Chapter 39: Eru

To read up to 20 chapters ahead: https://www.patréon.com/SlyOW

---------------

As he walked into the portal, Edward didn't experience the usual instantaneous teleportation. Usually, the gates he used to teleport would tear space time apart and connect two places together, but this portal was obviously different.

Instead of making two places be in the 'same' location at the same time, a tunnel had been opened between the two locations.

Once in, Edward felt all his normal senses lose their functions, he couldn't see, hear, touch or feel anything as he seemed to simply float in the void.

However, his Chi Sense picked up on something. His surroundings were very abstruse, and space and time were distorted in all sorts of weird ways. For example, his Chi Sense was supposed to surround him in a five meter radius circle, but here only the first meter around him was normal.

Beyond that, his Chi Sense seemed lost as it sensed placed far beyond five meters, but not the area between him and that area.

This abstruse environment was very strange, and seemed to push some kind of understanding onto him. However, a few seconds into this state of understanding, his face palled as he sensed something unusual with his Chi Sense.

Maybe it was thousands of light years away, or maybe it was two meters next to him, but he felt something. He couldn't distinguish what it was, but he suddenly heard a voice whisper next to his ear "I see you…"

Edward wasn't sure how he managed to hear this voice as his ears weren't supposed to work, but he had more important stuff to focus on. At first he hoped he would arrive at his destination and exit this tunnel fast enough, but as the presence approached, he realized he would have to face it.

Suddenly, something appeared next to him. It had suddenly appeared in Edward's path, surprising him as it meant whatever entity was chasing him down knew how to circulate in this place.

As it approached him though, something strange happened. The messy spacetime around them began stabilizing, and Edward's Chi Sense, which was all over the place, returned to normal.

Edward expected a weird entity to appear, a Chthon lookalike or something his mind couldn't comprehend. However, as the entity revealed itself to him, Edward only saw an old mind.

And from the little he could glimpse of it, his mind didn't show any sign of agitation or semblance of harm.

The old man was dressed in a long robe, and had a long white beard, as well as long sleek white hair.

The old man smiled and said "Finally I have found you. Do not worry, I not wish to harm you. I believe presentations are to be made… I am Eru Iluvatar, Supreme Deity and progenitor of Arda and as a whole, Ea."

Edward tilted his head at the introduction, and the old man, Eru, said "It might be difficult to believe I guess… Or to even understand. Ea is a universe I created, and Arda one of the worlds in it."

Edward finally said "So… you are a supreme deity. You are THE God?"

Eru raised an eyebrow and replied "THE God? I do not know what you mean by such an appellation, but if it is your question, then I do not belong to your Universe, nor have I ever come. However, I did leave a trail into your Universe, in your world in particular. On Earth."

Edward felt shocked at the being's words, but Eru quickly explained himself "Yes, a lot of information… Mortal beings cannot be given too much information at once."

Edward opened his mouth wide for a few seconds, before he eventually asked "A trail?"

Eru nodded and said "I implanted knowledge about my world to one of the humans onto your planet. I believe he turned this knowledge into a book… There is also a witch accompanying you in this tunnel, who has summoned beings from my Ea."

Edward froze as he heard that. After a moment he asked "Does your world hold a dark lord by the name of Sauron?"

Eru clapped his hands strongly as he said excitedly "Yes! I see you understand now. So I need your help, do you accept?"

Edward blinked and asked "What for?"

This time it was Eru who froze for a couple of seconds, before he exclaimed "Right, slow minds of mortals!"

Edward felt insulted at Eru's words, but he was standing in front of a possible supreme god who could freeze space time in place, so… he kept quiet. And the old man didn't have any malice in his words, he seemed really disturbed by this conversation.

Eru explained "We do not have much time, so I will make it short. My world is doomed to be destroyed, and I think that would be a shame. Hence, I need help to save it."

Edward then asked "Why me?"

Eru shook his head at that and said "Navigating in this Space-Time tunnel is very hard, even for me. Trying to find any human from Earth here is very difficult. I was lucky your senses grazed me and told me your location."

Edward asked "So it's just luck? You want me, a weak mortal, to help you, a Supreme Deity, do something you can't do?"

Eru rolled his eyes and said "I'm not as free to act as you think I am in my Universe. There are rules… But none of that matters. I want you to help save my world."

Edward tilted his head and asked "Why would I do that?"

Eru scratched his head and said "Well, my world is beautiful… and since we have come in contact, a connection has been created between our two universes. If you let my world be destroyed, then the one who did it will come for your world next."

Edward looked at Eru coldly, the later shifting his gaze away, a guilty gesture not really worthy of someone of such status, but Edward couldn't care about status anymore as he said "So you aren't leaving me a choice. How long do I have until I have to take care of your mess?"

The anger in his voice was undeniable, but Eru was glad when he heard him and said "It could be in months or in a few years. Each time my Universe needs you, you will receive a summon, and each time with a mission. If said mission is accomplished, you will receive a reward depending on how well you did it. Also, in the later summons, you may bring others with you if all goes well."

Edward nodded slowly and asked "How many summons should I be expecting?" Eru tilted his head and after a second said "If my calculations are correct, then only three times. Each time, the threat will grow stronger though, so be prepared."

Edward asked "What about the rewards? What should I expect?" Eru shrugged and replied "We will see by then, see what you need and what you did. But I guess simply asking you for help would be rude of me, so let me give you a gift for our encounter…"

Edward finally revealed a smile at his words, and Eru thought for a few seconds while analysing Edward before he said "You have found quite the peculiar way to use and strengthen your vital aura. Unfortunately, it seems I cannot help you with that. However, I see you have started understanding the Truths of the world, but you don't know your own limits. I know, my gift is going to be information."

Edward crossed his arms, not disappointed as information could be as precious as any weapon. Eru approached closer to Edward and said "The human body is fragile, and the brain puts limits on the body so it won't destroy itself. However, with your power, you should be able to handle the full strength of your body."

"However, explaining orally would take more time than we have, so I shall insert the information into your mind for later reading." As Eru said that, he touched Edward's forehead with his finger, and Edward felt a bunch of information be sent to his brain.

He didn't resist it, nor did he look at the information as it did look massive. Eru retreated a few steps and said "This here should seal our deal. Unfortunately, we may not speak much longer as it is time for you to return to your world. Farewell young man."

And with those parting words, Edward suddenly felt his senses become active once again as he exited the spacetime tunnel. A wave of dizziness hit him as he arrived in this new location, but he quickly shook himself out of it as he felt his surroundings with his Chi Sense.

He immediately recognized Kamar-Taj, and the familiar presence of the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, was next to them. There was also another unknown presence next to him. He decided not to tell them of his encounter though.

Edward looked at the old man, who smiled and said "You have changed much it seems… and you brought a guest back."

The Ancient One looked at Morgana, who looked a little pale after arriving, and said "You must be Morgana. I hope your stay in this world will be peaceful."

Morgana slightly nodded, too uncomfortable to be her usual teasing self. Meanwhile, Zatanna was belching, and the middle aged man next to the Ancient One came to her side as he said "Zatanna…"

Zatanna wiped her mouth and said guiltily "Dad… I messed up." So the middle aged man was Zatanna's father, probably a powerful magician.

Zatanna quickly got out of her guilt though as she said as firmly as her sick state allowed her to "To avoid similar incidents in the future, I have decided to better understand and master my powers, so I want to join Kamar-Taj to learn Mysticism."

Zatanna's father looked surprised, and sent a look at the Ancient One, who nodded with a smile. Zatanna's father sighed and lightly stroked her head as he said "If this is what you wish, then I don't see why I should stop you."

Finally, he turned toward Edward, and said "Thank you for saving my daughter, and repairing her mess. You have my, Giovanni Zatara's, gratefulness. If you ever need help in the future, don't hesitate to reach out."

Edward nodded, and turned to the Ancient One as he asked "Any news of Merlin?"

The Ancient One took out a book as he said "A few hundred years ago, not long after I became the Sorcerer Supreme, Merlin finally wrote about his knowledge in this book. However, not long after, he disappeared, and it is unknown where he is."

Edward raised an eyebrow as he took the book, and the moment he touched it, he felt something reach out to his mind as a vision came to him. He saw Merlin, who did not look much older than when he saw him a few minutes ago, but his hair had turned white. His face remained rather youthful though.

"Serenity, it has been a while… although I guess it has only been a few minutes for you. As you can see, I held my promise and wrote the damn book, so use it well. It contains everything you need to become a magic refiner."

"Now, you might wonder why I left a message. If you are listening to this message, then it means I haven't been able to return to Earth. In that case, I am still stuck in… well, I guess you could call this my ancestral home… I'm stuck in Hell, basically."

Edward felt shock as he heard this, but Merlin wasn't finished as he added "While I would like for help, don't be foolish and don't come for now, you are way too weak to come to Hell. Coming here now would only kill you and destroy any chance of saving me."

"By the time you receive this message, I would have already been in Hell for several centuries, so waiting a few more years won't be so dramatic. Moreover, although I'm stuck here, I'm living a rather good life, for Hell."

The message ended there as Edward regained his senses, and looked at the book with a pensive look. After a few seconds, he decided to put it in his bracelet, and looked at the Ancient One. He hesitated to tell him about Merlin's situation, but reckoned it was useless telling him now.

Edward went to a more pressing issue instead, and asked the Ancient One "How much time has passed since I left?"

The Ancient One's face changed a little as he said "This… someone has been waiting for a long time for you. I suggest you go."

As he said that, he opened a portal, making Edward's face turn grim. If he had been away for years, then Diana…

Edward nearly jumped through the portal, instantly arriving to a location he knew well, in front of Diana's apartment.

Edward gulped when he felt the familiar presence inside, guilt filling him. But as he hesitantly knocked on the door, he felt another presence come to the door, a presence that held a hint of familiarity.

The door opened, and Edward's eyes visibly widened as he saw the person. He had already turned his armor into his usual clothes, so his face was uncovered and showed his immense shock.

The one who opened the door looked a lot like Diana, but she was only a child. She looked like she was barely above ten.

Seeing him, the little girl asked "Can I help you?" But Edward was frozen in shock. Another presence approached, and Edward's eyes turned to Diana, who was standing there arms crossed, a cold face on.

She asked "You learned to return home?"

Edward stuttered "I…" But he didn't know how to respond.

Meanwhile, the little girl looked back and forth between the two adults and asked Diana "Mom, is this my dad?"

Edward felt his heart stop beating at that moment. How long had he been gone? How did Diana become pregnant? They had been using protections all the time, and… No, what if he wasn't the father? The girl was at least ten years old, how long had been gone for…

However, Edward was driven out of his panic as he heard a loud laughter. He looked at the little girl in shock, and the little imp said "Diana, the poor guy is going into cardiac arrest."

Edward blinked, and some sense returned to him as he felt his Chi Sense send him additional information. Both the little girl and Diana were having a lot of fun inside, and weren't surprised and angry as he they showed…

"FUCK!"