Autumn Leaves
Author's Note: Shout out to ahilamber's Conquest: Love on Archive of Our Own, which motivates me to write this story starring Rei and Blanc, whose relationship lingers on my mind for a while now, with the series sadly not touching anything about them given the history between their respective companies.
I am hoping that I get all of them in character. To be honest, I have only played through Re;Birth3 and now I am worried about them being OOC.
Rei is only a stuttering, nervous mess when she was speaking, because we are currently seeing the events in her point of view with her inner thoughts.
Croire is still her fun-loving self.
The chapter contains spoilers to Rei's Memories in the games. I tried to stay true to the events introduced in the game, and omitted the conversations as I was not a fan to repeat the content of the games.
Special thanks to AIYF Productions and Bulldan, who reviewed, favorited and followed the story. I am glad that you like this, and certainly hope for you to continue enjoying the story. Thank you again to anyone who have read the story as well.
Key:
Italics: Past Rei's thoughts
Bolded Italics: Current Rei's thoughts on the past events
Bold: Emphasis
Chapter 1: At the Beginning
I was unsure why I was a chosen to be a goddess.
There was nothing special about me. I was someone who could not even get the simplest job done because I always screwed up. To be honest, even sustaining myself would be a challenge for me.
Nobody wanted to hire me as a longtime worker. I could only take on some requests about collecting items or defeating some weak monsters to earn a living. With more and more people sharing my mindset with the expanding monster habitats, more requests were handed off to more competent people. I was once again, left to my own devices with the diminishing income.
I lived alone, so there was no one to be relied on. Nobody would share their food to me too, as I was always seen to be the person to be picked on; they would probably laugh at my misfortune. To provide them fun with the depressing state of the world. They said that it was the only thing that I was good at.
Dragging my feet on the ground, I spotted something shiny abandoned at a corner of the street.
Upon close inspection, I discovered that it was an amethystine crystal sporting a beaming power symbol in the middle. It was not really food material. Still, I was going to die of starvation at this rate; in the end, it did not matter if it was edible or not. Maybe it could fill up my belly, as there were also some strange-looking food bought in the hunters from the dungeons-
Crank!
I thought my teeth might be broken after biting the crystal. The look was not deceiving at all, it really was hard as solid rock.
Then, the crystal in my hand shone in a blinding light, before a sleepy voice called out.
"So long… So long since I was woken up. Someone old this time?"
Then I saw her. The fairy that started it all, and stayed by myside all along. I probably should thank her for keeping me from loneliness, even though she probably had a hand in causing this mess. Though, knowing her, I was certain that she would not regret a thing. It was fun. By her standards, anyway.
There was no way that someone could be this small. Not to mention sitting on a book that seemed like tied to her body.
She said she was not a ghost, or a spirit. Which I really doubted that she was not.
There was no time for me to question her further on her identity or her claim on how we were going to hang out together though. The crystal, which started to glow even brighter was completely absorbed by my body, which I forgot that it was getting into my body with the fairy's arrival.
To say that I was terrified was an understatement. To my bliss, I passed out after that.
I woke up in cold sweat. With the unpleasant feeling of the crystal being forced into my mouth lingered, I frantically searched for water to wash the sensation away.
"Awake? Good, now we can start the fun! I haven't introduced myself, right? I am Croire, the expert tome in having fun. You better get used to this, because I am gonna grab some popcorns and sit beside you for to see the scenes unfold!" The very same book fairy floated in, casually throwing a water bottle to my direction.
Opening the screw immediately, I downed half of the content in a rush before speaking. "Umm, th-thanks. Cro-Croire, what did you do to me?"
"Take a look at yourself if you are so curious, duh!" She pointed at the mirror in the room.
Gingerly getting up, I walked towards the mirror. And found an alien figure looking back at me. The girl in the mirror had periwinkle hair down to her waist, with lighter blue streaks at the lower end. Her sideburns were long and curly, fluorescent blue highlights present at the lower quarter like the hair flowing down her back. She bore a striking similarity to me. Yet her eyes were so different. Despite having the same turquoise color, her eyes featured power symbols as irises, shining brightly. Certainly not something a human would have.
Her outfit was… strange. It was a black plugsuit with blue highlights, giving her body a minimum protection. A pair of mechanical wings sprouted from her back, confirming my thought that she really was not a human.
But one thing was certain.
She resembled me.
"Wh-What? Who-Who is this? Wh-What happened?" I pointed towards the mirror, not unlike Croire, but with fright instead of Croire's symbolic boredom.
"Gee, now you are not only old and boring, but stupid too? Ugh, I am starting to think they screwed up real bad in the selection. Of course, this is you out there. It is obvious with how mirrors work." Honestly, her exasperated tone did not help much.
"Bu-But I don't look like this! I me-mean you can see the similarity, but still…!"
"Well, you should look a bit different. You are in your HDD form right now, so of course you will look a bit different. Or else how people distinguish whether you activate HDD or not?"
"Y-You are right…" Head downcast, I was ready to agree with Croire until I got hold of what she was saying. HDD form? What did that even mean? "Umm… What is that HDD form you said?"
"Well, didn't you remember biting on the sparkling crystal you saw earlier? That is a CPU Memory. It turns a mere human into a goddess. A CPU, they said. HDD means Hard Drive Divinity, your goddess form. Which you are now in."
"Yes, my goddess form… Wa-Wait…Whaaat?"
"Gee, what part did you not understand? You. Are. A. Goddess. Now. Get it? Now, you better change back. HDD is quite draining, especially for someone like you. A new goddess who is so old physically. Pfft."
"Th-There is nothing I can do about my age! I mean, me, a goddess? Me, someone who can't even accomplish the smallest thing? Oh… Why would it be me? A-And for changing back…ho-?" Hearing Croire spoke of my age, again was not doing anything good for my self-confidence. Approaching thirty and still never dated… And I doubted being a goddess would help the situation. I was worried about the method of switching back to my human form, but found myself being blinded by a bright light, and an all-too-familiar figure staring back at me in the mirror.
"Oh…I did it…?"
"Yeah, so you do have some talents on this after all. Come, let's get some supplies. You look famished."
"Yes…" That was the reason why I even tried to eat that CPU Memory.
Becoming a CPU eventually led to the best thing and the worst thing in my life. I could never forgive myself for all the bloodshed. Yet, I wonder, if I was not a CPU, would she even cross path with me?
"Hey, I think that is enough to last us for a long time." Croire spoke up, stopping me from taking another bag of baguette.
"O-Okay. Thank you for these, Croire." I stammered, embarrassed about how many food I bought, all from Croire's savings.
"I guess you can pay me back later. You are gonna get rich soon, you know."
"Wh-What? A-And how can I do this? A-And why would you think like this?"
"Stop it. Your hesitant, bubbly tendency get boring quickly. And where is the fun if I tell you?" Croire glared, obviously annoyed.
I was quick to apologize. "So-Sorry! I-I am so sorry! I didn't mea-"
"Here you go again. Quit it. Just go home now. It is getting late. I would hate it if you get into trouble again."
With Croire hovering above my shoulder, I paid the baker and carried the bag of food home. I was hoping that things would go smoothly for once.
Of course, it did not. After all, I was a classic case of Murphy's Law.
If it was possible for something to go wrong, it would.
Walking in the dark alleys at night in the currently chaotic world was unsettling. And dangerous. With little money to spare, I could barely afford an apartment; beggars could not be choosers, so the location was… less than ideal. The dark alleys were a must on my way home, hence I usually went back home early.
Today was an exception, though. And that was why I ran into trouble again.
A gang of hoodlums surrounded me as soon as I set my steps in, their eyes hungrily eyeing the food I was carrying. They could not be blamed though, with monsters running rampant and the collapsing economy, food was scarce and costly.
Needless to say, they were attracted by the much-needed food. It was merely seconds before they started pressuring me into giving them my supplies. Timid as I was, I still knew better than surrender. They were bought with Croire's credits, and I would not let them go to waste.
The men closed up on me quickly. Too terrified to do acknowledge the situation I got myself in, I could only try to back down, repeating "no…" to every word they said. When that strategy failed me, I did something that changed my life forever.
I killed one of the gangsters. Using my powers. The power that Croire kept saying that I had and insisted on me to use.
When I realized what I have done, the men were fleeing the scene. And I found myself in my HDD form, hovering above a pool of deep red liquid, hands outstretched with my staff pointing down. In the middle of the liquid laid the leader of the gang, the liquid oozing out of him relentlessly.
That was the time I realized that I killed him. I got power to protect myself… or did things greater than that.
I giggled.
With that realization, I changed into another the person. The polar opposite of who I was. The Rei of old was gone.
Living in a small town meant news were going to spread quickly. The story of the gang leader being murdered by a woman in possession of unimaginable power was all over the town.
Some saw me as a monster, a ruthless murderer. Others saw me as goddess, a heroine of justice. It did not matter anyway. Why would it matter? They were just peasants that knew nothing better.
"Hey, I am bored out of my mind, you know? What do you think about taking a walk in the town square in your HDD form? See what folks say about your powers, neat, huh?"
"Well, I guess I can grace them with my presence. There is nothing to do anyway. Seeing them bend over for me should be entertaining enough."
"Duh, what are you waiting for then? Let's get moving now!"
I transformed, taking flight to the sky with Croire closely behind.
Soaring in the sky, I found myself looking at a completely different place than the neighborhood I had been spending my life in. It was so tiny, so insignificant.
I was disgusted. How could I stand living in such a place? So unfitting for a goddess. At least they could get rid of boredom. With that train of thought, I slowly descended, intending to make a great entrance.
The people stared at me, mixed feelings hidden inside their eyes. Awe, Puzzlement, fright, admiration. I had never been in spotlight before in my entire life; to be feared and respected was something that I could only dream about. I sank into the overwhelming attention, brushing off the whispers of me being a monster. I drank in the people's praise of expectation of me, like a man finding an oasis in the vast, desert.
For once, I was someone to be looked up to; someone to be relied on.
Croire told me that I should work on founding a nation. I was not entirely sure how to do it, but with the elder's whisper of bringing along a golden era, I steeled myself. I would. I would prove how powerful I am. Show them why I am to be their goddess.
I agreed with Croire absentmindedly, with wordplay that made the decision seemed whimsical; my resolution half-hearted. After all, I was no longer that meek Rei.
Or was I?
Building up the nation was easier than I thought. My power allowed me to materialize the city in my mind, identical down to a single building block. The show of power gained me a large following, including those of my own town. The people's mind were simple by then- perfect as my citizens. They wanted protection; I wanted reverence. A fair trade, huh?
The day when Tari was established was written down in history.
Tari, my nation. My nation that delivered the guidance and safety that the Gamindustri needed.
But peace never lasted long.
With peace came prosperity. With prosperity came ambitions. With ambitions came competition.
Feel free to leave any comments to the story. I will really appreciate it. See you next time!
