Author's note: Heya, hope you all enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think. Also, if anyone has ideas for future improvements to the pieces, drop them in the comments.
Anyways, enjoy!
A Marvelous Devil.
Chapter 28: Dreams Within Dreams.
The Underworld.
Dante Andromalius.
Glancing at Red, I sipped on the mead I took from the bartender.
And instantly hid a groan.
Okay, it wasn't that bad. But it wasn't good at all.
Honestly, not as different from what one expected when you watched the place from a distance.
But I knew what was happening. As someone old lived, like Red or many other beings in the cosmos, it wasn't about the taste, it was about the experience.
Especially in Red's case.
Red gulped his own tankard in less than a second, burping disgustingly and nodding to himself in satisfaction.
I wondered how long this act of his would last and whether I should feel bad about the messes I had caused the inhabitants of this world. Also, it was a good thing he didn't have access to potent alcohol… he might as well be on a path to alcoholism if he did.
Then I snorted. It was funny, even now, the godly beings outside were scourging the place, and not a single one the wiser we were, probably in the worst part of town.
It was hilarious, especially the absurdly powerful aura that reminded me of someone I knew.
Not weaker, at least in power. But everyone knew that what made Odin dangerous wasn't his power; it was his knowledge. And I genuinely wondered how the one here compared to the one back home.
That, and the fucking Odin Force, and I didn't feel something like that from the one here. But I wouldn't hope for much. Odin was spiteful, and if someone pissed him off, be it Odin Force or not, he could make my life miserable, so I had to keep that in mind.
There was an… almost salivating need to mess with him as payback for all I went through with my own, but I managed to keep it in check, at least for now. I wondered if that decision would change after I dealt with my matters.
"How long has this been going on?" My eyebrow raised at the tattooed idiot in front of me.
Red basically ignored me, bellowing at the mortal for more of his mead.
It was funny, the mortal didn't know what he was, and it was easy to see the irritation he felt at the way Red was acting.
Now that I thought about it, there were some pieces of wood splintered on the floor.
As if the world wanted to confirm my suspicions, Red smashed his tankard on the ground.
"Oh, wow," I gaped at the dragon in disbelief. What an ass.
Then I shook my head amusedly, "I'm getting secondhand embarrassment from you, my guy."
Red tilted his head confusedly, the feeling showing through his slitted eyes.
I didn't blame him, but that didn't mean I couldn't impart some wisdom to my friend.
I threw another spell at the barkeeper, just enough for him not to lose his temper at the dragon of dreams, but allowed him to continue with his business.
Which was, honestly, only us. But as much as I doubted Red would lose his temper at some mortal for cursing him, I didn't want to risk it.
"Mortals are a dime in a dozen," I said loudly, watching as the barkeeper brought another serving for the two of us, including some… deer? Huh.
It tasted acceptable at least. After swallowing and drinking another sip, I turned to Red.
"There's probably not many here that understand you as much as I do," I grinned, "What does it matter what they think? They breed like insects, and a single one of them doesn't matter."
Red nodded, still confused.
"But that's the beauty of it, no?" I nodded, "Look at him. Insignificant, powerless, living a life that has been granted by the world, which can be snuffed by almost anyone in the supernatural with a snap of their fingers."
"And yet," I stopped for a moment, "it is life. For him, it has meaning."
Red snorted, watching the barkeeper in curiosity instead of the previous dismissal. It was faint, barely there, honestly, but it was a start.
I left him alone for a moment.
"For him, it has meaning," I repeated softly, "You know how that makes him freer than us?"
The man wiped down the counter in irritation, sending glares at Red through the corner of his eye.
How amusing.
He had no idea that the customer acting like an ass was someone even the gods would tremble if he merely looked at them, because they understood. The barkeeper didn't, and ignorance was bliss.
He didn't see anything wrong with Red and was free to curse him in his thoughts instead of prostrating on his head and begging for forgiveness.
That was the most beautiful thing.
Freedom.
Compared to us, which one felt like they could live their lives as they wanted?
"You know what I spent most of my existence doing, Red?" I asked, not really expecting an answer, "You are but an infant in my eyes, my friend. I was there before life even thought of existing. I was there when there was nothing, before reality even had a meaning."
"The whole cosmos is something meaningless to people that would make you shiver in fear, not even they are the same after the previous iteration ended. They might retain the knowledge, but they aren't simply the same being. And despite all that, this man will live, what… Thirty more years if he's lucky? He'll work here, lose his loved ones, and die having seen nothing of what the world truly is because of how insignificant he is."
Red was quiet as he listened to me.
"And in those years, he will feel things more complete than most of us manage in millions of years."
Red's attention was focused on the human once more, this time watching him in another light.
"Do you want to know what's the funny part?" I grinned.
Red nodded, looking almost eagerly.
"He will feel happiness," I laughed, throwing another gold coin at him to bring refills.
The barkeeper's eyes widened as he pocketed the coin greedily, and I smirked.
"Tell me, Red. Do you know what happiness truly means?"
Red didn't respond, gulping the tankard and setting it gently on the table under the human's narrowed eyes.
"They don't have the luxury of knowledge, and because of that, their lives are simple," I continued. "They want something, they pay for it. Every choice, every loss, every joy… matters, no matter how simple it is. Can you see past his fleshy bits?"
"I can," Red nodded as his eyes narrowed a tiny bit.
"Then check it out," I grinned. "Oy, barkeep, bring the best you have, and I will make you won't worry for anything ever again."
The greed could be smelled from a city away as the barkeep took a bunch of nicer meads and meats, but I just smirked at him.
"Tsk," I clicked my tongue. "I said the best, my friend. I know you're hiding something… Something precious. Something you don't want to part with."
"What are you, a devil?" He snorted, and only then did Red notice that I dropped the muddling spell on the human.
"Exactly," I laughed brightly as my wings sprang out.
The scream of fright was funny, but I was quick to assure him I wasn't interested in his soul or some shit like that. It's not like I planned to let him remember; I just didn't like to use mind magic for deals.
It made everything cheap. And it wasn't fair.
"It is something you love… something made by… your wife?" I narrowed my eyes, feeling his soul jump at my words.
"A beer?" I asked confusedly, but the barkeep's eyes widened.
"And you won't take my soul?" he asked dubiously.
"You think I'd want something like that from someone like you, you old fart?" I snorted.
Red watched from the sidelines, staying quiet.
He was hesitant, don't get me wrong, but as sentimental as the item was to him, greed and helplessness won out.
"Fine," he gritted his teeth, his feelings jumping between exhilaration and pain at losing something like it.
He brought a bottle. Simple one, and it honestly wasn't any better than the piss he brought at first. It was probably of worse quality, but to him? It was worth more than the whole place.
"It's the first bottle made by my wife before dying," He said, his hesitance growing by the second.
"How much will you give me? I… I need money for our daughter," he admitted. "Things don't pay that well here, and she wants to be a doctor."
"I don't care," I rolled my eyes, snapping my fingers and creating over ten solid bars of gold. My reserves dipped slightly, but it was insignificant compared to what he lost.
That should be more than enough to set him up for life around this place.
And I grinned as I uncorked the bottle and filled Red's and my bottle.
"Look carefully," I sent him through telepathy.
The pain and regret he felt as he watched us drink through the bottle was pure. Incomparable to any feeling he had felt throughout the whole talk.
Not even the greed he felt was as vast, but the fear of angering us stopped him from acting. His fingers twitched, looking almost ready to jump, but the fear won.
And suddenly, I wasn't in the mood to hear anymore; at least it was useful to show Red the beauty of a mortal life.
The muddling spell returned as he walked towards the counter, leaving us alone.
"Did you feel it?" I asked Red.
Red didn't say anything for a moment, finishing his drink and smashing the tankard on the ground.
"It tastes like shit," he snorted.
And I rolled my eyes. Fucking juvenile.
But as much as he wanted to hide it, he failed. The way he looked at the barkeeper now was different, and I knew I managed to do what I intended from the start.
"I had some ideas about your pieces, but I suspected you wanted to have a say in it," Red changed the subject like the child he was, "Should we get to it?"
"Sure," I nodded. "And yes, I do have some ideas. Give me the box."
Red threw it uncaringly at me, and I caught it and pulled the Queen piece out.
They were simple Evil Pieces, not a single mutated piece. Not that it mattered, since Red and I were about to change them, but I was interested in the whiff of my own demonic power coming out of them.
Huh… they were tailor-made. Ajuka probably took my demonic power from the test site after the exams were done. And here I wondered how much he had investigated me.
"Can you amp my clan trait effect? I don't want to be bothered while we work, and I will pull my old reserves into this."
My demonic power extended through the bar, the human shivering and glancing at our way, but went ignored.
Red nodded and casually snapped his fingers as a bubble of… holy fuck.
Yeah, abstract entities were absurd, and that was me saying it. Red and the Ophis were the closest this world had to them, and I was happy to see another similarity between our realities.
Their bullshit.
Red's eyes gained an amused look, then turned serious.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"They are interesting. And now that I focus on them, I can see what you said the last time. It truly is a crystallized divine essence. The way they warp the soul of anything without divinity is interesting, and I can see they have a natural evolutionary path. Shame I can't study the mutated pieces."
I rubbed my chin for a moment, "Ajuka is truly interesting. A bit amateurish, but it is impressive for someone as young as him."
Red rolled his eyes and waved his hand through the air.
"First, I want a relay piece. One in charge and connected to all the pieces." I murmured, taking out all the pieces. "You sure this will hold?"
Red made an offended noise, and I snorted.
Then the cosmic power emerged in waves from my body. The most I had used at once in this life.
There was a thump behind us as the barkeeper lost consciousness, but I was focused on keeping the dark force in its leash. Greedy fucker wanted some food.
"Let's see here," I slowly guided my power onto the pieces, analyzing them, and every millimeter that was packed with magical arrays.
Slowly, a new piece began to form. A silver-colored king piece, one that didn't offer power but linked all the pieces into one.
Conceptually, it was merely a relay, one that would act as the center of everything instead of being my own person.
I wondered why Ajuka didn't give a king piece, because it simply was easier to adapt everything into one artifact instead of the devil, but I supposed he had his reasons.
I just needed something more.
I wanted a constellation. Every piece aware of every other, all of them anchored to me but connected in a way that made the whole thing matter in a way no other peerage did.
I saw the coarse way some devils used the pieces, and I didn't want slaves like some of my kind. I wanted people who could truly push me beyond my prime.
To give a piece of myself and get their everything in return.
Red watched without interrupting, which I appreciated. The cosmic power moved where I guided it, because rushing something like this was the kind of mistake one made before learning what regret truly meant.
The king piece greedily drank the cosmic power.
Then I reached for something else. The chains on my arm flared red as the pure form of demonic power, straight from its source, enveloped them like a storm. The whole set responded almost eagerly, as if they had wanted this to happen before, but no one had managed.
Red pushed a healthy stream of his own energy into the pieces, and for a moment, it looked like they were about to explode. The cosmic power served as a bridge in this part, coaxing the two energies to mix rather than repel each other.
Red and I noticed the instant the energies fused, the sheer bullshit of possibility that had no equivalent in anything I'd encountered in this reality.
And it reminded me of something a very wise but insane mortal said in the past.
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
The whole set turned into a kaleidoscope of colors as they settled.
"Hm," I muttered.
"Hm," Red nodded.
I kept working. The weakness of the holy and light was easy enough.
The ichor in the pieces was divine, even if dark-aligned, so removing the light sensitivity was as simple as making sure the pieces forgot we were devils. A mix of what I had learned from my clan trait and my previous knowledge, mixed with Red's aid, was all I needed.
Conceptual work, only possible thanks to Red backing me up. Doing so by myself was possible, but it was expensive.
And I needed some for later.
Then came the tether. I wanted my pieces tied to my existence rather than their own. If someone joined my peerage, it meant that they were no longer only themselves, and no one had permission to leave before eternity had passed.
Red snorted at something while I worked.
"What?"
"You're awfully focused on something you didn't want to begin with."
"Shut the fuck up, you lizard," I rolled my eyes, "talking as if it's not your own damn fault."
"Is it? Or have you just grown soft? Weakness suits you, my dear," he copied me.
I ignored him while I did my damned best to hide a shiver. It sounded wrong when it came out of the mouth of such a bastard.
The emergency ward came together almost naturally after that, a sliver of my own 'heart' and soul breaking apart from the whole to form a phylactery inside each piece, where no time passed and insulated from harm.
If something hit one of my people hard enough to kill them, they'd vanish from wherever they were and reappear inside the imaginary space.
Each piece would do the same with the members of my peerage, if they accepted, and their souls would be linked to mine just as I was to them.
Then, the final piece. Soul resistance was Red's idea, or at least his contribution made it possible. His own energy made things possible, and what better way to add resistance than by telling the world such things cannot affect you?
You couldn't easily unmake something that existed partly in the space of possibility. Soul-based attacks needed something solid to grab onto, and Red's addition made my pieces just uncertain enough to be difficult.
Not invulnerable. I wasn't naive enough to think I could make something truly invulnerable at my current strength. I couldn't assure that even at my prime.
But no one I should face anytime soon should have that level of power.
"Done," I said.
Red leaned forward to look at the pieces.
"You know," he said after a moment, "this can be improved later on, if you get some ideas. I talked big, and I feel like I didn't give all I promised."
"It is enough, for now." I smiled at Red, "And I appreciate your help. I will call you if I think of something, though."
"Didn't know you could be sentimental," Red snorted.
"Pour me another fucking drink instead," I rolled my eyes, "I think I need to get drunk before going back for Tandy."
Thor Odinson.
Iceland.
"Are you certain he is here, Father?"
Odin's eyebrow twitched.
It was a small thing. A barely perceptible movement that Thor had seen very rarely over the course of his existence. It was rare for Odin to show them, which meant this wasn't a normal situation.
But he already knew that, didn't he?
"In the past," Odin said slowly, each word through gritted teeth, "I would have said no. No being of that standing would be so..." he paused, as if he didn't know how to explain it, "tiresome."
"And now?"
"And now the damned dragon has apparently decided he has something to prove." The All-Father's jaw tightened. "To me specifically."
Thor considered this for a moment, watching the small Icelandic bar from the outside.
One in the middle of nowhere. The kind of place only hunters deep in the woods knew about and used to escape their wives.
"Father," Thor said carefully, with what he felt was considerable wisdom, "should we perhaps... not be doing this?"
He loved fighting, but maybe this was a bad idea.
Odin didn't answer immediately.
"We are already here," he said after a moment of hesitation.
Thor opened his mouth to say they could leave, that they hadn't entered the place yet.
"We are already here, Thor."
Thor closed his mouth.
And Odin pushed the door open.
The first thing Thor noticed was the barkeeper. A normal human, clearly, and a believer.
Thor didn't notice from the outside, because the whole place was permeated by a ward that he barely managed to notice, but inside? He could feel the faint faith of the human.
He worked as if nothing was wrong, like he wasn't serving the undisputably strongest being in the world. His eyes were slightly glazed over. Magical spell?
Thor didn't even know the Dragon could use such refined magic.
The Barkeeper hummed as he wiped a counter that didn't need wiping for the sixth time since they entered the place.
The second thing Thor noticed was that the bar was otherwise empty.
Except for two figures at the back table.
One Thor recognized immediately, even in the unfamiliar human form.
There was no mistaking it… the sheer presence of the being, the way the air around him felt like standing at the edge of the end of the world personified.
Thor knew his strength; he was proud of it, in fact. But at that moment, he realized how over his head he had been when Odin asked for his help.
The Great Red, the Dragon of Dreams.
Thor didn't think even The All-Father, and he together would do more than delay the apocalyptic personification of dreams for more than a minute.
At the Dragon's side, there was another being. Another human.
Blonde, broad-shouldered, with markings along his arm that caught Thor's eye in a way he couldn't quite explain. But there were more important things going on for him to focus on someone who wasn't their target.
He was laughing at something, leaning back in his chair with a wide grin on his face as he gulped one tankard after another.
Thor watched them, uncertain of what they were supposed to do. Odin had not said anything, just that he needed backup in case things didn't go as planned.
Then the blonde looked up.
Then the dragon looked up.
Great Red's eyes moved from Thor's face to Odin's face to Odin's cane to Mjolnir, in that order, then he huffed in irritation.
Thor felt a bead of sweat trace a cold line down his back.
He had faced giants. Even Gods during the great war.
He had been in front of Shiva one time Ares decided to do something stupid before he was beaten half to death. He had never, in all his existence, felt this particular quality of fear that came from being looked at by something that did not find you concerning.
It was worse than anger. If the Dragon had been angry, it would have been easier to stomach. At least, he would have felt like he mattered.
Before either god could speak, the blonde snorted.
Then he burst out laughing.
A full, genuine, slightly unhinged laughter that filled the empty bar and made the glazed barkeeper look up briefly before forgetting again. He turned to look at the dragon, something passing between them in a glance that Thor couldn't read.
Great Red's flat expression cracked.
He laughed too. A low, rumbling sound that reverberated inside Thor's chest like his own hammer.
Then he reached over and stole the blonde's drink.
Thor watched, frozen, as the blonde looked down at his empty hand. Then, at the red-haired dragon.
Then, with a sneer growing on his face, he picked up the nearest full tankard and threw it directly at the Dragon of Dreams' head.
The sound of liquid hitting the floor was very loud in the silence that fell over the establishment.
And Thor finally understood what mortals meant by saying they forgot how to breathe.
Great Red sat there. Staring at the blonde with an expression that Thor couldn't even name.
Mjolnir began to spin in Thor's grip. He hadn't meant to do it, yet his body had decided without consulting his head.
Beside him, Odin went very still. But Thor had known his father long enough to know it had been the first time Odin had done so.
Not that he had any time to be surprised by the development.
Then, the blond did something that almost stopped Thor's heart from beating.
He threw a punch at the dragon in human form, one that connected directly on his cheek.
The Dragon's slitted eye twitched. It was the only part of his face that moved.
Then the dragon's hand shot out and closed around the blonde's arm, and Thor heard a crack. After that, the dragon's other hand moved almost lazily through the air.
And the world broke like a mirror.
Thor knew the dimensional gap. His own Father had warned him that he should never threaten the being that had made it his home. And Thor had listened, unwillingly.
At least until now.
And the dragon kicked the blonde into it without ceremony.
Then he closed the rift. The last thing Thor noticed was a dark fog consuming him whole.
Great Red turned to look at them.
He didn't speak. Just staring at them with those yellow, slitted eyes, still dripping cheap mortal mead.
Thor's lightning crackled along his knuckles without his permission.
But before he could move, get the first attack before retreating and planning with Odin how to calm the irate Dragon God… The world turned.
When his vision returned, they were standing in the middle of Valhalla.
Thor realized he was still holding Mjolnir at full spin.
He slowed it down before looking at his Father.
Odin was quiet, didn't say a word as he took his seat on his throne.
"Father…"
"Fucking mortals," Odin said. "We might as well erase the name of only that country if we're lucky."
"Father, but our followers live there!" Thor looked in shock at the All-Father.
"And tell me, son… what do you think you can do?"
And Thor didn't have an answer for that.
Then Odin sighed, almost slumping on his throne. "It might not be as dire as we think, son. He already killed the weird human, hopefully that will satiate the Dragon's anger."
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