by Andrew Jones
"You will know when the opportunity arises."
Xanadu extends his crystalized sword arm into the force field. His arm is shot with powerful red electro shocks. He grunts from the immense pain, but he was able to overpower the barrier and break through, forcing his arm to extend into the dark monster.
"There! Climb on my arm and cut your way into the monster!" Xanadu shouts at her.
Nova jumps onto his arm and looks back at him, "What about you?"
"It will try to fight back from the outside, but I'll hold it off. Just get inside the monster and destroy the darkness!"
Nova nodded her head and rushed up the crystalized arm. As she ran, she saw the monster as it tried to defend itself. It shot beams of darkness at her, but she either dodged the beams or deflected each of them until she arrived up the arm and at the monster's company. She reached her hand out and touched the being. As her hand went inside the monster, it looked like the same way the water would look when she reached her hand inside. The circular waves appeared and gone through the monster's body like it was made out of water, but surely it wasn't. It was allowing her inside.
Without hesitation, she jumped inside and she quickly landed inside a dark room. The dark room had a dim light, however. It was hanging from the ceiling; a golden cage that housed a beating black heart that had purple blood veins. Could this be the darkness Xanadu was talking about? She looked down at her hands as she gripped her blades and approached the hanging cage. But she began seeing people around her, they were circling her. They looked Human, and they looked so sad and innocent.
"Please don't, Nova." Amaya's voice spoke.
Nova quickly looked behind her as she saw Amaya within the darkness. She looked as though she was stuck behind an invisible wall as she held her hands on it.
"You'll surely regret it if you do." Jet spoke afterward, having appeared next to Amaya.
She gasped as she watched all of the Humans appear next to each other, they were all pleading to her and begging her not to destroy the darkened heart. But why would they beg her not to destroy the darkness within their hearts? Nova rubbed her head and asked herself if she was truly doing the right thing. Regardless, she was still able to destroy the darkened heart whether the Humans approved or not. She turned away from Amaya and Jet as she reached up toward the cage and grabbed it. She took it off its hook and brought it to the ground.
"Nova..."
Nova gasped as she heard Atreyu's voice. She looked up ahead and saw Atreyu standing in front of her, he smiled and waved at her. But he was interrupted as she quickly ran up to him and hugged him tightly, overjoyed just to see him.
"Atreyu... Is it really you?" Nova spoke as she began to cry into his shoulder.
He sighed as he held onto her softly, "Yes."
Nova backed off of him and wiped her tears away as she looked back at the cage with the darkened heart.
"Nova, think about what you are doing. Has Xan really told you everything?" Atreyu asked as he approached the cage.
Nova frowned, "W-What do you mean?"
"It's all a fucking hoax, Nova. All that time bullshit, it was all to get in your head."
Nova shook her head, "No... It can't be."
She answered as she approached the cage and picked it up. She watched as all of the Humans that were restricted by the invisible wall began to go crazy, all of their eyes had begun to grow red. They became insane, which made Nova become worrisome about Atreyu. She looked at him and saw that he had the red eyes as well, but he was completely calm.
"I'm calm, Nova. Like they said... I was the one who spread Ruse throughout the world, I'm used to the overbearing darkness. And..." He began to explain, "I... I can't hurt you. I can't kill someone I love. Not even the darkest most inner part of my rage could make me hurt you."
Nova stared at Atreyu as a tear fell down her cheek, "You... Love me?"
Atreyu looked away from her as he had his head down low, "Nova. This is the Atreyu you once knew. Not the one who hurt you." He explained as he turned and saw her at the corner of his eye, "Destroy the darkened heart. That is my final wish."
Nova grunted as she felt the tears running down her cheeks. She began opening up the cage and slowly grabbed onto the darkened heart. In the palm of her hand, she could feel the heart beating rather quickly like the heart was afraid of its death- or maybe it was all these Human's hearts put together and they were all scared.
"Just know- if you do that, you will bring genocide to all Humans and machines. That is the heart of all who had ever lived in our world." Atreyu turned to her and explained.
Nova looked up at him and shook her head, "N-No, I can't..."
"You need to! As a Nawx, this is step one in the pursuit of your fate. Please."
Nova kept shaking her head ferociously as her tears seemed to shoot out from her eyes as she moved her face, "I can't. If there is a way to save everyone, especially you, I have to take that chance. I can't kill off the Humans, or the machines, that's what I was trying to avoid."
Atreyu grabbed her by her cheeks softly and made her look at her, "Please. You won't lose sight of me or these people. We come back in the New World, as new people. Our souls drift on and find a new body. And even though our memories might be erased, our bonds keep us connected. Just, do this."
Nova looked up at him and listened to him, not even realizing that her face was growing dark red from blushing. But Atreyu sighed and backed up from her. It seemed like he was pushing to make a move, but if he did so and he disappeared, it would bring Nova pain. Nova sighed and looked down at the heart. As she squeezed the heart harder, she approached Atreyu and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
"I will see you in the New World, wait for me," Nova spoke.
She watched as Atreyu became flustered from the surprise, and it made Nova smile. Atreyu smiled as she did, and it reminded him of how her smile would bring him comfort even when it had been a time of distortion. And as Nova was smiling at him, she squeezed the heart as hard as she could until she crushed it. The room filled with purifying light while the Humans screamed in extreme pain. Within the light, as she was going back to aid Xanadu, she could only picture Atreyu's smile. That was the Atreyu she knew, and just by seeing him, she could sense that light she had in her heart again. She was going to do everything she could to ensure she would see him in the New World.
Verse XVIII
Within the Heart of the Humans
Nova appeared out of the darkened monster as it started to melt into a black ooze. The sound of sizzling came from the melting ooze as it was melting right into the ground, releasing this thick steam into the air. Xanadu gasped as he breathed heavily. He had been going through a lot of fighting since he helped Nova inside the monster, but as he struggled to keep the monster at bay, he trusted Nova. He knew she was strong enough to overcome her inner darkness and take out the people of their world's darkness. The darkness she had seen was everyone's inner darkness, all combined into one big chunk. He dropped his sword and dragged himself to Nova's side, kneeling down at her as he tried to see if she was all right.
"Nova... Were you successful?" Xanadu asked as he looked at her.
Nova looked down as she was still sitting on the ground. The ground still resembled the cracks of destruction that had erupted moments ago. The corruption that had followed the few of them into this world. The whiteness had disappeared, the safety and serenity feeling this New World had given to the people. Was there always darkness and despair in the people's future?
"I know what you're thinking..." Xanadu admitted as he stood up and turned away from her, "This New World. Let me assure you that it wasn't supposed to go down like this."
Nova looked up at him, "What do you mean?"
"The New World- just the thought of it gave people hope. And those people weren't just Humans. They were also machines. The power of hope is stronger than you think. It takes a lot for someone to hope for a grand future when their pasts and presents are filled with des
truction. You see, if enough people hope for this New World to become the safe haven they want it to be, the Divines will grant that wish."
Nova stood up and walked behind him, "Divines? I thought there was no God..."
Xanadu shook his head, "There isn't. But that doesn't mean that there can't be a Savior." He answered as he turned back to her, "You are that Savior, Nova. You are the one who will fulfill the wishes for the grand New World."
"H-How can I do that? The New World has been destroyed! Everyone is dead now!"
Xanadu stepped toward one of the dark bodies that laid on the ground, knowing the dark figure was deceased. He bent down and reached inside the dark body and retrieved a ball of light from the inside of it. He held it in his hand softly as he turned toward Nova and reached it toward her.
"This is their heart. Their true heart. Everyone may have darkness hidden inside them, but their hearts are always filled with light, and that is the reason why they haven't just turned into dark monsters. The light inside their hearts keep them safe from their darkness, and it represents that everyone is good inside, even if they are the evilest of the evil, the darkest of the dark, the nastiest of the nasty. Everyone is good on the inside. Remember that, Nova. Everyone deserves a chance to escape their inner darkness, no matter what."
"A heart filled with light..." Nova muttered as she held onto the ball of light.
As she took the ball of light, or the heart, in her hand, the light from the heart drifted forward and created a portal of light right in front of them. As the portal was being formed, strong gusts of light shot at them, the waves of the light would cast very fast until it opened up. Blaze walked to them as Kryptonite sat on her lap. She looked inside the portal to see a world filled with light, probably how all the people had imagined the New World to look like.
"Where does this portal lead?" Nova asked as she looked inside the portal as well.
"This is the world of light, the world that connects everyone's souls and hearts. It was built upon by everyone's hopes and dreams, as well as their emotions. If the Humans did one thing right, it was this."
Blaze kept her gaze inside the portal, "And... What's our mission once we get inside?"
Xanadu grunted as he looked down, "Nova, you destroyed everyone's darkness once you were inside that monster... Inside here, you need to destroy their light now."
Nova gasped as she turned back to him, "Destroy their light?"
"Yes. If a Human's light and darkness are destroyed, they will have no hope or dreams that could influence the New World. If what I think has happened, once you destroy the light in there, the New World should go back to normal."
Blaze looked back at him, "And what if it doesn't?"
"I-... Don't know. But it's our only choice."
Nova sighed as she looked back at Blaze and nodded her head. Blaze nodded back at her as she climbed inside the portal and fell inside along with Kryptonite. Nova watched the two of them go in before she turned toward Xanadu and held out her hand. Xanadu looked down at her and shook his head while taking a step back.
"What's wrong?" Nova asked.
Xanadu sighed, "I'm afraid this will be the last time I traverse with you."
Nova frowned and looked surprised as she took a moment to respond, "W-Why? We can't do this without you."
"As a member of the Divergence, I've tampered with this branch too much. I'm fairly surprised an anomaly hasn't occurred. Either way, I cannot go in there anyway because I technically don't exist. I'm a being that resides between time. In other words, I'm nonexistent."
Nova looked down and sighed. She took a moment to take a deep breath before she looked up at Xanadu with a soft smile on her face, a smile that showed that she was more confident.
"I understand." She spoke softly.
Xanadu nodded his head, "I'll be watching you and helping in any way I can. Send my regards to Blaze, as well."
Nova nodded her head as she walked back to the portal and looked inside before jumping in. Xanadu watched her jump in, and as he saw her drift inside, he closed his eyes and allowed his body to shatter into thin sands as a way to teleport out of that world and into his own world, Between Time.
Nova landed on her feet, just next to Blaze and Kryptonite as they were observing the area. The world was lit up, as it was basically powered up by the people's lightness. Everything was white up until Blaze took a small step. Once her foot laid on the ground, it cast a circular wave that gave the world its color back. The grass was green again, the trees gained their brown color, the sky unleashed its beautiful blue coloring. If this was a world, it would definitely look as though it was the New World. The sight of it looked so peaceful. There were animals frolicking around the green fields, the flowers embraced the sunlight as the sun rays enhanced the flower's coloring. There were children playing around in the fields as well. But it gave Nova an eerie feeling like she was uncomfortable with how everything was looking.
Kryptonite looked up at Nova, "Hey, you feeling okay?"
"Yeah... I'm fine, I suppose." Nova answered with a quiet and grunting voice.
Blaze looked at the corner of her eye at Nova, then looked back at the beautiful view, "Don't worry, Nova. If this is world was truly made out of everyone's light, there couldn't be anything wrong with this world..."
"I'd like to think that, but there really inside any use of thinking about that."
Nova said as she began walking ahead of the two. Blaze raised an eyebrow as she watched Nova walk ahead and then looked behind them.
"Hey, Nova. Where's Xanadu?" Blaze asked, giving a slight hint of worry in her voice.
Nova stopped ahead of them, but as she spoke, she didn't even look back at them.
"Xanadu sends his regards..." Nova muttered as she proceeded forward.
Blaze sighed as she looked down, "He sent me his regards?"
"I have a feeling his time with us is over. Besides, this is our mission and not his. I would think that he would want us to succeed by ourselves."
Blaze tilted her head but after she gave that some thought she proceeded after Nova slowly, "You might be right..."
Nova, Blaze, and Kryptonite proceeded into a small town. It wasn't very populated which struck the three as odd. This world was said to house everyone's light, but there were only a select few living within the town. Regardless, the town was very detailed, and most of the people sat near an ancient looking waterfall that pouring water into the stream that lay under a wooden bridge. People sat near the stream and dangled their feet in the water, some children actually played in the water and appeared to have gotten wet from it. The three of them stood on top of the wooden bridge and looked below at the people as they were entertained by the water. But Blaze leant her arms down on the ledge of the bridge, watching with a frown on her face.
"Blaze, what are you frownin' about?" Kryptonite asked as he sat on the ledge next to her.
"This all feels so odd..." Blaze whispered.
Nova looked over at her, "How so?"
"All these people are just playing in the water, having fun..."
"Hm." Kryptonite muttered as he looked back down at the people, "They're most definitely not machines if they're playing around in that water..."
Blaze shouted as she held her hands over her face, "No, you idiot! The happiness! The smiles on their faces, the fun they're having! Why couldn't we be that happy!? Why couldn't we have a day where we could just feel happy and not fear that we'd end up dead or just fucking killing ourselves!?"
Blaze shouted as she fell to her knees and began sobbing into her hands. Nova looked down at her and sighed before looking back at the people.
"It fills my heart with envy as well, Blaze. But we have to finish this. Maybe we can't have that good life, but maybe our future selves can." Nova spoke.
"F-Future selves? Like our descendants in the New World?"
Nova nodded her head as she looked up into the blue sky, "A part of me feels like I've accepted that I'm not happy
. That I'll probably die a crappy death, and that our world would be cast into ruin. But when I accepted that, I felt better. It gave me more strength, even though I've given up. I feel like I have nothing to give up, but then I really do."
Blaze stood up again as she wiped some of her tears. She turned away from the people who were enjoying their time in the water and watched some other people walking around what appeared to be the business part of the town. There was a couple who were holding hands and kissed at one point before disappearing from her vision.
"All this emotion. The happiness, the love, the smiles, it's all a bit overbearing..." Blaze muttered as she took a deep breath and looked at both Kryptonite and Nova, "It's strange seeing all of this. Back when we were residing inside Drenawx's laboratory we read about how the Humans cast many wars upon the land. Their violent nature was what created Ruse, it was their inner darkness crying out for more power. But when I see these people, they're just... Happy. It's definitely odd..."
Nova nodded her head, "It is. But it isn't going to stay this way, Blaze. We have to find the source of this light and take it out. After that... I have no idea what will happen, so we have to be prepared." Nova explained, "But where are we going to find that?"
Verse XIX
Ciphereverie
Blaze followed Nova and Kryptonite as they tried desperately to find something odd within the world. She had to admit, everything about the world was a bit bizarre, but she knew that it was only bizarre because she wasn't used to the sight of love and happiness. She glanced up and saw that within the sunny blue skies there were these white puffy clouds. They looked like cotton balls but in irregular shapes. She tried to analyze the shapes but most of them were unrecognizable.
"What are those?" Blaze asked as she spotted and pointed up into the sky.
Nova and Kryptonite quickly turned back to her and their eyes followed directly where Blaze's finger was pointing. Nova tilted her head as she seemed surprised that she didn't even notice the clouds in the skies. Though, she did not even know what those were so she looked down at Kryptonite who was frowning.