Always a Bigger Dragon...

[Tearen Wover]

"It's progressing more quickly than anticipated."

"Entropy waits for no one."

"Yes, yes but...what are you going to do?"

The dark mind toiled within the clot, that ebon knot of space and time where such minds that cannot be defined dwelled. If all else failed, they would be able to retreat here, waiting in silence until the Multiverse reignited. But the clot was gradually becoming harder to see, as more and more stars winked out of existence. No shimmering preceded their death, and not even the dignity of a nova came after.

It was obscene.

"Master?"

"...we will have to accelerate our plans. Shed any pretense of subtlety."

"Will that work."

"...I know not."

"...But...you...always..."

"These are uncertain times Nealaphh! I cannot weave my mind through the lines of space and time when it is becoming paralyzed!"

"...What needs to be done?"

"The verse needs a harder push. Something that will touch all remaining minds?"

"How will you achieve this in time? When you push too hard on the flow of the Multiverse, it becomes rigid and will not change..."

"...leave me. I must ponder on this."

"Yes, master."

"...Nealaphh."

"Yes?"

"If we do not succeed...I will bid you to fulfill your original purpose."

"...I see."

"Now go."

"Yes, Master."

The shadow awakened with a start, though having no mouth, no noise was made. The pervasive rumbling of the Ashen Steppes was the first sound that Nealaphh started hearing after the ringing in its head cleared. It was suddenly overwhelmed with the sickening prospect of living within this shell for the fiftieth time that day, and fell back on to its rear, staring up at the distant hole it had fallen through. A dull orange light from high above served as the only point of orientation within the otherwise black vault that was in every direction. Nealaphh almost half expected to see The Smiling One sitting, grinning stupidly at the god-mind somewhere near by.

Thinking of The Smiling One reminded Nealaphh that it was able to potentially remedy the immediate problem of light, however. The fact that it could not see in the dark at all was maddeningly stupid to Nealaphh, but it spent a few minutes constructing a ball of phosphorous using a few units of Omnilium. The glowing white orb glowed a shocking white, and Nealaphh mentally held it aloft to serve as a torch. While it was at it, the shadow also mended its robes.

Standing up slowly, Nealaphh took in its surroundings. It was indeed an ancient lava tube that it had fallen in to, but far far larger than had been anticipated. Nealaphh deliberated for a moment, but ended up deciding to follow the tube down stream to see if it emptied out somewhere farther down the mountain...