"The place where you were reborn?" Riveria asked confusedly. "What do you mean?"
Lyze said nothing as he stood from his squatting position on his rock. He ignored the stares of the elders as he made his way past the wall and into the cavern, the hidden cavern that he'd been trapped in almost four years ago. The place where he had gained back all of his memories and his identity had been restored.
The executives looked at one another before they followed him silently, eager to see what it is he would do. Lyze took a pause as he stepped into the room, surveying the familiar surroundings. He'd long forgotten about this place. Not literally mind you, but it was always at the back of his mind and he hadn't really bothered revisiting the particular memories running through his head at the moment.
He paused at the pool of water as he stared up at the cliff, and eyed the stream of water gushing forth from a hole near the top. He remembered the fear and the horrible sensations of rolling around unable to breathe in freezing water, being smashed and dragged over all of those rocks.
It was a wonder his small and fragile body back then had been able to withstand such punishment. Perhaps another miracle of Chaos acting on his behalf. But indeed, now that it came rushing back all of a sudden, he was hit with palpitations in his chest as the significance of this place took route once more.
"Lyze." Finn said. "What is this place? You look like you've seen it before."
"This...this was where I woke up...after my accident." Lyze mumbled. "This was where it all began."
"Oh." Gareth said as he pumped his fist into his hand. "Don't tell me this is the place you ended up in after you fell in that sewer!"
...
Silence.
A tense filled silence passed over them all as Finn gave the dwarf and alarmed and exasperated look. Gareth squinted, trying to see if what he said was wrong and if perhaps he was digging too deep again that Lyze would feel uncomfortable. But then it suddenly fell upon the dwarf that they weren't supposed to know that!
The only reason they did was because Finn had hired an investigation unit from a certain information broking Familia to look into Lyze's history in the cesspits of Daedalus. Lyze himself had not told them about that particular part of his history. And judging by the half-stink-eye Riveria was giving him, the dwarf realised all of a sudden that he may have had just screwed them over.
Lyze slowly turned around and faced them.
"And how would you know that?" He raised an eyebrow, his voice suddenly calm all of a sudden. "I don't remember ever telling you that part of my story."
Finn rubbed his neck before stepping forward with his hands out.
"I took an initiative Lyze." Finn explained. "We were worried about your problems, your psychological reactions and your violent tendencies. We thought that perhaps it was due to something rooted to your time in Daedalus since you spoke so bad of that place. I only had the best intentions Lyze...but I did have you investigated."
"Investigated?" Lyze tilted his head upwards. "You hired an investigation? On me? On my past? My childhood in Daedalus?"
"...Yes."
Lyze remained silent for a few moments. The executives could see the eyeballs beneath the boy's eyes rolling around beneath his eyelids. Judging by the faint shapes they could see, it was like he was looking between all of them with the exception of Tsubaki.
"You broke my trust?" Lyze said coolly. "You knew how sensitive my history was to me and yet you had me investigated despite the clear indications I gave that I wanted none of you to have anything to with my past and that it was a time I wanted to leave behind?"
"Yes." Finn said as he stepped forward even more. "I take full responsibility for it Lyze. Riveria told me not to and Gareth was not even present at the time except for when I told him later. And the rest here have no clue about what's going on but I ask you that you direct your anger at me only. I understand I broke your trust and ignored your desires as it was well within your rights to keep your past from us. But please understand that I only did what I did for the benefit of the Familia. You were unstable Lyze, and you were careless. I had to be aware of who I had let into the Familia. I needed to prioritise the safety of others over one person."
"Yes, yes, your captainly duties." Lyze said. "I perfectly understand that. But...you still betrayed me..."
"...Yes." Finn said, swallowing a gob of saliva as his adrenaline levels rose. Lyze's reaction was too hard to understand at the moment. Finn couldn't tell which way this would be going but it was clear that Lyze was not happy. "Are you...angry? I'm having a hard time gauging your reaction at the moment."
"Am I angry?" Lyze asked before he looked up and thought it over. His Goddess form didn't really help him when it came to registering his negative emotions. From a rational point of view, Finn did something for the greater good. Lyze could agree the whole Familia was more important than him by himself. But still it was a major intrusion and violation of his privacy... The old him would probably be raving at the moment.
...
But Lyze was a little different now. Having had so many realizations by now, so many lessons learnt and so many brushes with death that he had come to appreciate his new family for the efforts they put in him. They were not a corporation and colleagues, they were a Familia. A family. And families regularly hurt each other.
A lame excuse perhaps to not be dealing with this situation but Finn had done overwhelmingly more good for Lyze than just this one violation. Families fucked up all the time. And considering his last night realizations about Ais.
"Am I angry?" The boy reiterated. "Well, maybe? I can understand why you did it. But I'm not as angry as I probably should be." Lyze shrugged his shoulders before pointing a finger at Finn and the Pallum tensed, waiting for something to happen. "But all of a sudden, I feel like taking back my blessings from you." Lyze said.
A cloud of pure light and magical powers was suctioned out of Finn's body and it hovered in the air above the Pallum for a moment as Finn felt the buzzing power from before leave him instantly. The cloud then returned to Lyze and he siphoned it back into his own body through his palms. The magical energy distributed itself along his wings and he flapped them a little.
"I'd say that's fair, don't you think?" Lyze said.
"...Yes". Finn said, relieved that the situation didn't escalate. Riveria and Gareth simultaneously released a sigh of relief. The elf put it up to Lyze tolerating this piece of news as he did due to his recent brush with death. Perhaps the effects of that experience lessened the impact of the news on him and therefore there was no more drama here than was expected.
"Uhm, excuse me." Noir said a she lifted his hand. He then gestured to himself, Bara, Dain and Tsubaki. "We don't understand what's going on. You still haven't told us how you know this room Lyze."
"Very well. I'll tell you the story myself." Lyze said as he pointed up to the little waterfall. "A few years ago, I was nothing more than a dirty little sewage cleaning orphan living in Daedalus. One day I was working on a larger manhole than normal when I accidentally fell in. This place was where I ended up and I was spat out of that place up there."
Lyze beckoned them over and pointed to the mud at the bank of the pool. There the adults saw an indent in the shape of a human, still imprinted into the clay.
"That is where I came to rest after I landed." Lyze explained. "As you can see, evidence of this remains today. And then when I awoke, I was greeted with this sight." Lyze walked over to the remains of the stone throne as he rubbed his hand over a deep notch in the seat. "Can you guess what was here?"
The grown-ups looked at the little hole and realised that it was in the shape of a sword blade impaled in the seat vertically. Tsubaki analysed the shape and width of the hole, trying to measure out exactly how big the blade would be. Ever the master smith she was, she instantly came up with the right numbers and her eyes widened as she realised those particular measurements matched with only one other sword she'd seen.
"Wait!" The half-dwarf said. "Is this where you found...?"
"Yes." Lyze said as he kept his face turned to them before he stuck his hand out at the entrance. "Come to me." Lyze said simply.
...
A little ways away, Raul was packing in a cart when it began to shake. The boy, confused over why the cart was shaking looked over the load he was leaning on to tie down the contents. He was then startled and forced to move out the way as Excalibur came spinning out of the place it had been stored in until Lyze woke up.
The holy sword began spinning through the air, harking the call of its master as it flew across the safe zone and passed through the doorway into Lyze's hand. Lyze span it around a bit, before he stuck Excalibur into the notch in the seat, in the exact way he remembered it being all those years ago. Just as Tsubaki suspected, it fit perfectly.
"This is where I found Excalibur." Lyze said. "And where I claimed it for my own as well as it claimed me."
"Claimed you?" Noir questioned.
"Don't worry about it." Lyze said.
"There's something I don't understand though." Riveria said. "If you were down this deep in the dungeon, how did you meet your master then? Was he in here too? Did he rescue you from this place."
"That is the part of the story I will keep to myself." Lyze said firmly. "I think I've said enough already."
"...Right." The elf affirmed.
...
Lyze took a last look around the cavern before looking up at the ceiling and noticing the crack there. It was by the light that came through that crack that he had been able to see Excalibur at all. But he had assumed it was daylight and moonlight that allowed him to see. If they were this deep in the Dungeon, how could that have been the case? What was that source of light?
"What's making that light?" He asked.
Dain answered as the dwarf looked up.
"That laddie would probably be the moss clusters upstairs. They reflect the light levels outside the Dungeon to its inside. There's probably a bunch of it above that crack."
"Hm." Lyze said before he withdrew Excalibur from the seat again. "Let's go. I don't want to be in this place anymore."
"Understandable." Finn said. "It's about time we started moving again anyway. Go get changed Lyze. Will I expect to see you at your usual position?"
"I believe I am well enough." Lyze said. As he passed the Pallum, he paused. "I am letting it go this time Finn. But don't ever betray me like that again."
"I promise I won't." Finn replied.
...
"Can I see your sword again Lyze?" Tsubaki said.
"Why?"
"I just want to see it. Because Hephy hogged it last time and I couldn't get a feel for it myself."
"Go ahead." Lyze tossed the sword over to her and Tsubaki caught it by its handle.
"Really interesting design." She said as she inspected the cosmic swirl designs on the grip and the rubies in the hilt. She then rubbed her finger across the blade and flicked it. She then put it to her ear and flicked it from the other side as she listened to the sounds that came through to her. "Perfect balance." She said as she swung it around a few times. "Hephy said it was magic. What does it do again?"
"It increases its sharpness and cutting potential under conditions." Lyze said. "Conditions that only I meet."
"Of course." Tsubaki said as she looked back at the hidden cavern. "To think you'd find something like this in such a weird place. No matter how I look at it, this is just a simple iron-steel sword Lyze. And yet I've seen you fight high level monsters. Realistically, this blade should have snapped against a minotaur. And yet you've killed monster rexes with it. How?"
"Don't ask me." Lyze said as he took back Excalibur and walked off to get changed. "Like I said, I've talked enough already."
"Yeah...if you say so."
---
"What is this?!" Lyze shouted at Raul as he held out the spare shirt he'd packed in the wagon. The shirt was full of so many holes, it looked like a cheesecloth more than a shirt.
"I'm sorry man." Raul clasped his hand. "Some bugs must have gotten into the cart. It's not just you. A lot of the girls have found their clothes eaten through as well. Some food has also been completely destroyed and we've had to throw it away."
"This is an issue." Finn shook his head. "We've lost a tenth of our food supply...and the women are going nuts. This will extend our time in the Dungeon. We will essentially be spending the extra time Lyze bought us in the upper floors and we will lose our advantage that we had ahead of schedule."
"It doesn't solve my problem." Lyze grunted as tossed aside the shirt. "Nor this!" Lyze then held up his boots, which had been completely destroyed by his underwater battle. The nails which had pinned the soles the in shoe had come away and had been completely detached. The leather was also shredded. It was simply an unwearable pair now.
"I tried saving them." Tsubaki said. "I could have quickly made you some new nails but with the way that leather is now, it would just fall apart again. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Lyze said as he dropped the boots. "It's just annoying that I spent so much on these pair of boots. It took me ages to find the perfect ones, both strong, sturdy and comfortable. And now I don't even have a spare pair of clothes."
"I would have offered you my extra pair." Finn said. "But you've had a massive growth spurt since you joined the Familia, so you might as well be walking naked. Also, I don't think purple is your colour."
"No it isn't." Lyze shrugged before he flapped his wings and stretched them out, catching the attention of the whole Familia from the sudden whooshing noise as they agonised beside the carts and hunted down the insects that had caused this.
"How would you wear clothes anyway?" Bara said as she flicked the feathers on them. "These things would get in the way."
"It wouldn't have mattered." Lyze said. "But now, I guess I'll have to use magic to resolve this."
"Magic?" Riveria perked up. "Magic for clothes."
"Precisely." Lyze said. "Stand back."
The Loki Familia took a step back as ropes of bright light was expelled from the boy's glowing body and then wrapped around him in a cocoon sort of structure that grew brighter in intensity. It held for a few seconds as the sound of swirling magic blared in everybody's ears. And then the cocoon cracked, and fell away to reveal the boy again.
The pants had disappeared from his body replaced by a Fustanella, the kilt of the Ancient Greeks, and draped over his shoulder was a singular piece cloth which held the kilt up, similar to the old togas' function. Replacing his boots' usual place, on his feet were a pair of Crepida, which were sandals worn by the men of Ancient Greece. In short, he was dressed like a typical Greek from the times they worshipped the Olympians.
Wrapped around his torso was a belt strap, on the back of which now hung Excalibur. On Lyze's forearms were a pair of silver bracers, and around the waist was tied a loincloth with silver patterns woven on it. Some of the younger girls blushed at his appearance because his outfit revealed all of his body that was not befitting a small boy. Put on show was all his scars as well as his well defined muscles, showing what he hid beneath his tunics. The body of a true warrior.
"And now he can make clothes with magic." Dain rolled his eyes. "Of course he can. What can't he do?"
"Get you to trim that bush on your face so we can actually see your mouth moving when you talk." Lyze quipped. "It's a minor use of magic. Don't worry about it."
"That...is a really old fashion Lyze." Riveria said as she examined his form. "That was the dress of the ancient human empires."
"Really?" Lyze raised his brows. "I had no idea."
"It's rare to see someone wear a kilt these days." Noir said as he rubbed his beard. "You only see it from people who come from the more eastern parts of the world."
"A damn shame as well." Bara commented. "Pants are bothersome on men. They just get in the way. With a kilt, the process is so much easier."
Several Amazons around her nodded in agreement with little regard for the suddenly blushing women who caught on to her meaning.
"Not the time, nor the place Bara." Finn chided. Then an idea hit him. "Lyze?"
"Yes?"
"Your magic. Back on the floor above. That form of yours made moss grow super fast where it would usually take days. Can you focus that ability willingly?"
"I can."
"And can it work on any sort of vegetation?"
"I've yet to come across any on which it didn't work."
Finn's brain raced as he found a solution their food problem.
"Great!" The Pallum said. "It will be eating plain food from now on, but there are fruit trees in the mangroves in the floors ahead. They don't produce much fruit and it's a first-come-first-serve situation for any adventurers that come through. But your magic could helps us replenish our lost food using those flowers."
"Great idea." Gareth said. "I don't look forwards to so much fruit myself, but it's better than starving."
"Agreed." Riveria said as she looked at Lyze's form again. "I really wonder why you have not used that form before Lyze. The powers of it are so convenient."
"Which is why I don't use it." Lyze said. "It dulls a sensation for survival. What if I find myself in a situation where I can't use this? And I need essentials. This is just a one-off."
"Hm." Riveria then widened her eyes. "Oh yes. That reminds me. Here." Riveria pulled a feather from her pouch. "Tsubaki used this thing to heal your wounds when you emerged from the monster rex's pool."
"Huh. Good thinking." Lyze said as he took the feather back. "I'm glad we did not have to use any of our potions to heal me."
"We would have nothing to use but our high-grade potions." Finn said. "Remember, you're carrying our low-grades with your storage magic."
"Oh right, I forgot about that." Lyze said before he returned to examining the feather. He then confused everyone as he reached over to his wings and plucked form either side a few more, eventually drawing about a couple dozen in total.
"What are you doing?" Riveria asked.
"Just watch." Lyze said as he held the feathers aloft. The feathers started levitating between his hands, and from his palms, ribbons of golden magic began to soak the feathers. The soft feathers began to straighten out and harden to sharp points as the stems lengthened and became even harder.
When the glow subsided, what fell into his hands were a bunch of silvery-white arrows with feather shaped arrow tips. The feathers had become arrows which had little motes of golden light sparkling off of them.
"Do you have your bow Riveria?" Lyze asked.
"Yes. Here." Riveria conjured it and handed it over to the boy.
"Hold these for me please." Lyze asked one of the grunts, who took the arrows from him as Lyze took one arrow and pulled it back on Riveria's bow. As he pulled it back, arcs of gold coloured electricity began crackling over the arrow. Lyze let the arrow loose and it created a shockwave that ruffled the clothes of the people around him. The arrow became a bolt of golden lightning as it sailed through the air.
As it impacted a far off wall, an explosion of golden electricity created a large crater in the rock, and even as the arrow faded away into bits of white light, a field of electricity still crackled in the crater.
"Perfect." Lyze said as he returned the bow to Riveria, even though she and the Loki Familia stood open mouthed at what had just transpired.
"So you can make weapons from your feathers now." Finn sighed. "What next?"
"You'll find out." Lyze said as he handed an arrow each to the archers. "Use these as pinning arrows for holding down a large monster. It might be useful for Udaeus."
"Incredible." Tsubaki said as she took one arrow and studied it. "Perfectly balanced and sharp. And brimming with magic! You are incredible kid."
"Thanks Teach." Lyze smiled before he folded his wings. "Shall we get going Finn?"
"Yes." The Pallum nodded exasperatedly. "Onto the 29th Floor!"
""AYE!""
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