CHAPTER 25 – THE WAY OF LOVE

 

"And when they have brought forth and reared this perfect virtue, they shall be called the friends of god, and if ever it is given to their kind to put on immortality, it shall be given to them."

– Plato, "The Symposium"

 

The Radiant Knights and the rest of the survivors had gathered on Ouroboros' bridge, away from the terrible sights which awaited them on the other decks. The command center was impressive in scale like the rest of the enormous dreadnought, vast enough to house a starship of its own. Despite the bridge's grandeur the atmosphere was bleak and there was little talking.

Airo and Veralla stood by the CIC podium, wrapped in a hug. Kiana and Nightsong were nearby, the Conduit petting her soulkin with a bitter expression. Glawlrhain, Stamat, Lylana, and Zuckeroff were also in the vicinity. Magus Dei wasn't far off either, absorbed and troubled.

"At least that insane bitch is now powerful enough to smack the Lightbringer hard 'nuff to turn him into singularity," Kiana said out loud to everyone's benefit. "I'd bet exactly zero IOUs on it, but she might be even fucking generous enough to close the Reality Vortex."

"Mentoria cannot defeat Ferrtau," Magus said quietly, his tone one of absolute certainty. "He will subjugate her, and use her to bring down the Shield."

"Excuse me, but how the fuck?" Kiana objected. "We're talking about an aethereal who's had who-knows-how-many centuries of experience transformed into a fucking dragon who can alter fucking reality! If Veralla here can snap her talons and bring people back to life within an instant, think of what that bitch can do! No fucking way even the Lightbringer can compete with her, planet-busting powers or not!"

"Hey... if you can bring people back to life, can't you... make these here alive too?" Nightsong asked Veralla tentatively.

"I tried," she hrrr–ed miserably. "I cannot... I do not know even how I brought Airo back," she said, and sobbed. Airo stroked her twin crests soothingly, and she buried her snout in his shoulder.

"Ferrtau needs not to face Mentoria in terms of force," Magus said, lowering his head. "He has an ability like no other; he can fully and without resistance take away the will of any true dragon. Since Mentoria became one, Ferrtau now can exert complete dominion over her."

All Radiant Knights around the bridge perked up at the words of their former grandmaster. Glawlrhain shot Magus a look.

"We were never told Ferrtau could hold such a sway over my kind," the training master said, his amber eyes full of unspoken accusation.

"It happened during the Starblaze," the old Knight sighed. "All then was hanging in the balance, as it is now. Drastic measures were taken and carried out by Ferrtau and Kalessia. In the end, our Order, united with the rest of the galaxy, defeated all threats... yet the two of them were changed because of what had to be done.

"You have noticed it too, how Kalessia and Ferrtau became different... I believe he never tried to suppress his change. This is what has given him the ability to raise the Revenant and it is... what enabled him to overpower the Order in the first place."

"You're saying the dragon Knights were overtaken when Ferrtau assaulted the Shard, sir?" Lylana interjected. Her expression became shocked as she worked out something in her mind. "That explains it... why so many... so utterly..."

"And now the same fate awaits Mentoria," Magus concluded.

"Wait... does this mean the Lightbringer will succeed to destroy reality after all?!" one of the Radiant Knights exclaimed.

"Yes... that is exactly what he will do," Magus said. "All of our efforts, all of our losses – they were in vain."

Silence descended upon Ouroboros' bridge. The Radiant Knights and the rest of the survivors drooped, their spirits utterly defeated.

"Then we must go and stop Ferrtau."

Everyone lifted their heads. Airo carefully let go of Veralla and stepped forth. He was still confused and overwhelmed, as if his continued existence was somehow wrong on a fundamental level, yet the core of his will was intact – and he was as determined as ever. "If Ferrtau threatens to destroy reality, then we must go to the Shard and stop him," he repeated.

"How? How can we possibly do so, Commander?" Lylana asked with a strained voice. "We already stood up against the Lightbringer and he all but eradicated us. What else is left for us to do?"

"Precisely," Airo answered, his tone clear and intent. "What else is left for us to do but go and try to stop the man who wants to end the universe as we know it?" He scanned the gathered host, noting the surprised looks he got. "What else any of you have left? To stay here and wait to die? Or would you rather die trying to save the universe?"

"What do you suggest?" one of the dragon Knights, Teyalinar, challenged. "That we should go and just throw ourselves at Ferrtau, to feel better as we die?"

"I never said we should go without a plan," Airo replied firmly.

"It's still a suicide mission, dude!" Tehalix burst out. "Plan or no plan, what're our chances of facing the Lightbringer a second time and coming out on top, when he has every advantage?"

"Above zero," Airo said, deadpan.

"I concur with Commander Airo's estimate," Yeoman Cloud chimed in.

Nobody spoke in dispute, yet there was no assent either.

Airo again broke the silence.

"You pledged a vow to follow me until Ferrtau has faced justice," he said. "I hereby free you all from your vow."

He turned to address all survivors. "Now, it is your choice whether you come with me or not – be you a Radiant Knight, a soldier, or a civilian.

"Regardless of your choice, I am going. I am going to stop Ferrtau. That is my choice."

"I am coming, too!" Veralla straightened, and stood beside him. "No matter where you go, I will follow, Airo." They looked at each other and Airo saw encouragement and affection in Veralla's gaze – one he returned with his whole soul.

There was the merest pause after his declaration.

"I'm with you, Boss!" Zuckeroff called suddenly, making an overdramatic military salute. "It's been an epic time under your command, and I won't miss the final mission-boss-sport round for anything!"

"Gah, I won't die a coward either," Kiana added, rolling her eyes. "A fool maybe, but at least a brave fool. Count me in, too."

"Me too! Me too!" Nightsong piped. "I'll go wherever you go, Kiana!"

Glawlrhain let out a small roar and rose on his hindlegs. "Two of our ranks have chosen to make the most noble of sacrifices: to imperil their lives for the good of all," the training master hrrr–ed. "It is only right the rest of us Radiant Knights join their cause, so our shared light can protect us all and ensure the success of the task our sisters have undertaken. What say you?"

"Ita vero! I go!" Stamat shouted, raising his fist.

"ITA VERO! WE GO!" the Radiant Knights cried out as one, raising fists and wings.

"Per arda ad astra," Major Trahaearn called. The tall Stonelander made a step forward. "There is no finer reward for a soldier than to protect and serve their fellow comrades, the people, and their shared home. I come at your service, Commander Airo."

"We are all coming," Captain Riley said, putting a hand on Trahaearn's shoulder. "Nothing separates us in this conflict – human or dragon, Consortium or Union, warrior or commoner, we're all fighting for our lives, for the lives of our very galaxy. Only death or glory remains!" The two officers exchanged nods.

The entire starship bridge reverberated with a cheer, everyone resolved to dedicate themselves to one last, final hope.

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Tehalix shouted as the clamor died down. "All right, we all doomed ourselves to certain death and we're happy 'bout it. I say let's get back to topic – I heard something 'bout making plans and actually solving the problem of saving the universe from total destruction. Care to elaborate?"

"Our strategy will remain largely the same as in the previous open battle," Airo said. "All of you shall keep the Revenant at bay, while I will engage Ferrtau personally."

"Wait, you'll do an encore?" Kiana asked incredulously. "What stops the Lightbringer from just handing your asses again? Our asses, since me and Nightsong are on the line too this time around."

"Do you have better ideas?" Airo replied with a go ahead gesture.

"Yeah. We bum-rush the grandiloquent bastard and overkill him into femtoscale dust."

"And who handles the Revenant meanwhile?"

"...we act fast?"

Airo shook his head. "Just remember Dragon Retreat. Also, Magus said Ferrtau can instantly take down dragons, so we cannot set them against him."

Kiana shuddered and raised her hands in defeat. "'Kay, you win, Fearless Leader. We'll handle the damn shiny ghosts. But what stops the L––what stops that bastard Ferrtau from just trying to make a mass vampire impression? I mean, soul reave everyone again?"

"He will not," Airo said with conviction as resolute in his mind as in his words. "I will not allow him a second attempt."

"Let's assume we take your statement for granted, Commander," Lylana said. "How do you propose we engage the Revenant with a tactical disadvantage in numbers and armament, now when we no longer have serefi at our side?"

"With this," Airo said, sweeping his arm wide. "We will bring Ouroboros planetside. An entire dreadnought of the Radiant Order, made of the most advanced technology available in this galaxy – including its veronite-plated hull, which shall stop the Revenant dead."

Everyone looked around like they were seeing the starship for the first time.

"That's... actually an awesome idea indeed!" one of the Radiant Knights said.

"Yeah, but what about operational capacity?" Bernard asked. "We managed to patch up this marvelous beauty pretty good before all this... shit happened, but it's nowhere near done."

"As long as it is combat-capable, that will be sufficient," Airo said. "Cloud?"

One of the bridge CIC's hologram screens flickered to life. "All primary systems are in working order, Commander," the SAI reported. "This includes main drives, inertial dampeners, artificial gravity modules, and life support. Power draw is done currently through secondary energy reserves, but these will be sufficient for heavy-duty operation for up to thirty standard days."

"What about the weapon systems?"

"Ah, there's a moderate-high issue in that department. All offensive and defensive modules are down. Using virtual diagnostics alone, I can restore functionality to some of the onboard weapons, which includes one of the three spinal mounts, a forward-starside section of the main batteries, and an aft-portside section of the same-class system."

"These will be impossible to aim at human-sized Revenant," Lylana frowned. "Won't be much good even against larger targets, if we're going to be at knife-fight range. Aren't there any smaller weapon arrays which can be brought online?"

More screens lit up around the bridge, scrolling with data. "There are, Stellana Darkovitz. I estimate 30.6% of the available point-defense weaponry – all of which is veronite-enhanced – to be in diagnostics-restorable condition."

"Facing the Revenant with a whole voiddamn dreadnought at our side," Tehalix said with approval. "Even if it's a busted one, I like the odds a lot more."

"Not only that," Airo added. "There are still-functional laserships in some of the hangars, which will add to our overall firepower. Combining them with the dragons among us shall provide a large enough squadron to form an escort or a skirmish picket for Ouroboros."

The gathered host rumbled in agreement at this information. "Hey, we might get alive from this after all!" one of the surviving soldiers called out.

"Aren't you all forgetting something?" Glosserax rawr–ed, spreading his wings anxiously. "What are we going to do about Mentoria? If Ferrtau can control her and she's a Primordial dragon now..." The blue-and-cream dragon trailed off. "You saw what she did!"

"Well, I've no idea what we can do about her," Samantha said.

"Nobody here has," another Radiant Knight added. "Unless somehow Commander Airo or Master Dei could work around that..."

Everyone on the bridge turned their gazes at them. Airo traded glances with Magus.

He considered the problem from a purely theoretical standpoint. On the absolute scale, Mentoria wasn't invulnerable. Yet physically she was faster, stronger, and more powerful than anyone else in the entire galaxy, and possessed the skill and mental power to use her advantages to their fullest potential. How could such an opponent be defeated? Conventional or ordinary means wouldn't work. One needed to apply methods which transcended known boundaries. Yet such stratagems had to be contained within the realm of availability and feasibility of one's resources...

"Airo?" Veralla asked uncertainly.

"Is the H'raal sphereship still functional?" he spoke at last.

"Yes, sir, barring the damage it has sustained previously," Lylana replied.

Airo turned to Magus. "What will happen if Terra Para experiences a planetary-destroying impact at ground level?"

The old Knight knit his brows. "The manifold would probably absorb it in full," he said. "As long as no ruinous damage is wrought from beyond orbit, a paraworld is completely immune to cosmic-scale harm in theory. In practice, large swaths of the manifold will become fragmented, utterly barren landscapes, or worse."

"Can the Shard survive such an event?"

"Possibly," Magus said, putting a hand to his chin. "However, I cannot provide certitude on the subject. The Shard is incredibly enigmatic and many of its aspects remain secret. But if ground zero is not directly aimed at it, it should endure."

"Good enough for me," Airo nodded, and turned back to Lylana and Glawlrhain. "Can any of you manage to pilot a H'raal capital vessel?"

"Not by default, but we can discern their function promptly enough," Glawlrhain affirmed with a bob of his head, snout-tendrils waving.

"Yo, Fearless Leader," Kiana cut in. "What's with these red-shift nebulae questions all of a sudden? We need to figure out how to defeat Mentoria so we can defeat Ferrtau so we can save the world, not go all academical from brain-stress."

"We can drop a starship on her," Airo said, his voice thoughtful.

"Say what!?" Kiana balked. Her reaction was echoed among the rest of the bridge, as everyone gasped and rawr–ed in surprise.

"You mean to crash the H'raal sphereship into Mentoria?!" Lung asked.

"Could it work?" Zephyr wondered out loud.

"Unless a Primordial dragon is immune to the forces of a miniature supernova, then I reckon yes," Zeromon said, breathless.

"She can be, if she raises her defenses in time," Magus noted.

"That's the problem with this plan," Tehalix said. "Mentoria will probably just timeshift and then evade or deflect any attack, no matter how awesome it is."

"Which is why surprise and speed are key," Airo said. "We only have one shot at this, so the sphereship has to be accelerated to the maximum physically possible velocity, to become impossible to spot before the very instant it crashes. To do that, we need to achieve lightspeed."

His words again stunned the crowd.

"Who-hoa!" Zuckeroff blurted. "Lightspeed? As in out-of-SUHN-space lightspeed? Don't things kinda go weird once you start to catch up with sun rays?"

"Even way earlier, gamebrain," Kiana agreed, her expression skeptical. "Get above sixty percent c, and Koko is no more in Tansas."

"I am not asking if it can be done," Airo said. "I know the theory. I am asking if it can be done without side effects."

"Yes, it is possible with the right invocations of the Æther," Glawlrhain said, trading looks with Lylana. "However, to accelerate so fast would require a tremendous launching distance. And even with H'raal technology, it can take weeks, or even months, to actually reach the speed itself."

"Course computation and correction?" Lylana added to the list of troubles.

"Cloud can handle those," Airo said. "It is already familiar with H'raal software architecture. Time remains the bottleneck." He turned to Magus. "Can you solve that problem, old man?"

"It will tax me heavily to alter the timeflow for an entire starship and those aboard for such an extended period. Yet I can do it," the old Knight replied. He seemed grim about something. "Speaking of time, we can still fail because of it. Ferrtau may very well start Singularity before we even reach the Shard to do battle, if he has not done so already." Magus' grave tone silenced everyone momentarily.

"Be that as it may," Airo spoke amid the hushed bridge, "such an occurrence is beyond our control. We can only pray the Great Cosmos shall give us a window of opportunity wide enough to do our part. Which is why we should not waste more time," he added, raising his voice. "Is there anything left of significance to require deliberation?"

"Two things, actually," Kiana said, raising V-shaped fingers.

"List," Airo snapped.

"First, what happens to the crew which will pilot the H'raal sphereship? They die as heroes, or can we actually do something to try-catch their fate? For that matter, what about the rest of us? If we're in the vicinity of Mentoria when the ban hammer drops, we'd all turn into photons."

Airo rubbed his forehead. It was a really obvious oversight. He looked at Magus. "Contribute."

The old Knight's mouth corner quirked. "If I attune to your respective auras, I suppose I can shift all of us briefly into SUHN-space upon the exact moment of annihilation, and then return you safely within our ontological plane of origin." Magus sighed. "Doing so would probably kill me, in quite direct terms, especially if the complications from a paraworld's turbulent manifold are factored in. Yet one certain casualty is naturally preferable to complete failure in the task at hand." He smiled wryly.

"Sir..." Lylana began, the other Radiant Knights murmuring alongside her.

"It is okay," Magus stopped them with a raised hand. "The Way ends sooner or later for everyone. And then begins anew, elsewhere. The Fire Eternal burns forever."

"Yes, master," Lylana said, lowering her gaze, her long raven-black hair shadowing her face.

"Issue Number Two," Kiana reminded. "Let's say this Point Zero-levels of unhinged plan actually works. Who's gonna kite Mentoria long enough and lure her into the blast zone in the first place?"

"Does it matter?" Stamat asked with a mild shrug. "I mean, obviously it'll be–"

"You didn't get the point," Kiana snapped. "What's stopping Mentoria from instantly killing – correction, erasing from reality – anyone who goes after her, the way she did with Airo?"

"Oh."

Another glaring oversight. Airo set his jaw. There probably was a workaround for this one, but time was of the essence. They'd have to figure this one out en route. If...

"So, we need then someone who can alter reality too, right?" Zuckeroff mumbled, scratching his head. "Ah, I mean, if you can control reality, that means you can't be controlled by someone who controls it also. Or something like that?"

"Ugh, gamebrain," Kiana facepalmed. "Even if your ramblings are true, where..." she stopped, startled by a realization.

"Veralla!" Nightsong chirped brightly, like she figured out the answer to a game.

All survivors focused their attention on the one person who could possibly face Mentoria. Airo met Veralla's gaze. She looked at him anxiously, her amethyst eyes wide and uncertain, yet there was also determination within them. He placed his gauntleted hands on her scaled shoulders, ache rising in his gut.

"I will do it," she said, tears welling in her eyes, but she did not blink. "I will hold Mentoria long enough and far away enough... so she can be stopped."

"Veralla..." Airo said, his voice choked.

"No, it is all right. I... I do not wish for anyone to die, yet if it means many others will live–"

"No, Veralla, I..."

"She needs not to die," Magus cut in.

Airo flinched and stared at the old Knight, his mind and the knot in his abdomen both suspended in fervent anticipation.

"If she is a Primordial, she can defend herself against Mentoria," Magus continued more quietly. "They are on par with one another."

"On par!?" Airo burst out. "How can a kid compare to an esoteric master who has lived for as long as you!? What can possibly even the scales?"

"Knowledge," Magus answered. "One I can impart."

"We are kind of pressed for time, old man," Airo retorted, annoyance mixing into his voice.

"Instant knowledge," the old Knight amended in a severe tone. "The Æther can make everything one can imagine become reality. Including educating someone in zero time. Such a process, however, has downsides when done on such an extraordinarily short notice." Without waiting, Magus approached Veralla, reaching out to her.

"Wait!" Airo called. "Is... will this hurt her?"

Magus faced him with a firm expression. "You will have to accept the risks, Airo Blueborn, otherwise there will not be any future choices for you to make."

Airo gritted his teeth, summoning all of his willpower attained over years of endured hardships, and nodded once. Magus mirrored his gesture, and turned back to Veralla.

"I need your permission, child," he said softly. "Do you allow me to do as I deem fit for this very occasion?"

Veralla growled at the back of her throat, the sound almost inaudible. "I do," she said, stepping lightly aside to disengage from Airo's touch. "I am ready."

"It will take but a moment," Magus said and placed a hand atop her head.

They both closed their eyes and then the dark magenta claw-stripes on Veralla's scales glowed softly. She growled again, a low, tense sound, and shuddered slightly. A second later Magus removed his hand, opening his eyes.

"Done," he said.

Airo moved closer, gently cupping Veralla's head in his hands. She blinked and her webbed ears fluttered.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Y-yes, I think so," she replied with mild confusion, flapping her wings. She looked at Magus. "But I do not–"

"Your mind and body shall know what to do on their own," the old Knight explained. "It was the fastest way to give you the abilities you will need. Now, if Mentoria tries to use the Æther against you to warp your very being, you will respond instinctively with the right counteraction. To avoid long-term issues, I have made it so these artificial reflexes shall dissolve within three days. Any form of mundane assault you must defend from on your own."

"I will do my best," Veralla nodded. Airo caressed her snout and she nuzzled him in turn.

"And now I guess we march to our death," Kiana sighed.

"I think not," Airo said firmly, letting go of Veralla. He stepped on the CIC podium and scanned the bridge. "Everyone, listen me well."

The gathered host stirred with a quiet murmur and moved closer, all gazes drawn to him in questioning anticipation.

"A battle plan is now formulated," Airo said. "The details will be refined once we are on our way. But that is not the important part. As almost all of you know, no plan survives contact with the enemy.

"What is important is that we all go in this together, united in thought and purpose. Whether we live or not, our destiny from this point onward is shared, because we set out to do the right thing. We are making a conscious choice and thus we are not burdened by doubt. We go in this with bravery guiding our actions, with purity kindling our spirits, and with love liberating our hearts."

"We are the last survivors of a hellish war," Airo continued, raising his voice. "We are beaten, terrified, and bereaved. We are outmatched and broken. And yet we are the last hope for the future of the whole galaxy – and beyond!

"So we go forth and cast ourselves into this hopeless battle in the name of everyone and everything! We sacrifice ourselves, because we believe in the choice we have made. We believe in ourselves, because we have chosen love – love for our fellow brothers and sisters, love for the Great Cosmos, and love for our very selves. We love, and we love our choice, because there is no greater force and no fairer truth than Love itself.

"I spoke of enemies. We have no enemies. I spoke of battle. There will be no battle. We go forth free from hate, free from fear, free from death. Our mission is to save all existence. Our duty is to bring light to those who need it. Our vision is to transcend all limits and walk the Celestial Way. We hope to succeed in triumph, yet we accept destiny no matter our fate. We go forth as One, blessed with the everlasting flame of the Fire Eternal.

"People," Airo shouted, "no matter your devotion, no matter your past, no matter your ideals, in this very moment we all are Knights hallowed in Radiance!"

He summoned the– no, his starblade, holding it high in a brilliant halo of light, and the crowd let out a roaring cheer.

"May the stars always shine upon our souls."