Dark Galaxy, 10 billion light-years from Earth
Noriko Null has been working on what’s left of the N01-Ragnarok for hours.
She pauses just to wipe the sweat off her forehead: the ship’s remains have been moved to a planet with a breathable atmosphere, but it’s still under direct sunlight.
At least until someone appears behind her, in the blink of an eye.
<Still hoping this piece of junk will prove useful, Sunshine?> Hermes asks her.
Despite appreciating the moment of shade, she squirms away from him.
<This “piece of junk” was the fastest ship in the Galaxy, Hermes. Top speed of 400 million times the speed of light.> she reminds him, pride of her technological achievement.
<Pfft. Are you really planning to spend the next 25 years of your life cozying up inside your ship, in order to get back home?>
<Well, since Zeus bailed on us and you’ve been unable to find out where he went…>
<Don’t place the blame for that on me, Sunshine!> Hermes interrupts her, flamboyantly faking being offended by the thought.
<Yes, how rude of me to expect the god of speed to be able to scout a galaxy on his own.> she retorts sarcastically.
<It’s not my fault that my father enjoys teleporting around the universe almost as much as he loves avoiding his responsibilities. That doesn’t explain why you’re wasting time on your toys, Sunshine, when you have me as your loyal servant.>
<Hermes, if you believe for a second that I’d buy the thought of you being “loyal”, you’re even drunker than Dionysus.>
<You believed Athena was loyal until she stabbed you in the back.>
<Right. Guess I deserve that.> Noriko has to admit, looking away; Hermes immediately understands their usually playful back-and-forth has managed to hurt her this time.
<I apologize. That was out of line.> he adds.
<Don’t patronize me.> Noriko replies, her silver eyes shining.
<I’m serious. Don’t judge yourself too harshly, Sunshine, I also did not expect Athena to betray you so brazenly.>
<You’re lying.>
<Oh I expected her to betray you eventually, but not as early as she did: if I was on the throne, I would have been caught off-guard as much as you. Unless, of course, anybody else but you ask me, in which case I’ve always known.>
<You’re such a piece of s##t.> Noriko finds herself chuckling.
<We really do have the weirdest relationship, don’t we Sunshine? That’s why you’ll never have to worry about me betraying you. Following you makes things so interesting!>
<You mean betraying me again. And if this is your way of convincing me to allow you to take me back to Olympus on your own, Hermes… forget it.>
<Come on, what could I possibly gain right now from killing you, or from delivering you to Athena? We both know that she will never trust me. In fact, she would kill us both on the spot the second she saw us in the same place!>
<As weird as it sounds, Hermes, I’m not worried about you betraying me. We’re ten billion light-years from Earth, and I know your top speed is 12 billion times the speed of light… that’s a 10 month trip. I can’t wait that long to get back.>
<Where did you get such a ridiculous number, my dear?> Hermes asks, leaning against the ship.
<Athena. Why, is her intel incorrect? She told me that’s your highest recorded speed.>
<That’s my highest speed recorded by her. I rarely have to move that fast, but I’ve had thousands of years to explore the universe… and that includes intergalactic travel. Even I need a bit of time to accelerate to my real top speed.>
<Fascinating. And what would that be?> Noriko asks, suddenly intrigued.
<Way more than what your ship can do. More than any ship can do, really… there’s a limit to how much one can bend space before it breaks.>
<Still not a number…>
<My speed is everything to me, Sunshine. That’s not information I give up easily.>
<Unless I hear a number, Hermes, I will know you’re just bluffing.> Noriko adds, leaning forward.
<20 billion times lightspeed.> the god almost whispers.
<That’s it? It’s going to take you 6 months to get me back home!>
<Months you can spend in my arms, Sunshine, instead of needlessly toiling at a failed project.>
Noriko moves away from him, realizing he hasn’t caught up yet.
<Oh. You thought I was going to use the Ragnarok to get back home?>
<I… yes? Why else have you been spending time here?>
<This is just a side project of mine. I already have a way to return home.> she reveals.
<Sunshine, it is not wise to attempt scamming the god of scammers…
>
<If memory serves, I’ve done it before.>
<Touché. Alright, you’ve actually managed to let me say the truth: my real top speed is 22 billion times lightspeed, I swear by myself.> Hermes reveals, placing his hand over his heart.
<Aren’t you supposed to swear by Zeus or something?> Noriko asks, raising an eyebrow.
<I prefer swearing by something that I actually value.>
<You know what, Hermes? For once I do believe you. I’m sure it took some courage to admit you are only 55 times faster than the fastest thing I can build.>
<You certainly like to throw around numbers. It is still a long trip for a mortal, I know, but…>
<It’s still too much, Hermes. Besides, I need you to stay in the Dark Galaxy for the moment: you’re too valuable of an asset, I can’t risk losing you too early in our upcoming fight against Athena… and I’ll need someone to bring the others back to Olympus when the time comes.>
<What are you talking about, Sunshine? Certainly, you don’t plan to return alone?>
<Persephone, Aphrodite and Dionysus will stay here in the Dark Galaxy, at least until I’ve secured a foothold in our Galaxy. And I need you to keep an eye on them until the time comes… believe it or not, Hermes, but I’ve come to trust you more than I trust them.>
<I am honored beyond words by your wisdom, Sunshine, but…>
<But you expect something in return.> she interrupts.
<I am also the god of commerce, remember. It would be improper for me to provide a service without some sort of compensation.>
<Of course. Let’s hear, what do you want?> Noriko asks, rolling her eyes.
<I have but three things to ask of you. First…>
<I’m not gonna sleep with you.>
<Oh well, it was worth a shot. Second, I want you to kill Athena.>
<That was already part of the plan. Why is this so important to you?>
<I happened to like Hebe. Not all gods are complete monsters, something Athena forgot.>
<You already knew I’d do it anyway, and you didn’t really expect me to sleep with you. You actually have a single serious request… what is it?>
<Give me your word that you will never kill me.>
<You’ve got to be kidding me.>
<Null, I have seen you tear the soul of a Primordial god in half with your bare hands. I know how this all ends: unless someone kills you first, the Slayer of Gods will eventually slaughter every god in existence. Save perhaps Vesta. I have realized no god will ever manage to kill you, so that leaves me one thing to achieve: I want to be on your no kill list.>
Noriko couldn’t help noticing this was the first time he didn’t call her “Sunshine” in a long time.
<That’s a big one, coming from someone who has tried to kill me and conquer the Galaxy.>
<I could simply run at my top speed in the opposite direction from Olympus, out of your reach, resting on a random planet for a century waiting for you to die. You can’t afford to lose my help.>
<I don’t need you enough to give you such a blank check, Hermes. I already told you, I have ways to return home without you.>
<I have something else you need. I can get you the eyes of Prometheus.>
<What’s this latest bluff of yours?>
<No bluff. When Athena took his eyes, before condemning him to be enslaved by Baal, she kept them in a secure location. I happen to know where they are.>
<What would she do with those?>
<Prometheus could see the future. Athena hoped to use those eyes to replicate his power; she never succeeded, but you have the real Prometheus as an ally now. If you steal the eyes for him, he will regain his prophetic powers… an immense tactical advantage that you can’t dismiss.>
<I need more. How do you know this?>
<My daughter Tyche had the gift of prophecy too, as you remember; once she developed it, Athena offered to help her develop this power. That was such out of character for Athena that it made me snoop around. She’d been experimenting with prophetic powers for millennia, and in my investigation, I discovered where she keeps the eyes.>
<Why didn’t you take them for yourself?>
<As my request demonstrates, Sunshine, I am not suicidal and I know my limits. You, on the other hand, seem to have very little limits at all: I believe you can recover the eyes, just as much as I know that you will never find them without my help.>
<If this is one of your schemes, Hermes…>
<I don’t expect you to trust me the way you trust the Vanguard, but ask yourself this: given my current situation, would I gain more from lying to you or from being honest?>
Noriko reflects on this, the light from her silver eyes indicating how much brainpowers she’s dedicating to this.
Trusting Athena and in an attempt to see through her schemes is what doomed her leadership of Olympus; trusting a different god could prove even more disastrous.
And yet, weighing everything she’s come to know and expect from Hermes, as well as her personal instinct, she comes to a conclusion that even she didn’t expect.
<Alright. Gimme the location of those eyes and I promise you’ll be on the list.>
<Swear. On your father.> Hermes insists.
<I swear on my father’s life that, if you give me the location of the eyes of Prometheus and if they are actually there and if they actually prove to restore his prophetic powers… you’re in my No Kill List. As long as you don’t injure or enslave any mortals.> Noriko specifies.
<Happy to serve my former Empress.> Hermes takes a bow, handing over a scroll of papyrus.
<What’s this?> Noriko asks, taking the scroll.
<Galactic coordinates of the location. Are you certain you don’t desire an escort for such a dangerous mission, Sunshine?>
<No thanks. I’ve already got a ride.> Noriko answers, touching her temple while sending a signal through her Soul Relay.
A moment later, a triangle portal of white Aether appears next to her.
An hour later
Hell, 163,000 light-years from Earth
A similar portal appears under the flaming sky. Torn is the first to traverse it, followed by the rest of the Vanguard along with Gilgamesh and Prometheus.
The Demon almost collapses the moment the portal is closed, and two Kari duplicates rush to help.
<Are you alright?> they ask.
<The journey was… taxing. I believe Aether can bring me back to Hell from any place in the universe, thanks to its connection to my soul. I’m afraid I won’t be able to create a portal back to the Dark Galaxy, though.> Torn admits.
<It’s alright, I’ll figure something out.> Noriko replies.
<I can’t believe I’m actually happy to be back to this place. No offense, Torn.> Quantum says.
<I cannot speak for its looks, but I like the atmosphere.> Prometheus admits.
<Won’t your people be upset you brought more gods to Hell?> Vesta asks.
<If they do, they’ll have to take it up with me. It’s not like we’re staying here for long… we have a galaxy to reclaim, people.> Noriko reminds everyone.
<How are we doing that, exactly? We don’t even have a ship anymore!> Kari points out.
<I thought we were going to take it with us. Why did you spend so much time working on that thing anyway?> Gilgamesh asks.
<I needed something to send a message.> Noriko cryptically answers.
Olympus, 28,000 light-years from Earth
Athena is a far more hands-on Empress that Noriko was: she’s been trying to closely oversee as many issues as possible. Given the sheer number of inhabited planets in the Galaxy, even when delegating as much as she could, that doesn’t leave her many occasions to be on Olympus.
Today however she had to rush back to the planet after receiving the first high priority alert of her rule, and she understands why as soon as she’s teleported out of her mothership.
She lands outside of a massive crater that was already visible from orbit, from which an enormous pillar of smoke is being emitted.
<Report.> she orders to the commander of the Olympian Armed Forces overseeing the incident.
<Your Majesty. The object emerged from an unknown dimensional anomaly within the system, then proceeded to crash at high velocity. We are fortunate that it landed on the uninhabited side of the planet!> he responds.
<There is no such thing as fortune. Give me the sensor grid readings.> she adds, telekinetically taking hold of the holographic pad he was holding and scrolling past several screens.
<The signature matches the Portal Generator. A desperate attack?> she wonders, flying towards the center of the crater. With just a wave of her hand, the smoke disappears… revealing the N01-Ragnarok, with its Neutral Matter hull still intact despite the force of the impact.
Athena’s divine senses scan the wreckage: the Negative Drive has completely melted, and the resulting energy release has completely destroyed everything inside the ship… it’s just an empty husk now. She can even see the hasty repairs done after Baal broke it in half.
<Fascinating. You turned the Negative Drive into a makeshift Portal Generator and overcharged it way past its breaking point. If this was a desperate attack it would have been directed at a more strategically important target… what was your goal, Null?> Athena says, talking to herself.
She almost convinces herself that Noriko botched whatever she was trying to accomplish, until she notices something on the bridge that did survive the meltdown.
Resting on the remains of the captain’s chair, it’s a tattered dark cloak that she recognizes: the last time she saw this, Baal was wearing it.
Now it’s been ripped in half, and while the human fingerprints have been burned away one additional detail remains.
Three words, written with charcoal black Ichor. The only message Null needed to send.
“YOU ARE NEXT”
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