“Are we ready?”

“Yeah, we’re rolling.”

“Ok,” the man said with a sigh before taking a brief pause to concentrate on where he wanted to start. “Hello, my name is Elliot Gress and I am an archeologist with Spout Labs. My team and I are currently researching a lead that up until a month ago was considered a fairy tale told to children.”

Elliot paused once more, letting a small grin creep onto his face at the acknowledgement that he had just made. “As the story goes, a group of beings once existed outside the realm of man. They have become fondly known as the Creators. This group of all powerful deities were the ones who created our planet and the planets that surround it. Together, they formed ecosystems for each planet using a unique set of rules. Each planet would represent a different aspect of the Collectors’ world.”

“Pretty sure everyone knows the story,” the man behind the camera said, interrupting Elliot’s narrative.

Gress shoved his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose and shook his head, “I just want to make sure that whoever sees this understands what’s going on.”

“You’re boring them to death,” the camera man confessed. “Get to the good part!”

“Fine,” Elliot said, throwing up his arms. “No one knows what exactly happened, but something went wrong, bringing a great anger against the Creators. Someone or something sought to bring them down. A great war was fought and eventually the Creators lost.”

Gress once more grinned as he looked over his shoulder at something in the darkness, “Normally that is where the story ends. The Creators disappear and life goes on for the planets they created. Over time, the knowledge of the Creators is forgotten and becomes myth. This is what everyone, including myself, had accepted as truth; that is until last month.”

The cameraman shined his light towards the wall behind Gress, revealing a strange looking stone object that seemed to join with the cave wall. Elliot grew more excited as he stepped back into frame, now standing next to the object, “this is it. Everything I’ve worked for my entire life, has led me to this large rock formation.”

“Let me back up though,” Elliot adjusted his glasses once more. “Roughly a month ago I was fortunate enough to come across some strange stories that my colleagues had pieced together. A second part of the fairy tale that no one remembered. Rumor among a few was that one or two of the Creators had escaped their eventual fate. They had some sort of contingency plan that they put into place.”

“Tell them about the stone already,” the camera man interrupted again, driving a grunt from Elliot.

“Bob, be patient, I’m trying to build things up some,” Gress replied.

Bob, not content with his friends answer, replied in turn, “no one cares. They want the meat of this story!”

“Ok, fine,” Elliot replied, giving into his friend’s request. “My colleagues and I began to follow the origin of these rumors about the contingency plan. After weeks of asking around, traveling to various old sites, and talking to a slew of elder tribes, we came across this.” Elliot held up a piece of stone that matched very closely to the one merged with the wall behind him, “one of the tribes said that this piece of rock had crash landed on our planet years ago. That it belonged to the Creators.”

“It was like their bible almost,” Bob said from behind the camera.

Elliot nodded as he moved the stone closer to the camera, “if you look closely, you can make out a carving on the stone. This was a huge find for us, but it nearly stumped our research. We didn’t know if it was an ancient language or some sort of other marking, but we knew we had to solve the translation.”

“None of it matched any other language in our planets history,” Bob quickly added, spoiling Elliot’s story once more.

With a nod, Gress agreed with is friend, “right. It was literally unlike anything we had ever seen or explored. So it took us several long nights of deciphering and rekeying our own language to come up with a base line for this new written word. If we hadn’t had ciphers from the various elder tribes we visited, it would have taken us years to solve.”

“It was Elliot who first said the phrase aloud. He had some crazy breakthrough while he was alone one night,” Bob explained to the intended viewers of the recording.

Elliot laughed and lowered his head, “it was nothing. Just a bit of luck really.”

”You would still be swapping out letters on your little chart if I hadn’t helped you that night."

Suddenly Gress’ face grew pale. “No,” he whispered to himself.

“Tell em what it says,” Bob called out to his friend, bringing his focus back to the stone.

“Right, yes, of course.” Elliot shook his head and returned his attention to the camera, “it came to me, like a bolt of lightning. It says ‘vivamus.’ Once we translated it, I knew that we had gotten the cipher right. It means ‘let us live,’ which was poetic, considering the going theory was that the Creators had somehow survived.”

”We both know that that is no theory. Not any longer."

Elliot shook his head again and ignored the voice that spoke to him deep inside his mind, “on the back of the stone we found more markings. This time, however, it wasn’t letters. We eventually figured out they were numbers. What stumped us was that we didn’t know what they meant or what use they had.”

“Yeah, that was where I came in,” Bob replied with a snicker.

“Exactly,” Gress acknowledged his friend’s help, “Bob recognized that it was a series of number in the form of coordinates.”

Bob grew giddier as the facts were revealed, “yeah, yeah, it was a location! And bam, here we are!”

“Right,” Elliot moved out of frame and waved his hands around the stone in the wall, “an airplane ride, a car ride, and a lot of trekking later, here we are. What we have found is both exciting and scary. It’s a formation of otherworldly stone. It matches very closely to that of the cave we are standing in, but it has qualities that don’t match.”

”Enough of your banter! Get this over with. Get me out of here.”

Elliot grabbed his head at the intrusion, “please, I need a moment.”

“Wow man, you ok? Another headache,” Bob asked his friend in concern.

“Ye-yeah. Sorry,” Gress said, trying not to give away his urgency. He quickly turned away from his friend and rested his head on the stone structure. Elliot spoke under his breath, so that only the other voice could hear him, “I ask that you please, be patient.”

”I’ve been patient enough. You’ve carried this ruse for long enough. They bought your stroke of genius, and followed you here. Now do as I have asked of you. The time for my awakening has arrived. Remember everything that we have done up until this moment. This is what we have worked for Elliot."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

28 Days Ago…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ugh…I just don’t get this!”

Samantha, a young woman who had just started her second year in the archeological field threw her hands up into the air in frustration, “This damn stone isn’t worth my lack of sleep right now.”

“We can’t give up now, we’re really close,” Elliot spoke to her calmly, hoping to lighten her spirits.

With a shake of her head, Samantha retorted, “no, this isn’t anywhere close to done. The others all get to sleep while we work our butts off into the midnight hour? That’s not fair, and it’s not worth this.”

“Sam, please,” Elliot stood up, placing his hands before him, “I need you to stay and help.”

The younger scientist shook her head, “I’m sorry Gress, but you’re on your own. This little theory of yours is full of crap. The other guys are right, you’re going to fail. For all we know, that damn rock could just be a scuffed up old rock. All of this will have been a waste of time, and the company’s money.”

“NO,” Elliot grew surprisingly aggressive at the comments made, “you are wrong! I am going to show everyone. You’ll see. I will prove that the Creators exist, and then the company will make me its number one researcher. I will have my own place on the board. Books will be written about what we find with this rock!”

Sam grinned as she placed her hand on Elliot’s shoulder and leaned in closely, “it’s just a fairy tale Gress. All it ever will be. Goodnight.”

Without speaking another word, the girl gathered her things and left the room, leaving Elliot to stew at his work station. He threw his head into his palms, and just stared at the rock. Everyone had abandoned him. There wasn’t anyone left who believed in him or his theories. It wasn’t long until everyone else’s doubts were becoming his own. Gress began to think, maybe it was all a fairy tale, maybe he was wrong about the Creators and the rock; just maybe it was all a waste of time and money.

“Vivi…mus…"

Suddenly Elliot jumped to his feet and looked around the darkened room, “who’s there!?”

There wasn’t a reply. Elliot walked around the room slowly, checking behind corners to see if maybe one of the other archeologist were trying to trick him. They often made fun of him. It wouldn’t have surprised him it was just a light night prank.

“Look…again..."

Elliot spun on his heels, and noticed the voice seemed to be coming from near his work station. He moved back to where he had been sitting, and as he got close, he realized that the stone sitting on his desk had a faint glow, “what the hell…”

As he reached out to touch the stone, a small shock ran over Elliot’s body. He felt immobilized, frozen in time. Then suddenly it let him go. Gress stood in awe for a moment, trying to shake what had just happened to him. When his eyes fell to the stone once more, Elliot gasped. Where there had been strange markings before, it was now a single word, written as clear as any normal word. He was astonished, and frightened. Elliot quickly picked up the rock and looked at it in his hands longingly. As tears streamed down his face, he whispered the word that was at long last deciphered, “vivimus.”

“Now you see Elliot.”

Once more the voice called out to Elliot, and he turned around the room looking for its source, “who is there? This isn’t funny. Stop playing jokes with me.”

“This is no joke. What if I told you that everything you have been researching was true? What if I can help you prove it, and make everyone who has ever doubted you look like a fool?”

“Are you in my head,” Elliot asked as he held his hand to his temple.

“My consciousness was embedded in the fragment, and now it has moved to your mind. I am here to help you; to make you the man you have always desired to be. In return I only ask one favor. What do you say?”

Gress looked around the room, asking himself if he had finally gone mad, or if it was the sleep deprivation playing tricks on his mind. He thought about what was happening and what the disembodied voice had offered him. If it was as the voice had said, he would finally have all of his wishes granted. He could finally make his mark on history. He would finally be someone. In his mind, Elliot couldn’t help but ponder, what did he have to lose? With a shrug he answered back with a final question, “what do you need me to do?”

“Find me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Could you give me a minute Bob? I need to recollect myself before we start filming again,” Elliiot asked, turning back towards his cameraman.

Bob nodded, “sure thing man. Those headaches are starting to worry me. Seems like they’ve been getting worse lately.”

Elliot faked a grin, “you’ve no idea.”

Bob shrugged and left the area of the cave that the stone and Elliot were in. Now the lone person in the room, Gress sunk down to the ground, propping his back against the large rock formation. Once he knew Bob was out of earshot, he called out to this disembodied voice once more, “what do I do now?”

“I will require everyone to be present. Make a spectacle of my return. We will both enjoy seeing their faces once you prove them right. Call your colleagues into the room. Once they are in place, you will need to touch the tomb with your hand, and speak the words printed across the front of the stone. I will take care of the rest."

“I understand,” Elliot answered the voice, letting his head fall and his gaze drop to the ground. He took a deep breath as he thought about what was about to happen. It had taken him so long to get to this moment, and although he was excited, Elliot couldn’t help but feel scared. “Hey Bob,” Gress called out to his friend, “let’s continue. Can you get everyone back in here? They are going to want to see this next part.”

Bob yelled back, “sure thing man. Let me get them.”

Elliot stood back up and turned so that he could stare at the sculpture before him. It was simple, yet beautiful. Inside, just a few inches of rock away, was the only prove he would ever need. At long last he would be someone. He would remove all doubt and shut up the nay-sayers. His time had arrived. Gress turned his attention to the scripture on the front of the stone tomb. He ran his hands along the lines and suddenly grinned as he realized what the phrase said, “now I truly understand master.”

“Understand what,” one of the colleagues asked as she came into the room. It was Sam, the girl who had quit on him not so long ago.

“I have an idea what this is, and what we must do,” Gress explained. “That is why I called you guys in here. We are ready to crack this rock.”

The other colleagues all came in, followed last by Bob. They groaned at the sight of Elliot standing before the tomb as he announced his findings. One of the older men who had refused to be a part of the team from the beginning shook his head, “you finally found your Creator Gress. Turns out, it’s just a damn rock. Can we go home now?”

“Grab the camera Bob, we’re going to want this on record,” Gress requested as he ignore the older man and placed his palm on the center of the rock. He took a deep breath before looking directly into the camera, “This is the moment we have been working towards. This will change everything for us. I have found words on the stone, and I am now going to recite the lines. Everyone brace yourselves, we may soon be meeting our makers.”

The group of five or so men and women stood in a row, arms crossed, and eyes rolling. Elliot can’t help but grin at his own words. He looked deep into the stone before him and for a second felt as though he could see a grin being returned from beyond. Gress closed his eyes and said the words aloud, “Serva me, Servabo te.”

A rush of wind exploded from the center of the rock, knocking back everyone in the cave besides Elliot. Suddenly a beam of light bursts from around the stone, separating it from the wall. Gress screamed as he felt his body being forced into position; his head lifted by an outside being and his eyes pulled open. It was then that he sees the voice who had spoken to him for nearly a month. A large, monstrous being reached out and grabbed him, starring deep into his eyes. A tear fell from Elliot’s eye as he realized that everything in the fairy tales had been true and that the being before him could only be one person; it was a Creator.

As Gress’ colleagues begun to stand, they saw a faint glow seep from the stone and billow into Elliot’s body. The light on the camera shot out, leaving everyone the dark as the screams of their colleague could still be heard. They didn’t know what was happening or what to do to help. After another few minutes had passed the screams finally stopped and everything in the cave fell silent.

“Elliot!? Are you ok,” Bob called out into the darkness.

Sam pulls hear hair out of her face and stares deeply into the darkness, “I think its over.”

“What happened? What did that idiot do,” the older gentleman asked the others.

Beyond the group of archeologists was a faint red glow that hovered where Elliot had once stood. The group looked on in fear as two, small glowing eyes slowly opened in the darkness. A deep voice called out to them, speaking in its native language, “Timendi causa est nescire.”

“What does that mean,” one of them called out. Bob shook his head and yelled back at the voice, “What do you want? Where is Elliot?”

The glow that had hovered around the being in the dark moved quickly to the group of archeologist, and surrounded them. They let out screams of fear and pain as they felt their bodies harden, then begin to break and tear from within. Suddenly their flesh, muscle, and bone all disintegrated, leaving a floating mass of blood. It wasn’t warm and fluid as it had been in their bodies. Now it was hard, crystalized, and cold. The blood merged together, forming a single spear-like object, and floated over to the being in the dark. It impaled itself within the body of Elliot Gress, before being consumed, and added to his own.

Moving closer to where the remains of the archeologist had been, the being that now resided within Elliot Gress spoke once more, this time in common speak, “I am Ri’Gin, the Artisan, and I am here to reclaim what was taken from me.” The body twists its head in a strange way, gazing beyond the walls of the cave, and towards the center of the planet. A grin stretches across its face as it thought to itself aloud, “starting with this world.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Ri'Gin stands within the Planet's Core, waiting for what could be his doom, he can't help continue to ponder the thought of his creation being destroyed.

"Really troubles you, huh?" Elliot speaks within Ri'Gin's minds, much to The Artisan's distain.

"If I ask for your opinion, you have permission to speak.. until then, I expect you to remain silent." Ri'Gin commands.

A few moments of awkward silence pass.

"But yes.. it troubles me greatly. Every blade of grass, every species of animal, everything you ever knew.. I created it all. It was my greatest masterpiece.." Ri'Gin divulged.

At that moment, the doors to the Chamber opened.

"At least, until now." Ri'Gin concluded as he rose, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

"Who dares enter this Chamber?" A terrifying voice booms, echoing off the chamber walls.

"Ahh, the Guardian." Ri'Gin begins. "About time you showed up."

"I'll ask one more time." The Guardian states, "Who dares enter this Chamber?"

"It is I, the Champion." Ri'Gin answers.

Ri'Gin extends his hand and holds up a crystal than begins to glow and emit a bright, white light.

"How did you come by that crystal?" The Guardian again continues with his interrogation.

"Does it matter?" Ri'Gin rhetorically replies. "My intentions are quite clear however.. I seek to destroy this planet."

"Then the time for questions is over." The Guardian states as he unsheathes his mighty greatsword, the gleam of the massive blade reflecting in the shadows.

"The time has finally come.. after all this time, I shall paint "our" destiny." Ri'Gin exclaims as he extends his hands out in front of him.

Within Ri'Gins' hands appear an intricately designed staff, one forged in the most ancient of times. Atop the staff a single crystal floats surrounded by crackling wisps of arcane energy and on the other end a razor-sharp blade protrudes.

"And now, the Champion Shard and I become one." Ri'Gin says as both his body and the staff begin to illuminate.

The Champion Shard flickers and then dissolves into thin air as the energy rushes into the crystal, amplifying both the staff and Ri'Gin. The Guardian charges forward and attempts to cleave Ri'Gin in half, but the aura surrounding the Artisan violently flares outward, deflecting the blow with ease. Despite the shock of such a mighty attack failing, The Guardian instantly whirls back around with a deadly thrust. With a lightning-fast swipe of the staff, the Guardian's attack once again fails. Ri'Gin's staff flares as a bolt of lightning surges forward, blasting the Guardian square in the chest and knocking him off his feet.

Ri'Gin laughs maniacally as the Guardian's body crashes into the stone wall of the chamber, his ribs cracking in the process. Despite the agonizing pain, the Guardian crawls to his feet and instead of lunging forward he begins to cast his own spell, one that would dispel the magic of the Artisan.

"Your efforts are futile Guardian!" Ri'Gin shouts as he extends his staff and points it towards his arch-enemy.

The Guardian finishes channeling his magic and focuses his attack on Ri'Gin, but the magic of the Artisan overpowers his spell as it is propelled backwards and into the Guardian himself. Standing strong, but in obvious pain, the Guardian takes a deep breath and tries to lunge forward, but then suddenly Ri'Gin stabs him in the abdomen. The Guardian drops his greatsword to the ground and slumps forward as Ri'Gin twists the blade farther into his gut causing blood to spurt from his mouth.

The thoughts begin to flood the Guardian's head as he realizes that he is no match for the Champion, and yet despite the fact his life is most likely ending, he can't figure out how he was so easily defeated.

"How?" The Guardian sputtered, unable to form full sentences.

"I know your mind is flooded with questions of how you were so easily cut down by a mere "Champion" when in the past your stood toe to toe.." Ri'Gin began, summing up the man's thoughts to a tee. "Before you die and I destroy this world you should know that long ago when my brethren were sealed away, a plan was put into place to ensure their return to power. I, the Artisan, see that plan to completion and I will have revenge on all of your kind for their betrayal."

"She... will..not...let..it..happen." The Guardian says through clenched teeth.

Ri'Gin leans down and presses his own body close to the Guardian, driving the bladed-end of his staff deeper inside, and places his lips at the man's right ear. "I will see her suffer the same fate as you.. bleeding out at my feet, soon to become nothing more than a stain within the fabric of time. Your kind will fall, while we will rise. Now..die!"

Electricity surges from the staff into the Guardian's body causing him to convulse violently against the chamber walls, death now hovering close by. In one whirling motion, Ri'Gin rips the blade from the Guardian's abdomen and with blinding speed slices through the man's throat. The Guardian falls forward and the last glimmer of life fades as he dies in a pool of his own blood.

Ri'Gin closes his eyes and extends his view from the chamber to the entire world, taking it all in one last time. A single tear rolls down his cheek as he opens his eyes and walks towards the Heart Shard, his blood-soaked robes leaving a trail of the Guardian's blood in his wake. Ri'Gin reaches out for the Heart Shard and pulls it free of it's confides while simultaneously opening up a portal behind him.

"Wh...wh..where are you taking me?" Elliot fearfully asks.

"To our destiny." Ri'Gin replies as he steps into the portal, sealing the fate of the entire planet.. the same grim fate that its Guaridan met only moments before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Where are we?”

The voice of Elliot Gress questioned his master deep from within the recesses of his own brain. Ri’Gin, the Creator who came to be known as the Artisan, stopped to look around at the dark caverns that sprawled for miles before them. With a grunt he finally replied to the being who once controlled the body they now shared, “what did I tell you about to me?”

“I know master, but you will forgive me if I find it hard to control my excitement. I’ve never seen anything like this, nor have I ever been to another planet.”

A faint glow appeared with in the crystal that rested atop Ri’Gin’s staff. With a wave of his hand, the light erupted forth, shot deep into the atmosphere above them, and glowed as bright as a star. A smile crept onto Ri’Gin’s face as she looked out across the desolate cavern. It was dark, cold, and lonely. As simple and remote as it had been some thousands of years ago.

“This is, or rather, was my home. The place where my family and I once stood proudly as inventors, engineers, gods; as Creators,” Ri’Gin solemnly explained. He choked on his own words before he could get out the last part. It had been so long since he had spoken its name, “Welcome to Atarius.”

Ri’Gin moved over to a central wall, and called the light closer. The glow crept across the black, rock-like structure, until it unveiled a large mass with six separate pods. They reminded Gress of the tomb he had found Ri’Gin in back on his own world. It didn’t take long for Elliot to surmise that this was the remains of his master’s family; the final resting place of the Creators.

“Is that..”

“Yes,” Ri’Gin answered before Elliot could even get the words out. “This is all that is left of my family; my Brothers and Sisters. It is here that they remain entombed, weakened.. defeated. They knew not of my plans, and so they currently have no will to live or expectancy of ever being freed.. but free they shall be.. one day. And then, revenge will be ours!”

“What happened here?”

Ri’Gin shook his head, “that is a story for another time.”

It wasn't long before Ri'Gin came to a splintered path, a dn chose the left most option. The light from before followed them closely behind, olluminating hall as they moved. After another moment or so, the hall opened up into a large chasm. Ri'Gin took a few steps before coming to a complete stop. He looked down, noting that the floor ended, and fell into a great nothingness. With a single thought, he called the light to burn bright and move upward, revealing the entire area. What Gress saw before him drew a gasp. If he had had control of his own mouth, it would have been on the floor.

Out beyond the last step of the chasm was a vast array of stars. In the distance Gress could make out planets, solar systems, and even entire universes. It was a view of everything in existence; everything that the Creators had made in their time.

"This is the Atria of Creation, the center of our planet." Ri'Gin further explained as he looked out over the sea of planets before him. "It was here that we spent endless days formulating, molding, and forging all of creation. We poured our hearts and soul into it. We cherished each new planet as if it was our own child; if such a thing were possible for a deity."

"It's beautiful master. Quite breath taking," Gress spoke softly, as if to avoid further scolding. "Tell me again, why are we here? What is your plan?"

"Your planet has to die so that my brethren can live again." Ri'Gin coldly replies.

As Ri'Gin stands within the Tomb of the Creators, the feelings begin to overwhelm him as he realizes his family could be standing by his side at the day's end. Ri'Gin stares down at the Heart Shard within his hand, the lifeblood of his created planet pulsing against his palm, and nearly gets lost in his own thoughts.

"Master.." Elliot croaks.

The voice of his host jostles him from this thoughts. Ri'Gin snarls in annoyance, though slightly thankful as Elliot pulled him from his own despair.

"The blood of my planet should be enough to awaken my brethren and like the days of old, WE, the Creators, will reforge our destiny once again." Ri'Gin announces proudly, his own ears the only one present to hear however.

"Do what must be done." Elliot says encouragingly, his own curiosity trumping his sadness as his home planet is about to erased from history.

Ri'Gin extends his hand and the Heart Shard levitates into the air, hovering next to the Artisan for a few moments and then flying towards the center of the Tomb. A faint drumbeat begins to pound within the chamber, only it's not a drum at all. The pounding is the Heart Shard itself and as Ri'Gin raises his staff, the pounding gets louder and faster. The Creator begins to chant, his words and spell filling the room. Louder the Heart beats.

THUD THUD! THUD THUD!

The intensity of the pounding heart begins to cause Ri'Gin to lose focus, his own body failing him as his ears begin to ache. As Ri'Gin taps into his ancient magic, a bright light shoots from his staff and connects with the Heart. In an instant, Ri'Gin falls to his knees as feeling of complete despair washes over him.

"I can feel them dying.." Ri'Gin moans, though maintaining the connection. "All of them."

THUD THUD! THUD THUD!

"I WILL SEE THIS THROUGH!" Ri'Gin exclaims as he slowly rises to his feet.

The Artisan's body begins to surround himself with a bright, blue aura as he taps into the deepest reserves of his powers. Ri'Gin grips the staff with both hands and stands strong as the feelings of death consume both his thoughts and his soul.

"Now... Rise my brothers and sisters!" Ri'Gin shouts, his voice echoing within the chamber. "And let us rule this universe once again."

Ri'Gin closes his eyes and completely loses himself in his chant, the light within the Chamber growing as he nears the end of the ritual. And then suddenly, total silence engulfs the room.. at least for a few moments. Ri'Gin opens his eyes just time to see the Heart Shard shatter into a million pieces and the blood within splatter across different Tombs. Ri'Gin collapses to the ground, his entire body aching and his brain pounding as the ritual comes to an end. A huge feeling of satisfaction replaces the despair as Ri'Gin waits for the first sign of his family's return to happen.

And he waits. And waits. And waits. Too long in fact.

"What was supposed to happen?" Elliot asks, his curiosity having not been sated.

"Something. Anything!" Ri'Gin replies in a frustrated tone.

"Something HAS happened." A female's voice pierces the silence.

Ri'Gin sits straight up, while Elliot screams within his master's head, causing Ri'Gin to bang on his head. "Elliot, shut up! Whoever, or whatever YOU are, identify yourself."

"You were warned Creator and now you shall suffer the consequences. The Guardian's Seal remains in tact and you and your kind will never return to power. Guardians! The planets are in danger. Go forth and protect our dreams!" The woman's voice exclaims.

A fast blowing wind sweeps through the Tomb, pulling Ri'Gin towards the Atria. As the Artisan rushes into the Atria, he sees swirling white wisps flying towards every single planet that was ever created.

"What have you done!?" Ri'Gin exclaims in complete bewilderment.

"The Guardians of old now circle their planets, ready and able to defend it against anything you have in mind." The woman's voice answers.

"Then so be it.." Ri'Gin answers in a very ominous tone. "All I have 'in mind' is the wrath of me. The Creators WILL return, mark my words!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I do not understand!"

Ri'Gin slammed his fists against the array of tombs on the central wall, his frustration sitrring Gress from within. "Master, please don't get frustrated. We will figure this out. Togethwe we are smart enough to solve this riddle."

"Ha," the Artisan laughed under his breath, "you think I need your help?"

"I mean no offense, but it certainly seems you need someone's help. You've done everything within your initial plans..stealing all those Heart Shards, defeating all of those Guardians, destroying countless planets, and yet tombs remain sealed."

"The power sealed within the Shards should have been strong enough to break the seal. At the very least, it should have awakened my brethren from their sleep. I have returned their essences to them, bit by bit. They should have stirred by now," Ri'Gin explained aloud, hoping that his outward thoughts would trigger any ideas.

"Maybe it's just not enough yet." Maybe they need more..."

Ri'Gin shook his head, growing more frustrated, "that isn't possible. It has taken us months to locate and destroy just a handful of planets. As powerful as I may be, I cannot possibily destroy them all. There is only one of us, and at the current rate that could take decades."

"Excuse me, Elliot," a female's voice called from beyond the Tombs.

"Yes?" Ri'Gin immediately shifted his demeanor and tried his best to flash a smile, "What is it Alice?"

An attractive, young woman rounded the corner and returned the smile, "Sorry to interrupt you. I just wanted you to know that more people have turned up. They are confused and scared, going on about the end of times, the same as all the others."

"I see," Ri'Gin ran his hand over his forehead and up through his hair, "we should make sure they each get a bath and proper change of clothes. Have someone inform the Shepherd so that he can make plans for our new members. I will be along in a moment to inspect them."

The young girl nodded, "thank you sir." With that said, Alice turned to leave but stopped just outside of earshot. She moved her hand up and brushed her hair back behind her ear and sheepishly tiptoed back towards Gress, "I do not mean to be rude, but was there someone else here just now?"

"I'm sorry? No.. of course not. Why do you ask," Ri'Gin immediately grew concerned at the girl's brash question.

With a shrug, the girl's smile returned, "no reason. I could have sworn I heard you talkingg to someone was all. Must be these large halls. Voice seem to just echo throughout."

"Yes," Ri'Gin tried a faint laugh, "Of course. That must have been it."

Alice nodded and turned around once more. THis time, she left the large area where the tombs rested, leaving Ri'Gin and Elliot alone.

"I fear she may be getting to close to us. We don't have time for bonds, especially with these poor lost souls."

"I agree," Ri'Gin said, returning his gaze to the tombs, "But any interaction beyond your voice is welcome from time to time."

"Your attempt at humor is lacking master. Tell me again, why do we let these fools live? What purpose do they serve?"

The Artisan turned so that his back rested against the tombs, "They are not unlike us. Lost and homeless, they seek out the help of the Creators. They think that by resurrecting my brethren that they can be for their planets to be restored. That desire alone is enough to keep them around. All that they need is a little motivation."

"But to what end? What could they possibly do to help us?"

"I don't know just yet," Ri'Gin retorted. "That part I am still working on. IN the meantime, it seems wrong to just kill them. After all, we did just destroy their homes."

"Fine then. Why not lead them yourself? Surely your words would be enough motivation for them."

Ri'Gin laughed, "You are a fool Gress. I do not have time to pamper and ease these people into this strange new world. I shall spend all of my free time researching this Seal while they waste theirs playing house. Let them have their little community for now. All that matter to us is breaking the tombs open and restoring my family. That is the only way we will be rid of these people once and for all."

"Wise as always my master. Which brings us back to our previous conversation. What do we do now?"

"I wish I knew." Ri'Gin replied. "Those who sealed the Creators away were clearly more powerful than I had anticipated. It is as if they haven't received any of the essence we released from the Heart Shards."

"Perhaps that's because they haven't. Could is be that the Seal is preventing the life energies from going into the tombs?"

"Hmmm," the Artisan quickly stood back up and rubbed his hands along the outer surface of the tombs. A faint smile crawled onto his face as light bulbs begin to turn on in his head, "Elliot, you might just be onto something."

"See? I told you I could be of some help."

"Don't push your luck. Now, quiet." Ri'Gin ordered as he shifted his thoughts to the new theory. "I cannot possibly think with your irritating voice running around in my head."

Ri'Gin grew silent as he contemplated the words he had said before. Everything revolved around the Seal. It wasn't there solely to contain the Creators, but it also served as a retardant to outside forces. That mean only one solution; the Seal had to be broken first. Only then could the Creator's be restored.

"I've got an idea," Ri'Gin said aloud as he began to pace. He placed of all of the pieces together in his mind before he spoke. The Artisan knew the risk that would be involved in his new plan, and although it was a long shot, it would almost certainly work. There wwas just one task that stood between him and the next phase of his plans. Ri'Gin set his gaze on the tombs and mvoed so that he could place his hands open on the front. He stared deep inside and spoke with newfound vigor, "Sit tight my Brothers and Sisters. There is still much to do, but I swear to you.. I will bring you all back."

"Enough with the suspense. Tell me of your new plan master. I do hope it's good one."

"Have no fear, it is." Ri'Gin proudly replies. "We must play the long game I fear, but that should give us time to tie up any and all loose ends as the glorious return of my family nears."

Within minutes, Ri'Gin is standing inside the Atria, looking out over the planets and the Guardian's protecting them all. He shakes his head as he ponders over his next words. It was insane, counter intuitive, and completely reckless, but it was also his last option. The one thing that he hadn't thought of before, because until now it wasn't even a potential course of action, was now his only choice.

"Let us prepare for many long nights Elliot." Ri'Gin says to his partner. "We are going to find a way to do the impossible."

"I dread to even ask. What is it master? What we we going to do?"

Ri'Gin's eyes flashed maliciously as he began to unveil his plans to Elliot. "We are going to let all the worlds know that a Creator still yet lives. We are going to taunt the planets and remind them of our power. We are going to warn the universe of their own impending doom. Long ago, when my brethren and I were forging our planets, one of my brothers created something so terrible that it threatened everything we had worked to tirelessly to create. The evil of that world somehow breached their own confides and made attempt to destroy Atarius. It took time, but once all of us returned back to our home planet, we were able to easily destroy the invaders. Separate though, we were weakened and that thought caused great concern. We determined that we needed something to let us know immediately that something had gone wrong. So we created this.."

Ri'Gin reaches down and places his right hand on the floor. After a few moments, he stands up and where he his had just been now glows a bright green, illuminating his hand print. The green lights flare momentarily and then a stone pillar begins to rise from the ground until it becomes about even with the Artisan's shoulders. Once the pillar stops ascending, a metallic device snakes its way out from inside, twisting until it juts out nearly a foot from its pedastal.

"What in the world is that?" Elliot asks.

"THAT is the Horn of Atarius. It can only be used by a Creator. Once blown, a fog-horn like sound will bellow across the universes and echo down to each planet, telling the Creators to return home immediately." Ri'Gin explains with grandiose.

"But master, there are no other Creators left.." Elliot reluctantly reminds his master.

"Exactly." Ri'Gin hastily replies. "It's a farce. A story. A lie. The greatest lie to ever be told in this lifetime."

"So how does blowing this Horn help our, your, cause?" Elliot asks intently.

"Because as soon as the Horn is blown, the planets will react to the fear of a Creator still being alive and will choose." Ri'Gin says with an eeerie grin on his face.

"Choose what?" Elliot asks, his curiosity peaking to an all time high.

Ri'Gin gazes at the planets as a wicked smile spreads across his face.

"The Planets will choose their Champions."