‘Why?’ Zov’ha whispered, looking up at the Astraleid who was staring at her expectantly. ‘Why didn’t it work?’

Aekis had overheard what she had whispered in Aewylen: show me how I can dispel the sentinel. That was not enough. 

‘Variables!’ he said hurriedly. ‘You’re forgetting that your ancestors possessed Exaglia and Autoichorium, whereas you do not. You need to deal with this creature with Omnichorium. It was a popular subject of study… surely some of your ancestors would have researched it.’

Zov’ha fiddled with the stone. Variables. Once again in Aewylen, “Show me how I can dispel the Sentinel with my Omnichorium, and without an Exa…”

All of a sudden the memory stone shuddered and began humming a doleful tune. Aware that only she could hear it, she closed her eyes and tried to decipher what her ancestors were trying to tell her, but Efiros’ struggle against the blob was distracting.  

‘We’re losing time…’ Aekis growled as the blob shot out a claw in an attempt to suck out the Autoichoirum from him. He unsheathed his sword and it came to life with a cracking sound, which echoed like ice breaking on a frozen lake on the eve of spring. 

The melody from the stone came to an end. Opening her hands, Zov’ha perceived that the oval relic had sprouted veins, connecting itself to her. It looked like a melted rock, sticky and hot. But of course! She suddenly realised it was only too easy... It was like an instinct, as if she knew what to do all along. 

Dispelling the Sentinel or absorbing it without an Exaglia was not possible… but she can channel the stuff in her blood and convert all the Autoichorium the Sentinel possessed into Omnichorium! 

So this… is the power of Autoichorium. 

This meant that she would not get a replicant… only turn the blob into stone. But her actions would result in an uncalled for predicament. The misery and pain that came with Omnichorium would intensify. The more she used her Omnichorium, the worse it would become.

Fine.. more pain it is! It would be a sacrifice she would have to make for the safety of Neva. Remembering her failure to protect the people of Asenya… and Aeroz… only hardened her resolve. I feel like I’ve always been running away from my problems rather than facing them head on. It truly never gets easier… 

She remembered Subeya’s response the previous night, “No, it does not… But you get stronger.”

As soon as she had made up her mind she felt like she was catapulted into another realm. Something new had begun… an inexplicable change.

Her fingers elongated into hollow petrous proboscises, tearing through her gloves, piercing the Sentinel that let out a blood-curdling screech. The blob trembled as the piercing tips began injecting Omnichorium forcefully, converting the Sentinel inch-by-inch into a porous stony lattice. 

Zov’ha’s eyes were wide open, but all she saw was a pubescent swirl of void… now expanding, seeking to consume her consciousness. She recognised it for what it was — the Omnichorium was consuming her cerebral capacity for intense biomolecular conversions. 

Every attack on the organic composition of the blob that the Omnichorium broke down into simple inorganic chemicals was as clear to her as the waters of River Ch’huin; she could see the bottom but she could not reach out and touch it for the fear of being swept away by the torrents. Her face was flushed, her muscles tense, and she moaned as she struggled to breathe. 

But the rogue Sentinel was fighting back. One of the proboscises faltered. A backflow of the corrupted Autoichoirum tunnelled through the compromised tube into Zov’ha’s bloodstream. She recognised the breach and tried to release her hold on the half-turned creature, which would have sent her reeling, but her hands were glued, and instead her feet slipped on the slimy ground and she fell backwards.

‘Zov’ha!’ Aekis breathed, realising what had happened. He had half a mind to slice the proboscises with his sword in an attempt to save her. 

Realising that she had abandoned her struggle against the Sentinel, he anxiously whispered to Certificate, ‘What happened? What do you see?’ 

A change… the Replicant replied, superimposing himself over Aekis like a shadow. I smell oxytocin. Serotonin levels are increasing. Aekis, something’s wrong.

A familiar sensation nipped Zov’ha’s senses. 

A memory tickled her consciousness… a time before coming to Aeroz. Burning cottages… farmlands laid to waste. Corpses burnt to the bone. It was when she had first met Sinovan. Segran was injured… a crystal mesh lined his wounds.

She had felt the crystals… a tingling sensation — an excitement, it felt like something was stirring in her chest and arms…

Now, it was the same feeling. The corrupted Autoichoirum was calling to her, drawing her into ecstasy. It was free — unlike the obsequious Autoichorium in Neva’ar Drift or in her bodysuit. 

There was a sort of relief — the pain… it’s gone? The constant agony that she had endured for months, now seemed to have been ameliorated, as if she had had a large dose of morphine. Struggling to comprehend this new pleasure, she faltered… 

The Sentinel isn’t corrupt… It is free! No! It killed… needlessly. It has no conscience. 

But the relief was overwhelming. She did not want to let go! 

Lying where she was, she battled against her own Omnichorium that was trying to convert the Sentinel into stone. Wait… stay! Now that the Sentinel had shown her a brief window of what true autonomy was, she craved it. 

Opening her eyes, she saw that her left hand, where the Sentinel had gotten through, had turned completely black. Her bodysuit had recoiled, exposing her skin. Dark veins twirled around sinewy muscles.

Aekis appeared in her peripheral vision. He was saying something but she could not hear him. All she thought about was letting the corrupted Autoichorium take over her completely. To drown whatever little pain was there. A brief respite maybe… then I can fight back. Let go…

She felt a comforting numbness running through her in spurts, as if she had been poisoned. Whatever it was, she needed it. An intoxication that made her giggle, a high that made her beam. She writhed in pleasure, her toes curling in her boots, and her hands clawing the dirt. 

The stars in the night sky were spinning — not wildly, but whimsically. Orbita Cygnus, that damn spark in the horizon, it circled her now. Faster and faster. It created a halo around her, as if she were a venerated deity. I'm no... fucking... goddess! 

Crimson fog clouded her vision. Decimated cities, burning forests… an ashen wasteland. Out of the fog appeared a dilapidated orbital city — it was no longer a circle. Broken, only half of it remained functional, surrounded by crumbling floating debris. 

One of its arms that lay in ruins had been converted — it looked like it was frozen naturally by the gelidity of space. Visible, through cracks and cisterns that pockmarked its surface, lay thousands and thousands of cocoons of various shapes and sizes. It was a spectacle haunting to behold. 

A hand, black and long, clawed out from one of them. Then a set of leathery wings. Then the other cocoons bloomed. More monsters. Fangs, fur, and talons. 

No more… stop!  

The hardened part of the blob crumbled, releasing Efiros from its grasp. There was dust and ooze on the ground around Zov’ha, and she lay there, eyes closed… a satisfied smile on her face. Her fingers returned to their original form, but her hands had turned black, as if burned.

Aekis stepped closer. 

Not yet, Certificate growled. 

‘I’m sure she’s alright…’ 

Aekis choked, and he was brought down to his knees. His sword fell to the ground with a thud. Zov’ha’s blackened hand had gripped him by the throat, and she towered over him. It all happened so fast that even Certificate could not react in time, succumbing to the deadly force of her gaze. 

Her face was discoloured to a shade of dark purple. ‘More!’ she howled, in a voice that was too gruff to be her own. She snarled, her hideous fangs and her gaping mouth terrifying even Efiros, who backed into a tree stump too frightened to move. With a long red tongue she salivated over her prey.  

She’s trying to take our Autoichorium! Certificate rumbled, trying to free itself from Aekis who was restraining the Replicant from materialising. Certificate knew why it was being held back… Aekis did not want to harm Zov’ha, no matter how dangerous she was. 

‘Zov…’ Aekis managed, trying to reason with the monster. ‘This is not… you!’ 

It can’t be reasoned with! Certificate argued, trying every possible way to break free from Aekis. The Sentinel has corrupted her very being! 

Aekis could feel Zov’ha’s hot breath as she closed in for the kill. Sharp stone claws bore into his skin and flesh. Her eyes were black; her irides white and glowing like the moon above her. 

Let her be… He told Certificate, as the world receded from his vision. 

Blood, black and thick, spurted out from Zov’ha’s temple as a whistling pellet knocked her sideways. In that moment, Aekis saw a sudden change as she morphed back into her true self — her gracefully-shaped eyes rolled back with the impact; her ash blond hair besmirched with blood and brain juice; her sweet, innocent face had an expression of relief as she was seconds away from death. 

And then her body slumped on the ground like a sack of grains.