So here's the next chapter of the first arc!
D-Dammit it. All of this makes me nervous. I am glad to see most of you are excited about the story I am trying to make. The expectations are high b-but I promise to do my best and my mother did not raise a bitch!
I hope that my barely passable English is good enough to not ruin your time reading this Fanfic.
English is not really my best language so please give me some slack here! I really need to improve my English so maybe writing more will help.
But anyways, here's my reply to the reviews left in comments
ShippingJR: So about my priority of which story I will be focusing on more, this one for sure. This does not mean I will abandon the Blue Archive(BA) one. This story is more4 of a passion project and the BA is more of a fun thing I do in my free time. Daydreaming reality helps in coming up with a storyline.
I-Isn't that Maladaptive daydreaming? It's a mental illness, right? A-Am I mentally ill!?
A-Anyway… I am glad you enjoyed RIP and I am happy you have given me a chance to see where the story continues. Wish me luck!
Soularis: I am glad to hear that! E-Expactations are increasing… *Sobs*
LaskaAlaska: Glad you still remember me.
abdelrahman5033: B-Better quality!? I-I'm honoured. And about you hoping the story stays grounded, I still do not know what a grounded story even means. But I try my best not to make the story boring. I-I think.
RainTheCourier: I am glad you still remembered me too!
Ghostwarrior935: I am happy that you still remembered this series. You're welcome and I should thank you. I will continue the story but it won't be as fast as how RIP.
Xcepter: I'm glad to hear that and I hope you don't mind this story having a longer update time than RIP with how it won't be a translation anymore.
Ascandas: T-Ten times!? You must kid! It was not really that better. As for the translation, I think I should have done a better job but what could I do?
Guest: Yoooooooo
Tenz0: It is back!
Lazytodo3: Glad to see you're excited
Guest: Thanks for saying that.
FrozenOzean21: You words, they are too kind. Hope you enjoy the story then.
RevenJin: Weirdly wholesome abyssal creature for the win! Look at Skadi!
That is all from me and off to the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Arknights and the character. If I had that power there will be a region that is a Terra version of South East Asia by now.
People like to say that nature was the most brilliant composer in the world. With the gentle wind of the night blowing in the air, alongside the calm melody produced by waves, most people would agree to that idea to be fair. It was like the world was singing a soft lullaby to show how beautiful it was to the people that lived in it.
The sky also played a role in proving the point of how the world could be if people were willing to just appreciate it. No cloud could be seen in it, something that was thought impossible in the cavity of Sal Viento but here it was. Without anything to cover it, the moon glowed above the city while the stars around it seemed to be dancing around it like they were performing an act for the residents because of how much they missed them.
Sadly, the people in the city got too used to not expecting anything to see in the sky so most of them had fallen asleep. This did not stop the celestial bodies to shine ever so pleasantly in the sky.
And it did not mean that there was no one watching them from below.
As a ray of moonlight fell onto the planet, two figures could be seen at the shore of a beach, late at night.
The smaller one was seated on the sand floor, her body slightly leaning forwards. Her face showed an awe expression. Her eyes were so focused that even if the world was collapsing around her, those orbs would not leave what they were staring at.
Who wouldn't?
After all…
What child would not be focused on the subject of Magic of all things?
History Anita could understand. Even she would admit it could get a bit boring at times.
Not that Mister Njord was boring or anything! It was that it was all the same thing. A group of minorities made a decision and the majority had to live in the consciences of those choices. It made Anita have quite a dislike for those people. Mister Njord would often remind her that her anger will not bring anything so the best thing she could do was to learn from those people's bad decisions and not repeat them. Be better than them.
It was a good lesson and all.
But Magic!
A craft that lets anyone, and she meant anyone does things that were beyond their own understanding! Since the day that the man told her about this mysterious power, she meant countless times about the things that she would do if she was able to use it.
Make all the buildings better again!
Give everyone new clothes!
Protect the city of Sal Viento!
And!
And!
The list goes on and on in her head.
The possibility was endless!
The man that put the girl in such a state was the one using the craft in front of her eyes. Waving his hands, frosts gathered around them. Frost appeared out of nowhere. The girl leaned in closer to marvel at the sight. This made the man that was sitting in front of her and controlling the said frost lightly chuckle at the child's bewildered face.
The man hummed and gathered more ice around his hands. When he believed it was enough, he used them as he intended it. To be a toll to tell a tale. With a simple wave of his hand, a scene was created using the frost.
A man with a spear in his hand was on the boat, with how he was clothed people could easily see him as a simple sailor, maybe even a captain with how he carried himself. His weapon was aimed at his enemy, and even with him being made completely of ice, the little man's body tensed. The most striking thing about his appearance was that he only had one leg while the other was just a stub.
But the ship and man was not the only thing that was in front of her. No, the man-made another thing alongside them. The girl named Anita never showed one herself but the man in front of her, Mister Njord thought of her so much that she knew what animal the man was aiming his spear at.
It was a whale.
From the look of it, this whale was a sperm whale.
Mister Njord taught her that a sperm whale is a large marine animal that belongs. It is the largest-toothed predator and can grow big! And they weigh tons! Sperm whales have distinctive block-shaped heads, which can make up a third of their total body length. Meaning they had a humongous head!
Sperm whales are found in all of the world's oceans but are most commonly found in deep offshore waters. The whales can easily seem in depths that were unimaginable to her. Their diet mainly consists of squid and other deep-sea creatures. So, the kids were safe! Something that made Anita really glad to hear.
Sperm whales are generally not considered aggressive towards humans and are known to be quite calm and peaceful creatures. However, they can be dangerous if provoked or if they feel threatened.
Something that the man was clearly doing right in front of her with that spear.
Anita looked closely at the whale and she noticed that it was a bit different than what Mister Njord told her of how a sperm whale should look like.
The whale had multiple harpoons stuck in its side. Maybe it was from unsuccessful hunts. Did that mean this whale was being hunted? Were they all because of this very man? It also had an odd spout. Its mouth was malformed. There were three holes in its right fluke and three punctures in its right snout.
To put it simply, the whale had been through a lot.
All of this was made of frost dancing in front of her. For a child, it was incredible. For anyone, this would leave them speechless.
And the person that was responsible for making this all possible, Mister Njord did not seem troubled at all.
"As thunder crashed in the sky and lightning danced, Moby-Dick emerged from the depths of the murky water of the sea. Away from the darkness that he was accustomed to," Mister Njord continued with his story, "But as determined the whale was to seek his vengeance, so was the captain that hunted for him. The giant creature took his leg and used parts of the whale he slew to make the stud he was using. But it was not enough for the captain. No. He will get his revenge, even if it was the last thing he did. If not, his name wouldn't be Captain Ahab, the hunter of the sea."
The ship that he was on started to rock back and forth. The waves seemed to not favour the captain. However, the captain did not care the slightest about how the water felt to him, the man named Ahab did not stare away from his nemesis. His hands tightened around his weapon as he faced his opponent not carrying that the waves were hitting hard on his ship, tearing it down plank by plank.
Njord flicked his hands and the waves in the scene in front of her started to move harder, more chaotic.
"With the harpoon in his hand, he shouted at his opponent with no fear in his voice."
(So it's a harpoon?) Anita realized. She had never seen a harpoon before. (Those things were to hunt whales? Those people must be amazed by how little it was compared to what they hunted.)
Njord wet his mouth to get ready to do his act.
He did not want to make the story boring for her, after all.
"Towards thee, I roll!" He made his voice deeper to depict the sound of the captain's voice. The miniature man's mouth moved, showing it was talking while Njord was his voice, "Thou all-destroying but unconquering whale!"
The whale opened his large mouth, seeming to bellow at the man like it was accepting the hunter's challenge.
The small man on the boat levelled his weapon at the whale, not scared for his life as he was in front of rows of dagger-like teeth, "To the last, I grappled with thee! From hell's heart, I stab at thee!"
Anita leaned closer to the scene made of frost in anticipation.
"For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!"
Njord smiled at how focused the child was now. He did not stop even if Anita was just an inch away from the scene he was making.
"With that, nothing else needed to be said by the captain," Mister Njord narrated again with his normal voice, "Their long-awaited battle was about to begin. And it was also about to come to its end as well."
He waved his hand to make the scene play out.
The whale then did the unbelievable.
At first, it went under the ocean's surface. Just when Anita was about to voice out her confusion to Mister Njord, Moby-Dick did it.
It jumped into the air. Anita did not know how a whale that size could jump that high but there it was, a good few feet in the air.
As the huge beats were about to slam its body, Captain Ahab did not care as he trusted his harpoon toward the falling whale.
Then the whale crashed into the ship, making the scene disappear in a mist cloud. The first fading away, sparkling with the winds.
"With that, our story ends."
The child started at nothing as she stared in front of her in pure shock. She slowly turned her head and started dumbfoundedly at the man who was smirking at her. When her mind finally registered what just happened, Anita shot up from the sand and rushed at him in desperation.
With the time that she spent with Mister Njord every night since the day they met, she got to know him quite well. Although he had a certain aura around him like he was somewhat of an important person, he had traits that made him seem normal. He liked to say the clothes that she brought were enough but he would often shuffle around them to make them comfortable. That was why she would bring new batches of clothes to him even when he did not ask for them.
And there was also some bad trait that Anita learned about Mister Njord.
And that was…
"No! Mister Njord! You cannot just end it like that!" Unsurprisingly, Anita was not keen on getting this as her ending, "What happened then?!"
He loved to tease her!
And this is one of those times!
Njord burst out chuckling at her reaction, failing at holding it back.
(He's even laughing!)
Sadly, his amusement was not shared by his company. Anita was shaking his body as hard as she could. However, with their size difference, it did not do much.
"Mister Njord! Tell me!" She shouted in desperation as she grabbed onto his body and shook it, "What happened to Captain Ahab?! To Moby?! To Ishmael?! Mister Njord! Tell me! You big meanie!"
This only made the man laugh even harder.
"Stop it, Anita..." He was barely able to form words now, "You're killing me..."
"Tell me what happened next!" She demanded as he gripped his shirt, trying to shake out the answer from him, "Then I stop!"
Anita might have thought that her actions were hurting him. She might not be wrong but it was not from her shaking him, it was more of her making him hide his laughter at her.
About the story though…
Anita had been listening to Mister Njord's story for a few nights.
The story of a whale and a group of whale hunters.
Moby-Dick and the Pequod.
Moby Dick is the name of the giant white sperm whale. He's sort of the main antagonist of the story. The whale is famous for its immense size and strength and its reputation for being nearly impossible to catch. The whale is like the power of nature with its unpredictability. His erratic behaviour and his ability to elude the whaling crews who are attempting to hunt him even confused Anita sometimes.
Normally nobody wanted to deal with an opponent like Moby-Dick. But that was where the main characters of the story come in.
The Pequod, a whaling ship. The ship was commanded by the obsessed Captain Ahab, who is determined to hunt and kill the giant white sperm whale, Moby Dick, which had previously bitten off his leg. The Pequod and its crew embark on a perilous and ultimately tragic voyage in pursuit of this elusive and vengeful whale. The only group of people that thought they were good enough to hunt the beast.
She at first thought that it was ridiculous why Mister Njord was telling a story to her.
She was much more interested in learning Magic at the time.
But now?
After giving Mister Njord a chance to hear this tale…
She was so invested in the story. Every night, she would come to the shore earlier and earlier. Something that Mister Njord pointed out to her every night. It was so bad that whenever she went to sleep, the only thing that came with her dreams was the adventure of Captain Ahab and his crew in taking down Moby-Dick.
She was in too deep!
Today, she came to the beach the very moment the sun was gone from the sky and the moon took its place. That was also something to do with Mister Njord. Since the day Mister Njord taught her about Magic, the night sky was something she would see now.
That was not important though!
She knew that she was near the climax of the story!
The crew, the Pequod, had been in the chase of Moby for two days, and each day, more crewmates were lost at sea.
But tonight, Mister Njord was telling her about the third day.
The day when Captain Ahab finally faced the whale that took his leg.
But Mister Njord was being mean and stopped at the very best part of the story!
He cannot just do that!
Mister Njord was even laughing at her now!
With each begging word, Anita said to him, Mister Njord would let out another laugh.
After a few moments passed, Anita gave up and lowered her and sulked at how she was being treated.
"You are worse than Captain Ahab, Mister Njord," She pouted as she whispered this.
She did not mean it though.
Mister Njord knew this as well as he kept on smiling at her.
Although Anita liked being smiled at by him, she was still angry at him so she looked away from him and let out a huff of annoyance.
Before she could say anything, he felt a hand rest on her head. This drew her attention back to him.
"Sorry, Anita. I know you want to hear more about the story and I am glad you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed telling you about them," Mister Njord apologized, "But I really needed to stop the story there."
"But why?" She still protested, still not over the fact that the story was left on a cliffhanger. They had a lot of time. To drive this point further, Anita pointed at the night sky, "The sun is still away. We have time. I want to know if Ishmael is okay or not."
Hearing this, Njord could not help but see a thin smile at her. It seemed like she really did get invested in the story and there was no going back for her now. She even got a favourite character from the story already.
Ishmael was Anita's favourite character in the story. He wanted to see the world and had an open mind about things, no matter how seemingly black and white they were. Even Njord had to admit, he was quite fond of the character. Some of his goals resonated with him a lot, something that was shared with this girl under his hand.
She shared a lot of traits familiar to him, something that Mister Njord told her.
Curious about the world. To see what the world has to offer. Anita knew that the world was beautiful, the night sky above her prove it. But seeing how pretty it was with her own two eyes was another thing.
A question then appeared in the head of this girl.
(Is the world prettier than Mister Njord?)
To say Anita's opinion of Njord was high would be an understatement. If anyone would ask her who was the prettiest person in the world, her instant answer would be one person.
Mister Njord.
She said this not only because Mister Njord was physically beautiful, but rather it was how the world seemed to be so peaceful every time he was in it. It was like at the very moment Anita's eyes laid on him, the world seemed to be so beautiful alongside him.
The world… seemed so safe around him.
"Umm… Miss Anita? Is there sand on my hair again? You are staring quite hard at me now."
"Y-Yes!"
While Njord brushed his hair, Anita tried to control her face to not turn red. Something that she failed at doing. Being called out by Mister Njord, with a red face she used the excuse that he gave her to save herself from embarrassment. It was a habit that she gained when her mind wandered off about Mister Njord.
"One the right?"
There she was doing it again.
"Yes! Just at the end."
Her mind was getting sidetracked. What was she angry about again? Oh. The story. Yes. That was what she was thinking about before-No! Focus Anita!
A-About the story, Mister Njord being the storyteller was cheating. He just knew what to say to get a reaction out of her. His words easily drew her into this world, this story without any trouble. And using Magic to enhance her experience. It was unfair! Unfair!
When the hunt for Moby started, Anita became anxious about how the waves of the ocean rocked the ship with each slam. With each person pulled into the water by Moby-Dick, she did not know who would survive at the end of the story. As more people lost their lives in the story, claimed by what they were hunted, her worries for a single person in the story increased.
Ishmael, her favourite character in this story.
Ishmael's sense of adventure and desire to explore the unknown was something that Anita found so appealing. He was a wanderer, constantly seeking new experiences and opportunities to expand his knowledge and understanding of the world. This curiosity is reflected in his decision to join the crew of the Pequod, a decision that takes him on a dangerous and thrilling journey. It helped that he was also funny. He often poked fun at the quirks of his fellow crew members. Not in a way that was malice but more lighthearted. It made scenes that should be anxious much more bearable for her.
Now at the climax, only a few people on the ship were alive. Luckily one of them was Ishmael. The last time Ishmael was mentioned in the story he managed to grab onto a coffin that was floating nearby and used it as a makeshift life raft to stay afloat. He drifted away from the battle that the rest of the Pequod was having with Moby-Dick. Although he was alive at the time, the ocean could be as dangerous as it was beautiful. So she was a bit worried about him now seeing how he was alone in the middle of the sea in a coffin out of all things!
With his fate still unknown to her, Anita could only hope he would be alright.
And it might stay that way if Mister Njord wouldn't tell what happened next!
Then Anita remembered why she was angry at Mister Njord now.
Her frustration was just! This was cruelty! Mister Njord was being a bully! A bully!
After making sure that there was no sand on his head now, not like there were any in the first place, Njord glanced back to the child and saw she was glaring daggers at him. However, with her cheeks puffed out it did not really affect him like how she expected it would. Mister Njord chuckled at how frustrated Anita was now with his hand still ruffling her hair.
"Sorry sorry. I really needed to stop there," Mister Njord hummed, "Not because we don't have time."
Anita tilted her head in confusion, forgetting about her anger instantly.
"What do you mean Mister Njord?" She asked curiously.
Smiling at how cute she was acting, Njord pulled his hand away from her head and pointed something behind her.
With his thin smile still on his face, he answered.
"We have guests after all."
Anita's expression fell the moment she understood what he meant. She spun around and her eyes widened at who she was staring at it.
"Big Sister Irene… Mister Dario…" Anita managed to mutter their name in shock, "Why are you both here…?"
Both Inquisitors held their lanterns in their hands to light their way. The embers of the flames inside the lanterns showed their faces. When Anita saw their faces, her body tensed. They were cold as they glared harshly in front of them.
Not towards her.
Towards Mister Njord.
And their headcanons were also pointed at him, making Anita take a step closer to Njord with eyes filled with worried.
For the two new guests, both their eyes locked on the man in front of them while he started back with a more laid-back expression on his face, not bothered that there were two weapons pointing straight at his head. In fact. He looked more curious than anxious at them, something that did not sit right for the two of them.
Before anyone could say a word, Mister Njord spoke first, cutting through the silence like a hot knife.
"So that Miss Flask's and Mister Starbuck's real names are, huh? Irene… Dario… Rolled off the tongue well enough and easy to remember too," Mister Njord hummed, tasting the names to himself. He smiled at them, "Hello there you two. Glad we finally met." His eyes landed on Irene, making the girl tense up, her grip on her weapon tightened, "I hope you love my story about Moby, Irene. You have been sticking longer now these past few days.."
Dario glanced to the side at his apprentice while she was trying her best to look at her Maestro, a red hue covering her cheeks as she scowled at the man in front of them.
Anita spun around and looked at Mister Njord in pure shock.
"(You knew they were here?)" Anita whispered in confusion, "(When did-)"
"Well, you did bring them here." Not bothered to lower the volume of his speech, he smiled at her. Then he nudged his head towards Irene, "At least for Irene's case you did."
"I did...?"
"Yeah," Mister Njord shrugged, not bothered at how confused she sounded, "Remember when I told you about Magic a couple of days back? She was there, following you here."
Before Anita could say anything, Irene took a step forward toward them.
"I assume that your name is Njord," Irene said.
"That's little old me," The mysterious man smiled, "And you still did not answer my question, how was my story?"
Although she debated to herself whether to not entertain the man, Irene ultimately answered.
"They were... acceptable." Irene firmly said.
"Acceptable you say?" The man chuckled, "But you were so invested in the story. Remembering when Flask was going up with a pack of whales? You almost blew your cover when you fell on the ground at how close you were leaning at us." Njord glanced at the man beside Anita, "You've got one adorable pupil."
"Wha-?! You listen here-"
"Don't be embarrassed. This girl is in the same boat as you," The man placed a hand on Anita, making the poor girl jump in surprise, "Anita almost forgot to breathe at one point. Well… more than one point."
"Mister Njord! This is serious!"
"Okay okay," Without him chuckling with a smile, Anita might have believed him.
Njord just kept messing up Anita's hair while the barrel of their guns was still aiming at him. The two Inquisitors stared at the man with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
After this quick episode, Dario adopted a more serious demeanour and took a step closer.
"Njord…"
Hearing his name being called, Njord stopped messing around with Anita and laid his eyes on the man. His body was still relaxed and not bothered by the weapons in front of him.
"Yes? What do you need from me, officer?" With a thin smile, the man asked Dario.
"My apprentice here believes that you might be a danger to us." Dario immediately said, "I want to see for myself if that is true or not."
"I see. Sounds reasonable. I am an unknown person that is sitting near the shore of the city that you are protecting. Me being suspicious is not something surprising to hear," Njord fully admitted, "So? What do you think of little old me here?" He then remembered that he was being aimed now, "And please put down your guns. You're making Anita nervous here."
To drive a point, Njord nudged his head down. Beside him was a scared little girl that was hiding behind Njord, her eyes anxiously looking at them. This made both Inquisitors tense up as well. Realizing what they were doing, Dario pulled down his weapon.
Irene?
She was conflicted. Her handcannon still levelled towards the man's head, far away from Anita. If she was to take a shot at him, Irene knew that it would not injure the child. Her aiming her gun at him was insurance for their safety. Irene could not see the future, she did not know if this man was willing to hear them out or not. In fact, they might have been dancing on his palm throughout this whole ordeal.
With that line of thought, her brain made a realization.
Her eyes slowly moved towards Anita, her eyes were begging her to drop her weapon. Then her eyes went towards the man that caused all of this headache, he was still smiling, unbothered.
This man could easily use Anita as a hostage.
"Tsk…"
With that thought running through her head now, Irene slowly lowered her weapon away from him with a scowl plastered on her face while he was doing that.
Seeing that there were no more weapons in front of them, eased Anita a bit but she was still worried. Not for her but for Mister Njord's sake.
"Thanks," Njord mused as his hand ruffled Anita's hair.
Dario nodded and stared at him, "I still need you to answer some questions."
"Shoot," His eyes slightly widened when he realized what he just said, "Poor choice of word on my behaviour." Njord lightly chuckled at his mistake, "Ask away."
Again the older of the two nodded, "Who are you?"
"Njord."
"Why are you here?"
"I got lost."
This made Dario raise a brow, "You got lost?"
"Yes, Luckily for me someone found me," Njord chuckled, amused at his reaction. He then rested his hand on Anita, "A little child looking for some seashell was kind enough to pass her time with someone like me. Glad there's still hope in this world."
"I see…" Dario knew that he would not get more out of him. With that, he continued with his line of questions about this mysterious man, "What race are you?"
"Hmm… from the lack of any trait, that would indicate that I think I got a good guess for that," Njord hummed, "I should be an Aegir."
Aegir…
Just hearing the race's name being mentioned in front of her was enough to make Irene be wary of the man.
Aegir was an Ancient race in this world. Few races could hold this title and that alone showed how mysterious they were. A race that came from the very depth of the ocean unknown by most. Now living on the land on the land. Their strength was famous, easily besting some races. However, like every race, they have weaknesses.
Dry skin.
Being a race that came from the sea and now living on land, their skin could easily dry out if not taken care of. Irene heard that most of them carried a small water bottle wherever they went to make sure their skin was moist all the time. Was that the reason why Njord always kept himself near the shore and did not wander off to the city near him? It made sense if that was the case.
But that was not what made Irene wary of the man.
No… It was the relationship that the Aegir had with another race that did.
The Seaborns.
Wherever Aegir was mentioned in a conversation, Seaborns were not far behind. The Seaborns were the ones that made the Great Silence happen. Many people believed that the Aegir had something to do with it too. This made people in Iberia not welcome the race.
As a person that was also affected by this event, Irene could understand where the hatred for the race came from.
It did not help that Irene heard that Aegir could easily be corrupted into Seaborn by succumbing to the monsters' alluring influence on the mind. That meant that any Aegir could turn into those monsters and repeat the Silence all over again in the country. This fear was shared with Irene.
She was greatly considering pulling out her headcanon again but with Anita being near… the thing, Irene fought away those thoughts for the time being.
"An Aegir… I see." Dario mused at the fact and glanced at the calm ocean behind Njord, "One last question. Have you seen any monsters lately?"
Was… Was the reason why they did not see any Seaborns at the time related to this very man in front of him? Maestro must have the same train thoughts as her with what he asked next.
"Monsters…?" Njord hummed, "Not really."
"I see. Then-"
"Let me ask you a question," Njord suddenly said, cutting whatever Dario wanted to say, "It should be fair. Just one question is enough."
"Go ahead... "
A breath. Irene's body tensed as she got herself prepared for what Njord was about to ask her Maestro. He might ask about how many more Inquisitors were there protecting the city. Maybe even how many people lived in Sal Viento. The information that they will give might be the reason a genocide will happen to Iberai or not.
"The Aegir… Why are they so feared by the locals in Iberia?"
To say they were speechless was an understatement.
Njord hummed as he watched the backs of the people he just chatted with. Their reaction to his "disappearance" was a bit quite amusing to see. Normally it was only Anita so he had almost forgotten how funny it was when people's eyes enlarged every time he did this.
It was not hard for him to do really. He wasn't really teleported to another place or anything. Rather...
It was not that hard to make his body nonexistent in this world while still being in this world.
You just need to manipulate time.
He just stopped time.
It was simple, the time that was around him, he froze it. For everything that we sense, time is needed. Seeing was one of those things.
We see light and light moves alongside time, no?
So what would happen if time just stopped?
If light did not reflect back toward the eyes from the object, the thing does not exist in the eyes of beings. That said, in this case, that thing was his body
The time that surrounded him stopped making no light bounce off of him, making him seemingly nonexistent to everyone that was around him, no matter how close they were to him. That was why no one was able to see him if he did not let them.
It was the same as how he could go into a place where no senses exist.
A place that had no name but Njord liked to call it the void for convenience.
He just needed to stop the time of Reality.
Normally when a person loses all of their senses, they lose their mind alongside them. However, for someone that literally died twice and lived inside that place longer than anything in this very fabric of reality had ever lived, you get used to it.
Only two people could call that place a pleasant place to be in.
One of them was Njord.
While the other…
"Hey! There's my braindead companion!"
For Njord, this being was the embodiment of the word annoying. Even without looking at where the voice came from, he knew who it was, with his white cloak and smug smirk under it.
He liked to call him Bastard for short. No sliver of respect would be given to him from Njord.
Njord felt an aggravated sigh threaten to come out from his throat when he heard that voice that sounded like someone was scratching glass near his ears but he did not let it out because that was just what this Bastard wanted to hear.
The best he could do was pinch the bridge of his nose as he got ready to be annoyed by this sudden guest of his.
"What do you want?" He did not even want to see his face as Nojrd glanced at the ocean, a much more pleasant thing to see. But that was not fair. Anything can be more pleasant than him. He even takes his chances with shit.
"What!? You wound me! Can't a friend drop by from time to time?"
"("Time to time," he said,)" Njord mumbled under his breath loud enough for both of them to hear, not like anyone would hear him though, "You always showed up every day you Bastard."
"Well yeah! You're my Avatar of course I need to hear your feedback every time I get the chance," The cloaked being said unashamedly, "And from what I saw, this should be something entertaining to see! I'd rather die than miss it!"
"Then please die," Njord rebutted without missing a beat.
The man shrugged, "That is something you do. But enough of me, look at you!" He shoved Njord's shoulder playfully earning him a glare that he did not mind, "You getting the hang of the whole time thingy now. I'm impressed," He grinned, "Give you about a couple more centuries you might have a chance to end my so-called suffering."
"I don't have time for centuries," Njord spat out, "I need to be faster."
"And that's where our little project comes into play, right? Made some and shipped them out already. I got the hang of how to make them by now," The man cheerfully informed while kicking up sand behind Njord's back, "You'd be surprised at how many bodies you can find in the ocean. The damn place is the biggest graveyard on this floating rock mortals call home."
"How many have you made?" Not letting the being rant any longer than necessary, Njord asked. His eyes still staring at the large body of water. Its surface seemed to sparkle as it reflected the stars above them.
"The plan is for one for each country, each with a different power to learn. Finnish half already," The man placed his hand on Njord's shoulder, "Forget about that for now. So what got the dead thing you call a brain moving all of a sudden now? Something to do with what you heard from those Inquisitors, I assume?"
Njord glanced at the cloaked man, seeing that smirk on his face. Although he wanted nothing more than to just drown the man at this very moment, both of them knew it wouldn't do anything to him. With a sigh, Njord glanced back to the ocean, hearing the waves crashing helped him control his annoyance.
"Aegir… Seaborns… Are both of them related to each other?" Njord asked the being, hoping he was willing to entertain his curiosity.
"You mean the two races that killed each other like some sort of fucked up version of tag? Maybe," He answered, uncaring of how messed up his analogy was but that was who he was so Njord did not mind it. Like the void unpleasantness, he got used to this man's unpleasantness as well, "But the question I want to know too, what are you going to do about it? After all…"
The man then glanced towards the ocean with a big grin on his face.
"You have quite a relationship with one of those races."
As the two of them stared at the great body of water, with their eyes they saw something only the two of them could see.
Just as how Njord was using the time to cloak his presence, he was also cloaking something else.
Meaning, he was hiding something else other than himself from normal people.
If you removed that aspect away, the ocean that was glittering under the beautiful night sky would have a different type of scene.
*Wail*!
*Shriek*!
The quiet night would be filled with monstrous wails and shrieks. The surface would not be clear, rather it would be pitch black with the horror that was using it as their hiding place.
Monsters.
Seaborns.
They have infested the water in front of them. But no one was the wiser and never realized this. Not even when they stood a few inches away from them.
"Oh? Seemed like they would be feisty since the last time I saw them," The man noted as he glanced at Njord, "Still not willing to fully control them?"
"As you said, the Seaborns are linked in a hive mind. More of a hive with how they're completely mindless as of now from what I have seen," Njord commented with a bland voice as he gestured towards the chaos in front of them, "And you suggesting me, a suicidal fucker to be the mind in the Hivemind for monsters that could easily wipe out every living thing on this planet? Are you dumb or are you dumb?"
"Is I being dumb my only choice in both options…?"
"My point still stands."
"Well… Can you imagine the chaos that would bring!" The man answered like it was the most obvious thing, "The entertainment that I could receive would be endless. You? Being a tyrannical ruler of Terra? That would be so much fun to see! Come on! Do it!"
"Pass. Too much work."
"Truly you are the peak of mortals' endless energy." The man chuckled at the fast reply. Then he glanced back at the ruckus that only the two of them knew about in front of them, "So what now? What will you do?"
"Do you really need to ask?" Njord asked as his eyes glared at the cloaked figure beside him, "I do what I was meant for."
"To see what will happen next."
"Heh…" The man lightly chuckled, "Truly, you're the best set of eyes I got. And I had three by now!"
"I am truly honoured…" The words that came out of Njord's mouth were dripping with sarcasm while levelling a dry expression towards him, "You shouldn't have…"
"That's just how benevolent I am! Now!" The being clapped his hands, "I still need to get ready for the project."
He took a step away from Njord but then stopped and glanced back at him.
"Oh and do please pick up the pace with this whole situation of yours," The lightly commented.
"We need someone to gather the remnants after all."
Without giving Njord a chance to reply, the being was gone as fast as he appeared.
Njord stared at where the being was just now standing. He slowly moved his head away from that spot and towards the ocean. The Seaborns were now all gone again. No more wailing filled the air around him, only the soothing sounds of waves crashing onto the shore.
Feeling that he had enough time to admire the ocean, Njord raised his head at what was looming above it instead.
The moon was full for tonight. Its gentle glow fell onto his body passing through the few clouds.
Njord hummed as he stared at the celestial body.
"Yeah…" He chuckled to himself.
"Still can't be compared to her."
That's the end of the second part of this arc. I want to build up Njord's character and his relationship with Anita. Even if most of you knew who Njord was before, Lin Ye, after the whole new world he was in, I thought he might change even just a bit.
Ye is more of a gun blazing ask question later if he is being threatened type of guy. While Njord is more of a relaxed type of person if he was thrown into the same circumstance.
As for Irene and Dario, at first, I wanted Dario to openly accept Njord when they first met but that sounds unrealistic.
A suspicious man appeared on a shore where there used to be man-eating monsters under the surface of the sea and you would bring said man into a city that you were supposed to protect?
Might as well share a cup of tea while telling tales of when they were young just for the fun of it?
Yeah… Making both of the two inquisitors wary of him should be a good call.
So about why the long wait… I needed to transport my things back to my university dorm, seeing that my break have finished. So I used up all of my time in getting ready to go back to my university. Sorry for making you all wait for so long. But that will be how the update will be in the future, I'll update when I feel like it.
Sorry, not sorry.
About the story, I hope you would enjoy this as I enjoyed making it. If there is any inconsistency in the story or the quality, I apologize in advance. Still learning about this whole writing thing.
Youtube tutorials don't fail me now!
You taught me how to cook food so you should be able to teach me how to write a story as well!
Don't fail me now!
*Search up a video about writing a story*
T-Thirty minutes!? For a part of a three parts guide!? Damn it!
I have my work cut out for me it seems. Challenge accepted! Do your worst Youtube-Sensei!
So how was the part!? Did I do something wrong? Did my passable English turn you off from the story? Leave a review and let me know. I WILL read them!