Author's Note:
(10/26/2021) - Desktop webpage is not currently loading Vol II, Part I. For whatever reason it is loading Vol I. Part 24. The mobile (used on tablet or cellphone) is loading the new chapter correctly. I will try to be in touch with the site in order to get this resolved. Until then please bear with me until this issue is resolved. Thank you.
PART V - Coming Home
Before Riveria knew it, morning came as a gentle glow from the artificial sky of the safe point blossomed through the window. Waking from her slumber, she couldn't help but squint her eyes at the light. And with no delay her chest felt tight and heavy from the stress that already wrought itself upon her. Wondering how the day will go.
As she changed and performed the routine she always had every morning, including the mornings when she dwelled in the depths of the Dungeon, she began her rounds to check on her team. Her light footsteps unnoticeable, even for the squeaky floorboards of the once-Inn. All lay silent. And as she made her way down the flight of stairs, there she found Aiz fast asleep on the other end of the room.
Surrounded by Bell's resting familia, Riveria's ears perked at the absence of a particular noise that she had begun to anticipate.
The members of the Hestia familia bore no coughing breath, but the gentle breaths in and out with no interruption.
Walking around the side closest to the street, she passed Welf and then Haruhime. Both had various cloths that lay black and dirtied, and a mug that lay empty. Within she was able to smell the faint scent of peppermint and onions.
"The oils.." She thought to herself. And turned to the kitchen whose door stood open with a clear view of the room within. It lay empty, cleaned. The mess that Mathis had made sorted and the dishes cleaned.
But before that, at the desk lay a series of clay mugs with wooden covers to prevent any dust from settling within. Next to them a note written in Koine.
"These are for Nine Hell and her members. The others here have already been given the first dose just before the sky changed. Be sure to give them the second one in the next five hours, or by the time you reach the surface and get them care. It can be a little rough on the lungs getting the poison out. It works though.
Aiz can vouch for that.
I'm sure I'll see you all again soon."
And before Riveria could leap up the stairs to check to see if Mathis truly had left, a voice gently called out amongst the ones fast asleep.
"He already left."
With her hand on the railing of the steps, she gazed to it's source. Aiz sat with tired eyes.
"How long ago?" Riveria pried.
"I'm not sure." Aiz said as she rubbed her eyes. It was an answer that caused Riveria to sigh at the inconvenience, but she couldn't blame Aiz. They all needed the rest. "He did say that he'll still be in the city."
Aiz gently added as she stood up and then stretched with a faint whisper of a breath. Her golden hair streamed down her shoulders as she lowered her arms.
"-And that he was going to get help from the place he called home."
That single word peaked her interest as Aiz spoke.
"Home.. Where in Orario could he call home?"
It was a thought that perhaps lingered longer than she would have liked. For just as he had never heard of Rabbits Foot nor the Sword Princess, both staple names to the people of Orario, so had she never heard of the adventurer named Mathis nor his patron deity, Vishnu.
"Did he say where home was?"
Aiz gently shook her head as a deep breath swept through her.
"No. Just that he said he would get help. -But he did say that we have a few hours once it turns to morning to make the trip up to the surface without encountering any monsters."
Riveria couldn't help but narrow her gaze as that statement graced her ears. Never had she heard of such an insight, an understanding of the Dungeon, nor the chances of their being any safe passage throughout any of the levels. Which included safe points, monsters could still roam and raid safe points. But to walk freely in a specific window through the Dungeon, without any lingering threat hidden in the shadows caught her off guard.
"Is that so?" That was all she could offer Aiz. And Aiz only nodded in affirmation of the statement. For some reason, she believed in him. "Very well. Then we must get moving very soon."
That resulted in the process of waking the resting to carry the wounded. Waking said resting was easier for some and proved to be a greatly volatile process for others, particularly for one Werewolf. Not more than ten minutes had passed until everyone was up. Save for Bell, where Aiz was pacing herself as she held the elixir that Mathis had brewed.
With Aiz slowly creaking the door open, she gently called out his name and received no response. As she entered the room, she found Bell fast asleep with a peaceful expression gracing his face. For a second, she hesitated waking him. Knowing that if she were to, he'd be brought back to the world with the horrible truth of that pain that he can't deny. The pain that caused his pure heart such dismay.
Tiptoeing across the floorboards, she approached him with the immediate desire to sit by his side and stroke his hair. A sensation that she hadn't felt for a long time since their time in the beginning of their training together.
"Bell." Her voice chimed so gracefully as she stood there. And there lay no response other than the ins and outs of his breath.
And with the light from the world outside, she could see the faint trail of a single tear strolling down his face. A thing that brought such contrast to his peaceful expression, where she could only imagine what he was dreaming of. Whether that tear was of the sorrow that wrought itself upon him, or something so simply happy that he couldn't help but shed a tear.
In an action that she couldn't resist, she caressed his cheek and with her thumb swiped the tear away. The sensation was light but sensual in a way that made her heart flutter as she graced his skin. As his closed eyes fluttered, he slowly returned to the land of living.
"Huh?" Bell softly groaned as he faced the woman standing by his bedside. "Aiz?"
Just as she anticipated, his face started to blush as he realized who was caressing his face.
"Mhm. It's time to wake up."
In her hand she held the elixir, and once Bell was upright she gifted it to him.
"Drink this."
Stuttering, he was caught off guard as she placed the elixir in his hands. Bringing the mug to his nose, he wafted the smell.
"Is this-..?"
Before he could finish, Aiz simply nodded. They both knew what it was, and Bell had a faint recollection of what was explained by the man from before.
"Right." Bell said as he brought it to his lips. After a brief moment of stillness his body tensed and his throat was struck with the sensation of the elixir's effects. With cloth already in hand, Aiz handed it to Bell as the coughing fit began, a sign that the elixir was working to expel the poison from his system. Cough after cough, clotted red and a fine black escaped his lips and stained the white cloth. The fit lasted two minutes, time that felt longer than what it should have. But Bell couldn't deny the after effect. For the first time in the past twelve hours it felt like he could breathe. Taking in a single deep breath, he could feel his lungs expand fully, the sensation of drowning had vanished, and his body rejoiced in pure delight. Taking another breath in after a satisfying exhale, he closed his eyes and sighed happily.
With a faint smile on her face, Aiz simply watched.
"Are the others-?" Bell had begun, as he hesitated in asking as he stood up before her. "Are they ok too?"
"They're ok. They're safe."
"All of them?" Bell asked with an innocent tone.
The question caught her off guard, for she knew what it implied. Did the spell Mathis had cast work? Casting her eyes down and aside, she didn't want to tell him the truth. A truth that for some reason he wanted to deny. But for his sake, she had to tell him.
"No. Not all of them."
It was day one without her. And the look on Bell's face when he heard, caused a twinge-like sensation in her heart. A feeling she couldn't bare but she decided to face it head on.
"It's time to go." She said as she held out her hand to him.
"Yeah.."
Aiz didn't know how to say it, but she knew the pain that he was in. And with her hand, just as he offered her from before, she was determined to aid him in navigating the turmoil caused by such grief.
Before everyone knew, just enough time had passed where everyone was up and running. Their gear was checked, and the members of the Loki familia all stood by the people they claimed to carry up to the surface. With Bell stopping just before the door that held Ryuu, he paused as he could feel all of the eyes of the Loki familia upon him. Including Finn's.
Standing before the door, it felt like the undeniable truth lay in wait on the other side. And though he didn't know his grip around Aiz's hand had grown so much, she didn't say a word. And after a moment of contemplation he entered the room letting go of Aiz's hand. Within the firelight of the smithing station flickered as new air rushed in, and there he saw her body laying still on the table covered in her white robe that was stained red.
Draped over her body, he could still see the silhouette of the woman he called friend. And blessed as he was to have known her, his breath still wouldn't stop shaking at the sight. For after everything, from the endless help that she had given him within the War Games, to everything in between up to now. He knew that he was going to keep his promise to her. If it was the last thing he would do.
Watching it all, Aiz stepped aside as Bell approached with Ryuu draped over his arms. Standing just outside of the doorframe, all of the Loki familia held one of his familia members in their arms.
"Are you ready?" Riveria's voice held a tone unlike he had heard before from her, there was a sternness and concern. Like a parent operating from a place of grace and standards. Gentle, but not soft. Hard but not abrasive.
But all that Bell could muster was a measly "yeah" as he couldn't look anyone in the eye.
When they left, it was quiet. The Smith, Jai, had left some time ago. Riveria and Gareth assumed that it was to provide aid to Mathis. Where in reality they had no idea, not even Aiz was able to recall.
With Aiz being the last one to leave, she gave the room that they had started this mission in a once over.
There was no sentimentality to it. But yet she couldn't help but feel like so much had changed. For better and for worse.
"△▼△▼△▼△"
Mathis and Jai reached the final set of stairs. Up above them rays of morning sunlight trickled through the entrance of the tower of Babel. And for a brief moment they stopped. For one, it was the calm before the storm. For the other, it was setting forth into a world that he had long abandoned. And as Mathis held the body of the fallen adventurer that he had found against his own tattered clothes and body, they both recovered from their trepidation and began up the steps. The soles of their feet thudding against the stone steps, with the sound echoing from the walls that surrounded them.
It was dead silent throughout the entire way. No word uttered as if in mutual agreement between the two, as they both were preoccupied with their own thoughts.
But after a certain point, perhaps halfway up, the faint drone of the outside world reached their ears. First it was the wind, then the faint murmurs of the people above. Soon they could hear birds chirping, and the sound of feet shuffling about.
And finally at the top, they slowly walked out to the southern entrance of Babel.
On both sides of the entrance were Guild Staff and members of a familia that Mathis couldn't recognize. Regardless they approached, and in turn sounded off the procedure of the return of survivors. The Guild Staff were slow in comparison to the unknown familia that rushed towards him. Offering their assistance in taking the fallen adventurer from Mathis' arms, he was left there empty handed. The weight gone. But yet he still didn't know what to do with them. And uneasily he let them fall to his sides.
The Guild staff finally approached, checking both Mathis and Jai. Asking question upon question. The sudden attention caused Jai to stiffen up and back away nervously. Leaving Mathis to stand in silence, utterly deaf to the world around him. Deaf to all but one thing. Before him stood a young boy with a mixture of ginger and blonde hair, and a face dotted with freckles. He seemed well dressed, like one would to present themselves to someone special.
But despite his proper appearance, his face cringed and his eyes watered as he saw the body of the adventurer be taken away by the familia.
All he could hear was the sound of the deity's cries.
From the deity Lenus. The god who waited.
"△▼△▼△▼△"
There was a long hike up, but sure enough it was just as Aiz had relayed to Riveria. There were to be no monsters in the window they were given. It thoroughly stumped Riveria. To know such a thing would mean that this would've happened before. But in all of her time here in the city of Orario never once had she heard of such a thing. Where the Dungeon seized it's creation of monstrosities, where man, elf and demi-alike could walk through as if there were no danger at all. And that was precisely why they needed to take advantage of such an opportunity.
Carrying the wounded, they reached the first floor of the Dungeon with ease. The entire way there wasn't a single peep or word uttered, merely silence. That was until they reached the surface.
There was the sound of crying, practically screaming in grief from a single individual. But the voice sounded like that of a child. Even at the bottom of the staircase up to the surface they could hear the cries that had begun.
Riveria and Gareth exchanged glances of concern, wondering what it could be that lay in wait on the surface. Surely no monster had escaped and attacked, rather this had to be none other than facing the cruel reality of the Dungeon.
At the final steps, all ears traced the source of the sound to the southern entrance to Babel. There they found him.
There they saw the small boy, Lenus slamming their closed fists in a tantrum of pure into Mathis' sides as Lenus burrowed his face into the man's stomach. An action that bore no harm to the man, but from his expression alone it held a great uneasiness about it all as he stood with his arms and hands up, allowing the aggressive expression of grief to unfold.
The deity screamed and cried, demanding to know why of all the people who had to die, why did the people he loved have to be of them? They weren't the newest familia, but it must've been the deity's first familia, and it mustn't have been long since they arrived to the mortal realm, where the cruelest of things happen.
They watched it all with Mathis oblivious to their presence.
They watched him embrace the deity and say with the sole intention of Lenus to hear. Words spoken so softly not even Bete's ear could pick it up. Whatever he had said, the words he had chosen, it was enough to calm the deity of the fallen familia.
It was a scene that Riveria couldn't pry her eyes away as she watched in careful observation while holding Lili in her arms. After a second passed, their eyes met as royal blue and jade eyes locked uneasily after he rose and gently ushered the deity to go with the Ganesha familia that had taken Lenus' sole adventurer from Mathis.
Neither one expected to see eachother so soon. That in truth, she anticipated it to be a bothersome task. Hopefully that when the time came that they needed to reach him, it'd be just as ironically easy as this. But he carefully looked over to her team, with a look of relief that they were all out and in safe condition. Before he turned away from her, there she caught a glimpse of his eyes once more until he turned to the nearest Guild Staff and began a conversation.
"Oi, Riveria, let's get moving." Gareth said interrupting her steady observation.
"Yes. Let's." Riveria said before prying her eyes away from the man.
With Riveria and her team leaving for the Dian Cecht familia, they began their march through the streets of Orario. Where eyes fell upon them with a variety of expressions. Expressions, that despite Rvieria's calm exterior, made her feel at unease as the possibility that word had spread already began to fill her mind.
Word that they betrayed Bell's familia.
However she couldn't allow herself to worry about it as she couldn't control the consensus of the people within the city. How exactly Bell came to do such a thing was beyond her. To aide the Xenos in broad daylight, to fall as a fool whose being was a target of disdain, all to rise up to be a beacon for the people of this city. The boy who overcame it all.
No, they could never betray his familia. Finn wouldn't allow it, and Riveria knew of his importance to Aiz. To take him away would be the equivalent of snuffing out a candle light amidst the darkness. As silly as it sounded, she knew they shouldn't be torn apart.
And so the two walked together on their own path, venturing into western part of the city. With Bell entrusting Riveria with his familia to take them for care after their discussion late in the dead of night.
By no means was it an easy walk. To be humbled in such a way to face such gossip in the streets head, to show that they were willing to do what was needed to make amends. She secretly hoped that this would be one step in restoring the fractured alliance between Bell and the Loki familia. To hope was all that she could do.
"△▼△▼△▼△"
Mathis couldn't help but pry his eyes away from the woman whose name was still unknown. All that she had revealed was her alias, Nine Hell. As the world slowly filled his ears, he could hear their footsteps leaving in unison. Counting them all, he noticed something, two pairs of feet that remained still. But he didn't dare look as he knew who it was. And he knew with the utmost of certainty that as he would turn his head, he'd be reminded of his failure.
That he'd see the Ghost. Aiz Wallenstein.
And though he promised never to call her that, it was a name that he kept reserved to himself, as every time he saw her it stabbed his heart of the person that this world was now deprived of.
"You all good, guy?" Jai said from his left.
It was funny for Mathis to hear such words come from Jai's mouth. Partially because he could feel the unease that grew within Jai as they approached the surface. But if anything Mathis was grateful for his concern.
"Yeah, I'm good. About as good as I can be." Mathis said with a faint nod, trying to reassure Jai as much as he was trying to reassure himself. "What about you? It seems like it's been a while since you've been back up. Am I wrong?"
Jai stood still, looking as if he had just lost at a game of cards.
"You really read me like a book… Uhh. Yeah, there's a place I wanna check out." Jai said as he turned his gaze to the east but slowly diverted it to the northwest. "Well, there's a few. Just.. -You know, catching up with acquaintances."
"I didn't know you had acquaintances." Mathis said in a light tone. The remark again kept Jai on his toes as Jai took a breath in and widened his eyes as he prepared his retort at the verbal jab. "You look like the kind of guy that makes friends wherever he goes."
It was a brief rollercoaster for Jai as various expressions until finally he pursed his lips.
"I hope it goes well." Mathis said.
Jai simply nodded, as he scratched the back of his head as his shoulders relaxed. Breathing a deep sigh he shared the same humble hope.
"Me too."
"Just take things slow. Inside and out." Mathis said as he tried to reassure him.
Jai took a breath in and slowly out.
"Yeah, you're right." As his gaze drifted to the floor as the anxiety was ever so apparent on his face.
"I'll walk with you. Assuming you'd allow that."
"You sure? Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Jai asked, he didn't sound as if he were denying the suggestion of company, but rather being thoughtful of Mathis' own obligations.
"I do have to go to the Guild. But it'll give me a little more time to process things." Mathis said with a shrug of his shoulders as if he were trying to shake the weight of the past trauma that had just occurred to give him temporary relief. "Besides-..."
Mathis slowly cast his eyes over to the buildings that seemed so strange to him. Buildings that differed from when he dove back into the depths of the Dungeon. The sight left him perplexed, confused, frankly he felt lost.
"I'm starting to think that Goliath's punch rattled some things up here. Because I don't remember the city looking like this.."
"You know what, yeah, that's a good idea. We'll be walking right to the Guild anyway." Jai nodded, as he remembered how Mathis couldn't even remember the names of Aiz or Bell's handle.
Beginning their walk, side by side, Mathis stood about half a head shorter than the broad smith whose eyes were calmly scanning the people that gazed upon them. Though Mathis couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with all of the eyes drawn to them, as he scanned. As if wearily keeping his senses on high alert.
He could hear the collective murmur of voices. They whispered words of awe and concern. For the sole reason was that they were the first people they've seen leave the mouth of the Dungeon and walk into the light. What probably didn't help was the blood stained clothes that wore battered and worn, and his appearance in general was disheveled. He needed a shower, and a meal. But those could wait. They had to.
For as he could peer over to the man that had practically saved his life and offered him shelter, there he could see an unease written so clearly on his face. Accompanying him was to come first.
"It really must've been a while, huh?" Mathis said.
"Hmm?" Jai said as his eyes suddenly broke his silent gaze and spoke softly. "Oh yeah, it has been. I think two years…"
"That is quite the amount of time to pass to stay underground." Mathis said as his eyes wandered across the mass of people that gathered in the streets. It really seemed like there was a population boom, and businesses were thriving, and despite the recent disturbances, it was like the trial of fifty-eight days never happened.
"Yeah, I hope she's still there." Jai said as his eyes slowly drifted downwards and began to rub his back.
"You can only take it one step at a time, you know?"
"Yeah, one step at a time. Do you have someone waiting for you?" Jai said as he briefly gave Mathis a glance.
"Uhh, you mean like a woman?-.. No, I've always moved too much and have been too busy. The closest thing I guess would be a deity, but she's kind of-... She kind of needs to be put on a leash. You know, a little crazy. So I always tried to keep her at an arm's length away."
"Oh so you like the crazy ones? That's a little different considering how much you had your eyes on Nine Hell." Jai chuckled as if he wasn't surprised at all.
"Woah, woah, that's not what I'm saying."
"Uh-huh, I'm just paraphrasing what you said." Jai said dismissively with a chuckle.
"Nah, paraphrasing leaves out crucial details, which means people get the wrong idea.. So this person you want to see. What can you tell me about her? She sounds pretty special." Mathis said boldly as he tried to toss the metaphorical ball over to Jai.
"She is-..." Jai paused as he squinted to find the right words. "She's the kind of person who cares deeply about her children. Even if they fall, she'll be the one to teach them how to get back up on their feet."
The profound statement filled the air between them with silence as they passed the crowds of people. At first Mathis didn't know what to say.
"I see.."
"You see?" Jai chimed in.
"Yeah, you got a mother-deary complex, right?" Mathis said matter-of-factly with a wave of his hand.
And there he felt a jab that jolted through his body as Jai slugged him in his left arm. Turning to Jai, he could see a faint grin on his face as he shook his head as a chuckle escaped out from under his breath. And Mathis had to resist the urge to share his own smile leaving only the corner of his eyes to crease.
"Asshole." The word escaped in between the chuckle from Jai's lips.
"I can see why she'd be the first one you'd see, if that's the first thing that comes to mind when you're asked about. Sounds like a good person to have your life." Mathis said with a nod as the humorous energy faded.
"Mhm. What about your folks?" Jai said as the crowd spontaneously narrowed and widened. The continuously fluctuating amount of people could only really mean a few things, and as most are adorning armor and various other gear, they looked to be adventurer's either leaving or going to the Guild.
"Folks? Like parents?"
"Yeap. You got those don't you?" Jai asked, and Mathis felt if he hesitated in answering the next question would be whether or not he had a belly button.
"I got them, I'm betting one of them at least is around here. It's been a while." Mathis said as his eyes warily scanned the adventurer's who walked by.
For a split second no more, he thought he saw a familiar figure through the crowd. A figure who adorned themself with a tan hat and a feather strolled by on the other side of a group of passing people. It was a sight that caused him to slink down a few strides and shortly after return back to his normal height.
"You all good?" Jai asked as he watched it all in plain view.
"Hmm? Yeah, leg just cramped up a little bit." Mathis said as he rubbed his leg. "How much further?"
"That's actually it, right there." Jai said with a nod of his head to the building on the right side of the street with large glass pane windows. There stood some people gawking at the beautifully crafted weapons and armor on display. And as they drew closer there he could see that they truly were works of art.
"Hephaestus familia.." Mathis said under his breath as his eyes scan the hieroglyphs to the sign above the door. And in silent appraisal. "Wow."
"Come on in. There's some more goodies inside, guy." Jai said as he reached for the door to usher Mathis inside. But before Mathis could enter, Jai stopped and pointed out down the street. "Oh by the way, the Guild is just down the road."
And as they entered, Mathis stood in silent awe with one eyebrow raised at the works before him. Glistening suits of armor, polestars and staffs that looked as if they were shaped by the hand of a deity lay mixed with others. In truth some were, but others were the works of her children.
And those were all works of art with monstrously high price tags that made Mathis gulp. But the fact remained the same-..
"Our smith would've loved this place."
"You had a smith in your familia?" Jai asked as the the people in the lobby parted ways, continuing to follow the next shiny object.
"Yeah, she was a prodigy. Just like how some people say fighters can read their opponents movements, she could see into the grain and feel how a piece was made." Mathis said in an indoor hush as he leaned close to the scimitar before him. His eyes closely trailing down the grain of the blade and the oil etchings that were burned into the metal, down to the leather straps that were wrapped in a delicate pattern that would never loosen or fail the wielder. "Like she could speak with the metal. She had so much potential."
"You talk about her as if you raised her. A proud parent.." Jai said in humble observation.
"In a way, I did. She was just a kid when we found her.." As his eyes examined the guard he stood up and gazed at the weapons and armor before him.
If only she were around to see such a place. To learn the craft from a deity who specializes in it. To reach her full potential like he always knew that she could.
And in a voice that Jai could barely hear, Mathis spoke.
"She would've loved this place."
"Is there something I can help you with?" A woman chimed from behind the counter as the floor cleared. The woman was peppy, and held a positive air to her as her hair bounced.
"There is actually. Do you know if Hephaestus is in today?" Jai asked politely while Mathis continued his examination of the weapons and armor that surrounded him.
"Oh I'm sorry, you actually just missed her. I don't know when she'll be back. But if you're a customer, I can take a note down for you!" The woman said with a cheery smile.
"No, no. That's fine." Jai said as the polite smile crept on his face, but as Mathis gave him a quick glance he could see the disappointment that he was eager to hide.
It took him two years to come up to the surface. Was it the loss of his friend that drove him up, or the events knowing that a beast called the Harbinger was on it's approach in the coming week. Well, as Mathis had counted it was more around six and a half days. He didn't care to count the minutes or hours. That took up too much mental energy. But what he saw before him was something else. As if there were a third option buried in between.
Then the door opened.
"Oh. You're back." The young woman chimed as her eyes darted to the door.
And there stood a woman with a head of thick red hair, and one eye covered with a black eye patch.
"Yes, I've felt that I must've missed something." The woman said as she reached for her belt, as if something were missing that was never there to begin with.
"Hey.. Is that-?" Mathis said as he tiptoed to the man whose back was turned to her.
Slowly he turned facing Mathis and gave him a subtle nod as he recognized the sound of her voice. Then fully to the woman behind him standing nearest the door. The room was empty except for the four, and what filled the room was something that he didn't quite expect.
Sensing that this was a moment for them and them alone, he gave Jai a nudge and spoke in a whisper.
"You got this." Mathis said, holding his knuckles out to Jai.
Jai gave them a glance and bumped Mathis' fist and looked him in the eyes with genuine appreciation.
"Thank you."
Nodding, backed away and gave them both a polite and silent farewell with a flick of his hand from his eyebrow in a quarter salute.
As the bell above the door chimed twice, once upon opening and another upon closing, the room fell in silence.
"Jai." She said as a smile grew on her face, immediately recognizing the man before him.
"Hephaestus." Jai's eyes grew soft in admiration to the woman before him, nodding as he couldn't take his eyes off of her.
"You're back.. Do you intend on staying? We've kept your room as you've left it."
"You waited?" Jai asked softly, as a weight began to fill his chest. He needed to stay true to his goal, his sole reason that brought him back. But of course she would have. The love she shows to her own is pure, sometimes strict. No matter what, home is home. Like a parent, they would wait for their children to return.
"-No.. I actually have something to ask. Just this once." Jai said as he clenched his fist and his chest grew tight.
"Oh? And what is that?" Hephaestus asked with a faint narrowing of her eye.
His heart twisted and turned, contemplating, begging, reasoning for him to do otherwise but it was the only way.
"I want you to release me from our contract."
"△▼△▼△▼△"
Amidst the crowd of bustling life, two figures walked down the western road with all eyes drawn on them. And all the boy could do was keep his rubellite eyes locked forward as murmurs and gossip began as the people parted like the seas of a myth long passed at the sight of the two worn and beaten adventurers.
It wasn't a long distance in reality. But the truth that lay under the white robe made it the longest walk Bell had ever known. And he was raised well, perhaps too well, he valued keeping his word.
Arriving to the kitchen door in the side alley, Bell's face was blushed as a gentle stream of tears strolled down his face as he gazed to the person on the other side of the doorframe.
"I didn't know where else to bring her." His face trembled as he looked into the eyes of Mama Mia who solemnly sighed at the sight, while slowly closing her eyes. No tears fell, she stood composed and when she spoke she sounded mildly irritated.
"Bring her inside. Come on." The large framed woman stepped aside and gave him passage through the inside of the Hostess of Fertility. It was as if the day she had anticipated had finally come.
Whatever sounds of the hustle and bustle that the kitchen staff made came to a sudden halt at the sight. No one said a word, some forgot to breathe as Bell carried Ryuu's covered body through the kitchen with none other than the Sword Princess in tow behind. None dared look upon the shocked faces of the kitchen staff.
Following Mama Mia through the building as she gripped her face, she opened a door that led to the apartments up a flight of stairs where she ushered him through.
"Go on, you know where to go." She said with a groan before closing the door behind him. As Bell and Aiz slowly made their way up the flight of stairs, they heard Mama Mia's booming voice.
"You all have ten minutes to finish your meals! We're closing until the beginning of next week!"
There was a murmur of confusion, and reluctant acceptance as no one dared defied Mama Mia and face her wrath.
Aiz stood at the bottom of the stairs briefly looking down at the closed door separating them from the dining area. There was an inexplicable sense of concern and claustrophobia as she turned and embarked up the stairs behind Bell.
"You know where to go." Those were Mama Mia's words, and Aiz could only help but wonder why and how he had become familiar with the fallen elve's room. It was a selfish thought, one that caused her to squint her own eyes. Mental berating herself on how that particular thought was none of her concern.
Reaching the top of the stairs, she followed his tired footsteps.
"Could you-?.." Bell said as he came to a stop in front of a door. His eyes hidden by his bangs.
"Mhm." Aiz hummed, as she gently swung the door open, leaving the door to slowly creak to a stop. And there was the entirety of Ryuu's room. Kept neat and tidy with her bed made and window left open from her escape from Syr the day prior. The blinds by the window remained eerily still.
As Bell gently lay her down on the bed, Aiz's own eyes couldn't help but wander and scan the room.
"So this is where she called home for so long? The Gale Wind?" Aiz thought as she stopped in the center of the room, recounting the first time she had encountered the vindictive elf so long ago when Aiz herself was practically a child. And then from the events on Daedalus street. The past twenty four hours, and then to now.
Enveloped in the room of a worthy adversary, an ally, she couldn't help but feel a faint singe-ing sensation in her own heart. It was bewildering, confusing to feel such a thing despite knowing so little about someone for so long. In her own way, what she felt was grief at the absence of someone she barely knew for she knew that this time it wasn't a lie spread amongst the tragedy of the previous expedition that Bell had been on. The lie of a heroic ending, bringing the demise of a sect of Evilus, saving a number of people. It was a good lie. A nice ending.
But here and now, Aiz knew the truth that the Gale Wind is gone from this world. It was a painful truth for the two standing there. That the truth was anything but nice and comforting. It was painful as the two had been torn from one another.
As Aiz drew her eyes upon Bell, she could see it plain as day. That there was something there between the two. What it was specifically, she didn't know. But whatever it was, even she could tell that it was something special. And that was the closest as she would allow herself to place a label on something she knew so little about.
Their past, their history. And while her entry has ended, who knows how much longer he'd hold on to it.
From the hallway, the enormous and often intimidating presence of Mama Mia, entered the room. Her footsteps sounded with the faint thud of her heels against the wooden floorboards and before anyone could say a word there was a weary sigh as Mama Mia drew her hand away from her strained face.
And in the room were the subtle gasps and shaking breath from Bell as he stood before Ryuu. Leaving Aiz to stand silently. It already was a strange sensation, it made her uncomfortable right from the get-go. Wielding and swinging a sword was a more preferred situation, standing silently when someone was in grieving, she felt incredibly out of her element.
She almost felt invisible. Useless.
"I-.. I'm-.. She-.." No matter what words that Bell arranged in his mind, they couldn't form a cohesive sentence as he stuttered and stumbled with the first letters of every attempt. "It-.."
"Look, there's only one thing I need to know." Mama Mia said cutting him off as her words carried a sincere yet intense weight. "Did you kill the damn thing that took one of my girls away from me?"
Wiping away the tears with the sleeve of his shirt, he let out a sniffle as he tried to compose himself, preparing himself to face whatever wrath may come.
"Yes ma'am."
"-Did you give it everything you got?" Mama Mia asked bluntly as she peered over to Bell.
There was a pause as Bell hesitated, and as an awkward third party member, Aiz couldn't help but try to come to aid.
"He did." She said softly to reassure Mama Mia. But the words caused Mama Mia to raise her finger in warning to Aiz.
"I'm not asking you. But I'll come back to you later." Mama Mia said sternly and then turned back to Bell, she asked one more time. "Did you?"
"I did." Bell nodded as he held his arms close to his side.
Mama Mia's stern face softened only slightly, as if she had heard everything she needed to find redemption in the boy, as she crossed her arms and relaxed her shoulders.
"That's all I need to know."
The answer caused Bell to nervously glance over to the intimidating woman, completely unsure of what was actually happening.
"You-.. You're not mad?" Bell asked with shaking breath.
Mama Mia could only close her eyes and shake her head.
"Kid, I lost one of my girls. I'm livid." She said calmly, but from her eyes alone they could all see that Ryuu's loss was already weighing on her mind. "I knew that there were two ways her time here was going to end. This-.. This was the one I always feared, for her sake. But it was bound to happen.."
Mama Mia's eyes scanned the room briefly, taking in the refuge that her establishment had offered for the lot of misfits she had taken in. To provide them a home, shelter. To find meaning.
"Wait-..?" Bell uttered in confusion. "What do you mean, two ways? What was the other way?"
Mama Mia briefly gazed at Aiz, then back at the boy, almost confused that he didn't understand what she meant.
"You really didn't figure it out on your own yet?" There was faint exasperation in her words as she locked eyes with Bell, and speaking ever so carefully so even he could put the dots together, she spoke. "She wanted to leave this place, and to ask to join you and your familia, kid."
Aiz saw the words hit Bell like a sack of bricks as his breath escaped from his lips and his legs suddenly weakened as he staggered backwards.
"She what?-.."
"I'm not repeating myself. But you-..." Mama Mia said safeguarding herself from the truth that was just revealed. The fact that one of her own, one that both her and Syr had taken in and rehabilitated, was prepared to venture out into the world. To do something that she hadn't done for so long and had fallen even before she could ask, to make that fateful step. But as she turned to Aiz once more, she drew her finger out to her and scolded. "-You better hope that the whispers I'm hearing aren't true."
"Ohh?" Aiz said aloud in confusion
"Please don't-.." Bell uttered before Mama Mia could say any more. "-Please don't be mad at her. If it wasn't for Aiz then-.."
Bell couldn't help but stop as his mind settled on what could've happened; the worst possible outcome where none of them would have survived. And at first Mama Mia's eyes widened at the audacity as her temper began to flair. Leaving Aiz to watch the expression ride on her face as she put the dots together from those words alone. That if the boy who was laid victim to it all, along with his familia, stood up for one of them, how much of it all could be held against them?
"A lot happened. A lot that I'm having trouble putting together." Aiz shamefully admitted.
"That's not a surprise, you ditz." Mama Mia said dismissively.
Aiz's face scrunched at the remark, hesitation and confusion washed over her as she didn't know what to say, how to convey her frustration and the events that had transpired to a woman who seemed to dismiss her so easily. Though Aiz wanted to stay, to be by his side in case he were to need her. After all it was only fair, for how could he be the only one to come to her aid?
"It's best that you leave before the rest of my girls arrive." The words seemed to float in the air around Aiz as her gaze settled on Bell. And as they finally reached her conscious, she slowly turned to Mama Mia while tilting her head in confusion.
"It's not going to be pretty. Especially if you'll be here."
Mama Mia's words came not as a threat, but a careful and realistic prediction of what was to come. With the circumstance surrounding their friends death, and the word that has begun to spread, retaliation would most certainly be expressed. And if it was one thing that Aiz understood very well, was anger.
"You're right.." Aiz said with a gentle nod as her eyes rested at Mama Mia's feet. There she turned to Bell. "Will you be ok?"
Bell's eye wandered in contemplation ever so briefly, fluttering as he tried to fight the sorrow, but ultimately nodded.
"For now.. Yeah.."
"Ok." Aiz said softly. Though she didn't want to leave, she knew there was little that she could offer him and to respect the space here she felt that there was no better option.
Of course, she wouldn't be there to walk alongside him wherever he may venture, despite how much she wanted to. Whether it was to bring word back to their goddess, or to join his familia at the Dian Cecht familia, she knew that she would have to wait and ultimately knew where to find him.
As she made her way to the door, the hulking frame of Mama Mia stepped into her path blocking her from the door with her hands on her hips.
"I may be able to put two and two together, but other people won't be so open minded. You're going to have to be careful out there." It was a stern warning, not one out of empathy, but as a general concern for a fellow adventurer. "A lot of people aren't going to be happy with what's going around town."
"I'll be fine." She gazed into the half-dwarf's eyes plainly and began to walk around her to the exit. As one of the strongest adventurer's in Orario, she could handle much that the Dungeon could throw at her, and so she assumed that it would be the same on the surface.
"You say that now.." Mama Mia said as she shook her in exasperation, watching as the Sword Princess left.
"△▼△▼△▼△"
When Mathis arrived at the Guild, it lay filled with adventurer's standing in lines and filling the spaces between. It was beyond packed, it was claustrophobic. It truly was a rarity for him to see the place so full, perhaps from his days of traveling with his familia resulting in the decreased likelihood of visiting the Guild and utilizing their services. In recent times, they've begun to use the Guild as a middle-man. The keeper of scrolls that allowed for Mathis and his familia to find out where exactly the deity they worked under was. It was a tedious process, often offering outdated information on his whereabouts solely due to Vishnu moving around so unpredictably.
Though Mathis hoped that he was still in the city. He had to be. The last he had heard was that Vishnu had returned from the Springs of Elfor. Whatever that place held, Mathis wasn't certain. But it was mandatory to check the Guild. To save himself the time of running around the city lost.
Though that was a feeling that he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by.
Staring at the place where the hole once was in his left hand, he rubbed the skin with the other only to feel nothing. It was the strangest of sensations, to see and feel nothing on one side. It felt as if he were holding someone else's hand. Someone who wasn't there. Someone long gone.
"I can help whoever's next." A gentle femine voice called out.
For the first time since entering the line, he brought his eyes up to meet the receptionists, who did her best to smile warmly. She had brown hair, and elven ears with a set of glasses resting upon the bridge of her nose. She radiated intelligence.
"She'll know.." He solemnly thought to himself, though it occurred to him that never once had he seen her. And in the brief moment as he approached the counter, his eyes wandered to the other Guild Staff where he stumbled upon the realization that he didn't recognize any of them.
"They must be new-hires.."
"Uhh, hi. My name's Mathis, and I'm wondering if you guys have a message from the deity Vishnu?" Mathis said mustering as much as energy as he could bring himself to her.
"A message from a deity named Vishnu? I can certainly check. Is there something in particular I should keep an eye out for?" She offered politely.
"Yeah, it's in a sort of dark brown book box that has a scroll in it. About 'yay' big." Mathis said with his hands before him, giving her a rough estimate of the size of the container that was no bigger than a shoe box.
"Got it! I'll be right back." The receptionist looked intently upon him and his hands, committing it to memory before setting off in search with a professional smile.
"Thanks."
Her heels clicked against the floor as she passed the various desks before vanishing through a door.
Standing there alone with a line of people behind him, he warily made eye contact with some of the adventurers. A few grimaced, presumably annoyed that he had the receptionist run off, delaying their own agenda even further. But it couldn't be helped. There was one individual, a woman with glasses and short blue hair that curled, looking as if they were clouds themselves, who made eye contact with him. Her eyes held a dismissive glance as she turned to face away.
It were these looks that brought an unease to him. As if the looming hostile presence in the city had vanished. They all held expressions that could be considered normal.
"It's like it never happened.. The Trial.. Forher's Right.. None of it.."
That didn't calm the anxiety racing through his mind and the tension in his chest. Just how long could he expect to walk out amongst the surface peacefully before it all started all over again? If there was one thing he was certain of to avoid all of it, he needed to find Vishnu. With Vishnu, they could take their remaining resources to their allies.
He could go home. Although, he'd be alone. With the people who had fought by his side now gone, it'd leave Vishnu and the other familia who always welcomed them with open arms.
Help was on the way. Just like he promised Aiz and wrote to Nine Hell.
Yes, help was on the way.
"Umm, excuse me, sir?" The receptionist had returned and patiently awaited by the desk with another Guild Staff right behind her. The man stood tall, and why he was there exactly was beyond him, the added Staff posed no threat.
"Yeah? Any luck?" Mathis asked as his eyes darted back and forth between the two, noticing their empty hands. Well, except for the receptionist, her hands held a large book that she placed on the desk between them.
"Well, not really. May I ask, are you a part of the Vishnu familia?" She said carefully with eyes softly trained on him.
"Uhh, no. I was outsourced to him. But we have a working agreement. Not a contract but-... But why do you want to know that?" All of his senses were focused on her, the receptionist, as his eyes locked with hers. Desperately looking for any clue as to what she found.
"Perhaps we should talk in private?" She offered gently with a courteous wave of her hand to a door nearby. It was an offering that caused Mathis' heart to race, and breath escape him.
"Ma'am, it's ok. Just please tell me. Do you know where Vishnu is?" Mathis took a deep breath trying to steady himself.
The Receptionist carefully looked at her associate beside her who gave her nod. And then the receptionist took a quiet gulp in careful preparation.
"We do know. Vishnu has returned to Heaven."
Mathis' eyes fluttered and tears pool in the bottom of his eyes at the absurdity of it all.
"No. No. That's not right. That's like saying Hera's gone too. He can't be gone.."
For a brief moment, confusion graced the receptionist's face at hearing that particularly Goddesses name.
"But she is. Both her and Zeus.. They're were driven out of the city after they lost the wargames fifteen years ago. They lost to the Freya familia and the L-.."
In that moment his body felt a sudden cold, and his limbs began to shake. It was as if he was back in the Glacier Territory as the cold swept through him and his body seized. Seizing at the words she said so carefully, words that sounded like common knowledge.
"No.." He said softly with his mouth agape as his eyes trembled at the news slowly backing away from the counter. "No, that can't be right."
None of it could be right. None at all.
"I'm sorry, sir. Perhaps if we-... Sir?"
Bringing his hand to his mouth, he couldn't help but try to hide his trembling sorrow from the world. Because it couldn't be true, it can't. This all just had to be one giant trick, conjured up. Or just one horrible vivid dream.
Backing away, he bumped into the soft body. Who? He didn't know, but impulsively apologized as he exited the line hiding his eyes from any and all. Passing the people who gave looks of contempt and the woman whose hair looked like blue clouds.
Out of the Guild and into the sunlight. His mind ravaged by things he couldn't accept to be true. And seeking to find the truth himself, he ran to the only place he knew that he could call home.
One could count the seconds that passed since the man left the Guild, and waiting outside with his face hidden under a hat with a single feather tucked on the side stood a deity, patiently waiting. Hermes was in no hurry, because he was on one thing.
"Find anything?" He said as a pair of footsteps stopped beside him. It was then that he looked up, and his eyes began to trail the man as he fled into the crowd.
"You were right about one thing. He's still using the same alias." Asfi said rather irritated. One would guess that such an easy task would given her such a lightened mood, but she knew better. As it was all about to snowball from here. The days and nights of running errands, of investigating, and little to no sleep were on the horizon. That was why she was irritated. "He was trying to find a deity, a Vishnu, who appears to have returned back to Heaven."
"Vishnu, huh? Why would he want to see him of all people?.." Hermes said as he rubbed his chin. The idea itself made no sense, at least to his knowledge.
"From what I heard, it seemed that he was contracted out to him by another familia."
"Oh really, now? Are you sure that's all?"
"From all that I heard, yes." Asfi replied firmly as her eyes cast themselves across the people of the city.
He brought his hand to chin in contemplation as he tossed a few ideas around in his mind. It was a process Asfi knew very well. Soon he'll come to a decision with a sly grin on his face and announce their next move.
This was something she could always rely on. And sure enough, with eyes seemingly closed with a genuine sense of joy and curiosity, a smile graced his face.
"Well, there's no sense wasting any more time. Let's go." Hermes said as he brushed the brim of his hat and began down the path that the man known as Mathis had gone down.
Sighing as she readjusted her glasses, Asfi followed suit. For this was the beginning of something that she wasn't entirely sure of.
"△▼△▼△▼△"
Riveria stood in the streets of the city as people passed her by as she stood by the doors of the Dian Cecht familia. All going about their lives and the errands that follow suit, either for work or personal pleasure. She watched them all, some wore armor, those of course were the adventurers coming home after leaving the Guild. Often looking on in disappointment and the still standing restrictions currently in place. Others were people leisurely shopping, some people shopping alone, others walking hand in hand with someone. A child, a lover. Maybe a lost person who had a hero come to their aid. To guide them back to where they were lost.
This was the life of the City of Orario. People living life, carefully, peacefully. She would want to assume happily. But make no mistake, there was no longing. Despite knowing that there'd be a time when Lefyia would take the mantle from her in the Loki familia. Riveria knew that quite possibly that'd never be a thing for her and the responsibilities she was born with.
Peace isn't for everyone. No matter how much they want it. That was the truth for the life she had found herself in. But that doesn't mean she was going to grovel in self-pity and the lay blame to the world. To cast it all aside. To curse it.
Life has the potential to be whatever you make it out to be. And the people here, so long as they are happy and thriving, she will continue to do what she can to keep that peace.
A life of servitude.
And as she turned back to the building behind her, she recounted the brief moments with Amid. The captain of the Dian Cecht Familia, who had readily returned from an emergency visit to the Loki familia. Her breath was hurried and faced blushed.
Anakity wasn't holding up well, was what she was told. That at some point in the night, the vile effects from the cursed blade had attempted to seize control of her and quelm the fire of life within her. Though Riveria knew that Amid wouldn't admit it, if it weren't for her, Anakity would already be long gone.
The effects from a cursed blade that not even the best healer in the city could unravel and cure, just so happened to be afflicting one of their best. With no other choice, and not hoping for anything in particular, Riveria handed the vial of water that she had received from Mathis to Amid. To ensure that it was safe, and that it was as Mathis had said. For the things that can't be healed through normal means.
She guessed, rather assumed that it was just any other variation of the potions that are commonly sold. With the effects of the healing on his arm and body, there lay no scars. Which wasn't uncommon for potions to do. Though she had to know for certain what it was before using. And if it was found to be of little to no use; Amid was instructed to discard it.
Turning away from the building where the Hesita familia lay in care of Amid, as well as her own, Riveria began her journey down the street to the Guild. Where she was aiming to begin the debrief process, where the Guild would ask a multitude of questions. Questions that she held some reservations for, questions that she knew were not going to be pleasant.
"Did the Loki familia intentionally put another familia in harm's way?"
Passing off a horde of monsters to another adventurer's party was, as despicable as it was, a thing that happened regularly when a party found themselves overwhelmed by the forces of the dungeon.
But this? How could she predict what would happen next?
Step after step, she drew closer to the Guild. Carefully weaving her way through the spaces inbetween the crowd of lively people, conscious of the occasional glance from passersby. Some she could assume were from the fact that a high ranking Loki Familia member was passing them by. At least that is what she hoped, not in any vain sort of way. But to delay the inevitable rise of the gossip that surely is spreading through the city now like a cancer.
And what brought a halt to these thoughts were the sounds of faint sobs and trembling breath. A sound that somehow rose above the sound of the clattering and chatting on the streets. As she glanced around to the people around her, seemingly oblivious to the quiet cries, she found that they were sounds for only her ears.
No one would anticipate grief being so alluring, as she passed the Guild and ventured down the streets. Following the sounds, determined not to lose it. And so she did not..
"△▼△▼△▼△"
Stepping out into the alley of the Hostess Fertility, Aiz slowly stepped down the stairs where her boots gently clacked against the cobblestone. And there she stood in silence at the base of the stairs with the sounds of the kitchen winding down behind her, and becoming muffled and silent as the door closed, leaving the sound of the streets to fill her ears.
For a second no more, her eyes wandered at first to her empty hand and then to the ground.
A whirlwind of emotions breathed within her, things that in this particular moment, she didn't quite understand. There was one thing she was certain of, that despite how much she didn't want to, it was best for her to leave. To be the source of conflict for someone she-..
She stopped as she thought about the white haired boy. Narrowing her eyes in contemplation. Putting piece after piece into that particular gap. To find something that he was to her. Swaying her head as if reading the pages of a book, she could find no words. There was no singular word with a fitting description, no grand definition, nor any label that filled the void.
But there was one. Utterly simplistic. Practically sinful. Vain. Greedy. Arrogant.
It was a word that she kept close to her, as in some way, she wasn't certain if she could ever say it.
"Hers."
Out in the street there was a sudden commotion. A brief lapse of the peace as a heavy fell to the ground and a few objects scattered about.
"Huh?" Aiz turned to the streets, wide eyes as she saw from in between the two buildings a figure with clothes worn, hiding his face, apologizing as he quickly picked up the goods and quickly walked off.
"It's him..?" Making her way to the street, she stopped at the curb where there was a young girl. A worker from the Hostess of Fertility.
"Hey wait!" Grey eyes pierced through the crowd to the figure as her mouth was held slightly agape. Across her face an expression of brief confusion as she kept the bag at her feet as she stared down the street.
Aiz gave Syr a solemn glance, an expression that further dumbfounded the waitress as if her eyes pried for something and without saying a single word she began down the streets.
"△▼△▼△▼△"
He couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop. Not until the veil of this cruel trick was lifted. With feet that pattered faster and faster, staggering as his body ran on fumes, he pushed himself. Eager for it all to be just a lie. Eager just to come home.
And as he worked his way through the crowd that slowly began to thin and disperse, he found himself in streets that looked barron and decrepit. Buildings stood with cracks and darkness, empty husks of the times when they housed families and businesses. One was a bakery. The other, a smith's shop. Another was a church. He could name so many of them. With the cobblestone fading from the clean glory of the inner city, he worked his way through the streets where the ground became uneven and rough.
All that surrounded him was ruin as signs of battle lay on the buildings and earth around him like scars on a soldier. It grew and grew, the signs of battle that wrought itself on the land made this section of the city painfully unrecognizable.
Then he came to a stop as his foot kicked a solid object. Across the ground, a long golden object clanked and rolled to a stop. Picking up the object, witnessing the wear it had accumulated after sitting out in the harsh environment of the city, it was still recognizable.
In his hand was a golden statue of the Goddess known as Hera. Rubbing the dirt off of her face with his thumb, he could feel the tears stroll down his face. Landing on the statue, softening the dirt that clung so desperately to the priceless artifact.
With fluttering eyes and trembling breath, he brought his gaze up to what barely stood before him.
It was the one place he called home. The one place that willingly took in two strangers, two outcasts. Two orphans. A place that gave him and his sister shelter, food and a bed. All without asking for anything in return.
Fair. Loyal. And compassionate.
He knew she wasn't her. He knew that Hera wasn't their mother. But oh how he recalled every time they he and his sister had returned from one of their grand voyages, she'd be there with a smile on her face.
"Welcome home."
Barely able to stand on his own two feet, he stood at the gates of the massive building that lay in ruin. In a shape that was barely recognizable.
He was home.
There was no sound, but the shallowing breathing a man who stood before the last bastion of hope. Helpless. Broken. Lost. Standing in the aftermath of something that he had no control over. People who he called his own, gone. People who he could've helped when they needed him most.
They were all gone. Everything..
There was no help on the way.
And for him, it felt as if he were standing in the absence of hope.
A pair of footsteps gently approach, stopping some distance behind him. At first Mathis' ears perked back, sensing the source of the sound, and slowly like a husk of a man with a lingering expression of being utterly broken he found none other than the woman named Aiz Wallenstein.
The Ghost.
She stood with grace, and beauty. She stood like his own sister but years younger. Standing there silent, they both held their own expressions. The fact that she was here now, allowed him to come to only one conclusion. That if there was a hell, he was in it.
Her golden eyes scanned the buildings surrounding them, from the rooftops to her left, the fallen estate, and down to the streets that surround them. All in one slow and gentle motion.
"You're like me, aren't you-?" Aiz said as he drew her eyes to him. "-Ansem."
They were words that held their own meaning for each of them. He could not know what exactly they meant for her. Nor could she fully understand what those words mean to him. Their commonality lay within the misinterpretation of another, but neither were wrong.
The golden statue fell from his hand and gravity finally won as he fell to his knees. His face slowly contorted with grief as he wrestled with his emotions and with a blushed face he fell forward landing with both hands out onto the ground. Releasing a deep mournful cry that tore at his throat he clenched the cobblestone that turned to dirt from his grasp alone. Again and again he cried, releasing everything that he held, that for him was only a few days.
Crying at how the hell that surrounded him was so vivid and unforgiving, because she always knew.
It was a scene, a truth, that Aiz herself was familiar with. But that never meant she was comfortable being at the forefront of it. She was overwhelmed with hesitation. Watching a pain she knew too well, take place before her on someone else.
It wasn't supposed to be like this, someone else was supposed to be the hero. The person to save her. And while she fought and grew to become her own, thanks to the people who remained by her side for so long, who tempered the black flame of her heart with their compassion. Who led her to become the woman that she is today.
But who did he have? Who did the man who walked out of time and into another have when the world moved on? With no connections, and no home. There was only one answer.
He had nothing.
And when she gazed upon him, she didn't see the kindling of a lover nor a hero. No such things were before her. She saw something else. An innocence. A purity. She saw the thing that she often felt she could never be. Perhaps why, that when she gazed upon him, she saw her younger self sobbing. And from the light she saw on the eighteenth floor, she knew that it was something she wanted to protect.
"There. There." She said as she brought her to her younger self. Carefully bringing her close where the young Aiz cried and sobbed as she wrapped her arms around her waist. "It's going to be ok."
And at those words, Ansem cried for the loss of the very world he knew. A world that was taken from him. A world he could not get back. A pain that Aiz knew all too well.
"△▼△▼△▼△"
Jade eyes crept out from behind a corner in an alley not too far from Aiz. This was her cover, her shelter. A place to keep her from being spotted by the man known as Mathis. Riveria didn't know what to expect in her pursuit. Were she to corner him for answers? To demand an answer why his voice rose above everyone else's. She didn't know. It was a spontaneous pursuit spawned by an oddity and fueled by curiosity, one that she could only describe as a brief lapse in sanity. And yet she followed.
And when she found that Mathis had come to a stop, she had found something that she didn't anticipate.
Aiz's words reached Riveria's ears, and she watched the man crumble into a pitiful mess as they were immersed in the ruined section of the city.
From her shoulder she felt a presence hover above sharing her view.
"Well, well, I never would've thought you'd be a peeping-Tom." Hermes said with a sly grin on his face, catching Riveria off guard that she jolted in the most unelegant manner.
No words escaped her mouth other than a surprised breath and a scowl that appeared on her face. But Hermes quickly turned his attention back to the scene that had unfolded before them.
"Hmm.. I guess he wasn't lying after all.." Hermes said in his usual manner, but within lay a dumbfounded tone that seemed to be disappointed in himself. He stared upon them with a bare expression as his hat blocked the sun from his eyes. Turning around Hermes brushed the brim of his hat, pulling the cover of the shade further over his face and began walking off.
In a hurried rush, Riveria whispered out to him in anticipation of possible answers before her.
"Wait, you know him? You know Mathis?"
"I'm sorry, no. After today, I realized the darndest thing.." Hermes let out a faint chuckle as he pointed his head to the ground ever so briefly before turning to Riveria with a smile that crawled on his face. "I may not know a single thing about him that's true."
Turning away, Hermes bid her farewell with a wave of his hand, offering one last bit to ease her mind.
"But don't you worry your pretty little self. I'll be keeping an eye on him."
Riveria's eyes narrowed as confusion graced her face. Would it be reassuring for one to think that a person of interest would be under observation by another deity and their familia? It was Hermes after all. The deity with his sly grin, who always kept his cards close.
"But he said that he wasn't lying.. About what?"
And as that one thought that led to nowhere ended another began, one that for a moment shed the confusion from her face with the horrible realization from the letter he had written them.
"He said he was going home for help.."
And as she turned to face them and the ruin that he fell before it hit her.
"Oh no.."
The help that he was reaching for, was the very familia that the Loki familia drove from the city fifteen years ago.
Author's Note:
(10/26/2021) - Desktop webpage is not currently loading Vol II, Part I. For whatever reason it is loading Vol I. Part 24. The mobile (used on tablet or cellphone) is loading the new chapter correctly. I will try to be in touch with the site in order to get this resolved. Until then please bear with me until this issue is resolved. Thank you.
(Post 12 hour update)
Hey quick update, I read the first few reviews as I do try to be conscious of people's interpretations and thoughts, and so that way we all are on the same page about the romance aspect of this fanfic, our lead love interests are reserved solely for Bell. That is how it was always intended to be. There was no lie. And if you're wondering about Ryuu, I'll quote that infamous line from Wandavision "What is grief, if not love perservering?" Now we can't really say he 'loved' Ryuu, as with the whole reason why he wants to become a hero in the first place, but I digress because this is a fanfiction and leave it at "Feelings of fondness can continue even after one's passing."
For those in the back, solely RyuuXBellXAiz
What we see at the end of this latest addition between Aiz and Mathis is compassion, which considering her emotionally blunted self, is kind of a big deal for her, as that is reached through a commonality that is very specific and one that not everyone can say that they have. That and the hint of what happened on the 18th floor.
To merely elaborate on the main OC (I say main OC as he takes more lead time than Jai, the Old Lady with the Tattoos, etc), he is there as a catalyst for growth for the characters that we love. To propel us and our heroes into this story of finding peace through the chaos, to lead us through the metaphorical wasteland and onto brighter things.
I understand how some people feel that there is a balance issue in the way, yes, we have seen a lot of the OC in the last few chapters. With two, heavily focusing on him and the other OC. This isn't meant to take away from Bell, Aiz's, nor any of the heroes we know and their journey. These moments in a way gives them(Bell, Aiz, etc) and myself breath to prepare their next moments, all the while sprinkling seeds that help move the story forward. Some seeds are incredibly subtle, others are right in your face.
When looking at the story, each character has their own arch and how they progress through the story. Take for instance, Bell, in the beginning we get a sense of rising action, climax with the Juggernaut and Harbinger, and falling action in dealing with grief, and then resolution with him bringing Ryuu 'home.' Different characters will have different paces in which they travel through their arcs, so some are still developing. This is helps give the characters and the story a sense of life. One arc may be approaching it's end, while another is beginning, or two are overlapping at different phases of their arcs.
For the framework of this story, that is his arc, and everyone's arc may vary. Ansem's, for this story, was rather condensed. And with the framework of the story in place, and how the ending was just around the corner, that was rather unavoidable. And why that is important is because we still have a plethora of other characters to work and experience with. And how that plays a part of the story is a part of the journey itself. Especially with the setting, i.e. Dungeon can invoke a sense of isolation, claustrophobia, despite its sprawling levels. Or the City of Orario, massive walled city with numerous locations. With it being in the Dungeon, we were limited in our perspectives without the changes in perspectives being unnecessary, to aid in that sense of confinement and to achieve the tone of the story and to help realize the threat that is the Harbinger.
So yes, I know and agree, we've had a lot of OC. If he wasn't important to the overall story I wouldn't include him. There are just many facets to the overall story that make him necessary.
And now with this volume having just ended, and the next volume's framework is being crafted, I assure you that this story will be a story of our heroes Bell and Aiz. Yes, Ansem, Riveria, Jai, and others will be a part of it too. We are looking at an ensemble cast of characters as we explore Orario after leaving the Dungeon.
As we end this volume, I just wanted to let you all know that so that way when the first chapter of volume II comes out, we'll be in it together on the same page. That, and thank you for coming this far. There is still so much more to show you, and I look forward to you being a part of this journey.
(Original)
Hey guys, gals, and Xenos! So this latest additions marks the end of Book I! If you made it this far, thanks for sticking around, hope you've been enjoying yourself. There are a few things I want to bring up.
Whenever I start writing, I always have to force auto-correct off from fixing Riveria's name. My writing program corrects it to Riviera everytime. Just a random tedious fact.
When I first started this story, it was supposed to be only 50k words. As you can tell, that was a gross underestimation of what goes into a story. So really this is very much so a learning process for me, hence why the beginning may be a little rough. BUT! The big thing about this all, is that we finally got to the point that helped spark this idea to begin with. "You're like me, aren't you?" That scene, is one of the many that I've been dying to share with you. And there are so many more moments that will be coming up next with some of our favorite characters.
The first chapter of Book II may take some time to get released(about a month or two). I want to properly plan some key events right, get the approach right for the beginning, make sure characters are done justice, and that it is just overall well balanced in terms of character utilizing and growth. Because yes, we've had a lot of Mathis recently. There's a reason for that. And how this character will end up affecting our heroes is part of the journey.
Finally, I hope you all have been safe and well during the pandemic. Please continue to do so as I look forward to hearing from any thoughts you all may share.