The PacificBoard

"It was I who fabricated evidence about the Mantle, for I knew the Hri'Yaan would come. In truth, no nation wields the influence, power, and presence to assume the Mantle. The Collective remains its final holder. Your paranoia brought you to me." Apart from the glowing eyes, he looked & sounded like a normal human; in contrast to the Entity who was overly buffed up and had the voice of walls grinding together.

The Entity cocked his head to one side, "You speak the words of a mortal long dead.
What are you ?"
The man raised his chin. "Your karma." He brought his hands together, touching only the fingertips, thumbs pointing towards self. The bas relief began shifting again, but the hall remained the same. This shift seemed more mechanical and an original feature of the hall rather than the man's transmutations.
The curved rays sunk into the wall, and new ones appeared inside the sun's circumference, now lapping the ring within the sun circle. It came to a halt with a grounding click of the stones.

The new symbol wiped confidence off the Entity's face, more than anything else had.
"I consider you intelligent enough to understand the significance of this action. There is no turning back."
The man started moving forward, hands still joined. "I have the judgement of a Maelar.
With the patronage of Irā, Queen of the Gods, and through Suya, I place upon you, the Ruda'Cin."
He separated his hands, fingers still facing, and the great symbol began glowing. A deep vibration emanated from it, with a rapid pulsing of the air. The Hall seemed to grow dimmer and Krushā felt herself pulled by the bas relief.......it was drawing energy from around it.

For the first time since the other being had arrived, the Entity laughed. A genuine laugh full of satisfaction. He suddenly seemed more like a normal person. Jotir later told Krushā that was because it had dropped all resistance and hostile measures.
"You could never have been a mortal Anurvai. I'm genuinely glad to see your kind alive. The Hri'Yaan have considered you extinct since three Eras. Now we will fulfill that which nature couldn't. My fate is inconsequential. The One now knows about you. History.......shall repeat."

The man gave out a cry of anger and closed his fists. The symbol was almost hidden behind swirling energy now. The power emanating from it, unparalleled. A beam of pure energy as thick as the great bas relief hurled towards the Entity with blinding speed, and passed through it. It went down on one knee, not resisting, as particles of its body began to break apart & merge with the energy beam. It was dissolving into the stream.
Within seconds, only a vague human form was visible, eyes still glowing defiantly. The man was focused on the form, taking his hands further apart; increasing the intensity.
"Kirai Maelas."

An eye searing flash, and the Blackout Entity was finally no more, destroyed by one even more mysterious, and far eclipsing the best Arembian synthetics. The Hall was back to normal, still in its original Maelar design.
Jotir and Krushā were back together, even more alert than before.
The man faced them, a normal human, all display of power now gone. This was apparently the Synthetics' way of projecting peace.
"The Powers of Arembia are not what they seem to be. The ideologies that your world follows are hollow, hiding within themselves agendas that stretch back to the dawn of civilisation. The Blackout Entity was a product of this shadow world, a world for which I fight.
Krushā and Jotir, you have the choice to be my best allies or the worst enemies. The path is yours to choose. A conflict is coming and it is inescapable. To make this choice, I give to you, the history of your realm. The history ....... of the Eternal Collective."

He clasped his hands behind his back, and the world dissolved into a swirling darkness.