The Fall of the Adna Vault

(The following music selection was chosen for the beginning segments of this story. If you choose to listen to it while you read, it may enhance your reading enjoyment.)

    Few had ever stepped foot within the lumimous and overwhelmingly expansive sanctums of the Adna Vault. Elegant halls and sweeping chambers formed of living light - encased for eternity amidst the furthest and most forgotten stars. Yet this, as with all things upon the path she now walked, was of little consequence to the Last Mother - and as she slowly stepped forward into the beautiful vault, the light therein seemed to shrink away from the dark that surrounded her. The shadows grew deeper; the darkness more complete. Only the faintest glistening of light could be seen from her pale skin and the armored carapace covering her arms, legs and torso. Even so, as Kala'Triel folded her claw-like wings back with a faint rush of air and strode slowly forward, her presence was heralded by the slow, sharp and rythmic echo of her heeled boots upon the light-forged ground - and it was for this reason that Vigil, the last guardian of the Adna Vault, knew the time of his greatest test had at last come.

    One of the last members of the ancient race of Sentients, Vigil had held the honor of the Adna Vault's lone sentinel since the fall of Protus - the complete destruction of his homeworld through internancine war. Yet, even though he had survived that great and terrible conflict, he knew it was a mere shadow of what he was soon to face. In his mind he had prepared for this inevitable moment; but in his heart he knew nothing could ready his mind and body for what now approached from the shadows.

    Knelt before the Adna Column in silent reflection, the very core of the ancient vault's memory centers, Vigil could hear her approach from the far distance - could sense the darkness and light mingled within her ancient and mourning soul. A mighty warrior of many campaigns, his strong and masculine form fashioned entirely from bio-digital light, Vigil could feel the conflicted thoughts of the intruder with clarity as he slowly and confidently rose from where he knelt - turning patiently around to face his destiny.

    He gasped softly at what he beheld, the faintly-synthesized sound echoing softly.

    She was there, just upon the threshold of the core's sanctum - her ice-blue eyes and pale skin standing out in sharp contrast to the dark which swam across and surrounded her gorgeous and shapely form. He had never before seen her so closely; never before held the Goddess of Breath in such entirety.

    Smiling softly as he beheld Kala'Triel, his holographic eyes closing as he placed a hand to his chest in a pose of deep respect, Vigil softly spoke "I knew you would come since the day you brought life to me; and yet...I am still not prepared...". Giving a faint and genuinely pained smile from the dark in which she stood, Kala'Triel softly said "If there was any other way, Vigil, you know I would seek it. My actions...do not reflect my desires as a whole." Nodding slowly as he opened his eyes to look upon the beautiful goddess once more, Vigil furrowed his brow and shook his head slightly as he said "You know, then, how this must come to pass..." Smiling once more with growing sadness in her gentle eyes, Kala'Triel simply nodded and said "Yes, Vigil; and I am so sorry. Yet, once the peoples of this galaxy no longer have the knowledge of their tired and antiquated gods, their prayers...will once again be lifted to their rightful owner...".

    Blinking as pity entered his glowing eyes, Vigil gently clenched his fist at his side - forming in an instant the great and powerful weapon of the Adna Sentinel: the Luminal Glaive. Formed of the same living light as the vault itself, its haft and blade glowing with brilliant radiance, the terrible weapon emited a soft hum which belied its immense capacity for destruction. Setting the bottom cap of the glaive down upon the ground with a softly respounding clang, Vigil kept his eyes upon the Last Mother's and firmly stated "The path you walk is not clear, Goddess of Breath; for I stand within its center...and shall not give you the way."

   Smiling with sad pride as she gazed upon the magnificent and imposing form of the Sentient guardian before her, Kala'Triel faught back the tears which had begun to sting her eyes and slowly strode forward into the light - shadows melting away like liquid from her body as she revealed herself in full to Vigil. "What I do now...is for the daughter I lost - for the daughter I shall have restored to me, Vigil..." she said as she approached. Eyes narrowing, Vigil softly spoke "Indeed; at the cost of my daughter, Oracle. Do not think me a fool, Last Mother. I knew long ago you would attempt to draw this plan against the great archives of sacred knowledge...". Nodding, Kala'Triel whispered "That is why you linked your youngest daughter's mind directly to them - for her to act as their final repository should they fall...". Keeping her ice-blue eyes upon Vigil's as she approached, Kala'Triel continued in her soft voice "...and that is why I must do this. Once the archives have joined within a single mind - they will have nowhere else to flee...".

   With prupose born of the sole desire to protect his daughter, Vigil suddenly and without warning leapt to action - his Luminal Glaive lashing out in an arc of light at the Last Mother.

(The following music selection was chosen for this battle. If you choose to listen to it while you read, it may enhance your reading enjoyment.)

    Kala'Triel gasped in momentary surprise as the Luminal Glaive walked a thin line across her stomach - spilling a slender trail of blood which tapped upon the glowing ground. Vibrant red in sharp contrast to the living light. Leaping back with a faint hiss of anger, the Last Mother fanned her claw-like wings out as the bladed talons upon each pinion flexed with a low creak. Slowly, a dark and slender tail - carapaced and segmented with a wicked barb - emerged from the base of the Last Mother's spine. Arching up and to the side of her left shoulder as trails of blood glistened upon its length, the wickedly-barbed tail grew still in a striking pose - prepared to lash out at any second. Watching his foe with an expression of mingled sadness and determination, Vigil softly whispered "Forgive me...", and then charged forward with his blade at the ready.

    Lowering her head slightly with a dark and pained smile, Kala'Triel met Vigil's charge - leaping forward with preternatural speed and ferocity as the claws of her wings buried themselves with vicious intent into his shoulders. As Vigil cried out in pain - feeling himself slammed mercilessly into the great column of the Adna Core - he swiftly ducked as the Last Mother's tail pierced forward through the air and stabbed its barb into the column not an inch to the left of his brow.

    As his glowing, bright-blue blood flowed from the terrible wounds in his shoulders, Vigil braced his back against the column to which he had been pinned and kicked out with both feet - striking Kala'Triel with tremendous force in the chest and stomach. Momentarily staggered, the Last Mother gasped as Vigil renewed his assualt. Freed from his foe's wings, the Sentient guardian charged forward once more with his Luminal Glaive raised - bringing its wickedly glowing blade out in a powerful horizontal slash which deftly caught the Last Mother acorss the side. Atoms were parted at the submolecular level as the glaive bit deep into Kala'Triel's flesh - sending a wide splash of blood across the ground as she cried out in pain. Yet, she knew the awful truth: despite Vigil's training and determination to stop her, he was not equal to the task.

    Whipping about in and bringing her lithe body low, Kala'Triel lashed out with both her leg and tail - sweeping Vigil's legs from beneath him. Crashing to the ground with a heavy grunt, Vigil gasped as intense pain suddenly blossomed in his wrist and hand - and he saw that the Last Mother had pinned his wirst to the ground with her heeled boot. Kneeling down slowly over Vigil, bringing her body to within inches of his as glowing blood spilled from around her heel as it pierced his wrist, Kala'Triel looked deeply into his holographic eyes and softly spoke "What I do now, I do for the love of my daughter...". As the Last Mother spoke, Vigil saw her wicked tail arching up over her shoulder once more, its barb angling toward his chest.

    As the Last Mother's tail stabbed forward, Vigil brought his free hand up in a vicious slash - his luminous fingers glowing white-hot as they bisected Kala'Triel's tail just beneath its sting. Crying out in pain as the amputated segment of her tail struck the ground in a spatter of blood, Kala'Triel gasped as intense agony suddenly erupted though her right shoulder as Vigil brought his Luminal Glaive up and lashed a horrible rent through her wing. Grabbing the Last Mother by one of the horns which branched from her head, Vigil slammed her head into his knee and then tossed her back from him. Rising to his feet, the Sentient Guardian prepared his Luminal Spear for yet another attack - and suddenly gave a shout of intense pain as white-hot excrutiation suddenly radiated out along his back.

    Having moved faster than the light contained within the Adna Vault, the Last Mother now stood behind Vigil with the wicked claws of her wings and hands buried deeply in the bio-digital flesh of his back. As deep-red blood flowed from the wound just above her left eye where Vigil's knee had split her pale tissue, Kala'Triel softly said "Submit...and I will spare your life. No other soul need come back to me this day...". Shuddering from pain as his luminous blood dripped down to pool at his feet, Vigil answered with a single, whispered phrase "Forgive me...".

   With those final words, Vigil suddenly whipped his glaive around in his hand until its blade faced backward and, giving a shout of determination, stabbed the ancient weapon back behind him with the might of both hands. As the glowing blade pierced deep into Kala'Triel's abdomen, she did not cry out or tremble. Instead, she gave a soft and shuddering sigh as tears welled in her eye and began to spill down her cheeks. For now she knew: Vigil would not submit.

    Blinking as tears partially blinded her, the Last Mother reached down and grasped the haft of the weapon that now lay buried within her stomach. With barely a twist of her wrist, Kala'Triel shattered the ancient glaive into its element particles - a flash of brilliant light swallowed by her darkness. As the glaive shattered from existence, Vigil suddenly staggered forward as his center of gravity was shifted and then gasped as he felt himself become lifted bodily by the back of the neck and shoulder.

    Weeping softly, Kala'Triel gave an echoing cry of anguish as she lifted Vigil from his feet by his neck and shoulder - the claws of her hands biting deeply into his holographic skin. Turning her prey about to face her as she trembled from sadness, Kala'Triel softly whispered "Now...you must forgive...me...". With those words, Kala'Triel suddenly and without mercy slammed Vigil forward with all her unfathomable might into the pillar of the Adna Core - the beautiful column of living light fracturing beneath the force. Crying out in pain as his bio-digital body began to flash and flicker sporadically - his life force terminally damaged - Vigil suddenly vanished as the Adna Core slowly began to crack, shatter and fall to shimmering pieces.

    As the life force of the Adna Vault faltered, Kala'Triel looked about breifly - attempting see the location to which Vigil had escaped - and then, finding nothing, turned her cold gaze back upon the living archive. Blinking as yet more tears welled in her eyes, the Last Mother slowly levitated into the air amidst the collapsing archive and, pulling her arms, legs and wings in toward her core, threw them wide as she unleashed a pulse of quantum energy so powerful it fractured the very layer of space-time within which she stood. In that instance, the Adna Vault - its knowledge, everything it once was - simply ceased to be. As the particles of the ancient archive's living light were consumed by the dark of space, Kala'Triel suddenly staggered from intense pain throughout her body.

    Vanishing and reappeaing within the blink of an eye within a nearby asteroid belt, the Last Mother trembled as blood spilled from her wounds - trailing down her stomch and legs to pool upon the ancient, space-borne stone. Sinking to her knees as she felt her strength swiftly ebbing away, Kala'Triel closed her eyes and envisioned the hull of the ship in which she had frequently strode - and the man with whom she had frequently spoke. She lacked the strength to tend her wounds. However, perhaps he would have the courage and mercy to mend her.

    She vanished back into the depths of space like a fading nightmare.