Chapter 412: The Screams of the Universe

"W… What?"

"I already got their souls."

"...What?"

Athena could only repeat her words as she looked Van straight in the eyes, before letting out a small sigh as she once again raised the tablet she was holding, "Should I close the cells?"

"...Go ahead?" Van also looked at Athena in confusion, "I already got them."

"..." Athena then turned around towards one of the cells, only to see it painted with blood. She took another step, just to find that the cell next to it was also covered in blood. Did… Van just go through all the cells?

But there were more than ten thousand cells here. Forget about not even seeing Van move… she should have at the very least felt him moving. Van had already told her that his speed has improved drastically-- but to think it was to this point. And it wasn't only his speed… since she couldn't even feel anything, then that would mean that something else happened to his abilities as well.

"You… improved," Athena could only mutter, "I think you could more than defeat my old self even when I still had my God Soul."

"Really?" Van lightly shrugged, "I'm still slower than Hermes in your stories, though? But we'll see how much I'll improve after absorbing all the souls I got here tonight."

"That's…" And as soon as Athena heard Van's sighs of disappointment, she could not help but let out a sigh of her own. With the stories she had been telling Van, Hermes was already a mature god who has already lived for more than tens of millennia.

...Van has lived less than 30 years. When Hermes was at that age, he was busy wreaking havoc in Mt. Olympus, stealing Apollo's things and annoying everyone-- and still getting caught. She could only imagine what Van would be like a thousand years from now.

No, even a hundred years would probably make him already faster than Hermes. At that speed, he… would truly be alone. No one will be able to-- "...What is it?"

Athena's thoughts were then disrupted as she noticed that Van was staring at her in a somewhat intense manner.

"You're… still not pregnant?"

"...What?" Athena almost dropped the tablet she was holding as soon as she heard Van's words; but after a few seconds was able to collect herself.

"I… don't think I am capable of bearing children, King Evans," Athena then let out a long and deep sigh that somehow reflected the subtle sorrow hidden within her words, "I think the circumstances of my birth--"

"Want to try again tonight?"

"..."

"..."

"I see you have gotten quite bold," Athena then let out a small chuckle, "You're slowly turning into an Olympian."

Athena then tapped something on her tablet, and as soon as she did so, the cell that was completely covered in blood near them almost instantly cleared out; not leaving even a single trace of dust inside.

"The party won't end until a few hours so…

...let's not wait until tonight."

***

"Miss Sarah."

"Evans? What are you doing here, shouldn't you be at the party?"

"W… well, I was in the area."

Van could not help but let out a small stutter as she approached Sarah, who was currently being surrounded by some of the scientists. And although their gasps of awe were still prevalent in the air, they all still bowed their heads towards Van as soon as he entered the lab.

"How is it?" Van then curiously asked as he looked at what Sarah and the scientists were doing, only to see a drop of his blood inside a small vial. There was a small drop that seemed to be trying to separate from the rest, but in the end, could not do so as it was pulled back to the bottom of the vial with the rest.

"As you can see… I don't think I can't expand your blood," Sarah let out a small sigh as she stepped away from the rest of the scientists, "It's… too heavy, in a sense."

"...But you could move Hermes's blood."

"He was dead," Sarah breathed out, "But I have a feeling that even if he was alive, his blood still would not be as heavy as yours, you brat. Even Odin's blood was not this heavy."

"You've… fought Odin before?"

"Just a moment," Sarah scoffed, "I think I would have lost if we continued fighting, so I escaped."

"I… see," Van squinted his eyes, "Are you not going to join the party? I think it's going on until tomorrow at this point."

"No. I've had enough parties even before we were sent to this place."

"Well, just join for the food," Van chuckled, "There's plen--"

"Evans."

"...Hm?"

"Your sister would have really been proud of what you're doing here," Sarah suddenly mentioned, "You're giving everyone a fighting chance to what's to come."

"I'm… the reason why all of us are here in the first place," Van shook his head, "The least I can do is protect all of you who are still here."

"Who says we need protecting at all?" Sarah scoffed, "We're here because we survived against all odds, Evans. Those standing before you are the strongest people you will ever meet in your life. Heck, your sister would have been here if she wanted to extend her life."

"...I could see that," Van chuckled at the thought of an old Andrea fighting her way through space.

"..."

"..."

"Your sister would have been really proud of you, Evans."

"Hm…

… you already said that."

***

"How is she doing?"

"Oh, the mighty King visits us lowly lifeforms."

"..."

Van could let out a short but deep breath as Latanya exaggeratingly turned around, causing her already colossal breasts to jingle violently. Van quickly shook his head to ignore the pair, however, as he turned his head towards Skylar, who was lying unconscious in bed.

"She is supposed to be a sort of sister to Evangeline… I wonder why she's so weak?" Van then muttered.

"Her blood's already been contaminated," Latanya answered; patting Skylar's bed before approaching Van, "She was part of that Circle thing, remember? They inserted Hermes's blood inside her-- it must have caused any trace of whatever you guys are to disappear."

"Hm," Van only breathed out as he heard Latanya's words, "If only that happened to Evangeline instead."

"Pft," Latanya chuckled before looking Van straight in the eyes, "And so, to what do we owe the honor of having you here?"

"Do I need a reason to check up on an old friend?" Van smiled, "I'm just checking up on you."

"Checking up… Oh," Latanya then let out a somewhat flirtatious giggle, "Should we go to another room then? But I don't mind Skylar as a spectator."

"Should we?"

"..." Hearing Van quickly answer her, Latanya could not help but blink a couple of times, "You've… changed. It almost makes me not want to tease you anymore."

"...And you haven't changed, as it would seem," Van chuckled. But after a few breaths, he let out a long and deep sigh, "And yet I feel like I don't really know any of you anymore… not really."

"...What do you mean?"

"Most of you have lived your lives already. Some a hundred, some a thousand years… and yet I came along again and changed everything again," Van muttered, "The truth is, if you really look at it… I'm a stranger in--"

"Does it matter?"

And before Van could continue his words, he felt himself almost suffocate as Latanya hugged her; almost causing him to drown with her pair of colossal melons.

"Does any of that matter?" Latanya then said; the tone of her voice completely warm, "You're still you, and we're still us. We've just… grown."

"...I suppose," Van breathed out as he smiled.

"Although I still remember the scrawny kid who terrorized the entire pit," Latanya then gently pushed Van away as she burst out in laughter, "Imagine what could have been if we just stayed in our little bubble."

"...Yeah," Van then sighed as he turned around, "I'll let you rest, then. Come to the party if Skylar wakes up."

"..."

"Van… you're planning on doing something, aren't you?"

"Hm?"

"I… can feel it. It feels like you're saying goodbye."

"You…

...are just reading too much into it."

***

[Souls Collected: 15,326]

"..."

Van has been looking at the set of words in front of him for almost an entire minute now, floating in space aimlessly as he stared at the almost shocking number laid down upon him. It's a number he has never seen before; even when he absorbed the Souls in the 10th realm before he left, it only reached thousands.

Something must have happened in Asgard for there to be this many Aesir and giant prisoners. But perhaps what's even more impressive is Solomon's capacity to carry this much.

Solomon was meant to be used for transporting large amounts of passengers, so it wasn't really that surprising-- but to think the hall of prisoners was not even a 4th of the ship's entire capacity. 

It was initially meant to transport people from different planets beyond the Barriers as soon as they were needed, it could go Hyperspeed for hours on end; bringing reinforcements whenever and wherever they were needed.

[Souls Collected: 15,326]

"..."

Should he absorb it all in one go or little by little?

"..."

"..."

"...Fuck it."

Van was about to trace his finger towards the window in front of him, but before he could do so--

"Father."

...Vanya?

Van quickly turned around, only to see Vanya handing him some sort of mask, which would allow them to speak in space.

"How… did you find me here?"

"You're my father-- it's my curse to always find you."

"Curse," Van chuckled, "I really am a bad father, aren't I? I hated my own mother for causi--"

"You're nothing like that woman. I am thousands of years old, father… and not to mention surrounded by great people. You didn't leave a child."

"...Right. I keep forgetting you're older than me. Still, I'm sorry for always leaving."

"Your mission is greater than all of us, father. It's understandable," Vanya chuckled, "But still, visit your granddaughter after the party."

"...Still find it weird I have a granddaughter at this age."

"...What do you mean?"

"It's weird that I have a granddaughter. Back in the relic graveyard, it would have been crazy to even survive with a child… but now I have one granddaughter."

"...Yra is not your only grandchildren, father."

"...What? You… have another--"

"Father; all Forest Giants could be considered your grandchildren."

"..."

"..."

"Fuck… you're right," Van shook his head with a small chuckle, "I'll go visit Yra when she wakes up."

"And father… about Gerald--"

"Let's not go there," Van raised his hand before Vanya could even continue what she was saying.

"I'll… leave you to whatever it is you're doing here then, father," Vanya then sighed, "Please do join us after you're done."

"Of course. I…

...will be there."

"..."

And as soon as Vanya returned to Osiris, Van quickly took off his mask and once again opened his System.

He doesn't know when-- but the option to send the Souls to the Afterlife has been replaced by the words [Absorb Energy]. It was as if the System is no longer treating them as Souls anymore. No doubt, this was the influence of The Man.

"..."

"...Fuck it."

And without delaying it anymore, Van absorbed all of the Souls at the same time.

"!!!"

Van could feel his body crumbling; as if his bones were being ground and rebuilt, tearing off his mortal flesh in the process. He hasn't felt like this since he absorbed the first souls he got back then.

The only thing he could do was let out a scream. And if his roars could be heard, they would probably be enough to make the whole galaxy tremble.

And soon, his silent roars stopped-- his vision slowly fading as his body began to light up.

[Successfully reached required Parameters…]

[...Receiving Evangeline's Gift…]

[...]

[...]

[...Absorbing the System]

***

"C… captain Ameera!"

Surprisingly, even after hours have passed, the party was still alive and well. But with the night moving further, only the important people were left inside the hall-- including Vivati, Athena, Vanya, and the others from the 10th Realm.

However, the already sedating noise inside the hall became even quieter as a man barged inside-- causing everyone to turn their heads towards the party intruder.

"There… a large energy was detected by one of the satellites beyond the Barrier!"

With the man's words, however, everyone's attention was quickly caught.

"A… large energy?" Ameera then quickly approached the man, "Do we have a live feed of what's happening?"

"Y… yes," and as soon as the man said that, a large screen suddenly emerged from the hall's ceiling-- allowing everyone to see the images it showed.

"...A Portal?" Athena furrowed her eyebrows, "Is there a better view of it? Can we zoom it out?"

"We… we can't," the man stuttered, "That's… as far as the drone could go."

"...What do you mean?"

"The drone… is already at the edge of the Barrier."

"What!?"

"...Are you saying… this portal is almost as large as an entire Solar System?"

"...What?" Gerald could not help but take a step forward as he stared at the Portal, "Just… what kind of monster--"

"No."

And before he could even finish his words, Athena also stepped towards the screen.

"It's them," Athena breathed out, "It's the World Eaters…

...They are here."