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(A Short While Earlier)
"So you didn't manage to defeat it after all." Said Bors as he sat in an open air lounging area, sharing a couple of drinks with the captain of the Ganesha Familia.
"No." Shakti said, her cool expressions dimming even further as she sighed in frustration. "It took us two weeks to finally make it to the 37th floor and Udaeus proved too powerful for even our top adventurers to handle, myself included. And Lord Ganesha was so optimistic as well."
"Well there's always next time." Bors shrugged his shoulders, slightly spilling ale from his tankard as he did so. "Even the top Familias failed against the bony bastard a few times before they finally managed to vanquish him. I say to take this as a learning experience."
"I suppose you're right. At the very least we've brought back a wealth of materials with us, and we did manage to take Amphisbaena down, so we have its liver. Perhaps it was not so great a waste after all." Shakti leaned forward as she gave Bors a slightly mocking smile. "So why are YOU in such a bad mood then, huh?"
"Huh?" Bors raised the eyebrow that was not hidden by the eyepatch. "What do you mean?"
"You can't hide it from me. Your face is angrier than usual."
"Hey! With the amount of crap that I have to deal with in this unruly town, you yourself would frown all the time. Well, in your case you'd probably look like you rubbed your face with lemon juice to make yourself look more sour than usual."
Shakti raised both her brows in a suggestive manner and slowly rubbed her finger along the length of her spear that was leaning against her chair.
"Mind saying that again?"
"Tch." Bors scoffed. "You try deal with having to root out every alleged Evilus camp in this part of the dungeon without being pissed off that 9 out of 10 times, the place is either cleared or just a faux. It's been happening a lot more recently."
Shakti took on a more serious expression hearing this. The Ganesha Familia acted as a sort of police force in Orario alongside the Astraea Familia as well as the Artemis Familia at times although that particular Familia tended to venture outside of Orario quite a lot. One of the biggest and most deadly hurdles each group had faced when trying to keep the peace was the Evilus group.
Despite the fact that murder, theft, abuse and all other manners of horrific crimes had their rates going up because of the dark organisation, it still remained unknown exactly which gods were spearheading their movement. Furthermore, they were an extremely slippery bunch, being able to exit a scene long before their pursuers arrived.
As the captain of this police force, Shakti was quite intimately familiar with the trouble and the mischief Evilus wreaked upon the citizens of Orario. From what she heard, even some goddesses were not spared.
"Is that really what's been going on? Have you managed to find any sort of lead yet?"
"Nooooo." Bors drawled tiredly. "Not one single thing. But I'm tellin' ya Miss. Those bastards are cooking up something big. It's the only thing that makes sense given how active they've been these last couple of months."
"We share the same sentiment. And whatever it is they are planning, it is bound to happen sometime soon. I can just feel it." Shakti clenched her fist as her gloves tightened. "The sooner we can stamp them out, the better. With them gone, we'll finally make it out of these dark times, and Orario will find peace again."
"Not to ruin your resolve and stuff, but I'd say these dark times seem to spur good progress." Bors said as he chugged down a couple of gulps. "Folks round here were talking about it sometime ago. Apparently the Loki Familia recruited yet another prodigy, someone that levelled up in a single day, and not only that but did so on his first run by killing the big guy up there." Bors pointed above to the 17th floor.
"Yes." Shakti replied. "I have heard of that. As a matter of fact, my little sister apparently met him already. And he supposedly humiliated and traumatised Gurm too."
"No offense." Bors said dryly. "But that one probably deserved it to be honest. He's a known trouble maker amongst you lot even though he's a low level 2."
"I'm quite aware." Shakti sighed. "He's part of our support group but he lacks the resolve to participate properly even in that. Honestly I'm considering expelling him, no matter if he was able to level up in 2 years."
"Probably a bit harsh, but honestly I can't see anything better. If ya can't even be a good supporter, you ain't got no balls and ball-less twerps have no place down here."
"Hm." Shakti nodded, before she returned her gaze back to him. "You still haven't said exactly why you seem more pissed of than usual. Is it Evilus after all?"
"(sigh). No, but there are two reasons. One is that we can't press any good booze down here."
"That unique press which you keep to yourselves and it doesn't make it to the market on the surface? I would have thought you would've had a good harvest by now."
"That's the problem!" Bors slammed his tankard down on the table. "There ain't no damn harvest! My men have been scouring the south side in the usual place for the special berries but they can't find a single one. What's more, it's not like they didn't grow."
"No? Then what did happen?"
"Someone's gone and picked them all, that's what's happened! I spent weeks waiting for this time to come but some greedy little git has gone and swiped them without even leaving a single one behind. It really pisses me off." Bors sighed depressedly. "That drink really helps with the stress you know?"
"I sympathise with you." Shakti muttered. "So what's the other reason?"
Bors was about to answer before an explosion sounded in the distance and a slight breeze hit their faces from that direction. Shakti looked towards the south area near the know entrance there to see a large mushroom cloud looming over the trees. She also noticed great plumes of smoke rising from that area too.
"THAT." Bors said pointedly. "For some time now, we've been having things like that happening over there for a while now. What's worse is that it's in the same place as the damn berries!"
"So why haven't you gone to check it out then?"
"Lady, Rivira is my coop, okay? I need to stay here in case whatever is over THERE makes it's way here. I can't risk leaving the city unprotected if I go over to investigate. I'm sick and tired of having to rebuild this damn place over and over."
Shakti gave him an empty stare before sighing and standing up, which caught the attention of her Familia as they recognised their captain getting to her feet. Understanding that they would be leaving soon, they also stood up.
"Well, we need to be in Orario before sun down on the surface and since whatever that is is on the way to the entrance, we'll make sure to check it out."
"What if it's a powerful monster? Isn't your Familia already exhausted from all the travel back from the Deep Floors?"
"I doubt it will be anything too serious. It's most likely something that came from the middle floors at worst. It shouldn't be too much to handle."
Bors shrugged. "Well alright then. I suppose you should start hurrying if you want to make it out that fast. Sun down is only in a few short hours. " Bors looked up at the crystal lights and covered his face a little. "The winter sure is making the days shorter."
"Indeed." Shakti replied before she addressed her Familia. "Alright everyone, pack up and let's hit the road. We're going to check out what the commotion is down there before we start making our way up. I want to be home before nightfall. MOVE OUT!"
---
And it was soon after that that the Ganesha Familia found themselves at the site of the devastation. Their jaws dropped as charred grass and trees crunched underfoot as the air was filled with soot and burning smells. Craters littered the area as if there had been a meteor shower (which wasn't far off the mark considering some of the attacks Lyze used in his battle against Ottar), and up ahead, the could see large cracks formed on the rock face near the entrance to the 17th floor.
"What monster could have done this boss?" asked one adventurer in Ganesha's vanguard.
"I'm not sure." Shakti replied. "I don't think any monster other than Goliath could create this kind of damage. But then again where would the fire have come from?"
"Maybe a horde of Hellhounds came through?" suggested another adventurer.
"Idiot! Why would those mutts ever come down here? And even if they did, you think they could make craters like these?" said another adventurer in the back.
"Who you calling an idiot?"
"You and your level 1 ass, idiot"
"Yeah? How about you come say that to my fa-"
"Enough!" Shakti said firmly as she rolled her eyes. 'Men. No wonder I haven't been able to date yet.' she thought tiredly. Her relationship status was perhaps the only thing her Familia members teased her about. And the one that revelled in it most was her own younger sister, Ardee.
"Still though, what could have caused this?" She wondered aloud.
Ardee who was walking beside her suddenly jabbed her finger towards the bottom of the cliff.
"Look Sis. I think someone's there."
They followed the direction of her finger and sure enough, buried within the rubble was the figure of a small shirtless child whose clothes were in absolute tatters and his body was littered in bruises and small wounds.
Shakti quickly hurried over and held her fingers of the boy's nose while also checking for his pulse. After about a minute she breathed a sigh of relief as her Familia members neared her.
"He's alive, that's for sure. But barely. Do we have any spare healing potions?"
"No boss. We used them all up against the monster rexes." Someone replied to her.
"Well that's unfortunate." Shakti sighed before she noticed her sister staring intently at the boy. "Ardee, are you okay?"
The girl in question walked forwards and knelt by the little boy's side. She looked him over for a bit, squinting as she did so before reaching round the boy's ear, digging into his hair and pulling out a long strip of black fabric.
"I knew it!" The girl said a little excitedly.
"Knew what? You know this kid lil' sis?" Shakti asked with her brow raised.
Ardee looked at her excitedly again.
"Sure I do! This is the kid I told you about, the one from the Loki Familia that levelled up in a day."
"Really?" Shakti's eyes widened before she looked back at the boy. This exchange also made a certain someone in the back perk up as well. "So this is him huh?"
"Yes. I'm sure of it."
Shakti pursed her lips before signalling to somebody to bring something over. The adventurer handed her a bottle which she pulled the cork off of. Ardee's eyes widened as she recognised what this was.
"Isn't that illegal sis?" she asked her older sister.
"What happens in the dungeon, stays in the dungeon." Shakti replied as she turned the boy over and dropped a singular drop of liquid from the bottle on his back. Sure enough, the symbol of Loki's family appeared on Lyze's back.
"Well I guess that confirms it." Shakti said as she waved a couple of people over with a stretcher. "He's unconscious but he'll make it. We'd best return him to his Familia before they go crazy over his disappearance. I'm quite certain that like her little princess, Loki is mad over this one."
"For sure." Ardee said as she ran her eyes over his figure. "I didn't know a little boy could be so ripped though! I've seen grown men with smaller abs!"
Her sister harshly chopped her on the head as she yelped, held her head and stared up at Shakti with a pout.
"Not the time nor the place." Shakti said firmly before she wrinkled her nose. "And be more aware. He's just a child."
"Doesn't mean he'll stay one for long." Ardee teased. "Come on, you can't tell me that you're not interested in what someone like him, with all that he's already done, will grow up to be. I like capable men."
"If you want to lay claim to him, do it when he's 14." Shakti deadpanned. "I have no interest."
Ardee giggled at her, not daring to say anymore in case her sister lost her temper again like she usually did on this subject. Shakti rolled her eyes before she once again focused on the boy being carefully hauled onto the stretcher, while their diving healer quickly examined him for anything serious.
"What was he doing down here by himself though? Kids that green don't normally come down here alone." She questioned to herself. Like many others who had met Lyze, she foresaw only a small snippet of the greatness that the Heir of Chaos would become.
---
In the dark room at the top of the tower of Babel, Ottar stepped in as he focused on the figure sitting in a chair with her back to him, facing the window. He made no move to walk beyond the shadows without her permission.
"I have returned Lady Freya. I hope that our performance was to your liking."
A few seconds went by before Freya sat up with her face flushed and her eyes glittering as she heaved heavy breaths of desire.
"Oh Ottar, you have no idea how happy your little exchange made me." She turned in her chair and allowed Ottar to see the state she was in. Her hair was slightly dishevelled and her cheeks were rosy red as her eyes dropped in a hazy fatigue.
"It's truly a wonderful sight to behold!" She continued. "The cacophony of colours, blinding light and searing darkness all mixing and blending together in an array of images that just pulsated with power and potential unimaginable. All of it surrounded by such a beautiful flame...I will NEVER be satisfied with any other soul ever again after him."
She pouted in a way that made Ottar blush a little. Even if he held no desire for her as she was his mother-figure, even he could not help being overwhelmed when his goddess made adorable faces like that.
"Why Ottar?" she moaned like a petulant child. "Why couldn't he be just a few years older so I could have swayed him into my arms? I would have been able to bask in that beautiful fire of his, and would have soaked in it's warmth from his embraces. Our passions would have been unmatched in both realms and gods and mortals alike would have envied what we would have shared."
Ottar smiled a little strained, a little taken aback with how blunt she was being. Freya was never this expressive unless she was absolutely confident in what she believed.
"You speak as if you have chosen him to be your Other, Lady Freya."
Freya turned back in her seat and allowed her gaze to penetrate the dungeon floors again, and lock onto that absolutely magnificent soul which had ensnared all her attention.
She wanted him!
After seeing the dramatic change his soul had underwent, she nearly moaned at how bright his soul burnt. It was as if she were gazing upon a silver star that drowned out the colours of all the other souls in its vicinity which just how beautiful and bright it was. Furthermore, the mysterious wellspring of power and possible spirit that was dwelling within him had also swelled to greater proportions and its two distinct colours span together in a furious harmony.
She had to have him!
She would gladly give up all of her Familia for him. She would be willing to banished back to Heaven if it only meant she could have him. His mere existence stirred an interest and a passion within her that she'd believed long dead.
Surely...no definitely! Yes, he had to be! She couldn't think of any other reason other than the perfect reason Ottar had offered. No other person in existence could excite her as much as this boy did.
It was so ironic. She garnered followers by charming them into a state where they could think of nothing but serving her and making her happy. And yet somehow this little boy had charmed her! For every waking moment of her day was spent thinking about him. Even the sweetest of wines seemed to start becoming bitter.
There was only one logical explanation why he was having this kind of effect on her. Yes, he had to be Him!
Her Odr.
The one she'd been looking for for countless millennia and whom she'd been waiting for her whole immortal life. She couldn't conceive any other person than her destined husband that could make her this infatuated. Especially with the numerous powers he'd shown in his battle with Ottar.
"Come here Ottar. I would like to see you face now if you please." She said.
Ottar complied and stepped out from the shadows, revealing what had changed about his face. His wounds had been healed, what little of them there were anyway. There were no signs of them anywhere on his body now.
Except for one. The skin had regenerated but the damage was still evident. A nasty scar stretched from Ottar's forehead down across his right eye, his damaged eyelid and to his cheekbone. And it was not one of those thin scars that resulted from a cut.
No, it was one where the skin had actually been ripped off and the body had been forced to grow new layers as patchwork. This resulted in the scarred tissue being much noticeably darker than the rest of his face. It was akin to those Zald carried on his face except this singular scar looked so much more severe.
Heith, the resident healer of the Freya Familia, had been able heal him by using healing magic to encourage his body to regenerate the skin but no matter what she did, she could not get rid of the scar. Ottar realised that Lyze's words had indeed been true, and inside he commended the boy for what he'd done.
The boy would essentially live in his head now as Ottar would not possibly ever forget who it was that gave him this scar. The Boaz would have to find a way to repay the favour if there ever came a time where they were evenly matched. But that was for another time.
For now, he kneeled before his Mistress as she tentatively ran her fingers over the wound. She rubbed it carefully for a minute before she smiled and looked down.
"Do I look displeasing to you Lady Freya?" Ottar asked worriedly. "Have I brought you disgrace?"
"No, dear." Freya said as she gently kissed his forehead and made his eyes widen. "As a matter of fact Ottar, I cannot be prouder of you. Lyze was right when you said that you should be proud, because you have no idea what he just used on you."
"What was that flame, Lady Freya?"
Freya stared at him with a smile as she tilted her head to add more drama to her next words.
"That black flame Ottar, is one that when used to its full power, could kill gods if the boy so desired. For it is a flame that potentially sears the very soul."
"Truly?" Ottar's eyes widened further.
"Indeed. You were fortunate that Lyzof Keele is only a budding flower who cannot yet fully bloom. You survived something that for certain would have killed anyone else, even the likes of me. Even if it was a weakened version, walking away from it with your life is no small feat."
"I am happy then that I have pleased you and brought you pride."
"It would make me even more happy if you remembered to tell him my wish to meet him privately and in person."
"Rest assured I did not forget. Moreover, he seems to realise that he has no choice, which is indicative that he will comply."
"Very good Ottar, very good." She patted his heads and happily watched as his ears flapped a bit in glee that the Boaz would never show facially. She stared out of the window again as she watched the Ganesha Familia slowly escort the boy back to his family. "There is so much yet that I simply must know the answers to. You are just that great of an enigma, Lyzof Keele."
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