39 The Sceptre of Ptah
A.N. Images of Ptah. Take whichever one you want.
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~Be more like me and you'll run the company~
~To get a job was your intent~
~But it seems irreverent~
~When you're fifteen years~
~Who the hell really cares~
~All that counts is getting laid~
~Hate her braces love the braids~
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Steve watched as ropes of electricity wormed around his finger and crackled with ferocious sparks. He then shifted the electricity into plumes of fire as a geyser of flames shot up from his palms. The licks of flames then swirled into freezing particles of ice. He then held his palms apart and from his right palm, a laser beam shot out and the dispersed into his left palm.
For several hours now, he'd been experimenting with his {Cataclysm} skill which somehow gave him magic instead of being in a magic slot. But regardless of that irregularity, he'd been experimenting using his imagination and examples from every anime he knew to create spells with this skill. The best part was that he did not have to say anything. Whatever he did say would be for dramatic purposes.
Steve placed a candle on the table and held his hand out.
"Cleave!" He said as he swiped a finger across the air. A visible shockwave sliced across the the air and split the candle in two, along with the table it was on.
Steve smiled dementedly as he held a finger up.
"Jujutski Hanten, Aka" He said and a red orb of magic began swirling above his finger tip as space began to distort around it.
"I don't even need to use mods for magic with this skill." Steve exclaimed. "There are some drawbacks since the magic can only be offensive based on what Ptah told me of the skill. Now then..."
Steve picked up a cup from the table and tossed it in the air, watching it spin for a moment before it began to descend as gravity pulled it back down.
He activated {Tongue of the Laws} as he spoke his next words.
"Slash-Tick-Freeze." He said.
With immediate effect, time came to a stop as the spinning of the cup slowed down to a still in suspended animation. Steve watched as somehow, the colour appeared to fade a little from reality as bits of grey began appearing over the edges of his vision.
This made sense really. The eyes depended upon the movement of light to see colour and if light was brought up to a standstill, there was less colour being transmitted to the cone cells in the eyes.
But that wasn't important.
What was important was how awesome it was, having the ability to stop time altogether. Steve walked forwards over to the cup and flicked the cup harshly before he undid his command. In mid-air, the cup shattered into hundreds of fragments as pieces went flying all over the floor.
He'd learnt so much in experimenting with skills now that Ptah had finally explained to him what they were. There were also certain combos he could use such as when he activated both {Cataclysm} and {Tongue of the Laws} respectively, he could rename any move or command he wanted. Such as...
"ZA WARUDO!" Steve shouted as he flung his arm out. The shockwave of his swing uplifted all the furniture in his room but at the same moment, the spell took place and time froze once again.
"Do I love being a weeb." Steve said pleased as he unfroze time again.
He then looked over at the new portal he'd created. It was not really fancy in nature. Just a generic stone archway that he carved to give it some more aesthetic. Then there was also the fact that for just the sake of it, he'd carved several sentences into it in all the languages he knew such as Arabic, English, Hieroglyphs, Standard Galactic and a little Norse just to give off that cool and mysterious appearance.
But what mattered was how it functioned. Steve placed a hand on the frame, thinking that by now he'd left it long enough. In his GUI, a console screen propped up, giving him options of either a new world creation or to go to an already existing world. Considering that the flavour text of this portal frame from the specific mod he'd got said that this portal was supposed to take him anywhere, he hoped that it was exactly the case.
Of course worlds would have to be coded into the mod already so they could be connected to the portal. But considering so much minute things that couldn't exist in game mechanics had come true due to the system meshing with reality, then could this portal not connect anywhere?
Steve was not ready yet to try out that option. He didn't want to be opening doorways between other anime, game, tv shows or comics and this reality just yet. Although he did have a good idea of the next world he'd be trying out if all did go as planned.
He switched to the tab of already existing worlds and in the bar, he wrote down from memory the Server IP of his secret server, the server in which he'd been hoping he'd find companions to bring into this world with. As the mod's system appeared to sift through it algorithms, it then showed that indeed his server was available to travel to.
Steve's heart began thumping at the prospect of having new companions. He'd been missing them a little since he'd left his secret server for some time. The only thing he was worried about was whether or not those NPC characters had developed personalities using the flavour text he'd inscribed for them.
If that was the case, then he hoped Alex would not be too upset...
---
A click on his clock brought his eyes to the time. Holding it up, he saw that it was about two hours to the party. There were things he wanted to do in the meantime, so he placed down his toolbelt and opened the trapdoor. Exiting his secret base, he left his bedroom to go and find Ptah. The little Primordial was sitting at the table with the book Steve had given him earlier, while picking up blocks of some white matter from a plate and stuffing it in his mouth.
"Hey Ptah." Steve said. "Party's going to be in a couple of hours. You ready or not?"
"I will be." Ptah assured. "Just finishing up this part right here. Your people were seriously messed up you know? Gutting corpses and stuffing the entrails into jars? And then drying out the body inside wooden boxes before building whole-ass pyramids on top solely built for the sake of a single d*ckhead? What kind of world did you come from?"
"I wonder it myself too." Steve said. "For all their wealth and all their strength, they did some pretty weird things. But...they did like you quite a bit."
"I can see that." Ptah replied with a smile. "For the early parts of their ancient Empire. Memphis huh? That was the name of my Temple, the one that Lopt destroyed. And it was the same name used for the city where I was worshipped in your world? Talk about coincidences."
"You'd be surprised of the amount of coincidences between your world and mine." Steve said as he leaned against the door. "For instance, you know the name of the captain of the Demeter Familia right?"
"Yes, her name is Persephone."
"Well in Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of the goddess Demeter, and she was forced into marriage to Hades, whom she ruled the underworld alongside. She watched over Elysium while he watched over Tartarus."
"...You know, you shouldn't say those words around other gods." Ptah said. "But yes, that is quite the coincidence."
"Then there is the story between Hestia and Priapus." Steve said. "I'm assuming that the story was true after all?"
"You bet it was." Ptah grumbled. "Down to the last letter. What other coincidences are there?"
"Well, there is the Captain of the Freya Familia." Steve said. "Ottar was the name of one of Freya's chosen champions. Of course you know by now that there were only humans in my world. He was a pious devotee to her, to the point where he gained the ability to turn into a boar on whose back she could ride. He was also her closest friend and advisor, and defended her with religious zeal when it came to conflict between the Vanir and the Aesir. Quite ironic, wouldn't you say?"
"Yes." Ptah said. "Was she...was she happy in your world?"
"Honestly, no." Steve said. "There are so many iterations of her story. Some of them even have her in a miserable marriage to Odin, with whom she begot a god called Baldr under the name of Frigg. Odin was always a sadistic bastard who treated her very badly, and most assumedly he used that name to disconnect her from her Vanir heritage. But the most famous version of her love life is when she was so beautiful, she was desired by gods, men and giants. She rejected them all, and some even started wars over her. The only man she fell for was a mad yet benevolent god called Odr, or Óðr in some narrations. However, his thirst for adventure and knowledge was the one thing he loved more than her and so he abandoned her. Heartbroken, she ventured out of her home in search for him, which is where the bulk of her famous tales began. It is assumed she spent the rest of eternity looking for him because no matter how high or how low, she never ever found him."
Ptah noticeably let out a depressed sigh. Steve narrowed his eyes at this behaviour.
"What are you so sad about?" He asked the Primordial.
"She just never seems to find happiness does she?" Ptah asked.
"Honestly no. In some of the narrations with her marriage to Odin, her one happiness was the love she held for her son Baldr, the one relief she had from her misery...then in one very disconnected version of her story, a Greek god called Kratos went and snapped the guy's neck. Justifiably so but still...no matter what world she is in or what narrative she occupies, she never really does find happiness. Much of it is her own fault while much of it is not." Steve then levelled a stare at Ptah. "Why are you so unhappy at that prospect? Do you have history with her?"
Ptah's eyes glazed over as he was suddenly overcome by extreme guilt and his eyes watered at the corner. But he sniffed the tears away quickly, though it didn't go unnoticed by his child, who opted to change the topic.
"Forget I said anything." Steve said as he focused on whatever was on Ptah's plate. "What are you eating?"
"Oh this?" Ptah said as he lifted the plate. "Tofu."
...
Steve visibly gagged and fixed him with a furious stare. "Why the hell would you eat Tofu?! When I've got real meat in the pantry?"
"What's the matter?" Ptah said. "Tofu's pretty good when you get used to it. The Far East chefs whip it up in several tasty ways. Don't you like it?"
"LIKE IT?!" Steve yelled. "It's SHIT!"
"Bit harsh." Ptah said as he held the plate out. "Why don't you try some? I mean look at it, does it look like something bad to you?"
"Of course it does!" Steve said as he shied away. "It looks like something you'd scrape off of Ishtar's underwear after she's coughed!"
.
.
.
"That...That..." Ptah's throat suddenly started convulsing as he dropped the plate while his face turned green with disgust. "That's sick! How do you even think of that?!" Ptah began coughing as saliva rushed to his mouth and his eyes actually began watering this time.
"You can't say that I'm lying though." Steve gestured to the tofu cubes splattered on the floor. "It looks like the fermentation you'd probably find in a harlot who's been ran through too many times and she's never showered. Just look at the texture man!"
Ptah glanced down at the tofu on the floor. With Steve putting that vile imagery in his brain, Ptah couldn't help but agree that the little curds actually did have the same texture and choked as bile rushed to his throat and veins threatened to burst out of his bald head.
He cupped his mouth and rushed over to the window, flinging the pane outwards and he tilted over the edge and audible sounds of vomiting began to resonate around the kitchen. Steve meanwhile nodded in triumph as set fire to the tofu on the floor.
"Nobody's going to be eating vegan food in my house." He said. "The world is a better place without that mental disease."
---
Steve leaned over the hearth as he worked the bellows. There was an item he'd been wanting to make for quite some time now. But this item, he decided, was going to be one created purely from the powers his Falna gave him and not his Minecraft powers. Which meant he'd be infusing Danmachi magic in this item.
His Development abilities suggested he'd have a much better outcome with magic items than Asfi, the captain of the Hermes Familia. And he wanted to see if he could get used to things without his Minecraft powers for once.
He completely dismissed his GUI, and now that he had a feel for his skills and abilities in the Falna since he now knew their functions, he wanted to see what he could get out of it and then actually compare them to Minecraft items.
Perhaps if he could merge the two concepts together in some ways, he could open up a whole new pathway in the industry which his Familia would hold a monopoly over because only their Familia would contain Players. Picking up an ingot of gold he'd prepared, he placed it between tongs and started heating it up to the point it started glowing.
He then clenched his hammer and focused on the powers his Falna gave him, quickly learning to separate himself from the Minecraft system as Ptah's blessing roared to life as a response to being respectively acknowledged for once. Instead of Magic, 'Mind' began flowing through his arms and into the hammer. He could physically feel the energy leaving some sort of source in his body. Following along the trail, he connected to the pool of magical energy in his body, that of Danmachi. And he had a lot.
It was like he was staring into a violent sea of swirling magic, with little streams of it being siphoned out into the hammer that now hummed with energy. It shocked even him the amount of magic he had. It was like he could never run out of magic either because what he was siphoning out was quickly being replenished.
He brought the glowing ingot over the anvil and started banging away at the metal, each connection making magic flow into the construct as he focused his {Cataclysm} skill to give the magic flowing in it a certain form.
As he continued hammering, the spell he was channelling into the item became clearer in his head as a continuous stream of magic entered the moulding item. The gold began to cool as he lengthened it, so he heated it again before hammering away once more. Slowly the item took full form, right as Ptah came in with a towel around his waist and a smaller cloth drying his braid.
"You needed me for something?" His patron asked.
"Yes." Steve said. "Could you bleed into that barrel over there?"
"The quench barrel?" Ptah raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"I'm making a magic item." Steve said. "I'm hoping that by finish the quench with your blood, the use of this item will be confined only to you and anyone who carries your Falna. A sort of signature if you would say, because considering the exact use of this item, we don't want any nasty surprises."
"Okay." Ptah drawled before he walked over to the barrel, picking up a blade from the equipment table as he did so. He suspended his hands over the barrel. "How much?"
"A drop should be enough." Steve said. "As long as your genetic material is in there, it should be fine."
Ptah did so as he cut his thumb and allowed for a drop of blood to fall into the barrel of oil. At the same time, Steve brought the item over and quenched it, a cloud of steam rising paired with great hissing as the gold cooled down. The steam cloud sieved through a vent into the outside. Steve lifted the item back out of the barrel and inspected it from every end, pleased with the result.
"So what is it?" Ptah asked. "I know what it signifies judging from the way you shaped it. But what is it meant to do?"
...
Steve had shaped the gold into a sceptre. At the bottom of the shaft were two protrusions like a prong, while the top was the structure of an Ankh. Splitting through the ankh was what looked like a crutch, but was in reality something called a 'Was-Sceptre.' Underneath the Ankh was the formation of a Djed Pillar.
"The symbol of life." Steve pointed to the Ankh. "The stability of Djed." He pointed to the Djed Pillar. "And the dominion, control and power of the Was." He pointed to the Was sceptre.
Steve then knelt on one knee, bowing for Ptah like a servant presenting his master with something. It was not a kneel of submission but of respect for a higher person as in a rare moment, Steve venerated his patron with the status he actually deserved. He held the Sceptre out across his palms, presenting it before the one who blessed him.
"The Sceptre of Ptah." Steve revealed the name of the sceptre. "The symbol of his status, and a perfect representation of his power. Obscure indeed, but without a doubt greater than Ra. I know it is perhaps but an imitation of the real thing, but may this serve our Familia well."
Ptah stared at Steve before he took the sceptre out of the gamer's hand. "I knew what it was Steve. And thanks. But I can feel the magic in it. What does it do?"
"Simple." Steve stood up. "It will allow you to summon any member of your children to you, or it will teleport you to any one of them. And it will channel some of our powers too if you need to defend yourself. That was the point of putting your blood in the barrel, so it could be activated by nobody else but us."
"Well...thanks again." Ptah said before he raised a brow. "Why would I need this though?"
"You want to question that?" Steve raised his brow. "Sooner or later, I will be bringing my friends over from another world."
"More freaks like you?" Ptah said dryly. "When?"
"After the party." Steve said. "They recognise me as the leader and their guide. If I say they should join you, they will. But the thing is, they may all be as powerful or nearly as powerful as me. Now I am more powerful than an S rank Familia combined when I am not even serious...a singular adventurer is more powerful than a group of level fives and sixes when he is just lazing around. What do you think I'll be when I'm serious? There is already the impending possibility of a war-game with the Freya Familia what with the demands being posted in the guild. I have no doubt I can wipe the floor with all of them. Now that's just me alone. Add in EIGHT others like me...what are you going to get?"
"...The most powerful Familia in Orario." Ptah said. "Political unrest. Assassination attempts. I'll be in danger."
"Which is why you need this." Steve said as he put a hand on the sceptre. "Envision it disappearing."
Ptah did so and the item suddenly faded away into sparks of golden light.
"Now recall it." Steve said." Ptah followed his order and the sceptre re-appeared. "I've taken every measure to ensure it and its powers stay with us. It will appear to you when you want it, and it will come back to you when you lose grip of it, like my Loyalty enchantment. And if it falls in enemy hands, it will be useless to them because only your blood can activate it. And this I made purely with the powers of the Falna and not with my otherworldly powers. So this sceptre gives you perfect dominion and rulership over your Familia. Like the staves the Pharaohs used to have."
"So if I want to be defended, I can summon one of you. If I want to escape, I teleport to one of you. If I want to fight, I can defend using your magics. Steve, you just created a Divine Artifact of ownership. It's the equivalent of a whip that is used to force a slave into submission." Ptah said with a raised eyebrow.
"So use it only in emergencies." Steve said. "I'm giving you protection here. People are dirty, and if they can't harm us, they'll try to hit us by going for you. If you want to face the assassins of the Sekhmet Familia by yourself without breaking the Pact, then..."
"NO PLEASE!!!" Ptah screamed as he flung his arms around Steve's waist and hugged him tight. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I'LL CHERISH IT FOREVER!!!"
"Just kidding." Steve said. "Now, bathroom's free. I'm going to have a shower and then we can get going to the party. By the way, what are you wearing?"
"My best outfit of course. What are you wearing?"
"I'll be wearing something similar to the clothes you made for me. You mind doing the kohl for me?"
"No problem. And for the record, I'm glad you're not wearing a suit. The good thing about Ganesha's parties, is that he encourages the best of your cultural wear. Unlike the other gods who insist you wear tuxedoes and ties. Heaven, I hate those things."
"I share the sentiment." Steve agreed. "So many business parties with my parents full of stuffy adults talking either business or backbiting each other. And all the while in stiff and scratchy suits with shiny shoes. Horrible."
"Think one of your girlfriends will be there?" Ptah said.
"Ais will be there. I won't be getting bored, that's for sure. Why don't you try asking Hephaestus for a dance?"
"You mad?"
"She's your crush isn't she?"
"Have you seen my size? How am I supposed to dance?"
"Well are you at least going to confess?"
"Ass off."
"With that pretty language, I'm sure she'll be very charmed."
"JUST...go clean up. You'll make us late."
"Actually I can just teleport us there."
"FINE! Whatever, just go have your damn shower already!" Ptah growled. Steve laughed at how easy it was to piss off Ptah and closed the door to the bathroom. The Primordial face-palmed and dragged his fingers down his face. "Oh, eight more freaks to add to my gallery...oh well, if they've all got pretty faces like he does..." Ptah smiled. "...then that means more grandkids someday...I might have to carve some more baby toys..."
Ptah then lifted the Sceptre and gazed at it. It seemed that there could be a whole lot more 'toys' he was yet to see. But that was a future yet to come...in probably just a few hours.
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