A Different Beginning
IV
The Dimensional Gap
DxD
Draconic Deity
A world, a universe where only Dragons and Deities lived.
The Dragons were beings of chaos whereas the Deities were beings of Order. Even though they were polar opposites, they were maintaining the peace and stability of the world. How? Even though there were skirmishes and dissatisfactions, both sides knew the one and only fundamental truth. The balance of the DxD universe needed both of them.
And so, because of this understanding, the peace and the balance of the DxD universe lasted over hundreds of millenniums.
Then ‘It’ came.
The Beast of the End, the Beast of Apocalypse. It knew nothing but destruction, nothing but devouring everything.
The Dragons and the Deities fought back, they fought back with everything they have. But it was not enough. For years, they kept fighting. And for years, they were pushed back. They knew, in their hearts, that they were going to lose. It was inevitable. And with their defeat, the DxD universe would fall as well.
Not unless they did something drastic.
So, the Queen of the Dragons and the King of the Deities came up with their own solution. Unfortunately, one did not like the other’s solution. They were very vocal about it at first, but in the end, they relented. Because when their survival was at stake, everything was permittable.
The Queen of the Dragons conducted a ritual that allowed her to ascend, to obtain an unimaginable power. With this, she became almost as strong as the ‘Beast of Apocalypse’. She became the ‘Beast of Infinity’.
The King of the Deities had a different approach in mind. His ritual called forth the ‘Deities of the other Worlds’. The first ones to answer his call were ‘Trimurti’ and ‘Ra’.
Together, they were able to defeat the ‘Beast of Apocalypse’ which would later be known as ‘666’.
Unfortunately, both the Dragon Queen’s and the Deity King’s actions had a consequence. After the ascension, the Dragon Queen’s personality changed. When the fight was over, ‘666’ was defeated, she had left their universe and settled down on the ‘Void’, which was now known as the ‘Dimensional Gap’. Without their leader, and with the death of so many dragons, the dragons disbanded.
As for the King of Deities' action, humans were created. And with them came many other Godly factions, as well as beings that should not exist in their universe. So, to maintain the order, the King of Deity created a Godly faction of his own… which was now known as the ‘Biblical Faction’.
Naruto released a deep breath as he stopped watching the memory.
Last week, Shiva shed some light on the history of the first two factions. It was a huge revelation, not just to Naruto but to everyone else… other than Amun-Ra. Questions were asked, and answers were given. But there were still some mysteries that remained… mysteries that Naruto did not want to touch but he knew, in his heart, that he would have to look into them later.
But what really put him on edge was the fact that Trihexa was not killed. Yes, it was defeated. But it could not be killed so Ophis and the Biblical God sealed him. Where and how? No one knows; not even Shiva and Amun-Ra.
And Naruto knew that someone somewhere out there was so freaking deranged, so painstakingly dumb that they were thinking about releasing the Beast. Maybe not now, not tomorrow, but there would be a time when such people would appear.
Needless to say, these past few days were not fun for him. Whenever he would have time, he would view the memory to remind him how big this world truly was and how little he knew about its history. To be fair, everyone else was still taking some time to process the revelation.
Still, the journey must go on.
Releasing another deep breath, Naruto got up and when to the deck.
The first thing Naruto saw on the deck made him chuckle. A small black cat was showing Thor the more complex mechanisms of their ship. The cat was created by Amun-Ra since Thor kept pestering him to teach him more about their ship since he already knew the basics of piloting. But the view, a six and a half feet masculine man was being told what to do by a cat the size of his palm. And the fact that Thor had a very serious face made it funnier.
Naruto did not see Yasaka and Scáthach but he knew where they were. At the lower deck, discussing and bonding over swords and magic. Initially, Naruto wanted Yasaka to bond with Scáthach so that she became more comfortable around them. It worked, but he was more pleased to see another unexpected outcome. Yasaka and Scáthach became quite close to each other. Yasaka, as a queen, had many things but what she lacked was a close friend. He was glad that she finally found one.
Naruto’s gaze then landed on Amun-Ra, and he frowned. Amun-Ra was still at the same place where he last saw him which was almost an hour ago. And now he was accompanied by Shiva.
Making up his mind, Naruto started walking toward them.
Shiva was the first to notice him, Amun-Ra was just a few seconds later. Naruto knew something was amiss the moment he saw their expressions, “Something wrong?”
Amun-Ra looked at Shiva, and then at the magical map that he had created, “I believe it is better for you to see.”
Now Naruto was curious and worried. But he took a few steps forward to have a better view of the map.
The map was an extension of ‘Navigator’. The purpose of the map was to record the positioning of the ruins that they had explored. Of course, the map would change each time since the ruins would move around.
“Here is the first recording of the map,” The map changed as Amun-Ra pointed at it, and showed the positioning of the ruins, “Here is the second,” The map changed again, “The third, and the last… the recording of today’s.”
Every time the map changed and showed the location of the ruins they had explored. It was surprising to see how some of those giant places would move so far away from their previous positions.
But then, he saw it.
“So, you have noticed it too.”
Naruto looked at Shiva, then Amun-Ra, and then back at the map. He pointed in one particular direction, “There is something over here.”
It was not a question but a statement. Every time the ruins were moving, it was very hard to notice but they were avoiding two areas. He knew one of them, it was where they came from… The gate of DxD. Then what about the other?
“I have sent multiple groups of scouts,” Amun-Ra drew his attention when he created a small sparrow, “First group disappeared when they got closer to that area, distance-wise approximately four hundred thousand kilometers if I am not mistaken. The second group was fine since I made sure they kept a distance of around a million kilometers. They recorded the surroundings but,” Multiple images appeared in front of them, and Naruto immediately noticed it. In one specific area, the colors were darker than usual. And that particular area also looked slightly distorted, “Other than this, they found nothing concrete.”
“After Amun-Ra informed me about this, I asked to send another group of scouts. But their focus this time is to investigate the surroundings instead of just that particular area.”
Naruto looked at Shiva, “Is? So, this group is still out there?” Seeing the nods, Naruto understood what their next step would have been, “You have informed us after this final checkup, for us to decide whether to go explore there or not?”
Shiva sighed, “Amun-Ra would have told everyone about his findings the moment he noticed the issue in the recording.”
“But I thought it is better to confirm first since we do not know what is out there. And if our hunch is right…” Amun-Ra did not say anything but the seriousness in his tone was enough for Naruto.
‘Entrance to another universe’
Naruto smiled wryly. All of them were still hung up on the histories of their own universe and now they found this. He could see now why Amun-Ra did not immediately come to them.
Shaking his head, Naruto looked at the two oldest Gods, “I think we should tell everyone. I know it is better to wait for the scouts to come back, but I think we should move toward this location,” Seeing the surprised look, he quickly added, “Slowly, of course. All the while we keep sending scouts to make sure we have everything covered. And I know, others will agree with me.”
Amun-Ra and Shiva looked at each other before they met Naruto’s gaze again.
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“Let us do that.”
.
A few hours later
.
Naruto was completely stunned at the sight in front of him. And not just him, everyone was speechless at the beauty… the wonder that was in front of them, even Shiva and Amun-Ra. And that was saying something.
A symbol, as large as a planet, was in front of them. Technically, it was around seven to eight hundred thousand kilometers away from where they were. But it was not the size but the beauty of it which awed all of them. The concept of the symbol was similar to ‘Taijitu’, the yin and yang symbol. But instead of pure black and white, one side was made of billions of different shapes and sizes of cogwheels… made of what seemed like crimson light. And the cogwheels were not just filling up the space, no, it was as if numerous cogwheels together created the shape of mechanical gear, and countless of those together created half of a Taijutu.
Then there was the other half. Branches made of runes of an unknown language entangled with each other to create the shape of a Tree. And countless of these trees were combined to make the shape of another half of the Taijutu. The mesmerizing about this part was that each tree had a different shade of blue, and each of them was quite distinctive from the other. As if whoever made it, did not want these trees to be forgotten.
But after the initial shock subsided, he noticed the way that symbol was positioned.
“This looks like a gate alright.”
“A gate that we should not be poking,” Amun-Ra turned to Thor, and then to the rest of them, “While we finally discovered something to truly celebrate, we should approach this with utmost caution.”
“Because while it looks like a gate,” Naruto frowned, “It also looks like a seal.”
He could feel the rising tension of everyone. He did not want to say it, but he needed to. Because last time he checked the entrance to their universe did not have any gates or seals.
“Whatever it is, for the time being, I will put multiple beacons around it,” Amun-Ra said as he started walking toward the bow of the ship, “We will analyze what it is but not from here.”
“Do we really need so many precautions?” Thor asked.
“At our full power, maybe not. But keep in mind Thor that we are using a bare fraction of our full power,” Shiva answered, “Besides, it never hurts to take extra precautions.”
“To know what lies ahead on the battlefield,” Thor nodded his head.
Amun-Ra created hundreds of Egyptian-style totems and had them spread all around. Naruto could already see the markers on the maps.
“Good, it’s…”
Then they felt it.
The vibration… it was as if everything around them, the space itself was shaking. All of them knew, no, they sensed the cause of it.
“It’s Great Red!”
Everyone immediately started running toward their designated station. Thor ran toward the steering wheel. Yasaka and Scáthach ran toward the door. Their destination was the ‘Engine’ of their ship, which was on the lower deck. Amun-Ra came down from the bow and went to the middle of the ship, a lectern appeared in front of him. As for Naruto and Shiva, they sprinted toward the bow.
Yes, this was the first time the Great Red caught their scent. But they did many drills before on what to do if they were ever to be chased by the big red lizard.
Thor would be the one manning the ship. His job was quite simple, move the ship toward the teleportation marker, and wait for the signal. Yasaka and Scáthach would monitor the ‘Engine’. Technically, it was the magical tool created by Amun-Ra which was absorbing their energy and powering up the ship. It would also transfer the excess energy to many faraway beacons set up by Amun-Ra. Naruto and Shiva would stay at the bow and remove anything that would restrict the movement of the ship.
As for Amun-Ra, he was elected as the ‘Captain’ since he was the one who made the ship and created most of the teleportation markers.
The ship started moving and within a few seconds, it was facing the direction Amun-Ra pointed. The moment they sensed the Great Red approaching toward this point where the ship was positioned to be teleported, around five seconds had passed. But to Naruto, it felt like an hour as he could feel that domineering presence approaching closer each second.
“Hit it!”
Immediately the ship entered what could be best described as a ‘Wormhole’… A colorless tunnel that took them to the designated teleportation marker. And just as they had predicted, Naruto and Shiva had to break many barriers. Of course, they used the barest of their powers.
And then finally, ten seconds later, the ship exited the tunnel. But, they were in the middle of nowhere.
Naruto and Shiva looked back, at Amun-Ra. It was Naruto who spoke up, “Is this where we are supposed to be?”
Amun-Ra looked slightly pale as he shook his head, “The marker… was destroyed.”
Naruto felt his mouth becoming dry, his palms becoming cold. Shaking his head, he looked around and immediately found what he was looking for, “Ruin, at our 2 o’clock, around a hundred kilometers downward.”
Amun-Ra immediately understood what Naruto was suggesting. He shouted at Thor, “You heard the man!”
The ship immediately started moving in that direction.
“I really hope this works, I have no intention to fight the Great Red,” Shiva muttered.
Naruto smiled wryly, “None of us do.”
Within a few seconds, they were right in front of the ruin. It was one of those ruins that looked like multiple floating islands merged to make a giant one. Fortunately, there was space between those islands.
“Thor, put the ship in one of the gaps. I do not care if you have to squeeze in to do that,” Amun-Ra then looked down, “Ladies, put the power of the engine at max. Our power should not exceed more than that of grandmas at a Tea party.”
Naruto immediately felt the drain. It was not to the point where it could be considered harmful but it was significantly noticeable. He also noticed Amun-Ra drawing multiple sigils on various rocks floating around them. He understood what he was doing, but the moment he raised his hand to help him out, Amun-Ra shook his head, “Don’t. Multiple power signatures on those may tip him to our location.”
Naruto dropped his hand. And then he felt him again.
It was as if one moment, he was walking on a dry sandy beach, and then the water started coming in. It would start from his ankle, and then in an instant, he would be completely submerged. It was even hard to see the light at the top.
Suddenly, he heard the snap and started to feel like he could breathe again. He looked at Amun-Ra, who glanced back at him, “I detonated one of the beacons, the furthest one. It should buy us a few minutes.”
Naruto nodded his head.
“So, which teleportation marker are we aiming for, Amun-Ra?” Thor shouted.
The question made Amun-Ra frown, which was not a good sign. Releasing a deep breath, Amun-Ra looked in a particular direction, “I cannot sense any of the teleportation markers anymore, either they are destroyed or lost their power.”
Naruto blinked a few times. He was not the only one who was stunned at the revelation, even Thor did not know what to say.
“Is it because of where we were?” Shiva looked at Amun-Ra with a troubled expression, “Could it be that your magic triggered something, back at that sealed door?”
Amun-Ra blinked once, and then, “Xara!” Naruto blinked at Amun-Ra who released another deep breath, “Yes, he is right. The scouts I had sent before did not cast anything magical around that area; even when we reached there, we did not cast anything on that area. But the totems I had placed were a different case.”
“So, the Great Red is thinking that we are from whatever is on the other side of that sealed door?” Naruto asked, even though he already knew the answer.
“Maybe instead of what had already happened, we should think about what to do now?” Thor shouted.
“Thor’s right, we should make way for the entrance of our universe. Amun-Ra, do you have enough of those beacons to keep him off our trails,” Shiva followed up.
“Yes, I do. But it would be better for me if I know how far he is from us.”
“I can help with that,” Naruto added, “I believe I can sense him better than most of us. This is a passive ability of mine, mind you.”
“Alright, so we head for the entrance but use the ruins on our way to cover our tracks,” Amun-Ra then looked down, “Is that alright, ladies?” A moment later he looked at them, “Good, let’s start.”
Thor immediately but slowly took the ship out of the ruins. The moment they were completely out, they held their breath. They did not know for how long they did but soon they realized that the Great Red did not notice them.
With relief, they moved forward.
The journey was filled with tension and anticipation. They also tried to maximize Naruto’s ability to sense the Great Red. When Naruto felt that the Great Red was far away, he would give a signal. Thor then would use the full speed to move forward, but only for ten seconds before slowing down. Using these short bursts of speed, they were able to reach their next ruin within half an hour.
This time it was a gigantic destroyed ship. It was not easy to hide their ship within the destroyed fragments but they managed it. They waited a few minutes just to calm their nerves. They already knew the destination, the path but it was the journey that was unpredictable.
“Alright, let us move out.”
Amun-Ra said as he stood in front of the lectern again.
But the moment, the ship took off, Naruto felt him approaching, “Shit! He is coming this way!”
Thor immediately stopped their ship, and Amun-Ra pointed in one direction and snapped his fingers. Naruto felt the presence stopping but not going toward the location.
“Guys, he stopped but he is not taking the bait.”
For a moment, no one said anything.
“Let’s make a run for it,” Everyone looked at Thor, “I know he might catch up to us, but if that happens, we just close the rest of the distance using our full powers.”
“Not a bad idea, but…” Amun-Ra looked at Naruto and Shiva since they ran into the Great Red a few times.
“The last time we ran into him, he chased us for quite some time,” Shiva sighed, “And we had to lose him using our full power and without entering our universe since there was a possibility that he might have chased us all the way there.”
“I think we can do that again,” Naruto smiled as he saw a way out, “We can make a run for it using Amun-Ra’s distractions. If the big lizard catches us, Shiva and I can lure him away,” He immediately raised his hand to stop Thor from protesting, he could also feel the protest coming from Yasaka who was listening through telepathy, “Not for long of course, the moment all of you crossed the entrance, we will make a run for it. I don’t think the Great Red will chase when he realizes that it is us two.”
Again, no one said anything for a moment. Then Naruto felt the presence stirring. He looked at all of them, “He is moving, we have to decide fast!”
Amun-Ra sighed, and the next moment his expression became stern, “Ladies, come up. We do not need to control the engine manually anymore,” Then he looked at Thor, “When I give the signal, charge ahead, full speed.” Lastly, he looked at Naruto and Shiva and nodded his head.
Getting the confirmation, both of them moved toward the bow of the ship again.
Amun-Ra took a deep breath and raised both of his hands. And then he snapped his fingers, using both hands. This time, Naruto felt some of the beacons detonating. But again, the presence did not move. It did not move even when their ship charged forward using full speed.
Then, out of nowhere, he was staring at the Great Red.
Naruto had seen the Great Red a few times before, from very far away. He knew he was enormous, but this… The Great Red could easily cover the whole earth with his wings, with enough room to spare.
Naruto felt the time slowing down. He could sense everyone behind him powering up as Amun-Ra tried to say something. He could feel Shiva beside him also going into his Godly form. And then it hit him, why was it always about ‘Flight or Fight’? Why not something different? Something like…
Naruto knew, that later he would be chewed up by everyone, while Yasaka might send him to the couch. But it was worth the shot.
With a warcry, Naruto released his power and went directly toward the Great Red. The giant dragon opened his mouth and it felt like he could easily devour a moon or two. But Naruto had a plan.
“Unlimited…”
As the Great Red was almost onto him, as he felt Shiva closing in on him, Naruto made an exaggerated sweeping motion, “…Food no Jutsu!”
Immediately, as far as their eyes could see, various types of foods and deserts filled up the empty space of the Dimensional Gap. Even though there was no air, one could even smell their aromas. Of course, size-wise they were a few times larger.
And then Naruto went down on both of his knees, his arms widely spread, “O’ Wise and mighty Great Red, O’ the most awesome dragon ever to exist, we brought you tribute!”
It was very hard for Naruto to keep a straight face when he saw the large eyes of the Great Red blinking as if he was processing what was happening. He could also see, since he had his Rinnegan activated, everyone else behind him had their jaws open, except for Yasaka. She was just rubbing her forehead.
No one said that they could not appease the Great Red. Naruto chuckled internally. There was a reason he was known as the unpredictable one.