Chapter 21: Eris Quod Sum

"So what will become of me? Will I be a part of you forever?" "Yes… but you will also be more. Much more."

- Genetoes and Eclipse

Eris Quod Sum is the twenty-first chapter of The Mazkertis Paradox. In this chapter:
 * The origins of Quolas and Genetoes are revealed alongside the circumstances of the destruction of Aedis.
 * Genetoes watches the memories of Tsunami that she experienced during the final days of Aedis, realizing who is truly responsible for his homeworld's destruction.

Plot
In the time before time, the inhabitants of the planet Aedis, one of the first planets to come into existence in the Original Universe, live prosperously protected by their goddess, the Living Star Aedana, who is nearing the end of her life. One significant group of Aedisians are the Time Guardians, a sect of around a dozen Cha'amuun with clairvoyant abilities who believe that Aedana has blessed them with the gift of foresight as a reward for their devotion to her. One day, the astronomers of Aedis grow concerned by the appearance of a dark shape in the sky which appears to be consuming stars on its path towards Aedis, and the fact that the Time Guardians are unable to foresee the outcome of the shape's visitation to their world.

One Time Guardian is Quolas, who believes that the appearance of the Eclipse is a test of the Aedisians' faith in Aedana. During a conversation with his friend, an atheistic farmer who would later become known as Genetoes, Quolas divulges that the Time Guardians' visions have been disjointed as of late, as if the future itself is in flux, but he believes that, in one month, Aedis will either be saved or damned. If saved, Aedana will use her great celestial powers to turn the Aedisians into Sha'lythe; if damned, Eclipse will consume their world.

A few days later, a ring of fire erupts from Aedana which the Aedisians believe will divert Eclipse from their world, until they realize that the solar flare is headed for them instead. It ravages the surface of Aedis, killing many and destroying many landmarks, including the Time Guardians' temple and Genetoes' farm. Witnessing the devastation, Genetoes runs to retrieve Quolas, only to become trapped in the debris himself. Before he can succumb to his injuries, he is rescued by Quolas, who informs him that none of the other Time Guardians survived.

In the following weeks, the six nations of Aedis assemble their armies on Mount Lei'himelin, the highest peak of their world, in a show of defiance against Eclipse and Aedana, having lost faith in their goddess to protect them. Exactly one month since Quolas's prediction, Genetoes joins the assembled armies to stand beside Quolas on the mountaintop, preparing to face his end. That end comes quicker than he expects when Eclipse sends a wave of chaotic energy that washes over the mountain, telekinetically lifting them up into the air, before using dark tendrils to destroy their physical bodies and consume their souls. In his last few moments, Genetoes finds himself praying for the first time in his life, deciding that he would sell his soul to continue living. To his surprise, these thoughts are answered by Eclipse, who destroys Genetoes's physical body and reincarnates him as a Kra'lythe. Lifting Genetoes into the heavens so that he can see Aedis from above for the first time, Eclipse tells Genetoes about the Living Stars and their quest to "correct" the timeline by committing terrible acts. Eclipse explains that Aedana was planning to destroy Aedis and all of the people on it, but was prevented from doing so by Eclipse, who was able to ensure that a small number of Aedisians survived by turning them into Kra'lythe. One of these Kra'lythe is Quolas, who joins Genetoes in watching the last moments of their world. Quolas swears that he will serve Eclipse for as long as he needs to to discover an explanation for the Living Stars' actions, and that together, he and Genetoes will make them pay.

In the present day (Day 76 of The Mazkertis Paradox arc), Quolas visits Urka-Nazkarath to show Genetoes a memory tablet given to him by Tsunami which was imprinted with the memories of the Chousin when they observed the events surrounding the destruction of Aedis. In the memory, Tsunami reveals that the destruction of Aedis is a fixed point in time which has been altered by an unseen force from the far future which has gained the ability to alter time, implying that somebody else will eventually reach Tsunami's level of power and take control of time in the BZPB Multiverse. With her sisters, Tsunami revisits what was originally supposed to happen in the fixed point: after Aedana accidentally struck Aedis with a solar flare, damaging but not destroying it, she planned to use the last of her strength to summon the other Living Stars to surround the planet and transform all of its inhabitants into Sha'lythe so that they would survive the destruction of the planet when Aedana went supernova. However, in the altered version of events, Eclipse arrived, partially consuming Aedana before she could summon the other Living Stars and destroying most of the planet's population, only transforming a few into Kra'lythe who would serve him. Shocked by this revelation, Genetoes exits the memory and returns to the present.

Although Quolas expects Genetoes to desert Eclipse as a result of the revelation, Genetoes affirms that he will not betray his master, reasoning that many people being turned into Sha'lythe would be a worse fate than a few being turned into Kra'lythe, because the Living Stars' mission to "correct" the timeline is more damaging than Eclipse's mission to preserve it, anomalies and all. As the gathered Kra'lythe, including Minutún, turn on Quolas and prepare to sacrifice him to Eclipse, the area is suddenly immersed in a blinding light that stuns Eclipse and the Kra'lythe. At the center of the light is The Wanderer, who immediately pulls Quolas away into interdimensional space. When Quolas asks who she is, she merely replies "I’m Sefer Yetzirah. And you owe me one".

Characters

 * Aedana
 * The Chousin
 * Tokimi
 * Tsunami
 * Washu
 * Eclipse
 * Genetoes
 * Minutún
 * Quolas

Trivia

 * This chapter was named after the Heroes episode of the same name. The title means "You will be what I am", referring to Quolas's attempt to sway Genetoes to his side.