Clara looked at me expecting a response, but I understood Flag’s reasoning. We were prepared to erase countless souls to prevent them from falling into the hands of evil. To Clara, it was like murdering a child to prevent it from ever knowing the pain that life could cause. To me, it was putting a fatally wounded soldier out of their misery. There was no telling what Richard could do if he was able to absorb the energy from the Life Stream. Both Flag and I were not prepared to that find out.
I took Clara’s hand and approached Flag. The crystal was glowing brightly. I bent over picking it up with my free hand. I could feel the energy within it. There was a warm glow from it that resonated through my body.
“We know the outcome we want.” I began. “But I know too well that you have to plan for and sometimes expect the worse. I understand now why you pulled me from that other dimension, Clara. I believe happiness and truth go hand in hand. Living a lie is not living at all. If we can’t kill Richard then the least we can do is free everyone within from his nightmare.”
Flag nodded slowly in silent agreement. Clara wrapped her arms around me. I closed my eyes to savor the moment. When I opened them I could see Clara was crying. Her tears shimmered in the light. I lifted my hand to her right cheek and brushed a tear away.
“I don’t care what dimension or reality I am from.” Clara said. “I love you, David, the ‘you’ who is standing before me right now. I know this, here, is real and this is what matters to me. If this is our end then so be it, but I wanted you to know how I feel.”
With a kiss she said goodbye. I looked in her eyes one last time.
“I love you too.” I said. “I always have.”
Clara held my hand tightly as we stepped into the light. As I was bathed in it I felt more powerful than I ever had before. For a moment I could feel the souls of everyone within the Life stream and had access to eons of knowledge. My physical body melted away and I became pure energy streaking across time and space. All feeling faded from me as I became one with the Life stream and prepared to meet the being behind my torment.
I began to feel the others pull away from me. Then I realized it was I who was being pulled away. The feeling of having a physical body slowly began to return to me. The soft white light became cold, thick and heavy. I came to a stop and hovered helplessly in space. I could see nothing but a dark void all around me. I could not move or speak.
In the distance I could see a deep red light. It was traveling towards me. I could feel the power coming from it, but I could not tell if it was a friend or foe. I was helpless as it drew closer to me. Soon I could make out it was a single sphere of light, perfectly circular with a solid consistency and steady glow. It hovered in space just a few feet in front of me. Then I could feel something else. It was reaching out to me, to my mind trying to communicate with me.
“The others have failed.”
The voice was unfamiliar, male, deep, commanding. The sound echoed around me vibrating though my body and into my mind. While its voice sounded perfectly human I knew the sound did not come from human vocal cords. What it spoke was only a small part of its communication to me. I could feel its energy seeping into me. It was feeding me information.
“What others.” I asked. “Who are you?”
“I have no name.” The entity replied. “You are the last of those tasked to free me. If you fail your worlds will be lost.”
I did not understand what it meant. My first thought was that it was Richard. There was no one else that I would need to free. It said there were others tasked with freeing it. This made me believe that everything was set in motion as if we were all called upon, but that did not make sense. I did not know if stating that my worlds would be lost meant my planet or all realities and somehow I felt I would not have time to have all my questions answered.
“I am not here to free anyone.” I said. “I am here to kill Richard.”
“Your path was corrupted.” The entity began. “Your instructions were not fully received. The one you call Richard cannot be destroyed by your kind. You must free me. As this is your task, mine is to destroy the one you call Richard.”
I had believed that I was special, if not in life then in death. I was lead to believe that my abilities, my power was meant to kill Richard. I always had a doubt that we would be able to defeat someone who was as powerful as we believed Richard was. Now, an unknown presence was telling me that not only had others who tried failed, but that what I thought my mission was, was wrong.
“I don’t understand.” I replied.
“It is beyond your understanding.” The entity continued. “This war began before your species beginning. Destroy the containment unit housing the one called Richard. Without his hold on this dimension I will be able to break free and complete my mission. Do not fail.”
With his final word the sphere of light shattered blinding me in crimson light. I dropped to the floor and fell to my knees. I opened my eyes and stared at the floor below me. A hand reached out to me. I lifted my head to see Clara and Flag standing before me. They had not changed. Their bodies were the same; it was as if nothing had happened.
“What happened?” Flag asked. “It took you one point nine seconds longer to appear.”
Clara helped me to my feet. As I looked out ahead of me and it only took a moment for me to realize where I was. I had returned to the room where the false Clara had taken me. The massive room was exactly as I remembered. Thousands of containment suits were docked next to computer terminal stations. In the center of the stadium sized room was the same massive containment unit that ran from the ground to the ceiling.
“This appears to be a space station.” Flag said. “I believe we traveled to the wrong location.”
I thought back to what the other Clara had told me about the place. She said the Avatar’s original creations had built it to collect life energy and use to it gain power. I then realized what was within the containment unit. Everything was beginning to make sense.
“No, this is the right place.” I said. “Richard is here.”
We were all trapped within the Life Stream. From the beginning everything was arranged to allow someone to escape from it. I had found myself in the middle of yet another war. This war was between two powerful beings. One trapped within and the other trapped outside. Nothing had changed my mission remained the same.
“I don’t understand?” Clara said. “We are in our bodies and in a space station that looks as if it was manmade. How can this be right?”
“That containment unit is where we were.” I said. “The other Clara brought me here, but I was in one of these suits. She, it, was telling me what I needed to do. These suits are connected to that containment unit. Inside is Richard. He is using his power, not to escape, but to keep another being trapped inside. I met the other being which is why, as Flag said, I was delayed. I can’t defeat Richard, but with this crystal we can destabilize the energy inside the containment unit and free the other entity. That is the only way to end all this.”
I did not give the others time to question. I walked to the edge of the platform and lifted the crystal to chest height. I closed my eyes and focused on everything that had been done to me. The anger and pain and rage that had built up inside of me would soon be used to put an end to it all. I felt the energy pour out of my body. I opened my eyes to see it being absorbed by the crystal. The crystal glowed brightly as the crimson colored energy flowed into it.
“David, we need to think this through.” Flag pleaded. “This was not what I expected. How do you know what you are doing is right?”
“The same way you did.” I replied. “I brought something back with me.”
A blast of energy fired out from the crystal striking the containment unit. The unit shattered as energy poured out of it expanding cross the space station bathing everything in white and red light. I could see in the place where the containment unit had stood was another tear in space. The anomaly shinned and pulsated with light, the same as the
one that had appeared before and I could feel the same powerful presence within it.
Clara walked up behind me as the remaining energy poured out of the crystal. I fell to my knees dropping the crystal to the floor. I was weakened. All my strength was gone. Flag knelt down and picked up the crystal. As he stood he stared into the anomaly. I knew he could feel something approaching from within it as well.
“If you are wrong, David…” Flag said. “You have killed us all.”
19
Kneeling beside me Clara took hold of my hand as we both stared into the anomaly. My body ached with all the pain I had experienced since the very beginning. The entity I had met inside the Life Stream had given me some of its knowledge, its power. I could comprehend what needed to be done because his life energy coursed through mine. It was that life energy mixed with mine that was able to destroy the containment unit. All that was left was to await the final battle.
“Oh my God...” Clara gasped. “I can see it!”
Emerging from the tear I could see a humanoid shaped life form. Its body had the shape of a man, but its skin was translucent and beneath it was a silvery glow. The life form was about six feet tall with the body shape of an athletic male. It had no specific human characteristics and looked as if it was a blank template of a human male body. Flag stared at the life form in amazement and slowly stepped closer towards the edge of the room. As the life form drew closer I realized it was dragging something behind it. It was another life form.
The second life form was identical to the first. The first life form dragged the second life form by its arm pulling it from the anomaly. The first life form rose into the air carrying the second life form with it. Flag stepped backwards as the life form approached landing gently before us letting the second life form fall limp to the ground.
The first life form turned its lead scanning over the three of us. Its eyes glowed brightly, shining a brilliant white. I could not help but look down at the second life form. Its skin was slightly darker, a grayish color and the glow underneath its skin was extremely dim. I wondered if it was still alive. I wanted to ask it why it had caused us so much pain.
The life form’s eyes focused on me. It felt as if he was looking into me, at my soul. Clara held me tighter as the life form took one step forward and then stopped. I had so much I wanted to ask, to say, but the words would not come. I motioned for Clara to help me to me feet. As I stood using Clara for support I reached out my hand towards the life form. The life form raised its hand to mine then turned the palm of its hand towards me.
A tear began to open in the palm of its hand. I could see the glowing energy beneath the skin of its forearm intensify. I could feel his energy build up. I knew danger was coming, but could not move. A blast of white energy fired out from the tear striking me in the chest. The forced knocked me backwards. The energy coursed through my body. The pain was unbearable. I screamed out as I hit the ground. It felt as if I was being burned alive.
“It is remarkable that your version of us has been able to survive this long.”
The voice was identical to the red spherical entity I met within the Life Stream just moments before. I immediately knew that I had made a fatal mistake. Clara and Flag stood frozen. I tried to move, but my body had been paralyzed. My eyes locked onto the second life form lying at the first life forms feet.
“Yes, I gave you the power to free me.” The life form said. “This could have gone much simpler if it wasn’t for your instability. What’s done is done. Now I can continue what I came here for.”
The life form approached one of the computer stations and placed his hand upon the top of it. The life forms hand began to glow brightly as the computer activated. An energy shield formed around the anomaly. Just above the containment unit metal doors on the ceiling of the space station began to open. I could see the black void of space beyond thick glasslike windows.
“What are you doing?” Flag said awakening from his trance-like state.
Flag walked toward the life form. The life form lifted his hand in the air. Flag screamed out grabbing his chest and fell to his knees. Clara remained frozen unable to move. The life form returned its attention to the computer, I could hear the sound of machinery powering up. Above me a massive satellite dish slowly turned and pointed up toward an empty point in space.
“When I first discovered your dimension and found this place I believed you were nearly as advanced as we are.” The life form began. “To my surprise I discovered this station was build thousands of years before your evolution. I came to realize the possibility that whoever build this station may have been responsible in your creation. Now, their technology will be used to save my civilization.”
The anomaly began to expand within its containment shield as energy poured out from within it. I could feel the energy inside destabilizing. The static-like feeling returned and radiated throughout the station. In a burst of light the anomaly exploded. Its energy filled the containment unit but remained trapped within the shield erected around it. A beam of energy fired out from the satellite dish above me and created a distortion in space.
“This is not about war or hatred. “The life form continued. “This is about survival… survival of the stronger species. We were once like you, but we evolved. It may have been possible that one day you would become like us, but that cannot be now. Your kind must be sacrificed so that we can continue to exist.”
“No!” Clara screamed. “I won’t let you.”
Clara leapt to her feet and ran towards the life form. I could not call out or reach out to stop her. The life form slowly raised his hand and fired another blast of energy. The beam tore through Clara’s chest blasting out from her back. Her head whipped backwards. Her eyes locked onto mine as if apologizing. I watched her body burst into pure energy and then explode into a million points of light. Microscopic spheres of golden energy rained down upon me. The final remnants of the woman I loved.
“I can feel your anger.” The life form taunted. “I have felt the same a million times as my kind were slaughtered. You are saddened because you believed she was special. You believe you loved her, but then again you believed a lot of things did you not, David?”
I was screaming inside. I could not move, but I could feel the pain of Clara’s death. I wanted nothing more than to kill the life form for taking her from me. From that anger I could feel part of my strength return. There was a new building of energy growing within me.
“Do you want to know who you are?” The life form asked. “You were nothing, but an anomaly yourself. When I found myself trapped within what you perceive as an afterlife I began searching for a way out. My exit was blocked by the thing you see lying here at my feet.
I found I had limited access to the life energy found within. All I could do is place a suggestion within you. There were those amongst you that had high levels of life energy and I selected you and showed you the way out. But you were too weak and were repelled back. There was no one strong enough to escape. That was until I found you David.
I took my time and read your life energy. I knew everything about you. Your parent’s disserted you, not out of compassion, but out of their own will to survive. They abandoned you and fled your home country leaving you in the hands of their enemy. You grew up a sad, weak child. There weren’t any experiments or abilities. Flag was nothing more than a discredited scientist. His theories on life energy and dimensional gateways were centuries beyond your time and so because of their ignorance he wallowed in absurdity until he hung himself from depression.
You joined the Alliance military because you had no choice. There was a woman, a great solider named Sara, but you were never in love. You pined over her, but were too much of a coward to approach her. When she died on a mission you signed up for an experimental training program. The only true friend you had was Hershel and you both took place in the militaries virtual reality training.
What no one knew was that their technology was reversed engineered
from a fragment of this very station that had broken off and crashed on your world. They could barely understand the technology and the energy signature of the piece they found, but used it anyway. That energy source was what you refer to as non-sentient life energy. When you interfaced with it the life energy within you awakened, but your body could not contain it and you died.
You death was instantly noticed by me as your life energy signature was massive. You see we evolved in a similar manner. I reached out to you to use you to free me, but when I came in contact with you something incredible happened.
You somehow were able to channel other versions of yourself from other dimensions. It was then I realized that we were in very fabric of space itself. The Life Stream as you call it does indeed connect all realities including mine. That was what this station was originally built for. The original builders created this station to spread its seed across all dimensions. They used the life energy within and opened gateways to other dimensions and would fire that energy into a dead planet. From there the evolutionary process would soon begin and a new life form would come into existence.
Because of your unique death you were able to communicate with other dimensions, other life forms who shared a life energy signature similar to your own. What you thought was my manipulations were actually your own. Do you understand what I am telling you, David? Everything you saw, everything you experienced was your own doing. Your life energy could not handle all the data you were receiving and processing so it overtook you and you began to jump from one reality to another.
I needed a constant to bring you out of it and refocus you on your task. So I began to pull human souls and gave them instructions to bring you hear. I made them believe what I needed them to in order to put you back on track. Clara was real, but I only selected her because she shared a similar energy signature to Sara. You never knew each other, but she and Flag severed their purpose and it took one final push to bring you to me.”
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