Once more, this chapter contains certain scenes where music should play. Only two this time though.
First: Star Shrine - Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (I recomend the 3DS fanmade version if you like it).
Second: Gohdan Theme - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.
Third: FF8 The Legendary Beast.
I'm gonna use this: -*(number), to mark where they should begin.
Anyway, that's all. Enjoy.
Divine Beast
After he had awakened, Naga had asked him to sit still a little longer as she did a scan with X-rays and other tools in the area of his brain to determine if she had successfully repaired the connection between the two halves of his mind.
"So we are all actually two people who are so connected that they think they are one." Kiran Mark scratched his chin while looking at the monitor displaying an image of his skull.
Naga was holding her hand over his head, which was glowing as the "goddess" was using her magic to fix nicely the small incisions she had made in his skull when she had analyzed him, which caused Kiran Mark himself to have to resist the urge to giggle given the tickling he felt.
The healing magic was indeed magnificent.
"You could say that, I even once wondered what would happen if you could split two brains and mix the four parts with the opposite part of the other brain."
The implications were interesting. "Sounds like chaos... you should try it!" If he could mimic Yao Ming's face, he certainly would have done it at that moment.
"By the way." Since he was here doing nothing but sitting and receiving medical attention, he desired to speak to pass the time. "Did you just happen to connect with the magic that serves to translate? Because for some reason I understand you even though I doubt you speak Askr's language."
Naga shrugged with a smile. "I just had to interact with the magic in question and adapt it to my own. I have visited several continents and also use the very same one."
"I see." Feeling satisfied with that answer, the summoner began to look around. "Now that I have time, I would like to say that I find it amazing to see this kind of technology on a planet that seemed to be entirely of medieval stuff."
Naga nodded, a clear smile on her face. "You know, I know you are an alien, but I could never tell if your civilization was more advanced or if you were simply sent to this world to spare your life. I was only able to deduce that you weren't from this planet since you didn't possess any quintessence."
Well, he didn't know all the specifics, but he doubted the second option was the accurate one... after all, it would be ridiculous to essentially be Superman.
"I... lived on a blue world like this one, the third planet in that solar system."
Little Azura, Lucina, Kagero, and Corrin were still there with him, so when he started narrating those things curiosity got the better of them and they started paying more attention.
"If I understand correctly this is the fourth planet, isn't it?" it hadn't been too hard to figure it out. He had only needed to pay attention to the "wandering stars" that the locals themselves had discovered, use his telescope, and notice if he could see the front or back side of the planet.
if one observed Venus with a regular telescope from Earth, the most one could see would be half of a planet at best and only a tiny fraction at worst. It was somewhat similar to the phases of the Moon with the exception that there would never be a "full moon" phase. With Mars it was quite the opposite, it was normal to see the entire front of the planet with clarity of light as if it were the full Moon. With this it was easy to deduce which objects were closer to the sun and which were farther away so he had no trouble seeing that there were at least three planets in front of this one.
"The fourth planet out of ten, pretty much. I can show you my observatory later."
The "goddess" wouldn't admit it, but... she was truthfully starting to enjoy the presence of this alien.
Ten planets, huh? Well, he had been using a telescope like Galileo's, who had mistaken Saturn's rings for two giant moons therefore it was pretty easy to deduce that there were several planets that the old-fashioned thing wouldn't be able to spot or would be incapable of detecting them. If his memory was not failing him, it had been discovered in records that Galileo had observed Neptune but had mistaken it for a star. And regarding their new telescope, they had very barely finished the mirror telescope version used by Newton.
"Mine has eight. Mercury, Venus, Gaia, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune." He wasn't going to argue whether Pluto was actually a planet or not, and he decided to give a different name to the earth itself in order to avoid confusion with this other earth that seemingly had the same name.
Therefore, he decided to use the name of the planet from Final Fantasy 7.
"Interesting, I call them Nobos, Igatera, Bevenia, Earth, Narus, Ucratov, Nulia, Magutera, Marth, and Kris."
Interesting names...
Wait, what?
"Marth and Kris?" Lucina blinked rapidly.
Naga closed her eyes happily. "Oh, yes. You see, Tiki always wanted to name planets after I discovered the eighth, Tiki almost begged me to name them after those two heroes." She let out a giggle. "She was a very adorable little girl."
Kiran Mark folded his arms with a grin, now he had something to use to tease the Tiki of the order of heroes with. "Well, the planet Mars in my solar system sounds similar, but that's just a coincidence."
Yeah, the names were similar, but Mars was red.
At that moment Azura began to use her arm to exert force on the summoner's coat.
Kiran Mark quickly recognized this as a gesture children utilized to get their parents' attention, and he turned his gaze to her. "What's the matter, my Azurita?"
"I... I want to name a planet too!"
There are things in the universe that are lovely, things that made him think that existence wasn't just miserable nonsense.
"I'll name a whole galaxy after you." If her eyes could shine, this little girl's ones would be like a quasar.
"Thank you, Papi! (Daddy!)"
One thing his Terran mother had always told him was that he should eat healthier in order to decrease those extra pounds of body mass he had back then, that having too much fat in his blood could cause cardiac attacks.
But no one had ever warned him about the cardiac attack that such an adorable kid could generate.
Kiran Mark had to place his right hand on his chest and start grunting in pain. Suddenly, he fell out of the chair.
"Kiran!"
"Child of the stars!"
"Papi!"
Of course, he just raised his hand to tell them he was fine before getting up by himself as if nothing had happened.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." He then held Azura and lifted her up high, stepped back a bit, and started to spin around.
Little Azura began to giggle.
And Kiran Mark's companions watched the scene somewhat... perplexed.
"He looks..." Kagero started to speak, but couldn't complete the sentence.
"Happier." Lucina voiced that which seemed too weird.
Sure, it's not like they hadn't seen him laugh or smile before... but this time this was more... pure. This wasn't that half-macabre smile he always had when it was time to strategize or do science. It was something more... simple and beautiful.
"It appears he feels much better now..." Naga watched him. "Well, it's been a long trip, how about resting in one of the rooms for today and we continue tomorrow?"
"We... continue?" Corrin looked in confusion at the "goddess".
"We came because he needed a cure." Kagero commented.
Naga folded her arms, still staring at the summoner. "True, but I also told him he could come in case he wanted to test his spirit."
What kind of test?" Lucina raised an eyebrow.
Not that she wanted to doubt the morality of the summoner... but she disbelieved his heart would be considered pure enough to withstand the Awakening ritual.
"In his case, it will have to be specially designed for him." Naga certainly looked confused. "It's strange, I've seen many hearts of men over time, and while none are perfectly pure or completely dark... his..."
If Kiran Mark was paying attention to what she was saying, that didn't seem to be the case.
Once he was done spoiling his precious sapphire and once he allowed her to walk by herself again, he then looked at Naga. "So, where do I have to go or what do I have to do in this test."
Naga gave him a partially angry look, raising her right hand to signal him to stop. "Your mind has just been repaired, child of the stars, I do not care how much determination you wish to demonstrate at this time. What you require is time for the curing to be completed and then tomorrow I will check if you are in condition."
Kiran Mark said nothing for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders. "That's fine, plus it gives me time to get on with a certain very special thing." He smiled at his daughter once again and she seemed to understand what he meant.
"Allow me to lead the way." Naga began to move in the direction of the elevator.
Kiran began to carry Azurita on his back.
As an apology to his precious girl for accidentally hurting her... he owed her more story this time.
"The light warriors hesitated for a second since the idea of entering inside a volcano seemed so lacking in intelligence that the only thing brilliant about it was the lava..."
After going up to the surface for a while to collect from the camp everything they had brought with them and also for Naga to finish convincing them to use the visitor's room, situation in which Kiran Mark had to practically order them to stop treating the manakete queen like a goddess and accept her hospitality, the group exited the elevator into another basement and started walking through what they assumed was the place where Naga spent her time when she wasn't... doing whatever it was she did, which Kiran Mark guessed was experimenting with nuclear power or something.
All the girls in the group were quite surprised once more by what they saw.
Once they entered a room, the room was quite dark. Kiran Mark walked ahead of Naga and started looking for something on the wall.
"More to the right." The "goddess" instructed him.
After a few seconds, there was a somewhat odd sound and almost instantly the whole room was illuminated with a light strong enough to make it seem like it was daytime, but dim enough not to hurt the eyesight.
"This is my guest room... although it's actually rarely used, it used to be Tiki's room when she still lived here... of course, she uses it again whenever she decides to stop by." Naga really didn't understand why her daughter had wanted to leave, it's not like she thought it was necessary.
The girls could only describe the "room" with two words.
A house.
A small house, yes, but a house nonetheless.
There was a gigantic bed at the back, a rather large closet next to what appeared to be a window... which was entirely dark. Naga seemed to notice this problem and quickly reached for a strange rectangular-shaped object. She activated something and the view got transformed... into a panoramic view of a meadow. "You like that?" She asked, scratching her cheek. "Or maybe you prefer something like the ocean floor?"
The image in the window changed again, this time showing a blue fundo with various sea plants and fish moving back and forth.
Although the girls were more surprised than ever... they were quick to notice that Kiran Mark very barely bothered to look at the window for a few seconds, nodding in approval slightly but somewhat disinterestedly at the same time, before opening a door.
"Uh, this bathroom is of very good quality." Kiran Mark was still not feeling too surprised, as if he had a sense of familiarity with all this kind of weird stuff. "Though I guess I should leave the explanation of how these things work to Naga." He simply walked out of the bathroom and began to open the closet, placing the girls' luggage in it.
Lucina, Kagero, and Corrin were certainly amazed at the idea of being able to bathe every day and using this shower that apparently could offer them so much cold water, hot water, or a mixture of the two. Not to mention so many soaps and things that made it all very clean.
Azurita, on the other hand, was simply enjoying jumping on the bed once both Naga and Kiran Mark gave her permission to do so.
Naga wasn't complaining even in the case it had somehow bothered her, the room remained unused most of the year and she could feel the girl's brain waves... and certainly, depression from such a young girl was alarming.
The room also had a table, a table where it looked like a small family could sit and enjoy food.
Once everything was settled Kiran Mark and Naga headed for the door. "Well, that's how it all works." The "goddess" smiled at them.
"See you guys in the morning." Kiran Mark withdrew. It was obvious he couldn't sleep here. As much as he didn't mind sleeping with a woman, these were three women and a little girl.
They appreciated their privacy.
Naga followed him without saying much at first until she commented. "I'm afraid the only other two rooms I have are occupied."
That didn't seem to make sense.
"Uh... one must be yours... who occupies the other if Tiki isn't here?"
"Oh, well that's a bit of a complex answer. But you don't think I handle this place all alone." Naga instructed him to follow her once more to the elevator.
As the artifact began to descend even further, Naga broke the silence.
"Tell me, child of the stars."
"Yes? Lady Naga?"
"How much do you know about the functions of the most basic units of life?"
"You mean cells? From single-celled organisms to more complex beings like us that have trillions or more cells that we are made of?" Kiran Mark showed her his hand and began to play with his fingers.
Naga found the fact somewhat amusing, so she stopped looking straight ahead and turned to him. "I see you understand the concept... tell me, have you ever entertained the idea of copying a multicellular living being in a manner similar to how single-celled beings reproduce?"
"You're talking about a clone, right? Using a cell and the genetic material sequence of four types of chemical bases that is individual to each living thing, better known as DNA in my world, to replicate a living being, create a "twin" with the same DNA."
Naga blinked several times... and smiled again. "Yes, you see..."
It didn't take much longer for the elevator to stop... and Kiran for the first time had to look genuinely surprised.
His mouth opened slightly, his eyes analyzed what he saw... and he was quite silenced.
Naga took him by the arm to make him walk.
"I had to do several experiments in order to more or less recreate the conditions inside a womb, since cloning is generally not something you can do without having to birth a new being. Although I guess you already know that. Making an adult clone would require assembling it by cloning each part of the human body and each organ separately... which is much, much more complex and difficult... you could also use teleportation but... that kills the original."
Inside tubes with a certain liquid he could see... other Nagas.
Some appeared to be girls, others teenagers, others were as adult as she was... there were some that were opposite-sex clones.
All had their eyes closed and were hooked up to what appeared to be life support machines.
At least Naga had had the decency to cover the... private... parts.
"... I have two questions." Kiran Mark folded his arms as the initial surprise finally expired.
"Go ahead." Naga crossed the fingers of her hands with a smile.
"These clones... do they have brains?" He had to swallow saliva.
"No, I made sure that in the early embryonic stages the brain didn't develop. They are just mindless vessels I can use." Naga seemed to understand his concern and patted him on the back.
Kiran Mark sighed in relief. These things were Manaketes and they were alive, no doubt about it, but they were not people. That made him able to calm himself. "I see... I remember reading that you appeared to humans taking many forms... is this how you did it?"
Naga simply nodded. "Depending on the needs, I simply put my brain inside one of the clones. Even this body I'm currently using isn't the first one I had." she sighed. "Curing dragon degeneration was hard since it was a genetic disease being the result of deterioration by quintessence."
"I see..." Kiran Mark.
"The detail is, not all clones I've made were produced with the idea of being spare bodies. Sometimes I've wanted some company..." Naga for the first time seemed to show signs of sadness "Ever l since I lost my sister Sothis and most dragons degenerated... I haven't enjoyed being alone. That's when I started cloning myself. Tiki doesn't have a father in the regular sense."
That made sense, he thought. "She doesn't look exactly like you." He commented.
"For the clones I want to be my children I modify their DNA a bit. Sometimes being identical to someone else physically can be psychologically bad for someone. Especially if they start to feel like they are failed copies."
There was a rather noticeable and long-lasting silence that caused Naga to turn from watching the condition of her clones to looking at the summoner.
Kiran Mark had his head tilted slightly down and to the left. His eyebrows and eyes looked droopy.
"Yes... honestly yes."
Naga knew this was a big deal... but she decided she would figure it out later.
"And well, the other room is occupied by my other daughter." Naga walked over to a computer and began to activate it.
Kiran Mark waited for her to finish what she was doing. While he focused on continuing to observe the clones.
He didn't know if in the Terran world a cloning project like this existed.
Suddenly the computer began to display an image.
It didn't take Kiran Mark long to figure out that this was some sort of surveillance camera.
While it might seem stupid to have one of these when it was unlikely that anyone would infiltrate, it was always a good idea to have one in case she had to check from afar for any malfunctions in the base.
Kiran Mark could see another Manakete, she seemed to be working with some trees.
"That's Nagi, unlike Tiki she preferred to stay. She helps me with certain tasks."
Kiran Mark nodded slightly. "Those trees... what are they?"
"They're my mineral-extracting trees."
Wait what...
"Trees... for mining? ...how?"
"All trees take some ore from the ground, star child." Naga folded her arms. "Though most extract only 0.0005 percent of things like nickel since getting more is usually toxic to them but one day we discovered trees which did not follow this pattern and were able to absorb 50000 times more with no problem. That confused me, until I discovered that these trees enclosed the nickel in "pockets" inside their leaves. This doesn't seem to have much function... but it keeps the animals that eat these trees away since the leaves turn out to be too toxic for them." Naga started rubbing her hands together as if she was about to eat something delicious, her smile was still big. "And so by making some genetic modifications I was able to get trees like those, but for different minerals. I was even able to make them bigger and even reduce their need for water."
Kiran Mark was again surprised.
And he thought mining with plants was something that only happened in the world of Minecraft with mods.
Wait... increasing the size...
"Is Mila's tree by any chance one of those extractor trees?"
"That tree my masterpiece." She winked at him. "That tree also draws nickel away from the area's water resources, which helps quite a bit in making it a green and beautiful place, especially since instead of pulling water from the ground with the roots, my genetically altered trees collect water with their specialized hydrophobic slightly inward-sloping leaves. The leaf stems project toward the middle of the upper leaf surface and has a single conduit that accepts rain channeled into the tree. And since I designed it to also draw a lot of salt, this helps it like a plant in a desert." Naga clapped her hands, quite pleased.
"Oh, sorry." She sighed. "I rarely get the chance to have a talk with anyone other than my daughters who might be able to understand half the things I say...and well, I really love to find out and explain things so-"
"You tend to start explaining and explaining, taking as many tangents as necessary, and you lose track of time." Kiran Mark smiled back at the "goddess" "I have the same problem."
They both then laughed together, as if they were any two friends enjoying a chat.
"So... I guess we should find a place for you to sleep then."
"Well I have my personal carriage, but that doesn't matter. By being with you, the urge to sleep is reduced a lot." Kiran Mark shook his head, still smiling.
They both then laughed together, as if they were any two friends.
"I see... in that case, I'd want to discuss something with you." Naga had a more serious tone of voice this time.
"Well?"
"Well... do you truly want to attempt the trial?"
Kiran Mark shrugged. "I see no reason not to try."
"I understand..." Naga began to walk around him. "If that's the case, the thing is... if I'm going to do a test specially created for you... I require, at the very least, to do a basic psychological analysis."
Kiran Mark didn't see the problem with that, it makes sense to do that sort of thing. "And the problem with that is?"
"The detail is that we could do it the regular way... or I could use my magic technology to analyze your memories and design the test based on them too. I don't need all of them, but I do need at least a little context about your past if I want to get the trial right. "
Oh.
"I think I get the problem now..." Kiran Mark then yawned. "Alright, let's do it."
"Uuuh... really... you don't have a protest?"
Kiran Mark sighed, closing his eyes. "I know I'm not pure of heart. And fighting the darkness is usually fighting the evil desires and impulses that dwell in one. If you analyze my mind that way you'll discover things about me that I've never wanted to tell anyone. But..." Kiran Mark opened his eyes, his gaze denoting stoicism. "I never needed to believe there was a deity capable of smashing me to pieces with a bolt of lightning to understand that doing such things is wrong and not wanting to do it no matter how many times the "void" called to me."
Naga's eyes widened quite a bit at such a statement.
"One doesn't do good deeds for someone to notice them, they are done because it is the right thing to do... and one doesn't do bad deeds out of 'fear of god', one doesn't do them because it simply isn't right." He shook his head. "Though of course, since right and wrong are not objectively something that exists, defining them from a subjective point of view is an extremely difficult task and in my opinion... it is quite relative to circumstances, resulting in many gray areas where intentions matter more than results or even situations where results matter more. When one says the end justifies the means, one must ask what end and what means exactly we are talking about."
Naga began to rub her chin. "I see... so, we can start the brain scan tomorrow."
"Understood...by the way, question."
"Yes?"
"If it's just a stupid guess I don't mind if you punch me, but an idea just flashed into my mind and I'd like to know..."
"Yes?" Naga gave him an instruction with her hand to continue speaking.
"The Lucina that came with me is not the one from this world. She is from another timeline where Robin was a man... anyway, she told me that a version of you said that if Robin killed the fallen dragon Robin would die too given a magical bond between them... but that there was a small chance he would come back to life in the future if "the ties that bound him to his friends were strong enough", or something like that. The Robin of this world didn't die, but... had she made the sacrifice... you wouldn't, by any chance, have extracted her memories and DNA with the idea of eventually cloning her, inserting the memories of the original Robin into the clone, and having her appear as if she were the original Robin resurrected?"
Naga was silent, her facial expression was completely different from what anyone had ever seen from her.
She was nervous.
"I mean, it sounds like something Robin would agree to do. Hell, it sounds like something I'd do." Kiran Mark shrugged. "And unless you directly lied to motivate them to kill Grima once and for all, I can't think of any other way how you could bring back from the dead someone who, as far as I was told, was reduced to atoms."
Naga remained silent for several seconds.
Kiran Mark never looked at her in a way that said he was judging her, it was as if he simply wanted to know the answer.
Naga sighed, lowering her gaze. "I've never liked knowing what kind of weapons I could create with my knowledge... but when I found out that Lucina and her friends came from a future that ended up ruined because I never assembled a weapon powerful enough to actually kill him... it made me doubt about my way of supporting humanity." She looked to the left, still rather uncomfortable with the situation. "But... the memories of what the humans of Fodlan became when my sister decided to directly share her knowledge with them pushes me distrust too much... they eventually betrayed her, forcing her to almost destroy the continent, rebuild it and at the end they managed to slay her regardless..." Naga had never shown this part of herself to humans before... but considering the person she was talking to wasn't a "human" genuinely, little had changed. "So, when the opportunity presented itself for someone to finish off Grima, a living being that would be classified as a level 7 apex predator, once and for all without me having to create a weapon of mass destruction... I... I really wanted them to do it... no matter how much... no matter how selfish that would be."
Kiran Mark scratched his hair, there was something odd. "You couldn't... you know... just create a nuclear bomb and nuke Grima to oblivion? No need to share that power with humans."
Naga continued to show that expression of utter misery. "Beyond the fact that in itself would reveal the existence of such a great power to the humans and any other surviving dragons who may witness what happened... well, it would most likely spread panic... in different ways. If they knew it was me... their fear of me would increase much more." she sighed very heavily, denoting annoyance. "I've had enough... I'm fed up that no matter where I go everyone only thinks of me as this goddess, which I'm not even in the first place, who everyone must respect and treat with respect... respect that feels fake... there is no one else besides my daughters I could have a conversation with without the other person feeling every single second that they must kneel before me and watch their tongue with every word they say... and that is only with the little power I have shown them... if I demonstrated them more..." she sighed in frustration.
"Again, I'm not sure if the motivations you give me are justifiable, but I can understand, or at least imagine, what you mean. An eternity without having a single true friend..."
Naga sighed once more... her gaze was down... so she only noticed that Kiran Mark had moved... when he placed his hand on her shoulder.
"What about this: we ignore the going to sleep part then... and just have some fun instead? We get some coffee or something and discuss whatever you want to do."
There was silence for at least ten seconds before Naga smiled again.
"I would love to."
Fortunately for him, Naga had the vanilla-flavored coffee he liked so much.
Naga, on the other hand, preferred to drink tea. "It's good to see that one of the warriors visiting me still has both parents alive." Naga shrugged. "For some reason almost everyone I've seen has lost at least one parent."
Kiran Mark had to swallow saliva. "Indeed, poor people..." he then shook his head. "Well, that's a large portion of my past." Naga had been asking him questions about his life, which he had divided into his two sets of memories, whether this was to reduce the amount of time she would have to scan his memories or was simple curiosity he wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to ask. "Anyway, now I'd like to know a few things about dragons."
"It's because you claim we don't exist in your world." Naga scratched her chin.
"Well, there were similar beings we call dinosaurs... though those went extinct about 65 million years ago." Kiran Mark took one more sip of his coffee before continuing. "They were generally gigantic beings that could be considered giant lizards... and given how similar dragons are to dinosaurs and how similar our worlds are I wondered if there was a connection."
Naga was silent for a second... before smiling again.
She throughout the entire conversation had been using something very much like a tablet in order to look up images in case Kiran Mark had trouble trying to describe in words some object.
Naga was then quick to show him an image of a fossil of a very ancient creature... which Kiran Mark was quick to compare to a stegosaurus.
"Then this world had its own dinosaurs too."
Naga nodded. "One thing humans don't often know is that when they say the end of the world is coming... you could theoretically say there have been four endings of the world."
"Four mass extinctions?"
Naga nodded.
"In my planet there have been five of those, and the sixth is expected to be very soon." He scratched his neck from behind. "So, are dragons descendants of dinosaurs?"
"Given what I could find with fossils and genetic backtracking, dragons all descend from an ancestral reptile that evolved shortly before the third mass extinction. They were uniquely hexapods, a result of incredibly rare Hox gene mutations. Dragons also have a special quintessence organ and system with regenerative mechanisms, their ability to adjust their body heat type between heterothermy and endothermy, rapidly adjusting it between climate changes with chromatophores both adjusting the heat they received from the environment, plus our hibernation capabilities... all that came in handy when it was about surviving the asteroid."
Kiran Mark blinked several times, so the quintessence is part of the reason why the proto-dragons were able to survive. "So in the end it was a Meteor here too... well, considering it's a mathematical certainty that every few hundred thousand years a Meteor hits my planet I guess the odds are pretty similar here... I must assume you guys can have a varied diet too then."
"My ancestors already had a robust digestive system, it allowed them to digest a wide variety of food sources from conventional meat and plant matter to stuff like consuming extremely toxic organisms. large amounts of blood, eating tree bark, and finally straight out eating mineral rocks and metal ores."
"Straight up eating minerals... could that be the reason why your fangs are so good at generating swords? Although... why are they so effective against other dragons?"
Naga began looking for more images to show him, and the one he finally saw was one of two dragons fighting by bitting each other. "In those distant days when dragons were not yet an intelligent species it was the regular practice that male dragons fought other dragons for the chance to breed with a female. Originally it was done with fire, but that eventually became less effective as they continued to evolve, Dragons got a special heat-resistant enzyme protein and amino acid-infused liquid secreted and spread throughout all their internal anatomy, especially the throat. This made fire breathing even safer since originally it wasn't something we could do without risking ourselves by overuse, coupled with thermophile properties the cells developed over evolution. As a result, breeding fights changed. It was then done with teeth. Those who had better teeth to hurt their opponent were the winners and their genes were passed on to the next generation."
So it was a situation similar to the elk, they used their antlers as weapons. "And cultivating a diet of mineral-rich rocks helped a lot with that."
"That's right, I mean... you could make anti-dragon swords with other dragons' fangs, it's just that mine are the best there are given the genetic modifications I made to my clones and my ancestry."
"Makes sense... though I imagine the essence of your fang isn't the only thing necessary for the sword. Lucina told me that no blacksmith could replicate the Falchion which I would guess, seeing all the technology you have, is because it's made of metals that humans don't know about."
"In addition to my fang, I employed some mithril, adamantium and reinforced it all with durasteel."
Kiran Mark had to blink several times. "You used what, again?"
"Mithril, adamantium, and durasteel, you know. The elements of atomic number twenty-two, seventy-four, and seventy-seven respectively." Naga waved her right hand in circles and in a begging motion, as if asking him to get to speed up with his understanding of the conversation.
Kiran Mark nodded slowly, understanding better. "I see, sorry it's just that I got confused by the names. Where I come from we call them titanium, tungsten, and iridium." It was no surprise then that Marth and Lucina's swords were that effective, they were made from metals that were usually utilized for the manufacturation of war tanks. "Add that you probably have machinery with which to refine every little detail of forging a sword and it's no wonder it's a weapon no one can reproduce."
"Even if they advanced far enough to copy my blacksmith's workshop, their economy would not allow them to equip armies with weapons such as these. Durasteel is very hard to find on the planet. Most of the reserves I have I got from meteorites."
"I take it the gold color is just paint then?"
"Indeed, paint of the finest quality." Naga smiled and used her left hand to make a finesse gesture. "Anyway, since I realized that parallel timelines are a reality and that this world was almost ravaged by Grima... I at least decided to upgrade one of my clones. I modified its genes to give it a breath capable of overcoming thermal defense, although that required modifying the main quintessence organ so that it could give enough fuel to the flame, the dicyanoacetylene turned out to be very effective..." Naga closed her eyes. "I don't want to use it... but if someday it is necessary for me to go into action myself..." The "goddess" rubbed her face in frustration. "I never wanted to turn my daughters into weapons, but I'm afraid that with the threats out there the coherent thing to do was to give them all the necessary organs so they were capable of using all the different types of draconic breaths and not just one like the wild dragons."
"And how is it that you make it so that the sword can only be wielded by someone who has received "your blood", which I guess actually means that you gave them dragon genetic modifications." blood donations didn't alter the receiver's DNA, so it was clear that the heroes who said that just were ignorant about that.
Blood transfusions between species generally speaking killed you, not gave you powers.
"I introduce a synthetic gene into their DNA, which usually behaves like a recessive one so that it doesn't spread too far through humans. Then I make sure that the sword has a built-in sensor that detects the presence of the gene in question, if it doesn't then the magic locked in the blade activates a safety protocol that electrocutes anyone who tries to take it. There's also the fact that the guard has a certain... artifact that allows me to determine who is holding it and whether they are worthy or not." Naga yawned, since she wasn't drinking coffee it was normal that eventually she was falling asleep. "In recent times I was thinking of adding... a sort of... how to explain it... it's a computer-created "mind", one that can make some basic decisions by itself. It would be capable of determining by itself if someone is worthy to wield it instead of having to require the special gene and all that."
"An artificial intelligence?" Kiran Mark blinked many times in just seconds. "You know, like there's a "spirit" inside the weapon." he placed his hands firmly on the table.
Naga moved her head back slightly since Kiran Mark suddenly moved his closer with extreme interest. "Yes, that's what I meant. It could not only judge the bearer but also offer advice during battle."
"I... I'd like to try that with the sword you'll forge for me if I pass the test."
Naga raised an eyebrow. "You mean the swords, I promised to make you two as an apology for fragmenting your mind."
Kiran Mark shook his head and shook his right hand. "About that... I don't want a second sword."
Naga got even more confused. "Why not, from what I've seen you wield two swords when it comes to combat... now would you rather try a shield?"
"No no no no, it's not that the idea of owning two legendary level swords doesn't appeal to me... but if we're going to be honest, I don't really need a second one... and there's something more important I'd like to request."
Naga blinked several times. "I'm listening."
An hour later, after explaining the whole situation and Naga had decided to drink some coffee as well, the "goddess" found herself walking and turning around as she considered the idea.
"Technically that would be one way to circumvent that limitation... and it would certainly be a nice present for her."
What Naga hadn't expected was for him to kneel before her. This partially angered her, but when he opened his mouth that little anger disappeared.
"Whether or not I win the test you impose on me shouldn't be relevant... please help her...I'll do anything... just...please fulfill her dream...the dream I can't give her."
Naga folded her arms, no longer upset but not exactly comfortable either. "Are you in love with her?"
"What, no! But as a scientist, or rather a cheap copy of one, it's my duty to give people solutions... but let's be honest, I'm little less than a fraud... I don't know why Askr chose me, but there were a thousand and one more capable people for the job... I didn't even go to a university for the love of all that is scientific! maybe one of them could give her what I can't... so I only have the alternative of begging you."
After that there was a somewhat awkward silence.
...
...
...
"I will do it."
"Thank you."
How much more time did they spend conversing? Neither of them really knew. They both lost track of time until the watch Naga had with her warned them that it was already another day.
Once they went to find the girls to ask them what they wanted to do while Kiran Mark did his test, Kagero and Azura preferred to go out to the surface to enjoy Naga's garden... or rather, the whole prism mountain since that was how big her garden of plants was.
Kiran Mark could only assume they were also genetically modified.
Corrin and Lucina, on the other hand, preferred to accompany him again since Naga commented that, unlike the first time, they would be able to see what happened inside his mind.
The operating room was different. This time there were different types of electronics around it.
Kiran Mark was not at all frightened, if Naga had wanted to do something bad to him there was no reason to wait so long with such a high level of technology.
As Kiran Mark lay down on the table to start the test, Naga decided to ask one final detail to determine the nature of her test for him.
"So..." the manakete king/queen held her hands together with a smile filled with curiosity. "Before starting your test, Kiran Mark, I would like to ask you something."
Naga gently grabbed his left hand, raising it until it was in front of her and she could see the mark she had given him time ago. "You are so fond of this particular mark, and while I didn't oppose the idea of giving another mark to one of my champions, I would like to know what makes it that special for you. you were happy enough with this as your reward after all."
Kiran Mark's eyes went wide for a moment... and then, with the same eyes a child looks to a toy they desire to obtain... he smiled, his right hand caressing his left's one back-side.
The room had become silent after the question, all the others in the room suddenly were interested. "That's... a good question, actually." Corrin rubbed her chin as she walked to be by Kiran Mark's side and take a look at his left hand.
Lucina nodded. "It gotta represent something, I mean the mark of Naga is meant to be the symbol of the ancient pact the first exalt made with lady Naga..." she commented as she caressed the area near her eye. "So, what does this mark mean?"
"It's a complex story." Kiran Mark nodded slowly, his mind filled with nostalgia and thinking about how to narrate it.
"The existence of this symbol predates me, same with the story in which I first made contact with it... and even the writer." he blinked slower each time. "It belongs to an ancient clan born in the country of the rising sun." quite ironic for him to have such a thing given that the name of his country was linked to the moon. "While the mark is mostly known in modern times as the Triforce... its actual name would be Mitsuuroko."
"Mitsu... what?" Naga scratched her cheek.
"In theory, it means three scales." Kiran Mark explained, touching each triangle of his mark with his right hand. "according to the legend, the clan founder visited a cave in Tokyo, the country's capital, to pray to their divinity for the sake of his family. Said deity gave him as a present these three scales... dragon scales."
Naga, and everybody else for that matter, didn't see that coming.
"Dragon scales... so..." Lucina's surprise became bigger as she thought she had connected two dots in a puzzle. Corrin looked at Naga as they also thought the same.
"Yes, a divine dragon... but I highly doubt it is what you think it is." Kiran Mark giggled.
Naga smiled back at him. "I'm perfectly certain you are the first one I ever gave this mark to, plus my presents for the children of the men are fangs, not scales. And I'm pretty sure you're the first child of the stars I've ever met."
"Besides, dragons don't truly exist in that universe, so it's just a myth." Kiran Mark made his heroes remember that.
"Oh right, you said that multiple times." Corrin nodded.
"Yes, I mean there were dinosaurs but those don't breathe fire and they also went extinct around sixty-five million years ago. So, even if the humans of the time the legend comes from could mix up a dragon with dinosaurs... something kinda possible if we consider that the word for dragon and dinosaur in their language is similar... there couldn't be a dinosaur at said cave."
"I see." Naga looked at him, analyzing him. "But it seems to me you're forgetting what I asked you."
"Oh, right. Sorry." Once more, this bad habit of them had appeared. He laughed before continuing. "Whatever happened to this clan is not something I know, but it's common knowledge that the writer of the story took inspiration from this symbol to create the triforce."
"The triforce..." Naga said the name as if testing how it sounded.
"One day, a group of men created a franchise known as The Legend Of Zelda." Kiran Mark closed and opened his fist several times while talking. "This version of the symbol has deeper lore linked to it." Kiran Mark took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Before the spirits and life existed... before even time itself began... three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was the universe. They were..." Kiran Mark looked up and, while saying each name and title, he took a tiny pause.
"Din, the goddess of power..."
"Nayru, the goddess of wisdom..."
"And finally, Farore the goddess of courage..."
"They brought order to the chaos, creation to the nothingness." Kiran Mark closed his eyes.
"With her strong flaming arms, Din cultivated the land and created the earth..."
"Nayru poured her wisdom onto the earth and created the spirit of the law and order."
"Farore's rich soul produced all the life forms who would uphold the law."
Kiran Mark began to walk slowly around without much direction, lost in his thoughts.
"With their labors completed, the three great goddesses departed for heavens."
He then stopped, looking at his audience while putting his mark on display. "They left a relic in the place where they created the world... known as the golden power, this relic represents the qualities of the goddesses themselves..." his right hand's index finger placed itself over each triangle as he described them.
"The triforce of power... the triforce of wisdom... and the triforce of courage." his hand closed into a fist.
"W-wow..." Corrin was the first one to say something.
"I... I didn't expect something similar to a mythology coming from you... I mean, you have never given us any reason to believe you are a religious one..." Lucina was certainly puzzled.
"It's fine, it's only some lore of a story meant to entertain children." he laughed as he walked to be in front of Naga again. "I can enjoy a good story like that as long as somebody does not try to sell it to me like an actual fact."
"A very interesting story, I must express." the divine dragon said, looking at the mark with more amazement.
"There's more." everybody paid more attention after hearing that. "The triforce holds the power of the goddesses... therefore, it can reshape the universe as you desire."
"So, it's the power of creation," Naga commented. Mortals always seemed to create stories with that concept, to the point they had started believing she had said power even though that was simply ridiculous.
He nodded. "The power to grant the wish of the one who holds the triforce in his hands... in other words: the triforce is the universe's greatest treasure!" he raised his left hand towards the sky.
"However." he palmed softly his mark as he lowered the hand. "The goddesses don't allow just anyone to use their power. They hid the triangles in a location known as the Sacred Realm... the zone is a mirror that reflects how is the heart of the one who enters into it. If it's somebody with a heart dominated by darkness, the Sacred Realm transforms into a hell, on the contrary... a person with a heart of gold will convert it into a paradise."
Lucina decided to share her opinion. "Basically, those who attempt to obtain the golden power will have it easier or harder depending on if they are more or less evil."
"I guess that's the idea, but the final challenge is other."
Naga could see that this boy's eyes denoted... doubt and uncertainty.
"The triforce... it is a balance that weights the three qualities of the goddesses... power, wisdom, and courage." he now seemed... depressed.
"Those who have a balanced heart between these qualities will gain the true Triforce to govern all... but if the sacred relic is touched by somebody whose heart does not possess equal balance... the Triforce will separate into its three component parts, leaving only the piece representing the force that the person who wanted to get their wish believes in the most."
Naga had to admit that she was very stunned by the lore.
"Then, the remaining pieces will be held by two special individuals chosen by destiny, who the goddesses regard they represent the other two qualities the best."
Naga finally understood.
The reason why this boy had such an attachment to this simple mark.
"Summarizing, you have this mark because it represents that you have those attributes?"
Kiran Mark smiled and shook his head. "Mhahahahahahah!" he closed his eyes, his grin still very visible. "I guess? the problem with these kinds of stories is that they are very vague about what their concepts mean." He made himself a bit more comfortable on the table/bed before positioning his hands behind his head.
"What do they exactly define as power? it's pure raw strength? it's the force measured in joules? or power is the capability of doing something and its possible potential, and also current intensity, what is measured? what do they mean by courage? lacking fear? having audacity? owning a strong determination? being capable of fighting even if there's fear tormenting the heart? some people seem to agree that true courage is that instead of not feeling fear at all."
He, once more, raised his left hand towards the sky… but this time it was as if he was trying to reach out for something.
"What's wisdom? the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment? Is it being able to reason and, as a result, change your opinion if enough evidence appears? being capable of sensing, predicting, and analyzing more than normal people could?" once more, his facial expression denoted how confused he was about these questions. "Not to mention the fact that how would you describe having a balance in those qualities? can it be measured?"
He took a look at his Espada Maestra Azul, by his side as always, and sighed.
"If I need to give a significantly general answer... I would say that... a sword may have all the power in the world, both in capability and physical raw strength, but it wouldn't be able to extract all the potential of said power if the hand that holds it does not have courage. Courage is the motivator that allows using said power... but courage can become recklessness without proper knowledge of how to harness that potential... power can corrupt or even kill its wielder if it's not used smartly."
He sighed once more. "And then there's the fact… well, you can't really use any of those without hope too."
"Hope?" Naga questioned.
"If you are hopeless, no matter how much power you have you won't use it wisely at its full potential… and you probably won't even fight." he laughed a bit. "There was this theory at some point that the triforce had a secret fourth piece." He pointed to the inverse triangle space of the center. "Some people said it was the triforce of hope… and while nothing is confirmed, I would say the idea of it being the triforce of hope makes some sense."
Naga smiled, crossing her arms.
"I see... I think, I already have everything I need to get started." Naga
"I don't understand how you intend to test me in the realm of my mind... but I suppose you have your methods."
"Before that though... I wanted to ask you something." Naga became much more serious.
"What is it?"
"After what happened yesterday, I did a bit of a detailed analysis on your body... and let's just say I'd like to know what happened to your eyes." She showed him what appeared to be a scanned image of his eyes. "Both eyes show signs of damage, but the left one particularly seems to only operate at 70 percent of the sight capacity a human has, which I imagine is not much different for your species, causing the right eye to have to overcompensate and deteriorate much faster."
Kiran Mark, again, had to blink in surprise. "Wow..."
"If we don't do something you'll go blind in twenty-five or thirty years." Naga looked horrified at this.
Lucina and Corrin were also scared.
"I had an accident during childhood. The doctors had to remove a piece of graphite from my eye in order to save me from losing it." In some parallel universe, he wore an eye patch.
"I see...well, I would like to know if you would like me to fix this problem while you sleep. While I could simply give you lenses adjusted to the needs of each eye... that's very basic. However, the other method is to replace your eyes with new ones... but for that, I require-."
"You need my DNA." He completed the sentence. Kiran Mark yawned. "Go ahead, I'm sure you want it in your hands anyway."
"Eeeh... are you sure?"
Kiran Mark made his eyes roll in annoyance. "Come on, if an alien being showed up in my world the first thing I'd want is to have a sample of their DNA, to compare it with mine to understand how it works. I mean, my DNA is a gold mine containing genetic information that goes from me to the first living thing with DNA on the surface of my planet, it's a genetic treasure. So it's okay, take it. It's not like you're going to use it to create clones of me, though. I mean, you, a "goddess" asking me to create a descendant with you... it's the stupidest thing I could ever hear so it's obvious you won't do that"
Naga shook her head with a smile. "Okay, if you say so."
"Uuuh..." Lucina raised her index finger to ask. "I'm afraid I'm lost, I don't understand what you're talking about."
"I have the same problem." Corrin looked... worried.
"It's okay, we'll explain later. Especially for you." Kiran Mark replied, looking at Corrin in particular.
"Very well... then, I'll replace your eyes."
"Can you give me blue eyes?"
"Blue... eyes?"
"If you're going to give me other eyes, can't you modify them a bit to make them permanently blue?"
"...I suppose I could do that" What truly disturbed the "goddess" a little was how excited this man was at the idea.
"What about my hair?"
"... Your hair color is tied to your body's genetics and it's not an organ I can replace so I can't permanently dye it. I'd have to replace your whole head or directly give you a new body."
"Well, I wouldn't mind." Kiran Mark then grabbed the oxygen and anesthesia chemical mask and put it in his mouth before plopping down on the table and closing his eyes.
Naga, Lucina, and Corrin blinked several times, watching him stay there peacefully and without complaint.
Lucina narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "He's insane..."
Corrin shook her head. "Definitely..."
It was illogical to think that he would have fallen asleep by now... but he didn't seem to mind hearing that.
"For you," Naga began to speak, "I have something special." She then presented them with two helmets. "It was always of interest to me to be capable of seeing other people's dreams, so I was able to design, with Tiki's help, these. You just have to put them on and wait for my signal."
Lucina and Corrin simply looked at each other before shrugging, sitting down in some chairs, putting on their helmets, and waiting.
Naga, feeling more relieved to have permission from this patient, then brought a syringe and without hesitation drew a blood sample from Kiran Mark.
Once she inserted the sample into a machine, it began running a quick analysis of the DNA in question.
To tell the truth, it was already a surprise that an alien life form would have anything remotely resembling DNA.
Just as she expected, his DNA was regular in the sense of only having four "letters" unlike her dragon DNA genetically enhanced to have 8.
That was not what she was actually looking for.
As she made a comparison with some human DNA she had, Naga observed that the sequence of letters was nothing alike.
Even when exploring older parts of the genetic code she couldn't find similarities like those that could be found between humans and monkeys.
Or between humans and other animals.
Or even plants.
That he could eat the food on this planet without dying was impressive enough.
Once she was sure he was perfectly asleep, Naga began to plug into his brain the components once more.
"Alright, get ready."
Naga had made sure to chain him better considering the jerky way he had moved while sleeping.
She lifted Kiran Mark's left hand, the one with the mark, with her right one while her left one got placed on his forehead.
Naga closed her eyes and then proceeded to perform her magic.
The three pieces of the triforce for a moment glowed but returned to being dark as always.
-*1
Kiran Mark assumed that, since Naga would be designing a test for him, this time he would not materialize in his beloved outer space that he had chosen to represent his cerebellum.
However, this was also not the void his two halves arrived at when they both began their conflict for control of the brain.
This... more like... an ocean world.
Though he could walk, there was no floor... it was as if when he stepped he was walking on water, but all he could see besides that was the blue sky.
It was no surprise to him that his clothes were now a mix between his summoner's coat and his old clothes as a strategist in Elibe. Mainly the part from the waist to up was green clothing while everything else was blue with the occasional white, brown, and gold.
Kiran Mark started walking, trying to speculate what his trial was supposed to be.
Psychologically resisting being in nothingness for what would seem like an eternity of time, perhaps?
It was then that, in front of him, a staircase began to form. Literally, it was materializing itself in front of him.
Kiran Mark then heard Naga's voice.
Her actual voice, not Tiki's one.
"I give you permission to ascend and stand before me. If you want to face your destiny, show me your determination."
Kiran Mark didn't even have to hesitate, he simply began to climb.
The journey was not exactly short, to the point that he thought he would reach at least the stratosphere at some point.
In the sky, there was a platform on which there were many pillars.
When he finally finished climbing all the stairs... Naga was there, seated on a throne made of stone that he could only assume was her "divine dragon" throne.
Whether she was annoyed by the fact that his brain was unconsciously playing music or not, he couldn't say for sure. Her face was stoic.
"Throughout history," Naga began to speak, resting her face on the fist of her left hand. "I have lent my power to multiple champions and never before have I seen anything like what is in your heart."
Kiran Mark slightly tilted his head downward in order to give a somewhat more "intimidating" look.
"The darkness I see is in alarming amounts... and yet, I can also detect the light of your being, in exactly the same amount." Naga raised her left hand. displaying what appeared to be a balance measurement object.
Kiran Mark immediately thought about the anthropomorphic personification of justice, the one the French had created.
Naga began to look at him with a bit of "disdain" which, coming from what was considered a goddess that was unnerving. "You were right, young man. There are things I saw in your memories that disgusted me."
She then slowly rose from her chair. From her position, the goddess appeared much taller which he deduced was for an intimidation factor.
"But the truth is that we all harbor some darkness in us. To me what concerns me is the fact that your darkness and your light are equivalent. In my champions, the light usually dominates its counterpart... in you? It's as if the two have merged together... how can I be entirely sure that you wouldn't misuse my power in that case?"
Kiran Mark... didn't respond to that, his face instead seemed to fill with shame, looking down and tilting his head further.
"Will you say nothing in your defense?" Naga's voice now seemed to have an echoing effect.
He closed his "eyes" and simply shook his "head" before speaking.
"The... actions prove more than words or thoughts... you... you saw my memories, shouldn't you then know the answer based on what was observed?"
-*2
Naga flashed a smile again... though he doubted that meant anything good. "Good answer." She began to walk slowly towards him. "In that case..."
He barely had time to raise his head and react. Naga had cut the distance between them and, Falchion on hand, made a vertical slash towards his head.
Kiran Mark unhesitatingly leaped to the right.
"Time" seemed to slow down as a sword materialized in his right hand. Golden and glowing, La Iluminadora finished forming.
Kiran Mark then, once one of his feet touched the ground, thrust forward and performed a horizontal slash.
Naga had no trouble dodging with a backward somersault.
In the time it took her to do that, Kiran Mark took the opportunity to summon another weapon.
When Naga once again approached to make weapon contact, he defended himself with la Ragnarok by blocking another slash and then he tried to respond, with Naga now immobilized, by using la Iluminadora to perform a forward lunge.
Very foolishly he thought she only had that one weapon, so la Iluminadora was then blocked by the Fire Emblem.
They both backed off for a moment before continuing their clash of weapons.
Naga expected to see some anger on her opponent's face.
But the only constant was those wide eyes on high alert combined with the fact that every time the two were locked in a stare at each other as their weapons tried to push each other... she could detect and see the tremor in her opponent's weapon.
She then moved her left hand with great speed towards his face.
Kiran Mark was pushed as the Fire Emblem impacted his face.
Naga then had no problem kicking him and sending him flying.
Kiran Mark impacted backwards against one of the pillars.
He had to react in time before the Fire Emblem crushed his head between the pillar and the shield itself.
He then rolled around her, on the ground.
Naga didn't have time to react by the time Kiran Mark was already behind her and quickly rose up performing an upward slash.
Naga grunted in pain, instinctively placing the shield on her back, blocking another lunge, and then turning around.
Kiran Mark, in an act she couldn't describe whether it was indecision or just pure fear, decided not to continue attacking and instead simply thrust backwards.
They both stared at each other for a few seconds, Naga was surprised at how much he was shaking.
Then he discarded one of his two swords.
Naga raised an eyebrow, but then narrowed her eyes as another weapon materialized.
It was a... triangular saber made of plasma.
"C-c-chain rod!"
However, what she didn't expect was that he would perform a lunge from afar... and the blade along with his guard would extend in her direction.
It was a chain!
Naga tried to block it with the Fire Emblem, and while this prevented the blade from cutting her... he then simply pulled the chain.
Naga was then dragged in his direction.
At the same time, energy seemed to have been charged on his body... and it was then that she noticed the other weapon he held.
"RECOIL ROD!"
It was a weapon that at first glance looked like a simple stick made of energy, but the moment he put his arm forward all the accumulated energy was sent into the weapon. It suddenly expanded in a single second and exerted an extreme thrust force on her.
Now she was the one who was propelled away.
Had this been the reality, that weapon would have split her in two.
Naga did not take long to stand up, but then she had to dodge as the chain passed very close to her stomach.
Kiran Mark began to wave his whip as if there wasn't a tomorrow, and Naga quickly understood the rod had more bladed tips than just the top.
Naga smiled, "Not bad, kid."
Kiran Mark panicked as Naga suddenly seemed to become extremely fast to the point where he could only see what appeared to be her silhouette. No matter how much he moved the chain across the battlefield Naga dodged everything with perfect synchronicity.
It was something that would even be beautiful to observe.
Once he knew he had her extremely close, he knew the same strategy wouldn't work so he transformed the recoil rod back to his Z-saber form and released all the energy from it impacting it against the ground.
Naga simply jumped high to avoid the energy blast.
Kiran Mark looked up only to find Naga's foot smashing his face.
He fell onto his back, and then again he felt a kick. This time in the stomach.
Naga would not let him get up. Falchion then appeared inches from his face.
If he was shaking before, he was doing it much more now.
"Tell me, demon." He could feel the strength of Naga's leg pressing him harder against the ground. "What would you do if our current situation were reversed? Uh, would you succumb to the darkness?!"
Kiran Mark grunted in pain. "I... I..." he then hardened his eyes.
His iris turned green and he quickly clutched the Falchion as his hands turned into tiger-like claws. "I wouldn't do anything." He then shoved her with all his strength.
Naga had no trouble pulling herself together, but then she saw that Kiran Mark was circling around her.
With a tiger roar, Kiran Mark attacked with his claws.
And Naga had to be surprised at seeing Falchion break.
She, however, didn't seem to flinch.
"Enough!"
She let go of the shield and her hands glowed with magic. At that, she then expelled a wave of electrical energy.
Kiran Mark again ended up impacted against a pillar, his eyes returning to brown and his claws disappearing.
"There is certainly no way to defeat you in this world." Naga folded her arms.
Kiran Mark said nothing, just kept his eyes narrowed.
"You're awfully quiet."
"You wouldn't say something like that if you weren't going to use something to try to overcome that difficulty." There was no point in wanting to brag.
Naga smiled.
In the real world, the real Naga saw the situation through her helmet.
Corrin and Lucina could see the battle as well, but Naga warned them that he would never hear or see them.
They were only spectators.
Naga put her hand back on his forehead and used more magic.
-*3
Naga stretched out her hands and began to fly, Kiran Mark took advantage of the pause in combat to stand up.
"I will summon the being you fear the most, the stronger it is in your mind... the worse the torment shall be!"
Kiran Mark had to cover his "eyes" as the light became excessively strong.
When he could see again... Naga was no longer there.
Then, a golden beam of light fell from the heavens.
Kiran Mark turned upwards... and saw a humanoid figure descending.
Both Lucina and Corrin, who "were" by side, could also see the figure descending.
He didn't have wings, but he might as well have had them considering his descent was masterfully beautiful.
When his feet touched the ground... they both felt a kind of deja-vu. This new individual's clothes… were not very different from the summoner's in this dream…but everything that had been green on the Kiran Mark was red on his clothes.
Likewise, although his face was incredibly similar… there was a significant age gap.
This man was not a teenager, he had very marked adult features, with a noticeable brown beard and mustache. Likewise, his skin tone was a bit more… brown, if that was a tan or his natural tone they weren't sure.
Kiran Mark took a few steps back.
"Miguel…"
The only thing the girls could detect from Miguel's face was extreme contempt, almost as if what he was looking at was an abomination of nature.
"LUIS MANUEL!"
Kiran Mark backed up even further.
Unfortunately for the ladies, nothing that followed was something they could understand.
But there was something they could see. Kiran Mark was trembling even more.
He looked like a child...
Literally… it was as if every step he took back had diminished his age.
Until, at best, he was now 10 years old.
"Mientras nuestra madre y padre gastan tiempo, dinero y esfuerzo para buscarte… tú que haces (While our mother and father spend time, money and effort looking for you... what you are doing." His tone was calmer at first... until Miguel suddenly grabbed Kiran Mark by the neck and began to suffocate him. "PERDER EL TIEMPO AYUDANDO A UN MONTÓN DE GENTE DESCONOCIDA! (WASTING TIME HELPING OUTSIDERS!)"
Then he threw him against the ground, creating some cracks in it.
Kiran Mark coughed in pain, Miguel didn't give him time TO REST as he grabbed his leg and lifted him into the air before hitting him on the ground again.
"Te diviertes mucho jugando a ser héroe, ¡¿uh?! (Having a lot of fun playing the hero, huh?!)" He lifted him by the neck again, but this time Miguel punched him in the stomach with his other hand, again and again.
Corrin placed her hands over her mouth while Lucina… she didn't know how to react.
Kiran Mark eventually managed to stop one of those punches and, having decided to escape the situation, his bet was to resort to magic.
Electricity surged from the hand that stopped Miguel's fist, forcing him back off.
Miguel growled in a rather lion-like manner and responded with fire magic throwing multiple balls in his direction.
Kiran Mark tried to stop them, redirect them, whatever he could do. While he was able to pull it off decently with the first five times…he was too slow to react for the sixth.
His left eye then began to burn.
He grunted in extreme pain.
Again, he did not understand how it was possible for him to feel such a thing in this mental world... but that didn't take away from the fact that he had to place both hands over "his eye" to decrease the pain a bit.
Miguel stopped for a moment, looking at him with his arms crossed... and shaking his head.
Kiran Mark gritted his teeth… and materialized yet another weapon.
With the already classic guard in the form of wings, blue color, and blade with the engraved triforce, Kiran Mark tried to draw the Master Sword out of its sheath.
If he had grunted in pain before, this time he couldn't help it and released the full force of his lungs.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
By screaming.
He blinked multiple times, unable to fully process what was happening around him.
Once he was back to his senses... he observed with horror that… his hand… his hand skin was worse than his eye's, it had turned dark as a result of the burns.
Miguel's laugh made him pay attention again.
"Por favor… (Please...)" he then extended his hand… and the Master Sword flew in his direction, resting comfortably in his left hand as if it was natural for it to be there. "Esta es una hoja sagrada, Luis. Es la espada destructora del mal y los demonios. (This is a sacred blade, Luis. It's the sword of evil's bane and destructor of demons)" He then drew it, pointing it at her brother. "Solo alguien de corazón puro puede blandirla… (Only somebody of pure heart could wield it...) ¿EN SERIO CREÍAS QUE UN MISERABLE DEMONIO CORRUPTO DE PECADO COMO TÚ PODRÍA SER DIGNO DE ELLA? ¡ESTA ESPADA NO PODRÍA NI SIQUIRA TOLERAR QUE PUSIERAS UN SOLO DEDO EN ELLA! (DID YOU REALLY THINK A MISERABLE DEMON CORRUPTED BY SIN AS YOU COULD EVER BE WORTHY OF IT?! THIS SWORD COULDN'T EVEN TOLERATE YOU PUTTING A SINGLE FINGER ON IT!)" The sword then began to glow… with the holy light that opposed the cataclysm. "¡HEREJE INSOLENTE! (INSOLENT HERETIC!)"
Kiran Mark did no more than try to cover himself with his hands as the blade prepared to cut him in two.
Ooooooh man, it was waaaaaaaaaay easier to write this.
Seriously, all the plot ideas for it were prepared since 2021.
First of all, I'd like to thank my friend ScientistXXXX (yes, that's his name, there's nothing wrong with that) who wrote a lot of lore regarding dragon biology pretty much out of the generosity of his heart, since I don't remember ever actually asking him to do his. And it's not just the dragons, I have a document of 73 pages he shared with me with world-building for a lot of other things.
I tried my best to integrate as much lore as I could into this chapter without hurting the pacing or the possible interest of the audience and I still left a lot of stuff out like the plant-like features of manaketes he thought about after seeing those green "feathers" dragons had in Awakening.
Like seriously, there's lore here for how the tails work, the different types of breaths, which kind of dragons are more likely to obtain them, how the environment makes them evolve, how they use quintessence to improve themselves, etc. It makes me think I'll have to share some in a similar way to how some animes share lore through author notes (the example that comes to my mind is Death Note, there each time it's time for a commercial break you can see an image explaining each rule of the death note)
Here's one:
Multiple hearts: Naga's species has multiple hearts like octopuses. The main heart and 2 more hearts for further powering each wing on the lower parts of the body to ease circulation needs for the dragon's lower body section. Lastly, an additional heart is near the throat connected to the 4 different types of breath organs and the quintessence organ along with the rest of the neck and head area. The multiple-heart system provides both more stamina for the sapient dragon species, improvement in blood and oxygen circulation, and energy requirements which is yet another way of overcoming size and energy requirements and also act as redundant organs if one heart is extremely damaged (in the case even two extra chambers are damaged) other hearts can share its burden albeit with a decrease in efficiency though because of their rapid regeneration, this problem would not last long.
While I had planned myself to write Mila's tree as a genetically modified tree and even say it's a bit less big than in canon, it was also my Scientist friend who explained to me the concept of the metal trees (Search for the video: This plant is filled with metal) actually helping me to explain why Naga would plant such a big tree.
Talking about the dragon "goddess" it's said in Heroes that she has appeared in different forms to humanity through time to explain the discrepancies of her gender and stuff throughout the entire franchise. Because shape-shifting is a skill that does not make any sense most of the time, I preferred to write that she has spare clone bodies.
Plus, while watching a video called "The ultimate sword material - Is there anything better than carbon steel?" I decided to use their conclusion to explain why nobody can replicate the Falchion (both its dragon-killing properties and its extreme power). Their conclusion was a sword of "Titanium core with tungsten carbide edge". I just added iridium since that's a metal known for its reinforcement capabilities on other metals when making alloys. Plus the whole evolution explanation for why fangs of Naga are so effective at killing a dragon.
Noticing that I had written that Naga's daughters are "clones" of hers I suddenly realized how similar was that to Sothis's stuff and I decided to write them as sisters. Granted, there's the theory of Sothis herself being an alien who came from a star called Sirius, but not sure if I'm gonna use that here. I did reference it a bit with the whole Naga asking Kiran Mark if he was sent to the FE Planet to save his life.
Seeing as I wrote a connection between Sothis and Naga I also wrote Naga's part of the fight a bit similar to the battle Seiros and Nemesis had at the beginning of Three Houses.
I also wanted to give more characterization to the "goddess" since while she usually works perfectly well as a character with her paragon proclivities it gets kinda boring seeing only that in every single fic I've ever seen. Plus if Grima could get characterization making him more like Zamasu and Goku Black, why can't Naga be more developed?
I got a bit of inspiration from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 while writing the final scenes. I mean, I already had them in mind, I just found there the tiny details to polish it a bit better. Those who have reached the final chapters of the game will understand.
Although TLOZ tells me we need to be balanced between power, wisdom, and courage the series never truly explains how one can be "balanced" since there are many concepts that could fall under one of those three ideas. I even use a profile picture of a triforce made up of words in their respective place. Regarding the tetraforce, I doubt that thing could be canon, but the idea of it the fourth piece being united to the concept of hope made enough sense for me to consider mentioning it.
Not gonna explain everything about Miguel (no! he sharing a name with Miguel O'Hara is a mere coincidence) in this chapter, some of you may remember him from the chapters where Kiran/Luis explained his past, since there are multiple references on top of each other. But I will mention three: their colors and powers are referencing Mario and Luigi (in the case of the names Luigi and Luis both share even the same meaning: famous warrior), and the whole sentence Naga said when summoning him is a direct reference to what Ultimecia/Artemisa says in Final Fantasy 8 when she unleashes Griever on the party. In English, her sentence got changed a lot but in Japanese and Spanish she says exactly that:
I will summon the being you fear the most, the stronger it is in your mind... the worse the torment shall be!
You see, Griever is actually a GF (Guardian Force beast) extracted from Squall's mind. He's the representation of what Squall sees as the ultimate life form, something that cannot be defeated.
And finally, the reason why Miguel got chosen for this is a reference to Mario and Luigi Dream Team. Citing TvTropes here:
"A bit of Fridge Brilliance doubles as heartwarming when you look back at the game and wonder why Mario curb-stomped Antasma in the first battle in the hot air balloon even though he was in his true form. It's simple. It was Luigi's dream and in his mind Mario can take down any foe without much trouble, and that includes a fearsome nightmare king with godlike powers."
Finally, regarding what Kiran requested to Naga... you'll understand better in the next chapter.
