160 Issue #4

Later that night, Jack laid down in bed with Emma and fell asleep with her for the first time in several weeks. But as soon as he closed his eyes, Jack found himself in Chuck's dimension again.

"What do you want, Chuck?"

The One Above All/Chuck appeared in front of Jack as the same wall that Jack had seen the last time he was there.

"Hello to you too, Jack. I am here to give you a warning. In 7 days' time, the War of Seven Spheres shall begin. I usually give this warning to every new principality and you are the first one in the past 700 thousand years.

It is a predestined cyclical conflict among powers and mystic principalities of the mystic planes. In this war, many of the ancient treaties and arrangements between the deities are annulled. As a result, the laws of magic are subject to revision and at times can be circumvented

It is also how the different principalities gain more power based on their ranking in the war. Chthon for example has always ranked within the top 3 and is always increasing his power. That is why Chaos Magic is so powerful."

Jack was immediately intrigued by the war. His magic was already powerful but this was a good chance to bring himself to even higher levels while also learning about other beings like him.

"How long does the war last? What are the rules?"

"The war lasts 5,000 years on the mystical plane but only 6 months will pass by on Earth. As for the rules, they are slightly more complicated.

Each principality shall have a single champion represent them in the war. If they do not want to send out a champion, the principality can send out an avatar of themselves to take part but most do not do this since the avatar is much weaker than their current power level so many do not know how to use their weakened forms appropriately.

Once the champion or avatar enters the mystic plane, they will go to war with each other. For 5,000 years, it will be a constant cycle of killing and being killed. After every death, the champion/avatar will return to life 24 hours after their death. And when the time limit is up, the points shall be counted based on kills and rankings will be assigned that way."

Hearing the rules, Jack knew that he was at a disadvantage. Most of the principalities would have champions that have participated many more times than he had and had much more experience.

'But even if they are more experienced, I have to participate.'

Jack's participation was less out of the desire to meet the other principalities and make allies but was instead his desire for more power. Jack had not forgotten that the sentinels, Nimrod, and the Celestial would arrive in about 3 and a half years.

He needed to consolidate all the power that he could. But at his level, the only ways he could get noticeably stronger was through rigorous training or taking on beings on the same level as him. The first took up too much time while the latter would have consequences worse than when he and Zeus battled.

So the chance to gain an increase in power for only half a year in exchange, Jack was more than willing to risk.

'The only question is: should I find a champion or should I use an Avatar?'

Jack thought about it for only a few seconds before he decided to participate himself. This concerned the future of the mutant race and there was no one he trusted more than himself when it came to magic.

Jack did not realize that he was ignoring God but even if he did, he didn't care. It was not like Chuck was telling him out of goodwill. It was his responsibility to do that as he had said himself.

When Jack finally came out of his thoughts, he realized that he was sitting up in his bed. Jack saw that it was still dark out so he turned to look at his alarm clock.

'Only 6:00,' Jack read the clock and shook his head. Since he was already awake, Jack made himself intangible before floating out of bed and into the bathroom. He made sure to close the door before he turned on the light and started his shower.

Halfway through Jack's shower, he felt a presence behind him.

Emma grabbed Jack's abs from behind and slowly felt up and down his body.

"Hmm. I love that you stay in such amazing shape," Emma complimented

Jack smiled and

"Who says I do it for you?" Jack responded with a teasing voice before he turned around and planted a deep on Emma's neck.

"So annoying," Emma complained but she didn't stop Jack as he began to kiss all along her neck and breasts.

"Hmm," Jack didn't disagree as he continued kissing her before suddenly stopping and pulling away Emma looked at Jack in confusion before she saw the seriousness in his eyes.

"What's going on this time?"

Jack then explained to her about the War of Seven Spheres and how useful it was for him to participate. Emma also understood Jack's need to go through with it but she couldn't help but complain in her mind.

'Sometimes, I wish that it was someone else that had to carry this burden. So I could just be with him and not have to worry about him going off and never returning.'

Jack could feel the change in her emotions and felt the same. He also hated that he had to be away from her so often. But both of them knew that this was necessary for the future.

"There is a way I could stay though," Jack suddenly said as he was hit by inspiration. "What if I used my cloning ability to be both here and there?"

Emma could see where Jack's line of thought was going.

"And use your telepathic powers to split your mind in two? That would be too draining on you and the time difference might just kill you. Trying to balance 5,000 years and 6 months at the same time is impossible."

"Then what about making an avatar? I am technically a god now. I should be able to do that. And then I can implant a piece of myself into it."

Emma shook her head when she heard this.

"You couldn't just leave a piece of you. Anything less than the full you could have thousands of consequences."

"Then I can just leave behind the full me. A copy of the full me to hold down the fort. And when I come back, I can fuse us both together so that it would have been in both places at once."

Emma was worried but she also desired the same thing as Jack.

'I know I am being selfish. But please... let this work.'

"Fine. Let's try that out now. That way, we have 3 days to see the differences between you both and know if the plan is viable or not.

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Author's note (And a long one): Was going to make this another chapter but you guys are always disappointed when I do that and you think it is a bonus chapter when it is not.

Alright, so you've read about what is going on and why one Jack needs to leave and another needs to stay. Cause I am honestly tired of having him have to go off on adventures that are out of Emma's league or that she can't participate in because she has to handle other matters that are important for mutants atm instead of the future.

So now, the readers are going to decide. Which Jack do you want to see first? The god Jack fighting in the war or the more base Jack as a teacher?

The main point of this arc isn't even gaining more powers since he can't go off and kill other gods right now. This is about character and story development. Also building the harem since I have been putting that off.

So if you want War Jack, you will get more mystical stuff, Magik and Wanda's relationship getting developed, and seeing a more violent Jack.

If you want Teacher Jack, you will get more teaching stuff (duh), Emma and Rogue's relationship getting developed, Jack using his brains for more than fighting, a few none Jack chapters, and a special surprise.

Both of these are going to happen. You guys are just deciding the order. You have until... well the time limit that Chuck set in the story, Friday the 8th.