Part 2: The Birth of the Keeper of the Records
Weeks on the dimension of V’Crios passed within days on our own dimension. Every day the vessel carrying the host Black 139-GHX and the stolen unity brain computer had to travel to a different part of the dimension.
Moments after they would leave a location, the islands where their ship had been moored was swarmed by E-strain. The E-strain had only recently begun invading the dimension, but they served as the perfect eyes and ears of Holys as he tried to track down the Time Shredders Vysen and Nigel and their weaponized Ydyara Yoba Sabot.
Despite Holys control of Time itself, it seemed Queen Ayx had been restored to life and her Hive’s will reshaped reality to keep the location clouded from Holys. Holys knew his time was running out. Despite him altering the three timelines, he could sense the Ascended under Lady Y’vhv begin locking down his three timelines.
Fighting off the power of the Cult of Ayx was a surprising challenge to the ancient blackhole warrior. He never expected so many quall minds working as one to be a danger to him, especially with so many more at his own disposal. He had ten times their number just on this dimension alone, yet the Cult of Ayx continued to hide his prey from him.
Then suddenly there was a flare of energy across the mindscapes of the Hives and Holys tried to focus in on it. He could feel it, sense it, and his armies moved as fast as they could.
Meanwhile aboard the hidden vessel, a Queen had been birthed from the djinni blood infused body of 139-GHX Black. She knew from birth her purpose and gave her head willingly.
The Quall Queen’s head was surgically removed and transferred to the stole unity computer quickly and efficiently by Yoba Sabot. Yoba Sabot was assisted by a team assembled by the Dimension Walker Nigel, and they had the computer operational and broadcasting. The signal was capable to rewriting the nature of the Quall Hivemind, but Nigel kept hearing Yoba Sabot’s voice in his head all those years ago saying, “Remember once I make these changes I can never do this again, nor change it.”
Yet here he was over a decade later, having hidden in a nearby timeline, and Nigel was trying to change it anyway. It had been a regret since his childhood that he had not allowed the protection to extend to all the Quall. How different the menace of Holys would seem if he did not have the Quall Hordes at his disposal. Nigel had beaten himself up over his choice, driven as it was by his mistrust of Yoba Sabot. Now having seen Yoba Sabot in this timeline and in others, Nigel felt he had a good feel for the Ydyara hacker.
Nigel sighed, as he plugged the nanite feed device in and began to send his own mind into the Quall Queen’s Hivemind network.
Agent Hourglass and Churchwood stood across from Nigel and watched the young man with concern. This computer’s success or failure could decide the fate of countless dimensions and this entire timeline. Both were surprised how willing the Queen that had come from Black’s head was to be part of the experiment.
Neither suspected that her mother Ayx had already told her she would soon get access to secrets that none of the other Quall Queens could access. Secret weapons and Leyas techniques that the great Progenitor Queen had locked away from her daughters over the aeons. Between their mental protection and the new weapons gathered by this newly birthed Queen, the Cult of Ayx would reclaim its power over the other Quall Hives.
It felt like Agent Hourglass and Churchwood had barely sat down to wait when Nigel’s eyes flipped open. His jaw was set in an stern way that did not put their minds at ease.
Ceroj the Red walked over with a pair of Falosini heroes, Fenix and Mayun. They had watched the beheading of the Quall Queen with glee, and were eager for news.
Yoba Sabot detached himself from the machines
The Ydyara blobbed his way down the stairs and came to stop next to Nigel. He gurgled a bit and then said, “Not much more we can do.”
“What did you do?” asked Ceroj the Red.
Yoba Sabot said, “Nigel and I hacked the Quall Hiveminds.
As I told Nigel months ago when he was but a child…strange that…I could not go back in to innoculate the rest of the Quall against Holys’ Hiveking once the changes were made the first time. But…I was able to innoculate them from a future threat. So if you all can succeed in killing Holys’ Hiveking, even if he gets another, he will be unable to mass hack the minds of all the Quall N’drone.”
Nigel said, “It is an important step in the right direction. Never again will anyone be able to control the Quall across dimensions. Even if the Neliff or Holys deploys some new evil, they will never control the beloved Queens of the Quall.”
Ceroj said, “I don’t know about beloved queens. But knowing the Quall are once again free of Neliff influence will reassure the Falosini Sovereigns greatly.”
Yoba Sabot said, “Only after Holys’ Hiveking is killed will the Queens be freed.
I must make that abundantly clear!”
Ceroj smiled and lifted up Yoba Sabot into a hug that lasted far too long, and made everyone feel uncomfortable. Then he placed him down and said, “You little blob are my new favorite being. You have done us all a great service.”
Then Ceroj turned to Nigel, “We will retain the truce that you and Grash’tah child of Gorsj have put into place until Holys is defeated. I will gather my armies. Fenix and Mayun will remain here to coordinate my actions with your own. A great day for the armies of the Falosini, and the heroes of all species.”
Ceroj left, and Yoba Sabot glared at his winged form.
Then Yoba Sabot said, “I think our next step is a bit more complicated than he realizes. So what do we do with the head in the jar?”
“We restore her to life of course,” said Nigel who immediately did so.
The daughter of Ayx looked at them surprised they had restored her to life. In her memories she retained the full truths hidden away by the Quall over the aeons. And they were many.
She now knew the forbidden arts of Annihilation and Technomancy. She knew the forbidden art of recreating reality. And she knew how to alter time itself. All powers the Quall Hordes had absorbed and considered too dangerous to allow even their own kind to use, for fear of the consequences to the balance.
She would now be the sole decider of when and where these powers would be used. And first she would match Holys Chronomancy with her own powers.
“I am the Keeper of the Records and I am here to protect the sanctity of the Quall Hiveminds and the Hivemind connection.”
