The following days I was planning. Prepping. Saw, Sam, Dean, Luna, mom and I were planning on taking advantage of something. Holy sent me a letter, Shift, now with Admin powers because New Foundation high up wanted to test something, can make Code Clones of our bodies and they link. We fall asleep and wake up in the other body.
I was prepping everything. This was perfect. Can take on much more ground this way and still defend the home base.
This also came with some new things too. The Saint wouldn't partake in this. Said he'd stay here to ensure the town is safe.
But Three is joining in. As is Delilah.
So, in total there was gonna be eight in this Party.
The best part, we already had ships to travel. And Scotch managed to gain the Master of The Golden Smithy Legendary Ability and was working to use the ships we have to make us a very useful means of travel.
Needless to say, I was excited.
"Alright, so there is a lot to do, and now that we have these Code Clones we have plenty of time to do it." I said giddily. "One such thing is the Side Quest on taking control of the Welcoming Comittee's jammer ships."
"We get to blow up ships? Sweet." Saw said with a grin.
"Best the ones with wings take that. Dean's afraid of heights." Luna said.
"You dare call me out." Dean said dramatically.
"Always." She smirked to her brother.
I chuckled. "Well, we should try and save these ships cause they are high tech, even if Scotch just got his Holy Grail of a Legendary Ability…I think his squeals of joy are still echoing."
"Heh… you should hear him in the new workshop that ability gave him. I'll admit, I'm jealous. I never got him to scream that loud in joy." Saw chuckled.
"Pfft." Delilah chuckled.
I chuckled at that. "Well, glad to know that." I admitted, scribbling down more of what our plans could be.
"So aside from taking out these scrambler ships, and Chaos Guilds bases, what else we doing?" Sam asked.
"Getting stronger." Three said. "Unlike Alchem or this Demon Lord Heather person we don't have a means of passive Skill points."
I sighed. "Yes, that is a problem as I was supposed to get something from beating Bakugo in a fight…that didn't go well, and the other two choices Taboo brought up was…either get a skill point for each child I sire, or a Dark Skill Tree ability which I'm not happy with either." I explained carefully.
"Well, there is another option." Three said. "You said that the Saint was to make you a god, right?"
"Well, that was one of the plans." I admitted. "Why do you bring that up?"
"Well, once a god has a thousand followers, worshipers, they gain Skill points. Not sure exactly how it works but maybe the Saint does?"
"Well…that would definitely help, and I'm already kinda worshiped as a hero by some so…worth a shot." I shrugged
"Poppy worshiping your cock doesn't count." Saw said, dodging my own shot out buzz saw. "Nor your other wives."
"... Has a point babe." Delilah said.
I gave a half pained look at her. Half frowned at her joining in on his joke.
"I'm talking about the citizenry, some from here and plenty from the Realm of Darkness." I stated.
"Well, you should go see if the Saint will help you become a god finally." Three said.
"Yes, I shall." I nodded and getting up. "I presume he's still in his lab?"
"Yes."
With that, I got up and headed out.
The Saint's lab was still rather… large. I walked towards- what the hell?
All around me, around where he rebuilt mom's body… were… people. All species and genders floating in those pods…
…
Concerning…
"Uh…hey Saint, what you doing?" I inquired nervously.
"Getting your flock ready." He said. I blinked.
…
"...What?" I asked.
"A god needs their followers, especially if you want to help the people of Armageddon." He said simply, typing away at a keyboard.
"Well…I suppose, but to literally create people to support me…" I said carefully, finding this a bit…much all things considered.
"It was faster than waiting for you to gather followers naturally."
"I mean…while that's fair…" I said carefully. "So…how does one even become a god?"
"You have the divine spark. Given to me from you, and once again, when you became a Nokori, fusing with the sun phoenix. All you need now is to make your Divine Oath before one who can be an overseer of your divinity. Such as myself."
"So I just…need to make some speech and it's all good?" I inquired.
"Of sorts." The Saint said, turning and facing me. He walked up to me. "Take a knee."
I took a knee, as I wasn't sure how this was supposed to work. "So…just have to make an oath…simple…"
"Raise an arm. Right or left, your choice, and clench your first tight as you do." The Saint said. I did so, he kept his hands a few inches from my arm, and I saw as golden symbols and rings formed over my arm. Floating. "Now. Declare your oath."
I swallowed. What do I… I …
…
"... I swear, to uphold law and order as best I can. To defend the weak and correct injustice forced upon the innocent… I swear to save everyone I can."
The rings and symbols glowed as I spoke, forging my words into almost chains that wrapped into and around my arm. Once it was done, I heard… a bell. A loud, thundering bell before the rings, symbols and chains vanished from sight.
"Congratulations. You are from this moment on known as, Hero, God of Justice."
"And I'm forever chained to it…" I muttered, as the feeling of strength welled in me but…apart of me felt sad, upset even as it felt like I was being held back.
"Such is the price of Divine Power. A prisoner to your own promises."
[Notice! You have Ascended to Godhood!
Unique Title, Hero, God of Justice, Obtained!
Title, Fledgling God, Obtained!
Divine Skill Tree Unlocked!
Divine Abilities; Miracle Casting, Blessings, Prayer Collection, Divine Eyes, Divine Collection, and Souls Power, Obtained!]
"Alright…a lot of things popped up…" I said carefully, already thinking the majority of these were self explanatory but I decided to check was Divine Collection, Souls Power and Fledgling God did.
[Title: Fledgling God
This Title marks you as a divine. However young, you are still divine. Those who have high magic or spiritual abilities or affinities can detect this.
Allows you to collect Faith and Devotion and turn them into power for yourself or aid for your followers.
Divine Collection: Whenever a follower gives you an offering, depending on factors, you can reward them with blessings or miracles, and the offerings appear in your Inventory.
Souls Power: As a God, you can make use of the souls of your followers should they pass. You can keep them, set them free to the afterlife, or consume them to gain that followers stats and abilities. Alternatively, you can reincarnate the soul into a new vessel.]
"Huh…that is very interesting." I hummed. "This will all be very useful when I start getting followers and the like."
"The people I created to fill that role are almost ready. I just have some questions for you first."
"What questions?" I inquired.
"What would you prefer? Freedom of choice, or obedience?"
"...Freedom of Choice, cause blind obedience can lead to so many wrong things…" I said carefully, as hindsight kicked in and saw that my world…so many people were blind to so many different problems and just obeyed the media and the HPSC.
The Saint nodded. "Which is better? To love freely, or arrange marriages?"
"Love freely." I said without a second thought, cause arranged marriages, or Quirk marriages, were outright banned for it's ethical and moral problems along with Quirks being strange when doing that.
He nodded again. "Freedom to express or withhold expression?"
"...Freedom to express." I answered, as I started to feel a little worried that I wasn't answering correctly even though two of the three questions I had personal experience with the opposite of my choice.
"Imprisonment or execution?"
"...Imprisonment." I said, cause I wanted to make sure that people got their second chance when this planet never gave them one.
Another nod. "Sacrifice or Worship?"
"In what way?" I asked.
"Answer."
I frowned, as given no context I just…had to go with what my gut said. "Sacrifice."
"Slaughter or Subjugation?"
"...Am I ever going to get context for any of these questions?" I asked, case slaughtering or subjugating people is…not a good thing…
"Answer." He said simply again.
"...Subjugation." I sighed.
"Innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven innocent?"
"Innocent until proven guilty." I answered, cause so many people's lives have been ruined because of people seeing them as guilty before being proven innocent.
He nodded. "Redemption through toil or redemption through death?"
"Redemption through toil." I said, cause death can be cheap and a cop-out when people never truly repented.
"War brings peace, peace ends war, or peace prepares for war?"
"Peace ends wars…but Peace also prepares for war…" I admitted.
"Hm. Final question." He said, making me tense. "Revenge, or Mercy?"
"Mercy."
"Very well then." He said, helping me back to my feet.
"So…am I getting any context?"
"They were information needed to finalize the creation of your flock I'm creating."
"I would have liked to know that cause it feels like I just answered a questionnaire on if I want them to be psychotic or not…"
"If I told you then how would you answer honestly?" He asked. "Context was left out to make you pick what sounded most appealing or right to you, and you did. There is no right or wrong, just your preferences on them with no context."
"I suppose you're right." I nodded. "Just…hope these people will come out okay…"
"I'm sure the only thing you'll need to worry about is the Sacrifice bit you answered."
… Oh crap…
"Oh…I'm…I'm not going to like that…uh, can I change that cause I don't want weird 'Sacrificial Altars' in my name…I'm a god of justice, not Aztec."
"No. Lucky for you when it gets to that point for them you can tell them what is or isn't an acceptable sacrifice."
"Okay…that's good to know." I said carefully.
"Now then, I have a few Abilities to gift you, to help."
"What Abilities we talking about?" I inquired.
"Here." He said, gently taking my wrist.
[Notice! You have been gifted the Abilities; Personal Domain and Divine Voice.
Personal Domain: You have a small pocket reality where a habitable planet resides. Only you and those you allow can enter and exit.
Divine Voice: Can speak directly to all your followers regardless of distance.]
"Huh, that is really cool." I said readily.
"Your personal Domain is where they will live, be housed and worship safely. Plus, I doubt you want a whole cult that worships you mingling with the rest of the town."
"Yeah…that would be preferable." I admitted nervously. "So how do I access the Domain? Just think about it and get teleported there?"
"Simply Invision a door and one will appear."
I nodded and thought about a door to my new dimension, a place where my new followers will live.
It appeared. As if cut out of the fabric of reality and revealing on the other side, a lush untouched world, like my Planet Room back when I first installed it.
I looked around. Alright. I can make them the basics thanks to Township and supplies I… stole… from Nexus… agh… I swear….
"Repurposing…" I muttered. "Just repurposing goods they stole…" I muttered carefully as I started to get to work on getting them at least a town started cause Township was kind enough to let me build things like a city builder game.
The Saint had made me 1,200 followers. Ranging in species. So lots of homes, a few schools, tools, weapons just in case, some basic supplies. A stockpile of food and a pre plowed and set up section of land… hmm… maybe some… okay here, that should be enough for now. Water, food, power, housing, some medicine, and a fair amount of entertainment too… lastly…
I groaned as the final building was constricted. My…temple.
It was… what Township had. Large. Easily able to seat the flock and then some.
Now to… greet them, assign roles and start this shit…
"This isn't going to be fun, I just know it…" I muttered as I stood at the temple waiting for everyone.
After a while, the Saint walked in and helped usher in all my… new followers. I couldn't help but grit my teeth as they were all wearing green and black clothes…
It took all my willpower not to face palm.
Once they were all seated I got a notification from Estate.
[These followers were crafted to worship you. How well they worship you will be determined by this first sermon and meeting here. Put your new divinity on display.]
"Let's hope I can do this well…" I thought to myself, stepping forward…and spreading my wing's out as the sun behind me started to rise behind me. "My people! My followers! Today I come to you just as the Sun rises. To bring you my Divine Word, so that you may all understand your purpose." I said, loud and clear as it echoed for all to hear, seeing all my worshippers listening with rapt attention.
Alright… so far the bullshit is keeping them.
"Justice, the Fair and Reasonable treatment of others, whether good or bad, saint or sinner, for all deserve this as much as they deserve the life giving light of the Sun, for even though there are some people that believe they are unforgivable, but that is not true, cause everyone deserves a second chance." I explained. "The Light of Justice holds it's arms open to those that are willing to embrace it…but don't think Justice is Purely Kind, as Justice can be cruel like the Desert Sun to those that don't welcome it, that abuse the very system that tries to protect the innocent, redeem those that deserve it…and fight against those that would dare turn Fair and Reasonable treatment into Abusive and Corruptive."
For the next about seven-ish minutes, I managed to keep a decent flow. Tried hard not to repeat myself. Eventually, I managed to close it and after a small pause of silence there was a roaring applause from the people.
"Oh thank fuck." I thought to myself in relief.
[You have successfully completed your first sermon!
1,200 Devotion collected!
600 Faith collected!
Notice! The Titles, Estate and Hero, God of Justice, have combined to create the Combination Title, Holy Lands!]
"Oh? And what do you do?" I thought as I looked into what Holy Lands did.
[Title: Holy Lands
Combining aspects of Estate and Hero, God of Justice, Holy Lands allows the user to view data about their followers regarding various aspects. Such as quantified amount of Loyalty to their God, you, how happy your followers as a group are, how healthy or hungry they are, traits, how likely a person is to convert to you, and various other functions.
Faith and Devotion can be used akin to RP in the Holy Lands Stats Menu.]
"...Wait…does this…also mean that I have to make sure these people aren't stupid enough to starve themselves!?" I thought worriedly.
[You better start giving them rolls, less they be dumb and do dumb.]
Estate informed. Or, maybe Holy Lands? Eh, either or.
"Okay…just got to give them rolls…" I thought, looking through all these people and getting a good idea on what they are capable of before just throwing around a lot of rolls willy nilly cause Saint might have installed some traits for them to work with.
And so, I spend the next three days giving everyone their Jobs and roles. Thankfully The Saint installed some information on things in them before giving them to me.
It was a lot of work but everyone was assigned a job, house, schedule. I took note of a few I felt might cause trouble based on their traits, but all in all, they were all alright for now.
"Three days of work…but hopefully it'll all be worth it." I thought to myself carefully, closing the Township roles and rubbing my temples. "At least these people won't be doing dumb things…hopefully."
I did give one last Sermon before leaving. Given these were basically speeches I managed to make one during what little free time I had. So, that got me 2,400 Devotion and 1,200 Faith.
I exited the portal and sighed. "Yo, how's the cult?" Saw asked as he saw me.
"It's…a cult." I sighed. "I just got done giving everyone a roll cause I was not ready for some of the stupidity I feared they were going to commit." I admitted.
"Give it time." He chuckled. "Also, Holy sent another letter." He added, holding said opened letter in his hand.
"Wonder what she has to say this time." I muttered, taking the letter and looking at what Holy had to tell me.
["Hero, we've received some confirmation. Your last report told about the Lust Guild and their part in the upcoming Tournaments the Chaos Guilds are hosting. Well, our mutual ally, Button Mash, thanks to an unexpected… 'relationship' with the leader of Lust, was gifted one of the Code Keys. They work. Dandelion, daughter of Tony the Zingore True Alpha has been cured.
"He was only given the one and it seems they can not be duplicated, however despite their success they do not revive the prior person, so Dandelion, while not having the memories of her prior self, is also still not a child. Her body is fully grown still and she's basically a blank slate. She's staying with Button for now, but the proof these Code Keys work means a mutual agreement when it comes to the Chaos Guild Tournaments. We will discuss this further upon your arrival to obtain your teams Code Clone bodies."]
"Alright, so apparently these Code Key's are real, they do work, but sadly they can't be copied and make people blank slates…" I sighed. "It's…better than nothing I'll at least say that."
"Well damn… also, shit, I'm still banned… Actually are you going right now?"
"Have to, gotta grab our Code Clone bodies." I shrugged.
"Alright, well can you deliver something to Romero for me then?"
"Sure, what's the thing?" I inquired.
"This." He said. A snap of his fingers and his Warp Quirk went off. Between us, appearing from the Warp dark fog, was a woman. She was gagged, tied up and wearing some kind of officers uniform. Her dirty blonde hair was in a ponytail and she looked at me with panic.
What the fuck?!
"Saw the fuck!?" I yelped. "What did I say about kidnapping?"
"Okay first off, I did not kidnap her. Remember that friend of Romero and them I killed back in Leto? Well, I figured if Zach was able to be revived with the corpse back in that one area, I figure… maybe she could too. So I looked, found her grave, dug her up, revived her… and she freaked out. Reasonably, last time she saw me I shot a buzz saw into her stomach… and chest… and neck… and well she wouldn't calm down so…" He motioned to her.
"Bruh." I groaned, kneeling down. "Miss, I'm going to need you to trust me, I'm good friends with Romero." I said softly, which made her eyes a little less panicked when I said that. "I'm going to take the gag off…and I want you to tell me your name alright?"
"Her name's Trish." Saw said.
I gave him a glare as I took her gag off. "Uh… what the fuck are you?" She asked. "No offense…"
"My name is Hero, I'm a Sun Phoenix Nokori." I said. "And none taken, cause this is a lot to take in all at once."
"Okay… so… how am I… alive? Also… why is he the first person I see after waking up from what felt like a very long nap?"
"Okay so…it's complicated…and he's literally the one that resurrected you." I answered. "I can explain while we head to New Earth and get you to meet Romero and the other's." I added as I unbound the woman. "Also, please don't attack Saw, he's already gotten enough torture done from Squeak's and who know's what else…"
"I'm afraid to sleep. Every time I close my eyes I see her 'pet fish'." Saw said.
"... Squeaks? She's a kid, what?" Trish asked.
Oh… well, she died um… early in… brothers past…
"Okay…so a lot has happened." I said carefully. "Like…five thousand years worth of things." I said carefully. "Also…let's not talk about Glub Glub…I'm afraid we'll invoke something…" I shuddered.
"... What?" Trish asked as I gently ushered her along. "I am… so confused."
"Best I can say is, your going to need a stiff drink and some of Bigs's food cause it's going to be a lot." I said as I gently led her to the portal to New Earth to meet Romero and company.
During the walk she was… well, like me when I first came here. Just looking at everything. It was actually really neat to see this from the outside. We arrived outside the restaurant and she was still looking around at… everything and everyone.
"Yeah, I know." I said to Trish who lightly squeaked at me speaking up suddenly. "Was full of wonder when I first got to this reality to."
"... Reality… Wait, is this an Isekai situation? Damn it I knew binge watching all that Anime with Romero would screw me over!"
I laughed. "Yeah, this is an Isekai situation, and in this reality, anything is possible." I said readily as I opened the restaurant door and walked in to see if anyone was here.
Inside I immediately spotted Bigs. He seemed to be making something, various spices, a bowl, and notepad around him.
"Hey Bigs, someone important is here to see ya."
"Hm?" The dragon asked, tilting his head.
"I'm also going to suggest making a 'long talk meal' cause…well," I stepped to the side and showed Trish to the dragon chef.
"T-T-t-" Bigs managed to say, before crashing to the ground and fainting.
…
"Well, nice to see Bigs again… I'm guessing I've been gone a while if he passed out like that?" Trish asked me.
"Five thousand years is a long time." I said, as I walked into the Kitchen real quick and lightly splashed some water on Bigs's face to hopefully wake him up.
That did nothing…
…
I might have misjudged Bigs' capacity to handle shock…
Brother wasn't kidding. He really is a… sensitive person. Ironic given what his dragon half is.
"Right…" I muttered. "Uh…Bigs, the food is burning!" I said quickly, not sure if that would snap him out of it but considering how seriously he took his cooking…
Thankfully, he was up to his feet and awake instantly. "My pies!" He yelped. He then saw Trish… then passed out again.
"You don't know Bigs very well do you?" Trish asked me.
"This is like…the third time I've met this man who is…a lot more of a scaredy cat than Romero said…" I said carefully.
"Heh… First time we met, I'll admit I screamed… but so did he and, well… so did he… higher pitched than I did and well, at least I was still upright… and conscious…" She laughed weakly. "Also… did you say five thousand years?!"
"I said that twice actually." I pointed out. "The first time you didn't listen for good and obvious reasons." I added.
"Well… so, how the fuck am I alive, why am I alive, and why the fuck is Romero alive after that long? I mean, Megs and Bigs I can get, I guess but…"
… Did… Did she not know about… oh…
"Okay so…Romero is a Phoenix, a Galaxy Phoenix." I said. "Two…remember when I said this was complicated? Well, apparently Saw has an ability where he can just…resurrect people if he so chooses because of his new abilities he got from a Guild…and he brought you back as pretty much a massive apology to Romero and company for killing you and others." I explained carefully.
"... Uh… Huh…" She said.
Heh… that's the face when I found out One For All can be transferred between users… Oh boy…
"Don't worry…you'll actually get used to it." I admitted.
"Right… I think I will need that stiff drink after all…"
"I was also hoping to get you some 'process everything' meal from Bigs but…well…" I motioned to the guy.
"Yeah… So… drink?"
"Yeah, one moment." I said, moving over and grabbing one of the bottles of booze he sell's to patrons and handed it to her.
She sat on the stool… and downed it fast. Thankfully, cell phones are a thing here on New Earth, so I pulled out the one Romero gave me and figured I'd give him a call.
I pressed speed dial and held it up, hoping Romero isn't too busy to pick up. "Just gotta give him a call real quick…" I muttered.
"Yo, you got Hero, feathers- I mean, ah shit." Romero said on the phone. I could hear Holy and Shift laughing in the background. "You know what I meant. What's up Hero?"
"Mind dropping by Bigs's shop? Trish is alive and is currently trying to destroy her liver." I answered.
"... Can you repeat that, I think I had a stroke there for a second?"
"Saw revived Trish as an apology, she is here, drinking heavily." I said, using Creation to make her another bottle of booze. "So if you can drop by that would be cool."
"... Uh, sure…" He said, hanging up. Man it's nice to have a phone again. Once these Jammer Ships are taken out, communication is gonna be revolutionary for everyone on Armageddon.
"So many thing's are going to be awesome when we get communications again." I muttered with a smile. "Alright, so Romero, Shift and Holy are on their way here."
"Holy… how is she alive after five thousand years?! Shift, well, I guess that's understandable, there's not much known about mimics…" Trish said, downing the bottle again.
"Holy was Isekai'd from the Afterlife." I answered. "That's a lot simpler than resurrection…somehow." I shrugged. "So if you see her having angel wings and a halo…don't bring it up, she doesn't like it apparently."
"You clearly don't know Holy much either then." Trish said with a small chuckle as she leaned on the bar table. "Fuck… Last thing I remember was chasing Saw with Romero through the Rainfall Mall…"
"Again, have only met these people like…three times." I stated. "Even though Romero is my brother due to the Phoenix's we were fuzed together were siblings." I admitted.
"Right… so what you're saying is Romero is an immortal Phoenix Nokori and I never knew…"
"Let me guess…you thought he was a Peacock cause of the rainbow feathers?" I inquired.
"I didn't know!" She yelled. "He always wore suits or large jackets when off work and I… didn't know he was a Nokori…"
"Well…I suppose that's fair." I admitted, remembering the one suit I ripped apart. "I suppose he wanted to keep that a secret at the time…also considering he was also mostly human which is still strange…" I hummed.
"I mean, so are you saved for the… unarmored bits…" Trish commented. "Not like there weren't Nokori that looked more human than not, but you could still tell. Antenna or animal ears, odd eyes… He must be very human passing to just hide it under some clothes… Next you're gonna tell me he was the Hellfire Human Hunter…"
…
"...So about that…" I said sheepishly. "Uh…yes, yes he was."
"..." She let her head hit the table. "He killed my partner back when I was a cop, slammed and choked me and almost killed me when we first met…"
… Oh…
"...Uh…that's…that's not good…" I said carefully.
She lifted her head up, reaching over the counter and pulled up another bottle, this one was some brandy. "My partner was an ass. Harassed the Nokori a lot, even after the Rights Laws. Still, it's rather traumatizing to see them suddenly have a fireball incinerate an eight inch round hold in their chest and the one who fired it slam you up against the wall and keep that same hand over your mouth so you don't scream." She said, opening the bottle and taking a swig of it. "Had I not showed him my phone… he might have killed me. My husband was one of the Y Labs victims… our kids were so happy he was back, and that he was fluffy now." She chuckled… "Gave me one hell of a concussion though…"
"Well…does knowing what he was before stop you from seeing all his actions when you worked together?" I inquired.
"No… but I'm demanding an apology…" She huffed. "Guess that made me the real first human agent at the Nokori Agency then…"
"Most likely." I shrugged. "And yeah that's fair."
"Shit… There was more to the dumbass than I knew… fuck… if I… died… what about my husband… my kids…"
"They were probably taken care of cause Holy seems like someone that would support the families of her workers." I admitted.
"Maybe… doesn't mean I'm not mad about missing out on my kids' lives… growing old with my husband…"
I sighed. "I know…and I understand."
"So… what's your story then?"
"It's…complicated…" I said carefully. "Cause I am four different being's fuzed into one person, Izuku Midoriya, Izukie Midoriya, a Sun Phoenix, and a Shadow Hunter…and I have all of their memories and experiences…"
"... I take it 'Identity Crisis' doesn't even begin to cover it?"
"I've had that at least twice." I chuckled.
"Heh. So, how'd you end up a Nokori? Some Y Labs shit happening here too?"
"...Yes…in more ways than one…" I sighed. "Even…never mind." I shook my head.
"Sounds like this reality has problems too. So, what's the deal here? Demon lord? Mass war? Just… what's the trope if this is an Isekai situation?"
"So, the 'trope' is that this Reality has everything, you can think it, it exists." I said. "In any way shape or form, from powers, materials, magics, weapons, you name it." I explained. "Just…problem is, you are stuck on the planet Armageddon, the second largest planet in this stupidly big universe that's an amalgamation of every single end of the world scenario thought up." I stated.
"Sounds like my luck… and how did Romero and them all get here then? Cause if Bigs is here and Romero, Shift, Holy, I take it Squeaks and Meg are as well?"
"Yes, they are all here, and that's the thing with Isekai's when coming to this world…nobody knows." I said. "There's been some reports of people seeing green binary, or Code in this reality before being sent, but that's been so few and far between I'm not sure if people are just making it up."
"Weird. How long have you been here?"
"On Armageddon specifically? Twelve, in total, fourteen." I said honestly.
"Huh. Less than expected. So what's with the arm tat?" She asked, looking at my Assistant. "That a thing from the fusion like Dante?"
"No, this is the Assistant." I said. "Think of it like like a JRPG Menu Screen but on hyper steroids, the greatest accomplishment of Magi-Tech from The Family…or Freak Inc…hard to tell given I have memories of…a lot of important things…"
"Huh. So does it cost money or is it like a phone and everyone has one?"
"Everyone is supposed to get it when they get Isekai'd, but to get one you'll have to find a Mother's Statue, that can immediately give you one." I said. "Or, with Township, like me." I said, pulling the Ability up and giving her one.
She blinked, the mark appearing on her wrist and the first time set up did it's thing. "Huh… that's… kinda cool." She hummed. "So, what has Romero been up to while he's been here?"
"Well, besides somehow helping create New Earth as you see…well, first he was pissed when I told him that his powers were pretty much Divine in nature and that he has the power to do anything he wants, Romero probably being himself and…oh, I think I was told he finally got his wife Shift pregnant, I meant to congratulate him on that."
"He and Shift got married? Wait Shift's pregnant!? Holy crap… Last I remember they broke up a bit ago…"
Oh she's gonna flip when she learns about Holy…
"Oh, you are going to flip when they get here." I chuckled.
"Uh, alright?"
Waiting for them was simple. Just sat here, Trish slowed her drinking, but she can clearly hold her liquor. Bigs was still asleep.
Eventually the door opened. Trish and I turned and Romero, Holy, and Shift were there. All three looked, reasonably shocked seeing Trish was, well, here.
"Surprise." I said with a smile.
"... And just like that, old trauma has resurfaced." Romero said.
"Ditto." Holy said.
"Hey… so… lot's happened it seems…" Trish said.
"Saw revived Trish here as…a massive apology gift." I said.
"... Well shit… if he can do that again, I have a list." Holy said.
"Okay so a retrial on Saw aside… so uh…" Romero said, his wings flexing a bit. "Uh…"
"Hero here told me… I'd like an apology for the slam and chokehold you gave me when we first met back when I was a cop." Trish said.
"Right… sorry. I said as much over your… grave… for not telling and, well… Sorry…"
"Alright… now since you all lived long after… what happened to my family?"
"Your husband Hector was… a mess, but he held together for your kids." Holy said. "Was the first of a new… program I instated. He got your paycheck long after your death to help. As an Agency agent, we paid for the funeral."
"Your kids went to college." Romero added. "Diego became a doctor, Sarah a dentist."
"Heh… good. They… live long?"
"... Hector died at… sixty three. Heart attack…" Romero started. He sounded… aching, remembering. "Diego, eighty four. In his sleep… Sarah, forty six. Car accident…"
"Well…at least they lived the lives they wanted." I said, even though Sarah got into an accident, living forty six years was still a nice time.
"Did they…" Trish started.
"Diego found a wife. She was human, back then Nokori and Human were not compatible… the right… gene editing and medicine wasn't around until maybe a little over a hundred years later. They adopted four kids. Two human, two Nokori. Sarah found a wife, and both had children from donors. Two boys."
Trigh looked down, sad but… happy. "So weird… you… saw it all…"
"It was… all I could do." Romero sighed. "Never got easier…"
I kept my comments to myself, letting the group connect as they should after so long apart. "Even after what they pulled on Saw…he still wanted to be better for them…" I thought to myself.
I sat and let them talk, catching Trish up on everything that happened back on their world before they arrived here. Their time here before and after meeting Alchem. Romero's Two thousand year episode in the dungeon that became New Earth. He, Holy and Shift being in a relationship. A Vee type, they called it.
Some jokes were made and a little after that, Meg and Squeaks arrived. Both gave Trish a hug and Trish was amazed how big Squeaks was. She must have been tiny as a child.
They helped Bigs up and stay awake and eventually, Bigs got to cooking.
"So, Saw really is trying to atone huh?" Holy said. "I know his memories and such were reviewed… even my power told me he was being honest with the answers he gave but still… hard to believe."
"I know it's hard to believe considering what he's done…but he has been making leaps and bounds with being better."
"Heh, well damn. Guess we will have to rethink his punishment then."
"That would be preferred." I nodded.
"Anyway, I guess you'll be wanting those Code Clone copies right?"
"Yes." I nodded. "Cause there's a lot of things we would like to do…and also to give you a warning about fighting Nexus." I said, which made them all raise an eyebrow. "...Majority of Nexus are a bunch of innocent people that don't know anything about what's going on…"
"I see…" Romero hummed. "This is… not too surprising actually…"
"How so?" I inquired.
"We've dealt with groups like that before." Meg said. "Not fun."
"Yeah…" I sighed. "It's not fun…and I have a bigger feeling Tony is learning that first hand and horrified about it."
"Well, our options in handling that are little."
"Welp, I have an idea." Romero said.
"What's the idea?" I inquired.
"Simple. When we find their civilian populations, or their ignorant soldiers, we capture and kidnap rather than kill."
"Yeah that's fair." I nodded. "Try to show them what's truly going on and the like."
"Be a lot of resistance… but, we can probably force them if need be…"
"Yes…forcing feels like crap but it's…sadly better than nothing." I admitted
"Welp. Time to put that title to use and spite Anuket." Romero added with a grin.
"Wait what?" Holy asked.
"If we'll be pillaging towns and cities and basically being the bad guys in their eyes, I saw we commit to the bit. I already have the Greater Demon Lord Title."
… What?
"Shift's a cannibal."
… What?!
"Meg is a war criminal who broke and made laws in the geneva convention."
… WHAT?!
"And Squeaks is Squeaks."
…
"...Wat?"
"Heck yeah! War crimes!" Meg said cheerfully.
"Wouldn't be the first time we became wanted criminals." Squeaks said with a smirk.
"If it means I don't have to fill out paperwork, fine by me." Holy shrugged.
"...Right…" I said carefully. "Just…be careful alright? These are still innocent people just trying to live a normal life…"
"Oh relax we're not gonna kill them. Traumatize them maybe but they'll live." Shift said with a dismissive wave.
"You seriously gonna be a full on Demon Lord to spite Anuket?" Holy asked.
"Yes and I will enjoy every moment of it should I see her Devil May Furry face again." Romero chuckled.
"I have a feeling she'd still call you a hypocrite for being a divine being, just not the one she wanted." I admitted.
"Pfft. Screw godhood."
Ah heh…
"Yeah…totally." I said carefully, given what I am now and what Romero literally is, it's…a thing. "So anyways, the clones?" I asked, wanting to get out of this awkward conversation.
"Oh yeah. Shift, follow Hero to his place and make his team the clone bodies." Holy said.
"Yes boss." Shift said getting up and motioning for me to follow them out the bar.
I did.
"So…am I going to get any context for half of what you people just said?" I asked Shift. "I mean…I can kinda see you being a cannibal cause Mimics but…the rest?"
"Well, Back home during the Nokori War… We found out that some countries were trying to hide their Labs and… remove evidence… Romero flew to North Korea and… the mass graves were… everywhere. Before any support could be sent, in an instant Romero glassed the country. Border to border. When we got here and got a look at that Greater Demon Lord title, the numbers and phrasing made it obvious that's how he got it."
"Ah…that…that makes sense." I nodded…glassing a whole country? Holy hell.
"During that Same war, the countries that were fighting against us to keep experimenting, well, Meg printed out the Geneva convention and all the laws there, and began checking them off like a scoreboard. Even invented new war crimes."
"How does one invent new war crimes when the Geneva Convention already had all of it?" I asked worriedly.
"You don't wanna know…" Shift said. "As for me, well… interrogation went quick when you literally bite their limbs off and eat them in front of them. Especially if you change shape into someone they care about or know for the extra fear factor."
…
"...Right…" I said carefully.
"You surprised we did such horrible things?"
"Not as much as I should be but still surprised." I admitted.
"You live as long as us, go through the things we went through… you do things you didn't think you were capable of. It gets easier, easier, and at some point you can just… not think about it. Becomes like breathing. Something we can do without hesitation. Romero always said he'd be willing to be the Monster the world needed to kill the monsters normal people couldn't. In the end, all save Bigs followed in tow, in our own ways."
"Monsters kill People, and People kill Monsters…but sometimes you need a Monster to kill a Monster…" I sighed.
"Exactly. Romero, Squeaks, Meg, Holy and I are those Monsters. Guess in a way, Alex got what he wanted out of us. The perfect Bio Weapons." Shift sighed.
"...Yeah, he got what he wanted…" I said carefully, trying not to say I personally me the fucker and know his plan but…still.
We made it to my place and Shift made the Code Clones for everyone. Even Saw.
After that, Shift left.
We then went to Saw's place to check on Scotch's work.
"So what do you think Scotch has made?" Delilah said.
"Something awesome I bet." Saw smirked.
"Knowing Scotch and how excited he is about his new Legendary Ability, most likely." I nodded in agreement.
We arrived at Saw's home and outside, parked on the lawn was… a rather large, rather fancy ship. Its paint was primarily black, with gold lines and green highlights. Some weapons were on the outside, turrets and cannons.
Saw whistled. "Scotch, you made something beautiful?"
"More than me?" Scotch asked with a grin.
"Never." Saw said, grabbing his boyfriend into a hug and kiss. "So, what can this baby do?"
"Leave planet." Scotch said casually…what!? "Other than that, I'd like to see something try and put a scratch on it."
"The hell is this if it can leave the planet?" I asked in surprise.
"I call it, The Eye of Light." Scotch said.
"Hmm…" I hummed. "So besides it being nigh indestructible, how fast can it go?" I inquired.
"Yes." Scotch chuckled. "7.8 times the speed of light. Enough internal space via Pocket Dimensions to hoard whole dungeons. Planet rooms field with automatic farms for meat, fish, vegetations and fruits. Three that create planets just to mine them to the core and convert all the resources to materials to repair and create supplies. Armor so tough I bet even that Romero guy couldn't dent it, and best of all, once you knock out those jammers, it can create small signal satellites allowing for communications via Assistant!"
"Oh this is going to be fantastic." I said with a giant smile. "Scotch you are awesome."
"And don't ever doubt it." Scotch said with a large grin and nod. "And there's a spot I pre-made where you can place a Frontier Portal to always have a means to return home no matter how far you go."
"Awesome." I nodded. "We should probably think of making more of these to make traveling so much easier…"
"I already have a contract with Holy set up." Scotch said. "We can easily mass produce these and best of all, she's letting me be on the team to reverse engineer and upgrade that Eternity Ship! I'm so excited!"
"Heh… not surprised Holy was one step ahead… that woman is terrifying." Saw said.
"Yeah, she is rather…concerning." I admitted carefully.
We loaded up our Code Clones into the ship, putting them in our various rooms before going about our day.
Then, Night came.
We fell asleep. And woke up in the clone bodies. Perfect.
We set the ship to course and flew it high up into the sky and it began scanning. Based on what Holy said, they emit a Gravitational anomaly so scanning for that… There.
We arrived at the first one very quick. Even managed to take it into the Docking bay. Once we did, the camouflage came off and the ship opened up.
"According to the report, these are unmanned." Three said. In a flash of red he ran in and out. "Seems to hold true. Aside the jammer, servers and supplies, there's nothing on the ship. Just this." Three said, running back in and coming out with an old box TV on a rolling stand with a VHS player hooked up to it, and holding a VHS tape in his hand.
"Old school. Nice." Saw smirked.
"Alright, so pop the VHS in and let's see what's special about it." I said readily.
We did, the TV turning on and hitting play.
A burst of static gave way to the image of who looked kind of like a teenager, maybe seventeen or so, wearing a simple red hoodie and ripped jeans. How hair and eyes were both a metallic dark gray color and his skin was a dark tan color.
"Hello, a pleasure to meet you all. Well, not meet this is a recording but if you're seeing this than congratulations! You're part of the monthly bunch of do gooders helping to work towards the betterment of Armageddon. Good for you!"
"Gravel." Three said in surprise.
"Glad to see you're still around Three. I'll make this as short as can be. You've just unlocked the quest I got to take part in, my contribution to Armageddon on behalf of Uncle Dark Gray."
[Notice! You have obtained the Quest, Free Speech!
Locate and destroy each zones Welcoming Committee ships.
(Optional) Copy each ships data for map location data and geographic data.]
"Do you know him, Three?" I asked, feeling like Gravel was familiar but I wasn't sure.
"He's the son of All Makers Pecator and Gray."
Gray? He… Right! There's All Maker Gray and All Maker Dark Gray. The twins.
"Now then, I'm sure you're wondering many things but keep that overthinking analytical mind to a minimum and listen to what I'm gonna tell you." Gravel spoke up. "To keep things short and simple, these ships have a jamming radius of 100,000 lightyears. They're dotted all over Armageddon's upper atmosphere and are programmed to shoot down any ship or being that is trying to fly into or out of Armageddon. Unfortunately for you all, this doesn't make taking them out a means of escape. Uncle ensured that's gonna be saved for last. You will however receive a lot of EXP and rewards once you take out so many, and even more once all of The Nightmare and other zones are free from the Jammer Ships."
"Sounds rather simple…and boo to not being able to leave." I huffed.
"Oh rest assured, you will be able to leave. Once all the Jammer Ships are taken out, that automatically activates the next Quest. The one to remove the barrier around Armageddon and allow not only interplanetary communications, but allows everyone to come and go freely."
"Huh…okay that still seems…bad if Chaos Guilds can come and go freely instead of just hiding and striking wherever they want." I frowned, still remembering my first encounter with a Chaos Guild member trying to kidnap Delilah.
"Well can't all be winners. In any case, there are a lot of quests on Armageddon, hidden but there. Quests fall into three types. Side Quests. Story Quests. Main Quests. Free Speech is a Story Quest. Meaning it majorly changes things on Armageddon. But in your place, Hero, Three, Saw, Delilah, Sam, Dean, Luna. There's your grand opportunity to obtain the Main Quest of The Nightmare. This main quest will forever change The Nightmare, for better or worse depending on your choices."
Change… The Nightmare? Forever…
"This…this is the change I've been looking for…" I muttered, feeling hope fill my heart again as I would enjoy making this world better…just hope I make the right choices.
"I can't tell you how to find it, but I can give you this hint. Nightmares fear me, sleepers keep me close, I am ignored when you awake but I always stand guard."
"Hmm…" I hummed, scratching my chin as I tried to think of what this could mean, cause technically Dreams could be the solution to that riddle but I'm not sure…shit, I really should go back to the Hunter's Dream sooner or later…I have like…all the Blood Echo's…
… Wait…
"Now then, that's all for now. Farewell and good luck on the quest." Gravel said, the TV turning off and the tape ejected.
"Right…" I said carefully. "So now that we have this jammer taken down…I need to head to the Hunter's Dream." I said. "Still can't believe I forgot this place was Bloodborne…"
"How do you even go there?" Saw asked.
"Normally it replaces sleep, but only if you sleep outside in the Nightmare proper. The safety of the town blocked it." Three said.
Ah. So that's why I haven't been.
"We'll fly the ship to the next Jammer." Luna said. "You three go deal with that."
I nodded. "Alright, stay safe now." I said, before warping off down to Nightmare again so I could try and get to the Dream again.
Saw and Three were by my side. We set up a small base in one of the nearby buildings and hopefully, we'd wake up in the Hunters Dream.
Alright now to just…
…
…
I blinked, looking around. Saw and Three next to me as we were in the Hunters Dream.
Sweet!
"Huh. Rather peaceful looking." Saw hummed.
"There has to be something… a clue?" Three hummed.
"That riddle was a bit odd." Saw shrugged.
"Yes…the riddle is a bit weird, but it should be here somewhere." I said, looking over and seeing the doll see me and bow. "Hello, it's been a long time."
"Hello Hunter. I see you bring two newcomers to the Dream. Welcome."
"... Say," Saw started. "Is there a Dream Catcher around here?"
"One rests in the Old Hunters quarters." The Doll said.
"Thank you." I nodded. "And I'll be back with…uh…actually, how many Blood Echoes do I have?" I questioned, looking up the currencies I have…uh…that's about…fifty four quintillion…oh…"Oh…that's uh…that's a lot…"
"Are you gonna keep staring at your Blood Echos or are ya coming in!" Saw called out, already inside the large house.
"Yeah yeah one moment!" I called out, rushing inside. "I'm sorry that seeing fifty four quintillion Blood Echoes is surprising."
"Eh." Saw replied as he was heading up the stairs. I followed and we arrived at the only closed door here.
I reached to open- Locked?!
"Of course it's locked…" I grumbled. "Want to try and break the door open or do either of you know how to lockpick?" I asked, cause unless this was a door that needed a special key I'm sure we could just break it open
Saw looked at it. He kicked it a few times. Even his Buzz saws did nothing. With a shrugged, he summoned Bloody Mercy, tapped it against the door, and it clicked.
…
"...I…completely fucking forgot…" I grumbled, as it has been genuinely forever since I last used the Keyblade to be an actual god damn Key. "This is genuinely the first time I had to care about the Key part of these silly things…"
"Pays to date two super nerds." He chuckled, turning the knob and opening the door. Inside was a simple bedroom, and hung above the bed was a small dreamcatcher.
"Alright, so one dream catcher." I said, moving over and tried to grab the thing, cause I'm not sure if this will cause something big to happen or if I'm just grabbing a who cares Dream Catcher.
I picked it up off the wall. The small lines on it glowed and the circular inside turned to a crystalline glass like formation. Through it, I saw… chains?
I followed it and where the Dream Catcher was hung up, was a keyhole I could see, chains linking in and out of it.
"Huh…" I said in surprise, bringing out Second Chance. "Hmm…just unchain the Keyhole…this should hopefully be an okay thing…" I thought. "So apparently there's a chained Keyhole…"
"Strange." Three said.
"That mean anything?" Saw asked.
"Usually, there's more than one if they're chained."
I held up the Dream Catcher in one hand and the tip of Second Chance to the Keyhole. It glowed, the Keyhole appearing physically. The chains began to break as the sound of tumblers turned. Once all broke, the Keyhole unchained, it glowed bright then faded away.
"... There is no way it's that eas- SHIT!" Saw yelped as the bedroom vanished, sending us all falling down to a hard ground. "Fucking… agh… Shit…" He growled.
We got up. The Hunters Dream was… in ruins. The Graveyard and house burned to Ashes and turning to face us was The Doll.
"Oh fuck…" Three said.
I used scan on the Doll.
[The Doll
Class: Boss Monster
Rank: SSS+
HP: 900,000,000
MP: 10,000,000,000
ATT: 45,000,000
DEF: 1,000,000
Resistance: 12,000,000]
… Oh shit!
"Oh-ho-ho-no~..." I said in mild panic.
"Hero, if we get out of this, remind me to bitch slap you." Saw said.
"Well how the fuck was I supposed to know?" I asked, bringing out Sharpshooters. "Well…uh…I think the only one that can hurt her is Three…so me and Saw will cover you and try to widdle her down or distract her." I said quickly.
"Alright." Three nodded, summoning- Is that the Anti-Hero Soul Blade?!
"When the hell did you get the Anti-Hero Soul Blade!?" I asked incredulously.
"Tell you later." He said, rushing in and colliding with the Doll, who used a Hunter's Axe and met her in a clash.
Saw and I began providing ranged support.
"How did the unchained Keyhole cause this?" I thought, trying to think of how to do this cause as Gravel said, that choices can make or break this place…while still providing ranged support I looked around the area, wondering if there was any clues as to what transpired here besides 'everything was on fire'.
The battle was intense. Even if Saw and I were on the sidelines, it was rather hard to deal when she hit with an AOE attack.
Eventually though, Three managed to beat her.
Once he did, we all appeared back in the Bedroom.
"... First, the fuck was that? Second." Saw started.
SMACK!
Agh!
Ah damn it he kept his word, ouch…
"I don't know, and why the fuck did you smack me?" I frowned.
"I said I was gonna bitch smack you."
He did…
[Notice! You have begun the Main Quest: Awaking The Nightmare!
Find all 100 Sealed Keyholes (1/100)
This Quest has no Base Stat Requirements.
Rewards: (Miscellaneous)
End Quest Reward: ?]
"...One hundred Keyholes…" I said slowly. "One Hundred Dream Catchers to find…and we have to find ninety nine more…" I said carefully.
"Yeah I got the same notification too." Saw said.
"For the Main Quest of The Nightmare, it's actually rather easy to find." Three hummed. "Perhaps the difficulty scales as we go along?"
"That would explain why it says there's no Base Stat Requirements." Saw said. "That Doll bitch could have easily wiped the floor with Hero and I, but you were at least able to match them."
"True. This is going to be a- Oh…"
The new notification we all got was… the rewards, for clearing the first sealed Keyhole.
[Notice!
Keyhole 1/100 Rewards:
5,000,000,000,000 Rem
62,000,000,000 EXP
1,000,000,000 Skill Points
1 Sleeping Realm Key
Location of Next Keyhole marked on Minimap!]
"...Oh." I said slowly, deciding to…uh…check the Sleeping Realm Key to see what that did…"Let's just…see what the Sleeping Realm Key is…"
[Sleeping Realm Key
Class: Unique Item
Use to access the Sleeping Realm within The Nightmare. This key once used will bring you and your party members of choice to the Sleeping Realm, the Realm of Nightmares, and will activate a Questline.]
"Huh…okay, so me and any amount of party members I want can go to the Sleeping Realm, the Realm of Nightmares…and I'm just going to assume, the Questline that it will start is how the Sleeping Realm as a whole will be apart of Armageddon."
"Not right now, we barely dealt with that bitch." Saw groaned.
"Yes…this is going to be annoying…" I sighed. "Just have to work on getting our stats up at this point, getting new skills would also help…" I muttered, pulling out my 'Skill Build #1' notebook and looking through it again. "Hmm…with the Skill Points for us…well, I have the Blood Echoes to substitute for stats…" I muttered.
"Well, you do that, I'm out of here to blow the Skill Points I got." Saw said. I then saw him vanish as he left the Hunters Dream.
"Yeah…this is going to take a bit…" I scratched my head. "Okay…uh…fuck, where to even start…"