Chapter 44 – Deus Ex Homine

Suddenly, Toshiro found himself in surrounded by complete darkness and a feeling of weightlessness.

"Where am I…? Am I dead already?" he said out loud.

A light started glowing before him, and out of that light, a girl clad in white came towards him.

"Yoshika?" Toshiro asked as the resemblance struck him.

"No, Toshiro. I'm not Yoshika," the girl said with Yoshika's voice, however with a resonance that was unlikely of her.

Then it came to him. He saw that Yoshika previously. One dream in Romagna. One vision when Yoshika almost sucked him dry of magic while healing Mio's arm.

"Who are you exactly? Some kind of god? Or maybe a figment of my imagination?" Toshiro asked carefully.

"You are right going down the god path. I have taken the appearance of your beloved, so it would ease this conversation."

"God path… Are you of Kye's world?"

"No, not exactly."

"So you are from this world… Please then, tell me who you are."

"I am you, Toshiro," the fake Yoshika responded.

"Hard to believe, since you're telling me you're a god, and the last time I checked, the only thing connecting me to the gods are being a Chosen, and having a Godly Particle in me. Well, I am also a Champion of the Allgod, but…"

"You don't know about this, because of the powerful failsafe's that I have designed. You or anyone else, except for Kye and her kind, wouldn't know a thing about it."

"Wait… I'm a god? This is absolute bullshit!"

"You are not just any god, Toshiro. You are the Allgod Adam, an Elder God."

Toshiro looked at the Yoshika before him dumbfounded.

"But… If I am the Allgod, and YOU are the Allgod… What…" he tried to construct a meaningful sentence in his confusion.

"Toshiro, my consciousness is fading away. If it does, this universe is doomed. That is where you come into the picture. You are the Chosen."

"Yes, I'm a Chosen, but how does that have to do with the fate of the whole damn universe?"

"No, you are not just some random Chosen, a champion of gods. You are THE Chosen One. Do you remember the prophecy about you?"

""A man born of the outcasts will rise amongst the women, and destroy the scourge of humanity." And? Where does that say that I'm the Allgod?"

"The prophecy is incomplete, because one of my failsafe's worked. The whole prophecy is as following… "A man borne of the outcasts will rise amongst the women, and destroy the scourge of humanity, for he is the One Who Was, the One Who Is, and the One Who Will Be.""

"Wait… What are these failsafe's?" Toshiro asked.

"They were designed so that nobody would learn about your true nature before this time would come. If anyone would get on track, he would get off it immediately."

"But… How did the gods get wind that you even existed?"

"Residual memory, Toshiro. The gods can pick up traces of my existence, but only the fact that I existed, and that I created the world in the way I did, nothing else."

"Hmm… Oh right, they don't even know your gender!"

"I am a man."

"Hah!"

"I sensed an image of a certain being flash in your mind. The Primordial Goddess."

"Yeah… She's your mother so to speak."

"That is true, although she always firmly dissuaded me from calling her like that."

"Huh? Now that's kind of cold…"

"Not only me, but also Mavet and our consorts, from all I know."

"Weird… But… Being omnipotent, you can't die, right? You can't just fade into nothingness?"

"Nigh Omnipotent. Being that, I can cause my own death. Also, the Primordial Goddess could kill me, since she was my creator and the only truly omnipotent being in existence. The universe in which you live was supposed to be my last creation, my curtain call. But before that, I struck a deal with Kye, which you know about. Also, I have set up all the failsafe's and a means for me to return if it was needed, and a way for me to exist in the universe in another form than before. Anything else you'll learn when we merge."

"Merge?"

"Yes, Toshiro. Two must become one again, or the universe will perish. And you have something that I don't possess…"

"But… What will become of me then? I want to live a normal life! With Yoshika!"

"I fully understand your concerns. But after we merge, you will become the true Allgod, a nigh omnipotent entity, just like Kye."

"So… I can choose what to do afterwards?"

"Yes, Toshiro."

"Which personality will be the dominant one?" a question suddenly came up in his mind.

"We will be one being, but the matter of personality can be adjusted."

"Then… What do we do?"

"Just embrace me, and that is all."

"Just like that?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm… I hope you're not trying anything fishy… And that I WILL have a choice afterwards."

"We only need to merge for the universe to be preserved. What will happen later is irrelevant."

Toshiro spread his arms wide and said, "Come here then…"

The Allgod approached Toshiro and hugged him. Amongst the warmth coursing his body, he suddenly started gaining knowledge that the gods of this world don't even possess.

Welcome back, Adam… It's time to end this war… But first…

Toshiro opened his eyes. He was still in the same pocket dimension, but now he felt different.

"I see everything… Time, space, sound… I know everything… The location of every boson and neutrino in the omniverse… Is this how Kye feels? And…" Toshiro covered his mouth. "The Tenkai Reppuzan in Africa… The soul convergence… Yoshika's growth… The Final Arts being invented… It all happened because my powers leaked through thanks to my willpower…"

"Toshiro, I sense that everything is perfect."

"Oh, Adam… So what, I'm a schizophrenic now?"

"You are the dominating personality. You subconsciously want my own part of my mind to be preserved, because of your good nature. I am content with this outcome. If you search through my memories… no, our memories, you will see why…"

Toshiro pondered for a moment, and then he returned to his conversation.

"I see… You're one depressing cookie, Adam…"

"It seems that my mental frailty was by design… But I see that you have the willpower of a hundred men, despite sharing a similar frailty of mind as me. I would like to become stronger…"

"Then why don't we finally merge our personalities? I believe that it will bring out the best of the two of us."

"You do think so?"

"It's worth a try."

"I agree. Please, Toshiro, let us become one on a mental level."

Toshiro closed his eyes, and he felt as Adam's consciousness faded away inside him, but at the same time, his confidence in himself got strangely boosted, and his mind became much clearer.

Thank you, Adam… I feel much better myself now… You don't have to be anxious anymore, you have my foolhardy bravado now, hahaha! Now, it's time for fun!

Using his knowledge, Toshiro suddenly came up with an idea he saw in something called a video game from the future. He formed a lasso in his hand, spun it shortly and while throwing it forward he yelled, "GET OVER HERE!"

The lasso slipped through time and space itself, and after a tug, Kye popped out of nowhere right before him.

"Well hello there!" Kye cheered. "Who am I talking to, and who am I looking at?"

"You're looking at Toshiro 2.0, Adam Inside," Toshiro snickered. "We merged completely, with my personality taking over."

"I see…" Kye pondered as she dissolved the rope. "I kind of liked Adam as he was, but I like you more, heh…"

"That's nice of you. But I'm surprised you didn't do anything to stop me from pulling you over here…"

"It's the omnipotence paradox, Toshiro. You should know since you're now… heh… nigh omniscient."

"Just for the sake of proper conversation, please, explain…" Toshiro said with a wry smile.

"Oh I see you're getting at me for all those enigmatic answers I gave you… Okay then… We two are almost omnipotent beings, right?"

"Yup."

"So, what does happen when one of us want's to affect each other directly say… heh... change another's gender?"

"It works?"

"No, Toshiro, it gets nulled. It's the most paradoxical of paradoxes. We can compress the universe to fit into a matchbox, yet, we can't make a hair fall off of each other."

"Really now?"

"Yes. That's why we can't read each others minds or actions. We can detect each other, even a billion universes apart, but even if we think about the letter 'I' in all caps, underlined and glowing, we can't read it from each other's minds."

"Interesting…"

"Of course, we can purposely allow such a thing temporarily, but why would we do that?"

"After the bullshit mind reading from your world… Never again."

"Also…" Kye walked up to him, and grabbed his left hand. "This ring, Toshiro. It's something special, given to you by our creator."

"I've always pondered what it does, but even in Adam's memories, it's kind of a blank…"

"I know it's true purpose, Toshiro. It's a kind of a multitool. It's most prominent feature is blocking off influence of Elder Gods stronger than you."

"So that means… Hey, you could probably affect me with your powers, right?!"

"Yes, Toshiro. Joey, and I are strong enough to manipulate the rest of you, but this ring nullifies that property. However, the power level disproportion remains, so don't get on trying to mop me around, heh..."

"I see… Anything else?"

"There's one more power this ring has, but you don't have to know about it now," Kye winked.

"Spoilsport…" he mumbled.

"Heh. So what now? What will you do?"

"I will reinforce my mortal body, both physically and mentally, and then I will reign judgment supreme at the Matriarch, as much as my mortal body allows me. Then, at the moment she perishes, my powers will be sealed until the time comes that my mortal body dies. The fact that I was the Allgod will be erased from the memory of any non-omnipotent entity in the whole omniverse."

"Oh…"

"I know, Kye… I know that you would want to fool around with me… But… I had enough of fighting, enough of everything… I want to lead a normal life, as the mortal Toshiro von Edelweiss, not as the Allgod Adam… But I promise that after I die, we will meet again."

"I fully understand you, Toshiro. Being a god that has lived as a mortal, I am one of the few who understands."

"It's nice of you to understand. But I want to clear one thing with Kaylie, okay?"

"Kaylie?"

"Yes. As your world's the Goddess of Time and Space, she could just jump into my universe and try to persuade me to join her in some shenanigans. I want to tell her personally not to do so, and to say goodbye, although for her, it might be a blink of an eye."

"Do it, Toshiro. Want to poof her here yourself?"

"Do I fucking ever!" Toshiro cheered. "Here goes!" Toshiro made a tense face and snapped his fingers.

Kaylie appeared between Kye and Toshiro, facing him.

"Wah! Where am I?! When am I?! Toshiro? Why can't I read your mind?"

"Take a wild guess."

"Well, since I'm a goddess, I should read your mind like an open book, so this must mean that… Oooooh crap…"

Toshiro cracked his knuckles and asked, "Yeeees?"

"Mercy!"

"I won't beat you up, at least not before your own mother…"

"Wah! Mom is here?"

"Behind you," Kye said.

Kaylie immediately teleported herself behind Kye.

"Mooom… What's going on?"

"Toshiro has become the Allgod of this universe."

"Oh my… So it happened… But what do you want from me then?"

"Kaylie… After I defeat the Neuroi Matriarch, I want to live a normal life, and that means that I have to sever my ties with you… I know that this might sound harsh, but I wanted to tell you personally… And I'm restricting Aimaru and Aganaimaru not to open rifts."

"I understand, Toshiro."

"You do?"

"Yes, I perfectly understand the motives guiding you. Don't worry, it will be a blink of an eye, and we will meet again."

"The Akari's sure are compassionate people…"

"I'm a Maya, too, you know. But I want something!"

"Come up then."

"How… Ah… Silly me… Heehee…"

Kaylie came up and bowed her head slightly. Toshiro placed his hand on it and patted her a little bit.

"Thanks, Toshiro."

"No problem, squirt. Should I transport you back to where you were?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay."

"So I guess I should say my goodbyes now then?"

"Yeah… I guess… I do have a battle to win… And I have something else to get back at you."

"Oh really?"

"Come closer."

"I don't like this at all…"

"Closer…"

"Just don't try funny stuff…"

Kye was now only a few centimeters before Toshiro. He delicately grabbed her face.

"Wait, wha…"

He landed a big, fat smooch on her forehead.

"There you go, we're even now."

"Oh, you were going on about that… Haha, you sure are petty sometimes…"

"You can't root out some things. Well then, Kye… 'till I die!"

"Just don't do it too fast, Yoshika deserves a good life with you."

"She will have one, I promise."

"Ah, wait! Wait!" Kye halted him.

"What is it?"

"Visitors. And one other thing after they arrived."

Just as Kye finished speaking, seventeen other beings, all in black cloaks, appeared in a circle around Toshiro and Kye. Their faces were concealed under their hoods, but strands of hair could be seen hanging down from some of them. Toshiro looked closely and noticed that some of the beings were female, and some were male.

One of the cloaked figures with blonde hair hanging down from her hood spoke. "Master, you came to him ahead of the rest of us."

"Indeed I did. Mister Adamshiro here yoinked me himself."

"Who are all of these people?" Toshiro asked.

"Has it not come to you, Adam?" one of male figures spoke.

"Mavet!? I won't let you…"

"Calm yourself, Toshiro," Kye said. "Mavet is not here to fight. He's like us. The lot of us are merely here to see your return."

"Yes, I see now. I'm still getting reacquainted with my Allgod powers, so…"

"We know," one of the female figures said.

"All of us went through similar experiences," another female figure added.

"Can I get an introduction?" Toshiro asked.

"You already know all of us from long ago," one of the male figures said.

"You know, Adamshiro, there are supposed to be twenty of us, yet there are only nineteen here. You have forgotten about something, or rather SOMEBODY."

Toshiro pondered for a second and shouted, "Ah fuck! Yes… Livy, don't be shy, come!"

She appeared before him, clad in her usual purple kimono. She gently put her hand on his face and asked, "Master, is it truly you?"

"Both of your Masters in one package, Livy," Toshiro said softly. "With the mortal one in control."

"I see," Livy smiled. "We are truly reunited now…"

"I really wonder why I was such a dick towards you…"

"The Primordial Goddess, when she created the sixteen of us, kept certain emotions from each. Of the emotions she kept from you, one was love."

"Yes," Kye added. "Each of us were created with a missing emotions, some more than others. She initially only gave me four emotions, those being curiosity, desire, familiarity, and love."

"What was the purpose of that?" Toshiro asked.

"Perhaps to give us a reason to use our free will? Every one of us ended our lives as nigh omnipotent beings to live as mortals for a time, and every one of us, when we regained our power, retained our mortal emotions."

"I see. So, Livy, I was unable to love, yet you loved me regardless?"

"Yes. Master Adam was unable return my love, but I served by his side through eons nonetheless, waiting for a miracle… And then he did what he did… And I was left for eternity... Alone… As the sword which is now known as Oblivion Lost… My name was never spoken out to man or god, but the Primordial Goddess and her Great Creations know my name."

Toshiro smiled and embraced her tenderly.

"I have to leave you…"

"I know, Master… You're probably tired of the supernatural… I will reset our relationship with Mistress Yoshika…"

"I'm glad you understand…" he said and took off the lonely tear dripping down her cheek. "I will block the memories of us being together too… But remember, Livy, I will always love you."

"Thank you…" she hugged him tighter.

"You will help me in the upcoming battle, right?"

"Yes, Master Toshiro. With all my might."

"Thank you."

Toshiro moved a bit and kissed her on the lips.

"Master…?"

"You deserve at least this, after all the eons of solitude…"

"Thank you, Master…"

"I now understand what Adam meant by "having something that he doesn't possess.""

"Love, Master?"

"Yes, Livy, love… I feel that now we are a more perfect entity… Something more complete… That curse is now finally void…"

"Indeed, Master."

Toshiro smiled. "Have anything to add, Kye?"

"Not I."

Suddenly, another figure appeared out of nowhere. Nothing could be made of the new figure, aside that it was wearing a black cloak.

"And you are?"

The figure ignored his question, but instead spoke to everyone in a soft, tender voice. "It has been a great many eons since all of you were last together. The emotion known as joy could be used to describe this occasion. You have all done well while living as mortals, and if I were to display another emotion, it would be pride," she looked at Toshiro. "You need not repeatedly ask a question which you know the answer."

"But I only asked it once… You can read my mind? But how?"

"Still hasn't come to you, Adamshiro?" Kye teased.

"You are… her?" Toshiro mumbled.

"You have found the correct memory. Do not worry, the full capacity of your power will soon return. I will take my leave now, as will the rest of you. Adam still has something to do in his mortal world."

"It was nice to see everyone," Toshiro said moments before everyone aside himself, Livy, Kye, and Jouten disappeared.

"Well, Kye, this is it."

"Indeed it is, Toshiro.

"Thanks for everything," he said as he extended his hand towards her. "Time to kick some ass."

She grabbed his hand and shook it calmly.

"Just be sure to stock up on gum," she winked.

"Ha! Okay, time for me… But!"

"What is it, Adamshiro?"

"I swear I will pound you one day…"

"At least now you can try, heheh…"

"True that… So, read my mind right now."

"You sure?"

"Go."

Kye looked at Toshiro with a raised eyebrow and said, "Right, Aya…"

"I trust that the cogs of fate have been greased properly?"

"Don't worry, Toshiro, everything is set like a Helvetian watch."

"Good… Then maybe one more thing – Toshiro Deuce."

"As I promised you that it all will end well, I promise you that Toshiro Deuce will be the second strongest mortal in that world."

"You really REALLY promise?"

"Yup. I'll probably leave after Kamiko grows up, but the… err normal mortals will get suspicious if she stays too much longer since I won't age. So come 1970 in that world, fuck the police. Your clone will be uncontested number two."

"Hahahaha! Damn, those modern phrases sure are catchy…" Toshiro laughed.

"And I'll make sure he'll live as long as his Yoshika, and that he won't get drunk."

"Ooooooooh, now you're cooking with gas, sistah!" Toshiro laughed again. "Hey, but why don't I just do it myself?"

"No, no, no. My universe, my meddling."

"Kay, kay… You know, I feel as if you're my big sister right now…"

"Heehee… You know, I could actually consider you my little bro…"

"Somewhat… We have a common mother, so to speak…"

"Master, are we going?" Livy appeared again.

"Yes, Livy, come on. Bye, Kye onee-chan," he winked.

"Bye, you stubborn otōto of mine…"

He took Livy's hand, and the world around him slowly started fading.

Toshiro opened his eyes and saw the world around him devoid of color. The beam fired by the Matriarch was still ramming against the shield that looked more like a spider web right now.

So this is it… I wonder if I should do this as my immortal self, or as a half-mortal, souped up considerably.

"How about the second option, Master? You could do it temporarily."

"Yeah, that would probably be the best… I'll just have to alter my body, and give myself at least temporary mastery of the Celestial Order."

"How far will you go with the modifications, Master?"

"Mortal Kye will be an idiot compared to me, heheh… Adam trusted human genetics, I'll be better than that."

"It's your will, Master."

"Indeed… Before my returning to full mortality begins, I just wanted to say one more thing again."

"What is it, Master?"

"I fucking love you, Livy."

"Oh… Please, Master… I have to concentrate on the battle!"

"Hahahaha!"

He just snapped his fingers, and the girls were now back at the place where the attack started. Toshiro took place before the beam, put up his hand, and projected a shield.

Last battle of Toshiro von Edelweiss - take one, action!

The beam rammed against the shield, and it split sideways and curved up to the sky.

"What?! What is this?!" the Matriarch wondered.

The beam stopped and she flew down to him.

"How is this possible, Chosen One? What happened? Where are the rest of the earth dwellers?"

"They are in a safe spot, don't worry, ugly."

"How dare you be so insolent, you cur!"

"Shut the fuck up!" he yelled and a sword appeared in his hand. "Awaken!"

His body exploded with a Celestial Aura, and he took a heavy swing and swatted the Matriarch upwards with the broad side of the sword. The Matriarch accelerated with a blinding speed, but Toshiro overtook her, and in ten seconds, he was at his destination.

He waited for the Matriarch and he said, "Oblivion Lost, Light Form."

"Yes, Master."

The sword turned into pure light, and once the Matriarch came into distance, he swung the sword and a bolt of light shot at her, impaling her from head to toes. He could hear the painful scream of the enemy, but Toshiro didn't stop at that, because when she was about to pass him, he sent another bolt at her, impaling her through her both her arms. She stopped ascending after reaching the Karman line, and Toshiro approached her.

"You poor thing… Who did this to you?"

"You… You are a monster…" she said with a heavy voice.

"You mean this little cross of light? Pfff… Come on, Xadea, you like such playful activities!"

"How?! How do you know my name?!"

"You said you aspired to being a goddess… Well, guess what, I'm a god!"

"No, this is impossible… I cannot sense such power from you!"

"If you would sense all my power, your head would explode, I guarantee you," Toshiro said with a cold voice. "You couldn't succeed in you quest."

Xadea was silent.

"You are evil, Xadea. You are evil incarnate. The only thing you want is destruction, and a god is above that. A god, even the most wicked one, cares about the lesser beings. A god doesn't care about meaningless destruction. A god is above everything. If you have the power of a god, and don't follow those principles, then you are an abomination. An abomination, which needs cleansing. But you're above cleansing, Xadea. The only thing you deserve is total and utter annihilation, total removal from the omniverse. I can grant you that."

"You have me at your mercy, Chosen One. I will accept any judgment. I have existed for hundreds of millions of years, and I presume this is the end for me. Do you have some saying for this situation?"

"There is always a bigger fish."

"Yes… I believe this is proper… I just have one request."

"What is it?"

"Mention my name in your history. I at least want to be remembered from name, not as some Neuroi Matriarch or whatnot."

"Okay, Xadea."

"I somehow expected you would smite me down with fury in your eyes…"

"Did you forget? I'm above it."

"Correct. But you are bleeding heavily, Chosen One."

"My mortal body can't keep up with my godly power. If I dawdle, I'll simply explode at one moment."

"I have my honor, hurry up, Chosen One."

Toshiro raised his sword above his head.

"I'm counting on you, Livy."

"Leave it to me, Master."

The sword started to glow intensely, and light beams started being absorbed by it from all around. Suddenly, a beam hundred meters wide shot from the sword, like a drill piercing the heavens.

"You know, I might actually pull up some fury, just for kicks… Goodbye, my creation…" Toshiro cleared his throat and yelled with a voice heard around the whole world.

"BEGONE!"

His sword slowly fell down on Xadea, and Toshiro felt as if the whole world around him was shaking, and it exploded in a blinding light. He suddenly felt very weak and released Oblivion Lost, which simply disappeared.

"Where am I…"

"I don't know, Toshiro… But we're at an absurdly high attitude, and… I don't feel the Matriarch around…"

"So I did it? I killed her?"

"Seems so…"

"But how?"

"I really don't know… I have a blank…"

"Me too… Yuki, what time is it?"

"It's… Ten seconds past midnight."

"So… Happy New Year, Yuki."

"Happy New Year, Toshiro."

With a weak voice, Toshiro started silently singing as his vision got darker and he descended into the night

Should auld acquaintance… be forgot,

And… never brought… to mind…?

Should auld… acquaintance be… forgot,

And…

Auld…

Lang…

Sy… ne…

Aaaand… No, that's not it yet, there's still two chapters left!

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