Though Megrez had not been expecting the gift of another upgrade from Ash, it must have been a sign that she was ready, and it was either now or never. The song she composed for the Linker ritual had actually been done for quite some time; she had just sat on it in the hopes that another flash of inspiration would strike her and allow her to fix whatever seemed off about it, and then the New Year’s Eve incident happened. She had gone out patrolling a fair bit earlier than she should have, considering how badly she had been banged up. Next time she saw Glitnir, she was going to thank him for most likely saving her life. She also had to check on Sadachbia and see how she was doing after diving directly into the deep end of the senshi pool.
Those items could sit on the to-do list for a little while longer. Right now, Megrez was going to go to her planet and perform that ritual. There had been a time where she wondered why she was going through all this trouble to perform an ancient ritual on a long dead planet (aside from the excuse to write a song in Hymmnos), but after having been tested by the past week, she had an answer. The purpose of the ritual was to affirm one’s dedication to the planet and its people and to connect the senshi of the past, present, and future. Having seen those close to her truly threatened, she was ready to vow to protect them and the planet they lived on. She would make that vow for herself at the very least; it was a promise that she wanted to hold herself to, to make special and official.
It was the same routine as always, if a more solemn version than usual. Slip out, go to Henshin Alley, power up, press the icon on her phone, and listen for the song that became more familiar with each visit. As soon as the world came back into focus from its post-teleportation blur, Megrez noticed she was in front of the church-like building from a while back (it was more like a temple in particular, she had realized). The drop off location was perfect; the communion chamber where the ritual would be held was in this building. Determined to do what she came for and more than ready to carry it out, she remembered the path to the chamber: through the door in the back of the main room, down that hallway, and then eventually, a few steps into the chamber itself.
Megrez sucked in a breath, scanning the room over. Everything was more or less in place; the altar was there, the storage cabinets were how she left them. There was, however, something she hadn’t noticed there before. A glint of light caught her eye, and she circled around to the back of the altar to find a crystal egg and a tarnished golden egg cup. It must have been the ones High Priest Lorenz had set up in that one vision, or at least an extra one used for the same ritualistic purposes. Cautiously, she set the egg cup on the altar and put the egg inside it. The light that trickled in from the few small windows the room had cast rainbows when they passed through the egg’s clear crystal facets. While she had no idea what exact purpose the egg was used for, when she put everything back in place, she had a settled feeling, like this was the right thing to do.
She had received no instructions for how to prepare for the ritual. All she knew was how to carry it out. In lieu of any proper setup, she was just going to have to dive right into it. Even though she had sung to herself and to empty rooms plenty of times before, she felt awkward and nervous. Then she shook her head. She had to go through with this. Looking at the egg, she released a soft “Was yea ra chs hymmnos mea” into the air to warm up. I will turn myself into a song. Clasping her hands over her chest, she went into the first word of her song, her voice bright and clear.
Lhasya!
(Connect!)
Something about the way the first two notes that comprised the word sounded invigorated her, and with her heart pounding away in her chest, she launched into the rest of the song.
Was yea ra pagle yor oz ides.
(I wish to speak with you of the past.)
Vit yor, en jass knawa yor
(I have seen you, and I wish to say I understand you)
Infel, zash, werllra, fogabe…
(Your love, pain, tears, forgiveness…)
Was yea ra vit omnis en jass biron.
(I have seen it all and wish to see more.)
Synk syec en rinnoze odda
(Let us unite and become one, as we should be)
Gran…
(Let us begin…)
Was yea ra enclone keenis oz Megrez ciel
(I will happily embrace the radiance of the planet Megrez)
Re fountaina dius pauwel,
(I will be immersed in its divine power,)
Aterra qyon oz Megrez pauwee,
(Accept the duty of Sailor Megrez,)
En chs pauwee khal walasye.
(And become the senshi who will protect the people.)
Wis geeow mea.
(This is my vow.)
Was yea ra vit walasye jastil en tek
(I like to watch the people as they gather and go)
Forgandal walasye, knawa infel pauwel
(Because of people, I understand love’s power)
Omness, en yehah en gauzewiga, wis dius
(Life, and its joy and despair, is all precious)
Skit khal walasye whou yesse tes pic,
(So I promise to protect those who brought me to realize this,)
En khal ar ciel hartes sos etealune.
(And to protect the world they love for eternity.)
Was yea ra enclone keenis oz Megrez ciel
(I will happily embrace the radiance of the planet Megrez)
Re fountaina dius pauwel,
(I will be immersed in its divine power,)
Aterra qyon oz Megrez pauwee,
(Accept the duty of Sailor Megrez,)
En chs pauwee khal walasye.
(And become the senshi who will protect the people.)
Wis geeow mea.
(This is my vow.)
Was yea ra pagle yor oz futare.
(I wish to speak with you of the future.)
Aiph morto, skit mea iem:
(If I fall, promise me now smile
Na nozess infel en ieeya yor.
(Do not lose your love or your hope.)
Aiph nozess infel, vonn slep innna yor.
(If you lose your love, Chaos will rest within you.)
Biron hartes, en chs lequera whou accrroad quowjaz
(Continue loving, and become the one who bears justice.)
Was yea ra enclone keenis oz Megrez ciel
(I will happily embrace the radiance of the planet Megrez)
Re fountaina dius pauwel,
(I will be immersed in its divine power,)
Aterra qyon oz Megrez pauwee,
(Accept the duty of Sailor Megrez,)
En chs pauwee whou khal walasye.
(And become the senshi who will protect the people.)
Wis geeow mea.
(This is my vow.)
The three verses and corresponding choruses seemed to fly by as she went through them, and before she knew it, she was at the last two lines. She took a deep breath, softened her voice, and continued.
Was yea ra hartes iem, en jass hartes yanje…
(I love now, and I wish to keep loving forever…)
Tarfe.
(Disconnect.)
The final syllable lingered in the room for what felt like ages. Megrez waited for something to happen for a minute, then exhaled heavily. What was she expecting, sudden magical applause? No, that would be bad. It would mean someone somehow snuck onto her planet with her. Nonetheless, despite the resounding silence she was met with, a happiness fluttered in her heart. She had gone and done it. She had spoken with the senshi of the past (though whether that meant Melantha or the senshi before her was unclear), sworn a vow to protect the present, and urged the future senshi to keep love in her (or his) heart. The conditions of the ritual were satisfied, and even if nothing actually happened, she felt good about seeing it through.
Yet something did happen. Megrez felt a strange tingling along her arms and along the right side of her face. As she pulled her hand up to touch her face, a cracking noise resounded throughout the room, and her tiara fell off her forehead, landing on the ground in pieces. Before she could grab the pieces of her tiara, the tingling along her arms changed to what felt like someone drawing on them with a finger. A blue light was sparkling its way along her arms, leaving glowing marks in its wake. The sparkles would coalesce to make an outline, then the outline would fill with light. Her brooch glowed with a similar blue light; when the light receded from there, it had transformed from a solid golden egg to a golden crystalline one. The sensation of the sparkling light traced its way down the side of her face, then traveled to her forehead, where it felt like someone was trying to push a button there. There was a blinding flash of blue light, and she winced at the brightness.
When the light faded, Megrez was left alone with her shattered tiara on the floor. Now that she could get another good look at her arms, blue glowing feather marks lined them, rotated every which way as though they were falling.
Wait. I’m glowing?
It took a moment for her to put two and two together, but then she realized: she was glowing like Penthesilea and Ganymede did, and like Ida had in her visions of her. A giddy squeal escaped her and she did a cheery little hop in place. She had done it! She didn’t quite know how exactly it worked, but somehow the Linker ritual had triggered a change in her. They called it “Transcendence,” she remembered. She was going to have to send Penthe a million glowing selfies once she got back to Earth and was sure Penthe could get to them. That reminded her of one more thing she had to check. She pulled her senshi phone out of subspace, turned the camera on, and set it to record her instead of the outside. Sure enough, there was a line going down the right side of her face; its position and path exactly mimicked Melantha’s scar. That must have been her gift (her gift to herself?) for completing the ritual. There was also her planet’s symbol, the egg in an egg cup, on her forehead. It would take a little explaining, but she wouldn’t complain.
Before Megrez could get any more wrapped up in looking herself over, she heard the sound of something falling and skidding across the ground. She turned around to see a golden crystal egg lying on the floor a short distance away from a storage cabinet that she had not previously investigated. The door was slightly open, leading her to conclude that it must have fallen out. After putting her phone away, she picked it up and dusted it off, running her finger along where the planet’s symbol had been engraved in the center, at which point she discovered that the center facet was some sort of switch or panel when it sank in as she touched it. When the facet “clicked,” she heard a noise like the low, soft strumming of a harp. When the tone sounded again a few seconds later, she felt a warm, cozy feeling settle over her, similar to how she felt when around Penthe or Megiddo. It was a snug, happy feeling, like curling up in blankets and comfy pillows. She pushed the center facet again, and she heard a voice say, “This is a songstone. They’re very useful to us.”
High Priest Lorenz and Melantha appeared in front of the storage cabinet, full of clear crystal eggs like the one Megrez held. Melantha was holding a golden one. The high priest continued his speech. “They’re used in many rituals. They can center the ones performing the ritual to allow them to commune with the spirits better, and they can attract the spirits on their own. The clear ones haven’t been activated yet, but yours has.”
“I… I do feel more centered. I can’t explain it, but I do,” Melantha said. “It reminds me of why I sing. Birds come from eggs, and birds sing. Now we have eggs that sing to us for the birds.”
The high priest and her past self disappeared, leaving Megrez holding the songstone in the empty communion chamber. Out of curiosity, she opened the storage cabinet nearest where the songstone had been. It was empty, with the exception of some crystal shards at the bottom. The other songstones must all have been taken.
All the excitement of transcending and discovering the songstone had left Megrez feeling a bit tired (to be fair, she was still tired even though more than a week had passed since the rescue). She scooped up the pieces of her tiara and slipped them into subspace along with the songstone and pulled her phone out to go home.
When she set foot in Henshin Alley again, she pulled the tiara pieces and the songstone out before powering down, slipping them into her pockets when she was back to her normal self. Once she got home, she went straight to her room and put the pieces of her tiara in her jewelry box. The string of three eggs had stayed intact, much to Luca’s relief. The songstone, on the other hand, would be staying with her. She pushed the center facet and laid down in bed, listening to the soft harplike tones it emitted. The warm feelings filled her once more, and for a moment, it felt like everything would be okay for a while.
Megrez visited her planet on January 17th. She will not be able to visit again till January 24th. Due to transcendence, she may visit twice a week.
