(I Just Call it Getting Lost In My Revenge)

You never know what true chaos is until you experience it for yourself. Unfortunately for me, this is the second time that I've seen this sort of hell. Once again, a peaceful moment and time was intruded by another being hellbent on killing everyone. Ha, I almost feel like the gods themselves have something against me. Whether they want me dead or not, now isn't the time. Sorry. "Penetrate, arrow of Absolute Accuracy. Arcs Ray!" Lefiya's chant gave me the signal I needed to move away from the crowd of enemies I stood in front of. As I jumped away, a white ball of light passed in front of me and quickly exploded into the group. Killing them all. Every time I see her magic, she never fails to impress me. "Viole, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Thank you and I apologize that I wasn't any more help." Our simple afternoon stroll turned into a horrible hell. Monsters were pouring in from the giant hole in the ceiling and were overrunning the entire floor. Sounds of steel clashing, yelling and explosions filled my eardrums. "Dammit." And unfortunately for me, I'm useless at the moment. With this arm stuck in the sling, I can't fight to my fullest so I'm stuck playing decoy while Lefiya gets her spells off.

Shaking her head, the elf cutely reassured me. "N-No! It's my fault for relying on you to draw their attention. I-"

"Let's save the blame game for later. We don't want to be surrounded again, right?"

"R-Right! Let's find your party." Nodding to each other, we quickly sprinted towards the center of the floor. Not truly knowing what was happening, I only had one goal, find my party. Judging by the fact that whatever giant monster's leading this attack is still alive, I'd say that my more powerful familia are already gone. Of course. Did I inherit my dad's shitty luck too? "Viole!"

"Huh?" Getting out of my thoughts, I realized that I was just about to run into a large minotaur that was about to swing its large sword at me. "Shi-" Luckily for me, fate decided to throw me a bone. The sounds of arrows quickly flying through the air were heard right before the monster yelled in pain. Its suffering didn't last long for after a moment, an arrow found its home in the monster's skull. With its body dissipating, I was met with my savior. Who else but my best friend? "Always got your eye on my back, eh?"

Lily, wearing a smug smirk, reloaded her crossbow. "If you didn't daydream so much, I wouldn't have to." She's got me there. "Anyway, where have you two been?! Don't tell me he was hitting on you, Lefiya."

"O-Of course not!" The elf's blush and rushed answer made it almost seem like I was. For a moment, I wondered if anything I said could have been misconstrued as flirting. Wait, this isn't the time to talk about this. Dammit, Lily. "U-Um, we were looking for you all after whatever happened. Um... what happened?"

The Pallum sighed, indicating this wasn't the first time she had to explain this. Either way, she turned to the center of the floor and pointed at the gigantic humanoid black monster. "If what lord Hermes said is right, then that is the floor boss and it got a huge buff because Hermes and Hestia are here."

Oh, how could I forget. The dungeon itself hates the gods so of course it would pull out all stops to try and kill them. The utter stupidity of the situation made me want to bash my head into the nearest tree. "Why the hell did those two come then?"

Already knowing the correct answer, Lily responded. "Gods are idiots. Duh." Lefiya and I gave a reluctant nod, surely both she and I were thinking of the same person. "Bell, Welf and Ryuu went running to the center of the fight, leaving me to play babysitter to Lady Hestia and keep an eye out for you." Looking at me for a moment, she then let out a sigh. "You aren't going to sneak away when I'm not looking and run into the fight, are you?"

"Yes, I am actually."

"V-Viole! Why? You could-"

Lily's chuckle interrupted my bodyguard's sentence. "Well, because he's an idiot of course. But, at least he's an honest one. Just don't die, alright." Don't worry, I don't plan on making this floor my grave. Nodding my head, I turned my back to my friend before running towards the center of the floor. Lefiya not too far behind.

F-Rank

Upon reaching the center of the fight, I was surprised by just how horrible things looked. I recognized Bell, Welf and Lyon fighting countless enemies along with a party that wore far-east looking armor. As I stopped running, I looked down at my broken arm. With this, I'm useless and won't be able to do much to help. But, I had a plan. Remembering when I had lost control, I noticed something that I had done. While using my magic to coat my arm, I was still able to use it even if the bones inside were shattered. I'm sure it will hurt like hell, but there isn't much I can do right now, now is there? I know I'm going to regret this, but fuck it. Running into the center of the battle with Lefiya close behind, I swing the sling off of my head. "Give me the strength the devour my enemies. Force Eater!" Magic coursed through my body and coated my arms. As it did, I felt pain pang deep within me, but I was quickly forced to ignore the sensation when the monsters noticed us. "Lefiya."

"R-Right! I've got your back!" I was thankful she didn't take the time to scold me for blatantly ignoring Riveria's orders. Then again, I suppose she noticed that now wasn't the time. Either way, she stopped running and quickly closed her eyes to focus. As she whispered her chants, I rushed towards the enemies that were turning their heads towards her, a pair of minotaurs. Before they could react or notice me, I closed the space and tried to remember my actions from the other day. Trying to reenact those amazing moves, I thrust my left hand forward and tried to stab the monster in the abdomen. I had succeeded, however the attack didn't do as much damage as I expected. Only my hand went into the monster, not going through it like I'd expected. Shit! Roaring in anger and pain, the minotaur turned its attention to me and brought its sword up.

"Idiot!" Before the monster could strike me down however, a strange wind blew past us for a single moment. After it did, both monsters were decapitated and instantly disintegrated. My savior stood behind where the monsters stood, a glare plastered on her face. "Do you have a death wish? Oh, I forgot you did." The smug comment coming from the elf somehow cleared away my fear of death and replaced it with pure annoyance. Of all the people to save me, it had to be her. Lyonn, still wearing that strange outfit, turned her attention to the still chanting Lefiya. "Thousand Elf is here... good. Glad to know your familia aren't total fools and left us with someone decently strong."

Couldn't argue with her there. Looking around at the chaotic battle, I'm sure if anyone else were here, hell even Bete, this would already be over. Damn high rankers didn't even think something like this could happen, did they? Another thought for later. Instead, I focused on the elf and asked what had been aching at me since this all started. "So, what can I do to help?"

Not at all surprised by my question, she pointed towards the Monster Rex in the center of the floor. "Right now, we're trying to think of a way to kill that thing. We;ve tried everything, counteless spells, magic swords and everything in between. The only thing we haven't tried was sending it into the next floor, but to do that we'd have to blow a hole into the floor. For now, all we can do is buy time." I tried to rack my mind for an idea of my own but nothing came up. Nothing except for a foolish thought. I want to kill it myself. Something that I know is impossible. I couldn't even kill a single minotaur without the help of Nightmare Rage. "Distracting it should be feasible for even an injured fool like you."

Do you have to bellite me at every opportunity? "Fine. I'll do my best." Turning to Lefiya, I think of the best way to get her attention. Tapping her would go against her Elven nature so... "Is that Aiz taking her shirt off?"

"WHERE?!" My utter disappointment when Lefiya opened her eyes within a moment was... I don't even know how to describe the feeling. If Loki was actually right about her obsession with Aiz was right then... I really don't want to be in the familia if even half of what she gossiped about was true. Realizing it was a trick, the elf coughed into her hand before glaring at me. Don't look at me like that. It's your own fault for being tricked. Perv. "L-Let's just continue and assist as we can Viole. Please stay near me so that I may protect you if needed."

"Will do." The perverted Elf began to nervously walk past me towards the center of the battle. Before I followed her however, I looked at the woman who had just saved me. "I didn't need your help by the way."

"I'm sure you didn't. Now go be a good distraction so the big boys and girls can fix this issue." God I hate this smug woman. Sucking my teeth, I left the woman alone, stewing in my own anger as I did.

The two of us cut through our enemies as we ran to the fight. As much as I did my best to kill the monsters, most of the time all I did was weaken them for Lefiya to finish them off. It hurts. It hurts. IT HURTS! My mind felt like it was being slowly destroyed. As I fought with my broken arm, the physical pain burdened both my body and mind. But... somehow it wasn't the worst of the pain I felt. No, every time I failed to kill a monster, only for Lefiya or a random adventurer who was nearby to kill it hurt me even more. It was a constant reminder of not only my weakness, but the disgusting thought that I may actually have to rely on Nightmare Rage to do anything in this dungeon.

"Viole!" In the center of a clearing stood Welf and Bell. Both of them were covered in bruises and monster blood. Bell, the prodigy that he was, recognized me first and ran towards us. "What're you doing here? You're hurt!"

Before I could answer, Welf shoved our friend and smirked. "Hey, so am I man! And you didn't even worry for a second! I thought I was your best friend!" His teasing caused Bell to blush in a strangely cute way. "Grrr! I will win Bell's complete affection VIlly! Just you wait!" I really couldn't care less. Also that is a horrible nickname.

Cutting right through the bullshit, Lefiya tried to get us back on topic. "U-Um, we're here to h-help! What can we do?"

"Well... all we can do right now is stall." Even from Bell's mouth, it sounds like a stupid idea. If it's a war of attrition, we will lose. No matter how many monsters we kill, the dungeon will simply spit out more. And with the only gods here being Hermes and hestia, there's no way for everyone here to get any stronger without getting updated by their god. In all reality, if we don't find a way to kill this monster Rex soon... We'll all die. I'm sure everyone understands that as well. And that just makes me feel even more useless. A useless Level one who can't even kill one of these monsters on his own. Useless, Useless, Useless!

"If only we could oneshot that fucking bastard." I said absentmindedly. Saying it however, seemed to spark an Idea in Welfs head. "What? You've got something?"

"Well... we know that Bell's Argonaut could oneshot most enemies on level twelve right? Well... what if he used it on not just Firebolt. But on a stronger spell? Something like a Magic sword?" A prodigy like Bell? It might actually work. Reading my mind, The blacksmith smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Hehe, sure it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but if it means we live to see another day, fuck it! Just give me some time and I'll craft the mother of all magic swords!" And I don't doubt that he can. As mother often said, being in conflict often brings out the true strength in people. How ironic isn't it?

Nodding, I quickly thought up something that would work at the moment. "Alright then, leave Lefiya and I to distract this monster and you two focus up. Can't have Welf making a mistake and blowing up Bell." Lady Hestia would have our heads if that happened.

Grumbling under his breath, the blacksmith nodded and began to tug Bell away. As the two left, my team leader yelled. "Be careful Viole!" I'll try. I thought. My fellow Familia and I looked at each other and nodded. She did look far more apprehensive, no doubt a bit worried about her assignment and likely getting chewed out later. I hope I'm unconscious when that happens.

The two of us left our thoughts and ran towards the giant monstrosity. Looking at it, it just struck me just how humanoid the Goliath was. If it weren't for its size and the fact that it apparently had rock hard skin, it'd pass no problem for a human. An ugly one but- Shit! The monster turned it's angry maw and me and threw its fist in my direction, only missing me by a hair. Great. Now was that just karma or can this thing read minds? Hey, let's see you try that again! Apparently it could not read minds because it turned its attention to someone else. "Asshole."

Besides the giant humanoid, there were constant dangers around us. Minatours, Hellhounds, even some Orcs. The dungeon was really trying its best to kill Hestia and Hermes, wasn't it? I should learn from its example honestly. Because no matter how hard I tried to kill anything other than an Orc, I'd fail and have to rely on someone else to take it out. Dammit. My weakness was starting to get on my nerves, so when I saw a lone Minatour looking around for a target, I decided to make it my own prey.

Quickly pouring magic into my legs, I sped towards it and jumped up towards its head. It was seemingly caught by surprise, because the moment just before I stomped its face into the ground, it let out a yelp of surprise. A yelp that brought back a painful memory. "Viole, What are you-" And it immediately disappeared just like that. What... was that? Coming back to reality, the body of my victim was gone, only a monster stone left in its place. "..." What is-

"Will you pay attention?!" My head was quickly pulled towards the ground a second before a deadly sounding wind blew just above where I stood. Honestly, can this stop happening today? And by the same woman too? "Wow, here I am having to protect you once more. Are you sure you don't need my help?"

"Shut up." Pulling myself up, I ignored the pain in my arm and noticed that the smug Elf and I were surrounded. "...perhaps now I do need your help."

"At least you're honest for once."

E-Rank

I always knew that Ryuu Lyon was a strong woman. Even before I knew that she was an adventurer. She always had this aura around her that made her intimidating. Perhaps that's why she was always the only maid who had the free time to wait on Bell, Lily and I whenever we went to Mia's. After her first attempt to get me to stop my path, I knew why she had that strength. She also went for her own revenge and earned it. A small bit of me respects her for that, after all she achieved what I hope to. Yet she says she regrets it? No, I don't believe her. Especially not after seeing how she fights.

She's fast. Incredibly fast, perhaps even faster than Aiz. What she lacked in power, she made up for it in both her amount of blows and her wind magic. And while she tries to hide it, that small smile shows that she's enjoying this. Not to mention she's surprisingly a team player. Every failed kill I get, she finishes off. Everytime the goliath's about to attack us, she yells a warning or pulls me away, and every time the mages of the town blast the monster, she throws a few spells of her own. My respect for her was growing, albeit begrudgingly. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" The Goliath yelled in pain as another volley of spells and arrows collided with it. Yet, it was still standing. "Where the hell is Bell?"

My answer came when a flash of light suddenly blinded me, coming from in front of the goliath. The light seemingly scaring the strangling monsters making them turn tail and run. And not a second to soon, as the headache I felt was becoming unbearable. "So, that's the kid's strength, huh?" The Elf said staring at the light's origin. In the center of it stood Bell, holding one of the largest swords I'd seen in a while with Lefiya standing behind him, chanting. Probably a buffing spell. "Finally this hell can come to an end."

"Yeah..." Looking at the white haired boy as he powered up a move that will definitely kill this monster, I felt a mixture of emotions. The one that hurt the most though, was regret. Regret that I couldn't be the blatant hero of this story. He must be loved by the gods, huh? "He sure is something."

And just like that, it was all over. Just as the monster was about to recover from its pain, Bell yelled a cry and swing of the sword, empowered by both Lefiya and Welf. With another flash of light, the Goliath was completely annihilated. Just like- "GRAHHHH!"

"BELL!" No. Something must be wrong. I must be hallucinating, right? The image in front of me was a complete lie. It had to be. It was Bell. Bell killed the monster, right? So, why am I seeing this? The Golath in front of me had its right half of its body completely missing, with only bubbling black goo where its wounds were. It should have been dead. And yet, the rex swung its only arm at Bell and made him collide with a tree. This must be a lie. It has to be.

And yet, it's happening. And yet, my friends are surrounding the unconscious hero. And yet... I found myself excited. Completely disgusting. An utter horrible feeling and yet... and yet... I can kill it. A selfish desire. A stupid one and I'm nothing but a fool for wanting it. Did I want it? I didn't have the time nor desire to answer that question.

My body moved on its own, walking past the unconscious Bell who was being held by his god and our friends. Ignoring the yells from Lyon and Lefiya. It felt a little bit like when I was in Nightmare Rage, yet I still had complete control. Or at least partial controle. I wanted what I was doing, but I was already regretting it. I wanted to go check on Bell, yet this need withing me wouldn't let me. I need to kill this monster. Even if it's nothing more than stealing a kill. Even if I end up failing like Bell, I have to prove that I'm not weak.

My walk broke out into a run, going past the monster and using my momentum to climb the giant tree behind it. I was far above it when I began to fall from gravity. Falling towards Goliath, I looked up towards the ceiling. Even with the hole in it, the beautiful crystals still caught my eyes. Even if they were broken, they still looked amazing. Ah, I wonder... Did mom and dad ever feel like this? This disgusting need? As I thought that, another strange memory popped into my head.

My Father sat in front of me, covered in bandages yet still wearing that carefree smile that I always saw on him at home. "Ack, those Evilus bas- I mean guys really don't know how to hold back do they?"

"Dad, you're carrying a huge scythe on your back. I can't really blame them."

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on my side here?! Are you still holding a grudge because of your birthday?"

"Yes."

"...sorry." Closing my book, I looked at my father and sighed. I didn't really care that much about him forgetting my birthday, I just didn't really know what to do in this situation. My dad was injured from fighting some group that I knew nothing about. I mean, this whole situation was going over my head. Last time I checked, Dad brought me along to Orario because he wanted me to meet his old familia. And now there's some sort of war going on.

"I just don't understand why you're trying so hard to fight right now, dad. You aren't even an adventurer anymore." I know that he still cares about the Loki familia but they'd be fine wouldn't they?

My father gave me an understanding smile before putting a hand on my head. "I get what you mean kid but... how do I explain it? Ah, think about it like this. What would you rather do? Would you slowly fade out of existence or burn brightly but quickly?"

"That makes zero sense in this situation, Dad."

"Okay, maybe I'm not the best poet but still. What I mean is, even if it's dangerous I'm going to use my life to the fullest. I love being with my family, but if I'll do what I have to and protect you all. Even if..." Stopping mid sentence he just gave me a small smile. "I love you son."

"Huh? Uh... you too..."

I still don't truly understand what Dad meant at that moment. But one thing did make sense to me. Doing what I need to do and survive. Turning my back towards the ceiling, a chant formed in my mind. "These Sins will surely keep piling up, yet I refuse to simply fade. I will burn brightly and drag you with me!" Reaching the enemy, it screamed at me and swung its arm. Intending to swat me like a fly. Luckily for me, it's balance was off and it missed. Giving me the perfect opportunity to collide with its half melted head. I felt bones break yet the adrenaline got me through the pain. Digging my arms into the skull, I completed my spell. "NIGHTMARE ODYSSEY!" A single spike made from black magic appeared out of the monster's arm. Then another in its leg. Then another, and another. More and more until I was the only thing that wasn't harmed. After a moment, the spikes began to disappear into particles along with Goliath. Now would be a good time to... get...moving. Ah, I knew I was an idoi-

?

Humans are interesting beings. They are a lot like us Gods, aren't they? A few of us are afraid that they're going to get sick of us and decide to take our place but honestly I hope they do. Oh, it'd be so entertaining to see something like that! The drama, the violence! Oh, come on humans, do it already! Oh, well, I guess they'll have to beat the dungeon and kill the dragon before they even have a chance to try. Ugh, how boring. We really should have made them sturdier.

Even with that small mistake, I was quite happy with the show I just watched. Nothing ever happens here in Heaven so I find myself watching the dungeon and today was quite the nice episode! I really thought that Bell kid had it in him, but perhaps not. At the very least his disappointing performance gave way for Him. I didn't see what she saw in him until now. But now... I might tune in a bit more often now. I truly thought he'd be a coward once more but no, he listened to his selfishness. "He reminds me of you GMAb."

To my left stood my oldest intrigue. If only she'd treat me nice enough for us to get along. The Goddess of _... "No, I will not allow you to even think of my name or title. Why would I allow such a snake to do so?"

"Oh how you wound me. Can't you find it in your heart to give me a break? Even now whilst your so called Pride has made such an achievement?" At the mention of her pride, the small woman let out a small laugh. Ah, it was a lovely sight, I must say. Her normally dead, yet beautiful face practically lit up. Ah, I can't wait to see what other expressions I can force out of her. Opps, can't make my thoughts too clear or I could be popped out of existence... again. "However, I still don't understand why you're so obsessed with this human. That Rabbit was more interesting and so was that Princess."

Unfortunately, I didn't get the expression I wanted. Well, it'd be a disappointment if only that was enough though. Instead, her normal expression came back, a simple frown. "You say that, yet you still forced that disgusting skill into my Pride." Tucking her long black hair behind her ear, she turned her full attention to me. "You dare break Heaven's rules just to mess with me, Belial?"

Leaning back, I put on my loving smirk. "Well, they don't call me the Angel of Cunning for nothing, Darling. Besides, I may have broken a rule or three, but at the very least I haven't abused my powers to leave heaven as I please."

Once again, no true emotion came from her, only a small huff. "If you attempt to harm my pride once more, then I will send you into the center of earth's core. Understood?"

"Oh~, now don't threaten me with a good time." Oh that would hurt sooo good~. This is why I love messing with her so much! If only I could see her crying out in pain. My comment was definitely the end of the line, because the goddess stood from her seat and began leaving my domain. Ah, she only graced me with her presence to tell me off, did she? Oh well, I wasn't planning on doing anything soon anyhow. I doubt doing something so kneejerk would get another reaction from her. I'll start planning soon~. "Well bye for now. I'll make sure to keep a close eye of your delicious pride for you."

"...Just die, Belial."

"Goodbye, Hybris~" Oh, she let me say her name! She's going to pop my arm later isn't she?

Princess

It's been a week since the floor 18 incident. Things have been extremely quiet these few days however there have been some strange instances as well. I remember Loki saying that she wanted to go on vacation when we got back but now she's completely changed her tune. Not that I truly mind however. I'm in no hurry to leave...

"Welcome Back, Aiz!" Rakta welcomed me back to the Manor, a smile on his face as he did. All I could do was give him a curt nod in thanks however. I'd spent the day in the early floors of the dungeon, working my frustration off. However it unfortunately hasn't seemed to work. Nevertheless, I found myself walking towards Loki's office to get updated. I doubt that I would gain even a single point in any of my stats, but... Keeping my head up, I opened the door. I was expecting to see Loki either drunk or asleep on her couch. Instead, she was sitting at her desk, arguing with Finn. "For the last time, you're not going on another expedition! Jeez, Finn just relax for a moment."

"I simply don't understand. Weren't we supposed to go on vacation? Now all of a sudden you canceled it... I just don't see what else we could be doing." I stayed silent in the doorway, not wanting to interrupt. "Or did you find something elseinteresting?"

"Nah, I just got some errands I need to take care of is all.." Looking up from her desk, my goddess finally caught sight of me. "AIZ! What's my favorite girl doin here? Are you here to give me a kissy kiss?"

Ignoring her normal greeting, I walked into the room. "I just came here to get my status updated. I didn't mean to interrupt you two."

"Oh Aiz, you'll never interrupt me~" Loki jumped out of her seat but before she could rush to me, our captain grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her back. "Ack! Why?!"

"Because we aren't done here! You really can't expect me to accept that we won't be doing anything for a few weeks!" It sure is amazing to see my captain pick up our goddess and lift her over his head. Such a strange sight, seeing such a small man effortlessly lift a grown woman over his head. Even stranger once you realize Loki is supposed to be a goddess... though she doesn't act like one most of the time. "Sorry Aiz, but can you do this later?"

It wasn't a true issue, considering that I didn't make any real progress after all. So with a simple nod I left the room, ignoring the shriek from Loki. As I walked away, a strange feeling grew within me. A feeling that I was being left out of something, but it was likely nothing. After all, if I needed to know anything Loki and the rest would let me know. I'm sure. Once the thoughts on that topic came to an end, I realized I was in front of my last stop for the day. Viole's Room. He's been left unconscious ever since his party came back. A mixture of fatigue from his wounds and Mind Down. I am at fault for this, letting myself get complacent and thinking that nothing of consequence would happen. Yet again, I failed to fulfill my promise.

Inside Viole's room, instead of him being asleep as I expected, the young man was silently sitting in his bed and reading a book with his single non-broken arm. "Y-You... you're awake?"

Lifting his head, my childhood friend looked at me before sighing. "Since this morning, yes." So why was he still in bed? Knowing him, he'd force his way out of bed to find Lily or even Loki. Not knowing what else to do, I walked over to the side of his bed and sat where Lily had been every night since they came home. "How's everyone?" He asked, his voice slightly raspy.

"Oh... um from what I heard, everyone's alright. There were only five casualties and everyone in your party is alright." It's all just second hand information of course, except for one thing. "Bell and the red haired blacksmith came yesterday to visit you. They seem fine." He was seemingly relieved to hear that, but continued to read his book nonetheless. "So... how are you feeling?"

Closing the book, he set it on his lap and took in a large breath. "Well, I can't really complain." That isn't what I was looking for. Staring at him, I waited for him to continue. "Fine. I'm in pain, obviously. My arm is still broken, and I can feel a couple other injuries. But once again, I can't complain. I thought I'd be dead so..."

"Is that so..." Like that, our conversation died. I didn't know what to say in this situation... I've never been good at cheering people up. Even if it's him, I can't think of anything to say. When am I going to solve this issue?

Well, it seems like an issue that both he and I share. Even back then, he would be more than content to allow someone else to speak for him. The only exception being his father of course. Lord Angra, what would you say in this situation?

Shifting in his bed, my friend turned his gaze towards me. Expecting something. Hm? What was it though? " I expected you to yell at me or something."

"Why?"

Groaning, he continued. "Because of the suicidal act that put me in this bed. I ignored my familia's orders, ignored Bell's wounds and selfishly went to steal Bell's kill." Clutching the book in his left hand, he looked down at it and snarled. "Disgusting." Ah, I suppose that makes sense. To others it may seem like it was an act of selfishness but I completely understand. That pursuit for power, the pain of failing, and the desire to be useful. No, I understand that far too much.

Power and the guttural need for revenge causes people to do horrible things. This won't be the last time he does something stupid like this, I know it. And I will do something similarly stupid soon as well. That is what we are after all. "No, I understand why. It's okay so... don't feel too bad." That didn't come out as nice as I wanted it to. Even if I failed to protect my friend, and I continue to do so even now... the very least I can do is make sure that he isn't alone. Until he wakes up like his father, we'll walk down this path of vengeance together. And I hope that when you do eventually wake from your cloud as your father called it, you wouldn't forget about me. Please, my friend. "I... I'm still on your side. And so is everyone else. Okay?"

My words of comfort leave a lot to desire and I'm sure that anyone else would have been left disappointed. But instead... he smiled. A small one, barely noticeable but... he smiled. For that moment, he came back. My friend who I failed. The bright violet eyes and innocent smile that I wanted to see returned. "Thanks Ai. But you need to work on your pep talking."

"Ai..."

"Oh. Um, sorry. I just felt like calling you that for some reason. I won't do it again."

"N-No!" On instinct, I jumped out of my chair. Realizing I let my feelings take over again, I sucked in my breath. "I mean... I like it. Please keep calling me that."

"Uh... sure. Alright Ai." A strange feeling welled up in my chest each time I heard my nickname once more. Even if it's not as I hoped, I have my friend once more. "You're such a strange person, Ai."

"I suppose so."

Arc 1: Beginning of an (Odyssey)

End

An: Good Evening everyone and Happy New Year. How are you all doing? I'm alright, and here to announce a few changes. With the new year I have gained some more free time and more consistently at that. With it, I'm announcing my intention to slowly bring back my other stories. Yes, I'm aware that I sorta said this a while ago but some issues came up and now I'm 100% serious... I hope. I'll start with my ACQB story but all that should be changing for this story is the update day. Today! As in every other Wednesday. I know I said every other Monday last time but I got my days mixed. Sorry about that!

Back to this story though... the end of the first arc! Lets goo! Currently I have 4 and a half arcs planned for this story and I do intend on going further than that. As for now, the second arc will start with the next chapter and I hope you are all looking forward to it. Have a great day and thank you for reading.

Incognito74: I'm glad to be back. I'm sorry once again for the long break. The end of the year is always so chaotic for me. Thanks for coming back too!