The cycle of Irradiant’s departure into the unknown crawled closer with every successful training session Spears underwent with her. The little glowing Slugcat was a surprisingly eager-to-learn student and was not shy to show her childish joy when her holographic Scug father showed her yet another useful trick she practised tirelessly once they logged off.
Spears was torn with the results of the hundreds of sittings with their newfound friend. On the one hand, they utilised the time well, and Spearmaster was able to show her everything she should know when exploring the world outside of Sky’s Superstructure: She was ready to tackle her mission. But doubts began to nag on the retired messenger somewhere between the hundredth and two hundredth unit. The more they talked with each other, the closer they grew together, and the heavier the burden grew of knowing that her fate laid in their hands. Would the training suffice to prevent her from joining the cruelty of the cycle?
Death was only an aspect of living. Irradiant can’t dodge the experience of dying in a world struggling for survival. And Spears didn’t want to imagine that their little pupil would have to endure attempt upon attempt.
Cut apart and eaten by a Dropwing. It would be Spears' fault, because they were not clear enough to sharpen her awareness always to check the ceiling. Her foolish curiosity would be her downfall, as she would take the alluring bait.
Ripped to shreds by Red Lizards. Spears at least convinced Sky to allow Irradiant to study his test subjects for their behaviours, but these alpha beasts were a whole different calibre in the wildness. And they would take a bite, at least one, regardless of her radiating aura. They are too greedy and prideful to get scared by a melting sensation. They could not prepare Irradiant for that, either.
Electrocuted by Overgrown Centipedes. These giants of the tunnels were menaces, even to them. Their electricity could paralyze Spears’ pupil from a safe distance, rendering her defenceless for the next, lethal, attack. They were unable to train advanced manoeuvring skills with Irradiant, thinking out of the box and using pipes to shake off these menaces.
No! Spears shook their head, tried to shed the oddly parental worries for their pupil. They shouldn’t imagine her failing, because she is a strong and glowing kin. And they did their best to ensure that she will not die too much. To prevent the inevitable would be a task of a lifetime. To be there, themselves, to walk her first mission together with them. She would mature and change through the hardships of the endless cycle. And her astounding intellect would keep her aware of the lives lost. She would be able to overcome any obstacle, because she is as intelligent as they were, maybe even more. Irradiant was, after all, purposed with supercharged wits and smarts. A blessing, as well as a curse.
Spears felt dread clouding their mind as they saw their mental image of the joyful and youthful Irradiant, crumbling apart with every mistake she would make, due to their lack of foresight.
Spears desired nothing more than to preserve that pleasant and bratty personality of hers, to keep her safe from any and all danger. But that was not the fate of a purposed messenger. Neither was it theirs, nor would it be hers. All Spears was able to do was pray to the random gods to keep her safe and guide her well with their Overseers. She should not experience hunger or the dread of reality.
…
Why did they care so much about the green Scug? Why did it feel as if the Iterators would send out their daughter on a mission of dread and doom? Why did they think of her as more than just another kin? Daughter? Has it gone so far already?
The Slugcat, the crowning of karmic technology. Removed from the vices, yet developing paternal feelings for her.
A Slugcat, the crowning of mutagenic neurobiology, made as smart as her creator’s creators, an adult in a now-not-quite pup-like body.
They both were the culmination of the respective fields of research of their makers, both without biological parents, only mechanical creator-gods. Sharing a similar origin story, being more kin to each other than kin to the wild Slugcats. Spears couldn’t act differently than to adopt the kindred soul.-
‘You do realize you have not broken your connection to me, my little hero? I hear your every thought. And I feel with you. But it has to be done, for our friend’s sake.’
‘I am aware. I willingly share my worries, as you do share yours with me as well, Seven Red Suns.
…
Yes, I don’t want to let her go. It is a selfish desire, I know. My sincerest apologies.’
The mental presence of their god, now made known by them actively using the telepathic chip, was not an unwelcome one, far from it. If there would be one singular being, who could understand their worries, it would be them. And they did.
‘If you desire to be there for her, who am I to stop you? I have procured you with all these restrictions to experience living, I have steered your fate for long enough. You deserve to be happy.
But we have to be realistic. It would be a long journey for you. Even without complications, you would have to pass the area of my local group, climb the mountain range of Far Whisper and Five Lives Unbound, and descend the long way to the shore of Approaching Sky’s facility.
Even if you would have left the moment we got involved in the convulsing mess that is Gales’ fate, then you maybe would have arrived to sweep up the corroded pile of failure. You training Irradiant was crucial, you did the right thing, my great-hearted hero.’
‘I … know. It’s just… forget it.
…
But, we still can do something until Shifting Gales has received her staff. Like … figuring out what in the name of you I have discovered down here. Take a look, isn’t this … strange?’
Leaving behind the worries regarding their little pupil, storing it away for a better time to think about, Spearmaster returned their attention to the new path they have discovered in Shifting Gales’ underground chapel. Most if not all had collapsed, but, sometimes, they were able to find relics of the usage of the room. The warm and bright red tint of the chapel felt mocking and strange, however, given Approaching Sky did show them both how the small Iterator appeared. The colour red was not part of her divine body’s design, nor were the repeating patterns of the chapel to be found anywhere on her garb or body.
And most and for all… what was the deal with the artists, who created murals and statues of her for this unsettling altar of the vices? Why did they all collectively get small details in her appearance completely wrong?
‘It is not unheard of, that the design of an Iterator can change in the process of them getting built. Creative differences, or the forceful replacement of the lead architect, if they have shown selfish desires. Matter analysis has shown that this Chapel was procured long before Shifting Gales was handed off to Two Eyes of the Infinite Cosmos for construction.
We are probably looking at the first vision of Shifting Gales. It does, however, strike me off, that the Chapel predominately embraces the vice of Company, when Gales has been made to research the virtue of Isolation. The Shifting Gales we know and try to save is Eyes’ interpretation of the design plans.
But the ways of High Priestess Facets of Fate, Scattered Fable were always a bit of the odd side.
Allow me to remind you of the tragedy that was and still is the Guardian of Peace, Bloodless Promise. To research the virtue of peace, while being procured as a last resort bastion for the House of Forgiveness. He researched weapons of mass destruction on their orders. Keeping the doubtful mantra up, that there can only be peace when those desiring peace are at the same time the strongest force. I should check up on him, shouldn’t I?
The last thing I heard of his local group, was that they researched on ways to separate him from the volatile arsenal his Superstructure was turned into. With our Cans slowly but surely eroding and breaking down, keeping the equivalent of a ticking time bomb of unknown force in his guts can’t be good for anybody around his location.
…
Thinking of it. All of my Guardians did follow such an odd scheme. Research the virtue and fall to the vice in a poetic fashion. With one notable exception.’
Spears perked their ears, even if that reaction was utterly useless in regard to the way they were communicating. Suns rarely spoke of the other Guardians; they assumed it had to do with tensions between them and the main representative of the House’s doubtful efforts in researching the Virtues for a way out.
‘Wreathing Stratosphere, the Guardian of the gate between life and oblivion. The terminally ill of my creators all were sent to him to take residence on his superstructure, to seek respite among the clouds. Stratosphere’s medical research and equipment are, without competition, superior to that of all Iterators I know—a boundless power, which came with a steep price. His purpose: to sever the ties that kept his ailing patients bound to their painful existence, to experiment on them to figure out a way that minimizes the creation of echoes.’
Spears felt the unease of Suns to think about that topic, with their words trickling slower and slower into the Slugcat’s mind. Yet another Guardian with a purpose perverted by the sad desire of their creators to leave this world behind. A surgeon of death.
‘Like the meek servant the House of Forgiveness built him to be, one of the first Iterators they were able to complete, predating even me, he faithfully served them … but cracks swiftly formed in his facade. He cared for his citizens too well.
When the followers of the House moved from his back to my city after my creation and built their monumental project, the basilica you are currently residing in, all he was left with to care for were the terminally ill.
Many Ancients whispered of Stratosphere’s defectiveness and viewed it as a justified omen, when the Tower of Oblivion eventually collapsed under—according to them—Stratosphere’s all-consuming desire to embrace the vice of survival. Due to the impending Mass Ascension, the Ancients did not bother rebuilding it and focused on the last Guardian Tower, Shifting Gales, instead. Hence why it remained as you see it now. Crumbled and overgrown.’
‘What happened to him, Seven Red Suns? With the Ancients now gone for so long … he probably lost the aim of what he desired to be, failed in his quest to heal.’
'Stratosphere has not been heard from in many cycles, though the circling rumours from his area’s Coordinator tell tales of a local group disintegrating under tension.’
Suns sighed, the powerlessness of the retired God of Forgiveness creeping up Spears’ spine.
‘I can hardly blame him for falling silent, having lately found myself in exactly his situation … Perhaps a kind message would uplift his spirits. More to add to my backlog. Promise deserves a few words as well. … And Harassment a novel's worth of apologies.’
Spearmaster sighed deeply at what they heard. Their creator was carrying around such a huge amount of baggage, that Spears began to question how much their golden pearl delivery to Five Pebbles actually accumulated to that pile of regrets. But, what they got out of these small windows in the divine life of the Guardian of Forgiveness, the former leader of a now-dead religion, was that they had not much left for their makers.
Spears continued to inspect the beta version of the Iterator their pupil was supposed to save. Looking at the details of the crumbled statue, the changes that were made up until her construction were as subtle as they were significant.
Predominantly, the face of the statue appeared quite weird. While Shifting Gales' half-moon antennas were angled downwards, this early representation of hers had its crescent antennas turned to the sky. With bitterness in their non-existent mouth, Spears realized the meaning of the change.
Symbolism. This face here is open to the sky, ready to receive. Gales’ antennas are aimed at the ground, closed down to the cosmos… I start to sound like Suns, heh.
The Iterator in question continued to ramble in their mind, unbothered by their research, drowned in the memories of peers long since abandoned. Spears decided to chime back in, only to realize that Suns went on to the next Guardian their House doomed.
‘-Can you believe it?’
‘What, Seven Red Suns. I had to concentrate on my surroundings. Can you repeat it?’
‘My apologies, little hero. I was revelling in memories of my makers' failings. I start to suspect that the memory leaks and systematic erasure of events in Shifting Gales’ life could, after all, have some further-reaching implications. As is the case with the two Guardians I mentioned before, those that were around before me, this series of generation 3 Iterators did befall a similar poetic fate of virtue and vice.’
Suns made room in Spears' mental fortress to wait until they could continue, but Spears immediately dragged their god back to the front, eager to finally get to know those Iterators Suns never mentioned prior. Their mind was eager as a sponge to soak up these private pieces of information about their most dear creator and friend.
‘I am listening. What happened to them?’
‘Unlike Promise and Stratos, who both had a clear purpose in researching their respective virtue through the vices, the situation with the Guardians of Abstinence and Chastity was less straightforward. I am afraid, little hero, that my knowledge about them is a bit on the short side. But I am willing to share what little I know about them.
Ten Modici, the Guardian of Abstinence. Fate shared with me a few aspects regarding that Iterator, although her words about him were less than flattering. He was, according to her, created to act as a secure storehouse of all the worldly possessions of my followers. He was also the archivist of the digital fortress of the House’s gathered knowledge. Everything we discovered, he was tasked with cross-referencing and categorizing.
I am sure he could help us figure out what happened to Shifting Gales. He probably knows the whole truth…”
Spears perked up and tilted their head, still inspecting the beta statue. What did Suns just say?
‘He knows? Why are we not asking him to shed some light on our questions?’
‘Abstinence, my messenger. I talked many times with Modici, but no conversation ever led to any results. He has it all, probably even untapped clues to figuring out the Great Problem, but he is a prisoner in his own body. Whenever I asked him a question, the answer was clouded at best. Facets of Fate, Scattered Fable mentioned to me once, that she took additional precautions so that Ten Modici can never leak anything of the House’s knowledge, bound by restraints.
Only he can read out the vast knowledge our research accumulated, but he is unable to share anything of it. An issue, which became even more apparent, after our creators left us behind.
His local group tolerates him because he is in their vicinity, but he is virtually incapable of cooperating with anyone, without being abstained from sharing his vast knowledge. I wish I could help him, in my role as the House’s highest instance, to undo that tightly woven net that is holding him back. Until then, I would only torture him with such specific House-related questions, triggering the taboos.’
Spears felt shame washing over their mind. Suns’ status as the head of this screwed-up religion was taking a toll on his mental fortitude. The further they prodded in Suns’ history, the more they realized just why they were so invested in saving Gales.
Suns were accumulating regret like a scavenger was gobbling up pearls. It was not only Pebbles’, Moon’s and Gales’ fate they were taking responsibility for. How the House of Forgiveness treated their Guardians indirectly affected the divine god’s self-worth. If they had been home, they would curl up in Suns’ lap to gift some ease to their troubled mind.
But one last Guardian was left. The researcher of the second vice.
‘I understand. Unable to help, even if he wants to. And what is with the Guardian of Chastit-’
The shared shame nearly consumed Spears' mind, causing the mouthless Slugcat to desire to scream in mental agony. But they remained as silent as they were purposed to be, only their mind being in turmoil. Suns seemingly realized that, and a forced mental flood of good feelings washed over Spears, causing their mind to relax.
‘A-apologies. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Spearmaster. Does that… reaction answer all your questions? Who am I kidding, of course not. Allow me to make up for it… the last Guardian.
You know how I designed you to appease all virtues while maintaining a grid, which allows you to live? The research of Sublime Virtue, the Guardian of Chastity, did play a huge role in that. The second vice is about the carnal urge, but Virtue was tasked by the House to extrapolate that limited view of desire to a method to exterminate all kinds of urges from the mortal body. To chastise the mind to yearn for nothing but that, what is necessary to reach ascension.
Looking at you, I think her methods still have flaws to this very day. Or was I working with an outdated publication? We… are not on the best terms, I am afraid. Mass Ascension similarly affected her as it affected Wreathing Stratosphere. But, unlike him, who was tasked to deal with the terminally ill, she was tasked to experiment on the terminally sick. Well, what the Ancients determined to be insane, at least.
Virtue viewed the inmates of the Asylum she was made to lead as her friends, and only performed experiments on them when her Administrators asked her for something. Yet, her forced research on the various urges led to quite insightful methods, which were shared around with my peers. Methods, that revolutionized the process of creating purposed lifeforms, able to not only control physical, but mental abilities as well.
I am not proud of having used her methods when creating you, but I am glad that they didn’t prevent you from… well… developing into the adorable hero you are today. That you broke through the restraints.
…
Why are we not on good terms? Well… why, indeed? Allow me to keep it vague. After Mass Ascencion, the warden of the Asylum became insane, with all her purpose having been stripped away from her. She said some… very strange things to me, among other Iterators.
…
You are persistent, little one. Some day, I shall open my communications to her again, if only to ease your mind. I, however, don’t expect her to have figured out a way back to acting reasonably.’
Suns returned their focus to the statue and let out an inner sigh. Spears felt suspicions nagging at their mind, followed by an outburst of anger, directed towards the House of Forgiveness, which released them all into this dying world. Once more, Spearmaster wished they would be back in Suns’ heart, but that was still not the case.
‘Do you think that there is more behind it, Seven Red Suns? You showed me the Guardians, they all have their baggage to carry. But… they do follow a twisted purpose. What could have been the purpose of our friend’s building location? They should have known.’
‘I wish I had an answer, my friend. Fate didn’t ever tell me anything about Gales. Moreso, I was forbidden by a degrading taboo to establish contact with her… I assumed it was to keep the Isolation theme up. I am a god, yes, but in the hands of my benefactors, I was nothing but a pawn. I cannot even protect my pantheon.
But, for now, please return to me. In the following cycle, we will have Irradiant’s final assignment. We are well within the timeframe to finish her mission before she reaches adulthood. We've got this.’
‘And Gales? Have you heard anything new about her? You have been awfully quiet regarding her, for the past fifty cycles.’
But Spearmaster was only met with silence in their mind. They felt Suns retreating into the far backs of their consciousness, until, eventually, fading out completely. Something had happened, something concerning. They assumed, that the next cycle would yield some answers regarding her whereabouts.
Spears let out a mental sigh and left the statue behind, after taking one last look at the faded red face markings. If that was her first design, the plans of the Ancients must have greatly shifted before they started constructing her. It did add up, given Suns did mention that her construction was influenced by the announcement of that Mass Ascension event. A change of plan?
Back to the surface and into their friend’s welcoming arms. And to bid their brave pupil farewells.
