Always a Bigger Dragon...

[Tearen Wover]

Nealaphh, the shadow, vessel of the god-mind, stepped through the gate into the Ashen Steppes from the blank white canvas of the Nexus. Immediately it was overcome with an oppressive heat from the myriad lava flows and gas vents. While this did not inherently bother Nealaphh, there was no doubting that it was a clear indicator of an ambient level of danger. Nealaphh was not entirely sure how to feel about this. It had already been attacked once since being dragged into this damnable Omniverse, and that was just from the misguided delusions of a couple mortals. This place of explosive change felt more...real. This was comforting to Nealaphh to a certain degree, since in the Nexus it had felt very disconnected from any sort of universal energy or space. The air here was almost...thick. Besides, even if Nealaphh would perish here, it would just be resurrected at The Smiling One's behest. Fear was unnecessary, so Nealaphh began to stride off into the wastes, black cloak dragging a smooth trail through the glittering volcanic dust underfoot.

It was a while before Nealaphh ever came across anything especially remarkable. But after wandering around for...some time, it had happened upon something truly spectacular. Here was a cliff, made out of shining obsidian and other volcanic glass, that had a constant surge of lava pouring over its edge. The incandescent deluge fell down into a deep pit, where the molten rock and metal frothed angrily. Bright colors refracted through the obsidian, and despite the naturally darkened sky, it was quite a fascinating light display. Nealaphh spent the next four hours staring at this geologic display before suddenly being prodded in the back by a sharp point. The shadow turned around slowly to behold a small...thing...pointing a small spear at it. The creature had a yellow beak, a red carapace of some kind and large, rubbery foot...protectors around its feet. Its large white eyes were scrunched up in an emotion that Nealaphh believed to be called aggression. The shadow decided to name this entity 'Soot Walker'. The Soot Walker spoke.

"You there! You walk upon the dominion of The Koopa King, his Most Magnificent Maleficence, Bowser! You will come back with me to Koopa Camp seventy-eight, where you will be..." the Soot Walker said in a shrill, grating tone. It wasn't as if the Soot Walker had stopped talking; Nealaphh had just stopped listening. While it registered that the Soot Walker was still making noises, Nealaphh was more preoccupied with its own thoughts. It was fascinating that, despite the being's facial structure, it was able to pronounce such flexible sounds. Perhaps there was some special pliability to the creature's pallet that allowed it to make such sounds? Nealaphh would have to see.

"Wha-Whoa! Wait! Put me down! I'll- Gawwhh!" the Soot Walker shouted as it rose into the air. Nealaphh mentally pulled the creature's mouth open and rotated it upside down so that it could peer inside the creature's mouth. The Soot Walker continued to make strained sounds of protest, but there was very little it could do. Nealaphh discovered that, despite the creature's forward most beak retained a rigid, piercing edge, it's lower jaw was highly flexible. While this might naturally reduce the Soot Walker's ability to naturally defend itself with a bite, it would facilitate communication for development of a social structure. This was evidenced by its use of manufactured weaponry. Fascinating.

Finished with its examination of the Soot Walker, Nealaphh carelessly tossed the creature aside, where it retreated into its shell and skidded on its back for several yards, stopping just a foot from the edge of the frothing lava pool. As Nealaphh began to walk away, the Soot Walker poked its head back out from its shell and shouted angrily at the shadow.

"You'll regret this! Mark my words!" it shouted. Nealaphh paused in its exit and turned slowly to face the Soot Walker.

Regret would indicate that I possess a sense of what you mortals call 'responsibility', which I can assure you I-

Nealaphh was cut off in its telepathic rebuttal as it suddenly found itself hoisted high into the air. It blinked once and looked around, trying to assess what had just happened. It seemed to be in the grasp of some sort of gigantic beast, red in color, with a soft underbelly and hardened, scaly hide. Spines ran down its dorsal region, and two large wings sprouted from shoulder joints. Nealaphh could only assume that it was now in immediate danger, but wanted to see where the beast intended on taking it, so for the moment, the god-mind just decided to go limp and let itself be carried off to new areas of interest...

[Tearen Wover]

After an unspecified amount of time, Nealaphh was unceremoniously dropped into a deep, rocky crag that had cracked open on a semi-dormant volcano. After bouncing on the sharp, rocky ground a few times, Nealaphh slowly rose to it's feet and took in its surroundings. Wrinkly, sticky puddles of lava oozes out from the walls and fell into small gutters that looked like they had been dug intentionally. Nealaphh walked slowly over to these formations to observe them more closely. It appeared as though these creatures had a small measure of intelligence, to be able to understand basic fluid dynamics. The shadow followed the gutters to the end of their run, where they converged in a pool of softly hissing molten rock. Strange, round rock formations rose up from the center of the pool, and glowed with inner heat.

Nealaphh reached out with its mind to try and heft one of the strange boulders, but it could illicit only a small shuddering. So. There was a limit to how much its mind could lift. Nealaphh would have to determine was that limit precisely was at a later time. For now, it was prudent that the god-mind find a way out of this black ravine...

[Tearen Wover]

A day had passed since Nealaphh had been dropped into this rocky crag, and still the god-mind had not found an adequate way out of the elongated pit. The shadow had hoped that the creature which had initially deposited it here would have returned since, but it did not seem as if that was going to happen any time soon. This behavior was slightly confusing, since it did not fit standard patterns of animal predation. Then again, the gutters and pool that had been gouged into the rock denoted a measure of intelligence, so perhaps there was more at work here than an attempt to use the shadow for its caloric value. As such, Nealaphh had contented itself with studying the physical properties of the area.

The ravine was precisely one-hundred twenty-six meters long, and at its highest point was eighty-two meters high. There were precisely seven laval flows dripping into the gutters, and the pool at the ends of the crevasse appeared to have a radius of thirty meters. The ambient temperature measured to be approximately one-hundred forty degrees centigrade. This heat was really quite pleasing to Nealaphh, and it felt much more vigorous than it had in the completely neutral wastes of The Nexus.Through it had deduced that this body operated on the absorption of any available energy. There was likely an upper limit to what its body could absorb, so direct application of fire or...say...lava would still most likely injure its body. The other end of the ravine was mostly uninteresting; simply a large cave that ended in a smooth, weathered back. There seemed to be a tunnel into a dormant lava tube within, but Nealaphh was not entirely sure that it wanted to gamble on any geological stability within this verse.

So, Nealaphh had contented itself with standing completely still for the past seven hours. Now, however, it heard a new sound within the ravine. From the direction of the pool of lava there came a sharp cracking sound. Nealaphh turned slowly to look at the source of this noise, only to see long, spidering cracks forming in the rounded boulders it had tried to telekinetically lift many hours ago. There was no need to hypothesize; it was clear at this point that the boulders were in fact eggs. Nealaphh watched with great interest as a long, serpentine creature smashed its way out of the stony enclosure. It glowed with internal heat, and appeared to be a larval form of the creature that had deposited it here. Though its wings were not developed, the creature still walked quite proficiently on its two legs, and used the elbows of its wings to crawl towards the shadow after swimming through the lava with long, snaking motions. Soon, another one of these larval creatures emerged, and another after that. By the time the hatching had ceased, there were six of these creatures circling Nealaphh slowly. Each one was about four feet long, and had a mouth full of sharp fangs.

A slow hiss began to emanate from the creature directly in front of Nealaphh, and its siblings followed suit. Suddenly, faster than the god-mind could react, the creatures all pounced on Nealaphh, attempting to bite and claw through its hide. Though Nealaphh's body was indeed resilient to most basic forms of trauma, the sharp, rock-hard talons of the larvae did manage to cut deep gouges in Nealaphh skin. There was no sound that the shadow could make as it tried vainly to wrestle its way out from under the writhing pile of steaming hot scales and teeth. The air began to shudder slightly, and with a loud, resonating boom, the creatures were all blasted away from Nealaphh in an expanding sphere of force. The god-minds eyes had taken on a violent glow, as it began to savagely hurl the larvae forcefully against the walls of the canyon as they jumped at Nealaphh one by one. The creatures were, however, nearly mindless, unlike their parent, so Nealaphh could gain no control over their frantic and savage minds. The cries of the larvae were shrill and enraged, as they clearly hadn't anticipated their first meal to be so difficult to obtain. This went on for several more minutes before Nealaphh heard a loud rumble from overhead.

Looking up, the god-mind saw the larvae's parent, staring down at Nealaphh with vicious cruelty. Nealaphh paused for a moment before beginning to retreat towards the back of the crag, still tossing the verminous serpents as they came. With precise, sinuous movements, the parent, which Nealaphh now named the Fire Brood, climbed down the crumbling black precipice to the canyon floor. The Fire Brood began to advance on the god-mind with malicious intent, a bright light beginning to emanate from its mouth. The shadow was curious as to what would happen next, and paused for a moment, only to be rewarded with a scouring, full frontal blast of fire. The force of the violent exhalation sent the god-mind flying back against the rough, sharp wall of the crag, where Nealaphh slumped to the ground, its robe almost entirely shredded and burnt away. Nealaphh looked up with bleary vision to see all seven of its opponents advancing towards it slowly. With frantic, uncoordinated movements that were quite unbecoming of an ex-god such as itself, Nealaphh crawled forward before pitching head first into the tunnel below.

It fell for a much longer time than it had anticipated. When Nealaphh finally impacted the cave floor, it's vision immediately went dark, and the shadow fell into unconsciousness...

[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...

[Tearen Wover]

As Nealaphh walked deeper and deeper in to the lava tube, it became increasingly more and more concerned that this tube perhaps did not empty out into an above-ground area. Still, seeing how the walls had been scoured free of any sort of texture was fascinating. Even with the bright light it had conjured, there was everything was still extremely dark, since the volcanic rock was almost completely black. Suddenly Nealaphh came across a sharp down turn in the tube, where the lava had apparently encountered some sort of very dense bedrock. Nealaphh considered its options. Either it could travel down the steep tunnel that now wound away from its current path, or investigate exactly what it was that had resisted such a large volume of molten rock.

There was a small ledge that Nealaphh could traverse to the far wall, and so it edged along this precipice slowly, keeping its three eyes on the mysterious wall. When it got closer, Nealaphh could make out small silicates and crystals that had somehow survived the lava flow. Or perhaps they had grown out of the wall since the volcanism had stopped? There was no easy way to tell, as Nealaphh did not have the means to date the stony walls surrounding itself. As the shadow peered closer at the grain-sized crystals littering the wall, it heard a noise behind it. A slight scuffling. The god-mind whirled around, careful not to lose its balance on the narrow ledge, and came face to face with a bizarre looking creature.

It was of equal height with Nealaphh, and walked on four stubby legs. It had mottled green skin, no visible appendages, and a large, toothless jaw that hung wide open. Its eyes were soulless black pits, and Nealaphh could not hear any sort of breathing noise. A tense moment passed before the creature began to radiate a pale light and expand rapidly.

HSSSSSSSSSSSS

Nealaphh's eyes widened, and the god-mind was barely able to raise a bubble of warped space between it and the monstrosity before it detonated in a glimmer blast of radiance. The sound was deafening, Nealaphh stayed crouched for several seconds after the blast, as hefty chunks of pumice and obsidian rained down from the ceiling, making a sound akin to leaden rain. Nealaphh began to get back on its feet, and being the scientific mind it was, immediately turned around to see what effect the explosion had had on the wall behind it. The blast had snuffed its conjured light, and bits of phosphorus were scattered all over the lava tube, providing only hazy illumination. What Nealaphh could see was that a large hole had been blown open in the crystal-specked wall, big enough for Nealaphh to crawl through if it so wished. First, it would need better light, so Nealaphh began to try and pick the motes of phosphorus that remained off of the walls and mash them back into a cohesive torch.

That was about the time the god-mind felt the ground beneath its feet shift slightly, sinking down a few inches. A splintering, cracking sound vibrated as a muffled omen in the cave around it. Nealaphh froze. A large boulder came crashing down from the ceiling, rumbling off into the smaller tunnel that ran deeper into the the Steppes. More rocks fell here and there, and this was the point when Nealaphh began to grasp the frame of the hole that had been opened an hoist itself through. The god-mind hurled itself through the aperture not a moment too soon, as the entire lava tube behind it began to collapse, sending gut-turning shockwaves reverberating throughout the stone in every direction. Thick, glittering dust rose from the hole, and as Nealaphh pulled itself through, it stumbled and fell on something...many somethings...that were agonizingly sharp.

Once the cave-in had ceased, Nealaphh spent a few minutes conjuring a new source of light, and was immediately awed by what it saw.

Points of light gleamed in every single direction in a vast sphere, with purple crystals as large as Nealaphh lining the walls, ceiling and floor. The bright light that Nealaphh wielded caused this entire crystalline cavern to light as if it were on fire. Nealaphh had just found its way into a massive, castle-sized geode. The question now was...where was Nealaphh supposed to go? Despite its impressive telekinetic powers, it was quite sure that it was incapable of tunneling straight through volcanic rock, no matter how porous it was. But even then, the walls here were made of solid amethyst; many times more dense than the usual stone of the Ashen Steppes. And so, Nealaphh resigned itself to wandering the geode, taking in the magnificent brilliance of the place. It wasn't until an hour later that it caught movement out of the corner of its eye.

The god-mind turned its head quickly to catch what else was in here with it, but it saw nothing amidst the towering crystals. Perhaps it had been a trick of the light? It was hard to tell the distance between objects in this place since the light was bouncing off of practically everything. Nealaphh turned back to observing the formation it had been scrutinizing a moment before, when it felt a vibration nearby. This time there was no mistaking it; something in here was stalking the shadow. Nealaphh focused its mind outwards and felt around for any other thoughts that were wandering around the cave. Nealaphh caught on to a small stream of violent emotions and followed them back to their source.

It was an evil, sadistic mind. Animalistic in nature, but it delighted in tormenting lesser beings, which it considered Nealaphh to be. Nealaphh could not pinpoint where the creature was, but it took on a defensive stance. A rock hit it on the head. Nealaphh's eyes shot up to the ceiling and it beheld a truly magnificent sight.

The beast was seemingly made entirely out of amethyst; its body was semitransparent and the light from Nealaphh's orb danced around inside its structure. Bright purple, predatory eyes gleamed out from a head that was bedecked with sprawling horn-like crystal growths, and great wings laid furled up against its sides. The beast seemed to be able to cling to the amethyst as if it shared cohesive properties with the mineral. There was little doubting that the creature relied on this crystallin appearance for ambushing prey such as Nealaphh. Both beings remained absolutely still. Nealaphh was unsure at first if the beast knew that Nealaphh could see it, but as it began to suck in a deep breath, the god-mind ran for cover. The uneven footing was a nightmare to navigate, however, and Nealaphh resorted to raising a field of hyperbolic space in front of it. The crystal dragon launched a large lozenge of amethyst at Nealaphh, that after ricocheting off of Nealaphh's defense, impacted the far wall of the geode and exploded into a shower of razor sharp crystal shards. Several off these needles tore through Nealaphh's flesh and embedded themselves in the shadow's body. Nealaphh hunkered to the ground in pain, and it felt heavy shockwaves of movement as the beast dropped from the ceiling of the geode down on top of the god-mind.

So, was this to be Nealaphh's first death within the Omniverse? Devoured by an amethyst dragon at the end of a foolhardy journey into the harshest of the verses?

No. No it was not. Nealaphh was quite tired of being the whelp of this land, picked up and dragged around, shot at, and ambushed at every turn. Nealaphh was the god-mind. It was the shadow of the ultimate. Nealaphh would not be treated as if it were some plaything of the Smiling One's whims. Nealaphh turned to see the crystal dragon's face nearing it's own, a sparkling maw stretched wide and ready to devour. So...this beast wished to feast upon the god-mind, did it?

Then sate yourself!

Nealaphh's eyes erupted into a blinding white glow as the god-mind crammed as much knowledge into the crystal dragon's mind as possible in as little time as possible. The reaction was instantaneous; the crystal beast recoiled in agony, reeling and staggering sideways as its neural pathways were flooded with impossibly complex mathematical equations and visions of that which took place within a black hole. The great roaring sound of a dying multiverse, and a taste of what it was like to ride upon the currents of time. Infinite power focused into a single point, expanded and warped...the ability to snuff out stars like candles...the exact equation needed to convert dark matter in to normal matter...it was too much. The primitive intelligence of the amethyst dragon could not fathom what it was being forced to comprehend.

As the dull creature staggered and wobbled around clumsily, smashing amethyst spires in every direction, the shadow slowly rose to its feet. Nealaphh looked down at the amethyst shards embedded in its body and wrenched them free with sharp, telekinetic pulls. Tossing them aside, Nealaphh approached the crystal dragon, who was beginning to regain its composure. The beast let loose a deafening roar that reverberated through the crystal tomb like a bomb going off and leered at its erstwhile prey. It coiled up on itself and launched at the god-mind, rage coursing through its luminescent muscles. Nealaphh squinted. There may be a limit to what it could heft with its mind, but any force could be multiplied exponentially if applied correctly.

As the dragon charged at Nealaphh, the shadow levitated a nearby chunk of stone and flung it at the beast's right foot, right as it was about to take a stride forward. The beast had its leg taken out from under it right as it was putting its weight there, and as such, toppled to the ground, sliding forwards along the razor sharp crystals and digging a trough into the pristine geode. It ground to a halt directly in front of Nealaphh, where the god-mind let loose another mental blast, causing the crystal dragon to flinch away in agony. Nealaphh took this opportunity to look up at the ceiling where it had been laying in wait. There was indeed a large tunnel at the very center-top of the geode, likely the route through which this unique organism came and went. There was Nealaphh's objective. The god-mind's eyes flicked to a large amethyst stalactite that hung precariously next to the opening.

The crystal dragon was pulling itself to its feet, roaring once more, the rage inside of its mind building. The dragon lunged with a claw, and as it did so, Nealaphh bent the space behind itself to bubble outwards. The shadow took the blow head-on, and as it flew backwards, the bent space turned the lateral momentum into vertical momentum, sending Nealaphh shooting up towards the ceiling of the geode. As it did so, it mentally grabbed a shard of amethyst to take with it, and as it began to lose upwards velocity, the god-mind drove the spike into the softer volcanic rock within the escape shaft. Nealaphh reached out with a black hand and grasped the jagged hand-hold, dangling precariously above the glittering ground. The crystal dragon followed Nealaphh's movement, a look of dull surprise on its face. It moved directly beneath Nealaphh, beginning to inhaled another deep breath doubtlessly to launch another crystalline bomb in the shadow's direction.

Just as it did so, Nealaphh used a telekinetic blast of force to smash the giant amethyst stalactite next to it. The razor sharp spike, as large as a truck, plummeted towards the crystal dragon, and with just a slight shove of guidance, Nealaphh sent the stalactite straight down into the dragon's mouth. Death was instantaneous.

As the crystal dust and debris settle, Nealaphh took one last look at the geode; it's previously pristine beauty was demolished, with formations that had taken millions of years to form smashed to pieces in a relative instant. Pitiable, but necessary. The god-mind turned its attention to the tunnel above it, and began to slowly climb up into whatever new darkness awaited it...

[Tearen Wover]

After climbing for just a short while, Nealaphh found itself clambering up in to yet another black-walled lava tube. It was likely that tunnels such as these were pervasive in this volcanic verse. The fact that the ground did not collapse in on itself more often was a topic of fascination that Nealaphh would have to visit at another time. For now, the priority was finding a way back on the surface.

The god-mind sent its gleaming beacon of light flying to the left and then to the right. It was difficult to discern any difference between the two paths, but subtle clues within the striation of the rock told Nealaphh that the path to the left would be going up stream, and hopefully, outside. Without a moment's hesitation, Nealaphh set off up the lava tube.

It was a very long hike back to the surface, and there was no small amount of climbing involved, but after what seemed like a day of travel, Nealaphh emerged into a wide, shallow caldera. The volcanic wind felt pleasant on Nealaphh's smooth features, and this slightly disturbed it. It had not anticipated enjoying any sensory input in this body, as heretofore it had enjoyed purely mental pleasures. Nealaphh blinked once and put it out of its mind. No use dwelling on it.

There was a steaming pond of water in the center of the caldera, about twenty meters in radius. The caldera itself was almost niney eight meters wide, and the rim of the crater looked to be easily scalable. Still, Nealaphh had no exact goal in mind for the time being, so it decided to walk down to the still waters of the caldera and take a closer look. Yellow mineral deposits glistened and sparkled at spots where the water had been higher, and a faint steam rose from the water. Nealaphh bent down and pinched a mote of the mineral salts from the ground and peered at them closely. Sulfer, magnesium, sodium, and not a small amount of gold. Nealaphh did not particularly care that such a rare metal was present in the waters of this pond, at least in so far as an appreciation of value. What struck the god-mind was the fact that gold could be found so close to the surface. Normally this was only possibld due to extra-planetary bodies delivering the metals and minerals to a geologically dormant world.

This could mean one of two things; either the Ashen Steppes lacked tectonic activity, or, somewhere in the skies above, something else existed. Nealaphh crushed the mineral cake in its fingers and scattered the pungent sand to the wind. This was counter-productive; Nealaphh had come in to the Omniverse seeking answers and it was perpetually plagued with more questions. The god-mind leered into the simmering pool and pondered its predicament.

"Rocks from that pond are delicious if you let 'em stew for a while!"

Nealaphh jumped a little bit and whirled around, eyes wide. Up until this point, all of the shadow's interactions in the Omniverse had been violent, and Nealaphh had no reason to believe any differently in this case. The god-mind lifted several nearby rocks and sent them hurtling towards the stumpy looking humanoid. As the projectiles closed in, the creature smacked the rocks into small particles, its powerful fists cracking the volcanic stone with ease.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy feller! I'm not gonna hurtcha!" the creature said. Upon closer inspection, Nealaphh noted that this squat being had stoney growths adorning its back. It made sense then that it had been able to brush off Nealaphh's assault. The god-mind considered devising a new mode of attack, but opted instead to remain still. The shadow sent a ping into the creature's mind.

"Uhh...you tryin' to talk to me? Okay..." it said with a frustratingly dull look on its face.

I have been assured that there is no malintent behind actions before, and then I was accosted. What gives me reason to believe you do not seek my subjugation?

The creature blinked.

"Subju...wha? Sorry brother, I was just out gathering some special rocks to munch on. If it'll make you feel better I can be on my way..." it said, beginning to trundle off. Nealaphh watched it go for a few moments.

Wait.

The creature turned around slowly, scratching its backside impatiently.

"Uh, yeah?"

There are more of your kind?

"Yyeah."

Take me to them...

[Tearen Wover]

hike to Death Mountain was long, and for the shadow, rather arduous. Though its body was well-sustained by the high ambient heat of the Ashen Steppes, Nealaphh could not quite absorb the energy as quickly as it was expending it. This required the pair to take short breaks every hour or so, so that Nealaphh could draw more heat away from the world. Its companion, a creature which Nealaphh had come to learn was called a 'Goron', was quite thrilled to have a 'walkin' ice cube' to keep it cool for the extent of their journey. The stamina of the Goron was astounding; Nealaphh could never discern any sort of exhaustion or exertion within the stout humanoid.

As the pair scaled the slopes of Death Mountain, Nealaphh noticed then landscape becoming increasingly less and less geologically active. Death Mountain seemed to be a dormant cinder cone, and the largest volcano within this verse. By the time they reached the Goron village, the pair was well above cover of the pervasive ash clouds. Clean, bright sunlight streamed down on the barren ridges and cliffs, and Nealaphh began to see other Gorons milling about, carving rocks out for consumption and also constructing what appeared to be bombs.

Of what significance is demolition to your people? Nealaphh asked, stopping to observe a group of Gorons tending to what appeared to be explosive plant bulbs.

"Oh, well. We Gorons are always having to dig around for good rocks to eat. Refining bomb flowers and using them for tunneling helps us on our way. Good for makin' new houses too!" the Goron said. It looked at Nealaphh for a moment.

"Say brother, what's yer name anyway? I'm Gohenki." the Goron said, smacking its chest. Nealaphh blinked slowly and turned to look at Gohenki. The god-mind's name was not one that could not normally be expressed in mortal thought patterns. It toom almost six human years to pronounce it properly, and even then, mortal creatures were not capable of producing the dual tonality and ultrasonic frequencies required. There was one segment that was relatively easy to transfer into spoken sounds, however, so the god-mind went with that.

I am...Nealaphh the shadow said, it's eyes flicking back up to the gently steaming summit. It had come to Death Mountain in the hopes of learning more about the Ashen Steppes and its volcanic nature, but now that it was here, Nealaphh wasn't sure where to begin.

"Well Nealaphh, the Goron welcome you! C'mon, c'mon! Come meet our elder; we don't get very many visitors!" Gohenki said, grabbing Nealaphh by the arm and dragging the god-mind towards a large cave entrance. The shadow considered protesting this physical contact, but decided it should probably learn to tolerate this sort of thing. Mortals were such physical creatures, after all...

[Tearen Wover]

The interior of the cave was slightly smaller than Nealaphh had been expecting, but one could never quite predict how a given formation would turn out given a near infinite amount of variables. It was evident that the Gorons had carved the space out at least to some degree, evidenced by ornate reliefs dug into the stone walls. Nealaphh consistently wanted to stop and observe these carvings, but Gohenki persistently dragged the god-mind towards the deeper reaches of the tunnel network. All at once, the pair entered a rather large chamber, where large fires burned at the far end of a circular room. Massive Goron statues lined the walls, and in the middle of the room was a large, ornate dias, upon which sat a large, muscular Goron. His hair was longer than the short tonsures that Nealaphh had seen capping most other Gorons around Death Mountain. This specimen also had extremely large muscle structure, which intrigued the god-mind.

"Chief Darunia! I've brought a newcomer to Death Mountain!" Gohenki said, clearly very excited about the prospect. The Goron Chief turned his head slightly to regard the newcomer.

"...haven't had a visitor since that bunny pokemon and her odd friend. What brings you to our mountain?" the large Goron asked, his voice deep and authoritative.

You are...prime? I seek answers about this Omniverse. Nealalphh said, standing completelt still. The chief gave a sharp chuckle.

"Hehh. Answers? About what, Omni? This world? What more do you need to know, aside from the fact that we are but prisoners subject to his whims?" the Goron chief asked, now standing up with a grunt and turning to face Nealaphh and Gohenki.

"I am Darunia of the Gorons, summoned here to stand against the evil of Volvagia and his spawn. It was not a destiny I chose, but it is one I have embraced. Do you know why you were summoned?" Darunia asked, taking a heavy step off of the dias. Nealaphh blinked slowly. This sort of concept was foreign to it.

I have no purpose. I simply am, I seek to know what is. Anything else would be a limitation. Nealaphh said, it's tone heavy with subtext. Darunia stared at the god-mind for a moment.

"Hehh. I like you, Cold One. You're a man of gravity, able to bear weight on his shoulders. We Goron respect that." Darunia said, folding his arms over his chest. Nealaphh considered informing the goron chief that it was neither man nor woman, but it figured that it would ultimately be a waste of time.

You are the first other Prime that I have met. What can you tell me of this Omniverse? Nealaphh asked, preferring to stick strictly to it's point. This direct mode of thought seemed to irk Darunia; clearly the chieftan was the one who was used to dictating the direction of discourse. He was silent for a moment, before beginning to walk towards the exit.

"Follow. There is something you must see..."

[Tearen Wover]

Nealaphh followed Darunia down a small hall adjacent to the main audience chamber. It was cramped, even for the god-mind, so when Darunia was able to squeeze his way between the hewn stone walls, Nealaphh was, frankly surprised. Finally, the pair squeezed out into a small, unremarkable chamber. A symbol, which Nealaphh had come to realize represented the Goron race, was the only adornment within the chamber.

"Gohenki, leave us. Tend to your rock gathering." Darunia said in a gruff tone. Gohenki seemed like he was about to protest, but Darunia shot the Goron a narrow-eyed glare. Grumbling silently, the lesser Goron began to shuffle back down the tight hallway.

"Since coming to the Omniverse, I have learned one thing for sure; it is here that you have a chance to redefine yourself. I don't know what you were before all of this, but within this place, all Primes are able to choose what they become." Darunia said. The Goron chief stretched out his stony hand and began to draw omnilium out from the rock face which bore the Goron symbol. The wall slowly melted away over the next few minutes before there was a gap large enough for the pair of Primes to move through. Beyond this hidden passage there was a large room filled with various smithing implements, large mounds of fossil carbon, and various ores and oils. Clearly this was a place for fabrication, but Nealaphh could not imagine why such a thing was necessary when Primes could conjure anything they wanted with enough omnilium and focus. The god-mind watched as Darunia walked over to a large chest, and pried it open, withdrawing an extremely large, blunt instrument. The Goron chief ran a hand along the smooth metal and let out a sigh, before tossing the hammer towards Nealaphh. The shadow mentally caught the hammer mid-flight, but it slowly sagged to the ground as Nealaphh was unable to support its immense weight.

What is this? Nealaphh asked, focusing harder this time and levitating the hammer to eye level. It was a strain to hold the hammer aloft, but Nealaphh was sure that by exercising its mental abilities, it would slowly rise to its former strength. Darunia folded his arms, seeming somewhat unamused by Nealaphh's handling of the item.

"It's supposed to be the Megaton Hammer; a legendary weapon wielded by my fore bearers..." Darunia said, his voice gruff and sharp.

Supposed to be? Nealaphh asked, turning the hammer over and examining the metal end. Structurally speaking, it was largely unremarkable. The god-mind was unsure why it was of significance.

"Yes...the actual artefact, the original, was far greater than both my smithing skills and omnilium can conjure." Darunia said, walking closer to the shadow. He yanked the hammer from Nealaphh's telekinetic grasp and carried it back to its resting place.

Of what significance is this implement? Nealaphh asked, now curious. He began to walk forwards to examine the hammer once more, but Darunia slammed the lid of the chest shut. Nealaphh was taken aback; had it managed to perturb this Goron? The god-mind decided to go on guard, just in case the situation degenerated.

"It is only weapon that can be used to defeat Volvagia. Without it, the dragon lord is nearly unstoppable in combat. You have seen the flying beasts that plague my village and these wastes, right? They are spawn of Volvagia," Darunia said, staring intensely into the wall in front of him. The Goron's eyes scrunched up tightly, signifying to Nealaphh that there was much anger associated with this particular fact. "It is my duty to keep Volvagia contained...I would see the dragon destroyed, but..." Darunia trailed off, waving a dismissive hand at the trunk which held the replica hammer. Nealaphh blinked slowly in comprehension. So, there was a source of the Fire Broods and Crystalline Horrors which it had faced so far within this verse. This was potentially a good thing for the god-mind.

Volvagia. I see. It's removal would be seen as beneficial then? Nealaphh asked. It knew the answer, but it needed a gauge for just how important this was to the Goron chief. Darunia's ruby eyes grew wide, and the bewildered Goron began to shout and gesture wildly.

"Volvagia's young eat my brothers! They assault all visitors to this verse, and they destroy everything they encounter! Without them, the Ashen Steppes could be as great as Coruscant, or Camelot! With our ores and minerals, we could become an extremely valuable asset to the entire Omniverse! Everything...everything within the Steppes hinges around what Volvagia's activities are." Darunia shouted, going so far as to punching a deep gouge into the solid stone wall of the forge room. Nealaphh jolted slightly as the Goron lashed out, but the god-mind stood its ground. It was possible that Darunia's personal hatred of Volvagia had given the Goron chief a deluded perspective of the benefits of destroying the dragon would be, but a the very least, the person to do so would be revered.

And Nealaphh knew...reverence was the first step towards worship. Perhaps here, within this verse of ash and fire, it could gain a foothold in its return to godhood...for to be a deity was more than to just wield raw power. To be a god meant to be an idea personified, an ultimate expression of a cultural Zeitgeist. To be a god required fervor and faith...and it could start here. Nealaphh turned it's three eyes back to Darunia, and met the Goron chief's fierce gaze with its own stare of conviction.

I will help you rid this verse of Volvagia. Nealaphh said, its eyes flaring slightly. The chief's own eyes widened for a moment before he resumed his stalwart look of toughness. Darunia nodded slowly.

"Hm...that is a bold offer, but I wonder...how can you hope to excel where I have failed?" Darunia asked, squinting at the god-mind. Nealaphh considered this for a moment. It was a valid question. It itself had only just arrived to the Omniverse, and this Goron Prime was doubtlessly more powerful than the shadow currently was. Ah...however...

You must stay here, tend to your people, and your duty. I have no obligations here, save for my own commitment to this task. Unbound, as it were. I can travel far and wide within the Omniverse to amass whatever power is needed to slay this dragon of yours. Nealaphh said, its eyes narrowing slightly. Darunia took his chin in his hand and nodded slowly.

"Hrm...good point...good point. Hrm..." Darunia said, milling the thought over for a few moments more. The Goron cast his gaze back towards the hammer's chest before stretching a hand out towards Nealaphh. The god-mind took a step back, unsure of what this gesture indicated.

"Well go on, let us shake on it!" Darunia said, waving the offered hand slightly. Nealaphh slowly withdrew a black hand from its robes and gingerly placed it in the Goron's own. The chief's hands were massive compared to the shadow's. Before Nealaphh could ponder further on this fact, Darunia gripped Nealaphh's entire hand and shook violently, a beaming expression on his face. The god-minds eyes scrunched up slightly as it was pulled forwards, its hood falling off of its head. When Darunia was satisfied that he had manhandled Nealaphh sufficiently, he released the shadow's hand and placed his hands on his hips. Nealaphh silently replaced its hood and secreted its hand back into its robe, slightly shaken. Darunia leaned back and let out a long, reverberating laugh.

"This oughtta be interesting at least! Alright then! Let's talk business!" Darunia said, stretching his arms wide. Nealaphh closed its eyes in impatience for a moment. Perhaps it had overestimated this prime's sense of composure. Regardless, the potential benefits of this task were to great to let habitual exuberance get in the way.

Indeed. Nealaphh said, now unabashedly walking towards the hammer's chest and prying it open mentally.

What exactly is it about this hammer that makes it insufficient for the task? Nealaphh said, looking the gleaming implement over once more. Darunia moved next to the god mind and hefted the replica hammer with one hand, swinging it onto his broad shoulders. With a wide swing, Darunia smashed the hammer into the wall. A large cloud of dust and rock exploded outwards, and the sound was deafening.

"Not heavy enough! The original hammer could smash its way through just about anything! It needs to be able to clobber Volvagia's big metal head!" Darunia said, spinning the hammer around in his hands, picking bits of debris off of the head. He continued speaking before Nealaphh could interject.

"No matter how hard I try, I can't get the steel pure enough to get the weight right! I don't even have the original for reference!" Darunia said, his mouth drawing into a thin line.

How heavy does it need to be? Nealaphh asked, tilting its head. Darunia blinked once, as if he had never fully considered this fact.

"I don't know...a megaton?" he said, giving Nealaphh a confused look. Now it was Nealaphh's turn to blink slowly.

Do you know what a megaton is?

"Er...not as such...not really."

A megaton equates to one million tons. The original hammer weighed one million tons? Nealaphh asked, rather incredulous of this.

"By the Oracles! Not even Biggoron could lift that! Er...no, I guess it didn't weigh that much. But it was damn heavy; heavy enough to knock most folks off their feet when it hit the ground." Darunia said, squinting at the hammer. Nealaphh immediately had several ideas as to how to create a hammer of this specific mass, but none of them were very easy. Perhaps that's where omnilium would come in to play. It would require an exotic substance...one that would that did not exist naturally. Nealaphh did know where to start, however.

I will require as much nickel and copper as your Goron's can yield. Following this, I will need access to a stable fusion reactor as well as a powerful source of electromagnetism. Nealaphh said, going through the production process in its head. Compared to bending space and time, the chemical equations needed to create a metal compound sufficient for the effect Darunia described was simplistic. Unlike bending space-time, the materials were quite elusive. Nealaphh remembered one last thing.

Having access to the original hammer would be of great benefit. Is there any way this is possible? Nealaphh asked. Darunia's face scrunched up.

"If I could access the actual hammer we wouldn't be talking about this!" he shouted, his eyes wide. Nealaphh nodded slightly and elicited a mental sigh. This was, quite frankly, true. However...

Yes, but I can make it better. Where was the hammer's last location in your original world? Nealaphh said, trying to put some force behind its mental voice.

"It was sealed away in a great temple of the Gorons, blessed by the Oracle of Fire himself, many eons ago..."

And what is the land you hail from called?

"Hyrule, I suppose."

And are there any important names associated with Hyrule?

The Goron chief scratched his stony beard for a moment.

"Uh...well there's the Triforce, for starters. The three sages who built the land, Nayru, Din and Farore...There are the Zora, the Kokiri, the Hylians and..." Darunia's eyes narrowed to dark slits.

"The Gerudo. A Gerudo was responsible for summoning Volvagia in the first place."

That is sufficient, thank you. Nealaphh said. With that, it began to exit the room without another sound. Darunia was momentarily speechless, but found his voice a moment later.

"Wait! Hold on! Where are you going?" Darunia roared, trundling after the god-mind. Nealaphh continued to walk out, not even looking back at the Goron.

To find this hammer of yours. Perhaps we will not need to carry out the plan that I have. Nealaphh said, its voice carrying a snide tone. Darunia was flabbergasted.

"How can you even know it is here in the Omniverse?!" Darunia roared, trying to squeeze through the narrow passage to keep up with the slim form of the god-mind.

I cannot. But you are here. Volvagia is here. Why not this artefact? Have you even tried to look? Nealaphh asked, now starting to become outright smug. Darunia was becoming impatient, Nealaphh could sense this in more ways than one.

"I...No! I can't invest that kind of time-"

But I can, Darunia. That is the core dynamic of our accord, is it not?

"So we are to just follow your whims, work hard and dig while you run off on a wild cucco chase?" Darunia shouted, the force of his voice now reverberating through the small spaces.

Better to play to our strengths. So dig, Goron. I will travel and I will discover. I will not return empty handed. Nealaphh said, trying to make its mental voice sound assuaging. Darunia was not assuaged.

"And you just expect us to work indefinitely? How can we know you will come through?" Darunia asked, grabbing Nealaphh by the shoulder. The pair was in the chief's audience chamber now, lit by the bright fires which cast long shadows over the Goron's features. Nealaphh's eyes narrowed to bare slits, feeling both giddiness and defensiveness. Here was where it's godhood started.

Faith in me.

With that, Nealaphh pulled free of Darunia's grasp and exited the Goron's caves, back into the dull sunlight of the Ashen Steppes...

[Tearen Wover]

Nealaphh wandered back down Death Mountain slowly, contemplating its next move. Despite not being entirely bright, Chief Darunia did have a point when it came to Nealaphh's declarations. It was entirely possible that this Megaton Hammer was in fact not in the Omniverse, presently. Still, Nealaphh was beginning sense a pattern in the Smiling One's ways...groups of related entities from the same home-universe...the god-mind would be quite surprised if its quarry did not lie somewhere within the Omniverse, possibly wielded by another prime from this land of Hyrule.

But where to start? Despite having a basic understanding of the Omniverse and its lands, there could be no anticipating where exactly this Hero might be found. Nealaphh wracked its brain, trying to dredge up as much information as it could from what it had taken from the stormtrooper's mind. Nealaphh did remember finding some information about what was called the 'Dataverse', which was fortunate, because data was exactly what Nealaphh needed right now. It also remembered that the Dataverse could no be accessed from the Nexus, as the other physical realms. It was a purely digital universe, that existed within transmitted parcels of code transmitted via radio waves...well...probably something a tad more profound than that, considering that the Dataverse was able to overcome boundaries between different layers of reality. Nealaphh discovered thoughts that indicated that there were devices able to receive and transmit these parcels of information, in order to access this sphere of knowledge. The god-mind looked at its hands, and conjured some raw omnilium into the space between them.

Construction of such a device was trivial, especially when one was as well versed in the physical properties of the universe as Nealaphh was. Obviously, it had a lot to learn about the effects that the Smiling One had on his Omniverse, but for the most part, space and time seemed to function normally. After about ten minutes, Nealaphh had conjured a small black bead, no more than a centimeter in diameter, that glistened with a soft inner light. The shadow delicately pressed the black gem into the flesh of its left hand, fusing the device with its own body. With just a small flick of the hand, Nealaphh was able to project a swirling field of lines, numbers and symbols that, to most people, would be completely incomprehensible. To Nealaphh, however, they represented a vast quantity of information, streaming into its Data Gem from all over the Omniverse.

Nealaphh spent the next several hours searching for information specifically relating to the names and words that Darunia had listed, but there was nothing that conclusively proved that this hammer was currently operating within the Omniverse. Nealaphh maintained its searching, however, and eventually stumble across a vast array of information relating to a special verse that Nealaphh hadn't heard of; Dante's Abyss. From what Nealaphh understood, Dante's Abyss was a pocket verse, separate from all the regular verses within this place, created specifically for pitting bloodthirsty primes against one another. Just for the sake of being thorough, Nealaphh scrolled through the roster of combatants for this iteration of the game, and was elated when it found exactly what it was looking for. There were two other Hylians who had been summoned to the Omniverse, and several of Nealaphh's keywords lined up with ideas mentioned in their profiles. The pale skinned one, Link, stood out to Nealaphh in particular because it was mentioned that he utilizes a variety of unique weapons. If the hammer was anywhere within the Omniverse, odds were, this man had it.

While the profile for this Link entity was not as informative as Nealaphh would have hoped, the god-mind was pleased to know of the Hero's general location, at least until he was killed or victorious. The shadow reviewed the footage released thus-far, and was pleased to see that Link was still alive, though in rather bad shape. The shadow also took note of the relationship that Link held with this other contestant, Ganondorf. It remembered briefly coming across some of the Gerudo's writings on some message boards within the Dataverse. Perhaps if Nealaphh could not find the Hero himself, staying near the Gerudo for long enough would likely lead to an encounter at some point.

Satisfied, Nealaphh deactivated the data link and began to head in the general direction of the portal it had initially came through from the Nexus. While the god-mind did not know exactly where the portal was in relation to its current location, it knew for a fact that it was farther south than where the shadow was now. It was prudent that Nealaphh be in the Nexus by the time Link exited the competition, to have the best chances of tracking down the Hero of Time in an efficient manner...

[Tearen Wover]

It took slightly longer than Nealaphh would have cared to admit to find the portal back in to the Nexus. It had ambled around for hours, hiding from Volvagia's young when necessary, looking for its initial entry point. After several hours of trudging through ash and gravel, Nealaphh relented and opened up a map of the Ashen Steppes using its Dataverse device. The god-mind looked around, comparing landmarks visible from its location to those which were near the portal on the map.

One of the perks of having a mind as complex as Nealaphh's was that it was very easy to think in multiple dimensions at once. Using its inuitive ability to orient itself based on visual input, it took Nealaphh only an additional hour to find its way back to the Nexus portal.

Without looking back, god-mind stepped through, ready to stake out this world between worlds for as long as necessary.

Essentially, Nealaphh was in for a lot of binge watching.

[Tearen Wover]

...Nealaphh had used quite a bit of energy in the assault on the horde of Soot Stalkers, so in the interest of self-preservation, the god-mind tried to stay out of open ground as it returned to Death Mountain. They way was quicker this time, both with the use of its Dataverse Map, as well as a growing understanding of how the landscape of the Asheb Steppes was arranged. Nealaphh had a knack for pattern recognition, and after travelling for many miles across the charred landscape, the god-mind had begun to notice small indications that the landscape was almost fractally layered. This made it easy to anticipate where lava tubes would lead, and where it might be able to find a pass through a cliff or canyon.

Nealaphh saw several dragons during its trek, but all of them seemed eager to pick at the carrion left over from the recently ended battle. This, in combination with staying in the shadows, kept the god-mind safe until once again it strode into the Goron village. The rock-creatures stood up and muttered to eachother as Nealaphh strode past, as if they had long been anticipating its return. This made sense; after all, was Nealaphh not to be their savior?

In short time, the shadow found its way back to Darunia's audience chambers, where the bulky Goron Chief sat, facing away from the god-mind just like the first time.

"...been waiting for you to come back around here." Darunia said in a low, cold tone, unfitting of the gloriously warm environs. He pivoted on his rear slowly, turning to meet the god-mind's piercing gaze with his own ruby eyes.

"You had some serious stones to tell me how I should run my village. But like I said, I appreciate confidence, so here's your one shot. Impress me." Darunia said, his become gradually louder. With calm, fluid movements, Nealaphh extracted a hand from its black robes and held it forth, activating the Dataverse Device ingrained in its palm. As the small bead flared to life, footage of Link fighting in the Dante's Abyss competition. Darunia squinted at the footage, before turning his gaze back towards Nealaphh.

"What exactly am I looking at here?" Darunia grumbled, raising an eyebrow at Nealaphh.

His name is Link. He is Hylian, so far as I know. Nealaphh said calmly.

"Well, polish my head and call me a pebble, you found something after all!" the chief shouted, a wide grin spreading across his face.

Yes.

"...and the hammer? He had the hammer? You learned how to build it?"

Nealaphh kept its gaze steady. One advantage to having almost no facial features was that beings such as Chief Darunia could not tell when Nealaphh was lying. Originally, the god-mind had planned on telling Darunia the whole truth, but this partial distortion would serve to speed things along.

Yes, I did.

Darunia's smile bloomed into a boisterous belly laugh.

"Hahaaaaa! Ha ha ha! Alllllright then! Now we can get down to business! How do we proceed?" Darunia shouted, slapping an immense hand on Nealaphh's shoulder. The god-mind wince a bit, as this aggravated its head injury.

Pending you have the nickel and copper I asked for, we must begin electrolysis as soon as possible. I will then require access to some rather advanced laboratory equipment. Nealaphh said, blinking slowly. Darunia scratched his beard for a moment and let out a low grunt.

"Well, t'be honest we don't have much dug out yet. I wasn't ready to commit the majority of my miners to doing that till I knew you weren't full of hot air. But now! Now you've got my full attention. I'll get as many brothers as I can on it soon as can be!" Darunia hollared, beating his chest for emphasis. Nealaphh nodded and moved to tuck its hand away, but the Goron stopped it.

"Hey, wait a moment...can you show that last part again?" Darunia asked, a very serious look on his face. Nealaphh obliged, and Darunia's face grew dark.

"That man...I recognize that Gerudo man..." Darunia growled before letting loose and angry shout. He whipped his fist into a nearby statue, smashing it into dust.

"That's the Gerudo wizard who summoned Volvagia in the first place! He's running around here in the Omniverse? Ggrah!" He shouted, swiftly demolishing another statue. He stood up and breathed heavily. By this time, the commotion had drawn the attention of several other Gorons.

"Next time you see that green skinned monster, you give him a smash in the face. From me! And that goes for all of you!" the chief shouted, pointing a finger at the shocked tribesmen.

"If this Gerudo ever comes around here, you bomb him till he's dust or running away! Filthy swine!" Darunia roared, tossing his hands up in the air. Nealaphh waited till the other Goron's filtered out, letting the chief calm down slightly. In time, Darunia turned back to face Nealaphh.

"Alright there, Cold One. We're gonna put that Dragon down and send this Gerudo wizard a message. Until we get that ore though, you're free to stay here with us Gorons. Consider yourself a Brother now!" Darunia boomed offering his fist out. Nealaphh looked at it awkwardly for a moment before tapping his own stone-like fist against it.

I am happy to be of help, brother.

[Tearen Wover]

It had been quite a long time since The Master had been in the Ashen Steppes, but from the looks of things, very little had changed. And why would it? The Smiling One was a creature of constants and status quos. He would never dare upset the precarious balance of the world he had crafted so meticulously. Klee and Shen saw right through this charade. It was like looking at a plastic potted flower as opposed to a real one. From a distance everything looked convincing, but up close...in the details...

...it was all completely fake. A plastic toy universe for an infant god. How droll. It was so much different from when The Master had ruled the land of dream within the Remnants, or when The Master had abducted the minds of entire planets to be cleansed and unified. There was no direction to any of this, no resolution. It was all just pointless play, and that was why The Master's plans were so important!

This was the reason why the two Aspects were so excited as they zoomed over the blackened crags and odious lava pools far below. It was always good to have a clear mission and objective. After all, it was what they had been made for! Death Mountain loomed large and imposing on the horizon, and then sheer might of its bulk was enough to make even the more restrained of the two geometric prisms giddy.

It would have been better if it was a real mountain though.

But that wasn't important right now. Their job was to find Darunia and give him the update on Nealaphh's progress and new plans. Hopefully the Goron chief would be willing to trust the two of them. His primitive ways might prove to be a hindrance to the sophistication of the connected Omniverse. That wasn't to say that Darunia was a fool, however; far from it. The Goron chieftan knew exactly what he needed to know in order to manage his people and keep them safe. Anyone who could do that with even moderate success was worthy of The Master's respect.

With renewed enthusiasm, then Aspect's quickened their pace through the ash-flaked air, leaving trails of cool vapor in their wake. When one absorbs heat as their primary source of energy, there was nothing more invigorating than a jaunt through fields of active volcanism!

[Tearen Wover]

An inconsequential amount of time later, the Aspects were at the threshold of the Goron Village. The rotund, stoney creatures stared up ponderously from tending their bomb flowers at the silently hovering prisms, reflecting the violent carmine light that blossomed from the peak of Death Mountain. The Gorons were a friendly people, but this hospitality extended only to beings that they recognized as sentient and alive. These strange, aerial geometric shapes did not register so much as living beings as they did airborn answering machines. Not that any of them knew what an answering machine was either.

Still, the Aspects floated, unhindered into the mouth of the main cavern, their chilly auras drawing looks of confusion from any of the tribesmen they passed. The Aspects couldn’t help it though; after travelling through the Nexus they were very hungry, and after all, it wasn’t as if the Gorons or their volcano home didn’t have heat to spare. Shen, obviously, wanted to stop and stare at every little piece of sculpture and engraving that was cut from the glistening igneous rock that surrounded them, but Klee persistently moved them forwards. There would be time for the appreciation of local culture later.

Finally, the two arrived at Darunia’s main chamber. Shen bemusedly noted that the statues which had been so irreverently smashed during the Master’s previous visit had already been perfectly repaired, and not through the use of Omnilium. Darunia himself was sitting cross legged, facing away from the entrance to the cathedral-esque chamber. A large dias held a perpetually surging flame, dozens of feet high, which scattered warm and frenetic light in and around the soaring columns that stretched into the tenebrous ceiling above. Carved reliefs of the Gorons’ history in the Omniverse ran over the walls in large band, and oxidized minerals had been rubbed into the architecture to lend accent to surfaces of particular gravitas. The Goron chief grunted and shivered visibly as the Aspects drifted in.

“Been while since I felt a chill around here.” he said with a chuckle. He slowly turned around and gazed at the Aspects, his deep azure eyes glinting in the bouncing light of the inferno behind him. They narrowed as he scanned the shapes of Klee and Shen, wary of their presence.

“I heard talk of you bouncing down the halls. You remind me of a Brother of mine, but who are you yourselves?” Darunia asked, placing his immense hands on his waist. As usual, the Aspects spoke with overlapping words.

“We come representing Master Nealaphh of the Institute. The Master would like to update you of its progress on the fabrication of the weapon previously discussed, and regrets that it cannot be here in person.”
“Yyeeaahh, soooo, Headmaster is trippin’ around running errands and had to send us to give you the low down on what’s happenin’.”

Darunia squinted, impatience visible on his chiseled features.

“Hrmmm...so you’re a coupl’a Brother Nealaphh’s secondaries, eh? And how’m I supposed to know you’re the real thing?”

Klee and Shen twirled in mild excitement on their individual axes. The Master had been anticpating this.

“The Master would like to inform you that it personally witnessed the banishment of the Gerudo you despise.”
“Yo Nealaphh mad scoped that Ganon scrub gettin’ his ass sent to the U-verse.”

The chief raised an eyebrow and ran a hand over his beard. After a moment he shrugged and offered a cautious smile.

“Well, I know you’ve at least spoken to Brother Nealaphh, so we can talk about the shipment, sure.” he said with a booming voice.

“Excellent.”
“Siiiiiick.”

The Aspects began to spin rapidly in opposing directions, and as they did so, a semi-opaque image began to dance and animate between the two of them. Darunia watched, transfixed on the display as it illustrated the information that both Aspects began to list off.

“The Master has encountered new allies that have given it an opportunity to fabricate the hammer at a new location.”
“So anyway, your Bro found some new friends and is gonna build this thing in some new digs.”

The images began to display pictures of the Pale Moors conjured straight from the Dataverse. In them, schematics of the Gigaton Hammer began to rotate and disect themselves for Darunia’s perusal. It was all happening a bit fast for the Chief, however, but he listened dutifully nontheless.

“As such, the new shipment location has been changed to the town of Darkshire. The ore will have the necessary minerals extracted, and then it will be refined and returned to you to use at your discretion.”
“So we’re gonna pick all that rock up at this hicktown and bounce it back to ya all polished and nice.”

Now the hologram began to display images of Ambrosia and the Koopa Kingdom, next to each other. The contrast between the verdant fields of the Tangled Green and the barren wastes in Darunia’s home Verse was in and of itself stunning for the Goron Chief, but not as much as what was said next.

“Nealaphh is negotiating with Bowser and Princess Guu to have them lend their forces to the fight against Volvagia. Princess Guu has already agreed, and we are awaiting for word back on Bowser.”
“So these cats are gonna help us. Probably.”

Darunia’s face scrunched up at the thought of working alongside Bowser. While the Koopa Kingdom and the Gorons were not explicit enemies, they had never really gotten along well. All of their run ins had been able to be dispersed diplomatically, but Darunia didn’t trust the giant turtle very much at all. That, plus the idea of those little yellow marshmallow freaks marching in and around Goron territory was not very appealing. Still, if Brother Nealaphh could hold them to their alleigance, then they would definitely be of great help.

“Hrrmmph. Tell Brother Nealaphh that the Koopas can’t send a force any larger than what we ourselves will be sending out. I don’t want to give the Koopas an opening to do anything unseemly.” Darunia said with a dark look.

“We will make sure The Master is aware of this. It should not be a problem.”
“Yeah, no worries Bro.”

With this, the Aspects stopped their frenzied whirling, thus causing the hazy images to fade back into nonexistence. Darunia continued to rub his stoney chin and was silent for several minutes.

“Alright. Tell Brother Nealaphh that the ore is on its way as of tomorrow. If he could just somehow make sure our caravans are safe as they cross the Nexus, I’d appreciate it.”

“That is fantastic news, Darunia. The Master is forever indebted to your accomodation. We will see to it that your people are kept safe.”
“Awwwwww yeah. Sweet. Don’t worry about no thing there Chief; your boys’ll be alright.”

Darunia nodded slowly and went back to his spot in front of the fire, wordlessly turning away from the Aspects. With a wave of his hand, Klee and Shen knew they were dismissed, and dutifully floated back out into the hewn stone hallway.

It was so much fun getting assigned things and then also completing those things! Now it was on to the next thing!

Assassination!