Chapter 13
Bad Romance
Walking through the forest, I noticed how eerily quiet it was. There was no sound of any kind- no animals, no human, no wind, nothing at all. Well, aside from my own footprints but aside from that, no sound at all. As I saw Arashi in the distance, a strange feeling came over me, as if I wanted to take her out somewhere and maybe make love to her down the line. As I wondered why I was even feeling such things, I felt a strange pounding in my chest. Confused, I then found my left arm wasn't acting up anymore. Arashi then turned around to look at me and smiled, rushing over to me. "I see you've finally awakened that indomitable fighting spirit of yours. Tell me, how did it feel unleashing and losing yourself to the Negative Speed Force?", she said, looking longingly into my eyes. "To be honest, I don't really remember that part. I remember that I was fighting against Yuito and a strange anger came over me upon absorbing the power of the Fire Crystal; between that and Eobard giving me the power of the Reverse-Flash, it's all a blur.", I replied. "Figures that unleashing a power dependent on anger would cause its user to not remember or care about unleashing it. Still, all that matters is that you've awakened now. That's what's important.", Arashi said. "Wait, the Negative Speed Force is dependent on…anger?", I asked. "That's right.", Arashi asked. "I remember when I first awakened the power that I was so angry and wanted something, anything to give me the power to destroy YHVH. I then tapped into this strange power that seemed to make me extremely fast.", I said. Chuckling, Arashi asked, "Is that really what happened?". "Wait, what do you mean?", I asked. "You didn't tap into the Negative Speed Force, Jack. Rather, the Negative Speed Force tapped into you instead, feeding off your hatred for YHVH to make you into its third avatar.", Arashi replied. "Is that what happened? I thought it just happened just because.", I said. "Well, multiple people can tap into both the Speed Force and the Negative Speed Force to increase their speed but that's where the similarities end. The Speed Force is capable of supporting multiple users and multiple avatars, with Barry Allen and Wally West being just two such people; the Negative Speed Force on the other hand is too volatile to support multiple avatars and is thus only capable of supporting one avatar at any one time. That is not to say that multiple people can't access the power of the Negative Speed Force; on the contrary, the Negative Speed Force is certainly capable of supporting multiple users but due to its nature it can only support one avatar due to how it needs to be accessed. No hate, no Negative Speed Force avatar.", Arashi explained.
Suddenly, Arashi then hugged me very tightly. "Arashi?", I asked. "Sorry, it's just that I've never felt this emotional before. So, please excuse me if I come off as a bit too forceful.", Arashi said, crying. "But you don't feel sad.", I said. "Oh, I'm not sad at all. Rather, I'm very proud of you for awakening your connection to the Negative Speed Force, or to be more exact, reawakening the connection.", Arashi said. "Wait, what do you mean by reawakening the connection?", I asked. "Maybe it's better if I just show you.", Arashi said before tenderly kissing me on the lips. I then found myself on a bloodstained and fiery battlefield surrounded by multitudes of dead people. Looking further at the distance, I saw what was clearly me vibrating and brimming with dark red electricity. "Do you remember, sword demon?", Arashi's voice said. "Why are you calling me a sword demon?", I asked. "Oh, that should be obvious. These people you see before you are the people you killed in an effort to master the blade and become the greatest swordsman Aionios has ever known. And suffice to say, you were on the verge of succeeding before Eunie made the mistake of shooting you causing you to be extremely and dangerously injured.", Arashi said as the scene changed to that of Prison Island and Eunie indeed shooting me in the chest. As the other me stumbled over and fell off of the island, Eunie covered her mouth in abject horror and screamed a terrible scream, dropping her gunrod. The scene changed to Mauvier placing my unconscious body on a pedestal as cyan energy surrounded me and created a Cyber Cage. "Of course, the Four Hounds made sure to rescue you; as for Eunie, she agonised over what she accidentally put you through and then made sure to turn to Z for your protection. And it was a good thing too as Moebius had been scouting you to become a Consul given your hatred for humanity.", Arashi's voice explained. "No, you're wrong! I don't hate humanity at all!", I protested. "Oh, but your memories seem to differ. Let's see: how about this?", Arashi's voice said as the scene changed to me shivering in fear in a dark cell. Suddenly, burly prisoners then walked in followed by a man in night-vision gear. "Are you sure?", one of the prisoners asked. "Yes, I'm sure. It was wrong of him to be different and we will punish him for it.", the man in the night-vision gear said. "Well, if you say so…", another burly prisoner said. Suddenly, the scene changed to me waiting at a church altar wearing an expensive black tuxedo, a white shirt, black trousers and a purple tie. Kasane then entered wearing a beautiful white wedding dress, her ears pierced by spherical purple earrings. "Wait, I thought I was married to Framme, not Kasane!", I said. "And you were…in one of the false timelines you lived through in Cyber Space. In Aionios proper, you actually got married to Kasane, not that sycophantic Divine Dragon worshipper. Though to be honest, I was always jealous of how you and Kasane looked at each other- I wanted you to look at me that way.", Arashi's voice said. True to form, I looked at the various guests- indeed, Arashi was there and looking with a jealous pout on her face.
Finding myself back in the forest, I then asked, "But what does me marrying Kasane have to do with unleashing the Negative Speed Force?". "Well, when YHVH trapped you in the Nightmare Void, he went the extra mile in corrupting your memories- something I condemn in the strongest possible terms. Because of his hatred for you, YHVH made sure to make you think that you married Framme and convinced you that the marriage was an unhappy one in strong contrast to the love that Kasane showed you. An attraction I believe to be mutual too. And because your memories had been corrupted, it made you the prime material for the Negative Speed Force to make you its avatar. Then again, what YHVH did to you as a child didn't particularly help in that regard – not only did he subject you to absolutely sickening abuse, but he also tried to pass a law banning you from getting an education, getting employed and getting married, not that it ever stopped you. Indeed, Kasane believed you deserved revenge and oh how right she was. Thus, she did all she could to force you to awaken your connection to the Negative Speed Force, but she didn't know you had previously awakened its power by complete accident when you were a child. I'm not surprised that you don't remember that though- you were still very young when it happened.", Arashi said. Thinking, I said, "But what did you mean when you said you were jealous of how I and Kasane looked at each other? Because I would have been willing to love you if you needed it.". "Well, I was much like you once and felt the same way toward Kasane too.", Arashi said wistfully. At this, I saw a scene of Kasane and Arashi looking in each other's eyes longingly, both of them holding hands. "Ara, I don't think you might want me in your apartment anymore.", Kasane said. "Please, I enjoy your company. And it's our apartment. I might own it, yes, but you're equally just as welcome to stay here as long as you want. We could even make it permanent and you could move in here with me for real.", Arashi said. "Thanks, Ara, but I think I'll stay with Naomi and my family for now.", Kasane said. "Well, the door is always open if you change your mind.", Arashi said before they tenderly kissed. "Wait, wait, wait, you and Kasane were in love?", I asked. "You could say that.", Arashi's voice said. Confused, I then asked, "So where do I fit in all of this?". "Well, Kasane may or may not have had a crush on me, but the only one she was truly in love with was you. I don't know if my own feelings for her were truly genuine or brought on by the darkness we endured and I'd like it to stay that way.", Arashi's voice said. "And by darkness, you mean Gloom and the Silent Core, right?", I asked. "That's correct.", Arashi said. "Come to think of it, I did find myself in bed with Kasane several times over. Don't know if we had sex or not but I did find her in bed with me one day.", I said. "Well, Kasane also found herself in bed with me too one day; we were all celebrating our rebirth in the darkness and we had admittedly had a lot to drink; then again, it was all alcohol there and not any water or fruit juice. I don't really remember what had happened that night but the next day, Kasane and I at the very least were in the same bed, both of us naked.", Arashi's voice said as I snapped back to the forest.
As I thought on what I had been shown and told, Arashi then looked longingly into my eyes again, her eyes now looking much happier. "Still, thank you for bearing with me. I am still very proud of your awakening as the Sovereign. You still have the Void Stance to unlock but I doubt that Iori trained you in it.", Arashi said. "Will I need to break the Void Crystal?", I asked. "Well, that's up to you. Given that it is in Origin which I don't think you can get to, I don't blame you if you don't want to break the crystal. Indeed, I dare say that you're skilled enough to unlock it on your own.", Arashi said. "The bounded field surrounding the centre is going to make breaking into Origin a bitch.", I said. "That too.", Arashi said. Hugging and tenderly kissing me again, Arashi then said, "Well, I need to tell Alphen the good news. And no, you can't come to Origin with me. Otherwise, it'd ruin the surprise.". "You're right there.", I said as Arashi walked off. After a brief moment of reflection, I then continued, once again noticing how the forest seemed so eerie and quiet. I then noticed a strange blue gas enter the clearing accompanied by a golden brown gas, a green gas and a red gas; undeterred, I kept walking as the gas surrounded me. Then, I saw a strange vision of another me with blue eyes and blue hair looking out of a castle window followed by a vision of another me with red hair and red eyes holding a sinister purple and black katana followed by Artoria cradling a young baby version of me as Gilgamesh tenderly watched. The vision then faded only for me to see a suspicious house in a forest clearing. Walking closer to the house, a strange feeling came over me, as if I had seen the house before. Wondering why I had seen it before, I heard Alphen's voice say, "He must awaken soon, Cecilia. Don't forget why you are training him.", followed by Shionne's voice saying, "If he doesn't awaken soon, all of reality will be destroyed.". Approaching the door, I put my hand on the handle only to discover the door was unlocked.
Walking inside, I found myself in a humble living room with a strong smell in the air. I wondered why the person living there had to use so much, especially as the smell was giving me a headache. I then heard the sound of a grill cooking; heading into the kitchen, I saw a woman with long dark green hair and dark green eyes wearing a purple nightgown with an opening in the front to expose her cleavage. Her nails were also covered in thick purple nail polish. The woman then turned around to look at me; at this, her face suddenly lit up and she smiled. "Oh, Jack, you've finally returned to me!", she said. "Wait, Master Cecilia?!", I said to the woman, surprised. "Oh, Jack, you don't need to call me Master anymore. Especially not after YHVH's invasion highlighted just how inexperienced I was with my failure to protect you.", Cecilia said. Eyeing my demonic left arm eagerly, Cecilia then said, "Well, you might have awakened as a therion but you're still lacking a vital…ingredient so to speak. And I blame YHVH's invasion for preventing you from getting that ingredient.". "Wait, what do you mean?", I asked. "Ever so clueless. But I guess it can't be helped, considering what YHVH did to you.", Cecilia said. After a short pause, she then said, "Well, you're just in time for dinner. I cooked your favourite too- spaghetti Bolognese, just the way you like it.". "Are you having it too?", I asked. "Heavens, no. I'm having saffron risotto and fried chicken, which you're equally welcome to have as well.", Cecilia replied. Then, I found myself sitting across from Cecilia at the table in the living room; true to her words, Cecilia's face was filled with fried chicken and saffron risotto whilst mine was filled with spaghetti Bolognese. Between us was a bowl filled with grated parmesan cheese. As we ate, a strange feeling then came over me. "Jack, do you really know where your magic comes from?", Cecilia asked. "Well, I believe it came from my ability to manipulate fire, earth, air and water for a variety of different effects. Brilliant, I know.", I replied. Chuckling, Cecilia said, "Well, I don't know about you but that's certainly the answer a man who didn't finish his training would give.". "Wait, what?", I asked. "How should I put this? Your magic has always existed since the moment you arrived into Aionios. Remember when you awakened your Semblance when you were fighting the angels in Lythos? Well, your magic awakened at that point. Or to be more exact, your magic is derived from your Semblance and is fuelled by your Aura, taking the form of dark magic- that is to say, your true Semblance is oriented around manipulating darkness in various forms whilst your ability to manipulate fire, earth, air and water actually derives from your Sovereign powers. And I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that your Semblance also extends to your ability to prime into Odin. That's why you couldn't control your initial priming into Odin- because you didn't have knowledge of your true Semblance.", Cecilia said. Suddenly, a well of power surged up within me much to Cecilia's delight; this time, though, I could control it.
Suddenly, I found myself in a strange bed. "Wait, how did I get here?", I thought. Looking over to my left, I saw Cecilia sleeping next to me, her head resting on my shoulder. And if that wasn't strange enough, neither of us had any clothes on. Wondering what had happened, I tried to rise only for Cecilia to murmur, "Please, my love, wait until tomorrow. It's still dark out.". Feeling that she had a point, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep. As I slept, I saw a strange vision of Alastor covered by a sinister crimson aura, a red infinity symbol in his right eye. This changed to a vision of me wearing crimson armour with a purple core on the chest, the other me having a red infinity symbol in his left eye. He was surrounded by various other people in crimson armour as well- Framme, Lapis, Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, Byleth, Kasane, Shulk, Rex and many others. This then changed to me in front of Odin. "Why are you showing me these things?", I asked. "You know why. They are not dreams, they are alternate realities out there- one where you are a Fell Dragon King, one where you are a Divine Dragon Prince, one where you are indeed the trueborn son of Artoria and Gilgamesh Pendragon and even another where you are a Consul.", Odin replied. "Come to think of it, isn't Toby another me as well?", I asked. "That is indeed correct. But now is the time for you to wake up.", Odin said.
As I left the house, I wondered what was keeping me from fully controlling Odin's power. True, the previous times I primed where out of instinct but I felt that I had some degree of control over Odin's power. Looking up at the sky, I noticed a strange tear that seemed to be leaking darkness out into the firmament. Continuing on, I found myself in a strange forest clearing similar to where I fought Supreme in Cyber Space. Yet in place of a Titan waiting for me was a strange dark red portal. Walking closer to the portal, I then heard a voice say, "He'll need to claim Alphen's throne eventually. And if he doesn't, then we'll force him.". I also saw the dark figure I saw on the Space Colony ARK; looking at it carefully, I asked, "Who are you?". Looking at me, the figure said, "Why, I am you. I am your avatar.". "Wait, you're me?", I asked. "That is correct.", the figure said before disappearing. Then, a girl with blonde hair tied into pigtails and purple eyes came out of the portal. She was wearing a light pink dress. As she looked up at me, her face lit up much like Cecilia's and she tenderly hugged me. "Oh, Jack, it's been a while since you returned to us. We've all been waiting for you.", she said. "I'm sorry, who are you again?", I asked. As her expression turned to sadness, the girl said, "Oh, you don't remember me either? Well, my name is Mitsuba Sangu.". Then, I felt a strange feeling of dread as Mitsuba looked tenderly into my eyes. "Well, if you don't remember, I'll force you to.", she said as she dragged me through the portal.
The story continues in the next chapter.
