Having purchased Breeders… I felt both happy that Ny can leave the Market and be free to explore, make friends and maybe even find a boyfriend… but I also was very conflicted on… having them…
For now I was keeping them in my gaming room. So long as the blindfolds are on them they won't move or react… so I was distracting myself until I came up with the courage to unblindfold them and cross that line…
So for now I was actually just watching the new Nokori neighbors house shopping… Well, not shopping, we aren't charging them for it, they're just a bunch of prebuilt houses for just this kind of situation.
"So what do you think of the houses we have so far?"
"Pretty surprised." David said. "They look identical to normal houses back home."
"Before the boom in magic and tech that lead to all kinds of crazy new architecture…" Shift said.
"Better than a cave." Bigs shrugged.
"They are all rather charming." Meg added.
"In short, we can't pick." Squeaks finished.
Wow. They definitely talk like people who have been around one another for thousands of years…
"Right…well, all of them have enough room for the four of you." I said honestly. "So whichever house you want is alright with me."
"Hm… still feels like something is missing…" David hummed.
"A basement?" Shift offered.
"Dungeon." Squeaks added.
"Music room." Meg said.
"I kinda like it as is." Bigs said.
"Hm. Welp, I'll just add those things." David said. I raised a brow… then watched him kneel to the ground, putting hands into the ground as suddenly blindingly white flames erupted from his elbows, down his arms into the ground. The ground around the house exploded in a white light that I actually had to close, cover and look away and I still think it's too bright. I could hear roaring flames and crackling almost like lightning and then… it was gone.
Opening my eyes and regaining my sight… I saw the house was now three stories, a bit larger, had a cellar entrance to the side and was more or less the same with additions and a larger size plus the new floor.
"That works." Shift nodded.
… What the fuck?
"Excuse you, what the hell?" I asked incredulously to the sudden event.
"What?" David asked as his friends and partner went inside the remade house. "Something wrong?"
"First, that kind of fire is kind of insane, and two…how did you burning the house to the ground turn it into that?"
"Oh that? I didn't burn it down. Technically I guess I did but it was actually atomizing it, reconstructing the atoms and molecules and all those little bits then rebuilding them and the surrounding area into a shape and form I wanted them to be in." I stared at him. "What?"
"My guy, you literally just said you warped reality…"
"I like to think of it more akin to Alchemy from FullMetal Alchemist but… I guess?"
"You wish it was like FullMetal Alchemist, cause there wasn't enough there to give it a third story and, most likely, a fully furnished basement…also, you atomized the damn thing first, no." I said. "I'm a big fan of FMA so I should know."
"I just simplified it for my own sake. The Phoenix kinda explained how it works to me but I still don't know exactly how it works."
"It's more like Overhaul from My Hero Academia…just with a lot more fire."
"Well, yeah, Phoenix magic. Well, technically it's primordial nature magic but eh."
"Which makes sense." I nodded. "What kind of phoenix are you paired with?"
"Fused with and he said he's a Galaxy Phoenix. Back home apparently there were different breeds of Phoenix depending on the fires that birthed them. Most common on earth were Volcanic Phoenixes but this old jackass was born when a Galaxy burst into existence some… fuck long time ago. There's also Sun Phoenixes that are born from the birth of a new sun and all that." He waved off.
… This man… has a Phoenix… fused with him… that has the heat and energy… of a birthing Galaxy?!
I looked at him. "None of what you said makes any sense." I said slowly, which made them look at me with a raised eyebrow. "Not only would it be basically impossible to find the specific phoenix if it's just flying around different galaxy's casually, it's flames would be too hot for anyone or anything to handle in what should be a normal ass Earth, now I don't know much about your version of Earth but…no…you're humans are basically stated to be able to bind god like entities to their will if what you just explained was pure fact…" I explained, as I was so absolutely confused on how this was possible in any world that wasn't either this or some other bullshit anime universe.
"Eh." He shrugged. "It probably helped the old bird let himself get captured. He came to earth out of boredom and stayed captured out of curiosity. Surprisingly they were holding back the full force of the fire for a long time before I could do that." He motioned to the house. "Among other things."
"Okay, that makes more sense…but that still begs the question of how in the hell were they able to contain a Galaxy inside of a person and how it never backfired…"
"Also the Phoenix. They apparently intervened in the fusion when it happened with me otherwise the process would have literally incinerated my soul. Bird is pretty cool, just wish we could talk more sometimes."
"I'm pretty sure that would have also caused a massive explosion but what do I know?" I sighed. "So, what about the others? Cause you said Meg was a constellation beast? How?"
"Well I don't know if this is true or not but back home Celestial Beasts, like the Star Doe she was fused with, are said to be born from the stars of dead Old Gods bodies that literally take a from them emerge from the gods corpse then wander the universe."
That just raised more questions!
I looked at him again…"What? How strong were your humans!?" I asked incredulously. "And if you say 'they were average humans', that is factually bullshit when you are telling me these assholes can hunt down and bind being's born from dead Gods…"
"I guess the Y Labs guys did have some of the best mages in the country at the time? All I know is they were all captured in the Hulda Forest. One of many high magic potent areas where magical creatures and gods always hang out."
That… what?!
"That…only makes things more confusing!" I said incredulously.
"How?"
"First, you're world just has…a forest filled with magical creatures and gods…which, and while I know it sucked for you, I still have to call you lucky cause you had magic and all this cool shit, but that just makes things more confusing on how people are just strong enough to take down and bind gods to their will…so the better question is…why do you exist if they were strong enough to make god like beings their bitch?"
"Humans back home were actually the least magical species on the planet. Also not just a forest. Lots of forests… and deserts, ocean floors and waters, some floating islands, the entire south pole, and that one corner of the moon."
… How in the what the fuck?!
"Okay, a lot of geology based on magical creatures and gods, whatever…but why do you exist, if the least magical species can bind god like beings to their will?" I asked. "I know your specific bird friend was consensual and it literally needed to lend a helping wing to make sure you didn't cease to exist along with half the planet but…why do the Nokori exist when human's can just…do whatever the fuck they want?" I asked, the key question still being unanswered and only having, objectively cool, planet lore explained only made things more confusing. "Your planet sounds interesting as hell I will admit…but come on man."
"You know, that's actually the only question we never got answered." David laughed. "The most popular theory that ended up being the most accepted was that they made the Nokori because they could. But again humans are the least magical species so maybe they were trying to prove a point or some shit. I mean not everyone had the ability to even use magic before the Boom once all the races got their shit together." He shrugged.
"I mean…that's fair…but what is this Boom your talking about?" I inquired, at least having some answer to that with the tried and true 'fuck it, why not?' answer.
"Oh, some hundred or so years after the Nokori came to be and were basically part of everyday life, the major magic using races, humans, elves, fairies, ECT and of course Nokori all finally came together and combined their science and magic understandings and boom. Sci-Fi tech but all magic powered. I told you this shit yesterday didn't I?"
He did? Right… right I remember now… I forgot cause I was preoccupied with my little Luna not being so little and me being derp dad apparently…
"I was more occupied with trying to be a father to a very adventurous teen…and also preoccupied with buying Ny's family to set him free." I said honestly. "And…again, yeah that makes sense, Magi-Tech is always cool."
"It was. Lot changed for the better after that. Anyway, I'm gonna go see which bedroom Shift picked for us. You wanna talk to the others feel free."
As David walked into the house I decided to follow. Once inside he went upstairs and I saw Bigs in the kitchen.
"Sup." I said to Bigs.
"Hey other David." He nodded as he was going through… apparently the brand new modern looking kitchen.
"So…I learned a bit about your world history and…how much nonsense is involved with it."
"What nonsense?"
"How weirdly powerful your world is and hearing how Humanity just kinda…wrecked house somehow?"
"Uh… I don't follow?"
"Humans, which are apparently the least magically sensitive creatures in your realm…just kind of binding powerful magical creatures to literal god like entity's to their will and going 'fuck it, why not fuze these creatures with humans'." I said honestly. "Sure, with Davy over there, his Galaxy Phoenix wanted to because it was bored…I have no idea how strong your Darkness Dragon is but…I mean come on."
"Oh, well from what I was told the dragon I was fused with was an infant but apparently they're as dangerous as the adults."
"Well, if what I can imagine is possible, the infant dragon can most likely bend darkness to it's will and do a lot of fancy things with it…but given it was a child it didn't know how to use thing's more…'properly' I suppose."
"Well, they're known for causing cataclysmic damages when under an eclipse and in moonless nights. They are pretty deadly and their control over darkness like shadows and necromancy shows… of course, that's not how my magic manifested…"
"And…how did your magic manifest?" I inquired.
"Well… I can more or less teleport anywhere it's dark. I can make barriers of shadows. I can pull a person's shadow up and heal them with it… somehow. Oh, and I can see perfectly in any dark environment."
"Well, those are some neat powers." I said honestly.
"My scales also never break…"
"Which is good defense." I nodded.
Hmm… I wonder…
I used Scan on Bigs.
[Scan Blocked! Entity Resistance Higher Than Scan Level.]
… Okay?
"That's…weird…" I thought, deciding to level up Scan real quick and then trying again.
[Scan Blocked! Entity Resistance Higher Than Scan Level.]
"I literally just upgraded Scan the fuck…" I thought.
"You okay David? You're squinting a lot."
Oh yeah, right…
"Sorry." I shook my head. "Just uh…I have an ability called Scan, and I was just curious about something…and then it kept saying my level of Scan couldn't work." I said carefully.
"Oh, like in a video game? That's cool. There was something like that back home called an appraisal tablet. Squeaks tried it out of curiosity and she broke it when she touched it." Bigs chuckled. "That Orc was mad."
"That sounds like some anime nonsense." I chuckled.
"So, do you want to ask me any questions?"
"Well, what are some of your hobbies?" I inquired, thinking of just asking some basic questions at this point.
"Reading. Cooking. Avoiding the battles when they happen."
Right. David did say Bigs was a pacifist and very non violent.
"That's good to know." I nodded. "And yeah, avoiding battles can always be a good thing, especially here."
"I'm an expert at it." He smirked. "Other than that I don't do much else."
"That's fine." I nodded. "And you can do other things, like heal or just…well, be a friend who's around. That can do wonders."
"I like to think I've helped the others out a lot when they're in their dark places. Pun not intended." He chuckled.
"It's alright, and you help a lot cause you can always guide them out of the dark when it happens." I said honestly.
"Heh. Sometimes it's not that easy when we share so much of that darkness…" Bigs sighed.
"It just means that you still have each other even through thick and thin." I said honestly.
"I know. It's just been an adjustment for us."
"That's fair." I nodded. "Sad you didn't appear anywhere else in reality, it would have been far nicer and more welcoming than Armageddon." I sighed.
"Heh… honestly I think the others are happy we ended up here. They've needed to vent out all their issues and between the monsters and those raiders they've had more fun here than they've had since… in a long time." Bigs sighed again. This time I could tell some memories hit them hard.
I gently put a hand on Big's shoulder. "Things will be better Bigs, I promise."
"I… know that but… that's not gonna change all we've lived through. The things we've done. The people we lost… and we were told we could find Reflections of them here… like a copy of them that isn't them… Just thinking about that fills me with dread…"
"Well…can you 'sense' some of the people that might be related to you through your…experiences?" I asked.
"Heh… maybe if they were close. Right now though, no. Besides, David would be able to detect them first." He chuckled. "Man has a nose like a bloodhound. Or I guess a cosmic level predatory immortal bird?"
"Yes…that is most definitely a thing." I nodded.
Bigs shrugged. "It was good talking with you. I'm gonna see if I can make something for lunch for everyone."
"Well, we have plenty of fish and other farmable stuff." I said honestly.
"Hm… baked fish does sound nice."
Bigs got to cooking and I decided to leave them to it…
I walked up the stairs and in an empty small library room I found Shift sitting next to the window. The almost goo/slime like mimic person was just looking out the window.
"Hello?" I asked Shift carefully.
Shift looked over to me, despite the sideways mouth and three eyes on one side I saw them give me a sly smirk. "Sup femboy?"
… Well, never been called that…
"Well, I'm a hermaphrodite." I said honestly. "So that's technically correct but technically wrong?" I said with some thought. "But how you doing?"
"Heh… it's weird being around people again… in a house again." They said as they looked back out the window. I walked over to them and saw they were looking at some of my kids running around the farms. "After a while we started trying to live in isolated places all over the world… but we were always drawn back to people. We'd make friends. Adopt some kids maybe… make memories… and watch time pass. Our friends grow old. Our kids… Do you know what it's like to bury the elderly remains of your own children? To do that over and over again… for centuries… all because you couldn't stay away?"
"No…and I hope I never have to…" I sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that Shift."
"It's been a long time since I heard or saw children. Seeing and hearing them again for the first time it's… comforting, yet also haunting. Heh. After everything back home, we all end up here… a world full of immortals. It's ironic really." They sighed. "Out of everything I guess somewhere some higher level deity is having a good laugh at this."
"Possibly…but who knows, cause this is a massive world." I sighed.
"So I hear." They said, still looking out the window. "Makes me remember simpler times… hell, I'd even give a smile to Alex if I saw him… then probably shove his jaw down his own throat…"
Hm?
"And what did this 'Alex' do?" I asked carefully.
"He's the one who made us. Well, the five us at least. He was the scientist in charge of the B.O.W Nokori project we were created for."
"And…do you know why you were created or was it just 'humanity could so why not' like Davy told me?"
"Well, as far as Nokori as a whole, no. But we were created to be weapons. They specifically looked for people with the right affinity and bloodlines for the fusion. They went as far as to buy Squeaks from the orphanage she was in all the way up in Russia because she was the only one on the planet at the time with the Null affinity."
"But why would they when so far from what I've been told, the least magical race has been able to steal or subjugate creatures and being's a lot stronger than them, and be able to fuse god like entities to normal people…like, why would they when their already doing some fantastical shit?"
"No idea. All I do know is he caused us a lot of headaches for years. Even turned himself into… an abomination. Besides, comparing us to normal Nokori isn't fair to the rest of the species."
"Eh." I shrugged. "So, happy with your new place?"
"It's nice. It almost takes me back."
"Takes you back to simpler times I suppose?" I inquired.
"Yeah." They chuckled. "You know the hardest part about being immortal amongst a world full of mortal life? Remembering the past, and everyone you lose over the years. I envy that you don't have to worry about that kind of loss and pain."
"Well…I can still lose family, it just takes longer." I said carefully.
"If that's the case, then pray you go first…" Shift sighed as they leaned their head back. "Guess I've been feeling really sentimental since meeting you. David was right. Silver would have loved to meet you."
"Who knows, maybe I will get to meet them someday." I shrugged. "I mean, not sure if the machine is here on Armageddon, but there was a Guild known as the Isekai Guild that had a machine that could tell people if there was any other's from the same reality that live here…I think I had like, three or four people? It was a long time ago."
"Heh… if there are that would be Impressive. Still, she died so long ago. And we know she died… we were all there for her."
… Whoever this Silver was… she clearly left a lasting impact on them all… I think maybe even more so on David given how depressed he was talking about her yesterday…
"How…important was she?" I asked. "Davy sounded…very depressed when talking about her."
Shift chuckled. "Davy. I'll have to use that… but Silver was… to David, she was like his sister. The two would laugh and bicker and fight like siblings that's for sure. To Squeaks and even Bigs, she was like a surrogate mother. She was very maternal and caring to anyone who needed it. To Meg, she was her rock. Helping her finally gain some footing in the musicals she always wanted to be part of. To me… She's the reason David and I even got together. She was an amazing person, mother and all around no Nokori was like her. She was a one of a kind."
"How…did she die?" I asked, thinking if these four had such powerful and immortal creatures in them then…what could cause her to die?
"Old age. Surrounded by her family." Shift said with a sad smile. "I said we were different from the other Nokori. Most of them, the magic they have, came from lesser magical animals or magic artifacts. Their fusion process was also different compared to ours. As were the fusion alters. The results are as clear as night and day. If you ever meet another Nokori, not one of us, you'll see it too. We were built to be powerful, and dangerous… they were made with… an idea, but the fusion process for them was different. You could throw a person, a hawk and an enchanted set of fire gloves into the fusion for them and get a Badger Nokori with water magic. In the end it was believed their fusion process changed the nature and even race of the magic and animal merged with them based on the humans personality. Or even genetics since families would all have similar powers and physical appearance."
"Huh, that's…interesting." I said honestly.
Shift nodded. "Those were confusing times… but they were also our happiest. It was before we knew how much immortality really hurts. But, in the end, I don't think any of us would change a thing… we'd all gladly go through it all again if it meant we could see our friends, our families again."
"I understand." I nodded. "A lot of things can change with enough time…"
"Yeah. So, any other questions before you talk to Meg and Squeaks?"
"So what are you capable of as a mimic?" I inquired.
"Well, the things you'd expect. I can shapeshift into anyone and anything I want. My genetic and in the case of something inorganic, atomic structure will match that of whatever I change into. It's come in handy a lot of times but my main thing is that when I eat someone I gain their memories."
"That sounds about right." I nodded. "Thank you, anything you want to ask me before I head off?"
"Not really. Just… thanks for letting us stay here."
"No problem." I nodded. "It's what a hero does."
I left Shift to their own thoughts and I looked around and managed to find Meg. She was on the third floor. She was setting up a bunch of instruments and recording studio grade hardware in a large room that already seemed to have some soundproofing.
"Hello?" I asked Shift carefully, ready to defend myself at a burst of violence again.
The knife of light flew right next to my face, hitting the door behind me… and knocking it off the hinges…
"Crap! Sorry." Meg yelped as she realized what she did. "Reflexes… also, knock first. A little more to the right and…"
I fully believe that could have killed me…
"Gonna have to work on that." I frowned, as some of my kids were human or hybrids…"So, how are you doing?"
"Setting up my music room. It's been centuries since I've had real proper instruments to play." She said as she put down the acoustic guitar she was holding. She held out a hand and her light knife floated back up and over to her… with the door still stuck to it. She frowned, pulling the door off and one handedly putting the now damaged door against the wall. With a quick flick of her wrist her light knife seemed to… fade and then vanish. "So, what brings you here?"
"Just talking to all you to see how your doing with the move in, learning a lot about your world and it's pure nonsense." I answered.
"To be fair, we can say the same about yours." Meg said with a shrug. "I mean, a world without gods, magic and only populated by humans? That's pure fiction back home."
… Huh… feels really weird being on the other side of that…
"Didn't really think of it that way…" I said honestly. "But yeah…Nokori stuff is really something."
"Yeah. We're an odd species. Then again I guess we five probably were not the best examples of a normal Nokori." She chuckled. "So, I'm guessing you have questions?"
"Well, first is…how the hell you were fused with the spawn of a dead god." I started.
"Heh. Well that's just how the stories go about Celestial Beasts. Truth is I don't know if any of that is fact or fiction. Actually until my fusion with it there was little known about them at all or their potential abilities."
"And what are they capable of doing besides being very strong?"
"Well, I can create weapons and objects out of the light around me." She said, raising her hand up and this time, fading into her hand was her light knife. "The shape and form are all mine to customize as I see fit. I can also force light around me to heal myself and others by some magic I don't understand, but it works. I don't get damaged easily but when I do, natural starry night skies passively regenerate my injuries, but in the day or under a starless night sky I have to focus on forcing the light to heal me. Oh, and when I get all glowy I can control gravity around me."
"Ah…yes…somehow caging and then binding a literal star creature…" I frowned. "That makes about as much sense as binding a Galaxy Phoenix even if it wanted it…"
"Wanna see my gravity tricks?"
"Sure." I said readily. "I'd like to see some gravity tricks."
With a nod, Meg closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath she then began to glow. The fur on her body turning from dark blue to near blinding white as the stars dotting her fur all turned black. Shen she opened her eyes they took were all black and her antlers seemed to grow larger.
She raised a hand, multiple bits of paper and the door floating around her.
"Watch this." She said, smirking as she floated one of the papers up to. It crumpled into a barely noticeable size before- I backed up as suddenly there was a tiny black hole floating where the paper once was. "Ah damn it. This happens sometimes." She said… grabbing the small black hole in her hand, gripping it tight in her hand.
The boom while muffled seemed to have shaken the house still. When she opened her hand all that came out was smoke and dust… she just… crushed a black hole?!
The lights faded after that. Meg returning to her normal looks after that. "Damn it that trick almost never works…" She huffed.
"The fuck was the trick supposed to be if you literally made a black hole and crushed it with your bare hands!?" I asked incredulously.
"Sometimes it turns into a shiny black rock that can generate energy."
"Uh…huh…" I said slowly.
"But that's about all I can do that I know of." She shrugged. "I usually prefer to practice my music, dance and theater lines."
"Which that's fair." I nodded. "We did say that you can open your own theater club and show off."
"Oh it's gonna be so cute seeing children in costumes practicing theater, songs and dance! Oh the last time I did that was for Magnolia."
Huh. There's another name I don't know.
"Magnolia?" I inquired. "A friend of yours?"
"..." Meg got quiet, but smiled as she sat down on a box. "Magnolia was the last child Shift and David got to raise before all the races left the planet to colonize other planets. The last child we got to take care of."
"Ah." I nodded. "I understand…must have been a long time ago?"
"Yeah. Still, she grew up and with the others got on those ships and left the world… I know she was happy. She had an amazing girlfriend and I like to think she had or adopted kids of her own later on… still… thinking back on those times. It's always bittersweet."
"I understand." I nodded. "It'll be…tough when all my kids get older…it's getting tough just for them getting this old already."
"Heh. Yeah. Just remember, no matter how old they get, they're always your babies. Just don't forget they're adults too. Time and place for everything."
"I know I know." I chuckled.
"Well, if you're going to talk with Squeaks… she's probably moved into the dungeon basement… also, sorry if she scares the shit out of you while you're there. Being bound with the Null, wait you call it Void here, well whatever you want to call it, she's got a bit of a dark sense of humor."
Void huh… I know I have a little bit of void in me from that one crystal…
"Well, I've dabbled into Void…just sucks that if I try to use it it hurts me." I frowned.
"Weird. Squeaks never felt pain using hers. Maybe because she has a natural affinity for it?"
Huh… one way to find out.
I waved Meg goodbye and walked outside to the cellar doors. Opening them I was greeted with stairs leading into darkness and a sense of dread on top of a feeling the darkness was staring at me.
… Okay, guess I'm really doing this…
"Hello?" I called out.
No reply… with a sigh I walked down into the cellar. It was stupid dark even with the door wide open. I didn't see anything save a ladder built into the stone wall going down… guess the 'dungeon' otherwise known as Squeaks room must be there.
I climbed down the ladder there… and all around me was even darker darkness. Oddly though I could see myself and the ladder perfectly… what the fu-ck!
I gulped at seeing the eye all on the ground looking at me. Standing on fingerbone spider legs… it blinked and I totally did not scream like a girl…
I brought up fire to light the area around us cause I am not having any of this at the moment. "Please stop before I set this place on fire."
Despite my pleas, the fire did not light up anything and the eyeball spider just blinked at me again. The eyeball spider then jumped before it began walking down the darkness…
I gulped and walked a bit slowly behind it. It seemed to be leading me… hopefully not to my death…
Thankfully the walk in the complete darkness was uneventful and the spider eye pushed open a hidden door that let out a lot of light.
Walking through the door I was greeted by… a very normal looking bedroom. Squeaks was sitting on the bed reading a book and the eyeball spider walked up her wall and into a web in the corner- Web made of… muscle tissue… what the fuck?
"Hey other David." Squeaks said. "What brings you here?"
"Uh…hi…" I said slowly. "I…wanted to talk…"
"I know. You were talking to the others and thought our world was interesting but find our very existence absurd." She stated.
"It kind of is from what I've seen and heard so far."
"I know. Like the others I'll repeat. The five of us are a unique exception. There's little else to add to a conversation with someone who can't wrap it around their heads that we are not the same as normal Nokori."
"The fact that your special cases are a tad weirder, now sure the Galaxy Phoenix is one thing…but the others?" I asked carefully.
"Despite the Null that the mouse I was fused with contained, it was still very much a mouse. The Star Doe, as smart as the normal variation. Baby Dragon? Despite the violent nature, light magic works wonders to cage them. The mimic, well that was just pure luck on their part. You seem to have a habit of overestimating the way my world is. Yes, there are great gods and powerful magic, but the era I was born to, the old gods were all gone and only fledgling deities and magical beasts remained."
"Now I have some context behind why you're special and not just 'hey, why wasn't this just the norm if they can just make stupidly powerful people'." I said honestly.
"Considering the five beasts were all also more rare than calculable, it's no wonder that they put them to use to make weaponized Nokori." She shrugged. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"
"Well, I wanted to know more about you and all that…plus when one told me that Nokori's can be weirdly randomized, I either thought the 'we're special' was either your powers were above others in your specific circumstances or something else." I shrugged. "So, I have been told you have a dark sense of humor."
Squeaks took a breath. "The fusion alters that made us and the ones that made the rest of the Nokori are most likely the reason." She said, Suddenly the walls began having symbols and runes and circles burned into them. Two different, similar but also vastly different sets. "The larger one there on the left. That's the one that was used to create us. The one on the right is what was used to create the rest of the Nokori. There are similarities but the one that made us the good doctor modified and changed for the B.O.W project. Didn't make the fusion any less painful though."
"Ah…I see." I said carefully. "That is not good at all."
"Gets worse." She added. "The central circle there, the runes there come from Old God Magic. Very difficult but not impossible to cast back home; however, in both cases they are set not only to draw magic from the mages activating the altar but also from any magical entities within the altar itself. While not normally a bad thing, these runes specifically refer to the alteration of a soul. In other words the Nokori aren't just a physical fusion of man, beast and magic, the fusion hits the soul as well. This is why we believe in the basic Nokori fusion the results vary between people while the one that made us prioritized keeping the beast and magic our bodies were attuned with while still fusing the bodies and souls. The end result, we five came out more like the magic creatures we were fused with than any other Nokori fusion."
"Well…" I blinked. "That makes a lot more sense now."
"Glad to hear it." She said, snapping her fingers as the burned runes were all gone and the wall looked like normal again. "Any more questions?"
"Well…any hobbies?" I inquired.
"Reading mostly. Been a while since I watched TV or played a video game."
"Well, before getting here I was getting my collections back, and I bought some new games and consoles from Greed so if you're ever up to game just ask me." I said honestly.
"I'll consider it."
I decided to leave Squeaks after that. She explained a lot… I still had questions but less… still. The fact that Scan was useless against Bigs probably means all of them are resistant to it… just how strong are they? David basically warped reality and Med literally crushed a black hole in her bare hands… How big of a power vacuum is there between them and I… and how can I close it?
Power like theirs… I'd rarely if ever need to worry about Chaos Guilds. Hard to imagine people like them coming here as Isekai.
Once I was outside the house I sat on the front lawn and began thinking… What else can they do? In a reality like this, at their level of power… Mother knows what could happen. They'd be… perfect allies…
"Well…hopefully they can be…" I muttered, reminding myself these are tortured souls, and that one of them is a mistake away from making me learn what my limits really are. "Too much to think about…"
"Hey David." Abby spoke up.
"Yes Abby?" I mentally inquired.
"I might have an idea to help them and maybe get them as allies for you."
"Dungeons as in… RPG game dungeons?" David asked. The next day after checking around the Greed Market I found what I needed. We are very close to an undersea dungeon.
"Yep." I nodded. "Filled with monsters, possible traps, and a whole lotta loot."
"Oh, is that why all those ships and islands we passed were just full of monsters, corpses and stuff?" Meg asked.
"I genuinely thought those were killed off places." Bigs said.
"Well, I'm game." David said. "Been a while since I've had a good fight."
"I'll tag along." Shift said.
"I'm staying." Squeaks said. "Gonna take up David's offer and play some video games."
"I still have to set up my music room. Then I wanna start planning the theater stage." Meg said.
"I still need to finish unpacking the ship into the house. Plus, pacifist." Bigs added.
"Well, hope two is alright with you then." David said.
"Considering what you're capable of with your reality possibly putting limits on your power, I'd say yes." I nodded.
The two shrugged and followed me. Once on the Greed Market I paid for a sub to take us down to the dungeon. Thankfully it was one I was already familiar with to-
"I'm sorry but is that fucking Rapture?!" David yelped.
"Wonder if it's a different Rapture than what I ran through ten years ago." I hummed. "But it is a Rapture, made to be a dungeon."
"... The actual fuck is that possible?" David asked.
"I don't know." I said. "Just how this place works somehow."
"So… that is Rapture… it has the Plasmids and Big Daddies and… all that?"
"Yes, I actually took one of the greenhouses and used it back on the turtle." I said honestly. "Only reason why is because the Assistant is like an RPG bag of holding on steroids."
"Damn. Wish we had the rem to buy those. They sound useful." Shift sighed. "View from here is nice though." They added as we approached the entrance. Once we were in we began looking around. So far this one actually looks in better shape than the Rapture I was in.
"This is so cool!" David said as he was almost running around.
"And you thought the honeymoon in Atlantis was cool." Shift chuckled.
"That was cool too! Plus we didn't spend all our time sightseeing~" David said as they gave Shift a quick kiss.
"Heh. I remember~"
Wow… literally thousands of years together as a couple and they still have moments like that? Wonder if I'll be like that with the others in a thousand years.
"Well, glad you two are still in an adorable relationship." I chuckled.
"It's had some hard times, but we managed because in the end, we just can't stay mad at each other for long." David said with a smirk.
"Yeah. Plus with all we've done and been through it would be really weird not to be with David." Shift added.
We began walking down the halls, mostly looking around for-
The Splicer dropped from the ceiling right over Shift… who just looked up, their maw suddenly growing to insane size…
The chomp was followed by a splatter of blood, tearing meat and breaking bones before Shift returned to their normal form. "Ugh! Oh shit those guys taste like ass… and I should know…" Shift gagged.
… Holy crap!
"Well…that's something…" I said slowly.
"That's Shift." David chuckled.
"Ugh. It's almost as bad as Stalker brains…" Shift shuttered.
Stalker?
"Uh…what kind of Stalker? Because there are a lot of things called that." I said carefully.
"Oh, well back home in the early years, after the Y Labs were raided by police and the Nokori were freed, not all of the Y Labs scientists and mages were arrested. A lot escaped. From new, hidden Labs they created entities known as Stalkers. These creatures were made from failed Nokori fusions of recaptured Nokori who died in the tests. There were three types. Mantis, who located, identified and called in, targeted Nokori to the Labs. Cage, the grossest as they captured the targets and imprisoned them by… swallowing them whole and holding them inside some weird fluid filled… ugh. And lastly, Rinousorus who were built like tanks and broke through defenses to reach their target. Those fuckers take a lot to kill. At least the last one. Mantis are easy to kill and Cage, while tricky, aren't that much harder, they're just larger." David explained.
"Alrighty then, so undead variants." I said honestly.
"Not really. By definition Stalkers were alive. They were just fused with mechanical parts and rebuilt almost from the cellular level. In a lot of ways they're like a cousin species to the Nokori but they lack magic and their augmentations make them blindly obedient to the scientists that made them." Shift added.
"Eh fair." I shrugged. "Still sounds like a bitch to deal with though."
"Well between them, the Nokori Hunting Humans, the crazy churches, and racist police… I killed a lot of people in those first three years." David said.
… Oh…
"That's how he got his Hellfire Human Hunter name. Used his fire to kill them and everyone thought he was just a gifted pyromancer acting out vigilante justice." Shift added.
"Right…" I said slowly.
"Oh don't give me that, Moon Knight and Deadpool kill people all the time and they're heroes." David groaned. "Besides, if you saw what I saw… you'd have done the same."
"Eh, anti-heroes more and also their both completely fucking insane." I said honestly. "And killing is…not something I want to do."
"..." David shrugged as he continued on.
"It was… bad, back then." Shift said. "So many Nokori were killed for… for no reason other than that people knew they could get away with it. Even after it got out about the hidden Labs globally producing Nokori and such… some countries either deported all the found Nokori… or killed them." They sighed. "It took a long time before things got to some sense of peace after that… longer for humans and Nokori to not have such tense relations. People forgot we used to be human too… or maybe they didn't care. Either way, we were the victims. First of Y Labs… then the world. That's why David fought like hell… did a lot of… bad things."
"Well…X-Men parallels…" I groaned. "Instead of trying to go more with Xavier's thought's…went straight to Magneto…I'm sorry you had a rough life."
"In the end everything worked out… it just took more time and blood than anyone wanted. It really wasn't until after we finally found and killed Alex that things finally began to calm down."
Right… that scientist… he was active that whole time then?
"Jeez, bastard sure gets around." I said honestly.
"He was crafty and smart. That made him dangerous… what he did to himself… somehow he got a hold of five other powerful magic beasts and using them, a mixture of samples from us when he was experimenting on us, and a whole fucking Nokori fusion Altar, made himself a self proclaimed god… it didn't help he could turn someone Nokori just by touching them… he went mad with the power fast… genuinely believed himself a god." Shift growled at the memories. "Was a whole fucking mess from start to finish… At least with him dead things finally calmed down. World just had to adjust to the new population boom of Nokori."
"I mean…" I motioned to the both of them. "He probably, legitimately was. If Davy can warp reality because he has the power of a Galaxy at his fingertips, and from what Meg showed me…if he fuzed himself with five powerful magical beasts and samples of you that would have successfully replicated all your powers…I'd say it's a miracle that he just went insane and forgot what he could really do." I explained. "And uh…did you make sure he stayed dead, like you had his corpse there, or did his body vanish into thin air and you all thought he stayed dead?"
"Oh he was dead." David said, chuckling darkly. "One of the lessons Phoenix taught me was how to burn a soul to ash. God or not, there was no coming back from having your soul reduced to ash."
"I…I honestly doubt that." I said, seeing both look at me with raised eyebrows. "Well, what were the other five monsters he fused with? Or was that just a mystery never to be explained?"
"He got his hands on another Mimic, another Darkness Dragon, a Null toad, a Star Bird, and a Sun Phoenix. Trust me… he died."
Something about that combination didn't sit right with me, especially if he also had their powers…"Well, I'll trust you since you were the one to kill him." I said honestly.
"Was a joint effort. The biggest obstacles in killing him were his Phoenix regeneration and his Null. Thankfully we found a solution. Squeaks literally sucked the Null right out of him, and as it turns out, the flames of a Galaxy burn hotter than a sun. So once my fire hit full blast at his soul, it snuffed and consumed his Phoenix flame. The rest after that, burned away as painful as I could make it for the bastard."
"Sounds about right." I nodded.
"We didn't just attack him. We knew what he had done to himself and what he was capable of. We planned things out and worked on our powers more to fight him on even footing." Shift added.
"Best to plan thing's out when literally fighting a very powerful bastard." I said honestly. "Though…what did the samples he took from you five even do?"
"Given the nature of the fusion that made us, he needed people with the right affinity for the magic bases these creatures pulled their magic from. Light, Dark, Nature, Chaos, and Null. Our samples he managed to extract the affinities we had for them and inject them into himself. Otherwise he would not have survived that fusion process." David explained.
"I'm amazed he survived the Injection. Five affinities in, or was, impossible before he did that." Shift added.
"Oh~, okay, cause I honestly thought that he literally fused himself with ten different magical beasts and got a tad confused." I said honestly. "But yeah, who would have thought the insane scientist wanted to become the Nokori equivalent of Captain Planet?"
"...My brain immediately voiced the joke…fuck you." David said while I laughed.
"My power of comedy is astounding." I chuckled.
"Well, looks like we can get back to exploring this place and having some fun now that that's out of the way." Shift said.
"Happily. I am hogging all the guns I find here. Actually, would Plasmids even work with our biology?" David asked.
"Maybe? This reality is weird." Shift shrugged.
"I mean…possibly? Either it doesn't work, it works, or you somehow need to give it permission to work."
"Eh. Worst case scenario my healing factor burns it out." David shrugged.
"I technically don't have veins so…?" Shift shrugged.
"Eh." I shrugged. "Hey All Might? How does biology work in this reality?" I mentally asked my other mental hitchhiker.
"Well, upon arrival all Isekai have the same special cells as everyone else. These cells allow the vast majority of our abilities to work. This should apply to those two even if they lack Assistants. The Assistant mostly just allows a far greater range of control and options over the information these cells hold. A built-in computer for your body basically."
"Ah, alright then cool." I mentally said. "Alright, so I just talked with someone, and they said it should work." I said. "Since it's based on some genetic stuff that we get from coming into this existence."
"... I'm gonna pretend I understood that." David nodded.
We began walking around again. Some more Splicers attacked but David and Shift are… monsters. I actually felt bad for the Splicers after a while…
Eventually we finally found a gatherer's garden.
Sitting in the tray was a syringe and a bottle of the little sister cure plasmid.
"Huh. Cool." He smirked.
Huh… weird. It took more effort for me when I had to find it…
David injected the Plasmid into their arm. The red glow flowing down their arms was accompanied by the soft flames that suddenly coated his arm.
After a moment both faded. "Ouch…" He huffed. "I… think that worked?"
I frowned at how easy it was for them to find it. "Alright, so that should be the Cure plasmid for the Little Sisters…just need to find one and test it out."
"So, what happens when I cure them?"
"They become your kids." I said. "Kind of like Prize Pod logic…which uh…you probably don't know what that is…"
"... Can you explain?" Shift asked as they and David shared a look when I said that.
"Okay, so there's this weird thing called Prize Pods, which are stasis pods with three different symbols on them to denote…what kind of person is in it, either a Lover class which either is a spouse or you getting a child out of it, Servant so like Butlers, Maids and all that, and then Ally Class which would be like party members in an RPG." I explained. "It's weird cause…well, they're called 'Prize Pods' for a reason…as they are in Loot Tables everywhere…and nobody that isn't either The Family or Time Walkers know where they came from or how it works."
"That's… weird…" David said.
"...Raising a kid again does sound nice." Shift spoke up.
"... That is also true… I guess there are worse places to get adopted…"
With that bit of information said we began looking around for the Big Daddies.
I stepped into an electronics store, finding the old school TV's looking really-
[Are you receiving?]
One of the TV's was displaying. Somehow on and displaying the text… what?
"Yes, I'm are receiving." I said carefully to the mystery person behind the tv.
The words then changed.
[You'll need help. Keep them close.]
The TV suddenly flickered off.
What the?
"Yo David two!" I turned to the doorway, seeing David there. "Shift found one of the Big Daddies. It's about to call a Little Sister from the vent thing. Come on."
"Alright…" I said, frowning deeply as I went off to follow Davy and feeling super confused about that. "Either of you two know what that meant?"
"What what ment?" All Might asked.
"You just stared at a blank TV for a bit." Abby added.
…What the hell was that then?
I followed David into a large room, maybe a lobby area, and against a wall was the large Big Daddy banging away at the vent. After a while, a Little Sister began crawling out. She was some kind of anthropomorphic sheep with… rabbit-like ears and two small horns on her head. Huh. She-
"No-." David said before falling to their hands. "No, no, no, no…" He repeated. I looked over and saw Shift was crying, standing with a shocked look.
What happened to them?!
"What the hell's going on now?" I asked quickly, rushing forward and blocking the thing's drill quickly with Harden.
As the drill was pressing against my hardened skin I looked back over at Shift and David. The two of them looked almost catatonic or… haunted…
I looked back up to the Little Sister on the Big Daddy's back. Scan!
[Little Sister Detected. Status; Infected.
Name: Magnolia
Age: 7
Species: Nokori]
Magnolia- Shift and David's last kid! How is… Not now, they're in too much shock right now to fight. Gotta kill this guy and get her to David so he can free her.
I grabbed the drill and knocked it away, before moving forward and punching straight through the faceplate of the Big Daddy, grabbing onto their face and crushing their skull.
Once it was down I immediately grabbed the Little Sister Magnolia. The little thing was trying to break away… Keep them Close… whoever sent that… they're saying I need these five…
Holding the struggling seven year old I walked over to David-
"She's not here. She's not here, it's just in your head again…" I heard him mutter… again? Has he been… hallucinating his children? For… how long?
"You don't have to hallucinate anymore." I told him. "She is here, right now…all you need to do is reach out…"
"No! No not again, not another, not again!" He said, leaning into the ground as he sobbed… how many times has he seen illusions of his kids… how broken…
I reached for their arm. The second I touched his body erupted in flames. I pulled back, my hand burned to a near third degree. Shit! And this is the hot side Half Hot Half Cold uses…
I pulled back… still holding onto the squirming kid as I looked over to Shift, who was still standing there with tears flowing from each of their three.
"What…what happened to you two?" I asked softly, trying to think of what depths of depression they went through to act like this just because of her existing here…
[New Ability Acquired: Memory Share Active.]
What? New Ability for nothing… What's going on here?
"I am so fucking confused right now…" I thought to myself as I tried to use my new ability to…do something?
"Daddy?" Magnolia called out.
"Coming!" I yelled as I jumped down from the tree. My bag was full of apples from the top branches. Magnolia greeted me towards the tree's base. "Hey sweetie. How was your scavenging?"
"I found some wild walnuts!"
"Heh. Walnut apple pie then." I smirked as I reached out to pat her…
My hand phased through her head… then she was gone…
Magnolia? Where- Right… I looked up at the sky. "That was… over six hundred years ago already…" I said, feeling my eyes water. "Why? Didn't you live a happy life? Why am I being haunted?"
I fell to the ground, crying again…
"Dad!" I looked into the living room, seeing Jacob sitting on the couch. He was human, brown hair, pale skin and always wore a green hoodie. He just loved that color.
"What's up?" I asked as I walked up to them.
"What's for dinner?"
"Oh, I think Meg is gonna make some mammoth steak?" I said as I looked up in thought. "Probably with potato-" I looked back down, and Jacob was gone. "J-Jacob? Where…"
Right… I looked around the house. It was empty, largely like the rest of them. They left just a few months ago… an empty building… an empty planet…
"Jacob… it's been… what… four hundred years since…" My eyes watered as I shook, screaming as I kicked the couch and while my ankle broke, I knocked it over. The heat and fire repairing my limb before it even hit the ground. "God damn it!"
I sat enjoying the morning coffee outside the house. "Hey." I looked over, seeing Silver walk up and take her seat across the small table we often drank our morning brew at. "There some for me?" She was a fox-like Nokori, pink and white coloring, her hair was curly and all pink, long ears sitting on her head and bright blue eyes.
"Ha! I know you had at least two before coming here." I chuckled. "Coffee addict."
"Doesn't mean you can't share." She huffed.
"Do you?"
"... You suck." She said, making me laugh.
"So what brings you by?"
"Oh, just enjoying the morning." She sighed, smiling and looking up at the clear blue sky.
"It is a nice day out. Cloudless, decent wind. It's calming, relaxing." I said as I finished off my coffee.
"Yeah… Reminds me of when we last saw each other…"
I stared at my empty mug… "Yeah… I hated that it was such a beautiful day…" I said, shaking a little. "It should have rained…"
"Heh… I'm not a fan of the rain… it was a good day… all in all. I'm glad you were there with me… I'm glad everyone got to say goodbye."
I looked back over to Silver… she was gone… Just an empty chair.
Without realizing, I crushed my mug in my hands, the healing fire kicking in as I just stared at the empty seat… "Just because I said goodbye… doesn't mean I don't still miss you all…"
I snapped back to reality, almost falling over as I felt my eyes burning red and my cheeks were red. That pain… that agony… that much loss…
"Oh…th-that's why…" I muttered, now understanding what they lost…why they thought this was just a hallucination…that it wasn't real…
To live like that… no, that wasn't living… that was torture… that was hell…
With David covered in fire, I pushed myself up, still clutching Magnolia as I walked over to Shift. Hoping I didn't list a hand, I slapped them. The texture of Shift's 'skin' reminded me of wet playdough. They at least seemed to react though, slowly turning back to look at me.
"W-what?" They asked weakly.
"Can you help me get David under control?" I asked. "Cause…" I took a deep breath. "Do you trust me?" I asked, looking them dead in the eyes.
"I… I don't know…" They answered. It was almost bizarre seeing such powerful beings like Shift and David so… scared… but seeing those memories… I know why. They're scared it's not real.
"Shift…let me ask you something, how can you tell if something's real or not?" I asked them carefully.
"I… I can… feel it? Touch it?" They answered, unsure.
"Good…now…" I said, not knowing how to word this without it sounding weird. "I need you to feel Reality." I said, as I gently motioned to Magnolia who was still struggling in my arms. "Please."
"I…" They hesitated, keeping their arms and hands close against them. Slowly, and shakily, they took a step forward and began reaching out. When their hands touched Magnolia's cheeks, fear turned to confusion, then curiosity as they ran their hand through Magnolia's messy hair. Over the small horns and down the long ears. "H-how?" Shift asked, shaking but not letting go of Magnolia. "It… how is she here?"
"Anything and Everything is possible." I said softly. "Even in the weirdest of circumstances, something important will always happen." I explained. "Now…can you help me with Davy real quick? Even with my fire resistance from an ability and a fire gem, he kind of gave me third degree burns."
"Oh. Yeah, uh…" Shift said, looking at Magnolia again before letting them go. I kept hold of her and Shift looked over at David. "When he's like this… there's only one thing to do really… You got a gun?"
"What kind?" I inquired.
"Any kind will do, as long as it can blast a hole through his head." Shift asked as they held out a hand.
I nodded, before pulling out a shotgun from my Assistant and handing it to them. "Have fun."
"I have to shoot the man I love through the head to calm them down… what's fun about that?" Shift asked.
"Right… poor choice of words…"
They loaded a single shell, took aim and in the boom of the shotgun David's head was blasted in half. Their body's fire fading immediately. I was worried after a second, then the fire erupted from the head wound, and like watching a body burn in reverse, David's head regrew from the flames. Wow… he really is immortal…
When their head was finished coming back they fell backwards on the ground… still crying but not in flames.
Shift tossed the shotgun and took Magnolia, almost throwing themselves and the child onto David.
In an instant, David locked eyes with the Little Sister Magnolia, who at this point was looking a mix of afraid and confused.
David was still. Maybe from the shock or maybe from disbelief. Soon enough however their arms glowed that familiar glow and wrapped Magnolia in a hug. The flash hit immediately and when it faded, she looked almost identical to the one I saw in David's memory.
David just held her tight, crying as Shift joined in. Sadness replaced by whaling happiness…
Somehow, I felt that even Armageddon itself couldn't spoil this moment…
"What the fuck was that?"
"I could ask you the same thing with that screen?"
"Those guys are tormented enough why the hell did you send in their last child like that?!"
"Good heroes are born from pain and torment. I thought you wanted more heroes on Armageddon?"
"I want to help the OTHER DAVID Become a better hero! That guy can practically Solo the Deva Digimon, as is! And each one is Galaxy class!"
"But would making them all stronger not be better?"
"Oh and you'd do this by what? Kidnapping their kids?"
"No, you think too little of me. I gave them Memory Share to better understand those around them. Your David doesn't have pain. I know how… protective you are of your toys, so I had to make something happen."
"The hell are you even planning with this shit?"
"Simple. Some fun!"
"Cut the crap, what are you planning?"
"Oh you are no fun these days. All I'm doing is helping your pieces out on the chess board. Those five have had nothing to fight for, nothing to protect for so long, and in all their isolation together really lost a few screws. Is it so wrong to want to return to them some of the happiness they lost so long ago?"
"Literally any other child could have worked, why her?"
"Why not her? The last child they got to raise before being sent here, the first child they found upon finding a place to call home here. I thought it was fitting."
"Right… are you planning on sending anyone else to them then? Like her?"
"Oh no, I'm going to make them work to see those adorable little ones again. But, good soldiers get rewarded. In any case, your heroes are not ready nor will they be by the time they are needed at your snail's pace."
"And you're helping me why? You usually hinder me and enjoy when the heroes lose."
"Don't you remember? I helped you once before oh so long ago finally beat the bad guy, and now I want to do it again."
"... You're bored…"
"Inconceivably! Murder, death and mayhem and chaos can only entertain for so long before it all just becomes repeats of the same thing. I want something a little different. So, why not since my side of the table is already set to battle, and yours needs all the help they can get."
"... Fine. Got anything else to help."
"Just one. Let's give this David that new Ability we've been testing. Should be fun and frankly, given their location, fitting."
"Which? That doesn't narrow it down at all."
"You know, the what's it called… Village… something…"
"Township?"
"That's the one!"
"Huh… not a bad idea… It's not that useful for combat though."
"It's not meant for Combat though, it's meant for data collection and resource assessment. This one can put that to great use. Plus it helps them bypass certain other obstacles…"
"Right… Are you gonna throw anyone else at him?"
"Oh I have a few picked out but don't worry… it's no one you need worry about."
"You know the rules."
"Yes, I do… but Echo ignores them as they see fit."
"Why am I not surprised you are working with them?"
"Who do you think kept him alive? I wanted some fun, and he looked like a good way to cause some chaos."
"Well, I guess that makes them more a feature than an error… I really hate you."
"Awh, and I love you too."
The reunion of Magnolia meeting Bigs, Meg and Squeaks again was very heartfelt, very teary… and very loud with all the crying.
Still… they needed this. They've lost so much in their lives… regaining something they lost… It gave them a hope they haven't had in so long.
Still… Abby and All Might couldn't see that text on the screen… then I get a new ability right off the bat that helps me out in understanding their trauma… just thinking about it makes me teary eyed…
What the hell is going on?
[New Legendary Ability Obtained: Township Active]
Oh what the actual fuck now?! And Legendary?! I didn't know people could get two?!
"Okay, who in god's name just gave me a Legendary Ability!?" I mentally questioned the absurdity of it as I brought up my Assistant to check on what the hell this new 'Township' Legendary Skills is.
I opened my skill tree, finding this new skill in the same general area as Generation… interesting.
[Township: Legendary Ability
Description: When building a home or settlement, this ability allows fast and easy means to plan, map, calculate resources, view residents stats, build facilities, and even apply healing, and gift supplies to residents.]
Huh… that's definitely unique… but… if it lets me view resident stats… I can maybe bypass Scan on those five!
Upon activating it, my minimap suddenly took up the whole field of vision. A grid-like layout of the turtle's back appeared. Buildings and areas all over the landmass we have here were displayed.
[Loading Resident Data…
Residents Detected Without Assistants.
Would you like to Gift them Assistants?
Yes? No?]
…Yes!
Once I selected that, a small menu to the side appeared. I saw the names and faces of my family. Even Clift was here. Okay where are- There they are. Shift, David, Bigs, Meg, Squeaks, and even Magnolia.
"There you are." I thought.
Okay, first… let's see about David.
[Resident: David Romero
Rank: SS
Species: Nokori
Age: 7,348.
Abilities: Celestial Pyromancy, Galaxy Phoenix Immortality, Phoenix Regeneration, Soul Ashes Pyromancy, Rebirthing Flames, Wrathful Creation, Celestial Transmutation, Embument, Haunting Echoes.
Titles: Greater Demon Lord, Prince of The Phoenix, Hellfire Human Hunter, Guardian Angel of Nokori, Soul Killer, Perfect Murderer, God Killer, Protector, Soldier.]
Okay… That's a lot of powerful… and terrifying sounding stuff…
"Well…that's a lot of interesting things." I said honestly.
Let's see if I can get more details…
[Celestial Pyromancy: The Fires that birth galaxies exist within the palm of your hands. The heat alone can destroy or create on level with the gods.
Galaxy Phoenix Immortality: No matter what happened to your body your flame of life shall never extinguish. What can snuff out the fires of creation? Even when atomized to nothing, you shall not die and revive.
Phoenix Regeneration: Your injuries, no matter how lethal, will heal in a burst of fire. The fire and healing process are physically painful and even when injured into a death-like state you remain conscious.
Soul Ashes Pyromancy: Your flames can incinerate the very soul of your targets, easily slaying even the most powerful foes.
Rebirthing Flames: You can use your fire to heal others, even from death so long as they have not been dead for longer than two hours. Upon revival the target will feel the pain of their injuries and the flames from the healing process all at once.
Wrathful Creation: When enraged, your body transforms into pure energy, generating heat enough to spark the birth of a new galaxy if you so choose.
Celestial Transmutation: You can atomize and rebuild organic and inorganic matter as well as change them at the atomic level into a form and design of your own choosing.
Embument: You can imbue an item with your essence and it will grow and scale with you as weapons, armor, or clothing.
Haunting Echoes: Your losses and Grief have manifested as hallucinations. In moments of solitude you see and hear echoes of loved ones from the past. They speak to you and while the pain of remembering can break you, they help ensure you never forget them. Forgetting them means they are truly gone.]
"Oh…so that's why…" I muttered. "Jesus who the hell made that a skill?" I muttered in horror as there's just…a skill that forces you to remember and breaks you because you're so filled with Grief.
…If they all have this ability…
I decided to check his titles next.
[Greater Demon Lord: You have committed sins and horrors the likes of which even the gods find deplorable.
Prince of The Phoenix: You are a Phoenix born from the creation of a galaxy. Your strength and magic are near unrivaled. You are born to the galactic royalty amongst celestial entities.
Hellfire Human Hunter: Your pyromancy has become feared amongst humans for the lives it has taken. You only ever targeted humans and have slain them all in the name of protecting your own race.
Guardian Angel of Nokori: You are no angel but you protect the Nokori with everything you have and stop at nothing when you see one of your own in pain from another's causing. Your kind looks to you as a protector for this reason.
Soul Killer: You have slain the souls of your victims along with their flesh. There is no afterlife for those you have killed, just nonexistence.
Perfect Murderer: You have killed more than any being born to flesh should be capable of. Your body count can rival a mountain when stacking your victims corpses in piles. (Kill Count: 1,077,189)
God Killer: You have slain a god level entity. Divine Beings will be weary of you and the threat you pose.
Protector: You protect those you cherish and will never abandon a comrade in need.
Soldier: You are a soldier fighting in battles you chose all for the sake of defending your home and loved ones.]
"Well…that is quite a body count…but what sin's and horrors would he need to have for the Greater Demon Lord? If he just killed that many, which I can only assume is because of a possible War…well, he is considered the 'Hellfire Human Hunter' so putting people in an eternal hellfire would be pretty diabolical."
Okay, now Shift.
[Resident: Shift Romero
Rank: S
Species: Nokori
Age: 7,351
Abilities: Perfect Mimicry, Cellular Regeneration, Memory Eater, Pocket Stomach, Chaos Magic, Chaos Immunity, Flesh Absorption. Endless Appetite, Haunting Echoes.
Titles: Mimic Royalty, Chaos Mage, Cannibal, Mind over Matter, Endless Possibility]
Huh. Less than David but interesting…
"Well…so far it's simpler…"
Time to see what these Abilities and such are all about.
[Perfect Mimicry: Your cells can change into perfect genetic replicas of any organic form you take. When taking an inorganic form, your cells change to form molecules and atomic structures based on the inorganic form you take. The two are indistinguishable from the real thing.
Cellular Regeneration: Your cells are in a constant state of anticipation for a change into a new form. Because of this your damage taken is healed almost instantly and for more lethal injuries you can change form to instantly heal. This also makes you regenerate from even a single cell.
Memory Eater: When eating the heads of a target you gain all their memories. These memories are kept independent from your own and do not overlap.
Pocket Stomach: When eating a victim or needing to store an item, the items on the victim or the item you need to store when eaten land in a separate pocket stomach that has no physical limitations on storage space.
Chaos Magic: You can utilize and control the unpredictable Chaos Magic.
Chaos Immunity: Because of your affinity for Chaos Magic and the ability to use it, you are immune to external castings of Chaos Magic.
Flesh Absorption: When eating a target you immediately digest and absorb their flesh and bones. This can also speed up regeneration and if able, a single cell of your body can eat a target from the inside out.
Endless Appetite: You can eat without becoming full. This ability is best utilized in combat situations.
Haunting Echoes: Your losses and Grief have manifested as hallucinations. In moments of solitude you see and hear echoes of loved ones from the past. They speak to you and while the pain of remembering can break you, they help ensure you never forget them. Forgetting them means they are truly gone.]
"Yeah, that makes sense…" I thought to myself.
Now for the titles.
[Mimic Royalty: Mimics are a rare breed among the world, only coming into existence in areas rich in chaos magic. You however were born from both chaos magic and humanities chaotic nature. You have evolved into a royal mimic.
Chaos Mage: The ability to use and control chaos magic is rare, your controle over it has granted you this title.
Cannibal: You have eaten the flesh of another intelligent being. (40,753 Eaten)
Mind over Matter: Your shapeshifting is controlled completely by your thoughts. You control your own form at will and how to appear with but a thought.
Endless Possibility: You are unrestricted by the boundaries of flesh and magic. You could possibly do anything with enough determination and practice.]
Huh… well those are interesting…
"Well…that's interesting."
Okay, now let's try… Meg.
[Resident: Meg
Rank: SS
Race: Nokori
Age: 7,354
Abilities: Light Control, Light Healing, Star Healing, Strength of the Stars, Celestial Light, Whispers of Space, Gravity Control, Body Born from Death, Haunting Echoes, Memories of Music.
Titles: Celestial Beast, Princess of the Heavens, Beloved Idol, Heavens Made Flesh.]
Those are some… interesting titles.
"Hmm…well Beloved Idol at least makes some sense with what she wanted to do in life."
[Light Control: You can control the light around you to form weapons, armor and constructs. These all have mass to them that you can increase or decrease at will as needed.
Light Healing: You can take the light around you to heal yourself or others. The brighter the light the faster the healing.
Star Healing: Under the stars of night your body resonates with the celestial bodies and will heal automatically when injured.
Strength of the Stars: Your body was born from the stars of a constellation come to life. Every star along your body gives you strength and durability to avoid damage.
Celestial Light: Your light was born from the celestial bodies, as such few things can hide how bright it shines and it can even fend off the darkness of the Void.
Whispers of Space: Under clear and quiet night skies under the stars, if you listen you can hear the voices of the stars and the planets amongst the cosmos.
Gravity Control: The stars that made you give their strength in more than just power. Their gravitational force combines to give you control over gravity itself, creating pressures strong enough to form black holes and even the power to destroy them.
Body Born from Death: Your flesh comes from that of an old god long since passed. As a result you are alive, yet also not. This gives you a sense of immortality that exists between life and death.
Haunting Echoes: Your losses and Grief have manifested as hallucinations. In moments of solitude you see and hear echoes of loved ones from the past. They speak to you and while the pain of remembering can break you, they help ensure you never forget them. Forgetting them means they are truly gone.
Memories of Music: Your love of the musical arts gives you a perfect recollection of every song you have ever heard. Perhaps the path of a bard is best suited to turn your beloved memories into powerful magical spells.]
"Well, that's quite a bit." I thought. "Let's check her titles now."
[Celestial Beast: You are a being born from the stars and as such represent that in your appearance.
Princess of the Heavens: The old god flesh that birthed you was that of an important, powerful divine. As a result you inherit the title of royalty because of your progenitors work in life.
Beloved Idol: Fame and Fortune have found you yet you value only your fans and your family. Wealth means little to you as you just wish to perform for the ones who idolize and love you. This has made you beloved amongst the people in your choices and lifestyle.
Heavens Made Flesh: Your body while flesh originates from stars, and that is represented in your appearance. Despite the feel being identical to normal flesh, it holds far more secrets than you know.]
"Okay, that makes sense." I nodded.
Now… let's see what Bigs has.
[Resident: Bigs
Rank: SS
Race: Nokori
Age: 7,351
Abilities: Dragons Armor, Dragons Strength, Darkness Warp, Darkness Sight, Dark Defenses, Perfect Pacifist, Lost Child, Haunting Echoes.
Titles: Heir to Darkness, Gentle Giant, Peaceful Beast, Scaredy Cat]
Okay that last one actually made me laugh.
"Okay, his titles are actually kind of adorable."
[Dragon Armor: Your scales are that of a long line of powerful dragons. They can rarely be broken, and when they are, the broken scales are shed and regrow in minutes.
Dragons Strength: Your draconic blood allows you to perform feats of strength that for your size alone would be impossible. (Strength Level Equivalent to a level 4 dungeon monster)
Darkness Warp: When in a dark or shaded area you can warp between dark areas almost like teleportation. Under nightfall you can teleport anywhere the sun is not shining.
Darkness Sight: Even the dark of the Void can not hide what lies in the dark from your eyes. You can see everything as clear as in daylight.
Dark Defense: You can move your own shadow and surrounding darkness to form barriers, shields and walls for defense. These shields are on par with your own scales.
Perfect Pacifist: You have never harmed anyone and never engaged in a fight. Because of this you take less damage when defending, up to 70% less, but also gain status effect immunity so long as you never fight back.
Lost Child: Despite your age and your experiences, you are still very much a child at heart and as a result, need others and guidance to find purpose in your life. When alone, you are easily panicked and quick to fear and paranoia. When with at least one other you are calm and happy.
Haunting Echoes: Your losses and Grief have manifested as hallucinations. In moments of solitude you see and hear echoes of loved ones from the past. They speak to you and while the pain of remembering can break you, they help ensure you never forget them. Forgetting them means they are truly gone.]
Huh… that's interesting… Also holy crap level 4 dungeon monster strength! And that Perfect Pacifist boost! No wonder he never gets hurt! Guess even being a non combative can be rewarding.
"Well, Bigs is pretty strong…I know he doesn't want to fight but if I could teach him how to just use a shield then he could be a pretty powerful tank." I thought to myself.
Now these titles.
[Heir to Darkness: All beings that come from darkness are born hateful, violent and cruel. They wish nothing more than to fight and slaughter all. You are different. Your compassion, kindness and even cowardice has gained you the title of Heir by the darkness itself, for it finds you a diamond amongst coal.
Gentle Giant: Despite your towering strength and size, you never use force and always keep an eye out for others smaller than yourself.
Peaceful Beast: You are a beast known for their rage and temper, yet you never raise your voice nor act in anger. You are peaceful down to your core, and others who meet you feel this upon interacting with you.
Scaredy Cat: You are afraid of everything. Especially yourself.]
"Yeah that fits with the big guy."
Well, all that's left now is Squeaks… oh boy.
[Resident: Squeaks
Rank: SSS
Race: Nokori
Age: 7,338
Abilities: Void Magic, Pull Creation, Twisted Flesh, Void Mirror, Magic Cancellation, Nightmares Flesh, Mutate Life, Corrupt Souls, Void Eater, Reject Death, Haunting Echoes.
Titles: Void God.]
…
"Uh…this is probably massively bad isn't it?"
[Void Magic: You can utilize the Void to cast any form of spell and magic. The results are twice as powerful.
Pull Creation: You can open portals to the Void's inner darkness and pull forth beasts and creations of yours or others making to utilize in combat.
Twisted Flesh: When you throw an enemy into a Void Portal of yours, you can twist and alter the flesh to create abominations against the gods to service you. Targets can be alive or dead.
Void Mirror: You can mimic others' looks or abilities with void fueling the powers over the standard magic. Effects are temporary.
Magic Cancellation: You can generate a field around you that nullifies all magic weaker than your own.
Nightmare Flesh: What people fear most be it abstract or rooted in truth you can bring to life to hunt them down.
Mutate Life: You can infect normal life with void to twist and change them into a form of your own choosing.
Corrupt Souls: In some cases you can infect the souls of a target with void. The end results will often be fatal if not they will no longer be a soul and are then bound to you.
Void Eater: Void beings weaker than you that you can devour and absorb their power, knowledge and abilities that relate to the void.
Reject Death: Your strong ties to the void have given you full control over your own mortality. Should you be fatally injured, you can simply reject death and awake healed fully instantly.
Haunting Echoes: Your losses and Grief have manifested as hallucinations. In moments of solitude you see and hear echoes of loved ones from the past. They speak to you and while the pain of remembering can break you, they help ensure you never forget them. Forgetting them means they are truly gone.]
Okay… so the triple S rank is definitely right… guess that makes sense given Void is one of the most powerful types out there…
"Uh huh…" I thought to myself. "That's…concerning…"
[Void God: Your affinity and powers with the Void have earned you a godhood.]
"Surprised that they only have the one title…" I thought.
With all that known, it makes sense how strong they are… Also, it looks like this ability ranks them based on power…
"Well, all five of them are very powerful…I don't like Haunting Echoes…to have your grief be so strong that you literally hallucinate is…just horrifying…it's okay to remember, it's not okay to literally drive yourself insane because of it…"
…Then again, how bad would I be in their shoes? Luna, Tina and Tim alone being basically adults is driving me crazy… the idea of losing them… hell the idea of them moving out of the house scares me… I probably wouldn't be any better…
I sighed as I looked over the map of the place I was given here… huh…
I found an icon for the turtle. It seemed to indicate something.
[Population Total: 4,783. Upgrade World Turtle requirements: Population of 6,000]
… I can upgrade the turtle?!
"What do you mean I can upgrade the Turtle!?" I asked incredulously. "What? Will it become bigger or somehow grow giant cannon's on its shoulders?"
I frowned at the lack of information about the upgrade, but looked around… hmm… I tapped on a square grid of the trees.
[Resources: Lumber. Clear land and store resources?]
Hmm…
"This is gonna be rough…" I thought to myself, trying to remember how much lumber we even had and if we could manage…wait, I literally have someone that can literally create thing's with his fire, the hell am I thinking? "Well…how much land will be cleared is the question…"
I hit clear and looked over where the square was to me… woah. A half a mile square was cleared of trees.
[Lumber Collected and Stored within Township Treasury]
The ability has its own inventory? Interesting.
"Alright…so basically I'm playing creative mode on Stardew Valley or something? That's neat." I thought to myself.
Hmm… Okay, so it can store resources, keep track of residents, even give people Assistants, clear out areas, upgrade the turtle when we reach a certain population limit… What else can this do?
I flinched as I spotted the five breeders. The four daughters didn't have a name, but the mother, Ny's mom, did. Lilith…
This can tell me their names? If they have them it seems.
"Uh…huh…that's new and interesting." I thought to myself, still wondering how and why I got this ability out of nowhere.
Hmm… This is weird. None of this can just be coincidence. The TV screen, Memory Share, now this Township ability… Is someone helping me? If so, why?
"Something's not adding up here…" I muttered. "Do either of you know who could just…randomly hand out abilities like this?"
"The only people that could even do that would be members of The Family, but no one has ever seen them do something like that. Only other way is if they're from an Ability capsule and those are typically prizes in high level dungeons or Arena rewards." All Might said.
"Well, then The Family must have done it…and at this point, who and why?"
"It would be easier to learn how to undo Breeder Programming. The few members of The Family I met back during the war were… unique. Figuring out what the strongest of them are capable of, why they do what they do and all that is probably something we won't really know."
"Right…so best to just take what we can get and hope this bodes well instead of bode poorly…" I sighed.