Twilight of the Gods (Universe in Flames Book 8)

by Christian Kallias

  Spiros nodded. “Fine. Fair enough. Gimme a second to think…”

  Spiros rubbed his now beardless chin.

  “I— why don’t we just use the ancient tech sphere that held my own consciousness?”

  “The problem with that plan is that I don’t know if letting her matrix run in its current state is such a good idea at the moment. I mean, look at her code.”

  Millions of holographically projected code appeared all around them, layers upon layers of green colored lines of code as far as the eye could see.

  “I’m surprised my mind can interpret that without my implant.”

  “Right now, I’m your implant.”

  “I’ll take three, please.”

  “Spiros!” cried Chase. “What part of ‘I can’t do that forever’ didn’t you understand?”

  “Right. I think we can dump her matrix into the sphere and turn the device down, or at the very least, to an ultra-low power setting.”

  “You’re the scientist. But once we do that, then what? We’ll soon arrive in Asgardian space, and I might not be able to help you with what’s to come next.”

  “Well, obviously we can’t unload her to any Earth Alliance systems. That would be too risky.”

  Spiros pointed to some of the code, which traveled through the other layers of code and zoomed in front of Spiros.

  “Yep,” he added. “If I can’t find a way to fix the damage in her emotional sub-routines, she could go Gaia 2 all over again, or worse.”

  “You know she’d want us to let her die rather than take a millionth of that risk?”

  Spiros’ eyes watered. “I know. Why aren’t we?”

  “Are you serious?”

  Chase looked surprised all of a sudden.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Spiros.

  “I just had the mental projection of your wish. In your mind, when you hold her in your arms, she’s living and breathing.”

  “Yes, it’s a silly thought, I know—”

  “No, it’s not. In fact, it might be your best idea yet. I’ll be right back.”

  WHEN SPIROS OPENED HIS EYES, Chase was gone. And he was on the ground next to a motionless Gaia battle bot.

  Spiros had rehearsed his speech to Gaia countless of times in his mind. Especially before he was killed and also in the Underworld once Hades had explained to him that there was a plan in the works to bring him back, but he never thought that it would go this way.

  I sure hope he knows what he’s doing. I thought time was of the esse—

  But before Spiros had finished his thought, Chase was back with Argos, and he threw clothes at Spiros’ face.

  “Get dressed.”

  Argos had the ancient sphere in his hand.

  “You’re sure about this, Chase?” asked Argos. “We might already have erased important tech discoveries from this relic putting Gaia’s consciousness into it, which will take far more data than Spiros’ and will probably render it useless.”

  “I’d like to point out,” interjected Spiros, “that I take offense that you’d think of my intelligence to be smaller than anyone else’s.”

  Argos shot Spiros a dubious look. “Really? You think you’re smarter than Gaia?”

  “Never mind,” conceded Spiros.

  “Chase? So, are you absolutely sure?” insisted Argos.

  “I don’t care about that tech. And I know dying is actually Gaia’s wish for the short term, but I can’t seem to put my finger on why. My gut tells me that it’s important we save her.”

  “If your gut tells you it’s important, that’s good enough for me. But I’d just like to point out that Sarah said Yanis thought it could hold the key to finding a new instant way of jumping our ships. Clearly, that would give us the advantage we need to defeat the Furies,” said Argos.

  “We’ll deal with them another way, and there’s no guarantee we could ever have translated Yanis’ hunch into a workable technology anyway.”

  “What’s next, then?” asked Argos.

  “Hold still, this might tickle a bit,” said Chase with a smirk and a wink.

  With one hand on Gaia’s chest, Chase fired an energy beam toward the sphere in Argos’ hand. Argos’ face tensed as an intense electrical current ran through his body for the duration of the transfer.

  Even though the transfer only lasted a few seconds, it took a lot out of Chase.

  “Is it done?” inquired Spiros, who had finished dressing in the meantime.

  “Yes.”

  “You still haven’t told me what it is you saw in my head that prompted you to do all of this.”

  “That’s why Argos is here. He can teach you how to build her a clone body.”

  “Except I don’t think a human clone can hold that much processing power,” argued Argos. “And I thought I was coming to Asgard with you?”

  “You are; this would be a crash course. As for the processing power, I think Spiros can integrate the sphere into the design of the clone,” said Chase gesturing Argos closer.

  “Intriguing idea. But how do you propose I teach Spiros about cloning?”

  “Like this,” said Chase as he grabbed both Argos’ and Spiros’ foreheads.

  All three of them were transported back into a single, shared consciousness.

  “Now that all our minds are linked, Spiros can access your knowledge about clones, and I can later transport him to one of your old hideouts to do the work.”

  “There is one place he can go, but I seriously would shield your own mind from this link,” said Argos.

  Chase didn’t have to ask why as his conscious mind flooded with images and scenes from their past. He saw Argos crying over a dead female, tears of rage and vengeance blackening his soul. Chase stood not far from him, blood on his hands.

  “I— I didn’t mean to,” he told Argos.

  “You’ve killed her!” barked Argos.

  Chase focused to push away these memories while staying in the shared consciousness.

  “Spiros?” inquired Chase. “Argos is right; I can’t stay in here for much longer.”

  “You don’t have to. I have what I need.”

  Chase released both Argos and Spiros’ foreheads and panted heavily.

  He could feel he had opened a can of worms linking his mind to his brother’s, but he felt he had managed to block most of it.

  “I— I’m sorry,” Chase whispered to Argos.

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. I was blinded by rage and didn’t want to see that you didn’t mean to kill her. It was easier to hate you for killing her than to accept it for what it was, a tragic accident. But, I don’t think now is the right time to discuss this. We’ll have plenty of time to make amends once we rid the Furies from existence.”

  Chase nodded solemnly. “Okay, agreed. Let’s keep our eyes on the target for now.”

  Still, knowing Chase had taken the life of someone that mattered to his brother was not something he would easily forget, and it would eventually need to be processed fully.

  Chase took the sphere from Argos’ hand and passed it to Spiros.

  “Her life is now in your hands, literally. But you have to promise me that you’ll disable any wireless communication from this device, and make sure to implement the sphere inside Gaia in a way that it cannot be interfaced with another piece of technology, ever.

  “Yes, you have my word. I wouldn’t design her a body that could be taken advantage of. I know she wouldn’t permit it and probably would take her own life if she felt it could. I’ll make it airtight from any outside interaction, even from me.”

  “Then I should teleport you to Argos’ hideout.”

  “I’d like a word with Cedric, first. If that’s okay?”

  “Of course. Come see me when you’re ready to go.”

  18

  “We need to talk,” said the shadow.

  “Look, I’m leaving now, and I’m in a bit of a hurry. I have to catch a wormhole before it closes and I miss my window,” answered Araka
n.

  “I know what you are about to do.”

  “I doubt that, but even if that’s the case, it’s no concern of yours.”

  “It is, in fact. If you go unprepared, you will die.”

  “You see, this is why I shouldn’t listen to you. You’re always so negative.”

  “Please, heed my warning. I wouldn’t bother you if this weren’t important.”

  “Enough!” screamed Arakan. “Everything is always important to you. But I’m done being manipulated. I will do what I want. I don’t care if it’s not in alignment with your own wishes. And trust me, if I knew how to get rid of you for good, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

  “It saddens me that you don’t appreciate my help. But my own feelings matter not. Before you go, let me give you a gift.”

  “You keep your gifts.”

  “I can’t save your life. Do this, and I promise to leave you alone for longer periods of time.”

  “Do you have any idea how little your word means to me?”

  “Perhaps, but I can tell that the prospect of not seeing me every day is appealing to you.”

  “For once, I can agree with you on something. What is this gift?”

  “It’s waiting in your throne chair’s hidden compartment.”

  Arakan peered at the currently closed armrest. A few seconds later, he resigned himself to enter the touch control code that revealed the secret compartment. A black chiseled stone radiating dark purple energy stood next to Arakan’s vials of medicine.

  “What is it?”

  “Think of it as a resurrection stone. But more than that, it will allow you to inflict irreversible damage to your enemies.”

  “What makes you think I can’t deal this sort of damage myself?”

  “Oh, you are the most powerful Fury there is, and I’m not questioning that. But many Furies possess the ability to heal their wounds. With this, it will no longer be the case.”

  “Are you telling me that if I wear this, the wounds I inflict are irreversible?”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that, but it’s an accurate enough description.”

  The shadow lifted a single finger before resuming.

  “With one important point. It must be ingested, not worn.”

  Arakan took the small stone in his fingers and felt a very strong power emanate from it. A dark energy he wasn’t sure he wanted to possess. And he had already been manipulated into taking so-called medicine that only seemed to numb his fiery ardor. He wasn’t sure he wanted to take anything that could affect his decision making again.

  “Why do you call this a resurrection stone?”

  “Because the energy enclosed inside the stone will be unleashed if your heart stops beating, and it will resurrect you on the spot. Not many people would refuse a chance to undo a mistake that would cost them their lives.”

  “I’m not many people. I do worry, however, that this is one of your ploys to get control over me.”

  “Nobody can control you, not even me.”

  “You got that right!”

  “So with that fea— concern,” corrected the shadow, “we both know how bold your next move is. This could make all the difference.”

  Arakan looked at the stone one more time before putting it in a pocket under his shining dark armor.

  “It won’t work unless you ingest it.”

  “I heard you the first time.”

  “Very well, just understand that if you don’t use it with your next adversary, he will not fall.”

  Arakan didn’t like being told what to do, but the shadow’s warning made sense. However, he would not give him the satisfaction of swallowing the stone in front of him.

  APOLLO KNELT in front of his father. “Reporting as ordered.”

  “Rise, my son. I asked you here to check on the progress of the fleet. To see how many ships we can send to the Earth Alliance.”

  Apollo rose back onto his feet.

  “As you know, we don’t have that many ships left. Until the Furies’ return, there was little reason to build any more since our ships are technologically more advanced than most species.”

  “Except the Asgardians.”

  “Yes, but we’re not enemies.”

  “Fortunately for us…there was a time it could have been very different.”

  A golden glow appeared near Zeus’ throne.

  “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” inquired Ares.

  “Good to see you,” said Apollo. “It’s been a while.”

  “It’s good to see you too, Brother. And you, Father.”

  “Good to see you, Ares. To what do we owe this impromptu visit?”

  “I wanted to discuss something with you.”

  Zeus politely requested that Apollo take his leave for the time being. Apollo saluted his brother and left the room.

  “I sense this is quite serious,” said Zeus.

  “It is. I— I might be away for a while, and there is a risk I might not return at all.”

  “I don’t understand. You shouldn’t be feeling any more side effects from the spell I had you under. Are you seriously considering going to Elysium?”

  “No, it’s not that—”

  “Then before we continue this talk,” interrupted Zeus, “I would like to apologize for doing this to you. I was mad, mostly at myself but needed a vehicle to express that anger. I’m truly sorry in how I dealt with this and how estranged we’ve become in the past centuries because of this.”

  Ares was surprised by Zeus’ candor. He was not one to openly admit mistakes. Ares wondered if he should tell him he understood better now why his father was so mad at him, but he had promised Chase he would not divulge the fact that he knew Zeus’ secret. Hearing his father apologize had lightened Ares’ soul quite more than he expected.

  “I understand, Father. I haven’t always been there for you the way I should have. I had my own anger issues to work out, and for this, I’m also sorry.”

  “You’re a good son; I should have been more patient with you. And with your sister,” said Zeus with watery eyes.

  One thing was certain as far as Ares was concerned. Meeting Chase had had a very positive impact on Zeus.

  “Speaking of Aphroditis, that’s why I’m here.”

  Zeus rose from his throne. “Any news? Is she alright?”

  “No, no news, and from what I understood when she made contact with me, she’s anything but alright. But, we have a plan to get her out of the machine.”

  Zeus sat back down. “What plan?”

  “I’m going to take her place.”

  “Then this is not good news. I don’t want any of my children to suffer this fate. Are you sure you can’t find another solution?”

  “The machine requires an Olympian soul.”

  “But doesn’t it require a body as well?”

  “We think we have found a solution to that particular problem.”

  “I know Chase depends on you a lot in his quest. Perhaps someone else should be doing this.”

  “I can’t ask anyone else to do this. Entering that machine is like a prison, where every minute in it feels like torture.”

  “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t asked the Asgardians to put that failsafe into the dimension shift portal, none of this would have happened. Aphroditis would be free, the Furies would still be trapped in space and time, and you’d still be alive.”

  “We can’t change the past.”

  “But what if we could?”

  “We both know it’s too dangerous to mess with time; whatever we have lost could be nothing in comparison, especially if we try and tamper with the normal flow of time. I know Aphroditis operated in a very gray area in that regard. But changing time is something that could have irreparable consequences. Does this mean the Titan, Chronos, is alive?”

  “You’re right,” conceded Zeus. “Even though we’ve all lost loved ones, Chase and his friends are near the end of their journey, I can feel that much. And they�
��ll need your sister’s guidance.”

  Zeus swiftly dodged Ares’ question, which told him all he needed to know.

  If Chronos were alive, they would need to make sure the Furies never found him.

  “That is why I have to do this.”

  “No, you don’t have to. You’re a noble and courageous son of Olympus, and I know you want to do it, but I should step into that machine in your stead.”

  “No way! The head of Olympus trapped on Fury territory? That’s not the kind of message that will help with troop morale. Nobody remembers me, and I won’t be missed.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, son. I remember you and you have made many friends lately.”

  Ares felt the energy equivalent of his heart being squeezed upon hearing his father repeatedly call him son.

  “That’s kind of you to say. But as you know, my sister and I have a special bond. I think that’s why we’ve been able to communicate while she’s been in the machine. And perhaps it’s important that this line of communication stays open after the swap.”

  Zeus rubbed his silvery beard for a long time.

  “Are there plans to rescue you from there, later?”

  “Chase insisted that he would not let me rot in the machine. But I’m guessing the fact that I’m already free of a physical form makes me the best candidate, as, I more than anyone else, would have a better chance of surviving the destruction of the machine when the time comes. Only the clone body Argos will provide me with would perish.”

  “You seem to have it all worked out, so I’ll honor your devotion to your sister and let you do that for her. But know that I would have gladly taken your place.”

  “That means a lot; thank you, Father.”

  “So basically you came to say goodbye?”

  Ares nodded. “Hopefully not forever. But should things not turn out the way we planned— well, I wanted to see you one last time and tell you that despite the bad blood between us, I love you. And I’m sorry for having been a problem child.”

  Zeus couldn’t keep his tears in check. “I love you too, son. And it is I who am sorry. I failed you as a father. But I want you to know I am very proud of the man you have become. Even in death, you’re still shining brighter than the sun, quite literally in fact.”