After so long with just the voices in his head Bjorn nearly forgot what it was like to travel with someone. The fact that his companion went from a wendigo turned cernunnos to a small Devil pup was just how life went. For him anyway. There was a short debate between Bjorn and Failsafe if she was a Devil. Given the fact that Devils are just Trues from the Infernal Planes Bjorn won the debate.
The Chaos Lands were exactly what they always were, dangerous, fluid, and deceivingly beautiful at times. The air shimmered like glass, heavy with mana and distortion, the landscape constantly shifting like it couldn't decide what shape it wanted to be. With everything Bjorn had learned over his journey he and the níðhöggr made it through with relative ease.
He didn't know what to name her or if it would be appropriate. He wasn't really her father, and she was intelligent. So, he settled on "Little One," half-expecting her to one day announce her name with the casual authority only children and gods possessed. She hadn't. So the name stuck.
They moved under moonlight that flickered like flame, past trees with bleeding leaves and rivers that flowed with solid ice instead of liquid water. Bjorn carried her most of the way. Her limbs were too small to keep pace and flight would make her an easier target. While her body was durable, being level 100 at birth, her spirit was still that of a child.
Each passing day, she asked more questions. About the world. About him. About the strange places they passed through. He told her what he knew about the Chaos Lands. He didn't shy about the danger or the monsters, death was very real here and there were monsters that were stronger than both of them out there and the last thing he needed was for her to wander off and attract something he couldn't kill or escape from.
"Will I get to meet Auntie Tanisha?" she asked one day, currently climbing one of his necks like a living scarf.
"We're headed to her now," Bjorn said.
"How much longer?"
Bjorn shook his head, gently dislodging her. She yelped and flopped down onto his back, limbs splayed out like a lazy starfish.
"A few days," he said. "Want me to tell you about Lavi? That's a wendigo city. Do you know what a city is?"
"Yes!" Her tail thumped against his spine, wagging furiously. "I mean, I think I know. It's where people live together, like, a big den!"
Bjorn was again surprised at her knowledge. She understood basic concepts to a degree and some advance concepts like they were second nature. Magic was something she understood at a fundamental level. She couldn't control her magic which was maya to any degree of mastery but that was because she was a hatchling. Her control of the maya she had rivaled Tanisha's control but without the techniques and months of training. The difference between a True and a mortal was becoming more and more obvious.
"Close," Bjorn said. "A city's like… a whole bunch of dens, packed together. But they're separate, kind of. People live, trade, fight, and eat in cities. There are buildings for everything, homes, shops, places of worship…"
***
Nights, if they could be called that, were strange. The sky refused to dim entirely, a bleeding aurora casting bruised light on everything.
Bjorn roasted monster flesh over flickering flames. It was from some monster that looked kind of like a bird. If he was squinting really hard in a dark room, no he could see in the dark. If he was squinting in a dark room, filled with black smoke. Realistically, it was more nightmare than poultry, but telling himself it was a bird helped him forget the twitching mandibles and human-like eyes.
Beside him, Little One gnawed quietly on shimmering roots torn from the mana trees. As it turned out she was a herbivore, she could eat meat but not much. Her sharp teeth didn't make sense to him; herbivores usually had flatter jaws. Then again, maybe the flora in the Infernal Planes fought back.
She always sat curled up against him, tail flicking gently as she pressed into his side. Unlike him she seemed to actually be cold-blooded and didn't give off much heat, but she stole his like a greedy little leech. He didn't mind.
"Warm," she whispered one night.
Bjorn grunted, already half-asleep.
***
"Scary." The níðhöggr said. "Are we going closer to it, father?"
She tightened her grip on Bjorn as they reached the massive scar in reality. The avatar of the Great Serpent was still curled around the warp, its mouth unhinged as untold energy funneled inside.
The landscape changed more; it was more fluid than reality at that point. It was like stepping into the outline of a place rather than the place itself. An echo, an impression, all form and no substance. Veins of mana pulsed visibly beneath the surface, like arteries in the skin of a great beast. Shimmering blue and silver streams flowed across the terrain, mingling with the festering reds and sickly greens of the Chaos Lands.
During their month-long journey, Bjorn had come to learn that the Little One was no ordinary pup. Her mind developed with frightening speed. She was no older than a single month, but her reasoning was already nearing that of a teenager. She asked questions no hatchling should understand. It confirmed what Bjorn suspected: that Trues weren't born ignorant. They arrived in the world with knowledge likely inherited like instincts in a normal beast.
"It won't attack us. The Great Serpent's avatar has a single goal," Bjorn said. "But don't let go. That monster is what we are here to stop."
He found the entrance embedded in the warped landscape, a smooth metallic panel barely visible against the reflective glass-like terrain. Placing a paw on the console, it flared to life. The door hissed open, and he rushed inside.
Failsafe's voice crackled through. "We should probably go slow. Remember last—"
Without fail Bjorn slipped on one of the steps. The níðhöggr hopped off of him the moment he started tumbling. Bjorn got a sense of deja vu as the walls and floor were made of a metal that his claws could not bite into. He continued to fall and spin until he clattered at the bottom with his pride wounded black and blue.
"Father," the níðhöggr chirped innocently as she pranced down the final steps. "Ah!"
She theatrically flipped and landed beside him with an exaggerated thud, mimicking his fall with a toothy grin.
Bjorn narrowed his eyes. "Very funny."
She giggled, a trilling, high-pitched sound he'd come to recognize as her version of laughter.
He shook himself off and stood. "Alright. We're here. But… do we actually know how to make the core?"
"I have a good idea." Isin said but his voice was distant.
"Me too." Failsafe said cherily. "I have seen the entire internals of a fully functioning one now."
"Stop playing around, Little One," Bjorn said, nudging the pup. "I've got serious work to do."
She clambered up his snout, claws digging in slightly, and slid down his neck to perch on his back. She wrapped herself around him again, chirping all the while.
Everything was exactly like he had remembered. The sterile, cold corridors. The eerie hum in the walls. The faint scent of metal and ozone. Yet when he looked to the head Isin controlled, he saw more than recognition. It was a deep unfiltered loss.
Isin's eyes were wide, frozen in shock as he took it all in. Despite Isin's grumpy nature Bjorn understood where he was coming from. Isin didn't really want to believe what he was, that he had died, that everyone was dead. He was now the memory of a past incarnation. Just as much a ghost as those that might have walked these halls.
This was the moment Isin really experienced what Bjorn's memories had shown him but those are like dreams. Actually being here so many thousands of years later… nothing could hide his pain. Bjorn saw the moment as Isin's lips trembled.
Bjorn remembered these halls too, but to him, they were sterile. Cold. Functional. It was just some place that held something he actually cared about. But to Isin? Every wall held laughter. Every corridor whispered names long gone. He wasn't seeing architecture, he was seeing ghosts. Family. Friends. Love.
Loss.
The strange thing about being a hydra, Bjorn had learned, was that they didn't cry. Not the way humans did. Maybe it was something to do with their biology. Hydra just didn't have the physiology to show sadness that way. Even so, Bjorn saw the emotions spill out. It was so human for someone that was no longer human. Whatever changes made Bjorn less connected to the past, Isin wasn't spared.
"Are you going to be alright?" Bjorn asked gently.
Isin snapped his gaze toward him. "Aren't we the same person?" he said, voice sharp but brittle. "You're fine, so I will be too."
A soft hiss broke the tension.
"Dad are you alright?" Little One asked, her voice was uncertain.
She climbed down from Bjorn's back, paws tapping softly on the pristine metal floor as she padded over to Isin's head. He turned on her with a threatening hiss, the kind meant to scare not hurt. He didn't bare his teeth. A good thing, too. Bjorn would've taken his head off, pain or not.
Little One wasn't afraid. She took another step closer, her silver snout gleaming in the sterile light. Then another. Until she reached him. Gently she pressed her nose to his muzzle, her breath warm against his scales.
Isin flinched back as if he saw her for the first time. He was silent and just looked. His aggression melted away and his gaze dropped. He turned away from her.
"I am fine, Little One," he said, quietly. "Thank you for checking on me."
She seemed to be pleased with these words as she happily bounced and booped his nose again, this time with a playful flick of her snout, then scampered back up Bjorn's back like nothing had happened.
"Not a word," Isin growled, not looking at him.
Bjorn grinned. "What? It was cute."
"Don't worry Bjorn, it is saved forever, next time we sleep we can view it again." Failsafe said with a snicker.
***
Bjorn reached the threshold of Laxy's room he didn't enter though he saw the gynoid hanging over her table like usual.
"Don't shut down Failsafe this time." Bjorn said in the hissing tongue. "We will need him to make the Angel Core."
After Laxy nodded he finally stepped into the room.
"Who is she?" the níðhöggr questioned as she tightened her grip on Bjorn.
"She is a friend of daddy's." Bjorn responded as he walked in the room.
"Tanisha?" She asked.
"No, this is Laxy." Bjorn said.
"Hello, Bjorn. It is good to see you've returned safely," Laxy greeted, her voice smooth and melodic. "Though I must admit, I was unaware you had... mated with a níðhöggr. I didn't think hydra and níðhöggr were genetically compatible."
Laxy's form shifted from the look of a robot to a flesh and blood person.
"She's not my biological daughter," Bjorn clarified. "Now, give me an update. What's happening?"
"Tanisha, Aurelius and Fuyumi are all well but they are below in Helmforað," Laxy said. "They are currently engaged with a G Series, G-18 Guardian. It is the last one guarding the main power facility. They have been fighting them for the past few days."
Bjorn let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "How many androids have they destroyed?"
"8,742 androids in total have been destroyed." She said.
"Let's get started then." Bjorn said.
"Of course, please have your daughter place her hand on the console and we can begin." Laxy said.
"Why?" Bjorn asked.
"She is an unregistered entity unless she wants to wait outside she must register." Laxy responded with an apologetic sigh. "It is a safety protocol."
Little One jumped down off Bjorns back and circled around Laxy sniffing her and even poking at her form. Laxy didn't seem bothered by it but Bjorn thought she was being rude. Then white maya flowed from the níðhöggr's mouth surrounding her totally. The cloud just as quickly dissipated leaving a naked young woman on all fours in the lizard's place.
She wasn't fully human. Spiraled horns curved elegantly from her head, her eyes still gleamed with a dragon's vertical slits, and leathery wings drooped from her back. A swaying tail, lined in silvery scales, completed the picture. She tried to rise, her legs wobbling beneath her like a newborn fawn.
"Uh, that's new." Bjorn muttered.
"Her control over maya is growing fast." Failsafe said.
"Now I look like auntie," she said proudly, grinning up at Laxy.
"Yes you do, little pup." Laxy said warmly. "If you are going to look like me you will have to wear clothing."
"Help her with the console. We can worry about clothes later," Isin snapped, his voice impatient.
"Make her some clothing right after." Bjorn added.
"Right away." Laxy said. "Please follow me."
Laxy snapped her finger and she and the pup were moved to the console in a flash of light.
"What is her name?" Laxy asked.
"Little One!" She said happily. "That is what Daddy calls me."
"She doesn't have one," Bjorn said.
"The níðhöggr live in the Infernal Planes though they are known to stick to themselves." Laxy said. "Demon names are varied but I suggest Anasuya Scalebound."
"That will be your name from now on, Anasuya." Bjorn said.
"But I liked Little One." She pouted.
"No pouting. You will still be my Little One, but when you get older you will be happy to have a name." Bjorn said.
Anasuya gave a small, reluctant nod. Laxy snapped again and Anasuya was on the fabricator in a flash. Laxy quickly directed threads between her fingers each one pulsed with Aether as a dress quickly weaved itself into existence. It was read with silver highlights and of course a place for her wings and tail to wave freely. It was done in mere moments.
"Registration complete," Laxy announced. "Now, we begin preparations for processing the material. I'll need your armor to access the inventory."
Anasuya hopped off the fabricator with a childlike bounce and immediately began flipping the hem of her dress, marveling at the way the fabric shimmered and shifted with her movements.
Laxy appeared beside Bjorn and lifted the single piece of armor that remained when it was stored. She then floated over to the platform and placed it on the flat surface. Apparently taking everything out of the inventory was that easy.
"My…" Laxy gasped. "You've exceeded every one of my expectations."
"There was an entire forest of mana tree roots. I was worried that I only found the one crystal though." Bjorn said.
"The mana tree roots are inconsequential now. We can still use them if you would like, but I do not recommend it. They were going to be a substitute." Laxy said.
"I thought you said we would need both the wood and a mana crystal to make a substitute." Bjorn said
"Ah, I see, you are unaware as to what you brought me." Laxy said her tone contemplative. "It was not a mana crystal, it was Creation. It is not something that can easily be confused but if you have never seen it in its raw form it is crystalline in appearance."
"It was dark." Bjorn said in his defence.
"It is good that you are a True Hydra. Mortals can not handle touching creation directly. Even having it inside of a storage item can be dangerous for them if it is not designed to hold it properly. You were unaffected because you are a True Immortal. How did you get it?"
"Well that is a story." Bjorn said. "It started when the ground under me suddenly became a sky archipelago…"
He went into a detailed explanation of how they found the crystal, the time dilation effect they were under and what happened after they took the Creation. Laxy's questions were technical at the end of the explanation. Did they notice any specific phenomenon, or did the air taste like ozone, how large was the event horizon around the maya egg?
"The barrier between realms has weakened significantly. The blood maya pooled around Creation because it has the power of every realm. The Divide can not completely cut that connection. The closest Higher Plane is the Infernal Planes so it resonated with that realm. Think of it as an anchor. When you removed the anchor the fabric of both realms collapsed. An exchange was required to close the tear and a sizable chunk of mortal reality along with a few monsters were sent into the Infernal Planes and it spat out the egg of a Devil."
"My egg!" Anasuya said, "It didn't taste very good."
"She is a Devil?" Bjorn asked.
"Yes, she would be a True from the Infernal Planes. They are generally called Devils though there are many different species."
"Failsafe?" Bjorn said mentally but the grin never left his face. "Guess who was right?"
"Why are they all lumped together as 'Devils'? That's ridiculously misleading," Failsafe said, frustration rising. "We don't call every being from this planet 'humans', or-or 'cows'. It's the same principle. 'Devil' is the fish of the Higher Planes."
"Wha?" Bjorn blinked.
"Fish is just a catch-all term not an actual animal classification." Failsafe grumbled. "People just call all aquatic vertebrates that are not tetrapods fish. Just like Devils, it's lazy. And I don't like it."
Bjorn furrowed his brow for a moment mainly out of confusion but also because it was the first time he had seen Failsafe so frustrated. He didn't know Failsafe had such an odd pet peeve.
"Anyway," Bjorn hissed as he turned back to Laxy. "My mother is already pissed at this reality for me being here. Will the níðhöggr also want revenge for me taking their daughter?"
"Unlikely," Laxy whispered, drifting closer to him. "The níðhöggr live in chaos. Death, disappearance, and infanticide are… expected. They may not even notice she's gone."
Bjorn followed Anasuya with his eyes. She was still in her humanoid form and was tottering across the room on uncertain legs, still getting used to bipedal movement. There was something almost adorable about her awkward stride.
"Okay, we will deal with that later." Bjorn sighed. "What are the next steps? Then I assume we will just use Creation to make the core."
"Yes, now that we have the components it should only take a few hours." Laxy said.