Darklight: Precipice

Part 12: Nexus Theory

All was dark around him. 

There was no sound, no light, no sense of touch. It was as if he was in the great void before creation itself.

But then he heard her voice. Ethereal and unknowable.

"The Universe, so we believe is made up of energy". 

Bright, dazzling light was all around Soran, pummeling him with its force as if a great explosion had occurred directly in front of him. As the glare faded he watched as the light began to come together to form planets, stars, nebulae and everything he recognized about the night sky above Saxosis.

"As the universe formed from the collapse of the previous one, the Time Stream began to flow into this reality - breaking through into this universe from where the waters were once trapped in Oblivion after the Abyss swallowed its previous incarnation".

With a flash Soran was now looking at a barren scene: The dry cracked earth of what appeared to be a dry lake expanded in all directions around him. There was no horizon, just a great plane that went on forever. Above him was a gray and motionless sky that seemed to push downwards, suffocating anything that tried to exist in this place.

But then a great hole opened up above the ground like the one that Vittoria opened up onto Saxosis for her ritual. Out of this hole flowed a torrent of clear blue water that hit the dry and cracked lakebed, expanding outwards with the force of a tsunami. Looking up again Soran could see the gray cloud-like sky begin to separate, revealing the newly formed universe behind it.

"This new Time Stream held the new reality together, its flow creating time itself and its waters binding the universe together".

Soran was suddenly accelerated faster than the speed of light upwards back into the universe. As creation sped past him in a blur he came to rest at a small blue planet: Saxosis. 

"Nexus Theory is the scientific and metaphysical belief that Arcane Abilities are born of the time stream. The Time Stream binds us all together metaphysically - not with its waters per se, but with a force that is similar to the physical force that keeps our molecules together. Similarly on a much larger scale like gravity holding planets and celestial bodies in place. The Time Stream is connected to everything and everyone and every moment in time and space, spreading force and allowing it to seep from the metaphsysical into the physcial. The energy is born of the Time Stream and it is this metaphysical energy's raw form that we are able to manipulate into Arcane Abilities".

Soran watched as the planet in front of him shifted, the land masses and oceans re-arranging as the tectonic plates changed over time. He saw the dark shapes of ancient Forefather cities appear on the surface, and then disappear once more beneath the green of vegetation. He knew that he Forefathers and what happened to them was still wrapped in mystery, so Rosaline was unable to tell him anything more about them.

"We know that humans are unable to tap into this force biologically, the physical nature of evolution on Saxosis did not pertain to this. But the Skry seem to be of exogenesis - they were born of a different world".

Another flash and now a new planet in front of him. An icy, barren world.

"This is a representation of a planet that we believe the very basic Skry evolved on. We call this conceptual planet Frigga". 

The planet was covered in perpetual ice, the solar system's sun was a pale blue star much further away than Saxosis' own.

"The primordial Skry were born to this world. Organisms made up of just a handful of cells. In order to survive they called upon the Arcane Energy within them to generate heat in order to survive. We believe that there must have been other limited cellular life within the liquid water deep below the planet where the Skry evolution started as well, but we have never found proof of this".

Suddenly the pale blue light of the distant star began to fade, casting the planet further into darkness.

"From what we can make out from our evidence, this entire solar system was ripped apart by a rogue black hole, including Frigga".

Soran watched as the entire planet began to crack, flake and break apart, being sucked towards the great blackness where the star used to be, but as the planet broke up to reveal its small molten core some of the pieces were flung outwards in the planet's final moments. 

All went black and Soran found himself in front of Saxosis once more.

"Parts of Frigga were flung out into interstellar space at phenomenal speeds thanks to the Black Hole's tidal forces. These rocky crags contained ice in which the rudimentary Skry were suspended in, their use of Arcane Energy preserving and protecting them on their voyages across the vast emptiness of space".

A great asteroid streaked past the left side of Soran's head so close that he felt the cold of its icy surface against his skin. This simulation seemed to tap into all senses. Rosaline's voice continued.

"We have no idea how long they travelled for, but in a great act of cosmic chance - one of these parts of Frigga impacted our planet".

The Asteroid hit the surface of the planet, impacting one of the oceans and sending tidal waves over the landmasses.

"This impact event was not large enough to wipe out life on our planet and this happened after the Forefather cataclysm. The rudimentary Skry lifeforms awoke in the waters of our planet and evolved alongside humanity, adapting to Saxosis - this is why we have simiar bodily structures. But their use of the Arcane remained, evolving along with them and acting as their primary defense rather than the physical strength of a human".

Time sped up in the simulation and Soran watched as the surface of Saxosis morphed into the modern day version - complete with Utopia City.

"This is Nexus Theory, Soran. We are all connected. Humanity and Skry, Saxosis and Frigga, Physical and Metaphysical. We are all part of the great whole of the universe, an isolated system in which we act as one: The Nexus".