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Critical Point

After maintenance and replacement of parts, the Wind of Change finally took off on its own, out of St. Vincent’s hangar. The whole crew was in it, along with Richard, who decided that a smaller ship was something he enjoyed. The crew reminded him that they needed to return to St. Vincent more times than before, but he was welcome to stay. It was a shame for Raithorakh and the rest of the dragons, however, as they were clearly too big to fit in the small ship.

On the St. Vincent, due to the fact that Seraphor and Avila came from a world dominated by magic, they had nothing to do except wander around the vast hangar. As both had a smaller size than most dragons (Avila being sleek and slender and Seraphor being half a dragon’s normal size), they had more freedom walking about. Raithorakh, being the biggest of the three, generally stayed in one place, but he occupied himself with discussions with the engineers who were interested with his cybernetic limbs, and their relevance to the situation at hand.

Both Ifrit and Anubis took a small tour with Lunera around the ship. Anubis was intrigued by the high amount of ‘Soul Particles’ on the ship, which started to overwhelm his senses and causing forms that were clearly not in a general shape. It was also added with the fact that his senses were strained during this attempt, and he needed to rest.

In a lounge, Lunera asked Anubis how his ability worked, and how it helped him to somehow overcome his blindness. The jackal tried to explain it without causing more confusion, but somehow, the draconian got the point.

“I am not sure how to explain it to you, but your ability is similar to the cortical implants that enabled blind engineers to see different spectrum of light, from infrared to ultraviolet, and most importantly, screens. It may not be the same as yours, though, but I can only guess.”

“And why the whole ship’s like it has seen too many deaths? Soul Particles usually rose to this point when there are hundreds and thousands of deaths.”

“Hmm…ah, I think it’s because of the FTL.”

“FTL?”

“Faster than Light speed,” said Lunera. “That might cause the disturbance. There are particles on the air in FTL-capable starships which was a side effect of using the FTL drive. You won’t find any in non-FTL ships like shuttles and cars. They don’t generally use FTL to travel and they’re planet hoppers. It’s just a short trip away from each station.”

“That explains a lot,” said Anubis, though he was still confused with the terms. “Thank you.”

“Still, I’m surprised that you are a hellhound. I mean, hellhounds are…myths, right? Also, you two looks so…normal.”

“Normal?” asked Ifrit. “Well, I am always mistaken for a Lycan.”

“Here you’ll be considered a hybrid. But eh, it’s not important. What’s important is your presence here. You said you came through a portal in the deepest layer of Hell. I’d have trouble believing you if our situation is not as crazy as it is.”

“Where we came from, it’s…kinda normal, but slowly goes down to bat shit insane,” said Anubis.

“And we met his grandfather, who turns out to be a judge of the Underworld,” said Ifrit. “Isn’t that crazy?”

“You as a half-infernal is crazy enough.”

“Well, everyone gets their level of crazy. I’ll stick with one.”

Right after he said that, the PA turned on, calling Lunera to the bridge as they had come out of FTL. He acknowledged it and turned towards the two hellhounds.

“Wanna come up to the bridge? I’ll give you permission, but promise me not to ask anything unnecessary. Everyone up there are working.”

“We understand,” said Anubis. “But be careful of Ifrit here.”

“Why?”

“He’s perceptive.”

Lunera did not understand what he meant, but nodded anyway.

Up on the bridge, captain Pritchard was maintaining contact with the Wind of Change, while Selis and the Aquros twins tried to open communication with their fleets. They broke FTL and had reached sector Z0, to the last coordinate of the ships. Pritchard instructed the helm to follow the direction to the center of the galaxy, with a slightly faster speed than normal, to catch up with the non-FTL ships.

Before long, they managed to find the ships, and the three captains were elated for it. They wanted to return to their commands, but Pritchard asked them to wait.

“Why? What’s wrong?” asked Selis.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just want you three to be careful. We are nearing the center of the galaxy, where the biggest tear is. Maintain contact with us and the Wind of Change, and don’t wander off. This is the most critical point of our mission.”

“Why would we want to break off?”

“I understand that you’re on a mission, right? Also, Kalesa…you have a generation ship to protect, right?”

“Yes, but we’re not exactly alive, so…”

“Still, it’s not a justification to be reckless.” Pritchard sighed. “I…hope this is not a one-way trip for all of us.”

“Let’s hope so. Well, I guess it’s time for us to return. Thanks for letting us stay on your ship for a while. It has been pleasant.”

“You’re welcome, Selis.”

The captains then returned to their posts, with shuttles carrying the Aquros twins and Selis back to their ships. Pritchard then looked at Lunera, who just came by with Ifrit and Anubis.

“Say, you got some interesting guests there,” said Pritchard with smile. “You’re the hellhounds, am I right?”

“Yes. My name is Ifrit. He’s Anubis,” said Ifrit while shaking hands with the captain. “And you’re the captain.”

“Pritchard Belford, and yes, you’re right.”

“We’re just interested on how a spaceship works. We barely even start our own intercontinental ship and you’re already going to the stars,” said Anubis. “Don’t get me wrong, though. We know a lot of fictions.”

“That simplifies things, then. What’s the level of your technology?”

“Steam, I guess?”

“Early industrial era, then,” said Pritchard. “It’s not that hard to explain, though you might be very surprised with everything on this ship being so streamlined and less, shall we say, stylized.”

“We came from the worst place on Earth.”

“Oh, right. You’re hellhounds.”

“Which is considerably more advanced than the surface world.”

“Oh.”

“Also, I think the streaks are gone,” said Ifrit. “Ani, can you…”

“What the hell is that?”

They all looked towards the window screen in front of them. There was nothing there.

“What did you see?” asked Pritchard.

“Soul Particles, many of them. It’s hard to see them in the disruption, but I can see…at least five or so ships shaped like arrowheads.”

“Arrowhead ships? Any identification of arrowhead-shaped ships?”

“Aquran ships are mostly arrowhead-shaped,” said an Aquros. “But, there’s nothing there.”

“Switch to sensors of all spectrums and frequencies,” said Pritchard.

They did so in all light spectrums and all frequencies, until Lunera saw what Anubis saw. He then said, “Stop. What’s the frequency?”

“It’s…ardon, sir. The ships are emitting some sort of ardon waves.”

“Spectrum?”

“Infrared, sir.”

“Captain, get ready. I don’t think their intentions are to talk. They are making some sort of formation.”

“What sort of formation?”

“A straight line, left to right of the screen,” said Anubis. “The particles are intensifying!”

Pritchard wasn’t sure if it was right, but a split second of decision to raise shields saved St. Vincent from another ambush similar to the one near the Scyllan space station.

Just as they raised their shields, they were attacked by energy shots fired from the positions Anubis just saw. A line of Aquros ships materialized in front of them. But then, something peculiar was noticed by the captain and his first officer.

“Those ships are waiting for us,” said Pritchard. “They are not locked in combat or anything. That’s an intercept formation.”

“And no one’s behind us, either,” said Lunera. He then turned to Anubis. “You saved us.”

“It won’t matter if we can’t fight them off! They’re materializing inside this room!”

Sure enough, the whole place was suddenly invaded by warriors materializing out of nowhere. Everyone in the room managed to find cover before the warriors knew what was going on. Anubis and Ifrit quickly stood up and attacked one, which burned to crisp by Ifrit’s fire. The rest became aware and started shooting.

“Ani, I need your sword!”

“What for?!”

“I don’t actually have a weapon, do I? Besides, you have that glaive-thing on your back.”

An energy shot pass near the top of Ifrit’s head.

“What does it make a difference? We’re fighting guns with swords!”

“Oh.” He turned to Lunera. “Any weapons we can use to match theirs?”

“Your fire’s enough.”

“It’s kinda hot, and it might damage your bridge.”

“What does it matter? There’s a reason I’m on this bridge and not surrounded by fire retardant!”

“Unrepairable damage,” said Ifrit with emphasis to ‘unrepairable’.

Lunera somehow knew what he meant, being a fellow user of fire. He sighed and pull out a gun out of his tail pocket. He gave it to Ifrit.

“I’ve pulled off the safety in case I need it for emergencies,” said Lunera. He proceeded to point towards the green-colored bar on the side of the futuristic gun. “That’s the energy charge. Don’t worry. It’s long lasting.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Also, make every shot count.”

Ifrit went out of cover and, apparently with deadly accuracy, shot three in the head consecutively, before he needed to take cover due to heavy fire.

“Fuck! This isn’t gonna work! I need that rifle!”

“I guess you’re the better shooter. Switch!”

“Ani, I suggest you use that phasing ability of yours. We need a little support here!”

“I can’t! The whole place’s full of Soul Particles! I’m practically blind!”

“You used that ability without using your senses before!”

“Not when it’s full of it! I got partial control when there’s adequate amount, but this ship is stuffed with it. It’s like throwing a sword into a jelly!”

“Well, try something!”

Just then, the door to the bridge was open, and after the next second, the whole bridge was covered in ice, along with a substantial temperature drop. The attackers were impaled with ice, then vanished altogether.

“What is it this time?” said Pritchard, clearly annoyed by everything happening around him.

“Me,” said a familiar voice.

They all turn to meet a mysterious, yet familiar, silver scaled draconian with red stripes, along with torn wings, extending his hands as if he was the one with the ice power. He sighed.

“I never thought being a draconian is a thing,” said the draconian. “Now I know why they’re legendary.”

***

Several moments ago…

“So, Ray. How does it feel like to be a draconian?” asked Seraphor.

“You wanna know? How about if I cast the magic on you?”

This surprised the silver red dragon.

“You mean, you know the spell?”

“Everyone who chose the Crossing knows the spell to some degree. I mean, you can’t live as a dragon in a world where dragons and humans are, in fact, myths and fiction. Just so you know, everyone you might know from the Order are dispersed in the world, and we don’t maintain contact, so I don’t know where they are. Richard’s the only one I contact.”

“So, after the Crossing, everyone just…go their own ways?” asked Avila.

“We may be draconians, but we are dragons, so it’s sensible for us to find new ways of life, one that’s preferably collecting our own hoards.”

“Dragons be dragons, eh?” said Seraphor with a smile.

“But, my dear friend, there are consequences. It may be permanent.”

“Permanent, eh?” said Seraphor, disappointed. “How about you?”

“It’s an anomaly. When everything’s over, I will return to my chosen form, as did Richard.”

Seraphor felt like he was asking something impossible, and he thought of it as something more than a magic. He was a powerful dragon in his own rights, and he used it to protect those who could not protect themselves. However, with its power, a great destruction also followed. Simply turning into a draconian because he ‘want to’ felt like something out of a child’s mind. He was an adult, though with a youngling’s body.

“Ray, have you ever…regret being a draconian?” asked Seraphor. “What was it like, to renounce your birth race for the sake of discovery?”

“It’s…hard, to be honest with you. I was trying to find an opinion about it, but all I got was Richard’s, and his case was special. You do realize that he was cursed to be a dragon for breaking the safety ‘limit’ of Engrak, right?”

“Yes, but it was a desperate attempt. How about you, or any other dragon? Would they feel the same?”

“I don’t know,” replied Raithorakh. “But still, what’s done is done. I never thought this form to be permanent. When everything’s over, I’ll gladly return to my old-new life as a draconian.”

“Ray…”

“Do not sympathize me, my old friend,” said Raithorakh with a smile. “It’s a choice, and I have chosen.”

Right at that moment, the ship went past something, and it was when Anubis started detecting the attacking ships. As they were alerting the whole crew, something magnificent happened in the hangar bay.

Seraphor felt something different after Raithorakh said that. Somehow, he felt his body…getting smaller and smaller, until it was human-like. In the surprise, he stood up with his back legs, which had become his legs and his front legs becoming his hands. It was like an illusion if it wasn’t for Avila turning into one beside him, and Raithorakh, too.

“Huh,” said the golden-scaled dragon-turned-draconian. “It’s the end of the road.”

“Ray, what the hell is going on?” said Seraphor in disbelief. He proceeded to look at his new (naked) body. “I’m…a draconian?”

“I don’t know, but I guess we are passing the point where realities go haywire,” said Raithorakh. “If this is the case, then…”

Something rocked the ship, causing the three newly transformed draconians to lose balance. Avila managed to hold on with dark claws extension, surprising her.

“My darkness abilities are still working!” exclaimed Avila.

“You are still dragons, after all. Now, I think we need to go get the captain…and get some clothes.”

They did so when a passing crewmember commented on their nudity, during which he directed them to the armory to get some new, futuristic clothes designed for draconians with wings. They had trouble getting into the clothes, owing to its skin-tight form that hugged their body and scales, but they managed anyway, and started traversing the chaotic ship.

Right as they tried to reach an elevator a group of materialized warriors, clearly alien, started shooting them. They instinctively get to cover. Seraphor noticed a nearby tree, one which he felt life in it. He then tried controlling it, but was stopped by Avila.

“Stop it, Sera! We’re on a spaceship!”

“I know!”

The plant control was something unexpected, and it caught the attackers unaware. A benign tree suddenly grew with tremendous speed and its branches became sharp, impaling many of the warriors, causing them to vanish. It slowly receded back to its now-broken pot, surprising everyone who saw it.

Seraphor was also surprised that, despite of turning into a draconian, his magical capability and elemental control was the same as always. It was as if his new body was his all along, that he had always been a draconian. Yet, he remembered himself as a four-legged dragon, smaller than most, but stronger in term of elemental magic.

Avila, too, had the same experience. She remembered herself as the draconic angel of death, but she felt as if she had been a draconian all her life. It was a bizarre, yet different, experience.

“By the ancestors, you two are fast,” said Raithorakh’s voice, owned by his draconian form. “You adapt well.”

“Thanks. What happened to the ship?”

“Attacked and boarded by the ghosts, it would seem,” said Raithorakh. “No damage, and the shield’s holding, but a fracture of seconds late, the ship might end up like when we were ambushed on the way to the Scyllan station. You weren’t there.”

“Now what?”

“First, we go up to the bridge. Then, it’s my turn.”

Seraphor knew that, with all the technologies around him that came straight out of science fiction movies, Raithorakh could help. His organic metal had no place in Seraphor’s time, but here, he would be a great asset.

They reached the elevator and tried to get to the bridge. It had a voice command imprint, so they simply asked it to get them to the bridge. It reached the floor quickly, and the three tried to get into the room. They heard sounds of energy blasters being shot from behind the door.

“Sera, try not to cause more destruction than it should,” said Raithorakh. “These…Solids, as they’re called, can be killed normally, but it must be one quick stroke and nothing destructive. And, just so you know, there are no plants in there.”

“Why can’t I use my illusions?” asked Avila.

“You won’t get there in time. Sera, you ready?”

Right at that time, Seraphor’s eyes turned to yellow from its normal sky-blue color. He smiled and said, “I’ve got just the right thing.”

Raithorakh adjusted the door to open under manual control, and Seraphor peeked in. He knew what he had to do. The ship was designed to be comfortable for the shark-like aliens with nothing but a bubble of contained water for them to breathe, while the rest of them were exposed. It would have an amount of moisture within their comfort zone.

With it, he concentrated, looking at everyone that’s a threat, and with his fingers, controlled the state of the moisture, turning them all to ice crystals. Then, molding it and controlling it, he created ice spikes from them, and with pinpoint accuracy (he had trained to do so many times), he struck the attackers, impaling them from their blind spots. The side effect of the ice crystals, however, was that it turned the bridge into the interior of a fridge.

Everyone in there was surprised by that, and they all asked who did it. Seraphor simply said, “Me.” They all turned towards him.

With a smile, and as his yellow eyes turned back to blue, he said, “I never thought being a draconian is a thing. Now I know why they’re legendary.”

“You’re…that dragon, right?” said Ifrit. “With the weird scale color?”

“Hey!”

“Captain,” said Raithorakh, approaching Pritchard. “Status?”

“Ship’s holding as it is, Raithorakh, and the rest of the fleet are, too. These are scout ships, but I have a feeling that whoever doing this is testing us. He might suddenly materialize dreadnought-class spaceships.”

“Don’t tempt him. Now, is this ship still working properly?”

“We lost most of our power maintaining our shields,” said Lunera. “They need half an hour to recharge.”

“I can make it ten minutes.”

“What? Wait, are you trying to boost the output?”

“That’s what I’m doing.”

“Are you trying to kill us?”

“That’s the last thing I’m going to do. I know what I’m doing, Lunera. Trust me.”

“This is not about trust. Do you even know 24th century tech?”

“My cyber parts know.”

Raithorakh approached a console, then, putting his cybernetic hand on it, he closed his eyes and concentrated. There was a glow forming on the console, and as astonished eyes watch, the glow slowly formed into something similar to a circuitry.

Pritchard wanted to stop him, but he saw the draconian’s eyes. He was sure about it, as if knowing what he would do. He got his confirmation by one of the officers.

“Sir, the zero-matter energy output…it increases three hundred percent.”

“Is the ship alright?”

“That’s the thing, sir,” said the officer. “It’s normal. The recharge rate is tripled, but there is no strain or anything such. We can still divert the power to shields, but it’s your call.”

“Maintain steady output to shields. Use the rest for impulse drive,” said Pritchard. “If there are excess, divert all to shields and weapons.”

“This increases output, but it isn’t energy efficient,” said Raithorakh, opening his eyes. “What I’m basically doing is draining most of it in one go.”

“Like the old positron gun,” said Lunera, remembering Dairyu’s favorite weapon. “It expelled powerful energy stream that took two-third of the battery power.”

“Don’t worry. Zero Matter lasts for months if not used for FTL. What’s the status of the Saurians and the Aqura?”

“They’re holding on, sir. I’m still maintaining contact with the fleet captains,” said the comm officer.

“Keep the channel open. We need to coordinate. Where’s the Wind of Change?”

“Dairyu here,” said Dairyu’s voice. “Is everything alright on your end?”

“How about you?”

“We are scouting ahead to see dangers. It’s going to be tricky.”

“How tricky?”

“We are so close to a tear that realities start to merge with each other,” said Rose’s voice. “We don’t know how to counter it, so be careful. Those materializing warriors are just the start.”

“And it will only get worse,” said Lunera. “But, reality merging with each other? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s difficult to explain, but let’s just say you won’t be on a spaceship for long,” said Dairyu.

The crew of St. Vincent did not understand what Dairyu meant, until they finally reached the actual borders of the center of the galaxy.

It wasn’t apparent at first, but as the ship went past a couple of nebulas, they quickly found themselves in a foreign place that had a Terran theme to it, and it was clear to them that it was an entirely different reality, or world, for that matter. As for the ship, it was gone.

The first thing they noticed in that place was themselves. They were not wearing their uniforms, but instead wore something most adventurers would wear in a fantasy setting. Then, the burning village on their horizon. The third one, however, was the fact that no one aside from those in the bridge was there.

But one of those on the bridge, Ifrit, quickly recognize the place they ended up in.

“This is…Sideview village,” said Ifrit. “We’re back where we came from.”

“Sideview village?”

“It’s where I start my surface world journeys…and where it somehow ends,” said Ifrit, reminiscing. “But enough of that. If we’re here, then, Lilac is…”

“Ifrit…”

“Yes, Ani?”

“I can’t see.”

Ifrit became confused with this remark. It was as if Anubis was stating the obvious: he was blind. But after pondering what it meant, Ifrit quickly feared the worst.

“Ani, what happened to your…”

“That’s the point, Ifrit. I can’t see anything. There’s…no Soul Particles in this land. I mean, I can sense life near our positions, and hear the rustling of leaves, but I can’t sense the particles that give them form.”

“You mean you lost your ability?”

“It would seem so.”

“Including the phasing one?”

Anubis touched his hip to find the hilt of his sword, and struggling to pull it out. Ifrit led him to a nearby tree, and the jackal concentrated before swinging his sword.

As the sword was an ancient ceremonial blade with considerable sharpness but less integrity, it did not cut clean through the trunk of the tree. It was lodged in it like a woodcutter’s axe, but that was it. The thickness of the blade was the only thing preventing it to break in half.

“Oh, shit,” said Anubis, finally realizing what happened. “It’s not just my senses.”

“Indeed. When your ‘sight’ is gone, your powers are, too.”

Everyone turned towards the owner of the voice.

“That was…my voice?” said Anubis, confused.

The owner of the voice was a similar-looking death jackal hellhound, with black fur and golden trims, coupled with long ears in accordance to the image of the namesake deity of old. He was clearly different from Anubis in term of appearance, and the fact that he wasn’t blind. He was accompanied by a similarly black-furred cat person walking beside him, then an avian person that had the head of an eagle. They all wore futuristic clothes modeled after the deity they represented, which did not cover them much.

“Ani?” said Ifrit, surprised. Somehow, despite of his different appearance, Ifrit knew that the death jackal in front of him was his friend.

“Yes, Ifrit, I am Anubis Caropus,” said the alternate Anubis. “But you’re not my Ifrit Schelkz.”

“But, that means…”

“Yes.” Anubis turned towards the burning village, his expression a mix of sadness and anger. “He’s dead, along with Lilac and your unborn child.”

“Un…born? I have a child?”

“I guess it’s too early to talk about it. I was too late.”

“What happened?” asked Ifrit, trying to regain his composure amidst the confusion. “What the fuck happened, Ani?”

“Apophis happened,” said the cat person. “That snake and his damned army invaded this planet and caused chaos! But why this backwater planet?”

“And that’s why they burned the village? A snake?”

“Not just a snake. Alien snake,” said Anubis. “You see, I was abducted by these fellows.”

“Abducted is a strong word, Anubis,” said the eagle person. “We enlisted your help.”

“By separating me from my life?” Anubis then chuckled. “Does it matter now? The whole shit’s going down, and this planet’s going to be consumed anyway. Either way, I would be involved.”

“This planet is going to be consumed?”

Anubis pointed up. Everyone followed the direction of his hand. They expressed different kinds of surprise.

The sky was literally split apart by something outside the Earth’s boundary, and it was somehow bigger than the planet itself. Everyone could not express anything other than horror and surprise.

“That’s the First Tear,” said Lunera, realizing what it was. “Ancestors, that thing’s huge!”

“It’s the size of this solar system,” said the cat person. “It doesn’t have any gravitational pull, but it is quite menacing. The Apep Empire is drawn to it, and so do we.”

“When did it form?”

“Barely a week ago. It wasn’t big then, but it grew exponentially until its length reached the length of this solar system. And within it…we noticed some planets and other anomalies that our ship had recorded. You are one such anomaly.”

“And our ship? Did you find our ship?” said Pritchard. “It’s massive enough to register on all sensors.”

“Then we need to regroup,” said Anubis. “We’ll get to the Osiris, find a way to get away from the burning village, and avoid the Apep Empire.”

He then approached his counterpart, who could not do anything but sat near Ifrit, his eyes blinking, but it had a blank stare. This Anubis then offered his hand to his counterpart, before taking his hand and putting it on him.

“You okay?” asked the alternate Anubis.

“Y-yeah,” replied the other Anubis. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I have a question. Where’s…your Ifrit’s body now? In fact, where’s she?”

“I’ve…buried Ifrit near where Lilac’s old home used to be. He showed me where, and it has a significance for him.”

“That place is where I met her the first time,” said Ifrit. “Will you be okay? I mean, I may or may not be your Ifrit, but…”

“I’ll manage. Also, she’s fine. I’ve let her stay in the Forest City.”

“About me and Lilac…is that our future?” asked Ifrit. “Marriage between a Lycan and a hellhound. I never thought that would be possible.”

“It never was, but you two managed,” said Anubis. “I’m…sorry, Ifrit. It is confusing, since you’re both dead and alive, but…”

“Don’t be. Save it until we save every reality,” said Ifrit. “In fact, we need to move. I can see that you have friends.”

The rest looked towards where Ifrit was pointing at. There was an army of sorts coming towards the village from the north. They needed to be quick, so they started to increase their pace, with all the bridge crew stranded with them.

Their experience, however, would not be exclusive to them. As of that moment, everyone from every different sides experienced their own alternate realities on different planets, different timelines, and different situations. The critical point of their mission had begun, and it would set the stage for the final stage of their mission.

The whole realities depended on every one of them.