Chapter 139 - We Need to Talk (1/2)
”Qingyue, close that door please. We need to talk.”
Doing as Mesa asked her to do, Qingyue went and closed the door to her room. Turning around, she saw Mesa snap his fingers, causing a barrier to extend from him and engulf the entire room, her included.
”Qingyue, what I am about to tell you is one of my greatest secrets of all and the level of this secret's importance even transcends what you already know about me. But be warned, once people find out about this, the very existence of everything and everyone you even remotely care about will be endangered. Once people find out about this, they will do anything they can to get their hands on it. So even though this secret will be protected by the fact that you cannot speak about it, because of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, it does not stop you from writing about it, so do not ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER! write about this. Got it?” Said Mesa very seriously.
Qingyue, knowing Mesa and that he is not a joking at all, nodded fearfully.
”Alright then. Sit down please. And just in case, I have erected a sound isolation barrier, ensuring that nobody can listen to what I am about to say.” Said Mesa as he and Qingyue sat down opposite of each other. Showing her the Infinity Gauntlet on his right hand, he first started with a question of his own: ”Qingyue, before I start explaining what this thing is. What do you know about the Seven Heavenly Profound Treasures?”
Confused at this sudden question, but pressing on anyways, Qingyue answered with what she knew: ”A little bit to be honest. I know that there are seven of these treasures and that they are the most supreme treasures of all. But I don't what the treasures are or what makes them so supreme.”
”Well then, allow me to fill in the blanks.” And so Mesa told Xia Qingyue, who was attentively listening, all about the Seven Heavenly Profound Treasures, what each of the treasures is capable of, how they complement one another, how they stack up against another and how powerful they are against one another.
”Ok, I now understand everything about the Seven Heavenly Profound Treasures. But why would you tell me about it?” Asked Xia Qingyue confusedly.
”So that you can have a frame of reference when I tell about this thing.” Said Mesa, holding up the Infinity Gauntlet.
”But first, you should know that the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword, the Yamato and the Excalibur, are equal to one another in terms of power.” Said Mesa.
Xia Qingyue for her part, was totally shocked silent with her mouth hanging open in, unable to say anything. For a good few seconds, she couldn't utter a single word before she finally regained some semblance of sanity and with a shaky finger, pointed at Mesa, who had taken out the Yamato and Excalibur by now: ”Y-y-y-you mean… those… swords….”
”Yes, indeed. These two swords, Yamato and Excalibur, are just as strong as the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword.”
”Then… you can take over the world by yourself right now! You can take over the entire God's Realm right now!”
Hearing the doozy of an answer made Mesa just straight burst in laughter. And judging by the fact that Qingyue did not look happy, it seemed like she was taking it as Mesa laughing at her: ”Hahahahahaha….! Ahhh… I am sorry Qingyue. I am not laughing at you, I swear. It's just that I had seen this answer of yours coming from miles away and I was just waiting for you to say it.”
After he finally finished laughing did he look Qingyue in the eyes again and said: ”Qingyue, do I really look like a guy that wants to take over the entire world? You know what I am? I am just a guy from another universe that does his thing. You know, I just do things. And some of those thing that I enjoy doing, is fighting and beating strong people. And other things are showing those who think they the strongest, those who think they are the most important and especially those who are relentlessly scheming to gain more power, just how pathetic they are. One thing I especially love doing, is seeing their faces contort into despair when I show them just how much weaker they are compared to me and watching them as they see their entire world view be destroyed.”
This part Mesa said with childlike glee in his eyes and a maniacal grin on his face, making Qingyue, who was feeling the serious atmosphere suddenly getting awkward, back off from him.
”Ahem… ahem! Anyways, forget what I just said Qingyue and let's go back to what we were talking about.” Once again showing her the Infinity Gauntlet: ”This here is my, and basically this entire universe's, greatest treasure. This thing is called the Infinity Gauntlet. While this gauntlet itself is not so much a treasure, it's the gems that are embedded inside the gauntlet that are the true treasures. These two gems that you see embedded into it are called Infinity Stones. And these two are the Power Stone and the Mind Stone.” Said Mesa.
And so, he went on to explain to Qingyue about the Infinity Stones. He told her everything about what they look like, what their powers are and what someone can do when they have all six of the Infinity Stones. And most importantly, he told her the dangers of what happens to those who touch a n.a.k.e.d Infinity Stone, who really shouldn't have touched it. Suffice to say, Xia Qingyue was once again shocked into silence, with her mouth hanging wide open. When she finally regained her ability to think straight she said: ”No wonder you were so adamant on keeping this a secret. If anyone finds out about this, they will never stop before they get those Infinity Stones. When Grand Asgard Mistress said that you were monster, I knew that she wasn't kidding. But she and everyone else have no idea just how much of a monster you are in fact.”
”Now that you know, it is imperative that you absolutely keep quiet about this. Even if you have the Tongue Eradication Seal on you right now, it can't stop you from sharing tiny dispersed details or writing about it. So do not ever say the words Yamato and Excalibur. And most of all, do not ever mention the words gauntlet, stones and infinity in the same sentence. You know what! Do not ever mention them at all! Got it!” Said Mesa, placing all the emphasis on the keeping quiet part.
”Yes! Yes! Got it! I will stay quiet about everything you just told me!” She immediately said placating Mesa's anger.
Seeing Xia Qingyue acting so distressed, Mesa knew that he took it way too far: ”I'm sorry I scared you Qingyue, I really am. It's just, you've always seen me walk around with a devil may care attitude. But the truth is, for all of the awesome power I have, I am deathly afraid of the wrong people finding out about my secrets and hurting those I care about to get to me. Granted, now that I have the Mind Stone, and therefore the ability to read people's minds, I can know exactly who knows about me and put a stop to it immediately. But somewhere in the back of my mind, that fear still persists. And it's probably not gonna go away anytime soon.”
”Mesa I... I… don't know what to say.” Stammered Xia Qingyue, visibly struggling to find the right words.
”It's very simple. You don't have to say anything. In fact, you can't say anything.” Said Mesa, looking at her with cheeky smile on his face that Xia Qingyue saw through immediately and thus calmed down knowing Mesa was back to being himself.
Standing up, she was just about to leave the room so that Mesa could focus on the Frozen End Divine Arts. But just as she was about to leave, she turned around and asked Mesa: ”Mesa, one thing confuses me. If you have two Infinity Stones right now, which already makes you the one closest to being a real god ever since the Age of the Gods, and all six stones means that you will have become a veritable god, doesn't that mean that there was no such thing as fate that drew you to the Frozen Cloud Asgard and wanting to make it as great as the Sacred Grounds?”
”No Qingyue, no. Even if I have all six of the Infinity Stones and have the power to do everything I want, there are still a power that transcend the universe and which the Infinity Stones have no control over: 'Fate'. You may not believe it after everything you've seen and after everything I told you, but fate truly is a power that transcend everything. You, me, and everything in the multiverse. So to make a long story short, it really was fate that drew me to you and to the Frozen Cloud Asgard, but it has been my decision to make it as great as the Sacred Grounds.” Said Mesa.
For a long time, Xia Qingyue just looked him in the eye and said nothing. Satisfied with his answer, she turned around and left the room. Once she had left the room and left Mesa to his own devices, did he finally have time check JARVIS and see what the notification was about.
[”Sir, congratulations. You have just completed objective 1 for the quest: Frozen Cloud Asgard.”]
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4 YEARS AGO
The week after he first arrived in the ATG world, Mesa was sitting in his cave after a long day of training. He was grilling some deer meat on a fire, when all of a sudden.