Chapter 19: The Beginning of an End
Name: Luna
Quirk: Bast – She can assume the abilities of any cat, from regular housecats and lions to hybrids such as ligers and tigons. Her quirk is named after Bast, the Egyptian goddess of cats.
Appearance: Though usually taking on appearances of the cats' abilities, her usual look has been compared as eerily similar to a character of the anime RWBY known as Blake, however she has a tail, and they are complete opposites in terms of personality and choice of dress. She's 14.
Warning: Language and Adult Themes
Specific Warnings: Language, Mental Health Issues, Death, Gore
In the chamber, there was no movement, no sound. The only light came from a hung-up bow, whose bowstrings glowed faintly with a silver light. However, it wasn't hard to see that it wouldn't last for much longer. The bow's wood was rotting, with small chunks already having fallen off. One of the bowstrings was snapped, and the other three were almost there. The light itself was flickering frequently.
And that's when the figure gasped, bolting awake. She shook her head, rapidly blinking in order to make herself see better in the dark. She frowned at the darkness, but then stiffened when she felt the entire room feel tainted. Her precious bow was falling apart, everything was coated with a thick layer of dust, and she sensed that people had died here, though their bones had long turned into dust.
The woman slowly shifted herself off the bed, but nearly fell onto the ground, her muscles not being used for millennia. She half-crawled half-walked to her bow, desperate for answers. Everything should have been in perfect condition, but clearly, something happened. Something was wrong.
She finally arrived at the spot where her bow was and carefully took it off its peg. She closed her eyes, and the area around her began to ripple, the air itself becoming taught and relaxing in wavy motions. A silvery light came from the woman, and when she finished, her bow was in peak shape. The wood now looked like it was cut yesterday, the bowstrings an almost blinding silver.
The woman morphed the bow, changing it into a harp, and began to play. Her bow was no ordinary bow; it was also a harp, but again, it wasn't just a harp. Her instrument of creation was also a record keeper, and she used to have servants play on it, inputting information into it so that when she woke, she would be able to see what happened.
And what she saw confused the woman even more. She saw her priestesses playing day after day, inserting the information delicately and carefully, the harp emitting beautiful chords. She saw the reign of her son, the short reign of one grandson, his brutal murder, and the war waged that began after that. However, everything soon faded as she saw her priestesses boarding the room up in a panic, obviously hiding the room from someone.
So that's who died in here. But why? The woman intently searched, and the answer she found made her frown. Set. Set caused this panic.
The woman opened her eyes, intent on leaving the room and asking her son what happened. She approached the doorway and slashed her hand. Reality itself warped and was cut as the fabric of reality was slashed, and the door disappeared, leaving an empty doorway leading to a desert.
When she exited, however, she gasped, looking around in bewilderment. The air, normally so full of divine presence, was practically empty. She immediately tried to sense the location of her son, her children, but they were all gone. Whatever happened, it caused them to fade away. Even Apophis, the old snake, her second oldest, was missing.
The following two minutes was spent by the woman slashing new doorways through reality, visiting the places her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren should have been, but the palaces and temples lay in ruins, sometimes altogether lacking anything to mark the area special. Ra's Palace, Thoth's Library, and even Set's supposedly secret hideout were gone.
She took a deep breath, panic beginning to form in her mind. But she calmed down. She could not allow something as trivial as an emotion to sway her. She was the creator, the almighty. She was the one that rose from the seas and created everything with the help of her weave and threads of destiny.
It was during this time that she noticed one area unchanged. Well, unchanged in that it still existed, but it was heavily eroded as well. She decided it was time to visit one of her last surviving grandchildren.
Underneath …
The figure sat on his throne, weighing the heart of the deceased. Once the heart was placed on the scale, it didn't move for a while. Then, the scale slowly began to lower the heart and raise the other side of the scale.
"No, wait, please! There must be some mistake!" The woman begged, but the deity shook his head.
"Come on, humans, come up with something new. Where is your supposed ingenuity and creativity? There is no mistake because there can be no mistake. The feather never lies."
She shrieked as she was dragged away, causing the deity to sigh unhappily. Over the centuries, there were more like her, with the genuinely good people diminishing greatly. Before, one in every three or four passed. But now? He was lucky to see one every twenty-four hours. He discarded the heart, sending it into the bottomless pit through the heart-shaped chute.
And then, the bells began to ring, causing the deity to stiffen. His officials all gasped and scurried outside of the room to prepare for her. The deity stormed his way onto the walls, his heart beating faster than normal for the first time in years. In the distance, he saw her.
The bells were only to be rung under an extremely specific circumstance: if she awoke. If she arose from her slumber, that meant that the end would begin. Oh, slowly, yes, but the end was now finally in its process. Truthfully, the deity was surprised the world had lasted as long as it did, with it being reborn every time the current pantheon went extinct.
The woman both appeared to take an eternity and a moment to reach his gates, but when she did, the deity was there, kneeling. The woman herself was an imposing figure, accompanied by a sense of dread and fear, which made him shiver. It wasn't her fault, though. She was extremely kind and caring, according to his father, but as the first, the aura surrounded her regardless of whether she wanted it or not.
The primordial stood tall, taller even than him. She wore a red crown in her hair, which was as dark as the darkest regions of Nut. Her skin was the perfect tone; slightly tanned, but not dark either. In one hand was her iconic bow, capable of shooting holes through reality itself. Her other hand was strangely empty, but he realized that the two relics must have broken down with time. She was dressed in a loose red dress, exposing her toned arms and shoulders, but it wasn't scandalous in the slightest, with it starting at the level slightly below her shoulders and ending at the floor.
She stopped in front of the kneeling deity and gently placed a hand on his crowned head.
"Rise, grandchild." She commanded, and he obeyed.
"My lady, you're … you're awake." He said, his voice tinged in nervousness. His closest and most devoted followers noted it and they themselves began to shake in fear. Their ruler was literally immortal, incapable of dying or fading, yet he himself was nervous of her.
"Yes … I am. I require knowledge of what happened; my harp has not been played for quite some time."
"Of course, I will show you The Book of Thoth. Please, follow me."
The primordial followed her guide, the ruler of the underworld, as he showed the buildings and statues. The primordial was in no rush, so she listened and looked along with what he had to say.
It wasn't long before they arrived at the royal library, where one massive book was on display. The deity carefully lifted the book before offering it to his grandmother, who took it.
"My lady, if I may." She nodded, looking at the book. "The tale … will not be pleasant. I hope you forgive my rudeness, but I recommend isolating yourself; the end may be coming, but I do not think you are going to end it all here."
The primordial looked up and locked eyes with her grandson, taking his breath away. Her irises were not a singular color, but instead constantly shifting, from red to orange to yellow to green and so on. They lingered the most on silver, but never remained.
"Your rudeness is indeed excused, child."
The primordial carefully held onto the book with one hand and slashed reality open once again, stepping into the opening before closing it behind her, though not sealing it completely; she wished to go back after this.
And so, she sat down on a conjured throne and began to read. It would have taken hundreds of years for a normal person or tens of years for a regular deity, but she was no regular deity. She opened the book and read from where her harp left off.
When she got to the chapter labeled as 'The Fall of Egypt,' she clenched her jaw. It shouldn't have been possible, and yet, most of her family had vanished. So she read. And read. And when she finished it, along with the rest of the chapters, she closed it softly, tears streaming down her face.
So, that's what happened. The primordial was instantly filled with two emotions: sadness and rage. She sobbed and cried, unbecoming of her, yes, but she deserved it. She had just learned that most of her family killed each other in a brutal war, her people subjugated and to this day weak.
Outside, the deity shifted nervously as the air around him began to ripple and even tear. The weaves, normally invisible, were now visible for even the lowliest mortal to see. The ground rumbled and groaned, rain began to pour outside the palace, and distantly, he heard the sounds of roaring and crying.
When she stepped out, she held The Book of Thoth loosely, her eyes red and puffy. The deity carefully guided her to a chair and sat next to her.
"Tell me it isn't true." She whispered. The heartbroken tone made the deity tear up as well. He took it terribly as well, mourning the loss of his child and wife, though the one most affected by the end of Egypt was Bast, grieving the loss of her child and husband. He remembered the cat deity's roaming, constantly crying and searching for her missing family in vain. "Osiris, the last of my four family members, tell me this isn't true!"
The last part was shouted, and the weaves around her began to tear in massive chunks, revealing the deep cosmos behind them. Osiris flinched and shrunk away from his grandmother, the aura of dread and fear making him cower.
"I-It's true." He whispered, and she gasped as if struck.
The two sat silently, both grieving the loss once again. Unfortunately, the bad news only kept coming. The doors burst open, and a shade ran in, bowing so his head touched the floor.
"Pardon my intrusion, but the three have gathered! They are near, and they fight!" the shade explained.
The primordial slashed her fingers in front of them, and this time, a projection appeared; it displayed a building, with two of the remaining four gods fighting, while the third arrived at an elevator.
"What do we do, my lady?" Osiris asked.
The primordial curled her lip in disdain. "Nothing. Perhaps this time, he will perish, and once he does, he will suffer my wrath for countless world cycles."
Osiris and the shade shivered at the icy tone. Osiris was warned, as were all the gods, that if they ever angered her, there would be no escape, for she was quite literally the beginning and the end. She was the one that weaved the world and pantheons anew, and she would be the one to make you suffer through all of them …
9 Hours Ago …
Luna awoke to someone knocking on the door to her dorms, which she didn't appreciate. Because it was her last day, Ito allowed her an extra few hours of sleep, which she wanted to take full advantage of. However, the person on the other side of the door clearly had no intentions of letting her do so. So, she wrapped herself up in a blanket and opened the door, revealing an older girl standing there.
She had exceedingly long, periwinkle blue hair (Luna thought, at least. She assumed so because she familiarized herself what colors should look like to her eyes that couldn't see many colors) that reached down to her knees and seemed to wrap around them. She had eyes of a deep blue color, but again, Luna could guess that it was supposed to be some shade of blue. She was fairly fair-skinned and seemed to be bouncing on her feet, indicating an excitable and lively nature.
"Are you Zouyu?" she asked sweetly.
"Yes, I am, may I know –" Luna tried to ask for the girl's name but was completely steam-rolled over.
"Wow, so you have a cat Quirk? That's so cool! How many different cats can you turn into? Oh, can you change your color as well? Are you ears and tail real? Can I touch them?" As she reached for her tail, which was currently wrapped around her waist, Luna caught the girl's hand. She frowned before having the humility to look a little shamefaced.
"Oh, sorry for all the questions. I'm Nejire Hado." Nejire said, extending her hand.
Luna took it. "Hello, Nejire-senpai. To answer your questions, I believe the answers to them in order are yes, all real cats that I know, no, yes, and please no. They're really sensitive."
"Oh my! You have such a good memory! Anyways, Ito-sama asked for you."
"He told me I had extra hours of sleep today."
"He did? Well, you know him, right? It shouldn't be too surprising."
"Yeah. Give me a couple minutes."
"Sure!"
After about seven or eight minutes, Luna stepped out of her dormitory, now fully awake.
"Wow, you're so pretty! Follow me!" Nejire skipped to the elevator, which caused Luna's eyebrow to quirk slightly before following her. To her surprise, she pressed the button for the top floor. When they arrived, Takahashi looked up and rolled her eyes.
"You're late." The secretary grumbled.
"Sorry! Can we go in?" Nejire smiled, which caused Takahashi to shake her head.
"Yeah, go ahead."
"Thank you, Takahashi-senpai!" Nejire chirped and led Luna into Ryukyu's office, where Ito and Ryukyu sat, talking. When they entered, the conversation stopped.
"Ah, Nejire-Chan, Zouyu, welcome. Please, sit." Ryukyu gestured to two other chairs, and they sat. "Zouyu, I was just talking with Ito, and it seems he is impressed. Even Takahashi-san has spoke a few grudging praises."
"Thank you, Ryukyu-sama." Luna dipped her head a bit.
"Regardless, today I called you and Nejire-Chan because today is going to be a bit different; you two are going to shadow me, for Zouyu's final day."
"Ooh, I'm so excited! Aren't you excited, Zouyu-chan!" Nejire squealed, causing Luna to flick an ear.
"Very much so."
"Excellent. Ito, I'll leave you in charge for today."
"Yes, mistress." Ito bobbed his head in agreement.
"Excellent. Zouyu, please go change. I'll let you pack when we get back tonight."
"Yes, Ryukyu-sama." Luna bowed and left, grinning a bit at the prospect of spending time with Ryukyu and even Nejire, which surprised her a bit but shrugged. There was something so likeable about the girl.
A few minutes later, Ito led her to the entrance of Ryukyu Agency, where Nejire and Ryukyu were waiting.
"We'll start off with some patrol, but I'll do the paperwork later." The two students nodded and followed, one skipping and one walking.
"Nejire-senpai, what's your Quirk?" Luna asked as they helped a kid untangle their balloon from a tree.
"I call it Wave Motion. I use my body's energy to create wave-like attacks." Nejire demonstrated by created a small yellow wave from her finger, which travelled upwards a bit before disappearing.
"Nejire-Chan, what have I told you about using your Quirk so carelessly?" Ryukyu remonstrated her student, but she sounded more amused than anything.
"But it's sooo boring out here!" Nejire whined. "Besides, Zouyu asked me to show her."
"No, she asked you about your Quirk, not to show it off."
Nejire pouted cutely and Luna grinned slightly at the two. They seemed remarkably close to each other, almost like an elder and younger sister.
Regardless, the patrol ended smoothly once again, with the extent of their worries helping elders across the road and finding a dog which had run away. Nejire and Ryukyu were amused to see Luna's discomfort with managing the animal.
"Wow, Zouyu, you really are like a cat, huh?" Nejire wondered aloud.
"If you're referring to my altercation with the dog, then yes."
"Why don't you like them?"
"Oh, I do, it's just they hate me for some reason. Hence why I like cats a lot more."
"Do you have any cats at home?"
Luna frowned at that, remembering the one time she tried to bring a stray kitten home. This was within the first year of Luna living in Japan, and her father was absolutely furious at her. Thankfully, he allowed her to take it to the shelter then next day instead of just tossing it back outside and was adopted relatively soon afterwards, but those days were worse than usual; She had to go to school in a sling for her arm.
"Zouyu?" Ryukyu asked and Luna blinked, now realizing her two companions were staring at her.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"I believe Nejire-Chan asked if you had any cats, and then you just blanked out."
"Sorry about that. Just remembering, but no, I don't have any cats. My father doesn't let me have any."
"Is he allergic?" Nejire asked.
"No." And Luna left it at that. It wasn't hard to figure out that any felines made her father remember her mother, whom he clearly hated. Ryukyu didn't push her for elaboration, but Nejire did.
"So why doesn't he let you?"
If this conversation had happened even two years earlier, Luna would have snapped at Nejire for sticking her nose where it didn't belong, but she could tell that Nejire was simply curious; she didn't have any ulterior motive. Besides, she grew from then.
"They remind him of my mother." Luna said quietly, and Nejire had the tact to not ask for more after that.
When they finished the patrol, Ryukyu didn't take them back immediately. Instead, she took the two girls for some ice cream. While Nejire asked for a Neapolitan with a cherry on top, Ryukyu merely ordered a regular strawberry ice cream.
When it was Luna's turn, she was a bit hesitant to ask. "You don't happen to have anything that's lactose free?"
Thankfully, the worker smiled understandingly. "Of course we do. Here they are."
Luna was handed a small catalogue, and she merely selected a plain vanilla ice cream.
"That's it, Luna-chan? But that's so boring!" Nejire moaned.
"Nejire, respect Luna-chan's wishes. If she wants plain vanilla, then she should get plain vanilla." Ryukyu said, taking a spoonful of her ice cream and swallowing before humming in contentment. "This is really good."
"Yeah, it is! It's the best ice cream shop in all of Hosu!" Nejire cried, digging in with gusto. "How's yours, Luna-chan?"
"It's great." Luna said, carefully eating hers. It was delicious, in fact. The last time she ate ice cream was when Bakugo dragged her to one with his family and forced her to eat. That was a fun day.
"Luna-chan, Nejire-chan, I would like to ask you two for a favor." Ryukyu began. When she saw she had the attention of both of her charges, she continued. "I'm a bit curious as to how you two would perform in battle. I know how Nejire-chan does, but I'm mostly curious about you, Luna-chan. I barely had any time to read your file before it was stolen."
"I'm down for that!" Bounced Nejire. "What about you, Luna-chan? Please? Please with a cherry on top?"
Luna smiled. "Of course. It sounds like fun."
"Yay! Don't expect me to go easy on you, Luna-chan. You may only be Class 1-A and two years younger than me, but I expect you to make me sweat!"
"I'd be insulted if I didn't."
As the three made their way back, Ryukyu called Ito to let him know of what was to come and he reassured her he would prepare accordingly. When they arrived back, Ito lead them back underground. However, this time, they continued to the very end of the hall, where a singular locked door was. When Ito opened it, Luna saw that it contained the same type of room as the one she and Takahashi used, except much larger.
"Here we are, you two. Try not to kill each other, all right?" Ito asked in a jokingly manner.
"Don't worry, Ito-sama! I would never do anything like that!" Nejire saluted him seriously while Luna nodded her understanding.
"All right, are you two ready?" Luna and Nejire nodded, now eyeing each other a bit hesitantly. "3 … 2 … 1 … Go!" Ito announced, and Luna instantly transformed into her tigress form, leaping at Nejire.
"Wow, you're so pretty as a tigress!" marveled Nejire before shooting herself away with her waves. Luna tried to pursue her, but Nejire remained firmly in the air, too high up for Luna to reach.
"Well, let's see …" Nejire mused before shooting massive waves of energy at Luna, who had to transform into a cheetah and sprint away. Nejire just kept firing at Luna, who growled. She had an idea pop into her head; all she needed was an opening.
Luna began to run to Nejire, who predicted it and sent the massive waves crashing down. The waves seemed to connect, and the resulting dust made it hard to see Luna.
"Luna-chan, are you alright?" asked Ito, but no response came.
Just as he was about to call an end to the match, Luna leaped incredibly high upwards in nightstalker form, taking everyone by surprise. Nejire was too slow to react, resulting in Luna slamming into Nejire and forcing her to the ground, where she proceeded to run rings around Nejire, landing blows in an unpredictable manner in random intervals. Every time she tried to take off, Luna would land a blow from up top, forcing her to the ground.
Nejire huffed. "Man, you're so annoying to fight." Before she concentrated. "Full charge, output level thirty. Spiraling Surge – Nejire Wave!"
The resulting move caught Luna off guard, slamming her into the ground. Nejire grunted and continued to sent wave after wave, not allowing Luna to move an inch as the waves became smaller and more concentrated when she tried to shrink.
Luna hissed, annoyed at not being able to budge. Out of desperation, she grew as large as she could and momentarily broke out but was so weak that she couldn't even capitalize off of it. Once she took a step forward, she collapsed, reverting back to her original human form. Her head was pounding from a killer headache, though it thankfully wasn't a migraine.
"Hey, Luna-chan, I didn't hurt you too bad, right?" Nejire asked, crouching down. Luna could just barely shake her head but winced once it began to pound even more.
"Just … exhausted." Luna panted, and Ito carefully picked her up.
He carried her off, with Ryukyu and Nejire following.
"You did pretty well, all things considered." Ito said kindly. Luna merely bit her lip, looking away.
When they arrived at the infirmary, Volkova raised an eyebrow.
"What happened this time?" she asked, already pulling out her metallic stamp plunger thing. Luna was still unsure what it really was; every time she asked, Volkova evaded the question for some reason.
"A friendly spar is all." Ryukyu explained, and Volkova grunted, popping a pill into Luna's mouth, and pouring some water with it.
"Some spar, the cat's exhausted."
"Eheh." Nervously laughed Nejire.
Suddenly, alarms began to blare throughout the building, causing the five individuals to start.
"What's going on?" barked Ryukyu, exiting.
"Ryukyu-sama, Hosu's under attack! From early intel, we gathered they are attacked by the Phantom Cloak, as well as several Nomu creatures from the USJ attack!" a person shouted before sprinting outside in costume.
"Zouyu, Nejire-Chan, are you fit?" Ryukyu asked. They both nodded gravely. "Excellent. Then follow behind me, and don't do anything stupid. I give you permission to use your Quirk, Zouyu. Ito, stay here."
Ito nodded wordlessly as the four ran outside, ducking behind several cars as gunfire erupted, bullets flying towards the entrance.
"Follow me!" Ryukyu cried and transformed into her signature dragon, diving at the henchmen with a roar. Nejire followed, shooting herself upwards before engaging several grunts. Luna stayed on the outside, picking off stragglers and people who caused any trouble for Ryukyu and Nejire.
Eventually, the grunts became aware of a living shadow that took their numbers one by one and waited until Luna was spotted before retargeting onto her. Luna hissed as she felt several bullets graze her before Ryukyu and Nejire attacked, sending a few fleeing. The three heroines pursued their quarry before stumbling onto another battlefield, this time police officers against Phantom Cloak troops.
The resulting few hours passed by in a blur, with the entire city turning into one massive warzone. Distantly, Luna saw and heard other pro heroes and even Endeavor and Shoto but didn't stop once throughout the exchange. Everything came to a screeching halt, however, when a Nomu crashed right in front of Luna, letting out a fearsome wail and launching itself at her.
Luna was forced backward, with Nejire and Ryukyu either distracted or occupied. She tried to kite it, lashing out in between intervals, but this one, like its USJ counterpart, had a healing Quirk. Nothing as good as the previous one, however, which led Luna to believe she could bleed it out.
However, the Nomu had a different idea, growing tired of the cat-and-mouse game and transforming its hands into gatling guns before unloading in Luna's general vicinity. The good news was that it was wildly inaccurate, struggling to hold its heavy gun hands up. The bad news was that as soon as Luna tried to attack, she would be torn to shreds.
Dammit, what do I do?
Try going for its brain. Maybe that's a weak point? Or let me deal with it?
Luna shook her head. I want to save you as much as possible. I'll try something though.
Luna quietly scaled the building she was hiding around, waiting on the edge like a gargoyle. When the Nomu turned the corner, it began to swing its head wildly looking for her. It heard Luna dropping onto it but didn't have time to react as Luna tore at its exposed brain. This time, it didn't heal, but Luna cried out as her hand was impaled when the Nomu curled up and grew spikes everywhere like a hedgehog. It began to chase her, rolling around and crashing into everything.
"Luna!" cried out a familiar male voice, which unfortunately had the effect of distracting her and was clipped by the spiky ball, sending her stumbling with blood starting to drip from new wounds.
Luna looked up to see Shoto blasting the Nomu with flames, causing it to backpedal. Luna pounced in nightstalker form and pinned it underneath her as Shoto blasted its brain with flames, causing it to let out one final screech before dying.
The two stood panting as Endeavor rounded the corner.
"Shoto, what are you -!" Endeavor paused, looking at the heroes-in-training and the dead Nomu in-between them. "Did you kill it?"
"The brain is their weak spot." Luna said, taking rasping breaths. "Thank you for saving me –"
Luna was interrupted by her phone buzzing, which she looked at and paled significantly. "I need to go. Thank you and remain safe!"
As Luna transformed into a cheetah, Shoto and Endeavor once again left, now with the Nomus' key weakness in mind.
Meanwhile
Ito pocketed his phone, his head starting to pound as a certain figure approached.
Are you sure you can't take him?
Child, I was the knowledgeable one, the smart one, not the brute force. May Bast forgive me, but she was no nerd.
So … what, we stall until she gets here?
It is our only chance at finally beating him. Let me take control.
Ito grunted and shifted, which revealed a towering, thin figure. The figure looked human up until one's eyes reached his neck, where, instead of a human's neck, there was an ibis's neck, with royal blue feathers. When looking upward, it revealed a figure with black, wise eyes. The royal blue plumage continued until the figure's top, where a small golden crown inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs rested. A thin, long beak was revealed as well.
Thoth … what happens if we can't stall him enough?
Then, the creator will awaken, and everything in this world will be wiped until she creates a new one. I'm surprised she still hasn't, to be honest.
Thoth pulled an elegant, intricate khopesh from its sheath and prepared himself into the khopesh's equivalent of a fencer's stance, staring at the elevator door as it slowly inched upwards.
She better get here on time …
The elevator's doors opened with a Ding! And standing there was none other than the jackal himself.
"Thoth, my old friend! Long time no see! What happened?" Set said in a playful tone, which Thoth merely disregarded.
"What happened was you tried to trap me inside my sacred library and burn everything and everyone inside." Thoth growled; the usually calm god now enraged at the mention of his precious library in flames.
"You learned how to wield a weapon? What happened to talking things out?"
"Nut knows we tried, Set. The only language you speak is one of animals: violence. Unfortunately for you, my patience has run thin."
Set grinned, summoning his war scepter, and charging at Thoth with a roar, meeting in a clash of sparks as they strained against each other.
Downstairs
Luna finally arrived at the Ryukyu Agency lobby and gasped when she noticed the dead guards scattered like ragdolls.
Kitten, let me take control.
Luna jolted at the cold tone.
But Bast –
No, I need to. He's here.
Luna gulped and complied, transforming into Bast, who promptly slammed the emergency stairs open and ran up them with incredible speed. Already, Luna could feel a pounding headache as they approached, as well as sounds of weapons colliding and grunting.
"Raah!" Bast kicked the door open, starling both figures that were fighting.
Immediately, the three deities collapsed in agony, all feeling searing headaches. Suddenly, their divine auras rose from their bodies: Thoth's neon blue, Set's sandstorm red, and Bast's acidic purple. The electric like energies all leaped at each other. While Set's was twice as large as both Bast's and Thoth's, it was split in two, fending off the other two's auras, which were now attacking his without respite. Finally, all three auras leaped at each other in one massive bolt of lightning, with neither of the threes' auras falling back. A massive explosion went off, throwing the deities against the walls before they all rose.
"Took your time, Bast." Thoth grunted, wielding his khopesh with a flourish.
"Well, if a certain birdbrain let me know he was here, this wouldn't have happened." Grumbled Bast before unsheathing her claws and facing Set, who was already standing, his eyes narrowed and flicking between the two of them.
"You!" hissed Bast, and her eyes dilated until they were literal slits.
"How are you, my pretty kitty?" taunted Set, and Bast roared in rage, leaping with Thoth to attack Set once more.
The battle was dead even. Despite the numbers advantage, Thoth and Bast couldn't break through Set's defense. Set himself was annoyed at the fact that he was held back by these two. Osiris he could understand, but to be held back by a damn nerd! His thoughts were interrupted by Thoth, who feinted before nailing Set with an overhand strike.
He faltered for a split second before he was nailed in the stomach by a fist and thrown backwards by a massive uppercut from Bast, crashing into the reinforced glass windows.
He coughed and laughed a bit. "Hey, since when did you get so good?" Neither of the two other deities answered, merely glaring at the one who took everything from them.
"Unfortunately, I have places to be. But …" Set's eyes flared, and a massive sandstorm erupted inside the room, totally obscuring him from the two. Bast managed to change her eyes to a sand cat's, only to see Set leap at Thoth, pinning him to the ground, his knee in Thoth's stomach, one hand holding the deity's beak while the other had his scepter plunged into the bird's stomach.
Bast wailed and leaped, forcing Set off Thoth, who coughed, only for ichor to bubble from his beak.
"Suetekh!" Bast cried, causing the deity of war to pause. "Just answer me! Just give me one answer, before everything goes to Duat!"
Set paused, hesitating. This didn't seem like a trick, and she genuinely was pleading with him. He nodded slowly.
"Why?! Why did you do this?! Why are you still doing this?!" Bast sobbed, tears now streaking down her face.
Set, meanwhile, tilted his head, confused. "Do I need a reason?"
"I'm sorry, father. I tried."
Bast closed her eyes with a shuddering sob before snapping them open. This time, instead of her electric blue eyes, malevolent, purple eyes glared at Set, causing him to take a step back. She vanished and Set barely had enough time to put the staff between him and Bast before she slammed her fist into it, causing Set to crash through all nine floors all the way to the ground floor.
In Osiris's Palace
The entire room was frozen, with both Osiris and the creator glaring at the projection of Set before he was very roughly slammed through the floors to the ground floor, where he lay, stunned, before he was picked up by Bast and she went berserk, slashing and bashing him, who couldn't defend. Most of his aura took the damage, but he still was wounded when it finally shattered, receiving a fist in the face, and leaping backward, panting.
The problem now lay in the fact that Bast was drained. Her breaths were heaving and deep, and she had to hold herself up with a car, her aura almost gone from the massive two-on-one earlier. She hadn't had this much activity for several centuries at least, and her stamina was eroded because of it.
"What happens now? They're both spent." Osiris whispered.
"There is still hope. At least, if Thoth does it." The primordial said, frowning at Bast. Something felt incredibly off about her …
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me, grandson. Have you ever seen what happened to Bast during a blood moon?"
"No?"
"Well, let me explain. During it, Bast and several others gained immense strength and stamina for its duration, letting them become practically unbeatable. However, it also sent them into a wild frenzy. Imagine Sekhmet except she was never tired."
Osiris nodded. "Okay, but how does this help?
"Thoth is the god of the moon, no? If he chooses to sacrifice himself, he could cause a blood moon to occur, lending a massive amount of strength to Bast. At the very least, she would give Set many serious wounds. At best … she'll kill him."
Osiris paused. "But that means …"
"Yes, if Thoth goes through with it, it means only Bast will be able to stop him. He has no more descendants remaining. Albert Einstein's children and grandchildren were hunted down by Set, no? Only this Ito remains, and he was no children or siblings of his own.
"But what about you, my lady? Can't you …?"
She shook her head. "No, child. When I was not yet old, I bound myself with a few rules, one of them being direct intervention. However, if Bast does not kill him here, I may have to take some … indirect action."
"You mean …?"
"Yes. Should Set flee, I will take part. However, take heed, child. I will not play favorites, nor will I shy away from the most optimal path, even if it causes immense pain to Bast or her descendant. Now, watch. I do believe Thoth has done it."
Back at Ryukyu Agency
Bast looked up at the moon in horror, which was now a blood red. She grabbed her head, wailing in pain and grief as she felt Thoth fade, for now. She was not certain he had any descendants left, and if he had none … that meant he was gone. Permanently.
Bast cried as she felt a new presence cloud her mind. She fought against it for control, but the best she could do was stalemate it. This was not like the blood moons before.
Set glanced at the moon, now very wary as he saw Bast on her knees, one eye blue and the other purple. She blinked and stood, now with both eyes the violent purple. His eyes widened when he saw a purple liquid begin to drip from her claws, hissing as it made contact with the ground and ate through it.
"Suetekh, god of war, chaos, and sand. Your era has come to an end, old deceiver. Your crimes finally catch up with you." Bast's voice sounded distorted, wavering between hers and some others. Before Set had a chance to do anything, Bast was upon him and landed a massive splash of acid onto him, which causing him to bark with pain and play a game of keep-away. Even with his divine armor, it was being devoured by what Set recognized as Apophis's poison, though he didn't know how she had access to it.
He was constantly harassed and wasn't fast enough or strong enough to take on the amplified Bast, who was making some weird noise, a mixture of a growl and hiss. He was occasionally nailed with either a fist or small glob of acid, which ate right through the little aura he had regenerated and made contact with his dark skin, causing wounds to appear across his body.
Unfortunately for Bast, the blood moon didn't last for very long, causing Luna to revert to her form and collapse. Set too was spent, and he similarly collapsed, his descendant taking heaving breaths.
They both locked eyes with each other, and Luna's hair stood up in fear.
"F-Father?!" Luna gasped, weakly backpedaling away. Liam wanted nothing more to kill her, but he twitched when he heard the sound of wings incoming, so he chose to flee, running into an alleyway.
Luna sobbed, her world once again crashing down. Everything was so confusing, from the third entity that appeared in her mind to the fact that Ito was a descendant of Thoth to her father.
She didn't really notice as Ryukyu sprinted toward the girl and picked her up, noticing her hands, which were incredibly red and inflamed. She had several bullet grazes and had tears streaming down her face, as well as countless scratches and scrapes.
"Zouyu, what happened?" Ryukyu asked, and the girl tried to feebly shove herself out of Ryukyu's grip.
"Ito-sama … he … upstairs!" Luna wailed, and Ryukyu stiffened, looking up at the now destroyed top floor of her agency. Carefully, she set Luna down.
"I'll be right back, okay? Just hang on for a second. Nejire!" Ryukyu called, and within moments, Nejire appeared, her eyes widening at the state of the street, Luna, and the agency. "Make sure nothing happens to her!" And with that, she transformed and shoved herself into the top floor, where she found Ito in a pool of his own blood, a massive hole now in his chest.
"Ito! Ito, wake up!" screeched Ryukyu, and she nearly cried when he stirred, one white eye flickering faintly.
"You came back … mistress."
"Ito, hold on, I'll get -"
"It's … too late." Ito coughed, his mask now a bloody pink as bubbles of blood frothed from the corners of his mask. "Luna … is she …?"
"She's alive. A bit hurt, but she'll live."
Ito nodded slowly as he coughed once again. "Mistress … I'm … sorry …"
And with that, poor Ito passed from the world, held in the arms of his employer and closest friend. Ryukyu lowered her head and sobbed as Ito slipped between her fingers, before slowly picking up his body and heading downstairs, where Nejire had managed to procure an ambulance for Luna. When the paramedics saw her, they tried to check Ryukyu over, but she shoved them away, and flew off, leaving Nejire to handle the situation.
Back at Osiris's Palace
Osiris was waiting at the front gates, frantically searching for his fellow god's spirit. Finally, he spotted Thoth, and ran over.
"Thoth!" Osiris yelled, and the deity turned before giving a little smile and embracing Osiris.
"Osiris, long time no see, eh? You really should take a host, poor Bast is all alone now." Thoth tried to joke but sighed at the pained gaze of his fellow deity. "Osiris, it's fine, really. At least I'll be able to see my book. How is it?"
"Well, it's fine, considering she awoke and read it."
"She?"
"Greetings, child." The creator spoke, and Thoth's eyes widened before kneeling in front of her. "No need to bow, you are going to fade soon, anyways. Did you enjoy your life with your family?"
"It was … pleasant, most of the time, yes."
"Then, I hope it's not too painful that you have to say goodbye to this world."
"It stings a bit, but no. For the most part, I am fine. Perhaps I will get to meet the others?"
"Yes, they all currently wait for you, anxious as they felt another come to them. Many hope it is Set, so they can properly greet him." Chuckled the primordial.
"I apologize, for not being able to end him." Thoth said, rising.
"Do not worry. I know you two wouldn't have been able to do it."
"That means, Bast will be able to?"
"Oh, no, Bast won't. Though, another will. I think you know who."
"But … how? I haven't sensed him at all until now."
"He's been slumbering, hibernating, if you will. But soon, he will awaken, and once he tears Set to shreds, I will reign him in until it is time."
At the hospital
Luna fidgeted with her wound dressings, waiting for the authorities to end chewing the three inside out for their recklessness. Truthfully, Luna had half a mind to do so, but the other half just didn't have the proper motivation.
Nejire, Ryukyu, and even Takahashi had visited her, wanting to know how she was. She was left with some flowers and even a 'Get Well Soon' card from Takahashi, which Luna found amusing in that the card showed a dog barking. What wasn't amusing was when she opened it, an actual dog's bark sounded, which made the three smile and laugh a bit at Luna's expense.
She had been recently informed that Ito has succumbed to his wounds, and it honestly made Luna want to cry again. Ito had been so kind to her, looking out for her and helping where he could, but now he too was gone. And it was because of him.
Luna clenched the edge of her hospital gown, her fists white.
Flashback
The chief of police, Kenji Tsuragamae, pressed the record button on his recording device, and began speaking.
"First of all, for proper documentation and protocol, please identify yourself." Tsuragamae woofed.
"My name is Luna Nadeu, though now I go by Luna Aizawa. My Hero Name is Zouyu." Luna spoke, still in shock of learning that Ito was now dead.
"Zouyu, I ask you to recount the events that transpired after you were separated from the heroes Ryukyu and Nejire-chan."
"Well, I was given permission to use my Quirk, and I tried to exhaust the Nomu before its hands transformed into those of gatling guns. Relatively soon afterwards, Endeavor and Shoto arrived to help kill the Nomu, at which point I received a text message from Ito, calling me back to the agency."
"There I used my Quirk to transform, wanting to be ready, but …" Luna paused, clenching her eyes shut as tears threatened to appear.
"Pleas, take your time." The police chief said. "I know that this can be difficult."
"I … I found Ito-sama fighting my … father."
"Your father? For clarification, he is Liam Nadeau, woof?"
"Yes. Ito and I managed to hold him off for a bit before he used his Quirk to cause a small sandstorm, and using the chaos, he managed to land a fatal wound on Ito-sama."
At this point, tears leaked out of Luna's still closed eyes, her ears invisible in her hair and tail wrapped around her waist in distress.
"I … I managed to fight him off before I couldn't fight anymore. I let him get away." Luna took a shuddering breath. "It's … It's all my fault. If I had been stronger, better, Ito wouldn't have died."
"Miss Zouyu, you are not to blame for this. Tell me, has your father said anything about his past?"
"Not really. He … He doesn't like talking about it, after my mother left."
"And why did she?"
"She was cheating."
"Oh. My apologies. Regardless, do you know your father was once a professional hero in Canada?"
Luna looked up in shock. "He was?!"
"Yes. In fact, he was the number one hero in Canada for a long time, before a certain incident took place. We still don't have the full details, so I will avoid speaking about it, but regardless, the point I'm making is that what transpired last night was most certainly not your fault. There was no possible way you could beat the former number one hero of Canada, even with the help of Ito, who had a powerful Quirk in his own right." The police chief paused before continuing. "Is there anything else you would like to report?"
"Not really. Ryukyu-sama found me slightly after we both collapsed, and he fled."
"Very well. Thank you for your assistance. For now, you will reside with your homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa. Does that arrangement suit you?"
"It's the best arrangement. Thank you."
End Flashback
Luna looked up to see the police chief exit the room, giving her a polite nod before leaving. When she entered, she saw her three friends, as well as what appeared to be Midoriya's and Iida's internship leaders berating them for their actions. They paused when she entered.
"We'll continue this later." The senior said, and the two left, leaving Luna with her three friends, who were looking downcast.
"Luna-chan, we-" began Midoriya.
"Midoriya, please, just … shut up for a moment." Luna said wearily.
Midoriya fell into a stunned silence.
"I … A part of me wants to yell and scream at you, for being so near to the Hero Killer. Thankfully, Endeavor was nearby to save you three. But … as someone who had to witness a death of a new friend … I'm just relieved that you three made it out alive."
And with that, she gave a massive hug to the three individuals in the room, all of them shocked by Luna's actions. They all knew she was a person not comfortable with touch, and to have her be the one to initiate the hugs … that spoke volumes. The hug she gave Todoroki lasted the longest, with both Iida and Midoriya noticing, but not commenting.
"Luna, we heard that you …?" Iida began. Luna sat down next to Shoto.
"Yeah. Turns out … my dad's a villain. Fantastic." Luna said, and all three students winced at her bleak tone.
"But where are you going to live now?" asked Shoto.
"With Aizawa-sensei and his wife."
"Are you … okay?" Midoriya finally asked. He only received a wan smile in return.
Shoto didn't like the somber mood in the room, so he tried something.
"I feel … kind of bad …" Shoto began.
"About what?" asked Midoriya.
"I feel like if I get involved … other people mess up their hands … Is it a curse?"
Everyone remained quiet, until Iida met Luna's eyes, at which point it was all over. The three individuals with bandaged/scarred hands let out helpless peals of laughter, which relieved Shoto. He still had to pretend it wasn't a joke, but he was kind of relieved that everyone, especially Luna, found it funny. Said girl was leaning on his shoulder, gasping for breaths.
"Todoroki-kun, I didn't know you could make jokes!" laughed Midoriya.
"No, I'm not joking. I'm like 'The Hand Crusher' or something."
At which point the laughter was renewed.
"'The Hand Crusher'!'" laughed the three individuals all together.
End of Chapter
Hello everyone, and welcome back! I know a few people are confused because I should have uploaded a chapter for the Tale of Qin first, but that chapter is kind of hard to write for some reason, so this will take its place in the meantime. I have several things to discuss.
Firstly, let's talk about Ito and Thoth. I tried to weave a few clues here and there into the previous chapter, but I understand this still leaves a question or two. Firstly, how was Thoth able to sense Bast if she wasn't able to sense him? The answer lies in the fact that he knew she was nearby, so he was able to hide his presence. How this works is that Thoth has to hide himself from her specifically, which still allows for Set to sense him if Thoth doesn't hide himself from Set as well. The reason that Thoth sensed Set downstairs was because Set let himself be revealed; for theatrics, you could say.
Next up is Osiris. I know I didn't really give much info about him in this chapter, but the info about him will go more in depth as the story progresses. For now, the important thing to note is that he does have a few descendants still running around on Earth, but he refuses to take a host. He can also see what is going on with Set and Bast individually but doesn't have the means to communicate with Bast to let her know.
Thirdly, the primordial. I'm sure that those acquainted with her mythology know to whom I refer and wonder why I never said her name. The reason ties into the real-world cults of hers. She was so sacred and powerful that her cult members never used her name, only metaphors or other types of communicating about her without actually stating her name. I thought that was pretty cool, so I kept that in. Next, her rule against direct intervention. It would be ridiculously easy for her to appear next to Set and snip his lifeweave, or kill him, but her rule against direct intervention solves that. As a sneak peak, she will use an already introduced human to carry out her will, though it will be a bit nonconsensual from her, but oh well. I wonder if you will be able to guess who …
And fourthly, probably my favorite part, is that Luna now will live with Aizawa and Ichika! This will allow for more in-depth bonding between the three of them, though Aizawa will try to keep his bias towards her to a minimum. At least, he will try.
And that's it for me today! Stay safe out there! – Bananaman out!