Hello, Vinzelles here. Welcome back to A Path to Freedom.
As promised, here's a bit of an early chapter to compensate for the late one I published before. Today we have finally, FINALLY reached the point where Orochi's ability, or rather Abnormality, is explained! And there is also a little more backstory, and actual OCs! Am I a good writer yet or what? XD
I've also gotten out of my slump for the final battle. Let me just say this: this arc is going out of control in length. There are already something like 2 chapters and a half dedicated to said battle, and I'm halfway through. Given the sheer length of it (currently 60 pages total for Arc 2, and the number WILL rise) maybe you can already imagine what exactly that battle will be! I've been incredibly inspired and kinda got ahead of myself with writing, and it's a pretty good thing in my book: it means I'm growing as a writer, don't you agree?
But enough self-praising, let's get on with it. I'll see you at the bottom.
Enjoy.
Arc 2 Chapter 5 - Abnormal
Heaven's Gate.
For something that was named by Devils, it seemed an incredibly illogical name to Orochi. Then again, he didn't know or care much about actual religions. He had had enough experience with the fake one created by his mother. But that didn't matter at the moment. Names are never random, he was the living proof of that fact after all. Which meant that this Abnormality was not completely unknown. So he asked his second question, in a way that couldn't be misunderstood.
"...How dangerous is it?"
Ajuka stared at him with amusement and laughed lightly. "Haha, how peculiar that your first thought would be about how it would affect others. Relax, as long as you don't unleash its Inverse form it won't actively harm anyone unless you want it to. ...You're definitely different from your predecessor, you know?"
"Predecessor?"
"Indeed. As I said before, Abnormalities are perpetual. If a wielder dies, they will transfer themselves into someone else. That is in fact another similarity they have with Sacred Gears. Anyway, the former wielder was quite the despicable man, someone who, coincidentally, went missing about the same time you were born according to the data I have on you, so I suppose we can assume he's dead. It was the magician Leopold Goenitz." (1)
Everyone missed the slight twitch in Orochi's fingers, even Ajuka.
Orochi was familiar with that surname. His mother was born in Japan, but was in fact German, and shared the same surname. ...Could it be that this Leopold was his grandfather? The person that had sacrificed himself for his grandson's sake? But if that was the case, his family had somehow found a way to transfer Abnormalities into a specific body! It couldn't be a coincidence that Heaven's Gate was passed onto him, or Leopold's suicide would have made no sense! ...Well, his mother was a genius when she wasn't thinking about the sect, so there was a chance, he guessed.
No, it had to be intentional, he reasoned. Aside from the fact that he was meant to be the reincarnation of the Yamata no Orochi, his body was intended to be an agglomerate of different traits and abilities, largely thanks to his mother being paranoid. For example, he had the Wind Brand implanted on him before he was even born, courtesy of her magic; it was a tattoo of a single wing with black feathers, printed with a simple spell on the lower left of his abdomen shortly before his birth. Its purpose was to grant protection to a newborn child: the wind itself would "whisper" to the person whenever they were in danger, on paper at least. But what actually happened was that a person with the Brand would be able to clearly sense the wind's movements and how they'd change. So it was partly thanks to the Brand that he was able to predict his opponents' moves so efficiently, although it wouldn't be as useful against someone fast enough to prevent him from reacting at all, and he didn't like to rely on it anyway.
"Never heard of him." He lied. He had to: Ajuka pretty much confirmed that he was aware of the Goenitz family's existence and of all the despicable things they did, and consequently that meant he knew about the White Serpent. There was no doubt in Orochi's mind that Leopold had lead the sect at one point, and passed the torch to her daughter before his suicide. At the very least there was no way that they knew he was the current leader's son.
"It's just as well, I wouldn't have expected you to." said Ajuka, dismissing Orochi's last statement. "As I was saying, Heaven's Gate isn't actively dangerous unless it inverts. Which can happen if the wielder doesn't know he has it and awakens it in the wrong way."
His companions all stared at him condescendingly.
"...What?" Orochi was slightly confused as he looked behind and saw their gaze. "What?!"
Ajuka noticed it too and sighed. "...It has already happened, hasn't it? I suppose it makes sense, you wouldn't be so concerned in the first place otherwise. I've personally never seen it invert, but apparently it's supposed to absorb and destroy magic particles in that form."
'Shit, so that's what it was...' thought the boy, reminded of the chaos he unleashed for a short time in Kuoh.
"It does have a different purpose in its normal form, however."
"...Which is?"
"Before I tell you, please keep in mind that my family doesn't know much about this particular Abnormality, so I'm just going to read what little data we currently have." He cleared his throat before materializing another small circle in his hand. A bunch of papers appeared in it and he began to read. "...Heaven's Gate allows the wielder to absorb shocks of any kind, both physical and emotional, and forces the wielder's body to build resistance against them. Its influence isn't necessarily limited to the body of the wielder, and it can in fact expand outwards if need be.It doesn't seem to be limitless though: a trauma too intense will partially pierce through the resistance the body has built up and cause damage."
It all made sense now. It was exactly what had always happened with his body when it came to fights: he had already reached a point where normal body blows and conventional human weapons could not harm him at all, and he reasoned he could gain resistance to other things in the future in the same manner, as long as he was willing to withstand the pain.
And when he Inverted, the exact opposite had happened: instead of forcing away the blows, they were drawn towards his body instead, and their momentum was promptly crushed by the Gate. There was also the flood of negativity that came out of him that one time he Inverted. It would normally be suppressed by the Gate, but after reaching that form, it was forcefully pushed out, and pure magic apparently needed to take its place, making him lose control.
"The name seems to have symbolical meaning too, which enhances its power to a point where it is considered a high-tier Abnormality." continued Ajuka. "It is a fundamental structure for Heaven after all: something that becomes harder to destroy the more one hits it, so as to prevent it from ever falling; something that is meant to gather and protect every sentient being, sinners included; something that allows access to paradise and grants salvation to all."
That last part hit Orochi hard. He didn't think he could hate his parents any more than he already did, but he was wrong. Heaven's Gate truly had no business residing in someone like him, the fruit of an experiment, born from people rotten to the core. An ability that was meant to save people was forced into someone who wasn't familiar with the concept of "mercy". He was disgusted at both his family and himself. But he wouldn't allow it to continue: it was impossible to get rid of Heaven's Gate without dying, so he had to take responsibility and learn to use it properly, in order to protect his small world that he hoped was still secluded to the people he didn't want to meet.
"...I've decided." He finally showed to Ajuka his resolution. He pointed at him and declared: "If you grant me assistance in learning how to utilize this Abnormality, I'm willing to become one of your assets and share whatever I discover about it. But only if you'll let me keep my humanity! What do you say to that, Devil?"
Both Raynare and the Devils were speechless. They would never dare to speak to a Satan that way, especially Ajuka Beelzebub who happened to be one of the three Super Devils existing in this generation. Not only that, but Orochi pretty much demanded a contract with him!
"..." Ajuka stared at him, immobile. And started laughing hard.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I really can't say that I dislike your attitude, Kamakura Orochi the human!" He started power-walking towards Orochi. "Very well, I accept the terms of that contract! For the sake of knowledge I'll become your benefactor! Do we have a deal?" He extended his right hand, and Orochi immediately did the same.
"It's a deal!" He smirked and shook hands with Ajuka. "And you better not turn me into a Devil halfway through, or I'll make sure you regret it!"
"Hahaha, I couldn't do that even if I wanted to, so don't worry!"
"...Eh?"
"The Evil Piece system, which I personally created, is what pureblooded Devils use to reincarnate other beings." explained Ajuka. "It is based on Chess pieces. Their value, and by proxy their containment capacities, varies depending on the piece used. And since Abnormalities are perpetual yet immaterial, they are not quantifiable, so you are impossible to reincarnate, young man!"
"HA! Good to know, that's one less bothersome thing to think about!"
"Well said!"
They laughed together. Surprisingly, they had more in common than expected, which left their audience even more stunned. Until Unryuu broke.
"YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE! DO YOU HAVE NO DECENCY?!"
Orochi answered accordingly.
"SINCE WHEN DID I HAVE ANY? AND STOP YOUR WHINING ALREADY, YOU'VE BEEN AT IT SINCE EARLIER!"
"HOW ABOUT YOU COME OVER HERE AND MAKE ME? I'M SICK OF YOUR BULLSHIT! I HAVE TO PUNISH YOU FOR MAKING ME WORRY THIS MUCH ALL THE TIME!"
"ONCE I'M DONE WITH YOU, THE ONLY THING YOU'LL BE WORRIED ABOUT IS YOUR SORRY ASS!"
They had already stormed towards one another, ready to throw down.
"Enough."
Ajuka wasn't amused at all by the noise they were making, so he put on his powerful voice, the one he used for business partners, or bugs to eliminate.
"..."
"..."
"...Sheesh, you almost scared me, man. We'll take it elsewhere later so don't get mad." said Orochi calmly. There was nothing to be afraid of, he reasoned: the Satan surely couldn't just kill one of his recent contractors, right? ...Right?
"R-Right, please forgive my transgression!" Unryuu was a lot more frightened, since she didn't have the same amount of slack granted to her.
"I believe I still have to show how I intend to fulfill my part of the contract. Please give me a moment." He stated before creating a magic circle on his finger and point it at his ear. "Nina, come to my office please. Your next long-term assignment has been decided."
In a matter of seconds, the door behind the group opened, revealing a woman in her thirties, with long purple hair gathered in a single tress falling on one of her shoulder. She had dark green eyes and a gentle look on her face. She was dressed in a simple white coat, a turquoise sweater, dark blue jeans and... no shoes? For some reason she didn't have any, and only her black socks were shielding her delicate feet from the hard floor.
"Here I am, Boss."
"Everyone, this is Nina Eisenwald." Ajuka introduced the woman. "She's one of the researchers here at the Department, and she's among the best we have if I may say so."
"...She's human though." remarked Anya.
"True, but to be honest I don't really care what a person is as long as they work well. And she has always delivered without fail in her short time here."
He addressed Nina. "I would like you to start monitoring this young man and his Abnormality, and assist both of their growths as best you can." He put his hand on Orochi's shoulder. "I will organize everything you need in half a day, and send a briefing with all the data I have about said Abnormality so that you can start as soon as possible."
"It will be done." Nina bowed. "But I have to ask: how much time will I have to invest into this assignment?"
Ajuka immediately understood what her main concern was and answered. "I'm not sure myself, so you can go ahead and bring little Agnes with you."
The Satan knew that Nina's 8 year old daughter couldn't be left alone for an indefinite period of time, so it was only fair that he allowed her to stay with her mother.
"I'm glad to hear it, thank you very much."
Orochi felt he had to speak his mind though, and faced Ajuka. "...How many people are going to start stalking me? It's creepy."
"Oh?"
"That Fallen over there." Orochi pointed at Raynare. "She's already keeping an eye on me. Orders from the top, from what little I understood."
"Hey! Are you trying to get me in trouble? That's supposed to be confidential!" Raynare's outburst was completely justified: she didn't want to mess with the wrong people in the precarious position she was currently in.
"No, it's fine." assured the Satan. "In fact, knowing that you're taking direct orders from Azazel makes things easier, since I have no wish to butt heads with him if I can avoid it. I don't mind finding an accomodation for you as well."
"A-Ah, I see... I appreciate the offer." It was truly a kind offer, and she was going to take it without hesitation if it helped her reach her current goal. So she bowed lightly as thanks to the Satan.
"As for you, Orochi-kun, it can't be helped. You did ask for someone who could assist you, didn't you? I'm afraid you'll have to accept my terms."
Orochi's answer was an unintelligible grunt.
"...Well, I think we're done here." said Anya. "Shall we go back for now? I've witnessed enough madness and chaos for one day."
"Yeah, let's. This whole day tired me out more than I expected." agreed Orochi.
"Then I'll see you soon, Orochi-san. Take care." Nina waved at the boy.
"A-Ah, yes, I will. And... thank you for accepting to help me out."
"Don't mention it, boy. It's my job to look after kids."
"Farewell, young ones."
A magic circle appeared under the group of five's feet, and they disappeared once more.
(1) This guy is also from KOF. Not as relevant as Orochi's parents though since he's, you know, dead. Let's just say he's a convenient plot device in this case, even though he's a pretty big deal in the game. His daughter, the genius magician that mothered Orochi, and isn't canon because she doesn't exist in KOF, will be a lot more important comparatively. ...That was a weird sentence.
Welcome to the bottom.
First, the "protective seal" called Wind Brand. This spell is completely original: name, power or whatever else you can think of are "flour from my sack" as we say in Italy. If it already exists, I don't know of it. That is what I usually mean by "completely original". *whistles innocently*
The concept of "Inverse form" is taken from Date A Live, and you can think of it as an Abnormality's Balance Breaker pretty much.
The actual ability of Heaven's Gate is, once again, completely original. It is important that you readers review and tell me if the concept is interesting enough for you, feedback is important and I already have few reviews to begin with. e.e
Finally, the OCs. Give a big round of applause to Nina Eisenwald, the mother figure with mother hair! I know, it's a death flag, but there are limits to my asshole-ery so don't worry, I'm not gonna kill her. You will see Agnes a little later down the line, once Nina herself settles down in Kuoh. ...Yes, that surname is German and that is intentional.
Phew, that's one checkpoint obtained. Next time, Riser appears!
Thanks for reading, see you soon. Ciao!