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Some readers might remember a time when the story went by a different name, with different characters and goals. A story where Amaterasu was pulled into the Marvel Universe by an omnipotent God who required her help to prevent the destruction of the universe—all universes.
Then, the story changed. The name changed. New goals, new abilities, new characters. A sharp deviation from the original goals and the saga that was set out to be told. But just because the individual conveying the story into text wound up changing the story, doesn't mean that the original tale ever really left.
We are going to take a look into that original story. That original universe—one where Amaterasu was given abilities that disobey logic and reasoning, that may spiral into something beyond comprehension. The horrific power of… LitRPG.
What if the Author hadn't shifted directions? What if Amaterasu still had the abilities given to her? Who would she be now? How would things have changed? And most importantly… How would she react to what's to come?
What If Amaterasu's New Game + Continued:
A Visitor From An Alternate Universe
In this world, Amaterasu's abilities developed a little differently. Broken from the chains of her normal god-powers, and having shattered the restraints of JAWS (Jack and Amaterasu's Wonderful System), the only real limits were her imagination… and whatever she managed to encounter naturally. And her Mana, but numbers are hard when you're mentally controlling two stone wolves and also whirling weapons around like a Jackie Chan impersonator.
Events continued in a similar fashion, however. Amaterasu wanted to help with the Extremis project under the impression it was for the betterment of everyone. What changed was the benefits from being shot with the DNA altering fluid. Insane recovery speed, regrowing limbs, and harnessing the power of fire naturally, as opposed to magically. A biological upgrade, so to speak. Her Goddess DNA was a little too spicy for something Humanity cooked up in a basement laboratory.
The Quest she obtained from that was named: The Twelve Step Guide to Omnipotence, though that meant little to her. She was already a goddess, just a little more wolfy and non-omnipotent. Really, being an all-seeing God probably wouldn't be something for her to strive toward.
But… there was the added benefit of conjuring bacon from thin air.
It was tempting.
With her new natural ability to harness fire from a biological point, and then pushing that into her magic, some rumours may have spread. And maybe she got a little power boost from biting at the Eternal Flame, and dunking her snoot into the Casket of Ancient Winters.
Unfortunately for her, the creatures of Hell got the wrong impression, and believed Amaterasu to be the controller of all fire, and they wanted that for themselves. That, or they were scared shitless of some deity wielding Hell Fire. Or maybe they were working on a patent for it. Intellectual theft is no laughing matter.
…
On the Outskirts of Savannah, Georgia, United States, Terra, Third Planet From the Sun, The Solar System (yes, it is literally named "the Solar System", other species make fun of us for it constantly), Orion-Cygnus Arm, Milky Way Galaxy (they bully us for that too), Universe 2628ER2SU-L…
Amaterasu's breaths escaped in heavy puffs, the air shimmering with heat. Her internal temperature had risen from her lengthy sprint. Magic-enhanced running was certainly one way to get around, and beat waiting for the Quinjet's permission to take off and land. She didn't have time for that anyway, not when another invasion was set to occur. The third one she'd dealt with in two months.
What a headache.
Now that she thought about it, she was hampered by bureaucracy with every single invasion. Nick Fury tried to keep her on the Helicarrier. Odin tried to forbid her from participating in the battle for Vanaheim. And now, the simple task of just getting someone to fly her to Georgia in a Quinjet was stalled by a takeoff queue.
That was three invasions! Which, granted, wasn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened thrice.
A quick glance around revealed little of interest. A city glimmered in the distance, busy, unaware that they were near disaster. Empty plains extended in several directions, split by roads or the occasional small town in the distance.
This didn't quite seem like the location of an impending demon invasion. It was rather quiet, all things considered. Maybe a little smelly. Modern human cities always smelled like that though. Still, it was where she'd been directed, and the advice of this particular screen was far more informative and accurate than whatever spouted from those televisions or phones people seemed glued to.
Speaking of. A quick thought brought up the blue screen, the familiar interface floating before her.
[Quest: The Devil Went Down to Georgia]
She knew there was supposed to be some witty pun or humour in there somewhere. But, seeing as she wasn't really from this universe nor versed in its culture, it was not helpful in the slightest. Hint, hint.
Sorry.
[Quest: Go Stop a Demonic Invasion on the Outskirts of Savannah, Georgia, You Killjoy]
[Time Remaining Until Quest Start: 00:00:00:25.69]
[Goal: Kill all Hell-Creatures coming through the Portal & find a way to stop the Invasion.]
[Rewards: Whatever I want to give you- ack!]
Ammy swatted at the screen with a paw, sending the floating interface in a tight spin away from her. She huffed through her nose and padded forward, coming to seat herself right before that blue box once again.
[Rewards: 666 exp for each Demon defeated; 300 exp for each Hell Hound defeated; 150 exp for each Imp defeated; 50 000 exp on Quest completion; New Title; ?]
A sharp huff escaped her, and she rolled her eyes. It was like explaining celestial movement to a toddler, or herding cats. And she could herd cats too, which is why that phrase made absolutely no sense to her. Humans were an odd bunch.
I hope you realize I know more about celestial movements than you ever will. You couldn't hope to comprehend-
It was at that moment that Amaterasu found out that she was illiterate, and thus couldn't read the scandalous words on the screen. It was such a shame; she was certain that "Jack" had such amazing and wonderful things to say. Truly a visionary.
I'm speaking in your mind.
Oh no! Ammy became deaf too! How awful!
Despite the back and forth with the being that literally gave her this weird number-based magic in the first place—and why numbers? Wolves didn't do math—she was still keeping an eye on the timer. It would be irresponsible not to.
[Time Remaining Until Quest Start: 00:00:00:07.42]
Her anticipation grew as the seconds ticked down. A quick tug on her magic and she watched her Mana drop. Two heavy thuds shook the ground, her stone wolves, The Twins, coming out at her will. They shimmered and shuddered, magic layering over them, applying various spells that-
Reality itself shook, screaming and warping and bending and shattering. The interface erupted into static, becoming garbled, muddy, incomprehensible. A sharp, piercing headache nearly floored her, and she clenched her jaws hard enough to crush steel. Amaterasu curled tightly, planting her head on the grass, clawing at the dirt in an effort to distract her from that agonizing-
And then, clarity. Nothing. It was over just like that.
Something is coming. Try not to destroy the universe.
Amaterasu let out a startled yelp and flailed a little, the implications almost as staggering as the very ground beneath her quaking. A sharp, thunderous crack rang out, and a jagged split shot through the world beneath her paws. Ammy bolted to the side, falling to one side of the quickly growing chasm.
A dull red glow seeped through, followed by a thick smoke, and the scent of sulphur and ash. The cloying smell made Ammy's eyes water, and she took a breath, focusing. A transparent barrier sprang into existence around her, ensuring that the only clean air could pass through.
The ground shook once more, the remnants of a terrifyingly large explosion rolling up from the chasm. Fire shot out from the split in the Earth, a pillar of flame screaming into the sky, the very air around them shimmering from the heat.
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Amaterasu growled and braced herself. Layer after layer of magic build upon herself—Might, Agility, Adrenaline, boosted her physical stats, and a quick swipe of her Celestial Brush caused Veil of Mist to spread outward. Time seemed to slow to a crawl through her abilities, her body thrumming, ready for whatever would come through the tear.
The Twins spread out, prowling, shifting to get a better angle.
Amaterasu threw a Major Illusion over the city nearby as an afterthought, feeling her Mana take another heavy hit. It was a good idea to make sure the invaders couldn't see the city, and the civilians the invasion.
MP: 6 700 / 10 500
She'd need to be a little more careful with her magic use. Physical attacks only. Quick moves. Dart between enemies, avoid hits, and leave them scrambling to focus on her.
She waited, tense, ready, muscles quivering and prepared to react in an instant.
And she waited.
And… waited?
…
This invasion was rather underwhelming, all things considered. Here she was, buffed and prepared, ready to defend this world from the forces of Hell, and they didn't even have the courtesy to show up? Was there some sort of manager of Hell she could speak to? The unprofessionalism was astounding.
Sounds still came from within the canyon. Shrieks, hisses, screams of the damned, but… nothing actually happened.
Amaterasu dropped her Shield and stepped forward. She planted another paw ahead, creeping closer to the edge, body tense, ready for anything to lunge from out of the chasm. She came up to the edge and peered downward, squinting through the smoke and bright light, waiting for-
A blur of red and white rocketed upward, bounding off walls and darting between sharp rocky outcroppings. Back and forth, side to side, it would have been impossible to track if time hadn't been slowed to a crawl already.
Several series of bounces brought the creature about two stories below the lip of the chasm. Looking beyond it, Amaterasu could see what had to be countless creatures of Hell clawing their way up the walls, flying, or just leaping from spot to spot. The deep dark chasm radiated a hellish glow and the walls writhed with the presence of Hell Creatures surging their way upward.
The red and white blur bounded toward the wall, and leapt straight up. Straight at her!
Amaterasu scrambled back from the ledge, just in time, even with the time-slowing magic and her enhanced perception. What in the world-
Two pairs of gold eyes met. White fur. Red markings. A sense of warmth and familiarity. A presence that was the personification of warm sunbeams, thriving forests, and celestial might.
Amaterasu, with time frozen, stared at herself.
And the Other stared right back. It was aware, and could move in this frozen time. She hadn't even realized time had frozen until the other one blinked, still in the air, her gaze growing… bored?
It was probably impolite to freeze someone against their will after just crawling out of a portal to Hell. Still, she needed answers, and since they were both relatively free to converse without a time limit, they did just that.
"Wurf?" Amaterasu asked. She tilted her head, eyes narrowed.
"Awoof," the Other replied.
That was impossible. Still, she had to make sure.
"Grruff? Wuff," Amaterasu accused. The Other rolled her eyes and flicked her tail, spattering Celestial Ink across Ammy's face. How rude! Still, it proved her point—she was, somehow, herself.
"Huff… Grrurr." The Other motioned with a paw to continue. "Boof."
Fine, they would talk later. But if there was any funny business whatsoever, Amaterasu was going to make herself regret it. Wait, what? Not herself herself, but the other one. This confusing mess hurt her head, which should have been impossible with her Parallel Processing ability.
Hesitantly, Amaterasu released her hold on reality, and allowed whatever the heck was happening to take place.
The Other shot into the sky from her powerful leap, a trail of snowflakes rolling off her body, mist following her movement. She climbed higher still, and crouched, jumping off the very air itself to reach a peak. She flipped over backward, and angled herself straight at the chasm, where Demons and other creatures began clawing at the lip, ready to wreak havoc.
Moments before Amaterasu could make her move, the Other her lashed out. The sheer, overwhelming cold that exploded from her left Ammy winded. The temperature plummeted, so rapid that the moisture in the air froze and fell to ground in little pellets. A torrent of blindingly bright blueish ice streamed out of thin air, careening downward and into the chasm.
The creatures of Hell had no chance to retaliate. One moment they were standing at the lip of the canyon, ready to wreak havoc. The next, their bodies were shredded into fleshy little pieces as a literal torrent of razor-sharp ice screamed through the air. The small shards whistled through the air slicing through the atmosphere as they poured straight into the chasm.
The screams of the damned and the creatures of Hell were muffled by the overwhelming magical might from this Other her. The various demons, imps, hellhounds, and whatever was trying to escape wound up plummeting back into the portal to hell, followed by a tsunami of cold. Ice started to build up in thick chunks, melting on contact and then freezing once again, creating a thick mass.
Within seconds, the entire chasm was filled with a layer of ice so cold that the ground around it started to frost over and crack. As a final measure, the Other swept a final layer of ice over the remnants of the crack in the earth, and sealed it flush with the surrounding ground.
Amaterasu stared, slack jawed, as her Other self landed on top of the ice barrier she created. The moment of impact was accented with a wash of white fire lashing over the the ice, making a perfectly smooth surface that seemed to radiate warmth.
[Quest: The Devil Went Down to Georgia – Complete]
Hell's invasion was over, just like that.
Amaterasu blinked, a shiver rolling through her, her fur standing on end. A wash of euphoria filled her, and notifications for the rewards of a Quest completed popped up in the corner of her vision.
What in the world just happened?
"Awuff," the Other said.
And, she was right. They had a lot to talk about.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
Funny enough, there wasn't a lot to talk about. Talking to yourself from such a similar parallel universe meant that, for the most part, experiences were almost the same. Sure, their abilities and powers were different, but things had progressed similarly for the most part.
They even had the same little rodent friend! Amaterasu summoned Tachigami with her magic, allowing the rat to fall onto her head. The Other huffed under her breath and the—apparently unnamed—creature wriggled out of her fur and clambered on to her head. The two sat across from one another, their tails wagging hesitantly, unsure of what to really make of the situation.
The Other Amaterasu claimed she didn't know what happened. One moment she was on Asgard, sneaking into Odin's vault to assault the Blue Box. The next, she found herself in a fiery world filled with angry creatures that were a little too spicey for her liking. She found the tunnel leading up to the surface and took her chance to escape.
Amaterasu shuddered in sympathy.
That Blue Box was truly evil. The power it granted was great, but would it ever be worth the trauma and difficulty? Time would tell. That didn't mean she had to like it though. She cursed that Evil Blue Box with every fibre of her being.
[Congratulations! You have gained a new Rival: The Tesseract (Evil Blue Box). Please check your Rivals tab under the Social category for more information.]
Amaterasu blinked. She read through that notification again. And again. One more time, just to be sure. Her anxiety spiked, and her fur poofed up from her natural wolf desire to make herself appear bigger.
"Aroo?" the Other Ammy asked.
"Grrruff…" Amaterasu replied, her voice shaky. Then, a thought came to mind. Could the Other not see blue boxes like she could? And, no, the irony was not lost on her that her interface was also a blue box. It was a good blue box though. Very much deserving of bacon treats.
Aw, thank you.
No not Jack, just the blue interface. It was a very helpful and useful companion that didn't try to put Amaterasu into traumatizing situations with immensely powerful objects.
I can fix that.
Not acknowledging the powerful being in her head that somehow couldn't fix all the problems himself was the best course of action. After all, the alternate universe version of herself was much more interesting.
With a curious croon, Amaterasu turned her screen around and gestured toward it, trying to direct the Other Ammy's attention toward it. The Other only blinked, and looked through the object, unable to really see what was going on.
Amaterasu huffed. Dumb magic. Then, another thought came to mind. The Other Amaterasu was skilled with elemental magic, but was that all she could do?
Curious, Amaterasu pushed some of her Mana into a spherical shape, imbuing it with the idea of cold. Ice started to form in thin air, and a ball floated between the two after several seconds. A firm grip with her Telekinesis held the ball of ice, and Amaterasu spun it around in a tight circle, orbiting her body. With a smirk, she whipped it around her body and sent it straight at the Other Ammy.
Clearly, she wasn't expecting it. The Other wolf caught the snowball in the chest, the dense ball of snow exploding outward on impact.
The Other Amaterasu blinked, and looked down at her now ice-covered fur. She flicked her gaze up to Ammy, who was suddenly feeling a little sheepish.
"… Wuff?" she offered.
The Other didn't even respond. Instead, her eyes flicked upward, focusing on something above Amaterasu. A shadow started to grow and spread out over her, blocking out the light of the sun and sending a chill down her spine.
Amaterasu craned her gaze higher, and laughed nervously.
A massive pile of snow whumped onto her, burying the Goddess of the Sun under a metric fuckton of snow, the fine, powdery substance difficult to work her way out of. She could hear the Other Amaterasu laughing at her! And here she was, buried up to the ears in really friggen cold ice. She struggled upward and had to practically swim her way out of it.
It took a good few seconds, but Amaterasu finally escaped the pile of snow. She burst from the side with a triumphant cry, excited to see the sky again. Amaterasu didn't account for the lack of support beneath her paws, however.
The Other Amaterasu very audible laughed at her while she tumbled down the pile of snow. Ammy wound up sliding down the last few feet on her front, her chin and nose acting as a snow-plow to push through the rest of it, and shove some of the snow into her nose!
Amaterasu sat up and scrunched her face up, nose curling, eyes watering. She tried to gith it off, but it was inevitable.
She sneezed, the loud, thunderous sound causing her head to swing downward, her head shaking side to side. Then, she did it again. And again. Repeated, explosive sneezes, driving her lower and lower with each attempt, trying to clear out that horrific powder.
It felt like it was tickling her brain!
And while Amaterasu suffered through her sneezing fit, eventually cranking her head against the ground with a final powerful sneeze, the Other Amaterasu was watching with an infuriatingly smug smirk.
Finally, the sneezing fit was over. She lay sprawled out on the ground, her head spinning, while several notifications popped into her sight.
[New Quest! Duel of the Fates—Celestial Edition: Take revenge on yourself from another universe by engaging in a prank war of epic proportions. Anything goes!]
[Status: Dazed]
She certainly felt dazed. The implications of that Quest were very interesting though. But, as Amaterasu rolled her eyes to look up at her Other self, a thought came to mind.
Did she always look so smug when she did this to others?
Good. It looked amazing on her.
Now she had planning to do. She'd need to lure her Other self into a false sense of security.
Idly, she wondered if Tony Stark would be up for pranking her alternate universe self. That could be fun.
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