Past Life Hero, Ch 52

This chapter took me extra long to write, but it came out exactly how I wanted it to.


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A kaleidoscope of images, impressions, histories, and facts assailed Max’s mind like a rapid fire stream of cannonballs covered in felt.  He was forced to gaze upon snap shots of a reality that he was currently too limited to truly see, but his spiritual eye felt like it was open for ages.  He shut his third eye as soon as he could, but the damage was done.

Flash

He saw a raven flying over a battlefield, the bodies still exuding so much power in death that they warped the very world around them.

Flash

A clock stood on a blood soaked table, each grain of sand saving an innocent life.

Flash

Swords spun through the darkness, searching for their owners.  One desired the taste of flesh, and the other hungered for justice.  They traveled together knowing that it was destined that one would destroy the other.

Flash

Glowing, malevolent eyes surveyed the carnage before it and showed a hint of satisfaction until a young warrior in black armor planted himself, ready to do battle.

Flash

A king dressed in gold, dripping torrents of blood, was carried on a shield by four giants.

Flash

Three gems, one green, one red, and one black, spun around each other in an endless darkness.

Flash

A muttering of history and divine accomplishments crawled over his soul like spiders.

Flash

An endless battlefield full of light and dark fighters stretched until the horizon.  Blades flashed and entire mountains were destroyed.

Flash

Words rocked his fragile consciousness, threatening to unravel it:

GUARDIAN OF PROPHECY

KNOWLEDGE OF THE SLAIN

HIGH QUEEN OF BATTLE

PRINCESS OF DARKNESS

RAVEN OF FATE

DARK TRINITY

EYES OF THE BATTLEFIELD

Max's spirit and soul felt like they were shattering. He fought with everything he had to stay whole, to keep himself from falling apart. He'd always prided himself on having a strong mind, and truly, if it was any weaker, he would have already been past saving.

When he'd used his third eye, it was like he'd tried dumping the ocean into a red solo cup.

With every fiber of his being, he steeled his resolve and pushed back against the weight of what he'd just witnessed. Struggling against it made him feel like he was desperately trying to bench press a mountain.  As he labored to survive, he felt two other presences with him. One was Slick, who gave him comfort, and the other was Lavinia, who directed all of her own spirits in Max's mind space as glue that pulled him back together. Max focused with everything he had, desperately avoiding oblivion by narrow margins again and again.  He didn't know how long it took him to get over the worst of it, but by the time he could finally breathe again, it felt like he’d just used every bit of energy he could have mustered.  Max glanced up warily.

The strange woman was seated in a chair, legs elegantly crossed, staring with equal parts concern and amusement.

But now Max knew who and what this entity was, and she was no woman. This was a goddess.  Of this he was absolutely sure.

Max's mind had not been strong enough to receive everything his third eye had tried to show him, much less process it, but he'd caught bits and pieces. Enough for him to be truly, absolutely humbled for the first time in either one of his lives.

He believed in showing his best face and keeping a strong front.  Max gave the most stately bow he had ever used in Albion and said, “I greet The Morrigan.  Your presence honors me.”

She nodded in response.  “Yes, you would know who I am after Seeing me with your third eye.  Congratulations on surviving that mistake.  Truly, I am pleased that you still live.  We have things to discuss.   Please sit.”

Max nodded and took a seat on the chair next to him. He noticed that Morrigan’s wings rose directly above her to give room to sit in her chair, and they fluttered as she slightly turned, seeming to look to one side and through him.  "If you'd like, you may choose to manifest your spirits, or they can choose to do so themselves. I am not hostile.  It is true that you almost just came apart, but that was your own doing, and I was not offended by your gazing upon me.  Although I have not met very many Summoners, you are not the first Summoner I've met. However, it is unfortunate that you did not meet me after being slightly more experienced. There is a way for Summoners to more passively gauge the strength of one they face before completely opening themselves in such a vulnerable way."

Slick appeared on the ground near Max's foot and jumped up onto his knee. The little spirit was trembling. Lavinia did not make an appearance. She mentally sent, I'm scared, Max. I'm really scared.

I think we probably should be, Max responded.

The Morrigan’s wings twitched again.  “I can imagine that at this point you are probably confused about what is happening. This is understandable.  So, I will give you the courtesy of explaining some so that you understand your situation before we have the discussion I came here for."

Max nodded.  “Thank you.”

"The structure that you entered is incredibly ancient, possibly even predating your Quartet system.”  She sneered the last word.  “But we will not discuss that.  The structure’s purpose is to send an individual to a special place where it is possible to send out a special signal.  This call can cross time and space, possibly even reverberate through unconnected dimensions. However, it's fairly weak to begin with and you didn’t have much power of your own to add to it. So I believe that your visit to the primordial space actually went completely unnoticed by any except for myself.”

She paused.  “To be honest, I might not have taken any interest in it if I had not so recently come upon an excellent champion in an extremely unlikely place.  What is the idiom, ‘Leave no stone unturned’" The goddess raised an eyebrow, her eyes sharp. "I can see that you still don't understand what I'm talking about. Let me try again with more background." She recrossed her legs.

"In the greater universe, the collective universe, there are several realities. Think of each reality as its own universe.  These realities are only joined in a few very specific ways. Suffice to say that in your universe, I do not exist, at least not actively in this form." She smiled.  "Do you have a question?"

"Uh, yes, thank you," said Max. He wasn’t sure where to start.  Max was having a bit of an existential crisis. He'd known of gods and religions on Albion.  In school, he’d studied myths on earth.  In fact, he was actually somewhat familiar with some myths of the Morrigan before coming to this place. But Max had never taken much stock in the divine. He'd figured it was likely that gods existed, but it hadn't ever truly concerned him that much.

Now he was wrapping his mind around how The Morrigan was obviously here in front of him, and she’d just said she didn't exist.

Max said, "If you are here from a different universe, then why are there myths and legends about you on earth?"

"That's a good question," said the goddess. "The reality is that one of my level of existence is not merely powerful. Power is not all that we are, or rather, the sheer scale of it warps the world around us.  We also have a depth to ourselves that can serve as both an anchor and also a chain. This depth means that in most realities, if not all of them, there will be various stories and beliefs depicting some version of myself."

Max nodded slowly, "Sort of like pressing a pen on a sheet of paper on top of a legal pad, right? There's a dent on the pages beneath it."

"Exactly!" said the Morrigan. "Wisely said.  That's a perfect example.

“What you did when you accessed the primordial area from the ancient structure was allow your presence to radiate out to every separate universe connected by the Lode." She held up a hand, "I will not tell you what the Lode is, you are not advanced enough yet to have earned that knowledge.  In this situation, I may merely mention its name."

Lode, Max made a mental note.  Then he asked, "So, if you don't exist in my universe, then where are we now?"

"Another excellent question," said the goddess. "Right now, we are still in the primordial space that you were occupying before. However, I merely used some of the power and matter available on hand to make this much more comfortable meeting room. If you had stayed in that original space too long, you may have been transfixed by some of the pure concept manifestations and possibly lost your mind."

"Lovely," said Max.  He had to admit to himself that he’d been feeling a little spacey before the goddess had shown up.

"Indeed.  So now that you know your situation, I would like to have the discussion with you that I came here for."

"I'm listening." Max was struggling to keep up an unruffled front.  His entire world view had just been shaken a bit.  It was one thing to know that another being was more powerful than him, but he could still remember glimpses of truths regarding The Morrigan's nature.  Just the edges of the memories he could recall almost made him start shivering. The goddess must have noticed something because she said, "It is unfortunate that you almost destroyed yourself by gazing upon me. However, it does allow us to skip some time-wasting and tiresome topics that might have otherwise cropped up, such as my nature and who I am and whether I truly am a goddess, correct?"

“Yes, that is definitely true, Lady.”

The Morrigan held out one hand, and on it, a yin-yang symbol manifested in the air. She said, "Now that you know what I am, you are definitely aware that I am a dark goddess, but you are also aware that does not mean evil. Nor does the Light necessarily mean something is good.  If anything, the two are a a methodology difference rather than something as simple as concepts of “right” or ‘wrong.’  Although I will concede that dark gods are more often evil than Light gods are..

“And indeed, not only have you seen the truth of my existence, but in your past life, when you were Chasa de Milo, you were hailed as the Hero of Albion. But winners write history, yes?  Your enemies, if resurrected, might claim that  some of the ways you solved some problems were not of the Light."

She seemed to study him for a moment then continued, "Interesting.  Yes, you have a very unique and impressive collection of titles.”  Max almost asked a question but the goddess seemed to know what he was thinking.  “I am sure you are not aware of what titles are, since they are not well understood in your universe. But suffice to say, I can see evidence of some of the greatest and most terrible actions of your life. Events that left a mark on many souls, on your world, or on history.  A warrior like yourself is not fated for obscurity. This can obviously be a double-edged sword."

Max was slightly lost by the implications suggested by the conversation but got jolted into the present when he felt Lavinia's shock.  It took him a while to realize what it was for.  Oh yeah, he thought.  The Morrigan's had just used his name in his past life.

Lavinia’s emotions must have reached the goddess.  She chuckled. "Yes, little spirit, you are contracted with one who has already tasted greatness and likely will again. To be one as fortunate as yourself and not even be aware of it… Serendipity, or fate?"

When the goddess gestured, a new cup filled her hand, one made of carved wood.  She took a sip.  "I feel that now we come to the heart of this meeting, Max Cunningham.  In my universe, gods of light and gods of darkness compete using Champions. I have come here today to offer you a proposal. You see, while I do not exist in your universe, that doesn't mean I can't leave pieces of myself there. In addition, if you grow enough, you may have the opportunity to find yourself somewhere that my domain reaches in the future. I wish to offer you the opportunity to become my Champion. In return, I will grant you a boon. Unless you reject me outright now, the rest of this conversation can be used for us search for an agreement regarding this matter that we are both happy with."

Max blinked. That was a lot to take in all at once. He dared not send any questions or comments to Lavinia. In fact, he could tell the spirit was just as shocked as he was, if not more.  She was likely still just processing the revelation about Max's history in Albion.

He still felt exhausted, drained, and unprepared, but the situation he was potentially an opportunity. Probably dangerous, yes, but an opportunity.  He needed to be thinking straight.

Get it together! he told himself, then made a conscious decision to focus on the present. So many random facts about The Morrigan hit his brain like meteorites striking a satellite in space, leaving holes and craters. For instance, he randomly knew/remembered that this was not the full body of the goddess. Instead, it was just a splinter of her awareness. But even so,  if she were not veiling herself, the sheer power of fragment would fry his soul.

He could probably take her at face value for her motivation here.  It was likely she’d come for exactly the reason she’d just explained.  If she wanted him dead, he would already be dead. So he could definitely rule that out as her motivation.

If only Max understood the ins and outs of it better…

Max took a deep breath and asked himself a very simple question: Based on everything he knew about The Morrigan now, which was actually quite a bit after risking his entire existence to gaze upon her, could he tolerate working for her?  He studied the goddess before him as she patiently wanted for him to speak.

He made a decision.