Chereads / Final Fantasy: Crisis and Tranquility / Chapter 123 - Chapter 116: The Kingdom of Hearts

Chapter 123 - Chapter 116: The Kingdom of Hearts

Ramiel woke up and he was once again surrounded by warm bodies. "Hngh, damn. I shouldn't drink too much poison again." He massaged his temples a bit and detoxified the remaining special neurotoxin from his body.

He looked around and started getting a bit nervous when he saw Erina, Alice, and Ikumi at his bed. Ramiel raised his sheets, sighing in relief when he saw that they all had their clothes on.

"I really shouldn't drink that much. Never again, said no one ever." He chuckled and floated upwards. "Hmm, Ramiel-chan. It's still early in the morning." Leonora woke up and she tried pulling him back to bed.

"Come on, you don't spend time with us much." Hinako whined and the two tried to tempt him. "Sorry ladies, but I need to make you guys some breakfast." He smiled and went to the kitchen.

He started making a nice breakfast for the people who will be slightly hungover. Ramiel returned to his bedroom with many dishes floating beside him and set up a table.

"Wake up you drunkards, it's time to eat something." He plated up some nice fried rice and meaty dishes that are more salty. Coupled with delicious fruit juices from Aerith's garden so they could rehydrate themselves.

"Ugh, why does my head hurt so much?" Erina sat up and winced. "Shut up Erina, you're talking too loudly." Alice groaned and frowned.

"You two are being too noisy, my head is throbbing." Ikumi complained and Ramiel detoxified them. It was their fault they were hungover in the first place.

"Cabbage rolls for breakfast? You're really stepping it up for us." Mana looked at the dishes and was excited.

"Great, they'll be moaning and creamimg themselves first thing in the morning." Tatsumaki rolled her eyes and remembered the weird phenomenon people have here when they taste something good.

"It's because you play games all the time with Fubuki, you should go out and touch some grass. Get used to it." Alexandra rolled her eyes.

"Hey, we go out for a walk... Sometimes." Fubuki tried to defend themselves, but they don't really go out.

"Ramiel-sama, this household needs some serious changes. This small woman is too lazy." Esdeath thought they were mooching off of him too much.

"Who're you calling small huh!? I can crush you with a wave of my fingers without even touching you!" Esdeath hit a nerve and the house started trembling.

"Shut up and eat, it's breakfast right now. Or I'll beat the two of you up." Samus squinted her eyes and they went quiet.

"This place got really rowdy huh?" Tifa sighed, but she had a smile on her face. "They're really crazy eh? It's really fun to see them like this." Aerith chuckled.

"Okay, okay. Start eating and get cleaned up, we've got work to do folks." Ramiel shook his head. They finished their breakfast and everybody got into their work.

The students started studying for the entrance exam of Ataraxia and the adults had meetings with Scarlet for contracts with the newly formed academy.

Ramiel was taking a walk and checked out the school that was in Tokyo bay. "Hmmm, it looks good. This place will be a pretty good sanctuary for academics." He nodded in satisfaction.

"Is education that important to you?" Esdeath suddenly sprang up on him. "Jesus! How the hell did you sneak up on me? I didn't even feel you." Ramiel was spooked, thinking that she must have another superpower or something.

"I stopped time on a very small scale on myself. And then I went up to you as fast as I could." She explained and he raised a brow. "But I would have felt it. You know what, nevermind."

"So, Ramiel-sama... What is the most important thing to you?" She looked up at him and wanted to conform to his ideals as much as she could.

"I know why you're asking that, it won't make me happy at all. But what's the most important thing to me huh? I haven't thought of it that much." He got deep in thought about it.

"I have heard your stories from everyone. Especially your sister... From a young age, you fought for freedom, I admire that." Esdeath thought it was similar to her creed of the strong devour the weak.

"If I have to give an answer, maybe it's having a leisurely life. To do whatever you want without having anything stand in your way. It's kind of like how you do things really. Just less fucked up." He laughed and she didn't understand. Because in her mind, it was only natural. A product of her environment and life.

"How do you achieve that then?" She was trying to understand his life and he looked at the skies. "How huh? I guess that's a good question, I even ask it myself sometimes. But the answer, I am sure of it. Overwhelming might, the type that no one can ever oppose you. Overcome all odds and then live a life with no worries anymore. Nothing to worry about, just focusing on what you want to do and be happy." He snorted, feeling a bit sappy.

"That's both wholesome and bloody. You're thinking of killing or dispatching anything that is a threat if you want that." She nodded in satisfaction at his desires.

"What about you? What is it that you want in your life Esdeath? This is a big change." He asked and she was stumped.

"This is a huge change. I feel really uncomfortable sometimes even. I want to kill something, show them how weak they are so they could change. Because you have told me not to kill people. But I'm trying to find another path." She explained her circumstances and he was surprised.

"Wow, you're quite mature... I'm not gonna lie, I didn't expect that. Give it time, we can always go somewhere for a good adventure. It's a good change of pace. You're doing pretty nice for yourself. Even passing my expectations." He patted her head and she went wide eyed.

"Thank you very much for the praise." She thought that was a nice incentive. Feeling more motivated to not kill people in sight.

Ramiel then felt something weird as she hugged his arm in her happiness. "Esdeath, don't come near me. I feel like something will happen."

Before she could even tilt her head in confusion, he was suddenly warped somewhere and his consciousness took a hit, blacking out.

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"Hmmm, so you're the one responsible in running all around the multiverse?" A pink haired woman was checking out Ramiel who is unconscious. She poked at him and was curious about the mortal who can travel through the void, transcending space and time that the vast majority of powerful beings can't. (pic)

"Quite the interesting human, oh? Another human is here, I guess this one got carried here because she was in close contact with him." The woman poked at Esdeath. "The people around him are quite special, this one here can manipulate time. And most of them can control it with their magical prowess."

She smacked Ramiel on the face, having a grin on her face. "I have to work on that side of me." She shook her head and chuckled. Ramiel slowly opened his eyes and looked around the place. "Who are you?" He squinted his eyes, on guard. But he knew that he'd be dead right now if she wanted to.

"Relax, human. My identity? Hmmm, you can call me kingdom hearts. In the flesh, nice to meet you. Interesting human." She smiled at him. "Kingdom hearts!? But you're like a heart shaped moon right?" He was baffled with her humanoid form.

"Well, that's my full body, this is a personification of my existence because I can't interact with you in that form, now can I? Anyways, I checked your preferences and you seem to have tons of beautiful women with you. so I took on this form, pretty neat right?" She twirled around and had a smile on her face.

"Okay... Why did you call me here though? And I'd say that summoning Esdeath here isn't intended?" He pointed at her and wanted to know what she wanted. She's a full on deity after all, and people like those want ridiculous things most of the time.

"Oh don't worry you, my other side can't really do anything to you other than mess with you. After all, we are one. Our curiosity for you is quite strong, so don't be too anxious." She waved his worries off and he tilted his head.

"Your other self?" He was starting to get more worried after her words. "Hello, mortal." Her eyes glowed and her black accents on her person became more prominent. "My other self is correct, you are a bit too curious to put in the void for entertainment. After all, you could reach our real body here in this space with a bit of luck." She grinned at him and he started sweating.

"So... Let me get this straight, there's two personas in you?" He was fascinated and she nodded with an eye roll. "I've already told you, are you daft? I am kingdom hearts, there is always two sides to a heart. And need I explain more?" She snorted and he nodded.

"But you still haven't answered why I am here." He was relieved for now, but if she was just checking them out. Then she would have already sent them back. "Correct, there seems to be a mortal that desires my power. It's really funny, you should check him out. A puny mortal that doesn't even know the void's true form thinks he can do it." She laughed boisterously.

"Xehanort? That old guy who should be dead already or something? Is this about the chi blade?" Ramiel concluded that it was the norting time specialist himself. "Exactly, see. You even know about that. Really interesting, how could you know of that world without even going there?" She licked her lips and inquisitively poked him like he was an alien.

"Everybody's got secrets lady. So what if I refuse?" He squinted his eyes and already knew what to do based on her words. "You won't accept it?" She raised a brow and he nodded. "Then I won't force you." She sighed and Ramiel was surprised that she'd do that.

"Well, not really. I was just checking how much are you willing to do to me." His gamble paid off and she squinted her eyes. "Hahaha! You defied me for that reason? What is it that they call it? Courting death?" She was amused and Ramiel sighed.

"Do I just kill him or something?" Ramiel remembered that Xehanort got disintegrated by Donald using a Zettaflare. "Hmmm, I want to watch you struggle and reach new heights. You see, the kingdom hearts that they always try to take control of is just another projection of my power."

She raised her hand and a heart shaped moon that was both black and white appeared in the sky. "This is my real body... Hey! Cut it out!" She smacked his hand as he tried to absorb energy from her real body. And he was able to get some of it, though she immediately cut him off or he'll explode.

Ramiel started groaning immediately and he fell face first on the ground. "What a ridiculous mortal, trying to absorb my infinite power." She face palmed, but it was quite entertaining for her.

"Right? This guy isn't afraid at all." Her other self smiled and they watched him writhe on the ground. They thought that he deserved to suffer a bit for his insolence so they just let him be. After a few hours in her realm, he started to breathe more calmly.

"You still alive~? Impressive." She went wide eyed and thought he would explode for sure. "Hah, hah. Fuck, that was intense. I thought I was going to die or something." Ramiel wiped the sweat off his brow and flexed his body.

The ground he was on started to turn into stained glass and it showed his heart. An image of him sleeping while surrounded by his friends and lovers. It had a crack on it and Kingdom Hearts clicked their tongue.

"You barely survived, this is going to be a problem. Now you really need to go in our home world and fix your heart. Or your entire existence will cease to exist." She explained and Ramiel sighed. "That was a bad idea huh?" He scratched his head sheepishly.

"It was of course, I don't quite understand if you are stupid or not. Anyways, the chi blade will stabilize your heart. It is an instrument that can control a small amount of my power. That can help you, your powers are weakened right?" She checked up on him.

"Yeah, it feels like my energy is leaking whenever I try to use it, but I feel more powerful than ever. It's safe to say that I shouldn't exert myself, do I?" He thought about it and concluded that overexerting himself like his fight with Saitama would be suicide.

"That's correct, now go. And for stealing some of our powers, we'll send you to a pretty place." She smirked and was going to send him off. "Wait! What's your name? And can I contact you further when I go in?" He wanted to ask more questions.

"My name huh? I do not have such a thing. And no, you're on your own there with that woman. She has a strong desire to assist you, we can let that fly." She shrugged and Ramiel thought of something.

"Then, can I give you a name? Calling you kingdom hearts is going to be a pain in the ass." He chuckled and she was surprised. "A name... Then you may." She gave permission and Ramiel nodded.

"Your good side will be Bianca, pure as white and encompasses the heart's kindness. While the other side will be Schwarz, dark as dusk. Representing the evil of that all hearts are capable of." He nodded and she thought about it.

"Bianca and Schwarz, we will accept it. Thank you kindly, Ramiel. Now go and mend your cracked heart." She snapped her fingers and Ramiel was sent somewhere with Esdeath none the wiser.

Ramiel felt a falling sensation as they travelled the portal, he held Esdeath close and remembered Schwarz's words that they will be going to a pretty place in her words.

"Damn, maybe I shouldn't have been too hasty, but it will all be worth it when I fix the cracks in my heart." Ramiel waited to arrive at the destination and they plopped down somewhere.

"Esdeath, wake up. We have a situation." Ramiel shook her and she slowly opened her eyes. "Ramiel, what just happened? Where are we?" She looked around and was confused as hell.

"We're in another universe, a pretty difficult one at that. People here are strong as fuck. And I mean really strong." He thought of the damned mobs that can fight keyblade wielders.

And keyblade wielders based on what he can remember are easily faster than lightning, can manipulate time, and hit really hard. Which means Esdeath is in a really dangerous environment right now.

"If you're correct, then this place is a death trap." Esdeath grinned and was getting really excited. "Hah, you're hopeless. Look, you can stop time and all. But people here do that all the time, meaning they aren't affected by your strongest ability." He sighed and explained it to her further.

"Then that means I am just not strong enough. This is the kind of place I yearn for." She nodded sagely and still followed her creed to a tee.

Ramiel was about to chide her, but something crawling on the ground appeared nearby. "Heartless. Fuck." Ramiel tried putting his hand out and imagined a keyblade, but nothing.

"What are those?" Esdeath checked it out and he sighed. "Those are heartless, they can't be defeated by conventional means." He smacked the ground with his fist and an earthquake shook the seemingly abandoned village they were in.

But the skittering heartless was fine and dandy. Esdeath immediately frowned when she saw what happened. She was sure that blow would have killed anything that she knew back in her world.

It popped off from the ground and it almost made her laugh at how feeble looking it is. But it hit her and she flew like a bullet after running at the thing.

"God damn it. I told you to be careful." Ramiel kicked it like a soccer ball and it went to oblivion with a shockwave.

He then checked on Esdeath and she was coughing. "You weren't kidding, those things pack a punch..." She frowned again and gritted her teeth.

"Come on, let's find a way to get out of here first. This place looks bad, it seems that we are in a place where swarms of those things appear." Ramiel had a heavy frown on his face as he checked the surroundings.

It was most likely the realm of darkness. And heartless were like ant colonies there. They don't fucking go away no matter what you do.

"It seems we're a bit too late." Esdeath stood up and pointed at a swarm of heartless like a horde. "Oh goodie, just our luck. Schwarz, if I see you again I swear. I'll sodomize you without lube." He prepared for combat and took out an adamantite blade. Not having a good weapon since his halberd broke.

"Wait a minute, what is this feeling?" Esdeath felt a tingle on her chest and Ramiel didn't wait. Starting to hack the heartless as much as he could.

His sword cut their bodies as he raged like a typhoon. Using his tremendous physical prowess to perfection. But they just started regenerating immediately.

Ramiel casted some firaja spells and the heartless exploded into pieces. Tons of the black creatures flying around. But he clicked his tongue when he noticed that his magic didn't work on them.

"So that's how you're gonna play huh? How about this." He took one of the heartless by its head and he opened his mouth wide.

Chomping on its head whole, it was like biting into some nice chewy meat. "Wow... You guys are tasty aren't you?" He gave a wide grin and started a fiesta.

Cutting them up to pieces and eating their hacked bodies as he felt his strength soar to new heights. But he felt his heart's crack grow a bit after eating tons of them.

"There's a balance... Hearts have darkness and light. And I'm consuming the heartless. Damn, I should've seen this coming." Ramiel was forced to be on the defensive and held them back.

"Esdeath! A little quicker on your realization that we need to get the hell out of here please!" He shouted out and checked what she was doing.

A keyblade appeared out of her hand and it was an icy blue. It had a normal blade on the middle and the tip was circular, looking like it would really hurt to be hit by one. (pic)

"What is this thing?" Esdeath inspected it. "More killing, less admiring woman!" Ramiel called out to her and broke her out of her stupor.

"Got it!" She nodded immediately and fastened her hat. Esdeath was shocked when she felt much faster. She hit the heartless and Ramiel was crowd controlling them. Funneling the critters to her direction so she could kill them in groups immediately.

"This blade, it looks terrible to use. But it is miraculously so easy to wield. Like I've used it all my life." Esdeath felt the edge and she was satisfied by its performance, just not the appearance of the thing.

"You've got a keyblade? What? And I don't have one... I was tricked, backstabbed, and most probably bamboozled." He clicked his tongue and cursed at Schwarz.

A keyblade was the most important thing there. And with the cracks in his heart, he can't just devour and consume the heartless. "You know what, let's just get out of here."

Ramiel tried opening a portal, though he instantly felt the strain on his heart. "Really? I guess Michael mouse wasn't kidding. It's difficult to get out of here."

He tried tapping into his dark side to make a corridor of darkness. Similar to the pathways in the void. But he felt the strain again, because it's a multiversal travelling ability that is hard for his current predicament.

"Is something wrong?" Esdeath looked at him with concern. "I can't use my powers extensively. Meaning we are stuck here." He then had the idea of training Esdeath in making a corridor of darkness.

She basically has more darkness in her heart too, it was a good plan. "Esdeath, listen to me. You're our best bet in getting out of here. I'm gonna give you information okay?" He put his hand on her head and was about to give her knowledge about the corridors of darkness.

But he was struck by a migraine and couldn't concentrate suddenly. Bypassing his resistance to pain as he heard a voice in his head.

"Nuh uh, that's illegal. And I'd like to see you try and dominate me." Schwarz gave him a message. Ramiel did an orz and gritted his teeth.

"I didn't receive anything Ramiel." Esdeath helped him up and he sighed. "Someone interfered, that woman..." He was getting a bit too annoyed and breathed in deeply.

"Let's explore this place, we might find a member of organization XIII here. We beat them the fuck up and escape." Ramiel squinted his eyes and Esdeath liked his idea.

"That's... Good. But what is this organization you speak of?" Esdeath tilted her head and he explained.

"So we go on a rampage here and kill any heartless that moves?" After a brief explanation, Esdeath recapped the plan and he nodded.

"Yes, we beat up anything. It will also help you train. I'll make a keyblade master out of you." He took out a stim from his inventory and jabbed it right at her.

Esdeath didn't question it, but she started feeling overwhelming strength as her body changed. Just like when she drank the demon's extract that gave her powers.

She stilled and her eyes widened as the searing pain came. Ramiel immediately killed her pain and Esdeath panted as she broke into a cold sweat.

"I am not an avid enjoyer of pain, but if that is what you want... I'll try and be more accustomed to it. But that kind of torture will break me, Ramiel." Esdeath was surprised that he would engage in kinks while they were in the middle of an adventure.

"That wasn't a sadist kink... You can feel it right? You feel much stronger, it will help us with stronger heartless. You'll see them later." He pulled her hand and they started walking around the place.

They travelled far and wide, annihilating heartless in their wake. And at the rate they were going, even Esdeath was starting to fatigue. In which what seemed like forever passed.

"Is time different here? I feel like we've been travelling for eternity..." Esdeath wondered and Ramiel forgot to explain that to her.

"There is no concept of time here in the realm of darkness, generally. But we can still use time magic to stop time on others. That's why it feels like an eternity. We're disoriented from the time that has passed." Ramiel then wished that it wasn't flowing quickly outside.

"We must find some shelter... Those heartless will swarm us if we commence another battle royale." Esdeath suggested as they were under fire from flying heartless that can cast magic like artillery.

"You're right, we should take a rest a bit." He noticed that she was getting slower and hasn't adapted to his cells yet.

So they evaded the heartless and they arrived at a beach. "Wait, let's go there. We might meet someone important there." Ramiel rushed immediately and checked the surroundings.

But a certain blue haired woman wasn't there. "Damn, did Sora and Riku already rescue Aqua? Then it's kingdom hearts 3 already." He frowned and thought that the keyblade war might already be done by now.

Ramiel sighed and just took out a tent, putting up a natural looking rock formation as camouflage. He then used the accumulated energy of darkness of Esdeath and himself to cloak them.

"There, it should be fine for now." He sat down on a chair and Esdeath immediately flopped onto the bed, sleeping. She is a perfect soldier, she knows that rest can be just a couple of minutes in a hostile environment.

"Wow, that was fast. Sleep tight I guess." Ramiel sighed and he went outside of the tent to explore more.

Covering his person with darkness, he roamed around and just sat on the sand after seeing no one or anything that can be useful for their escape.

While he was cooking up a plan of rounding up heartless for enough energy to use the corridors of darkness. The pitch black water in front started rippling.

"Shit, heartless." He was prepared to fend them off for now and lead them away so Esdeath can rest. But he wasn't expecting what appeared from the waters.

A blue haired woman rose up from the waters and she was teeming with darkness. A black aura was visible on her person and her eyes were yellow.

"You... Who are you? Why are you here in this place?" She was shocked that another person was in the realm of darkness.

"I got sent here by kingdom hearts." He shrugged and Aqua scoffed. "Kingdom hearts? That's impossible, does it even exist?" She thought it was just tales and the keyblade masters hid its existence to prevent another keyblade war.

"Truth is stranger than fiction. So, what are you gonna do?" He tensed up and cracked his neck. "Funny that you ask, do you even need to?" A keyblade appeared on her hand.

"So, bullying huh? You know, I'm actually a poor injured man right now. But luckily for you, my hands aren't. Which is rated E." Ramiel cracked his knuckles.

"Rated E?" She furrowed her brows and he grinned as he rolled his shoulders. "Rated E for everyone!" He disappeared from his location, teleporting right in front of her. Ramiel then slugged her right on the face and she crashed towards the water, making a big splash.

She appeared right at the top and was pissed. "You're dead." She started powering up and ran at him. He created a nether blade on his hand and their blades crashed. A purplish black blade and a black keyblade.

"Don't blink now." Ramiel quipped and they pressed their magic and weapons harder.

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Thank you for reading everyone, ciao. And yes, I unfortunately have to report that I am still alive.