30 Chapter 30: Bitch slapping yourself, and anger management.
[Tavish POV]
Pushing open the doors, I'm treated to the sight of a massive throne room. A massive arched area led out onto a balcony overlooking the city and its walls, creating a huge open aired area.
On the throne towards the back of the room a massive suit of familiar looking armor sat upon the seat, its helm resting on the bulky red plate.
He got up and stepped toward me until he was just above me. The helmet opened up to leave me looking into a face that is distinctly like my own, I take note of the black eyes with red pupils. The Davroth-like armor gave me a sinking feeling.
"Well fuck." I comment standing across from the other me as we stare each other down.
We stood there, staring at each other for what felt like an eternity.
"So, are you supposed to be the evil one because of the red armor and black eyes?" I ask as he shrugged.
"Probably? Personally, I think that's profiling. I mean, what if I had baby blue colored armor? And green eyes?" The other me protested, pouting slightly.
I know! Davroth's armor was so dope too!" I agree.
"I just built this armor instead of the slayer armor, but I must have kicked too many orphans in my previous world." He said, full out sulking at this point.
"Let me guess, you went to Skyrim? Or maybe Fallout 3?" I ask, causing his head to snap up.
"Yeah, Skyrim. Everyone knows that's how you guard against dragons . . . ." He said falling into a deeper sulk.
"Set the kids up as bait, when the dragon comes to eat them, have the housecarl kill the dragon." I state nodding along with his logic.
"See?! It makes perfect sense! But noooooooooo. Apparently, that's too extreme and I got chaotic evil alignment." He said as I realized why he was here.
"To be fair, there is no guarantee that those same kids would be the same as the game, and you could have left them alone." I offer.
"Yeah, I probably should have stopped there." He said, causing my brain to halt.
"Well, what did you do? I'm sure it couldn't have been that bad." I hesitantly offer.
"I unleashed the forces of hell across that world . . ." He stated flatly.
"Ahhhhh. Y'know, after some considerable thought, I think I know why they made you the evil one in this exchange." I inform.
"Well I never claimed to be a good person. I just said that it felt like stereotyping." He replied a maniacal grin growing across his face.
"That fair . . . So, this until first blood? Till knockout? Death?" I ask, jumping up on the balls of my feet and stretching out stiff muscles.
"Death of course." My "evil twin" stated, red argent wreathing the armors hands.
[So, you're just going straight into it?]
[No getting to know his motivation? Or trying to get him to change his ways?]
"No? why would I do that?" I question, running quick systems check as I limbered up.
"Seems like a waste of time since we have to fight to advance. This is quicker and easier for all parties involved." The other me provided helpfully to the floating text box.
[New Quest added!]
Fight Like Hell!
Your Slayer abilities have fully matured! Its time to bring them to the next stage.
Objective: Kill Dark Lord Tavish, the Primeval
Reward: ?
"Received the quest yet?" He grumbled, various arcane symbols lighting up along the ground.
"Dark Lord Tavish? That's too damn long. DLT maybe? Or Steve? I kinda like Steve." I reply absentmindedly pulling Stormreaver and Stormfront from my inventory.
"Don't you fucking dare . . ." he growled out as various demons arose from the symbols on the ground.
If I had to guess, this version of me elected for a mostly magic path judging by the demons he was summoning. Either that or he's really playing into the Davroth angle.
My arms gleamed as more augs revealed their presence. Short black cylinders extended from my shoulders and thrusters sprouted from my elbows as I experimentally shift my body for the best format.
"C'mon man, any good magic user plan and prepare well before they enter combat. Why do you think I got this special armor?" Steve mocked, pounding on his breastplate confidently.
Well, at least he confirmed my suspicions.
"Well, no matter. Let's get this over with." He said with a sigh, throwing his hand forward and a dark red bolt flew towards me.
A wall of earth intercepts causing it to explode back towards me as the red bolt flairs up and breaks straight through forcing me to sidestep the spell.
The surge of demons was a surprise however.
Following the collapse of my makeshift shield an onslaught of imps surged after the spell.
[Smite!]
A wave of holy energy slashed through the group, bisecting them before impacting a transparent shield surrounding Steve.
"Hmm, not bad . . . lets try this!" he growled and a surge of purple liquid formed into needles and shot towards me.
Many of them simply bounced off my augmented arms but a few found fleshy bits.
[Added status: Poisoned!]
My health bar started trickling down slowly as my nano bots worked to purge the poison from my body.
[Flight Core Activated!]
Opting to take the offensive, I grab Stormreaver in two hands as it switches to Thunder hammer mode.
Perks Activated!
Man and Machine!
Indomitable Rage!
Power strike!
The strike hit him square in the forehead causing him to vanish and appear about fifty feet off to my right.
The empty armor unexpectedly grabbed me and I was quickly locked with it in a contest of strength.
One weird side note, his build was significantly smaller than mine, only reaching 5"2'. And while his scrawnier appearance was entertaining, his next actions weren't.
"Really, I knew you were a bit of a muscle head when you first appeared in front of me, but this is kinda ridiculous." Steve commented mockingly before snapping his fingers and a red rune appeared on my chest.
Pure pain flared through my body as I froze in place, all of my muscles seizing as an effect of the strange magic.
"Did you really think that I'd be such a swell guy to leave you alone while we were chatting? Please, I invented the concept of treachery in hell. A threat like you? Big no-no on my part to take any chances on what you might come up with. Though you do seem to have a distinct lack of defense against magic. . . ." He said, his voice taking a demonic tone.
Snapping his fingers a few more times, more runes appeared to reinforce the first as I fought to overcome the hold.
"Now what kind of goodies do you hold? The last gamer I killed exploded like a piñata of loot. He gave me this absolutely massive power boost, allowing me access to this resplendent scenery." He said, gesturing to the land around us as hundreds of argent bolts manifested in the air around us and flung themselves at me.
[Fortify]
[Storm Rage]
My skin turned gold as the magic splashed against my body. I was finally able to wrench myself in to a very halting movement as I pushed through the runes and the pain.
It was wise to throttle my rage buffs going into this, his trump card for this encounter telling me a bit about him. It was his precautionary measure to a stranger to gain the upper hand almost immediately.
A wise move, and something I might have done in a similar situation.
What concerned me however, was the fact that he killed a gamer.
Was this truly a mirror world? Or was this just a what if? Or was he another gamer entirely with a similar mindset to me.
Personally, I prefer my "single player" adventures for lack of a better term, simply because it held no value to me outside of the gamer shop.
The fullest extent that I currently interact with the player community is the online multiplayer games I play at the fortress, and the gamers shop.
Other than that, I enjoy interacting with my companions and the various people I meet while exploring the multiverse.
But killing a gamer . . . leaves a metric fuck ton of unknowns.
I don't know what a player drops when they die, assuming they drop loot like monsters or other video game characters. But it also depends on the player level.
Did an unlucky first level player land here for a first world?
Or did he kill a thousand-year-old demigod capable of nuking worlds with a sneeze?
Either way, the system wouldn't command me to kill another player, that is flat out not allowed, and I was told as much. Players were killed if they went power mad or bat shit crazy, so I suspect this was some alternate reality bullshit for my benefit.
Getting back on track, I let the power of the storm flow through my veins as I manipulate the world around us.
Portals opened up around the room and Clawstriders dove out, their chainsaw teeth revving angrily, my faithful Skitarii sitting astride these beasts as more units dive through.
They immediately set upon the demons, shredding through the spawning demonic forces.
Throwing a portal towards the charging Davroth armor, It falls through, losing its balance as I slam my hands into the plate, releasing a cloud of nanomachines to assimilate the technology.
Turning, I yank my Chaingun from my inventory and start sending tungsten into my counterpart's face.
He flashes from shadow to shadow as I track him until I run out of rounds, leaving the walls riddled with bullet holes.
"You resort to that of all things?! How primitive! To think I even considered us as equals in some form! And all you have to show for it is a lack of ammo and a-."
*WHANG*
[Ancient Art of Throwing Shit!]
His diatribe was cut off by the comical impact of a hard light frying pan denting his noggin.
Not useful my ass . . . .
[!]
[Tavish . . . what the fuck . . . .]
Don't worry about it Iris.
Plus, I think I've figured him out a bit.
If he is in fact, a mirror version of me . . . .
Wouldn't his alignment be lawful evil?
On the surface we may seem similar, but as time passed, he got more and more irritated as his plans were disrupted and random shit kept occurring.
Well guess what magical me . . . .
I'm the fucking king of random.
Ditching my stuff in my inventory, a familiar "axe" appears in my hands.
["Axe" of the Slayer]
[BGM: Sabaton: Metal Machine]
[Inspire Activated!]
Necrons join the Skitarii leaping out of the portals around us as Steve continues to summon more and more demons to fend off the hoard. He'd periodically throw in a AOE spell trying to fend off my soldiers, occasionally throwing a fireball or some other obscure spell my direction.
I was able to tank many of the spells he threw at me, but it made it exhausting to continue pushing through his onslaught. Stormfront was dead useful in blocking most of his wilder shots but I'd occasionally get clipped by something particularly nasty.
A blood-colored spell forced me into my lich form temporarily to continue operating within normal parameters, as the blood that suddenly started boiling in my veins made it difficult to have any other thought than one associated with pain.
Due to getting hammered with a variety of magics, a new perk developed!
[Magic resistance] (1/100) (Common)
Reduces the effects of harmful magical spells and maladies.
While that's great and all, I didn't exactly want to develop the perk like this. I could hardly even notice the difference as another spell splashed against my bones, burning them slightly.
Switching back to human mode, my Harkonnen augs activated, sending a barrage of uranium tipped, 30mm rounds, into and around my doppelganger, disrupting his oncoming magics.
Steve's eyes widened at the sight of the anti-freak cannons, before disappearing with a crack and reappearing out in the hall and moving beyond my line of sight.
Dashing around the corner, I immediately jumped back to avoid the massive wave of dragon shaped fire coming down the hall.
Unsure of how far my immunity extends, I toss my armor and clothes into my inventory as I charge buck naked through the fire.
Steve's surprised and horrified expression as I charged out the other side was so worth it.
Activating my nano armor, the thrusters in my legs fired as I vented the force through my calves, dropping to a slide as I continue my momentum underneath a rain of spells, coming up with a hook kick, impacting the side of his head.
I could feel his skull crushing under my foot as his hand grabbed my leg, encasing it in a block of ice.
Throwing me off balance, I break the ice block on my leg and notice my entire leg was flash frozen, forcing the cells to explode.
It was . . . messy, to say the least.
Slamming an air hypo into the leg to accelerate the regeneration, I send out a massive swarm of fireflies to disrupt his spell casting.
No idea if it truly works or not, but I bought myself enough time to regain my leg.
Deciding to regain the upper hand, I summon one of the most powerful machines in my possession.
[Summon Machine IV]
A massive portal opened up as I summoned one of the greatest allies that I created.
The fighting halted for a moment as an eardrum busting train whistle echoed out over the battlefield.
Ethereal tracks appeared momentarily before a train roars out of the portal plowing through Steve and his minions.
Steve was sent flying off down the hall through a wall, and the gore drenched chassis of the train vanished through another portal.
No way was I going to leave an awakened machine in the hands of the railroad company. His purpose would become much greater as he was upgraded and learned.
Steve's shorn off leg landed beside me, as one of the most wonderful of idea's popped into my head.
Grabbing the leg and toss it in my inventory, the Chimera is yanked out in exchange as I start taking potshots at charging demons.
[Dark Lord "Steve's" POV]
What . . . . the . . . . .Fuck?!
What the hell was this fighting style?!
Many of the people I have encountered over the years were convinced of their martial superiority. Something that I swiftly corrected when going up against me.
I had delved so deep into the arts of summoning and warlock classes that a simple eldritch blast was simply my standard reaction to most adversity. My knowledge of magic surpassed even the most wizened of scholars . . . .
But yet . . . . I have never encountered a being that fought like him.
Simply continuing to power through any obstacle that he encountered, pushing martial prowess beyond all conventional limit, I couldn't get any sort of battle data simply because he used no concise style.
He just grabbed anything nearby to hurt you in the most violent ways.
Conjuring a false leg while the original repairs, I throw a fire trap down as I hobble through a door into another hall. The impact of the train definitely broke some ribs, and tore off a leg, but how was I to know he'd pull a fucking train out of his ass to hit me with?!
*Fwoosh*
"You Bitch!"
"Get back here so I can break your foot off in your ass!"
*Ka-chunk*
*Ka-chunk*
*Ka-chunk*
*Ka-chunk*
*Ka-chunk*
Red hot rivets peppered the area around me as some of my ranged defensive spells went off.
I guess the fire trap worked.
A sheet of ice suddenly flowed under my feet making it significantly harder to run as I slipped and stumbled, catching myself before getting off the ice.
"~Pablo, come out to play!~" I heard my other self yell way to cheerfully so I risked a glance back and almost shit a brick.
A towering black bear was charging down the hall white powder frothing from his jaws . . . wait . . . is that cocaine?!
I only recognized it because of the massive amount of it I trafficked in the Skyrim world. Needed to get an edge over the skooma suppliers and they weren't quite ready for my product, nor the lengths I'd go to protect it.
The bear lunged and slashed at me as I apparated further down the hall away from his slavering jaws.
"Ouro now!" I heard just in time for a massive winged snake to sink his fangs into my arm and disappear through a portal.
I could see the veins in my arm start turning bright blue as the creatures unique poison started slowing me down.
Pulling my staff from my storage ring, I start attempting to build up my support base for more powerful attacks, summoning minor lich's, Arch-vile's, and conjuring some buff totems while they proceeded to summon more mobs.
My counterpart immediately started tearing into the death knights and other demons summoned, but not before pulling a large pilon out of his inventory and impaling it halfway into the wall.
The wall around the pilon started dismantling the walls, floors, and any excess material it could reach. A frame quickly developed along with a hard light shield and turret emplacements as what looked to be an assembler of some sort developed.
It wasn't long before the first Skitarii leaped from the assembly line and joined the fight, clearing just enough space for the next one to step forth.
If I had to give the other me credit, it would be for his investment in higher quality minions.
Setting half a dozen more traps, I scramble down the hall to create more distance, only to hear a familiar "whooshing" sound followed by an explosion that finally knocked me off my feet.
Trying to scramble to my feet and activate some of my back up spells, I see the other "me" standing over me holding a rocket launcher in one hand, and a huge thunder hammer in the other, as he brought the hammer down on my head with explosive force.
[Tavish POV]
Continuing with thunder hammer seemed counterproductive after the twentieth blow, their was only so much I could do to turn his head into a paste after all.
But I didn't receive a quest complete notification. . .
Which means this fucker is still alive somehow?
I equip the Praetor suit and pull out the Super Shotgun. Grabbing the "corpse" by the remaining ankle, I drag it along with me.
[Meditation]
Expanding my awareness throughout the rest of the fortress, I search for the energy of the doppelganger. If he had a backup body lying around here somewhere, maybe I can intercept his soul before it gets there.
Whisps of his soul energy surrounded the empty shell grasped in my hand so I tossed it in my inventory and followed the trail.
As I walked through the halls towards my goal, I encountered more demons.
The demons here, they weren't what I experienced from my version of hell.
Some of them looked very close to human, while others represented monstrosities straight out of fiction. Incubuses, devils, and other hellish monstrosities wandered the halls but gave me a wide birth as I passed, pressing up against the walls in fear as I finally arrived outside a huge set of metal doors.
Kicking them open, I march into a room filled with tubes of green liquid. Clones of Steve filled the room as I singled out the one that his soul was trying to settle into.
Marking the outside of the tube with a Sharpie, I set about blowing open all the other tubes with a shotgun, shredding the backup bodies within.
Magic users are always tricky to fight against so it appears that I have to recall from memory some of the hundred ways that they are able to seemingly dodge death.
Approaching the front of the remaining tube, his eyes shot open and his hand plunged through the glass, grabbing my face, and I felt like I was being squeezed through aa tube before I was thrown across the new plateau we appeared on.
A massive pentagram appeared underneath our feet as the earth surged up from beneath me and I felt a massive hand wrap around my torso.
When the dust cleared, I was staring into a very familiar armored, goat-like face.
Well I should have expected that he had transformations of his own.
"But did it have to be this guy?" I contemplated as the Icon of Sin stared me down, fury in its eyes.
He tried squeezing me to a pulp, encountering significant resistance thanks to the significant portion of my anatomy made up of dwarf star alloy.
It didn't mean that I exactly enjoyed getting my organs rearranged in a rather forceful manner.
[Storm Wraith]
Ghosting through the fist and landing by his foot, I leap back to create distance for what I'm about to do.
[3rd Person POV]
[OPM World]
A satellite orbiting a planet lit up in response from its unseen master.
Checking and confirming the codes it just received, a booming transmission echoed throughout the facility.
-Initial launch codes received. –
"Rods of God" facility R-1 initiating launch! –
-Payload Count . . . two shots! –
-Payload type? –
-Tungsten, depleted uranium tip. –
-Opening bays 0001 and 0002. –
-Final confirmation? –
-Received. –
-Releasing clamps. –
-Lighting booster. –
-GLORY TO THE CREATOR! –
-AND GLORY TO THE OMNISIAH!-
-LET US ILLUMINATE THEIR ENEMIES WITH THE HOLY LIGHT OF THE APOCALYPSE! –
Two rods launched towards the planet below, a massive portal opening up in front of the kinetic projectiles.
They raced, punching through the atmosphere as they went faster and faster as gravity took over accelerating them through the portal, which closed behind them.
[Tavish POV]
Charging into the Icons leg or attempting to hit it physically in any way was proving to be slightly challenging, because of the slight space distortion when I tried to kneecap the fucker, but I persevered to keep him in the same place for my surprise.
Calculating the trajectory, and dodging from underneath another wild swipe, I dash out, pulling my hammer from my inventory.
[Shatter]
Against all conventional wisdom the Icon stumbled and collapsed as the ground gave way underneath it.
Pulling several Lorax grenades from my inventory, I huck them at the icon causing massive trees to start entangling his form. Taking control of the rapidly generating plant foliage, more and more trees and vines bind the creature to the ground.
A faint whistling overhead prompts me to look up and gauge the distance of the attack.
Dumping the remaining Lorax grenades from my stash, my wings extend and I take off into the sky to create distance from the devastating strike.
Steve managed to tear through the vines on his upper body when the first rod impacted his head, the shockwave of force causing blood to gush out of every opening of the maykr made armor as it punched through, pinning Steve to the ground.
The Second rod punched through his abdomen moments later, the kinetic force causing another wave of blood as the beast struggles and then falls limp.
The chest of the creature oozes as Steve struggles to get out.
Landing, I grab him by the scruff of the neck and rip him out the rest of the way.
[The Crucible]
"Highlander rules bitch! Their can be only one!" I hiss igniting the crucible.
The fear in his eyes was momentary before I lopped his head off.
Grabbing his soul as it tried to escape, I devoured it causing a new notification to pop up.
Quest Complete!
Rewards: Calculating . . . .
A new screen popped up as I roared out in victory, announcing the fall of hell's lord.
Congratulations on your Victory!
This marks a significant advancement in your slayer class.
While you assimilate the power and authority of the dark lord.
You gain authority over the three worlds:
Argent D'Nur,
Urdak,
And Hell,
Your next task is to govern these three realms as you see fit.
Reward: The Inventory of "Steve", more class options unlocked, Slayer evolution: Primeval.
Back pay reward for killing monster association: 1x Slayer Perk (Unknown-level)
[Memories of Rage] (Unknown)
This perk enables the Slayer to remember and revert to his most powerful state. For regardless of the enemies you encounter, or the places he travels, his rage will remain boundless, and his fight shall be eternal.
[Warning!]
[Slayer and Dark Lord class merging. . .]
[Class Gained: The Primeval]
The Primeval (0/100) (God-tier)
A class to simply define your existence. With the Fathers energy reunited with that of the Dark Lord, it is slowly balancing itself back to a stage from before the decline of Hell, leaving a single Primeval. Settle the qualms within yourself to fully come into your right. You serve as the tie that binds your three realms, and keeps them in check should they step out of line.
[Flaw Acquired!]
[Sin of Wrath]
Your boundless fury and rage inherited by previous dark lords has gotten to the point of chipping away at any form of your calm state of mind. Find a way to dispel these urges and letting go of the seething hatred left behind by the dark lord.
[As the ruler of hell, you now have control over its incursions.]
[Would you like to disable all incursions?]
[Y/N.]
Hitting yes, I sit down to regather my thoughts as I feel power fluctuate through me. I can feel the Father Orb rebelling against returning to its origin, forcing my anger to stir, but I take a few deep breaths and I gently connect a single thread between the two.
I wasn't wanting to merge the energies, but I definitely need them to reconcile and get familiar with each other again.
Turning around I spotted a small, winged, red, demonic looking creature peeking around a piece of debris from our showdown. What confused me was the little suit and tie he was wearing.
Well, I better put stuff in order before I head back. Who knows how that other guy ran things before I came.
"Alright little guy, front and center." I command causing the little creature to leap to attention. Whether it was fear or obedience I have no idea.
[Observe]
Charly
Lvl- 5
Imp (minion variety)
Thoughts - fear, respect, you just killed his last boss.
Eh, good enough for me to work with.
"Gather the people that are in charge. Call it a mandatory company meeting/ teambuilding exercise." I direct and he nods once before zooming off towards the castle.
[Time Skip]
I sat at the head of a long table as a rather large group of surprisingly humanoid looking demons and devils filtered into the room.
The informing of my take over went over surprisingly easy as I quietly reviewed the documentation regarding the operation of Hell.
Before "Steve", hell would just accept stray souls of the damned and use the torment of these souls to produce Argent energy. Portions of this energy would in turn, be given to Urdak to supplement its energy needs. Urdak would occasionally throw a world to hell to be sacrificed to keep the denizens of hell happy with the constant loss of energy.
Once "Steve" took over, he led them on conquest after conquest as he simply had the forces of hell overrun any new world he discovered. This enabled him to rapidly "power level" as the forces of hell perpetually regenerated with every world of souls consumed.
A side effect of this was a massive influx of foot soldier type demons, or dumb demons. The educated demons, were from bloodlines that had cultivated thousands of years of power and had managed to develop intelligence beyond their more "violent" brethren, often offering "deals" to mortals to help increase their power base by acquiring souls.
These "intelligent" beings created havens separate from the "dumb demons", who currently were the equivalent of wild animals that were only called when they went to war or to invade another world.
So, these demons were the result of who was left to maintain the function of hell.
The subordinate function MINERVA was overseeing all the documentation and searching for discrepancies which drew many curious looks from the demons waiting silently for my verdict.
The restoration of technomancy had enabled partial connection to the fortress, allowing me connection to GAEA, as well as many of the technological functions within my home base.
Glancing up at the surrounding demons, I begin to question them; "As you are all aware, my counterpart and I decided to engage in a sort of winner take all combat, in which I emerged the victor."
"Is their going to be any issues as far as adhering to my commands?" I ask bluntly getting a lot of shuffling and averted gazes from around the room.
"Milord if I may?" A tall devil offered.
He possessed dark black hair with two horns curving out the side and around like a crown, managing to speak quite eloquently around a bucket of chicken tenders he was snaking on.
But the most fascinating part about him?
[Observe]
?
Lvl - ?
Thoughts – Are you done sizing me up yet?
I couldn't see through him.
Nodding for him to proceed, he continued; "While you have taken the position of "Primeval", essentially the god of all three realms, some will remain . . . hesitant, to follow your instruction." He said diplomatically, causing many others to nod in agreement while some remained silent.
Humming to myself thoughtfully I ask; "What is the biggest issue causing rebelliousness in hell?"
The devil seemed taken aback by the question when an Imp flew down from the ceiling.
"That would be the export of Argent energy to Urdak and other planes lord." The Imp answered dutifully causing me to nod in thanks as I thought about it.
The Imps I discovered, were unfalteringly loyal to whoever was the supposed "dark lord" at the time. Closest as I can figure, "Steve" used them to run the data analytic portion of hell, as they proved useful in having up to date information on the goings on of the underworld.
"Alright then, its simple. Cut the export of Argent down to about 25% of what was previously allotted." I state in a matter-of-fact tone, causing a ripple of shock around the room. Some of the demons were smiling, while others were frowning in thought over the repercussions of my decisions.
"Lord! Isn't that too extreme?! What will the Maykr's reaction to such a move be?!" another demon exclaimed.
"They can take their reaction and shove it to be honest. Hell wasn't built to sustain Urdak. It was simply the byproduct of the father being a massive cunt. If they want to continue their lifestyle, they need to find a new energy source and stop being parasites. I'll develop a different energy for them if need be but Argent belongs to hell!" I answer.
Hesitantly, clapping started turning to full blown applause at the declaration as the demons got on board with the idea.
I was aware that by taking on this challenge, I would be playing in the most dangerous game of my life. Devils and demons would be looking for ways to take advantage of my relative inexperience to the dealings of hell, but if I could manage it properly, I could tap into some serious potential resources.
All in all, fuck this shit, I wasn't built for this scheming and backstabbing, but for now I just wanted to go home.
I'll come back and deal with hell some other time.
Iris, does time still freeze when I leave a world?
"Yes, but realms will move if you mess with them indirectly."
These three realms are somewhat tied together so the time differences may vary slightly."
Fantastic . . . I'll just leave these guys alone for a while.
A few centuries sounds about right.
My vision faded out once more as I was returned to the PJO world.
[Time Skip]
Returning back to consciousness, I note the massive chains surrounding the obelisk of crystalized argent I was currently entombed in.
Seeing how I was somewhat frozen in place, I take the opportunity to look around.
The leaves had piled up against the outside, several years' worth if I had to guess. I could see that the cabins that I had started beforehand had been completed by the machines that I had left behind, as well as the groundskeeper fortress that I started before all this crap got in the way.
But what were those chains?
[Observe]
Divine Chains (God tier)
A version of these have been used to bind the various Grecian gods over the years. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to construct these to bind the Slayer in his prison. The god of forges grudgingly complied creating this set of chains. He omitted the fact that he "forgot" to fully activate the chains in the first place, leaving these chains without an owner.
How thoughtful of him!
I do really need to give him a present for this. Maybe some new dishes from the tavern?
Ah well, I'll think on that later.
Unfortunately, it resulted in a half assed seal from the chains. It wasn't bonding properly because of the volatile nature of the argent protecting me.
Getting out would be no problem, but it was an indicator of Zeus attempting to stab me while my back was turned.
Reaching out my divine energies, I merge them with the chain causing them to writhe and absorb into my mana. Cracks start forming on the obelisk as I flex the mana and start cycling the dormant energies.
[Hephaestus POV]
It was official.
I was bored.
This is yet another uneventful meeting that I had to sit through to listen to Poseidon and Zeus argue about who stole Zeus's thunderbolt.
Tavish certainly provided a significant chunk of entertainment when he was running about, and when he got sealed in that weird energy, Zeus practically killed the chance of him getting out anytime soon.
Honestly, dad was just antagonizing the guy whenever he felt the need to interfere with his day to day. If Tavish ever broke out of that obelisk, I wonder how much further he could be pushed before he attempts to eviscerate Zeus.
Either way, Zeus was on edge since Athena issued her "analysis" of Tavish, which resulted in dad going into panic mode, and taking advantage of the "helpless" slayer.
Those chains could hold down the mightiest of beings if used correctly. I hope he puts them to good use when he wakes up.
Either way I had to sit here for several more hour listening to them go back and forth.
Suddenly, the ground shook as an ethereal voice punched through the discussion like a crack of thunder, the sky turning red for a few moments.
Against all the evil that the worlds can conjure . . .
All of the Wickedness that mankind can produce . . .
We send unto them, only you.
RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!
A flash of red lightning arcs across the sky landing in the general area of the camp.
"No . . . ." My father whispered as the voice echoed out once more.
For he walks among us, and shall smite the evil from this earth.
For he who comes is not of mortal breed, he is the creator and the destroyer,
the one who brings fear where there is no hope.
He shall be the spear that stabs into the heart of darkness itself.
The King of Argent D'Nur,
The High Lord of Urdak,
And the Ruler of Hell.
Zeus turned to me rapidly, his eyes narrowing to slits; "I thought you said he was bound?!" he hissed, prompting my shrug.
"I wrapped him in the chain like you asked. I had no idea if it would hold him or not." I reply nonchalantly.
For there is only one dominant life form in this universe,
and it carries a steel barreled sword of vengeance.
All hail the coming of the Destroyer — the Slayer's time is now!
With a final crack of thunder, the sky reverts to normal, as if nothing had happened in the first place.
"Hermes! Go check the camp and see if Byrne broke free." Zeus snapped as Hermes shrugged standing up and stretching.
"I'll go too!" Apollo enthusiastically volunteered, grabbing Hermes and running out the door.
"I wonder how he'll react when he finds the chains?" Dionysus mused, leaning back in his throne.
"He's been out of it for a few years, how is he going to know who did it?" Zeus grumbled before a voice interrupted any response.
"CALL ASCLEPIUS, THUNDER TITS! I'M ABOUT TO PLANT MY BOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS, THAT ITS GONNA NEED TO BE SUGICALY REMOVED! 'CAUSE TAVISH BYRNE IS FUCKING BACK BABY!"
Silence overtakes the throne room before Dionysus breaks it; "So . . . anyone want to take bets on whether he knows or not? I'll drop a few drachma for that." He stated smugly.
[Tavish's POV]
After absorbing the excess argent, I slam my fists into the crystalline walls remaining, shattering it to pieces.
Inhaling deeply, the autumn air hits my lungs as the various campers gather round to see what all the commotion was. Two flashes of light appeared off to my right as a postman and Apollo stepped into view.
Glancing up at the sky, at the rolling thunder clouds, my hands ignite in flames as I raise two middle fingers to the sky.
"CALL ASCLEPIUS, THUNDER TITS! I'M ABOUT TO PLANT MY BOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS, THAT ITS GONNA NEED TO BE SUGICALY REMOVED! 'CAUSE TAVISH BYRNE IS FUCKING BACK BABY!"
The responding thunder was enough to put a smile on my face, the starstruck looks from Apollo and who I assume is Hermes, more than making up for any inconvenience the chains may have caused.
Looking among the campers I spot a few familiar faces, many mixed with looks of shock and horror at my blatant insults directed at the King of gods.
Spotting a familiar face, I greet it enthusiastically; "Thalia! Goodness me, look how much you've grown! Time sure flies huh? Last time I saw you, I swear you were this big." I greet motioning with my hands as she snorts in laughter.
"Hello again Mr. Byrne. Only you could switch to being so jovial after threatening dad like that." She replied dryly causing me to pout.
"Aw, don't be like that. Tell you what, lets catch up over a meal. Apparently being sealed for several years leaves me hungry something fierce! We can gather the whole gang even! Ms. Chase, whatshisname, and Grover the Amazing fainting goat! You guys can tell me all about your adventures! Did you kill anything cool while I was gone?" I ask, going in rapid fire as she struggles to contain her laughter.
"His name is Luke, Mr. Byrne. How do you not know that? She questioned, struggling to keep the grin off her face.
"Well, he never introduced himself! How am I supposed to remember a few centuries worth of names along with the one guy who never introduced himself proper?" I state, sulking slightly.
The various campers warmed slightly after the friendly interaction, but many still glanced nervously at the sky expecting a reaction to my rather vocal proclamation.
The Sky above continued to thunder as I laughed and joked, re-acquiring my familiarity with the camp.
[Time Skip]
[The Tardis Tavern]
"And that, is how I got my body back." I explained, finishing my tale for some of the patrons at the bar.
"While an amusing tale Mr. Byrne, I do have a bit of trouble believing it." A kitsune commented further down the bar.
"Hey! I'll have you know almost all of my stories are true. Just flavored slightly for better storytelling." I protest as a monk nearby chortles.
"Is that why you started with the classic; "It was a dark and stormy night,"?" he questioned causing me to nod vigorously.
"It's the most important part of any good story!" I proclaim, pouring him another cup of tea.
"While I agree, do try not to start every story off like that." An old man commented from next to the monk.
He had a pair of branch like horns growing out from his forehead leading me to believe he was an eastern dragon of some variety, but it was hard to get a read on him. He was just content to sip on his sake and peacefully observe the atmosphere.
Overall, pretty chill guy.
"Fine . . . but I stand by the story." I state with finality, getting a grin from the old man.
"Fair enough, but I do have to ask Mr. Byrne, you seem tense, maybe even slightly angry. Did something happen?" The old man asked, causing me to wince a little.
"After my most recent trip to Hell, my. . . anger, has gotten significantly harder to control. I do apologize if it has shown through slightly." I apologize, slightly embarrassed. The old man waved it aside however.
"No matter. If its any consolation, I find that yoga helps." The old man volunteered sympathetically.
"Sorry, usually we just let our urges run free." The kitsune scoffed, setting his drink down and opening a bag, he pulled out a golden capped, red rod and set it on the bar top. "This should be sufficient payment. See you next time!" he called over his shoulder as he exited the restaurant.
Both the old man and the monk were staring at the rod like the fox had just dropped a gold bar on the counter.
"What's the big deal?" I question reaching forward and going to pick up the rod only to encounter minor resistance. It was a significantly heavy rod, and if I had to guess the weight, it was probably roughly eighteen thousand pounds.
Not nearly as heavy as Dwarf star alloy coated bones, but still, fairly weighty.
I had a niggling feeling at the back of my skull, so I decided to use observe on it.
[Observe]
Ruyi Jingu Bang (Legendary)
Ruyi Jingu Bang is able to grow on command to what the owner says and is capable of injuring and even killing almost all gods. The staff is also deceptively but monstrously heavy, with few beings besides Sun Wukong being able to even lift the staff. Ruyi Jingu Bang's size can be altered growing broader or slimmer and taller or shorter at will. It can reach incredible lengths, as it was able to reach all the way from the moon to the earth which is 384,403 km (238,900 miles) long.
On command the staff can become lighter or heavier. Making it lighter vastly increases movement speed. Ruyi Jingu can even make multiple copies of itself, however, the duplicate staff is slightly weak. The staff is also incredibly durable, with few if any attacks able to break the staff and even when it is broken it can regenerate. So far only Zeus with his Master Bolt managed to cut it, something that the Jade Emperor himself failed to do.
Dead silence settled between the three of us before I hesitantly broke it; "I'm not going to have an angry monkey god busting down my door later, am I?" I question causing the monk to adopt a thinking pose.
"I . . . don't think so? The Monkey king has created a proper heaven forged weapon by this point. But I would definitely not advertise that you're in possession of that . . . thing." The monk ended weakly.
"I'm getting too old for this shit." The old man grumbled, knocking back another glass of sake before standing up.
"Excellent as always Tavish. I might ask the little monk for a solution to your issue." The old dragon commented, setting a small chest on the counter and departing himself.
"Ah! Yes! That reminds me, my master actually sent a request to meet him and a message." The Monk exclaimed fumbling around in his robes before setting a wooden box and a scroll on the counter.
Breaking the seal my eyes widened a bit at the very short note.
You were taking too long to find me, so I sent my student to find you.
See you for your next lesson!
-Enlightened One
I chuckled at the note. I had forgotten all about the little monk I met in the glowing forest all those years ago.
What was more curious was how he managed to jump a dimension or five to reach me here.
The monk looked decidedly nervous when I dropped the scroll in my inventory and stretched.
"Alright then, lead the way young monk! It's been ages since I've seen your master last. I wonder if he's changed at all since we last met. I know I most certainly have." I state with a smile, prompting him to hop of the stool and head towards the door.
The door opens to a quiet mountain retreat, the cold temperature cutting into my skin as I looked up the stone pathway towards the monastery.
Snow crunches under my feet as I follow the little monk up the steps and through the gate. Several other monks wandered past, giving curious looks, but none impeded our path.
"If I may ask, how did Mr. Byrne meet master?" the so far nameless monk asked me curiously, breaking the silence that had settled as we continued through the halls of the monastery.
"I met him quite a long time ago on the outskirts of a city of steel and broken dreams. He was kind enough to teach me of the wonders of meditation before moving on with his own journey. I must say, I never expected him to reach out to me, at least in a different dimension anyway." I muse idly, thinking back to when I first met The Enlightened One.
"Dimension, sir?" the monk questioned, missing a step but recovering quickly.
"There is much to realize about existence around us my friend. Perhaps one day, you'll reach a point where I can show you." I return cryptically.
It took a special kind of person to contemplate the expanse of the multiverse.
So far, the people aware of it and truly believed in its existence, seemed to be alright but all of them had their own little . . . quirks.
And it wasn't anything obvious either, it was more of a general feeling of weirdness or possibly a wise, all-knowing state.
The Enlightened One obviously fell in the latter of the two categories, while I probably fell into the former.
Still, awareness changes people, and if you're not careful you could break a mind irreversibly.
Pushing open the final set of doors, I finally lay my eyes on a familiar monk.
"Ah, Ziu! Thank you for guiding our guest here." The Enlightened One greeted, and Ziu bowed his head and departed quickly as the old monk gestured to a nearby table overlooking the mountain; "Please sit, we have much to discuss."
Setting down at the table I greet the old monk; "I must confess, when you reached out it surprised the heck out of me. I had registered you as an anomaly that existed in that universe."
"I had similar thoughts of you, yet here we are." He stated simply, pouring two cups of tea from a teapot that definitely wasn't there before.
We fell into a compatible silence as I enjoyed my tea, taking in the mountain air as clouds floated past.
The quiet enjoyment of tea was interrupted after several hours when the monk spoke once more; "I would have assumed that you'd have questions for me, why the silence?" he questioned curiously.
"Eh, it's nice to just stop after all the hustle and bustle of everything. And I have less in the way of questions, but a small burning curiosity. It's something that I enjoy when something is beyond my understanding, and helps preserve the wonder of what awaits next in my adventures." I answer shrugging.
"A well worded statement, but doesn't quite reflect your current state of mind. . ." he commented one of his eyebrows raising slightly.
"True, but it's what I like to think my state of mind would be without an all-consuming rage burning under the surface." I find myself biting out slightly, as I rein in an unexpected burst of anger.
I seem to be getting angry at the smallest of things these days. When I originally broke out of the Argent obelisk and found Zeus's bindings, I was in a state where I was ready to kill him and just about anyone that got in my way.
I managed to relegate myself to some "minor" revenge, and that eased the burden on my psyche, but my standard moods were seemingly highlighted with an undercurrent of white-hot anger.
Sure, I rage whenever I enter combat, but this was different. I set my rage aside for most of my day-to-day activities, building, inventing, cooking, and crafting various gadgets and materials.
If I had any anger management issues to begin with, I would be the king of managing it with such a variety of activities and distractions to channel said anger into.
But regardless, this was something that was beyond my scope of knowledge to deal with, and hopefully this monk would have one, if several possible solutions to the problem.
"The problem itself lies with the two energies within you, correct?" the monk asked, his eyes glowing gold for a moment before fading back to normal.
"Those two of many, but yes, its probably the ones you identified." I reply, marveling at the ease at which he can see the flow of energy within my body.
"Part of the reason that it has become such an issue, is the way you use the energies within your body." He mused grabbing my attention.
"So think of it like this; Everyone has a method in which they control energy, a base if you will. Mages cast spells through study, incantation, and a host of other methods to manipulate the world around them."
"The way you manipulate energy, is more akin to a dragon, or another magical beast of some description. I'm guessing you've never bothered with a focus, and just let the energies meld in a random melting pot of energy."
"There are advantages to this method of course, but in the end if a malign energy is integrated, it will run rampant until it is either stopped, or consumes the host. This is why humans are recommended some sort of base when building up."
"Ultimately, you need to figure out what kind of foundation do you wish to build upon." He finished standing up, and gesturing for me to follow.
Standing up, and following him through the doorway we came through, the environment blurring around us for a moment as we walked out to somewhere else.
The place I now found myself was a floating island. It was decently sized, with some forested areas surrounding a simple log cabin.
"You'll find everything you need here to establish yourself here. I advise not going anywhere until you have established your foundation. I will know when you have completed this. Once it is established, we can work on fixing your anger." The enlightened one stated before fading out of existence.
Turning back the way we came, I notice that the door had vanished leaving me stuck on this island.
Was I just fucking kidnapped?
Hold on Tavish, lets get all the facts straight.
Ambiguous old man abandoning a student for training? Check.
A need to create a foundation to become my best self? Check.
No idea where the fuck I am?! Check.
That conniving motherfucker . . . .
I've been kidnapped into a goddamn cultivation manga!
Birds are startled out of their trees at the screams of rage disturbing their home as the island shook from my hissy fit.
[Interlude: Tavish's "Minor" Revenge]
[Olympus: Zeus's Temple]
Sneaking in through the open windows of his temple, I glance around before making my way towards the bedroom.
I had to bribe Hephaestus a hefty sum (and several meals.) in order to disable the sophisticated security system protecting the king of gods.
Carving several runes of impotence and reduction into various hiding places around the temple, I slowly plot my next moves as I move up the stairs to his room, casting colored spray-paint every so often.
Loud snores came from inside as I cracked the door open and sneak in.
Zeus was strewn across his bed, his mouth hanging open as he lay next to an unknown woman on his stomach.
Looks like he's a one and done kind of dude judging by his positioning next to his lover of the night, their position leaving little to the imagination for either party. I had second thoughts about the reduction runes in the rest of the temple before shaking my head and moving onto the next phase.
Pulling the severed leg of my mirror double out of my inventory, I rear back taking aim at the crevasse of Zeus's naked ass.
"Don't let anyone say I'm a liar Zeus, technically, this is my foot. I just didn't want to deal with breaking off another leg." I whisper, before ramming it toe first, into his butt.
[Hera's POV]
[The next morning . . .]
I was still struggling to contain my laughter as Asclepius attempted to remove the remains of a freshly ripped off leg from my husband's rear.
It was one thing to wake to the sound of thunder, but for it to be as frantic and panicky as it was last night, definitely drew my attention.
Brushing aside the fact of the flagrant vandalism present in Zeus's temple, a woman and the remains of yet another tryst remained as the least interesting thing in the room considering the state Zeus was in.
Crammed in past the knee and halfway up the thigh, a rather muscular leg protruded from Zeus's posterior, gold ichor bleeding out of both ends from the raw organ damage that was inflicted on the arrogant god.
Painted on the wall in bright neon orange paint, was a rather interesting message.
"Last warning Thunder Britches!"
"Next time I won't be so lenient!"
Signed,
Tavish Byrne
The Slayer
If this is a warning, I'd hate to see what would happen if he got serious.
Zeus screamed in pain as Asclepius continued his work, permitting me a side glance at the woman slinking away amidst the confusion.
I contemplated cursing her for a moment before sighing and shrugging off the urge.
Despite the relative hilarity from an outside point of view, Zeus had cheated on me yet again.
With the changes coming to the world around us, its only suitable that I change too.
While I was always afraid of what would happen if I did this, It would prove an interesting experience to discover.
Pulling a set of papers from my personal storage space, I scribble my signature before I change my mind, injecting my godly power into it forming the contract.
Zeus had passed out from pain at this point, so I dropped the papers on the bedside counter, startling Asclepius and causing his eyes to widen at the header on the documents.
"I believe the mortal terminology is; you've been served. . ." I state simply, turning on my heel, and leaving Zeus's temple.
Asclepius could scarcely believe his eyes as he examined the first godly divorce document, that Hera left at the bedside and quickly resolved to finish his work and leave before Zeus wakes up.
[Omake: A Toad type Pokémon!]
Deep within the bowels of a castle in the Scottish Highlands, a boy sat at a desk.
The boy himself was fairly non-descript, black messy hair, green eyes, but he did have one notable feature that stood out.
An angry red scar in the shape of a lightning bolt rested on his brow, in vivid contrast from his pail skin.
He sat at a desk in an abnormally pink room, as he wrote sentence after sentence on a sheet parchment. Mysteriously, what he wrote on the paper, was carving itself into the back of his hand.
I must not tell lies.
A phrase that the boy had been writing for the last few hours.
At the front of the room a short squat, woman, wearing a pink cardigan sat simpering over a cup of tea.
Her wide slack mouth and flabby face contributing to a toad like appearance as the woman was reading a copy of a paper titled; The Daily Prophet.
Suddenly, the window was blown in with explosive force as a large man tumbled into the room, a red and white ball leaving his hand.
It hit the toad like woman square in the face breaking her nose, as she was turned into red light and absorbed into the ball.
The Boy back pedaled as the ball rolled back and forth a few times before making a pinging noise and laying still.
"Hell's yeah! I needed a Senior Undersecretary to the Minister to add to my collection! Absolutely the perfect buddy to keep Boros company." The red headed man cheered before turning and taking a closer look at the boy.
"You all right there kid?" He questioned noticing the bloody back of his hand as the kid tried to hide it.
"Hmph. Don't try to be a tough guy. Show me." The man demanded before the kid meekly presented the back of his hand.
"God damn. Its one thing to read about it, but totally something else to witness it in person." The man commented, pulling a vial from his jacket and pouring it over the back of the kid's hand. The tissue knit back together leaving blemish free skin.
"Um, Thanks Mr. . . .?" The boy asked leadingly.
"Tell you what kid, I'll give you a name and a longer explanation another time as long as you don't tell anyone I was here. Especially that old goatfucker." The man stated, scratching his head sheepishly.
"What's in it for me?" the boy asked, more out of curiosity than anything.
"I dunno . . . what do wizards your age want? I've got a couple of shotguns lying around if you want those?" The man offered, causing the boy to look at him incredulously.
"Why would I want a shotgun?!" The boy exclaimed.
"You're a wizard Mr. Potter! Enchant the fucker so you have dope-ass magic shotguns. Use a bit of imagination why don't you. Good lord! I'm giving you the opportunity in that next time you meet Dark Lord Voldyfuck or whatever his name is, you can kneecap the motherfucker." The man replied exasperatedly as the boy blushed.
"Fair point. I accept your deal Mister . . . ."
"Tavish Byrne, lad. Lets do business and then I'll remove your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." The redhaired man stated, pulling several guns from within his jacket as he proceeded to trade with the wizard.
