Chapter 113
Left Hand of God 5
-:-
1 week later
On 1 of 5 cargo ships
Somewhere in the middle of the ocean between the west and the east
Juno started her day by projectile vomiting down the side of the cargo ship as the steel giant slowly cut through the dark seas.
Watching the dawn rise from the horizon was one of the very few things she enjoyed ever since she willing trapped herself in this big metal row boat, yet it was ruined by her unpredictable vomiting.
She thought she was in the clear when she had no episodes during the last few days.
Obviously, she thought wrong.
For approximately 5 more minutes, Juno passed her time by polluting the seas with her gastric juices.
Eventually, her episode calmed down and allowed her to finally watch the sunrise in peace.
Depending on where you were in the world, dawn was about a little over 70 minutes (equator) and could easily last for hours on end (polar regions).
Nevertheless, dawn was one of the few times where Juno’s mind was completely silent. No bloodlust or lust or fanatical phrases going through her mind.
Just pure and unadulterated silence.
It felt nice.
“*sigh*.... If only it was seasickness, I would have laughed it off. But to think having too much sex with Theo would cause a ‘drug addiction’-like effect on me…. *sigh*... I’m starting to understand why he hates illegal drugs so much.” thought Juno as she basked on the heat of the rising sun.
Now you’re probably wondering:
‘Why is she on a cargo ship? Didn't she beat Dolores to a bloody pulp in the previous chapter to get an aircraft carrier?’
Indeed that was supposed to be the case.
However, Miguel Baroque (the future president of Eldorado/ Juno’s future political bitch) made a very convincing argument that dissuaded Juno on her original plan.
It was so convincing that Juno killed only 3 of the 50 individuals that were present at the time when she expressed her ‘dissatisfaction’.
Juno’s reasoning for wanting an aircraft carrier was because she was about to embark on a mission to invade/destroy a mythical city-state.
It went without saying that Juno could not do this alone in her depleted state. As such, she wanted to wield as much firepower as possible to remedy this.
However, Miguel and his group presented a counter argument.
An aircraft carrier was the ultimate expression of a country’s military might.
Anyone would feel angsty if a machine capable of beating down a nation passes near their borders
On the flip side, it was much easier to invade a nation that was caught unprepared.
A cargo ship was an extremely common sight in the sea. No one would question if one of these floating caravans would pass near anyone’s borders.
What if said cargo ship ‘accidentally’ crashed into some mystical barrier and ‘accidentally’ was able to slip inside?
Wouldn't the semi-mythical city wonder how they got in and send in an investigation force rather than a full blown military regiment?
A Trojan horse tactic if you will.
Personally, Juno prefered the good old fistacuffs style of fighting, but she prefered if her troops lasted longer than one campaign.
Going on recruitment drives was something she hated the most.
With that in mind, Juno decided to go with their plan and used a cargo ship.
Hidden beneath the surface was 3000 of Juno’s soldiers who willingly joined her in her bloody quests.
Unlike her slaves, these soldiers were relatively powerful with a price tag to match. Nevertheless, they were a blood thirsty group of madmen that followed Juno around for the LOLZ and giggles
Were they loyal?
Who knows.
The only thing Juno was absolutely sure about was that she can kill them if they displease her, and they didnt seem to mind.
The strong rules over the weak and all that jazz
What a bunch of wackos.
While Juno was thinking of this and that, she suddenly felt a weird presence appearing behind her.
It was both excessively powerful yet surprisingly void of power. It was a raging torrent of magic, chi and electricity yet it was as peaceful as a serene lake.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Indescribably omnipotent yet soothingly calm.
It was the parent figure Juno never had.
“And just like our first meeting, you just suddenly appear out of nowhere” said Juno to the old man as she turned to face him.
“I told you many times in the past. You don't need a lot of flashy hub hub to make an effective entrance scene.” replied the Old Man.
“*sigh*... still obsessed with that whole comic book dream of yours. You’re no longer the ‘Storyteller’ you know?”
“I don't want to be stuck in a cosmic desk job and decided the fate of billions. I just want to write stories about the fate of those I care about, namely my creations”
“*sigh*... crazy old bastard”
“Said the slutty psychopath”
“”PFHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!””
There were only 2 types of men that Juno touched.
Those who she was about to rip apart, and those whom she loved deeply.
The old man belonged to the later category along with Theo.
As such, she gave the old man a hug in a similar manner of how a daughter would hug her father
“It’s been a while Juno.” said the old man
“Yes it has been. I missed you Stanley.” replied Juno as silent tears coursed through her cheeks.
Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘God has a plan for us’?
While technically correct, it was wrong at the same time.
Presenting Stanly the Storyteller.
He was an entity that wrote the general outline of every person’s life from the moment they were born, to the moment they die.
While it might look like he was some sort of god, though close, it was not the case.
As stated earlier, he wrote a ‘general outline’. Not a rigid map.
A person could easily stray from the outline via force of will and a bit of luck
What did this mean?
It meant that there was no such thing as ‘Fate’, only those who follow the outline
What was Stanly ’s relation to Juno?
Once upon a time, Stanly got booted out of his job via an ambitious upstart that used dirty tricks to get the position.
Personally, he didn't care. It was a boring job and he preferred to draw comics where things were actually fun.
The usurper was a welcome excuse to pack his bags and leave.
This was a mistake.
Apparently, the upstart was some mortal douchebag that wanted absolute power just like your garden variety villain. Unfortunately, Stanly only discovered this about 1 milenia after he vacated his position.
How did he know?
The answer was simple: Juno Saiga,
At the time, she was a World Eater. A massive ‘thing’ that devoured everything in order to maintain its massive power.
Stanly saw the usurper's hand in the creation of Juno and used her as a weapon against those who defied his will.
Stanly used an excessively long and unnecessarily convoluted plan to fix this error, but the short version of it was this: He and Juno used a ‘certain being’ to hard reset reality.
And thus, their current situation.
Just to be clear, they didn't ‘turn back time’.
They completely destroyed that portion of the space time continuum and killed countless lives in the process.
Stanly has never forgiven himself from doing such a rash action. Unfortunately, the situation called for it.
Juno, on the other hand, didn't really mind or care as long as she can accomplish her goals.
Anyways, back to the present
“Where have you been? I’ve been searching high and low and still couldn't find a trace of you.” said Juno in a girlish manner that would shock anyone that knew her
“I’ve been living the life my dear. I’ve been writing comics for decades now, and boy was it fun!” replied Stanly
“You have? Weird… None of the author’s pen names matched the ones you told me in the past.”
“Well duh. Those were non-earthling names. Gotta go with the flow”
It didnt take Juno a second to connect the dots.
“Wait! You actually used your original name as a pen name?! Really?!”
“Why not. I think it's quite sexy.”
“Unbelievable…. I thought the Stanly in the comic industry was just some loser with no artistic talent. To think it was really you...” said Juno as she facepalmed
“Hey! I take offense with that statement! I have you know, my art is top notch and I have fans all over the world! I even have movies made from my works! How can I be a ‘loser with no artistic talent’ with that much success?!” raged Stanly
“I was searching for you, not your art. I dont even like comics.” replied Juno in a mechanical manner
“Oh right… You’re that type of person. I forgot. *sigh*”
While Theo was a fan of all things weeb, Juno shared very little of his interests. She could pretend to like something, but that’s only if its for Theo.
To anyone else, she would hide none of her displeasure.
“So, why the sudden visit? Dont misunderstand, I’m happy to see you again, but why appear now?” asked Juno
“Since you’ve probably dont follow the comics news-”
“I dont. Get to the point.”
“*sigh*.... You’re so…. Forget it.” said Stanly as he sighed at his annoying ‘daughter’. “I’ve been alive in this world for so long. I pretended to be ill for a while, but that can only get me so far”
“Faked your own death huh. Why though? Cant you just make yourself younger and start all over again?”
“I can but I don't want to. I think I pretty much done what I could as a comic book writer here on Earth. Time to expand my horizons to the stars and beyond. I’m planning on traveling to other planets and see if I can take in their culture and make another success story.”
“*sigh*... I was going to ask you ‘what’s the point of going back to square one?’ but I concluded that I dont understand you artist types. Do what you want you crazy old bastard.”
“You don't have to tell me twice!” said Stanly as he puffed his chest. “But enough about me. You’ve been making a lot of power plays as of late. Care to let me in on the secret plot? I might be able to use it in a future series of mine.”
“Fine fine. Just make sure that you release my plot at least 1 milenia from now.”
“Urgh… talk about a hard bargain. But whatever. Deal.”
Just like the good old days, Juno and Stanly bantered.
It was a weird combination between a young lady with ethereal beauty and an old man with a fetish for comics. While one was extremely blunt and the other being extremely energetic, the 2 conversed like how a father-daughter pair would converse.
It would have been a heartwarming sight if their topic wasn't about death and destruction
Eventually, Juno ended the outline of her plan. As expected, Stanly’s face was both grim and saddened
“Juno… you sound like one of those villains I write about that ends up getting beaten to a bloody pulp in the end.” said Stanly with a sigh “Have you ever heard the saying ‘Evil never wins?’ ”
“And that’s why I don't care for comics. The very fact that Superheroes have a constant and growing presence in this world means that not only is Evil winning, but is getting stronger at a faster pace.” replied Juno with confidence. “Evil wins more than you’d like to admit. They just don't write comics about it.”
“*sigh*... well, that was a pointless debate”
“I agree. We’ll never see eye to eye on that issue.”
Juno and Stanly went silent for a few seconds as they watched the sunrise.
“So…. when will I see you again?” asked Juno with a clear hint of sadness in her voice.
“Who knows.” replied Stanly in kind. “But I do want to meet that kid you’re so lovestriken on.”
“You can just teleport there right now, you know?”
“Sure I can, but I’d like to experience the meeting with you and him plus your kids. That would be a fun and awkward meeting for sure!”
“I’d love that.” replied Juno who was holding back a rare tear from flowing
“Time to go then. Take care kid.” said Stanly as he hugged Juno
“Till we meet again.”
The two separate from each other.
And just like the legend that he came to be,Stanly’s silhouette began to fade as he walked towards the sunrise.
“Excelsior!”
With his final words, Stanly went to god knows where to do what he does best.
Tell stories that would capture the hearts of readers.
Juno smiled as she offered her parting words to the person who was no longer there.
“What a dork.”