A faint voice echoes through Lud's head. A familiar voice, yet something he finds oddly alien to him. Foreign? No. Something… he hears and doesn't hear often, yet… never.
The voice says "Once you hear this voice again, do not trust it. Question everything this voice says. This is my gift to you. The only one I can give."
This all happened while Lud was eating breakfast. Quite tasty breakfast in fact. A taste that Lud doesn't often get to taste. He may think this is a familiar taste, but in reality, he has never tasted the kind of food he is currently eating.
After hearing the odd voice and once he swallows the food in his mouth, Lud asks everyone else on the table "Did any of you hear that?"
To which Sarah asks back "Hear what? You're munching?"
Lud says "I'm sure I heard something. Don't tell me I'm starting to hear voices now."
Toki says "I mean… The fact that you are almost at the demigod stage is something that could explain a few oddities inside your head."
Lud asks, all worried "R-really?"
Toki reaffirms "Yeah. Though it has never been successful, once mortals try to take in god juices, the aether in them often makes weird things happen in their heads. There is one timeline where an AI tried to ascend to godhood by absorbing aether into their system and they started acting all wonky."
Brutus asks "What the hell is an AI?"
Sarah says "I think it is something similar to Xi and his posse."
Toki responds "Correct."
Lud asks "Wait… there was a timeline where an AI became a thing and it started to ascend to godhood?"
Toki corrects Lud by saying "Tried to ascend. They didn't succeed. And what do you think happens after thousands of years of life? People are gonna make progress eventually."
Lud says "So… we are going to have computers in the future?"
Toki says "Have you completely forgotten that Star elves are a space faring race? Granted collapses happen all the time and people often have to start from a stone age. But that is here and there."
Lud asks with quite a bit of worry in his voice "Collapses happen that often?"
Toki says "You seem to have forgotten that timelines are a thing in this world."
Lud thinks for a moment, calms down a little, and then asks "But… Is my mind going to break?"
Toki says quite calmly "I mean… I wouldn't be surprised."
Lud starts to shake a little and ask "And you… are just gonna let that happen?"
Toki replies "Well… there is not much I can do. I mean, I can make you into an eonite golem, but then you will experience a sort of death in a sense, so I don't recommend it."
Lud asks, as if it was a second nature to him somehow "Then why don't we try convergence?"
Toki looks angrily at Lud for a moment, but the moment Lud realized what he said, he was dumbfounded for a moment, which in turn, made Toki calm a little.
Toki asks "Where did you hear about convergence?"
Lud says in a baffled tone "I… don't know."
Toki asks back "You don't know?"
Lud responds "Yeah. Somehow, it just… came out of my mouth."
Toki stops eating for a moment to think. Sarah comes to the conversation with "What is convergence anyways? It sounds like a big deal."
Toki, to test the waters, asks Lud "Are you able to answer that, dad?"
Lud says "Let me think." and after a moment of pondering, he says "S-Something to do with timelines. … I think."
Toki responds "Well that is close enough."
Sarah, interested, asks "So what is it?"
Toki responds with a cold "We are not going further with this conversation."
This makes everyone at the table feel a chill running down their spines, and they continue eating in silence.
After the meal, the quatro hears that Shalaphinar has been called to meet with her father. Couple of hours go by and later an attendant comes to say to them that "The patriarch wishes to see the Ilumnosses."
Lud and Toki look at each other for a moment before they start to follow the attendant.
Brutus says to Sarah in the waiting room they were assigned to "Do you think we are treated as an afterthought?"
To this, Sarah responds "Kinda. But as long as Faust gets to see the main events, I'm fine with that."
Brutus says "True. He is the boss after all. Still, I kind of want to be there with him. This sounds like a super important event and I want to be there to support the guy."
Sarah says "Me too."
Brutus asks "That's it?"
Sarah asks "What?"
Brutus asks further "You are just gonna let your boyfriend go like that?"
Sarah is confused for a moment before she says with a blank expression "He is not anybody's boyfriend. Faust is our king. Nothing more."
Brutus says "But you… seem to have a thing for the boss. Like most other female battalion leaders."
Sarah says "I…" but hesitates for a moment until she is able to say "I don't feel like I deserve to be by his side yet."
Brutus says "So you are going to let that witch take the lead?"
Sarah is a bit dumbfounded and asks "Witch?"
Brutus clarifies "You know… that spawn of Maumar or whatnot. The mindeating witch."
Sarah says "You mean Lady Zolotfia? Since when has she eaten minds?"
Brutus says, as if it is clear as day to everyone "But you know… She can… read our minds and…take over our minds if it weren't for your dad."
Sarah says "You know… while I acknowledge Li as my dad now, that doesn't mean I'll accept others calling him my dad."
Brutus asks "Why?"
Sarah says "At best, say that he is my father. Not my dad. It feels weird otherwise."
Brutus says "Sure, but still. Without the guy, the witch could control us with her mind tricks and… make us do something abhorable."
Sarah says "You can actually use the word 'abhorable'? Impressive."
Brutus jabs "Like you are much smarter than me."
Sarah says "I have been training with my dad for a while and I'd say I'm much smarter than you."
Brutus says "So you can call him dad but not others."
Sarah says "Catching on, are we? I have been trained to rule a nation since birth. Granted, I was mostly used as a puppet… a mascot to further the demon agenda back in Odysseium. Still, I was at least taught the basics of rulership. Unlike you who had to learn how to write when you first joined."
Brutus is surprised and asks "Where did you learn that I didn't know how to write?! Who told you?!"
Sarah replies with a cheeky smile "I'm not telling."
Brutus grabs Sarah by the collar and asks "Who?!"
Sarah smirks and says "Your wife."
Brutus is shocked by this and let's go. He fumbles a bit, takes support from the wall and says "But… She is my wife. How… how can she do that to me?"
Sarah says "You say that as if you caught your wife cheating."
Brutus says "That was supposed to be secret only me, boss, boss' brother, and Angie. How… how can she do that to me?"
Sarah rubs salt on the wound and says "Most people know about it by now."
This strikes Brutus and he falls down to the floor. He even slams the floor slightly and says "Angie… I… I trusted you."
Sarah is getting a bit worried now and says "You know, it isn't that big of a deal. Everyone knows you aren't the smartest, so not knowing how to write or read wasn't as unexpected."
Brutus turns around and shouts "You don't understand! This was a great shame that I bore as the primal fire dragon! I tried many times to learn the languages of Odysseium, but only after I met with the boss' brother did I manage to learn the art of reading!"
Sarah says awkwardly "Well… sorry… I guess."
Brutus then stands up and says "I need to call Angie and have a word with her. For that, I'll need to go outside. If the boss asks for me, tell him to use telepathy."
Brutus leaves and Sarah is left wondering "Did… Did I screw something up?"
It was during that call when Angie revealed to Brutus that she was pregnant. This did cause Brutus to crashland as he was flying during the call. Stay sharp while flying.
In the Embershthir patriarch's bedroom, Lud and Toki were standing there, waiting for the patriarch to respond to their presence.
Shalaphinar says to her father in flametongue "Father. The Ilumnosess have arrived."
Lud and Toki could not see the man, but they heard a weak voice say in common "So… you are the ones that brought my child back to me. You… have my gratitude."
Lud was a bit surprised by the common tongue that Loyrktoshthil used. He did not expect the seemingly old fashioned Phoenix family to speak any common.
Toki shook Lud a little to make him respond, and so Lud said "There is no need for gratitude. Your child's presence has been a gift to us in Elysium. Granted, with the language barrier that was on the way."
A very weak chuckle could be heard and then the words "I see. So she doesn't know common in this cycle. What a shame. In… In one of my memory tablets, There was a time when she… actually wrote literature quite often in common instead of our native tongue. Oh…. Oh what would I pay to see such a sight myself. I haven't had the time to read those pieces of art in this cycle myself, so I feel a bit sad."
Lud says quite calmly "I'm sure you'll have the time in the future."
Another weak chuckle could be heard from the weak Loyrktoshthil. Then he said "You don't need to say such things, young one. I know that… that my time is nigh. I have accepted that fact and… so should the rest of my family… before they get hurt more than they should."
As Lud was about to say something, he found himself in a white space. Similar space that he endured when he was with Nemesis. He starts to panic a little, until he hears a familiar voice saying "You are capable of saving him, you know."
Lud looked around and after a while, a familiar, yet alien person appeared before him. That person gave the same kind of vibe that Maumar gave. Plain white cloth. Absurdly long white hair. And emotionless eyes.
But this… this was different. It was as if… No, it had to be… as if he was looking past a mirror of himself.
The person says "You can save the man, gaining you huge favor with the Embershthir household. That, and much… much power."
Lud asked "You… you are me… you… you are the host of the second era, Flaudst."
Flaudst says "Indeed."
Lud says "But… that should be impossible. Eris said that…"
Flaudst continues "That it is impossible to bring the host of the abyss to another host's era."
Lud says "Yes."
Flaudst says "It is indeed complicated, but I came to deliver a message that was utmost important to us."
Lud asks "A message."
Flaudst says "Indeed. That… of convergence."
Lud says "Convergence… That is… something I brought up this morning. Is this why?"
Flaudst replies "Yes. In two simple terms, I'll explain this. Time shenanigans."
Lud says "Is it that simple?"
Flaudst says "No. But we… or rather, you are still too simple minded to understand the full concept."
Lud says "So… it is true that… I'll become the next host."
Flaudst says "Indeed. It is something that will happen. Whether you are the iteration that does so or not is irrelevant. One of us will become the host."
Lud asks "So… how many of me are you speaking with?"
Flaudst answers "To make it more understandable. Just you. But the moment you return to that moment where you could help… that man."
Lud asks "You… You don't remember his name?"
Flaudst asks back "Do you? It was quite a complicated name."
Lud says "No."
Flaudst then continues "You have to learn the convergence technique that only singular entities can grasp. That said, you also have to become a singular entity."
Lud says "So I'll… become the culmination of all of my selves soon."
Flaudst reaffirms "No. With the convergence technique, you will only partially become the culmination of ourselves that are closest to your timeline."
Lud says "But… As far as I understand… I cease to be me. At least somewhat."
Flaudst responds "That much is true. But we must ask ourselves, 'Simple as we may be, do we want to have a better future?' and you already know the answer."
Lud responds in kind "Yes. but is it wort sacrificing all those other timelines?"
Flaudst asks "What do you mean?"
Lud says "For some reason, I feel sorry for those possibilities of me that will never be after many of me… converge. The simplest way to… erase futures."
Flaudst says "That is indeed a sacrifice that we have to make for the bright future we wish for."
Lud then realizes something "You… I heard this voice some time ago. It said to not trust this voice."
Flaudst is on guard and says "Is that so. And you trust that voice?"
Lud says "Yes. As crazy as it sounds. I trust that imaginary tone of voice more than I do the voice that sounds similar to it in reality."
Flaudst says "So are you going to throw this chance away?"
Lud says "No… I just want to know… who are you really?"
Flaudst asks "You don't trust me at all. Do you?"
Lud responds "No. Since you… you are Eris."
Flaudst sighs and says "You… you've caught me. But what was that voice that you heard? Could it be that it was the actual… No… that should be impossible. Contacting anything in the previous eras should be impossible for any host. So what was that?"
Lud answers "I believe… that is myself warning me of not going through with whatever you have in plan."
Eris says "So… you are just gonna ignore the 'old' dying man in front of you? Are you just gonna let it be?"
Lud says "No. I will learn this convergence technique."
Eris asks "So why are you, or yous intervene like that?"
Lud says "I… I have the feeling that… It is to send a message."
Eris asks "A message?"
Lud says "Yes. A message to say that you can't control us."
Eris says "Us huh? So… It was unnecessary for me to do anything in the first place, huh. Go on then. Fulfill what you are meant to do in this world. Awaken… as the singular entity.
The abyssal aspect… of Convergence."
So… back to reality. Lud sits down to meditate, making the rest of the room puzzled.
And so, Lud began to become a consensus of his many selves. A consensus that still favors to save the Embershthir patriarch Loyrktoshthil. A technique that, while feeling completely alien to him, it is something that he feels like he has always known. Is it because of his connection to Maumar… the chosen timeline… the golden blood of gods… or just something, Ludwig Freigner was always built to know in Lutah?
Lud didn't know. But he "chose" to focus.
The culmination of many paths… Many of himself became one with him. It is a struggle to keep oneself intact should you be in the same place in abyss as your other self. During this process, Lud had to keep focusing on all the things that made him him. Losing that focus would mean a "death" in a sense. Death of this Ludwig Freigner.
As he focused, Lud could feel many of himselves shifting besides him. He could feel the branching paths where Lud did something differently, or that he left, or that he died suddenly.
All the possibilities that were near the Lud we know in this timeline, he could "feel" them.
Lud's head felt like it could burst open at any moment, but he felt that he must succeed. He wanted to become someone who could be relied upon. Someone who didn't make people leave him.
Lud did not know if he was enough to be surrounded by all those amazing people. The time he spent alone in that hell still creeped on his shoulder. The feeling of going crazy. He did not see himself as special, but the fact that he kept his sanity intact in that very lonely hell spoke volumes of his mental fortitude. Still, he could not see this.
But during this short moment where he was converging with his other selves, one of himselves asked a question "Were it I who survived that hell… or another me?"
This thought made Lud lose focus a bit and his mind was casted in an illusion of that same lonely hell.
Lud was back there. In that lonely hell. He tried to stay calm, but his many selves made it hard to concentrate. That lonely hell had become a cacophony of Lud's own screams of insanity. He could not tell if he himself was screaming, or another him.
The voices grew louder and louder, the cacophony of his many selves spreading infinitely in the vast emptiness. Nothing but his own screams. Those of himselves that could spare a moment from screaming spreading to many other of himselves that may or may not scream themselves.
This… was Lud's personal hell. It "felt" like eternity in that madness. But one of himselves mustered the courage to shout "ENOUGH!!!"
The screams didn't stop, but they grew quieter. Fever of himselves were screaming incoherently, but the time was short, so those sane Luds focused.
They focused.
Focused.
Focused.
…
Until it was silent again.
Lud felt like there were many different paths in his head. Some screaming in madness. Some calmly calculated something that felt alien or perhaps very familiar concepts.
The cacophony had become less chaotic. There were those of himselves that kept screaming and those screamers multiplying. But as there were those maddened selves of his, so were there enlightened selves of him. A harmony along with chaos. A balance of sorts.
"Was this what every singular entity had to go through?" Lud wondered for a moment that felt like ages. The truth may be far more sinister than Lud had previously realised.
For to become a singular entity, is to gaze into the abyss. And once that abyss takes notice of you, you have to keep staring back. No matter what the abyss shows or speaks, one must keep focusing on what makes you… you. Once you stray away from that focus for even one moment when the abyss has taken note of your meager presence, it will swallow you whole and everything that made you… you.
For to be able to grasp the seemingly infinite timelines, one must face the devil that they are themselves. Be it a conniving ruthless devil, a scheming devil bent on world domination, a cowardly devil screaming in madness, or anything and everything that could be and is, one must not lose the focus of yourself. For once you let even that one devil that you are win even once, the abyss… the abyss will consume.
For to be able to grasp the whole history of a timeline, one must face the god that they are themselves. Be it a saintly person, doing everything they can to help those in need, a genius businessman winning in life, the gifted child that learned everything easily, or anything and everything that could be and is, one must not lose the focus of yourself. Once you stray away from that focus and wish to be the other you, the abyss will be irritated and consume everything that made you, you.
While Lud did not know the rules of becoming a singular entity, he could feel that the abyss had a deep hold of him. Deeper than what it had when he was only a mere thryv'nith. He could feel the abyss consuming those of him that didn't find their way out. Those selves that fell to the abyss' grasp and lost their very existence. Only faint echo in "Lud's" head every once in a while.
But was it the Lud that we knew that was nearing convergence? Was it he who the Threadwatchers have been observing all this time.
The Fateweaver asks "Are you still you from a year ago? What about a decade? Or if possible, even a century?" This was a hint of the Fateweaver's philosophy. A hint to make one question "Did the past me exist in a way I am now, or am I another?"
Lud had to ask these kinds of things at this moment. He could not ponder too much about it, since the finalisation of his convergence was about to be complete.
One last step. "Will I make it?" He asked. "Will I still be me after this?"
Lud saw a familiar image in that white empty space. A door he had passed many times before. Was it familiar to him on Earth or Lutah? Lud did not remember.
Once Lud was about to open the door, he heard a familiar voice saying "Are you leaving brother?"
Lud turned around and he saw his dear brother, father and mother. His father asked "You sure you'll be fine moving forward, son?" And his mother asked "You know that once you go through that door, we…" She hesitated to finish the question.
Lud looked back at the door, then back at his family. Lud asked "Why do I have to say goodbye to you now? We'll be together as long as I can remember you all."
Lud's brother asked something Lud did not consider "But will you remember?"
Lud was stunned by this. "What if I do forget after all this time? When the convergence…" But Lud could not finish that thought, as he was losing focus of his many selves.
Lud didn't have time to think, he needed to focus. His mother asked him, "If you come here, we will be together again."
Lud looked at his family longingly, then back at the door for a moment. He knew that this wasn't that simple as to go back to Lutah or Earth. This was an option between hardship and peace. Life and death.
He knew that if he went to his family's side, he could finally rest. That hell that he had nightmares about, they would be no more.
Lud's head was filled with his other selves trying to take over his body and go to their family. An overwhelming wave of himselves, wanting to go there. To find peace.
But Lud knew that… He had to be better. To face the painful world that was behind that door.
Even though his other selves were screaming to go to their family, Lud took a deep breath, looked at his family for what could be the last time, and said "I have to go now. Adam. Mom. Dad. I have to go and try to make things better out there. So…"
Lud took a hold of the door handle, opened the door and said "See you later." And with that, he stepped out of one of his many hells.
Lud did not lose that focus of himself. And as such, he achieved what many could not. He did not succumb to the temptation that was before him. And so, he returned back to reality as if he simply blinked for a moment.
Before Toki even noticed it, before her eyes, Lud had become… A pseudo singular entity. A culmination of himselves that are closest to him and favor the salvation of Loyrktoshthil.
Lud then rose up and asked "If I may, can I make you be able to recuperate, patriarch?"
Toki wasn't sure at first what Lud was going on about. But then she noticed that he had become someone on the verge of becoming a singular being. Then she said to Lud
"No. We cannot do that dad."
Lud looked at Toki with faintly indifferent eyes "It is the best we can do."
Toki looked at Lud for a moment, then as she looked at his eyes she realized that the father she had a few moments ago… was different. Gone even.
Toki felt silent as Lud asked Loyrktoshthil "If I can make the different versions of you converge here to help you, would you accept?"
Loyrktoshthil was silent for a moment, until he asked "Do I still have to suffer? Suffer this constant birth, life, death, rebirth cycle?"
Lud answered "There will be parts of you that will not have to suffer anymore." A statement while true, was still something that was going to be at certain timelines.
Loyrktoshthil "chose" to say after contemplation "I… accept."
Then Lud asked "So do you allow me to touch your body?"
Loyrktoshthil "chose" to answer "I allow it."
Lud went to where Loyrktoshthil was resting and took a hold of his young, but very weak hand.and began the process of converging many of Loyrktoshthil to this timeline, to better this timeline's self.
Toki wanted to stop her father, but she didn't do it because "My dad is always going to do what he sees is the best for all. Sometimes it will be shortsighted, but that is what he is going to do."
When Lud went to the side of Loyrktoshthi's bed, he saw a weak looking teenager. Loyrktoshthil was mostly skin and bones at this point, but he still could speak.
Loyrktoshthil asked "What? Surprised by what I look like?"
Lud says "No. May I begin?"
Loyrktoshthil says "You may."
Lud put his hand on Loyrktoshthi's head and began the convergence. This time however, it was going to be much smoother. Loyrktoshthi didn't have to experience what Lud had just experienced since Lud figured out how to filter certain timelines out. It was a much smoother experience.
Before Shalaphinar's and Flotshirthar's eyes, Loyrktoshthil was being revitalized. This made Flotshirthar tear up and Shalaphinar looking in awe.
Before long, Lud stopped and asked "How are you feeling?" To which Loyrktoshthil answered while rising out of bed "Fantastic."
Flotshirthar jumped at Loyrktoshthil and hugged him, to which Loyrktoshthil hugged back and so Shalaphinar came and hugged both of them as well. The situation had been solved.
Toki came to Lud, who was smiling a little, and asked him "Are you happy about your choice?"
Lud looked at Toki and said "Not necessarily. As you said, this technically kills the possible timelines that we haven't seen. A timeline where, perhaps, Loyr manages to overcome this and everyone could live happily a little while longer."
Toki asked "Then… Why did you did it?"
Lud answered "You might have not noticed yet, but this timeline is very, very thin."
This surprises Toki and asks "What do you mean this? Do you mean that there isn't any divergence?"
Lud answered "I don't know. The divergence feels far more different when comparing to the closest timelines after this one."
This made Toki concerned, and she had an idea. She said "If that is the case, then perhaps…"
Lud asked "Perhaps what?"
Toki answered "Nothing. I… I need to go process a few things back in the abyss. After I return. I'll know for sure what the situation is like. After… I experience myself how this timeline differs from the rest."
And with that, Toki disappears before Lud's eyes. Lud felt sorry for Toki, since he also understood that, while it didn't necessarily feel like it, convergence was, in a sense, a massacre of cosmic proportions.
Meanwhile in the abyss, Toki sat in the middle of that Elysium's throne room for a moment and concentrated. There she made the connection and muttered to herself "As I feared, the timeline I was in… is Her domain.
Toki was deep in thought for who knows how long, until she rose up and went to the throne to look at it. Her original father.
Toki says to the eonite golem of Lud who still has a smile on his face "Hi dad. How have you been? I know you can't really hear me anymore, as usual, but I'm gonna tell you how it has been for me in all these timelines I visited.
Well, there are many things that converge here in the abyss, but to get to the juicy part, one version of you has sort of become a singular being like me.
I say kind sort of, since he isn't still quite on the level where he can witness a whole timeline in a single glance, but he has acquired the power to converge with his other selves.
Come to think of it, it is kind of impressive, since even I didn't learn how to do that before becoming an actual singular being.
It feels so obvious to say this, but he is a lot like you. Frighteningly so. You… You who tried everything to make sure that the Elysium you knew would survive. You who… was able to make all kinds of sacrifices.
This version of you might have not fully grasped what he can do yet and what are the consequences, but at the same time, since he is still a version of you, I feel like he has gotten some nick of it."
Toki fell silent for who knows how long, until she continued "To be honest, I'm kind of afraid. Shocking I know, but hear me out.
At the rate this is going, he is… going to become a better version of you.
Like, I know that my dad will always be my dad. no matter which timeline I go to, but… I still feel a bit… scared… if I can still even say that.
Funny… I've existed possibly even longer than Li even has, and I feel… scared, that… I won't remember this version of you. Or that, I wish that it was you you who was the better one.
I know that… heck, there is no need to even say this, but I know that it really doesn't matter in the end, but…"
Toki sighs a little and then says "I… still miss this version of you. The one that is my origin.
But you made your choice to become like this, and I made it possible, so I… No longer have the right to complain."
Toki puts her forehead against that Lud's forehead and says "I don't know what kind of dreams you are dreaming right now, but I hope they are happy ones. The kinds that you wish you never woke up from."
Then Toki starts to walk away a little. She wonders as she goes "Am I brave enough to go back to Her domain? Am I brave enough to, make sure that she won't hurt that dad I have back there?"
Toki is deep in thought and says "No. I have to be brave. What is all this eternity I've spent cooped up here for if not for finding out the best future. If that timeline fails, I'll try again no matter how sad it becomes. I'll make sure that…"
" That dad will be okay."
Meanwhile in a castle somewhere in the higher realm, a woman with long blond hair dressed in an aristocratic suit fit for a nobleman, wakes up from her comfy coffin and says "It seems that we have one of His people here that don't know better yet. Time to get acquainted."