C170: Outcast
Alt Title Teaser: Memorial and Totem
So a small warning for the next chapter. I will be traveling abroad for a bit more than a week on the 19th. I shall be back on the morning of the 28th where the chapter after the next one shall be released. And we resume like normal.
Overall Word count = 1253 on 12/14/2024.
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Axel does not have to strain himself in his next actions as he uses the dungeon creation to manifest 2 pillars of stone pillars, On one of them Axel begins to write a densely worded message that lights up upon being exposed to any mind.
The message reads:
"Here lies the Dungeon City of Orario,
devastated by the destruction of the dungeon and the aftermath that followed.
I beseech all who read this to not venture further.
Evil magic contaminates all here,
nightmares come to life should anyone try to take control of this magic.
-The Titan, Axel Gram, the first Level 10."
He then moves onto the next pillar and begins to modify it a bit into a slightly more ancient looking japanese shrine, fit with a Tori gate and everything. He creates an altar with a handprint laid in stone with glowing words above it.
"Should thy heart be resolved and will be sure,
Unknowing of the monstrosities that lie unseen, death unknown, horrors untold.
Lay thy hand upon here,
For thy senses shall be shrouded in the mist that lies in the beyond.
One shall sleep and within one incense of time, shall rise again anew
Champion of the unseen, true of mind and soul but ever more so of heart.
All else shall be rent of the soul, a story true
-Axel Gram, the Strongest"
While he was working on the second pillar, many citizens and adventurers had finally left the camp to see what had happened to Orario. They gaze in shock over the destruction that they see before them. Their eyes are drawn to the ground of immortals along with Axel near the ruins of the city. Their gazes are clouded by confusion until they can finally see the glowing words upon the first pillar.
They take a while to read but their faces grow pale with each deafening word they interpret. Some drop to their knees, their fears made manifest and they have truly lost their homes, they mourn, for the lives lost and their homes destroyed. Others blow into rages, staring down Axel and the others. One of these people is less radical and simply hates them for being incapable of stopping whatever caused this disaster but amongst even those, a few spot the dead bodies of Achilles and the other immortal. They recognize the fallen heroes yet they still rage on.
As for the other group who is more radicalized, they fully put the blame of the cities destruction on Axel and the other immortals, believing that everything would have been alright if none of them had been in the city in the first place. Especially when they recall Evilus and other disastrous events that happened this past year, they did nothing to stop all these disasters but the lynch pin of all this was Axel himself.
Seeing him kneeling before the second glowing altar as a pitch black dagger manifests in his hand, he makes a 2 finger clenched fist seal (Naruto Seal of Confrontation) as he channels his vibrant [Spirit Energy] into the dagger. A blade born of multiple law essences, the same essences which shall ensure the spiritual energy will remain inside it and not escape as well as maintain the test he has created for anyone who is worthy of becoming a shinigami.
He stabs the dagger into the stone, just above the hand print and then gets to work on a second dagger. This one is more normal, it can be considered a magical knife but this dagger shall be drawn first if someone worthy comes along but it does not hold the full inheritance, the first dagger does.
The second dagger is a means to an end, a false hope for anyone who might pass the initial test but later turns to evil or choses to sacrifice themselves to purge an evil, they shall be led to this dagger and gains greater power but at the cost of a time limit before they lose all their shinigami powers and the dagger crumbles. If the person had chosen to sacrifice themselves then their lifespan is instead exchanged for more power to deliver the righteousness needed in the world, a final hurrah against tyranny, malevolence and Evil.
The first dagger instead is for those who could be said to share a similar ideology as Axel, 'do good for the sake of doing good but do not staunch away from evil if it's for good'. Axel is not a good person but he will help people simply for the sake of being nice if the person they help is nice and kind. Like Acknowledges Like.This dagger could be said to inherit all of Axel's knowledge regarding Shinigami arts and even a few other abilities. Said person who can draw the first dagger can also draw the second without side effects.
Axel soon steps away from the altar as his energies within the two daggers work together to create the testing ground that Axel setup to create substitute Shinigamis. Of course he set up restrictions to ensure nobody abuses these powers. 5 years before anyone who gained these powers has to come back and retake the test to see if they are still worthy. The powers will not disappear if they are in the midst of fighting an enemy but they will know that their lifespan is forfeit the longer their final fight goes on.
If they are still worthy, they shall regain their powers for a longer time, 10 years this time and the stolen vitality would be gradually returned. An acknowledgement that: You. Are. Worthy.
The altar contains enough energy to allow 50 new Shinigamis, including returnees. Axel would return here should the first dagger be drawn or the energy ran out.
In the meantime, he must leave. Even if he didn't approach the citizens, from their eyes, those of the adventurers and the few gods, they bestow their hostility upon Axel, the root cause of all their misfortunes and the loss of their city. A technically correct assessment which is why he chooses to simply leave, afterall, he isn't bound to this land alone.
His Operation of Parallel Memories ensures that his true home shall be one derived by Fate.
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Alt Title: Shinigami Shrine, Orario Monument, Departure
Drop a comment if you wanna judge my writing or the story. Ill try to respond, especially if you're confused or anything.
So yea, i think we will only have 1 or 2 more chapters before we venture into the first middle class world. I have a total of 3 planned with varying amounts of chapters for each, the second one really shouldn't take that long but is filled with tons of fighting. The third is more story modification for fun before we settle for Fate. the 4th is a surprise. yall can still make suggestions for more worlds in the previous poll if anyone has any fun ideas that I can get behind. Or comment in the discord if you get access there, im holding the same poll there but with a higher 'value' than here.