Chapter 15: Demiurgos

“In philosophical and theological contexts, a demiurge is an artisan-like figure responsible for creating and maintaining the physical world,” a voice stated.

“But what if the very foundation of the physical world began to break?”

Countless worlds and realities die every second, as if all those lives within them were insignificant.

Now, at Arth's base...

"It's been a while since I've traveled to a different universe," Arth said to Altair, his female counterpart from another reality.

“And you received a signal, right? We need to get into that world before Ouroboros does,” Altair stated.

“I know, but the possibility of us landing in a world that doesn't support us is off the charts,” he said.

"You're overthinking this, aren't you? But you've jumped how many times now—three?" Altair asked.

“I was lucky that it led me to a world much more similar to mine,” he replied.

“There are three types of worlds in the multiverse, and each world can be formed by thoughts. Type 1 is a Temporal World—these are branch worlds of a universe formed through choices. For example, if you chose Quaker Oats instead of cereal (these worlds can mostly be accessed through space-time travel). Type 2 is a Spatial World, where the rules of physics are different (this type is dangerous). Type 3 is an Antimatter World—these are essentially dead worlds or black holes. Once you step into one, you’re already gone,” Altair explained.

“Where did you learn these?” Arth asked. “I’m limited to the knowledge of my world.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right—you’re new to this Space-Time Voyager thing… I learned this in a particular world I visited,” she said.

“Can you bring me there?” Arth requested. “I want to learn more.”

“Give me your navigator,” Altair requested.

“Sure thing.” Arth handed her his phone.
Altair began tapping on the screen and noticed something.

“That’s weird,” she muttered, as Arth looked at her with concern.

“The same frequency of the world we’re going to match the signal of a Time Cog locator,” she said. “I’ve never experienced a world where the Time Cog is present. What usually happens in such a world?”

Arth’s eyes widened. “Something’s happening in that universe.”

“Then we need to be quick!” Altair exclaimed as she opened a portal.

The duo arrived on that universe’s moon, where they saw two draconic entities fighting.

One was a light pinkish-gray-white color, with linear purple markings on its body. The other’s main body was dark blue, with orange accents on the lines and the diamond-like crystal in its chest. Its central diamond exuded an aggressive aura.

“Quasar!” Altair shouted, as a voice echoed in their minds.

“Little Altair? What are you doing here?!” the draconic being asked telepathically.

“What’s happening to Arcadia?!” she asked.

“Even I don’t know, Little Altair. His form suddenly changed, and then he became aggressive,” Quasar said.

The other draconic being, known as Arcadia, then roared, distorting time in the universe so that everything suddenly felt fast and slow simultaneously.

But as Space-Time Voyagers, Altair and Arth managed to shield themselves from the effect of Arcadia’s roar.

Quasar then raised his hand and slashed the air, tearing space itself.

“Did he just tear space?” Arth asked.

“I know you two can do it too,” said a voice, as a huge man appeared. He shared Quasar’s color scheme and wore a helmet while holding a spear and a shield resembling the great draconic being.

“We should retreat,” he said as they tore open a portal to another dimension.

This was Quasar’s dimension, where he alone ruled the laws of physics while also maintaining them in the physical world.

“And who is this with you, Little Altair?” Quasar asked. “Is he related to you?”

“He’s a male version of me from a different world,” she replied.

“A different version of someone... My father and siblings use Emanations to allow mortals to visualize our true forms,” Quasar explained.

“So that dragon is you?” Arth asked. “I know someone who uses Emanations too.”

“Indeed, that is one of my forms,” he said. “We are ideas personified, and we hold autonomy over existence.”

“Just like Sera,” Arth whispered.

“You always mention her—care to provide more information?” Altair asked.

“She’s an enigma. I don't even have much information about her. All I know is that she gave me my name—maybe yours too,” he replied looking at Altair.

“That other dragon—your brother—when he roared, it distorted time,” Arth said to Quasar.

“My brother Arcadia does hold the power over time, but something corrupted him—something beyond this universe,” Quasar stated. “I felt it when I fought him.”

Arth looked at Altair. “I think your brother has come into possession of one of the Time Cogs we’re looking for.”

“Then help me remove it from him,” Quasar requested.

“I promise we will, Quasar. But your brother is too strong—even for you,”

 Altair said. “Maybe we can call your father to help us.”

“We can’t rely on our father,” Quasar said. “He acts... strangely.”

“How so? Are you hiding something?” Altair asked.

“I’ve been in your universe many times. You’re not hiding anything from us, are you?” she pressed.

“Maybe she can help,” Quasar whispered.

“Who?” Arth asked.

“My sister,” Quasar replied.

“You have a sister?” Altair asked, shocked.

“When Father was born, he created three beings from his essence—Space, Time, and Antimatter,” he stated.

“The same types of worlds you told me about,” Arth said to Altair.

“But I thought those were just types of worlds in your universe—or the multiverse?” she asked Quasar.

“We are the elements that formed it. Father banished my sister to another dimension due to her destructive capabilities,” he said.

“If we’re going to help you, we won’t be enough,” Arth said. “We need her help too.”

“The situation is dire. If my brother’s corruption continues, he’ll put the entire universe at risk of destruction,” Quasar said gravely.

Quasar raised his spear and tore space open, revealing a dark, reddish dimension.

“This is my sister’s dimension,” Quasar said.

The three of them entered this sinister dimension, where nothing made scientific or logical sense.

“Hello, Mira,” Quasar said in his human form, as the trio stood before a dark draconic figure adorned in yellow armor and red tendrils.

“Did you miss me, brother?” a female voice asked.

“We need your help,” Quasar said.

“And what would I gain from it? Father took my beauty, because he felt fear on my potential” she replied venomously.

“It’s Arcadia. He’s being corrupted by a foreign object beyond our universe,” he said.

“I assume these two brought it into our universe,” Miragea said, eyeing Altair and Arth.

“They’re friends—and they’re the ones who will take the object out,” Quasar said.

“Then...” Miragea paused.
“I don’t want to help,” she said, roaring and expelling them from her dimension.

 The group are back to to their previous location as Quasar slammed his spear in the ground on frustration “It’s useless. She still resents Father for what he did to her,” 

“We’ll find another way.” Altair said 

“Our options are running out, Quasar, Altair” Arth said. “If she’s truly capable of helping, then we’ll force her.”

“That seems extreme, Arth,” Altair said.
“We don’t have a choice, do we?” Arth replied.

Altair and Quasar looked at each other and agreed.

“Then let me convince her,” Arth said.

“My sister doesn’t like to be disturbed. If she sees us again, she’ll destroy us,” Quasar warned.

“I’ve got a plan,” Arth said smiling with confidence.Quasar tore another portal to Miragea’s dimension.

“You’re one crazy fellow for thinking this up,” Quasar said.

“Just close the portal after I go through. Next time I come back, I’ll be with her,” Arth said.

“Just be careful not to die,” Altair said.

Arth stepped into Miragea’s domain. His eyes glowed with green temporal energy indicating the use of time manipulation in a conceptual state.

“Mira, I came to talk,” he said.

“Not Interested!” Miragea roared, unleashing a blast that obliterated him.

She sighed in relief, but when she opened her eyes, Arth stood before her again.

“Mira, I came to talk,” he said.

“What the—?!” she thought.She destroyed him again.

“Mira!” Arth shouted.“No!”

Arth had trapped the both of them in a time loop, giving himself endless chances to convince her. The cycle of Miragae destroying Arth and him confronting him repeats for countless times each attempt costs Arth his life.

“I know what it feels like to be alone,” he said.

“I’m not listening,” she replied, obliterating him again.

This continued countless times, but the real threat still loomed.

Arcadia recovered and roared, his cry echoing even in Quasar’s dimension.
“Oh no,” Altair said.

Quasar readied his spear and shield and transformed into his draconic form.
“When are you going to calm down, brother?!” he shouted.

Arcadia roared, thoughtless and enraged.
“Fine then,” Quasar said.

The two clashed, ripping through space and time—Altair caught in the crossfire.
“Arth, what are you doing?” she asked mentally.

In Miragea’s dimension, the loop continued. Miragea destroyed Arth repeatedly until finally, annoyed, she shouted in frustration.

“Can you please listen for once!” Arth, panting, replied: “Fine!” she said. “Make my time worth it.”

“I know how it feels to be misunderstood. Maybe your father feared your power and banished you. But you don’t have to hate him forever. Nor do you need to forgive him now.”

“He’s an enigmatic god, Arth. He operates differently from us, and my siblings” she said.

“That doesn’t mean his actions should define you. Will you let him forever paint you as evil when you’re not?”

“Then what should I do? If I was destined to be the rebel? The defier?”

“Help your siblings—not because they’re tied to your father, but because they’re your siblings.”

Convinced on Arth's statement Miragea transformed into her human form.

“Now, let’s help them,” he said offering his hand to Miragea as she gladly accepted it.

Quasar and Arcadia were still fighting when Altair noticed that both were tearing apart the very fabric of the physical world.

“Stop!” Altair shouted, her eyes glowing green as she stood between Quasar and Arcadia, holding them in place.
“I’m not going to let you destroy everything you created,” she said in a commanding tone.

“Little Altair,” Quasar muttered.

“Move, Altair, or I’ll make you,” Arcadia threatened.

Both transformed into their human forms. Arcadia’s eyes glowed with corruption—he was under the influence of the Time Cog.

“You need to let go of that power, Arcadia. It’s corrupting you,” Altair warned.

“You’ll die before you even lay a hand on me,” Arcadia replied.

Arcadia raised his sword and released a wave of energy. Quasar shielded Altair at the last second and took the blow.

“Quasar!” Altair cried.

“I’m fine, but weakened. You need to get that Time Cog out of his system,” he said.

“Show me your mastery over time, Altair,” Arcadia said as he slashed again.
Altair skipped time, dodging the strike.
Arcadia smiled, continuing his relentless assault. Altair didn’t want to hurt him, so she focused on defense—dodging and skipping through frozen time. But she could only hold on for so long. Arcadia knew this.

He rushed her. Altair tried to shield herself by separating the space between them, but Arcadia cut through it effortlessly and struck her.

Panting, Arcadia stood over both Altair and Quasar, now defeated, when he sensed something ominous in the wind.

“How pathetic,” a female voice said, as Quasar and Altair turned toward its source.

“Mira?” Quasar asked.

“Sorry I’m late,” Arth said, rushing over to patch up Altair and Quasar.

“Go help them, Arth,” Miragea said. “I’ll deal with Arcadia.”

Arth nodded, picking up Quasar and Altair and bringing them to the moon.

“How did you convince her?” Quasar asked.

“I just made her listen to me,” Arth said. “For eternity.”

“So you cast a time loop?” Altair asked.
He nodded.

“She’s fighting now because she realized she’s not a being of destruction—unless she lets others define her that way,” he said.

Miragea summoned a large axe and charged at Arcadia, overpowering him with every swing.

“How did you escape your prison?” Arcadia asked.

“I was always free to leave. I just chose isolation,” she replied. “Now, let me help you!”

“I don’t need help from a being of destruction like you,” he snarled.

“Fine. Maybe I can’t change how people see me—but I can show them who I really am,” she smiled, dominating him with each blow.

Arcadia couldn’t keep up. Miragea managed to dislodge the Time Cog embedded in his chest, reverting him to his original state.

She carried his unconscious body to Quasar, bringing the extracted Time Cog with her.

She gently placed Arcadia down as Arth finished tending to the wounded Quasar and Altair.

“I guess this belongs to you,” Miragea said, handing the Cog to Arth. As she touched it, she saw a vision of her former self—who she once was before her exile.

“Mira, whatever the Cog is showing you, fight it,” Arth said. “You’re better than this.”

“I was once beautiful,” she whispered.
“And you still are,” he said gently.

Miragea took a deep breath and let go of the Cog.

“You’re right,” she said. “Thank you for showing me that, Arth.”

“Thank you for your help, Mira,” Quasar said.

“I did it because you’re still my siblings,” Miragea replied.

Arcadia opened his eyes and saw Altair and the others nearby.

“Altair? Quasar? Mira?” he asked, slowly recovering.

“I’d like to return to my dimension,” Miragea requested.

“But why? You’ve helped us. Don’t you want to be free now?” Quasar asked.

“Even though I want to isolate myself, I’m still your sibling. I just need my own space,” Miragea said, glancing at Arth.

Quasar opened a portal to her dimension. As Miragea stepped through, she turned back and said, “When the two of you are in trouble, I’ll be there to save you.”

Arcadia and Quasar nods as Altair and Arth crossed their arms thanking her.

She left, and Quasar lifted Arcadia—still weak—into his arms.

“Thank you for everything, Arth and Little Altair,” Quasar said. “I’m forever in your debt.”

“Likewise, Quasar,” Altair replied.

“We’re glad we helped,” Arth said with a smile.

“We’ll take our leave now,” Quasar said. Both he and Arcadia transformed into their draconic forms and ascended, leaving Arth and Altair alone.

“I guess we now have three Time Cogs!” Altair said.

“Yeah, but we still need to find the other four. And if Ouroboros is also searching for them, he may come after us,” she added.

“Then we’ll be prepared for his next move,” Arth said.

“Now, let’s go home, shall we?”

Chapter 15: Demiurgos End