Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson
Beta: Caracac
Warning: Contains blood, gore, sex, possible rape, sword fights, dark shit that will never be unseen, demons, angels, witches, wizards, medieval crap, and pure unadulterated badassery.
LAST TIME:
"M-Maybe later." She said as she cleared her throat and looked at both of us.
"Maybe we should call it a night." I said as Gaia nodded along with Athena. We all still had to process this information and a good night's sleep would help.
"That would help." Athena said as if a wave of tiredness swept over her.
"Maybe we can even fit in your story." I said as she smiled at me.
"I would like that." She said with a genuine smile as she gave a large yawn.
"And like that another soulmate found." Said Gaia with a laugh as me and Athena rolled our eyes.
"Wait another? Just how many are there? Because one is enough." She said as a nervous sweat broke out on my face.
"W-Well night everyone!" I said quickly and began to leave the two girls alone.
"Oh no you don't!" Complained Gaia as I was already gone.
NOW:
After a full night's rest with Gaia snuggling up against me as close as she could, normally she wasn't this much of a close snuggler but I guess since Athena arrived she was a little more protective of me. Still after a full night's rest the caravan was on the move once again and this time we had a beautiful angel with us. My only concern was the looks Athena and Gaia were getting from the other guards as they walked beside one another. Like two lotus flowers in a single pond.
Still as the day went on Gaia properly explained things to Athena, who by the way had guessed about 50% of all the information on her own. The only thing that surprised her was the fates hand in all this and the so called selected one who got to retain their memories like Gaia did. She only angrily gripped her fist as she went on about how it should have been her and what she could have done with all her knowledge from the get go.
Again this was watered down by the fact she regained her memories after she was six years old, with a nearly 2500 year lifespan this was still a baby in angel terms. However that was when the soulmate 'issue' was brought up. The fact that I had the key to unlocking their memories with a simple meeting was interesting. But it was brought up that only when they started to love me were the memories unlocked.
This was then followed by Gaia teasing Athena that a millennia old goddess fell in love with me at first sight. To which Athena blushed madly and then punched Gaia as many times as she could to try and end her. A lunch later Athena was back to her normal self as her teenage tone that she now carried was hidden behind her calculating self. But as time progressed and my story was covered along with the mentions of the {empowered} she became concerned.
The concern kind of threw me through a loop since this was the woman who once said I should be killed for existing back in my old life. But I didn't pay much attention to the thought as she basically examined my mark on my shoulder. This was her first time seeing such magic is what she said and she could do nothing even with her memories. She even went as far as examining my fake arm as emotions built up inside her.
She only wiped her eyes clear and blamed it on the 'damn soulmate magic' to which I had no reply. I knew the magic worked well but I knew it didn't work that fast, which meant...let's ignore that for now. This leads us to now, which was Athena's part of her story.
"So after you were liberated from the slave car, what happened?" I asked her as Athena watched me take a bite of a sword. Still not used to my habits she just watched in awe and seemed to ignore my question.
"Hello? Earth to Athena?" I asked her as she blinked and focused on my eyes.
"It's just..." She started as I took another bite of the sword in hand like it was a sandwich.
"Want some?" I asked her as I extended out the half eaten steel sword as she shook her head as I shrugged.
"More for me." I said as I took another bite as my slight 'joke' left Athena slightly confused as she watched me continue.
"Don't worry you get used to watching him eat a lot of different things." Said Gaia as Athena just continued to stare.
"Is it really that strange?" I asked her.
"Well normally humans don't have such...effective eating abilities. I have only seen ones that can consume mud and tree bark before. That must be one of a kind skill." She said as she recognized the type of ability right away.
"Thanks." I said with a mouth full of metal chips as I swallowed it and sighed happily. Turns out I could now taste the metal as the skill leveled up. Steel tasted like a plain white cracker to me at the moment.
"Anyways back on topic, what happened?" Gaia asked her as she cleared her throat.
"Well as my memories returned to me I began to realize that I was reincarnated in this world and in turn regained all my memories faster." She said as that was news to me. The faster they came to realize their situation the sooner they regained their memories.
"To be precise after I was rescued I was taken back to another country and then started to reside there for a time. Then my memories returned and with them I started to go to school and wanted to learn things about this world. The years passed and sooner or later I graduated as the top student from a grand wizard level school." She said proudly as I let out a whistle.
"That was when I was 8 years old." She said as I nearly choked on my sword bits.
"But after words I was recognized for my talent in magic and craftsmanship with weapons and other items by the country's emperor. In turn I was granted unlimited funds to research and develop magical weapons and spells. After I turned 10 I was gifted an airship and set sail to the world, I went around to each country and researched their weapons and began to study them." She said as Gaia and I understood, it sounded pretty relaxing to be honest.
"I have a question." Said Gaia as she raised her hand like a student as Athena gave her a nod.
"Is being a female angel hard?" She asked her sincerely as Athena gave a small unsure gesture.
"As a female I was treated like a trophy and kept from any harm so I can't say it is. But due to my skill in magical weaponry, spells, good looks, and simple wealth I was many suitors. I turned them all down though even some princes." She said as Gaia nodded along.
"Because of your research?" I asked her as she glanced at me.
"You could say that..." She said with a slight blush and cough as Gaia gave me a 'really' look as I shrugged and did not understand the mood of the room.
"So besides that I traveled around the world which actually led me to this desert to test some magical weapons I had been designing. But during testing my group of researchers and guards were attacked by the demons that you saw following me. As a person of high value, not only because of my gender and race but because my knowledge I couldn't be captured. So my guards fought off the demons but some managed to get past and give chase. That leads me up to right now I guess." She said with a shrug.
"What do demons do with angels?" I asked her.
"Well most the time we are sold into slavery, but women angels are sold as sex slaves. But I must say who would do such a thing?" She said as I coughed as guilt spread to my heart.
"Yeah who would?" I said as she nodded with her eyes closed.
"Anyways do you know where your magic ship is?" I asked her as she nodded.
"Yes I do but it will take a week via flight to get to it." She said as I looked at her surprised.
"You flew for a week?" I asked her as she nodded.
"Yeah I did, I don't think my poor wings can handle flying for a while." She said stroking her grey feathers. You could say that her wings matched not only her eyes but her as a being as well.
"Also I have a question." She said as I nodded.
"What do you mean dirty little angel?" She said as I blushed and rubbed the back of my head.
"Well...after seeing you the first time all covered in mud and stuff with your tiny wings I guess the name was fitting no?" I asked her as she stared at me for a second before giggling a little and shaking her head. After that she didn't say anything else as we continued to walk with the caravan. Athena's wings dragging behind her as her poor wings were too exhausted to even lift themselves off the ground.
"So what now?" I asked her as she rubbed her chin and glanced at me and Gaia.
"Well since you two are heading home why not let me give you a ride?" She asked as Gaia seemed beyond happy.
"Oh thank the gods for bestowing this little angel upon us." Gaia said as she hugged Athena and rubbed her face all over hers as she tried to push her away.
"Haha." I just laughed as I could understand the want and need to get out from under the sun. Plus taking a magic cruiser would be much faster than walking.
"But it will cost you." Athena said as Gaia fell to her knees and held Athena's hands and gazed up at her like a puppy.
"Anything to get out of this dreaded heat." She said as Athena looked uncomfortable yet a ladylike face appeared as she smiled at Gaia.
"Okay if you say so...I want Percy to test my weapons." She said confidently as Gaia nodded.
"Wait a second. Don't you have weapon testers?" I asked her as she rubbed the back of her head a little.
"Well I did but some...most of my inventions end in disaster and explode. You know what they say Rome wasn't built in a day." She said as Gaia glanced at me with a pleading face. Though the threat of being blown up by a magical weapon slightly scared me I sigh and agree as Gaia cheered.
"Oh god I hope your air ship has air-conditioning." She said as Athena had a proud glint in her eyes.
"Not on air-conditioning but also a bath." She said as the two women seemed to cheer over that fact. I just looked down at myself to see that I was in dire need of a bath as well, I just sprayed with them in the end.
"So can you contact your airship?" Asked Gaia.
"Yes but I don't think they will be able to set off for a while so it is best we head there on our own." She said with a nod as Gaia agreed.
"What about our job here?" I asked them as they glanced at the caravan.
"Just give him back the money he paid us and we will be on our way." Said Gaia as I nodded. Though it wasn't my style to leave things half done this one time I guess I could make it work.
"I will do that if you two buy some food and necessities if you don't have any." I said as the two nodded and we broke our group off to accomplish our missions.
LINEBREAK:
"Sorry we have to leave like this." I said to the leader of the caravan as he shook his head.
"I am just happy we made it this far unharmed thanks to you two. I wish you luck on your adventures and I will be sure to inform Cly of your departure." He said as all of us thanked him. With that we were on our way through this massive desert with Athena in the lead.
"So Athena, how long will it take us to walk there?" I asked here.
"From this angle...about a month." She said as I nodded.
"If I find a rock big enough underground I think I could fly us there." Gaia said as I remembered this certain way of travel for earth magicians. Using a floating rock to fly, very convenient way of traveling. Still finding a rock that was big enough for all three of us was a task on its own.
"Well until then we will walk. But in the meantime...Percy who were these other soulmates you met?" Athena asked in a slightly unhappy voice. I could only nervously laugh as the landmine I had avoided was finally stepped on.
"Well there are now 5 including you and Gaia. They go by Zoe, Bianca, and Artemis." As I said their names Athena could only sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose as she focused on me once again.
"So my sister and her two hunters huh...She is so going to be pissed when she finds out." She said as some of the tension in the air was released.
"Still why do you need to have so many?" She mumbled angrily like a child who didn't get what they wanted for Christmas. I only laughed as a response as Athena puffed out her cheeks and continued to pout. That was until Gaia decided to make an introduction.
"Still that is only 5 of 11." She said as Athena pouted more and more until she wouldn't speak at all to either of us. Clearly the goddess was not used to having a man only to herself even if it was only to make a brain child. Still having to share one man with 11 women was somewhat aggravating to her. Even if she didn't want to admit that fact it was easy enough to tell. Proud women were hard to deal with no matter which life you were living.
"If you want you can lay claim to him in bed. But you will only be number two." Gaia said confidently as Athena's cheeks reddened all the way up to her forehead and tips of her ears. She only glanced at me and then quickly turned away as the teenage side of Athena took over.
"M-Maybe." She whispered as she hid her face and Gaia grinned.
"B-But not right now!" She angrily said as Gaia tilted her head as if confused as Athena blushed more.
"I want to make a rule for this harem Percy will soon have." She said while blushing and yelling angrily.
"Sure." Gaia said as Athena nodded as she glanced at me one more time.
"Anytime Percy is going to have...s-s-s-s-sex I want to be there to!" She said as I swore I saw an explosion of steam come off her face.
"But you just said you didn't want to have sex." Gaia said referring to a couple seconds ago as Athena blushed as she realized her meaning.
"T-Then I will just watch until I am ready!" She said but as soon as the words came out of her mouth her face fell and Gaia's smirk grew.
"Oh? Alright I agree with this rule!" Gaia said happily with a laugh as I couldn't help but blush at Gaia's very outrageous nature. Athena however was blushing so hard she couldn't even speak words as she glared at Gaia.
"You tricked me!" Athena said as Gaia raised her hand to her mouth and gave a rich girl laugh.
"You tricked yourself!" She said proudly.
"O-Outrageous." Said Athena with a whip of her hand as she stalked off as Gaia hmphed in triumph over the goddess of wisdom.
"Why are you like this?" I asked her as she simply smirked at me as we watched Athena stomp away angrily.
"What? You never thought of messing with the goddess of wisdom?" She asked me.
"Well...I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind. Still try to be nicer, also don't bring up this anymore. Time is the only answer to any of the things about the harem I will have in the future." I said as she nodded.
"Got yourself a deal...in the meantime I think I found us a rock." She said as the angry Athena heard her words and turned back to Gaia.
"How big?" She asked her.
"Mmm...." She said as she stamped her foot on the ground and it suddenly began to rumble, slowly the ground in front of us began to rise up in the air until it began to grow larger and larger. Eventually we had to move back as the sand rose into the air and finally began to fall off the little mountain being raised from the ground. Soon a massive piece of rock the size of a football field was floating silently in the air as I let out a whistle.
"That's what you call a rock." I said as Athena couldn't help but nod along with me as Gaia grinned.
"Isn't it a little big?" I said as Gaia rubbed her chin.
"I will only use a little." She said as she stomped her foot as a 10 foot section of the rock suddenly split off the larger portion and slowly floated over. The rest of the rock fell on the ground causing it to rumble. The small portion that split off was relatively flat on one side as it floated over to us as Gaia hopped on. I myself simply stepped on while Athena gave it a few test touches and then stepped on as well.
"Your earth manipulation magic is outstanding." Said Athena as she proudly crossed her arms under her breasts. I only rolled my eyes at the sight as Gaia sat down and then the rock began to levitate in the air.
"Which direction?" She asked Athena as she looked up at the night sky as the stars were shining brightly.
"That way." Athena said as the rock started to sail in the direction Athena pointed.
"So Percy I never got around to asking, what are your status numbers?" She asked me as I looked over at her as we both sat down on the rock as it sailed through the air at nearly 100 mph.
"Why do you need to know?" I asked her as she frowned a little.
"Oh come on I was just wondering." She said with a pouty face.
"Well...only if you show me yours." I said as she suddenly went red in the face. At the same time her fingers began to fiddle with one another.
"I don't know." She said while looking away as Gaia let out a sigh.
"You two are like high schooler's on prom." She said as Athena blushed harder.
"Fine here." She said as I saw a stat window pop up in front of her. At the same time I opened up mine and at the same time we swapped stats as I glanced at hers.
Name: Athena Winston
Age: 16
Title: Star angel princess (100% intelligence)
Race: Grey winged angel
Jobs/Class: Transcended inventor (200 INT, 300 WIS, 100 FAI)
Level: 780
Health 585,000/585,000
Mana 390,000/390,000
STR-1050
END-1100
DEX-900
VIT-1000
INT-1.2 million
WIS-1.5 million
FAI-800 (+100) = 900
LUC-780
"You're dumb this is dumb." I said as Athena began laughing as Gaia took a peek at her stats and began to giggle as well.
"Why so upset Percy?" Athena said as I dissolved her stat sheet as she continued to laugh at my reaction.
"Your base stats are mostly larger than mine so cheer up." She said innocently as I glared at her.
"1.2 million Intelligence and 1.5 million wisdom are outrageous I don't give a fuck who says otherwise. That takes cheating to a whole other level." I said as she sighed.
"Well my mind is that of a goddess of wisdom so I don't see the issue." She said as I was about to retort but sighed in defeat. She was right the same thing happened with my intelligence and wisdom.
"Still bullshit." I said as both her and Gaia rolled their eyes.
"Well besides my stats yours are very impressive as well. But I have never seen a person with multiple jobs and titles." She said very interested in my stat sheet as I shrugged.
"It is a special skill I have. It lets me acquire up to 10 titles and jobs each giving a bonus in stats. I also have an Ancient level item called 'phase walker's boots' that give me a decent stat boost." I said as Athena looked shocked.
"You have an ancient level item?" She said as I nodded slowly.
"A few actually but most are just drop items." I said as Athena looked shocked.
"What?" I asked her.
"I would have never thought you would have any. As a genius inventor I naturally handle items with such rarity for my work but you look so...poor. I would have never expected you to have anything above rare rarity on you." She said as I looked down at myself, other than my nice phase walker's boots all my other armor looked like crap as it was torn and worn out. I guess she was right.
"Well my eating ability lets me basically take any and all drop items from any monster that I kill. Be it a legendary item or even ancient rarity all of them end up in my inventory after I consume the entire monster body. This also gives me a base stat bonus and skills. Right now I think I have about 85 passive skills, 23 active skills, 18 magic skills, and 8 divine skills." I mentioned off the top of my head as Athena looked ready to faint as she stared at me like I was a crazy person.
"You have divine skills, not just a skill?" She managed to say without stuttering as I nodded as her eyes just seemed to phase out as she blinked a few times and then looked at me.
"Do you know what a divine skill is?" She asked me as I shook my head.
"Well how much do you know about skills already?" She asked me as I shrugged. All I cared about was getting the skills. However she looked at me like I was stupid as she sighed.
"Well how do I say this all skills are derived from one another be it monster skills, magic attacks,
Barriers, resistances, swordplay arts, and just about everything else. Each is derived from a skill above it, do you understand?" She asked me as I nodded.
"Like a pyramid each level you go higher it gets smaller. Like item rarity." I said as she nodded.
"Sort of but skills are slightly different. It is almost like a family tree at the same time. Each skill you see nowadays comes from one of the 100 godly skills. These godly skills each represent a god themselves in power. It is said if one possesses a godly skill they will have the power of that god themselves." She said as I felt a shiver down my spine at the sound of the godly skills.
"Can you tell me a few?" I asked her.
"I only know the name of one and that is [Tiffany's true sky]." She said as I was surprised.
"My divine skills have the world 'divine' in them. Why doesn't the godly skill have the word god or godly in it?" I asked her as she laughed a little.
"Because Tiffany is the name of the entire angel species main god thus her name in itself is the world 'god' if you will. I forgot to mention that these godly skills each represent the main god and not the minor gods." She said as I nodded.
"Makes sense. Does that mean that there is a Tens skill out there?" I asked as Athena looked at me surprised.
"You know of Tens?" She asked me as I nodded.
"Of course I do, I have even met the bastard." I said as the night sky seemed to grow tense but then lightened up instantly. But Athena looked astonished.
"Y-You have met a god and not just any god but the leader of the demon gods?" She said surprised.
"Yeah, I met him because of my bloodline." I said as she looked confused. I could only sigh and begin to tell her about what species I was and all that it had to entail. After about an hour I was done as Athena looked to thinking deeply as she digested this information.
"Divine soul human. A greater race even." She mumbled to herself as she finished her thinking and looked at me.
"To think you would be such a rare species." She said as I shrugged.
"It isn't that surprising anymore." I said as she looked at me like I was joking.
"You come from one of the most powerful species in this world and it is not surprising? Even I come from a rare grey wing angel species. If you were to compare my bloodline to yours it would be like comparing a lump of coal to a diamond. You truly have no idea how rare of a species you are." She said angrily like a person telling someone off about how good they have it.
"Geez calm down, I get it. Anyways back on topic. These god skills are a level above divine or what?" I asked her as she sighed.
"No it isn't. If I remember correctly skill rarity goes in this order. Passive, active, magic, unique, divine, worldly, legendary, and godly." She said as I nodded and took that into memory.
"Are there skills that don't fall under the godly pyramid?" I asked her as she thought for a second.
"I would like to say yes but those skills are more like status effects or perks if you will. But these 'perks' if you will are more or less as rare as worldly level skills." She said as I nodded thinking over my skills.
"What if it is species oriented? Like my [divine transformation]." I asked her.
"Species oriented skills are just like Perks." She said.
"Hmm..." I said thinking over my skills.
"Is there a Perk limit like the godly skills only has a 100?" I asked her as she shook her head.
"Perks are limited to 1 billion variations. I remember reading that in an old scroll." She said as I nodded as I wasn't really that surprised at the number.
"So back on the topic of skills you have a fusion one?" She asked me as I nodded.
"My father more or less taught me it." I said as Athena remembered my story about my teleportation across the whole planet and my father taking over my body. I guess you could say I trusted her like Gaia.
"So it must be a species perk." She said as I nodded as my understanding of skills, that was clearly lacking, began to clear up.
"Yeah I guess so." I said as she pouted.
"Man it would be awesome to fuse things together." She said as I laughed.
"It takes a lot more time than you think. If items don't fuse for the first time they destroy themselves. I have wasted at least 4 platinum in items so far." I said as Athena didn't seem phased.
"I assume platinum isn't much to you." I said as she snorted.
"I buy materials for my experiments in tons. Of course it isn't. Besides the country I am currently under is the Sky Continent. They are the leaders in technology and with my patents I earn a couple diamond monthly." She said proudly.
"I don't know where that is." I said as she seemed to stare at me then at Gaia as she nodded slightly as Athena face palmed.
"Well if you take the world map out it is here." She said as suddenly a small device on her arm lit up with a magical hologram as the whole world appeared in front of us. However this one was much different than the one at the academy. This one had different proportions and actually the plains of grass was about 3 times smaller than it appeared on the one at the academy.
"This is the most accurate world map the sky kingdom has. It is only off about 2 feet with all borders." She said as I just stared at the globe in astonishment. The world was a lot bigger than I first learned.
"Anyways this is the plains of grass." They said as they pointed at a tiny little dot of land the size of a raisin on the beach ball sized glob. Gaia only laughed at my expression as I looked at the tiny raisin sized country.
"What about the country of billows?" I asked as she thought for a second and turned the globe all the way around past a massive ocean and a floating continent and to another large land mass. After that she pointed at a spot the size of a raisin and a half.
"Holy shit." I said as she laughed a little.
"Well if it makes you feel better this is the desert we are currently in." She said pointing to an area that intercepted several smaller countries that were all grouped together. Each of them from raisin size to olive. There was even a country about the size of a tangerine on this island like continent we were on. But the desert itself covered about 35% of the landmass of the country and based on the map the country of billows was a tiny oasis in this massive desert.
"Holy crap." I said not even understanding all the information given to me. However I did notice something circular with a pathway of lines underneath it like it was in itself moving.
"What's that?" I asked the odd shaped circle on the side of a tangerine that was located in the ocean to our west.
"That is the Sky continent. If you are wondering what the lines are, it is a pathway for the continent on a yearly cycle. Due to a massive amount of mana and technology to use said mana the Sky continent is able to float in the sky." She said which was outstanding in my eyes as I watched the large islands path as it traversed all the oceans like a current of water of a sort. Its path never leads it over land but only water.
"That is impressive." I said as Athena smiled.
"I know. Still my inventions can only come sort of the one that makes the sky continent float." She said with a sigh as I smirked.
"That is because you're dumb." Gaia suddenly said as she continued to fly the rock in the direction we needed to go. Athena could only bite back a retort as she tried to ignore the spirit.
"So Percy I was wondering about something." She said.
"What about?" I asked her.
"Your arm...I know that you have it cursed by and {empowered} but I was wondering why you didn't use your puppet skills to control it?" She asked me as I looked at the fake arm.
"The material that it is made of does not allow mana circuits to run through it. If I were to simply control it like any other puppet there would be a delay in the response of action. However if there were magic circuits then I could instantly control it like a real arm. So to avoid the delay with normal puppet magic I can only use it like a club of a sort." I said as Athena nodded.
In high intensity battles even a fraction of a second delay could get one killed so to treat the fake arm like it was a tool instead of an arm was much better than actually trying to control it.
"Hmm...well I might be able to help you in that department." She said as I raised an eyebrow.
"Over the years while gathering materials I have found an interesting item that a certain species of metal slimes drop. This item is their core but instead of a normal core it is metal itself but in a jelly like state. This jelly like substance has the ability to absorb other metals and evolve itself as a whole making it stronger and better in general."
"However, to actually get the metal-like substance to achieve a level of epic or even legendary state takes simply too many resources to evolve. But while I was tinkering with it one day I discovered it can create its own magic circuits that are identical to any flesh or organic matter it gets. I was just thinking that if we got this metal fused it with your stub then maybe we could make a controllable metal arm." She said as I was surprised.
"But the fusion of metal and flesh is not something that should be done in any setting." Gaia suddenly added in ad Athena slowly nodded.
"Wait just a second...you mean you can get my arm back? Not just a fake one but one I can control?" I asked her as she made a 'maybe' motion.
"Yes...but the metal would need to integrate your own flesh into itself to generate your system of magic circuits." She said as I nodded.
"So are we talking about a drop of blood? Some flesh? What do you mean?" I asked her as she looked at Gaia.
"Percy, are you really considering this?" Gaia asked me as I gave a stern nod.
"Of course I am, to simply have an arm that I could control back would be amazing." I said as Athena nodded.
"Anyways the amount of flesh it would need would be...the rest of your arm. But this is simply based on a ratio that I got from tests. Your arm, the remaining two thirds, would be absorbed and then turned into a complete metal arm." She said as I slowly digested the info.
"So my arm would be a third metal and two thirds organic?" I asked her as she shook her head.
"No the material won't be simply divided into two categories like that. The metal itself would absorb the remaining arm and in turn form into a metal/organic compound that possessed your same set of magic circuits. In essence it would become you but made completely of metal. But this is all simply in theory we have never gotten past simple tests with this part of this metal." She said as I nodded as I slowly thought it over.
"Well I still have a lot of questions but those can be saved for later. But we will have to answer those when we get there. Anyways it looks like night is coming and we should set up camp soon." I said as the sun was slowly retreating past the horizon, the thought of having a new arm danced in my head.
"Sounds fair." Said Gaia as she slowly brought the rock to a halt and set it down in the sand below. As she did we all quickly set up camp and began to get supplies out for dinner. Athena just stared at me and Gaia as we worked on this as she simply hugged her knees and watched.
"Why don't you help?" Asked Gaia who was cooking some monster meat in a pan as Athena grimaced.
"I am not as...graced with the skill of cooking as you might think." She said as Gaia raised an eyebrow as she glanced over at me as I finished setting up the tent.
"It can't be that bad." Said Gaia as Athena gave a dark laugh.
"I once gave food poisoning to a demi giant." She said as Gaia winced a little. It was known that demi giants had one of the thickest stomachs around. Even able to digest rock I think, so to give one food poisoning was kind of impressive.
"Yeah never mind." Said Gaia as she finished up with the grub as Athena sat near the fire that we had started in the middle of our rock. Quickly food was served and we were all enjoying the meal as we chatted with one another. Any questions Athena had about my life were answered and any questions about mine were as well. Eventually the fire was on the brink of dying as Gaia gave a big yawn as a cool gust of wind swept past us.
"Well I am going to get some shut eye." She said as suddenly her 16 year old form transformed into a tiny fair and she glided over to me and found my lap. Athena just stared as the tiny Gaia curled up in a little ball and quickly fell asleep in my lap.
"Is she always this clingy?" Athena asked as I chuckled as I gave the tiny Gaia a poke on the cheek.
"Not always but with another soulmate around I guess she can be a little clingy." I said.
"Yeah..." Athena said with a slight blush as she added some wood to the fire as I gently sighed and enjoyed the silence around us. With the slightly awkward topic we left on still in the air Athena only glanced at me and stayed on her side of the fire. I guess her earlier emotions were acting up.
Still as the silence prevailed us suddenly I heard a slight panting as I opened my eyes to find nothing around us. Not even my danger sensors were picking up anything as I scanned the area and yet I found nothing. However Athena noticed this and looked around as well.
"You sense something?" She asked me as I continued looking around, the panting of the dog still in my ear as I could not find the source of the sound.
"No but I heard something." I said as suddenly something moved from out behind Athena, well to say from behind is wrong. The thing slowly stepped out from her shadow as it seemed to have teleported from it.
"Athena." I said quietly as she noticed my tone and slowly looked to her right to find the dog coming out from her shadow. It only took a second for her to jump up and back up but the dog was already free as it simply stood there looking around as it panted.
The beast's entire body was 3ft high and was somehow made from tendrils of shadow. Each only a few centimeters thick and positioned almost like fur. But each was like a wisp of air as they seemed to blow in an invisible breeze. Actually it was so slim it almost looked like a fox instead of a dog but its face revealed that it was a dog. Around its mouth were pure white teeth and somehow its lips were also pitch black. Its eyes however gave me shivers down my back as I looked at them.
This beast had a total of two pairs of eyes but each set of eyes were not a simple eyeball, instead each was in the shape of a lightning bolt that ran from the tips of the base of its ears to the tip of its nose. The eyes themselves were like the teeth and were made of pure white substance. There was no pupil or sclera, only a white lighting shape mark that indicated it was its eyes. This all gave the shadow beast an interesting look as it looked around and eventually it noticed me and Athena were looking at it.
"Oh my god it's a four eyed shadow hound." Said Athena taking short breaths as the beast turned its head to look at the angel by its side. However it gave no sign of retreat and instead it took a few steps, twirled in a circle, and then laid down by the fire. Athena quickly back up to where I was at as I watched all four eyes close leaving the face of the beast completely black.
"A what?" I asked her as she stood behind me and seemed to peek over my shoulder as I sensed no killing intent from the beast. In fact I couldn't even sense its presence even if it was in front of me. I could see it but I couldn't sense it in the least.
"I am not a four eye shadow hound." Said a sudden voice of a female as Athena jumped in fright. However my eyes turned to the beast laying on the ground as I noticed one eye peeking at us.
"Oh gods a-are you a...divine shadow wolf?" Athena asked as a noticeable smirk appeared on the wolf's mouth.
"The one and only." Said the female's voice that sounded very tender to the ears. However this time you could hear a slight strain to it.
"Holy Tiffany." Said Athena as I looked at her astonished face as mine just stayed the same trying to figure out what was happening.
"What is a divine shadow wolf?" I asked her as Athena glanced at me however before she could answer as the wolf answered for her.
"I am a species that only has one being a generation. I am the only one of my kind at the moment but in a few hours my generation will end and another will begin." She said as she panted lightly as her voice sounded a slight pain.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked her as all four eyes turned to me but now I noticed the color of the eyes had changed to a slightly gold color instead of pure white.
"She means she is going to give birth soon." Athena said astonished as the wolf nodded.
"How can she get pregnant if there is only one of her species?" I asked her as Athena rolled her eyes.
"They are an asexual species she doesn't need a male to breed with. However once their age reaches 10,000 they give birth to the next generation. Also all the generations are female as well." Athena said as I nodded.
"Wait I have a question then." I said as the wolf nodded.
"What are your powers?" I asked as she smiled a little as Athena seemed interested as well.
"My species only has two abilities that are one of a kind. There is the dimension shadow and shadow walk. The dimension shadow allows for me to appear in this plane of existence yet I am not tangible by anything in it. This basically means I cannot be hit and cannot hit back. But shadow walk lets me travel through shadows like a wisp of air hidden from all." She said as I was surprised as I thought over the abilities as I thought I found something very interesting.
"But the angel is right, I will soon be giving birth to the next generation." She said.
"But you are supposed to have a sacred birthing area, what happened to it?" Athena said as the wolf slowly shook her head.
"It was destroyed a couple days ago by a space dragon, one of the few beings that is able to harm me, was after my life and my child. However I was able to escape his grasp which led me here. I felt the presence of divine species on my path so I thought I could request a temporary sanctuary until the birthing process is finished." She said as Athena glanced at me.
"You mean me?" I asked her as she nodded.
"Yes I mean you." She said as her pants grew heavier.
"Sure...but I am going to have to ask for something in return." I said as Athena slapped my head angrily as I winced in pain. I could only glare at her as she glared back, however the wolf simply laughed at our actions.
"What is it you desire?" She asked me.
"After the birth of your child I wish to have your soul crystal." I said as she slowly nodded.
"I will give it to you." She said as I smiled.
"However I will ask you a favor in turn of giving you something else as well." She said.
"What is it you need me to do?" I asked her.
"My child's abilities will not be activated for one day, I need you to watch over her until that time is up." She said as I thought about it.
"I can do it but what is in it for me?" I asked her as she smiled.
"I can use the rest of my power after my birth to duplicate my soul crystal until there are 10 of them." She said.
"You can do that?" I asked her as she seemed to smile at me.
"With my power I can but since I am a monster all the drop items that would normally come with my death would not drop at all. In turn you will get all ten but no other drop items." She said as I thought it over.
"Alright you got a deal, after your passing I will claim the ten soul crystals and then protect our daughter until her powers activate. Athena can you aid her until she gives birth? I will be setting up a few stronger barriers." I said as the angel nodded. The wolf then got up and walked into the tent as she followed behind Athena as me and the tiny fairy on my shoulder went to set up barriers.
LINEBREAK:
The hours went by and I was left standing alone outside the main tent as the stars shined down from above. With Gaia aiding me I set up several high level barriers to basically make this place we were staying at invisible to the outside world. The only chance they could find us was if they actually stumbled into the barrier. Still Athena had told me to stay outside during the birthing process.
Apparently it was much more complicated than I first thought, however with Gaia aiding her inside the tent they were apparently able to meet the conditions to have a safe birth. Thus I was left alone as I let out a low yawn from my mouth, I was barely able to keep myself awake as I stood outside the tent. Soon I began to slowly drift off when suddenly I heard muffled voices from the tent as I opened one eye and glanced at the entrance of the tent.
"..." All I could hear was muffled sounds due to a barrier set up by Gaia around the tent but from the way it sounded they were at a critical junction. All I could do was sigh as I stayed outside the tent left to my own devices. Soon the minutes went by and suddenly the tent flap was pushed open as I turned to see a smiling Gaia.
"It is over, come and take a look." She said as I followed behind her into the tent. The sight I saw was one of nature's beauty. Laying down on a small bed of blankets the mother wolf was slowly licking clean a tiny pup the size of a baseball. I couldn't help but be stunned slightly at the scene as the mother continued to bathe the tiny creature as it mewed contently.
"She is beautiful." Gaia suddenly said as Athena nodded along with her. Both women watched the scene along with me. However I felt something loop with my arm as I glanced at Gaia. However her eyes didn't meet mine as she continued to gaze at the scene before her. I could sense a complicated emotion brewing in her as she watched the scene.
"Indeed." Said the exhausted mother as she finished her tongue bath and simply nuzzled the tiny pup. The pup looked exactly like the mother but her shadow fur looked soft as a cloud and fluffy like a rabbit. But her eyes remained closed as she got pampered by her mother.
"You know I never got your name." I said as I slowly kneeled down as Gaia and Athena did the same. The mother wolf glanced up but then continued to give her pup the love that could only last for maybe a few more minutes. I could feel her life force dwindling away quickly by my estimate she had maybe 30 mins left.
"My name...I have no name." She said which sounded very sad.
"That's so sad." Said Athena as the mother chuckled.
"Well if you want you can name me." She said.
"How about...darkness." said both Gaia and Athena and looked at me as the mother chuckled.
"Darkness...it is fitting is it not?" She said as she shuffled a little and laid her head down as she just stared at the tiny pup in front of her.
"What about your daughter? Will you name her?" Athena asked as darkness looked up at her and then the pup.
"How about the name you gave me?" She said as I smiled.
"An inherited name?" Gaia asked her as she seemed to nod. At this time her breath was growing ragged as her time was being used up.
"Yes an inherited name, may it last for generations. Darkness the divine shadow wolf." She said with a smile as suddenly she coughed roughly as Athena gave a panicked look.
"My time is growing near, boy it is time for our deal." She said as I nodded. Just then an alert popped up in front of me as I instantly accepted it.
Alert!
Quest name: Defend darkness for 24 hours.
Tasks:
Defend darkness and survive
Time left: 23 hours 59 mins
Rewards:
?
?
?
Failure:
Death
Do you accept?
Yes/No
"I promise I will protect your daughter until her abilities activate." I said as she nodded.
"Thank you very much, but I will warn you now. Her aura is so thick that monsters from hundreds of thousands of miles will rush to try and take her power. These barriers of yours can only last so long against the aura's potency. I am sorry but you will not be able to rest for the next 24 hours." She said as I smirked.
"Don't worry, I suspected as much. But don't worry I will hold my end of the deal and defend her with my life. Besides I am never one to back out of a fight." I said with a grin as darkness laughed.
"Thank you and again I warn you, the strong will come in floods to this place. My suggestion is you start moving after I pass." She said as I nodded as she slowly took a breath.
"Now for my end of the deal." She looked down at her daughter and gave one last nuzzle as her body seemed to tremble a little. After that she let out a breath and nodded as her body began to lightly glow. Just then her legs and body began to dissipate into the air as her eyes remained on me.
"Thank you all." She said as she finally closed her eyes and with that the rest of her body slowly dissipated as I heard sniffles from Gaia and Athena. As her body finally evaporated into air 10 small black crystals slowly dropped into my hands. I glanced down at them and all I got was a [????] but I knew what they were so I simply put them away as I stood up.
"Gaia." I said softly as she wiped her tears as Athena gathered shadow in a blanket and picked her up as she cuddled in the soft fabric.
"Yes?" She asked me.
"We need to get moving again. Our destination is Athena's ship." I said as she nodded as she stood up.
"Athena you point and way and keep a hold on Darkness." I said as she nodded as I took over the commander's position for this quest.
"What about you?" Asked Gaia as I walked out of the tent as I felt my blood boil. It has been a week since I had used my demon form as I slowly exhaled. My first clenched slowly as I looked up at my field map that came with my dungeon map. The area around us was starting to light up with red lights that were monsters. Already there was nearly 50 as a grin spread across my face.
"I am going to defend this rock." I said as my divine transformation started and soon my demon form took my place. Unfortunately my bottom arm was missing the same part that my main body was missing. So I was left with 3 whole arms and currently that was all I needed.
My demon aura like a tsunami as it radiated off me as I stared into the darkness at the approaching monsters. At the same time a spear made of blood slowly formed in my hand as I slowly took aim and launched my first attack.