Daily Monday Short: Matt 04

Shifting a few continents from a Barren World was nothing to moving a Prime World through the Void. As of now, Matt has done both. He preferred the ease of transporting folded continents to the moving mass of a thousand suns. The size of each was incomparable to the other. Matt Smith fought a few of the residents of the Void who failed to recognize him. The eternal hunger of those that waited in the dark spaces between realities was never truly fulfilled. Given enough time, it drove almost every creature into the depths of madness.

Jennifer, his Shard Companion, was treated to enough reality-breaking horror that she fainted halfway through the trip. Matt hadn’t placed her into storage to expose her early to the Brown Note that void entities exuded naturally. It would strengthen her mind against the truly titanic horrors that might be seen later. Once she reached her breaking point and surpassed it, he folded her into one of the dimensional pocket Planes of Darkness he kept anchored to his form.

While his Shard Companion didn’t make the whole trip conscious, it was enough to begin generating a resistance within her blood to the Eldritch Elements. Given the nature of most entities that dealt with Blood Element, it was excellent progress. Matt expected Jennifer to transition quite adeptly into the higher uses of blood. Reaching the upper Tier would extend her lifespan enough to be a decent dent in the endless existence of his life.

The secondary fact that he would be able to upgrade her from a mere Shard Companion to a Hand of the Dark was an excellent bonus.

Hands were few and far between, even with his power. Matt allocated them almost exclusively to Prime Worlds. They were a brutal necessity to farm resources, guard mana tributes, and keep the behemoth [Outsider] fed. While reality was functionally infinite, it was far harder to find places that could serve as truly endless feeding grounds. Most facets closer to the Anomaly were guarded by jealous Pantheons that wouldn’t brook intrusion.

Crystal Walls were a prevalent defensive mechanism used by anything that realized their importance. It was hard to find a prime feeding ground that wasn’t claimed. While the outer edges of reality along the Anomaly had more meals, they were nowhere near as filling.

Barren Worlds were like crackers if a single Prime World was a well-prepared buffet. The mana produced, circulated, and used by the Anomaly flavored existence with a unique taste. It was the reason the [Outsider] had been willing to make a deal with him. Sparing a paltry amount of power to Matt for a constant supply of tasty meals was a no-brainer for the entity.

Exiting the final Black Hole Gate, the sight of a Prime World almost wholly enveloped in Darkness drew his eyes. Every powerful territory under his control was ruled with precision by Pact-Bound Avatars. It was a great deal of work on the cultivation planets due to the awakened World Mind that inhabited such places. However, almost anywhere else further from the center of reality had far weaker defenses. As a consummate predator, he knew how to choose his prey wisely.

This bastion wasn’t more than a speck of dust closer to his sister, but it was a decent place for his parents to gain power. Placing the stolen continents was the work of a few moments. For safety, he turned them into islands off the coast of the mainland. It wouldn’t do to expose people to the cutthroat politics of the continent too early.

Raising his eyes to the sky above, where a Solar Furnace fueled the requirements of the Prime World, he smiled. The screaming Deities trapped as fuel to burn in the endless night always brought a delighted light to his eyes.

Matt pulled Jennifer out of his pocket dimensional Plane and tossed her into the cold water. This far from the pure light of the Furnace ice was common in the ocean. The water’s chill kept all but the hardiest of the Plane of Water’s residents at bay.

“Ack!” Jennifer spat as she sprinted out of the water onto the sandy beach. Without another word, she dived into the sand, emerging as an earthen creature of indeterminate Element.

“Rest time is over,” Matt said, turning to face a towering pillar of flesh in the distance.

“Rest time?” Jennifer mumbled in confusion.

“Yes. Now we start training for real. Titans, Monsters, Demons, and Gods will fuel your ascension. You will either reach the status of a Hand of the Dark or die.” Matt said with a warm smile.