Chapter Seventeen: Clues
"So... what're we gonna do then?" Vivi asks as she works on a project at her desk. "If you're so confident in our ability to take down... Zeus... then what are we going to do in order to track them. We can't fight them if we don't know where to find them".
"They mentioned being afraid of Naris" Siran replies. "With that in mind, how do you think they were able to know that Naris was even here in the first place?".
"Omnipotence?" Vivi suggests.
"No, that can't be it" Zia says. "They don't seem omnipotent at all. They even had to hold an investigation to find out who was behind the Endo-Streams".
"They also drew my blood to... check my memories or something?" Siran adds.
"Okay" Vivi says without any enthusiasm, "so they're either not omnipotent at all, or we're being played with by literal gods and we're completely screwed then...".
"If it's the first one?" Rose asks.
"Then that raises the question of how they knew in the first place, now doesn't it?" Vivi asks.
"They've likely been sending people to investigate this world, behind the scenes" Siran says.
"If they did that, wouldn't it be kinda hard to hide the fact that they also came from Valhalla?" Alex asks. "I mean, they had magic during a time when we didn't... so... seems like there must've been a lot to handle during that time".
"Exactly!" Siran says as he stands up. "There must be a clue somewhere of these people passing through. If we can gather those clues, then maybe we can predict what they'll do next!".
"Here's a thought" Alex says. "How are we going to do that, especially since time travel is still impossible?".
"The records!" Silas says.
"Exactly" Siran says. "If we go through the records in chronological order, then it may provide us with the clues we need".
"Not bad" Haru says. "You've got your resources set up already. That's pretty impressive".
"But won't that take forever?" Finn asks.
"Yeah" Robin adds, "there's a ton of documents".
"And we don't even have all of them yet" Zia says. "Syr, why don't we ask Loki for help after all?".
"I refuse to trust anyone who lives in Valhalla" Siran says. "Every time I've trusted someone from there, it's only gotten me; and everyone around me screwed over".
"Maybe this time, it'll be different..." Zia says gently. "Just... think of it as a last resort, if that's easier. But if we can't handle this, then please consider it".
Siran thinks for a moment, then says "Alright... I'll consider it for a last resort. However, I know we can do this without them".
"Thank you, Syr" Zia says.
"Are you two done making out?" Vivi asks. "If we're going to try to track them down, then we might want to get started now. It'll definitely take a while until we find something".
"I'll help" Holly says. "Been a while since I've had a good read".
"Thanks, Holly" Siran says.
A few days later, the crew was gathered in Vivi's house again, working together to write down details from the history documents into a novel. "The faster we build this library" Haru says in an attempt to keep herself motivated, "the more access to potentially useful information we have".
"Find anything yet?" Tanya asks.
"Nothing yet" Haru says.
"It's like the same thing in every country" Vivi says. "Communications go down, Naris shows up, place becomes smoldering rock or a hellish landscape of earthquakes and tsunamis, Naris disappears for a while, shows back up again, rinse and repeat".
"At least the date and times between the documents line up" Holly says. "When Naris vanishes from one site, he then appears at another".
"By the way" Finn asks, "could Naris do that teleport thing that Loki and the others do?".
"I don't think so..." Siran replies. "I've never seen him do it".
"By the way" Rose interjects, "what does this word mean?".
"Let me see" Holly says as she looks over at a line on the page that Rose was pointing at. Holly freezes, the says "That says manifestation, and it means something that shows or embodies something, like a theory or an abstract idea". Holly then takes the book out of Rose's hands and reads out loud "A strange phenomenon appeared just outside of Dublin. The manifestation seems to be made out of a smoke-like, pure black substance, and retains the shape of an oval in the center". Holly continues reading quietly to herself, before she begins to read out loud again. "A man claimed the manifestation is a portal of some kind, but when tested, any physical object simply passed through it without any effect. That man claimed to have inspected something near the shore, where the latest appearance of the beast was. A few hours later, the man vanished, as did this portal".
"Think we can find out about anything if we go there?" Blake asks.
"I think we should try" Siran says.
"Dublin... that's in Ireland, right?" Finn asks.
"Wow, look at that" Holly says unenthusiastically. "You are knowledgeable about at least one thing".
"Can you please stop?" Finn asks.
"If we find anything there" Vivi proposes, "or if we find them... then we'll need to come prepared. As well as, we may find yet another Endo-Stream. If that's so, we'll need a way to at least lower the amount of endo coming out of the stream. If we do that, then we'll make that place at least a little safer".
"Good thinking" Ying says. "We'll need something that can restrain the amount of endo in a large area".
"I'll try to work on that" Vivi says. Vivi takes out a large poster, and starts working on drawing blueprints at her desk.
"Alright" Siran says as he continues to read through some documents, "we should work on getting that ready. In the meantime, we should still look for more possible clues".
Meanwhile, Loki and his brothers were talking as they traveled. "What do you think of this Naris Catastrophe, brother?" Thor asks.
"I had no idea something like that had happened here" Loki says. "It's a good thing this world didn't end up like some of the others when Naris arrived".
"Ishmael-... I mean... Siran" Meili says, "sure seems attached to humans, much like that Gaia".
"Two peas in a pod, eh?" Loki jokingly adds.
"This is serious, Loki" Yngvi says. "We're just short of failing our duty here. We need to hurry and wrap this up".
"I know!" Loki shouts as he suddenly stops walking. Loki takes a deep breath, then continues walking again. "More and more keeps stacking up to what should have been a simple investigation. In our pact with Gaia, father agreed on our behalf to assist with keeping the universes stable. I thought it was fishy enough, seeing as how Thor was added to the team".
"Is my presence less than enjoyable, brother?" Thor asks.
"That's not it" Loki says. "This team sent to assist Gaia is supposed to be strictly comprised of members from Valhalla who 'died' in Ragnarok. You're known to be alive by all other gods, so it made me suspicious when father sent you with us".
"While we're at it" Yngvi says, "who could've possibly freed Naris? He was locked away in the depths of Valhalla, beyond the walls of the mortal realm".
"I don't know" Loki says, "but apparently Gaia personally appointed that Siran to remain in this world and keep it protected".
"She did?" Meili asks.
"Father read it from his memories" Loki says. "When Naris appeared, he almost took Siran's life as the first casualty of the catastrophe. Yet, she personally saved him and sent him back to Earth with more power".
"But he's just a mortal" Thor says.
"No... he's not" Loki says. "Not anymore. His biology has henceforth been modified to work in tandem with the surplus of endo in his body, making him untouched by time. He can still be killed, but he's no longer mortal".
"Then that makes him on par with the gods!" Meili protests.
"Incorrect again" Loki says as he stop walking, and turns around to face his brothers. "Gods are restrained to using only certain types of magic. Since we're appointed certain roles in the universe, our cognition that aligns with our magic can only utilize those types of magic in specific. However, humans are capable of learning all types of magic, unlike us. If you also acknowledge the fact that humans can use Reactive Endoindustria, whole normal gods can not, then that makes them almost on par with primeval gods".
"Humans are frightful creatures indeed" Thor says. "Frightful, yet amazing".
"Indeed" Yngvi agrees. "They have all of that power, yet they choose to live their lives rather than be restrained to roles and position".
"Maybe it's something we gods don't have..." Loki says in a low tone. "The ability to feel... content with simply being a part of the universe".
"Our roles are important" Thor says.
"Are they really?" Loki asks skeptically. "Humans have always been more than capable of protecting the world and the universe they live in, without the need of gods. That's probably why separating us from them was the best option".
"There's one thing that's bothering me though" Meili says. "Why did Gaia interfere with this world once, but not lock up Naris herself?".
"Now that you mention it" Yngvi adds, "wouldn't that have been better, if she were more concerned about the humans?".
"She didn't interfere once" Loki says as his eyes widen. As if coming to a discovery, Loki then begins to get exited. "That's it! She didn't interfere once, and she could have easily contained Naris! She gave Siran and... the Inari both more power after Naris was defeated!".
"Why would she do that?" Meili asks.
"She requested that they come back to Earth and continue protecting the planet!" Loki explains. "It's starting to make sense now! Gaia saw this coming!".
"She did?" Thor asks.
"She must have!" Loki says. "Which means she knows more than she's willing to tell us!".
"Do you think she might've had something to do with the release of Naris?" Yngvi asks.
"I don't know yet" Loki says, "but this mission keeps growing bigger and bigger".
"Then we must come to a conclusion, before this grows too big to handle" Thor says.
The next day, the crew was still hard at work with writing down the events from the documents. Eventually, a knock was heard at the door. The crew ignored it at first, but the visitor knocked at the door again and again eventually, Vivi gets up to answer the door. "Well, don't let everyone all get up at once" she says sarcastically as she walks to the door. When she answers the door, Benjie stood at the front door with his hand still up to continue knocking.
"O-oh... uhmmm" he says nervously, "may I come in?".
"What are you doing here again?" Vivi asks.
"Sorry if I'm intruding" Benjie says, "but I wanted to come and formally thank you in person". Benjie stood still, waiting for a reply from Vivi, but she remained staring at Benjie. "A-also, I came to help, i-if there's anything I-".
"Help with what?" Vivi interrupts.
"W-well..." Benjie says, "I was thinking that-".
"What can you even do?" Vivi asks.
"Oh!" Benjie says, almost excitedly, "I can-".
"Actually, never mind" Vivi interrupts again. "We're a little preoccupied".
"Vivi, who's there?" Siran shouts from the living room".
Vivi sighs, then says "It's that Filipino kid again".
"Actually, I'm 22 years old..." Benjie says.
"Benjie?" Siran asks as he approaches the door. "Is something wrong again?".
"N-no" Benjie replies. "I wanted to say thank you in person. You've saved my mother, and she's fully recovered now".
"That's good to hear" Siran says. "Come on in. We're just a little busy working on a little... project of ours".
"Thank you!" Benjie says as he enters through the front door.
"Aaargh! Siran!" Vivi complains.
"What?" Siran asks. "It's just Benjie. It'll be fine".
"I'm so gonna kill you" Vivi mumbles as she closes the door behind them. "Just you watch".