A/N: This story has a LOT of original characters and is OC-centric, having an entirely new world and all. Mainly only Bell and OCs for the majority of the story. But don't worry, Bell is still the MC. Also, romance is only a maybe and it depends on how the story goes, but it's not the main focus of this fic. It's more adventure / action / plot-centric. It might not be everyone's thing, but I hope you'll still give it a try. Thanks and a happy read to you all :)
Prologue: Beginning of the Fated Tale:
The wind was blowing. A morning wind from the blue skies.
I felt the cool breeze rush over me as I stood on the high city wall at the northwestern edge, looking at the majestic view of Orario from here.
I woke up much earlier than normal this morning and climbed up to the top of the wall encircling the city of Orario.
It became a habit of mine to wake up early and climb to the top of the city wall. Watching the city of Orario with the morning breeze flow through my back gives me an inner sense of calmness.
The cool breeze and the breathtaking view reminded me of my childhood. My grandpa and I always watched the sunrise in the morning in our old village.
This was also the place where Miss Aiz, my idol, trained me. Looking back, the techniques that she taught me are probably the only reason I'm still alive right now.
Ever since my fateful fight with my rival—Asterios—I come up here to remind myself of my aspirations, to reignite the flame that lies inside of me.
I want to be strong.
So I can beat this worthy opponent—and so I face defeat again.
I want to be strong.
To catch up to my idol—Ais Wallenstein.
I want to be strong.
To protect the ones I care about—and so I never lose someone ever again.
Like a hero.
Like a hero who protects everyone and wins against the strongest of the strongest opponents.
I… want to become a hero.
Suddenly, everything around me stopped and turned gray.
I felt a presence on my back, and as I turned around—
"Wha…."
A presence so strong it froze every muscle in my body.
A beauty so otherworldly it rivaled everything and everyone in this world.
A pair of beautiful eyes gazing at me like it was peering right through my soul.
I was trembling uncontrollably by her very presence.
There was no mistake. She was—
"…a..deity….."
She smiled and put both of her warm hands on my cheeks.
"You're perfect. Hero."
"….what…do you…mean?"
She widened her eyes, as if surprised—and smiled even more.
"Please save them. Save those poor souls."
I feel my consciousness drifting away every second.
"I'm counting on you, Hero."
Unable to do anything, I succumbed to the darkness. The last thing I saw was her smiling face with a tear in her eye.
After the Xenos Incident, Hestia Familia finally got time to relax, and so they made use of that by resting- especially after the back-to-back events they had experienced.
"…huh?" Hestia said, her eyes widening up all of a sudden.
"Lady Hestia? What's wrong?" Mikoto asked, noticing the sudden change of her Deity.
"Supporter, everyone, where did Bell go?" Hestia said, her voice trembling.
"Huh? Mr. Bell always goes outside every morning, doesn't he? He always comes back when it's breakfast. Why did you ask all of a sudden?" Lilly said, tilting her head at Hestia's sudden question.
"Come with me! We need to find Bell!" Hestia stood up and bolted out of the mansion as fast as she could, leaving her familia members baffled.
"Hey, hey. What is going on?" Welf said, immediately standing up.
"What happened to Lady Hestia?" Haruhime said
Everyone was confused, but they decided to trust their goddess and followed before her- leaving everything they're doing and ran after her.
Hestia had felt it. All of a sudden, one of her blessings had become fainter. The blessings she had given were still there, so she had no doubt Bell was safe. However, one of them had become fainter, like it was somewhere far away- which Hestia did not understand.
Almost immediately, the familia members had caught up with Hestia, who was running amidst the streets of Orario, where everyone was setting up for the day early this morning.
"Lady Hestia, explain to us what's happening!" Lilly demanded, shouting as she ran.
"That's right! What's gotten you in such a panic?" Welf said.
"Did… did something happen to Master Bell?" Haruhime said.
Her familia's voices stopped Hestia in her tracks, as she turned around- her breath panting for forcing herself to run so fast and sudden.
"Bell… his blessing… grew faint." She said.
"Huh?!" Everyone said in unison, shaken by their goddess's words.
"What's that supposed to mean, Lady Hestia! Did… did …." Lilly said, her voice wavering.
"No, The number of blessings I have hasn't decreased. But… It grew fainter to the point that I could barely sense it. Like he went somewhere far away." Hestia said.
But it was something impossible, Hestia knew that. No matter how far or how deep or high a child goes, As long as they are in the lower world, the gods can sense them. A blessing growing faint was something unheard of. Nothing like that had been recorded in the thousand years the gods had spent in the lower world. The only thing they knew was that the blessings disappeared when the children died.
"Maybe went to the dungeon?" Mikoto asked.
"No. Even if he was in the dungeon. I should be able to sense him just fine."
"I suggest we split up and look for him. If Bell is alive, then he should be around here. I doubt he'll go somewhere outside Orario." Welf said, who was the calmest out of the group- his trust and belief in Bell not wavering.
He too, was shaken earlier with Hestia's sudden declaration, but he regained his calm when it was mentioned that Bell wasn't dead. His calm attitude even with such a situation seemed to have affected the group, calming them down as well.
"Let's go with that, then. I'll ask the gods around here. Maybe they've seen Bell. All of you ask around as well." Hestia said.
And with that, they all split up and asked around by their goddess's orders- moving as fast as possible. While they were indeed calm, they were anxious for Bell.
They all asked around the streets, but—
"Little Rookie? No, it's Rabbit Foot now, isn't it? I haven't seen him around here." A random adventurer from the streets said.
"Bell? No, I haven't seen him. Why? Did something happen, Hestia?" Takemikazuchi said.
"Mr. Cranell? No, I didn't see him pass through here." Ryuu said.
No one had seen him or knew where he was. They kept asking around for hours, but to no avail.
In the streets, a rumor that Bell Cranell had gone missing had emerged- a rumor that spread like wildfire and caught the ears of many.
"Hestia? What's gotten you in such a hurry? Did Bell really go missing?" A man followed behind Hestia, walking calmly towards her.
"…Hermes? How did you? Never mind that, did you see Bell anywhere?" Hestia asked.
"No, I haven't seen him anywhere. How would he go missing anyway? He can't leave Orario without a permit, and I doubt he'll go to the dungeon early this morning."
"Bell… his blessing…. went faint."
"What do you mean, Hestia? A blessing going faint? What's that supposed to mean?" Hermes said as his face turned serious all of a sudden.
"I told you! His blessing went faint! I could barely sense it anymore!"
"That's…. impossible Hestia. As long as our children are still in the lower world, their blessings should remain. It's how it should be."
But Hermes knew that Hestia wasn't lying. Gods could easily tell if someone was lying.
"Asfi."
"What is it, Lord Hermes?" A girl came out behind Hermes from seemingly nowhere.
"Find Bell for me, please." Hermes said.
"Haaaaa." She sighed, "Another troublesome job. All right, I'll do what I can." She said before disappearing again.
"There you go, I asked Asfi to help with finding Bell. With her Talaria, she should be able to search Orario easily. Oh, that's right. I met Bell on top of the northwestern wall a few days ago. Maybe he's just there?"
"Thank you, Hermes!" Hestia said, and rushed out immediately towards the northwest.
"Wait, Hestia! I'll come with you." Hermes said, running after her.
"What are you planning, Hermes?" Hestia said, still skeptical of him ever since the Xenos Incident.
"Nothing! I swear it! I'm just worried about Bell, and I'm curious about what you said earlier, about his blessing going faint." Hermes said, not a single lie coming out of his words.
Hestia had sensed it, and just gave up and let him join. More help was better, although she really didn't want to see Hermes.
With a piece of new information, Hestia and Hermes immediately rushed out to the northwest. Hestia knew where the wall was. She once accompanied Bell there when he was training with the Sword Princess.
Arriving at the wall, Hestia and Hermes climbed the long stairs to the top, and what awaited them there was—
"…he's not here." Hestia said.
Nothing was atop the wall besides the glorious view and the calm winds. Bell nowhere to be found.
"Bell… Where are you?"
She was gazing out her window from the top of the tower, admiring a certain soul.
A soul that was so bright and clear, full of ambitions and desires. A pure transparent soul.
What would he become? Freya wondered.
She enjoyed watching him in every step he took. Sometimes even helping him so that his soul shined brighter.
Right now, she was watching him as he stood on top of the wall. He was doing nothing, but she couldn't take her gaze out of him.
"…huh?"
All of a sudden, he disappeared.
His soul just vanished without warning. There was no trace of it anywhere.
She couldn't believe what she saw.
No matter who it was, no one should be able to escape from her eyes.
Something was not right, and Freya had sensed it.
"Ottarl."
"Yes."
"Find that boy. Take Allen with you."
"What about the Sword Princess?"
"Cancel it for today."
"As you wish."
Freya couldn't shake the bad feeling growing inside of her.
She can't understand what just happened, but she had an idea.
"This was definitely a divine intervention," Freya concluded.
"But… that boy is mine, and no one shall take him apart from me. I'll punish the one who did this."
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
My eyes abruptly shot open as a roar pierced my ears.
A figure was above me up in the air with an ax in hold.
Huh?
An orc?!
I rose up and immediately leaped behind to dodge the incoming strike.
The ax missed my face by a hair's breadth and hit the ground. The ground shook and cracked by the sheer force of the attack.
No, this isn't an orc!
I drew the Hestia Knife, preparing to fight, but—
This has to be a joke.
Countless gazes, each filled with murderous intent, were all around me.
In front, on the sides, even on the back. There are too many to count!
Not only that, the scenery beyond me was unfamiliar.
I was surrounded by countless tall trees and plants. The entire area was foggy, I could barely see anything beyond 30 meders.
And, the sky. There was a sky, meaning I was outside, not in the dungeon. But one thing about it baffled me.
The sky was blood red. It wasn't a clear blue sky, but blood red.
Where am I?
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