Byte opened a doorway to his personal domain. Noctra follow through and so did Mortis and Fortuna clearly bored and with nothing to do. The god of Tech's domain was surprisingly aesthetic with the servers and binary data streaming like a river.
The divine glitter of the gacha hall seemed to dim as the business of cosmic outfitting began. Fortuna's domain was hit the best place to conduct serious business. Noctra looked around when he saw Byte fiddling with something that caused a stream of chaotic energy to surge before he settled.
Byte snapped his fingers, and the chaotic energy of the room focused into a single, piercing point of light. It wasn't gold or rainbow, but a cool, steady cerulean blue. The light pulsed, then unfolded like a blooming flower, resolving into the form of a small, geometric prism that floated gently before Noctar.
"Meet your assistant," Byte announced, a note of pride in his voice.
"S.A.R.A. - Sentient Analytical Resource Assistant. Version 5.0. She's built on a kernel of my own domain's designs, but I've… optimized her for interdimensional operations. She's housed in your soul-space and will interface directly with your new skills."
Noctar reached out, and the prism dissolved into light, flowing into his chest. A presence, cool and efficient, settled in the back of his mind. It wasn't intrusive, more like a new, perfectly organized partition on his mental hard drive.
// S.A.R.A. ONLINE.
// GOOD EVENING, USER NOCTAR. BOOTING CORE PROTOCOLS… COMPLETE.
// AWAITING INPUT.
Her voice in his mind was androgynous, calm, and devoid of the chirpy enthusiasm he'd expected. It was… professional.
`Can you hear me?' Noctar thought internally.
// AFFIRMATIVE. COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL ESTABLISHED. THOUGHT-PROCESS STREAM IS CLEAR.
"Good," Noctar said aloud, earning a curious look from the gods. He ignored them because they can clearly hear his thoughts. "Now. The starter pack."
"Right, right," Byte said, conjuring a digital manifest. "Standard issue for a divine envoy. Let's see…" He flicked his wrist, and Noctar felt a new weightlessness in his mind's grasp.
// INVENTORY_SPACE_ACQUIRED: 1000_UNIT_CAPACITY.
A vast, grid-like space unfolded in his consciousness. It was mostly empty, save for the sad spectral forms of his fedora, spoon, speedboat, and rusty knife.
Next, a sensation like cool metal formed behind his eyes. Noctar blinked, and a translucent, holographic keyboard shimmered into view at the edge of his vision, responsive to his slightest mental command.
// SYSTEM_INTERFACE_ACQUIRED: HOLO_KEYBOARD_MK.IX.
// FUNCTION: DIRECT REALITY_OS INTERACTION.
Finally, with a more substantial thump of manifested matter, two sleek, black pistols appeared in his inventory. They were all clean lines and ominous purpose, utterly anachronistic in this realm of gods and magic.
// ITEM_ACQUIRED: 'PERDITION' SERIES DUAL PISTOLS.
// EFFECT: HIGH-YIELD ENERGY PROJECTION. AMMUNITION REGENERATES TO FULL CAPACITY AT DAILY UNIVERSAL RESET.
"Alright," Byte said, rubbing his hands together. "The package is delivered. Time for deployment." He gestured, and a swirling vortex of silver and black energy tore open in the center of the hall, it is a Soulway.
"Remember the mission," Byte said, his tone turning serious for a split second. "Find the bug. Patch it. Try not to break anything else."
Noctar gave a single, sharp nod. He took a step towards the vortex, his new, divinely sculpted body moving with an effortless grace he wasn't yet used to. And then he stopped just before he entered.
A sudden, chilling draft hit him.
He looked down.
He was naked.
Completely, utterly, and gloriously naked. His Divine SSR Physique was on full, magnificent display for the entire pantheon.
The hall fell silent.
Mortis's jawbone unhinged. Before a cackle of laughs escaped his bony ribs.
Byte facepalmed so hard his head briefly pixelated. Clearly having forgotten his body would solidify before the transportation.
Fortuna, the Goddess of Gacha, let out a low, appreciative whistle. Her kaleidoscope eyes widened, then traveled down his form with undisguised and thorough appreciation. "Well," she purred. "The details on that character model are… impressively rendered."
"BYTE!" Noctar snapped, his voice tight with a mixture of fury and profound embarrassment. "My clothes?"
Byte looked up, horrified. "Starter pack! It's a standard pack! I forgot the 'Starter Apparel' sub-routine!"
Before another word could be said, Mortis, who had recovered and was now shaking with silent, skeletal laughter, gave Noctar a sharp, unexpected shove from behind. "Clothes are a mortal concern! You'll manage! There are leaves in the dungeons!"
Noctar stumbled forward, his perfect balance betrayed by the surprise push. He tumbled into the swirling Soulway, his mind screaming a torrent of curses.
// OBSERVATION: USER'S HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS IS SHOWING A SIGNIFICANT SPIKE IN ACTIVITY. S.A.R.A. commented calmly in his mind.
As he was whisked away through the chaotic stream of souls, the last thing he heard from the divine realm was Fortuna's voice, laced with disappointment and fading fast: "Wait, he didn't even get any underwear? What a waste of a good model…"
Then, there was only the void, the cold, and the dread of an impending, naked landing.