Chapter 2 New Life
Disclaimer: I do not own God Eater or Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darouka / Danmachi
(Orario)
People walk down the street while chatting leisurely. Before they knew it, a boy with a familiar face appeared out of nowhere in the vast crowd. Bell, who now has a surprised and frightened look on his face, begins to move and check his body. Moving all over the place and turning around while looking like a madman, people stare at him.
Bell runs his hands over his face and sighs. "I'm not dead..." Bell still holds his hands to his face while maintaining his shocked look. "How could I not be dead?..."
Bell starts walking down the street as he tries to think about what happened. He looks around and sees all sorts of people and creatures. Including the ones he used to read about when he found books lying around in ruined cities.
Bell looks at some of the people and pays attention to one detail. "Long ears... They're elves!..." Bell mutters impressed. He looks around and sees other types of races and beings. "Most of them I've seen in books. Like dwarves, elves, werewolves, but there are a few I've seen." Bell looks at the people and becomes a little wary. "They're carrying guns... Well, at least no one will be surprised by mine." Bell moves his head, looking back he sees his God Arc strapped to his back in an X shape. "I still wanted to know, how are they strapped to my back?"
Bell walks down the street until he sees an old man sitting on a bench and feeding some birds. Bell hesitantly walks up to the man and catches his eye.
"Excuse me, sir! Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Bell nods to the old man, who raises his head and looks at the young man.
"Oh, of course! What would you like to ask, young man?" The old man gives Bell a friendly smile. He feels his body relax a little and takes a deep breath.
"Well... It's just that I'm new here, so I'd like to ask you what this place is specifically." Bell begs the old man to answer his question without question.
"Oh, you're new to Orario? So you came here to become an Adventurer?" The gentleman laughs comically. He takes a deep breath and looks at the boy. "Okay, boy. I'll give you a brief explanation. Orario is the city that houses a Dungeon. The Dungeon is the main place where Adventurers go to gain strength, fame and wealth. Most of the economy is driven by the sale of magic stones collected by killing monsters in the Dungeon. The city of Orario is also a central hub for adventurers and gods, housing, socializing and the Families. But you are only allowed to explore the Dungeon if you have a Family."
"I think you understand a lot of it." Bell puts his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "But this Family part, how does that work?" Bell asks, trying to extract more information.
"Well, Families are formed when a God accepts you as one of his children and gives you a Fauna." The gentleman explains and Bell nods. "Look, I own a library, if you want I can give you some books. It might make it easier for you to understand."
"Of course! I'd love to!" Bell thanks the gentleman and the two leave the place they were in. The two of them walk around Orario for a while, Bell marveling as the gentleman explains about the city, the gods and the adventurers. After a few minutes they reach a library and go inside.
"Wow! This is your library?" Bell walks through the place full of moments and books. He picks up one of the books and opens it, and amazingly enough he manages to read it. "Even though it looks like a different place, I can read it... Thanks for teaching me to read, Hugo..." Bell looks down at the book for a few seconds.
"Hey, kid." The gentleman speaks, catching Bell's eye. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" The gentleman looks at Bell with a curious look. Bell just nods in response. "Where are you from?"
"Where... I am?..." Bell looks down thoughtfully. Although even he doesn't know, after being found as a baby he was taken away to be used in experiments with the Oracle Cells. He looks at his hands and sees his bracelets, after the fateful day when he finally became a God Eater he was treated like a hound dog. Everything in his life seemed sad and hopeless, but everything changed the moment he met Hugo. Hugo, the first person who didn't treat him like a hound or a monster, but as a friend. Bell remembers his moments with his team and his friends. "Well..." Bell looks at the books and gives a slight smile. "Let's just say I'm a traveler."
"Oh, I see!" The gentleman gives Bell a slight smile. "And those swords of yours and your clothes are quite different." The gentleman walks over to a counter and sits down in a chair.
"Are my clothes that strange?" Bell looks down at his body and sees his clothes. He looks at his Fenrir outfit, seeing its missing parts and the patches made with ribbons, and laughs lightly. "Yeah, I guess so hehe!" Bell scratches the back of his head, a little embarrassed. He looks away from the man, thinking about buying new clothes, but he's had these clothes since he was five years old. But the clothes are great, with a Nylon fiber mixed with titanium and gold, so it's quite difficult to cut them, even a scalpel has a hard time... But the same can't be said for the Aragami. "But you don't have to worry, they're pretty tough."
"Oh, I see." The gentleman smiles. "But if you're going to become an adventurer, these clothes won't do much good. Apart from the breastplate and your swords, which are pretty cool!" The gentleman is impressed by Bell's God Arc.
"Ah, thank you!" Bell picks up his God Arc and begins to inspect it. He sees that it doesn't have any scratches or battle marks. Bell finds this strange for a moment, but decides to let it go. "Yeah, I've had them since I was five years old."
"Ohh and they haven't broken in all that time!" The gentleman is surprised by Bell's statement. "Really, the blacksmith who made these swords must be quite skilled."
"Yeah, that... He was very skilled..." Bell finds the claim about blacksmiths strange, but as this seems to be a more medieval place by the houses and clothing, he puts it aside. "But back to the point. Sir, could you explain to me why you need to be adopted by a god to become an adventurer?"
"Oh, yes! Of course." You clear your throat. "Well, when the gods came down from the heavens, they gave us the blessing of Fauna. Fauna is nothing more than the ability to evolve our skills by gaining Excelia, which can be earned by killing the monsters in the Dungeon." The gentleman explains as Bell listens attentively to every word. "The importance of joining a Family is that the Gods of that Family will give you a Fauna that will make you able to evolve and explore the dungeon. And of course, to be able to explore the dungeon, you'll have to register with the guild, but you can't register until you join a Family."
"I think I've understood most of it, but do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?" Bell says a little worriedly. "Sure, if you're not too busy."
"Oh, nothing!" The gentleman reassures the boy. "I don't get many customers. So, no problem there. Stay as long as you like!" The gentleman said, sounding much happier. Bell leaves his God Arc leaning against a wall, he takes a chair and starts chatting more with the old man, without noticing the time passing.
[...]
(Night.)
"Right, sir! Thank you very much for your time!" Bell thanks him and leaves the library and starts walking down the street. Looking around he sees that the place looks technological, but at the same time it looks like it's from the Middle Ages. "Even though it looks like the Middle Ages, there are lampposts here. Man, that's amazing!"
Bell walks a little further, seeing people walking, he follows them until he comes to a place with a sign.
"Hostess of Fertility? What an exotic name for a bar." Bell shrugs his shoulders as he walks back, but he hears a voice calling him.
"Hey, you miaw! What do you think you're calling a bar miaw!" A girl with brown hair and cat ears shouts angrily as she approaches Bell.
"Oh, sorry. But do we know each other?" Bell looks at the girl a little confused and cautious. He notices the girl coming closer angrily and takes a step back.
"Apart from calling our tavern a bar miaw, you still haven't paid the bill for what you ate miaw!" The girl approaches him more angrily. She takes stronger steps towards Bell. The boy takes a few more steps back.
"Look, miss. I have no idea what you're talking about. You've probably got me confused with someone else." Bell moves further away from the girl, but she keeps walking towards him.
"You think you can eat miaw and just run away miaw!" The girl points her index finger at Bell, looking more annoyed. "And you think you can hide just because you've changed your clothes miaw and carry those manly swords!"
Bell hesitates for a moment, but decides to run. But a female voice speaks, drawing their attention.
"Anya, what's going on?" A green-haired elf girl comes out of the tavern and walks up to the two of them. "That shouting might disturb the customers."
"Ah, Ryuu! It's just that the boy who ran away decided to show up, miaw!" Anya turns to Ryuu and points at Bell. "But he's playing dumb and doesn't want to pay miaw."
"What do you mean? Who doesn't want to pay?" Ryuu looks at Anya confused.
"Him!" Anya turns to Bell, but she sees that he has disappeared. "What the miaw!" Anya turns her head looking everywhere. "What miaw! Where did he go miaw!" Anya looks around without realizing how Bell has disappeared.
"Anya, are you sure it was him?" Ryuu walks up to Anya and puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, I'm sure miaw! White hair and blue eyes isn't it miaw?" Anya turns to Ryuu and holds up her uniform, looking sad.
"Eyes... Blue?" Ryuu mumbles in confusion at Anya's claim. After a while, Ryuu finally manages to calm the cat girl down and takes her back to the tavern.
Unbeknownst to the two, Bell was on the roof of the Hostess of Fertility watching the two. He thinks about the cat girl's actions, but decides to put them aside for a while. He walks along the rooftops until he finds a safe place. He looks around and sees a large part of the city of Orario.
"Orario, isn't it?" Bell looks around and sees the huge city that looks medieval, but with a touch of modernity. He raises his head and sees the huge tower located in the center of the city. "So... That's that Dungeon..." Bell sighs. Picking up his God Arc, he yawns. "I think I'd better get some sleep, I'll think about what to do tomorrow..."
Bell drops his God Arc on the roof, takes off his cape and crumples it into a ball. Placing it on the roof, he lays his head on it. Positioning himself for sleep, he looks up at the stars and a single thought crosses his mind. "Did they survive?" It was the only thing Bell could think of at that moment. Slowly... He falls asleep.
(Flashback.)
[Old City: Chapel]
A slashing sound is heard, and another Ogretail falls to the ground. Hugo swings his God Arc to clean it of the Aragami's blood.
"Another one's been killed. Bell, how are you?" Hugo turns around and sees Bell killing an Ogretail. The boy turns to Hugo and nods.
"Don't worry about me, I can handle myself very well!" Bell smiles at Hogo, but he hears a roaring noise. An Ogretail jumps at Bell, but before the boy can react, he hears the sound of a bullet being fired. The Ogretail is hit in the head and dies within seconds.
"É... I see how well you do!" Hugo sneers a little as he switches his God Arc to blade mode. "Are you all right?"
"Of course!" Bell sighs with relief. "Thanks for saving me from that!" Bell raises his arm to Hugo.
"No problem." Hugo raises his arm. The two of them move their arms, slapping their bracelets together and making a loud sound of clashing metal. "So? Do you think that's the last of it?"
"Probably not. We should get further outside." Bell said, indicating the exit of the chapel.
"All right." Hugo walks through the chapel with Bell. "Ahh man..." Hugo sighs. "Those old men always send us on high-risk missions. To them, we're nothing but tools that can be discarded whenever they want."
"Hey, don't fill your head with that." Bell slaps Hugo lightly on the back. "We'll get out of this. And we'll take the others with us. You just have to be more patient." Bell gives his friend a slight smile.
"Ahh..." Hugo sighs again. "I just hope this doesn't take too long, I'm really worried about Sho." Hugo looks around the chapel as he walks. "His health has been getting worse and we still haven't found any medical kits."
"Yeah, really." Bell says a little sadly. "We have to do something. Trusting those bastards to treat Sho's illness is the worst choice to make."
Bell and Hugo walk to the exit, they look around and see more Ogretails walking towards them. They both give a slight smile and prepare their God Arcs.
"What's up? Want to have a competition to see who can kill the most of these Aragami?" Bell says, mocking Hugo a little.
"Huf!" Hugo snorts in amusement in response. "You bet. And don't come crying to me when I win!" Hugo narrows his eyes, determined to win. Bell responds in the same way and prepares to attack.
They both use their God Arcs to propel themselves forward and fly towards the Ogretails. They brace themselves and swing their bodies, slashing at each Aragami with precision in each attack.
(End of Flashback.)
(Morning.)
"Hmmm..." Bell mutters as the sunlight invades his eyelids, he slowly opens his eyes and realizes that it's dawn. "Is it morning already? Ahhh" Bell sighs. "I'd better do what that gentleman said and find a Family to join."
Bell stands up, putting on his cloak and he buttons the collar to cover his mouth. Picking up his God Arc, he places it on his back in an X shape. Going to the edge of the roof on which he slept, he looks out onto the street and jumps down.
"Come on... What do I do now?" Bell mutters as he walks down the street. Seeing all the empty streets and little audible noise, he reasons that everyone is still asleep. "Well, I don't blame them. When I was in the possession of those old men I could hardly sleep properly!" Bell grits his teeth in anger.
He walks down a few more streets until he feels something strange. He raises his head and starts sniffing the air, smelling a familiar scent and continues walking as he goes. Until he recognizes the smell.
"Blood!" Bell mutters and starts running through the streets, using his sense of smell to locate where the smell of blood is coming from, he takes a detour and notices someone walking slowly while their clothes are stained with blood. "Hey, kid!"
Bell runs up to the boy walking in front of him. The boy shakes his legs and starts to fall to the ground, but Bell manages to catch him and stop his fall. He breathes a sigh of relief.
"I'm glad you didn't get hurt!" Bell sighs with relief. He stares at the boy's face and is surprised. "You... Are you me?..." Bell is a little shocked to see his face on that injured boy.
The boy slowly opens his eyes, but he looks very exhausted. He looks up and sees a silhouette holding him. The boy mumbles something that Bell can't understand. Bell looks at the boy and is a little confused and hesitant because he looks just like him, except for his eyes. This boy's eyes are red. Bell swallows and decides to ask the boy a question.
"Hey, kid. Where do you live?" Bell asks, worried by the boy's bruised state.
The boy whispers weakly, but words are audible in his voice. "Church... Abandoned..." The boy speaks a little weakly, and he faints soon after.
"Abandoned church?..." Bell thinks for a few seconds. "He doesn't look like a beggar or anything..." Bell thinks. "But I'm not going to leave him here while he's in this state." Bell stands up while cradling the boy in his arms. "I still want to know why you look like me... Maybe it is..."
Bell walks through the streets trying to locate something like an abandoned church. He looks around the streets, but finds nothing that looks like a church. Making a decision, he jumps onto the rooftops and tries to find something like a church. Looking out over the horizon, he sees a slightly destroyed church.
"I think it's over there." Bell leaps across the rooftops as he walks towards the church.
[...]
In a certain poor part of Orario, a short girl with large breasts, white clothes, white gloves and her black hair tied up in two free ends that are quite long. The girl sighs as she leans against the entrance to the church, feeling vaguely sad.
"That's strange... Bell went out last night and hasn't come back yet." The girl sighs again. "Could it be... that I'll never see him again?..." The girl frowns, but she hears footsteps approaching and quickly turns around. "Bell!..."
The girl speaks excitedly, but she is surprised to see a boy with two large swords on his back. She realizes that he is carrying someone; she recognizes him by his clothes and his white hair.
"Bell!" The girl runs up to the two of them with extreme concern on her face. She runs over to the boys and takes the fainted boy's hands. "Bel! Are you all right?! Are you hurt?! What happened?" The girl asks, extremely worried. "Where did you find him? Answer me-" The girl shudders in surprise when she sees the boy's face. The same face as Bell, but his eyes are blue.
"Excuse me, but would you be his Goddess?" Bell says as he looks at the girl. She just nods in response. "Then you'd better take him to rest in a more suitable place." Bell suggests and the girl nods.
The two walk to the church and they walk to a door that leads to the basement. The basement has only a bed, a sofa, a cupboard, a door leading to the bathroom and a sink. Bell walks over to the bed and leaves the boy lying there.
"He doesn't look too badly hurt, so just let him rest." Bell points to the girl who still seems to be in shock. "Oh, are you all right, Goddess?"
"Goddess?" The girl mumbles, still in shock. "Okay, first of all. Tell me who you are?" The girl asks, hesitating slightly.
"Well, let me introduce myself." Bell stands up and faces the Goddess. "My name is Bell Pennywort. I'm a God Eater assigned to attack missions." Bell explains to the Goddess.
"God... Eater?..." The Goddess mumbles, still in shock, but she realizes that what the Boy said wasn't a lie. "Tell me where you're from and... Why do you look like Bell?..." The Goddess looks reluctantly at the bed.
"So he's called Bell too?" Bell looks at the bed and sees the other Bell sleeping. "I think my story might take a while to tell. Could I sit down?" Bell says, indicating the sofa. The Goddess looks at him hesitantly. "Don't worry, I didn't hurt you and I won't hurt you."
"Okay... But you'll have to tell me everything, understand?" The Goddess spoke, seeming a little reassured by Bell's words in front of her.
"Right..." Bell picks up his God Arcs and leaves them leaning against a wall, he walks over to the sofa and sits down on it. "Starting from the beginning. My name is Bell. After my birth I was taken by some scientists to be used as a guinea pig for experiments. After years of experiments, pain, tears, they finally finished the tests and when I was five years old, they injected the Oracle Cells into me." Bell looks at his bracelets. "Thus turning me into a God Eater."
"My God..." The Goddess shudders and is horrified by the boy's words. Seeing that he is not telling half-truths, she approaches the boy and holds his face gently. "You must have suffered a lot, haven't you?" The Goddess looks at the boy with a few tears coming from her eyes
"Yes. I've suffered a lot." Bell holds the Goddess's hands and looks her in the eye. "But my life got a little better when I met my best friend, Hugo. The first person I met who had also gone through the same pain as me." Bell gives a slightly melancholy smile as he thinks of Hugo.
"You've become great friends, haven't you?" The Goddess speaks with a calm and reassuring tone of voice.
"Yes, he and I became the best God Eater those bastards had. We were treated like disposable weapons, but one day, a catastrophe happened in that place. Hugo and I managed to escape together with some children while the place was being destroyed by Oracle Ash, and if we stayed on our own we'd be dead in no time."
"E... And how did you manage to survive?" The Goddess asked, concerned by the boy's assertions.
"Someone found us. Seeing our potential, she bought our possession and turned us into her God Eaters." Bell speaks as he clenches his fist in determination.
"She?" The goddess asks.
"Hilda. Unlike the bastards who used us as weapons, she saw us and treated us like people. That's why I have so much admiration for her, and why she gave me my Pennywort surname." Bell speaks with a smile on his face.
"E... And how did you get here to Orario?"
"About that..." Bell lowers his head and his smile disappears in a few moments. "My group and I went on a reconnaissance mission, but a terrible thing happened: I was attacked by an Aragami when I tried to save a member of my group. He was cornered by several Aragami and killed soon after."
"Killed?..." The Goddess was startled and covered her mouth in shock.
"Or... I think I'm dead..." Bell looks at his hands, closing and opening them to feel his touch. "I'm still not entirely sure, but somehow, I died and ended up here in Orario."
"That... That's something no one would believe if they heard it!" The Goddess said, still surprised by the boy's words.
"Yes, they would, but since you're a Goddess, you know that's not a lie." Bell laughs a little.
"Wait... You know about this?" The Goddess asks in surprise.
"Yes. I had a conversation with a gentleman yesterday when I arrived here. He explained a lot about this place." Bell looks up and breathes a sigh of relief.
"But... There's one thing I still don't understand..." The Goddess says, looking down thoughtfully. Bell looks up at the Goddess and waits for her question. "Why did you say you were a God Eater? And what are these Oracle Cells?"
"Oh, I didn't explain that..." Bell hums for a few seconds. "Well, how can I explain it?... Ah, a long time ago strange and powerful creatures that grew out of the ground appeared before the world. These creatures are called Aragami. And since conventional weapons had no effect on the Aragami, humanity started the God Eater project. This consisted of injecting the DNA of the Aragami, known as Oracle Cells, so that humanity would be able to confront these monsters." Bell explains to the Goddess, who is horrified by the boy's words.
"That's unbelievable!..." The Goddess speaks in total shock. "How have I never heard of this? How come the Gods never knew about this?"
"Look, I could be wrong, but the multiverse theory says that there are infinite realities with the same or different aspects to your universe. I've never believed in that theory, but..." Bell looks at the sleeping Bell. "And I think I'm from another universe."
"Another universe?..." The Goddess frowns a little as she feels her head begin to ache. "Ouch... That's a lot of information to take in..."
"I know it may seem unbelievable, but that's what I think it is." Bell looks at the Goddess and sees her walk across the room and try to lean against the wall, she reaches out to lean on the wall, but she directs her hand towards the God Arc. "Wait, Goddess!"
"Hm?" The Goddess tries to turn around, but her hand touches the handle of the God Arc, a huge thorn emerges from the handle and hits the Goddess's hand, making her recoil. "Ouch! What was that?"
"Are you all right?" Bell ran over to the Goddess. Taking a cloth that was tied around his waist, he ties it around the Goddess's hand. "Try not to move your hand too much, okay?"
"Right... But what was that?" The Goddess feels a strong pain in her hand, she looks at the God Arc and sees the thorn that came out of the handle go back into it. "What was that? How did your weapon do that?"
"Oh, right..." Bell finishes treating the Goddess's hand, he walks over to his God Arc and picks up his right sword. "As I said before. God Eaters are people with the ability to take on these creatures, but they can't do it without a God Arc." Bell raises his God Arc in front of him to show it to the Goddess. "The God Arc is basically an Aragami in the palm of your hand. And they can only be used if you connect to them. If you don't connect to them... Well..." Bell looks at the Goddess's hand. "They'll attack anyone who gets close."
"I see..." The Goddess holds up her injured hand. It's still in a bit of pain, but she decides to put it aside. "Look... Bell..." The Goddess frowns, still finding it strange that he looks like her Bell. "You should never reveal that to others. For-"
"Because they might be shocked or worse, use me for experiments, right? Especially the Gods." Bell puts the God Arc aside and sits down on the sofa again. "Because the Gods came down to the mortal world just for entertainment, didn't they?"
"É... That... But how do you..." The Goddess is confused that the boy knows this.
"Finding a kind gentleman who had a library was very lucky." Bell scoffs a little.
"But... Why did you decide to tell me all this information?" The Goddess is worried about the boy's situation.
"Believe me, if I suspected that you couldn't be trusted..." Bell looks at the Goddess with a firm gaze. "I'd kill you on the spot." Bell says to the Goddess, and the Goddess swallows at the boy's words. "But don't worry, you're someone nice and you remind me of my boss Hilda. So I'm going to trust you."
"Right..." The Goddess said, sounding a little nervous. "You're not really going to kill me, are you?" The Goddess asks a little hesitantly.
"No." Bell gets up and walks over to the Goddess. With a smile on his face, he makes a request. "I'm sorry to arrive out of the blue and start saying these strange things about another world, but... Would you mind accepting me into your Family?"
The Goddess looks at Bell's face and realizes that he looks just like her Bell. With a lump in her throat, she hesitates for a moment, but realizes that the boy's intentions are not malicious.
"All right..." The Goddess sighs, looking very tired. "I'll accept you into my family, but..." The Goddess looks at the sleeping Bell. "What did we say about you looking like my Bell?"
"Hmm..." Bell thinks for a few seconds, until a light bulb goes on in his mind. "How about that?!" Bell snaps his fingers, drawing the Goddess's attention. "You could say that I'm his brother who got lost in the past, but I've come back to see him again."
"Well..." The Goddess thinks. "I don't know, if you talk to the Gods they might realize the lie in your story."
"Not if I don't say so."
"What?"
"Think with me." Bell makes a little mime with his hands. "If we tell Bell this, and you confirm my words, he'll believe it. And if a God asks him that, when he tells it, it will be true, because that's what he fully believes." Bell speaks and the Goddess becomes pensive. "If he doesn't know the truth, then what we tell him will be the truth."
"I see..." The Goddess crosses her arms thoughtfully. She tries to find a better solution, but can't think of anything. "I'm not too sure about this plan... But about your name."
"Yeah, maybe it won't work..." Bell looks at the bed, with the other Bell still asleep. He looks down, reluctant to change his name. "What... What's his full name?"
"He's... His name is Bell Cranel." The Goddess speaks, looking at the sleeping Bell.
"Bell... Cranel..." Bell walks up to the Goddess, reluctant to speak, he decides to open up. "Look, Goddess, I know it may seem like a forced and strange request... But would you allow me to be part of your family?"
Hestia's eyes widen in surprise at the boy's request. Seeing his downcast look, she feels a twinge of guilt at seeing him like this. Dying, being treated like a scientific experiment, losing his childhood, his friends, his... Life... Hestia sighs and walks over to the boy.
Hestia walks over to Bell and looks into his eyes. "I know your life hasn't been easy, a lot of suffering, pain and anguish." Hestia takes the boy's hands and looks into his eyes again. "Then, yes. I will accept you into my family."
"Goddess..." Bell looks at the girl in front of him, and seeing a faint silhouette of Hilda, he gives her a melancholy smile. "Thank you... Goddess..."
"No need to thank me..." Hestia strokes Bell's cheeks. "And call me Hestia, will you?"
[...]
(Later that day.)
"Hmm..." Bell groans tiredly, he slowly stands up and rubs his head. "Ouch!... My head..." Bell looks around and sees that he's at home. "Huh? I'm home? How?"
"Bell!" Hestia jumps on Bell while hugging him with her breasts rubbing against his face. "Are you all right? Are you alive? Oh thank heaven!" Hestia stops hugging Bell and looks at him with a serious look. "Tell me, you went to the Dungeon, didn't you?"
"Eh, Goddess..." Bell looks away, hesitating to speak to his Goddess. "I want to get strong... I want to be stronger!" Bell keeps his head down as he tightens the fabric of his pants.
"Bell..." Hestia looks at her son, seeing him look determined and sad at the same time. With a melancholy and welcoming look, she hugs him again.
"Goddess, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Bell says to the Goddess, and she stops hugging him and nods in response. "What are those swords over there?" Bell points to the two giant swords leaning against the wall.
"Oh, that!" Hestia gives a victorious smile. "They belong to our new Family member!" Hestia puffs out her chest proudly.
"New member? What do you mean?" Bell asks confused.
"Look at that, Bell!" Hestia puts a finger to Bell's nose. "When you were coming home, you fainted in the middle of the street."
"What? I fainted!?" Bell asks frightened as he checks his body.
"But don't worry, someone found you and brought you here." Hestia says, calming the boy in front of her.
"A person? What do you mean? Who brought me?" Bell asks worriedly.
"Look, Bell. I'm asking you not to freak out, okay?" Hestia says, calming the boy down. Bell swallows at his Goddess' request. "Bell! You can come down."
A few seconds pass, Bell hears noises coming from the staircase, he realizes that someone is approaching. A few more seconds pass before the person enters the room. Bell's eyes widen as he sees the person standing in front of him. A person with the same features and face as him, but the only thing that changes are the eyes, which are blue instead of the same red as his.
"Hello, Bell! It's nice to meet you!" Bell Pennywort waves to the boy, who still looks shocked.
"He?... EEeeeeeeHHhhh?!" Bell shouts, still in shock at the person standing in front of him.
End of chapter.
Edit: Due to a comment I received, I decided to change one detail of this story. Bell Pennywort will be the official name of this OC, so if things get confusing when the Two Bells are in the same place, don't worry, I'm already sorting it out in the second chapter.
Well, now that the two Bells have met, they're part of the same family. In case you're wondering why Bell Pennywort is more serious and less innocent than Bell Cranel. The answer is simple, the world of God Eater is a post-apocalyptic world, so survival is people's main goal. If you're someone who doesn't care much about things or is too innocent, you won't last long there. And understand, Bell Pennywort has been through a lot of bad things, but his friendship with Hugo has made him overcome his pain. So it's understandable that he's not someone who's innocent.