"[T]he ancient philosophers... all of them assert that the elements, and those things which are called by them principles, are contraries, though they establish them without reason, as if they were compelled to assert this by truth itself. They differ, however... that some of them assume prior, and others posterior principles; and some of them things more known according to reason, but others such as are more known according to sense: for some establish the hot and the cold, others the moist and the dry, others the odd and the even, and others strife and friendship, as the causes of generation. ...in a certain respect they assert the same things, and speak differently from each other. They assert different things... but the same things, so far as they speak analogously. For they assume principles from the same co-ordination; since, of contraries, some contain, and others are contained."
- Physics by Aristotle, Book I, Ch. VI, pp. 57-59.
Hermes had a dream where she was confronted by a being in the ocean, the ocean began to whisper to her and then it split apart. When the ocean opened up there were stars beneath it. Below the ocean was a giant sword that ascended out of the ocean and penetrated the heavens, its length seemed infinite as if it could pierce the eye of God itself. Hermes woke up in a warm sweat. The following day Hermes woke up in her bed to the light of the sun shining in her eyes and woke her to a rose. She climbed out of bed and began to rub her eyes. She could hear Ungar and Nova speaking about something intently in the other room, the kitchen. They were reacting to a story on the news. Strange cubes of varying colors had appeared around the Planet, the number of the cubes was unknown but it was at least in the hundreds. They had attracted crowds in all of the different countries and tribes that had found themselves amongst.
Ungar looking at the screen announced: "I spoke to Qora: these cubes have appeared across the Cosmos, this has no doubt something to do with the watchers." Lupus, who was reclining on a chain at the island table in the middle of the kitchen, began to stretch: "Hmmm… so these Watchers are they more powerful than the gods?" Ungar replied quickly, his metaphysical eyes twitching: "Yes, I thought the existence of the Watchers was just a myth, but I always knew from the legends that they are on a whole other level from the gods." Narcis Martreya interjected: "I heard from one of the Four Heavenly Kings: Virūḍhaka that the Watchers are like the god of the Christians and the Saracens, and he (the Heavenly King) meant ALL of them. There are billions of Watchers but each one is as powerful as the God of the Monotheists." Lupus scoffed: "That's a laugh, but it doesn't matter I'll overthrow them after I'm done overthrowing the gods." Ungar began to grow angry: "You fail to understand. The Watchers are omnipotent; they know what you're going to do, before you do it. If they wished to, they would control everything in this world but they have chosen through their arbitrary wills to not interact with this universe in most cases, if they're questioning the existence of mortals, something is clearly wrong." Hermes told Ungar: "I had a dream where a sword of massive size ascended from the ocean, and it ascended from the stars which were under the ocean and the sky was like an ocean onto itself, do you have any idea what if could mean?" Ungar shook his head, "I do not but knowing of your prophetic essence I have no doubt that it's not a simple dream." From the corner of the room Nelly and Mark walked out in their pajamas rubbing their eyes. "What time is it?" said Mark. Niffy floated up to Mark and began to yell at him: "Time for you to get a watch, seriously you're supposed to be the sword of the pro…" as she said this, Niffy began to glow. Mark felt something in his front pocket. It was the small blackish cube, glowing in relation to Niffy. Ungar slowly walked over to them: "Wait, isn't that cube one of the cubes that the Watchers left behind… and Niffy is glowing… Hermes began to increase in power since she came into contact with Niffy… Niffy, are you related to the Watchers?…" Niffy sighed, "Honestly I don't know? I don't know where I originally come from. But if I'm glowing in relation to this object then I assume I must have something to do with them." As she said this Lupus' phone began to ring and he picked it up.
"What is it Ashley?... You want me to take you and Kazan to the big fair today at the mall,... she wants Hermes to come too… Ok, okay!! Fine. I'll come, but after this I need to continue with my training." Lupus hung up, "Come on Hermes, get your shit we gotta get out of here." Narcis replied with a: "Well, who was that?" Lupus became irritated: "Who do you think it was Einstein? It was obviously my wife. Of all the fucking times for her to nag at me. Let's go, Hermes, we can talk about this Walker nonsense when we return." Hermes was about to interject when Ungar replied: "Go with him, Mark and Nelly should go, we'll handle this situation when your four are gone." Hermes hesitantly nodded. Hermes left the compound with Mark, Nelly and Lupus and they took to flight. "The Mall is about 10 minutes due north. We should be there soon," said Mark. "Tsk, of all the times I can't stand that fucking woman," said Lupus.
Around 10 minutes had passed and they all began to descend to the ground where Kazan and Ashley were. Kazan was sitting on the hood of a sky-blue cruiser, legs dangling, lazily spinning a thin blade between her fingers like it was a pen. Ashley stood with arms crossed, dark sunglasses shielding her eyes, radiating the kind of quiet annoyance that said she'd already been waiting too long. When Lupus landed, she didn't say a word—just arched a brow.
"Don't start," Lupus muttered as he touched down. "You know you promised we would do this 2 weeks ago." Ashley leaned in close, her voice low but sharp. "And yet here you are, late. Again." Hermes and Mark exchanged a quick glance. Nelly gave a small shrug, whispering, "Is it always like this?" "All the time," Kazan whispered back. Lupus began to stutter his words out: "What you have to understand is…" but he was cut off, "what you have to understand is that me and your daughter expected you to be here more than 2 hours ago, God knows you would have forgotten if I hadn't called you." Lupus began to twitch in fear which shocked Hermes. "I've never seen him like this," she thought, "Lupus, the king of a galactic empire, is groveling before his wife like a mere servant." Lupus continued to explain himself with shaking fear in his voice: "You see, these beings called the Watchers decided to show themselves and…" Ashley shouted back: "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! Stop making excuses for yourself its pathetic." Kazan smiled: "It's okay mom. Thanks for being here dad. Really, it means a lot." This gesture seemed to make Lupus more uncomfortable as he got out a "you're welcome," he was clearly blushing. "Let's get going already, right?" said Lupus. It was an intriguing site, Mark thought. They all headed off in the direction of Kazan. Weirdly enough Kazan and Mark began to really hit it off. There was a spark there. Nelly and Hermes continued to talk and Lupus had to continue dealing with the nagging of his wife.
The following day, after Mark and Hermes arrived home Talus and Zaiyal were there as well. Ungar notified everyone that one of the cubes was 2 miles outside the compound at a dog park called, "the Field of Echoes." After they heard this they all took off by flight until they reached the Field of Echoes it was an enormous pristine field with large creatures walking hither and thither through it. They saw the dog park in the middle of the field by a small town where all of the dogs had gathered around the square and were barking at it. Ungar, Zaiyal, Qayyim, Lupus, Mark, Nelly and Hermes, landed beside the cube and already the cube began to glow. Mark took out the cube and it began to glow more, in fact the glow was growing stronger the closer they got to the cube from a distance. Nifty was glowing as well and as the large cube began to flash with light it transformed in real time into a crystalline geometric creature akin to something from Plato's world of forms. The creature declared: "I have been sent by the higher beings to challenge the custodian of the people. Who has been tasked to represent mortalkind and their like." As this occurred Niffy automatically fused with Hermes' sword, which now had Niffy's eye on the hilt. Hermes responded with angst, "What the heck are you doing?! Why did you just fuse with the sword Niffy?!" Nifty replied erratically: "I…I don't know…it just sorta happened." Hermes wasn't having it as she transformed into a chibi like being: "That doesn't just happen. Do you expect me to believe that? People don't just turn into things by themselves. Well I guess you're not people, but still what the heck man, this is so frickin bizzarre (continues yammering)." The creature wasn't having it: "I've had enough, fight me warrior." The creature threw his sword on the ground and the ground split causing all the dogs to flee. Lupus headed straight for the creature and began to fight it.
Lupus struck the creature in the chest knocking it backwards: "What's wrong you can't handle the power of God. I don't blame you. Everything falls to its knees before the sight of me, King Lupus hehehe." The creature teleported directly behind Lupus which caused him to be spooked and leap back. "What the hell? I didn't even sense his movement, how on earth did he get behind me like that?" The creature appeared behind Lupus again knocking him into the dirt, Lupus couldn't move he was struck by fear, "Damnit how did he get the drop on me like that?" Hermes charged at the being head on. Each strike from the blade produced a laser that shot directly at the being. The being was actually being hurt by this creature and then a thing of a sort of metaphysical armor surrounded Hermes. "What on earth is happening?" said Hermes. Niffy seemed to understand: "I think I understand. I believe no I know we're resonating with each other, you're not using me. I'm part of you, and you're part of me. We're one in the same like this." Hermes wasn't convinced. "What that's crazy?!" But in an instant Hermes knew to dodge and then strike and Niffy after this had occurred 10 times began to say it outloud. Hermes was struck with shock, Niffy was right, they were one in the same mind in this form.
Hermes twirled the blade instinctively, her body and mind moving not in sync—but as one thing. It wasn't just partnership, not even fusion. It was unity. Her feet barely touched the ground as she surged forward, ducking under a flash-strike from the crystalline being. She slashed once, twice—each arc of her blade carving lines of pure, harmonic energy into the sky. The being reeled back. Not from damage. From recognition. "I see," it said. "The Resonant Blade… lives again." "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hermes snapped, narrowing her eyes. "It means," Niffy replied in a voice that was no longer quite hers alone, "we were always meant for something bigger, we were always meant to fight as one person." Lupus rose to his feet, bruised, pride wounded but very much alive. "I let it hit me," he muttered, brushing dust off his arm. "Wanted to see what it had. I've seen enough." "No," said Ungar, placing a hand on his chest to stop him. "This is Hermes' trial. If you interfere, it could be seen as a rejection of the Watchers' judgment." "Then they're lucky I'm in a good mood," Lupus growled, though he didn't press forward.
The crystalline being's form shifted, elongating, refracting the light into shards that carved miniature rainbows through the air. "You must survive three passes," it intoned. "Three confrontations. Each testing a facet of your essence: Intention, Connection, and Sacrifice. If you fail at any point, judgment is rendered. Final." Hermes steadied her breathing. "Then let's get to it."
Pass One: Intention.
The being split into three mirrored versions of itself, each circling her with impossible speed. Hermes couldn't track them visually—but she didn't need to. Niffy's thoughts, her instincts, were hers. She closed her eyes, opened her mind, and let the blade move. She struck once—spinning, letting her momentum guide her arm—and a copy shattered like glass. Another lunged, and she bent backward, slicing through its core. The third tried to feint, warping space around it, but Hermes was already behind it before the illusion completed. It crumbled with a shriek of breaking logic. The being reformed, now larger. "Pass One… complete."
Pass Two: Connection.
Suddenly Hermes stood in a field of mirrors. But they weren't mirrors of her face—they showed others. Friends. Enemies. All of them flickering, distorting, crying out. Zaiyal screaming in agony. Mark crumbling to dust. Nelly twisted into something grotesque. Each reflection called her to strike. Each begged her to save them. "Niffy… I don't understand…" "You can't choose who to save, Hermes. That's the test. You must trust the bond you have with them. Feel which one is real." Hermes walked slowly. One step. Then another. The reflections were loud now—desperate. She reached out. Her hand passed through most of them. All but one. Mark, eyes steady. Silent. Waiting. Hermes touched the image. The field shattered. "Pass Two… complete," said the being, now trembling, it's perfect geometry beginning to fray.
Pass Three: Sacrifice.
The world vanished. She was falling. No air. No stars. Only silence. And in front of her—Niffy. Not as a blade, not as a floating orb. As a person. Or something like one. Familiar, but alien. No longer an artifact. A being. "You have to give me up." Hermes flinched. "No." "This is the test," Niffy said. "You've proven your strength. Your bond. Now prove that you can lose everything and still stand." Tears welled in Hermes' eyes. "But I just found you…" Niffy smiled. "Then you know why it matters." Hermes screamed. Rage. Fear. Desperation. But she let go. The blade—her blade—cracked. Then shattered. And she was back. In the field. Kneeling. But the blade was still there and Niffy was beside her. Hermes was confused: "What?" The being hovered before her, still, silent. Then it bowed.
"Pass Three… complete."
And then it dissolved—first into dust, then into light, then into a soundless wave of acceptance that swept across the world like an exhale from the lungs of fate. The beam of light entered Hermes' sword which began to vibrate with a small amount of power. Mark rushed to her side. "Hermes? Are you—" She nodded. Hollow, but whole. "I'm fine, just kinda intense that's all." Niffy's voice whispered in her ear, faint but present. "Not gone. Just waiting." Ungar stepped forward, kneeling beside a broken shard of the crystal. "The Watchers have marked her." Lupus grunted. "Figures." "What does it mean?" Nelly asked, her voice quiet. "It means," Zaiyal said, eyes narrowed, "Hermes just became the first of us they consider… worthy." Hermes stood, her hands empty, her heart full of thunder. One year. Judgement Day loomed. And the clock had just started ticking.
The following day Ungar decided to enter the Nether Realm; it was the easiest way to have access to the gods of Apollo. While he was there he met the goddess Qora who was dressed in a hood. "You came to see me," said Qora. "Sooner than I thought. I was supposed to train with Mark today but he had to cancel. He's going on a date with Lupus's daughter Kazan. So I guess it worked out." Qora nodded: "I see. Well here's the good news. That little sword has the ability to bring all of you back in time to the realm of Umi. The bad news is Zed and X. I mean Daniel and Ebisu have already traveled back in order to destroy Hermes." This frightened Ungar: "WHAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Qora nodded: "Yes, they jumped back yesterday, they used the energy of the cubes. The cubes have the ability to transport a person back in time. There can be doubt about this." Ungar was shaking with anger, "Well I guess we need to find another one of those cubes. How do you jump?!" Qora shrugged: "It looks like it just has to be in the mind of someone who has been there or seen before." Ungar remembered that Hermes had seen the realm of Umi in her dreams. Ungar got up and began to run in the other direction. Qora giggled to herself: "God I hope he knows enough about this. Otherwise he'll have to come back."
Later that day Ungar explained the entire situation to everyone. They decided that Hermes, Mark, Ungar and Talus would be the first to go back in time. At some point if Nova found a way to make a machine that could direct them to that point in history: Lupus, Kazan and Nelly would go after them to the realm of Umi. Lupus laughed: "Finally I get to have another rematch with this Daniel character." Talus remarked coldly: "First I need to talk to him. I have a lot of questions I need to ask him." Lupus huffed: "You can talk to him when I'm done." Talus being unusually forceful since his change of heart declared: "I wasn't asking Lupus. I'm giving you an order." Lupus began to grow angry: "And what gives you the right to order me around little imp." Ungar stopped the fight: "This will have the weight, we need to go as soon as possible, in the meantime, the Hero Association needs to work overtime in finding all of these cubes and fighting the Paladins inside of them. I have it on good authority that the energy will enter Hermes' sword every time." And so it was settled our heroes found the next nearest cube, Hermes challenged it to a duel and then one. Hermes remembered the sombers waves of Umi in her dream and once this occurred the cube began to shine, shooting a glowing light of a blue hue onto Hermes, Mark, Ungar and Talus. They entered the cube and then the cube disappeared. When they arrived on the other side they were in Umi and its beauty was unmatched.
The sun hung low, casting long beams of golden light through the floating islands above, making the crystal water below shimmer like liquid glass. From a distance, a herd of towering creatures lumbered slowly across the plains—some with scales that caught the sun like armor, others with wings folded tight against their bodies, tails dragging rivulets in the grass behind them. One let out a deep, echoing call, shaking the air like thunder. There were giant creatures under the ocean, the type that Talus always enjoyed hunting. Another answered from high above—a dragon with wings the size of ships circling a mountain that drifted lazily through the sky. Hermes and the others stood at the edge of a cliff, staring out over the endless land. She had never seen this far before. Not from anywhere she had been before. Not even in her dreams. Below, the rivers traced glowing blue veins through the green, and the trees whispered as if they knew she was watching. She adjusted the pack on her shoulders and looked up. Her destination floated above her—Yllarion, the island that never cast a shadow, held aloft by forces no one fully understood. They knew that Ebisu was born there roughly 20,000 or 30,000 years ago or recently now as they traveled to the past. Behind her and the others, the wind shifted. A low growl rolled over the cliffside. Hermes froze. The ground trembled slightly—once, then again. Turning slowly, he saw it.
A beast—taller than the trees, horns spiraling like sea shells, eyes glowing silver—watched him. It was the size of a city. It didn't move. Just breathed, steam rising from its nostrils. Kael didn't run. No one in Umi survived by running. You looked. You waited. You listened. The creature blinked, slow and deliberate. Then, with a grunt, it turned and walked away, each step leaving cracks in the earth that glowed faintly, like embers cooling in the dark. Hermes exhaled. Ungar stated: "Don't worry, I've been to Umi before, granted it was only 1,300 years ago or so but those things were still around then. If we don't bother it we'll be fine." Mark breathed a sigh of relief. "Well I guess we got to find Ebisu. He's somewhere in that city. Ungar said calmly: "It was around this time he met his best friends: Mamara and Yadala. He always spoke so fondly of them." A memory flashed in Ungar's mind of Ebisu speaking at the Lookout point in the sky some thousand years ago. Ebisu: "I remember Yadala and Mamara like they were standing before you and me right now. They looked like human beings but they were demigods, a boy and a girl. They will always be close to my heart. When we broke through the barrier it opened the whole world for us, literally. It's the folly of old age where you only look backwards and never forward."
Ungar's mind drifted to the present: "It looks the barrier has not broken, which means outsiders can enter but insiders can't leave. It should take less than a day to arrive if we go there and eventually run into Ebisu and the others and warn them about the plot against him and our Prophet." Mark sighed: "Ironically by his future self." As the group began their descent from the cliff's edge into the valley below, the air grew thicker with humidity and scent—flowers that shimmered with bioluminescence, moss that pulsed gently under their feet, like a heartbeat within the land itself. The path wound through strange stone arches that looked carved but bore no tool marks, as if the world itself had grown them. Umi wasn't just beautiful—it was alive in a way that felt personal. Watching. Listening. Hermes kept her hand near the hilt of her shattered-yet-still-whole sword. She could feel Niffy's quiet hum in the back of her mind—like breathing in sleep. Not gone. Just dreaming. Talus walked ahead, expression unreadable, but his shoulders were stiff, his silence deeper than usual. Mark noticed. "You good?" Mark asked, falling in step beside him. Talus didn't look over. "When I meet him—Daniel—I don't know what I'll do. There are things I need answers to. Things I need to say. When I met Daniel I was a different person, I was self-centered in one word. He changed me into who I am today. But like a cruel irony of fate we were on opposing sides of our struggle yet again." Mark nodded, not pushing further. Everyone here had something at stake. By late afternoon, the skies turned lavender and the light began to slant. That's when they saw it.
Yllarion—closer now, hovering above a lake that looked more like a mirror than water. A long bridge of suspended light and crystal stretched from a cliffside monastery up to its floating base. There were guards—three of them—patrolling the base entrance in silver armor that shimmered like liquid mercury. Ungar raised a hand. "Let me talk to them first. We don't want to cause a panic." As he approached, one of the guards stepped forward, hand resting on a curved weapon at his side. "Name and purpose," he asked curtly. "I am Ungar. I seek counsel with the Oracle of Yllarion. My companions and I carry knowledge that may alter the fate of this realm." The guard's eyes narrowed. "No one ascends without permission. Not without the Seal of Transit." Talus stepped forward. "Ebisu has it. He would give it to us." The guard flinched slightly at the name. "You know the Oracle's student?" "We know much more than that," Hermes said softly. The guard hesitated—then signaled the others. "Wait here."
Minutes passed. Tension wound tight. And then the guard returned, flanked by another figure. Young. Calm. Eyes that seemed too old for his face. Ebisu. "Well," he said, voice light, almost amused, "you're early." Hermes blinked. "You… were expecting us?"
Ebisu nodded. "In a sense. I've seen fragments. Dreams. Visions. A war, a blade, a name—mine, but not mine. A future I haven't lived." And then Ebisu began to laugh, "and it helps that your friend Qora came to me beforehand and told me everything." Ungar stepped forward. "Then you know we're here to help you." "I do," Ebisu said, and looked directly at Hermes. "And I believe you." Hermes felt something settle inside her—something like relief, something like dread. "We need to speak," Talus said, voice low. Ebisu nodded. "You will. All of you. Come. But be aware—something stirs. You're not the only travelers from beyond the veil." Far above them, deep within the floating halls of Yllarion, a shadow shifted. And in a chamber unseen by even the guards, Daniel—older, colder, eyes void of the warmth Ebisu still carried—watched them through a crystal lens. "They made it," he whispered to someone behind him. Ebisu's future self—Daniel—turned. "Get the hunter." From the dark, a woman stepped forward, clad in armor that shimmered like dying stars. "Time to clean up the past," she said.