Chapter 1131: A Younger Me. |
"Don't underestimate your opponent, huh?" Victor thought about the Primordial's words as he looked at the crack in front of him.
'It's precisely because I don't underestimate them that I'm doing this.' He thought.
Originally, Victor was just thinking of sending a much weaker version of himself to observe from the other side but decided that such an action was counterproductive and too risky. Even if someone managed to kill him, perhaps someone would be able to get some information from him. For example, even if he made a weaker clone with a Human Race, there would still be traces of his true self.
Too much caution was never unnecessary, especially when dealing with powerful Beings like those in the Upper Sectors.
'Not to mention… The entire situation is suspicious.' Victor was no fool. Throughout the entire conversation, he acted as if he was talking to his neighbor about the weather, but he had been observing the existence in front of him with all his senses and Powers.
The Primordial, a Being that had been active since the Beginning of the Cosmos. Could such a Being really want a new 'Leader?', especially the Primordial responsible for Balance?
Wouldn't that go against all his work?
Victor was skeptical about this.
'Not to mention that, from the beginning, he never gave a definitive answer and kept being evasive.' It was worth mentioning that Victor did not trust the conversation he'd had with that man at all.
Victor snorted. 'Rival? The only rival I have is my Wife, and she alone is enough.' He was no longer the naive boy of the past.
Following the words of a Primordial who may or may not be using him for his own purposes was not to his taste. Victor was the kind of man who, when he saw that he was losing the game, just destroyed the board and started a completely different game that only he had control over.
'Sit on the Throne of Existence and rule over everything? Sure, I will do that, but it will be through my own rules, and when that day comes, only my Family and I will be there. Your presence is not necessary.' Victor's violet Draconic Eyes glowed with a faint neon glow.
Instead of worrying about the nonsense of these Primordials, he decided to focus his efforts on his Wife. When Azathoth was freed... They would realize that they are not the ones playing the game anymore.
"It's opening..." Victor's eyes glowed, and his form began to change. His body grew, and Junketsu joined him, forming his armor, while his black hair grew and took the form of pure Miasma. The Emperor was here.
For a moment, Space was completely quiet until...
A boom was heard even in the vacuum of Space as pure Energy erupting from the portal caused all the nearby asteroids to be completely disintegrated.
The pure Energy released would be enough to kill an entire civilization or even extinguish a planet, but for Victor, who received it head-on, this was just a slightly stronger wind. Even without doing anything, he was not damaged.
Of course, even if this Energy did not harm Victor, in the measly 0.000001% chance of that happening, Junketsu would not forgive herself, so she did her job and defended him completely.
The Emperor's stern face showed a small flutter of a smile when he saw Junketsu's overprotection but did not comment on it. He simply formed a clone that was exactly like him in appearance, with several differences, such as that this Clone looked like his younger self and was much weaker than him in Power.
This Clone did not have his 'Eldritch' Factor, his connection to the World Trees, or even Junketsu. Instead, this Clone was simply made of pure Energy, the Energy that constituted everything.
In Victor's usual style, he decided to say 'Fuck it' to everything and not hold back.
Precautions were maintained, as his paranoia wouldn't let him be reckless like before, but he wouldn't be as cautious anymore.
To be honest... The conversation with the Primordial deeply irritated him since he could see manipulation from a mile away. After all, it was something he did himself.
Maybe he was overthinking, or maybe he was being too paranoid and was seeing things where there wasn't any. After all, it was hard to tell when you couldn't read the other side. There were too many 'maybes'... Thus, Victor simply didn't give a damn anymore.
Victor made a greatsword, not like Junketsu, but a greatsword created through his Abilities, and gave it to his Clone. The moment it touched the sword, his entire body was covered by armor similar to The Emperor's, but not the same. It was like a lesser version of himself, as a cape made of Pure Miasma appeared behind him.
"Go." Victor's characteristic smile was shown, that old maniacal smile. "Put on a show."
The same smile appeared on the Clone's face. A unique characteristic of this Clone was that Victor did not control him but simply saw through his eyes. By all Factors, this was a completely independent Clone.
His paranoia normally would not allow him to do this, but because of the slight chance of having someone on the other side who could see his connection and use this connection to harm him or retaliate with other means, Victor made the Clone with the least possible connections so that he could easily discard it.
And since the Clone was made of pure Energy... The moment the connection was broken, whoever had done so would be met with a very unpleasant surprise.
"A show, huh..." The Clone twirled the Greatsword a few times, resting it on his shoulders. "It's not as good as Junketsu, but it will do."
Another characteristic of this Clone is... He had Victor's personality, specifically, the recklessness of a Victor who didn't have an Empire on his back to worry about. The Victor from the beginning.
His personality was like that, but he still had all of Emperor Victor's knowledge of enhancements. Of course, his memories were an empty shell since he didn't know about his Wives, and he had no memories of his Family.
An empty shell made for the sole purpose of causing chaos. And that was perfect. After all, he wouldn't be giving any information to enemies.
"Shall we do the same thing we did that day when those Humans attacked us?" This Victor knew he was attacked by Humans, but he didn't know 'why'. He didn't care either; he knew very well what his duty was.
"You are me, a me who doesn't have most of my memories, but still me… You'll know what to do."
"So much confidence in yourself." The Clone laughed. "Although, it's understandable. I'm amazing, after all." He ran his hand through his hair, slicking it back, creating a style very similar to Adonis while at the same time maintaining Victor's feel; it was a fusion of the two.
Victor's eyes twitched slightly at this gesture. 'I don't remember doing that… Ah… Adonis' narcissism, huh? I had forgotten about that.'
Victor was experiencing that feeling of cringing at your past self and actions, physically shuddering when you remembered what you were once like.
"Go."
"Yeah, Yeah." The Clone cracked his neck 'crouched' slightly, and with a burst of motion, he flew towards the crack in space with a big smile on his face while holding the Greatsword on his shoulder.
"Now, we wait," Victor spoke as he closed his eyes and looked through his Clone's POV. While doing so, he kept a minimum amount of Energy heading toward the portal to keep it open, and he called his most trusted subordinates.
"I want this entire Solar System isolated. Don't let anyone interfere."
Victor's Heralds appeared behind him from the pure darkness of space and knelt with War in the lead: "Your wish is my command, My Master."
Soon, they spread out across the entire Solar System, with War standing at the ready behind Victor.
Even though he had to maintain his seriousness, even though he had to maintain his paranoia deep in his thoughts, Victor was honest with himself.
'This will be fun.' It had been a while since he had stretched his legs. After all, no one was strong enough, and even though his other self was cleaning up The Empire on a night walk, it still wasn't as fun as this night walk he was going to take.
...
With the Wives.
The moment the portal opened, all the Wives and Daughters felt the change.
"Mother..." Velina murmured to her Mother.
"I know." Velnorah immediately turned and used her telepathy to contact all her Sisters, and as she did so, she felt Violet and Anna's telepathy.
The image of Violet and Anna appeared in her head, and soon, in that mental space, all the others began to appear as well. The Empire didn't have just one way to communicate, and in case of an emergency, they would use everyone's connection with Victor to act as a large chat room.
They used this only when necessary, and if it was not an emergency, they would use their technologies or other means of communication.
"I felt this entire Sector tremble. It's the same feeling I had when the barrier between the Sectors was undone. What's happening?"
"Victor is happening," Violet explained as she stood next to Anna.
This simple answer made everyone understand everything and, at the same time, nothing.
"Violet..." When Sasha was about to say something.
Violet interrupted, saying. "It's faster for you to see for yourselves."
"Anna."
"Mhmm." Anna nodded as her eyes shone slightly, and she distorted Reality. Soon, an image appeared behind her, which showed the solar system where Victor was, and with the eyes of everyone present, they saw the hole in the sky.
Velnorah and the girls stopped for a moment to appreciate Anna's control over Reality itself. Only she could have such precise control like this; she was literally distorting Reality within a telepathic connection, which was absurd.
But then, their attention went to the gigantic portal in the solar system.
When Anna tried to get closer, her view was blocked by the image of Victor's female Herald.
"...Get out of the way."
The female Herald just shook her head in denial. "Emperor's Orders."
Anna's red eyes flashed slightly in annoyance.
Violet patted Anna's shoulder to calm her down, and then she asked, "What did he say?"
Because the other party was the literal Empress, the female Herald replied, "I want this entire solar system isolated. Don't let anyone interfere."
"Well, we're not 'nobody', right?" She smiled gently.
"..." The Herald looked at Violet's eyes for a few seconds and then looked away. When this gesture ended, the distortion of Reality was suddenly undone.
When Victor personally appeared in their connection, Violet spoke. "Are you starting the party without us?"
Victor laughed. "It's not a party, it's more of an observation. I didn't expect my actions to be felt by you guys."
"The scout plan, huh?"
"Yeah."
"...I believe that, as always, you overdid it, right?"
"This time, I have reasons."
"Hoh?" Violet's eyes narrowed slightly. "What happened?"
"The Primordial of Balance..." Victor thought for a few seconds and spoke. "It's easier to show you."
The next moment, everyone felt a light touch on their heads, and they saw the entire encounter between Victor and the Primordial.
"...This reeks of manipulation." Scathach snorted.
"Not even Demons are that obvious." Lilith shook her head.
"Maybe that's the goal," Jeanne muttered.
Victor raised an eyebrow and looked at Jeanne.
Looking at her Husband, she spoke. "I can't call myself an expert on Primordials. After all, the only one I regularly come into contact with is my brother, but if they all have something in common, it's that they don't mind hiding what they want."
"Because when you think they want something, they actually want something completely different."
"It's all about perspectives, huh..." Sasha said. "It's like a cat letting the mouse escape to take it to its nest. It's not just about why he said it, but what he wants."
"We don't know what he wants because we don't have a view of his entire 'game'." Ruby continued. "It's like we have a limited view of the map while the Primordial has the entire map unlocked."
Victor nodded. "Exactly, and you know how I am."
"If you can't win, you destroy the board like an arrogant child," Ruby said.
"That's why I opened the portal and sent in an independent clone." Victor smiled widely. "An independent clone that has the same personality as my younger self."
"...Well fuck..." They all said at the same time as they sighed.
Victor raised an eyebrow at this display.
"Should we expect new Sisters?" Leona began.
"Maybe some Mothers too." Natashia continued.
"Probably other Daughters." Agnes chimed in.
"Maybe a few more Maids," Kaguya said.
"Definitely more Maids." Maria, Bruna, Roberta, and Eve nodded fiercely.
"Or maybe some enemy Goddesses." Scathach laughed as she sat in the air and crossed her legs.
"Maybe a trio of Sisters like us?" Sasha said as she looked at Ruby and Violet.
The Wives who had been with Victor the longest and had known him since the beginning began to speak.
Victor's eyebrows twitched. "Don't worry, that won't happen. This independent Clone of mine only has my personal experiences. He has no memories of you."
"So he's the most handsome, wildest, most arrogant, most competitive, and the most narcissistic man in the world?" Scathach laughed.
"...Well..." Victor actually realized she was right.
"Darling, you basically threw a perfect and improved fusion of my father and you into that world." Violet shook her head and then looked at Aphrodite and Persephone.
"We can definitely expect a few Goddesses to be brought back."
"Hey, why are you looking at me like that? Just know that Persephone was the Yandere in that story! Unlike me, who Blessed him. She Cursed him!" Aphrodite pointed at the woman.
Persephone glared at Aphrodite but just snorted since it was the truth.
"Anyway, just watch my POV." Victor snapped his fingers, and through their connection, he showed what he was seeing.
This entire interaction lasted only seconds since it was a mental connection. The moment the Clone entered the portal and was arriving on the other side was the time it took for all this to happen.
"This will be fun." Victor smiled even more as he passed through the portal and felt the presences on the other side.
"Yeah, that's definitely Victor's younger self." Scathach laughed as she made a comfortable red throne and some popcorn as she began to eat.
Seeing what Scathach was doing, the others started to get comfortable as well.
Anna felt her eyes twitch. How did an emergency situation turn into a movie session?
"Here, Anna, sit down, let's enjoy the moment." Violet wasted no time and made a couch for her and Anna to sit on.
"Haaah." Anna just sighed and sat down elegantly.
....
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