“Basil’s?” Diane asks, looking up at the sign.
“It’s a nice place—or so I’ve heard,” Hailey informs.
“It’s okay,” Diane says, shrugging. “I think I went here once when I was younger.”
“Ooh?” Hailey says, holding the door open for Diane. “Do tell.”
“We’re here for your explanations, not mine.” Diane rolls her eyes. She walks in, and Hailey follows after her.
“Reservation for Tartarus,” Hailey says to a person working the front desk. They nod and escort the two women to a table. Hailey sits down and drapes her coat—not one of lab, but of trench—over her seat. She’s wearing a long-sleeved black shirt. It’s almost a turtleneck, but not quite. She also wears light blue denim pants. Diane, on the other hand, is far more dressed up, wearing the phrase’s eponymous dress, though the clothing’s specifics are more varied than the abstract phrase—Diane wears a short-sleeved V-neck maxi dress, covered in floral orange print. The orange seems to confirm Cellhex-V3’s synesthetic association, Hailey thinks to herself.
“So, what exactly is this about Gabriel’s body?” Diane asks.
“Ahh, well. We need to get a bit of preliminary information before then, don’t we?” Hailey tilts her head with a smile.
“Right.” Diane nods.
“... Where I come from, there are nine Demiurges, each associated with a Fundamental Concept—the pillars that make up the world.” Hailey watches as Diane’s face instantly contorts into confusion. “There’s Realm, Arrow, Sense, Faith, Limit, Truth—”—she smiles especially wide as she lists that one—“—Unity, Cycle, and Force.”
“Is this a cult?” Diane asks, her brow furrowed.
“Sure,” Hailey says, then immediately continues speaking as Diane leans back, appearing to be about to leave. “That was a joke. It’s not a cult, though the... Truth may surprise you.”
“... Continue.” Diane places her elbow on the table, leaning her cheek on her palm.
“Hello, madames!” A cheery waiter walks up. “What can I get you started with?”
“Oh,” Hailey says, glancing over. She takes a peek at the menu. She squints for a moment then answers. “Could I get the penne alla vodka?”
“You’re paying, right?” Diane asks. Before Hailey answers, she continues. “The fettucini alfredo, please.”
“Sure. I have the money to spare.” Hailey sets her menu down, returning her gaze to Diane. “Now, if it’s not too hard to believe, I’m not from this universe at all.”
“You’re correct. That is hard to believe,” Diane delivers, deadpan.
“And yet, ‘tis the truth!” Hailey shrugs.
“Okay. Go on.”
“So,” Hailey says, grinning, “of these nine Fundamental Concepts, nine Demiurges were born, each allocated to one Concept. There’s the Realm Goddess, the Beast, 'I, You; You, I', the Throne, the Nine Centurions, Truth, Unity, Unending Tempest, and the Tetragrammaton.”
“Hold on,” Diane says, holding up a hand to stop Hailey. “Why are two of them the same as the Concepts? And do I need to know all these names?”
“Well, they took no name—though Unity split its power into Chaos and Order.” Hailey places her hand on her chin, directing her gaze to the corner of her current peripheral as she thought. “And I suppose not all this information is important. Merely keep Limit and the Nine Centurions in mind.” She returns her gaze to Diane, waving her hand as though dismissing her overexplanation.
“Sure,” Diane says.
“Now, the Visitor comes into play. It wanted to clone the Demiurges, and it did so, but it was unsuccessful in how it utilized them—before The Visitor could use the clones to overthrow the current Demiurges, they were found out by the Demiurges and mauled by the Realm Goddess in particular. However, because the Visitor gained Crowns of Defiance—”
“Hold on a second,” Diane says, pulling out her phone.
“Hm?” Hailey asks, tilting her head.
“Just a moment...” She types something, stares at her phone, and clicks her tongue. “Damn.”
“What is it?” Hailey asks, her interest piqued.
“Oh, I just needed to check you weren’t reciting Tolkien lore at me or something. I didn’t want to look like an idiot if it was some prank show or something that I was on.” Diane places her phone back in her pocket—it’s a miracle dresses like that have pockets nowadays, Hailey thinks to herself.
“Well, I can assure you there are no cameras. Aside from security ones, perhaps?” Hailey waves to the security cameras in the corner of the restaurant.
“A prank show told through security cam footage would be pretty daring. Avant-garde, I’d say,” Diane says.
“Now, if you’ll let me continue...?” Hailey asks, getting a nod in return. “Now, because the Visitor had earned its Crowns of Defiance, anything with a certain degree of relation to it could not be harmed—a fine enough percentage to not allow any children—BUT! The Visitor had imprinted its DNA upon the Demiurgic clones! So the Demiurges could not harm them.”
“Right...” Hailey watches as Diane’s brow furrows the more she talks.
“However, while they could not destroy the Demiurgic clones, they could separate them—into a flesh side, the Demihusk, and a divine side, the Spark,” Hailey says, gesturing as she speaks. “These Demihusks and Sparks were scattered across the world. Now, another issue has arisen. You see, a man named Louis has used a sword called the Black Rose to destroy all Nine of the Centurions, thus ridding this world of a Demiurge of Limit, causing the Endless Ocean, which sits below all things, to be consumed.”
“Is the Ocean a good thing?” Diane asks. Hailey pauses.
“I believe it is. It’s Endless, it contains all ideas and it is the birthplace from which all things spring.”
“Right,” Diane says. “I suppose that’s how it is in most creation myths.”
“So!” Hailey places her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her united palms. “After the destruction of the Ocean, my colleagues and I hatched a plan to put it back in place. We would find the Demihusk of Limit and the Spark of Limit and unite them, creating a new Demiurge that could govern the Ocean once more, returning everything to its rightful place.”
“And... Gabriel is related to this?” Diane asks.
“Certainly! One of the many Gabriels in the world is the Demihusk of Limit—though, considering he was still alive as of a year ago, and this incident in college had to have occurred...”
“Around ten years ago,” Diane states.
“Well, time is a fickle thing when it comes to universal conversion, but the point is that your Gabriel cannot be the Gabriel I’m looking for.” Hailey shrugs.
“Well... All of the things you just said sound extremely insane and if I was a better clinic receptionist, I should probably be tricking you to get institutionalized right now.” Diane pauses.
“Here’s your food!” The waiter, having returned while the two women weren’t looking, sets down two plates. Diane glances at hers but doesn’t touch it yet. She takes a deep breath. Hailey finds herself on the edge of her seat.
“But for a day or two, let’s say I believe you,” Diane says, and she takes a bite.