"So when entropy consumed everything, the Monobeacon and the Key were the only things left, drawn together by gravity, finally colliding and initiating the next cycle. Just as you survived inside the Monobeacon, Vestos survived inside the key artifact."
"Exactly, but with one exception."
"The Monobeacon cannot be escaped, but the Key artifact has a different story. Am I right?"
"That you understand from the story your friend Razmos told you."
"Not entirely. How does it all explain pieces of the key artifact others found? Razor, or even that Trebekh soldier?"
"Those artifacts seed power to those who come in contact with it, magnitude depends on the receiver…"
"…Razor was a strong one. He survived the galactic blast, but when they tried to extract the artifact from his core, they released the demon. Vestos spread like a dark cloud and destroyed the civilization, but the killing spree was short-lived because Razor was not the prime, nor was the Trebekh soldier. You are…"
"…artifact lives in your genes. Your subconscious is connected to that subspace. The void. He's trying to escape, use you as a vessel to come into this universe."
"So the genie went back into the bottle because Razor wasn't a prime?"
"Precisely. Only the prime can truly unleash him. There is no physical Prime Key. It is created when a piece of the key artifact combines with the prime."
"But how can I be the prime? Razor was far more powerful than me."
"That is because you fight your powers. You have no idea of the potential, the darkness that resides within you, or the things it can accomplish."
"Hyperxeno takes over my conscious control. So that's darkness prevailing, Vestos peeking out its head?"
"The void has them, the souls of all those who once possessed the artifact. Inside, they constantly fight and consume each other. The swarm it creates mimic the same behavior, physical echoes of the darkness."
"So, in the void of the artifact, Vestos is the champion of darkness who wants to… eat me and come alive?"
"Precisely."
"My visions, during the stasis..."
"The universe has been trying to warn you about your him... about the swarm."
"And when I touched the first Monolith on Kaal…"
"I immediately became aware of you. I tried to reach you, but through you came the dark whispers of Vestos. He communited with us, tried to break out, but your friends took you away and severed the connection."
Eve remembered that day, Virex's dying words reverberating in her ear, '… you will see the truth… you are one of us… a monster…'
"Thanks to the aesthetic engineering of Dr. Kyle, the intuitive refinement of machine code by Synthia, and your grit... you are not an easy one to dominate."
Eve walked back and forth as the room quietened. He stood silently.
"Alright, we got that part of the story covered. So... I've got friends stuck up there. The alliance I serve is trying to get rid of the not-fully-unleashed-swarm, and I was wondering… could you let go of Carlista?"
"She can't be separated from the Maze. She is the Maze. Infinite power from the Monobeacon is constantly channeled to her. If left unchecked, the entire universe would become her Maze, and we would become her toys. Don't worry about her. Primetheans take care of her well, make sure she's not... too alone."
"Those in the other dimension. Carlista spoke of humans from the previous cycle."
"Advanced human and non-human civilizations, those who found us, those who choose to go on rather than disappear with their universe. This is why we call it the Sanctum. It is arc."
"The other monoliths. They weren't just clustered in the Dark Galaxy, they were attracted to the Monobeacon. That part I figured out. But what's the connection?"
"Those monoliths appear when the Prime Key nears the Monobeacon. They appeared when you first arrived in the Dark Galaxy. You helped create them. They signal that the universe might end differently—the non-entropy version."
"Non-entropy version?"
"Vestos dominates the prime. As a last resort, the prime volunteers to be absorbed by the Monobeacon instead of Vestos. See the universe to the safe end. Prevent the swarm."
"You are talking about euthanasia for the whole universe," Eve's eyes widened, "And you mean it has happened many times before?"
"Yes. The other option is for prime to transcend and become a Primethean. The key artifact finds another vessel, another immortal to serve as the prime and that prime eventually decides his own fate."
"Is there another option?"
"The prime leaves the maze, either defeats Vestos and wins or gets defeated and curses the universe to the dark fate."
"And all of these primes have taken all these roads. Vestos lives. So it never happened?"
"Once in a million cycle, those who defeated Vestos, became Vestos. Darkness is attractive, the power to control the swarm. The rage that lives in the void's hell, it is all too much to contain."
A million cycles? Eve's head began to spin. How old was the Sanctum?
"The Monobeacon isn't meant to be tempered with. Is that why the Sanctum is hidden?"
"Novel civilizations at their peak have sought Monobeacon's powers and ended their universe prematurely. Greed prevailed every time, so we decided to hid it."
"Who decided?"
"We, the Primetheans. Those who chose to merge far enough, transcend, and evolve. Peek deep enough into Monobeacon's layers and its myth. We are not a species or identity. We are colossal beings, conscious at its most supreme."
"You created an entire galaxy just to isolate yourselves?"
"We only choose unreachable and the most unfortunate corners of the universe. The Dark Galaxy was already a graveyard. Its inhabitants already had a poor reputation."
"So you dumped this place with all these creatures and turned it into a hellhole?"
"We did not. Its inhabitants did. Explorers, pirates, relic hunters, passersby… raiders of the arc, as we call them. They discovered the Maze, sought its treasures, and destroyed themselves in the process, creating the chaos you see now…"
"…the abominations, the mutants of the Dark Galaxy are nothing but the swarm in its nascent stages. That's how it spreads…"
"…The monoliths are not meant to be tempered with. Using their powers comes with a cost. The more you play with their powers, the more the swarm grows in number, insanity, and rage…"
"…the dark galaxy became a hellscape, but it favored us. No one could reach the Maze afterwards. So we whispered to those we could. Make sure, it remains this way…"
"You struck a deal with the Thelarians and other shadow organizations. In exchange for tech."
"The other option was to let the raiders steal secrets of the Maze, creating countless dark galaxies, prematurely ending universes, as has happened before."
"You said you were bound by the Monobeacon—you were supposed to be observers."
"I said we could only whisper."
"And The Threat?"
"They came to us before the Dark Galaxy was ravaged, before the Earth was destroyed. The first to discover the Sanctum. A ship of multispecie colonists looking to seed life to a new planet. Mostly scientists. They studied maze for decades. We eventually let them approach us. Of all the technologies the Maze could offer them, of all the powers, they chose time travel. Discovery of the Maze reshaped their understanding and purpose. They became something else."
"Something else?"
"Time cops. Their sole purpose is police time travel. They do not take lightly those who interfere with agendas, even Thelarians tread carefully when they are involved. Outside the Maze, they are sole protectors of the Monobeacon."
"Who protected the Monobeacon before you created the Sanctum?"
"I do not know."
"Why do they target the alliance?"
"Not just the alliance, anyone who interferes with time travel. Their citadel is hidden in the Dark Galaxy's center, camouflaged but their scouts are all over the universe. I cannot reveal more information since it might affect the time line. To resolve the mystery, you'll have to go to them."
"How?"
"You are Eve Andromeda. You are a prime. You discovered the Sactum. You'll figure it out if that's what you want."
"I only came all this way to destroy that monolith, only to find out the mother of holy grail can't be undone."
"The quickest way to all the answers is to merge with it and go beyond."
"And snap the universe out of existence? No thanks. I'm not touching that thing."
"Then join us, transcend and become a Primethean."
"If that was my purpose, the Sanctum wouldn't be hidden, would it?"
"As I've said, one way or another, the key always finds its way to the Monobeacon. You are here, aren't you?"
"I'm here because… a little girl let me through. For all I know, I thought no one could read my mind. I just saw my entire life flash before my eyes… the story of countless universes… all inside a room that doesn't exist. Primethean. I think I'll take my leave now."
"Eve, you are here because you have been here before—in different forms and stories. You make the same choice. That is why the universe keeps returning to you."
"All those primes are in one way or another, experiencing the same story I'm living now. That's obvious." Her voice felt disinterested. All she wanted was to get back to the Soul Drifter, back to her friends. She was done here.
"Not all primes. Just one. An AI and a woman. You have existed in at least one cycle every few thousand universes."
Eve struggled to comprehend. "You are saying… I'm a repeating pattern in these universal cycles?"
"Yes, an anomaly. The only one. You always try to destroy him instead of containing him. And it never works. And here again, this is your chance to break from the pattern."
Eve's mind spun. She felt nauseated. "And you're telling me this only now?"
"In some cycles, we never reveal it, to see if it would end differently. But whether we tell you or not, you follow the same path, same fate."
"Why tell me this time? Why now?"
He was quiet. Then he spoke: "Perhaps hope. That thing you call humanity. Perhaps it resides in us all, in different forms. Perhaps a connection Primetheans have forged with you after witnessing your advent countless times. An endearment developed after watching the same person reborn again and again, her story unchanged. We don't know what to do with you, what you are and why you keep happening."
Tears fell from her eyes.
"Carlista was programmed in your image. Like a placeholder. Look closely, and you'll see the resemblance. We think the Monobeacon created her so that someday, you'll understand. Your desire to free her may also help yourself."
So unreal. So true. Carlista trapped in a smaller box in the Maze; Eve trapped in infinity, a repeating pattern. Carlista never grows because she makes the same choice, ending right where she started—as a newborn hour.
For Eve, that single hour meant thousands of universal births.
"But you said you programmed her. You deliberately refreshed her existence, her memories. She doesn't have a choice."
"You are her choice. Each cycle, when you enter this chamber, we copy your genes, your thoughts, your consciousness to her program. She is essentially your virtual clone."
"You said you never let her grow because you feared what she might become."
"If we let her mind evolve beyond that hour, she would eventually realize she is you. You can imagine the consequences. You know how powerful she is."
"Eve, we think when you'll finally break free from the pattern, Carlista will break free from her childhood, the universe will become her maze, but instead of destroying it, she'll know what to do with it in the infinite. She'll become voice of the monobeacon, and the truth of the monobeacon will finally be revealed."
All the times Mother Cetra had told her of her greater purpose, Eve never imagined it could be this. Her heart sank at the enormity of the revelation.
Suddenly, she thought of Jax, Vayne, Kinze, and her team trapped above. She pressed her lips, wiped her tears. "Alright. I'm ready to leave."
He was silent for a moment.
"If you wish, you can remain in this simulation as long as you like."
"I'm alright. Just show me the way."
"Very well." Three doors appeared in the room.
"The door in front leads to your transcendence. Your existence becomes part of the Maze; you become a Primethean. The Prime Key will be separated from you and merged with the Monobeacon at the end of entropy. Vestos will be contained."
"The door to your left leads to the Monobeacon. You touch it. End of story."
"The door to your right leads back to the surface of the Maze, where you can return to your friends and act freely as you wish."
"Will we meet again?"
"Not in this cycle."
She reached the right door and turned. "I have to try."
"Know this: you have a bigger family waiting for you here, whenever you are ready to transcend."
She smiled and disappeared through the door.