Chapter 29
The Aegises
As I entered the Cauldron near Rachel's castle, I found myself in a blue room with various coffins haphazardly strewn about. In the middle of the room was a giant circular gate which was closed. Walking closer to the gate, I then experienced an acute bout of pain from a headache. Clutching my head in pain, I then saw Alvis walking towards me. "Alvis, why are you here?", I asked. "Isn't it obvious? My duty is to support my Master and commander.", Alvis replied. "What do you mean?", I asked. "When you became my Driver, I became bound to you. I couldn't personally ask for a better Driver myself.", Alvis said. "Now I think about it, you said that you were part of a trinity with two other cores- the Logos and Pneuma processors, weren't you?", I asked. "That is correct. As the Ontos core, my duty is to process the logical reasoning of the Logos core and the emotional outbursts of the Pneuma core; an arrangement you may consider to be Freudian.", Alvis said. "You mean like Logos being the superego, Pneuma being the id and you being the ego?", I asked. "Exactly.", Alvis said.
After a brief silence, Alvis then said, "Well, do you remember what happened when you found me?. "I don't remember the exact details, but I vaguely remember finding a red crucifix on a beach somewhere. After that, it's all a blur.", I said. "Anything else you remember?", Alvis asked. "Well, I remember seeing a teal sword with a waving fishbone that branched downwards and a ring near the hilt; of course, the ring was separated from the hilt by an hourglass-shaped hand guard and a triangle-shaped tip near the bottom. I also grabbed that sword too and used it.", I said. Taking a minute to reflect, Alvis then said, "Jack, what you used was the True Monado, also known as the Monado III; my Blade weapon that I imparted to you. Previously, Shulk had the weapon before he slew the evil God Zanza and saved his world; the sword now belongs to you, the Sovereign.". My headache then mysteriously cleared up; to test what Alvis had said, I extended my right hand and lo and behold, the Monado III indeed appeared before me. "Oh, I see.", I said, before the sword disappeared again. I then asked, "OK, if I have access to the Monado III, then what is the sword that Shulk has access to? Is that a Monado too?". "In a sense, yes. Though not the Monado that either Zanza or I gave him, it is a Monado, though a replica. He built it after his fight with Zanza and later upgraded it to fight a great evil.", Alvis said.
Taking a moment to process what Alvis was telling me, I then asked, "OK, so who were the two people I saw in those suspended animation tubes in the temple you took me to?". "Oh, they are my two "siblings" in a sense- Pyra and Malos. Both of them are the current forms of the Pneuma and Logos cores; I feel that once you properly meet them, you will finally understand your true purpose.", Alvis said, before leading me into a mechanical temple. We passed by a giant robot that had a majestic gold and white colour scheme and green fiery wings behind it. Approaching the two stasis tubes, I saw a young girl with short red hair and red eyes wearing a red leather bodysuit and a crystalline green cross in one of them and a man with short and spiky black hair and grey eyes wearing a suit of black armour and a crystalline dark purple cross in the other. As if they sensed me, the two suddenly woke up and the stasis tubes disappeared. Looking at me intently, the girl said, "So, he's the next Heir to the Monado, huh? Seems you've picked up a good one, bro.". "Certainly. Though he does seem a bit green.", the man with spiky black hair said. "And you are?", I asked. "Oh, please forgive our lack of manners. I am Pyra, the current form of the Pneuma Core.", the girl said. "And I am Malos, the current form of the Logos Core. I see you have met our brother Ontos already.", the man said. "I guess so.", I said. "And I have sensed you have met my daughter Glimmer, my husband Rex, my bedmate Nia and my niece Mio.", Pyra said. "Wait, what?", I asked. "Anyway, it is of no concern for me; I can sense from you that my daughter is doing well.", Pyra said.
"Anyway, we need to find a way to avert the Ascension Project. If we do not do so, all life in the Multiverse shall die. I cannot honestly envision a kingdom of the dead lasting long at all.", Malos then said. "Good plan. Know where I can start?", I asked. "Well, since you have inherited the Monado, there is no real need for you specifically to rush.", Pyra said. "What do you mean?", I asked. "There's an ancient prophecy regarding the Heir to the Monado, one that I did not dare tell Shulk. The prophecy indicates that the Trinity Processors can create a new world, but it is contingent on the one to do so needing access to the Pneuma, Ontos and Logos cores and the weapons they give- the Firelight Swords, the Sword of the End and the Monado III. Only with all three weapons can a new world and a new future come about. Doing so will require one to denounce the Ascension Project and all it stands for but only you have the power to do so as the Sovereign. Furthermore, as stipulated by the prophecy, all three weapons need to united and in synch, not opposed to each other. Though you have not come into conflict with either Shulk, Rex or Noah, their goals are in opposition to yours- where you vowed to protect the Multiverse against all who would harm it, they vowed to ascend, turning all of reality into a kingdom of the dead, even the Sovereign and Maiden dying in the process.", Alvis said. "That's quite a tall order.", I said. "Furthermore, YHVH plans to hijack the Ascension Project at the time of the Spirit Channelling in a bid to make his current chosen favourite his vessel- in this case, he plans to infest Yuito Sumeragi's body and make him his vessel to rule the subsequent kingdom of the dead, turning it into a world where freewill is a distant memory and all life is subject to YHVH's will. We cannot let that happen, no matter the consequences.", Malos said. "So, Jack, do you denounce the Ascension Project and all it stands for and do you vow to stop it no matter the cost to yourself? Do you vow to stop the Chosen and their Apostles from completing the Ascension Project and do you vow to stop YHVH from creating a world with freewill?", Pyra asked. "I do. I vow to stop the Ascension Project, I vow to stop the Chosen and the Apostles from completing the Ascension Project and I vow to stop YHVH from creating a world without freewill.", I replied. Smiling, Pyra said, "Right answer.".
After a short pause, I then asked, "But then, why did you choose me specifically? I mean, given the amount of people out there in the Multiverse, you certainly had quite a great many choices of who to pick and who to choose. So why me?". Hesitating, Malos said, "Well, the reason we chose you is not necessarily because of who you were and more because, well, you were the only one we saw with an actual sense of responsibility. You see, you're not the first person we summoned to Nintentopia. Before you came, we brought over many of your friends from Earth in the hopes that they'd be the ones to finally destroy YHVH and end the War of the Worlds- people from your world that you know as William Enright, Hugh Stevenson, Ryan Collis, Daniel Slingsby, Kieran Adamson, James Morton, James Parker, Charlotte Parker, Alice Hill, Sarah Rosenthal and many others. Of course, when they actually awakened their powers, they absolutely refused to properly train under the mistaken belief that they could only get by with their Class Abilities, never mind that they needed to train to unlock them. This persisted in Nintentopia for many years by our estimates, after which we decided to bring you over. And unlike them, you were actually interested in not only fighting YHVH but also making absolutely sure you knew what you were dealing with so you'd be able to determine a way to effectively fight it. But I guess given the time differential between our two worlds that it was only mere seconds between your friends being summoned and your summoning.". "Wait, so my friends had been summoned to Nintentopia the whole time and you didn't tell me?", I asked. "We didn't know how to best break the news to you. And besides, you didn't seem to have always gotten along with them when we scanned your memories.", Pyra said. "Because of that, we decided that the best thing to do was to wait until you were ready to hear the news. Not that you were all that concerned anyway, given that your main priority was fighting against YHVH at the time.", Alvis said.
Suddenly, Alvis and I were warped back to the blue room with the coffins haphazardly strewn about. "Anyway, Alvis, if this is a Cauldron then what is its name?", I asked. "This place is known as the Grave Marker of Bases, originally located in a country named the Ikaruga Federation, specifically in the 5th Hierarchical City of Ibukido. And that circular gate you attempted to walk to, it is a Cauldron, a gate to a realm known as the Boundary- a world leading to the Azure which YHVH is also incidentally looking for and a pathway to other worlds.", Alvis replied. "OK, so if this is a Grave Marker of Bases as you say, then what are these coffins?", I asked. "Uh, maybe that's a topic for another time.", Alvis said. "If you say so.", I replied. Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine. "Now this is a treat. Not only have I run into the Sovereign, but also his Blade too. Oh, happy days!", a voice said behind me. I turned around only to see a man with green hair in a bowl cut and yellow eyes wearing a black top hat, a black blazer, a black jumper, a black tie, a white shirt, two brown belts, brown fingerless gloves and black spats with steel toes. "Hello, my name's Jack. Who are you?", I asked the man. "Really? You don't remember me either? I'm hurt, I really am. No matter though. You can call me Hazama.", the man said. "Anyway, Hazama, why are you here in the Grave Marker of Bases?", Alvis asked. "That should be obvious. I'm here for the True Monado.", Hazama said. "And why do you want the Monado anyway? Last I checked, you were in no position to use it, the Firelight Swords and the Sword of the End to help YHVH create a new world.", Alvis said. "I'm here because the Sovereign to be Yuito Sumeragi has decreed that YHVH must acquire the Monado before the Ascension Project is complete.", Hazama said. "You'll have to pry it from my corpse if you want it.", I said, stepping forward. "Well, if you're going to be like that, then so be it.", Hazama said, rushing at me.
As Hazama rushed at me, I took a deep breath before firing up my Tao mandalas. Hazama then unleashed a black and dark green chain with a dark golden "head" in the shape of a snake's head which I effortlessly dodged. I retaliated with a thin burst of fire which I followed up with a barrage of earthen spears which Hazama easily slashed through with his chain. I then followed up the earthen spears with a gust of highly pressurised wind which was followed in turn by a spike of ice underneath Hazama's feet which he evaded by jumping. Hazama then unleashed his chain at me again, which I blocked though a projection of an energy shield; unimpressed, Hazama then appeared behind me and attacked with a butterfly knife to which I responded with a kick. Unwilling to forsake any potential martial or magical advantages he may have had over me, Hazama then said, "Restriction 666 unleashed. Dimensional boundary field deployed. Code SOL. BlazBlue, activate!", with a black and green aura forming around him and giving way to a green ring. Turning around to properly face Hazama, I then expertly blocked Hazama unleashing his chain yet again only for Hazama to use it as a way to get across to me. Covering my fists in the crimson energy that Giganto had given me, I then unleashed a flurry of furious haymakers to counter Hazama's own flurry of rapid fire punches, ending the flurry with a powerful punch which also dispelled the energy. Suddenly, a strange darkness came over me, covering my body in a black and dark crimson energy as my eyes briefly glowing red. Upon witnessing this, Hazama smirked. As I fired up my Tao mandalas, I watched as the darkness turned the mandalas into a pair of sinister dark swords; I grabbed them and furiously unleashed a violent flurry of attacks which Hazama blocked with a shield in the shape of a black and dark green snake. "I see. Maybe your are its Dominant after all.", Hazama said, a curious interest on his face. "What's that supposed to mean?", I aggressively asked him. "Never you mind. You'll know soon enough.", Hazama said before warping away; with this, the darkness surrounding me disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, exhausting me heavily.
Taking a moment to collect myself, I then asked Alvis, "What was that just now?". Alvis said, "Well, I don't exactly know myself, but it seems you may not be the Dominant of either Phoenix or Ifrit after all. Indeed, with that furious onslaught you unleashed, it is likely that you may very well be the Dominant of Odin, the Eikon of Darkness.". "But isn't Odin Byleth's Eikon?", I asked. "About that. Byleth may indeed have access to Odin's powers but only a mere fraction of them. Indeed, so does Clive but that's neither here nor there. Byleth himself received the Blessing of Odin from who I believe to be Barnabas Tharmr, the King of Waloed before he died in battle against YHVH. Much like the Blessing of the Phoenix which Clive received, the Blessing of Odin indeed allows Byleth access to Odin's powers but in a very limited form; the only person who can wield an Eikon's power to its fullest extent is that Eikon's Dominant in particular. And I believe that you are the next Dominant of Odin after Barnabas but I do not know why this is.", Alvis said. As I took in that information, Alvis then said, "But even then, that still doesn't explain why you don't have full access to Odin's powers either. Then again, maybe you're still inexperienced with them.". "You know, that might the case.", I said in agreement. Suddenly, the ground rumbled. "What was that?", I asked. "I don't know, but maybe it's an Incursion. Either way, we can't be found here soon.", Alvis said before being mysteriously warped away.
Shrugging, I walked over to the circular gate in the Grave Marker of Bases which appeared to now be opening. Summoning the Monado III, I slashed it through the seithr pouring through, warping me away too.
The story continues in the next chapter.
