Okay heads up there’s mention of cannibalism

And a lot of murder!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.gnieb fo ecnetsixe eht ot laitnesse era taht seitreporp eht dnoyeb ,gnieb fo ytitnedi eht dnoyeb stsixe taht muunitnoc a si ereht

 

 

The day he is born he is nameless, abandoned, and feared.

Born in a land he doesn’t remember or know or care to learn about, he is born into death.

And so much noise.

But he’s not alone.

They’re there.

Tearing him out from his birth, baptizing him in the loss of life, he is silent because all of life screams on his behalf. All of the universe screams at the sight of him.

Not another, they scream, not another.

He doesn’t have a name. Not for a long time.

Actually he has a lot of names.

Many many names.

But he only knows that he is the Fifth. Because that’s what they call him.

The Fifth from a time so long past and forgotten those who hypothesize on their genesis equal the memories they once occupied as lightless fissions of nothing but raw energy and destruction.

But it’s not.

The Fifth is born with memories that lay buried under the depths of a still darkness unfathomable and unreachable- existing between this timelessness that permeates the very fabric of Matter and Time. Why should anything matter when he can see into a past that contains the entirety of the Universe and all of Time in it? What should it matter, when the endless and the vast was well contained within the restless and unending presence of those who came before him?

He’s left in the hospital for a long time.

Nurses watch over him- but none stay long.

He doesn’t cry. He never does. He never makes a sound, no matter how cold he is, or how hot he is.

When a visiting envoy from Raksane Tayi comes to make their obligatory charity tour, the young Yisheng who accompanied them takes a step back in fright.

He is then taken away, to be observed.

The Yisheng asks questions- of his birth, of those who brought him to this life. But one was dead, and the other missing.

With some fear, but with good intentions, the Yisheng takes the infant with her. She doesn’t understand who or what he is. He certainly did not share any commonalities with his fellow race or even species. Not exactly. There was something different in nearly every singularity within him beyond just what could be seen.

She can sense them.

The others around him. And she senses their chaos, their wrath, their passiveness, their gravity.

She doesn’t name him.

She can’t. She doesn’t know how. Everyone thinks that she’s done a morally correct job- her duty, to pick him up. She reports him to the Headquarters and agrees to bring him in after she’s finished her duties.

His birth planet is not a poor one, nor is it a rich one.

The rich were rich.

And the poor were poor.

They whisper to him, a lullaby just for him.

It was the perfect place for the GLA to champion.

First they would fund the internal crisis within countries, and between each other; and then the Venture Unit would intervene to make peace while stripping the planet of all of its independence, a notion masked by signing a treaty of peace and equality and stability that never quite reaches further past the most privileged.

It’s a story repeated over and over so many times in so many places all of the time that it’s almost the accepted standard- a rite of passage into the GLA.

So unrest and conflict are common, and as a result, misguided and foolish attempts at bringing calm are frequently carried out to make the privileged feel morally superior without changing a single aspect of the system that keeps them comfortably where they are.

And in moments of unrest, in moments that lengthen into lifetimes of forced ease, limitations of self-control, of self-preservation, no longer exists and the desire for an unprecedented violence- of anger so wild and so real that it’s labeled radical and selfish- simply bursts out, free of its crushing restraints.

And that’s exactly what happens as the Yisheng makes her way back to the capital city after a week of visitations and meaningless extensions of kind words and tears. It’s not surprising in many ways. Being a Yisheng wasn’t the safest job after all, and when their ship is attacked as it lands upon the docks, she dies.

It’s not a heroic act where she dies to protect him.

She tries to run away as the attacks rain down upon them. She’s young- inexperienced. She does her best to save herself but there’s nothing you can do when 150 Standard strilos of explosives detonate on your dock.

Her silver hair is in flames far before the fire of the detonation actually reaches them- a blistering heat that ruptures through the construct like rain over parched land.

She can do nothing.

However, in the wreckage, unharmed and quiet, mechanics who came to scavenge for usable parts come across a toddler. Their own species though from a different race.

The country has fallen- neighbouring countries have done the same, attacking GLA outposts and stations. They broke free of the brutal weight on them, and they were aware that this new freedom would be short-lived, coming at a heavy cost. They know it won’t be long before the GLA send the Venture Unit to neutralize them at best, or subjugate them through bio warfare at worst.

Finding orphans among the wreckage is not something new- it wouldn’t be, in the coming sols. The mechanics take him back to their base.

‘What the ?’

‘He was just out there. He’s only covered in soot- there’s nothing wrong with him, no injuries. Nothing.’

‘Did someone drop him there?’

‘You know we were the first unit on site. No one else was there before us. There couldn’t be- no one in that Dock survived.’

‘What do we do with him?’

‘Take him to Solda.’

‘Isn’t that cruel?’

‘No, he would still have supplies from his child – it would be a waste.’

‘If he says no?’

‘Then leave him where you found him.’

He’s taken to a dark space, far beneath the empty rich mansions now redecorated with entrails and blood. He follows the directions and he finds himself in front of a massive heavy metal doorway that only opened from the inside. He doesn’t know if he should knock or something when it opens, as though expecting him.

‘What do you want?’

‘I was told Solda would want him.’

The Being who opens the door is a haggard looking elder. Each breath rattles in their chest.

‘Bring him in.’

He’s taken inside the low-ceiling chamber, large pipes that rattle and hum line up the walls on one side. It smells horrible in here- there is a singular vent at the end of the hallway and the mechanic wonders if its for show. Lining up the hallway, nearly reaching the top of the low ceiling, are stacks of garbage bags, sealed in tarp of all shapes and sizes. The mechanic makes himself as small as possible as he carefully walks through. Passing by a threadbare curtain, a dimly lit room that’s mostly occupied by a large lumpy bed on which contrastingly clean toddlers cloths, toys, and other items were neatly arranged. In the middle of it, holding a horrifying decaying lump of fabric, is a gaunt and humming Being, his hair long and matted. But his eyes are gleaming with a wild crazed light.

‘Solda,’ the elder calls. ‘Look, another one for you to look after.’

Solda studies him, eyes for no one else. He lets go of the decaying lump which rolls off of his stained tunic to the blanket around him. He holds out thin and trembling arms.

He’s placed in his arms before possessively being held to a thin chest.

‘Where is he from?’ the elder asks.

‘I don’t know- found him out on the Dock.’ The mechanic replies, clearly uncomfortable and very disturbed by what he was witnessing. He watches as the elder picks up the decayed lump and as though used to it, as though he’s done it many times, walks over to what is clearly a rough board box of sort, and dumps the lump in it before sealing it in a tarp.

‘What…’ he tries to ask, glancing at Solda who starts to wrap the toddler in stark white clothing, not even bothering to wipe him down. ‘What happened?’

The elder looks at him, his eyes are dull.

‘What do you think?’

The mechanic takes a step back, eyes sweeping around the place before settling on Solda and the toddler he was now shakily tending to.

‘I uh, hope you’re happy, Solda,’ he tries. ‘Things are looking up you know? We’re finally going to be able to be more forward. You can move out of here-‘

‘No,’ Solda whispers, ‘I will be buried here for always.’

The mechanic shuffles uncomfortably, glancing at the elder who takes up a seat, leaning back as though to sleep.

‘So, um, what will you name the child-?’

‘My son,’ he whispers, ‘My son’s name is Taeh’yung.’

‘That’s…that’s a nice name. What does it mean?’

Solda looks up at him and gives him a chilling smile but doesn’t reply.

The mechanic shuffles back until he’s pushing past the curtain. No one sees him out or says another word. He guesses he should leave. This wasn’t his business. Not anymore. As he steps out, he can’t help but study the garbage bags lined up. Among them he notices tarp-sealed boxes; nearly 17 of them are visible to him.

A chill running down his spine, the mechanic hurriedly makes his way out and forces himself to forget what he saw. He doesn’t have to try for too long. Almost 3 days later, he falls to his death through the weak flooring of a still smoking wreckage of a patrol ship.

But Solda and his 31^st son continue to live under the ravaged cities.

Taeh’yung doesn’t die like the others. He would have. If it weren’t for them.

In his crazed state of sols upon sols of loss, trauma, rage, and anguish, Solda knew no other state then that of his noisy wretched existence laced with madness. He heard things no one else did. He saw things no one else did.

So when his 31^st son comes with 4 other Beings who existed beyond the shadow of his sight, beyond the dim light of his room, just under the maw of hunger- he accepts it like every other voice he’s heard, like every other Being he’s seen.

And they speak to him. They hurt him too.

Taeh’yung is his son, but he never belonged to him. He knew that. In fact, in some strange moment of clarity- or maybe in the depths of his madness, he realizes that Taeh’yung did not belong to himself. Taeh’yung was not his own.

Taeh’yung did not belong to Taeh’yung.

And they whisper many things to him. Stories of a darkness so profound it leaves him shaking, holding Taeh’yung to himself as he cries and cries. They frighten him- but they don’t ridicule him like the other Beings he sees. Or the other voices he hears. If Solda could, he would always choose fear over any of the others. In fear, he had his control, his anchor.

They whispered to him, every time he strayed too far.

And Taeh’yung grows.

Solda crawls through the numerous tunnels only he knows about- tunnels like labyrinths he could crawl through the dark with ease. He takes what he needs, emerging into abandoned and locked mansions and sheds and gardens. He brings back food, cloths, toys, anything for his son.

The elder no longer answers the doors for other orphaned babies.

Taeh’yung doesn’t speak despite all of the voices, despite all of the noise. When he’s older, Solda takes him with him through the tunnels, teaching him how to navigate this dark labyrinth.

But it’s not as dark as the memories he lives through in his dreams.

When Taeh’yung is 2, the elder dies as their entry hallway collapses under the bombed ruins of the mansion above.

Solda takes Taeh’yung and they spend nearly a sol simply crawling through the tunnels, emerging only at the dead of night to steal or sometimes even kill. Actually, Solda kills more than he steals.

They reach the end of the labyrinth of tunnels when Taeh’yung is 5.

He still hasn’t said a word.

Now that he’s older, Solda takes him out beyond the tunnels a little more.

In the 5 sols since he’s been born, the planet he’s lived on has changed drastically.

It was now spring and this country- or at the very least, this region of land, is nearly entirely abandoned.

They crawl through hauntingly empty mansions, hiding from the skies. Taeh’yung never stands up unless it was to climb or jump.

And then they make their way back. From the edges of the labyrinth, right back to the heart of it. During one night, they watch as an avalanche of light ignites the skies in the far distance. The light is nauseating- clouds of it emerge and Taeh’yung can hear them screaming. High above in the sky, several stars are frozen in place, watching as this light purges the darkness below.

It’s nowhere near enough to wash away the stains that seep through a lifetime he expands within his waking dreams.

They scavenge across the land- digging through cold wet earth for pale roots. Sometimes they find a stray lost scavenger- they are quiet in their feast. And sometimes they come across the most lush of forests- but Solda always redirects them, away from the warmth and life of the green expanse that seems unnatural and false.

But it’s oh so inviting.

When Taeh’yung is 7 they return to his “birth place” as Solda describes it. But rather than go below, Solda brings him up. They climb up and up and up- through a silo of forgotten extensions and vents- the hearth of this network. The reach the top and the simple door, still standing, leads them out into a long abandoned hallway thick with dust that hasn’t been moved in a long time. Turning, the hallway crumbles away into an open atrium that is overtaken by vegetation that has dried out. At the center of this atrium, there are stairs that lead up to a dilapidated mansion. Solda takes Taeh’yung’s hand and they crawl up the stairs and into the strangely intact mansion. Solda guides him  as though he knew this layout like the back of his hand.

And he did.

Because this is where Solda was born and raised.

They bypass shut rooms and doors before reaching one specific one.

Once inside, he sits Taeh’yung down on tiny seat before a desk. This was a miniature set, clearly. The whole room is miniature though it’s one of the biggest spaces Taeh’yung has ever been in. Solda wipes a surface clean with his leathery calloused hands and Taeh’yung sees his own reflection for the first time.

‘Look at you, where you’ve always meant to be,’ Solda whispers to him. It’s always whispers but it’s so so loud. ‘My strong son. My strong strong strong strong son. You will never be the first, but you will always be the last.’

He picks up a device and brings it to Taeh’yung’s head. Clumsily he brushes Taeh’yung matted hair.

Behind them, Taeh’yung spies the figures that have always been there his whole life. Always speaking, always watching, always guiding.

‘I am not your son.’ He speaks clearly, disrupting the dust around him.

Solda’s eyes widen in fright- staring at Taeh’yung with something akin to horror reflected in his nearly blind mad eyes.

But Taeh’yung only watches as copper lines softly line patterns over his skin, over his face, around his eyes. The air around him stirs.

The four gather around him, around them.

‘.niap ruoy rof dedrawer era uoy’

The brush is stuck on his hair as Solda falls over, 4 hands wrapped around his neck, a neon green light emanating from Taeh’yung as he watches Solda’s eyes roll back in the mirror.

After a moment, the four figures reappear, brighter and stronger, their faces just a little clearer.

Sitting up straight, Taeh’yung removes the brush from his hair and combs through his hair properly.

‘You are the Fifth.’

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

.ti sdne rehto eht dna ,efil stegeb dne eno erehw -murtceps eht fo dne on si ereht .dne na sah ,smrof tahw ,si tahw ,strats tahw taht yterus sseldne eht ,egnahcxe sseldne eht

 

 

 

 

Taeh’yung trails around the crumbling remains of the mansion and the surrounding dilapidated gardens for nearly a sol until a small unit of survivors find him.

He liked sitting outside in the sun- it was in many ways a new sensation. At least in this body, in this lifetime. He starts to understand a little more. Starts to see a little more.

He knows them as the Four, but they don’t always speak together, move together- or even agree with each other.

But they all agree on one thing.

He was the Fifth.

Taeh’yung likes the sun, the light helps him see him, it helps him define the limitations of himself versus the limitations of everything else around him. The Four are also less visible, and Taeh’yung likes to take this moment to simply think for himself. Even if it’s simply about the shape of the still remaining furniture scattered around the mansion.

Taeh’yung starts here; he reshapes, reforms, recreates. It starts with the chairs: all too tall for him.

Then he proceeds with the tables.

He takes every surviving dish from the kitchens and molds them together, no thought or direction- simply judging the extent of his own being. He remembers what the Four have done. When he breaks through stone he thinks through the thoughts of the Second, their wrath and hatred breaking through planets. He distinctly relives the frigid heat of the core of a planet- the weight, its gravity.

When he erases a perfect circle through the side of the mansion, mirroring the shape of the sun at its highest point, he is reminded of the First and how they walked on the surface of the sun, waking up the souls entwined within.

When he clutches the decayed skull of his adoptive parent, watching the surface ripple with life- just a mimicry, a husk, eye balls rolling at random, he relives the Fourth and their creation- starved and ravenous gruesome beasts that destroy themselves the hour they’re born.

When he floats up above the mansion, looking over the step-city destroyed beyond recognition or function, he remembers the Third and how they too were afloat, the cries and revered voices of their worshipers loud and eager.

He steps outside of the confines of the mansion when it rains. The rain is black, coating everything and staining everything in a strange residue. It slips off of him though, and in his hands the fragments and minute remains of a strange odour coil and coil, trying to seep through to his skin and house itself in there, waiting to fester as it did with this whole land.

He walks down stairs, crumbling stone and metal, wretched remains of Beings who once lived- no, survived scatter the streets. He places his hands on them curiously, watching as neon green stains through their eyes.

The Four tell him to stop but he doesn’t.

They never survive for long- mouths yawning in unquenchable thirst, blind unseeing eyes tearing up for a lifetime of regret and anger. But he thinks its funny to manage to get them to walk up and line themselves up against walls. Maybe one day the sedimentation of the city will seal them over the walls, not quite buried.

But that’s what this city was, and Taeh’yung supposes that the whole planet probably was too.

It’s in the afternoon when they find him.

He hears them, sees them, nearly an hour before they find him. He follows after them for a while, watching their reactions to the unburied. There’s 9 of them in total. They don’t look like Solda. Or maybe his adoptive parent was not a good example for what the Beings of this planet looked like.

He waits for them in Solda’s room, brushing his hair that he had recently cut himself. They’re loud, their voices echo easily all across the mansion.

‘-,’ one of them grunts out, ‘What the is all of this?’

‘I didn’t know the aristocrats lived it up like this.’

‘You need to think clearly for a moment, all that smog has clearly gotten to your head.’

‘What is she saying now.’

There’s laughter.

Taeh’yung remembers laughter from a point in time beyond his own short lifetime.

‘That chair- that’s not normal.’

‘Well, it’s not like being an aristocrat guarantees you taste.’

‘No, what I’m saying is that- look.’ There’s shuffling and footsteps making its way around. ‘This was not…it wasn’t built like this.’

‘So…how was it made?’

‘I think it was created.’

‘Isn’t that the same thing?’

‘No, Rea’nyun is right.’ A new voice chimes in. ‘There’s something…wrong, about all of this.’

Wrong. Taeh’yung guesses he is wrong.

‘I think we might be intruding.’

‘There were no traps.’

‘None that we know of,’ the voice, Rea’nyun, comments, ‘Keep your eyes open. Those bodies out there didn’t do that to themselves.’

Taeh’yung actually finds that funny.

‘There’s a kind of distinct motif going on around here though; it’s not any of the aristocrats symbols is it?’

‘None that I know of. This mansion belonged to the city’s ónbar, he was absolutely mad. None of these are his symbols.’

‘Like, mad more than usual?’

‘He was obsessed with children-‘

‘-I hate where this is going.’

‘-no as in, he lost his own son-‘

‘-oh-‘

‘-they were wildly inbred-‘

‘oh ew-!?’

‘-and rumor had it that he lost his mind when his son and his partner died.’

‘Honestly I heard about that about the people of this region I didn’t think it was…actually a thing.’

‘It is-was,’ the voice pauses, ‘Anyways, it was mostly the aristocrats though.’

‘So what, he kidnapped children?’

‘At first yeah. Then well, orphans and unwanted babies made their way up here. Honestly, it was just a weird kind of legend- but it’s totally possible-.’

The voices stop and Taeh’yung looks up in the mirror.

Standing in the doorway to Solda’s dead son’s room are 3 Beings, paralyzed from the shock of seeing Taeh’yung.

He simply continues to brush his hair.

‘That’s…that’s not a ghost-…right?’

‘We’re nowhere near District 21 to be having hallucinations this vivid so no,’ the voice that belonged to Rea’nyun steps forward. ‘Hey there, are you alone?’

Taeh’yung puts the comb down and turns on his seat to look at them properly.

‘He’s not from this region, that’s for sure.’ Another behind Rea’nyun remarks.

Rea’nyun is tall, shoulders narrow and hair in knots behind her back. Her head is small compared to the rest of her body which seems to lean forward a little. There are 3 others like her behind her. Her eyes are large.

‘He’s not from this planet I don’t think.’

‘Is he inbred?’

‘I don’t think inbreeding causes that to happen to your skin.’

Rea’nyun takes a step back, her eyes catching the motion of copper light flickering across his skin.

‘My name is Rea’nyun,’ she kneels gracefully. ‘Who are you?’

‘Rea, you’re gonna wanna look to your left.’

Taeh’yung didn’t think he wanted to bury Solda as he claimed he would be, so instead he places him on his son’s bed. A reminder, the Second had told him.

‘Now that’s an inbred skull.’

Taeh’yung stands up from his chair and walks up to Rea’nyun who’s eyes widen, leaning back quickly. Taeh’yung watches as some sort of light is aimed at him. They’re some form of weapon. Solda would point them out to him, but they never used it. Too loud, too bright, Solda had said.

‘My name is Taeh’yung.’

Rea’nyun smiles.

‘That’s a beautiful name,’ she smiles. It’s genuine. ‘How long have you been here?’

‘How old are you?’ someone asks from behind.

Taeh’yung looks behind himself, glancing at the mirror that reflected the Four, now hiding a little in the shadows, not stepping out. Taeh’yung looks back at Rea’nyun whose posture relaxes a little.

Taeh’yung can smell the odour festering deep within all of them.

‘I am the Fifth.’

‘The fifth what?’ she inquires, reaching out a hand gently. There are warning murmurs behind them.

Taeh’yung stares at her hand for a moment before placing his own over hers.

‘How long have you been here?’ she asks when Taeh’yung doesn’t reply. Instead she closes her hand over his, gently squeezing. He can hear water in her lungs.

‘It was cold when I came back.’

‘Came back?’

‘Look, the suns going down, and I don’t think we’re gonna get answers from him,’ someone from the back says. ‘What are we going to do?’

‘We can’t leave him here,’ Rea’nyun says, aghast. ‘Hand me the bio-scanner, let’s see if he’s sick.’

With reassuring voices and promises, Taeh’yung is sat back down on the seat as Rea’nyun and 2 others, Noorba and Del, watch over.

‘He’s perfectly health,’ Rea’nyun announces, confusion evident in her voice and eyes.

‘That’s impossible.’

She takes a small sample of his blood, first showing him on herself as she pricks her finger with the device.

‘He’s…he’s not from here.’

‘What?’ Noorba leans in, removing his mask from around his face to see properly. ‘He’s an alien?’

‘Seems like it,’ Rea’nyun frowns, ‘But I’m not getting a single match.’

‘Hey kid,’ Del squats down before him, ‘Do you remember anything from before this place?’

‘The darkness behind the stars contain songs beyond the age of time.’

Rea’nyun stares at him with wonder as the other two frown at each other.

‘If he’s from out-of-planet, we need to report him,’ Del says hesitantly. ‘Is he…I mean we had visitors from the GLA right? Was he abandoned? Or his family killed when the city was bombed?’

‘If that’s the case how is he still alive and healthy nearly a whole decade?’

‘No, we keep him,’ Rea’nyun says firmly. ‘He’s just a child.’

‘If he’s ever found, it’s our death, you know it.’

And Rea’nyun knew it.

They all did.

‘We are not like them. We will not do what they would,’ is all she says with a short hacking cough. ‘This world has forgotten what it means to be good- doesn’t mean we should.’

When they take him out of the city, away from the structures he reshaped and reformed and remodeled, Taeh’yung never looks back once.

He travels with them, from one fallen city to another, scavenging and foraging. A couple of them leave for a while, taking with them the better parts of their scavenger hunt and come back with bare necessities. Sometimes, only 1 returns, and other survivor is barely alive.

Rea’nyun doesn’t call him her son. He’s just Taeh’yung.

The others watch over him- he was a child in their eyes, but somehow it never felt right to them. And it shouldn’t either. They ask him questions, and he replies with answers that chill them to their bones- giving them nightmares that they sometimes had difficulty waking up from.

‘What do you want to do once we get out of here?’ Rea’nyun asks him once as they sit out in the dark night, keeping look out. The Four stand behind them, the stars distorted around them.

‘I want to see a moon.’

Rea’nyun seems surprised at his response. It was probably the most normal response they get from him.

Most of this planet’s people seemed to be surviving like this. Scavenging, exchanging what they had for needed items. They come across a glowing forest. They tell him it’s incredibly dangerous and unsafe- that the leaves, the fruits, the lush calm was just a lure.

A darkness lay behind the lush green that so resembled the raging noise within his memories.

Rea’nyun is a good leader. Maybe too good.

They are caught- arrested for not paying their dues which are all false claims. They were being robbed and Rea’nyun tries to hide Taeh’yung but once he’s found, it’s over.

Taeh’yung doesn’t struggle as he’s put into a containment case of sorts. It smelled of urine and other forms of remains and Taeh’yung supposes he’s not the only one who has been put here before.

He’s not supposed to hear anything beyond this casing but crawling under the depths of a forgotten city for his earliest years didn’t stop him before. In fact, everything is louder in here and it’s frustrating.

Taeh’yung calmly erases the casement around him, creating a neat triangle that cuts into the metal floors of the chamber he was in. It stank in here- of death, pain, and more of that curious festering odour.

He finds the others, most of them are already dead. But Rea’nyun is still alive- but barely just. He walks over to her.

Her eyes light up a little at the sight of him, breath rattling in her chest. Taeh’yung can smell the sweet cloying stench on pain on her, rolling off of her. The odour that permeated this planet, her people, is overwhelming in her, overpowering her.

She was dying. It would happen soon- either some form of cardiac arrest, or the water in her lungs would drown her where she lay.

So Taeh’yung reaches forward to touch her hand.

Unexpectedly, she smiles at him.

He removes the time within her, pushing it past her.

‘.gnirb ruonoh seod ecitsuj tahw’

Her eyes light up green, faint triangles forming under her skin, spreading out of the gurney she was in to the others around her.

‘Hey! How the did you get out-?!’

Taeh’yung doesn’t look behind him as he erases the rest of the ship from ever existing. He simply stares at Rea’nyun, until the dark neon green fades and returns back under his fingertips.

‘You are the Fifth.’

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

.ecaps dna emit dna rettam fo mlaer eht dnoyeb – ecnetsixe fo mlaer eht dnoyeb stsixe taht elcyc a si ti

 

 

He leaves his birth planet aboard a Venture Unit rescue ship.

He’s found wandering through a forest, mutated and seeped in radiation. But he’s unharmed.

Taeh’yung is kept separately from the others who have been “rescued” as well until the radiation levels are neutralized. He doesn’t seem to be effected by the radiation in any way, but it doesn’t go away either, no matter what the researchers try.

Instead, the radiation seems to take form in colour and light- a strange neon dark green that ripples oddly with no warning and with no fixed intervals. He’s reported to the Yisheng Headquarters and he’s requested to be brought to Šerdesas.

It doesn’t exactly have a moon, but it would do.

He’s carefully escorted straight into the Headquarters, taken to the bright and sunny gardens. The Venture Unit agents dressed in reinforced space-suits release the containment pod around him and take cautious steps back as half a dozen Yishengs gather around him.

Taeh’yung finds it interesting, to see the multi-hue of their life-force rippling around them. It’s different from the Yisheng who took him in when he was just a baby; they feel stronger, more connected with a motion he was born without.

They all sit down, 2 of them still much taller than Taeh’yung even though they’re seated.

‘Welcome,’ the one in the center speaks to him. Their voice is calm and even. They raise their hand, two fingers extended outwards apart from each other before settling over their eye, ‘My name is Y’won.’

‘My name is Taeh’yung.’

‘Taeh’yung,’ they repeat the name carefully, learning it. ‘Thank you for telling me your name.’

‘Many sols ago, we received a report from your birth planet,’ the other Yisheng says, ‘We believe this report might be about you. Can we check to see if you are indeed who Annga found?’

‘I am.’

‘Do you remember her?’ Y’won asks.

‘I do.’

‘How do you remember her?’

‘I remember everything.’

The Yishengs don’t say anything, don’t move, or look among each other. They just continue to study him.

‘Can I touch you?’ Y’won asks instead, ‘I would like to see you.’

Taeh’yung nods.

Y’won reaches forward. Their arms are a subtle gradient from indigo to pale blue, nails a pearlescent sheen. Palms on his temples, eyes never flinching, Taeh’yung feels Y’won’s colours seep into the endless dark of his being.

Taeh’yung decides that it’s pretty.

They barely last a second- gasping loudly, body curling in on itself in a defensive manner instinctually, colours flaring all around her, trying to escape the chasm that extended far away into a memory inconceivable.

The Yisheng’s jump, their postures defensive and careful.

‘It’s okay- it’s okay,’ Y’won raises their hand up, voice barely audible. ‘I’m- I’m fine.’

‘What is it?’ the Yisheng at the end asks, hands raised casually before him but casually.

Y’won sits back carefully, raising their eyes to face Taeh’yung again.

There is awe, fear, and wonder in her eyes.

‘Could you- could you help me see?’ they ask carefully.

Taeh’yung ignores the Four who hum their heavy protest at him.

Instead, Taeh’yung nods and smiles widely.

Y’won takes him in after that. They don’t reveal much of anything to the other Yishengs; only that Taeh’yung had the potential of being from a long last species but they had to make sure. After all, Taeh’yung was still a child.

‘You need time, to form your own memories,’ they tell him. ‘You have not lived enough, I suppose. You need something to hold you.’

‘I remember everything,’ he tells them again.

Y’won blinks at him curiously.

‘But it’s not your own.’

Taeh’yung thinks of the city he was raised under, of the forms he had reshaped, remolded, removed. Y’won was right. None of that was his own.

This light, this colour- this wasn’t his. Not his.

He wasn’t his. He wasn’t himself.

‘What is something you think is your own?’ Y’won asks as they settle him into a chamber connected to Y’won’s own humble lodgings. ‘Not a possession- a memory, a feeling- anger? Loneliness?’

‘I don’t have anything.’

‘That’s okay too,’ they tell him, ‘You will find it, one day- you will, you can.’

Taeh’yung is handed a pillow and sheets.

‘How much do you want to see.’ He asks as he sits down on the low cot he was clearly expected to grow into.

‘As much as we can, together,’ Y’won sits next to him, pulling out a new set of cloths from inside the bag that would soon become everything he would own. ‘But if it makes you tired, or it makes you uncomfortable or you’re in pain. We will stop at once.’

Taeh’yung doesn’t reply yet, accepting the new set of clothes – miniature versions of the robes Y’won was wearing.

‘You too.’

Y’won spends the next few weeks showing Taeh’yung around the Headquarters.

It’s enormous- almost twice the size of his birth city. And even deeper too.

‘Beneath us?’ Y’won repeats Taeh’yung’s question curiously as they sit down to eat. ‘Well, we do have practice chambers, isolation and meditation tanks- storage facilities, bunkers, archives…-probably more, I’m not too sure myself. I’ve never been too far down myself.’

‘There’s something, at the heart-…no, not the heart,’ Taeh’yung corrects himself. ‘At the beginning. But I can’t tell.’

Y’won looks a little confused but nods anyways.

‘There could be,’ they say without much concern.

Taeh’yung gets to know the Yisheng too.

They’re vastly different from Rea’nyun. At first Y’won appears aloof, quiet, and calm. But Taeh’yung comes to realize that just because they’re not visible, all Beings had multiple numbers of themselves trailing after within themselves. Y’won smiles a lot. They also laughed a lot. When it’s just the two of them, Y’won liked to tell Taeh’yung funny stories of their youth, of their training. Y’won also liked to hug- they hug Taeh’yung frequently.

Taeh’yung likes the colours that settle on his skin for a few moments at the contact.

Y’won also teaches him how to read, to write. It’s new- this isn’t something that is within the darkness of his memories. And he consumes it quickly, willingly, eagerly. Y’won finds him an eager student and so always has something for him to learn and read.

Y’won teaches him their language- a combination of sound, gesture, and claps. The gesture he first saw from them, introducing themselves to Taeh’yung, was a sign of greeting. Taeh’yung mimics the style, raising his hand, two fingers extending out but apart, over his eye. Y’won teaches his more and Taeh’yung eagerly takes it all in.

It helped dim the noise- as he learnt more, occupied the immediate darkness around him in a new myriad of colours and shapes and forms, the din lessened just a little.

This was his. He was establishing that now.

He needed to do more.

It takes time, for Y’won to handle touching Taeh’yung for longer than a few seconds. The fear was one thing, but the intense blinding noise was another.

Y’won manages to touch Taeh’yung for nearly 10 seconds almost a sol later, pushing past the paralyzing fear and the noise. The first thing they really sense is-

‘You look like a child- but somehow, you’re not,’ Y’won nurses something warm to drink. They could never quite heal themselves or recover quickly after a session with Taeh’yung. Drinking something warm made them feel better though.

‘I was supposed to be a son.’ He tells her.

‘What happened?’

‘He wasn’t buried.’

‘That’s…that’s so sad. I’m so sorry to hear that.’

‘Is it?’ he asks.

Y’won looks at him curiously.

‘You don’t think so?’

‘I don’t think so.’

Taeh’yung lives in the Headquarter for nearly 20 sols.

He’s normally covered in dirt because he liked digging tunnels under the forest and gardens. When Y’won had their duties to fulfill, Taeh’yung was left alone. Other children in the Headquarters stayed away from him and Taeh’yung didn’t care in the slightest.

He finds empty spaces and chambers beneath the massive grounds. Unused, places of quiet and stillness and emptiness. But not for Taeh’yung anyways. He digs and crawls and goes any which way but the Four always stop him from going too deep under.

There’s a place under the Headquarters.

It’s emptiness and hollowness is resonate- something about it sends a strange thrill deep within him: he’s not sure if it’s fear or anticipation.

And he can’t reach it either.

Not when he carves through space and matter.

So he ignores it- the Four have always lead him right. He wouldn’t go where they were afraid of. Because that’s what it was- fear. And so it becomes fear for him too.

8 sols after living in the Yisheng Headquarters, Taeh’yung is digging through the edge of a massive ridge the bordered the Headquarters compound when he smells something. It’s incredibly faint, incredibly brief. But he knows it. He knows the smell.

He follows his nose and finds that odour again.

That festering odour.

It had been a while, but he remembers it clearly.

He tries to follow it again, but loses it some hours later.

When Y’won returns from a 3 month duty out of Šerdesas, they come with information.

They’re clearly excited, quite eager too, to tell Taeh’yung what they discovered.

‘I believe I know where you’re from,’ they tell him excitedly. ‘I’ve been looking and looking- and it’s difficult, there’s not a lot of information on this, but I dug deep into well, like, genesis myths, from Raksane Tayi’s original sub-cultures to find any form of information about this.’

They sit down, gesturing to Taeh’yung to sit down as well. They slap on the surface of their table that brings up a projection.

‘Raksane Tayi is ancient- incredibly so. It’s been reborn many times,’ they tell him, ‘Those born here now- within the past few millennia, are nothing like those who were here before them. There are tales of great exoduses, of great movements and changes within the universe- shifts within this galaxy. And it’s been nearly impossible to date them properly. However,’ they firmly slide their hand over the surface of the table. ‘What we do know, is that Raksane Tayi and her culture is based off of another. The true culture, or the latest one that we know in this expansive timeline, reflects off of its very crude and forgotten pre-Light beginnings. When this would have all just been darkness and movement unknown, life is wild and just-‘

‘-chaos.’

‘Yes…’ they nod slowly. ‘But there is order- order brought and repeated every time a new life establishes itself over and over, no matter how many times it leaves or dies. And that is based on this tiny and dying System.’

The label over the tiny System detailed on the projection reads T’sayiti’k.

The Four lean in, humming lowly in the din that occupies all of his senses.

‘From every possible data I could recover- reaching very far and deep, I think- I think I can understand what you’re letting me see,’ they tell him excitedly. ‘This is it. This is the cradle of life. And you are from here.’

Taeh’yung thinks that there are inaccuracies in what Y’won says. For example, it’s not so much an exodus as it is escape. It’s not so much shifts within the galaxy but a maddened power cruelly tearing apart those created first.

T’sayiti’k was genesis- and he was the Fifth.

‘I believe you are from her people- the Zhak’gri,’ the life-force around them is waving in bright strong colours and hues. It’s pretty. ‘That’s pretty cool, isn’t it?’

Taeh’yung just smiles and nods. He’s aware of the chronology- he knows the secrets and madness that lay there.

This was enough for Y’won. This was enough for this time.

Some sols later, with more research, Y’won provides this information to the Headquarters and revolutionizes the understanding of the Universe. It brings to light the forgotten past histories of the origins deep within Raksane Tayi and her habitable planets. While Taeh’yung is not directly mentioned, so as to keep him safe, there are a few Yishengs who do come to see him.

And that included a Yisheng that brought the stench of that odour from his home planet in a fury. Taeh’yung does not speak to him. He’s never seen this Yisheng before in the Headquarters- whether introduced or simply spied upon. Taeh’yung has never seen him before. But Y’won seems excited to meet him- they’re over themselves in joy when the Yisheng asks them to be his apprentice.

His name is Tlun’hla.

And he doesn’t like Taeh’yung. That much was clear- there’s a distinct wariness that Taeh’yung…well, he finds amusing.

Y’won asks him why he laughed every time he saw Tlun’hla.

‘This is something that is my own,’ he tells them in response.

Y’won laughs at that, ‘Hey, it’s nice having your own secrets sometimes right?’

Taeh’yung just smiles and nods.

‘But you can tell me, any time you want to share a secret, I’m very good at keeping secrets, okay?’

But Y’won can’t keep secrets.

Not something like this anyways.

On the 20^th sol of living in the Headquarters, Taeh’yung has established his own network of tunnels and routes deep within and all over the compounds and connecting lands in the region. He liked to stay near the massive chambers so far deep down that his eyes are reflected in the frost that smooth out his tunnels.

He knows there’s something strangely…strange going on this far down. He knows that the layers and layers of reservoir and garden was simply a way to mask the strange life-force patterns that might come out from here though it’s carefully protected. Nothing that Taeh’yung simply cannot erase himself into if he chose.

He liked to sleep here sometimes, over the empty hollow tanks that lined up the chambers.

He sometimes watched young Yisheng children enter these chambers and the next time he came, they wouldn’t be there anymore. And this was also where he smelled that odour again.

They come in the form of strange plants- strange minute plants like algae or moss. They spread fast, infesting, infecting, permeating.

He has also watched several Yishengs simply die in here.

And one of them is Y’won.

He’s a little surprised when Tlun’hla brings them down here. Taeh’yung wakes up to the sound of her voice, shaking and afraid.

‘But this is wrong!’ they say adamantly. ‘Why have you not shown this to someone else? Yisheng, I’m not- this is wrong.’

‘The others will be notified,’ Tlun’hla says calmly.

‘This is the only thing we can do,’ Y’won says firmly though their voice shakes, ‘We need to expose this- somehow, we don’t know who could be involved.’

‘You’re right,’ Tlun’hla nods, taking a step back.

It happens so easily, Y’won doesn’t even have time to realize their mistake.

‘Tlun- Tlun’hla-,’ they gasps, their hands reaching out as though to grab hold of their life-force being withdrawn from them. Tlun’hla doesn’t budge, doesn’t flinch, as Y’won tries to fight back. But it’s not easy fighting a Yisheng this experienced and this twisted. 

A few others appear, not surprised to see Y’won’s lifeless body on the ground. There’s disappointment in their eyes though.

‘They would have made a great contribution,’ one of them states tiredly. ‘So, what do we do with them?’

Ignoring the Four, Taeh’yung steps out of his tunnel that carved into a narrow vent outlet that allowed him to see inside the chamber. The floors of the chamber shift and curve up, the strange empty tanks that stored that odourous stench now delivered to a new planet to overtake them.

The Yishengs step back in alarm at the sight of him, except for Tlun’hla who shifts their stance subtly.

Taeh’yung takes the last step down, right before Y’won’s body. Kneeling down, he rights their head properly. There were no more pretty colours- it ebbed away too quickly, now stained and mixed with the unpleasant colours staining Tlun’hla who doesn’t move away from Taeh’yung.

‘Hello again Taeh’yun-‘

‘You won’t succeed.’

Tlun’hla takes a step back, eyes fixed on him.

‘Should we get rid of him?’ one in the back asks, eyes nervous as Taeh’yung stands.

‘No,’ Tlun’hua shakes his head, eyes then flitting to the Four behind him, ‘Let him go. You can go. Do as you will. We will not stop you, or bother you anymore. Don’t come back.’

Taeh’yung looks back down at Y’won’s lifeless body.

‘.epoh rof rohcna on dnif lliw uoy’

Taeh’yung walks away from the quiet lingering presence of Y’won’s life-force, erasing a part of the chamber and climbing out into the dark hollow earth.

Officially, his first criminal record is the murder of the greatest Yisheng Scribe Y’won.

‘You are the Fifth.’

 

 

 

*

 

 

.drawrof sevom yllacitegolopanu taht elcyc a .muunitnoc si taht elcyc a .si taht elcyc a

 

 

 

 

Taeh’yung travels through the Universe through a chain of calamity and tragedy. It’s a common theme, he finds, through out his memories, he finds that wherever they went, they left it unrecognizable- for the worse. At least, that’s how it is for those who would survive or were left behind in their wake.

The First called it fear, the Second called it greed, the Third called it need; a need for direction and instructions, no matter how destructive. The Fourth called it approval – the desire to always be correct, to be more superior and to be proclaimed as such.

Taeh’yung doesn’t have any such thoughts. Rather, he would not think about it. He would much rather just not do anything the Four whisper and hum to him through the void that echoed in this noisy void. It’s frustrating, if Taeh’yung concentrates and thinks about it or dwells on it, he hates it.

He keeps moving- he has no destination, no location or base he called home. He never felt the need for it. Because every place he goes to, he is there, and he was not himself- he was not his own. So what was the point?

Instead he does was Y’won had said.

He first finds a moon.

For some reason, Taeh’yung assumed moons would be quiet. Attached yet distant, quiet and cold and asleep.

Just perfect.

But they’re not.

A strange feeling rises up in him- past the memories that expand the darkness that wrapped up the Universe. A sort of strange-…irritation.

He huffs out an annoyed breath, staring at the moon with a frown.

‘Hey, no throwing tantrums on my ship there buddy.’

Taeh’yung looks around, adjusting his line of sight to somewhere near his midriff.

‘Are you the lone kid?’

Taeh’yung nods.

Her colours aren’t the prettiest- but there’s a unique unexplainable charm to it.

‘I thought you’d be younger,’ she says gruffly, the beard on her jaw is scraggly and short, beady eyes scanning him up and down. ‘You’re older than a Standard youngling.’

‘I suppose.’

‘Hah! You think you’re funny,’ she snorts. She’s wearing an apron over her uniform. ‘Stop staring at that moon, you said you’d pay your fare by work didn’t you? Well, come along, the dryers won’t operate themselves.’

Taeh’yung turns away from the window and follows after the Lt’elu Captain of the voyaging ship he was in.

‘I thought you would be like a toddler or something- was wondering what the sort of work I should give you, but you’ll be just fine. Come along and keep up.’

Taeh’yung keeps a distance of about a foot behind the Lt’elu.

‘What’s your name?’

He raises his hand, fingers extended out apart, over his eye. ‘Taeh’yung.’

‘Where are you from?’

‘I don’t know.’

The Captain sighs, ‘Oh, so you’re like that I see. Well, the name is Boima. I’m the Captain here, as well as the head of food management. You’re gonna help me operate the cleaning operations in the kitchens. Is that clear?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where are you headed? Lets calculate your payment and your WAUs fairly. You know you’re lucky right? I’m probably the fairest voyage cruiser out there,’ she says as she waddles up a slight ramp to a lift. ‘Others would overwork you.’

‘I don’t know.’

Boima turns to stare at him with an unimpressed look.

‘You don’t know?’

‘Yes.’

‘So what are you doing here?’

He thinks of what Y’won told him.

‘I want to create my own memories.’

The lift starts to travel down.

‘Well, I suppose that’s a decent enough reason,’ she grimaces. ‘Do you intend on getting out on the next dock?’

‘Where is the next doc?’

‘1 week from here, Haga-Rara.’

‘What is in Haga-Rara.’

‘Well, it’s a pretty enough place I suppose,’ Boima pauses, leaning on the lift walls, crossing her 2 pairs of rather short arms over each other. ‘Look here buddy, are you here just to work? Is that what this is?’

Taeh’yung doesn’t answer.

Boima sighs.

‘Not another orphan,’ she sighs before she unfolds her arms. ‘I will not tolerate any stealing- I will report you to the GLA I don’t care how young you are, you break my rules, you know the consequences, you’re asking for it. Understood?’

Taeh’yung nods.

‘Okay buddy. If you decided to move on, you tell me in advance. Then I look for another kitchen helper. Sounds fair?’

Taeh’yung nods again.

‘I’m also gonna need you to be more vocal. Kitchen work is complex and I can’t always look up to see if you’re nodding or shaking your head. You understand?’

‘Yes Captain Boima.’

‘You can drop the Captain- you are not a GLA officer.’

‘Yes Boima.’

Boima sighs. ‘That sounds awkward. How about this. Just call me Boi, how does that sound to you?’

‘Boi?’

Boima nods, scratching at her scraggly beard before sending him a wink, ‘I’ll call you Tae.’

Kitchen work is not easy. Sure, a lot of it was automated but Taeh’yung still need to manually carry and deliver dirty dishes, utensils, pots and pans, entire burners, a whole grill sometimes, into the scourging units.

But Boima is fair. In a sense. She does overwork him, but Taeh’yung doesn’t care about that.

She introduces him to the other crew over the next few days, showing him important locations across the massive voyager. But as staff, that too kitchen staff, he’s not allowed to go above deck just yet.

He is introduced to all of the kitchen staff who all kindly introduce themselves to him. A few admire the markings on his skin, some ask him about his long hair, others are not so vocal, just a smile and wave and introduction of their names. Taeh’yung decides he wants their names but not quite the way they are- just for himself, and changes them a little. Many find it charming- a few are amused while some are offended based on their culture and species.

When they arrive at Haga-Rara, Boima takes him out of the ship to get him a hair cut. She does make sure he’s okay with it first though before escorting him to the salon. There, she gets her beard trimmed by a specialist who knew how to handle and tame Lt’elu facial hair. Taeh’yung’s hair is neatly cut, the sides and back shaved neatly but the top and front a little long. He’s given a hair tonic by the salonist for free because he smiled at them.

‘Buddy, you’re cute when you smile. Smile some more,’ Boima nods at him in approval as he turns his head around for her to see. ‘Now that’s much neater. Feeling lighter? Fresher?’

Taeh’yung looks at his reflection. He’s taller than the last time he looked himself in the mirror. Y’won didn’t keep a mirror in their quarters and it wasn’t something Taeh’yung actively sought for either. The Four are there, but they’re not too visible- somehow blocked out by the duties Taeh’yung keeps in the forefront of his thoughts at all times- his schedule and his tasks. It’s just a little more quiet now.

‘Yes Boi,’ he nods. He runs his fingers through his hair. It’s nice, he decides. ‘It’s very nice.’

‘Heh,’ Boima chuckles, ‘Come on buddy, let’s get going, say thank you again to your salonist.’

‘Thank you,’ Taeh’yung smiles again.

Boima watches with more interest, beady eyes gleaming before she takes him out.

‘This is interesting. Good good,’ she mutters under her breath.

After a week or so, Boima gets the Head of Service to come down to the kitchens.

‘You’re gonna do some new training,’ Boima informs him as a narrowly built Being walks in. Taeh’yung recognizes him but doesn’t know his name. He knew all of the kitchen staff and some of the service staff who took meals and drinks up to the guests in the voyager.

‘You’re not gonna be doing service- I just want you to know how to do it. There’s benefit from work like this you know?’

Boima is a good liar. Taeh’yung knows this all too well. She knew what to say, how to say it, when to say it, and what not to say. Authority, after all, did not come dressed in rich clothing and a title. It’s why even in a stained apron, splattered in cooking sauces and other food items, scraggly beard hidden behind a hygiene mask that’s more comic than anything else, no one crosses Boima.

So he’s not sure what she wants from him.

Everyone always had a clear motive. And Taeh’yung doesn’t quite know what motive Boima had for him.

So Taeh’yung is trained by Cepbnc all levels of hospitality service. Cepbnc is patient but strict, but Taeh’yung is too eager a student to really make mistakes so it’s with beaming pride that Cepbnc claims he is ready for practical service. But Boima doesn’t let him- not quite yet.

Instead she brings in the Head of Hosting and has her teach Taeh’yung the intricacies of hosting.

Then she brings in the Administration Director and has them teach Taeh’yung administrative tasks.

After that she calls the Head of Security and has her teach Taeh’yung safety protocols and techniques and laws. The Head of Security, Namtira, was in fact an ex-pirate and a single-mother to a daughter, Nambike who is his age, he’s told. Taeh’yung doesn’t think that’s quite right but doesn’t bother to correct her. Taeh’yung meets Nambike once when they stop at Cūṛānta. Namtira teaches him how to weaponise his own body, and during his sleeping hours, Taeh’yung reuses what she has taught him, ignoring the practices of the Zhak’gri ingrained into his memory, and tries to create new motions and waves from within himself.

And then, Boima herself teaches Taeh’yung how to cook.

For nearly 8 sols, Taeh’yung keeps learning and learning, and growing and growing.

When he’s 4 times her height, concentrating on reshaping the panels of his room, Boima calls for him into her main office. There, he’s a little taken aback to find her dressed neatly and smartly- beard oiled and braided with dark gems. Laid out in front of her on a wide bench are clothes she points to with a nod towards him. Wordlessly Taeh’yung picks up the rich garments.

‘Come on buddy, let’s get you changed out. You’re gonna follow me up to the VIP decks above- I think you’ll learn a thing or to. Just don’t speak much, and don’t walk away from me, I’ll do all the talking. You just learn.’

Taeh’yung nods.

Boima is truly an enigma.

Her mannerism, her dialect, her body language, all shifts abruptly as Taeh’yung follows her out into the VIP decks, an area he’s only been to to clean and service when it’s empty and undecorated and dim while they wait on the docks for their passengers. He’s never been in here like this.

The colours are nauseating so he doesn’t look too closely. Instead he follows after Boima and watches.

And he learns.

For several sols he follows after Boima- not just in the VIP decks but into financial meetings, social parties, into policy meetings, traveling expos, legal operations meetings, space travel safety seminars, client meetings, birthday parties, GLA meetings, health check-ups, Venture Unit meetings, trading markets, Underverse meetings, swimming lessons, and Isbahaysiga Alliance meetings.

The Alliance didn’t always need travel routes on the public tour routes between major Systems, but sometimes they needed a more casual and unsuspicious method of traveling with their cargo and Boima was more than welcoming to anyone who would pay her what she needed to continue her corporation.

Most of her staff knew- many being bought or traded by the Alliance. Maybe Boima felt she was doing the right thing. Taeh’yung doesn’t care much.

She does address it once to him though. Though not directly.

‘Your life is always entwined with everyone else’s, no matter what you do, you cannot be responsible for what happens when that connection makes contact. You cannot carry the weight of the dead with you when you need to live.’

It’s amusing because several sols ago he had already put a few pieces together as to what Boima was doing and how she had the finances that she did. Not too difficult when you find living quarters like cells in the cargo bay.

And Taeh’yung was being trained by Boima to one day take her place.

Except Taeh’yung is not interested.

He’s learnt all he can from Boima.

And so he tells her.

‘I see,’ she sighs. ‘Well, can’t say I’m not disappointed.’

Taeh’yung shrugs.

‘I’ve learnt a lot.’

‘You have. I’ve given you a lot.’

Taeh’yung nods to that.

‘Very well,’ she sighs out, looking put off, ‘You may go. We’re docking soon.’

‘Thank you for everything you’ve taught me,’ he smiles cheekily.

Boima scoffs, ‘I taught you that too, that won’t work on me. Go on, get out then.’

Taeh’yung doesn’t pack. His room is the same as it was when he first moved into it. The clothes he had he keeps in the closet, changing out only into his non-uniform wear.

He knows he’s being followed. Knows that Boima wouldn’t just allow him to leave. After all, he just insulted her and threw aside everything she gave him. But it wasn’t as thought Taeh’yung asked for any of it.

It’s easy enough to stop Namtira. He had already outgrown her in strength, speed, and skill. But he doesn’t need to use any of that to simple erase the life-force within her to a time it never existed and Taeh’yung steps away from the alley he had ducked into simply to lure her there. He makes his way back to the primary docks and waits until all of the “passengers” are aboard the ship. He waits patiently for every crew member to get on and as they pull into warp, surveillance reports from that day showcase an ominous neon green light that ignites into perfectly symmetrical lines and shapes before crushing down into a triangular pyramid shape over the massive voyager, a chasm of crushed and broken ship parts remains in the horrifyingly soundless and hollow incident.

‘.efil htiw yvaeh ydaerla era uoy ,daed eht fo thgiew eht yrrac ton od’

Taeh’yung turns away from the remains of the voyager and picks a random trade ship and hops into it.

‘You are the Fifth.’

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

.dne na syawla si ereht ,gninnigeb a si ereht erehw esuaceb

 

 

 

 

When Taeh’yung meets Baekhyun for the first time he’s in Teronko’ng Prison. He’s been there for nearly 20 sols, simply exploring the remains of the First Children that had embedded themselves into this now nearly dead planet. It’s interesting, Taeh’yung thinks, that this Child would choose to hide themselves in the furthest planet orbiting the Raksane Tayi sun, knowing full well it would be reduced to nothing more than what it was now.

Hunger.  

The hunger of the Child stretches everywhere. It consumes everything, seeping away from every cursed Being to ever step foot in here. It’s old- just as old as the memories that stretch the expanse of the darkness shrouding the Universe and his mind. He’s sent here after being arrested for the murder of Y’won- a very very late arrest. He’s finally properly, somewhat, registered into the GLA and there’s enough to match his description, biomedical scans, and very clear footage from surveillance footage to keep him in Teronko’ng for the rest of his existence, no need to look at the supposed Yisheng murder.

But it’s on purpose.

Because after so many many sols- so many millennia, Taeh’yung finally understand what it is that he truly wants. It did take him a long time- it’s difficult to think for yourself when you have 4 other voices echoing like thunder throughout your waking and sleeping moments. But he’s able to garner a singular need- a want, a desire- a dream. And he holds onto it.

This was his own.

And he would make it come true.

Once you’re inside the prison, no one cares what you do because it’s impossible to escape. With no living guards to try and manipulate or gain advantage over, prisoners here are left to the mercy of the cold darkness just faintly visible under the distant light of the Tayian sun.

It’s horrifying silent; for Beings that aren’t Taeh’yung. 

And the lucky ones died early- but the unlucky ones simply continued to waste away, fading into the anonymous darkness that expanded such a large space. There was no need to dispose of the dead in a separate area- each cell (which Taeh’yung notes with pleasant surprise is quite spacious with separated toilet too!) is also your burial chamber.

There was nothing to be done here. Once you were inside your cell, you were placed in there for the duration of your sentence. And if you were in Teronko’ng that meant the rest of your life.

So Taeh’yung merrily steps into the cell he’s been assigned and in the purposefully horribly weak light that illuminated the entire facility, Taeh’yung stretches and readies himself to comb the entirety of this planet.

He had no luck in Ymir though he had some fun for sure. The area around it was already occupied by something feasting on the dust-like remains of a Child.

There was nothing to be gained in Dítěan.

Nakin was barren and empty- lost for many centuries already.

Cheimi would not help but Taeh’yung cannot rue her that. He would not dare approach a mother and ask her for more than she already gave. That would be disrespectful.

Barna-83-X00 was a black hole that would give nothing though it took everything. Taeh’yung decides he has nothing to lose to it so he leaves it be.

Khol’isa was just an unfortunate place with no real blessing from the Children- just the remains of a stupid curse. Their sun is dead and the moon that still haunted the Khol’isa has fragmented and scattered itself. It’s dull and senseless- no hatred or terror remained.

Mhen’tlyn was also dead, long forgotten and only because Taeh’yung remembers it through the First.

They’re difficult to find- even more so to try and get to. But Taeh’yung does find a sort of connecting beacon. A strange and cursed light, followed around by an odour he was all too familiar with. He finds it first at an unexpected 3-planet System named Atọ. He follows the motion of the strange moon-like ship, a heaviness in it that’s beyond that of the gravity this Universe contained. It’s intriguing but what they were doing wasn’t entirely of massive interest to Taeh’yung. Many many times some strange force or power would be formed or created (on purpose or on accident didn’t matter) and it would create horrendous breaks within this accursed cycle of Continuum. So it’s just another repeat- another cycle coming to full circle once more.

But what’s interesting was that they were targeting places Taeh’yung himself had listed (with a lot of difficulty because the Second is a ) and were destroying it.

So he follows them. Or at least he tries.

It sparks his interest- they were formidable in their own way. He comes to hate the odour- annoyance that they were moving faster, reaching the places he meant to get to before he could. They were getting in his way. But somehow, without the rushed and exploding din of the Four behind him, he knows he can’t touch it.

There’s something strange- something unsettling about them and Taeh’yung doesn’t like it. It reminds him of the strange darkness, the weight, at the beginning back in the Yisheng Headquarters. There’s something to it that feels too much like himself- or at least, what he understood as himself.

So Taeh’yung leaves them alone and goes his own way, far from where they were. He creates a new list, creates a new location to search.

And it works- he avoids that strange force and bit by bit puts together small bits of information he can scrape out. Which was how he ended up in Teronko’ng.

When he’s told he has visitors, strangely enough a right that the prisoners had if the Beings associated with them wanted to suffer through such a journey and experience, he’s honestly genuinely surprised.

It’s a young Yisheng with 2 companions who, to Taeh’yung’s absolute delight and interest, are bathed in that strange hateful odour and a strange compressing matter respectfully. Taeh’yung knows the Yisheng from Ymir- his light is bright and pure. The purest he has seen among Yishengs of his age and skill.

They’re talking animatedly, hurriedly, urgently. And Taeh’yung listens but he’s watching the two closely.

One has an intertwined soul, a horrible corrosion taking over engulfed in that hateful odour. He was from Dakaṣayai, a planet Taeh’yung had visited many many centuries ago. Their planet nor their sun had much to do with the First Children- rather they’re strangely blessed; and that was it. Just a blessing upon them and that was it. It’s an interesting blessing, Taeh’yung studies, but it doesn’t quite help him.

And then there’s the one from Cahya, a planet in the System of Cemlorot. His name is Baekhyun and the light he exuded is beautiful.

It’s interesting because there is so much in him. A turmoil of pain, of loss- so much grief; and yet the beauty of his light is almost too radiant for Taeh’yung to look at though he’s drawn to it.

He’s intrigued by the strange connection they seem to have with the Children. He’s never “healed” anyone before but it’s interesting nonetheless. He smiles the way he was taught a very long time ago, grinning brightly at them.

He knows he can’t fully express himself in a way that would seem comforting or reasonable or even trustworthy to the Beings of this specific Continuum, but Taeh’yung supposes he’s going to have to live with that.

‘I really believe you will do good in the future- like, really good, you know?’ Baekhyun tells him as he guides them out of the prison.

‘Do you really think so?’

‘I know you will,’ Baekhyun beams up at him, the truth in his words something Taeh’yung has never quite seen directed at him with so much. He’s not even sure what it was, but there’s so much of it.

It actually makes him feel good.

And that’s how he finds out what was happening- what was truly happening.

He meets the strangest of Beings, a new opening for him to go through, something closer.

He meets Sk’jin- a strange unborn and waking Khol’isa trapped in a realm that Taeh’yung cautiously explores. How interesting indeed.

He also finds the source of the strange odour- as well as the counter of it.

But it’s sad, Taeh’yung thinks. After all, what they had wanted to do all along was to recreate the First Children – and somehow, born on Earth, is a Being beyond the magnitude of the First Children.

Taeh’yung only beholds him for a while- too short, really; too tired and drained, existing in a Continuum not intended for him. And so he leaves.

But in his wake- well.

Taeh’yung can’t get to all of them.

There’s too many eyes- too many hands. He needs to be careful.

He also comes across the GI- and he comes across those in the GI that aren’t-…complete.

He continues to follow this trail for a few sols before Baekhyun finds him.

His light is still beautiful- and this time it’s laced with peace within the grief. He comes to Taeh’yung to tell him about some eggs-

‘What are you doing?’ Taeh’yung asks him.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Your light,’ Taeh’yung explains. ‘It’s so bright.’

Baekhyun nods thoughtfully to that, a serious look taking over his eyes. They pause a while, watching the market place below their feet from the terrace they snuck on to. He first takes a sip of his cooled drink before replying.

‘I think-…I think that for me, at least, grief is just love that has no where to go.’

Taeh’yung frowns at that. That was not the answer he was expecting in any form or way.

‘The love I had for- for the one I love,’ Baekhyun laughs, ‘I can no longer give it them. And now that love has nowhere to go. But that love still stays in me- it keeps growing and growing- and it aches, it hurts- but it’s always that- it’s always love.’

‘.neeb syawla evah uoy ohw si ssol siht ni tfel si tahw’

Taeh’yung doesn’t understand but he nods anyways.

Baekhyun smiles, his light bright and beautiful. So maybe it was true.

It’s not the answer he was expecting or needed- and it’s certainly not something he understands either.

But maybe that was okay too. Because now he knows for certain why the Four always dissuaded him from trying to approach the beginning, from trying to pursue the unknown within that moon-like ship.

Because now he has another thought, another dream that he clings on to because he knows it will get him what he wants.

‘You are the Fifth.’

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

gninnigeb a syawla si ereht ,dne na si ereht erehw

 

 

 

 

He’s so beautiful.

His beauty terrifies them. They’re so so scared. The Four are scared and Taeh’yung couldn’t be happier.

So this is what they kept from him.

Taeh’yung wants to sit and simply absorb every detail about this beautiful beautiful soul. A new born- oh, Taeh’yung doesn’t know if they even realize the weight of their words. Because Jungkook is bright, he’s new- his colour is new but not out of place.

Yet he’s considered a failure by those who tried to create him anew.

Oh but Taeh’yung thinks he’s perfect.

Because deep within his being, this new born is filled with a quiet emptiness simply waiting to be filled and shaped.

Something Taeh’yung doesn’t have.

He’s light, weightless almost amidst this burden of noise that stretches extensively.

Taeh’yung is so jealous.

He’s only ever seen them, met them, Asleep.

Yoongi is different of course, unfortunately. But Jungkook.

Taeh’yung stands over him, simply watching and absorbing all of him. His neck is throbbing with pain, he’s losing blood for sure, but none of that was important just yet.

They’re in a frenzy, fear shaking them, moving them.

‘They succeeded, in a way.’ He says.

‘They did,’ Jimin agrees, voice weak and tired.

‘He’s new.’

‘He’s…-yes,’ Jimin comes to stand before him, across where Jungkook was laid out on the Medical Bed. Jimin was in terrible condition but nothing fatal. ‘Is this my fault?’

‘Hm,’ Taeh’yung places a singular finger on the top of Jungkook’s nose.

Jungkook is in turmoil- primal rage and fear and hunger fight for dominance under his skin.

‘I wouldn’t quite put it that way.’ He looks up at Jimin.

Taeh’yung does not believe in luck but wow was he lucky. He definitely made the right choice. By trailing around within the inner-goings of the Alliance he was definitely able to find himself in a very lucky situation.

He’s pleasantly surprised to meet Yoongi again. And then he meets Namjoon. And then Sk’jin again.

And then Hoseok.

And most of all.

He meets Jimin.

The Four are instantly horrified- here, before them, another just like who they were, like who Taeh’yung was- here, before them, was a Child.

But maybe not quite.

Not entirely.

Not in a way Taeh’yung needed.

But maybe in a way that could help him.

‘He’s not like Yoongi.’

‘No,’ Taeh’yung looks down at the cleanliness within Jungkook, a striking contrast to the disorder within Yoongi- within all of them, stuck in this Continuum to repeat over and over again. ‘But in a sense, he is like all of us.’

‘There are more like him. I’m sure of it.’

‘There was,’ Taeh’yung confirms, ‘Out in that rain- there was someone. But they’re gone now.’

‘Who? Where?’

Taeh’yung just shakes his head. That was something Sk’jin would probably want to explain in his own time, if at all.

‘He’s perfect,’ Taeh’yung remarks.

‘I suppose,’ Jimin steps away, looking dizzy. Right, Taeh’yung should probably help Jimin out. He was put in charge of taking care of the injured after all. ‘But he’s not supposed to be here. None of them are.’

‘I wouldn’t say that,’ Taeh’yung says lightly, stepping away from Jungkook and walking over to Jimin and helping him stand straight. ‘I think they’re exactly what we all need.’

Taeh’yung likes to listen to Jungkook’s dreams.

It’s so peaceful.

The Four are in a strangely quiet state- anticipating, apprehensive, of this Dream that Taeh’yung had managed to capture and bring forth. And they’re starting to understand. And rather than be loud- they cower in some level of fear.

They can never look the others in the eye.

Especially Jimin.

They try to cower around Hoseok, but Taeh’yung chases them away.

The fire of pain within him was something they mocked and made light of- a fire that has erupted through out time and yet not a single flame has flickered within their eyes. They were made ash before the spark of fire could even warm them.

They try to tower over Namjoon, but Taeh’yung pushes them away.

The strength of honour within him was something they could never hope to achieve- something he could never achieve. How could they or he speak on it when nothing in their wretched existence could have ever remotely resembled any semblance of integrity?

They try to engulf Jungkook, but Taeh’yung shields him.

The light of hope, so unknown and strange, examples of which were described as weak and foolish – but he’s come to know better. He’s learnt to know better. He’s seen it too. How could they ever begin to define hope- they’ve never fought for anything- all of who they held themselves to be has existed up to now with no pause.

They try to weigh Sk’jin down, but Taeh’yung simply lifts him higher.

What did they understand of a life so lived, a life so full – a life so thoroughly cherished and enjoyed, warm and filled with fulfillment that was wretched apart, leaving a singular promise to uphold all of that life- what could they understand of it? If ever there was a life that his own- it was Sk’jin’s. It was his. And it would always be.

They try to echo the depths of Jimin’s loss, but Taeh’yung mutes their whispers.

What did they even understand of loss when they had nothing to gain? What did they fear to lose, or hope to gain? Their words are poison and tastes of a darkness that Taeh’yung drinks everyday.

They try to diminish Yoongi, but Taeh’yung buries them away.

After all, what did they know about love?

Taeh’yung thinks of this rather gleefully as he recovers. The medic is certain that he should be dead. And Taeh’yung thinks that she’s on to something too. Maybe she was right which made him even more right. But he just beams at her, enjoying the slightly muted din of horrified screams and confusion. It’s like he can hear and feel and see better.

Of course the pain is one thing but that meant nothing to him at the face of what he could receive.

What he was so close to getting.

Jungkook doesn’t think much of it when Taeh’yung snuggles close to him, seeping into his dreams of birth and new things. It’s everything Taeh’yung craves and he’s so close to it.

When they arrive at Megibīya Taeh’yung is a little surprised that Jimin doesn’t see her.

It’s true that Jimin was a Child, but maybe it had been a long time.

They enter the masked planet, reformed, reshaped, hidden and blasphemed. Taeh’yung is almost offended by what has happened here. It’s tacky, and reminds him too much of what the Four would want to do- what they used to do.

He listens to the humming, the sound of the beginning, the songs of birth, the memories of elsewhere, astir and asleep far beneath them.

If he hadn’t needed this, if he wasn’t unfortunately so much like the Four, he would have maybe explained what was happening. But Taeh’yung is, and even after his rebirth, always simply be.

‘You are the Fifth.’

It’s irritating that was for sure. But they’re not wrong.

For now. They’re not wrong for now.

Taeh’yung is aware that he’s the biggest threat to Tsirin’s attempts. Tsirin who was much more like the First Children than Jimin was. Madness was a strain that bled through their veins and it effected them all.

So he’s not surprised that they want to remove him.

Jungkook’s eyes are filled with horror and pain and rage. It almost makes Taeh’yung feel bad. It’s why he stuck to the youngling. Other than of course wanting to make sure he would be safe, and to observe how this exposure would effect him and those like him- those who would be reborn like him.

But it’s not just that.

There’s so much within his eyes- pure and unadulterated and just raw. And it’s all, in this moment, directed towards him, towards all he perceived and embraced as who he was, who Taeh’yung was.

It’s strange because Taeh’yung doesn’t know who he is- he certainly wasn’t his own, but Jungkook doesn’t seem to think like that. Doesn’t seem to care really.

His hands reach out to him, desperate and-

‘.evol si siht os’

He almost regrets it. Almost. It’s more of he thinks he might have some form of regret rather than actually experiencing it. After all, this Taeh’yung present would no longer exist. But then again, he never really did anyways.

It doesn’t hurt. Not really.

Flesh, body- the physical. It didn’t matter, really. Taeh’yung could care less. But what does matter to him is how he falls through the sphere of noise- slowly watching as it unwraps itself from him, a heavy heavy cloak.

Finally.

‘You are the Fifth.’

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

‘You are the Fifth.’

Because now he was the Fifth.

And he would be the Last.

 

 

 

 

Here he was alone.

 

 

 

 

 

Or maybe not.

 

 

 

Maybe not anymore.

 

 

Because it’s silent now yes. Silent as he’s always craved- silent as he’s always dreamt of.

 

And now that silence allows him to finally hear, finally see- finally feel.

 

He hears the approach of Yino’s wretched ungrateful children.

 

He sees the fear, the rage, the sorrow, in Jungkook’s eyes.

 

And he can feel- oh he can feel so much.

 

He feels guilt for taking Jungkook down around with him, his spirit the strongest, the purest- the brightest in this planet: a spotlight for all to see- and for all to see Taeh’yung.

 

He feels surprise at the warmth in their eyes- Namjoon, Hoseok, Sk’jin, Yoongi, Jimin, Jungkook. Warmth, a genuine harkening of his words, of what he does- of an integration Taeh’yung can now feel too.

 

He feels a rush of protectiveness, knowing what was to come now- he feels rage too, at the possibility of harm, of the promise of lives lost.

 

He feels pain- all of it wrapping him in the kind of fire that burnt through Hoseok’s hands.

 

He feels honour- all of it supporting him up like the kind Namjoon spoke in his words.

 

He feels hope- all of it caressing him like the kind Jungkook held in his eyes.

 

He feels heavy- all of it uplifting him like the way it did Sk’jin in all of his steps.

 

He feels loss- all of it pushing him forward the way it did Jimin’s thoughts.  

 

He feels love- all of it consuming him like the kind Yoongi held in his touch. 

 

 

 

The sky is rosy and fading slowly – peaceful almost. But that, that, Taeh’yung does not feel.

 

Peace.

Peaceful.

What a joke.

 

 

 

 

Because now, now, igniting deep within him, the terror of vengeance shrouds him just as all turns void.

 

 

 

‘You are the Fifth.’

 

 

 

Taeh’yung opens his eyes into a world of quiet and peace- so blissful and beautiful.

 

 

 

It’s everything he wishes it could be and more- beyond anything. What he could feel, what he could sense, through Jungkook, through the New Borns, through those precious sleeping Dreams; but now it was his.

 

 

It was all his.

 

‘You are the Fifth!’

 

Taeh’yung turns to finally behold the shadows that have followed him and labored him, their existence tied to his- their memory tied to his.

He can sense their fear- the only one true emotion they equally imbibed together.

And Taeh’yung has already made the decision that he does not want to be afraid anymore. And he can do it- because he has everything he needed to do it. He has everyone he needs to finish this.

The green fades away completely and there is only-

‘YOU ARE THE FIFTH!’

Taeh’yung chuckles, shaking his head as they fade, taking the neon green with them into a distant memory

‘I am what every living being in this universe has always been.’

A colour blossoms around him, strange and bright and raw.

They tried so hard to make him sleep, and live through the dreams of their lives.

But what can they do against the peaceful relief that comes after a long-awaited act of vengeance?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘I am Nothing.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Author’s Notes)

 

Okay but like, writing Taeh’yung’s chapter was tough bros, his mind set, his past- there’s a reason why you only ever see ONE segment in ONE chapter EVER IN ADEGU that’s been written in his pov and that was ages ago in like chapter 19 I think

So basically taeh’yungs character is just a truly truly strange Being like he’s not even within like, what we consider a moral chart he’s not exactly a Being from this universe in a way

So the things that have happened to him, what he knows, what he does etc isn’t effecting him in a way it would with beings of this universe, neither does he react to it. He cant be categorized as a psychopath or a sociopath he is who he is without a definition that can be described by anyone living in this Universe but that doesn’t stop him from wanting certain things and that is mostly

Silence

Also its not taekook

What Taehyung is observing is not him realizing hes in love with kookie but more of realizing that the love Jungkook has within him, something so raw and full despite his age and “newness”

Its something Taehyung wants to experience for himself