Chapter 14

This dream was different. It resembled the usual one in some ways, but everything was dark, filled with grotesque Strain tumors. The room was equally vast, yet indistinct, as though obscured by a thick black haze.

I looked around carefully, and my eyes caught sight of a familiar Eldan door, half-hidden behind pulsing organic masses. Looking down, I realized I was myself—and nude. With a resigned sigh, I wandered toward the door, which irised open as I approached.

Stepping into the next chamber, equally massive and infected, I heard a sickening squelch as a Strain-infected xenobite emerged from one of the tumors, dripping slime.

A familiar voice boomed, echoing from everywhere and nowhere:

"WELCOME, ERROR."

"Oh joy, it's you."

"PRETEND NOT TO BE AFRAID ALL YOU WISH, GLITCH. I CAN STILL SMELL IT."

"Whadda ya want? There's no point trying to convince me to abandon Drusera."

"NO, SHE HAS YOU COMPLETELY FOOLED. INSTEAD, I WILL STUDY YOU."

"What's the point of that? I'm just your typical dumb bunny."

"YOU POSSESS A STRANGE ABILITY TO SHIELD HER FROM ME. I WILL COMPREHEND IT."

"Yeah? Good luck with that."

The xenobite leaped at me but passed straight through, proving this was just a dream—not reality.

"Temper, temper," I chided.

"YOUR REACTIONS MAKE NO SENSE."

"You're not going to make me react just to amuse you, shithead."

Those five familiar points of purple light appeared first, and then he materialized.

He was massive, insectoid, and deeply malformed. His joints didn't connect properly. His head wasn't even attached—it floated above a hollow ribcage filled with pulsing purple fire. His "face" was a nightmare, with three additional eyes arranged across his forehead, above his normal ones. A mouth filled with jagged, oversized fangs grinned maliciously.

He'd clearly designed himself to appear as frightening as possible, but it was so over-the-top that I almost laughed. I briefly wondered if he'd modeled himself after some Eldan nightmare tale.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"YOU HIDE YOUR FEAR WELL, ERROR."

I rolled my eyes. "You don't intimidate me. Compared to the Chua and their World Reapers, you're laughable."

"SO, YOU FEAR MECHANICALS. I SHALL TAKE NOTE OF THAT."

I snorted dismissively. "Ha! Not liking something and being afraid of it are two completely different things."

"SO YOU CLAIM, BUT I THINK YOU LIE."

"The feeling is mutual."

"YOU ARE AS ARROGANT AS AVIEL. I HAVE LONG SUSPECTED THAT DRUSERA WAS

CORRUPTED BY HER. ELIMINATING DRUSERA SHALL FINALLY ERASE THE REMNANTS OF THAT VAIN WOMAN."

I glared at him defiantly. "I keep telling you—it's not gonna happen. The only one getting eliminated is you."

The Entity laughed coldly. "FOOLISH AURIN. ONCE I HAVE RECORDED YOUR PRIMAL MATRIX, YOUR USEFULNESS WILL BE AT AN END."

"My what—?"

Before I could finish, searing pain tore through me. I screamed as an ugly, greenish light engulfed my body, pulling at something deep inside me—as if trying to rip my very essence away.

I gasped as the pain faded, leaving me sprawled on the floor. Shakily, I lifted my upper body and glared at him.

"What the hell did you just do to me, you bastard?"

"YOU THOUGHT I COULD NOT TOUCH YOU MERELY BECAUSE YOU DREAM. BUT THAT

WILL NOT STOP ME FROM RECORDING YOUR MATRIX. SOON, YOUR PRIMAL MATRIX WILL

STRENGTHEN MY STRAIN, AND I SHALL TURN YOUR OWN ABILITIES AGAINST YOU."

The sound of moist, sickening slurping filled the air around me. From the pulsating tumors emerged twisted, Strain-corrupted copies of myself, stumbling toward me like shambling zombies.

The Entity's voice echoed coldly:

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE FROM YOUR OWN SELF. YOUR BODY MIGHT SURVIVE, BUT THEY WILL RIP YOUR MIND TO PIECES."

His sinister laughter faded, along with his presence, as three of my corrupted clones seized me, their strength terrifying and inhuman. I struggled frantically, but their grip was unbreakable. My blood turned cold as they opened their jaws unnaturally wide, revealing grotesque, elongated fangs ready to sink into my flesh—

A sudden pulse of brilliant blue energy blasted them away from me.

Above me hovered Drusera, eyes blazing with fury, her form radiating waves of raw, primal power. Her voice rang with absolute authority:

"You will not touch her!"

More and more corrupted clones surged from the tumors, shambling toward us as I forced myself painfully to my feet. They crowded hungrily around the glowing bubble-like shield Drusera had created, their twisted forms pressing relentlessly against it.

Drusera turned to me urgently. "We must hurry. They will overwhelm us by sheer numbers soon."

I nodded shakily, stumbling after her toward the distant door. Each step sent fresh waves of agony pulsing through me, but I pressed on, unwilling to give in. As we passed through the threshold, the door sealed shut behind us, cutting off the growing horde with a decisive thud.

Drusera paused briefly, scanning our surroundings. Then, a familiar glow filled the air—a portal appeared exactly where I'd first entered this nightmare.

"He has trapped you within your own mind," she said softly, eyes full of gentle determination. "Use this portal to free yourself, my love."

I nodded weakly and practically fell through the portal more than walked, gasping awake to find myself encircled safely in Drusera's arms.

"How could a dream hurt so much?" I whispered shakily.

"Your body remained here," she explained softly, gently brushing my hair away from my face. "But your consciousness was trapped in his realm. Your mind made your body experience everything. That is how I knew he had taken you."

"Cripes—can he do that whenever he wants?"

Drusera lifted her hand, and a delicate tiara carved from softly glowing off-white crystal appeared. Gently brushing back my hair, she slid it carefully onto my forehead.

"This will shield you from his influence, except in his immediate presence. Exanite can suppress his power."

"Thank you." I drew a shaky breath, then hesitated. "He said you were… 'corrupted' by Aviel?"

Drusera shook her head slowly. "Aviel was one of the vessels used to create me. I never knew her directly, but Elyona told me that Aviel believed women were inherently superior, and that her influence may have shaped my physical form."

"I see."

Drusera lowered her gaze, her voice growing quiet, almost hesitant. "I... I suspected Elyona loved Aviel. But to her, I was just a painful reminder of someone she'd lost. She was always... somewhat cold with me."

"So, you resembled the woman she loved—but she resented you for not being her."

Drusera nodded silently, her eyes downcast. The more I learned about the Eldan, the deeper my contempt grew. How could beings capable of creating someone as wonderful as Drusera have been so profoundly cruel?

We remained locked in our embrace, and I felt a gentle shiver of her power ripple through me, washing away the lingering pain.

"I am so very sorry, Valya," she whispered, her voice heavy with sorrow so profound it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

"It's not your fault, beloved," I reassured her softly. "Neither of us knew he was capable of doing something like that."

Drusera buried her face in her hands, unable—or unwilling—to look at me. Without a word, I drew her close, wrapped my arms securely around her, and held her gently, until at last sleep overtook me again.

Arwick immediately noticed the tiara and asked about it, concern evident in his eyes. I hesitated, debating internally how much I should tell him. Finally, I settled on mentioning only that the Entity had given me a particularly nasty nightmare, and Drusera had crafted the tiara to protect me.

I couldn't bring myself to share how close I'd truly come to dying. Arwick already worried enough, and telling him would only deepen his fears. Besides, it wasn't as though I'd been reckless this time—I'd been attacked in my sleep, and he would have been just as powerless against a nightmare as I'd been.

If only I'd had my guns...

But all I'd had in the dream were my claws. Against most enemies, those would've been more than enough—but against corrupted versions of myself? I shivered, realizing just how lucky I'd been that the clones hadn't turned my own deadly claws against me. Given their unnatural strength, I doubted even Drusera could have rescued me in time if they'd decided to shred me to ribbons.

I did warn him about the Strain clones, though. Arwick gave me a disbelieving look and sighed deeply.

"How capable are these clones?"

Drusera looked apologetic. "They were copied directly from Valya's primal matrix. They will possess all of her skills—amplified further by the Strain's innate strength."

"So..." Arwick pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Our nimblest spellslinger, now gifted with super-strength. Wonderful." With a resigned sigh, he made a note on his datapad. "I'll alert the FCON vanguard in Grimvault to keep an eye out."

He shot me a weary look. "Any other bad news you'd like to report?" "Not at the moment," I replied sheepishly.

"Well, thank the Mother Tree for small mercies," he muttered. His expression brightened slightly. "Then here's some good news. Between the med unit Drusera repaired and the equipment salvaged from that lab you explored, the Mordesh have improved their Vitalus serum's efficacy by two hundred percent. Victor's already testing it on terminal cases—he believes it'll prevent any more Mordesh from becoming Ravenous."

I felt a wave of relief. "Now that is good news."

"Indeed," Arwick continued dryly. "FCON command has decided to award you a

Meritorious Service Badge." He paused, leveling a firm glare at me. "I expect you to dress formally for the ceremony—understood?"

I shuffled nervously. "Um... I don't exactly have formal wear anymore, Arwick. It's all back on Arboria."

Arwick sighed, clearly anticipating this response. "Then go see Yaenna. She'll take care of it."

I gave Arwick a mock salute and went off to follow his advice. As expected, Yaenna was with Myala, keeping close as usual. I found them in Myala's audience room, and after requesting Yaenna's help with some suitable formal attire, I ended up spending a pleasant lunch with all the consorts—except Arwick, who was probably still buried under paperwork.

Drusera, who didn't need to eat, spent the entire meal happily twining tails with everyone around the table, clearly delighted by the affectionate Aurin tradition.

After lunch, Drusera and I returned to our cozy little rabbit house just outside the burrow to tend the flowerbed surrounding her statue. Once we finished, Drusera lingered, gazing at me with a pensive expression.

I tilted my head curiously. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head slowly. "I… I would like to show you something, but I am worried He might interfere again."

I considered that. "Well, can you project us again?"

"I can," she answered, her voice uncertain, "but he may still appear."

"Then we'll just leave if he does."

Drusera still appeared nervous, her eyes darting away.

Gently, I prompted, "So, what is it that you want to show me?"

She hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking softly. "I wish to show you what it truly means to be the Genesis Prime." I blinked in surprise, speechless.

"Um... okay."

Drusera hesitantly reached out her hand toward me. "Let us go inside and sit. Then I will project us into my private mindscape."

I gently took her offered hand and followed her inside.

Once we were comfortably settled on the bed, I squeezed her hand reassuringly. The moment I blinked, the world shifted around us.

Suddenly, we stood together in a vast, golden field. The grass wasn't the brittle, lifeless gold of dried vegetation—it shimmered softly, infused with the gentle, luminous tint of exanite. The crystalline mineral sparkled subtly, scattered like stardust among every blade and flower, making the entire field feel alive with quiet, primal energy.

Chunks of exanite lay scattered like shimmering boulders across the field, and entire crystals jutted gracefully from the low cliffs encircling us, glinting softly in the ethereal light.

Drusera gazed across the field, her voice gentle but heavy with emotion. "The Eldan were obsessed with proving their mastery over the universe. And so, they created me—a being who could reshape reality itself according to my desires."

She gestured gently toward the breathtaking landscape surrounding us. "I can raise mountains, command the elements, even bring forth life from nothingness."

Drusera extended a slender hand toward an empty spot in the golden field. Before my eyes, a small green sprout pushed through the earth, unfurling leaves rapidly as its trunk thickened and branches reached skyward. In mere seconds, a full-grown tree stood there, its canopy lush and vibrant, as though it had flourished for decades.

"I wish to share my power with you, so that you may truly understand," she whispered softly. Drusera gently touched my translucent hand, and a comforting warmth flowed into me. "All around us are many sprouts and seedlings, waiting patiently. Reach out to them, and simply will them to grow."

I followed her instructions carefully, and in mere moments we stood surrounded by a flourishing bloom of wildflowers and vibrant young saplings. The power felt natural— effortless, like breathing—and filled me with quiet wonder.

"Everything the Eldan did on Nexus was merely a prelude to my creation," Drusera continued softly, a shadow passing over her features. "To them, no price was too great, as long as they succeeded."

She lowered her gaze, her voice heavy with sorrow. "It didn't matter that they were brilliant

scientists or that they'd crafted the most advanced technology in the galaxy. It was never enough. They wanted—no, they demanded—more."

Drusera clasped her hands together gently, her expression distant yet troubled. "Even immortality wasn't enough for them. They aspired to become gods—and I was their ultimate result."

She guided me toward a formation of glittering crystals near the edge of the golden field, pointing to several embedded deeply into the ground. "Use your newfound power to create stairs to the top. I will await you there."

Before I could reply, she dissolved gracefully into shimmering light, leaving me alone. Taking a calming breath, I focused carefully, visualizing the crystals rising one by one, arranging themselves into a clear, elegant stairway ascending to the top of the small cliff.

With a gentle rumble, the crystals obeyed, rising gracefully into position. As the staircase solidified, I nimbly leaped from crystal to crystal, ascending quickly to where Drusera awaited me, hovering gently at the top. She smiled softly as I appeared over the edge.

"After the Eldan… left," she began quietly, "I was so lonely. Trapped and afraid in that place where my true body lies. So, I created this…" She gestured warmly to the beautiful landscape around us. "My sanctuary—a pocket reality that only I can access. You are the first to ever visit it."

Her eyes shone with gentle pride and excitement as she continued, "Here, my powers aren't suppressed as they are on Nexus. Here, I am free. I can create anything I desire. Let me show you!"

With a graceful wave of her hand, a hexagonal platform of polished exanite rose smoothly from the earth, stretching nearly forty feet across. A soft, almost playful popping noise echoed through the air as a Dawngrazer appeared suddenly on the platform, calmly grazing as if it had always been there.

Drusera smiled encouragingly. "Creating life from nothing can be difficult at first. So instead, why don't you focus your power on that boulder there, and simply will it to live?"

Focusing my will upon the boulder, I felt its solid presence shift beneath my intention. In moments, the rock split apart, reassembling itself into a formidable earth elemental.

Drusera clapped her hands delightedly. "Wonderful!"

But before her joy could fully settle, dark purple tumors erupted grotesquely across the elemental's body, twisting its form into something corrupted and vile. Above us, the serene sky darkened rapidly, shadows boiling into existence.

"DID YOU THINK I WOULD NOT NOTICE YOU, DRUSERA?" The Entity's voice boomed, shattering the tranquility.

Drusera's expression clouded immediately, fear and anger intertwining. "Oh no—he's found us!"

"I WILL ALWAYS FIND YOU," the Entity roared, his presence looming oppressively around us. "ALL THAT YOU CREATE, I SHALL DESTROY, AS PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR CRIMES. I WILL HOUND YOU RELENTLESSLY UNTIL YOU FINALLY SURRENDER YOUR POWER TO ME!"

Drusera's voice rose defiantly, piercing the darkness. "Never!"

"YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE!" he thundered. "I WAS TO BE REBORN AS THE GENESIS

PRIME. MY WILL, MY CONSCIOUSNESS WERE DESTINED TO BE SUPREME! THIS UNIVERSE EXISTS TO BE RESHAPED IN MY IMAGE!"

Drusera grabbed my shoulder tightly, urgency etched on her face. "We must go!"

As reality shifted around us, the Entity's enraged scream echoed in my mind: "DRUSERA! YOU HAVE DENIED MY DESTINY FOR TOO LONG!"

In an instant, we were back in my bed, the quiet of our home a stark contrast to the chaos we'd just escaped. Drusera sat beside me, her chest heaving as she struggled to steady her breathing, fear and frustration clearly visible on her trembling features.

"You've put up with that asshole for a thousand years?" I asked incredulously, my voice soft with disbelief and sympathy.

Drusera blinked at me, momentarily shocked by my bluntness, before slowly nodding, sorrow etched deeply into her features.

"He—he has corrupted even my sanctuary now," she whispered mournfully, her voice filled with quiet despair.

I gently took her hand, patting it reassuringly. "We'll put an end to him, hun. I promise. Soon you'll be free, truly free, to create whatever your heart desires."

I could see in her eyes that she desperately wanted to believe my words, yet doubt still lingered beneath the surface, haunting her.

For my part, I reflected on what the Entity had said. By now, I was nearly certain he had once been an Eldan, someone who intended to seize Drusera's power for himself. The selfish bastard hadn't been satisfied merely creating an obedient god; no, he'd wanted to become a god himself.

Clearly, he'd succeeded in stealing some fragment of her power—but he'd failed to claim the one thing he wanted most: Drusera herself.

And for a thousand years, he'd been relentlessly trying to take the rest.

I wasn't just going to kill him—no, that would be too merciful. I was going to make him pay dearly for every ounce of pain and suffering he'd inflicted upon Drusera.

My sweet goddess had been created to be a perfect being of love and grace—but the Eldan, in their arrogance and greed, had condemned her instead to an eternity as the jailer of a madman.

My hatred for the Eldan was now absolute.

My fingers brushed against the smooth surface of the exanite tiara resting on my forehead. Drusera had said exanite could suppress the Entity's power—and she had sealed herself away within the largest exanite structure in the galaxy.

Just how much of her own immense power had she poured into its creation?

How much of her perceived "weakness" was simply because so much of her strength remained trapped, locked away in all that exanite?

The power she'd shown me in her sanctuary probably reflected her true strength, the vast potential currently suppressed and limited here. But when I finally freed her—when all of her power was restored—there would be nothing beyond her reach.

She could reshape worlds, heal wounds that had seemed irreparable...

She could even restore Arboria.

The Aurin had never had a goddess before. But if I had anything to say about it, that was about to change.

I couldn't change the past—but I could give her a future. I could give her a world that needed her love, and her kindness- to heal the scars of war.

I could give her every Aurin alive as her family.

I wondered what Myala would think about that.