1644  Perchance

Now, Bob was a Deity, and no matter how hard they tried, it wasn't easy to forcefully keep his mouth shut. The alternative that the crew found most effective was to simply keep his mouth busy, so that he would not be able to use it to talk.

Some routine ways in which they did that was through the use of jawbreakers, or basically any kind of food, making him blow bubbles, a silence competition, playing breath based musical instruments and telling him that silence was golden.

On rare occasions, they froze the space around his lips, forcing them shut, or threw him into an illusionscape where he thought he was speaking, or maybe, if they were feeling especially bold, ask him questions to which he couldn't possibly respond with something absurd.

There was this one time they crossed the river of death and cheated reality itself to approach seven Dao Lords, just so that they could contain the repercussions of his speech. Some argued that since the safe environment in which he could speak was only a positive side effect, and not the intended purpose of their trip to the Dao Lords, they couldn't really claim that as something they did to protect themselves from his words. Jack argued that since it happened, and it worked, he was going to milk it for all the credit he could get.

Of course, there were also times where their attempts to occupy him failed, and he spoke as he wished. Like the moment he discovered the ore.

For once, Bob's signature smile faded from his face, and an unbearably serious expression replaced it.

"Verily, I have seen disaster on the horizon," Bob said, his voice suddenly deeper by a few octaves, almost as if it were a different person speaking.

Jack suddenly turned to look at Bob, but the drama-cat was actually looking towards the distant horizon.

"The tomes recording history will mark the day as the one where hope died, and the day the light dimmed. Yet unto you I impart this knowledge - history will also record this day as a day of miracles, where aspirations were met, and dreams came true. The weapon of the future has been revealed, and her name will be Faith."

The last word Bob spoke had an unspoken weight, one that Jack recognized all too well. It was the weight of a secret - a secret of the universe. To learn those secrets one would normally need to be at a higher cultivation level, but none in his crew could be called ordinary by any means or standards. Well, technically, if the standard was the amount of craziness required to join his crew, then yes, all his crew members met it, and were thus quite ordinary in that specific regard.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, walking up to the Drama-cat.

Bob turned to look at Jack, his eyes carrying an unfamiliar solemnity. But it did not last long, for clarity began to fill them as he looked at Jack.

"Oh lawd captain, oh lawd! I thought of your wisdom like the sun, shining light onto the world, imparting enlightenment and sustaining life. Oh how I was wrong! Clearly, captain, your wisdom is far greater!

"It is only now I realize the threat of this ore, yet you had sensed it already, and already made plans for it! Surely you already know of what I speak, so let me translate the rays of your brilliance down for the rest, that they may drink from the spring of your knowledge!"

The crew all turned to look at Bob - though not to listen to him talk about drinking from the captain's knowledge. It was rare for him to speak so much so coherently - though coherence might be used liberally in this instance.

"You all may be trapped in shadow, but fear not, for I shall slay your ignorance just as I slayed Monday!"

Jack didn't want to tell him Mondays still existed on Earth, so he kept quiet.

"Deities cannot depart from the realm they are born in - that is a fundamental law that establishes the foundation of all pantheons."

Suddenly, the whole crew was alarmed. How could they forget? This was actually somewhat common knowledge in the Folklore realm, where Deities were extremely common. Everyone knew that Deities were restricted to the Demi-Dao Lord realm, unable to grow stronger, and that they could not ordinarily leave the realm where their pantheon is based.

Leaving that realm would not only result in a huge decrease in power for the said Deity, but would partially cripple him or her until he returned. But… but Bob was…

Well Bob was Bob. None of them were going to question him, though it was fairly obvious that he was most certainly not crippled.

"Tis the reason why the universe is at peace. Tis the reason why pantheons fight and tolerate one another. Tis the reason no one Deity spreads their influence from one realm to a different one. What would, say you, happen to this dynamic were a divine autarky artifact come into existence? One that does not rely on worship, or ritual to sustain itself? One that can pull its own energy out from the air?"

Silence. A deafening silence filled the Jolly Rancher, mostly because none of them knew the answer.

"Quack," Goldilocks said, turning its head sides.

"EXACTLY!" Bob roared. "It can be like a seed - nay, an autodynamic apparatus used to spread the foundations of any pantheon across the universe, infinitely, forever! Suddenly, the most unkillable existences in the universe become even harder to kill. So long as a single follower still exists, a single source of faith, they will live forever."

"A whole new resource to farm from the countless realms," Jack suddenly said, understanding dawning on him. "The Deities will invade the weaker realms, not for anything else, but to proselytize!"

Jack frowned. No wait, that wouldn't make sense. A bunch of Demi-Dao Lords could never declare war on other Major realms, nor could they genuinely compete with other powerful organizations. However, he could see how certain powerful organizations might want to spread the influence of Deities associated with them.

"Perchance, were a Deity to create more than just an artifact, what might be the consequence? Perchance, what if they were to create… another body? Perchance."