[url=https://youtu.be/l3sJ79C1Zyo?si=Ps7v3Nqoki-Zgcfv][center][h1]An Ending[/h1][/center][/url]

The atmosphere in front of that Orb of Darkness was sombre enough to silence even Vestec. Two divine beings had fallen victim to the Orb, one had been obliterated before their very eyes, and two more were forever trapped within the device in his hands. It wasn't that Vestec felt any sympathy for them, but that he knew this chapter was closing and that things would be Changed.

It was in this state, inspecting the Tomb Weaver and quietly reflecting on recent events, that Teknall found Vestec.

Teknall appeared with the wreck of Goliath over his shoulder, missing a few limbs and partially melted. Teknall himself was lightly singed and covered in soot, except for some damp streaks on his face.

Vestec looked Teknall up and down and asked, "What happened to you?"

[colour=Peru]"I burned out the power couples in my Workshop when I pulled this stunt,"[/colour] Teknall explained, motioning to Goliath. He released the Avatar, letting it float in the void, then brushed a tuft of fire foam off his shoulder as he stared at the vast Orb.

Vestec wrapped a genial arm around Teknall’s shoulder and said, "Cheer up, Tekky! Xos is gone, you no longer need to worry about Logos, Galbar is safe, and Toun went on his own terms. Plus, you got Murmur nice and good."

Teknall glared daggers at Vestec, but eventually sighed and said, [colour=Peru]"A pyrrhic victory, then."[/colour] He glanced over and gestured towards the Tomb Weaver. [colour=Peru]"May I?"[/colour]

Vestec shrugged and passed it over. Its shifting facets gleamed alternating white and black, subtly thrumming with constrained power. Teknall closed his eyes and wrapped his flesh hand around it. He took a deep breath, and a tear welled up in his real eye. [colour=Peru]"I can feel him, alive,"[/colour] he whispered.

"Well, duh, that was the whole point," Vestec said.

[colour=Peru]"I know, I know, it's just different to… feel it. I too was like this not long ago, my whole essence contained to a single device. But Toun feels healthier than I was."[/colour] Teknall ran a finger along the length of the needle. [colour=Peru]"I'm here, Toun. I'll look after your legacy, as best I am able."[/colour] Teknall waved the Tomb Weaver in Vestec’s general direction. [colour=Peru]"That includes keeping Vestec from messing it up too bad."[/colour]

"Aw, don't you trust me to take care of Toun’s stuff? I promised I would," Vestec pouted.

[colour=Peru]"You'll ‘take care’ of it, alright, but you can have some strange ideas of what ‘caring’ means. Besides, someone's got to keep you in check with Logos gone."[/colour] Teknall sighed and tossed the Tomb Weaver back to Vestec. [colour=Peru]"Well, I suppose you should go fulfil your oath and I'll go fix… did you feel that?"[/colour]

"Feel what?"

[colour=Peru]"The Orb. There was a shift…"[/colour] Teknall’s morose demeanour was suddenly replaced with bright, calculating interest. He pulled a dark glass tablet from his apron pocket and tapped it a few times. [colour=Peru]"It's not just now. My satellites have been measuring a growing gravitational anomaly since… shortly after Aihtiraq fell in with the Spark."[/colour]

Vestec turned to face the Orb and peered at it quizzically. "Huh, now that you mention it, I do sense… [i]something[/i] changing. It's like when, oh, from before the beginning."

[colour=Peru]"Is that so?"[/colour] Teknall's eyes darted over the tablet. [colour=Peru]"Vestec, cover your eyes."[/colour]

"Huh, wh-"

The Hyperspatial Barrier wrapped the pair in a thick blue bubble.

Then everything exploded.

An incomparable light filled everything, dazzling and deafening, mighty enough to feel solid. Time had no meaning in that brightness, yet it eventually dimmed enough, or perhaps their bubble had been hurled far enough away, that perception once more became possible.

And what they saw was a thing of wonder.

Gone was the Orb of Darkness. In its place was an orb of solid light. Yet once the eye accustomed to it, ripples of incalculable depth surged beneath the surface.

"Well, that's a sight!" Vestec exclaimed as the Hyperspatial Barrier peeled away.

[colour=Peru]"Indeed it is."[/colour] Teknall glanced down at his tablet, and his face lifted in epiphany. [colour=Peru]"Of course! By imposing twin entropy gradients on a nested-genus surface, they enucleated a false vacuum transition beyond the horizon."[/colour]

"...What?"

[colour=Peru]"Combining the latent power of the Spark, the physical order of Logos, the catalytic potential of Aihtiraq, and the empty space of the Orb created a new universe!"[/colour]

Vestec laughed. "You don't see that every day. So, a whole new universe, huh?"

[colour=Peru]"Yes. A self-contained bubble leading to a whole new world. It'll take a while to get detailed measurements, but the possibilities…"[/colour]

Teknall reached out and touched the Tomb Weaver. [colour=Peru]"Toun, there's been a development out here. Logos and Aihtiraq… they didn’t disappear, they created a new universe within the Orb. They might, possibly, be alive in there, in some form."[/colour] The needle was impassive. [colour=Peru]"Uh, just thought you'd like to know."[/colour]

Vestec giggled. "You going to keep talking to an inanimate object?"

[colour=Peru]"Hey! Prayer is a powerful thing."[/colour]

Vestec elbowed Teknall in the ribs. "I'm just teasing. So, what are we going to do about that?" Vestec asked, gesturing towards the illuminant Orb hanging in the void like a second sun.

[colour=Peru]"Its oblique orbit should keep it out of Galbar's path for the foreseeable future, and the light should dim in not too long, so it's no hazard. I'll redirect the Prometheans to study it. Maybe even replicate it, provided Fate doesn't have other plans."[/colour]

"Oo, dreaming big now, are we?"

[colour=Peru]"Got to have some long term goals. And they don't get much loftier than multiversal engineering. What about you? What are your plans now?"[/colour]

Vestec giggled, "If I went about making plans, I wouldn't be very chaotic, now would I?"

Teknall rolled his eyes. [colour=Peru]"Well, I've got lots to tidy up. Need to fix Goliath and my Workshop. Deal with the remnants of Xos’ elementals. Check up on Yorum. Ensure Cornerstone is stable. Probably want to make sure Logos’ place is fine, too. Plus all my regular business."[/colour]

"Is anything regular anymore?"

[colour=Peru]"Heh, was anything ever regular? Things have changed. People have been lost. We have scars that won't heal."[/colour]

Teknall looked at the illuminant Orb, a blank canvas with limitless potential. And he looked down at the blue marble which was Galbar, a beautiful patchwork of creations and treasured history which was still alive and growing.

[colour=Peru]"But we'll make the best of it, as we always have."[/colour]

[hider=...and a new beginning]
Teknall and Vestec debrief after the battle with Xos. Teknall is in mourning, while Vestec is impassive.

It is revealed that Goliath is damaged but can be repaired.

The power of Toun and Xos within the Tomb Weaver is detectable. Teknall tries speaking to Toun, although two-way communication is not possible.

In a dramatic turn of events, the Orb of Darkness explodes and becomes an illuminant Orb containing a new universe. The Order of Logos, Change of Zephyrion-Aihtiraq, and the limitless power of the Spark combined in the void to seed a new universe. This Orb is in an eccentric orbit in Galbar’s solar system. Detailed properties are presently unknown.

Teknall makes many plans, from bringing in the Prometheans to drive a multiversal engineering project, to becoming the caretaker of Toun’s projects on Galbar.

Vestec is coy about any plans he might have, as usual.

Things have changed, but the world carries on.
[/hider]