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With a sudden gasp of air, Old Tomorrow was re-admitted into the current dimension, the old man falling to his hands and knees. The shock had been so sudden, so unexpected.

What had happened was a time skip. Somewhere in Old John's past, in this dimension, the oppertunity of death arose. That oppertunity was so close to completion, that Old John's body wasn't considered fit to remain in the timeline as it was - and so was yanked out by whatever physics deemed it nesserary.

But the oppertunity of death had passed by, seemingly without consequence - and the dimension had spat John back into reality.

Now he was on the floor, his hand clutching chest as his heart spasmed wildly, gasping for breath as his eyes squeezed closed...before gritting his teeth, pushing himself to his feet, and leaning against the bookcase.

This wasn't the time to die.

Soon he'd caught his breath, his heart calming. his white-knuckled grip on his shirt would relax, and he would stand tall.

A heart attack, killing a Tribal? How absurd...

He didn;t know how much time had passed, but obviously nobody seemed to have noticed, or even if he'd been gone. Whilst John didn't know what had happened, having very little knowledge on the conception of time travel, he had an inkling of what had just happened, almost on a primal scale.

Scooping his book back up, he began to read once more, devouring the knowledge within. He needed to know before he could act. His old friend had told him that, long ago...

Her hands slid along the walls, as if silently reassuring herself that things were indeed real. This was Eden? This was what so many fought for? It was so cold...so empty...Tellus felt even more the child, despite the elegant tricolored braids that hung down her back, or the form fitting gown that she wore. Perhaps that was the problem, she would never understand the motives of the 'adults' in her life.

The hand that touched the wall moved up, sliding across her face to brush a stray hair from her face. A chill slid up her spine and she spun on her heel, ready for an attack...

..and faced yet more emptiness...

"...Is this Eden...Is this perfection?" She whispered, her hand at her lips; her voice barely a whisper in the empty hall seemingly louder than a trumpet to her own ears. A deep breath to calm herself, and she turned once more, back to her path, looking perhaps for a door, or somewhere to lead her out of this cold hallway. If she would find such a door, she would listen at the door for noises first, much like a child, afraid of getting in trouble.

The ruins were perhaps cold and foreboding... but then again, you can't exactly expect the place to look like the Ritz when it's been abandoned for so long and its people have long since died off.

The beauty spoken of in many a religion or legend was there--- it just wasn't to be found in a dusty library or some broken down hall.

Eden was rife with plant life, long since become something unto its own, hybrids formed via exposure to the void, as well as even some natural species of flora being somehow preserved in places--- one of which would be the garden that Tellus herself was going to find as she found such a door that she seeked.

The atrium was of a primitive yet exotic level. While not exactly built like your modern day greenhouse, it did show a rudimentary if not rustic grasp on the basic concepts of a greenhouse.

If anything, the beautiful view of the void afforded via the hewn glass ceiling, which was lined with stone and quarry did justice to the place on its own. The plants to be found here were of a unique quality... one looking like a simple rose, yet from its petals were secreted a dew that seemed to freeze a tiny area of space around itself.

The sounds of running water could also be heard, suggesting that a source for the nutrient of these plants existed... yet no other life could be heard within.


As for the library.... the Tribal had busied himself with text after text, so absorbed in his readings, that it would have been hard to notice the widely arched room gaining a new occupant to begin with.

Instead of bookcases--- the walls of the room itself had shelves upon shelves hewn into the wood and stone, which lined the entire room itself with material, from floor to ceiling. Unnatural flames bounced upon worn out candle jacks, giving way to the source of light for the room--- and it was upon the uppermost section of the room, that the source of laughter could be seen.

It was a young girl by the looks of it, her legs swinging carefree even as she smiled, auburn hair bouncing from shoulder to shoulder.

"Hello~"

But there was something else in the garden. It would first be identified by it's voice, and then by the profound sense of the void that emanated from it. This strange presence was one of the shadelord that had just returned from Sorrow's Keep, Alpha. It craved a bit of solitude so that it could command and organise the forces of the forgotten. The speaking aloud was only because the prime shadelord often missed the sensation.

It stood before a wall of relays, a subspecies of shades so to speak created only to transfer information. To act as the eyes of the forgotten. That really was all that there was to them, a large eye about the size of a softball, the colour was varying colour from relay to relay, and other than that a mess of black tendrils swarming behind the floating eyeball.

"Ensure the cultists arrive at the Keep."

He changed focus and pointed a gauntled figure at another relay.

"Mana absorption is progressing well. Ensure that new matter is being made at a reasonable rate.

The finger went to a blue eyed relay.

"Lord Fah must know the plan is ready to proceed."

With a dramatic swipe of his hand horizontally through the air, the relays took this as the cue to scatter. Each flew off in a different direction to deliver their message. Alpha stood there a moment enjoying the moment, this was what he was created for. Not this pomp that Fah had surrounded himself in. Alpha could do without the rendering of impressive armoured flesh, he could do without the deep red cloak draped across his shoulders, and he could do without the intricacies of this plan.

But this was the Forgotten's game now, and Alpha loyally served his master... What was that feeling though. So much like a shade but not quite, it could not have been... He could not control this one.


--- Victor’s Chamber --- --- --- ---

Moments later a blue eyed ball of tendrils would find its way to Victor. It would swirl and entwine for a few moments as it waited for Victor to ready himself to receive a message. The relays were not strong enough to force thoughts into ones head such as the Shadelords. Still, the idea of letting the shade in would be one of his first thoughts.

Could this be the influence?

The agents of the Forgotten are prepared to retreive your brother. We wait on your plan and cue.

Alpha didn't take chances. He had felt something and even the sudden disappearance of the essence he had felt did not make him rest any easier. Rather it caused quite the opposite, the shadelord was now quite a bit more paranoid.

He turned around to face the most general direction he could remember that feeling of void came from. As the cape spiralled around him Tellus would have a rather warped sense of the inhabitants of eden. What may have appeared to be armour at first was now clearly the matter this creature was made of, the way the jet black material was stylised could not have possibly be made by any human armorsmith. Too smooth, too fluid, too menacing, and not to mention it would be near impossible for something to move inside with the way the "pieces" were connected. Then there was the most prominent feature, that one red eye taking up a good deal of where the creatures face would be. It scanned the area looking for any trace of a threat.

Yes Fah had said that this island was inhabited by his forces alone, but as it stalked forward to check he doubted his master's chosen one.

"I know something is in this garden." His voice was hollow, yet somehow panged of an elevated sense of self worth... Arrogance even, "If you side with Victor Fah, Ra'Kar or any of their allies show yourself. Otherwise I am not so attached to this place to destroy it in finding you."

A simple stern message.

Existence as a right. Funny that the creature she was talking to held non-existence as the ideal.

"Formality." The shadelord's voice rang out flatly. It wasn't flustered by her disappearing act, rather he just calmly turned around once more to face the tiny woman against the tree. Not a clunky armoured movement, but a controlled, calculated and even bordering graceful type movement, "The masters of this island are fond of grand material objects and grand gestures. Clothing, structures, this garden. The cloak makes me normal in these settings. The attitude, as you call it, stems from the fact the setting and grandeur are not my concern, rather the tasks I have to complete within other's ideals."

It seemed like so many more grand villains Alpha had fallen into the trap of monologuing. That of course was not the truth. This strange girl had already shown that she would rather have a dramatic chat than have a surprise attack. Why else would she sneak around only to announce her presence. Alpha could take those moments to observe her strange essence. Not bound to one element, but at the same time not an abomination in their eyes. There was a note of harmony to this garden dweller.

"Thus like yourself." the shadelord planted himself, "I feel no affection to the other party in this conversation, and unlike yourself I feel no affection for this location. I ask again child of shifting essence, is your business aligned with those I have mentioned... Or are you here to interfere?"

"The red was chosen for me, and as the cape would be useless in battle that functional purpose of hiding the blood is moot." His red eye flashed in the light as it followed her gestures, "Red or purple, the garment would be shed."

"No, no one sees themselves as the villain child. Self-righteousness and arrogance prevents that, and the unyielding confidence that history is written by the victor..." His eye stopped darting and looked Tellus straight on, "Thus absolving them of the proclaimed... Villainy."

There was a note of distaste in Alpha's otherwise hollow voice.

"This is of course a fools opinion. Victors are often overthrown by those they believed defeated, as their position of power only made them appear even more villainous." Showing more emotion than even Omikron there was the single note of a sneering laugh, a 'ha' and nothing more, "Existing beings are fickle creatures in that respect."

"Thus I hear your statement that there is more to the masters than formality, but remember that they are just playing the part of hero in their own minds. As they are more than likely villains to others it is but another layer of formality." He made note of all the girls movements and radiations, then as he could, acted on those, "Then child of shifting essence, as you are a servant of the demoness, has her heroism or villainy affected you? Or perhaps since you claim to be different merely by getting your knees dirty, you do not see yourself nearly that deluded."