Echoes of the Nexus
Thunder rumbled over the Raikara Temple, its ancient stones glistening under the threat of impending rain. Lord Raiden, cloaked in his Jouji Higuara disguise—a finely tailored business suit with his wild, greying hair tamed into a professional ponytail—stepped into the sanctuary, a trench coat draped over his arm. His personal assistant, Amayah Yugosama, walked beside him, her professional attire complemented by an umbrella in one hand and a datapad in the other. She glanced at the screen as they moved toward a quieter corner of the grounds.
“…the Ta’charins have worshipped Lady Elune since their settlement here, with references to Lord Raiden emerging later. Yet this temple is dedicated to you and was properly consecrated.”
Jouji’s sharp eyes scanned the horizon, his voice low. “And we know Ta’charin is a nexus point. By all accounts, I should have felt a power boost after Sonya won the tournament. I declared them my champions—yet nothing.”
Amayah shrugged, her brow furrowing. “What if they were already champions of another god?”
Jouji shook his head, his ponytail swaying slightly. “They didn’t even know gods existed until the tournament. I could feel the nexus shift, as if it was claimed. Perhaps it went to Elune?”
Amayah looked up, her eyes widening. “I thought you said the prison Lord Carthain designed cut her off from acquiring new nexus points.”
He nodded, a shadow crossing his face. “That was his claim.”
A realization sparked in Amayah’s gaze. “Lord Chronos gave you that essence in a container—the one you gave to the Morgans.”
Jouji paused, his expression shifting from curiosity to disbelief. “…the one he said could bring an end to Carthain. What in all the hells did he give me?”
“I don’t know, sir,” Amayah admitted, her voice tense. “But if she were of divine origin, wouldn’t she have gotten sick stationed on the Avenger? The residual Reflex radiation there…”
Jouji gestured sharply. “Yes, even a demigod would show early signs by now. Yet she was immune to my attack at Ta’charin—no sickness, no weakness.” He looked off wistfully for a moment. “Growing up she called me ‘Uncle Joe,’ you know. When she was a child she couldn’t pronounce ‘Jouji’ during my visits—it just stuck. Looking back on it now, even then there was always something different about her.”
Amayah tilted her head, intrigued. “So, what is she then?”
Jouji let out a low chuckle, the sound tinged with uncertainty. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s time I had an audience with Lord Chronos and demanded some answers.”
The temple’s silence deepened, broken only by the patter of rain beginning to fall. Jouji’s mind raced—whatever Chronos had given him that was born to the Morgans could alter the fate of the gods, and the truth of what she really was lay tangled in the gods’ ancient games.
