Contrarily, laziness was a trait that never really occurred to the Nomads. They had always been engineered to be useful in all their waking moments, and this was no exception. Surely enough, without the potential interruption of repair systems patching its 'handiwork', Melia's energy beam eventually cut through to the interior of the Spatial's main cockpit. It had made a clean, cylindrical cut, not much larger in width than a human fist. Some air momentarily jetted out of the hull due to the obvious pressure differential between open space and a sealed spacecraft, but it quickly stopped. Utilizing a form of localized telekinetic capability, Melia had apparently secured the breach it had just cut. It wasn't leaking air, but it was still exposed to space.
It also continued to lull Nycto into receptivity. Through concept it urged her to move away from the primary controls of the Spatial and to relax near the hull breach it just created. It seemed like completely counter-intuitive logic from a survivalist's point of view, but perhaps there was in fact some internal worry that needed to die before the end of this act. That persistent feeling of friendliness did not cease. It would, of course, be easy enough to resist, but Nycto probably didn't want to.
Meanwhile, a small object left the confines of Melia's undulating form. Melia manipulated the spherical object away from its form and toward the breach in the Spatial. There would be a few moments before it arrived.
A small disregard, as the hole formed in the window, the oxygen started to flow away, and it pulled Nycto along with it. It was for a fraction of a second till Melia manifested a telekinetic barrier, but what Nycto overlooked is that the artificial gravity controls were located on the same panel. Her finger slipped as she was getting pulled towards the window, and unintentionally, she pressed the button, thus disabling the gravity on the entire ship. She was hovering in front of the window, with her mouth agape, gasping for the oxygen, and while abit dazed by her own negligence, she found it even fitting for the situation she was in, as something spherical was approaching her ship. By something she was astonished. Yet the sensation was getting more calming, as a sign that there was nothing to be worried about. And she wasn't. On a contrary, she complitely trusted Melia in whatever she was planning to do. And it was even easier to relax in a space with no gravity.
If we don't end war, war will end us. - H. G. Wells
The moment of truth was approaching. Whilst maintaining the telekinetic seal on the breach, Melia finished moving the object through. It was a small blue sphere, not much smaller than the hole that was cut into the ship. It seemed damningly innocuous in its appearance, a perfectly round ball of sorts. Melia's form, possibly noticeable through the hole in the ship, was pulsing with an intensified brightness. The seed moved into the main cockpit of the craft, still controlled by Melia, it floated perfectly still despite the lack of gravity now present on the Spatial. With the 'package' now on board the Spatial, Melia detached a sufficient shard of material from its form and carefully gummed up the hole it had cut into the ship. Such was nominally used as missiles, or cruise disruptors, but in a pinch it also served as an effective hull sealant when not charged with energy.
"It may no longer be delayed. The learning one shall accept the embrace and join the Light. The learning one shall grow and sing. We shall be as one. The Light shall purify the Darkness. "
"Warmth."
That was when Melia focused a fair bit more of its mental capacity on entrancing Nycto into a state of relative bliss, bringing her close to that dreaming mind-state, but not quite. Melia was also guiding the seed telekinetically towards Nycto. Amidst the trance, it seemed Melia was nudging her to open herself up to it.
A flashy, spherical object entered her ship. Not something she was afraid of, but rather curious about. But the image of it, aswell as of Melia, was getting more blury, as the sensation was growing stronger and stronger. Nycto leaned back, with her hands spread, surrendering herself completely into the sensation and to the object that was floating infront of her. Her eyes were closed, mind - cloudy, and her breath was steady. But in the same time, she felt that one feeling she always enjoyed. The only, perfect warm that could provide her comfort. Her mind was signaling to keep her mouth open, but she wasn't panting anymore. She was completely relaxed.
If we don't end war, war will end us. - H. G. Wells
Another curious duality. The sensations were getting more, and more, and more oppressive and domineering, yet comforting in a way that could be described as no less than ecstatic. As Nycto released herself more and more to the whims of her patron, the seed came closer and closer in proximity. Bliss turned to serenity as the final, binding moment came to pass. The seed reached Nycto's wide open mouth, and passed through into her.
Once it did, Melia's intent with the trance seemed to shift substantially. It began to sing, a lullaby of sorts, urging Nycto to fall into unconscious rest, ever present, ever persistent. The seed began to do its work not shortly after, activating and beginning to grow within. It would perform its preordained task, reaching out, spreading, growing, and indeed purifying and becoming a part of Nycto.
A dark alley of what appeared to be one of Manhattan's indigent neighborhoods. Her name was silently echoing from the walls of the buildings, as she was standing between them. She sharply opened her eyes. to realise that she appeared in the one alleyway she always knew. The one she desperately wanted to forget.
"Why do you hide, Nathalie?"
The whispers were repeating. Something she was confused by. But if it was a fragment of her past, she deemed it right to investigate it.
The image was getting clearer and clearer. When she left the alleyway, she looked around for some answers. It was a night. A dangerous time. Yet she remembers that she was cooperating with Rogues during that time. So she looked around, looking for some suspicious persones. She looked at the left and saw a homeless beggar with a cat, staring in a distance. She felt sorry for him. She then kept scanning the 'hood clockwise. Cars. Workers. Civilians. Shops. A group of three suspicious people and a girl. "Bingo." She thought, approaching them.
"Payment first?" The rogue on the right asked. He was wearing a jacket and was the lowest of three and he also had a mohawk. A girl nodded. A guy with a mohawk signaled a rogue on the left, who happened to be a guy whom you could call a "beefy boy" to hand over a pack of food. "Where's the rest?" The girl asked, after she investigated the food pack and looked back at the rogues with a confused expression. "As soon as you tell us where's the convoy headin'." The guy in the middle answered. He was of middle height, bold and by appearance he was either Cretan or Maltese. The girl, however, didn't trusted their words. "Can I at least see it?" Sighing, the guy in a middle signaled a guy on the left to show her the rest of the food packs and ten gallons of water. With a bit more optimism on her face, the girl started to talk. "The DSE manufacturer said that a convoy loaded with H-Fuel and Boron will depart from Pittsburgh on Thursday, 1130." She extended her right arm to the Rogues, making a gesture to hand over the rest of the provisions to her. The guy in the middle smiled, and he signaled a guy in the left to do as she asks. The provisions were carefuly placed on a hoverboard, so the girl wouldn't had any problems moving them around. "Pleasure having business with you, senorita." A guy in a middle said. "Vamos- Hey, Carlos." - a guy from the right interrupted him. Two others were ready to depart, while the other one was staring at a girl suspiciously."Are you sure we can trust her? Where's the guarantee that she won't snitch on us?" Nycto relatively close this whole time. She recognized Carlos in a guy in the middle, while the guy on the left was James, as she remembers. But she couldn't remember the guy on the right. However, he was certainly nervous. "Que pasa, Daniel? You don't trust me? Maybe you don't trust us aswell?" The guy with a mohawk shaked his head. "No, I trust you, bro. But I don't trust her." Marcos approached Daniel and put his right arm on his left shoulder. "Listen, amigo. I trust her more than I do myself. Comprender?" But Daniel shaked his head again."Whatever." He swiftly turned, directing his right fist into girl's face. She reacted swift enough so he couldn't break her skull, but he left a solid bruise on her face, and with a silent moan, she flied a few meters back. Nycto was shocked from seeing it, as she remembered this happenining to her, and she couldn't help herself but put her hands on her mouth, but at the same time, she felt as someone punched her into the face. Marcos grabbed Daniel by his jacked and silently yelled at him "The hell do you think you're doing?!" But Daniel only shrugged. "Just so she knows what happens if she snitches on us." His arrogance was taking the best test of Marcos's patience. "Do you want to know what happens to those who dare to put up a fist against our own?!" He delivered a solid uppercut to Daniel's chin, knocking him off to the ground, then swiftly pulling out his handgun and shooting his comrade into the head. Nycto flinched as she heard the gunfire and realising why she couldn't remember the guy on the right. The girl, on the other hand, shortly screamed, and covered her eyes with her hands. It was not the first time she was someone being murdered, but she certainly didn't liked it. "The girl is a witness." James said with a dry expression. "No." Marcos replied, putting his handgun back in a holster. "Everybody is." Indeed, there was alot of people walking around in a 'hood, who were barely paying attention to situation around the rogues and a girl. What surprising is that nobody was looking at Nycto, as if she was nonexistant. "Let's go. She will manage." Marcos said, picking up Daniel's body. When the Rogues walked away, Nycto decided to approach the girl. "Hey." She said silently. But the girl didn't react. She was still quietly weeping. Nycto sat down in front of her and tried to put her hand on a girl's head... But suddenly, it just faded through. It was something Nycto anticipated and her speculations were confirmed - she was reliving her past memories, however she couldn't interact with them. "I see." She put her hand back on her legs, but she kept smiling at a girl. She knew it was her, she remembered seeing all these people, all this happening all over again, and she remembered where the girl would go with the food package. But she would wait for her to calm down. And it didn't took her too long to accept the unnecissity of man's cruelty. The girl indeedly calmed down pretty fast, stood up, picked up her package and looked around. Her face wasn't happy. Although just a few years ago she was living in the elite appartment, now she exists in the most horrible conditions. And a thought of that someone might be existing in such conditions from the very beginning was terrifying her. She was pondering many things on her way back to the same alley in which Nycto appeared. And Nycto was simply following her, looking around and surrounded by neverending whispers.
If we don't end war, war will end us. - H. G. Wells
Meanwhile, in the physical realm and untroubled (at least in the moment) by its past, Melia had fled the scene of what Humanity would call a heinous crime, and returned to the shelter of Moros for the time being, leaving its charge hidden well away in the depths of the Clotho Field. It would take hours for the growing incubus to reach the point where it would be able to nominally function in tandem with its host. It seemed, unintentionally, that the process of it doing so had triggered an insight into Nycto's past, something she alone would have to confront and endure, lest the vivid experience cripple her mind beyond the point of viability. Yet, if she could withstand it, it would be the last time she would ever need to truly feel loneliness.
Forlorn faces running from the cold regret. Hollow walls resonating with neverending whispers. All that was surrounding Nycto and a little girl on their way back to the alley way. The only detail Nycto didn't paid attention to was an entrance the the basement on the right. A basement she also desperately wanted to forget. She stopped, as she evidentally didn't want to go there. But the whispers were growing up behind her stronger and stronger as she was standing still. Realising that it was not an option, she catched up to the girl and runned down the stairs. The hoverpad with provisions slowly hovered downwards, and as the girl followed it, she pressed the alarm button near the entrance door. Heavy steps could be heard and a door opened with a swift move. A wide black man showed up in the doorway. Whilist Nycto gasped in shock from seeing him, a small smile showed up on little girl's face. It was her uncle. Whilist he was ignoring Nycto's presence, but he smiled back at a girl. "Hello, Jane. I see you've got a good catch." He stepped aside, alowing her to walk in. Realising that the man would close the door behind her, Nycto decided to walk in right behind Jane. But it didn't happened as she was thinking. The black man looked outside and scanned the area to see if anyone was following the girl. Ascertained that nobody followed her, he locked the door and walked in. Surprisingly, there were no whispers inside. It was completely calm and quiet, nobody except for Jane and her uncle. The basement was the same as she remembers it. A wide hallway, which reveals a kitchen, and yet an another hall with two bedrooms on the sides. The one on the left was Jane's and the one on the right was Barry's cabinet, which essentialy was his bedroom too.
Barry and Jane were in a hallway. She was sitting on a chair, while he was kneeling before her. He knew that something was wrong. He looked at her left cheek, where she got hit by a rogue. He sighed. "You were dealing with the Rogues again?" She had a sad expression on her face. She knew it was partly her fault. But she couldn't do anything but stare back at him with a sad expression. Which he couldn't resist, he loved his niece with all his heart. "C'mere." Instead of reprimanding her, he just hugged her with the entirety of his mass for a few seconds. After releasing her, Jane felt a strange relief. It was something she liked. And even if Nycto was standing in the side, leaning on the wall, she somehow felt how somebody squeezed and released her in the exact same moment, providing an enormous dose of empathy. It was sudden, at least for her. But she gave away a confused smile too. "Man is violent by nature, my dear. You just have to accept it. If it wasn't so, we wouldn't be living down here." He patted her on a shoulder. "You look tired. You hungry? Or just want to take a nap?" Her face was giving away a tired smile. "I'm good, thanks... I just... Yes. I'll go to sleep. Don't want to eat." She slowly stood up and walked towards her room. "Is everything okay?" Barry's voice sounded evidentally concerned. "Yeah... I'm just tired..." She replied, continuing slowly walking to her room.
Nycto felt a certain sorrow for the kid, as she remembered what kind of thoughts she had that night. "It was the night when I also had a first thought of suiciding." Barry sat on a couch, folding his hands together below his chin. "And why is that?" Getting confused at first, Nycto looked at her uncle. She looked at him silently for a few seconds. Then a sudden realisation came to her mind, a realisation of what happened to her moments ago. She might be experiencing what happened to her in the past and having a chance to talk to those to whom she couldn't while she rehabilitates. Hence the whispers. But what do they mean by "hiding"? "I lost all the hope that day. Exactly that day. What I didn't told you is that I also saw one of the Rogues killing one of theirs. True enough, they killed a guy who punched me in the face, but still. They did so in front of a child. And they killed one of theirs." He hummed, pondering. "Considering your sentimentality and the conditions... I would consider it legit." She looked around her and then back at her uncle. "So... Why am I here again?" After that question, her uncle rised up and walked towards her. "You don't have anything to say to me?" Her conscience was trembling. She had no words to say, but her uncle was staring directly into her eyes. Being unable to determine what exactly she wants to do, she just embraced him with tears running down on her face. "I'm sorry." Sighing, he patted her on a back. "It's alright, dear... It's alright. It's all partly my fault, but at least I'm glad that you know how to cherish the ones who love you." She chuckled. "Who do you think I am?" She released him and they both giggled for a bit. He then smiled at her and she smile back. "No matter what fate you chose for yourself, know only one thing. As long as you are on the right side, I'm proud of you. And only you can decide which side is right for you." He started slowly walking backwards deeper into the basement. But Nycto didn't want to let go of him. "No! Don't go away! He turned away slowly, proceeding. Nycto attempted to catch up to him, but her hand faded as it did before with Jane. "Acceptance, Nathalie. I died long ago. I am here just so you can say your last goodbye to me." Straightening up slowly, she looked sadly as her uncle and basement began to disintegrate. Piece by piece, with a sound of shattering glass, triangular fragments were flying up into the air, but her uncle just slowly faded away. "Goodbye, Barry."
She was in completely empty, white space. An absolute nothingness. Until, suddenly...
"Nathalie."
If we don't end war, war will end us. - H. G. Wells
She hastly turned around. But nobody was there. She turned turned again. Nobody. Until suddenly, somebody tapped her on her left shoulder. She looked back. And she saw herself. Her exact replica. But she looked thoroughly to see the difference, until she realised that her eyes were blue, while her own eyes were brown.
"It's time, Nathalie."
With a heavy impact, her surrounding was decimated on the same triangular glass fragments, each slowly faded away one by one. She was floating in the air for a fair ten seconds. And she knew that the best thing she could do is to relax.
And she was right. The next thing she didn't saw coming was a ray of light striking her nape. It went directly through the nose bridge and rushed forward into the abyss. Nycto's eyes rolled in, as the shock from a such experience was unbearable. Many other rays struck her arms, legs, spine. eventually rushing into the same direction. What she definitely felt that she was getting carried by them somewhere. As they were progressing forward, more light rays assembled along the way, eventually enveloping Nycto. The pain flushed away. They were heading to the source of light, and as closer they were getting, the stronger Nycto could feel a signature feeling of the mindscape. That one perfect warmth. The purposeless joy and happiness she was hoping to share one day. And there was her afterimage, floating next to her along the way. She was humming that one song that was always playing in the mindscape. But it had a different effect on Nycto. She was getting charmed by the way the song was getting delivered, almost faling asleep. "You... remind me of sirens. Their songs were as charming as yours." An afterimage chuckled. "We are flattered." The path was long and it would take time, but Nathalie was patient, as well as the afterimage next to her.
And even if for Nycto only bare minutes have passed, in reality, she was still in Omicron Lost, and she would remain so for the rest of the day.
If we don't end war, war will end us. - H. G. Wells