Immediately after the strange man appeared in the Cafe, visible waves of power began to flow off of Zeref's form, giving him quite the sinister aura that made it appear as if the blackhole that appeared in his chest continuously pulsed and throbbed with invisible power while the cosmic energy around it became more vibrant and dense.
Those who quickly recovered from the surprise began recording the scene that happened, with those who were already recording gaining millions of views overnight as more and more people learned about the bizarre Cafe and its strange owner.
...
The various pantheons that have called Earth home since Humanity first crawled out of their caves and explored the wider world, while not as active in recent years, were still very much involved in the affairs of Earth. However, because of the growth of humanity over the last few thousand years, the Gods have become more reclusive. Not willingly, of course; they are gods, after all. No, instead, they were forced into their seclusion by a combination of the work of the Sorcerer Supreme and Dr. Fate, as well as the various magicians and mages across the world that called Earth home. With Earth being a nexus point in the universe, magic was surprisingly strong here, not to mention its abundant energies constantly drawing the attention of Outer Gods, Foreign Gods, Demons, Interdimensional Beings, and so much more.
It was because of Earth's status as a Nexus Point that the Mages and more supernaturally gifted of Earth were able to rise up and force the Gods to agree to a treaty. The gods could not openly interfere with the world or descend with their mortal forms, not since the great war against Darkseid and his attempt to conquer Earth.
While the Gods were not able to openly interfere, that did not mean that they could not appoint champions to do so in their steed. Wonder Woman, Shazam, Walt Disney, Hitler, and so many more influential figures across history have either been blessed by the Gods or direct champions of said Gods that called Earth home.
Countless beings called Earth home, so when they all felt the arrival of a new player that shook their divine realms and threatened to tear the Earth asunder, that got their attention, and they weren't the only ones who noticed. Every being who was a part of the hidden Supernatural world and who was of sufficient strength could feel the tides of sheer power that rolled across the surface of the planet and burst out from the Earth and out of the Solar System.
And when the Gods sought out the fateseers, they discovered a horrifying truth. The seers of Fate's great tapestry could no longer see past the current threads. Fate seers, known for their ability to see the past, present, and future, were now blind to both the past and future and forced to see only what is.
Even the primordial beings of unimaginable might begin to stir from their slumber, which lasted for countless millennia, causing them to awaken to this new world that's changed since they last walked the Earth.
Across the planet, gods who hadn't interfered for centuries began to select their champions across the world. The Moon Knight, Shazam, and all across the world, new champions were arising, with even more obtaining blessings from the gods, while supernatural communities across the globe became more active as well. Vampires rose from their crypts, and werewolf packs began expanding their packs and preparing for conflict. Mages and Sorcerers sought more power, and the Kamar-taj began repelling an unforeseen large amount of attacks as they tried to keep demons, interdimensional beings, and outer gods from reaching Earth, but with their Sorcerer Supreme losing her most useful ability, the ability to see the future, these entities began to slip through the veil and this was all happening because of the gods felt an unbelievably strong presence appear on Earth, one that they could not find as it's presence covered the entire planet.
...
Somewhere in France, a beautiful woman working on various historical art pieces within a museum could be seen, carefully examining ancient artifacts centuries old, if not over a millennium in a few cases. Such was the daily work of Diana Pierce, otherwise known as Wonder Woman, a Demi-God of the Greek Pantheon and living champion of the Greek Gods.
Stolen novel; please report.
Suddenly, a phone lying on a nearby table began to ring. Groaning in annoyance, Diana carefully placed the object she held in her hands into a box before taking off the gloves she was wearing.
Walking over to the desk, she read the caller's ID.
'Bruce W.'
Accepting the call, she put the phone up to her ear.
"Bruce?" She asked.
"Diana. I need your help," Came the gruff voice of the man who stalked through the night and acted like a playboy during the day.
"Why? What's wrong?" Diana asked, concerned.
"I am out of leads. No one knows what that creature is, let alone how to stop it, and I am out of leads. I found the 'Todd Howard,' just a regular civilian," Bruce quickly answered, getting straight to the point.
"Has he made any moves?" Diana asked, growing increasingly concerned. It was bad if even the most paranoid man in the world was out of leads.
"Yes. He's trending online; I need you to look at the news now."
Hearing the gravity of his voice, she walked over to the corner of her office and turned on the TV.
"Now what?" She asked.
"Channel 83."
Doing what he said, she was met with an incredibly strange scene.
A news reporter showed off what appeared to be a short video recorded and posted online by dozens of witnesses.
When she saw the creature, she nearly freaked out.
"It's already gone public?!" Diana questioned.
"Correct. As we speak, people flock to its store, though most haven't realized that the cafe is also accessible in other cities, much to our luck. What I need your help with is either making sure that the creature is harmless or containing it if necessary," Bruce explained.
"Contain it how?" Diana asked.
"I do not know. Our best bet is a powerful magician. Do you know of any?" Bruce answered before asking.
"I...I know a few. However, I doubt they would help us," Diana answered.
"They will have to. Whatever that this is and whatever it's doing, can not possibly be any good, especially with what we saw..." Batman answered, sounding like he was drifting off in thought.
That's when a blinding golden light manifested in the cafe on screen, catching both heroes' attention as a man stepped out of the golden light.
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost," the unknown man spoke, his voice charismatic and rough.
"We need to hurry," Bruce spoke after a few moments, knowing that each moment people discovered the creature, more would be drawn into its grasp and trap.
...
Meanwhile, said creature was looking upon Joshua, wondering and pondering what he could do.
Joshua, as mentioned before, was a Warrior of God. His missionary works in life mostly taught tribals how to survive better than they had before, whether that be how to properly use and maintain a firearm or how to defend themselves against aggressive tribals or raiders.
It's not like Joshua would be a good cashier, especially since Zeref was already able to do that role a dozen times over if he so wished.
Wait...maybe there was a way to use Joshua's talents.
Opening the System store, Zeref examined the cafe's expansions, soon finding his two targets.
[Firing Range Level 1: An expansion to the store that will allow for the practice of long-range and throwing weapons. This Range is highly customizable and includes durable and maneuverable mannequins. It could be used to create a large host of situations in which to train or test the customers. Cost: 25,000 Karma or $100,000]
[Professional Gym Level 1: An expansion to the store that allows for the training and conditioning of a customer's health and or physique. Includes a wide range of equipment suited for all sorts of customers. Cost: 7,500 Karma, or $50,000]
[Simulator Level 1: A simple expansion to the store that allows for the simulation of environments and hazards. Cost: 50,000 Karma or $250,000]
The options on the list seemed endless, though most were very specific or just strange.
For example, [Sharknado Simulator: A simple simulator that allows the customer to experience what it is like to deal with a sharknado, a hurricane that is strong enough to carry many sharks within its currents]
Not even hesitating, I grabbed [Profesional Gym Level 1] and [Firing Range Level 1]
The two immediately had upgrade options take their place, which gave the two expansions more features and bonuses to customers, but that's for later once the investment begins making money for itself.
I guess I just have to run the idea by Joshua; who knows, he may take a liking to being a personal trainer.