Beyond The Impossible

Takama, 45,000 light-years from Earth

The planet is now visible from the bridge of the Ragnarok. It’s not much different from the majority of the inhabited planets in the Olympian Galaxy: a large number of small towns scattered across multiple continents, and very few big cities like those found on Earth. This leads to a small population of two billion people, despite the high technological level.

Noriko Null isn’t interested in this, right now, nor in the fact that every military installation on the planet is seemingly ignoring the Ragnarok: all she can think of is what Kari told just her.

<Amaterasu said Viper is her what!?>

<She called her “mother”. And she seemed pretty terrified of her> Kari explains.

<She must’ve brainwashed her or something. Torn, did you get any intel on Viper?> Noriko asks.

<I was busy protecting my soul during my torture. But I had the sense that Viper gives very little thought to Amaterasu> the Demon answers.

<Enough about this. Why aren’t we opening fire?> Alexer Syzar interrupts.

<Because one, this is obviously a trap so it might just be what Viper wants, and two, a direct attack would lead to civilian casualties> Noriko calmly explains.

<During their skirmish with Adrestia, Viper’s ships demonstrated the ability to disrupt the power of a warship. Can’t this ship do the same thing to Viper’s headquarters?> Syzar insists; as President of the Mortal Senate, he’s used to having the last word on just about anything.

<The Ragnarok is equipped with a Power Dampener System, yes, but we need to get closer. And it’s not guaranteed to work: we are protected against it, which I suppose is why Viper didn’t use it.>

<We won’t get anywhere if you keep second guessing yourself, Null.>

<Look, Syzar, I’m trying to be nice here, but unless you forgot: I’m way smarter than you. This is my ship, we’re against my tech, and this is my mission. So just shut up and let me do my job, okay?>

<Very well> Syzar answers bitterly, crossing his arms and looking away: as much as he wants to be in charge, he knows that Null holds all the cards now.

<Huge power surge on the surface! Someone’s shooting at us!> Kari yells.

A wave of bright yellow energy rises from the planet, reaching the Ragnarok in less than a second. With the ship already damaged, what little remains of the shields offer little to no resistance; with a last minute move, Liosthenes rolls the ship a few degrees: instead of cutting the ship in half, the energy only takes out the engine.

Artificial gravity disappears, and as everyone is busy holding to the nearest chair to avoid hitting the ceiling the ship’s artificial intelligence explains:

<Plasma Engine and Star Drive are offline. We are currently running on reserve power.>

<Take us out of here!!!> Noriko shouts.

<Unable to comply. Maneuvering thrusters are not sufficient to overcome the planet’s gravity.>

<What does it mean? Are we going to crash?> Kari asks.

<No, with our speed and trajectory, we’re going to disintegrate: the Ragnarok wasn’t designed for an uncontrolled atmospheric reentry, not without our shields> Noriko explains, swimming through the air to reach the captain’s chair. Liosthenes suggests:

<I can try to change our angle of descent and use the atmosphere to slow down.>

<Good idea, but I’ve already run the numbers: the Ragnarok would break apart before we reach the surface. Torn, I need you to create a portal.>

<Are we abandoning the ship?>– he asks.

<Do you have any idea how much this thing cost me? I’m not throwing it away easily. Can you survive in space for about thirty seconds?>

<I have never tried> Torn answers, raising an eyebrow. Noriko furiously types something on her N-Phone and starts talking at least three times faster than usual:

<You survived a few seconds before, so you’re my safest bet. We left Vesta behind and she can’t fly faster than light, but we don’t have sensors online so I’ve rigged the N-Phone to send a message to her Neural Transmitter. Empty your lungs, take a portal fifty kilometers away from the miniature black hole we created and press this button, and don’t close the portal until you’re back. Got it?>

<Why empty my lungs?>

<Because you don’t want them to explode, now GO!!!>

<If you say so> Torn answers, shrugging. When he disappears into a pentagram of fire, the heat from the atmospheric reentry is now obscuring the viewscreen.

Twenty seconds later, Torn re-emerges from the portal: he’s in Vesta’s arms. The goddess uncharacteristically drops him on the floor, flying towards the nearest hatch leading back to space.

<Torn! Are you alright?> Kari asks him, running to check his vitals.

<Apparently I can survive in space> he answers, coughing and looking a little worse for wear.

<Where did she go!?> Liosthenes asks, surprised both by Vesta’s appearance and disappearance.

<To save us> Noriko answers, pointing at the viewscreen: the flames have disappeared.

 

On the surface

About a hundred kilometers from the Divine Palace, Vesta slowly lowers the Ragnarok on the shore of the Tiresian Sea. The ship is not particularly heavy for her, but she has to be extremely careful handling it: one tiny mistake in distributing its weight could have disastrous consequences.

Once she’s done, she flies a few feet in the air to breathe a sigh of relief.

<That was a close call> she says.

<Hello?> she hears a voice behind her say.

Unlike a mortal, Vesta can look Amaterasu in the eye without damaging her retinas. And what she sees is a Japanese woman wearing a red samurai-inspired armor, carrying a sword made of light that is so bright it even outshines the Sun Goddess.

<Welcome to Takama-ga-hara. But you can call it Takama, everybody does. I am Amaterasu-ōmikami, the Shining Light, the…> she starts to recite, but Vesta cuts her off:

<I don’t care who you are. You just tried to murder my friends!>

<Who, me? I wasn’t trying to kill anyone!> Amaterasu replies, seemingly appalled at the idea.

<It sure looked that way! You think mortals can survive a fall like that!?>

<But I wasn’t… wait. Does that mean you’re a goddess?>

<Well… yes> Vesta admits, surprised to hear the question after being seen moving a warship.

<Oh! Okay then> Amaterasu replies, swinging her sword at Vesta.

The Greek goddess has to move at the speed of sound to avoid her; at the same time, the sword unleashes a massive wave of solar energy. The ground in its path is scorched, and when the wave touches the water a portion of the Tiresian Sea is instantly vaporized.

<What are you doing!? You’re going to kill someone with that thing!> Vesta protests, engulfing her body in flames in preparation for the fight.

<Only the redhead goddess and the man with the mask. Mother said I shouldn’t kill anyone else> Amaterasu explains, ready to swing her sword again. Vesta reacts by throwing a fireball at her: as expected, it does absolutely nothing. Amaterasu charges forward, cutting Vesta’s body in two.

Then the confused young goddess watches the fire dissipate from the form of a woman into nothing; she didn’t hit Vesta, just a body double made of fire. Another distraction, like the fireball, to grant Vesta the element of surprise.

<Thanks for falling for it> she says before delivering a flying kick to Amaterasu’s head.

The ground shakes, with an effect almost indistinguishable from a earthquake, and the sonic boom created by Vesta’s foot is powerful enough to rupture eardrums within a mile.

<So… do we fight now?> Amaterasu asks innocently: she’s holding Vesta’s ankle, having blocked her attack with ease. Then she flies up, dragging Vesta with her, and once she’s built up enough strength she throws her at the planet.

Everything happens so fast that even Vesta is left dizzy, to the point that she needs a few seconds to realize she’s now well below the surface and surrounded by lava.

Worse, it’s far from over: she can feel Amaterasu fly towards her, swimming with ease despite the tremendous pressure above them. Vesta may be essentially immune to heat damage, and she’s survived far higher pressures, but it’s still very hard to fight in these conditions.

She manages to dodge Amaterasu’s right hook: there’s hardly any technique in her fighting, but unlike Vesta she’s not struggling in this environment and manages to hit Vesta in the stomach.

Then Amaterasu uppercuts her with enough force to propel Vesta back towards the surface, much faster than when she was thrown down here.

She emerges in the streets of the planet’s capital, where the newly formed crater throws lava towards the buildings and where glass is raining from the skyscrapers shaken by the pressure wave.

Vesta crawls away from the crater, coughing up magma and looking rather beat up.

<Okay. She’s a Class 2 goddess alright> she comments, watching Amaterasu gracefully fly out of the crater: unlike her, she seems fresh as a rose. And she still has that sword of light in her hands.

<Now stand still> Amaterasu says, and her sword approaches so fast that Vesta fears for her life for the first time in millennia.

She blinks just as a red blur appears in front of her, anticipating the blinding flash of light that follows. Much to Vesta’s surprise, she’s not staring death in the face but the Demon saving her life.

<I could use some help> Torn tells her, clearly struggling to stop Amaterasu’s sword: the Heaven-Slayer blade he’s holding may be indestructible, but he’s using a tremendous amount of Blood energy to even stand a chance against the strength of a goddess.

<That’s not fair! I’m not allowed to kill the Demon!> Amaterasu complains, moving away much to Torn’s relief: he wouldn’t have lasted a second later.

But the Vanguard members can’t rejoice for long: Amaterasu is clearly preparing to attack again.

<Wait! If we keep fighting here, we’re going to destroy the city!> Vesta tells her: in fact, her divine abilities are the only reason why the combination of lava flowing from the ground and the solar power reflected by the Heaven-Slayer hasn’t started a fire.

<I’m sorry. I have to kill the redhead goddess> Amaterasu shrugs: the sword is now so bright that even Torn has to look away.

“Come on, Vesta, think! How would Noriko… wait. Why does she keep repeating…”

<Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!!!> Amaterasu shouts, making the same move that utterly obliterated Helios.

The white-hot blade is ready to slice Vesta in half, but it stops a fraction of an inch from her head.

<Uh? Where did she go?> Amaterasu asks.

<The redhead? I haven’t seen her> Vesta answers: in the blink of an eye, she turned into a brunette.

<So… you’re not my target then?>

<Looks like it. You should go look for her, unless you want to make your mother angry.>

<You’re right! She’s going to be SO mad if I disobey!> Amaterasu then says, bowing in a hurry and then disappearing in a flash of sunlight.

Vesta lets out a sigh of relief, while Torn asks with the voice of someone ready to pass out:

<You can change your hair color at will?>

<Some divine powers are more useful than others. I never thought that incredibly minor ability would save my life!>

<You could have done it before we started the fight.>

<Well, yes, but… ehm… oops?> she shrugs. Luckily for her this is Torn and not Quantum, so he doesn’t add further comment.

 

Back at the Ragnarok

While Vesta and Torn are busy taking care of Amaterasu, four mortals left behind… Kari, Syzar, Lily and Liosthenes… get out of the damaged ship, a little worse for wear. Lily is the only one to do so by flying, and so is the first one to see the incoming swarm of drones and soldiers.

<There’s an army coming this way! What should we do?> she asks, just when a bolt of lightning strikes the Ragnarok… or rather the girl who just stepped out of the remains of the Ragnarok.

<You take the rest of the planet. Viper is mine> Noriko Null answers, her silver eyes shining with sheer determination as the electricity flows into her body.