Chapter 4: Reality's Red


I was angry with my friend:

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.


"Shouldn't you be resting or sleeping after all that happened?" Velvet asked him. She found him out on the docks, lost in thought as he looked out from the pier, his legs dangling down the edge. He had excused himself when the others had gone off to rest, though he didn't expect to be confronted.

Magilou had visited him briefly, expressing curiosity and despite Eizen claiming that he'd be keeping a closer eye on Ragna, the pirate was content in letting him roam about. He just had to be careful with that 'special power' of his, as Eizen called it, and to not use it in the presence of Laphicet.

"I have plenty of time for that." Ragna said as he stood up and turned towards Velvet. "What's up?"

She shook her head, arms crossed as she replied, "Nothing much. I just wanted to talk."

"Uh-huh, anything in particular you wanted to talk about?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious?"

"Yeah I learned to expect that nothing's ever obvious." He chuckled. "You finish speaking with everyone yet?"

She nodded. "It took some time to find Eleanor, but I think everyone's prepared to rest. You're the last one I found."

"Not going to tell me to go to sleep are you?"

"Of course not. But you're feeling alright I hope? You did seem on the verge of collapsing a while ago."

"I appreciate the concern but trust me, I'm fine. It's not the first time it's happened."

Velvet narrowed her eyes and moved to speak, though it seemed the words got caught in her throat. Ragna didn't press any further but as she spoke again, he sighed. It was expected really, of course she'll be curious.

"How did your arm came to be like that?"

It was only fair to answer. She had revealed enough of how her own arm became like that and so far, no one around knew about his origins. He would have answered differently earlier on too. Memories of the daemon he devoured were fragmented, but there was a lot of it. A combination of memories from those who became one with the Venomization process. But it gave him enough information about this world, and why it was unfamiliar to him.

"Nothing so dramatic really. Someone took away my brother and sister when I was young, killed our caretaker, then cut off my arm and left me for dead. I heard my hair turned white from the shock, but somehow I survived." He started to explain as he walked back to the entrance, Velvet following closely behind.

He continued on, "And someone showed up, leading me to a place with a warning. I think she may have bitten me, but it's been so long I can't even remember."

"Bit you?" Velvet wondered.

"She was a vampire. Anyways, moving on…" he shrugged, passing by the information as if it was nothing important. "I was lead somewhere, warned that if I were to accept a power offered, there's no going back. But what choice did I have? It was pathetic, and I was depressed about how powerless I was. Also scared after having everything taken from me right before my eyes. I ran towards that power, so I never have to feel that way ever again."

He turned around at the door, raising his right hand. "That's how I obtained the Azure Grimoire. It replaced my right arm and my right eye. But I know for a fact that it is a power normally detrimental to me every time I use it. I thought I would use it to take revenge on those who have wronged me, but even accomplishing those goals felt hollow." He looked at Velvet. "So your revenge story, in a way, resonates with mine. I don't know the ending to your tale, but I kinda want to see what happens. If I can help out, then so be it."

Velvet was silent for a while, and then sighed. "So you aren't a Therion as I know it then. And what was it you called it, The Azure Grimoire?"

"Azure, Blazblue, sometimes it's been called a few different things. Thankfully, I doubt anyone here cares about it."

"How do you know that?" asked Velvet.

"Because… uhh…" Ragna looked around, almost cautious. "…Would you believe me if I said I'm not from this world?"

"No."

"Yeah that's what I thought. But after looking through the memories of that daemon, I don't see any other possibility. The important events that have happened in its memories? I don't know any of them. And nothing's familiar here. For one thing, we're at sea level and not dying or changing into monsters. The world where I come from is saturated with well, that kind of poison." Ragna answered.

"Or you're remembering things differently." Velvet shook her head. The look on her face was calm, though he had a feeling she was doing more in studying how he acted.

"Sooo…."

"You have a tendency of rambling on, you know?" Velvet said.

"Only sometimes." He shrugged, pushing back against the entryway and let it open. Within the building, Ragna began walking backwards towards the stairs as Velvet moved towards one of the lower rooms.

"Hey," she called out quietly, "…Thanks for sharing. I do appreciate the help."

He nodded in response, looking on as she disappeared from view. Best to get some rest himself, though maybe he should get to rest now. Hard to get some sleep though, even if he should be used to this feeling.

"Well, one more thing." He mumbled to himself, making a short trek to the back of this area of the prison. This was to be the base of their group, which meant everyone had begun to unload a lot of things from the ship. Though many had paused to sleep, he knew there was one particular one to visit.

One of the crew's daemons, Kurogane, had asked to see his sword earlier. Something that Ragna handed over with barely a second glance. He didn't know why he did so, but he didn't sense any malicious intent. Originally, he would have come back for the sword in the morning, but he was curious to see what the daemon had to say about it.

When he arrived, Rokurou was there.

"I won't be able to replicate something like this. The construction is beyond anything I've ever seen." Kurogane said as the headless daemon swordsmith handed it back towards Ragna. "To think that it is made of so many different parts, it's mind boggling."

"Guess you won't be able to make me something like that for me in the near future?" Rokurou asked.

"I'd need a lifetime to even consider attempting it. Sorry." Said Kurogane. "Still, when has convention ever stopped a daemon?"

"Hey, no sweat. Think you know how to make your own sword?" Rokurou looked at Ragna.

"Probably not. It's actually gifted to me so I don't really know its origins." He replied, strapping it back to his side. "In any case, you guys doing anything else?"

"Not really. We're just waiting until tomorrow when we return to the Earthpulse point and figure out where to go next." Rokurou answered. "Speaking of which, we haven't really primed you for what we're actually doing are we?"

"Doesn't matter." Ragna shrugged. "Something about revenge. Take down a Shepherd. Save the world and all that."

"You make it sound like you've done something like this before." Kurogane stated. "How many more secrets do you still have?"

"Enough that I think I'm running out of them." Ragna answered with a chuckle.

"Hey, I'm sure that'll be fun to figure out. Your strength's gonna be useful for the days ahead." Rokurou said and walked up to pat Ragna on the back.

Ragna shrugged. "Well we'll see about that."


Midgand: The Empyrean's Throne

"You are a curious one indeed." She said, eyes closed as the old man cast the spell. "So, this is meant to restrain my abilities? What an interesting tool that you have here."

"Make no mistake, we cannot allow someone like you to roam free. Though you claim not to show any hostility, we cannot take any chances." He replied, the magical circle closing about her form before eventually dissipating into the aether.

The girl said nothing as her crimson eyes gazed upon the area surrounding them. A pure, white room with a throne at the back. She was a prisoner here, but a prisoner with a lot to gain. She wasn't concerned with how fearful the old man, Melchior, was of her. It was the other one that caught her interest.

"Artorius, was it? You claim that my malevolence would be used to achieve your goals. Tell me more." She stated simply, not even looking back behind her where the other man stood.

"Do not speak to the Shepherd in such a way, Malakhim. You may have your will intact, but that does not make you our equal." Said Melchior.

"Truly now?" she said, disappearing from view, only to reappear by the old man's side, his words ignored as she looked ahead towards the Shepherd. But he wasn't the only one there, someone else stood beside him. He could even be considered a child with an empty gaze as their eyes met.

Artorius was silent, as if her reaction was not what he expected. When they found her, the only thing that caught their attention was the formidable 'malevolence' she apparently radiated. Initially, she didn't even know what they meant and all she could do was listen to what they had to say. Through observation, she learned much about the nature of this place. And also what she was.

When Artorius spoke, all listened. There was Melchior, the old man. And a young knight under the service of the Shepherd. She heard the others mention him by his name, Oscar. A pious knight, with single-minded determination. And one who had some qualms about her very existence.

"Our goals are ever the same. To end the suffering of this world using any means necessary. This should be of no concern to you." He started.

"But…?" she continued to pry.

Artorius paused. It's almost as if she was demanding a confrontation, to know more than she should. Did no Malak ever think of attempting this? Or was she just that special in this regard? He said nothing, causing her to turn her head away.

"Has your spell finished yet, Melchior? It is taking an awfully long time to seal away my will for the time being." She said to the old man. "It is no Mind-Eater Curse, but it will have to do until I get more accustomed here."

"You are an odd little Malak," Artorius said, "We would give you a number, but what do you call yourself?"

"My name… ah, that is a good question." She said, closing her eyes. "I suppose I am known as Iza…no, wait, I'm misremembering. Sa…ya. Saya, yes that sounds right. I am… or was, Saya." She replied, her gaze back up towards Artorius.

"Very well then, Saya. By my authority, I shall grant you a purpose for our new world. You shall be bound to Oscar for now and your strength we shall use to capture your so-called brother. Perhaps he can be made to see our reason as well." Artorius said, drawing his sword and then laid it down on her shoulder.

Saya smirked, "And if he does not, well I assume you have a plan for that as well. I suspect he won't go quietly regardless."

"The report mentioned the intense malevolence he radiates. Hastening Innominat's awakening to his full power with your brother's cooperation would certainly be possible." Melchior said, holding his hand out to intensify the spell that should stifle Saya's will.

Saya nodded her head and then closed her eyes. For her will to remain dormant throughout this ordeal was a risk, yet the opportunity to observe was a reward in of itself. Until she grew acclimated to this place, then she shouldn't make any move in haste.

The spell finished and as she stayed there immobile, Artorius and Melchior stepped away. She was quick to turn towards Oscar, bound to him as was ordered.

"Is this wise, Lord Artorius?" Oscar said, "A Malak of Malevolence… does such a thing even exist?"

"This is why the purity of your soul and purpose is needed to make use of her. Any less and you risk being corrupted by her own Malevolence." Artorius replied. "Whether or not she's telling the truth is another matter entirely. But she is a Malak, and one like her who is willing to help us is a rare sight indeed."

"I shall look into her origins later on as well. If there are others like her and her so-called brother, then it would be wise to keep such beings close for our purpose." Melchior replied.

Oscar nodded his head, accepting their reasoning. "I assume then, that my mission is a simple search and capture?"

"We will let you know where your quarry is. Make haste, Oscar. Test your new Malak's abilities before your confrontation." Said Melchior, the younger knight acknowledging the request with a nod of his head and then took his leave. Saya hovered silently behind, her expression blank.


The Van Eltia – Many Hours Later

A fishing trip on the hunt for one of these Therions, weird enough but he wouldn't question it. "Now how did this fit again?" Ragna muttered to himself, glancing over to his left. He wasn't the only one having trouble with properly threading the line, and attaching the hook. He had done this before, a small lesson by Jubei that he may have not actually practiced that much. And why would he? There aren't that many good places to fish.

"How the hell…?" Ragna continued, annoyed at the knot that formed where the hook and thread met. Oh sure, it could be sufficient enough to just keep it connected, but it would likely break if any amount of force was applied on to it. He took a deep breath, and concentrated.

They had gone on this voyage following the direction of Laphicet's compass, but he didn't expect them to try and fish the target up. And it was Eizen's idea to do so, having given everyone fishing rods to try their hand, even if part of the reason was just to catch a meal.

"You don't go fishing much, do you?" he looked at Velvet, who seemed to be having some trouble of her own.

"It's just been a while. I used to go fishing with my brother sometimes."

Ragna turned his head. So Velvet too had some experience with these sort of things. He shrugged and turned back to his line. He let the hook dangle and then lowered it down to the water. No bites or nibbles, though perhaps that was for the best given how little he actually tried.

"Laphi!"

Velvet's raised voice caught his attention and he turned towards the commotion. Well, something was going on there. A little case of dealing with a replacement sibling from what he could tell. He had to stay out of this of course, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to listen in.

Something tugged on his line and before he could focus on it, a strong pull sent the whole rod falling into the ocean's depths.

"Uh…"

"You're not getting a new one." Eizen called out.

"What? Don't you have any spares?" Ragna answered.

"You lost a perfectly useable Fishing Rod. I'm not inclined to let you have another one until you can prove you can be trusted with it. Go share a rod with someone if you want." Eizen said.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." He sighed. Butterfingers, that was mostly due to his not paying attention though. Would just grabbing the fish from here without a line and hook work perhaps?

"Here," a voice sighed while he contemplated. Velvet had moved closer to hand him her own fishing rod and from the look of her face, she didn't seem to be in a good mood. Probably, it involved that recent conversation with that kid…

"Not that I want to pry but… you alright?" Ragna said as he took the fishing rod from her hands and dangled the line overboard.

She shook her head. "Just looking back on a lot of things. I'm not as focused as I should be."

"Right," Ragna said. From what he had briefly observed, there was a bit of nostalgia there alright. Even that witch Magilou mentioned some kind of comparison between people and fish hooks. That kid had the same name as Velvet's brother and it didn't take a genius to figure out that he wanted to be seen as someone else entirely. Living in the shadow of someone who had passed on, that must be rough.

So why was he here? He had pledged to help them in their quest despite the perils, a pledge that was all too easy to accept despite having known them only briefly. Was he himself using them as a replacement for what he once had?

"Oh, Ragna! You gotta get it a lot tighter than that. Here, lemme take a look at it." Benwick's voice snapped him out as the pirate took the fishing rod and started to modify it. Apparently, Velvet's hook wasn't attached well either so Ragna simply took a step back and let Benwick do his work.

"So even you can't do everything." Velvet said, forcing a smile to her face as she leaned back against the side-railing of the ship.

Ragna shrugged and adopted a similar stance, though his arms were crossed as the two observed the others. Eizen and Rokurou having a discussion about who could catch the best fish, Bienfu being used as bait by Magilou, Eleanor and Laphicet having a fairly casual conversation; all things considered, it was still mostly relaxing so he couldn't complain.

"Here you go!" Benwick said, handing the fishing rod to Ragna. "Now get out there and fish up a big one!"

"Thanks Benwick," he nodded at the pirate before turning his attention towards Velvet. "Well? You want first dibs?"

She shook her head. "You're the one who lost yours. See if you can regain your honor by fishing up the Therion."

"Tch, smartass." Ragna muttered, tossing the line overboard and waited.

Velvet swiftly punched him lightly on the shoulder though, but not enough to make him lose his grip on the rod. "Language. There are children here." She said.

"You're one to talk." Ragna jabbed back before settling on to focus on the sea ahead. It's all up to luck then to see if they catch anything worthwhile.

An hour must have passed before tensions rose. Laphicet had caught something earlier. But it was no fish or therion. Some kind of treasure box with horn-like accessories within. They must have come across some kind of trove because Eleanor, and Magilou soon fished up accessories just as odd as the last one.

"Not a single decent catch," Velvet sighed, taking the fishing rod from Ragna again.

He stretched his limbs for a moment, walking back to rest though he overheard Laphicet mention a rebuttal to Velvet's words. Kid's assertive, though he was surprised along with everyone else when Laphicet took to wearing those strange accessories. He watched from a distance, taking careful note of how Velvet and Laphicet acted. He shouldn't pry but from what he could observe, the kid wasn't too keen on Velvet treating him as his brother. Must be harsh to hear in Velvet's perspective, though he can respect the kid's guts for speaking his mind like that.

Velvet's fishing rod seemed to have caught something though and Ragna was quick to take hold while everyone was distracted.

"Think our luck is turning!" Ragna called out, keeping the rod steady with one hand. All he needed to do was slowly reel it in, right? And as quickly as everyone turned their attention to him, a sudden tug brought the catch soaring onto the center of the deck. It was…

"A pot?" Eleanor wondered, looking from it and then towards Ragna.

"Well, that's embarrassing." He said. He bent down to check it out, then sighed and turned back around. "Seemed empty too...ack!"

Something had reached for Ragna from within the pot, tentacles that wrapped around his throat and then pulled back, nearly making him stumble. With some effort, he held his ground and forcefully pulled away from those appendages. "The hell?!" he shouted.

More of those appendages appeared from the pot, and multiple creatures crawled out; shelled octopi that may have been making their home within it. He wasn't sure how he could have missed that?

It didn't take long to eliminate them, but the pot spewed forth more strange beasts… undead that threatened to swarm them if they weren't so easily dispatched.

And finally, the pot itself transformed into a daemon!

"I'm not even going to question this." Ragna called out midway through the battle. He raised his blade up to deflect one of the daemon-pot's tendrils.

"Whatever you guys do, make sure you don't smash it!" he heard Eizen call out. Advice that is likely to be ignored as the group made attempts to jab and strike it hard and fast. Despite Eizen's protests, the daemonic pot was being driven back and soon reverted back to its seemingly more natural state of immobility.

Simple enough, there was no need to bring out the Azure Grimoire in a fight like this and he retreated to the back of the group with his back to the wall. Nothing too important in terms of making progress, but a small smile was on his face. He can't deny that it wasn't enjoyable. Odd as this group was, he was enjoying the time spent with them so far.

"…isn't that right, Phi?" he heard Velvet tell the kid. Ah, so it seems they were patching things up a bit better now. Just a new nickname, but it seemed to bring a bit of joy to the young Malak's eyes as he observed the exchange.

"…You're you. You're Phi."

To have the burden of an existential crisis thrust on someone that young, living off an identity that isn't truly their own… It was something that even Ragna could relate as well. Again he recalled the words of someone telling him not to give up and not lose sight of who he is. A memory that made his heart droop just a little bit.

It wasn't all a waste though as Eizen picked something out from the defeated pot. Orichalcum, he calls it, an ore that Rokurou was delighted in seeing. Good for them, he observed and closed his eyes.

"Okay there tall, dark, and brooding. What's on your mind?" he heard Magilou say as the witch came up to him.

"Brooding? I'm just resting." He replied, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"Oh don't be like that. You need to be more active if you're going to perform for Magilou's Menagerie!"

"The… what now?" Ragna chuckled.

"Don't antagonize him, Magilou. I'm sure he has enough things to think about without added baggage from the menagerie." Velvet called out.

"I'm just saying, this is his decision. An initiation process, one would say." The witch replied.

"Do what you want?" Ragna answered, opening one eye to look back at Magilou.

"Don't blame us if you regret that decision." Velvet sighed.


Author's Note:

Can't seem to transfer this to the Crossover Section. So for the moment, this story stays here.