Shirtaloon
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Chapter 923: A Long Few Days
🕑 Added 2024-07-19 23:00:05 +0000 UTCKetevan drove Anna and Susan through the city. Back when Anna had lived there, the domain had only just been established. The vampires were storming through Europe and no one knew how reliable the protection of Jason’s power would be, especially in the absence of the man himself. The humans changed by the transformation zones were still new to their conditions and pouring into clan territory as refugees.
Years later, they had clearly integrated. As the car passed an outdoor café, more eyes were on the strangers in the car than the man with green scales and cream on his nose from an iced chocolate. Susan pointed out a beautiful winged man flying over the rooftops.
“It’s like the bar in Star Wars, but French,” Susan observed. “I love it. I wonder what the art scene is like, here.”
“Small, but has some unique aspects you might find fascinating,” Ketevan told her.
“It all looks so normal,” Anna observed. “Not long ago, you were all hidden in an astral space while vampires ruled here.”
“A lot of people are still in there,” Ketevan told her. “Out here, it’s closer to how the rest of Earth is. The astral space is more overtly magical, and a lot of the clan grew up there. It’s the world they know.”
“But the clean-up and restoration after the vampire occupation seems to have gone quickly,” Anna said.
“Nigel will explain that. He’s been talking about owing you a debriefing for a long time. He just couldn’t do it while you were in the US. He’d have been snatched up at the airport, and even if he snuck in, you were always being watched. Suffice it to say, by the time we emerged, there were no signs of vampires in clan territory. We’ve been expanding out since, clearing out blood farms and purging vampires.”
“You mean killing them,” Susan said.
“Yes,” Ketevan agreed. “I mean killing them.”
“Are we sure they’re not redeemable? Susan asked. “Craig Vermilion was always so nice.”
“And still is,” Ketevan said. “I had lunch with him last week. We have a large vampire population in the Slovakian territory. Jason’s power shields them from the effects that turn the others bad. But the ones out there… the weak ones are feral, now. Little more than animals with an insatiable thirst for blood. The more powerful ones are worse. They kept their minds but lost anything approaching a conscience. They know what they’re doing to the people in those blood farms, and they just don’t care.”
“If their numbers were smaller, perhaps something could be done,” Anna said. “There are more vampires and more victims than were ever made public. The official numbers are nowhere close to accurate. The evacuation of Europe is the largest mass-migration event the world has ever seen. So many were lost along the way, turned into ghouls, blood slaves or more vampires. Most ended up in the farms, though. The food supply. The unreleased casualty estimates put the numbers close to World War Two.”
“But a lot of those people have been rescued, right?” Susan asked. “From the blood farms?”
“Yes,” Ketevan said, “but many more remain, still feeding the vampire population. Now that the global militaries aren’t operating in Europe, we’re holding the people we rescue in the astral space here in France. We didn’t put them with the vampires, for obvious reasons. We have medical professionals helping as best they can, but the physical and mental trauma they’ve suffered is indescribable. I don’t even know how someone would come back from that. Once relations are re-established with the wider world, we’ll have them join other refugees from their respective countries.”
Ketevan sighed.
“I wanted this to be a fun catch-up,” she said. “At least for a little bit. I suppose I’ve gotten used to the clan being isolated and surrounded by a continent of vampires. I can see how that would be alarming to visitors.”
“What happened when you had to hide away?” Susan asked. “Were you safe?”
“Very,” Ketevan said. “I’ll leave that for Rufus and Jason to explain, but the short version is that Jason needed to seem weak.”
“To deceive the vampires?” Anna asked.
“The vampires don’t worry him. He was apparently fighting something like gods at the time, and he needed to trick them.”
“Something like gods?”
“The actual grim reaper, amongst others. Or so I’m told. It all sounds extremely far-fetched, but far-fetched is what we do here, so who knows? Not my department, fortunately. As I said, Rufus and Jason will explain.”
“That would be a first,” Anna muttered.
***
Ketevan was driving them to the home of Erika Asano and her husband, Ian, located close to the administration tower. The tower was a looming edifice of renaissance architecture, the most overt divergence from the original design of the city.
As promised, Anna and Susan’s first engagement in the Asano clan was social. Now that Erika and Ian’s daughter had moved out, they lived in a modest townhouse in the shadow of the tower. The front faced one of the city’s major thoroughfares, leading to the admin centre. Behind the townhouse row was a shared parkland.
Also present at the gathering was Nigel Thornton, who was apologetic about never delivering the report she sent him out for. His deference marked a sharp difference to the other gold-rankers she’d met for her work, of which there had been quite a few. The nations that boasted them were not shy about reminding people.
Their hosts had set up a picnic lunch on the patio, with a rustic wooden table and benches. They watched families play in the park, and a bunch of kids playing cricket. The food was astoundingly good, courtesy of their chef hostess, but Anna recognised very little of the food.
“We farm the ingredients in the astral spaces,” Erika explained. “The magic is rich, and the agricultural land is varied. Too much to be naturally occurring, but ideal for producing all kinds of food.”
“You didn’t have trouble providing for people during your exile, then?” Susan asked.
“I think exile is a harsh term,” Ian said. “From our perspective, it was a safe haven while the world outside was struggling. Hundreds of millions of refugees, pouring into Asia, Africa and the Americas. From what we’ve heard, it caused a new wave of food shortages after things had finally recovered from the monster waves.”
“Magitech largely solved the supply problem,” Anna said. “The farming stacks produce a lot of food cheaply. The real issues around the food supply are political and economic. It’s the largest shift in how agriculture operates since the introduction of electricity and internal combustion. The entire industry is being turned on its head, at least in developed countries. So much of US agriculture was centred on corn, and that’s collapsed under the practicalities of how the world works now. A lot of the American Midwest has gone the way of the steel towns forty years ago. Australian agriculture fared just as badly, if not worse.”
“Then there’s the refugees themselves,” Susan added. “The population of the United States grew by half within a year.”
“A logistical disaster,” Anna said. “And that was moderate, compared to places with large tracts of unoccupied land. Canada, Australia, and large portions of Africa, China and Russia. Any place that magitech could make liveable quickly.”
“Australia’s population is now seventy-five percent European refugees,” Susan said. “The political chaos that resulted is still going on. Australia has always had an unpleasant intolerance streak around migrants and refugees, and that really spilled over in the time you were all hidden away.”
“We heard about the turmoil,” Ian said. “It’s hard to believe they took in that many people.”
“There was a lot of international pressure,” Anna said. “A lot of resistance, too. There was a double dissolution of government, for only the second time ever. Things still haven’t settled.”
With the conversation moving to the heavy topics they had previously avoided, the group moved inside. They discussed a mix of global events and events within the clan. The clan members had missed a lot in their isolation, even before fully withdrawing into the astral spaces. As for Anna, she was currently the eyes of the world on what was happening in Asano territory. Some still believed that Jason was dead, while others saw his impending return as a Sword of Damocles, poised over their heads.
Nigel finally got to tell the story of the day the vampires who had claimed the Asano territory died. He was the sole witness, and his account of Jason’s wrath sounded like an Old Testament story.
“…the blood rain turning into this colourful, sparkling light, destroying what was left of the vampires and their minions. Then I was alone, the last one standing in a city that stank of death. Until Jason showed up. Or his avatar, however that works. It seemed like he was really there.”
“They don’t smell the same,” Erika said. “The avatars. Jason smells like flowers and cut grass. Taika, too. Something about being a cosmic entity. His avatars don’t smell of anything, and they feel like rubber to touch.”
“What did Jason say to you?” Anna asked Nigel.
“We talked about having power, and the people who wanted to use it. He saw that I was gold rank and deduced the problems I’ve been having. He said it was a lot like what he went through, during his time here. And we talked about the possibility of my team and I joining the clan.”
“Which you did,” Anna said.
“Yeah. The clan has been quietly smuggling our families in while we participate in rescue and reclamation.”
“Retaking the areas around Asano territory,” Anna said.
“Yes.”
“There is some concern about the clan’s ambitions towards Europe.”
Erika snorted her disgust.
“Our ambitions are dealing with the vampires and the people they’re still holding in their blood farms. You just told us about the refugees from here clogging up the infrastructure across the planet, but the people in charge are already looking to divvy up Europe between them.”
“You say that,” Anna told her, “but we’re sitting in what was French territory before your brother claimed it for himself.”
“It wasn’t French territory,” Jason said.
Everyone turned to look at him in the doorway. He was holding a plate with a sandwich that looked to be made from the leftovers of their lunch. He looked at it with a frown.
“I forgot that I can’t taste things with my avatar,” he said sadly, sat the plate on a side table and walked into the room.
“Don’t just leave things sitting around like that,” Erika scolded.
Jason groaned and the plate floated off the table and out through the door. He moved to join the others and cloud rose from the floor to form a chair under him as he sat.
“It wasn’t French territory,” he said again. “It was vampire territory. And I didn’t ask to take it. I didn’t even know it was possible before Slovakia, and I had no choice anyway. I had to take them.”
“You had to?” Anna asked.
“Yes. Do you know what a transformation zone is, Anna? It’s a scab, over an open wound in the side of the universe. Mostly, the wound heals and the world limps on. But some scabs aren’t enough. Left alone, the wound under them will rip a hole in the side of the universe. The resulting rupture would annihilate the Earth, at the very least, and probably the solar system. And that’s assuming it didn’t chain react from there and start tearing the whole universe apart, although the likelihood of that is small. And it would be stopped if that started happening.”
“By you?”
“Not my area, and beyond the scope of even my real power. There’s an entity called the World Phoenix who would cauterise the wound from the outside. The side effects of that would have been drastic, but pointless to all of us, who would have been dead.”
“You do this, Jason,” Anna said. “Grand proclamations. Fate of the universe. But all we have to go on is your word. You never tell us enough to check for ourselves.”
Jason nodded.
“Back then, I was more inclined to kill you all myself. Fortunately, I didn’t have the power to conquer the world back then.”
“Implying that you do now?”
“Yes.”
“This isn’t the same world you left, Jason.”
“And I’m not the same person who left it.”
He sighed.
“Anna, we’re falling into old patterns here. I’m falling into old patterns, and that’s not going to be productive. I know that I never explained myself the way people wanted, but I hope you understand why.”
Anna gave a reluctant nod.
“I remember a lot of conversations where I had to explain that the Network people that came after you this time were another faction that had gone rogue. I can’t blame you for refusing to work with us anymore. Given how it all ended, it seems that it was all just rogue factions, acting in their own interests. I suppose you saw that before I did. The clarity of an outside perspective.”
“Anna, I believe that you were never like that. That you were trying to do the right thing. That’s why I want to work with you now. And to start, I’ll answer any and all of your questions. About back then, about now. I’ll offer you what proof I can, when I have it. But I’ll warn you now, there are some things that will be hard to believe, and all I have for you is my word. I can show you more once I arrive in person, but I can’t wait for that. We need to start preparing now.”
“For what?” she asked. “Rufus Remore said you wanted to work with me, but he didn’t say why. What is it that you want?”
Jason nodded contemplatively, more to himself than to her.
“My intention today is to help you understand that I will be coming back to Earth with unassailable power. Limitless, for most practical purposes. Anything I want to do, I will be able to. Anything I don’t want to do, no one will be able to make me. Conquer the world, erase nations. Eliminate every head of state on the planet in an afternoon. Whatever threat the people of this world think I pose, I can promise you that it is much, much worse.”
“Alright,” Anna said. “Let’s suppose that I believe you. Why am I here, listening to you tell me that?”
“Because I don’t want to be the thing that terrorises the world. I don’t want to bring down governments and make nations collapse. What worries me is that the fear of my doing so will lead the powers of this world to force my hand. My first goal is to avoid having my return to Earth destroy it.”
Anna looked at Jason, eyes examining him as her mind ticked over.
“You really think that you’re that important? If Rufus hadn’t come out and told everyone that you’re some great big threat, they wouldn’t have thought it.”
“No,” Nigel interjected. “They’d have tried to exploit him, just like before. Anna, I don’t think I properly conveyed what I saw that day. It wasn’t the power of a man. It was the power of a god.”
Anna looked at Nigel, then back to Jason.
“Do you think you’re a god, Jason?”
“That’s complicated. I think we’d better get into those questions; it’s going to be a long few days.”
Comments
Soli116
1/3 of his astal nexus is god, the other 2 being gab and astral king.
Diego Rossi
Shirt posts from GMT +10, Australia/Brisbane, so probably he know of what he is speaking. Even without that, a section of the Australian population is intolerant of imigrants that aren't WASP.
Donald A
I think the point was. A ruler is always in the public eye and often a part of a functioning societu. Where a god is assumed always present but not visible until the really need to be. Remember Dominion said he went amongst his people, incognito.
Frank Morgana
I can't recall if the Earth astral spaces are linked completely. Like when they both retreated inside, could they move between? And when Jason fixes the bridge, will they be absorbed into his astral kingdom
mzetqbbtyf
Cheap and nasty shot about Australians being intolerant of refugees, dude.
Havics Child
The correct answer to her question on if he's a god is No. Gods are limited to a single universe, he is a universe and can visit and have influence any of of them.
ABTelford
No, that’s literally stated as being what Jason resolved when he created the first half of the bridge and traveled to Palimustus, bringing the monster surge start with him
Michael Noack
I actually would have enjoyed that conversation, skipping the fun bits where someone realizes Jason isn't bragging but warning isn't a mercy.
ShieldWolf
Lady deadpool good luck on your first TV daybue in the next 4 days
Andrew Johnson
"The astral space is more overtly magical" I wonder how powerful the people in the astral space are. If they had more magic it would stand to reason they could have a lot of well trained gold rankers that the rest of the world will meet when the FAFO messing with the clan..
Andrew Johnson
Not long to wait now
Kalanaere
The correct answer is always Yes
Kalanaere
The correct answer is ALWAYS Yes! If anybody ever asks if you are a God you say YES!
ABTelford
“Do you think you’re a god, Jason?” I snickered as I read the answer- not ‘no’ or anything simple, oh no, he says “that’s complicated”. I snickered as I imagined the reaction of Anna and everyone else! 😏
JL McDonald
The reader being spared the long few days of questions based in non-magical existence is a mercy. #gratitude.
LolGamez
Same energy as Big E from Warhammer trying to say he isn't a god, while simultaneously doing God things.
C D
It's complicated because I am both figuratively and literally a universal entity that has the requirement that I maintain the universal balance. By the way I have to do that for forever. BEFORE then, I need to connect our worlds with a bridge that I now more fully understand. That's what I did on my way out of here. And now I need to do it for real thankfully I have unlimited cosmic powers. Ah shoot, I always end up boxing myself in by saying that I have unlimited cosmic powers.
ShieldWolf
I feel like the monster waves are going to start happening on Earth instead of Pallimustis till the magic levels settle.
Jon
I truly hope he just tells her and all the people that come with them to just prepare for increases in magic leve globally. Can't mine my secrets if your fighting monsters full time...
Daniel Wills
I could see it going the way of Shako (pre-space-prison) and his homeworld. Disappear for a few millennia and then come back to see how things have gone.
deadly chibi
same but for alot of people its just way to vauge
N8rtotPlayz
Good luck with that. I was away for almost a month. I couldn’t take the suspense any more. Alternatively, you could just set a weekly reminder to check the last three chapters. After three days the suspense will either get to you, or you become used to not knowing. The suspense got to me! I put aside other things so I could indulge three times a week. I’m at peace with my decision. Good luck with yours.
Jordan Rogers
We already know he basically admitted that he only had two options with dominion, either being the god of the world or its ruler, I kinda think his preferred method would be absentee ruler who will be the avenger for anyone who takes advantage of the weak too much or try to be the head of earths adventurer society. But who know shirt will probably just surprise us again…
ShieldWolf
"A LONG FEW DAY'S" Is my exact feelings waiting for the audio book for book 11 to drop
ShieldWolf
Don't forget the miracle he also bestowed on every being on every universe that had the potential for essences. He COULD be so much more then a universal god. More akin to the astral beings power scope then any normal god. I have a feeling there where his system administrator power is leading him.
ouroboros
It's important to never think of yourself as a deity unless you want to end up like those astral kings. 😆
Douglas Davis
No she's always been unlikable. She has questioned Jason's integrity since day one, alternatively calling him a liar or crazy or both. Frankly, Jason should punt her to the moon.
Douglas Davis
I disagree strongly with one point. Jason did try to explain things multiple times, Anna just refused to hear it or believe it.
The Hyperbolic Cookout
No, show her his diamond-ranked badge
Joanna
I can’t help but note that a very efficient and helpful next step to this conversation would be for Jason to show her his character sheet. She should be familiar with the System now, she’s seen her own info with it so she understands how accurate it is. It could save quite a lot of questions
MillionLittleE
I thought he did a good job explaining what happens when people mined reality cores with the stilts analogy
Alex Schellenberg
What a franken-metaphor you employed there. Also, you probably shouldn't have dogs.
Hayden Leech
Man. Anna has become kinda unlikable.
StarkRG
That's certainly not how I saw it. She's contemplating joining him, so she's grilling him to make sure it's what she should be doing.
BloodStorm
I can’t wait for him to get to earth
Twilight Knights Cosplay
It won't even be a footnote, even if Gerrling was alive he's far beneath Jason's current power, and as a shambling corpse? He's nothing more than an ant that he may step on accidentally only for Jason to peer down at the fifth he stepped in.
Twilight Knights Cosplay
He's just making sure he doesn't have to conquer Earth for it to happen.
Twilight Knights Cosplay
I can totally imagine a scene where he proves it to them by just making and killing avatars over and over again. Or by lowering the power of the avatar to iron rank or even normal rank and having them kill it only for Jason to rematerialize a second later in a brand new avatar. These aren't prime avatars, just projections of his consciousness in his domain, but they are real enough to humans' sensibilities. Sure they might try to logic their way around with thoughts of 'oh they are just illusions, or puppets' but if they feel his aura as it gets snuffed out, feel the pain as he dies only for him to reappear they might actually start to get it. Plus it'd be a nice harkon back to when he lost his clue explaining magic to his mother and started drinking bleach and drilling holes into his hand. Only this time, he'd be in control of his emotions and just having a bit of fun. ;)
Hons
This
deadly chibi
Not going to lie I'm kind of excited to see zombie gerling vs nexus Jason
deadly chibi
Hegemon earths God of sandwiches and wrath
Valmorian
Thanks for the chapter! always like some chardev
Kconraw
Thx for the chapter
Blake N.
It showed when he started doing that back during his battle with GABs
Blake N.
I don’t really consider this one a cliff. He’s just alluding to a few days of exposition that will be skipped probably since we the readers already know it all
Blake N.
None probably, but he may kill some golds
Blake N.
There are two separate phrases at work: you’re used to the phrase X is different from (or than) Y. The other phrase being used is X marked a difference to Y. In the second phrase, difference is a noun
Ligeia
I never hated Anna that much, I just wanted to shake her at times till her teeth rattled and yell at her, " Stop being so dense, Jason not only told you but showed you over and over again what he meant, but you've refused to believe him!" She was always too busy listening to her bosses, who lied to her and backstabbed her nearly as much as they did Jason. Drove me buggy!
David
Notifications have been down for me for a couple of days.
Xiggurat
“His deference marked a sharp difference to the other gold-rankers…” Is it an Australian-ism to say that one thing is “different to” another thing? This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed this in HWFWM. In the part of the US I’m from, we say that one thing is “different from” another thing.
Justin
Honestly, i want Jason to just put his dick on the table for the world to realize they don’t even have a seat at it. It’s the very nature of the people on this rock to be utterly stupid about anything they don’t understand, and honestly need to be treated like puppies. They fuck up and need their noses rubbed in it a few times before they either smarten up and be good, or attack somebody and get put down.
Landsraad
Patreon didnt alert me to this chapter and the notification went into my gmail spam unlike all the others... odd
Rod
Doesn’t seem like anna learned anything over the last decade she fell right into old habits
Douglas Davis
Anna is a perfect example of failing upward. She just keeps doing a horrible job and getting promoted for it.
IURY TAIA
Really wished Jason's last words to Anna would have been, " God's die over time, I am eternal. "
Hodge Wasson
I get the Anna hate, I really do. She's questioning and antagonizing our sandwich lord; however, I think she's both being more kind and more practical than we're giving her credit for. There's a VERY good reason Jason wants to recruit her. She not only understands, but is a known player in the politics scene. Could she just tell Jason "Ok, I believe you, now let's see what we can do"? Sure, but that kinda defeats the purpose of her expertise and need. She's a politician. By questioning Jason the way she does, she is probably trying to judge his frame of mind and get a feeling for how he'll respond to certain lines of questioning. By poking the bear, so to speak, she is able to both better judge what he's like now, and give him a soft introduction to the kinds of probing he'll get from other Earth politicians. She's also probably probing whether or not it's a good place/group for her and her wife to relocate to. I don't believe it's all an act, some of her doubt is probably genuine. After all, claiming anything near Jason's abilities and what his existence actually is would be completely absurd in the realm of what people on Earth know and understand. Nobody likes politicians who are so overtly acting political, but I think Anna is doing well with her limited scope of understanding and information.
Douglas Davis
I can't keep doing this. Every single short chapter is a cliff hanger! I think I may turn off my subscription and return in a few months when chapters have built up to a comfortable cushion.
StarkRG
Exactly. The didn't believe his claims when they *weren't* outlandish and utterly ridiculous, then he showed them that at least part of what he said was true, but still didn't believe the rest. Since they weren't going to believe him anyway he just gave up trying. He's actually gotten a lot better at explaining things, but what he has to explain has gotten even further from their perception of reality that it's going to take a lot of effort for them to comprehend, let alone believe.
Chloe
Tyftc
BloodStorm
So how many god rankers will Jason kill before the world powers of earth leave him alone? At this point they don’t think golds can die
Matt Heineman
Right? With magitech farming, the US could absorb all of Europe and still not be crowded. The Midwest is MASSIVE. Combined with central Canada, that's so much land and space.
Youkai-sama
I know right! Like bitch, he Is. A. UNIVERSE. Not HAS a universe, IS one! Gawd! He eats gods for breakfast.
Iaxys
About half of the US landmass is completely undeveloped, so it's kinda weird that it would be excluded or even used as a contrast to countries with large swaths of uninhabited land, since it's kind of a lot. Not saying it's even close to being a leader of said undeveloped land(like Russia, Austraila or Canada), but I don't think most non-americans understand just how vast it is. And the majority of that is very habitable land unlike a lot of places used as examples.
BloodStorm
We need a world wide system announcement soon as Jason arrives to earth 🌍
Zachary Ross
Don't get me wrong but the relationship between Jason and Anna has always been difficult from the very start. Anna never understood what or why Jason and by extension Farrah were doing anything that they did when they were on earth. Jason never explained to Anna what or why anything. Anna was on team network, then on team protect humanity from dimensional incursions, then she was the United Nations liaison to the Assano clan. All of these jobs and tasks put her in a structural opposition to Jason, his mission to save the world, and the mission of protecting the Assano clan on earth. Jason is going to try to read Anna in, but Jason is terrible at explaining anything. I really wish Noreth wasn't dead because teaming him up with Anna would be really helpful right about now.
Anthony Sebastian
Honestly, I think it's valid that Anna and the rest of Earth don't fully understand the scope of Jason's power. Transcendence -- gods, GABs, etc. -- are so far beyond anything they usually deal with. They don't even have diamond rankers; as far as most of the planet knows, gold rank is the peak. From their point of view, it makes sense to not buy in completely to what Jason says. They have nothing by which to compare or reference his abilities too. His unusual powers could be attributed to the reality cores/dimensional spaces; they've never understood them, and as Anna said Jason never bothered explaining in detail (reasonably so). Yes, the world is different, yes, magic is a thing, but Jason still falls outside the parameters of the new world they've come to know.
Jacob Kraus
We all owe you a drink good sir. Way to bring out the Ghostbusters reference.
Rowdy Robby
Can we get am audio of Heath on patreon? I'd go gold.
Azwrix
Anna is everything I hate about big corporate and/or the government
AbyssalIceLord
"You think you're that important?" B***H! Hes talkin to you face to face from another fuggin universe!! Dear mother of Jason Asano!!!
Murigi
I see what @shirtalon did. “Power of a god” would have been such a kick ass title…but it’d have distracted us from the rest of the story. Amazing chapter!!
jacob butler
I feel like he is trying to explain so he can prepare Earth for the big invasion that Dawn and Mr North and Boris know about
WizardOfTheStyx
Well it’s his Universe so inside of his universe he is a god with near limitless power and omnipotence inside of his Domains. He doesn’t need to be the God of an Aspect when he is the Aspect itself
ShowBizGAL 1996
I though it was Peter... you could be right on this, though.
ReadingObsessed
Unlikely. Probably just political/ military territory for the purposes of incursions into vampire territory.
Fuzzy Wuzzy
I hate Anna again already
Mason Mckitrick
These get smaller and smaller every day, or my need for more grows larger
Chevy
Team biscuit will be next chapter so no resolution
Abigail Hale
I feel personally attacked by that cliff hanger 😅 Amazing chapter all the same !
Reed M
i definitely hear you, but i try to give her the benefit of the doubt in interpreting that at least some of that is her playing devil’s advocate
AbyssalIceLord
Ok....a cliff on a Q&A is a bit....silly lol
lucien rose
Here I am, just a man, dangling on the edge of my chair, asking you, TO QUIT TEASING ME! But it does hurt so good. I'm pumped for his return.
Kevin Anderson
So wait. Last chapter. Is Jason expanding territory of his domains on earth?
brian phillips
Biscuits
Paratus
Winston Zeddemore : Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!
Justin
Also I’m gonna be real upset if Jason has been on earth interacting as his avatar this whole time and we missed all of it.
Jason Markus
God of what? All gods have an aspect in this universe. So what is Jason the god of? Doom?
Justin
You little fucking tease. TYFTC!
Kelly
Yeah, that’s always bugged me about her.
Florian
As I said, Rufus and Jason will explain.” “That would be a first,” Anna muttered. True, that would be the first time Jason actually explained something.
Kelly
God, the continued provocation by Anna through her wording has always grated on me. I want to like her, I really do. And I hope after their conversation she can stop acting like such a twat. 🤦♀️
jacob butler
I am just trying to figure out how Anna can be so skeptical when he makes an airport and vehicles out of nothing like I'm sorry what more do you need convincing of I mean how many times does he need to come back from the dead she might as well be a flat earther
Lora Greenberg
I'm not a fan of earth's politics and using Jason for their own petty crap...Jason should bypass them and rebuild the bridge with his team
Donovan Aguinaga
"do you think you're a good?" No but everyone else does so I have to go with it
Johnkevin223
Ughhhh my balls are gonna be purple till the next chapter. Damn you shirt!
Scott McCarthy
Earth people, at least their politics and power brokers, are basically 5 year Olds who think everything works they way they feel it should work, and can not understand or listen to any other reasoning.
Kevin Anderson
Anna, on these kinds of subjects, everything is relative. And me relative to the powers of earth, gold rankers, magic tech is irrelevant.
SmokeJam
I need more of this conversation and I need it now.
jeffrey niski
I do love how Shirt really encapsulates the mental gymnastics earthlings go to when something challenges their world view at its basest level.
StarkRG
Rename it "Myst" and have a little, tiny island people can only reach by book.
David Cooper
I dunno. This is, in many ways, growing more confusing by the chapter.
Donald Spencer
I can't wait tell 12 comes out. 11 comes out Tuesday. Sigh. Lol
J W
He should just take over earth and turn the whole planet into a cushy cloud planet.
Roope
Oh yeah, I totally see jason acidentally killing earths religions by making earth materialise a god. I also see jason teaching said god how to do their job unless they have some instinctive thing to guide them.
David
They never believe anything he says if it doesn’t benefit them. They kept attacking Jason and then calling him a monster when they failed to capture or kill him.
Quex
So what's the second battle that Jason needed the bridge and gold rank to even have a chance of surviving? That a long ago teased part of book 5. Is the purity relic on Earth and Jason will have to actually fight the inheritor/god? Council of kings? Or is it secretly the native pallimistus essence users that will actually be the final boss when they decide to invade Earth?
StarkRG
Yeah, so she's torn between feeling that what he's saying is ridiculous and obviously a lie and knowing that Jason is extremely powerful and that he hasn't really told her any untruths as far as she's aware. On the one hand, it can't be true, on the other hand, it must be.
Duskysan
This is the answer right here
Leo
Damn. I grabbed an ice-cream and missed first spot :(
Jeff McCulley
If this is simultaneous to the other world…no.
David
Yeah, but now we get to imagine the conversation finally happening. I still don’t like her, but this is her chance to finally believe what he’s saying.
John Durrett
System Announcement: To all World and Faction Leaders. If Jason asks you to pull his finger, for the love of whatever gods you believe in - Don't. It will be the last smell ever to cross your pallet.
Jeff McCulley
Love it! TFTC, have a great weekend!
StarkRG
"No, of course I'm not a god, don't be daft. Gods are limited in scope and only last as long as their Universe. I have no such limitations."
David Cooper
Shouldn't Jason and Carlos have operated on Melody by now?
Tim
"Ray....whenever anyone asks 'Are you a God?' the answer is YES!"
pyrite jester
That's a hell of a cliff hanger to leave us with for the weekend Shirt. Guess we should just be glad you're not taking a break.
Joseph Nicholson
You win this comment thread
Julia
trying very hard to see this from anna’s perspective because if i asked someone if they thought they were a god and their answer wasnt an immediate and definite "NO" i’d run for the goddamn hills. not even out of fear just out of the belief that this moron needs wayyy more help than i can provide. anna annoys me because i know jason’s telling the truth and isn’t actually being a jumped up edgelord rn but ANNA doesn’t know that and if i were her i’d be tempted to kick his face in tbh
TobiDoes
I love how no matter how many times Jason Says i dont want this they dont believe him its like they are asking him to kill everyone
Harbby
Nooooo. I can't wait for Monday
JonO
Earth sensibilities already rearing their heads. I'm starting to think that Jason will bring the introduction of enough magic to bring in gods. And then everyone will suffer an aneurism concurrently and half the population will cease to exist.... in over 10 minutes? Lol seriously though, I think it might Hakeem as far as a much too fast intro to transcendence on earth
mhaj58
I actually got the first comment today, yay! I really hope Anna doesn’t try to get Jason into any system after seeing what it did to him last time. As said in Malcolm in the Middle; you can’t beat the system, but you sure can break it.
Ligeia
That was a very sad chapter. Thanks, Shirt, for pointing out yet again how delusional most of our national governments are and how unwilling to accept that they have to change. This story may be fiction, but there's a great big unpleasant chunk of reality in it.
Nergie
When someone asks if you are a God you say YES!
Cyranosaurus
Tftc
Sean Sheldon
Every time people from Earth talk to Jason I want to smack them upside the head.
Kelly
Lol youre all rabid. 😂 I love it.
MoonlitShade
Thanky chappy
King Kards
Soup
Raphael
Biscuits
John goode
1st Biscuits !!
mhaj58
Iced tea
Shup Idot
Biscuits
