Chapter 12

So effiencent yet so very, very inept. A fitting description for The Fallen Council. Four of the most ruthless, powerful, and deviant men to ever set foot on Khazan. Four men who, despite the occassional setback, have put aside their differences and goals to strive for some sort of shared dominance over all of reality. Four men who, while being feared in the hearts of most living beings on this planet, have never truly come close to succeeding. Not even their infamous forefather, the very Avatar of the Void, Quietus, has done little more than the average mass murderer despite his illustrous title.

So what is it about these men that still strikes fear into the people of Khazan? After their failed attempts, would they not become a joke? Scare me once, shame on you. Scare me twice, shame on me? Or is this fear driven by some sort of universal precognition inherent in everyone's mind? Do we KNOW that these men WILL succeed, and that it is merely a matter of time before they do? Or are we just fools to believe they are capable of doing that which should be impossible?

Or perhaps we simply enjoy that feeling of impending doom, for it gives us a reason to live for the moment.

---------- "My, my, Devyn, we had quite the catastrophe..." Marc Dollar quips as he stamd before the Fallen Dancer.

News of Devyn's encounter with presidential candidate Ryoko Pharis and his wife/running mate Elwin D'Larthi-Pharis reached the ears of the Fallen Council within moments of its finale. Oh... how the Council was shocked-- almost appaled-- by Devyn's momentary hesitation and eventual retreat due to some sort of lingering respect for his prey.

Of course, it isn't general knowledge that Devyn and Ryoko have a history dating back many years, even among the highest eschelons of The Fallen's hiearchy, but even if a former friendship was known, the Council's curiosity about Devyn's actions would still be piqued. Why would a man renown for his merciless demeanor, even towards his so-called allies among the Fallen, still retain glimmers of compassion and honor?

This anomaly of behavior sparked immediate action by the other member of the Council. Devyn is to be called before the Council members, one by one, to be... querried about his peculiar decision.

"Catastrophe?" Devyn asks as he sits in a leather chair across from Dollar, the only thing between them being Dollar's desk. He props one foot up on Dollar's desk then crosses the other over it and leans back. "In what way? What was lost in my encounter with the Pharis couple?"

Dollar takes his seat and lets his gaze settle upon Devyn. "To allow the weak to survive, to bless upon them compassion and the ability to sustain life, only furthers society down the path of ultimate desecration. The weak only beget more of the same, leading to de-evolution on the part of society. The weak and worthless of the world cannot produce that which the strong and worthwhile are capable of producing. Why bother protecting the weak when with their passing, that means one less weak link in the grand social picture. When something is polluted, the way modern society is with the filth and refuse of the lower class and other unproductive dredges, the wisest action is to remove the pollutant, is it not? As we all know, the politics of a certain Ryoko Pharis, while not entirely liberal, are certainly far from complying with this viewpoint. Support for the less fortunate, handing out aid expecting nothing in return. They consume all and return nothing in exchange. You of all people should understand this, Devyn. I've known about you and your family for years. Your family had the means to give you anything you desied without you ever having to lift a finger. Yet you refused, considering it below yourself to sit about having people wait on you. Only the feeble of heart need depend upon others for their well-being. Your father told me about your attitides towards work, how you were different from the other children of the aristocratic elite of the world. Oh, you still saw yourself as being above those who had not what you had, but you still refused to take the easy route in life. Now if everyone had that ethic, Devyn, that drive toward perfection that you and I have, would the world not be a better place? Would the world not be better if the world was purged of those who had no means to contribute to the overall good of existence? That is what my corporation is founded upon, the building of such a structure, a corporation to benefit all of existence and strengthen it. That is why I have no need for the likes that Ryoko Pharis and Elwin D'Larthi wish to defend. And in your actions that night, you only helped perpeptuate this cycle of consumption and exhaustion. Do you not see why we at the Council find you actions catastrophic now, Devyn?"

"You daughter is quite beautiful." Devyn says as he tugs on his jacket sleeve slightly. "She's grown from a fine young lady in our school days to a marvelous woman. Do you care for her, Mr. Dollar?"

Dollar certainly sees where Devyn is going with this, and doesn't appreciated it in the least. "Quite clever of you, Devyn. I'll admit, I have had my own relapses into weakness. I am not a perfect man, and you are not either. Yet in my weakness, I took in a young child, raw material, and made that unsculpted mass of flesh into a productive member of my company. The fact that I care for her merely gives more reason for her to be productive. The ones that Ryoko and Elwin wish to aid... they are beyond help. Grown men and women, begging for handouts so that they can survive a meager existence day to day. There is no potential in such an unrefined shell. They have passed the point where anything practical can be taught and instilled. They are wasted comodities and should be disposed of to make way for those that are of worth."

Devyn glances about the room. He knows what he's looking for. He stands up and walks toward a painting on the wall-- one that Kyoko had made as a gift for Marc Dollar shortly after their arrival in Khazan. "And to think this was painted by such a 'wasted comodity' that was able to be 'recycled' into something worthwhile."

"An exception to the rule, Devyn. She had her powers bestowed upon her in the very method I speak against. She was given her powers, she did not work for them. She's a mere puppet in the master plan of your unseen and unheard 'master' that managed to become worthwhile out of chance. She proves nothing."

"So you would prefer to allow the acceptions to the rule be destroyed along with those that follow the rules? Punishment by association? I'm sorry, but unfortunately I do not agree with you, Mr. Dollar. I like to take chances rather than go with predictability. Your streamlined and sanitized world may have asthetic appeal, but lacks even the bliss of Oblivion." Devyn turns and starts to walk towards the door leaving Marc Dollar's office. "By the way," Devyn says as he reaches for the doorknob, "Send Ms. Dollar my regards. I have the feeling I may be free in the future to meet her and catch up on old times. I do enjoy keeping tabs on my old school friends."

"I'm sure she would be enchanted. She saw you as one of her few male equals in those days."

Devyn smiles slightly and exits from Dollar's office. Dollar sits in silence for a few minutes. His emotions a conglomeration of frustration, hatred, and satisfaction.

"Perhaps he isn't a threat after all." Dollar thinks to himself. "His own compassion will consume him. The seed is planted, there is nothing he can do about it than dance his ridiculous endless dance." Dollar resumed his buisness, satisfied with the prediction.

---------- Devyn has never entered the halls of the Fallen Tower that the man known only as The Chronomancer lays claim to before today. The glare upon entering almost blinds Devyn, as the lights from innumerable televisions beam out from the walls. Each screen depicts Devyn's every movement, as if every screen is hooked up to a camera fixed upon him as he walks down the corridor. Then, something disturbing happens. Out of the corner of Devyn's eye, one screen breaks the pattern. The Devyn on this particular screen is still walking down the corridor, yet his suit is of the wrong color-- brown instead of black. Devyn would have dismissed this as a simple problem in the color of the screen were it not for the oddly calming eyes that peer at him from the screen next to him. He wasn't frightened by the fact that, like in every other screen, his own image peers straight into his eyes, but that the eyes that looked back are the eyes of a woman. She almost looks like his sister Lynne, except something about her-- her facial expressions almost mirror those of himself.

"Do you enjoy seeing all of the facets of reality, Devyn?" a voice echos, piercing the droning hum of the televisions. "Every possibility and timeline possible is at my fingertips. I prefer to keep a tab on those that I find particularly important to the reality of Khazan itself. I have dimentional cameras aligned all throughout Khazan, every one can pierce the veil that is time and perceive every reality. It's just a matter of my preference which one I choose to view-- which fabric I wish to make truly real."

Devyn looks down the hallway to where the voice was coming from, seeing The Chronomancer, dressed in his Victorian garb like some kind of Wellesian idol, starring into a particular television.

"Pardon me if I prefer to look at you through my camera's image. Only it can provide me an unbiased look on reality."

Devyn, no longer intruiged by his feminine counterpart, begins to make his way toward the time lord, doing his best to not pay any heed to the multitude of possibilities about him flashing in translucent destiny.

"Do you believe in destiny, Mr. Soyokaze?"

"Only to the extent that I can manipulate it."

"By that reasoning one would expect me to believe in destiny. But I have little faith in the human ability to perceive truth, especially ultimate truth. Look at my devices. This is my very being. This IS me. Humanity can only find its true purpose with the aid of that which is fully objective. Flesh and blood knows nothing of true objectivity, for they only know what they wish to know. The flesh, being sensitive to danger, only wishes to sense that which is beneficial to its existence. Due to its displeasue for that which brings no pleasure, the flesh willingly shuts out half of the world. The negative side of existence is rarely perceived by humanity. But I, like others that share my idealology, bring ourselves to the makeshift altar of technology, in the hopes that ultimate truth can be sought."

"Well said, Sir, but what does this have to do with our current debate? I did not come here to hear you spout philosophy, although I do find it interesting in the least."

"What I would have come back to, Mr. Soyokaze, is that you allow yourself, despite your own delving into the negative side of existence, to occassionally... slip back into this primal mode of thinking that is so very much beneath you. You had the opportunity, in your dispassioned release from the temporal limitations I described, to change the course of history. When you have access to the fabrics of time, one sees things they are best off not knowing. I know the possible... no... the near inevitable future of Khazan. I know your near inevitable future, Mr. Soyokaze. The very damnation of Khazan lies in the belly of the Magi woman, and its salvation lies in the vanquishing of the unborn's life! Destiny's very fate was within your grasp, and in a moment of degeneration into the mortal condition of compassion, you allowed destiny to continue down the path obviously traveled. Of course, you knew not of this at the time, but you still left your obsidian state of mind and let yourself see the doubt of mortal men."

Devyn smiles and clears his throat before quoting from some long-forgotten poem.

Oh! To become caducous
Descending to find life
If that be the only way

"Sometimes, Sir, to understand reality is to understand the human condition. I merely wish to send humanity into the bliss of oblivion, where it can rest and be at peace with its absolute nature. I do not desire the sanitized conditions of your dream. Play with time all you will, for your own demise may come as that which does not wish to be purged of natural impuities purges a certain unnatural impurity I stand before now."

"Impurity? Hah! I exist within the universe's very stream of time without contradicting any natural law. If I were such an anomaly, would I not have been purged already? My studies are quite compliant with the objective law of reality. I am not the one here that finds their nature scattered about the cosmos, as yours is. You examined my screens, did you not? Although many were similar, you found that you are not a consistent individual across time. It may be as minor as a change of clothing at a different time or something as shocking as a change of gender. Yes, Khazan is the nexus of all realities, but that doesn't include every possibility present in existence. I can view all of those possibilities. On this screen is what's happening if it were the Devyn that didn't make fun of his sister's musical tastes were here right now. Nothing different save for a Devyn that is more willing to smile and appear jovial. And let's go back to the feminine Devyn that intruiged you so much a few moments ago. Her name is Devyn as well. In fact, the only detail besides differing DNA between the two of you is the fact that her middle name is Nichola, rather than Nicholas. Same destiny, same desires, same relationship with her sister. Utterly fascinating that two realities could dispense two strikingly simmilar creatures. Of course, it is you that ended up in Khazan, and the feminine Devyn lives on in her reality. Only one extention of a being can exist in Khazan at one time. But that doesn't keep one like me from seeing the possibilities. If one extention of the being finds its way to Khazan, they all come eventually. That is what I do, view all of the inevitabilities present in existence. Khazan is the only predictable constant in existence, and to be able to even have the slightest chance to change that pattern is a great honor. It is one's duty to thwart that pattern of reality at every possibility, for that is the path toward true paradise in existence."

Devyn simply continues to stare at the image of his female counterpart, while the counterpart stares back. "I almost wished I was that beautiful." The counterpart can be seen mouthing something similar, with the "beautiful" replaced with "hansome."

"Are you going out of your way to prove me right, Mr. Soyokaze?"

"I heard every word you said, Sir, but I care not. I seek peace not to escape from being human, but to revel in my humanity." The counterpart's mouth moves in perfect synch with Devyn's as they continue to examine each other. "I am a child of the Void, I do not deny that. But I will not stand idly by as I watch my humanity be desecrated by ungrateful predators that feed upon that which gives them life. Even Mr. Dollar and his butchering of Darwin feeds upon that which gives him life. I merely seek to return to that which gave me life, and give it life in exchange." The counterpart tilts her head slightly in one direction, the first time she has gone against Devyn's movements. Devyn smiles at the screen and turns away, facing The Chronomancer.

"You like what you see, don't you Mr. Soyokaze? I like what I see as well. Your possibilities are all coming into bloom, and soon the game will be over. Reality needs to be tampered with, to achieve perfection. Your passive destruction only stagnates in the flow of time. Now leave, before you fall further into temporal narcissism. It sickens me."

Devyn starts to give a slight laugh as he turns his back on The Chronomancer, and his laughter escalates to fullblown hysteria as he approaches the door. His laugher can be heard even after the door to the Chronomancer's halls of time is closed, echoing Devyn's own destiny.

---------- Devyn stands atop the Fallen Tower, letting the brisk winds run through his hair as he gazes off into the starless sky. He slowly steps towards the side of the roof, and glances over the edge. The tower is currently floating over one of the major seas on Khazan. Which one, Devyn doesn't know nor does he care. Land is not visible from the Tower's current place over the sea, and if one were to fall from here into the ocean, if they were to survive, no one would ever find them before one of the numerous creatures that dwelled in the seas found them and decided to bring them into the food cycle. The thought ammuses Devyn as he has entertained the thought of leaping off in such a situation many a time. But not tonight. No... his time will come soon enough, but he still has his duties. Once they are fulfilled, then he can return to nothingness and be at peace with himself.

---------- Zalrafel has seen Devyn venture towards the top of the Tower on several occassions. Devyn was the only one who ever really bothered with the task, the others finding the long haul to the top bothersome physically, but he noted that Devyn never seemed to mind the strain. In light of recent events, Zalrafel decides to get their little "discussion" over with sooner rather than later and mades the long climb himself, arriving just as Devyn peers over the edge, pondering his own demise.

"Fascinating, is it not." Zalrafel remarks in an attempt to arouse Devyn's attention. "Many people find a starless night to be unnatural, a sign of man's corruption with all of his lights and articicial illumination blotting out the gleam of distant galaxies. The common man forgets the beauty of what lies in between the stars, that empty space that constitutes the actual space in outer space. Were it not for that black void, the stars would have nothing to allow them to stand out and shine in their beauty."

"The old concept of duality." Devyn responds without raising his eyes from their dangling view of the ocean. "Something your kind tends to know nothing of, as you should know. God cares not for the darkness, caring only for his own majesty, forgetting that without the pyres of Damnation awaiting below, his own glory would mean nothing." Devyn looks up and gives Zalrafel a sideways glance. "Or does the almighty realize the irony?"

Zalrafel laughs. "Omniscience should answer that question, but I doubt it. But would I come up here just to talk theology with a non-believer like you, Devyn? You know why I come here."

"Non-believer? What a horrible accusation, Zalrafel. Of course I know the context you imply with that word, but if I were the type to misunderstand the actions of others, I would believe that you consider me to be without belief at all. My beliefs are my own, they are not to be dictated by comittee. That may be appropriate for the others among this... social club we call The Fallen, but it will not be my way of life."

"I would love to hear you say that in the pressence of Mr. Dollar. Certainly you did something similar in your conversation with him, but I seriously doubt that you stated it so honestly and in such a matter-of-fact manner. Yet despite that, you do misunderstand some things about what I intend to talk about with you."

"And that would be? Oh... I see. Yes, I most certainly see what you speak of." Devyn starts to pace about the edge of the tower's roof, smiling. "To spare you the discomfort of stating it, since if word of your own admission to the fact touched the ears of either of our fellow Council members your reputation would most certanly be spoiled beyond necessity, let me make the call. You yourself still yearn for the days of the past-- those days when all was at peace in your own sphere of existence-- when you basked in the glory of the almighty and revelled in your love for the races of the universe. For you, those glory days are personified in the streets and the souls that dwell in your Shattered City. Despite your own still relatively secret plans for Khazan, whatever they entail, in no way will they harm this city-- that last vestage of your former self. In your keen observation of my own actions, you realized that I, too, still have a similar longing for my days before learing of the Secret Dance and my encounter with the being known as Alexander Lovecraft. Despite my apparent devotion to that force known as the Void, my own humanity still lingers on in the souls of those that I once considered to be friends. You've done your research. Inusaka High, the most prestigious school on Earth, is the root of that lingering emotion. Ryoko was a classmate of mine. Anyway, as you know, Kyoko, my sister Lynne, Seryph Gibbons, they were all there in one form or another. And no, Seryph was not a student at that illustrous academy. Consider yourself privy to some valuable information. Do a little research, look for that name, you will truly be shocked. But I have gone off of subject. In every one of these people I mentioned there lies some semblance of the man I used to be before I became the man I wanted to be. And yet despite receiveing everything I dreamed of, I long for the days when I did the dreaming rather than the days of realization. By killing one of them, I destroy a piece of that self that I long for. To bear witness to the destruction of the man I am now is my ultimate desire-- to see this form dissolve into nothingness and to be at peace is my true desire-- but if that means destroying the man that existed before in the process, I will have nothing to do with it, just as you will not have your hand in any plot that would destroy The Shattered City, even if it served your own purposes for Khazan."

Zalrafel nods, half satisfied and half bewildered at Devyn's assessment of his mentality. "Then is this conversation over with?"

"I wish to ask you a question."

"Yes?"

"If the almighty were to welcome you back into his grace at the expense of The Shattered City, would you accept?"

"Would you accept your humanity back if it meant the death of your friends?"

"No."

"Then I think you answered that question yourself." Zalrafel turns his back to Devyn and returns to the inner sanctum of the tower.

Devyn smiles as he continued his balancing act.