Unison (The Spheral) (66 page)

“Technically, he is.”

Vivek creased his forehead, along with every other line on his face.

“I’ll explain later.”

“I thought Sephroy was against Union?” Mother asked.

“He is, but Vivek told me Sutara is dying.” I placed my hand over her head. “Maybe that’s why he brought her here.” My body heated up as it always had when I healed.

“She looks perfectly healthy to me.”

A black aura surrounded Sutara, and I quickly handed her to my mother.

I have to find Sephroy,” I said. “He couldn’t have gotten that far.”

“What’s wrong?” Mother hugged Sutara and cupped the back of her head. “You look scared.”

“Don’t take your eyes off her until I get back.”

“I won’t.” Mother kissed Sutara’s cheek.

I faced Vivek. “We’ll continue this later.”

I caught up with Sephroy halfway up the ridge. “You fought this from happening, and now you bring her to me?”

Sephroy halted. “Jall was right to give you the echoer when he did.” He turned towards me and jabbed his cane into the ground to prevent himself from falling. “He’s attempting to save the spheral.”

“I thought he wanted to speed up evolution?”

Sephroy quickly tapped the ground with his cane. “He did and still does! I make no promises you’ll still be here once Union takes place.”

“Then why—”

“Seeing Sutara again helped remind me of something Jall and I overlooked when we studied the spheral…balance. Not just in the evolutionary process as a whole, but between the Six as well. As Sutara progresses forward in her rotations, the five of you lag behind her. The burden of knowledge drawn from her is wearing her down, and she’s close to dying…permanently.” Sephroy rubbed his lower back and grunted. “I’ll never make it back to the old tunnel.”

I helped Sephroy towards a nearby tree trunk.

“I didn’t think I was doing any harm.” Sephroy planted his cane on the ground and sat. “The worse I thought would happen was this spheral would weaken, sending out less energy. While we would be denied a little extra sustenance, you would all be permitted to evolve naturally. I was arrogant enough to believe I could rejoin you when the time came for Union, but the process is irreversible—so I thought.” Sephroy pointed towards the sky. “The divine will is stronger than mortal interference.”

My sense of familiarity returned as I examined Sephroy’s face. “Did you ever say that to me before?”

“Not in this rotation…Chap.” He paused to smile as though recalling a fond memory. “But none of that matters now. You must all join in Unison before Sutara dies. She doesn’t have time to wait for the rest of you to catch up.”

“What will happen if we don’t join?”

“When her life force can’t absorb the energy any longer, the spheral will stop evolving and die. And a dying spheral is messy. It will swell until—” Sephroy clutched his forehead. “The explosion will be so vast, the aftershock will destroy everything, including the portion of the Outersphere from where I originated.” Sephroy stared at me, and his eyes filled with tears. “I’ll be responsible for an incalculable amount of deaths.”

“How much time do we have?” I asked.

“I don’t believe Sutara can endure beyond this incarnation.”

“Who’s the Sixth?”

Sephroy handed me the echoer. “Ask your question, and you’ll get your answer.”

I closed my eyes and placed the echoer against my chest as Sephroy had done when he produced the spheral.
Who is the Sixth?
I asked silently, but nothing came.

“You must have enough faith to know the answer is already within you,” Sephroy said.

I opened my eyes. “Faith isn’t my strength.”

“Union must be now—if you’re to succeed.”

“Every time I believed in something, I ended up destroying all those who were closest to me.” I tried to hand Sephroy the echoer. “Who’s the Sixth? Tell me.”

“Your carnal interpretation of faith and belief is what holds you back. For a successful Union; doubts, fears, and worries must cease, so you can connect with the primordial reality within you. Without faith in yourself…Union will surely fail.”

Sephroy leered at me when I wouldn’t take back the echoer. He dug his cane into the ground and hoisted himself to his feet. “Wretched specimen!” He seized the echoer. “Your meager supply of wisdom wouldn’t feed my people through one millisecond of your time! Go home! Everything will soon be obliterated, along with your memory of the destruction that will follow as the result of your dereliction!”

I snatched the echoer, placed it against my chest and closed my eyes, focusing internally on my question. Words kept materializing until I connected to my simple desire to make everything okay for myself and everyone. That desire expanded into a pure awareness, unbound by the physical boundaries of mind. An electromagnetic sensation pulsed and swirled at the top of my head.

“The Sixth!” Sephroy yelled.

I opened my eyes to a projection of a familiar face. “Signy! I hadn’t seen her since my first incarnation.” I handed Sephroy the echoer. “She should be easy to find. Her village is on this side of the old tunnel.

Sephroy pushed his palm forward. “I have no use for it.”

I placed the echoer in my pocket. “Come back with me. If Union happens, you should be there.”

“I’ll be the first of my kind to see a spheral’s birth and rebirth.” He sighed. “But my name won’t be recorded for this momentous occasion because I’ve long been forgotten.”

“I’ll make sure you’re remembered.”

Sephroy peered at me. “Jall didn’t think you had the strength, but I told him otherwise.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That you’d be the one to move things forward…at the right time.” He dug the tip of his cane into the dirt to balance himself. “However, I’m still not certain that time is now.”

I crossed my arms. “Lucky for you I’m not a
wretched specimen
.”

“We’ll have to wait for Union to determine whether that’s true.”

OLD MENTOR

I
traveled to Signy’s village, and approached a group of children playing hide and seek near the corn field. A boy ran out from the cover of the stalks and ran into me.

“Sorry. I didn’t see you.”

“I’m looking for Signy. Can you take me to her?”

“Does she know you?”

“I’m an old friend.”

The boy led me to Signy’s hut, and I was stunned when she opened the door. She was barely past her fourteenth year. I had forgotten the last time we met was almost twenty years into the future.

“Hi Signy,” I said.

“Have we met?”

"Name's Damon.” I forced my way in and pulled out the echoer. “We must speak privately.”

Signy ran to the table, grabbed a knife and thrust the blade at me. “My parents will be back shortly! If you don’t leave here now, I’ll—” Signy was speechless when she cast her eyes upon the spheral I had just projected. She slowly lifted up her arm and pointed her finger at it. “I’ve seen this before—in a dream.” She approached and waved her hand through the spheral.”

The boy who stood outside the door entered with his mouth wide open. “How did you get a whole planet in here?”

“It’s a light projection.”

“It’s beautiful.” Signy looked at me. “Do you know what it is?”

“Our home.” I expanded the portion of space that housed Earth and pointed to the red flickering light.

The boy snickered. “We’re so tiny.”

“You said you came here to show this to me. Why?” Signy asked.

“Your presence is needed.”

“For what?”

I pointed to the spheral. “To keep the lights within shining.”

Signy gawked at me. “Why me? I don’t know anything about this.”

“You’re one of six beings who helps this all continue.”

“He’s only joking with you,” the boy said without taking his eyes off the spheral. “Girls can’t be heroes.”

“This one is.” I turned to Signy. “You once told me you dreamed of exploring the world. Those weren’t dreams, Signy—they’re your memories.”

“How could I tell you anything if I never met you?”

I understand how this all sounds, but the Six must reunite soon. If we don’t…” I pointed to the spheral. “All this will be gone.”

“I never even left this village. How do you expect me to help?”

Signy’s parents ran into the room. They froze when they saw the hologram.

“What on Earth is that?” Signy’s father asked.

“It’s all right,” Signy said.

I shut off the projection and handed Signy the echoer.

“Don’t touch that!” Signy’s father got in between us. “It might hurt you.”

“It won’t hurt her,” I said.

“Father…please. I’ve been seeing this in my dreams ever since I can remember, and I want to know what it means.”

“They’re just dreams,” he said.

“No…they’re not.” Signy took the echoer.

“Only we can operate it,” I said. “I’ll leave you alone while you ask your questions. I’ll be outside when you’re ready.”

“Ready for what?” Signy’s mother rushed over to her daughter and put her arm around her.

Signy examined the echoer. “Do I talk to it?”

“Not with words.”

“With what?”

“Desire.”

I took the boy outside and told him about the spheral and Sephroy. He was captivated with my explanation but after I was finished, he crossed his arms and said, “I wouldn’t have believed him.”

“I didn’t either, but I learned everything is not always as it appears.”

Signy ran outside of her hut, and both her parents came out with the same expressions they had when they first saw the projection.

“I remember.” Signy hugged me. “It’s so good to see you again.” She handed me the echoer. “How about the others? Am I the last?”

The boy gazed at Signy with his mouth open.

“Five remember.” I patted the boy’s head. “We’re still waiting for one.”

During our walk back to the cabin I got to know Signy’s father and was able to put his mind at ease. After I explained to him the importance of us being together, his fatherly pride emerged.

“I always knew there was something special about Signy. Ever since she was a child, she talked ahead of her years. Were you like that?”

“Yes, except my talents weren’t appreciated. Only my two mentors realized my potential.”

“You’re lucky to have had them.”

Signy smiled at me. “Do you agree with me now?”

"About what?”

“The Sacred Oath is our enemy. It rules us through our complacency and blind loyalty—”

“It never gives up until we surrender to it, and most of us do.” I stopped walking. “Master Franklin said that to me when I was a boy. How did you—”

Signy pointed to herself and smiled.

“You’re…Master Franklin?” I asked.

“Were.” She giggled, and her parents stared at her in shock.

“Why did you have a black aura around you? I tried to heal you, but it didn’t work.”

“You couldn’t add more life to me because that would have affected my present cycle.”

“How much do you remember?” I asked.

“Only the few memories the echoer showed me. I remember you yelling at me after I disappointed you about a camping trip. And then you played a song for me on your—”