Chapter 6.5: Tales and Shadows
"i have fought for years and will continue to fight until the day my body crumbles to dust. When that day comes you shall take my place. My blade will become yours, my will also. For you, are my living legacy."-?
Ban POV
I had seen many things in my old years. I had seen the death and births of many, I had even created life of my own. But on this particular day, a new 'thing' of sorts entered my life. He was plain and looked like many others his age, but those eyes of his were unique. Whereas most his age had many emotions that were expressed by their eyes, the ones I could see from him were strange indeed. Where most showed boredom upon entering my shop, he looked around almost in wonder. those eyes of his seem to lack something, and for the life of me I could not tell what.
And there was also the strange energy I could feel coming off of him in waves, it was potent and unlike any form of magic or divinity I had ever felt before.
When we spoke, he told me of his purpose here. He saw my request in the guild and decided to take it. Quite strange indeed, considering the times. Nowadays there was no shortage of monster-slaying quests for youth like him to take, and normally kids like him would, But I suppose in a sea of hot-blooded and hard-headed teenagers, there would have been one who went against the grain. He asked me about the request, specifically he wanted to confirm what he needed to collect and what they looked like, once I told him, he was gone.
In the request I had written that I was too weak to collect the herbs myself, in truth I just had better things to do, but since I would need the herbs for later, I decided to put the request through. Once the boy had left, I got myself ready for my own 'quest' .
Earlier that day I had noticed a massive spike in the amount of dark energy within a nearby forest. Something like that meant only one thing, that there was a revival.
You see, the legends of the old gods were passed down within my family, with it came knowledge on said ancient deities. Specifically, that all of them should have been dead, their divinities alongside them. However, the energy I felt was as my father had described. Which should have been impossible, not even their husks should have held that amount of power. But regardless, I had to do my duty. I was a Maker, after all.
I retrieved my family's old blade and set out towards the energys' origin. When I arrived, a strange sight indeed was before me. There was a humanoid creature with blue skin. It had one giant blue eye in the centre of its face, smaller blue circles on its chest, and long blue, hair-like protrusions from its head that had a beige-coloured inner lining. Upon its head it held twin crescent halo's that held a small silver orb in each. Upon its skin were numerous blue lines and rod-like keratinous spikes.
"Oh, how long I have waited, for mine own bodys' revival." it spoke, its voice a mixture of regal and monstrous.
Then it noticed me.
"Hmm, come to bask in my greatness human? Go ahead, bow." it spoke with arrogance, it appears my fears had come true. "Not on your life, monster." I spoke. While I had no doubt many would have done what it asked, if only out of fear. I could not afford to do so, my bloodline was built on one purpose, after all. "It appears that in my absence, your kind has grown arrogant. Come then, let me show you the power of the God of the Moon! The great Tsukuyomi!" ironic, for it to speak of arrogance yet to also give me its name and domain.
I unsheathed my blade just as the one before me created its own, the sheath of my weapon transforming and armouring the entirety my left arm, forming a black and purple gauntlet.
And the tide shifted immediately
"That blade...so you are his descendant?" the god before me spoke, laughing afterwards. "How fortunate that I would have my revenge so soon." it then broke out in a frenzy. Moving more like an animal gone mad, rather than the god it called itself. As it flung itself in my direction, I concentrated the energies within my blade and began to strike. Every appendage that attempted to rend me apart being met by the broad side of my sword.
"You block my strikes...an annoyance, but not unexpected of your kind." it paused its assault in order to speak. "That infernal branch of yours is quite the irritant indeed." it then switched tactics, creating distance between itself and I, and concentrating spheres of energy from its chest and hair-like appendages. "Become dust by the light of dusk!" multiple beams of silvery-blue light shot out from the spheres, centring on me.
"Aegis!" with a call of its name, a divine shield appeared in front of me, the spell blocking every single one of the divine beams. "Pathetic cur, be crushed like the insect you are!" even so, my enemy continued its assault, its hair-like growths extending in an attempt to skewer me. "Foolish!" I spoke, as I stepped to the side at the last moment and swung my blade, cutting off the extended appendages. "You filthy-" it didn't have a chance to finish its sentence, as the second it spoke, I closed the distance between us, and continued to strike.
"i will not fall to your kind, not again!" it blocked my incoming assault with the blade it had created at the start. For a moment, we were in a stalemate. "Amaterasu was stronger than this." I could feel the seething rage building in my foe the second I spoke; it appears even now it held a strong hatred for its kin. "You...I'll show you!" it replied, before swinging its sword at me. "Too slow!" I stated, dodging its powerful strike.
It swung again.
And again.
And again.
Each strike missed. It was angry, unfocused, and newly reborn. It was a far cry from its full strength.
"Why-
Won't
You
Die!"
With its final swing dodged, it fell forward in fatigue, giving me a chance to end things.
"Oh, felled God, who hath fallen far-"
Motes of golden light appeared before me.
"Whose heart is black, and blood tar-"
The motes of light gathered at my unsheathed blade.
"Be reduced to ash, by the light of stars!"
My blade shone with white divine flames that began purifying the very air surrounding me.
"Igne Purgante!"
My weapon was swung, and my foe reduced to nothing.
"Haaa...Haaa." with the battle over with, I slumped down to my knees. I wasn't as young as I used to be, the many years I had lived were not kind, not to an overly active man like me. It took me half an hour to recover. Then the questions began to fill my head.
(Why was it revived? Who could've done such a thing?) sure I had to deal with fallen every now and then, especially with some of them still retaining a fraction of their original divinity, but a full-blown resurrection? That shouldn't have been possible!
(It looks like I have a lot of planning to do.) with my job done, I returned to my shop and waited for the boy from earlier to return with the herbs I requested. Thankfully, he didn't take long. "hello, I've returned with the herbs." (Speak of the devil.) "Thank you boy, here's your reward." I quickly handed him the quest rewards as he handed me the herbs, he left quickly after. "Kids these days, always in a rush."
Once I had placed the herbs in storage, I left to go visit an old friend. He didn't live far at all, so the journey to his home wasn't long. Once I arrived at his doorstep, I knocked on his door. Not long afterwards, the door opened, and a familiar face answered. "Ban old friend, good to see you." I smiled at his ever-friendly tone. his name was Agil, he had a wife by the name of Noel, and two daughters named Saya and Maya. "how's the wife and kids?" I asked. "they're doing fine, now at least." ('now at least?') "Did something happen?" a grimace appeared on his face. "Aye, something did. You see, recently I haven't been spending much time with Saya. I was going to change that today actually; in fact I had gotten permission for a few days off from my boss. But when I got home, I found out that Saya had run away whilst Noel was having a nap. She didn't leave
A note or anything, so we had no leads on where she could have gone. Noel and I went out to look for her whilst Maya posted a request at the guild, with Saya being as young as she was, I couldn't cross out the idea that she would go outside the village." "Why didn't you ask me? I ain't no pushover." "You weren't home, thankfully an adventurer answered the request and managed to find her, as of right now, she's safe." (that's good, I'd dread to think what could have happened to her otherwise.)
"Did you get a name?" "Of the adventurer that found Saya? Yes, he said his name was Zed." now wasn't that a coincidence. "Are you going to come in?" he gestured. "i just might, old friend." my visit was a few hours long, we had much to catch up on. unfortunately night came quickly, meaning i had to head on home. Once I had returned home, I began to think about the events from earlier in the day, and I asked myself one question. (if someone like Tsukuyomi was revived, does that mean others will follow?)
It was a logical thing to presume. The issue was that the world would not be equipped to handle something like it. A single god during the era of ancients was far above any mortal, even the first godslayers had to resort to trickery in order to kill the divine. In this day and age, wherein the masses were almost completely dependent on their respective goddess, humanity stood no chance.
However, there was a silver lining to the potential chaos. It appeared that when revived, the god brought back would not be in their prime, as was apparent with Tsukuyomi. This meant that potentially not all was lost. If I could get into contact with other Makers, and if we banded together, we could fight back and win.
The issues with my train of thought were quick to make themselves known; I didn't know what caused Tsukuyomi's revival, the locations of where the gods would be revived or even when their revival would take place. Meaning if I were to act, I needed to act quick, I had no idea how much time I had to prepare. Of course, that train of thought was also interrupted. (What about Compa?) by definition, she was a Maker, but she knew nothing of our family history, nor was she the fighting type. I needed all the help I could get, but could I stomach putting my granddaughter in danger?
There was another issue with Compa's status, the old ones could smell her blood from miles away, if they are being brought back, she wasn't safe.
I needed to create an army to fight against the old ones, but I could not be everywhere at once. I had my duty as a Maker, but I also had my duty as a grandfather. I thought for a long while before reaching an answer. (What about that boy?) Zed had somewhat proved himself to be a good person, so I considered sending him to check up and keep an eye on Compa. He may have been a teenage boy, but I got the feeling he had the potential to be strong.
Besides if he ever laid a hand on my dear granddaughter, he would be nothing but ash.
I spent no insignificant amount of time thinking of and creating a plan.
I would further investigate the old ones' revival and attempt to get into contact with the other Makers. Before that I would have to make a request to the guild specifically asking for Zed's help. He would relay to me Compa's status and protect her whilst I would gather together every Maker I could find.
? POV
This stranger has done well so far, he has gained quite the mastery of Golden Trillion, and in such a short time, no doubt due to the presence of the vermillion imperator. "Beta, what is the status of the 8th?" spoke Omega. "He has progressed well. Contact with two of the goddesses has already been established. his interference has brought the purple one into contact with the black one, as things are currently, contact should be established with the other two soon enough." Omega nodded in confirmation. "And what of the 1st? "His vendetta against us continues, the potential for true chaos is high, however his power is still limited." Omega nodded once more.
"What of the 2nd through 7th?"
"Unknown"
Alpha made an appearance.
"How can that be, surely your power of observation should be able to handle such a menial task?" it was a mere question, yet we feared to answer. "That is what concerns us, the fate of strangers should be forever known to us, yet theirs are not." "What has done this?"the tone was monotonous yet was capable of shaking the very core of our reality. "We...do not know." despite our providence over most, our words were laced with uncertainty and fear.
"Then find out."
Alpha left.
Arfoire POV
Black ash reconstructed; my body reformed, my hatred for the light, for that boy was the first thing that entered my mind.
"What happened my dear?" his concerned voice was my only solace from my searing hatred. "I was bested, by a mere boy." a gentle smile appeared on his face. "Who was this boy?" I could tell that despite his smile, he was angry, I took comfort in that. "He had orange hair, green eyes, and was in possession of some form of light-based ability." my beloved was quick to respond. "Do you think I should pay the boy a visit?" I knew what he was getting at.
"No, there's no need for you to get involved, you should not have to reveal yourself early because I made a mistake." we had plans, plans we could not afford to disregard. "But he hurt you, didn't he, and I will not tolerate someone hurting what is mine." his anger showed itself in his latter words, though I was happy beyond anything that he would go so far for my sake. "We should check with our associates in Avenir, perhaps they could keep an eye on our little friend."
My beloved was the light in my darkness, he saved me from those vile villagers and revolting goddess that rejected me for a power I did not ask for. 'Heretic', they called me.
And how right they were.
? POV (play Azure Striker Gunvolt OST- The Grand Overseer)
I was waiting patiently for my beloveds' return, siting upon my throne. unfortunately, the method she apparently chose was not one I expected. Particle dispersion only activated when the user was in danger of taking fatal damage after all. "What happened my dear?" I said, standing up from my seat. Her answer was said with much venom, mentioning some boy besting her. The mention of a light-based ability was interesting, though concerning. (Have they begun to act once more? have they not learned their lesson?)
"Do you think I should pay the boy a visit?" I asked, hiding my building anger. She declined my offer. A considerate soul, my beloved was. Even when my anger showed itself, she made her thoughts, with our best interests in mind, known. Of course, that didn't mean I wouldn't look into the bastard that dared harm what was mine, fortunately Ganache, and therefore Avenir, was at my disposal. The man may have his faults, mainly that he was the monologing type that liked to try and convert our enemies. but he was a charismatic genius when it counted.
"Ganache" "yes lord Jin?" "i need you to keep an eye on someone, this is of upmost importance." I regaled the description Arfoire gave me. "Consider it done my lord." I hung up after that. With any hope, he could handle the nuisance without me having to lift a finger.
Truth be told I didn't want casualties, the little humanity I still possessed was disgusted at the thought. However, this was a necessary evil. I fought for the future, and if a few had to die for the creation of a guaranteed haven for the many, then so be it. "Blade!" I called upon my ever-loyal general. "Yes, my lord?" he spoke, bowing at my feet. "How goes the operation in Lowee?" "Rumours are being spread quickly, just as you said, my lord. It is only a matter of time before the populace lose faith in White Heart completely."
That was good, we needed her to be weak, however "What of her guard?" "Unfortunately sire, their loyalty appears nigh impossible to break due to their continued closeness to their goddess." it made sense, they were trained from birth to be her loyal soldiers. Unfortunately, it was also troublesome for my plans. "Take care of them." "As you command sire. What of White Heart herself?" "I will handle her personally." she was an instrumental piece of the puzzle, after all.
"As you wish, sire." he spoke, teleporting to his destination in an azure flash of lightning.
As long as they still had power over us, we would never be free.
As long as the divine existed, suffering would follow.
They were one in the same, both evils to be eradicated.
"Are you okay mister?"
….
"Welcome home Jin!"
….
"it's okay, lady Green Heart will save us!"
….
"Jin...don't cry...just run...you must...survive!"
"Step by step...Claire."
"Jin?" my beloved appeared to notice my whispered words. "How goes operations in Leanbox?" memories of those days are burdens I alone shall bear. "Green Heart is attempting to increase shares, thankfully at a slow rate. Her and her advisor still remain paranoid despite the console war ending years ago, perhaps she fears an attack from the other three goddesses? This is something we could use to our advantage." now wasn't that interesting. "Good work Arfoire, keep it up." her face lit up in dopey grin, thankfully I was used to such an occurrence, and did not show how pleased I was with at the adorable sight.
"What else did you find during your expedition in Planeptune?" I asked. "Purple Heart is alive...regrettably." her previous joy was put to an abrupt end the second the goddess of Planeptune was mentioned, her words holding an immense amount of malice. "Calm down dear, lest you ruin your good looks." my words had an immediate effect, her scowl disappearing immediately. "at least now we know her status." I continued. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Besides, she's far weaker now."
All four of the goddesses were severely weakened due to their 100 years of infighting, making my plan all the easier. Black Heart was captured by Avenir, and both White Heart and Green Heart were recovering. With the addition of Purple Heart being far below her original strength, things would only get better for me.
However, their interference could not be ignored, if the one they sent was capable of besting Arfoire, then they were a threat. Hopefully Ganache would locate the bastard and take care of things, a madman Ganache may be at times, but at least he brought results.
"How goes the experiments with the black blood and Ichor?" I asked. Our plan hinged on them showing progress after all. "it's a matter of trial and error, my lord. Finding those that are compatible with it is nigh impossible as of now, however the serum itself has been perfected." a smile came to my face. "Very good." things were coming along slowly but surely. Eventually, no matter how long it takes.
The gods will fall.
CHAPTER END
There are multiple sides to every story.
But which side is just?
AN: this chapter was hard to make, due to running out of ideas for dialogue and switching perspective, hence the short length, but it's still something I am quite proud of. Also, if it wasn't obvious already, the idea of Septima's, as well as the character 'Zed' (the voice in the MC's head, not the MC themself.) are taken from the Azure Striker Gunvolt games.
Why is this fic not in the crossover section? Simple, the focus of this story is Neptunia, characters that appear from other series are few and will remain few, with a few possible references here and there later on.
As can be seen in this chapter, the backstory I gave the goddesses was not insignificant to the plot. Granted I cringe at how I layed out said backstory in the arc 1 interludes, but I'm not perfect. strangely enough, among all currently posted chapters, the interlude chapter is the least read.
Which sucks now that I think about it, the interludes are cannon to the story after all.
What do you all think of Author notes? Should I continue to add them at the end of chapters? Or do they interfere with the story? (That being the reason why I was hesitant to add them in the first place.)
For anyone who was wondering, every instance of Latin in this fic was done using google translate, I am in no way actually knowledgeable about Latin.
Preview (should this be a consistent thing?)
"Out of the way!"
"Ganache!"
"Oh, you're still alive? A pity."
"But Zeddy could be in trouble!"
"Why do this? Why cause so much pain and suffering? Those were innocent lives you played with!"
"You...you monster!"
"Shut up."