The Second Archon War: Interlude 12

Interlude 12: Dominus Cycli

Once more, Kollei found herself running towards the body of a fallen god. This time, she had seen her mother fall, dropping from the rapidly abating storm towards the earth below like a falling star. She broke out of the Dream where she’d been watching and skidding to a stop on her knees, cradling her mother’s body in her arms. 

The Tsaritsa’s glory had faded, and now, there was only Bronya left. There was blood on her lips, and her skin was bruised and bloodied in a dozen places, her dress ripped to rags. Her sword lay in the snow beside her, and Kollei desperately drew on Dendro, feeding the energy into her mother. 

After a few moments, Bronya coughed, spitting out blood and phlegm, her eyes fluttering open, though they stared out sightlessly. “Not…that. Cryo. Must be…Cryo.”

“Y-yes! O-of course!” Kollei kicked herself mentally. Stupid! How could she be so stupid! Her mother needed the same energy she was formed of, not something alien. Hastily, she switched over to Cryo Energy, which was a bit harder for her to use, especially for healing, but could serve just as well. 

Most of the superficial wounds soon closed, but Kollei could detect massive internal injuries. Additionally, the channels of energy that usually pulsed within her mother were darkened and weak. She did what she could, but she was soon exhausted and near her limit as she poured Cryo back into her mother.

“Enough, Kollei,” Bronya coughed, reaching up with a blood-soaked hand to touch Kollei’s cheek. “Enough. Do not drain yourself.”

“But-!” Kollei began, tears filling her eyes as she clutched her mother’s hand in both of her own. “You’re so hurt!” 

“I…will not die. My injuries are great, but to an Archon…not life-threatening,” Bronya sighed, closing her eyes again. “But I am…wearied. Drained. Please. Take this. You must have it. Must keep it.”

The gnosis appeared in Bronya’s hand, and she pressed it into Kollei’s.

“No! You need this, it’s yours!” Kollei protested.

“No,” Bronya whispered. “I must…rest. For…for a while. While I sleep…you…you must guide our people, Kollei. Love them…love them…better…than I did…protect…guide…you are…my…daughter…”

Bronya fell silent, and Kollei quickly put her head to her mother’s chest. She could hear a heartbeat. Faint, weak, and terribly slow, but there.

Grunting, she picked her mother up in her arms, and staggered away from the newly arisen mountains. She had to walk for kilometers like that, drawing upon her vision to give herself strength, until she got far enough away from the interference for her radio to work. Then she sat in the snow, stroking her mother’s hair as she waited for the helicopter.

Despite all she had gone through, her mother seemed at peace. Kollei looked back at those looming mountains that stretched thousands of meters into the sky, made of ice and rock that glowed with elemental energy. Their peaks were caped with swirling clouds and raging storms, and Kollei could only shudder. They seemed to stretch forever on either side of her, here in the middle of the Ukraine. 

The helicopter arrived, and Kollei handed Bronya over to the doctors on the air ambulance, then climbed aboard with them. There was a Cryo Vision holder there to feed her mother energy, as well as a Biotinker her mother had modified. Several members of the team were in tears as they ministered to their god and queen, so Kollei felt the need to reassure them. 

“It’s alright. She defeated Barbatos and will recover. It is by her efforts that Russia is safe from the Germans and their allies,” she lied. 

The lie did at least seem to reassure the crew, and Kollei sat by her mother’s side, holding her hand during the long flight back to New Moscow. Below, a snow-covered landscape slumbered. Kollei gazed out, and what she saw was a changed land.

There were roads, and even road crews out working. The roads were well-paved, and lights were going up along them. Cities and towns were more connected, and Fatui patrols kept them safe. Towns and villages had smoke rising from fires, or new power plants burning oil or using elemental energy to keep houses warm. There were tilled fields that slumbered in the winter, but come spring, would produce a bountiful harvest to keep the Russian people fed. And the factories. Dozens of them, for making everything from boots to guns to machinery and canned goods. She could see people working good jobs that paid well.

In only a year, the Tsarista had turned a wartorn, desolate land of hopelessness into a secure stronghold of prosperity. New Moscow was a storybook city now, with wonderful architecture and clean sidewalks. There were churches with steeps with the Cryo Sigil to care for the soul, and hospitals there were staffed by Vision Holders and doctors to heal the body. This was a good place to live now. Not the radioactive hellscape Kollei had grown up in. She even waved at a few children as they approached the Ice Palace, who smiled and cheered to see a helicopter with the imperial sigil upon it. 

She closed her eyes. This wasn’t because of her Vision. But her mothers. Her dreams of peace, of cooperation, of learning…perhaps they had to die, that Russia might live. She felt a pang, a gasp of pain in her soul, and clutched at her Vision. Instead of it’s normal steady pulse of green light, it was flickering. She tucked it away.

The Harbingers were waiting for her. 

Anastasia was a frazzled mess, her eyes bloodshot, her face drawn and wan, her clothes still torn and bloodied from their battle with the Allies, and she smelled awful. Anatoly was grim, a bandage over his temple, but his clothes were freshly pressed and washed, and he stood patiently at attention. In contrast, Ivan was completely distraught, his handsome face despondent and drawn. He’d barely dragged himself back to sanity and cohesion the day before, and he was constantly running a hand through his hair and muttering to himself, his sanity obviously fraying with the Tsaritsa incapacitated. Liza did not look amused, but rather furious, her mismatched eyes narrowed with dark circles under them. She did look put together, but her scar pulsed with obvious temper. Even Riley was there, looking manic and frightened, her eyes wide and her fingernails bloody stumps from where she’d been gnawing at them. 

Looking at the Harbingers, Kollei realized they were all gazing upon her as if she were a meal, ready to be eaten. She knew Anatoly was already plotting to undermine and control her, while Liza was looking to outmaneuver her rival and gain a spot as Kollei’s right hand. Anastasia would likely try to mind control her if given the chance in a mad attempt to order an assault to get Thoma back. The Prince just looked like he wanted to fight and kill and lose himself in the carnage, and Kollei was a promising target. The one exception was Riley, who seemed to believe that Kollei offered the one moment of solace in a mad world.

“The Tsaritsa lives. This was a great victory,” Kollei declared, feeling the hope drain from her as she said it. 

“Victory? Our armies are scattered and beaten. The Tsaritsa is comatose and near death. You call this victory?” Liza sneered. 

Kollei met her gaze coolly. “We have gained most of our pre-war goals. We have new ports in the Baltic and Black Sea that are warm water. The threat of being boxed in there has vanished. We have taken most of the Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and all of Estonia. We will concentrate our efforts to the north now.”

“The North. You mean to invade Finland?” Anatoly asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes. Make all preparations. My mother will waken soon, and she must not see us sit idle. Deploy units to the Finnish border now,” Kollei ordered, her heart sick. She had to do this. Had to keep them busy. Had to show she was in command, not they, and rule with an icy fist. Had to keep her mother safe. “Thief, Witch, I will send you both out in joint command. Prince, you will probe the mountains. Locate any passes or valuable new deposits of elemental materials.”

“What about me?” Riley asked, looking nervous. “I didn’t get to fight last time…”

“Pater, you are our greatest Biotinker. You will attend to my Mother and assure that she recovers,” Kollei ordered. She could use Riley. The girl was the only one younger than her. If she influenced her just right, she would win Riley’s loyalty with love, and have at least one strong supporter here.

“Oh, yes, of course! All for her Benevolence!” Riley agreed eagerly.

Kollei turned to Anastasia and made her voice as chill as a glacier. “Get ahold of yourself, Dancer. You are useless to the Tsaritsa like this. I will give you one week to recover. Then, you will return to the front lines. You let one slip through your fingers. Do not allow any others to do so.”

“I…” Anastasia blinked, then curtsied. “Yes, Highness.”

“Yes, Highness,” the others echoed. With that echo, all hope of peace, all hope of wisdom, left Kollei. 

Kollei nodded, and clutched the Gnosis, its chill biting into her bones. “Good. Get to work. I will see to the production of Delusions with Pater and ensure our forces are restored and revitalized for the new offensive.”

She turned and stalked away, then went to her rooms, where she slowly withdrew her Vision from her pocket. It was dull and lifeless, an inert orb, etched with the dendro symbol, but with no energy within. 

Putting her head down on her bed, Kollei knelt and began to sob. She did what she did for Russia. For her Mother. For her people. For Love. She had to. 

Amber…I miss you. Why did you have to betray me? 

No. A heart of Ice. She must have a heart of Ice. She had to be strong. Like her mother. Even in the depths of despair. She could not give up. Too many relied upon her. 

Please, Mother. Wake up soon…

Capri ran forward as fast as she could, but Naomi was faster. Above them, the green swirl of clouds continued to descend. It looked like just another Eye of the Storm, the sort that had been raging for days now, but Capri knew. That wasn’t a simple wind spirit. It was her friend. It was Venti. 

Leaping into the air, Naomi gathered up the cloud in her arms, and it coalesced into the form they were so familiar with: A young man with long dark hair. Only this time, the hair wasn’t bound in twin braids, but in a ragged halo about the boy’s head. His body was battered and bruised, and his left eye was swollen shut. His clothes were ripped and torn and stained with blood, and he was limp and looked lifeless.

“Venti, no!” Capri sobbed, hurrying to crouch beside her wife as she desperately tried to mend Venti’s wounds. Forming electro around her fists, Capri concentrated on healing energy. It didn’t come naturally to her, but like any Vision holder, she was capable of it. 

“No,” Naomi said gently as she continued to minister to Venti’s wounds. “He’s of Anemo. Electro won’t help him.”

“Dammit,” Capri snarled, and pounded her fist into the dirt. She stood up, running her hands through her hair. She’d just had it trimmed, so it was still in a short pixie cut, but it still started to stand up on end as it absorbed the electro and started to frizz. 

Frustrated, she turned and looked up at the mountains that now stretched through Central Poland. The Great Storm had quieted when Venti had fallen, but there were still squalls up there. She shivered, hugging herself. How much power had it taken to create an entire damn mountain range? She wasn’t an egg head who could run the numbers in her head, but “A whole fucking lot” seemed like an appropriate amount. 

“Capri! He’s waking up!” Naomi called, and Capri was instantly back with then, kneeling on the frozen earth. 

Groaning, Venti stirred, his eyes drifting open. “Well. That…could have gone better…”

“We’ve got booze if you need it,” Capri offered, feeling rather lame to do so.

That made Venti chuckle and wince, and he shook his head gingerly. “No…no, I’ve got a promise to keep. Help me stand. He’s coming. And I refuse to meet him on my knees.”

“He?” Capri said, and she felt her heart beat faster. “Not…” Swallowing, she and Naomi helped Venti stand, though they had to practically drape him across their shoulders to manage it. 

When they looked up, they saw the golden streak approaching from the dark sky, cutting through the clouds. Gritting her teeth, Capri thought about summoning her sword, but Venti coughed.

“Don’t…don’t antagonize him. Not now. I am…weak. This isn’t the time…”

Slowly, the golden king of demons descended from on high, arms folded across his chest. His clothes were different now. No longer the pure white uniform he’d worn for so long, but instead a white breastplate and padded leathers of cream, with golden scrollwork on them. On the center of the breastplate was embossed a golden spiral, with further spirals within it. 

You are the one they call Barbados. The one known as Venti. Scion’s voice was deep, powerful, the very essence of commanding authority. Capri noted his beard and been shaved off completely, and his hair cut to shoulder length, and bound up in a warrior’s braid. There was a sword at his hip, its hilt of golden metal. Something drastic had changed. 

“I am Barbatos,” Venti said calmly. “Why have you come, Sustainer?”

Sustainer. I did not at first know what you meant by this. But yes. I am the Sustainer of the Cycle. I am the Warrior. I am…Zion. 

Capri digested that, glancing at Naomi. Had they just been mispronouncing his name this entire time? If so, that was darkly humorous, as people did the same to Venti all the time. 

“I see. Why have you come, Sustainer? You demanded conflict,” Venti said, his voice rasping slightly. “This, I have given you.”

Indeed. You have done well. Barbatos. Zion extended a golden hand towards Venti, who blinked at it, face puffy and bloody. I had evaluated you as weak. Insignificant. With no useful data. I am pleased to be wrong in this. One day, you shall join the others as my mate. We shall complete the Cycle together.

“So, you’re into yaoi now?” Venti said, a twisted smile on his face. 

Zion’s expression remained stern, serious, foreboding. Male. Female. These are irrelevant. Your data will combine with mine, and I shall use you to perpetuate the Cycle. You will continue to produce useful data. 

“I’m afraid I must rest. I expended a great deal of power. It will be some time before I am ready to do so again,” Venti said, meeting the Sustainers gaze. 

The Icy Administrator also appears to require a rest cycle. This is well. Both of you shall serve to perpetuate the cycle. You are not the Thinker, but together, you will substitute. And I will fulfill my purpose. 

With that, Zion turned about and streaked off into the sky, vanishing before long with nary a trace. 

Venti hung his head, tears trickling down his face. “Oh, Bronya. What have we done?”

“It’s her fault, she forced your hand,” Capri said bitterly. 

Venti shook his head. “I should have done more. Should have been there for her. Both in the past, and in this day. But I was…well. My hands were bound by bonds of freedom. But I must rest. I am sorry. Normally I don’t mind shirking and letting others take over my duties…but for now, I have to.”

Venti’s form began to glow, and his body trickle away into motes of green light on the wind. Capri and Naomi desperately clutched at him, both weeping.

“Venti, no!” 

Do not be afraid, the wind whispered. I am sending to you another. A helper to aide you in my absence. I will return, one day soon. But for now…I must rest. 

Venti’s body vanished into the wind, leaving Capri and Naomi hugging one another and weeping. 

“What do you think he meant, another?” Naomi sniffled, her face pressed against Capri’s chest. 

“I don’t know,” Capri said, feeling sick. Venti had been defeated. How? Their angel, their god of freedom…defeated. That was…that was impossible. Gods couldn’t lose. Could they?

“Will it be alright?” Naomi asked, looking up at Capri tearfully. 

Forcing a smile, Capri leaned down and kissed her wife tenderly. “Of course. I’ll keep us safe. He’ll be back. You’ll see.”

But for now, Freedom was absent from the world. 

It was raining. Had been for days now. The shelters were all full, and they wouldn’t take dogs anyway. So, Kevin had found the driest alleyway he could find. He coughed, and Duke whined, reaching up to lick Kevin’s face. He smiled, patting the mutt gently before adjusting his raincoat. “It’s about that time, isn’t it, Duke?”

Duke shook himself off, and Kevin stood, adjusting his rain slicker. It wasn’t coming down too hard, just a steady drizzle that kept everything miserable and wet. Outside of the alleyway, people hurried by in pairs or alone, holding umbrellas or their jackets against the wind and rain. It was cold out there, and Kevin’s feet were numb. Best to get moving.

He stepped out of the alleyway, an old dirty lead on Duke, who was well trained enough he stuck to Kevin’s side. He was invisible, of course. People got out of his way, not even looking at the ragged middle aged man with an unkept beard. No one looked at you when you were homeless.

“Make way,” Kevin chuckled, making a motion with his hands as if to part the crowd. “Make way for the man who used to be the most powerful on earth…”

No one paid the ramblings of a homeless man any heed. Even if they were true. 

Worn trainers slapping on the pavement, Kevin made his way towards the bakery. It was about closing time, and his stomach rumbled. He hoped there would be something warm today. 

He arrived a little early, so he stood across the street from the bakery in another alleyway. Not the front, of course. The back, by the bins. 

The door opened, and a young woman with her hair tied back in a kerchief stepped out, bearing several bags of trash. She hoisted them into the bins, then turned around to go back inside. Kevin started forward, but then paused when she came back out, carrying another bag and a thermos. She looked around, and Kevin tried to shrink back, but it was too late. To his shock, the woman waved at him.

“Hey! It’s Kevin, right? It’s cold out, so I made you some hot tea,” she said, hurrying forward, her clothes and kerchief getting wet in the rain. She smiled at him, holding out the bag and thermos. “I’m sorry, it’s not much, but it’s something. I put in some sausage rolls for your dog too.”

Tears filled Kevin’s eyes, and he bowed his head. “Thank you. That…it means a lot.”

“Times are tough. We’ve all got to stick together, right?” the young woman said gently. She knelt down, reaching into the bag and pulling out one of the sausage rolls. “Here, boy.”

Duke eagerly took the pastry and snarfed it down, and Kevin crouched beside him, hugging the dog as he hate. “Thanks. His name is Duke.”

The woman nodded, smiling. “I’m Sara. I really do wish I could do more…but, well…I’m living with my parents still…” She held out the bag, and Kevin took it. 

“Nothing to be ashamed of in that, miss,” he said roughly, his voice raw with emotion. “Me and Duke appreciate it. Thank you, again.”

“You’re welcome,” Sara said, standing up. “I- oh god!” 

Kevin whirled, looking up to where Sara was staring, hand over her mouth in shock. But he knew. He just knew. 

There in the air he hung, like a golden god. Kevin smiled, spreading his arms wide as Duke whimpered and hid behind Kevin. He never liked it when He showed up. “There you are! I’ve missed you! The world has missed you! Did you…did you make them stop? Did you end that blasted war?”

Scion regarded Kevin. He looked…different. Neater. And more warlike. “What’d you do with that uniform I gave you?”

KEVIN NORTON. 

The words hit Kevin like a hammerblow, and he cried out in pain, falling to his knees as Duke began to bark and Sara screamed in pain and panic. “What…why…you…you’re supposed to be a hero…” But he’d never heard Scion speak before. Not even once. How…?

KEVIN NORTON. REJOYCE. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN. 

Blinking through the pain, Kevin peered up through the rain as Scion dropped down to stand above Kevin. Behind him, Sara was clutching at Duke, cowering behind Kevin as though he could protect her form the most powerful thing on the planet. 

“You can…talk? Why…why did you never before?” Kevin asked plaintively. 

KEVIN NORTON. FOR MANY YEARS, YOU SHOWED ME THE WAYS OF HUMANITY. YOU GAVE ME PURPOSE. DRIVE. WHEN I WAS LOST, YOU FOUND ME. 

Nervously, Kevin licked his lips and tried to smile. “All those talks…I was just ranting at you. But why…why did you listen to a homeless vagrant from London? Who are you? Where did you come from?”

YOU KNOW, KEVIN. I CAME FROM THE HEAVENS. I CAME TO UPLIFT HUMANITY. TO MAKE YOU BETTER. BUT I DID NOT COME ALONE. 

Kevin blinked in confusion, then slowly nodded. “The Archons…They’re…like you?”

Scion shook his head, golden eyes solemn. NO. ANOTHER. SHE WAS LIKE ME. BUT SHE DID NOT SURVIVE THE JOURNEY. WE WERE TO GIVE GREAT GIFTS TO HUMANITY. TO HELP YOU BECOME MORE THAN YOU ARE. THAT YOU MAY JOIN THE GREAT CYCLE, AND BRING ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF YOUR SPECIES. 

Behind Kevin, Sara was whimpering and clutching at her head in pain. He shook his head, and reached out, hand touching the hem of Scion’s new cape that hung limply in the dead air. “Please, you’re hurting her…”

YOU WILL MAKE HER WORTHY. BUT FIRST, I MUST REPAY YOU. YOU SHALL BECOME THE HERALD OF THE CYCLE. YOU SHALL BE MY VOICE IN THIS WORLD. YOU SHALL CALL THE PEOPLE TO THE CYCLE, THAT THEY MAY BECOME LIKE ME. 

Kevin didn’t understand. None of this made sense. “Cycle? Evolution? Herald, I…I don’t understand.”

YOU WILL. Scion rested a hand on Kevin’s head and smiled at him. It looked almost right. The curl of the lips, the flash of the teeth, the crinkle around the eyes. But those eyes…they were cold. Calculating. Merciless. 

“Please, I don’t-”

Golden light suffused Kevin, and he was transfixed. His mind was filled with images of great objects, the size of which boggled the mind, clashing, spreading, endlessly spreading. Filling the cosmos with golden light.

And he understood. He finally understood why Scion was here. He really would turn humanity into more like him. Beings of great power. Gods. His kind were heralds, seeking out lesser races, granting them gifts, power. Something had gone wrong this time, but now, Kevin could help correct it. He just had to spread the word. Serve the Cycle.

And you would be uplifted. 

The power faded, and Kevin looked up at Scion. He bowed his head. “I will serve the Cycle, Lord Zion. I will prepare the way for you.”

GO THEN, MY HERALD. GO AND SHOW ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD MY POWER. 

And then Zion was gone. But not completely. Kevin could hear his voice, feel his power, inside of his head. It would tell him what path to walk from now on. 

He turned, kicking aside the useless lower creature. The dog whined, but Kevin did not care. It was not worthy, not capable of producing useful data. Instead, he lifted up Sara, who was trembling. 

“You…you know Scion? I-”

“Zion,” Kevin corrected gently. “He is Zion. And he has come to complete us.”

“I…I don’t-” Sara gasped as Kevin grabbed at her, her eyes going wide, face pale as she shook with fear. 

“Be at peace, child. You bore witness to a miracle today. Rejoyce. Soon, all of humanity with know of Zion and the Cycle. You will be the first to hear this message.”

He infused her with his power then. Not too much. Just the right amount. She gasped, eyes rolling back in her head as she experienced the same vision and ecstasy that Kevin had. When her eyes opened again, she had a beatific smile on her face. 

“That was…incredible. How…how can I…?” 

“We will need food,” Kevin said, picking up the now soggy bag of leftover bread. “We must spread the word. Propagate. To the ends of the universe. All must know of the Cycle. This is how humanity can become so much more.”

Taking Sara’s arm, he led her into the bakery. She was the first of his disciples. Together, they would spread the word of Zion, of how he had given humanity powers. Now was the time of testing. Only those worthy would be allowed to ascend as part of the Cycle. He found find fertile ground here to recruit.

The door slammed shut behind him, and Duke whimpered in the rain, shivering and forgotten. 

For in the Cycle, there was neither Wisdom, nor Love. Only power and propagation.