Babylon (12): Back to journey.

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(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori

[...]---[...]

Tiamat was, beyond being the Goddess of the Beginning, the mother of all life, a Beast, which granted her certain privileges.

She knew about "The Celestial Body," the name by which gods and elementals referred to Gaia, just as she knew of something that should not exist at that time, something born of Gaia and separated from her, yet somehow remaining connected.

Alaya, "The Will of Humanity," was something Tiamat knew of, but never thought she would encounter in her lifetime, even before being sealed, at least with her mind intact.

Tiamat was certain that the seal binding her would one day crumble, but it would be so distant that not even her mind would exist, consumed by pain and suffering.

She knew that when that day came, if it wasn't "The Celestial Body" to stop her, it would be "The Will of Humanity" that would either place her in another seal or, against all odds, kill her.

To see a being with such power, capable of suppressing or killing her, confronted head-on was a surprise for the goddess, especially when "The Will of Humanity" didn't seem to seek an advantage but considered the other party an "equal."

"Remember the agreement." The echo of infinite voices resonated through the World of Imaginary Numbers as a whole, except for the other three beings present.

Tiamat, even sealed, was still the Goddess of the Beginning; mere words wouldn't shake her, even if they caused a headache.

The Hunter remained unchanged, the puppet he controlled barely affected by the voice, his clothes swaying lightly.

Doll, protected by the Hunter, in the Dream, was the safest of the four beings.

"My agreement does not involve you managing me, Alaya." The Hunter's voice was calm, without the previously contained "power," not out of fear of "The Will of Humanity" but because it wasn't necessary...

Not when the Pale Moon shone high in the sky out of nowhere, where nothing should exist, looking down at the Red Shadow.

The creation of parallel universes was something Alaya and Gaia mastered, but something entirely new and beyond the domain of Akasha?...

Alaya knew the universe above was not real; it was just an illusion, a dream, but that didn't make the feat any less impressive or less dangerous...

The Hunter didn't need to assert himself; Doll always knew, Gaia knew upon his arrival, Tiamat learned, and Alaya would learn...

The agreement between Gaia and the Hunter was: "Do not destroy the world or my creations without real necessity, and in case of danger, uninvited invaders, I ask for your help and defense." Gaia didn't care about visitors, as long as they were polite, she would ignore them.

The Hunter was nothing if not polite and courteous.

The Hunter was an extra defense for the world beyond the Counter Force (Gaia); his existence made Gaia more at ease against "Those from Outside."

As long as he didn't cause rampant destruction without reason, Gaia wouldn't even care about his presence, even if he killed a pantheon or two.

Alaya didn't share the same thoughts. Even if humanity fell under the "Do not destroy my creations" part, that wasn't enough for "The Will of Humanity."

For the "Human Collective Consciousness," Alaya, the Hunter was tolerable only because the world itself had accepted him.

He was something outside of Gaia, not related, not human, a potential hindrance to the evolution and advancement of humanity. Alaya couldn't predict the Hunter's actions; his being as a whole made the future unstable, unpredictable, and ficklein the short and long term.

She tolerated his interference until now, ignoring him even when he changed the history of the first hero and his tool because it didn't matter; it would interfere with the big picture.

Gilgamesh still wouldn't choose immortality and, like everyone else, would die, with Enkidu following him to Kur as a loyal tool, both continuing only as observers.

Uruk, Babylon, and Mesopotamia would remain the same, with minimal changes that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things... But any interference with Tiamat was not something Alaya could ignore.

Tiamat, the Goddess of the Beginning, Beast II, was something humanity, even in the future, was not yet fully ready to face, let alone at this moment in time when the Counter Force (Alaya) didn't have a complete presence.

Upon hearing the Hunter's response, Alaya began to initiate her initial defense protocol...

[INITIATING: COUNTER FORCE-]

... which stopped moments later when the Hunter, instead of preemptively attacking or retreating, stood still as Alaya's analysis probe passed through his being.

The Hunter wouldn't shy away from a fight; he never did. But, at this moment, a fight wasn't necessary; he knew that, so he let Alaya see what he was... What he had been: Human.

When Alaya was allowed to see that the Hunter, at some point, had been human and, through his own merit, using means beyond humanity but replicable, no matter how impossible, became something more, the "Human Collective Consciousness" disappeared.

Red Shadow vanished into the air, just as it had come, gone as if it had never truly been there, returning to its post: Guarding the "door" to the Root...

Why would Alaya attack a being that, by all means, was a possibility for the evolution of humanity? Something to be studied?

Was the Hunter human? Not anymore, but to Alaya, it didn't matter; she didn't care about what humanity would become, whether it would cease to be, lose everything that made it human; a step forward in evolution was all Alaya desired.

In [NOTES], a forgotten future, humanity had managed to evolve at an exorbitant cost, being human while not being. Alaya considered this one of the ideal, non-ideal futures.

Ideal because humanity had managed to go beyond: Killing a [TYPE].

Not ideal because the cost was too great, something that completely weakened any future beyond that future.

For Alaya, the Hunter had opened another possibility, another path, entirely different, as dangerous as it could be, but potentially much more fruitful...

While Doll tilted her head curiously, not understanding what that shadow truly was, and Tiamat, even in her confusion with the recent events, still looked up at the illusory universe above in awe, the Hunter spoke to neither of them, but to someone who was no longer there: Alaya.

"Seek not knowledge beyond without proper protections..." The Hunter's voice was heavy, entirely serious, a warning, not an enemy but a friendly one.

Strangely, neither Doll nor Tiamat seemed to hear those words.

"Knowledge blinds, even as it gives eyes..." Many, the Hunter had seen it in his prey, opening their skulls.

"Do not make the same mistakes that have already been made..." The Hunter's voice was almost pained, sad... Almost...

"Do not forget my warning..." Beware... the Old Blood...

"Do not force me..." He would repeat his actions if necessary...

The Hunter had already put an end to a night of hunting, an attempt to go beyond, which only caused pain and death...

Yharnam had bled... Scars that would never close...

Without a response, the Hunter shook his head disappointedly, but didn't insist, it didn't matter.

If the day came, he would hunt, as he always had...

 ~ Fate/The Hunter and His Doll ~

POV: Doll.

"What was that shadow?" I asked after we emerged from that sea of mud.

"A gatekeeper, and at the same time, humanity." The Good Hunter's response was confusing, but from what he had already explained to me, I could understand.

He seemed contemplative...

"You helped her... Why?" The woman in the mud ocean, Tiamat, she was a Beast, something beyond just a Beast... The Good Hunter knew that, how could he not? Yet, he had helped her.

He didn't set her free, as sane as she might seem, a beast was a beast, but the Good Hunter had mercy on her existence and put her in a deep sleep... To dream or have nightmares, I wasn't sure, but from the slight smile on her face while she slept, a sweet dream was the better option.

"She reminded me of two beings..." It wasn't necessary to say which ones; I knew every prey, every nightmare the Good Hunter had slain; he had told me all.

Kos and Rom, two souls that, for all intents and purposes, were "Pure," even though they were beasts.

"... I tried to do something different, for the first time, not to hunt... It wasn't necessary." The Good Hunter had a faint gleam in his eyes, almost relieved, content.

Seeing these feelings returning to the Good Hunter pleased me, made my whole being content, my chest warming with joy as if it were in warm and inviting flames.

"I'm glad." I let my feelings come out in words, the raw emotion in my voice making the sea sway with the sound.

"Shall we go? Or do you want to stroll more?" The Good Hunter asked me, his voice lighter.

"We can walk a few more minutes?" I liked the feeling of the sand, the sea.

The Good Hunter didn't respond verbally, just offered me his arm, which I intertwined with mine before we continued walking along the beach.

The only sign that indicated that, at some point, we had been there, were two pairs of footprints in the sand...

 ~ Fate/The Hunter and His Doll ~

POV: Anu.

Even after years of my dear daughter's sealing, I had not succeeded in getting her out of her cage, not even scratching its "bars."

No matter how much strength, ferocity, or methods I tried, all resulted in failure.

The reality around my dear daughter seemed to repel everything, whether it came from within or without, my efforts, blows, not just mine but any other god or goddess, were met with only one result beyond failure...

The smell of blood... A blood that seemed very... very old...

Not even my prayers to the "Celestial Body" seemed to work; the world did not respond to me even once, in fact, it almost seemed like the planet was mocking my efforts, as if saying that everything happening was a deserved punishment.

This enraged me more than anything I had ever felt; how I wished to descend to that pathetic little town and tear apart all those little men... Pathetic humans...

Even restraining myself from snarling, the entire palace still trembled with my anger.

Gilgamesh, that defective creature, had one purpose and ended up choosing humanity over the gods.

A pathetic human like all the others, would die like them, useless.

Enkidu was worse, that pathetic lump of clay somehow managed to sever the connection it had with the heavens...

I knew how, all the gods and elementals who watched the battle my daughter had five years ago knew the reason...

I felt my anger and fury drain away like a river flowing water.

... That... thing... was the cause of all this.

That abominable creature in mortal skin, a foreigner that the "Celestial Body" had allowed in...

It was impossible for the world not to know the existence of that being, so if the planet hadn't expelled him, there were only two options, two horrible options.

Either he was a guest of the world, which explained why the "Celestial Body" laughed at my efforts to free my daughter. The world was on that thing's side...

I felt my anger return before quickly dying down again. How can the world side with that being instead of us?

The other option was inconceivable and as horrible as it was impossible: The world hadn't invited him; he was an invader, one that the "Celestial Body" couldn't expel, so it chose to let him do as he pleased.

Even in my confused emotional state, I quickly dismissed that thought. That possibility wasn't even a possibility; it was just my thoughts beginning to wear thin with anger again.

I needed to kill something, or fuck, or I'll end up going mad.

"Bring-." Before I could rise from my throne and finish my sentence, the entire celestial realm shook, my palace trembled!

How?! Why?! Whatever the cause was, it managed to hide from my sight, something that should be impossible; I knew everything, saw everything, was everywhere in my domains.

Had the world decided to personally punish us? The "Celestial Body" was the only one who could be above me in my realm...

My thoughts were interrupted when the doors of my palace were forcefully opened, a body skidding into the palace.

A body of one of my sons, I didn't remember his name, but it didn't matter; something had killed one of mine... STAINED MY FLOOR WITH BLOOD!

"WHO IS THERE?!" What was this thing? How could I not know where the voice was coming from?... No... It can't be...

"IT'S YOU, ISN'T IT? YOU FILTHY CREATURE WHO DARED TO TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!" It could only be that abominable thing; there was no other explanation.

"YOU DARE COME TO MY DOMAINS?! AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" I will kill him, tear him into pieces and more pieces.

This abomination might be an abomination, but in my domains, I was absolute, the king!

"COME, COWARD! OR WILL YOU CONTINUE TO HIDE BEHIND THE ILLUSION OF THE WORLD?!" I didn't believe for a moment that this abomination wasn't being aided by the "Celestial Body"; that was the only reason I hadn't found him yet.

Whether it was the invasion or the rage in my voice, I couldn't tell, but many of the gods in the palace seemed terrified.

They feared my wrath, knew it, but an invasion? This was the first time.

The last time too... I will make the screams of this disgusting being echo until the end of time!

The anger I felt subsided a third time, this time replaced by a shiver that ran through my being.

What emotion was this... What was this feeling?!

Fear?... This was fear?... HOW?! How could I be afraid?!... Why was it dark?...

My head tilted upward, like a puppet being controlled. I instantly realized the reason why it was dark.

The roof of the palace had disappeared, the golden color being replaced by a night sky, full of infinite stars, worlds, and in the center, an immense Pale Moon, looking directly at me...

"Oh, mother... What is this?..." I didn't understand why, but a part of me called for the one who gave me life, even knowing she couldn't hear me, sealed where I and my siblings had thrown her.

Along with the night sky, as if mocking my pleas, accompanying my voice, a smell filled the entire celestial realm... Blood...

"Let this be a warning, the same mercy I extended to your mother, I will extend to some..." A voice echoed, coming from above, below, left, right.

It seemed to come from within me, from my being.

"Only to some... Those who haven't succumbed, who are not beasts in divine skin..." The voice ceased as it came, out of nowhere.

Before I could comprehend, I felt my body lighter, and the world tilted...

Why did everyone seem terrified?... Why did they have these pathetic human emotions on their faces?...

Why was my body lying on the floor?...

The last thought I had was a question: What was this being?...

The last sight: The Pale Moon in the sky...

The last smell... Salt...

... I had been dead for a long time... Haven't I?...

[The End of the Babylon Arch]

[...]---[...]

Well, I let the ending be something more "open," so to speak, but still, with some explanations.

Alaya... Well, she sees the Hunter as something that "ascended" to a new "evolution" for humanity. Is it right?... Not exactly, but it's also not wrong.

Alaya is basically a giant computer, the being that represents humanity is the least human.

Will there be trouble because she tries to mimic the Hunter's ascension?... :D

Well, as for Tiamat, she wasn't released, much to the sadness of some, but the Hunter would never do that to what he is. Will she return? Maybe, in the future.

Well, for those who wanted to see TiaMama, I have plans for her in another story, stay tuned...

Finally, Anu. The Hunter wouldn't let what the gods did go without any reprisal, it was something understood, after all, a hunter needs to hunt...

He spared some gods, who? That's for the future.

Well, as always, any questions, just comment, and I'll answer the best I can without giving spoilers.

For those who asked me for a schedule, here it is: The next chapter will be released on 24/02 (Day/Month) (In two days, in case someone is in a different time zone).

As always: Good night, and happy reading to everyone!