Dark Matter Ascension

Xera led Jace to a small chamber with a chair bolted to the ground. Above it was a large, hexagonal structure which looked like an enormous light. "Sit down, please."

Jace did so and glanced up at the thing above him, "And this is?"

"A while ago you asked me if there was a way to improve your learning, since you did not have formal schooling." She went to a console behind the device and began tapping buttons. "This is going to give you the equivalent of what I would call a comprehensive universal education. The same learning that is given to children who grow up in Khrox."

"Do you use this machine on them?" Jace asked.

She laughed, "No! Too dangerous. But you have Cosmic and Ascended Power. Plus, the NICIF who can keep your brain from overheating and cooking in your skull. This would fry so many children's brains. They get to learn the old-fashioned way. Five-minute doses, little by little, doing a little bit of each subject they need."

Jace leaned back into the chair and tried to relax, but he felt a little bit of tension at the idea of his brain being cooked in his skull. "So we could do this in small doses without risk?"

"Yes, but like I said, NICIF will ensure you don't really have any risks."

Jace took in a deep breath. "You promise?"

"I can't lie, remember?"

"Right…"Jace leaned back, and Ollie flew above him.

"It will be okay," Ollie stated. "Xera knows what she is doing with this."

Xera came back into view, "This is going to feel hot. No pain should accompany it, but you will feel very, very hot." She looked at Ollie, "You can interface if needed. I'm going to go back to do some work."

Jace felt what she had described. An intense heat began to build in his temples, and he started breathing rapidly.

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[We got this, boss!]

[We'll keep your brain from cooking while you get way smarter.]

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Jace felt the heat begin to dissipate, then grow again, then fade once more. This cycle of waves continued to build and build, until the heat was causing him to shake in discomfort, and then the relief from the cooling off made him sink deeper into a near trance-like state.

Ollie flew over to be in front of his face, "What is the square root of seventy-eight?"

"Eight point eight three once seven six zero eight six six three three," Jace replied almost automatically. "Holy shit! What the heck?"

"Congratulations! You have finished." Ollie flew over to the machine and turned it off. "We could keep going, but then we're risking you having the problem Xera has."

"Which is?" Jace asked as he got out of the chair.

"Too much information. An organic brain can only handle so much – even one with the NICIF in it, as well. Every few years – sometimes more frequently, depending on how much happens – Xera has to take her memories and compress them."

Jace immediately understood what Ollie mean by compressing, "Like software?"

"Correct! Well, this is going to make things a lot easier when I don't have to explain stuff like thermodynamics to you."

Jace nodded as the definition just popped into his head as if he remembered reading it off of a sliverscreen, "Physical science branch that deals with relationship between heat and other energy."

"Pretty much!"

"That's awesome." He began walking towards Xera's battle station, where she had all her monitors, when a thought hit him. She has so much knowledge that she has to constantly compress it? That's…she must know so much. I mean, if you've been around for trillions of years, it makes sense.

She was seated in the middle of her various consoles – blob-formed Wayfinders surrounding her. "Oh, all done? Good. I'll send you home to rest a little bit. Then, it's off to Harkon Secundus. It's akin to a traditional fantasy world."

Immediately, Jace's mind brought up the idea of fantasy novels – dragons, mermaids, all manner of fantastical creatures flooding his imagination. "Oh…so I'll be killing a lot of stuff?"

"Not quite," she stood up from her chair. "Anathema items are scattered about in places known as Delves. Ancient, magic-powered vaults with potent protectors. We need to gather them up – if not for our own use, then to keep them out of the hands of others. Plus, the various fantasy creatures could be harvested for Stardust…but, their components are far more valuable. So you'll be going to kill off the wildlife."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"But not to excess," Jace said, "Since we don't want to unbalance the ecosystem."

"Correct." Xera smiled, took a step forward, and cupped Jace's cheek with one of her long, slender hands. "I'm so proud of you. Taking down two faction leaders in the span of a few days is no small feat." She pulled her hand away. "And soon…you will be of an appropriate Tier to face Troxanir."

"But I can't do the weird square-quantum reality fighting like I did against Star Father. How am I going to get there?"

"The Pulsar Coalition will be our allies in that endeavor. Nihilethelea is very close to the center of the universe. The vessel we took from Deckard was not registered to him via The Cosmic System. I am retrofitting it to be capable of light speed travel. Which means you'd be traveling for a few days instead of years."

Jace nodded, "I won't let you down. We've gotta get her back. And all of Greg's lost friends and family. And everyone I killed on Earth on accident."

Xera's face had a solemn, almost introspective look on it. "Of course. We do it for them. The afterlife tunnel I hope to establish will solve so many more issues than just that." She stepped back, "Ready to go home?"

Jace nodded, "Yeah, I need to check in with Greg." Xera tapped some icons on her wrist pad, and Jace was back in the apartment building. He went to the elevator, punched the button for Greg's floor, and when the doors opened, he approached the main door and tapped the panel.

Missy's voice came out of it, "Yes?"

"It's Jace. I want to check in on him."

"I'll ask." Jace waited, patiently, for a few minutes, and then Missy answered the door. "He's on the couch." She gestured for Jace to enter as she stepped further back.

"I'm so sorry your wedding day was interrupted like that. I got revenge, if that makes you feel any better."

"It does a little," Missy replied with a dour expression. She had obviously been crying heavily – but closer up and with a moment to study her, Jace saw that her skin was slightly different. She was…not wearing human skin. She must have noticed Jace's staring, because she glanced down at her bare shoulder. "Oh, X's backup body has a bunch of enhancements. Stuff to keep me safe, like bulletproof skin."

Jace nodded and entered, following Missy's directions to a large room with several couches facing each other. Greg was sitting on one, head buried in his hands, with several empty bottles around him. "Hey," Jace said softly.

Greg looked up, his eyes red and face full of hatred and sorrow. "It was supposed to be our perfect day," he whispered. "The happiest day of our lives…and now…they're all…"

Jace sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his buddy. "I got him."

"What?"

"I got Star Father. The guy who put the whole plan in motion. He had made a deal with Troxanir – kill off the Dark Between Stars Signers in exchange for free passage out of the singularity to get to the Astral Verge. He wanted to be the father of a new universe, or something like that from what Xera told me." Jace sighed, "I killed him. Star Council is getting on friendly terms with the Nebula Alliance."

"That…makes me feel a little better," Greg said through sobs. "But…that doesn't bring them back…"

Jace squeezed his friend tightly before letting go and standing up, "Once I kill Troxanir, and we plug up that singularity with Dark Energy, we're going into the Astral Verge. We're going to get everyone back who died. So don't you worry – it's only a temporary goodbye."

Greg looked up at Jace, "You're…a good friend, Jace."

Jace just gave him a slight nod, then left, thanking Missy as he exited and went upstairs. He opened his apartment door and after taking off his gear and using the hygiene station he found Shhiv in the bed-cube of water. Entering, he snuggled up close to her, and while no words were passed between the two, her clasping of his hands surrounding her told him all he needed to know.

Priam was sitting in the study, flipping through one of his father's books, when there was a sound of notification from his apartment door. Hopping off the chair, he went over to find Xera standing there. "Oh! Hi."

She looked down at him, "May I come in?"

"Sure!" Priam took a few steps back into the study and politely offered his dad's big chair. Xera shook her head, so he shrugged and got back up into it. "What can I do for you?"

"I am checking in with all of my Signers. I want to ensure that you are okay."

"I'm fine. A lot of people died, though – which sucks!"

"It does. We will get them back if all goes according to plan." She crossed both sets of arms in front of her, "But, I need to talk to you, specifically, about your convictions."

"What do you mean?" Priam asked, feeling like some type of tongue lashing was coming his way as if he had done something wrong.

"You know how valuable Jace is. I need to make sure that you value his survival over everyone else's…including your own."

Priam froze. He felt as if the world constricted to a point in front of him, his vision a pin-prick of the flames in the hearth that made him perfectly warm, but did nothing for the chill that went through her. "I…" his mouth was dry, and he felt dizzy.

Xera walked over in front of him, standing in front of the hearth. "I know it is a scary though to think about, but if he dies, it could be thousands of years before I get another Dark Matter Aspirant who could do what needs to be done. I need to make sure that you are willing to keep Jace alive no matter what – even at the expense of your other allies."

"Why…why ask me?" Priam asked.

"Because ultimately you are the one doing the barriers and shields. If it came down to having to shield Greg, Dee, or Jace from a blast that would harm them, who would you pro-"

"Dee!" he shouted, almost on instinct. "I'd protect Dee."

Xera frowned, "Not the answer I wanted to hear."

"She gets me. Jace is great! Don't get me wrong," Priam felt more in control the more he spoke, so he chose to keep speaking. "But Dee really understands who I am and what I want. Not only that, but she has no means of defenses. Jace has a ton of options!"

Xera's frown faded away and she became tight-lipped, her lips drawn into a single line. "Well…then I cannot have you in a group with him."

"What do you mean?"

"This next world, Harkon Secundus – Jace will split off and do his own thing like usual. I'll have you, Dee, and Greg hunting down these Delves for objects of Anathema." She turned and left.

"That was weird," Priam said, glancing over at Bloopa who was silently moving in her various configurations that, to his race, translated to words in his mind.

Well, she is staking everything on one Aspirant. If Jace is lost, then The Cosmic System will degrade before she can get to fixing it at the level it needs to be fixed.

"That's bad," Priam replied.

Then it would not matter if you were an eternal Ascendant – if the System unravels, then all is lost. Other universes invade, the Astral Verge has all manners of Demons that also invade…it will be a grim and dark place.

"So what? I should just let everyone else die except for Jace?"

The rest theoretically can be brought back if he survives. It sounds harsh, but it is the reality of the situation.

"Well then, we'll just have to make sure we never get into that type of situation!"