In the early hours of the morning, when the sun had not even begun to peak over the horizon in Orario, Ais momentarily woke up and looked around groggily. She confused for a moment as she wasn't able to figure out why she was enveloped in such softness. The executives had a soft spot for her, so they did make an effort to get her more comfortable bedding instead of the rough sheets other adventurers got.
But no bedding she owned whether for dungeon exploring or her normal ones on the surface was this luxurious. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she made out the form of Lyze sleeping next to her, but very different from how she usually knew him.
She almost didn't recognise him when Riveria had carried him over to her. Ais was considered too low of a level and too green to participate in battle against the monster rex. Which was a shame because if not for her hatred of dragons, but at least the experience, Ais wanted to fight Amphisbaena. But alas, Finn's word was final.
Not too long ago, she would have probably disobeyed in some small way but Lyze had taught her the importance of authority and the kind of responsibility that was on Finn's shoulders.
It was very out of the ordinary to bring children like them on the expedition. Normal kids their age were at home with their parents, perhaps going to school or just playing in the streets, although that last one was a rarity these days because of how active and monstrous Evilus was. Who knew what they kidnapped children for?
But both she and Lyze were exceptions because of their raw power and talent. Universally, all over the Familia and the city, they were accepted as worthy and mature enough to go an a deep-dive exploration like this. It was why she and Lyze were the heroes of many kids in this city.
Moreso Lyze than her because of his record breaks and because of how many adventurers had seen him in the dungeon. His prowess terrified many adventurers, and enraptured the children of the city. Everywhere he went, she saw children their age, younger and older, look at him with stars and hero-worship in their eyes as they wished more than anything to be like him.
In their eyes he was living the life, being powerful and a record breaker, while being a part of one of the two most powerful Familia and also being famous for his charitable work since he had founded a charity that supported orphanages and schools and homes for invalids and old people. He was revered city-wide by many people, even though for some reason he didn't realise exactly how famous he was.
But she hated those stares that they gave him. The blind desires to be in his position and thinking him so great and perfect (he was both things in her eyes) but not understanding the pain he went through. Ais didn't have to see his eyes to know his pain, because her soul resonated with it. He was just like her, only with a few problems more than she had.
She had had loving parents while from what she heard, his were complete scumbags who abused him endlessly. She couldn't fathom her parents ever being like that to her. If they had, who knows where she would be now? Add into the fact he was alone for so long, and seemingly traumatised even further under his mysterious 'master', seeing his situation made her realise exactly how blessed she had been compared to him.
He had it WORSE. That was the whole point. And he had gone through things that would probably have broken her long ago. And for him to continue so strong after all that, ever striving to be above all of that, to make something great of himself, all for a similar purpose to her? And finding the time and finding it in his heart to be so compassionate to other people?
If that was not the making and character of a hero, then what was? If the people didn't accept him as a hero, then he was HERS. He inspired her, motivated her. Her loneliness was eased by him. Ever since he had grown close to her, she had not felt sad at all about her own past and her own problems, because his mere presence soothed her. She was not able to express much but she was happy around him. The time she spent with him seemed to make up for the missing time she had with her parents. The only times she was sad was whenever something terrible happened to him or she learned something more of his past.
The amount of heartaches she got whenever she saw him seriously wounded or in a near death state, what other reason could it be than that he was her hero?
Yes, she was sure of it now. The hero that her mother and father prayed that she would find was the boy she was cuddling right now. He who seemed to hold all the answers to her problems and seemed to have just as much of a need for her considering how ferociously protective he was of her. Seeing that kind of concern...made her cheeks warm and her stomach flip.
Riveria's counselling had not satisfied her, even though it helped a lot. So she had gone to the girliest person in the Familia she knew because the implication that Riveria gave was that this was a 'girl' issue. Anakitty did not have the same reservations Riveria did and mouthed off as she pleased.
And Aki had simplified it in a way that she knew to be true. The cat-girl had called it love. And while the word made her toes wriggle, she couldn't deny it. It all added up. She loved him, that was why he meant so much to her and why she was always so worried and focused on him.
He was her Hero. And she loved him...she truly, absolutely loved him.
...
Deep within the complexities of her closed Falna, there was a change as something stirred within Loki's blessing. Unseen to anybody, the Falna swirled and etched new words upon Ais's soul as she embraced her feelings. And thus, the Ais that she was originally meant to become would now never be, not with the name of the skill that had now been carved into the very core of her existence. A title, a power that reflected her devotion, her admiration and her love for him as she swore to herself to be his lifetime companion, to be his eternal friend and shoulder to lean on just as much as he was for her.
Her {Avenger} skill was pushed aside a little into the deepest recesses of her soul. The skill that had been born from her hatred of that which had wronged her, now superseded by a skill born from the love she had for the one that healed, saved and soothed her. Across the Falna, in bright glowing letters, a singular word formed. A word that would be cherished by Lyze in the following years to come...
{Lionors}
...
Ais snuggled into his bare chest more as she breathed in his scent. She found this new form of his strange but beautiful at the same time. Even limp as he was when Riveria had asked her for help with him, his wings and his white hair made him look so majestic. Like an Angel. Her Angel. Her Lyze.
'Mama. Papa.' She thought, hoping that her heartful message reached her parents in some way or another. 'I found my hero. I can't wait for you to meet him.'
---
Morning fell upon the 28th floor and Lyze roused himself from sleep as he shook off the fatigue. Inspecting his body, he found that the aches and the phantom pains had receded and he was as fresh as a new fighter. Of course that was thanks in no small part to his Goddess form but cheat powers were always fun when they were on your side.
Looking down, he found Ais to still be cuddled up inside his wings. The girl had pulled him in close as her bare feet tangled with his legs, and her fists were clutching handfuls of his feathers as she breathed softly. The pure innocence of such a scene made him all the more concerned with the realization he had last night.
He dragged his fingers over her face, and tucked her hair behind her ears as he smiled wryly. Lyze was always honest to himself when it came to serious feelings such as these towards other people. Just simply admitting to himself that he was in love with her brought refreshment and tranquillity to his soul.
But an equal measure of disgust in himself.
How could he, a 16 year old boy in the body of a nine year old, be in love with with a girl who was just under a year younger than the body he was occupying? It was not the fact of his love for her that disgusted him. No, he embraced it fully. It was not like he was going to chase her now, hell no!
But when she was older, perhaps then he would try and see where such attempts took him. But he could never reveal his true past about to her. How there was nothing of her she could tell him that he already didn't know. If she knew, if anyone here knew how he knew of their stories, they would shun him. They would be disgusted in him and rightfully so because of that violation of trust, even if it was no fault of his own.
Not to mention how weird and creepy it would look from an outside perspective. Look at Mushoku Tensei. Would Eris, or Sylphy, or Roxy or any other girl Rudeus had enamoured, would any of them had laid with him as they did if they knew what was inside him? The kind of man that dwelt in the body of a child? The guy was a freaking, dirty, degenerate hobo that had technically committed paedophilia according to some critics.
...
Some could argue that the whole paedophilia thing was a modern concept and indeed it was. The age of consent or the appropriate age was always being moved around. Otherwise, in a medieval world, it was perfectly normal for powerful men to take girls before puberty and marry them.
But Ais was from a medieval world. HE wasn't. Already her intelligence was a bit stunted due to her emotional trauma and he was far more knowledgeable than most adults because of what he had brought from his own world.
Just his mere handling of Chaos Magic was proof enough of that. Even if he could not fully wield it in the normal realm like Arthur could, he was able to create conditions in which there was no penalty or nothing to balance out his actions with Chaos, something Arthur couldn't do. For every little action that the king of Camelot did with Chaos, there was an opposing force.
The disappearing parts of Britannia, the prophecy of the Four Knights of Apocalypse, the birth of Guinevere, the abandonment of Merlin, not to mention the rapid rise of several other powerful individuals. EVERYTHING Arthur did had some sort of countering force to it, but Lyze could manipulate and chain the effect of Chaos, and channel it in a way where the Laws could not oppose him.
THAT was the gap between his intellect and that of these medieval magical people.
What justification could he have for nurturing the affections of a little girl towards him, all the while hiding his true nature from her and what he knew of her?
He did not believe he was a nonce, but it was his dishonesty that disgusted him. He knew he would never reveal his Earthen life to them, partly because mortals could never know about the True Universe (gods were an exception since it was their nature to be accepting or informed of supernatural knowledge such as this, according to Nekros), and partly because he did not want to lose what he had with them, even if in principle it was all an illusion.
.
.
.
...But if it did come to it that Ais would one day feel the same way about him, he would do his DAMN best to make sure she was happy as a way to make up for this deceit. He did not believe in soulmates like Freya believed. It contradicted the concept of Free Will which God Almighty had blessed mortals across all planes with. It was why he felt no shame or regret in probably taking for himself who was meant to be the lover of Bell Cranel (and even then with the way Oomori was taking the story, it seemed wrong and unrealistic anyway).
He believed love was a choice, not fate. Examples of this existed all across fiction and non-fiction alike. He chose his feelings for her, and there was no sin in having her before the time came where any interest could be expressed in the white haired protagonist.
But not now...was his answer to all this. Come on, it was OBVIOUS. He still had to deal with Freya who had problems all of her own. He would not deny he was fond of the silver haired Vanir (if the concept of Vanir and Aesir existed in this universe), to the point where he could be in love with her. But even indications had to be dealt with seriously because Freya had made it all too clear how she had chosen him, even knowing how he was in his past-life.
If anything, it was Freya who was most sincere in the whole thing.
Lyze cupped Ais's cheek and sighed.
"What am I to do with you?" He sighed fondly before gingerly removing his wings so that he did not wake her and rose from the bed. Clad in only a pair of pants, he stepped out of the tent as he unfurled his wings to the fullest extent. The pleasure of stretching them felt heavenly.
Although without his blindfold, he had to walk around now with his eyes closed like Ludociel. Perhaps he would have to do without the blindfolds for a while. Besides, he wanted to stay in this state for a bit since he hadn't used it all unlike he did with his Demon form. Maybe using this state would help him get a better grip on controlling magic just like his Demon form helped him gain better control on his strength.
"Lyze?" Came voice from nearby. Looking up, he saw a familiar face carrying a pail of water in her hands.
"Oh, hey Vira." Vira was the one elf he befriended from Riveria's mage team. "What are you doing?"
"Carrying some water back to the girls so we can clean up." She replied as she looked him over. "Are you okay? I heard about what happened upstairs. You look like you've healed."
"Yes, I have. Completely."
"Thank goodness." She eyed his form. "Those wings of yours are really beautiful. Are you sure you're a human?"
"If you're thinking I'm some sort of bird-beastman, no I am not. Yes, I am very much human, these wings are just a side-effect of one of the powers I have. Don't overthink it."
"If you say so." Vira pursed her lips before pointing backwards. "I think the captain wants to talk to you. He's over there by the wall talking to all the grown ups. They seem to be talking about something important."
"Alright. Thanks for telling me."
"You're welcome." She smiled at him. "Please be careful from now on. Everybody was worried sick about you."
"..." Lyze raised an eyebrow.
"Okay maybe not everyone. But still, you made us worry."
"I'll try. I can't promise that I won't get hurt though. We are in the Dungeon after all."
"True. Well, see ya later."
"Bye." His wings ruffled as he waved at her before searching for the executives. He caught sight of them sitting on rocks beneath the cliff-face of the 28th floor, far away from camp. They did have a habit of speaking away from the Familia when they wanted to discuss important things.
He flapped his wings, and with a gust of wind, he rose in the air and swooped off towards them, his ascent catching the attention of everybody in and out of their tents as the draught from his flaps slipped into tents and roused the sleeping adventurers within.
---
"Well, would you look at that?" Noir smiled as he saw Lyze approaching them in the air. "Skippy as a jay and high as a dove. I'd say he's better already."
The grown ups and executives, which consisted of the top three, the secondary three and Tsubaki all followed his gaze and saw Lyze flapping his wings as he flew over to their spot.
"He does have a habit of bouncing back quickly." Gareth said as he sipped a morning brew. "It's why he advances so fast. He can come back from death's door and be in the dungeon the next day."
"If it were back home, I'd make sure that it were not the case." Riveria said as she eyed the boy who was almost directly above them. "But unfortunately we are in the Dungeon. So I guess the only way is forward for now."
"Cheer up Riveria." Bara said as she grinned at the boy. "What's important is that his weak ass is not going to be slowing us down once we move on."
"You call him weak? I'd like to see you say that when you brawl with him again." Dain chuckled behind his hairy beard. "From what we've seen, he could probably make Udaeus dizzy with one of his punches."
"I'd prefer we kept the praise and the speculation out of his earshot." Finn commented. "He's already nearly died. We don't want this motivating him to do it again."
Lyze circled their seating area as he descended, simply flying spirals around them before he perched on a rock that was empty beside them, his wings flapping and letting loose the same golden sparks before only in lesser quantity.
"Good morning everyone!" Lyze said chirpily as he grinned.
Everybody returned his bidding before Finn locked onto what was different.
"You're not wearing your blindfolds this time Lyze?"
"I thought that I might keep them off for a bit. To give my face a bit of room to breathe. Besides, I couldn't find them."
"I put them away as safe-keeping while you slept." Riveria said. "How are you feeling?"
"Right as rain." Lyze gave a thumbs up with a bright , full-toothed smile. "Although that's an ironic statement considering I nearly drowned. Haha." He laughed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Take this seriously." Riveria chided. "Death is not a subject of jest."
"What's the point on dwelling on the negatives? If you don't make light of a bad situation once you've gone past it, how else can you move on?" Lyze expressed with his arms open.
"You certainly are a lot more cheery?" Gareth raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"You're more quiet and reserved usually." Finn said. "And I've never seen you smile like that. Are you really that happy to be alive and you're just playing it cool?"
"No, that would probably be because of the form I've taken." Lyze said as he spread his wings and he began to emit a warm golden light that was soothing to the eyes and the soul. Everybody felt more relaxed under it.
"And what would the power of this form be?" Finn asked. "Is it like you're other one?"
"Well, yes but actually, no." Lyze replied as he lifted a finger. "You see, my other form depends on negative emotions for empowerment. Hatred, anger and fear boost my combat ability to an incredible degree. But that works by enhancing those negative emotions." Lyze sat up more and spread his arms further. "This form works by purging me of negative emotions. Not completely you know, not unless I use a special technique. But this form promotes love, happiness and compassion. My other form is purposed for destroying life, but this one is to nurture and heal it. So if I'm a lot happier now, it's because I don't have much unhappiness in me at the moment."
"Interesting. You've certainly lost some of your reservations." Riveria said. "So why have you not used this form before?"
"Well simple." Lyze said as he put a hand under his chin. "I'm a hands on fighter and I am strongest when I fight alone. This form does enhance my strength but it focuses more on magical aspects. More than that, it focuses on healing and buffing spells. Essentially, what many powers are available to me here are supposed to be used for others just as much as myself."
"Buffing spells?" Finn said. "Like what?"
"Anybody wants to volunteer for a demonstration?" Lyze offered. "Actually, Finn and Gareth would be perfect. Do you mind?"
"Nope." Gareth said while Finn shook his head.
"Okay, now Finn. Say you punched Gareth with all your strength, would you be able to seriously hurt him?"
"Well yes. Just because I'm a Pallum, don't put my physical strength into questioning." Finn said. "But he would be able to tank it and he could hit back harder."
"Then do it. Gareth? Mind getting hurt for me?"
"Nah. It's nothing new anyway." Gareth stood up and opened his arms. "Give it to me Finn."
"As Captain, I really shouldn't be encouraging this." Finn said to himself as he shook his head. But he cocked his fist and socked Gareth as hard in the stomach as he could. Just as the Pallum said, Gareth was forced to exhale quite a bit but the dwarf stood his ground and tanked the blow, even if the ground behind him cracked a little and a little shockwave blew everyone's hair around their faces.
"Great! Now for the buff." Lyze said as he made circular motions in the air with his hand. The executives saw a trail of golden magical streams of energy and bright light follow his finger before Lyze completed three full circles and clench a fist. "{Breath of Blessing}." Lyze opened his palm and blew over it in Finn's direction.
A shower of golden and white motes of light blew forth from Lyze's hand and absorbed themselves into Finn's body as the Pallum saw them sink into his clothes. Instantly Finn felt something begin to rise inside of him, as if he had been energized ten times over and his muscles vibrated with strength. Finn clenched his hands as his eyes widened to a considerable degree. He felt vastly more powerful all of a sudden.
"Now hit Gareth again, with your full power." Lyze encouraged.
Finn nodded and looked at the Dwarf. "Ready Gareth?"
"I'm ready." Gareth nodded a little tentatively. Something about Finn suddenly unsettled him.
Those fears were proven true as Finn punched again. But this time, clear for everyone to see, the Pallum's fist flew faster and with even more force than before. Gareth's instinct warned him of incoming danger and he lifted his forearms to block. The difference in effect was felt by none other more clearly than him.
Gareth felt his skin and his flesh ripple as the force was partially distributed across his body surface before his eyes widened as his heavy, robust Dwarf body lifted off the ground. The level five dwarven warrior found himself flying backwards and smashing into the wall as cracks spread all over the rock-face and Gareth gasped in pain as his back and his arms felt on fire.
The shockwave that had erupted from that connection blew away dust and pebbles and nearly knocked everyone from their seats as even a clear line was sliced into the ground beneath where Finn's punch had connected and even more cracks were driven further up the wall.
Finn and everybody else stared in shock at what had just transpired. It exceeded even what Finn had believed he was currently capable of, even more than what he though Lyze had granted him.
"And that is another reason why I don't really use this form. Because the temptation of others is far too great." Everybody stared at Lyze as he leaned forwards. "My buffs do not focus on just one aspect. They cover everything. Strength, Magic, Spirit, Courage, Speed etc. You name it, I boost every bit of it. So much so that it can equate to a new level up, just like it happens with me."
Everybody's mouths fell open at this declaration.
"You mean..." Finn said.
"Yes. As of right now Finn, you are currently Level 6." Lyze smiled as they stared at him in mixtures of awe and confusion.
...
A cracking sound drew their attention to the wall, where even more cracks had formed, quickly multiplying as the clean rockface became covered in spider-cracks. They watched with suspense as this was not to be expected from a supposed solid rock-face. The way it was cracking suggested that there had to be an empty space behind...which meant this area of the wall was hollow.
As anticipated, the wall collapsed a little and a dust cloud was thrown up for a bit. The adventurers covered their mouths to not breathe it in, but a flap from Lyze's large wings blew it away.
The first thing that they caught sight of on the other side of this new doorway was what was seemingly a broken throne made of stone, beyond which was a pool of water under a gushing waterfall that pushed itself out of a small cliff. Bushes filled with berries ran around the rim of the pool.
Lyze's sharp gasp caught everyone's attention as they saw him stare right through the doorway. He did not need to have his eyes open for them to to know the look of recognition on his face. His healthy face suddenly became pale again as his wings drooped and his fingers twitched.
"Do you know this place Lyze?" Riveria asked as he gestured to the hidden room.
"Yes...I do...It's where I was reborn..."
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