It was dark in the mausoleum; the crypts were barely visible, but Thanatos knew they were there. Their presence is evidence of his failure, the manifestation of his control over the order. Exchanging places with even one of them would have been far better than being amongst the living. The order was crumbling; his own daughter-in-law was rushing towards Dessix in hopes of overthrowing him and ushering in a new era for a dead society; no one even knew this consortium of men and women lurking in the dark shadows of the galaxy’s largest institutions existed. He was not even sure what the order was anymore; his mind grew old and forgetful. His exile on Dessix was driving him insane; the powers he yielded had no more meaning to him without the Power of the Void.

Perhaps, he thought to himself, he should delve more profound within the order of the monks to discover any lost knowledge that he could use to save the order, to battle against Iphis and her forces. If he would prevail over her, he needed to know how to reform the Order into a new age where Izzar would rule uncontested. He needed to get rid of the two most threatening elements in the order, something he could not do unless half the order rebelled against him, causing the Order to collapse and galactic society as they knew it. Even the great Thanatos could not foresee the future.

The green light behind him above the door lit up. Giving the room a strange hue. Thanatos rose from the floor and gestured for the door to open. Ramon stood at the door, waiting to be acknowledged. Thanatos remained silent for a moment, placing his hand on one of the crypts; his darkened eyes grew grey, tears filled deep within. The room around him grew cold, the walls fell away, and he found himself looking down on himself, a ten-year-old boy scared and alone looking back at him. It has been three hundred years since he looked upon that face, that untainted young face. It was still painful, the rigorous training he had to endure at the hands of his father. Everything he knew about the order his own father taught him. The scars on his back were proof of that.

The monks had written the words of the order, not the Ipsimusses, not the grandmasters or the Archons. It was these mysterious men shrouded in mystery, whose faces he had never seen. He thought it was a silly rule; his father would argue it instills respect and keeps the monks in their place.

“I wish to learn from you.” Thanatos finally said in a voice as damaged as his skin, he was reluctant, but he had to lower himself to learn something.

“Your majesty…. I have nothing to teach you.” Ramon was humble; he knew Thanatos was ten times his senior and possessed far more knowledge than he would ever hope to gather.

“As head monk, you are the keeper of the law also, am I correct?”

“Yes, my lord, this is true. But you know the law, even better than I do.”

“Ramon….” The monk was surprised; Thanatos had only uttered his name once in all his life, he never acknowledged the names of those under his employ, not a second time. “I know there are secrets within the order I am not allowed to know, laws that are limited and applicable to the monks only. If I or any of you are to survive the attack to come, we need to rebuild this order; I need to know everything there is. If we don’t make it, it will be up to Izzar to rebuild. Show me every law, I beg you.”

Ramon understood, there were far more laws and knowledge of the order too trivial for Thanatos to need to know. All of it was hidden in a secret part of the citadel, deep underground; it was meant as a vault to preserve the order.

“Very well, my Lord. I need to show you something.” Never looking up at Thanatos, Ramon gestures to the old master to follow him. They passed the main stairwell going down to the living courters through the passage leading away from the crypt. Further ahead, Ramon stopped at a large portrait of Thanatos’s father, Diabolus as he was known, and gestured. The picture moved, revealing a door.

“I was not aware that this was here.”

“It was commissioned by the monks during the construction of the citadel, the kept it hidden from you.”

“Aamor, you sly genius.” Thanatos thought back at his head monk during the construction days of the citadel; he missed that man. He always knew how to bring the order back in line.

They entered the door; it revealed a stairway going down, Aargon gestured once more, and the portrait closed behind them. Lights automatically filled the stairway, making it easy to see where they were going. Thanatos followed carefully, noticing many doors along the way leading to different places around the citadel; he was surprised that for the last one-hundred-fifty years, he had never noticed it.

After what felt like a lifetime, with sore feet and tired legs, they finally reached the very bottom of the stairwell. The air was thick, much warmer than the citadel in general; it was not an area Thanatos was familiar with. Instead, the air felt like they were deep in the labor camps of Ceres, there in hell where the prisoners of the Sol system were sent and forgotten. He had often visited that facility but dreaded it; if not for the enemies he held captive there, he would have never traveled there. Though his last visit to Ceres was decades ago, the memory of that place remained fresh in his mind.

Ramon pushed on a heavy black door, his back seemed strained, but his will was strong. The dust on the floor was thick, almost like a layer of dry sand covering the floor like a carpet. Their footprints disturbed the dust, pushing it into the air, causing both men to cough; Thanatos could not contain his coughs as well as Ramon and could not stop for a while.

Beyond the door, they entered an extensive archive, computers humming and countless racks holding data drives, some looking relatively modern and others ancient. Ramon gestured to Thanatos, he moved between the hordes of storage devices. Many of them were connected to a large computer towering in the middle of the room; millions of tiny green, red, and orange lights flickered from the computer letting everyone know that the machine was still breathing. Thanatos was amazed; he had never imagined something quite like this was right under his nose.

Ramon summoned a hologram screen with strange foreign symbols appearing; with ease, he navigated through the characters and called a projection to a far wall. The projection was maybe four times taller than the two men, and the picture was crystal clear. The scene depicted on the wall Thanatos instinctively recognized. Although he has never thought recordings of that day existed, he always dreamt of being there, seeing the very first gathering that formed the order two thousand years ago.

May 13th, 2498AD…. Somewhere below Rome on planet Earth.

“This war is destroying our world; we can no longer stand by and watch as we tear each other apart.” Said one of the hooded figures around the great fire they have created.

They were in an underground labyrinth, a place difficult to find even for those five hundred presents there. No one knew each other’s names; they were unaware of who they were dealing with. One thing was clear though, every man and woman wielded great power somewhere in the world. Amongst them, a young child, a boy was respected and revered by many around him. He stepped forward towards the fire, silencing the four-hundred-ninety-nine. He was the only one without a hood, and everyone recognized him as the one who invited them there.

“Earth is dying.”

His cold, hard words echoed throughout the labyrinth; worry filled the hearts of those around him. The boy was gifted, a gift many sought, but few possessed. The gift was a curse, the ability to see the unseen, the future of civilizations… the deaths of his family. Yet, he wanted to use his curse as a gift to humanity. There was not a soul on Earth who did not know this boy who named himself Primis Velix.

“You all have been gathered here today for one sole reason: You seek the end to this destructive conflict. Why chose you? You hold great influence in this world, and together all of us can influence the world towards peace… Towards a united people and ultimately towards the skies.”

There was a murmur under the men; the voices softly echoed through the labyrinth. Above them, the walls, the floors, and the roof vibrated heavily as a bomb went off somewhere in the city above.

Pointing to the ceiling, the boy continued: “We are killing each other for the simple reason that we are too crowded, a family of brothers and sisters crammed into the same room trying to make space for ourselves. The only solution is in the heavens. I’ve foreseen that a great exodus will relieve Earth of its wearisome burdens.”

It was a strange revolution to the others, one no one had thought about. To them, the war was because of religion, ideologies, and fear. Though this made sense.

“Russia has perfected a drive that allows for their satellites to ‘skip’ through space. It is an untested technology, but I’ve seen in my dreams they are safe for humans to use.”

“The colonists of Favrea IV?” Asked someone in the shadows. Indeed the four occupying the small ship sent towards Triton vanished, their communications lost and their example now a firewall to humanities leap into outer space.

“They are thriving on an alien world, in the Alpha Centauri system. They are very much alive,”

“How do you know this?” So asked one of the cowards at the back in the shadows.

“Have my visions and dreams been wrong?” They left the question for them to answer themselves. He was right.

“It will be difficult to convince those fanatics to leave their holy lands.” Another said out of turn. A fair point, though to Primis, it was not an issue of concern.

“Ladies and Gentlemen… To what lengths you would go to ensure that not one child, woman, or man lose their lives in a bloody conflict that bears no meaning to the greater good of humanity as a whole? Religion is dying, and the fanatics still holding on to it too. We do not need to care about them; they will wipe themselves out. As for us? We need to unite Earth under one banner, and her destiny must be controlled… that is where we come in. Many secret organizations exist, of which many of you are heads. Having influence over those with power and bending the will of your domains towards your own goals. So I stand here before you know, proposing the birth of a new order where we control earth and lead its destiny.”

The room was silent, the awareness of the kind of individuals present was evident, many were rivals, and they fought wars amongst themselves. Primis was aware of that but did not care; he had one goal in mind. Peace. However, to his surprise, there was agreement amongst those present. They nodded and looked at one another, acknowledging each other as friends and not foes. There was a certain magic in the air bringing solidarity amongst them.

“We agree, a new order would unite us and unite the world. How do you propose we go about this?”

Primis picked up a glowing log from the fire and held it in his hand; with his other hand, he extinguished the glowing coal making it black and solid.

“In the shadows, we go about our business. Coordinated and precise. We leave no trail, no suspicion. Let the people think it was their doing, their achievement. Only we, five-hundred, will rule this new order, and we chose how it conducts its business.”

Some applauded the idea; the prospect of total control intrigued most of them. Primis was proud of his words; he seemed to have complete control of every man and woman with him there.

“What shall we call this new order?” Another asked.

“What do you call yourself?” Asked the boy with apparent amusement in his tone.

“Well I am Fredrick Ipsimus.” He indulged, not realizing Primis was making fun of him. Primis forgot that he was dealing with serious people, where there was no room or time for amusement or jokes.

“Then that is what we will call ourselves… The Order of the Ipsimus.”

There was a peal of low laughter amongst the group; they found it both entertaining and suitable. From all over the room, one member after the other backed the naming. Primis could only smile. The use of a name to identify themselves was redundant, he thought. But nonetheless, if they desire a label, then the Order of the Ipsimus was it.

Now….

The video stopped, Thanatos’s heart raced, his hands clammy, and his eyes tired from not blinking once while watching that meeting. It felt to him that he was there amongst the first five hundred. It was a sight to behold, the formation of the order, so severe yet so casual. He never taught that the first Epsimus had powers such as vision and seeing the future. It makes sense though, it would have been challenging to believe a child united Earth and not some powerful businessman or politician.

“Here in this room… this grand archive of the order, you will find everything you need to know, my lord.”

Thanatos felt his injured leg grow heavy; his cane was not supporting him any longer. If it wasn’t for his leg, his arm would hurt too, making it impossible to move around by applying pressure to the cane. He turned, and he looked around. The high shelves stretched up to the ceiling, data storage devices lined it from head to toe, and there was no room for new devices. Instead, there were all labeled; Thanatos could easily see each storage device's content.

Ramon walked past Thanatos, still keeping his head down being careful not to look at Thanatos. Examining the shelves' content closest to them, it seemed like he was looking for something, but finding it, he moved along the shelf, looking from top to bottom. Finally, after a while, it seemed like he found what he was looking for and handed it to Thanatos.

“This, my Lord, is the complete document of every law and custom of the order. The video you just saw is one of over a trillion records we keep in this vault for the very purpose of rebuilding the order if it ever collapsed. If there are any questions you desire answered, I will find the video, and it will answer your question in detail.”

Thanatos looked at the storage device in his hand, no bigger than a cup he uses to drink his morning mana mix. It had everything he had asked for, yet the room around him contained so much more than he ever wished to know. One question burned within his being, one that he has wondered about for decades: Has anyone in the order ever had knowledge of The Void?

“Have you studied all these records?” He asked out of curiosity, hoping the answer would be yes.

“No single monk knows every record, my lord. Everyone is tasked with learning a section; it is divided by level of importance. Such has been the ways of the monks since the beginning.”

Disheartened, the old man looks down at the storage device once again. He had to take a chance; not even the monks knew what he was doing on Dessix; it was a perfect time to reveal the purpose of the order’s presence in this far backward world.

“I am searching for knowledge on a mythical power, one I’ve learned originated from this planet.” Thanatos was careful not to reveal too much at once; he did not want Ramon to evade the question. He was in the monk’s domain now; here, he thought, he had no power over them. No demands could be made.

“I have come to learn the name of this power is called The Void. Have you ever heard of it within your archives?”

The monk looked at Thanatos with apprehension. Indeed he did not know of this power or the existence of any true mythical powers. It has been centuries since the last fortune-tellers and magicians; those practices have disappeared from the imagination of mankind. He walked towards the central computer, bringing up a console pressing and swiping symbols Thanatos had never seen. Quickly the monk typed, repeatedly, trying every possible keyword he could imagine. But as Thanatos feared, there was nothing. Ramon couldn’t find anything.

“Do you have any data on this world before our arrival?”

Once again, Ramon typed vigorously, not stopping until… the screen popped up and information on the infamously lost travels that crashed on this world came up. However, the world was not called Dessix back then; it was called Void’s End. A strange name for a planet, Thanatos thought to himself, but it has so much more meaning than it being at the end of known space at the time.

Scanning through the data, Thanatos realized that the order sent an expedition to the planet about two hundred years before he landed, though the data submitted was primarily incomplete. They reported on strange inhabitants of the southern hemisphere, though Thanatos only met the colonists and never ventured deeper into the forest than visible range to the citadel. The report further elaborated on how these inhabitants were possessed; some of the expedition crew were influenced by these inhabitants to do various tasks. However, when their influence lifted, the team could not recall them being under the control of any sort.

There was mention of it, the sheer power he sought. This mass mind-control technique he must learn. If not for himself, then for Izzar. After all, he was leaving the boy to rule in his place, and he was afraid it would be unprepared. He scanned for more information but couldn’t find anything useful; the expedition did not last for too long.

“Was this the information you were looking for, my lord?”

Ramon’s words echoed in the room, unbelonging to this solitude of knowledge.

“Do we know anything more about these inhabitants in the Southern Hemisphere?” Thanatos ignored his question; his mind had been set on a task unknown to Ramon, questions flared up within him, but he knew better than to question Thanatos.

“Dessix has remained mostly uncharted due to its tough terrain to navigate through. As a result, many of the DG units were sent out, but very few returned.”

His mind wandered to his individual unit sent out days ago to place the stone in the wilderness for the children to find; he has not heard of it or received any kind of signal that the little robot succeeded in its task. He would be replaced by another thought, they were plenty in the citadel, and they could be imported from nearby systems within weeks to be replaced. They were cheap, fast, and very hard-working robots. Their Artificial Intelligence software was heavily outdated and sometimes formed disobedient traits that caused them to be scrapped. It was more expensive getting a well-trained programmer from off-world to fix the software than to buy a new one and replace it.

“Ramon…” There it was a third time in his life that Thanatos addressed him by his name. “I would have expected this world to have been surveyed years ago; there is no time now.”

“My lord, the inhabitants the report speaks of do not exist anymore; they have been wiped out even before we landed here. It seems like the colonists had driven them to extinction; surely we would have seen one of them by now.”

“Indeed.” Thanatos was annoyed, but thinking about Nivshevus, he grew even angrier. Surely the shadow in the void knew about this and failed to tell him. He realized there were many things Nevshivis wasn’t telling him, and he began to wonder if he indeed had to wait until the completion of Izzar’s training to gain this power.

“Ramon….” A fourth time. His attention was drawn to him even though he couldn’t look directly at Thanatos.

“I want you to take off your cape and look at me.”

Ramon was surprised at this request; not once in his sixty years under Thanatos has he ever taken his hood down in his presence; he hasn’t even looked at his feet. Finally, very reluctantly, he removed his hood and lifted his head. Before Thanatos stood a man stern in his features, his face shaped like a god, his skin dark scarred with red tattoo markings, his eyes were a bright blue, shimmering like the sun under clear water. To Ramon, he finally saw his master in all his glory, the sadness in his face, his darkened eyes piercing through his soul. The bones of his cheeks were shallow and seemed as if they were going to break skin soon. He was a corps walking with a cane; there was no other way he could explain it. The legends told of Thanatos depicted him as a strong man, with flesh on his bones and a will to fight the odds against him. Instead, what he saw was a defeated old man that was supposed to be buried decades ago. Thanatos was aware of Ramon’s shock; he ignored it, though.

“I have been in contact with an entity here on Dessix. One promising me power.”

Now his head monk knew the secret was out, but he needed help. The only man able to do so was Ramon. The order of the monks was now required to do their ancient duty of protecting the order.