Kidnapping? Again?
{A/N: Quick message!
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Observation Log by Spark Draconisfilia
Citizen Recruitment - Entry #1Earth-199999, ~302,024 BE (Before Emergence)
Years 0-99 of the Fulgebunt Draconis Imperium (Earth-199999)
In this entry, I will document and briefly analyze the peculiar methods employed by the Haloans, Master Chief, and the Madame in their citizen recruitment efforts.
To meet the initial quota of citizens, Master Chief directed the Haloans to disperse across the African and Euro-Asian continents with a recruitment timeframe of one century.
For eternal beings, a century may be perceived as brief; however, I cautioned that such a duration was excessive for the simple task of citizen gathering. Seraph Draconisfilia countered this, emphasizing the importance of population replacement to ensure the long-term survival of the human race.
This log serves as a historical record of the strategies employed, providing insight for future generations of both Halo and the Imperium.
𓃠 Katherine Pryde Draconisfilia: Goddess of Law and Adventure
Though widely regarded as the 'Goddess of Lawyers' across the Imperium, it is notable that the majority of her followers are criminals. This paradox arises from her proclivity to break the very laws she embodies, earning her favor among those who defy her principles rather than those who uphold them.
* Information regarding future events is derived from the Master Chief's PuppeteerSelf's observation of the Sacred Timeline through Victor Timely's eyes. As data is subject to alteration due to the unpredictable nature of the Master Chief, consult Spark Draconisfilia of the future for the most accurate updates.
Case Study: Goddess Kitty and the Nomadic Tribe
Goddess Kitty's approach to citizen recruitment highlights her whimsical nature and chaotic tendencies. Her initial contact with the ancestors of her followers occurred when she descended abruptly into a nomadic tribe's resting camp at night, from cruising altitude with enough force to leave a crater upon impact.
The tribe consisted of Homo sapiens with a nomadic lifestyle, primarily hunters and gatherers of the African grasslands in the Sahara Desert. Their societal structure was distinct:
• Mating practices: Non-monogamous, without the concept of alpha males monopolizing fertile females. All females were considered partners of the adult males. A tendency for orgies following a bountiful hunt existed.
•Gender roles: Adult males hunted and gathered; non-adult males guarded females, who maintained and manufactured weaponry and nurtured infants.
•Shared offspring: Infants were considered communal progeny, with no emphasis on individual paternity.
* When it comes to matters of consanguinity, the human race didn't care until the late stages of History.
⇢ Initial Contact and Integration
1. First Impressions:
Kitty's dramatic arrival as a pale-skinned, Homobestialis magicae felidae dressed in pirate attire startled the tribe. Perceiving her as a threat, the adult males attempted to sacrifice themselves to allow the escape of the women and children.
2. Building Trust:
• Seven months were required to approach the tribe without them fleeing.
• Two weeks sufficed to learn their primitive communication, largely body language and onomatopoeia.
• Adopting their customs, she had to store her attire in her P-Link and donned only a simple lion-skin skirt, emulating their appearance.
• Integration milestones:
◦ Two months to be allowed to interact with infants.
◦ Three months to be accepted as part of the females of their tribe, though considered unattractive due to the stark contrast in appearances.
◦ One year to be accepted during the males' joint hunts.
3. Leadership and Legacy:
• Within a decade, Kitty assumed leadership, succeeding the last chief who died at the age of 21 of old age.
• Over almost 20 years, she guided the tribe through a generational transition, solidifying her role as their deity.
• By year 97 of her mission, the tribe's population had grown to 268 members—an impressive feat given their short lifespan (~19 years) and high maternal mortality rates due to the young ages of the mothers.
4. Final Transition:
• Under her divine authority, she proposed the migration of the tribe to a more prosperous land. To preserve their primitive worldview, she transported the majority of the tribe to the Imperium (Central America) using portals during their sleep. A fraction—one-eighth—of the tribe was intentionally left behind, their memories altered to replicate the cultural and population dynamics of the original generation, effectively replanting the initial human cohort in its natural environment.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
⇢ The following are some of the most significant challenges reported by Kitty:
◦ Maternal Mortality: The young ages of the mothers significantly increased the rate of fatalities during childbirth.
◦ Child Mortality: This one is tied to the unsanitary conditions of their way of living and the standard hazard presented by the environment.
◦ Resistance to Change: Early generations exhibited stubbornness in adopting her recommendations due to deeply ingrained cultural practices.
◦ Hunting Hazards: The male population suffered high mortality rates as a result of dangerous encounters with deadly megafauna.
◦ Health and Hygiene: Poor hygiene and the rapid propagation of diseases contributed to elevated mortality rates across the tribe.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
/ End of Entry #1 /
______________________________________
Earth-199999. ~ 302,024 BE (Before Emergence).
The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica—possibly the most inhospitable place on the surface of the planet—were eerily silent as Aragorn floated over the barren landscape.
Ensuring no intelligent life was present to risk exposure to the cognitohazard that his soul embodied, he allowed it to separate from his body.
Countless eyes, shimmering with a shifting, glitch-like consistency, glowed in an eldritch kaleidoscope of multicolored light as Aragorn's soul fully emerged. His body, now vacated, stood motionless while his soul flowed down the arid soil, seeking the planet's core.
Aragorn—soulless but still conscious—blinked a few times, testing his abilities. A faint pulse of power radiated from him.
"It diminished some of the depth of my powers, but nothing critical."- He noted, tapping his P-Link communicator.
"So, no changes to the itinerary?"- Spark's voice crackled through the device.
"No, nothing significant."- Aragorn replied.
"Great. In that case, I'll continue assisting Emma and Seraph with The Ark."- Spark informed him.
"I should help bolster the numbers."- Aragorn remarked before shifting into his draconic form and taking flight. The powerful gusts from his wings stirred a storm of dust as he ascended.
His wings completely opened, and the same wind that facilitated a lifting force for his flight also restricted him. Aragorn enjoyed the complexity in the simplicity that assisted his flight.
He could have displaced space or teleported to his destination, but he chose to relish the journey instead.
When he was far enough from the frozen continent to see the deep blues of the Atlantic Ocean, Aragorn folded his wings and dove headfirst. He showed no hesitation as he plummeted, slicing through the surface tension of the water with ease.
Submerged in the polar waters, his form began to shift, elongating and reshaping into a Sea Serpent Dragon. Gills adorned his long, translucent neck, and his crown of dual horn pairs swept back for a more aquadynamic structure.
Aragorn swam deeper, the crushing pressure and the umbra of the ocean depths inconsequential to his All-Seeing eyes.
The predators? Simple targets of observation and study as he moved.
From the South Atlantic, Aragorn coursed toward the tropics and eventually reached the Mediterranean Sea. This olden body of water was far from its future form; fluctuating sea levels had partially isolated sections, creating salt flats and shallow lagoons.
And here, on these coasts, he found his target. The Homo heidelbergensis.
These hominins were the ancestor of both the Homo sapiens and the Neanderthals. Though they gave way to their successors in Africa, Europe, and Asia and their numbers were dwindling close to extinction, they could still be found in certain parts, like this coast.
Their legacy survived in the sapiens' DNA just as the neanderthals' did, proof of their crossbreeding with humans.
|Ugly.|
'Ugly.'
> I can't believe I'm saying this, but fluffy in all of the wrong ways. Ugly.<
Aragorn was clearly not pleased with their physical appearance, then again, his beauty standards were askewed.
For example, if Death suddenly turned into a tentacled eldritch terror like him, he would find her just as attractive as her human form.
Aragorn's approach to securing citizens was far more subtle than Kitty's but equally twisted.
Instead of becoming a part of their tribe and later kidnapping most of it after manipulating their memories, Aragorn played the role of the puppeteer.
He helped them during their hunts with his telekinesis. Their spears pierced more fiercely, and their prey found their movements sluggish.
Whenever there was sickness or injury, it was recoverable with just enough rest.
Whenever they went gathering, they would always find the most nutritious harvests and plenty of them.
Winter wasn't as gelid anymore, the sun wasn't as scorching, and the winds were ever present making sure no flying insects approached them.
Their weapons lasted longer, and their shelters as well. Their females were more fertile, and their offspring were healthier. It was as if for 40 years the world decided to bless them.
Though considering how Aragorn's soul merged with the world, this was not far from the truth.
Then, when their population had grown by a factor of 20, the blessing stopped, and their members would disappear in the middle of hunts or nights, or when no one was looking. This kept going for 10 years until their population was reduced to about the same as 50 years ago.
Aragorn observed and stalked the tribe from the comfort of the depths of the Mediterranean Sea.
"This is macabre."- Jean Grey materialized beside Aragorn, her telekinesis expertly pushing the water away.
"Hi, Firebird. How's it going in Hell?"- Aragorn pushed more of the water aside and created a comfortable bubble of air underwater for them.
Jean turned to look at Aragorn, sharing how much :Happiness: she felt about meeting him. She floated and lay atop Aragorn's draconic head, taking a seat above his snout.
"We've found stern opposition with one of the Hell Lords. We've been locked in battle for almost 3,000 years. It's beyond tedious. Are you sure I can't use Cosmic Fire? My own fire isn't very effective on dead entities, and the demons discovered how to circumvent my usual telekinesis by shifting to their energy forms."- Jean protested.
Aragorn grew several tentacles and used them to comb Jean's long red hair. She closed her eyes in pleasure, enjoying the scalp massage and the uncontested feeling his biokinesis gave her.
"Yes, Firebird. The amount of power you can access from Phoenix is directly linked to the capacity of your mind, body, and soul to endure this power beyond your current level of existence. The older your soul, the stronger your body, and the sharper your mind, the better."- Aragorn explained.
He summoned some of his best ice cream configurations from the fabricator and spoon-fed Jean. She melted under the thoughtful ministrations.
"... I know, but it feels strange to be over 5,000 years old in just 50 years..."- She paused for a moment, analyzing what she had just said.
"I think it's strange how 50 years has turned into a paltry sum in my mind... or how my locked ego still has me thinking like a teenager... this is all too strange. Not that I haven't thought about it before, but still... strange."- She explained.
Aragorn had taught them how to seal their egos so that they could have absolute control over how much time affected them. They still grew and experienced character development, but at a snail's pace and in a controlled manner.
"Yeah, wait until you're a bazillion years old. That's when it stops being strange."- Aragorn chuckled.
"... Never mind. As I was saying, this is macabre."- Jean decided to push such numbers from her mind—she wasn't ready for that.
"You kidnap them, and then they slowly forget about the ones you displaced to the Imperium. I don't think your approach is much better than Kitty's..."- Jean paused again, a certain memory about the family's butler popping into her mind.
"Though it's far better than Bucky's. That was a real horror story. Now the whole horror genre has lost its appeal to me. Being in Hell for so long didn't help."- She lamented.
"Well, they are already fated for extinction, and whatever comes out of the DNA smoothie I'll make in the Imperium will definitely not be a Heidelbergensis."- Aragorn referred to the combination that would emerge from the species mix in the Imperium's territory.
"And yeah, James definitely takes the award for the most peculiar approach. I think he became the precursor to the uncanny valley."- Aragorn added.
"Peculiar?"- Jean looked at his huge, slitted eyes in disbelief.
"... Okay, maybe he was a bit mean, but it fits his divinity of selection. By the way, how's it going with the Demon Queen?"- Aragorn changed topics, not wanting to discuss the moral implications of James' approach to citizen recruitment.
"Wanda? Well... She dislikes torture, so she took a 'gentler' approach to karma extraction of souls."- Jean scoffed.
"Somehow I don't think it was that 'gentler' of an approach."- Aragorn scoffed as well. He knew how deviated Wanda's sense of normalcy was—enough to understand that her approach was most likely anything but gentle.
"... She made these conceptual cells with her chaos magic."- Jean said with a quiver.
"Then the souls are made to relive their sins from every possible perspective: the victim, the perpetrator, and the witness, at the same time. She traps them in this loop until they expunge all of their bad karma through the suffering of guilt, monotony, and insanity."- She shuddered.
"... She might as well torture them, but I can see how her way is more efficient."- Aragorn replied after receiving a memory from his SoulSelf of Wanda's soul-cleansing gimmick.
"Yes, according to Duke Blaze, she is about 17.77% more efficient than Mephistopheles ever was—wherever that seemingly arbitrary number came from."- Jean said.
"That's most likely because Mephisto was a pure devil, born from the first attempt at life creation by Nemesis. So he could only use the innate powers of the Hell dimension itself. Wanda tainted it with her Chaos Magic."- Aragorn shared his analysis.
"A wider selection of methods for karma cleansing?"- Jean asked.
"Yes, and the innate reality-warping nature of Chaos Magic helps bring Wanda's desired vision to actuality. In a way, it's easier to find the appropriate tool for the job when you have a wider selection to choose from."- Aragorn replied.
"I see..."- Jean replied thoughtfully.
"What?"- Aragorn asked, sensing there was more to it based on her feelings.
"Nothing... just a bit envious of Wanda."- Jean confessed.
"Because it seems easier for her than for you?"- Aragorn hit the nail on the head after a moment of thought.
"Mhmm."- Jean nodded.
"Well... Circumstances are abysmally different."- He said, patting her head with the ends of one of his newly-grown tentacles.
"How so? I believe we're standing in similar shoes."
"No, my Firebird. It's different. For one, Phoenix is a multiversal-level entity, and Wanda's unwilling patron is universal. So your sources carry different weights."- He explained.
Jean thought it over, understanding what Aragorn meant, but she was still not fully convinced.
"There's also how you were raised and what your end goal is."- Aragorn added.
"Our upbringing?"
"Yes. Wanda was trained by Agatha since her early teen years. You were crippled in your early years by Xavier. Your starting points couldn't be more different—"
"—Tsk! Xavier!"- Jean clicked her tongue in frustration. Even 5,000 years later, she was still dealing with his influence.
"—Just like your goals."- Aragorn finished his idea.
"Goals? What goals?"
"Wanda—if supported only by the Chaos Dimension—would at best end up in the universal ranks of power."
"That's only when powered by one Chaos Dimension, right?"- Jean asked.
"Yes, she does have the potential to reach the multiversal level. She's a Nexus Being of the Queen of Nevers, but we're talking about Chthon and the Chaos Dimension only."- Aragorn clarified.
"Your end goal is the White Phoenix of The Crown."- He said, creating an illusion of Jean in a white Phoenix regalia.
"Maybe my self outside the Multiversal Barrier could fight it, but not this self."- He added. Jean observed the illusion with wide eyes.
"Firebird, your end goal is more broken than Noona's current level. Do you really think you'll have a smooth walk in the park to get there?"- Aragorn dispersed the illusion and gave her an exasperated glance—the best his draconic face could muster.
Jean looked away in embarrassment.
"... When you put it like that, you make me sound like a butthurt girl throwing a tantrum."- She muttered.
"... Phoenix was right. I've been too soft with you."- Aragorn's comment sounded like a death sentence to her.
"Don't surrender ground to my sadist Phoenix!"- She exclaimed, jumping away from his head, giving him a horrified look.
"Where's the you who faced Phoenix and shouted that you loved me, that I belonged to you? ~It even made my heart skip."- She said, managing to sound desperate and seductive at the same time.
"Your teasing won't work here. I've been abundantly clear about my feelings for you and everyone else I love. What's there to be surprised about?"- Aragorn took advantage of her distance and flicked his slimy tongue at her.
Like Clifford the Big Red Dog licking his owner, Emily Elizabeth, Jean was left covered in the saliva-like substance—her hair, which Aragorn had meticulously combed, included.
"YOU!"- She glared, pushing the saliva away with her telekinesis.
"I love you."- Aragorn said, grinning mischievously.
"Argh!... I love you too, Aragorn."- She complained, but also expressed her love for him.
"Why did Phoenix even share that memory with you? I made sure to hide it from my mindscape."- Aragorn asked, pulling her back toward his snout and restarting the combing.
"Phoenix is very honest with me about her desires and expectations. She shares most of everything that has to do with me."- Jean said.
"Phoenix can be a dullard about most things related to you and your counterparts, but she can also be considerate in the weirdest ways. Like never lying to her hosts."- Aragorn muttered.
"That, she can be."- Jean agreed.
"Anyway, did you come just to visit—no complaints here if that's the case—or is something going on in Hell?"- Aragorn asked as he stealthily teleported a young specimen that had been left unattended to the Imperium.
"It's about Pietro. Agatha is tired of preserving his youth and ego with magic, so she asked me to tell you that it's time to evolve him."
"Now that you mention it..."- Aragorn said with a thoughtful voice.
"What?"
"Wanda asked Noona to send me some incubus DNA samples."- Aragorn replied with a crooked grin.
"Why? Don't we have incubi in Hell and the other Hell dimensions we've conquered?"- Jean raised an eyebrow in confusion.
She had seen plenty of incubi and succubi in Hell.
"I think she's eager to get Pietro the best incubus DNA possible."
"... Maybe she's unsatisfied in bed?"
"With his accelerated metabolism?"- Aragorn replied with skepticism.
"... You're right... Maybe she wants to be a mother?"
"That's more likely. Admittedly, the offspring would have better genes."
"Can I do it?"
"Evolve Pietro yourself?"
"Yes, through my Rebirth authority."
"If you're confident, go ahead. Spark has a few extra cores with the contract ready. You can ask her for one."
"Thanks! I'll be on my way, Aragorn. See you in a few millennia!"- Jean planted a smooch on his snout, then teleported through the Astral Realm.
Aragorn decided he had collected enough specimens and that it was time to visit Death to see how she was doing. She had been tasked with collecting Neanderthals not so far away from his location.
______________________________
In a large cave, in the land that would later be called France, a pride consisting of more than 30 breeding pairs of cave lions (Panthera spelaea) was enjoying one of the rare sunny days of the era. Next to them, a huge dragon basked in the sun as if it were one of them.
"Noona?"
Aragorn's comment startled some of the lazy felines. A few of them hissed and growled at him—not to threaten, but out of fear. Such was the sharpness of their animal instinct.
The females dragged their cubs behind Death, and some of the pregnant ones joined them.
"GRRRRRRRWL."- Death growled, the vibration making the ground tremble.
Under her command, like well-trained canines, the pride settled down. Some of the more curious lions approached Aragorn to sniff him and assess his scent.
When they discovered the similarities between his scent and Death's, they purred and head-butted him around his forelimbs.
"My love."- Death called to him.
Aragorn gently pushed the kitties aside and made his way to Death, who didn't bother to move from her position lying on her side.
Aragorn shrank his body to fit in her embrace and lay down beside her. Death wasted no time sprawling her limbs across him, pulling him closer.
Then she began to swipe her tongue across his head.
"I'm pretty sure we're reptiles, not felines."- Aragorn commented while reciprocating her affection by licking her snout.
Death didn't reply, continuing to lick his face as if trying to clean him—though due to the nature of his existence, Aragorn was never filthy.
Aragorn's tail snaked its way to Death's, braiding together.
In between pauses, Death playfully bit at his neck, and Aragorn reciprocated by gently chewing her sharply-tipped ears.
Slowly, they shifted into their humanoid forms, neither of them bothering with clothing.
Some of the kittens, who had been playing under Death's massive wings, were left disappointed by the disappearance of their warm covering.
The cave lions curiously approached their now tiny—by their standard—alpha and her mate. They loomed over them, and after confirming their identity by scent, they head-butted both humanoid dragons.
Aragorn tipped Death onto her back, her body sprawling across the sunlit hard rock of the entrance of the cave. Her breasts spilled softly to either side, her little buttons perking up under the hungry gaze of her lover.
Her draping black hair made for an enchanting frame for her blushing face, her moist slitted eyes locked on Aragorn's pink nebulas.
Death slowly freed one of her legs from under and rubbed her thigh on the sides of Aragorn's supporting leg.
"Noona, I don't want to fuck you in the middle of a pride of lions."- Aragorn said while staring fixedly at her hard nipples and licking his lips hungrily.
"Is it a problem?"- Death placed her hands above the toned biceps of her dragon and dragged her fingers downward, getting a good feel of his muscles.
"Not if it's something you want, but if it's simply because they are here and so are we, then I can move us to another location."- Aragorn shifted his weight to one of his arms and used the free one to gently rub Death's breasts with his sharp nails.
The sharp, tingling sensation caused goosebumps to form on Death's skin, her nipples perking harder. Aragorn smiled with delight at this.
"But I don't want to separate from my cats for more than a year."- Death, after biting her lips with desire, said and nodded.
"Something quick?"- Aragorn asked. His nails circled dangerously around the aureola of her nipples.
"Yes, It's taken me this long to bolster their numbers, I don't want to return and find that half of the pride died to the local pack of woolly rhinoceros."- Death positioned her crotch closer to the extremity in the middle of her legs and began to softly hump Aragorn's thigh.
"Weren't you supposed to be recruiting hominids?"- Aragorn pushed forward his knee, putting pressure on her labia.
"~Ahn~ They were ugly, disgusting, and savage. My kittens are fluffy and pretty, and also easier to deal with. Can we bring them home?"- Death tried to give Aragorn puppy eyes, but amid the arousal, the gaze came out glitched.
"... Initially I planned to collect future extinct species shortly before their extinction."- Aragorn made the skin and muscle that Death was humping morph into several Polyp-like growths.
"S-so, n-no?"- Death quivered and rubbed and humped harder at Aragorn's leg.
"I didn't say that, Noona."- Suddenly, their surroundings shifted, and they were no longer in the sunlit entrance of the cave.
They found themselves in a dimly lit, boiling-hot chamber. Transparent crystal growths covered the walls, ceiling, and floor, reflecting and refracting a warm orange-red light.
It didn't take long for Death to realize that Aragorn had brought them to an underground chamber near a magma river.
"This place makes me want to stay with you here longer than planned."- Death said.
With a fluid motion, she flipped Aragorn and straddled him. Aragorn made the crystal floor grow to provide support for his back, allowing Death to ensconce herself on him.
Death took advantage of the position and slowly began to moisten his length with her dripping labia. She laid her vulva heavily around the base of his shaft and then dragged herself upward along his rod.
Her Velvety folds parted ways to drape at his length as she dragged herself upwards, with her clit gently brushing his cockhead by the end of her movement.
Death held her position, with the underside of Aragorn's bulbous head right at the entrance of her intimacy. Aragorn's eyes cast a pink and golden glow on her flushed and sweaty cheeks. Her partly glazed with desire eyes attempting to draw Aragorn in.
"So... less than a year?"- Aragorn grabbed her by the waist and lowered her just enough for his cockhead to penetrate her.
"Are you sure?"- He stopped the downward motion and lifted her to return to the initial position. His rigidity pulsing against her entrance.
"..."- Death bit her lips and grabbed Aragorn's neck, squeezing with desperation.
"Fine. Let's fuck for a damned century. I don't care."- She glared at him with fury and demand.
And so, Aragorn grinned, he stopped holding his desire back and glanced at Death with equal hunger, his eyes reflecting the same madness and neediness, and pulled her down forcibly, impaling her all the way to the base of his cock.
Death lounged at his lips and bit hard enough to fill her mouth with the sweet taste of his blood. Her legs quivered at his sides and clenched like a vice around his waist.
"..."- She bit harder on Aragorn's bleeding lower lip, to muffle the moans of her orgasm.
Aragorn's nails grew longer and sharper, his thumbs' nails sinking around the front of her abdomen with his other nails around her lower back.
Having secured his grip, Aragorn lifted her, unsheathing almost his entire length, and then brought her down just as forcibly as the first deliberate drop.
"~Ahn!"- Death arched her back in pleasure.
Aragorn took advantage of her tensing and bit hard around her throat. Her warm blood flooded his mouth.
He drank her just like she had drunk him.
When the quivering stopped and Death separated him from her throat, she smiled hungrily at him with her lips and chin covered in his blood. Aragorn replied with an equally bloodied smile.
He grew another pair of arms. These hands grasping at her breasts. Death morphed the walls of her vagina, and suck at Aragorn's cock with her new muscles. And they gave each other a knowing look.
_____________________________
One year and five months later...
Aragorn and Death were leading their pride of cave lions across the snowy expanses of Beringia.
Along the way, they stumbled upon a litter of orphaned smilodons and decided to adopt them into the pride. Although sabertooths weren't natural pack hunters, the kittens were too young for any kind of hunting to be a concern for now.
"I've breastfed humans before, but this is my first time with felines."- Aragorn remarked, running his fingers through the soft fur of the two kittens cradled in his arms.
"There wasn't much choice. The cave lionesses are due in spring, so we don't have any lactating females right now. Besides, there isn't much difference between a human and these kittens."- Death replied, a hint of amusement in her voice as two kittens suckled at her.
"Why were they even born at the start of winter? Isn't spring the usual time?"- Aragorn asked, gently stroking one of the saber-toothed kittens with his biokinesis. It purred in response.
"Three years ago, one of the local volcanoes erupted and disrupted the seasonal cycles. It likely threw their mother into an asynchronous fertility cycle, which ultimately cost her her life."- Death's gaze shifted to the frozen, emaciated corpse of the kittens' mother.
"Ah, now that you mention it, I do recall a volcanic eruption from back then... I had forgotten."- Aragorn's tone was distant, almost absentminded.
"You? Forgot? Is that even possible?"- Death looked at him, her surprise evident.
"My soul retains my memories, but I was relying on the natural memorization abilities of my mind. I suppose I should make a mind palace. I never needed one before... but now that I think of it, Jean has a copy of her mind palace stored in my mindscape. I'll just use hers."
"I thought all telepaths had eidetic memories."- Death mused.
"Not all of them. Telepaths can have eidetic memories if they want—it's easy enough for us. Our girls and boys do, but that's because I taught them how to create mind palaces, not because they inherently had the ability."
"And you forgot to make one for yourself?"- Death gave him a pointed, exasperated look.
"I wouldn't say I forgot—more like I never saw the need. I exchange memories with my SoulSelf from time to time."- Aragorn's sheepish expression betrayed his lapse in regular memory-sharing.
"Ah, is it because your SoulSelf has been busy with Tiamut?"- Death asked, piecing it together.
"Yes, I haven't done a full backup in about a decade—just exchanged occasional snippets."- He shrugged, his tone casual.
"How's that going, Love?"- Death asked, her interest transparent.
"It's hard, as expected. If it were an easy fix, the Celestial wouldn't have chosen such a convoluted method. But there's been progress, so it's not a fruitless endeavor."- Aragorn replied while sharing some of the memories of the updates that he had received
"It's not my area of expertise, My Love. But if you think I can help, just say the word."- Death said, her voice warm with support.
"I will. Thank you, Noona."- Aragorn tucked the now-sleeping kittens into the folds of his coat to keep them warm during their journey.
"I'm done with these two as well. Let's move. How are we doing on supplies?"- Death asked, standing up.
"We'll make it to Alaska, but I should probably scout ahead for seals. I'd rather not have to teleport to find meat for the pride."- Aragorn said, mindful of his commitment to living simply with his wife.
"Some short-faced bear wouldn't go amiss."- Death remarked with a grin.
"I think our palate has evolved, considering we now think raw bear meat is 'nice'."- Aragorn chuckled.
"My Love, I've told you—our true calling is to become pack predators, roaming the Earth as apex rulers of this planet."
"Well... dragons are apex predators by default in most fantasy worlds, so you might not be entirely wrong."- Aragorn admitted, though he hesitated to feed into her fiery enthusiasm.
"It's a sign!"- Death latched onto the loose thread of the idea like a divine revelation.
"Doubtful, but I admire your energy, Noona."- Aragorn replied, his voice filled with affectionate amusement.
"..."
"..."
"~Hahaha!"
They both laughed at the absurdity of beings like them receiving divine signs.
"Hahaha—"
But their laughter stopped abruptly when they spotted something on the horizon that wasn't snow-white.
Hovering slightly above the ground, they saw a massive pack of dire wolves prowling in their direction.
"I knew I wasn't going to be the only one to forgo hominids!"- Death grinned at Aragorn, her tone smug.
"Ugh, fine! Nobody actually likes the oonga boonga humans."- Aragorn turned away from her teasing grin, feigning disinterest.
On one of the vast, frozen ice sheets of Beringia, a pride of cave lions and four smilodons, led by two dragons, met what could possibly be the largest pack of wolves ever assembled.
"Master Father! Mistress Mother! You must pay the toll to pass through our lands!"- Roksana, the Wolf Princesses' default leader, declared. Her voice, amplified to command attention, cut through the clamor of growling, hissing, and roaring from both packs.
Only the discipline instilled by their leaders kept the situation from erupting into chaos.
"Roksana, is this how you address your Master Father?"- Aragorn's voice resounded across the glacial plain.
"Master Father, the toll supports the maintenance of our pack, which may or may not have grown beyond our control."- Tatiana, the Wolf Princesses' second-in-command, responded diplomatically.
Make no mistake—these princesses were at least five decades old. Their bodies had matured to the freezing point of average Haloan physical perfection, resembling 18-25-year-olds, and their minds had developed just as thoroughly.
"What kind of mess have these babies caused this time?"- Death asked, exasperated.
—But to their Master Father and Mistress Mother, they were still just babies.
"Have you tried sending part of the pack south to the Imperium?"- Aragorn inquired, attempting to troubleshoot the situation.
"Yes. We also split the original pack among the eight of us, but that just resulted in exponential growth."- Diana, the calmest among the group, explained.
"Darlings, what if you stopped sponsoring them for a few decades?"- Death suggested.
"We tried that, but we nearly drove the local populations of mastodons and camelops to extinction."- Vera, the one most prone to problematic ideas, admitted bluntly.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Two dragons and eight wolf princesses stared at each other in the falling snow, their prehistoric predators growling softly in the background.
"Let's just ship three-quarters of the bitches to Halo and The Ark."- Aragorn decided, opting for practicality over prolonged debate.
"Is there a functioning biosphere in The Ark already?"- Alisa, the princess who relished watching chaos unfold, asked. Rumor had it she was a fan of Kitty.
"Yes. Spark and Seraph have been reproducing local herbivores and sending the surplus to The Ark."- Death confirmed.
The wolf girls exchanged glances in silence, trying to determine if any of them had known this. One by one, they shook their heads.
"When was the last time you made contact with Spark?"- Aragorn asked, his tone growing sharper.
Their silence was answer enough.
"You should be coordinating with the rest."- Aragorn said, exasperation creeping into his voice.
"We sort of got too into the role of pack leaders."- Roksana admitted.
"And the cubs were really cute."- Vera added sheepishly.
"It was hard to resist growing their numbers."- Alisa chimed in.
"Also, it was super fun."- Diana confessed.
"Yeah! The hunts were the best!"- Sasha said enthusiastically.
"My favorite part was the nights, all piled up in a mountain of fluff."- Anya said dreamily.
"Yes, the nights were great. The smell? Not so much, but you get used to it."- Mila noted with a shrug.
"Master Father, Mistress Mother, you have a pack of your own. You do understand, right?"- Tatiana asked, attempting to pull Aragorn and Death into their shared logic.
"Hey, I did my part. This was Noona's pride initially; I only joined recently."- Aragorn said, shifting the blame to Death.
"That's unexpected. I thought Master Father, of all people, would be the first to ditch the responsibility and focus on collecting fluffies."- Tatiana teased.
"Unexpected indeed. It was outside my estimations. Perhaps I should've waited before suggesting we start our own pack."- Vera muttered, second-guessing her earlier ideas.
"At least the puppies will find a nice new home—oh! I know! Let's ask Cosmo to lead them."- Mila suggested, her tone brightening with inspiration.
"That's it!"
"It's the best outcome."
"I approve."
"Me too."
"Mhmm!"
"That works."
"Cosmo will be happy, especially about the females."
One by one, the wolf girls agreed with Mila's idea.
"Well, I'm glad to be of help."- Aragorn chuckled, knowing how chaotic the girls could be when together. The thing was, they were always together.
"Remember to return to the Imperium by the end of the century."- Death reminded them, referring to the 100-year timeframe they had all agreed upon at the start of their journey.
"And don't forget to pick up a few mortals. You won't get much faith from animals that can't even comprehend the concept."- Aragorn added.
In this way, what could have been the most epic prehistoric Animal Face-Off never happened. Both groups went their separate ways.
________________________________
A few years later...
Death and Aragorn reached North America, where they spent several decades managing and restoring the local fauna depleted by the Wolf Princesses' activities. Once the damage was repaired, they resumed their journey to the Imperium.
Despite the name, the Imperium didn't reflect its title in any visible way.
Aside from having one of the highest densities of hominins on the planet, there wasn't much to suggest the presence of an empire... unless one considered it an ape empire.
"Future anthropologists are going to have a headache trying to figure out how humanity seems to have emerged from both Africa and Central America at the same time."- Kitty commented as she hovered with the dragon couple above her tribe's primitive settlement.
"Dear, why are you wearing that?"- Death asked, eyeing Kitty's attire—or lack thereof.
For context, Kitty was dressed in the tribal style of her followers: a fur skirt and nothing else.
"...After a century of having my tits out in the elements, I got used to it."- Kitty admitted, blushing as Aragorn's mocking grin spread across his face.
Tapping her P-Link, Kitty's pirate outfit shimmered back into place.
"If your parents saw their daughter flashing her tits in public with such nonchalance, they'd stroke."- Aragorn teased.
"Shut it!"- Kitty hissed, glaring at him.
"And let's not bring up my parents. That's a touchy subject for the next 300,000 years."- She added, her expression darkening.
Part of the reason Kitty was among the few Haloans who chose not to age entirely was because of her family. She still looked like a teenager, even after a century.
In the end, Kitty had concluded that there was no way her parents could cope with their daughter becoming a goddess, living for eons, and later returning to be their child again.
Three hundred thousand years was a scale of time no mortal could truly comprehend. For a parent, that span was akin to losing their child entirely.
Though Haloans preserved their egos, they still changed and grew. Kitty, for instance, had already lost all shame about nudity after just one century.
"Don't worry, dear kitten. What momma doesn't know won't hurt her."- Death said, pulling Kitty close with one of her wings.
Kitty purred contentedly as she nestled into Death's embrace.
"So... you didn't, uh, lay with any of them after a century?"- Aragorn asked, rudely steering the conversation away from the heartache-inducing topic.
"Ugh! They think I'm ugly—ugly! They once considered sacrificing one of their young's chastity to me! A sacrifice! Not even an offering! That's how hideous the little racist shits think I am!"- Kitty vented, her tone dripping with indignation.
"Pfft—HAHAHA! Cough—How awful! That must have been har—HAHAHAHA!"- Aragorn tried to hold back his laughter but failed miserably.
With a growl, Kitty leapt at him, trying to lock her arms around his scaly neck in an attempt to choke him.
"AGH! DIE, IDIOT!"- Kitty shouted in rage, pulling out her lightsaber to avenge her honor.
"Noona! Help! The century-old virgin ugly cat is going to kill me!"- Aragorn exclaimed in the most pathetic tone he could muster, still laughing uncontrollably.
Their chaotic playfight escalated to the point where the tribe below mistook it for a battle to the death. From their perspective, their Divine Leader, Kitty, was locked in combat with one of the two flying monsters.
Panic spread through the primitive settlement as tribespeople debated whether to intervene or pray for divine favor. Meanwhile, Kitty and Aragorn were too engrossed in their antics to notice.
Kitty's tribe wasn't the only one scattered across the Imperium's territory. James, his harem, Margaret and her family, Elyseas, and about half of the remaining maids had ventured far and wide, recruiting—well, more accurately, capturing—potential citizens.
The other half of their cohort had chosen to settle in The Ark. They awaited the natural cycle of life, preparing for the moment when the first generation of mortals passed on and their souls moved to the next phase of existence. Wanda, Madelyne, and Cosmo, for obvious reasons, remained exceptions to these plans.
Despite their efforts, calling these recruits 'citizens' was a stretch. There was little in the way of society beyond the most rudimentary tribal structures, like Kitty's followers.
But this was merely the beginning.
The Cradle of Civilization, destined to emerge in Southern Mesopotamia—Sumeria—would not come into being for another 295,500 years. It was a long journey from the present day to around 4500 BCE, the dawn of humanity's first recorded advanced society. Wakanda excluded.
295,000 years of trial and error. Of darkness and discovery. Of unrecorded miracles and chance events. Of knowledge gained and lost, of moments shaped by geniuses and marred by fools. A long, winding path of failures, triumphs, and everything in between that humanity would tread before reaching the threshold of organized civilization.
This marked the start of the Imperium's humanity—a humanity so distinct from the Homo sapiens of the distant future that they would one day be classified as a separate species entirely.
__________________________________
Earth-199999's Core.
'... Aragorn... You are... here.'
|Yes, I've been here for some time. It appears this version of you isn't as responsive as the one I met on my Earth.|
'... This... me is... younger.'
|I can see that. You're in an early phase of your gestation period. Humanity is also in its infancy, so you don't have much in the way of nutrition.|
'... Affirmative... Findings?'
|I haven't found much, but it's not nothing. Based on my analysis of the you from my Earth, you require the energetic outburst of the Emergence to fully develop.|
'... Activation... Energy... A trigger... needed for... the final... stage.'
|Correct. And it's not just any energy—it must be energy born of conscious thought, specifically in our case, human conscious thought. This means you quite literally need the deaths of billions to emerge.|
'... I don't... want... that.'
|... You're quite different from your brethren. Arishem wouldn't mind; logically, one more Celestial is more beneficial to the multiverse than the entire human race.|
'... I... like them... Inspiration.'
|They inspire you? That's remarkable. I don't quite like them. I once was one of them, but I don't dismiss them. I suppose you could say I acknowledge them.|
'... You focus... on their... mistakes.'
|Yes, I won't deny that. Humanity ended my life as a human; I would be a fool not to see their flaws.|
'... Hurt?'
|Not anymore. The Void accepted me, unmade me, remade me, and I came out of it. If I still thought like the human I once was, then yes, I'd be hurt, vengeful, and bent on extinguishing the humanity that betrayed me. But I've gained a perspective on life that doesn't allow me to hate many things.|
'... I gained... perspective from... their observation.'
|I see. Opposite sides of the same coin. I gained my lack of care for humanity; you found inspiration in them.|
'... Same... but... opposites.'
|Exactly. I'm not despot enough to go the genocide route, though. Just a mild dislike, nothing more.|
|Anyway, I think I've figured out a method to speed up the collection of energy, but it doesn't help us much yet. Progress is progress though.|
'... Deviants?'
|Ehm, what about them?|
'... Will you... interfere?'
|You mean, protect humanity in the meantime while the Eternals are absent?|
'... Affirmative.'
|Negative. I don't plan to interfere that much. You don't know the future of this Earth, do you?|
'... Affirmative.'
|... Wait. How did you even recognize me if you don't know the future? It's not like the you from my Earth's past knew of me.|
'... Tiamut sent... your profile... from... the future.'
|Ah, how interesting. You're beings bound by time, but you can circumvent it slightly.|
'... Not by... much... only me.'
|I see. It's an innate ability of yours, Tiamut the Communicator. As I was saying, the future of this Earth isn't one I plan to alter beyond the unavoidable. If things play out as I foresee, you'll emerge in 2024. Ah—2024 is +301,924 star cycles.|
'... Understandable.'
|Let's work together for the next star cycles.|
'... Agreeable.'
________________________________
Somewhere around the European Continent.
I've always wondered how Agamotto came across the Time Stone. Viewing the Sacred Timeline from a third-party perspective, I thought I could just 'Google' it—but turns out, it's not that easy.
The earliest record of the Time Stone in the Sacred Timeline is when Agamotto finds it. Before that, no matter how far back I looked, it was as if it never existed—like it just popped up for Agamotto to dig out.
So, I tried another approach. Instead of searching for it from the future to the past, I looked for it from the past to the future.
I went back 13.8 billion years to the creation of this particular universe.
The origin of the MCU universe is vastly different from the Prime Universe—or even My Earth, for that matter. But that's not so strange, considering this reality seems fated for doom from its inception.
My universe was messed up by Odin, but before that, it followed the standard pattern, similar to the Prime Reality's creation.
This Earth, however, had a more peaceful origin. While on Prime Earth, the Celestials rebelled against their creator and shattered the First Firmament into the multiverse, in this universe, there was the Ginnungagap first—a vast, primordial darkness preceding the manifest universe. The Ginnungagap only emerged after the Celestials' rebellion in my universe.
So, while most of the multiverse has undergone seven iterations (we're in the Seventh Cosmos—essentially the seventh multiverse reboot), this universe has been one continuous, peaceful iteration since Arishem initiated the Big Bang.
And isn't that paradoxical? A peaceful reality doomed to destruction? Since 'doom' doesn't necessarily mean death, perhaps eternal peace is also a form of doom.
In this reality's case, it lacked Chaos. There was too much Order.
The Prime Reality underwent seven cyclic eras of Chaos and Order:
First Cosmos: The Celestials rebelled and fought the Aspirants, the conclusion was the breaking of the one Reality, therefore kickstarting the multiverse.
Second Cosmos: Also known as the first multiverse. Since everything was new, it decided to try the concept of 'All-Death' and obliterated itself.
Third Cosmos: It was the first to complete a cycle after learning the concepts of being and non-being from the Second Cosmos. The main conflict was between Existence and Nothingness, the former being the winner.
Fourth Cosmos: It was inhabited by archetypal beings who were bound by patterns. From here the Hero and Villain archetypes were passed on to future cosmoi. The Queen of Nevers is born, also known as the embodiment of Possibility.
Fifth Cosmos: Here's where magic was born. Omnimax, the Devourer of Worlds moves forward after the end of it.
Sixth Cosmos: The concept of Technology is coined. The Black Winter is born and so is its herald, Galactus.
The multiverse thrives on balance—it needs Chaos as much as it needs Order. Too much Order leads to death by inaction; too much Chaos, to entropy.
Luckily, this reality will correct itself by 2018, whether it likes it or not. Which brings me back to the Time Stone.
Or more accurately, the concept of Time. No matter how far back I looked, I couldn't find the Time Stone. It was as if it hid itself as soon as Time began. So, I decided to jump back to this reality's origin.
For beings like me, it's not so different from a human walking. I left the Sacred Timeline and walked to its beginning.
As I witnessed Arishem initiate the Big Bang, and the Dark Elves cursed it from their primordial darkness like NEETs glaring at sunlight invading their room, the little green stone did the unthinkable.
It retroactively launched itself through its concept into the future—specifically, to the moment when Agamotto found it. Its moment of birth became the moment of its discovery.
... But why?
The Space Stone didn't warp itself randomly. The Soul Stone didn't randomly inhabit a soul. The Mind Stone didn't appear in an arbitrary mind. The Reality Stone didn't appear at random, and the Power Stone didn't dissipate into raw power.
All the Stones except the Time Stone allowed themselves to be scattered by the Big Bang's repelling force until they found their first wielders.
... So, why?
Why did the Time Stone align itself with that particular point in time?
...
...
...
Because it foresaw its doom.
It was the only Stone capable of knowing the future—it was the future. It saw the End of all that was, is, and will be.
So, it selected the thread of causality leading to the 2018 event—the event where Loki becomes a time-variant, effectively saving this reality.
"Who are you?"- I heard Arishem ask as I mused on my analysis.
"Aragorn."- I replied.
"What are you?"
"A coworker from the future."- I said, sending him a few memories to explain our future relationship.
"Be on your way, Progeny of the Outside."- Arishem commanded.
"Yeah, yeah. No need to tell me twice. Even I don't want to mess with the massive flap a butterfly could make at this fixed point. See you in thirteen billion years."- And with that, I exited the timeline.
I wish I could do the same in my reality to locate the Infinity Stones.
Sadly, my Stones were never together in a single location.
The Celestials introduced them to my reality. Even if I went back, I wouldn't know where to look. Those idiots flung them into existence without precision—not even they know where the Stones landed.
But enough of that. I let my mind wander, and somehow, it led me to the Big Bang. No need to search for the Time Stone—it's not even here yet. That's one box checked off my list.
Wanda is making excellent progress with the conquest of the weakest Hells. Madelyne boasts the most advanced society in Abeyance, thanks to the head start she and her people from Suna had. That leaves me with one last task before I can fully shift my focus to kingdom-building.
Heaven!
_____________________________
Overspace
"Hey, Boss Tribunal. Long time no see."- Aragorn said after exiting an Astral Path into Overspace.
"Aragorn. Are you here about the Heaven Dimension?"
"Yes, I found my dimensional lord."- Aragorn waved his tail, and Cosmo emerged from one of his shrunken barriers.
"Hello, three-headed giant comrade! I'm Cosmo the Spacedog!"- Cosmo said, wagging his tail as he gazed up at The Living Tribunal.
"... This one is your dimensional lord?"
"Yep, the purest soul among my family."
"No. His soul is as you say, but there is a level of skill needed to manage a repository of souls."
"That's alright. I'll have one of the kids help Cosmo where he's lacking."
"Worry not, my new three-headed giant comrade! I will make sure the shiny souls get lots of playtime and walkies!"
"..."- The Living Tribunal turned its gaze from Cosmo to Aragorn, looking meaningfully at him.
"..."- Aragorn grinned as if everything Cosmo said was entirely reasonable.
"Oh! The wolf girls recently introduced me to a pack of comrades, so I won't be alone. I'll have lots of help!"- Cosmo wagged his tail faster.
"..."- The Living Tribunal shifted its gaze from Cosmo back to Aragorn, again.
"..."- Aragorn smiled as if to say, Look how reassuring, right?
"It's not my problem."- The Living Tribunal stated, and a Heaven Dimension materialized in front of Cosmo.
"Go ahead, Cosmo. I'll send you help once I'm done affixing Heaven to our Earth."- Aragorn petted the dog, causing the tail-wagging to intensify.
"Ah, there, there."- Cosmo murmured, leaning into Aragorn's hand.
After a few more seconds of petting, Cosmo jumped into the dimension, and Aragorn shrunk it into a barrier.
"Eternity has created an opening near your Limbo Dimension."
"Great! I want my three soul repositories close by in case I need to protect them all."
"That is for the best. With this finished, what do you plan to do about the 'access' to the Below Place Death extracted from the Unquenchable Hunger?"
"Nothing for now. I left it with my FarShoreSelf. I don't want that thing anywhere near Reality."
"Try to keep it that way."
"By the way, do you know of a Molecule Man?"
The Tribunal's eye glowed briefly as if searching.
"Owen Reece."
"I'm guessing you identified him because of his powers, right?"
"He is an example of a mortal ascending to our level of power. You should not antagonize him. I am sure he is aware of this conversation."
"Yeah, well, that wasn't the plan. If he didn't have his powers, I might have prevented his birth. But it's too late for that now. Don't worry about it—it was just a passing thought."
Aragorn waved goodbye and opened an Astral Path back to his Earth to position Heaven in its reserved location.
Wanda's Hell and the subsequent conquests were all from Aragorn's Earth. The Abeyance was similarly established there, and finally, Cosmo's Heaven would complete the cycle of souls needed to restore balance.
The loss of this cycle during Odin's mishap initiated existential changes to reality, culminating in its Doomed status.
There was more to a Doomed reality than the absence of a working soul cycle. Earth-199999 served as the perfect example: its soul cycle functioned perfectly, yet it hovered on the brink of Doom Status, recognized as such by all Abstracts.
Still, the Soul Cycle was undeniably significant. For instance, Earth-Z fell into Doom when an excessive percentage of its total souls stopped flowing due to undying individuals. Similarly, Earth-10011, or the Cancerverse, became doomed after its heroes—under the Many-Angled-Ones' influence—sacrificed Death's personification. With Death obliterated, eternal life reigned, turning the universe into a living corpse.
Thus, the cycle of souls—the manifestation of life and death—was vital in steering a reality along its destined path. Whether that path led to apocalypse or salvation was irrelevant to the Abstracts.
By rebooting the cycle, Aragorn addressed the issue, creating a controlled, localized Soul Cycle.
As Aragorn positioned Cosmo's Heaven in its reserved spot, high divinities tied to Death, Souls, Life, Rebirth, Underworlds, Heavens, and related concepts felt something return—if they were old enough to remember—or newly emerge—if they were too young to have noticed before.
On Aragorn's Earth, a new ultimate truth arose: an Ultimate Limbo (Abeyance), an Ultimate Hell (Wanda's), and an Ultimate Heaven (Cosmo's). This truth diminished the standing of previous divine truths, effectively demoting the associated deities.
Meaning that any and all divinity related to these concepts (Limbo, Hell, and Heaven) were demoted... And that did not sit right with them.
These were gods, divinities, the apex of reality under normal circumstances, of course, they were prideful. It would obviously not sit right with them to be suddenly demoted.
However, not all divinities were outraged. Those connected to the broader cycle—Death, Life, Rebirth, and similar aspects—were overjoyed. To the most ancient among them, it was as if color had returned to a greyscale universe. A fundamental rightness had been restored.
...
In the cold, desolate halls of Helheim, a lone, maddened Goddess of Death sat upon her throne of obsidian and frost. Hela, whose exile had lasted eons, felt a shift she could scarcely believe.
"For the first time in… how long has it been?"- She murmured, her voice a brittle echo in the vast silence.
Her only companions had been the sorrowful souls of her fallen subordinates and the begrudging spirits she had claimed in her banishment—Valkyries who she had dragged down with her.
But now, the oppressive weight of her solitude lifted, if only slightly. For the first time in what felt like eternity, Hela felt joy. Pure joy, not the type of joy she found in the torment of souls, but the type that is born out of the undarkened parts of her heart.
"Was it you, My Lady?"- She whispered, her voice trembling with hope.
The halls of her castle remained silent. No answer came from the Lady she once served, the only being whose voice could have broken through the isolation of her banishment.
"..."
Hela clenched her fists, her blackened nails digging into her palms. She knew better than to expect a response.
Yet, despite the lack of acknowledgment, Hela allowed herself a brief moment of solace.
Diagonally opposite to Hela's mood, in Omnipotence City, the gathering spot of most deities, madness abounded.
Hades (Greek Mythology) – God of the Underworld, ruling over the dead and the realm of the afterlife.
Nergal (Mesopotamian Mythology) – God of the Underworld and war.
Ah Puch (Mayan Mythology) – God of death and ruler of the Mayan Underworld, Xibalba.
Mictlantecuhtli (Aztec Mythology) – God of death and the ruler of Mictlan, the Aztec Underworld.
Osiris (Egyptian Mythology) – God of the afterlife and judge of the dead.
And many more deities from societies alien to Earth were affected. But the problem wasn't just theirs.
Due to the ties between deities of the same myths, a decrease in the status of one related to existential concepts (Life, Death, Space, Time, Souls, Minds, and Reality) meant a decrease in status for their entire pantheon. This, in turn, led to diminished authority over reality.
The problem was now one faced by all Skyfathers.
"... Is it him?"- In the middle of the unbridled chaos of Omnipotence City, Odin murmured.
During the Green Door Event, when the dimensional shield was weakened, Odin had finally managed to use his divine sight to peer into the being who boldly claimed one of his realms.
After the Goblin Force event, Odin was one of the few who retained memories of Asgard falling to the aftereffects of one of the Goblin Queen's attacks—by the grace of Yggdrasil. As a result, he was one of the few who knew of a being with the authority and power output to fix the damage caused.
But knowing this brought him no reassurance. If anything, dread was closer to the feeling he harbored in his heart.
Odin himself was the cause. That he knew for a fact, undeniable as Yggdrasil.
Would that mean the dragon would bring Ragnarok to him in retribution?
Would that mean his daughter would be freed by the dragon to restore Death's avatar?
Would that mean his hubris would be made public?
Would that mean his end?
"... No."- He murmured with defiance.
He raised his eyes and gazed at the panicked deities.
Chaos, panic, uncertainty, and change—these were all the famous harbingers of opportunity.
Odin stood and tapped loudly with his Gungnir on the golden floors of The Summit Room.
*Tap!*
*Tap!*
With each tap, he flexed his divine power.
"Let us all take a moment to reconvene and study the facts."- His voice echoed with impossible clarity to every listener.
"The Cycle of Souls has been repaired, that's a fact. One we cannot deny."- Odin spoke in a measured tone.
He was not only trying to steer the divine masses, but also the others of his equal standing—the Skyfathers.
"This is beneficial to our entire universe. No longer will our territories be plagued by the undead born out of unclaimed souls. But most importantly, no longer will the universe rush to its doom. The universe is healing, and that fact shall bring comfort to our overworked seers."
With every pantheon desperately seeking a solution to the end of the universe, it was clear that, for the first time since its unimpeded journey to its end began, discovering that the universe was second-guessing its suicide was comforting news.
Several heads bobbed in approval, and whispers of endorsement resounded.
"The only concern is who dared to take advantage of this healing process to intrude upon our authority!"- Odin growled, gritting his teeth.
His rage was genuine, though its source stemmed from a different matter altogether.
Many among the gathered deities resonated with his anger. From their perspective, their indignation held some merit. For ages, they had labored to solve the universe's plight, exhausting their wisdom and power. Yet now, at the moment of apparent recovery—whether natural or resulting from their combined efforts—they perceived an interloper claiming undue credit and power.
"Who would dare?!"- One of the gods bellowed.
"Was it one of the Extradimensionals? Those meddlesome pests can't keep their hands off what belongs to us!"
"Perhaps the Elders of the Universe made their move."
"No, they wouldn't act, even with the universe teetering on destruction. They declined our offers for collaboration, after all."
"Could it be the Proemial Gods attempting a resurgence?"
"Last we heard of them, they were hiding from Galactus. I doubt they'd expose themselves now. Perhaps the Phoenix Force? It oversees Rebirth, does it not?"
"Tss!"- Several winced at the mention of the Phoenix Force.
"If it were the Phoenix Force, there would be little we could do, but that's a significant assumption. Since it did not act earlier, we presumed it was waiting for the universe's end to begin Rebirth."
"Fellow members of the Council of Godheads."- Odin called out, commanding their attention once more.
"There is one entity we have yet to consider, one overlooked due to our collective ignorance."- His words stilled the murmurs, drawing their focus entirely.
"Four standard cycles ago, we lost the ability to peer into the future. We concluded it was a symptom of the universe's decline, yet I possess evidence to suggest otherwise. I firmly believe that the same entity responsible for this disruption is the one who has usurped our authority."- Odin's conviction resonated in his tone.
With a wave of his hand, a projection of his memories materialized in the center of the hall. All present bore witness to Aragorn leaping into the Green Door.
He continued, displaying memories of Aragorn's battle against the Goblin Force, a cataclysmic event many of the gathered deities were shocked to have forgotten.
Odin had come prepared. He unveiled records of Aragorn's dealings with the Nova Empire and documentation of Kitty's piracy. By the end, even the wisest among them—those discerning enough to sense Odin's intent to incite the Council of Skyfathers against Aragorn—could not halt his momentum. For beneath his rhetoric, the evidence pointed undeniably to Aragorn as the architect of this new cosmic order.
"The challenges ahead will not be easy!"- Odin proclaimed, his voice rising with fervor.
"The dragon is not only a mightier foe but also holds Gaea hostage. To defeat us, he need only end Gaea or seal the interdimensional passages connecting our realms to our universe. As with our struggle against the Celestials, we face a grave disadvantage. But we will persevere through the storm and reclaim our authority!"
With these words, Odin ignited the spirits of the arrogant and misguided divine assembly, steering their collective fury toward Aragorn.
————————————————
{A/N:
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}