I have a really long A/N at the end with footnotes for this chapter so I wont waste your time before hand! Please leave a review if you enjoy this- here we go!
His Uncle, Godly
Chapter II: There Are Forces In The World And Beyond The World
Bastiaan smiled as he took a sip of tea, relaxing on the porch he'd made that looked out into the Void, the leviathan whales that were so in tune with the waters of his world passing by peaceably. He could hear the two boys giggling as they talked in the room behind him. It was odd, after four thousand years of never having been in a family to be so domestic.
But the Void-Being decided it just came with the territory. He'd be lying if he told anyone that he hadn't wanted kids of some sort at some point, to have that familial connection he'd lost at a fairly young age. Having Ciel around in his immortal existence was really doing him some good. Bastiaan had become fairly nihilistic as the centuries stretched into millennium. Even if there was more to the universe than just the Mortal Realm that was his home world and some universes had gods that ruled them, the Void was the world in-between. He was the only inhabitant of a place that truly was not supposed to exist.
That type of existence, existing as the avatar of something that just existed and had no rhyme or reason to it twisted his mind. The only joy he really found was in humans, who had proven to be able to give meaning to their lives unlike himself. But having Ciel around, a child that seemed to be less nihilistic with him around, was perplexing. They'd talked a little bit about that, after Bastiaan had asked him, confused and curious. The boy had admitted that the knowledge that there was a god out there, even if it wasn't the traditional God Ciel had heard of, and that Bastiaan cared about him was a comfort. Even if his existence had no purpose and wasn't planned, Ciel rested a little easier knowing there was a higher power out there watching them all.
Sometimes it felt like Ciel put too much trust in him. Bastiaan wasn't sure how to feel about it, as his human side filled him with thoughts of unworthiness. After all, he had kept himself separate from the world, maintaining a distance purely to fuel his entertainment and prevent boredom. He didn't try and fix the world or make it better for humanity because a perfect world would leave Bastiaan without entertainment. He was not a malevolent god by any means, but he was most definitely not benevolent. He did not go out of his way to help people unless they interested him.
It was odd, to feel unhappy with what someone thought of him. He had never felt this way before, or at least not in thousands of years. Even when his purest, or naivest depending on your point of view, follower in Corvo looked at him in suspicion and distrust he hadn't felt this way. Now though, whenever those fragile eyes, full of inner strength that was held together with thin string, a single scarlet thread Ciel had used to pull himself out of the abyss he had found himself in, looked at him Bastiaan felt like the boy behind those eyes had an opinion that mattered to Bastiaan.
It was baffling, but he supposed familial love was always in some way. You loved them just because they were related to you. Bastiaan had never understood why that was the case but now… maybe he understood a bit better.
Why Corvo was so adamant in resisting those how had stolen Young Lady Emily from him during their adventure together suddenly made so much more sense to the god.
It had been a few weeks sense he had rescued Ciel and then shortly thereafter had rescued Finny from where he was stranded after having escaped his captors. Though this world was not so evil to have infected this world with the zombie-like plague that had entered Dunwall and had ravaged it, it was crueler in some ways to people like Finny. A product of inhumane experimentations, the boy had been a bald mess of nerves when they'd found him. It had been at Bastiaan's suggestion that he join them not as a mere servant but rather as a pseudo-sibling for Ciel- a guardian for the boy when Bastiaan was not around, but also a brother of sorts.
Ciel had latched onto that idea rather fondly, a bit more fondly than Bastiaan had expected at the time, and had tried his hardest to build such a bond between them. Though it had taken a good week before Finny felt comfortable enough around them for Ciel's attempts at brotherly love not to scare the older boy, Ciel didn't give up and neither had Bastiaan, offering his counseling to the red-haired boy. It had gotten to the point where Bastiaan considered both of the boys his "sons" of sorts. Over the past couple of weeks, the two younger boys had become inseparable as they got used to living in a poor are of the city. They'd found one of the shoddy buildings they could live in, Bastiaan keeping the less experienced boys nearby as he weaved his way through the terrible conditions.
These apartments they passed were even worse than the slums back in his own world. While his world was very similar to this world in terms of technology and culture, somehow these apartments were built even cheaper with little consideration for safety or attractiveness. There was no plumbing or bathrooms in any of the apartments, much less flushing toilets or clean water. Instead, the people who lived here were forced to use public outhouses that were communally used by everyone that lived within the block. Ciel gagged more than once as sewage ran down the street since there was no underground sewage pipes to transport it away.
The apartment block they had ended up settling in at was in the Whitechapel area, in one of the cottages built in the area behind Numbers 26 and 27- the area was named Miller's Court after the man who owned 26 and 27. Bastiaan had talked to the man who owned the lands, Jack McCarthy. He seemed to own most of the slums, which made Ciel have some contempt for the man for letting these people live in such squalor.
Bastiaan later had to talk to the boy. He had stopped him, kneeling down to his level, and put his hands on the boys' shoulders, "You know the man is not at fault for such problems Ciel?"
Ciel huffed and glared a bit, "And how do you know that? He is sitting on awful properties and charging people for them!" He said distressed.
Sighing, Bastiaan nodded, "But consider Ciel- these homes are only four and tenpence. Now tell me, if these families could afford lodgings worth more than that, do you think they would not have taken them?" Ciel quieted down at that comment, mulling it over.
"But why would they not be able to- do they poor really get paid so little?" he said, in disbelief. Ciel never had lived as the poor did and it was shocking to the boy to find out that anyone lived on so little. Bastiaan nodded.
"They call this place the worst street in London Ciel for a reason," Bastiaan observed. "These people do not work the best jobs, nor do they have wealthy families to fall back on. They work what they can, unskilled labor or…. Well other jobs," He said, not sure whether or not Ciel knew what prostitution was yet. "Those jobs do not pay well in the slightest."
He'd led a baffled and distraught Ciel along with Finny to their new home- which lasted about two minutes before Bastiaan began constructing an altar that took up the majority of the single-roomed building. The boys had watched baffled as Bastiaan finished before he turned to Ciel and Finny and smirked, "Shall we enter?" Gasping, the two boys watched wide-eyed as a portal sucked in Bastiaan. Ciel looked at the symbol on his hand. Could he do that? Bastiaan sensed this and mentally gave him a push to do it as he willed the void to form a nice house, though it was more like a rich family's London summer-home as opposed to a mansion. Using Bastiaan's power, Ciel had brought himself and Finny to the Void through the Altar, the boys stumbling as they entered the foyer of the new house Bastiaan had made as the being watched with a smirk.
This was where the three had spent a majority of their time these past weeks- Bastiaan may have used his ability to teleport to go get supplies or things for the boys without having to carry the conspicuously valuable items back through Whitechapel. That's not to say he never walked through the poor area he had found himself in. More than once he wandered through the streets, watching, and coming to understand the world he lived in. He got to know his new landlord and their neighbors- one such woman was Mary Ann Cox, one of the many prostitutes who lived around in the area. In the weeks that would follow, two new people moved into the house near them- Joseph Barnett and Mary Kelly. They were amicable company, even if the woman got quite boisterous when drunk and started singing Irish tunes. When this happened Bastiaan would bid them a good night, leaving Joseph to suffer the woman's singing alone.
All in all, this new life he had adopted was good and Bastiaan was surprised by how content he felt living with the two boys as their guardian. It was a good change he decided, far better than any of the other plans he had begun to hatch in his head when he was the instigator back in his world. Back then, his time was spent scouring the world constantly for interesting people with which to entertain himself with. Now however, these two were all he needed to find life interesting. Perhaps he needed companionship a bit more than he usually let himself think.
The giggling inside the house behind him had stopped and the sounds of conversation had died down as well. Bastiaan glanced backwards to see Ciel standing in the doorway, staring out at the Void Bastiaan had been looking at. The boy still was not entirely accustomed to this world, even as he had lived there for weeks now. In some way, it was easy to forget you were living in another world- the house Bastiaan had conjured looked as real as the ones back in his world, and Bastiaan kept it supplied as if it wasn't in another dimension. So long as you didn't look out the windows it was easy to forget. Ciel looked at him now however, "Bastiaan? I was hoping I could talk to you about what happened to my parents," he murmured out.
Bastiaan nodded, a new chair warping in just out of Ciel's vision as he willed it, his hand gesturing to it for the young boy, "Well, pull up the chair and join me. What did you want to talk about specifically?" He asked as Ciel came over to him, shifting uneasily. He knew the boy was still recovering from the trauma of his parents' death and was still yet to be fully comfortable with what happened, let alone discussing what had happened to Ciel himself. Bastiaan knew what had happened and was fairly disgusted with the cultists. The immortal just counted himself lucky that Ciel needed to be "pure" for the sacrifice so none of them could force themselves onto the boy. That likely would've ruined what little stable psyche Ciel had left.
"I want to know who did this. You've mentioned in passing that you can see the future? Can you also look into the past?" Ciel questioned, more serious now than he had been in a while. Bastiaan leaned forward and considered what he was asking. He'd have to do a far bit of explaining how the Void worked for any of this to make sense. This Earth hadn't even had their Anton Sokolov, their literal Einstein in this case, to explain to some extent the intricacies of relativity or the world they lived in.
"First you need to understand how the Void works to understand how I can discern the future," Bastiaan started as he leaned back. "There are a few primary 'dimensions'- namely the three that make up three-dimensional space, and then time being the fourth. Some refer to this as spacetime. I won't get into the exact number of dimensions or what they all are- suffice to say that every possible world that could exist does exist."
Bastiaan leaned back forward, drink now set on the table next to him, "Now, one might wonder how these worlds are kept separate from each other- that is where the Void comes in. The Void is essentially a 'world' much like all the others, however it is malleable unlike the others. Think of your world as a metal such like iron while the Void is more like mercury. The other oddity is that it is made up of a special particle that gives the Void many unique properties."
"Now these particles are also what the walls between dimensions are made of- in essence, the Void is a world that melds with the walls of the worlds." Bastiaan explained, "Because every world is its own entity, they have a localized spacetime. While the Void does as well, the particles that energize it and that make up my own body are 'fifth dimensional' – meaning, primarily that they exist outside of space-time. It is this property that allows me to move my body to any point in space-time. My mind, being mostly human still, doesn't process it the way it happens."
The immortals head dipped, "So, for example, when I or those I gift 'stop-time' we are not actually stopping the time in that dimension. Instead it is how our human brains process the Upper-Dimensional particles lifting us and our bodies out of the Time Dimension and putting us in a fifth dimensional state. Moving forward and backward in time is an extension of this ability though my followers have never achieved that level of control over the Void."
"As for how I discern the future, I can do it by either manually moving myself along the timeline of the world I currently am in or by looking at other worlds through the Void. The only issue with moving myself along the world-timeline is that it doesn't work completely. Timelines are like a branch that gets pruned- there are millions upon millions of possible futures for a world but as time progresses in a world, choices are made. I can move past the present and into the future, but I cannot tell which version of the future will come to pass for it does not yet exist." Ciel was following along though just barely.
Bastian forged ahead, "So while I can tell you what is most likely to happen, I could not tell you exactly what will come to pass. Now I can look into the past and see what happened there, either by moving along the timeline or by being in the Void, like right now, as when you cross dimensions you must know both where and when you want to appear in the local space-time."
Ciel nodded, eyes narrowed in thought as he processed all this information on how the universe worked. "But… that means you can tell me who did this to me and my family?" Ciel asked hesitantly. Bastiaan considered his request, hand on his chin. He could easily just show Ciel but he was fairly certain that the traumatized boy was not ready yet to relive the murder of his family and then his own subsequent kidnapping.
"I can. But are you prepared to know the answer to that question?" He asked solemnly. It would be a turning point for the boy, upon finding out the truth. Ciel stilled- his eyes closed as he seemed to consider his answer for a moment. The boy nodded and Bastiaan dutifully supplied an answer, "I am against telling humans what lies in their future as it makes them predictable. But for you, well, it's only telling you your past no?" He smirked but sighing.
"The one you look for is a Fallen Angel. Unlike regular Angels who serve in the Heavens of your world and follow your God's will and decision to allow humans free-will, Fallen Angels wish to rewrite the memories of humans and brainwash them. They have no qualms about destroying those in their way, or that their favored wish to be destroyed." Bastiaan considered Ciel, whose eyes had widened in shock.
"A-A Fallen Angel?! Angels exist? G-God exists?" Ciel coughs, blue eyes startled. Bastiaan raised an eyebrow at his reaction. It may have been shocking but honestly, the boy almost contracted a demon, he shouldn't be this shocked.
"Indeed. You knew of the demon did you not? The religion of the God of this world is taught widely here and includes demons in their teachings," Bastiaan said a bit amused as Ciel gave him a grumpy look.
"Yes," Ciel pouted, "But there's a difference between something calling itself a demon existing and God actually existing. After all, you said you're basically a god so I figured….." Ciel trailed off.
Bastiaan realized his mistake. "Ah yes- well that would be because he's not a fifth-dimensional being by nature. Yahweh is a human that drew upon the power of the Void long before I existed. Though he never learned to join himself with the Void, it granted him great powers and nigh-immortality, as well as time bending powers like myself. He didn't create your world, but given as he is the most powerful user of Void energies in this world and the creator of Angels- which subsequently turn into Demons and Fallen Angels when their purpose is corrupted."
Ciel seemed to be dealing with this information a bit better, "S-so there is no hell? And he is not going to drag me there when I die?"
Well that wasn't what the immortal expected to be asked but shook his head, "Heaven and Hell exist but not as places for humans. Heaven is a planet in the universe circling a star he calls Hell. Heaven is a paradise he fashioned himself while Hell is where he tosses his creations that attempt to rebel against him. The Bible of your world is an odd application of his actual words reinterpreted to apply to humans instead of his Angels."
The boy was now calmed down and seemed very much relieved. Bastiaan was glad for that- he still was trying to figure out how to comfort the child's fragile psyche. Ciel hummed, "Well that is good to know. So, one of Yahweh's rogue creations killed my parents and still on the loose."
Bastiaan nodded, "Well, I know where this Angel is- they have chosen a rather high-profile role." Ciel's head shot up as he looked up at Bastiaan with eyes as large as saucers.
"You know where this Fallen Angel is?! Well what are waiting for then! Why haven't we gone after them?" Ciel said, suddenly standing and itching to go after the being that had murdered his parents. Bastiaan raised an eyebrow and waved him to sit down again.
"Because dearest Ciel. The Fallen Angel is serving as the Queen's butler and the Queen may very well have been part of this debacle. We have no idea who all was involved and I am not your errand boy to do the dirty work for you," Bastiaan said- Ciel flinched and Bastiaan's heart softened a bit. Maybe he was being a bit harsh. He leaned forward, looking Ciel in the eyes, his own flashing back to their pitch blank state. "I care for you Ciel, in a way I haven't for anyone in millennia. But you are still human. You must still learn to stand on your own two feet."
Ciel nodded, properly chastised for his attitude. Bastiaan stood however and put a hand on Ciel's shoulder, giving him a small smile, "Come. Let's go find Finny and together we can begin planning on how we plan on unweaving the web that the Fallen Angel has created."
Woo! Another chapter done! This one wasn't too bad to write but college has killed my time recently. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this! A few notes:
1) They are living in a real place. Well maybe their specific place wasn't real, as I couldn't find anywhere that said how many houses were in Miller's Court. However, Miller's Court was a real set of buildings/rooms created in the confines of London's "worst street" of Dorset Alley in the Whitecastle area. I calculated how much it cost to rent a room in Miller's Court based on how much Mary Kelly (the last of Jack the Ripper's victims) owed at the time of her death, divided by how many weeks late the rent was. In the process, I had to learn the British pre-decimal system and do lots of research but it was really eye-opening to how accurate the Dickensian stories were to how bad conditions actually were there. And yes, I did mention Jack the Ripper- they're neighbors with one of the victims, so you can guess what arc is going to show up in the next couple chapters.
2) We are now officially in the anime universe. I may bring in some more manga elements, but given as the Outsider would know who targeted the Phantomhive family, and I'm telling this story from his point of view, as well as making him sympathetic towards Ciel, I needed to define who killed the Phantomhives. And the manga still hasn't told us that, while the anime did diverge and gave us the Fallen Angels. This is also why I mention Yahweh and Angels. If it was only Shinigami and Demons, I could easily just say 'That's all folks!'. But with there being Fallen Angels, that implies there are regular Angels and God, so I had to talk about that.
3) Now to preface, I didn't want to step on any religious toes in this chapter. I was raised as a Christian myself, but between the very odd supernatural "biblical" cast in Black Butler, as well as the Outsider himself I had to come up with something that explains how these are all connected and make sense. So, I pulled from secular theories as to where Yahweh/Israelites came from as well as the Dishonored mythos. Given as this story subscribes to the multiverse/many-worlds theory, this is simply a world where Yahweh is a human instead of a deity.
Anyways! I hope you all liked it and once again, please review if you liked what you saw- it bolsters my spirits and if you have any ideas or critiques theyre often very helpful when writing future chapters. Until next time!
