Chapter 18: Insignificant Ant
—
Darkness…
He had returned from his hero patrol and fallen asleep, but he was certain he was awake right now.
Yet it was dark.
He couldn’t open his eyes. Neither could he speak, and neither did Mut say anything about the situation.
Could it be, perhaps, all that—going to Marvel and living a week—had been a dream? Was this the void? Or was this a side-effect of his mutant power?
Both of those possibilities ended as a voice rang in Enrique’s head. It was feminine, but it didn't belong to Mut.
~“Ekke siåmou?”~
He knew about six languages, French, English, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish and Mandarin. But he couldn't decipher what language that voice originated from.
The voice rang again,
~“Can you understand me now?”~
He could. It still didn’t sound very humane, but he could understand it.
~“Good.”~ the voice said, as if reading his mind. ~“Only the surface thoughts. A very peculiar being you are, indeed.”~
Surface thoughts. Enrique groaned but made a note to be careful about what he openly thought.
‘I'll be taking that as a compliment, but who am I speaking to?’ Enrique asked carefully.
~“The Great Weaver."~ the voice said softly. ~“Your Goddess should know better.”~
‘Alright,’ Enrique hid his surprise. He remembered her name, but couldn't point out who she was exactly. He refrained from thinking about that subject. ‘What can I help you with?’
~“You can’t help me,”~ the being said. ~“Let your goddess come.”~
Enrique frowned. Then why bring him here? ‘And how can I call for my Goddess?’
[“You don't have to do anything, I am here,”] it was then as Mut’s voice entered the darkness. [“Nice to meet you, O’ Great Weaver.”] she said in a tone that Enrique swore was sarcastic. [“It alone was bothersome that you were gazing down on my lovely avatar, but you also happened to kidnap his consciousness?”]
Ah. So this being was the gaze he felt with Spider-Man?
~“Simply a warning,”~ the other voice replied. ~“You were playing with my Avatar, Spider-Man, so I thought I will get back at you for a bit. Quite brazen of you to convert him to your religion, though.”~
Oh. Shit. Right, Peter was the avatar of some multiversal spider. That's the Great Weaver.
[“Is that so? I am afraid I didn't know that.”] Mut said softly, but Enrique felt as if she was lying.
~“I hope you didn’t, if not I might misunderstand and obliterate your Avatar on a whim.”~ the feminine voice said in gentle and calmness.
Enrique couldn’t feel his body, but he still felt his throat becoming dry. Shit. He almost forgot what sort of verse Marvel was. Beings he wasn’t even aware of could obliterate him without him ever knowing why.
Mut sighed. [“Stop, you will scare him. I actually did know and did this anyway. In compensation, Spider-Man can keep the suit even if he stops worshipping me. That sounds fair?”] the other being hummed in response. [“As for why I did this— well, honestly I just wanted to meet, it's been a while hasn’t it?”]
~“Don’t waste my time.”~
Mut laughed. [“Learn to take a joke, you are too old and humourless. But right, in truth, I wanted to know when my husband will be freed.”]
A short silence fell in the darkness before the other voice sighed.
~“Really? Calling me out for such a thing? Does your Pantheon not have any seer of fate?”~
[“It does, but you are the best player in this game. Are you not? Why would I take the help from those uncertain baboons when I can reach out to you for help via Spider-Man?”] Mut said before her attention shifted to Enrique, [“Here is some context for my dear avatar. My husband—Amun Ra, the Sun and Creator God of Egypt—resides in the sun, but not out of his own volition. He is imprisoned there. Every few generations a random Avatar will spawn with his powers in the mortal world— but that’s not the real him. I wish to know when he will return, which will help me determine if summoning you using the one-time use divinity was a good move on my part or not.”]
‘…Good to know,’ Enrique thought, though he doubted Mut could hear it. He in fact knew about the story of Amun-Ra’s avatars. Each of his avatars were called the Sun King and had been a continuous enemy of Moon Knight.
As for the last part of her explanation… he felt somewhat mad. She endangered his life just for that?
After a long silence, the other voice spoke. ~“Oh well. Let's just be done with this. Honestly, the future of your timeline has been confusing, changing, and going through doodad since you summoned this creature as your avatar.”~
Calling him a Creature outright? That was rude.
~“Previously, your husband would have naturally broken out of the sun’s imprisonment around the year 2039. But with this new variable in place, that time might prolong or lessen. Truthfully, in none of the possibilities where you use [Call of the Void] does this creature come to help, he is a variable to the multiverse.”~ the voice finished. ~“I am not telling you any more of this. Revealing the future makes things more confusing, and I have enough on my plate already.”
That she spoke that much was surprising to Enrique on its own. Just how influential was Mut for her to receive help from such beings? Heck, Mut wasn’t even the current Queen of Egypt, it was Isis, while Mut was more of an ‘elder’, a former queen, though still respected, for the Gods of Egypt. Yet she was so influential. She surprised Enrique every day.
Also, he was a variable? So only one Enrique in the marvel multiverse? Good to know. He doubted he would like to meet his other selves.
[“Hm…”] Mut hummed. [“I see. I am glad I decided on using the “Call of the Void”, then. By the time my husband would have returned, Egypt may have been no more.”]
~“I don’t know about that. The changes are 50/50, but I am not explaining anything more.”~ the other being’s voice said. ~“That is all. Do not bother me again, I am far busier than you can imagine. Be sure to keep your promise with Spiderman’s suit, do not take it back. Now, goodbye and hope we don't meet again.”
The voice then disappeared, and so did the darkness. Enrique jumped up on the bed, gasping as he looked down at his body. He was sweating buckets.
He clenched his jaws and snapped his head in the air to glare at it, “What if she actually killed me? It wasn’t a smart move.”
[“Oh well,”] Mut shrugged. [“Even you don’t know everything, it seems. But in whatever case, since you are still alive, everything is fine. Right?”]
Enrique opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and sighed in the end.
Frustrating.
—-—
Anna Marie woke up from the moonlight that fell over her eyes from the open door of the balcony. She wasn’t surprised when she didn’t find Enrique beside her, knowing that he was on the other side of the open door.
Anna rubbed her eyes before walking up to the other side, finding him looking at the moon with an unblinking gaze with a… cigarette hanging from his lips.
‘He smokes?’ Anna asked herself as she looked at him. ‘He looks… so distant with that expression.’
“Sorry, did I wake you up?” Enrique asked, not even turning to look at her.
“It’s fine, I would have missed your handsome face if I didn’t wake up.” She tried, watching him smile as he turned to look at her, making her smile. “Honestly, though, you didn't seem the smoker type, Sugah. Professor Logan stinks of alcohol and smoke, but uh, you smell clean.”
“I don’t usually smoke. Just on special occasions.” He said, grabbing the half-finished smoke, putting the fire off, and throwing it outside. She was feeling uncomfortable because of the smoke, is that why he did that? So caring…
“Special occasions?” Anna tilted her head. “Such as stealing a little girl’s heart?”
He snorted out a laugh, his weird melancholic demeanour vanishing as he pulled her by the waist and kissed her. She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him back.
When it ended, he looked into her eyes. “Special occasions such as the realisation that I am but an ant in this enormous universe, so insignificant." He looked serious. “There are beings who can erase people like you and me with just a thought.”
Anna didn't know if such beings existed or not—but if Enrique was saying so, it must be the case. However, she didn't feel fear.
“Isn’t that a problem that can be fixed just by growing stronger than everyone else?” Anna asked, making him shrug.
“That’s the plan.”
“Then why are you sulking?”
“I wasn’t sulking. I was planning." He snickered, making her look at him with a confused frown. "Hm. Let's say you make a habit to take a walk whenever you are trying to think of something creative, and let's say it works. In the future, whenever you go take a walk, something creative will pop up in your head. That's my relationship with smoke. Whenever you see me smoking, remember I may not be feeling insignificant— but rather using my time creating plans in my head that’d fix the problem at hand.” Enrique told her, with a small smirk on his face. "I wouldn't suggest you smoke though."
Anna listened to his words in silence and smiled. "I won't. Unless you want a smoking companion?" she giggled seeing his blank expression. "Anyway. Did you come up with a plan like that?”
Anna looked at him curiously, making him nod.
“I did.” He said. “Dozens. The first plan, however, is to learn how to fight. I have strength, quite a bit of it in the context of this planet, but I lack techniques to use that strength properly and efficiently.”
“So you need a teacher who can teach you how to fight?” Anna added. “You got someone in mind?”
Enrique smirked.
“Yes, two of them.”
It was time to hunt some tigresses.
**
**
**
Author Note: I was on a trip to the sea recently, that's why the lack of chapters. I will start posting 1~2 chapters a week starting from today again.
If you wish to read the next 25+ chapters ahead or want to support me, go to: patreon.com/Master4thWall
Chapter 18: Insignificant Ant
—
Darkness…
He had returned from his hero patrol and fallen asleep, but he was certain he was awake right now.
Yet it was dark.
He couldn’t open his eyes. Neither could he speak, and neither did Mut say anything about the situation.
Could it be, perhaps, all that—going to Marvel and living a week—had been a dream? Was this the void? Or was this a side-effect of his mutant power?
Both of those possibilities ended as a voice rang in Enrique’s head. It was feminine, but it didn't belong to Mut.
~“Ekke siåmou?”~
He knew about six languages, French, English, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish and Mandarin. But he couldn't decipher what language that voice originated from.
The voice rang again,
~“Can you understand me now?”~
He could. It still didn’t sound very humane, but he could understand it.
~“Good.”~ the voice said, as if reading his mind. ~“Only the surface thoughts. A very peculiar being you are, indeed.”~
Surface thoughts. Enrique groaned but made a note to be careful about what he openly thought.
‘I'll be taking that as a compliment, but who am I speaking to?’ Enrique asked carefully.
~“The Great Weaver."~ the voice said softly. ~“Your Goddess should know better.”~
‘Alright,’ Enrique hid his surprise. He remembered her name, but couldn't point out who she was exactly. He refrained from thinking about that subject. ‘What can I help you with?’
~“You can’t help me,”~ the being said. ~“Let your goddess come.”~
Enrique frowned. Then why bring him here? ‘And how can I call for my Goddess?’
[“You don't have to do anything, I am here,”] it was then as Mut’s voice entered the darkness. [“Nice to meet you, O’ Great Weaver.”] she said in a tone that Enrique swore was sarcastic. [“It alone was bothersome that you were gazing down on my lovely avatar, but you also happened to kidnap his consciousness?”]
Ah. So this being was the gaze he felt with Spider-Man?
~“Simply a warning,”~ the other voice replied. ~“You were playing with my Avatar, Spider-Man, so I thought I will get back at you for a bit. Quite brazen of you to convert him to your religion, though.”~
Oh. Shit. Right, Peter was the avatar of some multiversal spider. That's the Great Weaver.
[“Is that so? I am afraid I didn't know that.”] Mut said softly, but Enrique felt as if she was lying.
~“I hope you didn’t, if not I might misunderstand and obliterate your Avatar on a whim.”~ the feminine voice said in gentle and calmness.
Enrique couldn’t feel his body, but he still felt his throat becoming dry. Shit. He almost forgot what sort of verse Marvel was. Beings he wasn’t even aware of could obliterate him without him ever knowing why.
Mut sighed. [“Stop, you will scare him. I actually did know and did this anyway. In compensation, Spider-Man can keep the suit even if he stops worshipping me. That sounds fair?”] the other being hummed in response. [“As for why I did this— well, honestly I just wanted to meet, it's been a while hasn’t it?”]
~“Don’t waste my time.”~
Mut laughed. [“Learn to take a joke, you are too old and humourless. But right, in truth, I wanted to know when my husband will be freed.”]
A short silence fell in the darkness before the other voice sighed.
~“Really? Calling me out for such a thing? Does your Pantheon not have any seer of fate?”~
[“It does, but you are the best player in this game. Are you not? Why would I take the help from those uncertain baboons when I can reach out to you for help via Spider-Man?”] Mut said before her attention shifted to Enrique, [“Here is some context for my dear avatar. My husband—Amun Ra, the Sun and Creator God of Egypt—resides in the sun, but not out of his own volition. He is imprisoned there. Every few generations a random Avatar will spawn with his powers in the mortal world— but that’s not the real him. I wish to know when he will return, which will help me determine if summoning you using the one-time use divinity was a good move on my part or not.”]
‘…Good to know,’ Enrique thought, though he doubted Mut could hear it. He in fact knew about the story of Amun-Ra’s avatars. Each of his avatars were called the Sun King and had been a continuous enemy of Moon Knight.
As for the last part of her explanation… he felt somewhat mad. She endangered his life just for that?
After a long silence, the other voice spoke. ~“Oh well. Let's just be done with this. Honestly, the future of your timeline has been confusing, changing, and going through doodad since you summoned this creature as your avatar.”~
Calling him a Creature outright? That was rude.
~“Previously, your husband would have naturally broken out of the sun’s imprisonment around the year 2039. But with this new variable in place, that time might prolong or lessen. Truthfully, in none of the possibilities where you use [Call of the Void] does this creature come to help, he is a variable to the multiverse.”~ the voice finished. ~“I am not telling you any more of this. Revealing the future makes things more confusing, and I have enough on my plate already.”
That she spoke that much was surprising to Enrique on its own. Just how influential was Mut for her to receive help from such beings? Heck, Mut wasn’t even the current Queen of Egypt, it was Isis, while Mut was more of an ‘elder’, a former queen, though still respected, for the Gods of Egypt. Yet she was so influential. She surprised Enrique every day.
Also, he was a variable? So only one Enrique in the marvel multiverse? Good to know. He doubted he would like to meet his other selves.
[“Hm…”] Mut hummed. [“I see. I am glad I decided on using the “Call of the Void”, then. By the time my husband would have returned, Egypt may have been no more.”]
~“I don’t know about that. The changes are 50/50, but I am not explaining anything more.”~ the other being’s voice said. ~“That is all. Do not bother me again, I am far busier than you can imagine. Be sure to keep your promise with Spiderman’s suit, do not take it back. Now, goodbye and hope we don't meet again.”
The voice then disappeared, and so did the darkness. Enrique jumped up on the bed, gasping as he looked down at his body. He was sweating buckets.
He clenched his jaws and snapped his head in the air to glare at it, “What if she actually killed me? It wasn’t a smart move.”
[“Oh well,”] Mut shrugged. [“Even you don’t know everything, it seems. But in whatever case, since you are still alive, everything is fine. Right?”]
Enrique opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and sighed in the end.
Frustrating.
—-—
Anna Marie woke up from the moonlight that fell over her eyes from the open door of the balcony. She wasn’t surprised when she didn’t find Enrique beside her, knowing that he was on the other side of the open door.
Anna rubbed her eyes before walking up to the other side, finding him looking at the moon with an unblinking gaze with a… cigarette hanging from his lips.
‘He smokes?’ Anna asked herself as she looked at him. ‘He looks… so distant with that expression.’
“Sorry, did I wake you up?” Enrique asked, not even turning to look at her.
“It’s fine, I would have missed your handsome face if I didn’t wake up.” She tried, watching him smile as he turned to look at her, making her smile. “Honestly, though, you didn't seem the smoker type, Sugah. Professor Logan stinks of alcohol and smoke, but uh, you smell clean.”
“I don’t usually smoke. Just on special occasions.” He said, grabbing the half-finished smoke, putting the fire off, and throwing it outside. She was feeling uncomfortable because of the smoke, is that why he did that? So caring…
“Special occasions?” Anna tilted her head. “Such as stealing a little girl’s heart?”
He snorted out a laugh, his weird melancholic demeanour vanishing as he pulled her by the waist and kissed her. She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him back.
When it ended, he looked into her eyes. “Special occasions such as the realisation that I am but an ant in this enormous universe, so insignificant." He looked serious. “There are beings who can erase people like you and me with just a thought.”
Anna didn't know if such beings existed or not—but if Enrique was saying so, it must be the case. However, she didn't feel fear.
“Isn’t that a problem that can be fixed just by growing stronger than everyone else?” Anna asked, making him shrug.
“That’s the plan.”
“Then why are you sulking?”
“I wasn’t sulking. I was planning." He snickered, making her look at him with a confused frown. "Hm. Let's say you make a habit to take a walk whenever you are trying to think of something creative, and let's say it works. In the future, whenever you go take a walk, something creative will pop up in your head. That's my relationship with smoke. Whenever you see me smoking, remember I may not be feeling insignificant— but rather using my time creating plans in my head that’d fix the problem at hand.” Enrique told her, with a small smirk on his face. "I wouldn't suggest you smoke though."
Anna listened to his words in silence and smiled. "I won't. Unless you want a smoking companion?" she giggled seeing his blank expression. "Anyway. Did you come up with a plan like that?”
Anna looked at him curiously, making him nod.
“I did.” He said. “Dozens. The first plan, however, is to learn how to fight. I have strength, quite a bit of it in the context of this planet, but I lack techniques to use that strength properly and efficiently.”
“So you need a teacher who can teach you how to fight?” Anna added. “You got someone in mind?”
Enrique smirked.
“Yes, two of them.”
It was time to hunt some tigresses.
**
**
**
Author Note: I was on a trip to the sea recently, that's why the lack of chapters. I will start posting 1~2 chapters a week starting from today again.
If you wish to read the next 25+ chapters ahead or want to support me, go to: patreon.com/Master4thWall
