Chapter 11: Cosmic Origins

Nameless squints her eyes in sheer disbelief.

“Where is your proof? All I see around the desert are annoying ass critters, scorpions and wild birds, not a giant city sized silvery snake!” Nameless was surprised the first thing he brought up was that story.

All a bunch of hogwash, as far she was concerned.

“And the reason why there is no proof is—” before he finishes speaking, she interrupts him.

“Cause there was never any in the first place! Can’t fool me. I’ve been searching books n libraries for ages without a scrape of proof. Believe me!” She touts, as if she knows a thing about how her world works.

Omni knight could see this was going to take a while. This young lady is quite stubborn.

“And like I was saying, before being boldly interrupted by your ladyship. The proof has been meticulously hidden. But not all of it.” He says calmly. He points towards the cube on her belt, drawing her attention towards it.

“What about this cube? It is a storage cube made by that builder lady.” Nameless says. Omni knight nods, then continues speaking, in his deep masculine voice. Speaking even though he doesn’t have a mouth that moves, though his blue eyes do. They seem piercing and vibrant, like someone who has seen a lot in their lifetime.

“That ‘cube’ you wear is simply a copy of ancient technology. Things designed by the Demon lord herself. Then duplicated by other star warriors.” She continues looking at him in curiosity, turning her head sideways.

“Other? Star warriors?”

“Naturally, warriors of the stars. There were other star warriors before you. And your sister. And the others in the nearby realms.” Nameless begins to pique but he stops her with a glance.

“I cannot tell you much about the fate of the other star warriors. The system prevents me from sharing such knowledge with you. For now.” Nameless sighs, being thwarted again slightly.

“The system, the system. What kind of system is so powerful that it can dictate how you speak or act? It would have to be—” Her brain clicks something together. The system was a higher or in plain terms, a more powerful being than the Omni Knight. Or that imposing lady.

She makes a realization. It dawns on her how the knight in blue armor clearly was stronger than her but seemed to be fighting in such a limited capacity.

She was holding back so much, after some thought.

Like she could not fight the way she wanted to.

Or something was stopping her from fighting the way she wanted to. Omni knight can only smirk as he can see her realization, then goes back to talking.

“A bit brash, you are, but you are as sharp as a blade. The higher Orbiting Responsive Battle God system, or we like to call it, O.R.B., has some strong level of influence over the actions of us machine gods. We cannot hope to fight it, or we will be severely punished. Or worse. I don’t want to think about that, if I’m being honest.” Nameless can see what looks like a small hint of fear in his eyes.

Even this mighty knight feels fear, it seems.

Honestly, that makes her feel more comfortable. Makes this machine man seem much more human-like. Everyone fears something after all.

“Don’t worry about that too much. Oh, I see my sister!” From a distance, the two can see two figures about sixty meters from her. Nameless sees her sister, Divine flash, and the goddess of the underrealm. Before she can say anything, the Omni knight picks her up, putting her on his back.

“H-h-h-ey! Watch what you are doing!” He ignores her. “We’ll go over to them. You are in no shape to move, honestly.”

She grumbles but doesn’t fight him further. Omni knight rises in the air, levitating. Then he slowly flies over to the other two, landing in front of them. Divine flash rushes to her sister, as he puts her down, hugging her.

“I just woke up and I foundyouwheredidyougo,howdidyougetthisbangedupohmygosh” She is talking so fast Nameless can’t understand a word she is saying.

“I...Okay I was being stupid and ran off without. Sorry.”

Her sister simply hugged her, nearly having tears in her eyes. She was happy to see her again.

“I don’t care! Just don’t do that again...okay?” She nods, accepting the embrace of her sister. The goddess of the underrealm simply walks up towards the Omni knight, eyeballing him.

“Hello, sir. I don’t think we have met before. I am the goddess of the Under Realm. I am greatly indebted to you for saving her.” She says, with a large smile on her face. She seemed quite happy that he was there.

The Omni knight, however, was not. He knew. Who she really was. She was not merely the goddess of this realm.

She was the dark red knight that slaughtered Nameless’ and Divine Flash’s village.

She was someone he knew he would have to fight, soon.

The Omni knight, like the War goddess, had semi-accurate information about the future

Yes, the great Demon Lord, along with aide from another, had created a somewhat accurate machine that could predict the future.

To a degree. It was not perfect, he thought.

But it was about 85% accurate, based on their calculations and experience.

The O.R.B. and Unit #001, the Librarian, could easily make accurate predictions of the future. It would be a glorious invention if it wasn’t for the fact that almost every timeline they observed ended in destruction.

The deus ex machina, him, and the Demon lord were all in total despair.

Despite their tens of thousands of attempts, over the cycles of multiple universes, to produce capable star warriors, they had failed. Each and every single time for some reason.

As if fate plotted against them.

So, it was paramount that they succeeded this time.

Fighting the Chaos Knight was simply one small step to doing so. But for now.

He can’t reveal her presence to these two, for now. They aren’t strong enough to defeat her, at the moment. Nor does Omni Knight want to start a fight with one of his brothers or sisters.

Machines that were built before the one hundred machines. Machines crafted from countless souls poured into them.

Now was not the time. Later, he will have to fight them as he has done in the past.

Omni Knight merely nods, acknowledging her presence. He pretends to look like he doesn’t know her and responds.

“I am the Omni Knight. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He bows deeply, showing her respect.

“Oh how kind! I am not worthy though. I usually just smash things with my big ole sword right here!” She turns towards her great sword, smirking. Omni Knight then turns back towards Nameless.

“I guess I should continue where we left off. And hello Divine flash.” She seems a little surprised he knew her name, but not too surprised.

“Hmmm...I guess you know more about us, then we know about you, Mr. Omni-knight.”

“Indeed. I was telling your sister as much as I can but like I said earlier...there’s only so much I can tell you. I have rather strict limitations when it comes to talking. Or even being here.” Omni knight walks next to him, then shows his left arm. There is some kind of timer, counting down. The numbers are hard to read for them.

“What does this say?” Divine flash asks.

“It is the time left I have here, in this universe. I have traveled here as an avatar; my true body lies somewhere...else. There are two ways I can be here.” The two sisters kind of nod their heads, anxious for the next sentence.

“Well what you waiting for! Tell us tell us!” They say in near unison.

“I was going to but. What is this? You two are getting overly excited. I don’t think I am that exciting—” He gets cut off by Divine flash, who runs up to him and gets way, way too close to his face. She is beaming with excitement. So much so that it makes Omni knight back up.

“Why wouldn’t I be so excited! I have a living, breathing sentient alien in our midst! And he says he can travel between dimensions!” Nameless laughs.

“She’s kind of a nerd. She reads all sorts of books; she studies the stars. If she had the tools, she would be a scientist, I swear. That village just didn’t have shit.” She shrugs. Omni knight just laughs nervously, gently pushing her away from him a little.

“...Anyway, it just shows the amount of time I have left in this avatar form. I have about Twenty-two hours, thirty minutes, twenty-nine seconds, three hundred and ninety-nine milliseconds remaining for the day. Then I must return.” Omni knight speaks calmly, as usual.

“For how long?” The blue haired woman asks, her curiosity is through the roof. Where is all of this energy coming from, he wondered.

“A day. I’ll be unable to return for a day. Also, I can also be summoned here as well.” The two nod, then nod.

“Summoned?”

“Yes. The combined willpower of star warriors can summon me here. By being summoned here, I can exert more power, but I have a much lower limit. So, in other words, I can will myself here or you star warriors, I have chosen, can summon me here.” Divine flash seems pensive.

“Us star warriors? Guess you mean me and my sis. And someone else.” He nods.

“Yes. You five are the ones who can summon me at will...so I suggest you find the others. Soon.”

Nameless, stands up, asking the obvious question.

“Well, since you know so much, where are they? The people we need to meet.” Omni knight sighs.

“I can faintly feel their presence, but something is blocking me from finding their coordinates.” He just shrugs. “Best I can do is make a warp gate to a nearby location.” Nameless simply accepts.

No point in questioning how he can make portals between realms.

When he literally just made one to find her and fought the powerful, otherworldly woman himself. A pointless question.

“I have a feeling we will meet them soon. Just a hunch, though.” Nameless says confidently. She steps forward, wanting to say something, but her sister walks quickly towards her and forces her to sit down.

“I’m sure you’d like to go now. But you can wait. Omni knight, can you point us in the right direction? The day after tomorrow?” She asks and he nods.

“Yes. We have some time. And there is still much I would like to discuss with you two, while we have the chance. We may not get another chance like this for a while. Is my feeling.” His eyes darken. He has a pretty good idea of what will happen soon, but he is forbidden to say.

Saying it may change the timeline, unfortunately.

Cursed with forbidden knowledge, as usual. He sighs mentally.

“I suggest we rest. Let us find an area to do so.” The others shake their heads in agreement. Divine flash grabs her sister’s arm and puts it on her shoulder. The two slowly walk in front of the Omni knight, leading their way back towards their encampment. Luckily for them, it was quite far away from the destruction that happened earlier in the day.

As they walked forward, they could hear the metal clangs of Omni Knight walking behind them, quite close behind them. Divine Flash begins speaking once again.

“So. Why are you here, anyway? I know, we are your ‘chosen’ or whatever, but it must be for some other reason. It is not normal to just wake up and see sentient machines just pop in outta nowhere.” He looks towards her, as she turns her head backward.

“My purpose. My reason for being here. You, your sister, the others, are my reason for being here. You have something inside of you, something I can admire.” She laughs, a bit flustered by his words.

“Strange words from someone I met today. But sure, I’ll humor you. What do you see?”

“I see potential. The strength of a strong, honest soul. One could accomplish many great things...whether they are admirable or despicable. No matter what path you choose, I will be there. Be there as one who supports you, one who helps you.” The Omni knight speaks from the depths of his soul.

The Divine flash cannot see lies or deceit in his eyes, only a profound sincerity.

This person spoke truly from his heart, if he even has one, she thinks.

“I don’t think I’m that great, to be honest. I just do what I feel is right. I don’t worry about how other people will judge me.” He shrugs in response.

“I merely answered your question. You’ll have to see it with your own eyes, this resolve of mine, I suppose. Can’t force you to believe in me, when we just met, after all.” He shrugs again, then lowers his arms to a neutral position. The goddess of the Under realm is walking next to him, she has said nothing all this time.

She is merely observing her enemies. She could strike now but...she would rather wait till Nameless rested.

She wouldn’t enjoy their battle unless she did. The dark skinned woman also saw something in them, something they couldn’t see yet. The reason was simple.

She, and the Omni knight, were simply at a higher level of evolution. The higher you rise, the easier it becomes to inherently observe characteristics of other beings. Such as the potential of their spirits and by product, their evolution energy.

Nameless had the most potential out of all of them there.

The girl had potential that eclipsed every god she ever met. Her sister, though less, wasn’t that far off. And the omni knight...surprisingly had quite a bit. Despite being constricted at the moment, he too, could grow.

As well as herself. The Chaos knight wanted her enemy to grow stronger, to make her stronger. The stronger they could become, the more she could enjoy the glory of fighting her enemies.

The woman had another reason to grow stronger. But she can’t express it yet. It feels like she must. Or someone was telling her to do so.

She would only find the answer by becoming stronger herself. Her thoughts settle as they have finally reached the campsite, where she met Divine flash earlier in the day. Nam and her sister sit down in a tent, bandaging Nam’s arm a little. Omni knight merely sits down next to the firepit, observing them carefully.

“I did heal her. She should be fine within a day or so.” Nameless chuckles.

“You know, how did you even heal me? That didn’t look like any technology I know of...like we have self-repairing nanobot fluid. But it is much slower and expensive.” Omni knight merely extends his hand. A star forms in it and a small orb of yellow energy.

“Oh that? Magic.”

Nameless merely groans. She had enough of this hunk of bolts today.

“A machine. Talking about magic. You know what, why not? I can’t fucking believe this shit.” She falls over, pretending to be injured.

“I am a machine created from great science and great magic. I wouldn’t call myself a master magician, though. I have some rudimentary knowledge of it.” He continues speaking, ignoring the side eye from Nameless. Divine flash merely listens with interests, while the Chaos Goddess merely just kind of looks in another direction. She is already somewhat aware of this.

“I was forged from the souls of countless deceased warriors. Which were all fused and crafted into mine. I don’t think science could perform that...well based on what I know. And your next question will be, who created me, naturally. It was—” His words seemed to become muted and muffled out at the end.

It is almost as if someone is preventing him from speaking the answer.

“Can’t be helped, I guess. You can’t say it, I suppose?” Nameless rolls her eyes, he simply shrugs in agreement. Nothing they can do.

It is a matter outside of their control.

“Yes. Well, I mean. I could try to ask for more information access but....”

“Lemme guess, your gonna get denied.” Divine flash speaks up, casually playing with her sister’s hair. The two are as usual, quite inseparable. They seem a bit too...comfortable with each other. Are they really just sisters? Or....?

It is almost to a level someone might get the wrong idea, he thinks.

He keeps his thoughts to himself, though, not wanting to disrupt their caressing.

“I’ll attempt anyway.” He clears his throat.

“Machine god Omni Machine Knight asking O.R.B. for information access, requesting guidance.”

A moment after he asks, the same booming voice from early can be heard in the area. Though this is the first time Divine flash or Nameless have heard it.

It responds monotonously and expeditiously.

“O.R.B. is responding; Grade 9 Unit Omni machine is only able to share Level 1 priority knowledge at this time. Star Units must reach above Grade 7 to obtain access to higher priority knowledge.” A silence, then it continues.

“Please exercise vigilance and caution while distributing priority Level 1 information or appropriate consequences will be enacted.” The system speaks, as if it was there the whole time

This completely unnerves Nameless and her sister, shocking them completely.

“What in the...how!” Omni Knight begins to respond but the O.R.B. responds before he does.

A large golden orb descends from the sky, full of cybernetic data and energy.

“O.R.B. or Orbiting Responsive Battle God cyber system, has been an observation, maintenance, and control system for this dimensional space ever since my creation date approximately ten billion years ago.”

It seems sentient yet robotic. It has a will of its own, clearly.

“Data observation and suggestive guidance have been recorded. I am the control system.”

Nameless responds quickly. Her sister, in contrast, is merely speechless, having no words to describe the phenomenon in front of her.

“And how about you explain who are more clearly, you fucking—”

“Grade 1 Star Unit does not have permission to speak to or request information from the O.R.B.”

“Further disrespectful behavior towards the system will result in punishment. Please comply.”

Nameless wants to speak her mind, but forces her mouth shut, grinding her teeth together. She simply flips it off and turns away from it, fuming with anger.

The floating sphere simply floats towards the Omni knight, ignoring her completely.

“Will that end your query, Omni Knight?” He nods.

“Thank you for your assistance.”

“Appreciation is acknowledged. Please return to your living quarters within 19 hours. Have a nice day.” The O.R.B. floats back into the sky where it came out of, strangely but surely as Nameless looks.

“Oh and good luck...” O.R.B. whispers something, uncharacteristically.

Omni knight does not mind, they need all the help they can get.

Nameless swear she hears something else but can’t discern what it is saying as it disappears. Omni knight laughs, breaking her tension.

“Look, she told you. Don’t fight or badmouth her, please, for the love of—”

“She? SHE? That thing has a gender!?!?” Suddenly, she is enraged.

Divine flash quickly holds back her sister from doing something else stupid. She forcibly covers her mouth, stopping her from bad mouthing the O.R.B.

“You dumbass, she can still hear us!” Nameless struggles a bit more then she gives up. Completely and utterly defeated.

“You know, today has been way too much. I think we need a break. Gonna hurt my brain if you keep talking, Mr. knight.” He agrees.

“So, what do you propose, then?”

“Food! I am hungry and so is sis! Let’s make something nice, mm mm.” The blue haired lady grabs her portable storage, opening it up. She digs into the cube, fishing out a couple of pots and pans, some seasoning and some meat she stored from yesterday’s hunt.

Today she would make some chicken with broth. She gets to work quickly, setting up the flame near Omni knight.

“Do you even eat food, Mr. Omni Knight?”

“I can consume nutrients, though it is not necessary. I am powered by a perpetual cyber crystal that naturally converts raw energy from the air into what you would call ‘food.’ Also, part of the reason I can’t stay in this realm for too long. My existence is simply too powerful for this realm. Staying too long would distort the foundations of this time space.”

She has already started a fire and has put one of her pots on a stand. She fishes out a bottle that has water and pours some of it into the pot. She continues talking as she prepares to make the water boil.

“What about that, uh, War goddess you spoke about earlier? Does she have the same daily limitations?”

“No. She has far greater control over her aura and energy, so she is not bound by that limitation. She is still subject to similar power restrictions, like the one imposed upon myself.”

“Each realm has its own rules, and we must follow them lest we risk being punished by the O.R.B.” He says wistfully, enjoying her motions. She has dumped the meat into the pot and is now cutting up some vegetables that she also pulled out of her cube.

Seems like she is the one in charge of the house. Good to have such survival skills, they could come in handy, he thinks. She whistles, smiling as she is making the food.

“I would ask why a realm has rules imposed on it but...I don’t think you would even know. You seem more like the type that gets told to do things rather than understanding why the thing is happening. That’s my feeling.” He chuckles in agreement with her.

“Mmm. They just tell me things and I just sort of go along with it.” She looks concerned but he bats it away, waving his hand at her politely..

“It’s not like I’m being forced, don’t worry. I have made all of my choices of my own free will. As you have. I too wonder about how the universe works.”

“Sometimes I wonder about the motives of the War Goddess or the Librarian or the dice dealer. Or the one lady.” He thinks out loud, but Divine flash doesn’t question him. She merely continues whistling, then starts humming.

“It’s finneeeeeeeee, it’s fine. Nobody knows how everything works. We just strive to do our best. Don’t let them work you too hard, mkay?” He wants to protest but she just looks at him, making him silence his complaints.

“I see you are a bit...persistent like your sister.”

“Oh you can just say it! You think we are a stubborn pair! It’s fine. Besides, the only way you know people is well, getting to know em. No simulation or prediction is nearly as good as actual experience! I can tell that you know, way, way more about us. Then we do. But it’s just words people told you. You can only know us properly by being our friend. Simple!”

Her words seem to resonate with her and he relaxes. Earlier today he was a bit more cautious, especially after dealing with that blue armored hassle.

But now. He can see what she means.

He sees her cooking.

Vegetables are being added to the stew. It seems the food will be ready in another 30-40 minutes. She has been stirring the stew gently as they have been speaking. She sees Omni knight glance over towards the goddess of the under realm, who is staring into the sky for some reason. Lost in thought.

“And I’m sure you know something about her. Don’t look at me like that, we are not stupid. Stubborn, maybe. Stupid, no.”

“Best to keep that to yourself. Even if it is something terrible, we’ll deal with it later. Don’t feel like you must overburden yourself for our sakes. I think we are tough troopers. About as tough as say, the builder eh? I’d guess you’ve met her too, hmm?” She continues speaking as he returns his gaze towards the stew.

“I saw the news reports. And saw you, all giant and all. Saving all those people. So, of course I’m gonna trust ya. You’re so noble and kind, it kinda screams from you. I dunno what y’all did that day, but you saved a lot of people. I’m sure the people in the city would be grateful to know who their savior was.”

“I only did what we could. Wasn’t much time to do much.” He says humbly. She merely scoffs at him.

“Only killed the beast that cratered into the city, saved about several hundred people’s lives and stopped our poor ole dear Divine Hammer from becoming lunch for that snake. I think you did more than you could imagine. Don’t sell yerself short.” She pats him hard on the shoulder, cheering him up.

“I’d call you a damn hero if I ever saw one, but I doubt you would accept the title. So, I’m happy to meet you. I think we might be able to do more with your help.”

The stew is getting close to being finished. Divine flash yells at her sister, she grabs some bowls and utensils and puts them near her. She then makes her sit back down and rest.

“I can see who the Mom is here.” He remarks. She shrugs.

“Can’t be helped. My sis did help out a lot around the house, but I generally did the most. She was too busy waving around her sword or guarding the village. When we had a village.” She becomes slightly crestfallen but then her eyes bounce back upwards.

“Enough of that! Food is ready! Come on, go slurp some stew up, through your mouth? I guess?” She pours some stew into a bowl and hands him one. The Omni Knight simply just drinks it down and it vanishes inside of him. Somehow.

“Did you even taste it?” She looks astonished at his skill.

“Yes it was delicious.” Divine flash shrugs. She motions over her sister and tells the woman staring into space to grab some food before it gets cold.

She and the Omni knight continue to chit chat for a while.

The sun has gone down and the stew pot has been emptied. Their bellies have been filled to the brim.

After cleaning up, Divine flash has quickly gone back to embracing her sister. The two are casually playing with each other’s hair.

“Look at all this dirt. Aaaah, every day you mess up your perfect hair.” The blue haired woman grumbles, tired of seeing her sister make her hair become pure filth. She shrugs.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about itttt.”

“No! As your sister, I demand you keep it clean!” The two are tussling together, arguing over nothing. A different image then the one he saw earlier in the day.

But the day was almost over. He had four hours remaining, it was past midnight now.

“As much as I enjoy being with you two...I must go.” The two turned towards him, a little sad. He was starting to grow on them. And they really needed someone else to vent to, after everything that happened in the village. The massacre still weighed freshly on their young hearts.

He simply stands up, gazing at the two. Then bows.

“I will see you soon.” He returns to a standing position. He turns around and begins walking away from them. The Goddess of the Underrealm is looking at him, grinning. Only he can see her expression. It is her true expression

One filled with the might of chaos that reigns supreme in her heart.

“You know, don’t you? Hehehe.” The two are out of earshot. Omni knight merely shrugs neither confirming nor denying.

“It doesn’t matter if I do or if I don’t. I’ll also see you soon, too.” He simply ignores her. His right-hand glows blue. A blue portal opens, and he walks into it. Returning to his home dimension. For now.

Soon he will return. To perform his duty. Soon he will do what he must for the people that he believes in.