The first thing I’m worried about is breathing up here, but as my unaffected, glowing body would imply, I don’t need air up here. Or gravity, or traction... This is a bit weird but once I get situated I return my attention to the Constellations.

<SO, WHAT DID YOU WANT?> Seems my speech defaults to ‘Absolute Voice’ up here as well.

<YOU ARE SUMMONED TO ALLOW TIME FOR CALMNESS.> The ‘voice’ comes from a smaller cluster of reddish stars, each one projecting a sense of age.

<I’M CALM NOW, SO WHAT’S NEXT ON YOUR AGENDA? I MAY HAVE A STAR CORE, BUT THIS IS STILL BUSINESS THAT DOESN’T CONCERN YOU.>

<THIS IS TRUTH.> A different cluster speaks this time, voice more... feminine. The stars are bright, and energetic.

<YEAH, GREAT. SO WHAT DID YOU WANT WITH ME EXACTLY? ACTUALLY, I’M GONNA DO THE TALKING, I WANT SOME ANSWERS. WHY DO I HAVE A STAR CORE IN THE FIRST PLACE?>

A swirl of violet stars swarm around me, revealing themselves to be small enough to fit in my fist. <This is not known, Anthony. You arrived, and you were a star. That is what is known.>

<GREAT, THANKS FOR THAT. SO WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS? AND WHAT ABOUT MY OTHER POWERS? YOU SAY THEY’RE LINKED TO THE CORE, BUT I CAN’T USE THEM AT THE SAME TIME. WHY NOT?>

<TRUTH WAS NOT GIVEN TO YOU. LYRA WAS INCORRECT IN WHAT THEY TOLD YOU.> The first cluster says.

<SO WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW? I MEAN THIS ISN’T REALLY FAIR, I JUST WANT STRAIGHT ANSWERS.>

<IT WOULD BE BEST IF LYRA EXPLAINED, NOT US. WE DO NOT KNOW ALL THAT PASSES THROUGH THE MIND OF PROPHECY.>

<AND I’M JUST SUPPOSED TO ASSUME SHE ISN’T BULLSHITTING ME THIS TIME? WHAT KIND OF SHOW ARE YOU EVEN RUNNING HERE?>

<THE CONVERSATION WILL REMAIN TRUTHFUL. WE WILL BEAR NO FALSENESS HERE.> A wide batch of green stars speaks, bobbing and shifting in place as they do.

<FINE, TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON. WHY AM I WRAPPED UP IN ALL THIS AND WHAT DO MY POWERS HAVE TO DO WITH ME PERSONALLY?>

<WE SHALL RELEASE LYRA FROM HER PUNISHMENT. AS WELL, YOU SHOULD RELINQUISH THE CELESTIAL DEVICE THAT BELONGS TO HER. YOU BROKE THE CONTRACT YOU SIGNED, BUT WE SHALL GIVE YOU LENIENCY.>

I sigh and take the Lyre from my belt. <SO JUST TO MAKE THINGS CLEAR AND MAKE SURE I HAVE THIS STRAIGHT... YOU SEND ONE OF YOUR PALS DOWN TO LIE TO MY FACE FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES, THEN YOU JUST LEAVE BEHIND THIS MYSTICAL ARTIFACT WHERE ANY RANDOM DUMBASS COULD PICK IT UP, AND YOU BLAME ME FOR LETTING SOMEONE WHO I DEEM ABSOLUTELY TRUSTWORTHY BORROW IT, USE IT, AND THEY GAVE IT BACK... IF YOU ASK ME, I’M NOT THE ONE IN TROUBLE. IDUNNO IF YOU’RE LYRA’S PARENTS OR WHATEVER, BUT BOTTOM LINE, YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF HER IT SEEMS. IF SHE ISN’T TRUSTWORTHY ENOUGH TO LEAVE THIS ARTIFACT OF CREATION IN HER POSSESSION, THEN WHY’D YOU GIVE IT TO HER? YEAH I’VE BEEN A DICK, BUT SO HAVE YOU GUYS. HECK, YOU WAITED UNTIL NOW TO TELL ME YOU’VE BEEN PUNKING ME!>

<THIS IS FALSE. THEY ARE NOT AN ANIMAL TO BE LEASHED TO A POST. THAT THEY LEFT THE ARTIFACT WITH YOU IS IRRELEVANT TO YOUR BREACH OF CONTRACT. LYRA CHOSE OF THEIR OWN COLLECTIVE WILL TO TELL YOU WHAT THEY DID. JUST AS LYRA ARE NOT A DOG TO BE CALLED AND BECKONED, NEITHER ARE YOU. OR WOULD YOU PREFER US TO CHAIN YOU TO THE HEAVENS, THAT WE MAY CONVERSE AT ANY TIME?> the green constellation asks.

<I’M NOT TELLING YOU TO TREAT HER LIKE A DOG, I’M TELLING YOU SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSEDLY IN CHARGE OF. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU EVEN DO ALL THE TIME. FAR AS I KNOW, YOUR JOBS ARE TO SIT UP HERE AND TWINKLE!>

<WE GRANT THE WISHES OF MORTAL KIND, AND UTILIZE THE CELESTIAL DEVICES TO AID IN THAT PROCESS. ONCE, WE PARTICIPATED IN MORTAL CONCERNS, THOUGH WE HAVE REDUCED SUCH CONTACT IN RECENT CENTURIES.> the familiar-sounding purple constellation says.

<SO YOU JUST SIT UP HERE AND TWINKLE. I DON’T BELIEVE IN WISHES BEING GRANTED. IF THAT HAPPENED, DO YOU KNOW HOW SHITTY THE WORLD WOULD BE FOR ANYONE WHO WASN’T WISHING FOR THIS OR THAT?>

<NOT ALL WISHES ARE GRANTED, ANTHONY. THERE ARE MANY THAT GO UNANSWERED, EITHER DUE TO INTENT OR... INFEASIBILITY. THERE IS MUCH THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE THE LIFESPAN TO UNDERSTAND, AND EVEN THE OLDEST OF US DO NOT KNOW IT EITHER.> The cold blue color of the stars in a simple ‘?’ formation relates to the cold, detached tone of the constellation’s voice.

<SO I’M JUST TRYING TO LIVE MY LIFE, YOU COME DOWN AND MESS WITH ME, DROP A VERY IMPORTANT THING IN FRONT OF ME, AND BECAUSE I DON’T FOLLOW YOUR RULES, I’M IN TROUBLE? LYRA IS ONE OF YOU, AND THEREFORE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS SUCH. IF ONE OF YOU SCREWS UP, THEN IT’S EVERYONE’S FAULT. THAT’S HOW ORGANIZATIONS WORK.>

The unfamiliar purple stars speak again. <So you wish it, so shall it be. All sapient life shall be extinguished, for all have contained members who have... ‘screwed up’. Unless you would prefer to have individuals be punished for their actions separate from their peers?>

<NOW YOU ARE BEING FACETIOUS. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW AND WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED?>

<THIS IS FALSE. AS WE HAVE STATED BEFORE, LYRA SHALL EXPLAIN THEIR ACTIONS TO YOU, WHEN YOU ARE READY TO STOP BLAMING ALL OF US FOR THE MISTAKES OF A FEW.>

<ALRIGHT WHERE IS SHE, THEN?>

<They shall be brought forth. You shall relinquish the Lyre to them.>

<WHY? SO SHE CAN LEAVE IT FOR SOMEONE ELSE? ASIDE FROM PLAY MUSIC, WHAT DOES THIS THING EVEN DO? YOU SAY IT GRANTS WISHES OR WHATEVER, BUT IF IT’S SO IMPORTANT, THEN WHY DOES IT ACT AS NOTHING MORE THAT A GIANT IPOD?>

<ANTHONY!!> A swarm of little, teal-blue lights swarm around me, and a feeling like being hugged by thirty toddlers translates across my skin. The voice certainly sounds like Lyra’s.

<YEAH HI, SO WHAT’S YOUR GAME? IF YOU WANTED TO MESS WITH SOMEBODY, WHY ME? THINK I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS WITHOUT WORRYING THAT I COULD JUST BLOW UP WHENEVER I DEFEND MY FRIENDS?>

<ER... RIGHT. SORRY, THERE’S ONLY SO MUCH WE CAN DO WHEN USING THE LYRE AND THERE'S LOTS OF DETAILS AND WE WERE KIND OF FILLING IN THOSE DETAILS ON THE FLY AND NORMALLY WE’RE CLOSER TO BEING ON-TRACK AND IF WE WERE WRONG WE'RE SUPER-SORRY WHICH IS LIKE NORMAL SORRY BUT WEARING A CAPE AND WE’RE REALLY GLAD TO SEE YOU AGAIN AND WE REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY DIDN’T MEAN TO MAKE YOU ALL WORRIED AND THE LYRE WAS SORTA ACCIDENTALLY FORGOTTEN BECAUSE WE WERE TRYING TO GET BACK HERE BEFORE NATOQUE NOTICED BUT THEN WE GOT HERE AND WE SAW WE DIDN’T HAVE IT AND COULDN’T USE IT AND THEN NIGHT FELL AND WE COULDN’T DO OUR NORMAL MIND-READING THING AND COULDN’T FIGURE OUT THE INTENT BEHIND WISHES AND SO WE COULDN’T GRANT ANY WISHES AND SO THERE’S KINDA BEEN NO WISHES GRANTED IN A LONG TIME AND IT FEELS REALLY WEIRD AND WE’RE SO SORRY!> The tiny conglomerate of voices comes in bits and pieces from the swarm of lights clinging to me, the effect a little disorienting.

I raise an eyebrow and look at the other clusters of stars. This Lyra sounded the same but wasn’t acting at all like the calm pony she was a while back. <WHAT DID YOU DO, FEED HER FIVE POTS OF COFFEE INTRAVENOUSLY?>

<NO. PROPHECY HAS ALWAYS BEEN BOTH FICKLE AND MORE ENTHUSIASTIC THAN DIRECTLY HELPFUL.> the cold voice responds.

<WELL UNTIL SHE STOPS ACTING LIKE A CHILD, I DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE ENTRUSTING A WISH-GRANTING ARTIFACT TO HER. JUST SAYING.>

<The celestial devices do not grant wishes. Stars grant wishes, Anthony. The Lyre grants the gift of knowing, the ability to see the minds of all around or those of the song. This is why you can recreate any song you’ve heard. The Lyre plays from your past, not your present memory.>

Certainly explains how I remember all the words to every song flawlessly when performed... <ALRIGHT THEN, THAT’S ALL I WANT, A KICKASS PARTY TRICK. IF YOU CAN GIVE ME A LESS GOD-TIER VERSION OF THIS LYRE THAT JUST PLAYS MUSIC LIKE IT, I’LL DROP ALL MY COMPLAINTS ABOUT LYRA BEING STUPID WITH IT. DEAL?>

<THE DEVICE IS NOT TRULY SO POWERFUL, SIMPLY UNIQUE. A LESSER VERSION, THOUGH, SHOULD NOT BE TOO DIFFICULT TO MANUFACTURE.> another voice says, one that had not spoken before. <AS THAT IS OUR FUNCTION, WE CAN BEGIN ON THIS WHILE YOU CONVERSE WITH OUR KIN.>

<FINE WITH ME. ALRIGHT THEN, WHAT’S YOUR STORY LYRA, REALLY? WHY CHOOSE TO MESS WITH ME? DO I SERIOUSLY RUN THE RISK OF DECIMATING EVERYTHING WITHIN A HUNDRED-MILE RADIUS AND BEYOND EVERY TIME I TRY TO USE MY POWERS?>

<WELL... YOU WILL ONE DAY. YOU SEE, WE ARE VERY GOOD AT INFERENCE, AND WITH THE LYRE PLAYING, WE CAN SEE THE MAJOR INFORMATION, BUT WE CANNOT SEE THEIR ORIGIN. YOUR POWERS COME FROM A SHROUDED SOURCE, BEYOND TIME OR UNDERSTANDING. HOWEVER, WE WERE MISTAKEN ABOUT THE DIRECT CONNECTIONS YOUR POWERS HAVE. FURTHER OBSERVATION AND LIBRA CHECKING OUR ANSWERS HAS SHOWN THAT YOUR POWERS STEM FROM... DIFFERING WELLSPRINGS. TO PUT IT SIMPLY, THEY HAVE ONE SPIGOT, AND FIVE HOSES. YOU CAN CONNECT ONLY ONE TO THE SPIGOT AT A TIME. THAT’S CONJECTURE, JUST TO, UH, NOT MISLEAD, BY THE WAY.>

<YEAH I GET THAT- WAIT, FIVE?> I go over the powers in my head. Size enhancement, the coal manipulation, the star core, and... <OKAY, ASSUMING THAT ALL MY STAR CORE ABILITIES ARE SEPARATE AND THAT MY MAGIC NULLIFICATION TRICK IS NOT PART OF MY STAR CORE... YOU’RE SAYING I HAVE A FIFTH POWER?>

<THAT IS TRUTH.> The one I’m 99% sure is Libra replies. <YOUR LIFE FLOWS WITH FIVE GREAT WELLS OF POWER. MANY HUMANS BEAR THE SAME WELLS, BUT FLOWING WITH DIFFERENT POWER. SOME BEAR MANY ‘SPIGOTS’ AND SOME BEAR ONLY ONE. AN UNFORTUNATE INDIVIDUAL BEARS NONE, AND THEIR POWER ONLY LEAKS FROM A RESERVOIR WHEN INJURED.>

I think I’m getting it. <SO CLARK JUST GOT A STAR CORE FROM SHEER DUMB LUCK, SAME AS ME, BUT OTHERWISE OUR POWERSETS ARE ROLLED FROM DIFFERENT DICE?>

<THIS IS... PARTIAL TRUTH. SAME DICE, DIFFERENT RESULTS. KNOW THAT THESE ANSWERS ARE LEARNED FROM THE POWER OF THE SCALES. THERE IS EITHER FALSENESS OR TRUTH TO A STATEMENT, BUT THE TRUTH IS NOT A SINGLE THING.> Libra replies.

<SO I HAVE ANOTHER POWER. YOU SAY YOU CAN SEE THE FUTURE, SO WHAT IS IT?>

<WE DON’T KNOW THE FUTURE ANY MORE THAN YOU DO. WE PREDICT IT THE WAY HUMANS PREDICT THE THE WEATHER; WE LOOK AT THE PAST AND THE CONDITIONS, AND GUESS VERY HARD.> Lyra explains.

I sigh. This has been both educational... and a total waste of time simultaneously. A thought enters my mind. <HEY, YOU GUYS SAID YOU CAN GRANT WISHES, RIGHT? HOW ABOUT THIS? I WISH ALL THE DEMONS WERE GONE AND WOULD STOP COMING THROUGH TO TERRA. THEN THERE’S LESS REASON FOR ME TO NEED A FIFTH POWER.>

A chorus of laughter surrounds me. All but the yellow constellation are laughing their hypothetical asses off. <THAT IS A MOST ENTERTAINING WISH. BUT NONE OF US KNOW WHAT BRINGS THEM, SO NONE OF US CAN ACT AGAINST THEIR TRANSPORT TO THIS WORLD.> the red stars say.

<WHAT? OH COME ON, YOU’RE LIKE... THESE SUPER-POWERFUL MAGICAL BEINGS, YOU GOTTA DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS! YOU THINK I CAN KEEP DOING THIS MYSELF? SO FAR OUR PLANS FOR SLOWING IT ARE BARELY IN THE BEGINNING! YOU NEED TO HELP US DO SOMETHING!>

<All things have rules, Anthony, even gods and wishes. As much as we would like to help, each wish is an incredible expenditure of energy, and the only way to accomplish a task with no clear goals would result in the extinguishing of every star. Including yourself and your brother-friend.>

<SO YOU’RE JUST GONNA SIT BACK AND LET THINGS HAPPEN? NOT EVEN OFFER TO HELP? YOU’RE WORSE THAN CELESTIA! YOU HAVE POWER AND YOU HAVE POSITION, DO SOMETHING WITH IT FOR FUCK’S SAKE!>

<To do so would mean the end of our entire race, just for the benefit of a few mortal lives. Would you say genocide is the preferable option to learning? Is progress and change so truly anathema to you, Anthony? Just because you have power does not mean you should use it. The rules that govern us are older than that which they govern, and are in place for a reason.>

<IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE EXACTLY THAT, I JUST WANT YOU TO CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING. A WEAPON OR SOME KIND OF POWER! I KNOW YOU GET POWER FROM THOSE MAKING WISHES, AND I DOUBT THAT THE DEMONS WILL LEAVE YOU WITH ANYONE TO MAKE WISHES IF THEY WIN, SO HELP US, IF ONLY TO SAVE YOUR OWN DAMN BACON!>

<Fine. Power you wish for, power you’ll have. We will personally teach you of something you would not learn of on your own, with as narrow your field of vision is. This will take time, and you will be patient, or we will cast you to the earth as a fallen star, and you will never bear the full strength of your powers again. This is not a threat, this is incentive not to be unnecessarily rude.>

I roll my eyes. Was it really this hard for us to get to this point? <THANK YOU, THAT WILL DO JUST FINE. NOW WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?>

<First, you must seek your center. The spark you create when you flare your light, this is the simplest spark of the energy you will learn. First you will find this power, then you will learn to refine it, then you will learn not to ignite the air with it by accident. Now. Create light.>

I focus on my elemental forms and do that trick where I infuse fire and electricity, keeping it up, creating a pulsing glow all around me.

<No. Create true light, not flickers.>

How am I supposed to do that though? I think hard. Light is created by... by... damnit. <I... I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING RIGHT NOW, I’M SORRY BUT CAN YOU BE A BIT CLEARER? WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROCEDURE? WHAT DO I USE? FIRE OR ELECTRICITY? THAT’S ALL I KNOW HOW TO DO ASIDE FROM SPEED OR INTANGIBILITY, BUT THOSE DON’T MAKE LIGHT.>

I hear a sound like a sigh, as most of the constellations begin moving away from us. <This form is not of heat or lightning, but of light itself. You must calm yourself, and bring the light within you, that which makes you greater of mind and soul, than that which seeks to tear you down. If we must, we will guide you more forcefully, though this will not be pleasant for you.>

I think hard on how to do that, with the soul and mind stuff. I’ve just never been that good with spiritual explanations. But unpleasantness... that I know how to learn from. <DO IT. DO WHATEVER YOU NEED TO DO TO SHOW ME. I JUST CAN’T UNDERSTAND.> Lately, admitting defeat pisses me off but here, now... I feel ashamed. Like I used to. I feel failure. It’s... refreshing in a way. Familiar.

<So be it, Anthony.> as the voice speaks, I see and feel the stars that make up the larger purple constellation. suddenly, with a sound like meat on a griddle, the stars sink into my flesh. I’d scream in pain, but another star forces itself between my eyes, and all volition leaves my body. <Be sure to learn as I demonstrate. This will be unbearable for you if it must be done again.> The voices resonate endlessly in my mind, forcing every thought out of my head.

I do what I can to ‘agree’ and release control back to my instructor in full, focusing on my muscles and how I feel, pushing the controlless feeling out of my mind as best I can. I’m ready. Next Chapter: Chapter 180 Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 36 Minutes