Chapter 359: The Grander Scheme (2)
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Truthfully, neither she nor her husband knew how the Cube came to exist. It was just another normal day within the Prime Omniverse, and then abruptly, a black Cube appeared out of nowhere.
Being an artifact of unknown origin, it could be dangerous, so the Prime Gods tried destroying the black cube many times. But not once did they manage to scratch it. Even the Son of Void, the Primordial, could only do little damage before the cube would heal itself.
As they would come to learn, it was created by someone beyond their league, the two who called themselves the Beyond Omnis. Since then, the Cube acted as a dream catcher, feeding on the dreams, desires, and imagination of the zillion citizens of the Prime Omniverse. The Cube molded all that to create worlds, life, things, and so much more.
In essence, all that existed within the cube, and the cube existed within the Prime. So, some may think the Cube was weaker than the Prime, which should have been the case too. However, over time, the cube had gained so much power in itself that even if the Prime Omniverse was destroyed, it would still exist. It was a self-independent reality.
But for obvious reasons, the Gods from Prime didn't like the Cube. It was like a leech; it grew from them, and now the things inside it dared to lash at them. That wasn't a pleasant feeling, and so a lot of wars had been happening between them for a long time.
The wars only stopped after realizing the casualties in the most recent Great War that happened a few millennia ago. Both parties realized there was no point in war if all it achieved was mere destruction of both sides.
They were so willing to keep the peace that when the First Gamer appeared, the Cube didn't mind with the Prime Gods who came hunting to the Cube to hunt the Gamer down. Usually allowing so many Prime Gods was not it, they were not tolerated, but the Cube Abstract Entities made a decision to overlook it. It was also the reason why Contessa Fate was unable to help the Gamer in the end, since she was banned from helping him.
"Compared to that, this time is a little different."
Sitting on a black throne, floating in the endless reality of countless colors, the woman with pale white skin and red hair spoke to herself.
"...The Abstracts will not tolerate the Prime Gods coming again, even if it's for this new gamer who killed our daughter. Ultimately, it was our fault for sending Fotia to the Cube without warning the Abstracts, and we even hurt Lady Luck, so they are already compromising a lot for having not started a war."
So, it was problematic to move out in the open. Moreover, if the movement were done by the Primordial God or his army – as he wanted to do. Thankfully, she— the Goddess of Creation, who was the Primordial's wife —managed to convince him to let her handle this. If she could move alone and silently enough that nobody noticed her, and reach that boy like that, then the Abstracts may overlook it. In the end, the Abstracts too knew the dangers of the Gamer, and wouldn't complain if he was eliminated.
Eurynome Celestine, the name she was born with, was strong enough to resist the Omniverse's suppression. So there was no way she would be caught off guard like Fotia. In fact, she was the one who would catch the Gamer off guard.
"To think he is in Fate."
Eury had already figured out where the Gamer was. Neji Hado was unlucky this time since his sponsor, Lady Luck, was running out of power. While she had covered for his origin signature, it didn't stretch to Rumi Usagiyama. If that girl stayed in the Naruto world, as Kaguya, then finding her would be impossible – but now that she had teleported to a world she wasn't supposed to be in, she stood out on Eury's radar and was caught off guard.
Truly, Neji was running out of luck. If the cat, Kurai, came to this world by itself, then she wouldn't have stood out. Since Neji's protection was shared with her due to being a party member.
"Launching myself down to that world is a little problematic, though."
The Omniverse's oppression was just cute at this point. The Omniverse's Will wasn't the same as it used to be before, back in the day. At this point, it was just cute and pitiful.
However, Fate was an annoying world. There was Gaia in that verse, a physical form of the will of the earth, unlike the other worlds that Neji had been to. So Gaia could be a medium for the Omniverse's Will if things go south.
It wouldn't be funny anymore if the Omniverse's Will descended on Gaia. It would be like playing against the admin of a game, even though Eury would have hack powers.
"Let's see…" "Ah-huh."
As she began to look for a leeway, her pale lips suddenly stretched. A hologram sprang out before her eyes as she smiled. The gruesome sight in the live feed made her pleased as she saw the possibility within the snake-woman who stood in the hologram.
There was a path, indeed. If Neji was doing the same thing, why couldn't she? Descending into an existing character that matched her origin even a little should confuse Gaia's existence enough that even if Omniverse's Will were to descend into Gaia, she wouldn't be able to hurt Eury as long as Eury stayed under the fake identity. That was the restriction the Omniverse's Will had, as weak as it was these days.
"If that's the case,"
The Goddess of Creation smiled.
"I have the perfect vessel."
Indeed, Neji's luck was running out, to have entered the 7th Singularity of all places.
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Back in Babylon, Goddess Gorgon was in the cave where she had made her home. Though more than a home, this was a breeding dungeon, where she put humans, and the cave would spit out demonic beasts after transforming them.
It was possible due to a Divinity that she currently possessed, which was the Tiamat's Authority of the Beast.
All that was to accomplish one thing. To gather enough mana inside the cave to safely summon the real Tiamat. The process was moving smoothly, sucking Mana from all the humans captured by now, and filling the pond that was under a cliff inside the cave.
However, it wasn't Gorgon's goal. She didn't plan to summon Tiamat, she had no idea even. It was all Kingu, the one using the body of Enkidu, who Gorgon thought was her child – but that thing only planned to revive Tiamat using the body of Gorgon.
However, the process had slowed down since the appearance of Neji. Kingu was in a tight situation these last few days as he failed to find a way to recover, while Gorgon was furious for another reason, as Neji was destroying all her precious "children".
But all that was changing now.
"Ahhhh…...!"
Inside the cave, Gorgon's large body floated up a little and shook while a great expression of ecstasy formed on her face.
'What's this?! The voice in my head?!'
She screamed in her head, feeling so very excited, while Kingu watched the scene from a bit far, weary.
'What the hell is up with her…?'
While Kingu thought that, a voice rang out inside Gorgon's head.
– [ You have done enough, my child. You can give up now. I will take your place, so it's okay to give up. You can go ahead and jump in the pond. Allow me to take over. ]
It was an ethereal voice in her head, and she felt compelled to listen without any resistance. Was that Tiamat?
"Y, yes… As you say."
It was suicide. To jump in the pond will mean that her body will be evaporated to summon Tiamat in her place.
– [ Mhm, wait. The mana isn't enough. Ah, that's right. Grab that clay thing beside you, and jump along with it. Since it has a Grail inside it, the mana shouldn't be an issue. ]
Gorgon was floating a few inches from the ground, but when the voice finished the instructions, she landed back on her feet. Well, if her snake tail could be considered as feet.
The Seventh Singularity had a total of two Grails. One was used by Gilgamesh to summon Neji, and another was inside Enkidu, being used as a source of magic to keep its clay android body ongoing.
Until now, Kingu – who was using the body of Enkidu – planned to sacrifice Gorgon after enough mana was saved in the pond. But suddenly, the tables had turned.
"Y-you…"
Gorgon rushed at Enkidu, her mind not caring that she had called it her child for months, and tried to grab it by its torso right away.
"Do not resist, for it's the will of the true Goddess!"
"Stay away!"
Kingu wasn't mad, of course. With an expression that screamed confusion and terror, he began to use his power to fight back against the crazy Goddess.
...For now, since Rhongomyniad was unable to come due to being confronted by Neji and Rumi, Kingu was the only one who held back the emergence of the Beast II.
But Tiamat? No. It was not her. It was the real deal; it was the Mother of All.
The True Goddess of Creation.
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