Shoutout to my new Patron:
Gilgamesh
You are a legend.
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(Lyze POV)
But it seems that I could never be allowed good things because as soon as I fell asleep in the cozy snuggle I was sharing with Ais, my mind was taken elsewhere besides my dreams. I opened my mind's eye to see a familiar face standing before me in all his Transcendental glory.
Nekros 'something' Maleforius.
"...Darth Maleforius." He said before I could even speak.
"You are such a weeb." I shot.
"Says the one who could only ever imagine having an anime girlfriend." He fired back. "Speaking of which, I see you finally decided to take your move." He moved a hand up to his mouth which had twisted into that infuriating smirk that made me want to tear his lips off. "I would've thought you'd wait a bit longer before gathering enough balls to get the gal. You know, cause she's 8?"
"It's not like that and you know it." I said dangerously. "Drop it before I make you."
"Just having a little fun. Sheesh, you don't need to be so sensitive." He waved it off. "I just like Star Wars and you like fantasy anime. To each their own."
"Why are you here?" I asked as I realised this time that we were not in Valaron. Instead we seemed to be in a plane of nothingness where the two of us floated in animation. "Come to just make fun of my situation or do you actually have something important to say for once?"
"That and to check in again. It's been about a month and a week or two since my last one and I thought I'd see in on how you're getting. I see you're level 3 now."
"Kind of late news at this point."
"Yeah but still..." Nekros pursed his lips. "...it's not supposed to be this fast." He muttered.
"You said you had something to say to me?"
"Yes. Look right here." Nekros snapped his fingers and the nothingness around us became a dark void that was illuminated by a rich light source beside us. Turning my head in it's direction, my eyes fell upon what looked to be a ball of fire...shining silver fire that burned with intensity unlike any other I'd seen before.
"What is that?"
"That would be your soul." Nekros replied with a small smile. "Right now, our consciences are within your soul-space. And as you can see, there is a massive difference between your soul now, and what it was a week ago."
"I've been meaning to ask." As I cocked an eyebrow at him and gestured towards the image of my soul, the silver fireball that was slowly turning on it's axis while shining flames flittered about the top. "Is there a particular reason why my soul looks like that? Something weird happened today related to this."
"Oh?" He raised his own eyebrow at me with a tone of intrigue. "What?"
"I was gifted a growth weapon from Hephaestus, made out of the Moonlight you showed me how to make." I replied.
"I didn't actually think you would put that knowledge to good use."
"Haven't you been watching me this whole time?"
"I don't keep an eye on you all the time idiot. In case you remember, I do have other reincarnators that I watch as well."
"Creep." I muttered although I knew perfectly well that he could hear. "Anyway, when I took up the dagger, it suddenly seemed to draw not only upon the mana within itself but also upon my own and it did something. It created the exact silver flames I'm seeing here." I pointed at the image of my soul. "What's up with that?"
Nekros paused, looking at me as if contemplating how to answer. Whatever he had on his mind though appeared to be dismissed with a shrug as he spoke up.
"It's to do with the third power my drop of blood gave you."
AT LAST! The very thing I had been agonising over which he just would not tell me. My suspicions had been right all along.
"And what was the power?" I asked.
"It wasn't so much that I gave it to you." He said. "Rather, I made it more accessible. Tell me something. In all the time you've been training with the power of Chaos, trying to learn the inherent powers of people from Britannia..." he leaned forwards. "...did you not stop and think about what YOUR possible inherent power could be?"
I disliked the snarky tone he was using on me and was about to quip back when I stopped and thought for a moment. Slowly I began to realise that he was right. I hadn't in fact been paying attention to the subject.
Looking back now, it was a stupid thing to do. I'd been so focused on imitations that I never stopped to think what my own strength was, the one advantage I had over any opponent of mine; my own unique power.
"Flame of Origin." Nekros said. "That's the name of your innate power. I was being honest when I said that my drop of blood didn't give that to you."
"So what did it do?"
"Remember that it was supposed to give you a Trait? What it actually did was reveal an already hidden Trait which would have remained locked away perpetually otherwise."
"What do you mean?" I frowned.
"Nobody should be allowed to use it by themselves. It is only possible to use it with the help of an external force such as me. Otherwise nobody can be trusted with such a power."
"But what's so special about it?" I asked. "Even though it's supposed to be my innate power, why would it have been prohibited for me?"
"Because it is a power, that when tempered enough, could become even greater than that of Chaos." Nekros took a few steps towards me with a grave face. "Put simply, you have to treat it like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the more it will grow."
"You still haven't told me why this 'Flame of Origin' is so special." I snapped.
Nekros upturned the side of his mouth in disappointment before turning to my soul and scooping a bit of fire out of it. There it danced in his palm between us, burning with a heat that did not seem to burn flesh but...burn something else. Or at least it was supposed to burn something else, which was the impression I was getting.
"Simply put, a piece of extremely powerful energy created by the Big Bang at the beginning of creation." Nekros said ominously. "Out of which was born the concepts of Creation and Destruction, able to burn through the material...and the immaterial. In some universes, it was this very same flame that gave birth to other types of energy...energy that some gods of some universes called Divine."
"...What?"
"Yep." He said as he tossed the fire back into my soul. "Over time, this sort of power dissipated as life grew more and more in the omniverse. But there are times when faint embers that are still glowing alight, even after so long, lodge themselves within a person's soul. So not only, did you become a host for Chaos, you also became a host for the The Great Flame." Nekros crossed his arms. " It must have happened when I reincarnated you. During the process, you must have unknowingly absorbed one such ember and now it has so seamlessly weaved itself into your being, it's changed the very constitution of your existence."
This was way more than I would handle already. What infuriated me was why he didn't tell me long before this when he found out. But more than my fury was my curiosity. What could I do with power like this...and what sort of effects was it having on me?
"For starters..." Nekros said as he no doubt read my mind again. "...it has made Excelia gain so much more easier for you."
"How?"
"The Flame will seek to rekindle itself within you, but unwanting of drawing from your life force since that would be ridding you of it's place of belonging. So instead, it targets anything that dies around you, or any life force that leaks out from somewhere nearby."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
Nekros appeared to slap his forehead and squeeze the bridge of his nose.
"You know, for the bearer of Chaos, you have extremely narrow sight." He looked up at me frustrated. "Didn't I tell you that with Chaos you can see 'anything'? If you had decided to think for once and change your perspective, you would've seen how much life force your body was absorbing compared to other people."
"Well sorry for not wanting to mess around with Chaos magic for fear that my body would explode because some overpowered git decided to stick a fifth dimensional entity in it!" I shouted back. "Is that how I've been stealing Excelia from other people? With Force lightning? Is it that Flame that's doing the job?"
"Yes. Everytime you hit another person with a blast of extremely damaging life-energy, you detach some life force from the battery we call a Falna. When that happens, the Flame of Origin sucks it before the other person can regain it." Nekros replied. "Consequentially, it raises your stats as well as you receive all the experience that is accompanied with that stolen Excelia."
"Great. Now my life has become a hundred times more complex. Thanks for that!"
"You're the one that wanted to know." He shot back. He gestured to my soul. "Anyway as you can see, your soul is already evolving with the Flame. The reason the knife drew upon them is because the Knife is now bonded with you, and destined to grown alongside you just as the Hestia Knife did with Bell Cranel. That's the point of 'growth' weapons. They're meant to grow alongside you. For a brief moment, it tapped into your full potential, a glimpse of what you could one day become." Nekros gestured to my soul again. "Of course because this flame gave birth to Heathen divinity, it's attractive to the eyes of the gods who can see it...such as Freya." He smirked at me at the mention of the yandere. "I approve by the way. You've got some good fish."
"Shut up." I grumbled. "Is that all?"
"One more thing." Nekros's face became serious. "Don't forget that your presence in this world has already set unseen things in motion. While things should generally happen according to the outline of Danmachi, there also things you will encounter which you will not be expecting."
"Like Beast Quest beats suddenly rushing me out of nowhere? How are they even here?"
"Part of the Dungeon's powers. It is able to use an adventurer's fears and thoughts against them. In which case it read your fears and grew them right there in the dungeon."
"But I've never feared them!"
"They are something you would have feared though if you met them in real life. And you were scared weren't you?"
"..."
"Listen. Don't think that this expedition will go as smoothly as you think. Always expect the unexpected, and never think the Dungeon's trials are over until you are completely out of the dungeon." He waved me away and I felt my consciousness slipping away from my soul space which I was trying so hard to enter on my own at the moment. "And remember, always be on guard." He shouted to me just before I faded away into proper dreams this time.
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(General POV)
After watching his student's consciousness fade away from their soul, Nekros turned towards the giant silver fireball and stepped right through it.
Inside he found the silhouette of a woman that seemed to be made out of light in a seating motion as if she were on a chair, although none could be seen. The entity raised it's head as Nekros made his way deeper into Lyze's soul than even the boy himself could consciously go, coming right to a stop before the seated woman.
A moment of silence passed between them before Nekros smiled.
"Hello...'Olivia'."
...
As soon as that name was uttered, the curtain of light shielding the face behind it fell.
The light fell away to reveal a woman with brown hair and green eyes in a long white dress. Barefoot, she sat upon a revealed tree stump as her pale skin glowed in the light of the flames surrounding them.
"When have you ever referred to me that way, damn brat?" The beautiful lady said in a dispiriting voice.
"Well it was the name graced upon you the day you decided to abandon great power and confine yourself to the manacles of mortality." Nekros smiled as he approached her. "And you carried that name with pride for 34 years before coming right back to me."
"An unprecedented demise." Olivia said as she turned her eyes away from him. "You promised me a normal life, with a normal death waiting at the end for me. That was our agreement."
"And I upheld it." Nekros raised a hand in the air as he shrugged off her iciness. "Being hit by an oncoming vehicle is at this point a normal way to die. What I find amusing is how you were steamrolled by the same truck your son dodged. You quite literally took a bullet meant for him. Ever the typical mother you are." Nekros's smile dropped from his face. "So much better than how you treated 'those two'."
"Perhaps my decisions regarding their creation was not entirely good." Olivia said as she looked back at him challengingly. "But you know very well that that is my nature. Chaos cares for neither side but only to go against the inevitable. And I did not encourage them to fight. I made them the total opposites of each other...but I did not tell them to go and create their own realms and then their own respective races and war with each other for Eons. That was their choice." Olivia sighed and shook her head as she looked down. "Why am I even telling you this? You know my story. I've seen it. In those precious little anime your kind so dearly love."
"You mustn't forget that your own son is also one of 'my' kind." Nekros said. "And so were you for a brief period of time. But in the end, only those who were naturally born of the True Existence can stay in it naturally after death. You on the other hand had to leave it when your time was up. And as much as you like to blame me for your son's situation..." Nekros leaned down towards her. "...you know I have no power there. What happened, happened purely because of chance and his own gluttony. Something I would recommend you admonish him for when the time is right."
"Perhaps." Olivia said with even more ice. "But you are not the same boy as the one I met all those billions of years ago. Once you were a desperate soul, seeking to be the hero in every reality you crossed into, your heart full of desire to help those who couldn't help themselves. One of the many reasons I chose you...But as time went on and you no longer had a need for me, you became exactly the kind of being you would used to war with."
"Because I had transcended past that point of heroics. Things became just too easy and I got sick of traversing fantasy worlds. At least you were secured your desire. I can never return home because I left. Whereas you, a complete outsider who not only managed to discard your cosmic power, but also reincarnate as an orphan child and then go on to have another child of your own. And yes, I didn't have anymore need for you at a certain point...but don't forget how I kept you around afterwards, still giving you purpose. Because let's face it, all you ever wanted was a purpose, a sense of belonging."
"I belong with my son!" Olivia stood and got up in his face. "Why do you keep us apart? Have you any idea how hard it was for me to not destroy that little wench who abused MY baby...even if he was not of my blood anymore but hers." Olivia's gaze dropped as her heart filled with pain. She lifted her hands and put them on Nekros's chest as her voice cracked and tears ran down her face. "Why don't you just do it already.? Transfer me fully to that new body so I can be with my son. Already she starts to feel my pain, my sorrow, my regret...my love even. That woman doesn't even know what she is...but she has already formed a bond."
Nekros appeared to be unreactive, but he was sympathetic. However his decision was firm.
"Because you forget the complete detail of our pact Olivia Turner. I will transfer the rest of your consciousness over to that woman so both you and her reawaken your dormant memories. At the same time, Lyze-"
Olivia slapped him hard across the face.
"ALEX! HIS NAME IS ALEX. THE NAME 'I' GAVE HIM. NOT THE ONE GIVEN BY THAT BITCH!"
It successfully managed to turn his head but she may as well have not done it at all since he felt no pain. Even with the full might of Chaos behind that slap, he felt nothing. Seeing this, Olivia's rage died down again as she looked upon the outcome of someone who had been her companion for eons once upon a time, somebody she had fought with, someone she had been co-dependent on...someone she had loved.
"You really don't need me anymore." She whispered sadly. "I hold a universe of power within me but you didn't even consider it worth your time to retaliate."
"...As I was saying." Nekros turned his head back to her. "'Alex' will inherit your power in full. But he is not mentally or emotionally stable." He pointed a finger right in her face. "And before you start blaming me again, remember that I was not there in the 16 years you raised him. Even back then he was short of a psychopath. Always unhinged, always bruting his way around with his superior physical gifts. His obsession over strength was only subdued by his devotion to you. And yet you never once saw fit to reconcile that trait in him. Instead you let that devotion become a dangerous obsession...for which he was willing to do heinous things."
"He was just being a good son, a better son than a better student and sportsman."
Nekros threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "He killed a Peeler because the ingrate touched you. How is that possibly good parenting?" Nekros's finger pointed at her face again. "But your knowledge of him doing that in discretion is not the only thing you have hidden from him now is there?" Olivia fell silent as Nekros began to circle her. "Aaaaahhhh, now it isn't correct? You knew who he truly was before he became your son didn't you? What he was in a past life right?"
Olivia followed him with stony eyes, refusing to speak. But her demeanour was all that Nekros needed to confirm the truth.
"Hmph, as I thought." Nekros said as he started backing away. "What I find amusing is that you ran with me to avoid a counterfeit becoming your king and heir, only to later find the real deal as your legitimate and blood heir."
"It was quite daunting." Olivia admitted. "To learn that my little Alex was the Original, and the source of all of them out there."
"Each and every one of them is but a copy of him. As such, whatever is theirs, is rightfully his. And even if he no longer goes by that First Name...it doesn't change who he is." Nekros turned and began fully walking away from her. But just before he came to the wall of silver flames he paused and partially glanced back over his shoulder. "Tell me, even if I am not the same person as I was all those years ago...have I 'ever' broken a promise?"
"...No."
"Then when I say that you two will be reunited, you will. But only when he has tasted true despair will he become worthy, and when the seal I have placed upon your consciousness will break." Nekros stepped through the walls and disappeared back to his own world leaving just a few words behind for her to hear.
"It 'all' depends on him."
Olivia waited until he was gone before speaking herself as the garments of light began to wreath her and conceal her features once again.
"Even you underestimated him Nekros. My son will prevail...the faith and the love of a mother is always answered...you yourself find your person in agreement. But I can wait. I am patient. I waited eternities for a child of love instead of a child of power...I can wait just a few moments more before we are reunited. And even though I know what you have planned even after I have broken free of my shackles, my son will still overcome those hurdles. It's how I raised him...and mother knows best."
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Outside this inner world, a green haired elf stirred uncomfortably in her bedding as her body heated up for a split second. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead and her eyelids squinted in distress as the dreams began flooding in.
Time was ticking.
There was a plan.
And in due time, both mother and son would pull through.
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