Chapter 688 - Nexus

In all, Zeke stayed at the Dusty Lizard for three days before he decided that he’d recovered well enough to continue the journey through the Ways.  During that time, he’d met a few helpful people who’d explained the unique political situation in the Ethereal Realm. 

There were ten total realms within the realm – not counting the Ways themselves – though three were entirely unclaimed.  Those were where most people hunted monsters to gain experience and extend their progression.  Zeke had learned their names, but he’d immediately dismissed them as unimportant.  Each one encompassed multiple planets that sounded to him like lawless places where only the strong survived.

“Thought that would be appealing to you,” Eveline remarked.

“It would be if I thought I could progress there,” he said within his own mind.  “But as we’ve established, I need to kill gods.”

“There are gods there.  Probably greater gods, if weak ones.”

“Nobody said anything about that,” Zeke pointed out.

“It was implied.  Read between the lines, Ezekiel.  Otherwise, those places would have been claimed by the big ones,” she explained.  “But clearly, they’re not worth the effort.”

“I guess that makes sense,” he said, leaving the Dusty Lizard behind as he strode across the bridge that was the first leg of his journey to the Nexus.  From there, he would need to find his way to Oberon’s realm. 

“It has a name.”

“I’m not calling it Eden,” Zeke said.  “It feels wrong.”

Part of that was due to the religious connotations.  He hadn’t been devout, even back on Earth, but it still struck him as bad taste.  Or maybe he just didn’t like the implication that he might find a couple of naked people popping out of the brush wearing nothing but fig leaves. 

“That’s…descriptive.”

“It was in a painting I saw once,” Zeke said.  “My point is that it’s weird.  I don’t like it.”

“You’re weird.”

“Whatever.”

The banter continued as he joined the flow of pedestrians.  Zeke once again marveled at the variety of people on display.  Aside from a couple of groups, no two races seemed the same, with plenty that left him feeling a little uneasy. 

That brought a giggle from Eveline.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she insisted inside his mind. 

“Just tell me,” he ordered.

“Nothing.  I Just think it’s funny that you’re afraid of that.  You’ve fought much more fearsome creatures.”

“It’s the tentacles,” he remarked, trying not to stare at the creature.  Their head was like a sea anemone, which was bad enough if it hadn’t been for the multitude of tendrils floating from their neck.  It slid along like a slug, which all just blended together into a distinct unease. 

Thankfully, the creature was going the opposite direction, and Zeke soon left them behind.  It wasn’t the first time he saw something that just looked wrong to him, though, so to distract himself, he went over the information he’d gathered in the Dusty Lizard’s common room.

In addition to learning about unclaimed planets, he found that Mak’tar’s realm had contained three other worlds.  As far as he knew, they were fine, though without the protection he provided, they wouldn’t be for much longer.  According to rumors, Oda was the best candidate to take over the slain greater god’s territory.

Zeke also found out that a greater god’s death wasn’t as big of news as he’d expected it to be. Certainly, if one of the stronger ones died, it would throw the entire political landscape into confusion.  However, for someone like Mak’tar?  It was barely a blip on anyone’s radar.

Just above Mak’tar in the pecking order was Galin, a neutral god who tended to ally with Shar Maelaine.  Then there was a demonic god named Ukhwaj who was subordinate to Oda. 

Then there was Aja, who mostly kept to herself but had a fierce reputation.  When she left her domain, the entire realm trembled.  The final greater god was Oberon.  He was rumored to be the oldest among them, but he also took the least amount of interest in politics.  Nobody could remember the last time he left his domain.

Of course, Zeke knew that he’d done so more than a few times.  The first was when the dwarf had dragged him from the abyss and back to life, planting him in a troll cave and telling him to survive.  But there had been a few times since then, with the latest being when he’d projected himself into Hell. 

Doing so required a visit to the Nexus, where he could access the hub that would allow him to send a sliver of his soul to a lower realm.  Apparently, that was also how he’d planted the troll dungeon in the Mortal Realm, though no one at the Dusty Lizard knew the method behind such madness.

Dragging a dungeon across realms was not something that was routinely done, and the very idea seemed impossible to the people with whom he’d spoken.  That didn’t mean much, though.  Just because a few lesser gods didn’t know how it was possible didn’t necessarily mean that it wasn’t. 

In fact, Zeke knew that it was, which was one of the reasons he hadn’t stayed any longer than he had.  The reality was that normal people – even when they were classified as lesser gods – didn’t know enough to help guide him.  So, as soon as he’d established his path, Zeke had set out for the Nexus.

As he continued along his way, he felt the monsters just outside the Waymaster’s realm.  The feeling was vague, and it didn’t give him much information.  However, the one thing he knew was that they were vast, powerful, and filled with malice.

That was enough to spark Zeke’s competitive nature.  He wanted to go out there and test himself against such mighty creatures. 

Eveline, of course, pointed out how stupid that was, saying that there was every chance that he couldn’t even survive out there, much less fight anything that could live in such a space. 

“And yes, it’s weird that knowing that makes you want to go out there more,” Eveline said.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You were thinking it.”

“You don’t know that,” he argued.  Over the years, he’d learned to shield his thoughts from the mind spirit, though he rarely used it.  In this case, he had been. 

“I know you, though.”

Zeke was going to counter that argument, but he thought better of it.  Largely because she was right. 

In any case, he remained silent – mentally and physically – as he followed the flow of the crowd through the Ways.  They reached another platform after less than a day, and even though it contained what seemed like a small town, Zeke chose not to stop.  Instead, he continued on, mostly because he saw the crowd thin slightly. 

For the next couple of days, they found much the same as they’d left in their wake.  At some point, Zeke asked one of the natives how many people lived in the ways, and he was surprised to hear that the population was counted in the tens of billions.  Some even claimed that it was in the hundreds of billions, with many more times that passing through each day. 

Many of the natives lived on small platforms like the ones Zeke had passed, but even more resided in the Nexus itself.  That was when he discovered that it connected not only to each realm, but to hundreds of planets in each great god’s domain as well.  That, combined with the connections to the lower planes of existence, and it was easy to see why it had become such an important hub.

After nearly three weeks of travel, Zeke finally reached his destination. 

The Nexus was enormous, and even that word seemed insufficient to describe the sheer scope of what he saw before him.  Structured from a thousand concentric rings, it stood at the center of hundreds of bridges that stretched toward the more remote locations that couldn’t afford to have a portal in the city itself. 

From an architectural standpoint, it was all over the place.  Some of the structures looked vaguely familiar, like they could have been built on Earth, but most were entirely alien.  For instance, he saw a building made out of a massive mushroom the size of a skyscraper, another structure that looked like a miniaturized version of the city itself, and yet another that looked like symmetry was an alien concept for the builders. 

And those were just the first examples Zeke saw, but they certainly weren’t the end of the oddities on display.

As Zeke passed through the gate, he felt the presence of the Waymaster, but it passed over him nearly instantly.  Otherwise, he was confronted by another four-armed guard not dissimilar from the creature that had greeted his entry into the Ways.  It, in turn, directed him forward, though it refused to answer his questions.

For Zeke, that confirmed that it wasn’t more than an automaton. 

Or maybe it was just unnaturally focused on its job.  Either way, he quickly experienced another oddity when he stepped through the gate and found himself staring down at a long strip of city that curved around the inside of one of the circles.  Above him, he could see another set of buildings staring down at him. 

“Guess gravity is just a suggestion here,” he muttered, testing his footing.  It felt just as solid as anywhere else he’d been, but the fact that he could look up and see people walking along the streets above him told Zeke that there were some strange things afoot.

Whatever the case, he took his time as moved along, staring this way and that like a tourist on his first vacation.  That earned him some dismissive looks, but he didn’t care. 

As he walked along, he marveled at the strange buildings and even stranger people until, at last, he found what he was looking for.  When he went inside the circular building, he heard an androgynous voice say, “Welcome, traveler.  What information may we provide?”

Zeke zeroed in on the speaker, who was a thin, gray creature with overly large eyes.  He couldn’t even begin to guess the creature’s gender, and what’s more, he didn’t care.  So, he just told them what he wanted, got a quote on the price, then transferred a little divine energy into their storage device.  Only then did he get the information he needed.

The first question concerned the layout of the city, which was even more complicated than he’d expected.  There was a complex caste system in place, and it was tied to the rings.  Moreover, the city itself was only so large because it was the universe’s largest trade hub.

Which made sense.

It was the confluence of all travel, so it would be the center of trade. 

“Anything you wish to buy is available here,” the information broker claimed.  “Currency is as you say – divine energy.  There are grades, ranging from A to F, though you don’t need to worry about that.  Your issue is top-quality.  If you have a decent store, you can buy whatever you wish.”

Zeke didn’t really need anything, but it was nice to know that he effectively had an infinite supply of money.  However, it did highlight a danger he hadn’t considered.  What would stop someone from using him as a mint?  He could fight off any number of lesser gods, but if someone like Aja targeted him, things would get very messy.

And he didn’t think he could beat her, at least not based on the power of her projection.  Still, he wouldn’t allow himself to be captured.  He’d rather die than be anyone’s slave.

After that, he only asked for directions to Oberon’s embassy.  That earned him a slightly questioning look, but he still go the information he needed.  It wasn’t close, which meant that it would take nearly a week for him to reach that destination.  So, after traveling for a couple of weeks, he decided to take that opportunity to stay at one of the city’s many inns.

The information broker directed him to a reputable one. 

Zeke didn’t use that information, though.  He knew his powerful divine energy had put a target on his back, so he thought it was smarter to find his own inn.

That turned out not to matter at all, though.

Because after a few more miles, he felt someone following him.

No – not just one.  There were at least forty of them.  Twenty from both directions.  And the street had become conspicuously clear.

He sighed.

Apparently, he was going to get to fight after all.

“Have to.”

“What?” he asked Eveline.

“You have to fight.  You don’t get to.”

Zeke shrugged.  “Same difference.”