Chthonic Punk

Aris Forcer sensed it in every cell in his human body.

Another dimension.

Another universe.

Ever since their ordeal with the tesseract, having survived the gatekeeper, nothing had been the same. Not physics. Not biology. Not logic. Everything was upside down, inside out. But he felt alive, and as much as things were different, many aspects of this world were the same.

Another city of scoundrels.

Another tavern of thieves.

His partner in crime, Owis Coop, didn't seem too disorientated. A mechanoid with a badly short-circuited empathy complex, Owis appeared to revel in the new chaos. It drank its beverage of nanomide... or Psieshe as it was known... and...

How can this be? thought Aris. How could mechanoid technology exist here?

He looked over at his other companion, the Brinnerian. The slave had proven its loyalty time and again, with its magical time-sword, which fit right in this science-defying realm.

"I'm guessing our quest is over," said Aris. "A bit of an anticlimax, I must say."

"Anticlimax?" asked Owis. "Are you kidding me? We're in another realm. We've transcended spacetime. This is heaven. We're living in the afterlife. We're immortal."

"For a robot," said Aris. "You're kinda obsessive over your nonsensical spirituality."

The notorious bounty hunter looked back at Aris and said, "For a human, your kind of stupid."

"You are both wrong," spoke the Brinnerian, something it rarely did. "This is no heaven." It then turned to Aris. "And the climax is far from this moment."

"What are you talking about? We've found the citadel," said Aris. "And its treasure containing a whole new universe, which basically means we can't profit from it. We can't go back. We're stuck here forever."

"You are still wrong," said the Brinnerian.

"What is your story, slave?" asked Owis, who seemed intent on clinging onto his investment.

The Brinnerian sat with the two outlaws, and while the ultra-alien world continued on around them, it explained, "Once upon an age, a demigod called Dyzan and his disciples ventured to the Tomb Moon of Dacos in search of a sage known as Kule, a long-dead sorcerer who may be the key to overthrowing his rival, the Zenthian god Brinner, whose domain of Riathe was the richest in the Realm. Using one of Kule's worshippers to awaken him, Dyzan convinced the sage to join his cause. With the sorcerer's black magic at his command, Dyzan easily laid waste to Brinner's formidable army."

"Are you this god, Brinner?" asked Aris.

"Let me finish my story."

"Let the slave finish," said Owis.

The Brinnerian continued," Eventually, Dyzan became eager to be rid of Kule, fearing that the sorcerer could well turn against him. During the battle against Brinner, Dyzan attempted to kill the sage by feeding him to his disciples, but Kule, half eaten, escaped by conjuring up a lightning storm. With the last remains of his once powerful army, the god Brinner prepared to battle it out against Dyzan in a last-ditch effort to save Riathe. He ordered his family to evacuate to the nearest moon, and entrusted his youngest offspring with his time sword, instructing the boy to avenge his death should it occur."

"You're the son," exclaimed Aris.

"Yes," said the Brinnerian.

"What happened to your father?" asked Owis.