"Don't fight it. I know it's against our nature but let the wind out. Even if it looks like you'll lose yourself in the gale." Giorno explained while they practiced outside.
"I see… Listen to the wind, huh?" Luka allowed his body to embrace the rapidly hastening winds.
Surrendering himself to the whims of Sylph, he tuned his mind to the constant whispering of the wind. Like he was told, he could feel an even greater connection to all living beings around him.
All this time, they'd had the wrong idea about using Sylph. She wasn't a sword or a shield; she was a force of nature. Trying to restrain and control her would only weaken her power.
…!
Luka sidestepped a pebble thrown by Giorno despite having his eyes closed, having felt the disturbance in the wind long before he ever truly realized it was coming.
"Excellent… You really are something else." He smiled, happy that it only took them the better part of a day to successfully grow confident with this power.
"I was really worried you know… I thought that Kyuba got you when no one showed up to the finals." Luka sat down on the hill, taking a break from their training.
"I know. I just wanted to get out of there. To think that Kyuba was Alma all along, what a coincidence." Giorno leaned on the tree, basking in the shade.
"And you spent the night with her?" Luka asked, looking at him funnily.
"Not in that way, but yes." Giorno made clear, not even bothering to entertain the thought of sleeping with a monster. "I still don't like her… but I do understand her somewhat."
Luka didn't miss how odd his friend acted after meeting Alma, nor did he like how he changed. If anything, he looked even more annoyed than usual.
'Oh… I'm so tired.' Sylph drawled out, exhausted from being summoned consecutively for hours on end.
Gnome joined her, laying her head on her friend's shoulder.
"That's enough practicing for now…" Alice clasped her hands, happy with their progress thus far. "Looks like you guys still can't use multiple spirits at once, and now not even Gold Experience can come out and save you."
"But in exchange, we received a much better form of protection. It just means I need to use them as sparingly as possible." The blonde assessed.
He needed to focus more on himself instead of relying on his greatest crutch. Or perhaps he could instead rely on an inferior version of the spirit's powers in conjunction with his stand.
"Now that we have the Green Orb, we can leave this place for good. Anyone up for Yamatai?" Luka suggested, receiving an affirmative nod from Giorno and some involuntary tail wagging from Alice.
"Then we can leave tomorrow… Are you sure you'll be fine dressed like that?" Luka asked, warily looking at Alice and Giorno's outfits.
"The weather won't affect me." Alice instantly answered.
"I've prepared myself." Giorno brushed his cape with the back of his hand.
"I can see you changed a few things but uh… seriously? I mean… What about all this?" Luka gestured towards his chest, specifically towards the heart-shaped opening.
"I have a plan for that, Luka." Giorno assured.
His plan by the looks of it, was to just wear a shirt underneath his suit piece. Followed by a thick winter coat he'd also purchased.
"Oh… We should probably get our mountain climbing gear out." Luka advised as they crossed a small bridge.
"Hold on…" Giorno halted him, sensing something approaching them.
"Oh… Are you heading to Yamatai?" An old man asked as he approached them.
"Yes, but how did you make it there without any equipment?" Giorno questioned.
"You don't need anything like that. I just came back after buying some vegetables, even an old man like me can make a trip like that in a day." He explained, pointing out the route he took before departing on his way.
"Well… maybe we should do what he does." Luka led the way forward through the mountains.
Alice had left them to play in the snow, disappearing for hours at this point and leaving them to venture forth alone in the hellish weather.
'Don't like the cold?' Sylph asked as he kept watch.
"I have bad experiences with it." He simply answered.
By sundown, the trio were still caught up in a heavy snowfall. Night had fallen and they were nowhere closer to their objective.
"This is impossible!" Luka cried out as he fell into another deep pile of snow.
"That old man couldn't have made it to Yamatai like this!" Giorno shouted, trying to make his voice heard over the raging winds.
"No matter how far we walk, this storm won't let up…" Luka shivered, rubbing his hands together.
From beyond the veil of snow, a large monster stepped forward.
"First this weather and now her..." Giorno stopped walking forward, preparing for a fight.
"A Yuki-onna?!" Luka recognized, drawing Angel Halo.
"Oh… It looks like you're suffering… Allow me to embrace you. I'll bring you close to my chest and warm you up." The pale woman declared as her long blue hair raced towards them.
"Useless!" Giorno shouted, throwing his bundle of knives and severing them completely.
"My hair!" The Yuki-onna screamed in a fit of rage, attempting to capture the offending blonde in a bind.
"Death Sword Chaos Star!" Luka proclaimed, slashing at the monster multiple times.
"Gah!" The woman took the attack in full, reeling back after the critical strike.
"Only your senses will go berserk!" Giorno summoned his superior version of Sylph, imbuing his movement with her power and closing in on the vulnerable monster.
Rather than rely on his stand any longer, he punched her straight in her exposed jaw with a life-energy-infused fist.
'Not enough…' He thought to himself, landing another hit.
And another…
And another…
A flurry of his strikes empowered by the wind slammed into every part of her body, destroying her nervous system and trapping her in the sensation of pain for even longer.
Luka utilized this chance to summon Sylph as well, using his enhanced speed to easily vault up a large tree nearby.
"Demon Skull Beheading!" He shouted, slamming down into the frozen monster with a devastating final attack and causing a small avalanche of snow as a result.
The once large and frozen monster was sealed into a small figurine-like prison after her defeat, leaving the pair of men in no better position than when they started.
"So…cold." Luka grumbled, putting away his sword.
"We need to get out of this storm!" Giorno grabbed hold of Luka and pulled him away.
Yet even as they walked on, they found no shelter nor any way to actually find a way towards Yamatai.
Hours of exposure had left them on the verge of hypothermia, with Luka feeling the worst of it.
"Giorno… I can't do this. It's w-way too-" He attempted to speak but fell over into the snow, unable to move on.
"No…" Giorno tended to his ally, feeling his own body about to give in too. "We need to get out…"
'It's cold… But not White Album cold… There are living creatures that live in environments like this. I need to do something.'
"It's now or never… Gold Experience!" Giorno called out, kicking a nearby tree hard enough to cut it from its stump.
The now dead portion of the tree fell onto the snow, directly in front of him.
'Giorno? What are you doing?' Sylph asked as the blonde boy put his hands on the dead organism.
"Don't you remember? You all asked if it was possible to create a larger lifeform… Now I need to test that theory out. A larger and more complicated lifeform should be possible if, in turn, I use a larger non-living entity." He explained, pumping the cut tree with his life energy.
Painstakingly slowly, the once-alive tree had shifted into the beginnings of something greater.
White fur sprouted out of the bark, followed by a large snout and mouth at the end of the stump.
A long few minutes later, he had created what he wanted. A large polar bear.
'It worked… All this time… I was capable of this?' He wondered in amazement, before picking his semi-conscious friend up and tying him to the bear's back.
'Insulation…' He thought to himself, before coming up with the perfect animal. He was very happy that he spent all that time hitting the books back in Naples.
Finding a nearby portion of the mountain wall, he summoned his stand to pulverize it. The constant mashing of Gold Experience's fists on it created large boulders as a byproduct.
Utilizing the same technique on those boulders, he shifted them into Arctic foxes.
'They should do well enough. The fur alone can insulate them even in awful temperatures like this.'
"Go!" He commanded, leading them to jump on his cold ally and cover him up.
With nothing else left, he too joined and sat on the back of the polar bear as it moved on. A few of the foxes moved onto him, shielding him from the bitter cold as they picked up speed.
The polar bear ran forward on all fours undeterred by the weight of his passengers or the elements.
'This is pretty incredible! I knew you could do it!' Sylph cheered.
To Giorno, this had only proved just how underutilized his stand had really been all this time.
'It seems I'm only limited by the size of the non-living object I use to create life, not my ability itself.' He thought, listening in on the heavy breathing of his mount as they ventured into the night.
The next morning…
Luka woke up in a frenzy, amazed to see that he was still alive and well.
He spotted Alice watching him from a nearby log, looking sheepish and not looking anywhere near Giorno. In contrast, his friend looked very annoyed at her.
"Where am I?" Luka asked, stretching his limbs to make sure he was fine.
"We made it. As unbelievable as it is, we got through that storm." Giorno sighed, looking a bit past him.
"Huh?" Luka turned around, coming face to face with a polar bear. "Hyah!"
He fell over, mortified at this development.
"Sheesh… You got startled that badly?" Alice teased, though Giorno shut that down with another look of disappointment.
"He's friendly. I created him after all. Him and those foxes." The blonde pointed out at the foxes patrolling around their little encampment. "They chased off some sort of cat monster earlier…"
"You made these?! But they're a lot bigger than the things you made before…" Luka muttered.
"Imagine how I must have felt seeing you two run past on a bear covered in foxes… What an absurd ability." Alice scoffed.
"Thanks, Giorno… You really saved me back there." Luka gratefully thanked, embarrassed to have caused such trouble.
"Don't mention it… I just wish we didn't take that old man's advice." He sat down to rest as his creations ran off back in the direction of the mountain pass.
"Where are they going?" Alice inquired.
"To continue a natural life… They do still behave like animals after all." He answered as he summoned his stand, going off and knocking down two trees.
"Whoa! Should you really be doing that?!" Luka worriedly asked.
"I refuse to get caught in another storm; we will get to that village today." Giorno declared, imbuing life into the detached tree corpses.
In a matter of minutes, they were en route to Yamatai. Not on foot like they were before on their journey, but on two horses.
"Finally… You created something that will make this journey less annoying." Alice complimented, holding onto Luka's waist.
"This is incredible!" Luka smiled, blushing at her touch. In truth, the constant walking was an annoyance he was glad could be supplemented now that Giorno had gained a better understanding in his power.
"…" Giorno did not answer, instead thinking of even more methods on how to incorporate this newfound application in battle.
Thus they continued riding until Luka felt the absence of Alice's touch on his body. Noticing that she was gone, he called out to his friend to stop the animals.
Heeding his call, they stopped just as two women stepped onto the path ahead.
"Elves." Giorno noted, looking to see if there was any way to bypass them.
"Faces I have not seen before…" The Samurai Elf commented, taking good looks at the new arrivals.
"We will not allow hostile strangers into our land." The elf with the Kunoichi gear stated, glaring daggers at them.
"Wait a second! We're just going to Yamatai Village!" Luka pleaded, desperate to avoid an unnecessary fight.
"To Yamatai Village, you say? Then you'll have to go through us!" The Samurai Elf declared.
Giorno looked over at him, shaking his head. The sound of buzzing interrupted further action by the elves.
'Eh? Giorno told me to pass this on… Pick one and I'll take the other. Wait for the boom?' Sylph confusedly repeated in his mind.
The buzzing sounds were courtesy of a few flies, doing their utmost best to annoy the pair of monsters.
"Tch… How irritating." The Samurai Elf scoffed, swiping one of them away with a backhand.
In the next second, she felt her own abdomen get hit with a concussive force. The strike alone knocked the wind out of her.
"What?!" The Kunoichi Elf yelled out in confusion as the flies transformed into miniature explosives.
"How useless… You should have just minded your own business and let us through." Giorno coldly pointed out, as the bombs exploded.
The explosions engulfed both elves and shrouded the area in thick black smoke.
Just like that, they leaped off their steady mounts and confronted their enemies.
Luka decided on the Kunoichi, whilst Giorno faced off against the Samurai.
'She probably makes use of speed, meaning I'll need to use the wind for this one.' Luka analyzed.
Taking a moment, he summoned the raging winds of Sylph to aid his cause.
Despite his feeling bad that his ally had made use of such an underhanded method, he knew that these monsters couldn't be allowed to continue attacking innocent travelers.
He found his chosen elf on her knees, clutching at her ears after the blast.
She was in no state to fight, as she caught a Demon Decapitation that pierced through her defenses in her weakened state.
The next instant, she got back on her feet and tried to use her surprising speed to pin Luka.
His foresight proved invaluable, leading to him outmaneuvering her and slashing at her overextended side.
"Stay still!"
The Kunoichi tried leaping at him, targeting his pants for an obvious attempt to try something.
Luka did something unprecedented, choosing to dodge her desperate act and redirect her trajectory. The Elf had no choice but to be thrown face-first into the ground.
Luka climbed up a nearby tree and leaped down onto his foe, delivering a critical strike into the back of her neck and ending the fight.
The unconscious Elf was sealed into the form of a smaller version of her true self, unmoving from her position.
"Gyahh!"
Luka turned his attention to the other elf, watching her hold onto an obviously broken arm.
"Giorno!?" He rushed towards the wounded monster who cowered away from the blonde in fear.
"Get away!" She yelled, mourning the loss of her blade and looking up at the eyes of her attacker.
"This is a nice weapon…" Giorno tapped the tip of her sword, before pumping it full of life energy.
Her previous weapon transformed into a King Cobra and was let loose, slithering over to her with obvious ill intent.
"You respect strength above all else, correct?" Giorno asked, glaring at the vulnerable monster.
"What's your point?!" She inquired, squirming under his keen green eyes.
"I'm going to ensure you can never do this again." He began approaching her but stopped once Luka finally got in his way.
"Are you planning on killing her?!" Luka asked, elements of betrayal on his expression.
"If I wanted to do that, I'd have done so already. Rather, I'm giving her one last chance to change her ways." He warned, slipping the snake by Luka and having it transform back into her trusty blade.
"…" The Samurai Elf glanced down at her weapon, hesitant to pick it up.
"Pick it up… And then leave. If you even think about attacking another traveler again, I'll have it turn into the most venomous snake imaginable and kill you in your sleep." He promised, looking serious enough to do it. "And don't think that running will save you… That snake will never stop pursuing you for as long as you live."
That alone sent her into a frenzy, giving both her and her now awake ally the motivation to run away into the forestry.
"Tch… Left it behind too." He huffed, imbuing her blade with life again and allowing it to pursue her. Naturally, Luka's disapproval could be felt quite obviously.
"Was that necessary?" He asked, unhappy with his threat.
"A broken arm is better than she deserved, attacking random people like that. What right do they have to impose their will on us?" Giorno argued.
"Then we fight them and seal them!" Luka pushed back.
"Our deal was to only avoid killing monsters... I'm free to do whatever I want barring that." The blonde pointed out.
"That's…" Luka had no rebuttal to that.
"We should move on. I don't want to meet any other elves. I only have so many repurposed bombs from Ilias Kreuz…" He suggested, mounting back up.
'If anything, this place reminds me of the feudal era…' Giorno analyzed upon taking a walk through the main street of the settlement.
"So, this is Yamatai then?" Luka wondered aloud, taking in the peaceful atmosphere.
"Oh! Mighty Cat!" A man exclaimed, clapping his hands in front of a Nekomata.
"Mighty Cat! Please, take this offering!" An old woman beside him declared, handing her some fish.
All around them, monsters were being revered by villagers young and old. The sight of it had opposite effects on Luka and Giorno, one feeling happy that the races got along well and the other questioning their blind worship of the monsters.
"Mighty Snake!" Another old man clapped as soon as he noticed Alice.
"Thank you, Mighty Snake! Ah… What do Mighty Snakes eat again?" A woman questioned as more and more villagers joined in praying to Alice.
"You start with soba…" Alice answered, smiling at the attention and offerings.
"Oh! To start with?"
"She must be a greedy Mighty Snake!"
"We should pray first…"
"Please wait, Mighty Snake!" The woman pleaded, going off to a home to retrieve her offering.
'These people… have they been brainwashed? Or are they subservient to monsters in general?' Giorno kept to himself, choosing to avoid the large crowd and instead reading their expressions.
Respect…
Reverence…
Admiration…
'No fear, so I doubt this is being forced… Rather, this has been conditioned.'
"Oh! Mighty Fox!" An old man clamored, turning around.
In an instant, all attention shifted to a short golden kitsune, who the travelers were very familiar with.
"Tamamo No Mae…" Giorno whispered, reaching for a knife in case things got heated.
"Why did you come to this village? To destroy it?!" Luka drew Angel Halo, alerting the crowd and every monster in the vicinity.
"Eh? What are you talking about… If you're selling a fight, then I'll take those odds." She waved her fan in her face, hiding her expression.
"Don't be so hasty… Think about it. She doesn't look like she wants a fight." The blonde stepped in, not trusting her fully after having learned about her from Alma.
Even she had gone on about how much of a schemer Tamamo was. But at the very least, he was sure she wasn't the type to attack for no reason.
"Oh! Mighty Belligerent human!" An old man clapped, unintentionally cutting through the seriousness of the situation.
"You shouldn't attack a Mighty Fox, you'd be cursed…" A woman warned, feeding Tamamo some thin fried tofu.
"Your friend is right, little hero. This village is my home, I have no reason to destroy it." The Heavenly Knight happily replied whilst munching on her treat.
"Alma said she had a little chat with you… She looked less out of it when I spoke to her. I suppose a thank you is in order, Giogio." She looked over at the blonde in question, who looked amused upon recognizing the nickname.
"…I didn't do it for anyone's sake. I firmly believe that you should use your gifts to pursue your ambitions, no matter where they come from." He looked her in the eyes, trying to get a read on her. "I see that she insists on using that ridiculous nickname for me."
"It works… Giorno Giovanna… Gio and Gio. Almost sounds like JoJo, actually." She smiled.
"Oh! Mighty Traveling Heroes! Oh! Mighty Fox! Oh! Mighty Snake!" An old man greeted them, wearing a different kimono to the other villagers.
'How annoying… I hope he doesn't speak like that the entire time.' Giorno resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
'Hey… You don't find me annoying though, right?' Sylph asked, sounding playful.
'No… I appreciate your banter. It's… endearing.' Giorno complimented, following the group as the chief of the village gave them a small tour.
'Ehh?! Really?' Sylph squealed, receiving a slap from Gnome in response. 'Hyaah!'
"Is there any reason you're following the chief as well? What interest do you have in this request?" Giorno turned his head to meet the gaze of Tamamo.
"I have an interest in the impudent fool holding my village hostage." Tamamo explained.
"Who would be foolish enough to oppose a Heavenly Knight?" Giorno pried, curious about the monster who necessitated this response.
"About that… There's this particular monster causing issues in the village." The Chief timidly interjected. "Her name is Yamata No Orochi…"
"An eight-headed serpent? I understand the impossibility of your situation then." Giorno hummed, recognizing the name alone.
It was appropriate that the monster terrorizing a feudal Japanese village would be a legendary Japanese serpent.
"Yamata… It's no wonder humans would struggle." Alice pondered aloud as she ate.
"She's demanding a human be sacrificed to her… One young man each year. She's threatened to destroy the village if we don't give in." The Chief explained.
"It's good that we got here then… I can't imagine actually going through with that." Luka optimistically stated, receiving a guilty look from the old man.
"…You didn't." Giorno almost gaped, having caught on to his expression.
"Oi. Did you actually?" Luka asked, not having the guts to finish that sentence.
"Don't get me wrong! We're only weak humans! We can't do anything about her. And it's not like she killed any of them! She sends the previous sacrifice back as a gesture of trust…" The Chief frantically waved his hands to calm them both down, suddenly aware of the growing anger they felt.
"How long?" Giorno interrogated, still deeply unhappy.
"…5 years." The old man nervously admitted, not having the courage to look him in the eyes.
"5 sacrifices?!" The disgust was palpable on the short hero's face.
"Please calm down, young men! The sacrifices return weak but alive! We haven't gotten them killed!" He panicked, as Giorno gripped his shoulder.
"Where's the latest one, then?" He asked, looking very menacing.
"This is a hall for the young men of this village… Please come in." The Chief guided them inside, leading them to a nurse attending to a brittle and emaciated man in bed.
"His energy is in a low but stable state. Yamata must have been extremely careful with him." Giorno took hold of his bony hand, feeling so many wrong things with his body.
"…?" Tamamo observed him very closely, taking an interest in the unknown power he held.
"Can you do anything for him?" Luka asked, feeling sympathy for the poor man.
Alice nudged Tamamo as if telling her to keep a close eye on what was about to happen.
As if by magic, the blonde man closed his eyes and focused on pumping the man full of life energy to reinvigorate him.
The slow and methodical transfer restored some of the ill effects of his time being the slave of Yamata. Notably the improvement of his complexion and the unmistakable glint in his eyes returning.
"Wh-What's happening…" The Chief looked on in amazement as the young man sat up, still looking feeble yet full of energy.
"I've replaced your stock of energy… Though I can't do anything about the lack of proper nutrition you faced during your year of sacrifice. I recommend you eat and restore your strength." Giorno advised, giving him a once-over.
"He's in a much better position than the people Lily experimented on," Luka commented, drawing a nod from his ally.
"The people there were used as food or experimented on cruelly. What happened to this one was slow… deliberate. She wanted him alive to continuously feed. I'll give you that Chief, you're no liar." Giorno agreed, casting a judgmental look at him and Tamamo.
"Where's Master Yamata?" The young man asked, looking around in some sort of haze.
"…?" Everyone looked down at him, confusion and concern etched into their faces.
"She isn't here… You're back home." The nurse attended to him, leading her patient away elsewhere.
"No… I don't mind if it kills me… She can suck more…" He pleaded, his voice echoing down the hall.
"Hmm… Is that how they all come back? Damaged beyond repair?" Giorno questioned, picking up on a discussion in the room next to theirs.
"Yes… it takes a while for them to recover. Time we don't have. Our young men are precious workers as is. And now we need to send out our next sacrifice… This never ends well." The Chief led them to a sliding door, ushering them to listen in as he pulled it open ever so slightly.
"I can only imagine… This discussion can't be easy knowing what happens to you." Luka solemnly nodded, peeking inside the room.
"No! I should be the sacrifice."
"Stop showing off! It should be me!"
"Oi! It should be me! I'm the laziest after all!"
"Don't lie! Your poor mother couldn't handle you going missing!"
"It's obvious I should be sent!"
The gathering of men continued bickering, displaying an uncanny desire to be sent forth and be turned into a slave.
"As you can see… They all wish to be the sacrifice." The Chief embarrassingly admitted, closing the door and sighing in shame.
"Idiots…Idiots everywhere." Alice scoffed.
"They're hardly the sole issue." Giorno countered. "If anything, their environment has conditioned them to behave like this."
"Excuse me?" Alice raised an eyebrow.
"Don't make me repeat myself. We all know how monsters are… Bragging about their sexual skills, some are even willing to demonstrate it. It makes complete sense for these men to want a taste of that." He argued, unwilling to back down.
"I thought you were annoyed at people like this?" She asked, surprised to see him defend such idiocrasy.
"I grow irritated. But I do not exactly hate them. I place more blame on those unwilling to do anything about this situation." He looked over at Tamamo and the Chief, who took offense to his remark.
"Respect your elders… You don't get to criticize my actions." She hissed, waving her tails around menacingly.
"I thought this was your home. Yet here we find out you haven't lifted a finger to dispatch this Yamata. I would have done everything in my power to remove her. I understand you're busy acting as a Heavenly Knight… But surely you could have done something if you cared for the health of your village, no?" He questioned, silencing the room.
"…The gall of you. I'll have you know I haven't returned here in a few hundred years! What experience do you have leading others, much less a village?" Tamamo growled, getting restrained by Alice in fear of her acting up.
"You're not incompetent then… You just don't take these people seriously enough to help. I don't know if that's better or worse…" He walked out of the room, leaving behind an enraged kistune and beyond scared Alice and Luka. "Find me when you inevitably decide to help them, Luka."
"I…I don't know what came over him. I-I'm sorry." Luka apologized, nervously looking anywhere but where the Heavenly Knight stood.
"Whoa… You look like a guy with ambition." A young man working the fields commented as the blonde walked by.
"I would say that… Thank you for the compliment. Are you actually working? I thought most of the men would be fighting for the honor of being a sacrifice?" Giorno asked, stopping to hear him out.
"Those guys… always thinking so small. I have bigger dreams than just being a sacrifice." The young man scoffed, laughing at the thought.
Giorno's poor mood seemed to brighten upon meeting this man. It was undoubtedly refreshing to hear something like this after the drivel of the other workers.
"I want to get out of here… See better places. Be a part of something greater!" The young man declared.
"…Admirable. But keep at it. With resolve like yours… You could make it." Giorno assured, taking his leave.
'Haha… that's right! Even I can make it to Succubus Village!' The young man hyped himself up, motivated to continue working.
"So, you're saying that those Elves were actually protecting the village?" Giorno asked the old woman.
"Indeed… Our village has a marriage agreement with theirs. As a result, they bring it upon themselves to patrol the major trade and transport routes." She explained.
"…But they attacked us for no reason. We fought them off, but still." He pointed out.
"Ah… right. They have a habit of doing that. If I'm being honest, they take things much too seriously. Few if any merchants or hopeful immigrants make it past them." She solemnly admitted.
"And as a result, less trade… less economic growth and fewer people decide to take the risk to migrate." He concluded.
"Right… It's honestly quite sad. We aren't suffering but…" The woman tried to explain her feelings.
"It feels like you're stagnating. And with this Yamata, the few men not married off are busy competing to be useless. These agreements aren't fair to you. Paying for protection is one thing, but to marry off a chunk of your labor force isn't conducive to a healthy village." Giorno hummed, understanding her plight.
"You're right about that, I barely see any young men around at all. You're quite a smart one… Do you have any experience running things? Maybe you should take up being in a leadership position." The woman complimented.
"…That's kind of you to say, but I'm still only so young."
He came across Luka exploring some sort of temple, with both Alice and Tamamo receiving further gifts from the locals off towards the Fox Shrine.
"Unwilling to help, but more than willing to receive their worship." He criticized, though they were much too far away to hear him voice his frustrations.
"Actually… Tamamo's going to help. We agreed on it after you left." Luka admitted, wanting to avoid any further incidents.
"What's the catch?" Giorno asked, instilling some nervousness.
"Uh… no catch. No strings attached." He obviously lied.
"Sylph?" Giorno asked.
"They'll leave you behind if you lose and let you be the sacrifice this year." She helpfully confessed, much to Luka's chagrin.
"Guh… Sylph…" Luka whined.
"As expected… The onus falls on us after all. We shouldn't expect much of Tamamo." The blonde scowled.
"To think there are monsters even here…" Luka mumbled, watching them pass by the temple.
"You should watch your tongue, impudent human." A white Lamia interrupted.
"Ah…Sorry." Luka quickly flushed.
"Don't apologize, Luka. Your supposed seniority matters little, White Snake." Giorno stared down the nosy individual.
"Uh… So, monsters are friendly here?" Luka slapped his shoulder, not wanting him to cause any trouble with the locals.
"Only friendly people are allowed to live here…" The Lamia began.
"But that wasn't always the case. The humans got violent and kicked out the monsters living here." She insisted, slithering right up to him.
"…And then you retaliated, I suppose?" Giorno questioned.
"Giorno…" Luka nudged his shoulder, trying to salvage the conversation. "Um… what happened after that?"
"The monsters got violent in return and attacked humans going in and out of the area. My sister was a part of that group… How nostalgic." She pondered aloud.
"Is that supposed to make me feel pity for you? It seems you did a wonderful job ensuring the humans never crossed you again. Now look at them… Practically worshipping you." He commented, offending her and driving her away.
"Giorno… You can't say things like that." Luka scolded, taking him to a more private place.
"I'm only taking this dream seriously. Our goal is coexistence. Not the continued kowtowing of humanity." He spoke, undeterred by the air of dissatisfaction.
"… Coexistence doesn't mean insulting people or starting trouble over nothing." The purple-haired hero argued.
"No… but it does mean that old ideals should be challenged. It's one thing to preach about your dreams, it's another thing to think about it logistically." He lectured.
"… Logistically?"
"Yes… Realistically, what does your dream entail? I know the basic outline, but how does the average person's life change?"
"Well… no more discrimination against monsters. And no attacking humans…" Luka couldn't exactly add to that, sheepishly trailing off.
"How will you enforce that?"
"…I…I'll stop them."
"You're just one man, Luka… Even accounting for myself, there's no way we can intervene in every case of non-compliance. For every one case of discrimination or attack we find, we'll miss one hundred." Giorno pointed out.
"But…"
"That's why we need to make sure that coexistence doesn't come at the cost of anyone."
"Coexistence should be a compromise… Not one side flagrantly imposing their will on the other."
"Are you implying something?"
"… Think about it. Harpy Village… The monsters kidnapped the men and took them as their husbands. Even once we dealt with them, they still got their way. That behavior isn't something to be rewarded…"
"But the men-"
"Did their wives have any say in that decision? Or their girlfriends? No… they were forced into an impossible choice at the end."
"…"
"Grand Noah too… You saw what became of the men partaking in that tournament. Even here, you see what happens when you give up and roll over. This village is struggling, with the marriage agreement with an Elf village draining their labor force, and now this Yamata No Orochi."
"…"
"Don't you see how few young men there are? How can this village succeed in these conditions? Practically cut off from trade and unable to refill their numbers with pitiful population growth."
"I'm not trying to discourage you, I just want to make sure the world we're responsible for creating is one of true equality, not one where monsters are allowed to take what they want. And certainly not one where humans come to resent them, no one needs Ilias Kreuz to continue the way it is." Giorno reached out and pat his shoulder, comforting him.
"I don't know… I never really thought about it like that." The purple-haired boy shrugged, caught by surprise by this new questioning.
"…That's fine. We have plenty of time to come up with a real plan. Just something to keep in mind. Our lack of authority is going to be a roadblock, though."
"True equality… True Coexistence…"
"Yes… A world where every man, woman, and monster is on equal footing. No one can suppose their will on the other, certainly not because they're stronger."
"What's making you take this so seriously?"
"…I've just been thinking. About our future."
In truth, he was thinking about his own future as well. He was out of leads on his true objective, to get out of this world. But nothing in existence suggested any method to get back home.
If his worst nightmare became a reality, he would need to stay here forever.
But even in that worst-case scenario, he was allowed to change the world for the better.
He may as well start now, by dealing with this first and foremost. He would be the one to advocate for an actual coexistence.
The Fox Shrine was more of the same, with various monsters having the undivided attention of villagers.
While Luka had gone off to have a small chat with Tamamo, he stayed off to the side and waited.
'Getting his ring inspected…' Giorno observed the small exchange.
Listening to their discussion, he heard a few snippets about holy energy. Even a grave warning not to misuse his strange power. He easily caught on to her small glance at Angel Halo whilst she spoke about other men who suffered from overexposure.
"What's the link between Angel Halo and exposure to Holy Energy… As far as we've been told, that sword was created from the souls of Angels in the first place." He theorized, taking a moment to think this through.
'Was Alice telling the truth? Someone really did kill 666 angels. And that overexposure led to his death?'
Elsewhere…
"First it was Chrome… and then Lily." Promestein commented, heading the gathering of her fellow Seekers of Truth.
"And you're certain of his ability? To give life itself?" An eager conspirator asked for the umpteenth time.
"Yes, La Croix. He can grant life, whether that be creating animals or plants." The redhead answered, keeping her voice monotone. "Not just that… But to inject pure life energy into others."
"That implies he could even restore the dead." Their latest member said, taking this new information into account.
"I want him…" The pale woman insisted, looking around to see if any others had objections.
"If possible, I would agree that taking him prisoner would be beneficial to our understanding of these stand abilities." Promestein nodded.
"If possible is wishful thinking. You know the fact he has this 'stand' means he will refuse to surrender. Their willpower is beyond that of a normal human." Lucia reminded the necromancer sitting beside her.
"…He could be the missing piece. The key to restoring me. I cannot let this opportunity slip from my fingers." La Croix glared at her.
"I'm well on my way to having something done about him. I've recovered some DNA of the subject. It's proven instrumental in developing a countermeasure. Despite the previous failures, this latest attempt may have the potential to awaken something greater." Promestein assured, taking a look at the arrow over at her desk.
"The preparations for Jean Pierre Polnareff go according to schedule. By my estimates, he too should be ready for the invasion. I only await your final approval to complete his ascension." A small girl robotically reported as their meeting moved on to another topic.
"And now only I remain. The only true servant of Ilias, the one worthy of being called a Seraph." Eden finished, looking over the horizon of Heaven.
"I see… Your sisters betrayed Ilias. And now you feel that they weren't qualified to have been Seraphs themselves." Polnareff commented after hearing her plight. "But you don't hate them, surely?"
"…Of course I do. I was never that close to them, always treated as some extra. So now I finally thought I would get the respect I deserved." Eden shook her head, seemingly trying to convince herself.
"And you haven't. Nothing has changed for you."
"…That's not true. Ilias trusts me alone to be her confidant! I'm her only respite from that dog and that traitor! Even now, I help further her plans." She growled, scowling at the spirit projection.
"She doesn't appreciate you. You're disposable to her." The Frenchman bluntly said, drawing her fury.
"You dare?! Such blasphemous words make me want to wash you away in holy flames!" The Seraph gripped the turtle with a fierce hold.
"…You remind me of someone. Someone so devoted to that monster of a man. Vanilla Ice. His blind fanaticism led him to his own defeat." Polnareff pressed on, uncaring of the threat of death.
"Blind fanaticism? You dare mock her truth?! I should kill you!" Eden screamed.
"You can't scare me with death. I've already lost it all." He pointed out.
"Tch… I cannot wait till Ilias gives you what you deserve. You'll see, Polnareff." She stopped squeezing the shell of the small animal.
She was not disposable; she was not just the third Seraph.
She was the only Seraph that mattered now.
She was valuable, Ilias loved her…
Just as much as she loved Ilias…
Finally, it was time for the confrontation with Yamata No Orochi.
Luka and Giorno adjusted their gear, making some final preparations before they entered the provided carriage.
"I don't think this sword has gotten any duller…" Giorno tapped the edge of the Goddess Sword.
"It is magic, even if it's less than Angel Halo." Luka tightened his belt in preparation for the assault his lower half would receive.
…?
Out of nowhere, a man jumped at them from the bushes.
"Muda!" A hastily summoned Gold Experience slammed its fist into his abdomen, sending him off into the shrubbery once more.
"Huh?!" Luka panicked, watching as an entire group of men surrounded their position.
"The other men… They must have found out about the plan." Giorno guessed as the man who got punched struggled to get back up.
"…H-how did you do that? You didn't even t-touch me… Ack!" The young man coughed up some blood.
"Oi… You really hurt that one." Luka felt bad, even if he thought these guys were silly to ambush someone like Giorno
"Are you truly going to attack us just for the honor of being a slave?" He coldly asked.
"We can't let you sacrifice yourself!"
"This is our problem, so let us handle it!"
Similar sentiments rang out around the group of men, which made Luka feel scared. Not for his or Giorno's sake, but for their safety.
"Gold Experience!"
"Muda! Muda! Muda! Muda!"
Within seconds the entire group had been knocked out by a barrage of his stand.
'Jeez… These guys were pretty eager to get knocked out.' Sylph disappointingly commented, feeling bad for the men.
Gnome approved of Gold Experience's punching, silently admiring his technique.
'Hey… Gnomey? What are you doing?" Sylph nervously asked, watching her friend practice punching in quick succession.
"Another trial of coexistence… The desire to be with a monster above all else." Alice hummed, appearing beside them.
"Where's Tamamo?" Giorno questioned.
"She went back to the castle. It looks like you drove her away with your attitude." Alice scoffed, avoiding eye contact.
"What? But I apologized and everything…" Luka whined.
"She left this behind to help… She told me it would help." Alice pulled out a fur ball, with the exact same color as Tamamo's tails.
The blonde took possession of the fur ball as his ally poked it.
"This just looks like some of her hair…" Giorno rubbed the small ball.
"Uhya Uhya! That tickles!" The small ball of fur laughed, twitching at their combined curiosity.
"…"
"This is fine then…" Giorno sighed, giving it to Luka to hold on to.
"Just remember… You better not lose, or else you will be the sacrifice." Alice warned, giving Luka a light smack on his shoulder before disappearing once more.
The Chief and a few other men came upon the scene, apologizing profusely for the ambush before carrying the unconscious attackers away.
The rest of the men moved the small carriage to where Yamata No Orochi lived.
Some time later, they were deposited on the ground and told to wait for Yamata to guide the carriage herself.
"…It's been a while since they left. Do you think- Wah!" Luka exclaimed as the entire carriage was lifted off the ground and flew through the air.
The short ride came to a stop soon after, followed by nothing but silence.
"…Two sacrifices? This wasn't part of the deal." A woman's voice spoke outside of their shelter.
"Now or never…" Giorno acted first, stepping out to face the monster.
Luka followed directly after, standing beside him as they took in the size of their opponent.
"A cute boy and a handsome young man. I'm surprised… but pleasantly so. You'll make wonderful sacrifices…" The multi-headed serpent licked each of her sets of lips.
"…Dragon-like body. Multiple fields of vision." Giorno leaned on the carriage, keeping a firm palm on the door.
"She's going to be tough… But we have to beat her!" Luka drew Angel Halo, pointing it at her.
"Oho?! You're going to fight me? Then come on… I love a little playtime before eating…" The serpent smirked, spreading her heads apart.
"Gnome!" they both called out, sprinting into action and closing the distance between them.
"Stairway to Heaven!" Luka declared, weaving between her lunging strikes aimed at his lower half.
In response, his ally began throwing a frenzy of knives at both Yamata and the ground ahead of him.
Out of the ground, emerged a variety of plant life and vines which grew like stepping stones for Luka to climb up.
The knives that struck Yamata bounced harmlessly off her scales, serving merely to aggravate her if anything.
"Demon Skull Beheading!" Luka cried, reaching the top of the makeshift staircase and leaping down.
"Gold Experience!" Giorno leaped up, driving a fist into one of Yamata's chins.
At that moment, all of Yamata's senses went crazy. Her delayed reaction time meant that Luka slammed right into the reeling head Giorno had sent up for him.
"Gyaah!" Yamata's head screamed in pain once her body finally caught up with her mind.
She swarmed their positions with her heads, successfully restraining Luka with 3 of them.
"I'll have a taste of your-" Her body once again froze in place upon her other heads receiving a thrashing from Gold Experience.
Sensing his chance to escape, Luka harnessed Gnome to break her lax bind and slash at her exposed head.
"Gaaah! No more!" The monster wailed, withdrawing her heads from both of them. "You… whenever I get close to you, time slows down…"
"No more pleasure for you… I'll have to beat you into submission!" She roared, flinging a tail at high speeds into his side.
"Gah!" Giorno was blown back into the side of the cave wall by the force of her blow.
"No!" Luka reacted by utilizing Death Sword Chaos Star, striking her body many times over.
"Your attacks may hurt…But I can take them!" Yamata wrapped around him with one of her heads just as the power of the Earth faded.
"Ugh!" Luka struggled against the crushing sensation, trying to pry his way out of her hold.
"Now then… It's time for my meal. Your friend will be next." Yamata smiled, small bruises and cuts of light over her faces and body the only result of their battle thus far.
"BVAROOOMF!" Came a trumpet from the center of the room.
Where the carriage once stood was replaced by a literal elephant.
"What in the world is this?!" Yamata panicked as it charged at her, driving its full body weight into the strike and knocking her into the back wall of the cave.
"Where did this come from?!" Yamata punted the Elephant's torso with one of her tails in an effort to drive it away.
The attack reflected back unto her, knocking the wind out of her and leaving a nasty-looking dent in her chest.
Luka pried himself out of her hold in the chaos of the power struggle, retreating to catch his breath and come to terms with the situation.
'Where'd that thing come from?! This is pretty cool!' Sylph watched the monster battle against the raging beast, avoiding its tusks.
"I turned our carriage into that elephant… It only just finished, given how big it is." Giorno limped over to them, covered in dust and breathing with difficulty.
"How hopeless… Just this once, I'll show you two how to use the power of the Earth." The fur ball in Luka's backpack said, springing out and revealing herself to be Tamamo.
"…You, what do you have to gain from this?" Giorno questioned.
"Do you want to hurry this up? That elephant won't keep her busy for long." The kitsune motioned towards the power struggle going on towards the rear of the cave.
"What do we need to do?!" Luka asked, desperate for a method to win.
"Listen, to use the power of the earth, you have to feel its breath. To be able to feel it underneath you, you need to imagine that our body itself is one with the earth. Here, like this!" Tamamo said, her body infusing with the energy of the earth.
"...What are you doing, you little beast? I'll teach you to interfere with me!" Yamata no Orochi yelled out, slipping past the raging elephant and throwing one of her heads at Tamamo.
Her head made a sickening crunch, bouncing off the kitsune harmlessly.
"Wh... What the!?" The snake monster stammered in disbelief, right as Giorno slashed at her with his sword.
The elephant wrapped a trunk around her torso, pulling it back in for round two of their battle of attrition.
"Go ahead! Teach him!" He roared, calling Gnome and running into the fray to buy them some time.
"The image is the most important part. You must feel the energy of the earth coming through your feet as if it's breathing right into your body. If you do that, blows against you will feel like nothing." Tamamo continued unperturbed.
"Imagine my body as one with the earth...?" Luka questioned.
"Come on, give it a try. With Gnome with you, all you need to do is imagine it right." The Kitsune insisted.
"G...Got it..." Luka agreed, before closing his eyes in concentration.
"Take the breath of the earth into my body...!" he recited solemnly, calling for Gnome's energy once again, this time much more powerful than before.
"This is...!?" He exclaimed, looking at his hands.
"Hmph, so you can do it. If you infuse yourself with the breath of the earth, your defense will be significantly higher. Now then, let me play a little bit too." Tamamo grinned, as she slammed an earth-infused punch on Orochi's body, knocking her away.
"How can this be...!? What is this strange force!?" Yamata no Orochi stammered in disbelief, frustrated with the war on two fronts she was fighting and losing.
"Move the power into your fist, and punch the enemy...? Ora!" Luka yelled as he tried to attack Orochi in this new state.
However, the result was inadequate, only managing to create a small cut of light on her tail.
"Hmm... It seems like the power is still too much for you. It looks like it's still a little too difficult for you to control fully." Tamamo commented, slamming her tail into Orochi's body and knocking her off her feet.
"Ahhg! How can this tiny beast hit so hard...!?" The snake monster shrieked, having her body get trampled by the large elephant who wasted no time in taking the chance it was given.
"It's useless!" Giorno unleashed another rush, pelting her face with a stream of punches that slowed her movement to a crawl.
"Feel the weight of the Earth… My resolve will not crumble!" Giorno created a fist with his right hand, withdrawing his stand due to the new sensation in his heart.
"Gnome!" He focused her power in his legs first, using it to propel himself at her and punching her with all his might.
The force of his punch nearly tore a hole straight through her, leaving a large and bloody wound in its wake.
"Hyaaah!" Yamata No Orochi bled out from the large hole, swaying around in a daze from the combination of blood loss and the effects of her consciousness going crazy.
"Giorno?!" Luka shouted, squeamish at the gratuitous sight.
'He actually used it offensively?!' Tamamo observed his arm, noticing that he misused the technique and ended up mangling it.
'I need to finish this… Before he ends up killing her.'
"Sheesh... After not returning home for a few hundred years, the young girls here got so arrogant. Just this once, I'll finish it with your method…" Tamamo declared after she grabbed angel Halo from Luka.
Suddenly Tamamo appeared above Orochi as she used Angel Halo to perform a technique that could have easily destroyed the entire cave, making them all lose their balance.
Yamata's dissolving body crashed into the ground, rocks flying out of the impact site as if an earthquake had hit her position.
"My... Power... This can't... be!" Yamata no Orochi stammered once she was free from her state of heightened sensitivity, as she turned into a tiny snake with multiple heads, all of them looking around in confusion. That confusion turned into fear once the elephant stared her down, about to stomp on her with one of its massive feet.
"Oi… Please don't actually crush her." Luka pleaded as Tamamo captured the defeated monster.
"Why teach us how to use the Earth?" Giorno questioned, taking a moment to replace the damaged parts of his shattered and gory arm.
"…I've always been teaching things to youngsters. It just happened, okay? I can't have you go around and insult me like before." She claimed, pouting at him. "And don't use the power of Gnome like that again… Any other human would have lost that arm. Stay calmer next time."
"I see… thank you." He sincerely said, catching her off guard.
"…Mmph. That's the least you can do." Tamamo waved herself with her fan, slightly pleased.
"Finally finished… Took you long enough." Alice scoffed, eating some more food.
"Eating those rice balls… Did you really not care about us?" Luka questioned in annoyance.
"You had Tamamo and Giorno. You had no chance of losing this." She pointed out, looking over at the elephant. "You made that?"
"Let's just leave." Giorno declared, walking off whilst his loyal creation followed.
"You've saved the village! I'd love to thank you…but our village is rather poor." The chief trailed off, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
"No, no… You don't need to thank us. Doing something like this is what a Hero should do!" Luka declared, hyping himself up.
"Likewise… But will this actually make a difference?" Giorno inquired.
"…I don't know. Truth be told, our boys are more interested in monsters than actually contributing to the place. I'm quite frustrated myself." The old man before them admitted, taking a look at the moon in the distance.
'If this continues, will all of humanity resemble this? Like Grand Noah… this place…' Giorno kept quiet, apppreciating the view.
"What about the men from before? Have they recovered?" Luka questioned.
"They're… better. A little sad that Yamata is gone, but at least they're back to work." The Chief reported.
"Sorry about the carriage… Giorno used it in our battle. Do you need it to turn back?" Luka asked, watching a few of the children play with the large mammal.
"No… It was only ever used to present sacrifices. The children like it better this way. Maybe some tourists will be interested in coming to see it. Some of the elves came to me earlier about a large white bear roaming about the area too, it was quite friendly to them." The Chief laughed.
"Giorno Giovanna is dangerous… Why do you continue teaching him?" Tamamo interrogated the Lamia.
"He's not so dangerous that I can't handle him." Alice scoffed, crossing her arms.
"In tandem with that hero, they stand a good chance against you. What are you planning to do then?" The kitsune asked, intensifying her glare.
"I can handle it, not that Luka would ever try and hurt me. Giorno wouldn't attack me either, he knows better." She insisted, defending her travel companions.
"That ghost of his is no ghost… I couldn't see it. It's something more than he's letting on. It doesn't make sense to me! I've lived a long life Alice, yet never have I seen anyone with this kind of power." Tamamo declared.
A human creating life to such an extent was a phenomenal occurrence to bear witness to. At first she thought he was simply some sort of monster capable of using dark energy to manipulate life, but that theory was blown out of the water as soon as he used his power to restore that sacrifice's energy.
"Don't call it that… The spirits can see it just fine, so it might as well be a spirit to me." The rebellious snake shook her head, unwilling to hear her out.
"And don't get me started on his smell! You know there's something else there… But I don't know what."
"Calm down… He smells wrong, but he hasn't shown any monster-like attributes, besides that ridiculous pain tolerance. He may be brutal and cold, but he isn't evil."
Sure, he lied about being a plant monster's son before. But that was just an easy lie to hide his true nature, who'd seriously believe he was a kid haunted by a ghost?
"Just promise me you'll be careful. Don't do anything reckless." Tamamo pleaded, still not comfortable with the child she cared so deeply for travelling around a cold and calculating presence like Giorno.
"Okay… Damn fox"
"The results are in… If you'd like to hear them." Promestein announced, once again visited by Ilias and her ever-present Seraph.
"Go on." The Goddess of Light let her researcher speak.
"Upon analyzing his DNA, I've concluded that he retains some latent non-human attributes." The scientist commented, flipping over to the next page of her clipboard.
"Latent? So, it could still be activated?" Eden scowled, holding the turtle she was tasked with guarding for dear life.
"…Shit." Polnareff whispered, still loud enough to be heard.
"His blonde hair shouldn't be natural either, strangely enough. But I doubt he wastes his time dyeing it. Is that correct, Polnareff?"
"To think he would inherit this much from that devil." Polnareff shook his head, disturbed by this information.
"But continuing on with that, he should have no real way to unlock this potential. There aren't any stone masks lying about. The combat applicability would be great, yet their weakness to the sunlight is too restrictive to make them viable as soldiers." She flipped over to the next page.
"And of the countermeasure?" Ilias questioned.
"Still growing." Promestein led them to a vat, with the beginnings of a human growing inside of it. "See for yourself… it took many attempts for this to even survive past a week, but her instabilities should be manageable. I have good reason to believe that she will be a stand user."
'My god…' Polnareff looked at the 'human' inside, disturbed by the female-looking clone of Giorno.
Later that night…
Giorno sat down on his bed, thinking about his place in the world and what exactly his future entailed.
'Humanity needs their own representatives… They need people to show them more than just pleasure exists in this world.'
'Like an addict, they'll search for their next fix no matter what that entails. This is worse than narcotics…'
'What do you plan to do? Become a King?' Sylph asked, wondering where this was going.
'… If this is going to work, I can't just rely on any normal person.'
'Like Luka? The King of Sabasa?' The spirit continued her questioning.
'No… Those with an already established line of communications, even if they may be illicit. With the reach to act all around the world.'
'…' Gnome didn't like where his thoughts were taking him.
'Hey… You can't be serious…' Sylph would have never guessed this kind of behavior from one of her contractors.
'Ilias Kreuz… I'll take over and make their organization my own!'
AN:
Happy New Year
Can't believe it's been a year since I started this fic, time really flies.
If the chapter wasn't clear enough, I'm a firm believer that if Giorno used larger non-living objects he could make larger animal lifeforms. He can already turn bullets from Mista's gun into a tree, so the size of his creations being limited is kind of silly. The only downside to the size thing has to do with the timing of his life creation, ie the bigger the lifeform the longer it takes to make it.
He and Luka also gain new abilities in the form of learning new aspects of Gnome, though Giorno's understanding is still flawed. Not that he would care, since losing an arm doesn't mean anything to him.
Naturally, he becomes a very valuable person to a certain seeker of truth given his abilities.
Here's to another year of writing.