"Helloooo? Wake up!"

  Selene stirred; her eyelids felt the warmth of her homeworld's suns on them. And she heard the rustling of millions of shafts of wheat around her.

  "Hmhm... Wha?" She muttered, raising a hand to shield her face as she peeked to see the looming silhouette standing over her.

  Her vision gradually adjusted, and the dark shape came into view. It was her, as she expected. Only in Zykra form. Antenna, long and whip-like, her armor padding her like a scorpion's exoskeleton.

  She smiled. Zykra-her does, that was.

  "They threw you into a star."

  Selene rolled over, facing away from herself.

  "Good."

  She hears the Zykra version of her sigh, then kneel down beside her.

  "Listen, Selene, I'm not the, uh... This is going to sound confusing, but I'm not the version of me that you dealt with before."

  Selene looks over her shoulder, her brows furled. She really didn't have any patience left at this point.

  "We should've met each other already, but truth be told, I haven't noticed you before now. Didn't even know you existed."

  Selene pushed herself off the ground.

  "Then why do you look like me if you're not my evil side?"

  They shrug at her question. "Might as well. If I appeared as anyone else you know, you'd just get mad. I'm appearing this way so that our conversation is easier, because my real body is big. Like, really big. I made the Zykra."

  "So you're the real Zykra queen? What are the others then? Vassals?"

  "I'd be a king if we're going by monarchy terms. Okay?" She—he corrected. "I'm definitely a masculine being. Though, I'm probably more of a god. At least compared to all of you."

  "If you're so important, then why are you talking like me? You said they killed me."

  The Zykra God deflates their shoulders in a mopey way. He seemed annoyed by her depressing vibe.

  "I'm trying to be relatable. Just give me a second to explain. I'll just say it all at once."

  Selene started to pluck grains off the wheat boredly, but she nodded.

  "I know your goals. You think we're a threat to humanity. I know preserving your species might seem relevant now, but your human mind isn't built to survive more than a couple hundred years at most." He put a hand on Selene's shoulder in a consoling way.

  "Time is your real enemy... The Zykra way is more enduring. We can save you; it just won't be in the exact way you want. You should stop being so difficult. In a couple hundred years, all the things you were worried about will seem so childish."

  "But—"

  She put a finger on Selene's lips.

  "Uhp! Yes, I know. Your family, species, and the way of life they've evolved to have over millions of years. It's comfortable. You've been fighting to keep it that way..." She poked her nose. "Luckily for you, I came up with a generous deal. Because I pity you so much." Her doppelganger gestured at herself with both hands, gradually shifting to mirror her human form. "I can extend the amount of time your human self lasts. And your species."

  "That was the same deal as before, I think..." Selene muttered.

  "Let me tell you what I created the Zykra for. I know it's not your strongest subject, but it requires a bit of a science lesson." The Zykra god put her fingers together, then started to pace around as she explained. "This universe is made up of frequencies. These frequencies are either in a state of going up or down, like waves. These 'up or down' patterns coalesce, working together to govern the laws of physics. It's like a supercomputer dealing in 1's and 0's. Telepaths can influence this administrative force. And YOU specifically have a very potent version of telepathy that, quite honestly, your species shouldn't have access to. It's as if an NPC in some video game gained sentience."

  "…Thanks?"

  "-Hence, why I'm here. Letting your species, and species like yours, run around unimpeded is, quite frankly, dangerous."

  Selene puts her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. None of what they were saying made sense.

  "You're threatened by our potential…?"

  "No one's threatened by you. I'm just trying to prevent a natural disaster before it starts. If too many of you spread, stomping around with no clue of what you're doing, it'll affect the natural order. Those frequencies I talk about govern life for many species, not just yours. And if yours start changing it, it'll have reverberating effects."

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  "Can't you just remove our telepathy? You created the Zykra; why can't you do something like that?"

  "No. Even godlike beings have limitations. Rules they have to follow. As insulting as it is, I can't snap my fingers and exterminate every telepath in existence. I can't be everywhere at once. That's what my swarm is for. It gives me control over the outcome."

  Selene clenches her fists within her hoodie pockets. She sort of understood what they were saying, but it was kind of like a fever dream. This 'god' thought that telepathic life forms are a threat to the fabric of reality itself.

  "You talk a big game about the greater good, but you're trying to hurt my people... I'll admit I don't understand most of what you're saying. But I don't think you're any better off with this power than humanity is. How many species have the Zykra genocided?"

  The Zykra God rolled his eyes.

  "I don't even consider most of you sentient. I'm actually being pretty nice if you take that into consideration. This world is a disease; my Zykra are the cure. It will change you into something better. Something right. Together, we could be eternal. Without me, your 'people' would go nuclear in a few million years, and there won't be anything left, not even Zykra."

  Selene shook her head.

  The god sighed. "Well... I could just send all of my Zykra to destroy humanity and leave you dead. It's not like you have a choice here."

  She looked away with a pouty expression—like a toddler throwing a tantrum—but then she smirked and waved it off.

  "It would be such a waste; I need telepaths like you! One of my encephalons offered to reinforce your human mind against Zykra essence. She can mentor you. They can be a bit competitive for my affections, but with your potential, you'll quickly rise to the top. You'll get everything you wanted, and someday long after your species is fully assimilated... We'll create our own world. A sustainable world. Together. See? Win/win."

  Selene considered it; she took one of her hands out and ran it along the top of the wheat growing around them.

  Desuran made a similar deal with her. Then Dr. Bryant and Ku'senai did. The resistance. Seki. All wanting to turn her into a commodity, to be used. For the greater good. All so they could graciously grant her the basic privilege of living in peace.

  "No, I'm fine."

  She said casually, still running her hands along the grain. Not looking in the god's direction.

  "Okay, good, let's get you out of here—wait, you can't say no. You have no body now. Without me you won't be able to manifest in the physical plane again."

  Selene gave the god a confused look, as if she was curious as to how it was relevant.

  "I'm only offering to get you back on track. You won't age—you won't suffer from telepathy degeneration. Just continue on business as usual; no alternate will rival yours for control of your brood. You'll be free from human capture. Otherwise my Zykra will wipe out humanity, and you'll stay dead until you dissolve into fucking background radiation."

  "Oh well. It was a good run. Maybe you could give me the best chance at a better future. But... I'm through with taking orders. Or can you offer a better deal? Maybe some kind of actual cooperation here, where humanity has a shot?"

  They stopped speaking and wore a slightly downcast, irritated expression. It was eerie.

  A bit of wheat in the distance behind the Zykra god ruffled a bit.

  Noticing they weren't talking, Selene continued speaking.

  "I'll admit, you almost had me there. All this talk about telepathy and god-like powers. It's fascinating, and maybe you're being honest. Or maybe this has all been a fever dream, and I'll wake up in quarantine on Endelon before all this happened. It doesn't matter."

  Something was moving through the wheat towards them now. The wheat was rustling towards them in a zig-zag pattern.

  "Honestly, I've been called stupid before, and yet a literal god just monologued his plans to take over the galaxy to me. That's stupid... Your Zykra are probably going to wipe us out eventually, but we'll go kicking and screaming."

  The god was just staring at her in contempt during her speech. Then his lips crack into a smile, and she snickers.

  "What do I have to lose by telling you any of this? You're dead without me."

  Just as she said so, a scandid leapt from the wheat.

  She narrowly dodged out of the way, but her arm was grazed in the process. It didn't bleed, not blood anyway. But smoke. Purple smoke was billowing out.

  Confusion was evident on her face, and she looked to the tiny scantid.

  Who quickly ran to Selene's side and chittered affectionately.

  Selene gave him a few headpats.

  "What's this?" The Zykra God asked, looking down at the scantid. "Its essence is... corrupted."

  Selene was the one smiling now. Hope flared up in her chest.

  "Surprised? Huh, seems like the Zykra are capable of more than what you created them for."

  The god stepped backward into the wheat at her words; Selene never thought it would be so satisfying to see her own face enraged like this.

  "This only proves my point. Telepathy is the language of the gods; it doesn't belong in your filthy, animal mouths. Remember how I offered mercy, and mark my words. Your kind will never cease exploration... And at the end of all your exploring, you will come to the place of your origin. And you will discover true horror. Mark my words, aberrant queen."

  Then they turned entirely to smoke in an instant. Which faded.

  "You didn't kill him, did you?"

  She asked Pipsqueak, who chittered energetically in response.

  "Yeah, that'd probably be too easy... So, what now? Do we just continue living in my dreams? Maybe I could command Aboleth through you; that would be something at least. I don't have my own body anymore."

  Pipsqueak pushed his face into her.

  "Yeah yeah, I like you too, little guy." She chuckles, still kneeling beside him. She goes to pet him, and her hand passes through him.

  "Ohp!" She fell backward in shock; she caught herself by placing her hands on the soil behind her.

  That feeling was similar to when her Zykra-self tried to merge with her a month ago.

  Selene stared at him in shock, her eyes flitting around in thought.

  "We can... But won't you die? Will I become you, or..."

  The vibes she was picking up from the scantid... It felt like Pipsqueak believed he would die from this. He'd become her barrier between the Zykra and herself. It would make her able to create the Zykra in her image rather than the other way around.

  Pipsqueak wasn't chittering anymore. He stepped forward and closed each set of his eyes.

  She crawled forward and hugged him, clasping her fingers tightly around the pointy ridges on his exoskeleton.

  "I love you too."

  The white light that had outlined them before grew brighter. It was like being submerged in an ocean of Zykra-ness, the same as before. Only this time it carried a different vibe.

  Pipsqueak wasn't just some pet, she realized. He was her friend this entire time. Since the beginning. He stuck to her like glue because he had imprinted on her.

  In the end he chose to sacrifice himself on behalf of all Zykra so that other scantids can feel the things he's learned to feel. And for her. Merging with him didn't replace the human sentiments Selene had; he mirrored them. This ocean of Zykra will and power didn't try to dominate her; it reacted to her.

  Like a tiny person casting a big shadow.

  With a final flash of bright light that pulsed across the field of wheat, there was only one who remained. She placed a hand over her chest and made a promise that she wouldn't waste the second chance she's been given.

  Behind the Chapter...