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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Klokinator on 2025-12-28 21:02:54+00:00.
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(Part 001)
Far-Future Era. Day 21, AJR. Volgarius.
Vulpanix's ascension was a major event, and the first light of hope the Volgrim had seen in a long time. Ever since the Plague first appeared, they had slowly begun losing the war. They recently lost 95% of their Psions. A huge black scar tore across the homeworld. The demons were growing stronger, and the Dolgrimites had played a card that left the rest of the Volgrim reeling.
But now, they had a new Executor. Perhaps, due to the crisis that had swallowed the Volgrim, they might even obtain another one after Vulpanix.
That was a matter for the future. As Vulpanix reveled in her ascension, she allowed herself a moment of joy. She wasn't one for such trite emotions, but achieving the peak of Psionic power outside of a Supremator was a privilege only a precious few had enjoyed over the eons. Vulpanix had not yet reached a Chron of age (100,000 cycles), but she had become the last pillar of the Psions. Septillions would come to rely on her.
The weight of this new crown was heavy indeed...
As Vulpanix levitated in the lower atmosphere, she sensed the approach of a small shuttlecraft. When it approached, a messenger Technopath on board sent a message to her.
"The Founders congratulate you on your ascension. When you are ready, please pay the First Founder a visit."
Vulpanix slowly blinked all of her eyes. [I am ready now.]
An instant later, Vulpanix vanished. Her body stepped across space and she traveled a tenth of the way around the planet. She flickered two more times, ultimately arriving above the Founder's Fingers.
For a brief moment, her emotions dulled. She was still coming to terms with the realization of what she had done, along with her new responsibilities. She did not allow her emotions to cloud her judgment, and summarily flickered downward, arriving on the landing platform for the Founder's Thumb.
Inside, she found a familiar face. Muuxunuu stepped outside and blinked her limpid blue eyes at the newest Executor.
"Executor Vulpanix. I am pleased to witness your ascension. Founder Unarin is awaiting your arrival inside his sanctum."
[Many thanks, Administrator Muuxunuu.] Vulpanix replied.
Muuxunuu led Vulpanix inside the Founder's Thumb. Eventually, they stopped at the entrance to Unarin's Sanctum, and Vulpanix entered.
After Muuxunuu pulled the great doors shut behind Vulpanix, the newest Executor lifted her head to look up at Unarin, who was now sitting across from Dosena at a small table. Vulpanix flickered upward and arrived before the two of them with her head bowed.
[Founders.] Vulpanix said solemnly.
"Congratulations on your ascension." Unarin said, looking at her for a moment with a smile playing upon his face. He returned his gaze to the table, where a primitive board game had been laid out, and he and Dosena were silently playing together. "Take a seat, young Executor."
Vulpanix opened her eyes and nodded. She pulled out a seat and sat down. Only now did she carefully examine the First and Second Founders.
Unarin seemed no different than he always was. Supremely confident, unbothered, unworried about anything in particular.
But Dosena was different. She was visibly dispirited. Not a lick of Psionic Energy radiated from her body. She seemed weaker than the lowliest of Initiators. If her majesty and appearance was not well-known to all Volgrim, Vulpanix might have assumed Unarin had taken pity on an urchin and invited her inside.
Dosena glanced at Vulpanix and nodded. Then she reached out to the board and placed a piece on it.
Vulpanix examined the game between the Founders. She was unfamiliar with it, and in fact had never seen it before. It was shaped like a square, and had dozens of lines criss-crossing horizontally and vertically to create an interwoven grid of squares. There were small circular white and black pieces placed all across it, forming a pattern Vulpanix couldn't immediately deduce.
"This is the game of Go." Unarin casually volunteered. "I've been looking through a lot of ancient record from the human's homeworld, Earth. The humans have an interesting saying... keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Due to recent Truths revealed, I am growing uncertain of what exactly our relationship is evolving into."
Unarin looked up at Vulpanix. "What do you think, Executor? Are the humans our friends, or are they our enemies?"
Vulpanix did not immediately answer. It didn't take a genius to determine that Unarin was testing her. Any answer flippantly given would reveal something about her, so she was in no rush to speak.
Unarin returned his gaze to the board, and the table fell silent. For five long minutes, Vulpanix mulled the answer over.
[The humans are neither.] Vulpanix eventually replied. [They are a necessary evil we must endure. But if we look back at the ancient history, I believe that humanity could have become our closest allies or our worst enemies. The result merely depended on how we treated them.]
Unarin nodded, raising his eyebrows with a faint smile. "A good answer. Not perfect, but one that reveals wisdom beyond your years. You're right, Vulpanix. The humans could have become our greatest allies, had we only treated them better. Alas, we did not. And now, here we are, the Truth behind the Plague having finally reared its ugly head."
The First Founder chuckled. He seemed to find this new Plague business mentally stimulating to the point he seemed a madman. The walls were closing in around the Volgrim Empire, yet its First Founder was seemingly unbothered.
After a moment of silence, Unarin faintly bobbed his head in Dosena's direction. "Oh, by the way, please forgive the Second Founder. She has lost the ability to speak. Her Psionics have been completely sealed. If you wish to speak with her, you will have to interface directly with her mind."
Vulpanix's eyes widened. She looked at Dosena with shock. [I-interface directly? That is a breach of decorum I cannot possibly...]
She metaphorically swallowed her words when the Second Founder directed an apathetic look her way. It seemed Dosena did not care much for such matters.
Vulpanix bowed her head slightly. [I... understand. If that is your will, Second Founder.]
She hesitated a few moments longer. Touching directly on another Psion's mind and reading their thoughts was extremely offensive, and considered a slap across the face. Demila had done so to Vulpanix, and she still remembered the shame and helplessness she had felt when it happened. Then again, looking back, it seemed Demila's disgusting personality had revealed many warning signs her brothers and sisters had overlooked.
Eventually, Vulpanix relented. She hesitantly sent the weakest possible wisp of telepathic energy toward the Second Founder's mind, only for her link to crash against a damn-near impenetrable barrier she had not anticipated. Even though Dosena no longer wielded her Psionic power, her brain was still a fortress that no weak or casual telepathic strike could penetrate.
Vulpanix was not disappointed by this revelation. Instead, she was greatly relieved. She realized this indicated that Dosena had not fallen below the rank of Initiator, but simply had lost her Psionics for a while. How long that period of time entailed was anybody's guess, but eventually, Dosena would regain her strength.
Vulpanix narrowed her eyes. She increased the strength of her telepathic link, but even that fell far short of what she needed. She grunted and intensified her psionic link more, and more, and even more.
Despite being an Executor, she was having to put 75% of her full strength into establishing a mental link between herself and the Second Founder. All of this happened over the course of a mere thirty seconds while Unarin faintly smiled, understanding what was going on, and Dosena simply stared at the Go board, seemingly not even able to sense Vulpanix's telepathic intrusions.
Sweat began to drip down Vulpanix's face. Sweat! She couldn't believe that a powerless Psion had such resilient mental defenses. She readied herself to gather up every drop of her power to attempt one final push...
But at that moment, Unarin spoke up. "Alright, alright. You've made your point. Let her in."
Vulpanix glanced at Unarin. He was looking across the table at Dosena, who simply rolled her eyes.
All at once, the barrier blocking Vulpanix's mental intrusion vanished. She managed to penetrate into Dosena's mind, but even then, she was only able to touch upon the...
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