The Old Scholar

Inside the ASEAN Federation’s FutureTech R&D headquarters in Singapore, Leilani was busy sorting out her managerial duties as the head of the entire place. 

Looking over several proposals from her subordinates she was quite pleased with what they were suggesting 

“A gravity manipulator…interesting,” she said as she looked at one of the blueprints given to her

“Although I cannot fathom what type of setting would need such a thing, I can clearly see people using it in ways I cannot comprehend. Maybe I’ll green light-” 

As she was pondering there was a knock on the door and her secretary came in. 

“Ma’am a representative from Halcyon Pharmaceuticals is here to see you. He says its urgent” 

“Halcyon? Ahh…fuck…why are they back” she grumbled as she rubbed her forehead in an annoyed fashion

“Should I turn him away or?”

“No no, they’ll just annoy me later. Send him in” 

With a nod from the secretary, a few minutes later a blonde man entered the room with a suitcase, he was handsomely dressed and was also a very handsome man. Most women would swoon and fall in love at first sight but Leilana was more into girls rather than men. 

‘Why would they send someone as young as him?’ she thought as she watched him enter the room 

‘It’s either he is their new yesman or he is some arrogant prick who won his position through Daddy dearest’ she continued to think as she eyed the man up and down.

The man strutted in with a smile as he reached out to grasp her hand, intent on a firm handshake. 

“No thank you, just take a seat” she declined as she gestured to the seat beside him 

The man was caught off guard and had a frown but quickly sat down on the chair next to him. 

“I believe I had already told Halcyon that I will not be selling the recipe for the Superdrug Z5-22 developed here in my institute mr?”

“Riley. James Riley, and as a representative of Halcyon we would like to know why?” 

“I already told the last westerner who came here asking just that, and the one before him and the one before him. I am getting quite fed up you know, so read my lips. I. DON’T. INTEND. TO. SELL. And for the reasons, well there are multiple personal reasons but the main one on a non-personal note is that your company just like all the others, will hike up the prices to the point where they are unobtainable by the masses!” Leilana scoffed at the man in front of her, rolling her eyes as she unleashed her verbal salvo 

“Oh…oh. But we would like to offer-”

“Shut it I do not want to hear it!” 

“I do not intend to give the rights to ANY private entity, I am giving it to the government where they can use it to better effect” 

{!}

“Please Miss Augusta we can negotiate on this” Riley began to plead

“No, I do not intend to nor do I wish to continue. Goodbye” Leilani finished as she turned away from him and got up from her seat. 

“The door is that way, I am a very busy person” she pointed at the door to her office. 

Standing up and quickly leaving, Riley booked it out of her office, he was moving so fast that Leilana’s secretary bumped into him as he left. 

“What did you do now?” she asked a very visibly peeved Leilani. 

“Just being annoying. Can you go down and get me some more hot chocolate? I need something to soothe my nerves” Leilani asked her secretary with beady eyes

Her secretary giggled as she nodded and left, leaving only Leilani the only person on the entire floor. 

“Hmm? Tsk idiot left his suitcase” Leilani cussed as she saw the suitcase still resting against the chair. 

TICK TICK TICK TICK

Picking up the suitcase, Leilani heard a faint ticking noise 

“Oh fuc-”

BOOOM!

………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Nhh…my head” Leilani grumbled as she sat up, opening her eyes 

{!}

“What the…” she remarked as she saw that her surroundings were no longer the office she was just in. 

Instead, her eyes were looking at a sea of stars in the sky, all of them shining brightly. While she was standing on a shimmering sea of clear water, that glowed a soft pulsating midnight blue. 

‘Amazing’ she thought as she continued to stare at the infinite beauty of the night sky before her. A sense of calm and relief washed over her. 

“So I died huh….fuck” she lamented as she gazed down and saw that past the clear water she was standing on, was her home. 

Suddenly, all the emotions of grief, sadness, and anger hit her all at once, causing her to fall on her knees and begin to cry. Her wails and moans were as loud as they could be as she let her emotions flow, tears streaming down her eyes as her heart and soul were unleashing everything they were feeling. 

“Mama…Papa…everyone…”Sobbing into her hands, Leilani could only feel an unbearable and indescribable sadness in her heart as the images of her closest friends and family came to mind. 

Surrounded by nothing by a beautiful look into the cosmos and a watery miasma that separated her from her home, Leilana spent the next couple hours sobbing and crying, understandably distraught and lost at what she was to do, lamenting over failures on her end to fulfill promises that were supposed to be kept. Looking up at the sky, the glittering and beautiful sights could not help her and her internal plight. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

A few hours passed since Leilani had come to, now curled up into a ball, laying on the watery floor that did not wet her in any way. She felt indescribable emotions swirling inside her like a violent storm. While it was violently raging a while ago, the storm inside her had now subsided but was still vicious, replaced by lament and silent regrets. 

“Are you ok now?” a gentle feminine voice called out to her

{!} 

Her eyes widened as she quickly sat up and looked around, seeing no one around her, she suddenly felt as if she was being watched. An expression of worry and fear on her face as she kept looking around, trying to find the source of the voice. 

“Please, no need to look so scared, here. I will reveal myself” the voice continued 

To Leilana’s right, she saw a figure shining an ethereal white that was taking form, making her stand up. The light had gotten a bit bright, forcing her to shield her eyes from it by lifting her hand in front of her face 

“Oh shit! Too bright? Right, right, I’ll tone it down” the voice quickly remarked as it saw what she was doing. 

The blinding light quickly subsided, allowing Leilani to get a glimpse of who was speaking, 

{!} 

To her surprise, it was a woman. To be exact, an elven-looking woman from the many fantasy novels she had read, from the golden hair and fair-looking skin to the curvaceous and busty bodice that they were always depicted with. Even the single white cloth acting as clothing that was on the brink of revealing her body was exactly the same as the elves she had read about. 

‘Oh shit, she’s hot’ she thought while hiding it behind a very surprised face

The goddess in front of her however blushed as she clearly knew what the mortal in front of her was thinking, feeling kind of embarrassed as that was the first time anyone had told her that, whether it be other mortals or her celestial friends who lorded over other worlds. 

“Ahem…welcome to the void Miss Leilani, I have been watching you” the goddess began, with the same warm and gentle voice as before. 

“You…you were watching me? Gasp then that means you-” 

“Ye-yes, I was watching you cry, I stayed silent as I know that mortals need time to express their emotions, and watching you, I saw a lot of them” the goddess quickly answered her by raising her hand. 

“Oh…but I have a question” Leilani said with a straight voice and as much of a straight face she could muster 

“Speak your mind” 

“Can you send me back?” she asked with a face full of hope and worry

The goddess simply shook her head, leading to Leilani closing her eyes and dispensing more tears as she collapsed back down to her knees, sobbing as she felt her hopes slip away and more grief and sadness took over her. The goddess, not one to simply stay on the sides now that she was seen, walked over to her and kneeled next to her, and embraced her. She stayed silent as the mortal clung to her and began crying even harder than before, with her own expression turning into one of sadness as she felt pity upon her. 

A few more hours passed as Leilani was allowed to pour out everything, with the goddess staying silent and acting as a shoulder she could cry on. 

“Sniff…sniff..ughh…

sorry about that” Leilani apologized as she looked up at the goddess while wiping away her tears. 

“Don’t be, I can only fathom how painful this experience is for you. As a being created to be a god, I only have a limited understanding of the concept, but I know enough about it to know when it is better to stay silent and listen rather than speak” the goddess replied with a heartfelt smile as she wiped away some of the tears Leilani had missed. 

“I never got your name…your holiness?” 

“Pfft, hahaha, My name is Fortuna, the Goddess Fortuna. And I am the Prime God in charge of this world and you can just call me Fortuna” Fortuna giggled as she introduced herself 

“Fortuna…I see, but what do you mean by “Prime God”? Does that mean that there are other gods below you?” Leilani asked as her eyes widened 

“You're still very sharp considering what you’ve just been through. But yes, as my name suggests I have gods who are my subordinates” 

“Does that include?” 

“Oh yeah, the Norse gods, the Hindu gods, the catholic, basically every single god, except that Scientology shit, that is just crazy. Every single god that has ever been talked about in the many religions of the world, they are my subordinates” Fortuna explained with a smile as she stood up and offered her hand that Leilana quickly accepted. 

“So wait, if those gods are below you, then what is your job?” 

“Oh, that is very simple. Managing the world and making sure that reality does not unravel. You may not believe it but it is a very draining process, needing a lot of complex equations that if a mortal like you had even glanced at, would fry it many times over” Fortuna continued as they began walking. 

“Ohh…but I’m still pretty much confused” The mortal scientist expressed with a slightly embarrassed expression as she looked at Fortuna 

“Pfft. Don’t worry, I will explain” Fortuna assured her as she conjured up a table and two chairs for them to sit in

“Let me explain the basics, at the top of this pyramid, there is me. The Prime God, the creator and caretaker of this world and its universe, my job is to make sure that the structure of the pyramid does not unravel due to the ever-shifting frequencies and shockwaves in void space that threaten to unravel it. It’s also my job to create pantheons that can be worshipped by the residents of the world to add stability to the calculations and finally, ensure that the Eternal Evil does not make its way into the world” 

“I’m sorry but Eternal Evil?” Leilani asked with a confused expression

“Summary of it is that it’s an entity as old as time and it can cause ruination on any universe it can seep into. Any other explanation will fry that mind of yours” Fortuna quickly explained 

“Ah. I see, but does that mean you are responsible for the weird practices in those pantheons?” 

“Ah. I can see how you would think that the short answer would be yes but also no. Since I have to spend most of my time as a Prime God on doing the tasks I had mentioned earlier, it is very hard for me to keep track of what my subordinates are doing, I had given them orders to get as much “Spiritual Energy” as needed to help calibrate and maintain the calculations needed to keep reality from collapsing, and if it took human sacrifice then it was a necessary risk. Although I abhor it and when I had found out, I gave stricter orders to never let it happen again as protecting an empty world is not fulfilling as a Prime God” 

“But humanity continued to do it though” Leilana added with a wry smile 

“Yeah. that was a problem for a time…fuck” Fortuna replied with a disappointed face 

“Umm anyway, are there any other worlds like this one?” Leilana quickly asked to try and change the subject. 

“Oh yes, there are other worlds, well, universes under the watch of other Prime Gods. let me explain. You know what a snow globe is no?” 

“Yes I do” 

“Ok good, here take this notepad, it’s best you take notes” Fortuna said as she conjured a pen and notepad, handing it over to Leilani 

“Now, imagine this, one universe is the equivalent to one snow globe, now inside the universe there is either one world that houses life, or it can be a few worlds or even the entirety of that universe. The worlds that hold life are what we call Prime Worlds. These worlds serve as the command center and the center of that universe where the Prime God watches over the rest of the universe. Are you still following me?” 

“Yes, a universe is akin to a snowglobe and the Prime God’s main job is maintaining and protecting that snowglobe from harm, that universe can also either house multiple worlds full of life or just one” Leilani quickly answered 

“Good, now I will continue. Now a Collection is a grouping of more than twenty to seventy worlds inside one larger snow globe. This larger snow globe is called a Shell and this Shell is connected to a larger network of shells that house other universes that are under other Prime Gods. The Shell we are currently in is designated Shell BV-9254 and there are about fifty other universes that are in this Collection. Now an important bit, A Prime God can be given two or more universes to handle at the same time. And a universe can have two or more Prime Gods that watch over it. For example, I have two Prime God friends in another Shell their names are Histy and Harcun, they watch over a single world together because they are twins. And as for me, I manage two universes, one is this modern one called Universe B-17 and it has more than eight hundred Prime Worlds that support life. Then there is the other one called Universe B-18 that currently has one Prime World called Allagardinia, are you still following?” 

“Yes. Although that was a lot of information, I believe I got it” 

“Good. do you have questions so far?” 

“I do, if you Prime Gods create the gods below you, who created you? And why this system in the first place?” Leilani asked with a curious expression as she looked up from the notepad 

“Ah” Fortuna exclaimed 

“Well, considering your mortal brain…Ah, here is a very very diluted version, removing all the complexities and mind-frying explanations” the goddess began with a smile 

“Before the creation of this entire system, we Prime Gods once held multiple worlds under our guidance, numbering from the hundreds to the millions. We were created by a being simply known as the Curator who served as the person we reported to. He would dictate to us what was expected from us gods, beings filled with compassion and understanding, beings that knew the responsibilities placed upon them and how to properly use our power” Fortuna continued as she looked up at the cosmos above them

“I was one such god under him, it was a glorious time I tell you, worlds upon worlds of people in different eras of life, filled with smiles, epic struggles, and epic stories, countless amounts of different and unique stories that could fill trillions upon trillions of books with the fascinating events. Many gods considered it the golden age of this entire dimension, but like many good things, it all comes to an end…but this one came violently” Fortuna added but as she went on, the nostalgia on her face was filled with regret

“What happened?” Leilani asked with even more curiosity in her voice, visibly on the edge of her seat

“Well, the Eternal Evil happened. As we were riding our high and enjoying ourselves, the entity as old as time known as the Eternal Evil began corrupting the most loyal and steadfast of us gods, turning us from the caring and compassionate higher beings we were, into arrogant beings that lusted for more power. Then one day, sides were made. On one side we had the Curator leading the Prime Gods loyal to their creator fighting those that were now under the influence and thumb of the Eternal Evil. Then, as if fate wanted, the War of The Heavens broke out. The side of the Curator trying to bring back his creations to the fold and restore balance, while the other side now calling themselves The Chosen was hellbent on controlling all the remaining worlds and then ultimately destroying them as they needed the energy from these worlds to sustain themselves” the goddess continued, the regretful expression deepening on her face 

“And I take it, you were on the side of the Curator right?” Leilani asked as her curiosity turned into concern

Fortuna simply smiled before she sighed and shook her head

“No. no I was on the side of The Chosen…I…” Fortuna answered but a regretful expression took over her as she covered her face and sighed 

“I was responsible for many of the deaths of my fellow Prime Gods…being one of the strongest in The Chosen

” 

Leilani’s concerned expression turned into fear as she slightly moved her chair back, something that Fortuna saw and simply nodded, Leilani seeing the goddess watching her, her eyes widened

“No, that’s not what I-” she stammered

“I understand your reaction…I would do the same too…but I will continue” 

“The war was fierce, with trillions upon trillions of worlds and universes and countless lives lost…many of the Prime Gods that were loyal and against, had died, with their deaths triggering the destructions of the worlds under their care. Eventually, the Curator was able to battle the first god who had fallen to the Eternal Evil who had named himself The Avatar of Salvation. The Curator despite being a being above the Prime Gods he created, was mortally wounded thanks to the power of the Eternal Evil. When the Avatar of Salvation died, the grip that the Eternal Evil had over us instantly vanished, being banished back into the void where the entity resided. Although we were influenced, all of us realized that the actions we committed were things we did willingly, many asked for execution as a way of atonement, while others were sent to a new dimension called “The Watcher’s Abyss” where they were tasked with staying and watching vigilantly in a dimension that was designed to act as a first line of defense if the entity were to ever resurface. With many of the Prime Gods stationed there going mad and committing suicide” 

“Where you sent there?” the mortal asked with baited breath

Fortuna simply nodded as she looked Leilani in the eyes and the mortal could see the remorse and grief in the eyes of the goddess. 

“I served my time there…watching many of my fellow guilty comrades go crazy and kill themselves as they cried out to the Curator for forgiveness and hoped that their deaths would serve as atonement. We had a loyalist Prime God always watching over us, and that god was known as Valora the “Traitor Killer” as she had earned her name by killing scores of us during the war” 

“I honestly believed that I was going to spend an eternity inside that dimension until one day Valora told me that I was about to be given a new assignment. Stepping out of the dimension I was briefed about the whole new system in place, designed to ensure that a 2nd War of The Heavens would never occur. I learned that a new supervisor of the system was a being called The Manager I do know not her background, but from what I hear, she is second in power only to the Curator and her job is to watch over us as the Curator has gone into seclusion” Fortuna continued, with her face twisting into a sadder expression than before when she mentioned what had happened to her creator. 

“I was given the job of being the Prime God for these two new universes as a new “atonement” program as The Manager had begun plucking out Prime God traitors who were previously amazing at their jobs as Prime Gods” 

“Ahh…I see, I cannot imagine what you must be going through” Leilani spoke after a few moments of silence, her head trying to digest all the information. 

“Which is what brings me to seeing you personally Miss Augusta. The second world I manage is currently in a stagnating state. The geniuses I put into the world constantly forget their purpose and lose their way, which is thanks to how the system of Free Will was designed. This has led to the world failing to produce enough “Spiritual Energy” I need to keep its calculations stable and keep it from imploding, it also does not help that the gods I created for this specific world are rapidly losing their power as the “Spiritual Energy” gained by believers is lessening quickly thanks to the people dying so rapidly. I want you, a person who is an entity of one in a million, a person who excels at the fields of academia, and physical, I want you to be the savior of this world” Fortuna proclaimed with a serious expression 

“Wha-what?!” Leilani exclaimed, very much surprised

“To explain further, I will give you anything you require to help me in this endeavor. Magic that can rival the gods of the pantheon I created? Done. Mastery of every single fighting style and mastery of every weapon? Done. Anything you need to help that world is at your fingertips” Fortuna told her as she grabbed her hands and clasped them in hers. 

“Wai-wait wait!” Leilani cried as she was still processing everything. 

“Ok. You want me, to head to this other world under your jurisdiction and help it. Be more specific. What do you want me to do? How should I go about it? And what will be the circumstances I get if I go to that world?” She continued as she locked eyes with the goddess. 

“Oh, for starters I want you to not only raise the education standards, I want you to make sure their minds are brighter than ever before, then I want you to make sure that the people live longer, introduce them to proper hygiene, teach them proper medicinal care, how to survive and fight better in the wilderness and thrive by making their farming techniques better. Then I want you to raise the technology base that is nonexistent as the people there are too dumb or illiterate to process complex thoughts, introduce lumbering techniques from your world, introduce them to metal works, show them mining, show them smelting. Basically bring about a new age with new enlightenment. Then I want you to advance their thinking on magic, make them think of new spells and incantations, how to use and apply runes and inscriptions, the works” Fortuna answered her as Leilana began writing it all down. 

“Then I want you to help build kingdoms, empires, the ideas of nations. I basically want you to turn this backwater of a world that is dying, into something that is great. You do not need to fight in any wars, nor do I want you to pick favorites. I want you to be an equal provider of knowledge and know-how to everyone living there. And while you do all of that, I want you to help bring back the worshipping of the gods in that world to bring back the much needed “Spiritual Energy” needed to balance out the calculations” 

“How you go about it is your own choice, I can make you immortal or semi-immortal which is being immortal but having the option to forgo it all together when you feel that the time is right. But considering the fact that the entirety of your body was vaporized in that blast, you will have to start off as a child. But you needn’t worry about having no magic or nor skills” 

“And why is that?” Leilani asked as she was very concerned about those last words 

“I will have the gods watch over and protect you until you turn thirteen years old. When you turn thirteen, we will meet again and I will drill you like hell until you become the strongest person in that world, then and only then will you be able to finally begin your task” Fortuna finished with a serious expression. 

A long silence followed after Fortuna’s last statement, with Leilani thinking very hard about her choice and trying to find other options. But in the end, she knew that this was the best one. 

“One request though” Leilani told the goddess

“What is it? If it is within my power I can grant it” 

“I want a wife” 

“Huh?” Fortuna let out a confused sound at her words

“You heard me. If I plan on doing this for god knows how long, I want a wife who can stick with me through thick and thin. And will be as strong and capable as me, even as smart as me” 

“Ok…I can do all of that, but the smarts are impossible as like I said, your intellect is one in a million” 

“Then make them at least as smart as a researcher from my institution” 

“I can work with that. All you need to do is help me mold this wife of yours in my mortal creation kit then I can send her down with you” 

“No, not like that, I want to find them. I do not want their entire existence to just be that they were created specifically for me to stay by my side. I want them to experience their own lives and I want to meet her someday in that world. I want it to be genuine” 

“Uhuh…I see…I understand your meaning but if it were other people, they would just have their partner glued to them at all time” Fortuna told her with an understanding expression. 

“But I will say this though as my standards are kind of biased because manga and fantasy novels from my world have literally shaped my taste in women” 

“Uhuh…go on” 

“The requirements are simple so here they are” Leilani handed over her notepad with the following points written down

• Must be as voluptuous and busty as you
• Must be as affluent in magic
• Must be amazing at martial arts
• Must be amazing at using various weapons 
• Must have a kindhearted and caring personality 
• Will be the bigger spoon in bed

And several other things were written down which made Fortuna’s eyes widen with confusion before her expression changed into one of semi-understanding. 

“Well, if it means that you get to complete my request. This is uhh…small price to pay for it” 

“Exactly! You get to have this world turn around and I get an amazing wife somewhere down the line!” Leilani exclaimed with excitement

‘I think I got the wrong human’ Fortuna thought as she saw Leilani’s expression

“Alright. Well, I guess I will send you down there now. Goodluck Miss Augusta, we shall meet again when you are thirteen, remember that” 

“I will, better make sure you create that wife for me! and goodbye!” 

With a snap of a finger, Fortuna engulfed Leilani in a pillar of light that whisked her away to her new life, looking down at the notepad of requirements, she let out a sigh as she scratched her head

“I still have much to understand when it comes to humans”

 

A/N: Hello! so I hope you enjoy this chapter and do not worry, there will be chapters for this story but it will be slower when compared to my main series. I hope you understand, and as always Stay Safe and Enjoy your day!