Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided

TU30. Journey to Darkness

High, tight leather stretched taut around Aurora's waist, wrapping her thighs and legs. Despite the form-fitting cut, the trousers wonderfully offered a full range of motion, akin to a flowing dress or wearing nothing at all. The craftsmanship of the fabric and seamlines appeared carefully designed for comfort, functionality, and style.

Her metallic boots and vambraces were the only armour she wore, because according to curated myth, no plates worth carrying could withstand the incomprehensible power of the Lord of the Underworld. Still, Austria had put tremendous effort into her attire, insisting an empress never wore the same attire twice.

Aurora sighed at that. She missed her obsidian arc armour even more. Still, no matter how old she grew, she was still a child in her mother's eyes — or perhaps a child empress, at that.

Glittering silver locks were braided into an elegant crown atop her head. There was no further need for an extra golden diadem; this was sufficiently elegant and majestic. According to her mother, who had styled this for her, it was a beguiling look that perfectly encapsulated Aurora's nobility.

"You have the face of every fourth-generation human. Be proud. Be beautiful." Austria's voice still echoed in her mind. It was a bit strange that it came from the woman who shared those very similarities.

Her boots shuffled along the beautiful field, scattering vibrant flowers, while Thanatos floated beside her, offering his usual silence. Aurora glanced over her shoulder, searching the city of heaven. For the most part, Elysium was already obscured by the rolling foothills. Only the tall spires and the peak of the central tower glittered brightly in the warm sunlight. It started to look like one of those old, faded oil paintings.

It appeared it was just the two of them. And it seemed the journey ahead was still going to take some time.

"There is something that has been bugging me for a while now," Aurora uttered, her voice monotonic.

Arching his brows, Thanatos drifted closer. "Huh, Empress? Is that your conversation starter?" He clicked his tongue a few times.

Aurora sighed, ignoring his remark. "I'm curious about our original path to the realm of darkness. You know, when we were at Hypnos's cave, then dropped into the demon-ridden world…"

"Aha! That wouldn't matter anymore, as it is no longer a viable option—"

"Still. I want to know," Aurora interjected. Her stride stopped, and her silver gaze pressed onto him. "For science or for arcana?"

"An inquisitive mind rarely stops pondering, I see." Thanatos grinned, his wings spreading wide as he froze in mid-air.

"What's the harm in telling me, then?" Aurora insisted.

After a minute of contemplatively rubbing his chin, Thanatos relented. "Fine…" He hung his head. "But promise me that you shall never say Death is a terrible escort. Now, follow me."

With Aurora's swift nod, he cleared his throat into his fist and began. "Well, you see. The continent where we landed had a grand river running through it. The river you bathed in with your armour, if you must know."

"That's a bit embarrassing." Aurora crossed her arms, walking side-by-side with her tall Grim Reaper.

"I jest, I jest." Thanatos chuckled, gazing into the distant clouds. "That river ran southward through the Cathun forest. And further south, the stream cascaded over three massive canyons." He held out three fingers.

"Then?" Aurora asked, raising her brows as she stepped closer. Curiosity piqued in her eyes.

"Still following the stream, it passed through the strait of Simile, and was finally sucked into a massive sinkhole that gobbled all the water into a twisted vortex of dark void."

"So…" Aurora murmured, her fingers brushing softly against her glossy lips. "Some sort of Charybdis?"

"Exactly that. Like one of those epic stories." Thanatos flicked his wrist upward, nodding a few times. "It's a one-way path to Erebus. That void was a geographical anomaly that connected to the passage of the darkness realm."

"Hmm. That makes no sense to me." She pursed her lips, pondering hard. "Is that a wormhole? Then how could the sea level stay consistent? The water circulation is on a negative, then?"

"The sea level, well, did not stay level," Thanatos admitted. He grinned and raised his long finger skyward. "That's one flaw in the design, you see. Now you know why Neptunion was not quite habitable in that sense."

"The lack of sustainability."

"Excellent. You catch on quickly as always, Mortal Empress," he hummed, his voice soft as a feather. "My brother realised the amount of effort and work such a calamity would take to maintain. As much as he dreamed of his own universe, he abandoned it entirely."

"That universe must have been created very recently, long before our universe," Aurora mumbled, pinching her chin. "While it was a blur, I observed the existence of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters in Hypnos's universe being consumed by the void arte."

"Oh?" Thanatos looked at her.

"But when we were there, we did not observe any stars at night." Aurora wiggled her finger in the air.

"So what? Some inconsistencies in the rules of the universe, perhaps?"

"Not at all. Since that universe was created, distant starlight would take millions of light-years to reach Neptunion, where we could observe the stars in the sky. It's all as simple as that. I understand it now."

"Ah, precisely. That's very intriguing," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. In his defence, this was like watching a child trying to take her first steps. His eyelids drooped into half-moons. "So what if that universe is younger than ours? All of this knowledge is useless, but you consume it anyway."

"It's… my hobby, I guess," she conceded.

With a long look at the smiling Aurora, he eventually wobbled his head. "Hobby it is."

"That means… Neptunion was doomed to collapse from the start, even if it weren't for me—hold on a second!" Her frown deepened. "I don't think you are lying?"

"What?"

"Lying about the Charybdis to lessen my sins would not do me any good, Lord of Death."

"I do not lie! I swear it!" He blurted, eyes wide. Quick and breathless. It did not help him in his cause. Now, Aurora was not going to believe a single word that he breathed.

A faint pout touched her lips, soon turning into a smile.

"Certainly," she clipped, before bursting out laughing and clasping her stomach.

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"You're merely… joking?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, of course!" she said, still overwhelmed with laughter. He couldn't help but join her, the two chuckling at one another. The warm breeze and tranquil hills only enhanced the mood. The smiles they shared were wide and sincere.

Just as he was about to say another word, an energetic greeting rang out from behind the hill ahead, calling Aurora's name.

Then, "Lord Thanatos!" Tachyon sprinted before skidding to a stop a few strides from the two. She smiled sheepishly at them.

"Tachyon!" Aurora said, wiping the grin from her face. It was a laugh that felt like it had been years in the making.

"The gateway's that way. Grandpa, I mean, King Achilles, was figuring out a way to get it open," Tachyon giggled, pressing her thighs together. This prompted Aurora to crane her neck toward the circular stone platform behind them.

Austria, in a white dress, and Achilles, in a casual chiton, lingered in the middle of the platform with a remarkable white Pegasus next to them. The mythic creature neighed and hissed, its front hooves scratching the stone in desperation.

As Aurora arrived at the scene, Achilles shook his head. His hand gestures went wild, flying all over the place; it was clear he was brainstorming hard with her calm mother.

"What's going on?" Aurora asked as she stepped within earshot.

"Heyyyyy!" Achilles snapped into a smile, his hands extending in invitation. "We're just getting everything ready for you…" He coughed, eyeing Austria.

Her mother sighed. "We have a problem."

"Big problem, Empress! The gateway isn't budging," Tachyon blurted, causing Achilles's face to sour.

"Don't say that!" he chuckled, trying to hide his red face. "I saw it multiple times! Queen Persephone threaded this passage all the time. It never once failed her. The Pegasus should be able to pass through; it's their whole personality!"

The Pegasus neighed loudly before flapping its long wings in a tantrum. Thanatos stepped in and gently brushed its beautiful spine.

With a swift flourish of movement, Austria took the empress's hands and squeezed them gently. "We've tried everything."

Finally grasping the gravity of the situation, Aurora narrowed her eyes, directing her attention to the Golden King. "This is not what we agreed upon… You promised me a passage to Erebus."

"Well—err—I planned to honour my end of the bargain!" Achilles wailed, shaking his head. More to himself than anyone else.

"Don't blame yourself for this," Austria interjected. "Conventionally, the Pegasus is one of the few mythic creatures that can inherently traverse through the realms. In theory, it should work."

With an unreadable expression, Aurora exchanged a glance with Thanatos before turning back to the others. "So you don't know how it works, exactly."

"Well," Achilles stammered, "You're right… But technically, it should work, right? Austria?" He sought out the ashen elf for support, and she nodded promptly. The way they looked at one another proved their amity went back thousands of years.

"I deeply apologise, Empress Aurora!" Tachyon snapped, bowing low. She expected some sort of reprimand, but none came.

Instead, the empress smiled, inspecting the glyphs and runes etched deep within the stones orbiting the deep, circular hole at the centre. "This is clearly Protonic," she mumbled as she kneeled, her fingers brushing against the deep grooves beneath her feet.

"Ah! You know the language of the gods?" Achilles asked, standing beside her. "How?"

"None other than the most kind," Thanatos chimed in with a grin. "For a short time, I taught her."

"Without a doubt. Something I would expect from the Lord of Death." Achilles bowed respectfully, but ever more theatrically.

"So, what does it say?" Achilles cocked his head, and the others gathered around the empress.

"Through me, beyond the untamed gate. Through me, resides the timeless fate. Through me, the ancient shadows' throne. Through me, the dark crown rules alone. Tarnished souls shall enter, heroic souls shall not. For this is where the Keeper wrought. Eternal darkness…" Aurora read aloud, wiggling her pursed lips in contemplation.

"That doesn't mean anything. We already know all that," Achilles said.

"Not really. Something is missing," Aurora said, her fingers pointing at the remaining glyphs near Tachyon's sandals. Unfortunately, the grooves had corroded over time and become nonsense scribbles on the stone. How convenient.

"Sorry," Tachyon muttered.

"It's fine, Tachyon," Aurora said softly. "It was never meant to be a puzzle. More like a declaration or a warning."

"I see," Austria said, resting her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "What do you think is missing from the text?"

Suddenly, Aurora's mind connected to a previous event. Her eyes widened as her lips moved on their own accord. "Hemera…"

"The goddess of daylight?" Austria frowned.

"Mother, before you rescued me…" Aurora said, blinking rapidly. "When I was stranded in the darkness, I met the two primordial gods, Erebus and Nyx. From what it seemed, they conjured the daylight. The sun!"

"That must be it!" Austria exclaimed with joy. Tachyon's golden eyes sparked as she drew nearer.

"The pit here requires daylight." Aurora pointed at the deep circular hole at the centre. "I must conjure the sun."

"Aha! I remember it now!" Achilles added with excitement. "Queen Persephone came with such radiance. I never thought spring and the sun had such a close relation before."

"It's… obvious." Austria almost groaned.

"I know, right? It's perfectly clear in hindsight!" Achilles scratched his head before directing his attention to Aurora. "So… you can make a sun with your arcane, right?"

With absolute confidence, Aurora smiled back and nodded. "Stay back, everyone. Far back. I shall attempt a Mythic-tier Empyrion cast."

Sucking air into her lungs, Aurora squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the prickling sensation and scorching heat on her skin. The immense pain immediately crossed the threshold of her mortal limits; her mind shut down its pain receptors, leaving only profound numbness. She owed no thanks to the enemy who had plunged her into the star core, an experience she never thought would come at such an inopportune time.

Simultaneously, the others, even Thanatos, stepped off the wide platform, leaving Aurora in the middle. She signalled the beginning of her cast with a prompt nod. Tremendous mana surged into her palms as she focused. Her silver eyes illuminated and glowed brightly.

The star was born of hydrogen, igniting in a blinding yellow brilliance. It had been such a long time since she had delicately crafted a spell, caging the concept of the star within her consciousness. With the final burst of whirlwind, Aurora snapped her palm open, "Empyrion—"

"Hemera!"

Her chant echoed like the divine choir as she raised her fingers overhead. The bean-sized orb flickered into existence, which soon began emitting bright and powerful incandescence. Her other hand supported her arm to counter the incredible gravitational force. With a slow guide toward the centre with each short, struggling step, the orb stabilised into a steady pulse of Hemera hovering in the palm of a mortal.

"It's beautiful," Tachyon gasped in awe, the orb reflecting in her golden eyes. Never in her life had she been this close to the sun, as if she could reach out and seize it.

Meanwhile, Achilles and Austria stared with wide eyes, and they covered their noses and mouths. Its light was so intense that it drew tears from their eyes the longer they watched. They couldn't stare long at that.

Winds of mana whirled around her like stumbling into the eye of the storm; her loose fringe and fabric whipped through the air, side to side.

"It's too unstable," Aurora growled. For each stride, the stone cracked beneath her boots. When one of her knees collapsed and crashed into the ground with a loud crack, "I—I'm in control!"

When the fuel thinned, and the core began to starve, the star turned desperate. It bloated into a crimson monstrosity, consuming its own borders to sustain its hollow hunger.

"What is she doing?" Achilles questioned. "Isn't that it?"

"Hold back, it appears she's losing it!" Austria shouted, one hand tucked his, another reined in the terrified Pegasus. The horse squealed in a frenzy.

Then came the great discharge with the resonant boom. A nebula of ghost-gas stripped away, shredding the titan until only the heart remained. They closed their eyes from the binding light, raising hands to shield themselves.

"Fear not." Thanatos chuckled in his throat. "Behold now."

Austria slowly fluttered her eyes. Her silver lashes were moist.

"It is… a White Dwarf!" Austria blinked tears from her eyes. It was a marble of impossible weight, silent and cold, waiting for its final, eternal dimming into the void of a Black Dwarf. But as long as its master regulated her mana, the white dwarf remained unchanged.

"It's complete." A guttural grunt escaped Aurora's throat as she cradled the small orb in her palms. She rose to her full height, capturing her very own sun within her hands. A soft, beautiful glow illuminated her youthful features; the orb shared the same hue as her eyes.

"She is the very first mortal to ever harness the power of the sun," Thanatos remarked, his tone amused.

"Holy Mother Gaia." Achilles gasped, his face brimmed with astonishment. For a moment, he thought that power would wipe out Elysium too. An uneven stumble led him nearer. "No jesting around…Did you really just create the sun?!"