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The Darkness Field

Dairyu was grateful for many reasons. One, the confusing and potentially chaotic war was prevented. Two, many of those armies were allies to some of his new companions. And three, their leaders could see reason, and were easily convinced that they were not in their right place, though some needed some more convincing because of their continuing involvements in a war, as evident by the helicopter crew. They were partially convinced due to their reality never having any beast races of any kinds, and only needed to be reminded about it.

Pritchard was a natural talker, able to convince most leaders after shouting on a microphone to ‘stand down’. Everyone knew the ones in the middle had arguably the most advanced weaponries. The laser gunners used something from the early 22nd century and quite primitive, akin to a positron gun that discharged too much energy. It also quickly become apparent that these laser gunners came out from somewhere fantastical, akin to early 20th century science fiction movie serials, as they also refer their weapons as ‘ray guns’.

These people were easily convinced that Pritchard and the others were space travelers, but others did not. The leader of the helicopter team, sergeant Brent Rock, believed he stumbled upon a science fiction movie set, while the commander of the medieval army, Robert of Evans, had imagined them as heralds of the devil (ironically, two of the groups were hellhounds).

Other armies and groups were convinced not by Pritchard, but because they had connection with the rest. Hans and Azureath managed to convince another ‘medieval’ army that they were from the Order by showing their insignia. These people were relieved and told them that they were not the only dragon riders there. Ifrit and Anubis simply recognized their old friend Eshdar Winsel, now old with Anarim as his name, asked for a ceasefire, and explained their disappearance in the deepest layer of hell after Anarim gave them a confirmation that he was the Anarim they knew.

Even then, it wasn’t enough. They needed a little more convincing when more armies came to them, suddenly materializing out of nowhere. Luckily for them, they were less advanced than both Pritchard’s group and the other space-faring group, and it was plain massacre until many gave up, which by that point they simply vanished.

Pritchard then handled the situation, while Dairyu, his alternate counterpart, and their crews tried their best to relax, although it was difficult considering the situation. The scientists, however, seemed excited, especially Rose, who found the plants on the planet astonishing. Xsatuki, feeling he needed to do something, pulled out many portable cooking equipment from within the Wind of Change and started preparing stuffs, surprising Dairyu.

“Where the hell did you get all these stuffs?” asked Dairyu. “And where did you store it?”

“These are packable,” replied Xsatuki. “And you gave me a big allowance, so I bought these. They’re quite cheap.”

“And how do you convince the store owner with your body?”

“I don’t. They don’t mind, either, except…I hold out the line in some.”

“No shit.”

Alt. Dairyu saw Xsatuki and was surprised about it, before becoming saddened on the fact that his Xsatuki was inside his ship, unable to respond properly. He had tried to find a therapist to fix his brain, but in a galaxy still gripping with the terrors of a desperate, dying empire, it would take time.

He was, however, pre-occupied with the density of the planet’s aura, and how high the affinity of magic was on it. His counterpart did not seem to feel it, but he could not blame him. He lost most of his senses when he failed to save his Seiryu, and their fates differed since then, but in the end, they were both bitter. He wondered who was hit the most: him or he?

Alt. Dairyu was not the only one with such abilities, but he was unable to use it at present. Anubis, blinded by the sudden loss of his soul particle sensing abilities, was unable to ‘see’ the planet’s power, and at this moment, he was feeling very useless, and started to become stressed with it.

As the blind Anubis tried his best to not cause problems with his personal problems, his closest friend, Ifrit, sensed Anubis’s problem. He then approached him.

“Ani,” he called. Anubis recognized his voice and turned.

“Yeah, what is it?”

Ifrit sat beside him and embraced him, giving him a friendly hug. Anubis was taken aback with this, but he calmed down and returned the hug.

“I know you’re alarmed. We all are,” said Ifrit.

“I know, Ifrit. But, you can see. I am blind, and I cannot do anything. I’m useless.”

“C’mon now, Ani. At least you’re not risking your life.”

“I am useless, Ifrit. With my abilities, I can take someone off-guard. I can help anyone being pinned. I…I…”

He stopped.

“I understand how you want to help, but we can’t force it,” said Ifrit. “Just don’t worry about it. In fact, we’re all unable to comprehend the situation anyway. You’re not the only one distressed. Let’s calm down and let me help you. Want something to eat?”

Anubis hesitated, but he understood and nodded. Ifrit then walked with him to a nearby group where food was being served. He noticed that they were all demon hunters, but they knew him as a kind hellhound, and happily greeted him. One of them, Albreich, was his close friend. He was talking with Anarim before noticing them. He waved towards them.

“So, the trio’s back together, it seems,” said Albreich, smiling. “You know, you’ve given us a heart attack back there, jumping down into a swirling madness.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” said Ifrit. “But it’s a good thing you’re all safe.”

“Everyone’s accounted for,” said Albreich. “Now that you’re here, I suggest you explain to us everything that has transpired. We had a run-in some vicious hellhounds that’s clearly not from our hell. Our weapons cannot damage them. Fortunately, they’re just beasts, not sentient creatures like you, so they’re easy pickings.”

“You’re not on your own world,” said Anubis’s voice, but Albreich quickly realized that there was another one of them walking towards him. His eyesight was perfect, and he looked older and different somehow.

“Who are you, by any chance?” asked Albreich.

“Anubis, but not yours, and you’re not my Al,” said Anubis. “I know that much, because you’re supposed to be dead.”

“Dead? What are you…”

“You were killed along with most of the demon hunters here when we fought the Dark Ones. They were…”

“Stop right there,” interrupted the blind Anubis. “They’re alive, so it’s not going to work for them to know that it works out differently in your case.”

Anubis looked towards his counterpart, and reluctantly stand down. He sighed and said, “I guess like Dairyu Tsukasa, there’s a choice in life that makes us different. The way they branch out still amaze me to no ends.”

“And it seems you for one chose to repair those eyes,” said Anarim. “Not feeling superstitious anymore?”

“I never am,” said both Anubis. The older Anubis looked towards his younger counterpart, who continued with, “Well…a bit.”

“If that suits you. I doubt this is the last of it. We may be able to convince the other armies that we are as confused as they are, but whatever’s doing this to us won’t stop here. I’m sure of it. Also, may I talk with whoever in charge here?”

“That would be me,” said Pritchard, approaching them. “Sorry. I happen to be close. I share the confusion myself, and trust me, I know nothing more than you are.”

“Then we are fighting an unknown enemy.”

“Not unknown, beyond. We are fighting an enemy beyond our comprehension. It may sound insane, but we’re fighting a fifth dimensional being.”

Everyone looked confused, which was expected. They did not know anything about it, but they did experience weirdness in their own reality, and that was enough to justify the situation.

The uneasiness persisted for days. After the confusion, nothing seemed to attempt anything anymore. The towns and cities that were caught from different realities were also dormant, never trying to attack or make contact. It somehow did not make them feel safe. Instead, it caused more anxiety.

The only relief they could have was from their constant contact with St. Vincent and the rest of the fleet. They were the only ones who could see any progress up in the sky. Aside from exploding stars and tears forming and disappearing around them, there were no other anomalies to follow, or even more realities that could potentially be a problem. There were none at all.

A week had passed since their arrival on the planet. They had started making contact with the mix of realities apparently plucked out of their respective places and put on the planet like a piece of puzzle. A sudden difference of biome and uneven weather pattern were some of so many things that baffled everyone, including the scientists. In the end, they all agreed that it was beyond everything the Federation had ever researched, and simply declared it a new research. They did not intend on giving up their pursuit of knowledge, however impossible it looked.

Some of the towns were cooperative, while others were suspicious and hostile. Thanks to both Dairyu’s ‘persuasion’, these suspicious and hostile towns backed down due to fear, as it was clear to them that the two had a clear murder intent in their eyes when they threatened these towns. While prime Dairyu was trying to look as convincing as possible, he was backed by his alternate counterpart, a hardened fighter who would kill anyone who tried to endanger him and his crew. He essentially gave two persuasions in one.

The only place that somehow did not get the message was a small town in the middle of a wasteland, called Diamondback’s Nest. The people in it, and everybody around it, were suspicious, hostile, and would not hesitate. Even alt. Dairyu’s ‘persuasion’ did not work. Instead, he and prime Dairyu were almost gunned down if it wasn’t for their leader, a rat person who somehow understood. He talked to the two on the behalf of the wasteland region, and issued an apology, one that both Dairyus gave back.

“I am aware of the weirdness that has been going on,” said the rat person. “And we might be able to help, if we are capable. We are using junk weapons, after all.”

“I can see that,” said prime Dairyu. He noticed the rat’s spear, which had a crude mechanism of explosion that looked very volatile, but it apparently worked, despite its post-apocalyptic construct.

“It would be best if you don’t use that kind of persuasion,” said the rat calmly. “Don’t be a tough guy. You’ll end up digging your own grave.”

“I can show you a little trick to…”

“And burying someone up to their neck isn’t gonna work either. Believe me, I’ve heard so many versions of that story, one gorier than another.”

“What? No! Not that extreme,” said alt. Dairyu. “But, well…I guess I’ve lived in the gutter for too long. Just what kind of world you live in, anyway?”

The rat person smiled. “Not the best kind. But we’ll manage. Even if we’re permanently here, we’ll survive. That’s how it works.”

“Post-apocalyptic survival,” said prime Dairyu with a smile. “Far more dangerous than space frontiers. May I ask your name, by any chance?”

“Narati,” said the rat person. “Narati Vasra. I hope we meet again, under different circumstances.”

“Let’s hope we all survive first. Oh, and uh…”

Prime Dairyu pulled out a small device, which was a two-way communicator.

“Use this if you need help. Just push the button on the thing and you’ll talk to me. No tricks, understand? Be vigilant. Our problems are just starting.”

“It never is easy, huh?”

“In this case, it’s even worse. Just stay in contact if you need.”

Narati nodded and returned to the town, while both Dairyus returned to the Azure Dragon, one that had been taking them around the world. They flew back to their base, and once there, discussed it with Pritchard and the others.

Up in space, orbiting the patchwork planet, was St. Vincent and the rest of the fleet, standing by while analyzing the situation. Lunera, being a Lunarian, would not be able to get down to the planet without assistance, as the gravity on the planet was equal to the gravity of Adonis I, which was slightly higher than Terran gravity, but very high for him, who was born, raised, and essentially lived his whole life in an artificial gravity environment, which had low gravitational pull, which contributed to his unusual height for an Orient.

Most of the crew stayed on the ship, but a rotation of away teams was sent to relieve the team on the planet, with only their captain, Pritchard, staying on the planet to coordinate the team. Lunera, being first officer, was in charge of the ship.

Atho walked out of the captain’s ready room, joining Lunera on the deck. He asked for Lunera’s permission to link his mind, which the draconian accepted.

“I must say,” said Atho. “Things are quite calm around the ship.”

“A week without engagement tend to make people feel safe,” said Lunera. “Of course, we need to be ready when anything happens.”

“Like when you dump that Black Creature Host into space?”

“Something like that. I still can’t believe that the thing managed to trick all of us.”

“They evolve and adapt. Living beings tend to do that.”

“Good thing you managed to ‘open the locks’, right? I mean, that thing talked its mind, but also secretly plotting to take over the vessel. I do wish we can sense its malice beforehand.”

“I’m a telepath, not an empath,” said Atho, clicking his mandibles. “It’s all in the past, however. Let’s just concentrate on…”

A crewmember burst into the bridge, panting as if running for her life. She tried to compose herself before she walked to Lunera and said, “Sir, I think you better look at this.”

Lunera looked at the pad she was carrying, showing real-time graphs.

“Explanation, Miss…”

“Grant. It’s the energy fluctuation graph of cosmic energy. As you can see, it’s constantly fluctuating up and down on extreme ends of the graphs. Simply said, the energy was in the highest output for a while, then it just drops down to zero, which is impossible. Cosmic energy can never reach zero, not while we’re surrounded by nebulae of exploding stars.”

“No faulty equipment or computer glitch?”

“No, sir. Everything is working as it should be.” She looked around, clearly worried. “Sir, if I may…”

“Any opinions for this, miss Grant? The science division is the only way we can understand this phenomenon.”

“It may sound very insane, but…I think something’s siphoning the cosmic energy away from our vicinity…no, from our reality.”

“Can you trace where the energy went?”

Grant seemed unsure, but walked to a nearby computer and put in the program to scan it. She looked at the screen and looked surprised. She started the program again and it came out the same.

“Well?” asked Lunera.

“Sir, the energy…it is siphoned off to one of the tears. Grid 233, Z3.”

Lunera ordered someone to check the area, then look at the place she was pointing at. It was a dimensional tear, some thousands of miles from their position. There was nothing unusual on that tear, except that, unlike other tears, it emitted white light instead of a similar, yet distorted, star field. Something was on the other side of that tear, but what?

Right at that moment, tears that were regularly opening and closing abruptly closed, and the whole sector of space became dark. The nebulae vanished in a blink of an eye. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened.

“Sir! The stars…they’re all gone!” exclaimed an officer.

“Are we sucked into one of the tears?”

“No. If so, our scans will detect it.”

“Sha’kren to St. Vincent! Sha’kren to St. Vincent! Do you copy?”

Lunera walked to a nearby comm console and said, “Yes, Sha’kren. We copy.”

“This is the Culax, St. Vincent,” said Selis’s voice. “The stars are gone.”

“Yes, we can see it, too.”

“Does this have to do with the tears?” asked Kalesa.

“I suspect so. Everyone, stay alert. We don’t know what the entity’s gonna throw at us. Keep scanners at maximum, all weapons armed. Don’t hesitate and shoot anything hostile. Just…”

“Sir! Unidentified spaceship closing in fast…wait. Correction. Spaceships, sir! We’re surrounded!”

Lunera looked at the screen. Tears suddenly opened and spaceships of all sizes and models came out, clearly hostile. Their fleet did not even compare against these ships. Most of them were dreadnought class.”

“Are these ships illusions?” asked Lunera, trying to find a possibility of survival.

The officer looking at the scanner checked his equipment, but after a while, his expression was grim.

“No…sir. They are genuine ships, with their weapons online.” He gulped. “And they’re powering up. All of them.”

All the bridge crew, upon hearing that, looked towards Lunera, with a grim expression, but not outright blame. They knew the risk, and this was the risk. It was the end game for them.

Lunera, aghast, but nevertheless resigned, knowing he failed to foresee this. It was expected, but he was taken by surprise. One week was a time to be lax, after all.

He turned towards the bridge crew, and with a resigned and grim expression, he said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

At that moment, the weapons all fired towards the fleet, and they all resigned to their fate. Lunera closed his eyes, but stood firm. He would not want to go down like a coward, after all.

He just hoped he could die in a dignified manner…