《Director, Machine, Paradox.》 Prologue I could see the activity inside the building. Uniformed figures moving around. I tried again to get a closer look, "No,"the youngcop repeated flatly. He was clearly a new member of the paranormal crime division, with no idea of what he was doing. It would be good if he could be obedient. "I need to see it," I insisted calmly. The cop just scowled lightly at me, shaking his head determinedly, "I''m sorry sir, but I can''t allow a vigilante onto a crime scene." How bothersome. "You realize your sergeant and the higher-ups are going to authorize this anyway, don''t you?" "I cannot speak forthem, but you are not currently authorized and I cannot allow you to pass unless you are." I sighed, stepping away a little. This was frustrating. With a thought I carefully manipulated the aetherics through my mind. Impulse Burst. Nerves thundered and the world froze to a halt. ''Note to self, hammer out a proper passcode to cooperate with the police soon.'' A silky voice whispered into my ears, "You''re being stalled." ''No shit. I know,'' I replied deadpan, ''We just need to figure out what''s been going on with these murders. It really doesn''t fit the usual modus operandi. This is just bad all around.'' "It''s too overt," Diary agreed, "High activity, high intensity. It''s completely off." I was itching for a fight, honestly. It''s what I was good for, but the supernatural element had been quiet for the past few weeks, leaving me with little to do but shuttle between crime scenes and figure out this new mystery like a shitty unpaid PI. I glared at the cop for a moment. ''Have you contacted Echo, did he have any luck?'' "There''s been no news yet..." ''Nothing?'' "Nothing." I sighed internally. The situation could be better, but it wasn''t an emergency, just yet. Keeping the fearies, youkai, undead, weres and other paranormal beings all under control really wasn''t a single person job. It was a web of mutually assured destruction and commonly agreed upon guidelines, for their benefit and ours. The situation wouldn''t just fall apart like this, hell, I could probably have expected thehelp of a few monsters, if they weren''t afraid I''d just kill them afterwards. All the same, it would set a bad precedent. One I couldn''t afford to allow. There were bigger things on the horizon. I spent a moment debating with myself. It was a short conflict. I couldn''t be blamed for breaching such troublesome protocols. I nodded inwardly, pulling on my aetherics reserves and opening my second eyes. I formed a cognitive body, shutting my normaleyes and closing off the twofold perception. I could feel a whispering dark close at my side. My eyes opened once more and I turned to face my frozen body, locking with the eerie set of amber eyes upon the forehead. I let out a breath, feeling nothing fill my lungs. A quick rub of my hands, no sensation. It looked to be functioning correctly. I nodded at the pale figure of peeling paper beside my body and Diary smiled with her obscured face, falling into step besides me. We walked through the cop and past the hazard tape, through walls and wires until we were there, at the scene. The body was mangled, it wasn''t anything I hadn''t seen before. But I immediately knew what was wrong. The body had been brutalized, yes, but where were the bites? The vast majority of paranormal beings preyed on humanity and the vast majority of humanity''s predators hunted humans for consumption. This corpse hadn''t been fed on and of course it certainly hadn''t been caused by a mundane killer. There were a few potential reasons out there for this situation, but they all failed to make sense when considered with thescale. It wasn''t an isolated incident after all, but a new pattern. I stopped suddenly, glancing over at the other police officers. They weren''t collecting evidence, simply stuffing the corpse in a bodybag for the coroner. I felt a sick feeling in my gut, a suspicion I wasn''t sure I wanted to consider. I turned slowly to Diary, "Check with psychometry," I ordered cautiously. "Keep an eye out... for anything odd." Diary shot me a sidelong glance, "Of course! That''s why we''re here." She looked thoughtful for a moment, "Besides it''s me doing all the work, you''re the tag-along here," she teased softly. I smiled tightly. "...Oh," Diary uttered softly as she worked, her cool enveloping aetherics shivering throughout the building. "OK, that makes no sense, but OK!" "What''ve you got?" I asked impatiently. Diarybit her lip. "You''re not going to like this," she said slowly, looking at me for a few moments of silence. "Tell me," I demanded tonelessly. "Quit it with the dramatic timing and just tell me!" "Sorry, sorry. The police aren''t treating this case like paranormal crime. Um, that is, they''re deliberately neglecting the collection of paranormalevidence. One of them was talking to someone, it was decided just this weekend." "That doesn''t make any sense," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "That''s what I said!" "So, they didn''t imprint the aetheric signature? Is that it?" I sighed. "We''ll figure this out later, did you at least get it yourself?" "No. That''s the problem. There is no signature per se... it''s only just faint enough to be worthless. They purified it." "So what the fuck?" "I- I have a theory," she started. "As we are aware, thesouth court of Little Bird has been meddling with the authorities lately, brashly daring to infiltrate everywhere they can. They tip each other off and most of them get away with nearly everything they do, plus as we know, the vampires there have some kind of hypnotic aetherics technique. It is not outside of the realms of possibility-" "How does that connect with the actual murders? Why kill random people?" I snorted, palming my face. "Besides, that''s the most cliche thing I''ve heard all day. Are you fucking around?" She pouted, crossing her arms. "Look, Diary, that''s just never going to happen. Aetherics sensors and legitimate mind readers make true infiltration practically impossible, I mean,we probably couldn''t get in without being detected. And that''s fucking impressive." "Huuuuuh, really?" I scratched my chin, "We''ve never tried, but I''d guess so. Remember that time-" I paused. "Can you feel that?" The peeking sensation vanished without a trace and I frowned a little. Must have been my paranoia. "Well, whatever,my theory is awfully simple. There''s a new faction in town and they have''t gotten used to how things are run around here, so the cocky little shits haven''t been under my boots yet." "I don''t entirely disagree... but I have a bad feeling about this." "You have a bad feeling about everything bad," I pointed out, rolling my eyes. I gave the place one last look, "Memorized?" She nodded. "Good. We''re done here." I dissolved. Fragments of thoughts hanging between nothing but sparks and energy, before collecting together to be pulled along a current of intent and dragged back inside my vessel. I opened my real eyes once more, the world slowly recovering it''s speed. I smiled politely at the officer once everything had returned to normal, "Fine, I''ll be on my way then." Without another word I turned and went back the way I had come.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. This had gone on long enough, all told. It was about time I started kicking some faces in and getting answers... and I knew just where to start. I''d been holding off for too long. "I''ll get the others," Diary said, just about reading my mind. The solution was simple, it was just... crude and crazy. If you want to see an easy reaction, you just have to throw a rock into a pond and watch the ripples. I felt Diary reaching out from my mind with her aetherics, the strange process mesmerizing as she wielded threads of far reaching cognitive aetherics like a master. Like strings they pulsed along and before I knew it three more presences popped into being around me. "Sup," an ordinary pretty blonde girl in the reflection of a passing window spoke. "You called?" The wind around me stirred up, the breeze brushing my ears as a mellow voice called out. "Master?" My sharp-toothed shadow twisted sinuously around me, "Fuck, is it finally that time?" I smiled darkly. "Alright everyone... Today we''re going to go crash a fancy party. You guys ready to dirty some suits?"
It was an ordinary day in the shadowed alleys of Little Bird, where deep within the bowels of the city, where the monsters roamed freely... a high society club was host to some of the most powerful movers and shakers of the country. Human servants moved in polished butler and maid uniforms, serving drinks, food and other services. On the second floor, where the VIPs relaxed, a young vampiress sat deep in conversation with her kappa attendant and ghoul bodyguard. A large group of identically black suited men and women watched from the three tables across. A buff, rugged-looking werewolf downstairs laughed so loudly it boomed through the second floor. Despite the looks of disgruntlement, nobody madea move, except for the young vampire above. A scowl crossed her delicate face, vivid red orbs glaring unnervingly down the balcony as her conversation halts. "Kandred, you dirty mutt, shut your mouth!" By then the silence truly filled the building, if you ignoredthe quiet music that continued to softly play. "Hah? Is that you Elise!?" a voice dramatically shouted from below. "You bratty little bitch, I''ll show you how to treat your betters!" "You forget your place, beast. Your kind are beneath me!" "Come down here, little girl, and I''ll feed on your entrails-" Before the two could get into a full-blown argument, a snake-eyed waiter coughed politely. "Would the guests like to continue being customers?" he asked placidly. The two quieted. Kandred coughed, "Ah... Elise, you aren''t worth the effort." "The same to you, mutt. I have business to attend to." Slowly people began to relax and conversation once more flowed. In the VIP lounge there was a sudden excitation from a particular group. The dozens of suits quickly got up from their seats, nearly in unison, a few of them murmuring into earpieces while they all unholstered pistols. Faces all carefully smooth, movements casual. A violent red-eyed stare turned their way, Elise blinking, "What do you think you''re-" She was interrupted by two imbued bullets to the face, eyes dull, going still. As blood spurted from the holes in her head, the kappa screamed. The ghoul tore out his own spine with a enraged shout, falling apart for a moment before his body healed. He swung the extending spine like a spear even as bullets laid into him, catching and seemingly breaking the shoulder of one of the suits. Then it sprouted spikes, digging and tearing apart the screaming agent. Chaos reigned above as many guests and servants ran, the security team rapidly responding with their own counter-attack. A table was tossed to block the view and the agents took cover while bullets hailed their way. An agent held out a hand for a moment, ducking to avoid a lashing spine, his eyes glowing alight with aetheric energy. A bolt of lightning bloomed from his palm in a lance, the smell of ozone, burning afterimages into eyes and warming the room. It tossed the ghoul off the first floor in a smoking heap. The agent beared a ghost of a smile, before quickly ducking back amid his fellows. As the crying kappa cradled the vampiress, a darkly glaring waiter stepped past with a quick stride. A long serpent''s tail lashed out angrily behind him and he clenched his fist, dropping the nearest agent helplessly to the ground from behind a column. Her skin took on a deep red tone as she let out a strangled noise of misery, blots of blood leaking through her skin. In moments she began to shrivel up as her vital fluids were leached from her. The cloud of blood above the corpse parted, half towards the waiter and the other glowed violet-red as it was launched like a javelin towards the main group of suits. The glowing blood exploded, tearing apart ceiling supports and balconies, throwing bodies and furniture off the second floor in energetic flames. The waiter glanced towards the kappa, making a gesture as the blood floated slowly over. "This should suffice," he remarked calmly, loud over the cacophony. "I would act quickly, we''ll need the help." The kappa blubbered, "Thanks," she managed to get out. The blood poured down the vampire''s throat like a hose, her body convulsing and shaking. Limbs switched and bullets were spat out of her skull like popcorn, the holes closing up practically instantly. Elise rose up, shaking her head wildly for a moment, before pushing away her relieved and hysterical attendant. Her face was red with a vivid blush, her eyes shining with unnatural vitality. "Thank you, Levi," Elise bowed, "May I have the honor of fighting at your side?" She gazed out at the suits with a hungry and spiteful glare. "Please. Let us show these humans why they should be scared of the monsters," Levi said firmly. "It has been a while since they''ve had the audacity to pull something like this." They nodded at each other, sparing not a moment more as the hurled themselves into the fight. Elise spun around a corner, ears twitching as she put a fist through a woman''s heart. She flung herself behind the same wall as a bolt of lightning nearly grazed her form, then reached out with her own aetherics and pulled a thread. It split into four branches. There was a curse as wood and stone pulled itself together. Hulking automata began to form and rise, charging various agents like rampaging rhinos, steps shaking the building as they moved with unstoppable momentum. One wrapped a powerful hand around the arm of one suit, who fought back with a vicious lightning-clad kick. Levi bolted for him out of nowhere, leaping and spinning through the air off walls and columns, before his tail lashed out. A cut formed at the back of the human''s neck, before erupting with blood like a fountain and dropping him like a sack of potatoes. As Elise spent a moment gloating, congratulating herself, another bullet struck her in the head. She fell like a puppet with it''s string cut. The fight continued. The agents attempting to avoid Levi like plague, as each that neared was either blown up like a water balloon or drained of blood, while those that were capable of aetherics had their shields slashed through and their blood poured out by the bucket. The occasional bullet from the club''s security would put down another one or two of them, forcing them to continuously retreat. As they grouped together while maintaining suppressing fire on Levi, Elise sprang up back up, clawing out and hamstringing half a dozen agents at once. Severed legs and feet scattered across the floor as they fell and shouted, shooting in panic and hitting each other or their own bodies. The was a thump as a heavy, hairy wolf-like form leaped onto the second floor. A huge claw slammed a couple of bodies into the wall like bugs. A breath of moonlight spread out like a shockwave, rendering a couple into a mangled mess and cracking a nearby wall. The werewolf gave Elise a look of disdain, "Need a little help, little girl?" "Kandred," she returned darkly. "That was not necessary. Don''t make a nuisance of yourself." A bullet hit her shoulder and one of her golems pulped the offending party. The werewolf let out a hacking laugh. "Allow me to save you. Put away that pride, your life is more important," he said with false concern. The vampire scowled, "I-" There was a boom. Every window in the building shattered. The doors bust open, more agents pouring into the building all guns blazing. The security team immediately suffered severe casualties are they were attacked from behind. A horribly burned ghoul began to stumble and shamble up after them, before slowly healing pristine. His spine weapon shot out, piercing through three agents in a row. As they turn to the new threat, he faced them alone, tanking bullets with disregard and culling them like insects. His skin took on a bone-like appearance as his big red eyes burst open, a pulsating beam of laser-like blood blasting into them and ripping through a wall, before flickering out. Elise and Kandred struck out as one, their own groups nearly decimated and left to Levi and secuirty, as they joined the ghoul in massacring the huge gang of reinforcements. Each claw, each fist, each spine, each golem, ending fragile human lives in a constant stream. Lightning blasts would occasionally shatter a golem or knock the ghoul to the ground, stagger Kandred momentarily or kill Elise for a few moments. Even still, they went down far too fast to capitalize on it. Soon the three pause, surrounded by gore, screaming and groaning bodies. Levi leaped down from the second floor, landing casually. "It seems-" he started, looking satisfied. There was a knock at the shattered doors. A fair, freckled face could be made out through the cracks, hazel eyes warm and bemused. Levi recognized that face. Christopher Corona, his eyes glancing around as he stepped in. He halted before them, frowning a little, "You know, I feel a little cheated," he remarked. "You''ve already fought before I even arrived." Kandred and Elise glared at him in unison, turning to face him aggressively. "You," they both snapped. They shared a uncomfortable glance, before settling with glaring at him again. "I''m really feeling the love," he said wryly. "But I''m here on business." Levi closed his eyes, "What do you want, human?" "I need to know if there''s anyone new in town. Anyone who likes to make messes and doesn''t clean up after themselves." "Care to eloborate?" Chapter 1 - An Introduction. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up. Or rather fell asleep, I wasn''t entirely sure if I was really dead or not, but I was definitely dreaming, the familiar black metallic door was proof enough, an elevator. I heard a familiar ding and the black elevator doors opened, I stepped inside grinning. I thought back to my death, there had been some kind of intervention, SL had took advantage of the situation and prevented me from reacting somehow. Weird. Anyway the elevator music was beginning to give me a headache. I heard the ding again and the doors opened, I stepped through. I was in a tiny hallway bereft of windows, a small bare lightbulb was swinging down from the ceiling. I snorted. I read the plaque on the door. [Thee (Self Notes) self appointed chief of Mental Health]. I opened the door, somewhat anxious. Self Notes has always been a wildcard or rather they all are, but Self Notes is probably the one in the best position to harm me. The room had the look of a classic hard boiled detective. The room was dim, paper littered the desk and the ceiling fan overhead cast shadows across the room. Sat in the chair was a young girl, looking to be in her mid teens. She smiled creepily as I entered. Her features were blurred. (Take a seat, my host) I grimaced noticing the note of anger in her voice. I sat. She leaned over, our noses almost touching. "So... You called?" I asked keeping my face carefully expressionless. (You were careless) she said quietly. I frowned. "Yes. I was set up." (The Otherside?) I nodded remaining silent. (What?) she smiled maliciously, (I''ve been with you for many long years, Christopher, and I can read you like a book, no need for secrets between us right?) I sighed nervously. She teleported into my lap in an explosion of paper, leaning back she said (The Otherside like us Chris, but they won''t tolerate weakness, they''re willing to give you another chance, elsewhere) "They contacted you?" (Yes, the moment you died) I froze, "Contract?" (Yep, they''re gonna seal some of your memories. You''ll also be reincarnating) she said flatly. "Why now?" I ask angrily. She shook her head, (I don''t understand either, but someone played us) "I guess we''ll have to accept then... And memories? What memories?" (Your experience. You''ll be like a child again. They''ll be doing the same to Us) "Ugh." Now I might seem pretty calm considering, but to be honest I''ve been in similar situations many times before. I caught the interest of the Otherside a year ago when I slew a Dark God, It hadn''t been easy and the only reason I tried was because it set up it''s Dreamspace in my neighborhood. Now, Dark Gods sound kind of badass and all, but they are just Dream predators, they don''t affect the physical world that much. Anyway, They, the Otherside had found me amusing. Alongside Shadow, Mirror and Self Notes I''m not your average human. Self Notes was still staring at me. Noticing my inner monologue coming to an end she spoke, (So mister, we got some time to kill) she leaned back suggestively. I chuckled, "Nope, I do not wanna partake in selfcest thank you very much." she scowled (I bet you''d do it with the others!) "... Let''s change the subject." Yeah. I suppose I should explain what the hell these three even are. They hadn''t always been there technically they are all me just separate personalities that become real or rather, Self aware! Haha. Joke. Haha. Self Notes has perfect memory, and visits me in my dreams for the most part and the others... Well I''ll get to them later. I suppose I should tell you about Earth. It changed. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. There was too much water... Hah. The whole world was flooded, killing millions and disease rampaged the survivors, to make matters worse the Bio-Demons became active again. The Bio-Demons are kind of like giant viruses they evolve, adapting constantly. They have an ant-like hierarchy with Queens standing at the top. Under each Queen are three Princesses they travel constantly erecting (Haha) new Hives, increasing their numbers. Each Princess is guarded by multiple Maids. The Hives are mostly filled out with Knights and Pawns who hold no authority. Anyway. Humanity got its lazy ass back up. A hundred years pass, and cities were rebuilt, some new ones too. Underground cities and underwater cities were built, humans adapting to this flooded world. Technology caught back up, and Virtual Reality was booming, a place to escape reality. Of course VR was still in its early stages, mostly maintained by humans, AI''s weren''t quite advanced enough to handle it. The Bio-Demons attacked cities carrying off humans back to their Hives and the military developed weapons to deal with them, incurring a small war. Eventually the Bio-Demons just up and disappeared, leaving everyone anxiously awaiting the next attack. Only it didn''t come. Years passed, again. And a new discovery shook the world. Aethaerics. Humans were beginning to run out of natural resources, when they discovered this infinite source of energy, it was a Godsend, Aethaerics resembled magic in many ways. Soon after supernaturals become more than some old folktales, vampires, ghouls, shape-shifters, psychics, dragons you name it. People had very varied reactions. Me? I don''t care. I already knew, after all. Not that any of that matters considering I''m going to some new world. I only hope this new world is anything like my old one. Myself, Self Notes, Mirror and Shadow spend our time goofing around the Dreamspace just having fun. Shadow''s smile falters [I guess I''m gonna miss the puny little humans] Mirror lets out a dramatic sigh, \Me too, I''ll miss trolling the masses/ we laugh obnoxiously. Self Notes expression goes blank, the mood suddenly serious. (The Otherside have more conditions) I waited. (They have coveted us for a long time, it seems they are pretty interested in us. You can get rid of us, gain a new wonderful life and play The Machine all in one fell swoop) she stares resolutely at me (We''ll understand). "Nope.", they stared, puzzled. "What? Is it really that surprising? Its not like I dislike you guys. I''m not leaving you all behind." I smile bitterly, "I''m not even sure if The Machine is even real.". The Otherside allow powerful people to play, in return they grant wishes, real wishes. Only, most of those powerful people are capable of destroying planets, pretty damn powerful. Of course I still don''t know much about it and that''s only going off rumors. "So. Any other conditions?" she grinned (You don''t get a choice in what you become) I sigh somewhat relieved, "That isn''t so bad.". Maybe she is hoping I''ll get genderbent or maybe become a Goblin or Kobold, hah, not gonna happen missy! We waited. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 2 - Enter, Machina. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was born again, not sure what to say about it. It was a chore to keep my baby body awake. The Three entertained me meanwhile. My new parents were ridiculously protective and doting, my Father was more like the wife of the relationship, he''s pretty short at 5''2, wheat colored hair, pale skin and red enlarged irises perhaps a vampire or maybe a ghoul?. Mother was more like a snake, a half Targual, forked tongue and all, her hair was curly black and she had neon green eyes with slit pupils and had patches of white scales along her back and sides. She''s also relatively tall at 6''4. Turns out I was born in some fantasy style world, a very big world called Machina, the sun of Machina is called The Source or Source for short. Machina has nine supercontinents, we occupy the only discovered one called Jareklai, we live on the small nation of the Lost Isles, about as big as Europe. We also live in the Village of Sirin on the coast close to the capitol of Lost, Magic is pretty common on this world, or rather Aethaerics. Bio-Demons live close to the Lost Isles too going by the name of The Rot, they greatly resemble the ones from my world. Kids don''t leave their homes till the age of ten unfortunately, but eventually the day came. My parents had been sneaking around the past month, it was kinda suspicious. My Mother knocked on the door of my room before opening without waiting. I scowled, "Mother?" "Yes sweetie?" I sighed. I pointed at the cube she was holding like a lifeline, a small black cube, a standard Storage Void, they''re pretty expensive. 30 gold. Currency in the Lost Isles is the usual 100 copper is 1 silver, 100 silver is 1 gold, 100 gold is blah blah blah. The Lost Isles are the weakest country in all of Jareklai and likewise the poorest. Anyway she handed me the box with a nervous smile, I finally noticed father who was standing next to mother with a similar expression, ''Shortass'' I think grinning, he smiles back. I prick my finger tip dripping blood on the Storage Void, I feel a sudden pressure in the back of my mind, I could feel the box mentally, and opened it, the objects materialized in my room, mostly books a whole lotta books and a crossbow, spear and assorted gifts. It was pretty awesome. They both shouted "Happy Birthday!" My Father was a lancer from the Lost Academy and Mother was an assassin. They had met on a skirmish, a group of Targual spies were spotted and attacked by the local militia. Mother had been the protector of the group, and Father hadn''t the heart to harm the spies and let them off, he was branded a traitor and locked away, Mother freed him, then they fell in love and ran away together. Or at least that''s the gist of it. ''Sappy bastards'' the two of them are hugging and cheering and Father grabs me into the group hug. Anyway, Mother picked me up which I protested and we finally went outside. It was awing see the wide world again, the sky a dark blue with a scattering of clouds, it was beautiful. The village was pretty welcoming, adults, friends of my parents were introduced and the celebration began. I wasn''t the only kid coming out for the first time either, I saw many others, already bunching together into groups. I considered joining them [No fucking way] \Yeah that would be really lame/ (Really? I think it might be fun!) I sigh. One of the nearby group of kids approach me, a boy with dark brown hair and pale blue eyes was leading, "Hey!" he called smiling "Hey." I felt kinda awkward. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. It''s my first time talking to someone besides my parents in 10 whole years. "Wanna come with us?" "Sure" [Ugh, wake me when this disgusting spectacle is over]. We all introduce ourselves and play tag for a while. But soon we are gathered by the adults and taken to a wooden platform. The Village Chief hands us all each a small card-like object, similar to the Storage Void. I pricked my finger again dropping blood on it, the Soul Interface activated. A picture of myself appeared. Black curly hair, pale skin and heterochromic neon green and red eyes. -------------------- Overview -v- Name: Christopher Crash. Status: Standard. Age: 10. Estimated Lifespan: 80-140. Physical Rank: D. Mental Rank: D. Aethaerics Talent: B. -------------------- Memory Tree -v- -------------------- Stats -v- Strength: 15 Vitality: 20 Agility: 15 Intelligence: 40 Will: 40 Luck: 100 -------------------- Status Effects: Possessed: Your body is possessed by three eccentric spirits: Shadow. Mirror. Self Notes. -------------------- Traits -v- Exotic One Quarter Targual Three Quarters Human Dormant Ghoul Genius Lucky -------------------- Skills -v- -------------------- Languages Learned: Common. Trade. Human - Lost Isles Variant. -------------------- You are cursed by the Otherside. When you reach the age of 15 this curse shall activate. -Upon death your soul will be surrendered to Otherside -The Guardian of Machina hates you -A Hero will be born to exterminate you -------------------- It seems I''m cursed. I put away the Interface. [Oh my. This is great, now we don''t have to bother with these insects] (This is really bad!) "What do you mean you two?" [We mean you''ll have to leave, some hero bastard is going to wreck your shit] (He''s right you know, Heroes are tough! And you will also gain the ire of the Guardian, which is even worse! Guardians can be pretty petty) *sigh* ''This just isn''t my day''. The rest of the ceremony is concluded and the Village Chief hands out booklets to us kids, I grab one and head home, my parents ask if anything is wrong, I had been unusually quiet. I tell them I''m fine before heading to my room. I glance at the booklet, it seems to be an instruction manual, ''Meh, I''ll read it tomorrow'' I jump face first onto my bed, turning and shifting in the bed trying to get comfortable. ''This curse is gonna make things difficult, I better get ready for my 15th birthday'' I drift to sleep. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 3 - Fresh Air. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next morning I was kicked out of the house by my parents, proclaiming me in dire need of fresh air and social interaction, I took my booklet and left. It was pretty warm out so I sat by the fountain in the middle of the village. I felt much more refreshed after a good nights sleep, unfortunately I was unable to Dream, either that or I forgot. Either way I felt pretty awesome. I began reading the book. I''ll try to make it easier to digest. The overview window is pretty important if you''re searching for a job, for example the first thing they''ll look at is that, and your skills of course. The Mental and Physical Ranks are like so, D is pretty much average, when you stats get around to a hundred or so, you rank up to C. Each rank get progressively larger, after C its B, A, S, SS, SSS then X I''m not sure how you can get stats that ridiculous though. Aethaeric Talent uses the same system, however those with C or D rank talent can barely do anything nor can they rank up, transformations and the like are probably fatal for them. There are two ways Aethaerics can be used, through Will, the power of thoughts and emotions. Or Controllers, usually Controllers are more powerful but more specialized and limited when compared to Will. Memory Tree isn''t listed, strange but whatever, moving on. All stats affect each other one way or another. The physical stats are obviously Strength, Vitality and Agility. Mental stats being Intelligence and Will. Luck is a sort of misc stat, they''re pretty rare but not always useful. Stat synergy is important too as your body needs have balance. Status Effects usually affect your body or stats in some way, if they don''t they usually aren''t listed. You are born with your traits and they can be equally important. Skills and languages are pretty self explanatory. You can check you stats and things mentally similar to the Storage Void. I called up a description of my traits mentally. -- You were born with some unique features. -Incites curiosity. -Attractive to some repulsive to others. -- Your mother was half Targual, you inherited Targual fangs, tongue and skin. -- Your father was a boring human. \Laaaame!/ -- Your father is also a dormant ghoul, these genes have been inactive for over a hundred years. However in you, they seem to be resurfacing. [Awesome] -- You were born with the mind of an adult, you can learn much faster. (Woop!) -- You''re a lucky bastard. I frown "How are you guys doing that?", (Doing what my host?) \[Cool Right??]/ Mirror and Shadow shout in unison. "Ouch. Please don''t do that again." \Okay, we should seriously start learning some skills right?/ I ignore her. Self Notes spoke up (I wanna see If I can hack this thing) I grinned "You gonna hide all that crap?" I asked (Yep. It also seems your curse isn''t visible to anyone but you, we can''t see it) "That''s reassuring, so what do you think this hero thing is about?" (We already spoke about this) she snapped "Oh yeah!" (Anyway. If I can modify this damn thing, it seems likely others can too, I mean what if this think is bugged? Someone could be listening in!) She said seemingly frustrated [No need to be paranoid Little Notes, we''ve got it''s back] "Hey asshole are you calling me an it!?" they ignored me \Yeah don''t sweat the small stuff if it was bugged it would already be too late. Anyway, kid, you''ve only got five years, hurry the fuck up/ said Mirror ''Ugh'' "Don''t order me around wench!" I put the manual in my Storage Void and returned it to my pocket and got up. The kids from before were nearby playing again, Rorry their brown haired leader spotted me and smiled waving me over. "Sorry! I got a few chores to do!" I shouted, he looked disappointed. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I left the village sneaking past the guards learning the Sneak Skill in the process. I used it to deadly affect pretend hunting in the forest, gaining The Huntering Skill. I frowned, calling up the skill description. -- The author of this terrible fanfic has made a typo of such petty magnitudes, that I the God-in-charge-of giving skill descriptions has deemed this The Huntering Skill, you Christopher Crash are the only user of this skill in all of the multi-verse. Congratulations! "Delete." -Are you sure you wish to delete this skill?- "Yep." -Tch''- "?" I scowled. Being careful to avoid any dangerous predators, I scouted out most of the forest and the surrounding areas learning the Tracking Skill. It soon got late and I headed home. My parents were cooking dinner, something disgusting again, my Mother is a terrible cook its too bad my Father is too scared to tell her her. We soon finish the disgusting meal. "Honey how was it?" she asks Father smiling, he coughed "Oh, it was l- *cough* lovely really." I grinned replying likewise. I take a deep breath and look at them with my best determined face on. "Mother, Father can I learn some skills from you two, I want to become an adventurer when I grow up." Father looks pretty disapproving, Mother on the other hand is smiling broadly. In the end they agree. A year passes in the blink of an eye, I trained everyday since then. I made quick friends with Rorry, and he began to see me as some kind of role model and started training himself too, asking my parents and myself if he can join in. I had returned to my room to relax after a hard day of training when Mirror called \Alert, alert important announcement!/ I groaned "What?" \Little Notes has found a workaround for that wee little curse/ "Okay that sounds good. So..." I feel sudden pain in my head (Okay its done) I faintly heard before falling unconscious. I was Dreaming again, sitting in the chair, where we left off. Self Notes was smiling with glee. (I gave you an ability that will hide you from the Guardian, and hopefully the Hero!) I frowned "How are you able to do this anyway?" She waves her hands (Its amazing, do you know about Soul Network? Or even what it is? I had a hunch that we were already playing The Machine, but damn son. I mean this thing is pretty damn game-like, though its kinda creepy how easy you take everything in stride) Self Notes stops, suddenly frowning "You''re rambling. And that''s really worrying." (My rambling?) "No the other thing." (The thing about this being The Machine?) "Yeah, because the game''s insane! Players are crazy powerful." (Ooooh! Maybe they start at rock bottom like you did! That would explain it, right?) *sigh* "But they''d never except that, remember this thing is a Contract, both parties have to agree to the terms! They wouldn''t be satisfied starting from the bottom." I smiled thoughtfully "You probably have the Dream controller. It would explain how you are able do this, too bad I can''t see your status." (Stop changing the subject) she said scowling. "Whatever, look I wanna get back so stop wasting my time." she glared (Fine asshat hope like your meat medium rare) I considered what she meant by that... Waking up, I find my crotch burning, I let out an unmanly scream while cursing, and ignoring the snickering of Mirror and Shadow I call up my newest skill. -Hidden From Machina (Passive)- You are invisible to the Will of Machina, It''s Guardian, and Heroes. ''I hope this works'' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 4 - Parental Kidnapping. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next morning I was ready to start doing something productive, I bounded through the house, a new training regime scheduled. After all with Hidden From Machina I have nothing to fear! But alas, Fate had different plans for me. My Mother was standing in front of the door in a very menacing manner, how perplexing! "Ah, Son, I have been waiting for you." ''Sounds ominous'' my Soul Interface was beeping obnoxiously in my pocket. *sigh* "Why, what''s going on?" I ask. "Since your obviously so serious about becoming an Adventurer, I called a friend... Someone who can help you get stronger." I paused, my parents had been acting pretty odd over the past year, treating me as if I''m much older, I was reasonably sure I hadn''t slipped up and mentioned my past life or anything. (I wish you luck) [Yeah you''re gonna need it], I scowl skyward, the Soul Interface beeps again. "Really Mother? Who is this friend? Also I''m pretty sure my training is fine as it is!" "Hon, ready now, no need to worry, he''s a fine young man!" I frown, is she already going senile? I sense a presence behind me, a pair or familiarly slim arms tie my hands together. I''m blind folded and thrown over Mother''s shoulders. The binding is tough, expertly done, my Father no doubt has mastered the art of double knotting. It seems they are in cahoots, lulling me into a sense of false security! I suddenly feel drowsy, I had wondered why my breakfast had tasted funny. I soon end up in lala land. I wake up with a gritty mouth, feeling like shit already. I find I''m in some kinda campsite no longer tied up, I stand shakily. I vow wrath on my cruel parents, zoning out, "You cute ain''t ya!" I shriek, jumping backwards and landing on my ass, I look around frantically searching for the voice, "Up here kid." I look up, hanging upside down, like a vampire bat is a middle aged man, he had tanned skin, grayish black hair and aquamarine eyes he resembles mother quite a lot, no doubt also a half Targual. "I''m yer Uncle Stew, an gonna ye teach ya to be a proper Adventurer. Yer friend came too." he said gesturing, carrying an armload of firewood is Rorry. He drops his wood. Hah! And smiles at me "Hey Chris! I heard you decided to take your training to a new level, so I asked to come too!" his voice oozes respect, I roll my eyes. It takes me a while to process my Uncles garbled works, Stew huh? One thing I hadn''t originally been aware of was my parent''s names, I hadn''t bothered asking, I refer to them as Mother and Father after all, and I was never around when their names were called. Steve Crash and Lucy Crash are the names of my parents. They are well respected. Of course my Fathers real name is unknown, he''d had to change it after all, and had opted to take my Mothers family name instead. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Uncle Stew leaped from the branch doing a backflip and landing gracefully. [Dayum] Myself and Rorry stare blankly at him for a moment, he waves a waterskin in my face "Here, yer probably thirsty!" I thank him before taking a swig, the water was fresh and cool, and there wasn''t any funny taste. "Awright lads getcha asses in gear we got some training to do!" I grimace, I can only imagine the hellish shit this weird dude can put us through. He hands us some black rods, then asks us to personalize them, I drip some blood on it. Again, I''m not sure what the hell is up with all the Goddamn blood. I cry out dropped flat on the ground, I hear Rorry curse and fall at my side, the device is stupidly heavy, "Naw get up lads! Also, I''ll be taking yer SI''s." I rise painfully and dig out my Soul Interface, reading the messages in passing. -- Your stats, skill, and overall effectiveness has been greatly reduced against this opponent. -Cursed by the Skies (Passive)- You have annoyed the God of Skies Hadrian for scowling at his domain. -Birds don''t like you. -Birds will go out of their way to annoy you. -Birds are likely to drop fecal matter upon your head. -- Your hands have been bound by an expert double knotter. You are unable to use said limbs. -- You will soon fall asleep. *sigh* Stew takes our Soul Interfaces, I also hand him my Storage Void for safekeeping, worried something might happen to it. The training was pretty normal at first having us run around doing parkour with the weird weight rods on us. He slowly upped the weight throughout and we soon grew tired, It got pretty late too. We returned to camp and he taught us the basic of surviving in the wilderness, told a few stories of his adventuring days and some embarrassing things about my parents. We soon sank into a relaxed stupor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 5 - Evil Uncle. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was Dreaming again, only this time my surroundings were very unfamiliar, I was in a cramped white cube shaped room with bare ceramic tile walls, the room was small enough to feel crowded with me alone. An iron door appeared right in front of me, the door''s upper slot slid open and a pair of pale eyes stared through. His voice sounded young, sweet and melodious "My name is Caiz Nightwood and I''ll be the one to slay you, Exile." I realized he must the so called hero meant to kill me "Shut up, you haven''t even been born yet." he wasn''t listening, muttering quietly to himself. "Anyway, what the hell is this, your Dreamspace is lame.". One thing bothered me, he knew my circumstances, the term Exile is often use to describe those who defy the Otherside, and unfortunately such things are usually permanent. He seems to have stopped mumbling. "Exile, I intend to ruin you, I won''t simply kill you, some things are worse than death after all" "You finished? Can I go now, your Highness?" At this point I''m pretty sure he''s reincarnating too, like I did. I frown, this is my chance to confirm Self Notes, theory. "Is this The Machine?" I asked, he tilted his head "Are you stupid? No don''t answer that. I came here to make a point, and maybe see what sort of person my target is, a disappointment." ''I''ll take that as a yes'' he finished speaking and the slot was slid shut. Darkness filled the room, I could hear small sounds in the dark like the squeaks of mice or rats, the sounds of wriggling insects, pushing against me. I started to feel a pressure behind my eyes, needles of pain tore into me, all over my body was blinding pain. A sensation like having fire ants biting you under your skin. Then blessed relief, I felt reality reasserting itself. I woke up in a cold sweat, it wasn''t quite morning but close enough, I began exercising trying to take my mind off the ghost pains. I heard a groan and found Rorry had unexpectedly woken up "Oh! So diligent!" he grinned and soon joined me, I didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. (I''ll tear that bastard apart) ''Yeah that hurt like a bitch'' (Don''t act like a tough guy, I thought you were gonna die!) I frowned, it was kinda weird he didn''t kill me, I stopped. Rorry looking at questioning ''It must have something to do with Will'' \Probably! Anyway, Little Notes is gonna see if she can set up some effective mental defenses/ ''Good, I hope she leaves him something nasty'' \Of course, who do you think she is? *sigh* You going to get serious now?/ I nodded slowly, then forgetting she can''t see me, sheepishly replying ''Yup'' I told Rorry I needed the toilet and he nodded, returning to his training. I looked for a suitable clearing and began meditating for a while. I called Shadow [What the fuck do you want?] I smile "To get stronger." [Finally. Are you ready asshole?] "Yeah lets get this show on the road." Shadow takes control of my body, stretching unnaturally I could feel him modifying my body, bones snapping, muscles shifting. {I have you given ''that'' ability} ''Cool, can I have my body back?'' {I''ll fuck your mom} ''Oh God'' [Just kidding, kid. I''m not that bad] I sigh with relief, heading back. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Stew is standing in the middle of the campsite holding a large black bag. "Good mornin lads. I brought breakfast!" he empties the contents of the back with great enthusiasm, a large boar corpse drops with a thud. We both do a double take, the boar is huge, 7 foot tall with a body to match, It had a few odd features like its green eyes, lacking pupils and irises, it probably relies on smell and hearing. It had black teeth and horns, It''s throat was slit and very cleanly. I frowned, reevaluating my opinion of my Uncle. Stew smiled "Okay boys, for todays training you''ll butcher this boar and make an edible meal out of it, I''ll catch you both later!" he left abruptly in a blur. I couldn''t believe my ears! How eas- I had retrieved my knife and brought it to the skin of the boar, Rorry likewise followed my actions, oddly focused. "I don''t think this is as simple as it sounds" he had said. The skin seemed to resist the knife. I scowled. ''Thought so, hey Shadow I should be stronger right?'' [Erm, not really] ''Whaaaat? Why the hell not?'' [Look at least I gave you the ability, its a complete cheat after all] I grunted. Rorry and I spent the first half of the day sawing into the flesh, strangely the meat didn''t spoil. "I bet this''ll taste great! And we''ll probably an get awful lot stronger too right?" I chuckled "Sure, let''s just get this done." we cleaned the meat throwing away the entrails, skewering the meat and began cooking it. A delicious scent filled the clearing, we were both smiling proudly "Ehhehehehehehekakakakaka" my smile died. Stew was watching from a distance, laughing creepily, the meat was done and I took the first bite. ''Delicious'' I smiled broadly, then I felt something weird a nauseous feeling a palpable. I stood up wildly gesturing at Rorry not to eat it. He just smiled, assuming the opposite *facepalm*. My sickening feeling only got worse and I soon emptied my stomach and I faintly heard Rorry chucking. "What the hell was that!" I shouted, Stew was still smiling, it pissed me off. "Why didn''t you tell us it was poisoned!?" he laughed "Oh? Would the boar have told you as you took it''s life, the poisonous properties of it''s meat?" I scowled. "In the wild you can die anytime, you need to think of everything! To survive, one not only needs the skills of a survivor but the mind of one." he said, It made sense in a way. "Ah for now, since you failed, you have another task! You must find your way home." called Stew, as he disappeared. Rorry and I shared a determined smile ''Next time we meet, old man, I''ll kick your ass!'' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 6 - The Rot. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The four A-rank Subjugators gathered at the campsite warily, they had received an anonymous tip of Rot activity, of course it could easily be a faux but none would risk the chance of a Rot outbreak. The Warrior eyed the Rotten boar corpse, the Mage spoke up "Hey Scout can you tell how far gone it is?" the Scout nodded, speaking quietly "Yeah, I''ll say, 10 to 20 percent infected." "Is that harmful?" he looked thoughtful. "No, it would have to be halfway infected for it to pass to anything in this forest, of course the same can''t be said for people. However I assume the one who gave us the tip was the one who no doubt foolishly tried to eat it. So long as they didn''t digest it, it''ll be fine." the Warrior sighed, "Where the hell did it come from, the Rot don''t belong here." the other nodded and they made their way deeper into the forest. We had survived. Myself and Rorry make a great team. We had gotten stronger, and no doubt leveled our skills. It took us a week to finally get home, it seems our parents were waiting for us, the Village Chief was with them. "Ah boys you''re here! Good, good." our parents congratulated us on completing the basic training. ''What the hell? Basic!?'' (Pfthahahahahaha) my parents seemed equally amused. I glare, ''Don''t they care about putting their precious Son in danger?'' though I guessed Evil Uncle had been watching over us. "Hey Mom, do you know where Uncle Stew is?" she shook her head "No, Brother Stew is busy with the Subjugators." "Subjugators?" "Yes we have something important to talk about, Chief?" the village Chief spoke "Oh? Ah yes, boys, it seems the Rot have been found in the forest, and the Subjugators are closing off the area!" "The Rot?" "Yes! The Rot are strange creatures from the swamplands ,they spread their sickness, turning creatures mad, the infected become stronger in the process and continue to spread the infection. Stay away from the forest!" Rorry''s parents quickly drag him home and we wave goodbye. Mother forces me to take a bath and I get dressed in some clean clothes and return to my room. On my desk is a small note and my Soul Interface. I read the note. -My Dear Nephew It pains me, being unable to continue the training you so love! But don''t worry! Once the Rot have been taken care of we can begin the next stage of your training- ''Who said I loved that training!?'' *sigh* I grab my Interface, about to call up my status, when Self Notes calls (Hey, Chris-) "You know, I forgot to ask but-" (CHRIS, let me fini-) "Nooooo!" *Shhhhh* "Look I wanna know how the Hero found me, I have Hidden From Machina right?" (Are you a dummy?), "Excuuuse me princess, but would you mind sharing your wisdom with little old me?" (Just call up the Description doofus) -Hidden From Machina (Passive)- You are invisible to the Will of Machina, It''s Guardian, and Heroes. "And? Now what?" (Now. Read it, slowly) "Ummm..." (Okay, maybe that''s too much for you. Fine! I''ll point it out to you, he''s reincarnating for heavens sake! That means he isn''t a Hero yet!) "Oooh so he exploited the loophole?" (No, I doubt he knew you had the skill to begin with, the Otherside probably haven''t told him about us) "Alright what did you want?" (I forgot) "No you didn''t!" (Ugh, I was gonna say we are getting stronger, the three of us that is, we can almost manifest now!) "Oh God." [You''re a real whiny little shit] said Shadow, butting in "Whatever, you guys just go back to wherever the hell you are when you''re not talking." [Cya brat!] (...) both voices disappear. I open my Interface checking my status. -------------------- Overview -v- Name: Christopher Crash. Status: Standard. Age: 11. Estimated Lifespan: 80-140. Physical Rank: D. Mental Rank: D. Aethaerics Talent: B. -------------------- Memory Tree -v- -------------------- Stats -v- Strength: 42 Vitality: 55 If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.Agility: 35 Intelligence: 40 Will: 50 Luck: 100 -------------------- Status Effects: Possessed: Your body is possessed by three eccentric spirits: Shadow. Mirror. Self Notes. Tired: You''re TIRED! -------------------- Traits -v- Exotic One Quarter Targual Three Quarters Human Dormant Ghoul Genius Trained Body Diligent Survivor Lucky -------------------- Skills -v- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -------------------- -- -------------------- Alright. Time to test my new limits! I grabbed my Storage Void, filling it with anything I deemed useful and sneaked out again, with my new higher leveled -- I manage to get by my parents, I consider calling Rorry over, but I don''t want to put him in unnecessary danger. I approach the forest again there were many Subjugators patrolling the perimeter. ''Annoying''. There was also an Aethaeric Barrier, something I wouldn''t be able to get through. Of course I doubted they had covered the entire forest in a barrier, they don''t have the power for that. I eventually saw the right path, it was heavily guarded, making it stupidly obvious. There were 7 members of the Subjugators blocking the path. No way past. I scowled, calling Mirror. \Yeeeeesss?/ ''Can you distract them?'' \Suuuuure, why the hell should I?/ ''Fine, don''t, I''ll call Shadow instead, I only hope he won''t massacre them this time...'' \You''re no fun. I''ll do it/ ''Thanks''. She manifested then, appearing in the middle of the path amongst the Subjugators, they stared at village girl who had suddenly appeared, the Subjugator Officer began warning her off, "Missy you should leave, this area is dangerous, go home." I watched her, smirking, the other Subjugators waited for the Officer''s orders. Mirror held a single black die in her hand, they stared puzzled as she began juggling it. The Officer was scowling, approaching her, when she suddenly held out the die. It shone briefly and I closed my eyes. *bang!* Smoke filled the air, she had used a Curse Dice, they are used to inflict many negative status affects on a group of people, though unlikely to kill a normal person never mind a Subjugator. I ran past the pile of writhing men and hurried into the forest, when I judged I was far enough in I closed my eyes and listened. A became aware of the slightest sounds, the vibrations in the air, I Willed it until my Interface beeped. -Acquired Skill --- I grinned. ''Awesome'' I began trudging through the forest searching for target practice when I my -- warned me of a single threat. I turned nervously. A huge hulking wolf, like the boar before it had bright almost glowing green eyes, black teeth and black green tinted fur. Terrified, I spoke "Good doggy, you''re a good doggy aren-" *kyaaa!* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 7 - Rotten Princess. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The canine''s head lowered, hair standing up on end and growled, I cringed jumping back and calling open my Storage Void, I was soon armed with a long mithril awl in one hand and a small crossbow in the other. The wolf seemed to smile, amused. I began using -- and -- drawing power from the area boosting my stats, a dark brown aura emitted from my body. I shot a crossbow bolt at the wolf and it casually stepped aside, [Um, you need any help?] "Fuck no, I can do this!" [Whatever you say man]. I thrust with my spear, scoring it''s hide, only it didn''t seem to injure it. I glared, annoyed. Seeing me helpless, the wolf grew complacent, circling me in a blur, I could tell it wasn''t even using it''s full power. ''Ugh this is bad'' I put my weapons back in the Storage Void and knelt, pressing my palms into the earth. "Hey, Mirror, can I have some assistance?" I felt her return to my body \Yuuuup, take thiiiis/ power pulsed through me, my aura thickening, thankfully the wolf was still underestimating me. I began using -- and started adapting it to my needs. -Acquired --- ''Alright almost ready'' I used --, my eyes burning with flames of green and red. My skin took an earth like hue, my hair turning to leaves and my nails lengthening into claws. -- is a very special ability, it was originally used by Dark Gods in Dreamspaces, but Shadow managed to replicated it in reality. -- and -- give you temporary control and awareness of your surroundings, the skill is heavily reliant on Aethaerics Talent, and the Will stat. -- is more permanent giving skills, traits, and stat gains though it is somewhat of a gamble as it can have a negative effect. Using -- literally assimilates you with your environment triggering a transformation. ''Alright, done!'' \Hooboy, clobber him, boss!/ I charged the wolf, the trees seemingly bending out of the way for me, my body is much faster now, and I managed to catch the wolf unprepared. I duck underneath it and rake my claws along its underbelly, it lets out a cry of pain, but amazingly it doesn''t even seem to be badly wounded. \Well shit/, the wolf seems to be pretty angry with me, it shoots past me, curling its huge tail around my leg and running forward. It was moving fast enough that I didn''t have to worry about hitting the floor. It suddenly turned, and it''s tail let go of me. I was swung with the strength and speed of an A-rank monster. Fatal. [Damn, you suck. Pass me the wheel] "Not yet!" I grumbled. I harden my aura to the limits, my aura momentarily turning black, I Willed the forest to cushion my fall. *oof* I landed on my back knocking the breath out of me and quickly stand, thankfully I broke no bones, I still had some strength in me. The great wolf stared down at me contemptuously. Rushing me it brought it''s left paw crushing down for my legs, the other paw pinning my shoulder. It opened it''s maw ready to chew my face off and I blasted it with all my concentrated aura, rocking it''s head back. It growled again biting for my face with renewed ferocity. {Now. I''ll not ask again] I sighed, while pushing the wolf''s head back. "Fine." I relinquished control. I could still feel and see through my body only now, Shadow was in control. He kicked the wolf off with supernaturally strong kick, sending it flying into the air, it dragged it''s claws along the trees slowing it''s fall and landed gracefully, it stared at Shadow-Me with baleful eyes. Pain assaulted my back and eyes, Shadow-Me showed no reaction. Eight slender black spider legs shot from Shadow-Me''s back and His eyes turned black. He walked forwards slowly, eyes locked with the wolf and hands in pockets. Suddenly lunging with four of the spider legs faster than the wolf can see the four legs drew blood and long jagged cuts opened along the wolf''s flanks. It howled in pain and called it''s pack. "Well shit, this got a whole lot harder" spoke Shadow-Me. His right foot braced backwards and his left foot lashed out, heel smashing into the wolfs throat, silencing it. "Shut. Up." He growled. We soon heard the sounds of answering howls. Shadow-Me leaned forward facing the approaching Pack. "Meh, this is gonna be fun." he laughed, ''Seriously, are you insane?'' \Oh don''t worry about him, little bro, if he does anything stupid we''ll take over/ (Yeah!) I groan ''Be careful, my body''s in a bad way'' "Sure thing asshole, fresh tenderized wolf chops coming up!" 13 more wolves are suddenly surrounding us. He darted forwards activating his -- shadows clumping together around him, forming a cyclone of black, 13 whips of Dark blasted through each individual wolf killing them all instantly in an explosion of gore. "Boooring!" Shadow-Me drawled. \You''re the one who finished them off so fast dumbass!/. Shadow-Me frowned feeling a strong presence, one capable of matching him, he rushed towards the strange presence using his many spider legs to travel at his maximum speed. A huge egg shaped amber ball pulsating with red light was hovering at the very center of the forest. ''This isn''t what I think it is, is it?'' (Ummm, I''m pretty sure it is) \Yeah, to think the source of this was a Princess/ ''Hey Shadow, is she alone?'' "Yeah, no Maids. Odd." he stood at the edge of the red light, curious. The glowing egg was an active Hiveportal. Rotten Princesses are Upper S-rank monsters, they usually stay within the borders of their Queen''s territory maintaining the outer Hives. Princesses however do sometimes travel elsewhere, but they are usually guarded by Maids who are Mid S-rank monsters, meaning we are way out of our league. Or should be. "Yeah only a Princess, and she''s feels... Weaker?" said Shadow-Me, uncertainly ''Okay if we can chance it, that would be for the best, we can''t just leave Bio-Demons around so close to civilization, especially not near my home'' "Yeah but I''m more worried about who put her in this condition." (Hmm, I doubt there are many people in these parts capable of taking on an Upper S-rank and especially not a Princess!) ''And Shadow?'' "Yes?" ''Don''t wear yourself out, I need you guys strong'' \Yup yup, if you get badly injured it will slow our progress, we need to be able to protect Chris, and we won''t be able to if you get tuckered out/ (Yeah! Chris, you need to start taking this stuff seriously before you get yourself killed!) Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Shadow-Me releases his Will, channeling --, sucking the life from the Hiveportal and surrounding area, the plants and trees shriveling in the area. He would need to be cautious. "Hey Princess! I just broke your Hiveportal! You mad?" Shadow-Me shouted smiling, exuding an aura of confidence. "Well... I guess I''ll just be on my way." he muttered sarcastically, when a humanoid insect appeared before the broken remains of the Hiveportal, it''s chitin a bright blue with a body like the horrific lovechild of a centipede, preying mantis and an ant. Large fly like green eyes bore hatefully at Shadow-Me. It had a vicious wound along it''s back, with it''s wings out of commission lowering it''s threat level considerably. Making Shadow-Me sigh in relief. The creature crouched, then explosively jumped ahead and a long poisonous tail extending out swung over at Him and he sidestepped. The Princess screeched, using the Sound Controller, rending our ears with painful sounds, blood dripped from our ears but Shadow-Me kept our body still, aura whirling he formed a fist of darkness, bringing it swinging down towards the Princess. Her own aura hardened and she endured the strike easily. He huffed frustrated, her defense would be very hard to get through. He knew exactly how to deal with her, he only need to slow her down for a moment. He opened my Storage Void, withdrawing an arsenal of weapons, sheathing them all in Darkness, he struck, figure flickering, firing multiple crossbow bolts, she dodged each by a hairs breadth wasting no movements. His spider legs struck out leaving small indentations on her hard carapace. A barrage of melee weapons wrapped in Darkness closed with her, dodging or blocking she weathered through, waiting for his killing strike. Shadow-Me abruptly stilled, spider legs piercing the ground, he braced himself. It took almost all his concentration, sustaining the furious attack on her. With one deep breath he activated -- a, huge beam of black pulsing light is fired forth, arcing up into the air in a sonic boom and slamming down into the Princess. The surrounding trees were blasted back, crushed or mangled, leaving deep gashes and furrows in the earth, marking crisscrossed patterns and trenches in the clearing. A small crater smoked at the center of the carnage. I doubted the Princess survived. ''*whistles* Dayuuum'' "This isn''t over." he said, voice hoarse ''What the hell are talking about! Did you even see-'' a small figure jumped out of the one of the trenches, tail and arm missing, the Princess stood unsteadily. ''Oh'' "Yup." Shadow-Me''s face was contorted into an ear to ear smile "You want more you fucking bitch!?" he roared, spider legs fanning out he got into position. \Oh my, what a fucking WASTE! Why does he always do this!?/ ''Waste?'' \Yup, he wasted almost ALL his energy in that single attack!/ "You two, shut up. Let me concentrate." he ran at the Princess, both much slower than before. Her body was missing pieces of chitin, and dark green blood welled from her wounds, she used the Boost Controller, now moving even faster than her former speed "Two can play that game!" said Shadow-Me, doing the same. His bottom most spider legs shot out, hooking around her legs, his fists punching over and over, chitin cracking. Her body was rocked bag and forth. Eyes filled with a mad gleam, her arm grabbed at the spider legs holding her legs and tore. Shadow-Me shouted in pain, harassed, though his smile never wavered. With two spider legs down, he jumped, spinning in midair smacking her out of the sky with six simultaneous sweeping kicks from his remaining spider legs. She was sent crashing through several trees before landing at the foot of the crater. She stood back up, but she was in critical condition, half her body completely caved in and her skull cracked. Shadow glowered "Real hardy bastard aren''t you?" she screeched in response. Laughing he ran at her again, keeping his limbs out of her range, he shot whips of Dark, scoring jagged wounds on her already broken frame. He then jumped with his spider legs and bringing his human ones down in a drop kick, he heard the snap of her neck. "Now that was pretty anti-climatic." he said grinning as the his Dark Controller deactivated, the spider legs on his back likewise disappearing. My body soon returned to normal, and the weight of my exhaustion hit me like a truck. I fell forwards over the corpse of the Princess, and with the last of my strength I stored her corpse in my Storage Void before falling unconscious. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Alright and that''s a wrap folks! Wait next week for more! Chapter 8 - Aftermath. BONUUUUUS CHAAAAPTEEEERRRRR! Enjoy! (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rorry was very worried. Last night a great battle had taken place, the entire village had been shaken and a flash of black had blotted out the sky. The Subjugators at the time just finished slaying the infected beasts and decided to investigate the source of the black flash. Soon they saw a picture of pure carnage, at its center was a small singed crater and a round black ball. Circling overhead was a huge flock of birds who were taking turns pecking and defecating on a strange black ball. After the Subjugators entered the clearing the birds flew away, seemingly satisfied. As the Subjugators got closer they found the small ball to be made of a tough silk like substance. They later found a broken amber colored object, a Hiveportal. The Subjugators were immensely relieved that it had been broken. They also found many pieces of broken chitin and four insect limbs, two of which are thought to be those of a large spider, and the tail and arm of a Rotten Princess. (If you haven''t already realized, the Rot is the name of Bio-Demons in this world). A large puddle of the Princess''s blood was also found, and the Subjugators pronounced the Princess dead and the situation taken care of. A Subjugator clean up crew later turned up and began repairing the damages to the forest. Upon further inspection the black ball seemed to be a cocoon of sorts holding a humanoid body, they then cut into it carefully revealing a child''s face. They were unable to properly remove the cocoon, though the child was soon identified by the villagers as the son of Steve and Lucy Crash and promptly returned to them. That had been days ago, though Chris appeared alive he seemed to be in a coma of sorts. Mr and Mrs Crash had been baffled. Though worried, they were reassured he was still alive and Mrs Crash frantically began searching for any medicine to wake him or something to cut the odd black cocoon. Rorry had meanwhile lamented on their time spent together. Chris had been a good man and a great friend! [...kid...] his eyebrows wrinkled ''I must be so worried I''m hearing things!'' [Kid!] ''WOAH!'' he stood abruptly, causing a commotion. He had been sat at home in the main room at the time and his brothers and sisters glanced at him with concern and pity. He zoned out, then rushing to his room and locking the door behind him. He dropped to his knees, "OH GREAT SPIRIT! WHAT IS IT YOU WISH!?" [Oh God, what an idiot. Pipe down jackass] he flushes scarlet, embarrassed "Sorry!" he whispered. [Oh for fucks sake just speak normally] "Oh! Okay." [Right... Look kid, I''m obviously a real badass spirit right, so you just gotta shut your mouth and do as I say, got that?] "Ohhhh! Yes! Great spirit, your wish is my command!" [I can''t believe you''re serious, this is ridiculous. Alright I''m gonna need you to listen real carefully...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *gasp* I leap to my feet with a shout and check my surroundings, I was in the middle of Sirin at the water fountain. *rumble* A heavy roiling fog hung over the large and empty village. I felt a tugging sensation (Over here!). I let out a sigh of relief as I started making my way through the ghost town. Standing before the door of my humble abode, I open the door, marching up the stairs and charging into my room. (Welcome to our new Dreamspace!) said Self Notes sat on my bed, she was wearing a plain white t-shirt, shorts and steel toed boots. Cute and soft featured, her waist length black hair completely straight, only curling at the edges and her silver eyes enveloping me with a warm feeling. Standing on the ceiling, hair and clothes defying gravity was Shadow, he was also dressed similarly in a plain black t-shirt, black slacks and barefoot. He had fluffy black hair, a youthful face, black eyes and his odd gray skin. He wore his usual arrogant smirk. And finally, leaning against the wall was Mirror dressed in a short skirt and blue hoody, pinkish skin a stark contrast against the pale of the other two. She had angular face with small features, better than average looks, just sort of creepy. Her blueish white hair was cut shoulder length this time. She was currently glaring at Shadow. Mirror glanced at me, \Yo, finally the guest of honor has arrived/ *snorts* "Explanation?" [Um ya, sorry for almost killing you] I scowled "You fucking asshole." (Yup, Shadow, you are pretty much an established asshole, its official!) [Yeah sorry] *sigh* "That''s in the past, so lets just fucking forget about it. So, what happened?" (Your body is safe don''t worry boss! It was in critical condition before, but your body has stabilized, so don''t worry!) "How long was I out?" [Five days] "Ugh." (Well now that''s out of the way, we have things to talk about) "Um that sounds bad, have I been a bad boy? Am I going to be punished?" I ask sarcastically [Kid, we''re leaving. Shazzam] I raised my eyebrows "Leaving?" \Uh yeah, see, we can''t fully use our power through your body and can''t properly protect you. So... We were thinking of finding some suitable hosts and switching out/ "What." (Don''t worry, we''ll keep seeing each other here when you sleep. And hey, hopefully this will motivate you to get stronger!) \Yeah though we''ll be bringing our hosts together, so we can watch you properly. To be honest it''ll take us decades to get back to our former power and we don''t have the time/ [Ah yeah we also gave you a few ''gifts'' and uh, upgrades. Awesome right? No need to restrain yourself!] I rolled my eyes "So what upgrades did I get?" [Well, we or rather Little Notes and Mirror upgraded your Storage Void, its a lot bigger now. It could probably hold your entire house. They also fused it with your Soul Interface, and then kind of fused that with...] "Sorry could you repeat that, I didn''t hear." [...Your soul...] "Pardon?" \He said we fused it with your soul, so now you got access to an inventory the size of a house at all times and you can always check your status, and no one can take it from you/ "Wow." (I know right! It took us a month to get an early prototype going, there were issues...) [Aren''t you worried we fused some experimental device with your fucking SOUL?] "Erm, when you put it like that... Oh! Wait! I forgot, Shadow what do you think I''ll get when I -- the Princess?" [Um about that? Its kind of gone now] "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY CORPSE!!!" [Shit, sorry. NO! Why the hell am I apologizing!? You fucking leeched it off me anyway!] *SMACK* Mirror punches us both in the arm. \Stop running your mouth''s you little brats!/ he winces. (Yeah. Anyway. Just consider the corpse payment for the upgrades, I''m sure you''ll appreciate them when you see them!) Self Notes and Mirror disappear. \See ya boss! We both have some work to do/, I stare at Shadow "Well? Don''t leave me HANGING. Haha. Ha." [Hehehe. He. Hehe. Right... So. I was thinking of offering my services while we have the time] "Services? Ewww!" [Not like that, you freak! I meant training!] "Oh! Cool, sure!" [Anyway we have a month to train] "A MONTH!? I can''t be gone that long!" [Don''t worry, time here is very different, anyway. Skill experience here will carry over as will mental stats, this is a great chance for you] "Are you seriously just gonna stay there. I mean isn''t that rude?" he raises his eyebrows [Rude? Have I ever passed up the chance to be ''Rude''?] "..." he jumped from the ceiling, landing upright. Smiling devilishly he said [Let. The. Training. Begin!]. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Waking from my coma I felt surprisingly normal. I opened my eyes. I was a laying upon a bed with my body armored in a tight black cocoon. Shadow had kept my body safe. As I woke up though the silk began compressing into my body taking the form of black form fitting clothes. Looking around I realize I''m in the Chief''s house, I can faintly hear voices. I call my up my Interface and a white paper-like window appeared in front of me. -------------------- Overview -v- Name: Christopher Crash. Status: Standard. Age: 11. Estimated Lifespan: 80-140. Physical Rank: D. Mental Rank: D. Aethaerics Talent: B. -------------------- Memory Tree -v- -------------------- Stats -v- Strength: 42 Vitality: 55 Agility: 35 Intelligence: 53 Will: 68 Luck: 100 -------------------- Status Effects: Possessed: Your body is possessed by three eccentric spirits: Shadow. Mirror. Self Notes. Well Rested: Your body is in great condition! -------------------- Traits -v- Exotic One Quarter Targual Three Quarters Human Pureblood Ghoul Kin Of Arachnid Genius Trained Body Diligent Bookworm Survivor Lucky -------------------- Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -------------------- -- -------------------- It was mostly my combat skills that had risen in level. Though there were also a few new skills that made me smile nostalgically. I had also gained a few traits with their tinkering, no doubt my ''gifts''. - - You are one of the nocturnal predators of night, only blood and meat can quench your hunger and thirst. ''Great!'' one the best things about being a ghoul is that you don''t need the toilet! Pureblood Ghouls have no bladder or intestines and survive solely on blood and meat. Unlike Lesser Ghouls they don''t need to survive on a solely human diet. -- You will have good starting relations with all spider type creatures. You have also been bestowed venomous fangs and eight extra spider limbs. ''Ugh, I don''t know what to think about that'' I checked my appearance with the interface. A pair of fangs were poking out from under my lips, my red and green irises had enlarged like Father''s, almost filling the entire eye, the pupils were slit and I found myself able to easily see in the dark room. Behind me were eight spider legs, like Shadow''s only they had extra armored segments and were green. ''It''ll take me a while to get used to this!'' I managed to fold them against my back, though it was very uncomfortable. There seemed to be eight holes along my back on my new black spider-silk clothes. ''Convenient'' -- Through harsh training you have reforged your body. Resistant to cold and hot climates. Resistant to injuries. It is easier to gain Physical Stats. ''Not bad'' -- You submissively follow all orders through till the end, never giving up. ''Sounds like a backhanded compliment...'' -- You are able to very quickly absorb knowledge through books with great speed and ease. ''Cool!'' -- For surviving in the wilderness and being taught the dangers of infected boar meat you are now slightly less stupid. ''...'' ''Thanks Self Notes. Now let''s take a look at these skills'' -- A Willform Aethaeric cultivation method, put together with the combined efforts of the Ghosts Shadow and Self Notes. Refreshes and cleanses the body. Revitalizing your energy. Can also give Mental Stat gains. -- A Willform Aethaeric Aura, technique was once used by a lame dude from Earth. ''Are you calling me lame!?'' Greatly increases speed and damage. -- A Willform Aethaeric Aura. This defensive aura is one of the Ghost Mirror''s best abilities. Greatly increases defense. Able to block special Controllers. ''Hell. Yes!'' I fist pump with joy, accidentally knocking the end table over and alerting the house guests. A crowd of familiar people burst through the door, Mother, Father, Uncle, Village Chief, and Rorry with his family all stare at me, shocked. I tilt my head confused. Father faints. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 9 - New Beginnings. Next chapter coming soon! (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mirror''s eyes zeroed in on the weird Targual girl, her wavelength was perfect. The Three of them had been searching for months for appropriate Host''s. Now she only had to get this crazy Targual alchemist to allow her in then march the girl back over to Sirin. It was supposed to be simple. Shadow hadn''t like it when he found out his ''perfect'' host was just some weak street urchin. Though he had the perfect personality alright! He wasn''t sure how the kid had survived until this point with that ridiculous attitude. Self Notes, found her perfect host to be VERY far away and in very difficult circumstances. It was extremely frustrating, the others after all would probably end up much closer, and very possibly interact with Chris physically... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I glared at the rich kid, eye bulging with fury. He sneered "Get out of here you filthy rat, before I call the guards. They''ll fillet you and your pathetic thief friends if you don''t leave." I reached for his throat. Suddenly my arms were being pulled back by the twins, Daniel and Pora. Daniel quietly whispered into my ear. "Do you WANT to get us killed dumbass, this assfaced kid noble scum will gladly get you killed!" he hissed out the last part. I relaxed, embarrassed. We quickly leave, the tiny noble laughing scornfully at our departing figures. The twins have been with me half my life, they always get me out of trouble. Often times they receive discrimination in the city for their cat ears and tails. The two of them are Gravity Cats, only their Gravity Controllers are too weak. We slowed, our walk feet dragging. None of us had any good memories of the city, we had always been looked down on by everyone. Something that had always filled me with rage. [Kiiiiid] I look around careful to avoid drawing attention, searching for the odd voice. ''That''s weird'' [...w...d] ''What the hell is that!?'' frustrated, I can find no signs of the voice. We head home. Or atleast what we like to call home. Nestled in the dark alleyway was an extremely shoddy house, practically held together by nails and string. The wood was weak and rotten, creaking with every movement. But it was still very much home to us. We''d lived in this damn thing for years. I sat down relaxing, the twins practically wrapping themselves around me. When we were younger we''d had to keep together just like this to survive, lest we freeze to death, that or being attacked by older street kids, likely to do a different kind of attacking. Either way the habit had stuck. They purred quietly as I began writing in my journal. [Kid!] I didn''t stop, nor show any reaction that I heard the voice, I didn''t want to disturb Daniel and Pora. ''I definitely heard it!'' [Yes you fucking did] I stop, bewildered. ''Are you... A great spirit?'' [Ok what? What the fuck is up with this great spirit bullshit. No I am not your ancient ancestor come to send you on an adventure of self discovery!] I was very perturbed. ''What the fuck are you doing in my head then?'' [You. Host. Me. Now] ''What'' [I''ll put it into little words for you. I need your weak lame ass body to protect my best fucking friend] ''Weak, weak weak weak. It''s all anybody has to say to me'' I feel my anger boiling back up. [So what''s your name, host to be?] ''My name, asshole, is Gray. Just Gray'' [Alright, listen up weakling, you are now my property, your new name is Gray Shadow. Motherfucking deal] ''No'' [Yes] ''No'' [Yes]... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mirror was growing increasingly irritated. \Then just BUY it!/ "You know I can''t Misss Ghost! Thessse dessscisssionsss mussst be carefully consssidered." Mirror groans. It had been remarkably easy to get the Targual girl to listen, the only hard part being convincing her to leave. She was stupidly attached to her alchemical equipment and the stuff was unfortunately too unwieldy to take with her. They had been discussing buying a Storage Void for that very purpose. Only the Targual girl is very stingy or as she likes to say, frugal. The girl was no ordinary Targual, not with Aethaerics Talent A, high physical stats and ridiculous Will. Her name was Linear Serpent and she lived near the outskirts of the Targual capitol, close to the docks. Thankfully she could easily afford to pay for passage to Lost. Mirror had estimated it would take a few weeks to a month of time before she could get the girl to Lost and eventually Sirin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The three of them had gathered in Ghost Sirin. Self Notes appeared uncharacteristically discouraged. Mirror looked only somewhat frustrated and Shadow was looking smugger than ever. [So... How''d it go for you guys. I managed to get myself a sweet catch, A-rank talent and a buy one get two free deal with two twin Gravity Cats] he was gloating. Mirror smirked, \Me too, I got an A-rank talent, A-rank body and high Willed Targual girl! Awesome right!?/ the two glared at each other, [So Little Notes how about you?] he asked sincerely. (Ugh, my Host is WAY too far away. Shes in the Great Jareklai Empire) [Holy shit. That place with the giant dragons with floating giant swords?] (That''s the place) she said with a small smile. (Shes the Heiress) \The heiress of what? Chocolate chip cookies?/ (No, of the Empire) [Ok. Ok. Let me get this straight your Host is going to be a fucking Empress and YOU''RE dissatisfied?] (Yes. She has no friends, nobody takes her seriously and the leaders of the Empire will probably manipulate her into being their puppet. But. It gets worse) \How?/ (The Empire, when they take control clearly intend to take more land for themselves and the Lost Isles are at the top of their list!) [Well shit] (Yeah. Anyway. I want to help that girl. I''ll take her from those vicious Empire bastards!) [Damn. Well, I guess we''ll get back to our Host''s, catch you later. Oh and say hi to Chris for us!] (...) both Mirror and Shadow disappear. Self Notes waited as she felt Chris falling asleep and she dragged him into the Dreamscape with a renewed grin. *poof* Chris appeared at the center of Ghost Sirin again and she made her way to him. Her smile faded. She felt bad, awkward. The Three could be said to literally be part of him. He used to be a smug, arrogant asshole, creepy and careless, kind and protective. The Three of them represent those aspects of him. With them gone, it must feel like missing a limb. "It''s good to see you Self. Where are the others?" she smiled. (They''re with their new Host''s) she spotted a glimpse of jealousy sparking in his eyes. (Shadow''s Host is the closest, at the city. Mirror''s is from Targual) he sighed "And you?" (Mine is pretty far away) "...Yeah..." it got awkward, Self Notes was about to say something when Chris shook his head. "Look, it don''t care. Well... I do but I''m not gonna fuck up my time together with you guys by mouthing off about your new Host''s." she smiled genuinely (Wanna play a game?) If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That''ll be 23 gold." said the snappy shop keeper. Linear handed over the cash reluctantly, looking as if a relative had just died. She hurried out with her new Storage Void, saddened. \You''re crazy/ She strode through the early morning crowds, past stalls and hawkers. Dodging through the Targual hordes. It took her 15 minutes to get home. A new record. She grabbed her Storage Void and personalized it. Before storing away her equipment with a cringe. ''My Precious...'' \Yo, hurry up, the ship will leave without you!/ Linear hissed "Don''t rush me!". They had done the Contract last night. Linear tentatively agreeing to the Terms. According to the Contract Linear''s entire life was fixed with the purpose of protecting Christopher Crash. Until death, other than that, she was also protected by the Great Spirit Mirror. "Great Spirit, we shall go now!" \How many times have I told you I''m not a Great Fucking Spirit?/. She hurried to the docks and boarded the carrier ship. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I felt pretty good, today we had managed to scrounge together a few fresh vegetables. I grabbed the somewhat rusty pot, pouring in fresh water and spices. We''d managed to snag the spices off a beginner merchant. It was a luxury we rarely get. The water had been hard to gather too. A gang of older street kids block the well, forcing you to pay a toll for the water, the older kids had however been away today, unable to properly guard the well. I had hurriedly sneaked a few buckets of water before rushing back. I brought my flint and steel together igniting the dead wood, heating the pot, I added the vegetables and chunks of rat meat. The rats on the streets aren''t as dirty as people make them out to be. Many street kids are forced to eat either rats or trash. Pora and Daniel were peering into the pot with blissed expressions, I grin. I had grown to the age of 14 recently, though the twins were a few years younger. They looked very cute, utterly huggable. I did so without any hesitation. Soon the soup was done. It was pretty good. The three of us ate our meal in silence, satisfied. "Hey Gray, do you think we''re really safe here? Wasn''t that brat gonna send some guards?" asked Daniel. I freeze, heart beating out of control, I had forgotten about that noble''s kid, he could have sent someone follow us. "Let''s go!" I shout hurriedly. We quickly gather our belongings, only to hear the sounds of heavy footsteps. A pair of guards appear before our shack, steel boots clacking. "You thieves. So you live in this disgusting place? This is not a registered property." the lead guard says, gesturing at his partner. The other guard removes a wicked mace from his belt and starts smashing our shack with abandon. I stare incensed. The burning need to kill him. This man who dares destroy our home! The twins desperately hold me back using their Gravity Controllers to the limits. I feel heavy but that doesn''t stop me, I lunge for the guard, fist blurring for his head only my hand was stopped inches away. The lead guard held my wrist with a disdainful expression, "Dare touch a guardsmen? Filth!" he brought his gauntleted fist, backhanding me. My face erupted in pain, teeth falling out, I spat out a wad of blood. My anger reached new heights and I felt a great deal of pain, a pool of power opened within my body. I twisted, wreathed in red aura, bones bending, body shifting. The entire transformation was painful, but afterward I felt a whole lot stronger. [Huh, a shape-shifter. Interesting] I could smell, hear and see many times better now, the guards stared at me in surprise. I brought my unfamiliar body forwards ramming into the lead guard, I threw back my head, launching the guard into the air and growled at the other guard, glaring threateningly at him. I raised my canine paw but before I could strike the guard I heard the twins cry out in pain and froze. The lead guard had gotten back up and now held a knife to their throats. My body ignited, aura appearing in an explosion of dark red embers. The guard lightly cut Pora''s neck smiling. "Betta turn back now kid, n''less you want your friends here to die!" furious though I was, my feelings for the twins are much stronger. I soon transformed back, painfully standing. Naked, I knelt in surrender. "Please let them be, you can do anything to me, so please...!" they sneered "I don''t think so. Nobody would miss you and your street filth." he smiled slashing with the knife. The world turned gray. I stared at the knife frozen before striking Pora, Daniel was stuck in his futile struggle. The whole world had stopped. A dark blurred figure appeared before me. [Do you want my help?] I recognized the voice immediately "I''ll do anything for those two. Please!" [Sure, you just gotta sign a Contract with me, and I''ll help] ''A Contract?'' "You want my soul or something right?" [Nope. I want your body] I flushed "What the hell!?" [Shut up, I don''t mean it like that! ...dumb kids misunderstanding... Anyway all I desire is to the Possess your body, you''ll be my Host, of course, though I won''t be taking control of your body unless in the capacity of protecting either you or Christopher Crash. For the rest of your life your duty shall be to accompany Christopher Crash until either one of you dies. Do you agree to the terms?] "Yes! Anything!" [Good] he disappeared and the gray world started moving again. I froze, ''What? WHAT!? Isn''t he going to do anything?'' I fall into despair, as the knife slowly moves across Pora''s throat. My body was suddenly no longer under my control. [The name''s Shadow, kid and I keep my promises], he moved his hand, index finger poking outwards with black aura gathered at his fingertip flashing forward, killing the guard instantly. The knife was carefully removed with Shadow''s aura, while moving to face the other guard he smiled, pressing his palm against the terrified man''s head, he frowned speaking through my mouth, "You''re not so bad, I''ll let you off with a warning." he had read the man''s memories, and the man deserved a chance atleast. He severed the man''s sword hand and cauterized the wound with his aura. Then disintegrated the hand before knocking the guard unconscious silencing his cries of pain. He rushed to the bleeding boy laying his aura heavily over the boy''s neck, it slowly healed, leaving him with a jagged white scar. The small boy''s eyes blinked open "Gray...?" [Alright, he should be fine now. Kid, it''s time to hold up your side of the bargain] I find myself able to move again, ''I''ll be leaving these guy''s huh?'' my eyes mist up. [Fucking idiot. Did I ever say you had to leave your friends behind? Take them with you!] I blinked [C''mon let''s go, we haven''t all the time in the world] I smiled for a moment. ''Thank you'' [Don''t fucking mention it, I''ve got an image to uphold]. We left the city behind, for the first time in our lives, on the road to Sirin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 10 - Life Goes On. ANNNOTHHERRRR BBOOOONNNNUUUUUSSS CHAPTEEEERRRRRR!! (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was pretty frustrating, trying to get everyone to calm down. Oh yes what''s that, I have spider legs on my back? Silly me! Ugh. I made up a story to tell everyone, I think it was pretty cool. Supposedly I had left home to investigate the Rot, when I met an old man, dressed in emerald green robes, he claimed to be an Arch Druid with power rivaling Gods! Holding a carved rune staff, he summoned forth a huge black spider and sent it to slay the Rotten Princess. Afterwards he sat down and started making tea, he offered me some, which I accepted, I didn''t want to be rude after all! After drinking the tea I had felt tired and he offered me a warm black bedroll telling me to go ahead and sleep. Of course, trusting strangers in the woods not to do anything to you as you sleep is perfectly fine! I slept and slept, only when I woke up I was in the Chief''s house! The old Druid had left me a gift, these super odd spider legs! They believed me. Of course I had been one hundred percent honest for all the eleven years I''ve known them. So despite how ridiculous the story was they let me off with a simple scolding. Uncle Stew had been very interested in my new limbs, saying he''d put together some special training. Father had been the one most shocked at the time, though I think that''s more of fact I''m an awakened Ghoul than the fact I have spider legs hanging from my back. At first my parents had cried, expecting they would have to send me away. Only until they found out I''m a Pureblood Ghoul, that I didn''t have to prey on humans, though Father had still fainted again. Rorry took it all in stride, exclaiming how cool I had become, his family were concerned he had hit his head or something and the Village Chief had made an announcement of my recovery, along with my odd changes, the village accepted me completely, I confess my eyes had spilled a few manly tears at the time. After everything had blown over I started training my skills again, likewise I wanted to refamiliarize myself with Blitz, my old aura technique. It had been designed to allow me, an ordinary human to beat down supernaturals with ease. Its best advantage being its insane speed boost. I needed to raise my agility anyway. I had also found my stats to be... Inaccurate, or that could be my new traits, either way, I''m faster, stronger and healthier than my stats would suggest. Though my spider legs are frankly ridiculous. They can cleave trees in half and take any strike ordinary iron weapons can dish out, to the point where the iron weapons are getting badly damaged after clashing only a few times. The Kin Of Arachnid and Pureblood Ghoul traits really GREW on me. Hahahaha. Anyway. I had asked my parents if I could go visit the city sometime, they agreed on the condition I take Rorry and Uncle Stew. We decided to go next week. Uncle Stew had seen me practicing my Willforms and had asked when I had learned to use Will. I said it was after my encounter with the Arch Druid. He had laughed for a full five minutes, I''m pretty sure he knows I was bullshitting from the beginning. I figure he didn''t want to rain on my parade. Until now. I was tempted to whack him over the head with my spider legs, though I doubted it would even harm him. When he calmed down he gave me a few pointers, don''t do that, don''t do this. Blah blah blah. Anyway, he told me to come by later for training. *sigh* .With him gone I began using the -- cultivation, you can only use it once a day, and you gotta do it in the dark. I sat, crossing my legs, cupping my hands I closed my eyes. Allowing everything to fade out, a gray fog like aura surrounded me and a pure white flame sputtered in my hands before slowly stabilizing, within the flame were small black orbs wrapped in silver white chains. I breathed out slowly, pulling the small chains and black orbs into my body, fusing. A felt immediately refreshed like I had a long nap. I continued for a few more hours until the flame extinguished. My Will and Intelligence had both risen slightly, my head clear, thoughts streamlined I opened my eyes and got back up. I had been eating plenty of meat and many of the villagers had offered blood bags from their animals. I changed back out of my common clothes and put my black spider-silk ones on. The spider-silk has great defensive properties better even than the spider legs themselves. I had tested my fangs too, they hold a paralytic venom and neurotoxin, which I can also emit from my spider legs. I ventured into the forest following the path to the campsite, it took a few hours, the forest is pretty damn big. Rorry and Uncle Stew were waiting, again. This time I had weights tied to all my limbs, especially my spider ones. He had my carry things through burning Will rings with my spider legs. Evil Uncle! Though it did improve my coordination. Then he had me and Rorry duel each other underwater, I wasn''t allowed to use my spider legs either. We were each given heavy wooden sticks. Each time we missed he would up the weight or electrocute us. We quickly adapted learning not to waste any movement, never going against the flow but rather, with it. Rorry was pretty damn impressive, especially considering he''s keeping up with me, who has already lived once before. He had gone through a growth spurt. I had forgotten he''s a year or two older. He became broader shouldered, taller and his features had matured somewhat, his voice likewise had deepened slightly. I admit I was slightly jealous, it can be very frustrating being in a child''s body with the mind of an adult. Catalya his big sister had taken to watching our training. She has very similar features to Rorry. An apprentice blacksmith, she keeps her body in shape, her training no where near as crazy as ours. Today however she had gone to the city to test her talent. Our training continues throughout the week, constantly escalating. I had also trained my crafting and Willforms in my free time. I found my enlarged inventory to be a great boon, carrying all of my belongings at all times. We were nearing the end of the week and would be going to visit the city in a day or so. I was excited. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shadow had been away from Gray, he started spending his time helping Self Notes or Mirror, occasionally having arguments with Chris or Mirror. Growing in strength with the others. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Mirror taught and trained Linear on the way to Lost. Chris needed a bodyguard not an alchemist. She exchanged barbs with Shadow on the way, just like old times. Self Notes found herself becoming closer to the lonely young heiress. Her desire to help her only growing. She supported the heiress at every chance she got. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We had gotten lost again. I blame Shadow. He had rarely shown up over the past week. Pora had recovered from his injury, at first he had been weak, but after a few filling meals he had quickly recovered. I have no idea why we haven''t left the city years ago. Surviving in the wilderness was a lot easier than I envisioned, though mostly thanks to Shadow''s advise. We traveled through many villages on the way, meeting travelers and merchants. I had told the twins what happened, at first they didn''t believe me. He nearly gave them a heart attack when he demonstrated with a --. I was unsure about this Christopher, I hadn''t heard much about him, Shadow only occasionally insulting him in passing. I got better at controlling my anger and transforming. My beast form is that of a large wolf with rust red fur and sharp yellow eyes. I had received a Soul Interface for myself and the twins on our way through a village. They had given us fresh clothes and bedrolls too. We had been pretty suspicious. After all why bother helping some filthy kids? People from the outlying villages are completely different from the city. Like another species. I checked our statuses, curious. A window appeared displaying my status and picture. I''m built slim, with compact muscle. My features are pretty plain, my hair a rusty brown and dark red eyes. The twins are very different. Pora with bright blue hair and red eyes, his skin slightly pink, soft featured with a somewhat androgynous face. Daniel looked much the same, only with the colors swapped, blue eyes, bright red hair. His features more masculine. -------------------- Overview -v- Name: Gray Shadow. Status: Standard. Age: 14. Estimated Lifespan: 60-80. Physical Rank: D. Mental Rank: C. Aethaerics Talent: A. -------------------- Memory Tree -v- -------------------- Stats -v- Strength: 45 Vitality: 60 Agility: 40 Intelligence: 50 Will: 30 -------------------- Status Effects: Possessed: Your body is possessed by an asshole spirit: Shadow. Road Weary: You''ve been traveling on the open road for too long! -------------------- Traits -v- Nondescript Shape-Shifter - Canine City Kid Street Urchin Anger Management Issues Survivor Keen Eyes -------------------- Skills -v- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -------------------- ''Huh. I wonder what the hell all this means?'' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite my excitement I managed to finally fall asleep. I entered Ghost Sirin for the first time in a week. Shadow and Mirror were arguing over who''s Host is better and Self Notes was watching fondly. I smirk, kicking Shadow in the back of the leg. He yells, [The fuck bro? You wanna fight?] "You''ve been avoiding me." [I have no idea what you''re talking about?] \Jesus Christ. It''s like watching a high school girl confess her love!/ he gaped at her. [Ok what? I''m getting real tired of these insinuations! Do I LOOK like a pervert to you? Get your mind out of the gutter!] (Denial!) [Not you too!?] "So. How''s things?" I asked changing the subject, I think I saw Shadow giving me a grateful look out of the corner of my eye. (Things are good! A little bird told me an angry little guy is on his way to Sirin!) [Yeah and a little bird told you to shut up] \Don''t get your panties in a bunch mister!/ [Yeah so, last I checked my Host should arrive tomorrow, or the day after. Atleast so long as the dumbass doesn''t get lost] "Cool. Um. Mirror?" \Yo, my Host is SO annoying. Hiss hiss hiss. I''m getting real curious about Little Note''s heiress though. She won''t let me see the gal/ [She''s probably worried you''ll scare her] \You are starting to piss me off/ [Woah! Easy sister. Let''s be good children for our guest] I snort. [You training still?] "Yeah. I''m leveling Blitz like a boss! Anyways I''m going to the city soon, maybe tomorrow?" (Ugh, the city is frankly disgusting. Now I''m not saying there''s anything wrong with the King. Tigraine Prisma is a fine gentleman. It''s just the Nobles of Lost are corrupt and mean! The lower class citizens are treated like shit! While the Nobles hoard everything, practically in complete control of the economy!) [Slow down, you''re rambling. And were you just fangirling over the King? Tch''] (I was not!) \Little Notes is right, be careful in the city. Don''t piss off any Nobles! And have you seen those black wooden statues people are selling like cheap cigars?/ "Statues?" [Yeah real weird glowing statues, they give me the chills man!] (The statues are enchanted, but we have no idea what they do! They''re too intricate, if you can pick one up to show us that would be fucking chillax!) "...Right! I guess I''ll catch you guys tomorrow night?" [Sure] \Yupyup!/ (Cya!) I was stirred awake by the sounds of rummaging. The sunlight glowing through my curtains, the smells and sounds of the forest drifting in. I jumped out of my bed searching for the source of the rummaging, I peer under my bed, anxiously waiting for some kind of monster to jump out. An oversized black rabbit sits under my bed, chewing on the mattress. I stare blankly. It stares back, sniffing me, then bites my nose. *AUGHHHHH!!!!!* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 10.5 - The Captain. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* My first half chapter ever. The rest will hopefully be done soon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another face in the crowd, Stew pushed everyone aside with an unconcerned expression. People shouting or glaring at him, he just laughs maniacally "Kakakakahehehakaka!". A guard approaches, "Sir, would you please stop causing a commotion before I am forced to detain you." "Ah young man could you please take this message to Captain Rihveil? That''s a good lad!" he put the small letter in the guardsman''s hand with a creepy smile before turning away, disappearing back into the crowd. The guardsman considered actually giving the Captain the letter, but thought better of it. He threw it into a disposal void. Whistling, he returned to his patrol. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was moving at max speed, streams of red sparks running down my body, I had managed to level Blitz to 5, pretty impressive, Willforms usually take years to level, fortunately I have that genius trait, luck and prior experience. I jump over the tree tops, big smile plastered over my face. I had underestimated Blitz, I have been comparing the effects of Blitz on my new body compared to my old one and the differences are astronomical. I kick a tree in passing. It splintered, snapping in half, crushed and burned by my aura. More than anything, I wanted to fight someone. I am sure that there are many powerful people in this world, especially considering Aethaerics are much more common than Earth. Self Notes had told me the King is pretty tough at lower SS-rank, though that''s probably because of his artifact, Prisma. I had estimated myself to be equivalent to an upper B-rank with Blitz at full power. Something unheard of for an 11 year old. Stew had returned from the city, though I''m not sure why he didn''t wait until we went together. I deactivated Blitz and returned home, my mood soured immediately, I rubbed my nose, wincing. In the main room was the child sized black rabbit, my Father had thought it too cute to leave alone and decided we would keep it. Ugh. I glare daggers at the rabbit, I saw it stick out it''s tongue and wave it''s paw. I blinked, the moment soon over as I hear the door slam open. Mother glares, Rorry came stomping over with a huge backpack slung over his shoulders, poor guy doesn''t even have a Colossal soul bound inventory. One thing I had tried with my inventory was storing living things, turns out it works. Time seems to be slower in there too, I made a mental note to ask the Three tonight about getting a few more upgrades. Stew came through almost silently, nearly giving me a heart attack. "Alright lads, time to go! Goodbye, Little Sister, and Runt! Don''t make my Sister sad, I can''t be watching you kids all the damn time!" he said pointedly at Father, who ignored him. Rorry and I quickly followed. When we were on the road, Stew spoke again. "You two have very good futures! You both should join the Academy, I can''t teach you everything. Rorry, you can already join at your age." Rorry shook his head "No way Uncle Stew! I won''t go without Chris." "Yah yah, Chris, you must join next year! The Academy are holding a tournament in a few years, it''ll be your chance to start your career as an Adventurer. You could even join the Subjugator''s Guild. Make a good impression or I''ll be shamed!" I frowned, "Uncle how strong are the people in the Academy?" "Hahakekekakakaka! You would be average boy, without those Special Traits of yours atleast." ''Average!?'' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We hurried along the road as fast we could, Shadow had warned us how late we were, [Dumbass, no sense of Goddamn direction... Tch'', Shouldn''t a Shape-Shifter have some kind of instincts or something? You half assed pooch!] I winced, my Shape-Shifter powers are very new to me, I have literally no idea what I''m doing. As we stop for lunch we spot three figures on the road. Leading is a spry old man with a spring in his step, he maniacally laughs, trailing behind are two young boys, one seems to be older though he doesn''t act it, the younger one wears an huge cloak, making me chuckle. Our gazes lock and he glowers, his cloak suddenly exploded open and eight thick green spider legs spring out over his head, his gaze sharpened and he shot forward with blurring speed, I close my eyes as the leg thrusts beside my throat, tensing for the strike. I blink my eyes open, in front of me smiles the odd boy, his legs hidden away again. "Big Brother Gray look, this one saved us." I turn slowly, a huge black wolf sits dead behind us, a large hole in it''s chest. "Oh..." I grimace, ashamed of myself. "Sorry. Thanks for saving us." I say, bowing my head slightly. He pats me on the back, "No trouble little one." I stare bewildered, before bursting into laughter, this little kid is calling me the little one!? He flicks me in the forehead smirking. "I''m older than I look!" the old man giggles, "Woaaaaah! Chris! Amazing you killed a late B-rank monster in one shot!" the older boy begins praising the younger one, the boy called Chris puffs out his chest proudly. "Of course my minio- best friend!" Chris... sounds familiar. I just can''t put my finger on it, me and the twins thank them again, Chris looks at the twins with an odd look in his eyes muttering "Kawaii" over and over like a mantra. With a wave we part our ways. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I strode forward with Stew and Rorry barely keeping up as I took in the sights of city in the distance. We eventually reached the city, I was very tempted to use Blitz. At the gateway crowds came in and out of the city, it was pretty damn busy, merchants and travelers trading outside the gates, small stalls set up everywhere, hordes of hawkers trying to sell good luck charms or trinkets to noobs. Before we enter the city however a guard scans us, Rorry and Stew were allowed past before it scanned me, the small crystal going bright red. People stared at me in shock and the guard shouted, calling an alarm. I stopped stupefied, ''What the hell?'' I feel many guardsmen converging towards my position, they''re pretty tough, though not nearly strong enough for me, they had probably only read my stats and traits, one had probably triggered that reaction, I wasn''t sure whether it was my Ghoul blood or spider legs, either way I didn''t want trouble. As the guards flashed towards me, gathering in a formation. I spun in the air and kicked out with a wave of Will, knocking them all over each other, their formation collapsed. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Then there was a sudden pressure, a lone guardsman stood before the gate, everyone seemed to have evacuated, I couldn''t see neither Stew nor Rorry nearby. The guardsman wears ceremonial looking armor, his head shaved almost bald, a craggy face and dark brown eyes. He smiles arrogantly at me "Little kid, your parents should have taught you some manners." he jumps down, intricate aura coiling around his feet, I was pretty astonished, he was using five aura techniques simultaneously! He tapped the ground with his toes. The whole world rushed up to meet me, gravity suddenly crushing me, I used Blitz without any further hesitation, I could tell the guy had intended to kill me. With Blitz and Mirroring Defense I felt safer somewhat. My body sheathed in red sparks and green embers, I shot forward pouring my Will into my feet, jumping and slamming down with all my spider legs, he was pretty surprised. I don''t think he had expected that. Amazingly he simply blocked it all with a single hand. The power behind my strike had been strong enough that he was sinking into the solid stone. "My my, 11 years old...? I''ll teach you some manners kid." he retrieved a spear from a strap on his back, and thrusted with the blunt end, though with that much power it would probably still pierce me, he didn''t need to use much skill not when it was moving too fast for me to react to it. Even using Blitz to the limit and I was still not fast enough, hitting me in the temple, I hacked up a small fountain of blood, losing consciousness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ah how rude." said Stew suddenly appearing next to the guardsman, "Rihveil was that really necessary?" "What? Of course, I can''t be letting Ghouls in the city. Why didn''t you tell me you were coming?" "Oh I did old man, I sent a letter to a young guardsman." Captain Rihveil ground his teeth. "Could you give me a description?" Uncle Stew cackled "Sure, old friend." he begins describing the young guard. The Captain''s scowl darkening with every second "I told them everything is important, who cares if we waste time with bullshit when someones life is in jeopardy! Letter should be taken to my administrator or myself immediately!" he sighed. "Is my Nephew ok?" "Nephew? How would I know?" "Well... Considering you just slapped him down..." "What! That was your Nephew? And you knowingly brought him, a Ghoul into our city!?" "Oh don''t worry he''s a Pureblood." he brushed the perspiration from his brow. "And he is truly only eleven years old?" "Yup." "Who taught him that aura technique anyway. It was dazzling, far too complicated for me to distinguish." "He taught himself" cackled the Uncle. "Oh my, you intend to send him to the Academy?" he nods slowly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up in a daze not recognizing my surroundings, I was pleasantly surprised to be alive, obviously. I was uninjured. I stood. I was a in a small cramped room with four small beds. The door was thrown open. An energetic female guard came through holding a tray. Food. My eyes lit up at glass of red liquid and nice red meat. She stared at me glassy eyed as I messily dug in. I took the chance to observe her. Dark brown thick hair cut shoulder length. Her eyes were most interesting, bright pink. She had slightly sharp features and a tall stature at six foot, which would have been intimidating if I wasn''t so damn hungry. "Wmht dth yoh wan?" she smiled. "Don''t talk with your fucking mouthful you bad mannered brat!" I was surprised by her language but simply shrugged. What is with these people and manners!? Manner this manner that jeez. My meal quickly finished. "So where am I miss?" her face darkened, "Don''t call me miss you little shit!" I stared blankly at her, face completely straight "Jee missy on her period?" I said pitching my voice as high as I could. Her face scarlet she lunged for me, just then the door opened and Stew and the guardsman from before came in. "Don''t go molesting my Nephew young lady!" he looked very displeased. She scowled "Molestin'' that cheeky brat? Pah!" the guardsman spoke with quiet authority "Leipa leave now, we have things to discuss." she glared daggers at us all before hastily stomping off. My eyes pinned to her back with a frown. "Sorry for earlier, I hadn''t received an intended letter. But that''s all good now, you can properly enter the city or should. Though I have a few things to say. Firstly, my name is Lisker Rihveil and I''m the Captain of the First Gate." I gestured for him to continue. "This city has very tight regulations, especially in these times. Because of the Great Jareklai Empire. I doubt you have heard of them. They recently have shown interest in our land and we cannot afford to take any risks. That''s partly why you received such a welcome. Anyway, the Iraphaige Institute of Information want to catalog your special traits, however if you don''t consent to this you will be denied further entrance into the city." I thought carefully, "Nope." Stew was flabbergasted. "How the hell do you expect to enter the Academy if you can''t even enter the city!?" "Then I''ll become someone else." he stood glancing at them in passing before rushing out. The Captain smirked. "Is he always like this?" asked the Captain "I honestly don''t know what is going on in that boy''s head." he nodded slowly. "Leipa used to be such a good girl..." he sighed contentedly as he sipped at the glass of blood and Stew''s eyes went wide. "Uh old friend, your drinking what my Nephew''s leftover blood." *Spffft* the Captain jumped in surprise "Oh, sorry I lost myself for a moment. What were you saying?" Stew shrugged helplessly. "Nothing important. Anyway, how is the King?" the old Captain just laughed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry for the late chapter and it''s shortness, I had planned to make it much longer, unfortunately I ended up losing the file and had to start again. :P Chapter 11 - Our Future. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* The other half, like yin and yang! Or not. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To become someone else, how very stupid. I sighed to myself, what had I been thinking? I could barely tell. I sent a mental call to the others. It went unanswered. I scowled before hitting the back of my head with a spider leg. It didn''t go as planned. I didn''t drop into a peaceful sleep, instead I fractured my skull. Funny! With an Elixir I had stored in my inventory I quickly healed up. Mostly it was just painful, I left the city, the guards on watch staring at me warily. I realized quickly someone was following me. A teenager with green hair and brown eyes and plain features approached smiling, he was a shorty at only five foot. He spoke dramatically "Oh young child Ghoul how great to bask in your presence!" he has a glint in his eyes and his breathes are heavy. I shudder. "Yes?" "WOAAAAH CHRIS!!! LOOK OUT!" I glanced to the side only to have Rorry''s ass land on my face. I let out a desolate sigh before pushing him off. Strangely he seemed to be blushing? The teenager glares at Rorry "Hey brat, I was talking!" Rorry looked him over with a critical eye "Oh and who might you be?" I honestly didn''t expect this kind of behavior from Rorry. The teenager spoke clearly and needlessly loudly. "I you poor imbecile am the great Captain of The Fourth Wa- pardon, Captain of the fourth Gate! Hey reade- Ahem hello citizens of Lost!" the seemed to be struggling with something. Letting out weird sounds, we decided he was far too weird for even me and promptly left. We ventured into the nearby woods, spotting people occasionally. Finding somewhere peaceful I curled into a ball and attempted to sleep. Impatient. Rorry just sat there pulling out flowers and showering blood everywher- woah what!? I blinked awake, to see Rorry standing over me, a huge fleshy creature standing before him, bleeding profusely. I scowl grabbing his legs and pulling him down as the creatures chest contracted. Rorry yelped "What the hell Chris!?" at that moment the creatures chest pulses and a stream of magma hot blood shoots forth, burning completely through the trees and such. I sigh annoyed rising to my feet I meld my hands with an icy Will. The thing''s contractions began to slow, not fast enough to shoot again. I used -- and crushed it with my spider legs. It had been a tough Pawn type Bio-Demon, or Rot. I was growing increasingly irritated with the almost constant run ins with Rot type creatures. I wanted some god damn variety. Rorry like before is enthralled. He begins praising me again. I decide to try calling the Apparitions again, this time I get an answer. [What. Do. You. Want?] I wished he was in person so I could clobber him. (Jeez Shadow, calm your tits!) [...] \Yeah your hormones are really-/ [Don''t you dare start! This asinine teasing is just getting plain pathetic] (Ohhh is it really getting to you? We weren''t even serious!) [*deep sigh*] ''*Slow clap* thanks for the entertainment, but are you finally done with this pointless ritual?'' \Damn boss, don''t you have a heart!?/ ''I can''t enter the city as I am, or attend the Academy, mostly I only wanna go there as a pretense and maybe meet people. Anyway I couldn''t get a one of those statues, I didn''t see one at all!'' (Of course not silly! We did say IN the city, you were only in the barracks after all!) ''You guys watched me get slapped down?'' [Fuck yes] ''More upgrades plz.'' \Can''t do. Not at the moment, We''re busy/ I made a dramatic expression of utter shock before asking somewhat heatedly ''Busy? You have literally have almost all the time in the world assholes.'' [Dude, just shut up] ''Make me'' [...] \Pipe down kids. Look, we discovered something real interesting. Call us later/ I send them my regards in the form of a middle finger. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Empire officials milled about the hall, voices drowning each other out. The Heiress sat ignored in her seat. Expressionless. ''Fuckers'' inwardly despite her apparent meekness she was very different. The room was suddenly silent, a messenger came through, out of breath. (I have a bad feeling about this...) ''Self! Your back?'' (Yeah, I was just talking to Chris) ''From what you''ve told me about him he sounds pretty interesting'' (Oh he is. Sometimes) the messenger called out in a loud voice "The Sky King of Zephirox, Neil Corelx!". A procession of musicians came through singing some glorified bullshit. She rolled her eyes throughout as the Sky King came out. He had a presence to him, the pressure of an upper SS-rank. Many in the room shivered under his gaze. "A citizens of Great Jareklai, it is truly great to be here." he gestured behind him and a group of servants came through holding a large white box, adorned with saphires. He approached the Heiress''s throne with a smile, "Young Heiress, on behalf of the Sky Kingdom please accept this gift." I took it gingerly, showing a somewhat genuine smile. I could tell many of the nobles were irritated I was getting any attention at all, though they couldn''t really protest. I took it from his hands with a smile, about to speak when the Dragon General Rigorr Nanthiel spoke. "Ah we are truly glad for this visit. You must be tired from the journey, come come I''ll take you to your quarters." many of the nobles and officials greeted him trying to gain his favor. The Sky King seemed pretty surprised at my treatment. But nonetheless followed. As they left I sat through the rest of the meeting. Most were discussing attacking our neighbors, in retaliation for their somewhat rebellious activity, which had no doubt been stirred and orchestrated by these very Nobles. Soon the droll meeting was over and my maid took me back to my room. I quickly bathed, changed my clothes and sat in relaxation holding the white box, I carefully set it on my table. ''So, can we really do it?'' (Yup, we can meet! On the Dream side of course. Shadow and Mirror might be there too though, I should probably shoo them out...) ''No way, don''t push them away for my sake'' (Aw shucks) ''You said you were busy before...? Sorry for prying'' (Oh its no problem, we have a surprise planned for Chris, I just don''t wanna tell you in case you slip up and mention it. Chris can get what he wants in very surprising ways) I raised my eyebrows ''Like what?'' (Well... You''ll see!) ''Meh'' Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Caiz ground his imaginary teeth in frustration, watching as his child body moved without his consent, playing with the other children. Soon, in four years the body would be his to control. Meanwhile... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Linear hissed under her breathe. She was getting closer and closer to Lost. But it was ungodly boring! She stood on the deck, keeping out of the way of the sailors, she heard the cry from the crows nest. They had spotted a ship. Linear felt an excited smile work onto her face. Her tail wagging behind her, forked tongue licking the sea air. It was getting much closer, rapidly. The huge battleship was being driven by Aethaerics, moving very fast. Or as Mirror liked to say, \Fast as a Ferrari!/. \Oh shit, yo, this ain''t good!/ ''Why not! Lookss SSSO FUN!!!'' \Stop flapping your mind gums, that''s an Empire battleship and so close to Lost too! Bad!/ [Yah that''s fucking lame] ''Another Great Ssspirit!?'' [Oh shit you weren''t kidding about your Hossst were you!] \Hmm/ [You Goddamn pansy! Just get her to wreck the damn thing!] \Are you stupid? There are people watching! And how the hell do you suppose she can destroy that ship?/ [Do as I did, look I''ll show you...] I feel an odd feeling drift through me. \Oh! I get it, I think. Okay I may just do that. I''ll need your help using Stratos though/ [No problem sis] the world distorts, a dome of gray exploded forth from Linear''s body locking the memories of those aboard. Mirror took control. Some of Linear''s features changed, resembling Mirror. Mirror-Linear raised her hand, a train sized dragon of icy electric shot forth flash freezing the hull of the battleship and grounding it. Mages aboard started shouting, they had just felt the Will of a lower SS-rank after all. The mages aboard linked their Will. A huge multicolored thread appearing over their ship, it exploded into a ball of showering fireballs and lightning bolts. Mirror grimaced. If it had been Shadow he would have been completely fucked. Mirror however was perfect for countering such a spell. Mirror''s specialty being defense. If you had to put the three of them into RPG terms, Shadow would be the obvious DPS, herself the Tank and Little Notes would probably be a rogue-mage hybrid. She stood as close to the center of the ship as she could and activated --, a huge light blue transparent cube appeared above the ship. It blocked all strikes and moved to block all those that weren''t within range. She used her flight aura, two pillars of reflective blue ice sprouted from her back, a cyclone of wind spiraling around them. She shot into the air with the speed of a jet. Before flying over to the Empire battleship she drew in all the heat and blasted down in a huge fireballing conflagration of heat. After landing she used Stratos again, repaired their ship and removed their memories of the event. It was extremely tiring but she weathered through. She had found out many interesting things. She returned to their ship and everything returned to normal. Linear was displeased however, complaining how boring it had been. \Powerful people don''t flaunt themselves, those that do usually get killed/ [Yeah crazy huh? Though that battle ship is one of hundreds, I doubt they have many of their powerful assets so far from home. Anyway, Little Notes is gonna bring her Host over to Dream Sirin. I figured I would bring my Host along too. What about yo-] ''Yessss I wanna ssseee the Christopher human!'' \.../ [...Alright. See you guys later!] \Bye bro/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was greatly frustrated when we arrived in Sirin, to think strange trio they had meet on the way had been them... When they arrived in the town they asked if there was anywhere they could sleep, they ended up doing labor for a blacksmith in exchange to use their spare room. He had quietly stopped Gray telling him to do it ''safely''. I didn''t ponder what he meant. Too tired. I slept, the twin curled up around me, eyes slowly closing. [Pooch listen, you wanna come meet Chris? This time you can''t fucking miss him. If you want you can take the kitties too. Though I worry what Chris may do to them...] ''What are you talking about?'' [Nevermind] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Dream Sirin, the seven kids sat in a circle in Christoper''s room. His face scrunched up as Linear thoroughly familiarized herself with him. He pushed her scaly hands off with a scowl. "Can we please have order!?" the young Heiress was sat in the corner, Self Notes was combing her hair. Shadow was showing Gray how to levitate and Mirror was pulling faces at the Heiress. They all stopped, swinging around to look at him. "Alright worms, I am Christopher Crash your lord and savior. Tell me your fucking names. Please." Linear was jumping with joy raising her hand. Chris ignored her. "You." he pointed at Gray. Gray''s face quickly flushed as everyone looked at him "Um, I''m Gray, I''m also a Shape-Shifter." \Wow Shadow. That''s AMAZING.../ she drawled sarcastically. [Yeah and you got some prime material over there] he gestured at the Targual who was fondling my spider legs. "Ugh please don''t start." Chris groaned, Mirror held up her hands in a placating manner. \Sorry boss/ "Yes, ssorry bosss!" Linear stared at Chris with unsettling intensity. "Fine lizard. Who are you?" she smiled toothily "My name is Linear Serpent, Targual Master Alchemist!" he sighed. The Heiress smiled "My name is Sara." "Cool. Okay. Self, Mirror can you guys make three more of those soul bound inventory status plate thingies for the others?" (Sure! I have a few new features planned too!) \We need to get ready. When you reach the age of fifteen the Hero will come for you, so training these guys is our priority. Anyway, Chris, Shadow, you guys should leave. We can all talk another time. In the meantime however.../ she cracked her knuckles. *Ahhh!!!* *Kyaaa* *Noooesss!* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 12 - Were Not In Kansas Anymore. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another year had passed in the blink of an eye. I did plenty of training to prepare myself for joining the Academy. Captain Rihveil had spoken to the Institute and I would be allowed into the city, so long as I am supervised. Ugh. I had also gotten a considerable number of upgrades to my Soul System as I like to call it. My parents had ended up adopting Gray, Pora and Daniel. Linear had arrived too, living in the city. Leipa had began training the four of them. Sara though, was still in the Empire, but we had kept contact. I grin. My Soul System is pretty damn awesome. Aside from the inventory which, again, has been increased, we added communication features, I would be able to contact any of the Host''s or their Apparitions through it. Another feature is it''s pocket dimension a Room we had taken to calling it. The Rooms are all interconnected and can be used to enter Ghost Sirin. Of course we had gained the -- -- - - abilities. Kind of like having a house inside you, which you yourself can enter which completely defies logic. Anyway with Markers we can mark positions to Portal to. Warding is kind of like having a security system installed in your brain, you become aware of the surrounding area of the Ward, you can feel, see and hear through your Wards. Perfect peeping skill. Huehuehue. I check my stats with a sigh. -------------------- Overview -v- Name: Christopher Crash. Status: Standard. Age: 12. Estimated Lifespan: 80-140. Physical Rank: D. Mental Rank: C. Aethaerics Talent: A. -------------------- Memory Tree -v- -------------------- Stats -v- Strength: 70 Vitality: 82 Agility: 64 Intelligence: 100 Will: 100 Luck: 100 -------------------- Status Effects: Big Headed: You are currently an arrogant asshole. -------------------- Traits -v- Exotic One Quarter Targual Three Quarters Human Pureblood Ghoul Kin Of Arachnid Genius Trained Body Diligent Bookworm Survivor Lucky -------------------- Skills -v- -- -- - - -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -------------------- -- -------------------- I had finally managed a Rank Up, my Mental Rank sitting at a appreciative C. My Aethaerics Talent had Ranked Up too, which is fucking amazing. I had trained all my useless skills up to even numbers, it had sincerely bothered me. I had picked up a few new skills too. My -- had become --. I wasn''t entirely sure how it works. I had yet to -- anything yet, mostly because of my training was within the city. With a whole week to myself I decided to enter the Highmens Mountain Range, the place was full of monsters, perfect. I decided to called Gray, better him than Linear *shudder*. -Connection Established- "Hey." "Um, hey Chris. What''s up?" "Meet me ASAP." "..." -Disconnected- I waited. A small flash of light and a large blue disk appears, Gray stepping through. He looks as nervous as usual. He was decked out in some weird mismatched monster armor, throwing daggers strapped all over him, looking ready for a war. I snort and take a step onto the path, he follows reluctantly. "So why are we here?" he asks, suspicious. "Training. Thought you could do with some real experience." his face flushed at the last part making me sigh. Birds chirp incessantly, small rustles of wild animals all around. The forest vibrant with life. I look over my shoulder at Gray, looking for the small glitter of black in his eyes that signifies Shadow. I didn''t find it. We walked much faster than normal humans, eating up space rapidly, I started spotting small rocks and boulders scattered. We soon arrive at the foot of the smallest cluster of hills, there had been a landslide. I crouched, pulling Gray down with me. "See that? There''s still dust. Probably happened recently." he nodded vacantly. Something I tend to associate with being Possessed. All of the Host''s have this odd distance to them. Maybe I was the same... A large wyvern bounds from the forest nearby, approaching the landslide, digging around. It seemed to be looking for something. It''s cries distraught. It left after about half an hour, still shrieking. Gray looks nervous. "C''mon let''s see what that was all about." we trot over and I spread my Will searching for something that isn''t dirt or stone. I find it. A large egg, no doubt the wyverns. It was broken. No signs of any baby wyvern anywhere. Though I was more concerned with the other object I found afterwards. A book. Or more accurately a Grimore, a book of Will Techniques. I smile, though it quickly fades. Someone had died here with an important Grimore. People would be looking. "What the fuck!?" Gray shouted. I started in surprise and turn to give Gray a scathing glare. Only to find him underneath a huge black rabbit. I sigh. Nelly, the name Father had given the freakish rabbit, had just kept getting bigger. Shadow had taken a liking to her too. As such, sometimes he Possesses her. "Okay, Shadow, what are you doing here?" I ask in annoyance. The big rabbit removed itself from Gray before shrugging. [Dunno man, just bored] "Please leave. This is super secret training." [Sure. You do realize anyone of us can just hop our intangible asses over here and watch anyway] "Ugh." [I''ll leave. Just this once. Anyways, things to do, people to see] I scowl "Cya douche.", Gray gets up with an *oof* "Bye Shadow." he calls quietly [Ya, hey Gray, keep it under control alright?] "...Yeah." he replied. "Keep what under control?" "Nothing." I shrugged, returning to the pile of dirt and grabbing the book. "Hey, help me find the corpse." "...What." "The fucking corpse, the dirty rotten meat bag!" I yell hysterically. He backs away slowly, his eyes widening "You ARE insane!" "No, I just wanna find the fucking corpse!" "Okay. Take deep breathes. Slowly. Calm down." "Look, I am chill as fuck. Now help me before I tie you up and leave you here." he sighs, moving to my side and looking at the Grimore with an O of surprise. I put the Grimore in my inventory and Gray hurriedly watched our surroundings, "I don''t feel safe here out in the open." "Yeah me too. That''s why we should hurry the fuck up.". We dug around for a while and eventually found it. It was ripe. Eugh. An old man, in his thirties. Old, practically ancient. His glassy eyes stared at us. He had been crushed internally. His organs like mash potatoes and his bones all shattered. He was dressed in dirty blue robes, though that''s only natural when you participate in a landslide. We searched him despite our disgust. Or rather I searched him, Gray cried when I asked him to. We found nothing. Maybe he had a bag of some sort, carrying his possessions. But we had wasted enough time. Gray''s face was very pale and he was shivering. He hadn''t grown much over the year, but he had some confidence now, especially after that training. But he was still new to the real thing. I frowned, I had no idea what his stats are looking like so I ask him if I can see. "Um OK." his face suddenly flushing. I roll my eyes. He seems to think I am some kind of crazed pervert. Probably thanks to the Apparitions''s constant teasing of Shadow and indirectly, me. -------------------- Overview -v- Name: Gray Shadow. Status: Standard. Age: 15. Estimated Lifespan: 60-80. Physical Rank: D. Mental Rank: D. Aethaerics Talent: A. -------------------- Memory Tree -v- -------------------- Stats -v- Strength: 70 Vitality: 90 Agility: 75 Intelligence: 60 Will: 50 -------------------- Status Effects: Possessed: Your body is possessed by an asshole spirit: Shadow. Fear: You are scared of Christopher. -------------------- Traits -v- Nondescript Shape-Shifter - Canine, Ursine, Feline. City Kid Street Urchin Trained Body Repressed Anger Survivor Keen Eyes -------------------- Skills -v- -- -- - - -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -
- -- - - -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -------------------- -- -Sub Skills -v- -- -- -- -- -------------------- Looking at his skills left me feeling pretty depressed. I noticed he had Mirroring Defense, though all the Host''s had been given that skill. His Combat skills were pretty scary. "You been doing some training with Shadow haven''t you?" "Um..." "Whatever, lets just go." I said huffing. We made our way past the boulders and up the hills before stopping suddenly. "Watch out!" Gray hissed. I peered ahead, there was a huge hole between the path and an extremely sheer drop, it was about twenty five meters across. "Well shit." I muttered. Gray grinned, "Do think we can jump it?" he asked giddily. I smirked "Sure, but can you?" I leaned back, my black silk shirt opening at the back. My spider legs shot out and I ran. Adrenaline flowing as I leaped, watching the world shift under me. I giggled yelling "Parkour!" while flipping the bird at Gray, doing a frontflip, then landing gracefully. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He rolled his eyes. He simply stepped towards the edge, then jumped across in the most boring way unimaginable. "Show off." he said smiling. I shrugged and started walking again, we were getting closer to the mountains. We had reached the end of the forest and stepped forward onto the gravely path. My eyes shot open as I crashed into thin air. I stepped back, stunned. "What is it?" Gray asked, I didn''t answer, instead grabbing his hand and pressing it against the invisible wall. "What the..." "Yeah I have no idea." I frowned. I pushed with my Will. *craaaack* I flinched as a spark of condensed energy shot out. The whole forest went silent and we waited for a while. Gray let out a sigh of relief when nothing happened. Then something happened. A flash of light blinding us we felt the world under out feet disappear for a split second. I blinked my watery eyes open. We had been teleported. Gray was at my side looking a little worn out. "You okay?" "Sure, just give me a minute." he stood. Looking a little sick. I took in our surroundings. We were in some kind of mine, glowing crystals lining the walls, carts with tools and ore were scattered around the large cavern. We didn''t see any signs that anyone had been here in a very long time. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." I raised my eyebrows. "This is bad." "Is it?" I asked bemused. "Yeah, its fucking bad, my connection is cut off. I can''t feel Shadow. He must have been excluded from the teleportation. And worse! We have no idea where we are and there''s no turning back, it was a one way trip. Shit!" he hissed the last part. Reminding me of the twins, Pora and Daniel. I grimaced. "Stop yapping, I, your Lord and Savior will save us." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Five hours passed. We had managed to map the entire mine, or atleast all that was accessible. Our Portal abilities were being blocked somehow. We were stuck, there had been some kind of cave-in blocking all ways out. I had however found a hollow wall. One I could safely break without worrying about having the entire cave crush down on us. Gray was hyper-ventilating. Again. I sighed, punching through the half crumbling wall with one of my spider legs. It went straight through the stone with the help of my Will. We climbed through the new chamber with wariness. A ball of light formed in Gray''s hand. "Look." he pointed. We were in a rectangular room with wood supports. Unlit torches hung on the walls, at the end was a flimsy wooden door with a mark carved above. We shared a glance. "What do you think?" I asked, trying not to sound tired. At first we had been pretty calm but after the first few hours we got frantic and wasted energy running around like tools. We had no water or food. Of course if I got hungry all I needed was blood. But all the same. "Let''s just go, if it kills us, so be it." he said darkly. I laughed and together we pushed the door at the same time. The room was black, the walls made of some kind of dense black stone. A single oval shaped crystal is on the ceiling, lighting the room. On closer inspection there seemed to be a ladder, black just like the stone. We jumped with joy, hugging. Before jumping back apart in embarrassment. I smirk "Ladies first." he gave me a flat look, before sighing and climbing up. I followed after, in time to hear him gasp. "No more surprises please." I climbed out, looking around in awe. We were in a huge cube shaped room, probably as big as the mountains we had been traveling to. There we equally huge black pillars made of the same stone as everything in the black. Torches lined the pillars and walls but it was not enough to completely illuminate the gigantic room. We sprinted forward, staring ahead. A huge statue of an armored knight stood over two steel doors. The exit. Or so we hope. Only the most cliche thing decided to happen. The statue came to life. Yeah. It was ungodly fast, almost as fast as us, which, considering it''s body, was eerie as hell. Mace in one hand shield in the other it charged. "Alright keep it busy, I''m the only one with an ability that can harm it." I say smugly "What the fuck? How would you even know, it hasn''t DONE anything yet!" he yelled angrily. "Goddammit." I scowl, "Just do it." he nods reluctantly. I used -- pushing its limits. I shot forward, moving too fast to even see. Gray stared at my after images in shock. The statue seeing how it had no chance in hell, obviously aggro''d Gray. Smashing down with all the grace of a falling skyscraper. Gray dodged, already sweating. Amazingly the strike hadn''t put a dent in the stone. Ridiculous. I wished I had my crossbow, it could of made things easier, but with our Soul Systems inactive it was simply not possible. At all. Haha. I grabbed a pillar, handing on with my spider legs. I shot a piece of aura infused Will. It did nothing visible. The giant statue turned to me for a moment, making a grinding sound. I cringed. I stared at Gray with a sudden genius idea. I signaled as we quickly rushed together, avoiding another mace strike from the giant statue. "Dude. We can do it, bros forever. C''mon." I said "What the fuck are you doing?" he asked glaring, "Dude. Nakama power!" "..." "Let''s combine!" I shouted "Ewww." he said giggling like a tool. "Can you please take this a little seriously?" I said pouting, "What!? YOU take this seriously, stop talking nonsense and do something!" he seemed to have become serious. "Okay, look we can fuse our auras and shit if this doesn''t work, so..." "Fuse aura!?" "Ya." we share a nod. Climbing up the walls I get ready. The statue is soon lured underneath by a taunting Gray. I fall, putting all my Will into my downwards pointing spider legs, I strike the statue''s shoulder blades, tiny cracks spider webbing along a few inches. I scowl, I had figured I could harm it, piercing power is what -- was made for. I punch the statue in anger, which nearly breaks my hands. Hell it had damaged my spider legs slightly. Gray climbs up it''s legs, watching out for it''s freakishly fast arms. He climbs jumping for it''s back only to be smacked out of the air. I hear his bones break. "Shit." I worry for Gray a minute before I see him jump to his feet, sheathed in a thick brown aura, shadows of animals hanging from his frame. He was only looking a little pale. I sigh with relief. I jump from the giant avoid it''s arms. It stamped. I screamed out in pain as it crushed one of my spider legs, mangled. I only hope it''ll grow back or something. I rush to Gray with a pained expression. "Ah, shit. Looks bad. Fine we''ll do that thing you mentioned." he said grimacing. "That thing? You mean combine, you wanna become one with me bro?" I ask waggling my eyebrows. "Please." he said deadpan, "Fine. Pay attention." We continue to dodge the annoying statue. Our auras condensed around us. "All right now for the tough part." I say chuckling. We form a link with our aura''s using -- as a bridge. -- and -- coiling together. "Okay, never let up your concentration or it will backlash, the same goes for if we are too far apart. Don''t strain the connection." I said lecturing. He nodded, transforming. "Go with hybrid wolf-cat thingy. We need more speed!" he did. He looked kind of cool. The face of a cat with a mouth full of serrated teeth, slit pupils and a body mostly wolf. His yellow eyes sharp and piercing, rust red fur rippling as his muscles underneath moved with explosive force. I was close behind, his aura, Engulfing Spirit surrounding my body like a heavy mist. I had no idea how his aura works. But I know how mine does. Colorful auras swirled around us. This time it was Gray''s turn to strike. I got the statue''s attention with a huge molten fireball of Will. Again the statue was indifferent. I ground my teeth in frustration, atleast I got it''s attention. Gray jumped, slashing for its leg ligaments or atleast what the statue has in their place. His claws scored only a few inches deep. Which when compared to it''s size is like a needle. He climbed it with a growl, annoyed. I passed as much power along our connection as was safe, I had an idea of what he was planning. His transformation changed. The upper body of a bear and the lower body of a cat. Weird as hell. He brought his bear paws down with tremendous power. The original cracks I had made were split open further, we had shed it''s skin. He brought his paws down again and again, trying to hold on as the statue spun in place. He fell with a roar, returning to my side and transforming back clothed, thankfully magic saved us all from the fate of his naked body. The statue''s stared at us, it''s eye suddenly glowing red. The broken stone rapidly healed. We stared stunned. It began drawing on it''s own aura. "Okay. Everything is A-okay!" I plaster a smile on my face as the storming red statue blurs towards us, mace slamming down faster than we had ever seen in our lives. The force within the mace originally had probably been enough to kill us in a single strike. Now it was going for us with something like ten times it''s previous strength. The world went entirely red. It was suddenly eclipsed by a white figure. The figure blocked the strike with a hand, the pulsing red aura of the statue evaporating upon contact, pushing back with enough force to knock the statue on it''s ass. The figure turned with a smile. My stopped for a moment. Golden haired and golden eyed. Diamond shaped pupils, sharp fangs peeking out. Pale skin, freckles. Standing at 5 foot she was dressed in a white uniform adorned with gold accessories. "Sup, weaklings." She turned back, jumping forty meters high. We both gaped. A small opening appeared on her back and a pair of golden scaled wings spread wide. Four tail like appendages coming from her back, underneath the wings. Two them slammed down on the arms, the other two end for the legs. Both the arms and legs of the red aura clad statue were sliced through with ease. She cackled. A huge ball of gold Will, like a star, gathered above her hands. Slowly compressing it until it was small enough to only cover her hands. She fell and lightly tapped the statue. It disintegrated. Along with the walls, floor and ceiling. The whole place shook as if collapsing. Moments that felt like hours went by and the small quakes ceased. The golden eyed girl held a red crystal in her hand, smiling with satisfaction. She withdrew the tails and wings. "Thanks for saving us!" said Gray, bowing. She turned to face him, sneering "I didn''t come to save a couple of weaklings. I came for treasure. Now kindly fuck off." I recovered from my shock quickly. Gray didn''t. "What the fuck? So you don''t even care?" he asked angrily, she didn''t answer, instead forming a small fist out of Will and punching him in the gut. He keeled over, shouting in pain. I glared at her. She sniffed "Hmph, how did you even make it here if you''re so weak, were you left behind?" I didn''t know why she was even talking to me. "How did you get here?" I asked, ignoring her question. She scowled, but still answered "I came through the ENTRANCE, moron." she said, eyes filled with sudden curiosity as her eyes stared at my spider legs. "No, you weaklings either came in her illegally or you''re bullshitting." I rolled eyes, "We came from the mine." I wanted to be cautious but after all that it had taken everything out of me. Her eyes narrowed. "I see. Teleported over too huh?" she said quietly. "Teleported where?" I asked, she smiled "To the Great Jareklai Empire of course!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 12.5 - Intermission, Act 1 End. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Director smirked to herself. ''It''s time.'' With a dry laugh she waved her hand, her consciousness shifting. She found herself in a dim dark room. The room was buzzing with raw energy, giving her a headache. The Director smiled darkly at the silver eyed girl. "Notes, I haven''t heard from you in a while." she said, her voice sounded childish, though her tone was sharp. "I''ve done as you wish." said the silver eyed girl. "Good, cause we''re gonna rock it. It''s time." replied the Director, her face serious. Self Notes grimaced, "Are you sure about this? Must we take such drastic measures?" she asked anxiously, "This is my legacy, so yes. Call the Godslayer." the Director''s eyes sharpened, "Send an anonymous tip, gather them. You know what to do." she smiled again, laughing, waving her hand again and disappearing. Self Notes sighed sadly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hadrian, God of the Skies paced the Halls of Zephirox. The royal guardians watched him nervously, hoping he wouldn''t lash out again. He was brooding, frustrated. ''Those bastards!'' The Circle of Gods had spoken, Mayhem and the Dragon God had convinced the other Gods to Fell him for five years. Paranoia twisted his guts, he worried the Gods had decided to off him, five years is long enough for assassins to gather to slay him while he is mortal. But no. He was surely strong enough even as a mortal to take on any number of assassins. What truly worried him was the rumored Red Circle, a group of assassins blessed by the Gods to slay those who become a threat. He didn''t entirely believe it, but what if it were true? Zephirox being a flying city, cannot be reached by normal means, even airships would be ripped to shreds by it''s aura and the heavy winds surrounding it. Dragons however can easily get through. He had Cursed many recently, that and interfering with mortal matters, he had put his hands in all the pies. ''Dumbass'' he chided himself. He should have left well enough alone, but the Empire had grown too fast and it had bothered him enough to involve himself. They had gotten stupidly powerful, the only explanation was that the Gods had a hand in it. The Gods had gotten bored with matters and taken things into their own hands. Fighting through cats paws. ''Ugh'' He had always hated their games. He halted, turning to the royal guardians, they collectively shuddered as his gaze roved over them, he stared at the one he judged the fastest. "You. Mortal, I need you to send a message to the Sky King." he withdrew a thick paper scroll, words appeared on the scroll rapidly. He folded and handed it over. The Guardian accepted it with awe. He saluted, "Yes, my Lord!" before rushing out. Hadrian started pacing again. War was coming, he was sure. The Paragon Clan and the Fargoal family had been dangerously quiet. They both had great military might and no doubt had plans for great conquest, their only obstacle were the Great Jareklai Empire and possibly Lost. ''War... Sounds fun.'' He had sent the Sky King to gain the favor of the Empire many years ago, it had been a momentary impulse but it had worked out greatly. Many of the nobles of the Empire had become loyal to the Sky King, thinking him a great ally. Of course the one behind it all, pulling the strings of the Empire is no doubt a follower of one of the Gods. Though investigations had been inconclusive. Though the Empire should be ruled by either the Empress of the Emperor, both had died, leaving only the Heiress. The nobles had seen how meek the Heiress was and begun to walk all over her. The Empire hadn''t come out of nowhere however, they were the descendants of the founders of Jareklai, the ancient clan that had discovered and named the supercontinent. Their ancestors had come from one of the other supercontinents, Alaizsha, though the place had become completely taken over by the Rot. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It was forgotten afterwards, and the only survivors, the Jareklai Clan had settled in Jareklai, with their superior technology and power they took control of the entire supercontinent. A hundred years after their rule a revolution overthrew them and their family were killed and their teachings burned, all evidence they had existed was gone. Now they had returned to reclaim what was once theirs. He ground his teeth as the hours passed. His messenger hadn''t returned. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leipa was harsh. The twin Gravity Cats and Linear lay on the floor in a puddle of sweat. Heaving breaths Daniel spoke up. "Geez big sis are you trying to kill us?" Pora simply groaned. Leipa grunted in affirmation. Daniel sighed before fainting. Leipa had trained them as best she could. Though it had been pretty tough for them, she was after all the daughter of the First Gatekeeper of Lost, her power was very close to her father''s. The training had been firmly proposed by Chris, who had caused many misunderstandings through his choice of words. She blushed thinking about him, he was just a kid, but he certainly didn''t act like one. She had found herself thinking of him as an adult. ''Stoooop! Concentrate Leipa, don''t be a fool!'' she slapped herself. Distant expression disappearing completely, she stared at them fiercely. She would fulfill her promise and train these dumbasses into competent fighters! She had sparred with them for six months and they had made great progress. Mostly. The Gravity Cats had improved their Controllers greatly. Though Leipa had found Linear to be their weak link, the lazy member of the group. She glared at the Targual girl, blood boiling. Linear stared back unblinking. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!! Get back to work!" Leipa shouted, her Will shaking the whole city. Linear saluted, "Yessir!" she called, "Don''t call me SIR!" Leipa growled. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alan Blightwood held his axe aloft, slamming down with all his upper body strength. The young guard''s head separated from his shoulders. Alan smirked with a blood soaked face. He had been hired by the Fargoal family to spread confusion among the many nations, his subordinates were busy with Targual, The Empire and Seiynor leaving him alone to deal with Lost. He moved into lord Avarin''s mansion killing guards and maids with equal brutality. He was dressed like a barbarian of the mountains and he left tokens, a string of ears, framing the Highmen. No alarms had been raised yet, the lord was having fun with a whore. He opened the doors to the lord''s room, seeing the two figures going at it he couldn''t help but chuckle. The lord turned to him in surprise throwing the whore off him and grabbing a blade hidden beneath his pillow. The whore screamed as Alan stepped forward, he swung the axe viciously, red Will cleaved her in two along with the bed and wall. The lord gaped, sputtering in surprise. Alan brought the axe around as the lord feebly raised his sword. The axe shattered the sword, shrapnel tearing into their faces. Alan laughed as the metal slide from his face, leaving him unharmed. Dear Avarin wasn''t so lucky, shards of metal had pierced his throat and eyes. "I''ll put you outta yer misery." Alan laughed gleefully, stamping on the lord''s neck. The man''s eyes dulled. He left the manor with a satisfied smile. But he wasn''t finished. With the lords stirred up about this, he would next make the citizens lose trust in the nobles. He would go for the villages next. He checked his map for the closest village. Sirin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And so Act 1 ends. Wooooo. Phew. Sorry it''s so short, but it''s only an intermission so ya. Act 2 is coming very soon, shit is gonna hit the fan. Stay tuned. Chapter 13 - Looming Shadows. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* Act 2 begins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The golden eyed girl twirled in place, fixing us with a stare. Red crystal held in a deathgrip, though she didn''t seem to notice, "My name is Priscilla Goldwrym, fleshies. I''m half dragon." she waited, seemingly gauging our reaction, seeing no recognition from us she smiled. "You''re not lying atleast! Too bad, I wondered what you would taste like." I refrained from interjecting with a sexual innuendo, worried she might kill me. Gray had recovered from his injuries, though that was only natural as a Shape-Shifter. I felt a twinge in my back as my mangled spider legs fell off, making way for shiny new ones. I grinned in relief. I felt somewhat naked however without the presence of the Apparitions. With our Soul Systems still locked down we still had no way out. Priscilla motioned at us "C''mon idiots wanna stay here while the statue respawns?" I blinked "Respawns?" I asked incredulous. "My my, do you have no Dungeons from whatever backwards land you weaklings come from?" she quieted for a moment before striding towards the center pillar. "What the hell, isn''t that the exit?" Gray asked pointing at the doors from before. "No, that leads further in, asshat. Anyway, I suppose it''s my duty to educate you uncultured misfits. Dungeons have crystals at their cores and these crystals-" "Like the one you''re holding?" I asked curiously, she opened a compartment on the pillar, pressing a button, the black stone slid open and a passage way opened, she stepped through. "Don''t interrupt again or I''ll tear out your tongue." she said half growling, "Yes like this crystal, but not quite. The core crystals are huge. They regenerate the entire Dungeon and are genius loci of sorts. They also happen to protect the Dungeon at it''s center. The guardian of this particular Dungeon is upper SS-rank. Of course there are plenty who can kill the damn thing, but why bother when you can profit? We let people, adventurers - not like you idiots - people come here to train and take the spoils of the Dungeon, in return however we take a portion of their gains as taxes of sorts. Anyway, this crystal is part of the core, though the core will probably regenerate this piece in like ten minutes. So best hurry the fuck up." I raised my eyebrows. Leaning towards Gray as we walked I murmured conspiratorially "She''s wordy!" before hurrying after her. Gray just sighed, "You''re being immature." I shrugged "It helps me keep calm." he nodded absently, gazing at the black stone corridors. We walked in a somewhat awkward silence for twenty minutes before we finally found the entrance, Priscilla raised a fist to the sky in a triumphant salute. Stepping out into fresh air was a great relief and we both wobbled onto the grassy ground, Priscilla sitting between us. the sky was a deep purple, the Source burning in the skies. We were near a large pond with a portal hanging over it and a sparse scattering of huge trees. The rest as far as the eye could see was plains. Behind us, at the entrance were nine guards, dressed in white cloth and chain, more ceremonial than practical. I felt somewhat embarrassed I hadn''t noticed them. They kept a respectful distance, though regarding us with suspicion. "What is the date?" I asked with dread. It was an obvious cliche, the protagonist gets transported, though relieved he makes his way home only to find many years had passed. Of course such a thing is ridiculous, I''m not a protagonist after all! Priscilla frowned, "I don''t know, does it matter?" I regarded her with some skepticism "It doesn''t matter? How do... Nevermind. I''ll just ask these guys..." she shook her head, "Don''t speak to them, they don''t speak the same language numbnuts." she said sourly, "What, but you can understand us." Gray said, his eyes flickering between everyone. "Yes I can, because I am a noble, it''s only natural I may make contact with foreigners. Whatever. Come home with me weaklings, I''ll look after you guys until I can get you home." she said with surprising tenderness. Gray then proceeded to shit on the mood. "What the fuck, this is the EMPIRE, we come from the Lost Isles! Big distance!" he gestured with his hands apart in a exaggerated manner. I glared at him and he blinked realizing he had raised his voice. Priscilla''s eyes sharpened, "I promise on my honor that I shall send you two home." her eyes glittered, golden light flowing. We felt something then, we knew instinctively she was serious, I nodded. "Take us to your leader!" I say, leaping from the ground. The girl stares at me "Kid are you alright, you don''t have a concussion or anything?" Gray rolled his eyes "He''s always like this." I stand nonchalantly over the two as they slowly rise, time seemingly slowing. I formed a gray dome of Stratos around me as I sighed, I doubted she was the cause of our malfunctions but I needed to be sure, Will was being rapidly sapped from me as I stared at her intently, she had no Will bonds anywhere apart from her body. Only then did I breath, allowing the gray dome to dissipate. She waved at the guards as she took a small hand sized rune marked white stone tablet from her pocket. She muttered a few words and the portal over the pond chimed, the colors of the portal lightened and an image appeared in the portal, a huge majestic city, buildings of silver metal and black smooth stone. Crowds of people weaving through with grace, all well dressed, it looked like everyone was middle class citizens. Priscilla grabbed us by the scuffs of our necks and hurled us through, cackling the whole while. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The street kids gathered, whispering amongst themselves, Dinnen stood with the older children, a red bag held in his hand, clinking with ever movement. He smiled wickedly. "Rats! They''ll pay us, gold, real gold! We can eat and bath, dress in clean clothes and sleep safely! All we must do is cause trouble, something we do anyway, we''ll overturn those rich bastards! Alan Blightwood has promised us!" The sound of clunky boots of guardsmen could be heard faintly. The Rat King Dinnen handed out coins, and with that they soon scattered. The observer, an old man, sighed sadly. Looking at them with regret, in his hand he held a long blade in a loose, sweaty grip. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shadow twitched, [What? Do you take me for a fool?], the elder Spirit gazed at him, head nodding listlessly "No longer... No longer!" the Spirit muttered. Shadow felt his mind halt with that terrible thought. That Chris could be dead. That Gray, his Host could be dead. That both are gone. Ice running through his veins, he had asked the only one who could track anyone anywhere. The elder Spirit had not found them however. He left the Spirit to it''s ramblings. His mind ITCHED, sparking with black. Self Notes hadn''t answered him and he was at his wits end. And something was wrong with Mirror. He shivered, [Where the hell are you bastard?] he whispered, feeling lost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rorry was bored, he hadn''t been allowed to train any further by his parents, they said he had far surpassed their expectations, that he didn''t need to please them further. But to be honest he didn''t care. It wasn''t about them. It was about Chris, the person he admires more than anyone. He sighed halting that train of thought. He left his room in a huff, passing the living room without a word, his elder sister, Catalya sat with the rest of the family, reading. He left, simply walking. It was peaceful, the sky darkening. The yesterday a noble had been killed in his own home by a barbarian from the mountains, breaking the ancient peace. Uncle Stew though had said he had suspicions it was someone else. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Rorry didn''t want to know who lived or died. He had always hated death, his family had died, along with his entire village. They had lied. It was said to be famine, but he knew the truth. Nonetheless he was satisfied with his new family. It had all happened decades ago after all. The former Sage Rorry Spargale gazed into the starless sky with a smile, pulling his mask over his head. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With a gasp I peeled my eyes open. I could feel movement, we were in a carriage of sorts, Gray and I had sort of ended up on each other and I soon jumped back. Wiping drool from my shirt with a disgusted expression I stared at the greatly amused Priscilla. "Why did you let this happen?" I asked, distaste evident. She shrugged. I ignored my companions and stared out the windows, watching everything fly by, the carriage was fast enough to make my eyes spin. The carriage slowed before stopping and Priscilla stepped out. I shook Gray awake and half dragged him out with me. The carriage driver said something in an unknown language then the carriage spun and turned back the way it came. It was monstrously fast, more so from outside. It didn''t seem to be driven by anything, more like a car. White, gold and overly decorated, red crystals stuck to the side in brass holders. Priscilla lead us away from the road, silent. Gray and I gawked in awe. "Welcome to the noble House Goldwrym." she said while waving imperiously. The manor was huge, almost as tall as city buildings back on earth, only it was all made of smooth golden stone. Many guards stood at every entrance, some entering something like a barracks. At the front gates a woman with dark gold hair was arguing with the guards. Priscilla''s face lit up "Big sis!" she called. The woman turned our way with a small smile. Priscilla leaped at her sister nearly knocking her over, she said smiling "I just met these weaklings, thought I may as well help them. PlusIGotACrystal!" the woman snickered "Pris, how many times have I told you? Father doesn''t like useless weaklings, you can''t bring them home!" Priscilla pouted, which would have been effective if she hadn''t ruined it by abruptly scratching herself. I took a moment to observe the older sister. She had a strong figure, similar diamond shaped pupils and fangs. Her eyes were bright red however and I figured she could probably kill with her glares. The big sister patted Priscilla for a moment before scowling "Well? Aren''t you gonna introduce us to eachother?" "Oh! Sorry fleshies. Okay, this is our Sephvell the eldest child of Goldwyrm, and these fleshies are?" I realize with surprise we hadn''t introduced ourselves. Gray smiles sheepishly, "... Not so bad..." he muttered. "My name is Christopher Crash and this is Gray Shadow." I said. "Gray Shadow? Sounds kinda pretentious." she said grinning, "I know right!" we fistbumped. Sephvell cleared her throat, "Well I have work to do, Father is in a meeting with an important official, so you should hurry off to Trudid, Pris." she said. Priscilla hugged her goodbye with teary eyes. I snorted in bemusement as she led us off while frantically waving to her sister. We trekked down to the town. After our brief nap I felt completely recovered. Using too much aura can really take it out of you. "What''s the Lost Isles like?" Priscilla asked earnestly, we shrugged. Gray spoke up "It''s calm, quiet and borin-" "How did you guys get so strong." Priscilla asked, interrupting. I shrugged "Training. You say strong, but you keep saying we''re weaklings." I said "Yes, weaklings to me. But the Lost Isles shouldn''t have people like you." I frowned. "We have an Academy, I had planned on joining. I''m pretty average." she giggled, then stopped, seeing I wasn''t joking she looked incredulous "Average? Bullshit. A twelve year old B-rank, closing on A-rank. Bullshit." ''What!? And how do you know my age?'' So... It seem dear Uncle Stew lied. He probably didn''t want me to become arrogant or something, well whatever. "Well. You''re pretty strong yourself kiddo." I said, "How old are you anyway?" she gave me The Look. "So... You said other teleported too right? What about that?" Gray asked. Atleast he hadn''t forgotten. "Well. I won''t tell you where they came from but five others have teleported into this area. They had things in common. Power, not Will, but simply power, political or otherwise. People with influence have been teleported here and that''s pretty worrying." she stopped "There''s a question you both want to ask. Speak." Gray glared "How the fuck do you know?" "I can read minds in a way. Or rather I can tell if someone is having a specific thought over and over, usually the more linked up with their emotions it is the easier it is to read. I don''t like doing it, but you guys are still pretty much strangers to me." ''Sounds reasonable'' "What we wanted to ask was if there''s a some kind of jammer around here." she tilted her head, "Jammer?" I facepalmed in self disgust. ''Dammit I need to stop using modern terms.'' "I mean is there anything blocking Will devices or something?" she was quiet for a moment "Hmm. I think I know what you''re talking about, there''s a cave under the town that gives off some really odd Will. It could be that." Gray looked at me "Can you take us there? It''s important." he asked. She shook her head "I don''t really trust you guys too much yet. Anyway no one has any idea what that Will is. All we know is it''s strong enough to repulse anyone who ever tried to enter." we neared the town of Trudid. It hadn''t been too long of a walk. People made way for us, guards saluting. I raised my eyebrows "So... You the boss here?" she laughed "No. We''re the owners of this town." the town was very well ordered, every building perfectly block shaped, all streets clean and bright. The citizens were dressed in rich colors. It bustled inside, though it seemed to somewhat quiet as she entered. Many people nearby acted very courteous and good mannered while she was around. Weird. Priscilla approached a clump of stalls selling various snacks. She curled her fingers, gesturing us over "This stuff is sooo good. You gotta try it. Trudid make the best snacks!" our stomachs grumbled. I picked a meat skewer, though I would have preferred blood, handing over a few coins I had left. The stall people gasped at the handful of platinum. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Pathetic." the old man spat. Alan grunted, kicking the boy. "You can''t even keep the attentions of the guardsmen! Pah! What of your promises to lord Alan? He has brought you gold and treated you with respect. Yet this is how you repay him!?" the old man shook his head. Alan smirked "Oh. I''m sure we can forgive him. Boy. I have a job for you. Unfortunately for you it doesn''t involve you being alive." the street kid stared in horror. Alan snapped Dinnen''s neck quickly, "I need more Hands. Use this child." he said coldly, the old necromancer nodded looking somewhat sorrowful, "Where will you be my lord?" the necromancer asked. "Sirin. When it burns to the ground." The old man smiled. "Sorry my lord but I cannot allow that." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 14 - The Platinum Riot. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A long blade flickered towards Alan¡¯s throat, jumping back and dodging the thrown blade he stared at the old man, ¡°Who?¡± he asked. The old man smiled, ¡°I should have acted sooner, perhaps I could have saved that child.¡± he said quietly. ¡°What is this nonsense, are you betraying me?¡± Alan growled. The old man brought his hands to his face, fingers digging in and pulled. His face changed, a thin porcelain mask dropping from his face to reveal a middle-aged looking Targual. Alan spoke darkly ¡°Since you killed my necromancer, I¡¯ll take my losses from your hide.¡± he drew his axe. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you work for or why you are doing this but I will not allow it!¡± hissed Stew. ¡°My brother painstakingly put this country back together and I will NOT allow you to trample on his wishes!¡± Alan¡¯s eyes widened. He had heard the stories of the old queen. It was said she had ran away from her duties during the war and became the wife of one the Targuals. This man could be half brother of the current king. It would also explain the disguise, such Artifacts usually cost greatly. With this he could cause much greater chaos. He grinned. ¡®Such luck!¡¯ though the half prince didn¡¯t look like he¡¯d be giving in too soon. Alan had no idea what kind of opponent he was facing so he remained wary, axe held ready. Stew was somewhat frustrated his assassination had so easily failed, though he had expected it, it had been sloppy. But he was desperate. Nonetheless, he now had a chance to face the fiend. His black robes billowed out, weapons falling from the folds. His eyes sharpened and his mind began moving with great speed, combined with the natural dexterity and coordination of a Targual he shot his poisoned repeater crossbow at Alan, dozens of bolts tearing through the air he then hooked it back onto his waist. His hands blurred grabbing the falling throwing knifes and he sent them hurtling after the bolts, and with a final movement he grabbed the last two weapons in each hand. A metallic whip and longsword. Alan blinked in surprise, the old man was pretty good. He ignored the bolts, instead readied his axe to deflect the thrown blades. His aura would take care of the bolts. A thrumming tornado of red spun around him, instantly disintegrating the bolts, it couldn¡¯t do the same to metal, especially mithril so he deflected which blades he could, a few scored hits, though going no further than his leather armor. Stew snapped his whip, shining light brightly in Alan¡¯s eyes. ¡°Dirty cheating old man.¡± he growled irritably, he held his axe overhead, his stance leaving many openings and Stew jumped in close, whip sawing through leather and sword jabbing out lightning quick. A huge gravitational field pulsed from the axe, slamming the old Targual into the ground. Alan smirked, swinging the axe down, covered in red Will. Stew groaned. But A small cube of white, completely blocked the strike, unmovable. Alan found himself astonished, though it hadn¡¯t been his strongest attack, the fact that it didn¡¯t even budge showed him just how strong of a defense it was. A light shined from Stew¡¯s chest where a silver chain hung. It was Infused with -- he hadn¡¯t wanted to use it - it had been given him to protect their family by Chris - but he couldn¡¯t allow Alan to reach the village. He had sent messages for everyone to evacuate but he had been worried that Alan might have posted watchers at the village. But with Alan otherwise busy with himself the villagers would have the opportunity to escape. The cube dissipated though the chain could be used five more times. He couldn¡¯t afford to underestimate his opponent. ¡°My turn.¡± Alan said smiling smugly. He was different from before, his aura surrounding him had become green and he moved much faster than before. He swung insanely fast, sending gusts of heavy wind everywhere. Stew was having trouble dodging with the air being disrupted so much. He need to disrupt Alan¡¯s rhythm. His whip snapped overhead, exploding in a star-burst of light, he threw a bag of dust in Alan¡¯s face and a mithril net right after. Finally he felt himself relax somewhat as Alan yelled in pain as the dust got in his face. It wasn¡¯t ordinary dust at all, rather it was filled with neurotoxins it would also cause debilitating pain. He lashed out with his whip, tearing open the leather and dragged painful lines across Alan¡¯s skin. The mercenary screamed in agony and dropped his axe. Stew smiled. ¡°Surrender and I¡¯ll relieve you of your pain, I have an antidote. I¡¯ll be taking you to the king, he can decide what to do with you.¡± Alan nodded his head vigorously, pleading. Stew crouched and took his axe away. Then wrestled him from the net. ¡°Don¡¯t try anything or I¡¯ll make this much worse.¡± the mercenary nodded, rising, his head down he reached for his belt and Stew jabbed his throat in warning "Just thirsty. I want to wash my mouth out." he gulped something down. Stew¡¯s chain tingled. Alan had shot forward, his fist glowing with Will, swinging down. Stew had no chance to react as the fist connected with his side. He felt his ribs snap like twigs, fragments cutting into his organs. He choked up a mouthful of blood and dropped to his knees, dropping his weapons. Alan stood over him, smiling. ¡°Old man, are you stupid, I¡¯ve killed thousands of people, I¡¯ve been doing this for years. Think I can¡¯t take a little pain? It¡¯s like a finger prick.¡± he held an empty vial in his hand and scowled ¡°To think you made me use this.¡± he said, dropping the empty vial. Alan¡¯s wounds were gone as if they had never been, ¡®What the hell did he drink!?¡¯ Stew held the chain in his hand, ready to block any attack. Though he was on the verge of passing out in pain or bleeding to death. He only hoped Alan wouldn¡¯t just walk away, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him in his condition. Gritting his teeth he rose painfully to his feet. He breathed deeply and reached into his robes. Alan just stood grinning, ¡°You think any more tricks will work?¡± Stew withdrew his last resort, a black stone Infused with Shadow¡¯s -- Gray had given it to him, Chris had nagged him nonstop until he did. It was meant to be used with gloves and very steady footing. Though Stew had neither. But he didn¡¯t hesitate to use it. Hands held forward, the stone crumbled, black Will erupting forth, he sent own his Will with it and guided it towards Alan. It wasn¡¯t quite as powerful as the one used by Shadow but close enough, it blasted forward in a thick black beam, absorbing the Will from the its surroundings as it passed. It crashed with Alan¡¯s figure. Shaking the earth, the energy blasted, portions were deflected, cutting into the area and throwing clumps of gravel and stone into the air. Alan grimaced as the energy pushed him back constantly, a ordinary looking wooden tower shield was held in a deathgrip in front of him, slowly splintering, it was a disposable Infused defense item his group had been working on, making the most efficient Infused Tools for their purposes, the shield had been a prototype, prepared with someone of the king¡¯s caliber in mind, not some weak Targual. How disappointing. He held his axe in his other hand slashing into the beam where he could, he wasn¡¯t worried about damaging it, it was a very high class artifact. Its durability was its strong point. Though he dared not block with it, it was too unwieldy to act as a shield and it wasn¡¯t big enough to block his whole body. Eventually the blast abated and he lumbered forward, his whole body ached, it had been an effort standing against it, even worse, it had drained his Will the whole while. He would need to recover before acting again. The old man was breathing heavily, blood crusting his robes and face. He was braced against a sturdy looking home which had been slightly uprooted. He wasn¡¯t sure how the Targual had survived. ¡®Oh well.¡¯ He dropped the spent shield and strode over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Shadow hung over the world, unseen. It was dangerous being outside like this, where any stray Spirit or something else can harm him. But he dared not return to Dream Sirin, not with Mirror acting as she was, though he had calmed somewhat, Self Notes had returned earlier assuring him that Gray and Chris were fine. He wasn¡¯t sure how she could say that with such conviction, maybe she was deluding herself. Either way, he figured he would much rather believe them to be fine than stress over their deaths when it hadn¡¯t even been confirmed. Though he didn¡¯t know how they could be blocked from their sight or that of an Elder Spirit, only some absolutely overwhelming Will could do that. He had searched for any other Spirits who had any idea. But none could find them, though few of the Spirits were quite coherent. The only reason the three of them had so easily retained their humanity was their closeness with Chris. ¡®Well. Speaking of us three...¡¯ Mirror could be very scary when she wanted to, but it was worse when it was unintentional. She had just recently started having flashbacks again. He didn¡¯t know how THAT had started back up, they were supposed to be over it. So long as they didn¡¯t mention what happened back then Mirror would be completely fine. In the past they had been active with Chris 24/7, in fact it was surprising he had been able to cope with three voices in his head, constantly talking. Mirror back then was pretty distant however, she was growing into her powers and was finally able to get some freedom, she had left him, like a rebellious teenager. She kept getting herself in danger, she was rash and impulsive. Then she found someone, it had been like a glowing beacon to her, someone with a similar wavelength. Perfect she had thought. The Host she had found had been a terminal patient with only a few years to live. Mirror had saved that girl¡¯s life, curing her with ease. In return they would ¡®share¡¯ the body. She had agreed. Then she went on to live life. She made friends and fell in love. Then it all fell apart. The girl¡¯s body started deteriorating. Mirror suffered the effects. Mood swings struck her and destroyed her relationships. The girl ended back in hospital, blaming Mirror for it all. Like a dream, Mirror ended up back where she started, only with a broken heart. Afterwards, Chris found her and welcomed her back. They had all tried so hard to comfort her, and soon after many years she recovered. He didn¡¯t dare allow himself to even THINK it could be Little Notes. But who else could have triggered her? And why now? He sighed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Self Notes felt horrible. A sick oily feeling. Guilt. She had done as ordered. Now she could have time to herself again, she could go back to her usual self. But she couldn¡¯t shake the guilt. Somehow, Mirror had been onto her. But she couldn¡¯t allow her to find out, so she triggered her - hoping Mirror would forget - so her secret would be safe. This was all for Christopher¡¯s good after all. This all had to happen, and in fact, it already had. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I bit into the skewers with glee. ¡®Best.¡¯ I paused for a moment as the whole market went silent. I frown looking around, everyone was staring at the pile of platinum marks I get left on the counter. The shopkeeper practically dove into them grabbing handfuls and shoveling them into his pockets. Throngs of people charged forwards, pushing others out of the way and trampling anyone they saw. I looked at them in astonishment. It was a literal riot. ¡®It wasn¡¯t THAT much money was it...?¡¯ Priscilla meanwhile glared at me ¡°WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!¡± I held my hands up in surrender. ¡°I have no idea. Why the fuck are they going nuts!?¡± she blinked ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? Damn. Okay look. Platinum is extremely expensive here and you just dropped enough to buy a kingdom. Go figure. Anyway I suppose I should make an example...¡± she trailed off as a group of beefy men charged at us demanding cash. ¡°No need. Sirs! I am going to have to ask you to stop!¡± I said hold my palm out. They didn¡¯t heed me, so I slapped the biggest one in front. Though I held back, it still ended up knocking him out. He was sent flying back like a rag doll, slamming into the crowd and bowling people over. ¡°STRIKE ONE!¡± I yelled. Gray who had stood quietly the entire time began grabbing handfuls of snacks from the stalls. I glare at him ¡°You better save some for me!¡± he laughs ¡°Deal with it. Why don¡¯t you stick with what you know. I¡¯m a professional thief.¡± I snort in derision ¡°Professional? Sure, sure.¡± I was about to hit the other muscle heads, but another group of batshit people came stampeding through. Priscilla stepped past me, wings spreading out overhead, those nearby stared in awe. Swinging the wings mightily she takes to the air, knocking people over. Waves of wind clash with the crowds and she draws everyone¡¯s attention shouting down with a voice louder and deeper than any human ¡°BASTARDS! Settle down! Is this how the Great Jareklai Empire behaves? You are in the presence of the Ambassador of the Lost Isles. Show some respect!¡± everyone stopped, looking between me and Gray. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was all resolved in the end. The coins were taken from everyone and returned to me, but I decided to donate them to the town. I didn¡¯t really need the money. Afterwards the town guards showed up, though a little late. Nobody died, but the city¡¯s infirmary was filled to the brim. The story of the event was spread by the market people to the rest of the city becoming increasingly exaggerated. It became known as the Trudid Platinum Riot. Priscilla had then sent us to an inn. We were given free stay, partly because of the huge donation. Not to mention Priscilla designated me as an Ambassador. Which was very bad. Eventually the news would get to the rest of the Empire and they would hunt me down. But something still bothered me, I couldn¡¯t leave yet. I left my room in the inn and knocked on the door of Gray¡¯s room. ¡°What the hell do you want?¡± he shouted through the door. I scowled ¡°I was thinking of investigating the source of our cut connection. But if you don¡¯t want to come...¡± ¡°Fine, fine!¡± after five minutes of shuffling he scrambled through. I peered over his shoulders into the room. It was a mess. Mostly filled with empty bowls and plates. He had gorged, eating almost all the food he had snatched earlier. We left, waving to the inn keeper. I recognized a few bruised faces on the street and began laughing. Gray trailed behind, eyes on any food related buildings. I was surprised he hadn¡¯t gotten fat. His hunger had ramped way up recently. The sky had been orangified. It was evening. Priscilla stood against a wall near the town hall and people avoided her, being painfully careful. She looked up smiling ¡°Sup. Aren¡¯t you guys going to sleep?¡± she asked. Gray shrugged ¡°What about you? Hanging around looking suspicious.¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m thinking.¡± she murmured. I smiled broadly ¡°Don¡¯t hurt yourself.¡± ¡®Oh Yeeeaaahhh!!!¡¯ Gray rolled his eyes. ¡°Shoosh. So what do you fleshies want?¡± she asked ¡°I really need to ask, is that how half dragons really talk?¡± I asked raising my eyebrows. Gray spoke up ignoring my annoyed huff ¡°We wanna see that cave of yours.¡± she grimaced ¡°I¡¯m not sure I have the authority. Though my family does own this town, we are still vassals of the Empire and our superiors have closed it off. Sorry fleshies.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us to begin with?¡± he asked scowling. She opened her mouth to reply before closing it again, staring behind us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Chapter 15 - The Church of Mayhem. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I turned apprehensively. A dark skinned big guy towered over us, dressed in priestly purple and white robes. Along with his purple super saiyan hair he look completely ridiculous. Then he laughed in the most disturbing way, voice demoniacally deep. His eyes rolled in the back of his head as he laughed. I readied myself to fight the monster when he suddenly teleported past us, bowling me and Gray over. I jumped to my feet in time to see his face go somewhat normal and he stopped laughing. He stood in front of Priscilla with his arms wide. Gray and I gaped as they hugged. They pulled back after a moment and the big guy patted her head. ¡°How ya been Pris, dawg?¡± he asked, ¡°I¡¯ve been good. So... You just knocked over my new pals.¡± ¡°Oh shit sorry about that lil¡¯ dudes.¡± his huge hands patted us both and he smiled at us. Gray growled ¡°The fuck is this?¡± ¡°Chill you ass out wild brother.¡± Priscilla snorted ¡°This is Priest Cocoa of the nearby Church of Mayhem. Cocoa these are my new friends, Gray and Chris.¡± she said, gesturing. Cocoa raised his eyebrows ¡°A lil¡¯ young ain¡¯t they? Fo¡¯ sure!¡± I closed my eyes and pinched my cheeks, I need to be sure this wasn¡¯t some absurd dream. *Ouch* Real huh. ¡°These the rich playa¡¯s who beat them fool¡¯s asses?¡± ¡°Yup. They¡¯re B-ranks.¡± she replied. ¡°That shits wicked cool. Yo, just wanted to greet yo ass. Gots me some funky news.¡± she grinned ¡°Alright let¡¯s go. C¡¯mon fleshies.¡± Gray glared, quickly rushing after. I followed. ¡°Go where? Why do people never explain these things!? And wait, is this guy even speaking the same language? Is this how the Empire talk!?¡± Gray yelled. ¡°We Priest¡¯s oh they great Mayhem speaks all dey languages of Jareklai.¡± Cocoa replied. ¡°We¡¯re going to the Church. In fact, the Church is directly above that strange Will you fleshies were so interested in. The High Priest came by a month ago and had to sealed it up.¡± Priscilla answered. We hurried through the crowds, people moving respectfully out of the odd Priest¡¯s way. Soon we reached the church. It was fitting really. White and dark purple, contrasting. There were a few other Priest hanging around, who thumbed up or fistbumped Cocoa as we passed by. They all had somewhat unique looks. Gray just looked with bewilderment and Priscilla was indifferent. Cocoa opened the huge Church doors with ease and we passed through. Walking the corridors. I felt it then. Cold and paralytic. Familiar. Funny, I could still remember that Will from twelve years ago. That huge aura that can cover an entire city. SL. I felt a somewhat manic smile tug onto my face. But stopped myself. This power was too much. I would have no chance, not to mention that place was supposedly sealed and it is possible the so called High Priest is up to something suspicious with SL. I was then determined to check it out, and to get more powerful. I had plenty of methods but even so, I wasn¡¯t really serious. I hadn¡¯t met any powerful foes after all, well aside from the statue recently. ¡®-- your time has come.¡¯ I blinked, realizing I had stopped, the others had long since passed. ¡®What the hell...¡¯ I quickly got lost, the inside of the church was much bigger than it appeared and there were multiple floors. It was also pretty much empty, giving it a creepy feel. I ran down the halls somewhat panicked. The cold aura creeping up my body from the stones bellow. Seeping in. It had the appearance of yellow mist and I followed the trailing mist, searching for the source. It was like wading through ketchup. I found it, on the bottom floor, at the back of the church, was a room filled to the brim with the yellow smoke. I stumbled through, hand covering my mouth. It was getting colder. Frost forming on my clothes and skin. I found the source, a marked wall. The smoke cleared in a semicircle around it. There was some bad glyph work written on the wall. With a little work I was able to decipher what it said. -Seal of The Godslayer (Status: Damaged.)- I frowned ¡®The hell does that mean?¡¯ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stew held his hands up feebly. ¡°Hahaha! Look at you, old man.¡± Alan laughed, stepping over. ¡°I guess that was my fault, I should have been more careful. But damn. Such an impressive artifact.¡± he held Stew up by his hair and retrieved a vial from his belt. ¡®Only three left. Too bad.¡¯ Stew tried to resist but he was too badly injured, his movements sluggish and abominably painful. A liquid was forced down his throat. Tasteless. He stared blearily at Alan. ¡°Are you going to kill me, or must you taunt me more?¡± Alan smirked ¡°Kill you? What use would that serve? But I have an idea of who else to kill...¡± Stew¡¯s face fell, eyes frantic ¡°Stop. Don¡¯t you dare!¡± ¡°Are you going to stop me?¡± laughed Alan. Stew body suddenly jerked and spasmed, a feeling like molten metal flowing through his body. He felt his wounds closing. Organs knitting back together, bones repairing and regrowing. ¡°Wha-¡± ¡°Ah, maybe we should leave before some guards show up.¡± Alan said, he grabbed Stew throwing the half unconscious man over his shoulders. ¡°The guards should have already arrived, what have you done?¡± Stew murmured over his lessening pain. ¡°The guards like money.¡± answered Alan, brightly. ¡°Hmm, without any Hands my old plans are no longer viable. But perhaps with you...¡± Stew kept his head down, hoping to recover his strength quickly. Initially, killing and replacing that necromancer had been a chore. They lose control of their constructs when they die, but if you kill the constructs first you only end up alerting them. Tediously, he had penned away the Hands - small humanoids, think goblins - and other fleshy creatures. Killed the necromancer and rushed back for them. He was fast enough, just about. Fast enough to replace the necromancer without looking suspicious, the mask he had used was special, it was primarily used for assassinations. His sister¡¯s sect had been using it for generations, though it was a carefully guarded secret. He frowned, his recovery was very abnormal. Even with some of the greatest potions, recovering from his particular injuries so fast was impossible. It seemed to have restored him in other ways too, his Will had recovered. Though his body was lagging behind somewhat. Alan jogged through the streets, approaching a run down looking building. It fit in pretty well, they were in the slums, the abandoned part. ¡®What is he planning?¡¯ he thought as a boy opened the door to a series of knocks. Peeking at Alan the boy allowed him through. An older man sat in the old rotten house on a chair in the corner of the room. Alan gestured at the man, and man gestured back, then left. Dropping Stew on the floor Alan took a seat. ¡°Alright half prince. Let¡¯s make a deal.¡± ¡°A deal? I won¡¯t help you.¡± ¡°Oh? Will you say the same when I destroy your precious village? As far as I can tell, despite your brother¡¯s accomplishments - which you are far too proud of - you cherish your real family more. So. Would you rather betray your brother or have all your family and acquaintances die?¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°...¡± ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not really asking you to betray anyone. I was hired to cause chaos here, that is all. How about it then? A Contract.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Stew said, he made up his mind, drawing a blade. A small hand grasped his, crushing. With a yell he dropped the blade, staring into the eyes of the child who had answered the door. The boy glared ¡°No killing. Bad.¡± Stew¡¯s eyes widened ¡®Impossible.¡¯ the child was able to restrain him, an A-ranker with such ease. Even Chris wasn¡¯t that powerful, and this child was younger. Stew watched the boy carefully. There was something familiar about him. The red hair and dark skin. ¡®House Fargoal!¡¯ The man from before was standing behind Alan, his features similar. His crushing aura sapping Stew¡¯s will to fight. With these two monsters he had no chance. He sighed in resignation. ¡°So. What are the Fargoal family doing out here in such a weak country?¡± Alan nodded in appreciation. ¡°So you recognize them, impressive. Fortunately these two are here to help me with my duties and to make sure I don¡¯t do anything bad. And I guess I¡¯ll forgive your disrespect.¡± he said, bearing a small smile. ¡°Now. You can tell you haven¡¯t a chance in hell of getting out of here without either joining us or dying. I¡¯ll give you a Fair Contract. I¡¯m feeling generous.¡± Stew nodded warily. He was tired. He had a good idea of what they planned to do with him. Political charades. Again. A ring of silver Will formed above their clasped hands. ¡°I swear I shall not kill or harm your kin and friends unless I am attacked first. I shall not send harm to them intentionally whether directly or indirectly.¡± Alan said. A glyph formed in the circle on Alan¡¯s side. Stew took a deep breath, he was somewhat unsatisfied with it but he was in no position to bargain. ¡°I swear to follow your orders until the day you die so long as you are hired by the Fargoal family.¡± his own side formed and the circle disappeared. He felt foreign Will enter his body, settling around his throat. Alan nodded. ¡°Now. You catch some sleep. That¡¯s an order. When you wake up you are to wait for us. You are not permitted to leave this building. Until then.¡± Alan brushed his shoulders, blood dripping onto the floor. The Fargoal man scrunched up his face, ¡°Mess.¡± Alan snorted, leaving and closing the door behind him. After a moment the boy smiled at him, ¡°Your room, elder.¡± he said leading Stew to the back room, it was empty aside from the bedroll at the center. Stew sighed, climbing in. Too tired to complain, and settled down to sleep. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rorry and Linear sat together in the barracks eating. Linear was dripping with sweat, her days training ended. Rorry was somewhat envious, being trained by the daughter of the First Gatekeeper. ¡°The Academy is going to be excepting new studentsss soon! Where the hell is Chrisss!?¡± Linear muttered to herself. Rorry was worried himself, but they hadn¡¯t been missing that long. Linear¡¯s whining was beginning to get on his nerves so he tuned her out. He could understand why Chris had avoided her so much. ¡®I¡¯m not as annoying as her, am I?¡¯ he thought idly. Though Linear had gotten a lot better recently, the first thing Leipa had done was make Linear stop hissing all the time, at the very least she doesn¡¯t hiss her every s. Rorry was somewhat worried of other matters. Like Stew. He had said he was going to the city for some business but he didn¡¯t come back. Odd. Then there was the thing with lord Avarin who was killed close to the city. After that massacre many reported seeing a barbarian, and a group of Judge Knights went out to make a thorough search. The king had the whole city locked down, Captain Rihveil had been a little grumpy too and the Apparitions had gone silent. Things were getting interesting. He watched the door slam open as a green haired youth literally jumped through. ¡°Yo child! Get the fuck out here and exercise, you¡¯ll get fat!¡± Rorry sighed. Leaving Linear he approached the Fourth Gatekeeper, they had made friends over the past few months. ¡°Tiber what do you want?¡± ¡°Dude, look at em weakass arms! FUCK!¡± I raised my fist ¡°Do you want a demonstration of what these, ¡®weakass¡¯ arms can do?¡± ¡°Hell no! Just playing with you bro, no need to get ya panties in a bunch.¡± ¡°So, why are you here!?¡± Rorry asked in exasperation, while lowering his arms. ¡°I found something shady as phak. There¡¯s a Coraan selling these weird wooden statues at the docks.¡± he held up a figurine of Sebastian Jareklai, the original founder. I frowned, puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s so weird about them?¡± Tiber looked somber ¡°They¡¯re encoded with some crazy Will yo. I cannot hack this shit. No one can! It just seems kind of scary you know? These things were completely under our noses, Gatekeepers don¡¯t just stop outright attacks on the city. We¡¯re supposed to protect the people from more subtle things too yo. I mean what if this thing is malicious? We don¡¯t even know! But we can¡¯t restrict it because they¡¯re already everywhere in the kingdom!¡± he laughed, breathing heavily ¡°Sorry for the long speech yo, just... felt kinda nervous. Anyway, maybe you should avoid them.¡± Rorry nodded, ¡°I understand. Have you got any other news?¡± Rorry asked. ¡°Naw, everything is quiet. Anyways. I gotta get back to work, cya bro.¡± said Tiber, waving like an idiot. Rorry closed the door carefully, noticing the cracks on the frame he winced. He turned around, noticing Linear was stealing his lunch. ¡®That¡¯s enough.¡¯ ¡°FUUUUUUUUCK YOUUUUU!¡± ¡°Gyaaa!?¡± *Hissing and shouting.* *STRIFE!* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hadrian noted the movements of the Empire, they seemed to be anticipating something. Laying in wait. The Heiress remained as usual outwardly, though the nobles seemed too busy scheming to realize she had changed. He could tell she likewise had something planned. His messenger was still missing, ''Incompetent.'' He was in his room, relaxing for the most part, and sat at his desk drinking wine and reading a book that had caught his fancy. his eyes bulged at the voice. ¡°Ah, Director is there something you want?¡± he ground his teeth ¡°I don¡¯t need your help. In five years my Felling will be over.¡± he grunted. It wasn¡¯t all bullshit, things were certainly getting busy but he didn¡¯t trust her, and he wouldn¡¯t wish her on his greatest enemies. ¡°And what would you get out of this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in no danger. So I¡¯ll have to pass.¡± ¡°No we won¡¯t.¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Next Chapter we¡¯ll be focusing back to Chris and Gray, no more POV switches for now. Thanks for reading! :3 Chapter 16 - The Seals Guardian. (Self Notes) [Shadow] \Mirror/ "speaking" ''thinking'' *action* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I noticed another glyph and I figured out its purpose immediately, pressing my Will through it. The glyph glowed and a light blue metal door appeared. I stepped through cautiously, alert for traps. The door slammed shut behind me and disappeared, leaving me in a large chamber, it appeared to be a hallway, though big enough for giants. Like the dungeon, the walls were of a dark black stone and pillars held up the ceiling. Huge blue metal double doors stood at the end of the enormous hallway, they were lined with glyphs and glowing with Will. Or at least that was how it should have been. The doors barely hung from their braces, incredibly thick yellow mist was only just held back by the very faintly glowing, damaged and cracked glyphs. A large pile of black rubble sat at the foot of the doors. Before the pile of rubble were deep furrows, as if a huge pair of claws had been dragged across. I stood in silence, hesitating. I was scared. Though with the doors open as they were I doubted anything remained behind them. I climbed the rubble, all the while as the yellow Will continued to seep deeper into me. I pushed it out as best I could, but the entire chamber was suffused with it. It had seeped deep into every individual stone. I was surprised it hadn¡¯t covered the city. Though the large doors probably had something to do with that. It took me a moment to realize that the pile - or rather hill - wasn¡¯t entirely rubble. Scales were mixed in, huge scales, black metallic plates. A creature had been guarding this place. It was simply buried under the rubble. It bothered me that the stone had been so badly damaged. I myself had witness in the dungeon previously just how durable it was. As I neared the end of the hill I reached a sheer drop and jumped. Landing gracefully I stood only a few steps away from the sealed cavern. I was able to recognize the glyphs so close. These were for protection. To hold and they had been made to last. In fact, if they hadn¡¯t been damaged they would have lasted around a few thousand years. I stepped through. The Will on the other side was different. It was then I realized the other effect the glyphs had. It removed purpose. The Will on the other side was limp, dead. Completely passive. It would prevent conscious usage of Will, though it was branded to a specific type of Will. His. Godslayer was an unfamiliar title to me, but the fact SL had been sealed here gave me pause. ¡®What was he doing in this world? Why was he sealed, and by who?¡¯ I noticed a pale blue crystal hanging from the ceiling above the doors and I reluctantly turned back, approaching with curiosity. The crystal was the same as the one I used to have on my ring, back on Earth. It had been a gift. I leaped with a Will assisted jump, using Will to hold myself in the air, hovering. I stood on eye level with the hanging crystal. It was as proportionally big as the rest of the things down here. I touched it. It was an Infused item, it seemed to be something of a camera, Infused with Ward. High Level too. It still contained its most recent memories. I let a bead of Will connect to the device. -Connection Established- The chamber was in prime condition. No yellow mist hung from the air or clung to the walls. The doors were undamaged and I found myself in awe of the insane glyph work. Before the doors lumbered a huge beast. It appeared to be made of interlocking dark brown bumpy wood and hexagonal black scale plates with long quills poking out from the bumps of the wooden parts. It was six legged and each leg bore animalistic paws. Ivory claws dug into the dark stone. It''s body was heavily muscled with a sturdy frame and a pair of slender black wings, casting colossal shadows over it''s shoulders. A long black tail swished from behind, the scales on the tail were much smaller than the ones from it''s body, giving it much greater mobility, and the tails end was split, both ends curving inwardly with a dark blue flame floating between. It''s head was built like a lizards and eight horns of increasing length stood upon it¡¯s head, marked with glyphs. It¡¯s eyes were a deep brown-red, with diamond shaped pupils. ¡®Iveltei - Son of the Guardian'' read the glyphs along it¡¯s horns, I watched every inch of the creature. It was huge, filling the hallway with it¡¯s wings, horns and quills almost touching the ceiling. A door appeared - the one I had used - and several armored people stepped through. The beast let out a sound like a yawn as it regarded the intruders. The strangers were large, though nothing to the beast, but from the perspective of a normal human they were BIG. Ranging from seven to nine foot tall with varying body types. They were armored in white plate mail and cloth with an emblazoned pattern. Three circles, a grey circle around a red circle and a white circle. I frowned as they stood before the beast. They formed a line and the presumed leader stepped forward. The beast squatted on it¡¯s hindquarters with an expression of curiosity. It regarded the strangers with some bemusement. The man spoke, his voice enhanced with Will. ¡°Great Son-Guardian. If it pleases you, would you allow us to speak?¡± his voice is strong, bolstered with confidence. ¡°Go ahead child of Machina.¡± the beast rumbles, shaking the cavern. The man¡¯s confidant stance wavers, ¡°We... Have concerns. We have received reports of the Gods meddling and the Godslayer was requested. Great one. If we may be so bold as to request the temporary freedom of the Godslayer?¡± he holds himself like a dead man, braced for a storm, eyes closed and teeth clenched. The beast lets out a hiss of steam from it''s nostrils. ¡°Hah. Funny that you mortals should say that. Free that vile creature? No. Denied. On what grounds did you think such a request... who would dare send you to me? The title of Godslayer is a pretense, something that may have been used in the past and it may still be part of the Old Laws but such actions are both excessive and arrogant. The Gods... No, even my Father would object. Whom do you represent?¡± it growled. ¡°Um. That is...¡± the man mumbled nervously. The beast looked at them, watching with unnerving intensity, it saw how tense they were, with their Will ready to be unleashed at any moment. ¡°Lies. Treachery!¡± the Son-Guardian hissed, aura surging. The man cursed and his companions drew their weapons, halberds and maces, swords and shields. The leader held a stone above his hand glowing with harsh silver light. It cracked, releasing the Will Infused within. A field of Stratos billowed forth. The power stored within was insane. Enough to rival anything I had ever seen in even my past life. The Apparition¡¯s at their primes together could not draw this much Will. The hallway filled with grey, time slowing for them, the walls stretched and fell away, the grey crystal adjusted to it¡¯s new position and zoomed greatly. The area was filled with extra space, the huge cavern had expanded several times its original size. Stratos is a type of Will controlling time and space. Here they had created a time and space distorting field. Dark feathered wings flapped from the backs of the strangers and they hovered over the endless grey abyss. As did the Son-Guardian. It¡¯s own wings alight with Will, like a candle in the darkness it shone with intent. The dark blue flame from it¡¯s tail sparked, sending multiple beams of blue in their direction. The beams collided with them almost instantly, giving them no time to dodge. It lasted for several seconds before the beam faded, revealing the half melted white plate of the mostly unscathed strangers. The beast let out a roar of challenge and the strangers shot forth, white lights streamed from their weapons, forming a storm of Will. The lights converged, booming past the beast, cutting into it¡¯s natural armor to little effect. They gathered again behind the beast, dodging with effort the swinging tail of blue fire. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Seeing it¡¯s superior defense they knew they couldn¡¯t cut through it. Returning their weapons to their sheaths and harnesses, they formed a circle around the beast and white Will auras exploded from their group in a star-burst, their eyes glowing behind visors. A hammer of light condensed above the beast, slamming down with vengeance. The beast held its front paws crossed before it with shrouded with blue Will. The hammer collided with the beast, giving off blasts of stray Will. Scales cracked and the beast bellowed in pain. The hammer dissipated and the beast narrowed it¡¯s eyes. A blast shot from it¡¯s tail, pulsing with killing intent. It collided with them and a small scream was heard as one of the strangers was burned to ash. The beast purred in satisfaction. The intruders shouted in outrage, already summoning another hammer. The Son-Guardian didn¡¯t give them the chance, charging them. It¡¯s tail slapped them like flies, knocking a handful away, their bones snapping and limbs tearing. One of them was rendered wingless and fell, screaming. They shouted, attacking individually with fervor. Small rounded cubes of light crushed the beast, spreading tiny cracks. It growled with irritation, and the smallest cracks began closing. The strangers all acted in growing desperation, drawing white Will in constant barrages. A few gave their lives to focus on it¡¯s paws and they managed to give it a mortal wound, disabling one of it¡¯s legs. It grew angry, mouth open wide a stream of blue fire spiraled towards them and they split up, making the beast chuckle in amusement. The stream of fire exploded at their center, showering the area in super hot flames. They burned. Only a few remained, about thirteen, their leader included. With eyes alight four of the strangers dropped dead, surrendering their Power to their team-mates. The strangers cried out in sorrow. Small hammers circled them and their armor shone with renewed Will. They charged. The beast reared back with it¡¯s wings, paws slashing in a blur, clashing with their strengthened armor. They were pushed back several paces but remained mostly unharmed. The small hammers revolving around them struck the nearby limbs sending the paws back with nasty red cracked scales. The beast growled, an inferno of blue fire forming above it¡¯s horns, beams of much greater density blasted in every direction, over and over. The strangers dodged what they could, using their summoned hammers as shields they got closer and closer. The beast¡¯s tail lashed out and the intruders dodged, but the tail split abruptly into two. Both sharp ends impaled two more of the strangers and it dislodged their corpses throwing them at their former allies. Tangled together three more were unable to do anything as the beast slashed through another of their comrades. The leader continued forward, two at either side. The three from before rushed behind to catch up but the beast focused on them with it¡¯s blue beams and they were forced to retreat. The leader was now only a short distance from it¡¯s face and he raised his hammer in front of him. The two at his side put their hands on his shoulders lending him their will, their hammers merging with his. The beast snorted, it¡¯s tail flickering crashed into them, killing the other two. The leader spat out a wad of blood and threw his hammer. It spun in the air and crushed the beast¡¯s tail. It roared in fury, all six limbs slashing, wings beating with immense pressure. It shot forward, it¡¯s paws clashing with the leader. The last three hurried behind, throwing their hammers. One collided with a paw, knocking it aside, another hit it¡¯s face, rocking it back. The last hammer struck it¡¯s stomach, making it choke out a fountain of blood. Whips of blue snapped at them, tearing chunks of their plate armor off. It¡¯s tail hung limply, twitching. It began to realize it¡¯s danger. A quill from it¡¯s back shot out, impaling one of the three and the others dodged. The leader moved to block the rest, deflecting them with some ease. The quills moved much slower than the beams. The leader and beast clashed again, both drawing blood. The last survivors gathered their remaining Will, distracting the beast with a needle of pain in it¡¯s lower regions. The leader struck with all his might, the hammer of his remaining power collapsing it¡¯s skull. The blue Will dissipated and the beast let out a death cry. With whoops of victory they hugged, crying in relief. The leader muttered something and the grey Stratos receded, slowly imploding. The room returned to it¡¯s former size and the strangers fell, wings disappearing. The beast¡¯s corpse landed, taking a chunk of the ceiling with it. It¡¯s dead brown eyes glared with wrath. Claws dragging furrows of black stone. It twitched and chunks of broken stone fell, hiding it from view. They regarded the door, their original objective. They hadn¡¯t seemed to have seen the blue spy crystal from above. They stood before the great door, the leader held another Infused item and pressed it against the door. They stepped back and the door began to glow a blood-red. An explosion shook the room, though more contained than any of the earlier clashes. The doors swung crookedly open, glyphs sputtering. A wave of listless yellow mist pushed through and regained purpose, expanding and seeping into the surroundings. The strangers spoke and I listened closely. The sound cut out and a figure walked out from the sealed chamber, regarding the strangers. The Godslayer tilted it¡¯s head, piercing gaze locking with the crystal. *Zzzzt* -Disconnected- I jumped back, unnerved and fell, landing on my butt. ¡®So that''s what happened. Interesting. But too spooky for me.¡¯ it bothered me that people so ridiculously powerful existed. Plus SL had looked at the camera like a creepy motherfucker, as if he had known I would be watching. Fuck. Nonetheless... Despite these strange circumstances, I¡¯m in a very profitable situation. But this crystal... I stare until recognition dawns on me. I had one in my previous life, it had been in my ring. It would explain how SL had stopped me back then, how he had paralyzed me, it would also explain how he know what I was doing at all times. ¡®But why didn¡¯t he kill me way back when?¡¯ I groan in exasperation. I return to the chamber, passing the threshold. It was much smaller than the huge hallway, a plain black room, empty aside from a throne of red stuff. I wrinkled my nose. It stunk. Though I didn¡¯t really care, I was more excited about the saturated Will. I could convert it. Make it mine. I sat on the strange red throne. Cackling with elation I drew the yellow mist. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. As you guys can tell, the chapters have been getting longer, I hope that¡¯s a good thing. Also action. I knew I had that tag for a reason. This Act is going to be action packed, so look forward to more later ...And comment, please, it motivates me to write more. :3 Chapter 17 - Power Up. ¡°Dialogue.¡± ¡®Thoughts.¡¯ *Action* (Self Notes.) {Shadow.} \Mirror./ -Soul System- [Status] |Point of View| Your welcome. :3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Christopher Crash| I gasped, growing colder. A thin layer of ice formed on my skin, my breaths distinctly visible. It became obvious to me that my body was gonna get wreaked. If I didn¡¯t want to die I would need a catalyst. Snorting I rose from the throne and turned to regard it. ¡®Yes. This will do fine.¡¯ *Strokes imaginary beard* I decisively ate the throne. Or rather --ed it, eating it would be downright nasty! The throne was made of the dried blood of Sobbing, so extra yuck. But whatever! It would serve as a good catalyst, with it I would be able to control his left over Will with much more ease. It would probably be safer too. Maybe. It took me a while to -- considering its size, though I only hope his gross blood wouldn¡¯t have any long-term effects on me. The yellow mist obeyed, and I stood over the remains of the blood throne. I would need to consume some of the energy, I had too much anyway. So I activated -- at max, uncaring. My Will was refilled faster than I could consume it. Though my capacity was actually increasing at a noticeable rate. I figured now was a good time as any to develop the rest of my old techniques. I smirked, activating my Will. Pain assaulted my head, it felt like my skull was cracking open. It was. The skin on my forehead bulged, and the pain eased. A second, smaller, pair of eyes had formed on my forehead, shining with golden light. I couldn¡¯t see from my new eyes. No. They had a different purpose. [Acquired Skill, - -] [Acquired Trait, --] I felt somewhat better, having used up a significant amount of Will, but it was soon replenished. Annoying. I read into the future, seeing plenty more tedious crap. I stood at the center of the chamber, drawing everything. First things first. My body could do with a boost. I drew more Will, solid thick mist pouring from the stones of the walls. Nobody else should do what I was about to do. Partly because using Will in such strange ways requires centuries of training. Or personal mentors like mine. The Apparition¡¯s had a much more intrinsic understanding of Will, they had taught me to never apply logic to Will. It just doesn¡¯t work like that. I turned the yellow Will over, purifying it. The yellow turned gold Will sparked within me. My original capacity had improved several times. Assured, I reinforced my body, rebuilding it with the golden Will. [Stats Increased, Status Updated] [Acquired Trait, --, --] [Junk Notice] ¡®Fuck yes!¡¯ I ignored the last notice. I changed my body, being a kid was kind of shitty. With my new traits I had no time limit, and I wouldn¡¯t get all wrinkly or impotent! Fufufufufu. I didn¡¯t bother boosting my body any further, though I hadn¡¯t boosted it much to begin with. I didn¡¯t want to waste this power on something pointless. The small chamber quaked as huge roiling waves of Will filled the room with hazy yellow Will, I purified it all, changing the Will into golden light. I transformed it, half became my own, sparks of red and green embers. The other half turning grey. Stratos. I formed a dome around myself, space distorting. The room became more than a hundred times it¡¯s original size, likewise time was dilated. I would need to train my mental stats and skills, they were much more important than physical stats for me, at the moment, and it would give me time to regain my old techniques. *Cracks knuckles* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Gray Shadow| Gray leaned back in his chair, on the verge of falling over. A nearby Priest tutted in disapproval. Cocoa and Priscilla were discussing something animatedly. He huffed. After they went to see the Church Signatory - Cocoa had wanted to propose an important deal with Priscilla, regarding something probably important, though Gray couldn¡¯t care less - before they realized they had lost Chris. Cocoa was awfully suspicious in Gray¡¯s opinion. Aside from his casual indifference to their station, or rather, fake station. He didn¡¯t seem to care that they were supposedly representing the Lost Isles, and according to Priscilla the Church of Mayhem isn¡¯t really sold onto the whole ¡®invasion¡¯ thing. They avoid politics, though it¡¯s more like they have their own. The Priests and such were pretty evasive about the underground cave thing, that and the weird yellow stuff curling along the ceiling and from the walls and floor. Though he rarely saw it, mostly near the back of the Church and lower floors, it was disconcerting. Anyway. The Signatory had sent a few Acolytes off to fetch Chris. Meanwhile Priscilla and Co had headed to the library, Priscilla had wanted read some rare book or something. He could hear them, just about. It was times like these he was thankful for being a Shape-Shifter. ¡°Pris, yo be thinking bout that yo? Don¡¯t go forgetting.¡± he murmured. ¡°Shoosh. Let¡¯s not talk about that out here.¡± she replied scowling. His ears perked up. ¡®That. They talk about ¡®That¡¯ an awful lot.¡¯ his eyes bore into them. He didn¡¯t know if they were a couple or something, though that would be super creepy. He was growing frustrated, cooped up in a stuffy room, along with the fragments of their little scheme. He couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of anything. They never spoke more than a sentence at a time during their discussions, or at least so long as he was around. There seemed to be something more behind their words too. An extra meaning. He climbed to his feet, stretching. Dismissing his suspicions he waved at the other two in the universal sign of ¡®Imma GTFO.¡¯ he passed the various Priests in the hallways, nodding at them, for some reason. He soon reached the doors, pushing with all his might. They creaked open, resisting. He frowned, leaning back to ram the doors when suddenly all the blood in his body rushed to his head. Gravity crushed into him, dragging him to the floor. A huge pillar of yellow Will erupted from the center of the building, flowing through the building floors and right into the sky. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, it returned to the ground, compressing all the while, turning a dazzling gold. The Church was crusted with ice, icicles hanging from the ceilings of the building, Gray touched himself, feeling the frost on his skin. He grimaced. Alarm bells rang in his head, a sense of danger, bright red lights booming in his skull. He dodged a swipe of blurring silver. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Christopher Crash| [Skills Leveled, Status Updated] [Acquired...] [Acquired...] [Skills...] [Stats...] I idly checked my Junk Notifications. [Junk Notice; Curse of The Otherside now in effect] I gaped. ¡®Are you fucking kidding me!? JUNK!? Fuuuuuck.¡¯ It occurred to me that I was an idiot. My contract had always been vague. I wondered if changing my body back would reverse the Curse, but I doubted it. ¡®Well shit. Hero time.¡¯ I had spent several years training my skills and mental stats in the Stratos, though it didn¡¯t really feel like that, more like a really long dream, I didn¡¯t have memories of my training, though the results were ingrained into me. ¡®Let¡¯s see what I got for this Hero asshole.¡¯ ==================== -------------------- |Overview| -V- -------------------- Name: Christopher Crash. Status: Standard. Age: 15. Estimated Lifespan: Infinity. Physical Rank: C. Mental Rank: C. Aethaerics Talent: A. -------------------- |Stats| -V- -------------------- Strength: 100 Vitality: 100 Agility: 100 Intelligence: 200 Will: 250 Luck: 1000 -------------------- |Status Effects|: None. -------------------- |Traits| -V- -------------------- -- -- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -------------------- |Skills| -V- -------------------- -- |Sub Skills| -V- -------------------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- |Sub Skills| -V- -------------------- -- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- |Sub Skills| -V- -------------------- -- -- -- -- -- -------------------- -- |Sub Skills| -V- -------------------- -- -- -- -- -------------------- Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.-- |Sub Skills| -V- -------------------- -- -- -------------------- -- |Sub Skills| -V- -------------------- -- -- - - -- -------------------- - - -- -- -------------------- |Inventory| -V- *Black Spider-silk Clothes. *Will Forged Spear. *Will Forged Crossbow. *Will Forged Crossbow Bolts. [Space left; Lots.] ==================== Overall, I was feeling pretty stronk, and I noticed a few changes. My spider legs had become more in proportion with my body, less bulky, they also felt stronger. I seemed to be able to control them better too, with the same precision as my normal limbs. My Ghoul trait had become more active too. My senses were a lot sharper. I was pretty damn hungry though. *Grumble* I checked my new traits and skills. -- [Your body has been remade with condensed Will. *Much more adaptable. *Can withstand much more than a normal body. *Quicker recoveries. *Will usage through your body is easier and more effective.] ¡®Nice.¡¯ -- [Eyes stolen from a powerful Dream Demon. *Gains Premonitions. *Can enter Dream realms physically. *Increased Mind-Type stat gains.] ¡®Always go for the eyes!¡¯ -- [Immortality, whoop! *You will not die of old age. *Diseases? Pah!] ¡®Pah!¡¯ -- [Best anti-aging Will has to offer. *You will not go all wrinkly and shit. *Babies forever! You will never be impotent!] ¡®Meh.¡¯ -- [You are one freakish mofo. *People fear you. *People revere you. *You look badass.] ¡®Obviously.¡¯ -- For no reason at all, you have accumulated power through snazzy luck. *LLLUUUCCCKKKYYY!] ¡®Really!?¡¯ ¡®Looking good.¡¯ I thought grinning. Most of SL¡¯s Will was used up, well, pretty much all of it. My training hadn¡¯t been very productive, though that was a given considering I had no real equipment or anything. There was no opponents either, so I had pretty much been standing around for years doing jack shit. Course¡¯, the time hadn¡¯t counted for anyone else. It would have been been better to take the Will with me and do this training with Gray or something. But then again, I hadn¡¯t been in any position to move, not with the Will of someone MANY ranks higher in power than me. Especially when I was able to use his left-overs as training material. Anyway. My Soul System was active again, though I didn¡¯t really feel like leaving yet, plus news of our existences had yet to arrive at the capitol. I was bereft of any equipment, well, aside from the crossbow and spear I had made myself, and the Spider-Silk that Shadow had made me way back then. They were pretty good though, insane durability, though they are just pretty much ordinary weapons, no special abilities or anything. I check my Skills. - - [See into the future! Whooo. Spooky. Mysterious! *Triggers automatically if you are in great danger.] ¡®Spooky, mysterious? Who writes this shit!?¡¯ -- [Make your mind move faster. By the Gods you¡¯ll need it!] ¡®Hey now!¡¯ -- [With an exorbitant amount of Will you can slow or speed up time and expand or contract space in short bursts.] ¡®Funky!¡¯ Aside from them, all my other Skills were pretty much the same, with little progress. I left the chamber, passing the done in doors and returned to the place I came from. The same glyph was on this side. It was locked. Apparently the Son-Guardian - currently deceased - must allow you to leave. I sighed in annoyance, ready to hack it, or call Self Notes. ¡®I should probably contact everyone - Gray included - they must be worried.¡¯ *Cough* *Rumble* *Cough, Cough* I turned in shock. The great beast lumbered to it¡¯s feet, shaking off the rubble. ¡®Alive!?¡¯ I grimaced, I wasn¡¯t sure if I could take it on, even injured. It towered over me, but it seemed smaller somehow, it had shrunk. It¡¯s wounds were mostly recovered too, only a few of the most critical ones remained, or less critical now. It¡¯s body was covered in a light blue aura, fizzling slightly. It must have survived through the same method as me. It had probably converted a small amount of Will - not too much, lest it be noticed - regenerating it¡¯s wounds. Though it had probably been on the verge of death, SL would have killed it if he had thought it was still alive. It probably played dead until they left. We watched each other for a moment. ¡°You are not one of them. Those kine.¡± it growled. I shrugged, ¡°How are you still alive? Jeez.¡± ¡°Mortal, I am the Son-Guardian of Machina, to die to those bastards would be an insult to my Father.¡± he growled softly. ¡®That reminds me. My Curse should be in effect now, which means the Guardian of Machina hates me? Shiiit. Though, it doesn¡¯t matter with --, nor am I worried about the Hero, he shouldn¡¯t be at a level to take me on, probably.¡¯ ¡°Can I get outta here plz?¡± I asked, pleasantly. -Connection Attempted; Allow ¡®Gray lame-ass¡¯?- ¡°I gotta take this, gimme a minute.¡± I said curtly. The beast turned away, giving me my privacy. -Connection Accepted; Success- ¡°Halp plz.¡± Gray groaned. I sighed, ¡°What are doing asshole? Are you already getting into trouble, did you offend their religion?¡± I asked. ¡°Please just hurry up wherever the fuck you are! Shit is going ballistic, it¡¯s jumping off the walls! Boom, yellow beam! Boom, evil monster sneak attack! Boom, Soul System back online, HELP ME GODDAMNIT! Booooom!!!¡± he shouted. I flinched, ¡°Dude, chill. I¡¯m on my way. Maybe.¡± -Disconnected.- I turned to the beast. ¡°Can you please let me leave?¡± I asked, hurriedly. ¡°Fine. But you better come back, you interest me, human.¡± he rumbled. ¡°What the hell are you gonna do now? Your Seal was rekt. Whatever, stay here, I¡¯ll be back. Then we can chill and drink mountain dew like proper dudes.¡± I shouted, as the door appeared. I leaped through, catching a glimpse of the beast¡¯s bewildered expression. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Gray Shadow| He grunted, dodging another strike. The large metal bear was terrifying. Gray was barely fast enough to dodge, he only hoped Priscilla or Chris would show up. Though he wasn¡¯t sure why he called Chris, not when Chris was barely stronger than him. He wanted to call Shadow too, but he would probably just laugh, telling him to do it himself. ¡®Asshole.¡¯ He dropped into a roll as the metallic ursine swung overhead, if it had hit, he would have been cut in half. He shuddered. He already had a large collection of wounds, though none were life threatening. He needed to transform. But it wasn¡¯t instant, if he tried he would be killed. A distraction was needed. ¡®Where the hell did this freak of nature come from anyway? How did it get in the Church?¡¯ it had been behind him when he tried to open the door. It hadn¡¯t kill him then, but now it looked positively murderous. He grabbed a handful of throwing knifes, feigning panic. He held them like an amateur. Then, as it got close, he rammed as much of his aura into them as he could before throwing them in it¡¯s face. There was an audible crashing sound, his aura, -- could take on many properties, but what made it most deadly was it¡¯s weight and force. Using overhead attacks with blunt weapons he could deal huge damage. But it could still be devastating when channeled into small throwing knifes. The metal was dented but otherwise undamaged. He hissed in frustration, but took his chance regardless. He transformed into a large bear, like the one before him, only flesh and blood. His aura burst forth, and his hand shot out in a palm strike. He hoped to damage it¡¯s core, it was obviously a golem of sorts. His bear form combined with his aura held enormous strength. The golem shattered completely. He snorted, irritated. ¡®What a waste.¡¯ He dared not transform back, just in case another one showed up. A Shape-Shifters strengths lie in their beast forms. In their human form they are much weaker. He turned, Shifting his eyes to those of a bird. People still stood in the city streets, staring. They had seen everything he had. Most had panicked and ran, but a few with less sense and more curiosity had remained behind. As he looked at them a few more ran. A squad of guards appeared, approaching the Church. Spotting him they charged, yelling war cries. He sighed in exasperation. Just as they were about to reach him, the earth rumbled. ¡®What is it now? Earthquakes!?¡¯ he thought sourly. More golems arrived, silvery pods falling from the sky, they bore emblems depicting three colored circles. The golems all had many different forms, some appearing as beasts, others looked ridiculous. Mostly, though, he was pondering why the fuck they had to bother him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, if you can point out any inconsistencies or typos I would appreciate it. Right. Also, my format has changed, it¡¯s cleaner now. My neat freak self had to do this. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll do the same to the earlier chapters though. Whatever. As you guys can tell, this story isn¡¯t meant to be taken 100% seriously. So don¡¯t. Well, aside from plot developments. Mostly. More action next chapter. I promise. Comments please! :3