Chapter 7

The Centre of Aionios

Yuito woke in a dark room. "Morning, dear.", Naomi said. "Morning, Naomi.", Yuito said. Drawing the curtains open, Yuito gazed upon an infernal red and purple void. "It seems we're back in Origin, like how we were when we entered the Nightmare Void.", Yuito said. Weakly jolting herself up, Naomi said, "Seriously, though, why did Jack feel the need to cause an Incursion? It's not like he couldn't see how much we wanted him to rule over all of Aionios. All he did was seriously set back our plans to complete the Ascension Project.". "Some people just want to see the world burn. Jack is unfortunately one of those people.", Yuito said. "I guess he is.", Naomi said, looking at the door. Suddenly, a man with bushy brown hair and golden-brown eyes wearing a grey t-shirt and black trousers came in. "What is it, Nagi?", Naomi asked the brown-haired man. "The 6 High Consuls have returned.", Nagi said. "Noah, Mio, Eunie, Taion, Lanz and Sena are back already?", Yuito asked. "Yeah, they are. They're currently in the lounge right now.", Nagi said before leaving.

Pouring herself some tea, Eunie shrieked angrily into the sink. "Why are you so angry, Madam Consul?", Tails asked. "That little ingrate thinks he can just use the Dein Nomos against us without having embraced who he is. And Gilgamesh just strolls in and helps the little mudder. I don't care if Gil is his adoptive father, nobody has the right to help that ingrate after he abandoned his post and refused to succeed Alphen as Sovereign. And to top it all off, he refused to remember his past as Ultima's chosen Mythos. It just makes me so sick!", Eunie said. "Now, now, Madam Consul. If Jack refuses to accept his destiny as the Mythos, we can just force him to accept it with the power of the Mind Gem. It was, after all, one of the gifts that Thanos would have bequeathed to the Sovereign after his coronation as the Ruler of All Things alongside the other 5 Infinity Gems and the Infinity Gauntlet.", Lyn said. "And to be honest, we can swap Jack's Eikon for Ifrit through the power the Relics possess. First to swap Jack's Eikon for Byleth's, then to swap Phoenix for Ifrit.", Ike said. "But still, we need to force that mudder into a situation where he can't win unless he embraces his destiny first.", Lanz said. "Too right.", Juniper said.

Walking into a conservatory, Melia looked at fish swimming in a tank. As she looked at her reflection in the glass, she noted how empty her eyes had become since she agreed to watch over the Mind Gem, as if it was controlling her somehow. "Whatcha thinking about?", Nia asked. "Nia, when you watched over Rex's confirmation as Consul R III, did you sense anything odd?", Melia asked. "To be honest, I did. I had a feeling that if anyone should be confirmed as anything, it should have been Jack being coronated as Sovereign. I also sensed that Z was confirming Consuls at a very quick and disturbing pace- with the amount of energy he was burning through, he should have died several times already. Granted, Clive was supplying Z with power from Ifrit but even still.", Nia replied. "Incidentally, your daughter Mio's back.", Melia said.

As Rex tucked into a large helping of Armu meat, Dunban asked, "Clive, have you sensed Jack anywhere in Aionios?". "I don't believe I have. Something must be protecting him.", Clive replied. "Maybe he like Barry can access the Speed Force but I don't know how he can. Sure, the Speed Force may be multiversal but even that has its limits. Wally can attest to that.", Claude said. "But even still, he must be somewhere. We just need to keep trying.", Mipha said. Looking at the colossal amount of meat, Tager said, "Still, not all the 9 Eikons have awakened in Dominants yet. We still haven't found Alexander, the Warden of the Void and Leviathan the Lost is still missing.". "Not to mention how the Mothercrystals Drake's Head, Drake's Fang, Drake's Breath and Drake's Tail still haven't regenerated yet. Only through them can we finally succeed with the Ascension Project.", Yuri said. "We're also waiting for Drake's Eye, Drake's Horn and Dzemekys too.", Haseo said.

Entering the Baxter Foundation building, Cloud feverishly looked around the building as if drawn by a hunger for something. He knew of course that Drake's Wing had been converted into Dragon Wing Castle and Drake's Claw was also working overtime to repair Drake's Head, Drake's Breath, Drake's Fang and Drake's Tail. Only Drake's Spine was still intact to the best of his knowledge. As a receptionist caught his eye, Cloud poked around in a black collection box. As he rummaged around, he caught a crude drawing of a meteor about to collide with a planet; giving a wry smile, he walked out, catching a news report about the Chaos Emeralds. "And we now turn to our top story. Now on 666 News, we follow the location of the Emeralds and if they could help us to complete the Ascension Project.", the newsreader said. "Seems they haven't the Purple Chaos Emerald yet. Whatever.", Cloud said, walking off into the street. As he walked through a chaotic crossing, Cloud saw a man who was holding a torn newspaper. "Come one, come all! Come to collect paper for drawing and cartoons!", the man said.

Walking into a fancy room, Rinwell sighed. "What's wrong, Rinwell?", Lysithea asked. "I don't know, really. It's just ever since we arrived here in Origin, we've had nothing to really do but laze around and waste ourselves in hedonistic boredom.", Rinwell said. "Don't be like that. Yes, it's true that don't have much to do here, but even that is a blessing.", Futaba said. "By the way, Futaba, how is Yumi's progress coming along as the Winter Maiden?", Lysithea asked. "Oh, it's going very well. Yumi's even finding ways to combine her Maiden powers with that of Shiva too. I tell you, she's going to be a great Queen someday.", Futaba replied. "That's if we can find Jack and convince him to finally stop resisting his destiny. And that's a pretty big if.", Rinwell said. "You know as well as I do that he needs time to recover from his trauma. I was the same way once.", Lysithea said. "What the Agarthans did to you was very horrid. Using dark magic on you when you were still in the womb. I don't care if your parents did so willingly to prove their loyalty to those who slither in the dark, the fact remains that they shouldn't have done it.", Rinwell said. "Eh, big deal.", Lysithea said.

Looking at a simulated image of Drake's Wing, Shulk said, "Still, to think that Alphen could turn a Mothercrystal dark and force it to grow to such a height that even Drake's Tail never reached. Impressive.". "Indeed it is. And to think that all he needed was just his own power and not the boost that the Silent Core would later give him.", Fiora said. "And we only need the missing Purple Chaos Emerald so we can find Jack and force him to become the next Sovereign after Alphen. Not that Yuito could really succeed Alphen anyway, given his lack of an equal disposition to all 4 types of Dahnan astral energy. The only thing that really puts him ahead of Jack is his better skill as a fighter. And I don't have to remind of the future to tell you of the ruin that Yuito might bring onto Aionios, even if he is the backup Holy Vessel.", Kasane said. "Incidentally, we need to find the Chaos Emeralds soon before the buildup of astral energy we've amassed fades.", Dohalim said. "Indeed. Upon gathering the energy, we'll have a limited time to successfully transfer it into the Waxing Moon Vessel and then use it to wish for the Ascension Project's success. At least, I think it can do that.", Kasane said. "I think we can trust Tsuchimikado's word that the Waxing Moon Vessel can help with the Ascension Project.", Dohalim said.

Approaching a stone altar, Tifa sighed. "What's eating you, Tifa?", Arashi asked. "Arashi, do you think Jack will remember his purpose?", Tifa asked. "I guess we can't rush him. But I get where you're coming from. It's just that the Mothercrystals showed me a vision of what happen if the Ascension Project fails; I think it might be related to Jack not accepting who he is.", Arashi said. Looking at the crystal on top of the altar, Arashi stroked it carefully, taking care not to crack it even slightly. "What is that crystal for anyway?", Tifa asked. "According to X, it's a receptor for the astral energy meant for the Waxing Moon Vessel. Apparently, when the Waxing Moon Vessel is brought here, the receptor crystal will transfer the gathered astral energy into the Waxing Moon Vessel. It's a very difficult and delicate ritual though.", Arashi said. "I can just imagine.", Tifa said. Arashi then entered the lounge connected to the temple, looking at a sleeping Hanabi. Stroking her hair, Arashi said, "Sleep tight, Madam Consul. Soon, you and Jack will take your rightful places as Aionios's rulers.".

The story continues in the next chapter.