Around the vision just revealed to Edjoi, Edjoi felt a strong sense of purpose swell into agitation.
In that same moment, a soft hand touched Edjoi’s shoulder. Edjoi turned to find the vacant, completely-accommodating eyes and imploring half-smile of their disc-heavy Dreamer-friend, Thade. “Edjoi..” Thade called softly, “it has been so long.”
Edjoi joined staff with Thade’s ripe disc, mating her firmly for three cycles. At each expression, Thade called out softly, “Edjoi..” with tears streaking her cheeks. Idzue would come to be the name of Edjoi’s only offspring bred in the Glorious Palace of Cho.
In Edjoi’s cooling embrace, gazing distantly as if in a permanent dream, Thade related personal and intimate visions to Edjoi, some concerning what she believed to be foresight of the future. As Thade related, “at some point, we will find satisfaction in our dissatisfaction.. a false light to walk the true path.”
Eventually, recalling the vision of Young God Hocho, Edjoi disengaged from Thade’s warm embrace and set out for the Endless Chambers of Cha to the north.
Arriving in the Endless Chambers of Cha to the north, Edjoi found the five First Gods in a pleasant courtyard, luxuriating in rest. As Edjoi approached, the five First Gods appeared as comfortably-dressed, warm aunts and uncles of inviting presence, sitting in semi-circle, upon self-illuminating chairs of ornately-carved, opal-studded onyx.
“Edjoi,” Ikuwo beckoned with a full-lipped smile, “you are beautiful and elegant as ever. For what have you come..?” Edjoi thought for a moment, hazily recalling past words of supplication the young were made to recite during their maturing in Chi and Che.
To some visible amusement to the five First Gods, Edjoi bowed and prostrated, speaking, “O First, the Grand Chambers of Cha to the north are so magnificent and splendid. I would delight to visit as often as you desire, if you would but grant me a wish..!”
“Oh my,” Ungoba chuckled. “Haven’t heard that one in a while,” Agimu retorted. “And for what do you wish..?” Ezhati moved to the point.
Recalling the absorbed expressions of the Followers of Cha, the devout expressions of the Zealots of Cho, and the surrendered expressions of the Dreamers of Chu, Edjoi replied, “That which fulfills desire.”
A stillness entered the semi-circle. Ohepa’s gaze returned from above to look at Edjoi directly. A slightly quizzical expression on Ohepa’s face relaxed into an innocent playfulness. Ohepa replied with a warm smile and snap of the fingers, “May desire be fulfilled.”
Now, although Ohepa was the First God of the Glorious Palace of Cho and arguably omnipotent and omniscient by those to beheld them, Ohepa was not what one might call “clever” or “cunning.” Yes, Ohepa’s desire had primacy in the Glorious Palace of Cho, but Ohepa never had much need to contemplate why this might be the case or how it worked.
When Edjoi approached Ohepa, it was also Ohepa’s desire. When Edjoi supplicated to the five First Gods, this was also Ohepa’s desire. When Edjoi stated their desire, out of Ohepa’s desire to connect with Edjoi, that which would fulfill Edjoi’s desire also became that which would fulfill Ohepa’s desire.
Ohepa had come to implicitly trust from birth that the fulfillment of their desire would always turn out well, without fully knowing how it would turn out well or what would happen next, in the fulfillment of that desire.
And so, it was with some surprise that the awareness dawned upon Edjoi and the five First Gods of the Glorious Palace of Cho of some novel commotion now arisen in the general direction of the Brilliant Fountain of Cho to the center.
“Ah, Wondrous..!” Ohepa proclaimed with a warm smile, giving no further indication of understanding what was now taking place down near the Brilliant Fountain of Cho to the center.
As Edjoi began bowing and prostrating in gratitude for their wish fulfilled, the five First Gods arose gracefully from their seats, entering a nearby archway, back to their unending bacchanal.
Finshed bowing and prostrating in gratitude, Edjoi caught a last glimpse of Ikuwo winking and licking her lips at Edjoi before disappearing through the archway.
Edjoi made their way down to the Brilliant Fountain of Cho, becoming aware of an increasingly pervasive, low-humming noise. Edjoi began to notice a number of New Gods ahead, moving with intention along worn pathways away from the fountain.
Edjoi arrived near the Far Circumambulations, instantly feeling a new, increased energy emanating from the fountain--painful to behold and difficult to tolerate. Nearby, through a bath of fountain light, Edjoi recognized Zealot-friend, Tuso.
Recognizing Edjoi, with tears in his whitened eyes, Tuso related, “Rejoice! For many faithful were let in to the Bailey of Dzo this glorious day..! With blessed vision, I see them now..!”
Edjoi attempted to lead Tuso away from the fountain, but Tuso remained. Pausing for an urgent moment, then placing a hand on Tuso’s shoulder, Edjoi recited, “Power Over Desire,” to which Tuso echoed with conviction, “Power Over Desire!” Edjoi then left Tuso to his practice.
Retreating to a comfortable distance from the blazing light, Edjoi turned to look back towards the fountain itself, seeking to discern what change took place. Like glimpsing a daytime star, the fountain itself was difficult to look at directly.
However, aside from its increased brightness, it was not hard to see what had changed with the fountain: a bright, undulating filament had risen from the center of the fountain and into the sky, arcing slowly toward the south.
To the Black Clock, Edjoi realized. The Dreamers. Sovi. Thade. Edjoi made haste towards the Black Clock of Chu to the south.
Whatever concern Edjoi may have held for the Dreamers of Chu was immediately relieved upon arrival back in the quietly humming, dimly-lit, peaceful south hall. The undulating filament descending from the sky appeared to enter directly into the Black Clock, reaching down into its distant, fathomless center.
The bridge of the sphere of chuʔ had opened.
An entirely new set of doors unlocked and opened in the Endless Chambers of Cha to the north, while a number of old doors in those Endless Chambers closed, locked, and disappeared from Godly memory. A newly-illuminated choʔ-aggregate life became soʔ-life.
Nearby, Edjoi recognized elder Dreamer Sovi, gathered in a circle with a number of other Dreamers, discussing what meaning could be discerned of the undulating filament within the Black Clock.
Edjoi heard elder Dreamer Sovi relate, “The dream changes, yet I remain dreaming. I have seen, in visions and in dreams, the Black Clock is empty. Desiring to touch it, I cannot find it.”
Sovi continued, “Like this bright braid, Dreamers from before reached out, desiring to touch what is empty. Reaching further and further, yet only returning in visions.”
Then Sovi concluded, “The silent, Young Gods in the Black Clock invite the bright braid to show me how I reach in my dream, yet find nothing. The bright braid finds nothing to satisfy it, yet it peacefully flows.”
Edjoi joined the circle of elder Dreamer Sovi and shared a few cycles of clock-gazing with the group. When it came time to contribute visions and stories, Edjoi related the story of how the bright braid arose, first in a vision, then in the dream.
As Edjoi concluded the story, Elder Dreamer Sovi repeated the words, “That which fulfills desire.” By this time, Dreamer-friend Thade had wandered by, swelling with New life. Thade took a seat next to Edjoi and rested her vacant eyes on some far horizon.
Edjoi asked, “The Dreamers who reached out, who only return in visions.. were these.. joyful visions..? did they seem.. at ease?” Sovi paused for a time, looking into the Black Clock before replying.
Concluding with a rare smile and open palm, Sovi answered, “Visions come and visions go.. Yet, where do they go..? Dreams come and dreams go.. Yet, where do they go..? My dissatisfaction waits for me. Yet, where will it wait for me when the dream ends? Gone.”
Through his dreamspeak, Sovi had related correctly that others from choʔ had before entered the chuʔ and not returned to speak of it. Yet they had not necessarily perished in the transition. For there was no inherent property in choʔ-space—now illuminated soʔ-space—that would necessarily dissolve djoʔ-aggregate life.
In this way, the Mortals of choʔ were not dissimilar to the Mortals of soʔ: The central light that poured from djoʔ into dzuʔ arose from a fountain in the center of choʔ. The central light that poured from choʔ into chuʔ now arose from a fountain in the center of soʔ.
In the same way, fringe light that flowed from djoʔ into dzuʔ contained living replicas of what was above into what was below. And thus, fringe light that flowed from choʔ into chuʔ contained living replicas of what was above into what was below.
Wheras Ohepa, First Mortal of choʔ, arose in the Endless Chambers of Cha to the north of the Glorious Palace of Cho gazing upon Young God Hocho to the center in the Black Clock of Chu, now Uralinez, First Mortal of soʔ, arose in the Billowing Clouds of Sza to the north of the Dark Vastness of So—where the white-hot Everspring of Szo to the center ceaselessly pours forth—gazing upon Luminous, Empty Ocho.
The Black Clock of Chu reflected in Edjoi’s gazing eyes. Edjoi had no doubt in their mind—the undulating filament of Edjoi’s dream was that which would fulfill the great, looming black sphere of their nameless desire.
Dreamer-friend Thade coupled one last time with Edjoi before Edjoi rose up, filled with intent, towards the undulating filament. Approaching the filament, Edjoi felt no discomfort. Reaching out towards the filament, Edjoi felt an attractive pull along the filament and into the black sphere.
Edjoi looked into the black chuʔ, towards the Young Gods. The Young Gods gazed back impassively, with benign expression, at nothing in particular and at no one in particular. With a deep breath, Edjoi closed hand around the undulating filament, suddenly alighting from within, and then pulling quickly along the filament, into the fathomless chuʔ.
From the Dreamers’ perspectives, once Edjoi touched the bright braid, Edjoi appeared to move slowly into the Black Clock, gradually shrinking until becoming indistinct from the braid. From Edjoi’s perspective, Edjoi felt a strong pulling sensation along the filament as the edges of the chuʔ horizon began to gradually expand, and expand, and expand around them.
Edjoi began to feel new sensations of pressure and friction as the chuʔ horizon grew into a massive, concave lens downstream of Edjoi. The edges of the chuʔ horizon grew brighter and brighter as the night sky of soʔ began to engulf Edjoi in illuminated darkness.
Looking upstream towards the shrinking Glorious Palace of Cho through the gradually contracting and brightening edges of the inverting chuʔ horizon, Edjoi could see the entirety of the Glorious Palace of Cho—Cha to the north, Chi to the west, Che to the east, tiny gardens and streams, calm fields and gentle hills, and the Brilliant Fountain to the center, at the other end of the undulating filament.
Downstream, Edjoi began to see the tip of the undulating filament, wreathed in splayed bands of swirling light. Upstream, the Glorious Palace of Cho disappeared behind the brilliant edges of the inverted chuʔ horizon into an impossibly bright sphere of white-hot light.
Finally at the very tip of the filament, the undulating light slipped from Edjoi’s hand. As it did, Edjoi felt a strong pull away from the filament. New and disorienting sensations of gravity, friction, heat, and surface tension saturated Edjoi as they shot into the dispersion bands of the szoʔ.
As Edjoi’s wake left behind an arc-trail of moltenized soʔ-matter, the new weight of soʔ-space pressing upon Edjoi from all sides gave rise to a swell of drowsiness to which Edjoi easily acquiesced.
Composite visions from Edjoi’s youth cheered Edjoi in slumber as their light-body hurtled out of the dispersion bands of the szoʔ and into nearby fields of dark, luminous soʔ-space.
The first Above God of Cho had arrived in the Dark Vastness of So.