*
... And nothing happened.
"[Overthrone blessed the core-Frildelia-]." (?)
***
A time characterised by... The lack of pain. The lack of everything. There wasn't anything to feel as much over... There was nothing. He didn't know how he had survived thus far, he simply knew he did. Ever since he was conscious... Ever since he was intelligent enough to put things inside his mouth, to keep going. There was no point beating around the bush, he was an orphan living in the slums. He wasn't particularly sad, he did not curse his fate. He simply was, he only lived and didn't think too much about it. There wasn't much to think about, only what he should eat next.
That begs the question, who took care of him before he was conscious of his surroundings? Before he gained some much needed sentience required for survival... Who had fed and protected him while he was an infant? Surely such a figure would constitute a parent or guardian of some sort... There was no way to find out. Before he could bother investigating his origin, he first needed to learn how to speak... He needed to understand what investigating even meant... Before entertaining the idea of hope.
His early days weren't very pleasant, to say the least they were unpleasant. But he wouldn't bring himself to loathe his misfortune, he wouldn't curse at what was a natural circumstance he had to face. After all, it led to his meeting with Frildelia. Under the harsh conditions, he had already transformed into a magical girl as a kid, but his understanding of the world was so sparse that he... Didn't dare to leave the darkness of his alley.
He spent most of his time laying lifelessly, he had instinctively understood the harshness of hunger and didn't wish it on anyone else. So as his own hunger was abated by his body absorbing magical particles, he wouldn't ever steal the food of others. To eliminate hunger, to clear the world of such an instinctual pain inherent of the human condition, deeply entwined with the human world... A grandeur born of a simple wish, it birthed a simple magic.
" [Abundant paradise abundant life, enemy of scarcity and Gaia]." (Geravinne)
He choked out under his gasping breath, full of spit yet lacking any air of composure. his words half garbled, yet they were all she wanted to hear. Gaia, the mother of life, the source of life's reincarnation cycle and mortality. Mortality is birthed by scarcity, scarcity of resources, scarcity of vitality. As such, Gaia is scarcity, Gaia is her enemy... Geravinne had only unlocked one skill, but it was enough. It was meant to quench and eliminate scarcity, a large aspect of Frildelia's existence.
Her powerful and all reliable existence was now frail and quivering, her beautiful and slick blond hair lay disheveled over the barren ground. Her once unmatched power was now like an exposed candlelight in the wind. Fleeting, vanishing. Her cold wasted body began to feel a sort of warmth once more, there wasn't supposed to be warmth at the end of her life as her nerves gave up on her, yet this gentle kindness seeped directly into her dying mind.
"Hahah... I broke our promise... Of dying together, by making you do this...
Don't worry about it, departure, it's a part of all things in life. I simply lived it to the very end, an ancient curse born from the demons... In my prime it would have done absolutely nothing, but perhaps I got weary and old. That's why... Don't be sad. I've lived a very long and fulfilling life, certain regrets will always come up within such an existence, but it's all alright.
Make new friends, sought new companions that would spice up your existence. Magical girls do not die from old age, they only die from battle. Just by living your life you become an obstacle to someone else's. That's why... It's important to find happiness while you're still here. " (Frildelia)
'Forget me', it's almost as if she's saying that. If so, it would be unforgivable. A selfish existence to the very end, taking control over the Illnoia administration after The Great Disaster and leaving it all in the hands of Geravinne. Geravinne was stunted from young, someone tried to take care of him and it unfortunately wasn't good enough. He was fated to live a short and unfulfilling life... Until Frildelia entered the picture. Perhaps they promised to die together, however...
This warmth... This sensation a dying person could possibly never anticipate... It wraps around her heart and mind, as if lulling Frildelia to sleep. It was Geravinne's first and only skill, it worked especially well on Gaia herself. It-
"Listen well... Gaia is not only a role... But a transferable title. I always thought it was a curse, inviting so much unneeded attention. But it can also be a gift. When you gain the title, you will also gain its concomitant responsibilities and power. All the good and the bad. I'm sure you can do it, inherit not only title, but my body and passion too. " (Frildelia)
Finally, the warmth carried her over to the other side. She felt a sensation akin to the gentle rocking of a passing boat, carrying her over the river styx. One last fulfilment, one final desire fulfilled. With the added efficiency of using his skill on Gaia, it granted her final wish and integrated their bodies into one. Geravinne Frildelia, a simple love letter to his mentor, beloved and family. An unexplainable relation that he could only think back fondly on. Not a trace of her corpse was left, all the blood she spat, all the sweat and tears shed, the spot where she layed her last was spotless.
It was convenient, as if fate was compelling him. An urge to fulfill her last wish even after the effects of his skill was over, he took up her identity as the Dragon God. To the world, only a nameless boy had vanished. During The Great Disaster, the demon forces had a large revival. The strengths of the demon races were funneled back to the Demon King as they grew in numbers, causing the curse on Frildelia to grow stronger. Now that she had 'died' once, her return was all the more devastating to the demon forces.
Out of desperation, they made a pact with The Pope Saintess to keep Illnoia's forces busy while they dealt with the Grundo Alliance and The Sanctuary factions. It was reduced from a situation of being outnumbered to 1v1 situations, yet they had still failed. The Demon King went berserk under the influence of her own magic and consumed the demon race as well as a large portion of the Grundo Alliance territory.
There might be some remnants of Demon Kind, those who had survived were weaker than when they first started before The Great Disaster, those who had blended and assimilated into human society had lower proclivities of wanting to fight the human race. With the other party dead, The Pope Saintess no longer has any reason to continue risking her life in battle.
***(Present)
Demorami's last ditch effort had failed. Ascending to a higher plane and having her ultimate attacked received completely... According to all laws in this space, Geravinne Frildelia should have died... Yeah she should have...
She did die. No amount of evasion or loophole would work in this space, an ultimate technique that could only be challenged offensively by destroying the other party first before the magic activated. So she breathed her last... But she's still standing here. The target was the Dragon God, and so Geravinne had lived her life to the very end... Geravinne Frildelia had ended her life, Geravinne's magic [Abundant paradise abundant life, enemy of scarcity and Gaia] had completed its role.
It granted Frildelia's wish of having Geravinne inherit her life, and now that her life was over, she was back to being Geravinne... In other words, Frildelia had always intended for Geravinne to live out his own life as well... He had no qualms abandoning his own identity, but a trivial consideration like this melted his heart...
Initially Frildelia had thought of the role as Gaia to be a curse, because individuals like Geravinne might show up. Geravinne's primary skill was meant to be used as a weapon to kill Gaia, while a role could grant vast powers possibly rivalling the gods, it also meant that there would be those who were born with opposing roles meant to kill you. They might simply achieve skills specialised to eliminate you and hunt your life. Frildelia had meant to eliminate such potential dissidents but only found pity in the stunted Geravinne incapable of even fending for himself. Then she found happiness.
So she was grateful at the very end, for it had allowed her to meet and die at the hands of her beloved. Demorami's ultimate technique eliminated Frildelia's remains, and left Geravinne behind. A powerless boy... Still existing in this space? This place was beyond the edge of the world, an outer realm where all laws collide with no rhyme or rhythm. Geravinne's first skill was meant to kill Gaia, it was supposed to be powerful beyond reason. As long as Gaia were to be eliminated, it could theoretically fulfill any wish. But normally... It could only hope to soothe someone's hunger for a while.
It wasn't able to produce food, water and resources out of nothing. It was absolutely mediocre in anyway... Then it soothed his own existence. Demorami was a painter of the world, deciding what texture would fill the universe, she had more than enough accolades to take on the role of Gaia. When the previous one dies, a new person might take the role. In other words, fate decided Demorami would be Geravinne's final enemy. This burst of potency boosted Geravinne's first skill into being able to sustain his existence in this realm.
At first it was confusion, the Dragon God was eliminated but the title of Gaia had been passed on to Demorami. Then it was despair at the realisation. If Geravinne killed Gaia with his first skill here, it would achieve the same effect as Demorami's ultimate technique and leave her alive... So it must be solved with a new possibility.
"Second skill, [Wicked hand vices the denouement].
Final skill, [Sheathed night of passing, a polished leathery end]." (Geravinne)
"... I... I can't [overwrite] this? No, it's just preventing me from attacking.
Speaking, moving and dodging seems to be fine... " (Demorami)
[Overwrite] could extinguish any attempts to make an advantageous situation, yet the solution was incredibly simple. [Overwrite] is the act of replacing, it is the second move after the opponent attempts to send an attack. But if the attack simply prevents Demorami from using [Overwrite], then it would no longer be useful.
Geravinne's second skill ensures his magic activates before his enemy's. His third ends all magic alike. The two individuals are brought back to the plains of the Illnoia Administration. The place where it all began. Both untransformed, a black haired male and female stood in opposing gaits across a few metres of grass. He walks closer, gradually closing the distance. At a certain distance... He swings his fist.
His knuckles slam into her torso, injured but now alert, she swings back and unleashes a devastating sweep. He tripped over her feet, but he quickly rolled to the side of the next kick and stood back up. She threw another punch while he rose back, but this time it was firmly blocked by his arms. He slams his knee into her body and swings a wider punch while she was reeling from the knee kick. Fallen, he straddles her collapsed body and punches her lights out.
He had a stunted growth when he was young, and he hadn't untransformed a single time since taking Frildelia's body. He wasn't exactly well built so he couldn't knock her out with a single punch. It took a build up of multiple punches and some momentum to finally topple his enemy. Normal fights like these without any magical regeneration or reinforcement often end quick. One side will get knocked out and if any skin is cut or bones are broken, it would often be the result of the environment and some momentum.
A punch or kick will initiate it, but it was the collision with hard objects that could crack skulls and spill blood. Flesh and bone is oddly resistant, a person would lose their consciousness before ever losing an arm in a fight.
"... How am I going to get back..." (Geravinne)
Demorami was still breathing, but Geravinne didn't want to get his hands dirty by taking any random rock and jabbing it into her neck. He felt a little useless but wouldn't ever lament about his circumstances.