Soon after Aethel retreated from his clash with Iskander, Kyra, paralyzed and lying helpless amidst the forest atop the floating rock, inquired, "What do you have in mind?" Her voice was strained, laced with pain and concern.
Aethel, lying on his back, gasped for breath. Leading was not about commanding; it was about inspiring trust. "I am asking you all to die," he replied, the words heavy with regret.
The burden of their sacrifice weighed heavily on him, but an even greater fear drove his resolve. What more was Iskander capable of? His last attack, though unseen, had bought them time, halting the immortal's pursuit. But was it enough?
"Have you lost your mind?!" Gaia exclaimed, her voice sharp with disbelief.
Aethel considered revealing his plan, but the risk of Iskander discovering it was too great. He had to keep his cards close to maintain the element of surprise. Taking a deep breath, his voice steady despite his ragged breaths, he screamed, "Die standing."
Silence descended upon the group, their eyes meeting in a shared understanding of the gravity of their situation.
Gaia broke the silence with a sigh, "I guess my luck for the day ran out!"
"You are wrong. We are still in luck," Aethel countered, his gaze fixed on the sky. "I always believed luck favored those who created the right context. This time, however, our luck lies in his vanity, his desire to prolong our suffering. We are lucky he wants to play." A grim smile touched his lips.
"You call that Luck!" Gaia shouted, her frustration evident. "Aethel or not, you're a fool!"
Aethel chuckled, his gaze still fixed on the sky. Iskander could have killed them all, yet he chose not to. This was their chance, their opportunity to exploit his arrogance and his psychopathic tendencies. He would not expect them to turn the tables on him.
"A wise one does not say what one knows, while a mad one does not know what to say," Gaia remarked, her voice laced with skepticism. "Captain, we should focus on escaping and healing you. We don't have to listen to this drunkard fool."
Aethel had already considered escape, even simulating countless scenarios with Codex-7. They could create an accelerated field, allowing Daed to decrypt the Lock and escape, but it would not solve the larger problem. Iskander would remain a threat to all Riders, a harbinger of chaos. He had to be stopped, here and now.
"Gaia, you once told me that one shall never be wise if one is afraid of insanity," Kyra interjected, her voice calm and steady. "Let's hear him out first."
"I could not contain him indefinitely," Aethel admitted, his voice heavy with the weight of their situation. "Instead, I will devise a permanent solution." He knew the risks, but the potential consequences of inaction were far greater. He owed it to his home, to his brethren, to the LastBorn, to ensure their safety.
"I sense fear in your words!" Igniss boomed, his voice laced with disapproval. "I don't recall THE Aethel being so brittle!"
"I am afraid," Aethel confessed, meeting the Dragon's gaze head-on. "Always being the overwhelming force made me forget what it feels like to be overwhelmed." He usually dispatched his enemies swiftly, but Iskander was different. "His presence fills me with dread, and I say that with pride. Because I will be the one to shatter his arrogance and end his amusement." A fierce determination burned in his eyes.
His words and his unwavering resolve resonated with the Riders. They saw the fear, but they also saw the courage and the unwavering commitment to their cause.
"I see," Kyra said, her voice filled with understanding. "And I expect you can't tell us what you are about to do, yet you still ask us to follow your lead!"
"Yes," Aethel affirmed, stepping towards Kyra.
"Are you going back in time?" Codex-7 inquired, her artificial voice tinged with curiosity. "From what I have gathered, you may possess the ability to manipulate time. You could potentially prevent this entire incident from ever happening."
"Is that it?" Gaia wondered, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
Aethel shook his head. Time travel, even with his abilities, was theoretically possible but practically unattainable. He had tried before, but it never worked. Time, he had discovered, was both relative and an absolute constant. He could manipulate its flow within his Heretic Fields, but not on a larger scale. "Even if it were possible, I couldn't tell you. Stop speculating!" He glared at Codex-7, his patience wearing thin.
"Understood," Codex-7 replied, her voice neutral.
Aethel turned to Kyra, his expression softening. "Little girl, I know what I'm asking is..."
"I know," Kyra interrupted, her eyes filled with understanding and resolve. "What do you need?"
Aethel smiled, grateful for her unwavering trust. "A Lock and Time," he stated, his voice firm. He needed time to execute his plan, and he needed a Lock to ensure Iskander could never escape.
Kyra returned his smile, comprehending his meaning. "Why so shy? You mean a Lock and a distraction." She knew they were being asked to sacrifice themselves, to serve as bait for the immortal while Aethel prepared his trap. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but they all understood its necessity.
"Wait! Are we not going to discuss the fact that we will all die without even knowing why?!" Gaia protested, her voice rising in panic. "There must be another way! This is insane!"
Igniss seemed to have made his decision. "Daed! Did you decrypt the Lock command?" Kyra asked, ignoring Gaia's pleas.
"Unfortunately not," Daed replied, his brow furrowed. "I needed more time. Honestly, it might take days, if not weeks, to decrypt it."
"Good!" Kyra declared. "The Sheriff suggested it, and now I'm ordering it. Daed, create another Lock."
"Understood," Daed responded without hesitation.
"Kyra, please!" Gaia begged, her voice breaking.
"That lunatic must be stopped, here and now. And to do that, we'll follow a fool's lead," Kyra stated, her voice calm but resolute. "Gaia, look at me! He incapacitated me, your leader, to make it easier for him to hunt you down. He used me as bait to hunt my family, and that I cannot forgive. Besides, you saw what he can do; if he escapes, chaos will follow."
"But..." Gaia gasped, tears welling up in her eyes.
"We're already dead," Kyra interrupted, her gaze steady. "And I want to die as I lived." Her eyes shone with pride and defiance.
"Your odds of survival are now zero, point zero, zero," Codex-7's voice chimed in, a stark reminder of their grim reality.
"Shut it, Codex-7!" Gaia cried, overwhelmed by the situation. After a moment of contemplation, she turned to Aethel, her voice resigned but determined. "You win. What's the plan, wise fool?"
All eyes turned to Aethel, their faces etched with a mixture of fear, resolve, and trust.
"Thank you all," Aethel nodded, his heart heavy with gratitude. "You have to keep him occupied, make him believe we're attempting a desperate, futile suicide mission." He needed time, and they were his only hope.
"We know that," Gaia replied, the others nodding in agreement.
Aethel smiled, a glimmer of hope flickering in his eyes. "CodeForger, I want you to insert Nano Machines into our bodies, to make our blood dissipate upon contact with air." It was a precaution, a way to limit the information Iskander could gather.
"I see where you're going with this," CodeForger replied. "I can even make our blood disappear completely upon death."
Aethel nodded, pleased. "I need one more thing from you," he added, his gaze shifting to Codex-7. "I want your artificial consciousness involved."
"How can Codex-7 help?" CodeForger inquired, surprised by the request.
"I want her to assist in creating the Lock," Aethel explained. With both Daed and Codex-7 contributing to the code, even if Iskander extracted Daed's memories, he wouldn't be able to decipher the Lock or disable it without hacking into Codex-7's systems, which would buy them precious time.
"You've thought this through!" Kyra exclaimed, a smile breaking through her stoic expression.
Aethel returned her smile, a sense of camaraderie and shared purpose filling the air. "I guess I did."
"CodeForger and Daed can do it," Kyra assured him. "You can count on that."
"Absolutely," Daed confirmed.
"Positive," CodeForger added, his voice filled with confidence.
The plan was set. "Gaia, I want you to lead the assault," Aethel instructed. Her quick thinking and adaptability made her the ideal candidate. She nodded in response, accepting the responsibility.
Aethel laid out the plan. Gaia and CodeForger would draw Iskander away from the pyramid, creating a diversion while Daed, under the cover of the chaos, would head to the rifts and install the Lock. Igniss would accompany Aethel.
"After the Lock is in place, adapt to the situation, make it enticing for him to hunt you. Remember, he must not leave," Aethel emphasized.
Once they were far enough from the others, Aethel turned to Igniss. "When I leave, join the others, then depart midway." This would create confusion and further distract Iskander. "Afterwards, create a condensed Shatter and wait ten minutes. Then, destroy this Plane."
Igniss's face contorted in horror. "Are you asking me to kill my captain with my hand?"
"Better you than him," Aethel stated bluntly, his voice devoid of emotion. "We are all dead men walking."
Igniss spat on the ground and grabbed Aethel by the collar, lifting him off his feet. "Screw you, PebbleBorn!" the Dragon roared. "I will not do it!"
Aethel knew he had to convince Igniss to appeal to his sense of duty and loyalty. "Then Kyra will die in vain," he stated, his voice unwavering. He then resorted to a tactic he despised, planting a vivid image in Igniss's mind, a vision of what Iskander would do to Kyra once they were all gone.
Igniss released him, his face pale with shock and revulsion. He nodded slowly, accepting his role in the plan.
"Good," Aethel said, his voice devoid of warmth. "I am now ordering you to die last."
Igniss nodded again, unable to meet Aethel's gaze. Together, they rejoined the others.
With their preparations complete and their resolve solidified, Aethel leaped towards Elysium, activating his Heretic's Rune and accelerating towards his destination. Upon arrival, he confirmed Iskander's presence atop the pyramid. He entered the Hall, appearing near the cross of rifts, his Heretic Field cloaking him from detection.
He maintained his accelerated perception, observing Daed's progress as the Masson worked on the Lock. Time seemed to stretch into eternity within his Heretic Field, each second an agonizing wait. He reviewed his plan, running simulations to keep his mind focused and to stave off the creeping boredom.
He had calculated the dimensions of the sphere, discovering its limited size compared to a typical VoidBubble. This was crucial, as it meant his plan would be effective. The space within the sphere was isolated, cut off from Exoklein and the outside world by the VoidBubble's impenetrable layer.
Before regrouping with the others, Aethel had surveyed the surrounding space, counting the visible stars and calculating the distance to the farthest one. He determined that the Sphere's edge was only five light-years away from the Plane. This knowledge was essential for what he was about to do.
When ShadowOne joined Daed, Aethel overheard their conversation, dismissing the old man's theory as irrelevant. His suspicions about Iskander's motivations had grown during his attack. The immortal wanted to protect Elysium, not just the boy. Aethel deduced that the Primordials' civilization and history were contained within this VoidBubble, explaining why no evidence of their existence could be found elsewhere. A sense of regret washed over him. What he was about to do was a crime against knowledge, a betrayal of his principles. But it was a necessary sacrifice, a means to an end.
He waited patiently, enduring the agonizing passage of time, until Daed announced the completion of the Lock. Then, Iskander and the others appeared.
Aethel remained hidden, deflecting any stray attacks with his Heretic Field. He observed the clash. He could not interfere; he had to trust his comrades and his plan.
As the others retreated, leaving Elysium in ruins, Aethel finally made his move. He expanded his Heretic Field to encompass the entire vicinity and, using Alkahest, began manipulating the surrounding particles. He converted them into AE-particles and Se-particles, the building blocks of his solution. It was an exhausting process, pushing his body and mind to their limits.
During this arduous task, something unknown entered his Heretic Field, heading towards the rifts. He could not identify it, could not control it. Panic surged through him. Was it Iskander? Had his plan been compromised? But then, as quickly as it appeared, the entity vanished in the cross of rifts.
Aethel traced Iskander's location, confirming he was still engaged in battle. Relief washed over him, but he knew he had to work faster.
His arms trembled with exhaustion, but he pressed on, finally completing the conversion. His triumph was short-lived, however, as black flames erupted from his Sigil, spreading across his chest. Mend-Flesh was useless against this now. "I want to see the sky one last time," he thought, clearing his view by dispersing the debris.
A wry smile crossed his lips. His initial assessment of Iskander had been flawed. The immortal was not just a unique lifeform; he was a force of nature. Only a greater force could stop him. With his remaining strength, Aethel decelerated the AE-particles and Se-particles, bringing them to a near standstill. Then, he directed them towards a single point above the cross of rifts and instantly reversed the deceleration, accelerating them to Ride speed.
The collision of AE-particles and Se-particles at such velocity would create an ever-expanding black hole, growing faster than any naturally occurring one. He had calculated it would take ten hours at most for this singularity to consume everything within the sphere, sending it all to oblivion. It was the only way to stop Iskander, the only solution.
The portal they used to enter the Sphere was gone, the Stream inaccessible. The Lock could not be removed, and the sphere's layer was indestructible. Iskander was trapped, his fate sealed. Deprived of access to particles, he would be unable to manifest for eons, his bare soul adrift in the void for eternity. Aethel had ensured his brethren's safety, even if it meant sacrificing himself and his friends.
As the particles collided, a massive explosion ensued, engulfing Aethel in its blinding light. "Ah! I forgot to punch him in the face once," he thought with a final, defiant smile, before being consumed by the blast.
A black hole materialized, its immense gravity instantly swallowing the rifts and everything else in its path.