Dream Of Eternity By SlaneeshSaysHi

by lucifuge 101

This story is a copy pasted fanfic By SlaaneshSaysHi on Questionable Questing . com with there generous allowance. For the Link to this specific story go to forum. questionable questing .com /threads /dream- of- eternity- bloodborne- start- gamer- jumpchain- currently- resident- evil .13184/ remove spaces it is now caught up to the authors work.

21. Sherlock Holmes

My great thanks to HighFlyingWings, who kindly chose to use some of his free time to be my Beta-reader!

Three people, one man and two women, sat calmly around a round outdoor table while looking at the night sky above, beverages of various kinds spread all over said table.

"Good choice of nebulae for the night sky in the Hunter's Dream, Aeon." Praised the woman with blond hair and glowing blue and purple eyes named Lucy.

"Thank you." I replied, smiling. "But we should get to the matter at hand."

"Indeed." Oedon agreed, after taking a sip of tea. "I believe you were going to mention the next jump in our journey?"

Aeon, the Good Hunter and now a Living God with full power, smiled wider. "Indeed. Now that we all have these powers, I feel we could take some time to just… relax and have fun doing whatever catches our fancy. Which is why I took a pretty simple destination."

With that, I brought up the Sherlock Holmes jumpdoc.

Both women looked at the jumpdocs before them, though Lucy blinked before grinning.

"Sherlock Holmes? Really?"

I shrugged, smiling. "Why not? It has good perks, and we are guaranteed to be free to use our time there to do whatever we want. The only thing to keep an eye on is Moriarty's schemes, but for beings like us they are easy enough to shatter utterly. I can literally will him to be fated to fall down the stairs and break his neck, if I wanted to."

Lucy shook her head, looking at the jumpdoc before her in bemusement.

"To be fair, the concept of a jumpchain by itself is pretty wild… Though I can't argue against its usefulness."

"Indeed not." Agreed Oedon, who had finished reading the jumpdoc. "I take it that those perks will principally be of use for our mortal avatars? All three of us are already omniscient in our true forms, after all, and most of those perks have to do with intelligence."

I nodded. "That's the idea, yes. Though I feel like we should go for a Drop-in origin, since we don't need to worry about cp and there's no real point in having a backstory life there."

"Fair enough."

"What do you want to do, exactly, during those ten years in that universe, Aeon?" wondered Lucy. "Considering our current existence, there is very little we can't do…"

I grinned. "Well, I want to experiment a little. Create various megastructures, some terraforming, maybe create a galaxy or two, stuff like that."

Lucy nodded. Oedon, however, threw me an amused look. "You just want to play around with your new powers, don't you?"

I pouted. "Look, I'm a god now! I'll have to deal with the responsibilities of it soon enough, let me have my fun while I can!"

Lucy snorted. "Boys and their toys…" she shook her head with a smile.

I gave her a smirk. "Careful, or I'll create a constellation in Earth's sky looking like you, named after you, and have humanity connect it with something utterly embarrassing for the rest of their existence."

Lucy gave me a horrified look. "You wouldn't dare!"

My smirk grew. "Try me."

A gentle cough interrupted us. "If we could go back to the matter at hand, you two?" declared Oedon, looking amused at us both.

We threw her apologetic looks. ""Sorry.""

She nodded, looking satisfied. "Good. Then, shall we?"

"Indeed." I replied.

Then I made my selection- which was basically all available perks (except the likes of "An Empire in the Shadows")- and not long after, everything went black.

===

I woke up.

Besides me, Oedon and Lucy did the same, blinking at the unexpected sight of a British pub in the late 19th century.

"Well, it seems to have worked." declared Lucy, looking around in curiosity.

"Doubting my words, Lucy? Shame on you, truly!" I teased, looking at the new stylish cane I got from the jumpdoc, complete with hidden blade and whip inside.

She snorted. "I'm sure I'll survive."

Then she looked down at her Victorian-era outfit, grimaced, and an instant later, replaced it with a 21st century outfit instead.

I gave her a dry, amused look.

"Using your powers to get 21st-century clothes? And messing with the minds of anyone watching so that they don't notice? Really?"

She shrugged, looking thoroughly unashamed. "I'm an all-powerful goddess, excuse me for wanting to look good."

I snorted, smirking. "Girls and their clothes..." I teased smugly.

Oedon grinned. "You two are going to do this often, aren't you?"

We threw her matching innocent looks saying "We have no idea what you're talking about."

For some reason, she didn't appear convinced.

Still, after we decided to pass some time enjoying the hospitality of a 19th-century British pub, we eventually left and all three of us got up to our own things.

Lucy went to the tropics, jumping forwards in time to get a good vacation spot (with all modern amenities) after the recent events in her life, and I suspected because she COULD.

Oedon began jumping around the universe, enjoying studying the fauna and flora of countless worlds, something that I often joined her doing.

But my own interests lied first into the creation of different megastructures in various systems.

From orbital elevators, to full-on ringworlds, to space habitats like O'Neill Cylinders, to Dyson Spheres and even massive Topopolises surrounding entire star systems.

I actually experimented quite a bit with my powers, creating all these megastructures and more with various abilities, sometimes creating them ex nihilo, sometimes just converting matter into other forms of matter, sometimes literally willing things into existence.

I had to admit, as someone who had once looked at all these ideas for the future of humanity with something close to sadness over my doubts they would ever come to pass, and the fact I most certainly wouldn't live long enough to see any of them with my own eyes even if they ever were built, being able to create them at will was quite the satisfying experience, and worked quite well as an ego booster, though I hardly needed any of those nowadays...

"You've been busy." Declared Oedon, looking at the massive topo polis surrounding an entire system made out of diamond.

Why diamond?

Because why not?

"Indeed, I have!" I declared cheerfully.

It was a good thing no alien species were around in these systems, because they would no doubt be freaking out BADLY about all these massive constructions seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"Care to show me around?" asked Oedon with a grin.

"Of course!"

And so I did. I showed her my work, showing off that I hadn't done the megastructures only for human life, but also for more esoteric lifeforms not based on carbon.

We went from freezing tundra's to massive volcanoes spitting lava to gigantic jungles to even bigger oceans.

I had taken some lifeforms, though none sapient obviously, to live in these areas, and we delighted in seeing all the various species, some resembling Earth ones and some completely unrecognizable to any on Earth.

I also showed her the massive cities I built, and while there was no life they certainly were awe-inspiring to behold.

I didn't hold back on using my powers, too- and many of these buildings casually broke the laws of physics in a way that any Lovecraftian enthusiast would love to see, even with the sights no doubt giving them the most horrendous of headaches.

Building bigger on the inside, teleporting you all over the place from one step to another, angles that just shouldn't be possible, rooms that just shouldn't exist (and sometime didn't before coming back anyway), entrances to areas appearing only at certain hours or at certain conditions (Oedon got a good laugh out of me jumping on one foot for ten seconds just to open a door at one point), and much more.

Needless to say, I had a lot of fun creating these things, and not being held back by anything certainly helped.

Though I was fairly certain that one flaming flamingo statue I created when I had been bored- as much as I could be bored, at least- was some kind of abomination against nature.

ALL forms of Nature.

EVERYWHERE.

Not that it stopped me, of course.

Though I swore that thing somehow kept making faces at me whenever I saw it…

Probably nothing to worry about. I mean, my true self only seemed amused when I asked, so it should be fine, right?

Right.

Speaking of abominations against nature…

"Oedon, my love, what are you holding?"

"Oh, it's a little something I did in my free time. After looking at so many different species of animals and plants, and after seeing you having so much fun with your projects, I decide to experiment a little myself. Do you like it?" she declared cheerfully, green eyes bright as she held up the… plant… animal? Thing, with many eyes that stared at both myself and Oedon, some of them occasionally blinking at us.

Oh, and some of its many, many tentacles were around my wife, while the rest kind of… spread around.

… Did one of them just wave at me?

Nah, probably my imagination.

I smiled brightly. "It's very cute, my love."

She beamed.

The… being gurgled something.

We stared at it.

"I think it's hungry." I drily pointed out.

"Oh, well I've gotta go then! I'll show you the rest of my work later!"

And then she was gone, teleporting away.

I stared at the spot she left behind.

"I probably shouldn't have mentioned my love for hentai around her… That's way too many species with tentacles she created lately..."

My eyes glowed and I checked the future.

I promptly blinked.

Then I facepalmed. Hard. "Damnit Oedon, you just HAD to create a whole bunch of species that would end up having kinky sex with humanity, didn't you?!"

===

I stared at the latest creations of my wife.

Their many eyes stared back.

"Oedon… did you just create singing spiders?"

She grinned. "Aren't they cute?"

I kept staring.

The spiders started singing.

I blinked slowly, then passed a hand over my face.

"Mankind have mercy… The future of music is going to be ruled by singing spiders."

The spiders kept singing, doing really well, well enough that I knew that humans would weep in awe at their songs.

I sighed deeply.

For some reason, no one told me the dangers of married life involved singing spiders eventually becoming the rulers of galactic singing and music in general, created by your wife because, in her own words, "they'll bring some joy into people's life!"

Maybe I should go check on Lucy? We've been meeting every so often, but passing some time in the tropics sounded pretty good right about now…

===

I teleported to where- and when- she was, falling on the sandy ground of the beach with a dull thud.

I stared blankly at the blue sky above.

"Aeon?" came the surprised voice of Lucy, not far from me, laying on her front and previously basking in the sun and tranquility of a beautiful private beach.

I groaned.

"Singing spiders."

She blinked. "What?"

"My wife created a bunch of singing spiders, ones that will one day be known as the best in all forms of music across this entire galaxy."

Lucy blinked slowly.

"... Why?"

"To bring joy into people's lives." I quoted with a deadpan.

She blinked yet again.

Then she buried her head back on the towel she was laying on and grunted, grinning.

"The wonders of married life, am I right?"

I groaned loudly.

Lucy, sadistic deity that she was, only chuckled in amusement.

Naturally, I promptly summoned a ton of sand and buried her beneath.

When she emerged seconds later, she had the most flat look I've ever seen on anyone.

"This. Means. WAR." she said calmly.

I grinned, eyes twinkling.

And then I summoned another ton of sand on her.

Things… kind of went crazy for a little while afterwards.

But hey, it isn't like anyone is gonna miss all those blown-up planets! They were lifeless anyway!

Or those stars! There was no one around them, after all!

So I'm sure it'll be fine!

===

"Had fun with Lucy?" came the amused voice of Oedon when I teleported to check up on her later.

I frowned, looking at her curiosity.

"How do-"

"Check with your greater self." She replied, amusement rising.

I did as asked.

And then I facepalmed, blushing.

"That's… a lot of cults across the universe." I muttered.

"Indeed." came the laughing voice of Oedon.

"And all of them consider me a war god… and/or a LOVE god?!" I exclaimed.

"Should I be jealous you got that status with another woman first instead of me?" wondered Oedon, putting a finger on her lips, green eyes twinkling in mirth.

I stared at her for a long moment.

Then my eyes narrowed. "You seem suspiciously pleased by all of this."

She shrugged innocently.

"Me, being pleased by you having many cults and getting along quite well with Lucy? Why, I don't see why I wouldn't!" she declared with "innocent" confusion.

I deadpanned at her.

"And if it were to end up with your second lover, well, Lucy is a beautiful and extremely powerful woman..." Oedon finished, grinning.

My eyes narrowed at her again. "Someone's being cheeky."

She grinned. "And what are you going to do about it?"

I stared at her… and then grinned back before teleporting to her, throwing Oedon over my right shoulder, and then teleporting again to our bedroom in the Hunter's Dream.

Oedon's green eyes had just finished widening before she suddenly found herself naked and bound, limbs positioned in an X-shape around her as unnaturally strong ropes bound her to the four corners of the bed.

"Someone needs to be put into horny jail… But being fucked silly will do." I declared, smirking widely.

She stared at me for a second… before grinning back.

"You think you can make me your prey, Good Hunter? Then by all means, try." she replied, eyes clouded with lust.

"Oh, I will." I muttered, before banishing my clothes and going unto the bed myself.

I began by caressing and leaving soft kisses up her legs, slowly going up more and more with each kiss.

Oedon let out the occasional soft gasps, growing a bit louder whenever I decided to switch from kisses to gentle love bites.

When my head reached up with her sex, I deliberately avoided it, leaving kisses and love bites around it.

Oedon began to whimper in lust, her green eyes growing even more clouded, but with her body bound as it was, she could only shiver in need.

I kept going up, leaving kisses and love bites as I went up her belly, while my right hand went to her sex and began, slowly, playing with her folds.

Oedon bit her lips in lust, a whimper escaping her as my mouth closed around her right nipple, her back arching slightly as my teeth sank gently into her nipple.

I switched to the other nipple, my left hand taking over the job of playing with that breast while my right kept it's deliberately slow ministrations on her sex.

Eventually I kept going higher, kissing and biting at her neck just hard enough to leave a mark, Oedon tilting her head to her left or right to allow me better access to her body, her eyes having closed in bliss, though her slightly open mouth let out the occasional hot gasps of pleasure and pain from my kisses and bites.

Finally, I stood to eye level with her, and she opened her green eyes so that we could stare at one another for a moment, our eyes clouded with lust, love, and desire, before at the same instant we rushed forward, kissing passionately, my left hand coming up to hold her head tightly from behind.

When we finally separated, we looked into each other's eyes for a moment, before I whispered a passionate "Mine."

She grinned, though I did not give her the time to answer before I kissed her again, my right hand still playing with her sex, Oedon by now so pent up with lust that she squirmed in her bound- but to no avail, as I kept making sure that she would not actually climax.

Being able to sense her emotions allowed me to feel just how close to orgasm she was- and each time she came close, I slowed down, driving her frustration and lust ever higher.

Her hips tried their best to grind on my hand, a sense of desperation taking over her body in her attempts to achieve release, but I did not let up, always keeping close but unable to reach her climax.

"Aeon…" she moaned, lidded green eyes looking at me with growing hints of desperation and near begging me to finally give her body the orgasm it so desired.

I smiled. It was a smile full of love… but also mischievousness, and she shivered at the sight, her whole body now throwing itself desperately towards my right hand in hope of getting release.

I leaned forward, whispering hotly in her right ear. "Beg." I commanded softly, and Oedon shuddered violently in lust- but still, her orgasm remained out of touch, her body remaining bound and helpless.

"That's what you want, don't you? Lucy, naked beneath me, begging for more… Except there's only you, here and now, and I might as well teach you this now. I will claim as my lovers only those who are willing, and while I don't mind you helping… I want to make it very clear that there are lines not to cross. After all… having something happen against your will is quite the torturous experience, you know?" I whispered, increasing the stimulation my fingers gave her- but again, making sure she remained at the very brink of her climax.

"I know!" she gasped, looking at me with green eyes so clouded with desire it was a wonder she could think, much less speak at all. "I know that free will is important to you. I just want to support you- as I always have, and always will!" she declared in between hot gasps, writhing in need on the bed- but the bound kept her movements restrained to a minimum.

We both knew that she could break free if she really wanted… But then again, a single look in her eyes made it quite clear that despite her predicament, she had no intention of going anywhere.

In fact, I genuinely wasn't sure which of the two of us was enjoying this little surprise domination the most.

Still…

"Good." I purred. "In that case…" I kissed her, and then finally struck the one spot in her pussy I had avoided until now, setting off her long-denied orgasm at last.

Oedon screamed in the kiss, her green eyes rolling up her head from how hard she came, her whole body tensing hard in her bounds- before collapsing back on the bed, panting hard and staring blankly at the ceiling.

I looked at my work with a smile, the sight of Oedon, naked, bound, covered in sweat, staring blankly at the ceiling and panting heavily forever engraved in my mind, before finally I put my cock into her entrance and pushed in, the both of us groaning in pleasure.

I grinned down at her. "I hope you aren't tired, my love, because we are going to be here for a while."

Oedon chuckled, her gaze resting on me with equal desire in her eyes that I had.

"I'm all yours, remember? Now… and for eternity."

And as she said those words, she leaned forward, the two of us getting into another heated kiss.

Then I began fucking her, keeping my promise to her-

That neither of us were going to get any rest for quite some time.

===

Lucy stared at both Oedon and myself with some amusement, the three of us currently being once again in the Hunter's Dream around the outdoor round table with cups of tea in our hands, having quite obviously noticed the sheer satisfaction exuded by both of us, the kind of which could only be achieved when two people had had an amazing time fucking each other's brain out for quite a while.

"I see you two lovebirds kept yourself busy during my little vacation in the tropics." she declared, eyes twinkling with mirth.

We both grinned at her.

"Oh yes."

"In more positions than one."

Lucy and I looked at Oedon, who looked like the textbook picture-perfect definition of a smug, satisfied woman.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Dare I even ask how many?"

Oedon hummed. "Do you want the ones where we thoroughly broke the laws of physics, or just the ones normally available to mortals?"

Lucy blinked slowly, before looking at me.

I shrugged slightly. "Let's just say that our latest sex exploits was actually something of a threesome. Me, Oedon, and Physics, the third of which kept taking it in the ass repeatedly."

Lucy snorted. "If you're trying to seduce me through sheer curiosity at what literal godly sex feels like, congratulations, it's working." she deadpanned, her lips twitching into a smirk when I choked slightly on my tea at her words.

I threw a look at Oedon whose eyes had begun sparkling with obvious intent at Lucy's words, before looking back at Lucy.

"At least let me buy you a drink first." I declared in amusement.

She grinned. "Oh, so you're going to be a gentleman before bringing out the tentacles, eh? A hunter you are indeed, to hide your true intent behind the illusion of civility until it's time to strike!"

I opened my mouth to retort-

"Oh, the tentacles are incredible. It's when he brings out the ropes that you need to be worried, because that's when he's feeling mischievous." Oedon declared, a slight smirk on her face.

I gave my lovely wife a flat look.

Lucy blinked, before giving me a long look.

Then she shrugged.

"Well, you are a straight 10/10, so buy me dinner and a drink and we'll call it good."

I gave her a flat look.

She smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes.

"And women say that MEN are the perverted ones…"

"Ropes and tentacles." deadpanned Lucy.

I shrugged. "I'm just saying, women aren't any better than guys when a good-looking guy is concerned."

Lucy opened her mouth-

"Oh, absolutely." agreed Oedon, nodding.

-before closing it with a snap and throwing a narrow-eyed glare at Oedon.

"On which side are you on, exactly?"

"The one which end with all of us naked and sweaty in a bed after a long night full of hot, kinky sex?"

I snorted at Oedon's words, while Lucy facepalmed.

"I do believe I've made my point about men, women, and sex clear." I declared with a smirk, relishing in the glare I got from Lucy.

She grunted. "You two really are made for one another. Also, you're both too pretty/handsome for the good of all women." she shook her head. "I swear, if humanity could only see you now, the two most powerful beings in existence…"

"You say that, but I can tell you're serious about that drink and dinner proposition, so you're hardly any better, dear Lucy." I pointed out with a smirk.

She gave me yet another flat look, grumbled something about smug handsome jerk too pretty for their own good, and then finished her tea in one gulp before giving me a firm look.

"Alright, let's start with that drink. We'll set that dinner date at a later time."

She got up.

"Also, it'll be just the two of us. I'll be hard enough with just you, but if she's there too-" she pointed at Oedon "-the two of you will probably have me throwing my panties over my shoulder before I'm halfway down my drink."

Oedon grinned. "Is that a challenge, Lucy?"

Lucy's eyes went wide. "By all the stars, hell no! I'd like to actually make it to the pub before we get down to fucking!"

I and Oedon laughed, while Lucy turned on her heels and marched away- though I could tell that she was actually tempted to skip the drink and dinner entirely and just get the fun part right then and there.

The way her hips were swaying spoke much of her desires.

She didn't love me or Oedon, and neither did we her, but we got along well, we were all three god-like beings, incredibly beautiful/handsome, and all in all generally attracted to one another.

So while there was no love between us right now, there certainly was desire, and honestly all three of us had had a lot on our minds lately.

Me and Oedon with Yharnam, the Hunt, my Ascension, OUR Ascension, and more besides, while Lucy had her life upturned completely.

We had of course shared our respective backstories. Lucy had been quite stunned by everything I had gone through, and there was a certain sense of understanding between us- two human beings who ended up in situations beyond their control where they became… more than regular humans in order to survive.

True, my own circumstances were far worse than hers- at least SHE didn't get brutally killed dozens, if not hundreds, of times- but there was still a certain shared understanding of what it was like to go from living a normal life to being utterly abnormal in seemingly a blink of an eye.

In any case, I had kept an eye on her vacation, or at least my true self did, and while it had seemingly helped, I could tell that Lucy was taking comfort in being close to me, as someone who could relate somewhat with what she went through, and further helped her when she most needed it.

It wasn't the most healthy of things, but I was something stable that she could hold onto in an unfamiliar situation beyond anything that she could have imagined living through, and, well…

I would be a hypocrite to do anything but welcome her and be for her what Oedon had been for me.

And I liked to think that a hypocrite, I was not.

A killer, a monster by many people standards, but at least not a hypocrite…

Though then again, I already had made decisions I wasn't proud of in Yharnam, so maybe I wasn't exactly clean on this.

I mentally snorted at that thought- as if any hunter could ever be anything resembling "clean in conscience."

In any case, Lucy and I went to a pub, and I made sure that Lucy had fun. If only for a time, having travelled to a pub in the 21th century, I made her feel like she was simply Lucy, a woman on a date with Aeon, a handsome man that she wouldn't mind getting to know better and becoming closer to.

When our date was over, we went our separate ways- I could feel a mix of disappointment and relief in her at that, but I'd prefer to keep to her desire to at least do this "properly" rather than rush things.

We were immortal, we had all the Time in Existence.

And besides, the incoming dinner date would be a lot less relaxed, since I intended to talk to her about the future- and for being like us, "the future" meant a great deal more time than most others...

Still, that was for later. For now-

I stopped, tilting my head and listening to a whisper on the back of my mind as my True Self transferred some information to me.

Then I smiled.

"Well then, mister Blackwood, Professor Moriarty, it appears that it's time for me to get involved… Though not quite directly yet."

I closed my eyes, merging with my True Self for a moment, and then an old bottle of wine appeared in my right hand.

I opened my eyes, looking at the bottle with a smile.

"Well then, time to have a pleasant chat with another beautiful woman…"

I chuckled darkly.

"After all, it's time to teach a few would-be masterminds that the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, especially when the gods themselves stand against you."

Making sure no one was watching, I disappeared.

===

First on my list of pit stops: the place and time of Lord Blackwood, self-proclaimed master of black magics, arrested by Sherlock Holmes during the time where he will try to kill yet another innocent woman in a so-called "ritual."

I step out on a balcony overlooking the ritual room below, putting the bottle of wine in Inventory for now.

As I watched from the numerous shadows of this place, considering I was currently in a secret room in the sewers of London I certainly wasn't lacking in choice, I saw Holmes, Watson, and several officers arresting several criminals, including Lord Blackwood, who proclaimed himself to the world to be a sorcerer of immense powers.

He was no such thing of course, merely using trickery and deceit to fake the appearance of having magic powers, but that made him no less dangerous… to the common man.

I'll give the man this much, he was a master of manipulation and preparation to achieve a given result.

Even his current arrest was all part of his plans- he would be judged guilty of murders of several young women and accused of witchcraft, hanged… and then he'll seemingly literally rise from the grave, and use fear of his supernatural powers to amass actual political power from certain… politically powerful groups who believed in magic.

And from there, he would try to take over Great Britain, again using trickery and deceit to claim that power.

Except, of course, that he would be thwarted at the last second by Holmes and his friends.

Still, the man himself was not the reason I was here right now- no, I was here for Holmes.

A slight gesture of my hand, and he frowned, his genius intellect noting that he was overlooking something-

And as expected, he looked up, straight at me.

Of course, I was mostly hidden in the shadows, but he could still see my hat and the top of my head, my dark eyes staring straight back at him.

Then I bowed slightly off the head in apparent respect, and then turned around, teleporting out.

As far as he could tell, I simply hid in the shadows- but that was alright.

All I needed was to show myself, and make it clear that there was another party involved in this whole affair.

That way, when I would actually meet him to give him a hint of things to come- he would be willing to listen to me from the start.

His curiosity would make sure of that.

===

My next stop was in fact, to go see him directly.

I found him at a high-class restaurant, having just caused Watson and his new lover to leave after revealing a bit too much of said lover's past- and making a mistake and rather crass comment which caused her to throw her wine at his face.

Sherlock Holmes and tact, needless to say, went along as well as cats and dogs did.

Well, I'll just have to give him a mystery to focus on, then.

I boldly took one of the now free seats, smiling at Holmes' surprised face.

"Trouble in paradise, Mister Holmes?"

He stared at me for a moment, trying to remember who I was- and then his eyes narrowed.

"I recognize that hat… And that height. Few indeed are as tall as you are. You were here when we caught Blackwood."

I nodded. "Indeed. Mister Blackwood is someone I learned of because of both his ambitions… and his methods."

He chewed on a piece of meat, staring at me thoughtfully.

"A fan, then? No, your disdain is obvious, and it isn't faked either…"

I chuckled darkly.

"Indeed. I hold no love for charlatans like him- especially when they are naught but a megalomaniac on a power trip. He is a cunning one, however- and with even more dangerous friends."

Holmes hummed, studying me closely.

"You sound as if you both believe in magic, and yet consider Blackwood as a fake. Though considering he is dead and buried, I do suppose he proved himself not so powerful, in the end. But that mention of friends…"

He took another bite of his meal, thoughtful.

"I don't think you are one of said friends. 'An enemy of my enemy is my friend' type of situation, then?" he questioned.

I hummed. "In a manner of speaking. Mister Blackwood's… acquaintance is no enemy of mine, but he is trouble, trouble for the whole world in fact, and trouble I'd like dealt with sooner rather than later."

"Removing a threat before it can turn its attention towards you? A rather proactive move." Holmes remarked.

I smiled. "I do not fear either Blackwood or his backer, but I'd prefer not to have to bother taking them out. It would be a simple matter for me… But it would be preferable for the authorities to deal with them, or at least, someone connected to said authorities." I declared, looking straight at Sherlock Holmes.

His eyes narrowed. "Interesting. There is no fear or doubt in your eyes- you genuinely believe your words. And yet, you believe them to be a threat worth my attention… And don't think I haven't noticed you keep talking of Blackwood as if he was alive."

I shrugged slightly. "You'll find out why soon enough. As it is, I will leave you this-" I took out a handkerchief with a stylized "M" on it and gave it to him "- and leave you with these words of wisdom: To defeat an enemy, you must know him. Not simply their battle tactics, but their history, art, philosophy."

I got up from my chair, smiling at him. "Know yourself and know your enemy, Sherlock Holmes- and you will not need to fear the result of a hundred battles. For mark my words- the one this handkerchief belongs to can best even you, if given the slightest weakness to strike at."

And then I walked away, the genius mind behind me running at full speed over all of my words- and his eyes staring first at my retreating back… and then at the handkerchief with such a stylized "M" upon it in his hand.

"Well then." he whispered, eyes shining with anticipation. "I do so love a challenge…"

And as he half expected, it did not take long before news of Blackwood seemingly rising from the grave reached him...

===

Walking away from Holmes, I smiled, satisfied he got the first hint to Moriarty's existence- and that my words will help him take down Blackwood.

I gave him the two biggest clues he needed:

Blackwood was a charlatan.

To uncover his plans, learn from his methods and beliefs.

Blackwood was part of a secret organization who believed in magic, and they had their own traditions- traditions he was going to use to try (and succeed at, eventually) gaining influence and eventual leadership of their organization.

And from there, he'll try to take over Great Britain, coming quite close to successfully doing so at that.

Which is why I now needed to do yet another visit to someone who was going to be knee-deep in this mess.

I teleported again in both space and time, going inside a luxurious apartment belonging to one Irene Adler, one of the most beautiful and cunning women in this world, and also one deeply in love with Sherlock Holmes.

Also one currently employed by Professor Moriarty to find one of Blackwood's allies who had gone to ground after his capture.

Needless to say, her loyalty was complicated- though she was ultimately loyal to Holmes, she was also, rightfully, terrified of Moriarty.

A thoroughly warranted fear, considering he'll be the one to kill her once her usefulness will come to an end.

I took a seat around a short round table in the apartment and waited.

Five minutes later, the woman in question entered, and promptly froze at the unexpected sight of a giant of a man sitting in her apartment, whose doors had been unquestionably locked before she entered- same with all the windows.

I smiled. "Come in, Miss Adler. This is your home, after all."

She gave me a long look, her own genius-level mind running at full speed, before she finally entered and closed the doors behind.

She noticeably did not lock them, however.

Stepping forward, she stared at me cautiously as she sat before me.

"I'm afraid that you have me at a disadvantage, Mr...?"

I smiled. "Aeon, Miss Adler. As for why I am here… Well, I suppose I came to offer you a job."

One of her eyebrows rose.

"That is a strange way of going about recruiting a woman than to intrude upon her home uninvited, Mr. Aeon."

I inclined my head in agreement. "True. But then again… Am I correct that Professor Moriarty has employed you to find one Luke Reordan, an old acquaintance of the late and unlamented Sir Blackwood?"

She froze, staring at me with shock, before her poker face came back on. This time, I could tell her assessment of my threat level went through the roof at my words.

It was a dangerous man indeed than to be one who could successfully keep tabs on the likes of Professor James Moriarty, after all.

For a moment, she stayed silent, no doubt trying to come up with a good game plan to handle this thoroughly unexpected visit.

Finally, she replied. "You are well informed, Mr Aeon." she declared cautiously.

I shrugged slightly. "Knowledge is power, as the saying goes. And it so happens that I have a great deal of it. Which is why I'd like to offer you a job, perhaps not a simple one, but certainly a needed one."

I smirked. "Though from what I know, I doubt you will refuse this job offer, Miss Adler."

"And what makes you say that?" she questioned, her caution in her voice still obvious.

"Simple. I want only one thing from you: keep Sherlock Holmes alive, no matter the cost."

For the second time, a look of shock took over her features, and I took some amusement in the fact that usually, only the likes of Holmes himself could achieve the same when this woman was concerned.

Then her eyes narrowed. She wasn't hostile, but again I could tell my threat assessment kept going higher.

"Any reason why?"

"Because he and Moriarty are inevitably going to fight one another." I calmly replied. "And I want Holmes as the winner."

She stared at me for a long time. "And why do you think I would take that job? If Moriarty were to learn-"

"-because you love Holmes, and you'll do your best to protect him anyway." I declared bluntly.

This time, her shock was somewhat better hidden, but even she couldn't fully suppress it.

Again, she gave me a long look, before sighing deeply, obviously deciding that at this point, she might as well go with the flow.

"Very well. And how much are you going to pay me?"

I threw a purse full of diamonds on the table, several spilling out on the table for her to see.

She stared. They weren't small diamonds, after all.

"One of these purses every month until Moriarty is taken care of. With what's at stake and the dangers involved, the costs are unimportant."

She slowly took the purse, weighing it in her hand before looking inside.

Then she nodded, giving me another long look.

"That's quite the monthly paycheck, Mr Aeon."

I grinned. "Not enough? Very well, I'll also include a promise of safety when- not if, when- Moriarty decides you are a liability. And I'll also go out of my way to ensure these-" I waved at the purse- "don't get discovered by him or his agents."

She blinked. "That's mighty generous of you. Though it also implies you can track where I put my money… or that you can stop Moriarty from learning things that you don't want him to know. Which implies you have spies inside his ranks."

I chuckled, but said nothing.

She nodded slowly.

"Well, at least Holmes shouldn't get involved with Moriarty anytime soon." She pointed out, though it may also be intended as a warning- that I was going to have to pay her for a long while.

Nevertheless, I only nodded. "Indeed. He'll have to deal with Blackwood first."

She frowned. "He's dead. Execution by hanging- I'm sure all of Great Britain and beyond would have heard of it by now…" she trailed off, looking curiously at me when I waved her off.

"He'll come back soon. Getting hanged was part of his plan. He faked his death using bought policemen and a little-known poison to appear dead." I explained.

Then I scowled. "Make no mistake, that charlatan does not have even a drop of actual magic in him. Cunning on the other hand, he has in droves, same with ambition and ruthlessness. A problematic mix, to say the least."

She blinked at my explanation, before nodding. I had made clear in that meeting that I knew a great deal about many things. It made sense that I knew what was up with Blackwood.

"Should I tell Holmes all of this?"

I shook my head. "No need- he's already aware, or soon will be. Besides, we wouldn't want to ruin all the fun of the upcoming case for him, now would we?"

She snorted. "He would be insufferable if I just gave him all the answers, wouldn't he?"

She shook her head, before relaxing in her seat, finally deciding to see me as not a threat- or at least, not an immediate one. "Alright, so what do you want out of Blackwood, exactly?"

"I just want you to help Holmes deal with him." I declared. "That charlatan is going to plunge the world into chaos if he wins- that cannot be allowed. Beyond that, don't worry about the outcome. Blackwood will die by hanging, as he should have been- it just so happens it will happen a little later than what the authorities had planned. I do find it amusing that he will die hanged right where one of greatest monuments to the country he is trying to rule is currently being built, though…"

She blinked. "What?"

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll see what I mean when the time comes- let's just say that his deceptions and trickery are unamusing to those with real power. For now…"

I put one hand beneath the table, opening Inventory out of her sight and taking two glasses and the bottle of wine I prepared for this.

"Let us celebrate our new partnership!" I declared brightly, putting the glasses and bottle on the table.

Adler raised an eyebrow at the action… before staring at the bottle.

More specifically, at its name.

"I recognize that name… Didn't that bottle- and the others of its kind- got lost in a fire a hundred and fifty years ago?"

I looked at the bottle with innocent confusion, before shrugging lightly.

"Well, I guess that news of their death was greatly exaggerated. It seems to be a theme these days."

And if the woman before me believed for a single moment that it was a coincidence that I brought this specific bottle at this specific time, then I would eat my hat.

By the look on her face, she more or less thought the same.

Heh. Subtle power plays could be fun, especially when one was a god who could see and travel across all of time and space.

===

After that, events more or less played out the same as they did in the movies. There were some changes- Holmes being utterly unsurprised by Blackwood's "magical" return from the grave, Adler being a little more present in order to better protect Holmes, that kind of thing, but for the most parts I needn't to get involved.

That changed latter, when Blackwood killed his own secret father, Lord Chief Justice Sir Thomas Rotheram, who was also one of the leaders of the Temple of the Four Orders, the secret society who was obsessed with all things mystical.

One of the remaining leaders was the Home Secretary Lord Coward, who actually chose to side with Blackwood, believing that said man had genuine magical powers- and thus, was worthy of leading their order.

Said traitor called a meeting of the Order, and it was there that the other remaining leader, U.S. Ambassador Standish, was fated to die- as he was the one who utterly refused to submit to Blackwood, a fact said man knew- and thus, prepared a trap that would both kill Standish and convince the other he really had magical powers.

Of course, that was what was SUPPOSED to happen… If I hadn't decided to meddle.

After all, it would be quite easy to turn said order into a cult for myself, since I actually HAD magical powers- and could give them to these people.

Thus, in the middle of the night where the meeting was supposed to take place, I intercepted said Lord Standish and stopped him from rushing to his death.

"Lord Standish. A moment of your time, if you please?" I declared, stepping out of the shadows and putting myself on his path.

He stopped, frowning at me. "Who are you?"

I smiled. "My name is Aeon, and I'm here to both stop you from dying tonight, as well as to stop your order from falling into Blackwood's hands."

He froze, before glaring at me. "Explain."

"Lord Coward is a traitor who sided with Blackwood." I declared, much to his shock. "It is him who called this meeting, where he will try to convince your order to give Blackwood a seat as the leader of your Order. As for how… Blackwood is here, too. And he knows that you will not submit. Thus, he prepared a trap, one that will both kill you, and in such a way as to appear magical to those watching."

He scowled, clenching his hands in rage, before taking a deep breath, exhaling, and giving me a sharp look.

"And how do you know that, exactly? And for that matter, what do you want? Because I hardly believe you are here out of the goodness of your heart."

I chuckled. "I am here, because that charlatan- and make no mistake, Blackwood has not a shred of magic in him. He needs to be stopped before he plunges the world into war. As for your questions… I am here to offer your Order an opportunity, Mr Standish… of actually obtaining the very powers you all dreamed of."

And with that, I held my right hand palm up, and a fireball appeared.

Standish jerked back, eyes wide, before stopping, watching in shock and fascination as I turned fire to levitating water and Earth and finally lightning before I closed my fist, cutting off the magic.

I grinned at him, my eyes glowing with power.

"Tell me, Mr Standish… Would you and your friends be interested in serving an actual, genuine god?"

And with that, I clapped my hands, and Standish could only stare in stunned awe as I turned back time, the world changing around him until we came upon a time that mankind didn't even exist yet.

In shocked silence, he watched, frozen, as the dinosaurs came and went, as the Earth itself returned to its primordial state, with no life or water- only magma, as the sun itself came to life- and then I clapped again, and we returned to the "present."

I smiled at him, my eyes still glowing with power. "This, Mr. Standish, is but a fraction of my power. And if you and yours are truly interested, I am willing to grant you magic, as long as you all stand firm as the protectors of Humanity, and keep on guiding it towards peace and prosperity, whether economic, technological, etc. So tell me, are you interested?"

For a long moment, the poor man could only stare in awe- before he straightened and bowed deeply. "It will be as you wish, my lord."

I nodded. "Then rise. and let us prepare the seeds of Blackwood's downfall. I already planted some from Sherlock Holmes to Miss Adler but there is no such thing as too many advantages when the fate of the world is at stake."

He straightened again before nodding, following behind me as we made our way towards the meeting.

"Could you give me the gun in your pocket?" I requested.

Blinking, he did so.

I showed it to him. "See this powder? If you had fired this gun in the meeting at Blackwood, this would have caught fire, causing you to die, burning you alive." I declared.

He narrowed his eyes, noticing the faint hint of powder for the first time, and promptly began cursing.

"Damn that man! And if I had died that way, then…"

"Then he would have claimed it to be his magic at work, and convinced your order of his power in one fell swoop. Indeed."

He cursed harder, before exhaling. "Then it appears as if I owe you my life, on top of everything else."

I nodded. "Yes- if I hadn't intervened, you would have died tonight. However, it isn't quite yet time for Blackwood to die. There is a greater game afoot, and a greater threat beyond that of that charlatan. That is why I'd like to use my power to create a… clone of yourself, not truly alive, but seemingly so. I want things to go as Blackwood planned for now, just long enough that all the players may take their places for when it will be time for the true game of shadows to take place."

Standish blinked, before glancing at me. "Is that why you are acting through intermediaries, rather than confronting Blackwood yourself?"

I nodded. "I have already foreseen Blackwood's actual death- by hanging from the chains of the Tower Bridge, ironically enough. I thought it a fitting enough death, all things considered, so why change a good thing? But I can still change a few events leading to that outcome- such as saving you and your order from evil."

"And get several of the most powerful men of Great Britain as your servants." finished Standish with a smirk, not missing the result.

I chuckled, then gave him a look. "After what you saw, do you truly think that, if I actually wanted to rule humanity, I would need you, or anyone for that matter, to get it done?"

He fell silent. "No." he eventually declared. "No, I do not believe so."

I nodded. "I believe in free will, and the right for humanity to forge its own path. However, both of those are currently threatened by cunning, ruthless, and ambitious men- and thus, I act. But acting too overtly…"

"...would cause people to worship you as a god." Finished Standish, nodding. "Thus, mortal agents are required to enact your will with discretion. And that's where my Order comes in. I see."

I smiled. "Got it in one. I could snap my fingers, kill Blackwood and his backer- or even rewrite time such that they were never born- but doing so would be direct divine intervention. While there are no laws or anything against it-" I snorted at the mere thought of obeying any such thing in the first place "- I'd rather mortals be free to handle themselves on their own. But that requires them to be capable of doing so in the first place. Thus, me moving in the background to point the right people towards the corresponding problems."

Standish nodded, before bowing of the head. "Thank you for explaining. I must admit, with you being a god, I wasn't sure you would bother."

I snorted. "I'm sure many gods are the kind to just command mortals without bothering to explain anything. I, however, believe that free will begins first with knowledge- only with proper understanding can proper decisions be taken. Thus, if you have any questions, feel free to ask- there are things that I won't answer, but that's because knowledge in the wrong hands can cause devastation. And even then, as long as someone I trust swear to not reveal anything, I might still answer- I have ways of making such vows be upheld."

He nodded. "What is your plan here and now, then?"

I grinned, put a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly another Standish stood before him- before that second Standish kept on walking, the original staring with wide eyes at the second's back.

"As I said, I'll let Blackwood's plans keep going for now, and that requires your death. Or at least, your copy's death." I waved my hand, and we were now hidden behind an illusion.

"Come, let's follow him. Let us watch with our own eyes the false victory of Blackwood this night."

We followed, and as I expected the events went exactly like in the movie.

"Standish" arrived (the real one and myself following suit hidden by magic), Coward revealed his plan of making Blackwood the leader of the Order, the false Standish replied with disgust at the very thought, followed by Blackwood arriving, Standish pointing the trapped gun at him despite Blackwood's warning- and the trap activating when he pressed the trigger, causing Standish to be engulfed in flames and fall out of the window into the courtyard outside.

The real Standish then looked on with a mix of rage and horror by my side as the Order swore themselves to Blackwood, drinking from a chalice that, unknown to all but Blackwood, contained the antidote of a poison gas he was going to use to kill off the entire Parliament- except, obviously, those loyal to him.

One last act of "magic" to convince the country to submit, or be struck down by his powers.

We then watched as both Coward and Blackwood explained the latter's plan to seize the country at the next parliament meeting, and finally as both remaining and new leader of the Order took their leaves, the rest of the Order staying behind to discuss the latest events.

Once that happened, I smiled. "Well Standish, I think it's about time we crash the party and change your Order's allegiance one more time tonight, don't you think?"

He grunted. "I'm not feeling too charitable towards my comrades after watching this, but I suppose if we must…"

I sighed. "Oh, trust me I get it- but they all serve out of fear, and we are going to offer them a better path. Besides, trust me on this- I am willing to give them ONE chance of staying on the path of righteousness. If they fuck that up…"

I smiled darkly. "Well, I may be a benevolent god, but I'm more a believer of cutting down Evil whenever it may be found than try and get them to repent. Free Will, remember? If people choose to be evil, then they will pay for their sins in both life and death."

The current U.S Ambassador to Great Britain glanced at me before smirking.

I didn't need to feel his emotions to know he was thoroughly approving of my words right now.

I smirked back at him, declared "Show time." and broke the spell keeping us hidden.

The remaining member of the Order didn't take long to notice us, and loud screams of shock echoed across the meeting room as they all stared at their thought-dead leader, who by their own eyes caught fire and fell out of the window not that long ago.

"It appears news of your death were greatly exaggerated too, Lord Standish." I snarked.

He gave me a look, then stepped forward, explaining what was going on to his fellow comrades of the Order.

I eventually took over the conversation, explaining the various ways Blackwood had fooled people- such as poisoning himself to appear dead when being hanged- before repeating what I did with Standish to them all. Though this time, I took it a step further, letting them walk on distant worlds, showing off the various megastructures I built so far, and finishing by asking for their loyalty in exchange of magic, as long as they helped taking down Lord Coward when the time was right, and any further evil threatening the world after that.

It was, needless to say, a proposition eagerly accepted by all, and by the end of it, I walked away with several new cultists, and said cultists walked away marveling at the new power they could feel thrumming within them.

Sure, they still needed to be taught a lot in order to achieve anything of worth, but I would do that personally once this whole mess was over with. That way, I could directly influence them all through my sheer charisma into being… well, good people who would use their powers for good.

They mostly were okay already, having genuinely tried to help the world so far, or I wouldn't have bothered helping them, but they had been a little too willing to serve a tyrant out of both fear and desire to serve a true magic user, as far as they had thought, for me to be fully comfortable with them right now.

And if nothing else, they still were saints compared to the regular Yharnamites.

Still. All in all, this has been a massive success.

===

With that done, it was back to playing the waiting game.

Holmes, much like in the movie, had an arrest warrant put on him by Lord Coward, though by the time they caught up to him it was already too late.

My words to him when we met had caused him to have two advantages: the fact that I had told him Blackwood was a fake, and that the clues he needed to win could be found by studying Blackwood's life, and the fake magic beliefs he pretended following.

Thus, it was with ease he finally got to finding out the ritualistic manner of Blackwood's crimes, and from there to where he would strike last, the Parliament.

Again, things went mostly like they did in the movie, except for one thing. When Holmes and his friends prevented Blackwood from flooding the Parliament with poisonous gas, Lord Standish revealed himself as alive, and used what I told him to reveal how much of charlatan Blackwood really was to the entire Parliament.

Lord Coward naturally got arrested, though the discovery that Blackwood fooled him utterly ensured he willingly helped the investigation with what little he learned from Blackwood.

As for Blackwood himself? Well…

I teleported near the river Thames, watching from my position as Lord Blackwood fought Sherlock Holmes on top of the Tower Bridge, which was still under construction.

That fight ended with Blackwood falling down while getting caught up in several chains, which closed in around his neck.

Thus did Lord Blackwood die from hanging, as he should have been from the beginning.

It only took a bit longer than most suspected.

I did take a moment to find amusement at the shock of Irene Adler as she stared at the hanged form of Blackwood, my words to her when we met no doubt flashing through her mind.

After all, from her point of view I had given her the exact method and location of the death of Blackwood long before it happened, and with no actual, direct involvement on my part.

She'll no doubt try and rationalize it… But I have little doubt she'll be considering me as dangerous a man as Moriarty after this- if not even more so.

A little bit of magic, and she turned her attention away- and looked straight at me.

She froze, and I smiled, bowing slightly at her before turning around and walking away, disappearing just before Holmes could spot me.

Maybe she'll tell him about me, maybe she won't. It hardly mattered, really.

My work here, for now, was done.

===

Several months later, in 1891, I met with Irene Adler in person once more.

We had stayed in contact, and I helped her out several times, but until now there had been no need for a personal visit.

Coming out from behind a corner of her apartment, I sat at the same chair I sat in months ago, smiling at the woman sitting on the other side.

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Mister Aeon. It's been some time. I thank you for all the diamonds."

I nodded. "You certainly put them to good use. Three bank accounts in Switzerland, six more in other European nations, but also two American ones and three Asian ones… I'm impressed."

She swallowed slightly, having obviously not expected me to find ALL of her bank accounts.

She still smiled. In her line of work, weakness was death. "Well, what can I say? I'm a woman with big dreams in life."

I chuckled, serving myself some tea from a cup that I subtly took out of Inventory.

"Indeed. Which is why I'm here today. If i'm not mistaken, our dear professor Moriarty has tasked you with giving a package to Dr. Hoffmanstahl, payment for a letter he will deliver to you in exchange, yes?"

She nodded. "Yes. Is there anything wrong with that?"

I gave her a look. "Beyond the fact that said package is actually a bomb meant to kill both you and Dr. Hoffmanstahl, you mean?"

She froze.

I sighed. "I'm afraid that Professor Moriarty has judged you a liability- and decided to cut his losses where you are concerned. So tell me: How does some time in the tropics sound, Miss Adler?"

She stared at me for a long moment.

"Holmes…"

I gave her a smile. "You've got two choices, Miss Adler: stay low until Holmes takes out Moriarty, or try and help him out directly. The choice is yours."

She stared at me for a long time, obviously thinking furiously- side with the man she loves and risk death, or run from the man she feared and leave the man she loves to face the danger alone?

She took a sip of her tea, her hands trembling slightly.

"Do you think Holmes can win? Truly?"

I nodded. "He will. It will be hard, but he will, in the end."

I chuckled. "Despite everything, Holmes does care about those few people he is close to- and he is willing to sacrifice much indeed to protect them. So the question, then, is simple: how much are you willing to sacrifice for him?"

She exhaled a shuddering breath, looking at her tea for a long moment.

"How much help are you willing to offer in this conflict? Not once since we met have you ever been wrong. Even… Even Blackwood's death went exactly as you said it would go. So, now that Holmes and Moriarty will truly clash, what are you willing to do to ensure Holmes' victory?"

I gave her a long look, not missing that she was trying to give further support to the man she loved- but that she had yet to answer my question.

Very well then. In that case…

"I am willing to personally take to the field."

Her eyes widened, and she stared at me- until now, I've never implied anything like this as a possibility.

"I take it you have some measure of combat experience, then?" she questioned, not sounding all that surprised by that- I did look quite imposing.

I gave her a look… and then smiled.

Adler immediately locked up, staring at me in utter terror as my perks, and just a hint of my true self, pressed down upon her.

"Miss Adler, let me put it this way. I am, bar none, the most terrifying man you will ever meet. I could bring about the Apocalypse upon this world, such that even Moriarty would know only terror and despair."

I leaned forward, looking into her fear-filled eyes.

"I have fought and slain monsters greater than you could ever imagine in the name of Humanity, Miss Adler. This whole… game of shadows between Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty is just an entertaining side-show, a vacation for me at best. Only the stakes at play here force me to get involved. Moriarty wants chaos across the world, while I want prosperity for humanity. But make no mistake, Miss Adler. Between Moriarty and myself, I am, by far, the greatest monster. And it is a good thing indeed that even Moriarty is barely worth my attention, because you do NOT want me to get serious, Miss Adler."

I relaxed in my seat, taking a sip of my tea.

"After all, the last time this happened, gods died."

Then I smiled at her, once again the picture of charisma and noble bearing.

"So, with all that said, what is your choice, Miss Adler?"

She swallowed.

Then she took a deep breath, and nodded.

"I'll fight, then."

My smile turned softer, more respectful. That was some good loyalty to Holmes, right there.

Though the fact that she feared me more than Moriarty probably helped.

Well, as long as it was mixed with respect- even some gratefulness for helping her and Holmes with Moriarty- that was alright.

I mentally chuckled while imagining Holmes as the good cop to my bad cop.

"Very well then. In that case, how about we start this war by faking your death? It won't fool Moriarty long, but every little bit helps."

I took out a vial out of my coat, and put it before her.

"This is an antidote to the poison Moriarty will use on you during your meeting with him once this whole mess with the package is over with. I suggest taking it discreetly before entering the restaurant where you will meet him- he's got the place bought out, so don't expect any help once within it."

I put another vial in front her.

"And this is the same poison Blackwood used to fake his death- again, take it before meeting Moriarty, or you won't fool him."

She took the vials, putting them in her bag.

"You expected me to fight." she whispered.

I smiled. "I was hoping for it, to be specific. I had everything ready should you have chosen otherwise, but your love for Holmes is both your biggest weakness… and your biggest strength. As a married man myself, I can only approve of such strong love."

She looked at the ring on my finger, whose supernatural elements were hidden behind illusions.

"She must be quite the lady."

I smiled fondly, looking down at the ring myself.

"She is."

"Do you fear for her safety, because of Moriarty?" she wondered.

I laughed loudly at that.

"Ah! Trust me, if my wife were to meet him, I would feel bad indeed… But it wouldn't be for my wife." I declared with a sharp smirk.

Then I shook my head, got up, and discreetly put the cup of tea back in Inventory.

I smiled and bowed slightly towards Adler.

"Until we meet again, my lady."

And with that, I turned around a corner and teleported.

Adler immediately went around the corner, and upon seeing no one, narrowed her eyes at the empty corridor.

"One day, I'll find out how he does that, because I know that there are no hidden entrances here."

===

I reappeared before a restaurant, sometime later in time, after the whole package and attempt murder on Adler, who was currently back in her apartment.

Not really somewhere she could afford to stay in for long, but with Moriarty being personally present to see her "death," it actually was pretty safe right now, because he had stopped sending men to keep an eye on the place.

In any case, I once again sat at a table with only Sherlock Holmes, who stared at me for a moment before his eyes widened.

"Well, now. It's been some time since we last met, my mysterious friend who did not give me a name…"

I smiled. "It's Aeon, though I doubt that Miss Adler hasn't mentioned me at least once."

He hummed, eyes narrowed.

"Speaking of her, you'll have to excuse her for missing out on this dinner. I did just help her survive an assassination attempt by giving her advance warning that our dear Professor Moriarty had ran out of patience with her. She's alive, but for the time being, she'll try to stay out of the way, at least for now. She does want to help you against Moriarty, after all, but considering that he thinks she's dead, it's better to keep him thinking that way for now."

I grinned at Holmes, who had stiffened when I told him of the near-death of Adler.

"She's quite… loyal to you, you know."

He cleared his throat, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Is that so?"

I scoffed. "That woman is head over heels for you, and we both know it. I'm not surprised that, between an offer to run alone or fight with you, she would decide to stay by your side."

He swallowed, a flash of emotion passing through his eyes at that news before his self-control crushed it.

"Well. It appears I owe you one, then. I hadn't expected Moriarty to try and kill Miss Adler yet."

I shrugged slightly. "I expected it. Her love for you is both a strength and a weakness, and with Moriarty's plans coming closer to their end goal, he can't afford agents of dubious loyalty anymore."

I grinned at him. "Especially one so closely affiliated with you, the greatest threat to his plans."

He smiled back. "You give me too much credit. After all… I've been looking into you, Mister Aeon. An interesting name- Eternal, really?- and you are the closest thing to a ghost I've ever seen. And that's despite your rather striking appearance. I know you took over the Temple of the Four Orders, and that in the last few months they've been using their influence to strike down many criminal organisations. And that's without considering the rather impressive amount of money thrown at various researchers, philosophers, and much more. The Temple is more influential than it has ever been, despite their part in Blackwood's plot, though all but Lord Coward got away scot-free from that mess. Indeed, Lord Standish got even more influence by revealing what Blackwood was really planning to the whole Parliament."

He took a sip of his wine, looking at me cautiously.

"And then there's you. As I said, you're a ghost. No one knows where you were born, or grew up, or if you have family… beyond being married, of course." he pointed out, his eyes flickering toward the ring on my hand.

"By all standards, you don't exist. Even your name, Aeon, is probably not your birth name, and the closest thing I learned about that name was, admittedly, rather… intriguing."

I chuckled. "Intriguing, you say? By all means, then. Let's hear it."

Holmes' eyes narrowed. "Aeon. Variations of the name repeat itself across various cults around the world throughout different points in human history. Always either a god of war, love, or something along those lines. A benevolent god, but also a merciless one, who strikes down evil whenever it may be found. A guardian of knowledge, but also of forbidden lore, whose secrets would be revealed only to those worthy. Married, though who he is married to, the accounts diverge. Some link you with the name Lucy, others Oedon. Always a powerful being- though there are tales it wasn't always so, and that his power was gained by defying the gods and casting them down when they turned against humanity. And now, here you are, a ghost with a god's name, knowing much about many things, and standing up against the likes of Moriarty- well enough that from what I know, he doesn't even suspect your existence as of yet."

He took another sip of his wine, his eyes fixed on me.

"I think you are the leader of a secret religious cult, whose influence spread across the world. Born from parents who were deeply connected to the cult, you rose to power- and took on the name Aeon when that happened. But what I am really curious about, it's your end goal. Certainly, you appear benevolent… But how true is that, really?" he questioned softly.

I smiled, looking at him respectfully.

"Not bad, Sherlock Holmes. Not bad at all. Alas, not entirely correct. Your mistake is simple. There are more things in Heaven and earth, Holmes, than what is dreamt of in your philosophy. But I'll give you that much, you did your research, and did it well."

I hummed, before smiling.

"As for what my end goal is? Simple. The continued prosperity, and freedom, of humanity, from all that would see it enslaved or otherwise brought low because of their own selfish ambitions."

The look in my eyes darkened. "I have fought a war, Mister Holmes, one more terrifying that you could ever imagine for the right of humanity to survive- to be free and to prosper in peace. It is one none of the people of this world will ever know- but it left its marks on me all the same. And as such, I promised myself to forevermore protect those who could not protect themselves from the damnation those with power and lacking humanity could bring unto those without power. There is no great, secret plan, no secret ambition. There is only one man, fighting his war against those who so changed him in the past, so that none have to suffer as he did. I am Aeon, the Good Hunter, and my war is eternal. For as long as free will exists, so will evil- and thus, so will there be the need of men like me to stand up and fight, for the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. And I refuse to sit back and do nothing, not after everything I've seen and done."

Holmes stared at me for a moment, before finishing his wine.

"Nice speech." he declared. "Especially when you genuinely meant every word."

I grinned. "But that hardly means you'll trust me much more than before it, am I right?"

He grinned back. "Naturally. I just can't help but being suspicious of those with power- they tend to prove themselves worthy of that suspicion more often than not, after all."

I laughed. "Spoken like a true detective, Mr Holmes! Suspect everyone, especially those who appear innocent."

I got up, tilting my hat at him. "Have a good evening, Mr Holmes. I certainly enjoyed our discussion."

"No last words, this time? Your words of wisdom did help, last time." he questioned.

I mused that for a second, before nodding. "Beware the obvious. Moriarty is a master of misdirection, and if it looks like he is targeting somewhere, more likely than not he will strike elsewhere instead."

He hummed. "Anything else?"

I gave him a grim look. "What is Miss Adler's greatest weakness… And what is yours, Mr Holmes? A weakness that Moriarty does not possess?"

I turned away, while behind me Holmes' face turned grim.

I had all but told him Moriarty was going to try and kill Watson and his fiancé, after all.

===

Adler and myself sat in the middle of a train, waiting patiently.

Then I tilted my head, and nodded.

"Time to move. The attack is starting."

We got up, Adler bringing out a gun from her pocket while I took out two.

We made our way towards one of the cabins, the sound of struggle coming from it growing as we came closer, until we heard a scream.

"Holmes has entered the battle, I see." I remarked calmly, Adler snorting at my words.

Then the first traitorous soldier appeared, and before he could react to armed people going his way one of my guns fired and splattered his brain all over the walls.

Adler sent me an impressed glance.

"Sharp reaction time."

I grinned. "Experience is a wonderful teacher." And so is being a Gamer, I thought but did not say.

The cabin door opened, and for a moment, Holmes looked out, and then froze, staring at Adler.

Who froze and stared back.

"... Why are you dressed like a woman?" she questioned slowly.

He blinked. "Necessity." he replied.

"Necessity." she repeated flatly.

"A most unfortunate necessity." He declared, before looking at me.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here, Mr. Aeon. Ready to get your hands dirty with the rest of us?" he questioned with a grin.

I smiled grimly. "Always, Mr Holmes. This is, in fact, my true area of expertise. Do watch out for Mr Watson. I know you already have an… exit strategy for his wife."

Then a bunch of soldiers under Moriarty's payroll showed up, and I began walking towards them, my guns firing at every step.

"If you would excuse me, I'll deal with them- you go and have your long-awaited reunion and everything." I said calmly over the sound of my guns firing.

I turned across a corner, and a soldier tried to stab me with his bayonet.

Time slowed down, and I took in the corridor and the soldiers within it with a glance, before calmly deflecting the incoming thrust with my left gun, putting the right one beneath his chin and firing.

Then I used his falling corpse as cover to shoot the ones behind him without worry of being shot myself, uncaring of the explosions of blood coming from the falling corpse being shredded by the bullets of the other soldiers trying to kill me

Nodding at the line of corpses I made, I then kept walking forward.

Behind me, Holmes had already thrown Mr Watson's new wife into the river, to be found and rescued by his brother, and now he and Watson were fighting over whether he killed the latter's wife or not by throwing her off the train, with Adler just watching while shaking her head at the spectacle.

I, meanwhile, came around yet another corner to stare at the machine gun the traitorous soldiers put in my way.

They fired, and I stopped the bullets in mid-air before me.

There was a moment of stunned silence, as we all stared at one another, memories of Yharnam and the surprising amount of machine gunners I had to deal with flashing in my mind.

Then I nodded. "Just for that, you get to die extra hard."

And then I summoned one of the cannons in my Inventory.

The soldiers boggled at the appearance of the cannon, but before they could do anything, I had already checked that there were no innocents nearby.

There wasn't.

So I fired.

The spat between Watson and Holmes stopped when the sound of a cannon went off, and all three came rushing in to stare at the devastation I made. The cannon was nowhere to be seen, but the same couldn't be said for the now destroyed train.

Three pairs of wide eyes went from the destroyed parts of the train to myself, standing before the devastation before me with a satisfied look on my face.

Then I nodded, and turned to look at them.

"If you would excuse me, there are some more on the other side of the train."

And then I passed by their frozen forms, taking out both of my guns out of my coat as I did.

For a long moment, they stared at the corner I disappeared from, before looking at one another.

"If I had any doubt about being quite happy that he is on my side, they are now gone." declared Adler drily.

"Excellent observation, Miss Adler." replied Holmes cheerfully.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on here? And Holmes, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO WITH MY WIFE?!" shouted Watson.

Needless to say, once all the soldiers were dead, I teleported out.

They could handle things from there.

I also really didn't want to get involved in THAT mess of a group.

This was, without a doubt, one of the most dysfunctional groups of people I ever saw.

And I came from Yharnam.

===

"... so the fisherman muddies the water, confuses the fish, and it doesn't realize until too late that it swam into a trap."

*BANG*

The man sneaking up behind Holmes fell over dead, and Moriarty turned around in shock, before stiffening when he finally noticed me stepping out of the shadows, gun in hand.

"Hey, Holmes. You look like you could use some help." I declared with a slight smirk, my eyes not leaving Moriarty.

Holmes, who was sitting nearby, blinked, looked behind him at the now dead man, before turning back towards me with a smile.

"So it appears. Much appreciated, as always."

I chuckled. "Of course. Now then…" I grinned at the evil mastermind before me.

"Professor James Moriarty. We finally meet. I've been following your exploits for quite some time now, though I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me for not showing up sooner. I, too, prefer working through intermediaries- at least, in a game of shadows like this one."

Moriarty narrowed his eyes at me, his mind running at full blast.

"Interesting… It appears that there is one more player in this game of ours than I had anticipated. Hm… I did hear of Miss Adler surprising survival, and wondered if you had something to do with it, Mister Holmes, but perhaps it was someone else who saved her, Mister…?" he questioned, fishing for a name.

I smiled at him.

"It was indeed me who saved Miss Adler's life. I knew that you were going to kill her, being a liability and loyal to Holmes to boot. You thought to remove one of the greatest pieces of Mister Holmes as a sort of… opening strike to the endgame of this war between you- as an… ally of sorts, it was only natural for me to try and prevent that from happening."

"Much obliged." interjected Holmes.

My smile widened. "Indeed. And it appears that you made good use of my warnings, too- though only partially, alas."

Holmes grimaced, while Moriarty's eyes shone with a glint of triumph at one-upping him.

"I stopped the bomb, but I wasn't able to stop the murder of Alfred Meinhard- it's a rare man capable of making the shot who killed him, and I hadn't anticipated such a good shooter to be laying in wait."

I nodded. "Indeed. A rare man- and thus, an easily recognizable one. Which brought you here, in this military factory preparing countless weapons for a world war."

I gave Moriarty a look.

"One that would kill millions- but also make you the richest man in the world. Considering just how much money you have already invested throughout the world, you would effectively be holding the world by the throat."

He smiled.

"Quite right. And what do you plan on doing now? Kill me?" he waved at the gun in my hand.

I shook my head, putting the gun back in my coat.

"No, you aren't mine to deal with." I replied, glancing at Holmes. "That being said, I'm afraid that this is where we must part ways. After all…"

*KA-BOOM*

"... Mister Watson has joined the conversation with quite the smashing entrance." I finished, looking dryly above us at the falling half of the tower falling straight at us that Watson shot with an artillery piece.

I had to admit, shooting a sniper with an artillery piece at near point blank range was quite the impressive "Fuck you."

Less than two seconds after, the top half of the tower crashed on the building we were in.

Ten seconds later, the many explosives I put all over the factory before confronting Moriarty blew up.

It was, to put it mildly, not a good day for James Moriarty.

None of Holmes' friends could argue it made for a wonderful distraction to get away, though.

And speaking of distraction…

I took out a little red notebook out of my pocket.

"I put the other one in Moriarty's pocket." I declared with a smirk, looking at Holmes.

He blinked, putting a hand in one of his pockets, then looked at me with some shock when he finally noticed the absence of the decoy notebook.

"I believe we now know the true identity of the fisherman in Moriarty's little story, don't we?" I pointed with amused smugness while throwing him the notebook containing all of Moriarty's secret data for his criminal empire.

"When... "

I shrugged. "You aren't the only one capable of using disguises."

Though mine were helped further by magic, I thought but did not say.

"As for Moriarty? Well, the tower falling on us knocked out Moriarty just long enough for me to do the swap."

And with that, the only thing left was the peace conference- and Holmes dealing with Moriarty.

===

I entered the room where the peace conference in Switzerland meant to try and prevent a world war was to take place, Oedon by my side.

"Gentlemen, let me introduce to you my wife, Oedon." I declared, smiling at the assembled group made of Watson, Holmes and his brother, Miss Adler, and a few more people who either worked for one of the people present or had personal reasons to be here.

"Well, you certainly found someone up to your size, Aeon." replied Holmes, looking curiously at my wife.

Some of the people around threw him looks at his bluntness, though they obviously didn't disagree.

We were, after all, by far the two tallest people here.

She grinned at him. "Mister Holmes. I've heard much of you from my husband."

"Oh truly?" he questioned, perking up in interest.

Her smile widened. "Indeed. Something about you being a mix of incredible genius, utmost antisocial behavior, with an utter lack of manners and tact for good measure."

Watson started coughing to hide his laugh, while Holmes blinked in shock.

He turned to look at me, but I merely smirked at him.

"It appears your reputation precedes you, Holmes." declared Irene Adler with a smirk, thoroughly enjoying this.

"Right. Well, should we focus on the issue at hand?" questioned Holmes, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Speaking of which, you've got what I've given you, correct?"

He nodded, gathering a few looks, but neither of us said anything on the matter.

His brother thus began briefing us on the various factions in the room.

As expected, the room had an invisible wall dividing the people within into two groups, who would no doubt ally with one another should war be declared.

And our job was to stop an assassin, the brother of one of the women of our group, to publicly kill one of the attendants.

"I feel that I must warn you. Our assassin, from what I was able to find out, has been given extensive reconstructive surgery by the late Hoffmanstahl. So keep that in mind, as we make our way through this meeting. We only have-"

I looked at Holmes' brother.

"35 minutes until the group photograph shoot, when we expect the assassin to strike." he informed us.

I nodded in thanks.

"35 minutes to save the world from a world war."

"No time to lose, then." cheerfully declared Holmes, before taking the assassin's sister out to a dance to better assess the room.

I grinned at Oedon.

"Shall we?"

"With pleasure." she replied, and soon enough we began dancing in the ballroom, enjoying ourselves while the fate of the world hung in the balance.

It was hardly impressive for both of us after Yharnam, after all.

Holmes and Moriarty eventually left to play a game of chess on one of the balustrades of this building, leaving Watson and the assassin's sister, Simza, to locate the killer.

The room erupted in chaos not long after, but thankfully it was controlled chaos, since they were successful in locating the killer.

Once I saw that, I left Oedon for a moment, walking behind the soldiers who were forcefully escorting the would-be killer out.

The moment I crossed the doors of the room, I turned, stabbing the person leaning against the nearby wall with a poisoned dart I had discretely taken out of Inventory.

He seized, staring at me in shock while tightly holding the armed cane he was holding where, ironically, a poisoned dart was hidden, meant to silence the assassin, whether he succeeded or failed.

Making sure it looked like the new corpse was simply sitting and leaning on a nearby chair, I nodded, then returned to the ball room, giving a nod to Watson that all was well before returning to Oedon.

===

Oedon stared at the retreating back of her husband, taking a sip of the excellent champagne this place possessed.

Honestly, she had little to do in this place, since this was the middle of a hunt, if one rather different than those of Yharnam, and thus more her husband's specialty and interest than hers.

But he had pointed out that they could always enjoy themselves anyways once Moriarty was taken care of, and Oedon was always interested in experiencing new things, such as attending a high-class event where the fate of this world would be decided.

So here she was, looking curiously at the assembled men and women, most of which could bring life or death to millions if they so choose.

True, in the grand scheme of things that her and Aeon now existed at, this was basically insignificant, but Aeon's ties to humanity would not allow him to sit back and do nothing when someone was about to plunge his old species into chaos out of personal greed for wealth and power.

"So, you are his wife? I have to admit, you are certainly as striking as he is."

Oedon glanced curiously at Irene Adler, who was smiling at her, her eyes shining with curiosity.

She smiled. "Indeed, I am his wife. And I thank you for the compliment. Most people seem to agree that Aeon and I are both very beautiful people… well, the word they use in my husband's case is handsome. He tends to grumble a bit when he is called beautiful, for some reason."

Irene snorted, her amusement clear. "Yes, men don't really like being called beautiful. They consider it too feminine a word for them." she explained, smirking. "Though I'm surprised he actually is bothered by anything. He always seems in control, never surprised by anything, much less bothered."

Oedon grinned. "That's because he is considering you more of a subordinate than anything else. You are working for him after all, so he tries to remain… professional. Trust me, he can be a lot more relaxed and easy-going. But as long as he is on the hunt, he will try to remain serious and focused."

Irene hummed. "Gives the impression of always being in control, in order to give others confidence in him and his capabilities? I see. Yes, it's one of the basics of leadership, never show doubt or weakness, for if the leader is weak, how can anyone be expected to follow?"

She took a sip of her own drink, before sighing.

"I'd have preferred he'd be a bit more relaxed, though. He can be quite… intense, sometimes."

Oedon looked curiously at Irene, waiting for her to elaborate.

The woman in question seemed to hesitate, before looking Oedon in the eyes.

"He claimed to have killed gods, at one point. And he was able to know where and how Lord Blackwood would die long before it happened. So… can I ask what's up with that?"

Oedon smiled. "Did he now? Well, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? We both are gods ourselves, naturally."

Irene stared at Oedon.

The ascended Great One then looked into the mortal's eyes… And for a single moment, Irene Adler witnessed a fraction of what lied hidden behind the illusion of humanity standing before her.

She froze, turning white as snow as she truly, finally understood exactly what stood before her, and what kind of being had hired her.

What kind of being even now was staring straight at her, green eyes soft and kind but unquestionably holding power enough to reshape the very foundations of reality with only a thought if she so wished.

"Fear not, Irene Adler. I am not one to pass judgment upon others, and my husband has taken you under his protection, rather than judging you for your sins. As long as you never turn into a beast worthy of his attention like Moriarty has, you never need to fear the Good Hunter's wrath. Quite the opposite, in fact, for has not he already gone out of his way to protect and save you, having seen potential in you to stand by the forces of good against those of evil? Potential you have proven, by choosing to be here on this day, even with the risks caused by being so close to Moriarty?"

Oedon finished her drink, before smiling again at Irene. "If you would excuse me, I'm going to find myself some more champagne. They've got a very good selection right now."

And thus did Oedon turn around and walked away, leaving behind the wide-eyed, frozen form of Irene Adler who kept staring at the back of the living goddess walking amongst mortals.

Eventually, she nodded to herself, before leaving to find the strongest drink she could find here, her hands shaking around the empty glass she held tightly.

At the very least, she thought in relief, Iknew I most definitely chose the right side to work with in this shadow war.

===

Meanwhile, Holmes and Moriarty kept playing their game, the war now averted, at least until Holmes revealed that, thanks to getting his hands on Moriarty's little red notebook, Scotland Yard had been able to seize his entire fortune and put it into anti-war charities.

The two then began fighting, both reading each other's moves before they even did anything, fighting a mental battle of superiority, my intervention in the factory ensuring that Holmes was physically perfectly healthy, instead of wounded at the right shoulder.

However, both sides found themselves at a stalemate… until one too many comments from Moriarty went too far.

I had said that Holmes was willing to sacrifice much for the sake of his loved ones.

In the original timeline, he would take hold of Moriarty and throw both himself and him into the cliffs and river below, Holmes only surviving thanks to a respirator he had found, belonging to his brother and secretly put into one of his own pockets.

He still had it. The only difference was that I gave Holmes a little something he had actually been working on for a while now.

That is to say, I smuggled in and gave him a gun with a silencer on it.

The look on Moriarty's face when Holmes brought the gun out and shot him in the head without a sound to alert the peace conference outside was one of utter shock.

A look that stayed when his body fell backward, dropping down into the cliffs below.

And thus, a world war averted for the time being, the greatest criminal mastermind of the generation killed by the greatest detective… with a bit of help from myself.

All in a day's work, I thought with a smile while dancing with Oedon as the peace summit came to a close.

I threw a quick look at Holmes, now dancing with Irene Adler, their eyes shining in relief at having won, and both of them looking forward to the mischief they would now be free to get into together.

I looked back at Oedon, banishing all thought of the future of the world and of anything else for the time being.

I had my own beautiful woman in my arms, after all. With this little game of shadows finally over, I could now focus for the rest of the night on what was truly important:

That is to say, the woman I loved.

===

Lucy, Oedon, and myself sat around a table in the Hunter's Dream once more, relaxing in our seats while having dinner.

I could have taken Lucy to a restaurant, but well, any food I made would be a thousand times better, so why bother?

"So... we're done here?" questioned Lucy.

I smiled. "Indeed we are. Moriarty is dead, the world will know peace for a few decades more, and all around our various objectives have been achieved. I've played around with megaprojects, Oedon played around with creating life, and you've had some badly needed vacation time after your recent Ascension. In other words, it's time to continue our travels."

"And where will we go?" she wondered.

I chuckled. "Ever played video games, Lucy? Have you heard of the Resident Evil series? Or, for that matter, the Prototype series?"

She tilted her head, her eyes flashing an unnatural, glowing blue for a second.

Then she blinked. "Hm... quite the departure from dealing with a setting like this one."

I shrugged. "Not really. Mankind is still under threat, it's just that it's by remorseless medical companies playing around with things they really shouldn't instead. Oh, and there are zombies too, which I suppose will be fun for me to deal with. This whole affair was interesting to keep an eye on, but lacked opportunities to actually let loose."

Lucy snorted. "Only you could see the risk of a zombie apocalypse as an opportunity to have some fun."

I smiled. "I've dealt with a lot worse than even a few armies' worth of zombies in the past."

"Well, since we're almost done here, how about a toast?" wondered Oedon.

I nodded at her. "By all means."

She got up, then raised her glass of wine.

"To a safe, free and prosperous humanity! And to eternal adventures to us all, may they never fail to entertain us!"

"To Humanity and Adventures!" I cheered, a chuckling Lucy doing the same.

We drank, before putting the glasses down.

Then I sighed, and turned serious.

"Alright. Beyond having this dinner to celebrate our latest success, there was something else I wanted to talk about, specifically concerning you, Lucy."

She frowned slightly, looking curiously at me.

"My husband speaks of where you want to go from here, and what you want to do now that you had some time to rest and think things through." explained Oedon.

She hummed, before looking at me.

"So that's why you kept your distance. You wanted me to be free to relax and think without having you nearby, pressuring me into one path."

I nodded. "Free will. After what you went through, I worried that you would try to cling to us as the only beings close enough to you to really understand you. I wanted to give you space so that, whatever decision you take, it would yours alone."

She nodded slowly. "I'm suspecting you now have a speech prepared?"

I grinned. "Sort of. The way I see it, you've got options. You can go on your own journey, until such time you find what you want to do with yourself. You can do whatever you like, really- unless it's turning into a tyrant, but I don't think you're interested in that."

She snorted. "Not really, no." she replied dryly.

"Thought so." I declared with a smirk, before turning serious again.

"Or you could continue to join us. I am going to eventually create a nation, one which will exist across all of Reality, a true Multiversal Empire, one dedicated to peace, prosperity, Sciences, Magic, and much more. I'd… like to have you help me and Oedon create that Empire and handle its day-to-day management."

She whistled. "Not thinking small, are you?"

Oedon laughed. "My husband is many things- ambitious is certainly one of those traits, though it is firmly kept in check by his kindness. This empire wouldn't be just for him- but for the people of Reality too, so that as many as possible may live in peace, without fear of the monsters waiting in the darkness of Creation."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at me. "How noble."

I chuckled. "Make no mistake, I'm certainly going to enjoy being king, or whatever title I end up taking. But…" I fell silent.

"But I saw personally, fought personally against the worst of horrors. I SAVED humanity from extinction. I will not let it happen again on my watch. I will create an empire the likes of which has never been seen in all of Reality's history. Worlds where billions will be able to live in comfort and safety, stars surrounded by Dyson Spheres capable of creating enough materials to colonize entire universes with ease, as well as bring victory in any war that needs to be fought. I will ensure Good triumph over Evil, Lucy, and whether or not I need to fight by myself or at the heads of armies and fleets capable of darkening the skies of any world to do so matters little to me. I am the Good Hunter, and as hunters must hunt, so shall I hunt forevermore. For as long as Evil exists, so too shall my hunt be eternal."

I took a sip of my wine, my eyes glowing with power capable of bringing creation or destruction to countless multiverses staring straight into her own, unflinching, unyielding, and with a will capable of putting all of Existence to the torch if it was what it took to create a better reality.

"I will not create a utopia, Lucy, but I will create a civilization so advanced, the differences will be negligible. I will create a bastion of Good at the center of Reality, one which all others will seek to emulate, and by so doing create something that stands forevermore as an example to pursue for all to see. A living monument, proof that Evil will not, cannot triumph- no matter how great, how powerful, or how cunning it may be. It is said that Evil cannot truly die. If that's true…"

I smiled coldly. "Then let them come. As many times as they dare. For I shall always be ready, and I will ensure Reality is, too."

Lucy stared at me for a long moment.

Then she finished her wine, and stared at me in the eyes.

"Count me in."

I raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

She shrugged slightly. "Don't forget, I too had some experience with evil doing whatever they want with you unopposed." she pointed out, referencing her kidnapping and the fact that she was used as a drug mule against her will, her blue eyes darkening at the memories.

"So I'm all for kicking Evil where it hurts. Beyond that… Look, I told you before, I didn't ask for these powers but I'm not going to shy away from them, either. And being part of something as incredible as what you are describing… That's something I can only dream of, even as I am now. So yes, I'm extremely interested."

She paused.

"The fact that you are extremely good-looking helps." she finished with a smirk.

"So, does that mean we can go for... dessert now?" Oedon implied with half-lidded eyes.

Lucy and I stared at her.

She blinked. "What? That's the euphemism for sex, correct?"

Lucy snorted while I chuckled. "Yes, my love, yes it is."

We shared a look, before I smirked, raised a hand, and snapped my fingers.

A second later, we were all in the bedroom, all three of us naked, and Lucy bound in an X-position on the bed.

She blinked, before giving me a flat look.

I grinned cheerfully at her. "Well, you're the one who said that you were fine with it, as long as I bought you dinner and a drink. Well, I bought the ingredients for dinner and bought you a drink, so here we are!"

"You really should have seen this coming. This is Aeon we are talking about. Obviously he was going to take your words literally." pointed out Oedon, who had sat next to the bound Lucy and was now caressing her right leg, slowly going up as time went by.

I nodded, utterly shamelessly. "Obviously. It's the more entertaining choice, after all."

Lucy snorted, before looking down at my cock, which stood over 25 cm long.

She whistled. "Okay, I thought Oedon was exaggerating, but apparently not…"

I gave a look at my lovely wife, only barely surprised she ended up talking about my penis to another woman.

I both dreaded and looked forward to the day she and Luna Lovegood met with one another.

It was a good thing indeed that I had effectively endless stamina.

In any case, I stepped forward, putting my right hand on Lucy's belly and the other behind her head, before kissing her deeply.

Lucy kissed back, moaning slightly when Oedon's fingers finally found her clit and went inside.

My right hand, meanwhile, went up, caressing her belly until I came across her right breast, squeezing it firmly and earning another approving moan from her.

For a while, we kept going like this, Oedon playing with Lucy's clit while I kissed her and played with her breasts, before I broke the kiss, exchanged a look with Oedon, and we changed positions, me putting my cock just before her pussy and Oedon kneeling atop Lucy's head, facing me.

Lucy chuckled from underneath Oedon.

"Bound to your bed, with both of you on top of me… I feel like I should be concerned about my future." she said dryly, but I could feel her lustful anticipation, easily noticing the way her body shivered with desire, the way her hips were trying to jerk forwards toward my cock.

She wanted the real fun to start just as much as Oedon or myself.

I grinned at her. "Don't worry, you'll love it."

"That's not reassuriIIING~!" She replied, before squealing when I thrusted into her.

Oedon put her pussy over Lucy's mouth, muffling her squeal with a moan, before beginning to play with Lucy's impressive pair of high D-cup breasts.

Meanwhile, chuckling at Lucy's lust-filled shout, I began pumping in and out of her.

Oedon let out another moan when Lucy began eating her out, twisting one of Lucy's nipples in approval, which made the bound woman convulse on the bed.

Then she smiled at me, green eyes shining with lust and desire.

"So tell me, dear Aeon- should we go gentle with Lucy, or instead show her exactly what sex with Eldritch gods is like?"

I hummed, while underneath Oedon, Lucy said something, or tried to, at least, since her words were quite muffled right now.

I hummed some more, dragging Lucy's anxious anticipation further… before grinning.

"Showing mercy is not the Hunter's way."

Oedon grinned back, green eyes twinkling, while Lucy's muffled words grew in intensity and panic.

Naturally, I promptly brought out the tentacles.

Oedon let out a long moan when Lucy screamed into her sex as one of my tentacles began to fuck her ass, while my cock grew even longer and thicker, smaller tentacles appearing all along my length to strike at all her best spots.

More tentacles went all around Lucy's body, caressing her or binding her limbs even tighter, while two went around her breasts, squeezing them, until the tips of both opened like flowers to reveal mouths-like entrances that latched onto her nipples.

Not long after, Lucy convulsed in her bindings as an orgasm made her moan loudly, Oedon following suit not long after with me as the third, flooding Lucy's ass and womb with cum.

Naturally, we didn't stop, and I began thrusting in and out of Lucy again, Oedon's moans restarting not long after when Lucy returned to eating her out.

My wife smiled, eyes closed in bliss. "So that's what sex feels like with a woman… Oh!" she gasped, before giggling. "You're doing quite well, Lucy! Right there, don't stop!" she moaned.

I smiled at the sight, before using my right hand to go behind Oedon's head and bring her forward into a deep, passionate kiss she happily returned.

Then I broke the kiss, grinning. "Enjoying yourself?"

She grinned back. "Immensely… Though we could do even better." she purred.

My eyes twinkled… And then my wife gasped as a clone of me I just created took her from behind, making her moans louder as she was now double-timed by my cock in her ass and Lucy's tongue in her pussy.

"Time to get serious, I think." I declared with a smirk… and then I turned into my true form, the tentacles going from flesh to something more along the line of cosmic cut-outs of the universe, distant stars and more being visible within them.

I also picked up speed and strength, fucking both Lucy and Oedon with godly skill and passion, both women writhing in lust and letting muffled moans and squeals of pleasure and ecstasy as I gave them the fucking of a lifetime.

Over and over again, I fucked them until they could barely think, though I occasionally let my wife join in in breaking in Lucy, Oedon taking obvious pleasure in looking into Lucy's well-fucked, almost blank eyes, my wife using her own powers to know exactly what and when to do something that would drive Lucy to the breaking point and beyond.

"You're certainly enjoying helping me fuck Lucy silly." I commented at one point, not stopping my thrusts into Lucy's body, who now had a tentacle fucking each of her holes.

Oedon, who had one hand playing with Lucy's clit and another on her right breast, playing with her nipple, smiled, a hint of mischievousness in her glowing green eyes.

"Well, if you are going to end up with more lovers, I might as well make it clear from the start who is the top wife here, right? And what better place to start than in the bedroom?"

I snorted, throwing Oedon a look before looking at Lucy.

"Well, I did get a sex dungeon from one of the perks…"

Oedon's smile widened. "Oh, trust me, I know…"

Lucy let out a muffled squeal as she came hard once more, before throwing a wide-eyed look at Oedon.

Obviously, she had heard just what we have been talking about.

Oedon looked into Lucy's wide blue eyes, smiling softly.

The glint in her green eyes betrayed that kind smile, however.

It honestly made me remember the times where I used the Runes tool back in Bloodborne, and she kept me still, smiling softly and lovingly even as I screamed in agony…

I shuddered and banished said memories. Those experiences were just too disturbing for my peace of mind.

"Don't worry, dear Lucy. I'll make sure you enjoy yourself immensely. But I do need someone to use to learn how to best please women, since it will no doubt be an important skill in the future, so I thank you for volunteering for helping me out with that."

Then she glanced at me, the twinkle in her eyes growing. "On a completely different subject, do you think I would look good in a dominatrix outfit, dear Aeon? After all, some of the women you will take as your lovers might have strong personalities, and as I mentioned, I might need to make a few facts clear to such women, and again, what better place to start with than in the bedroom?"

I stared wide eyes at my wife, before grunting when I came once more.

The mental images in my head were just far too hot to resist.

I threw a long glance at my dear wife, who was grinning widely at me.

Then we turned to look at Lucy, who stared at Oedon with the wide-eyed look of someone knowing they got suspicious of the wrong person and were now going to pay for it.

I chuckled. "Just as long as we've got the hierarchy of power clear." I said, giving Oedon a firm look.

Her grin widened. "Don't worry, you made it quite clear already. But that doesn't mean I can't have my own fun, you know? Before meeting you, I could have never discovered how fun the pleasure of the flesh could be. But now… now, I intend to fully enjoy myself."

I laughed. "We really are perfect for one another… Just remember what I said about free will. Now then…" I looked at Lucy's trembling form, staring at us with dread-filled anticipation mixed with an equal amount of lust, and both myself and Oedon stared at her like two lions would stare at a juicy piece of meat.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?" I declared, smirking widely.

Lucy gulped.

Of course, she would have been far more convincing in making us stop if we literally couldn't feel just how turned on she was right now.

As it was, I felt absolutely no compulsion to hold anything back.

By the time we were done, Lucy was completely passed out and laying exhausted on part of my chest, but the sheer look of peace and satisfaction on her face made it clear she fully enjoyed herself, as if her emotions throughout the sex hadn't already told us that.

We had kept a close eye on her feelings, making sure we wouldn't do anything Lucy wasn't actually comfortable with.

It said something of her trust in us that no such moment appeared.

Well that, or she had some serious kinks. Could be either or both.

I glanced at Oedon, no less satisfied-looking, though still conscious.

She took the other half of my chest, looking up at me with a smile as I put one arm behind her naked back.

"That was fun. Though I look forward to when even more lovers will join our bed…"

I deadpanned at her. "We just finished fucking Lucy, and you are already thinking of more?"

She tilted her head innocently. "I heard that humans believed that 'the more the merrier.' Was I mistaken?"

I opened my mouth.

Closed it.

"... You looked that up on the internet, didn't you?"

She grinned. "It's a very interesting place."

I tried not to think too hard of what else she learned from it.

Especially since she was technically omniscient, which meant that she could know about the ENTIRE internet.

I shuddered at the thought. Some things, even gods weren't meant to know about.

I was pretty sure my True Self had put mental barricades in the way of some of the things he learned...

"My love?" I say calmly.

"Yes?"

"Please go to sleep." And stop giving me nightmare fuel, I thought but did not say.

She looked amused at me. "Of course, dear Aeon."

And then she put her head on my chest and began snoring softly not long after.

Meanwhile, I stared blankly at the ceiling, mentally imagining both Oedon and Luna on the internet.

And the sheer chaos that those two could bring without even trying.

I fell asleep not long after, dreaming of Luna and Oedon, unleashing countless magical creatures on unsuspecting worlds.

My dreams were soon filled with Crumple Horned Snorkacks, Nargles, Wrackspurts, singing spiders, and more, running around countless worlds and baffling utterly just as many civilizations.

The rest of reality truly had no idea what was heading its way...

===

A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter, going up to Aeon and Oedon going to town with poor, poor Lucy.
(Who enjoyed every second of it and not so secretly looks forward to next time.)
Anyway, here we have Aeon and Oedon basically fucking around, Oedon by creating things that has Aeon putting his head into his hands, and Aeon by messing around with both good guys and ruining the days of bad guys while building up stuff he is thinking of using in the future for his empire (all of which will be expanded upon in due time).
You know, the usual for overpowered individuals.
I could have done more with Lucy, but honestly the chapter is already going to be pretty big, so I'll leave things as they are.
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, Aeon & co. will go to the Resident Evil games, and I'm thinking of having Aeon go through the RE (remakes) 1, 2 and 3- MAYBE 4, we'll see, alongside the Prototype game (though probably only the first.)
Though I'll be keeping the original look for Jill, because while I have no problem with the new version, I still prefer OG! Jill Valentine.