Chapter 205

Arc 17 - Shadowy World - Part 15

New Orleans - USA:

In front of (late), Eddie's childhood home, a helicopter was stationed. And on the doorsteps of his house, the King of Britannia sat alongside his sister, Violet.

Violet sniffed as she cleared the tears coming down her face.

"Right," she sucked in a deep breath as she looked at Ishaya Bradley. "Was it really wise to have a chopper land in front of our house? Hard to keep something hidden now, eh?"

"I can make people look the other way around," he said with a faint evil smile pasted on his face. "Money can do amazing things."

"..." she stared at him blankly.

"It's an invisible aircraft, a new model of it," King Arthur said in an exasperated tone, and Ishaya clicked his tongue silently. "Anyway, can you tell us what happened?"

Violet looked at the ruler of Britannia and then sighed.

"Let's just go inside, I would rather not have anyone thinking suspiciously of us."

"That sounds like a great suggestion."

"Ah, but…" she glanced down as she forced a bitter smile on her face. "My parents are still having it rough, after all, it was just days ago, so…"

"Mm, I understand," King Arthur nodded.

They entered the house and sat in the living room.

Ishaya looked around, not overly impressed with his surroundings.

He had assumed that Eddie would have used his powers for his own benefits in some ways, but it seems that wasn't the case.

“Now then…”

And so, Violet continued to retell the last days of the entity known as Norse God.

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

Days ago, in the Outox Empire space:

On the blue sun of this solar system, a being of energy was laying down.

He was unaffected by the heat and radiation given off by this blue star.

Like a robot, this energy being rose to its feet.

“I am Norse God,” it spoke in the language of the universe, in the tongue of the energy. “And who are you?”

In front of this energy God, a muscular man with pale skin floated with his arms folded on his chest.

His red cap flapped in the burning fire of this star.

This energy god looked at this man from top to bottom and instinctively took a step back.

It felt as if this entity would swallow him whole.

The pale-skinned man’s ice-cold expression softened slightly as he stated his name, “Soar.”

He landed on the surface of the sun and unfolded his arms, “I mean you no harm, friend.”

But the energy entity felt like it was suffocating.

“You are in pain,” Soar extended his hand to this entity, “let me help you.”

But Norse God took another step, and another, and then another before it flickered out of this place and went to another, so far from here.

Huh…

It wondered, was it always capable of teleporting?

But the thoughts of this godling vanished as it sensed that it was no longer in the same spatial plane as it was earlier.

All around it, it could see nothing but neon lights in a dimly coloured universe.

And far from it, a sight of a warrior clad in shiny black armour.

However, all of a sudden, the warrior blinked out and appeared in front of this godling.

It did not sense a rift open around it, so it assumed that this warrior crossed many light-years in an instant with sheer speed.

The godling was impressed.

“You entered Chochica Space without clearance, so it can only mean anything…”

An evil aura appeared around this warrior.

“You have chosen to die.”

“I am Norse God,” it repeated the words it spoke to Soar earlier. “And I want to live.”

“...”

Afshahan knew who Norse God was, but it did not know who this entity before him now was.

Their energy signatures matched, so he clicked his tongue.

“I can’t kill you,” he muttered to himself. “Welp, time to leave then.”

And so, with a touch, the godling was forcefully thrown out of Afshahan’s domain and back into the normal universe.

Flying uncontrollably across the unknown space, Norse God crashed against the surface of a nearby star, causing it to go supernova.

Despite not knowing that the system was empty, it did not care.

The humanity that Norse God once had was long gone.

“I am Norse God, and I want to live,” it repeated its words slowly.

The momentum from Afshahan’s push hadn’t reduced and Norse God flew through a few planets.

It only came to a stop once it crashed against a neutron star.

If Norse God had its previous humanoid body, the crash would have proved fatal to him, but today, it was different.

Today, it was energy.

But whatever Afshahan did to it, the energy had hardened. Norse God was still a being of energy, but the energy could be touched and can touch others.

It was odd, but the godling did not care.

“I am Norse God, and I want to live.”

The godling had access to the magic and knowledge of the Gods, beings far beyond the comprehension of humanity.

“Oh.”

As an entity that was no longer held back by its humanity, it lacked the same restrictions as its human self.

“O’ Mimir, I have needs of your knowledge.”

With a flavourful explosion of knowledge, the entity knew everything this fictional God did.

And it found its answer, someone answered its cry for help and gave it the chance to survive against the storm it is facing right now.

So, it flew away from the neutron star and towards a random direction.

လလလ

Across the vast galaxies, an odd figure was seen flying in random directions, yet no one questioned this individual.

After all, seeing a sight like this was rather normal for these aliens.

However, they should have taken drastic actions against this odd flying star. Because it was not flying around randomly, it was creating a magical circle in the dark space.

A constellation of stars formed, creating one of the largest magical circles in the known universe.

Once the circle was completed, Val’Ikryn gasped, “Oh, Edward, what will you do now?”

And across the cosmos, others began to take notice of this magic circle they had never seen before.

At the edge of the universe, Reaper felt the natural laws of the universe being messed with, it almost had an effect on his powers, and he did not like that.

On Chias of Chochica Empire, Baros recognised the spell from ancient forbidden texts.

“「The Endless」?!”

On the planet of the villains, Jabalot Empire, the king of Vanaha Empire’s divine senses tingled as he noticed the changes in the cosmos.

“What--?”

Afshahan hummed with a smile, “Oh, this is going to be fun, ha.”

Beyond the normal universe, in a space far above it, Vilramore asked its superior, 『The spell threatens the entire universe, do you want to me to stop it?』.

『No,』Vilramore’s superior, Daya, replied almost instantly. 『I want to see how this plays out.』

『As you wish, my lord.』

『What will you do now…』

လလလ

In the middle of Andromeda Galaxy, next to the neutron star, like a God, an energy figure spread its arms widely.

Norse God released a faint smoky energy which travelled across the vast galaxies and powered up the magical circle.

“I am Norse God… and I WANT TO LIVE!”

The screams of this godling shook the nearby stars.

And now…

The godling focused his scream and energies onto this neutron star. The overwhelming power of this energy beings caused the neutron star to explode.

The energy unleashed by the exploding star would have at the very least, wiped the galaxy out of existence, if not more, but this godling stood in its way.

It used itself as a battery and absorbed the power of an exploding star.

However, even for a godling, the energy began to prove too much.

But he did not have to contain it, he merely had to redistribute it across the stars in a precise manner.

The smoky trail he had unleashed earlier carried the energies unleashed by the neutron star and powered up the constellation which formed a magic circle.

The stars began to shine, brighter than ever.

“Stop!”

Soar, the hero out of time, flew across the galaxy and finally found him.

“You must terminate this ritual at once, or you will bring about the death of countless worlds, people!”

“I am Norse God, and I want to live.”

“The spell you are powering up… It trades the life of the universe for one person.”

“I am Norse God, and I want to live.”

“Cease this madness at once, Norse God.”

“But… I cannot.”

Beneath the lifeless voice, Soar could feel the agony in its voice.

“I must live.”

“But of course,” Soar spoke in a sympathetic tone. “Everyone wants to live, after all, we all fear death. But the life you want… It will be full of guilt. A life without companions. Can you live a life like that?”

“I must live.”

“And for what? Is it worth sacrificing an entire universe for? Time and space will fall to your madness, countless lives lost, and you… You will not be able to sustain your mind, you will become an even madder entity.”

“...”

Norse God continued to power up the constellation.

“I am Norse God, and I want to live.”

“Then let me ask you this…” Soar narrowed his eyes. “Are you ready to sacrifice trillions of lives?”

“...Yes.”

Soar widened his eyes slightly.

“I was mistaken about you, he spoke so highly of you, but alas…” Soar clenched his fist. “I must do what I can to put an end to your villainous charade. The universe shall not suffer for your selfish dream.”

“I am Norse God, and I want to live.”

“Then so be it.”

And so, the hero out of time shot himself towards the godling.

The hero who had lost his way did not react, it merely continued to power up the constellation for prolonging its short life.

Soar swung his right hand, about to slam it into the face of this godling, but something happened.

The two of them heard a sound that could resemble vibrations. As the loud sound, similar to vibrations, hit them, they were knocked back.

From the corner of their eyes, the two saw that the constellation had vanished, it was as if it was never there to begin with.

“What…?!” with wide eyes, Soar asked but there was no answer.

The vibrating sound increase exponentially, and what sounded like an explosion of energy, everything went white.

In the next second, Soar found himself millions of light years away.

“Causal blowback?!”

“Indeed,” in front of him, a dark man with short hair and black eyes floated. “Reversing time will prove… disadvantageous. But reversing the causality, however, will prove far more beneficial.”

“OMEGAN?!”

Soar was a man who had traversed the vast space and he had come across many species. Naturally, he had come across the Omega People. However, he had never seen Omegan, only heard legends about him.

Seeing him in person, Soar found himself surprised.

“Yes, Soar.”

The divine being, Omegan, had lost his usual smirk.

“I am the God of this universe, and I do not answer to Vilramore or Daya. They are interested in seeing what you will do, what you can do to save this universe. But I am different. I would rather not die so a pathetic hero can continue living.”

Omegan folded his arms.

“At first, I thought it would be interesting to see him try and fail, but I did not expect him to know that spell and carry it out to perfection. How does he have access to the forbidden knowledge?”

“I am afraid he won’t speak; it is as if he has lost everything that made him a man. Now… he is just will, a strong will to live.”

“Whatever the case may be… Attack him again. Right now.”

“But…”

“No buts, Soar, he must be stopped. And you are the only one who can do that… Hmm, you are being watched.”

“What?”

“Large range clairvoyant.”

Omegan snapped his fingers and whoever was watching them was pushed away.

“Anyway, stop him.”

“I…”

Soar did not want to be used by anyone, but he had returned from the death very recently, and he had to find his place again. Perhaps this will help him.

“I will try my best.”

And so, Soar flew away at high speeds.

လလလ

In the meantime, Norse God found himself on top of the neutron star.

Time was all the same, but everything else was different.

“I am Norse God…”

It had crashed against the neutron star and was laying on top of it.

It eyes saw the glittering stars in the faraway distance, but they did not look beautiful to its inhumane eyes.

“And I want to live.”

Norse God slammed its fists against the surface of the neutron star and used its momentum to push itself forward.

As soon as it was no longer being pulled by the gravity of the star, it flew fast towards a random direction.

The will of a former hero wanted to live no matter the cost. So, it began creating a new constellation, it was ready to sacrifice everyone again.

But while he was recreating the constellation, he was thrown off track by Soar.

“Stop this madness at once!”

“...I want to live,” the cold voice of a mad God reached Soar’s ears. “And I will do anything for it.”

“You will not live; you will destroy the entire space-time continuum with that spell. The explosion will result in all life force of the universe entering you. Do you understand what that could mean?”

“...I want to live.”

“Then so be it.”

However, Soar did not attack him.

Instead, he shouted the name of someone else.

“Omegan!”

The sound of vibrations could be heard once again. And soon after, with a small sound of explosion, everything went white for the two of them.

“What was that, Soar?” the angry God loomed down on the hero.

“A temporary setback.”

“Hm?”

“When I put him off track, he absorbed the life force of a nearby planet, killing everyone in an instant. Billions gone.”

“...”

Omegan clicked his tongue.

“In any case, stop his madness now.”

“I will, but I need your power.”

“I will do what I can.”

“But… Who is the clairvoyant?”

Omegan was confused as to why he asked that question, but he didn’t care enough.

He answered Soar’s question without hestiation.

And so, Soar flew towards Norse God once again.

He knocked him off course again and spoke to him, but every time causality was changed, Norse God’s condition worsened. The little humanity which could be seen in its eyes at first was gone completely.

“I am Norse God, and I want to live. No matter what it takes.”

“Are you ready to let your sister die? Your mother and father? The people whom you love so much?”

“...”

Norse God thought about that, or at least pretended to.

"Are you willing to--"

“Does a human care about the lives of ants?”

“...” Soar widened his eyes. "What--"

“I must live.”

The energy God swung its fist and struck Soar in his chest; however, the latter was unfazed.

“No one matters. I want to live, and I will exchange anyone and anything to live. To live long enough…”

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

The present - New Orleans, USA:

“And…” Violet hugged her knees as her voice broke. “That’s when I stopped watching.”

“Is… that so?”

King Arthur was somewhat disappointed, but he didn’t want to pain the little girl anymore.

“I am sorry for your loss, and I apologise for making you relive those…” King Arthur searched deep in his heart to find the right word to say at this moment.

“No,” she shook her head. “It is fine. I guess… I needed this.”

“You are a brave girl, Violet,” he patted her on the head. “Your brother would have been proud of you.”

“...”

She shut her eyes.

“I hope so,” she said very slowly.

“Wait,” Ishaya’s eyes widened as he frantically began to speak. However, King Arthur moved swiftly and took Ishaya out of the room before he could say anything.

“Thank you for your time, Violet. I hope we see each other again soon, and… under better circumstances.”

“...”

She opened her eyes and wondered why he was in such a hurry to leave.

Outside of the house, Arthur angrily said to Ishaya, “Forget you saw anything today.”

“The power she holds…”

“No.”

“But--”

“It doesn’t matter what power she holds, it is not for your taking.”

“Of course not, but… Imagine the wonders it could bring--”

“I said no,” he took him out of the house and sat down in the helicopter. “Let her choose her destiny by herself.”

“...”

"The world can survive without another child falling to the darkness."

"..."

Ishaya sighed loudly.

“As you wish, my lord,” he said sarcastically.

Back inside the house, Haru removed her mask. Out of respect for the dead, she bowed her head slightly, “I am sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks,” Violet replied slowly.

She looked up at her and was slightly surprised to see her mask removed.

“You have already seen my face.”

“Right,” Violet said slowly as she nodded. “Thanks.”

“...” the baffled Haru asked, “For what?”

“For today.”

“I don’t think I have done anything noteworthy here, but you’re welcome anyway.”

“I see…”

Haru removed the golden bubble from her, “I will keep an eye on those two. I want to know what they came here for. Truly.”

And so, Haru, too, left the lonely girl with her sad thoughts.

The visions she saw back then haunted her dreams, it haunted her heart.

Why, Eddie?

She shut her teary eyes as she rested her face on her knees.

No matter how hard she tries, she can never see the end of Norse God.

But deep down, she knows there is more than she knows.

And she is right.

There is more to the story of Norse God than the universe knows.

On that day, in a different space, a human man was laying down on the floor of the white void of nothingness.

“Wake up…”

A fierce voice reached his eyes, so he was forced to open his eyes.

However, the moment he did, he shut it back instantly.

The white void of nothingness was far too much for this man’s sleepy eyes.

Gah, where the hell…

“Edward Hunt.”

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

??? - ????:

The universe is made from six dimensions.

The first two are inconceivable to most, incomprehensible, but they have a purpose too.

The first dimension is the core of the universe - Vilramore, and the second is its soul - or rather something that resembles a soul.

The third dimension is the physical space.

The fourth dimension is time.

The fifth dimension is the dimension of ideas, of imagination. It is reality.

And finally, the sixth dimension; it is a dimension that merges the previous dimensions and forms one stable universe. It is a dimension that adds concepts to these realities, adds laws and rules to them.

The sixth dimension is the home of the universal concepts, a dimension where metaphors can have physical forms, a world where metaphors can touch one another, debate, and fight.

Reality has limits, imagination has limits, but in this dimension, the impossible is possible. It is a place without limits.

In this inhumane world of concepts and laws, who are an infinitesimally small part of something greater, a strange angel visited two opposing concepts.

Chaos and Order are the two primal concepts that exist in every universe, they are the balance makers in the cosmos.

The beings without a comprehensible form spoke in a divine voice.

『What are you, Angel?』 Order asked calmly.

“『Who I am is irrelevant, but I have to experiment in this universe.』”

『Experiment away, but afar from us, Angel,』 Choas said harshly.

“『Aha, you don’t seem to understand, Chaos…』” the golden angel narrowed his eyes. “『I have come to experiment on you, my dear brother.』”

『Choas and Order are brothers, Chaos, Order and Death are not brothers, agent of the Void.』

“『How rude, Order.』” the angel smiled a sly smile. “『I am hurt. I am no agent of Null.』”

『Then why have you invaded this dimension?』

“『Brother Chaos… I want to see, I want to know… what will happen if a primal concept that holds reality together was killed.』”

『Hm, then you have come to the wrong place.』

“『Oh no, I have come to the right place. I know you are a fragment of the true Chaos and Order, the beings who breath between every atom of our planes, but… I am not here to kill them. Just you.』”

『But why?』

“『Death requires no reason.』”

And so, the angel moved.

And the two concepts of this new universe died.

In their death, only destruction was left.

A universe without its primal concepts, it's pillars, will not be able to sustain itself for much.

First, the entire populace of the universe was forced into a state of chaos and order, they were fighting yet preaching peace. A contradictory sight.

Then space and time did not get along, and so, their clash ended with a flash, thus ending everything in this universe.

Space, time, and reality were gone. And before long, so was the Sixth Dimension.

An entire universe cease existing, and it only took a moment.

“『Hmm.』”

The angel was dissatisfied.

“『I assumed the collective consciousness of angels and demons, the true Chaos and Order will put an end to charade, but it seems they do not care.』”

And so, the angel smiled evilly.

“『Good. Gooood.!』”