Meddling The Omniverse

Chapter 26: 26. Fog-like Entity



"Where am I?" an entity murmured as it floated in the idle of an unknown path.

All it could see was that it was in the middle of a massive torrent colored in all shades of gray, spinning, twisting, and surging dangerously fast.

The entity couldn't even understand where the torrent was going. All sense of direction was obscured in this place, Is it going vertical, horizontal, or even diagonal, it couldn't tell. All it could perceive was that the torrent had no end in sight, and was moving in a linear direction.

Upon further inspection, the entity realized it was situated at a calm spot amidst the storm-like torrent. it then looked around to discover something different.

"My hands… they're fogs, or are they mists?" the entity stared at its 'hands' from a viewpoint he couldn't tell. It was just a tentacle made out of a gaseous material. It patted its chest with those 'hands' only for it to go through.

"Is my whole body just a fog?" the entity then swung its 'arms' across its midsection, "it is."

"How did I, Seth, get here? How should I get out?" The entity made of fog, also known as Seth, approached the boundary of the torrent.

"Agh!" He was shocked, it was zapped by something inexplicable. Although painful, the event brought something he almost forgot.

"I was just observing something special before my finger screwed me over…" As he remembered, Seth seethingly cursed, "If I ever get back home… I swe-ACH!?" Seth clenched his left chest and throat, or what he assumed to be since he was just a clump of fog.

His instincts told him it was because he was going to 'swear'.

My body reacted violently to something as if I was severely allergic to it. My gut told me what it is related to that 'swear' word, but let me test it. He thought as he momentarily became curious at his weird affliction.

"I SWEA-ARGH!" It was a bit stupid to do the same thing again, Yup it's the 'swear' word. He had to make sure.

Seth thought for a moment before shouting at the top of his 'lungs', "F*** YOU RING!!! FOR BRINGING ME INTO THIS ******** OF A ********* PLACE!!!" 

Seth cussed hard though his body didn't react.

It was not bad language or anger. then again, I did say them a few times at Aqua, but never this viciously and with this much rage. Seth concluded.

Now how about… Seth tested, "I promis-URGH! I vow-OUMPH!" Seth tilted from the pain.

Am I allergic to commitment? No, if I were I would have been in pain since that incident with Aqua, this affliction only triggers when I say it, so this body physically hates it when I 'verbally' declare something binding… like pledges, vows, promises, swears, and those kinds of things? Seth concluded with uncertainty.

Seth contemplated, Then why didn't this happen when I helped Megumin and Darkness weeks ago? Maybe it's because I wanted to help them? Or is it because I never specifically spoke those trigger words? 

Seth contemplated a bit more. Even if I did say those words, I was not serious about it. So do I have to say it with intent? 

Another question popped into his head. Is this something I got exactly after this whole debacle? Or was my body already like this since the beginning? Looks like I'll have to ask them later. He decided to inquire the organization about this when he got back.

"No matter what, I'm still going to lock you up," Seth pointed at his mysterious finger. He smiled as he didn't receive a backlash from saying it indirectly.

Going back to the real problem, Seth studied his current place before activating his clairvoyance that still strangely worked on his eyeless body. His fog-based body shined red and observed his surroundings.

The familiar strings of fate stretched from his body to the ever-raging torrent that imprisoned him, though while they were numerous, he noticed a few thicker ones.

Controlling his clairvoyance further, he reduced the strings to his strongest few. With nothing else to do, he used his power to get a read on what it would lead to.

From the foggy body, indescribable energy seeped out and stained the few strings of fate as information was absorbed.

"I see." he calmly replied while still being an eyeless fog.

I am inside the gateway that connects our organization to the numerous worlds we are connected to, exactly at the void between them. Seth concluded in his mind.

If he had to describe it in simpler terms, the gateway was akin to a mile-long bridge, and he was stuck exactly beneath the bridge in a spot no one could even notice. 

Teleportation was out of the question since he was inside the torrent of volatile fluctuating space, any attempt without appropriate measures could cause trouble of so much more. 

He attempted to conjure tools to measure the readings around this place and calculate a safe method. Sadly, his creation power didn't work in this place.

Every time he activated his creation power, the futuristic tool he created only existed for a blink before fizzling out of existence.

I'll find out about it later. There has to be a way, how about… He approached the torrent and slowly made contact with it.

Zaps of electricity were unleashed upon his foggy body but Seth still stood determined. As its intensity increased, Seth's focus on analyzing it remained unchanged.

Finally, he was rebounded straight to the middle of the safe spot into a puddle, luckily from that much damage Seth acquired useful pieces of information.

"This safe spot wouldn't last long, if they can't save me in time, I'll be shredded by the torrents. As in my body will be dismantled and strewn across the multiverse." Seth concluded. 

The fog arose from the ground and concocted a plan, it was risky, but still better than doing nothing. He thought.

Seth took a deep breath and activated his clairvoyance. He chose one of the thicker strings as a guide and plunged into the torrent.

In an inconspicuous bedroom, a man with long black hair and pale skin sat on his bed. He took a glimpse at the sturdy-looking jacket that was hanging near him.

"Jiraiya's back." He sighed.

"Tomorrow marks our first day on a mission together. This war... well, it's quite foolish, isn't it? But, it does present opportunities for my plans to advance even further. Such is the nature of things."

He opened a hidden compartment next to his bed and pulled out a scroll, he read it, and peals of laughter erupted from him.

"This jutsu intrigues me. I always knew they hadn't done their due diligence on this jutsu, wasting its true potential. Only I possess the power to elevate this jutsu to its true potential." He spoke as he stored it back in his hidden compartment. He did a multitude of hand signs and an Eastern-like magic seal wrote itself on the hidden compartment, becoming invisible and undetectable by anyone other than himself.

With nothing else to do, the pale-skinned man tucked himself in bed to let the sweet embrace of rest take over, he has a war to go through tomorrow.

This doesn't feel right… the pale-skinned man thought as he observed something odd in his dream.

The sky is pitch black and the ground is grey. A place that is unfamiliar to him

He noticed that in a dream, his perception should not be this clear. For a dream to be this lucid… and for me to be this cognizant… this means one thing...

Orochimaru sensed something as he quickly turned around. A foggy black substance suddenly welled behind him like a small water spout. 

Orochimaru stood vigilant as the welling puddle converged and arose like a living being to the height of three meters. Spots of bright like sparsely illuminated its body as a solemn voice reverberated throughout the realm, "Greetings fated one."

Its body swirled and glowed red before speaking, "Pardon my inattentiveness, this self is on an endeavor to grasp your being and this world you lived in."

*PAK!PAK!PAK!* A sound was released as the pale-skinned man launched a storming assault on the being with his superhuman strength, landing on the other side in a crouching position.

How devious… I felt nothing from the strikes, meaning this should be a genjutsu… Orochimaru licked his extended tongue, his attack dealt nothing to it.

"I'll commend you for your assassination attempt. Using this genjutsu to trap my mind while your colleague did the dirty work of killing my unconscious body…" He congratulated as he observed the pitch-black fog.

A clicking sound was heard from the entity, and its color turned back to pitch black before it greeted itself, "I have successfully gleaned your name to be Orochimaru, a master magical warrior or 'ninja' of the Hidden Leaf Village. Thus, I, Seth, a lost deity, extend my salutations to you."

To come up with an unconventional introduction like that, is it trying to buy more time? Did it notice that my place was laced with traps and protection? Orochimaru analyzed.

"Can we have a formal conversation, sir Orochimaru? With the possibility of a life-changing offer for you." the entity made of fog spoke.

I'll take that as a yes. They must be trying hard to break through. Orochimaru stood up straight with a smile.

An explosion of energy was released from Orochimaru as the whole black sky cracked under its pressure.

Orochimaru smiled at the entity as everything turned white.

*Gasp!* Orochimaru bolted from his bed with sweat trickling on his forehead. He had just done the technique used by many ninjas to break through a genjutsu.

Where are they? Orochimaru picked up a kunai from his bedside table. He scanned through his room again with a certain energy coating his eyes.

He left his bed, surveyed his surroundings, and found no change in his room. 

"This is not an assassination, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru flicked his body towards the sound, and the moment he did, his eyes widened in shock. 

The fog-like entity he had dismissed as a 'genjutsu' was floating right outside his window, an ethereal and malevolent presence.

"A multi-layered genjutsu! Just when I thought I got out of the first one with the conventional method, I was still trapped in another even more realistic one on top of it! I don't know if your existence is meant to taunt me or something, but I'll give you praise for ensnaring me in this never-before-seen technique! Too bad for you, I learned something forbidden to counter this!" Orochimaru declared with frenzy and fighting spirit. Without hesitation, the energy inside Orochimaru's body formed an intricate eight-sided trigram on his heart.

"Your attempt is sadly futile," the entity, now more distinctly visible and exuding an aura of dread, spoke in a voice that resonated with ancient power.

"Nice try, but I'll win. Don't worry, you are worthy enough to witness this kinjutsu! I must extract this never-before-seen genjutsu from your memory! Hehe! Don't worry, I'll put it to excellent use!" Orochimaru smiled as he stabbed the trigram with his hand.

He closed his eyes, basking in the imagined future where this mysterious figure cried in anguish as his kinjutsu did its job. Sadly, that didn't happen.

"I told you it was futile."

WHAT!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!! For the first time in a while, Orochimaru was shaken so hard that beads of sweat completely drenched his forehead and back.

"As I stated before, that forbidden technique, or kinjutsu you speak of, is a fine creation that you stole from a prodigy of another village." The entity's voice grew colder as it phased through the window, its form now towering and more defined, radiating oppressive energy that made Orochimaru's skin crawl.

"This kinjutsu was made to cripple any opponent who cast their genjutsu on you. It has a condition that you must also be under the enemy's genjutsu to activate it."

A sliver of panic arose in Orochimaru's heart as the entity continued, its presence growing more ominous with each word.

"The kinjutsu will seal part of your chakra for months in exchange for permanently putting the enemy genjutsu user in a vegetative state," the entity said, now hovering directly in front of Orochimaru. Its eyes, or what seemed to be eyes, bore into him with an intensity that made him feel exposed and vulnerable.

"As it towered slightly above his point of view, Orochimaru had to raise his head to meet the entity's gaze, its presence becoming palpable and suffocating.

"This self may not know if this is to your fortune or misfortune," Seth paused, the air around them growing colder and heavier.

"But this is reality."


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