Bridge of the Ragnarok
Torn emerges from a pentagram of fire, holding in his arms an unconscious Noriko Null.
<She needs medical attention.> he declares. Vesta is the first one to rush to her, but one of the Kari duplicates holds her arm:
<We’ll deal with this. You need to get outside and help us fight the Egyptian fleet.>
<But Noriko…> the goddess objects.
<…made me the Vanguard’s second-in-command, remember? I’ve got this. Go kick some ass.>
Vesta seems hesitant at first, but then she nods and flies towards the nearest escape hatch. While the other Kari duplicates are busy piloting the ship and coordinating with the rest of the fleet, the one who has taken charge places her hand on Noriko’s forehead.
<She’s burning up. L.O.K.I, can you check her vitals?> she asks the ship’s artificial intelligence.
<Scanning. Body temperature 101°F. Blood pressure 82/59 mm Hg. Heart rate 138 bpm.>
<I’m not a doctor, but that doesn’t sound right. What happened out there?>
<She used the Final Abyss and her golden eyes together. It killed both Sobek and Serket.>
<Two gods at once!? She said the golden eyes were powerful, but I had no idea!> Kari comments, forcing one of Noriko’s eyes to open in order to check their color. She expected to see them silver again, or perhaps to go back to their natural dark brown; she didn’t expect them to be bloodshot.
<Oh crap, this look serious. Get her to the infirmary, we can SWEET GAEA!> she exclaims when blood starts to come out of Noriko’s tear ducts. As well as from her nostrils and ears.
<We need to get her to a doctor, right now!!!> she insists, using her sleeves to stop the bleeding.
<I can’t create a portal to Earth unless the ship stops moving.> Torn clarifies.
<Not gonna happen! We’re in a middle of a warzone here!> the Kari at the navigation console yells.
<I have an idea.> a third Kari says, getting closer to Noriko and sneaking her hand beneath Noriko’s shirt. Torn raises an eyebrow.
<Is this really the time?> he asks.
<Got it!> Kari proclaims, pulling out the necklace that Noriko was wearing underneath her clothes: it’s holding both the Athena medallion and the Silver Key of Heaven.
<Are you sure you know how to use it?> Torn asks.
<Only one way to find out.> Kari answers, closing her fist around the key.
The device creates a halo of light that engulfs her, her friend and the Demon; when the halo moves, it makes them disappear.
Myridia, 50 light-years from Earth
The original Kari Zel is sitting on her knees; the only way to distinguish her from her duplicates is the baby bump on her belly, easily noticeable by her wearing a pink midriff shirt.
Her daughter Ariel is in front of her, standing up and closing her eyes, concentrating.
<Whenever you’re ready. Just take your time.> Kari tells her.
For half a second, a second toddler with light blue hair appears next to Ariel, but it disappears without leaving any trace.
<That’s okay, it takes practice to make it last. Do you want to try again?> she suggests.
Mother and daughter are interrupted by the sudden appearance of another Kari duplicate, standing next to Torn who is holding an unconscious Noriko Null in his arms.
<Whoops. This is harder than it looks!> this Kari comments, before the trio disappears in a halo of light a second later.
<Mommy? Will the other mommy play with us?> Ariel asks.
<No, sweety, the other mommy is working right now. Let’s try duplicating again, okay?>
Null Tower, New York City
Dr. Catherine Kalama puts on her white coat while she’s running towards the infirmary, very aware of the fact that the situation must be serious: she knows Noriko absolutely hates calling for a medical emergency. When she finally reaches the infirmary, she finds Torn laying Noriko on the medical bed; not only she’s unconscious, but she’s still bleeding.
<What happened?> she asks, rushing to check her vitals.
<She killed two gods at once.> Torn answers.
<She did what!?> Dr. Kalama asks Kari, checking Noriko’s bloodshot eyes: her pupils are rapidly dilating and contracting on their own.
<God, Noriko, what did you do to yourself this time?>
<She used the Final Abyss together with her golden eyes. It might’ve been too much stress for her brain.> Kari theorizes.
<We should go back. The battle is not over yet.> Torn points out.
<I’ll send you back, but I’m staying. You have enough Kari duplicates on the ship without me.>
<We might need the Key.>
<In that case, you can always use a pentagram to take it back. Until then, it’s safer on Earth.>
<The Key is on loan from Hell. I am not losing sight of it.> Torn insists.
<Noriko went out of her way to use it as little as possible, I’m not going to…> Kari objects.
<Both of you, enough! Leave the infirmary right now or I’ll call the Nullbots!> Dr. Kalama yells.
Even two members of the Vanguard have no desire to argue with her; Kari teleports Torn away using the Key, and then steps aside to leave enough room for the doctor.
The Gorgon’s Veil, 390 light years from the galactic center
Despite the brief pause caused by the murder of two gods, the battle continues. Both Vesta and Quantum have front row seats, although only the latter seems to appreciate it.
He’s bouncing from ship to ship, alternating between disabling the weapons and protecting the allies from the fire by deflecting the plasma shots, which he does by turning into a magnetic field.
When he turns into a hologram to catch his breath… relatively speaking… he finds himself back against back with Vesta, who is creating barriers of superheated plasma to redirect the trajectory of the enemy ships, coordinating with the swarm of F.E.N.R.I.S. robots.
<Is it just me or these things just keep getting more numerous?> he asks.
<The Egyptian ships or the robot wolves?>
<Both!>
<I don’t know how many Fenris units Noriko managed to build, but Ilithyia may be using her Key to bring more ships to the battlefield.> she speculates.
<Maybe we should deal with her first. Don’t you have a way to find the nearest god?> he asks.
Before she can answer, they are both distracted by a large number of ships exploding one after the other, in a chain reaction that escalates very quickly. The explosions coalesce into a single mass, which grows larger and larger while taking a physical form: a man with the head of a wolf, bigger than a skyscraper.
<There’s your god.> Vesta says.
<This has gone on long enough! I’ve had it with mortals and incompetent godlings! Olympus shall face the wrath of Wep-wawet, lord of war and guardian of the realm of the dead!>
<Wep-wa-what? What kind of name is that!?> Quantum wonders.
<Don’t look at me, for once he’s not part of my family.> Vesta shrugs, unleashing a bolt of fire at a couple of million degrees while Quantum supports her by turning into a laser.
Neither attack does anything to Wep-wawet, who responds by just growling and doubling his size.
<I hate it when… look out!> Vesta warns Quantum: the war god can move much faster than they’d expect from something so massive, and Wep-wawet throws a punch in their direction so quickly that even Quantum can’t escape in time.
A blinding flash of light pushes his photons away before he’s hit. Even Vesta has to close her eyes for a moment; when she opens them again, she can see that Wep-wawet didn’t miss.
There’s a man blocking his punch. A man with white hair and wearing little more than a toga, casually blocking with the palm of his hand a punch larger than a house.
<What is this Egyptian scum doing in my galaxy?> Apollo asks, before looking around: the entire nebula is filled with several fleets shooting at each other. He doesn’t seem to be putting a lot of effort into stopping Wep-wawet’s attack, while the latter just keep pushing.
<Run away while you still can, Olympian! You’re too soft to withstand the power of a true god!>
<Just looking at your disgusting face without throwing up should be enough proof of my intrinsic superiority, Egyptian. But if you want me to fight, the Sun God shall indulge you.> Apollo responds, raising his other hand: there’s a small sphere of energy floating over his palm.
<Fair Hestia, I suggest you to leave. I wouldn’t want to damage such a beautiful face.>
<What are you… oh crap. Max, let’s go!!! Come on!!!> Vesta yells, flying away from Apollo so fast that even Quantum has trouble catching up with her.
<What? What’s going on?> he asks.
<This is Vesta to the entire fleet: retreat, I repeat, retreat immediately!!!>
<Vesta, slow down, what’s going on!?> he asks again.
<Apollo is going to fight! We have to leave this nebula, right now!>
<What’s the big deal? We’ve fought him before! I mean, he kicked our asses, but…>
<This is different. I’ve seen that look on his eyes… he’s about to go all-out.> she explains, turning her head towards Wep-wawet: given his size, he’s still visible from a considerable distance.
<I’ve heard about you, the so-called “true Sun God”. What gives you the right to claim such a title when you are nothing compared to Ra?>
<Just a single word, really.> Apollo answers with a smirk on his face, raising the hand holding the tiny sphere of superheated plasma. He then adds softly:
<Nova.>
It’s the last word Wep-wawet hears. In the blink of an eye, the sphere grows from the size of a marble to that of a planet. Its temperature increases exponentially, and the Egyptian god finds himself engulfed into a newborn star.
Bridge of the Kuraokami
The screen is decreasing the brightness by several factors, otherwise the Lar officers and the Ice Queen would have been instantly blinded. Even so, the Lar fear for their lives: the sudden creation of an entire star is having devastating consequences on the battlefield, from its gravitational pull devouring hundreds of ships to its deadly radiation penetrating the shields.
<Report.> the Ice Queen orders. True to her name, her emotions remain hidden behind her armor.
<Our shields are holding, Your Majesty. We have a confirmed loss of 2,000 ships and over 3,000 are not responding.> is the first officer’s answer.
<What about the others? Hera and Adrestia should be able to protect at least some of their ships, and the Ragnarok series has a hull of neutral matter that should withstand the heat.>
<That is correct, Your Majesty. The Covenant fleet appears to have survived, along with 90% of the Hera fleet. Adrestia, on the other hand, might have lost as much as 70% of hers.>
<Hm. So much for the “daughter of war”. What is the status of the Egyptian fleet?>
<We should have the results of the scans soon, Your Majesty. We have a confirmation that Apollo has indeed killed Wep-wawet. As per the fleet itself…> the officer responds while looking at the data on his screen, then he stops.
<Well? What is the status? Your Queen has asked you a question!> she insists.
The officer turns towards her. It’s difficult to tell because of his gray skin, but she thinks he’s paler.
<No casualties. The Egyptian fleet is completely unharmed.>
<What? How can that be!?> she wonders, in a rare moment of voicing her real thoughts.
The Throne of Nephthys
Given its size, it would be easy to consider this a planetoid. Instead it’s just a disgusting mass of dead bodies and snakes, thrown together to support a throne made of skulls.
Ilithyia is crouched behind it, covering her head and closing her eyes. The moment she saw the new star appear in the sky and bathe the planetoid in deadly radiation, she knew that Apollo just unleashed the Nova attack that has destroyed countless worlds over the centuries.
It was also a moment to regret many decisions: betraying her pantheon, siding with the Egyptians, allowing Nephthys to take the Silver Key Of Heaven, which she is convinced she’ll never get back.
<We’re done here. You can have this back.> she hears Nephthys say, and once she opens her eyes she can’t believe them: the goddess is simply handing her back the key. Ilithyia then looks up: the new star is still there, but there’s an enormous snake orbiting the planet like a ring.
<You’re… you’re protecting this place? And your fleet?>
<That’s right. You can take everyone back to the Naqada Galaxy. We’re done here.>
<What? Are we… are we surrendering?>
<I came here to subjugate Olympus, child. But if its mortals and gods keep murdering my vassals, I shall take a different approach.>
<Are you going to fight my mother’s allies by yourself, Lady Nephthys?>
<Silly Olympian. I am the Goddess of Death, one of the Nine Gods Who Rule The Universe. I am not going to “fight” anyone.> Nephthys clarifies. As she stands up and her body glows with raw power, Ilithyia understands how mortals feel like when they see how inferior they truly are.
<I am going to kill this whole wretched Galaxy.>
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