Myridia, 50 light-years from Earth
From an Earth perspective, Ariel Zel is a precocious four year old: not only she can read and write both in Myridian and English at a teenage level, but she’s already learning to play the harp and the flute. That wouldn’t be particularly impressive for a Myridian child, but the fact that she’s currently doing all these at once is unusual.
She has three duplicates reading three separate books and two duplicates playing instruments, while the original Ariel is playing ball with another duplicate of herself.
If she were a regular Myridian, she wouldn’t be able to do this for several years. But she’s the eldest daughter of a Vanguard member, and the experiments that the Amazons ran on her over a year ago have kickstarted her duplication powers.
Even Kari has trouble keeping up with her antics, and in fact she’s unaware that the N-Phone she believes she lost is actually inside her daughter’s pocket… and now it’s beeping.
<It’s time! Remember, don’t tell Mom!> Ariel warns her duplicates, before rushing to a different room. She barges in, finding two very confused twins: her younger sisters Imani and Azure.
<It’s time! We have to go!> Ariel tells them, locking the door behind her.
<What time? I was napping.> Imani wonders, yawning.
<You’re always napping!> Azure replies.
<Must be napping time.> Imani shrugs.
<Ugh, why must you always act like babies!?> Ariel protests.
<Because we’re three.> Azure answers.
<Aren’t we two?> Imani asks, mostly to herself, scratching her head.
<You guys just can’t follow instructions. Let’s fuse already!> Ariel insists.
<I dunno… we told mommy to stop doing that. Won’t she get mad at us?> Azure asks.
<Nalani said it’s alright. She’s like really smart, and she’s the oldest one, so mom and dad will get more mad at her than at us. Now come on! Put’em here!> Ariel incites them, moving her hand forward. Her younger sisters place their hand on top of hers, and their bodies shine.
As far as Kari knows, her three daughters haven’t done this since they left the Amazon homeworld. Behind her back, however, they have practiced at any chance they got… which isn’t all that hard to do when you can duplicate at will.
Supercharged by virtual particles, the bodies of the three children fuse into a single body that is seems to be composed of blue energy but is actually quite solid, in the shape of an adult woman.
<Okay, I think the other duplicates are still there. Now let’s hope Nalani is as smart as she says she is.> the blue woman tells herself, taking the phone that Ariel stole from Kari and pressing a button.
Then her body vanishes in the familiar light of a teleporter, and she disappears from the planet.
N01-Ragnarok, in orbit above Myridia
The blue woman appears in the cargo bay, frantically looking around. There are a lot of crates there, but only one is identified by a blue X painted on the side.
<There she is!> she exclaims, tearing open the iron crate like it was made of tissue paper.
Inside the crate Nalani Null is surprised by her strength, but she was expecting this visit.
<Well that’s a bit rude but quite effective. Here, wear this.> she says, handing over a bracelet to the blue energy woman while wearing an identical one herself.
<Pretty!>
<It’s more than jewelry. That’s a redesign of the God Restrain that my sister discarded before jumping to a newer version. I’ve made some modifications, it’ll keep your fused form together much longer than you typically could do on your own.> Nalani explains.
<We’re better at it now! We can stay fused for six minutes!>
<That’s… nice, but this should last for several days. Better yet, it’s transmitting a portion of your virtual particles to me, so I’ll also stay undetected.>
<You mean you’re also going to fuse with us?>
<What the… didn’t you read any of my messages? I explained the plan in detail!>
<We got bored and stopped reading after “then we go on an adventure in another galaxy”.>
<Your “body” is actually made of virtual energy, which is not detected by the Ragnarok’s internal sensors because the quantum scattering of…>
<Bored now. Can we go on the bridge now?>
<No we can’t, I told you nobody can learn we’re on board until we get to the Aegian Galaxy!>
<But we are bored now! What do we do until we’re there?>
<Maybe you could learn to talk in the first person.> Nalani rolls her eyes.
<We ARE one person now. We’re just excited!>
<I meant stop speaking as “we”. How should I call you when you’re in that state, by the way?>
<We’re Ariel/Imani/Azure. No, wait, Ariel/Azure/Imani. Should we go by order of birth or by alphabet? Ooh, maybe in the order of who has the prettiest hair?>
<Yeah we’re not going to do that. You should get your own name, as a singular entity.>
<What’s an entity? Or a singular?>
<This may take a while.> Nalani sighs.
Megalopolis, 52,000 light-years from Earth
As the former capital world of the Hera Queendom and currently de facto capital of the Olympian Galaxy, this planet is used to terrifying surprises.
Having a giant green naked goddess appear out of nowhere is not one of them, and Gaea stomping towards the Imperial Palace has already scared millions of people to death.
Noriko Null, current Mortal Empress and Slayer of Gods used to much weirder things, is not among them. She stares calmly at the giantess standing in front of her palace, crossing her arms.
<You could’ve just called, Gaea. I still have a freaking phone, y’know.>
<I will not wait like a common subject. I require an audience, right now.>
<Fine. You can start by repairing the damage you’ve done and show up in my palace at human size, like a normal person. Then we’ll talk.> Noriko replies, turning her back on Gaea and walking back to her desk.
Gaea seems too shocked at her response to react immediately, while the duplicate of Kari Zel acting as Noriko’s assistant is flabbergasted.
<Uhm, Nori, do you think it’s okay for you to…>
<Are you IGNORING me!?> Gaea shouts, growing even larger to the point of towering on the entire Imperial Palace.
Within less than a second microscopic vines grow inside the walls of the building; the roof and several of the upper floors are atomized, exposing Noriko’s office to Gaea’s shadow.
<Don’t you know who I am? The Primordial Goddess of Life, the Mother Of All Living Things! I will be treated with the respect I deserve!>
Kari bites her lips, looking at Noriko and hoping she knows what she’s doing. In response, Noriko just calmly crosses her legs after slowly sitting on her chair.
<I am treating you like a respectable adult. Now, are you going to settle down and have a civilized discussion like reasonable people?>
For a moment, Kari is worried that the Primordial goddess is going to annihilate the planet out of spite. But then, the gigantic green woman disappears in the blink of an eye.
The Palace reassembles itself, as if time was running backwards; even the damages to the street are being repaired, and within less than a minute it’s like nothing happened.
She doesn’t even see how Gaea enters the room: even though she’s used to see duplicates appear instantaneously, she’s still surprised at the speed with which Gaea reconfigured her body from skyscraper size to human size. Or rather relatively human: she’s still eight feet tall.
<You mean I don’t have to yell and act like a toddler to get your attention? That’s how my family always acted on the throne, I assumed it was how it worked.> Gaea admits.
<I’m nothing like the old gods, trust me.>
<That’s an understatement. I don’t recall the last time I met a lesser god that wasn’t terrified or lusting over me, let alone a mere mortal.>
<About that, would you mind putting on some clothes?> Noriko asks; she’s trying to avert her gaze, but it’s hard to completely ignore Gaea has been completely naked the entire time.
<I would mind.> Kari comments.
<Does the shadow need to be here? This is official Primordial business.> Gaea says, gesturing towards Kari as a dress made of leaves slowly grows to cover the goddess’ body.
<I trust Kari completely. Considering our talk before the coronation, I assume this has something to do with the Keys of Heaven?>
<Yes. I have been asked by the Primordial Council to retrieve them.>
<For what purpose?>
<That is not for you to know.>
<I disagree. If I remember correctly… and I have a perfect memory… the Keys are not of divine origin, they were built by a former Nexus wielder. Which means I own them now, especially since I was the one to retrieve them.>
<On a mission from Nyx, who paid you by upgrading your ships and growing back your missing arm. The Keys were promised to her.>
<You’re still on about that? It happened like a million years ago!> Kari protests.
<Do you even know how little that means to me? I’m over five billion years old.>
<I’m not giving you anything until I know the full story. Something here doesn’t quite add up: the Keys are powerful, sure, but nowhere near as even one Primordial… let alone all of you. There’s something you’re not telling me, Gaea, and I don’t like being kept in the dark.> Noriko points out, her silver eyes shining for emphasis.
<The fact that a mortal created the Keys doesn’t mean you can comprehend the danger of what such a device can unleash.>
<Oh I can comprehend a lot of things, believe me.>
<What do you know about the Keys of Heaven?>
<That once the three Keys are combined they can access a place called Heaven, hence the name, which is where Zeus hid a weapon so dangerous he wouldn’t dare use against Kronos.>
<The Weapon That Shall Not Be Named. You know enough already.>
<Hardly. Nobody wants to tell me what this “Heaven” is supposed to be.>
<And nobody shall. I have entertained your curiosity long enough, Empress. Produce the Keys of Heaven now.>
<You can’t sense where they are, isn’t it? That’s the whole reason Nyx sent me to find them. And you can’t do anything to harm me.> Noriko reminds her, pointing at the choker she’s wearing on her neck that holds the Vial of Destiny.
<Do not test my patience, mortal. You will give me the Keys.>
<Maybe. Like I said, Gaea, I’m treating you like a reasonable adult. Just give me a good reason for why I should give up such a valuable asset and I will consider it.>
<I already have. They are too dangerous.>
<Dangerous for me or for the gods?>
<You do not wish to go down this path. Nobody wins a war against Mother Nature.>
<That’s not what I’m trying to do. What will you do if I give you the Keys? Destroy them like Nyx wanted? Or will you use them against mortals?>
<I realize you don’t know Primordials as much as you think you do. We do not concern ourselves with lesser lifeforms like other gods. The fact that we’re having this conversation is just out of courtesy; if any of the other Primordials had been given this task, Olympus would be ashes by now.>
<Are you threatening my Galaxy, Gaea?>
<A Primordial does not wage war: we restructure reality to align with our wishes. My children are fond of this Galaxy, so I won’t destroy it. But if you oppose the Primordial Council, Empress, there WILL be consequences.>
<That’s the most polite threat I ever received. Here’s my bottom line, Gaea: tell me what Heaven is, and what you want to do with the Keys, and if I judge it will not harm the citizens of the Empire… then I’ll gladly hand over the Keys of Heaven. Otherwise, they stay with me.>
<You have made your point clear. When you change your mind, I will be waiting for you on Olympus.>
<Be my guest… literally, I guess… but be prepared to wait a long time. I’m very stubborn.>
<Now that’s an understatement.> Kari comments, keeping her voice low.
<Patience is something I don’t lack. We’ll see how long mortals can last without my gifts.> Gaea says, vanishing just as quickly as she appeared.
<Holy crap, I don’t recall the last time I was this tense. What the heck just happened!?> Kari wonders, breathing a sigh of relief.
<I called her bluff. She wouldn’t have showed up if she had anything up her sleeve.>
<Uhm, Nori? I wouldn’t be so sure about that.> Kari replies, pointing at the sight out of the window. The Imperial Palace is surrounded by a beautiful garden, and it’s spring on this hemisphere of the planet: the trees and flowers are in a beautiful bloom.
Or they were until a moment ago, because one by one each and every plant is quickly dying.
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