Edward looked at the man in an energy barrier cell. He had an old wizard robe similar to Dumbledore. However, he had what looked like a Saiyan Scanner in his right eye, along with a watch that looked both futuristic and retro.
However, the weird man's dress was not the oddest part about him; that prize went to his face. He looked exactly like Edward.
"Who are you?" asked Edward.
"I am Edward F-234," said the man. "You should understand what this means?"
"You guys have created a council."
"That's correct," replied F-234. "I've come to formally invite you to the Council of Bones."
Edward groaned. He read comics and cartoons in his past life, so he knew of the Council of Reed, created by Reed Richard from the Fantastic Four. The Council of Kang–created by Kang the Conqueror, and the Council of Rick created by Rick Sanchez.
So, he knew some of his variants would also walk that path. In fact, he also planned to create the council to keep a watch on his other variants. However, he did not expect them to arrive so soon and find his timeline.
"What's the name designated to my dimension?"
"You're G-003," replied F-234.
"I bet many of you were fighting for C-137 and 616, weren't you?"
F-234 blushed in shame before quickly hiding it. C-137 is the name for "Prime" Rick in the show Rick and Morty, while 616 is the main universe of Marvel in the comics.
As such, many variants wanted these numbers and fought for them, including him.
"When is the meeting?" asked Edward.
F-234 looked at his watch.
"According to my calculations, in about a month of your timeline."
"How to get there?"
"Have you developed Multiverse Traveling Technology?"
"Why are you asking?" retorted Edward.
"So, we can send someone to pick you up," replied F-234 calmly.
Edward looked at him before sneering: "I see. Strength and technology determined status in the council."
F-234's heart skipped a beat, but his face did not change. Unfortunately, the enchantments in this prison were monitoring every atom of his body.
"You don't have to worry about my transportation."
"That's fine," replied F-234, not showing much emotion through facial expression. He took a card and said: "This is your invitation to the council. It also serves as a coordinate."
Edward waved his hand to summon the card through the energy barrier. He did not immediately touch it but glanced at it.
"Another test?" he said with a sneer. He took a few minutes before something like a map appeared before him.
Meanwhile, F-234's face finally changed; he had never met a variant who cracked the code so fast and easily.
"I will be there," nodded Edward.
"It will be our honor to have someone of your caliber in our midst," said F-234, who proceeded to show an embarrassed look. "Um, could you free me?"
His experience in this timeline was unique. As soon as he appeared, a group of people proficient in Space and Time Magic arrested him. To his shock, they even had methods to prevent him from using his machine and running into another timeline.
Finally, after meeting his variant in this timeline, he could not see through the latter's strength and capabilities. However, his intuition was warning him of great danger.
Edward nodded to someone, and the shield was removed. Without hesitation, F-234 typed a bunch of numbers on his watch. Then, an orange energy shield surrounded him.
Boom!
The shield or sphere propelled itself forward with immense speed, breaking the space-time continuum barrier between parallel dimensions and leaving numerous space cracks in the room.
It took a few minutes before the space naturally healed itself, and everything returned to its original state.
"What a rough way to travel the multiverse," commented Edward. "However, their navigation system is worth learning." He looked at the card in his hand.
The Empire's current navigational system of traveling the Multiverse originated from Novad's race technology, which he acquired from the Indiana Jones Universe. However, he could learn from the Bone Council's system as it seems more efficient.
"Bring it to me," said Edward, and soon afterward, someone brought him a pure crystal.
Without hesitation, he used his soul strength to read F-234's memory that they secretly took. Although the latter had very high proficiency in Occlumency, it was useless to the Empire's current understanding of the soul and Soul Flame.
F-234's life was similar to Edward's in its infancy but diverged in one instinct–he lost all his family members, including Aunt Amelia. In grief, he began to study magic intensely with the purpose of reviving them.
But he made a fatal mistake–he did not hide his magical talent, garnering the attention of Voldemort. The latter invited the 11-year-old Edward to become one of his Death Eaters.
After rejections, Voldemort attacked a young Edward during his Second Year of Hogwart, right before he died at the Potter's house.
F-234 survived and escaped with severe injuries. So, he hid and never showed up again in the magical world. However, his existence was torn in Voldemort's sight.
The Dark Lord became obsessed with finding F-234, so he did not even attack the Potter, escaping his fate of death. Then, as time passed, Voldemort became more worried due to the boy's magical talent.
He could not fathom how powerful he would become if given enough time. So, he became more obsessed with power, using any means possible to increase his strength.
Everything culminated in an all-out war between F-234 and Voldemort, affecting the entire planet. His variant was the final winner, but both muggles and wizards suffered tremendously.
F-234 did not care about the state of the world; he only wanted to see his family again. Alas, most of the mysterious rooms in the Department of Mysterious–which were Elder God's Divine Spark–were destroyed or missing after the war, leaving only the Time Room.
F-234 focused on studying this thing to reverse time and save his family. The result was he invented Multiverse Travel Technology. He was fine with this outcome, so he searched the multiverse for a timeline where he could reunite with his family and succeeded.
Then, another variant contacted him and invited him to the newly built Bones Council.
Edward then watched how F-234 integrated into the council, fought for the moniker of C-137, and lost, acquiring his number through a randomly generated program.
Then, F-234 traveled to the Multiverse, inviting different variants to the council.
'What should I do with these people?' thought Edward, who was a little frustrated. He had many problems to deal with, but now another one popped up.
'My first instinct is to attend this meeting and use this opportunity to murder all of them. However, that would be pointless as it won't be long before another council is set up.
'Plus, if I use these people correctly, I can accelerate the speed at which I become Tier 11.'
Many thoughts flashed in his mind. 'The council appeared to be friendly so far. However, that's because they probably do not know the requirements to become Tier 11. Once they do, they'll turn on each other faster than I can say my name.
'I also cannot rule out that some people know and plan to use the council for their own use like myself.'
Edward grunted softly, 'The best course of action is to take a position of power in the council, influencing and controlling them from the inside.
'However, I also need to take precautionary measures to prevent these people from popping in and out of my timeline like it was their back garden.'
Edward sighed as he teleported away. He knew he would be extremely busy in the next few years; he had too many problems and was unhappy about it.
Edward returned to the palace. Although he sent a message saying they should eat without him, everyone waited.
"What's going on?" asked his mother, she had a feeling things were beginning to get out of control.
"Yes, talk to us," added Amelia, who knew something was wrong during the meeting when Edward suddenly closed his eyes. Then, he left Luna's side and rushed to the Time Auror.
Edward paused briefly before sighing and told the truth. He knew it was unwise to bear all these burdens alone. As such, he will accept any help he can receive.
"Didn't you have a contingency plan for your variants?" asked Olivier, thinking they should be the least of their concern. She wanted to prioritize the level of threats before planning how to deal with them.
"I do, but I thought I would have more time. So, the project is not finished," thought Edward. "However, I now have a better way to deal with them."
"Will it take long?"
"Not even a week."
"In that case, we can prioritize the others first," continued Olivier. "The second thing to deal with is Guzznad. However, that will require Luna's cooperation so we can prepare and not have to worry about it."
"That only leaves us finding the Savant Race."
"Just use the Akashic Record, and don't waste time," added Rowena, and Edward nodded. He connected to Akashic Records and searched for the information he wanted.
Then, his eyes squinted. Everyone noticed the change in his expression.
"What is it?" asked Rowena.
"According to them, the Savant Race is a member of the record. Although only this branch of the universe, they are members," explained Edward. "And since they are members, I cannot access their information."
"Should we ask Merlin for help?" suggested Hermione. However, Edward shook his head.
"This is not time to have scruples," uttered Bellatrix. As long as it could help, she wanted him to do whatever was necessary.
"The only reason I knew they were members was due to Merlin's higher authority. Furthermore, I haven't been able to contact the old man for a while."
Edward guessed Merlin was super busy, so he guessed something must have happened in the war.
"We must find another way to find this Savant Race," continued Hermione. "I will use my power in the Abyss to see if we can find any information."
"You could ask the Starskin Queen," added Amelia. "Their race is ancient and from another plane. They might know something."
"That's a good idea," nodded Edward. "Let's eat first."
The family had dinner together, but the somber atmosphere somewhat ruined the experience. Immediately afterward, Edward summoned the Starskin Queen to a meeting.
He did not meet her in the throne room but in the imperial garden with tea and snacks.
"My condolences," said the Queen, as regal and noble as ever.
"Thank you," nodded Edward. Normally, he would comment on her beauty and say a few words of pleasantry, but he was not in the mood.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" asked Queen Katura directly, sensing the Emperor's mood and state.
"Have you heard of the Savant Race?"
"The Savant Race? I remember hearing it somewhere," she replied, taking a moment to review her memories. "I remember. My grandmother once told me stories of very ancient and powerful races. She mentioned the Savant Race."
"What else do you know?"
"Not much, only they were a race known for their knowledge. However, they seemed to have conflicted with the Magus Race and hid from the world during their reign.
"That's all I know."
"That is more than enough," replied Edward, chatting with her and asking how she was integrating into the Empire. As the only Tier 8 Arcanist in the Empire besides him, he had to pay respect to the queen.
She was already a powerful Tier 8 Caster. Now, she was even more powerful after transitioning into the Arcane Rune System. So, Edward took special care of her race.
The next day, Luna woke up and learned of the recent events. So, she immediately went to work. The day after the 7 Day Morning, she completed her tasks.
Then, the Empire's media began to operate. Throughout the galaxy, 90% of the news that people saw was about the Battle of Revenge against the Death God, Guzznad.
Three days later, after capturing the attention of the entire Empire, Edward controlled Netheril to enter the Outer Realm, also called the Realm of the Gods.
This place was one ultimate darkness, with countless shining spots scattered in different directions. Each of these spots is a Divine Kingdom where a God resides.
According to the rules of the plane, Gods and their Divine Kingdoms cannot live in the mortal plane. As such, these Gods have to use a variety of methods to send clones or Avatars.
Oftentimes, whether a God's Clone or Avatar has the same strength as their main body in the Outer Realm dictates the status and power of a God in the material plane.
Edward took a moment to observe the Outer Realm. This place is one of the many reasons the Gods still rule the world; it is one of the sources of their immortality.
"It has been a while since a God has truly fallen. Today, let's change that."
Gods do fall and die. However, it's mainly when fighting other planes since they often have to send their main bodies. Furthermore, high-level civilizations like the Wizard World have developed the technology to forcefully summon these Divine Kingdoms from the Outer Realm and utterly destroy them.
However, even these methods do not technically kill these Gods, and that's because they can revive themselves as long as their followers remain. So, the [death] of these Gods is to fall into a state of deep sleep until they have enough followers and believers to recondense their self, body, and even soul.
However, it's very hard for a God to revive itself after falling to this point–especially since other Gods will not waste an opportunity to kill another God and plunder their Godhead and acquire a new [Authority].
"Let's go."
Morgana used the coordinate that Luna divined and headed directly toward Guzznad's true Divine Kingdom.
"Prepare to the Tier 10 Void Canon while firing the other ones," ordered Edward as he looked up at the strange square object floating in this darkness, shining with golden lights.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A powerful shield appeared to block the hundreds of Tier 9 Canons. Then, a roar emanated in this darkness.
"Arcane Emperor," roared Guzznad.
"Do you think this is over?" replied Edward, his voice echoed in the emptiness.
"Why do you have to go this far?" said Guzznad. "I've lost countless believers and am almost demoted to Tier. Isn't that enough?"
"Enough?" replied Edward with a sneer. "Let me tell you the fate that's awaiting you. I will seal and force you to kneel before the memorial of the people who died in this war.
"The process will last five years. Then, I will dissect you in a live broadcast for educational purposes, showing my citizens the anatomy of a God. Although you will be the second God to have this honor, the first one was extremely weak and had almost no followers, so he doesn't count.
"Afterward, I will use your Divine Soul, Divine Body, and Divine Energy to make potions. I will use your Godhead to master [Death Authority] and study your Divine Kingdom to find the weakness of the Gods.
"Finally, I will hunt every single one of your believers and eradicate them. I will erase your very existence from this world."
Guzznad sat on his throne with a gloomy look. He had golden long hair and blue eyes. However, his skin color was as pale as a corpse; he even had a similar body temperature.
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