Chapter 56: 'Blood'

Saito's sister sat in her living room braiding her hair. She was thinking about everything that happened in recent weeks.

"I wonder how they're doing." She said to herself.

As if on cue, Saito and Louise appeared through an ovular portal in front of her. Aisaka just barely managed to see Sasha and Mariel through the portal, but couldn't tell that they were elves.

"Oh, hi Aisaka." Saito said. "How have you been?"

"Ummm...okay? I just have so many questions." She replied.

"Everything seems to have calmed down, so I guess I can answer a few of them." He said.

"Before that," Louise began. "I have a few questions of my own."

"Like what?" Saito asked.

"Tempus. What did she show you?" Louise asked.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" He sighed. "If you must know, she explained a lot about her relationship with Soren and how Gandalfr and his siblings were created."

"Ummm...what are you guys talking about?" She asked.

"Before I continue explaining..." Saito said. "Louise, I met with Lífþrasir."

"Oh? And what was he like?" She asked.

"She. It's a she." Saito said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Aisaka asked.

"Aisaka, where are Mother and Father?" Saito asked. "I'll tell you something."

"I'll go and fetch them." She said, leaving the room.

"What are you going to tell them?" Louise asked.

"I'm going to tell them that Gandalfr lives inside me. Or, at the very least, I can contact him within myself." He replied.

Saito sat on a chair and closed his eyes, instantly waking up in front of Gandalfr. The beast was resting, so it didn't immediately take notice of his presence. After a short while, he finally opened his eyes, staring at him.

"I met with Lífþrasir." Saito said.

"How did that go?" Gandalfr replied.

"She was friendlier than I anticipated." Saito replied. "It seems like she's so bored, she's willing to accept my company."

"How strange." The beast replied.

"Also, I'm going to tell my family about you." Saito continued.

"They won't believe it unless they see it." The beast replied. "Even then, will they be able to handle the shock of seeing me?"

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Saito said before waking himself up.

His whole family sat before him, wondering what it was that he had to tell them.

"Right. So remember how I told you that I am Louise's familiar?" He said. "Well, it's because of a particular being that is sealed to me that I have these powers."

"What kind of a being?" His mother asked.

"I suppose I can show you." Saito said. "He's really intimidating, but he's pretty friendly…if he likes you. Just look into my eyes, and you'll meet him."

Rather reluctantly, they all looked into his eyes. Louise, of course, had already had this experience, so she knew what to expect. After a few seconds, they all appeared in the dimly lit room.

"Where are we?" His father asked.

"I suppose you could say you're inside my mind...or my soul." Saito said. "Anyway, he's standing behind you."

When they turned around, they all nearly fell over from fear. They saw the massive creature laying on his belly behind them, watching them with his piercing orange eyes. He was tired, so he yawned, revealing his several rows of massive, sharp, serrated teeth.

"Good evening, Hiraga family." He said in a deep, booming voice.

They were completely speechless for several minutes until finally, Aisaka, who as a younger person watched many programs in which this kind of thing happened and was therefore more used to it, managed to speak for them.

"H-Hello." She stammered. "W-W-Who are you?"

"I'm Gandalfr." He said. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Aisaka, Mr. and Mrs. Hiraga."

His extremely polite mannerisms seemed to calm Aisaka down a little. She slowly inched closer to him, much to her parents' dismay.

"Cool..." She said subconsciously.

"Your sister has nerves, boy." Gandalfr said. "Perhaps she would have made a better Gandalfr than you."

"Do you have to put me down all the time?" Saito sighed. "Either way, I wanted you guys to see him because it would make everything else a little easier to explain."

"So you're the one who gave my little brother the power to fight?" Aisaka asked.

"For some time yes, although the power he uses now is his own." The beast said. "Well...me and my sister, although I'll let him explain that much. Please, if you would not mind, I would like to rest for a little while."

"Come on guys, let's go." Saito said.

Without their compliance, he made them all wake up. His parents were still in a state of shock, while his older sister simply seemed intrigued.

"Now that that's out of the way, let me begin explaining." Saito said. "I met his sister, Lífþrasir, a short while ago."

"What's she like?" Aisaka asked.

"Well, I guess I can tell you what she told me." Saito said. "Firstly though, she's a very long snake-like creature. She looks nothing like Gandalfr. She's way bigger."

"Wow, that sounds awesome." Aisaka said.

"She told me that after her mother had created her and her siblings, she roamed around the world for some time, getting bigger and bigger for centuries." He continued. "But one day, the same man who captured Gandalfr eventually managed to seal her away in another world."

"What's that world like?" Louise asked.

"Well, she made it seem like it was rather the same, more or less." Saito said. "She said the people there thought she encompassed the world with her length and created all sorts of myths about her. Like the end of the world would come because of her. So she remained in the sea, hoping for the myths to go away."

"Sounds a lot like that Norse stuff." His father said, coming out of his shock for a while.

"Huh...yeah, it kind of does. Still, if she was in this world, we'd know by now." He said.

"You said she has a mother. Who is it?" Aisaka asked.

"The world Louise is from has two gods that control space and time." Saito said. "The god of time is her and her siblings' parent, although Gandalfr apparently has no memory of that."

"Why were they created?" Louise asked.

"I guess I'll explain what Tempus showed me now..." He began. "A long time ago in Louise's world, there used to be a very advanced civilization. They worshiped her and the god of space, Soren, as their only gods. However, after some time, some of those men who could manipulate magic had developed a cult of sorts. They believed the gods to be corrupt and evil, although this was just a ruse by the leader of the cult to amass a military of his own."

"So the gods got angry?" His mother asked.

"Not exactly." Saito said. "The gods had created a pact between themselves to not interfere in the affairs of humans. They had a policy of letting man advance without their intervention. However, Tempus, who despite her control of time could very easily become bored, had become intrigued by this cult. She occasionally allowed herself to be seen by members of the cult so that she could make events become more interesting. Eventually, she began to respond to the prayers that some cult members made. Granting them wishes or appearing to give them advice. However, the leader of this cult was not happy with so many members changing their beliefs and praising this god. So, he also decided to pray to Tempus. When she inevitably appeared to him, he asked her to grant him power to become a king. Finding him particularly interesting, she granted his wish."

"But what could one human possibly do to a god?" Aisaka asked, extremely interested in the story.

"A lot, it turns out." Saito continued. "With the magic he was granted, he became devastating. Because of his affinity for using this magic, he did not believe he was lesser than any being, even gods. However, he was well aware that he didn't have enough magic to do anything yet. To gain more, he began a practice of mass sacrifices of humans and animals. He would collect the magic that left their bodies when they died and add it to his own store. He would collect their bodies and create potions out of them, further changing his body. Because she was so caught up in what was happening in the present, mainly the new level of worship she was enjoying, she didn't notice that growing number of people who began to disappear. Soren, on the other hand, did notice that vast amount of deaths that were happening. He would normally not get involved, but something felt strange to him, so he decided to investigate."

"Quietly, he observed the humans and finally found the culprit. This man was murdering people, taking their magic, and performing experiments on their bodies. From manipulating the dead, to creating Chimeras, to transferring his soul from one body to another. Soren was disgusted, but because of his agreement with Tempus, he did nothing. He assumed, of course, that his counterpart would do the same. The man's killing spree went on and on, and eventually, he even managed to kill the King of that country, whose vast supplies of magic made him even stronger. He manipulated the dead King's body, ruling the country from the shadows. His control of the country allowed him to send more people to their deaths, adding to his power. After more than 5 generations of kings under his control, he believed he finally attained enough power to overthrow the gods."

"Of course, by this time, Soren knew that the man was using a very strange magic in order to accomplish these things. Magic which no other human had ever used. Magic only a god could grant a human. So, rather reluctantly, he confronted Tempus, who claimed innocence. She claimed his power was natural and should therefore not be interfered with. Soren did not buy this answer, so he chose to appear to the man himself. The man told Soren that a god had given him his power and that he was promised that no harm would come to him. Instead of confronting the man, Soren disappeared to confront his counterpart instead. The ensuing argument led to them having a fight."

"During their fight, they fell down to earth. Humans witnessed them battle for several weeks. The landscape was destroyed because of the nature of their powers. Some people ceased to exist because of Tempus's control over time, while others were horribly disfigured due to Soren manipulation of space. Towards they end of their battle, both of them were severely wounded. Soren was covered in wounds that would not heal, while Tempus could no longer reverse the ones she sustained from him due to being weakened. At this time, the man who was granted void magic incapacitated them with a powerful explosion, rendering them immobile."

"They were captured and restrained, with that man hoping to use their powers for himself. For hundreds of years, they would have their strength used for his pleasure. They witnessed death and worse. Now Tempus's eyes opened to the repercussions of what she did. She was saddened by it and now there was little she could do about it. With what little power she had left, she stole some of Soren's power, mixed it with her own, and sent it into the world in four pieces. She had imbued within it the will to come and rescue them."

"These pieces of magic landed in several places. One on a volcanic island, one in the ocean, one in a desert, and the other on a tall mountain. For several hundred years, they slowly grew, taking on the characteristics of their environments. After several more hundred years, they slowly gained consciousness, although they had no knowledge of the others existence. After more than 1000 years, they became tormented by the desire to destroy a certain country, although they didn't know why."

"First, the one that landed in the water brought tsunamis and hurricanes to the country's coasts and fouled its waters. The one that landed on the mountain would later create tornadoes and turned the air into a toxic gas. The one that landed in the desert destroyed their crops and brought dust storms to the country. The one that landed on the volcanic island created earthquakes, splitting the earth apart and causing volcanoes to erupt. The man who had sealed the gods had become, at this point, quite insane from his life span. He no longer honed his skills and simply indulged in simple things, so he was not prepared when the four creatures made their way towards the capital, where they felt that something close to them was being held."

"The earthquakes and harsh winds revealed what they were searching for deep underground. The still injured gods lay unconscious, bound in shackled infused with that man's magic long ago. They quickly broke the shackles, releasing the two from their prison. Soren remained unconscious, but Tempus had remained conscious for the duration of her imprisonment. She told them that she would be departing the land, but they should destroy it and any humans that inhabited it so that the secrets of the man's magic would never go elsewhere. She took Soren with her to another land, which ended up being Halkeginia. The four creatures she created destroyed the continent that the man's empire resided on, destroying it with the elements before sinking it under the sea."

"That's quite the story." Aisaka said.

"So that's why Soren and Tempus have a poor relationship..." Louise said.

"Yeah. She begged for his forgiveness for many years, but he never did." Saito said. "She became so filled with sadness that she sealed herself within that mountain ever since then."

"What happened to that man?" Saito's father asked. "What was his name too?"

"For thousands of years, Tempus assumed him dead, but she told me that he may be alive somehow." Saito explained. "His name was Eztli. It means 'blood' apparently."

"How ominous." His mother said.

"Wait...Saito." Louise began.

"What is it?" Saito asked.

"You said he had some control over the dead?" She asked.

"Yeah. That's what I was told." He replied.

"We have to go back. Immediately." Louise said. "Sasha and Mariel have to hear this."

"You have to leave so soon?" Aisaka asked, looking disappointed.

"You know, maybe you should just come with us." Louise said.

"Louise, are you sure?" Saito asked.

"They can stay at our palace or with Sasha. It's fine." She replied.

A little unconvinced, he conceded. Louise immediately opened the world door to Sasha's house. One by one, they jumped through the portal until they were all inside the small wooden cabin.

"You guys are back alr-" Alex stopped short of finishing his sentence when he saw Saito's family.

"Please forgive us for bringing them here, Sasha." Louise said.

"It's fine. I'd be happy to have them here. But why did you come back so quickly?" She asked.

Louise took a very deep breath. It was the kind of thing she had to be extremely sure about before she could tell them, so she mentally prepared herself before speaking her sentence.

"I know what happened to Alex's Father."

Author's Notes:

Hello everyone! I managed to get another chapter out within 24 hours of the last one, so I'm pretty proud. Tell me what you think of it in a review or PM. It's nice to get some backstory in. It really lets me be creative with the story. Anyway, thanks for reading. See you next time!