Had the temple not had the carved ornamental surfaces adorning its exterior, Theia could have mistaken it for one of the grape crushing and processing sheds. Still, she'd walked in, escorted by the local Matriarch Neffajie, with her mind merely open to learning about the locals' ideals.
What she had learnt, however, was considerably more confusing and troubling. Theia was undoubtedly not to know that the Asari Councillor was to make the same connection not long after herself.
The temple was a simple long room, shaped like an extended hexagon, apparently a design drawn from the original ancient temple. In the very middle of the room was a statue of a female figure without any crest or clothing, and it put Theia in mind of some of the Human mannequins that she'd seen in clothing outlets.
It was female, but the lack of crests gave it a neutral look, and it was painted a deep ocean blue with white dotted streaks running up the body, with a gentle curving face set in a calm smile. The depiction of Athame was entirely unlike any of the city and media bound depictions that Theia had seen throughout her life, and Neffajie explained it as the oldest known depiction of their spectral eternal mother.
Theia had only to shift her gaze upward for her nerves to tingle, for her brow to furrow, and for her confusion to blossom. At the far end of the hexagonal room, painted in a way so that anyone entering could see the figure looming like a silent protector beyond the statue of Athame, was the Master Chief.
Theia would have been remiss to outright describe the painted depiction as the extra-dimensional Human whom she had hosted on Omega; it was far from a photo-real depiction. The form's silhouette was an eerily close match, however, and the golden face, the visor, set betwixt the sandy green band from the bottom and top of his helmet, almost made Theia jump in surprise.
Ever since she'd met the Human from the different reality, she had developed a tendency to question almost everything before her to a greater extent. The truth wasn't quite as approachable as she'd once thought it to be.
Somehow... Somehow, he was here, and somehow, he had something to do with Asari religion. The idea boggled Theia's mind, and then Neffajie had assisted in boggling it further by catching her interest and bestowing him with three notable religious titles.
The Master of Chiefs, Demon to unholy Covenants, and Warrior of the fore; the latter titles didn't mean anything to Theia, but the first title struck Theia as a name far too coincidental to be anything other than a reflection of the truth.
The Master Chief was a figure in Asari ancient religion, and she had no idea how or why, but she did know that staying here in this simple life wouldn't begin to answer the questions that now churned in her mind. Within a week of that discovery, and after many recently brewed ciders to justify the trip and brief stay, Theia had said her farewells and returned to Omega.
Like just about everyone across the galaxy, she had heard of Aria being routed out. The asteroid colony was unified under a democratic system, so she was relatively sure that it would be a place to return in safety. She was also relatively sure that it would be the most likely place to meet the Master Chief again.
Upon returning to Omega, Theia discovered that she'd accrued a certain level of notoriety for being associated with The Hero of Omega. She'd even discovered that her likeness was used on the Omega Defence Force recruitment posters with the Master Chief front and centre.
Finding a job had been far more straightforward than finding Red Sand once was on the decreasingly dingy streets. Nyreen Kandros, the Arbiter of justice on Omega, had quite simply asked her to elect the position that she wanted, and she got it. Theia had always feared too much of a good thing, so she'd selected something that was in line with her experience, something practical to her wanting to be the first to speak to the Hero of Omega again.
Chapter Fourteen:: Alpha - Omega - Promises ::
Start from the beginning
