The Nexus Gate roared to life, its runes spiraling in a blur of impossible geometry as space folded inward—then snapped.
Reality rewrote itself.
In an instant, Luthar, Freya, and Hephaestus were no longer standing on the platform.
They were high above a vast, foreign sky.
And then—gravity took notice.
Wind screamed past them as the blue atmosphere rushed upward, their bodies plunging rapidly toward the ground below. Clouds tore apart around them as velocity mounted.
Luthar's coat flared violently in the wind.
"Hm. Overshot by approximately seven kilometers."
He adjusted a dial on his bracer. "Correction required."
With a low mechanical whine, his gravitic stabilizers engaged, invisible fields of force thrumming to life beneath his boots and spine. His fall slowed sharply, his angle correcting until he glided into a controlled descent.
Above him, the goddesses responded in kind—but far more dramatically.
Freya's divine aura expanded outward. Feathers of light burst from her back, forming a haloed silhouette. She floated gracefully, the very air bending to her presence—a celestial figure descending with the elegance of myth.
Hephaestus didn't slow. Instead, she slammed her palm downward mid-fall, divine flame surging beneath her as molten glyphs inscribed themselves into the air. With a flash, a platform of golden energy ignited beneath her boots, arresting her fall with a thunderous crack. From this conjured foothold, she stepped calmly onto another one manifesting mid-air, descending as if walking down the sky itself.
Luthar's mechadendrites twitched as he observed them.
"As long as we didn't emerge in deep space, underwater, or inside a volcano, I'll consider that a partial success."
He narrowed his eyes behind his lenses, monitoring atmospheric composition and magnetic fields.
"…Though I suppose falling from the stratosphere was a charming surprise."
Freya smirked, drifting beside him.
"Is this how you greet all your destinations? Sudden death followed by mild sarcasm?"
"I merely celebrate that we weren't vaporized by a star." He adjusted a stabilizer vent. "Incremental improvement."
Hephaestus landed beside them in a flash of embers, one boot crunching into a tree branch that instantly turned to charcoal beneath her divine aura.
"You need to improve your platform," she muttered, brushing soot from her coat.
"If it were someone else, they might already be dead."
"I'll improve it once I'm free," Luthar said blandly. "The current gate is only stable for temporary use."
Freya twirled mid-flight, her hair rippling behind her like a comet's tail.
"Admit it, Luthar—the gate you built is still incomplete."
"Yes, it's incomplete. I can't master all the technology in just a few years," he replied evenly.
"But at least I'm making progress. In the next version, I plan to simplify the gate."
He checked his auspex.
"Looks like we're ten kilometers from the forge-lab. This should be easy."
Luthar tapped a sequence into his bracer, and a faint chime echoed from within the device. A thin beam of light projected upward—encrypted code spiraling through the air before vanishing into the void.
"Message sent to Lily. Estimated arrival in three minutes via Drop-Wing."
Freya hovered a few meters off the ground, arms folded, one leg bent with lazy grace.
"I like this world already. There's something untamed in the wind. No divine barriers watching. No rules. Just... freedom."
Hephaestus grunted, "I prefer a proper forge and a roof over my head."
"Both will be provided shortly," Luthar said without looking up, still monitoring local signals.
"You can indulge your curiosity after the orientation phase."
The sound of engines grew in the distance—a subtle, low-frequency hum rather than any roaring jet. Moments later, a sleek, winged skimmer dipped below the tree line, cloaked in dull camouflage plates and glowing softly at the propulsion nodes. It moved with fluid grace, designed for silence and speed.
The rear ramp lowered mid-air, and Lily Ruca stood inside—her usual cheerful expression paired with oversized goggles and flight gloves two sizes too large. She waved both arms with energetic enthusiasm.
"Wow, you're eight hours late! That's a new record!"
Luthar stepped onto the ramp first, his mechadendrites coiling protectively behind him.
"So... it's been more than thirty hours since I left."
"Yup! I was even thinking about going back," Lily said as she guided the skimmer higher.
"By the way, I brought snacks to welcome the goddesses!"
Freya and Hephaestus followed, already eyeing the internal schematics of the skimmer as if deciding how to upgrade it.
Once airborne, Luthar turned to Lily.
"Report. Status of Vankos?"
"Gone to look for trouble with Tony Stark," Lily replied, tapping her pad.
"Anton said not to worry. They'll come back after beating him up."
"I just hope they come back alive, not in pieces."
Lily tilted her head.
"Should I tell them you're back?"
"I'll speak to them tomorrow," Luthar said, glancing toward Freya and Hephaestus.
"Today, I settled our new friends."
He turned to the two goddesses.
"Freya, Hephaestus. The main structure has been modified for your use. You'll each be provided with a private chamber and all necessary accommodations. In addition—"
His eyes settled on Hephaestus.
"I've prepared a workshop for you, fully stocked. Any materials or energy sources you require will be made available."
Hephaestus didn't show it, but her eye gleamed faintly with interest.
"That will suffice."
Freya reclined against one of the padded side walls, legs crossed.
"And what if I want something like a giant statue?"
"You'll need to convince her to make it for you," Luthar replied evenly.
"Or, if you have basic knowledge, you can use my modified workers to build what you want."
"Well, as long as they listen, that's enough," Freya said with a grin.
"But I hope you have enough money for me. It would be quite bad to just ask other men for it."
"I've learned enough hacking to create falsified bank accounts filled with money," Luthar continued in his usual tone.
"So, at least money won't be the issue. Just don't try to control everyone with your beauty."
As the Drop-Wing neared the forge lab,
Far across the world, in the inner sanctum of Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One's meditation came to a gradual halt. The rings of magical energy orbiting her fractured—just briefly—as something foreign brushed against the fabric of the world.
She exhaled slowly, golden energy curling around her fingertips like incense smoke.
"Another breach…"
For a moment, she considered ignoring it. After all, she had sensed previous arrivals—two mortals, strange but insignificant, passing through dimensional cracks. She had let them be. After all, they were completely normal people with no strange energy surrounding them.
But this… this was different.
Her fingers moved, and the air shimmered. A scrying disc spun into existence, showing a blurred image of three figures descending from the heavens—one was human, at least that's what she wanted to believe; the other two, divine. The signature of power, raw and unfiltered, radiated off the newcomers like a sun behind storm clouds.
"Gods," she murmured. "But not on this plane."
Her gaze narrowed as she studied the distortion they had left behind.
"Now that's interesting... it teleported them without interfering with reality."
She turned, robes flowing softly behind her.
"Time to visit this guest before they do something stupid."
Author's note: let's upload the next chapter after waking up but if you have any ideas, you can find out, like always. 😁
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