Broken Multiverse (Redone in The Broken Multiverse)

The Multiverse

I probably can't explain what we saw, but I'll do my best.

We popped up in front of a window, and I gasped.

What looked like a massive cup free floated in the middle of space, so big it made the star right above it look like a basketball. The base of the cup was covered in a lush jungle. Even from this distance I could see the planets orbiting the star. Spaceships were lined up like a New York traffic jam, except that it was millions of miles long. As I watched, the ones in front reached a giant metal ring with blue energy inside. Once they passed through a white streak of light shot off faster than I could process. But the most beautiful thing in sight was the background it was set to. There were stars all around, and instead of the black base color of space it was filled with the beautiful, vibrant colors of nebulas. Little patches of what looked like circles of space floated around, and I could see ships bursting from them, stretching the edges like some kind of membrane. I put my hands on the window, in awe. I could fell little wet spots at the edges of my eyes.

"What is this place...?" I asked softly. Creed spread his arms wide like a salesman showing off his product.

"Welcome to The Multiverse, my friend. That cup is The Chalice, the cup that hold The Water of Life, the source of everything in existence. This is the Capital of The Watchers, Terra Prime, the first planet. That star you see there is the first ever star, trillions of trillions of years old, and it's just as bright as the day The Chalice birthed it. I wish I could have seen it." Creed said almost reverently. I pointed to the floating spheres.

"What are those?" I asked.

"Other Universes. See, Terra Prime isn't rooted to a single universe. This entire system and The Chalice lay in the void beyond the Universes. They may look small from here, but each of them is even bigger than your home universe. These are some of the first ones ever formed." He responded. My jaw dropped. We were passing like two a minute. How fast was this ship?

"Creed, what is this? How is this ship going this fast? What...?" I asked, trailing off. He patted me on the shoulder.

"You'll find out soon enough. We should be to Terra Prime soon. This is gonna be crazy for you." He said, walking away and whistling some tune I didn't recognize.

I turned my attention back to the multiverse right in front of my face.

.  .  .

"You're gonna have to get a change of clothes. Fit in, ya know?" Creed told me when we landed. I looked down.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" I asked.

"No one on Terra Prime wears overalls anymore. You need something like a brown leather duster, a t-shirt, a pair of combat boots, work jeans, and a holster for that gun. It's common for Watchers to carry a weapon at all times." He explained, opening a closet. He handed me each item as he talked. He motioned to a curtain.

"You can get changed behind that. I'll be waiting." He said. I frowned.

"How are you gonna blend in?" I asked. He cocked his head, and his body morphed into a bald eagle. I just shook my head, and walked behind the curtain and quickly changed.

Eagle Creed landed on my shoulder.

"This is better. Don't have to walk." His voice came in my mind. I sighed, and opened the landing ramp. My breath caught for the second time today.

The city was beautiful. It looked like a futuristic Greek city, sparkling white. The landing pad led into a bustling marketplace, rich with the clamor of hundreds of people talking at once. Mountains floated high above, waterfalls streaming from them and crashing down into a river that fell away next to the pad. A massive statue of a man in flowing robes stood in the middle of the town, it's head above the clouds. Three other statues stood with him. One of The Watcher, and while the two intact ones were in pristine condition, the other two were broken in half and graffitied.

"What happened to those two statues?" I whispered to Creed.

"The Patron Gods of the other two Empires. The three gods were tight until some kind of border skirmish that devolved into a full on war that's been going on for thousands of years." He explained in my mind. I slowly walked up to the ruined one. I could tell he used to wear a fur clock. It was split vertically, one arm intact still. He held a spear of solid gold in that hand. Some runes were carved into the base. Inexplicably I felt almost... drawn to it.

"Who was this?" I asked.

"No one. It doesn't matter." Creed said a little too quickly. I frowned, but didn't push it. "Head to the library. I need to meet with someone. It's just up this hill. You'll know when you see it."

I looked around as we hiked up the hill, amazed.

"Don't do that." Creed said.

"Do what?"

"Stare like that. People are gonna ask questions. That's the last thing we need." He explained. I nodded, and kept my eyes forwards with great difficulty.

I pushed the library door open, and Creed immediately took off. I could hear people shout in surprise. The librarian looked at me.

"That your Eagle?" He asked gruffly. I nodded, and he chuckled.

"Always wanted one. Enjoy your time in the city." He said, looking back at his book.

"I'll be done in a few hours. Read up, I don't care. Just stay in the building." Creeds voice came. I sighed, exasperated. What was I doing here? I was in the middle of enemy territory, their capital planet nonetheless.

I walked the aisles, looking at the countless rows of books. One caught my eye. A big, dusty, leather bound book. I pulled it off, grunting at its heaviness.

The cover was coated with dust. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years. I blew, reading the title: "Gods of Asgard: A guide to the gods of the Nine Realms." I frowned, opening it to a random page. A picture of a pot-bellied, shirtless man with a hammer greeted me. In one hand he wielded his hammer, and in the other a tankard. His long, ginger beard reached right under his chest, and his hair was a wild mess like "I got out of bed looking good this morning." The caption under it read: "Thor, God of Thunder, Son to The All-Father. He wields his mighty hammer Mijolner, Bane of Giants. Destined to kill Jōrmangander at Ragnarók, and die from the World Serpents venom."

"I don't think I've seen anyone pick that book up. Who are you?" A voice came from behind me. I whirled around to see another librarian toting a stack of books in her arms. I laughed nervously.

"My names... Pearl." I said, using the first name that came to mind. She nodded.

"I'm Sariah." She said, shelving the books.

"Was that statue outside Thor?" I asked abruptly. She burst into laughter, and I felt my checks burn in embarrassment. The guy outside had a staff. Thor had a hammer.

"No, that was Thor's father, Odin. Then he betrayed Neptune." Sariah explained once she caught her breath. I nodded as an unexplainable warm feeling of safety expanded in my gut.

"You're not from around here, are you?" She asked. I hesitated, then nodded. She pulled some books off the shelf, and dumped them in my arms.

"While you're here, read these. Learn up." She said. I held back a sigh. I nodded my thanks, and looked for a place to wait for Creed.

Hey, this was a fun one to write! I don't have a meme for this one unfortunately, but I do wanna bring up my mentions of Asgard: Not the Marvel ones, or God of War. Actual Norse Mythology, not a media version. Odin is gonna be important later, and so is the statue of the other three gods. I wanna see if y'all can figure out who they are before I reveal it.