I once again suggest reading my story on spacebattes so you can just see the pictures and not go through the hassle of searching them up, but the bolded stuff you can copy paste to see the picture. Just put the name of my fic with spacebattles behind it and it should pull up.

Gemini: search up Wild Nothing Gemini full album (optional)

Gargantuan Cliffside: paste width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=6d5b42fe6bf64aefd9eb5e111812b784598b3028 for the picture.

Main room: paste width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=51dcb4e15fe0a610535041e415c449f454da7af2 for the picture

Chapter 7

Well, this was awkward.

The sun now bright overhead, the clopping of hooves and echoes of nature were the only sounds on the way back to Blackburn. My arms were wrapped around Whice's midriff to prevent from falling off, but all it did was remind me of the breakdown I had just twenty minutes ago. I stared to the side attempting to get lost in the forest's otherworldly beauty, but not even the breathtaking 2-D renders could cover my shame.

"Um….about what happened back there…." I stuttered. "I'm sorry that I bawled like such a kid back then. It must've been really awkward for you."

"What do you mean sorry?" Whice responded. "You don't have to apologize for that. Anyone would break down after that kind of experience."

I felt a pair of eyes drift onto me and slowly turned my head, only to be captivated by her sapphire gemstones again. Dirty blonde bangs swished against her face as she pierced my heart with a dazzling smile. Damn, that alluring face was equal parts reassuring and entrancing.

"T-thanks…." I trailed off, completely lost in her beauty. Her smile grew more and more cat-like as I realized about three seconds in I was staring.

"Checking me out now?"

I pursed my lips and forced my gaze downwards. "I-I wasn't!"

"Suuuure." Whice smugly elbowed prodded before turning her head back. "Seems like you're not so above it all, Mr. Cynical. If you really want to look at it you can just ask."

"W-what do you mean by that?!" I blustered.

"Whatever you think I mean, of course." Whice cattily teased.

I had no response as the feeling of blood was now very apparent in my cheeks, as well as….other areas.

Damnit, this far-too pretty girl would be the end of me.

"Um.…" I responded, trying to forget the teasing. "I'm also so sorry for throwing such a tantrum earlier. It was completely immature of me and undeserved."

Whice finally dropped her teasing attitude. "...Well, apology accepted. Yes, you did act like a little bitch. Was it justified? No, but it was completely understandable."

I smiled at how understanding my companion was. "Yeah….I was never really known for my patience back home."

Another silence permeated the atmosphere, albeit less awkward.

"So," I started again. "How exactly are we going to defeat the Demon Lord?"

"...You've accepted it?" The uneasy tone in her voice reinforced my thoughts on the matter.

"A massive part of me hasn't yet. My head's telling me that this is insane, that I have no obligation whatsoever to help."

My expression twisted into a conflicted grimace. "But after seeing that pile of bodies...my heart froze. It'll completely shatter if I turn my back on those people. I can't just thoughtlessly say I have no obligation to help after seeing it in person."

"...Pft."

"...Whice?"

"I-I'm sorry…." Now she was starting to noticeably shake as she clutched her sides.

"Whice, you okay?!" I rested a hand on her shoulder in concern.

"It's just, if that wasn't the cheesiest hero speech I've ever heard…."

My worry completely one-eightied into another blustering fit. "H-hey! It was truly from my heart, okay?!"

"That makes it even better!" Which roared. "You truly have a way with words Mr. Cynical!"

A prickly heat again enveloped my ears as I glanced away. "Cmon, it's not like it was that cheesy…"

Whice's laughing finally died down as she looked back at me. "Don't worry, I may be laughing at it but I'm not laughing at it, yknow?"

"What?"

"I mean it's corny as hell, but one of the most honorable answers I've ever heard. Any normal person would reject their responsibility even further after seeing the suffering first hand."

"Oh…..thanks." I couldn't help but feel a stupid smile line my mouth as I scratched my cheek sheepishly. "But anyways, is there an actual plan to defeat the Demon Lord?"

"That's….a very hard question to answer." Whice lamented.

"Well I know it's hard, but you'll have to tell me eventually." I reasoned

The Musketeer exhaled deeply through her nose. "It's just a lot to unravel, but I guess you're right. I mentioned the other Drifters to you right?"

"Uhh, yeah. Eleven other people from my world, right?" I replied.

"Yeah. You know you're the fourth to arrive in this world, so there's three other Drifters besides you right now. Eight more will eventually come one by one each month."

"Do we know where the other three are?"

"Our faction, the Initium Novum was able to locate and bring two of them to our side, but the first Drifter…." The corner of her lips curled into a concerned frown. "we have no leads on."

"Do we have any guesses where the first might be right now?"

Her frown curled even deeper. "The only valid theories we can think of is he's either dead, captured by the Demon Lord, or by the Order. None of which are good options."

"Aww shit," I put my hand on my forehead and closed my eyes in stress. "I should've known both the Order and Demon Lord know about us, huh?"

"Yep, they both have the prophecies." Whice replied. "It's one thing if the Order finds him, but we can't afford to have the monsters get their hands on even one Drifter. They'll immediately try and incubize him, brainwashing him into their loyal mana source."

Now it was my turn to exhale through my nose. "It's just like the Chimera ants….one loss and it's over."

"Chimera ants?..." Whice curiously cocked an eyebrow.

"Just a reference from my world. Is there anything we can do if they're captured by the Demon Lord?"

"Well, luckily if they do have the first it'll take a good while to fully corrupt him, a few months at least. But the problem is they'll marry him to multiple Mamono, increasing their power through intercourse. Eventually multiple monsters will have enough power to rival Order heroes."

"So we can't let them get their hands on him, no matter what." I grimly repeated

"Mhm."

Our conversation stopped at the arrival of Blackburn. The two knights standing guard gave us a salute of attention.

"We ready to go yet?" Whice declared.

"Straight to Aubernbeuge, Mi'lady!" They both shouted in stereo with a stamp of their spears.

"Good, let's set out immediately!"

"Can't we stay and relax a bit?" I complained.

"Oh please." Which rolled her eyes in exasperation. "The horse did all the work for you."

"I guess you're right." I sighed in defeat before brightening up. "Oh yeah, you said there were some alchemists there who could fix me up right?"

"Yes, we're also gonna restock on supplies there. Bit of a warning though," Her smile turned slightly foxy "the two are a bit...eccentric."

I gulped at her statement. "Are they gonna try and cut me up?"

"No no, nothing like that," Whice reassured with a wave of her hand. "It's just they make a very strong first impression."

What she said didn't exactly calm my nerves. I hated doctors.

I pray I make it out of this undissected...

"Are we there yet?" I groaned out of my mouth. Sitting on a horse this whole time was not kind to my tailbone.

"You've asked the last forty times in the past hour, but almost." Whice replied irritably.

"Hey, it hasn't been only an hour, it's been like four!"

"And how would you know?" she snorted. "I don't see any kind of watch on ya."

"I do in fact, it's this magical thing called an Iphone." I waved the Apple product in my hand.

"That weird little rectangle you're holding? No way that's a clock." Whice huffed. "And aren't you hot in those earmuffs?"

I shrugged indifferently. "I guess, but they're special earmuffs that emit music."

"So that's why you've been practically deaf this whole time!" Whice shouted in annoyance, yanking my headphones off in frustration.

"Hey! Give them back! I was almost through the entire Geminialbum!" I started swiping at the earphones only for her to hold them out of reach like a parent would a child.

"The hell's a 'Gemini album?!'" she retorted as we continued to grapple over the headphones.

"Ahem."

Our childish arguing ceased when the Order knight Arther cleared his throat.

"It seems that we've arrived."

We turned a corner to an absolutely gargantuan cliffside, our traveling group mere pebbles in comparison. Beautiful trees and foliage smothered stone pillars the size of skyscrapers. A vibrant streak of sunlight lit up half the cliffside while the other was covered by a massive natural roof above our heads. A cozy little village could be seen at the very bottom, the little houses dwarfed by the earthen wall.

It was one thing viewing fantasy landscapes through a screen, but actually being there and witnessing it first hand?

It was breathtaking.

"Holy mother of Jesus…." I boggled at the landscape. Wait, those weren't just pillars the size of skyscrapers. They were skyscrapers.

"Who's "Jesus"?" Whice asked with a puzzled look.

"Are those skyscrapers?" I mumbled in awe, completely and unintentionally ignoring her.

"I dunno what you mean by "Skyscrapers", but they're definitely not natural formations." Arther responded. "They're lost ruins from an ancient time."

"But to think something this amazing was built by man…."

"Everyone has that reaction when they first see Aubernbeuge." Arthur chuckled. "Most regular folk are paranoid of the ruins collapsing, so only a small community lies at the bottom."

"Is that why those kooky alchemists live here? To get long lost technology?" I wryly prodded.

"Precisely!" The ginger smiled. "Their whole life's purpose is to discover whatever's waiting up there, and trust me they've found some crazy shit."

"Man, I'd love to go exploring up there o-Ouf!"

My talking was cut off by a pair of headphones slamming into my stomach.

"What was that for?!" I ranted at Whice.

"Hmph. You should know." The Musketeer folded her arms and looked away.

"I don't though!"

"If there's one thing I learned from my wife, it's that she hates being ignored." Arthur deadpanned.

"Oh….sorry Whice."

My companion continued to ignore me in silence as we came upon a sizable cottage. Multi-colored puffs of smoke came through the chimney as an array of smells flooded my nostrils.

"Ah, you can finally meet Scipio and Doppio!" Whice's attitude instantly brightened as she slipped off the horse towards the cottage.

Once again gulping at the thought of two fantasy chemists, I too slid off the horse and reluctantly followed after her.

Opening the door suddenly blasted me with an array of fumes ten times stronger than outside.

"Agh!" I hacked as the substances entered my lungs and made my eyes water.

"It's strong at first, but you get used to it!" Whice hollered from another room.

I lifted my hoodie up to my nose and followed the sound of Whice's voice. The various pinks and greens only got thicker as I finally entered the main room. Chemistry equipment of all kinds was strewn about from pipettes to graduated cylinders. Beakers and flasks filled with strange liquids also littered the space paired with a large furnace in the corner. It was actually quite cozy, if you ignored the creepy preserved animals on the shelves. Is that...a human face?

"Hello!" A pair of goggles shot up directly in front of my nose.

"UwAH!" I yelped in surprise and promptly fell on my ass.

"Ah, sorry about that." A voice chimed as the person immediately jerked a gloved hand out.

"You don't just get in people's faces like that dude!" I angrily hissed as I took the hand.

"'Dude?'" I think you mean: 'Dudette.'" The figure lifted up her goggles to reveal some equally thick and round glasses, each lense tinted radically different colors.

"I don't think gender assumption is what comes to mind when getting the shit scared out of you." I grumbled.

Now that I got a look at her face she was indeed a human girl around my age. Two spiky twintails jutted from the sides with a wide toothy grin lining her face. She looked exactly like Noodle's Saturnz Barz outfit, except with a lab coat and inhumanly pretty features.

"See why I call him Mr. Cynical, Doppy?" A creamy voice spoke out as Whice peeked her head out another doorway.

"Sure do! Going off of first impressions he sure is grumpy!"

"Hmph. Whatever." I muttered in annoyance.

"I'm Doppio!" The mad chemist still holding my hand now furiously shook it up and down. "And you're Murnax, right?"

"Yeahh." I had to actively break my hand from her grip lest she take my arm off.

"Is he here?! Is the Drifter here?!" a nasally voice shouted from the hallway.

Another blur of white shot in the room and skidded to a halt before near-teleporting way too close to my face again.

"ShITBAlls!"

"Woah there buddy, don't want you fallin down and hurtin yourself!"

A force caught my back and pushed me back up before I could hit the ground. I was still processing what happened before my hand was trapped in another vice grip.

"It's such an honor to meet a Drifter in the flesh!" My already sore hand was once again furiously pulled up and down as the younger figure shook my hand. Looking up he was the spitting image of Kensuke Aida from Evangelion. The exception was the same lab coat and tinted glasses donning his face.

"I'm Scipio!" his nasally voice squeaked. "And if I heard right you're Murnax, correct?!"

"Yeah, could you please stop assaulting my hand?!" I near shouted at the kid.

"Oh, sorry!" He let go of my hand before giving me a weird look.

"...You're a guy."

I looked at him like he was in his underwear. "Um….Yeah. I'm a guy."

"You're a guy….travelling with Whicey."

"Whicey?"

"YOU BETTER NOT BE PUTTING MOVES ON MY BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS, GOT THAT?!"

Now he was shaking me by my hoodie and flinging flecks of spit all over my face.

"Aw cmon Scipio, don't be like that!" Doppio rolled her eyes as she tried to pry the kid off me.

"I'm not man, okay?!" I gripped his forearms to try and stop the shaking. "If anything it's the opposite!"

Scipio stopped his shaking and whipped towards Whice.

"...Is that true?"

"Well…..I can't exactly deny it…." Whice timidly smiled before adorably pulling her musketeer hat down to hide her blush.

Next moment Scipio was in the corner of the room, kneeling in a dogeza position with three lines over his head.

Woah, seeing anime gags in real life was fuckin weird.

"I'm sorry Scip-Scip, but you're just too young for me. I'll always love you like a brother." The Dhampir apolgized, sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"Don't kick him when he's down, Whice." Doppio and I deadpanned in unison.

"It's only a four-year difference…." The mad scientist softly slammed his fist against the floor. My attention was then drawn to a weird bronze dome on his back.

"Hey, what's that dome thing on your back?"

"Oh, this?" Scipio immediately rebounded from his depressive state, childish excitement in his voice. "It's what I used to stop your fall!"

He flicked a little switch in his hand causing four clawed tentacle appendages to slink outwards.

"Yooo, that's sick!" I shouted excitedly.

"Sick?" Scipio tilted his head in confusion.

"Figure of speech where I come from. It's another way of saying something's ridiculously awesome."

"Oh, sweet then!" the chemist said with a wide grin. "I found it way up there in the ruins! Usually only Gremlins have this kind of technology, but this city's a gold mine!"

"That makes me want to go up and explore them even more then!" I felt my grin double in size. "You think they have any jetpacks up there, Doc Ock?"

"Oh I know they d-owowow!"

"If you two are done geeking out over machinas, we have a patient to treat." Doppio interjected, pulling on Scipio's ear.

"Yep, it's time for your checkup." Whice crept from behind, softly emphasizing the last part in my ear.

I flinched from the girl's sudden presence. "C-checkup? Can't I just down a bunch of healing potions and call it a day?"

"Nope. Doppy demands a full physical before treatment, no matter the person." A shadow covered Whice's upper face to highlight her eyes.

"That's right…." The female chemist plopped an arm over my shoulder, an unsettling shine to her glasses. "Full. Physical."

I gulped at the two ladies. "C-can't Scipio just check on me?"

"Sorry, Murnax. That's not my field of expertise…." Scipio shrugged apologetically.

Now Whice and Doppio were both dragging me down an ominous set of stairs. "Wait...please, I'm not ready for this yet!" I hopelessly protested, only to be met with girlish titters on each side. Scipio gave me a shaky smile and a feeble thumbs-up as the door slammed shut.

Damnit, this was gonna be hell.

"Hmffff."

My embarrassed exhale drowned out the scribbling of pen on paper. Even with my clothes on I still felt stark naked in front of the two girls. Sitting on the bed's edge, I tucked myself into a ball in a sad attempt to keep my long lost dignity.

"Cracked ribs...shattered fibula...lash wounds…" Doppio mumbled as she jotted down my injuries. I'd just gone through hell. Some guys might consider it heaven, but this was not the pearly gates for me.

"Ah cmon, quit your sulking. It wasn't that bad." Whice lectured.

"You guys saw everything...." I buried my face in my knees to hide my undoubtedly bright pink cheeks.

"Would you rather an old hag looked you over instead?" Doppio deadpanned

"Well, maybe." I responded. "In a lot of ways it's worse being examined by someone your age rather than some geezer."

"It may not be the funnest thing in the world, but it's for your own good." The Dhampir reasoned. "Doppy knows what she's doing so you'll be fine."

"Actually, why were you here for the physical?" I interrogated Whice.

"Er….Doppy always needs a partner to help in her work, no matter the task." The Musketeer closed her eyes and folded her arms with a smirk, giving small nods of assurance.

"Bullshit! You just wanted to peek at my naked body, didn't you!"

Whice's whole face literally, and I mean literally glowed pink. "N-, no I didn't! I wasn't harboring any lewd motives whatsoever!"

"Of course you were, it's in your nature!" I protested back. It was hard to stay mad at her with that adorable blush lining her face.

"PFFFT!"

Our bickering was cut short by hysterical chortle from the chemist. "Oh man, you guys are a riot! I haven't laughed this hard since Scipio's first gremlin run-in!"

Whice and I couldn't help but also chuckle at our own childishness. Once our laughter died down Doppio plopped a rack of thirty-some filled test tubes in my lap.

"Here's some more extremely potent healing potions. Take one right before every meal every day and you should be good after the tenth day."

I gulped at the rack. "...Thirty of them?"

"Thirty of them."

I sighed in resignation. "If it helps me get better then the taste of rotten orange juice is more than worth it."

"Hey, you guessed one of the fruits I put in!" Doppio said cheerily. "Believe me, I mixed oranges in to alleviate the taste."

I stared at the repulsing rack of medicine. "Um….sorry to ask, but are these safe?"

"Of course they are." Whice grumbled. "Trust my friend a little, would you?"

"Normally a single tube would turn you to ash, but your extremely high magic resistance will prevent that from happening." Doppio added.

That statement wasn't exactly reassuring.

"Well these things must be really expensive right? How much do we owe?" I asked.

"Nothing!" she shrugged. "It's my gift to you on behalf of Whice."

"Oh Thankyouthankyouthankyouuu!" My companion hugged the chemist, jumping up and down.

"Anything for my best friend." Doppio smiled back.

I picked up my crutch and started hobbling back to the door only to notice that my foot hurt minimally. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said that medicine was potent. My foot almost feels completely normal."

Doppio cleaned her glasses absentmindedly. "Right now your fibulas technically completely healed, but it'll quickly crack back up if you don't keep drinking them."

"So could I technically use my foot like normal?"

"Mhm, but don't overdo it or else the damage will be permanent."

"Noted." I said with a nod. "Thank you so much for all you've done for me. Even if I acted like an ass I really do appreciate it."

"Ah don't mention it!" the twin tail girl waved a hand dismissively. "Anything for a friend of Whice's."

I rolled my eyes at her wink of the word "friend".

"By the way, could you meet Scipio upstairs? He's gonna help you determine your Shiryu affinity." Whice told me.

"Shiryu affinity?"

"He'll explain it when you get up there. Doppio and I will join you once we're done talking in private."

"Uh, sure. Totally." I walked towards the door, curious about the revelation. After closing the door, I heard a little bit of their conversation while walking up the stairs.

"So, was peeking your intention?" the chemist said nonchalantly.

"Doppy!" Whice's voice blundered in response.

I cracked a wry grin at her comment. Friends would be friends.

Coming up to the main floor I spotted Scipio hunched over at a workstation with his arms behind his back. The stereotypical mad scientist stance gave major deja vu to my Gramps. Four metal tentacle arms moved all about, grabbing and mixing various beakers.

"Yknow, you really remind me of my Gramps."

My sudden voice shocked him, the beakers fumbling from his grasp before being expertly caught.

"Don't scare me like that okay?! I'm mixing dangerous chemicals here!" He chastised.

"Whoops, sorry about that." I chuckled.

"Wait...you calling me an old man? I'm only fourteen!" A humorous stink eye formed on his face as he turned to me.

"Fourteen? I thought you were at least sixty with that posture." I teased.

"Why you-!" one of his robo-appendages scrambled behind me to do God knows what.

"I'mkiddingI'mkidding!"

"You better be." Scipio's arm retracted back to his station.

Note to self, don't piss off a tween with a real set of Dock Ock arms.

I started walking up behind him. "My grandpa was also a chemist. He held his hands behind his back exactly like you do."

"Really now? Maybe certain habits form in certain professions." He mixed two liquids together resulting in a bright aqua glow. "You okay from the checkup? I know my sister is demonically thorough."

"Okay as I'll ever be, I guess. I wanted to die in there when they took my underwear off."

The clinking of beakers stopped.

"...They?"

Crap, poor choice of words.

"I mea-"

He once again grabbed my hoodie and pulled me close. "You were naked in that room with Whicey?!"

I again put my hands up in surrender. "I had no control over it, okay? I hated every second of it!"

Scipio growled through his clenched teeth. "You won't get away with this!"

I desperately tried to change the subject. "Hey, weren't we gonna find my Shiryu affinity or something?"

The Chemist dropped his anger as excitement took over. "Oh right! Shiryu powers are the stuff of legend! I hear you can move mountains, control the oceans, even direct lightning itself, all without elementals!"

I looked over his shoulder as the chemist continued mixing chemicals. "So they're elemental powers?"

"Well, not just elemental powers. It could be anything from manipulating space, time, memories, you name it."

So basically a stand.

"Huh. I've heard this Shiryu stuff is more powerful than both Demonic and Spirit energy, is that true?"

Pops and frizzles went off as Scipio swirled the concoction. "According to the very heretical books I've read, Shiryu's strength isn't from absolute raw power. What makes it so useful is its ability to nullify or amplify both types of energy."

I folded my arms in thought. "Is that why I have anti-magic properties?"

"Most likely, since Shiryu is a completely different type of magic which operates on an entirely different set of rules. Aaand done!"

Scipio's end result was a glass tube filled with a glowing green substance.

"This will temporarily open your gate and force your Shiryu out of every pore. I have no idea what will happen, but it should garner some kind of reaction related to your affinity."

I narrowed my eyes skeptically at the potion. "Will this have any nasty side effects?"

"Not that I'm aware of. This is the same kind of potion they use to determine elemental affinities in Order Heroes, only a hundred times stronger."

"Ok, I'm trusting you but if I turn into an Alp or something you're the first one that's screwed. Literally."

Scipio's face turned purple at my comment. "Eugh! Don't put such a nasty thought in my head!"

"I'm joking man. If anything I'll probably turn to ash."

"You won't turn to ash." the alchemist rolled his eyes and gave me the tube. "Probably."

Before I could register that last part I downed the whole flask in a single gulp.

*Hyech!*

I covered my mouth in disgust. "Jeez, it's worse than Doppio's medicine! It tastes like Nyquil mixed with mud!" I gagged and fought the urge to regurgitate the liquid.

"I didn't say it'd taste pretty. Ya feel any different?"

"Not really." My claim was voided when my senses became more….aware. But at the same time hazier? I could only sense certain objects around the room, glinting objects. Chrome objects.

"Hey...hey...let's sit you down. That potion hit harder than I predicted."

Now sitting in a chair noises of all sorts started shifting around. They mostly sounded like things dragging across surfaces, the occasional clink echoing through the room. Tunnel vision prevented me from seeing what the objects were, the dream-like haziness clouding my mind.

*Splish!*

A cold splash of water doused my face followed by Scipio lightly slapping my cheek. "Hey, you feeling okay Murnax?"

"W-, what happened?"

"The potion forced your gate open a lot wider than I anticipated. Sorry if that wasn't the best experience."

"No, it's not like it was unpleasant, just.…"

My words paused from observing the room around us. All kinds of iron tools were on the floor, along with a handful of shattered beakers.

"Strange."

I sat there silently as Scipio rustled around for something. "Did I cause an earthquake or something?"

"Not exactly." The kid replied as he pulled out a clipboard and metal pole. "Could you grip this as hard as you can?"

"Uh, okay, but why-"

*creak*

The groan of metal rang out as the pole molded like clay in my grasp. I felt my eyes inflate along with Scipio's as we silently stared at the rod, then to each other.

"Well that happened." I flatly said.

Scipio started scribbling down on his clipboard before announcing to me: "Murnax, through proper testing and procedure, my hypothesis is that your Shiryu affinity enables you to manipulate metal."

"….."

My surprised face gave way to an excited grin. "Really?" I held the pole horizontally in both hands and bent as hard as possible. It took some effort, but I folded the rusted stick like a straw. "Damn, I was kind of hoping to be an earthbender but this is just as cool!"

"Don't you mean earth-mage?"

"Nevermind that." I waved a hand dismissively. "You think I can also control metal with my mind?"

"You mean telekinetically? You did cause all our metal equipment to gravitate towards you, so potentially."

I focused hard on a stray wrench. With my awareness heightened I could feel the metal, almost like it was a part of my body. A low ringing started in my ears as I concentrated harder, the wrench quivering ever so slightly. However the strain became much too strong as the ring turned into a painful migraine.

"Augh!" I hissed, breaking concentration to cradle my head.

"Don't overwork yourself man!" Scipio reflexively jerked a hand towards me. "You're still a complete novice when it comes to controlling your power, it's extremely potent at the moment from the potion."

"Yeah, I figured." The headache slowly faded into nothingness as the ringing stopped.

"It'll still take a long time to get a good feel for your Shiryu. I essentially just forced it out all at once."

I rubbed my head from the phantom pain. "How long is 'A long time?'"

"A few months minimum, and many years to truly master-"

'SLAM!'

"He's here! Saint Ozech is here!"

Scipio's words were interrupted by a frazzled farmer boy bursting into the room, The dread in his voice was almost deafening.

"What?!" Scipio turned white at the news, panic seeping through his voice. "He was just here two weeks ago!"

"Well he's marching through town as we speak!"

Scipio started frantically grabbing as many beakers as possible, turning dials off and twisting corks on. "Take all these, you have to hide. Right now." He dumped the glassware in my hands as I felt my heart sink.

"What's going on? Who's here?"

Scipio stared me dead in the eyes, his green irises now visible through the technicolor lenses. The pure terror in them caused my heart to freeze as he uttered two words.

"The Inquisitor."

Hope my fellow Americans had a good Thanksgiving! Sorry if things were a little slow this chapter, Introducing new characters and trying to organically fit blatant exposition in takes a while. I tried to tone back my SI's bitching a lot since I re-read this chapter and realized; "Wow, my character does bitch a lot." I'm also really trying to describe this world in a way that you can truly visualize, to capture that larger than life fantasy setting. However the plot will start picking up from here with an insane Order priest knocking and all that. I'll try and update next Friday of course!