Episode 9: Oy, To Ne Vecher / Oh, Not Yet Evening

  Yamantau Secret Underground Base, Russia

  “Velocity confirmed at Mach 5! Your daughter is incredible, sir. They’ve reached the main entrance... but the exterior camera systems are completely fried!” an officer reported with a mix of excitement and shock.

  “Haha! That’s my Yuri! Just like her father!” General Nikolai puffed out his chest, bragging shamelessly to his subordinates.

  “You’re incompetent... and yet you still have the nerve to boast?” The stern, commanding voice of Master Oon cut through the room, causing the staff to snicker behind the General’s back as they watched their fierce leader get reprimanded.

  “They have arrived... everyone, get out!” Oon commanded.

  “Do... do I have to leave too, sir?” Nikolai asked submissively.

  “Not you! Stay. You need to know everything. As useless as you can be, you are the Commander-in-Chief. You must bear witness and help me plan this Great War!”

  As the staff filed out, Yuri led the four travelers into the vast, high-tech office. Victor, Kurin, and Chris froze in awe. The laboratory was more advanced than anything Victor had seen at Area 51—it looked like something straight out of a world-class sci-fi blockbuster.

  “So... this is the Liberator,” Master Oon said, his powerful eyes fixing on Chris.

  Nenets stood motionless at the door. His usually playful and arrogant eyes trembled as he stared at the withered back of the figure on the floating platform. Master Oon slowly turned his platform until their gazes met.

  “Ren...” the synthetic voice from the speaker uttered a name no one had ever heard—the true name of the Arctic’s tiny deity.

  “Father!” Nenets screamed. Tears immediately streamed down his face. He no longer cared about his image as a high god. The tiny figure lunged onto the metal platform and threw himself into a tight embrace with the old man, nearly knocking the platform off-balance.

  “Oof... gentle, my son...” Oon managed to rasp out with his actual voice. His ancient, fragile body shook with pain from the contact, yet it was filled with a desperate longing.

  Nenets sobbed, burying his face in his father’s chest. His small hands quickly gathered a soft golden light, pouring energy into his father’s body to heal his fading form. “Why... why did you let yourself get this weak? Why didn't you take care of yourself?!”

  Everyone in the room—Chris, Victor, Kurin, even General Nikolai and Yuri—stood in absolute silence. The tension vanished, replaced by the heartbreaking sight of a father and son reunited after thousands of years.

  “If I hadn't found you... I wouldn't have wanted to be immortal anymore, my child...” Master Oon wept, his joy leaking through his deep wrinkles. “Do you know how much I missed you?”

  “Father... stop talking. Let me give you my energy first,” Nenets pleaded, his voice breaking.

  Seeing the two gods whispering to each other on that floating throne was a sight that even made the battle-hardened Nikolai wipe away a tear. Yuri watched her "Great-Master" with a look of profound emotion.

  General Nikolai watched in awe. He had served Oon for years but never suspected this. “I... I never knew Master Oon had a son. And one with such immense power.”

  Master Oon took a long breath. Nenets’s healing was bringing some color back to his pale face. He opened his eyes and looked at his son with a gaze filled with regret.

  “I made a grave mistake once... a mistake that almost destroyed everything we built.”

  Flashback: The Genesis of Discord

  “Back then... my group was expanding, fighting for territory on this planet just like the others,” Oon recounted, his voice sinking into the depths of time. “We were the Hoto group. The one you call ‘God Hoto’ controlled everything. I was second only to him. Hoto began splitting his soul to create loyal clones as subordinates. But I was of the original souls who traveled together from the beginning... and our group had many women with us. One of them was Meia, Ren’s mother.”

  “So Master Nenets is actually Ren, your true son,” Kurin repeated in awe. “Then why did you change your name to Nenets?” He turned to Ren, who was sitting beside his father.

  “Because the Hoto framed me!” Ren blurted out with lingering bitterness. “They told my father that my kindness toward humans was a ploy to gather an army to overthrow Hoto. I tried to tell him, but he didn't believe me! He trusted the Hoto clones who ruled the cities and ignored the original group that had shared his suffering!”

  Ren sighed before continuing. “I ran away, heartbroken that even my own father didn't trust me. To prevent them from finding me, I changed my name. I happened to encounter Kurin’s people, the Nenets tribe, so I took their name as my own. I intended to help humans quietly, without building cities or seeking power... I just wanted to escape that injustice.”

  “I tried to find a way back to my father... but my power wasn't strong enough then,” Ren (Nenets) said, his voice trembling as he wiped away more tears. “By the time I was strong enough, I couldn't find my parents anymore. I lived with my guilt, thinking I had lost you both forever.”

  “Ren... my son,” Master Oon said affectionately. “Did you open the bundle yet?”

  Ren quickly pulled out the old dark-green bundle. He carefully unwrapped it, revealing a small wooden box about the size of a palm. Ren’s tiny fingers moved skillfully to input a complex code; it was the private box of Meia, the mother he loved with all his heart.

  As the lid opened, a faint glow illuminated the interior.

  “A bird-bone flute... the most beautiful sounding instrument in the galaxy,” Ren whispered before placing it to his lips.

  The flute’s melody echoed through the silent lab. It was a tune both sorrowful and strangely warm, like a cold wind blowing through the ancient tundra.

  “Nowadays, humans call it the Red-crowned Crane,” Oon said, closing his eyes to his son’s music. “Your mother had a charm that made me fall in love... she loved music, she loved nature, and most importantly... she believed in what you told me all along. But it was too late by the time the truth came to light.”

  Ren stopped playing and smiled through his tears—his widest smile in millennia. He looked at another object resting in the box.

  “The orb in this box... is this Mother?” Ren asked with overflowing hope.

  “Yes... that is your mother,” Oon replied softly. “Her spirit remains there, waiting for the day you would return.”

  “Your mother intended to dissolve her soul back into nature long ago,” Oon said with steady love. “But I begged her to stay. I told her if I hadn't found you, I wouldn't let her leave. And before my own life ends, I would be the one to set her spirit free, along with my own.”

  Ren stood stunned, listening to his father’s 8,000-year confession of love.

  “I have preserved your mother’s body perfectly,” Oon continued. “When I had to flee north, I only had Odd left as a loyal friend. We fought through the Hoto’s blockade with great difficulty. Many of our soldiers and friends died. I did my best to trap their spirits in orbs, as many as I could, until we reached the coldest region—what humans now call Alaska.”

  Oon sighed as if a mountain had been lifted from his chest. “It was so cold we had to hibernate deep underground. One day, ancient explorers found us and woke me. They worshipped me as a god, but I preferred a quiet life. Eventually, the Russian authorities invited me to a warmer place, promising to keep my existence a top secret in exchange for my guidance and for help secretly searching for you, my son.”

  “Your mother traveled by my side until the very second her physical form could no longer take root and faded,” Oon said, his voice cracking. “Both she and I sent out telepathic signals with all our might to find you, but found nothing. We sent the best scouts to every corner of the world, but there was no trace. Your mother was heartbroken, and so was I. Every time I close my eyes, I see you being born. My little one growing up so gracefully. She and I used to say... no matter where we are in this galaxy, if one of us is missing, it isn't 'Home' anymore.”

  Tears streamed down the Great God’s wrinkled cheeks. The sadness was so profound that even General Nikolai—the man known as the most brutal in the field—couldn't take it. he reached for tissues and blew his nose loudly. The rest, including Chris and Victor, couldn't help but smirk through their emotions at the sight of the scarred giant being so sentimental.

  “I used my remaining power to keep searching... but I discovered the shocking truth that our other groups were also falling,” Oon said, shifting to a serious tone that made Nikolai stop his sniffling. “Humans... they were clever and dangerous enough to drive us from our thrones. South of Alaska is the American continent, where my group didn't interfere. There, a group of ours that humans once served was defeated... and they settled there, secretly ruling from underground, just as we are now.”

  Oon paused before turning to Victor, who looked tense. “That is where you came from, isn't it, Victor? The place where they are secretly building something to wipe the rest of us out!”

  “Area 51... the place you just betrayed,” Oon said, his eyes piercing through Victor.

  Everyone turned to Victor. The pressure was so high the American nearly forgot how to breathe.

  “They will kill you... and not just your body, Victor. They will hunt your very soul!” Oon said coldly, making Victor turn pale. His hands shook with fear of the dark power he knew so well. “But even I cannot yet identify exactly which old power group those humans have sworn allegiance to.”

  General Nikolai, after being silent for a long time, asked the question that had been haunting him. “Are you saying... you are from somewhere else? Another planet? You are... Aliens, Master Oon?”

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  “Yes... we are truly aliens,” Oon replied firmly, no longer hiding it. “We traveled from a place far, far away... and what I fear most now is that this world is spinning toward the same end that my own planet suffered!”

  “And the Hoto? Do they still remain?” Kurin asked with concern, knowing how dangerous the Hoto's power could be.

  “Likely still hiding underground somewhere on this Earth... they won't fade away easily,” Oon looked into the distance, as if searching for old enemies in the shadows.

  Afterward, they sat in a circle to exchange information. The truth made Chris realize that his mission as the "Liberator" was no small task.

  Area 51: Top Secret Operations Room

  Inside a room cut off from all outside communication, General Miller stood before a large leather chair facing away from him. The atmosphere was so cold it felt like the breath of death.

  “We must order Funk to secretly incite our European allies to ship more weapons and mercenaries into Ukraine immediately,” Miller reported submissively.

  “Hmph...” a low, bone-vibrating groan came from the mysterious figure behind the chair.

  “Human affairs... you handle that. Just make it look as logical as possible,” the voice commanded coldly. “As for the ‘God’ on that side... I will deal with him myself.”

  There was a silence before the voice emphasized its power. “How many hundreds of years have you served me, Miller? You should know best how to produce results that satisfy me.”

  “Yes, Master... I understand perfectly,” Miller replied.

  “Remember... the more people die, the more power I have,” the voice stated one last time.

  The war between Ukraine and Russia, and other conflicts around the globe, were merely stages set to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives to the dark power behind that chair. As brutal as war was... for It, it wasn't enough. There had to be more death!

  Two Weeks Later: After the New York Incident (Post-New Year)

  Over a week had passed since the New Year, and the world had returned to a strange state of normalcy. News of the miracle workers—flying humans and the destruction in New York and Russia—began to vanish from mainstream media and social networks.

  This was due to the IO (Information Operations) units from America, which flooded the world with misinformation, claiming the footage was "Fake News" created by high-level AI to promote a new sci-fi movie. The hyper-realism became the very tool used to destroy the credibility of the real events.

  People eventually lost interest. The exhaustion of daily life was too heavy. Partisan politics and a worsening global economy took center stage.

  Combined with a massive influx of "trash content" designed to distract the public, the "Liberator" became nothing more than a internet joke or a hazy memory. The world remained blind while the true war gathered quietly underground.

  Mumbai, India

  In a quiet hospital within a Mumbai prison, a group of intimidating Indian secret police walked toward a specially guarded ward.

  Their target was a male prisoner lying unconscious. He didn't look like a hardened criminal, but a clean-shaven, educated young man. However, he was bound by heavy chains and handcuffs to the bed frame, as if the authorities feared he might "vanish" if left free.

  “Get him out... hurry!” the leader ordered.

  The police carefully unchained him and placed the unconscious body into a black body bag as a disguise. They loaded the bag into a black van with dark tinted windows waiting behind the hospital.

  The van disappeared into the chaos of Mumbai, leaving behind the question: Who was this educated young prisoner? And why move him as if he were a corpse?

  Two Hours Later: Over the Indian Ocean

  The same young man slowly woke up, feeling the nausea of the anesthesia. He blinked at the vibrating image before him.

  “Still dizzy, eh? Hahaha... understandable. We’re at tens of thousands of feet.”

  A deep voice spoke. A soldier in camo pants and a t-shirt sat watching the prisoners. He carried no gun or handcuffs.

  “Sorry for the rough pickup,” the soldier said.

  The boy scanned the cargo hold. He wasn't alone. There were eight other young Indians in prison jumpsuits. Some were awake, some still unconscious. Only three soldiers guarded them—far too few for such "dangerous" prisoners.

  Suddenly, another Indian prisoner who had woken up earlier and looked aggressive raised his hand toward the soldier. His eyes flashed with an inhuman light.

  But before he could release any power...

  The man froze as if electrocuted. His hand locked up, his muscles spasming violently. He fell to the floor, groaning in pain.

  The "nerdy" Indian boy saw this clearly. He was terrified. He knew his fellow prisoner had "gifts," but he had been neutralized in an instant without the soldier even moving!

  “Don’t think about doing anything stupid in front of us, little boy...” the Indian soldier said calmly. “You’re going to be one of us soon. Or would you rather just vanish from the world?”

  The soldier held up his empty palm. The air began to distort. Suddenly, a bright orange flame erupted from his hand, yet he felt no pain.

  “Fire... it’s hot. Want to play with it?” he threatened while the other soldiers laughed as if watching a comedy.

  “Hey, nerd... your name is Ishaan, right?” the soldier turned to the boy. “Stay still. We’ll be at your new home soon.”

  “What... what am I being arrested for? Where are you taking me? I didn't do anything wrong!” Ishaan stammered.

  “You didn't do anything wrong... but you are ‘Special.’ And special people like us have to live together in a new home.” The soldier extinguished the flame.

  “Where?” Ishaan asked.

  “Longka,” the soldier replied shortly, making the air in the plane feel heavy.

  Mumbai, India

  TV screens across India broadcast news that shocked the nation.

  “Breaking news...” a serious news anchor began. Behind him was footage of a mangled car wreck engulfed in flames on a main highway. “Ishaan, the young man who became a social media sensation for his levitation videos, has met a tragic end. Reports state he was in a severe car accident. The vehicle burst into flames, killing everyone inside, including Ishaan.”

  The footage cut to crying relatives. “A great loss for the family and his fans... Mumbai News reporting.”

  Yamantau Base, Russia

  Hologram screens in the office displayed news from around the world—Ishaan’s accident and the mysterious disappearances of special people in Europe and Asia.

  “Look at this... news of miracle workers disappearing. Strange things are happening globally,” General Nikolai said gruffly, swiping through screens. “Some just vanish, some are arrested for no reason, some die in ‘accidents.’ Chris, you might be the legendary Liberator, but look at the results of your actions. Your debut caused a global ripple. People like you everywhere are now in trouble!”

  Chris remained silent, looking at the screens with guilt. His confidence wavered.

  “Americans... always doing whatever they want without thinking of the consequences for others,” Nikolai aimed his anger at the opposing power.

  “Hey! That’s going too far!” Victor blurted out, his patriotism flaring. “Insult us if you want, but don't look down on our country like that!”

  “You don't need to get worked up, Victor... what I said is the truth,” Nikolai shot back.

  “You aren't the cause... stop arguing.”

  Ren’s (Nenets) voice cut through the verbal war. He looked at his father, Oon. “The cause lies with us... all of this started with us, not them.”

  “Mmm... that is another main reason I had to get the Liberator here as fast as possible,” Oon nodded, his faded eyes turning serious.

  “Let’s go to the Ve-El room... Great-Grandmaster,” Yuri said calmly, walking to a control panel on the wall.

  “Wait! You knew about this, Yuri?” Nikolai asked his daughter in surprise.

  “It’s a secret between me and the Great-Grandmaster... but since things have come to this, I think it’s time to tell the truth, Dad,” Yuri replied with a smirk.

  “Why? Does our base have a room with a weird name like that? I’ve been here for years and never saw it on the floor plans!” Nikolai asked, turning to Oon for confirmation.

  “It has been here a long time, Nikolai... longer than you can imagine,” Oon replied. “You’ve only been here a few decades. It’s not strange that you never saw it or couldn't find the entrance.”

  General Nikolai stood there, even more confused, trying to mentally recount the base layout he thought he knew so well. It turned out he was just an "outsider" in his own home.

  Deep Beneath Yamantau Base

  The six of them walked through quiet metal corridors, led by two guards. Chris, Victor, and Kurin whispered about their strange journey until they reached a large transport elevator.

  They stepped inside. The elevator descended smoothly. Nikolai watched the floor numbers intently until the final floor light went out... but the elevator kept plunging deeper into the darkness.

  “Wait! That was the last floor! Why hasn't it stopped?!” Nikolai panicked, his military instincts kicking in. “Emergency! Elevator malfunction! Control system failure!” he barked at the two guards.

  “You’ve lived here almost your whole life, yet you know nothing about this place?” Oon said with pity.

  “I... I...” Nikolai tried to argue.

  “No excuses!” Oon cut him off. “This is an example of your negligence. As a commander, you must be many times more meticulous!”

  While Nikolai stood embarrassed, one of the guards pressed a secret code on the number pad. A hidden panel slid open, revealing a second set of controls.

  It wasn't numbers, but Russian letters. At the very bottom, five letters stood out: "Ve-El" (Ве-Эл).

  Chris, Victor, and especially Nikolai went silent. The fact that another world was hidden beneath their feet all along was undeniable.

  Ve-El Floor, Yamantau Base

  The elevator stopped so smoothly it was barely felt. Heavy metal doors slid open to reveal a vast, hidden hall. The lead guard stepped out and spoke a precise voice code:

  "Svet!" (Light!)

  Every light in the giant hall snapped on, revealing a sleek, ultra-modern chamber. Four automatic floating platforms, similar to Oon’s throne (but without seats), moved to receive them.

  “Step onto those platforms, and you’ll be safe,” Oon commanded.

  They stepped up, feeling tense. Despite the hall looking empty, they could feel an immense pressure in the air.

  “The secret of Russia... and my true secret, is here alone.” Oon pointed to the floor. “Do you see that red line? Beyond that is the energy field I created. Inside, there is simulated air pressure. The deeper you go, the more the pressure will crush you until you can’t take it and have to retreat.”

  Oon looked at them seriously. “And that’s the mild part... if the AI detects someone crossing without authorization, invisible lasers will activate. Your body and clothes will turn to dust in seconds! Only my throne and these platforms have protective barriers... so stand still. Do not reach out past the edge of the craft!”

  Victor and Chris stood perfectly still, not daring to move a finger, staring at the red line with dread.

  The Deepest Part of Ve-El

  The two guards stepped onto their own platforms to lead the procession. The four crafts glided smoothly across the invisible energy field.

  “Uh... if it’s that dangerous, why didn't you just put up a glass wall, Master Oon?” Nikolai asked curiously.

  Oon turned to Nikolai, looking annoyed, like a teacher with a student asking irrelevant questions. “Sigh... you’re only curious when it doesn't matter, aren't you!” He grumbled but didn't explain, silencing Nikolai.

  While Chris, Victor, and Ren discussed the vibrations of the energy field, the crafts brought them to the far end marked by another red line. The guards stepped down once they were in the safe zone.

  But what appeared before them left them stunned... it was an old wooden door, in the style of an ancient Russian country cottage, looking decayed with age. It was installed onto a stark, clean white wall in the middle of the futuristic room.

  Oon waved a hand toward the door.

  Creeeeeak... the sound of old wood echoed through the hall.

  Everyone looked at each other. Why was an old wooden door in the most advanced base? But as the door opened wide... doubt was replaced by shock!

  Behind the door was a massive hall filled with hundreds of cloning capsules stretching as far as the eye could see. Inside the blue fluid were various lifeforms in stasis—some small children, some white-haired old men, and most terrifyingly, half-human, half-monster hybrids that looked like they belonged in primordial myths.

  “This way... ignore those for now,” Oon steered his throne forward quickly. “Follow me to that old wooden room!”

  In the center of the cloning pods stood another isolated old wooden room. The guards flanked the entrance. Oon closed his eyes and used a telepathic pulse to throw open the final door...

  The Innermost Secret Room

  “Oh... Father... you made everything exactly like our family home,” Ren (Nenets) whispered, his voice shaking. Warm tears ran down his face as he dropped to the floor, his trembling hands touching the carpet and every piece of wooden furniture, as if soaking up the memories he had lost.

  Chris, Victor, Kurin, and Nikolai followed quietly. They were awestruck by the strange, ancient art that looked like nothing else on Earth.

  “Mother is there...” Oon said, pointing to the side of a large bed.

  There sat a single, horizontal capsule, different from the hundreds of vertical ones they had passed. Inside the shimmering clear fluid lay a beautiful woman, sleeping peacefully.

  “Mother is so beautiful... she’s still as beautiful as ever. How did you do it, Father?” Ren stared at his mother’s face with longing.

  “Take out your mother’s orb, my child... we will wake her together,” Oon said gently.

  Everyone in the room, including the guards, stood perfectly still, not daring to disrupt this sacred moment. Oon waved his hand over the capsule. The lid slid open with a hiss of adjusted air pressure. The life-support tubes disconnected, and a faint mist drifted out.

  Oon held Ren’s shaking hand as he held the soul orb. Together, they carefully placed the orb onto the chest of Meia, the woman who was the heart of the home. Her form was like a dream, her skin glowing as if she were merely in a happy sleep.

  Upon contact, the orb dissolved into a soft light and sank into her chest. After a moment of silence, Meia’s eyelids fluttered, and she woke up. Her eyes, filled with love, turned to look at the husband and son who had waited for her for so long.

  ———————————————————————————— Ruth VT-Hin ——————