2024-03-22: An Unexpected Harvest
- Cutscene: An Unexpected Harvest
- Cast: Ingvar Hedlund, Elisa Kafim
- Where: Sweden, Earth
- Date: March 22, 2024 (December 0098)
- Summary: Ingvar Hedlund, an escaped cyborg from an old Titans experiment, has finally unlocked that which they have sought for years now. There are those who take notice...
Tattoos glow on an androgynous body, shown at the cuffs and neck of black robes. Ingvar Hedlund, a blonde individual of indeterminate gender, stretches out their arms to the ends of the ritual circle around them. Black candles are lit at the four corners of the circle; their flames burn green, thanks to the compounds within.
Ingvar's blue eyes are bright, wild. Ingvar stares up for a moment into the night sky, dotted with stars. The snow stretches out on all sides, but they are beyond shivering now. They have tapped into real Power, here. They are sure of it. It is near...
It is there, in the blood traced before them.
"O Great Void before all, open to me! Show me Your power!"
At first, nothing happens. The ritual circle remains closed. The candles alight. And then...
Then, green light crackles before them, above them, around them. The blood catches fire.
Their eyes glow green, suddenly, as black and viridian lightning crash down before them.
"Ha ha ha! Yes! Yes!"
The snow does not melt; if anything, it grows /colder/ all of a sudden, as the ritual circle ignites fully. Black lightning cracks across it and into the sorcerer's body, causing them to spasm for long moments before it abates. Cybernetic components are thankfully surge-shielded, but their prosthetic arm nevertheless /burns/ the flesh near it conducting all that electricity. ...A pain that is worth it, if it works.
"It is not done," they say, then, gritting their teeth against that pain. "It is not finished! I am not finished!" They clench their fists, and reach out to that fire, closing a metal palm over green radiance. "That doctor's notes... They showed me--"
All the flames wink out. For that matter, the lights of the nearest town, on the horizon, all flicker. And there is a certainty.
They feel it. They feel the Eyes upon them. And in that next moment, where time stretches beyond perception into eternity--
A cloud of black and green appears before them, out of which steps a woman in black robes.
"!?" they start, but the woman puts back her hood, and stares with green eyes directly into Ingvar's.
"You wield the powers of the Void," says the woman with long, purple hair, "And yet I did not teach you. How is this to be explained?"
"You?" Ingvar says, and their eyes widen--in surprise, and then in delight. "You're that woman. The one Dr. Devi thought she could fool. The one Dr. Kaan barely believed..." A smile. "Elisa Kafim."
"I am she," Elisa says, regarding Ingvar thoughtfully. "You saw those notes...? If you are an ally to Dr. Devi, an apprentice, then I must inform you that your time is up."
"No," Ingvar says, and spits. "I am no ally to those scientists." They hold up their now-blackened cybernetic hand. "I am a 'subject', escaped to seek my own power. To seek my own means of vengeance. But I have found so much more. I stole their research, but have progressed farther than either could!"
"...Is that so?" Elisa says, thoughtful. "Fascinating."
"I have studied since our escape. Myself and Teodor. There is much I have learned. I have no illusions that I can match their scientific prowess--but with this power, I can pay them back for what they did to us."
"You can do more than only claim revenge... Though by all means. Claim your revenge. But you are on the precipice of a grand endeavor. Of a life's work..."
"...More?" Ingvar says.
"Yes. ...I will help you claim your vengeance, if you come with me. I am in need of those who can comprehend the Void. I can further your studies, as well. You need no longer fumble in the dark, for I can guide you."
"And who are you, really? Is it true, what they say? That Elisa Kafim is She who waits?" Ingvar does not know yet that their eyes are green. But they stare with them, nevertheless.
"Yes," Elisa says. "In the Void, my Self abides..."
"But we shall surpass even Her, together." She extends her hand. "Come."
Ingvar looks to her hand, and back to her face, before inclining their head. "Yes, but..." A pause. "There is one who I would bring. One without whom I would never have come this far. One without whom it would have been pointless."
"Ahhh," Elisa says, and smiles. She has the appropriate number of teeth. "Love," she says.
"That is well. Gather yourselves, then. And come. To Kaffeklubben Island. ...We shall expect you."
Ingvar grins back. "...I will," he says. "/We/ will. If you can lead us to our vengeance, we will go a long way for that. I will meet with you."
"You will not be disappointed. ...Nor, I think, will I. The seeds I sowed long ago may yet bear fruit, after all..." Elisa steps back, and disappears into the darkness again.
Ingvar exhales, and then starts laughing.
They will laugh for some time, before returning to town.