Windfall

Chapter 9 "Brooding"

Gale sits cross-legged inside the red cylinder of Ei'ernsha, eyes closed as she delves deeper into thought, still wearing the harness around her body. She could see things she'd never get to see in person; a titanic obsidian pyramid floating above a desert world with an emerald sky as a backdrop, a silver city set ablaze by riots below, a Human drowning before coming back to life in a flash of crimson flames, a shower of green meteors coming down to Mercury. 

She went deeper still, to divine meaning from the visions; The solar system, all the planets, moons and dwarf planets gripped by large hooks attached to chains coming from massive red portals in their skies, demons descending through the atmosphere and burning every square inch of land in sight, slaying every sentient being with demonic rifles that weren't immediately killed by the celestial bodies coming to a grinding halt-

The last thing she saw was a terrible, near indescribable thing more vast than any celestial body in a sea as dark as midnight; an aquatic creature with claws like a cassowarys' foot, the wings of a mighty wyvern on its' back and the tendrils of a squid hanging from its' mouth, gently writhing. Its' twelve eyes seemed to stare at her, a myriad of whispers filling her mind as it-

She was pushed back into the real world by a Qowld tapping on the casing of the core. She opened her right eye and turned her head before opening her other eye, looking upon the Qowld.

Gale; "Ah. Zyroc. Has Thalnok returned from his expedition?"

Without saying a word, he brought up his communicator and projected an image of Thalnok laying on the ground, chest ever so slightly rising and falling, seen from a security camera facing the outside of the gate.

Gale; "Well... He's not dead yet. And your powers are developing well?"

Zyroc nodded and held out his upper left hand, and it began to hiss with gray smoke coming out of his palm.

Gale; "Nice..."

Gales' breath became shaky and she started to get tremors in her arms. She noticed with a look of worry as Zyroc reached into a pouch on his back, pulling out a trio of syringes held together with rubber bands. She quickly took them and injected herself in the side of her neck, halting her breathing the whole time before removing the needles. She then held a hand up to the top of the cylinder, electricity arcing from the ceiling of it, turning to floating amber splints halfway before getting absorbed into her hand. Her wound was soon covered over by a yellow gas, in which the jab was healed.

She took a deep breath before looking down at her hands, forming small orbs of golden crystal.

Gale; "... Do you think... This is the way we should do this? I could go to Mercury and kill her myself, why do I need someone else to do it for me?"

Zyroc brought up his communicator and used his lower arms to tap in a message, using the text to speech feature, the voice monotone and synthetic.

Zyroc; "I told you once "before you go on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." The second need not be your own. She does not understand the game."

Gale; "Still... I would settle for her just going to prison... Just for her to know what I went through."

Zyroc quickly typed out another response, grunting quietly under his rebreather.

Zyroc; "This vengeance is a hunger that can only be sated by blood. That was how my debts were settled, and it is how you will settle yours."

Gale nodded and sighed, coming to her feet and standing at eye level with Zyroc.

Gale; "I suppose... Why are you over here, anyways?"

Zyroc tapped in yet another reply.

Zyroc; "I need you to unlock one of the crates. I found another with a Shape lock."

Gale proceeded out of the core and followed Zyroc to another part of the pyramid, passing several statues of a Cthulhu-looking entity hiding in alcoves in the walls. She found a mural of different alien species embezzeled on a wall, marked by shifting hieroglyphs underneath. At the foot of the mural was a large, black crate with a lock in the shape of the Wrath of Ei'ernsha symbol. Gale approached it and held a hand close to the lock as her hand formed yellow crystals over it down to her wrist. Golden plasma began to leak out of her palm and flow into the lock with the sound of glass clinking. After a moment, the plasma solidified into solid time crystal, allowing Gale to turn the lock and open the crate. The crystal sublimated into nothing as she opened the crate with her other hand.

Within, she pulled out two halves of a yellow staff exactly like the one she was originally infused with. She snapped them together, mounting it on the back of her harness before giving Zyroc the Qowld salute.

Gale; "Thanks, Zyroc. Let me know if you find any more."

Zyroc returned the salute and nodded as Gale made her way back to the core. She could hear the voice of Ei'ernsha within.

Ei'ernsha; "You're learning quickly, spawn of Prometheus."

Gale; "I told you, you can just call me Gale. I've never worshipped Prometheus, or any of the old gods."

Ei'ernsha; "Oh, my... Good thing he's in exile, you'd break his heart if he heard that."

Gale chuckled with a smirk, sitting cross-legged in the core once more.

Gale; "I never cared what the gods think... Never believed in them until I met you."

Ei'ernsha; "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Gale; "... Heh... When did you see that movie?"

Ei'ernsha; "... What's a movie?"

Gale; "... Nevermind. I'm ready."

The core electrified and a spark struck the staff, causing it to dematerialize and Gale quickly solidified in a chrysalis of time crystal. It shattered and Gale fell to her knees, still awake this time, her breathing a little shaky.

Gale; "It does get better."

Ei'ernsha; "I wouldn't lie to you, Gale."

Gale looked at her hands as the crystal returned, crinkling as she flexed her fingers.

Gale; "What do I get this time?"

Ei'ernsha; "A wall that halts the flow of time, as well as the logistics of your enemy. Give it a shot."

Gale stepped out of the core and held up her right hand, looking at her palm, arching her fingers slightly. She began to form an oval of yellow crystal in her hand, staring at it a moment before tossing it underhand away from her. When it landed, it shattered and released a line of amber gas that traveled left and right about 4 meters before 5 meter crystals shot up from the plasma, about a meter in thickness. Gale looked at the crystals in awe, walking around them with an open mouth smile. 

Once she circumnavigated around the wall, she made another oval in each hand, throwing it away from her to the left and right of herself to make a cubicle for herself. She then sprayed splints of golden crystal against the first wall to make a throne of jagged yellow glass, taking a seat once she smoothed out the arm rests and back. She looked at the core with a confident smile.

Gale; "Hah... And who says crime doesn't pay?"