Lazzi paced back and forth around his quarters. Just outside, there were dozens of soldiers lined up waiting for him to come out. And a few meters from his quarters, there are millions of proud and hopeful Keplerians waiting for Lazzi to grace them with his presence.
"What if I die out there?" Lazzi asked. Cold sweat was dripping on his chest, leaving a patch of wet spots on his traditional linen clothing.
"Boy, after everything you've been through, now you're asking that? Quit over thinking. You're better than this." Captain Creo said.
"Quit overthinking?" he laughed. "Easy for you to say Cap! Rumor has it that when you receive the Obelisk, you'll wish you're dead."
"You won't die. We made sure of it."
The intercom beeped for an incoming message. "Lazzi Kepler, please be escorted to the stage. The ceremony will begin shortly."
"Kepler? When did I receive a last name?"
"Just now. You're this planet's "son" anyway."
Lazzi scoffed. "Lazzi Kepler doesn't sound right."
"You'll get used to it. Now go!"
"Shit! Shit!" Lazzi swore under his breath.
"Language Lazzi, I don't want people to know that I taught you those words."
"I can't do this Cap."
"Lazzi! Thousands of men died for this. Billions of people across the supercluster can only dream to be in your position. Stop this nonsense of yours. Our people don't need a leader that succumbs to fear. Remember, diamonds were made under pressure, and that's how we molded you, wasn't it?"
Lazzi nodded slowly. "Yes Cap." He looked at himself in the mirror one last time and wiped all the anxiety brimming at the edge of his glinting teal eyes just like what he always did for the past years of his life. Lazzi knew things would never be the same as soon as he left his room. "Let's get this over with," he whispered.
"Hey before you go out there," Creo held Lazzi's shoulders firmly and looked him in the eyes. "I want you to know how proud I am to be your mentor. You've done so excellently my boy."
"I'm proud to be under your wing as well...Cap." He wanted to say dad but he was afraid he'll sound ridiculous. It was after all his childish desire to have a father.
As he left his quarters, the soldiers were quick to their feet and surrounded him like walls. Lazzi could already hear the thousands of voices of his people excited for the moment that they've long waited for.
"And finally!" the host's voice echoed through the backstage. "The champion of Kepler....our future Shijian, Lazzi Kepler!!"
Lazzi, as told, stepped into the light of the stage, and the crowd went crazy. "Lazzi! Lazzi! Lazzi!" they all chanted with vigor. Lazzi gulped and clenched his jaw from the sheer number who had come. People from every part of his planet united to see this momentous event. And some came from thousands of lightyears away. They all prepared for this, even building a brand-new coliseum that has floating platforms and real-time holographic projections so that everyone can see him even from afar. His government prepared this exuberant coliseum even though they lack the resources and money to feed every citizen. Lazzi wished to change that. These people cheering for him and the others beyond are suffering for the lack of food, lack of better housing, yet they came all the way here. He wasn't sure what to do but he gave them a shy wave anyway, and they cheered for more, filling the whole coliseum with a jaunty atmosphere. He was too caught up by the admiration of his people that he didn't notice that the other Inheritors were already in the stage with him. It was his first time that he ever laid his eyes on them. Understandably since each planet makes their identity a secret until the Inheritance ceremony.
Base from their clothing, Lazzi guessed that the posh girl nearest to him was from Gaia as she was wearing a silky ocean haute couture gown uncommon to his planet, while the boy next to her, embellished with rare ancient gemstones from the old Earth, was from Nuvamond, and the farthest from him was from Nadezhda, wearing a flamboyant royal gown. For their safety and everyone else's, they were spaced a hundred meter apart from each other.
"Now that all our Inheritors are here, let us all welcome, our great protectors, the Obelisks: Shijian, Vide, Ortus and Veross!" The crowd once again cheered at the top of their lungs but now for Lazzi it was nothing but a muffled noise. Each Obelisks wore similar all-black attire, a fitting symbol for their relinquishment of power. Lazzi focused solely on Shijian. Among the other Obelisks, Shijian looked the oldest due to her graying hair.
"Before we officially start the inheritance ceremony, we would like to have a moment of silence to give thanks for our brave and wise founders. Without them, humanity as we know it, will be long gone now." Everyone went solemn and reminisced about the past that no one really had personally experienced. But Lazzi's only thoughts were about the future. He will be their hope, the one that can change the cluster. He will be the future itself.
"Alright, now." the host paused and looked at the audience. "Without further ado, let us begin the Transference!" Lazzi knew it was the cue and so he and the other Inheritors stepped forward and faced the Obelisks. The Obelisks, on the other hand, raised their right hand and showed it to the crowd. And then all at the same time, the four cut their palms with a tiny ceremonial knife and let themselves bleed into a chalice.
"As the host planet of this ceremony, let's start with our very own. Shijian, the Obelisk of Time, please allow Lazzi Kepler to be your successor and give your blood unto him." Lazzi kneeled and reached out for the chalice. His hands were trembling but when he felt the weight of the golden cup touched his skin, he knew it was the weight of the entire universe including the lives that believed in him and so he held it firm and with certainty. Lazzi neared his lips on the brim and drank away the blood. Just as how quickly the deep red liquid grazed the tip of his tongue, his throat became a desert, and his stomach twisted and churned with a hunger that ate away his own insides. His knees twisted in agony and he curled into a ball as a desperate attempt to make the pain stop. The crowd murmured with worry. Some were even crying as if they could feel the suffering of their chosen Inheritor. The thing is, Lazzi knew about this as the legend had countlessly told him that after inheriting Shijian, one will experience years-worth of hunger and thirst all compressed in a blink of an eye. Yet, knowing it is far too different from actually feeling it.
"Control it boy. That power seeks the calmness of the mind. Remember, that your thoughts will be the very cog of time from now on." The old Shijian whispered. Lazzi took her advice and tried to ignore his primal pain. He imagined the calmness of the early morning he had witnessed in each of his training days and the comfort of the dusk that signaled his rest. He thought about those stories Captain Creo told him; rare stories that came from the old Earth. Slowly, his stomach churned no more and then all at once, he felt better as if nothing had happened. He mustered his strength and stood to his feet and his people applauded in joy, proud of what he had accomplished. Lazzi noticed that the insignia of Shijian, a symbol depicting an archaic hourglass, was now embedded on his left wrist. Now his life was not his own anymore but of the entire universe.
The host smiled proudly at him then turned his face back in the crowd. "Now that our Lazzi, the new Shijian, is in stable condition, let us proceed." The tension returned to the crowd. "Vide, the Obelisk of Space, please allow Princess Ophelia Huxley of Gaia, to be your successor and give your blood to her."
Ophelia did the same as Lazzi did. Although when she drank from the chalice, she started screaming and rolling in the ground as if her skin was burning from invisible flames. Lazzi flinched at the sight. He wanted to help and go near her but he knew that he shouldn't. Eventually her horrific screams quieted down and she regained composure like what Lazzi accomplished.
"Our next one, Ortus, the Obelisk of Emergence, please allow Sachihiro Najjar of Nuvamond, to be your successor and give your blood to him."
Lazzi watched over as the man called Sachihiro kneeled to Ortus. Compared to the other Obelisks, Ortus looked the youngest and fittest. Even from the distance, Lazzi can see how big and muscular Ortus was.
"It's—it's empty?" Sachihiro said in disbelief.
"That's right." Ortus looked at Veross and frowned. "I decided to hold on to my Obelisk and the other three Obelisk of the Universe."
The people gasped in shock. Even the host wasn't sure how to react.
"No give my Obelisk!" Sachihiro charged and grappled Ortus, trying to pin him to the ground but Ortus didn't even flinch. Instead, he stabbed Sachihiro right on his spinal cord using the ceremonial knife itself. The crowd panicked in horror and everyone scattered for the exit. The host and the former Obelisks were quickly evacuated by their own guards.
The other soldiers, meanwhile, quickly drew their guns and fired towards Ortus but he instantly used the dead bleeding body of Sachihiro as a shield.
Lazzi's eyes couldn't believe what he saw. But before he could process things, he found his legs already running towards Ortus. It seemed that Ophelia, Vide's inheritor knew what to do as well and sprang into action, her cumbersome gown swaying with her like the waves of the ocean. The new Obelisks were about to meet at the center of the stage but a bunch of other soldiers stopped them in their tracks with guns pointed at them.
"Stop you two!" one of the soldiers screamed. "We can handle this!"
"We have to stop him!" Lazzi shouted.
"You mean her." Ophelia corrected.
Lazzi glanced back at Ortus and realized that he had morphed his body into a woman's. Lazzi remembered what they taught to him about Ortus, the Obelisk of Emergence, that they can control each of their cells down to the molecular level, so changing sex or appearance in a snap is nothing new.
"Let us handle this our Shijian and Young Vide!" another soldier claimed but the tone of fear was evident on her voice.
Lazzi grunted. "She has one of the most powerful ability in the universe, how could you even—"
"Remember your training our Shijian, you know the closer you get to her the more powerful she can get."
"And so do we! Together we can stop her! I'm her cousin, I can talk to her." Ophelia snapped. But then she heard herself and now was quite unsure. Can they really stop her? Certainly, she couldn't, she thought.
Lazzi glanced back to Ortus. At the distance, Ortus appeared to be dancing, but Lazzi was not aware that she was actually dodging each bullet fired at her.
"Lazzi, I mean Shijian. Listen to us," Captain Creo emerged behind the wall of soldiers. "You two should not engage. You two must get as far away as possible."
"But Cap!"
"Young Vide, you can go into any place in the Universe, please take our young Shijian somewhere safe for us." Ophelia nodded slightly, but it was more of a reflex, not a conscious affirmative yes.
"What are you talking about Cap? I will not run from a fight! And I will certainly not leave you alone!"
"Listen to me for once boy."
"Captain, she's fast approaching!" one of the soldiers yelled. Ortus was running towards them at an inhumane speed. There Lazzi realized Ortus morphed into a woman so she could be more agile.
"Fire at once!" Lazzi's mentor ordered. The stage was littered with bullets flying across towards Ortus. But she was not fazed at all and continued to sprint. One bullet was about to hit her in the chest but she easily caught it mid-air.
Lazzi gritted his teeth. He knew those primitive guns wouldn't work around an Obelisk, especially the Obelisk of Emergence. If they have destabilizing bullets like the one from Gaia, maybe they would have a chance.
"Shijian, I think your mentor is right." Ophelia said.
The flurry of bullets continued to fire at Ortus. Luckily one of the hits directly hit her in the eyes making her stop.
"Hey, that hurts." Ortus flatly said while blood gushed out of her eye socket. "You're gonna pay for that!" Within a snap, her eyes healed back and she charged forward like an enraged bull.
"Get away from my men!" Lazzi screamed. He felt an unimaginable power surge through his body and in a flash, his eyes glowed a bright golden yellow. He pressed his two fists together, held as much air in his lungs, and as promised to him by the legends he heard ever since he was a kid, time had stopped from flowing. Ortus was frozen in motion and so was everyone else. The bullets were floating midair and seeing it that way made it look fake. Even heat had stopped from flowing making it freezing cold for Lazzi that thin icicles began to form on his cheeks and extremities. His years of training prepared him for all of this so he tried to ignore the prickling pain all over his body and the building pressure on his chest.
Lazzi clenched his mouth shut. He sprinted towards Ortus and kicked her right in the jaw, dislocating it. Then he hooked a punch at her face and slammed her head onto his knee. But Ortus looked unaffected yet. He tried but he couldn't hold his breath any longer so he exhaled a white mist of air making time return to normal. Blood began to spurt out of Ortus's nose and lips but she simply wiped it over her face and gave Lazzi a distorted smile. Like the bullet wound, her jaw and lips went back to normal as if nothing had happened.
"After what I did to this planet, that's how you're going to repay me?"
"What?" Lazzi asked.
"If it weren't for me, you'll never be alive. I stopped the war and it was my idea to create you."
"Liar!" he yelled. "I'm going to bring you down to your knees."
"Then come at me boy."
Lazzi grunted and once again charged towards Ortus. He tried to connect a punch but Ortus was just too fast and managed to grab hold of his wrist where his Insignia lies.
Ortus grinned and Lazzi immediately realized his mistake. "No!" he yelled and pulled his arm free.
"Fire everything at her! Help our Shijian" Captain Creo ordered and the soldiers did. But Ortus did not even try to dodge their assault anymore. She let each bullet hit her body like a dummy. Her face did not even show a sign of pain, but only a weary frown, as if disappointed.
Amidst the loud gunshot noise Lazzi was shouting at them to retreat because only he knew what could happen next. What she can do. But it was too late. Ortus flicked her hand and turned every soldier in sight, including Captain Creo, to age and rot instantaneously. Lazzi's mouth was about to scream again but no sound came out as he watched his mentor turn into a decayed corpse in a second. It happened so fast that the soldiers weren't even able to scream and or even say their last words. "Thank you for that young Shijian!"
"Shijian! Why did you let her touch your Insignia?" Ophelia yelped horrified with what just happened.
"I—uh, I thought—" Lazzi fell on his knees. He was shaking from the cold and the death he had caused.
"Hmm, how feisty the young ones are, huh?" Ortus stretched her neck. "Now, if you don't mind you two, give me your Obelisks for the greater good."
"Ortus! Leave them alone! Please." Ortus looked back and saw Veross running towards them.
Ortus closed her eyes for a second. "Oh Veross, I warned you about this. You cannot stop me now."
"I know. Vide, Shijian, you two must run." Veross said with authority. "I'll hold her off."
"Acting as a knight again huh? I always admired you for that. But not this time Erik." Ortus said.
"Shijian, take my hand." Ophelia whispered.
"Don't you dare touch hands you two! Ophelia, listen to me, you know me. Hear me out!"
"Young Vide, don't listen to her. As an Obelisk you must run! You too, young Shijian. Protect yourselves!"
But it didn't register with Lazzi. He was paralyzed with disbelief and inside, an ignited rage was beginning to consume his body like vicious flames, quick and destructive.
"Young Vide, please listen, use your Obelisk." Veross interjected. "Trust me!"
Ortus lunged towards Ophelia and Lazzi. But before she got to them, Ophelia's eyes glowed a purple hue. She stretched her hand out and made Ortus levitate in the air. Visibly, Ophelia's skinny arms were trembling from the force she's exerting to stop Ortus from moving any closer.
"Bridge with her, and warp her away young Vide. Somewhere far away from this place!" Veross ordered.
"I...how would I? I don't know—" Ophelia was panicking. At the back of her head she knew exactly what to do but the fear got the better of her. A pang of shame hit her.
"Then please hold on to her as long as you can!" Veross hurried to get a gun from one of the dead soldiers.
"Let me go Ophelia," Ortus squirmed "listen to—"
Veross shot Ortus's nape at point blank. Ophelia covered her mouth as she witnessed bits of Ortus' brain squirt in the air. Then he shot her again at the center of her spinal cord.
"She'll be down for a few seconds. The nervous system takes longer to heal. Young Vide, remember how to displace matter in space. I know you know how. Shijian, please Bridge me your Obelisk." Veross coached them.
But the two just looked at him blankly. Veross groaned and ran towards Lazzi instead. "You two are the Obelisks. You were chosen and trained for this! Get your shit together!"
Ophelia frowned but Lazzi slowly came to his senses, letting the flame of rage inside him burn steadily but not consume him alive. He stood up and presented his Insignia on his wrist to Veross. As soon as their skin touched, Veross's eyes glowed a bright blue. "Got it. Vide, Shijian, you two have to trust me on this." Veross, being the best tactician in any universe, relayed the plan to the young Obelisks and Bridged with them at the same time. Veross nodded at them. "Now Vide, please! Think of the place. Think of the destination." Ophelia closed her eyes and held her breath. "You, Lazzi. Think of the time, the year."
Veross's eyes then lit up a bright blue light before he uttered his last words to them. "Remember you two, this is the only way we could defeat Ortus. Find my Inheritor and he'll know what to do next."
"Having a quick meeting?" Ortus groaned and stood right up, finally recovering from Veross's attack. "That's rude. As far as I could remember, I'm an Obelisk too."
Out of thin air, a luminous purple dust spiraled and enveloped the three Obelisks, slowly transporting them somewhere else. But before they could escape from Ortus's wrath, she jumped like a lioness she was and clawed Veross by the shoulder.
Veross looked at his back. "I trust you on this," he whispered to the air.
Within the blink of an eye, Lazzi and Ophelia found themselves, falling from the sky, thousands of feet away from the ground while Veross and Ortus were nowhere to be seen.
Lazzi screamed as loudly as he could but he almost couldn't hear himself from the rush of the cold wind blasting on his face. The force of the wild gale made them spin uncontrollably in the sky. Ophelia on the other hand used her Obelisk to get closer to Lazzi.
"We should Bridge!" she yelled, pointing to her Insignia at the back of her ear. Lazzi flailed until he was able to reach for Ophelia's insignia. A sudden but weak spark coursed through his skin. "Now slow down our descent!" Lazzi nodded and closed his eyes. When he opened it, his eyes were already shining like the sun and the two slowly felt that the winds were not harsh anymore and they were falling like a feather; slow and graceful. Ophelia sighed in relief.
"Let's not do that again!" Lazzi said as soon as his feet touched the ground. He tried to balance himself but his vision was still spinning which made him fall on the concrete road.
"I think we did it." Ophelia looked at the old gasoline reliant cars driving by and the ancient buildings towering around her. "We're on Earth 2018."