From Onyx to Obsidian

After the death and destruction of Doomsday, we arrive at a new beginning. Our story resumes with Mishara (Doctor Onyx's female counterpart) awaking to a shocking reality: he did not make it through the journey with her. She carries with her a newfound power, but with it newfound questions. Where did Doctor Onyx go? What happened? Where is she now?

The beauty of it all is that while Doctor Onyx has left her physically, he has not truly gone. She can not explain it, but she feels his presence surrounding her in the day, and she frequently sees him in her dreams. It is as if he has become a spirit guide and companion for her, and walks with her on the next steps along her journey.

There is a second surprise that has left her shocked, and that is as she looks at the world around her to see who has also made it through Doomsday, she sees the same groups of people as before. The rulers have not changed, the challengers have gotten stronger, and those who needed her help still need it. In her heart of hearts, she thought that the path before her would be easier after having gotten to this point. In reality,, her journey has only just begun. 

Mishara has taken Doctor's Onyx's name as her own (Arashim flipped backwards) to reflect her new reality. When she breathes in, she feels an additional light breathing with her. When she rests she feels a new sense of belonging within her that feels both present and timeless. She knows this is him walking with her along her path.

The task set before Mishara at first seems like a new one, yet upon reflection is so very familiar. To reconnect the world with its sources of power that will help it recover not only from Doomsday, but from the trials and travails it was facing before. 

There is a new surprise awaiting her as well: the world seems to have changed in one very noticeable way: the separation of the 13th group into nine smaller groups. The journey through Doomsday and the opportunities in the new world have caused the 13th to accelerate its plans to begin anew. 

There are those who still want to try to rule everyone with their own ideas of how to do so, those who want to face judgement for what they have done, those who only seek forgiveness and a chance to move on, and still more of the former group who have their own ideas and ambitions while just being thankful for making it through the darkest time humanity has ever faced.

It is a small miracle for humanity to have made it to this point. It is still more fascinating to see that somehow through the wall people have maintained their cultures, customs, and beliefs in name, though they still have a long way to go before feeling a strong connection to them.

With the people of the world now being bound to 21 groups instead of 12, they are also meeting a new part of reality almost as shocking as the one Mishara faces herself: it is as if each of these groups has their own overarching consciousness that they all connect with as she does with Arashim. 

They feel these presences with them, and when talking with members of other groups, they realize many of the characters visiting them in their own dreams are the guides for other groups.

It is as if the entire world is pushing all of humanity to connect and come together to create a new reality where all are one, with the distinctions and differences of the past being secondary to one larger mission to survive, thrive, and awaken something none of them remember - or perhaps it is something never seen before.

While Mishara is thrilled for everyone who has made it to this point, she realizes her connection with Doctor Onyx is something unique. Something special, even though she can not explain why. On her 7th day after reawakening, she makes a conscious decision to ask Arashim what he can tell her about it.

His response surprises her. He tells her that he can also feel a change within him, beyond his death. As if when he left the physical world, he left behind the gifts she now possesses from their travels, and has been filled with something new from realms beyond. He can not explain this change either, except that he feels stronger, with a greater control of his sadness, but a surprisingly reduced control of his rage.

He feels an anger at having not made it past Doomsday, but that is not what fuels this rage. Rather, he feels that he has been gifted with the ability to sense the world's feelings towards humanity and what it is doing, in a way he had never known or expected. He tells her when she refers to him she should let the Doctor Onyx name lie with history, but that the story they began together needs to go on. 

She decides to call him Doctor Obsidian, a change reflecting that though he is in many ways similar to who she knew before, he now has an edge, an anger, and a discerning eye that she had not known. This frightens her like all newness can do, but also excites her because she knows that wherever she goes from this point forward, he will be with her. She also knows that though he is gone in the physical, he is with her in the spiritual, and she is excited to discover where the next steps in their journey will take her.