Chapter 20
Origins and Truth
Beta: Old man of the mountain/Darklord331
Naruto groaned.
His head hurt; he wasn't sure why though.
Sitting up from the floor he looked around, frowning that he was in darkness. Complete and utter darkness. No sound was made, no noise could be heard, nothing—just an empty space.
Getting to his feet he sighed,
"Man, my fucking head." He rubbed his temple, "That fight with Seath really sucked." His eyes widened, "Wait."
Looking down he saw that his prosthetic hand was moving without any hindrance while his other hand was fully healed.
"The hell? What is going on?"
Naruto recalled his battle with Seath, how he and Havel passed out on the floor of his cavern, and how the fight was more devastating than they could have predicted with the dragon destroying both of his arms and almost crippling him from a few of his blows. Thanks to the attack that had him clashing with the blade he was using; his hand was probably ruined.
But now it was healed?
"What is going on?"
"Greetings."
Turning on his heels he saw, well he wasn't sure what he saw.
Standing there in the darkness was a small ball of light, maybe fire? It was floating there and seemed to be 'looking' at him. He wasn't sure if that was accurate, but he was sure that the orb is the one that spoke.
"Um, who are you?"
"Salutations young one. You have managed to clear the first hurdle in completing the path that was set before you."
"Come again? Wait, before that what happened to me, I mean my body was wrecked in my fight with the dragon and, I was in a cave full of crystals not a black void." Looking around, "I mean how did I get here."
"Calm yourself young one. To answer your questions in order: You were brought into a special part of the mindscape where we may converse privately. Far from the prying eyes and ears of that beast and the goddess. As for your body, the state of your mind is clear, so your body is clear without any deformities. However, your body is still damaged outside here. But luckily it would seem that your friends found you in the cave and brought you back to safety where you are being healed. Thankfully by that cute little fire keeper you saved."
"As for this Void as you called it I guess you could say this is a plain of existence only those with a Lord Soul may venture to. For every fragment you gain shall come here and merge together until it recreates the Lord Souls of Old."
"Wait, I thought the original Lord Souls were broken into four pieces, with the last one the Dark Soul being small and unnoticeable."
"True young one that was the case. However, the Lord Souls were broken apart from the original shape it took. the First Flame."
Naruto understood that much. So, this means that the First Flame was what came into existence where then it broke into fragments granting what is called Lord Souls. But then what was the purpose of the Dark Soul if it was barely noticeable and not needed in bringing the First Flame back into existence?
"Now then, I believe it is time we get to the point of this discussion. First I wish for you to see the soul of the dragon you slain and see what you must see. Once you are done you may return to me."
The room glowed and soon he found himself staring at flashing images in front of his eyes.
"Seath you are not born with the same attributes as the rest of us. You shall forever be known as the Writhing Horror. Be gone and never return to our nests."
You cowards I shall pay you back for this insult 100 times over! In time you shall be begging for your lives at my hands!"
Seath appearing before a man with a beard and wearing royal garbs.
"I can assist you human in destroying the Dragons however I wish for my own location to study magic and the crystals of the realm."
"Hmph, very well dragon but know if you dare to betray me I shall make sure your ashes are scattered across the ground." The dragon smirked,
"Of course, I would never dare cause any harm or distress to you my dear friend. Lord Gwyn."
Time passes, he is in the archives holding something in his hand.
"This child is something of an abomination. She inherited some of my traits but also her mother, take her away." One of the chandelier men walked up and took the baby into his arms, "Send her to the prison, let her stay there and regret not being worth more than she is."
Another vision passes,
"So, Havel how does it feel to know that Gwyn trusts me more than he trusts you?"
"You fiendish dragon one of these days I shall slay you and Gwyn! You manipulated me and Gwynevere for your own purposes!"
"Of course, it was easy to fool Gwyn into thinking you betrayed him, but in ever imagined you actually planned to kill me, thanks for making my job easier!" Seath broke out in a deep laughter making his archives shake.
Time passes and soon Seath is standing before a magical circle.
"Now is my chance, I must ascend to the next level!" Holding his hands out, the circle starts to glow before a bright light opens the room and Seath finds himself in the ocean.
"What? What is going on-,"
He feels something, Naruto's hairs stand at the back of his neck and Seath slowly turns around.
Floating there was a massive serpent. One that was bigger than any creature he had ever seen, even making Seath look small in comparison. The creature moved slowly through the water until what appeared to be the head appeared next to him.
"You! How dare you-"
One of its eyes opened and all he saw was darkness.
Tarckly salkur kishamprot
"The cats are climbing up the Chimney! Rain down the French Stockings!"
Seath is sitting in his cave shivering and speaking gibberish.
Naruto found himself flung out of the memory and landing on the ground with a thud.
His body was sweating, his mind was racing, and his breath was uneven.
"W-what the fuck was that thing?" He swore he saw that thing before, but he wasn't sure that thing was the same as before. Something was different about it. Just more ominous than anything.
"Did you enjoy your trip through the dragon's memories?"
Naruto turned to the floating orb.
"W-what the fuck was that thing he saw?!"
"I'm sorry, what thing?"
So, the memories only affect him? That was good to know for the future. But for now, he was going to let the matter slide, there was no point in worrying about something that wasn't in front of him.
"Now then shall we begin our journey?"
"Into the Lord Soul?"
The being floated to him before it pressed against his forehead and his vision was covered in a bright light.
The light blinded Naruto and soon felt the world around him, moving? He wasn't sure but it felt like things were shifting but due to the intensity of the sunlight, he wasn't sure.
"You may open your eyes now."
Slowly, Naruto opened his eyes and looked up to see that he was in a familiar place.
"This is the main throne room of the castle."
"Indeed." The being floated above his head, "This is a recreation of a memory from the Lord Soul. Sadly, we can only view this memory as we don't have the rest of the Lord Soul fragments that make up this one."
Figured; Gwyn broke his soul into many pieces including himself, Seath, and the Four Kings. Meaning that he would need to find the Kings and Gwyn himself to reform the original Lord Soul.
"This memory should interest you as this should reveal something you have pondered for quite some time."
Looking around the throne room Naruto saw Gwyn sitting on his throne. He was bigger than he could tell in the other memories. But then again he was sure that was probably more akin to him being seen through Gwynevere or Seath's memories. For the most part at least.
He was tapping his fingers on the rest and looking down at a smaller man on the floor with a glare.
"Is the report accurate?"
"Yes Lord Gwyn, from what we can tell the flame is dimming. Meaning that the Age of Fire is starting to reach its end."
Gwyn gnashed his teeth, his hand gripped the rest on his throne, and he glared down at the man.
"You damn fool, didn't you try to tend to the flames as I asked?"
"We have sire. But nothing we are doing is stopping the flame from dimming. I'm afraid the flame might wither shortly as foretold by the prophecy."
"No!" Gwyn slammed his hand on the throne, "First that traitor dared to side with the dragons and now you are telling me that my reign might be coming to an end? I refuse! I shall fight the tides of change no matter what for I am the ruler of this age and the true God of the Sun!"
"I understand Lord Gwyn what do you wish of us?"
"Go to the Witch and inform her that I wish to ask for her aid in either strengthening the flame or recreating the flame in another matter. Thus we will be safe for another few generations before this one fades."
"My lord is that possible?" The man stared up at his king, "With all due respect while the Witches are masters of pyromancy, it is unclear if their flames will have the same effect as the First Flame or even the same power."
"Then she better find me a solution! After you see her call Seath, Nito, and those blasted humans to throne room! We must commune on other options that can help us."
"Understood my lord but what do we do about Oolacle? They report that there is a dragon flying through the area and causing chaos."
Gwyn sighed, "Those fools can handle the dragon on their own and if worse we can always send Ornstein or Artorias to go deal with him." He rubbed his beard, "Although, now that you mention those fools, isn't their territory right on the border to the entrance to the Abyss?"
"Um, yes sire I think it is why?"
"Send an excavation team, I want them exploring the Abyss to see if there is a means to prevent the Flame from disappearing. If not then we need to find out how we can counter them in times of crisis." He growled, "I will not be at the mercy of those pathetic little creatures."
"At once your highness."
The man left the throne room in a hurry while Gwyn was left to mull over his situation.
The memory soon came to an end and Naruto found himself back in a bright void.
"You have seen some of the true history of this world. The truth of Gwyn's obsession and where it started."
"I can't believe it he knew the flame was going to die out and he was doing everything he can to stop it. But why? What was so bad of the next age that he feared it if the flame went out? That is the one thing I don't understand."
The creature gave a light chuckle,
"Of course, you don't. You're not from these territories and weren't around when the war happened. In the ancient times," A small projection appeared in the sky showing a battlefield. Many dragons lying dead on the ground while some were struggling against beings wearing dark armor. The armor was pitch black, darker than the night sky, and they seem to have an aura of power. "The humans, or pygmy as Gwyn called them, were fighting on the front lines with the gods. Gwyn himself was wary of their strength and power due to the fact they were numerous and all of them contained some fragments of the Dark Soul. But even more they had the power to harness the Abyss and use it without any form of restriction or challenge. If I'm being completely honest, this strength and numbers is what made him fearful of the future. As you know the Dark Souls of the humans was feared as they would lead the next era. To avoid this, he sentenced them to the Ring City saying it was a gift, but it was a prison he built. Even sending his own daughter there to trap them in this world without a chance of finding freedom."
"What happened after the war I don't have the memory for it. But you should be careful child, many challenges still lay ahead and if you get more of the soul, you shall learn more of the truth and what really happened during the time of the Gwyn."
The light started to blind him again and Naruto found himself awakening from his deep slumber.
Looking around the room he saw that he was resting in a luxurious bed with the sisters overlooking him and the shrine maiden resting her head on his bed. Seeing everyone so tired and that there was no reason to get out of bed he decided a little more sleep wouldn't hurt. Closing his eyes, he had to wonder; what was in the Abyss that made the humans so powerful? He truly wanted to know.
Chapter End