Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

Chapter 28: Wakie wakie

After finishing retelling the last bits of tales from the Previous Era, the blue figure, now identified as Yggdrasil, says with her hands resting on her knees.

"After the Omniverse was reset by Void, the Ruler of the End, my seed ship drifted for an unknown amount of time, in search of a prosperous Multiverse to dwell in. The soil that I've decided to call how right now, is one such Multiverse."

Yggdrasil waits for the slime to digest the information before continuing.

"Right now, Void should still be maintaining the new Omniversal balance alongside Akari, Ophis, and Yahweh. It's unknown when we can see them again. As for Yuki, it took a few years after the seed ship made landfall for her to be reincarnated. I've elected to use an artificial vessel to host her soul, guiding it to be adopted by her new family, and finally, be the person she is today. It took a bit of effort to ensure her well-being, thankfully, my loyal retainers from the Previous Era are very adept at their work."

That last sentence also marks the end of storytime. The atmosphere descends into a pleasant silence as the slime is deep in thought, while Yggdrasil is contended with having another person to share her tales with. Regardless, Yggdrasil has an important task today so they would have to move on.

Yggdrasil waves a hand, letting the holographic screen changes the view to show a hospital room. Its sole occupant is Yuki, former Primordial Concept of Time, Destruction, and Death, now the Princess of Iron and Blood. With a smile on her face, Yggdrasil picks up the slime, waking it from its thoughts. Together, they disappear inside a blue portal that Yggdrasil conjured.

It's time to say the words she so dearly wished to say.

"Welcome back!"

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"Welcome back!"

Groggily waking up after a very long sleep, I was surprised to hear a nostalgic voice. Pleasantly shocked with a bit of disbelief, I am about to sit up in haste when a soothing hand put a stop to it.

"Easy there,  what you did, though necessary, leaves behind lasting damage. It would take a while till you can be out and about."

Smiling wrily at the reminder, I greet the person in front of me with a trembling voice. My remaining eye is now fully opened to capture the sight of a person I dearly missed.

"I'm home... Yggdra."

The blue figure, Yggdrasil, sports a pleased smile before snapping her fingers. Suddenly, her featureless body condenses with a flash of light. After the flash subsides, Yggdra is now a beautiful lady, wearing a white imperial dress that sported a V-neck, showing a side of her ample breasts. Atop her light blue hair is a white that shines a starry radiance. It's unknown what's the actual material composition of the accessories, and her dress. I can haphazard a guess that it's her power at work to make such a dashing getup.

"I miss that look, a helluva lot," I commented with nostalgia. "Hold me, please."

It takes every fiber of my being not to just jump straight into Yggdra's embrace. That and a cute little slime that has been bobbing in and out of her arms. I'm a bit curious about why there's one here though now is not the time for such a question.

Yggdra chuckles before settling the slime down on a nearby table. There, it proceeds to devour the nearby medical jellies with a noble's finesse. Ok, now I have more questions.

Yggdra hugs me out of my reverie with the gentleness of a lover, oh how I missed her warmth. I reciprocate the action with my own hug, albeit weakly as I'm still recovering from the trauma.

"You have no idea how much I've missed this feeling... Yuki." Yggdra said while patting my grey hair.

I smile in return, opting to stay in the pleasant comfort of my lover ever since time immemorial. Don't get me wrong, being hugged by Bryn or this body's adopted mothers are awesome, but Yggdra's hug is of a different flavor altogether.

We stay like that for five minutes, the silence is thankfully maintained by a slime that can read the atmosphere. It soundlessly eats the jelly while watching us with a warm gaze... Or whatever is the slime's equivalent of one. Finally, Yggdra breaks the hug though she now sits on the bed, holding my hand. I'm kinda missing the hug already, everybody needs a hug in life, daily.

"Though I do love to catch up with you on everything that had happened before your awakening, our time is short." Yggdra holds out a finger, pointing it at my now missing left eye, covered by a medical patch. "After the many ordeals that you've been through, it's high time I return this aspect to you."

Though a bit confused, I can and will entrust my very existence to Yggdra if I have to. So, I let the beam that shot out from her index finger pierce my wound without dodging it. Then, I can feel something changing inside me, especially where my left eye was. It's a good change, the return of a familiar warm and nostalgic power, something that is now occupying my left eye socket.

I remove the eyepatch, touching the wound lightly. I have an inkling of what Yggdra just gave me so I ask. "Did you just-"

Yggdra cuts in with a chuckle, saying. "Yes, my dearest. I handed back the aspect of Time to you." She gently remove my eyepatch as a multitude of colors now assaulted my eyesight. That and much more indescribable stuff, fragments of timelines and possible realities. 

It's such a rush of information that I am forced to close both of my eyes in an effort to control my power. Yggdra pulls my head into her bosom, I can feel her hand patting my hair in comfort.

"Bear with it for a bit while your power automatically adjusts itself for your mortal body. You can work on it later to remaster your control over it and reacquire what you've lost. Now, let's just contend with some time manipulation and an ageless body, my dear."

I snicker at the way she downplayed what she returned to me. "You said like you were handing out candies to a kid or something, love. Gods killed just to receive a fraction of this power, you know?"

Yggdra shrugs. "And now it has returned to its rightful owner."

I smirk but ultimately, I entrust myself to her to let the information tidal wave passes. After a couple of minutes, I can feel the heat in my eye fade away, leaving behind a silent ticking of a clock in a corner of my psyche. Finally done recollecting myself, I lean back with a hand touching my eye. Smiling in joy, I say.

"This Primordial Goddess is back, bitches!" Only to earn a flick to the forehead by Yggdra.

"Language, young lady!" She chuckles before adding. "And you're not fully back yet. As of now, you still haven't unlocked Destruction and Death, yet. Not to mention you can only harness a minor fragment of Time to stop aging and perform limited Chrono manipulation. Though I have no doubt that you would climb back to your apex in no time at all. We're all waiting for you to return, you know."

Smiling at her words, I reminisce about my true family.

"Yeah, you're right. I will work hard to reunite with you all after I'm done with the mortal world." I then pout. "Nevertheless, must you flicked me that hard? A girl can show off for a bit, you know?"

"Well, earn the right to do that first, then."

We look at each other for a bit before both of us start laughing.

"Oh, and before I forget," Yggdra conjures a mirror, reflecting my new look. "With your soul now carrying the power of Time, I've also taken some liberty to modify your left eye. After all, it's the manifestation of your power so you will need the cool factor."

I deadpan at her after I took in my new look. "Seriously? Golden iris with gothic-style clock face?"

"What? It looks cool! Even Void's female comrade sported the look and I like it!" She defended her reason.

"So that's your true thought!?" I and the slime can only give her exasperated looks while she goes on a tangent, trying to show me the good side of her modification.

To be honest, though, I am digging my new style. It complements well my other ruby-colored eye and grey hair. All I need now is a black uniform with medals to complete the look.

We then talk a bit more with Yggdra mostly explaining to me recent events. Though it pained me that the losses of innocent children were too high, partly due to the previous me not being able to detect it soon enough, I am content with the ultimate outcome. A part of me knows that sacrifices must be made for the Greater Good, yet, that is a dark logical path that I would rather not tread upon. I vow that in the future, such an event will not take place ever again under my watch.

Yggdra, still sitting next to me with her fingers interlocking with mine, suddenly says.

"Your mothers have returned." She stands up, patting my head and saying. "I also have to leave to prepare for the eventual harness of Void Ether. We can catch up more later, once the commotion dies down. Keep doing the good work, Yuki."

I lean into the hand that's patting me, surprisingly letting out a purr like a cat. "Un."

Yggdra let out one last chuckle before grabbing the slime and vanishing into motes of light. Speaking of which, what's the deal with that slime in the first place?

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I fiddle a bit with the power granted to me by Yggdra. Truly, nothing groundbreaking yet aside from my achieving pseudo immortality and the ability to peer into the short-term future. Though the latter can be improved through some training, which I would do when I have some free time. Another upside is that my spell-casting ability and mana pool receive a stark improvement. Although I'm not a frontline combatant, I won't deny the usefulness of having an improvement in my self-defense capability.

Still have to train my physical body though, my physical strength is pitifully weak. All the more so after I got shot in the head, granted it was on my order that it happened, but still... Training arc in the future! Or not.

It's at this moment that the door is slammed open. "Yuki!"

I only manage to see a blue before the figure tackles me on the bed. It should have been painful but the woman before me adjusted her strength at the last second. Chuckling wryly at the consideration that she expressed, I hug her back.

"Welcome back, Bryn!" 

"That's not the time for that! How are you feeling? Any nausea? Pain? Do I need to call a doctor? And your eyes-!"

I sweatdrop at her frantically patting me all over. Thankfully, a hand grasp Bryn's shoulder and pull her back, giving me much-needed breathing room.

"Jeez, calm down for a bit, Brynhyldr. My daughter won't be able to answer anything if you pressure her like that."

This cool, melodious voice, can only belong to one person. My second adoptive mother in this life, wearing her trademark black dress, the Goddess of Life and Death, Hel.

"Thanks for your help, mom." I smiled at her, watching Bryn calming herself by taking a breather. The lady offers an apologetic smile, causing me discomfort after I woke up. "Though it's fine if you let Bryn fret over myself for a bit, you know? It feels wonderful to have someone care for you like that."

Mom agrees with my sentiment, nonetheless, she must say. "While it's true that it's a pleasant thing that Bryn expressed for us to see, you're still weak. As the one in charge of helping you recover, I must draw a line first. Speaking of my job, you have a lot to explain, young lady."

She then puts on a smile that promises pain if I refuse to answer her questions. Even Bryn, now sitting on the right side of the bed, is showing her inquisitive side toward me. Can't really blame them, my new eye is a dead giveaway that something big just happened. Knowing their former prowess, they should also be able to feel the divinity in it too. I would have to work on concealing it later.

Scratching my cheek as I watch two of the most important women in my new life flanking my side, I can only eke out. "Eh... Can I explain this when mama Lu is presented also? It would be a long story otherwise."

I wouldn't explain my past life to them, yet. Nonetheless, answering questions about my motives later on would, hopefully, convince them to join my cause as Bryn did.

After all, my current end goal is world unification.

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