Eclipse Transit

[Tearen Wover]

The question would go unanswered as, to both Tom's and Nealaphh's utter surprise, the ursine automaton began to shimmer with a strange light. It seemed to be locked in place, unmoving as a statute as its body gave off a progressively brighter and brighter radiance, forcing even Nealaphh to shield its three eyes from the glory of the conflagration. Then, in a deafening, almost subsonic blast, the light burst outwards into a rainbow scintillation, with no trace of the automaton remaining. A chilling silence followed, in which both of the remaining Primes were too stunned to speak. Tom was the first to regain his composure, as he had less of a handle on the importance and gravity of what had just been witnessed.

"What...just happened?" he muttered, shooting a sidelong glance at Nealaphh. This Omniverse had suddenly become much more threatening on an order of magnitude if this was the sort of thing that could happen at random. The God-Mind remained silent for almost another whole minute before sending a quiet, solemn telepathic message to Mr. Riddle. Its normally serene tone carried just the slight waver of suppressed panic, something that, despite Tom's very recent acquaintance with the being, was noted as being very out of character.

The...importance of what we have witnessed here cannot be overstated. I...

Nealaphh's mental whispers trailed off, as the creature then redirected its gaze towards the distant speck on the horizon that was the Fountain of Infinity.

"You what?" Tom asked, the curiosity compelling him to press the matter. Less than admirable manners, to be sure, but he was not one to be left out of the loop on matters such as these. Nealaphh turned to face Tom, its green eyes wide and pulsing slightly.

Omni...The Smiling One...promises us immortality, so long as we interest him. To my knowledge...no one has ever witnessed what happens when a Prime's part of the equation is unbalanced. That Prime, that psychic machine, it was just converted back into raw Omnilium.

The shadow glanced back at the place where PANDATRON had just been standing, as though even with its vast intellect, Nealaphh could scarcely believe what had just taken place.

Many, many questions have just been answered, and in turn, twice as many presented. But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that such is the way of discovery.

Tom smirked in spite of himself and nodded, crossing his arms over his tie.

"Absolutely. No waking mind could deny such a thing. I ask you, though, does this mean that you are a dedicated researcher of this Omniverse? I hadn't expected to encounter an academic such as myself in such short time."

Nealaphh nodded slowly.

Wait just a moment.

With that, it withdrew its polished black hands from its robes and held them just in front of its sternum, calling Omnilium up from its vast reserves. After a two minutes of concentration, during which time Tom watched enraptured, Nealaphh released the sphere of creative power and presented a small packet of paper to the wizard.

The Monotruth, my personal assessment of the Omniverse and our place in it. Though, with this latest discovery and others that have been made, a new edition will be needed very soon.

Tom took the leaflet with an unabashed grin and greedily leafed through a few pages, skimming some of the material within. This sort of investigative research was the sort of thing he lived...well...existed for. As the young facsimile of a man breezed through the words, however, he became aware of the fact that this Nealaphh entity was gazing at one of the gates in the distance.

"Oh! I do apologize if I've kept you too long."

Not at all. This exchange was, as I said, refreshing. I am traveling to one of the sections of the Omniverse called the Endless Dunes. You are welcome to travel with me, if you wish, but I assure you that it will not be without at least a small amount of peril.

Tom offered a challenging grin.

"Oh, do trust me. In world of origin, no long journey is complete without at least one scrape with death."

The God-Mind merely sent the impression of approval through their telepathic channel and turned on its heel, resuming its direct path towards the Endless Dunes gate. The demi human would either follow, or he would not. Either way, time was of the essence and things needed to be done.