Speak to self
Speak to Ghost


It's cold… freezing cold…

Joseph gets up as he is surrounded in snow, vex constructs in the distance. A striking pain is felt on his side as blood oozes out has it freezes as soon it comes into contact with the ground. He breathes heavily as he goes to his knees, putting pressure on his wound.

Come, your almost there

Joseph spots a Pyramid Scale materializing in the distance.

You wish for power, you shall receive power. Step forward.

Joseph hears yelling from another Guardian but Joseph slowly walks forward like in a trance. He reaches out to the scale as his arm begins to engulf in blue ice.

Joseph!

Joseph jerks up as he wakes up with his right arm extended and unreasonably freezing cold. He looks left and right, still seeing everyone still fast asleep except Fitoria.

Fitoria looks at Joseph as she sees Joseph's sudden awakening. "You're up." she said.

Joseph stands up as he dons his cloak and puts his equipment on, "Sorry did I wake you?" asked Joseph as he puts his chest holster on.

Fitoria shakes her head, "no you're fine" she said.

Joseph looks up to see it's becoming dawn, "well I got my rest." Joseph said, "you up Xeno?"

Xeno materializes next to Joseph as Fitora observes the two, "Yes, you looked like you were having a rough dream."

"You could say that… it was another dream about Europa…" Joseph said.

"What was it about this time?" asked Xeno

Joseph looks at his right arm, "this time, I had this large gash on my left hip, I think I was fleeing from something because someone was yelling at me like, calling my name. Then a miniature Pyramid just materialized out of nowhere. Then voices, there were voices that sounded like you Xeno… you were beckoning me to the Pyramid saying that you will give me power… then I began to walk towards it and my arm began to get consumed by ice and that's when I woke up." Joseph explained.

"Hmm…" Xeno hums, "maybe the dreams that you are having are actually the lost memories of our adventure in Europa." Xeno said.

Joseph nods, "yeah, was thinking the same thing… but let's not use this time to evaluate and remember the dreams I had about Europa." Joseph said. He materializes The Vow, the bow gifted from Lillie as they dominated Crimson Doubles. He pulls back the string and lets go. "Right, time to hunt for some food." Joseph said.

"Alright, sounds like a good plan." Xeno said

As Joseph turned to walk the other way, Joseph was stunned to see Fitoria right in front of the duo. "Woah!" Joseph said, "hello?" he said.

Fitoria points to Xeno, "if you don't mind me asking, but what is that floating companion you have there?" she asked.

"This is Xeno, he is my Ghost. Ghosts or these types of Ghosts, are metal creatures that can fly around." Joseph explained.

"I guess that's one way of putting it…" Xeno said as he looked at his Guardian.

Joseph shrugs his shoulders, "What? I'm just trying to make sense out of it." Joseph said.

Xeno sighs, "But it just makes me sound strange." he said. "But, aside being able to fly around," he turns to Fitoria, "I am here to assist my Guardian in every way possible, I can scan an area, allowing me to be his personal map, I can also be his light to light up dark areas I can also scan objects and hack electronics." Xeno explained

"Pretty sure that Fitoria does not know half of what you are saying X…" said Joseph.

"It's fine." Fitoria said, she points into the depths of the forest, "you wish to hunt for some food yes? There are cattle in this direction." she said as she pointed towards some trees behind her. "But I wish to accompany you and ask a few questions." Fitoria said.

Joseph pauses but then nods, "alright." he said. "Follow me." Joseph said.

The three traverse through the trees as they search for something to eat. The group stumbled upon a field with a large group of cattle where Fitoria said they should be.

Fitoria examines Joseph as he looks at the cattle. He mumbles to himself as he examines the cattle.

"Not very fatty…"

"That ones a mother…"

"Oh damn… that one's pregnant…"

Joseph examines every single one while Fitoria watches. "Interesting…" she said quietly, he is trying to see which one is worth killing instead of killing one immedietly… she then sees Joseph moving away from the field. "Where are you going?" asked Fitoria.

Joseph points to a thick branch enough to support the weight of a human. "That branch has a good vantage point. Allowing me to have a view on all the cattle and their kill zones." Joseph said. He stalks across the trees trying not to catch the attention of the cattle. He climbs up the tree and perches on the branch as he holds his bow and arrow. Joseph spots a large cattle, he looks closely and nods, "yup, that's the one." Joseph said. Joseph pulls the string back from his bow, aiming towards the cattle and releases.

The arrow hits the middle of the cattle's forehead. It didn't take long before it stumbled to the grass, still and lifeless.

The trio watches as the rest of the cattle panics and runs in a herd away from the now dead cattle.

As the coast is clear Joseph drops back to ground and walks to his prize while Fitoria follows him.

Joseph puts his hand where the cattle's heart would be, "no pulse…" Joseph said. Joseph then begins to drag the cattle to a river.

Fitoria watches Joseph as he drags the cattle. "Why did you choose that one?" she asked.

Joseph looks at the cattle, "it was large, fatty and enough to feed everyone." Joseph explained. Before Fitoria could speak again, Joseph continued, "didn't have a child with me, wasn't pregnant and was not sick." Joseph said.

"And you took it down in one attack." she said.

"Yeah, I did." Joseph said. "Honestly, kinda glad that I took it down immediately." Joseph said.

They arrive at the river and Joseph begins to slit the cattle's neck to drain the cattle's blood. "Hate it when I hear animals struggle to hold onto life… too much… bad memories." Joseph said.

"Did you kill too much cattle to the point of you feeling guilty?" asked Fitoria

Joseph shakes his head, "no, it's not that. In my world, the army uses dogs for a multitude of jobs that will be too confusing to explain to you. There are even enemy dogs which are capable of killing, both side's dogs can kill. I didn't want to die, so I took down many dogs during my time in the army." Joseph explained. "Hearing animals whimper and grasp onto life is to me a painful thing to hear." Joseph explained.

As the cattle's blood had stopped leaking out, Joseph then proceeded to skin the cattle.

Fitoria watches Joseph as he does this hard but delicate process. "I see… so you can kill, but hate killing?" she asked

"Of course I hate killing things, most of the time." Joseph said, "I do have a side of me who has to be serious. Melty, that princess accompanied by Naofumi, was about to be assassinated by her guards but I killed them all but one who was the captain and interrogated him to death. Killed them all with no remorse at that moment. There are times to give a shit about a life, and times to not." Joseph said.

"You are a very complicated man Joseph." Fitoria said.

"I know, heh, it's a pain to be honest." Joseph said. Joseph finishes skinning the cattle as he rolls the leather up and ties it up with the cattle using a rope. He then picks up the cattle and carries it on his shoulder. "Alright it's morning is a few minutes away, lets go." Joseph said.

The trio walks through the forest in silence until Joseph broke it, "you said you have questions for me Fitoria?" asked Joseph.

She nods, "yes, I was wondering about what you think about the four heroes. You came across them correct?" asked Fitoria

Joseph nods, "yes I have." Joseph said.

Xeno materializes next to Joseph and flies next to him, "the three seems that this is a video game, just like that one VR death game." he said

"Hmm, been a few months when news came out and about in that one world, should make a name for that one." Joseph said. Damn, half a hundred thousand people are trapped there… shit… "but yeah, the only one whose being serious about this is Naofumi and he's deemed as a villain because of his shield? Dah, I don't know, I've only been in this world for four nights." Joseph said.

Fitoria looks at Joseph, "you're not from this world?" she asked.

"No" Joseph sighs, "time has frozen in my world when I accidentally entered this world and something from this world is preventing time to even flow. I need to find out the problem because there is something in my world that I need to take care of, something important." Joseph said.

"I see…" Fitoria said. "So you're not a hero?" she asked.

"No, just got here by accident." Joseph said, "But enough about me, your question about the heroes, I believe that if the four dont work together, this will be a problem. There's only so much a hero can handle by themselves with their party." Joseph said. "But if it does come to it…" Joseph sighs, "I'll help him out all the way." Joseph said.

"You have a large workload on your back Joseph," Xeno said.

"At least it ain't boring." Joseph chuckles, "man, this work is gonna kill me." Joseph laughs.

"That or Echo with his overdose on alcohol." Xeno added.

"Heh, true." Joseph said. "But the worst case scenario of a solution will be killing them all so another batch of heroes will arrive. I wanna avoid that solution at all costs." Joseph said.

Before Fitoria could say another word, they hear a rustling around them, Joseph puts the cattle down and looks around them.

"Multiple targets, four of them." said Xeno, "they're fast, are you ready?" asked Xeno.

"Yeah," Joseph said.

Joseph draws his bow and tries to find a target. He scans with his bow, ready to fire, he sees a silhouette of a large mutated looking wolf. Joseph can hear their footsteps as it becomes louder.

"Behind you Joseph! It's coming right at you!" said Xeno

Joseph turns 180º and releases the bow-string as it lands on the silvered-haired wolf. Joseph can smell the filth and grit coming from the wolf, with the addition from the bloodied mouth mixed in with saliva. But it did not surprise Joseph, what surprised him was the size of the wolf.

Joseph was swiped away with ease as he hit a tree. He quickly gets up as he spots Fitoria doing quick work on the wolf, just a swipe with her hand and she beheads one wolf.

"Shit, small as Lillie yet she can behead a wolf the size of Shaxx!" Joseph said. He quickly goes to Fitoria and materializes The Fourth Horseman. He charges to one wolf it begins to pounce towards him. Joseph punches the wolf across the face with one devastating left arc hook, sending the wolf to the ground. He then puts one foot on the wolf's neck and dumped four shells in the wolf's head, exploding the wolf's head. Joseph turns as he reloads his shotgun and sees that another wolf is charging towards Fitoria's back.

Joseph runs towards Fitoria as he summons his golden gun, he pushes her behind him and pulls the trigger, disintegrating the wolf into solar particles.

"Behind you Joseph" said Xeno

Joseph turns around and aims his golden gun towards the wolf who is completely intimidated with Joseph's flaming body and begins to whimper then runs away.

Joseph twirls his golden gun as it dissipates into solar particles and walks a few steps scanning the area. He does not hear anymore wolves coming their way and gives a thumbs up, "alright, we're clear." Joseph said.

Fitoria looks at Joseph as he talks to his flying companion, amazed that he has the power and weapons to eliminate a Wolf Brute with ease where most likely the Shield Hero would have trouble fighting against.

Fitoria then hears Joseph panic as he picks up his bow which was bent and the string detached. "Shit! Our bow's broken!" Joseph said.

"The wolf must have stepped on it…" Xeno said.

"Damn, and it was gifted by Lillie…" Joseph said as he puts the broken bow on his back

"We can always get another one," Xeno said.

"We can but it won't be the same." Joseph claimed, "that bow was gifted to me by Lillie who earned it during the Crimson Doubles as we dominated the arena. She even put her initials on this bow before she gifted it to me. I did the same as we traded bows." Joseph said.

"Yeah, I see…" Xeno said, "sharing gifts to your Crimson Bond is the spirit of Crimson Days, losing a gift shared by your Crimson Bond can be devastating…" said Xeno, "sorry, I didn't see it that way." he apologizes.

"No, it's okay X," Joseph said, "I'm just a little upset that my bow broke. I'll just see if Banshee can fix this." Joseph said.

"Banshee is the best gunsmith in the Last City." Xeno said.

"The most competent one indeed." Joseph said.

Fitoria was more confused than ever about Joseph, but the only thing she knows is that Joseph should not be messed with, she feels that Joseph is hiding more than he is revealing. "Are you done?" she asked.

Joseph turns to Fitoria, "huh? Oh, yeah. We're good." Joseph lifts the cattle up and puts it on his shoulder, "right, we should get going, Naofumi should be awake by now." Joseph said.

.

.

.

"It's amazing how you were able to carry this large cattle back here!" said Raphtalia as she cuts the meat into small chunks

"Yeah, it is big. Heh, the bigger the cattle is, the more mouths being fed and less cattle being killed." Joseph said as he assisted Raphtalia with the meat.

Raphtalia nods, "yup, and this is enough to feed everyone." she said.

"This is a fancy bow you have here Joseph." said Naofumi as he inspected the broken bow. Naofumi then notices an initial "L.D?" he questioned.

"Lillie Dawn, my wife's initials. We traded bows with our initials when Crimson Days or Valentines Day happened. A gift between lovers." Joseph said.

"I see… and you broke her bow…" Naofumi said.

Joseph faintly chuckles and sighs, "yeah… I need to ask my gunsmith to help me on that, in the meantime, please don't play around with it, the damages might get worse and more expensive." Joseph said.

Naofumi puts Joseph's bow down and proceeds to assist with cooking breakfast.

Once Joseph and Raphtalia finished with cutting all of the ingredients, Raphtalia picked up two buckets while Xeno dissipated two buckets. Raphtalia begins to walk to a river while Xeno tags along.

Naofumi wanted to take care of the stew so Joseph went to Melty and Filo to help with setting up the table.

Joseph watches as Filo and Melty puts the table sheet on the table while Joseph faltents and straightens the sheet. Joseph then grabs paper towels and forks and begins to dress the table with utensils and wooden bowls.

As Joseph is putting down a spoon, he sees that Raphtalia and Xeno are back with four buckets filled with water. They chat and Joseph could hear Xeno laughing, giving him a soft grin. Despite their predicament, seeing his Ghost enjoying life like a human puts Joseph at ease.

As Joseph grabs a wooden butter knife and is about to place one on the table, Joseph hears Fitoria speaking,

Fitoria puts her palm in front of Melty as she casts a spell, "Liberation, wind prison." Fitoria said as a spherical wind field surrounds Melty, having her trapped inside.

The gusts of the wind blew the table and the utensils away, Joseph catches a butter knife and points it towards Fitoria, "Melty!" Joseph yells, "Fitoria! What's the meaning of this!?" he said.

"Ah! What's happening to me!" said Melty, being trapped inside the wind prison.

"She's my friend! What are you doing to her!" yelled FIlo

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to claim you as my hostage," said Fitoria. She begins to take Fitoria deeper into the ruins as the group follows her to a building having her going onto some kind of porch of some sorts having her be over six feet above ground.

"Why are you taking Melty hostage?" asked Naofumi

"I need your promise, shield hero. Promise me that you reconcile with the others." said Fitoria

"Your a meanie! Now let Mel go!" yelled Filo

Naofumi stepped forward, "And what if I don't? Are you threatening to hurt the princess?" asked Naofumi "I told you, that's never going to happen!" said Naofumi.

"Nevertheless, I must ask you to reconsider." said Fitoria.

"Why are you so obsessed making us work together anyway?" asked Naofumi

"Because I had made a promise of my own a long time ago, to the hero who raised me. Because, if this world needs to survive, the cardinal heroes MUST work together to fight off waves! I beg you." said Fitoria

"No matter how many times you ask, i'm not going to make peace with those idiots," said Naofumi.

"Then there's no choice. If you don't work together, new heroes will be summoned, which means all four of you heroes we have now, will be removed." Fitoria said grimmly.

Everyone stood at a standstill.

"Sorry missy, I ain't going to let that happen." Joseph steps forward. "The Three Idiotic Musketeers… they think that this is some game, yeah so what? That doesn't mean we should kill them!" Joseph protests, "If they can't work together now, that doesn't mean they won't work together or even reconcile in the future!" Joseph said.

"But we don't have time to have a feud between heroes. What we need is four unified heroes to fight off the waves." said Fitoria

Joseph looks down, "yeah, you're right." Joseph admits, "but if you kill Naofumi and the other three and a new batch of heroes comes right out of the oven, can't even work together, are you going to kill them as well and the next until the "perfect heroes" arrive huh?" Joseph yelled.

Before anyone could speak, Joseph continues,

"All I see is a over-a-century-old Filolial Queen who made a promise with her master who's already dead, and is using unnecessary homicide as a solution!" Joseph said.

"But if they reconcile I won't kill them all." said Fitoria.

"I understand, but I still can't do it! And taking Melty hostage doesn't change anything!" yelled Naofumi "If you want to kill me, Knock yourself out! Bring it!" Naofumi readied his shield, both Raphtalia and Melty cried his name. "But I promise, I'm not going down without a fight!" said Naofumi as his shield started to flame up.

"No need." said Fitoria, as she raised her palm as a white aura filled her hand, disrupting Naofumi's curse shield abilities.

"Not again!" said Naofumi

"I understand how you feel shield hero." said Fitoria

"You what?" asked Naofumi,

"I'll give you a chance, you can prove to me that you and your party can defeat the waves of catastrophe without assistance from the other heroes I'll allow you to live." said Fitoria,

"How do we do that?" asked Raphtalia

"That's generous of you. So what, do you want us to fight you right here?" Naofumi asked bluntly,

"Actually I'm already quite familiar with your shield hero. As well as you, Joseph" answered Fitoria. She then pointed at Filo "Filo must fight me alone." Said FItoria,

"Why me?" FIlo asked

"If you can show me that you are in fact strong enough, I WIll release Melty. And I wont do anything to harm the heroes for the time being either. They'll live for now." Fitoria said coldly.

"A fight between Filolial Queens…" Joseph said.

"This is bad…" Xeno said, "She'll lose against Fitoria" he said.

"Yeah no shit" Joseph whispered, "But if this is the only way for the heroes to survive, she has to…" Joseph said.

"I don't really understand everything your saying, but if I beat you master won't be killed and you'll let Me go too right?" asked FIlo,

Fitoria nods,

"Wait hold on a second!" said Naofumi,

"Then you got yourself a duel!" said Filo,

"I'm going to fight you in my human form Filo, I ask that you maintain yours until it's over as well." said FItoria

Filo started to equip a pair of gloves "No problem!" said FIlo as her gloves started to glow green,

"Filo I told you to wait!" yelled Naofumi

Fitoria then stepped off of that porch, "Lets begin." said Fitoria as she formed a purple transparent dome around them.


Itsuki and Ren walk together with their party as the two watches Joseph being repeatedly torchured by Idol, where he fights back and kills Idol and his body combust in a fiery explosion.

It was like how I killed Uldren a year ago… the only difference was that he was manipulated and Idol was just a fucking rat bastard. Glad that fucker is dead. Torturing Demi-Human children to death? I would've done worse to him if Melty didn't stop me.

Kinda glad she did… I feel like… something is crawling in the back of my mind, frequent nightmares or… memories I don't remember… What the hell did I do in Europa? Questions for later.


Damn almost three months is the last time I posted the previous chapter. Sorry guys, school and laziness got to me. School is a week away from ending so I can write my chapters with no schooly worries. A little stressful but I'm feeling swell. I got a major cold a week ago with the addition of being dehydrated and having my lip getting a little torn because of it. Gotta say, a pretty painful week then three days ago, my traps or trapezius began to feel sore like a pressure on them.

Now then let's stop talking about me, Joseph has been getting nightmares about his amnesiac journey from Europa, a little context, from A Guardian in Remnant, though unfinished. Joseph wanted to know more about Shin Malphur and Dredgen Yor and decided to go and track Shin Malphur in Europa. Something occurred and Joseph was found unconscious in his Jumpship's Debris in the Mothyards of Old Russia. When asked what happened, Joseph and Xeno do not know, they only saw Europa in orbit they claim.

Though it may be obvious what Joseph has, it is still unknown if he has full control of that…

Throughout the chapter, Joseph uses his hunting experience to catch some game for the party to eat for breakfast, he talks about his bad memories when having to kill a war dog. It must be mentally challenging when having to put down an animal of war especially dogs, because it's either you or them.

When Joseph talks about the heroes, he knows that it will take time for them to work together but Fitoria has yet to see it, which later causes Melty being put as a hostage and Filo to face Fitoria.

This next chapter will be mainly about Filo and Fitoria and a bit of blood being spilt. I hope that you guys are safe and okay and I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Any advice and or feedback is greatly appreciated!