In the exact center of the Duat, the land of the Egyptian pantheon, sits a large palace for the highest gods of Egypt. Decorated in gold and gemstones the palace is simply a marvel of marble, sandstone, and metal. Osiris walks through the halls, walking up to a giant door with a crocodile on the front, hearing giggling from behind the door along with… moans. A LOT of moaning. Among all the female voices a single manly deep voice can be heard, chuckling. "Come back here you ahahaha!"
"Nooo. Lord Sobek. You pervert!" A female voice calls, but there is no anger in her voice. Only playfulness.
Osiris sighs as he knocks on the door firmly enough to overpower the laughing and moaning. "Lord Sobek!"
The moaning briefly stops before the manly voice calls out again. "Come on in," As Osiris slides the door open he's met with the sight of Sobek's room with a gigantic bed situated in the middle. And countless, COUNTLESS women lying around EVERYWHERE, looking almost exhausted, some in states of pure bliss, writhing in pleasure as Sobek lies at the edge of the bed, butt-naked with a few rather exotic women at his sides, groping their breasts rather casually. Even lying down it is clear he is an absolute giant, with strong bulging muscles. His skin is a somewhat reptilian muddy green, piercing lime-green eyes with lizard-like pupils. He has a large black mohawk, a black nose piercing, and two earrings in one of his ears. "You brought the wine I asked for? Oh? You're not Shesmu. OR a woman! I think…" He squints a little as his room is so large it is quite far from his bed to the door. "Aaaaah… Osiris!" He says before thinking for a second. "Is it my turn? That last round got me QUITE excited as you can see!" He says gesturing to the 'current batch' of women in his bed. There must be over 20 here alone, not counting the ones currently resting on the floor.
Osiris carefully steps around the women, until he reaches the bed. "Excuse me, my ladies. No. It is not. Lord Ra has asked me to bring you along to fetch… Sett," As he says that name all the women who are currently conscious almost freeze and look around frantically.
Sobek holds out a hand. "Caaaaalm down girls. He isn't here. And if he were daddy Sobek's here to protect you." He says flexing his muscles as he stands, Osiris is able to see EXACTLY how well-endowed he is, looking away as it is not a sight he enjoys. "Very well. If it is the wish of lord Ra then I will do it happily!" He says hopping off the bed. "I will be back soon, ladies! Be sure to stock up on wine. I will be 'hungry' when I return!" He says with a wink as he steps out of his room.
"Lord Sobek? Your clothes?" Osiris asks but Sobek grins.
"Ah yes. Of course. I'm so used to being without them," He says as he goes to get dressed.
"Yes. I am well aware, Lord Sobek," Osiris mutters to himself giving a gentle wave to one of the women who wave back to him.
Sobek emerges from his dressing room wearing a large cloak of feathers around his shoulders with a belt going over his stomach, a necklace of large teeth, and a kilt made of the fur of a rather large animal it seems. He has a few ornate hunting knives strapped to his sides, still without footwear. "Let's go grab ourselves a real BASTARD!" He confidently declares as he swings the door open.
-Valhalla Arena-
Pandora gently knocks on the gigantic door to her father's forge, here in Valhalla. After a few seconds, the giant door slowly slides open and Hephaestus looks out, seeing Pandora standing in front. "Pandoraaaaaa!" He excitedly exclaims and picks her up with just one hand hugging her as tight as he can without breaking her to pieces since he's so large.
"Hiiiiii dad," She steps into her dad's forge, looking around at the many MANY tools and weapons sat up on the walls, both ordinary and exotic. Swords, spears, shields, guns, strange weapons Pandora's never even SEEN before.
Hephaestus sits down on a large rock seemingly carved out into a makeshift chair. "What can I do for you, my child!? D-don't tell me that those darn humans are still treating you badly!" He says clenching his fists angrily.
Pandora looks over, seeing someone working in the background. A much shorter, but stout man with a giant beard that almost touches the floor and is as wide as he is. "Hey, Ivaldi."
The dwarf scoffs, raising his hammer and slamming it down on some metal. "I'm working. As your creator should be!"
Hephaestus just chuckles. "Ivaldi, relax. My daughter is visiting!" He says placing Pandora on his knee.
Ivaldi rolls his eyes. "She is a creation, boss. Not a real person."
Hephaestus is about to speak up when Pandora interrupts him. "F-father. I'm sure you know but… I've sided with humanity. And we're using my box to create weapons. I was just curious… what are the limitations of the box? Y-you told me it creates weapons of the same quality as ones made by you?! Is that really true? Because… I think Ali lost because his weapon didn't suit him. He didn't even use it during most of the fight! A-and I think it's my fault!" She says as tears start slowly rolling from her face, though the heat from the forge makes them dry up rather quickly.
Hephaestus shakes his head. "It is not your fault. Believe me. The box creates the ideal weapon to complement the wielder's abilities or desires PERFECTLY. That box took me eons to create. It is flawless. At the dawn of time, I took some of the primordial chaos, and parts of the Ginnungagap, and began to mold it. It was meant to hold all the evils of the world. And it did for many many eons. But then, those old coots went and created the Earth," He says grabbing his head a little in shame.
"Old coots? Y-you mean… Izanami and Izanagi?"
"Yes. They created the Earth. And along with it all its animals and all their instincts. They simply overloaded the box. Forced it open and spilled it down on Earth creating the first truly sentient beings."
"Humans…" Pandora says feeling a little bad that humanity would have to bear such a burden.
"Humans? Nonono. There were some before humanity. But now is not the time for that story. After I saw my box used for such a trivial and meaningless thing, I decided then and there, that one day there would be reconciliation. So I refurbished the box to the form you see today. However this time I ensured NONE could open it. Not even I. Not. Without… you." He pokes her chest right at the swirling void. "You are the key to the box. That is why I called it Pandora's box," He says and Pandora blushes a little.
"Is there… truly no limit to its capabilities? It's just… my choice for the next fight needs something EXTRA special."
Hephaestus chuckles. "Well, I am sure whatever he needs, it shall be granted to him. It is how I designed the box. N-now is there ANYTHING else your father can do for you? Maybe some food?" He suggests before scratching his chin. "No you do not need to eat… and we do not have much in the way of good food."
"Well, there was one thing. Do you know… Icarus?"
"Icarus… Icarus Icarus Icarus… the name sounds familiar to me. Ah! Icarus! Son of Daedalus!" He pauses for a few seconds. "What of him? Is he… harassing you!? If so I shall not be afraid to pick my hammer up for something OTHER than the forge!"
Pandora smiles before she pats his chest. "Nono! He's very nice! He's helping me with my choices! He's a bit rough around the edges but I just wanted to let you know that there IS someone looking out for me!"
Hephaestus nods. "I see. I see. It is truly regrettable what happened to Daedalus though."
"What happened to him?"
Hephaestus is about to speak when there's a voice over the intercom. It's Heimdall. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Gods and Goddesses! We are READY to begin the next round of RAGNAROK!"
"Ah. It seems that story may have to wait, my dear Pandora. Now you go and gift that man with the power he needs to win this!" He says proudly as Pandora exits the room with a wave.
"I will! I love you, dad!" She calls and Hephaestus stands and walks back to his forge.
Ivaldi scoffs. "Boss… Don't you think Daedalus was worth explaining as soon as possible? Probably before explaining your damn box?"
Hephaestus sighs. "So long as Icarus does not take his grudge against me out on Pandora, it can wait until there is time."
"Whatever you say, boss. But that kid's got serious problems."
-Meanwhile-
Icarus walks down a hallway, and out onto a balcony looking over the land of Asgard below Valhalla arena, stepping up next to none other than Ra, with no hostile intent whatsoever from either of them. "Icarus."
"Ra."
"I see you have realized exactly who Pandora is,"
Icarus clenches his fist. "She is the daughter of Hephaestus. The only god I hate more than you."
Ra nods slowly. "Indeed she is. I would like you to fight for the gods. Not now, but later. And should you do so, I will allow you as well as your father to live through the destruction of humanity."
Icarus leans against the finely-carved wooden railing. "No."
Ra raises an eyebrow. "Think very carefully about your next words."
"Not just me and my dad. ALL of Crete."
Ra nods. "That cesspool matters little to me."
"Also… I… I want to see my father. Let me see him and I will, Ra. With a descendant of Hephaestus in charge of humanity's survival, there's no chance we'll win. She might even just be giving them false hope," He says as Ra turns on his heel.
"There was never any doubt that you would come to your senses. Do not let Pandora know of this. I hear she expects you to fight for humanity. This gives us the advantage."
"I won't…" He says as he walks down the hall, splitting off from Ra to head to Mt. Olympus as he hears Heimdall speak up over the intercom. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Gods and Goddesses! We are READY to begin the next round of RAGNAROK!"
-Duat: Palace of Ra-
Osiris and Sobek are walking through the palace reaching a large reinforced door with chains binding it shut quite heavily. The door itself looks like a gigantic sarcophagus. "Welp. Let's get this over with. Open it up," Sobek commands, and the two giant guards next to the door both pull out a huge iron beam which ALSO keeps the door shut and the chains slowly retract, Sobek pushes the doors open, stepping into a very large room, made of soft pillows. Osiris steps in behind the giant man.
In the middle of the dimly lit room lies a person, writhing and screaming angrily. He is wearing a yellowish straitjacket with hieroglyphic markings up the sleeves, and metal parts around the collar and forearms, which appear extremely heavy, along with dirty and torn brown pants and mummy-like gauze wrapping around his legs, keeping them bound together, wrapping slightly around his chest as well. His feet are covered in tightly fitted metallic shoes. Around his face is a large golden metal mask covering his mouth and while it's meant as a muffle it is clear that he's screaming into it relentlessly. He has little cat-like ears and flowing black hair, set in a high bun. He hears someone arrive and suddenly his screaming ceases. Osiris takes a small step back as Sett shoots to his feet in almost an eerily calm fashion. He turns around, wearing a blindfold. He is quite short, at least compared to the giant Sobek, but Osiris is around the same height.
"L-Lord Sett. I see you are in good health," Osiris says feeling a trembling in his voice. Sett suddenly sets off, running straight at the pair, leaping into the air, and swinging a kick straight at Osiris. However, Sobek steps forward reaching out fearlessly, his eyes flashing a bright green briefly before his body begins growing in size, his face warping, growing longer, his teeth getting sharper, scales and claws growing out of his skin until he looks like a giant crocodile on two legs. He grabs Sett by the face and slams him into the ground.
"Come on! Quit that. NOW! I don't wanna hurt you!" He says his voice terrifyingly booming all of a sudden.
Osiris slowly steps forward, taking off Sett's blindfold revealing feline red eyes with black eyeballs staring back at him. "Lord Ra needs you. You know of Ragnarok, yes? Ra has asked that you go next," he explains and Sett seems to calm down a little. Sobek lets go of Sett's face and the short god lands on his feet, looking eerily calm. He starts shaking, and Sobek and Osiris can see it even through his metal muzzle. He's smiling. WIDELY. His eyes glisten with a look of pure bliss. He suddenly leaps over Sobek, landing behind him with a heavy thud, showing how heavy those shoes are. He sets off into the palace with booming screeching laughter.
"Grrr… Come on!" Sobek says running after him. "HEY! Sett! You're not going ANYWHERE without me!" He says as one of the gigantic guards steps in front of Sett to stop him, the god, even bound in his heavy restraint and muzzled, leaps into the air with surprising nimbleness and kicks the guard's face, causing him to fall backward, Sett lands on top of his chest and starts mercilessly stomping his face into a bloody mess, screaming into his muzzle.
"AHAHAHAAAAA!" It can clearly be heard echoing through the hallways letting everyone know. Sett is on his way.
-Einherjahr's corridor-
Pandora walks down the hallway, looking for a certain door. "I wonder where Icarus went…? I hope he's not in trouble!" she stops in front of a door decorated with musical notes she opens it up and hears piano music from within along with soft sobbing, slowly making her way through a short hallway once more carved with metallic musical notes. As she enters the room it is a large opera house with a stage, upon which sits a single man at a grand piano, playing away, as Pandora can practically feel the love from each and every tap of the keys. And so can the large audience. It is utterly PACKED. Every seat is taken. By kings, queens, politicians, you name it! Famous faces all around. All of them clearly emotional hearing this man's piece. The man himself is fairly young, with long white hair set in a french twist behind his head, wearing a large dark-blue overcoat with lighter blue accents and belts and straps over it, a white high-collared button-up shirt underneath with a red cloth puffing out of it. He hears someone enter his room and pauses his playing.
Pandora gently walks up to one of the audience members. "E-excuse me." She whispers and the man looks up at her. "D-don't you guys wish to watch Ragnarok?" She asks wondering why so many humans are here.
"W-why of course. We have been watching it. But when round 3 ended, we heard 'he' would be playing. So we all bought tickets. N-now excuse me!" He whispers back, looking down at the stage.
Pandora starts walking down the rows of people. 'Round 3 ended mere MINUTES ago. A-all the tickets sold out THIS fast?'
The man looks up, seeing Pandora walking down towards him, looking in awe at his music. "..." He nods, resuming his playing.
"E-excuse m-" Pandora tries but the man holds up a finger to shush her, continuing to play with the other hand. He finishes his piece with a standing ovation and he stands and proudly bows, listening to the beautiful cheers of the crowd. He suddenly holds up his hands and with a single THWIP of his fingers, he silences them all instantly and turns to Pandora. "Ludwig van B-Beethoven?" She asks as the man nods again gesturing for her to come on stage with a little wave, and Pandora slowly steps up, everyone in the crowd making a slight grimace upon seeing her.
"..!?" Beethoven looks a little annoyed at them and gestures to her with one hand and raises the other as if asking for applause with a rather deathly stare. And naturally, everyone complies and begins clapping. "..." Beethoven nods along and kneels down in front of Pandora, looking up at her with his brilliantly shiny eyes. "..?" His demeanor perfectly gets across what he's asking.
Pandora looks at the crowd seeing all of them practically shooting spears at her with their eyes. "I-I'm here to inform you, that I have chosen you as humanity's next representative. And I'm here to give you your weapon," She says, thinking the man looks a bit scary, but somehow kind as well. Beethoven stands up and puts a hand on her head, sitting down at his piano again, making everyone's ears perk up. However, instead of some classical piece, he plays a VERY quick lighthearted little melody. It sounds almost silly coming from him with how serious he looks while playing it.
"..." He forces a gentle smile as Pandora snickers a little.
"R-right so… I don't know who you will be against, b-but let's get to it shall we!?" She says summoning her box in front of her, Beethoven looks a little confused and points at the box. "N-no that's NOT your weapon," She slowly unveils the swirling void in her stomach, making the audience gasp.
"Beethoven! Don't waste your precious time on her and her stupid gimmicks!" An audience member calls out, but Beethoven stands angrily and with a single point and a flick of his finger towards the door, the woman is ejected by security without missing a beat. He turns back to Pandora, still with that unchanging stoic look on his face, sticking his hand into the swirl of her stomach and pulling out a key. The bit of the key is in the shape of a set of five piano keys and the bow of the key is a music sheet with notes written on it in TINY script. He curiously inspects it for a few seconds before inserting it into the box. He turns the key and the box glows a bit and opens up. He reaches inside and pulls out a metal conductor's wand with a golden handle.
He holds it for a few moments, curiously inspecting it, before suddenly the box begins to violently shake. "!?" he takes a small step back looking to Pandora for answers.
"I-it's never done THAT before! W-what's going on!?" She says and instinctively Beethoven walks over to stand in front of Pandora as something suddenly EXPLODES out of the box with such force it flings them both back. Beethoven grabs Pandora out of the air to shield her from the fall. They both stand, Beethoven pats Pandora's head and dress clean of dust, followed by his own, but notices her staring wide-eyed behind him. "W-woaaaaah…" She says with sparkling eyes.
Beethoven looks back, his expression finally changing a little, into a look of confusion. The entire audience seems similarly stunned. "!? … … ?" There is one thought among everyone in the room. THIS is Beethoven's weapon!?