CHAPTER 178: OBSIDIAN GOD

Ratatoskr’s unfathomable mass, still swaying in its dreamlike trance, sensed the intrusion before it fully coalesced.

Bubbles along its surface quickened, eyes swiveling in unison toward a point of gathering shadow midway between the eldritch bulk and Fathomi’s distant sphere.

A cloaked figure materialized there, cloaked in darkness that absorbed the fringe’s faint, scattered glimmers.

The cloak draped heavy and absolute, its fabric—or whatever passed for it—a void-woven shroud that trailed faint wisps of null-light, as if devouring the space it occupied.

Beneath the hood, a pallid face emerged—sharp features etched with lines of ancient weariness, eyes like polished obsidian reflecting nothing but the infinite.

Hands emerged from sleeves, gloved in the same unrelenting black, fingers long and deliberate as they adjusted the cloak’s folds.

Ratatoskr’s chorus voice sung in greeting, tendrils curling forward in welcoming arcs.

"Kain, welcome," it intoned, the word a layered echo that vibrated through the emptiness. "What brings you to this quiet expanse?"

Kain inclined his head, his obsidian eyes scanning the bubbling mass before drifting outward.

He then glanced left, then right.

"I greet you as well, Ratatoskr," Kain replied, his voice was like stone ground smooth by endless tides. "I sensed Serendipity and Nidhogg nearby, but I cannot locate them precisely."

Ratatoskr’s surface rippled with amusement, bubbles rising in playful clusters.

A cluster of eyes winked in sequence, faces chuckling in muted harmony.

"Those two are in an adjacent subspace," it explained. "They are duking it out in a friendly sparring match."

Kain’s gloved hands tightened fractionally at his sides, the cloak’s hem stirring as if disturbed by an unseen wind.

His obsidian eyes narrowed, gaze piercing toward the point where the fringe thinned into layered veils—subspaces overlapping like translucent sheets, their boundaries marked by faint warps in the void.

"Is that alright?" Kain asked, his concern threading his tone like a vein of ore in unyielding rock. "For two transcendent beings such as them to recklessly partake in an artificial conflict with one another?"

The mass undulated gently, tendrils waving in dismissive grace. Lights danced across its folds, faces adopting reassuring casts.

"They are only sending a piece of themselves into the bout," Ratatoskr replied. "Not their entire strength. It is harmless exertion, a momentary diversion amid greater designs."

Kain nodded slowly, though the tension lingered in his posture.

The eldritch mass shifted its focus, eyes converging in a multifaceted stare that enveloped Kain without pressure.

"And what is your business here, Kain?" Ratatoskr asked. "It is not usual for you to venture into the cosmic expanse like this."

Kain’s obsidian eyes met the cluster of gazes, unflinching.

He straightened fractionally.

"I want to meet Lambda," he stated.

Ratatoskr’s bubbling paused, a brief hush falling over its surface. Faces exchanged glances, eyes dimming as if consulting inner depths.

The mass expanded slightly, tendrils retracting in contemplative loops.

"Lambda is not in a state for interaction at the moment," it replied after the lull. "She is currently partaking in a rather important mission."

Kain’s brow furrowed beneath the hood, gloved fingers flexing once.

"Is it pertaining to the Genesis Ark?" Kain pressed.

The mass affirmed with a resonant pulse, lights rippling across its folds in confirmation.

Faces nodded gravely, eyes reflecting the sphere’s marbled storms.

"Yes," Ratatoskr confirmed. "It is. You might need to wait a couple of Fathomi days before you can properly contact her, and maybe a lot of days depending on the situation down there."

"It is unlikely of you to be unsure when it comes to time, Ratatoskr."

"While my control over time can be considered great by many existential beings, time in Fathomi is its own layers of intricacy that I rather not tamper nor perceive."

"Sounds annoying."

"I already made peace with it!"

Kain exhaled softly. His gaze drifted to the sphere again, tracing its cracks where distortions played like captive storms.

"Is it possible for me to just send a puppet vessel down to Fathomi?" he asked. "To make direct contact with her?"

Ratatoskr pondered visibly, its surface churning slower, bubbles forming deliberate patterns—arcs of query, loops of caution.

Tendrils extended toward Kain, hovering like thoughtful fingers, brushing the air near his cloak without intrusion.

Faces furrowed in concentration, eyes narrowing to slits of focused gleam.

"It can only be done safely after the digitalization is finished," it explained. "If you send a puppet vessel at this moment, Fathomi will track down your real vessel. Any kind of turbulence that happens in Fathomi will also affect your entire being and spiritual existence.

"Which is, you know, to us foreigners, is a bad, bad time since we don’t want any connection with the world yet."

Kain’s obsidian eyes sharpened, gloved hand rising to adjust his hood.

"Why is that?" he inquired.

Ratatoskr’s tendrils gestured broadly, encompassing the sphere’s fragile curve.

Bubbles surged in explanatory waves, faces lecturing with animated gestures—one a teacher’s raised finger, another a storyteller’s flourish, and many were curious observers.

"It is because you have not gone through an Apotheosis," the mass answered.

Kain’s posture stiffened, the cloak drawing tighter around his form.

"I am already a higher existential being," he argued.

The eldritch mass bubbled softly, a note of clarification threading its chorus.

"I refer to the Apotheosis process in Fathomi," Ratatoskr clarified. "Not the general Apotheosis."

Kain paused, obsidian eyes flicking toward the sphere once more.

"That is dumb," he stated flatly.

Ratatoskr’s laughter erupted then, a cascade of mirth rippling through its bulk.

Bubbles burst in gleeful sprays, tendrils flailing in delight. Faces contorted in shared amusement—belly laughs from rotund jesters, chuckles from veiled mystics, outright guffaws from spectral clowns.

"Not many things make sense in Fathomi," it replied, voice laced with lingering mirth. "That is part of its charm."

Kain’s expression softened fractionally, a rare crack in his shadowed composure.

"Why do you ’lots’ aim for Fathomi?" Kain asked. "When many other exotic worlds exist out there, in many different grand timelines and dimensions?"

Ratatoskr’s mirth faded to a contemplative simmer, bubbles slowing to deliberate rises.

Tendrils curled inward, eyes converging in a singular, profound gaze that pinned Kain without weight.

"Because Fathomi is special," it answered. "Because it is where the Celestial Avatar resides."

Kain tilted his head, obsidian eyes narrowing in query. His gloved fingers steepled before him, a gesture of poised intrigue amid the endless drift.

"What is the Celestial Avatar?" he inquired.

The eldritch mass paused, its pulsing rhythm halting entirely.

Bubbles froze mid-rise, tendrils stilled in mid-curl. Eyes dimmed collectively, faces veiling in contemplative shadow.

After the hush stretched taut, Ratatoskr’s chorus resumed, soft and weighted with unspoken depths.

"The Celestial Avatar is someone that we hold very dear."

The hush lingered a beat longer, Ratatoskr’s mass holding its collective breath, before a sharp rift tore through the adjacent subspace veil.

Energy bled from the edges—blues clashing with whites in fading afterimages of shattered tiles and volatile energy.

The portal stabilized into a jagged frame, exhaling two figures who stepped through with the casual disarray of spent exertion.

Serendipity emerged first, suit rumpled at the cuffs, blue tie askew but swiftly straightened with a tug. Strands of her long blue hair clung to her sweat-dampened brow, aloof eyes sharpening as they swept the fringe.

Behind her, Nidhogg floated out, white wings folding with a rustle, halo flickering erratically above her head.

The teen-like entity’s white hair tangled wildly, cords from her stomach coiling lazily as they retracted toward the sealed rift and maybe beyond. A bruise-like shadow marred her cheek, already fading into pale ether, but her white eyes sparkled with unbridled glee.

Kain turned toward them.

"Greetings," he said, voice steady as ever. "How did your friendly bout conclude?"

Nidhogg beamed, wings fluttering once in residual thrill. She punched the air lightly.

"Serendipity kicked my ass," she declared happily. "I need to learn more about controlling my bloodlust when fighting with only a mere piece of myself, is the conclusion that has been made by the two of us!"

Serendipity snorted, brushing a final stray feather from her shoulder. Her blue eyes flicked to Kain, sharpness cutting through post-spar haze.

"Why are you here?" Serendipity asked.

Ratatoskr’s chorus interjected smoothly, bubbles resuming their gentle pop along the mass’s folds.

"Kain comes to see if he can make contact with Lambda," it explained.

Kain inclined his head, confirming with a faint dip. "That is true."

Serendipity scratched her head, fingers raking through blue locks with mild irritation.

"Lambda is currently in a very important mission right now," she said.

Kain’s obsidian gaze held steady. "I already know."

Serendipity exhaled, the sound carrying faint blue motes that drifted toward Ratatoskr’s nearest eye.

She reached into her suit’s inner pocket, withdrawing a device that defied simple form—countless geometries interlocking in a handheld orb, facets shifting between polyhedrons and impossible curves.

"Anywho, you will be contacted by her when Lambda can be interacted with," Serendipity voiced, pressing the orb into his gloved palm.

"Thank you."

"This is nothing. I’m doing this because you’re one of the many high existential beings that aren’t a total jackass, heh."

Kain paused, fingers closing around the artifact. Its weight felt negligible, yet potent—like holding a folded timeline.

His obsidian eyes lifted, curiosity edging his tone as he glanced between the group.

"I heard from Ratatoskr about the reason why, out of all worlds, Fathomi is the one chosen," he said. "Is the Celestial Avatar also someone dear to you?"

Serendipity’s expression hardened, blue eyes flashing with unfiltered disdain.

She crossed her arms, tie snapping taut under the motion.

"I do not see the Celestial Avatar that way," she outright answered. "In fact, I hate the Celestial Avatar."

Meanwhile, Nidhogg’s beam widened impossibly, white eyes crinkling at the edges.

Her wings half-unfurled in excitement, cords undulating like eager tails, and her halo glowing brighter.

"The Celestial Avatar is my wifey," she beamed with a smile. "I cannot wait to show her my precious garden after all of the annoying parts are done!"

Kain’s pallid features betrayed rare surprise.

"What do you mean by wifey?" he asked in confusion.