The Destinia Apocalypse (The Starguards - Of Humans, Heroes, and Demigods Book 4)

by Raymond Burke

  “Yes, I am the Cosmogod of the Zater Jen and all you see around you is our realm of time.”

  A thousand questions flooded through Phasia’s mind, the obvious one first: “Zater Jen? That’s my father’s name.” She was surprised he would even know it.

  “I know. He is the one who brought me here,” was Hellennius’ calm reply.

  The magenta hair on the back of her neck rose. “My father . . . is he here, still alive?” She looked excitedly around the blank dimension, anxious to see her father. She could feel her Lore-self rearing to be released in joy.

  Hellennius walked away from her, maintaining eye contact. “No, mother, he passed long ago. But he saw the storm coming; the future storm, which is why you are here. It was foreseen, your coming was foreseen—the Great Mother’s arrival.”

  Phasia did a double-take. “My arrival? I don't understand?”

  A proud smile spread across Hellennius' handsome features.“Your father was searching for the lost Celestri Knights who disappeared during the Hero Siege, but he found something else.”

  Phasia watched incredulous as a race of colourful crystal beings seemingly materialised out of nothingness.

  “Who are they?” she asked, as they continued to fade in from all directions. Far from feeling threatened she felt nothing but benevolence from them.

  “Your father befriended them.” Hellennius directed his gaze up at them with fondness. “They were a lost, dejected and fractionalised Peoples. Your father gave them purpose, but they were still trapped; he among them. But for his actions and out of deep respect, this nameless civilisation took on his name as their own.

  “Zater Jen used his powers to peer into different dimensions. He observed the strife amongst the Celestian Knights, the downfall of his own son, Synther. He could see the love between you and my father. He witnessed my birth. He wept tears of joy. He was so proud of you. Despite this and your efforts to protect me, he had already foreseen the future to come. So with great sadness he took me away from your arms.

  “His plan was to bring into being a champion for the Zater Jen, so they could escape this realm. For here, they had been imprisoned by the Lore. Over the years, I used my bond with you to call to you through the portal to help us.” His voice was a simple plea: “Can you help us mother? Even with my own powers, the anti-portal you entered is omnidirectional to us; too strong to rend open from inside.”

  It was everything Phasia could do to not break down. “You have been through so much! I can almost forgive my father for taking you away, because you are alive and well.” Phasia regarded him, her first good appraisal of her grown up son. Millennius would have been proud. “Why do you think I can help?” She took another curious glance up at the crystal beings surrounding them.

  “Your natural Lore energy may counteract the Lore energy used to create the anti-portal.”

  Phasia nodded sighing. “I will try, son. I too believe the future storm you talk of is almost upon us.” Though tired, she knew she would find the energy within herself to open the portal.

  Hellennius nodded solemnly, holding out an crystalline-armoured hand. Out of nowhere, a golden crystal female, taller than she, walked serenely toward them. Hellennius turned and smiled broadly at her. They held hands.

  “Mother, may I introduce to you my wife, Celesophia, the Crystal Queen: She Who is in All Things.”

  Phasia was lost for words. Celeosphia was an undoubted beauty in crystal, but. . .

  “Wife? But you’re only forty or so years old, far too young,” Phasia blurted out. “No offence,” she added to her new daughter-in-law.

  Hellennius laughed. “Mother, I have been here for over two hundred years, as you would count them.”

  “Two . . . oh, my son, how much we’ve missed. Celesophia, you are very welcome in my family, such as it is.” She stepped forth and hugged the crystal woman feeling the tingle of temporal energy flowing through her.

  >Thank you< was the reply, a swirling diamond-white light pulsating in her forehead as she psyed.

  Phasia was fascinated by this. She looked around at the others who were gathering around. Though they were crystalline, none except Hellennius wore clothing. Phasia didn't consider them to be naked as they had no genitalia to show. She hoped she could distinguish male from female if they all had gender, though they had general humanoid gracile and robust forms. From what she could see they were all over two meters tall, thin, with energy rushing around their heads and bodies. And so many colours, Phasia was dazzled by them.

  “Okay, so who are the rest, then?” she asked, hoping none were younglings. She had had enough shocks.

  Hellennius grinned with honour. “Mother, as Cosmogod—the All-Supreme and All that is Cosmic, I who rule the Temporal Worlds and walk among the many-armed disc of time—I would present to you, my Court,” he announced with pride.

  Cosmogod closed his eyes and a call went out:

  >Geomega, the Will of Cosmogod—stand forth< Phasia heard in her head.

  A lean, green crystal being with a sharp-angled face strode forth, bowed to Phasia, and psyed in a male voice >It is an honour to meet at last, Great Mother. Your will, such as your son’s, is my command< He bowed even lower, sliding backward out of the way.

  Hellennius called >Areigna, the Power of Cosmogod—fly forth<

  A bright silver Zater Jen circled high above Phasia, who was still thinking in terms of 2D blank planes and hadn’t noticed she was surrounded now on every plane by millions of Zater Jen. Phasia could tell this Zater Jen was a female even within her gleaming armour. The personal body guard of Cosmogod landed beside him, her jagged skin sparkling like polished armour. Her inner energy coruscated around her translucent body like liquid lightning.

  >My body is yours to command, Great Mother. I am your weapon, your champion, your forsakeable life< She glided backward to hold position behind Cosmogod.

  >Starmondaus, Time Reader Supreme and Summoner of the Light Guard—shine forth<

  Phasia had to look away while her eyes adjusted to a shock of harsh yellow light which even outshone the white background. This Zater Jen’s crystalline body amplified his energy far beyond the others. She understood why:

  >GREAT MOTHER< his voice boomed >I FORESAW YOUR FATHER’S COMING AND THIS DAY, AND I CAN SEE THE STORMS AHEAD. WE ARE PREPARED<

  Phasia nodded her greeting, her head still throbbing from his voice. He was a powerful psionic and vision-seer.

  Lightstream could learn a lot from him, she thought.

  Cosmogod called out once more: >Arcanaut the Elementor—reveal yourself<

  From out of nowhere, a pure-black Zater Jen faded in beside Phasia. She instinctively leaned back as he inclined forward, arcing his neck toward her as if sniffing her.

  >I sense your Lore-self vying for power. I have cures for such needs< He seemed pleased with himself.

  >Step back, Arcanaut< warned Cosmogod sharply. >My mother requires no such cure<

  >Ah, but the Synther will< Arcanaut rubbed his crystal hands together, eliciting sparkling screeches.

  “You’ve seen what has become of my brother?” Phasia was shocked they knew so much.

  >That and much more, mother. We will speak of things to come. But first we must free ourselves< he psyed.

  Phasia was interested in how he had acquired this ability and what else he could do. But first things first. She looked around, searching for any horizon or point of reference.

  “Why can’t you leave? And where are we?”

  Hellennius switched to speaking, “We are in a universe of time. We all exist here as temporal beings, yet our consciousnesses still register ourselves as corporeal beings in a spaceless dimension. Time has been arranged around us to give ourselves a semblance of space. Hence over there, mother, is the portal you came through.” He raised a hand toward the blank void.

  Phasia concentrated, but could see nothing.

  “Here, mother, let me show you.” He touched her head.

  At once, P
hasia’s senses were assaulted by a vision of chaos sweeping before her. As if her trip had not been torturous enough, here was time knotted into twisted strands and great rapid rivers, looping, falling, and cascading into turbulent timefalls, barring all ways out of the universe. There were no stars, or planets or expansive clouds of nebulae, just ream after dense ream of temporal sheets, glowing in a myriad of colours. She caught a brief glimpse of the portal, but it vanished almost instantly.

  Helexius explained, “All those temporal fields repel us from the portals. We cannot penetrate the surface of this realm. But worse, in just over one hundred years’ time, the temporal entropy of this realm will become unassailable and all will perish in a temporal implosion—”

  “A time bang!” Phasia mused.

  “Apt. We must leave promptly or be washed back into the maelstrom, never to escape; erased from time!” His voice was a hard edge.

  “Universe, no!” Phasia couldn't contemplate such a fate. “But how can we escape, the portal’s gone?” Phasia wanted to know.

  “No, it’s not. The portal shifts randomly in time around the universe. It’s an entropic fault, a temporal singularity, where time collapses upon itself, like a time hole into another universe. The temporal singularity's denseness has formed a spatial conduit into normal spacetime. We were able to send an anchor for you to enter, as information can escape, but no more. All we need to do is concentrate our energies onto the fault to rip it open. Your energy is closest to the Lore, so you should be able to get close to the portal.”

  “But how do we know where to find it?”

  “We have help on the outside. She is going to fix it to a position relative to our temporal coordinates then we will blast it open from both sides.”

  “Help? Who can do a thing such as to manipulate a temporal portal?” Phasia was intrigued.

  “The Time Empress, of course!” Hellennius answered, a bit surprised. “Ah, you have not met her yet.”

  “The . . .” Phasia couldn’t speak. She had never heard of the Time Empress, but she thought she had felt her presence. During her long voyage to find her Hellennius she had heard whispers on the time eddies and the scent of powerful temporal energy on the vortices of scarped edges of universal planes. She had been guided here, she now knew. “I look forward to meeting this Time Empress.”

  “Then here we go, mother. But first, we need more power. >Starmondaus, summon the Light Guard<

  Starmondaus turned his golden head to the sky and a ripple of energy exploded outward. Phasia had to cover her ears even though the call had been psionic. It was an unintelligible screech of a cry to her, but in an instant the air had unravelled around them and four new Zater Jen had appeared. And they astonished Phasia.

  The Zater Jen were a tall, powerful race, but the members of the Light Guard were clearly warriors. Their crystal skins glistened and bristled with extra crystal layers, like armour.

  They stood to attention in front of Cosmogod and the Great Mother.

  “Mother, may I introduce you to the Light Guard, guardians of the Chronal Stream. He stepped toward a red crystal Zater Jen.

  “This is the Glorious Ego Byss, Captain of the Light Guard.” Ego Byss glared at Phasia, almost arrogantly. His deep gold eyes capable of piercing the temporal mists. His head seemed afire with red crystal hair. Then Phasia noticed the third eye on his palm, a sigil for fire. Phasia had heard about such sigils. Located in the forehead it denoted psychic energy and in the chest, pure energy. The Glorious Ego Byss was powerful indeed.

  Ego Byss tasted the timestream with his palm eye, >Hmm, a mixture of Celestian, Lore, and Astral flavours< his telepathic voice resonated through time >I thought I could smell the time-displacement!<

  “You know the Astrals?” A surprised Phasia wondered how.

  >Indeed, the young female kin of Lord Aeon while I missioned for the Time Empress. But that is in the future<

  “Her again. I really want to meet this Time Empress.” Phasia was getting anxious now. “And you can really see the future?” Silly question she knew as Ego Byss seemed to challenge her assumptions.

  Cosmogod, a knowing smile on his face, carried on with his introductions, “Next is Ax Omen.” He was almost as silver as Areigna, but larger, darker, and battle-scarred. Phasia wondered what could scar a Zater Jen.

  As if hearing her thoughts, he psyed, >I travel dimensional realms and planes quite beyond the comprehension of even the most temporally-cognisant. I am a wanderer where darkness holds court; I tread without remorse into places where evil calls its heart. My badges are pledges to those deeds< He indicated the spidery-web-like thin scars across his torso, arms and legs. Phasia was under no illusions to his power.

  Still grinning, despite himself, at Ax Omen's claims, Hellennius felt he should carry on. “This is Adam Finitum, father of the Infinitus.”

  “The Infinitus?” Phasia regarded the dark blue figure with equally-dark flickering light blue eyes.

  >My children and my future< was his enigmatic reply. He stood there solemnly. Phasia nodded back none the wiser to his meaning.

  “Lastly, Geona Zen—the Quadrassentia.” Hellennius introduced a glacial white female. She almost blended into the background.

  >Great Mother, please forgive the rudeness of my brethren. That you are Lore is of no consequence and without you there would have been no Cosmogod. We are his loyal subjects. We shall serve you as we do him< she gracefully bowed, vibrating with pleasure.

  “Thank you. You profess quadrassential powers?” Phasia was impressed. She couldn’t wait to see Geona Zen in action. “Are any other Zater Jen quadrassentric?” she had to ask.

  >Alas, no, Great Mother< Geona Zen psyed in reply. >I am the only one and have yet to breed<

  Phasia bowed her head in acknowledgement.

  “We are now ready to go, mother,” Hellennius seemed to order her.

  “Great, how many are there of you?”

  “Three billion.”

  “Three billion. . .? How are we all going to get out in time? How can I help so many?”

  “The Light Guard and yourself can hold the portal open from the inside, while the Time Empress will do so from the outside. We could only escape now, because of you, Mother. Your Loreself will provide the key energy frequency to rip through the bonds of the portal's singularity. That is because it is the Lore who trapped the Zater Jen here in the first place and only Lore energy can fully open the portal from the inside. We have been communicating with the Time Empress via energised data strands forced through quantum gaps in the portal. However, only you have fully crossed it since Zater Jen and myself.”

  “And you didn't have enough Lore energy.” Phasia was saddened by this; energy shifting was a generations-old family trait they had been proud of; excepting her brother Synther.

  Hellennius felt her pain, but had come to terms with it. His mother would have to as well. “Correct. I inherited some of your energy, but it is not enough. I cannot transform my core state into energy like you. And as you can see, in order to survive, I have incorporated crystal into myself. It helps harness the light energy I inherited from father to sustain me.”

  Phasia understood, but she was a little confused about something. “So, the Lore trapped you here? Why? When?” Phasia asked. The Lore were truly rampant across the universes.

  Hellennius' face broke into a mercurial smile. “Mother, do you not know who the Zater Jen are?”

  Phasia began to slowly shake her head just as the realisation hit her like a supernova. It couldn’t be, she thought, not after all this time. She stared all around her at the teeming billions of crystalloid beings waiting for her to free them, the full shock of where she was and what was to come terrifying the Celestian Knight to her core. The scope of the war became all too clear.

  “Oh Universe, Hellennius, I never knew. This goes beyond a final reckoning with the Lore. Are you sure you want this?”

  “For the sake of the universe, yes, we must.”

 
; Grim determination steeled her into action. “So be it. Stand back,” she commanded.

  Even the Light Guard fell back, proudly anticipating the chaos to come.

  Phasia concentrated and reached inside her for the energy within, her magenta and violet manoeuvre suit and skin shifting in liquidity and texture, becoming hot, becoming fire, becoming energy, until she was aflame with radiant violet energy. Huge wings of energy burned purple, violet, and amethyst as they unfurled gloriously resplendent behind her, fluttering in the temporal whirlpools. Her hair was a fire of deep violet, her eyes glowing like dark seas of indigo.

  Phasia flew forth to study the gate. She saw it was the same type of portal her maniacal brother had unlocked millennia ago to free the Lore, but intertwined with crystal. Now she was doing the same to free the Zater Jen to battle the Lore.

  Like brother like sister, she thought darkly.

  Phasia braced herself against the torrent of tachyons and threw forth her arms channelling temporalmorphic energy at the portal. It twisted and buckled under the energetic attack, but held. Cosmogod and Geona Zen also pitched in, pouring in their combined and considerable energies to slowly unhinge the portal. The portal faded in parts, but temporal patches swept in to shore up the portal.

  What an insidious design! Phasia cursed.

  The whole of the temporal universe seemed to glow hellish violet as Phasia increasingly applied more energy onto the portal, which flickered like a holographic mirror, reflecting images and memories back toward her. Horrible memories of her brother and the Lore. This was ingeniously temporally-engineered, she knew. Flashbacks designed to dishearten and scare would-be escapees. But she wouldn't give up, even as she saw Magna Aura destroyed over and over again in her mind. She gritted her teeth, ignored the harrowing memories, and waited for just the right moment.

  There, an imperceptible quantum flaw just off-centre, she told herself.

  Phasia dove for the portal at speed, her energy raining down point-blank upon the portal’s centre, energy flaring outward and around her as she crashed through the weakened portal. She rebounded back, undaunted, and immediately dived again. The Light Guard blazed around her attacking the portal, tearing at its edges, getting burned by its energies, yet unyielding in their mission.