New Beginning 22: Once Upon a New Beginning...

[Zaleramancer]

"Five florthanxian flrdlsheps on the Golem." My shadow mutters to me.

"He's technically no-"

"Don't care."

We continue to watch the battle from a million different angles and half as many speeds, sipping from a glass of elvish wine.

As the shallowest fragment of my mind observes the battle, a myriad oversee the reconstruction efforts. Thousands of souls are captured and restored to newly growing bodies, infected AI-ware is restored from back-ups, new astral bodies are conjured for those drove into the deeps of the astral sea, drones are reconfigured and repaired.

Industry and energy grow in some parts, poring power and matter into others. Stars are pulled from storage to contribute to the effort. Raw energy is spun into physical form, manipulated into a more pleasing shape. The infernal furnaces of the depths awaken as fire demons smelt and boil.

Trillions of Magic Minions spawn or awaken, constructing and rebuilding, moving and reforming.

Not only the physical aspects of the dimension, but the mental and spiritual as well are tended to. Telepaths scouring the mentalities and mind-collections for strains of invasive or corrupted thought. Furious avengers stalk the mystical planes for the few demons that dare lurk. Astral Devas sing songs of rejuvenation and restoration.

A billion billion billion messages flow through my core as the many minds that compose me work to create the emergent behavior that is my intellect.

I take another sip of wine and cheer Brutus on.

[Zaleramancer]

(I'm watching them watch me. Through their shadows. Just refraining from mentioning it. Politeness, after all. If it wanders from this place, whatever it is will be detected and EXTERMINATED. I'm on edge regarding crucial centers of my being.)

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

(Well, you could catch him in the act. Harold is very small, and very subtle, but not invisible. Imagine a golden, fuzzy, anthropomorphic beetle who is the definition of Disney cute.)

[Humunculi]

(Hey, sorry I wasn't on today I've been really busy. I should be on tomorrow and if Marv and Brutus have finished their fight, Zale and I can start ours.)

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

"Oooooo," Suzu says. "What're florthanxian flrdlsheps? They sound cool."

She looks at the shadow briefly before continuing, "And your shadow talks with you too! I wish mine could do that! Since you're making bets here mind if I make one too?"

Suzu reaches into her pocket before pulling out six silvery-white discs with holes in their centers strung across a red string, "I bet six platinum Quans that the Butler will win."

[The Narrator]

I'm no betting man but I got $5 on the butler too

[Philote]

10 units of Correnite on the Golem

I think I'd like to have a brawl with Zeus from Wulf's world at some point

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 You wouldn't. In my mythos, they outrank the power of mere reality benders. And even if you manage to overpower him, a Theomachy is the last thing you would want to go up against.

[Humunculi]

The Innocent One: In an excited childish voice "Sooooooooo, when do you want to play a game of fight Mr. Zale?"

[Philote]

I'm no mere reality bender

Besides, we could have some form of dimensional democratic immunity in place

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

I'm just going to preemptively saythis, but "Congratulations on reaching your 10,000th post Philote! Wooooo hooooo!"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Marv pounds on random walls and random spots on the floor for nearly three minutes before a fist lands on a spot that responds to his assault. Though, there isn't much time for Marv to notice the bright blue circular spot beneath his hand. Nearly as soon as he notices it, that same energy channels from the wall like blue electricity, straight down Marv's arm, and out of the other side of Marv's body, latching onto his back in the form of the butler Brutus.

Yet, he also knows better than to hold on long enough for the Miscreant to pull off any up close damage. Before Marv can react to his grappling, he backflips onto the ground, and draws his palms together in something of a prayerful position.

"Fight like a butler, eh?" Brutus smirks at the Miscreant, "Well, don't worry, Sir Miscreant. Whatever dust there is left of you, I'll be sure to sweep up afterward."

As he finishes talking, the butler pulls his hands apart from his prayerful position, and a fierce silvery-blue light grows within. His eyes light up with the same metallic azure fierceness, and he shouts at last, "WARP-TACHYON PULSE!"

Ironically, for never having encountered anything from the Dragonball universe, his Goku Kamehehameha blast style is spot on. The bright, blazing blue assault lasts for nearly twenty seconds.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 True, but he's no mere god, either. Certainly not just some Marvel Universe imitation that you can just smack away with the terse utterance, "Puny god."

Not saying he'd utterly lay the smack down on you or anybody here, but he's pretty powerful, and has had way more experience at divinity than any of us have had as reality benders. Maybe you'd like to go against the goddess Philote instead?

(Also, yeah, congrats ahead of time on your 10,000th post! )

[Marvelous Miscreant]

(yeah, you're gonna have to give me some indication of the intended effect of that. Cuase it sound like you're trying to teleport me or something...)

[Celadon's Penultimate]

(Sorry...light is pretty powerful as an attack. I always just kind of assumed that since tachyons naturally move faster than light, their effect in an attack would be more powerful...basically a Goku-type attack, like the post says. Choose whatever magnitude of effect you feel is appropriate.)

[The Narrator]

Ha. Love hulk.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

[Marvelous Miscreant]

I blink in surprise

"Wait, what?" I manage to stammer before the beam of light hits me full force. Rocks explode and pulverize, metals melt and bend, minerals splinter and shatter as the beam tears through my body like a hot knife through butter. The sound is horrifying.

Suddenly the light clears as the attack ceases. My massive earthen body is frozen in horror. A massive circle of my body is missing from my chest and left side. A thin bridge of stone is all that keeps my upper torso connected to my feet.

"That was...so..."

The sound of crumbling rocks echoes across the arena in the silence as my body crumbles into a miniature landslide.

"Noooooooo........"

Dead silence.



...





Suddenly black ooze explodes from the mass of collapsed rocks and splinters towards Brutus.

"JUST KIDDING!" I call out as the black liquid soaks into and forms a new body from the walls behind Brutus.

I hadn't expected such a powerful attack to come from Brutus. I had to ditch my other form just to stay in the fight. Of course, he didn't have to know that. Instead of attacking I drop a nice little card I'd prepared for Brutus at his feet.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Well, that was just unsportsmanlike." Maupin can't help but criticizes.

[Zaleramancer]

Direct conflict with a god is silly.

Turning them against each other is easier and more effective.

All it takes is an apple.