CHAPTER 169

[Draul St. Cross POV]

After sharing a rather long and deep kiss with Ororo, we then found ourselves cuddled in a couch while the others went around with their business. 

Ororo was far more powerful than the last time I saw her which made me realize that whatever journey it was that she went through must not have been easy or it could just have been as easy as a simple meditation. In this universe, anything goes. 

To be honest, it felt as if I hadn't seen her in a year, which was understandable due to the number of crazy things that had happened in the month that she was gone. 

I mean, for fucks sake, I had acquired three Infinity Stones in one month and I was also very close to fusing with my second one. 

"So tell me about all the adventures I've missed out on." She asked after a very long moment of us just laying on the couch. 

"'Missed out on?' I never got the impression that you wanted a piece of my type of adventure. What changed?" I am not proud of myself for always trying to read through the lines of anything someone tells me but it was an interesting choice of words coming from Ororo. 

"Hmm, I guess you can say my world view changed." She hummed, far too engrossed into my embrace to get out any clear words. 

"How so?"

"Tata, I asked first." She blocked my lips with her finger causing me to roll my eyes at the teaser she just gave out. How was I not supposed to be curious when she said her worldview changed? Quid pro quo I guess. 

Just for the sake of knowing what changed about her, both mentally and physically, I told her all what she missed out on and also those that she wouldn't have missed out on. 

Starting from me going back to explain the lore behind the Big Bang and then moving from there to the Infinity Stones, explaining each of their domains and the powers they had in respect to the universe. If she had been surprised about that whole explanation then she damn well sure didn't show it except hum at intervals to tell me she was listening. 

After explaining the story behind the six Infinity Stones, I then went further and told her about me sneaking into S.H.I.E.L.D for over six months, sometimes even when I was in Kamar-Taj, and absorbing bits of the abundant energy the Space Stone had. 

It was when I got to the part of me fusing with the Space Stone, which was actually a day before she left did she show any reaction and it was one I had no idea what it could mean. 

All she did was raise her head a little to stare at me with those blue eyes of hers,  her face showing no hint of what she thought, before resting back down and humming for me to continue. 

It was rather easy for me to go from there which included me fighting the Asgardians once again, this time almost completely destroying Mars in the process due to my clash with the Allfather. 

My days had been rather bland, not that I was complaining, only consisting of me absorbing or Adapting to the Power Stone and then baptizing my axe with both Space and Power energy. I also worked on some small pet projects here and there which included me experimenting with the others' suit, furthering my study on runes and also some magic practices. To be perfectly honest, while Strange was a prodigy and consumed far more knowledge which gave him an entire library arsenal of spells, I easily topped him in overwhelming magic energy. Sure I didn't know half the amount of spells the guy did, maybe I did but I wasn't actually making an accurate calculation, but if it ever comes to me vs Strange… well even he knows the likely result. 

I also realized that other than those demons we fought that one time, I've never really battled anyone in magic after leaving Kamar-Taj. Not to blow my own horn but the spells I knew were the type that would make you want to pull your hair out in the middle of an intense battle, literally. 

I was more used to simply blasting everything and everyone that faced me to high heavens or cleaving their head off their necks. Blasting holes through them, breaking bones, beating them until they lost all hope of victory and then give them a swift death. 

Anyway, my story to Ororo continued with me moving up to finally snatching up one of the universe's good deeds to me and completely annihilating Thanos. Given how Marvel characters were known to cheat death a lot, I wouldn't be surprised if the chin monster crawled up from under my bed. 

I knew how averse she was to killing but still told her about me and the others basically annihilating tens of thousands of aliens. I also told her about Thanos and his goal and also his past deeds of massacring half the population of a planet before moving into the others. I told her that just to score some points for myself. 

After my rather extensive storytelling, we devolved into another bout of oppressing silence. 

She took in a deep breath before turning over to look at me for the second time and asked something I wasn't expecting. 

"How did you feel? After everything. From your evolution to killing Thanos and his armies."

I don't know why she would ask such a question but I nonetheless indulged her. "Other than the illusion of being Omnipresent after my evolution with the Space Stone, I didn't feel any different. The Ancient One did warn me of the most likely possible scenario where my mentality would change to accommodate the essence of the stones, turns out it was a rather valid concern but it's being real subtle so I don't feel any different. Holding the Power Stone however was one of the highest trips I've ever been on but I held it down pretty well…"

I paused to gather my thoughts on what I felt when I massacred tens upon thousands of aliens and I can't say I was surprised when I didn't even feel any sort of thing that would have indicated that I did that. "Thanos? That I felt nothing. That was no joy, remorse, sense of victory or justice, sadness at the lives lost or any emotion, whether on the high or low spectrum, that would have indicated that I basically just wiped out people I couldn't even count. To be honest, I find going clothes shopping more bothersome than what I did less than an hour ago."

Her eyes were on me the entire time and not once did they flutter nor did her heart beat out of tune. She just took what she heard and kept it somewhere, not letting any tell show on her, maybe because she knew I would see it even without me looking. 

I waited for her response, not because I was afraid of it, why the hell would I be?, but because I wanted to hear what she had to say. In simple terms, although she hated killing, it doesn't mean she didn't tolerate other people doing it. All she had was a trauma because if she had problem with killing people in general then she wouldn't have been able to work with Logan for however long she did. And besides, this wasn't the first time I'd told Ororo about some of my killing sprees. 

"Then that's good." Was all she said before resting head back. 

I said nothing and just caressed her hair. I don't know if she had always been this way but being around her did make me… calm? 

It was a very soothing feeling, one that could make us stay a full hour without saying anything and just enjoyed each other's presence. This air of serenity that she had over her was one quirk I loved about her. 

"So are you finally going to tell me what happened after you went home? You… feel different than the last time we were together."

She chuckled but did acquiesce to my request and started her telling of her part of the month, which was even more mind blowing than me fusing with the stones, at least to me. 

"So mine started the very next day with me praying to one of the shrines that the elder led me to, and I was able to meet the Mother Goddess, Gaea…"

What the hell was this type of story that started right with a climax? How did you going home and waking up the next morning get you an audience with Gaea?, was what I wanted to ask her but I remained silent and let her get on with her story since she did give me the basic courtesy of at least letting me finish mine. 

So basically what she did was just pray and then she suddenly got spiritually juiced up? 

"Gaea told me a lot of things, mostly about the structure of the universe, some powerful beings and also about Gods. She told me about the Celestials, who for all intent and purpose, govern and judge the universe and it would be wise not to run afoul any from their race. She also told me, although parts, of how the universe came to be as well as the creations of humans and the war that happened between the Elder Gods at one point…"

The more she spoke the more I felt uneasy. It was just a phantom feeling but I don't think that there should have been any reason why Gaea would have told her all this. It wasn't exactly some sort of secret knowledge that the Primeval Mother Goddess of the Earth greatly favored Ororo, but that was in no way an excuse to let her know of things that she normally wouldn't know. I don't know why this thought came to me but it set off all kinds of warnings in my head. 

"Did she tell you why she told you all these things?" I couldn't repress my curiosity, so I asked. 

"Yes, she did. According to her, 'The Great Chaos will once again permeate all of reality.' I tried asking her for clarifications but she said that was all she could tell me for now."

And like that, I knew shit was about to go down. 

From my knowledge, Gaea was birthed from the Great Chaos, or she emerged from it, whatever way the story went, along with her siblings which were some named and unnamed Elder Gods. If she or any of the remaining Elder Gods know what is in the Great Chaos or who is the Great Chaos, then if it suddenly decides to 'permeate' 'reality' then that's Ultimate Universe level shit. 

I feel like I've been complaining way too much recently without meaning to. First of all it was the Ancient One who started something about the Great Old Ones and though I had an inkling what that might have meant, to prevent my sanity I decided to actively forget it and act ignorant. 

And now comes Gaea. 

Why is nothing ever simple in the Marvel-verse? Everything just has to be something. 

Not to mention that Dormammu is still going to come for Strange's ass and now I have to worry about a Great Chaos? Even Chthon with all his badassery was called the Lord of Chaos, not Lord of Great Chaos. 

If she had been talking about an event like Biblical Armageddon then I wouldn't have been worried because sometimes we just gotta go, but I know for a damn that she wasn't just talking about an event… and she told Ororo… and Ororo told me… I hate my re-do. 

"Draul? Are you still listening?"

"Oh I wish I wasn't, 'Ro. I wish I wasn't."

I swear on whoever is Most High that the day I catch the motherfucker who thought it would be some sort of fun therapy session to bring me to the Marvel-verse, I would punch him so hard that it will leave a crack in the multiverse. 

========================

Don't forget to vote.

Read up to 35 chapters ahead at pa*treon.com/Draul_TheOminous.