CHAPTER 177: THE COSMIC BEINGS BEHIND THE DIGITALIZATION

Somewhere in an unknown realm, just outside the very edge of Fathomi’s existence, the cosmic fringe stretched into endless obscurity.

Vast emptiness dominated here, a place where concepts like distance or light held no firm grip.

Forms drifted without purpose, half-formed ideas from realities long discarded.

An eldritch mass occupied a central void in this fringe, a high existential godly being the size of the world itself. It bubbled and swayed, its surface a churning sea of protoplasmic confusion.

Eyes dotted its expanse—countless orbs of varying shapes, some human-like with irises of fractured stars, others compound and insectoid, scanning nonexistent horizons.

Faces emerged and submerged in the bubbling folds—snarls of beasts long extinct, serene masks of forgotten deities, weeping countenances of mortals who never drew breath.

The mass pulsed with irregular rhythms, as if trapped in a perpetual dreamscape, its thoughts too vast for containment, spilling into the fringe like ink in water.

Tendrils of semi-solid matter extended from its bulk, probing the emptiness with lazy curiosity.

Then, a rectangle of clean, precise light sliced open nearby, its edges sharp and unyielding against the fringe’s chaos. The portal’s edge gleamed with bluish light, a stark intrusion into the organic sprawl.

From its frame stepped a woman, her form materializing in full without transition.

She wore a tailored suit of deep navy, crisp lines unbroken by the void’s pull, accented by a blue tie knotted with exacting care. Long blue hair cascaded down her back, unbound and straight, framing a face marked by aloof blue eyes.

Those eyes held a lackadaisical glaze, as if the cosmos bored her mildly, yet sharpness lingered beneath— a predator’s focus veiled in indifference.

Every time she took a step, bluish energy fields ignited underfoot with each motion, forming transient tiles of solidified potential—hexagonal platforms that shimmered like frozen waves, dissolving moments after her heel lifted.

She moved uncaring, the void parting before her without resistance.

Eventually, she halted a dozen paces from the mass’s nearest swell, hands on hips, and raised her voice.

Even in a place where no sound should travel, her words were delivered as if it was its own law.

"Ratatoskr!" she shouted.

The eldritch mass quivered, bubbles popping in synchronized waves across its surface.

Eyes swiveled toward her, faces resolving into clearer profiles— one a stern elder with etched runes for wrinkles, another a child’s wide-mouthed wonder.

A low resonance built, coalescing into words that bypassed ears, imprinting directly on thought.

"Serendipity," Ratatoskr replied, its voice a chorus of layered timbres, from gravelly depths to silken highs. "How are you doing?"

Serendipity scratched her head, fingers raking through blue strands with casual frustration.

She glanced sidelong at the portal, which folded shut behind her with a soft click, leaving no trace.

"I did my part," she said. "It is only up to you rascals now to finish the job."

Ratatoskr’s surface calmed, the bubbling slowing to a gentle simmer. Faces smiled in unison, eyes blinking in lazy accord.

A tendril extended, curling near her like an offered hand, though it halted short of contact.

"Thank you, Serendipity," it intoned. "Your job is done. You only need to wait and reap the reward in the future."

Serendipity turned her gaze outward, toward a massive sphere of comprehensive void that dominated the distant fringe.

Fathomi hung there, suspended in the emptiness—a swirling orb of layered realities, its surface marred by churning storms of entropy and fate.

From this remove, it resembled a fragile egg, veined with cracks that threatened total shatter.

She narrowed her eyes, the aloofness sharpening into focus. "Why can I not sense the World Forgers anymore?"

Ratatoskr’s mass undulated, a wave of laughter rippling through its folds. Eyes winked in sequence, faces twisting into wry expressions—one a jester’s leer, another a sage’s knowing nod.

"Nidhogg murdered all of them," it said, the words delivered with casual detachment, as if noting a change in weather.

Serendipity froze, her hand dropping from her hair.

The bluish tile beneath her foot flickered, energy field stuttering for the first time.

Disbelief etched her features, blue eyes widening fractionally before narrowing into slits.

"What??" she shouted, voice rising to pierce the hum. "Did you say Nidhogg murdered the World Forgers?"

The mass bubbled affirmatively, tendrils waving in lazy confirmation. Faces nodded in chorus, eyes reflecting the sphere’s distant glow.

"Yes," Ratatoskr reconfirmed. "She did."

Serendipity shook her head, blue locks swaying with the motion.

A low growl built in her throat, frustration boiling over into sharp words.

"How stupid is that?" she uttered, "If the plan fails, or if Fathomi goes through a Great Reset again, there will be no one to maintain the integrity of the already unstable world."

Ratatoskr’s surface smoothed, the bubbling reduced to faint pops along its edges.

A single large eye emerged near her, vast and multifaceted, reflecting her pacing form in a thousand tiny mirrors.

Faces around it softened, adopting tones of gentle reassurance— maternal smiles, paternal nods.

"Everything will be fine," it told her, voice a soothing cascade. "If you want, I can call Nidhogg here. You two can have a talk."

Serendipity halted, the energy field under her boot stabilizing into a solid glow.

She crossed her arms, tie straightening under the motion, and fixed the eye with her sharp gaze.

"Yes," she said. "Bring Nidhogg here."

The mass quivered once more, a deeper undulation passing through its bulk.

The fringe dimmed briefly, voids deepening as if drawing breath.

Then, from the comprehensive sphere’s edge—Fathomi’s outer veil—a rift tore open.

It gaped wide, edges frayed with void-threads that writhed like exposed nerves.

From the rift emerged a teen-like female humanoid entity, her form compact yet radiating immense pressure. White hair flowed long and unbound, matching the pure white of her eyes—blank orbs without pupil or iris, conveying sight through sheer intensity.

A crown-like halo floated above her head, its edges jagged with feather-like protrusions that shed faint motes of light. White feather wings sprouted from her back, vast in span yet folded neatly, each plume edged in subtle void-shade.

A gaping hole dominated her midsection, a hollow maw where the stomach should reside—entrails spilled from it, not in grotesque display but as long, sinuous cords of pale ether, stretching back into the rift’s depths.

They connected to something larger than life—an unseen vastness beyond the gap, pulsing with rhythms.

The cords undulated gently, drawing essence from the world-sphere, feeding her form even as she stepped fully into the fringe.

Thus, Nidhogg hovered there, wings half-unfurling to steady her arrival..

Serendipity’s composure cracked at the sight. Anger flared in her blue eyes, hands clenching at her sides as energy tiles sparked underfoot.

"Nidhogg!" she shouted, voice laced with fury. "What have you done!?"

Nidhogg’s white eyes lit with unbridled excitement, her face splitting into a beaming smile that belied the void in her core.

She launched forward without hesitation, wings beating once to propel her into a trajectory straight for Serendipity.

"Serendipity!" Nidhogg shouted back, joy bubbling in her tone.

She closed the distance in an instant, arms outstretched for embrace.

Serendipity recoiled, palms up in warding.

"Do not touch me!"

But Nidhogg’s strength proved overwhelming, her form colliding with Serendipity’s in a hug that compressed the air between them.

Laughter peeled from her, light and unrestrained, as white hair tangled with blue.

Nidhogg squeezed tighter, wings enveloping them both in a feathered cocoon. "It has been so long! I missed you."

Serendipity struggled briefly, pushing at shoulders that yielded like tempered steel.

"Get off! You draconic moron!"

Before long, Nidhogg detached herself, floating back a pace with wings fanning lazily.

Her white eyes sparkled, the halo above tilting like a mischievous crown.

Serendipity straightened her tie with deliberate motions, smoothing her suit where feathers had rumpled it.

Blue eyes burned with unresolved ire, the aloofness burned away by confrontation.

"Is it true?" Serendipity demanded. "Did you kill the World Forgers?"

Nidhogg tilted her head, white hair cascading over one shoulder. Her smile held innocent delight, as if recounting a fond prank.

"Yes," she answered happily. "I did kill the World Forgers. I even used their corpses to sustain my garden!"

Serendipity’s jaw tightened, a vein pulsing at her temple.

She stepped forward, energy tile cracking under the force, and swung her hand in a sharp arc.

The slap connected with Nidhogg’s head, a solid crack that echoed faintly in the void.

White hair flew, but Nidhogg merely blinked, her smile unwavering.

"You moron!" Serendipity said, voice high with exasperation. "I can’t believe that you did that! Argh!"

Nidhogg laughed again, rubbing the spot with feigned soreness, though no mark appeared on her pale skin.

Serendipity pressed on, finger jabbing toward the sphere. "Your recklessness will be your undoing. Without the Forgers, Fathomi teeters on collapse. One wrong shift in the distortions, and the entire structure unravels. Do you understand that?"

Ratatoskr interjected then, its chorus voice whimsical, laced with playful undertones.

"She has a point, Nidhogg," it said. "Recklessness does invite complications."

Nidhogg’s expression shifted in an instant.

The beaming smile faded, white eyes dulling to lifeless voids. Her halo dimmed, feathers wilting at the edges.

The cords from her stomach stilled, hanging limp as if severed from source. She floated closer, voice dropping to an eerie monotone that chilled the fringe’s emptiness.

"There should be nothing to worry about," she said. "As long as Fathomi is converted into a Digital World, everything can be tampered with on a whim."

Serendipity sighed, the sound heavy in the void.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, blue eyes closing briefly against the absurdity.

The energy fields around her feet flickered erratically, mirroring her frustration—tiles forming and dissolving in aborted patterns.

"I cannot believe this is happening," she muttered.

Nidhogg’s face brightened once more, the eerie pallor vanishing as if erased. White eyes sparkled anew, halo reigniting with fresh glow.

Her wings beat once, propelling her into a lazy spin that tugged at her trailing cords.

"It has been a while since we saw each other," she said, voice bubbling with cheer. "How about a sparring session?"

Serendipity arched a brow, arms crossing once more. The sharpness returned to her gaze, cutting through Nidhogg’s enthusiasm.

"You are only sending a piece of yourself," she pointed out at the cord connecting the humanoid body with something beyond this cosmic expanse. "So am I. It will not be a real sparring session, since neither of us is at full strength."

Nidhogg grinned, white teeth flashing in the halo’s light. Her wings flared wide, cords undulating in eager rhythm.

"That does not matter," she said.