation.

"There is no war between us Princess. We do not expect anything from you and have no particular intentions towards you. Rather, it is your world as a whole that interests us. We want to observe, to study. Then we will decide. "

"What will you decide? "

"If your world should be left as it is or if it should be changed."

The Celestial could also have said that Pina's world would eventually be destroyed, but she preferred to gloss over that possibility for now.

"Changed? What ? What do you mean by "changed?" she asked, finding that her worst fears were, apparently, well founded.

"You don't know a lot Princess. We wanted to get to know you better because you are, to a certain extent, the leaders of your people and so we deliberately put you in certain situations where you lacked information in order to test your reactions. For your information, you exceeded our estimates. You ... Surprised us. Congratulations, it isn't something anyone can do. However, I believe the time has come to show you and your comrade the true nature of the Celestial host."

The human-form Celestial expanded her mind, instantly overwhelming those of Pina and Bozes with the intention of explaining to them the true nature of the Celestials. Regarding Lelei, Tuka, Rory and Grassac, they already knew. As for Delilah and Persia…. They were unimportant.

Immediately, the world around the two nobles went completely black, which caused a panic attack.

"BOZE?! WHERE ARE YOU ?!" yelled the princess.

"Princess? Are you there? For a moment I was scared."

Although plunged into total darkness, the two women were actually side by side.

It was then that the ground beneath their feet began to glow, illuminating Pina and Bozes.

"What's going on princess? Do you think we have fallen into a trap?"

"I do not know. However, I do not believe in a trap. We were already at the mercy of this…. woman. No need for trickery."

"It's not a trap," Ashema's voice said as her body reverted to Celestial form, in front of the princess and her best friend.

After amazement, Bozes regained control.

"What does all this mean? Explain yourself ! "

"We are in a mental representation of your minds. In a kind of dream that we do together if you prefer. I'm here to show you the answers to your questions. "

"What do you mean ? " Pina asked.

"I will show you. You will ask your questions as you go. It will be easier that way. Do you agree ? "

Pina and Bozes exchanged looks for a moment.

"Fine…." Pina decided with a sigh. There really wasn't a better way to do it anyway, but she was still apprehensive.

Then the emptiness around began to flicker.

"Looks like stars," Bozes said.

"Correct. These are indeed what you call "stars". However, it is a little more than that. It is the second living being. Or at least, the second consciousness. The first firmament, our creator" explained Ashema.

Which raised a question from Bozes.

"The second consciousness? What do you mean by that ? Why not the first?"

"The life of the first consciousness is unknown to us. We only know that she embodied infinity. However, this existence ended up being unbearable for her. She chose to end it and destroyed herself. Today, only a small remnant of that consciousness sleeps in an artifact known as the "Ego Gem." However, this destruction resulted in the creation of the first firmament that you can see."

"Wait, I don't understand. You talk about consciousness, but I only see twinkling stars. Nothing more" asked the princess.

As agreed, the Celestial answered the question.

"Stars are living beings in a way. They are the crucibles where the worlds are born which for some will create life as you know it."

"I don't understand."

"Don't worry princess. I will talk about the appearance of life a little later. For the moment let us return to the first firmament. He was the totality of everything that existed then. He was not absolute infinity, unlike the first consciousness, but certain aspects of infinity were also part of him."

It was then that a ghostly face seemed to take shape in the sea of stars.

"The first firmament was aware of his own existence. He could desire and one of his desires was to create other beings, smaller than himself. They considered them servants, playthings."

It was then that Pina and Bozes saw giants appear, white and black, very much like Amiek. The princess understood something then.

"They look like the giant that appeared in Italica. Are these the Celestials? Are they the servants of the first firmament?"

"Not exactly. They were known as "the Aspirants" because they yearned to win the favor of their creator."

"And what happened next?" Bozes asked.

"At first the Aspirants created worlds using the very essence of their creator, with his permission of course."

Pina then saw the giants create balls of light between their hands. They looked like balls of fire but in fact they were stars similar to those that already existed in the first firmament, which was growing bigger as the Aspirants created new stars.

To assist them in their tasks, they in turn created servants, even smaller than themselves. All this pleased the first firmament that loved his creations.

Pina sensed a "but" coming in the story.

"What happened next ? "

"Among the Aspirants, some longed…. To something else. What caused this discrepancy in the first place? I myself don't know. I was there though. If this information exists then I don't know who has it. These Aspirants changed, becoming something else. To stand out from their fellows, they became colorful. They were, and still are, the "Celestials". My own people. "

The human-formed Celestial then pointed to the Celestials, facing the Aspirants. Pina and Bozes could see the cosmic colossi from afar, for better perspective. Never had they felt so insignificant. A feeling that has no place when you are part of the high nobility that governs the Empire.

"The first firmament wanted stability, continuity, it did not want to change and the Aspirants acted in this direction. Everything was eternal. The Celestials, had other aspirations. They wanted to create something bigger than the first firmament."

Ahema let Pina and Bozes absorb the information before resuming her story.

"Eventually, the two groups came to the same conclusion, that their goals were incompatible and opposed. Eventually the Celestials rebelled against the established order."

"At that moment, the first among the Celestials, "The One Above All", raised his arm in the direction of the Aspirants and launched a burst of energy. The spark that initiated the greatest conflict that would ever exist. The other Celestials struck back and the Aspirants counterattacked. Supported by the first firmament. This event is known as the "Heavenly War". The first war."

Bozes and Pina, like all educated Imperial nobility, had always viewed the rebels as people seeking to seize power for themselves. They had always viewed the Empire as the best thing for humans. Providing order, protection and stability in the midst of a world populated by barbarians and monsters. Only a madman or a traitor seeking power for his own gain would want to rebel against the Empire.

For the madman, the solution was simple: cut off their mad heads so they could find their place with Emroy, god of madness. For the traitors…. There were all kinds of punishments planned according to the fashion of the moment. Quartered, burned alive, struck down or frozen by mages, immersed in liquids which devoured the body (acid), scalded, thrown as food to ogres or other monsters etc… It was always an entertaining spectacle for everyone to see and a call to order to all those who would be tempted to imitate the traitors. In short, it was justice and it was a good thing.

In case of regrettable error…. Well the mercy of the gods existed for that, didn't it? In case of error, the gods rewarded the righteous, just as they punished the guilty. If an innocent man was condemned and his innocence subsequently proven (an extremely rare occurrence because no one bothered about the question of guilt after the execution and in any case the justice of the Empire never admitted having made a error) then in this case, a letter of sincere apology was written by some magistrate and given to the family if there was one, or put in an urn provided for this purpose in one of the temples of Deldort guardian of the pacts and promises.

The two young women witnessed on the spot the cosmic war, or rather, the most striking passages. How could a series of events that had lasted for billions of years be summed up in a few minutes?

Pina and Bozes held tight to each other. Terrified. It was all so far beyond anything they had ever imagined…. Everything was going too fast for their minds to analyze and accept such a truth. On the other hand, their instinct had understood very well that they had good reason to be afraid.

This was not a battle between mortals, nor even a war between the gods. It was…. In fact, she couldn't tell what it was. No sentence they could have formulated could adequately describe the outrageousness of a cosmic war of such magnitude.

Even the word "war" seemed insufficient. A new word had to be invented.

However, the revelation was far from over.

"During the conflict, another event which would take on great importance later occurred. Life as the Aspirants had created it, in turn acquired consciousness and with it desire and self-determination. This consciousness condensed to form a larger life. A life that would be the receptacle of all lives. "

Then in the infinity that surrounded them, another form appeared. A winged form emitting white flames.

"This entity is known as "the first phoenix". He was the crucible of all lives. When a life died, it came to him to bring its strength, to recharge its energy, then to be reborn in another form. He had become the embodiment, the avatar of what the Celestials sought to create. Change, death and rebirth."

The two nobles could now see the majestic bird flying through the stars. It was impressive and beautiful at the same time. Either way, it was soothing.

Meanwhile, war raged between the Celestials and the Aspirants. Then a new monstrosity appeared, a giant much larger than all the others, further adding to the fear of the two knights.

"In their ultimate attempt to achieve victory, the Aspirants created a being far more powerful than themselves but without intelligence. A machine capable of defeating Celestials, called the Godslayer Armor."

Pina and Bozes then saw the giant destroying the Celestials, one after the other, their armors bursting in sheaves of lights under the power of the golden monster.

"However, the changes the Celestials had already made had an unexpected effect on their enemies. The Celestials had broken their unity. When the victory of the Aspirants seemed assured, then differences began to appear among them. Multiple factions arose and they in turn began to fight each other."

"What? For what reasons ?!" Bozes asked.

"The reasons remain unknown. Even we don't know that. Therefore, I cannot explain it to you."

In other circumstances, the two young women would have been disappointed not to know, but not this time. They had to admit that until now, despite their best efforts, they were already struggling to understand a number of things. The explanations were simple but they were very difficult to accept.

"Anyway, the internal strife between the Aspirants gave the Celestials time to craft a weapon even more formidable than the Godslaying Armor but one that would only work once."

"A one-time-use weapon? It is useless…." pointed Marquis Co Palesti's daughter.

In answer to her question, an explosion, far larger than anything they had seen before, appeared in front of them. Not an explosion in the proper sense but rather a series of explosions. Clusters of galaxies were blown out like candles by a hurricane, The fabric of spacetime tore like paper, the very structure of the first firmament shattered like a cathedral of glass subjected to a barrage of cannon fire.

Both women's minds had now reached the limits of what they could comprehend. Everything else was thrown out, like water overflowing from a vase. If they hadn't already been in some kind of dream, they probably would have passed out from the mental shock.

They had just witnessed the creation of the multiverse.

Fortunately for them, "the worst" had just passed. The sequel would be slightly less disturbing.

Pina had a new question to ask.

"If I understand…. You destroyed your creator?"

"That's what we believe then, but no. After the cataclysm, the first firmament fled beyond his component parts, taking the surviving Aspirants with him."

"What happened to... first phoenix?"

"He too was fractured, spawning all the phoenixes in the Multiverse. Bringing death and rebirth into all the universes that had formed."

"Multiverse?"

"It is the name given to all the universes which once made up the first firmament."

"You use this word "universe". What is a universe? » Pina now had a reasonable idea of what the word "universe" meant, but she needed confirmation.

"A universe is a living being which, like the first firmament of old, encompasses everything in a specific sector of the multiverse. To put it simply, a universe represents the stars, the void between them, the worlds, life, everything. You and all you know, I are part of a universe. Your universe and your world are classified as "Falmart-3145".

"3145?"

"There is an infinity of other "Falmarts". By classification, yours is numbered "3145"".

"An infinity of other Falmarts? You mean an infinity of other worlds?"

"There is an infinity of other worlds but here I am talking about an infinity of other Falmarts. When the first firmament was fractured into an infinity of universes, each of its universes was identical but since then they have followed more or less different destinies. While some have nothing in common, others are almost identical. Your world, your Empire, your people and yourself exist in an infinity of other universes. Right now, for example, there's another Princess Pina and another Knight Bozes doing something else. What differentiates you is that you are the only one of all to have come into contact with the Czlestials".

Again, the brain overcapacitor on Pina's head, allowed the princess to understand what Ashema meant, but again it was too much for her mind to accept.

"I will show you some examples." Ashema decided.

Then Pina and Bozes could see for a few moments what alternate versions of themselves were doing in other universes.

On Falmart 145 Pina was visiting Alnus with strange men wearing green uniforms. The princess guessed that those people must be soldiers. She could glimpse a white flag with a red circle in the middle.

On Falmart 00-564-YJ the princess and her friend were talking to two strange little horses. One of them was purple with a pair of wings, a horn and a black mane with a pink streak while the other was sky blue with its rainbow-like mane and tail.

On Falmart _xt_8472 The princess was trying to chat with a group of strange demi-humans. There were three of them, a big pink and bald one with spikes on his head, a big one of green color who was a man but looked somewhat like a woman because of his haircut…. But the most 'strange was a smaller, set back. He seemed to be the leader, sitting in some kind of black "machine" floating above the ground. Two black horns sprouting from its purple head, a snow-white face, and red eyes. The three had the same armor without helmet but a strange monocle green, blue or red around their left eyes. Pina didn't know what was going to happen but she was worried about her other "self" this trio didn't look friendly at all.

But the most surprising was Pina on Falmart -Ψ⁂ Ψ- The environment was a kind of infinite white. The other Pina had a pair of wings on its back and a strange glowing circle above her head. This other version of herself then turned and stared straight into the princess's eyes beyond the veil of reality. She KNEW she was being watched. This Pina then gave a smile and a little friendly wave before Ashema interrupted the demonstration.

"You have seen a few examples of others yourself across the multiverse. For every possibility of existence there is a universe. Which means that at every moment an infinite number of universes are born, enlarging the multiverse. One of our tasks is to coordinate this great whole."

Another stunning revelation for both women. They really wanted to throw away the brain booster and walk away. There are truths that humand mind refuse to accept but they had no choice because of the device around their heads which wrote these truths indelibly in their brains.

"After the fracture of the first firmament, the multiverse also became aware of himself. In turn, he was everything, except what remained of the first firmament. He lived, then died, then the third multiverse was born from him, then the fourth. We are currently in the eighth multiverse. Eternity."

"Eternity?"

The Princess was asking reflexively but she didn't really want to know. She already had too much to accept without adding to it. The space that was previously black turned completely white, blinding Bozes and the Princess for a moment.

When their eyes (which weren't really their eyes since the two women were there in spirit and therefore couldn't see with their real eyes to speak of) got used to the white, they noticed a shape, a black giant filled with 'stars.

"He is called 'eternity'. He is the embodiment of the entire multiverse. Ashema said.

"It would take a long time to explain what happened during previous incarnations of the multiverse. Let's just say that each time, the Celestials colonized and enhanced the multiverses in question, cultivating life on every worthy world they came across."

Pina and Bozes now saw the Celestials traveling from planet to planet but at this point they still didn't understand exactly what they were doing. They saw them land on balls and then leave. Nothing more. For the moment, they had not yet understood that these balls were "worlds" like the one on which they lived. Ashema was well aware of all the turmoil these revelations, so far above their knowledge of the world, were causing the two women. It was therefore time to take the next step and explain to the two nobles the appearance of life as they knew it.

The space around them had once again turned black and filled with stars. Once again the perspective changed and one of the stars seemed to grow, or rather, to approach her. A yellow star.

"This star…. She looks like Flare." Bozes pointed out.

"This star is called « the sun » by humans. You will witness in a few moments a process that normally takes hundreds of millions of years."

The sun then began to expel some of its gases volume From Pina and Bozes' perspective, it looked like jets of flame. Then these flames condensed, darkened, thus forming spheres similar to those they had seen earlier. There were 8 large ones and a few other smaller ones. They were different in shape and color. "That's very pretty," thought Pina, beginning to understand what those "balls" really were.

The view then focused on the third planet, which was then black and covered in volcanoes.

"This planet is called "earth". It is insignificant but it will take on great importance soon. Now look into space to the North of the planet, you will notice a purple cloud. Take a good look at this cloud."

Sure enough, after a few moments Bozes noticed something.

"Look Princess, the cloud, it changes shape, it looks like a face." exclaimed the young woman.

"Indeed. This entity was the first consciousness born on this world. The first of what you call "gods". Long after his disappearance, he was known as "the demiurge"."

That's when Bozes rose up.

"He was the first god. You must be wrong. Everyone knows that the first deity was Wareharun. The great forest of the origins."

"It is possible that, in this world, this "Wareharun" was indeed the first deity, but here we are talking about another world called "Earth". The world where your ancestors came from."

This statement shocked both women.

"Our ancestors would have come from another world? What do you mean ? Everyone knows that humans are the first race in Falmart. That's why they are civilized and rule this world in the name of the gods." Bozes said.

Bozes was neither racist nor arrogant to speak of. However, her upbringing, like that of all Falmartians, especially the nobles, had always insisted that humans were the superior race of this world and that it was normal for the superior race to rule over the lesser races, for the good of the world and by the will of the gods.

Of course this education also included certain religious "truths". For example that humans were the oldest race in this world, the most perfect. They had founded mighty kingdoms once among the barbarian peoples, until forging the great Empire of Sadera.

Human life was too short to remember the Elvish kingdoms that had preceded it and even so, official doctrine would have dismissed it as the lie of demi-humans, motivated by jealousy.

"For the moment look and you will understand. The Demiurge, however, felt he had a role to play. He had to initiate something bigger than himself. He then decided to fulfill his destiny, and merged his energies, gave his power if you will, to the world below him. Triggering the appearance of life on the planet."

"Like the first consciousness?" asked the princess.

"Yes, but on a smaller scale. From the sacrifice of the demiurge on the fertile soil of the planet, the first gods of the Earth were born. Oshtur, Set, Chthon, Hyppus and others, including Gaia, who assumed the role of earth goddess who created the first forms of mortal life in this world…."

Ashema had carefully avoided talking about the coming of the Celestial "Progenitor" to Earth and his role in the events to come. This information was true in the new universe that had taken place recently after the Beyonders' assault, but it was not before. Although both versions were true, Ashema judged the older version to be closer to the truth.

….

….

….

….

The real reason, however, was that talking about a Celestial dying, albeit temporary since the Progenitor would return in the next universe or even sooner, might have made the Princess believe there was a way to kill a Celestial. An erroneous way of thinking that could have pushed the princess to make bad decisions.

"Wait a minute. I have never heard of the gods you speak of. What about Wareharun then? And Zuufmut? Hardy, Emroy, Mirittia and all the other gods?"

Bozes increasingly doubted Ashema's account.

"Each world has its own « gods » as you call them, its own legends. Those you call "gods" have all kinds of origins. Some were once human, but through all sorts of means, they can "ascend" and become gods. Those you name "Apostle" are an example but the gods can have other origins. Sometimes the gods are born from the simple belief of their worshippers. Peoples believe so strongly in their myths and legends that these can become real and the world transforms around them as if they had always been there in the first place. It may even alter past events. Most of the time, these gods are unaware of their true nature. Afterwards When the "creator gods" of the earth were born, the world had already existed for billions of years. Yet each of them thinks they are the creator, despite clear evidence to the contrary. It's in their nature. "

Normally, Bozes and Pina would have dismissed what Ashema was saying as "a bunch of bullshit." However, the brain boosters they wore, along with Ashema's god-like speech, told them it was the truth again. As absurd as it is. It was being etched into their minds as surely as a computer program on a hard drive.

So Pina and Bozes witness the first war on Earth when the Elder Gods started devouring each other for more power.

Then they saw one of them, a woman named "Gaia", gave birth to a golden man : Atum.

Atum transformed and became a monster: the Demogorge and destroyed the old gods, leaving few survivors. The reign of the old gods ends and the Demogorge, reverted to Atum form, leaves to live in the heart of the sun while Gaia gives birth to other forms of life.

"OH! IT WAS NOT GODS SINCE THEY DIED! TRUE GODS ARE IMMORTAL!" exclaimed Bozes, delighted to find a flaw in Ashema's story, proof that it was all a gigantic hoax.

"Immortality itself has its limits. Any force can be destroyed by a superior force. This law is also valid for your "gods". Have you already forgotten what happened just two days ago to your god of war? Amiek chose to restrict him to a sphere of containment, however, he could have, conversely, dispersed his energies. In this case, only his soul would have remained, just like for a mortal and he would have had to follow the same path and go to the kingdom of the one you call Hardy. "

"You are knowledgeable about our world. How is it possible?" asked the Princess. Pina suspected that, as Celestial, Ashema was a formidable being but she still wanted an explanation.

"It is very simple. Everything Amiek knows, we know because he shares all the information he gets with us. Additionally, we analyzed the minds of the soldiers who came through the Gate. Everything they know, we also know."

"The soldiers sent to the Gate? I had completely forgotten about them" thought the Princess.

"Precisely, about the soldiers, I wanted to ask you…."

"We'll talk about it after Princess. Now, contemplate your origins. See your first true ancestors."

Pina and Bozes saw the journey of life beginning with the first cells, something so small they couldn't normally see it. Then the cells changed, clumped together and began to diversify. Plants, worms, the first fish appeared. Then life takes over on solid ground. It is then the turn of insects and then of reptiles to appear.

The reptiles grew bigger and became giants the size of castles.

"Dragons ruled the world?" asked Pina who was terrified at the thought of a whole world populated by "dragons".

"They weren't quite dragons. Dragons are essentially magical creatures. These creatures are better known as "dinosaurs" to your species. "

It didn't change much from the Princess' point of view. All she saw were monsters with claws and teeth capable of devouring other monsters, sometimes much larger than themselves.

Ashema continued to show the history of Earth to the two knights.

"But sometimes chance changes the course of things without outside influence."

Then Pina and Bozes saw a pebble hit the planet. From their point of view it was just a stone, but the device around their heads allowed them to understand all the excess of the thing. The rock was the size of a city and the devastation it wrought as it struck the world was Apocalyptic.

It wasn't on the same level as the war between the Celestials and Aspirants but at the same time it was worse as Pina and Bozes could contemplate the effects of devastation on a human scale. Although there were no cities destroyed or humans killed, they saw forests turned to desert, skies darkening, and tens of thousands of animals killed on the impact.

"This event had repercussions and wiped out a large part of the species living at that time, but those that were able to adapt, survived and evolved. The reign of the dinosaurs was coming to an end as they evolved into avian life forms. At the same time it was the advent of mammals. "

Of course Pina and Bozes didn't know what the words « avian » and « mammalian » meant, but again the brain amplifier wrote the meaning of its words into their brains, allowing them to instantly understand the Ashema words and its implications.

The two knights then saw all kinds of life transforming for millions of years until the Celestial woman took their attention to one group of species in particular: the primates.

It is then the arrival of the first Celestial Host on the planet. A certain number of primates was captured, studied, modified and then released.

At this time, Ashema was more selective in the information shown to the Princess. The coming of Zgreb the Aspirant and the shenanigans of Set was irrelevant. On the other hand, the creation of the Eternals and the Deviants was important.

Pina and Bozes witness the various study and modification procedures and again they understood what the Celestials were up to but not their ultimate goal.

The Celestials leaved as history continues to unfold before their eyes. The Eternals develop a very advanced society thanks to the machine that serves as their support and is part of the planet. The Deviants do the same but without help and much more slowly. The two races are constantly at war with each other, or rather the Eternals occasionally carry out massacres of Deviants to keep their society at a certain level.

Another part of the primates evolved at the same time in a different way. From Australopithecus to Homo Sapiens. They resemble to the Eternals but do not share their power or immortality.

"Now you see the first representatives of your own species: humans. "

Bozes couldn't bear to hear that.

"WHAT? Our ancestors were... BEASTS ?! NO ! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!"

Unfortunately for her, her faith and her pride were shattered by the superior intelligence she enjoyed at the time. Willingly, she was therefore forced to admit the truth. Pina was in much the same condition. Not for the first time, the two friends came to curse the device on their heads that gave them the ability to understand and accept all of this.

The Eternals had no interest in humans, while the Deviants saw them as a food source, pets, or beasts for their arenas. When the human species had evolved enough to reach the threshold of intelligence and built its first cities, the majority of the race was enslaved by the Deviants. Only Atlantis remained an impregnable bastion.

Of course, Pina and Bozes were revolted to see humans treated like this by monsters, but at the same time they remembered that these monsters had the same ancestors as humans. What a pity that things turned out this way.

Then came the second Celestial Host.

Pina and Bozes recognized one of them: the red giant they had seen earlier. Arishem the Judge.

The Celestials found that the Deviants had become dominant on this world, enslaving their human cousins in the process and preventing their development. A decision was made. The excessive influence of the Deviants was considered harmful and had to be broken.

Arishem passed judgment, causing the "Great Cataclysm". An earthquake, followed by a tidal wave the likes of which the world had never seen, engulfed Lemuria beneath the waves, along with Atlantis and the Forgotten City of Kalumesh, damaging much of the world

This time Pina and Bozes cried a few tears when they saw the magnificent city built by humans, their only hope, sinking into the sea. Later, the ruins would be populated by the blue-skinned Homos Mermanus, from the planet Vodan.

Ashema kept secret the fact that the main damage of this event would actually be caused by the rebellion of the Celestial Tiamut, the Communicator and the ensuing battle. An event that reforged the planet.

The Deviants were almost wiped out during the Great Cataclysm and decided to take refuge underground to escape the giants who had come from outer space. Much to the delight of Pina and Bozes, humanity began to truly thrive, without serious opposition…. Except that of the internal struggles.

Humans separated and founded kingdoms often at war with each other. It was then the dark age of black magic.

The two girls saw the rise of the Empire of Acheron, the city of Python and its purple towers. Acheron collapsed in turn, followed by the rise of Aquilonia, Stygia, Khitai, Cimmeria and the other Hyborian kingdoms. The time of barbarian kings and sorcerer kings.

The princess and her friend recognized none of this. They had never heard of these kingdoms. Until Ashema points to the small kingdom of Koth.

"Koth? This place is…. The legendary Kingdom of Koth? The golden kingdom from which humans were driven out for sinning against the gods? " asked Pina, referring to the Falmartian mythology of origins, much better known to the nobility of Sadera than to the peasantry of Coda.

"If we refer to the information that we have extracted from the minds of your soldiers, this is the country from which your ancestors came, yes. Now watch again."

Then Pina and Bozes saw a strange portal appear, allowing many Kothians to flee the Pictish invasion.

"Now we leave planet Earth to follow the unfolding of events here on Falmart."

Ashema believed that the rest of Earth's history was of no importance to the Princess and the Falmartians. She therefore preferred to continue the story of Falmart, at least what she had learned from it by probing the minds of the prisoners as well as the genetic memory that the Celestials had implanted in their ancestors.

Pina then saw the Khotians settling in this new world among other peoples that she recognized. Elves and Dwarves in particular.

Then something more familiar began. The Khotians fought against an Orc incursion and managed to repel it, many wars and struggles ensued.

"This is the period of your history that you know as « prehistory »".

Prehistory is the era known before the rise of the Sadera Empire. No one knows, except the gods and their Apostles, how long it lasted and what it looked like. Very little remains from this period.

Humans triumphed over most of their enemies and built kingdoms, then empires. 1000 years ago, the Empires of Elsia and Belka were in rivalry. This rivalry led to their mutual decline. The situation eventually deteriorated and Belka attacked Elsia. In this war that lasted almost 50 years, there was neither winner nor loser. Between assassinated kings, quarrels of succession and military setbacks everything collapsed.

Much like the Pictish invasion of old, the remnants of their Empires were invaded by demi-human races. Orcs and Kobolds in particular.

Then came Romulus. Founder of Sadera. He unified the old clans and founded the first kingdom of "the new era", Elsia, Belka and all that could have arisen before sank into oblivion.

The sequel saw the rise of the kingdom of Sadera. First humans united to hunt Orcs and Kobolds for over 20 years. The old quarrels between the ancient Elsians and Belkans were forgotten in their turn.

Once the "demi-humans" were driven out, Sadera's kingdom grew stronger, resisting the savage, sometimes human, tribes that surrounded it.

Sadera grew stronger…. as well as these same tribes. The centuries pass slowly and the Princess sees Sadera becoming powerful enough to embark on wars of conquest, forging an Empire while a few human tribes had in turn formed the kingdoms of Elba, Mudwan, the League….

Finally came the moment when the Gate opened again.

In the Dyson sphere where Amiek resided.

Now the Princess watched the 'battle'. Or rather the mutinies within Sadera's army. She saw the troops flee, die…. or disappear in a blue flash as they were "collected" into stasis units.

The scenery changed again. This time they saw Count Colt accepting the deal with Amiek then re-crossing the Gate, followed shortly after by the Celestial having taken on human appearance. The two young women then saw Podawan's stupidity, Godasen's decision, General Numerius's disobedience (Pina took a mental note about this. If she returned alive to Sadera, she would ensure that the general was held accountable before the senate in due form) and the rout of the army sent as reinforcements.

Events follow one another. The arrival and then the fall of the allied armies, the arrival of Amiek in the village of Coda, the escape of the Flame Dragon, the creation of the flying city in Alnus and finally the arrival in Italica.

At that point, Ashema stopped her story and around the Princess and Bozes everything went back to normal, they were again sitting in their seats in front of the Celestial in human form.

"Eh ?! What ?! "asked the princess, bewildered.

"While Ashema spoke to you telepathically. Sir Amiek explained everything to us. I don't know what exactly you saw, but what seemed like a long time to you actually only lasted a few minutes," Lelei explained.

Bozes was surprised.

A few minutes…. Only ? It seemed like a long time... days."

"In a sense, that is indeed the case. Brain amplifiers have allowed your brain to process days' worth of information in minutes. Good. Now that you understand the situation better, do you have any questions Princess? "

Pina and Bozes couldn't believe what Ashema had shown them. The first firmament? The Celestial War? The Celestials fracturing infinity itself and forming stars and worlds? The creation of life? The formation of planet Earth? The old gods? The first Celestial host? Eternals, Deviants and Humans? Lemuria? the flight of the Khotians to Falmart? The great cataclysm and the scientific progression of humanity freed from the gods? The appearance of mutants?

For the inhabitants of Coda, who were simple peasants, all this was so far from their daily life that they did not really ask questions. They had just seen a beautiful sound and light show and nothing more. The real importance of all this escaped them. For now at least.

On the other hand, for the two nobles of the Empire, who were much more educated, all these revelations on the nature of the cosmos, the origins of humanity and the role of the Celestials in all these events, were far too much for them. There were too many miraculous and new truths for them to completely absorb.

Normally this would have taken several days at least, but the brain Amplifier was forcing the process to speed up.

This thing was a poisoned gift.

After all she had seen and all the insight her amplified, though temporary, intelligence, offered to Pina Co Lada, Princess of the Sadera Empire, daughter of Emperor Molt Sol Augustus, Commander-in-Chief of the Knights of the he order of the Rose (and holder of some forty other "claims to fame", each more ridiculous and pretentious than the next) had only one simple question to ask.

"What are you going to do with us?"

"Specify your question please."

"You judge worlds, civilizations and you change them according to your needs. So what are you going to do to my people? What will happen to my country? To the people I love? To me and my friends?"

Everyone in the room except Grassac was asking pretty much the same question.

Ashema seemed…. Upset.

"That remains to be determined. As things stand, we don't have enough information to make a decision. Moreover, your world is a special case for several reasons which I have neither the liberty nor the desire to explain to you. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait and hope for the best."

This answer, of course, did not reassure anyone. It was then that Grassac made a pertinent remark.

"I noticed that you were much easier to understand than Amiek. How is it possible ? Why do you speak normally, and he doesn't?"

Everyone was pondering the same question again.

"It is very simple. Amiek is one of our youngest Celestials. He still lacks experience in communicating with life forms…. let's say…. simpler. I, on the other hand, am much older than him and above all, I spent some time with your species recently. Communication is therefore easier, even if I admit that I sometimes have trouble understanding you."

"One of your youngest? So how old is he?" Tuka asked.

"Oh, he is barely ten million years old but if I had to compare him to a human, I would say he is a little younger than miss Lelei."

"WHAT ?!"

Everyone now turned to Amiek. Discovering that, despite appearances, he was "the youngest" in the room provoked disbelief.

"I wanted…. in bed…. With a kid?!" thought Bozes, flabbergasted.

Curiously, the idea that Amiek was "younger" than them, was more surprising than finding out he was a Celestial. On the other hand, it also explained a lot of things.

"Does anyone have any other questions?" asked Ashema.

"Is there anything that can be done that would guarantee the survival of my people? " Pina asked, without much hope.

The Princess now fully understood that this was no question of slavery, religion, submission or worship of the gods. It was a matter of being worthy of survival or not.

"There is nothing you can do to affect the situation Princess. We don't destroy worlds for fun. We haven't made a decision on this one yet. The good news is that it should take another four or five of your millennia. In the current state, the chances of your people reaching the next stage of evolution, therefore of surviving the next 4 millennia, is 83.2%".

This news brought a huge sigh of relief. Even Rory was relieved. It was then that Tuka mustered up her courage. She bowed to Ashema and asked her question.

"Great Celestial. Listen to my prayer. The legends of my people speak of your return, of the day when the promise you made to us long ago will be fulfilled. You who are our creators, would you accept to restore life to my people? Sir Amiek says they are not allowed to die. He says we are "the Eternals". Yet my people are dead. Please bring them back to life and we will serve your purposes, whatever they may be, even if we do not understand them."

Ashema didn't need to think about this request. Having access to Amiek's analyzes of Tuka's brain, she knew what promise the Eternal was talking about. A promise that had never been made and was pure invention.

As for resuscitating her people, that was a special case. Normally, Eternals do not die since they are resurrected when they die. However, the people of Pina had come from another world. Logically, they should have ended with the victory of the Deviants over their home world. The appearance of the Gate had distorted this.

Normally, Ashema should have erased these Eternals who now had no purpose. However, the circumstances were special. Unprecedented. They had managed to leave their world and survive on another despite the absence of the machine. Which should have been impossible without the modifications made by an unknown entity.

Not quite unknown actually. The Celestials had a "little idea" about the identity of the entity, but they needed confirmation. That could wait for now.

Regarding Tuka's desire to see her village resurrected, Amiek had made Tuka's request a long time ago and a decision had been made about it.

"We decided to leave this decision to Amiek. This is his primary mission, and we believe that given the circumstances that your people are not of this world originally, it is his sole authority."

This story of raising the dead had not escaped Delilah since she had seen the soldiers of Italica come back to life. She too had a people to resurrect like Tuka…. So she would talk to Amiek about it later.

"Excuse me but…. do our soldiers…. those who came through the Gate…. are they still here?" Pina asked.

"Yes. The survivors have been studied and are now kept in a state of temporal suspension."

"Would you be willing to…. Free them?"

Normally, Pina would have offered a ransom, but she understood that all the gold in the world would be indifferent to the Celestials since they were completely devoid of greed.

"No objection. They provided us with all the information we needed. You can take them with you when you leave if you wish, or we can agree on a later date to return them to you."

"From what I saw, a number of them…. Have…. Perished, when they came here. Would you be willing to return them to us as well? I mean…. Alive ? Like you can raise the dead, so I was thinking that…."

"We refuse."

"Refuse? You mean Lord Amiek decides and I have to ask him? »

"No. We refuse outright. Amiek has the authority to resurrect, or kill, whomever he wishes on your world as it is within the parameters of his mission and prerogatives. However, those who died here concern only us. Unless there is an excellent reason, they will not be resurrected. "

"EH? BUT WHY?"

"The goal of the Celestials is change, the betterment of the world. The very principle of change is that the old must disappear to make way for the new. Life obeys this same rule. The old generations must disappear to make way for the new ones. Raising the dead goes against this reality. So, except in special cases, we abstain. Additionally, we have some…. agreements, with certain entities. These agreements stipulate that the resurrection of the dead is to be avoided. "

NOW Rory was REALLY interested.

"I don't understand. If you don't want to raise the dead then why allow Lord Amiek to do that on our world? Why this exception?"

"Life and death are not things we take lightly Princess. Those who died here simply migrated to another plane of existence according to their belief system. Their role here is over. It would be counterproductive and foolish to resuscitate them. It would be like rejuvenating someone as a child and forcing them to live another life over and over again without ever allowing them to move on. Sometimes we still do this in very special circumstances. Circumstances that are not present in this situation. We accept to recreate their bodies and return them to you so that you can give them funerals in accordance with your rites, but they will be dead bodies. Their souls have already migrated to another plane and for the reasons I have just explained, we refuse to force them back without a very good reason. Concerning Amiek, he is the one who leads the studies on your world and we are studying his way of proceeding. So he has full authority to do ALMOST anything he wants."

"The fact that these dead would probably prefer to be alive and that their families would want to see their sons, brothers and fathers again…. isn't that reason enough? The best reason? "

"No. According to this logic, a child would always want to remain a child and live with his parents. It is not desirable. I understand your feelings, Princess, I would even say that to a certain extent I sympathize. However, that does not change what I have just said."

Pina was… Disappointed. For two reasons. First for the soldiers themselves. She was sincerely sorry for them. She really wished she could save them. Secondly, if she had returned to Sadera bringing back the troops that had disappeared, the future of the Order of the Knights of the Rose would have been assured, as well as her personal glory. She would have entered into legend alongside the greatest heroes of the Empire.

"However, we are willing to release their souls," the dark-skinned woman declared.

"Their souls?" asked Bozes.

"When your soldiers perished here, their souls could not go anywhere because the realms of the afterlife to which they are linked are not present here. Their souls are therefore left hanging. We are willing to allow them to return to the other side of the Gate so that they can go to the afterlife that corresponds to them."

Not being a priestess, Pina did not know what to think exactly but indeed it was still very good. Allowing the souls of the dead to find their place in the afterlife was perhaps more important in itself than resurrecting them.

She didn't have time to respond though.

"I accept your generous offer." Rory said.

Now Emroy/Hardy's Apostle was smiling so hard that her facial muscles were in danger of locking up. Listening to Ashema on this subject, she almost thought she heard a High Priestess of Emroy speak. Ashema's words were the very heart of her innermost faith and convictions. The situation had completely changed.

Finally, these Celestials might not be as unreasonable as she had thought. Maybe there was hope after all.

Everyone turned their gaze to Emroy's Apostle.

"If anyone here should care about the souls of these dead soldiers, it's ME. Is anyone here claiming otherwise?" asked the Apostle.

Amiek and Ashema weren't particularly concerned about who the souls would be given to.

As for the others in the room, no one could find an argument to make.

In the end, Pina would have to settle for the glory of bringing the survivors back. Basically, going to the other side of the Gate and bringing back what was left of the legions that had been sent there was already a very respectable achievement. She was still disappointed. Not for herself but for the families of other soldiers.

Delilah was torn about what she was hearing. There was a chance that her own people would be resurrected? Her family ? Her friends ? Everything depended on her new "master" Amiek

"Would there really be a chance Lord Amiek would agree to resurrect the Bunnies?" thought Delilah.

"If you're thinkking about the dead ones on this side of the Gate, the answer is no for the reasons I just explained to the Princess. If you're thinking about the dead ones on Falmart then again, the decision is up to Amiek."

Delilah blushed. She had forgotten that Ashema read their minds. But that feeling of embarrassment disappeared almost immediately. Clearly, Delilah hated this woman, even if she couldn't figure out why.

"Hey, wait a minute. WHICH Bunny would have died on this side of the Gate? WHO is this "Ashema" talking about? Those in Sadera's army? I didn't know there were."

….

….

….

….

"COMFORT SLAVES! SHE'S TALKING ABOUT COMFORT SLAVES!"

The idea disgusted Delilah to the extreme. It was common for the Saderans to take at least a contingent of sex slaves with them on their campaigns. The lucky ones belonged to a high military officer and their "obligations" were limited to him, but most served to "comfort" the troops during the long conquests while waiting for the new local slaves to be "educated" after being captured.

The Warrior Bunny were no exception. Delilah was sickened thinking about that.

She couldn't have known that Ashema was NOT talking about comfort slaves.

Good. At least there was hope for her people now. Just like for Tuka's. She would never have believed that such a possibility would present itself one day. The Warrior Bunny resurrected? However, common sense prevailed. There was a chance but Amiek had to be…. persuaded. He had expressed some interest…. Strange, about her body. Maybe she had a way of bargaining that way? According to Ashema, Amiek was little more than a child. She could perhaps convince him, little by little?

Then she remembered again that Ashema was reading her mind. She therefore regained control of herself before having "counterproductive" thoughts.

"There will be no more questions." the Celestial then declared, getting up from the chair.

" No ! Wait ! I want…. " stammered the Princess.

"You would ask me the same questions over and over again. In a different way, in small pieces but the same, in the hope of obtaining more pleasant answers. It will not happen. The answers I have given you will not change no matter how you ask them."

Pina felt insulted but the point was that Ashema was right. So what to do now?

Some say the real power is deciding how a conversation ends. Pina and Bozes were learning this truth the hard way. In fact, Pina, at first, had been happy that Ashema was easier to understand but her attitude was not…. kidding. It must be said that Pina, as an Imperial Princess, was used to being treated with all the honors.

In a way, she was beginning to prefer Amiek. Less understandable but much more accommodating (or so she thought) after all.

"And now ? What is going to happen?"

"You will be escorted back to Dyson Sphere. You will stay there while we prepare the specimens for transfer to the Gate."

"The specimens?" Lelei asked.

"The soldiers and other survivors of the army that came this side of the Gate the first time."

The Celestial turned to Amiek.

"Get your guests back to the Dyson Sphere and set them up properly, then show up for the assessment when it's done."

This aroused Tuka's curiosity.

"What assessment?"

"Amiek, would you like to explain to them?"

The young Celestial thought for a moment. On the one hand, he [didn't want/didn't have desire/he didn't wished] to talk to them about it. On the other hand, he had some esteem for Lelei and [feelings/attachment/affection] for Tuka. He barely knew Pina and Bozes and almost none of Persia and Delilah. (even though he had the extensive biological and psychic analyzes of everyone. In a way, he didn't know them at all. In another way, he knew them better than they knew themselves) .

Nevertheless, he made his decision. Either way they would learn the truth one way or another so might as well [whether through/he told them himself/he wanted to be honest] because, after all, it is him who had brought them here.

"After this meeting, [I have to go to meet/I have to go to/I have to go to see] Apotheos the evaluator. It is a Celestial whose function is to [determine/evaluate/verify] the value of my work and my abilities. Depending on his assessment, I will be authorized to continue my task or be replaced."

"Replaced? By who?" asked Grassac, mechanically and without really being interested in the question.

"That's a good question. [This setting wasn't built into my protocols/I didn't think of the question/didn't even think about it]. So who would be my replacement if I don't pass the assessment?" Amiek asked, turning to Ashema.

"There will actually be two. Gamiel the Manipulator and Devron the Experimenter. "

To say that Amiek was surprised at this response would be an understatement.

"I…. Do not understand. They are [in rehab/undergoing rehab/punished] for several cycles because of their mistakes. They are [not suitable/not qualified/completely unsuitable] to pursue this task."

"Who are they?"

Now it was the Princess who wanted an explanation. If Amiek had to leave and be replaced by someone, she wanted to know who she would be dealing with next. Since it was no secret, Amiek saw no objection to explaining it to her.

"Gamiel the Manipulator and Devron the Experimenter are, [Celestial entities in maturation/like me/two living disaster]. They had been tasked with jointly observing a developing planet. Moreover, this planet was that of your ancestors, the earth. However, since they could not [find a conclusion/reach a common verdict/agree] in their research and because of their personal rivalry, they took unfortunate initiatives (author note: Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur #1), which resulted in [transformations of the observed subject/unnatural changes/disasters]."

This explanation did not reassure the Princess at all.

"What …. what happened ? "

A window appeared in the air to show everyone here the events as they had been recorded in the archives. Amiek started his explanation but was interrupted by the Princess.

"Enough with all this…. technology. I still haven't recovered from the session earlier with your…. with Ashema. If you do the same thing again I will have…. I ALREADY have a horrible headache. Simple verbal explanations will suffice for this time. Okay?"

The viewing session with Ashema had truly exhausted Pina and Bozes. It was like staring at a screen all night without sleeping. The princess did not want to relive this kind of experience for the time being, and so did Bozes. Curiously, they preferred that, for once, Amiek explained with his bizarre language instead than with images.

The Celestial was surprised again but the Princess' request was achievable. He therefore made the screen he had materialized disappear and began his verbal explanations.

"Very well. I no longer have time to [specify the nature and consequences of the anomalies/provide structured explanations/go into details]. So, to recap, Devron and Gamiel were tasked with studying your species on your ancestor planet, Earth, a long time ago. It was a simple study project that they had to do on the sidelines of our own projects with a formal ban [from modifying the parameters of their mission/from interfering with the fauna or flora/from touching anything]."

Lelei was curious.

"And they disobeyed, right?"

"And not just a little. They manipulated time streams, introduced a gamma-irradiated biological anomaly to your ancestors (hulk), spread mutagenic mists, and when the situation caught the attention of their [guardians/managers/supervisors], they tried to [pass on false information/cover their backs/hide their faults]."

All this worried Pina more and more. Even if it was on a much higher level, which she understood, sounded like the stupid mistakes that go horribly wrong when some young nobility commit from time to time. Their parents usually have to squander a few favors due to them to get them out of trouble.

Sometimes people die...

"I imagine they were severely punished. "

"Not immediately. Despite their mistakes, their initial motivations [were from a particular context/were not completely illegitimate/were understandable]. Their guardians preferred reassigning them to a simpler mission. Supervising the first contact between two species that had just met. A mission that they [made completely irreversible/caused a disaster worse than the previous ones/failed miserably]."

"What could they have done?"

"The details are complex. Let's just say their actions sparked a war between the two species. A war that continues to this day."

Amiek did not wish to go into further explanations. The Kree/Skrull conflict triggered by the actions of Gamiel and Devron was an interesting textbook case but long to explain and he was awaited for his evaluation. However, now there was one question he wanted to ask Ashema before he left.

"Why them?"

"We feel it is time to give them another opportunity to redeem themselves from their mistakes."

It was a lie, or rather, a test for Amiek as part of his evaluation, but he ignored it.

If Amiek felt a certain form of "pressure" before, this one had just jumped up, mixing everything with a certain form of mistrust. On the one hand, he believed in the judgment of "adults", on the other hand, it had already been shown to be lacking. Moreover, the idea of Gamiel and Devron assuming his responsibilities on Falmart, seriously worried him for the good of this planet.

Why did that bother him anyway? He had understood that he felt more and more "feelings" towards this world, probably linked to the fact that it was his first mission, the enthusiasm of the "youth" but it was starting to take on unreasonable proportions. .

Too bad, this introspection would wait. The pressing problem was his evaluation.

"Is there anything else to say? Or can I escort [carbon lifeforms/Falmartians/guests] back to the sphere and then go to the assessment?"

"You can dispose."

"WAIT! I HAVE ONE LAST THING TO ASK!"

Ashema felt that the question had nothing to do with the topics discussed earlier. Out of curiosity she allowed Pina to ask.

"What do you want Princess?"

"Those 'dreaming machines' I used last night, would you mind getting us some? I want…."

The Princess had no time to finish her sentence when, in a flash of blue light, she, along with all those who accompanied her, were transported to an unknown place.

-O-

Well, this is the last time I will talk about the events of the Gate's appearance and the origins of the Celestials and Earth. Now everyone is aware and latecomers to Sadera will have the story explained by Pina and Bozes in private.

I imagine some people want to know more about Gamiel and Devron. They only appear in a special episode which we are not sure really belongs to the Marvel multiverse but too bad.

Comme toujours laissez un petit commentaire s'il vous plaît. Sa fait plaisir.