Endless white halls, empty silence, all that Lars could hear was his own footsteps. Looking around, he couldn’t see anybody, only the pale architecture. It has been a couple of hours since his arrival, Lars didn’t know where he was, but by the looks of it, his experiment was a success, the only thing left was finding them. Keeping his pace, the red-haired man caught sight of a stairway. This should be it.
Each step of the stairway took him closer to an intense bright light. At the end of it, there was a vast enlightened chamber. Lars couldn’t see the end of it, in fact, he couldn’t see anything. Engulfed by the strong radiance, he kept walking while covering his eyes though it was not of much use. The effulgence was blinding.
“Welcome, Lars Crimson.” – a mysterious voice echoed in the room. Startled, Lars uncovered his eyes trying to find the voice. In the distance, amidst the light, Lars can see three equally large circles, within them, there is a silhouette of a man fading in all this brightness. “W-who?” – asks Lars. “I suppose it’s rather demanding for your eyes to look at me”. The sound of steps echoed through the chamber “Having guests wasn't anticipated. For that I apologize, Lars Crimson.”
The luminous circles start to fade, and the suffocating light dims. A white-haired man, with golden yellow eyes is standing right in front of him. Dressed in an extravagant all black attire, he looks young and somewhat small. “How do you know my name?” – interrogates a confused Lars, for which is answered “I tend to know many things”. “Are you a nephilim?” – This question surprises the mysterious man; his gaze looks admired with Lars’ knowledge “A human who knows about the nephilim? How fascinating you are… to what do I owe the honor of your visit?”
Lars feels unsure, this man clearly knows too much about him, however it takes more than knowing who he is to earn his trust. “I am looking for someone.” – Straight to the point without giving much details. The flamboyant one’s expression saddens as he says “Unfortunately, there’s only me and you.” Skeptical, Lars questions “And what about the other nephilim?” – “Want to go there and see?” – “Would you take me?” The man emits a soft giggle “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a guest. I’d be much fond of a little walk.”
This man is a puzzling entity. Even though Lars doesn't know his true intentions, he's also the only way out of this chamber and the one who knows where the nephilim are. Lars doesn’t trust him, but he needs his help. The lofty one tilts his head to the right and smiles looking Lars in the eyes “Then, follow me.”
.
.
.
The lofty one takes Lars outside the chamber. They stop walking to look at the landscape. The pale white bridge where they stand looks like it goes on forever, swimming in the white universe. “It’s been so long since I’ve been out here, yet it looks the same.” – admires the man, Lars follows him and asks “So where are we?”. Lars’ way of speaking, filled with curiosity, humors the white-haired being. “It’s called Topos Hyperuranios, you may also call it the celestial vault.”
Lars looks at it from outside again, this place is huge, celestial vault? it's more like a celestial nation. The architecture is no less than breathtaking. Its pure white constructs give a beautiful yet sorrow mood. “It looks bleak, when I arrived, I thought no one lived here.” – “Arrived… So would you care to share how you reached here?” asks the man. “Well…” From his coat’s pocket, Lars takes an egg timer and shows the man in black. “My father was the creator of magitech, so he developed a way of transporting things... after some tests, I created this myself.”
The lofty one looks intrigued by the gadget and Lars proceeds to demonstrate. Walking away from the man, he twists the egg timer, and it starts to tick. Suddenly Lars reappears on the man’s side. “See? Using the möbius strip as a catalyst, it permits quick transportation of objects and even people”. The pale one looks at Lars in complete awe “Möbius strip? Not only are you aware about the nephilim, but you also know about Möbius… humankind is always full of surprises. What you did is fascinating, child.” – “I’m not as good as my father though… I’m lucky I got here”. The pale man negates with his head and adds “No. You are the first one to ever reach here, to me you’re quite mesmerizing”. Lars is surprised, he saw that the vault is isolated, but he didn’t think he was the first guest. “No one comes to see you?” – “The opposite is more accurate. I appreciate loneliness.” – “I see… may I ask your name?” – “I have no name.” – “What?! And how do people call you?” – “It depends on them. I find creativity very amusing. Existence can become monotonous after all this time”. Every word that leaves this man’s mouth is intriguing. Always mysterious and filled with deep meanings. “Then, I’ll call you no name”. Innovates Lars making the nameless one snicker. “Agreed. No name it is.”
No name and Lars reach the end of the white bridge, there’s nothing on the other side. Lars is intrigued and can hear a deep sigh coming from his companion. “So here it is, Lars Crimson.” Says the pale one obtaining no responses. “Lost your words? This reaction is quite different than I anticipated…” – “What happened here?” – “Their era came to an end. We are contemplating complete nothingness… how sad.” – “I feel sick… that’s why hope and faith are pointless”. says a disheartened Lars. “Pardon?” says No name looking at Lars without understanding what he said “Sorry, it’s just that seeing this made me realize how helpless everything is. There are some humans who believe in a god or some divine force that would save’em…” – “You don’t?” the man questions. “Well… even the nephilim are gone, if there's a god or whatever why have they been abandoned? Won't it be the same to humans?…”
No name touches its chin in a thinking pose and answers “Blaming someone who did not interfere won’t change the fact that your choices can lead you to your end, Lars Crimson. That’s the so-called freedom. In fact, my intervention wouldn’t change their destiny, that was for each of them to shape… so do you and the others.” – “So, the All Father would really let his creation fade away with no intervention… I’ll ask again, who are you?” No name tilts its head to the right and answers “I am the nephilim, and I am not. I am nothingness too. I am also you and everywhere you look, what you see and what you don't is me as well”. Lars can’t believe what he’s hearing, in utter disbelief he laughs “I was right, believing in you is useless”. The creator walks away from Lars while admiring the nothingness where the nephilim used to exist, he stops and looks back at Lars “All life ends, Lars Crimson. It is only but a matter of time. To tell the truth, you are right. I am of no use, I’ve been constantly failing to find a perfect formula, a way for you to follow what I plan, yet at the end, you always stray further from excelence. Forgive me.” – “If you know we’ll fail, why do you keep creating us?” – “Isn’t it clear? I do it because I can.”
That’s enough, Lars gives up. It’s useless to keep discussing, it won’t get anywhere. He reaches inside the pocket of his coat and gets the egg transporter. “I don’t think you realize how disappointing it is to hear you say those words. Please, keep refraining from interventions. We’re clearly better off without you.” – “Understood.” All Father answers. Lars twists the egg timer, and it starts to tick.
All Father closes his eyes and the egg timer stops ticking. Lars looks at his hands however he only can see a huge bleeding hole in his body. His möbius are being scattered everywhere around him, passing out he curses while looking at the pale haired man.
E PLURIBUS UNUM
Comments (0)
See all