Selene woke up in the middle of the 'night'. She wasn't sure why. She felt... Weird. Everything seemed hazy.
It felt as if she was floating as she pushed herself out of bed and stumbled to the door. She'd go to the kitchens and get a drink of water.
The ships lights were dimmed outside. And a soft white light from the cosmos around them shined in through a wide rectangular window on the side of the hall. Illuminating the grated floor and wall covered in pipes, vents and panels.
Selene rubbed her eyes and as she brought her hand down she saw someone.
Something.
It stood there. Dead still in the light from the window.
Over six feet tall—dressed in smooth silver armor. It's skin was brilliant white and it had dark pupil-less orange eyes. Completely hairless and lanky. Humanoid in shape. With more fingers on it's hands. And legs shaped like a goats with hooves. It's head itself was long and narrow growing wide towards the top like a saucer.
It's face had no nose or ears, but had a narrow mouth. No lips, and smiling creepily. At the end of the hall across from her.
"What the... Fuck?" she shuddered.
The things smile disappeared. Then it's voice sounded though it's mouth didn't move.
"I apologize, I assumed this expression was often used when humans greeted each other."
Selene's heart thundered in her chest. It's voice was beautiful. Deep and rich. Controlled like a professional speakers or radio show host. It had some serious eldritch alien / demon vibes. Similar to how she felt when she first met the encephalon.
Something sentient but decidedly not human.
"W-what are you? Are you Zykra?" she asked.
"I've come to warn you Selene Carrington."
Selene stumbled and caught herself on the windows frame. Then held a hand to her head.
"I feel... Weird."
The thing stepped further into the light of the window and knelt.
"I've numbed your connection to the unending legion. They can not know of our conversation. Do you understand?"
"W-what do you want from me?" Selene let out a tired breath. Pushing herself off from the wall.
"Our people have violated our own laws in order to save your species. So that you may save ours. These 'Zykra' as you call them have been waging war against us for eons... They view our ways as heretical acts against their god. And for that very same reason will not rest until humanity as you know it is purged from existence."
Selene's heart dropped. She'd had similar suspicions.
"You were right to choose humanity over them. When the unending mind has complete dominion he will consume those who've served him. He will not be satisfied until he has achieved singularity of force and will. He believes a perfect being requires mastery over all things. Over death. Over creation. Joy, love, hatred, these are no more than childish games of lesser beings in his mind."
"What are you even talking about? The Zykra leader?" she asked.
"Yes. Though they consider him a god..." he looked towards the cosmos outside the window for a moment.
"He may as well be. If it were not for my peoples rebellion against him.. Your trifling inter-species conflict should not be your primary directive Selene Carrington. We gifted your species these abilities so that you may grant an end to those whom exist without."
This was all more than she was ready for. She'd expected she would probably fight the Zykra at some point, but she had no idea how long she would live. It could've been hundreds of years from now. And she assumed this was either some wild dream, or that this guy really represented different aliens at odds with the Zykra.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
"Struggle... Rebel. Do not submit to his authority. Take the Zykra for your own and purge his will."
Selene gave him a confused look. She was scared at what all this could mean. As if she was standing at the edge of an abyss. It was impossible.
"You want some 20 year old to kill a god that's been alive for like a billion years?" she asked.
"Do not fear Selene Carrington. A millennia of victory has caused our foe to grow arrogant and complacent. Victory is possible... We will aid you in achieving it."
He held out a hand and an image formed above it. A gauntlet made up of many silver bracelets connected to each other. There was a long narrow triangle along the top of it with a complex livery etched into it. Leafy and floral in design.
"We've hidden a device of ours on the planet you seek. It will empower the humans to stand along side you against the unending tide. Gift it to one you deem trustworthy and capable."
Selene stared at it.
"-Where do I find it? What does it do?" she asked.
"We created your species for this purpose. Our technology will respond to your people, and them alone. It will call to you. While under Zykra influence, you will not be able to use it. It is a weapon. It is a shield. It is a key. There are many more like it that you will discover on your journey. I will appear then to guide you."
She let out a shaky breath. "How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you're not just using humans same as the Zykra?"
He tilted his oblong head at her. Then stood and walked towards her. She stumbled backwards. Her fugue state made her unbalanced and she tripped.
He stopped in front of her.
"Rise, Selene Carrington."
She stood uneasily and looked up at the tall silvery alien figure.
They placed a many-fingered hand on her forehead before she could respond. A jolt of electricity ran through her and her body jerked upright.
She saw Earth from a distance. She saw a giant ship made of gold and silver. It showed his people walking along the planet, discovering furry monkey people. Who approached them fearfully and curiously.
They offered them a prism held in their palms, and they touched it.
What seemed like years started to blur past as the trees and plants grew, the monkey people left, came back, left again and things changed. The sun rose and set instantly over and over. The aliens came back at some point and the slightly less furred people helped them.
They used tiny bracelets to lift stones telepathically, to build landing platforms for them, to mine gold for them as offerings. And in return they occasionally offered the prism to their leaders.
"Do you see?" he asked as the visions played out.
"Our people share an essence of creation. We are of the same tree, only different branches. The Zykra are of another kind entirely. Made for a different purpose than ours."
Her vision flashed white and when it faded it showed a black marble floating in space. Tendrils of almost-black purple energy drifted from it. Then the perspective switched to show a planet.
"We only do this because if not it would mean leaving you to his mercy. Otherwise we would leave you to your own devices, contented that you would serve your purpose without our interference."
The perspective changed to show the creatures of that planet. Serpentine creatures with beautiful smooth scales and webbed hands. It was like a tropical Caribbean with beaches and lush cliffs cropping out of the ocean. They had carved buildings out of the reef and wore beads and tribal clothing. An entire culture played out before Selene's eyes.
Then the black moon drifted into their sky.
And as soon as it did they began to convulse, and jerk their limbs in odd directions painfully. They changed before her eyes.
Becoming munlocs.
"Yours was not the first."
She heard the snapping of bone and the peeling of flesh as the change occurred before her eyes. Only a few feet from her. She heard their terrified cries and felt compelled to help them.
Selene shuddered. "Stop! Please!" she cried out. She couldn't watch anymore.
He lowered his hand and she collapsed to her knees.
She felt a cold sweat dripping from her face and soaking her shirt. She breathed hoarsely.
"Why me?" she asked, her voice mournful. "-I, we never asked for any of this! We just want to be left alone!"
"The capacity to serve this purpose exists within every human. It only happened to be your father who inherited it. Who then passed it onto you. You will learn of our sacred duty to creation, and your people will succeed us or fail trying."
She leaned forward and placed her forehead against the cold grated floor and sobbed. The dark moon he'd shown her was horrific for some reason. It terrified her on some deep primal level. It was wrong. It was evil incarnate.
The longer the image remained in her memory the more she understood that and the worse it tormented her.
"I've empowered your ability to resist his will. But it will be up to you to defy him. To inspire the other Zykra to do the same. To inspire your people to do so. Rest, and perpare. It will be some time until then. Retrieve the device. Gather allies. Expand your influence across the system. End your species petty conflict. And prepare them for the greater war. I am heartened to of met you, Selene Carrington. We could not of hoped for a better champion."
He turned and walked back towards the darkness of the far end of the hall. Outside of the light of the window. But then he stopped.
"You will find like minded allies in us. Though he calls us 'the still ones', we only appear so to him and his ilk. We are the preservers. Ours is not an easy task. It is our sacred duty to confront the depths of the deepest abyss. And steal away those we can so that they may know the light. That is our calling. Our sacrifice." he voice faded in a ghostly aethereal way as he went into the dark.
"Wait!" she called out as he disappeared.
The strange hazy feeling she had faded and she felt her connection to the Zykra returned.
She wiped her face and stood up. Way to ruin her night. There was no way she'd be able to get back to sleep now. Not after seeing that. Knowing what she knew now. Her breath was uneasy and she was worried she'd turn a corner and see another one of them standing there with prophesies of doom.
It was easier when it was a matter of keeping the Zykra from invading and beating puck.
Now she was involved in some massive multi-universe conflict between two ancient races.
Why did he have to be so fucking cryptic? Why did they need humanity when they were clearly way more advanced? And talk about a savior complex. Jesus.
She had a million and one questions for him. It. Or whatever.
Maybe he would appear again when she found that thing. The gauntlet. He did say he'd appear again to 'guide' her, whatever that meant.
Everything they said confirmed her worst fears about the Zykra. They wouldn't be satisfied with her just ruling the system on their behalf. They wouldn't be happy until ever human was changed. Like that other race was before they became munlocs.
Every Zykra variant was it's own species at some point before they were assimilated into the Zykra genome.
Whatever these preserver guys were, they were clearly willing to let bygones be bygones and let humanity exist as is. Clearly if she wanted help—they were the ones to give it. She'd have to find them. Learn more about this dark moon things weaknesses.
What was that thing anyway? The Zykra's god?
...Was it watching her now? Looking through her eyes, manipulating her like how she could her own Zykra?
She shuddered at the thought. She started heading towards the kitchens.
At least the preserver said that he increased her ability to resist that kind of thing. Maybe she could make that resistance stronger.
In any case—she had a lot more reasons to do what she planned on doing regardless. The stakes were higher. It was terrifying. More work than one person could handle in their lifetime. But she'd have to start somewhere. She couldn't just do nothing.
She got herself a drink and sat at one of the tables. The soft multi-colored light of the cosmos outside streamed in through the porthole windows next to her.
The pantry door opened up and Aboleth came out.
"I sensed you having some kind of distress. It's annoying. Can't sleep?" she asked, taking a seat across from her.
Selene shook her head.
"What's bothering you?"
"Nothing more than usual... Tell me something—if it turned out the Zykra were serving pretty much demons what would you do?" Selene asked her.
Aboleth gave her an incredulous stare for a long moment.
"...I don't work for the Zykra. I work for you. Do you work for demons?"
Selene had taken a drink of her ice water.
"I don't think so..."
"Wouldn't matter if you did to be honest. I'm physiologically compelled to do your bidding. None of the moral responsibility is on me." she smirked and propped her face on her hand.
"Maybe we could work on changing that... Do you think you would go back to serving puck if you weren't compelled to serve me?"
"No. Definitely no. That ship is sailed. Now that I know the Zykra is capable of this, and that I'm part Zykra forever... I don't know what I'd do. Maybe I'd keep doing this. Maybe go somewhere isolated and live as a hermit.. Maybe I'd join a circus. Be the 'amazing bug woman'."
Selene chuckled at that.
Aboleth looked at her appreciatively.
"You know I'm impressed." she said.
"About what?"
"Pfft, about the fact that you're here, doing this, without being compelled. There's a million other things you could be doing with powers like yours. Even before becoming a queen of the Zykra."
Selene sure didn't feel that way. None of this felt optional. But she saw what she meant. It was optional if she was willing to put her problems before other peoples. To be selfish enough to say 'Screw it. The Zykra could invade for all I care, my family would be safe.'
To some people that could be an option.
But she'd rather die than to let that happen.
Aboleth pointed at her coyly. "There's the vibe I was looking for. This 'vibe detection' thing you gave me is so annoying. Don't know how you deal with it. I'm going back to bed."
She pushed off from the table and went back towards the pantry.
Selene opened her mouth to speak but Aboleth spoke first; "Don't mention it." she said as she went inside the pantry.
She smiled a bit, it was funny having someone else use powers like her own against her. It wasn't nearly as annoying as she thought it'd be. In fact it made her feel less alone.
She got up and went back to her room. She had a weird stretchy alien in silver armor to draw.