079 - Resonance

"You can't follow them in, can you?"

A tired voice echoed through the city streets causing Kujata to stare up with amazement. High above on a silver lined cloud sat a pale faced man all clothed in silver.

"Who are you? You are . . human?" Kujata drew back every thread of Vigour into herself forming a towering needle of threaded red strands.

"Why did you let them find the boy?" The man didn't sound like he was asking a question at all, without waiting for any sort of response he sighed and said;

"Ah, it's true, it's true - I remember, Celestials cannot enter into each others totems, can they now? Nevertheless . . it was a mistake to let them in."

Kujata's face flushed with anger, shouting back "It was not my bloody intention! I . . I tried to stop them . ."

"Tried? I dissolved their markings and anchors, hid your tracks . . you could have done more, Celestial, you could have used the soul formations, could have sacrificed a few of your devoured . ."

"Shut up! Who the blazes are you? You think I don't know I could have sacrificed my people? . . you think I wanted to . ."

"Ah, right, right! You only came up out of the ground when the Alchemist killed your devoured, ah hahaha!" The man in silver clapped his hands, his tone mocking. "Those poor souls . . what are they do to except dash themselves upon the rock of Gnosis?"

"You . . you . ." Kujatas face turned purple from anger, her venomous gaze focused on the man and his cloud. After a long moment she blinked, her expression softening. There was something about this man, something that she could not place.

She tapped the ground with her foot, the city streets around her began to dissolve, all flowing in a river of bricks and buildings along the ground - as if the world had been made a giant carpet and was rolling up from all directions, Kujata at the very center.

"What is going on? The gold pillar of light, what is it? Gnosis - what is happening to Magnus? What is Gnosis? Who are you? Why are you helping us?"

"Ha ah aha ha, question after question ah . . what is going on? Why, Celestial - it is Gnosis! Have you no measure of the Above? The Below? Well, your little friend does! As for myself . . if I were to tell you I am but a humble poet would you believe me?"

. . a poet? His face . . that silver suit . .

Within Kujata's mind it felt like a rusted iron cog suddenly came to life, turning and churning up her insides all at once. His suit, his face . . a poet . . the poet!

"Orpheus!" Kujata exclaimed, her features frozen in terror.

"Relax little one, so you remember . . it has been a while. Ah ha." Orpheus laughed mirthlessly. "Ten thousand years, give or take. Oh how times change . . how life becomes full of regrets, does it not?"

Above the misty forest the golden pillar of light dimmed in intensity, falling in on itself. The mist of between the trees continued to move frantically, rolling ever inwards, collecting in a thick mass of impenetrable white.

"Look," Orpheus flew down to ground level next to Kujata. "All we can do is look. With any luck this Gnosis might . . . might change El's mind, who knows?"

***

All in all, the mist and the forest could not have had a diameter larger than a league, the golden pillar emanating from its center. Pontius found himself panting, beads of sweat cascading from his brow. Behind him followed the six others, Dong-Geun and Sung Hu lagging some way behind.

Dong-Geun's leg had recovered its previous shape, but he was unable to put any weight on it, only wince in pain and hobble along with Sung Hu supporting him. The white mist clung to their clothes and skin, a heavy humid air that seemed to stick to the inside of their throats and nostrils making it all the harder to breath.

To breath! In the Ether! In a spirit body . . Pontius felt the thrum of blood beneath his skin, felt the rough contact with his red robe - as soon as they had stepped into the forest they it was as if they had entered into another world. Impossible, impossible - there were too many things that seemed entirely impossible today.

They were deep within the woods, the ground a tangle of roots and leaves. Above and around - everywhere, the white mist, churning and moving constantly by a invisible breeze, the leaves and branches of the canopy around rustling and creaking.

Ahead of them there was a light - a distant flickering golden flame between the tree trunks that beckoned them deeper . . Pontius urged himself onwards, quieting the voice in his head telling him to turn back.

"Magister . . is this still the Ether?" Domitia gave voice to Pontius doubts, her face and body stained with patches of sweat.

Pontius fumbled, picking through his inner pockets. Empty. He knew that he had a vial of Antipode in his innermost pocket . . and it should still be in the pocket of his robe on his real body on the revolving tower. So, this wasn't his real body? Not his real robe?

Pontius dug his nails into the flesh of his arm leaving a deep imprint. A bruise! As soon as they entered into the forest something beyond strange, beyond his comprehension . .

"Set an anchor, a marking glyph!" Pontius frowned casting his gaze up at the thick canopy of leaves and mist. "We must have advanced to near the middle of this place!"

Domitia and Valerius both sent out distinct glyphs onto the nearby trees and forest floor. The glyphs shone, imprinting themselves at once onto the surface.

"It works! Magister, we're anchored, and marked!"

"Good! Baqir, read our marking, give us a planet, a star system!"

Baqir intoned a low throaty hum, the Alchemical mark vibrating and expanding around them. Where the marking lay was a golden light and a red light, right near them a cluster of white, yellow, and blue lights. The lights grew smaller, zooming out to reveal the greater location within all the other lights . . other lights . . there were no other lights.

The pin prick of gold was now tiny, a minuscule dot of light in the middle of nothing. No life, no other lights - no greater place in the universe. The Mithraic Seer fell silent, the mark returning to its shimmering blue outline.

This had to be the source! Everything they had seen up till now, the interference in the body of the Goddess, the many lights . . the Celestials had to be hiding something! Pontius wiped the sweat from his brow, determinedly striding forward towards the gold light.

***