Depthsroot Chapter 3; From The Ground Up

Many of the Intensei that had recently become savvy on the arts of the Lost World would suddenly exit from the Library and all gather around the Grand Golem, who ruled over them and gave them their instructions. The Intensei now had some special powers and abilities, such as Minor Telepathy, which allowed them to clearly hear the thoughts of the one reaching out to them, as well as their brethren nearby. They awaited the reasons for why they were called to the foot of the Grand Golem, itself.

When a number of the Intensei were beckoned to the foot of the Grand Golem, the Great Mind would speak to them their next instructions completely mentally.

"Now that you have been learned of a few basic abilities," it spake to them, "It is time for you to understand how to use them in Formation." The Intensei were fresh, like newborns, and probably needed to have some time to get accustomed to the new abilities they'd learned about. Even if they had the information, the application of the information was also important. "Use what you have learned to follow my commands as best seen fit." This was their primary instruction, which would soon be followed by the actual command. "I will not respond until you have gotten it correct or unless issuing penalties." From there, the Great Mind would determine which Unit was which by scanning the mental, spiritual and physical capabilities of each Intensei before him.

"White Pawns," the Great Mind called out to each that were listed as a 'White Pawn,' and none other, "Formation." Whilst waiting for each of the White Pawns to assemble, he would express to them the Formation they were to determine.

Immediately, all of the 'Pawn Sacrifices' from the 'Intensei,' which were those that knew that they were 'Pawns' that were necessary to be sacrificed for the advancement of the entire unit would step forward first. All of the 'Sacrificial' Pawns, or 'Peons' as they were to be called, would be cast out from the group of greater 'Pawns,' which were actually to be kept and not sacrificed. Therefore, the first wave of Intensei, the 'Peons,' would walk toward the Grand Golem that commanded them their Formation.

As the Intensei were trained and linked as best they could be to the Tensei Hive Mind, which was located in the Depthsroot, the Chomao that were now able to be born from out of it would begin to manifest above the heads of each of the Intensei that had enough information to allow one to exist near them. Those that were more ignorant or less informed would not be able to harbor a Chomao and therefore one would not appear over them as a guide or navigation. Each of the Chomao were under the direct command of their father and would wait until they were programmed, like their father, in order to act.

A great deal of Otherworlders that witnessed these phenomena occur, be it from the sidelines or up close, were astounded by what they'd seen. Some had seen things similar and others had only experienced these things for the first time, but the fact that there seemed to be nothing that could be done about it all and at the end of the day ended up with these strange new changes in all the multiverses at once was both interesting and unsettling. They were interested in knowing more, each for their respective own goals. So, armed for battle, brandishing both weapons of their own and new ones that were available to them should they have no means of defending themselves against a threat, they would make their way to the area where there seemed to be the most commotion and inspect the land, on their guard.

Many Depthsroot Residents had congregated by this time after seeing and hearing about all the commotion. The Depthsroot was a small village, so word traveled fast and moving about the village was easy. Just as the Otherworlders and Intensei, who were also part of the Depthsroot Residents, they would gather around the Grand Golem and this bright, shining man that appeared before them and kept calling himself 'Ophiuchus' and their king. They were more curious than anything, since some of them knew the deeper, true identity of this man, but very little about what was going on. They hurried to where he was that they may get the information they desired.

When it was noticed by Ophiuchus that there was a woman falling from the sky, he immediately stopped what he was doing and sprang into action. "Hold on," he would say to them as he sprang up suddenly rather high into the air to catch the woman. Unfortunately, his loss of focus also drained him, because he was not in a substantially stable state where his energy was fully replenished nor flowing well down in the Depthsroot, as opposed to up in the higher levels of the Veritas, where circulation was more clear. Here, Ophiuchus needed to recover, and so the jump into the air to catch the woman would immediately cause him to be lowered back into his 3rd Restriction, where his radiance was limited, as was his energy supply and reserves. "Gotcha!" he cried out, snatching the woman from the air. No longer did Ophiuchus have any luster to his hair nor his form, and instead of his golden glow, he was now completely drenched in black from head to toe. Even his eyes were now a piercing, feral red instead of a lucid crystal blue.

When he fell back to the ground with a rather reckless thud, he huffed heavily and lowered the woman to the ground. He looked at himself and realized that he'd descended once again. "... Fuck, I didn't want to use up energy before I was fully recovered..." Even his voice and demeanor had changed along with his appearance. His eyes were sunken and looked rather tired and drained. "... And before I explained what was going on." The woman who he'd saved was none other than his lover, Tsuki, but she appeared, once again, at an inopportune and inconvenient time. Part of that was his own fault, but at this point, that could be sorted out later. She needed to hear the conversation, too.

"... Uh, like I was saying," he tried to continue, casually playing off the chaos that was going on, "... Hey, can everybody kinda like... Gather around and stuff? I only want to explain this once. Then I need to recover." It should have been clear to him as he shifted between his forms of golden haired and black haired that his current situation was, more or less, unstable and he needed to recover. "I know there's a lot going on, especially right here, right now, but... Just let me explain the major parts and then we'll get through the rest of it as we go along." Black Friday was way too much to explain all in one sitting. "Whatever questions you have, come together and ask me after I'm done explaining to you about Black Friday and the movement of the Veritas." Then, perhaps he and Tsuki-chan can have some alone time, since she'd spontaneously appeared.

The Otherworlders were astounded at the events going on here in the Depthsroot. One after another, all sorts of new and strange things were occurring here. Those that had power of extended perception beyond their limited area could foresee many types of changes and all sorts of occurrences that were effects of this. "Ophiuchus!" they cried out to this so-called 'king,' "Tell us what you know and how to stop this from going any further! If you work with us, we won't have to take any extra measures." The Otherworlders were looking to put a means to an end, even if it meant taking down this 'Ophiuchus,' who looked like he'd suddenly become weaker. If there was any time to strike him, it was now, but a majority of them were a compassionate people that only wanted justice and peace; not to terrorize an innocent town. Some of them were weakened, as well; many of them, actually, but they were confident in their individual strength and training, and whatever powers they brandished along with the weapons available. "We don't want to hurt anyone, but we will if we cannot come to an understanding."

Now, the Depthsroot Residents, who, some had prior experience with this person calling himself 'Ophiuchus,' were not as upset as the foreigners were to this land. Though the Depthsroot Residents were kept in the dark about many, many, many things that were going on, and were now in the middle of what looked like more of Khrona's madness as Kage over the Dusk, they weren't exactly distressed by it all after the Grand Golem saved them from destruction and started helping them reconstruct their underground village. They weren't aware of how vast the changes were to the Dusk up above, nor what Khrona -- whom they knew 'Ophiuchus' as before he started call himself 'Ophiuchus' -- had done up above. They had never been above the surface ever since the remainder of the Depths became the Depthsroot in the first place, so seeing ANYONE from the Dusk come down to greet them was already a rarity. Of course, they had tons of questions for Khrona, especially those that knew him better than others.

"KHRONA!!" they cried out to him, gathering around once he'd taken his more familiar form before them; the one they remembered him taking on in years past, "We have been waiting for you to spill the beans for long enough! First, that thing that looked like Kham came and destroyed part of our town, then we find out that whatever you and your girlfriend did caused some kind of otherworldly calamity, then, we get these foreigners here that are all pissy about what you did." This was the general synopsis of what the Depthsroot Residents knew after witnessing the 'Black Friday' happen and also being exposed to the results, which also included the Otherworlders being salvaged from their realms here in the Depthsroot as refugees. "Now we're happy we get to see some of our favorite heroes and superpowered people we've read about in comics and seen in video games or on TV," they said, "But, NOT when they're mad at US for something YOU did. So, we're all here now and ready for an explanation."

Carl, who DEFINITELY was within this group, damn near the front of the crowd, also cried out, "AND WHO WAS THAT DAMN MONKEY?!? WAS HE ONE OF YOURS?!?" Before Khrona appeared, the monkey-man, who had strange powers, had been monkeying around in the Depthsroot and had some affiliation to the Grand Golem that was now protecting them as their Earth God. That was also something they wanted explained to them more deeply. They were gathered 'round, waiting for the FULL explanation this time.

The Otherworlders were patient with the man who was calling himself 'Ophiuchus,' because for some reason, he seemed tired. They'd seen him make this shift before when he was explaining about himself previously when Black Friday began, but he hadn't been calling himself 'Ophiuchus' at the time. Whatever sort of honorific he'd given himself wasn't of any concern to them, but they would respect it if that was the custom. Their only concern was with their own homes and the fate of worlds like their own, which he neglected to explain to them when he spoke to them before about the Veritas and himself. They grouped themselves with the Depthsroot Residents and awaiting the answers to their questions about Black Friday, their worlds and how to stop Black Friday peacefully.

Khrona blinked, giving an exasperated sigh and simultaneous groan. "I could have SWORN I told you before about me... The ONLY thing I DON'T think I told you was about why I'm calling myself 'Ophiuchus' now, and that also has to do with Black Friday, and lots of other cosmic stuff..." As Shinrona, which was what the actual name of his form 'Ophiuchus' was called, Khrona had shown them his powers and explained to them how they worked and his gifts from God. All of that was the explanation about the upper levels of the Veritas. "I don't have time to repeat myself," he said with a huff, still tired. "All I'm here to tell you now, after I've told you about the upper levels of the Veritas is that the planet is alive. Not just 'alive' like a normal planet, but 'alive' as in 'it's a person,' and my 'daughter,' no less. She's going through some pubescent changes and because of that, and the Tensei Family traditions... You know, with the 13 Moons? You 'member? You 'member." He shifted his eyes shadily.

"Yeah, so, because the Veritas moves on her own and on command, whenever we go through some 'terrestrial changes' up above, it not only changes the structure of the planet, but sometimes the aftershocks reach down here, which was what I came to warn you about. I only wanted to come to you calling myself 'Ophiuchus' because that's the title of 'Kingship' I've given myself when I'm 'Shinrona,' my 5th Restriction form, which is what I look like when I'm all glowing and radiant and stuff." They already knew about that part. They just didn't know he was calling himself 'Ophiuchus,' which was where their skepticism came in. Still, they knew what this was, especially since he already explained THAT part to him before. "But, as for the residual effects of Black Friday, which I neglected to tell you when I told you everything about myself... Uh, see..." He rubbed the back of his head and looked to the Otherworlders. "Remember when I told you that the Otherworlders were coming here and were kinda like what you'd seen in Disgaea? Well, uh, see, what happened on Vescrutia also is happening to other planets. Tons of different 'Earths' that are of many different names falling to the same reasons that Vescrutia did. Because of that, Black Friday is more or less... Siphoning out those causalities and causing them to be destroyed, which sometimes ends with complete destruction of whatever planet was using it as the life support system." That said, there were some particular Otherworlders that didn't have homes to return to, which was the thing he didn't want to have to tell them. "It's their own fault for loving evil. When it's time to wipe it out, anything attached gets wiped out with it, and anything that's good gets salvaged." Simple as that.

"Black Friday will continue until it stops being fueled, or until it is manually overwritten," he continued to say, answering how to stop Black Friday for the sake of the Otherworlders. "As long as there are worlds that are filled with evil and corruption, the spreading 'Black Friday' will extract it and destroy them, leaving only the good parts that were not tainted by the evil. Like sticking a syringe inside and sucking out poison, but if the whole planet is sustained on evil, there is no planet left to exist when it is sucked out and destroyed to keep other planets from being corrupted. Soooo." He coughed. "It'll be done when it's done. Either everyone stops committing evil or the Black Friday swallows them up." He shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, that's about it. I'm pooped. You have anymore questions, feel free to ask the Grand Golem. That is definitely... Why he's there. He is connected to a vast array of multiverses and has TONS of Otherworldly knowledge. In my current state, he's more qualified than I am, and, well, that's about as best an explanation as I can give you when I'm so tired." It was what it was, and all the events that brought them here, especially the massive amounts of evil in many other universes was to blame. Khrona snickered, completely ignoring Carl. "OKAY WELL Tsuki-chan and I -- By the way, this is my lovey-dovey, Tsuki-chan, or 'Friday,' as I call her in her variable incarnations -- We're gonna go and take it easy. I'm reaaaally bushed and, well, I left this here Grand Golem SPECIFICALLY so you can go bother him and not me. Soooooooo. Sleep on it and we'll all talk about it another day. If you REALLY want answers, go ask the Grand Golem. Simple as that." Khrona nudged Tsuki, then whispered to her. "We out, les go." He started to walk away casually and nonchalantly whistling all the while.

"Finally," was the first word that came out of Tsuki's mouth after Tomon finished explaining things. Everyone else called him Khrona, and she did, too, but every so often, she referred to him by his other name as a term of endearment. "... It's too crowded here." What she wanted to do was talk to him in private about certain things that were personal to the two of them, which didn't need the eyes and ears of other people. "... Besides. You said you'd teach me how to use those Cards. I didn't forget." Just because there was a lot going on didn't mean Tsuki was off her own square. As discombobulated as she was, she wasn't fully thrown for a loop. With barely any acknowledgement to the group, she turned right around alongside Tomon and went off with him to a place she figured he already had in mind for them. He knew this area better than she did, so she trusted him to take her somewhere that was both comfortable and private. She didn't want anyone poking their nose into their business, and really wanted to talk to him alone.

Carl: Dammit, Khrona!!

The rest of the Depthsroot Residents were more or less satisfied with the answer, yet also were filled with a sense of bewilderment about what was to come. As Shinrona, before he started calling himself 'Ophiuchus,' Khrona did indeed explain certain things about the Veritas in depth to them, but hadn't exactly stated that the planet was a living being that could move around on its own. They looked up at the Grand Golem and thought about it in terms of that. However, the real predicament was with the Otherworlders more than it was with the Depthsroot Residents, who had been explained things prior. "W-wait!" They cried. "You're just going to leave us here with them? What kind of...?" Then, they remembered what the Grand Golem could do and fell silent. Puzzled, they wondered if the Grand Golem really could take on all their favored super-powered people. Granted, they were in a weakened state, but that didn't mean that they weren't still powerful in their own respect. The Depthsroot Residents only just recently came into their powers, if they didn't already have some before due to living in the Depths. Those that remained either lost their powers or were so few or weak with them that they were considered negligible. Now that practically everyone in the Depthsroot had powers, they wondered if they could take on the Otherworlders whilst they were weakened.

Many thoughts went through their heads, and all the while, Khrona and his girlfriend would exit, leaving only the Depthsroot Residents, consisting also of the Intensei, and the Otherworlders, with the Grand Golem that was watching over them. At least they wouldn't be in any danger, but many of them felt bad for the Otherworlders. The Depthsroot Residents went to console them.

The explanation given to the Otherworlders was tragic, to say the least, but fair considering what they'd seen on their respective worlds that they'd been salvaged from upon destruction. Though they knew they would miss their homeworlds and what was there, many of them were fighting for a greater good and simply knew that their worlds were detracting from it, and were doomed long before they had been wiped out. The devastation weighed heavily on them; to know that they could do nothing to save their homelands and that they were damned for destruction. They'd seen the signs long before, yet didn't expect such a sudden end. Then again, in terms of demise, who ever did? They had many mixed feelings; some, even to go run after this 'Ophiuchus' and make him fix it, but the elder Otherworlders, who had seen this happen to other realms before stopped them. It was all futile, and it wasn't right to cause a war on a planet that had just saved them and was only doing the very thing that each of them, in their own respect, had been trying to do for so long, yet failed. It was an endless loop for them, and surprisingly, this looked like the end of it. Despite much of that end looking like utter destruction, at least it was an absolute. All they could do was look forward to a brighter future and do what they could to help it along.

"If there's any way to restore our worlds," someone said to the ones that were feeling negative about what was explained to them, "... Then I'm sure that man will help us. He wouldn't have saved us, knowing that we might turn against him and fight him if he intended to simply destroy things blindly. He's like us. He just... Found out that there was no way to save everyone and everything, but also that there was a method to extracting what should whilst leaving what shouldn't. Even if we loved it, we have to accept... It was for the greater good." They'd heard his claims about his being chosen by God; something none of them could actually claim for themselves, despite their righteous justice. They each had their shortcomings and, though they fought for good, they couldn't say that what they were doing was for nor condoned by God, and also back it up with actual evidence. "... We have to do what we can to help him. He knows more than what he's telling. If he is allowed to rest, he may give us an answer about how to restore our worlds."

The Otherworlders who listened to this motivational speech would become less disheartened, raising their heads, lowering their fists and their weapons. "Yeah..." they said. "You're right..." They may have lost everything, but there was hope here. They could see it in this new land; this land they'd never seen. Even underground, it was like some sort of utopia, even if it was in a limited degree. Much better than some of the lands they'd come from. "We'll have to work with the villagers and teach them, and they will be able to teach us things, as well. The best thing to do when in a foreign land with friendly people is to be on good terms and learn everything you can. At least, until we're recovered and ready to make more major moves. If we all work together, there can be hope for the other universes. Maybe even before this... 'Black Friday' reaches them. I know this may not be what he desires to do, yet might have come to an ultimatum, with this as the final decision. You never know; it could have been his world on the line, or everyone else's. Who is to say that they wouldn't choose their own? Yet, out of ours... Who is to say that ours would have prospered." The wisdom of the Otherworldly elder, who did not look all that old, yet was exceptionally iconic, brought peace and hope to their devastated hearts. They agreed with him and each of them would go toward the Depthsroot Residents to work with them.

--Relative Timeskip--

After so long of the Otherworlders that were saved from Black Friday and the Depthsroot Residents that were already working on the repairs of their own lives after the attack from the vicious golem, a different type of construct nearly equivalent in size to the Grand Golem watching over them all slipped into the underground village via shimmering rings of translucent light shredding the image of the temple-like construct into their vicinity. It was MaTeus, the distribution carrier for the Veritas, bearing a large quantity of people that were salvaged from a similar event to the Black Friday (that also served as an extension of Black Friday). These salvaged people -- part of the $yndicate -- would be introduced into the economy and integrated with the Depthsroot Residents whilst also learning how to be more part of the $yndicate so that the Depthsroot would be under the protection of the Veritas' legal and political party -- which the $yndicate also served as beyond being a task force.

The people that were saved from Hell and Valparaiso were released from MaTeus after being transported from Valparaiso to this place underground, right before the Grand Golem. As they exited, they were guided toward different projects and locations that would assist in the overall rebuild of the economy, society and structure of life for the Depthsroot Residents and also learning to govern it, as the $yndicate did for most other aspects of the Veritas' universal systematic planetary order.