19: Coming home for the first time.

Samus and Ciri said goodbye to Guts, Puck, and Skull Knight, and then T-Path was activated by Samus, making them vanish from this world, but the profound changes they made and provoked will be felt for years, decades, and centuries to come. But Guts' adventure isn't over, it's just beginning, and it will once again intersect with our protagonist's adventure. 

It was beautiful, a view of all that surrounded or seemed to surround them. Intricate paths led to huge luminaries that adorned this empty place. From a distance, you could see how it all seemed to be part of something bigger, something more intricate.

The spectacle before them was something Samus and Ciri had never seen before, and perhaps nothing would ever surpass this moment. Before them were the foundations of all possible existences, a glimpse into a corner of what we can call... the Omniverse. 

Each luminary was a universe, a world, a multiverse, a reality, a dimension. They could marvel at its immensity even if it was a small part of this infinite place. The intricate pathways connecting each world were a matter of course as if the Omniverse itself wanted to connect.

That's why people could be inspired to create their stories, even the most stale DumbleXPotter fanfic was possible because it was inspired, which explains its existence. 

Samus and Ciri had seen what travelers like them could be, but they all seemed isolated in their way, they only knew there were others, not who they were, and it was impossible to meet, the vastness of the Omniverse would make that impossible.

But it was interesting to think about who these people were, wasn't it? They could be immortals detached from their worlds, renowned scientists, people with interesting abilities, gods, reincarnation spaces, people with systems in their phones, anything. 

Ciri had traveled before, but her travels were more like an abrupt push from one world to another, she had never been able to stop and see like this, and now she felt that her worries, though important, did not seem as overwhelming as before. 

Samus, on the other hand, was in a mixed mood, she was happy, more than happy, she was elated, but she also had a strange feeling of desolation and nostalgia. Human beings are not used to the vastness of nature, at least not at first. 

That was the case with the forest, the ocean, and the universe. For Samus, the idea of having all these worlds in front of her was a source of mixed emotions excitement, fear, and desire. Yes, desire. She couldn't remember her past life beyond what she knew and things she saw for entertainment or distraction, so she didn't know much about her personal life.

But she knew that he loved her current father, that she wanted social interaction, and most of all, that she did not want to be just another number in the statistics. Once he wondered why she didn't remember her past life, but something told her that there wasn't much point in thinking about it. 

Though maybe some world out there was created by her past life, who knows? 

Samus and Ciri saw the biggest landmark of this place, a huge cross of light made of what could be roots of light. No matter which world you went to or came out of, you would see this huge cross. It was nothing religious or anything like that, it was like a landmark, a pole star for travelers who were aware that they were traveling through the Omniverse.

T-Path used that cross as a reference point and found Samus' original world, and they soon found themselves in the Planet Express meeting room, even though everything was dark. 

Time was scarce when it came to such journeys, they lasted a week or so in the world of Berserk, but in this universe, it had only been a few hours, even though it was past midnight. 

"I guess home will always be warm and irreplaceable," Samus sighed as she looked at the familiar objects, even without light she could see just fine. 

"I understand that every time I went back to my original world and wasn't being hunted or harassed, I could feel the same way you do," Ciri said, a little nostalgia shining in her eyes, but she knew it wasn't time yet, she hadn't done enough to solve all the problems in her world at once.

"Don't worry, I'll be there to help you," sensing Ciri's somewhat conflicting emotions, Samus put her hand on the girl's shoulder, nothing invasive, just to comfort her.

Yes, she liked Ciri, she realized that a few years after meeting her, but she wouldn't use the girl's vulnerability for her ends. Although Samus was somewhat immature due to her adolescence, she knew how to behave and handle herself. Her contact with Ciri didn't even last five seconds, indicating that she wanted to give her space. Ciri may not have actively noticed those little gestures, but she felt quite comfortable because of Samus' understanding.

"Thank you, I'll go to my apartment," Ciri flashed and went to her apartment, leaving Samus alone and in the dark.

She sat down on one of the seats at the conference table and began to move the chair with her feet, lost in her thoughts. In her mind, in her memories, there was a memory, a series of events that made her proud. Her mind was well organized, nothing too amazing like a mental library or a damn analytical computer like a certain protagonist, but an organized mind was always good for everyone. 

"I'm going to rest for a few days before I venture out alone, I don't think Ciri will be in the mood to go with me," she looked a little worried, though she hid it well. Perhaps a world of similar times and threats brought back memories of her home world.

Though he didn't say it, his actions were even more ruthless than mine in fighting those soldiers, especially those who showed their religious fanaticism, there's a knot to work out there," Samus said, her face plunged into darkness, but her blue eyes seemed to stand out, as if she were a cat suddenly illuminated in the night.

"My luck will surely take me to worlds that I can endure, that will push me in some way to make me strong, but without danger of death, not until the benefits I can get outweigh the risk," Samus picked up one of the amulets around her neck.

She had redesigned this lucky amulet, doping it with many symbolic elements representing luck, even putting it through a ritual to ask for certain lucky blessings from nature, giving it almost exaggerated abilities.

It couldn't control luck like a certain conscious potion, but it could provide Samus with opportunities, real opportunities that would benefit her, not just brute luck like finding coins on the street, which it did, but that was no longer the only thing it was capable of. 

That's why we could say that everything went relatively well in the world of Berserk, because otherwise, as soon as they got there, the Evil Idea, the god of Berserk, would have screwed them up with his influence. It allowed Samus, a person who depended on technology and alchemy, to travel to other universes without being rejected by their will. 

Even in the world of Futurama, it allowed her to have some contact with some cosmic entities, such as the tentacle monster from the neighboring universe, a certain species in charge of collecting samples of all existing life, or a certain Star Trek fan. 

With the first, her approach was initially awkward. Knowing that his tentacles were genital and that he wanted to connect with her was .... fucked. But no one can talk about human moral concepts to such an ancient and anomalous entity. After resolving this misunderstanding and establishing what we know as "consent," the two were able to talk and become friends. 

Samus' contact with the Encyclopod, a specimen of the mythical race that preserves the DNA of all life that has been, is, and will be in the universe, was something unexpected for her. The being was emitting certain psychic waves throughout the universe that only a select few were able to perceive, the Legion of Mad Fellows being a group of select humans able to perceive them, or at least understand their intentions.

Knowing that the energy used to reshape her body would return in 3009, as it had in the original story, made Samus smile, and she and the Encyclopod could be considered companions in a way. She enjoyed talking to the creature's egg about amazing creatures from other planets or Earth. 

With the Star Trek fan, she didn't expect to meet him, Melllvar turned out to be an interesting guy, one of her few friends with whom she could talk about many series she shared, especially the animations. Well, seeing a 13-year-old girl screaming in the air while hearing the voices of an almost all-powerful being on the other side of the universe was certainly shocking to those who knew her until she explained to them what was going on.

Melllvar was one of Griffith's followers, while Samus knew the guy was a bastard, even when she met him in person she disliked him, something Samus would throw in his face when she spoke to her friend again.

Having this brilliant idea, she smiled before getting up and making herself something to eat, she wanted something she didn't have in stock or that she didn't have to peel, a pizza would be nice, she had some dried ones lying around, even though it wasn't the same if she bought them, but it was already very late at night.

"I didn't think much of it, but, I like being home, it's... comforting," Samus whispered as she enjoyed her pizza alone, thinking about what interesting worlds she would travel to next, but knowing she had adventures she didn't want to miss in her original world.

"By the way, I don't know if I'm still being watched by those little bastards. I think I saw Mordelon once, but I don't know if it's him, they all look the same," Samus complained, knowing that ever since she'd taken up alchemy, those little intelligent beings as old as the universe had been watching her.

They were not evil, gluttons perhaps, but they were the protectors of the universe, and their plans were woven deep into time and detail. They had noticed Samus' interest, her research, her work, and even her contacts with powerful beings.

She wanted them to be honest with her, but those beings thought differently than humans, she just hoped that when she met Mordelon, the two of them would get along. Samus wouldn't mind even taking him to other worlds, surely there would be many monsters that would be eaten by him in an instant. 

When Samus had finished eating, she went to her room and then, without thinking too much about it, she threw herself onto her bed, she would deal with the things that would come up tomorrow, she just wanted to sleep, although a certain great being and engine of the universe didn't want to let her sleep. 

"Hello, my child, how have you been?" asked the comforting voice that Samus recognized as God's, though she wasn't sure; he hadn't contacted her in so long, though she had noticed his gaze on her birthdays when she mysteriously had much better luck than other days. 

"Oh, you're God, aren't you? I'm feeling tired and maybe a little stressed after seeing human cruelty in another world, how about you?" spoke Samus, a little exhausted, but she controlled her irritation, she didn't want to be rude to God just because he interrupted her desire to sleep. 

"Well, I feel fine, you know, I can't feel otherwise, I am God after all," the amused tone in his words made Samus smile.

"Tell me God, what war do I have to finish and then be burned at the stake?" asked Samus with a hint of mockery that made God cough a little.

"Oh, Joan of Arc, I gave her a much better fate after her death, she was reborn, lived as an educated and capable noble, and then died in peace. But that's not why, I just wanted to tell you something.

Your travels... brought me into contact with something I never thought I'd see, I think you saw it yourself before you came back, didn't you? Well, the god of the world you went to has contacted me, a strange guy, but interesting," God's words made Samus lose all desire to sleep, she stood up quickly, feeling she should warn God about this.

"Don't worry, at my level of existence, our communication is safe and not at all problematic, there will be no clichés of invasion or corruption," knowing Samus' thoughts, God stepped forward and reassured the girl. 

"But it is possible that I could meet other beings similar to myself, I could give you the coordinates of those worlds under certain conditions, doesn't that sound interesting?" this question from God clicked deep inside Samus, making the girl show her teeth as she smiled.

"Too interesting."