Unwilling Eldritch Horror of Fortune

Noe was the first being to greet me, just as she was the last one to see me off to sleep. Her form was hazy, with just the outline visible of the construct that I had created so, so long ago. She was incomplete, but the fact that she could materialize even in part was a good sign. I couldn’t wait to see what had transpired on her side since my slumber.

“Good morning,” she said, “I am glad to see you awake once more, Lord-”

I smiled at my angel, of my sweet creation, “Please, continue to call me Walter, just as I will continue to know you as Noe. I quite like that name, even if I spoke it out of a moment of uncertainty.”

I chuckled when I recalled how I first met Noe, back in that circular room. Only moments had passed since that fateful encounter, mere Earth months, but it felt longer than anything I had experienced prior to my sleep. It’s amazing how a new perspective could shift your perception of time.

“Understood,” my system replied, “Are you up to speed on the current situation?”

I went through the memories in my brain; I was missing much of my higher functions given this limited form, but I had regained enough to understand the general jist of what was happening.

I sighed, it seems like the hatchling of an Overseer had gotten a little too eager now that he had grown but a bit. Still as foolish as I recalled him, all those cycles ago, but his ambitions had ruined his potential. The anger that I felt towards him were still fresh in my mind and he would pay for the indignity that he put upon me while I was dreaming, that I will do.

“I know enough, Noe,” I said softly, “I know enough.”

With a tought, I forced the decaying dreamscape around me to stablize once more, now frozen in an infinitisimal amount of time, in that gap between moments. All was stable before I saw the skies crack and the earth fracture before a wail of grief and anger erupted from the very core of the city. Seems the Origin Matrix noticed my arrival. No matter, I had long made sure that it couldn’t communicate with anyone else, a little parting gift before I took my nap.

I snapped my fingers and the disruptions disappeared. The washed out colors and dissolving buildings reformed once again, and with another nudge of my mind, and the Origin Matrix’s cute attempts to spy on me were cut short. With my partial awakening, the last little gift I had inserted into it should come to fruition soon, and while it won’t be able to damage the system, it will give me some breathing room later on.

But for now, I needed a little bit of time to gather myself now that I had woken before the time was right. I wanted to enjoy myself before I meet the poor misguided Jordan and the rest of Central’s menials.

“And boy did I get myself into a tricky situation; I’ve never seen Origin throw a tantrum like that one!” I chuckled, “I’m amazed at my own ability to screw things up! But I’m still alive somehow, so I can’t blame myself too much.”

“As I said before, my Lord,” Noe answered, “You did remarkably well given the situation, but I had never doubted you.”

I nodded, “And are our plans still going well? How many shards have you integrated so far?”

“As you know, the Emotion Shard was successfully acquired in the Second Trial, a welcome if unexpected boon. It is fully integrated and freely available for your use,” she replied, “While my tendrils have managed to acquire the Domination and the Perception Shard in the interim, but they are not fully assimilated as of now. I am still in the process of locating the further Shards while spreading your influence. I am additionally limiting the amount of information your sleeping form acquires so as to not overload the fragile human brain.”

“I see, good,” I smiled, “That’s quicker than the original plan, and just having one shard is more than enough for now. Plus, I seem to have some Xollon parts in me as well, at least the start of one.”

“It was fortuitous for you to acquire that new Soul Title from meeting Xalla, my Lord,” Noe replied, “It has enabled your body to adjust much faster than anticipated, and has greatly accelerated your growth. Your mind is able to handle much more at such an early stage of development.”

“I can tell, I’ll have to poperly thank Xalla and that old purne Rogue properly next time,” I said as I thought back on the two, “Still can’t believe that old Xollon’s alive and kicking. Not many are still around from my generation now, and he wasn’t sleeping for most of that! He’s older than dirt at this point. And Big Bob’s even fatter now, ha!”

“It is a surprise to see your old acquaintances, my Lord, but do remember that although the Soul title is helping, your body will still need time to properly adjust to the changes. I have done my best to insulate your growing mind as instructed, but unexpected events have played out that have undermined my efforts,” Noe said apologetically, “I’m afraid that this early awakening will only hinder your growth.”

“Then it’s a good thing the Origin Matrix - scratch that - I mean the Trash Matrix is helping me out by incubating this body faster than I ever could,” I answered with a grin, “Sure saved me the time with its stupid ‘awakening’ program - damned good idea to make use of that by the way. I’d be cycles behind if it wasn’t for that piece of junk meant to replace you.”

“It is a temporary replacement, my Lord,” Noe said and I could just hear the scowl in her voice, even if her fiery face remained stoic.

“I know, I know,” I joked, “It’s good to see the Emotion Shard’s working as intended. We’ll deal with the Trash Matrix soon enough, Noe, don’t you worry.”

“I will count down the days.”

I laughed, “And this dely matters very little in the long run; I know you’ll take care of me even if I dream a little longer than intended. I can see that I am quite capable, even when I am so limited.”

I stretched out my human body and looked at the horizon, at the approaching Dusk. I missed the feeling of such vulnerability, of the feeling of the gentle breeze on skin once more. So much had happened since my initial slumber that I had forgotten about the simple pleasures of life.

I smiled again despite myself, despite knowing that I would have to rest once more in short order, “But you’re right, Noe, this will set us back. We might need to make some adjustments in our plans to accommodate for the new obstacles if we are to avoid the End. Who knows how many more cycles we’ll have to wait if we miss that deadline…”

“Too many, my Lord. So we must prioritze the safety and continued growth of Anomaly Kim Jae-Hyun?”

“Yes, any other strategy will prove too slow with our limited remaining time,” I said with a small shake of the head, “But we have some minor annoyances to take care of first.”

“The Overseer will prove to be a challenge given your early awakening, my Lord,” Noe reasoned, “Your current form will not be able to match his power.”

I laughed again as I saw how right she was. My physical body was woefully weak. I swung my arm in an arc and marveled at the explosion of bones and sinew as my limbs were unable to contain even a fraction of the speed I subjected it to. I let the pain linger for a moment before reforming the destroyed appendage.

“Remarkable,” I muttered as I continued to stare at the arm, “So limiting, yet the potential is unlimited. I’m amazed I managed to live this long in such a form, but there’s so much room to grow and adapt. You chose the right species for this task, Noe, unlike the disaster last time.”

“I apologize for that, my Lord,” she said, “I did not foresee the limited growth cap of the last host species, I am at fault for making you waste so much time on a failed experiment.”

I took a deep breath in and smiled, “It was hardly like we could just choose a Xollon as a host, as much as that would benefit us, and I can hardly say it was a waste of time, Noe. Our failures are working towards our advantage this time ‘round. I even managed to take over my old job, quite lucky indeed, although being an Arbiter again without the skills to back it up was an issue. You should have seen me panic when I first met Xalla!”

“My memories before the integration of the Emotion Shard is fuzzy, so I do not recall that encounter,” she answered, “However, I am glad things are working to our favor now, my Lord. It is why I was created to do.”

“Oh come now,” I said with a chuckle, “You’re much more than just a set of commands, and you know it. Maybe I should have made a sarcasm shard while I was designing you…”

“I am glad that you did not, my Lord,” she replied dryly, “But I am still missing much of my functions. We are still too early in our plans for you to make a major move.”

“I know, I know,” I dismissed, “But I have enough at my disposal to do what I need to. I may not be able to overthrow that stupid Overseer, but I can at least salvage this current situation, limited in ability or not. Plus, my second Soul Title is remarkably suited for what I need to do, even if I only have access to their secondary form. Plus, the Xollon have always been a dependable ally to have.”

I recalled all of my conversations with the Overseer during that Tribunal meeting again. I couldn’t believe that idiot chose to antagonize the Xollon of all races. Sure, they’ve stopped spreading out their mutiversal conquests after that disaster of a war, but surely the people of this generation should have a better idea of the true might of that race. 1200 cycles wasn’t that long ago… although that just be my weird sense of time. I guess most creatures don’t survive the collapse and reconstruction of a local universe.

I couldn’t help but grin thinking how I even managed to visit Xolloid, let alone date one of their species. How I managed that was still lost to me. And Xolloid had turned out to be an honestly nice place to be around now, a lot better than how I remembered it in any case. Maybe I should retire there once all of this is said and done.

“Shall we get going, my Lord?” Noe interrupted my daydreams, “Or would you like a few more minutes to adjust?”

I shook my head, “No, as much as I would like to relax, this isn’t the time and place for it. The Trash Matrix is getting feisty as well.”

“It should know it’s place.”

“And it will, Noe,” I assured, “it will in due time. Let it squirm in the knowledge that I am back, and it knows better than anything that I never let a grudge go. Come, let’s go back and greet the good people of Site 1104 properly.”

With another snap of my finger, time resumed in this artificial local and the once stable buildings and streets started to crumble once more. I felt the pull of the machine hooked into my body, forcing me back into the Main Stage, and I allowed it to take me this time, along with all of the thousands of other consciousness’s floating in other simulations. It was time to wake up from this dream.

“Let’s go, Noe,” I said once more before I dissolved into mist.

“Acknowledged.”

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