DIVA: Suspended Radiance

[deucexm]

A short one-shot, that bridges a gap between two untold stories.
(This sort of thing happens a lot, I'm afraid.)

As a lot of my work seems to be emotionally driven these days, I 
suppose it's only fair to mention this one was at least partially 
prompted by the feelings of waiting for retirement, in a line of work 
incompatible with my core self, but one which I am effectively unable 
to leave until /it/ is done with /me/, rather than the opposite.

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Suspended Radiance: A DiVerse Alpha Chronicle
by Felix

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Luel Lightforge had thought upon his situation for a long time.  That
in itself was fine; he had nothing but time.  The situation wasn't
particularly great, though.

He was imprisoned, and had been for... well, a very long time; in a
cell that was specifically crafted for him.  A plain block of
composite material, out of which had been carved a hollow sphere at
most two meters in diameter, if that.  They'd fought him to
exhaustion, then thrown him in here and sealed the block as tightly as
they could.

No food, no water, no air.  None of that was a problem; it never had
been, thanks to the Radiant Constructor Mandala he had been gifted to
replace his heart, cruelly ripped out ages ago.  But without external
light to subsist on, his internal light had slowly dwindled during his
confinement.  The RCM was limitless, at least in theory; but Luel
worried that he was stretching it far beyond what it had been made
for.

He was confused, at first, when no one came to speak to him - even for
an interrogation - as time stretched on and on without a single
interruption to the monotony.  On reflection, though, it made sense in
a twisted sort of way; to an Imperial, perhaps.  To his captors.  If
they had no other method of dealing with him, keeping him under
complete restraint was the only option until they developed a new
method.  Or perhaps they would be content to simply wait until the RCM
was completely exhausted, and Luel himself was just... gone.

The thought was not a comforting one.  But then, Luel wasn't
particularly used to comfort, physical or otherwise; and so as time
continued to pass with no contact with the outside world, he retreated
into himself - into the Mandala - and waited.

All functions, suspended.

The Mandala was the whole of his being, defining him, embracing him;
and in its limitless core, with nothing but the barest motes of light
circling in their steady, patient orbits, the entity known to all else
as Luel Lightforge meditated upon the nature of all things - and
waited.

Time slowed to an infinitesimal crawl.

Within the two-meter sphere, a tiny universe - full and complete in
itself - continued on, defiant in its quiet existence.