Dream 4

"Many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares, were there a danger of their coming true!"

-Logan Pearsall Smith

********

The video was heavily edited. Anyone with half a brain cell could tell that.

It depicted the Elden Lord trapping heroes of the US Protectorate and other international figures like the Justice League. They had come together under the flag of peace, and the evil dragon had trapped them in a hall they could not escape. 

Led by the X-men and a grieving father, the heroes denounced his kidnapping of an infant and its mother. The evil dragon mastered everyone but the mutant group and forced them to watch as he toyed with the X-men. 

Systematically, the Elden Lord tore them apart, toying with them. When he tired of the farce, his actions went from taunting arrogance to malicious cruelty. The video did not shy away from the gory details.

The Elden Lord in the video did it all with a bloodthirsty smile.

After the torture was done, he waved his hands, and everyone in the hall who was not on his side disappeared into a portal.

Not one frame was artificially created. It was real, which lent it a veneer of legitimacy.

For those looking for opportunity, it was the perfect excuse.

Petty dictators, would be warlords, or political groups looking to validate their existences all joined in together to denounce the evil dragon. There was no lack of such groups in the wake of Heartbreak, with the rise of Supers and their entourages or factionalization of governments that occurred in the countries damaged by the Endbringers. Creating a common enemy would go a long way to consolidating their hold on the destabilized societies or disenfranchised populace.

They were further validated when recognized nations joined in on the bandwagon.

On top of the small nations led by singular individuals, those that could declare war on a whim, several powerful nations joined in on the concurrent announcement.

The initial statement denouncing the Elden Lord as a villain was signed by seventy-four nations ranging from NATO nations such as Canada, France, Germany, and the UK to their historic rivals such as China and Russia. 

Even independent nations led by Supers, such as Genosha, Wakanda, and Biayla, joined in on that initial declaration of condemnation.

And that was just the first draft.

Within twenty-four hours, over thirty more nation-states signed the declaration of war against the Elden Lord and his Family.

Two countries were notably absent from the list of signatories. 

The US almost joined, but heavy political lobbying by Senator Lex Luthor kept the decision from going through. He was able to do this due to the unexpected loss of Amanda Waller, who would have pushed heavily for it, and the faction around her scrambling to fill her vacant position.

The other notable absentee was Latvaria.

According to rumour, when Victor Von Doom was approached by other countries to join the second wave of signatories, the King of Latvaria laughed the diplomats out of his castle.

A few rocks could not break a rising tide.

Mikael and every one of his wives were designated as 'Global Villains.' A rare designation created by the UN in the years since the rise of Supers. 

It designated someone or something as an existential threat to humanity, and any country seen aiding and abetting such Villains would face sanctions by other countries. There was also a bounty for capturing or killing such Global Villains. It was responsible for the destruction of many S-class threats.

With that one declaration, almost the entire Earth was at war with the Elden Lord.

Mikael was the enemy of humanity.

Only... not really.

Certainly, almost every nation of significant power was now legally at war with the Elden Lord, thanks to his status as a Global Villain. Entire fleets had been sent to surround his home Island. There were demands that he leave the Earth and bring back the heroes he had kidnapped. 

Some more opportunistic nations also demanded compensation in the form of power, immortality, wealth, or anything they thought they could get away with.

But... that was it.

Despite all the rhetoric, all the threats and all the bluster, the nations of Earth and their representatives could do nothing to actually threaten the Elden Lord.

Blockade trade? He traded with no one.

Quarantine him? He could teleport anywhere on the planet, using illusions to look like anyone.

Attack him? He would crush your country with one hand. Literally.

Those were the logistical reasons humanity found itself helpless before this evil dragon.

It wasn't the main reason.

It was a problem as obvious as it was crippling to any sort of effort to wage war on the Elden Lord.

Humanity was not united on the fact that Mikael was a villain.

The video of his 'kidnapping and torturing heroes' did convince many of his malicious nature, but it was only a fraction of the populace.

Many of humanity either didn't believe the video to be real, thought it to be legitimate, but Mikael had a reason for his actions or believed it to be a hundred percent accurate, but that war against the dragon the size of a subcontinent was suicide. Better sacrifice a few heroes if it meant Earth lived another day.

Another huge factor was Heartbreak.

While those who took to Emma's Semblance badly were ready to jump on the hate train, most people's experience with it was a quasi-religious experience. The exact nature varied from person to person, but Heartbreak was the closest many had come to experiencing perfect peace, love, and happiness.

On top of experiencing the closest thing to paradise, thanks to Mikael's emotions, or so people believed, there was no denying his wives had been pivotal in the destruction of the Endbringers and the rebuilding in their wake.

There were other, less global, reasons.

Artoria and Diana were very active as heroes, and it wasn't rare for another member of the Family to occasionally join them to deal with incidents that cropped up. 

Priscilla had a die-hard following, both for her music and her streaming, and from those who focused on the 'love story' Mikael had told during his interview with the Daily Planet.

At this point, Scathach was almost a meme with how she would wander around the world looking for challenges that often led to the defeat of powerful villains. It was almost comical how all she had to do was show up, and people would throw themselves at her feet in surrender. (She was very put out when that happened.)

Melina healed the entire eastern seaboard. Medea was building a whole city to replace Beijing. Tsunade created houses that grew their own food for the displaced.

Glynda Goodwitch was THE person you wanted to show up after a Super battle. There were online petitions, signed by hundreds of thousands of people, to get her to visit their city for only an hour.

Raven ate satan.

Even if people thought the Elden Lord was a villain, very few believed his wives to be anything but heroic. Combined with how Mikael very obviously doted on them and the experience of Heartbreak, many who didn't trust him trusted his Family to reign him in.

Mikael wasn't without heroic actions either.

It was his sword that killed Doomsday. He had stared down the closest thing this world had to the devil for a team of beloved heroes and the city they defended. He brought back the dead, a beloved heroine, and 'reformed' a former villain, giving the world back one of its greatest heroes. 

He had healed everyone on Earth in the wake of Heartbreak. 

Many would have died without that healing, and countless more would have lost loved ones.

His personal charisma wasn't to be underestimated either.

For one, he acted remarkably human. Made jokes, wasn't too proud to laugh at his own expense, and was a loving husband. There were countless short gifs on the internet of his face going through comical expressions. 

Whether it was about his 'harem,' sense of humour, power, or some absurd thing he did that broke logic, Mikael was the single most memeable figure on Earth. Captions ranged from 'I wanted to join satan, but he didn't offer dental,' or 'I'm so sexy I have women crawling from their graves for a piece.' 

The 'Elden Lord' was a popular and affordable Halloween costume consisting of a floral print shirt and shorts. Dragon wings were optional.

Supers, whether heroes or villains, tended to be larger-than-life characters. It felt less like they were part of society and more like they were on the outside, on the fringes. 

People liked them, feared them, admired them, and even revered them, but it was the appreciation one had an ideal, an art piece, a celebrity, or a tank. There was a distance between humanity and... them. 

Not all heroes, of course. People like the Flash, Thor, Beast Boy, and other heroes actively tried to engage with the ordinary citizens, but there was still a disconnect. They still wore flashy costumes, went on patrol, and fought crime. 

They were still heroes.

Mikael wasn't.

The simple fact was that Mikael was a dork. 

For all his power, reputation, and ability to bend common sense over his knee and spank it, Mikael just seemed way more human than most heroes people dealt with daily. 

He wore no mask or costume, was a family man, and did not press his sense of 'justice' onto other cultures. A live and let-live type that many people wished was more common.

To say that Mikael and his Family were divisive figures in the wake of the declaration of war was an understatement.

Humanity was split.

A small section of powerful people, both politically and in the Super sense, had declared the Elden Lord an enemy of mankind.

A much larger but weaker section still saw the White Dragon as a saviour or defender.

To an outside observer, it looked like humanity had gone mad, and the Elden Lord was the cause.

To someone who had more details? It was the jaws of a trap closing in.

********

"They're trying to limit our choices," Artoria said as we sat around a round table in my War Room.

It was just a large room with a round table big enough for all of us to have a seat. Snacks were spaced out intermittently, as were drinks and a magical depiction of the Island and its surroundings we could zoom in on.

It was mostly for show.

The only thing that made it a War Room was that I had painted 'War Room' bright red over the entrance. 

Except for the shape of the table, it could have been considered another dining room.

Ok, I had created my War Room on a whim. Sue me. 

I had to find a purpose for the empty rooms in my Mansion. Even with all my 'prisoners,' my wives' hobby rooms, or workshops, I was far from using all the available space. Any excuse to make a new room was to be taken advantage of.

For obvious reasons, my two favourite extraneous rooms were the Cuddle Room and the Room Room.

"How exactly?" Medea asked. "It is not as if these nations pose an actual threat to us."

"It is asset denial rather than threat generation," Diana pointed out. "This was probably the backup plan from the get-go. If we had reacted to the original framing, that of the kidnapping of Madelyne Pryor and Nathan Summers, with violence, then we would have alienated both heroes and the people they defended. If we didn't, we'd still have to confront them somehow. And, during a peaceful negotiation, the heroes disappear. I believe the only thing that surprised our enemy was that we also used the negotiation as bait and actually succeeded at taking back the victims, discovering what Sinister was up to."

"By declaring war on us, our enemy has forced us to make three choices," Artoria nodded at Diana in agreement. "The first is the most obvious. Do we stay or do we go? If we leave Earth, as many call for, our enemy has uncontested access. If we believe Ciara and Valeria, that means they win as nobody is left to fight them they cannot control."

"We're staying," I answered immediately, getting nods from the women around me.

There were a few reasons staying was the best course. 

First, without me trying to reign it in, the Blood Plague would spread over Earth and the entire universe, essentially dooming it without my intervention. 

Usually, I wouldn't care about one universe dying, but I was attached to this one, and it turning into a Lovecraftian hellscape because of my carelessness did not sit right with me.

The second reason was that none of my wives would be happy dragging them from this universe when they wanted to help. While some wouldn't necessarily care, most did. Hell, none of them really cared about the whole world being their enemies. It wasn't even the first time for most of them. None of my wives were the type to back down from a challenge.

The third reason was pretty simple. I had yet to see anything we couldn't beat with enough time and effort. Yes, the Endbringers, gods, and heroes were annoying, but that was all they were. They were a threat to me if they took us by surprise, which they had, but now that we knew someone was actively against us, I would be better prepared.

The final and most significant reason was that I was the pettiest man who ever pettied a petticoat in Petty Junction. 

Someone had fucked with me on multiple occasions, and I was not going to leave until I had fucked them up at least three times as much.

The first of the three choices was obvious for all those reasons and more.

We were staying.

"I agree," Artoria said, giving me a small smile before putting her game face back on. Medea clutched her heart and pretended to faint from the cuteness. "Since we are staying, we need to face the second choice. Do we react publicly or not? There is a possibility that, given enough time, the kidnapped heroes will free themselves or be rescued. Once they do, we will have information on our foe we do not have now. If we remain silent on the global stage in the face of the declaration, we may operate behind the scenes as we did when we arrived. Freeing world leaders from control or searching for the heroes can be accomplished behind the scenes."

Despite being the one to propose it, Artoria did not look like she agreed with this plan. She was the type who preferred to confront things head-on rather than skulk about. She recognized the need for subtlety when necessary. She just didn't like it.

"That won't work," I shook my head. "While I can continue to Free people, and I will, they are only truly Free while I touch them. I must have Freed every one of the kidnapped heroes at least a dozen times, Strange included. I do it by habit now whenever I touch someone. Yet Strange still turned into a pod person. Which means it can be reset quickly. I think Doom and Valeria missed something. It's not about the emotional trigger; Valeria is still Free after all this time. I think it is less a 'feel despair and become slaves' and more, 'feel despair and I can make you slaves whenever I want.'"

"So it is a parameter," Medea asked, leaning forward in interest. "Like a bounded field that detects hostile intent but does not activate until directed."

"Perhaps it is better to liken it to one of mine dolls," Ranni said. "Should I lose one because I hath moved between the Island or Earth, I cease to be connected to the dolls I left behind. But, should I wish it, I can always establish mine connection again as I wish."

"However we think of it, we need to acknowledge that we cannot trust anyone who I am not actively Freeing to not fall under this oppressor's sway again as soon as I leave," I tried to get back on topic. "And, quite frankly, this 'war' is less important than the Blood Plague. Any effort I dedicate to Freeing leaders, Supers, or searching for our super-napped friends is time I am not clearing water sources or clearing out the plague. That will remain my priority until I feel comfortable Earth will not become a second Yharnam."

"We can focus on the heroic rescue of heroes while you do that," Yoruichi waived me off. "But we need to answer Artoria's second question. Do we react publicly or not?"

"Remaining in the shadows and not showing our movement has the benefit of keeping our movements hidden," Robin put forward. "Our enemy has been a step ahead of us this entire time. They have been spying on us through the eyes of everyone and can formulate how to respond with information we lack. I am beginning to quite dislike the nature of 'Super genius' of this world."

"While they are smart, probably smarter than us, that isn't the end of it," I shrugged, less bothered than Robin was, even if I would have my dramatic revenge for being led around. "We've had our victories. And remember, they only need to fuck up once for us to descend on them like Medea on a meal. Super geniuses always have super egos. They'll fuck up eventually."

"We need to do something publicly," Emma said firmly, getting us back on track. "Right now, the initial 'declaration of war' is little more than grandstanding. Political theatre. Yes, it targets us so we cannot call on allies we might have otherwise, but it is also a valid attack on our image. Should we allow them to do as they wish, they shall shape whatever narrative they wish and what support we enjoy because of our actions so far will fade slowly with every day we do not respond."

"We cannot just attack these countries," Tsunade said, rubbing her brow.

"Why not," Scathach said, but her smirk told everyone she was joking. "We'd win."

"Irrelevant," Tsunade rolled her eyes, sipping her sake. "Should we destroy, conquer, or attack even one, it shall validate everything they accuse us of. The others would double down, and we'd have to do the same to all of them."

"I understand we'd be making martyrs out of them," Scathach nodded, but her smirk faded, and her eyes narrowed as she looked around the room. "But I believe everyone is missing a key question. Why not just use force? We are strong enough and have enough options that we will be able to dispose of those who oppose us without harming civilians. Should we wish, we could conquer this planet in an afternoon. Should we take all their pawns, our foe would have no choice but to face us themselves or give up their ambitions."

"That would involve fighting and killing almost every Super on this planet," Diana shook her head. "As well as many world leaders. Even if we can, we shouldn't."

"Even if we ignore moral reasoning, there is also the logistical aspect to consider," Emma pointed out. "Should we actually conquer Earth and kill our enemy, what then? What happens when we leave? Time in this dimension does not freeze when we are gone. We would need to remain here to rule or reconquer every time we returned." 

The White Queen got a few surprised looks from the other women. 

It was no secret that Emma wanted me to become an authority figure, to have some grandiose plan for universal conquest, or that she thought I was wasting my potential. To hear her argue against world conquest would be unexpected by the others.

It wasn't for me. Everyone else fundamentally misunderstood Emma's priorities.

Me.

I was the fundamental existence Emma had built her entire worldview around. If saving this world required me to stay to rule Earth, essentially trapping me in this reality when I wanted to travel to others, Emma would rather burn the world than let that happen.

She wanted me to become an authority figure, to have some grandiose plan for universal conquest, or to realize my full potential only because she believed it would benefit me. If it didn't, then she would argue against it.

That was how much her experience inside my mind had changed her.

"Doing so would also be counter to our goal of getting humanity to work with us, not against us," Emma continued, not minding the surprised stares.

"Why is that our goal," Scathach challenged. "Why is it necessary? Humanity cannot aid us and cannot be a reliable ally when they can fall to our enemy's sway. Time and again, they have proven this. Why are we expending so much effort to appeal to the masses?"

"Because it is the right thing to do," Glynda pushed. "It is only when it is united that humanity can stand strong. Divided, it will die."

I gave Scathach a long look. I didn't think she was actually arguing that we should leave everyone to die. For all that she enjoyed a good fight, Scathach had been a queen. She was a hero in the classical sense rather than the Super sense, but she was still a figure who fought and killed for her people.

Was she just playing the devil's advocate? Pointing out facts we hadn't considered?

Or was this a test of our commitment? We were not taking the easy choice, and she wanted us to be aware before continuing.

Still, beyond morals, I had very valid reasons for wanting humanity on my side.

"There might be billions infected with the Old Blood," I pointed out. "Even if I spent years clearing out every water source, I would not be able to free everyone by myself. I need coordination and cooperation to get the largest portion of the population Blood-free. Once people start to go Beast, it will cause a cascade effect and blood will spill, infecting more people. Before that happens, we need to get the number of infected down to a manageable level. Because if not, Earth will become one huge Yharnam, and I will need to destroy it down to the atoms to ensure it doesn't doom every other lifeform in this universe."

My words brought the mood down, but they needed to be said. Just because the enemy had made a move didn't mean I had forgotten my priorities.

I was all for letting countless universes die out if that was their natural conclusion. The multiverse was infinite, and I couldn't save everyone. But there was no way I would let my own fuck-up be the cause. 

My goal was not to ensure a happy ever after for this world. It was to purge the Old Blood and give whoever messed with me a kick in the nads. And the most effective way to do both was to get as many people on my side as possible.

A side benefit was that it meant all my effort until now to ingratiate myself in this world would not go to waste. 

"So long as we know what we are doing," Scathach nodded grimly. "And we know that retreat and attack are as valid options as any other."

"Options with costs," Artoria rejoined seriously before looking around the table. "So, for the second choice, we shall act publicly?" There were nods around the table, and Artoria let out the tiniest of smiles. "Very well, now we come to our last and greatest choice. How shall we act?"

There was a moment of contemplative silence.

"Our greatest threat is the Old Blood," I repeated. "This declaration of war is inconsequential compared to that. And as of right now, I am the only one who can 'cure' it without killing the infected. And they need to want to be cured. Have any of you had luck finding a method of removing it?"

"It is as you warned," Medea sighed. "As soon as it merges with the host's blood, it replaces their entire circulatory system."

"Not just that," Tsunade chimed in. "It goes down to the bone marrow. They become blood producers. Any medical treatment would involve removing every drop of blood and every bone at the same time. I can do it with Amelia's aid, but we would need you to keep them alive while we do so."

"Which would take more time, not less," I grimaced. "At that point, it's better just to Free them."

"I discovered that I can tear blood from people from any open wound," Scathach smirked. "It is a useful trick I am eager to test at our next opportunity. But that would be no different than simply killing the infected."

"But nothing better than me just going around poking people or getting them to come to poke me," I shook my head.

"As of the moment, that is the most reliable method of dealing with the Old Blood non-lethally. Tsunade's operation does have a benefit, though. It is an option for those who do not want to be Free," Medea pointed out. "We can use it to save the newborn after we are done here. But none of us have conceptual abilities as ubiquitous as your ability to 'Free' things. Diana might be able to Free people from the negative influence of beasthood, but her expression of her Element is more directed toward the concept of 'Human Liberty' rather than purely 'Freedom' even if you both have the same Element."

"Let's save the kid at least," I agreed. "We'll watch him for a few days, just to make sure this operation works, then we'll drop off baby Cable with his mom at Xavier's. That will go a long way towards building some of our lost goodwill with that faction."

"There is some good news," Melina joined in. "We have devised a method to distinguish infected from not globally. It will also allow us to coordinate large volumes of people at once."

"Really?" I couldn't help but perk up. "How?"

The scale of Sinister's infection had been my most significant impediment so far. If it was just another town the size of Yharnam, with our current capabilities, we could have it cleared of Old Blood in a few days. The sheer volume of people I would need to Free and the certainty I would miss vast portions of the population had kept me focused on clearing water sources rather than people for the moment.

If I had a way to tell infected from not and get them coordinated, I could teleport tens of thousands at once to my real body and Free them there before sending them back.

While I would still miss people, it would be a faction of a fraction of a percent of the population that I would need to Hunt compared to before.

"I shall connect to Scathach," Melina put forward. "She will be infected with the Old Blood. When she has it in her body, she can sense others with it, as they all stem from the same source, though her range is limited. Together, with the power of the Phoenix Force, we can cover the entire planet. I shall need Emma's help controlling the information, but we can at least differentiate those infected."

I hummed in thought. I wasn't worried about Scathach infecting herself. Even if she let the blood in, she still had her Transformation Defence and Mind Defence. And Melina using the Phoenix Force this way would free me from having to reapply Command Seals to Emma to give her the power to do so herself. 

Seals that only last a fraction of the time we'd need to keep this up can be used as strategic resources, just as intended in Fate. Ironically, their ability to give commands was their least useful aspect.

It would also give Melina more practice, eventually not needing Emma at all to regulate all that information. I hadn't given up hope of having one of the greatest reality manipulators of the Marvel universe on my side once we could trust Melina's control of the Phoenix Force to not accidentally turn Earth into a match when she stubbs her toe.

"How does it help coordinate people," I asked. "Will you be speaking to their minds? That will put people off pretty quickly, and we want to incentivize their cooperation."

"Nay," Ranni spoke instead of my maiden. "I shall be the one to handle corralling the masses."

"With your dolls? That could work," I nodded. "Can you make enough of them? We're talking tens of thousands of people at once if we want to clear the Old Blood in any reliable time frame."

Ranni stared at me, her face weirdly blank except her narrowed eyes. Usually, she was incredibly expressive despite her best attempts to maintain neutrality. I knew she could go all doll-face if she wanted, but she was so unused to having an actual body that she forgot most of the time. 

To see her like this meant Ranni was focused and serious about the subject. 

"My Lord Husband." Ranni's tone was one I had not heard in a while. It was chastising, almost reproving. "Why hath thee not called upon the aid of mine Order?"

"You're going to need to give me more than that, Doll," I drawled with a smile. "I do ask for your help. Pretty regularly. From all of you."

"And yet thou hast never used, nor asked to use, mine Order," Ranni rejoined. "Whilst I may not yet possess Queen Marika's expertise, I am not so lacking to be unable to establish mine own dominion upon this world."

It took me much longer than I thought should have been the case to realize what Ranni was talking about.

"You are talking about using the Elden Ring to change this world into part of your Order?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Correct."

"Wait," Medea interrupted before I could explain myself. The Greek witch was leaning forward and staring at my blue wife with an intense expression. "Are you saying you make worlds other than yours your own? You can exert capital-A Authority? Full godhood?" 

Both Artoria and Scathach leaned forward as well. They also gave me very respectful looks as if re-evaluating my time in Elden Ring.

They shouldn't. By the time I arrived, whatever Authority the Elden Beast had was shattered with the Elden Ring by Marika.

"Have I not said I am the Goddess of the Chill Moon? Did thee think this an empty boast?" Ranni asked, actually frowning.

"No," Medea shook her head. "But 'god' is a catch-all term. Their exact nature varies from world to world, as do their powers. Even in my home world, there were different forms of gods. The Greek pantheon were originally great spaceships that arrived on Earth and took human form after a disaster destroyed their original bodies. The Mesoamerican gods were alien bacteria that travelled from host to host. Very few of the gods actually originated on Earth. What we categorized as 'gods' were beings that exerted 'Authority,' that is, the ability to reshape reality to their wills, limited to their scope, without the actual use of power."

"For those of us unfamiliar with magic," Robin raised her hand in question. "Why is 'Authority' important?" 

Several other women at the table nodded in agreement, also confused.

Medea looked like she would lecture them, but I cleared my throat.

"Just the cliff notes," I suggested. "You can go into the exact details of 'Divinity Vs. Authority Vs. Magecraft Vs. True Magic' later."

"All right," Medea paused, giving the subject some thought. "First of all, the gods that Mikael fought would have been classified as 'Divine Spirits' in my world, not full gods, because they did not have actual Authority."

"What does that word actually mean," Glynda asked, looking genuinely interested in the subject.

"It is a literal translation," Medea emphasized. "It is the Authority to command the world. It is the right, the qualifications to do as one wills. For example, a Divine Spirit of War can use its power to influence people to start a war. A War God would just need to think of one, and the world would make one for it, reshaping reality itself so that War happened."

It was part of the reason one needed two Great Runes to enter Leyndell in the first place. Without them, someone just didn't have the right to stand before the Elden Beast and become Elden Lord.

"It's like someone having the ability to edit a story as it's written," I dumbed it down even more for those still looking confused. "Or, in modern terms, the ability to modify the code of reality directly, rather than needing to run a separate program."

This was why Scathach was such a big deal in her world, or any world, really. 

With no divine heritage of her own, or Authority backing her, she still managed to kill a god. It was like an NPC jumping from a computer and killing the programmer. It was absurd, going completely against the rules of nature, yet it still happened.

"Right," Medea nodded. "In a way, it is a direct connection to the Root, the source of all things. You can't fight that, not really. If something with Authority wants you dead, you die. Not only that, they can remove you from having ever existed in the first place. The only way to oppose something with Authority is to either have Authority yourself or something on your side with it. It is why all the stories from my culture have gods choosing sides. It wasn't that there were no conflicts where only one side had divine protection. It is just that if one side didn't have Authority backing them, you either never heard about them or they were a cautionary tale. Arachne, for example."

"That sounds like an absolute catastrophe," Tsunade frowned.

"It was," Medea said, and hatred dripped from her voice. "If a love goddess wanted you to fall in love, you did. There was nothing you could do. Even if your grandfather is a god. Even if you had never even seen the man before, you loved him absolutely."

"Gods are dicks," I summarized, dragging attention to me to give Medea a moment. "But within their Authority, their will is absolute. They can have multiple Authorities or those that overlap with other gods. Zeus, for example, was a god of Theatre and Drama, but so were the Muses. They can fight, one can suborn themselves to the other gods, or join hands. The only consolation is that they were closer to the forces of nature than actual people. Like machines with programming, they used Authority, but their Authority used them too. They became embodiments of it, never able to deviate from who they were." 

After the little sermon, I looked at Ranni to get us back to the original question. 

"Honestly, I didn't know you had that much power and control with your Order."

"It is not the same," Ranni allowed. "As Lady Medea said, the rules vary from world to world. But I can exhibit much greater efficacy with mine Order than I can without it. Should I bring this world under my sway, our options shall expand considerably. Therefore, thy lack of acknowledgement or use of it has been most vexing."

"I thought the entire point of you taking the Elden Ring and leaving the Lands Between was because you did not want to use it," I frowned. "You saw how it, the use of it and the pursuit of it, warped society. Apart from not knowing what you can actually do with it, I just thought you wouldn't want to use it. To quote the Ever Brilliant Goldmask, people are flawed. I thought you didn't want to give them the temptation."

"Whilst I appreciate my Lord's consideration," Ranni smiled softly, now knowing it wasn't because I had intentionally sidelined her. "I am not opposed to using mine power, of which mine Order is a facet. Thou are not wrong about mine intentions with the Lands Between. However, mine Order is not the pinnacle of existence here. Withing our Family alone, two others hold as much sway over reality as I can."

Raven, who had remained completely silent and blank-faced as usual, held her hand in a peace sign.

Melina rolled her eyes as the Phoenix Force flared around her as if in agreement with Ranni's words.

"Nor is it at risk of falling into any hands but ours," Ranni continued. "Neither shall we remain on this world for the millennia it would take to truly bend this reality to its sway. So long as thy do not wish for me to make such a drastic change as to remove Destined Death from the people of this world, exerting a limited Authority is not only within my abilities but should be used, rather than wasted."

"No," I shook my head with a chuckle. "We will not be taking away people's ability to die. If your Order can help deal with Old Blood, that would be more than enough. Any way you can wave your hand and make it go away?"

"Nay," Ranni shook her head. "In a century or so, perhaps. I can, however, lead those afflicted as we need them and communicate to this entire world. Or allow thee to do such without issue."

It took me a moment to realize what Ranni was talking about. When I did, my grin grew three sizes that day.

(I was getting better and better and manipulating my human form. Studying Mystique was a great opportunity.)

"Alright," I clapped. "I have the plan. Now I need your help writing the speech. We're going super dramatic with this one."

For some reason, my wives started giving me a long-suffering look.

********

It was always there.

Right there.

At the edge of your notice, at the side of your vision.

Day or night. Rain or sunshine.

For months, it was omnipresent. A constant of life humanity had gotten used to.

The Chill Moon.

A massive planetary satellite of pale blue light in-laid with rings of golden light weaved in intricate patterns.

When it first arrived with the Elden Lord, there had been fear over what it meant and how it would affect life on Earth.

Would it block the sunlight, cooling the Earth to dangerous temperatures?

Would it alter the tides like the regular moon did?

There were dozens of theories and hundreds of fears.

None of them came true.

Astrologers could peer beyond it as if it didn't exist.

Satellites did not find their view blocked in any way.

Animals demonstrated no greater or lesser effect from light pollution despite its resplendence.

The burgeoning space industry, long floundering in fear of the Simurgh, had no issues going beyond its pale blue glow.

Even sleep cycles did not find any greater issue with the excess light.

Like a thin film over the Earth, the Chill Moon hung not as an obstruction but as a decoration.

A decoration people got used to very quickly.

It wasn't hurting anyone after all.

It didn't matter where you were on the planet, the time of day, or the weather. 

The Chill Moon was just... there.

It became as the air they breathed, the earth they walked, or the water they drank. 

A facet of reality so ubiquitous that some children did not even remember a time when the blue moon did not dominate the sky despite it having been present only a few months.

That ubiquity was why it took many so long to realize the Chill Moon had changed.

It remained the same size and omnipresent, but its glow magnified until the entire world was dyed in hues of blue.

Some noticed right away. Others took longer, minutes even, to see the change.

Everyone heard the Elden Lord's voice simultaneously, whether they noticed the source or not.

"To every living being and every living soul."

Inside. Outside. Awake. Asleep. Old. Young.

Everyone with a sapient mind heard it.

Those looking at the Chill Moon would see its blue, black and gold image shift. As if they were looking at a scene through a window with a round blue frame and gold muntin.

Everyone who looked at the Chill Moon saw a Family.

Ten women sat in a line in the background, watching quietly.

In the center of the three chairs in the foreground, the Elden Lord overlooked the entire world with draconic eyes.

"I am... disappointed."

Every face on the moon was blank. Severe. Judging.

Traffic ground to a halt. People stopped during their commute. Looked out of windows. Woke from their beds and left their homes to face the sky.

"My Family are visitors to Earth. While here, we have done our best to aid you. Earth holds a special place in our hearts. And in return? After we have fought and bled for you? When our aid is most needed and offered freely? You point your weapons at us and decry us as villains."

The Elden Lord was not smiling. 

He was not laughing or joking. This was not the man most were familiar with through clips, interviews, or memes.

Mikael was channelling his Conquerer Haki and flexing his Performance Talent, Siren Song, and every other skill he had to the best of his ability.

To Mikael, he was using dramatics to instill seriousness into the population and warn them of danger.

To the people of of Earth?

It was like being judged by an angry god. 

And they had been found wanting.

"I will declare this now. You cannot hurt us. You cannot beat us. You cannot kill us. Throw your armies against our home, your heroes and soldiers against us, and we shall emerge victorious. Were we the villains you accuse us of being, we would kill and conquer, and there is nothing you could do to stop us."

For that long moment after the Elden Lord's proclamation, many felt fear seize their hearts.

Not so long ago, the White Dragon almost destroyed the planet in its path.

It was not so long ago that this Family killed Endbringers that Earth's mightiest defenders flailed helplessly against.

It was not so long ago that this being performed miracles.

Then, in contrast to the serious tone of the threat, the Elden Lord smiled.

It was a gentle smile of warmth and humour that reached all the way to his draconic eyes.

"We are not those villains. We do not want to kill and conquer. To prove this, we shall speak with our actions. I invite anyone and everyone to throw themselves against us. We shall act exactly as we have till now. We shall not hurt you. So long as you are only carrying out orders and doing what your oaths to home compel, we shall not kill you. I can't promise I won't embarrass you, but a few pranks are the least you deserve for attacking people trying to help, don't you think?"

The entire world breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar smile and jovial attitude.

Whether somebody believed the story about Mikael and his Family being villains, very few were hopeful of their chances of fighting them off.

The sailors on the fleets sailing to the Island knew how easily they could be sunk. Pilots knew they had no chance against dragons in the sky. Heroes and villains alike did not wish to fight the Elden Lord, no matter what their leaders ordered.

The Family were out of context problems humanity wasn't ready to deal with yet.

It was a war nobody wanted to fight, for there would be no winners, only losers.

"As for the accusations against me and my Family, I will speak plainly. You are being deceived. Lied to. The video 'proof' is naught but a fabrication to frame us. A justification to alienate my Family from the planet we love and the people on it. To prove this, the original, unedited version of events that took place within King Arthur's Hall shall be released to the public, as well as a copy of these words. I invite every level of scrutiny, every question or evaluation of the veracity of my words. I ask not for belief but for inquisition. Truth dies not in darkness, but in willful ignorance."

Ever since that night in Panacea Park, Mikael had taken special care to always keep some form of recording device on himself. Most of the time, it was just his phone, as with the meeting with the gods. When he knew he had important meetings, he did wear hidden cameras. Combined with Batman's recordings of the event, they had the complete footage of the meeting in Enhangwen.

Now, Mikael's preparation (read: paranoia) paid off.

He wasn't the only one feeling vindicated.

All around the world, people let out cheers. Even without seeing this 'proof,' they felt its very existence validated their belief in Mikael or one of his wives.

Humanity loved its heroes, even when they were not actually heroes.

"Were this the only issue, I would not be speaking to you all and disturbing your life. My Family and I would just leave. We do not wish to be enemies of anyone. There are worlds out there that do not fear us. But we cannot. Earth is in grave danger. You are in danger. And the heroes who would defend you have been taken."

From the jovial tone, Mikael had once more shifted to a more serious note, his face looking graver than ever before.

All cheers and jubilations died as the world braced for why the Elden Lord had seen fit to appear upon the face of the Chill Moon.

"A villain named Mister Sinister has released a plague upon the world. He and his allies are fermenting dissent between my Family and your leaders. While I have already dealt with the foe, he managed to spread his disease before I learned of it. He put it in the water you drink. As of right now, over half of all humanity has been infected by this plague. It will not be tomorrow. It will not be in a week. But eventually, the plague will claim all infected."

Fear.

"It is a blood-based infection. If left untreated, those infected will go mad and attack those around them in a beastlike frenzy."

Panic.

"Medicine cannot help you. Heroes cannot help you. I have talked to Panacea, one of your world's greatest healers, and even she cannot help you."

Terror.

"But I can."

Mikael stood from his seat. The two women beside him did the same.

A Demon Lord and a Goddess joined their husband in offering salvation to a world that needed it.

"We can help you." 

Mikael extended his hand as if asking everyone watching to take it.

Millions of people found their hands rising unconsciously.

Not from any control. They just wanted to take the hand.

"Just as I have Freed the seas of their pollution, so too can I Free you of this plague. I have already cleaned the water and can do the same for you. But to do that, I must touch you. I cannot heal such an affliction as I do regular disease or injury."

Many wept. 

They could not reach the man in the sky. 

They could not reach the dragon in the sea.

It was too far.

"I know you. You watching this. I know your fear. I know your struggle. I know you only seek to live your life in a world so hostile and so cruel."

He did know. 

Mikael knew more than anyone else what it was like to be helpless and caught up in the wake of higher powers.

Maybe that was why, despite his insistence on not being a hero, Mikael was adamant in the removal of the Old Blood.

Universes would come and go. Quadrillions would live and die.

But, if he could help it, it would never be because of his negligence.

He would never forget that he, too, was once the little guy at a negotiating table with beings so far beyond him.

"I will not ask for the impossible. I will not ask you to leave your homes to come to me. I shall not ask you to overthrow your leaders. I do not wish you to fight anyone. Every drop of blood spilled is one more infection. All I ask is that you follow the Grace of the Moon."

Mikael gestured to Ranni on his right. She glowed with blue light.

All around the world, eyes were filled with flickering starlight of a pale blue hue.

The same starlight streamed in ribbons from the Chill Moon. Everyone saw that.

Those upon whom Grace was bestowed saw those same ribbons of blue light dance through the air as if they were the wind.

"The Grace shall offer Guidance, leading you to a gentle shadow."

Mikael gestured to Raven on his left. Darkness billowed from her in waves.

The streams of starlight flowed into it without issues.

"The shadow will take you to me and bring you back. A minute. That is all it will take to Free you of this plague. Working together, we can cure this blight one city at a time."

Mikael extended his hands towards the people of Earth one last time.

Every one of those beings watching gained one tick of Insight as Mikael subtly let them peer past the veil. To see the Truth.

And tiny insurance against beasthood to delay the outbreak just a little longer.

To Mikael, it was a hammed-up public service announcement using every trick in his book.

"I cannot do this alone. All I can offer is Life. It is up to you to take it."

To Earth and its people, it was salvation.

********

I let out a breath as Ranni released her control on the symbol of her Order.

"I cannot believe you made me do that," Raven glared up at me. Her face was beet red. "That was terrible."

"It wasn't that bad," I waved off her concern.

"T'was..." Priscilla hesitated as if to spare my feelings. "A bit much."

"So overdramatic," Yoruichi laughed, leaning on Robin, who was also giggling uncontrollably. "The arms, haha, the faces, haha, oh god, I can't stop."

I looked around the room. Many of my wives were shuffling uncomfortably, even those used to press conferences and speeches. Glynda rubbed her temples tiredly while Artoria was as red-faced as I'd ever seen her.

"Lucky bitch," Tsunade grumbled as Emma handed me a drink. 

Due to still remaining a secret from the world at large, she did not need to be with us to emphasize our united front. I had tried to semi-recreate the scene after the battle with Doomsday to call back the 'misunderstanding' aspect that had led to the initial tensions.

I used every trick in my book to ensure things went how I wanted. Dozens of tactics for manipulation, enhanced in every aspect, all bent on making sure as many people wanted to be Free of the Old Blood as possible.

"If you ever ask me to do that again, I am going to actually die."

"Now, who's being overdramatic," I faked a sniff of disdain at Raven's sass. "You all need to learn to be the character. Embrace the ham. Become one with the cringe. Shame? What is that? Can I sleep with it?"

There should be awards for this kind of thing.

As a reward for saving the world, I should demand a complete set of Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, and Tonys... What the hell, I should go for the whole REGOT combo and demand a Razzie. No way, I didn't deserve it. That was hammy as hell. 

I went going full comic-tard here.

I had to speak the local language, after all.

Melina smacked me gently on the back of my head to get me to be serious.

"Do you believe this will work," She asked.

"For most people," I sighed, taking another sip of my drink. "I scared them enough, and they have to do so little; I think we will get at least ninety percent of the infected if not ninety-nine. If we hunt anyone who goes Beast as soon as we hear about it, it should be enough for a herd immunity-esque effect. But it will not get everyone."

"Then what is the plan," Diana asked.

"Buy time," I answered plainly. "Until we can remove every drop of the Old Blood in one fell swoop, that is all we can do. Right now, we are buying time to devise a way to do that with what we have access to now or enough time until Melina can master the Phoenix Force well enough for reality manipulation at that scale. I know she can do it. We just need to give her the time to get there. Once she does, it doesn't matter what our enemy does, plague or not. We win."

********

In the end, my plan worked. 

Millions of people followed the Grace of the Moon to Raven's shadows, where she teleported them to touch my body and then back to where they came from. 

It was a resounding success. 

While a few nations continued to insist on their little 'war,' and hundreds of leaders continued to decry me, they went ignored by the vast majority of people of Earth. 

I had turned my enemy's attempt to alienate me from the people of this world into a call for unification.

I bought this world time.

It wasn't a lot, only three weeks or so. 

It was not enough for Melina to gain control of the Phoenix Force.

Looking back, I like to think of those three weeks as an extension of the 'fourth miracle' people talk about.

Time. 

Such a precious thing.

When I was mortal, my thanatophobia constantly reminded me of the slow march of time towards my inevitable death. A huge part of why I had accepted the Deal.

In the Cell, in the Kiln, every second of time was a wound.

I had too much time and not enough. My time weighed on me. 

I was so very tired.

Still, I am glad I bought that time. 

The Earth needed it. 

I needed it.

And I could appreciate the irony. 

Life is about that sometimes. 

Finding the silver linings, even when things are at their worst. They're there. You just need to look.

Even if it is just enough to laugh at the irony of dates and timing.

Three weeks. Just enough time to ring in the new year.

2019.

The Last Year.

It only lasted six days.