Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 2,820,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:

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(Previous Part)

(Part 001)

Far-Future Era. Day 21, AJR. Inside the Hall of Heroes.

Another several months had passed for the denizens living within the Hall of Heroes. In that time period, something remarkable had happened. The outside world had undergone a major upheaval, one which played out in slow motion for Levi, Mandy, and Blake, along with everyone else living inside the secret realm.

The humans, demons, and Volgrim had been forced to work together! This was not a casual partnership, but a deep one borne of extreme urgency.

The Archangels had revealed their betrayal, and Barbatos had made it known how deep Raphael's treachery went.

As such, the people inside the Hall of Heroes now faced a difficult decision.

It was inside an ornate ceremonial hall Solomon had personally built that a group of people had clustered together in anticipation of a formal ceremony. The Hall of Riches was gaudy like every other thing Solomon built, riddled with tacky diamond-studded statues, vases, an organ for playing music, and many chandeliers and candelabras; all colored gold, of course. The room flickered with firelight, but the natural bright white glow of the Hall of Heroes was omnipresent enough to drown out the firelight.

"Young Levi." Hammurabi said, standing beside three of the most senior-ranking Trueborn Ancestors, including Jepthath, Arthur, and Elizabeth Kindelmann. "With your father's passing, you are now the oldest living Trueborn in the Milky Way. In the past, there was only ever one Trueborn, but now that there are multiple, we Ancestors believe that you should be the one to make decisions on all our behalf's."

Levi stood across from the five Trueborn ancestors, a ceremonial altar placed between them. On his right stood his sister, Mandy, and on his left stood his younger brother, Blake. Curiously, much further off to the left there was another individual standing, one whose cold and 90%-robotic body was somewhat unnerving to look at, yet she was also someone who was always polite and never overbearing. She was the Celestial Designer, Psymin Miralax.

"Thank you for your vote of confidence." Levi said, dipping his head politely toward Hammurabi. "I don't know if I'm the right person for the job, though. Just because I'm the oldest of my siblings doesn't mean I'm the best person to be our leader."

Levi had spent another 20 realspace days inside the Hall of Heroes. At a dilation ratio of 100-to-1, that meant about another 2,000 HoH-days, or about five and a half years. He was now 55 years old. His sister was 35, and Blake was 21.

"If we were to choose based on who we thought would be the best strategist, we would probably pick Mandy." Hammurabi said, smiling at the younger woman. "But Mandy is a very busy woman. Every day, she advances her Runecrafting abilities by leaps and bounds. She should spend as much time as possible working on scraping together every single advantage humanity can get in the coming years. Naturally, Blake is quite young and not the ideal candidate to become leader of the Hall of Heroes, but more importantly, he is constantly working to improve his affinity to light and dark magic. Compared to your two siblings, you are... less occupied."

Neither of Hope's children looked offended by Hammurabi's words. He was only speaking the truth. Levi mostly just trained his body every day, fighting powerful machines made by Psymin which his sister empowered with her Runic Arcs, and training alongside Blake to help him become a more capable fighter. But outside that, Levi didn't have many hobbies.

"...Alright. Fine, I'll accept the position. But I'm going to need to rely on the rest of you." Levi said blandly. "I'm not much of a... book-smarts guy."

"We will offer our counsel, but always defer the final decision to you." Hammurabi said.

In unison, he and the other ancestors formally bowed to Levi.

"We recognize the presence of the new Lord of Heroes, Levi Hiro." Hammurabi said, crossing his hand over his heart. He raised his head back up and smiled. "It's not much of a ritual, but who gives a damn about such matters anyway? It's only us here."

Levi chuckled. He didn't really care about formality. He took after his father in that way.

Blake also laughed, then lightly socked Levi's arm. Levi playfully punched him back. Mandy rolled her eyes at their antics.

After a few moments, Hammurabi's expression became solemn again.

"The reason I invited you three here, as well as Psymin Miralax, is because we have an important decision to make, and I want you to make it, Levi. As we speak, the Founders have suspended all hostilities with humanity, and so have the demons. With these new revelations regarding Archangel Raphael and his plot to seize the Milky Way, we must claw at every possible resource at our disposal. We no longer have Wordsmiths who can 'magic up' powerful artifacts and raw materials at will."

Levi cocked his head. "I'm not quite following."

"Wait, Hammurabi..." Blake said, his eyebrows raising as he glanced at Psymin and seemed to realize why she was invited. "Are you saying... we need to pull the Technopaths my dad captured out of cryostasis?"

Psymin Miralax's expression did not change. She looked at Blake, then she looked at Hammurabi, waiting for confirmation.

The ancient ancestor, now considered the wisest person in the Hall of Heroes after Solomon's death, simply closed his eyes and bobbed his head.

"You've guessed correctly, young Blake. I was once in support of your father's actions, but after the atrocities he committed and his execution of my pupil, Solomon, as well as that kind-hearted Jeremiah fellow, I have begun to look back on his decisions with a more critical eye. I no longer believe the attack on Serris and the subsequent destruction of the planet was a wise choice. Thankfully, he did not actually take any lives. He placed all the Technopaths and other entities from Serris in stasis within the Hall of Heroes. And that now gives us a unique opportunity."

Arthur stepped forward. "We Ancestors have unanimously come to an agreement. We believe it would be wise to discreetly inform Unarin that his Technopath researchers are safe with us. We then wish to transport them to the Phoenix's Cube in a few months, once she absorbs the Sharmur system. Those Technopaths will supercharge humanity's engineering and allow us to create weapons of war much more quickly and efficiently than we could ever do with our own limited manpower and knowledge. Additionally, it will help mend relations with the Volgrim Empire."

Levi's smile slowly turned to a frown. "You want to make amends with them? That's ridiculous! The Volgrim attacked Tarus II! They destroyed it! They killed millions of humans! They even killed uncle Jason!"

Mandy nodded. "I agree. This decision is a fine tactical decision, but it's the Volgrim who should be making amends with us, not the other way around. They owe us reparations for all the atrocities they've committed."

"That was then, and this is now." Hammurabi said slowly. "The Total Rendition of Tarus II was a war crime without a doubt. It was abominable. But we are facing extinction. Not just humanity, but the demons, the Volgrim, and all the monster species scattered across the Milky Way."

Elizabeth Kindelmann intervened. "If I may? I believe Mandy makes a fair point. The Volgrim do owe us reparations, and that's exactly what we're going to get. However, from Unarin's perspective, he may have guessed, but could not have definitively known, that Hope had only pretended to kill all the Volgrim on Serris. If Hope truly did kill them, then that could be seen as a preemptive strike and a sign of things to come. Let's not forget that Hope then went to Volgarius to attack Unarin directly. These signs, among others, point to an unstable element that, at the time, threatened Volgarius. From Unarin's perspective, we attacked first, and he retaliated."

"We are going to obtain reparations." Hammurabi said, turning his head to smile and nod at Elizabeth approvingly before turning back to Levi and the rest. "By making these Technopaths serve us, we will put them to work and make them useful. Of course, this is only if you approve, Lord Levi. If not, we can leave them as they are. I simply believe in this critical time, we need to use every resource we have at our disposal."

Levi's frown deepened. His father might not be looked upon favorably by the Ancestors anymore, and for good reason, but as Hope's oldest son, Levi felt it was disrespectful of his father's memory to simply release all those Technopaths Hope had deliberately imprisoned. After all, those Technopaths had committed terrible sins, testing on human subjects and torturing countless human clones to death all for the sake of their Cleansed Mud project, among others.

Mandy, likewise, was able to put aside her feelings and rationally decide that it was a good course of action, but she didn't like the thought of letting them go either. It felt disrespectful to her father's memory, and it made her visibly uncomfortable.

It was at this moment of uncertainty that Blake spoke up.

"I think it's a good idea."

Immediately, Levi and Mandy turned their heads to look at their brother. Now twenty-one years old, he was a young adult, not the immature kid from just a few years before. The death of his father and abrupt disappearance of his mother had traumatized him and forced him to grow up. There was an unmistakable darkness in his eyes, but also a gleam of light. He straddled the line between both states, vowing to become a valiant warrior like his father once was, and like King Arthur himself. At the same time, he struggled with the pain of losing his parents before he had even become an adult. No child could endure something like that without suffering mental scars...

"You do?" Levi probed, testing his brother's conviction.

"I do." Levi said. "Aren't you guys sick of it all? This constant fighting? These endless wars? Our dad died because Jason killed him. Jason killed him because dad attacked him. Dad attacked Jason because he was fucked up in the head. And he was fucked up in the head because of Gressil's torture! If you keep following the string of events, it's just one person treating another person like shit, over and over again, with no end in sight!"

Blake lifted his chin. "I want to put an end to the cycle of violence. I want to choose forgiveness. We can't stop the coming war. We can't just ask the Archangels to play nice. But we can forgive the Technopaths and set an example for them. We can show them that despite their crimes against humanity, we're willing to give them a pass, just this one time, provided they agree to change their ways."

The light flickered in Blake's eyes, momentarily replaced with a simmering darkness.

"And if they refuse to play along? If they repeat their past actions and return to their vile ways? There will be no further forgiveness. We'll execute them all, deservedly this time. This is fair. This is just."

Levi stared at the side of his younger brother's face. He was surprised by what he saw. Levi wasn't much of a high-minded idealist. He wasn't stupid, but he also wasn't much of a thinker. He liked to beat the shit out of other entities with his fists. That was the main reason why he thought becoming the 'Lord of Heroes' wasn't right. He didn't feel cut out for the job.

But in that moment, listening to Blake's words, Levi felt that maybe, in time, the Hall of Heroes would have a better Lord of Heroes. That time wasn't now; it couldn't be now. But in the future, when Blake was older and the Ancestors looked upon him more favorably, who could say? Maybe Levi would be able to pass off his duties and go back to his punching bags, free of the burden of leadership.

After mulling it over for a few moments, Levi turned back to Hammurabi and nodded. "Alright. Blake convinced me. Let's contact Unarin and inform him that we had all the Technopath researchers from Serris, and that we will be deploying them inside the Cube. Of course, we'll keep a relatively small number here inside the Hall of Heroes, if only to support our own needs for high technology."

For the first time, Psymin Miralax spoke. As always, her words were slow, halting, and robotic.

"I will not stay. I will go. The Cube. Along with the others. Celestial Designer. My knowledge. Put to better use."

Levi felt a little hesitant about that, but he decided to relent. "...Very well. Assuming all goes well and the Phoenix successfully transplants Sharmur and maybe Pixiv inside the Cube, I'll initiate transportation between the Hall of Heroes and the Cube."

He turned to Jepthath. "Great Illuminator. Please begin informing Unarin of our intentions. Let him know what we've discussed here, and relay his words back to us. Mandy, spin up the teleportation platform to send one of the Legionnaires over to Volgarius. We need to get this done as quickly as possible."

"That is inadvisable." Jepthath quickly interrupted. "We must not take any chances of Raphael learning that we have a Celestial Designer and several million high ranking Technopaths at our disposal. We should use a slightly slower but safer method of communication with the First Founder."

"What method?" Mandy asked.

"Leave the details to me." Jepthath said. "I will contact a third party and have them transmit the relevant information to Unarin in a way Archangel Raphael cannot possibly intercept. If we teleport a Legionnaire to Volgarius directly, we may inadvertently reveal knowledge of our intentions, assuming Raphael has a way to spy on the Volgrim Founders."

This was a logical decision. After all, Jason had spied on the Volgrim with his Spynet, and Hope had done so as well, albeit a bit less effectively, due to his much more limited Wordsmithing abilities. For an old schemer like Raphael, spying on the Founders would be a smart thing to do. The only question was whether or not he had the capability, and that was something only he knew.

With this decision complete, the Ancestors finally departed, leaving the three siblings alone inside the meeting room. Well, mostly alone, except Psymin also stayed behind.

The Celestial Designer casually walked over to Blake. She scanned him with her irises, directing the same deadpan stare at him that she always used.

"Your words. Created a wave. My appreciation. Limitless. You have a good heart. An old friend. You remind me of him. Passed away. Long ago."

Blake looked at Psymin in surprise. Despite her cold and harsh robotic tone, he had spent several years around her, and had gotten to know her decently well. She was not usually this chatty, and typically kept to herself.

"Well... I just think it's the right thing to do." Blake said after a moment of thought. "If nobody breaks the cycle of violence, then it will continue on and on, forever, without end. I just want to see an end to the Milky Way's constant wars, even if that's a childish dream."

Psymin glanced at Levi. Then her eyes lowered back to Blake, who was a little shorter than his dragon-blooded brother.

"Your words. Like Unarin." Psymin said slowly. "Young. But much wisdom. Pacified the Ancient Volgrim Leaders. Those were his methods. Similar sentiments."

Psymin turned her head to the side thoughtfully.

"Politics. Diplomacy. Scheming. Tricks. I am not adept. Creation. Building. Tinkering. I am adept. I enjoy. My body. Pained. My mind. Sharp. Every day. I am tortured. This metal body. Like barbed shackles. Still I persist. Because I must. Because it is my duty."

She returned her vision to the trio of siblings.

"I am glad. Many friends. I wish to see them again. I feared. Never would see again. My position. Lofty. Lonesome at the top. Few understand. Few can comprehend. Many look up to me. Few meet my gaze. Even fewer remain."

Blake's eyes softened. "You're... lonely?"

"My condition. Not severe. Not acute." Psymin said. "The pain. Always there. Faint. Unmistakable. My age. Ancient. My friends. Once numerous. Now barely countable. Most dead."

Her tone conveyed no emotion, but her words certainly did. Levi and Mandy both gazed at Psymin in a new light. She might seem like an unfeeling robot, but it was clear that in spite of her roboticization, there was still a thinking, feeling entity hidden deep within. Unable to emote anymore. Unable to express her sorrow. Someone whose inner self had been slowly stripped away over millions of years until she had been literally turned into a shell of a Sentient.

Psymin had silently been dealing with the pain of wondering whether the few people she considered her friends, those who had been working on Serris, would be trapped in stasis forever. Now, thanks to Blake's plea for mercy, they were going to be released.

She was unable to properly express how happy this development made her feel. But Blake understood. Levi understood. And so did Mandy.

After all, they were human. They could easily empathize.

Blake swallowed heavily. He lowered his eyes.

"I'm... sorry my father put your friends in stasis. If I had known how badly it was making you feel, I'd have pushed to release them sooner."

"No." Psymin said. "Apology unnecessary. The timing. Not right. The timing now. Right. Allies before. Unlikely. Allies now. Possible. What I wish to see. You have made happen. I am thankful."

For some reason, Blake started to tear up. Despite her monotone voice, despite her lack of any emotional body language, Blake still felt deep pangs of sympathy welling up within himself. He took a step toward Psymin, uncertain. Then, purely on instinct, he walked toward her and outstretched his arms.

"If... if you want..." Blake said carefully. "I'd like to be your friend, Psymin. I also... really feel... like hugging you right now. But uh, that's probably, uh, weird to you. Never mind."

He started to lower his arms. But before he could fully lower them, Psymin looked directly into his eyes. Her robotic pupils whirred and clicked.

After the briefest of instants, Psymin also stepped toward him. She clumsily lifted her own arms, and took him into her embrace. Mandy and Levi's jaws fell slightly agape as they observed this interaction.

For some reason, they almost felt as if... Blake had just adopted a dog? It wasn't exactly the right feeling, but even despite Psymin's clumsy and robotic movements, it was still incredibly sweet the way Blake and her hugged one another.

The two of them were roughly the same height. They fit into each other's arms perfectly, though to Blake, it felt as if he were hugging a refrigerator. He stifled a sob and a giggle at that absurd thought, then lightly patted Psymin's hardened alloy backside.

The two hugged for several long seconds before pulling apart. Blake quickly wiped his eyes and smiled at Psymin, but her expression remained the same.

He didn't resent her for not showing emotion. If anything, it only made him feel worse. He could feel the sincerity in her movements from that single hug. He swore he could sense her loneliness and desolation.

Blake was young, even by human standards. He could not fathom Psymin's age, or what she had gone through over millions of years of life. She was around the same age as Unarin and Dosena, and had existed during those ancient Great Wars, along with many other Volgrim.

He truly felt it was a shame. Why had she slowly lost her sentient traits? Her love and compassion? Her emotions? Why had she, when Unarin and the other Founders had not? What had forced her to adopt this cold, mechanical shell of a body?

He wanted to ask, but deemed the questions inappropriate, and wisely chose to save them for a later time, when the two were closer than they were now.

"I'm glad to be your friend, Psymin." Blake said, smiling while rubbing the tears out of his eyes in embarrassment. "Sorry for getting all emotional."

"No. Your emotions are fine." Psymin said. "I am unable. You must express. In my absence. Of course. Our current friendship. Shallow. But over time. Deepen?"

"Yeah! Definitely." Blake said, smiling at her even more brightly while looking back at his brother and sister. "What are you two waiting for? I'm sure she'd love to have you guys as friends too!"

Levi chuckled. He wasn't the emotional type, but even he felt touched by Blake's earnest attitude. As for Mandy, she thought this new development was an unexpected but welcome surprise. She and Levi walked over and gave Psymin a hug as well.

The relationship between Hope's children and one of the last Celestial Designers had deepened considerably. Only time would tell how well their friendship would flourish.

Naturally, they were not Psymin's 'equal' in most ways, but they had wordlessly agreed to treat her as one, not looking up to or down at her. They would not treat her as an unknowable ancient entity, unfeeling and uncaring, but as a person with thoughts and feelings who needed emotional support even when it seemed she was perfectly fine.

Like this, a subtle but important change occurred inside the Hall of Heroes. It was one nobody in the outside world knew of, and few would understand the significance of...