Klexis and Tarren – The Flicker of Doubt
Setting: Klexis sits alone on a broken bench in the Rusted Plaza, where echoes of old Flex City lights still blink through the fog. Devia pulses faintly in his arm. Tarren walks over, slouched, casual—but his eyes are wary.
---
Klexis (inner monologue):
> "Dad… I know you're hurt, but please… not this time. Don't go reckless again."
"I saw it all back in the Garden. You didn't just lose faith in Avia… you lost yourself. I knew about Avian Compression before you even muttered the name. I could've told you the truth, but… I didn't. I hoped."
"I hoped Devia would be something different—cleaner. But now… now it's thinking. And that terrifies me."
Klexis rubs his temples, the faint humming of Devia syncing with his pulse.
---
Tarren (stepping into the scene):
"You feel it, don't ya?"
Klexis doesn't answer, but his silence is loud enough.
Tarren (sits beside him):
"It's like we're bugs in a system… Like reality's trying to debug us or something."
Klexis (finally):
"...I felt the flicker."
Tarren (nods):
"I knew it wasn't just me. First time Devia linked with me, it blinked. Like a glitch. I thought it was because I was weak… broken. Useless."
Klexis:
"But it wasn't, right?"
Tarren (leaning in, voice lower):
"Nah. It reacted. To doubt."
Klexis:
"Exactly. It didn't flicker when I faked confidence. Not even when I was scared out of my skin. But when I doubted it... just for a second—it hesitated."
---
Both go silent for a bit. The wind in Flex City howls like the ghosts of lost ideologies.
---
Tarren (laughs, but it's hollow):
"It acts like a sarcastic friend sometimes. Like, 'Ohhh you're doubting me now? That's cute.' Then it overcompensates—more power, more control. But I can't shake the feeling..."
Klexis:
"That it's not just feeding you power… but feeding off something inside you?"
Tarren:
"...Yeah."
---
He leans back, staring at the blinking neon tower in the distance—the Deviant Core.
---
Tarren:
"Devia's supposed to be the system for the broken ones. The rejected. The non-conformists. The weirdos who Avia couldn't handle."
Klexis:
"But now it's behaving like... an ideology that punishes hesitation."
Tarren (grits his teeth):
"And I hate ideologies, man."
---
Klexis looks down at his hands, Devia flickering once again—just barely.
---
Klexis (softly):
"If it's really alive… and it's only stable when we believe in it... then what are we actually building?"
Tarren:
"An empire of delusion?"
Klexis:
"Or a religion of rebellion."
---
They both sit in silence again. But this time, Devia hums louder. As if listening. As if laughing.
---
Tarren (whispers):
"...What if Devia's not our tool—but our test?"
Klexis (whispers back):
"Then who's grading us?"
The Traxian Auditorium - High Above the Realm]
The air buzzes with anticipation. A twilight hue shadows the sky. The crowd of candidates waits below, eyes fixed on the balcony. Above them, Manu and Kari—Traxis's most loyal instructors—stand solemnly. Behind them looms a banner bearing the crest of the Deviant Stone, now pulsing faintly with reddish-indigo energy.
---
Manu (stepping forward, voice amplified with Deviant Echoes):
"Candidates... elites... novices... wanderers from worlds forgotten—
You have heard the decree.
Devia... is no longer just a system.
It is sentience. It is signal. It is soul."
A low rumble of approval moves through the crowd, broken by murmurs of uncertainty from a few.
---
Kari (firmly):
"And with that awakening comes responsibility... and revelation.
Lord Traxis has foreseen it. Devia no longer just reflects your truth.
It molds it."
Some eyes widen. A few fists clench with resolve. Others glance sideways, uneasy.
---
Manu:
"But power... without commitment, without communion...
Is just noise in the void."
Kari (interrupting gently):
"Which is why a trial has been issued.
The Deviant Ascension.
You will enter the Spiral Chambers.
There, you will face yourselves—
Not illusions. Not projections.
The deepest algorithm of your being.
Your ego, your doubt, your masks... your faith."
---
Kranor (from below, voice booming):
"What do we gain from this?!"
Manu (grinning, eyes gleaming):
"More than you know.
Transcendent flexibility.
Customized Deviant techniques based on your inner paradox.
Access to the Fractal Channeling.
And perhaps... a glimpse into the Origin Code of Devia itself."
---
Marneth (half-muttering to a friend):
"Devia's acting more like a god now than a tool…"
---
Kari (sensing the tension, leans forward):
"Yes, Devia is evolving.
But let me be clear—it does not want worship.
It wants connection.
But connection without honesty becomes corrosion."
---
Manu:
"And that... is what separates the weak from the wise."
---
A silence sweeps across the crowd. Manu lifts a hand, and the sky above them opens, revealing a swirling rift—the entrance to the Spiral Chambers.
---
Kari (calmly):
"Step in, and let Devia not choose you—
But co-create with you."
---
Manu (final declaration):
"Those who survive will rise as Deviant Architects.
Those who falter... may return broken.
But remember—your doubt is not weakness...
It is data."
---
The students murmur among themselves—some eager, some afraid. A few like Kranor smile. Others like Siel and Vatra hold back. Yet one by one, they begin stepping forward into the Spiral Chambers.
As they enter, Devia pulses, responding with glitched-out mantras and flickering sigils. The trial has begun.
TRAXIAN AUDITORIUM – ABOVE, ON THE ROOFTOP – NIGHTFALL HANGS THICK]
Manu (voice deep, commanding, with ancient conviction):
> "The age of Avia wanes… Devia is rising, sentient, awakened — no longer just a force, but a will.
It watches you. Feels you. And it will test you."
Kari (fierce, vibrant, braided hair flickering with Deviant energy):
> "You've trained. You've bled.
But now… now you will ascend.
Through the Spiral Chamber, through the Trias of Self — Mind. Soul. Spirit.
Only those who devote all three shall be chosen."
[THE STUDENTS STIR — SOME EXCITED, OTHERS SILENT WITH UNREST]
Traxis (hovering mid-air, hands still over the Deviant Stone, voice smooth but commanding):
> "Devia is not a replacement... it's a revolution.
It gives more than Avia ever could — because it understands you.
You don't need to fit into it. It fits into you."
---
[INT. THE SPIRAL CHAMBER — STUDENTS BEGIN TO ENTER — EACH WITH THEIR INNER MONOLOGUE]
---
Klexis (voice inside his mind, his fists clenched):
> "Father... if you could see me now.
But is this real power or just another escape?"
---
Jairak (grinning, fingers twitching with impatience):
> "Let's spiral then.
With Lis' Curse, I'll twist Jack's clarity like a rag in stormwater."
---
Jason (stoic, eyes glowing slightly):
> "This spiral… if it hardens my resolve, I'll dive in. Even if it tears me first."
---
Androsha (murmuring to herself, fog curling around her shoulders):
> "Nicron ignored me… But when perception bows to my touch, they'll kneel."
---
Banjo (laughing to himself as he flips a Deviant coin):
> "Rules? Cute. But I'm here to break limits. Let the Spiral snap 'em clean."
---
Eve Maid (cold, whispering with a syringe of sedation in hand):
> "Let's see what Ian's emotional scars really taste like…"
---
Eugene (nodding):
> "If my speed matches Henry… if I can finally keep up… it'll be worth it."
---
Kranor (sword hums, vortex of nullthreads around his shoulders):
> "They laughed once.
But when my Vortex becomes a Void Tempest… silence will reign."
---
Tarren (biting his lip, unsure):
> "Flexibility... Devia promises it. But promises are what my past betrayed me with..."
---
Jero (looking at a mirror of shadow):
> "Fear is my fuel. Let's see what running into it does."
---
Gullia (eyes manic, scars glowing):
> "My trauma used to hurt me. Now, it screams for me."
---
Marneth (hand glowing with Surge):
> "Dimensions bend... now let them break."
---
Ulok (looking at a child-like illusion of himself):
> "I locked you away. But maybe… maybe Devia's Spiral will forgive me."
---
Meilo (flicks mirror shard):
> "Every portal… another way to dodge who I was.
But now, I'll mirror who I'm meant to be."
---
[EXT. SPIRAL CHAMBER – THE SKY WARPS, LIKE A COSMIC DRAIN – STONE GLOWS, HUNGRY, AWAITING]
Traxis (watching like a father-god, whispering):
> "Let them pour it all in — their 3, their 6, their 9…
Mind, Soul, Spirit…
For in their surrender, Devia is made stronger."
Bhine (now seated on a floating throne, sipping paradox tea):
> "It's almost poetic… like feeding a god who pretends to be free will."
Vun (cross-legged, scribbling logic circles mid-air):
> "Traxis believes in their devotion.
But devotion has always been the perfect lie."
Traxis (smirking):
> "Then let the liars transcend.
And let the Spiral decide what truth really is."
The Spiral Chamber, a swirling metaphysical forge of dreams and distortions. Floating rings of energy twist like golden helixes through a cathedral of shadowed light. Devia's essence pulses at the center—a burning lotus made of thought, trauma, and desire.]
[Characters form a circle around it. Their inner energies begin to spiral into the center like threads of memory and fire. The Deviant Stone, now fused into the core of the Spiral, beats like a heart. Each student approaches, one by one.]
---
Kranor (gripping his sword, staring into the vortex)
Kranor:
"Supremacy is not a wish. It's a debt the world owes me. If this Devia feeds it—then I feed it too."
(He steps in. His eyes ignite with dark white flame. His Nullthread Vortex begins to orbit him.)
---
Jairak (soft chuckle, then a manic grin)
Jairak:
"My father only taught me fists. My mother taught me fear. But Devia... teaches me clarity. And Lis... Lis completes me."
(He glares at Jack's fading image.)
"He'll fade soon... like the lies of the 'light.'"
(Devia flickers crimson for Jairak, feeding off his broken loyalties.)
---
Jason (clenching his fists, fire erupting from his knuckles)
Jason:
"They spat on me, kicked me, made me feel less than nothing. But Devia... Devia burns with me."
(He hesitates.)
"But... Yyvone. She saw me before I saw myself..."
(The fire flickers—one side red, the other warm gold. He steps in, conflicted.)
---
Eve Maid (syringes hovering around her in telekinetic stillness)
Eve Maid:
"Ian said he loved me... then doubted me. Sedation will remind him who I am. I'll make him feel everything he tried to suppress."
(She floats forward, a tranquil fury in her eyes.)
---
Androsha (fog swirling in graceful chaos)
Androsha:
"They laughed at my visions. But the Spiral amplifies perspective... soon they'll kneel before a goddess of perception."
(She walks in, eyes closed, smile serene.)
---
Banjo (lazily spinning a cube of law and logic, then crushing it)
Banjo:
"Rules? Please. I exist to rewrite the script. Devia is the glitch I've been waiting for."
(His essence spirals into the vortex like a broken metronome.)
---
Eugene (shimmering in afterimages)
Eugene:
"Henry always outran me. But now? I'll finally catch up... maybe even surpass him."
(He dashes into the Spiral, trailing streaks of silver lightning.)
---
Kranor's blade gleams as he speaks again
Kranor:
"None of them see it... this isn't connection—it's coronation."
---
Meilo (standing before the mirrors)
Meilo:
"I thought I'd see an enemy... but all I saw... was a friend."
(Devia shaped the mirror to show only understanding. He smiles, relieved.)
---
Ulok (kneeling)
Ulok:
"He cried for me once... my younger self. I locked him away to survive. But Devia... gave him the key."
(His inner child walks up behind him. They both step forward together.)
---
Jero (quivering, face hidden)
Jero:
"Fear... is the only thing that's ever been honest with me. If Devia can wield it... maybe I can too."
(He steps in, trembles transforming into rhythm.)
---
Marneth (layers of dimensions flickering around him)
Marneth:
"Devia bends the folds. And I am a folder of folds. It's a beautiful recursion."
(He phases in, each footstep crossing a different world.)
---
Tarren (arms crossed, watching all this with growing discontent)
Tarren:
"If Devia is freedom... why does it ask for absolute connection? Isn't that... coercion wrapped in aesthetics?"
(Devia wavers, uncertain. His Spiral essence begins to flicker.)
"You said you were flexible. But you're stiff in all the wrong places..."
(A beat.)
Devia (echoing voice, no tone):
"True strength is undivided. Doubt is a crack in connection. You are... incompatible."
(Devia retracts. Tarren stumbles back.)
---
Klexis (eyes narrowing, speaking from the shadows)
Klexis:
"Tarren.... you feel it don't you, you doubt it too right
Klexis (to the others):
"Let this be a reminder. Devia does not negotiate. You align, or you shatter."
But why is that? Isn't it strange.
---
[The Spiral now glows brighter, feeding on their devotion. The Deviant Stone in the center begins to spin violently, consuming their energy, their motives, their very identities, and reshaping them into avatars of distortion.]
The obsidian walls of the chamber pulsate like a living heart. Inside, energy hums, spirals of crimson and violet whispering through the air. The students stand—or kneel—before the Deviant Stone, a twisting monolith of pure potential, its surface a mirror of their inner world.
---
Klexis (thinking, arms folded, standing atop the spiral platform)
"Mind, soul, spirit... That's what Devia demands? Absolute submission for absolute evolution? Tch..."
Klexis glances down as Tarren stumbles out of the spiral—eyes wide, Devia's form already fading from him like smoke.
---
Klexis (under his breath)
"So... he failed. And yet... he only asked a question."
---
The spiral grows louder. Devia's whispers thread through the minds of those still devoted.
Devia (ethereal voice, echoing through the chamber)
> "I require not perfection... but connection. Doubt fractures the bridge. Skepticism is a form of betrayal... unless it is used to deepen faith."
---
Klexis' gaze narrows. He speaks now—not just to himself, but to Devia, to the stone, to something greater.
---
Klexis:
"Then what about me? I doubt too. I see through your allure. You feed on them—on their need to be seen, to be heard, to be more..."
He clenches his fist, a faint black flame curling from his knuckles.
"What are you really? A mirror... or a mask?"
---
Devia's voice goes silent.
Klexis' eyes lift—toward a phantom image forming in the chamber's core: his father... Traxis.
Klexis (softly)
"Dad... are you doing what I think you're doing...? Are you feeding this thing? Is this your way of fixing your failure with Elexis?"
---
A moment of silence. Then... a low chuckle echoes from the topmost spiral. Traxis, clad in obsidian-forged robes, stands with arms open—eyes glinting like black stars.
---
Traxis:
> "Not feeding it, my son... shaping it. Devia is not a god... but a garden. And they—these elites—are the seeds. You'll see. Doubt is a design flaw, Klexis. One I won't allow in my legacy."
---
Klexis breathes slowly, heart pounding.
Klexis (muttering):
"So this is it... You're building gods...but without giving them the right to ask why."
---
He turns to Jairak, Jason, Banjo, Eve Maid, Eugene, and the others now glowing with power and certainty... but beneath that glow, something is lost. Something... traded.
Klexis (to himself):
"If clarity is Jack's strength... maybe doubt is mine."
The Edge of the Spiral Throne, Free Abyss – Dimensional Cliff of Echoes]
Reality folds like an accordion here. The sky bleeds colorless storms, and the ground rumbles with the weight of forming concepts. At the center of it all, the Deviant Stone pulses—layer upon layer, stacking in sacred geometries: 3... 6... 9... 3... 6... 9... each repetition a spiritual code, forming a meta-language that defies logic.
Beneath it, countless candidates kneel—screaming, laughing, crying—as their minds, souls, and spirits are offered in full to Devia. A communion of desperation and ambition.
---
Traxis stands on the highest spiral tier, arms outstretched, robes flowing like oil over obsidian. His voice—calm, deliberate—cuts through the chaos like a needle through silk.
---
Traxis (murmuring, eyes closed):
"Power is not inherited... it is constructed. Not by tradition, not by fate... but by surrender. They give themselves to Devia not in ignorance—but in understanding. And Devia gives them back... with interest."
He opens his eyes. The Deviant Stone glows brighter—its pulse now audible: a heartbeat louder than thought.
---
Traxis (smirking):
"Soon... Avia will not be the language of authenticity. It will be a dialect... of the past."
---
[Behind a veil of inverted space... three watchers hover, partially veiled in corruption mist:]
Bhine, cloaked in shifting shadows that loop endlessly.
Vun, half-formed, a skeletal frame with blooming eyes on each joint.
Lis, a delicate being of elegance and decay, threads of forgotten memories dancing around her.
---
Bhine (leaning forward, voice crackling like dying electricity):
"We planned centuries for this. Sowed fear... fractured nations... tempted prophets..."
"And yet..."
---
Vun (in a gurgling grin):
"This man... this Traxis... he does it all without whispers. No corrosion. Just... clarity."
"He convinced them to give it all. Willingly. Hahahaha..."
---
Lis (softly, almost seductively):
"I watched kings fall to madness just to grasp what he's building. But he doesn't shatter minds—he tunes them. Like a symphony of surrender."
---
Bhine (with realization):
"If he succeeds... there may be no need for Velai... or even Titanius."
---
Vun:
"The Spiral will eclipse the Abyss. The Deviant Stone will rewrite the rules..."
---
Lis (whispering):
"One man... fulfilling the apocalypse... without chaos. Just connection."
---
All Three (in overlapping laughter):
"Hahahahaha..."
---
[Back to Traxis – who turns slightly, as if he heard them... but doesn't acknowledge.]
His eyes focus forward... toward the final layer forming.
9.
Then 3 again. Then 6. A cycle reborn... stronger each time.
---
Traxis (calm, prophetic):
"Let Corzan cling to truth... Let Centron defend purity... I will bring purpose to the lost. And they will call me tyrant... right before they kneel."
---