Creation and collapse

Urax

It’s... it’s alive, isn’t it? The walls, they—they’re breathing.

Lyra

Alive? Breathing? No, Urax, don’t be so... limited in your observations. This is not life, not in any crude biological sense. It is creation—perpetual, exquisite creation tethered to decay. The Abyss, in all its mercy, provides the perfect canvas for such duality.

Urax

But—but it’s rotting. The—the walls, the floor, all of it! It’s... slick with ichor, and, and here—look, look at that—

Lyra

Yes, those veins. Lovely, aren’t they?

Urax

Lovely? They—they pulse, like they’re... feeding off us or—or—or something worse. I don’t think I can—

Lyra

Stop. Think. You’re trembling again, Urax. If there’s one thing this laboratory demands, it is the delicious balance of fear and obedience. Your doubt—it tempers the fire. Now, breathe, observe with your many eyes. What do you see?

Urax

I—I can’t... All I see is—is the Godling. It—it’s—it’s splitting open! It’s—it’s—it’s swelling. What’s happening to it?

Lyra

Precisely as planned. The reservoir is being transferred, and our captive grows bloated—every stolen soul bringing us towards a boundary even the gods would never breach. You feel it, don’t you? The potential of such destruction. The immanence. To counter the legion, Urax, this is necessary.

Urax

Necessary? Necessary? It—it’s going to be unmade! We—we’re standing here feeding it and... and it’s—it’s gonna—

Lyra

We will unbind the Godling. Yes. Creation and obliteration are integral to its structure, after all. When it breaks, as it must, we will witness unfathomable beauty. A cascade of carnage. New life clawing from destruction. Tell me, Urax, do you feel fear?

Urax

Too much, I—I just want to get out of here. I don’t want to—to see this. I can feel it, sir, feel it in my chest, in my teeth—it’s—it’s wrong.

Lyra

That gnawing dread you feel, Urax? Treasure it. Your emotions are a necessary part of this experiment’s triumph. Come now, watch closely. Our minor God is yet to reveal its perfection.

Urax

Perfection? You—you call this—

Lyra

Perfect, yes. The ring begins to break, doesn’t it? Look deeper, Urax, deeper into its unbinding. Time itself is bleeding ... Oh, what delight to stand on the precipice, knowing that from ruin comes dominion.

Urax

This isn’t... I can’t—I can’t keep watching, sir. It—it’s too much—the—the noise, the—the souls we are forcing into it. They—they’re screaming.

Lyra

Screaming only because they do not understand. They believe themselves to be consumed, yet here they are unionized into something far grander. This is not horror, Urax, but transcendence.

Urax

Trans... I—I don’t think I—

Lyra

Silence. Focus. Our captive trembles. It nears its apex. Release them all now Urax, let all our little children feed on the bounty that is to be revealed and discover who among them has the greatest appetite.

Urax

It’s—it’s happening, just like you said. The—the Godling... it’s—it’s broken apart. Our experiments are fighting for its blood, but what is that? That—thing—it’s—it’s getting larger, isn’t it?

Lyra

Ah, witness its magnificence. The divine anatomy shattered, as it must, but look, Urax—look. Within the carnage, something exquisite rises. Our new hybrid. Primordial veins stretched across dark wings, ensnaring time and shadow. Glorious.

Urax

Glorious? That... thing? It’s—oh, gods—it’s moving! Like, like a... a blur—a—a mist. Is—is it looking at us?

Lyra

It sees far beyond us. You feel it, don’t you? That prescience, its chilling foresight. This Desmodontinae is now a vortex of blood and shadow, it bends fate itself. This is no mere beast, Urax. It is inevitability incarnate.

Urax

But—it—it—it’s too fast! I—I can’t even track it. We—we should run. Please, sir, we—we can’t stay here. It’ll kill us!

Lyra

Run? When on the cusp of such revelation? No, Urax. We observe. Every kiss with its incisors draws life, every movement sharpens its purpose. The blood soaked into these stones, the shadows stretching towards it from each empty cage—they all fall into it, completing its form. Do you see it?

Urax

I—I see it, but it’s—it’s destroying everything. The—our poor Vargouille—they—they’re just... Oh. Oh no... It—it drained them. All of them! They—they have been emptied!

Lyra

Annihilation heralds creation. Each lifeless vessel, each new husk—fuel for its ascension. Do not grieve for them, Urax. Their purpose aligns with ours: dominion reborn amidst perfect chaos.

Urax

Dominion? It’s—it’s not under control! Look! The—the containment circles —they —they're down! It sees us, sir. It—it knows everything we’re—we’re trying to do. We—we’ve lost it!

Lyra

Lost? No. Loosed. The hybrid cannot be restrained, nor should it be. Its prescience fails only where we expect servitude. It is sublime freedom shaped into primordial flesh—an unholy weapon ripe for revelation.

Urax

Revelation? It—it’s coming this way! Sir, we—we need to leave! Please, it’s—it’s ripping through the entire—

Lyra

Cease your trembling, Urax. This laboratory was built to witness such moments, to dissolve in their purity. Let the hybrid rampage, let its essence consume. This is the nature of evolution.

Urax

It—it—it just... it won’t stop! Sir, it’s—it’s feeding, everyone—everything—it’s—it’s going to—

Urax

It’s—it’s here! It broke through—through everything! The—the control chamber door! Sir, it—it’s breaking apart the walls! I—I can hear it—it’s coming closer—we’re—we’re trapped!

Lyra

Compose yourself, Urax. Your fear has completed its function. The hybrid consumes the living essence faster than its form can assimilate. It will forever hunger—it will pursue. Yet, it can still be... deceived.

Urax

Deceived? It—it just tore through every protective glyph —I—I don’t think—

Lyra

You aren’t here to think, Urax. You are here to obey! Focus your pitiful mind on what remains under our command. The failsafe—the portal. The last thread between us and escape.

Urax

The—the portal? But—but it’s—it—it doesn’t lead anywhere safe! I—I thought it—it wasn’t even stable! What if it—

Lyra

It offers no sanctuary, but perhaps a distraction. A measured distance between annihilation and those of us... clever—or desperate—enough.

Urax

But—but we don’t even know where the portal will take us! And—oh gods—it—it’s breaking through! It’s—it’s—it’s here! Sir, the—the hybrid—it—it’s looking right at us!

Lyra

It doesn’t see us, Urax. No, it sees our intentions, calculates our desperation. How... exquisite. A creature steeped in inevitability cannot be contained, but perhaps... it may be guided. This is its final reckoning.

Urax

Final reckoning? You—you’re gambling everything! How can you just—just stand there while it—it’s about to tear us apart!

Lyra

Stand? No, Urax. Now, act.

Urax

I—I don’t—what do you—

Lyra

Activate the failsafe with me, Urax!

Urax

The failsafe—it’s—it’s not stable—it’s—it’s gonna collapse us, I—I can’t! I can’t!

Lyra

Do it!

Urax

Alright—alright, I—I’m—

Lyra

Now. Witness.

Urax

It’s—it’s opening! It—it’s pulling everything in! The—walls, my claws, it's all stretching ... it's too much ... everything is —it doesn’t feel like salvation!

Lyra

You don’t escape salvation, Urax. You gamble by embracing the void. And sometimes... the void demands a greater partner.

Urax

What—what is it doing? The hybrid—it—it’s going towards it—it—it’s using the portal! No! It—it’s—it’s leaving us here—it—it knows! Sir, it—it left us!

Lyra

Magnificent. It claims its own path. To go beyond... is defiance itself.

Urax

Defiance? But—but what about us? The— legion—the devils—they’re going to overrun! We’re—we’re all... Oh no. It’s—it’s over, isn’t it? We’re—

Lyra

Over? Not at all, Urax. All things collapse. Creation yearns for ruin... as ruin yearns for rebirth. And now... we face our final moment.

Urax

I—I didn’t want this. I—I didn’t... i want to hide...

Lyra

Want? Desire shapes chaos into purpose, Urax. But want has no place here. Now, let us embrace the inevitable collapse.