Beyond The Impossible

Dark Galaxy, 10 billion light-years from Earth

The Menagerie of Gods

Vesta lands in front of one of the many glass cages, carrying in her arms a completely unrecognizable Gilgamesh.

<About time! This has never happened to me.> Aphrodite greets them, crossing her arms and pouting.

She’s leaning against a lead statue of a god that Vesta recognizes, a very much naked Hermes.

<Don’t feel bad, I’m also terrible at transmutation.> Vesta tries to console her.

<Never mind those cheap tricks. This is the first time I couldn’t get a reaction from a man!> Aphrodite complains, with Vesta rolling her eyes to avoid her niece touching the statue’s crotch.

<Is he even still alive?> Gilgamesh wonders.

<Yes.> Prometheus answers immediately.

<Debatable. If he’s not into me, he can’t possibly be alive.> Aphrodite sneers.

<Actually, I believe Lady Vesta can be of help in this situation.> Prometheus suggests.

<Eww. That’s my nephew, you know.> Vesta recoils from the idea.

<So? He’s my half-brother and we’ve had several beautiful children together.> Aphrodite retorts.

<Aphrodite, if your horniness is a 10 I need you to bring it down to at least a 4, alright?>

<Vesta, darling, you should know that it’s impossible for me to be anything less than an 11.>

<Hermes requires a more literal form of fire, Aphrodite. If this form is liquefied, I believe Hermes should be able to reconstruct himself.> Prometheus suggests.

<But if he can’t, he could be stuck as a puddle of molten metal.> Gilgamesh points out.

<It’s worth a try: as the god of speed, he could scout this entire galaxy in seconds and bring us to the Vanguard. Besides, if he’s still conscious in there, being stuck in one place must be the worst nightmare for a god like Hermes. Stand aside.> Vesta suggests.

It’s not necessary, since the heat she needs to generate can’t be enough to hurt the two gods and the demigod, but it’s force of habit after working with mortals for so long.

Vesta’s fire rapidly reaches the hundreds of degrees necessary to melt lead, and the divine statue does indeed turn into an undignified puddle.

Only for a couple of seconds, before a god crawls out of it as if he was leisurely getting out of a pool, with his body rebuilding itself almost from scratch.

<That was… unpleasant.> Hermes complains, shaking off from his skin and hair the last drops of molten lead.

<And surprisingly effective. Baal’s spell should have had more power behind it; something must have happened to him.> Gilgamesh realizes.

<It wasn’t as easy as I made it out to be, just because I’m that awesome. If anyone could do it, you’d get out of that ridiculous body you’re wearing and into your old masculine self.> Hermes sneers at Gilgamesh’s current weakling body.

<I don’t know, he looks yummy to me.> Aphrodite licks her lips.

<Focus, everybody, we need to find the other imprisoned gods before it’s…> Vesta tries to rally them, pausing when Hermes vanishes from sight for half a second.

He reappears holding a glass of water in one hand and a potted cactus in the other.

<…too late. You scouted the whole planet, didn’t you?> she realizes.

<I told you I’m awesome. You’re currently looking at the new forms of Dionysus and Persephone.> the god explains.

<I can indeed feel their essences. If Baal’s power has diminished, it was not enough to free them.> Prometheus deduces.

<Well we know the way to free them now. Just burn them!> Hermes proposes, handing both objects to Vesta who instead takes a step back.

<Are you crazy!? Burning isn’t the solution to everything!>

<What kind of fire goddess are you?> Hermes wonders, raising an eyebrow.

<You should give it a try. They can both shapeshift, right?> Gilgamesh asks.

<I don’t think Persephone can.> Aphrodite tries to remember.

<Alright. I’ll see if it works on Dionysus.> Vesta reluctantly agrees, taking the glass of water in her hands and engulfing it in flames.

The water boils and evaporates, the glass melts, and as soon as Vesta drops the fire everything returns to its former inanimate form.

<It’s not working. But Dionysus should be as good at shapeshifting as you.> Vesta tells Hermes.

<Almost as good, I would argue, but there’s a problem… how long has it been since he’s had a drink? You know Dionysus can’t think straight if he’s sober.> Hermes tells her.

<Did you find any other god we could save?> Prometheus changes the subject.

<Even if I did, what reason would I have for spending more time in this place than I absolutely need to?> the god of speed replies.

<Hermes…> Vesta chastises him, sounding like a disappointed mother.

<There’s nobody else here we can save. I swear on my honor.> he replies, placing his hand on his heart.

<The honor of the god of thieves.> Prometheus comments.

<The honor of the only god on this planet that can get you home. Now, what do you say we leave this depressing prison and look for your mortal friends and my dearest sunshine Noriko?>

 

Light-years away

Bridge of the HDS Polymetis

A duplicate of Kari Zel shakes the original from her quick nap on the captain’s chair, heralding the return on the bridge of Noriko Null.

<Took you long enough! Did you fix the engine?>

<I’d like to run one last diagnostic first, but I think so. That shouldn’t take long, call the others and we’ll start to look for Vesta and the other gods.> Noriko instructs her, losing no time to start working on the nearest terminal.

<And Gilgamesh.> Kari adds, creating a duplicate to contact the rest of the crew.

<Yes, obviously he’s… uh.> Noriko replies, pausing her work and staring into the distance.

<What?> Kari asks, seeing her friend frozen.

<I just realized that I haven’t thought about Gil for the past three days. At all.>

<Well you’ve been more than a little occupied.>

<I know, but… Kari, do you think I’m a bad girlfriend?>

<Guys, you have no idea what we just found!!!> Quantum interrupts the discussion my appearing out of nowhere, immediately followed by Torn stepping out of a pentagram portal.

<Indeed.> the Demon confirms.

<You guys have the worst timing.> Noriko comments.

<You guys have the best timing.> Kari comments exactly at the same time.

<We were doing that weird meditation thing that Torn does, and talking it out we found a way to get back home and possibly kick Baal’s butt!!!> Quantum exclaims.

<If he has one.> Torn adds.

<Slow down… you found what, exactly?> Noriko asks, trying to calm down her visibly excited teammate.

<We learned that Blood and Ichor are just a localized shadow of a much broader power that exists outside the material universe.> Torn says.

<Yeah and I think that’s what Baal uses to be so powerful! It might even be the secret behind how divine powers work in the first place!> Quantum adds.

<And you found all this… by talking?> Kari asks.

<Our souls enhanced each other through our shared values and hardships.> Torn answers.

<We bonded over the fact that both our fathers suck!> Quantum adds.

<That helped, yes.>

<Wait wait wait, you guys have known each other for more than ten years and have fought side by side in who knows how many battles… and this was the first time you had an honest conversation with each other!?> Noriko asks.

The Demon and the human exchange a quick look, before they both reply:

<Yes, and?>

<Boys.> Noriko sighs, rolling her eyes.

<I’m still not following. Try explaining one thing at a time.> Kari pleads.

<I cannot. Time is precisely what we do not have anymore.> Torn answers.

<Why not?> Noriko asks.

<Because our discovery is likely to have exposed our location to any Ichor user.> Torn says, and right in the middle of his sentence the ship’s alarm goes off.

<Very likely.> he reiterates.

<Multiple portals forming around us. I have taken the liberty to raise our shields, yes?> the ship informs the team, through the voice of Siduri… after all, this ship is just another of her forms.

<What kind of portals? And define “multiple”.> Noriko orders, moving to the captain’s chair and looking at the holographic screen that shows the ship’s surroundings… and her heart misses a beat.

<Four hundred thousand five hundred and fifty-six Ichor portals.>

Just as many Ekronian Demons jump out of said portals, protected from the vacuum of space by the dark auras surrounding their bodies.

There’s so many of them that they can’t only attack at once: only about six hundred, positioned in a sphere surrounding the ship, throw a barrage of Ichor blades at it.

The shield holds, but the inside of the ship is still shaken by the impact.

<Shields already at 33%. I’m re-routing power from the Negative Drive or we won’t survive another hit… but that means we’re not going anywhere.>

<Not that I want to give them any ideas, but why didn’t they open portals inside the ship? We would’ve been an easy target!> Quantum points out.

<We have tons of ground taken from Utnapishtim’s garden; nothing of divine origin is allowed to harm it, and that includes Ichor. It could be interfering with their portals.> Noriko hypothesis, trying to sound as sure of herself as possible.

In reality, the patch she came up with won’t protect them from more than a couple of other attacks; an additional one is coming right as she speaks.

<Give me a spacesuit. I’ll deal with the first hundred thousand, you take the rest.> Kari says, cracking her knuckles as she powers up with her 10K Rise technique.

<No. Stay here.> Torn tells them in a very firm tone, giving them a stern look before walking through a pentagram portal.

<I’ve never seen that look in his eyes.> Noriko admits.

<I did. In yours, before I saw you kill a god.> Kari replies.

<I think I know what you… wait, where’s Quantum?> Noriko asks, looking around for him.

 

Outside of the ship

Two dozen Ekronians are standing on the ship’s forcefield, trying to hack through with pickaxes of Ichor. Torn steps out of the pentagram in front of them; they can’t see a Blood aura protecting him from space, but they can feel the message conveyed by his soul.

<I am Torn of the Seventh Circle of Hell. Leave this system now or you will die.>

This gets the attention of the Ekronians enough to stop their attack, with one of them saying:

<Son of Reaper. You have been condemned to death; if this is your suicide, it is acceptable: Ichor will not have pity on you just because you lost the Blood.>

<The Blood is always in my heart, but my hand holds a better weapon. Quantum Resonance!!!> the Demon yells, and the Ekronians observe a strange phenomenon.

Quantum appears next to Torn, but his body transforms first into photons and then into something they have never seen before. Pulsating in resonance with Torn’s soul, it’s a pure white flame that burns around a core of pure darkness. Even stranger, Quantum’s new energy body morphs into an object when Torn commands:

<Aether Scythe!!!>

A new weapon is now in Torn’s hands, a sleek scythe that gleams of the same impossible white and black fire. Torn tests it in an elegant swing, before resting it on his shoulder.

<A single weapon won’t scare a commando of elite Ekronian soldiers!> his adversary boasts.

<You don’t need to be scared. You are already dead.> Torn informs him.

The bodies of six thousand Ekronian demons around the ship suddenly explode into mists of flesh, then collapse into nothingness as if they had never existed.

<I did say “now”.> Torn clarifies, before moving his attention to the hundreds of thousands other Ekronians surrounding him. Lifting his weapon, he tells them:

<This is Aether. If Blood and Ichor make gods bleed, Aether turns them to ashes. Do you wish to flee now?> Torn offers, taking a battle stance.

His eyes burning with the same white fire from beyond the universe, he whispers:

<Please say no.>