"Another"
I chuckle softly when Ophis hands me her plate. I place another stack of banana pancakes onto it. She nods and immediately pours a generous amount of maple syrup over them. I hum to myself as I pour more batter onto the pan.
I keep an assortment of pancake batter inside my Gate of Babylon, among many other things. Sometimes, I wonder if Gilgamesh would be screaming in the Throne of Heroes if he knew what I'm doing with his beloved power.
Instead of using it as a treasury of the world's greatest treasures, I treat it like a warehouse that keeps everything stored inside perfectly preserved.
An upgraded refrigerator, essentially.
I decided to make banana pancakes for two reasons. First, I know that dragons in this world love bananas. Not magical ones, just regular bananas. Apparently, the taste suits them perfectly.
In fact, some of them use bananas as an aphrodisiac by turning them into a powder and putting it inside a certain mix of drink that dragon drink before mating season. It will turn the male into a mating-freezy dragon, just like the female dragons.
Second, I know Ophis likes sweet things. The pancakes themselves aren't very sweet, but the maple syrup more than makes up for it. It is a liter bottle of maple syrup, and it is already a quarter of the original. It is almost full when I take it out.
I need to buy more. I should visit this world, Canada, to buy good maple syrup.
"How about you, Yasaka?"
I glance at the Nine-Tailed Fox beside me. She is still watching Ophis with a hint of nervousness. I can't blame her. Ophis doesn't hide her presence, and with this much purified natural energy around her, Yasaka can probably sense what she truly is at a glance.
After a brief hesitation, she speaks.
"Three more pancakes, please. Extra banana."
"No. Those are mine."
Ophis says it with her mouth full, her cheeks glistening with syrup. I sigh and gently wipe her face.
"You can't do that, Ophis. I make food for everyone. You need to share."
"Mou."
She pouts, but I can tell she relents. She returns to eating while I continue cooking. I'll need to make more batter soon. I'm already running low. Ophis consume five times as much as a regular human.
"Here you go. Three pancakes with extra banana."
Yasaka smiles at me, a sultry kind of smile, as she takes the plate. I chuckle lightly at her attempt to charm me. If I were staying in this world longer, I might have entertained the idea. What? I am not someone who will reject such a gift freely given.
"Thank you."
After handing Ophis another twenty-four pancakes, I finally joined them at the table. We enjoy a quiet breakfast filled with soft humming and the sound of chewing. A few minutes later, we finish.
I wipe Ophis' face again before speaking.
"So, you want to use the dimension inside my soul, Ophis?"
"En. I require silence."
I let out a small sigh.
"Before I let you in, there's something I need to tell you. Both of you."
I glance at Yasaka and see her perk up slightly.
"I'm not from this world."
"What?"
I meet Yasaka's gaze.
"I'm from another universe. I was testing a spell that allows me to travel between worlds, but something went wrong and threw me into a random one instead."
She studies me for a moment before speaking.
"I don't mean to call you a liar, Sir Ryan, but… that sounds a bit far-fetched, don't you think?"
"No. He is from another universe."
We both turn to Ophis. She looks at me carefully, scanning from head to toe.
"His energy signature doesn't belong to this world. There is a void around his soul. It is not from the dimension… it is deeper. More primal."
"Ah. That would be the Blind Eternities. An infinite void between and around universes."
"Take me there."
I blink as Ophis suddenly teleports into my lap. Her eyes are wide—filled with something close to desperation, but also hope. It's… oddly cute, considering what she is.
"Nope."
"Take me."
"Nope. Not because I don't want to, but because I know you won't like it there."
"Why?"
"There's a race called the Eldrazi that inhabits the Blind Eternities. Massive, incomprehensible beings. Loud in a way that isn't just sound, more like existence screaming. They bring destruction wherever they go. They're at least on par with the Great Red."
I pause for a moment.
"They travel from universe to universe. If you go there… You probably won't survive. So yes, while I can take you there, I won't. And even if you could survive, you wouldn't enjoy it. It's not quiet. Not even close."
"Aww."
I smile and pat her head.
"You can stay in my pocket dimension as long as you want. That's why I'm telling you this. If you come with me, you'll be leaving this universe. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes. This universe will be okay as long as Stupid Red stays here."
"I see. That works, I guess. Now… let's talk about rent."
I ignore the look Yasaka gives me, like I've just said something absurd. Asking the Dragon of Infinity for rent is something only an idiot or someone suicidal would do.
That might be true if I weren't the only one who could give her what she wants.
"What do you want? A snake?"
She creates one instantly, and I can feel an absurd amount of energy poured into it. I can feel it take a quarter of her reserve, but it immediately recovers. As expected of the Dragon of Infinity. Her reserve may not be infinite, but her recovery is absurd.
"No, thank you. What I want is for you to deal with the Khaos Brigade. They're planning to release Trihexa, and that's going to be a massive problem."
She studies me for a few seconds.
"Show me the void first."
"That's fair."
I turn to Yasaka.
"Want to come?"
"Can I? A dimensional gap is dangerous for me or anyone else other than the Two Dragon Gods."
"Don't worry. I'll protect you."
She nods.
"Then I would like to see this 'void.'"
I glance at White.
"White, I'll leave things to you for a moment."
"Of course, sir. I will ensure everything remains in order."
"Thank you, dear."
I chuckle as she blushes at that. With a wave of my hand, I open a portal to my pocket dimension. I wrap Yasaka in my Planeswalker energy, and we step through.
Ophis immediately looks around in quiet contentment. Yasaka, on the other hand, stares in shock. I can feel she is trying to comprehend the energy around us. It isn't truly a void. It is just an empty space filled with a diluted version of the Blind Eternities' energy.
The Blind Eternities are where all realities intersect, each one leaking its unique signature. That's how Planeswalkers navigate between worlds without getting lost—by recognizing those signatures.
Unfortunately, I'm still a beginner. I need time to learn and differentiate them. Hell, after my ignition, I get thrown into the Blind Eternity, and the only reason why I can reach this side of the multiverse is because of Zelretch and his brand of magic.
Right now, that flood of identity is overwhelming. When I step into the true Blind Eternities, it feels like everything is trying to force its way into my mind at once.
It's loud and dangerous. Even when non-planeswalker able to stop the energy of the Blind Eternity from devouring their bodies, this screaming will turn them into vegetables.
After a few minutes, I decide that's enough and pull us back before Ophis can decide to settle in permanently. I can see her start to doze off.
She glares at me the moment we return.
"Take me back."
"Fulfill your end of the bargain first. You don't need to eliminate all of them—just enough to stop them from becoming a problem."
She nods, and I can see a terrifying level of determination ignite in her eyes. Before I can add anything about minimizing collateral damage, she vanishes.
Motivated Ophis is… dangerous. I can only hope she doesn't split the planet in half.
I sigh and turn to Yasaka.
"So… while we wait, do you want to talk?"
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