Welcome to Gaia! ::

The floating orb bobbed slightly in the skull. It cast a faint shadow on the area around it; even if it wasn't a sentient creature, even if it couldn't speak, it had a strange presence. In this environment, it almost felt ominous.

"I do not make a habit of lying," the Code replied, flickering with light each time a word was spoken. "What truth do you seek?"

The Code piece flickered just briefly, like a machine processing the information. "Order and Chaos are two sides of a spectrum. There is good in each, but it is up to you to find the balance between them. You must understand, Chaos can cloud the mind. You cannot find true balance when there is evil whispering into your ear. Chaos is a powerful force, but make no mistake, there can be good intents within. Chaos exists in many forms in the universe--the bad in the world forces us to become stronger, better. But the Seeds of Chaos--Great Evils, like Metallia, are not natural. They tip the scales. It is your duty to find what Chaos can exist to keep the balance, and what Chaos is that which threatens survival. That which threatens the balance, and all that is good."

It seemed to swell just lightly, like it was trying to make itself a bit bigger--a bit more reliable.

"It is a difficult task, but you will know the difference if only you look in yourself."

The Code waited for Paris to ask his questions; it continued to bob eerily in its position.

"Good and bad are simply that. Anyone can spot them. You could argue that something created out of Chaos is only acting out its nature, but that nature is an anomaly itself. It is something that will never do anything but Evil. It is not like the other forces of the world--forces that might change. That are malleable, and can learn. Cosmos is not a 'seed' of good. Cosmos simply is. She has no bias towards what starseeds she takes. She takes good, evil. They go to the Cauldron. They are reborn a blank slate. Metallia is differently."

The light dimmed, as if even the thought of her could cast darkness upon a room.

"Metallia is an anomaly. A mutation. Unnatural. She exists outside the balance. The Code," it flickered brighter when talking about itself. "Is a piece of the natural order. It exists to give power to those willing to fight to keep the balance. In the eyes of humans, for example, you can judge. You have a morale compass you must follow."

“You seem like you are defending Metallia,” the Code said, in a tone that was as firm as it was wispy. It bobbed for a moment in silence before speaking again.

“For Chaos to act upon its nature is expected. But Chaos itself is an anomaly. You are comparing two different types of Chaos. The universe is chaotic, in a state of constant change and turmoil. But ‘Chaos,’ the Chaos I am speaking of—Metallia’s Chaos, is a seed of darkness that corrupts and distorts the natural order. Metallia’s power is referred to as Chaos because of the turmoil it unleashes. You could call her dark power by any name and it would not change what it does. The name for her powers come from its ability to create a void of darkness and the tendency to destroy all things.”

The Code did not have eyes, yet it seemed to watch Paris intently.

“The universe is not a perfect place, but there is a natural order to things. Before that natural order, there was nothing. Without that natural order, there is nothing. Metallia’s ‘Chaos’ would destroy all things—not ‘disrupt’, destroy. She is outside the natural order and does not care for any natural order. Tell me, Paris. If all things are destroyed, do you consider that evolution? If the universe is engulfed in darkness and all life snuffed from existence, what is there to change, to adapt, to evolve? Even in the natural order, we expect the chaotic to improve. But Metallia’s power would destroy everything you described. Is that the world you aspire to have?”

There was a heaviness about the Code—a tiredness, worn from age.

“The same way any cancer comes to exist. You do not always know it is there until it is too late. It is ‘permitted’ to exist because it flourished. The universe is a vast place, there is not one single entity that can pluck the anamolies from existence. Sometimes there is no way to tell the good from the bad until it is too late. To answer your question, though.”

The Code was quiet for a few seconds.

“Destruction of that caliber is too extreme. If that Chaos spread, all life—all chances of life, arguably, could cease to exist. Truly, I do not know for certain. But I know that all progress this universe had made would be set back. All starseeds would be lost. Metallia may consume all new chances for life as well, if she is not destroyed in the process. There is no way to tell, but do you desire the culmination of evolution’s end? There is no need to return to nothing. No need to return to a blank slate. This universe is not so broken that it needs that. If not for Metallia and the other anomalies, it would be a wonderful, thriving place. It could still be that, if only these anomalies weren’t crushing the life out of natural evolution.”

“Paris.”

The Code was firm, but it did not seem to have the same emotions as a human could convey. There would always be something off about it, something strange.

“You can call me what you want, but Chaos consumes and destroys. The Code does not destroy, it preserves. It empowers. You should find other Knights to speak with. Your thought process is flawed and if you follow down this path, you will wind up lost. You do not need Chaos to succeed. No matter what you think it can do for you, the end result is always the same: everything you care about will be destroyed. Your life will mean nothing. The universe will fade to nothing. Do you truly desire nothingness? Permanent nothingness?”

The Code flickered, but only faintly. It was slowly realizing that this was a conversation that could not be won; this was a Knight that would not be swayed. At least, not by it.

“All things can be corrupted, Paris. But you are talking about going into the source of corruption. How can you fear the truth of my words but expect truth from the source of Chaos itself? I strongly urge you to reconsider this path you are on. Find others that you trust, Knights, if you can. Those that have seen Chaos, experienced, and left. It is all that I can ask of you, if you won’t trust me.”