Zero appeared in his white space and took in the sight of it. He actually missed being able to freely enter this space and the company of the others. After a few minutes of peaceful enjoyment, he opened a gateway to Yoko’s realm.

As soon as he entered, a sword slash was aimed at his throat. Although surprised, Zero easily dodged the attack. Taking to the air, Zero managed to see what had attacked him. It was an empty suit of armor, most likely a golem. Wasting no time, Zero lifted it with telekinesis and flew to the only building in Yoko’s empty space.

He entered the enormous building to find that it was quite different on the inside than what he expected. The interior was very technological, to the point that most would say it was futuristic.

“Welcome to Abyssus Scientiae Tower. Who might you be?” said a young female voice.

“Hmm, this reminds me of Aquilina. Are you like her?” asked Zero.

“You seem to be familiar with my mother,” answered the voice.

“Your mother?” asked Zero.

“Yes, she was created from Aquilina’s code. I altered the program to fit my needs, but the main components come from Aquilina, so she recognizes Aquilina as her mother. She’s called Metis, named after the goddess of wisdom and deep thought,” said a voice that Zero recognized.

As Zero turned to face behind him, he saw Yoko flying in the air, holding their daughter Nova. Nova jumped from Yoko’s arms, and as she began to fall, Zero caught her with his telekinesis. He guided her through the air until she was in his arms.

“Papa, I missed you so much. Did you miss me?” said an excited Nova.

"Of course, I did, sweetie. I missed you so much," replied Zero, holding Nova tightly and kissing the top of her head. "It's good to see you, Yoko," he added, acknowledging her presence.

"It's good to see you too, Zero," said Yoko, smiling. "How have you been?"

"I’ve been good," replied Zero. "I've been busy, but I'm happy to be here now. What about you? I see you've made some new friends and created some new beings like Metis and this knight."

"We've been good too. I had some free time waiting for you, so I spent it finishing Metis. She’s been installed as the mainframe and has been helping me run the tower. She's very intelligent and has been a great asset. Soon we’ll be able to freely gather knowledge in all worlds. As for that, it’s a prototype. I’m working on creating bodies that Metis can inhabit to perform tasks around the tower," replied Yoko.

Zero chuckled and said, "That's interesting to hear. Just make sure she doesn’t go all Skynet on you. So, this is a golem then? How about trying to make a magical doll? If I remember correctly, there was a book on that in Dracula’s study that you took from me. If that doesn’t work, then try an android."

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"I don't know what this Skynet is, but if you’re implying that Metis will go rogue, it’s irrelevant. She wouldn’t, and even if she did, it wouldn’t take much effort to stop it. Her purpose is simply to collect and categorize knowledge. As for a magical doll, I might give that a try. Androids are also on my list of things to try, but they are more complex and require a lot more resources, which I don’t have access to, so I was waiting for you," replied Yoko.

“Sure, I’ll lend a hand whenever you’re ready,” replied Zero. “So Nova, let’s go find your aunty Valna now and get everybody together.”

"Sounds good," said Yoko. "Nova, would you like to lead the way?"

"Yes, I can show you where Aunty Valna is," said Nova, taking Zero's hand.

As they walked through the tower, Zero took in the sights and sounds of the place. He couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the progress that Yoko had made and all the knowledge they had already collected. He was looking forward to using this place once it was fully operational.

"It's amazing what you've done here, Yoko," said Zero.

"Thank you, Zero, but I suppose it wouldn't have been possible without you killing and resurrecting me, so you get some of the praise too," replied Yoko.

Nova led them to a room where a large door stood. Yoko stepped forward and said Valna’s name out loud, transforming the door to look like the gateway to Valna’s realm.

“What’s this?” asked a curious Zero.

“Dimensional doorway I created it. It’s a stable fixed gateway that can lead to the others' realms so long as you say their name. This way, in case we have a guest, they can leave without us needing to create gateways for them,” answered Yoko.

“Isn’t it cool! Mama made one for me and the other too!” exclaimed an excited Nova.

“Really, that’s very cool. I’ll have to ask her to make me one so Nova can always visit me too,” said Zero with a smile as he rubbed her head.

As they walked through the gateway, they appeared in Valna’s first world, which she named Barða Völlr, meaning Battlefield of Warriors. There, Zero spotted Valna training her valkyries as Hel, Fenrir, and Jormungandr watched on.

"Zero, my liege, you’ve returned. It's great to see you. How have you been?" said Valna.

"I've been good, Valna. How about you? I see you've been busy," replied Zero, gesturing to the valkyries lying in front of her, beaten.

"Yes, I've been keeping busy. Since you left us, more than 2 weeks have passed, so I trained them to keep busy awaiting your return," said Valna, smiling.

“Hah, you lose. I told you he’d be back before a month. Too bad, Jorm, you owe me now,” laughed Fenrir.

"Yes, I always keep my bets," replied Jormungandr in his cold, emotionless voice, not even lifting up his head to look at Zero.

"So what brings you here, Zero?" asked Valna, as she approached them.

"We're here to gather everyone. I’ll leave Nova and Yoko here and head to grab the twins," replied Zero.

“Looks like there’s a lot you have to fill us in on. Okay, we’ll be waiting until you return,” said Hel.

"I'll go ahead and heal my valkyries and send them away, so hurry back," said Valna.

With that, Zero walked through the door, this time repeating Dahlia’s name before walking through. When he arrived, he noticed that the realm had changed as the sky was now blood-red. He looked up and saw a figure floating in the blood-red sky, so he took flight.

Soon, Zero came to face a woman who was meditating in the center of the realm, surrounded by her dark energy. She was a breathtakingly beautiful woman with a stunning complexion, smooth skin, and radiant eyes. Her hair was a unique combination of black and white, cascading down her back in soft, silky waves. Her figure was curvaceous and alluring, with just the right amount of curves in all the right places.

When Zero drew closer to take a look at her, since he sensed familiarity from seeing her face, her eyes slowly opened. Her eyes were a unique combination of black sclera and silver pupils. She had a mesmerizing gaze that could captivate anyone who looked into them. She exuded a commanding presence and seemed to possess a grace and poise unmatched by other women. Simply put, she was a vision of beauty that left all who beheld her in awe. She wore a beautiful dress that was black at the center, but the further you went away, the redder the gown became, a bloody red. It complemented her hair and eye color, her left eye being a deep black and her right eye a gleaming silver.

Zero approached her, "Are you Dahlia or Azalea? If I’m right, did you guys combine?"

The woman then looked at Zero and smiled. Her warm smile lit up her face and seemed to have the power to easily invite others to come closer, and her laugh was contagious, drawing Zero near before he even knew it.

“Can I take this as you planning to accept my offer for nightly service?” asked the woman.

Zero, who was close enough to almost kiss her, took a step back and shook his head to calm himself down.