After Satrina's words, an awkward silence hung in the air, which, however, did not last long.
"- We... I... " Her voice changed to its normal state and distorted back until it returned to its original sound.
"- It was a deliberate choice, despite the fact that the situation in which everything happened to me pushed me to the desired result. They showed me what a terrible person I was... They made me feel all the pain that I caused to others before. They opened my eyes to the consequences of my sins. Enlightenment gave me another chance. A chance for redemption. Humanity is heading into the abyss. Without enlightenment or at least understanding the essence of harmony that the Light carries in itself, we are all doomed to become one of the billions of extinct species. They didn't touch my mind. Didn't rewrite it. Many people brand me as a slave to their will, but this is not at all the case. I remained myself. But I looked at the world from a different angle..."
She glanced again at Israfel and back.
"- We are different, Satrina. You claim that we are one but serve two. This is not true. We, like those who enlightened us, are different. We do not abandon our own. We do not treat even the least significant as a resource. We are few, but we are a family. We are what they were all before the great war. Until the expulsion of some and the blind agony of others. The rest hate us for this. They brand us as engulfed in darkness, however, it is they who have become living weapons whose common goal is war and destruction."
Israfel watched the memories flow into his mind and reflected on past events he had no part in.
Something they got from a different Mindshare, a different Hive... Fascinating. The access to archives was still possible to obtain with ORIN's aid. The desperate gesture of sharing the Black Channel's copy with Auxesia could be avoided, then, but there was no use crying over spilled milk.
A familiar feeling of rejuvenation and fresh energy enveloped him. His appearance changed for a moment, revealing him as more of a shape of swirling colors, of deep lilac, dark blue, yellow and amaranth, his poor control of psychic power manifesting itself. His seemingly clawed hand wiped a featureless face and it was all gone. Only a human remained. Israfel sighed.
– So right now our best bet is to reach out to ORIN... – he said, looking down.
He paid no heed to the Fae for now, thinking of what this all could mean for the future. And yet he spoke as Juliet finished her part:
– Considering what I know, it seems to me that you have learned much, too much from humans. Or so a K'Hara would say, – he looked at both women intently. – Do I misunderstand the nature of Nomads completely? Saturnia, were they more like us originally?
"Im sorry Juliet. I knew you are different, but I had never dreamed it would be that way anywhere. I want to meet all of you." She said excitedly.
She regarded Israfels question and thought a moment.
"It's hard to explain, three-winds believed it was possible but memories within the light are vary biased, the same memory from one perspective can be very different. In general, the old songs and the graves of their makers are regarded as dark and dangerous." she explained. "Ninlil, the one I was before - I was.... explored many of those places and was ... mocked? so she would get help, humans. specifically."
"Orin will respond if they are out there. I hope more do come back." She rubbed her forehead. " My energy is not focused its coming back, but I think I've aged or changed so much in four years I don't feel together.. not much better than Israfel. I feel me coming here.. and the morphs. Hopefully, all I am will return."
"- Not like "We" are, Insrafel." - she corrected him.
"- I meant a unity never seen before. For a human, there are no ties closer than family ties, that's why I used this term. The war has broken everyone. Even "ours". We are trying to get closer to that unity. We understand that this is not possible, in view of what happened to both Tribes, but still... It's worth trying to be better. You correctly noticed that We... They... That they learned a lot from humankind. This is called adaptation. The Remnants, "K'Hara" did the same. However, there is still a difference. To draw the best of the qualities, or to absorb the essence of the destructive nature of humanity."
She folded her palms into the lock and walked closer to Satrina.
"- Come with us. You will have the opportunity to communicate with others and understand the essence of what I said. We will not harm you or anyone who chooses to follow us. As for the Shrine, this is not the place it used to be for a long time. Not many consider it a Holy today, and therefore they will gladly desecrate it with blood and pain. And now I'm not even talking about Remnants. For them, this place is still sacred. No... I'm talking about Banishers. The Order. Their scouts are increasingly making themselves felt in Kansas. It is a matter of time before they find this place and set it on fire."
A different perspective on the same truth. More like a united family. K'Hara and Vagrants leaned towards different perspectives, as was inevitable from the start. With time those whom Israfel would call insolent and traitorous became the only ones willing to communicate.
Then so shall it be. The only group they had the option to turn to. If they fail them too, there will be truly no rest for the wicked. Sure, Revenant and Auxesia were within reach but did they truly have anything to do with humanity's future?
Did they have anything to do with his future?
"My people can evacuate from the Shrine once we're done gathering the remains of our archives, everything else can wait until we move. Saturnia, we will appreciate your aid if you can lend us a hand. However, abandoning our silent guide simply doesn't feel right to me," – Israfel looked up. – "If only there was a method to change the path... If the gate could be relocated."
The three could soon hear footsteps. A man in a protective suit similar to Israfel's approached and greeted them with a nod:
"High Matron, mademoiselle De Lorraine, Exarch. I am Cultist Nazar, head of the research group. High Matron's message caused quite a stir. I take it as we may expect new arrivals sooner or later?"
"Perhaps, Nazar. Note that the three of us need to determine how long we can linger here. We may have to postpone the archives' complete study and reorganization."
Her eyes finally faded again. Now she was no different from an ordinary human. It looks like Vagrant's has already done what it wanted, allowing Juliette to make her own decisions.
- We, Faes, will provide you protection during your work with the archives and regrouping those from your organization that survived. I will send a squad of fighters here. This, of course, will not be enough to repel the attack of the entire fleet, but it will be enough to ward off marauders and unhealthy curious people from this place. If you need more, Matrona, Exarch, please let us know.
"I feel part of me is close. I must rest for now. I will gladly go where we need to. A fleet had tried to siege this base before but it never arrived here. I think it has some kind of inhibitor, and it could also be its proximity to the core of the galaxy. It makes this a very out-of-the-way target."
she looked at everyone.
"There's much work left to do. The universe has not forsaken our tasks. If I am here, who we need will find us sooner or later." she said.
"Thank you for your aid, Juliette and others. We will wait and continue our work, then. I should bring up the fact that we have Keeper Revenant whose survival is still an unsolved problem. She's interested in the old projects of the Oracles. Once we reunite with ORIN, should we consider trading this knowledge? After all, I got the idea to give her the Black Channel's copy because I expected us all to be taken by oblivion and wanted someone to learn from our exploits. With Vagrants' aid we are in position to bargain or even refuse cooperation in some areas, if needed. I do not suggest we leave her hanging, though. What can we ask from Auxesia? They are a powerhouse of technology as far as I know. I think ORIN might have good suggestions about that."
