So before we continue, I'd like to explain something as there are still people that don't seem to bother reading properly before they go make retarded comments.
Lyze DOES NOT have the RAW power necessary even now to maim Ottar. Yes, I said that some level fives couldn't even touch him and yet that appears to be a contradiction because he still did it right?
WRONG!
It's his ABILITIES that did it. He reflected Ottar's OWN power back at him the first time he injured him, used CHAOS'S power to stun Ottar, and then used HELLBLAZE to maim him. None of it was Lyze's personal magic or his own physical strength.
And this is an Ottar that was limiting himself so that he wouldn't overwhelm Lyze immediately.
When Ottar finally took it seriously, Lyze got WRECKED, even with all his physical boosts thanks to his demon form.
So no, my writing isn't flawed (I'm talking to all the know-it-alls in the review sections who seem to think that swearing on fanfiction sites and insulting me makes them look smart and tough), it's your eyesight, your patience and your processing capabilities that is flawed.
I'm not the best writer and I make plenty of mistakes, and I know that. But try and read properly before rushing over to the comment sections. This isn't YouTube for god's sake.
With that out of the way, enjoy!
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(Lyze POV)
I felt like I was floating in absolute nothingness, like I'd somehow tethered my mortal shackle and my spirit was just floating in an eternal void of peace and solitude.
Which wasn't far off the mark because when I opened my 'eyes', I found myself back in the same white void that I'd been in a few weeks prior right before Nekros decided to check in on me. After getting used to the realization that I was using my own eyes again, I spent this time to properly observe my surroundings.
Well...I actually began with myself. Excalibur had accompanied me once again in its original form. The familiar visage of the holy sword brought an odd sense of comfort to me which its old Libur form for some reason didn't bring. It was not the only piece of equipment that seemed to have carried itself into whatever this place was as well.
The Golden Chainmail twinkled in the light whose source I could not pinpoint and once again I was breath taken by how beautiful it was. It did not look like ordinary gold. Normal gold seemed to have a sort of dullness to it, one you realised was there he very first time you actually see real gold and suddenly it's not so impressive as you thought it would be.
The chainmail on the other hand seemed to emit a light of its own with how rich the gold colour was, and I could see my reflection in each individual link. Even now I could feel myself filled with the same sensation it gave me the first time I put it on.
It gave me a lot of confidence for one thing, and I could physically feel my resolve harden to a point where I was determined to more than ever to overcome any obstacles in my way, any opponent that dared to hold me back in my pursuit of my goals. It seemed that this was the 'strength of heart' that the lore of the Golden Armour spoke of.
I looked around at my surroundings and decided to actually survey this void properly this time. The 'walls' did not seem to be so white now that I actually thought about it. It seemed like something a little more brilliant, like a vibrant silver once I looked past the brightness.
More than that, somehow I was under the impression that this void was somehow...moving. Like the top of the walls were swaying back and forth somehow in weird patterns that seemed familiar and at the same time. And looking at the walls, I noticed that there were actually varying degrees of brightness.
As I looked further away from myself, the lesser the intensity of this strange light I found. Squinting my eyes to the fullest, I suddenly found that I was actually able to see the rough thee layers of brightness. In the far distance, I could see what I could only describe as the last layer of brightness, the weakest in intensity.
Beyond that was a darkness blacker than night, as if I were peering over the edge. As I focused more and more on the finer details, I realised why these transparent walls felt like they were moving. Each individual layer of light seemed to move in one direction followed by the others, and then would move in the opposite direction erratically.
I didn't know why at the time although it seems obvious in hindsight, but for some reason my surroundings reminded me of a flame and I was at the core. A silver flame, in a place that I would come to know as my 'soul-space', where I had an ever-present companion.
I was laying on my back and had the urge to look upwards. I jerked to my feet as I found a familiar entity stood there just watching me. A humanoid figure made completely out of the whitest light you could imagine.
Chaos.
We seemed to stare at one another for a bit, quietly observing our persons for whatever reason. It could definitely make out more about me than I could about it. The light it exuded made it too difficult to make out any apparent features. I took the chance to ask a question that had been burning in my mind ever since I fist learned of its existence.
"Why did you choose me?" I asked.
It seemed to tilt its head in a questioning manner.
"Why me?" I said. "It was Arthur Pendragon who was destined to be the one to command you. Or has that time already passed and I am simply another one of your hosts, a conduit through which you could project your influence into this dimension?" Chaos shook its head in a manner that I knew to be the universal way of saying No.
The fact of the matter was, I actually knew Nekros better as a person than I did whatever counted as Chaos's sentience. I knew that old bastard's motives but according to him, Chaos had chosen me itself. What interested me was why though?
"Then why did you choose me? If you have not inhabited Arthur, then what was it about me that made you choose me? I came from a world of no magic and no supernatural power to speak of. It was MY kind that imagined the likes of you into existence. Was that the reason or was it something else?"
Chaos stepped forward and its light appeared to dim a little, revealing more of the entity within. Chaos still seemed to be made of light but the rays of light which had surrounded it had receded, revealing to me more features to make out.
Before I had not been able to tell whether or not its visage was male or female, but now I could see long, flowing, wave-like hair falling from the back of its head, and it looked to be wearing a long dress that fell to its shins, revealing human-like feet.
Not surprising considering many of the feminine attributes given to Chaos in both Greek mythology and SDS lore. But still, it was rather a shock to me to see it reveal something like this so suddenly. For a moment I was stunned into silence as it took graceful yet seemingly gentle steps towards me.
Again, that burning sense of familiarity I had last time came rushing back full force, but my mind just could not seem to pinpoint exactly why. Chaos came to a stop about a foot in front of me and lifted a hand. It ran the back of a few fingers over my left cheek and while I could not feel physical flesh touching me, it filled me with a sense of warmth and belonging, like I was home.
Involuntarily, a tear rolled down the other side of my face. Chaos seemed to take notice and it quickly moved its index finger over to the bead of salt-water. I could only stand in my idiotic stupor as it wiped the tear away from my face. It retracted its arm and stood there, looking at me with its head tilted yet again in a familiar way but I could just not say why.
The shining white woman with no face to speak of placed a hand on my chest and pushed me. I felt no physical force press against me but all the same, my body seemed to start floating away from her, upwards and outwards to wherever outside of this strange place was.
My mind was a jumble of confusion, familiarity and nostalgia as I tried to wrap my head around the mystery that was the drive of power residing in me, with a name and a sentience yet still no small amount of ambiguity to its nature. My eyelids became heavier as I further drifted away from her and drowsiness overcame me as I unwillingly closed my eyes.
Just before I zoned out, a single word was projected into my head, not like it was spoken but like it was transmitted or broadcasted right into my mind. It was the last thing I processed before I blacked out.
'Soon.'
---
I woke up again in the physical world, staring up at the familiar ceiling of my bedroom as I blinked away the fatigue and let out a heavy sigh, trying to contemplate the strange dream I'd had.
What was that strange realm? And why was it only there that I could meet face-to-face with Chaos? Why was it there? Wasn't it supposed to be in my soul?
Stupid questions like that which if I'd used my brains a little harder, I'd have immediately connected the dots without Freya's help. I sat up a little and found a new set of blindfolds had been placed on me. It was customary for the healer to do that now whenever I was patched up.
Which begged the question, how did I end up here? Obviously someone had to have carried me back from the eighteenth floor, but who?
I tried sitting up in bed only to find a weight pressing down on my side. Glancing down, I found the surprising image of Ais in her nightwear laying down on the top of my blanket with her long golden hair splayed out over the sheets. I looked a little further down to see another and bigger figure in the form of Aki who was also lying down on my bed.
It gave me a wonderful sense of déjà vu.
Followed right by the sense of extreme annoyance as I saw Aki actually drooling onto my bedcovers. I growled and harshly kicked her which sent her flying off the bed while she screamed out yowls like a cat. The clattering of her body against the armour stands brought the whole lot crashing down in a clang of metal pieces which stirred the little girl beside me.
Ais slowly sat up and yawned while cutely rubbing her eye as she blinked at me, probably trying to also shake off the fatigue like I did.
Did I do a Bell Cranel special and flail around while making noises like a drowning horse? No.
I simply smiled and patted her head the way I knew she liked while she subtly leaned into it. It seemed anime girls really did like head pats after all. You try doing this to anybody back on Earth and watch what happens. In a way, I was kind of glad that I was not living in a society full of toxic cancel culture anymore.
Even the typical cliches of anime where the guy was always wrong no matter what simply because he was a dude did not seem to exist here.
Or maybe it was because we were still kids?
Whatever. I would deal with that when the time came. For now, I just greeted who was probably my most favourite person here...other than my Danmachi waifu who I was still yet to meet but Ais was definitely at the top of the list of people I liked at the moment.
"Good morning Ais. How did you sleep?"
"I should be asking you the same thing." She replied while stretching her arms. "You've been asleep for two days."
"Two days!?" I asked in surprise. 'Man, Ottar must have done a number on me.'
"What were you doing in the dungeon? Don't tell me you were fighting another monster rex again." Ais said as she gave me an accusatory stare.
"Nope. Although I will say, it was probably a whole lot worse."
"Really?" She said, suddenly so very intrigued and I mentally grimaced. Didn't take an idiot to figure out she was infatuated with me and my speedy growth, and saying something like that would definitely capture her attention alright.
"Yes. I'll tell you later though." I said rubbing her head again as she pouted. I'd made sure to set boundaries between the two of us, that when I said I didn't want to talk about something, she wouldn't press me... at least as long as I promised to talk about it eventually anyway.
"Don't I get a good morning too?!" Aki gave me a severe and offended pout as she lifted up her head which had a shoulder plate on it.
"No. Moggies that stain the bed should stay on the floor when they sleep." I said harshly.
"NYAAAAAHHH!" She screamed before launching at me and pounding on my chest with her fists. "Why are you always so mean to me Lyzie!?"
"Because you're constantly trying to prank me, you steal my desserts or at least you try to, and now because of you I'm going to have to clean my sheets just in case you've doused it in rabies."
"Huh?" She tilted her as I saw a metaphysical question mark appear above her head. "What's rabies?" She then narrowed her eyes as she grabbed at the collar of my nightshirt. "I know you're insulting me!"
"Never mind." I rolled my eyes as I pushed her off of me before turning back to Ais. "Could you go and get Loki as well as the top three? There's something I want to say to them."
"Sure." she said before she pulled out a piece of parchment from my bedside able and handed it to me.
"What's this?"
"After the Ganesha Familia brought you back here, Loki did a status update and wanted you to see the results." She said as I took it from her.
"Ganesha Familia?" I questioned.
"Mhm." She nodded. "They found you asleep on the 18th floor and carried you all the way back here on one of those white hammock things." She said puzzled as she couldn't remember what it was called.
"Stretcher. It's called a stretcher, Ais." I explained and she nodded happily. I grabbed Aki who was still moaning abut something unintelligible (or maybe I was just doing my best to ignore her) and handed her over to Ais. "And take this moggy away from me while you go get them will you, please?" I asked sweetly.
Ais nodded and began dragging the cat-girl away. Aki resisted but she was still a level 1 fighting against the strength of a level 2, so what hope did she have? I looked down at my stats sheet as the door closed. My eyes widened and I tossed the sheet down in exasperation.
"Okay, I understand my growth is abnormal but THIS is just a whole other level of horsecrap!"
---
Lyzof Keele
LEVEL: 2
STR: 608 C - 957 S
END: 598 D - 1500 SSS
DEX: 347 F - 891 A
AGI: 600 D - 901 S
MAG: 612 C - 1500 SSS
SKILLS;
{Xenia Khaos}
{Overdraft}
{Perseverance} (A.N. Effect of the Golden Chainmail.)
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