OEG Chapter 150 - Coming Home
"So… it appears that the Demons failed to destroy that Basillicom…"
A thoughtful hum escaped her lips as one Maghda, leader of her very own Coven, mused to herself whilst she sat on a twisted-looking, black throne. The throne itself looked like a human sitting cross-legged, with its hands held in the air as if it were surrendering to someone, whilst the head remained the sole thing about it that WASN'T human. Instead, it was that of a goat, its eyes peering across the throne room which it sat in whilst the occupant of the throne sat with one leg crossed over the other. She calmly sipped some luscious-looking crimson liquid, one that smelled way too off to be considered normal wine. The woman gave a low moan to herself when the liquid raced down her throat, quenching her thirst as she listened to tormented screams down below.
Yup, tormented screams.
They rang throughout the bottom of this place she was in, a throne room which had a sick, twisted yet royale feeling to it. The fortress itself almost seemed 'alive' with how many groans escaped its walls, the feeling of being watched always being present above her shoulders to fill her with a mounting tension. The walls themselves were almost like an abyss, with sharp, metallic pillars with large gargoyle statues protruding out of platforms way up on them. The very air itself seemed almost like it was a heavy weight which slammed into her shoulders, as well as every other part of her body in an attempt to utterly wreck her, making it so that any normal mortal with no experience in handling this energy would be crushed under the strain. Aside from herself and her most devoted of her Coven, only Demons and slaves forced to fight one another populated her Fortress within this place, one of the most sacred to any worshipper of the Chaos Gods.
The story of how she had gotten to this place and gained this Fortress… one could say it was an interesting one. Because of her efforts in aiding in the Demonic Invasion, sating the bloodlust of many Demons of Khorne not to mention the efforts she had made to take out the majority of Leanbox's military might, Khorne had seen fit to reward her in ways a mortal could only dream of, and even then it would never even BEGIN to compare to the real thing. What she had now was something incomprehensible for average mortals, her previous shell that was her body having been remade in the glorious image of her treasured Khorne. In addition to this marvelous Fortress, she had been given the gracious task of kidnapping and corrupting mortals into her servants, servants whom came from backgrounds from COUNTLESS different worlds, not just in Gamindustri. Here, she would have demons force these slaves to fight one another with cruder demonic weapons, some even with a rare Devil Arm, battles which raged without end throughout the underground of her Fortress in a means to appease the Blood God's endless thirst for carnage. She herself would also take part, lest she suffer Khorne's wrath, which resulted in her spilling more than a few dozen slaves' blood through the entire conflict.
A small chuckle escaped her lips when she thought of that. One where she would soon toss aside the glass which had once held the liquid in which would then vanish as if it were a mirage seconds later. If one were to tell Maghda that she would have sworn off using Witchcraft to please a God whom awarded the strong instead of the smart, then she would have boiled them alive right where they stood, either that or fed them to her beloved pets. It had seemed so ludicrous to her, that she would have ended up in such a position of power the likes of which her mortal self could have only dreamed of. Now, instead of trying to take over one measly little island, Maghda found herself opened up to a whole galaxy's worth of opportunity, the chance to get started with conquering and killing in the name of the glorious Khorne.
But still, she paid attention to the news in Gamindustri from the scouts of her Mortal followers, and news of the Demonic Invasion failing reached her ears.
She wasn't surprised, to say the least.
Not like the Demons were weak or anything, but the main purpose of that Invasion was to 'test' the resolve of the Goddess in charge, to get her to showcase what kind of power she has in her possession. Khorne wanted to know what it would be like if he were to fight her, he spoke of this to her in her dreams. He wanted to fight that Goddess, or rather he just wanted to quench his eternal bloodlust with the divine blood of a Goddess running down the blade of his sword, which could cut through reality itself to spawn his endless legions of Demons from within his realm of blazing fires, suffocating ash, soot and incomprehensible destruction. Not to mention that the group that Nico had been with had taken the fight directly to the enemy leader, using sheer power to take them down. It taught Maghda that those sluts travelling with her prize that they would not be trifled with, thus she would treat them as enemies on the battlefield.
Speaking of her 'prize' Maghd grinned to herself when thinking of him. She stood up from her metallic throne, a throaty moan escaping her lips at the thought of taking her prize to her quarters, binding him to her bed with chains then having her way with him for all of eternity. It was unbecoming of a Khornate follower to indulge in such things due to the aspect of pleasure being something which empowered Khorne's rival Slaanesh, however since she had been a Necromancer in her prior life, a Necromancer whom had sworn loyalty to the Blood God, she had been allowed to make an exception by said God. After all, it had taken over several mountains worth of killings in the Lord of Skulls name to earn this boon, so she would NOT waste it on an average mortal.
Luckily for her, Nico was no mere mortal, but a DPU.
It was something she had been granted knowledge about by Khorne after she had lost to him, a disgrace to the warrior ways of Khorne to be sure, however the moment the Blood God had heard Nico's name, its otherworldly levels of primal fury and wrath seemed to quell themselves greatly, as intrigue had found its way into the mighty deity's soul. Something about Nico being a Demon God, something which Maghda had been stunned about when he first told her, made Khorne want to fight him all the more. More than many beings existed throughout this Galaxy, and even more so in the entire Devildimension, all of them in some form of conflict, which Khorne thrived off of. Thus, if it were connected to him… then Khorne would make a few exceptions to his everlasting hunger for bloodshed and warfare.
Still, now that most of Leanbox has been taken by her forces, with the civilians there being either enslaved or offered to the Blood God's throne of Skulls, Maghda had to wonder how better to test these mortals. Through observing them with some relics of her past as a Necromancer, Maghda had noticed a fair few Leanbox Mortals with great 'potential'. Especially those of the Spec Ops program there, the upper echelons that is. These people had taken a fair amount of territories back, granting the Lord of Skulls his desire by taking down his various followers and Demons. If it were them, then whole armies of ravenous Lesser and Greater Demons would flock to their location with their Hellblades drawn and their fangs bared. It would be wise to 'sweeten' the Nation up for her god, and finally be rid of the damn place since it now served as a reminder of what she had once been. Her last connection to her mortal life.
Then, just as she began thinking about it, an idea hit her which stemmed from looking over some of the books she had 'appropriated' from some of the libraries owned by some of the now deceased Noblemen. An idea revolving around one specific Demon, one whom would give even the Undead King Leoric himself a run for his money in terms of wicked deeds. The more she thought about it, the eviler her smirk became as her eyes danced like the fires that burned throughout Khorne's realm. The entire Fortress trembled, as if it were laughing alongside her whilst Maghda strode out of the Throne Room, eager to make some well-maintained preparations for the following act. 'Ufufufufufu… oh, this will be delicious… and if I loan out a few of my followers to this creature, along with fighting the others myself, then my lord will be most pleased with my offering. Ufufufufufufu…'
Meanwhile…
In the same forest in which Nico had vanished from, the forest in which there was no longer any Mad Magician in sight, a portal appeared. The portal itself looked to be one of those unstable, violent-looking types with crimson electricity arcing around its edges. The sudden appearance of the portal, as it had appeared like a thunderclap during a raging storm, sent dozens of animals into hiding, many terrified sounds escaping the wildlife. Just the 'sound' of the Portal opening had scared them witless, plus the sheer 'DANGER' which sparked through their senses when they sensed what had been about to emerge from it made any attempts to resist their natural instincts moot.
From within the human-sized portal, a familiar red haired Spec Ops Agent flew out of, twisting and spinning in the air and ending up with his head about 15 metres above the ground. The male didn't note this, or rather he did but he didn't focus on it too much, as he flipped forwards several times before landing on the ground with a loud 'THUD!', landing knightly while a shockwave rippled through the air at his landing. Behind him, the portal looked like it had just lost its power source, before it acted like a blinking eye and vanished from the scene, leaving no trace besides remnants of ancient power where it had once been to show any sign that it had even existed.
Though, that didn't really bother him all that much, not when he had other things to think about…
Like how freaking GOOD it felt to be back home, back in his home dimension even with all the bullshit that went on in it. The teen couldn't resist the urge to breathe in a huge sigh of relief the moment he got the chance, a wave of tension being released from his shoulders. It felt WAY better than what he had to go through in that mad bastard Zelretch's little pocket dimension. He could surely understand at this point why MAGES. had been so reluctant to take him to that guy, he got the feeling that Zelretch was the kind of guy whom only a certain type of person could handle… without losing their sanity that is. Seriously, if he had any less pride in his own skills, then Nico would have kissed the very earth that he now found himself on, the familiar sensations travelling up his legs and arm making him feel all giddy inside.
Returning from... wherever the hell that dimension had been in via a Portal had been one experience which Nico had been incredibly grateful for, especially with everything that had happened there. First off, meeting that blonde haired guy Castiel had been… a rather-eye-opening experience, especially with what he had learned from the dude. Nico and him may not have been very friendly with each other, though he could attribute that t them being the way they were. Not to mention that they naturally wanted to be the better fighter in the camaraderie they were forced into by Castiel's godfather… Zelretch. Yeah, honestly Nico could understand how he had developed that 'meh, i'll roll with it' outlook. The Heir had opened his mind to numerous possibilities, possibilities which could be considered both very good… and very bad. What'll happen because of this however, now THAT would have to be within what Nico planned to do with this knowledge. It would be all up to him at this point onwards… if Zelretch doesn't feel the need to make a return trip to this Devildimension, that is.
One can only imagine how things would turn out if that had happened. The second thing from that Dimension that was noteworthy for him, was the new set of powers which he had gained, powers and items by the way. He had to record them down due to having gained so many things, so he raised his right arm, activated its bracer and began jotting down a list of all the items he had gained from the place. Just so he could remember them all (and partially so the readers of this fanfic had a summary of the rewards he had in his possession). The list would be as follows:
Shingan - a special demonic-looking ring, consisting of a metallic band with sharp spike-like edges, with the top containing a jewel shaped like a crimson, slitted eye. A ring which allowed him to telepathically communicate with others and read their minds, though he can't control what thoughts he would read from them. Originally, this ring would have had a... rather limited range of 5 meters, just enough for one to hear their opponents thoughts if they were close enough. Thus, it wasn't a broken tool like a lot of his weapons, even if it still had its uses. However, Nico had managed to figure out that, upon infusing it with his Demonic Power AKA using Desecration like he did on his Skimmer, Ember and his Armour, then the thing's range increased by a wide margin. More than enough to cover an entire city's worth of land. Within that land, he could hear the thoughts of anyone he could sense, as well as relay his thoughts to them. One could not even BEGIN to imagine how useful this freaking thing would be.
Osiris (Scythe) - A white Scythe which had installed within his brain various Techniques upon him grasping it for the first time, although it took a while for him to utilize one of them accidentally. Those techniques, he hadn't had much of a chance to master them as he would have liked, since he got so much stuff back there, but he still wanted to test them out. Those techniques consisted of the Hierro, Pesquisa, Sonido, Resurrección. Sadly, he can't use the weapon no more since it fused with Erebus permanently in the Third Trial.
Erebus - An Archdevil Arm he gained out of nowhere, but one which took the form of a Scythe after being born from Harvester, an evolution basically. The Scythe itself had a slightly bent Shaft made from this dark organic chitin, two grips shaped like human spines indicating where it should be grabbed. Out the bottom of the Shaft, there was a long Tendril-like extension which ended in an eel-like head with dark purple slitted eyes. As for the top of the Scythe, the weapon now sported a curved blade which looked quite jagged at the base, with small curved spikes coming out the back edge that went backwards. The rest of the blade reached to about 2 forearms worth of length, looking like it could cut even if someone was looking at it. From the back of the Shaft's top end, 3 long extensions protruded, being the length of a butcher's knife. Beneath them, was a single, large purple eye that almost lit up in matching flames. Its powers lay in darkness, creation and devouring, which more than qualified it as a worthwhile member of his destructive arsenal.
Star God's Broken Shadow - When utilized, the practitioner's speed will instantaneously explode and become so quick that even the afterimages created by the movement will not have enough time to fade away. In fact, the 'afterimages' are just about indistinguishable from the original body, making it seem as if the user has been cloned while moving at breathtaking speeds. If the practitioner can achieve peak mastery of this skill, even if the opponents are over three to five levels higher than the user, they still wouldn't be able to easily defeat the wielder of the technique. Nico had developed this to the fifth stage, so he could make up to 5 afterimages which are nigh indistinguishable from the real him.
Great Way of the Buddha - A Sentient Skill which, when learned, sets the user up on a series of stages, there being 12 in total with their own conditions. Once those conditions are met, then the Skill remakes the user's entire body, amplifying their strengths and boosting their vitality. He was currently on the fourth Stage, which meant her had a striking force of over 50,000 kilos added onto him by the Skill. The restoration power that Great Way of the Buddha enables is a powerful concentration of the power of Heaven and Earth. Upon entering the Intermediate stage of The Great Way of the Buddha, not only is it capable of healing the cultivator, but it also allows one to heal others absurdly fast, albeit much more slowly than healing one's self. However, one must be incredibly familiar with the human body, as otherwise would cause the subject to be destroyed by the energy surge.
Gene Seed Implants - A series of Genetic Modifications which apply different effects on his body, for example he now had a second heart which basically functioned like a life support system, a skeleton which can endure even greater hits than it normally could have, become nearly 7 foot tall, improved his regen prowess by increasing the effectiveness of his clotting in addition to being able to heal even if he was reduced to mush and making lesser injuries be healed instantaneously, stay awake for days on end (though risks are involved), practical poison immunity (though he would either vomit those substances out or store them for later use), gain memories by eating brains like a zombie (Nico was half Ghoul, so he didn't feel too bothered by this), insane visual acuity as in being able to see in the dark and with just as much effectiveness in daylight, greater hearing which came with the added bonus of immunity to dizziness and motion sickness, an emergency hibernation ability if trauma is too great for his body to handle, radiation resistance, the ability to spit sure-killing acid, better connection to his Demonic Armour, and the best part of all being that he could make more 'seeds' to implant into those he sees as worthy so they can get these implants grown in them too.
Solitary World God training manual - A training manual which was focused more on developing the physical body, tempering it and, after passing through the stages, results in the user developing a tremendously powerful physique, one which is nigh immortal in terms of vitality and longevity. Healing, strength, speed, endurance, all physical traits are consolidated in this Manual, so anyone who follows it would gain great benefits to their combat ability. Something Nico felt would be EXCELLENT in adding to his arsenal.
Avenger Package - A series of activatable perks which focus on channelling anger from memories and experiences, to convert it into power for himself. Since he already had negative emotion sensing before, this would allow him to convert anger into power for his attacks, intensifying them.
Berserker Package - A series of activatable perks which focus on improving his combat ability at a moment's notice, similar to a his DEMONIC OVERDRIVE Skill.
Golden Crow flames (Bloodline and Record of the Burning World included) - An incomplete Bloodline of the Golden Crow which he had obtained during the third trial. This flame was considered one of the hottest flames ever made, as its strength allowed its original user the golden crow, to generate 9 suns to attack and destroy its enemies. Easily the most destructive flame out there, surpassing his Hellfire by a wide margin. He even managed to obtain a tome listing all the techniques he can learn to use these flames for, making this reward even better for him. Unfortunately, due to the infusion process he used, Nico couldn't completely merge with it, and thus he would have to spend time and effort in extremely hot situations in order to correct this mistake.
Fusion with Heroic Spirit Okada Izou - During the fourth trial, the water trial, Nico had unknowingly caught the attention of the Heroic Spirit whom he had once defeated, Okada Izou. He'd performed a fusion between the two of them, turning them into two inter-connected entities upon seeing how bad of a swordsman he was, something Okada refused to allow one of his descendants (yeah, Nico apparently was descended from that guy, not really that surprising considering his nature as a killer) to suck with a sword so bad. Got retrained from the ground up by the guy, and whilst it hurt like a bitch, Nico could definitely admit that, thanks to it he managed to develop better swordsmanship, even adopted a few stances of the Manslayer Style Okada used.
Evil Crimson Fatalis Spirt Bone - A 100,00+ Year Old Spirit Bone from an evil Crimson Fatalis encountered during the fourth trial. A Spirit Bone which forms over his left leg (right one being the Boar Specter one), that has two abilities: Meteor shower, basically to summon meteors either over a space or all around them, their size depending on the spent energy, or gas eruption, the power to release and detonate a flammable gas which can be manipulated freely.
Evil Orca King Spirit Bone - A 100,000+ year old Spirit Bone which formed as a fin over his right arm, during the water trial after he defeated an Evil Orca King Spirit Beast. This offensive type not only possesses spatial manipulation, but it could also launch high speed energy waves which, combined with its spatial manipulation trick, could prove downright LETHAL. That made this one his THIRD Spirit Bone so far, two leg ones and an arm one.
Essence Flame (Blue Lotus Geocentric flame) - An essence Flame which was formed from natural energies, one which Nico had found in the last trial. The Essence Flame he found being shaped like a Lotus, hence its name, but its power would not be losing out against something like his own chaotic Hellfire.
Demon King Seed - The Demon King Seed, was a Seed which imbeds itself within a non-human body only, and has to have 2 conditions met before it can activate. One, to be a leader in the eyes of a large amount of non-human beings (something Nico would find the hardest to do), and to feed it over 10,000 Souls that Nico HIMSELF has to have slain. Once those were met, then it would hatch and make him into a being known as a 'Demon Lord', giving him a powerful Skill the likes of which would easily decimate the enemy on the battlefield depending on how well he used it. So far though, Nico had only absorbed it into himself for now, with no progress made in hatching it just yet. Fortunately its been sustained by his Demonic Power for the meantime though, so it wouldn't die on him.
All kinds of Books herbs, natural ingredients from different sources - Aside from the last trial where he used Erebus to gather all kinds of Herbs and other valuable items to store them in his Void Storage, Nico had also gained all kinds of books from Castiel as a reward for helping him out, books on so many topics that, for a warlike world such as his, would be a massive boon to them. Not to mention the metals which Nico had indeed bought on the guy's recommendation, in addition to what food he still had left from the first trial's monsters that he had hunted successfully with the Heir's help. In the end, he had a large reservoir of supplies in his Void Storage, it would be classed as LITERALLY insane.
Various physical improvements - Throughout the various Trials, Nico's body had gained all sorts of improvements to it, like absolute fire immunity from the Crimson Fatalis, the transformations from other items, and each of them had their own benefits to his body. It happened so much now, that Nico doubted his human form could ever have been compared to the time before it got sent here, its almost LAUGHABLE in comparison.
DDD Change - Now THIS one Nico had the MOST fun with, for this one should have come as soon as he had ascended to Multi-Continent Class in terms of power, but it had been delayed due to special circumstances. Now, though, his DPU Form had evolved, gaining a much darker, deadlier looking appearance similar to the really edgy demonic armour that makers of that one game about dragons returning made, Da#'d#ic Armour he thought it was. Not to mention he now had four wings, FOUR shapeshifting wings to play with as he willed...
… Yeah, Nico DEFINITELY felt like he had achieved some major stuff back there, thanks to that mad bastard Zelretch.
He'd have to remember this for if he ever met that crazy guy again, the redhead teen mused as he started making his way out the forest once he stood up from his kneeling position. He felt like stopping by the Leanbox Capital, MICROSOFT, for a bit before continuing on his way.
Aside from that, he had his Armour fuse with this other suit, absorbing it and gaining upgrades down to the fundamentals. Now, aside from just Desecrated Silver Steel which was abundant in his universe, Nico's Armour now had been made from Desecrated Ceramite, a metal which excelled in both defence, and resistance against energy and particle-based attacks. As a bonus, defence against physical attacks was increased too, along with the ability to walk on pretty much any terrain including zero-gravity zones. It retained its appearance mostly, though.
But for now, Nico decided to cut his musings short when he stopped in his tracks. His hands had unpocketed themselves from his Trench Coat, his muscles tensed and his individual cells promptly went onto high alert. His ears repeatedly twitched from the wind while the redhead's eyes jerked from side to side. Nico found himself at the edge of the forest, along a dirt-covered path which would lead him straight towards MICROSOFT. Though, if he were to guess, Nico figured it would take him a few hours to get there by walking. If he were to summon Ember or Urthemiel, perhaps it would be like an hour and 50 minutes, although right now this wasn't what caused him to break his stride.
What was though?
Well… how about the fact that he had picked up the traces of demonic presences heading his way?
Almost as SOON as he had thought that, Nico narrowed his eyes when he noticed how, from all around him, dozens of shadowy figures leapt from the wilderness with weapons brandished in the open. Their forms gleamed menacingly thanks to the light of the sun above them, Nico noted, before he reflexively Warped out of the way to avoid their attacks. The male soon appeared about 40 meters to the left, humming thoughtfully to himself alongside brushing the imaginary dust off his cloak. All whilst his newest 'attackers' stabbed into the spot where he had once been, and if he could see their faces then Nico would have figured that they had become confused about their failed ambush.
'Now… this is a surprise… an ambush this early on in the game? Man, I have to be breaking a record here…' The male thought as he held a hand out, readying himself for a quick summoning of one of his weapons. Judging from their brown, hooded cloaks that looked to have been victimised by all sorts of elements, plus the crusty-looking weapons they had, Nico assumed they had been assassins sent to kill him. By whom, Nico didn't know but he could ask them… or read their minds with the Shingan. However, that had a chance of backfiring since he didn't have control over which thoughts he read. Even so, however, there had been this one silver lining in this situation.'Though… I have to admit… this feeling of being ambushed at any time, it feels… honestly quite refreshing.' The male thought, feeling an excited smirk forming over his lips.
To him, the sight of assassins coming to kill him should have been a major annoyance, since he had been the victim of such attacks more times than he could count. However, with the things that he had gone through recently, Nico honestly found this familiar sight to be more than a little comforting. The sense of normalcy that this came from this, it felt QUITE appreciated to him, and he felt like 'rewarding' them for their unintentional assistance for relieving him of some accumulated stress. .
"Well, then… after the weeks I've had, all I'll say is this: Hello, misplaced aggression!"
After some… venting, a rather satisfied Nico turned tail and left the forest, dismissing Rebellion with a full belly, RC Cells replenished and a whole lot more relaxed. Like he had mentioned previously, Nico could have rode back on Urthemiel or his Skimmer Ember, but to be frank the male felt like taking a stroll today. That, and there wasn't much else to it there, aside from how this would give him some time to think on what he should do next. First off however, he wanted to return to the city and locate his mom.
This wouldn't be a social visit though, there were motives behind this trip. The redhead intended on passing to her some of the things he'd gotten from the Zelretch Trials, like the blueprints on how to create those light weapons along with the metals which used them. Perhaps some alternatives could be found in Gamindustri once they ran out, but it should be quite a helpful addition to their assault against the enemy forces. Not only that, but he had a BUNCH of stuff to give to her outside of all that, stuff which could be used for all kinds of purposes like advancing medical research, decreasing their casualty rates against the forces of Chaos etc. Part of him WAS concerned for the higher ups of the Guild potentially interfering with his life by inquiring where he got these items, but considering the situation Nico didn't think they would bother with him for now. Especially with the emergencies which would have piled up back at their office.
Furthermore, they had... that, to solve. Before the Gala, Nico had passed on a Chip to his mother. A chip which had contained a recording of him explaining the fundamentals of what he had learned up until that point. As in, what he had learned about the Demons, Maghda, the various forces, etc. About Devil Arms, the Demonic Ascension Ceremony pretty much everything he had kept inside… though he had simply generalized it, he would rather explain the full details himself. 'Say Biko, have you been researching that materialization thing you did when I was in that Coma? I mean, if mom asks me more about you, it would be best if you explain it to her.'
'Unfortunately, I have not made as much progress on that technique as of yet, Nico. This is mostly due to not having much time on my end due to having my time divided between different tasks. Your Ghoul Persona no longer being restrained however, makes it much easier on me so I can focus on such a task. Although, I have begun seeing this as fairly odd…'
The way Biko trailed off at the end, with his uncertainty barely slipping into his words at the end there, got Nico concerned. It was never a good sign whenever Biko was concerned about something, and this time would likely be no different. He didn't like the tone, so he decided to inquire about it. After all, they had some time on their hands until they were to reach MICROSOFT, so why not? 'What do you mean? Is it anything dangerous?' he questioned cautiously.
'Not dangerous per say, more on the lines of very odd. Remember, I told you that I was spawned from your Demonic Power, as a means of helping you learn how to control it better so it can get more chances to be used, correct? However, something has been bugging me ever since I discovered this technique of mine, this technique of directly manifesting outside your body and into the physical world. This technique, despite the risks involved, shouldn't even be possible for a being like myself, Since I came from that energy, I should be tied to it intricately, thus preventing me from going anywhere away from your soul. If I were to leave it, I should have just been forcibly returned the very second that I touched the physical world. However, as you have no doubt summarized already, that is not the case. It is odd… but very curious. It makes me question things that previously I had thought for fact.'
'Well, now you know how I feel right now, Biko. Learning all that information, learning just how large the universe really is, it makes me wonder as well. Still, now that you mention it, thinking back to our many interactions, part of me also feels like this is weird… Hmm, this could be something that we could investigate… just one more thing to add to the pile, sadly.' Nico mentally replied, his lips set in a firm line until the end where he released a deep sigh. Though, now that Biko had mentioned it, the redhead male began to think back to when they first met, a reminiscent look on his face as memories he had not recalled for a while (not as long as the ones he'd somehow repressed, but still) returned to him. He remembered their first meeting, their first few training sessions and then everything that followed. Honestly, it felt more like a wild ride that Nico had went on with his Demon Persona.
Still though, the fact that Biko had noticed these oddities implied a few things. One of them, was the fact that his mind had been altered somehow, not exactly amnesia per say since amnesia was more geared towards forgotten memories. Still, the thought that Biko may be like him felt oddly… relieving yet also annoying at the same time. Relieving in that he had a fellow amnesiac, but annoying in that this had only been discovered now and not before. 'Still then, do you think you'll be able to use it to speak to my mom if she asks for you?'
'It should not be an issue. However, you must make sure to warn her that I cannot remain outside of you for long, otherwise a lot of people may die in horrific ways from the implosion. You and I wouldn't, but everyone else is a different story.'
Nico nodded his head in response to his words, and with those mentioned words flowing through his mind, Nico began to converse with his Demon Persona while outside, his body casually trekked along the pathway back to MICROSOFT. It would likely be a while, so he would talk to the ones that he could talk to right now… right after sending his mom a message letting her know he was coming of course.
Yeah, if anyone (correctly) called him a momma's boy… well, nobody would ever find their bodies.
"And WHERE have you been young man?"
The sound of sternness and controlled anger reverberated through the hotel room belonging to one Helena Dawson, head of the Guild's WDD as she sat on her seat, looking crossly over at her adoptive son who sat on the ground in a seiza position. Her legs were crossed whilst her arms were crossed under her chest, an aura of unbridled anger radiating from her shapely frame. Clearly, if one were to enter the room right now, they would likely be blown straight out just from the oppressive nature of her aura alone.
An aura which only a worried mother could have had.
Meanwhile, a certain Spec Ops Agent couldn't help but mentally scowl in guilt and bitterness. Even though it hadn't been in his hands much, he had still worried the life out of his mother. After all, there was a reason why those Assassins were targeting him, and it was to do with how she had lost track of him for a time frame that hadn't been allowed when she saved him from his torment. The strict limitations placed between them made it so that there was little to no way that either of them could 'get any funny ideas' without a blade being put to their throats.
After Nico had returned to MICROSOFT, talking with Biko about possible training tactics as well as other things, like the state of their powers or his Ghoul Persona's trauma (Nico had half expected it to come out at that time, but nope no dice), the first thing he did was head to his Mother's hotel. He had received her message not long after he had sent his (as in near-microsecond afterwards with more profanity telling him to get his scrawny ass back to the City), something which had sent no small amount of chills down his spine. Thus, it had prompted him to seek her out as soon as he took his first step back into MICROSOFT in a goddamn long time… at least, for him. Whilst he wanted to see his Comrades as well, possibly hug the life out of them to feel the relief and comfort they usually brought him, Nico wanted to get this stuff with his mother done with as soon as he could.
If he didn't then Nico didn't know if he would ever get another chance. He already felt guilty enough keeping this stuff from her, and that wasn't even taking into account her situation with the higher ups in the Basilicoms and the Guild. "I…. I went to train…" Nico tried to say, although he soon found how his words refused to form within the confines of his throat. No matter how hard he tried, his ability to speak almost seemed like it had been robbed from him by the oppressive nature of his worried mother's aura.
Just… Just how the hell could he tell her what he went through the past few weeks? It would be foolish to assume she would just believe that a dimension hopping, undead Mage dragged his ass out of his dimension into his own little pocket one, to take part in some tests with the Mage's Godson. Who the hell would believe something so outlandish? Not to mention the changes that had been made to his own power set because of those trials, nevermind her believing him Nico felt like if word got out to the higher ups about his new powers then they would probably start trying to target him more to keep him in line. The Assassins back there had likely been a searching group to try and track him down, thinking that he had gone 'rogue' and were sent to take him out before he became a threat.
Maybe it would have been easier if she had learned everything he had learned beforehand, but that was a BIG maybe.
'HAHAHAHAHAHA, SHE'S GOT YA WHIPPED, KING! YA BETTER SHOW HER WHO'S BOSS, OTHERWISE YOUR KINGSHIP WILL BE THREATENED BY YOUR BITCHINESS!'
'Shut it, you!'
After he mentally scolded his inner Ghoul when it made those comments about his mother (something which only made it laugh all the more maniacally), Nico tried once again to explain what had happened to him. It was the best he could do for now, since he had so little time to prepare a believable argument beforehand. Thus, one could say that he had been caught with his pants down, metaphorically of course. Any who tried that physically… well, it would NOT end well for them, not. One. Bit. Just as he made to open his mouth to explain however…
"SIGH…"
…?
Much to his confusion, a sigh escaped Helen's lips as she leaned forwards a little, her aura all but vanishing out of existence. The male felt it as clear as day, the feeling of oppression leaving him quicker than a cheetah. It nearly made him exhale in relief as deeply as he had when he finally returned to the Devil dimension, though his sheer willpower prevented it. "Apologies, my son… I just had to vent my worries there. A mother's worries cannot fade so easily you know…" she told him, and just by looking into his eyes, Helen saw how he understood her feelings. "Your friend MAGES., she came along to me not long after you vanished. She told me that her 'master' came along for a visit and, when she told him about you, he decided to take you away from here so he could teach you a few things." she told him, frowning in worry. "You know just how complex that makes our situation, right?"
Nico nodded in response his eyes just as firm as her own. "Yeah..." he muttered under his breath, uncertainty and concern ripe from his words like fruit having grown to their peak from a tree. How could he not? His mother was supposed to 'keep watch' over him in case he were to go out of control. If there was no way they could rein Nico in whenever he went berserk, typically if he were to lose control over his Kakuja, then he would have to be treated as an Abnormal and killed by the nearest Spec Ops Agents. The restraints around his life, well… one could say they were abnormally tight (mind the pun there), with little to no room for any leeway. Honestly, Nico wondered what his mother had done in order to make it so only those assassins came, and not some of the tougher Spec Ops Agents. However, with the prospect of his powers having grown to an unknown level, then if it got out and he was proven to be too powerful, then the higher ups at the Guild and Basilicoms would likely try to take him out regardless of him being in control or not.
If not him, then maybe his comrades as well...
That couldn't be allowed to happen... at any cost.
Still, there was one piece of silver lining that could be taken from this, and that was the fact that MAGES. had seen fit to talk to his mother about what had happened to him. From what he had heard, it seemed like she had explained his meeting with Zelretch, but twisted the truth a bit into him taking Nico on a training trip instead of... what had actually happened. He didn't think MAGES. would try anything else like, since the information about Zelretch likely wouldn't be that well received by his mother from a Spec Ops Agent's standpoint. A world like this, where monsters of an unknown quantity, each with their own abilities, intelligence and powers would constantly tear away at humanity's defenses, wouldn't welcome someone like Zelretch with open arms after all. Even if he was a bit of a loony, Nico doubted that guy would want to be the cause of innocent lives lost.
Looking into her godson's eyes, Helen saw that there were a range of emotions roiling inside of him right now. Emotions which wouldn't settle down in a day. not to mention that he looked like someone who had a lot on his mind. Something like that, must have meant something had happened during that training trip, and whatever that was, had affected him in more ways than one. Thus, it wouldn't do to probe him for more information on that trip like she should have, so for now she would recall that conversation for a later date. Instead, she decided to bring something else up that likely had been part of Nico's worries this whole time. "I took a look at what you gave me, Nicky-Nick. It seems that a lot of things have been happening to you since we saw each other..." she told him, attempting to push the conversation forwards.
When he looked up again from his slightly downcast expression, Helen noticed the look of relief that formed behind his gaze, making her mentally smile in relief. Whatever had changed with her son, she at least knew that he was still the same deep down, the same sweet, childish little boy whom she loved like her own. The relief also came from the fact that it was still true that Nico wasn't able to hide how he really felt from her, her path through his 'Mask' was intact still. "Y-Yeah! That's largely why I came here, aside from you beckoning me over, that is..." he replied, looking more than a little sheepish whilst chuckling in a similar manner. Afterwards, the male pretty much explained everything he could to her.
He explained about the Demons, the DPU Era, the Devil Arms along with the ones which had evolved into Archdevil Arms. He explained all of what he had known about the four original DPUs, and how one of them had been the enemy him and the girls had fought back at Halo Mountain. Nico also talked about the Seal made by the original Goddess and Sparda, the supposed '8 Beast Kings' which he had yet to look into. He explained pretty much everything to her in as much detail as Nico could provide, not leaving the slightest knowledge out, as well as providing evidence to support his claims either from reciting passages in the Tomes he read, showcasing his Demonic Powers, etc. It was what his mother deserved after all, since she had always been by his side, ever since the beginning, more than proving herself trustworthy to him when she had given up so much for him. He had no right to do anything less, and by the Goddess Nico felt majorly grateful how she hadn;t asked him to verify Biko's existence by summoning him, probably because she had been around when Biko had manifested himself for the first time, now that he thought about it.
By the time that Nico had finished his explanation, Helen hummed to herself, having remained silent during his talk in order to absorb all the information into her brain, process it, and formulate a response. This silence continued for what felt like a measly five minutes, but to them it seemed to go on for much, MUCH longer. Finally, the older woman spoke, her one carrying no small amount of exasperation. "This is... a lot to take in, Nico. How have you kept so much a secret all this time?" she questioned him. She didn't bother feeling any hurt for him keeping all this from her, since she knew that in his Nature, Nico kept secrets. Largely due to self-preservation and because he was smart. He knew how dangerous this information could be if the 'wrong' people got a hold of it, somethings he respected about him. She then shook her head whilst putting an index finger and thumb on her temples, a sound escaping between her teeth. "In any case, what you've told me actually coincides with our own investigation." she told him, much to Nico's surprise, and that of his other Aspects.
"Huh?"
'Come again?'
'WHAT THE DUCE!?'
"What, did you think I wouldn't do some digging of my own?" Helen retorted, a rather rebellious smirk finding its way across her lips that sort of made Nico chuckle in amusement. "Of course, its nothing compared to what you have, but throughout these last few months, I've been conducting investigations into destroyed Demonic encampments which were liberated from their... former residents." she told him, and Nico had no doubt on what she meant by that. "That, and I got some help from Rinjiin who explained that some of the books we found were only readable by beings with Demonic Power in them. Odds are, you'd be able to, while we on the other hand, can't since we don't 'qualify'. Despite this however, we've stored all sorts of artifacts and books in vaults across the four Guild Buildings, some being transferred to different Vaults across the Four Nations. These 'Satanic Treasures' seem to be in abundance at this point thanks to this, thus if what you say is true then we may be able to use some of these artifacts against the enemy Demons and their cult followers."
'... Why the hell did I not see that coming?' Nico mused to himself mentally, just barely suppressing the urge to hang his head. Instead, he just palmed his forehead, earning an amused giggle from his mother. Really, just who was he trying to fool, for thinking that his mother, whom had much more access to resources than what Nico did, not to mention a much greater aggression in regards to her approach wouldn't try to look into these matters on her lonesome? It was like he had assumed she wouldn't be competent at her job, or she would just lounge about like a lot of pen pushers he knew about. Nico couldn't help it at this point, he freaking like a total idiot, and not the first time in these last couple weeks. At least, it was things like this which reminded him that, whilst his mother may be unwillingly retired, she was STILL a veteran Spec Ops Agent at her core, and one of the stronger ones too.
Even so however, the fact remained that a major load had been raised off his chest with this talk, the teen felt like he could breathe and think much easier now. Something he DEEPLY appreciated since he had a LOT to think about. "Well, i'm glad I was able to let you in on all this right now." Nico remarked, heaving a heavy sigh of relief. Then, looking back up at his mom, Nico had a thought, one which could end up making things go pretty good or pretty bad. Even so, he still wanted to try. "Hey, um... mom?"
"Hm? Yes, my boy?"
"Do you know... um... well... Its about the girls, and..."
One would NEVER comprehend how much guts this was going to take for Nico right now. The thought process for him was this: now that he was back in Gamindustri, the problems that he had left behind here would return in full force by the time tomorrow arrived. Ever since the girls reacted to his condition, Nico had tried to avoid them as much as he could, with the reason that he had to train and get stronger. Well, he didn't have to worry since the girls were pretty much on the same wavelength. All of them felt like they had to get stronger, so each of them had went on their own training routines. The only time they were together, was during the night time when they would sleep, and even then it would be brief. Heck, they'd be too tired to even try to sneak into Nico's room to crawl under his bed for the night.
Nevertheless, the biggest problem he felt he was facing, would be their reactions to his Ghoul side. Of their lack of... negativity around it. He could sort of understand how IF reacted to it since she likely had her own suspicions, but even she reacted in a way that befuddled the life out of him. Therefore, in his eyes ALL of them were just one big box of worms which Nico had ZERO idea how to sort out. It was incomprehensible for him, how they responded... but... maybe, just maybe... maybe his mother would be able to shed some light on the subject? She definitely felt like the more experienced one in the subject, not to mention how she had repeatedly tried to tell him something similar to this. With the apparent 'success' this talk had been so far, this thought process inevitably surfaced within his mind, and then escaped before his mind even knew what it was doing.
True Castiel had shed his views on this, but... he was him, and Nico was Nico. He still wanted some more advice before tackling this problem.
Pretty soon after he spoke those words, Helen's eyes widened with realization. She quickly figured out what he had been trying to say with little difficulty. Especially with the way Nico shifted uncomfortably on the spot, how his eyes shifted from left to right and vice versa in addition to the twiddling of his thumbs. His thoughts were practically n open book for her to read, though Helen knew from past experiences that he only showed this side of him, his weak and vulnerable side, to her specifically. Shows just how much he valued her trust in him, huh? Pushing past the surge of joy at him trusting her, Helen spoke with a knowing look on her face which matched the tone of voice she had. "You're wondering why the girls reacted to your secret the way they did?"
In a sense, Helen could understand what Nico's mind was thinking right now. He had seen so much of the bad in people, and so little good. She could count the number of good people Nico had seen on her own two hands, whist most of the entire human population showed Nico only their darker sides. It didn't help that the higher ups didn't even LET him see the goodness in humanity, instead they just kept him shrouded in their 'darkness' in order to turn him into the monster that they wanted him to be. The dog which would howl in response to their call. No matter how much it infuriated her, no matter how hard she had tried to get him some form of happiness, those freaking ASSHOLES up top just didn't let it happen, which resulted in Nico not having... well, pretty much any experience aside from Team RAIL of the positive kind. Therefore, for him, the thought and memory of a GROUP of people, not just one, whom showed him the exact opposite of what he was used to, completely threw him for a loop.
When she saw him hesitantly nod, Helen gave a sad, depressed sigh. "Nicky-Nick... this is what I've been trying to tell you since the moment you first met those girls. They aren't the same as those whom have hurt you in the past, I could tell from them the moment I first met them, that they were different. Granted, I did worry about Raven and Lucy at first, but from the looks of things my worries were unfounded." She told him, softly, standing up from her chair and walking up to him. Because of her sudden movement, and the way his mind pretty much got compromised by opening up to her, Nico looked up sharply with a fierce gaze of surprise on his face. Helen heard the faintest crackles of his Kagune beginning to emerge, but before it could she was before him and pulling him into a warm embrace.
That stopped the crackling and settled the beast inside.
"Huh...? Wha...?"
"My dear boy... you have to learn that there are people out there who WILL accept you." Helen whispered soothingly, rubbing the back of his head softly with her hand. Her other hand rested on his shoulder whilst her arm wrapped around his back, the soothing aura of a mother radiating from her being. Any and all forms of chaos running through her boy's mind became silent when she did this, allowing her to continue with her words. "Those bastards up top may have told you otherwise, the world may have unintentionally embedded their words into you, but right now, you have a chance. A chance that has been denied you for a goddess damned long time. The chance to finally have people who accept you for what you are, not just the human in you. The human, the Ghoul, the Demon, those girls have accepted every part of you, because they are ALL you. They aren't anything like different aspects of your mind, they aren't separate beings, they are a part of YOU, my dearest son."
Within her embrace, if it were possible, then Nico's jaw would have dropped open whilst his eyes would have bulged to the limits of their sockets. Those words that his mother had said to him, reverberated through his mind and left a colossal impact each time. So many in fact, that for a moment his mind became a complete blank, making him become unable to decide how to react. It was like his brain couldn't even properly process what he had just heard, almost like it was said in a foreign language. Word for word. Silence, Nico stayed in a bout of silence, all the while Helen waited for the inevitable, the inevitable event that would soon follow. This state lasted for a few moments, moments which seemed to last much longer in the male's point of view in comparison to Helen's, but when they passed his brain finally rebooted once again.
The moment it did though...
"w...wha...?"
Nico tried to open his mouth, he tried to speak, to refute those words which he had heard time and time again from his mother, to freaking say SOMETHING. However, none came out his mouth, instead all he got were strangled-sounding letters. His voice regularly cracked, and his vocal chords felt like they were getting uncomfortably tight. His eyes began to sting after they gradually shrunk down to normal size again, a stinging which got accompanied by a feeling of wetness. His stomach began to feel like knots were forming between every part of it, resulting in this uncomfortable sensation down there. His heart sped to supersonic speeds with how fast it pounded within his torso, all in all things were quickly destabilizing within the male's usually calm demeanor. Pretty soon that wetness became too much for the male to bear, and as a result trails of it went down his cheeks whilst his eyelids shut tightly, his shoulders trembling violently whilst sounds of choked sobs filled the room.
Was he... crying? How long had it been since he had cried? Nico could hardly remember, in fact he didn't even want to think about anything right now.
All the while, Helen held nothing but a soft, tender smile on her lips. The smile she reserved solely for Nico himself as she brought him even closer to her chest, if that were even possible. Noticing the failing strength in his legs, the woman solved that problem by shifting into a kneeling position, refusing to lessen the comforting grip she had on the crying teen one bit. She could hear it in his sobs, as well as feel it from his body. She could hear the floodgates to his heart, which had been closed for such a long time, slowly beginning to open like those cranky doors to abandoned buildings. Within, so much emotion Nico had suppressed, his sadness, despair, hopes, fears, failures, everything that had been built up over the past few years which would have reached a boiling point eventually, spewed out of him like a rushing torrent. And as his mother, it was her duty to be there for him during this trying time. This... would likely be one of the FEW tings she could do for him that a parent could.
"I...I-I-If... what you're s-s-s-s-saying is true..." Nico began from within the older woman's embrace, his arms trembling as he slowly raised them towards her back. I this moment, gone was the usually composed Spec Ops Agent, gone was the beast which would kill and destroy anything in its path, gone was the demonic being which heralded from an era of nothing but pain, misery and despair for the human race. All that remained right now, was what Nico truly was inside: a sad, broken young man who just wanted to find his proper place in the world. To be acknowledged for his own existence. "Th-Then... why...? Wh-why couldn't I have m-m-m-m-met them s-s-s-s-sooner...?" The male asked her at last, now completely and utterly broken. all he could do was vent his mixed emotions, to empty the pool within which had been building up pressure for years on end.
And all Helen did... was hold him tightly, rubbing the back of his head to help him let out everything in his heart.
It was all she could do, as not even Helen had the answer to that question.
Over in his inner world...
"... This... is unexpected..."
One would not be inaccurate when they say that this would be a rare moment for Biko to clearly express his emotions.
Not just in his eyes like Nico usually figured out, but have them completely visible all over his features. As of right now, anyone would be able to tell what he was feeling with how his eyes bulged open, his jaw dropped while his form looked upwards. As if the skies itself were a pair of eye holes into the outside world. Biko's form floated just above the ground, his form completely restored since the battle with Mundus. His body returned to being wound free, whilst memories of that event would remain etched onto his being for all of eternity. Since it had been the eye-opener to the world of the DPUs that had laid before him. Him and the other aspects that made up Nico's being.
Even so, the Demonic Persona watched from within the Inner World, as Nico's mind and pretty much his essence practically broke down with a few words from his mother. No, that wasn't quite right. The damn had been degraded, filled with many cracks of varying length for a long while. A major step towards this would have been ow the girls completely threw off Nico's perceptions of the people around him by doing what they did, it had impacted his minds like a colossal thunderstorm wailing on him without mercy. At this point, it had only been a matter of time before he finally broke down, Helen's words were just the final strikes before the damn would have to burst.
"To think... that Nico would have the affinity to cry like this... even after everything..."
"BAH, GODDAMMIT KING! WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO MUSHY AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!"
Biko glanced to the side the moment he heard that distorted, hollow voice echo throughout the Inner World, unheard by Nico thanks to the ongoing rush of emotion spilling over. When he did, the Demonic Persona noticed the Ghoulish version of Nico standing there, looking up at the skies with no small amount of irritation in his eyes. Although, to Biko's trained eyes... there was much less irritation towards Nico than he initially portrayed. "Oh? You are upset, beast who resides within Nico's essence?" he questioned, getting the Ghoulish Persona to turn to glare heatedly at him.
"OF COURSE I DON'T LIKE THIS, WHY WOULD I?! THE KING IS MEANT TO BE AT THE TOP, IMMOVABLE AND UNCHANGING IN HIS CONVICTION! MUSHY SHIT LIKE THIS IS NOT MEANT FOR SOMEONE LIKE HIM! HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE STRONG, HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEST, HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE TOP PREDATOR AFTER FINALLY THROWING AWAY THOSE USELESS, PATHETIC FEELINGS OF HESITATION WHEN USING HIS TRUE NATURE! WHY, IF I HAD THE CHANCE I'D TAKE OVER HIS PATHETIC BODY RIGHT NOW AND GUT THAT WOMAN FOR REDUCING THE KING TO THIS!" The Ghoulish Nico responded, going well into a rant about the 'annoyance' he felt in all of this.
Now, in any other time Biko would have struck the Ghoul Persona down for saying such things to his face. He would have quickly drawn his version of the newly restored Soul Edge and used a quick Quicksword to slice him to pieces, so he would have to spend a lot of time to rebuild his body. Demonic Power has been able to suppressed the Ghoul inside for a long time now, so it would not have been any bother, and if Nico were to question him he would explain everything that happened. Nico likely would have accepted this, and things would have progressed as normal.
However, just before he could summon that infernal sword into his hand, Biko noticed something. Something that he soon realized wasn't just unique to the Ghoulish Nico but to himself, and the Inner World as a whole. While the Ghoulish Persona ranted, Biko noticed the minute changes in his voice, so minute that if he hadn't noticed by accident before then he wouldn't have noticed the rest. Now that he WAS looking though, it definitely became apparent, especially with the way his eyes minutely twitched, shaking about like they were wondering what to do. After he saw the white Nico breathing heavily, his rant finally over after more tan 10 minutes, Biko finally chose to voice this opinion, as unbelievable as it may have seemed to him. "You're lying."
"HAAAAAA?!"
"You may be just a beast in everything you do, you may be Nico's inner nature as am I, however we are still part of him. As such, we both have a portion of the feelings that he does. That includes his connections with those around him, thus when you were ranting before, I could tell you were lying about your intentions. You don't REALLY want to kill that woman, not at all. In fact, it is the exact opposite." Biko spoke, and as he did so he expected the Ghoul Persona to suddenly go on a rampage and attack him, maybe even go Kakuja and try to rip him into pieces. However, even though he looked to be twitching so madly that he looked like someone about to have a spas attack, the white Nico actually never did go all beastly on him, which proved to Biko that his words weren't just some idiots ramblings. So, he continued. "Instead, you want to keep that woman safe from harm. You claim to hate her and those women, you claim to want to kill them in the goriest ways possible. Perhaps your claims were true at one point, but recently, I believe that is beginning to change. Change into what, only time will tell."
At this, the Ghoul Persona remained silent. He remained silent for a short while, before he finally huffed, turning his head to the side and crossing his arms beneath his chest. "PFT, SHOWS WHAT YOU KNOW, YOU SHITTY IDIOT. THINKING I WOULD CARE ABOUT GODDAMN ANYONE BESIDES MINE AND THE KING'S SURVIVAL, HAVE YOU GONE ABSOLUTELY FUCKING BONKERS? YOU PROBABLY HAVE, YOU SENILE OLD FUCK, I COULDN'T GIVE TWO SHITS ABOUT THOSE USELESS HARLOTS. THEY COULD ALL GO TO HELL, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, YA BASTARD." He retorted, fury laced within his words. And yet, even while this was happening, Biko noted the strange... lack of edge that the white Persona usually held in his offensive mannerisms. To him, it looked more like a child desperately trying to deny what was right in front of him. Perhaps in the past, Biko believed that those words would have been the truth, especially with what he had done to Nico over the years in trying to forcibly make him unleash his Ghoul side in front of others. However, right now...
"Ahhh... this is a development, an extremely GOOD development indeed."
"?!"
"?!"
Both Personas gasped when they heard a familiar, childish voice. A voice hat they only heard when they were alone. Heck, the Ghoulish one looked to be even more stunned than Biko looked, as if he knew something that Biko didn't. Odds were, that would probably have been the case since he had been with Nico longer. Both of them twirled around in the direction the voice came from, and when they did they found the childish version of Nico standing, or rather FLOATING there with a small smile on his lips.
However, changes to his form had already became apparent. Not only did his face express way more emotion of the positive sort than in his past appearances, but there was this sense of... life, which came from his being. As if he were a prison inmate that had just gotten the chance to finally stretch his body without the usual restraints placed on him. It both baffled the two... as well as caused a tiny bit of excitement to grow within them, although neither of them knew why they were feeling this. Finally, the Ghoulish version of Nico managed to locate his ability to speak once more, and when he opened his mouth he only spoke one word. "Y-You...!"
"It is good to see you both again... especially with this change taking place..." the childish Nico commented, tilting his head to the side while putting his hands by his sides. He then slowly floated over to them, glancing at both of the Personas individually. "You both feel it yes... his walls are coming down. he is opening up to us all, both in mind and in heart. It will be a slow process, and it may take some time, however we have been patient up until now. What is there in waiting longer?" he remarked, all the while intentionally providing the answer to their unasked questions.
Biko soon found his ability to speak, and unlike the Ghoulish Persona, his voice came much more steady, not to mention it became a full on sentence despite the confusion and uncertainty within. "You talk... like there has been a great change within Nico's mental state. It is... not unnoticed that he has begun to drastically change, we all exist on a plane that he does not see. Therefore, we can view the changes to his mind much greater than Nico ever could. But... what has caused this...?" he wondered, frowning as he attempted to get these... changes occurring within him under control. It wasn't an easy process to handle, especially for a being whom would otherwise have heavily suppressed emotions, but he managed. Soon after, an idea hit his mind, and his eyes widened when that realization dawned on him.
The moment that he saw it, the childish Nico smiled knowingly, practically proving Biko's internal theory which only stunned him all the more. "You would be right. Those trials have indeed influenced us, more than we could have anticipated. What we learned there, what we experienced, it has progressed the healing much greater than initially predicted. The first two Hurdles, Admittance and Resolution, have been cleared. Now, the third Hurdle: 'fusion', begins. By the time that this hurdle is cleared, no longer will there be any doubt or hesitation. We will no longer be separate entities, but one being with multiple bodies. We will be one person, one mind and one body." the childish Nico explained, no small amount of eagerness in his tone.
"SO WHAT, YOU'RE SAYING THAT WE'LL FADE INTO NICO'S MIND AND SHIT?"
"Not necessarily." replied the smallest being with a shake of the head. "We will retain some form of individuality, as thanks to the time spent with us, Nico will see us as people he will want to spend his days with. You all have impacted his life, regardless of your methods, therefore you will not fade away for he will not wish it. This world does respond to his desires after all. Think of this as 'becoming closer together, more powerful together than you could ever be apart.' You will hear him, you will feel everything he feels, he will feel everything you feel, and most importantly, ALL of us will understand one another as how it should have been. Rejoice, for our true self's return has been accelerated to a high degree. Our return will soon be close at hand."
With those cryptic words, something that both Personas had come to expect from this Nico, he soon vanished like a mirage, a series of child-like giggles fading into the background of the inner world. Thus, this Nico left them, both Biko and the Ghoul Persona staring at where he had once been, wondering what the heck will come of this next hurdle.
Neither of them knew he answer to that question... and that was what unnerved them the most.
Chapter end
Alright, another chapter done.
If you haven't please read the crossover ARC between my story and King Carlos' 'Heroic Heir in DXD', cause the filler in that crossover would explain a LOT in both of them from this point onwards. Otherwise some things in OEG and HH won't make sense. Though even if you didn't, I tried to make a summary in the chapter of the powers and improvements Nico has gained from the Arc, things which will be developed later on in the story.
Aside from that, hope you liked the chapter, from the foreshadowing to the future chapters, up to the more emotional and psychological ending at the end. If anyone is confused, what this means is simply the start of another batch of character development for Nico, something which will be quite impact for him in regards to his views on things. Unlike what a lot of people say in their stories where, once the character gets their answer to a question thy just forget their previous states, it will take some time for Nico to come to terms with what he has learned. All he is doing right now, is simply venting his built-up sorrows with his mother, and from then on he will slowly begin to change... that is, if nothing happens to speed up that change, that is. Not to mention the beginning of another 'Hurdle' which will lead to Nico's eventual recovery. Suggest what I, in addition to the childish Nico could mean by that in the reviews if you want. Heck, even PM me. I'll not give it away in the story though. Hehehehehehehe...
