***The Crystal City***

***Angrod***

“It's mine!” Chiffre holds tightly onto Enyo’s body, pulling to the left.

“No! We have to free her!” Miruliru digs in her heels, pulling to the right.

“This is a technological wonder!” the overly enthusiastic researcher complains. “A soul attached to non-living matter! This has to be researched and understood!”

“It's a person, not a research object, you fool!” The little goddess is dragged along the floor by the far larger man, clinging to Enyo like an enraged Doberman.

“You don't understand! This is the greatest discovery since the dawn of creation!” Chiffre tries to explain himself. “The necessary knowledge to create something like this is staggering! Our people couldn’t even attempt such a thing!”

“Ask the perverted creator how it is done and let go!”

“It's against the pride of any scientist to be taught by someone else!”

“Let go!”

“Never!”

“Massster! Sssave me! I will rip!” Enyo twirls her free ends around the two idiots, trying to save herself from being distributed equally among both warring parties.

I watch the scene with a bored expression while Miruliru and Chiffre are using Enyo to play pull the rope. There is no real point in involving myself, but… Enyo is my creation. It would be a waste if she got destroyed over such an insignificant quarrel. “Did you two ever consider asking Enyo what she wants?”

“Massster! Give me permission to ussse the sssecret weaponsss!” Enyo begs.

Whatever. It's only self-defence. “Fine...”

‘Splurt!’

“Waaah!” “Eewww!”

Suddenly, Enyo sprayed Miruliru and Chiffre with an oily substance, slipping easily out of their grasp in the process. Chiffre fell on his butt while Miruliru barely managed to keep standing, her shirt an oily mess.

Using her regained freedom, Enyo slithers hastily towards me and wraps around the ankle of my left leg. “Massster, I ssseriousssly doubted your intentionsss when you inssstalled thisss feature, but the lubricant isss a very ussseful weapon!”

“Come back here, Enyo! We have to get you a proper body. I will see to it that you get a good reincarnation.” Miruliru stretches a hand towards Enyo, confident in her offer.

“I am fine. No need for another body. Massster made very good work,” Enyo flatly refuses Miruliru’s offer.

“Why? How can this be!” Miruliru slides to the ground, clearly unable to believe it. Then she looks at me, furious. “You meddled with her mind!”

I scoff. “I thought that much is obvious. It was a mercy, considering that Enyo’s soul is still too damaged to be supported by a real body. She was ravaged and twisted like nothing I have ever seen, even worse than El Shaddai’s. If I hadn't helped, it would have taken a few million years before natural healing would have allowed her to reincarnate once more. But even for me, it was hard to repair something with so many parts missing. I spliced the mental patterns of a snake into her mind until she heals the rest of the way on her own. That's why she prefers this body for the moment.”

And I chose a snake because it was fun. To be honest, I could have taken any animal, but Miruliru doesn’t have to know that.

“You managed that...” Chiffre almost starts drooling onto the floor just by imagining the necessary techniques to accomplish such a feat.

That guy is becoming creepier with every invention of mine he gets to see.

“I like my body,” Enyo confirms my explanation and adds as an afterthought, “And ssserving the missstresss.”

Miruliru drops to the ground, giving up while Chiffre takes some notes.

With that little drama resolved I return my attention to the healers who took over Aengus’ and Sharid’s care as soon as we returned to the Crystal City after our successful snatch ’n’ grab.

From the looks of it, they took no permanent damage, but it doesn’t hurt to be sure. “Make certain to check their minds. Full containment measures for everyone we brought back until a mind mage checks them over,” I instruct and add as an afterthought, “Although, I am no longer certain that our efforts matter. The multiverse might already be beyond help.”

The others freeze up.

“What are you talking about!?” Chiffre stops taking notes about Enyo.

“Errr... nothing. Forget what I said.” I don't want to explain it. Too much of a hassle. This could turn into an unnecessarily long discussion.

“No! What's this talk about the multiverse?” Gwalonna doesn't let go of the matter, also having overheard my ramblings.

I sigh. “It's just an obscure theory of mine which I have been harbouring for some time now. I haven’t mentioned it since I have no idea how to prove my suspicions… and if I am right… then we are screwed anyway.”

“Don't talk bullshit and tell us what's going on,” Carne demands.

I tilt my head while thinking about the easiest way to explain. “What exactly is a soul?”

“A quantum energy wave which incidentally acts as an information depository for any being it happens to resonate with – namely us. Souls don't come into existence, they simply are,” Chiffre gives me the ‘out of the book’ answer.

“That's true, but you fell back on the old definition. A soul isn’t only a medium that stores information for a biological body.” I gesture at Enyo. “As I have proven with this little experiment of mine, a soul’s connection to the physical world runs a little deeper than just influencing a few neural pathways.”

I clear my throat. “My theory is that a soul is to the multiverse as an observer would be to a quantum particle. It defines the multiverse through its experience. But, what's the state of a quantum particle which has an observer and a particle which has none?” I fold my hands, expecting them to come to the same conclusion.

“The state of a quantum particle that's observed is defined. One that's not observed is undefined,” Chiffre mumbles. “So without an observer...”

I nod. “So, a soul defines the multiverse by observing it through a physical body, therefore giving it substance. Through the presence of souls, our multiverse is stabilized in its current state. As far as I know, the number of souls throughout the multiverse seems to be finite with an undefined number of souls staying unconnected to a body. But there are always at least some observers.

“My question is, what happens to the multiverse if there aren't enough observers left to define it? The Calamity is forcing all observers into a single being by merging everything into one.” I stretch my back, trying to work out the stiffness. “And therein lies the crux of the Bright One’s curse.”

“The curse!” Chiffre gasps. “You think...”

“I strongly suspect,” I correct, “that the reason why we couldn’t find out anything about the curse that’s supposed to defeat the Calamity is that it isn’t a curse in the traditional sense at all. The Bright One found a way to change the nature of the multiverse. He created a state of existence which is directly opposed to the Calamity’s goal, which is merging all souls into one. The nature of existence itself prevents the Calamity, or anything like it, from achieving a true victory – ever.”

“Esoteric bullshit...” Zanders mumbles to himself. “Do you really want me to believe that someone in the distant past had enough power to ‘change’ the nature of the multiverse? The rules of existence itself? Why didn’t he simply create his perfect Eden?”

I frown. “I don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t possible. Maybe this is his Eden.”

Zanders tries to complain, but I stop him with a raised hand. “Keep in mind, the Bright One’s Eden could be your hell.”

“He could be right,” Chiffre nods. “If he is right, then the Calamity’s goal is impossible. As soon as it achieves its desire, the multiverse destabilizes and resets by its very nature! Warden told us how the Curse worked, but failed to explain the exact 'how'.”

“So, if there aren't enough observers, the multiverse returns to an undefined state? If that’s true, the size of the multiverse should be defined by the number of souls inhabiting it. We should be able to observe some kind of effect as the Calamity reduces the number of observers. Without proof, such a theory stands on very wobbly legs,” Chiffre comments on my theory.

“Why should we see a continuous effect and not a sudden collapse?” I counter. “The multiverse is far more unstable than you think. There are many layers of reality that defy common logic. And maybe the loss of observers is responsible for a rather obvious phenomenon. Like the remnants of the first outbreak of the Calamity.” I wave towards the sky. “Tell them, Warden, were there always Void Zones throughout the multiverse?”

“The Void Zones are a recent phenomenon that started to occur only after the first big fight against the Calamity. The following instances of the Ascended couldn't explain the expanding zones where the natural laws of nature aren't followed. Anyhow, the Void Zones stopped growing when the Calamity was sealed away, or at least the speed of their growth became very slow,” the AI confirms, for some reason not seeing this information as relevant to censor.

“So, the multiverse isn't in its best shape as we see it now?” Miruliru’s voice turns concerned.

“Unfortunately,” Warden affirms.

Seems like they are starting to get the idea. “The Void Zones are just the first sign that the number of observers is becoming too low. I asked myself what the undefined state of the multiverse looks like. Will it go ‘poof’ and everything ceases to be? Or will the multiverse just dissolve into one big Void Zone with strange undefined physical laws? That brings me to the last reason for my theory. The Void Zones are areas that don't follow known rules, yet the space around planets which were placed in these zones is perfectly fine. Why is that?”

“Because there are enough observers there to locally stabilize the space.” Chiffre's voice sounds very convinced now. “So we have to increase the number of observers in order to avoid an unknown outcome.”

“How? They are in the belly of that thing above our heads!” Gwalonna waves at the black hole in the sky above the Crystal City. “The last time I checked, things that go into a black hole don’t come out, unless you have time enough to wait for the end of the multiverse.”

“We have to find a way to take those souls back,” Carne states the obvious.

“I will go back to my society and tell them what's going on. We will try finding possible solutions.” Chiffre disappears without further ado.

I keep contemplating the implications of my theory without finding any answers while the other ambassadors form a circle to discuss this newest revelation. After some time without satisfying results, they start leaving in order to inform their respective societies.

I stay on the plaza, waiting while I watch the blue sunset, having no confidence that their efforts would yield any results.

All of my solutions to the problem would be suboptimal, yet another way to buy time against an unavoidable outcome. The problem is that I dislike bad endings. I despise them.

The only scenario with a good ending that comes to my mind could also be the ultimate bad end. The question is... am I mad enough to throw a coin to decide the fate of the multiverse?

Because there is no way to be certain of the outcome. It would also mean for me having to fight a battle against everyone, on my own, since the others certainly won’t stand for it.

I stand up and walk with leisure towards the private quarters of my family, trying to figure out whether there is any point to increasing Chimera’s war efforts. As I see it, all the crystal fortresses in the multiverse won’t make a difference in the end.

Celes should be done with her work. Surely, I can find her and try to find out how she thinks about this… assuming that her nice side is in control. Currently, I have no desire to take a beating because I acted without telling her about Aengus’ abduction.

Our private quarters are at the top of the central tower. I could easily teleport there, but the small walk gives me time to reach a decision regarding the multiverse’s future.

And it is not an easy one.

I find Celes inside our living room, wincing when I realize that she is taking care of Aengus and Sharid. Both of them are sitting on the big couch to the left side of the room with bedraggled expressions on their faces.

Looks like my little delaying walk took longer than I wanted it to.

When I enter the room, Celes looks in my direction with a furious expression. “Why didn't you tell me!? Aengus was in grave danger and you didn't even give me a notice!”

As expected, not telling her was an affront. I will get some harsh treatment for this, but I didn't want her to risk her life. I am sure she would have charged into the Calamity’s trap and kept fighting despite the odds. “I am sorry, but there wasn't enough time. I had to be as fast as possible.”

Yes! Perfect excuse!

Celes snorts at me and turns back towards Aengus, giving me the cold shoulder. I sigh, realizing that her better half seems to be in control, so I approach and hug my wife from behind. Hmmm, having a last feel before the end is surely nice.

“What else have you been up to? I feel that you are hiding something.” Celes's tail wriggles around me in order to stop me from escaping.

I swear it, the instincts of this woman are too good! “Nothing, my love! I just had to discuss some heavy stuff with the ambassadors of the other powers. It really put a dent into my good mood…” I start explaining my theory to Celes who nods now and then with an unhappy expression.

“So you have any idea how to solve this?” Celes asks.

“More or less. But it's a work in progress.” I grin at her. “As I said, there is no definitive way to be sure.”

“Tell me!” Celes grabs my left earlobe, her fingers like steel as she pulls me down to her level. “You won't pull off a self-sacrifice again? I forbid it!”

“No! Nothing like that, sugar cat. By the way, look what I got back!” I pull Enyo from my left leg where she was holding onto me since earlier.

Up until now, the cat-tail didn't come to Celes's attention, but now that she remembers the one time I actually got to use it on her, her expression turns disgusted.

“Isss it time for sssome action, massster?” Enyo asks expectantly.

“Where did you get that thing from!? I thought you had gotten rid of it by giving it to Sharid! And why can it suddenly talk!?” Celes takes a step backwards, her expression clearly torn between the desire to attack and to run away.

I follow. “You really thought that I would permanently get rid of the only weapon which is effective against you? I thought I would lend it to Aengus for a few years, but he doesn't need it at the moment.”

“I already have a tail!” Celes hisses and turns, trying to flee the scene with me skipping behind her, wriggling toy in hand.

Being the husband surely is the best.