The Celestial Horns all stand in formation, their bodies completely unmoving as they've realized that they don't need to breathe anymore, their helmets held under their arms as the battle is over, their faces grim as they've come to understand their sad fate. Their Divines are all truly dead, their last bastion of resistance was overwhelmed by monsters, and it's only through sheer will that they haven't regressed into mere Living Armors without any emotions. They failed their duty, they failed their people, and they can't even find someone to blame for it. The Petrification Calamity was a tragedy, and the real culprit eluded the entire realm, if there even was one.
But while the Horns stand with their heads hung low, Oritiki is the only one who retains some glimmer of hope in her eyes.
Her majestic horns are polished to a smooth sheen, her black cow head looks proud, and her eyes are sharp. Even after Arreira has revealed everything, she's still every bit as determined as she was before.
"Ryders," she coolly greets us with a nod, then she notices my new race and observes me with neutral curiosity.
"Oritiki," I greet back with a smile.
Hana and Ciel greet Paraaone, which he returns, though mutely.
We stop before each other and remain silent for a moment as we search for the right words.
"My condolences," I break the silence with a sober tone.
"We appreciate it," Oritiki responds, and her face melts into a warm smile, then her eyes lose focus as she reminisces. "Though this isn't the first time we've heard that. Arreira also followed it up with such a tempting offer that we eagerly accepted this childish fantasy."
"Yearning is not childish," Ciel immediately chimes in with a very motherly tone and steps forward. "But the important question is: do you regret this time that Arreira gave you?"
Oritiki slowly turns around, taking a brief look at each of her men, then shakes her head gently. "No."
Oritiki and I look at each other expectantly, as if we're trying to read each other's minds, but we don't need to try, we have a very good idea of what the other wants.
I can't look at myself like a common man anymore, my Gift already set me apart, and now the Gods have made fucking sure of that since they even made me into a new race. I can't keep acting as an outsider, trying to not stir the pot; I'm already going to make waves with [Golemancy], my promise to the Goddess of Knowledge made sure of that, and now I'm going to be responsible for part of a nation.
I need to inspire loyalty in others; I need to act in ways that will earn me their respect; I need to take responsibility for the lives of my soon-to-be subjects; I need to guide them forward towards the light that only I can see. That is the only way that nobility can be justified in taking power in this realm, it's their reason for existence: to guide.
But I can't do it all alone. I need more than just my wives, concubines, or companions. I need subordinates, bound through a contract, subjects, bound through duty, servants, bound through oath, and followers, bound through love.
The strong protect the weak, which in turn support the strong. At this moment, I'm-, no, we are stronger than Oritiki and the Celestial Horns combined. We hold real control over their Fate, and what we're about to say will forever change our relationship with the Horns.
I won't use [Godly Language] to manipulate their hearts into accepting this. I'll use plain, clear words so that they know exactly what's expected of them. I can't deny that I want their armor and weapons, but I don't want them to go, and also, they're more valuable as allies than as tools.
Unfortunately, allies are equals, and nobody would say that of our relationship with the Horns. We can't stand on the same level, but we can start there.
I hold my claws in front of me and puff up my chest, then Alissa helps me straighten my posture while Aoi gets my tail under control through [Bind].
I breathe in and let my voice resound so that every Celestial Horn can hear me clearly, "I wasn't born in this realm. I'm from a world populated entirely with humans, where mana doesn't exist. I was never told why I was brought here, and I was given Gifts to fulfill a destiny I know nothing about. The only thing I'm sure of is that the Gods guided me here, both the new and the old, and this meeting between us is entirely within their plans."
I make a dramatic pause to let them absorb my words, and I see Oritiki's face light up.
"We'll destroy this dungeon's core, ending Arreira's existence with it, and also your fake lives. After that, we'll assume the position of Lords and work to accumulate even more power, but we have few that we can truly trust, so this will be a rocky, dangerous path. That's not all, as we don't truly know what Fate the Gods have for me, so we don't know the nature of the dangers that still lie hidden from us.
"We've fought and bled alongside some of you while you've also protected us for a short time. We greatly value your assistance, and also your friendship," -I send a nod towards Oritiki, and Paraaone's face twitches with emotion- "so we don't wish to end things here.
"Do you desire to continue your lives? To live for a while longer in this realm, but without all the illusions and lies this time? We can give you all new lives if you agree to serve us, and while we can't say for sure if they'll compare with your old lives, we can assure you that they'll definitely be eventful.
"Knowing that Fate that lies ahead of us, do you accept this proposal? To serve in exchange for a new life?"
I stare at Oritiki, and she returns the gaze. Hers is intense, trying to gauge my determination, while mine is hopeful, trying to convince her to accept.
A smile slowly breaks into her long snout, then she turns around, and her men start to light up as they see her expression.
"We require some time to discuss this in private," she states, her voice leaving no room to argue.
We nod respectfully, then Paraaone sends us one last smirk before we turn around and graciously leave the room.
--
The happiness from before fades away as we cross through another [Eternal Gate]. We find ourselves inside a huge, nondescript room. It's made entirely of gray rock and lacks any decorations, giving it the air of a prison.
In the center of this room are the Carrier and the Long Floater. Both of which are manned by only a small number of very confused Chimeras that watch us cautiously when we come in.
Alissa hears a few shouts as observers on the glass dome bridge of the Carrier recognize us after using their scopes.
I pull out three comfortable sofas for us and a few hard chairs for our guests, then we wait while the Chimeras scramble to respond.
They try to activate the ships and their Trinity Cannons, but a [Disruption Field] enveloping both ships makes them stop trying that rather quickly. I'm also thankful that Arreira was polite enough to keep us out of the Field. Just watching all the wild mana makes my insides tingle unpleasantly.
After a few minutes, a group of Chimeras pours out from both the Carrier and the Floater. Alissa focuses her sight and recognizes Nohopu, the squirrel-headed crazy captain; Kurii, his beagle-headed executive officer; Kaiia, the Carrier's fluffy, panda-headed executive officer; Kaata, Hihiriwa's neon-blue gecko-headed wife; and the devil himself. Hihiriwa's gray draconic face is completely neutral, unconcerned with his current situation.
They all come towards us flanked by tall and burly guards, though none of them have weapons, so they're all harmless to us.
They started pretty far away, so a long minute passes as we wait, then I decide to pull out a coffee table, and Alissa starts preparing tea for everyone.
We act indifferently to them until they take their seats. Nohopu and Kurii get friendly nods, especially Kurii since I'm a horn dog in need of a fuck, and every female looks so fuckable, and all I want is my draconic co-…
Alissa chokes the dragon again, and we both sigh in our minds.
I need to get laid.
At least they're fully armored. If the women were naked, this conversation would be very uncomfortable. It's not like I've become an animal incapable of controlling myself, it's just that it's very uncomfortable to do so.
Hihiriwa calmly grabs his cup of tea and sips it silently. He doesn't look angry or defeated, but rather seems as if he was expecting this. His expression is neutral, if a bit lacking in energy, while his draconic eyes look at nobody else but me.
The others have a mix of wary, confused, and slightly frightful looks. Kurii is as cool and collected as always, though.
I slowly sip my tea and let my eyes wander as we wait.
Kaiia awkwardly shifts in his seat, which is a bit too small for the large panda man.
I relax my thick tail on Yunia's lap, and she sends me a subtle glare but starts petting it anyway. The scales prevent me from feeling much, but her touch is good enough for me to find some comfort.
Nohopu starts tapping his foot impatiently.
I look over at Lina on Ciel's lap and feel a little jealous that I can't have my personal lap-loli for comfort. Yunia insisted on this arrangement so that I'd seem more menacing.
Kaata looks around with shifty eyes.
Hana and Aoi grumble impatiently. They really dislike theatrics, preferring a broken arm instead of these mind games.
Hihiriwa finishes his cup and sighs in satisfaction. His gray scales wave as a chill runs down his spine, then he smiles in contentment.
"I have no idea why I did it," he suddenly admits bemusedly and chuckles.
I nearly facepalm in exasperation and simply stare angrily at him. My scales wave along with the desire to strangle him that courses through my body.
He smiles, apparently proud of his stupidity, and explains himself, "I knew that you were special, but Arreira's memory-wipes prevented me from understanding why, so I thought I had to do something to keep you nearby, I just didn't know what."
Yunia takes over for me as I'm too overwhelmed to ask, "So you just… sabotaged the Light gem and hoped for the best?"
"Yes," he confesses eagerly then laughs like a fool. He laughs so hard he holds his own stomach in pain. "I can't believe it almost worked!"
The others look at him either confused or worried. I'm pretty sure that even his wife doesn't know what he did.
Kurii suddenly gasps in surprise and accuses Hihiriwa, "This is why the Honored One wanted to depose you!"
"Precisely," he admits as he nods without the slightest hint of guilt. "And we're lucky that things ended when they did because I didn't have much longer to live."
Kaata frowns, completely horrified, and grabs his hand reflexively.
Alissa's tail stops swaying, and her ears point up in wariness. "So, you won't apologize?" She asks, almost uttered through gritted teeth.
Hihiriwa immediately answers, "No…" -I scowl at him, seething with anger, and his draconic face twitches- "I won't apologize for what I did, though I will apologize for bringing you harm or putting you in danger."
That actually makes me pause in confusion. This fucking guy…
"Why?" Is all I can ask without swearing at him.
He nervously adjusts the collar of his armor, then categorically starts his explanation, "I blame the Divine Arreira for wiping our memories as it prevented me from understanding why you were special, but it didn't change my intuition that you were the key to solving the mystery of our town."
We hear a loud *snap* resound through the air as Arreira's annoyingly sexy presence reveals itself to us.
He floats beside our sofa just to make himself seem like he's "towering" over us. "Hm… curious. I believe this 'intuition' was a remnant of your long-term memories," he comments as he rubs his chiseled chin in thought, then he shrugs. "Another complication of memory manipulation. Perhaps through emotional reconditioning, this effect could be minimized. It could be done through neutral emotions since positive or negative reinforcement would leave evidence of tampering, so perhaps repetition blindness could be tested. However, I'd need to first find symptoms of 'emotional remnants' in the memories…" He rambles on to himself, speaking through his actual mouth this time, then he remembers where he is and *snap*s away to somewhere else.
Things turn silent again, and we just let Hihiriwa simmer under the heat of our glares.
After another awkward minute, he finally decides to broach the topic himself, "I don't hold any ill intent towards any of you, and neither of us" -he squeezes his wife's hand- "want to give up our lives yet." He gets up and turns around to gaze wistfully at the Carrier. "We fought to the death on this ship, so it isn't just our grave or where our souls have been bound to, it's a part of us. For as long as our souls still have an ego, we'll fly on the Carrier."
He turns his head sideways and smirks at us.
He's got us there. Unless we forcefully remove him, he won't give up haunting the Carrier.
I look towards the other Chimeras, and they all seem to be touched by his words. Kurii may have blurted out something that briefly embarrassed Hihiriwa, but their loyalty to him hasn't diminished. They've been together through life and death, so if we want to acquire two fully crewed ships alongside dozens of fighter pilots, we have to accept all of them, including Hihiriwa.
Yunia hammers out a speech for me, and I simply surrender myself to her will for a short time. I really hate being the only one talking, but at least through [Bind], the burden can be shared somewhat.
I stand up, and the claws on my feet scrape against the floor, easily making some light scratches in the stone.
Fucking shit, are they made of Okross or something? My scales sure do remind me of it.
My tail becomes stiff and points upwards as my intense glare makes them cower. Nohopu shrinks in his seat, Kaiia becomes a harmless fluffy panda doll, Kurii stiffens and avoids looking me in the eye out of respect, Kaata frowns as she tries to find her husband's hand for comfort, and even Hihiriwa's draconic side is affected as he instinctively lowers his head.
The Chimera guards behind them reach for their weapons, but they have none, so they instead shift very uncomfortably on their feet.
Holy fuck, I'm actually intimidating them with just a glare.
"You look really sexy to me, though, but okay, I guess it's different for them," Roxanne comments through [Bind].
I swallow heavily and measure my tone to maintain the perfect balance of authority and seriousness with a hint of [Godly Language] for intimidation.
First the stick, then the carrot.
Yunia opens my mouth, and her speech pours out on its own, "Whakamutu Mutu is gone like a dream; your nation has faded away from history, forgotten and abandoned; your Divines have all perished; the mystery of the Petrification Calamity has never been solved; and even the survivors of your race have moved on.
"You have nothing but this Carrier and Floater as your possessions, and even these ships could be taken away from you by purging your souls from them. So, what can you offer me?"
"We offer our services as an expert crew to man your ships," Hihiriwa answers sedately and lowers his head in respect. His draconic face has an annoyingly satisfied smirk, which shows that we're still acting within his expectations.
"And what do you demand in return?" My tone is a bit snotty.
He keeps his head low and his tone submissive as he says, "A life like any other. Gathered here are honored captains, distinguished officers, and an expert crew. We merely expect to be treated as is fitting to our stations."
"Your souls are bound to the ships by [Trap Soul], and perhaps they could be transferred to a gem, but we won't be gifting them. You'll have to purchase them with your own pay."
Hihiriwa straightens his posture, still looking satisfied with himself, then slowly nods. "That's acceptable. We most likely won't need much to be spent on us since we're nothing but spirits without a body to maintain."
I narrow my eyes dangerously. "And then there's the matter of loyalty…"
I wait for Hihiriwa's answer, but even he can't come up with something to say that wouldn't just be empty ass kissing.
After a moment of silence, I give him the good news, "You'll be sworn to serve us, but due to our previous conflict, your loyalty can't be assured, though we will grant you one chance to regain our trust. Meanwhile, you'll be watched by our other subjects, and your independence will be severely restricted until we decide otherwise."
Hihiriwa hesitates for a moment, but then he bows to us. The others follow suit a second later, and I sigh internally in relief. The girls and I all relax our postures as the negotiation is now over.
An [Eternal Gate] appears behind us, and we immediately get up to leave.
The Chimeras raise their heads, and I send them a small, friendly smile. Now that our positions have been established, there's no reason to continue antagonizing them.
--
Now that the Chimeras have been appeased, we'll have a brief talk with Pua.
It wouldn't be a good idea to just suddenly relocate it, so Arreira takes us to the fake Broken Skies again and returns our ship to us. He really did make us crash onto a rock before our trials started, so the ship had to be repaired, but we've been inside those Preservation Beds for so long that he'd completed that quite a while ago.
We look around at the starry, groundless sky with a bit of wistfulness. This will be the last time that we'll ever see it unless we decide to explore the real Broken Skies.
Arreira has been hurrying us on quite a lot, so we don't have too much time to rest or appreciate the sights. At least we get over a half-hour to calm down while our ship slowly approaches a suspiciously shaped colored cloud that continues to grow larger in our view.
I ponder over what Arreira said about the Maw being weaker than a Lord. This is a fucking mountain-sized monster, so I can hardly believe that a single Lord-level person could kill it. Did he take Pua's meek behavior into account and implied that the Lord would be able to scare it off, instead?
Arreira is at least a thousand years out of touch with reality, so I'd bet that this is just one of his quirks. For all we know, Pua is his pet or another experiment that got a little out of hand.
Hana feels a chill from megalophobia as we approach the cloud-mountain. As the tallest among us, she rarely gets the feeling of being so totally dwarfed by other things. Lina, on the other hand, is behaving as if it were business as usual. My little dwarf actually enjoys feeling small, especially when she's in the arms of a strong, muscular, menacing man like me. Her words, not mine.
The mountain suddenly starts moving, and Pua uncoils itself. Its huge, castle-sized face made of clouds turns to us, and Hana gets really creeped out by it.
"Hello," Pua's deep and slow voice comes from the prow instead of directly inside my ear this time.
"Hello again, Pua," I greet it back cheerfully and wave.
"A dragon…" It curiously comments.
"I'm Aoi," she greets it with a toothy grin and waves her claws.
"Are you like me?"
She tilts her head and sits down as her tail sways contentedly. "I don't know, maybe? I was a 'broken' monster before, but now I've converted, and Wolfy 'filled me.'"
"Hm…" Pua mumbles like a curious child.
"I could look into your soul to confirm it, but you'd have to get closer," Alissa tentatively suggests. She's a bit intrigued by Pua, too.
"Okay," it casually agrees and flies forward, making us all tense up.
The day becomes cloudy as Pua hides the sun with its body. It's like watching a mountain-sized truck barreling towards us, then suddenly seeing it stop as if it were nothing.
"Y-your soul is 'normal' for a monster. You're not the same as Aoi," Alissa announces as she tries to calm down her own heart. Her [Sense Presence] is completely filled with one large 'red dot' that screams "DANGER" in her mind, and it's quite the disconcerting feeling.
"I seeee~~…" Pua whispers, which slowly devolves into a soft hissing, then it opens its gigantic, Pac-man-like mouth, exposing four house-sized crystal fangs, and yawns.
We hear the far-off howling of the wind as it stirs up a small storm with its breath, which it politely directs away from us.
Because Pua seems to be a bit slow, I wait an awkwardly long moment to see if it wants to talk, then I give it my gratitude, "We'd like to thank you for pushing me into the portal. If it weren't for you, things would've become… a lot more complicated, I believe. We're also sorry that you were struck by the gem's power as it must've hurt quite a lot."
Pua curls up again, leaving only its cylindrical face visible outside of its fluffy little hill, still facing us. "Oh, it's okay. The gem stung for a while, but I'm better now."
"Still, we owe you a lot. I hope to be able to repay you somehow."
"Hm…" Its interested hum sends out a slight tremor with its intensity. "I'll think about it later," it tiredly responds.
I smile sadly at it. Pua really is a gentle giant. "Unfortunately, we'll be destroying the dungeon's core soon, so this place will decay and stop existing eventually. We'll release you from this dungeon and out into the realm if you promise to not attack humanoid civilization."
"Out? Where's 'out'?" It questions worriedly.
"You're inside a dungeon, and there's a huge realm for you to explore out there. I'm almost certain that the skies are unoccupied by humanoids, so you'll have plenty of space to make your new home."
"Oh… okay."
Ciel lets her motherly instincts take over as she contributes, "If you encounter other humanoids, tell them about us, and say that if they harm you, we'll come and protect you."
"Yeah, you're a good monster, so you can come back to us if you need help," Hana adds cheerfully and shakes her fist in the air.
"Pua's mere presence will cause chaos and panic in the High Forest," Yunia warns her through [Bind].
"It'll also intimidate a lot of people if they know that we're 'friends' with it," Roxanne defends Hana, and Yunia relents.
"I'll… visit," Pua accepts, sounding as if it's unsure about what the word "visit" actually means.
We have a quick discussion inside my mind about how Pua coming to "visit" would go, then I explain things to it, "We'll be ruling over a town called Escanso that's been built in the treetops of a forest with huge trees. If you want to talk to us, come fly near the forest, and we'll try to get in contact with you. It's possible that we'll send the Chimeras along with some ships, so don't attack them on sight."
"Chimeras?" It moans a little sadly.
I nod and speak in a reassuring tone, "They're under our control now, so they shouldn't hurt you, but always be careful since misunderstandings can happen."
"Okay…" Its huge face nods very slowly.
We say our goodbyes to it, then we return to Arreira.
It's time to learn [Equip].
--
--
Hall of Fame of Patrons
The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:
Prince PreownedFIN.
Lord Andrew Meyers.
Lord Samuel Lim.
Lord Bill.
Lord Novgarod.
Lord DJ.
Lord Ashadun.
Lord Michale Erwin.
Lord Bakerdea.
Lord Nathan Vanbrunt.
Lord Maurice.
Lord Empyrean.
Lord Mattirro Draca.
Lord Joshua Tal.
Lord Colorblind.
Lord RottenTangerine.
Lord Fullmoon.
Lord Joxsan Herrera.
Lord Sean Drake.
Lord EESDESESESRDT.
Lord Brody Haugan.
Lord GoodKat.
Lord FrostyCube.
Lord Freddie.
Lord Mike Bartter.
Lord Cardinal Steiner.
Lord DragonPiggy.
Noble Salty Panda.
Noble Mild Fracas.
Noble Aclys.
Noble Shawn Plumley.
Noble CarlBaxter.
Noble WeirdWhirl.
Noble War God.
Noble Andreas Jörgensen.
If you'd like to support Rupegia, you can become a patron at: www.patreon.com/manasong