Root Cause

Early start. While time felt somewhat meaningless given their circumstances, it was still an early start for them. After exercising, washing and dressing, Lore made their way to the med bay to prepare Tay for the day ahead. She cringed as the door opened. The room was dark until the main corridors lights flooded in.
“Close the door!” She barked. Lore smiled and once inside, obliged. “Thanks.”
“We need to talk.” Lore found their way towards her bed. “How are you?” Lore turned the dimmer to its lowest and lit the room slightly.
“I… Well, I guess I’m alright.” She nodded slowly. “Last night gave me the answer to a question that’s always bugged me.”
Lore gasped. “Yes! We were watching this film and it gave me an idea.” Tay narrowed her eyes.
“About what?” She thought about the box she crossed and was having second thoughts. She made a mental note to undo her mistake.
“How we stop the Emraeh fighting.”
“We don’t. Like with the O’Raes, the only way to spare them would be to move them to safe planets and we can’t keep doing that. We need to treat the problem, not the symptoms.”
“Fair point but what links plague, war and famine?”
“Death… I bet she’s enjoying this.” The lights were almost at their normal brightness.
“She? Who’s enjoying this?”
“Long ago, according to legends, there were four children. They each had control of one of the fundamental aspects of reality. Together, they made the universe. The more they made, the greater their powers and soon, some of their creations worshipped them as gods. The first mortals to meet them called them The Cornerstones. Time, Space, Life and Death.”
“I’ve heard of them.” Lore nodded for Tay to continue.
“Well, they help keep balance in the universe but when they overstep their boundaries, people get caught in the crossfire. I had a theory that all this, Rexel, O’Raes and even Valhelderen were all linked and all because Time played a part in saving Quatarr.”
“So, by re-writing time, we’ve sentenced almost everything to death? I knew time travel was dangerous but…”
“No, by re-writing time, Time’s pissed off its sister and now most of reality is paying the price.”
“So what do we do? Ask the gods to calm down?” Lore repositioned themselves.
“They’re hardly gods anymore, more like watchers. After an incident a few years back and their subsequent move away from the physical realm to focus more on bigger picture stuff, they passed down their powers. These new gods call themselves Paragons.”
“And you know of this, how?” Lore braced themselves.
“I was one of the chosen few to be made a Paragon of time. Specifically, the Paragon of the Future.” She paused. “You met the Paragon of the Past before they died and… You were named to be the Paragon of the Present.” She chose her words wisely but still felt weary of their effects. Lore sat there for a moment, they considered her words. They explained a fair bit but were somewhat unnerving.
“I’m guessing Famine is one of Death’s Paragons then?” They decided to minimise their reaction much to Tay’s dismay.
“Yep. Each cornerstone got to choose how many people they split their powers between. Life chose one. Space chose two. Time had three and Death four.” Tay paused, expecting some form of reaction from her parent. “And you’re one of them.” She prompted.
“I got that, but why are Death’s Paragons doing this?” Lore crossed the room, grabbed a jug of water and poured two drinks.
“My best guess is that because Death was the last to name her Paragons, she could tell them to cause chaos and the other Cornerstones would be powerless to stop them. Meaning we have to clean up their mess.” Tay flicked her finger between them.
“So if we can’t stop them directly, how do we stop them?” Lore took a sip of their drink. Their hand slipped as they put the glass down. It froze in mid-air, the liquid refusing to spill and the glass adamant that it wouldn’t smash.
“We unite the Paragons and anyone else against them. With enough support, we can work out what Death’s up to and put an end to it.”
“Where do we start?” Lore took another drink and made sure their glass was firmly on the side table.
“We start by making sure you’re familiar with your new gifts. You should be since you’ve had them all of your life but…” She smiled. “Being the Paragon of the Present, you are able to pause time, to fully understand the world around you as it is and you can feel how changes will impact the future.”
Lore twitched. “So, my being able to pause time was because of this and not The Reaper?”
Tay nodded. “The Reaper only works because you’re a Paragon but it does amplify your powers.” She paused before placing a black ring on her finger. Just like Lore’s, the central band was blue. She pointed to Lore’s ring then slammed their hands together. Where usually golden light flowed, blue fires burned. Lore felt their heart beating harder and faster than it had ever before as their child merged with them. They stood, a brilliant blue inferno given human form. There was a certain strength to their new form that The Reaper was hesitant, almost scared to wield but they also knew that they would one day have to and more. They separated. Tay fell to the floor blinking. Her head rang as if struck by a train carrying clocks on the hour.
“It gets easier. Here, take this and drink your water.” Lore knelt down and handed her a pack of crackers from their bag and her drink.
“Wow.” Tay nursed her head. “Now I know how you felt.”
“So, about these other Paragons, who should we go after first?”
“That’s where things get easier, the other Paragons usually keep to their own planetary systems” She tried to grin through the pain. “We should probably visit Life’s Paragon first.” She checked her Breacher. “But three years ago. Actually, never mind, Space seems safer.”
Lore looked to her with an accusatory look, expecting a reason. “It’s a long story.” Lore looked to her with an eyebrow raised.
“Funny thing, I’ve got all the time in the world.” They chuckled. Lore helped her from the floor and back into her bed. Lore turned around. The door had been opened for a while now but with Char darkening it, neither had noticed. The Hunt.