Kingdom Hearts: Heart of Heaven
Chapter Nineteen: The Owl Lady
Day 5- Evening
"Alright Class!" Luz calls out as I finish one more blood glyph, looking up to see standing in front of the chalkboard with a big grin on her face. "As of now, you have learned how to draw and use all four of the Boiling Isles Glyphs" she says with a wave of her free hand, gesturing to the four glyphs drawn on the chalkboard.
Her other hand was busy holding her sticker-covered notebook to her chest. The small book has never left her sight ever since I gave her the idea of trying other materials. I could tell with the excited glint in her eyes she wanted to try out as many different combinations as she could when she got home but she was keeping it in for now, trying to stay professional for the last minute of class.
"Now that we have finished the basics, tomorrow we shall expand on them" she says as she holds up a tag, her smile growing that bit bigger. "And learn how to use Glyph Combos!~"
Then she taps the tag and with four flashes of red and blue, a mist spawns out of the air, spinning behind Luz as it takes the shape of a giant owl for a moment before dispersing back into nothing.
"So, great job today my students. With only one minor accident-" a small groan comes from Jim, with a few chuckles accompanying it "You guys have officially beaten out the other classes with how careful you've all been!"
"Really? What happened then?" a brown-haired English woman asked from the front as Luz paused, her eyes locking onto a desk that looks newer than the rest.
"It was a … series of unfortunate events…" she answered as everyone gave her curious looks at her non-answer. "A-Anyway, you guys did great today! I'll see you all tomorrow and have a good night!" she says as everyone starts to get up from their desk, splitting up into groups as they all talked animatedly with one another as they left the building.
I started to turn towards Kim only for Luz to get my attention as she ran up to me. "Ethan! Thanks again for the suggestion, I have sooo many ideas. Want to come to the Reagent shop with me? There are so many things I gotta try and…" she stops as she looks between me and Kim. "Unless you have other plans?" She asks, suddenly looking a bit uncomfortable.
But Kim smiles and shakes her head. "That's okay Luz. I was planning to go to Jumba's anyway and see if he needs any help." She says as she stands up out of her chair and turns to look at me. "So, see you tomorrow morning Ethan?"
I smile back, "Yeah, sounds great Kim. Oh, hold on-" I say as I interfaced with my shroud and navigating to my account, I withdrew… Five hundred munny out of the thousand my employers paid me with.
That seemed a little low, but then again, the currency here uses gems as the medium of exchange, so it makes sense that they'd have a bit more worth than paper money.
As I handed the gems over to her, her eyes widen a bit as looked at the gems resting in her palm before looking back up at me. "To help repair Jumba's shop, and hopefully a good enough down payment for your equipment." I explain with a smile, as I close her hand over the gems with my own. "Tell me if you need any more, okay?"
"I-I will." She says before stepping up to me and pulling me close for a hug. "Thank you Ethan." She says before pulling back and picking up her bag. "See you later."
"Bye Kim" I say as she smiles, and as she waves goodbye, she opens the door and walks out into the street, her long red hair swaying a bit in the breeze outside before she walks out of sight.
I take a breath before looking down to Luz, my question dying on my lips as I see a big smug smile on her face. "What?" I asked as her smirk grows even bigger.
"Nothing~" she says with a nearly sing-song tone before starting to walk towards the door herself. "I'm just happy you and Kim made up."
"Yeah, it was touch and go there for a bit" I state as I pick up the leftover tags and the blood glyph I made and put them into my pocket. "It's kind of been a rollercoaster of a day."
"I bet" she says before grabbing my hand and start trying to drag me out the door. "Now, let's go! We need to get to Bedknobs and Broomsticks before they close for the night. I gotta test out everything I can!" she says as she powerwalks out of the door as I let myself get dragged behind her and I couldn't help but smile as the excitable girl starts listing off materials she wanted to test and her guesses on what effects they would have on her glyphs.
She might've been one of the most powerful spellcasters in the district but she was still a kid who genuinely loved the art of spellcraft. And If listening to her rant about all the different ways a fairy's tooth could change a spell made her happy, then I was more than happy to listen.
… and maybe steer her away from her more, dangerous ideas.
-HoH-
"So, what do you think the fire bee honey will do?" Luz asks as she looked at the small beaker of reddish-orange gel as we walked down the street and back to the owl house.
"… It would probably make the fire glyph into napalm." I guessed, as Luz tilts her head back and forth thinking about it.
"So, it would be like fire grenade? But the fire glyph can already explode… unless you mean it will be an even bigger explosion! Ohh, I want to try that!"
"No Luz, not the weapon, I meant the fuel it uses." I explained, getting a curious look from her. "Napalm is a flammable Jelly substance, that is usually a mix of a gel and a flammable liquid like gasoline." I recited, thinking back to my Modern Weapons 101 seminar I took during Basic.
Master Chief was surprising chill dude and was more than happy to give us a step-by-step explanation of all the different kinds of weapons that existed in the vast multiverse and how to use them safely.
"So, if we are going to test that, we are going to need to fireproof everything in the area. And get cover, and fireproof shields plus extinguishers." I say before I noticed Luz staring at me with wide eyes. "Yeah. If you think ordinary fire is dangerous, imagine a fireball that splashes everywhere when it explodes and sticks of any surface it touches. All while still burning."
Luz winces a bit before looking back down at the tiny vial in her hands and breathed through her teeth. "Yeahhh, maybe we'll wait on that one." She says as she slowly puts it back into her bag as if it were a bomb. "So other than that horrifying idea, we still have lots of other ingredients to test. It's going be amazing." she says as she happily gestures to the four bags, she was carrying across her arms.
Luz wanted to spend every cent she was paid for teaching her classes to buy everything she could from the shop. And while I was able to keep her away from really expensive stuff, she still practically bought one of everything off the shelves.
It was a lot to carry, and I not only volunteered to carry half of it, but I also offered to pay for half of everything. She protested at first, but Luz relented when I reminded her off her free classes, the room she was letting me stay in and the potions they gave me the first couple of days. That small bit of munny was nothing compared to all the times they'd helped me ever since I got here.
I sighed as I moved my shroud-made bag over my shoulder, feeling the reagents inside move a bit as it settles into the new position. "Maybe you should take it a little slow. We don't know how they'd interact with the glyphs and creating new spells can be dangerous Luz. Magic can basically do anything, so you have to play it safe when you are trying to make a new branch of magic. Do you understand?"
"I understand. I've seen Eda blow herself up many times trying something new but like she's said, 'No pain, no gain" she says, swinging her fist in front of herself as if to pump herself up… but that confidence withered as I narrowed my eyes at her.
"I'll be careful Ethan. Just call me, Luz 'Safety' Noceda," Luz says point a thumb at herself… right before I grabbed her shoulder and moved her out of the way of a guy walking the other direction who also wasn't paying attention.
"Oh… Can we just pretend that didn't happen?" she says with an awkward smile as I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose "Look, Ethan. I'm not going to test these out alone. I'll have Eda and King with me to help keep an eye out as well. Oh, they are going to love this new way of casting glyphs. Eda is going to be so excited. And with that new magic tattoo, I'm sure she'll regain her old strength in no time."
Oh… right. "I… haven't really given it to her yet." I admitted as Luz stopped to look at me with shock.
"But why? Did Eda do something? Oh Titan, did she bet something of yours in Hexes Hold'em? I swear, I'll get it back. Titan, she promised not to do this again, not after the Scam Stall incident." Luz rambles in a panic, trying to convince me to forgive Eda of… whatever fictional crime she just came up with.
"Luz!" I snap, causing her to jump a bit before closing her mouth to look at me. "Eda didn't do anything I promise, we were just interrupted before I could give it to her that's all." A relieved expression dawns on her as she lets out a breath of relief.
"Oh good, sorry. It's just. Your tattoo is Eda's chance to be a real witch again and she might not show it, but it's really important to her… and me." She admits as we both continued walking back home. "But wait. You said you were interrupted?... did it have anything to do with that explosion earlier today?"
I nodded at her as we turned the corner into a familiar street. "Right on the money. Once I saw the smoke I rushed over to help, only to find that Kim was being attacked by a villain and a bunch of heartless." I explained as Luz's eyes widened in concern and, a little bit of awe?
"Is she okay? Did you jump in to save her like Azura did Mal'engal? Tell me everything" she says as she walks a little closer to me, her eyes practically sparkling with interest.
I let out a breath as I saw the owl house further down the street. "Yeah, she's fine, but it didn't look good when I got there. She was on the ground surrounded by the Heartless. I killed the ones closest to her but there were just too many. So… I gave her a way to fight back."
Luz's smile grew a bit. "You gave her the tattoo, didn't you?" I nodded as Luz smile grew even further "Yes! Sudden powerup for the win! Man, did she tear through them after that? I bet she did~"
I chuckled a little as I walked to the front door and placed a hand on the knob. "Yep, she even got a new Skill out of it. Used it to beat the Villain in one punch." I explained to her growing amazement as I opened the door and went inside.
"Eda! I'm home! And Ethan is here too!" Luz calls out as she rushes into the living room looking for her guardian.
"I'm in the Kitchen! I'm just cooking these vegetables for the stir-fry, so dinner will be just a few more minutes." the old witch calls out as I place the shopping bags on Eda's desk, after making space by removing all the scattered books on top of it. Eda could be a bit of a slob to be honest, but she wasn't the worst I've seen. That title belonged to my brother… I wonder how he is doing…
"Stir fry huh? That sounds… surprising normal." Luz comments as she places her own bags next to mine. "I'm just going to check on her to make sure she doesn't add anything weird. You can tell me the rest of the story later." She says, giving me thumbs up before running off to the kitchen. "Eda! You won't believe what Ethan discovered in class today!"
'God, she is such an excitable kid' I thought to myself as I removed all the reagents from the bags and set them on the desk. But I suppose any kid would be excited if they could study magic. All the possibilities in the palm of your hand. Heck, I'm excited to learn how to use magic in more ways than expending the small amount I had in one punch.
Though that tiny pool of Final Fantasy mana inside me hasn't responded to any of my attempts yet. I made it work in the moment I hit that heartless but anything I tried after that? Nothing. Nada. Not even a single ripple from my mana pool, despite my best efforts.
I let out a sigh as I placed the fire bee honey down as my shroud-bag undid itself and returned to the rest of my outfit. I guess I was going to need to find an instructor before I made any progress on that front.
Walking into the kitchen, I saw Eda wearing a long red dress and standing right next to the table, holding a bowl of steaming vegetables that… actually smelled good. "Ah, just in time Ethan. The market didn't have much today, so we are going Vegan today!" she says with a bright smile as she sets the food in the middle of the table.
"Ha! She's only saying that because Luz caught her trying to add Eyeball sauce to the mix." The tiny fox-like demon King announced as he jumped onto his booster seat.
"Quiet you. Eyeballs are a steal at the market and a great source of protein. You freeloaders need it if you're going to grow up properly." She says and I was able to mostly hold back my shiver. God, what kind of diet did they have on the Boiling Isles?
"So," Eda starts as Luz walks in with a stack of plates and sets the table. "Luz tells me you made Kim into an anime girl"
"… I'm sorry, could you repeat that again?" I asked, stopping halfway into my chair as I stared at Eda incredulously.
"Made her into an anime girl." She repeats as if it was the sanist sentence in the world. "You know, gave her a power-up, then she started beating up the bad guys at beat the villain with one punch. Classic Dragon Claw episode." She says with a small smirk as she reaches over and scoops up some of the vegetables onto her plate.
Okay. She was screwing with me. Still… "You guys have anime?" I asked, looking at the three very different humanoid species sitting at the table with me.
"Monster Slayer Academy is my favorite." Luz speaks up as she pours herself a cup of water. "I haven't been able to watch it in a while because of-" she gestures all around "but once we figure a way back to my world, I have a lot of catching up to do… I wonder if Mida ever got together with Oshi?"
"Ha! That puffed up high school show? They promised monster slaying but it's all teen angst and high school drama. Dragon Claw is where it's at! Just the strongest of warriors duking it out while releasing their inner power. What more could you ask for?" Eda says while pointing a fork at Luz.
"You're both nuts. Fang vs Claw is the best show on the world web. It has drama! Gladiatorial combat! And high stakes!" King declares in his high-pitched voice as he stands up on his chair, lifting his clawed fist to the sky.
"King. That was cat video on MeTube." Eda points out, ignoring his response of 'You guys just have no taste in high quality media.' and turns back towards me. "So, you gave Kim the Falna didn't you?" she says as she puts a fork full of vegies into her mouth, slowly chewing while looking at me for an answer.
"… Yeah. The situation was kind of dire." I say as I poured myself a drink. "I couldn't really defend her and fight off Shego and the heartless at the same time. It was a bit of a gamble but one that paid off in the end."
Eda nods as she finishes swallowing, "Well, as much as I dislike the fact that you gave your first time to someone else-" I nearly spilled my drink as I turned and glared at her for her horrible innuendo. She still had that unrepented smirk on her face, while Luz and King just looked confused at the byplay.
"But I'm not going to complain too much if it saved her life. It was a good thing you ran in when you did. So, considering that fact that you didn't come back until now, I'm guessing you and Kim made up?" She asks and her smirk turns more lighthearted when I nodded.
"Told you that you could do it. It's almost as if this witch knows what she's doing." She says as she leans back into her chair, taking a confident pose… and leaving her feet behind on the floor.
"Oh, so like that time you had the brilliant idea to date the warden of the Conformatorium. Or that time you brain-swapped all of us to prove a point. Or that time you- hmpfff!" King counts off until the white-haired witch stuck a fork full of broccoli in his mouth.
"Shut up and eat your greens. They're good for you." She reprimands as she ignores Kings muffled protests and Luz's giggles and turns back to me. "So, learn anything more about your special tattoo? I assume since you gave Kim one, that you got a bit of a closer look at how it ticks."
I nodded as I took a bite of Eda's cooking… it wasn't great or anything. It was just cooked vegetables with only a little bit of spice but I should count my blessings that Eda made food that wasn't an assault on my taste buds.
"Yeah, I will have to wait and see if the higher level mechanics still work but as far as I can tell, it all works without a hitch… except I can only give out four more of them before I'm tapped."
Eda nods, taking a sip from her cup. "Ah, I was afraid of that. You thinking about kicking this old hag of the list then?." She asks as Luz looked at her with wide eyes before turning back to me. Trying to give me the biggest puppy eye expression she could muster.
"I've thought about it" I said, trying to ignore Luz's disappointed look. "Look, I'm not staying planning on staying here guys. I'm going to try and travel to other worlds and to see what I can do to help stop this entire mess."
I let out a breath, taking a moment to try and explain as best I could. "But I can't just leave these places behind without some protection. So I got Falna so that I could give them out to people who can stay behind and protect everything and with only four left, that leaves me very limited on who I give them too."
Eda hums as she takes a sip of her drink. "Makes sense. The number of people that can hurt the heartless is alarming low. So, I didn't make the cut then?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.
I took a deep breath. "No, no I think you are capable of doing so, at least, if Luz's stories about you are true."
"No, I'm hesitating because… I want to be sure." I explained as I took a deep breath. Standing up from my chair, I pulled on Hestia's experiences and memories as I turned to look Eda in the eye. "Are you willing to the protect the people from the heartless in exchange for this blessing? Will you use this new power for good of the people and not just your own benefit?"
"Eda Clawthorne." I said, pulling on my divinity to give my words just a little more weight, "Are you willing to be a hero?"
Everyone at the table stared at me as I gave her my condition for giving her my Falna. I couldn't afford to be lax with it, I only had a few and I couldn't give any to people who would abuse it.
"… Ahh, what the heck. Sure. I'll do it Kid." She says as she reattaches her feet and stand up as well. "I kind of like this place anyway, and besides if I didn't do it, I'm sure Luz would volunteer to do so anyway. And someone needs to keep her out of trouble. Or at teach her how to get away with it." She says with a smirk, pointedly ignoring her apprentice's half-hearted grumbling.
"So, I'm guessing you need to see my back?" she asks as I nod, "Well, you're in luck then. Check this out." She says as she turns around and pushes her long grey hair to the side, revealing that her new red dress was backless. "What do you think? I think it fits me pretty well."
"Certainly makes his job easier." King comments as Luz gives her a thumbs up as she stands up from her chair and starts walking around the table to get a closer look, holding out a hand as King grabs on and scampers up to her shoulder.
I let out a breath as I started to gather the divine energies within me. With a flick, my shroud gathered threads into my palm, hardening and twisting together until it formed into a needle.
"You sure about this Eda? Once I give the Falna, it can't be taken back." I say as I start pressing the tip into my skin, stopping before I drew blood in order to double check with her.
She nods as she waves her free hand, trying to dismiss my worries. "It's fine kid. I've been dying to kick some heartless booty anyway, so tat me up captain. I can't wait to see what this Falna can do."
"Okay, just… lean forward a bit." She does so, and pressing the needle into my skin, I drew just a bit of blood as I stepped closer to her, dismissing the needle and lifting my finger just above her back.
"Eda Clawthorne." I announce, feeling my small spark of divinity burn brighter. "Ye, Who Kindles The Light Of Heroes, Shine Brighter As Your Body Matches Your Spirit."
My domain spikes in power as my drop of blood falls from my finger and lands squarely on her back.
"And Become The Hero, You Were Meant To Be."
Light shone across the room for a moment as my blood and her back glowed with divine light. I watched as the divine energies scribed themselves across her back. Defining her strength, her legends, herself as they process all of it into the system of heroes made by the Gods.
And as her character sheet wrote itself, I saw her name and title appear at the top, her Ability scores lining up below it and at the very bottom her Skill section appear...
Then my eyes widen as three skills write themselves within its boundaries. The first was 'Witch's Anthem', which increased the effectiveness of the spells she cast and the grander the gestures, the more powerful they became.
The second was called 'Elios Passion', which slightly increased speed but granted her the Developmental Ability 'Escape' if she's being chased.
But I wasn't paying attention to those two. It was the last that caught my gaze. Hestia had heard of something like this was possible, but she had never seen one before.
In the world of DanMachi, the gods had a rule to never give a Falna to someone that was crippled or heavily injured. If they wanted a Falna, or for the god to update an existing one, then you needed to be back at a hundred percent before they did.
Because if the god wasn't paying attention, or made a mistake while trying to stop it, then that injury will engrave itself as partof your Falna. Becoming a Detrimental Skill.
And as one started to write itself across Eda's back, I started to panic when Hestia's experiences began to guide my hand. Placing my palm against the skin on which Eda's curse started to etch itself. I focused on the flow of Excelia, feeling it feed into the Skill, and I cut it off, denying it the fuel it needed to fully form.
For a few seconds, the Skill wavered and for a second I thought I was too late only for it fade as the Falna finishes forming.
But it didn't fade fast enough for me to miss the name of this potential skill. A crippling malady that the three I've been living with has been keeping from me all this time.
"Eda, you're Cursed?"
