...
...
...
"...Does that man have honest to flames wolf ears on his head?"
jaune arc didn't respond back as he simply blinked in surprise."Excuse us then, we're going down ourselves." The man, no doubt the leader of this trio, said, snapping Juane out of his stupor before moving to the side to allow the trio to move down into...the...
"Dungeon..." Jaune said, noticing the word that came from the man. As what could jaune just feel his eyes widening as he looked towards the door, left open for him by the trio. He glanced back down to where the trio had left before quickly turning and sprinting out of the exit. The Undead only got ten steps out of the exit before he came to a stop as he came upon a sight that left him speechless.
Cat and dog ears on top of heads. Big beefy men both big and small height wise. Pointed ears that identified some as elves. And last but not least, more humans. The sight of the great number of people around him left jaune Arc reasonably shocked. For one, he hasn't seen these many people in years. Another reason, he recognized the likes of elves, dwarves, cat people, Chienthropes, and other kinds of races. The last reason why he was shocked is that the area he was at right now was familiar.
"It can't be...!" A feeling similar to adrenaline surged through jaune as he ran, sprinting past people, bumping and pushing a few which resulted in some hateful cries, before he came upon a flight of stairs that spiraled upwards and immediately ran up them. Once at the top, he came upon even more people but he ignored this as he raced towards one of the exits. He was in such a rush that he didn't know that to the eyes of other people, he was a complete blur.
Finally, he reached the end of the exit and came to stop once he felt his feet slam down on soil ground, kicking sand and pebbles as he skidded to a stop. Mimicking the act of being out of breath, jaune looked at his surroundings with eyes in total disbelief.
"It can't be...there's no way!" said the spirit as it started to look around as well This was truly a mystery that it never knew is internal life.
"What? What is it? Where are we?"From a birds-eye view, jaune would have been a simple dot amongst others in the vast tree area. Shaped like a circle, the city was divided into eight sections with many different tree and buildings filling each section. And at the center of the city was a huge Castle that looked like it reached past the clouds and gave the illusion that it might even reach the heavens themselves For some reason.
jaune turned his head to look up at the said The Castle their building at around tree Maybe they're repopulating their entire town and rebuilding a city around the tree and the castle is on the tree Those are one Sly elves. He knew this Tree. It was the tree of ever After,. And if this was here, then...
"I'm back on the surface..." jaune breathed out. He couldn't believe it. He was back. He was back in the entrance of the forest.
It's time to go home.
I want to ask you a question where do we even start so All of a sudden the elves in the entire forest wanted to build their home around the big ever after you call it and now It's a big city for them to boast no other ways and no wonder there are elvin fork everywhere We know they don't have the king sense of sharing with other races so what do we do now. " stated Aurora who was now complaining who was really worried about their safety and about this new RDO situation they're having right now.
"Don't worry about it I have a plan"
FEW 99 MINUTES LATER :
It was an odd feeling seeing the outer walls of a city like this that wasn't a part of the four kingdoms or that kingdom I everything feel so alive here. Though, it made sense in a way since the Grimm didn't exist here. Monsters did exist, but they weren't as organized or as fervent in their desire to extinguish people's lives like the Grimm were. Still, they were similar enough. At least, that was what he could deduce from what he had heard from his new comrade Aurora. Luckily, they hadn't encounter any outside the gates, but he was told that was because they were so close to forest, such that the city made sure that travelers and merchants and mostly elves with their trouble past and villages would be safe on the road here.
When he was going for the city found a merchant making his way towards their he asked Jaune If he needs a lift then jaune arc said yes when he got on board he said next to the others were technically families for a few Elf mothers and their daughters and sons basically eight to 12-year-olds with her mother's going to the city.
The mother we're more kind than you think about when they saw him they couldn't take her eyes off of him as he saw them He smile towards them and sat down one of them ask the Elvin mothers had a blush on her faces and even offered him a piece of bread They have made before they left their homes They were passing the breads towards him.
After 6 minutes later.
The plate was taken from his hand. He blinked, but then saw that it was the Elf mother from before. She stared at him with hopeful eyes.
"Did you like it?"
"It was delicious." To punctuate that statement, Jaune gave his best smile.
"T-that's good." She fumbled with her words, but noticing something, she reached out her hand to his face. Her finger pressed on the corner of his lips and wiped away a stray spot of sauce. "Y-you had some sauce on you."
"Thanks."
She left him with a giggle and a skip in her step towards her destination.
it's not like that Jaune understood the significance of that as he watched her leave real reason is that he doesn't care anymore He knows he's way too damn broken for even to have a stable relationship with anyone now first Wiess and then Pyrrha Death and after that he couldn't save the people of Atlas and mantle and the friend he had to kill was Penny how he feels towards his comrades in Lordran loss.
but An arm suddenly wrapping around his shoulder threw him off from his thoughts. Glancing to his left, he saw that it was the leader of the caravan, the person who had first helped him a few minutes ago.
"Boy, you sure work fast."
"Well, my mom always says that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." As he told him what he remembers the time before he spend with his family and remembered their families mottos.
"Friends... really " The man's expression turned awkward for a moment before he recollected himself. "In any case, it's only been a few minutes, but a lot of my people are taken in with you Tell you the truth We Elvin folks don't take outsiders very fondly some of them won't even hesitate to kill you on site but you're different case You magic charm The Elvin women they're not so easy to please even for the men You are a different and you have my respects but You sure you don't want a place with the my Merchants? We could use a hand like yours and your company is pretty much is the best Even the our forests and friendly little spirits like you."
"I'm sorry, but thank you for the offer I might consider it one day but I need to find my way home. My friends and family are waiting for me."
"I see. I can tell from your clothes and armor that they were of quality made. A well-off family's I guess maybe some kind of lord," he said. "But it may be a long and hard journey. Just know that there's always a spot for you here, with us elves people."
"Thank you. I really appreciate everything you have done for me."
"Think nothing of it, boy. In fact, take this."
A small, heavy brown pouch was shoved into Jaune's hands.
"This is..." It only took a second of fingering it to figure out what it was. "I can't take this.""Sure you can. The kids haven't been this happy in a long times anyway after their father's passed away," he said. "Besides, city people is not that kind to the penniless. Maybe if I knew you better than I do right, I can't I could let you go just like that. You'll just have to open your eyes like you opened your heart to us old folks."
"This is too much."
"No, it isn't," he said with a shake of his head. "This is only enough to last you a few days. More if you're frugal. Besides, this much won't make a dent in our coffers."
Taking a deep breath, Jaune nodded his head.
"Thank you."
"We should part ways here. The caravan takes longer to get into the city than the regular lines." The man patted his shoulder. "Don't die out there, boy. If things get tough, back away and come to us. Our door is always open to a friend."
With that said, the leader of the caravan left him standing there with a pouch filled with coins in his hand. Taking his eyes off it, he glanced around. Other caravaners, especially the children, were milling about, but when they saw him looking at them, they waved and smiled at him. He waved back.
"I guess it's time to go."
"yeah let's do this and let's go You got something to do hmm" said the exciting sword spirit Aurora.
With that, Jaune Arc began walking over to the long, single file line that stretched out in front of the entrance.
few minutes later:
Honestly, Jaune had thought it would take more time but It had only been an few minutes since he had joined the line, but he was already at the front.
"Next!"
The word beckoned him forward, and he obeyed. Walking over to the two elves guards, he came to a stop in front of them and waited. One of them was an elf with brown hair and the other one was elf but with orange hair and then he noticedThere were a couple of them in the caravan. an army or something? Well, something like that.
"Do you have a traveler's permit?"
"Um, no. Is that a problem?"
"It's fine. I should have guessed from that beaten up armor of yours," the elf guard said. "You're an adventurer, right?"
Jaune nodded his head.
"Then this will be quick. We get plenty of them here everyday," the elf guard said. "If we were to try to keep track of them all, it would take far more work than they can pay us. We'll let you through once we check you for a Falna. Now turn around and lift up your shirt. We need to see your back."
Falna? Jaune wasn't sure what they meant, but he complied anyways. Turning around, he lifted up his shirt, though it took a little fiddling to lift up his armor as well. The elf guard took a lantern off his belt and raised it up. Seeing Jaune's questioning look, the elf guard decided to explain.
"We have to check that you're not from an outside Familia, a spy, or a criminal or - never mind. This magic tool will makes this a lot easier for everyone."
"I see..." No, he really didn't, but he didn't want to take up more time, especially since the line had grown far longer than it was when he had first joined it.
It took only a few moments more before one of the guards motioned with his hand that it was over. He dropped his shirt and fitted his armor back into place before turning around.
"You're good to go. Since you seem pretty fresh, head to the Guild headquarters to register. They'll tell you how things work around here," the elf guard said. "Though, you can only register if you join a Familia or receive a Falna to join fighting squad for this new dungeon."
"But they'll still answer my questions even if I don't have a Falna, right?"
"Probably. Now move along," the orange hair guard interrupted with a wave of his hand. "We have more work to do now."
"Thank you." It didn't hurt to be polite.
Entering through the gate, the first sight of the city reminded him of one of the more populated towns that he had visited. The buildings were mostly of the wooden type, more rustic in design and architecture than the city of Vale, but it had its own charm. Not to mention that, judging from the distance to the skyscraper tree which he had been told was in the center of town where are the new Royal Castle is now located, that meant that this city was at least as large as a safe zone.
And it was just going to be packed in the near future. There were tons of people moving around, going about their business. There were even vendor stalls on the side of the streets, their sellers and cooks hawking their wares and services. It reminded him of happier times, scenes that you would have a hard time finding in the safe zones nowadays In all worlds. By the time that the final mission commenced, there was so much negativity in the safe zones that it felt like it drowned out everything else and Lordran had no safe zones The enemies will attack you anywhere.
It was possible that people could have become hopeful if they were told about the mission, but Salem's spies have reported it to her immediately, lessening their options. Sure, the combined army and fleet of Atlas and mantle had also been infiltrated, but it delayed the information transfer enough to allow a chance of success.
It was a gamble that had turned out in their favor in way, though just barely. Still, there was no telling how the Brothers would judge mankind.
In fact, why did the bridge send him here ?
Jaune didn't know the reason, but if it sent him here, that meant that they couldn't have ended humanity, right? It wouldn't make much sense to destroy mankind After everything we have done for them and they're f****** war to begin with, but keep him and his friends around as trophies. If they were planning to destroy everyone, they would get rid of him as well. He would just have to hold onto that strand.
And hopeful, this world would provide some answers.
"Ooof!"
"Kyaa?!"
Of course, that was contingent on people not running into him.
Jaune fell backward onto the floor, hitting the back of his head on the cobblestone. Of course, as his luck had it, he hadn't fallen alone. He rubbed his head slightly as he looked down at the elven girl lying on his chest. It was easy to tell she was an elf by her ears, but it was the long golden hair and her squinting dark blue eyes that caught his attention. She wore a white shirt with a long rosette blue cape draped over it, along with a blue corset dress. A rather small black bow was tied at and hung down from her collar.
"Are you okay?"
At his words, the elven girl looked up in surprise. Upon seeing and realizing where she was, she quickly hopped up to her feet, her face reddening.
"Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" The elven girl bowed low.
"It's okay." Jaune simply got up to his feet while rubbing his head. "But are you alright? That was a hard hit."
"I have no injuries yes !" She rose from her bow.
"Uh, that's great, but you don't have to shout that," Jaune said. He could see a multitude of eyes starting to glance their way. Ignoring them, he held out his hand. "The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, and the ladies...uh never mind. That's my name, yeah."
"Laf. Virdis. Laffey Viridis." While stumbling over her words, she timidly reached out her hand and took his.
Jaune made sure his grip was light as he shook her hand, but even then, Laffey grip was rather weak. Limp even. When their handshake ended, Laffey brought her hand back and held her wrist with her other hand, as if cradling it. It made him feel awkward since it was the type of action used when covering an injured hand, but he was pretty sure that he matched her grip strength to avoid that.
An awkward silence settled in between them, even in the noise of the bustling street.
"So..." Jaune began, more to break the silence than anything else. "Do you know where the Guild is?"
Ah!" Laffey brightened up, almost appearing confident despite what she looked like earlier. She pointed down the road. "It's that way Mr jaune."
"It's not necessary for you to call me Mr jaune Mrs Just call me Jaune. "
"okay Jau- jaune" a while she was little startled.
"Okay, thanks. Just be a bit more careful next time. It wouldn't be a good thing if you got hurt." Just as he was about to turn around and leave in the direction she pointed, there was a shout.
"Wait!" The moment that his gaze turned back to her, Lefiya wilted a bit. "I can show you the way there."
"Really? Thanks, but I don't want to take up more of your time."
"It's no problem. It's on the way," she said. "And it's my fault that you hit your head."
It was only then that Jaune noticed that he was still rubbing his head, despite the fact that his aura had already healed any bruises that he had gotten.
"Well, if it's not too much trouble."
"It isn't! Just follow me."
After 30 minutes later
Yeah, that's the Guild's headquarters. They call it the Pantheon For some reason."
After a long walk They had open themselves up telling them about their families and their family origins She was telling him about how she has a husband and she has a daughter who's nearly 17 years old who lives in the city of ourario with her friends or her familia They say it's the Loki families, and then he told her about his family and he spends his time with sister's and his father and mother then he left them to become an adventure when he heard about this new dungeon rushed right here.
So not only did he have to try to get information out of her their conversation here but, he would have to make sure not to accidentally offend their religious.
"What do they worship? I don't think that's the right word, but I guess the tree this is a sign of the heavens above graceful again."
As the to new friends have said their goodbyes Left further apart.
At least, He knows where to go and what to do. With tepid steps, he made his way inside the building.
"Hey Jaune Sorry to bust your bubble but whatever day dreaming you happy right now in your mind I want to ask you something How are we going to deal with this situation."
"Don't worry about it I have a plan"
The new guild Hall
*BANG!*
The loud banging of the Guild door opening made everyone in the building jump up in surprise. Now, something like the door opening loudly would not have bothered most people that much. But when the doors were kicked open so hard that they were torn off their hinges and flew over the reception desks, forcing the employees to duck for cover, then it was only natural for everyone to jump in surprise.
A pair of slender pointy ears poked out from under the desk followed by a pair of emerald green eyes peeking out. The owner of these eyes then stood up along with the rest of the guild workers. Dusting any splinters off of her shoulder-length green hair, Aina Tulle adjusted her glasses as she and everyone else looked to see who had literally kicked the doors off. The elf blinked in surprise for she knew the person standing by the now doorless entrance who was looking around the building frantically.
"hello sir can I help you ?"
Hearing that someone is talking to you, jaune snapped his head towards Aina and the elf could not help, but jump in surprise again when jaune turned to her. His eyes were practically bloodshot as dirt and blood covered his clothes and body. By the gods and goddesses above, the boy looked like he had just escaped from hell itself.
*ZOOM!*
Before Aina could blink, jaune covered the distance between him and her, practically slamming into her assigned desk as she jumped for the third time today. It seemed she was not the only one surprised by the boy's speed as everyone blinked once before snapping their heads to the blony-haired man. Or was it teen? Aina couldn't help, but notice jaune seemed a lot taller and muscular than she seem. He didn't look like a 16-year-old teenager at all, but rather a 26-year-old man. Is he lost or Did someone hit him in the head no sensible person would kick a guild door and in this country ?
"You!" jaune pointed a shaking finger at the woman and looked at her in a way that made it seem like he was trying to remember something.
"You...You're... Mrs Aina Tulle, right?"
"Yes, I'm Aina." Said the woman as she also couldn't help but notice that, besides his appearance, jaune's voice seemed slightly deeper too. There was only a tad bit of change in his voice, a tiny drop so small that it was barely noticeable, but it was there. Just how hard had someone hit him in the head?Are you okay, sir ? You're a mess." Aina voiced her concerns. She wasn't sure if it was because she was adviser or not, but she felt greatly concerned about the way the blonde-haired man ? was acting.
"I...I'm fine," jaune said, but Aina didn't believe him for a second.
She grabbed him and dragged jaune upstairs so first go to take a shower. After practically shoving the man in did she then go and waits for him in a small room that was separated from the guild. It was here that she would talk to jaune,
giving him advice and teaching him the ups and downs of adventuring and diving into the dungeon. After half an hour of waiting, as Jaune entered the room, clean and looking a lot calmer than he previously was. His coat was gone, leaving Bell with just his shirt and pants.
"Have you calmed down a bit sir?" Aina asks.
"I...yes." He nodded, taking a seat across from her with the only thing separating them was a table in the middle. "Thank you for letting me use the showers."
"Don't mention it." Aina said before asking, "now please sir did something happen?"
"What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow at her as if he didn't know what she was asking.
"sir, you kicked the door so hard it flew off its hinges, and you looked like you just escaped from hell itself," Aina said, voicing her earlier thoughts. "Did something happen in the new Dungeon ?"
After Aina had finished asking her question did jaune go silent. The elf crossed her arms and waited for the man to speak. She was patient, but fortunately, she didn't have to wait long as, after a minute or so, he spoke.
"I ran into a Minotaur."
"You WHAT!?" Aina screamed the last part as she looked at jaune in alarm. For him part, he didn't seem that fazed by the elf screaming in his face. "What happened!?""Well...I went to the forest to collect some fruits and then all of a sudden I ended up in fifth floor." jaune began, looking like he was struggling to remember what had happened which confused Aina. "While I was there, a Minotaur appeared and I fought it."
"You fought it and what happened next !?" Aina exclaimed loudly, awhile everyone are looking at there fellow members like she was crazy.
"Yes." jaune nodded without hesitation. "I took my dagger and stabbed it into its eyes, but it broke when I tried to take it out. Weaponless, I then decided to run and escape. As you can see, I was successful in escaping it."
"Okay..." Aina said, unsure of what he had told her. For one thing, how did he, a Lv. 1 Adventurer, outrun a Minotaur, a Lv. 2 Mid-Floor Monster? It should have been impossible, but when Aina thought back to jaune display of speed and strength earlier, his story held weight. But where did he gain such speed from?
"So you went to the fifth floor, encountered a Minotaur, fought it, before managing to escape it."
"Yeah, that about sums it up," jaune said almost nonchalantly, making Aina let out an exasperated sigh.
"Geez, it's bad enough that you're going into the new Dungeons by yourself, but going into the lower floors without any backup? How many times have I told the guards not to let nonparty numbers in there and they keep taking risks is absolutely not allowed? Adventurers must not go on an adventure, ?" Aina said.
"'Adventurers must not go on an adventure...'" jaune repeated, seemingly deep in thought before saying, "Always be careful and well prepared."
"That's right." Aina nodded, glad that this person had remembered the hidden meaning to her words. "You're still new to being an adventurer, What was your name again-
Jaune Arc
"You could easily die if you're not careful."
jaune for his part just nodded at Aina's words.
"So, how did you escape this encounter ? You said your weapon broke so I'm guessing you managed to avoid encountering any monsters along the way right ?" Aina asked.
jaune opened his mouth as if to say something, but then suddenly stopped and closed his mouth. He then said, "Yes, that's right."
The elf raised an eyebrow at the young man. The way he had said that was suspicious as if he was hiding something.
"Anyway," jaune began. "If it's okay with you, may I leave now? I have places to be at a moment."
Aina wanted to protest, saying that weren't done talking yet, but she knew she could not keep him here forever and she needed to get back to work as soon as possible.
"Alright, you may leave. Make sure to cash in your items before going home. You wouldn't want to worry your family, now, right?" Now Aina expected a reply like, 'I know, I know,' or even a small laugh nervous from her charge.
"Cash in?" A confused reply was not what she expected nor was the confused look jaune gave her.
"Cash in your items. You know, exchanging items for Valis from your dungeon run?" Aina explained
.....
jaune Arc continued to give her a look of confusion which was starting to worry the half-elf until a look of realization formed on the teen's face.
"Right. Cash in my items for Valis." jaune said as he took out a pouch from his side, jiggling it to make the contents inside rattle. Magic stones were no doubt what was inside the pouch and from the sound of it, there wasn't a lot in there which made sense to Aina. Going by jaune story, the usual time in the dungeon wasn't cut short honestly, which meant he didn't get as much as he usually did.
"Anyway, I best be going now. Wouldn't want to keep...my family waiting." jaune said before he left the room. Aina watched him go with worried eyes when suddenly, jaune stopped and turned back to her.
"Thanks you, Mrs Aina. I'm...glad we could talk like this." He said before he finally took his leave, leaving a surprised Aina. She then realized something.
'Wait, "family which one did he belong to or was he from Ourario?"' For the while Aina's known people around here, he never referred to his goddess by name and Which clan is he from, She looked towards the door this jaune arc had just left through, wondering what was going on with the boy-er, teen. Gods, this was getting confusing.
Walking down the streets of this city, jaune stared down at the gold coins in his hands he had exchanged for the stones he had in his bag. Valis is what they were called and what he had on hand was worth 1200 Just like in remnant.
"If these were souls, this would barely be enough to buy two Black Firebombs or a Green Blossom." jaune could only nod in agreement with the voice in his head as he stashed away the money and focused his attention on his surroundings.
Various species of Elvin people passed by him as he minded his own business. Houses and stores lined the vast city area, making it feel like one could get lost if they didn't know the place, or weren't careful. This was natural as the city was known famously as the new Elvin City or the great tree city. It certainly was a better place to live than Lordran or in remedent, jaune thought, but to be fair, that place was dying out and another was completely died out.
'How long has it been since I've last walked through these streets?' jaune thought to himself, taking in everything around him. A feeling of nostalgia came over him like a wave as he continued walking with no destination in mind. Or so he thought as hours of walking later, he found himself standing before an abandoned church.
This four-story building that used to pay respects to the gods was almost completely broken. From the appearance alone, one could see broken stone everywhere. One can easily tell this building has gone through many years of disrepair, having faded from the memories of the people. A sad fate, much like the Undead. On top of the entrance, which had no door, was a statue of a goddess, though which jaune couldn't even begin to guess as the body of the statue was tattered and a smile could be seen on the goddess' face even though half of the said face was missing.
Walking inside, jaune could see the interior of the building was just as bad as the exterior. Dense weed can be seen growing out of the broken floor, most of the ceiling had already fallen apart, and a big hole could be seen through the roof, allowing sunshine to come through and fall upon the altar that had somehow managed to keep its original appearance.
Clad in his armor, but with his weapon and shield put away, he approaches the woman praying by the altar. She hears him coming from the clanking of his armor and turns to face him with a smile.
"I was wondering when you might return. It is a great relief to see you. Now, let us speak of Miracles."
jaune winces and grunts in pain, bringing a hand to his head as the memories come rushing in. He expected tears to start forming from his eyes, but comes slowly. That's to be expected, he's last since cried the last of his tears back in Lordran. But that didn't lessen the pain in his chest.
"Pyrrha..." jaune mutters, lowering his hand as he looks down sadly.
"There's no changing the past." said Aurora "I know," jaune said before his body begins to move to a wall next to the altar. From afar, no one would have noticed, but up close, there was a gap in the wall. A secret entrance, jaune deduced. Reaching his hand forward, he pulled open the secret door to reveal stairs that led down to a basement.
Once again, just like at the Guild, memories of his younger self came to him. The previous ones showed him doing things like walking through Orario or exchanging items for Valis. Others told him the names of people such as with Aina. The memory that showed up this time was him going down the stairs to another door that led to a spacious basement room but whose memories are these. And when he opened the door, there was someone was There.
Following these memory off someone, jaune climbs down the steps to the door below. Slowly, he reached for the handle of the door, but just before he could touch it, the door flew open, making jaune jump. The feeling of wanting to jump back and go for a weapon that was not on him came over him, but it was soon squashed down when he saw who had opened the door.
A youthful female stood before him. Petite and beautiful, her appearance looked to be between a mid woman and a female teenager. She was same size as his but a little shorter. Even if jaune had looked like his 26-year-old self, the girl would still be little teller. has green eyes and long black hair which covers one of her eyes. She wears a green centric outfit that exposes her stomach, with green flower decorations on her skirt. Her attire, which jaune couldn't help but be appalled at, jaune couldn't help, but notice that due to her small frame, the size of her breasts was quite emphasized. The ribbon the girl was using certainly didn't help to change any of that.
"What is with that outfit?" It seems the Aurora was also quite appalled by the girl's outfit.
green eyes blinked at him before the girls raised her head to his.
"Oh! hey, who are you and what you doing in my home! I wasn't expecting intruder to come this early."
+
The second jaune heard the girl's voice, memories came rushing back to him. The girl before him was a goddess. The one who will take him to jail for trespassing on her property 3 minutes form now, he shouldn't coming here form the beginning. The one who graced him with this is stupid memories so that he could become an criminal thanks for this memory lane who ever there belong to.
'...so what was her name again ?.' jaune arc thought, finally remembering the name of the person who had kept him going through Lordran in the beginning.
When he woke up in the Undead Asylum, he wanted nothing more than to return to his goddess. When he had been given the task to ring the Jason of Awakening, her image kept him going through the toughest of situations. But that soon changed the more times he kept dying. Slowly, he had forgotten about her. The first thing that went was the name. After that was her face. Finally, after many years, he could only remember the shape of her figure, but even that was a blur in his mind. He didn't know what kept him going after that. A sense of duty? A desire to do what he believed at the time was the right thing? Or perhaps when he finally reached his destination, he just wanted everything to end.
So this is Jason's memories he was in there just like me trapped he might be the last one who put the The flame and I was his replacement, when i took his soul from him at the asylum I took their memories as well a part of their essence at the same time I wonder how many more I have.
So this is his life what it used to be before he died in the dungeon.
"hey Jaune Sorry But we cannot feel bad at the moment I know how you feel I can feel you but you know- "
"I know"
But as he stood before this goddess, everything Jason had forgotten was slowly starting to come back. For an Undead like him, this was quite the miracle.
"Mr? Are you alright ? Or are you looking for something else entirely intruder ! " Hethor asked, looking worried when the young man hadn't said anything for a while and just stared at her. She soon started to fidget a little under his gaze she's slowly reaching for a weapon she had a little pocket knife that she has in her dress all the time for emergency who knows who might attack who her kind is not that it welcome in this world that She can run freely.
As the memories finally finished flowing into his head, jaune expected to feel happy now that he was home but She is going to do one thing he's going to honor Jason or others like him bye joining there whatever group this is.
back with his goddess.
Instead, he felt nothing. He didn't smile out of joy, nor did he want to just hug the goddess before him. None of those feelings came over him as he had expected. Perhaps his time in Lordran had changed him more than he thought.
Nevertheless, jaune knew he couldn't just keep staring down at the goddess forever. So he put on a small smile, an action that greatly surprised him more than he thought, and finally spoke.
"I'm here to join your familia." The words that came out of his mouth felt so foreign to him. And by the great sun, when was the last time he actually smiled? It felt like it took everything from him just to produce that small smile on his face.
"Y-Yeah okay just put me out a bit but wait- If you say you want to join," Hethor said as she moved out of the way for jaune to enter the room.
To the right of him, there was a small sofa that he remembers Jason used to sleep on. To the left was bed big enough for Three people, four if you squeezed in. In between, there was a small table where he remembers where Jason and Hethor would eat together. All in all, jaune was reminded of how poor they were.
'So that's what that earlier compulsion was.' jaune thought, having felt the need to dig something out from the bodies of monsters he had killed. It was the need to dig out the magic stones which he would then later trade for money in the guild That equals to money.
"Yeah, welcome " Hethor said as she closed the door and turned to him. "You're wanted to join my familiar You could have said that before you know intruding at someone's home You know this is my home right I will put you down you know divine punishment and who told you where I live ?"
"Ah, well..no i Jason told me where you live before died after he went to the dungeon ." jaune, who had conquered every challenge Lordran had thrown at him, found himself stumped while he pondered on what to tell the little goddess. He couldn't exactly say that he died and became an Undead.
"How about just telling her the lie you told Aina. You know, about the Minotaur."Aurora suggested about what the voice in his head suggested and later did as told.
"You encountered a Minotaur wow !?" Hethor exclaimed as she ran her hands all over jaune. "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere do you need some help I can provide you some if you want ?"
"I am fine. I managed to escape with no injuries." jaune said, feeling awkward with the goddess running her hands all over him. "I did lost my dagger though when I tried to fight it."
"You fought it!?" Hethor exclaimed loudly again, practically screaming in his face. jaune, for his part, didn't even blink.
"Yes," jaune said, having no need to hide that part of the story. Like with Aina earlier, he was telling half-truths and half lies. He did not mention how he did not plan to outrun the Minotaur, and he did not mention his Pyromancy as his previous self never had such an ability Or he doesn't know how the people will react towards him.
Hethor, once she was done checking him, narrowed her eyes at him, searching for any lies in what he said. Finding none, she relaxed a little.
"Well, as long as you're alright and alive, then I guess everything's okay. Just promise me that He is all right when you see him next time Tell him to be careful as Goddess ,is actually worried."
"I can't lady hethor I need you to tell you something very concerns you're very followers." jaune nodded his head as he said that. During his time in Lordran, he was nothing, but careful. He always made sure his armor was in top condition, his weapons were sharpened and durable, checked his shield to make sure they were still strong, he had enough Estus in his Flask, equipped any rings that might help him, and made sure to carry any items that might help him in the long run. No matter the enemy, and no matter the situation, jaune always made sure he was ready for anything.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
He was not ready for this.
When you told her about what happened to her child basically her followers that they passed away in the dungeon along with their weapons They told them go look for their goddess and tell her everything about them what happened He told her that how they died in the dungeon and what killed them After telling them she stood silence a few minutes When she read him she started to realize it was all true and she started to break down She break down on him and she sent on the bed and start crying She lost not just one but three of her children at the same day and she did not even realize it when Jaune saw this He was a little sad but he can do s*** about it because he knew what truly kill him.
He went inside to confront her into a hug and let her cry on his shoulders that she cried and cried Jane was a little sad at her loss so he decided to join her familiar for good and help her build a new group that can lead people He was going to promise this but he didn't he can't progress this He was thinking how This will in a long-term of things needs to find his friends and he needs to confront some problems and find his way back home People are waiting for him but right now someone needs him That is this goddess.
After she calmed down she told him that he could leave He doesn't need to burden himself by joining someone like her but he protested him He said he will join her not because of pity but what he saw a strong woman to follow When he said that he genuinely meant this touched the goddess heart , She felt it even at the darkest time there is light and this boy must become her light so she decided she was going to give him a blessing and making join her familiar.
A one month later :
"It's been technically a month since pass I joined her familiar and tell you the truth it's kind of fun I started learning about more about this world and how technically works help every different race is different from each other and What differences they have economically and biologically and that my semblance and aura is somehow returning does that mean my soul that I lost in that place It started to recover if that's the case then it's a good thing and very concerning at the same time to benefit of all is that I can use magic not just any magic my undead magic I could use fire and lightning But morally I can use my remnant world type of magic And it's light type in their world light type of magics are very rare and very few She said that this type of magic you used to exist in many years ago like centuries and the only ones who are alive in have these type of magics are only elves.
and more things I learned that The Forest off the elves what's never this organized once a time long for them able to time in all the forests or connected we're one another then all of a sudden there was a civil war them, I pretty much destroyed some of the clans and some force were damaged After that the forests were divided some of the force are technically new ones are those clans or destroyed their children or what relatives they had divided and corrugated their new homes over there Later other tribes start came about on their territories and took shelter under their wing.
When the tree you ever after came here This saw a sign that all the Elvin race needs to come down do this very spot and unite once more as one true nation then the king force of the elves declared that each forest will have its elders sit among a counsel each counsel will have a forest that's named after their family's or founder they will honor them and they will represent them That's how they formed this tree as a new base a safe zone for their families just like the other places in the world that are bigger and stronger they want to make sure they're are safe.
The more I start to research on their kind the more I understand else have a major problem among their kind their birth rate is very low They say that else can not mate that much with the others meeting their standards and the males and females don't usually do it at all They just wants to keep their prices down alive for some goddamn reason, This is just like remnant people in Atlas or mental wherever he goes People are all just more similar than he realizes but he's not going to intervene in this situation. After he learned that Elvin women are eyeing him in a very romantical way and the men are basically good glaring daggers at him some are even praising him to be some kind of a saint The longer he stares at them, When he ever looks at the older folks some of them didn't even bother to say hi to him what's up Even do something even praise him to marry his daughters or they could date one of them 'really who wants someone like me' the more he understands their problems and what they are facing at the moment.
That is all I know right now but one day I believe they will all unite but it will take some time just like in remnant It will take time.
And she also told me that magic in Aura and semblance are more similar than you can think about but difference at the same time too She told me that many people used to know these type of techniques long before he even came about But they were only based on magic and someone having more basically a rare thing Wait until they're see my friends semblances The pretty OP themselves I wonder where they are and I remember i can power them up with my semblance oh that's it powerful kicker other words I'm a living tank now we're going to say about that yang and Nora"
"So, how much did you make today?" Hethor casually asked. The Undead simply took out the coins he had on him to answer. "Less than usual, huh? Well, I guess that's to be expected. But don't you worry jaune!"
jaune raised an eyebrow at the goddess' excitement before she suddenly placed on the table two mugs of water and a plate full of...what were they called again?
"Tada! I made a lot of small contributions today at the store's revenue, so I got a lot of potato croquettes! Today's dinner is a feast of potato croquettes! What do you think, jaune ?"Honestly, jaune didn't know what to feel. It's been years, possibly centuries since he last laid eyes on proper looking food. These potato croquettes certainly looked and smelled better than a Dung Pie. But then again, anything was better than a dung pie. He was also reminded that because they were so poor, Hethor herself had to work as well in order to earn money.
"This looks great." jaune decided on saying as he grabbed a nearby wooden chair and sat down. Hethor herself took a seat on the sofa, sitting right across him as she smiled and laughed happily at his words.
"Well, dig in before they get cold."
"Right." Taking a croquette from the pile, jaune could not help but stare at it. When was the last time he had actually eaten? He remembered eating dirt during his time in the asylum when he was hungry and desperate. He also remembered eating fruits and plants from the Darkroot Garden during his time as a Forest Hunter. But after that, as the years went by, jaune arc eventually stopped eating all together. He was an Undead, and Undead don't get hungry. The only things that sustained Undead were Estus, Humanity, and Souls.
'Do my taste buds even still work?' jaune thought as he continued to stare down at the croquette in his hands.
"Is something wrong?" jaune was snapped out of his thoughts by the voice of Hethor who was looking at him worriedly while eating.
"N-No, it's nothing." jaune insisted before he looked down at the croquette and finally took a bite of it.
The taste...there was something there. Despite the fact that the treat in his hand looked and smelt good, he could taste it bit. As he chewed, he felt like he was chewing on warmed food.So even my taste buds have been damage bit I can still eat .' jaune thought as he continued eating despite tasting little anything there.
When did he lost his sense of taste? Was it during his time in Blighttown? There were many times when he tripped and fell headfirst into those treacherous poisonous swamps. Perhaps it was when he traversed the Demon Ruins and fell into the pools of magma? Or maybe it was that one time he ate a dung pie. Why he did such a thing, the reasons were lost to him. But his gut told him it had something to do with a bet with one of his friends.
'Perhaps it's not that I lost my sense of taste, but rather it was just slowly destroyed during my time in Lordran.' jaune thought. It certainly seemed plausible.
"I'm sorry, jaune." jaune stopped eating when Hethor suddenly apologized. Looking up, jaune saw the goddess looking down sadly.
"Huh?" Naturally, jaune arc was confused.
"We haven't found anyone yet willing to join my Familia. It's probably because my name isn't
Familia. A type of faction under a god or goddess made up of adventurers and supporters headed by said god or goddess. And because Familias is headed by gods, they are thus named after them. For example, because now he served under Hethor, he was a part of the Hethor Familia. Thinking about it now, jaune felt that Familias were similar to Covenants.
'I've certainly been through a lot of them.' jaune thought to himself, thinking back to his services to Alvina, the Fair Lady, and working alongside his fellow Warriors of Sunlight a - i lost count hmm. '
"You get the same blessing no matter which god you serve." jaune pointed out. Since it didn't matter which god or goddess one served, the remaining factor left when picking who to serve under was popularity. He tried recalling just what were the most popular Familias in Orario are now , but it seems that bit of memory had yet to resurface.
"I hate having to force you to do all of the work though..." Hethor said, looking down sadden.I don't mind. And you're working hard too." jaune said before stuffing the entire fried potato into his mouth. Since he couldn't taste a thing, he might as well just finish the thing instead of continuing to take small, pointless bites.
"...I'm sorry you struck a contract with a rookie goddess like me," Hethor said, tearing up a little. jaune jumped a little at the sight of Hethor tearing up.
'Shit! She's crying! What do I do!?' jaune thought to himself, trying to figure out how he should cheer up to the divine being in front of him. It was quite ironic, really. He has fought and killed literal gods before, and now here he is, trying to cheer up one.
"I-It's fine. Even if it's just the two of us, I'm sure things will work out." jaune said. Even if it was just him and Hethor, jaune didn't see any problems with that. Back during his time as a Chaos Servant, minus Eingyi, he was literally the only one serving and helping the Fair Lady in providing her Humanities when she needed them. It may not have cured her sickness, but it did help alleviate her pain, and that was enough for him.
"jaune..." Somehow moved by his words, Hestia wiped away her tears and cheered up. "You're right! We're still just starting out as a Familia! Once we manage to get a more comfortable life, more people will surely begin to join us!"
'I...didn't say any of that.' Jaune thought.
"Hehehe..." Hethor laughed and smiled at jaune. "I'm really blessed to have met someone like you."
"I'm glad to have been of some help," jaune said, taking his a sip of his water. Since water didn't have a flavor to begin with, drinking the cool liquid was oddly satisfying like he was taking a sip of Estus. The only difference being he wasn't in a life-threatening situation.
"Alright, let's update your Status and make ourselves a better future!" Hethor said, standing up.Status?' jaune thought, confused at first until he realized what Hestia was talking about. 'She must mean my Stats.'
Status, God's Grace, or Falna. Being the only legal power gods can use in the mortal world, they can improve a target's stats by carving hieroglyphs through the medium of fresh blood. With this, by using excellia(experience points), a person's basic abilities, skills, and level can go up. It's powers like these that make people worship the gods.
'Should I let her see my Status?' jaune thought to himself. Though the use of Bonfires, jaune has technically been modifying his own stats all on his own, picking which stat he wanted to increase. By that logic, he didn't need an update in his status, though thinking about it now, when was the last time he actually sat down and looked at his stats? It felt like a long time since he had actually needed to increase anything.
'Hmm, seeing as I don't have my armor anymore, perhaps an increase to my natural Resistance is needed.' jaune thought before nodding to himself.
"Alright," jaune said, agreeing with Hethor as he got up...and was soon at a loss at what to do.
'So...how did this go again?' jaune arc thought.
"What are you waiting for, jaune? Take your shirt off and get on the bed." Hethor said.
"R-Right." So he was stripping? Well, he already felt naked without his armor with him so might as well. Taking his shirt off, he threw it to the sofa and went to the bed. Digging through his recovered memories, he then laid down on his stomach and waited for Hestia to jump on his back. After 5 minutes of nothing happening, jaune raised an eyebrow in confusion as he got up and turned to see Hethor staring at him, blushing beet red while a line of drool was dripping down from her mouth.
"Hethor? Is that your name ?" Hethor soon snapped out of whatever daze she was in, shaking her head and quickly wiping away the drool from her mouth and nodded at him for confirmation.
" yes I-I'm am! Everything's going to be fine ! Now just lay down!"
"Okay..." Still a little confused there, but still jaune laid back down and seconds later, Hethor was on his back.
Hethor just stared at him and then she blinked once. Then twice. A third time. And a fourth and fifth for extra measure to make things sure that she's not tripping But no matter how many times she blinked or rub her eyes, the numbers before her did not change.
[Jaune D miles Arc ]
[Level: six (?)]
[Strength: S-999]
[Endurance(Resistance): S-999]
[Dexterity: S-999]
[Agility: S-999]
[Magic S-999]
[Development Abilities: Abnormal Resistance-A, Hunter-A, Luck-D, Escape-B, Magic Resistance-B]
[Skills: Pyromancy, Sorcery, Miracles, Chosen Undead(Unkindled), Lord of Cinder, ]
Aura - The light of one's soul.
Aura Amplification - The power to amplify the light of one's soul.
This...what is this? This level, these stats, these skills, what is all this!? This...this is impossible who the hell is he !
'These stats are unrealistic no matters on many times I see it !' Hethor mentally screamed in her head and who could blame her? jaune, her child, was a Level six and was S rank across the board! Not only that, but they were all of equal number, each stat reaching to the absolute maximum of the rank. How does one even achieve that!? And what was that question mark right next to the level for?
'This doesn't make sense, where did all this power come from? And just what are these skills
'There's enough in here to buy me a sword as well as a shield maybe.' jaune noted, setting down the bag before grabbing the other one and opening it up. His eyes widen when he saw two familiar looking bottles.
'An Estus Flask! And...what is this?'
Inside the bag was indeed an Estus Flask, the great boon of all Undead. But along with the Estus Flask was another flask, though instead of being filled with the orange life liquid, a bright blue liquid filled the flask's content.
Taking the unknown flask from the bag, the second jaune laid his fingers on it, the familiar sensation of information pouring intohis head came over him. It was a sensation jaune had grown used to it happened every time he laid his hands on an item.
'Ashen Flask...' The name came to jaune's mind as what the blue flask could do filled his mind.
Hethor:
?' Miracles?? Just what were those?
Something wasn't right. She met and knew jaune, lived with him even, for a month. The human wasn't even nowhere near ready to break through the first levels, and yet his Status showed him being on the same level as the strongest adventurer's in Orario! Not mention some of his stats and skills weren't right. Why were Intelligence and Faith grouped together with Magic? Just what is that anyway? And what are these skills? She read the description, but it just left her with more questions than answers.Pyromancy: The art of conjuring fire. Must have Pyromancy Flame in order to use.
Sorcery: The art of casting magic. A Catalyst is needed to use this art. (Lightning Spear)
Miracles: The art of casting magic through the use of Faith. A Talisman is needed in order to use.
The first three skills seemed simple enough to Hestia, if a bit confusing. They all seem to be a form of Magic, though the second Hestia laid eyes on the list of things her child could do, she was overwhelmed. Chaos Storm? Homing Crystal Soulmass? Sunlight Spear? Just what was all this and where did her child learn these!? Don't even get her started on the next three skills.
Chosen Undead(Unkindled): (?)
Lord of Cinder: Augment power of pyromancy, sorceries, and miracles. Augment damage from weapons. Decrease damage taken from fire.
Soul of Cinder: (?)
For some reason, the first and last skills were locked and hidden away from her, no matter how many times she tried to pry for information. The only one she was allowed to see was this Lord of Cinder skill. From the description, besides powering up his magic skills, it also increases the damage Bell can dish out should he ever wield a weapon of any kind, such as a sword or knife, while also decreasing any damage taken from anything fire-related. All in all, it sounded like a very powerful skill.
But still, what does this Chosen knight (Unkindled) and Soul of Cinder skills even mean and do? The latter skill seemed related to the Lord of Cinder Skill while the former just left Hethor greatly worried.
Something wasn't right here. These stats, these skills, nothing about them made sense and Worst of all it's semblance and aura what are these.
She tried looking into jaune's experience. This was another power gods had or Besides granting Falna, they had the ability to look into the experiences of their blessed child as if they were reading a book. Hethor herself considered this a breach of privacy, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Like jaune had mentioned before, he had gone down to the fifth floor and ran into a Minotaur. He then ran away from it and then...nothing. The words that told Hethor of jaune s experience just stopped there, as if something were blocking it.
"Hethor sama?" Hearing her name, the goddess was brought out of her musing by jaune. She must have been lost in thought longer than she realized. "Is something the matter?"You tell me.' Hethor thought as she looked down at jaune s outrageous stats on the stat sheet in her hands. A second later, Hethor snapped her head back at jaune, having noticed something.
"What did you just say?"
"Huh?" jaune glanced over in confusion.
"What did you just call me?" Hethor asked again.
"Hethor- sama ?"
*BANG!*
At that moment, Hethor felt like an arrow had shot through her heart. Her name. jaune had called her by her name! Before it was just "Goddess" and nothing more. Sure, it was just jaune being formal and kind, but after half a month of living together, she expected jaune to get used to living with her and start calling her by her name. She's been using his since the day they met. Frankly, she had almost given up on getting jaune to call her by her actual name, but now...
"Hethor ?" Hethor felt another arrow go through her chest. "Is something the matter? You're acting strangely."
"I-It's nothing!" Hethor said, trying her best to come down from cloud nine and failing miserably.
"Are you sure? Your face is all red." jaune pointed out.
Indeed, Hethor face was completely beet red from blushing. From jaune's point of view, it looked like she had a fever. The small trail of steam coming from her head certainly played a part in that assumption.
"I-I'm fi-!" Hathor began to say until she glanced back at the stat sheet in her head. Looking back at jaune, she then made a decision.
"Actually, I am feeling a bit under the weather. It's making me unable to properly read your stats." Hethor lied, folding up the sheet and stuffing it in between her breasts. But who was she really lying to? jaune, or herself?
"Oh, okay," jaune said, getting up from the bed and allowing Hethor to see the newly developed muscles of her child. jaune s physique before hadn't been so developed so to see this new change...
Despite being a goddess, Hethor ,thanked the high heavens for granting her this gift. She tried not to pout when her child put back on his shirt, though she couldn't help, but notice that said shirt looked a little small on jaune In fact, was it her imagination, or did her child look older?Must be that thing humans call puberty.' Hethor thought. As a divine being, she would forever retain her current appearance, never aging. One of the biggest reasons gods such as herself came down from the Upper World was because of their deep interest in humans. But just because they were interested in them, doesn't mean they technically know about them. All Hethor knows is that Humans age, grow bigger, and eventually die. It's not like she knows human biology. Compared to the life of a god, human life was fleeting. That was just facts.
"I'm gonna step outside for a bit." Hethor was brought out of her thoughts when jaune spoke up, heading towards the door.
"Eh?" Hethor blinks before looking back at the plate full of potato croquettes on the table. She then looks back at jaune. "What about dinner? You're not gonna eat more?"
"I'm not feeling all that hungry tonight. You can have the rest." jaune said before opening the door and taking his leave
TO BE CONTINUED