The Divine Machine

0.13 // no future

Having finally been introduced to the source of the pestering voice, Gildimir felt uncertain about what she should do. Trapped in a strange land and faced with a towering being that called themselves the Warden, she considered every option on the table. Including defending herself. And yet, she had come so far in search of answers. While some had been given, new questions rose in their place.

"You will forgive me, Warden, if I have no idea what you're talking about," Gildimir said, her stance suggesting she was still prepared to flee if necessary. "Perhaps you could enlighten me."

Sensing her unease, the Warden hummed softly. "Indeed. You have nothing to fear from us, Firstborn. We are your ally, and will tell you everything you must know to serve your purpose in the days to come."

Twisting their massive head to let the remaining water drain, Gildimir could feel the Warden's body bristle with power. Whether they were allowing it to flow unchecked or whether that's simply how they always carried themselves, she couldn't tell. The only other person she knew of with as much raw power was Valos. Strength aside, the Warden's words of reassurance had done little to settle Gildimir's nerves. There was something off about her new acquaintance and the land she found herself in. Kalsuldur, as the Warden called it. Even saying the name in her mind was distressing. She felt...stained.

"For us, it starts near the beginning. The Secondborn you know were not the only ones to wake when they did. Far away, in the sky itself, one hundred and one of us awoke in full view of the Pulse. Floating freely in the air, we saw no use in creating land or other shapes. Nor did we feel compelled to take forms ourselves. Instead, we dedicated our power and our minds towards understanding the Pulse."

As the Warden spoke, Gildimir stretched out with her senses. They did nothing to conceal their intentions, so detecting the truth in their words was easy. And frustrating. Nothing they had said had been a lie, which meant there was knowledge within Oduin that Gildimr did not already know. While some, such as Arkadon, might have reveled in that discovery, she was unsettled by it.

"In a short span of time, we learned how to travel beyond the borders of Oduin and dive into the Pulse directly. We swam within its power like children in a stream. Driven though we were, we understood our peril. The danger that the Pulse might absorb us entirely. But we could not resist the intoxicating bliss of its golden light. That changed the day we discovered the river."

The Warden shifted in place, bringing their massive hands, which were almost like winding stairs, into their lap. Their head lowered, and they spoke with their green eye-flames facing the ashen ground.

"Blue and white, the river flowed through the heart of the Pulse. It beckoned to us. Promised answers. Joining together, all one hundred and one of us decided to enter its flow. We were not prepared for what followed. You see, that river is time. All time. When we entered, the knowledge of all events - past, present, and future - invaded our minds. The intensity of the bombardment was overwhelming. It took our combined power to leave, and once we returned to Oduin, we knew our souls were on the verge of complete dissipation. Our only hope of surviving the damage inflicted upon us was to dissolve the boundaries of our individuality and join together as a new entity. Thus did we arise in the form you see now."

Gildimir had never fathomed such a feat was possible. To combine multiple souls with the purpose of forming a new being. The concept was revolutionary. And yet, doing so meant the erasure of each individual. All of their futures. All of their identities. Gone. The other parts of the story were equally staggering. Entering the Pulse. Finding the River of Time. Gaining all that knowledge. As fantastical as it all sounded, Gildimir still sensed no falsehoods coming from the Warden.

"We survived and became something new. But our mind was still broken and bent, consumed by knowledge we could not understand or control. It took many, many years for us to regain a sense of self. It took even more to glean meaningful information from the knowledge we obtained. But we did, and the answers that came to us are what led us to create this place. And for us to call out to you, dear Gildimir. Come, let us walk."