Chapter 16-L: The Ender

General Summary

Hana's remarks regarding the incomplete nature of Eteras prompted further soulsearching in Luanshi. It resonated with something inside of him. A feeling of unfinished business. A failing on his part that has bothered him for generations.
Capricae was called in to scout ahead for deployment of the Pantheon Hunters. The homeworld was under threat of an unidentified hostile. With no visual or intel to work with, Capricae had to inch forward on the Orbital Assault Platform, until finally coming close enough to the target to realise the scale of what they were fighting.
Boasting the size of a small planet, the Hunters could barely make out the full scale of its claws before having their platform be crushed by its weight. The hunters fought a losing battle, with aether making no dent in its hide. Capricae attempted to take the fight to close quarters, but found their tools and training offered little help save for evading the gargantuan beast's impacts.
Without a fuel source, Capricae soon tired out, and the dragon would crush them with ease.
Time stopped, and the soul remembered the encounter with the Sage prior to being promoted. The Vestige of Knowledge was finished. A woman had accepted the position, allowing the souls to be returned to the new vessels, solving the issue of immortality. The plans could move forward, worlds could be created, new homes for everyone. And yet this breakthrough came at the cost of her freedom. Tied to the machine for the rest of her life, the Fateless would give her all so that the rest of her kind could experience a future.
The Sage asked Capricae to accept the position of Scout Captain on the Origin Project, and to look after the Fateless. They accepted.
Before Capricae could be crushed by the dragon, the Sage stepped in with the Transcendent, quickly deflecting the impending attack and laying down the offensive. Kaelec implored Capricae to get out of here and safeguard the Fateless. He once more accepted and departed.
In the skies of the home system, the battle raged on, with a growing silhouette of shade seemingly fighting the dragon in close quarters. Until a fateful blast from the dragon's maw disintegrated the combatant.
The Origin left the system once and for all. Measures had to be taken to ensure the planet's survival in deep space. The aether of the land was converted into a veil that would retain the warmth of the planet. The hunters went into voluntary stasis to conserve power. Little by little, everything came to a halt.
Only three remained. Scout Captain Capricae, Navigator Clovire and Warmaster Aevernon. Together they devised a means to combat the dragon. By taking it to a place where it is at a disadvantage. A realm outside the physical.
As the three drew the dragon into the mindscape of Clovire, the dragon disintegrated, flooding the region with dense aether. Everyone present succumbed quickly. Their mission had been completed. And yet Capricae still had to fulfil his promise to Kaelec and the Sage.
A promise that haunts Luanshi even now.
Yet life would go on. A soul without life leads a dull one. Forgetting these memories is a small price to pay for a chance to play again. Isn't that right, Pricia?

Report Date

27 Mar 2022