My lungs hurt. The air here is heavy and thick. My arm feels like jelly and I dont think im in Kansas anymore. I am face down in some dirt. I cant even open my eyes. Hades, Gaia... help
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I feel them being summoned but something is wrong. It is taking too long. The fact that I have to manually summon them is weird too. Hades can come and goes as he pleases and Gaia is semi always summoned...
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After an agonizing 20 minutes of waiting, I feel the summoning finish.
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Hades: SLATE!
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Gaia: USER!
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They gingerly turn me over which helps some with the breathing. I can finally open my eyes but I regret it instantly. My eyes feel like they were flash banged.
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Slate: Hades... What happened? Where are we? Why does it hurt to breathe?
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Hades: Stop talking, you are in bad shape. Gaia, whats going on with his body?
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Gaia: User's body is heavly damaged. Left arm bones are powdered, 3 ribs on his left side are broken, 1 broken rib is puncturing his left lung. His eyes are in a hyper sensitive state. User's passive Regen is slowly trying to heal him but its going slowly.
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Hades: We will look for a safe area to wait for him to heal. Gaia, can you find a cave of some sort to hide. Ill explain where we are and what I believe happened before we got here.
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I hear some mechanical buzzing. I try to slow my breathing and let my Regen do its work. I try to open my eyes again but im blinded once more. I think im in a forrest... I hear leaves swaying in the wind and smell dirt.
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Slate: Why is the air so thick and heavy
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I cough a few times and taste metal. Most likely just coughed up blood... I shouldnt talk more.
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Hades: Stop talking. The air is thick and heavy due to the absurd amount of mana naturally in it. Im not sure how many times thicker it is then in Realm 15. Your body will need time to acclimate...
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Gaia: The difference is roughly 2781.7 times thicker. This should help with Users recovery. I have found an area about 20 miles away that seems safe. I will have my drones scout the area before we go. The crafting of a stretcher is needed to move User the distance safely.
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Hades: Yeah, that will be a problem... I doubt we can remove these branches using our hands. This is a higher Plain then the Realms of Zero.
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Gaia: Understood, Then would you look for branches that have fallen naturally? I will make due with whatever you find.
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Hades: That... I can do. I will be within ear shout. Call me if anything changes.
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I hear swift running before peaceful silence. My chest feels somewhat better... lets try this.
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[Gaia, can you hear me?]
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Gaia: User, you are using your Focus System to communicate... I can hear you.
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[Please show me where we are. I need more information.]
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Gaia: Understood. Projecting digital map into your Focus syatem.
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In my mind, I see a digital representation of my surroundings. I was right, we seem to be in a forrest. Well thats reassuring. A forrest isnt a bad place to be stuck in.
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[Gaia, please find a source of running water. If there is one close to the cave from earlier... even better.]
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Gaia: Understood User. Sending Reconnaissance drones out.
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[By the way... when did you make drones?]
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Gaia: I forged them when we found ourselves in this strange area. I used some of the metals I absorbed when my physical form was made to make them. It seems that I can use your crafting Sub-Class with materials I eat.
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[That could be useful later on. Im goint to try to rest. Please wake me up when Hades returns]
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Gaia: Ofcourse User.
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I drifted off shortly after.
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<------>
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Back in Realm 15
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Ink POV
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What happened? One minute im listening to Momma's tummy and the next thing I know... Tail boy pushed Me, Kareena, Marina, and Ruin away before jumping infront on Momma. Then I hear a loud noise before... I wake up on the floor and tail boy is gone.
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Father is checking to see if Momma is ok. Momma is still sleeping on the floor but I see magic around her tummy.
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Marina: Ugh my head hurts... What just happened?
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She looks around and sees my and Father are awake.
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Marina: Mr.Noctis, what just happened? Where is Slate?
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Noctis: I dont have time to explain. Check on your sister Marina. Ink, check on Ruin. If either of them is hurt, dont move them.
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I rush to Ruin. My father never talks so mad to me. He must be helping Momma. I check on Ruin and I dont see and area that looks hurt. I look at Marina helping Kareena up before waving them over.
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Ink: Kareena, can you check if shes ok?
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Before Kareena can do anything, Ruin sits up really fast.
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Ruin: Where is Slate?
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Ink: I'm not sure, I think Father knows though. Hes helping Momma right now though.
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Ruin: I dont feel him. I can ALWAYS feel him.
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Ruin pulls out Pluto.
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Ruin: Father... please help. I have lost him and I cant tell where he is.
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Pluto's pretty stone blinked.
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Chaos: You lost him? That almost impossible.
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A body that looks like tail boy but is all black with the same eyes as Pluto comes out of the knife.
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Chaos: Let's see where... Woh. This rooms a mess. What happ... Oh. Ok. Now it makes sense.
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Ruin: Father, where is he? I cant feel him. I cant feel anything.
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Chaos: Hes gone. He was blasted out of Zero. From the way the Realm Walls are looking... I'd say hes in the place where all monsters are born and end up after death. The Highest Physical Plane I created... "Purgatory"... The Plane of Monsters.
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Noctis: So that WAS a Realm Cannon.
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Chaos: Ah, Human King. Yes. This room was hit with a Realm Cannon. It looks like its target was Slate.
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Noctis: Your wrong Lord Chaos. The kid... he took the shot yes, but it was aimed at my wife... and my unborn child.
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<------>
Noctis POV
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Ok, Luna is stable and the babies heart is still going. The kid... he saved them both. I could feel that he was teleported away at the last second but I dont know where. Ruin is holding the kids Knife... Is she talking to it??
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Lord Chaos grew from the knife... ok that's new. Ruin was talking to Lord Chaos and I was sorta listening until he said Realm Cannon. Lord Chaos said it was fortunate that Slate was the target but from what I could see... Luna was. I corrected Lord Chaos...
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The room went still. Chaos took a second to understand what I said... before his face contorted in Disgusted Rage
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Chaos: Someone fired a Realm Cannon... at a pregnant woman?
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Chaos clapped his hands so hard that a boom was heard. The room exploded in black and we could see ourselfs like ghosts slowly going backwards in time. We got a slow, reversed replay of Slate jumping infront of the blast. His left arm was crushed like a tin can before being teleported away.
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Chaos: He saved you all. I see that your realm is in a new war with realm 9... 10 years. In 10 years, the Realm draft will be finished. The area the war will be held is in Realm 9. The 5 kids will be on the front lines. You have 10 years to get them ready Human King. I can promise you this, before the war starts, this realm will suffer no attacks.
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I took a sigh of relief. So we will be safe from attacks from now on.
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Chaos: There will be side effects from Slate being removed from this Plane... Ruin is already experiencing it... the loss of a sense.
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Huh?
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Chaos: Slate is mostlikely already feeling it but the girls will realize what they are losing soon...
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The girls look at eachother...
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Girls: How do we bring him back!?
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Chaos: ... I'm not sure. It will depend on him.