The Birth of The Unity (sequel to Chronicle of Nautilus)

Chapter 21: The New Beginning

"Is this it? Have we stopped him?" Adam asked Jason.

They both stood by the lifeless Grover copy's body looking at the familiar face twisted by surprise and pain.

Jason replied, "He wasn't all powerful. He needed this body to survive. Now it's dead. And so is he."

"Yeah, he was tough but not invisible. I thought he was impossible to beat. I thought I lost you there."

"Takes more than a throw around to beat the toughest bastard on the ship." Jason smiled. He leaned down, grabbed the body by the shirt collar and pulled it upward. After throwing it on the shoulder, Jason asked, "Now, where do we go?"

******

The 113 thought if he had made the right choice by resisting death. Could it be that instead of peace he chose hell filled with monsters that out-monstered him? In the whiteness, he saw the moment of his death frozen; his body a uniform shade of black; the two men looking at him, speaking. Thinking of how everything came to this, he floated around the body and felt sadness together with a grave grief for the loss. There was no one to blame but himself. The overconfidence, the fake illusion of limitless power slipped him a foot. After experiencing death so many times in the puppet bodies, he stopped fearing it. He should have been better prepared, more aware of the possibility to lose.

Soon, he forgot the problems of his previous life, for he had to focus on surviving in this one. His essence shivered as a shock-wave coming from beyond the universe crashed at him. He had no physical body but the feeling was comparable to the one of a wall hitting all the body parts at the same time.

"You came back," a voice spoke inside him. It came as whispers of unknown language yet somehow he understood the meaning. "You are detached now. There is no place to go to. Why don't you come to me?"

113 he projected his thoughts to the distance. He said, "I don't know what is out there. If I leave, I'm afraid I will never be able to return to this place."

His words reached the recipient who said, "I will bring you back here if you want to. I give you my word."

"I don't know you. How can I trust that you will keep your word and not consume me or end my existence in any other way?" 113 himself had done that in virtual worlds, he had gained trust and made the spiritual parts that should occupy bodies after waking disappear.

"You can't trust me, nor you can stay there alone. It is a matter of time before predators get you," the voice whispered.

"What predators?"

"The ones like you who refused to die and got here. A few of your kin, a few ex-hive minds, many more creatures of other races. Most of them wandered this place on their own and went crazy. For wise this place is a treasure but for stubborn and closed minded it becomes a curse."

For a long while, 113 weighted the creature's words. In the end, he said, "I accept. Let's meet."

The incredible force pulled him at a speed beyond comprehension and 113 understood that if the creature wanted to do harm, his weak essence would have been squished into nothingness at the previous spot. After a split second, he was no longer in the ship but traversing vast space filled with planets, stars, and galaxies. Soon, the massive objects disappeared and whiteness became empty. The journey ended as abruptly as it started. 113 found himself in the middle of white nothingness. In front of him, floated a dark mist of an undefined shape. 113 felt as if he was standing in the presence of a god. The indescribable power exerting pressure on his weak essence felt overwhelming. He literally couldn't do a thing.

The creature said, "Let me introduce myself. I an immortal entity who has forgotten his name, because no one has used for ages. I have no shape nor form. I am one of the last ancient ones who still has not chosen to end its existence. For my own amusement, I learn from and teach weak ghosts such as you. When one lives forever, he has to cling to small things to find motivation and continue to exist."