Chapter 18: Back on Terra
A/N: Want to support me, or read ahead? Follow me on Pat-reon, my username is HelloDarkness07. I am also on ffn, WebNovel, and SV for those who want to read on those sites! My Pat-reon is currently at Chapter 27!
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It's been a few years since I've been alone on my planet, just living my life. You know, I always was an introvert, even in my previous Life.
Staying in a small home, growing food for myself, not needing to work for The Man, and not fearing for my life every time I'm low on money was the dream! Plus, there's no society to judge my every action. My mother probably does already, but I can handle one judgement.
But.. it still feels incomplete. There's just something... missing. Human contact? Probably. I haven't even spoken to my mother for the last 5 years. 5 Earth years, I mean. I haven't tried to find out how long a year is on this planet.
How old was I now anyway? I remember spending 12 years after my 100th birthday Celebration training with Scathach, and then 54 years with Uatu and Agamotto. So.. 171 years old now. Huh. Damn, I'm old.
And I was thankfully taller too, at 6'4. Although, I haven't messed with my height control yet, I know I should be able to change my height to planet sized, which I was really looking forward to.
Speaking of Scathach, I did not slack off in my Physical training. Thor's condition in EndGame showed me that even Gods can get out of shape if they neglect their training.
But, I did notice that my training only served towards me maintaining my strength, not increasing it. It's like.. I've found a limit on my strength. Unless I use Cosmic Energy to enhance it, my strength stays at this level, no matter how much force I exert. And it's been like this for half a century now.
How much strength? I'd say somewhere around Class 30. Meaning about as strong as Spiderman, which wasn't much considering that I'm a Celestial, but I can use Cosmic Energy to double it if need be.
Flying wise I have yet to find a speed limit, but I don't cross the limit I'd set for myself. Half of the speed of light. I only travel in speeds close to that, but never more.
Why? Because I have no idea what will happen if I cross the Light speed threshold. It's not supposed to be possible, Physically considered, but still, Celestials, Phoenix Force, Cosmic beings, and heck, even Bifrost has shown it to be possible.
But, this just tells us that it can be safely done, right? Yep, it CAN be done. But.. I have no idea if the process is just 'Fly faster' or 'Use some special Universal Cheat Code by typing 787898 and then fly faster'.
So.. I wasn't taking risks. Until I know how I can safely travel FTL, I'm staying below 0.8c, and most of the times 0.5c to be safe.
Anyway, in these years of my staying on Donna, my new planet, I've rebuilt a new home for myself in a clearing in a tropical area. Thankfully, the area was not deserted, being close to the Temperate zone, so I wasn't getting sand in my food, and there was even a river nearby!
Donna. I named the planet after my Mum, you know? One mother was the Earth Goddess, and I named my other planet after the second mother. Huh. Maybe my loneliness did have an effect on my psych.
Anyway, I mapped the planet out pretty well, with the help of my Echolocation. I've also found surprisingly high deposits of a lot of precious metals, and minerals.
Unfortunately, since there's no society on either of my home planets, there's no use for those minerals. Again, unfortunately, since I'm a Cosmic being, I can just transmutate any gemstone I want. So.. it's not that interesting to me.
Heck, I can make Vibranium whenever I need it, into any shape I want it to be. But it's only because I already have a sample to make more Vibranium out of. I can't just make any metal. Yet.
That power doesn't work on everything though, as evidenced by my failure in even determining what material my Celestial Armour is made of, let alone replicate it.
Speaking of my Armour, it's still as mysterious as ever. It's grown with me, obviously. But nothing else is available to me.
Sure, it's more durable than any known metal right now, and it also handles Energy attacks like a charm, but.. it's surprisingly weak against Sealing and Trapping Magic. Not weak as in Kryptonite weak, weak meaning it has no special resistance to those Magics.
I can just as easily trap an Asgardian, as I can trap a Celestial, with the same spell and no extra effort, which also explains how Agamotto and Phoenix defeated the Mad Celestial.
But, again, I cannot cut into the armour with ordinary spells. Some of Agamotto's personal destructive spells can dent it though, as I've seen in my visions.
Putting my armour on, I clap my hands together, and focus. As a Magical barrier starts being raised around my house, another such barrier is raised around the planet, to prevent anyone from finding the planet. I don't even want refugees to come here and find my beautiful Donna.
Ugh, this sounds so weird.
As the barriers are set up, I look around at my home for the last 57 years, and smile.
"It has been wonderful staying here, Donna! But, alas. I have to return to Earth some day. But, fret not! For I, the Mighty Theos, will definitely return here! For this is my home!" I say, spreading my feet a foot apart, and putting my hands on my hips.
I hear a screech, bringing me out of my monologue, and look up. There was a group of Wyverns flying above me. Smiling and waving at the Wyverns, I create a portal back home.
I'd made a decision not to eat Wyvern meat. They're too close to sentient for my liking. While not as sentient as Dragons, and frankly dumb, I do understand them more than I understand fish, birds, and small animals like Hare, pigs, and those chicken like birds which I'd previously mistaken for chicken.
And eating animals that can talk to me is not something I'm comfortable with. Heck, I wouldn't even eat a parrot if I'd encountered one!
Stepping out of the portal, I breathe in the air of Earth, and smile. I look towards my mother's house, and whisper, "I'm home, mother."
Mother teleports right in front of me, with open arms, and smiling widely, she asks, "Won't you hug your mother, Theos?"
I just chuckle and hug her. Ah, it's good to be back home.
---A few days later---
I was sitting on my favourite spot on the tree on top of the mountain after we'd spend a few days just catching up. Honestly, I did not know how much I missed mother, and I was glad to be back.
Just today morning we'd had our first spar since Scathach had taken over my training. She still handily defeated me, but I did get a few hits in. While I was faster, mother is stronger and a better sensor. So, despite how strong my fists were, she dodged most of them in time.
So, here I was, after having dinner, and having had a bath in my waterfall. Taking a deep breath, I do something that I hadn't tried since I was back.
Echolocation.
I wanted to find Scathach, so that I can ask her what was the reason for her quick escape. We were close, and her sudden leave hurt not only me, but mother too. I know she hasn't been here to visit, because if she had, mother would have told me.
Sighing, I simply turn Echolocation on, and encompass the whole planet, and a few thousand miles around it with my Cosmic Energy. Damn, there's a lot of asteroids flying this close.
Hmm.. what's this? I see humans, which.. wasn't supposed to be possible. They look like the humans I'd known in my life, and they look a bit like me. Their general shape, at least.
But that's not all, other than those humans, there were a few Gods roaming around Earth, and damn, that's a lot of weapons for one God to own. Then, there are.. them.
Abomination is all I can think when I look at them.
"Theos." Mother's voice says, bringing me out of horrified trance.
Opening my eyes, I look at mother, and whisper, "What the fuck were they? They were so... Vile!"
Mother looks a bit disappointed at me, which immediately makes me feel guilty. She clicks her tongue, and says, "The ones you're calling vile.. are my descendants. Your cousins."
Well.. whoops.
Blushing at the frown mother directs towards me, I speak, "Well.. they're different."
Okay, nothing can bring me out of the hole I dug myself into. And I'll just stop talking now.
Mother sighs, and says, "Move over."
I scoot to the side, allowing mother a place on the branch to sit. Sitting down, she explains, "What you saw were the different races of Elderspawn. They're the children, and descendants of Elder Gods."
Frowning, I ask, "Do I count?"
"Sorry?" Mother asks, looking at me, confused. I see as her mind catches up, and she shakes her head. She says, "You're a God. Elderspawn are those born without any shred of Divinity. Some of them are immortal, but most are mortal. The mortals you saw before are descendants of those mortal Elderspawn. And the Spider-People you saw are the descendants of my Son, your brother Omm."
I nod, accepting her explanation. I then ask, "So.. I have a brother?"
Mother snorts, and muses, "You have many siblings through me, Theos. Indra, Thor, Atum, the majority of the Celtic Pantheon, and yes, Omm. Omm was born when a spider laid it's eggs too close to my Core."
Ugh, I do not need to hear how my siblings were born.
Smiling sadly, she looks at me. She says, "They all were either raised away from me, or born as adults. And Omm, the only one who spent more than a few days with me left me when he became a God to give birth to his own spawn, the Spider People."
"So, Omm is a God, but his children are Elderspawn?" I ask, to clarify it. Mother nods, confirming it, so I ask, "What about the half man half snake, or lizard?"
Mother sighs, telling me that she already dreaded the question. She says, "Those are the collectively called Serpent Men. They're the descendants of my brother Set."
Oh..
Still something confuses me. I ask, "Why were they fighting so much? In just 5 seconds I saw 17 groups of Spider People and.. Serpent Men fighting. What's the point, other than joint extinction?"
Mother hums, musing over the question, and answers, "The Serpent Men want to bring their ancestor back to Terra, and Omm and his descendants want to prevent it from happening."
Looking in my eyes, she adds, "Omm was present during the War against Chthon, and he was present during Atum's war against Set and the Demons. He knows what will happen if Set is allowed to return, and he has this issue handled. I urge you.. no, I beg you.. don't go looking for trouble, Theos. I don't want needless massacre happening against anyone."
"You don't want them to die out? Or do you not trust me, mother? On that topic, why did you hide their existence from me before?" I ask, getting a bit frustrated.
I'm 171 years old. While young in Godly standards, I am an adult with an adult mind, perfectly capable of making my own decisions. Mother hiding the existence of my cousins, who want to bring the 2nd most dangerous Demon to Earth really strikes a nerve.
Mother picks up a hand, and rests it on my cheek. Looking at me, pleading with me, she says, "Theos.. they're mortals, with no strength to themselves. Even Omm, who is decidedly weaker than you refuses to enter the battle himself. Why do you think? The mortal Serpent Men will live, battle the Spider People and die. They do not need Godly intervention."
"And what is their crime? Being born? Trying to do something they were made to do? Make no mistake, Theos. The Serpent Men were brought to life by Set and his sons, for the simple reason of bringing him back to Terra. And they will fail, always. It's not the first time they've tried it, and it won't be the last. You have no need to seek them out and needlessly cause a genocide."
Standing up, I look at mother, and say, "I need to think on this. I.. am not angry, mother. But, I am disappointed that you hid this from me despite me telling you that I don't like things being hidden from me. I will be back in a few days."
Mother just nods, a bit upset that our reunion lasted barely a few days, and I teleport out of the Island, but stay on the planet.
While what mother says makes sense, I just can't ignore the possibility that Set can return. But.. I also know that he won't return permanently. Earth has a lot of new Gods, my Mother Gaea, Agamotto and his Demigod/God Sorcerers.
A few days after I abruptly teleported out of the Island, I return to it, and hesitatingly knock on the door to our house.
I had spent the last days thinking on it, and realized that mother was right. The Elderspawn, my cousins, are weak mortals. Barely in the 2 Ton Class. And a younger me would have definitely seen 'Descendants of Set' and killed them all.
Mother opens the door, and smiles widely, as she looks at me.
Smiling in return, I bow a bit, and say, "I... I apologize, mother, for storming off that night. I was wrong in my assessment, and my thoughts."
Mother just slaps my head, and pulls me in for a hug. Shaking her head, she says, "Theos.. you're my son. I'll always forgive you. And I apologize, too. I know I hurt you by hiding things, but I only did what I thought was necessary."
I nod, letting mother have her moment. Letting me go, she asks, "How did you change your mind?"
Walking inside, I explain, "I spent a couple days just looking at the Elderspawn. Set's spawn, while dangerous for mortals, possess no danger to us Gods. And they're kept in check by Omm's children. If.. if I had gone with my emotions, I would have definitely tried to kill them, and it would have been a disaster. So.. I decided to let them be.
"And I realized, that I was going to do the same thing that Knull tried to do. Killing a species simply because they exist and MIGHT pose a threat to my existence. I.. cannot do it, mother. I can't become thing I swore to fight against."
By the end of my explanation, I had tears in my eyes. I had a reunion with mother for 4 days, and then fought with her over one small secret. And then, I realized that I was trying to excuse killing off a whole species. I was trying to excuse Genocide!
It was a blow to my self esteem, that I was willing to do it just to safeguard my home. I mean, if the threat actually comes to be, then I will definitely fight Set to try and save Terra, but his mortal descendants? Nah.. let the mortals handle them.
It won't be fair for them if I, a Celestial God just.. snap my fingers and disintegrate them.
Mother just stands up, and pulls me with her. Smiling, she says, "You don't have to worry, Theos. You're still young. Mistakes are bound to happen. You just have to realise that the stronger you are, the harder your mistakes hit you. Now, you're back after a long time, and now, we're going to travel around. I'm going to show you all the places I showed Madonna!"
I smile at mother's enthusiasm, and go wherever she takes me.
Wiping my eyes, I think to myself, 'Well.. Scathach can probably wait a few days before I start trying to find her. I need to make mother happy again. It was my fault in the first place that she got upset.'
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A/N: I actually wanted to have Theos fight the Serpent Men as his first enemies, but then I realized, they're weak as fuck. Like, literally, they're at most Captain America levels of strength, probably less.
It's not fair for Theos, a God to fight beings as weak as them. It'll be a massacre. So, yeah. He's ignoring them for now.
Tata!
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