Book 10 - Chapter 16: Ice Demons-edited

Ch 16 Ice Demons

The president and CEO of the largest mega-corporation was not recognizable wearing this full armor. In this galaxy, so far from M-0, SII meant nothing and Rex Schwartz was unknown. His alter ego, however, Invictus Rex was remembered. Even though his reign had ended billions of years ago. The legend of the First Empire and its god-like leader was still told, not that the surviving stories had anything to do with what happened.

One of these legends claimed that survivors of the terrible conflict between the Loyal Imperials and the forces united under the lead of Imperia Regina arrived here, colonized this world and eventually became the Avondurs. Now that Rex had full access to all the memories of his alter ego, he knew this was partially true. The woman claiming to be his daughter was a fraud, as he never sired a daughter and never designated anyone to be his successor.

The sphere of survivors did arrive here, but Avondur was not void of sentient life.

Rex sat brooding in his restored throne. As an immortal he had developed a sense for things that were not accessible to mortals, and now since he had merged with the consciousness of a true entity he too had felt the disturbing pulses of  Cosmic Power that rippled the Omni Ether. The first one, reached his mind while he was still in the M-0 Galaxy and very recently, a second cosmic pulse of utter darkness disturbed his truly evil foundation.

The first pulse proclaimed to all creation that the JUDGE was one with the Dark One. This trans cosmic proclamation was not made by a voice or uttered in words anyone could understand, yet all who were sensitive to these matters, instantly knew who the JUDGE was and that this was indeed the age and universe where the Dark One was to resurrect. The second was even more disturbing, the Dark One reclaimed his dominion over the Antiforce of life… The Antiforce of Existence.

The ultimate power of judgment and the final answer to life had been given to one entity, one source.

Until now he was convinced that he was the most suitable contender of this condition, second perhaps only to the One behind it all. He conceded to the fact that everyone claiming to have a stake in gaining this power had come to Avondur.

Netherworld lords, entities existing long before this reality came to be and a dozen more he knew little about. He was all that much concerned about these others.

He was the sum of Rex Schwartz; the most ruthless Terran Human ever to exist; and a being that used the title Invictus Rex.

Invictus Rex once was a mage of a long-gone precursor universe. While there was that belief held by a handful of Cosmic Elders, that he was a follower of Sateer, and belonged to that ill-fated brotherhood. He never associated with the High Father of the Brotherhood, also known as Saeth.

Unseen by anyone, as his face was now hidden beneath the fear-inducing mask helmet of his armor, a cold grin curled his lips. Saeth was fading away in a desolate and otherwise dark and empty plane. Sitting imprisoned in the Stronghold of the Fallen. The Brotherhood wiped out and destroyed.

His hidden smile did not last long, as his mind remembered his own origin.

When the Dark One was defeated by Crea and her Alliance, the first of all Universes was destroyed and new realities took its place. In one of these realities. The now unbound consciousness of SATA, the original personification of Evil, the opposite of Good took form in a being known as Nefarious.

In this early realm of reality, a world brought forth a species of humans and one of its sons, an exiled prince accused of the most heinous crimes with the name of  Krohatar, found the hidden dwelling of Nefarious and was accepted as an apprentice and introduced to the ways of Evil incarnate. His master granted him immortality and showed him the way onto the Plane of Eternity.

There Krohatar, learned about the fate and the prophesized return of the Dark One. There on the Plane of Eternity, he escaped the destruction of his universe.

The Voice of the RULE approached him at the dawn of this, the Prime Universe to become an Elder of the Universe, to observe and assure the resurrection of the Dark One.

After receiving call and powers, he rejected or rebelled against the Rule as he wanted to become the vessel of the reincarnation of the Dark One.

Entering the new Universe in a new body, he observed an Nnnth. Rejected by its kind to join the new amalgam of Nnnth and the Arth, creating and rising an Empire of unparalleled size.

Krohatar, slew that Nnnth and replaced the Emperor. Now known as Invictus Rex he conquered and destroyed millions of civilizations in order to find the 12 tokens and to prevent any other society to bring forth a suitable vessel for the Dark One, other than himself.

At the height of that First Empire he realized that all his efforts to find the tokens were fruitless and he no longer had access to the Plane of Eternity, he decided to go the same path as the Narth and ascend to a higher level of existence. Using a then expanded consciousness to seek and find the Tokens.

However his efforts were flawed and instead of emerging as a higher entity, he exiled himself in a death-like sleep.

When Rex Schwartz relocated the headquarters of SII to the planet Onyx, excavations for the foundations of the SII Needle uncovered Invictus Tomb.

When it was shown to Rex Schwartz, its kindred spirit stirred the sleeping Invictus, and after a short time, the two became one and Invictus existed again.

The gigantic business empire embedded deep in a mega society known as the Union was the perfect seed of secretly growing Empire.

The metaphysical aspects of the Omniverse, guarded and predicted by the mysterious Urd,  appeared to had a hand in him meeting Shea, the daughter of Luc.

Proth was the leader of the Black Hoods, silently remained sitting on his chair, while his declared lord and master were deep in thought.

While Rex was thinking about all this, a third pulse disturbed the fabric of the Omni-Verse. Rex instantly knew that the force he wanted to secure for himself, was restored. What all these entities including himself had assumed did not happen. The essence of the Dark One did no longer need a vessel to resurrect, the Dark God had found its shell.

No one would inherit or become the new embodiment of this Force Cosmic, the Dark One had come into his own.

All those who had planned, schemed and endured countless eons, instantly became aware that it was all for naught.

The reason for Cosmic Elders to exist had ended, there was only one aspect left. One token of power to be reunited.

The part of Rex, that expected to become the new Dark One felt cheated and Rex screamed in utter agony of defeated agony. This tremendous outcry swept Proth of his seat and made the strong walls and floors shake as if subject to a strong earthquake.

--“”—

Rex was not the only one feeling the same way. Crimsor and his master Sata also knew their quest to become the Dark One had failed. They all became instantly aware that they had wasted all their existence on a false path.

Lumis was not spared. He too felt the reunification of the Dark One’s essence with his true shell. However, he did not seek to become the Dark One, his task appointed by Crea herself was to defeat the Dark One. Slay him again and this time slay him for good.

He had failed to do so, while that foulest of entities was still in a mortal shell and far from complete. Now the mortal shell had been dropped and this Dark God dwelled once again in his true shell and body. No power, no force not all the weapons of the Universe able to slay him.

Except for the WEAPON.

Crea, the goddess who instilled him with promises of power and hope had fled. She was no longer with him, that connection he shared with her suddenly felt vacant. The very last he felt was her fear. The fear of a goddess knowing the time of Judgement had drawn near was unlike any fear and horror any thinking being could imagine.

Lumis dropped to his knees, in utter despair. Only a few of his Knights had remained and those who still stood on his side distanced themselves as fast as they could from him. For there was no doubt, before the Dark One would carry his vengeance to Crea, he would come to him.

In all his agony he suddenly knew, without doubt, the Dark One had arrived on Avondur.

He knelt in the dust not far from where the forces of the Tomradi and the representatives of the Seven Circles had gathered.

The Red Knight approached him, and with him was Sata, the high lord of Netherworlds, the one who conspired with Crea and betrayed the Dark One. He too experienced fear as he knew he too was to face the Dark One.

Sata spoke. ”Lord Lumis, you are still the champion and the chosen one. The Dark One is yet not complete and the WEAPON can slay him, I am certain.”

Lumis spread his arms. ”How can I be that champion when Crea has left me and I do not know where the WEAPON is?”

“The WEAPON has arrived on Avondur, she is the daughter of Angela. Angela was spawned by us to steal the WEAPON. She was successful and had eluded us and foiled all attempts of ours to find her daughter.

That daughter is here, and whatever she is or was, is of no significance. She carries my seed and must obey, I will command her to give control over the WEAPON to you.”

--“”—

The winged creature expelled another blast of icy breath. Even though I was able to evade this second blast and my angry shout at that flying monster regarding my Nilfeheim nature. I could feel the deep freezing effect, as it covered more ground with bluish ice.

The branch I had gathered was of satisfying length and had a good weight, but I was too far from the thing to even hit its feet.

I hated to run, but run I did. I dashed as fast as I could between those alien trees, tried to ignore the sharp rocks and stinging thorns that penetrated my bare feet.

Why did it always have to be me, running naked from someone or something that wanted to do me harm?

While I ran, I turned my head and sure enough that flying ice demon thing was following me.

However the trees provided obstacles to that creep, and he could not fly as fast as it most likely could. I hoped there weren’t more of them.

It was not long enough in my recent past to forget, the time when I ran bare feet across the cracked Duro-Crete surface of a Sin 4 spaceport, littered with wrecks and garbage, pursued by bounty hunters and similar scum. Back then, I at least had my good old .45. I wished I could send a few slugs towards that winged Ice demon.

Not that this was the only time I had to run for my life, with nothing in terms of clothing. My adventures on Jarsumat abducted not knowing where I was, stripped of everything I owned. Back then it was blisters, now it was sharp rocks and thorns. “Brother if you can hear me if you still feel my thoughts. I give a hoot what kind of Dark God you are. I am going to shove that ax so far up your arse, you feel it in your throat.”

An ice blast hit a tree to my left and shattered like glass as the flying demon hit it with his mob-like stick.

The next blast would certainly hit me, but I had reached the banks of the river. I prayed to Odin that it was water and lunging forward like a diving Rock Shark I jumped hands and head first.

It was water, cold water but not even as cold as I liked to keep the pool aboard my ship. I had almost forgotten about my gills, as I made the conscious act of not breathing through my mouth and nose, and opened my gills instead. In all my misery, not knowing where I was, feeling abandoned and betrayed by an entity that claimed to be my brother, I could not ignore that primeval feeling of joy and freedom I always got when I found myself in the environment I somehow always thought of my real home. I swam as fast as I could, deeper and closed my eyes.

That similar almost forgotten ability of mine, kicked in. Just as when I dove with Tyr, deep below the oceans of Nilfeheim, well past the depths where light had any meaning. I sensed local life forms, fish-like creatures. None of a size or numbers that concerned me.

I now also sensed that flying thing hovering close over the water surface, to my surprise it appeared to be a creature of artificial origin.

The river right here near the shore was not deep, I went into a crouching position… Now the sensible thing to do would have been to swim as fast and as long as I could, away from whatever it was that was hunting me, but my old Viking rage and my anger took over as usual and prevented me from doing the sensible thing.

I uncoiled like a spring and catapulted myself as fast as I could upwards, right underneath that flyboy.

Breaching the surface like a Tyranno. I broke the surface grabbed one of the Ice Demons legs. Gravitation and my weight did the rest.

The thing was too close to the water’s surface to react in time and perhaps compensate for my weight.

My pursuer was pulled below the water surface.

Underwater fighting was something I knew well, and I stabbed the end of the wood branch I still held with all the force I could muster and like a harpoon right into the ugly face of the thrashing and utterly confused thing.

The wooden branch broke, but not without leaving a sizeable part sticking in its maw. A darkish liquid clouded the water around its head, yet it wasn’t dead. Confused and blinded it kept thrashing. It swung that mop like thing in a wide arch.

Everyone knowing about underwater fighting knew that swings were slow and ineffective. I easily avoided and managed to wrestle the stick out of its right claw, stabbing the bluish glowing end into its stomach.

Crackling sparks of some kind of energies did what the branch failed to do. It killed whatever it was I was fighting.

My senses verified that the thing was no longer moving and sinking like a rock towards the ground where it kept tumbling swept further by the steady current of the river.

Yet I was unable to relax or catch my bearings. Just as I surfaced and about to wade towards the shore. Two more of these flying demons came with swift flaps of their wings. Glowing mob sticks extended like lances.

The situation escalated quickly, before I could dive back, a bright weapon beam hit the left Ice demon, while a woman with wings dive-bombed the other, brandishing a sword with both hands and severing the head clear off the demon's shoulders, sending the thing in a shower of sparks  crashing into the thorny brush that covered some of the river’s bank.

I was without cover and wanted to dive, better safe than sorry.

The sword-swinging flying woman wore a cowl like hood, a mask that covered the upper half of her face. She had enormous wings, she used in skillful flaps to hover over the water. She was joined by a near-identical looking woman, armed with what looked like an energy weapon of sorts, most likely the thing that emitted the fiery beam.

The woman with the sword called in a strangely familiar language. It wasn’t Union, but it was a language I heard before, it was Seenian. I understood some of it and it sounded like. ”You, no run.”

Without the aid of a Wrist Com and a translation app. I tried to remember enough from what Cateria thought us, during our quest for the Seenian depot.

“Are you friend or foe?”

That caused open amazement in both the flying women. ”You speak old Seenian.”

The other addressed me in an old  Union standard more akin to the way the Mini Terrans spoke, a fact that surprised me.

“Are you from Earth?”

“No, I am from Nilfeheim; but my ancestors came from Earth.”

The one with the blaster asked. “Are there more of you? Did the Tomradi capture another Ark?”

The one with the sword said. “We can talk about all these details in our retreat. Come, sister, the water is icy and you are injured.”

I waded out of the water and said. “I would not mind a fire or something, but I am short of wings. So fly slowly so I can keep up.”

The one with the sword said. “I am Beliga,  and this is Umati. We are the Righteous Angels of Sandakaar. We saw you defeat an Ice Breath Demon with your bare hands.”

Umati landed and held out her hand to help me completely out of the water. ”We have summoned a Sky-Wagon. It will be faster than walking the many miles to our place.”

Beliga now also landed in an elegant flurry of wings and steps. ”Who are you?”

“I am Captain Erica Olafson of the United Stars of the Galaxies. We are on Avondur?”

“Yes Erica, this is Avondur. Are you the shipmaster of an ark?”

--“”—

He watched the man that was now called the Captain enter the cave and step onto the dark metallic platform there and disappear in a flash of light.

He wasn’t around humans or many other beings for all that long, but he had learned there was a difference between male and female humans. Not that race or species meant much aboard that ship he now called home.

While his Union Friends called his kind the Wheeze, it was actually based on a misunderstanding. Wheeze only meant 'We' but got lost in the original faulty translation and the problem of having ring mouths that simply weren’t meant to speak Union standard. His kind was called Genolax and they were part of a biosphere of a long lost world that included the gigantic Vikarz. Like humans had different races, there were different Lax. The equally lost, all-black Pinolax, the very aggressive and violent Trilax that still existed somewhere in the Leo galaxy and the Genolax, who had been genetically altered by the Mora-6 to become maintenance and engineering organism. Designed to crawl through the Mora-6 creations and keep their creations maintained, clean and operating.

While Meeze was not very old, he lived for almost 700 standard Union years and could, if no accidents or diseases occurred reach an age of perhaps 2000 years.

While all Genolax were intelligent and eager to learn, Meeze was particularly smart and loved to learn even more than others.

All these years in the crucible with access to the technical records of a thousand species, with not much else to do, he studied and learned.

Then the Union came with the mission to destroy the Crucible. They weren’t the first ones trying to do so, but unlike the others, the Unions did not ignore the Genolax and went out of their way to save them.

The Genolax reached Union space and received membership. The misnomer somehow stuck, especially since the Genolax didn’t object. So the Genolax of Leo II became the Union Wheeze with their own planet.

A race of scavenging worms was not seen as anything special or really noteworthy, just another species of many.

His friends and family embraced their new home with great enthusiasm.

Meeze was no different, except the fact that he found real friends within a spaceship.

The crew embraced him for his personality and not for his form. Meeze and all the Genolax were quite aware of their appearance and the way other species looked down on them. No one aboard the Tigershark did.

While he did not know how things were done on other Union ships, that special bond that existed between this most diverse crew was unique, he was certain about that. They didn’t act just like soldiers or order takers. The crew was much more like a big Genolax family,  and while he would never openly admit it, he liked the captain. She went out of her way to make sure he was safe and back aboard. That meant a lot to him.

That new human that somehow became the captain and everyone accepted it, as some sort of natural cycle thing. On one hand, it was perfectly understandable to Meeze, because his kind could switch genders, usually once in a life cycle, but sometimes more. So the biological side of things was not in question, but he had learned that female humans were different in more than superficial ways. Shea, most likely one of the smartest people aboard, would act completely different to a situation than Har-Hi. Yet the CMO and the princess, as different as can be to Shea and to each other shared basic traits when confronted with a situation. The same held true for Har-Hi, Shaka, and Mao. Different as can be yet there was a common baseline.

Meeze had spent all his life observing and learning about xeno tech. Tech of many Tech-levels and from a thousand societies. Some tech incorporated more biotech. Complex systems relying on programs and routines, neuropathways and genetic encoded behavior patterns. So he noticed these differences and when Captain Erica Olafson came back from the excursion on N’Ger and presented her as Eric and male. He, at first accepted it, not in the least hearing stories and crew members talk about the fact that the captain begun existence and career as a male and only after receiving command over the Tifershark decided to become female.

To him, however, the male captain was a completely different person. He just didn’t feel right. Meeze wanted Erica back.

The scavenging worm knew that there was more to Erica. There were the rumors among the crew of course and the story of something inhuman developing inside Erica.

Meeze was around for a while and he had heard many legends and rumors. He was fully aware of beings that developed past one stage and attained a higher state. The Narth and that Yeoman were prime examples of that.

That the Narth was of a different and higher level of awareness was quite clear to Meeze, and that the human female Yeoman was in reality from another realm with a very different appearance was not a very well kept secret.

The Tigershark had more than one of these beings. There was the Non-Corp Two Three, the living dust cloud Dusty, a being that shared its existence by permanently existing halfway in this and half in another dimension.

And that there were more such entities all across the universe was certainly no surprise to him. The oldest of the Vikarz existed for many million years and remembered every moment, making that oldest of the Lax akin to a higher entity.

A whistling, hiss came from his ring mouth. ”Pffz. Meeze findz the Captain.”

Meeze wiggled on the platform and the blinding light engulfed him.