THE SHADOWVERSE

The Scheme

Titan was not in his usual position when Justice strode into the throne room. She had got used to him standing there, in a kingly position, staring into space. This time, though, he was practicing techniques, moving about with a hologram of himself, which executed all sorts of strikes. It was weird. Titan was fighting himself.

She walked up, and Titan immediately turned off the simulation. "My lord, I did as you commanded. It turned out the head officer at the base was a rebel."

"I take it you killed him on the spot?" Titan said, turning to her as he caught his breath.

"Yes, my lord," Justice answered.

"Bravo," he responded.

"How have you been doing, my lord?"

"Thank you for asking, Justice. Please, sit on my throne. I have so much to tell you."

Her eyes widened. "I am honored beyond words, my lord. Thank you." She sat, armor clanging on the hard stone of the throne—the throne he had sat on fewer times than a single ant has killed a spider. "Please, tell me."

"I have found the answer to my place in the grand story of time. My purpose has been discovered. The human my emissaries procured has one constituent none of the former species I have encountered possess. Do you know what it is? A spirit. These lowly humans have the one thing nothing else in the universe can boast of. They have this . . . artifact, if you will, of a higher dimensional, non-corporeal reality. It is who they really are. Beyond the material, they do have a body. But it is not of this crude matter. It is made of particles unseen and untouchable by us. This spirit is the reason why they have so many wars, confrontations, and needs."

"And why is this so important?"

"I never told you my primary quest. But now I have found it. For thousands of years, I craved the entire universe. I have only gone an inch beyond this one galaxy. I must spread the Tetra—my empire—throughout the cosmos and help those who cannot help themselves—bringing true justice and ending the illusion of free will. But it is impossible to do that if I am only one. There must be more beings like me. And now, there will be.

"The people of Earth are surrounded by thousands upon thousands of satellites. These satellites will be the vessels of my ascension and Justification. Once I reach Earth, I will set up my Justification Machine. It will take over control of all the known satellites.

"Using my already-built mechanism, I will project my own Ooris spirit into it. This will cause a chain reaction which will spread the Ooris inside me to every single satellite orbiting Earth. Via this conduit, my spirit shall occupy—possess—every spiritual being on the planet: the humans." Titan was now pacing throughout the large chamber, not able to contain his enthusiasm and anticipation. This was made noticeable by the wild gestures he made with his arms and hands as he paced.

"And after that, I will be unbeatable! Nothing will stop me! The pure Ooris I will wield will allow my consciousness to morph the humans into myself, and they will gain my powers as well. Think of it. More than seven billion Titans and counting. All aware of each other and connected through one consciousness. And if one goes down, there would still be billions left. Yes, it will be quite an easy task to spread across the universe."

Blinking thrice, Justice tried to form a response. "My lord, that is the most glorious scheme to ever grace my ears. You will be like a god."

Facing the transparent barrier, Titan stared into the expanse of the universe beyond him. "There are no such things. A god is what we make it. Though I am convinced something, or someone, caused the creation of the omniverse, the creator does not care about its creation and has instead placed the burden of justice for the inhabitants of its creation on my shoulders—to justify reality in its sight. And I will reign forever and ever, and will never fail." As always, his eyes were like daggers, penetrating through the cold darkness of space.