Aquilia, 25,000 light-years from Earth
Every time she’s on a new planet, Kari Zel’s first priority is create as many duplicates as possible to learn everything about the place.
But now she’s using thousands of copies of herself to manage the disaster: the effects of the fight between Rhea and the Vanguard are being felt everywhere on Aquilia.
It feels like being back on Myridia during the uprising against Demeter; the entire planet is affected by a battle that is completely inaccessible to the civilians, who risk dying by the millions from the collateral damage. Only this time she’s not witnessing it from the point of view of the fighters.
People are fleeing from their homes, shouting in terror as a powerful earthquake threatens to flatten the city: nobody on the planet has ever witnessed a natural disaster.
She has to ignore the prayers she hears between the cries: the Aquilians are calling for their goddess Vesta to save their lives, or for her forgiveness just in case she’s the one they have angered. She has to focus bringing as many people to safety, but even ten thousand duplicates are not enough.
Or rather 9,999 duplicates: one of them has been knocked out after being possessed by Null, and in such a dire situation Kari is reluctant to re-absorb a potentially sick duplicate.
<Where is everybody going?> are the first words she hears pronounced without a hint of terror.
It’s from one of the few friends Kari managed to make during her brief stay; the hedonist Terastios has been left without company once the nearest brothel has been evacuated.
<Why are you still here!? Come this way, we’re setting up a refuge in the underground…> Kari tries to guide him, but Terastios completely ignores her to go to the Kari holding the defective duplicate in her arms.
<That’s interesting. I’ve never seen something like this before.> the man comments.
<There’s no time for this!> Kari tries to tell him; once she places her hand on his shoulder, however, the Aquilian’s body releases an electrical shock.
The duplicate touching him disappears with a popping sound. A second duplicate doesn’t have enough time to react: a bolt of electricity hits her too quickly to generate new copies.
Terastios is left with only one Kari Zel duplicate: the one still unconscious. He carries her on his shoulder, taking care to secure her position by holding tight to her backside.
<Let’s get somewhere private.> he tells her, calmly walking through the city crumbling upon itself.
N01-Ragnarok, in orbit above the planet
Noriko Null bites her lower lip when watching the data relayed by the sensors: Aquilia’s seismic activity has increased so much that whatever divine spell prevents her from properly scanning the surface can’t completely mask it.
<This is bad. If the fight continues like this there won’t be much of a planet left> Kari admits.
<I have to get on that f##king planet, somehow.> Noriko complains; she’s not used to stay out of the action when there’s a god involved.
<The second you land there you’ll be left without any technology; you may be the Slayer of Gods, but you’re still human. It would be suicide.> Kylon has to remind her.
<Wait! If there’s a barrier stopping us, wouldn’t the sword that killed Ares cut it?> Kari realizes.
<I’ve already thought about it: the StarScourge must be perfectly calibrated to avoid swallowing the entire planet, if the barrier destabilizes it even slightly it would be too risky.> Noriko replies.
<Maybe we could find Gaea and convince her to help?> Kylon suggests.
<One angry goddess is enough. If only I could transfer my mind again and do a Final Abyss at close range… gimme a moment.> Noriko adds, closing her eyes as she sits again on the captains’ chair.
“Roxiana, as much as I hate to admit it, I really need your help here. How long until my brain has recovered enough energies to transfer my consciousness again?” she thinks. Usually calling her name is enough to evoke the ghost of the former Nexus host, but nobody answers.
“Come on, you invented the damn technique, if anyone knows it’s you right? Roxiana? Hello?”
Both Kari and Kylon look at her, not knowing what she’s trying to do but realizing soon it’s not working as intended.
<She’s gone. That bastard is gone.> Noriko realizes, her silver eyes shining.
<Who is gone?> Kari wonders, turning away to protect her own vision against the continually increasing brightness of the silver eyes.
<Dammit. I knew she was a snake and I still let her bite me. I’m such a damn idiot!!!> Noriko chastises herself, slamming her fist against the armchair. Her eyes are leaking electricity now, and the air inside the bridge is filling up with static.
<We better move to the other side of the ship.> Kari warns Kylon, grabbing his arm.
<Why? What is she trying to do?>
<You’ve never seen a Final Abyss up close, have you? We have to leave, like, right now.>
<Is… is she seriously going to kill a god from orbit!?>
<She might just be pissed off enough to pull it of.> Kari concedes, still wondering who Noriko is talking about.
On the planet
This part of Aquilia used to be a stunningly beautiful archipelago, but luckily it’s never been colonized. Had it been inhabited, the tsunami created when Vesta hits the water faster than the speed of sound would have caused a considerable loss of life.
Rhea floats gently towards the largest island. The humanoid body she’s been using for hundreds of thousands of years has been discarded in favor of her real form: pure unadulterated energy in the shape of a woman.
<Are you going to behave now, Hestia?> she asks, crossing her arms.
Vesta drags herself to the shore, coughing up the seawater that entered her lungs as her body dries up by vaporizing the water touching her skin.
<Why are you so angry at me?> she asks her mother.
<You were such a sweet child, always so obedient! But look at you now; all your brothers and sisters have kids and kingdoms, but you’re still playing with your pets.>
<They’re not pets, mom. And you know why I never spoke up when I was younger? Because I was terrified of you. I didn’t have the courage to stand up for myself or those I have to protect… but now I do. Thanks to the very same “pets” that you don’t care about.>
<Then you need a lesson in what terror means.> Rhea tells her, and the energy within her grows in power. She holds up her hand towards Vesta, unleashing enough raw kinetic energy to vaporize a mountain… but producing only a bright light, much to her surprise.
<What the…> Rhea wonders, pausing when a sword of Blood energy stabs her from the back.
<Cut of a million deaths!!!> Torn shouts, unleashing a stream of tiny daggers that hit Rhea from every conceivable direction. The vast majority of them do nothing, but quite a few manage to cut her before she has time to heal herself.
<You dare!?> Rhea exclaims, releasing more kinetic energy; the only result is a powerful radio wave that only she can hear.
<Soul Reaper!!!> Torn shouts again, creating a scythe that manages to cut into Rhea’s stomach.
<C’mon Vesta, I can’t do this much longer!!!> Quantum pleads, returning to his human form just long enough to rally her teammate, then going back to changing Rhea’s attacks into more harmless forms of energy.
<You need to learn what being a goddess is all about, mother. Hellfire…> Vesta says; her body catches fire as she holds her power just long enough to allow Quantum and Torn to escape.
<…Inferno!!!> she finishes, and all hell break loose.
It’s as if thousands of nuclear weapons just detonated at once, in the same place. The island is not just evaporated: Vesta’s fire is so hot now that matter is reduced to ionized plasma by just being in her general vicinity. Exposed to conditions only found inside a star, millions upon millions of liters of seawater change into incandescent steam in a matter of seconds.
N01-Ragnarok, in orbit above the planet
The sensors are screaming about an extinction-level event on the surface, but Noriko Null can’t hear them. Channeling as much brainpower as she possibly can, there’s enough electricity let loose in the bridge to scramble even the most well-protected supercomputer.
<Here it goes… Final… ABYSS!!!>
If there was anyone crazy enough to stare at the scene, it would look like the Ragnarok just fired a blast of black lightning, taking the form of a dragon as it flies towards the surface at a significant fraction of the speed of light.
In the ruins of the city
Kari Zel’s body wakes up, knowing well that she’s not Kari as her silver eyes stare at her pink skin.
<It worked! I wasn’t sure I… uhm. I’ll have to get used to this voice.> Roxiana says, looking down at the body she’s now inhabiting. She’s sweating profusely: even at a considerable distance, Vesta’s attack just increased the temperature of the entire planet by several degrees.
<You seem familiar. It’s been a while since I’ve met someone with silver eyes.> Terastios says, staring at her intensely. She immediately notices he’s not sweating.
<You know, I’ve already slept with that body. Let’s spice things up a bit.> he says, moving forward. As he touches her forehead, Roxiana can feel the very molecules of her body rearranging themselves. In a matter of seconds her skin turns brown, her hair changes texture, and soon the only thing remaining from her previous form are the silver eyes.
<Did… did you just recreate my original body!?> Roxiana exclaims, looking at herself: she’s back to what she looks like when she was in her 20s and still alive.
<What are you? Really?> she wonders.
<I can think of a few ways to show you.> he replies, beginning to take off his clothes. Shortly before dropping his chiton, however, the man turns his head towards the nearest window.
At a distance, he sees a black dragon of electricity rapidly approaching the planet’s surface.
<Will you excuse me for a moment, I have to take care of something.> Terastios says.
He quickly kisses her on the cheek, then playfully slaps her butt before disappearing by moving faster than her eyes can track.
At the bottom of the sea
Rhea feels every muscle aching; she had no idea her daughter had so much power to unleash. She can barely stand as she assesses her situation: they’re on the seabed now, still incandescent after Vesta vaporized all of it. The water from the nearby seas is slowly flushing towards them, but Vesta is still hot enough to turn it to steam a mile before it reaches her.
<Had enough? I’m warning you, when I’m in this state it’s hard for me to listen to reason… I just lose control and want to burn everything. So I beg you, mom: stand. Down.>
<Look at you. Your father would be so proud to see what you have become.>
<What? But I… I’m not… I don’t want to be…> Vesta stumbles, her temperature decreasing significantly as her anger begins to fade.
<I misjudged you, Hestia. You don’t need this planet anymore; I’ll get rid of it.> Rhea says, flying upwards towards the sky.
<Mother! Wait!> Vesta shouts, following her. She can already feel Rhea’s power rising: there’s no doubt in her mind that she’s going to destroy Aquilia at any moment.
<Please forgive me, mother. Hellfire… IGNITION!!!>
A ball of fire leaves Vesta’s hands, flying towards Rhea. The mother goddess looks at her in astonishment just as she’s made aware of a second threat coming towards her: the Final Abyss is approaching rapidly from the opposite direction. As she rises to avoid them, she realizes both attacks are able to track her… and for the first time in a billion years, Rhea fears for her life as she closes her eyes in fear.
Much to her surprise, nothing happens. When she opens her eyes again, there’s a mortal standing in front of her, floating in the sky. Holding his arms apart and keeping at bay both the Hellfire Ignition and the Final Abyss, seemingly without any effort.
<Well this is a bit of a mess, isn’t it? I should probably put a stop to it.> Terastios says nonchalantly; both attacks vanish, exhausting their full power without causing damage.
<You’re not a mortal, are you?>
<No, I just put a lot of effort into looking like one. But I guess the fun is over.> he sighs, holding his hands around his head as if he was trying to remove an invisible helmet… which he does.
As Vesta flies towards him, she can see that he’s now holding in his hands a familiar sight: it’s the Helmet of Hades which her brother uses to shield himself from the sight of other gods.
But it’s not Hades that is now standing before her, showing his true form: a young man with white hair, a thick white beard and sky-blue eyes.
<Hi sis. It’s been a while, did I miss anything important?> Zeus asks.
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