Page 99 of The Enduring Universe
Dissolution destroyed them all, dissolving, distorting, demeaning. A great warping occurred, and everything bent, keeling over, a twisting within circles. An elongation and slowness of sensation—huge shrill sounds, except no sound could scream in such a terrifying way. Nausea and insanity, and Cohesion could no longer fill the gaps with memory. It could not hold form. It could not assemble meaning.
The hive disintegrated in order to save itself, like a tree flinging out seeds in a storm in order to ensure its survival. Tearing and burning, the little minds popped out of the singular existence, floating free from Cohesion, bodies falling limp, minds hurtling through space, meant to be alone, alone, alone.
She was one of the abandoned.
She opened her eyes and screamed.
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PAST LIVES
They took control.
Like a rabid pack of beasts, the past lives rushed into the man’s familiar body, jostling each other to take over in a feeding frenzy. Nidhirv ascended, only for Isanya to creep into the back, arching it, before Askavetra ruffled her shoulders, striding forward. Bhaskar grabbed her hand with his, and the body shuddered as both Agni and Mohini tried to inhabit it. Agni won, and the force of the victory tossed the body through the atmosphere before it steadied. A feral smile grew on their face, the expression cold, then the falcon smashed into Agni, taking over control. The heart still beat, but life in the body was waning, and before the others could do anything, the falcon used the everpower to shave a sliver of possibility from the blade around the body’s neck. Silvery particles rose, and strength returned to the body—Bhaskar crept in while the falcon rejoiced. A blink, and muscles tore as Bhaskar laughed manically, straightening,he had this body now, it was his—
But Askavetra returned, this time with Mohini next to her in a terrible alliance. The two of them snatched at pure possibility—wishingto be alive for one glorious instant, and more possibility diminished.
Deep within his mind, Iravan watched this horror occurring to what had once beenhisbody. On and on they came, wearing him like a cloak, discarding him before the next attacked, all to steal the last slivers of possibility.
Their arrogance to be in control, their self-hate, consumed the blade of everdust. None of them could win, and in the end they all lost, while Iravan remained trapped, his body violated.
They continued on one after another, one being replaced by the other.
He closed his eyes, waiting for it to end, praying for the collapse of reality.
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AHILYA
She was a tendril, caught in the wind.
***
She drifted for eons, swirling away from the heat of the battle.Becoming.
***
She had a body, she knew, but she could not feel it. She was everywhere and nowhere, but then she separated. A deep, terrifying sorrow filled her. A sense of smallness.
Though her eyes were closed, she could see the rupturing of Cohesion like tiny burns in the fabric of a great consciousness, scorching the lives within. Still, she reached for its sentience, despite knowing that to be a part of it now meant pain. She did not care. She did not want to be alone. There had been belonging within Cohesion, a freedom she had craved all her life, a possibility of becoming more than the one person, the one, small, non-architect she had been. Cohesion had shown hereverythingthat she couldbe. She did not want to be away from it. Terror filled her to be so lonely.
, Cohesion whispered, giving her a name, an identity.
She shook her head.No. No, no, no.She did not want to be Ahilya. She wanted to beit.To be named was to become the other.Please no, she wept.
But with the name came meaning, a brief notion like a dream remembered.
Cohesion was breaking apart, but it still recognized her. The combined consciousness returned memory to her, and she saw herself in Nakshar, with a man she had once loved, a man she had once belonged with.
It was a message. She was not alone. Despite Cohesion’s rupturing, she had always had someone else alongside her on this journey, for better or for worse. Someone else witnessing her life. Someone else who knew her, in all her shame and glory.
Like a child seeking comfort, Ahilya searched for him.
Weeping, alone, terrified, she turned, seeking him.
Reality shattered.
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