When you die, what part dies last?
The heart? The brain? The eyes?
Some would say, a person's ego would die the very instant they realize their own end. Some would say, a person cannot realize their own end, thus they never die truly.
A remnant is left as a memory, but what remains once the memories are lost?
What is a man to the end that awaits him? Does the end see it the same as man sees it?
When you die, what remains of you? Your memories?
A body? Nothing? Everything? Your presence in time? The atmosphere around people when they remember you and feel you close? The objects you once used and held?
No. Nothing at all like that remains, only the little memory of what was and a missing hole in the land of the living. Nothing remains, everything does, they are two sides of a coin. But, in the end, only a little regret remains, even if it's a little sorrowful. Hope or fearfulness, you never know.
I wonder what may the world be that keeps such sorrowful fates.
—The Third Anarchist
In the stiff atmosphere, the first to speak was Zabulus. "You know... for all the crimes you choose to peruse and persecute under this harsh world, you never considered anything but what affects you, did you?" His questions sounded rhetorical, his tone was almost accusing.
The guards held their weapons tight and aimed, and Uraq prepared to snatch him and throw him away as fast as possible, however he decided to ask, "What could you possibly know about our actions? What is it you wish to say that wasn't clear, criminal?"
He had them in the palms of his hands, there was no going back now. Phantos and Tartaros stood silent as they understood it was 'do or don't'. "Children are constantly exposed to the horrid things of this world, the fumes that exude from a fallen cigarette, the stinginess of a lonesome rain, their parents try to shield them from the horrors of murder and destruction, and to what end? The world around, the people don't consider the consequences when the children wane... Isn't that concerning? How you only choose to think about yourselves and the present situation, what your 'leader' wants and what they say is absolute? And what are you to do if she falls as she did? Falling to my hands like a fool with nothing to back her actions but arrogance... To fall under her own weakness. Shouldn't we be past that? Ignoring the past is not the sole act of making progress, understanding it and building upon it is what creates the future... You could've done that, no, rather, only I can do that. Justice speaks little, but the time you decide to speak is often what ruins it all. Take, for example, the times where a developing world is under the sole influence of power and decision-makers, what results is nothing short of failure. The decisions that were created even after the passing of the heads were many, but nothing came out of it. It was all for naught as the youth gets defiled by the reality that surrounds them." His words were to sway the hearts of their captors, of all those who were there, his conviction shone through his mind and pierced his lips as an iron speech...
"If your conviction is right, then how come you have that hideous smile on your face...?" The words that rose from Uraq's mouth spread doubt, and an ominous air pierced the heart of the men. They held their breath in uncertainty of who this person really is. They thought, 'If he really killed the White Queen, then can we really restrain and banish this man and woman? What is his real motivation?' Doubts upon doubts rise from one question. He's got nothing else, doesn't he?'
"The hideousness of a smile comes from its intent... However! Ah... Such simplicity." He covered his smile with his hands. "Guards, get a grip of reality! Human beings will kill in any world, in any plane. You parahumans are no different, you must think you're special because of a difference in name, but in nature you are far more cruel and barbaric than Humankind!" He flailed his arms in a vain attempt to demonstrate and strengthen his point, while they seemed reluctant to just send him across. It was coming to a point where his plan was going backwards, but he was more invested in making a point than getting sent to that so-called Triandicon.
"Enough!" Said one, "He's a monster! We've got him! Restrain him and send him to the Triandicons as soon as possible! Do not give this vile being the chance to taunt you into freeing him and giving him the mercy of death."
Uraq was not feeling anything anymore, he was swayed, perhaps too easily, but he had the determination to see this whole thing through. It was his duty after all.
Leaving behind a trail of wind in his stead, Uraq appeared behind the man, not faster than he could perceive "Let me take this one back." Uraq reached and snatched him out of his spot.
In the same time, Zabulus thought, 'Tartaros, just let them follow through with my idea, don't be so tense.'
'A-aye aye!' She responded with great unease in her heart, she sighed and put her hands up as if saying, "Take me, boys."
"These two will be taken away from Onkhivol, whether by death or life, they'll be moved."
"Sir, the Triandicon is prepared to shift." A guard reported to his Uraq.
"Thank you, I will see these two off." He began walking at a steady pace towards the chamber, the area of which they described, the 800th room in section 100 on that weird map they carried on a scroll. Their eyes were fixated on the two, waiting for a misstep or sudden movement of any kind, wanting to take the souls of these two villains as fast and concisely as possible.
With every step his feet were moved by the thoughts he had in mind, not a single bit of fear or sorrow for a future full of hate. Only the faint anger he felt toward their arrogance... It burned just a tiny bit more.
Eventually, they were carried through a labyrinth of corridors and chambers, all empty except for 5 guards playing multi-dimensional chess against one another. It was an uncanny sight, since their heads were exposed except for their bare brains. That sight alone caused Tartaros to shudder and Zabulus to grimace a bit.
One moment after another, they were dragged through left, right, right, right, left, a door, straight and left, only the gods knew where they were by this point, and eventually they came face to face with the gate of the Triandicon. The man holding the lever to switch the portal groaned a bit, which was followed up with a small chuckle from Tartaros.
She said, "Do not mind, I just found his haircut funny." One single remark. One simple chuckling fit. It was enough to shift the mood into a more solemn one. The guards pushed them onto a platform that was raised and held in place by three rods, like a throne of metal. They looked at each other, and their eyes showed something unsettling, almost hopeful in them.
"Away! Away!" Legs and shoulders kicked, guards cried as the two were pushed into the vortex, leaving behind no mark nor trace of their existence behind.
…
The maelstrom of time swirled behind and ahead, and when it came to trying to stop and try to get a moment's worth of rest, it took them across both the eras and the continuum, causing an emotional shock that lasted but a second longer than a blink. A sense of deep seeping fear and dread washed over them as they continued to be toyed around with by its unrelenting force, but it finally calmed down and stopped as they fell upon some hard land underneath.
With each a groan of discomfort, and with Zabulus panting profusely as he attempted to catch his breath, Tartaros looked around at her surroundings as if a squirrel suddenly had her mind stolen. "W-waa?" She couldn't see herself, nor where she was standing, no, on where she had to stand or lay on.
Everything felt surreal in the beginning, however they were pulled closer to reality as a man made of mud appeared from a clay pot to their side. His upper body seemed to struggle and fail to form itself as one singularity. "Agh... What the hell, visitors? Damn, are you okay? You look like shit. Good grief." He stepped down and helped the two up to their feet. It was a situation without any worries, yet they both panted a bit, which resulted in a bit of coughing and then clearing their throats.
"Who are you, shitman?!" Tartaros didn't particularly understand what mud or clay was, the thing she first assumed was, for her, the correct assumption.
"How crude, but very well, is calling me Terrosha better for you?" He wore an arrogant and upturned smirk on his face, an expression of sarcasm. They could hardly imagine the notion, but Terrosha explained after seeing a confused expression and a bloodlusted one, "I-I'm the demigod of clay and all things dirt! I-It's normal for a warrior who just suffered through the tunnel of destiny!" He was trying to save himself from any potential cruelty since he was practically powerless with his concept and godhood, but his explanation was quickly followed up by his own self-doubts.
"You don't mean that you're not just a guy that lives wherever this portal leads us to?" Tartaros, with her unknowing and unfamiliar mind couldn't understand his position or how it was connected with her entrance into this grassy-giant-clay-pot land.
"O-oh... You don't seem to understand Miss, I am but a constant across all universes, dimensions, timelines and their Triandicons, just the Triandicons! A-and, you there! With that expression of absolute horror on your face and bloodlust that emanates from you, I-I truly do not mean harm! I am only here because the world wills it—S-see? See? No weapons on me!" He made a motion of 'empying his pockets', even though he had no pockets and there was nothing to put in them, and instead put his clay arms into his clay pot as only his upper body was visible and moveable to the eyes of the both, and his pants below the hips were buried under the pots remains. He attempted to justify himself, and when his efforts seemed futile he considered going against his earlier decision. "O-okay... C-call me whatever. I won't bother you or your friend anymore, I guess... Bye?"
Zabulus shook his head quickly and grabbed ahold of him, and a single squeeze of his hands was sufficient enough to turn Terrosha into an almost unrecognizable mess. Yelling into his face, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" If a scream like that was made it would start at a low, deep, bellowing roar and end with a high pitch eardrum breaking frequency at the 10th second of his anger. Terrosha's face was crumbling all the way through, he couldn't say a thing, not even a scream from his side.
He fainted and let himself just become a mess of muddy form, and Zabulus was catching his breath, Tartaros was startled by his sudden outburst, and she could not dare herself to jump in and interfere, however, looking at Zabulus as he spoke, "I don't feel good... My head is messed up, what is this place, Tartaros? Is this where the Triandicon was supposed to bring us to?!" WE DON'T HAVE A SINGLE CLUE WHERE WE ARE, WE DON'T KNOW HOW FAR AWAY FROM HOME WE ARE! GOD. FUCKING. DAMN IT! What the fuck am I supposed to do..."
He stood thinking of what may or may not be the worst problems that he's dealt with, but no matter how he tried to justify it. This was simply the worst for him.
"I-it's not that b-bad. At least we're alive, r-right?! Just a bit of time and we'll discover something! Aye aye!" Tartaros mustered up some courage and words. She didn't want Zabulus to lose himself just because of this situation. That's what mattered to her at that moment.
Not wanting to wallow in it any more, she decided, after some thought, 'that the mud man there might have some information regarding this situation, surely... I'll have to ask him myself.' Having thought her thoughts, she got up and stepped up towards him. 'He's inside his own pot... do I just... put my finger in and stir it up a little?' She stood holding her hand next to the pot, hesitating for just a second. 'It can't be so bad right?! Besides, he could be our ticket outta here or something!' It wasn't until a full minute after that she had her index finger approaching the surface of the muddy clay. Tentatively dipping it and shaking it about she gradually added another finger, and then, a whole hand. She stirred the man's form up into more and more of a viscous liquid until a bit before his face peeked out of it.
"A-aach... I'll never have you eat me, Red-head-woman! What a nightmare..." He looked about and his head came out of the pot, he then took another second to put his upper body back in while forming his legs like tendrils that supported his torso and his pot. "Oh hey, are you still here? Mm?"
Tartaros stared down at him with her mouth slightly agape, in confusion and surprise, 'Well, damn, your memory isn't that good, is it?.' "Hey, clay-man-god, do you know some information about where we are—I mean, like the name of the place or the nearest large universe or the closest set of deck-pattern-whatever dimension to here?"
He lifted an eyebrow out of pure intrigue. "So, I get the red-haired weirdo, but I didn't think she'd be this stupid! Haha, okay, I'll tell you a little. You're in the non-existent simulation of land within a Triandicons interior, where we reside at this moment doesn't exist as real space, so things could be passing through us and we wouldn't even know since we are existing in a different phase of space-time. But, let me keep it shorter than it should be," He seemed suddenly incited to speak to Tartaros at all, perhaps because he heard her voice, or perhaps because he saw her face and was entranced by her beauty. "And baaaasically, you have to traverse to the very end of the Triandicon, meaning that you'll have to traverse a universe's length or more to get to the end of it—And exit out there to see where it really leads you! All locations go to different locations, some can lead you to real space, the empty void or the dimension beyond where the cosmos meet and join, I couldn't tell you. However, yours should've lead to an artificial universe, something like that." His smug expression was like the gape of one who knew too much and hated others who knew so little, he was just happy to talk to a girl.
She could figure the rest, so all she did was give him a quick 'thank you!' and ran straight to where Zabulus was wallowing about in. "Hey, it ain't that bad... Kinda! We just gotta walk around a little bit of a big distance that's literally existin' nowhere!" She seemed chipper about the news, while Zabulus was only hearing and not understanding half of what he heard. "It'll probably take us a few days to walk but I'm sure ya can go a couple days without starvin'. Come on!"
He wasn't sure why she was so enthusiastic about this whole mess, but he gave his good word and joined her as she moved onward with a plan, or no plans at all.
"In other news," She started, "it turns out we'll be doin' a lot of travelin', it'll take a few days, and a couple of universe's length and somethin'... However Triandicons worked accordin' to that clay-man-god dude." There were no pauses in her words. Zabulus held his head with all four hands and began walking. "We need ta find someone or somethin' that can get us across faster, cuz all I can see ahead of us is.... Besides tha blue sky, there's a buncha differently sized clay pots and... a buncha more grass I suppose. And no trees to boot!"
"You've been speaking too much." His head hurt from just listening to her go, much less all that yelling and screeching at the clay man. "I don't feel good, but if the only cure is to walk a universe's length, then walk I will" He took his hands away from his head and rolled his shoulders and opened his chest widely as the pain began subsiding into the background.
They began walking silently, as silent as someone could be on an uneven clay-like texture, wherever they looked, there was either clay or grass. Clay, grass, dirt and grass, and clay. Above and below, many pots and grass. Maybe some worms and clay, definitely a lot of dirt. Step after step, and the scenery went from blurry, to clearer, and then it was fine and clear again. They covered a distance not unlike the one between the land and the sky. Ahead was a great many sloping pots, with a larger central pot resting at the bottom of the hill. Across every other pathway leading from the hill to anywhere else, a small tent, slightly large and made of nothing but layers of tightly tied grass.
Walking and walking and walking. They covered 0.0000000000001% of what they assumed was the distance in a whole universe, and only then another person made of clay appeared in front of them.