Eclipse Transit

[Tearen Wover]

This is going to be my default Nexus travel thread. If make sure I'm still in the Nexus before jumping in, though.

Nealaphh emerged from the smoking portal of the Ashen Steppes with a solemn, steady stride. At this point, there was no longer any wonder when it came to passing through any given Omniverse portal. It was just another sensory experience that Nealaphh had no need to dwell on.

The task at hand was to find a location that had enough suitably advanced technology to allow Nealaphh to perform mass electrolysis on the minerals that the Gorons of the Ashen Steppes were currently digging up for it. All logic pointed to Coruscant, but Nealaphh was aware, to a certain point, that getting access to the futuristic verse might be difficult. Still, it hadn't actually killed those Empire soldiers back when it had first been brought to the Omniverse, so hopefully it would be able to pass unmolested.

...

After several hours of walking, Nealaphh approached the steel gate, bracketed by two stromtroopers in gleaming white armor. As the shadow approached, one of them hefted his rifle in a ready stance and the other looked at what Nealaphh assumed was a Dataverse device.

"One moment, prime." the Empire soldier said, thumbing through a few screens. Nealaphh could easily discern it when the soldier's body went rigid.

"It's that...thing! You're wanted for crimes against the Emperor! Fire!" the trooper shouted. By this time, Nealaphh had already raised the spacial barrier between itself and the two soldiers, and the ensuing hail of blaster fire pinged off the translucent screen like grains of rice. In retaliation, Nealaphh picked one of the stormtroopers up with its mind and sent him careening into his partner. He shouted in panic as they slammed together, and the pair of Empire soldiers tumbled to the blank, white floor. Taking this opportunity, Nealaphh gently plucked their blaster rifles out of their disoriented hands and quickly disassembled the weapons with startling mental dexterity. For good measure, Nealaphh hurled the various bits of useless black metal at the stormtroopers as they were getting back on their feet, causing them to raise their hands in a vain attempt to defend themselves from the gun components that now pelted them with loud cracks.

Satisfied that it retaliation was a low probability, Nealaphh turned around in the other direction and quickly shuffled away before they could call on any potential reinforcements that might be roaming the Nexus...

...

As Nealaphh walked aimlessly, it called up the Dataverse from its palm and began to do some research. The Empire had equally strong presences in the Endless Dunes and the Vasty Deeps, so going to either one of those two verses would likely have equal opportunity for acquiring the equipment needed, or, finding a secret way into Coruscant itself. Of the two verses, the Vasty Deeps seemed like it would be much easier to go unnoticed, as the population count was generally higher, and, there was an abundance of illicit trade activity within the verse itself.

With this resolution in hand, Nealaphh headed towards the Vasty Deeps gate, uninhibited by any sense of boredom or tedium. Such things were for mortals who did not have unlimited patience. By the time that the gate to the deeps was in front of it, Nealaphh had already selected several places where it might find the necessary technology for sale, and it passed through the bent palm trees without even glancing at them...

[Tearen Wover]

Nealaohh walked slowly across the open plains of The Nexus once more pondering on what it had learned. First of all, it was clear that its sense of planning had been thrown off by this singular form. Second, it needed to devise another way to transport the copper and nickel ore from The Asheb Steppes to a secret location in Coruscant, which it didn't even have secured yet. Nealaphh considered the possibility that it maybe did not have to set up the assembly lab for the Gigaton Hammer in Coruscant itself, but honestly, no other verse had access to the kind of technology that Nealaphh would require.

Furthermore, the God-Mind hadn't heard any progress reports from Demetri in quite some time. How long ago was it that Nealaphh had tasked the human spy with securing the specialized equipment that was needed? Loathe as it was to do so, Nealaphh was becoming a little disappointed in Demetri, but it would postpone any serious judgement on his efficacy until it had the full story.

At least Klee and Shen continued to prove to be reliable. Nealaphh had messaged them upon entering the Nexus an hour ago, and now the God-Mind could see Klee was approaching rapidly from the direction of Camelot. Once she got within speaking distance, Nealaphh reached out with a telepathic greeting.

Hello Klee. Are you prepared to synchronize?

"Yes, master."

The next several minutes were spent transferring new information thoughts back and forth, so that both the Aspect and The Master posessed the others memories as if they were their own. The utility of Nealaphh's telepathic abilities never ceased to be utterly useful. It seemed as though Okor had done well so far in the Camelot tournament. This was good, but entirely expected. Nealaphh also paid close attention to the meeting with Demetri. The spy had had some sort of orange rodent in his company, which caught Nealaphh's attention.

The God-Mind recognized the orange creature by his online handle, OrangeLightnin. Based on the context in his dataverse activity, he was searching for Victor Wolfe of New Babylon. Even more alarming was the fact that Demetri had volunteered to help the orange secondary, and that the rodent was apparently in trouble. Was that where Demetri was, currently? Helping some useless Secondary mete out misguided justice? If it was the case, it was a good thing that the shadow had been headed for the Endless Dunes anyway. Originally it had hoped to stay clear of Nippur, but now Nealaphh felt the compulsion to head to the desert city and see if Demetri had, in fact, ran his own fool's errand.

Nealaohh disengaged its mind from Klee and instructed her to return to Shen at the Colosseum and update him as well. As the shimmering blue tetrahtedron buzzed off into the eggshell void, Nealaphh doubled its pace towards the sandy gate in the distance...

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

I was setting a pace that blazed along a path spear headed by determination and my body. It didn’t command my attention; I had much more important thoughts to bother with than the monotonous plane I was currently traversing. Things like what had become of my existence.

A sigh gripped my throat but I resisted the immaturity of such a pointless expression of emotion not when there was no audience to benefit from such a display. I had never been in a body this long even counting the possession of Ginny, but I had to make an effort now, lest habits slip upon me. I would not be beholden to the same errors and weaknesses that brought Voldemort low.

I needed information. The kind of information of what had become of my creator and how this world worked. Though specifics on my Voldemort perhaps would be more welcomed because despite how informative Harry and Ginny had been, their words were still that of children, and not to be trusted for more than a general summary at best. I need to know what he had done and more to the point, how had he fallen?

My very existence alone should have been more than enough to secure Voldemort’s immortality. And I knew for the fact that I was not the only Horcrux to be made. Which looking back now may have been his undoing. Secrets of the Darkest Art cautioned the risk to the soul that was torn… And then there was the issue which my slumber was never interrupted during the supposed fall of the Dark Lord except by Lucius’ own futile efforts to store away anything that remotely related to the Knights of Walpurgis, or rather that ridiculous pseudonym.

Death Eaters, really?

The Knights were meant to be the saving grace of a wizarding society drowning in mediocracy. Instead the fool went and renamed them like some muggle band fancying itself a terrorist cell… It was depressing and worse however was not even knowing why such thing had come to pass. My Knights were… well it was as they said, no use lamenting over spilt polyjuice.

Ruminations were interrupted as at last I had reached yelling distance of the figure that I had caught sight of, only this time what had scryed from a distance was gone. As if a time of before had been a mirage. While I wasn’t unfamiliar with such illusions and phenomenon in my studies, to have corpses and any symptoms of a battle gone in the span of such a short time was disorienting.

I paused to survey the area for a brief moment before continuing on, I had never wished so much for a chronometer as did in that moment if only to dissuade myself of the idea that time itself here was as fallible as it suddenly seemed to be. Now it seemed the figure instead of engaged in a furious battle was simply traveling.

Small favors or ominous happenstance?

Closing the distance further, it left me only to tighten my silver and green tie bearing the serpent’s crest of my house. It would not do to present anything but an impeccable appearance even in situations such as this. It was the one trait that Lucius and I shared in common. Only one.

Finally the distance was shortened to a point where it would be appropriate to address someone in a voice that wasn’t pressing the limits of my lungs.

“Well met, friend.” I said while plastering my face with my most amiable smile.

[Tearen Wover]

Nealaphh turned slowly to regard the voice that softly issued forth from the demi-human behind it. At least, Nealaphh could only assume that this pubescent figure with the eyes of pitch was not entirely a member of mankind. Still, his manner of dress and seemingly placid nature put the God-Mind at ease. What was interesting, however, was that unlike normal sentient beings, this creature did not seem to shed stray thoughts for Nealaphh to pick up on. Either he had a powerful control over his own thought processes, or, he didn't have an organic mind, per se.

At this point, the shadow had been staring at Tom for almost a full thirty seconds, and even the staunchly confident horcrux was beginning to fidget uncomfortably. The constructed body cleared its throat softly and offered a possible thread with which to weave a constructive dialogue.

"My apologies for encroaching. I was just hoping you may be able to provide me with some information." Tom said, producing another polite smile. Another silent moment passed, when he suddenly felt a small tingling in his mind, much like a guest knocking at the door. The wizard was really no stranger to mental communication, but he was also apt to be prepared for potential danger. Still he cautiously allowed the robed figure with the three, viridian eyes to speak.

Perhaps this is presumptuous of me, but I gather that you are new to this world. Nealaphh said in its soft, calm tone. The words didn't really have a specific mental 'voice'. It was more akin to the sensation of reading words out of a book, almost as if they had been generated from within Tom's own mind.

"Oh? Is it really so obvious?" the Wizard asked with a slight chuckle. In reality, it chafed him somewhat that he should be read so easily. Thse irony that he was, in fact, a book was not lost on him either. Oh well. It simply wouldn't do to be pompous and pleading at the same time.

You traveling from the direction of the Fountain of Infinity, the source of all Primes such as ourselves. Typically, a request for information in conjunction with that vector indicate a newcomee to the Omniverse. Nealaphh said simply, without any note of smugness or condescension. The matter-of-fact nature of this strange being appealed to Tom's refined sensibilities. Still, the dark skinned creature had used key words that the god of this land himself had mentioned. Prime. Omniverse. Now there was also the auspicious title of 'The Fountain of Infinity' to consider. There was simply so much to ask, Tom scarcely knew where to begin.

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

I was quickly having to refine my concept of what this situation was.

My face stilled into holding the smile, though I allowed it to shift a little into being more inquisitive and less ‘jolly’. To do otherwise would simply give everything away or I’d look like some child who had their wand snapped three seconds after they got it. Already I had gained two important pieces of information. One with apparent and immediate value, and the other was one would that required my attention for later.

Primes and Fountain of Infinity. Primes in particular was notable in that it set a hierarchy, the possibility that there were others below me. Well obviously there were others below, but rather such a stance was accepted by a community to the point of being a common term. Yes, this would do nicely. Though what kind of lesser would be a vital question in due time. If this telepathic thing was anything to go by.

“A fair and inductive assessment, sir-” I said then paused; almost as if I had just realized my gaff in protocol, “I’m sorry I don’t think I gave my name, I’m Tom Riddle.”

I let that statement linger enough for him to respond as I went about figuring out this puzzle. Primes by that logic being top, or just beneath Omni would make what would follow… Secondaries and Tertiaries? It was an assumption worth testing.

“Then I am to assume you are a Prime as well,” I started before adding, “or would that be Secondary if the pattern I surmise holds true”

That line of thinking could prove potentially controversial, for all I knew Secondary could be a dangerous insult if he was not, or nothing might come of it. But reactions were something to be gauged even in an inhuman individual. A goblin for that matter had such tells despite how impassive they attempted or tended to try to pass themselves as a species to Wizards. Few ever hoped to manage what I had though.

But then again I wasn’t exactly human either.

Which brought me to a rather important and potentially disturbing question; I had yet to inquire about the nature of the being that stood in my presence. But for the metaphorical life of me, I was at a loss to identify it. Now while I had never been a slouch I had never felt the need to attend Care of Magical Creatures. My course work would never allow for such a class slot to go to waste. But that hadn’t stopped me from reviewing the material well beyond Newts course work. However for what it did, none of it matched anything that I knew of what stood before me. There was some mythology relating to elementals and that was as close as I could place it.

That it had tapped into the head of my constructed body so easily was another disquieting aspect, though it hadn’t seemed to notice the connection to my container. Or if it had it hadn’t seen the need to comment on it.

[PANDATRON]

Motors: Operational
Systems ready
Awareness: Online.

Pandatron's motors slowly whirred up and with a gently grind, he rose from the ground and as if he moved on rails, stood upwards with perfect grace. He stood there, like a tin statue, gazing forwards. His robotic intellect started to frantically analyze and take in all of the information around himself. Yet there wasn't a clue about where he was now, or how he got there - or even what he was supposed to do within his vast databases.

"Heeeeh-heeeeeeeeh" he started to exhale through his metallic maw.

"HHHEEEEEROOOOOOOO!"

He slammed a fist against his metal chest. He was a *hero*, as vague as that was.

Further ahead, he noticed two other beings, one of them much different than the "Homo Sapiens" that mostly populated the Nexus. Maybe he was like him. Naively, he skipped towards the triple-eyed one, and sheepishly tried to greet him. "Heeh-heeeero!" he said, gesturing to himself, trying to get an ounce of his attention.

What the God-mind might notice is the constant consumption of psychic energy from the PANDATRON. Within, the panda had a psychovore generator, which fed off feelings that drive people forwards - it drove him forwards, like fuel. Most notably, feelings of heroism were very effective in keeping him powered up, and the vast amount of heroism in the Omniverse must've contaminated his stoic, cold CPU and turned PANDATORN into something... else.

[Tearen Wover]

Nealaphh tilted its head slightly as the pseudo-human asked a string of questions. It was clear that Nealaphh was dealing with someone of great intelligence, which was always a nice refresher from the usual droll exchanges it had to suffer in the name of progress. Perhaps the God-Mind would be able persuade this fresh Prime to its cause.

I am Prime yes. Your deduction is correct: there are denizens of this Omniverse called Secondaries. I trust the soliloquy of The Smiling One enlightened you to your new creative powers. This extends to living beings as well. Sentient beings created by Primes such as ourselves are called Secondaries.

Tom nodded slightly, pleased with his reasoning. He was about to ask more questions, but the ebon figure continued.

I am Nealaphh. I and my associates oppose The Smiling One above all else. We seek to turn the control of this incarcerating universe over to our own hands. I must admit, I find your intellectualism refreshing, many-

Nealaphh was cut off as another being entered its perceptive range. While Nealaphh was not an antisocial being, per se, it had hoped to be closer to the Endless Dunes than it was, by now. Perhaps next time it traversed the Nexus, it should keep a wider berth between itself and the Fountain of Infinity. The God-Mind turned slowly to regard the newcomer. It was an automaton of some sort, but it carried a presence within the psychic fabric; a sort of depression. Thoughts seemed to whirl around and into the mechanical beast, as if it hungered for them. This principal was not new to Nealaphh; it had encountered many such psychic parasites before. It was odd that a synthetic entity should have such power, though. The shadow would have very much enjoyed disassembling this Prime to learn more about its functionality, but it was, perhaps, more pertinent at this juncture to waylay any possible aggression. Considering that it operated at least partially on psychic wavelengths, Nealaphh attempted responding to PANDATRON's rather forward manner of speech with its own understated telepathy. The God-Mind broadcasted these thoughts to Mr. Riddle, so that the erudite man would not be kept out of the loop.

Hero? No, I'm afraid not. Merely a dreamer. Is there some manner by which I can assist you?

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

I nodded, knowing in some ways, and hers…. his… well it’s goals were definitely amiable to my own cause. Or at least compatible. Though such actions always had some reason behind it, I imagine the rationales differed greatly from my own. Rightful ownership, ascension of knowledge, cleansing the world of the waste that brought about the situations of my youth, justice, all those things and more made a beginning for me.

“I’d be interested in hearing-“ I started only to be cut off by the noise of a rusty gate given sentient voice. It was something now human could produce in such equal measures of baritone and high octave. It sounded like word brought about in battle cry. It was pure reaction that I whipped about summoning my wand to my fingers and for it to respond, an action that I hadn’t done since dueling club in my fifth year before I had left my studies and ambitions consume me completely.

That feeling of green was back, with yew beckoning my fingers to embrace the power. It ran up my wrist as wind caught my face. Wheeling about and taking two steps I froze at the sight; my arm wand respectively hung half limp in the air even as an enchanted armor wailed forward. Only it wasn’t. It looked too complex to be simple body shielding.

A golem maybe or an intricately carved total? No, too modern.

It looked like those old science fiction movies the played on Friday nights back on the orphanage on the projector, only more intricate. The ones that always left me rolling my eyes at how the villains monologued… like well that was unfortunate. Just like I had shortly before a basalisk fang was shoved into my cover.

I shook myself mentally, that was something I’d have to avoid in the future.

Cocking my head, I gave it a long look before coming off my heels. No need to backpedal any more, it wasn’t rushing us unless it was incredibly slow… after all it didn’t seem urgent.

I glanced at the being who finally named himself, waited for a moment then after he had finished, I said, “I think perhaps it means that it itself is a hero. Or it wants to be one.” Which if true was unfortunate.

There was one thing that the world needed less of, any world, was heroes. Heroes implied equality with their own villains, a vicious cycle of attack and rebuttal that never ended. Survival led to recovery, recovery led to revenge, an ever growing cycle. What one really needed to do the change society was a martyr, one of your own making that was in fact not yourself. To galvanize the people into an overwhelming action of you own whims.

But I was not going to let those view become public any time soon, right now this was far more pressing. Two inhuman beings in such short time span. I was beginning to wonder if humanity might not have quite the presence that I had assumed from the way the nexus was laid out.

A thought then occurred to me, “Or perhaps… I’m Tom Riddle. Is your name Hero?” I said with careful a rhythm in my words.

[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.

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

I shuddered ever so slightly, still reflecting on the destruction of the… inane monstrosity even as I walked in stride with the being I had chosen to ally in a fit of spontaneity and dubious self-reasoning skills. All in all though my impulsive so far was paying off far more than I had imagined it would and I was realizing now that this relationship of sorts might work out.

While the random destruction of the god’s citizens was concerning, I had no doubt it had more to do with the realization and rectification of a mistake rather than that of targeted malevolence. It did give me my own insight to the abounding whiteness that was our surroundings. If everything was omnilium, even our own bodies then indeed the creation of sentients, even sapients was just a matter of practical application, skill and experimentation.

Moving as we were I didn’t want to test some of my more damning experiments. I didn’t really care about the journey; within my first moments here I had seen nearly all there was to see. It didn’t leave me much to do except converse and perform a few calculations.

“It is curious” I began, formulating my words, “That the god of this realm would conjure a being into life and just as hastily banish it from such as well. But it did raise a question in what I saw.”

Expanding on my statement, I cocked my head and brought my wand forward which I had been clinging to it this entire time, ready for any other unexpected visitations, but luckily not needed. Instead of combat, a graceful swipe of the tool and a nonverbal incantation brought a trailing fiery line from its tip to the air in scarlet incandescence. More flicks, swishes and curls called up lines into an equation the described the required power to shape and conjure matter from nothing, or rather from magic. Many often describe it more as an intrusion of transient particles from a vacuum. Then beside it I wrote up another line that was a transformation of matter to energy and energy to matter.

Arithmancy, the written language of magic used to describe its properties. Where runes granted it shape and intent, the math was where its power was established and its foundations built. And what I had seen so far regarding this universe’s medium made it seem like the two were similar if not outright the same. The fact that the last equation had been pioneered me by a German muggle scientist irked me to no end. But then again Muggles always seemed to have superior faculties when it came to common sense of the sciences when compared to the bulk of wizarding society, if only due to a disproportionate population.

“In your studies here and in omnilium did you come upon anything close to these formulas?” I said with heavy tone before flicking my wand towards Nealaphh. Immediately the formulas I had depicted floated in front of him with a lazy casualness that belied the fact that both of us were traveling at a decent pace. “I imagine if I hadn’t seen that golem’s demise I’d have been left ignorant of the depth applications of this material.”

๓ש²=є=קש

є=๓ς²

If omnilium behaved like magic then that opened a whole new world of magical theory for me to explore and draw power from. Even a complete and utter cad would be able to figure that out even if they were ill equipped to perform the task. Me on the other hand… had a wand and far more sense that most wizard or witches ever had in their combined attempts of logic.

It was only a matter of time

[Tearen Wover]

Nealaphh peered at the equations as Tom spirited them in front of it, slightly bemused that even this clear user of magic subscribed to the highly limiting and sequential form of human mathematics to express his universal constants. Still, it still put this Tom Riddle character far ahead of the curve when it came to the baseline intellectualism that graced the Omniverse's trackless plains. In addition, though Nealaphh did not use 'magic' per se, it could easily appreciate the skill with which Tom Riddle wielded his craft. It was interesting though, that these specific concepts that had been presented should try and be applied to Omnilium, which was inherently prone to variability basing from its basis of subjective value.

A good thought, but in the case of Omnilium and summoning in the Omniverse, a more apt equation might be Q=ø(U/m), where ø equals the subjective value of the dissipating object in question.

"So what you're saying is that two identical objects could have different values in Omnilium based on how much their creator valued them?

Nealaphh shook its head, keeping its gaze fixed on the gate to the Endless Dunes that was steadily growing closer.

Not quite. In this instance, its whatever subjective value The Smiling One has assigned to the object in question. One of my planned experiments is to try and ascertain how the different substances are gauged by the pale overlord.

Tom nodded approvingly. This was definitely the sort of experimentation he could get behind. Just then, the black creature paused mid stride and tilted its head to the right, ever so slightly. The wizard approached the being slowly, unsure of what was going on. The last time this had happened, a metallic ursine golem had exploded in their faces.

"Is something the matter?"

Nealaphh remained silent for a few more moments before turning its head ever so slightly to look at Tom.

I suppose so. It appears someone is trying to organize an effort to banish me.

"Banish?"

Ah yes. Supposedly the worst fate for a Prime in the Omniverse. It is possible to banish other primes to a verse that is sealed off from the main Omniverse, called the Underverse.

Tom raised an eyebrow, a shadow of concern passing over his features.

"And is this effort to banish you frivolous or deserved?"

Nealaphh eyes the demi human, and though it was difficult to gauge the creature's expressions, Tom swore he saw an expression of amusement on this being's face.

It is difficult to strive for progress without gaining a few enemies. Nealaphh said with a slight levity in its voice. With that, it resumed its journey towards the sandy aperture in the distance.

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

I hummed to myself, if a bit audibly, fingers scratching at a non-existent stubble. Bounty hunters how utterly mundane… no not even that, it was medieval. As far as I knew they had disappeared from most of the ‘civilized’ world excepting the criminal elements themselves employing such methods. But so far this world has shown an increasing amount of patch-worked quality in its promises of the future and I was confident I could succeed in taking advantage of them. My body uncoiled from the tension it had been holding even as I kept pace.

Finally after a moment of silence and rolling my wand in my fingers, I spoke, “Far be it for me to be critical of you, but it seems you are dealing with lesser minds, minds that seldom have wisdom to assess- much less judge those far more experienced in the ways of the world.” I couldn’t keep the edge off my tongue of past memories, but I did a fair job at holding the brunt of my emotions from coloring my words. But I did have one thing to add even as we passed, though I still didn’t know what this being was I had a feeling that our goals were indeed aligned and it was unlikely to find as good of a source of information and power in this universe as it was.

Few people ever took time to actually try and understand. I gave glance at perhaps my new compatriot. Maybe our discussions would yield another valuable gem of knowledge. Normally I’d be averse to being reliant on another, but in such a scenario that I found myself? Choices were limited and he perhaps was the quick means of all that.

“If you don’t mind I’ll enlist myself in your retinue at least until the situation becomes completely untenable.” I said plainly as I continued rolling my wand between my fingers. A few sparks came forth with infrequent testing of my will. Assessing how things had changed. I could feel the holes in myself and not just the gaping wound that was at the core of my being. It was one thing to know of them, another thing entirely to fill them if my growing understanding of the universe was even close to accurate.

My wand nearly fumbled from my fingers as a rather important fact played across my entire form, or rather the realization of such. How did he know that people were coming for him? Given the circumstance of my presence here it wasn’t completely impossible that a Seer of some kind were to exist. What were the chances if I had stumbled across such a valuable resource? Prophecy had always been a valuable asset of wizarding kind, so much so that some of our greatest myths had been built on the bones of such people even long after they had passed away.

“Though, I must enquire your source of this upcoming event?” I gave the entity another sideways glance but kept my forward momentum going all the same. Before long I was rolling my wand into light twirls while putting more force of will on the wand to test it further. More sparks were igniting from its tip with greater intensity and regularity.

Sparks after all are the most basic of spells taught. The first thing any prospective student ever conjures with a wand. But they were also an excellent baseline as a spell; you could pump more energy into them quickly to produce more drastic and visible effect. It made a great standard for students to learn to control how much energy they pulled into a spell without causing them to set everything around them ablaze.

Simply drawing upon the air was easy, that spell was a self-regulating matrix, too much power and it fizzled out, too little and it failed to work. Hence sparking sparkles which had a degree of flexibility that worked even if they were… well utterly ineffective for anything other than a light show. But it did work for drawing conclusions on how much power I was able to throw around and I was starting to notice a vague sense of being drained, it was only lightly noted but it was there.

Curious and very concerning to say the least.

And if I were to be combatting foes that Nealaphh had courted as enemies I could only guess at what kind of effects I’d be coming up against. Worse was that if this was a sign of my magic had taken a notable shift towards that of popular culture… it would make things tricky. Magic worked by being drawn from the environment, being channeled. It did not tire them out in the traditional sense as if they were a well of power. If I now somehow housed a finite amount of power… how would that upset my ability to craft my knowledge and alter the basis that was the very foundation of my education?

It was too soon to know for sure. But I had better figure out soon.

[Tearen Wover]

Certainly. I'd be happy to instate you as a member of the Institute's Unity branch, which is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. We are also currently in need of a Dean. You seem to be of an academic persuasion. Would such a position interest you?

Nealaphh gave the wizard some time to contemplate the question, but was surprised when his next words were an inquiry into the God-Mind's access to the Dataverse. It was fair enough; whereas most Primes had a handheld device or magical augur, Nealaphh had rearranged the tissue of this crystalline body so that its brain was directly connected to the Dataverse at all times. It was purely a matter of convenience, but the reactions it got when it recalled information on a seemingly spontaneous basis were still amusing to a minor degree.

Here in the Omniverse, there is an unseen world called the Dataverse. It is essentially a dimension dedicated to the exchange of information, and it is possible to tap into the Dataverse if you have a suitable device. In my case, my physiology allows me to wire this connection directly into my brain.

Tom was simultaneously awed and uncomfortable with the prospect of such a capability. It sounded much like some sort of muggle contrivance, but at the same time, the utility of such a thing could not be ignored.

"I...see. How would one go about acquiring such a device?"

You need only to take the time to summon a dataverse device.

Tom frowned slightly, the sparks bleeding from the tip of his wand flaring ever so slightly.

"Yes, I understand the premise, but I have no idea how to create or design the functionality of one of these devices."

Nealaphh shook its head.

It makes no difference to Omnilium. Your ability to summon something is based entirely on desire. You don't need to know how something works, only that you want it.

Tom's frown grew even deeper. He had been under the impression that the act of summoning required full comprehension of the object to be created. If any simpleton Prime could create intricate structures based only on the vague notion of desire, it meant that very stupid people could potentially get their hands on some very dangerous things. It was upsetting, to say the least.

"That's slightly disturbing." Tom said, his voice carrying a wry tone that was a vain attempt to mask the sincerity of his concern.

Yes. It is. Nealaphh responded. It sensed a great frustration growing in Mr. Riddle, and decided that it might be pertinent to assuage the wizard's wounded sense of order.

However, a sufficient degree of technical knowledge can go a very long way to improving the quality of your summonings. This is actually relebant to my current goals.

"Oh?" said Tom, perking up.

Yes. I am currently in the process of trying to fabricate a special weapon. To do so I have acquired technical schematics and raw material gathered from the Omniverse to fabricate it. Hypothetically, I could spontaneously create the weapon here and now, but it would not nearly be as powerful if I didn't actually know who it worked. The potency of summoning with Omnilium is based entirely around context and preparation.

Tom nodded slowly. He still maintained his profound scowl, but it was comforting to know that his knowledge of the physical universe would still serve a practical purpose in this alien place...

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

Slowly but surely I was starting to understand the reasoning behind all the euphemisms that Nealaphh had been employing in regards to the being known as Omni. And worse I was readily agreeing the more he learned how things worked. While magic was known to usurp a number of practiced practical methods it also followed a reasoning that could be mapped as its own technological progress.

It surpassed that of muggles for one very simple reason, provided you continued to study a single person could in theory take the place of a nation. That little spark of talent was all that was required to make a light shine from a wand or to end a life just as quickly as snuffing out said light. Power incarnated into the form of a wooden wand imbued with a magical substance of sorts. Only now it wasn’t just wood.

And for better or for worse the technological progression I was so used too was utterly skewed.

But a least that said progression wasn’t entire gone by Nealaph’s own admittance. And there was opportunity in such as well which had me thinking. Dean. Such a simple term. “I had no plans as of yet. Though there is the inclination to pick up where I left off in my last world. “ I said faintly, no doubt Nealaphh heard it but it was more a subtle admission that I had been too distracted so far to know what I wanted. And what did I want? Hogwarts.

“So a Dean of scholarly facility would be most appreciated, maybe even applicable to some future pursuits.” I said with a glib smile. A force of habit from the memories of my creator, or rather me who had been whole. A habit used to make me seem more normal that I could empathize fully with my surroundings. I never really realized how often I did it until after I had been separated from my other and since then I never needed to do it. From then on I had been a book and a shadow of memory given form by a young girl’s life. I needed to focus however on the intent of what I was doing. Though those memories of Ginny giving true sustenance for some reason helped, maybe some emotions and vitality granted by her and her other had altered me but it did seem to give me perspective.

A fresh set of eyes or imagination?

I settled on what Nealaphh had said regarding his knowledge and it source. If such was the case then repeating the feat would be simple enough. Maybe expand upon it.

I gave my wand a flick, drawling out an incantation and fixed in my mind my goal. It’d need to be unassuming useful and if the destination was anything to go by, windy. A good hat would be convenient to my purposes, and more importantly a hat that could sort information. Calls and contacts. A sorting hat.

What I was doing now was a work worthy of the Founders but more so. A part of me was annoyed at how easy it would be. I had labored in understanding the Sorting Hat for years as the basis for my Diary, backed up by study into pensieves. Previous attempts at what I was doing now always failed but here I knew I could succeed. I would succeed? And why? Because I deemed it so, but for the first time that did not reassure me.

I sketched more in the air leaving ripples of and whirls of chromatic light. It was magic and omnilium. With each whip here and a swipe there, runes, patterns and shadows flickered through the air. I added more omnilium, dispersing it as floating chrome globules rather than mist that I kept pushing even as we walked. My legs were set to autonomously move as I worked on something far more pressing of my simulated upper brain functions.

I muttered a decisive, “mutatius ineruptio” before slicing my wand down through one of the largest orbs of silver. It splattered like so much mercury but it also started spinning in an elegant mockery of planetary orbits. At its center was a pinprick like star that was pulling a number of runes, and other abstract imagery from earlier into it even as the omnilium that was swirling around it as it center began to take shape.

The final touch, I invoked another spell this time non-verbally, that cause silver strand of gossamer to fly from my robes where my robe had been hidden. Memory. A core memory of the time I had been sorted in front of the Great Hall. It was a short one, though it was only by my own intellect and challenging nature that had managed to stall the Hat long enough to give me a second of its time. Within the confines of my head it had been a longer period, though most everyone claimed it was an instant sorting. Only a spark of what could have been Ravenclaw had even entered the conversation.

It would have to be enough.

Breathing out the last incantation, “Iliceto!” I slashed my wand through horizontally, upsetting the natural order that had only just begun to form. Immediately the pinpoint nova started sparking and darken, pulling the shell of omnilium and conjured material into it like a hungry hole in space before flaring outward in a hiss and pop.

With a practiced motion I grabbed what appeared to be a rather well-worn but stylish wide brimmed hat with loose almost hood like point top that was several hands in length. It was made of black leather like material but the insides had fine silk etched with the same runes I had cut into the air. Upon the outside silver embroidery and an emerald stud formed an eye at the center right before the weight of the tip caused the whole thing to crumple backwards. Near the base where it became a brim looked to be wrinkles. Wrinkles that were created by a silver sash were what could be mistaken for a mouth if it were animate.

It wasn’t thee Sorting Hat, but it was A sorting hat. I imagine if I did my work right it would act much the same.

Placing the newly formed artefact upon the crown of my head, I gave Neal a look as I could see that he had been watching me for a while. “It is as you say, far to easy. Disturbingly easy. And I imagine I took it one step further.” I began and continued with a weary tone, “It should able contact this Dataverse and also be able to connect with devices similar to its own for direct private communication.”

And then the ramifications of Neal’s last words had been, “Just how powerful of a weapon are you planning to make?”

[Tearen Wover]

As Tom asked his latest question, Nealaphh looked ahead. The gate to the Endless Dunes was getting very close now, as Tom's summoning of his dataverse device had spanned many silent minutes. Ultimately, Nealaphh didn't know exactly how powerful the Gigaton Hammer needed to be, or even how powerful it was going to be. All Nealaphh had to work with were the basic schematics of the original megaton hammer and a few equations it had worked out to produce a similar, more potent implement. Still, Nealaphh didn't want to reveal that it didn't exactly know what it was doing, so an answer was necessary.

Powerful enough to momentarily stun a very ancient, very powerful dragon. I touch on this in the Monotruth, but my current task is to banish a feral Prime known as Volvagia from the verse known as the Asheb Steppes.

"Feral? Does that happen often?"

Nealaphh shook its head.

Most known Primes posess a frontal intelligence to at least some degree. Why The Smiling One decided to summon an animalistic killer such as this dragon is testament to his dismissive regard for the lives he toys with.

Tom nodded slowly but refrained from weighing in on this particular subject. It was clearly very important to Nealaphh, and he didn't feel entirely qualified to express an informed opinion. The pair traveled in silence for a time, content to ruminate on their individual conundrums before eventually standing at the sandstone mouth of the Dunes gate. Tom was unsure if there was some rite or incantation necessary, so when Nealaphh refrained from saying or doing anything, the wizard politely cleared his throat and gestured towards the swirling, rippling dimensional vortex that spun between the eroded pillars.

"After you."

Nealaphh continued to remaim still staring at the gate.

Given the circumstances of my fugitive status, I should like to ask a favor of you.

Tom quirked a curious eyebrow. What could this powerful enigma possibly need his help for?

"Go on."

I've recently honed the ability to change my form to a more innocuous shape. A crow. I was hoping I could travel with you in this form, so as to avoid being conspicuous.

This statement caught Tom's attention immediately. The type of transfiguration this creature spoke of directly correlated to the practice of animagism that was studied in his home world. Though Tom had never found a particular interest in the practice, there was no doubt that it marked a significant amount of self control and skill in any wizard.

"That sounds agreeable enough, but you simply must tell me how you are able to achieve such an effect." Tom said, watching with vested interest as the robed figure of Nealaphh shrunk and twisted into the body of an otherwise completely unremarkable crow. The inky black bird uttered a sullen caw before flitting up onto Tom's shoulder with a flap and a hop. The Slytherin faithful would have much rather had some manner of serpent hanging over his neck, but as it was, having what was essentially a familiar was comforting on some basic level.

I fear the explanation may be more nebulous than what you would prefer, but I can attempt to express the principals in relatable terms. Nealaphh said slowly, clicking its beak loudly. Tom chose not to be offended by these words and listened intently before stepping through the gate at Nealaphh's behest...

Nealaphh and Tom Riddle have entered the Endless Dunes.

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

Linking the thread to Eclipsing the Dunes

[Tearen Wover]

The journey out into the Nexus proved to be silent in perpetuity, as both the Dark Lord and the God-Mind did what they did best; ponder inwardly at everything which was going on. Currently, Nealaphh had a conundrum. As far as the Gorons knew, they were still going to be shipping their copper and nickel ore to the Vasty Deep for smuggling into Coruscant. Darunia kept himself far removed from the convenience of the Dataverse (a service that Nealaphh begrudgingly appreciated), so an envoy would have to be sent.

Drake was still occupied with his new gang of Primes in gaining the favor of Bowser, so sending him to Death Mountain would be impossible. It would have to be a job for the Aspects then. Nealaphh just hoped Darunia's suspicious nature would not cause him to doubt the word of Klee and Shen. There was only so much that Nealaphh could control, though.

Speaking of variables, the Wild Card hadn't seemed to be making any sort of visible impact on the events of the Omniverse. The last time that the Aspects had visited her, she had been asleep on some pirate vessel in the deeps. Quaint, but potentially rewarding. The following night, however, the Aspects hadn't been able to locate her or the ship. It was troubling, but the God-Mind had faith that the Facsimile was not gone from this despicable world.

Then there was the matter of Rebecca. Nealaphh had been quite confident in its plan to plant her alongside Jade Harley asa convenient way to track the Witch's exploits. Of course, Nealaphh had no direct feed into the girl's mind; such power was beyond this body's capabilities for now. No, regretfully Rebecca's function was far more mundane than that, if not potentially more devious. Jade, in her endless enthusiasm to make and keep friends, would no doubt feel completely obligated to tell Nealaphh of almost all details of what was going on around Rebecca. It wasn't as if Nealaphh wasn't genuinely concerned about the Little Sister's well being; it still considered her to be of great potential. That did not mean she could not serve an unwitting function on behalf of the God-Mind, however.

All in all, the Enigma still felt very much in control of its sphere of influence. Losing direct control over Demetri had been a slight step backwards, but it seemed as if things were beginning to move on the right track once more. Nealaphh was, however, cautious to avoid entertaining any notion of impatience. Such was a human emotion that was bound to a false perception of the flow of time. Frankly, the idea that Nealaphh might be tempted to feel such a way was in and of itself troubling. Ever since its first steps in the Omniverse, the God-Mind had felt the cloying tang of humanity suckling at the back of its infinite mind. Perhaps it was a side effect of being in this pseudo-organic body, or maybe it was the doing of the Smiling One. Either way, these mortal habits would have to be explored, reconciled, then purged.

Nothing less would be satisfactory for the realization of Nealaphh's goals.

Moving these musings to the an auxiliary section of its consciousness, Nealaphh once again turned its attention outward. The gate to the Pale Moors was on the complete opposite side of the Nexus, so even with this phylactory's speed, it would take some time before they reached their destination. Obviously, flying directly over the Fountain of Infinity would be the most efficacious route, but Nealaphh was wary of such a course. Doing so would potentially attract unwanted attention, and the God-Mind and his associate could not afford any time or energy to the naive meddling of whatever poor souls had been newly dragged here.

As such, the Enigma opted to keep the Phylactery on a concave course across the Nexus, keeping at least a three mile berth between their flight plan and the center of the Omniverse. If Tom even cared to notice, he didn't make any comment on it. With nothing but white blandness to stare at, the pseudo-human wizard was busy with his spells and mathematics, which the God-Mind had only the utmost respect and enthusiasm for.

Honestly, why couldn't more mortals be like Mr. Riddle?

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

As the maelstrom burned away to white, the ripples flickering through my vision seemed to intensify for a moment and gave way to a spectrum of prismatic color borne from the Nexus’ inner glow. As quickly as it came in turn was eventually wiped out by the dominating monotone that was this Verse. What was known as the Fountain of Infinity seemed to have reached a consensus on its new form. Distantly, what it had been hour ago was now replaced with appeared to be the ruler of the omniverse making a rather rude gesture with his thumb and forefinger.

His thumb in particular seemed to shine with pearly brilliance that put the rest of the Nexus to shame in its normal bleached nature.

Scoffing, I turned back to my work; I could already see some issues in compressing space and filling it with a large amount of heavy metals. Metals were singularly unpredictable in how they’d respond to enchantments; sometimes they required customized charms that were made to a greater degree of complexity than in normal artifacing. It was also why I was inclined to throw myself back into the study of alchemy if only to better control that aspect alone.

Time seemed to pile on and flow off the back of the vehicle as we took what appeared to be the circular route around. I had several guesses why, the events of my own summoning to this plane were the most suspect. Avoiding such a time sink was imperative to recovering especially given the violent nature of the societies that inhabited to place. There were also other issues at hand; I still needed to procure a written record of the supposed event surrounding one Harry Potter before I could conclude how much of my true nature would impact Public Relations and my own endeavors of claiming a piece of the Omniverse for myself.

Domination was after all a simple affair and a good stepping stone to something greater.

What that greater thing was, I had yet to conclude, though a part of me wanted to supplant everything Voldemort had come to stand for and improve where he had failed. Ginny had been somewhat enlightening in that regard, Harry as well but more was to be had. If anything it would probably lend credence to artistic license of whatever had been printed and how the winning party often wrote history. All of it though felt meager, like retreading the same path.

Again it all came back to Hogwarts, an aspiration I had long held, to forever remain there, gaining further knowledge, teaching and terminating mediocrity wherever I could find it. Given the state of things in the world I had left behind, I had never accomplished that. Here though… here I could have exactly that, and Albus bloody Dumbledore would not be there to stand in my way. And that was another matter that would eventually have to be attended to along with the ramifications of the War I had been party to.

And it was something that perhaps I could use to my advantage.

“Nealaphh,” I began, breaking the silence as gently as I could even as I organized my thoughts on the matter, “is there any overarching law within the multiverse regarding the use of Banishment at least between factions?”

The low tittering I had been treated to earlier did not repeat itself thankfully and though the being that I was addressing didn’t physically react, there was an earnest question in the mental response. Eerily interested. “No there is not. The vestiges of decency are rarely rallied to such a level, why?”

I took a breath before closing my true form and stowing it in my robe’s pocket. “As I’ve gathered, it’s a capital punishment akin to the Death Penalty. We witnessed it twice but no doubted it was meted out more so after our departure.” And more to my annoyance the one who had taken my power had been one of them. If they ever escaped their damnation, I would have to settle my own accounts then. Smoothing over my emotions though I continued on to my point, “The Institute would be the ideal group to parley the factions of the multiverse into a treaty regarding the use of such a weapon, and my own plans would be equally matched to host such an event.”

The fact that we were heading to the place that would be the most suited climate and theme of Hogwarts was as the Headmaster often put it, ‘a happy accident’. If I was going to work with Nealaphh, broaching the topic of a secure holdings would be of the greatest importance and giving the Institute an olive branch. If the patterns of our interactions held true then it would be Nealaphh’s means of gaining a stronger foothold in Verse politics while ensuring my own viability in the world at large. No doubt the entity I had allied however tentatively would be able to assist me should any complications arise.

But the more pertinent issue was that of banishment itself. It seemed like it had a similar status as the as media depicted the ‘Nuclear option’ that muggles had seemed too thorough enjoy using as a plot element in their fiction and history. Only here, the flagrant employment of banishing seemed to be more the norm than the exception. That alone would bring parties to the table if only out of self-interest.

Glancing at the nearing Gate to what I suspected led to Moors, I could only hope Nealaphh saw the issue from a similar perspective.

[Tearen Wover]

An interesting prospect, Mr. Riddle. The Monotruth is due for a second edition some time soon; I would be more than grateful to have you lend your efficacious pen to its words. Nealaphh said in its perennially pleasant tone. The God-Mind went sileny again for a time, the only noises being the consistent whu-whum of whatever engine drove this mad contraption along with the intermittent chiming of Tom's wand. Nealaphh took this opportunity to scan the Dataverse for any new activity which may have concerned it. While nothing in particular was of critical importance, The Enigma did notice the eagerness with which Jade had taken to befriending Tom, or rather, David Monroe. Perhaps this was a string of thought that necessitated pursual.

That reminds me. The Harley girl. What do you make of her? You two seem to have a rapport, and I'd much like to have her a part of our vision. Nealaphh said with a forced telepathic chuckle. Honestly, the God-Mind wasn't sure if it was worth trying get the Witch involved in their schemes. Her moral compunctions may prove to be quite the liability, if they could not be twisted.

The Chariot soared swiftly over the hooded head of a lone traveler also making for the Pale Moor's gate. Had Nealaphh been of a more mortal mentality, it may have seen this wanderer as a sign of ill-omen. After all, the more Primes there were in any given verse, the more likely it was for problems to occur. Luckily, Nealaphh's vast intellect waylaid the temptation if fatalistic thought patterns..

And so, The Chariot sped onwards, seeming to stretch and warp the space around its laquered bulk in order to fit through the narrow, decrepit gate . These were all problems for consideration on Tom's own schedule, however.

[Tearen Wover]

Nealaphh emerged once more into the blank eternity that was the Nexus. Simultaneously infinite and relatively minute, the paradoxical space between worlds was aesthetically pleasing to the God-Mind. An un-etched slate, begging to have history carved into its ashen face. The Enigma had a fair amount of time to ponder the possibilities of such an area as it rocked slowly back and forth upon the back of one of the Gorons' hulking Dodongo lizards. The beasts were silent and concentrated, and their singularly focused minds served as a pleasant buzz to the constant plinking tremors of the Goron psyches. Being that it was in what could ostensibly be considered a public area of the Omniverse, the Enigma had assumed the form of a crow, as usual, and was perched patiently on the saddle on which Tom Riddle rode. 

The Gigaton Hammer had been secreted away inside the covered hutch of one of the caravan carts, though a Goron had to be holding it at all times, or the overwhelmingly massive weapon would prevent the poor lizard pulling it to break its comparatively frail spine. Despite their otherwise warm demeanor, the Gorons were actually surprisingly dismissive of their beasts of burden as emotional beings. Still, this didn't mean their inherent sense of pragmatism would permit any harm coming to the Dodongos.

So it was that the caravan proceeded through the Nexus at a crawl, with all eyes plastered on the ineffable horizon for any signs of trouble. The route was to give a wide berth to the Fountain of Infinity, as per the two Primes' previous expedition. Nealaphh knew for a fact that there was, even as they sat watching, a terrible brawl occurring in the immediate vicinity of the the Omniverse's central hub. Tom seemed to detect where the God-Minds thoughts were focused and brought up the subject in his cool voice.

"I saw that Colonel was participating in some sort of lynching. You authorized such a thing?" Tom asked, tapping the butt end of his wand against his chin as he stared down at some haphazardly scribbled diagrams. Based on what Nealaphh could discern, it was an exploration on the applications of the alchemical substance Tom had devised for the Hammer.

I did. Okor as well.

Tom hummed slightly.

"That seems like it would be in opposition to your ideal of a unified Omniverse." Tom said with a wry tone. Nealaphh's avian eyes squinted slightly. The wizard was clearly saying this in jest; he knew that the maxims set forth in the Monotruth were devices for controlling the weak minded. What the wizard was really after was a glimpse into Nealaphh's ulterior motives. The God-Mind knew when it was being played, but in this instance, if might be worth testing the boundaries of Tom's trustworthiness. The boy would still be forced to jump through a series of carefully selected hoops, however.

Politics and ethos are rarely tangential.

Much like Nealaphh's sense of manipulation, Tom also knew when he was being strung along, but trying to make demands of the God-Mind would result in a wall of silence. As tedious as a game it was, the wizard would humor Nealaphh's obfuscations as long as it got him what he wanted.

"Politics? Where does that sordid arena feature in this?"

Sasuke Uchiha, the target of this mob. He is an ally of New Babylon and evidentally betrayed the trust of your Security compatriots.

Tom scoffed.

"Surely there's more to this than petty revenge."

The crow bobbed its head. This was where it would be required to divulge a piece of intelligence that was slightly more sensitive than usual. But, again, this was a trust exercise, and the God-Mind was curious to see what Mr. Riddle would do with it.

There is. I had the interesting opportunity to meet Sasuke Uchiha's brother. After some negotiations, the man made me promise to keep his location a secret. I do not know the significance of their relationship, but...

Tom filled in the rest, a knowing tone flowing from his every enunciated syllable.

"...but the fact that the brother wishes to remain hidden inherently indicates Sasuke's interest. Simple enough. But why put it in play now?"

Aggressing against Sasuke serves as disincentive for future transgressions, but this information presents an opportunity to forestall any direct retribution.

"...you're dangling a carrot. This is a dominance display...you're trying to passively enslave Uchiha."

Optimistically. At the very least it will give us leverage in dealing with New Babylon. Considering their entire faction is destabilized...

"It's an avenue to assimilate them completely. Well played, Nealaphh."

The God-Mind glanced towards the distant fountain once more, where distant booms echoed across the flat, ivory landscape. The outcome of all of this was still up in the air; Nealaphh simply needed to have faith that Okor and Colonel would deliver.

We shall see.