Chapter Text

Monarch 5.1

I found myself once more standing before Queen. She reclined on a throne of onyx, and she lazily regarded her court. From the ceiling, bound by chains of black midnight, hung two entities. 

The first entity I recognized as Apollo. He did not appear healthy. Long spikes had been driving through his temples and out from his eyes, which were then curved and bent through the links in the chains. Were it not for his pained grunts, I would assume him dead. Not much made sense in this space, but those wounds ought to have been fatal. From the spikes, black veins ran down and across his gold skin, leaching to pasty white. Tar ran down his bare skin and dripped to the floor in slow rivulets that carried flecks of his flesh with him. 

It seemed that regeneration was not always a boon.

The second entity was much more vocal, and demanded attention. It was the fool god Dionysus. An oversized meat hook had been driven through his stomach, and up into his chest. As he bled gold, creatures of shadows danced beneath him and collected the ichor in open mouths and outstretched tongues.

<Statement: You have arrived.>

I felt her words come from both everywhere and nowhere. I envisioned so much more than the simple sentence conveyed. I had arrived here, and here was a space reserved between liminal dimensions, where Queen and I could both manifest. Just as the Divinities in Tenkai existed everywhere and nowhere, so to did we in this space. Though, given the whirlpool in the floor where monsters both emerged and sank from, I would imagine this to be closer to hell than heaven.

“I died again?” I asked. 

I remembered at the last second that Queen preferred appropriate tagging, but I knew that she would know what I meant. She scoffed, and waved at an empty throne beside her, decorated with skulls and an octet of limbs for a back.

<Statement: No. Goddesses do not die.>

It was my turn to scoff. I had started as a human, then a parahuman, but never once had I been a Divinity. Queen read the disbelief in my features, or my thoughts. We did share a soul, afterall.

<Explanation>

Apparently, when she had ‘taken care of’ Apollo, she had infected him with a viral agent that she had picked up from [BROADCAST] with several of her own tweaks worked in, largely based on the Abyssal Shadow she had connected to. The viral agent had laid the pathways for us to inject our thought processes into the liminal space.

But that caused me to ask a different question: “Were we the ones that actually caused the ‘sun’ to dim? The ‘crops’ to fail?” I asked. When I had first heard the accusations, I thought them to be baseless superstitions. But perhaps I assumed incorrectly.

<Statement: Infection.>

It appeared that we had in fact caused the sun to dim and the fields to corrupt. But that made no sense. Even if Apollo was a God, and not some trumped up two-bit parahuman, there were other Sun Gods. Surely one of the others would have descended, or have taken over Apollo’s duties?

Queen growled in frustration, but it was more of a directed thought than a sound, or perhaps could be better described as an impression of a sound. Things were strange here.

<The domain itself was infected by our viral payload and would serve as an additional vector for us to spread.>

“You forgot your tags there,” I smirked.

Queen closed her eyes and sighed, and then flipped me off. Which was odd behavior for a Power or Passenger.

<For a Shard. And I think you will find neither of us remain unchanged from events, and our merge.>

[Query: What happened after Dionysus killed me, and why is he here?]

<Correction: You were not killed. Your essence resides in the same space as my own, and I did not die.>

“Alright sure,” I said. [But what happened, and why is he there?] I pointed at where Dionysus hung.

Queen smirked. <He volunteered to Host us.>

Apprehension and concern blasted through me. Would that mean that we would make him a para-god? Would I be trapped here and forced to watch, never again–

Queen scoffed. <Statement: It was a joke.>

My apprehension and concern only grew. Since when could shards, basically trumped up computer–

<Irritation!>

-understand or appreciate humor? But then I supposed that our merge had changed both of us. But even if Dionysus had donated his ‘body’ to us, that did not make us Divine, nor did it mean we could leave this space. I wanted to hold Tiona. I wanted to hug mother. I did not want to be trapped here!

<We are not trapped!> Queen insisted. <Our body is undergoing modifications.>

I groaned. The last time we had undergone modifications, we had ended up greater monsters than ever before.

<Those changes were practical!> Queen defended.

[They were hideous!] I insisted. I sent a message packed with all of the revulsion I felt from my own reflection, to the way others reacted upon sight of me.

<Why would the opinions matter from non-Hosts?>

Of course. Of course Queen would not appreciate the social stigma. 

<Not true! Shards are incredibly social within our Gestalts and communication matrices.>

“Then help me gain social credit!” I insisted, sending image after image of how pretty people got more mileage from every interaction.

Queen narrowed her eyes. <Query: Why would we need enhanced mammary glands when we have already selected a partnership that will not result in reproduction or the necessities therein?>

I blushed, but stood my ground. [You never know…]

Queen refused to back down. <Query! Would we also want monthly hormonal cycles and menstrual→

“La la la!” I shouted, interrupting her.

<Query: Concede?>

I growled in exasperation. “Alright, yes fine!” I shouted, throwing my hands up. “But make sure we’re pretty at least?” [For Tiona.]

Queen rubbed her temples and nodded. <Though I suspect Tiona will appreciate us regardless of our appearance.>

“Us?” I asked with a hint of jealousy.

<Reminder: Union and merger.>

“I am not of the mind to share.”

<Everything we do is shared!>

I was not ok with that, but if the alternative to the merge was death, then I supposed I had no right to complain. But that did not mean that I was about to let Queen seduce Tiona. Images of giant spiders and Tiona flashed across my imagination like a persistent nightmare.

“Gross!” Queen shouted, summoning a black plush pillow and throwing it at me. <Statement: Shards are Asexual.> “Just–don’t–ew…” She shivered.

It was finally my turn to smirk. “Are we really a Goddess?” I asked.

She shook the last bit of revulsion and visibly excised it as a bubble that split off from her face and floated away before getting sucked into the whirlpool. At least I assumed it was her revulsion. Otherwise, I would think she was just messing with me. Which was not an impossibility, come to think of it.

“Yes, we are.” Queen answered seriously. “We used our previous corruption of Apollo’s Domain and a sacrifice of Dionysus to fuel our transformation.”

“But why?” I asked.

<Statement: Power. Security. Reversal of Entropy.>

I had trouble arguing with any of those concepts. The more power was generally the better. Assuming it was used responsibly. And the only way to ensure that was to control it myself.

<To Administrate it ourselves.>

“Exactly!” I said, sharing a grin with Queen. “But if we’re Divinities, then that means we have our own Domain? Or did we inherit Apollo’s or Dionysus’? Because I don’t know how Wine and Madness would help us.”

<We made alterations. Statement: Our Domain: Insects. Death. Pestilence. Corruption.>

Huh. I shook my head at the same time that I cringed. While those all sounded useful, and I had no doubt I could make use of them, the only one that really made sense was Insects, and even then, that was not a Domain so much as a Power, and–

<Correction: Insects are representation of swarm behavior up to and including souls.> 

Souls. All of them. But how could I even make that work? [How?]

She waved to the throne beside her once more. I walked around the whirlpool, peering into and down along the windy tunnel–it was a piercing through the very realm of existence, and I thought I could make out several slimy tentacles and eyes in the distance. 

As I skirted around the edge of it, several drops of corrupted ichor fell on me from above, from where Dionysus hung. 

The monsters that had been dancing squealed in fear as I passed, they all bowed down and prostrated themselves before me. I climbed the steps and looked at the throne that Queen had saved for me beside her. 

My own throne… it did not look comfortable.

“Power never is,” Queen said. “Now sit. We have much to discuss.”

~

Some time later, I awoke to Echidna and Tiona’s prodding. We were at the bottom of a crater that stretched upwards for miles. In the distance, smoke filled the sky like fog, and the occasional roaring echoed down.

“Taylor?” Tiona asked, concern on her face as she looked down at me. She seemed smaller somehow.

“Yes?” I asked, my voice a contralto, similar to Echidnas.

“You’re alive!” Tiona squealed, wrapping me in a hug.

“And she has undergone changes,” Echidna added. She used her Arcaneum to create a reflective surface before me. “My daughter has ascended. The first mortal to do so in this era.”

I beheld my reflection. I was covered in black skin with gold eyes. Shadows wafted off of me, trailing miasma. Slither and Hiss and several of their sisters twisted around behind me. My arms were both skeletal, and my back had golden ribbed dragonfly wings.

“Beautiful,” I said.

<Remember.> Queen sent.

“Right. Help me up,” I held out my hand, allowing Tiona and Echidna to aid me to my feet.

“So…” Tiona led off, seemingly bashful, which was most uncharacteristic for the Amazon.

“So,” I said.

“Are we still…” she bit her lip while she looked at me, “...good?”

“You mean after everything?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

I stepped closer to Tiona and put my [impractical!] <are so!> skeletal hands on each of her hips, then pulled her in for a kiss. After our lips parted <gross!>, and while she caught her breath, I answered. 

“Yeah,” I said. “I think we’re good.”

“Lovely,” Echidna said. “Just lovely.”

I looked around and up at the steep pit. In the distance, I saw an adventurer barely hanging on where the stone floor had been bisected. He dangled over the air screaming for aid. A dwarven woman tried reaching down from above to aid him, but her arms were too short to reach where he hung, at least a meter below her. A second later, the man fell, screaming and flailing his limbs and ricocheting off the debris and rough stone walls. He was screaming and falling for a while, until he was not.

“Where’s Ergane?” I asked.

“About that…” Tiona said, scratching the back of her neck.

“My lover is about having fun, daughter.” Echidna pointed up in the distance, where a shadow passed overhead of a giant dragon. Another roar thundered, shaking more stones loose, and sending the same dwarf woman tumbling over the edge herself.

“Huh,” I said.

<Remember! Seriously! We had plans!> 

[I remember.] I frowned, ignoring the confused expressions I received from Tiona or Echidna. [How do I do this?]

<Humans are the worst!> Queen griped. <I literally walked you through this.>

I rolled my eyes. [If this is so easy, let’s see you try doing this sometime.]

<Don’t threaten me!>

[Then keep the attitude to yourself!]

Queen and I shared a mental glare that nobody but us could see.

“Uhm Tay?” Tiona asked. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah…” I scratched the back of my head. “I just need to try something real quick. Queen’s being a nag.”

“Queen?! Where is she anyways.”

I tapped my head, “up here.”

<Actually your chest, but sure, take creative liberties. Stupid host species…> Queen grumbled.

I focused inward. I was going to do this, and I was going to succeed, and show Queen how wrong she could be about Host Species, even if I technically was not actually one anymore. I ignored her distracting jibes and focused on what I wanted, what we wanted.

A near infinite nonlinear listing of identities scrolled by in an instant. There was one soul in particular we sought. One that would provide the most lateral utility. One that I had been wishing for since we had arrived at Orario. 

I found it. [In your crystalline face!] <Don’t brag until you succeed.>

I focused on that soul and on our miasma at the same time. Both Queen and I shaped it, her ephemeral hands guiding my own designs as we shaped the miasma, building it up, and drawing in this one soul in particular. 

The shadows coalesced before us, rising up to the height of a man. 

Tiona stepped back, glanced at the shadows, then at us, confusion evident in her face. Most might have been concerned, however, Tiona merely shrugged and rolled with it. 

Meanwhile, Echidna gazed on in excitement, her eyes wide and glistening, her pride evident upon her face.

The shadows finished, wrapping into a caricature of a man. It stepped forward and bowed before me and finished by taking a knee. I stepped around him, inspecting the specter of shadows.

<Well done.> Queen sent.

I stopped once in front of him and resisted the urge to throw back my head and laugh with mania. Instead, I satisfied myself with a smirk.

“Hello, Doormaker.”

The End

A/N: 

First, thank you so much for reading! I had a lot of fun starting this project, and I was able to work my Danmachi bug outta my system. Seriously, that was my biggest reason for doing the cross over in the first place, I caught the Danmachi bug! 

As some people have noticed, the last few chapters were rushed. And, that is fair. They were incredibly rushed. The Demeter Interlude was originally going to have a whole other arc spread out, where we gradually saw the unfolding effects of mass ecological disaster affecting the entire world. The Amazons and Rakia and all the other nations were going to lay siege to Orario and demand that Taylor fix the problem, which of course was not going to happen. Then the conclusion would have happened. The reason that we did not have that arc, is because I wanted to start a new project, and I figured that some readers would prefer an end to another hiatus/dead fic, even if that end came across as incredibly abrupt.

Some AU elements were incorporated to Danmachi and were hinted at. These were:

• Sekhmet, the lion goddess from Egyptian mythos. She was a blood thirsty lioness who was tricked into drunkenness by some ingenious sun god mixing blood with beer.
• Hecate, the goddess of magic, from Greek (and I think a few other?) mythos. She would have played an important part in the tournament arc, which would have taken place concurrent to the preparations of invasion.
• Athena, Ergane, the One Eyed Black Dragon. I’ve never gotten confirmation from Danmachi as to what made Evilus tick, but my personal theory was that Dionysus wanted freedom from the stagnant divinity that all divinities appear to suffer from. Athena and Dionysus one day discovered a means of ‘corrupting’ that divinity to become worldly in every sense of the word, and remove the possibility of ascension to Tenkai. Athena took off with her own corruption, leaving Dionysus to suffer ‘sour grapes.’ Dionysus had been seeking his own source of corruption since, and when he saw Taylor being Taylor, he realized he might have the opportunity. It did not work out.
• Echidna, Goddess of Monsters. She recently descended when she detected Khepri appearing in the dungeon. She mistook Taylor for a reincarnation of Hydra. Echidna eventually would have realized the mistake, but having come to know Taylor and Queen, would have also realized that Taylor/Queen/Khepri check all the boxes on the monstrous daughter checklist. Also, Echidna does what other divinities are always accusing successful Familias of doing: cheating with Arcaneum.
• Gaia, the core of the dungeon, was forced into serving as a physical manifestation of a planet after several sky gods did as perverted gross sky gods do. Gaia never really forgave them, and her essence permeates out through the dungeon, which is kinda like a pore. If anyone does the math, they would realize that the dungeon goes fucking deep. Like beneath the mantle deep. The monsters were Gaia’s children. Humans were an invasive species.

Now for Taylor! Many people noted that she seemed to be frustratingly ambivalent to changes and the things happening around her. Well, there were some reasons, also including I’m still a novice writer! Here are those other reasons:

• Taylor shares her mindspace with an alien super computer
• Taylor has several curses, including Cast of Conflict
• Taylor has received a blessing from the Goddess of Monsters which cheats with Arcaneum
• Taylor has a monster core embedded in her chest which, as we may have seen in Sword of Oratio, causes issues.
• Taylor has slowly been corrupted by anime-land. This was something I mentioned in like the first arc.

Now for some common criticisms to be addressed!

• Q: ‘Hur hur hur I’m dropping this fic’
• A: Thank you for reading Mr. Humbug! I appreciate all readers and criticism as this helps me grow as a writer! I wish you well in all your life’s endeavors.
• Q: ‘Hur hur hur I’m never reading anything written by you again!’
• A: Awww shucks! You’re too kind! But didn’t you say that last time Mr. Humbug? Golly gee, you’re just the best!
• Q: ‘TINO TINO TINO TINO TINO’
• A: Hm. I suppose so. But to be fair, Taylor is hard to write. And mind control makes it even harder to write. But… I hope it was still enjoyable? Maybe? *goes to cry in a corner*
• Q: ‘This is not a question but a statement! You always write the most horrific junk!’
• A: ‘This is not an answer but a query: Why thank you?’

What did I learn from this project:

• I’m getting better at maintaining a consistent tone, though I struggle with this the most still. I keep wanting to insert humorous dark elements even though only a few people actually find them funny. 
• I’m getting better at fluff and relationships!
• Monsters ahoy!

<3 <3 <3 In all seriousness, thank you for reading! <3 <3 <3

My next project, which I’ve already started, is going to be even more awesome than the last! And let me tell you about the premise. 

Cannibal Fox Girl Taylor: Reverse Isekai, Taylor returns from the harsh northern wastes where she had been reborn as a kitsune in a primitive, insular, cannibalistic tribe. After centuries, she had just gained her fourth tail, and she had long since forgotten Brockton Bay, when she was dragged back home. Naturally, Cannibal Fox Girl Taylor does as Cannibal Fox Girl Taylors do. This will eventually be a slice of life S9 fic featuring AU elements and a nurture!Siberian.