Chapter 164: The Harbinger Of The Everclock

[1 hour before breaching the Crack in the universe. View of A1(Tyler) and B2(Jessica) aboard the starship, Aegis Ending]

"What do you think will be on the other side?" Jessica asked Tyler as they stood informed of the massive viewing screen that displayed the Crack.

"I really don't know, but whatever it is, The Ten don't want us to know about it. From what we have learned so far, the Timeduss are The Ten's slaves sent to distract us. They preach that this is all for us, but from what I have seen and learned, I don't think that the Timeduss have any free will," Tyler said as he thumbed his chin in annoyance. 

"I am not so sure about that, I think it's just how they say, but then I have no proof of this. I want to believe the Timeduss, but it is the Ten that prevent them from telling us everything, but why?" Jessica asked.

"They are trying to keep something from us, but now there is nothing that they can do, not like there ever was! Just the stupid Risen to get in my way!" Tyler growled, but Jessica shook her head in disappointment.

"Why do you hate the Risen so much? They only tried to help us! The Fallen were the ones that deserve your hate!" Jessica countered, but that just made Tyley laugh out loud.

"The Fallen? Those were the ones that helped us in the end, and they are the only reason that we made it!" Tyler said without looking at Jessica, and she turned as white as a ghost.

They were moving closer to the Crack now, and it was pulling the ship faster. Neither of the only two people on this ship seemed to notice since they were the only ones to make it off the world before it was destroyed.

"What did you do?! You told me that the Risen were the ones that helped us from here, and there was no time to save our friends! Was that all a lie?" Jessica asked, and her eyes started to become glassy and wet. 

"The only way to get off that planet was to make a deal with them and give them the Worldstone. I traded them for the ship that they planned to use to escape, and now they are safe and going to escape! What does it matter about how we reached this point?!" Tyler yelled and then turned on Jessica, but she was already backing up from him with a shocked and horrified look on her face, but she had a hand in the air.

"You made a deal with the Evilest and most useless creatures on the planet and killed everyone I loved, for what? To defy The Ten? Do you hold nothing in this life precious?" Jessica asked, activating her Empress System, and she started to glow with a blue aura.

"We have come this far, and now you want to dispute my actions?! I gave you the chance to get help from your so-called Risen and the Timeduss, but what happened? NOTHING!" Tyler screamed, but then something happened, and the two started to slow down and distort.

"What are you doing now?! Why is my power not working!" Jessica said in a slow and distorted voice.

Tyler was not even looking at her or paying any attention. So Jessica turned her head to see what he was looking at and gasped. 

"What is that… ARRGH!" Tyler cried out, and beams of light started to shoot out from his skin until he was solid light, but at the same time, the opposite happened to Jessica.

Her form was covered in ultra back so dark that it was hard to look at. The two had gazed on the Everclock and had each been given gifts and tasks, unknown to the other.

<A1, You have been selected to take this designation because the Risen recognize your will and tenacity to do whatever it takes to complete the task. B2, while you are strong and have a strong will, You have not been selected to lead the Fallen, but you will join them.>- Unknown.

Tyler was sent to Lead the Risen, but Jessica was cast out and forced to join the Fallen. For the last two hundred and ninety-nine Rotations, the two sides have been fighting to destroy the other in order to move on. 

The Risen's goal is to push through to the Final Selection, and they will stop at nothing to do so. The Fallen want to end it all and prevent more worlds from being carelessly destroyed. 

Both sides are evenly matched, but the Risen have the advantage and are the ones that control the Timeduss, The FIRE Watchers. The Fallen have no way to contact anyone in the FIRE, so they patiently wait for the day when B1, The Harbinger of The Everclock, Arrives.

[Ashia's view]

"...I don't think I was supposed to hear all that, and now I feel a lot more confused than I was to start with. What is this all supposed to mean? And what is the Final Selection supposed to be?" I asked out loud now that I was in darkness again; it was like someone had just turned the lights out.

<This is a test; it has always been a test. From the moment you are first born, life will test you. You must pass those tests if you wish to continue living; that is the way it has always been.>- Unknown.

"Why? What is the point of it all? And who are you?" I asked, but I received no answer.

I was left in darkness with nothing but my thoughts, but then there were more thoughts than just my own, and I smiled brightly. This wait might not be so bad if I had friends, but I still wanted to know how long that wait would be.

'We are here, and we have seen many strange things,' I heard Thanos say in my mind.

Strange things? 

'Not the same as what I just saw?' I asked with a thought.

'No, we were shown the world by someone without a name, and we were told to tell you about it,' Tigra sent.

'We will tell you of the world and the coming storm,' Atom sent to me.

Whoever that voice was, it was not part of the two mentioned groups, but I wasn't sure why it was helping me. I let myself relax and told the Cat Dragons to explain everything they saw in as much detail as possible.