One topic, however, seduced my attention away from the worldly subjects that I was well accustomed to; extradimensional beings; or in lay terms, demons and angels. I was fascinated by the subject, being that so many cultures across the stars have thousands, millions of years of recorded religious texts all with intermingling details- but very few ever even encountered one another until our kind learned to colonize this galaxy we called home within the last millennia. On one of many lonesome nights in the tower, I stirred from my sleep, haunted by wild ideas- potential experiments to further my studies on this matter. This drive to discover roused me, and I found myself making my way down the steps and into the frigid lab deep in the basement. As I stumbled into one of many rooms, the fluorescent lighting flickered on above my shape- and I gazed upon the haggard contraption of twisting metal and wires that stood in the center of the room. Countless books remained open on the desk, still open to the last pages in which I had been studying. 

My findings so far were few, and tonight I allowed my dreams to guide my research- scanning across the pages, before landing on a text describing in detail; a ritual. Rituals were common practice in ancient civilizations- the idea in which performing a certain set of tasks would somehow result in an unrelated outcome, whether desired or not. So common, in fact, I thought to myself- why not? Do these teachings of old not originate in some shared experience? And even if, and when, this inevitably does not work and wastes my time, does it really perpetuate any harm to try? Perhaps I shall humor my imagination, and these ancient words. 

So, that night, I prepared the machine that stood before me- and stepped into the circle, chalk in hand. As I traced the sigil onto the linoleum floor, I thought to myself what a fool I must appear to be. No scholar entertains himself with these silly beliefs, surely. As I muttered the words from the book, I could have sworn I felt the room become just a little colder- but soon shrugged away the thought in an attempt to rationalize. For chalk and words had little physical contribution to the world in the context in which I was using them. 

I rose to my feet once I had completed my preparations, and switched on my contraption- to my bereft amusement, the entire laboratory fell in shadow with a deep hum. I thought, perhaps, my creation was simply too much for the electrical system and that a fuse had been blown. 

In the paralyzing silence, I found myself alone in a darkness so deep that I began to wonder if I had overstepped my bounds. I took a step back, reaching out for the wall to gain my sense of direction in the room, when i heard it- something so deep and primal, shaking me to my core as a voice, of all things, presented itself from the abyss- 

"My, my...how long it has been since I have held vigil in this realm." The voice came. It came with a quiet sharpness, so focused into my grey matter that I proposed that I was simply hearing things that were not there. Being so, I did not respond- freezing in place. However, my astonishment was shaken as the contraption before me erupted to life with dazzling lights and colors, illuminating the room in enchanting shades of cerulean and cobalt. The colors seemed to buzz and come alive with the sound of crackling static, for a moment I worried that the lab had suffered some degree of damage as the smell of ozone overwhelmed my senses. 

Then it spoke again, with a voice laced not with malice- but mischievous intent. 

"Who is this pathetic little worm before me, hm? Do you dare diminish my existence to something as miniscule as chalk?" My stomach dropped deep into my abdomen, and I began to feel sick as this voice bore into my very brain, leaving pock marks everywhere this entity seemed to bear witness. It was reading me, analyzing me as though I were an insect under a magnifying glass. I felt as though the tables had turned on me, for all of my years of laborious research and ethically questionable experiments- i was now on the receiving end of the discovery.

The chalk on the floor appeared unreal to me, it seemed to warp and distort in unimaginable ways, as did the lights before me- had I mistakenly ingested or touched something? There had to be a logical conclusion to this mind bending situation. Against my better judgement, i sputtered out in a quivering voice-

"Does my methodology offend you...?" Biting my tongue as I regretted my choice of words almost instantaneously. How foolish I was not only to entertain this delusion- but in the slight chance that this was something greater than I, to speak so rashly.

There came a soft, spine rattling laugh from the darkness as a form stepped into view within this distortion of matter- yet I could not make out what I was seeing. The entity spoke deeply, intentionally-

"Offend me?" It came once more, "I am not a peer reviewing your study, little worm. I am the thing you have been chasing, the thing you sought to quantify."

A lump formed in my throat, and I dared not blink.

"You intrigue me," it continued, coming closer to me- so close in fact, that I could feel its warm breath on my face, "You have been chasing knowledge that far exceeds your reasoning, naughty thing. Aren't I the answer? After all, I am the consequence of your ambitious little quest."

I closed my eyes tightly, fearing the beast that stood before me. To my astonishment, my eyes flew open near instantly- and I realized that I no longer had power over my form. The thing leaned in close as my heart pounded in my chest- the pressure in my skull seemed so intense i feared my head may burst- and it whispered, 

"I see the root of your desire, Deimos."