Chapter 22: Color of the Void
"May I ask..." the purveyor quietly commented as he led Spike down another corridor. "What exactly did you tell Twilight about your future absence?"
The question surprised Spike a little, but then he remembered just who exactly was asking the question. "Not much." he replied with a sigh. "I only told her that there was something important I wanted to do... and that I needed to do it alone." Spike let his gaze travel down the corridor, wondering where the purveyor was taking him. Wherever it was, it had to be deep. He had been following his lead for almost half an hour by now and they had constantly been going down.
"And she did not question your motives?" Zaeres asked with slight wonder. With as much as he knew about her, he highly doubted that Twilight would simply accept something like this without a proper explanation.
"Of course she did." Spike replied with a sad shake of his head. "We almost got into a fight over it too..." a deep breath escaped him. "But in the end, I guess she understood... though she wasn't happy at all when I told her I didn't know how long it would take." he gave Zaeres a worried glance. "I hope she isn't planning on searching for me..."
"Rest assured, that is unlikely to be a problem." the purveyor commented without stopping in his stride.
"It won't?" Spike didn't know what to think of that answer.
"It won't." Zaeres repeated himself. "To be precise; She asked me to look over you during your absence."
"She did?" Spike asked with clear surprise. "Wow... I guess she really is worried..." he turned his gaze to the purveyor. "Are you sure it will be alright?"
"I am sure it will be fine." Zaeres replied and headed around another corner. "As long as you write her your letters she will be confident you are well."
Spike let his gaze fall onto the floor and mumbled to himself. "But will I be well?"
"That will entirely depend on you... and your determination." Zaeres stopped in front of an unremarkable part of the wall. "We have arrived."
Spike gave the wall a pondering look. "Where are we?"
"This is deepest part of the alicorn capitol." Zaeres explained and let his hand travel over the smooth surface. "We are currently in an old passage that none of the alicorns ever used... except for those involved."
Spike was about to question what the purveyor meant, but then the wall under his hand slowly started to glow... thin lines of bright blue crawling outwards in intricate patterns. "What is that?" Spike asked in wonder.
"It is a passage way... a portal." Zaeres continued to move his hand over the wall, following a pattern that these days only he knew.
"A portal to where?"
The purveyor removed his hand from the wall and the glowing lines stopped spreading out, intensifying in their glow until finally a circular portal of bright light had collected between them. Zaeres took a step back from the wall and pointed an open palm towards the portal, beckoning Spike to enter. "To the last sin of the alicorns."
Spike stood in front of the glowing portal, countless doubts and fears running through his head. And still, he could feel an old curiosity overcome him which he had not felt in a long time. Even though he feared what would await him behind the portal, he still felt that he needed to know... that he had to see for himself what events Sirrush's fall had brought forth.
For a short moment Spike hesitated, but then he stepped forward and into the light.
---
"Long ago, before the birth of the alicorns and the rise of the first deities, our old gods determined our lives." Nithhogr spoke softly, closing his eyes as he remembered days long forgotten by everyone else. "Their presence guided us, their words gave us knowledge... and their sight went far beyond what the eyes of us foolish mortals could perceive."
"Did they know of the void?" Celestia asked with anticipation.
"Knowledge is but a word, Celestia." Nithhogr chuckled. "And too many define their knowledge by what they see alone... The old gods let their gaze travel far beyond our own world and across the other planes of existence and time, catching glimpses of things untold and unknown. Their visions did not necessarily give them knowledge... but they became aware of many things that were or had yet come to be."
"And the void was one of those things?"
"Mmmh..." Nithhogr used one of his claws to scratch the countless little barbs on his chin. "The void is a very peculiar thing, Celestia. When the old gods first let their gaze fall upon it, they were confused... it was something they failed to fully understand. But with the void, how could any of us hope to?"
Celestia frowned. "Confused? How? I was in the void myself, Nithhogr. He brought me there, showed me their city and the endless dark that surrounded it!"
"He did?" Nithhogr watched her with slight amusement and Celestia immediately regretted giving him this information. "That is interesting indeed... Tell me then, young alicorn. What did you learn of the void during your visit? Did you come to understand what it is? Were you able to see beyond its emptiness?"
Celestia shook her head. "My stay there was a short-lived one, but I only saw emptiness wherever I looked."
"That is regrettable..." Nithhogr watched her with his golden eyes. "Tell me, Celestia; What color does the void carry?"
"What color?" Celestia returned his gaze with a dubious expression. "The void is black... so black that it swallows all light." She left out the small detail of the red tinge that had recently entered his shadows on rare occasions.
"Then you see what all the others see... and just as them, you know nothing." Nithhogr leaned closer towards Celestia, his huge head easily framing her own size. "Listen to me, young alicorn... and listen well to what the gods of old believed; The void is neither a place nor a dimension of its own. It watches but holds no being in itself. It is a state of awareness, nothing more... and yet it has existed long before time or any other form of order."
Nithhogr pulled his head back slightly. "When the old gods first let their vision fall upon the void, they saw only darkness... just like you. They saw nothing... because they failed at first to comprehend what they were seeing. It took time for them to understand, but when they did they felt a terror unlike any other befall them for they saw an existence that knew neither time or space... a presence detached from every law and logic they knew and yet ever present in every fiber of our world." he paused to let his words sink in. "What I am saying is; The void has no color of its own... but as long as you can not understand what it is, you will only see darkness wherever you see it... for the mind itself fails to recognize its true nature. It is simply too alien."
Celestia took a second to contemplate his words before speaking again. "And what about him? What about his people that lived within it? Did they know? Did they understand? How could they even exist within it?" she paused. "Does he know?"
"That is perhaps the greatest mystery." Nithhogr replied softly. "Maybe they brought their own understanding of time and space into the void... maybe they simply willed their logic upon it and shaped it into something they could comprehend... maybe they were simply dreaming or maybe they simply forgot? I can not say what allowed them to exist within it, not even how they were able to enter it for that matter... As for him..."
Nithhogr frowned and thought for a moment but then a small chuckle escaped him. "I fear that it would only give me a headache if I tried to understand him and the meaning of his existence..." he turned to her with a smile. "And I am simply enjoying the confusion his presence is spreading too much to ponder further upon it."
"Then what about your old gods?" Celestia slowly started to feel impatient. "What did they tell of the void and its inhabitants?"
"What did they tell indeed..." Nithhogr spoke with slight amusement. "They told us little more than what I just told you. But they also left a prophecy to accompany it." Nithhogr took a deep breath and searched his mind for the words that had not been spoken since his youngest days. "Se'kan Dorcha nelp'Haam mel tru'hm Beak Sol per Sush fer'An..."
"Please remember that I am not fluent in dragon."
"Such impatience..." Nithhogr sighed and closed his eyes before translating. "When the void feeds upon itself and spills onto our world, the sun will give birth to darkness, the unseeing will be blinded and forgotten..." he opened his eyes again. "And this world will fall into nothing."
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I love you. Marry me.
...
No homo?
3691784
How is that NOT homo?
I love you. Marry me.
...
Very homo?
3691784
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I was just trying to show my big, thick and hairy intellectual infatuation for the author writing skills.
But why answer with words when you can answer with gifs?
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/198/010/tysonreaction.gif
And pictures.
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A good night to you all, ladies and gentlemen.
3691930 It's alright. I still love you ;)
Keep calm and write on I guess :P
Keep calm and write on I guess :P
YAY! MORE WATCHER! This has been a good week...
Awesome chapter xD
Yes this was an good chapter, short but good!
Ehh, its cool dude, thanks for writing!
No one should ask anymore...
Also, I am quite interested in this plot... hmmmmm... keep up the good work!
gooooood
3691941 I can't help but feel a pinch of Paarthunax thrown into Nithhoger (hat to copy paste that, where do you get your names from, damn).
I could easily imagine Nithhoger saying something like "I can feel the void's bahlok... Its hunger"
The first part of the prophecy is him ending his race into the void, him becoming a part of the void, his return, Celestia helping him reviving humanity...
The last part is obvious but I’m not certain about what the third part is mentioning. “The unseeing will be blinded and forgotten”, that could mean many things but I believe it refers to the races or beings unable to comprehend or see the void... that something will befall them all.