*-Zenith-*
I don't understand. What's a Laplace factor? What did that have to do with Rudy? Why does the man claiming to be Perugius wish to kill him?
"Oi! You get away from Thorn!"
There was a sudden blast of a dark red liquid, and I was lifted off the ground. It was blood. It lifted me into air and sat me on a dragon's head.
"Auntie! Are you okay?"
Pin hugged me and examined me and Rudy.
"P-pin? What's going on?"
"No idea. We rushed over here as soon as we got Rudy's signal. Shoot. His hair is all white! Is that bad?!"
"C-calm down. It's mana deficiency. He's not bleeding so he just needs rest."
"Phew. If you say so Auntie."
"Okay this is cute and all, but I can only move us so far away until those crystals are out of my range. I'm gonna need help holding them off."
Raion looked back at us as the dragon continued to soar. I looked back and saw that a large portion of the front lawn of our house was obscured by a huge red crystal.
A hole burst through the top, and 13 figures flew out and started coming towards us.
"Shit! They broke through, I need that backup!"
"Right!"
Pin got up and extended her hand. 5 nails shot towards the figures, but I couldn't see if they had hit or not. Pin continued to fire her nails, and every now and then one of the figures would lag behind, but they'd catch up to quick for it to matter.
"Damn it! Mrs.Zenith! How long does it take for someone to wake up from mana deficiency?"
"It can take from 7 hours to multiple days. Rudy may stay asleep longer since he's a baby."
"So waiting for Thorn is out of the question then. Alright. Pin, we've gotta hold them off for as long as possible! Got it?!"
"Yeah!"
They both raised their hands to the sky. Unraveling from Pin's hand an odd looking silver slime like creature slowly hung itself to her stump. It looked like some kind of mix between armor and a cannon you'd wear on your arm. It had a metallic sheen, and at the end was a rotating device with what looked like six small cannons at the front. A similar red creature rose from the dragons head and took a similar shape in front of Raion.
Pin placed her right hand in some kind of socket, and Raion held his hands out in front of him. Blood rose out of Raion's hands and floated into a small hole in the machination.
"Let's do this!"
"Yeah!"
Sounds like lightning striking the Earth rang out all around me as the rotating ends of the machines roared to life and started shooting towards Perugius and his servants. Pin's machine was shooting nails and Raion's was shooting tiny bullets made of blood.
"Woah."
'Woah' was all I could say as these two children fired on Perugius and pushed him back.
It didn't last long however. After an hour the dragon started to slowly fall down. Raion's machine was slowing down its firing rate and he was breathing hard. The dragon started crashing towards the ground and we were all thrown off of it.
I fell towards the ground, but didn't feel the impact. Opening my eyes I saw that I was slowly falling. As if something was gently laying me down. I looked back down at Rudy and saw a small trickle of blood come down from his nose.
"Oh Rudy. Protecting me even when you're unconscious."
Looking around I saw Raion gasping for air, and no matter how much I looked I couldn't find Pin. We were in a field, so there was no hiding. I rushed over to Raion and looked him over. He had no bruises or cuts which I found odd. We had just fallen from the sky, but he didn't have a single mark on him. I examined under his clothes for wounds, and brushed softly against his head to check for any head wounds.
My finger got caught on something near the edge of his hairline, and what looked to be a wig slid off his head. All of Raion's hair had gone white.
'He made that dragon and fired on those people for an hour. He had us moving pretty fast too. He's depleted his mana, but he has no physical injuries so he should be fine. But...'
I looked back towards the sky and could see Perugius and his companions quickly catching up to us. When I counted them up however, I only counted 11 total people. There should've been 13.
They all landed about 20 feet from us (about 6 meters).
Perugius stepped forward.
"One last chance." He held his hand out. "The boy."
He had small cuts along his face and in some places his armor was dented. The others behind him were even worse. The only one left unscathed was the one wearing the fox mask.
"Please listen. My Rudy isn't Laplace's reincarnation. He is the reincarnation of another boy named Thorn. I know it may seem hard to believe, but trust me it's true. The other boy was his friend. He can tell the deta-"
"Stop with the excuses!"
Perugius reached forward and grabbed Rudy. I tried stopping him, but he grabbed me by the arm and threw me aside. There was a loud crunch sound as I flew through the air. As I landed I could see my right arm was horribly disfigured and the bone stuck out from my elbow.
"Hmm?"
I looked back up and saw that Perugius was examining Rudy's leg.
"Women. I give you this one chance to prove your child's innocence. What happened to the boy's leg?"
'A chance?!'
"I-it's been like that ever since he was born. He has never been able to move it, and according to Pin his body has killed off the leg by never letting mana flow through it. Please don't kill my baby! He's done nothing to you."
"Hm... It would be foolish of Laplace to reincarnate into such a faulty body. Karowante."
"Understood sir."
A women wearing a chameleon masked stepped forward and reached for Rudy. She stumbled forward however, when a pink blur raced by, and the masked women's arms were severed and they flew into the field.
"What?!"
Perugius looked towards me, and I looked to my left. There was a large pink women shaped creature holding Rudy. Reaching out from her shoulders were long tendrils tipped with axes.
"Sorry Thorn. Guess I showed up later then everyone else."
The creature walked over and handed Rudy to me.
"You called him Thorn. You're one of his other friends!"
Perugius looked furious and was slowly walking towards us. The creatures mouth opened and revealed a baby barely 2 months old. It had on a mask that covered it's lower face and ears. Her eyes were glowing a bright pink pink color.
"I'll be happy to talk later, but I'm gonna have to pour all my focus into fighting that guy."
"R-right with you, Pheobe."
Looking over Raion had gotten up, and was stumbled over to us.
"Raion! You are in no shape to fight! Please stay back."
"Oh c-come on Mrs.Zenith. You gotta loosen up s-some. I've had worse. Besides I'm only out of mana, I've still got some energy left in me. You do to, right Kumu?"
The red slime creature slowly pulled itself back together from across the fields. It stuck to Raion and covered his arms and legs. He punched his fists together and what looked to be steam rose from the tips of his mouth as a smile stretched across his face.
"My body may only be 2 and a half years old, but I've got years of battle knowledge stuffed into this brain of mine!"
Two more slimes, or Kumu, flew down. One spit out a red haired boy who had a sword attached to his hip.
"Ah, oh Wuh. My lady? What in the world are you doing in there?!"
"Questions for later Mars. For now I want you and the other Kumu to protect this women and her child no matter the cost. Understand?"
"Y-yes ma'am!"
The boy bowed to the baby and stood in front of me. The other two Kumu hovered to his sides.
Just then another two figures landed on the battlefield. Both wearing masks as they stood at Perugius's side.
"Yuruzu and Clearnight. You are just in time. Do your best to get here faster if you find yourself in this situation again, and if you could would you call Chaos Breaker towards this location?"
""Understood!""
"Crap. Raion where is Pin? Im not sensing her Kumu anywhere."
"No idea. Her scent isn't here, but this should have been the only place for us to land."
"Guess we'll make do."
The two launched forward toward Perugius.
"May Millis protect you both. I pray for your success."
*-Rudeus-*
"Well look who's already gotten into trouble."
I opened my eyes and quickly covered them up. It was so bright.
"Was that you? Sir Millis?"
"It is. Here, these will help."
Millis moved my hands and placed a pair of sunglasses on my face.
"Thank you, but why am I here? My mother could be in danger, I have to go!"
"Now now. She is safe. I've come with an offer to help, but I'm afraid it has a price."
"Oh. What is it then?"
"Not a what. A who."
Walking from behind Millis a women looked me over. She wore a black dress and a black hat with a wide brim. Falling from the brim a veil fully obscured her face. The veil reached past her shoulders. I could see her glowing pupils staring back at me through the veil. She had a pair of black wings wrapped gently around herself.
"Hello. I am D̸̡̛̙̤̲̪͍͓̭̗̮̐̒̓̈͂͋̾̃͝ȩ̷̨̟̟̗̼̜̤̻̖͕̤̻͂̈â̸͙̹̝̹͇͙̙̱͈͍̄̋͐̉͆͗t̸̛̹͎̎̒̎͘h̴͕͓̬̜͖̦̠̬̐̿͘ͅ. You are the boy named Thorn, if Millis's word is true."
After every word she spoke it felt like ice pricked at my spine. She radiated and oozed of authority.
"I-I am. Though I go by Rudeus nowadays."
"Rudeus, you say? What a silly name. I have a question for you then, little Rudeus. Does the name Khaos mean anything to you?"
"Khaos? I am afraid not. I'm sorry."
"I believe we are getting off topic, are we not?"
"I suppose we are. Little Rudeus I have a deal that you may find extremely beneficial. You see your friends are currently fighting someone who is a wee bit weaker than the Gods of our world. This would usually not be an issue, but currently they are weaker than they were before. So to prevent you all from dying early deaths. Millis here has asked me to make you an offer. May I see your hand?"
She held out a gloved hand, and I gingerly put my hand in hers. That cold icy feeling came back as it crept up my arm and into my chest.
"I see. Well then I shall make you this deal. I will form a pact with you to help prevent the death of you and your friends. In return... how about in return you live a nice long life, and at the end whenever you die. You can tell me stories and sing me songs about all of your adventures. I'm rather bored you see. It'd be nice to have a little birdie to sing on my shoulder again."
"Um. If I may ask. What will forming a pact do?"
"Well it would help that mana blockage in your eyes for one. You scuffed up the revival process bringing that body of yours back to life."
"Pardon?"
"That body. It was dead when your soul was put into it, was it not? Your soul is damaged, and you still have an unfinished revival spell lingering in your eye."
"Oh. Would that also be the cause for my leg?"
"Listen I'd love to discuss this, but you're friends need you. Time passes by slower here, so they've been fighting for a while and things aren't looking good for them. So look. The pact will fix your eye, give us a telepathic link, and let you access some of my abilities. Whether or not that helps your leg I do not know. On top of all that when you make this pact I will temporarily allow you to tap into my personal mana pool, so that you can save you and your friends from an untimely demise. You'd best make it entertaining. I'm no fan of bland stories."
"I see. Alright then. I'll do it."
"One more word of advice. Little rose." Light started embracing me as my vision dimmed. "If you wish to revive someone then pour healing magic into their eyes, and only their eyes. It may sound confusing and wrong, but you've already done this to yourself. Just be sure to finish it this time. Goodbye, little rose."
*-Raion-*
Phoebe and I launched towards this Perugius guy. I think I might have heard about him in one of the books I read, but I didn't care about who he was. Right now he was trying to hurt my friend, and I wasn't about to let that slide.
I couldn't beat him though. I wouldn't stand a chance if this were yesterday, but today? I stood a chance. I had a Kumu. It grew my already incredible physical strength to new levels to make up for my younger body. My biggest help though was that Phoebe was here. With her and her Akumu there was a chance we could win.
Had this been under different circumstances then I'd be more confident about our success, but this is a guy who caused Thorn, the strongest person I knew, to send out a distress signal. I was confident in Thorn's strength. Had we known about the gods' betrayal, and not been caught off guard I'm positive that Thorn could've beaten them.
The number one rule of fighting Thorn is to never let him slip into a tempo. Even if you were 10 times stronger than him. If he got into a rhythm what was a 100% chance of victory could be brought down to 40%. And that's not accounting for all the other things he can do to increase his own chance of victory.
This man caught him off guard, but rather than trying to fight he immediately sent out a distress signal. He may be smaller than me now, but Pin said his mana levels were twice the size of mine. This guy was dangerous.
I clashed fists with Perugius, and immediately knew that I needed to go on the defensive. I could feel my bones rattle and my muscles clench together. Even with my super strength and Kumu's reinforcement I wouldn't be able to match his force. If I tried I'd only risk further injury. Blocking would be possible, but not for too long.
I ducked and Phoebe punched him in the face. He took one step back and scowled at us. He jumped back and the other twelve raced forward.
There was a roar and a bolt of lightning shot towards me. I held out my hands and Kumu formed a shield. It clashed with Kumu and shot me backwards. With his hand outstretched a man with a helmet that kind of looked like a lightbulb laughed.
This is bad. Phoebe was fighting the other eleven soldiers. All but two were fighting melee. The others stayed back, and kept bombarding her with spells.
"Oi! Don't you know that you should never look away from your opponent?!"
I looked forward and grabbed lightning boy's fist in my hand.
"Talk like that and you'll only piss me off. You sound like him."
Kumu quickly spread across his arm and bit down. I ripped his arm off. The guy started laughing as I felt his arm start heating up at an alarming rate. I looked back and started running towards the two spellcasters.
"Hey! Hold onto this won'cha!"
I threw the arm, which was now glowing white, towards the women with a pair of black wings and the guy with a sloth mask.
"Huh?"
The winged women looked over just in time to see the arm burst into a giant spark of electricity shot out.
"Hey! You can't use my own tricks to hurt my friends! That's not fair!"
When the dust settles the man with the sloth mask was completely charred to a crisp, but the winged women had some kind of forcefield crumbling around her. It kept her safe from the initial attack, but the after shocks had still hit her.
She was bleeding from multiple wounds and had frazzled hair. Her wings looked a little charred, but that was the extent of her wounds.
"Well hey. Gotta even the playing field somehow, right? Besides your the one who blew them up."
"Shut up!"
He growled and charged at me.
'Quick to violence and doesn't think things through. As much as I'd love to use that to my advantage I don't have the time. Killing him will be quicker.'
I braced myself as he tried to punch me. I blocked with my left arm and grabbed his arm with my right. His punch had some force behind it, but it was way weaker than Perugius's punch.
I picked him up by the arm and slammed him into the ground. Quickly moving forward I stabbed my hand into his throat, and he slowly dispersed into light.
"So you have defeated Clearnight and Dotbath. I shall eliminate you before you cause Lord Perugius anymore issues."
The winged lady raised a golden staff and started chanting in a language I didn't understand. I charged forward but got stopped when she brought down her staff, and bright light shined all around us.
I was falling. Falling?
I looked down, and yep. I was hurtling through the air towards the ground. Kumu retracted from my limbs and spread out from my back like a pair of wings. I dove towards the ground, and made sure Kumu was ready for battle once we landed.
'Where did you go Pin? We need your help.'
*-Pin-*
"Augh. Everything hurts."
I looked around, and instead of grassy plains I found myself in what looked to be a library and a coliseum mixed together. It was one huge circular room. The walls were all bookshelves and all the other bookshelves and tables looked like they could sink into the ground at any second.
I got up and looked at some of the books. The place felt eerily familiar. All the books seemed to be really old. The titles on the spines of the books were scratched out and faded. I grabbed one and flipped through it. The pages were black and every now and again I'd see some sentences. I realized why these were so familiar.
These were the same books that Kuroi and I used when we studied under Erebus. I felt a chill as if the area around me had frozen.
"Hello young one. It has been quite some time. Hasn't it?"
I dashed away and looked at the sound of the voice. Standing right behind where I was stood a man with paper white skin and hair. His eyes deep black pits illuminated only by the glowing white ovals that acted like his pupils. Erebus, God of the Void. There was only one difference from when I last saw him though. His left arm was gone.
"Why are you afraid of me? Did Millis not explain the situation to you?"
"W-what are you talking about? You were there when they attacked us! Why didn't you stop them?"
"Now Pin I can understand your frustrations. If you'll let me explain then I promise it will make sense."
"F-fine."
"Millis and I are powerful. But we are not powerful enough to take on Zeus and his comrades. So we devised a plan. Once you all were 'killed' we would bring your souls to my domain, the void. From there we would explain things to you all, and then reincarnate you into the six-sided world. However, we didn't expect Kuroi to launch you out of the room. When he did that he forced you out of the area of my soul catching spell. That is why Millis had to send you to that world as he did. When he learned about it Kuroi beat himself up for months."
"Wait. Is he here?!"
"But of coarse. The others were informed that he was taking his exam. Did they not tell you?"
"Well... They did but. I've never seen this place before. I thought we'd be taking it at our old training hall, or in the void."
"I see. I apologize for not informing you. I didn't see it as necessary since we were just going to teleport to our testing grounds. He should be finishing up soon, actually."
"Really?!"
There was a sudden flash of green light and one of the bookshelves on the wall slid down. A man walked out from that bookshelf. He was older. That was obvious. He was about 6 feet tall and his wings had grown with him. He had a staff in his right hand, and had a small bird perched on his left. He had two tonfas tied behind his waist. He had a hat with a brim that went around the whole thing. Falling down from the brim of his hat small crystals swung attached to strings.
"Kuroi!"
I ran forward and hugged him. He looked different, but I knew my brother when I saw him.
"Pin? What are you doing here?"
"We don't know. Though I believe it may be time for you to take up my mantle. Kuroi, I ask you this. Are you ready?"
The tables and bookshelves all sunk into the ground, and braziers lit aflame as they lined the edge of the arena.
"I am. What about Pin?"
"You were meant to take this test together anyway. Besides not only does she have her new magic eyes, but her mana pool is larger than before, and this arena holds the dense mana from our world. She'll be fine."
Kuroi put his hand on my back and smiled. I felt a weird feeling. Like jelly being smeared on my back. I shivered and looked behind me, and saw as a new pair of wings grew from my scars.
"Erebus gave us our wings, so I mimicked what he did. I don't know how to help with your arm. Sorry."
"It's okay! I'm so happy to have these back."
I smiled and I could feel as my wings started fluttering to match my excitement.
"What a wholesome sight. Now. Bring it on!"
*-Kuroi-*
"No!"
I reached out and tried to push myself back, but something was pulling me into the hole.
I fell into a coliseum like area. There were books everywhere and unlit braziers lined the wall.
"Hello. How are you doing today?"
Sitting at one of the tables was a man I had rarely seen, but would never forget. He was Millis. The man who taught Thorn.
"Sir Millis! What's going on?!"
"Now hold on. You're gonna be here for a while so come and relax while you still have the time."
He waved his hand and a chair pulled back from the table. He picked up a pot of tea out of nowhere and poured two cups. I sat down and took my cup.
"So to get it out of the way. Your friends are safe. They are going to reincarnate into another world. Well, Pin has to be teleported, so she's technically not a reincarnation. She also is going to stop aging."
"Why is Pin different?"
"Well whenever Erebus set up the spell to save your souls he only made it spread from the inside of the throne room to barely outside. Your little Expel shot Pin way outside that zone. I was still able to get her to the new world, but she has injuries that already scarred over. Even I couldn't heal those with how much time I had with her. Now she just has to wait until she finds Thorn."
"Oh... so it's my fault."
"Well when you put it like that it just sounds depressing. She's fine so don't worry to much. Besides you need to get ready. Erebus is gonna be back here after we explain things to the others to start your exam."
"My exam?"
"Yeah. Things could get a little wild, so we thought that we might as well have one of you take your exam, and you were the only one Erebus could get to and teleport. Raion was poisoned, Pin was gone, Phoebe was stuck in a domination battle with Daeos, and Thorn would've resisted it with space magic. We had to decide right then and there so he picked you. Ah. Seems I've gotta go see you in a bit."
He disappeared in a flash, and left me alone.
After a while Erebus showed up and explained things to me. I'd be stuck here until I defeated all the monster challenges and other trials behind a secret door somewhere in here. Once I did that I'd fight him. If I won I'd be given the title God of the Void.
It took me about 4 months to get over the fact that I had inadvertently hurt Pin. After that though, I hit the ground running. There was a hint for everything in the books in this place. They were the same books Erebus trained us with. You have to use void magic to see the sentences on the pages.
'Pin always hated these books. She'd constantly need my help to read them. I miss her.'
After another month I learned how to open the secret door. Going through it brought me to a place filled with crystal balls.
The ball furthest to the left glowed white while the others looked like regular glass spheres. There were 15 in total. After touching the glowing one I was teleported back to the arena, but all the bookshelves and tables had disappeared. The crystal ball floated in the middle of the arena and shattered. Every piece turned into a monster and they all came running at me.
It took me a bit, but I was able to defeat the hordes of wolves, goblins, and the ogre lord that served as a final boss.
Feeling lucky I tried my hand at the second level and got thoroughly crushed by the steel golems and the Void Cinders. Steel golems were golems made out of steel, pretty self explanatory. Void Cinders were small wisps of black flame capable of enhancing attacks as well as weakening them. The Cinders would buff up the golems when they attacked me, heal them when I hurt them, and would weaken my attacks when I attacked the golems.
I couldn't get to the Cinders either, because the golems would use their large bodies to block my attempts. After throwing myself at the level 2 more times I went back through the door and saw that the bookshelves and tables were rising up from the sand. On one of the tables sat a book. The book had a faint white glow. It was the same glow that the crystal balls had when I could access them.
I read through the book and found techniques and spells using void magic. I say techniques because some of the things in the book involved transforming yourself into void, and things you could do once you did.
I didn't stop practicing until I had mastered the techniques written in the book. By the time I looked up Erebus was sitting in front of me.
"Oh! Sir Erebus. I wasn't expecting you to come back."
"Call it a wellness check. Time is distorted here so I came by to add a sort of timer for you. Look above the hidden door and focus with mana sight. You should be able to see it."
I did as he said and saw in big black letters...
1 Year/ 2 Months/ 23 Days
"Um... I think it may be a bit off. I haven't been here for over a year sir."
"It's not. You were practicing for so long you lost sight on the passage of time. You do that for to long and you'll blink and multiple centuries had past. Lucky for you it is as I said. Time is distorted here. 73 days for them is 1 year for you. The others haven't even reincarnated yet, and Pin has found a party that she can travel with. Once we make sure that the others reincarnate we must stop observing you all."
"So for Pin it's been barely over two months then? How is she doing?"
"Well during her 'fight' with Helios she lost her wings and her left arm. She has a large burn scar along the entirety of her back as well. Other than that however, she is doing fine."
"Is there any way I can heal her? Or help in anyway?"
"Healing has never been my forte. Though..."
He held out his hand and a book from the farthest wall flew over to us.
"I gave you your wings. Since you shall replace me, then you should learn to do the same. The spell you're looking for is in here, as well as some other spells for you to be able to conjure up some useful tools. Don't get to sucked into these books though. They should not be your main focus. Once you take my title you may come here whenever you wish."
"I understand. But if it will help me help Pin then I shall spend as much time on it as I require."
"Very well then. I shall be off. Merry studying."
3 Years/ 7 Months/ 2 Days
Learning everything in that book took longer than I thought it would. But now I'd be able to help Pin regrow her wings. I was also now able to make voidlings. Not to dissimilar from Phoebe's Kumus. They were sentient shapeshifters. To create them I had to think of a specific task for them to perform. They'd be born fulfill their duties and then die. It was sad, but Erebus had shown up and and forbid me from trying to help them live longer.
Apparently he had tried during his training and had destroyed his entire arena in the after math. I was successfully past levels 2, 3, and 4, but I was stuck on five. I think I'm gonna have to read through more books.
7 Years/ 11 Months/ 30 Days
I just barely made through level 12. The levels started taking shape of my friends. Level 12 had been Pin. I barely managed to squeeze a victory out after my 5th attempt. The other orbs were starting to change colors. Not glow. Only level 13 was glowing, but 13 was pink, 14 was red, and 15 was purple and gold.
If these colors match with my friends then I worry that I can't beat that last level. I asked Erebus about it and he said that they are the released potentials of my comrades. Oh boy.
10 Years/ 2 Months/ 28 Days
I finally beat level 13. It was Phoebe. I knew she was training to be the God of Fear and all but geez. Just being in that arena made my heart race. It was constantly putting me through fears and terrors. I had to start relying on instinct and blindfolding myself so I didn't risk looking in her eyes. God there were so many eyes. On the wall on the floor. They even started growing on my arms at one point. I don't know if I can do this.
11 Years/ 4 Months/ 17 Days
I defeated Raion. It was an extremely difficult battle, but not having to constantly worry about eyes that made you hallucinate your biggest fear made it slightly easier. In Raion's Arena I wasn't able to use my magic. It was completely up to my fighting skills, so I made weapons before hand. A staff for midrange and a pair of Tonfas for short range. It took a while, but with some training, and by that I mean stacking and lifting books to put on some muscle. I finally overcame Raion. Just one left.
One minute later...
"What the fuck was that?!"
I had just attempted level 15. I was greeted by Thorn standing on the middle head of a five headed hydra. He held out his hand, snapped his fingers, and everything blew up. Oh and did I mention that the dragon heads were color coded? You wouldn't believe what colors they were! The outer heads were black, the inner left head was pink, the inner right head was red, and the middle was purple! And to top it all off the pink one just had to have multiple eyes.
I think I'm starting to develop Ommetaphobia.
14 Years/ 3 Months/ 1 Day
I was making progress. After some book diving I learned some complicated void barrier and shield spells. I didn't use those for the giant explosion though. For that I used my new void ghost form. After the explosion Thorn jumps down and charges me. After that? He does whatever he wants of course! Whether that's using the ground as a trampoline, falling through the floor, or swimming through the air!
If I could just stop his rhythm I'd be able to stand a chance.
15 years
I had finally beaten Thorn. As usual my wounds closed up and my energy returned to me. I was able to stop his explosion attack by creating a voidling in the shape of a bird, and had it peck his eye. After that I took my void ghost form, and jumped up at him. The fight itself lasted months, but I finally rose victorious. My arm was growing back, and my eyes were filling back in.
Once I was fully regenerated I walked into the main arena, and was immediately hugged by Pin.
"Pin? What are you doing here?"
"We don't know. Though I believe it may be time for you to take up my mantle. Kuroi, I ask you this. Are you ready?"
The tables and bookshelves all sunk into the ground, and braziers lit aflame as they lined the edge of the arena.
"I am. What about Pin?"
"You were meant to take this test together anyway. Besides not only does she have her new magic eyes, but her mana pool is larger than before, and this arena holds mana from our world. She'll be fine."
I placed my hand on Pin's back and watched as void bubbled and took the shape of wings.
"Erebus gave us our wings, so I mimicked what he did. I don't know how to help with your arm. Sorry."
"It's okay! I'm so happy to have these back."
I smiled. For the first time in 15 years I let a smile spread across my face. I couldn't help that I was happy to help my little sister again.
"What a wholesome sight. Now. Bring it on!"
"Well... I should've known this would happen. You've both grown so much."
Erebus laid battered and bruised across the arena from us. Pin and I were breathing heavily as we looked down at our mentor. Had Pin not been there I would've had a much harder fight. Thanks to her new abilities and constant disruption Erebus wasn't able to use his bigger stronger spells. The ending was near.
"Ha... ha ha... haha HAHAHAHA!!!"
Well that's new. I didn't know he could laugh.
"Well then. I suppose it's time these old bones let go. I'm afraid that if you're looking for a fancy ceremony then you'll be disappointed."
Pin and I stepped forward and bowed.
"Of course not sir. We are just happy to make you proud."
"Yeah!"
"Very well. Kuroi, you have passed many trials here in this arena. I hope that you remember them well. I give you the title, God of the Void. And little Pin. You don't have the knowledge of these books like Kuroi does, but you fought by his side and with your help you both claimed victory. I give you the title, Goddess of Darkness. I'm afraid Goddess of Night is taken. Apologies."
"No need Mr.Erebus... but what happens now?"
"Well I'll become mortal again. Maybe I'll travel that six faced world. The two of you will be teleported back to your friends. They need your help desperately. Buy Thorn time so that he may make his pact. Farewell my students. I am proud."
Darkness rose up and a chill ran form my spine as my shadow swallowed me whole.
When the shadows fell Pin and I found ourselves on a battlefield. The ground was burnt to a crisp and there was blood everywhere. A huge shadow was cast over us because of a floating fortress that loomed ominously in the sky. Standing a little ways away from us was a man with silver hair and golden eyes. Beside him stood 3 individuals, all heavily wounded. He was holding a boy with red hair and red eyes by the neck. The boy seemed to be wearing blue gauntlets and green armor, but the armor looked as if it was broken crystals. Behind the boy was another boy with white hair and red eyes. He seemed to be barely breathing. Next to him was a small baby surrounded by pink crystals. It's head was turned at an abnormal angle. Behind them was a terrified women clinging to a baby. The baby was radiating extreme amounts of mana.
"You are the girl from before. I take it you're here to get in my way?"
I looked over at Pin who was staring at a small bracelet that looked like it was made of crystal. She had tears welling up in her eyes, and she was starting to grit her teeth.
"Pin? What's wrong?"
"Hnnngh... You will pay!"
Pin launched towards the man and slammed her fist into his face. He took 2 steps back, and dropped the boy. I rushed forward and moved the 2 boys and the baby closer to the women.
"Ma'am? Normally I'd ask for a name, but the situation is urgent. What's going on?"
"My baby. R-Rudy. That man says he's the reincarnation of Laplace, but please sir! You can't believe him! You were with Pin, so she can tell you! He's Thorn not Laplace! Not Laplace... Not my precious Rudy..."
The women started clutching the baby to her chest and crying. She was a mom having to hold onto a baby being told that that baby was a reincarnation of someone who I could only assume was a bad guy, and the oldest person defending her so far was a boy who barely looked 15.
"T-that baby o-over there. She was Phoebe, and the white haired boy is Raion. I... I can't heal them. I'm not strong enough. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm-"
"Ma'am. It's okay. Just keep Thorn safe. Once he wakes up he'll solve everything I promise."
"B-but he passed out from mana deficiency. He could be asleep for hours."
"Trust me. As someone who spent the last 4 years fighting him. He's full of surprises."
"What?"
I stood up and faced the man. I glanced over at Raion. He's stable, barely but still stable. I glanced at Phoebe. Dead. Rings of purple and blue outlines bone pointing against skin.
'Pin was right. He will pay.'
Currently Pin was fighting the other three people. A man wearing a fox mask, a man wearing a lightbulb helmet, and a man wearing a sloth mask. I could sense another 10 people in the fortress above. One of which was very familiar to me.
"Oi. Who are you? What do you want with Thorn?"
"Again. I am unaware who this Thorn is, but I am Perugius Dola. I have been given multiple pieces of evidence to prove that that boy is the reincarnation of the Demon God Laplace. Now step aside, or are you going to stand in my way like they did?"
A pained grunt rose out as the man with the lightbulb helmet fell to the ground and fizzled into light. Pin was standing over him, her entire arm covered with blood.
"That answer your question?"
"Tch. I suppose it does. Now what is taking them so long?"
Perugius cast a glance up at the fortress. I lunged towards him with my staff, and began the fight.
It felt like hours had passed. Looking up past the fortress you could see that stars filled the sky. The moon was just about to hit its apex. I was still clashing with Perugius, and Pin was fighting the sloth mask and fox mask people. Perugius kept utilizing odd techniques. Creating mirrors that sucked away my mana, and filled me with fatigue. A karate chop looking move that shattered the ground beneath it.
Luckily I've got weird techniques of my own. I'd turn into my Void Ghost form to avoid the chop, and shatter the mirrors with void tendrils. I sent up a Void Crow to check out the fortress and found Erebus fighting the other 10 energy sources I was sensing. They all wore masks and I could see that the lightbulb guy Pin had killed was there as well. Erebus was losing. That much was obvious, but I knew what he was doing.
He was buying time. These people were to powerful. We couldn't beat them. Eventually this fight would come to an end. But, eventually Thorn would form a pact with someone. All we had to do was fight, and hold out.
"Can't you see that this is trivial? You can't defeat me. Now step aside before I am forced to kill you!"
He was right. I wouldn't be able to win here. I could go toe-to-toe with him, but when it came time I wasn't able to put enough force behind my strikes to actually cause significant damage.
"And? So what if I can't win. My little sister is still fighting strong, as well as my master. So long as they fight I shall as well!"
Then I felt it. A huge burst of mana as moon light washed over us. I looked up and saw that the fortress had moved, and the moon was high in the sky. It was midnight.
"Rudy? Rudy wait!"
I looked over at the sound of footsteps, and saw a man seemingly made of stars standing over Phoebe's body. He knelt down and put a hand over her eyes. Golden light shined out, and flowers bloomed all around us, returning life to the barren battlefield. The child slowly rose without so much as bruise on its neck. The starlit man walked towards us, and with each step he took the bloodlust emanating from him increased. Thorn was back, and for the first time ever. I had heard what happened to the organization that captured Phoebe, but now I was about to see what happened when he gets angry with my own eyes.
*-Rudeus-*
She was dead. Phoebe was dead.
I looked down at the body of a baby. Clinging onto it was a soul not ready to leave its host just yet. Remembering Millis's words I reached down and poured as much healing magic I could into her eyes. Flowers grew out from all around us, and the injuries on her neck disappeared.
She sat up and smiled at me. She'd be safe.
I looked over and saw a man who looked like an older version of Kuroi. In front of him was the one who started all of this. I started walking towards them with nothing, but vengeance on my mind. She was back, but that doesn't change the fact that he killed her. The only one who could actually understand what I had gone through. He would pay.
And for the first time in all his lives...
"Perugius! You motherfucker!!!"
Thorn swore.
I lunged toward him and a loud crunch sounded out as he tried blocking my punch, and his arm bent at an odd angle.
"Ngh. You're the first to wound me like this. Well then Laplace. Die! Armored Dragon King Hand Sword! BREAK!!!"
He swung his hand down in a chopping motion and severed my right arm and leg. Stars fell from the sky and regrew my limbs.
"I don't know who this Laplace guy is. But I am Thorn, Envoy of the Night. You will pay for what you have done. So you break!"
I swung my own hand down. He barely dodged it but lost some of his bangs. I long ravine spread out behind him.
"You call yourself Thorn just as the others did. Is it true that you aren't Laplace?"
"Again. I don't know who Laplace is."
"Then we have no reason to fight."
"Bullshit!"
I threw a punch back at Perugius. He tried to step to the side and dodge, but I pulled him back towards my fist with gravity magic.
"Where do you think you're going?"
My fist made perfect contact with his chest, and he spit up a bit of blood.
"I said you would pay for what you did to Phoebe. You'll come to find that I'm a man of my word. Now look at what you face."
Death was allowing me to use her mana pool , but she had given me a limit. I could sense that limit and decided to do what I needed to do to end this fight. As much as I wanted to truly make him suffer, I didn't have the resources. Perugius already said we don't have reason, so I'd say one more good hit should be enough. May as well show off.
"Look and see why I was going to become the God of Life."
I raised my hands and slammed them into the ground. Green light shined out and giant roots of wood shot out of the ground. The wood wrapped together and formed a giant tree that reached above the clouds. The bark looked to be made of gold, and the leaves shimmered purple like a night sky.
"I dub this tree Yggdrasil. Now. For your final payment."
I lurched forward and jammed my hand into his leg. His knee collapsed and he fell to the ground.
"There. Now we're even."
"Alright. I suppose it's fair after I kill your friend. Though it may be ignorant for me to ask. Will you assist me in the fight against Laplace when he is reborn?"
"Depends. Does he pose a threat to my family?"
"He wants to exterminate all humans, so yes. He would wish death upon your family."
"Then yes I'll help. Though come to me before you try and kill any other babies. I'll check their souls to see whether or not they are Laplace. Wouldn't want you killing any innocents now would we."
"No. No we do not. Take this. If you blow into it before approaching then you shall be granted access to Chaos Breaker. We will be off. I again apologize for this misunderstanding."
He held out a small silver dragon shaped whistle. I took it and wrapped it around my neck.
"Very well, but know this Perugius Dola. Had I not been able to revive Phoebe this place would have been your death bed."
"Thorn... There is not a doubt in my mind."
The fox masked man put a hand on Perugius's shoulder, and the sloth masked person's shoulder. They all disappeared in a flash of light.
"Heya. So this was... eventful."
I looked over and saw Kuroi holding an unconscious Pin on his back.
"You look old."
"First off I'm 25. Second, you look like a starry person, and yes that is the best way to put it."
"Right. Hey can you hold onto this for me? I think it could be useful for later."
I took the whistle from around my neck and handed it to Kuroi.
"Come on. I'm taking us home."
I walked back over to mom and the others. The red haired boy was holding holding Phoebe, and Raion was collapsed by mom.
"Rudy?"
"Heya mom. Ready to go home?"
"Um... Well I am, but... what happened to you?"
"Long story short I made a deal with the moon and this is what I'll look like in my 20s assuming no major physical changes happen. Okay, everyone gather around. I've only got enough enough mana for one of these."
Everyone gathered around me. The boy was holding Phoebe, Kuroi was carrying Pin on his back, and mom was carrying Raion. I raised my hands and 3 pairs of wings wrapped around our group. The area around us smeared and blurred as a deep rumbling ran through the earth around us.
Then poof. We were standing in front of the house. Paul came rushing out of the house and stopped in his tracks and stared at me dumbfounded.
"Well heya dad. How are yoooou. Oh used to much."
I stepped forward and got extremely nauseous. My astral form collapsed and I lost consciousness.
*-Paul-*
It was like looking into a mirror, but your reflection was the night sky.
"Well heya dad. How are yoooou. Oh used to much."
The starry me stepped forward and started collapsing. I rushed forward as I saw Rudy falling into the ground. I grabbed him just before he hit his head on the ground.
"Rudy? Zenith, what happened?"
"It's... a long story. Let's get inside before I explain shall we?"
"So Rudeus is Thorn, and the person who attacked our home was Perugius, because he thought that Rudeus was the reincarnation of the Demon God Laplace."
"Yes. That's what happened."
Zenith and I were currently seated next to each other in the kitchen. Sitting with us at the table was a man named Kuroi, a baby wearing a pink mask named Phoebe, and a red haired boy named Mars. Lilia was brewing us all some tea. Pin, Raion, and Rudy were all unconscious.
"To think he's that strong... Haha! He really is my kid huh?!"
Pin had talked about her old friends, but to think that my son would be one of them. And of course he's the strongest. What else could you expect from the old Greyrat blood!
"Well. You're taking this better than we thought you would. We were worried you'd send him out on a journey as soon as you found out."
I looked over at Zenith.
"Are we not?"
"Paul!"
"I'm kidding I'm kidding!"
'Note to self: wait a little longer to let your son become a legend.'
"But hey if that's what he looks like when he grows up, then he's gonna be a lady's man for sure. I'm talkin drowning in women."
"If that's what you think then I'm gonna need to give you a crash coarse on who Thorn is."
I looked towards the sound of the voice and landed my eyes on the baby.
"Ya know. I still can't get over hearing a practically newborn baby speak like that."
"If Rudy had one could he speak to?"
Zenith was looking at the girl with stars in her eyes. Compared to Rudeus's 'astral form' as they put it. The saying was literal.
"Yes he could. I actually gave Pin one to give to him on his birthday, but because of my... death. It's gonna need to be replaced."
"Aw givin him a birthday gift so soon. Looks like Rudeus has already pulled in one lady!"
"Huh?! What are you talking about?! Me? Having feelings for Thorn?! There's... there... Oh my god."
Phoebe's eyes grew wide as her shoulders dropped down.
"Ya know now that I think about it. Didn't you and Thorn meet up every week. Then when you went missing he spent an entire half a year constantly searching for you, and then worked together with a sin, someone he typically would rather die than even talk to, to crush the organization that took you."
"W-well when you put it like that..."
"Also my lady. You were quite happy when you and Pin decided to give sir Thorn his Kumu. Something about finally being able to give him a birthday present if I remember correctly."
"Maaaars. Not you too."
At this point her whole face had turned pink, and something tells me it wasn't related to that mask.
"Well then Phoebe how about this. If you get Rudy a 'Kumu' as soon as possible. Then I give you my permission to take him as your husband and become my daughter-in-law!"
Wow. Never took Zenith as the type to set 2 babies up for marriage.
"Wait... That would... deal."
"Yes! Well then Phoebe you are always welcome in this house!"
I looked across the table and saw that Mars had a weird look on his face.
"Something bothering you kid?"
"Well. It's just... How do we explain this to the king?"
"Why would we explain something like this to the king of all people?"
"Well my lady is his daughter. She is also the blessed child of Asura."
""What?!""
Seems everyone else was just as shocked as I was.
'So Rudy pulled a princess ey. That's my boy!'
"Doesn't that mean you have to stay in the capitol though?" Lilia asked as she placed down multiple cups of tea.
"Well... Yeah it does. Hmmm. Ma'am? What's your name?"
"Me? I am Lilia, the maid of this household."
"Red hair, glasses, a maid, and is named Lilia... Were you the lady who worked for my big sister?"
"If you are referring to Princess Ariel then yes. I guarding the young miss until my leg was injured in an assassination attempt. Shortly afterward I was laid off, and I found work here."
"Ah hah! You fit the description that Ariel gave me. She misses you ya know? She's always calling you the coolest."
"Truly? I am flattered that she even remembers me."
"Um my lady. I'd rather not interrupt, but shouldn't we get back to the capitol before the king starts sending search parties."
"Oooh. I don't wanna. I wanna make sure Thorn's ok first. After he wakes up I'll bring us back to the capitol. Kay?"
"If you say so."
"Besides I need to replenish everyone's Kumus."
*-Rudeus-*
Gah. Everything hurts.
"Hello little song bird~. Had fun using my mana?"
"Huh. Oh hello my lady."
I went to take a knee, but couldn't. I looked down and saw that I was floating in front of Death.
"It's astral projection sweetling. Now using that little teleportation trick took more mana than I permitted you to use, so I'm afraid I'm gonna have to administer a punishment. It won't be anything to severe. Plus you could turn a part of it into a blessing once you learn to control it. I'm also going to take some of your mana to pay for the extra you took."
"My apologies my lady. I accept any punishment you shall give me."
"Good. Now. See you later."
"You... aren't gonna punish me?"
"Oh no I am. I'm just leaving it as a surprise for you. You'll know what it is once you wake up. Besides, we've gotta have some suspense for the readers."
"The what?"
"Toodaloo!"
Shadows swirled around me and my vision went black, as I was pulled into a deep sleep.
This chapter is a wee bit shorter than chapter 2, but it still rocks a beautiful 9,600 words. With this the Perugius confrontation comes to a close, and we can start getting back into a regular Mushoku Tensei styled story... for now. The next chapter will mainly all be in the Greyrat household. See you all next week!