CHAPTER 104: CHAPTER 103: FINAL MERGER

Carl and Bahamut moved onto the next realm, finding themselves somehow standing on solid ground in the middle of open space.

"This realm once belonged to a god known by the name Tsukuyomi, he was a dear friend of mine, killed by another dear friend and his sister, Amaterasu."

"He..." Carl felt strange hearing those names, as though they were painfully familiar and completely unknown.

"Carl? Are you alright?"

"Susanoo... The three children of Izanagi..." Carl’s head began to throb and his nose bled and then he finally collapsed.

As his mind went numb to the outside world, he felt like he was floating in thick liquid and completely unable to move his body.

Unable to see, Taste or smell, all he was aware of was the thick liquid that he was surrounded in and audible sounds growing louder and louder by the second.

"Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi, Susanoo, what brings you three trouble makers here?" Carl recognised the voice as Ishtar’s.

"Your husband. He roped Amaterasu into being one of his villains... Please tell him to reconsider. She doesn’t have it in her to be cold and ruthless, Susanoo would be a much better fit." By the process of elimination, Carl determined it was Tsukiyomi who ranted, calm but clearly upset.

"Agreed." The other two said.

"Sorry, we know you have more important things to worry about... How is your "masterpiece" coming along?" The voice was female, which told Carl it was surely Amaterasu.

"Everything I could have hoped for and more. He keeps having moments like this where he is completely aware of everything being said around him." Ishtar had the voice of a proud mother and though it made him angry now, it filled him with pride in whatever kind of vision he was having.

"Well, you listen here little one, if I ever scare you playing the villain, you come and tell me okay... Sorry Ishtar, we shouldn’t have bothered you with this."

"Sorry you three, I wish I was in a position to help you, Margo’s getting hyper-focused, he doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep... I know we don’t really need to do those things, but it still concerns me for some reason."

"Well, when we go to discuss our roles, I’ll tell him to stop worrying his wife."

"Aww, always so sweet little Su-Su. Tell Izanami I asked to speak with her please."

"Mother? Why would you want to speak to her? Didn’t you fall out when your brother seduced her?"

"No, I fell out with her when she told me she held a grudge over those burns. Blaming your own child after forcing them to exist is abhorrent."

"Please stop, I have no desire to be caught between you two."

"Sorry Su-Su, us old ladies like to gripe and complain... Oh, he’s going back to sleep, say goodnight you three."

They obliged her and everything went black...

When he came to, he was being bathed in Bahamut’s platinum fire. "You’re awake, good... What happened, or will that have to wait as well?"

"I, I’m not sure what happened. A dream, a memory, another implanted flashback, whatever it was, it starred Ishtar and three children of Izanami."

"I see... You said "Susanoo" before you passed out and I assumed that it meant something like that. Did you learn anything?"

"That I have to fulfill a request from Amaterasu... What happened to Susanoo?"

"He was broken after watching his sister kill his brother, he asked his mother to bring him back and when she told him it was impossible... He killed her, but not before she wounded him fatally as well... Nergal has a monument to them if you wish to pay respects."

"I think I will when I have something to tell them."

"Carl, you’re crying, what’s wrong?"

"I just hate hate it... The idea of family killing each other, does godhood just make you lot not value things?"

"I wish I could say no, but the simple truth is that it is difficult to value what we can make whenever we want. I’m not sure if you want to hear this, but one exception to that rule was Ishtar. She loved everything she created as much as you do, her favourite saying was "A creator is obligated to love what they bring into the world".

Any god who mistreated their creations was her enemy. She threw aside friendships and allegiances over it..."

"...Like her friendship with Izanami... I think I know why she married Margo though; when I went to his realm it was filled with mind-breaking objects, littered with items that most would have thrown away..."

"Yes, he was passionate about everything he created. Every failure was a treasured lesson and every success was a prototype for the next invention. They were the most perfect couple I had witnessed, even though they butted heads constantly and had very different tastes and approaches."

"Okay, that’s enough... I can’t think about that stuff anymore for now."

Bahamut nodded as Carl wiped his eyes and cracked his neck. "Well, let’s get this final creature sorted and get you back. You have had a far more intense trip than hoped and regardless of your power, you’re still a human yet to see his twentieth year."

As Carl and Bahamut ran through the realm in search of the various creatures they needed, they had almost gathered them all from the various, planetoids, meteorites and the void it all inhabited when they came to a place which looked like a sun leaking the black of space like a waterfall of black water.

Carl stopped and looked into the rippling void. "Any chance it’s drinkable, I feel like I haven’t drank anything in days."

"You haven’t, it’s been two full days since we left now. Unfortunately not, but if you seek to learn more about the law of Nothingness, they say that if you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you."

"Worth a shot I guess." Carl stepped forward and stared into the black water-like void stretching out before him.

After a moment of anticipation ending in casual disappointment, Carl had an idea and charged his hand with divinity.

"Come on, I hope this helps." He placed his glowing hand into the water and in the bottomless black, a reflection of the moon appeared.

"What’s happening? I’ve never see it do anything like that before."

"Bahamut, Unknown entity. Welcome."

Bahamut’s shoulders sagged with the voice, he looked up to gaze across the water and standing just a few metres away, was his long dead friend.

"Tsukiyomi. How?"

"Sorry, time is limited, Unknown, I detect familiarity in you."

"You visited Ishtar with your siblings."

"Ah, as I thought... Curious, I am not sure how you are now... A mortal could not have lived this long... Time travel?... Regardless, I can’t ask one I do not know for anything, but my sis-"

"Don’t worry, I intend to do as she asked and I’ll do more than tell her. I can’t stand people who hurt their family."

"Thank you. Bahamut, I need to bring the hero here and tell him to drink."

"Well, then Ishtar’s masterpiece is the one you need after all."

Tsukiyomi just looked back at Carl and gestured to the water...

"Bahamut said it’s undrinkable, are you sure I’ll be alright? I can’t set your sister straight if I’m dead."

"I am not really alive so I can’t say, but if you are the hero, you will be fine."

Carl didn’t see the point in hesitating, he simply used the submerged hand to cup some of the water and drink. He didn’t really know what to expect, but nothing could have prepared him anyway.

The moment the partial mouthful touched his lips it was like the rest of the black ocean before him was dragged in magnetically. Carl slumped back as the fluid kept forcing itself down his throat.

"Carl!"

"Calm yourself Old-friend, he will be fine, but this will take a while... Can I ask what brings you to my realm, or did you simply come to pay respects and educate the hero about a relic from the past?"

"We came to collect beasts.... He is a gifted creator just like her, but he is young and just fought Cocytus and another. It felt Eckrok, but I’m not sure, regardless I should get the beasts so that I can return him home as soon as he’s finished."

"Specify the beasts and I’ll summon them here for you. I would like to here about the child’s life before I stop delaying the end of mine."

Bahamut obliged the request and Tsukiyomi summoned the beasts and then listened intently to Bahamut’s tale.

When Carl finally woke up, he felt like he had spent fifty years being waterboarded, the first thing he saw was Bahamut doing what appeared to be some manner of prayer. "Carl, finish the merger then we’ll leave."

"Your call, aside from my throat killing me, I’m fine. Stay as long as you want to, I’ll pray myself when I can tell him his sister is safe."

[ MERGER COMPLETE ]

[ VIT RAISED BY 100,000 ]

[ DEF RAISED BY 100,000 ]

[ INT RAISED BY 100,000 ]

[ DEX RAISED BY 100,000 ]

[ CHA RAISED BY 100,000 ]

[ DENIZEN OF THE VOID: YOU CAN BREATHE IN ANY ENVIRONMENT, INCLUDING THE VACUUM. ]

[ TSUKUYOMI’S INHERITOR: YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE BLESSING OF THE MOON AND ITS POWER TO REFLECT SUNSHINE. ]

[ CREATOR CULTIVATION = 50/50 ]

[ YOU HAVE LEVELLED UP. ]