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A Sacred, Beautiful, and Strong Familiar Spirit
Prologue- The Familiar Summoning
Act I: To Deny One's Nature
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Undisclosed Imperial System
As the chanting continued apace to the dark rituals of the cultists, the barriers between real space and the hellish realm known as the Warp began to fray. Spilt blood fed the portal that grew ever wider, ravenously consuming reality and bending it to its own will. Soon, the summoning would be complete. Soon, the Chaos forces, already in control of the planet, would triumph over those foolish chattel of the False Emperor in the battle for this sub-sector. For the cultists had beckoned to Khorne in a great sacrifice, and the Blood God deigned to answer their call by sending forth one of his mightiest and most terrible servants: a Bloodthirster.
The Bloodthirster impatiently awaited the portal's completion... and grew in rage the longer and longer it dallied. There was slaughter ahead, an entire system, and then more, to be sacrificed to mighty Khorne! For this delay, he would have the skulls of every foolish cultist on the pitiful world he was departing for. After several minutes, the chanting strangely began to die down. It was still present, but something rose above the din: it was the voice of a pathetic mortal, likely little more than a mewling child by its tone.
"My slave who lives somewhere in this universe! Oh sacred, beautiful, and strong familiar spirit! I desire and here plead from my heart! Answer to my guidance!"
That whelp dared to presume to command him, an avatar of bloodyhanded Khorne himself; a neverborn embodiment of destruction given form and unleashed?! He would take delight in tearing the arrogant mortal apart, limb from limb, with his massive whip. And then repeating that action upon every single one of those weakling scum within the immediate radius.
Without further impediment, the Bloodthirster surged fowards, not heeding the fact that the portal had changed from a deep scarlet to a shade of green, and that its shape was warped from a jagged but still perfect circle into a slightly bent oval. "No matter", it presumably thought through screams of anger in its mind. It was the correct size now, and would allow him through to a new, untouched land which would become the next battlefield for the Blood God.
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Tzeentch himself, the Architect of Fate, Great Conspirator, and Changer of Ways, gazed upon the ball of pure, flowing Warp energy and saw the breadth of the galaxy. He plotted and planned, creating countless schemes and conspiracies every moment. Nothing escaped his reach; he was powerful in a way only one of the four Gods of Chaos could be.
By pure luck, his attention caught a lone Bloodthirster. A terrifying monstrosity by most beings' standards, but a mere insect in face of his power. No, there was nothing remarkable about the Bloodthirster's appearances, but rather the circumstances it was in.
To begin with, it was moving through an unnaturally fluid stream of the Immaterium, even by the demanding standards of the realm. It practically rocketed towards its destination, which the Raven God scried and followed ahead. Interestingly enough, the Chaos God concluded that the daemon would soon be hastily transported to a completely different universe. Tzeentch examined the universe, in particular the primitive planet the Bloodthirster was destined for, and took in as much information possible.
Following that lead, Tzeentch also investigated the daemon a little closer. It seemed its true name was Saito Hiraga. This puzzled him (for it was clearly pronounceable and not radiating malevolence) until he realized that that particular Bloodthirster was named so in an age long past, when Chaos was still young and Daemon Princehood had not yet been perfected. Strong warriors, by Khorne's favor, would have their name and some of their base soul taken up by one of his daemonic champions, to live on in such a legacy.
Tzeentch grinned at that fact, having seen how another time had played out with another by the identical name. In its viewing of the world, Tzeentch had seen an alternate reality of an ancient Terran who had been summoned and lived an intriguing life on the planet. He was a far cry from the warrior namesake of the daemon, and only shared a name. Any fighting prowess arose from some strange manner of non-Warp sorcery involving runes etched upon his hand not dissimilar (in appearance) to the ones the Necrons would write with. Still, his life was interesting. Perhaps a little too Slaaneshi centered, but highly amusing nonetheless.
And so it was that the Weaver of Destinies formed yet another plan in his mind, and in the plan staked out the path ahead for yet another being. Two, in fact. One would be bound to the other in mind. He would use these facts in conjunction to bind the daemon to the summoner, weak as she was. In the process, he would observe and learn of the witchcraft on the planet, as well as amuse himself.
Tzeentch was thankful that the particular daemon in his attention was a servant of Khorne. Khorne never seemed to keep track of his minions (as Skarbrand had exemplified), unlike if it were a Great Unclean One, in which case that slovenly Nurgle, what with his strange compassion for his pawns, would likely take note of and interfere with his coming work.
The Chaos God cast an arcane illusion to veil the Bloodthirster as he saw fit and another spell for him to track the infernal being. Then, he began to slowly chuckle. And then he broke into malevolent laughter. Which accelerated more into a full-blown, no-stops villain's sinister litany of levity.
Sensing his master's cue, a nearby Lord of Change entered Tzeentch's chambers and restrained himself from audibly sighing. It called upon a sacrifice of nine thousand innocents from some hapless Imperial world, consuming their very souls and torturing them for eternity in a second, and then materialized a refreshment out of pure Empyrean energy. It handed its master the beverage and departed.
Tzeentch drank in some of the martini, continuing his mad laughter before pausing to utter something ominously.
"It begins."
Chapter 1- Dreams of Slaughter
Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Vallière coughed in light of the recent explosion. She took note that telltale sign of a miscast and hoped against hope that she had not failed yet again. And, it seemed... her hope would be... vindicated? The smoke cleared, only to bring her a disappointing half-success.
"A-a commoner?" she asked aloud. Other students had begun to laugh and give off remarks as to how expected that was of her. She mentally began to sink into the ground, and almost physically followed through on that. "Mr. Colbert! May I please resummon?"
"No, you absolutely may not! The summoning ritual is sacred, passed down from Brimir himself! To do otherwise is blasphemy. I'm sorry, Louise, you must complete the binding."
Louise looked upon the boy ahead of him and blushed. "Y-you should be h-happy. Normally someone of noble birth would never do this to a commoner."
She walked up to the commoner and then spoke, "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Vallière... Oh pentagon that rules the five powers, bless this individual and make him my familiar." Before she could hesitate or he could move about, Louise planted her lips on the boy in front of her in a rapid, chaste kiss.
Or at least what she thought were his lips.
The Bloodthirster on the receiving end of the kiss was furious. As a living manifestation of rage, that was to be expected. But right now, he was even more furious than usual. He had gone through the portal expecting a blasted-out hellscape full of sacrifices aplenty, but instead found himself surrounded by verdant pastures of bright grass.
Raising his gargantuan battleaxe in pure, unadulterated contempt, he prepared to strike the ground to burn the surrounding area and let loose a host of lesser daemons to follow in the flames of slaughter.
So singlemindedly engrossed was he in this task that he did not notice the small, pink girl that he had vowed to tear apart with his whip less than several minutes ago after hearing her voice. He did notice once it... made as if to bite him but instead rubbed her lips against his leg instead of doing that.
This only confused him, and he did not like being confused. In fact, being confused made him very angry. Turning his attention momentarily away from bringing forth apocalypse, the Bloodthirster made ready to strike the puny female, and using the whip only.
But then something that really, really pissed him off happened. He failed to raise his weapon, and it was suddenly as useful as wearing cement slippers in the swimming pool (an experience which the human warrior Saito had had when living on accursed Terra). This was followed by a pricking sensation on his body akin to being trapped in cement as a colony of ants bit away at him (another unwanted memory).
He could feel raw energy flowing through him as marks were etched into him- and not the Mark of Khorne. At the same time, the Bloodthirster swore he felt the work of the foul sorcerer god Tzeentch (his name be thrice-damned) at play alongside some manner of laughter, and almost feeling fear at that but then quickly reverting to extreme loathing and hatred.
Looking down, he decided he would tear apart all those Khorne-damned sorcerers below him. He would not limited by a simple spell, backed by a Chaos God or not! With a mighty roar, he invoked the power of his master's name while pouring all his effort into a devasting blow... and exploded for his efforts.
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Louise looked upon that stupid commoner, now her familiar, and sighed. He had just started screaming, presumably from being bound as her familiar, and then exploded. She hadn't even done it that time! The pathetic wastrel now lay on the grass, softly snoring.
It was true that she had summoned him, and he was at least proof of her ability as a mage, but couldn't she have caught a break from God and been given something like beautiful and strong, like she asked for? Was that really too much to ask for? To maybe receive a gryphon or something?
"No," she thought to herself, "I must stop thinking such blasphemous thoughts. This is heresy." It had been seen fit that she was to be granted a plebeian. But then, if the familiar matched the summoner, what did that make her?
"Irrelevant," she decided. She now had to take him up to her room, such that he may learn his place as her servant.
Strangely, when she tried to lift him up, she could not even get him to budge. She strained and put all her effort into it, and was rewarded only with a terrible crack from her arms before she collapsed on the ground. Shaking off the pain, she brought herself up again. What, now she was even a failure physically? The boy was only slightly bigger than her. That stupid thing lay completely oblivious to the world, grinning dumbly as it snored softly, reminiscent of a dog. A dog, yes, that was apt to describe it. Ironically enough, that was closer to the truth than Louise simply taking a shine to calling it a stupid dog. Bloodthirsters are noted for their ferocious canine features.
Surely she could at least drag the stupid dog up? She was glad most classmates had already stopped caring and left already.
But then that nagging, husky voice that she knew too well poked up again. "Ooh, having some trouble there, Zero?" Kirche asked smugly.
"N-no, I was-"
"Well, I pity you a little bit. I'll help you, since you are the Zero after all." Kirche made to levitate him with her wand, only nothing happened. The smug, reassured look on her face dropped a moment before redoubling. She would not give up so easily, as it was. After all, to appear weak in magic in front of her rival would only mark her as a hypocrite.
She poured all her willpower into the levitation spell, only to receive head-blistering pain and collapse without a word.
"H-huh?" Louise was slightly confused, but could not help but feel a little better upon seeing Kirche sprawled out on the ground from such a simple task like that. She looked to the boy, then back at Kirche. Tabitha stood silently above, and only shrugged when Louise gave her a questioning look.
"Mr. Colbert?" she called out to the teacher, who seemed to curiously be examining the boy's runes after he had confirmed that Kirche was not injured and informed her salamander familiar to drag her away.
"Yes? What is it, Miss Vallière?"
"Please... Help me bring my familiar to my room."
All told, it seemed no one could move him at all for the next few minutes of struggling. It was humorous to Tzeentch, but he decided to lighten the Bloodthirster's weight before the magi present saw through the collective stupedifying effect he had cast to affect those near the daemon and called for help. Best that the entire school not be getting too nosey, which they most certainly would be if more people were called over to help.
Louise suddenly went flying backwards before slamming into the ground holding her familiar. Tabitha, who had been idly reading a book but tacitly watching the scene, moved to dodge. Some unseen force knocked her off her feet as well though. Louise swore the blue-haired girl almost looked embarrassed after she recovered and left.
This same unseen force would present itself when Louise recovered her faculties and attempted to move the unconscious being into the Academy. Every time she tried moving into the building, a large clunk would sound off and Louise was dangerously close to reaching the conclusion that the person she was carrying was not actually a person.
Sometime between her now angrily throwing a tantrum and readying to slam the door with the plebian's head, a certain Chaos God chuckled to himself, "How very short-sighted of me. I had applied the illusion and adjusted his weight, but not altered his size."
Louise proceeded ahead to ram the door, but now merely found no resistance and instead sailed right on through it and slammed head first into a wall before she could slow herself down.
The pink-haired girl moaned as she picked herself up. "It seems since that stupid dog showed up that's been happening a lot. I will properly discipline it for this. And then lay down the rules for it to follow." Louise was already ready to take out her frustrations now that she finally had someone below her, it seems.
And so it was by this puerile, domineering thought that Louise would begin down the path of realising there was something deeply, deeply wrong with her familiar.
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Saito woke with a start, and a half-dozen questions after surveying his close surroundings. Namely, where was he, how the hell did he get here, what was going on, how to get out of here, hey is that a girl with a whip, and AAAAAAAARGGGGFFHCKIFL WHY IS SHE HITTING ME GYGGGGGGGGASHAHHHH.
"You stupid dog!" she yelled as she whipped him repeatedly.
Oh, another question now. How did he understand French? And why was the pain starting to feel good... Not good as in pleasure, but like a natural feeling, like it was how he was supposed to feel?
He had an inexplicable urge to suddenly start yelling, and not he was not even sure what exactly said yelling entailed. He didn't wonder for long however, because, in a bizarre out-of-body experience, he felt something take over his bodily controls.
"YES! YESSSSS!" the not-him screamed,"BLOOD! GIVE US BLOOD! HE CARES NOT FROM WHERE IT FLOWS!" This was then followed by
athrugijgjgj his tongue began twisting in impossible motions, letting loose the language of the damned, the -¿!¡%$#
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。̴̶̶̴̬͔̣͚̲̟̠̝̝͕̘̯̘̳̤̹̺͉̥̅͐̔ͬͥ̒̎ͩͤͯ̽͐ͯ͛ͩ͛̚͘「̴̯̠͇̺̞̞̹̝̼̤̠̣̰͈͈͓̙̙ͤ̈́̅ͯ̂́̕͜ͅ「͍̟͎͇͔͕̪ͨ͗͂̊̒̑͐͞͞「̱̞̪̻̺̙̹̭̭̦̼̫̫̪̞̤̀ͭ͛̅͒̌̿ͥͯͦͭ̇ͥ̀͢͞͠「̡̠̼̟̭͚͖̜̞̯̄͑̄ͩͣ̌̕「̸̵̼̦̘̹̦̮͓̗̗͍͓͚͍ͮ̌́̒͠͞「̧͎͚̼̮̼͚̻͉͓́͒̂̏̅͛͆͌ͭ「̱̬͇͍͎͕̠̋̎̉̔̍͛̐̈́̎ͨ̀ͮ̓͐ͬ́̕͢͞「̵̵̶̰͙͈̞̣͋ͮͣ́̔͐̉̀͞ͅ「̷̷͍͕̻̙̭̗̪̰̩̝̖̮͉͖̿ͣ͒̀̆͌͋̒̀ͮ͊̈́̍͑́̚͟͜ͅ「̴̌ͫͮ͒ͧ̏̏̐̽́҉̧̛̻̗͕͍̖̣̠̼̗͈̼̙͖͎̣͉̫ͅ「̩̩̘̺͚̤͓̬̰ͮͩ̿̏̇ͮͫͦ͛ͩ̉̑ͬ̏̆̈͋̄ͣ̀͝͡「̼̰̠͍̠̦̹͕̯̂ͪ̐ͤ̐̎͌ͮ̋͞ͅ「̶̡͉̯͔͎̭͚͔̹̠̩ͦͭ̎̀ͪ̔̅̊͟͠」͚̺͔̦̥̝̗̯͉͈͉͓́ͥͤ͒ͣ̀͋ͪ͢͜͝」̴̛̈̌̍̐͆ͫ̅̿҉҉̡̗̮̝̰̭͍͚̬̱͈̱̥̳̝͓̝̥̘ͅ」̶͔̩̩̘ͦ͑̓̇̈́͘͞͞」̡̡̡̓̍̋̆̈̏ͥͭ͐̂̇̓̊́͏̰̩͓̣̦͍̟͉̟͔̳̜̞̗̖」̶̵̹̳̣̱̂̆͗̽̿͗̌ͤ̆ͦ̒̋̐̋͑́」̵̡̛̩̱̭͔̳̩̩̓͗̅ͨ̿̿̉̾ͣ̉̃͂͂」̶̯͚̖͈̯̳̭͈̘͎͚̘͍͎͇͚͕̽ͨ̏」̮͎̠̤̈́ͥ͒̚͜͝」̛̬̭͚͕̠̼̥̳̦̺͕̻̘̤̮ͭ̐̀̏̊͝ͅ。̨̡̙͕̤̥̪͚͇̖̫͕̟̪̇ͦ̏̆̽ͨ́̒ͪ̈́̊̀̚ͅ、̷͖̖͓̟̙̜͈̳͕̹̠͕̼̝̣̿̃̄̋̊ͩ̓ͫ̑̐͞。̴̵̛̛̦͇̰̜̞̮͈̓ͩ̋̌̾͞ͅ、̸̨̪̘̞͇̺̗̘̺͍̤̯̟̻͒ͭ̋ͥͣ͋̔ͥ̾ͧ̀͡。̨̭̠̳̝͎̣͈̰̻̺̥̭̥͕̂͑̔ͣͭ̃̓͛͡͞、̫̤̝͎̫͔̐ͨ̊ͧͨ̅ͤ͢͠ͅ。̋͗̆ͥ̽͂̎ͣ̉ͬ̑̈ͣ̏ͪ́́҉̡̨͓͉̘͔̣̘̥͉̟͖͔̝̥͎̘ͅ、̡̡̼͈̰̘̞̠͓̗̭̳̂ͭ̓͋̊͗̀͑̈̽ͬ͘ͅͅ。̓̂ͧ̋̓ͧͭ̽̄ͮ̍̇̇̆̓̽̚͜҉̀҉̡͕͙̰ͅ、̨̥̖̭̠͎͎͔̹͖̗̜̗̇̿̋̅ͧͨ̇̇́ͅ。̴̶̷̢̘͕̘̫̱͈͉̟̯̳̠̬̥̓̃̏̈́̌̿̾ͭ̓̏̚͘、̅̅̿̀͏̸̛̯̯͓͓̭͙̹̺̤͔̘͘͞。̧̫͓̟͕̼̭̙̦̪̥̜̥̲̯̌̊ͭ̀̊̐ͣ͗ͦ̑̒̉͌̔́̑̀͜͞ͅ。͚̪͚̲̲̖̪͈̮̅ͯͪͥͥ͒̍̓ͫ̒͒̔̽̾ͨ̚͝、̷̛̖̯̖̳̪̖̣͎̳͕̠͎̋͗͗ͣ̊ͯ̉̍̋ͣͧͯ̓ͨ̈̂̅̇。̶̧̯̘̙͓̫͔͈̯ͮ̉̅ͫͨ̅͊̀̒͑͜͞、̨̜̜̙̜̝̜͖̞ͥ̒̍̐͗ͫ̀̈̎͘͞。̨̨͖̹̤͍̟̮͔̳͖͈͙̥͇͓̻͔̼̳ͣͪ͒ͯ͒͌̂̑̒͐̈́̾͌̋͌̆͘͟͢、̸̡̹͕̠̤̜̞̝̘̻̞͍̯͎̓͊̅ͣ͊̓̚͘͡。͗̔̊ͤ̾ͤͯ͊̇ͨ͏͍̤̥̩͇̼̝̯͎̥͉̞̼͓͎̹「̨̲͉̱͓͓̹͈̩͇̖̣͎͚̯̫͙̼̹͋̑ͭ͂ͣ̇̇̆̄̓͒͛̐̾̓̇̃ͦͩ́「̶͉̤̤̥̼̹̘̬͓͈̋̈́ͯ̄͊ͨͪ̊̀͂͛̇̍ͨ́̾͝ͅ「̢̪̣̙͚͚͉̬̤̠̞͖̖̟̗̮͊̾̌̎͂̿ͮ͟「̡̛͌ͥ̂ͮ̈͗̉̃͜͡͏̗͓̖̘̱「̧̠͎̺̣̻̟̱̞̬̠͕̠̟̹̟͎͈ͪͧ̿͌̓ͧ̔͊ͣ͒̒ͨͦ̽̓͞「̴̨̪̰̹̻̜͔̮̂͑̓͆̎ͨ͋̅ͥ̔̓̆̊̐̅「͗͊ͤ̅ͤ́̀̑̉ͬͥ̎҉̧͔͙̹͉̩̼͎̬̙̥͔͍̟͖̪͡「̜͚͔̙͖̼̻͉͙̎ͭ̐̈́́͘͢͟ͅ「̷̨̧͓̮͍̖̼̮̲̱̠̺̯͖͇͈̲̬̞̊̍̎̂ͫ̄ͭ̄͋̔̆̎ͫ̏ͫ̕ͅ「̴ͦͨ͆̒̀̿͠͏̶̵̹̮̻̲͕̜̬̣̮̙̰「̴̴̛̗̰̜̪̖̩̻̣̮͈̫̪̠͓̬ͭ̎̅͗͋ͨ̉ͨ͆̍̈ͧ̇͑ͬ̎̕͟「̡̘͖̣̩͛͂͐̅̊̇͐ͤ̆ͨͨ̇͗̓͛ͧͦ̅̀̕「͓̲̠̻͉̂ͬ̎ͩͩ̔̋͐ͪ̂ͯ́」̷̨̰͎̝̝̣̜̦̣͕̜̜̪̻̯̫̜ͣ͂̿͆ͧ̆̌̕͟」̴̢̞̟̞̘̳͔͍̲̺̞̳̣̺̰͇̞̍͑͛͛̒͘͟」̶̰̭̲̣̗̳̻͈̖̜̹͇͔̠ͯ͐̎̀ͯ̏̕」̸̷̭̮̲̣͔͎̤͎͇͈̽̿̎̄̋̓͂ͨ̔ͪ̚͘」̛͍̱̤ͧ͊͗̇͊ͤ̂͗̂͆ͣ」̶̢̑͊ͯ͑̋̅̆͐ͭͮ͒ͥ̂̑̾̈̂͗͡҉͚͍̻̤̬̪̬̣̳͎͙̟͕̖͔͔͉ͅ」̢̦̤̳̺̻͓͍̌̃͐͑̈́̆̑̓̆̉̐͆̚͢͝͝」̢͌͊͊̑̿̉́̍͂ͦ̋͌ͪͩ̃̅̈́̚͏͈͓̺̦̦͚̖͕͎̱ͅͅ」̶̴̰̥̟̯̤̬ͩ͛̊ͬ̌ͣ̾̓ͤͫ͆̔̓͋̀͂̀。̴̵͕̫͚̯̜̱̼̬͉͎̗͎͋̎͑̽͒̀ͅ、̊͗̐͑̊̓͗͐҉̵̛̮̻̳̱̰̖̙͎̱̭̲͉̞ͅ。̴̧̰̫̰̦̯̩͎̌̒ͥ̀̆͑͗ͅ、̵̛̠̘͖̝͖̰͔̤̩̪͉̑ͯ͋̄͊。̡͔͍̠͙̂̑̅͒ͤ͒͋ͧ̇̑̔̂̾͂́、̛̛̰̰̫̜͎͈ͭ͆͑͊ͣ͑̈́ͥ̆ͮ。̡̉͆̎̐͑͂̈́͒̊̈͒̒́͏̹͚͖̹̤̭̼̱̕͡、̶̷͓̮͙͇͋ͬ̒̅͂̔͆̔̏̅͌͢。̸̢̤̱͓̠̹̰̻̙̘̠̝͓̳͉͍̳͖̠̃̇͑̈̓̓̎ͩͨ͆̎̌̀̒ͯ͌͗̈́ͮ͜、̾ͣ̈́ͦ̀ͨ͐̓ͪ̐̍͂ͤ͆̈҉̧̝̬͖̤̯͉̝̱̕͟͡。̷̣̤̪̆ͪͮͮ̂̎̾ͦ͐ͬ́̇͘、̐͑͆̑̇ͭ̒͂̾̒̌̏͜͜͝͠͏̮͍̫͉͎。̏̌ͤͤ͊̃ͯ͌͊ͬ́̆̉̍͋̈̏ͦ̐͏̖͇͇̰̭̮̠̥̣͢。̍ͯ́͂̚͏̡̥̹̺̫͍̬̘͖̯、̡̿ͦ͗ͪ̓͒͂ͪ͌ͤ҉͙̺̥̰͔̗͖̥̘́ͅ。͙̻̥̭̲̗̖̥̭͕͔̠͕̗͚̠͈̮̘̈́͊̋͌̓̂ͨ͛̇͆̎ͧ͗̂ͥͬ̔ͯͩ́、̵̻͍͓̼̤̘̖̖͑̒̒̂̿̒ͣ͗ͧͤͨͣͩ͂͒͡͡。̸̢̮̳͖͖̥̘̱̥̼͔̮̞̦̼͓̣̅̃ͧ̌ͩͣ͒͜͜͝、̶̼̞͕͔̙̤̎ͣͪ͌ͫ͗̊̊ͧͪ̀͘͞。̿̽̌ͩ̒ͣͬ̍ͦͭ̆̂̈́̔ͩ̄҉͈͓̺̥͟
[̸̨̨̛͕̬̫͓̒ͦ̓͗̌͒ͪ̌̽̎̑͐͆̐́[͉̮͍̠͚̤͙͚̖̓̓͆ͣͤͩ̋͗̆͋̔ͫ̃̚͢͞ͅ[̡̩̙̰̖̖̜̟̪̱̩̦͉̜̬̩̠̭͈̎̃̅̓́̚[̵̗̦̫̰̹͈̟̼͔͓̌͂͌ͣ̃ͯ̎̀̓ͪ̌̃͢[͔̳̻̂̅̀ͬ̅͊̆̽͑͐̽̃̏͆̈́̈̄ͧ̔͟͞͞ͅ[̪͎̬̟͎͆̇̃̇͐ͮ̿̓̀͟͜[̟̦̥͙̫̬̠̗̖̮͇͉ͤ̆̊̓ͤ̈́̾͒͑͑̍͗ͧͧ͛̀̚̕[̶̫͎͎͓̲̪̼̼̟̞͎͈͕̱̗̊̒ͣ̎̾͆̆̔̓́̀[̢̡̨̜̩̻͎͋̾̓̆͒ͤͯͥ̾͂͢[̸̋́̌̓ͦ̎ͩ̽͋̆̓͏̹̥̪̯̳̬͕̤̞̜̮͚̞̜̫̗[͂̾͌ͫ҉̵̶̢̤̬̟̘͉͎͖̤͔͓̣̯̱͚̱͕̲͈̺́[̎͆̄͌̂̌͑̌ͬ̽́̇ͩ҉̞̪̱̝̀[̶͊̓̿͛ͣ̄̀͟͝҉̣͚̩͈[̷̶̨̦̹͉̘̖̳̟͍̙̘̫͉ͬͯͤͭͮ͆͌̍̍̇͊[ͯͨ̊͊̄̀ͫͩ̾ͮ̄̒͂ͭ̓̚҉҉̣͕̠̬͚͉̬̞͚̺̜ͅ[̡̧̤͇̙̥̼͙̓ͯͬ̍̍͆̕ͅ]̡̨̡͎̗̟̮ͮ̔͊ͨͯ͋̐͂ͥ̄̊̄̂͌̕]̴̧͇͖̬͉͈̲͎̘̮̱͓̫͉͛͋̽̔̇̔͛̍͛̒̚]̽̔̿̌́̂̅̆̃ͦ̂̎͒̚҉̜̖̭̥̥̖̹ͅ]̸̧̖̣̣͖̝̪̙̻̬ͩ̌̈́̓ͣͨͧ̊͛ͨ̍ͯͦ̔̀̀͘ͅ]̷̦͎̭̗͕͓̪͆ͬ͛͑ͣͭ͛̄͘͘]̰̭͙̬̎̾̂ͨ̋̓̉̐̃̕]̤̱̲̠͑̉ͮ̈̉͂̿̈́͢]ͥͦ̆ͭ̽ͮ̈ͧ̓ͣ̉ͯ́҉̙̠͇̣ͅ]̷̢̻̞̙̬̖̜̞͍̥̺͎͕͉̫̄́̇̒̍̄̄̅ͤ͛ͧͩ͋ͦ̏̏ͦ̊ͧ͢͠]̴̴̡͖̮̼̦̥͖̯̪͈̹̈̌̋͐ͣ̿͆̐ͬ̾̅̿]̻͖̱̠͍̻̫̃̃̐̓ͨͭ͒ͮ̓͡ͅ]̷̨̭̜͖̣̤̣̯̮̮͎͛ͦ̀ͩͬ̆̑͗̽̈̌ͨ͢ͅ]̴̛͙̭͈̝̜̮͚̥̘͕̘̟̻͖̥͆̂ͮͫ̏、̵ͦ̅̒͌̔̐ͤ͂̂̈́͗͒̔̚͏͏̣̖̠̪̳͙͙̣̟̱̝̣̜̳̭、̴͓̥̜̩͔̹͔̪̇ͭ̿̋̎ͬ̐͌ͩͫͮͥͥ̂̀͝、̴̸̞̤̺̣̻̮̈́ͦͯͮ̓̒̈́͛̑̒ͨ̚͘͡ͅ、̿̍̓͂̐ͩ҉̵̖͓͚̳、̨̢̝̯̗̫̮͎͚̦̟̯͇̖̭ͫ̉̄̈ͬ͘͢͞ͅͅ、̵̴̢̰̳̦̮̱̹̬̬͔̹̝̿ͦͩ̾ͯ̃ͧ̾͌͜͝、̨̛̹̮̥͓̬̖̀ͭ̾͐͡͠͞、̢͇̜̭͍̰͙̱̞͚̙ͧ͊̄̇͌͛̒̆̎͐̆̾ͧ̚̚、̢̨̗̘͚̫̱̲̟͙͕̼̲̥̔͌̀͑ͯ͂̅̓́̿͐ͥ̀̽ͪ́̚͡
ನ̛͓͙̯͔̤̻̹ͭ͊ͮͧ̿̽ͦ̄͑̽̇́͘͜ಾ̧͗̈́͂̽̓̒ͦͬ̾̈ͦ̃͐͑ͯͣ̃҉̲̲̺͖͠ನ̡̣͕̣̮̣̤̠̮̦̝͖̺͐ͤ̀ͬ͐̅ͣ̄ͥ͒ͯ̈́̅͐̆͂ͩ̈́ͫ͢͟ು̏̄͑ͯ̍͟҉̛͓͉̣̮͍̥̟̘͇̬͇̪̬̖͚͔̠͞ ̸͈̖̼̝͎̠̝͈̳̦̼͕̠̮̘̙̍̃̔ͯͨͅರ̢̰̝̼̖̭͓̭͔̝̝͉̮̲̹̗͙̍̄̈ͦ͝ͅಸ್̣̦͙̻͕̠̪̞͖̻̥̯̩̰̣̼̗ͬ̋͒̇̾̐ͮ̊̂͗͒͋͋̒́̐ͩ̒ͣ̾ͦ̑̀ͦͥ̃̓͠͝͡͝͡ͅತ̡̛̦͈̯͔̪͇̠͍̳̣̹̠͔̟͕̲̰̰̏̈ͭ͒ͧ͂͆͂́̈̅ೆ̨̥͕̬̺̪͓̦ͦ̌͑ͫͧͯ̽͊͞ͅಯ̢̨̠̣͈̮̥̗̊̾ͬ͐̋ͪ̆ͯ́̕͞ͅಲ̷̷̶್̱̠̬̩͓͉̭̥͙͔͙̫̳̣̹̫͖͙͊̓ͣ̾ͯ̀̉͆͐ͧ̂̐̔ͮ́̕͟͜͡͡ಲ̢͚̘̬͔̈́̐̾̌̽́ಿ̸̩̳̞̦̫̞̭͓̯͇̘̹̻̻̮ͯͬ̂ͪͯͅ ̧̦̯͍̬̟͓͈̂̓͆̅̾̽̐̀̓ͣ̋ͤͫͥ̀͜ಕ̨̨͕̹͍̩̘̬͍͕͔̳͕͖͔̭̱̩̀̉ͧ͗̔͘͝ೆ̖̘͙̫̼̩͉̟̩̙͉̖͔̲̖̬̭̾͆ͬͩ́ͅͅಳ̧͉̙̬̱̦͉̭̳̲̦͎̙̟̭́̈̈́̋̿͌ͩ͊͘͠ಗ̴̸̛͚̱͔͔̞̤̺̻̞̝̎͑ͪ̀͛̾͂͐͡ೆͪͥͫ̄̇̉̄̎͌̀ͦ͐͆̒ͬ̄͋ͤ̂͏̴̧̛̻̭͙͕̻͖̗̻͕̭͞ ̫̘̩͕̹̋̐ͥ̇̉̄̎̅̍̒̍̀̿̈́̃̒͒́̚ͅವ̨̼̮̥̩̱̖͂̃̐̔̃̑̊̽ͤ̏̿ͦͨ̌̈́͒̕̕͠ಾ̍̍̈́͋͌ͭͥ̒͐̇͑̍ͣ͏̧̨̻̲̰̠͓̰̘͔̼̪̮̩ಕ̨̢̼̲̥̙̤͔̲̙̝̥͙͔͙̼͚͈̤̋ͬͬ̈́͂̈́͒̃͜ಿ̈ͤͭͧͮ͂̀ͥͦ́̄̇̈́͒ͪ̾͝҉͍̭̭͚͟͞ಂ̸̢̘̳͍̩̯̪̜͇̖ͦ́̅̔́̄͢ಗ̷್̧̛̝̝̳͖̘̳̯̟̮̩̠̰͓̗͈̣̼̺͐ͯͣ́͊̀͐ͮ̒̄ͪ̒͑͒̽ͣ͂̀ͨͣ̿ͪ͗ͯ̽͛̈́̑͗̾̇̍̉ͩ̓̍͞҉̹̠͍̖̗͉̦̱̗̳̣ ͛͋̆̒̈́͂͗̌̈͑͗҉̷̧̢͇̞̻̟̫͇͈̟̝͉͙̥̻̩͜ಮ̢̟͉̦͓͉̻͕̼̘̪̜̤̎͐͂ͨ͐̌̾ͤ̋̆̓̐ͧ̉͊͗̊͠ಾ̸̭̥̩̬͔͇̞͖̫̲̻̍̐̈̒͐̃̉̅̔͘ಡ̨͎̖͔̞̲̩̄̔̇͐ͫ̊͂̑͞͞ͅಲ̠̺̝̻͓̉ͤ̌̆͛̎͂ͫͦ̐̈ͨ̅̆̀͢͢ಾ̷̷ͬ͊́̎͛́̇̆͋̇ͯ̿ͯ̄̏̈̂͒̀́҉̹̥͍͇̳̻̲̻̯̥ͅಯ̨͔̭͕͖͔͕̺̬̖̬̩͊̎ͫ̏̉̽ͪ̆̈́̊̽̌̏͌͜͠ಿ̋̃ͬͭͫ̂̉́̎̑̽̓̋̊̽̐ͬͭ̚͞͏̧̹̥̤̟̹̞̜͚ತ̷̡͍͇͙̗̰͔̠̣̯̱͍̤͍̣͕̮̰̉ͦ̉̒̈ͫ̉ು̷̞̖͔͇̻̖̼͇̰̔̈́͗ͨ͗̈́̂ͤ̀͟͢͡͞
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Luckily, for the sake of Saito's newly remanded-to-mortal mind and Louise's fragile psyche, Saito soon collapsed from the strain. He fell into a deep repose.
And, in that repose, he began to dream. He dreamt as he never had before, which was in a way true, for daemons never do dream, because they are in essence dreams themselves, as they are emotions given physical form.
In this dream, he saw vivid visions. Visions of conquest, slaughter, and wholesale destruction on a scale he could hardly comprehend. Planets were cast aside, swatted like flies in a moment. One particular Earth-like world was the centerpiece of attention. Once verdant and lush, the landscape was now blasted-out and pockmarked by all possible signs of war. And, in the most unsettling part of the dream, he reveled in it. In fact, he was causing most of it. Not strictly him, but he saw a towering beast of war, lord of the battlefield, sweeping through and destroying all opposition without mercy, and he knew it was him without saying.
Even farther in the distance, there was a small, pink glimmer. For now, it filled him with rage, as he also knew without words that pink was the color of The Enemy, despite not knowing what this entailed exactly. The pink object turned, and the horizon swallowed it up. But it was not the last Saito would see of it.
Author's Note
If I made a terrible, terrible grammatical error *gasp* anywhere, please point it out. No matter how small of a peccadillo it was.
Also, a question to anyone with basic knowledge of Japanese: what is the correct rendering of Saito's name?
As far as I can I tell, Saito being spelled 才人 and all, it should be straight up Sai + to. But the page on the wikia for Zero no Tsukaima seems to list it as 平賀才人 Hiraga Saitō.
I don't think that's right, really, and a cursory search (read: looking on Wikipedia) shows these readings for 人 and seems to support that opinion:
Goon: にん (nin)
Kan'on: じん (jin)
Kun: ひと (hito), り (ri)
Nanori: じ (ji), と (to), ね (ne), ひこ (hiko), ふみ (fumi)
And important to note is the last line of nanori readings. There is no ō (ou).
Yes, but then just to say "NOPPPE" to me even more, the other wiki for this series, The Familiar of Zero .wikia, seems to list his name as the much more common name of 斎藤, which is definitely Saitou/Saitō. But then this version of Saitou is a last name, and, as last names are often given first in East Asia, that would fit with him being called by it through the entire series. Except people close in relation probably wouldn't do that, unless Saito was too stupid in the series to ever tell anyone his real first name? So what the hell is even going on anymore?
But then, to triple quadruple double bypass hot-diggity-dog créme de la barbecue fuck with me, the Familiar of Zero wiki page proceeds to contradict itself on the bottom by that His name is written as "Ability Man". In which case we would be back to the whole 才人 thing.
So if anyone has a raw of Zero no Tsukaima light novels, maybe you could do me a favor and look up how they write his name? Please? Because if I don't figure this out some time by June 17th of next year, I'm going to blow my brains out while jumping off the highest structure in my local residential area.
Only joking. Really.