"Many of my kind would rather spend their days here than live within a finite world. Many spend an eternity here and go insane. Then, they must be consigned to the Void... And so, we decline. Soon, the flesh that makes us will fade from existence. Those that remain here will pass into the Void, and this place will become free from our touch for all time."
"Wow..." was all Alice could manage in reply.
The woman nodded approvingly. "Wow, indeed... Well, you have proven to be, at the very least, an interesting intruder within this sacred place. For that, I will spare you... Others of my kind will not be as gracious, however. Inevitably, one of my kin will find you, and they will banish you. You will be consigned to the Void, for your presence here is heresy."
Alice was going to respond, but she was cut off when the woman continued over her.
"And now, I must go. Something I cannot resist calls me from this place. I do not know what it is, though I feel that is most likely my father. He desires that I spend as little time here as possible. Before I go, I offer a word of advice to you: Do not spend your remaining time here drowning in the sorrows of your past. Such an act will drive you into insanity, as it has so many of my kin. Instead, conjure visions of..."
But then, the woman was pulled out of existence and disappeared. Alice was alone once again, and her heart raced as she took in the totality of what she had just experienced.
All thoughts of Ganymede and her past regrets were gone from her as her heart thundered in her chest. For a while, only awe-filled thoughts of worlds beyond those she knew swam through her mind...
A creeping fear eventually spawned in the back of her mind, however, when she began to contemplate the woman's warning.
Chapter 61
When Leo searched, he could feel Annabelle. He sensed her being within himself, so that was where he traveled.
As he extricated himself from the blank expanse, it instantly changed into endless darkness. As he pushed into the Void, it became so cold and so empty that he felt his vitality being drained merely by being there.
When he had stood next to Alice, he had sensed there was a horizon within the endless white expanse. Within himself, however, he knew with a certainty that the horizon was gone. All that surrounded him now was the Void.
Leo wondered what that place would have in store for him. Would he be in control there, or would he be confronted by the haunting specters of his memories? Would he be hunted by the demons hidden within his subconscious, or could he create his own rules and build the space within himself as he saw fit?
He gently shook his head as he looked across the utter darkness. The nature of that place was a mystery to him. Though he was there, searching within himself, he was lost, and he did not know how to gain his bearings.
"Annabelle?" he called into the emptiness.
She wasn't there. There was nothing at all, at least, nothing that he could see or feel. Realizing that simple fact gave birth to cold, dispassionate conceptions of himself. The emptiness around him sunk into his mind like the coldness of death, and his thoughts could barely hold their own against the oppressiveness of that frigid end.
What did the endless emptiness within him mean? Was he indeed, at the core of his being, as empty as the barren place he now occupied?
Perhaps everything he was, his actions, his memories, and his desires were all nothing. Or maybe, they were nothing only to him. Perhaps they had to be nothing for him to be able to live with himself.
His long life had been filled with terrible things he had done, and that had been done to him. Perhaps he had erected that Void within himself to destroy those memories, and to allow himself to keep breathing, and keep living, day after pointless day until his last breath left him. Perhaps it was the Void that had prevented him from ending his life with his own hands.
"Who am I?" Leo asked quietly of the Void.
He was not surprised when it gave no response.
"What am I?" he asked again. This time, he spoke louder, demanding an answer from anyone who could hear him.
"Where is Annabelle!" Leo roared into the darkness as his anger and frustration peaked.
"Voidcaller..." a whispering voice replied through the darkness.
Leo jumped with surprise when the whispered reply swept over him, but he instantly knew where it had originated. So, with a nudge of his mind, he decided to go there. A rushing sensation came over him, and he knew he was now moving at a rate of speed faster than any he had ever felt before. Within a few seconds, he had found the speaker, and like a lightning strike, he flashed through the darkness to meet them.
A speck against the backdrop of the Void rushed towards him, or he towards it, and before his eyes, it transformed into a tall, naked man.
Leo stopped when he reached the man, stared with a stubborn but cautious gaze. His skin glowed cerulean blue, and long silver hair flowed down to his waist. His face was middle-aged, but Leo sensed that the man was much older than he looked.
Leo returned the man's stare and waited for him to speak.
"State your lineage," the man demanded.
"My lineage?" Leo asked, surprised by the question.
"Your lineage," the man repeated.
Leo was unsure of how to answer. Did the man mean his parents? "I.. Uh... I don't know..."
"You know," the man insisted.
Leo struggled with the question but decided to answer it as best he could. "Well, I guess... My mother is Exony Margolesh, and my father is an Arcturan corpse. If you believe Exony, that is..."
The man's eyes narrowed as he inspected Leo. "Exony Margolesh... Yes, she is known to us. And your father is, indeed, an Arcturan corpse... You are a genetic hybrid: half-human, and half-Arcturan. You are the product of a forbidden union, but one that has occurred nonetheless. The Infinite reveals all..."
"Okay... So, Exony was telling the truth?" Leo asked uncertainly. His doubt gripped him, but he had suddenly become very excited.
"It is accurate, but not the truth," the man corrected Leo.
Leo was confused. He wanted to know more, and he wanted clear answers.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the man was no longer alone. Two more tall, naked people came into existence next to him. One was a woman, and her skin also glowed with an inner light, but purple instead of blue. She was joined by another man, this one bald, and with a red glow within his skin.
"Elder!" the bald Arcturan roared, his voice filled with disdain. "Why are you here, and why have you called us here?!"
"He called me here," the Elder replied without breaking eye contact with Leo. "And he called you. I had no part in this..."
The woman smiled mischievously at Leo. "He stinks of human blood, and yet he holds the Void within himself and calls it with ease... Interesting..."
"Sorry if I stink," Leo retorted, bristling at the comment. "I haven't showered in several days. Actually, I haven't slept in a while either, so if we could dispense with the insults and get to the point, I'd appreciate it."
The bald man frowned and took an aggressive step towards Leo, but he stopped when the Elder interrupted him. "Raze. You are young and stupid, but not that young and stupid! You currently walk the Void within a Voidcaller's own being. Conflict will not end in your favor here, whether your adversary is trueborn or not!"
The bald man named Raze looked like he wanted to defy the Elder, but he remained silent and took a step back.
The woman broke the silence. She seemed amused by the situation and laughed lightly as she spoke. "Tell me, half-breed. What is your true name?"
"My name is Leo," he testily replied. "Are you going to tell me yours, or should I just call you Miss Glowstick?
"Hmmm, 'Miss Glowstick'... I kind of like it," she laughingly shot back. However, her laugh was cut short when the bald man called Raze burst out with a growl of frustration.
"Enough! Elder, why have you not banished this aberration to the Void?"
The Elder turned away from Leo and stared at Raze in
silence for a few seconds before answering. "How could I possibly banish a Voidcaller to the Void, Raze? Are you a trueborn idiot? We are already in the Void! BE SILENT!"
Raze backed down, clearly dismayed by the Elder's anger.
The Elder took a deep breath, then continued. "Our presence here is not my doing. Leo has demanded answers, and he has called us here, within himself, to enlighten him. When a Voidcaller feels true need, all must heed his will."
"Can we return?" Raze demanded as he shot Leo a furtive and hateful look.
"All shall be," the Elder calmly replied. "You would do well to remember the lessons of your youth when presented with unfathomable circumstances..."
"The Void exists within me..." Leo whispered as the revelations of their conversation sank into him. The emptiness within him was not his doing. It was not who he was, it was only something within him, and that gave him a reason to hope.
"Well, this is a profound moment," the woman declared, her humor ebbing from her voice, but not leaving altogether. "The last Arcturan Voidcaller was entombed nearly a hundred years ago. It's rather funny to think that the next one would be a human... Oh, and my name is Leanna," she added, smiling slyly at Leo.
The Elder nodded seriously. "This is a profound moment, but also a perilous one, and one for which there is little precedent. If we can escape this place, I believe Leo will have to release us, and I don't believe he will find it possible to do so until his hunger for the flame of knowledge has been sated. Now, children, do not prolong our time here with further frivolous talk!"
"You know..." Leo crossly interjected. "You can speak to me, 'Elder' I am standing in front of you. You are staring at me right now..."
"My apologies," the Elder offered. "I was answering their questions, and so I spoke of you as if you are not here. However, now that the concerns of my rather inept children have been addressed, I believe it would be best for you to speak your inner turmoil to me, so that I may dampen it with the necessary weight of truth."
"Okay..." Leo quickly replied. He had many questions, but only one true desire. "Where is Annabelle?"
"Raze can provide an answer to that question," the Elder revealed, waving his hand casually to the bald man who was silently seething next to him.
"I followed our laws," Raze announced. "A human within the Infinite must be banished to the Void. That is what I did!"
"Is she alive?" Leo growled, his anger growing.
"I don't think so," Raze replied, his demeanor softening somewhat. "I believe she was alive when she entered the Infinite, but she passed shortly after arriving there..."
"So, she's gone? Are you sure?" Leo demanded as despair and defeat reared their ugly heads in his mind.
"She is not gone," the Elder interrupted. "When one passes within the Infinite, it has little bearing on their being. If Raze encountered her, then her being was intact when she was banished. If she has been banished to the Void, then you will find her here, within this very place..."
Leo's sadness quietly retreated. "Banished to the Void... That's why I felt her here. She should be here if you're telling the truth!"
"We are telling the truth," the Elder assured him.
"Then where is she?!" Leo roared. "I need to find her. Now!"
The Elder raised his hands. "Do not fret, Leo. It will take her time, but she will be here, and you will be waiting for her."
"I felt her here..." Leo despaired as he moved his hand to his heart. "I felt her within me... Within the Void... She should be here now!"
"There is no time within the Void," the Elder revealed "The Void will not care when Annabelle is truly here, because the moment that she arrived here has already occurred, and is already occurring, and will occur for all time."
"There is no time..." Leo whispered, remembering the same feeling from every time he had called the Void.
"Do you love her?" Leanna suddenly asked. "The woman named Annabelle... Do you love her?"
"Yes," Leo declared, knowing that one word to be the most truthful he had ever spoken.
"Then, you will find her!" Leanna exclaimed. "A Voidcaller's love will bring the dead to life! It will move the stars and shatter entire worlds in its pursuit to be realized! If our ancestors are to be believed, a Voidcaller's love is a power beyond understanding!"
"Stupid stories! Legends! Myths!" Raze shouted.
"Silence, Raze!" the Elder ordered. "Leo, Annabelle will exist here when she does, but now, we must address your thirst for knowledge. We are not safe within the Void, and each moment we linger brings with it untold horrors which we cannot even begin to comprehend. We will be lost here forever if you do not release us!"
Leo's thoughts didn't drift far from Annabelle, but he had heard a semblance of reason in the explanation the Arcturans had given him. He would wait there for eternity for Annabelle, but as he waited, there were many other questions that needed answers.
Chapter 62
Leo stood before the Arcturans as questions swirled in his mind.
"I opened a rift... Somehow..." Leo explained. "It brought me to what I thought was the Void. But, that place is different from this one, isn't it?"
"Yes," the Elder answered. "You first encountered the Infinite. This place is its necessary counterpart. Everything and Nothing would describe the relationship between the two places accurately. And, in simpler language, the Infinite and the Void."
"Are there many Arcturans? And, why are you fearful of the Void?" Leo asked, his curiosity growing with each word.
"We are many," the Elder replied. "All trueborn Arcturans will find a home within the Infinite if they so desire. Although, few living Arcturans remember the way... The Void is a different matter. Some of us come to be here when we believe we have exhausted our meaningful pursuits within the Infinite. We desire an end, and so we find one - a final end. And, you can imagine why that would cause fear in someone who instead desired a continued existence."
"Why do you call me a Voidcaller? Leo asked, drinking in each enlightening drop that the Elder spoke.
"Because you are a Voidcaller," the Elder answered. "You speak to the Void, and it speaks to you. You walk it freely, without fear of it consuming you. You call it forth in times of need to destroy that which you find abhorrent. The Void is within you, and so you are within it. And, because you are a Voidcaller, the Infinite will also open itself to you, for the Infinite and the Void are one. Though, young Voidcallers such as yourself will surely find the Infinite more challenging to manipulate than the Void."
"Young?" Leo blurted out. "I'm two-hundred years old."
"You are but a child," the Elder admonished, "and your gift behaves in the manner of a mischevious toddler. Have you not yet noticed this fact?"
"I suppose..." Leo conceded.
"Every instance of your gift is unique..." the Elder cautiously revealed. " And, there is only one aspect of your gift we know to be true: The more you make use of it, the more powerful it will become. It will grow in power until it consumes you and all you touch in your reality. If I knew the identity of your father, I could provide more guidance, I suppose. Aspects of your gift tend to be passed on from parent to child..."
"You don't know who my father was?" Leo demanded. "Do you know if I'm alone, or are there others like me?"
The Elder frowned. "I do not know who your father was, but he lives on through you, and so he is you, and you are he. Nevertheless, just like all things, you exist. You are human and Arcturan, and you have been blessed with the gifts of both races, it would seem."
The Elder paused and narrowed his eyes before continuing.
"You are alone at this time. You are the only one known to us who holds the blood of Arcturus and Solar in equal measure. However, that has not always been the case. Our legends tell us of a Voidcaller named Griassa, who lived several thousands of years ago, in your measurement of time. Griassa was an Elder among us, and he walked both the Void and the Infinite with ease. He journeyed much in his life and found much of int
erest within the Infinite. One of the interesting things he found was a planet called Earth..."
Leo fell into a stunned silence as the Elder continued his revelation.
"Earth was filled with primitive beings, but beings that were so similar to us in their appearance and demeanor that he felt the need to understand them. He wanted to know where they came from, and if somehow, our two races shared a common ancestor. By creating a gateway between the Infinite and the Void, he was able to travel to Earth. And there, he became a king... No, more than a king! He became a god!"
"How..." was all Leo could manage in reply, but the Elder ignored him and continued.
"Griassa blessed your human ancestors with knowledge and technology, but he was wisely restrained in his approach, and gave only a small fragment of that which he could have. He flitted between two worlds for a time, but eventually, he became fully enamored with humanity and their primitive way of life. He left us then; he left the Council of Elders and, we believe, made his home on Earth. None of our Elders were powerful enough to follow, however, so we cannot know for certain."
"We do not know with certainty what happened to Griassa, but our Elders have scryed the Infinite, and we believe the truth to be thus: He took a human wife on Earth, and perhaps, many human wives, and we believe he sired twelve offspring. To his offspring, he taught our ways. He blessed them with knowledge forbidden to the rest of humanity, and in so doing, he began a lineage that would endure throughout human history. His descendants were rulers first, and leaders in business and politics in further generations. However, with each generation, Griassa's trueborn Arcturan blood was diluted, and so his descendants slowly lost their way. Still, they would always know they were different, even if it was only in their dreams."
"The greatest leaders of your kind, throughout your history, were descendants of Griassa. Each of them was inevitably ambitious and intelligent, and easily able to advance among the primitive dominance hierarchies of humanity. Always, in their dreams, they would be drawn to visions of the Infinite, though none of them could go there. Even among your Origin Council, Griassa's descendants hold sway over your people, and even now, they are drawn to the Infinite. They are guided there by Arcturan blood that still runs through their veins, though it is now diluted beyond measure. Even Exony Margolesh, your mother, is his descendant. And, I believe that may hold some further explanation for your profound abilities..."
The Ganymede Legacy Page 49