Archive The Timeless Observer and Twin Pillars

Drackos

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GLD.AMP//MEMORY LOG//U:REED-04/KAMIYASUMI/SANCTUARY

“Mar-” Reed interrupted himself, stunned as Mara passed through the translucent barrier unharmed. For a moment they were separated, Mara’s form obscured by the chakra-less wall that sheltered whatever was deep within the forest. As he looked at her he struggled to make out her form, twisted and warped it almost appeared as if a black shroud had manifested along her body. “Mara..” he repeated, almost helplessly. He looked across his left shoulder at Talia who was equally as surprised as he was.

Their journey had been long. They left their home to go east in search of a way to defend themselves after Solomon had taught them the very basics of controlling their inner Chakra. But Chakra was not enough to defeat the monsters coming from the Hokubu indefinitely. “This isn’t how this story is supposed to go…” Reed managed hoarsely, almost dazed.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Mara commanded. Her voice was equally as distorted as her body was, coming through the barrier almost a garbled mess of contradicting tones and words.

Was it worth it?

Reed and Talia took a step forward in unison. Unlike their laser focused companion they were filled with doubt and insecurities. Their journey had been questionable at best since Tobusekai. The weapons they had stolen in exchange for Mara’s artifact made Reed question their mission. Once Talia and Reed stepped through the threshold of the barrier they huddled close, shivering beneath a canopy of trees that were obfuscated by the very barrier that kept the storm at bay. They can hear the rain pouring down but cannot feel it on their cold skin.

“Where is this?” Reed asks.

“It’s quiet now. We’ve arrived.” Mara responded, no longer able to hear the relic. She turned away from the pair and looked out into the surrounding forest. The flora here was drastically different from outside the barrier. It was tended, managed. Were there humans here after all?
 
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DRAGONKIN: PART II

Basel ran his fingertips along the side of the cold Atavistic forged steel of the swords he held. They were old, on the scale of millennia. But their nature as Atavistic weapons kept them in pristine shape despite their smith’s long absence. “Fine craftsmanship,” he mused to himself as he rested the blade atop an assortment of the same style of weapons. “Elegant,” he laughed, his left fist glowing gold, as if superheated by his own powers, as he slammed it down onto the pile of weapons to smelt them down and ruin their form. The sound of metal clanging echoed through the dark chamber deep beneath the island that hid the Sunlit Forge. Sparks danced from the blades as they bounced along the stone walls. Light clashed with the dim shadows that danced alongside him.

“And again!” He roared, slamming his fist onto the pile of weapons a second time. This time many of the swords, quickly heated by the impact of his fist, punched through the metal as they began to glow red hot. Basel was careful not to destroy the weapons. Had he wanted to do that he would have just unleashed an inferno upon them and be done with it. They were being reforged into twisted variants of the God-Slayers that Marzan now produced - made to serve the Akatsuki.

It wasn’t long before the weapons were left as a bubbling pool of splattered molten metal. Nefarian repeated the process each time with a new set of weapons, breaking them down and warping their original forms until all that was left was red molten metals haphazardly pooled before him. Periodically Basel would breathe fire on the metal to keep them warm, not being present in a forge.

Before long the pattern of Basel’s swings changed. He was no longer dismantling the God-Slayers, he was redesigning them. The molten pool of metal was now carefully being cooled on the cold stone table in the Sunlit Forge. The frequency by which he reignited it to warm and continue to shape the metal decreased. A new sword was being hammered, strengthened, and forged. Though this was no fine weapon of war or an artist’s expression of precision craftsmanship. It was a jagged tool with rough and at times rounded edges, spikes forged not with intent but haphazard slams. There was no mold by which the metal was shaped and then cooled methodically. Nonetheless the draconic Voidlord continued.

Eventually his nefarious purposes were complete. He held up the blade. Its hilt was metallic with a grip on it made for a strong hand. The crossguard was irregular, forged not from careful shaping but from Basel’s own hand gripping the molten metal and tugging on it to craft a rough design. Along with the weapon’s own intrinsic Anti-Divine properties, something it inherited with it being reforged, Basel also imbued something far more powerful; something to further push the Akatsuki along their mission. Along the edge of the blade he inscribed runes that reacted to Chakra, specifically that of the highest echelon of Tailed Beasts.

Eventually his labor came to an end bringing him to a final dreaded result: seven weapons of war forged to slay not only gods, but Bijuu. The three were swords, jagged in shape with no clear sharp edge. Its purpose was not to cut or slice but to mangle and maim. The next two were maces. Their metal handles just as much of a weapon with spikes adorned on them above the handle as the head. The last two were simple polearms, each with spiked ends similar to arrowheads.

The dragon smiled.
 
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[Yol’Daoloth] [Xar’Suthoth] [Eir’Rakath]

My children.

Reality is a fine tapestry. Only the powerful write upon it.

You have grown large, my children.


Eir’Rakath, God of War. You have grown mighty. Your Divinity now spreads over the Void like the tides, irresistible and unrelenting. Soon your bonds will set you free and you will wash over the cosmos as a tsunami. Your armies will march to the ends of infinity to witness Our rise. This I have written.

Xar’Suthoth, God of the Heavens. You have grown beautiful. Your Divinity has captivated the universe. It begs for you to be released, to encompass its infinite vastness. Soon your bonds will set you free and you will capture it in totality. This I have written.

Yol’Daoloth, God of Wisdom. You have grown wise. Your Divinity has revealed the secrets of the universe to you. My secrets. You have patiently grown. Your eyes will watch out into the grand infinity. This I have written.

But your fourth sibling - the child Enkidu. How I miss my son. My glorious son. I have Witnessed this, gazed upon it through another’s eyes. I miss him dearly.

Woman, tell me of his power. How he wounded you and cast you down into my domain.
Come rest in the glory of my wings as they wrap around infinity. I encompass Everything.


This I write.
 
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THE LETTER: PART I

Spider,

I once told you that you are my confidant. You are an honest broker of information and intelligence. And while I have no need for that, you are useful in other ways. A vehicle to enact my will indirectly; while this has never been an appealing prospect, it has been profitable. So please, continue to be an extension of my will.

I write to you to inform you of two key developments. The first is the revelations of the Outer Lands; of Kamiyasumi. It was there that the gods were felled long ago. I cannot disclose how or why, but I have seen it. The Void Tree’s roots have spread westward as they’ve clawed their way into our planet. The Sentinels, as you no doubt are already aware, have left their home in the Hokubu to follow the Void Tree’s roots. It is here that the Akatsuki and the Voidlords will make their move. Recruit the Champions of Humanity for a journey and expedition westward. The island has not seen mortal human activity for thousands of years.

Why is this? It is a complicated subject, to say the least. Thousands of years ago a god was killed on Kamiyasumi, their ‘heart’ ripped from their body and thrust on the ground. Whether this is a Divine Core is difficult to determine with certainty, I can say that the still beating Heart of the Titan has rendered reality on the island and surrounding oceans in flux. But now that the Void Tree’s roots have penetrated the land it seems to be redirecting its power, opening the way for humanity to discover an island that both exists and does not exist. A world in the ‘in between.’

The second...a much more confidential matter. I am hunting him. I will decapitate the snake.

-Solomon
 
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JOURNEY TO THE WEST

Note: the following information is considered in-character information and can be acted on globally. It is a flier posted throughout the world to those who wish to travel west.

JOURNEY TO THE WEST: AN EXPEDITION OF A LIFETIME

The Merchants of Veskal's Exchange is hiring mercenaries to venture westward across the oceans to establish a foothold on the island of Kamiyasumi, a place long lost to the world and hidden by the tides of the western oceans. Whether you seek treasure, glory, a combination of the two, or simply adventure register at your nearest marketplace to join the Expeditionary Force! As our mission progresses you will be rewarded with ample Kumi for your services! The Expedition begins in 6 days, launching from the port in the far northwestern province of Blaubaume.

Register now! Seek adventure, wealth, and glory!​
 

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Anticipation

Veskal’s Exchange, Tobusekai

“You there,” the Spider commanded, his raspy and graveled voice preparing itself to bark another command at one of his peons. “Those ores won’t move themselves.” With a heavy hand he motioned toward three large crates; one marked as a delivery to the Port of Innovus, likely stuffed with iron ore, and two others with mysterious and likely nefarious technology and tools for less-than-reputable buyers. The Spider grunted, turning back to his ledger.

The laborer leaned over, picking up one of the crates with a pair of oversized muscular arms. “Boss, this shit is heavy,” he breathed, voice strained from the iron ore destined for the Port.

“You don’t grow operations staying sma–” the Spider’s words were suddenly interrupted as he sat in his oversized throne-like seat before his labor staff in Veskal’s Exchange. The post shuttered for a moment, almost as if something rolled beneath it. And then it began to violently shake. All around him crates smashed to the ground. His peon that carried the heavy iron ore fell, box shattering beneath him as he crumpled onto the ore.

A chorus of shouts and pleas for help echoed in the operations center. The Spider’s eyes grew panicked for but a moment until his pupils receded, realizing what had occurred. So it happened, huh? He thought to himself. The Spider sat there, stoic and unbothered, as the world crashed and shook around him. The Mage King warned him this would come to pass. Their time was at an end. “A profitable business relationship,” the Spider mused, his own gravely words drowned out by the ensuing chaos.

Tsuchi Heiho, Mainland

“Wah!” Alexandros shouted, his light feminine voice unable to cry for help above the sound of the earth trembling. He fell to the side of his bed with a loud thud, body gyrating along his stone floor as the earth violently shook. Around him his shelves and the books they carried crashed to the ground, his desk following suite. In the distance, roaring above the chaos that enveloped him and his home, he could hear the very earth split open to form a yawning chasm in the middle of Tsuchi Heiho. Cries for help were all but drowned out as it split open, some of the villagers falling in as irreparable damage was done to the Village Hidden in Sin.

The quake continued for another fifteen minutes, though it felt like an eternity. Once it subsided Alexandros crawled out from under his bed and dusted himself off. “Was..what happened?” He asked out loud to himself, still dazed. Though hearing his own words, no longer obfuscated by the roar of the quakes, was comforting and refreshing.

The pink haired doctor stumbled out of his home, coughing through a cloud of dust that was dislodged during the chaos. But once his eyes adjusted to the light of the early morning his mouth hung open. All he could see was sheer chaos.

An assortment of villagers were on their knees, tears streaming down their face as they looked down the chasm in search of their loved ones. They howled toward the sky, pleading with whatever god they kept faith with to return them. Surely they weren’t dead? How deep did the chasm go? It was a crescent scar cut along the central market of Tsuchi Heiho. But its depth was unknown; a black void that stretched to what seemed to be infinity.

Alexandros sprinted out. “I’m here! I’m here!” He cried, trying to get the attention of any wounded villagers. Across the town square at the other side of the chasm was an elderly man, no younger than seventy, trapped beneath the caved in corner of his stone rooftop. He cried out in pain as he clutched the trapped stump of his leg. Though he couldn’t feel it, the leg’s lower half was no more than paste now. “Please…” He begged, his gray-haired wife pulling at his shirt to try to dislodge him.

Alexandros kneeled next to him and realized he had left his medical supplies in his home. Somewhere in the chaos they had fallen from his shelves. Instead of running back he only did what he could to help: dislodge the man before it was too late. With all his might he wrapped the edges of his fingers at the bottom of the stone, trying to flip it on itself to free him. He struggled, face strained as beads of sweat mixed with the dust spread by the chaotic earthquake. He gripped so tightly that his fingertips began to bleed. And in that struggle there was no clarity; only a deep sense of concern for what was to come.

Enkidu…where are you? Alexandros asked, quietly hoping for his prayers to be answered.

Eanna

The earthquake shook Eanna for fifteen minutes, per human measurement. The ivory temple at its heart trembled as the quake ripped through its domain. The Igigi housed under it lay there, struggling to maintain their balance as the cosmic quake gripped the celestial temple. Pillars collapsed and celestial blue dust clouded the air. But the god stood still, stoic. His eyes were fixated on the starry skies above. “It’s him,” Anu spoke, a fresh frown scrawled upon his divine countenance.

Beside him stood Enkidu, cloaked in his typical simple garb. Was it fear? Anticipation built at the base of his spine, if a god formed of Void had similar human anatomy. “Was it always certain?” He asked, turning toward Anu with a similarly calm and stoic expression.

“There were opportunities to change the course of history, though it had always been written in the stars,” he began, feeling the last of the tremors pulsate through the temple. ”Had Athos not have been slain then Phetra would have far less cause to bait the Champions of Humanity into her domain. When Isabella Uchiha’s heart was crushed by Nefarian, had Madara not asked for her to be returned to life…perhaps He would not be shaped in the way he has been. His sight would be far more limited than it is now. Worse yet, had Isabella not battled him alone maybe he could have been stopped before the Prismatic Plague was mutated, causing the deaths of millions. It would have preserved the Domain of Condition and the Soul, buying us much needed time. Or had Lucifer, driven by self righteousness and vengeance, not followed his baser instincts then perhaps the Domain of Desire too would be preserved. There were moments where destiny could have been altered…but here we are now Enkidu - at the precipice of oblivion.” Anu’s frown deepened as he turned to his younger, yet more powerful, distant sibling.

”I am no leader. When it comes for humanity I will be their weapon. It’s what I’ve prepared for all this time.”

”You will strike at your own father if you must? Your own siblings?” Anu asked, probing the Chains of Heaven for any final doubts before he would depart.

”He’s no father. He didn’t pull me from the Hokubu, he didn’t raise me to love humanity. I was born to be a weapon for Him and to rule a broken world in his place.” Enkidu clenched his pale fist, showing nothing but resolve in his purple eyes.

”Soon there will be no place left to hide. Even I won’t be able to hide from the Chaos Tide. Examination of the Void is like looking at a snowflake; the very act of examination changes the result. Peering into its future is nothing like looking into the future of our own reality. One is set and ordered. Sure, there are slight deviations. We cannot read or know the machinations of the Twin Fates. But the Void…that is something else entirely. But I do know this: when all is said and done, we will meet again Enkidu. Perhaps on the battlefield or when all is said and done.” Anu paused, an expression of sadness, for an extremely brief moment, was written across his face.

”What will happen? Is this the beginning of a new dawn, as Imeroth predicts?” Enkidu’s question was somewhat rhetorical. The past year he had spent in Eanna taught him one thing: that the capability to see the future did not mean one understood it. A comforting thought knowing despite being the opposite side of the same coin, he was nothing like him.

Anu sighed, ”No,” he replied. ”What he has heralded into this world is not a dawn. It is the sunset.”

Enkidu nodded and, in a flash of bright light, was vanished.
 

Drackos

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COSMOS

But the visage that Madara had seen two years ago was not Tiamat; it was a corrupted and warped embodiment of the Goddess of Life that had been manipulated by Abzu. What he had seen - no - what the world had seen was Abzu’s greatest deception: it was a union. He was synonymous with the Goddess of Life, just as She was Him. And so what Madara pulled from the Void was not Tiamat herself, but Abzu. The Primordial God of the Freshwater Sea was free.

A crack of light disrupted the eternal darkness of the Void. Eight eyes peered upward to look toward its source. It began to slither upward, swimming toward the metaphysical freshwater sea as it dashed toward freedom. Like water rushing from an opening in a tightly filled container; it obeyed its natural impulses, an instinct for deliverance. And yet that serpent was the Void itself, bringing with it the very essence that comprised existence and the cosmos. It is impossible to say, in that very moment, where the depths of the Trench of Engur crossed into Voidspace. The transition was both instant and eternally long; a paradox in itself. But there could be no questioning it now. The serpent was free.

Understanding the being that is Abzu is an undertaking in ontology and epistemology. His origins are obscured to a point where even the Prime Divinities, Marduk, Nergal, Inanna, and Enlil, have limited knowledge of his existence and meaning. What is certain is that Abzu simply IS; he is both an individual and a rule. He is the Cosmos but is also a Primordial God. He is Everything and also One.

As soon as the serpent crossed that threshold it began to shift its form in the chilled waters of the Trench. Its body warped in a mystical display of purple and blue energies that swirled around it, coalescing energy and collapsing light. What formed was nothing short of unnerving: a hairless humanoid with porcelain, but muscular, skin and clawed extremities. Two beady purple eyes snapped open underwater, the freshwater rushing over them as if they were themselves hydrophobic. A pair of glorious wings formed into existence as he neared the surface. Above the skies darkened as purple clouds formed across the heavens. The world held its breath in anticipation.

The Divine Genealogy of our reality can be traced through history; the youngest, the second tier, Divinities are the children of the Primes. They are beings like Nannar, Nabu, and Utu, among others. Their parents are the Prime Divinities: the great Marduk, Enlil, Inanna, and Nergal. The Prime Divinities were born from Tiamat, the Primordial Goddess of Life and the Saltwater Sea. But Tiamat was no singular being; she was created from the Void. If the Cosmos is the cloth, then Tiamat was cloth cut from it. She was the Void’s attempt to understand itself. The first consciousness, the first life, the first ‘being.’ Under normal circumstances the Void sleeps in stasis. But in exigent circumstances it can awaken, giving rise to the Primordial God of the Chaos Tide, Abzu: the embodiment of the Cosmos.

Abzu’s rise was everything that Tiamat’s emergence was not. There was no dramatic explosion or mythical draconic beast. He simply was. The serpent that had rushed toward the surface had dematerialized, reappearing above the surface of the water as its feet gently suspended themselves above it. No words were spoken. It merely gazed toward the now darkened purple sky.

To fight Abzu is to fight the tides. The scale of his might and power is as incalculable as the stars that illuminate the heavens and the space that stretches the Cosmos. He wields the primeval and purest form of the Cosmic Abyssal Eyes; a glare that, behind it, conceals the truth of the cosmos and all existence.

Madara’s body would undergo no considerable strain or intense pain. No betrayal or paralyzing wound that rendered him helpless. Ontological Qualia: Twin Pillars of Existence was none of that; it simply applied his considerable power as the Juubi’s Jinchuuriki to impress his own subjective will upon objective reality. In this case, to bring Abzu to the world as it is. No power was stolen. No life was lost. Abzu’s wings flexed outward and revealed an array of beautiful purple and black feathers underneath them as he tilted his head downward from the sky. His eyes looked toward Imeroth and Madara though it would almost feel as if he was peering through them, looking toward the horizon and the coastline of Kamiyasumi.

He goes by many names: the Timeless One, the King of Confluence, the First and Final Shape, the Harrowed God, the Destroyer of Possibilities, Primordial Entity, Primordial God of the Cosmos, and the Singularity. If the Prime Divinities were weavers that wrote upon the tapestry, then Abzu is the canvas they wrote upon.

Imeroth would express confusion, brow furrowed. This was not the Primordial Goddess of Life; the beautiful and majestic Tiamat. Has the ritual gone wrong? Has Madara betrayed him? Perhaps he pulled something else from the Void. Imeroth’s gaze shifted between the two, attempting to analyze the unanalyzable. ”Madara…” He began, words slow and drawn out as suddenly time around the pair warped and bent at the presence of Abzu; as if the planet itself, no reality, was crying out in pain as the immeasurable entity stretched its wings and embraced its physical existence. Imeroth and Madara would be paralyzed before him for a moment. But they were not bound physically, but temporally. Abzu’s gaze was now sternly locked on each of them, deep amethysts peering into their existences as if unraveling a riddle.

Whatever the former Priest of Marduk had intended, this was far removed from the plan he had hatched eight thousand years ago. But it had never been his plan; the being known as Abzu, while the embodiment of the Cosmos, is also our reflection staring back at us in murky waters. It was cyclical: he had been reborn of the gods’ and humanity’s sins.
 
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