69 Diplomacy with Gods

Hey guys, just popping in to let you know that you don't have to worry if the upload is a day or two late. I will keep uploading without skipping more than three days. Enjoy

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The mental conversation only took an instant. The communications happened at the speed of thought through telepathy and with the speed of thoughts between Savant and Doom, it ended in a flash.

Odin suddenly started setting up magical shields and arrays startling everyone in the room. Some of them had already started to curse at Doom and Savant in their minds for angering a god. Doom himself was also prepared to attack but was stopped by Savant's hand.

"You don't have to worry about the Shadows here, Your Majesty. Kamar-Taj and the Order of the Sages have beefed up the shielding around Earth as you might have noticed. Also, I have already taken the necessary precautions long ago. I hate being pried at after all." Savant reassured Odin.

Odin nodded. He had noticed the magical barriers and shields when descending through the rainbow bridge. It might have stopped him too if someone had not made a passage for him. As for Savant's precautions, he had to admit that he couldn't see any magical enchantments or charms anywhere.

But since Savant had already said it, Odin decided to believe it. If he already knows about the Shadows, then Savant wouldn't be careless about this conversation remaining hidden.

"Now then, my work here is done, you guys continue your diplomatic business. I will be off to home, my daughter needs me to read her a bedtime story every night." Savant walked out of the room with a short farewell.

After Savant walked out, the meeting slowly started to get more diplomatic with the Council members actively bringing up topics and Odin humoring them. The people also learned from Odin that most of the pantheons they worshipped existed for real.

"You mean to say that Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Brahma really exist out there and live in their own dimension?" An Indian official who had one too many sakes to drink asked out loud.

Odin nodded affirmatively, "Yes. But I don't think they will be exactly like you have thought of them in the myths. I advise humans to not expect any benevolent and selfless gods to come to their aid. We are more like a group of powerful alien races."

Odin was slightly worried that if the other pantheons got in contact with the humans and the humans found out that their gods were nothing like the myths, it might become the start of a war. The 'gods' have started wars for much less.

He was especially worried about the Greek pantheon. A lot of those guys had an ego that didn't match their powers. And with the small number of them who had powers matching their egos, well the massive and very fragile ego was a disaster waiting to happen and Odin didn't want to get dragged into it.

If the other pantheons started taking notice of Earth then Odin can bet his one remaining good eye that there will definitely be at least some self-important idiots who will demand to be worshipped like in the old days. And while there might still be some with active worshippers like the Hindu pantheon, if those without any devotees started getting ideas of punishing humans…

Odin shuddered just thinking about the number of idiots he had seen in his time visiting the different pantheons.

"I take it that not all of the 'gods' would be inclined to be allied with humanity, then?" Doom who had been silent for the most part asked Odin.

Odin sighed, "Humans have the wrong idea about the gods. While some of us may have guided humans and even helped you in the past, it is very rare. Think of it yourself, if humans happen upon a planet with primitive life, would you concern yourself with their daily lives besides some occasional help to study them more efficiently?"

This bitter statement by someone who was considered a god caused some of the more religious ones to almost break down mentally.

"Some of the 'gods' in some pantheons might be obnoxious or entitled and feel that humans are still beneath them. If they pay attention to the Earth, there might be some tensions or even battles. I just wanted to express that Asgard sees humans and Earth as allies. And we will try to help resolve any conflict that might arise with other pantheons."

Doom nodded. He had guessed something similar from the myths of the gods. With all the religions recording tons of stories about gods being malevolent towards humans, one can infer how they viewed humans.

"We don't seek any justice for anything from the past. Just like Asgard, if others come to us as allies, we shall welcome them with open arms and banquets. But should a 'god' think they are owed anything by humanity and cause trouble on Earth, they shall face Doom and find out what true power feels like."

The nervous crowd suddenly erupted in cheers at Doom's announcement. He was saying that he would beat down any god who didn't follow the rules. And no one questioned whether Doom could really beat gods.

As for Odin, he admired Doom's leadership. He could tell that Doom was powerful enough to go against most gods and with some help and artifacts, he might even be able to go a few rounds against someone on Odin's level.

And Doom wasn't alone, there was that Savant guy who left a while ago, the beyond-omega-level mutants, the sorcerer supreme, the seven sages, and so many more powerful beings on Earth. Doom as the Chancellor of Earth could command most if not all of them, it was a great force. Odin almost hoped a little that those idiots from other pantheons make trouble on Earth.

The banquet continued with the cuisines and the types of drinks changing and the conversations went on till late. Although nothing concrete had been discussed at the banquet tables, some general outlines of what cooperation could happen had already formed.

The next few days would be spent with hashing out the details of the cooperation on both sides. After the second day where Odin gave out his opinions, he called forth some of his advisors from Asgard to get through the details while he took a tour of Earth or played chess with Doom.

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"He is one of the mutants?" Odin asked while looking intently at Doug Ramsey, aka Cypher, who was going through all the resources of rune magic that Odin had given to Savant.

Savant and Doom were sitting on each side of Odin and were focusing on Doug too. Around Doug, some flickers of runes were blinking in and out of existence.

"Yes, he has a very special power that gives him a command over language like no one else. He can interpret anything as long as it has information." Savant explained.

Odin's eyes went wide, "If he is trained properly, he could become so powerful. Does he understand the kind of power he has?"

Doom was also squinting and re-evaluating Cypher.

"He just uses his powers to interpret languages and create new ones. I have been subtly guiding him to explore more of his powers. I guess when he succeeds in parsing all of the rune language, he will automatically understand what his power means." Savant shrugged.

Odin looked suspiciously at Savant. He was almost certain that Savant was prepared to give this power boost to his subordinate from the start. It might have been one of his goals when he asked for the runic language. He then turned to look at Doom who didn't need to be present for this but there he was.

"That kid's ability is compatible with the runes but you shouldn't try something reckless and try to forcefully use the rune magic," Odin suggested in a friendly manner.

"I just want to understand the language. I feel no need to control it." Savant shrugged.

Odin stared at Doom, who turned slowly to face Odin and spoke, "Doom shall not be defeated by a mere magic language."

Odin sighed, "Suit yourself."

It was already rare for someone like Cypher to appear who can instinctively control the runes. Odin didn't think there were many other humans who could do the same. Even Doom, in his mind, only had a very slim chance of coming out of it alive.

While they were discussing it, the runes around Cypher started to get more and more solid and started to blink in and out of existence at an even faster rate. As they watched on, the cascading waterfall of runes covered and swallowed Cypher completely.

The three men patiently stood there observing the runes, each having different reactions. Odin and Doom both were slowly drowned in the runes. The runes became tattooed onto Odin's skin while Doom was being torn apart by them.

Meanwhile, the vast amount of knowledge contained in the runes was being continuously fed into Savant's mind at an increasing pace. With his information perception, Savant was stealing all the knowledge of the world tree Yggdrasil using the runes as a medium.