Eyes? What eyes?
I know not any eyes.
There's only a container with every sealing method I know slapped on it and tossed inside the Boosted Gear so Ddraig can also watch over it.
If I wasn't worried about Pandora's Box bullshit before, then I was definitely concerned now. Despite having the literal dying will of Big G in my spear that actually talked to me, I was understandably anxious now.
Not all gods are created equal.
That goes doubly so for gods across a multitude of worlds.
And not all gods exist in the same way.
In the world where I became a Campione, the gods there weren't physical in the slightest. They were purely manifestations of myths and legends, and even non-godly entities could become gods and heretic gods by different beliefs.
This made them functionally immortal. Even Susanoo and Hanuman that I killed, they just returned to the Domain of Immortality. It takes them some time to 'reform' properly, but they will always return as long as humanity exists, perhaps in a different form or identity, but under the layers, they're still there.
That's why the Campione system exists in that world, in combination with them descending to wreak havoc. Because the threat of the gods in that world always remains.
This leads to a unique variation of gods. They're almost entirely detached from the physical world, so from a physical power standpoint, they fall behind the ones from my birth world. Yet, their authorities seem much more potent, if a tad narrower in scope. Honestly, they're rather close to how Noble Phantasms operate and Servants in general.
In my birth world, the gods there were almost entirely physical, as ironic as that is to say about deities who are reflections of the world's phenomena. That isn't to say they're flesh and blood like a human in a normal sense.
They exist in the physical world entirely. Gods in my birth world can fade, but belief has significantly less hold on them, to the point where some gods who are almost entirely forgotten still hang around.
The gods in my birth world still possess authority, the right to alter the world. But their expressions of power are much more blunt and physical. However, this doesn't necessarily make them weaker, just…different from their Heretic counterparts.
A Heretic God from the Campione world could activate their Authority and flatten a city easily. A god from my birth world could also use their authority, but they'd probably end up throwing a punch with it rather than doing something more ethereal or conceptual.
And then, you have this world.
To be blunt about it, this world would be about the combination of the Campione Earth and my birth Earth.
They have the raw power, and their Authorities reach metaphysical levels on par with or above that of the Heretic Gods I've interacted with thus far.
And it's not a simple matter of 1+1 = 2.
The gods here—they're significantly stronger than both examples. The original gods were natural phenomena given shape and form due to human worship or interpretation.
Then, gradually, the gods lost their true forms and were regulated down to Divine Spirits.
If Izzy tried to fight her Divine Spirit counterpart here, she would lose handily.
The good news is that the gods, for the most part, don't exist in this world anymore.
There is a balance of the scales in all things. With the extra authority and power they wielded, they were also bound by certain restrictions.
As the Age of Gods ended, all Divine Spirits were forced to either fade away or retreat to the Reverse Side of the world. There are exceptions, of course, as the Divine Spirit was playing Burial Agent from before.
But that was a modern 'human' ascending through a very popular belief system that's still prevalent today.
She was essentially a Demonic Buddha God, but my knowledge of the finer details of Buddhism is admittedly lacking, so I couldn't exactly analyze more than that.
I couldn't fathom the actual cosmological scale that Buddhism operates on here. I wouldn't be surprised if Buddha could ignore the restrictions that the [world] places on divine spirits and appear if he truly desires.
Yet, even faded, even gone from the world, Divine Spirits could technically still take actions if needed.
Cu back in Chaldea running around with Odin bits was a prime example.
I wasn't surprised that Odin was able to manipulate the Time-Axis to put a bit of him into a future summoning of Cu Chulainn to act as a Trojan horse—to our benefit, of course.
It's humbling to say, but I would be much weaker in comparison to the normal Divine Spirits that lived during the Age of Gods.
And that all culminates in the big red flag that was sitting inside the Boosted Gear.
The Biggest of Gs'.
Big G in my birth world was a monster; the Big G here is frightening.
Even Zelretch doesn't know the true scope of him.
Zelretch, who was Solomon's student, has no clear knowledge of Big G's existence here.
That alone was enough to be wary.
Surprisingly, it wasn't even my first time having a 'run-in' with Big G on a scale that would have most of the Church bowing in reverence. Through the Spear and other variables that I thought elicited a one-time exception, there was an action taken from that part of existence during the Grail War.
Two Saints, a world-ending possibility, and Big G in my Spear of Longinus. I think I'm forgiven for thinking it wouldn't happen again.
And now? I was very explicitly targeted by Big G based on Morgan's words.
One of the few entities who could foresee my existence despite being outside the world's flow.
It was honestly rather terrifying.
I'm a literal demon spawn, and he's enlisting me to apparently run some kind of errand for him. My first instinct was just to feed the eyes to the spear and see what happens. But I pushed that thought away for now, having no idea the commotion that would cause.
It's best to prepare ahead of time.
However, I suppose I do owe him a debt after all.
"For the sake of Jeanne—and the fact that all her summoning's came with booty shorts—I'll accept this debt."
I splashed some water on my face as I settled down.
Nothing would come from pointless worry; things were ironically out of my hands despite having the Eyes in my grasp. At the very least, I didn't think he wanted to harm me or do anything I would dislike.
If anything, I should be far away from his shit list, considering my relationship with Jeanne and what I'm doing to help the Big G from my birth world.
And it's not like I don't have my own panic button in the form of an angry Eldritch Goddess who could potentially square up if needed.
I turned off the faucet and left the restroom, back into the room with both Venelana and Salem, who were packing up.
"Are you alright? You were in there for a bit." Venelana looked up at me as she put away some clothes.
"Just lost in thought for a moment." I waved it off. "Need some help?" I walked over to Salem, putting a hand on her waist.
She slapped my hand away with a huff. "I'm putting my clothing away, not taking it off."
"Oh my, she certainly can read you easily, can't she?" Venelana held a hand up to her mouth as she giggled.
Dammit, she saw right through me.
Oh well, it was more playful than serious on my end anyways.
I sat on the bed. "Well, it was certainly an interesting date."
"I can't say I've had such an exciting date before." Venelana responded. "I wouldn't mind more in the future."
Salem paused for a moment before continuing to 'pack' her bags. In that, she was taking her clothing out of the drawers, unfolding it, folding it again, and then putting it away.
Honestly, I think it was just a habit she developed from her long and isolated years. Certain actions are so ingrained in her passively that she doesn't even realize the oddity from her end.
Being immortal with thousands of years under her belt, she takes her time and does things slowly when they're mundane.
"It was pleasant." Salem said in her usual detached tone. "...I will also require your assistance later with the item I purchased."
I tilted my head. "Need help making something?"
"No." Her words were firm. "I simply…wish to show you something. That is all."
I wanted to ask for clarification, but I could feel that it wasn't appropriate at this moment, like it was something personal that she didn't want to talk about openly.
"Whatever you want, just call me when you're ready." She didn't respond, but I knew she heard me. "What about you, my dear Grandmother, are you happy with what you got?"
Venelana perked up, and I could see the excitement in her eyes plain as day. "I can't wait to get back and try some new things out~"
She really did love her brewing.
And I got to reap the benefits of it.
I can't say I'm an alcoholic, but I do enjoy a good drink whenever the opportunity presents itself.
"Did you talk to Olga and Trisha while I was busy?" I asked.
"Briefly." She replied casually. "It's been a bit chaotic, so we haven't had a good opportunity to sit down and talk at length about most things. However, they will be coming 'home' with me in a few days. Enough time for them to settle some of their own affairs and take an extended 'vacation,' as it were."
I just nodded, not interjecting with any opinions or anything. It wasn't really my place to say how I thought something should or shouldn't go.
This was her show, and I was just a side character.
Though I did have one question. "That's not going to cause any problems with the whole…thing, is it? With her turning into a devil and needing to stay nearby?"
"No, the worst of it is past. Obviously, she can't stay away for too long, but at this point, a few days won't cause any harm. If it were over a week or so, then there would start being issues."
That's good then; she's more of an expert on this than me, so I didn't question her.
I took out my Kaleidophone and checked the time. "It looks like we're just about to debark; care to join me for some last-minute goodbyes?"
Salem flicked her hand through the air. "They're no acquaintances of mine."
Fair.
Venelana kissed me on the cheek. "Go ahead and say your goodbyes."
"Alright, I'll go wrap up." I headed out.
[Line Break]
It was easy to find Waver; he was at the bar.
He wasn't alone either.
"Waver, Captain Hook." I greeted them both.
A surprising combination of people.
Also, Gray was sitting at the table; it looked like she had juice. "And Miss Gray. I presume Kay is here as well." That was rhetorical; I knew he was.
"Yo." Kay answered from within Gray's bag.
"L-Lord Schweionrg." Gray seemed surprised by my sudden presence but quickly regained her calm demeanor.
"Lord Schweinorg." Waver also gave me a greeting. "I assume you're here to say goodbye?"
I nodded, joining them at the bar. "The train should be back at the station in…ten minutes, I want to say? We've already gotten back to the Isles, and we're on a Leyline I'm familiar with."
"Captain Hook was telling me some of his fantastical stories." Waver said casually, seemingly nonplused by the fact that Captain Hook was drinking with him.
The good captain tipped his hat. "Good evening, my friend."
"A good evening to you as well. And thank you for coming along, even if nothing came of it."
"Ah, well, a fight would have been fun, but it's best that things ended as they did." He replied.
He wasn't wrong.
Am I a bit of a fight junkie? Compared to Scáthach, I'd say no, but I do have my own moments, and I do enjoy fighting. But like he said, it was best that things ended as they did, without any further conflict erupting.
I swiveled in my stool until my eyes landed on Gray and Kay again before speaking. "You don't have to worry about Morgan; she didn't come here for any reasons involving you."
Gray looked…relieved? Maybe she didn't understand the implications fully, but also, the thought must have existed in the back of her mind.
She was a very quiet girl, so she didn't say anything directly.
"Hmph, who cares what she's after as long as she isn't going to bother us." Kay said dismissively.
"As for that other matter we talked about—fixing her—I haven't forgotten; I'll ask a few people for their opinions, then get back to you."
I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.
And it's best not to just blurt it out in the open and all that, so I quickly changed the subject. "Captain, how long are you staying for?"
"The wonderful people here offered to let me stay for a few days, free of charge. It's been a long time since I've had all I could drink and eat, so I took them up on their offer." He held up his drink in a mock toast.
"So, they want you to protect them from anyone who has any ideas until they can safely hide away?" I asked.
"Oh, most certainly." He chuckled, clearly knowing what their motives are. "A fair trade, nonetheless. It was rare in my life that I got to live in the lap of luxury; I wouldn't mind indulging for a day or two."
Well, he deserved a vacation, or whatever it was he was going to call this. After all, he was basically going to be guarding Arc for who knows how long and nothing else.
I got up from my seat. "Ladies, gentlemen, Brother-in-Law." I said my final goodbyes. "It's been an unexpected pleasure."
Kay snorted. "Get out of here."
Well, things that were left unsaid didn't need to be said outright.
Kay knew Artoria was going to come knocking; no need to throw it back in his face.
I headed back to my room, where the girls should be. However, after walking through a few train cars, I looked through the glass of the door and saw Morgan again.
She was at her same table in the main lobby car where the auction was held.
She was looking out the window and, as if noticing my gaze, turned to look at me.
It was brief, but our eyes met, and there was…a certain lack of hostility there before she returned to staring out the window.
"Something on your mind again, dear?" Venelana's gentle touch landed on my shoulder.
"Nothing important." I turned away from Morgan.
"I finished packing my belongings, and it appears I have finished just in time." Salem joined as the train came to a screeching halt.
Thankfully, it was the good kind of screeching, not an abrupt and panicked braking.
The moon held overhead, and the faint lights of the station illuminated the night.
We stepped out along with the few remaining passengers. Most of everyone else already did a runner when they had the opportunity.
I noted Luvia, who met my gaze, giving me a polite and different nod, as if to politely give me her goodbyes before turning and leaving into the London night.
Waver and his little group also deboarded.
The same with Luvia; he gave us a final acknowledgement.
Though I'm pretty sure he's hoping we don't meet again…too soon, at least. He looked rather tired after everything that happened.
One surprising patron I forgot about had stepped off the train with slow, methodical steps.
It was Karabo, except his eyes were covered by bandages.
It seems like he finally got his wish to be rid of his Mystic Eyes.
He seemed to notice me staring, somehow, and turned his head my way, giving an oddly warm smile before leaving as well.
He looked much more at peace compared to before.
I don't know what method he was using to 'see,' but more power to him.
I wished him well.
Olga and Trisha seemed to appear a few moments later. The younger girl looked flustered as Venelana gave her a warm smile and a wave as well. She clearly was still not used to being doted on.
Trish bowed towards us before taking Olga and departing for now.
There were a few other miscellaneous faces, but no one I paid any particular attention to.
With a flick of my hand, I produced a portal back home.
It was a nice little excursion, all things considered, but I'm definitely ready to go back home now.
[Line Break]
"Home sweet home~" Venelana said happily. "I need to go check on the kids to see what I've missed."
"Do you want to go home right away, Salem?"
"If you wouldn't mind." She said plainly.
I nodded to her, giving her own little portal back to her castle.
Right before she walked through, she stopped and looked my way. "It was a pleasant time. I look forward to the next."
Even though she said it with her normal aloofness, it did make my heart all warm and fuzzy to know she enjoyed spending time together.
I wish she would stay longer, but I definitely won't be against watching her walk away.
She turned around one last time after she had already walked through, and she definitely caught me staring at her butt.
She just rolled her eyes, but there was definitely a note of playfulness.
I'm fairly sure this is the longest she's ever been away from home; it must have been a strange feeling for an immortal like her.
"No one else is here, it seems?" I looked around the living room, and it was dead quiet.
I felt Venelana's arms around me. "Kiss."
"Glady~"
After a quick kiss, she took out her phone. "The others seem to be at the field where we all go to play without causing any disturbances. I just told them we got back; you can head over if you want. I need to head home and check in, like I said."
"Want a ride?"
"I appreciate it, but I can teleport over." She threw down her own teleportation circle with a wink. "I'll be back after checking in." She said before disappearing.
Well, she's a mother just as well. Being away from home for a few days, her first instinct is to check on her kids; I couldn't fault her there.
Instead, I just stepped out of the house and made my way over to the 'field.'
It didn't really have a name, just the vacant fields outside of Yasaka's compound. It wasn't being used for anything previously, so we sort of just hijacked it for more…strenuous activities.
I crossed the distance fairly quickly with my speed and arrived to see several people here.
"How's everyone—" I paused, looking at the scene in front of my eyes.
Raikou was apparently sparring with Jinn. She had her signature purple lightning wrapped around her; nothing strange there.
The strangeness came from Jinn herself, who looked like a startled cat as she stared at me; then, slowly, she began to fall over.
She began to fall over because she was holding Thor's hammer.
Not just his hammer, she had his oversized gloves, which looked rather comical on her dainty hands. And he was wearing Thor's belt like a sash over her shoulder.
The hammer, very clearly, far too heavy for her, hit the ground hard enough to cause it to crater just from the height it fell.
"Master~" Raikou smiled brightly seeing me, the first one to react.
Jinn, as if completely uncaring about the divine hammer, let go of it and jumped at me.
I caught her easily as she giggled in my arms. "Welcome back!"
"Dare I ask what's going on?" I responded rather confusedly.
"The Lass was playing." Scáthach said casually despite the ridiculousness of it. "Welcome back, student."
I held a hand out and pulled Raikou into the hug, much to her happiness, as I kissed her forehead.
Jinn, Scáthach, Raikou, and even Yasaka were here; she gave me a little tired wave. She looked like she wanted to go to sleep but was keeping herself up out of sheer spite.
Also, they weren't alone; Odin was here, sitting with Yasaka. It looked like they were discussing something.
Odin nodded my way. "Welcome back, brat. I heard you had a hell of a time."
"That's one way of putting it." I still didn't let go of either of them. "So…hammer."
"I borrowed it." Jinn smiled brightly.
I looked at Odin, who just shrugged as if it were the most simplistic thing in the world.
"Well, alrighty then."
Thor just let her take all his divine weapons and go play with them; I'm honestly not even surprised anymore.
I threw Jinn up over my shoulder for fear of her actually being able to lift up Mjolnir right now. "Yasaka, are you alright?"
"I'm good, just tired~." She responded. "Been dealing with a lot of things; plenty of other factions have entered Kyoto, so it's been busy." She finished with a yawn. "I don't mean to rush you, but we need to deal with the thing."
"I have nothing but free time now."
"Perfect, the sooner we can deal with those humans, the better."
Right, we still had to handle the humans stuck in the Fae Lands.
"I assume that's why you're here, Odin?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Partially." He didn't hide it.
"If you're here, I need to borrow you for a few minutes. I got something I need your help with, and unfortunately, I don't feel particularly confident in putting it off." I looked around. "I just got back, but…"
Yasaka gave a shooing motion. "Go deal with your important thing first, then come back. We'll be here waiting for you."
I did feel a little guilty about just coming back after a few days and immediately disappearing before I barely said hello, but yeah. Couldn't put this off; needed to deal with it.
"I'm also taking Jinn. Come along, old man."
Odin grumbled at my way of calling, but I ignored it and quickly shot back towards the house, Jinn still over my shoulder.
Odin wasn't slow; he arrived just after me, and I threw the door open as he followed.
We ended up in the library as I set Jinn down. "Jinn, activate the defenses, please. Make sure nothing can escape from the house."
"You better not break my library!" She warned, cutely but firmly.
"Hooh, something like that, huh?" Odin could tell I was serious.
He knew about my house. The defenses were already rather impressive, but the library was…it was basically the 'panic room' if needed.
It all hummed to life; on top of all the already active magical effects, they became significantly more layered.
"Alrighty, it's all set up." Jinn told me.
Without waiting, I took out the True Longinus and set it on the table. "Truthfully, I don't know what will happen; I just wanted to take precautions."
Having Odin here would definitely help as well.
Odin stretched his back. "Serious mode it is then. Alright, I'm ready for whatever." He gripped his spear as if he were ready for a fight.
I nodded to him and then took out the container with the eyes and its many, many layers of sealing.
They didn't say anything, probably not wanting to disturb me. But I could feel Odin tense up at my side.
I could explain properly after.
I opened the case, and for the first time, I physically touched the eyes. I admit I was hesitant and a bit timid with the first touch. But they didn't immediately try to smite me, so that's good…I think.
They were oddly squishy. Not that it was odd that eyes would be squishy in general, but these ones in particular look like they're made of glass or crystal or something.
Honestly, I didn't want to think about it any longer; I felt strange holding them, having them on my person or around me.
I just wanted them done and gone.
So, I did what I did before with the Holy Relic.
I dropped them onto the spear.
There was a faint flash of Holy Light and—
The faint sound of the eyes plopping against the spear and bouncing off.
"..."
One of the eyes slowly rolled off the table.
The silence was deafening.
[Line break]
A/N
Spear didn't eat the eyes; maybe it's allergic? And so ends the Mystic Eye Train arc, now onto other things.
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.