Symphony Book 3: Edited Chapters 1-3

Chapter 1: The Book of Souls

Walker stepped out of the metaphysical realm. Of course, no actual steps were taken; rather, a taller-than-average man with a shock of white hair sat in the stone chair of his empty office. The fight with Kwaya had all been within his mind. But even still, as he sat on the cold stone, Walker’s body wouldn't work for him as something unusual was happening.

When he’d reached the first stage, a pulse had fired into the atmosphere. When he reached the second, one had fired into space itself, arcing across the 4th rendition. But the third was different. A fast pulse fired inward, starting from the ends of his body, and moving toward the area just below his chest. As it passed different spots within his body, they woke up, creating their own pulses in a cascading buildup of something he didn't truly understand.

And all of this occurred without him moving a muscle.

Should Walker’s soul still have any holes, punctures in his truths, he knew it would have stopped there. However, the one bright thing that Morgan had provided was showing him how to clean up the last of his issues from his past. 

It was time to move on—to grow in new ways.

Energy gathered from throughout his body after the starting shot. Small, unseen throbs growing in strength, bit by bit, with each starting as an out-of-sync drum in the chorus of his soul. As the power continued to grow, they started to brush against each other. 

One by one, his outer pulses met and harmonized, finding a steady cadence with each other. As the synchronization increased, they created a new pulse that started in the center of his soul. 

Beat by beat, shot by shot, Walker's soul created something new in the Evolver's Multiverse.

As the last of the nodes within him integrated harmoniously, a final coordinated blast fired from the ends toward the center, shocking his body to action as he accidentally leaped out of his chair, breaking through the stone roof of his office and sailing out in a blur. 

He had pushed so hard that he escaped the atmosphere and into the darkness of space. Walker's Protocol shield had been destroyed with his use of the time strand, but that no longer seemed necessary as the third stage brought about its final change.

As he floated in the darkness of space, unravaged by the vacuum or cosmic radiation, he finally came to accept what Mr. Harrison had told him on his first day here. He was no longer a teacher. Hell, he was barely even human anymore.

Like a cauldron making its brew, he felt a strange bubbling in his soul. Something was coming forth, and following his instincts, he mentally reached out to it, "Come on."

A transparent black corner began to exit from his chest, feeling like nothing at all. It continued its journey, slowly emerging for the first time on the physical plane. To the outside perspective, it would look like it was floating on its own, but Walker knew differently. This was a direct manifestation of his soul.

He didn't get a small Icon, something flimsy that sat on his clothing, saying who he was to the world. No, Walker's was physically present and ready to be shown to any and all who saw him. 

It rotated as the last corner exited his body, letting him see the splendor of his hard-won work in the Tree of the Gods. The cover of the book held a few small dots, no larger than a speck of dust, but slowly dimming and brightening back up. One was blue, while another larger dot was purple. In the center, the Grand Tree sat on the cover, and set forth the same forest green glow of his original soul.

"So, the Origin didn't completely overwrite my soul after all," Walker thought to himself with a relieved smile. There had been a wiggling doubt in his mind that the Godeater program had somehow taken over and erased the value of who he was. His natural Green turning to the color of black pitch was something that had bothered him, though he'd never told anyone, preferring to keep the fear locked within. Seeing the green tree on the cover was a greater relief than he'd expected.

Thinking about it for a moment, he named the Icon "The Book of Souls."

He looked away from the apparition of his soul and felt a warm feeling come back from it. It looked like he’d have to grow used to having this thing around. 

His eyes trailed down to Sonata, peaceful as can be, when he noticed something wrong. Walker's vision pierced the distance, finding blurs of speed moving around the moonlet. Had they been invaded? Were there creatures with unique abilities attacking while he’d stared at the manifestation of his soul? 

No, something else was happening. There were too many blurs and no great damage that could be seen. He watched as the Tree of the Gods grew twice, growing all at once, then again, its appearance slightly changing each time. Buildings formed and fell, before rising a second time, twice their original size. 

What was happening?

"The time dilation!" He screamed out, the last of his preserved oxygen leaving him as he realized he was no longer in the accelerated bubble.

Instinctively, he reached out to his soul. Taking the black book into his hands, it began to give off a dark haze as it manifested their shared power. He pictured what he wanted, and his soul reacted. A trail of black with three small, thin colored streaks propelled him from space and toward the hole in his office. The acceleration would be comparable to a new sports car testing its engine for the first time. A slight hiccup, and then he was gone.

Just as fast as Walker had left Sonata, he returned; only time had gone on without him. 

He entered through the hole in the roof, his soul slowing his descent for minimal damage, before lightly touching the ground. A series of notifications struck him, including that his territory had upgraded for the first time, reaching the second tier and skyrocketing to the fifteenth level.

"There's no way there are that many people." He said to himself.

A cough at the door let him know someone was there. "During your second convalescence, we have been forced to make some changes."

Walker knew it was Virgil based on the diction used and pitch of the voice.

"I see you have gone through some yourself. Do you wish to speak about it?" Virgil asked as he fully stepped into the room.

Walker looked up and black eyes with only a light touch of green met the giant squirrel's own, "What do you know about the System Administrator?"

Virgil paused in a half step, placing it down as his eyes searched Walker's own, "Only that they are an enigma. An unknowable entity whom no Assistant has ever spoken to."

"And if I told you, you're speaking to them right now?"

"You are the System Administrator?" Virgil asked with incredulity, "How? Hold a moment, that makes no sense."

Walker told him about what happened when he entered the bridge from the second to the third stage. He didn't hold anything back, trusting Virgil implicitly. He explained about what the Tree of the Gods really was, a bomb, in point of fact. Explained who was running it, what they told him of the war, and how they attempted to sabotage his transformation. He lifted the book and explained about the Godeater program and the war. Finally, he ended on Morgan's death and the notification he'd received right after.

"I still do not understand. The System Administrator was within the Tree of the Gods all of this time?"

Walker nodded, "Didn't you find all the Tree of the Gods notifications strange? Everything in the system is defined." He added, "Now, we get to do...anything. I wonder if I could stop the Protocol entirely and just separate us from them. Make our rendition an island."

Virgil didn't say anything for a moment, "Let me think on this, please." He said, taking a seat in the chair across from Walker, Triton's blood long ago removed by the pristine condition of the room.

Walker looked up, "Why did they leave the hole in the ceiling if they cleaned up everything else?" He said, jutting his chin at his entry and exit point.

"Hephaestus said you might like it based on your memories. Give me a moment, please."

Walker nodded, thinking of a sun roof, then waved a hand, "You're both right, sorry."

Virgil spent a long period of time staring at his screens, while Walker stared at his book, feeling it out. Eventually, deciding it was time, the Creator opened the cover to take a look inside. The first page had green filigree on the sides, and writing appeared as he looked at it.

Walker Reed, a man and the Creator of Symphony, started out as almost all do. He was born to two parents who preferred the quiet of solitude, yet felt the need to make a child. Their copulation brought forth an infant who was at once loved but felt unloved in times of need. The juxtaposition of unloving care by his parents forced a strange need into his heart...

"What the fuck?" Walker said as he looked away. The description of his life was too close for comfort. He knew himself extremely well, especially after reaching the third stage, but to have all of his old baggage he'd just come to terms with spelled out for the reader was highly uncomfortable. The holes may be filled, but the scabs were still raw. The green page had a tab sticking out of the side.

Walker Reed: Creator, Origin Holder, Inherently Paradoxical

The next tab was a light blue.

Triton: Minor god of the sea, Son of Poseidon, Trident Master

Triton, son of the major god Poseidon and sea nymph Amphitrite, is the firstborn of the god of the sea. Raised to be the perfect image of a warrior and man by his father, he trained every day with the three-pronged weapon his father preferred, gaining mastery over....

Walker's vision faded out, and in its place, he saw himself at the bottom of the sea, holding a Trident in his hand. Spreading his feet and angling his body, he thrust it cleanly through the water, gaining speed while attempting to balance the movement for maximum efficiency. At the end of the stab, he pulled back slowly, maintaining his form. His father had always said that form came before power, and he was determined to follow in his footsteps. He stabbed forward again, keeping his elbows tight and grip firm, then again. And again. Perfection was one step at a time.

Time rewound, showing Triton's birth, his first taste of breathing the sea, and his father laughing at his clumsy attempts at holding the weighty Trident of a man. Flashes of insight into Triton's training began to occur, speeding forward and showing Walker how the minor god had lived his life in a constant attempt to make his father proud. The difficult decisions that defined who a person was and the critical life moments that showed what living under the sea had been like. It ended on a scene where his father patted him on the back just before going to meet their new Creator on a strange moon. They had plans here, and nothing would stop them if they worked together.

Walker found Triton's last thoughts before the vision faded. He was in a chair, the wind knocked out of him, and in terrible pain.

We've made a mistake. Father didn't know that the Creator was some kind of...monster. A creature much more dire than the one we knew on Earth. At least...at least I held true to your vision, Father. Awakened....the Awakened must carry on.

Walker watched as his own large hands came close to Triton's face before the vision pulled out.

He fell to his knees as his lungs spasmed, the air around him feeling evasive and difficult to find. Virgil was speaking, but the words didn't make sense in his mind. How long had it been?

What the fuck was that? He thought to himself.

"I'm going outside." He said in a wheezing voice as his body finally started to calm down. Walker quickly stood up from the stone chair, larger than he remembered it, and stepped out of the office. When the door opened, a small grouping of people was waiting outside. Each gasped as they laid eyes on him, but he didn't have time to pay attention to them. He took a quick step and was gone, those waiting in line fading behind him as his feet quickly ate the ground in front of them.

He didn’t know how long he’d run, but when he felt like he was truly alone, he stopped, looking around. Sonata had grown again and would likely never be called a moonlet again. It was huge compared to the lands of Symphony, something he knew he would have to rectify soon, if only because it would crash into his first world the moment the dilation ended. 

Come to think of it, he didn't even know how much time he had left in the dilation anymore.

More questions for Virgil. Now, what the fuck was that? He repeated to himself.

The book's first page held his original soul's color, forest green. It told the story of his life. Only, he hadn't seen flashes of his own memory when he read it. It was just that, a page about him. Looking around, he realized he'd left the book on his desk in the office, but as he thought about it, the edge jutted out of his chest and separated, floating in front of him.

Walker smiled down at the image of his soul, "Good book." He could feel it warm up when he said that.

Grabbing it and cracking open the cover, the green page of his life stared back at him. He turned it and found another green page that followed, one he didn't remember seeing before. Turning that showed another. Each page appeared as he needed, with the former disappearing as he went to the next.

"Neat trick. So," He said, speaking to his own soul in a moment he was trying not to think of as strange, "show me Morgan."

After a brief pause, the book pulled out of his hands and turned to the deep purple tab on its own, then floated back to him. Walker caught it and read the tab.

Kwaya: System builder, Third disciple of Alma, Trickster

"Kwaya huh, what were you like?" Walker said to himself. He looked at the first page.

Kwaya was born quickly under a two-mooned sky. Her mother's labor had lasted only minutes, and she was abandoned to the fields of her birth just as quickly. A wandering merchant from a faraway land, unknowing of how his life would change, discovered the newborn after a particularly dismal amount of sales in the local villages...

Walker felt the story trying to grab him, but pulled his mind out before he could be sucked in.

"Don't do that." He admonished the Book of Souls. "I need to be able to decide if and when I'm going in, not you."

The black book in his hands darkly glowed for a moment, warmth accompanying the imagery. Walker took that to mean it agreed.

"So...you help me out with the captured souls of the Awakened, huh?" He said, thinking quickly, "What else can you do?"

The Book of Souls pulled away and opened past the colored tabs and pages, growing to three times its size. It floated directly in front of him, pages melding and turning black as white text began to appear. Walker's overlay updated simultaneously.

Hello System Administrator Dante

You have a message from the former System Administrator

Would you like to read it?

The overlay and text from the book were superimposed over each other, making it hard to read. "Please just put all text into the book in the future, and yes, please."

My name's Kwaya, and I'm Alma's third disciple.

I don't know who you are or what you're doing, but it doesn't really matter. If you're reading this, one of two things has happened. I either succeeded in destroying the Center of the Evolvers, likely dying in the process, or they've escaped my revenge, and you're now here to pick up the pieces. 

Congratulations. 

Here's hoping you don't fuck up everything I've done.

The System Administrator role is designed to be used only by an Awakened. My second to last, FUCK YOU, to the Evolvers who enslaved me. 

My first to last, I FUCKING HATE YOU, was what I did in the event of my death. I took all of the Sentinels, those beautiful killing machines, and sent them to attack the Awakened in the Origin. Now, the war is back on in full. 

As I don't want the blood of my people on my own hands, I sent them apart and alone, easy pickings for the Awakened. It was a part of my plan for when my secret weapon reached the Center, but now that I’m gone, it’s activated as a contingency.

This is where you come in, my successor. 

With my death and Alma missing, the war falls to you and your capabilities.

Now, there are intentional limits built into this. Things that are meant to take time to sort through, that way, I can make sure you don't go in and fuck up my plans. Before you complain, it's my death asshole, I get to say what the aftermath is, not you.

Enjoy, good luck, and fuck over the Evolvers any chance you get.

Also, the Tree is a bomb. Just, you know, don't push the button. 

Or do. 

You'll see it.

"What a bitch." Walker said, finishing the reading. His soul threw him some warmth. "Okay, so, there's a button for a massive godlike tree bomb.” He paused. “Never gonna see it, because I'm cordoning that thing off immediately. But the limits on the system suck, there's got to be a better..."

Walker looked at the purple tab in the book, a smile lighting up his face.

Chapter 2: The Wind

"Walker!" A voice called out in the near distance, "Wallkkerrr!"

He turned around to find who was calling, the book closing in front of him automatically. Coming over the rise, as there was now a small hill pushing itself out of Sonata, a young woman came running over, still yelling his name. He raised a hand in the air to wave her down.

She moved into a dead sprint upon sighting him, showing an impressive amount of speed for a non-awakened. As she grew closer, something curious began to happen. Images started to show up, cascading behind her. Like watching a disjointed movie, Walker watched as she test-fired a bow, the arrow limply falling in the distance. Another scene showed her and the woman Walker had healed sitting on a bench, talking. Many more continued to show themselves, and he grew caught up in watching her life. He snapped out of it just before she arrived in front of him.

"There you are," Runner said with a smile, "We've been looking for you."

Walker spread his hands, giving the energetic woman a smile in return, "Well, here I am!"

She looked him up and down, "I think that's the first time I've seen you do that."

"What?"

"Smile."

He shrugged, "Life's not as bad as it seems, Runner."

"I guess. Did you know you shrunk though?"

"I shrunk?" He replied in confusion.

"Yeah, you used to be huge, but now you're just a little taller than me, look." She walked closer so they were only a few feet apart, highlighting the noticeable difference for him.

"Huh...huh." He said, truly stumped. His growth had started when he gained the piece of Origin, but back then, he was still in the second stage. Maybe filling in the holes in his soul had compressed everything, bringing him back to his usual self. 

It was something to think about.

While he was scratching his chin, Runner spoke again, "Did you know you're naked too?"

"WHAT?" Walker yelled out, realizing she was right. He'd never grabbed any new clothes after hitting the third stage.

"What was it, Ares said." She spoke to the air, "Does his carpet match his drapes? Do you know what that means?"

But Walker wasn't listening. He immediately started sprinting, heading back to his office at the maximum speed he could reach in a short frame of time. Nudity shouldn't be a big deal, especially to the Founders, who had always been around each other. But, Walker's prudish parents had instilled in him a need to keep the bits and pieces of his privates...private.

He ran close to a grouping of crop fields, large wheat stalks gently sitting in place until he passed them. A great wind followed behind the naked Creator. The stalks, once at peace, cracked and were picked up, following in the wake of his turbulent movement. A moment later, he passed a small quarry, a great boulder with rocks broken up around it. 

They too joined the nude man's wind. 

Everywhere he passed, small things on the ground involuntarily joined the strange procession. A board with small checkers in place, a few strange chicken creatures, his newest subsystem assistant he'd never spoken to, all were lifted in the wind of Walker's movement as he ran to his office.

He spied the smallish stone building and had a mental pause as he noticed just how many people were on Sonata now. The Territory System hadn't lied after all; there were hundreds of people encircling his office. It made him curious about why his Civilization tasks hadn't been updated, but after seeing the objects and single squirrel heading his way, he had no time for such thoughts. 

"Shit."

Walker stepped forward and sped back up again, attempting to make his mind reach the same level of speed that his body could. His book voluntarily pulled itself out of his chest as he ran around in circles, his hands a blur as he caught or stopped any objects from coming farther forward. When the majority began to arrive, hundreds of different-sized objects and creatures blowing toward him at high speed, he knew he was in trouble. 

Walker looked at his book and yelled out, "Do something!"

The book sent a warm feeling, and darkness erupted from it, taking hold of everything around him and arresting their momentum in a moment. He looked with big eyes as everything in front of him stopped at once, tendrils of midnight with barely noticeable streaks of color holding them in place.

The Book of Souls seemed to shudder a little and, without warning, pulled itself quickly back inside of him.

"Okayy..."

"Creator, I'm sorry!" The yellow subsystem assistant yelled out the moment it touched the ground. It looked around, noticing it was no longer flying through the air at a high speed. "Huh?"

"Ummm..." He said, scratching the back of his head as he looked at a field full of crushed food, rocks, and mutilated creatures on the grass. "My bad."

"Look!" Someone yelled out behind him, "It's the Creator!"

"Why is he naked?" Another asked.

"Don't question him! Quick, take off your clothes so we match!"

"Great idea!"

Clothing all around Walker began to fall to the ground, while they still stared at him. Walker was so shocked he'd barely moved, bare ass in front of everybody.

"What was it Ares told us before?" someone said from nearby.

Walker's face turned bright red, and he slowly sped up, moving toward his office and dodging between questing eyes.

He slipped past more than a few nude Founders and entered the building, closing the door behind him and leaning against it.

"Well, well." A feminine voice said right in front of him, "Ares was right after all."

Walker slapped a hand to his forehead, partially covering his eyes. "Goddamnit," he sighed.

Walker heard bare footsteps inching closer, "Call it a fascination with our only local celebrity. Well, that's not true. Our biggest local celebrity. Although you're smaller than you were before."

"There's someone more interesting than me here?" Walker asked, sidestepping her last comment.

"Have you met Runner?"

Walker nodded, eyes still closed, "True. She's unique."

"Oh yes," Athena laughed, "The clothes I made, a month ago by the way, are not going to fit you." Walker heard the sound of cloth lightly falling to the ground. "No matter."

He felt a hand press into his chest, "You were gone a long time again."

Walker moved his hand, opening his eyes so he could look into her own, "I know, I'm sorry." Images began to coalesce behind her, but he shook his head and tried not to look at them. It was unfairly intrusive.

Athena stepped back, bringing his focus to what she said next, "Was it intentional? Is all of this," She spread her hands out, encompassing Symphony. "Is it too much?"

He shook his head, "No, it's not that. I made a mistake, kind of, and we lost a month together."

She nodded, "I'll go get you some new clothes...again. Please just stay there," She pointed at his chair, "There. Right there, and do not move."

He smiled at her, "You got it."

Walking past her, he felt a light slap on his rear, but when he turned to look at her, the door was already closing. Walker smiled, "Things are definitely looking up."

She returned quickly, Virgil walking in behind her, and he could hear the Supreme Assistant tell the others to stay out. In her hands, Athena held a white robe, causing Walker to snort loudly.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm not wearing that. An all-white robe, are you kidding?"

"Ah," Virgil said in realization.

"I'm not Jesus, or a prophet, and I'm only a pseudo-god. That's not for me."

"What would you like instead?" She asked.

Walker thought it over, scratching his chin, "Black and Green."

"Alright, I'll let Samuel know your preferred colors, but for now, can you please wear this so you're not quite so...distracting?"

Walker blushed and quickly threw the thin robe on. It slipped over his skin like silk. "That's very nice. You said Samuel made this?"

"He's quite talented in making clothing."

"Very nice." He shrugged, letting it settle on his shoulders, then sat back down in his uncomfortable chair. "See if he's able to make a pillow, as this is just a little too hard."

Virgil snorted, mimicking Walker from earlier, "Let us get down to the important things. You need to form a council."

That threw Walker for a loop, "Why?"

Athena looked at Virgil, who nodded, "Because there are too many things to do, and as shocking as it may be to hear this, you have too many responsibilities that only the Creator can perform. Virgil entrusted me with your secret-"

"The System Administrator role you recently acquired." He clarified, "I understood you and Athena to be quite close, thus felt it was apt to inform her of the new development."

Walker smiled, liking his initiative, "Good."

"-And," Athena said, continuing her previous discourse, "you're going to be quite busy soon. You've already given the monsters to Rimi and the Milestones to Cagna, it's time for you to step into big-picture planning and push the boundaries of what you can do."

"How much time do we have left?"

"We're about six months from the dilation ending."

"Holy shit, already?" Walker looked at the plain stone table in front of him, then reached under and grabbed one of his smaller vaults, throwing it to the large squirrel. "Get me more Temporal resources, in fact," Walker pulled out four more. "Give me as much as you can. I'll have an upgraded version for you soon."

"I will do my best," Virgil replied, easily palming the five leather bags, "But you need to think about who you would like on the council."

Walker stepped into the item system and produced a chair like Cagnas, planting a golden one in front of Athena, who smiled in thanks, "Indeed, Virgil." Walker said with a smile, "How many do you think we should have on it?"

Athena spoke up, "The problem with large groups running things is when there are too many voices talking over each other during the meetings. Your time is precious, as is my own nowadays, regarding my work with the Founders. There's a lot to do, and our schedules are very busy." She looked at Virgil, then back to Walker, "Your assistant and I spoke about having a small council, one that holds the leaders of larger councils below them."

"Like the mafia?" Walker asked, curious now.

Athena looked confused, while Virgil shook his head, "Not quite. It is less designed as having a boss of bosses, and more along the lines of efficiently using our time. I have written down several options for you to peruse. Please take your time, as once this is set, you will not want to change it again."

"Why?"

"Public perception mostly," Athena put in, "If you seem fickle and uncaring in your actions, it will directly affect the people of Sonata."

"Fuck, public perception is already here," Walker said, scratching the back of his head until Virgil handed him a notebook.

Before opening it, he updated both on the Book of Souls and brought Athena up to speed on the battle with Morgan, now known as Kwaya. Opening the notebook Virgil had given him, he perused the contents, then asked a question.

“Whose Luna?”

“Your newest Subsystem Assistant.”

"They named themself Luna?"

"Indeed."

Walker shrugged his shoulders, "Okay. What’s Planet One on here?”

"That would be the training planet you've been building. It is ready for seeding at this time, and thus, we are ready to begin placement of the original fifty Founders."

"Already?" Walker said in surprise, expecting the planet to take longer to cool. "Yeah, we're going to have to jump on that then. Does Rimi have all of those tier-capped monsters ready?"

Virgil nodded, "He does. Everything is ready for the last steps before the final seeding."

"Except for our Class system, which means it's finally time I start working on that."

"Certainly," Virgil said with a nod.

Athena placed her hands in her lap. "Do you know how you're going to do it?" 

“Not yet, but I have ideas.”

The first option held too many people. Too many talking heads. But the second option only had Hephaestus, Athena, an unnamed Trainer, with the two final seats being reserved for Virgil and Luna.

"How would the second option work?"

"That is the one I thought you most likely to choose," Virgil said as he stood up and lifted the journal, turning it to one of the last pages. It showed a diagram with crisscrossing lines. "Each of the assistants, particularly the new ones, would report directly to Luna. They would mainly speak to her about any interpersonal issues that crop up, or with any questions they may have about Symphony and its sibling planets. I would focus on answering and helping with new systems, as well as old ones, meaning you would have to grant me future access to all systems that now come online. The removal of all assistant restrictions is a much greater boon than you think, as anything you put into place, I can learn to manage with the subsystem assistants over time. It would allow me to develop all of them together with the organization matrix you made."

Walker nodded, "And you?" He asked of Athena.

"I'd be in charge of the Primigenials on Sonata, while Ares would take over the Primigenials on Planet One."

He stretched in his chair for a moment, closing the notebook and the final three options as he didn’t need to see them, "Alright, that makes sense. Although I'm not sure about Ares."

"He is most effective in training the Founders, surprisingly so. Not as harsh as Hades, not as gentle as Echidna or Minos were. It is a good balance." Virgil commented.

"Well, how many Founders are there now?"

"We kept them in groups of fifty, as more than that and they may find themselves lost in a crowd."

Walker nodded, "Why did you bring more in?"

"Well, we lost John, who you knew as forty-four, in a training accident during swordplay. Dion has no interest in starting a Territory on Symphony-"

"I already have that worked out."

He nodded, "So I have been told. We also had Diana, thirty-eight, kill herself."

"We don't know if that's what happened," Athena stated with some heat in her voice.

"It was the most likely conclusion I could come to."

Walker shook his head. Knowing that Founders would die and learning it had already happened were two different things, "That's a shame. I'm sorry you had to deal with it without me."

"Yes. But we decided that we needed more Founders, or we would not be able to populate territories within Symphony correctly. Call it insurance for accidents and calamities. The more Founders we start with, the better the odds of success. Thus, five groups of fifty were created to allow for problems in the future."

"I see," Walker stood up, placing his arms behind his back. He took a few steps, thinking. Processing the deaths wasn't too difficult, as he hadn't known them well, but it still hit him in the gut as they were his people. He needed to keep them safe while still exposing them to danger. He needed to assure that they would at least have a chance to step foot on Symphony and take their futures in hand. He needed....

"The Conservatory," Walker said in a quiet voice.

"What's that?" Athena asked in confusion.

"A series of training planets. Together, they'll be called The Conservatory. We're going to have multiple in a row, scaling up in difficulty and with different biome types, so that the Founders are fully prepared for any scenario. The first will be a forest. The second, an Archipelago. The third, a series of snowy mountains, and the fourth and last, a desert. Each will have their own names, but The Conservatory will encompass them all."

"I see. How long are they to be on each planet?"

Walker paced a few steps, "I'm thinking a month. That should give me enough time to get each group down there and keep them separated. I don't want the fifty...the fifty.."

"Cohort," Athena helped.

"Right, I don't want the Cohorts to rely on each other too much. They need to be inclusive with each other, but separate from the other cohorts, otherwise they won't learn to adapt, always relying on a more dependable or powerful group in times of crisis. No, we need a bit of tough love, but managed with fairness in mind."

He took a few more steps. "What would Heph's job be in all this?"

Athena spoke up again, "Aside from a few standouts in the first, the second and fourth cohorts had excellent crafters in them, and he's been putting them to use, teaching them multiple ways to create and design different buildings. The Territory system already has all of the blueprints, cataloged by Neus in different tiers."

Walker punched a fist into his palm, "Excellent. So Heph keeps going with his designs, the new guys keep building as they go...it's all coming together." He looked at the hole in his ceiling, "It's all coming together."

"Is this the council you want to use?" Virgil asked, always one for the final commitment.

Walker nodded, "Yes, I do. When it comes time for Ares to report in for our meetings, we'll just put him on the Monitor. Okay, what else?"

Athena looked at Virgil, then back at him, "You need to address them."

"Address them? What do you mean?" Walker asked.

"You need to speak to the Founders and the new Primigenials. The last of the Nordic branch came out while you were gone, and they're anxious to meet you."

Walker sighed, "I just did all of this. Plus, I'd have to name...what. Two hundred people?"

"That is the burden of Leadership," Virgil commented in a bored voice.

"Noooo, no. I'm not doing it like that." He tapped his chin. "How's the arena looking?" He asked the large squirrel.

"It is much larger than before. I would say," He looked at the sky for a moment. “It is about five times larger than you remember."

"Does it still amplify your voice when you stand in the middle?"

"It does, why?"

Walker looked at them both, "Get a large podium on there, I've got a speech to make."

Chapter 3: The Grand Speech

Athena and Walker stayed in his office for a time after Virgil left to set things up. They talked about what had changed in not only the month he'd been gone, but the time he'd been unconscious as well. It was a lot to catch up on.

"So Runner beat Ares in a duel?"

She twitched a hand back and forth, "Kind of. It's more along the lines of she kept pelting him with arrows and running in circles while he yelled at her."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Not as much as it used to be. After John died, as well as Asclepius growing tired of having to constantly tend to everyone in the arena, we shifted to a new way of doing things." She pulled a small red ceramic plate out of her pocket. "Each challenger has a series of these on their person. When all of them are broken in combat, they've lost the duel, and nobody gets stabbed anymore. Well, most of the time. It has been very effective thus far." She handed it over to him.

Walker turned it over. "Why are you carrying this in your pocket?"

"I thought you might ask."

"Smart."

Athena nodded with a smile, "Finding his weakness so quickly shows great promise."

"What's my weakness?"

"You? Yours is simple, dear. Rage."

"Mmm," He mumbled, "I don't know about that, when I was on the bridge-"

The office entrance opened with a crack. "It is time, may I come in?" Virgil's voice said from behind the door.

"You've never asked before?" Walker said in a confused voice.

Virgil stepped in, opening the door fully, "I am just attempting to be courteous for you and Elder Athena."

"Courteous?"

Virgil raised a single eyebrow, confusing him. When he got it, Walker blushed as he waved his hands in the air to the sounds of Athena’s giggling, "Hey man, we're not, you know..."

"As I said, I am just being courteous. Are you ready to speak to your people?"

"Yes, but there's one thing we need to do first."

"What's that?" Athena asked, matching him as he stood up.

Walker drew out the silence for a moment, building the dramatic tension before saying only two words.

“Ping Pong.”

“Ping Pong will have to wait,” Said Virgil, the truest moment killer possible. “There is a large group of your people waiting for you. When the Alpha Protocol is complete. Then, you can consider finding the time for games.”

Walker wanted to glare at the large squirrel, but he was right. This was another big moment that would only lead to more. He needed to keep his eye on the ball, even if it was far in the future. Nodding, the three made their way to the newly resized Arena. 

It dwarfed the one that came before, matching Virgil’s comment on its new size. He sighed as he took Athena’s palm in his own, "So we didn’t get to play Ping Pong. It's not the end of the world."

"Which one?" Was all she said before the noise from the arena started to hit them. Walker could hear hundreds of voices speaking at once, and he gained further clarity into just how many people lived on Sonata yet again. 

That was a lot of voices, and thus, a lot of eyes. His heart rate sped up a little at the thought of what he was about to do. Or attempt at least. Athena noticed his grip tightening.

"Can you hold my hand a little softer?” She said with a grimace. “It's starting to hurt."

He looked down and noticed the taut tendons in his hand. "Sorry, I didn't know I was doing that."

She pulled him a few steps from the entrance, keeping them from entering a dark hallway just ahead.

Virgil noticed, "I'll go on ahead," he said, entering the darkness while Athena turned to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just a little nervous."

"About speaking in front of the Founders?"

"And the Primigenials, including the new ones I don't know yet. I have a bit of trouble with large crowds."

"I see...you could try-"

"Don't say imagine them naked. That doesn't work."

She let go of his hand and waved him off, "No, I wasn't going to. I was just going to say, take that nervousness and energy, and shift it."

"Shift it?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Shift your line of thinking. You're not nervous, you're excited. You're not anxious, you're..umm...pumped. The physical reactions you have to both are the same, so it's purely mental. Change it up."

"Change it up." He repeated, looking into her eyes. Walker took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling, then nodded his head, "I'll try. But this is going to be a big moment."

She gave him a soft smile for encouragement, then patted him on the butt as he began to walk again, not following. He turned to look at her. "You're not joining me?"

"I'd rather see your majesty as a part of the crowd, Creator. Do me proud."

He gave her a nervous smile in return and continued walking. Torches were lit further in, providing a vibrant orange lighting across the stone of the tunnel. He could see the joints of the stonework, but as he ran his hand along the wall, it all felt smooth. As his steps echoed down, and daylight began to leak through the end, he could hear Virgil's voice speaking.

The man, the Creator himself, will soon arrive to speak to you.

Walker Reed is the paramount authority for Symphony and all of its attached worlds.

He has traveled from an alternate universe in order to bring his vision of what a world, nay, an entire solar system, can be when its citizens are allowed unlimited growth.

Walker felt a warm glow in his chest, resonating with what Virgil was saying.

All of us, whether we are Assistants, Founders, Primigenials, or Monsters, have gone through low times, and we have gone through high times. Challenged the truth of who we are and what we can do. So has the Creator.

He is here to speak to you now, to provide guidance for his vision of Symphony and how to obtain it.

Walker stepped into the light.

I give to you now, Walker Reed. The Creator. The Holder of Origin. The Conductor of Symphony and its people.

Walker was surprised Virgil had announced his Origin title, but he quickly moved beyond it. If the declaration caused problems down the line, they were going to come anyway. He walked onto the fine-grain sand toward a series of wooden steps, curling around a large wooden platform. Atop it was the massive dark squirrel himself, arms behind his back, standing straight and still, looking at the crowd.

Keeping his eyes forward, Walker strode across the yellow and red field. Upon reaching the stairs, he stopped.

Going by instinct, Walker called to his soul. The Book of Souls stayed put, as he'd asked it not to show itself yet. Instead, dark energy exited his chest and surrounded him. He lifted off the sand slowly, rising for all to see. Walker spun as he was lifted up, looking at the entirety of the crowd.

Almost all of them were on their feet, the arena so silent he could hear his breathing magnified in all directions. A slow curve, and he felt his feet touch the top of the platform, Virgil taking a step back to make sure Walker's energy didn't touch him.

Looking at the crowd, he tapped into his soul again, asking it to make sure he could speak to all of them at once. However, his Book didn't warm up.

Guess that one is not quite possible, He thought to himself.

Instead, he tapped into the broadcast ability he'd earned from the second battle and selected every entity on Sonata's surface. As the ability began to activate, he thought to himself it was probably better to go about it this way, as who knew what using a soul-infused speaking voice would do to people.

The Creator spread his arms wide and motioned down, asking everyone to sit. The Primigenials and Assistants understood right away, with the Founders following a moment later. Walker placed a hand on his heart as he began to speak.

Hello, people of Symphony.

If you haven't heard my voice before, I apologize. I was gone for a time, and I hope to rectify any delays that have occurred in your training and your future.

I.....

He met Athena's eyes.

I am the Creator of Symphony. And maybe, one day, I will have the power of a true god, but I don't right now. I am just a man, though one with the abilities that my homeworld would call godlike.

He stumbled on what he wanted to say next. Seeing Athena in the crowd, smiling at him, threw off his focus for a moment. He had created a plan for what to say. To talk about the glory of what was coming, the pursuit of strength and territories. Milestones and self-empowerment. But, Athena's smile pulled away from that. New ideas began to form instead. New words. A new plan. His people... they needed more from him.

Unknown to Walker, his soul started to slowly exude its aura behind him, quickly catching Virgil unaware before he could move. The Book of Souls exited and began to rise behind him, stopping at just over his head as he continued to watch the watching crowd. His oath, a brand on his soul, sprang into the back of his mind. He could do this.

I....I have wants for you. Needs. Growing stronger is great, as is gaining in power, but it has to have a reason behind it. A purpose. A why. Knowledge of oneself.

Long ago, compared to many of your lives, I made an oath. That I would hold myself and those around me to a higher ideal than what has come before. To be a Creator who FEELS for his people, and doesn't just use them. 

One who builds a world of miracles, where every horizon offers something new and wonderful. Something that brings forth a challenge. That we, as the citizens of Symphony, can be better as a whole. A whole people.

I look out across this Arena, and I see you. I see hundreds of you. I see the future of Symphony. I also see my own future in yours.

Walker could feel his soul growing now, not having noticed before. He agreed with its intentions, as they really were his own, and watched as the darkness spread from the platform. He looked behind himself for a moment and found Virgil unharmed, touching his chest. Walker smiled, then gave his soul a little extra push.

Don't be afraid of what you're seeing right now. This is my soul and the power it holds. This is the origin of all souls. The root. The beginning.

I'm going to give you a gift, my people. MY beginning. I'm going to awaken you, all of you, to a new height.

Walker held his soul over all of the Founders, asking his Book of Souls to hold for a moment even as it minutely started to shake.

For you Primigenials, it is a gift as well. Alma is old. Corrupted. Controlled. I'm going to give you something better. Something undiluted. A fresh start.

He pushed again and watched as the darkness of his soul congealed over each of the old gods. It gathered in strength, growing more opaque as time went on, before slowly moving forward one at a time and pressing itself into them. Walker watched as each Primigenial froze in place for a long moment before gasping and falling forward. Many caught themselves while some struck the backseats of the person in front of them, picking themselves up off the ground as their breathing struggled to normalize. Streaks of orange flowed back to the Book of Souls as his origin took the place of the old.

And my Assistants...

He paused as his soul bypassed them. He felt a connection with Virgil, but couldn't feel one with his subsystem and advanced assistants. He mentally stumbled for a moment.

You, uh, will get there one day.

He saw how disappointed many of them seemed, but there was nothing he could do about it right now. He needed to effect the changes he was currently capable of, while not forgetting those who deserved more. Again, his soul agreed with him. 

Walker lifted high into the air as every set of eyes latched onto him. Just as he was no longer scared or nervous of their attention, they were no longer worried about his soul standing over each as the image of their Creator, covered in white robes and floating in the center of the Arena, burned into their minds.

Founders, you are about to experience something. You're going to see yourselves and the paths you've taken in your short lives. You're going to make a decision about who you are and who you want to be.

Life is difficult. It's hard. It will present things that challenge your understanding of the world, your friends, your enemies, and most importantly, yourself. It comes with restrictions, vices, and punishments for the evil and the good as well. You will feel the chains of societal living and the shallow depths of imparted truths from others. You will find, time and again, that there is always a new step to take that was more difficult than the last.

This is my gift to you. 

The option to always go beyond.

Let it be known, and let it brand into each and every one of us, that the Awakened will always have a choice.

Because in the end,

You Are Who You Choose To Be.

Walker's soul entered every Founder at once with no delay. His darkness struck each person, driving through their chests and straight to the center of their souls. Small colors fed back to The Book of Souls as he did so, draining a small piece of their soul as his origin took its place, a give and take on a level he’d never seen before.

Each of them fell where they were standing, be it forward, backward, or straight down. They were all entering the first stage at the same time, together. Walker felt his origin sear the words he had just spoken upon their soul, as their journeys were just beginning. As they were soon to learn who they were based on the actions their lives had taken thus far. 

He felt his Book of Souls shudder again, and with a quick gasp, as he realized what was happening, he plummeted straight out of the sky.

Luckily, two furry arms caught him.

"This is going to change things again," Virgil commented quietly.

"Lots of that coming, Virgil." He said, lightly patting the huge squirrel's cheek with a weak hand, "Lots of that coming."

Charging and watching over this many souls at once was taking a heavier toll on him than he had expected. His last view was a group of Primigenials lifting and placing the Founders into their chairs so they'd be more comfortable on their journeys.

Walker blacked out as his soul continued to shake.