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【Vision of an Alternate Future】

Arc 2: Return of the Crystal Guardians

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【VAF】Chapter║: 42 ─ Conference of Guardians

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In normal space 22 months had passed since Naole went into the Crystalorb Inter-Dimensional Pocket, but in the Crystalorb Inter-Dimensional Pocket it had been almost 42 years, and in Normal space Crystalorb’s return was 2 months away. The Crystal Guardians of Crystalorb were preparing for the 183rd session of the Guardian Conference also known as the Conference of Guardians. All over Crystalorb Guardians were preparing themselves to participate in another Conference of Guardians.

The Guardian Conference is not a Conference, meeting or convention as the word might imply, but a training or sparring session. Every Guardian is required to participate in a Conference once every 50 years. The Guardian Conference provides the Guardians an opportunity to test their fighting skills against some of the most powerful Crystalans, and an opportunity to learn from some of the most skilled warriors alive.

The elderly, the Guardian Commander, the Deputy Guardian Commander, the members of the Crystalorb General Council and the members of the Crystalorb Council of Elders are by Crystalorb Law Prohibited from participating in the Conference of Guardians. The Guardian Conference included a tournament for Ascended Crystalans known as the Ascended Protocol; designed to help Ascended Crystalans improve their techniques and control.

The tournament for Ascended Crystalans started shortly after Naole left Crystalorb for his years of solitude. The Crystalorb Council of Elders sanctioned the Ascended Protocol to bring more Ascended Crystalans to a level that was comparable to Naole. At the Ascended Protocol Ascended Crystalans face each other one on one without Crystal Armour and in the final round a champion emerges.

Because of the inherent dangers associated with the Ascended Protocol participation is completely voluntary. Champions are obliged to return to the next tournament to defend their title, but in the interim the Ascended Protocol Champion can rightfully claim to be the most powerful Crystalan alive. The overall Conference Champion can rightfully claim to be the most Skilled Crystalan alive.

The proceedings of the Conference of Guardians are no longer kept secret, and every Crystalan is aware of the events. Naole and Aurora had elected not to participate in the Conference of Guardians, but Crystalorb Law compelled them to partake in the upcoming Guardian Conference, and understandably many Ascended Crystalans were eagerly anticipating Naole’s participation in the Ascended Protocol.

For 150 years the now 750 year old Peo Lesedi; Aurora’s teacher had dominated the Ascended Protocol. The mighty Red Guardian had become a legend in his own right, and many expected Naole to challenge Peo for title of Ascended Protocol Champion. Knora Peo had achieved an Unprecedented level of Strength, not even the Green Guardians could rival his power, but it was believed that Naole could be the only one to challenge Peo’s power.

The battle between Peo and Naole was expected to be a clash of the titans, and Peo was excited at the prospect of testing his physical strength against Naole’s incomparable power. 100 years earlier it had been Aurora and Peo at the final, and at the pervious final it was Peo and the then 695 year old Knora Savan Lesedi, but now the contest would be between the four; Savan, Naole, Aurora and Peo.

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With the Conference of Guardians just seven days away 95% of Crystal Guardians were entering the final stretch of their intensive training. For the first time since the first Guardian Conference more than 90% of Guardians and nearly all the active Ascended Crystalans would participate. The 183rd session of the Conference of Guardians would serve as preparation for Crystalorb’s return to Normal Space.

The Conference of Guardians would provide Crystalorb’s Crystal Guardians with adequate mental preparation for the tumultuous return of Crystalorb to Normal Space. The Guardian Conference would take place over seven days, and the Crystal Guardians would put themselves to the limits of their physical capabilities in gruelling armoured and un-armoured activities.

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Savan, Hilan and Peo arrive at Aurora and Naole’s Home to visit Naole; it had been moths since they saw each other as they prepared for the Conference of Guardians.

As Aurora opens the door she smiles at the sight of her father.

Aurora : “ Hi Dad!”

Hilan : “ Hello; I’ve brought with me some friends who are eager to peak in on your preparations.”

Aurora : “ Hello there; Welcome to our home!”

Peo : “ Thanks for having us! You look like you’re in great shape.”

Savan : “ How are you? Are you ready for what’s likely to be the most intense Guardian Conference ever?”

Aurora : “ I hope so!”

Peo : “ Where is Naole?”

Aurora : “ He’s in a prolonged meditative state.”

Hilan : “ Still?”

Savan : “ Why? I know it can help improve focus levels! But then it also consumes a tremendous amount of energy.”

Peo : “ Why engage in such an exhaustive process so close to the start of the Conference of Guardians?”

Aurora : “ Naole doesn’t follow conventional methods. His physiology is different, and as such his training regiment is far more arduous than anything I ever experienced. The past 5 years we’ve been through the most intense training sessions. Never had I known such effort! At the start of every training session we would drain our bodies of 90% of our energies, and then we would engage in an intense sparring session until our remaining energies were depleted.”

Savan : “ Fighting in a depleted state?”

Hilan : “ In a lot of ways it’s more demanding that fighting at maximum power.”

Peo : “ Without the inherent risks to your training partner.”

Savan : “ So that’s how he does it! Darn it; It’s so ingenious!”

Hilan : “ How strong has he become? Do you think he can challenge the powers of an Ascended Red Guardian?”

Aurora : “ To be honest Dad; I don’t know how strong Naole has become. When I’ve fought him he’s always held back some of his strength, but I suspect his physical strength is more than 25% greater than mine.”

Savan : “ What? Energy level is one thing, but physical strength isn’t that different across different types of Chest Crystals.”

Hilan : “ I don’t know? In the past physical strength used to be proportional to power level.”

Peo : “ Crystalans have evolved since then! The gaps in physical strength have been greatly diminished!”

Aurora : “ I’m not sure about that.”

Hilan : “ Perhaps we just haven’t been pushing ourselves hard enough.”

Aurora : “ Ever since I’ve been with Naole my energy level has grown to levels I never even thought possible; I followed him on his quest to expand the limits of his Ascended Crystalan Form and I discovered that my own perceived limits were artificial. I’ve pushed myself to the edge of my limits and beyond; I’ve reached an Unprecedented new Power Level. It may not be enough to defeat an Ascended Red Guardian at your level, but combined with the powers of Guardian Armour I will be able to generate enough power to destroy a Valiant Class Corvette.”

Savan : “ Is this the true purpose of your training? Is Naole planning to do something this radical?”

Peo : “ You’re missing the point.”

Savan : “ What do you mean?”

Peo : “ There’s more going on here than this upcoming Guardian Conference. This is part of Naole’s goal. He thinks we’re going to need to capture a Migon; he thinks we’re going to need to probe their minds to find out what they’re planning. In less than 3 years we go to war with the most powerful force in the Galaxy.”

Just then Bruce and Atola emerge from the meditation Chamber followed by several Velrovians. Both Bruce and Atola had recently been promoted to Group Captain; giving them each command of an Esara Class SkyCruiser. After the appropriate greeting the Velrovians leave, but Bruce and Atola stay a while to speak to the Knoras.

Hilan : “ The Velrovians have really come a long way!”

Atola : “ Yeah! When Naole found them they seemed like primitive apes, but with the original group of Velrovians dead their 10000 strong offspring have really come into their own. The power source Naole built for them has revealed them to highly evolved beings capable of incredible feats of strength.”

Hilan : “ They’re now ready to move to the planet at the edge of Entig Republic Space prepared for them by the Andronians and rebuild their Civilization.”

Bruce : “ Naole says that he can’t come out, but that you can come in.”

Aurora : “ So he didn’t want to say no to me directly.”

Atola : “ Men!”

Aurora : “ Where is he?”

Bruce : “ The origins of power.”

Atola : “ Forgive us; we must head on home, our children will be returning from school soon.”

Bruce and Atola Leave as Savan, Peo, Hilan and Aurora are about to enter the meditation Chamber. As they begin to focus their minds Aurora explains what they’re about to experience.

Aurora : “ As you know Naole runs 7 thought lines; consequently his mind is extremely powerful. Making telepathic contact with Naole is vastly different to any other person; he’s almost always in complete control of the process. There are incomparable depths to him that we may never fully understand. As the Envoy of the Forbidden there’s a doorway buried deep in his soul that leads beyond the Vail; put there by our ancestors. His mind is 7 Realities; 7 parallel levels of consciousness. Each reality is constructed from his memories!”

Hilan : “ So which one are we going into?”

Aurora : “ The one were he is!”

Peo : “ But isn’t his mind 7 parallel Realities?”

Aurora : “ He can shift consciousness levels between Realities such that one level is higher than the others.”

The door opens and they can now see the Hovering Naole in his Ascended Crystalan Form.

Savan : “ It feels like the power level of an Ascended Gold Guardian.”

Peo : “ How long has he been in this state?”

Aurora : “ Four days straight.”

Savan : “ What? That means his core energy must be enormous. When fully powered up he will be capable of tremendous strength.”

Peo : “ It’s not about powering up; it’s about stamina; He can fight you at your level and outlast you.”

Savan : “ Off course! At any moment he can adjust the strength of his blow. That means we’ll have to make sure that he doesn’t land a hit, or it could be over.”

Hilan : “ Ah! But will it be enough? An Ascended Red Guardian all about speed.”

Aurora : “ When we started our training 5 years ago I was about 8% faster than Naole! Last month when we had our final sparing session he’d closed the gap to just 2%; this is despite the fact that I’ve grown stronger and faster. And I don’t even know if that was his true speed! It’s entirely possible that he’s become even faster.”

Savan : “ I didn’t know he could be so fast?”

Peo : “ Your confusing Naole for a green guardian. Naole is part Red Crystalan, and he knows how to fully tap into his Red Crystal power.”

Savan : “ Impressive!”

Peo : “ This tournament is going to be fun! This is the challenge I’ve been looking for! I will finally have a worthy opponent!”

Hilan : “ Is it now?”

Aurora : “ His mind is open; let’s go in!”

They telepathically enter Naole’s mind.

Savan : “ Wow!”

They are amazed by the world generated by Naole’s mind.

Hilan : “ What an extraordinary mind!”

Peo : “ How is he doing all this?”

Aurora : “ Naole’s brain isn’t like the rest of us. He has perfect memory. That means he can suspend his thoughts, and then continue them at a later time. Pause it!” Everything suddenly comes to a stop “This is Level seven; the external layer of Naole’s mind.”

Peo : “ What’s that energy stream?” looking up “Where’s it going?”

Aurora : “ It’s the Crystalorb Network! This is what most will ever learn from Naole’s mind.”

Savan : “ So where is he? I know that you can interact with him!”

Aurora : “ He loves to be dramatic at this level!”

Suddenly the ground begins to rumble as what feels like giant footsteps approaches; then Naole appears as a 25m tall Giant.

Then in a loud Voice he begins to speak.

Naole : “ You are mere flesh, but I – I – I am eternal!”

Aurora : “ Naole?”

Naole : “ Sorry honey! Just having a little fun! It’s a line from an animated TV show from when I was a boy!” The Giant Naole shrinks to normal size “Welcome to the world of my Memories!”

Hilan : “ It must take a lot of concentration to maintain it!”

Naole : “ Not at all! From the moment I was reborn I knew I was different; I function at a level that is hard for normal people to comprehend. The 7 parallel Realities are permanent construct designed to focus my mind, but I can multiply myself within the 7 parallel Realities exponentially.”

Hilan : “ So the 7 parallel Realities are just the baseline?”

Peo : “ Very Interesting! So Naole; you think you can take me now?”

Naole : “ To be honest; you’ve become a lot stronger than I anticipated. I won’t know for sure until I fight you, but I’m pretty confident that you hold a slight advantage.”

Aurora : “ Ah!”

Peo : “ I see! But you’re going to try your best to defeat me anyway?”

Naole : “ I’m compelled to test my strength against yours! In 10 to 20 years the gap between our powers will close, and I will surpass you forever! This is a simple fact of my condition; my physiology.”

Aurora : “ Are you sure?”

Naole : “ I don’t know how certain I can be, but we’ll find out soon enough.”

Peo : “ This should be interesting!”

Savan : “ What? You don’t think I’ll be much of a challenge?”

Naole : “ That’s not what I meant. When I compare my power to Peo’s I find the same proportions that I used to Experience with Casara, and I was never any sort of match for her without crystal Armour. It therefore stands to reason that I would experience the same difficulties.”

Aurora : “ You’re hiding something?”

Naole : “ That’s for me to know.”

Aurora : “ What about his speed? You have a plan to deal with their speed don’t you?”

Naole : “ In my experience the only way to defeat a Red Guardian is to negate their power.”

Hilan : “ How do you know that in 10 to 20 years the gap between your powers will close?”

Savan : “ How could you possibly know that you will surpass him forever?”

Naole : “ To understand this; you’ll have to see the origins of my power.”

Aurora : “ I’m ready!”

Peo : “ Show us!”

Naole : “ Then let’s join hands.”

As they join hands a portal opens and sucks them into another reality.

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