Hex Cycle III — Senary Scenes (Finale)

Tome of The Sixth Sun: Lunacy Trilogy Book III

Author’s Note: This segment is part on an ongoing experimental novel wherein each chapter is meant to be read as if it were the first. However, this is also the Grand Finale for Hex Cycle III and there has been a lot of buildup for its action-packed sequence. If you’d like to familiarize yourself with these characters, the chapter in which they first appeared is embedded below under Further Readings. Now without any ado, let’s see the deed through…

The Thousand Light-Year Battle

Reddest Orkh — The Anti-Angel — had ascended through the lower zones of the Zephyroth, unto the highest zone of Ketheroz, where he’d challenged the all-powerful Amoun-Rah himself.

Amoun-Rah however, was hardly a pushover. He’d instantly exiled Orkh along with his teeming entourage of Dæmon & Druuj (greater and lesser fiends) to the outer rim of the milky way’s galactic center, which lay on the furthest edges of Ketheroz. Presently, Reddest Orkh was sparring furiously with the Archangel Azhah Vahyzthah — Alpha among the Amezhah Zpentaz.

As they traded strikes charged with inconceivable amounts of positive and negative force, Reddest Orkh complemented Azhah Vahyzthah earnestly:

“Thou art much stronger than I remember thee to be. Last time we fought in the material zone of Malkuth — thou wert no match for me.”

Wherefore Azhah admitted:

“My proximity to the stellar foundry surrounding Ketheroz provides me with virtually limitless energy. Therefore, have at ye!”

Being born of primeval fire, armored Azhah Vahyzthah wielded not one but two flaming swords. In fact, his attacks were effective enough to splinter Reddest Orkh’s weapon — Kernunnoz Antler. Even so, Orkh wasn’t bothered by this since like its wielder, said antler possessed remarkable regenerative properties. Yet in a rare moment of Orkh letting his guard down, Azhah’s swords struck true and burned away Orkh’s physical form with a conflagrant blaze!

Then came a prolonged pause during which Reddest Orkh’s multitudinous minions (Dæmon & Druuj alike) gasped and grumbled with great consternation, verging on despair. Until now, they’d been staying clear of that ongoing clash between those titans. The clammy coils of an immeasurable abomination known as Trevulguz also hung about in the distant backdrop; obscuring nearby stars. None among these dared to confront someone whom could vanquish their supreme chieftain. Though of course, they didn’t have to.

The blackness of empty space seemed to swirl around a crimson nucleus, whence Reddest Orkh returned, albeit in a slightly altered state. His bloody chest heaved with laughter while he taunted his opponent:

“Splendid, Archangel of fire! I am pleased that thou hast found the strength for us to fight evenly. But I Hadyth, wast spawned from the shadow zone of Daath into a forest of fractals. My forms are nigh onto infinite!”

Azhah Vahyzthah didn’t have a clever retort. He simply reignited his swords, knowing that the other six Amezhah Zpentaz would soon join this struggle as well. He needed to keep Orkh occupied for a long while yet — thus they continued jousting across another parsec.

Shadow Zone of Daath

Imperator ßeroß flew amid a V formation whose foremost point was led by Vortexyuh — Daughter of Nuyth. Following her lead, an incommensurable army of Konautz (space mechs) had flown here from Marz in the Martian zone of Geburah. They were on their way to join the fray at the limits of Highest Ketheroz. Nevertheless, they still had to cross the bottomless abyss of Daath. This was indeed the area wherein Trevulguz and its foul offspring, the Dæmon & Druuj, first arose.

Although the aforementioned had long since escaped this Stygian void, there were plenty of other nasty things left lurking in that latent space. As a matter of fact, a trap had been set for them here by two of humanity’s eldest enemies — the twin Arkhonz — Yaldah-Baoth & Zaklaz. Also known as The Architect and The Artisan, said Arkhonz were envious to see these Hybryd-ÜZ (descended from humans), ascend among member worlds of The Interstellar Panopticon.

Hence, Yaldah-Baoth had bred an army of bipedal brawlers, each with the head of an ass upon its broad shoulders. Those humanoid donkeys brayed from the shadows and rattled their sabers. Similarly, Zaklaz harnessed a subspecies of Trevulguz — which although lesser when compared to the immeasurable anomaly encircling Ketheroz — were juggernauts nonetheless. These monstrous mule-men were known as Huunz, whereas the aberrant beasts were referred to as Trevulgyh.

Vortexyuh shone a spotlight and revealed the mire below, crowded with cretins and critters. Immediately the Hybryd-ÜZ could tell that they had their work cut out for them. Major General Zadokh, Special Sergeant Zeudh, Commanders Falderalh & Qualyuh — all headed an Imperial Wing and awaited Imperator ßeroß’s orders. For his part, ßeroß galvanized the Marz Imperial Konautz by saying:

“Warriors of Marz, it would seem that our darkest hour is upon us but we are nowhere near our final objective. We mustn’t allow ourselves to be waylaid by minor enemies, no matter how numerous. Ferocious as those hellions might be, they should prove no match for these trusty Konautz of ours. Let’s descend upon them and make this moment our finest one yet. Hybryd-ÜZ — ATTACK!”

Following that, a tremendously chaotic clash commenced. The Konautz went in with energy weapons ablaze and illuminated the darkness with incandescent flashes of nuclear fission!

Neither Huunz nor Trevulgyh had any concept of what kind of aggression they’d provoked. Yet withal, they unleashed their own firepower, consisting of a baleful bluish brilliance emanating from the deepest depths of the Abzuh—a subzone of Daath. This dark energy canceled out much of the Konautz’ initial assault. Though clearly it wasn’t nearly enough to break their charge. Seeing Sergeant Zeudh’s secondary signal — Martian men, women, androids, and androgynes composing the A-Wing and B-Wing swooped down wielding close quarter blades or polearms — brutally ripping into the enemy’s formations!

Rather too soon, some of Zeudh’s space-suited soldiers found themselves surrounded by hundreds of Huunz and thousands of Trevulgyh. Many succumbed to these evil nemeses; beaten then eaten.

Major General Zadokh led the Z-Wing into their midst and rescued most of them by forming a wide circle. Each individual Konauth pushed its back against an ally and fired welding lasers into the oncoming rush.

This harum-scarum scrum would go on for quite a while longer — yet it was already obvious who held the upper hand. Imperator ßeroß ordered the reascent of those forces, whence Falderalh and Qualyuh’s F & Q Wings went to work, carpet bombing the Abzuh itself until that primordial black hole belched out such intense thermal radiation that it roasted the remaining Huunz & Trevulgyh alive!

Having massacred their challengers and suffered only nominal losses, the Hybryd-ÜZ continued toward Ketheroz. Meanwhile, hiding behind the scenes, Yaldah-Baoth & Zaklaz seethed with hateful rage.

Periphery of Ketheroz

The deadly dance between Azhah Vahyzthah and Reddest Orkh had continued unabated throughout a hundred parsecs. Although at times it looked as if one or the other gained an advantage, in actuality, both were locked in a state of stalemate. It was a good thing that any planets in this sector were uninhabited, because the collateral damage those two wrought was utterly stupendous. Azhah Vahyzthah lost track of how often he smote Reddest Orkh. Regardless, the Anti-Angel kept coming back over and over again with Kernunnoz Antler in hand. Further, every hit Orkh landed weakened the Archangel more than he’d care to let on. Finally, just when Azhah Vahyzthah felt that he was beginning to crack under pressure, reinforcements arrived.

From opposite ends of pathway Daleth came both halves of Zpentah Dex, each followed by an angelical legion composed of either Fravahz or Yazadz. Two other Amezhah Zpentaz accompanied Zpentah Dex; Kzhathrah Vayryuh (righteous power) and Vohuh-Manah (splendorous mind), as well as a dyad of high profile captains: Prince Ztaoth (leading the Fravahz) and Yazadyh Ztellah (leading the Yazadz).

As Zpentah Dex’s Khabz and Khuh approached one another, they sped up and collided at full tilt to reconsolidate him into a single being, whom announced:

“I Hadyth, hath descended from Barbēlō and Pleroma, to tame even the most recalcitrant aberrations arising within these lower planes. The virtuous can count themselves blessed, since all evildoers shall be put to rest!”

Since he knew that he had Azhah Vahyzthah on the ropes, Reddest Orkh didn’t take kindly to this development. Up until then he’d held back his multifarious Dæmon & Druuj units, but after Dex’s announcement he commanded them to divvy themselves and swarm these angelic attackers. Fortunately, Ztaoth and Ztellah were on guard and their forces flew fast enough to outflank Orkh’s odious offensive.

Bolstered by the aid of Archangels Kzhathrah Vayryuh & Vohuh-Manah, the Fravahz and Yazadz rapidly decimated those enemy contingents. Although as soon as Orkh saw this, he roared with rage, which caused the colossal coils of Trevulguz to twist and writhe. From its open pores it spewed an amaranth mist and within it, fresh hellions formed. Reddest Orkh introduced them thus:

“Well met, host of Ketheroz! Still I do consider all who cross me to be desirous of death. Hence, I see thee and raise mine own clones. Behold — my Dark Ryders and the Hammerhead Horde!”

Sitting astride nightmare creatures, the Dark Ryders stormed forth, assaulting the Fravahz. Simultaneously, the Hammerhead Horde swam through space, semi-concealed in the thick purple haze. The Yazadz scattered as shark attacks began claiming casualties. Zpentah Dex gave an order to regroup and reassigned Azhah Vahyzthah to lead a counterstrike. Meanwhile he himself squared off against Reddest Orkh, carrying this raging battle over another hundred parsecs.

Despite their valiancy, the angels were vastly outnumbered by Orkh’s squadrons. Fighting a war of attrition, their ranks dwindled steadily but it felt as though the enemy wasn’t diminishing, no matter how many Ryders or Hammerheads they struck down. The situation became so dire that Zpentah Dex had to break off his duel with Reddest Orkh in order to help his siblings survive. Yet when it appeared that they might be facing an abject defeat, more allies started flowing in from opposite poles of pathway Gymelh.

From Highest Ketheroz hailed the three female Amezhah Zpentaz: Ameretath, Armaythyh, and Haurvatath. These sisters also brought along with them relief troops of Fravahz and Yazadz.

Concurrently, guided by Vortexyuh, Imperator ßeroß and the Marz Imperial Konautz exited the shadow zone of Daath. Both these groups fell on Orkh’s forces and brought them to the brink of annihilation.

However, unbeknown to everyone else, Orkh had kept an ace in the hole just in case of such an eventuality. He now reached into his ribs and retrieved a pocket watch that played high pitch chimes.

Everybody went quiet as the local fabric of reality contorted and unfolded. Thence the power clown — Panurgeh — emerged to rejoin Reddest Orkh. Seemingly displeased, Panurgeh predicated:

“I Hadyth, hath been enjoying the finest soups known to mankind on the asteroid colony of Veztah. I wast about to taste the first spoonful of cheesy pepper-pot when recalled here. Thou shalt pay dearly for my loss!”

Panurgeh raised his cosmic staff and before anyone knew what was happening, the shadow zone of Daath expanded beyond all measure or reckoning, swallowing not only those armies but the entire Megalocosmos!

This would definitely level the playing field to favor those born in darkness. Thus, the battle concluded, although it was merely the start of a very different kind of war.

Hex Cycle III ENDS — Hex Cycle IV follows…

Further Readings

Some characters in this chapter originate in Book II, A Codex For Gnostics:

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