Noel had never been one to trust blindly. Suspended between the remnants of a fever dream and the echoes of a warped holy tale, she teetered on the edge of belief and denial. The memory of her soul—ripped from her body and cast adrift into the vast unknown—clung to her like the remnants of a vision too vivid to dismiss. She had seen the universe, felt its pulse, touched its infinite breath, and yet the impossibility of it all clawed at her rational mind.
Was she truly meant to discard the doctrine instilled in her over years of unwavering faith? To cast aside the teachings that had framed her reality for the cryptic whispers of a stranger’s prophecy? Could One Mind—this omnipresent force she barely understood—so effortlessly unravel the sacred certainty of God? The thought sent a chill through her, a quiet tremor of defiance against the creeping erosion of her convictions.
Her breath quickened, eyes flickering as she wrestled with the weight of revelation. Truth had never felt so fragile—so malleable—as it did now, standing on the precipice of something far greater than human understanding.
Noel’s eyes widened, curiosity brimming in their depths as she tried to piece together the enormity of what she had just learned. The Ba’urgeon society, the enigmatic force of One Mind, the substance that made it all possible—Uniterial. Her voice, tinged with both fascination and skepticism, broke the silence.
“And so… One Mind makes all of your technology from Uniterial? And that’s what the sparks were made of…?”
Her fingers tensed, pressing against the surface beneath her as if grasping for something tangible in the face of a reality too vast to fully comprehend. The weight of her experiences—disembodied journeys, cosmic revelations—made the conversation feel surreal, yet the questions clawed at her reason.
“Why can’t One Mind do that here, on Earth?”
Her breath was measured, but the tremor of doubt lingered in her voice. The Ba’urgeons spoke of their truth with an unwavering certainty, and yet, she stood on the precipice of belief, unable to cross fully into understanding. Everything was so difficult to accept, and yet—some part of her knew—she had already begun.
Uniterial was absent here—Earth was devoid of its essence. Lil’lah’s voice carried a quiet certainty, her words measured yet unwavering.
“There’s no Uniterial here. None of your technology—well, most of it—isn’t made from Uniterial. His powers are concentrated in that.”
Noel’s brow furrowed as she processed the implications. The very force that shaped Ba’urgeon civilization, the material that fueled One Mind’s creations, was entirely absent from her world. She leaned in, searching for clarity.
“And what is it? This… Uniterial?”
Lil’lah’s gaze held steady, eyes reflecting the suspended twilight around them. “The One Understanding leads us to believe that Uniterial was once One Mind’s body. In the beginning, when He created this universe, He fractured Himself, spreading His essence across the stars.”
Her voice grew quieter, weightier, as she scanned the frozen landscape. The planes remained untouched, time itself held in suspense as the enormity of her words pressed into the moment.
“Many worlds still hold traces of it, but that was long ago. Many systems have started their second life. And so—” Lil’lah turned back toward the horizon, her expression unreadable. “This far from the center, your system may have restarted two… maybe even three times by now.”
Noel’s pulse quickened, her mind racing through possibilities. The knowledge Lil’lah revealed unraveled the very foundation of her understanding, and yet, in the dying light of the stalled sky, she could not shake the feeling that the truth she had clung to for so long had already begun to slip through her fingers.
Noel’s breath caught in her throat as the question slipped from her lips—hesitant, yet driven by an insatiable need to know.
“So… you’ve seen the beginning of the universe?” Her voice barely broke above a whisper, but the weight behind it was immeasurable. She leaned forward, her pulse pounding against her ribs as she pressed further. “Like the Big Bang?”
The moment stretched between them, thick with quiet revelation. The thought of it—the sheer magnitude of witnessing the genesis of existence—made her head swim. The Ba’urgeon possessed knowledge that defied comprehension, truths locked away in celestial memory. Had they truly seen it? The first light? The moment matter ignited from the void?
Then, a pang of something colder tempered her excitement. Noel thought of her career—the path she had once followed so faithfully. If this knowledge had been handed to her before, she would have published papers, spoken at conferences, contributed to the collective human understanding of astrophysics. But now? The world had changed. Who was left to report this to? What science journal was still standing amid the chaos? Her enthusiasm dimmed—just slightly—as reality gnawed at the edges of her mind.
Lil’lah, unbothered by Noel’s internal battle, answered with calm certainty. “Every Sentry has seen it, and every Ba’urg knows it. It’s the knowledge upon which our faith is built.”
Noel’s eyes flickered with renewed intensity. “And it’s passed down from Ba’urgeon to—?”
Lil’lah shook her head, her gaze shifting toward the horizon, the sunset igniting the sky in fractured hues. “No. Ba’urgeons do not typically speak of it outside of adolescence. When we are young, it is framed for us—we discuss it among ourselves—but as elders, we simply know it to be.” Her words came slower now, as if each syllable carried the weight of something sacred. “It is the One Knowledge.” The moment hung between them. “The One Knowledge leads to the One Understanding.”
Noel studied Lil’lah’s expression, searching for cracks in the unwavering certainty. But there were none. The Ba’urgeon spoke with conviction, with the calm steadiness of someone who carried the memory of creation within her very being.
Noel’s frustration simmered beneath the surface, her thoughts tangled in the labyrinthine logic of Lil’lah’s words. It felt like she was chasing shadows—abstract truths looping in circles, offering no tangible footing.
“So where does this knowledge come from?” Her voice carried an edge of impatience, a plea for clarity amid the dense fog of belief.
Lil’lah did not shift, did not waver. Her focus remained locked on the horizon, her answer delivered with quiet certainty. “From the One Mind…” She spoke as if the truth were self-evident, as if Noel had merely failed to see what had always been there. “At birth, we experience the Sight—an event in which Sentries are distinguished from Stai’tic through a trance. In that moment, One Mind imparts our history, our lineage, stretching back to the very beginning.”
Noel’s chest tightened. It was an impossible concept—and yet, something within her refused outright rejection. “And all Ba’urgeons know this…?” She wanted to disbelieve. But she didn’t. Not entirely.
Lil’lah nodded, her voice unwavering. “Most, definitely. There is the big picture. If a Ba’urgeon were Stai’tic and orphaned, their direct knowledge of self would be limited, but the shared history remains. As I am sure humans have their own history as well.”
Noel scoffed, crossing her arms as skepticism gnawed at the edges of her thoughts. “Yeah, well. We don’t all share the same understanding.” The words came sharper now, carrying traces of exasperation. “This ‘One Knowledge’…?” With narrowed eyes, she challenged, “Why are Sentries given this information and everyone else isn’t? You say One Mind chooses? He sounds rather biased.”
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The question lingered between them, weighted with accusation. For the first time, Lil’lah hesitated—just slightly—as if she, too, had pondered that very thought in the quiet recesses of her own mind. The silence stretched before her as her answer came.
Lil’lah’s gaze remained fixed on the horizon, unwavering, yet her silence spoke volumes. She was not quick to respond, and Noel sensed—instinctively—that this was delicate ground. The subject, for reasons beyond her immediate understanding, carried weight. It wasn’t just a matter of belief; it was something deeply personal. Noel shifted, searching for a way to redirect the conversation, but before she could speak, Lil’lah broke the silence.
“Lately… I have questioned One Mind’s guidance.” The words were quiet, yet they cut through the stillness like a blade.
Noel was momentarily disarmed. Questioned? How could that be? Someone with direct communion to the very force that shaped their world—that wielded knowledge beyond human comprehension—was still uncertain? “I don’t understand,” Noel admitted, her voice quieter now, almost hesitant. “It seems like you have the answers that so many others seek.”
Lil’lah did not respond immediately. She took a breath, as if weighing her words carefully, her fingers twitching ever so slightly at her side. When she finally spoke, her voice was softer—less assured than before. “Yeah… you’re right.” But the sentence trailed off, dissolving into the air like unfinished thought, leaving Noel unsettled. The moment stretched between them, fragile and uncertain. And for the first time, Noel felt that perhaps—despite all that Lil’lah knew, all that she had seen—she was just as lost as everyone else.
Noel’s gaze swept across the frozen horizon, her mind searching for a new direction—but one question refused to be silenced. It burned deep in her gut, pressing against the edges of reason. “Does One Mind ever mention God?”
Lil’lah’s head shifted, the slow, deliberate movement breaking her trance-like focus. She was no longer lost in the expanse of sky and suspended time—now, she was looking directly at Noel. “God?”
The single word, spoken without inflection, carried an unsettling neutrality. Noel pressed forward, her voice threading with urgency. “Yeah. God. The Alpha and Omega? The Maker of the Heavens and the Earth? The Creator?”
Lil’lah did not blink. “A Creator other than—Itself?” Her tone was steady, unreadable. No flicker of surprise, no indication that she had ever contemplated such a thing before.
“Yeah.” Noel leaned closer, searching for cracks in Lil’lah’s certainty.
“No.” The answer was immediate, unshaken. “No, I cannot say that’s part of the One Understanding.”
Noel’s breath hitched. There was no hesitation in Lil’lah’s response, no space for doubt. The Ba’urgeon had never entertained the idea of anything beyond One Mind—at least, not in the way Noel had been taught to believe. “But…” She struggled to form the right words, to mold the thoughts crashing into each other in her mind into something coherent. “That would mean that One Mind is God, then.”
Lil’lah’s head tilted slightly, a subtle shift in posture. “What would be wrong with that?”Noel felt her chest tighten.
“My God doesn’t— I don’t know—move the way ‘One Mind’ does. The things you say about Him, I just don’t understand. God has been said to do miraculous things, but not conjuring things like—” She gestured toward the Ba’urgeon ships suspended in motion, their forms looming in the frozen sky, tangible proof of One Mind’s reach.
Lil’lah’s response was calm, almost detached. “Well, One Mind just can’t function the same way on this world—”
Noel’s mind spun with new possibilities, pushing past the structured confines of theology she had always accepted. “So then…” Her words were quieter now, speculative, almost hesitant.“It’s a possibility that there are other beings? Ones that function the way we were taught to believe here?”
Lil’lah said nothing. The silence that followed was deeper than before. Thicker. Like a truth hovering just out of reach.
Lil’lah did not respond right away. Instead, she turned her head back toward the horizon, her gaze distant, lost in thought. The pause stretched, thick with unspoken contemplation, until finally, she exhaled softly and said, “I used to be like you.”
Noel’s brows furrowed, her expression hardening ever so slightly. “Like her?Was that a compliment, or something else entirely? A flicker of uncertainty passed through her as she asked, “Like me, how?”
Lil’lah’s voice was quiet, almost reflective. “Oh, you know. Devout. Unrelenting.”
Noel’s initial stiffness eased at the words. Her expression softened, though her curiosity remained sharp. “You’ve shown me some pretty amazing and terrifying things today. It’s strange to know you have doubts. I would think—” She hesitated, expecting Lil’lah to contradict her, to reaffirm her unwavering faith. But instead, the Ba’urgeon’s response came slowly, deliberately.
“I don’t know if I doubt One Mind… or if I doubt myself.” Her confession hung in the air like fragile glass. A truth so rarely spoken, yet impossible to ignore. “Do you know what they call me?” Lil’lah asked, shifting her weight slightly as she stood, reaching down to pull Noel up with her. Noel took her hand, rising as she watched Lil’lah’s expression shift into something unreadable. “The ‘Purest’.” The title lingered between them, weighted with meaning Noel had yet to grasp. Lil’lah’s gaze flickered, distant again as she murmured, “It wouldn’t surprise me if One Mind was hiding your God from us.”
Noel stumbled slightly, catching herself as the environment around them wavered. “Hey! We’re in the Shadow Walk!” She tightened her grip, grounding herself before she lost sync.
Lil’lah blinked, as if pulled from a thought. “I’m sorry. Lately, I’ve been rather absent-minded.” She turned to face Noel, her expression momentarily softer before she returned her focus to the horizon.
Noel watched her for a long moment before speaking. “Why would an all-powerful being need to hide things from you?”
Lil’lah didn’t answer immediately. She inhaled slowly, measured, before replying, “I’m not sure how to answer that. I don’t think there is an answer. I imagine something we call ‘All Powerful’ doesn’t need a reason to do anything.” The words unsettled Noel, yet she pressed forward.
“So One Mind told you why the universe was created?”
Lil’lah’s head tilted slightly, but her response was simple. “Yes.”
Noel felt her breath catch. She knew. Everything humanity had searched for since its dawn. The answer to existence. The meaning behind it all. And Lil’lah—standing but a foot away—held it within the next few words. The universe was about to open itself to her, and Noel wasn’t sure she was ready.
Lil’lah turned her gaze toward the dropship, her expression distant, unreadable. “I wonder… what is One Mind showing Nolan?”
Noel’s breath hitched as she followed Lil’lah’s gaze, her eyes landing on the still, lifeless form of her son—her eldest. A jolt of realization ran through her. **He hadn’t rebooted.** HIVE had long since repelled their virus, yet Nolan remained unchanged. Was it a software update? A lingering interference? Or something deeper?
“He’s undergoing the Sight right now,” Lil’lah answered, her voice calm, measured. “One Mind is passing the Knowledge to him. He will soon come to his own Understanding.”
Noel turned sharply, eyes locking onto Lil’lah with new intensity. “His own understanding?” The words pressed from her lips, tinged with skepticism. “Why are you certain that he won’t come to the same conclusion the rest of you did?”
Lil’lah met her gaze, her grip tightening ever so slightly around Noel’s hand. “Well… The Sight shows you your past, your personal history, through the eons. To the beginning. Most of our stories are different.” She hesitated, searching for the right words. “When I left Nolan, he had stepped into Twilight.”
Noel blinked, confusion knitting her brows. “Isn’t that where we are now?”
Lil’lah shook her head, her expression unchanged. “No. This realm is known as the Shadows. He and I spent some time together here.”
Noel inhaled sharply as the realization settled over her. “That’s where that footage of you came from.” Her voice dipped into something quieter, something almost reverent. “From Nolan’s memory log files. I saw you…” The weight of the revelation dragged the moment into silence. Lil’lah remained still, thoughtful.
Noel swallowed, pressing past the unease clawing at the edges of her thoughts. “Tell me about it. The Sight?”
Lil’lah’s response came slow, almost reluctant. “I can’t. It would be inappropriate. And it wouldn’t be relevant to you.” She paused—stiffening as something flickered in her expression. “For it to be effective, I would have to tell you a part of your history, but I don’t— I do.” She froze. A sharp, sudden stillness.
Noel’s heart kicked against her ribs as she whispered, “Do what?” Lil’lah turned to her, eyes wide with something new—something raw.
“I do know a part of your history.” The sentence lingered, pressing into the space between them. “I know the part of your history that brought us together.”
A chill prickled along Noel’s skin as her voice barely broke above a whisper. “The sparks.”
Lil’lah nodded, slow, deliberate. “Yes.” The word was heavy—soaked in meaning Noel had yet to grasp. “We came to your system to give them to you, so that you may commune directly with One Mind. They were meant to be mass communication devices, but you found other uses for them.”
Noel barely registered Lil’lah’s movements as she reached for her other hand, guiding her gently to the ground. Then—without warning—the world melted away. Reality unraveled, dissolving into nothingness. Only the void of space remained.
Lil’lah’s voice, calm and steady, rose within the emptiness. “Through the Shadows, we can revisit any time or place that has existed.” She exhaled slowly, as if crossing into something sacred. “We just have to know where—and when—we are going.” Noel shivered. She wasn’t sure whether she was about to witness history—or be consumed by it.
