Denatus (2)

(Babel Tower, 30th floor)

None of the gods moved a muscle as they stood frozen in sheer terror, Freya included. Their eyes were trained on the young man standing in the middle of the room upon the small platform. All their powers and senses had been completely smothered and pretty much nullified simply in his presence.

Nekros scanned the assembled crowd before him. To the mortals of this world, these lifeforms were seen as ultimate beings of unfathomable power. But to the Transcendental, he merely scoffed at the little droplets of divine energy they each held. He had an infinite ocean of it to pull from, and yet he was above using it.

He merely needed to imagine what ever it was he wanted and it would be. That was show vastly superior he was to them. There was a greater distance between him and these insects than there were between them and the mortals. Nekros momentarily paused his eyes on Apollo who was still standing, quaking at his gaze. Nekros then fully fixed his stare on the avatar of Ouranos.

"What is this then 'Primordial'?" He said the word mockingly. "Have you not taught your lessers how rude it is to sit in such stations that cause them to look down on me?"

That statement snapped them all out of their daze and they all hurried down the stairs. Some vaulted over their tables to reach him quicker and lessen the chances of drawing his ire. The gods came in many forms, men, women and children some of them. But they were all reduced to fumbling messes in front of him.

That gathered before him, twitching in fear as he looked at them expectantly. Slowly, they all got on their hands and knees, bowing their heads and humbling themselves before him. Even Ouranos was doing the same down in his throne room, his avatar mimicking the act up in the gods' conference room. They mirrored the typical Japanese image of grovelling.

Freya looked up slightly to see him, only to make straight eye contact with him. The icy queen persona of hers and all the features that made her beautiful just vanished as her features were overtaken by inexplicable fear.

"Lord Transcendental." Began Ouranos, carefully. "What brings you to our lowly realm?"

Nekros refrained from answering and instead made the motion of sitting down. A throne like seat materialized behind him. he clicked his fingers towards Dionysus.

"You. Crawl here." He said, pointing to where his feet were.

The smartly dressed god gulped before moving on his hands and knees, ruining the fabric of his pants as he crawled in front of the throne. Ordinarily, the black hearted god of madness would have refused to do such a thing (who wouldn't?), but there was no way he would express such feelings in front of this person. In fact, the laws of existence made him want to obey the command, as the weak always follow the strong.

Nekros planted both his feet on his back, effectively turning Dionysus into a foot rest for his feet. The unnecessary humiliation further drove home to everyone present how little he thought of them, and how little they actually meant to him. And the worst part was that such behaviour could be backed up with might they could not fathom.

He shuffled in his seat a little, getting comfortable and making sure he took as much time as he wanted. This served to further unnerve all the weaklings in front of him, as he intended. Finally, he addressed Ouranos.

"I just came down here to check on how my son was doing."

"Your son, my lord?" Ouranos asked, confused.

"Yes, my son Garth Ragnar. The one whom you were all discussing moments ago." Apollo froze, not needing to look up to know that Nekros was looking at him. "I created his body from a drop of my own blood, and bestowed upon him abilities from my own pool of power. I also moulded his soul with my own hands. In every way, he is my son at this point."

"And why have you sent your offspring to live amongst us, lord?" Hermes piped up, his voice much quieter and strained than it would usually be.

"For fun." Nekros replied.

"For fun?"

"Indeed. He wanted to come to this and enjoy the adventurer's life, so I gave him the opportunity to do so. I merely popped by to meet someone he has become acquainted with."

"And that would be?"

"Her." Nekros pointed at Freya. "And her." He also pointed at Hephaestus. The two goddesses froze at having his attention on them. He smiled at them however, and gestured for them to rise. They obeyed. "You two needn't fear me. Out of everyone in this room, you two are the only ones I would not harm."

"And why would that be, if you don't mind my asking sir?" Hephaestus asked in a slightly trembling voice.

"Because my son likes the two of you. That's all the reason I need not to accidently snuff out your lives in the event I am angered by anybody foolish enough to get on my nerves here." He smiled at them. The two women looked at each other, certainly relieved but unsure if they should be reassured.

Nekros looked around the faces of the gods and settled onto Loki's. He pondered for a moment before gesturing her to stand up as well. She did so, a little confusedly.

"I suppose you as well." Nekros said offhandedly. "Not so much that he likes YOU, but he is friends with your children. If I did anything to you, it might upset them which in turn would upset him. So I suppose you can be spared as well."

"Thank you." Loki said in a serious tone for once.

"No problem." Nekros replied. "Now listen. I'm not going to be here long, or one of you is about to piss themselves. So I'll make this short and snappy. Stay out of my son's way. Obstruct him, or get in the way of his plans and you will die at his hands before I before I punish you further. Is that understood?"

He received several nods in reply and a collective murmur of 'yes, my lord'. He sighed sceptically before looking over them again.

"As if. You lot are of the rebellious kind. Once I've left, it won't be long before some of you return to your schemes. Not that I care about the contents of those schemes." He got up from his seat.

"Listen closely, I warn you more for your sake than for his. He WILL kill you, and he possesses the power to do so. I don't care whatever you do yourselves, but do not directly get in his way. Be careful where you step..." Nekros emphasized this by stepping on Dionysus' back and pushing him down. The trampled god felt as if Nekros was specifically addressing him through this abusive action. Ishtar felt a chill down her spine as she felt his gaze on her. "...or you may lose footing altogether."

He lifted his foot off Dionysus' back and the throne behind him vanished as if it were never there to begin with. He then beckoned towards Freya. "A word if you don't mind."

Freya nodded before slowly walking after him. They both reached the doorway as he stooped there and faced her. She could not bring herself to look him in the eye and instead looked own at their feet. He shook his head in mirth and lifted her face by the chin. Her eyes were made to look in his dazzling green ones.

"You needn't fear me Freya. I simply wish to ask my daughter-in-law how my son has been treating her."

"W-we have been fine sir. I am quite happy with him and how he has treated me. I-in fact, I've never been happier at any point in my life."

"And you are content with how he has decided to lead his?" Nekros questioned.

She nodded before asking something that had been on her mind.

"If you don't mind sir, does Garth know that you consider him your son?"

"No he does not. But I suppose you will tell him, no?"

"Yes, sir...There was one other thing I wished to ask you about as well-"

"Ah, yes. THAT thing. About that..." Nekros leaned forward to whisper something in her ear. Whatever it was, Freya found her cheeks becoming warm as her eyes widened in shock. She stared at him in disbelief and as he leaned away from her again.

"Really?" she breathed.

"Really, really." He winked. He then looked over at Hephaestus and beckoned her to come over. She complied and walked over to the two of them, fidgeting slightly. She was about to speak before held his hand in front of her face to stop her.

He then took both their hands in his own and smiled at them.

"In my name, I grant the two of you my blessing. May my son make you both happy." He grinned. They just slowly stared at each other before looking back at him, dazed. Blessings from a Transcendental was not just words and lip-service. They changed the wheels of fate themselves. His blessing meant they were guaranteed happy lives. He then looked back at the gathering of gods that were looking their way.

"Oh and by the way, you lot. Garth's adventurer name...hmm...just call him All Might, okay?" He smiled at them.

"Why All Might?" Freya questioned. He grinned again, and she saw a hint of mischievousness that she often found in Garth's smile.

"See his reaction, and you'll find out." He said mysteriously. "With that, my work is done here. I'd like to stay a little longer but the universe is not able to bear the weight of my presence any longer. If I stay, I may end up destroying it. The next time I see you will be at THAT event." He nodded suggestively to them. Hephaestus was confused, but Freya immediately got it and she flushed again.

In a blink of an eye he was gone. No walking or running away, nor any form of teleportation magic. He was there one moment and he simply wasn't there anymore, his touch lingering on their hands. Such was the power of a Transcendental. Reality was only how they saw it to be.

Everybody let out a heavy sigh as they tried to wrap their heads around what had just happened. Freya had more to think of, so she wasted no time and instead just left altogether. Ouranos no longer wished to be part of this and retrieved his avatar, sitting right back on his throne.

That left the remaining gods much to think over. For a few minutes, they lay on the floor contemplating and thinking over and over on what had just transpired. Ganesha was the first to speak as he lifted the microphone to his lips.

"I am Ganesha...and Garth Ragnar of the Freya Familia will henceforth be known as All Might!" he bellowed in an effort to cheer everyone up. All he was met by was annoyed and disappointed stares. He slowly shrunk back timidly.

He'd only been trying to help!

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