The Oracle Paths

"To be precise, it's been four years and 22 days," Cekt added immediately.

His audience, already bracing for the worst, deflated further upon hearing the exact number. Hade, who'd been obsessing over a specific deadline, changed his expression drastically, exclaiming in dismay, "So... does this mean B842's diplomatic immunity period ended nearly... two months ago?"

"Indeed," Cekt responded sternly, the news being just as disastrous for him.

Upon confirming the old alien's revelation, his disciples fell into chaos, while Lucia and Ulfar felt an urgent need to check on their friends and loved ones. Jake and Cekt shared a bleak smile, having anticipated this upheaval.

Jake himself had wanted to contact them sooner, but placing a call through the Faction Chat had become far more challenging than it was four years ago.

Nevertheless, he'd asked Xi to investigate what had become of the Myrtharian Nerds during their absence.

On learning that the Myrtharian Nerds still existed, he managed to regain a semblance of composure. Of course, not everything was rosy, and the bombshell Cekt had just dropped was the least of their problems, even though it was the root of everything else.

"Okay, simmer down and listen. Don't waste time trying to reach them; none of you can afford it," Cekt chuckled sourly, watching their faces fall one after another upon realizing that communication with their friends was impossible.

They wanted to quickly ascend to the Magnetic Resonator's surface, believing it to be the reason for the Oracle System's silence, but those like Jake, Epsilom, and Drakon with access to the Mirror World knew it wouldn't make a difference.

Regrettably, much had transpired during these four years, most of which hadn't played out in their favor. To say that the Mirror Universe and their planet were in dire straits would be an understatement.

When Cekt finally managed to regain their full attention, his demeanor changed radically, his weathered face becoming a mask of stern solemnity.

"What I'm about to disclose will chill you to the bone, but I urge you to remain calm and not interrupt until I'm done," he began ominously. "Only by acknowledging and accepting the truth can you prepare for what lies ahead. I warn you again, it's a series of grim revelations stemming from the first.

"Firstly, the temporal trap we fell into wasn't an isolated incident. It pains me to admit it, but the Digestors' plan was so flawless that only an Oracle Path orchestrated by an entity equal to or greater than our Oracle could have achieved it. Regarding our temporal trap, all the Magnetic Resonators and Gravitational Oscillators orbiting the mega black hole at the heart of B842 were part of the enemy's web. Digestors were poised on each of them, ready to snap their jaws shut. I don't know how they managed to pull all this off without drawing attention, but it just proves how long they've been orchestrating their plan. The death of Lure, the sabotage of the Aether Network, and the swift but predictable reaction of authorities from various Systems and Planets to reinforce their own Aether Network were all part of their prediction. They already knew where we'd go and what we'd try to do. Of course, we knew it wasn't risk-free, but nobody could have imagined that Digestors were capable of coordinating on such a large scale across the entire Mirror Universe."

Siri calmly raised her hand, interrupting her master's musings.

"Yes, Siri? Am I rambling?" Cekt forced a smile.

The Delkron android, or rather, the unusually pale young woman, shook her head and asked, "I wouldn't presume to interrupt. But indeed, I'd like to know the facts first. Theories and explanations can come later."

Epsilom, Hade, and Saros quietly agreed, sharing the same sentiment. Speaking of the Oracle Guardian, Jake had been confused for a while as to why neither Lucia nor any of the other infected disciples seemed inclined to attack him.

His curiosity finally got the better of him, and he discreetly activated his Cosmic Sight, then his Lucid Aetherdreamer mode to scan him thoroughly. His mouth formed a surprised 'O' upon discovering that the alien wasn't physically present. It was only a holographic projection.

Apparently, Cekt had expected this problem and had taken him elsewhere, setting up this device to allow him to stay with them. Despite this, Jake could see it wasn't perfect, with Lucia and the other disciples occasionally shooting him hostile looks he wouldn't wish on his worst enemies.

"I understand," Cekt sighed, addressing Siri's question. "Here's the hard truth: 81% of our planet's Magnetic Resonators, Gravitational Oscillators, and other key Aether sources have fallen into enemy hands. In other words, the Aether they produced is no longer ours, and every recapture attempt has been verified as a failure, with those deployed considered either dead, infected, or corrupted.

"2%-which includes us-have shown recent signs of life, but their losses are severe, and the Aether source they protected or were supposed to reclaim has been more or less damaged. 3% have stayed functional throughout, meaning that B842's Aether Network, instead of fortifying as expected, operated at less than 5% of its energy capacity over the past four years. The remaining 14% are also in enemy hands, but unlike the other 81%, we have good reason to believe that the forces sent there are still fighting, mainly due to the Oracle Nobles in their ranks who regularly communicate their situation via the Mirror World."

The Wendok took a brief pause to let them digest this information, but Ulfar, striving to maintain his usual sarcastic composure, couldn't help but drop a bitter remark.

"That's a ton of bad news, huh..."

The little alien shook his head wearily as if contradicting him, then, seeing his confusion, continued, voicing a gloomy proclamation.

"Everything I just mentioned constitutes only a single piece of bad news: the massive decline of our Aether Network. Thanks to Oros' responsiveness and power, we are faring slightly better on average than other planets-some of which have lost up to 100% of their Aether production-but we can't say the same for our System. Being a young System, the Digestors hit us hard, and the Aether Network connecting the different planets was completely dismantled. You need to understand that a planet's contribution to its System's Aether Network in terms of Aether production is relatively trivial. Each System, in addition to the numbered planets it contains, has its own central Aether source, responsible for most of its Aether production and supporting all its functions, from the Oracle System to inter-cube teleportations. The Mirror Universe's central Aether Network had already been sabotaged, and now it's our System ZZ831's nodes that have fallen. Add to this the fact that our planet B842 currently has less than 5% of its usual passive Aether production, and you'll see we're in deep trouble.

"... But all that is still just the tip of the iceberg," Cekt finished, his somber expression seeming weighed down by the world's burdens.

Lyra swallowed hard, then raising her hand, her voice shaky, she asked, "Th-then... What are the other bad news?"

Before answering, Cekt surveyed each of them for a second, then taking a deep breath, he said, "There are two more, but like the first, the ramifications of their consequences are quite expansive. Combined with the first piece of bad news, they explain the chaos engulfing our planet B842 and the Mirror Universe at large...

"Well, here goes. The sooner I reveal it, the sooner you can deal with it and move on... Sigh, the second piece of bad news is... the Digestor Virus, or more precisely, the Sinewshade Virus that infected you, was not an isolated case either. It would be controllable if it only affected the teams sent to reclaim the Aether generators, but it didn't stop there. Just as we were unaware that the Magnetic Resonators and Gravitational Oscillators had fallen into the Digestors' hands, they managed to spread their Sinewshade Virus to almost all Oracle Shelters and Oracle Cities right under the Overseer's nose without raising any alarm... After questioning our Brain-Eater friends who parasitized Syrbarun and Rigel, it appears they didn't act alone. Only God knows how many renowned Oracle Guardians and Evolvers are currently possessed by these creatures. It seems they found a new way to evade the Oracle's security protocols and penetrated every level of our hierarchy undetected."

When the two in question, Rigel and Syrbarun, felt their comrades' eyes on them, they tensed up, forcing strained smiles. Even if their master uttered it wasn't their fault, they would live with this shame and guilt until their deaths.

Continuing to temporarily coexist with their parasites made things worse. But considering the magnitude of their sins to be redeemed, it was a small price to pay...

Authors note:

I quickly respond to those who were disappointed by the time trap's resulting time skip and expected something different or better. Although I know from my writing experience that pleasing everyone is impossible, I didn't pull this plot twist out of thin air. From their location to the passive attitude of the Dungeon Digestor, even the distorted and drawn-out voice of Cekt in his message, there were enough clues to see it coming. The most insightful would've realized it from the start, while most did when it became increasingly explicit in the later chapters.

The time trap isn't merely a handy Deus ex machina to inject a sense of urgency and pressure on Jake. Sure, it reshuffles the deck and alters the stakes, but consider it beyond that. Jake also gained from this perilous adventure. Beyond this, this arc introduced a host of elements, like the Voidshifters, the Digestor Virus...We learned more about the Brain-Eaters, Jake's powers, and the Corruption.

Had I taken a more linear approach (why not), Jake would logically have continued his training, developed his Floating Island, visited his family, advanced his relationship with Lucia, grappled with Enya and Esya's father wanting to force him into marriage to solidify their alliance, interacted with New Earth, and the eventual arrival of Kali (the female Silver Zhorion), etc. At some point, you would've encountered a time skip, but one without consequence or stakes. The thing is, even though that might be interesting in itself, it's highly predictable. If you already know what's going to happen (perhaps not in which order, but still), it makes it even more challenging for me to wow you.

Conversely, had we conducted a poll 100 chapters earlier about what would happen after the end of his Fourth Ordeal, I'm certain that no one would have imagined it.