Book 7, Chapter 40 - Allegiance (1/2)
Book 7, Chapter 40 - Allegiance
These crystal orbs were advanced information devices, records of days past. They preserved data in a unique way and as a product of divine technology, it required mental power to use.
Although activating them was trying, the result was wide-ranged, three dimensional representation of what happened. Users were able to experience everything that happened as though they were there.
After relaying its information, the crystal orb dimmed and fell from the air. Cloudhawk caught it in his palm and looked it over with a solemn expression.
Such a small thing contained such staggering information…
Parts of it were accelerated so it passed quickly, but it chronicled the final months of this species’ existence. It was sad and disheartening.
The demands of the crystal were so great that only a Master Demonhunter or stronger could access what it held. Manufacturing such items had to be difficult, more difficult than humans could manage. Cloudhawk figured the Demon King had left them here on purpose.
Dawn, Phoenix, Bruno and Natessa stood on unsteady feet, as though waking from a dream. Was that how the old world died?
Cloudhawk delved into several more of the crystals, spying their contents. Each one chronicled the same scene; a thriving world infected and destroyed by the touch of the gods. None of the crystals showed Cloudhawk’s planet, but he knew it had suffered the same fate.
He gathered them all up and decided to take them with him. “This is critical information. We need to bring it back to everyone.”
“It’s incredible… these gods are like locusts. Countless numbers of them out among the stars.” Dawn ran a hand over her helmet. “But this information doesn’t tell us how to fight them. If you put this out there I think it may just cause panic.”
Gods really were like locusts. A plague, moving through the universe, devouring one species after another. They moved out there, searching for targets to consume and with each planet taken their numbers swelled. It was a process that had been going on for millions of years.
Dawn even wondered if there was more than one ‘Mount Sumeru.’
It would make sense. The Demon King, once leader of his sect of Gods, was merely supplanted by another leader stronger than him. Godly society was probably much larger than they thought. Like ants they had nests all over the cosmos – each one with its own queen.
Think of the scale if every godly system was just one in a nearly infinite whole… Were humans really so insignificant by comparison?
Their world wasn’t special to the gods. Just another rock spinning through the darkness. Human civilization was just one more of an untold number already crushed beneath their boots. Gods were a massive species spread all across the galaxy, all unified toward a single purpose. They had endless lifespans, high intelligence and power, and a tight-knit society.
Humans, by comparison, were a species that hadn’t even figured out how to leave their home planet. They were insects, to be squished on a whim by their betters. Any struggle seemed hopeless, which made Arcturus Cloude’s grim determinations seem correct.
What Cloudhawk was doing could achieve nothing. Nothing but hasten his species’ march toward destruction.
“That’s exactly why this information needs to be put out there. Against a powerful enemy we need everyone to fight together. Maybe they’ll realize the stakes.” Cloudhawk felt the weight of his responsibilities bearing down on him. He finished putting the crystals away. “We can’t allow the Elysian lands to continue to fracture. We have to unify everyone against this threat as quickly as possible.”
Dawn nodded emphatically. She thrust her sword skyward in a pledge of devotion. “Fuck the gods! Let them come, we’ll cut ‘em down! We’ve stuck it out for this long, what’s there to be scared of? Only the short-sighted fools, and they can go jump off a fuckin’ cliff.”
As she said it Dawn glared pointedly at Natessa and the others. The former Giant of Hell’s Valley, in particular, glowered at the words.
Phoenix was quiet, her brow knit in thought. For all her strength she couldn’t take on a Supreme. But even if she could, what difference would it make? Insignificant, a drop in the bucket.
Cloudhawk was a right bastard, but she had to admit that he was stronger than her. While she didn’t like it, the truth was the world needed someone like him. He was at least brave enough to stand up and shout the truth. How many would see reality and choose to hide their head in the sand? Who would choose to fight among themselves when a threat to every living thing loomed on the horizon?