I've been very busy and will be for a while but enjoy the chap! It's 4.8k words.
"Oh yes, there was another reason I invited you here, Odin." Hope said as he stopped his arguing and turned to look at Odin.
"And what's that?" Odin asked without looking back.
"What are your plans with the imperium? Have you planned a base or...?" Hope asked.
"Well, the first thing is I have to get a base of operation and resources both human and material resources and that's where Axis-9 comes in I need to take over it or at least establish diplomatic relationships with it but you know how it's going right now." Odin turned around and explained.
"Ok then, after that?" Hope asked.
"Well, after having the world under me I will take over a few uninhabited star systems for resources then I will try to find the other 19 worlds that aren't under the imperium but this will take a long time so I will try to slowly convert some worlds I can find towards my side without raising alarms I will also try to see if I can get some other factions on my side I would also like to see if I can find a sensei so I can contact the star child." Odin said.
"Oh yeah, the emperor's immortal children. You know I talked with the star child for a bit, also with the tyrannid hive mind. The hive mind was quite a nice fellow to talk to star child was quite bland." Hope said as he formed a spirit image and showed a picture of the two beings.
"Uh... Well, I guess that's something?" Odin said blankly.
"Also, I wish to leave the milky way and explore the other galaxies affected by the war in heaven to see if any technology or knowledge from the old ones exists." Odin said as he regained himself.
"Oh yeah, the war in heaven fucked a lot of galaxies. I forgot about that. It even made the cybernetic revolt look like a skirmish, not to mention the Horus Heresy!" Hope laughed.
"I remember that the silent king explored outside in the vast darkness and even with 60 million years of history, they had no words to explain what they saw." Hope said.
"Oh, what did he see?" Val asked.
"It was just a young singularity like the civilization that barely reached level 7, but still, If I was a weak civilization like the Necrons, a civilization that had the mental power to erase a universe is quite scary." Hope said as he laughed between words.
"Oh, I should explain it to you simply the will of nature is to have a species gain awareness and develop to the point they can conquer the universe the will of existence is to wage war never peace but as civilization progresses and evolves they reach a point, they decide to either be one in all or all in one in simple terms become a singularity all of civilization into one being or another form of energy beings that depend on their own specialization." Hope explained.
"Singularities are stronger than the other but it's only one man in the end, while the other has the choice of becoming energy beings of lesser power but more individuality and further improvement." Val added.
"The multiple beings are called egos but under that, there is a subclass the void walkers, the luminous, and the mare liberos the void walkers are seen as the more sneaky and explorative qualities of civilization such egos can wander the stars using the darkness and can never be seen by any. The luminous is the destructive and defensive qualities of civilization they are in tune with the universe and can use the abilities of any species they have encountered. The sea children are the weakest and represent the cowardly qualities of a civilization. They barely leave their world, much less star or galaxy they act like, water, so they take a liquid form." Hope explained.
"Oh yeah, you can easily tell which type they are by their physical characteristics like me. Guess what I am." Hope said.
"Luminous I guess?" Odin said as he looked at Hopes's body and saw all white except for his eyes and nails.
"Yes, all luminous are albino except for me since I was albino before my civilization reached this level but it's the same for the other egos void are the absence of light but you can say they are black the sea children are constructs of pure energy so they have a blue hue like plasma." Hope said as he showed pictures of the two.
"I think we got distracted, Odin." Val said as he spoke to Hope with the wrong name.
"Yes, author, he said the wrong one, but let's ignore it for now. What were we talking about again?" Hope asked.
"Outside of the milky way." Odin said.
"Oh yes, if you want to go outside I wouldn't recommend by ship I would use the old still functioning web way gates there is one in the world of cancer which is stuck in a time loop because it got sucked into the rift so yeah be careful also there are lots of orks outside the galaxy and maybe a few demi korks so bring some firepower with you." Hope explained as he showed a map of the 40k galaxy and pointed to the center of the rift.
"What can I expect out there other than orks?" Odin asked.
"Remnants of ancient civilizations but never go to the north of the universal sector. trust me, even if I can protect you, it will cost the entire universe once I do." Hope said seriously.
"What the fuck is so bad you would have to kill everything?" Odin muttered.
"Himself." Val said as he poured another glass of wine for the two.
"Yes, in fact he is the cause for why the 40k universe is so crazy and to be honest the milky way is normal compared to the outside if it wasn't for that me sealing himself in the throne room and having the surviving A.I guard the star system not to mention this universe but maybe even a few trillion universes would be erased before I noticed." Hope said as he took a large gulp of wine.
"Am I going to fight him at some point?" Odin asked seriously.
"... Hahaha! If you think you can fight him, then you're more insane than him the only one that can fight him and win without a sweat is the Odin inside you even I would die as I slay him and even then probably a lot of death would ensue because of the power imbalance." Hope exclaimed.
"Well, let's not bother about pointless things since we have the time to ask anything you want." Hope said.
"I want to learn about magic." Odin asked.
Odin thought it would be better to improve his mystical arts, as at some point in his mission, he would fight a psyker or demon and it would be good to have other means than just physical arms.
"Hmm, magic should I teach you void magic? It's one of the best types?" Hope muttered.
"It wouldn't be bad. He already has a shadow and arc elementalization. If you teach him, void, he'll be able to use it." Val said.
"I guess so, then it's settled. I'll teach you three elements: Blue void, Black void, and Scarlet void." Hope said.
"And to teach you, I'll have you experience it!" Hope said as his body was covered in plasma.
Everything seemed to dim in the presence of the plasma arcs. For Odin, the arcs seem to form visions of many things, but they seemed to relate to one thing. The electromagnetic force he quickly started to pave a path to learning the art.
It was slow as he couldn't find the way to control the plasma, but as he tried over and over, he found cracks in the sturdy shell and slowly peeled the mysteries away. It felt like days as he tugged at the plasma core that was his second heart.
Every time he successfully took a step, another scene would play to help him. As he opened his eyes again, he saw the scene of a person working out; the scene focused on the person contracting their muscles.
The series of flexion and extension was confusing to Odin, but he quickly caught on. The way the arm can move is because of muscle, but the muscle needs a signal to contract or extend and what causes that? The nerves! the brain sends a signal through the nerves to the muscles using bioelectrical impulses.
What if he used it like a muscle? Instead of thinking about moving, it he makes himself do it. Odin mimicked the same thought of extending his arms, but instead focused it on his heart.
A small arc left his body. It was small and had the same voltage of .07 volts the same as a human cell. But it was a mark of success since this worked he decided to test the limits.
'Think about contacting and hold it and then let it out.' Odin heard Hope's voice say.
Odin did as told and contracted his arm with all his strength for 3 seconds before he pushed out with all his force. Around him, huge arcs of plasma spread out and devastated the area.
As the energy exited, he felt attuned to the world around him. A world of lightning that gave him strength and thunder that soothed his mind. He stood up and walked around the land of plasma. He felt so connected with the surrounding plasma it was like his mind was everywhere. Each thunder told him about his surroundings, each bolt of lightning showed him the way.
'Mold it and use it.' Hope said once more, then many figures appeared and rushed at Odin.
Odin dodged the first attacks as he used this state of enlightenment and crises to learn more about his mystical art. It started simple and got complex quickly by using the electricity to jolt his muscles for quicker reaction time and speed to using his nails as a conductor to form plasma arcs of high voltage.
Lightning always followed the path of least resistance and, taking that as a base, Odin formed his own arc ability. If he had to be close, he had to improve his CQC. The fight was slow, but he learned a lot compared to before.
He sent the plasma to his hands and formed long claws of plasma. His feet also had them on his heel, for whenever he did a spin kick, he could slash someone. He also used Hope's fighting style, which involved using his mouth for very close fights molding the plasma. He made a mask of plasma teeth.
During his training, Odin had gotten used to the taste of blood, so when he bit the figure's fingers or any part of their body, he wasn't disgusted by the blood.
The ability still developed further. As he improved, it the claws became one long blade of plasma that he used like swords. He focused on fast and brutal attacks as if he was lightning. An unseen attack was the lightning striking and the falling figure was the thunder.
The fifty figures soon turned to ash, and the sea of plasma stopped, becoming a white void. Odin felt empty and realized the energy he had before was fading quickly.
'You have to improve your energy reserves if you want to use them freely for now. It's more like a super from a game, so be careful the cooldown is long.' Hope said.
"How long?" Odin asked
'For a 5-minute usage you have a CD of 1 hour but this is also real life so you can store your energy and when you're ready release it either as an ultra super ability or have it last for a long time.' Hope said with a chuckle.
"So if I wait 12 hours I can use it for 1 hour or enhance it for..?" Odin asked.
'The ultra would change depending on how much you overloaded it, but probably 1-2 minutes.' Hope said.
'Are you ready for Black void?'
"Yes." Odin said as he sat down and got ready to study the new magical ability.
The white void soon became an abyss of darkness. It was deathly silent, but it felt soothing for Odin, like he was in a comfy bed.
Like before, different scenes played out for him. But instead of seeing it, he felt them through his instincts. It was easy to learn, but with each layer; he unraveled the harder it became. At first, it was manageable, but it quickly became too hard to understand. It was hard for him to. Focus. He saw the words, but his mind could not read them.
He knew what each word meant by itself, but together it was like a new language, one he didn't know. It felt like eons and Odin had long given up on finding answers. He just wanted to hear the screaming and light of life.
Odin stared into nothing. His eyes stayed closed or opened no one could tell as he melded well into the darkness. The emptiness of his mind was broken as he heard sounds.
Odin got up and looked in the sound's direction. The sound of blood flowing through veins and the loud drum of the heart gave away the location of the figures. Odin wasn't the only one that heard the sounds as the figures heard Odin.
In the land of nothing, something would stand out, however insignificant. The figures sped up as they saw Odin. His instincts took over and forced him to hide.
Odin displayed inhuman acts as he controlled his body in such a way that it would kill any living being. He was like a walking corpse as he moved through the obstacles of the dark. They didn't exist yet Odin brought them to life and, as he did this; he realized something.
The mind can create the darkest horrors a child can stare into a dark room and think of a hidden monster, even if it's empty. He used his own mind to create barriers and spaces to hide. The dark is empty, yet thoughts fill it up.
'The dark can be such a safe place because it holds nothing yet can become a labyrinth of horrors because of our mind.' Odin thought.
The Darkness evolved and became a labyrinth of traps that were not real yet would really kill someone.
'You've finally learned the first part of the black void illusions. There resides many arts in this type of magic. If you master it, even in light, darkness will live.' Hope's voice said.
'How long has all of this taken?' Odin asked.
'5 minutes adding blue void training. It's taken 5 minutes and 30 seconds." Hope said.
'And it's felt like ages for me.' Odin sighed as he moved around and shaped the void to his advantage.
As he shaped the void, his understanding grew quickly. His body was like a mist he formed his body to fit his needs. His body was wrapped in heavy armor, but he moved at the speed of light.
The figures didn't know they had died, Odin slashed and slashed, but they did not fall. It was not until he gave his weapons the thought of death that the figures died.
'Those people were also like you scholars of the dark void. When you encounter such a being, one will find out that they can't die unless your weapons are imbued with the concept of death. At some point, you will also have this, but I'll tell you these scholars had the magical energy to wipe out universes and to survive death to be like them. You will need the same energy equivalent to destroy a world.' Hope explained.
'If they had such power, how did I defeat them?' Odin asked.
'Hubris.' Hope said.
'I've realized something I've gone from a normal man to a store owner that sells to another universe that is also another life of the creator of reality who will slowly fade away so that the main mind will take over I'm also now far from human as I can literally make myself brain dead just so I make no 'sound' and yet I can function like I wasn't I'm no longer human but something that resembles it.' Odin said as the darkness turned to pure light.
'Eh, not that crazy. I once went from being a mortal man to the creator of the universe in two seconds.' Hope said.
'Yeah, no, I think mine is more chaotic than yours. I'm slowly going insane while you're not.' Odin said as he sat down.
'Um.. I would like to tell you are wrong, but I have gotten so numb to everything that I can't tell you what's actually crazy anymore.' Hope said as the space turned into a blazing inferno.
Just like before, he felt a resonance from a part of him. It came from his main heart. It first gave him a warm, soothing feeling, like the embrace of a loved one, and then it felt like a scorching burn of pure hatred.
'Passion fuels scarlet void. The passion of love or the passion of anger gives it strength in physical. Form. It's just like the blue void, but it requires you to focus on emotions. Love heals and anger hurts. Use them in one and you create war.' Hope's voice sounded out in the void before it slowly faded.
Odin followed Hope's instructions, and a small buckler shield appeared in his hand. As he looked at it, he felt assured nothing could get past him. Fire had always helped mankind, and it had been a key part of their evolution. This shield embodied that aspect as it burned bright, even in the blazing hell of fire around them.
The shield faded as Odin focused on another emotion and a giant bow appeared in his hand. Just like fire helped man, it also was used to kill them. This bow held the embodiment of pain. The bow was made by a dark fire. It felt more like embers, but the two arrows shined in brilliant light like the sun.
As he aimed the bow, his mind split and he saw from the perspective of the two arrows. It was easy to do as it was like when he piloted the ship, but this was much easier.
The void soon changed, and Odin appeared back in the room with Odin and Val. Odin felt lethargic while he was inside the void he was pumped with energy to help him manifest the magical arts but here he felt like he was in a desert. He felt some resonance, but it was faint when he tried to use a magical ability. It failed. The only one that worked right was the first two; he had which were technomancy and biomamcy.
Those two and their variants only required mental power, but the void magic required another form of energy.
"It'll slowly enter you, but I recommend mediation or something. Maybe exercising as well they help bring in energy into the depleted vessel." Val said as he noticed Odin's expression.
Odin got up and went to sit down. As he closed his eyes, the loud, excited screams of the crowd startled him. He turned to his right and saw a sea of fire and ice colliding with immeasurable force.
"Jötnar?" Odin muttered as he looked at the two figures.
"Oh, you remember the giants from Jötunheimr?" Hope asked.
Odin shook his head and said. "No, but I think it comes from his memories?"
"Then let me introduce you to those two later." Hope said as he continued to look at the fight with a reminiscent look on his face.
The giants were five times Odin's height, yet they were more agile than him. Even with his enhanced sense, they were like a blur as the two clashed. Massive shockwaves spread out. The flames and ice above them attacked each other, trying to make ground to help its wielder, but it was a stalemate, just like the two below.
The two retreated and the giant on the left raised her weapon to the sky. The blade shone with scarlet flame and behind the giant, a large tear appeared in the void.
It slowly opened, and a hand of magma and fire appeared. A blue bubble covered the arena from the immense heat that came out of the place, but it could still be felt. Large mountains of magma awoke and revealed themselves to be giants. Their gaze turned the ice from the other giant into mist and the giant fell to his knees from the heat.
The giant shakily raised its weapon to the sky and, just like the other giant, a tear appeared, but unlike a realm of fire, it was a frozen land of decay.
"Heh, will Ymir be born again?" Hope joked.
The fight quickly returned to a stalemate as the two giants stood still.
"You know, for a fight there isn't much fighting, but even then I don't want to fight now if that's what I'm up against?" Odin said as he looked at the arena.
"Actually, who even are you fighting? Val do you know?" Hope asked.
"Let's see... It says it's some gal named Krista." Val said as he pulled out a tablet.
"That is the most normal name I've heard in the southern sector still can't get over the fact you named your daughter kitten like are you some discord mod and then your name is the weirdest for your kind like who names someone Val'N'gha mgr'luh nilgh'ri like I'm amazed I can say that but then again I can't really judge cause my people take on the last name of their ancestors so I have 729 last names." Hope said.
"Oh yeah, I remember you also said you were the first emperor, so you also have your name as your last name and your sons and your grandson and so on." Val said.
"Yeah, imagine that's why I just go by my name and never last. If I need it, I only use the first letters from four of my names." Hope said.
"But yeah, kido don't worry, you won't die. There's an immortality barrier so you'll be ok." Hope said as he returned to the topic.
"Barrier or not, I don't wanna get beaten by some insanely strong beast." Odin said.
"Consider it training. Even you fought me so you can do It trust me, it'll be a breeze." Hope said.
"Let's make another deal?" Odin asked.
"Another deal I'm giving you 25 million dollars and I also gave you more magical powers, but you want more!?" Hope yelled.
"Yes." Odin said as he stared at Hope.
"Ok, ask then if it's too much then no, but if it's small, I can do it." Hope said without expression.
"To be honest, I don't want to spend mats on making cleaning robots, so can you give me some nanobots to clean the ship and also allow me to have some so I don't need to shower as well?" Odin said.
"Oh yeah, sure. I thought you would ask for a legion of robots or something here. It should be around 1 quadrillion of them in this box." Hope said as he gave a marble white box to Odin.
'Just scammed myself. I don't know how to feel about it.' Odin thought as he took the box and opened it.
The moving mass of grey confirmed that they were what he wanted.
"I really am a dumbass. This happens when you let your guard down now. I just gave a kid Mk.4920 nanobots. Why didn't I just give him the magical ability of cleansing instead?" Hope muttered aloud as he read Odin's mind.
"So, what are you going to do with them?" Hope asked in a monotone voice.
"Reverse, engineer them and use them for war." Odin said as he stuck his hand and picked up a few of them.
"Ha reverse engineer, that'll take years. You don't even know what metal is used to make them!" Hope laughed.
"Biomallium alloy they are organic nanites the nucleus holds a tenth generation RX-1039/D H.I system it can process 1 decillion calculations per second and is regarded as the 1,000th fastest computer in the universe each cell is powered by a Nox-11b/67 power cell that creates its energy from nothing which was revealed in the conflict of Val-9 which saw the entire consumption of the galaxy by the nanobots in only 5 seconds it is only used by the civilians of the firstborn and is illegal to be owned by anyone else." Odin said but it clearly wasn't him as the voice didn't match.
"I forgot that Odin's don't help each other. Thank you other me for fucking me over!" Hope cried as he slumped in his chair.
"No problem but on to you kid be careful with that tech as I said it devoured a galaxy that was easily 5 million light-years in diameter in 5 seconds without prep so imagine what it would do to a dwarf galaxy like the milky way." the voice said before it left.
"You know, I kinda wanted the nanites from destiny, like Siva. It could build cities in days I didn't want a timebomb that was so advanced it even had an infinite energy power source!" Odin yelled as he shook off the nanobots back into the box.
"And they aren't even the best ones, believe it or not." Hope said, dismayed.
"Another question that I should have probably asked for the other stuff I have is it chaos proof?" Odin asked.
Hope's eyebrows furrowed as he thought, but he soon got up and snapped his fingers and a red orb of energy appeared.
"Ok stabby boy, corrupt this. If you don't, I'll erase you from existence." Hope said to the orb.
"Who are-" the orb tried to speak but was cut off by Hope.
"SHUT! YOUR! PATHETIC! ASS! UP! AND! DO! AS! I! SAY! OR! I'LL! SHOW! YOU! WHAT! IT! MEANS! TO! ACTUALLY! BE! A! BLOOD! GOD!" Hope shouted every single word to the orb. The place seemed to shake and slowly the surrounding space seem to crack.
This all stopped quickly after Hope stopped and the orb flew to the box and spread apart of itself to the nanobots.
As the red energy entered the little constructs, they shone with blue light and devoured the energy and the nanobots formed into an object.
It slowly formed into a rifle with four barrels. It was all grey except for a red 8 with a slash through it. On the stock was also another red engraving. It was a Khorne symbol, but it had a slash through it as well.
"Great! Instead of being corruptible, you can make anti-demon. weapons. Why did our kind even make these for again?!" Hope exclaimed as he saw the weapon.
The orb disappeared as it seemed to be sent back to where it came from.
"Its main purpose was to make multiverses, but later on it was used to make universal cities." Odin said, but again, it clearly wasn't he who spoke.
"Wow, and we never made one, did we? I guess Sagittarius is one though a ship the size of reality that wanders the abyss." Hope said as he sat down and thought.
"I'm not giving it back." Odin said.
"I know, and I can't break my promise. I'm a demon, not an angel after all." Hope said, dismayed.
"Uh, isn't it the other way?" Odin asked.
Val and Hope both chuckled, saying nothing, and soon a huge explosion started Odin once more, causing him to look at the arena. The scene of two nearly 100-foot tall giants and two even taller mountain size giants fighting and creating black holes made Odin's mind stop.
Odin's mind ran with multiple thoughts as he watched. If these guys were this strong, then what about his opponent? Could immortality save him from a black hole? Actually, would a black hole be the least of his concerns? Why were Ymir and Satur fighting, and why were black holes in the arena? Why were the two realms fighting, even? Is he suffering from some mental illness at this point or is this actually happening?
The questions kept coming, and he had no answers. He turned back to look at Hope and said shakily.
"Please take me home."
"Well, he broke time to reboot him." Hope said as he walked towards Odin and hugged him.