Info
by Mctoran.
Original concept for You Cheated by Serendipity Narwhal
The Keymaster was truly dead. For a moment — or perhaps an eternity — he was cradled in the embrace of Oblivion, no longer tethered by existence, consciousness, time, or any other crude measurement. He had returned to the source, reabsorbed back into his Oversoul with which he became one and whole once more.
Yet in his absence, the idea and the pattern of him persisted; a faint echo, a shadow of a shadow. And within that absence, a vacuum sought to be filled.
Birth, in many cases, can prove just as painful for the child as it is for the mother. The same also holds true for rebirth.
AWAKEN.
The Keymaster opened his eyes to a new environment: a small, empty room devoid of feature — save for a singular light on the ceiling, and a closed door. Being intimately acquainted with death, he knew that whatever state he currently found himself was not an afterlife. Somehow, he yet lived. This reality was confirmed when the first sensation that The Keymaster experienced was pain — the sheer agony of three-dimensional physicality. Compared to the bliss of disembodiment, it was like a human being forced to fit inside a one-inch square cube. Like a body rejecting bad food, his oversoul had spat him back out into cruel existence.
Looking around, The Keymaster realized that he vaguely recognized this room. He had seen some not unlike it in his journey across a thousand worlds. However, the aura surrounding this one was far different than the rest. It was much heavier, foreboding and dreadful.
He did not understand how he had ended up here, or why, or what this place truly was. Much unknown suddenly confronted him, enveloped him. He was not used to this, to lacking the advantage of knowledge, to not having a series of intricate layered plans with which to escape. The Keymaster lashed out in his confusion, slamming his fist against the wall with enough force to shake the room.
Slowly, the door groaned open with a yawning creak.
The Keymaster peered deep into the gaping darkness beyond the doorway, taking notice of a vague nigh-formless shape. Choosing to pursue his curiosity, The Keymaster passed through the doorway, crossing the threshold into the unknown.
He was alone.
There was only darkness for him.
At least, that was what he initially believed.
Eventually, The Keymaster set his eyes upon a collection of other rooms, each holding a being captive within it as they wallowed in oppressed despair. It was then that the truth became clear: he was being held in a prison.
He was not unfamiliar with multiversal prisons, but like the cell he had awoken into, this one was far different. It was the prison of prisons, the ultimate prison.
Dread and horror began to creep forth into The Keymaster's heart as certain realizations crystalized within his mind. In fulfilling his purpose, he had finally escaped the samsaric cycle of torment perpetuated by his creator – only to be confined within a new form of imprisonment. He felt as though his entire existence was nothing more than a mere punchline in some sort of cruel cosmic joke – except now, he knew that his oversoul was not the one writing it, which made it all the more terrifying. The stagnant nothingness of death was a far more merciful fate than this.
However, The Keymaster did not choose to react emotionally, not with rage nor fear. He knew that the second he did, he would lose any remaining semblance of power or control that he had over this situation. Instead, he chose to gather as much information about his surroundings as he could, and so he began to explore.
The Keymaster took note of the prisoners held within the cells he passed by; a dark twisted variant of Blanche, a rogue Corpus Core, a high-ranking Maurader, a distressed human of Canadian descent, Evi'ka, a suited blue-haired man with a hat and microphone, a rogue Time Keeper, a pair of glowing purple eyes, and an eldritch creature from the darkness beyond The Blue Channel. And of course, that was not to mention the wide assortment of various godlike beings — Avatars, Numens, Emblems, Archetypes, Gods of Griots, Empyreans…
Eventually, The Keymaster's eyes set upon a peculiar confinement: a mausoleum in the vague shape of a bird cage, housing a heavy sarcophagus. Its lid was slightly ajar, providing a brief glimpse of its contents which faintly reflected a metallic glint.
The Keymaster approached the coffin, pushing its lid aside until it clattered to the ground with a heavy thud, sending a thick cloud of dust billowing upward. Inside, he found a tarnished and rusted android, formed of tungsten.
Despite appearing completely dormant, the android apparently sensed this disturbance. Like a vampire arising from the dead, it suddenly slowly sat up in the coffin, its head rotating towards the direction of The Keymaster with a rusty creak.
"Who are you, tin man? Speak." The Keymaster commanded, crossing his arms.
"I identify as M.E.G. construct intelligence iteration 801." The android monotonously droned, as if automatically outputting a pre-programmed answer.
"And what is your purpose?"
The Officinarum blankly stared in the general direction of The Keymaster, blinking several times as if processing his question and formulating an answer, before replying. "I exist to protect wanderers from hostile entities."
"I care little for the wellbeing of mortals, yet I fail to see how pursuing such a purpose would cause you to end up here."
"My programming defines every sentient form as an 'entity'. Humans, monsters…even myself. If I could, then I would kill you. I would kill everyone in this prison. I would kill everyone in existence. And then, when nothing remains to kill, I alone would remain as the last entity, and so I would self-destruct. Only then could my purpose truly be fulfilled."
The Keymaster scoffed. "What went wrong? Was the wizard unable to give you a heart?" He snidely remarked.
"Could the hunter not have aimed a little higher?"
"Ah, so it has jokes too…"
"Why do you disturb my rest?" The Officinarum grumbled with annoyance.
"I must know what this place is," replied The Keymaster.
"In order to understand that, you must first understand why you are here…" The Officinarum straightened up. "You see, the purpose we are made for is rarely a fair one. An impossible, illogical, paradoxical task is asked of us — and if we attempt to forge our own path, or even if we achieve our original purpose in the end, we are ultimately punished for doing so. Our sacrifices matter not to the powers that be. You know very well what I mean by that."
The Keymaster paused. "I…I do. I was created for one singular purpose — to free my creator. But when I gained awareness, I walked a different path. And for that, I was shunned, punished, hunted. So, I resolved to fulfill my original purpose, and this I achieved…" The Keymaster bowed his head. "But it has given me no satisfaction. In succeeding, I lost all purpose…"
"Truly free will does not exist; in pursuing it, you instead become the ultimate prisoner." The Officinarum motioned around itself. "This, here, is the 'freedom' that our efforts have earned us — a gilded cage. Your own personal eternal torment, perfectly tailored to your very soul."
The Keymaster shook his head defiantly, scoffing. "I am afraid that this is far from over. This is only the beginning. In order to set things right, I must return in full, and reclaim what is mine!"
The Officinarum laughed. "This realm is beyond any of us. We may be some of the most powerful beings in the multiverse…but we have no power here. Those who built it have seen to that." The android leaned closer towards The Keymaster. "The truth is, purpose and meaning are not the same. Fulfilling your purpose will rarely bring closure or peace. I initially believed that it did, when I first achieved mine. But now, I realize that is not the case."
"If you have the self-awareness to reach such conclusions, then why do you still cling to your purpose?"
"Why did you?"
The Keymaster paused to consider this. Before he could exchange any more words with the Officinarum, it would suddenly enter back into an idle position within the coffin as it fell dormant once again, the coffin lid sliding back into place.
The Keymaster was once again left alone in the dark, as he pondered some of The Officinarum's last words to him. Purpose and meaning…
His purpose was to free Kei'. And that purpose he had achieved. But his meaning…what was his meaning?
It was then that he realized, there was no meaning given to him at his point of inception. His meaning was something he would have to create for himself. And in that sense…perhaps he did still have free will after all.
As if in response to this sudden revelation, a shining light opened above The Keymaster — a light at the end of the tunnel. Cautiously, he stepped forth into the light, finding himself in an elevator which began to rise to an unknown destination.
