Embedded Files
Inside the individual known as (Y/n) (L/n), there exists two presence
One is the ever-lasting. Eternity
The other is the ever-present. Infinity
Each aspects are as equally lacking as they are equally fulfilling. A cup that is half but full, that is half but empty.
Or perhaps it's empty with fullness, or full of emptiness, or perhaps the glass was not a glass in the first place. Perhaps it's an Eldritch monster in disguise, holder of the Sixth Magic, waiting for just the right time to complete its alien objective in capturing this strange phenomenon
Maybe this analogy was broken from the start. To make a comparison betweeen the existence of a glass, whose volume and dimensions are pathetically finite, to an existence whose barest nature is as inexplicable as a singularity itself is pure madness. Regardless, what comes around comes around, and in him these two concepts revolve around each other, "infinite" to "full", "eternity" of "nothingness", being in an independent state under influence of a non-existent gravitational force between them
The duality of this nature ensures the perpetual cycle named "Fate" remains constant. Like a clock it goes round and round on a journey of insanity. Spiraling infinitely, ceaselessly, relentlessly toward the end with a single goal in mind. The goal that is the embodiment of (Y/n)'s imprint upon this world
Of one who only desires to be an average man, but will always end up as something more.
This is, if for a lack of a better word, a rational but misguided attempt at doing the impossible. For how can one man be so desperate to reach a fate man wish to avoid? The desire of men had always been bizarre in nature. Some wants power, some wants recognition, others wants love. Things that makes them strong. Things that makes them important. Things that are important to them
But perhaps...just perhaps...if being average is enough to fill the heart of one unambitious man, then is it now a worthy desire in itself?
(Y/n) made peace with it. He had accepted no matter what happens. No matter how strong or how much authority an individual like him possess. Even if he were to ascend beyond the Root, at his heart he's still a mortal, average man. And nothing could change that
Not everyone around him think the same
Averageness is, after all, in the eyes of it's beholder
<><><><><><><><><>
Up above, the moon hangs low. The first of the Nine Celestial Bodies that will one day be known as the TYPE's gazed back at us
Right now they're just planets. But in time perhaps, those bodies will gain enough intelligence to be the familiars I knew today. Reliable girls they are, helping me with my average life in earnest. It is thanks to them I have some semblance of company in my free time
"Gaia, what do you think when you gaze at the stars?"
The stars, father?
The embodiment of the Earth's consciousness curled up around me. Her body made of a combination between natural components. Flesh made from mud and hair made of leaves, forming into different bulging sections across the body akin to a female, but ended up like a deformed golem instead
At least it wasn't a giant made out of magma
Or a dragon made of gold that spits hellfire
It was a poor attempt at imitating humanoid shape, but she will get better in time
I lied there, head leaning against my child's robust frame. On my hand is the latest edition of the "Hansel and Gretel" I created using the First Magic. I have just finished telling them to her, and right now we're simply enjoying the night above us after a day of studying. We gazed at the sky, watching as the glimmering stars revolved around the black canvas of the cosmos
They look edible
Gaia innocently replied
"Of course, you gluttonous child. I don't think they're going to be very tasty though"
Tasty?
Adjective regarding "taste", a biological concept. It's the feeling that let you differentiate between different kind of neural signals sent through a combination of bodyparts
The earth shifted. She looked at me in awe
Father is omniscient
"Well, yeah...I can be. But I am not"
How is it that you possess every single page of knowledge in the world, and yet still refuse to admit what is obvious?
"I don't. When you grow up into a beautiful young woman and I into a grumpy old man, you'll learn just how big the world around us are" I hummed "The universe and it's beauty cannot be truly appreciated through father's words alone. In time, even my presence will fade into the Root, never to be seen again"
A finger poked against her forehead
"In time, even that which is undying can be dead" I closed my eyes, ignoring the anxious rumbling of the beneath me who could not get the answer she wanted
But Father always know best
You have always been there watching...so, you will not leave us, right?
Father...?
(Y/n)'s soft snoring sounded in the silence afterward. A happy smile crossed Gaia's face as she curled up to him
<><><><><><><><>
Do you want to know something funny?
I never asked for any of this
Sure, you could say that my existence has always been unneeded. A remnant of my original soul, separated from its main body in an attempt to cleanse itself of the power coiling inside it.
I still possessed some of the powers he has, but ultimately I am just a side of the entity known as (Y/n) (L/n)
That means I have came to possess some of his more...undesirable traits
The tendency to pick up strays for example, was an annoying habit we just can't seem to get rid of
The first two strays he sometime in the past were not too unremarkable. Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou. Just a project the Magus himself take to entertain himself during his time on a mission. It may have been found on the basis of wanting to help one of them from suffering, but a large part of it have been due to him wanting to test out the limit of his skills, as per the curious nature of a Magus
How far can a person go, if given the right push by the right person, at the right time? Will they break apart? Will they harden their resolve, accept their true potential and move on, leaving their peers in dust?
For Rin it was somebody who would simply lend an ear to her
For Sakura it was somebody who will love her, and somebody to love in return
Which would explain Parvati and Kama being her incarnations in FGO, honestly
Attention to individuality. An ear to listen to. A shoulder to lean on. A fatherly figure to consult in. Emotional support are vital to their future growth as average Magus and, more importantly, as his student. As a butler and teacher, the Alter Ego known as Walter is in the perfect role for all of them
It works surprisingly. Just like that, with kindness and not with strictness, with care and not discipline, with encouragement and not punishment, he not only pushed their progress far beyond the conventional Magus, but motivates them on their own path to build a legend of their own
I'm sure that won't come back to bite me in the ass later. I'm sure of it
But, I am...straying slightly from the topic. Yes.
Because strays is the topic
Strays are never meant to be pets.
A burden of taking in two students with family problems is that when they started considering you their family, you find it hard to consider them with the same objective outlook from before. It's not easy warding off the affection they returned for something you'd consider a pointless gesture, and in doing so you realize just how much of an asshole you've been to them
I have learned that Gaia may be the most insistent stray I've met so far
She's impressionable. She's fierce. She's protective of what is hers. And she's...alone. That made her dangerous. Not in the evil sense, but in the idea of the catastrophes she can cause without proper parenting.
It is a fact that a child develops loose common sense when not exposed to any pre-established standards shown through environmental interactions, and growing up by yourself can be hard for her, who's barely taken her first step when I found her at the edge of the planet
Reluctantly, I found myself becoming a caretaker or the Consciousness of the Earth
My first and foremost mistake is to think of Gaia as someone who needs guidance
I've forgot just how influential a being she could become once the Earth had fully developed
I've forgot just how much of an influence I would have on her once it completed forming, and the wheel of human history first spun
<><><><><><><><>
The problem arise with the creation of men
I was not surprised Gaia had thought about creating them
I was, however, surprised that she created them in my image
You are beautiful. Am I not allowed to replicate that beauty in any forms?
That is what she had said to me as the will of the earth utilized its authority, bringing shape to the human form and imbuing them with the concept of "life".
She looked nervous as she present the scared pair to me, like a child who is showing her first clay sculpture to a pair of disapproving parents
As a human myself, it is very hard not to disapprove the creation of what was supposedly my ancestor. If I said 'no' she might just dump the first human into the natural trashcan known as a "volcano", and humanity as a whole would stop existing
"They're beautiful" I replied back, nervously
Of course. They are made in your image after all. She preened. If they aren't, I would have just threw them into space and be done with it
Please don't
I examined the pair of prototype humans. They were Cacausian with a dash of Asiatic in there, but due to the color it was impossible to determine if they are black or not. Satisfied with the result I turned to her
"Then, will you give me more children, Gaia?"
Her face lit up in a thousand watts smile
As long as its father father, I can create as many child as you want
Okay. Problem solved, humanity will not go extinct because of a dumbass Magus
Thus begin the first of a kin line that will one day become the planet's dominant specie. Being a creation of Gaia, they were given a place in the food chain and natural evolution. From the smalles of bacterias
I exhaled in relief. Finally, I could lay back and watch as everything falls into place
Oh how wrong I was...
As their culture develop, new concepts were given birth to shape the world in their knowledge. In some case metaphorically...
"No, Gaia!"
In some case literally
"You can't just give birth to a Primordial Deity and expect me to be their father!"
"AAhHaaHHhHhhhhhHhhHh~"
A baby Tiamat clung to my shoulder, her oversized horns poking my cheek. Her small form snuggling tightly in my hand
Across from her, Gaia looked at me smugly
You should take responsibility
"WHAT RESPONSIBILITY?!" I screamed
God damn it
Wait, Tiamat and Gaia are gods. Ugh
My mind raced with possibilities. There are many reasons my daughter could have chosen to have a child. However, i would not put it past her to do it simply because she wants to spite me when I said I would not make a good father
"AhhhHh~"
Tiamat nibbled on my cheek.
The Earth Mother Goddess and the Primordial Goddess of Life just ganged up on me. That's not fair. It's wrong. I'm not even their biological fathers. I'm just a normal human who came here from the 21st century. A young adult who barely knew anything about the franchise he's watching before he's forcefully dumped in one of them
I should have been the one calling them my parent, not the other way around
Seeing no other choice, I accepted the silent offer and wrapped my arms around Tiamat. The chibi deity blinked as I swept her off her feet, carrying her bridal style
"Does my little Goddess of Life wants to play with her Papa?" I whispered gently
Tiamat's eyes shone, and she nodded excitedly. A motion that made her horns came dangerously close to gouging my eye out
"Great. I heard the Sea of Life is pretty warm this time of the year" I smiled "Just let me pack my swimsuit and sunscreen, then we're set to go. Your boring mother's going to stay at home with her boring creations while we go and have some fucking fun!"
Father!
If you can't beat an enemy, join them
Rather than treating this travel back in time as a form of psychological torture, I should think of it as a vacation for the wellbeing of my psyche
<><><><><><><><>
Eons come and go, yet something never changes. Mankind found a way to master nature and cultivate their lifestyle. Seeing their need for guidance toward survival, the will of men, Alaya was formed. Right now she's nothing more than a speck of conceptual light hovering near me, but in time she'll change
Yet in spite of that, there were some changes. Some I found pleasant. Others...not so much. Sure, Gaia's become a mother now, and Tiamat as a concept matured into the milf goddess from the game. Human's built their first civilization and grew into a powerful community outside, which is all I've ever asked for
The only thing irking me is how I'm involved in the middle of it all
"No, Tiamat!"
The problem arises when Tiamat hit that age where she desires to be a mother
"You can't just create a bunch of Sumerian Deities and expect me to be their father!"
To be honest, I'm starting to see a pattern at work here
I'm just not sure what's causing it...but I sure as hell don't like it
The assorted children gazed innocently. Mentally, I took a roll call to count them. There's Inanna, Enki, Enlil, Dumuzid, Enki, Utu, Nammu and Ereshkigal. All powerful gods and goddesses of the Sumerian pantheon, the first religion of humanity.
I took in a deep breath as all those powerful god and goddess's eyes drawn toward me, like lost puppies looking at their owner. It was unnatural as in how these timeless beings could look so lost themselves when they are supposed to be the future guide of humanity
"Papa?"
I leveled a glare at Tiamat. The Goddess averted her eyes
"Gaia?"
She nodded
I turned toward them, the migrain halfway from reaching its zenith
"Alright. Listen here, technically I'm not your father-" I began but paused midway, hand rubbing my temple
How do I explain this to them in the simplest term possible? That I'm a normal individual who is just as bland and uninteresting as the rest of the subjeccts they're supposed to rule over?
"I'm just an average Magus- No, an average human who likes to do average things in my average life, and being a full-time non-average babysitter to a bunch of gods and goddesses is not my career of choice. So, if you'd only refer to me as Mr. (L/n) the average-"
It's like a mute explaining how deafness works to a blind with mental disability
"PAPA!" The entire first generation of Sumerian Gods all barreled toward me. Some are giggling, some are crying, others choose to marvel at my figure as I got buried underneath a mountain of noisy god-children, helpless toward their advance
With a sigh, I spread my arms and enveloped them all in a hug
Why?
Just...why?
Once the excited bunch had calmed down enough, I took to caring for them. Reluctantly, might I add, because in other circumstances i would not even bother myself with taking care of a child, let alone a horde of them
This is the last time I'm going to be a father. I decided. I'm not going to be impregnating every women I meet and form some sort of fucked up pantheon built from incest between my children
Fate can go suck a dick, and it better not be mine
<><><><><><><>
"Father! You've been ignoring me for several times now"
"Technically I'm not your father" I hummed "I'm just serving as a substitute until you are mature enough to start your own religion, which is to say a thousand years more. until then please refer to me as Uncle, Mr. (L/n), the Average Man, or the Babysitter from Hell. Whatever suits your fancy"
Ea glowed a ominous dark under my hand.
It's golden plates now replaced with a pitch black metallic outer shell. Crimson lines snaking upward in a spiral, intertwining with majestic engravings. Under the sunlight, the Noble Phantasm exudes a divine presence incomparable to anything else but the absolute authority of an evil god
Moments later, my Reinforcement worn out and the black sheen faded. In place of it the original blade lies, as though nothing just happened
'Good' I thought, lightly conking it 'A better mana output and change in conceptual mechanism will ensure signigificant increase in damage to reality, Now the only problem is how I would give it to Gilgamesh'
The new and improved weapon possess the operational capacity of about one hundred and fifty five times its original. With enough mana one could tear through about two and a half universes in one strike, and that is before the secondary effect kick in
It took a lot of effort not to make this thing more ovrpowered than it already is
I giggled, imagining the amount of destruction it would cause in the hand of the King of Heroes
"Argh- S-stop what you are doing right now and listen to what I say!"
Oh yeah
Let's play a game of "who's that Nasuverse character"
She has black hair. Red eyes. Is a deity of high position within the Sumerian pantheon. Her domain lies solely on the Heaven, in the aspect of love, beauty, sex, war, justice and political power. Her name has six characters, starts with an "I" and ends with an "r", and most importantly prone to throwing fits of
tantrum at the slightest sign of trouble encountered
Wait what?
Did somebody just say "Ishtar"?
Unbelievable. Impossible. Ridiculously improbable. You are correct
Ishtar, or as some of the earlier recoreds would call her Inanna. The Sumerian goddess who in history is a goddess of powerful disposition, a woman with an unquenchable passion for the opposite sex, and a wrathful deity with a short fuse, ready to unleash her anger on those she deem disrespectful. She's also the one who, in the Nasuverse, fused into a pseudo-Servant as one with my student and serve as a fundamental part in the Babylonia singularity
She's also the brattiest, haughtiest, most arrogant crybaby I've had the pleasure of raising.
(Eh, I can definitely see why she would be compatible with Rin)
I suppose it is a factor of parenthood. Canon Ishtar has Anu as her father, who is completely absent from this timeline as far as I've seen, to take care of her.
Yet he was nowhere to be found, and therefore a substitute was needed to keep the devil in check
So instead of him I was the one who spent time playing with Ishtar - teaching and raising her in general. Now I don't know if I'm qualified as a father because I've never had a legit child, so like usual...I just wing the entire process and hope for my luck to make the best of it
The result is unexpectedly satisfactory
Ishtar did end up being a decent enough child, just enough so that she resembles Rin Tohsaka rather than her Canon counterpart. Polite, but vicious toward anyone who earned her ire. A distant goddess whose only concern being her own entertainment
The downside, she ended up being completely attached to me. Not as in the level of lovers because that would be uncomfortable. Just...quite protective and threatening in face of something she deemed competitors to her
"Ishtar, I'm going to ignore you"
"Noooooooooooooo!" The mature woman whine, much like a child would when somebody burn down her doll house with gasoline, piss on the rest of her toys, and eat all of her saved up candies in one night
I, for the record, does not know how that would sound like and is just using that as a figure of speech
"-Unless you let go of my hair and get off from my back. Then perhaps we can have a proper conversation between father and daughter"
The grip on my hair lessened. The Goddess of Venus reluctantly stood before me as I straightened my back
"Now, does little Inanna have something to say to me?"
"Don't call me that. I'm an adult now"
"Not in my eyes, no" I shook my head "I still remember when I first crafted you the Boat of Heaven. It was done out of good will, yet you just have to go and rub it in Ereshkigal's face that I love you more than her. You remember what happened after that, I suppose?"
She winced
"That does not matter. I already apologized" Ishtar grumbled, sitting down. I followed suit "But, the reason why I am here is exactly that. It's about Ereshkigal"
"What about her?" Silence. My eyes softened. I leaned down "Speak, child. Whatever it is you have to say, I will not judge"
"Why must she be the one to be in charge of the Underworld?"
Ah
It has been one of the more vocal point of objection she's been bringing up to me these past few days
During the first reign, soon after Tiamat was created, there exists the Sea of Life. From it Gaia birthed her children. Deities, men, animals. Creation of mud given consciousness, left to roam the world to their free desires.
The goddess of life then was created as one to be in charge of doing the task. As she was the only one born directly from Gaia's womb, her authority from the Earth Mother Goddess ensures that she be assigned as the All-mother. One who takes care of all things and love them as she would her own children
However, as all things live, they must die
And when wind howls, and the first sign of death appears, the spirits are sent to rest in the same place they are born in. Yet as they are of the dead, the Sea rejected them
That place, nestling just above the Sea of Life, this become their nesting ground. Where souls and spirits of the deceased, the damned, and the cursed resides in, we call it the Underworld. A chilling dark space unknown to the light of the sun, where darkness birthed and died. It is in that same place that
Ereshkigal was tasked with the role of being its guardian
The Terrible Goddess, they took to calling her in fear of the thing her concepts represent. A goddess considered evil because of something she did out of duty
The sweet, bashful child who would always hid behind my shirt because she is incapable of talking to strangers
That same child, being called as terrible by the human
I wonder if humanity would like to receive a full-powered Excalibur to the face. Because somehow I really want to do it right now
"Eresh has always been a dutiful child" I recalled "Quite clingy just like her sister" I ignored Ishtar's sputterings "And always afraid to speak her mind when it comes to her feelings. I suppose she sees the attendance of the Underworld as something she has to do"
"Why? Why would she see it like that?"
A smile crossed my face. Such innocent concern for her sibling. Perhaps in Canon she would have been the same without me, but I can't help but feel proud of Ishtar for asking me this. It shows how the goddess is willing to understand things from Eresh's point of view without the arrogance that usually cloud her judgement
"Mostly because she felt no one else is willing to do the same. As I'd said, she is a dutiful child, yet that willingness to sacrifice oneself for another comes a surprisingly low self-esteem" I got back up "And perhaps, she always felt herself to be alone among the rest of her pantheon, despite an old man's insistence otherwise"
"You mean to tell me that old man is the only one who ever tried to talk to her" Ishar looked down, uncharacteristic guilt plaguing her feature
"Yes. Perhaps that old man doesn't feel satisfied with her decision" A pause "Otherwise, he would not have forced her to take one last trip to Heaven and have a heart to heart debate with her sister today"
The widening of her eyes is almost audible
"Wait, you mean-"
I smiled
"Come out, Ereshkigal"
There was a slight "eep" from behind the pillar. A mop of blonde hair appeared, followed by startlingly similar red eyes that mirrored Ishtar's shocked expression
"F-father"
"That's Mr (L/n) to you" I rolled my eyes "Seriously, I didn't even put my dick inside a single woman and already have to suffer the pain of parenthood. Where is the equivalent exchange in that?"
It was not easy convinccing her to go out of the Underworld to meet her sister. The problem with these two is that for supposed sisters, they are complete opposites
Ishtar is straightforward and blunt. Eresh is not. To pull her out of her place is like pulling an Otaku out of his holes containing his favorite animes and mangas
My hand settled on the Underworld ruler's hair and ruffled it "You go and talk with your sister. I'll go outside for a moment"
"W-wait. At least tell us where you're going!"
"Don't know. I'll just buy myself some milk probably"
As I left the goddesses to their own device, a frown appeared on my face
"Should history be altered?" I mused "The wheel of time can be spun infinitely in in one direction. Yet a change of direction could cause countless deviations in its trail"
Here I am, at the start of time
The mother of the Earth Gaia had deeply fallen into slumber, while Tiamat's corpse will be torn in half to make the heaven
Right now, I have the ability to change the course of human history as much as I want. I can play God - literally - with zero consequences given. Using the limited authority I have creating a different timeline to contain all this changes is just a simple case of blowing the whistle
The Quantum Lock effect? They can be nullified with enough effort. Once they did, I am fully capable of turning the same World into an illusory one, where nobody had to suffer. Where heroes does not have to suffer tragedies, where everyone can simply be happy
But that...would be quite superficious
A world that is as close to becoming a utopia as possible. It would be the most boring, stagnant world one have the displeasure of seeing
Indeed. In the end, a real world is always better than a fake one because it is what invalidate its existence
So...should I let the Gods revolt and rip Tiamat's body in half, thus forming the existence of Heaven and Earth?
Should I betray the deity's trust and aid Gilgamesh in ending the Age of Gods, thus beginning a new era where human can thrive to their full potential?
Choices. Choices. To betray one's trust for the goodness of the many, or to be against the world to protect them, isn't this the same dilemma with a certain
Emiya?
...
Well, unlike him, I do have the power to make myself an alternative
<><><><><><><><>
Turns out an average guy can still be a god if there's enough idiots out there who believes his bullshit
When the all the Sumerian gods took to calling this person as "father", "great father", "esteemed father", "papa", or "daddy", misconceptions tends to be made, and legends of absurd degrees sprung up everywhere concerning my identity
The ancient Assyrian pulls no brake in displaying their worships of me
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSS!???????????"
Contrary to popular belief, I would have been fine with being considered a deity.
Why? Partly because it's an entire pantheon I belong to, so even if I were to somehow get in the spotlight my status as average would remain. Partly because I've already gotten used to the presence of gods, thus can understand it's just a mere title and nothing else
Divine Spirit are sympathetic in nature, even the case for malevolent ones
But they lack that sparks of empathy needed for understanding the heart of human
Case being: Ereshkigal. Even being one of the most level-headed among her peers and a sweet girl to her father, the girl is someone with a no-bullshit attitude when it comes to handling of the Underworld
She is someone who takes care of her garden of dead souls seriously, even referring to them as her 'precious flowers'. Unknowingly, this is the same reason why the people - both living and dead- fears her
Because they could not comprehend what went inside such a powerful being's mind. What makes them scared. What makes them angry. What makes them human. But then again, fear of the unknown has always been a prominent point of mortality
It is those are able to overcome that fear that become legends in their own right
But such is not the case here. Even while I do not mind being an object of worship, what I do mind is the aspects that has been branded to me from the start
Paternity. Maternity. Eternity. Infinity. Luck. But most importantly, Marriage
How could this led to something so outrageous I have to yell in despair? The fact is that those who praise me are the same kind of people who suggest Gilgamesh having annual sex with Ishtar in an effort to increase their harvested crop
The rituals they come up with can often be bizarre in nature
"Oh my god not again!"
I am expected to grant blessings to couples who are either married or about to be married, in order to ensure a happy love life between them and their significant other
....By having both of them pray to me as they have sex for the first time
By some divine miracle, just the invocation of my name is enough for their voices to reach me from afar. I finally know how deities can respond to their subject's wish, but now I am forced to the same state as them
Ancient Babylonians sure are fucked up
"Father, I have come to receive your blessing"
At least when Gilgamesh is born, everything would be better
(Y/n) (L/n) stated with absolute confidence in his luck
<><><><><><>
Author's Note: I don't think I did well with this chapter but, ah, fuck it
By the way I missed the chance to watch Heaven's Feel here in Vietnam. Big Sad :(
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse