My eyes flickered open as I found myself standing somewhere that wasn't on the couch.
At first I didn't recognize it, the floor beneath me rippled and shimmered a blue color. I thought I was standing on water for a moment before I looked up and saw the endless view of which I finally remembered.
I'm back at the abyss. Or least…what it used to be before Arael gave up on me. Now it was an empty blue space of sorts.
I must've lost track of time due to Lilith's constant question and interrupting my story. And it wasn't even a long story, it was like she'd ask every five words I said out of my mouth. 'He did what?', 'what kind of style did he use with his pole?', 'you sure it wasn't a girl you were fighting?'. All those sorts of questions. I found myself getting completely exhausted over it and told her that I was going to nap, to which he frustratingly sighed and left me be.
Anyways, I found myself alone again in this space. Though I was pretty suspicious. It's not every night I sleep that I come here…
Someone called me to this place.
"Kota!" I heard a male voice call from behind me. I quickly turned myself around to face this voice. But instead, I found myself staring at another oddity.
A man with long Black hair was sitting on a wooden chair. His hair wrapped around in a ponytail, the wooden chair seemed like it was sunken into the floor but still stable enough to sit in. And there was a table as well, along with an empty chair.
The man wore an outfit that seemed very similar to a buddhist monk. Black robes wrapped around him as I saw underneath that he wore nothing at all. His wooden shoes tapped gently against the rippling floor as his Blueish-Green eyes flickered at me.
It was Duvul.
"Or should I say…Travis?" He spoke again. He had a small smile on his face.
I felt my body tense up when he said that. I don't ever recall giving him my name. Let alone my…actual name.
"W-How do you know my name?" I cautiously asked. I should be taking this even more seriously than I did with Arael. He said before that he wouldn't use me….But I don't trust that.
For all I know, I'm about to be sent off to another Task for this fellow.
Duvul chuckled and slapped the table next to him. "Come. Sit! We have much to talk about, Travis!"
Oh ok, he's just going to ignore my question…
Honestly, I would've just stood here like a dumbass until he spoke again. But once I thought about leaving this place, I realized that I had no idea of how to get out of here. So I found myself shuffling my feet towards the empty chair across the table.
"You…" I began to say as I sat into my chair, but Duvul quickly answered me.
"I told you, I've been watching. Every step since your birth in this world, just right underneath Arael's nose." Duvul slowly put his hands into the table, tapping his right index finger to do something.
A tear in the air formed in front of us, something that caught me off guard. Looking inside of it only showed a black void.
"Every word you have said and every moment, I am watched. Of course, I cut my vision off whenever…you do your business or it's getting a little out of my taste."
"You watch me? Is that how you figured out my name?" I asked, concerned. If he was able to see everything…Wait, out of his taste? Are you telling me he watches me like a tv?
"Yeah, I didn't have much time to do greetings when we last talked." Duvul scooted his chair. "Enjoy my little…set up?"
I awkwardly looked around. I did find it odd how he was able to make chairs and tables out of thin air. The touch of feeling of it seemed pretty real to me, maybe it was just a part of his magic?
"It's uncomfortably too real to me."
"Well…My void works differently to Arael's." Duvul pointed around us. "This abyss? It's mine. Created when I was alive, it was sort of a headspace for me. Only reason we are able to reach this place is because of your body."
"My body?"
"I told you, I'm only able to talk to you since you've gathered enough of my mana inside of that body. I figured It'd make sense that you'd be able to enter the headspace that I made because of it. And I was correct."
Hmm, I guess that makes sense. I mean, it doesn't to me. But I've started to slowly understand that maybe this world just has its own laws and limits to things, unlike that of my own world.
"Arael's headspace was just much stronger than mine. So it was able to appear more frequently than mine, plus I wouldn't even suspect she knew what the hell I was." He then leaned in. "Which brings me to the reason why I brought you."
"Kind of a weird time to bring me here. Why couldn't you just bring me like at any other point?" I asked. It's been a couple of weeks since he last talked to me. I feel like he could've easily done this on a better day. You know, a day where it was actually peaceful and nothing much is going on.
"It's about That pink haired guy. The…Mandy, right?" Duvul scratched his chin.
"…ok? What, are you interested in the case Kale is on?"
"No. I have no interest in that." He shook his head. "Rather, I have an interest in what Mandy had said about you."
I look at Duvul in confusion. "About…?"
"The boy specifically said that she told him about your ability of silent casting."
"About my w-Oh! Yeah…he did say that." Now that I thought about it, I'm pretty sure that also concerned me. I would guess that Mandy never even knew about me at all when we fought. But somehow…he knew something about me.
"It caught my attention as well." Duvul said. He looked at me with amusement. "Seeing how you and that blue haired girl were trapped, it meant that you were followed. Now I'm sure that he was only following the blue haired girl."
"Err…Her name's Amelia." I corrected him, finding it somewhat annoying that he kept calling her blue haired girl.
"Ok…Amelia. He was looking for Amelia, but he didn't expect you."
"Ok…What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I wasn't supposed to be there?"
"Perhaps…" Duvul leaned back in his chair. The floor rippled underneath him. "Maybe you were. Some point in the future."
I gave him a long look. A 'what the hell are you talking about?' Kind of look. The future?
"Hmm…seem quite confused. Would've thought you made some sort of connection." Duvul shrugged.
"Wha-what connection?! What am I supposed to connect here?" I slammed my hands into the table.
Duvul frowned at me. His teal colored eyes squinted as he began to sigh. "Arael…She is the Goddess of death, yes?"
"…yes..?" I slowly answered, still confused. Arael was the goddess of death, but what's that have to do with…Oh.
She can probably see what happens in the future.
"Seems like you figured it out." Duvul smirked as he looked at me. "From what I heard from watching you, Arael is able to see anyone's death."
I guess Duvul was there when I talked with her after I managed to rescue Chris. She did speak about seeing futures and deaths. But why bring it up to Mandy? Am I supposed to kill Mandy? Or is Mandy supposed to kill me? Perhaps Arael is tinkering with our fates now. I mean it's not like she already has with the task she's given me. I've stopped Chris from dying, I stopped king Lucian from being assassinated. Maybe she's trying to do the same to me as a way of disposing of me?
"I'm not entirely sure why she is doing this. But it is rather worrisome." Duvul continued. "Having someone capable of controlling the flow of things is rather dangerous."
"I can see why." I said. I rubbed my chin for a moment. And then something came to mind. "…come to think of it, There was someone who was able to counter her. At least from what I heard."
"The large silver haired man."
"Emmit. Lilith's father. I recall how he said I was a servant to Arael. He seemed so sure that me and Lilith weren't even supposed to be there at the time." Duvul nodded as I continued.
"Hmm, I do remember seeing that. Right before he put a hole in you." Duvul chuckled as he patted his chest.
"That's not funny."
"Well it was to me. Anyways, He used a very simple dragon spell." Duvul explained. "It's called dragon shield."
"Dragons have their own magic?"
"Of course, just like demons. Reasoning behind it is because of how their bodies react to the mana inside them. Every race has their own use of magic. You'll see."
Oh yeah, forgot he was the god of magic. Of course he'd know the reasoning. Actually, come to think of it…
"Now…back to the Main topic. This Arael woman. she has to have a connection to all this. Not sure to what extent. If i'm putting my bet on anything…it's got something to do with whatever is happening in Ozoth. This Mandy person…that's your main person to talk to."
"Uh…you want me to do a task for you?" I irritatedly asked. To which Duvul shrugged.
"I'm asking you to find answers. Not go out there and somehow change someone's fate like that Arael woman."
"…Alright, fair enough." I paused for a moment. "…why do you keep saying Arael like that? Like she's different?"
"Because that isn't her. Or at least from what I remember." Duvul slowly leaned onto the table, his elbows resting on it. "I think we are dealing with someone who has taken her place."
"I do recall how Arael said this was all an experiment to her. How she'd send people down to see what would happen."
"Hm."
Duvul let out a sigh, closing eyes and twiddling his thumbs. "My advice still stands that you find answers to this. If anything, you might want to get an answer from that Mandy fellow."
"What? And die? That guy's henchmens almost killed me before and this guy is fast and strong."
Duvul paused for a moment, his thumbs twiddling even faster before he suddenly shot out of his seat. Standing up, he looked at me. "No, there's another reason why I brought you here."
He slowly walked towards me, his hands trailing the table as he did. "You have my mana stored in you. A good amount of it. You should be able to use it."
I stood out of my chair, facing him. "Use it? Like…using your mana instead of mine?"
"No, think of it as…Mana cloaking. But instead of focusing on speed and all of that, you are able to focus more on your efficiency with magic. You'll be able to tap into the abilities I was able to use in my life!"
Is this like…a power boost? Am I really getting a power boost in magic if I learn how to use his mana?
"Wait, I thought I wasn't compatible with you because of my soul…or since I wasn't technically from this world." I was confused.
"Hm…Well mana is a part of the body. Not attached to your soul. What I referred to before was having my soul transferred into a blank slate, but since you are here. I can't."
"Ok…so how do I use your mana?" I took a stance, looking at him for instructions.
"…Good question." Duvul slowly nodded his head. "Very good question."
"What?!" My arms drooped down as I left my mouth gaping. "Why'd you pump me up to something you couldn't even figure out?"
"Look, I may be the god of Magic. But I never had someone have two different Mana inside them. This is…Quite new to me." Duvul rubbed his chin. His teal eyes trailed off. "Hmph, actually can you give me time to figure this out?"
"Ugh…Fine." I groaned.
"And remember, I'd advise you to follow my advice on finding answers about Arael." Duvul said without looking at me. "And mind the lap that you are sleeping on."
"Hold on, I still have some questions!" I yelled. "First of all, aren't you going to teach me any…spells? Second, who's lap?"
"Uhh…First question, the answer is No." Duvul finally looked at me, smiling. "There are things that you'll need to figure out on your own. I'm also a horrible teacher when it comes to teaching."
"Really?"
"Oh yes, try having me as a teacher when everyone despises you and wants you dead."
"Did people actually want you dead?"
"With the knowledge you have, there are people who are afraid of what you are capable of. And my large amount of mana and vast knowledge made many afraid. Of course…Never intended to use it in the ways they thought. I did partake in battles, but those situations were a little more..complicated."
Huh…so Duvul wasn't much of a bad person when he was alive. Well he wasn't good either…
Come to think of it, I don't really know much about this God of magic besides that book Synthia let me read about Duvul traits.
"You never told me how you became the God of magic." I started. "How'd you become it?"
"By learning." Duvul said. "I didn't start out already knowing what it was. I began to learn about it during my youth, it became my life and people feared it."
"I read in some books that your spirit was separated into multiple pieces."
"That's true. My years of learning magic made me capable of doing that…There's a lot about magic that you still don't know, Kota." He smiled at me. "Actually, could I call you Travis?"
I shot him an eye of acceptance. "Either is fine. Though Travis…Sounds sort of old to me."
It has been twelve years for me since anyone has normally used that name. Just hearing it from someone sounds off now. I'm starting to wonder if my attachment to this world is becoming stronger than my attachment to my old world.
"Then I'll just stick with Kota." Duvul looked across the abyss's endless void. "That second question you had. I'll leave it as a surprise. It'll amuse me when I see you wake up."
My vision began to blur as I was now finally waking up. The floor rippled and moved as eventually everything went black.
I felt a light warmth hit me. I could feel the sun shiny on my face as I slowly opened my eyes.
I gazed to my right, where I realized I was back in Kale's house. The fireplace was off, but the room was lit well with candles and the sunlight. The chair that sat across from the couch had Kale sitting in it, as he too was dozing off.
Then, I felt a hand gently brush my hair. Their fingers combed through it as I gazed up at them. They were long, soft and gentle fingers.
"Didn't expect you to be the one that falls asleep first." Their sultry voice said. "You've been out since me and Kale got back. It's almost night time."
I stared up at them, squinting my eyes in the process. Trying to figure out who they were. The only problem was the fact that there were two giant orbs blocking my view. Their hands trailed off my head as they gave me a gentle wave. Their black hair hung down towards me, streaks of white hair clumped in between all the black.
Of course, I knew who this was. No one else has the looks of Tera Sereal.
A/N: Unfortunately, Work has been in the way. So there will only be one upload this week. It's probably going to be like this until January, so I'll be going on a 'Whenever I can upload' schedule.