Jake and Villy continued speaking for a good while more, discussing some additional details of what Jake’s role would be in all this. He felt like an actor having a role way beyond his skill level put upon him, and he felt a lot of pressure to carry things out properly as the Viper wanted him to.
Acting and Jake were two things that really didn’t go well together, and the Viper at least took this into account and did so that Jake needed to do as little acting as possible. Moreover, this acting would nearly exclusively be done in front of people who didn’t really know him in the first place, making it far harder to detect any discrepancies in his actions.
They both also knew all this was for the Viper and had little to do with Jake’s own goals or Path. Jake was fine with just teleporting right now and attacking Ell’Hakan wherever he was, and the only reason he held back and would agree to any of this was because Villy was the one asking him to. Sure, Jake did excuse himself for going along with everything by arguing he owed the Viper a favor, but honestly, it was more than that.
Time and time again, Villy had helped Jake without asking for anything in return. He’d given him access to far more resources than Jake could possibly use: knowledge gathered by the Order since the very first era, personal guidance… so many things. And for that, he’d never asked Jake to do anything Jake wouldn’t have ended up wanting to do anyway.
Jake didn’t count his exploits and performances during system events as favors to Villy. All those were just Jake being Jake, and the fact it benefitted the Viper because Jake was his Chosen was just a bonus. Counting these would just feel wrong.
At the same time, Jake didn’t want to be the kind of person who counted favors between friends and made their relationship transactional… but that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the clear disparity in how much one party helped the other. The best comparison Jake could make was with holiday gifts. Sure, gifts were not meant to be seen as transactions, and one wasn’t meant to count monetary value between what two friends gave each other… but if Jake gave someone a damn toaster and they gave him a new laptop, he would feel really awkward about it.
So, even if the Viper didn’t care – and kept saying he didn’t care – about the disparity in how much they helped each other, this was an opportunity for Jake to at least feel less awkward about things. Oh yeah, and helping out the god was also just something a friend would do, as while the sacrifices Jake had to make were annoying, they weren’t significant at all.
Finishing their conversation, Jake felt as ready as could be to carry out the plan and try to bring the others on board. It wouldn’t be easy, but he was determined to do his darndest. Before they cut the connection, Jake did have one last thing to say, though.
“Hey, Villy?”
“Got more questions?” the god asked.“No, no, I’m good… I just want to make sure we’re on the same page here. This all ends with us both walking away whole and better than ever, right?” Jake asked.
“And what do you mean by that?”
“That you aren’t going to do something stupid,” Jake said in a rather stern tone.
“Duly noted, but truly, you have no reason to worry… still, thanks for the concern, I guess,” the Viper said, seemingly not entirely sure how to respond.
“That’s what friends are for,” Jake shrugged before smiling. “Now, let’s go pull off the scam of the era.”
“Yeah, no, that’s never gonna happen,” Carmen said, her arms crossed as she stood in front of the golden projection.
“The feelings of mortals are transient, and no one truly knows the future. Assume it does happen, and take into account that I’m not asking you to ensure it happens now but that you merely lay the groundwork for the future. Do not act as if you wouldn’t prefer if he joined,” Gudrun spoke through the projection.
“Sure, that would be pretty cool, but I’m also fine if it doesn’t. It’s not like our respective factions will have fuck-all effect on things once all this stuff is over,” Carmen said, a bit annoyed at everything going on. “Can I also finally talk about everything once it’s done?”
“No, not for a good while. You would know that if you’d read the contract properly,” Gudrun said in a scolding yet motherly tone as she smiled. “Not like you would have rejected signing it no matter what had been included. Curiosity truly will be the downfall of mankind.” ŔＡ
“Can’t blame me for being curious when interesting stuff is going down in my own home galaxy,” Carmen smiled, preferring the casual tone of the conversation over the usual stiffness she had to adopt when interacting with gods in a more public setting.
Like Jake, she had gone to have a personal discussion with her Patron when Jake had. Rather than get Valdemar, she had ended up talking to Gudrun – which was honestly standard by now – and had begun this discussion. Her ritual for contact was to summon a projection like this, using a rather expensive item as a catalyst, as well as making use of her Divine Blessing, as a lower one wouldn’t allow this kind of thing.
As for what Gudrun wanted… well, as most times, it was related to Jake. More accurately, Jake, the Malefic Viper, and everything else currently going on, including the entire clash happening in the rest of the multiverse. Gudrun didn’t disclose much, perhaps because she didn’t know much, but things weren’t looking good for the Order of the Malefic Viper.
Gudrun didn’t seem overly worried, though. However, she did view this as an opportunity. She proposed to Carmen to take Jake to the planet in the Milky Way under the total control of Valhal and use that neutral ground to try and find a solution with Ell’Hakan and the Holy Church.
Carmen saw no way in hell Jake would be interested in going the diplomatic route. Maybe Miranda would try and convince him to try something like that, but she was pretty damn confident not even she could talk him out of just recklessly charging at Ell’Hakan to put an arrow in his skull.
Still, Gudrun seemed convinced he would be open to diplomacy. Assuming she was correct and Jake would come to the planet ruled by Valhal, Gudrun wanted Carmen to naturally come along. Once there, Jake would know no one except Carmen, and while he could certainly entertain himself, Gudrun believed this was a great opportunity to see the good things about Valhal and use the place to train.
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The plan was obviously to try and convince Jake that Valhal was a cool faction and totally one he should join. Even if it wasn’t now, then in the future, he should consider them. If not, then at least he should have a very favorable view of Valhal and be willing to work closely with them going forward, perhaps even becoming an honorable member or something dumb like that.
Or, perhaps Gudrun was thinking on a far longer timeframe than that… because there was a great precedent for mortals switching factions upon ascending to godhood, going elsewhere if another place fit them better than where they currently were.
The part about the contract was related to something Carmen had pretty much felt forced to sign a long time ago. It was related to all the shady bullshit going on, and to ensure she wouldn’t spill the beans, Gudrun had her sign it shortly before Nevermore. All it did was make Carmen unable to talk about certain things when around others, with a few people excluded.
Carmen didn’t like it, as she felt herself clamp up at times, the words just not coming out when she was accidentally about to say something she shouldn’t… so maybe the contract was a good idea? She wasn’t sure, honestly. At least she could get out of the contract at any point if she wanted by just taking off the ring she had been given, which was what restricted her from speaking on accident, though she had a feeling doing that wouldn’t end well for her.
Either way, the contract meant that Carmen knew a lot more than others. Walking around with secret knowledge did feel kind of cool, especially considering this knowledge was the kind not even shared with other gods. Carmen was one of the very few people who knew certain facts, such as that Valhal and the Order weren’t truly in a conflict and that Valdemar and the Malefic Viper had their own deal.
However… she also knew that it was true Valdemar and Yip of Yore had one too. One that did obligate Valdemar and Valhal to assist Yip of Yore in suppressing the Order and facilitate the clash between Yip and the Viper.
Which did kind of make Carmen wonder one thing.
“I kind of get the gist that the Malefic Viper wants to fight Yip of Yore… but what if he loses? Will Valhal step in and help the Viper?” Carmen asked after a while, as she really couldn’t imagine a world where anyone wanted that Yip guy to win. She didn’t expect an answer but surprisingly got one.
“ We will not do any such thing. The result of the fight between the Malefic One and Yip of Yore is entirely on them. No one from Valhal will interfere. In fact, we will ensure no one interferes, no matter what,” Gudrun said with certainty.
“So if the Viper loses…?” Carmen asked, frowning.
“ He dies, and the first Primordial falls, truly giving rise to Yip of Yore and a new being recognized as at least equal to the other surviving Primordials,” Gudrun answered, still in her matter-of-fact tone.
“And Valhal is okay with that?”
“Okay with it? Why do you think Valdemar is willing to help Yip of Yore in the first place?” Gudrun said with a smile. “He recognized Yip of Yore has the potential to reach the peak. Valdemar wants nothing more than to have someone willing to battle and worth fighting, and if this conflict gives him that, why wouldn’t he be okay with it?”
Carmen wanted to comment more but kept quiet. She had to admit she never really understood what kind of relationship Valhal and the Order had, nor what exactly was going on between the Viper and her own Patron. She didn’t know if they were friends, enemies, rivals, or just two really old creatures who didn’t have some set description for their odd and complicated relationship.
“Anyway, all you want me to do is bring Jake away from Earth and to our planet?” Carmen asked, clarifyingly, changing the topic.
“Precisely. I’m sure he can handle everything else from there. Just play along with him and back up whatever he does, but don’t personally get involved in any battle should the animosity between the two Chosen proves too much,” Gudrun said. “Oh, and do not under any circumstances make direct contact with the Chosen of Yip of Yore.”
“I know, I know,” Carmen waved her off. “I wouldn’t want to anyway. Imagining someone fucking with my emotions just feels so damn icky.”
“It does appear rather unsettling, but some would be more than happy to have the power granted by such a Bloodline in their arsenal,” Gudrun said in her usual cryptic tone as the summoned projection flickered a few times. “It appears our time is up. May you complete your mission well, Runemaiden; we have confidence in you.”
The image faded away, the catalyst she’d used to summon it, having run out of energy. The act of projecting a god in this fashion definitely wasn’t an easy matter or something one simply did. Sometimes, she was envious of Jake, who seemingly had the ability to talk to his Patron at all times without having to do any prep work or set up any rituals, but then again, she was totally fine with not having the kind of pressure on her that would bring.
Sighing loudly, Carmen rolled her shoulders, feeling the stiffness come out as it only now was clear how tense she had been. Just Gudrun’s projection was unsettling to deal with on some deep instinctual level, and the only reason Carmen could even act normal was because of the resistance she’d built up from being close to Jake. Mortals simply weren’t built to interact with gods, especially not for prolonged periods of time, and most certainly not while still only in C-grade.
Should get back to the Prima Vessel… I still can’t see Jake agreeing to go the diplomacy route and negotiating with that manipulate emotion-fucking shitbag.
The land that had slowly begun to recover after the battle between powerful beings was rapidly meeting its end once more. Color had faded as the vast plains had its newly-grown grass, weeds, and any form of life wilt away whenever the desolation spread further, a mass of odd energy in its center. This odd mass came from a small fragment that appeared to house the remnants of the False God that had once been… and was soon to be once more.
No one had come to this planet in a long time, at least not before that day. Earth did have talks of sending someone to see if they could find proof the Desolate Child of Loss had survived or was truly dead, but had been reluctant in case the False God was there and still lived, making such a mission incredibly risky.
Yet now, a lone figure walked through the plains toward the land of desolation. Even as he reached the border where the world turned monochrome, and desolation ruled, he did not stop but kept walking dauntless forward.
Instantly, the desolation attacked, yet the man appeared utterly unaffected. He was like a beacon of light and color in a dead world as each step took him closer to the epicenter and cause of the desolation. Even as he got closer and the desolation grew in power and intensity, he remained untouched and unfaltering, and soon enough, he stood before the fragment on the ground.
For several seconds, he merely stood there, staring down at it. He made no motions or moves but simply existed within the desolation as he seemingly evaluated the fragment. Minutes passed, and faint echoes of mana could be felt from the man as he was clearly doing something, clearly not in any kind of rush.
After nearly half an hour, he seemed done. Nodding, he muttered to himself as he’d reached a conclusion.
Kneeling down, he scooped up the fragment in his hand, carefully cradling it with his palms. The desolation instantly invaded his body but once more found itself struggling against the man. He muttered once more as he kept kneeling there, just holding the fragment of desolation. Faint energies entered the fragment originating from his body as he kept speaking in a soft tone, the minutes passing by slowly within this world where the only color was the man.
Then, something surprising happened. The energy of desolation began to slowly weaken. It stopped attacking the man holding it and at the edges of the land being made desolate, stopped expanding entirely. Then, it, too, began to retract, the man continuing to speak.
Hours passed as the desolation became lesser and lesser until, finally, nearly all of it had merged back into the fragment. The fragment had also changed, now resembling a heart that looked a lot like that of a human’s but clearly wasn’t.
Satisfied, the man took out a small box, and as he continued to speak softly, he put the heart within the box. With a final smile, he closed the lid, the desolation all around fading entirely. Standing up, the man turned toward the Prima Vessel far in the distance and began walking again, holding the chest closely, cradled like the lost child it was.