Chapter 102
(Ost)
For the past few days, Ost had simply been...
Ironically, the true term would be 'haunting' her former body. She was a Spirit after all, a soul given flesh, who was currently wandering about the remains of her former self.
She wasn't idle, and only once gave in to the urge to lift her arms up and 'ooooo' at a curious bird. No, she was using the bonded remains of her old body and the sacred tree to empower the shield that was keeping the Waves away. In all honesty, she was surprised it worked at all!
But the Tree didn't just kill the Spirit Tortoise, it had taken over its duty as well. All she had to do when she arrived, was put the Emerald Prison next to the still open hole where Kodori's hands had been when they implanted the seeds that created the tree, and that was it. She had just enough time to pull her hand out, before the gap closed, and the tree absorbed the souls and used them for their intended purpose.
Now, there was a moment or two where she thought the mountain overhead would fall in on her and the others witnessing it, but no, the tree seemed to know exactly what it was doing and not only did it grow and change colour to something less... visceral... the mountain that once sat on the Tortoise's back was even more firmly locked in place with branches vines and roots. It would take an army to change that.
Except... the tree was doing other things. From here, where Kyo had done his dirty work of capturing, stealing, and overriding her will, she could feel things outside. The other trees for example. It was faint, but if she sat and meditated, she could smell the mountain air of Mirso. The water near the Tyrant Rex's gravestone (tree-stone?). Feel the vibrancy of Raphtalia's village. And... something else too. But that one was distant, behind a sheet of glass, hinting at its existence, but hiding.
"Ost." She felt Kodori's presence a second after hearing her voice, pulling her out of her meditation, "Any luck?"
She stood, the former floor of flesh replaced with almost smooth wood, another thing she could change if she concentrated hard enough. "Kodori." Ost replied, "You look terrible."
"One more thing, then I can get some sleep." She replied, already looking at her as Ost came around the corner and started down a nice wooden ramp that had replaced the hole Kyo had made in the ceiling of her 'heart' chamber. "I brought you a gift."
She stepped aside to reveal two hexagonal... logs? "Bees?"
"Yes. They'll emerge soon. Before they do though..." She looked around a moment.
"Here." Ost closed her eyes, and lifted a hand. By her will, a literal live wood table rose up from the floor. "Is this what you needed?"
"Perfect." She nodded, reaching for the Shield and taking out a few things, "Let me set you as their owners, give you the power to make them stronger... all the stuff I did for Kunshu and Tenno."
Ost watched Kodori set up a little ink pot, dish, tiny knife, and other things needed for the slave binding ritual. But then she set up the things for the ofuda binding as well. "Are you sure this will work? I have the Status Magic now, but the Weapons have advantages over what normally happens."
"Kotetsu?" Kodori paused.
There was a yawn, a cross of growl and purr, then, "There now?" said someone from someplace on Kodori's person.
"Yes."
Something wiggled its way around inside Kodori's combat kimono, and with a final wiggle Kotetsu appeared, her front paws holding the Vassal Mirror. "Hi!" Kotetsu greeted, little tail wagging happily as she clung to Kodori's arm.
"The Mirror? But..." Ost frowned.
"Vassal Mirror." Kodori said with what Ost knew was her 'combat voice'. "Before you stands Ost Horai. Former Guardian, then lost soul, and now a guardian once more." She paused, reached behind her and took the Shield off her back, "Shield. Before you stands Ost Horai, fallen protector of a world, who asked for death to prevent her from harming innocents, and lives once again to take up the role of protector once more."
Ost had no idea what was happening. She had lived a long time, had authority to bend the rules of the world, but this...
Kotetsu climbed up onto Kodori's head, still holding the mirror while curled around her demon horns. This let Kodori raise her other arm, the Vassal Book opening over her palm, "Vassal Book. Before you stands Ost Horai. The wise Tortoise who's foresight and wisdom thought of a way to break a purpose that was once locked in stone."
Was she forcing them to judge her? No... This was nothing like what Kyo had done...
"As the chosen hero of the Shield, I deem her worthy of becoming my vassal." Kodori finished, the three gems on the Weapons lighting up gently, then winking out.
Ost blinked as something new happened. It wasn't power... not exactly... And it wasn't her previous authority. But something had changed. "What... what happened? What did you do?"
"Before I met you, I saw Therese share the translation function of L'arc's scythe. In essence? She asked for a shard of its power. For her, it's telepathic. For me, I have to use fancy words." She smiled thinly, "You should now have all the extra 'perks' of the Weapons. No inventory or monster drop stuff, or weapon changing. But all the other stuff." A pause, "Oh, and a crystal that does all the other stuff." A nice jade coloured pendant was passed over to Ost as well.
One of the hexagonal larva chambers wobbled a little.
"Oh right, let's hurry..."
While the two bees clung to her, their wings and chitin still hardening, their 'mouths' buried in wide bowls that Ost held in either hand, she moved her eyes over all the options. In front of her, on a bit of paper, was a list that Kodori had left. It was all the options she had used to make Kunshu and Tenno what they were today.
By the time the two bees had finished drying out, their colours green and gold, Ost had adjusted everything, while adding a little touch of her own. Like the colour.
Kodori herself had already left, though not before Ost had given Kotetsu all the headpats she wanted, and given a promise she was going to bed when she got to where she was going.
(Rifana)
It had been two weeks since Raphtalia had returned. And since she had, she had visited every day. Most of the time, it was 'in passing', since the wagon was parked nearby, and it seemed to be a place of refuge for her. Her and Usa.
She rather liked the shy rabbit man. Even offered to make him a bed on the wall, since she had no heartbeat to bother his sleep. Though, the bees above still made a little noise. He'd refused, but said thank you.
Clive had come and gone a few times, though for the most part it was to 'talk' with Tenno, and even try and teach her sign language. He was less polite, but only so far as to be willing to give her headpats for trying to learn.
The tiger siblings? Fohl had only visited once, just to see what his sister was so excited about. Atla? Well, she loved the way the tree 'glowed'. Something about her eyes let her see more of what this tree was, and was doing. A couple of times, the two of them danced in the starlight, just because.
Old lady Ragnarok... She couldn't make up her mind if she liked, or hated the tree. She didn't mind giving headpats though! Even told her a couple stories!
Most of the villagers though... Her old friends, some growing as they levelled up, others having gotten taller naturally, were both happy and sad. She wasn't 'physical' enough to play with them past hide and seek. And couldn't leave the shadow of the tree. The rest of the villagers saw her more as a holy 'object' than a person... But that wasn't bad just... a little lonely.
But Raphtalia... She had changed the most. And it tore at her heart that she couldn't help her more. She had no idea how to help her friend past all the guilt she had. Guilt that she had survived. Guilt that she had gotten to travel with Kodori. Guilt at being unable to save everyone. And lastly, the guilt that she wasn't with Kodori now.
She just wasn't accepting anyone's answer. Everyone had told Raphtalia she was strong enough to lead the village. To fight monsters that threatened it. To fight the Waves if she needed to. She had people she could lean on for things she didn't know how to do. But she was trying to do it all alone, while feeling like she wasn't doing a good job.
What she needed, but might not actually get, was a proper explanation. She was looking for the answer from a specific person.
"Is she gone?" Kodori's sudden voice disrupted her thoughts so badly, she blinked out and appeared behind her tombstone. "Sorry."
"Yes. She comes here hoping to find you, or hide from paperwork." Rifana huffed, looking way up at her 'master', then down, and kicking her in the shin. The contact felt kind of like kicking a pillow.
Overall, Kodori hadn't changed much. She felt a little different, a little... heavier to her senses. The Shield was hanging on her hip as the Book Shield, but the Vassal Book was at her other hip as well.
"I hope my children grow up with her determination, but not with her stubbornness. Can you get HIDA for me please?"
"Only if you go and talk to Raphtalia." Rifana looked up again, crossing her arms and frowning. "And... what's that around your neck, and why is it screaming?"
"That is the soul of the one who nearly destroyed this world with the spirit tortoise. His prison isn't nearly as comfortable as the Emerald. And... did you just say no?"
"I did! I might be guarding your tree, but she's still my best friend. She's the one who called me back, you're just the one who gave me a job."
"And I hope my children grow up with your attitude towards bad orders." Kodori sighed, "Fine, I won't order you."
"So you're going to talk to her?" She asked.
"Later. I have something cooking and could only step away for a few minutes." She paused, and a little white fox appeared at her feet. "Here's a message for her." And with a flutter of paper, she vanished.
A few seconds later, there was a muffled voice from inside the wall someplace, "Did I miss her?"
"Yes HIDA you did. I tried to get her to talk to Raphtalia, but..."
"She's like that every time she makes potions. Or is at the forge. Or anything really."
"So it wasn't just her avoiding the problem?"
"I don't... think so? I mean, she was everyone's mom, or big sister back home. Aside from not getting involved with 'who got Bell', she doesn't have a record of avoiding people when it came to advice?"
Rifana sighed, "Well, it IS a problem. My best friend is angry at everything and doesn't think she's good enough to do what she's already doing perfectly."
"Ah! Crushing self doubt. Sadly, I don't have the psychology files on hand..."
"It's okay HIDA." She sighed again, summoning a little chair to sit on from the side of the tree, "So... Who's Bell?"
(Earl of Habenburg, Cal Mira)
The Earl wanted to sigh. But he was far too professional. Instead, he worked for roughly an hour to calm the usual residents of Cal Mira down. After the Activation Event and the Wave, people only stuck around long enough to heal, maybe get a tan, or kill a few monsters, before leaving again.
This left him with a modest village of people, an ocean fort that saw maybe a dozen ships a season, and the occasional message from the Queen. Otherwise? It was essentially retirement. Speaking of, the Queen, over the Occulus that was left here, had informed him about the recent events.
While troubling, there was little he could do except say, 'there hasn't been anything out of place here, and we'll have the next cargo ship filled with the usual goods'. He was graced with a pleased smile, a royal 'good job', and dismissed. All usual things from his Queen.
Then, yesterday, a little off shore from the second to last of the biggest islands of the Cal Mira chain, an impossible tree just... happened.
No rumbles. No waves. No warning. Suddenly, a hundred metre tree, lined with pretty coral, with sea green bark, kelp green leaves, and what looked like a church in the middle of its massive trunk just rose above the sea line.
For most of a day, he had everyone (himself included) on high alert. But aside from a little extra driftwood making its way to shore, nothing else happened. At least, not until the sun went down.
Then the tree lit up. Bio-luminescent like a jellyfish, it put their own lighthouse to shame with just how bright it was. And for some weird reason, the canopy of hanging kelp shaded the village from this amazing opalescent glow. It was as if the tree itself was being considerate of the average person's bed time, while keeping the waters of the harbour and a reasonable distance off shore lit up for when the bi-annual shark schools went by.
Of course, he reported all this to the Queen.
"More to report?" Mirellia asked, her face in the Occulus lit by the first strands of dawn. "Not urgent if it could wait until morning."
"There have been no problems, my Queen. None that we cannot manage. Yet... There has been something we cannot explain." He replied.
"Attempt to do so."
So he did.
Her reply? "Ah, Lady Kodori must have visited."
"She has not returned to Melromarc proper since the conclusion of the Spirit Tortoise event?" Earl asked.
"No. However, my Shadows have marked her work, or that of Ost Horai, all over the kingdom." A pause, as if something had occurred to her, "Has the usual supply shipment set sail from the mainland yet?"
"Ah, they said they will be a day late in departure."
"Excellent, my message got through. A message from the Hickwaal Merchant Group asked that I delay the ship. I will explain."
So she did.
His reply? "A way to mimic the Legendary and Vassal Weapons? Can it be?"
"Indeed. Your shipment should be arriving when the other supplies do. See to it that you, and your soldiers, make good use of them. We have only one goal now, and that is to survive the Waves. Kodori, her innovation, and connections, will help us do so." A pause as she covered her mouth with the Fan, "However, it was my coin that bought it. Please, make every effort to fill the holds of the merchant vessels you send back for trade."
"Of course. Without question." He said seriously.
The connection went dark, and he finally gave in on the urge to sigh.
(Frost Fortress, the formerly sad little town on that barren patch of dirt between Melromarc, Siltvelt and Zeltobe)
"I just wish it didn't smell so bad." Frost said with a sniff of his big flat nose. "Lights are pretty at night, but yeah."
His quartermaster, the one who actually ran the town just mumbled, "i just wish you could name things better."
"Wot?"
"Nothing sir." She said, "It's been just shy of two weeks since they started the foundry, but that smell, and those colours, are from making glass. Good glass."
"Well, it's bringing work, food and people to the place. Just smells bad." He shrugged, "And the stuff they're making? It really work?"
"It really does." She replied, touching what looked like a crystal belt buckle over a pouch. With a faint glow, she made a little loaf of bread appear in her hand, "Baked this morning, and still warm now."
"That'll make our next trip easier for sure." He grinned, "All our squads have one?"
"Yeah. There were a few priority orders, but those are almost all done." She said, "And before you ask, I figured her word would trump yours, considering it was her name Hickwaal mentioned when he dropped the idea on my lap, and that flowery guy with the sword was waiting with the materials for the OK."
Frost's face lit up, "Oh yeah, unless it's something stupid sounding, if I'm not here, give her what ever she wants."
She frowned, but shrugged after a moment's thought. "Well, she set us up with this little town, gave you a path almost directly into Melromarc's coffers, and now, despite this place being in the middle of nowhere with almost nothing but red sand as far as the eye can see, people actually want to come here." A pause, "You're not going to say something stupid and declare us a nation or something, are you?"
"Are you nuts? Last two people who did that got shot, or thrown out a window."
(Murder Pierrot)
It had been a while since her last fight in the arena. Ever since her defeat at the hands of 'second place' and the Shield Hero, she'd regained her title as champion, and...
Nothing... Her title was returned more or less by default, since the people who actually had the right to the title up and left! The 'battle royal' to decide who became champion was, honestly, a joke. And while yes, she was back on top, no one took her seriously anymore.
Beaten, bare handed, by the weakest of the Holy Heroes.
Still, her room at the Colosseum was nice. The one place of solitude she had in a city who thought she was a joke. It wouldn't be long before she would have to either leave, or go hunt monsters or something so she could afford the rent here.
Thankfully, she'd been able to talk to the Master of Wagers without her Vassal Weapon malfunctioning too badly...
Like now, her sigh sounding a bit like radio static as she flopped down onto her bed.
"Hi!" The cheerful greeting made her sit bolt upright again, her Vassal Weapon changing from a little sewing kit to a pair of (deadly) comically big scissors.
But she saw nothing out of place in her room. "static." She tried to say something, but once again, her Weapon was on the fritz.
"Here here!" The voice said, her eyes catching sight of a octagonal mirror lifting itself up off her desk. That explained why she didn't see it, since her desk was a mix of all kinds of sewing projects. Some of the fabric shifted off of the one manipulating the mirror, revealing itself to be a... lizard? Her status screen didn't, or couldn't identify the creature at all, though it still had a helpful little triangle pointing at it now that it had her attention. "Hi! Have message!"
"staessagetic." Oh, almost cleared up, "Message?" She didn't get closer, but stood and kept both hands on her weapon.
"Yes! Name doesn't match. Had to sniff and sneak and find that way." A pause as the two looked at each other. One, a red fringed little dragon-noodle, the other a silver haired young lady. "Oh! Yes, ah..."
The creature's tail, still hidden under the multitude of fabrics on the desk wiggled around and pulled a small white fox from under it all. It looked real, but had glassy lifeless eyes.
"Here! Colourful lady person is person you look for!" The dragon-noodle shook the fox-doll, "Ah... um... never happen before..."
She couldn't help but laugh quietly, and took a step forward despite her wariness. Then she noticed two things. One, the mirror was a Vassal Weapon. And second, the fox-doll had a familiar voice and was likely activated by her proximity.
"To the one named Murder Pierrot." It was the voice of the one who beat her. "First and second. Sorry for what is likely an invasion of privacy. Second, sorry for beating you up."
She was about to say something, but the fox kept speaking. Aha, it was a recording.
"I didn't know your real name, so I had to go the long way around. The feathered dragon is Kotetsu, she loves headpats. Yes, that is the Vassal Mirror, no you may not have it, even if you give Kotetsu all the headpats. Right?"
"Kotetsu not be bribed." The little dragon-noodle wrapped her tail around the mirror and nuzzled it with the side of her face. "Shiny precious..."
"I'm working on a bunch of side projects between Waves, and can't afford too many entanglements. The Bow Hero and Spear Hero are in Zeltobe now, and I want nothing to do with them for the moment. Itsuki, the Bow hero is delusional, thinking this is all a game. While Motoyasu is a good guy, and probably trying to figure out how to break his fellow hero out of that."
"Spear guy also has nice black bird!" Kotetsu said.
"I know you're a Vassal Weapon holder, and you aren't from either this world, or the one on the other side of the Waves this world is fighting. I don't know why, or how you are here. But I need a hand with some of my projects, and I'm offering you a job."
She raised an eyebrow at that.
"If you don't want to work with me, ever, tell Kotetsu. If you want to help Motoyasu, find him and say so. And if you want to help me, head to the giant tree south of Zeltobe, or west south west to Reichnott's territory. You can't miss them, they're massive. You'll be welcome under their shade."
A pause, a bit longer this time, then just as she was opening her mouth, the fox spoke one last time, "Oh! Please tell Kotetsu your actual name, or something that sounds like a name, so I can contact you like this later. And she might have already eaten any snacks you had laying around. If so, sorry in advance."
"I didn't! Know to ask first!"
And the fox vanished into mist.
She got a little closer to the dragon and the mirror, bowed, and said slowly (just in case her Weapon wanted to throw more static around), "My name. Is. S'ynn Lokk."
"Hello colour lady!" The dragon said, then, "Yay headpats!"
"I will help static..." She sighed, "static. Spear." She was careful not to touch the Mirror, but she had turned her own Vassal Weapon back into a little sewing kit so she could enjoy the soft fur/feathers of the adorable dragon-noodle with both hands. "I might static later."
"Yay! Thank you pretty colour lady!" And before she could do anything about it, the happy dragon slithered/crawled/zipped across the desk, over a shelf, and out the window. And even with the Mirror, she was silent save for a little rustle of fabric from her desk of projects.
People were used to her being quiet. Her entire arena 'persona' was coloured by her outfit (the vibrantly coloured home-made look of purple, white and dark purples) and her weapon. It helped that many of her somewhat dysfunctional weapon's attacks and abilities used things that looked like assassin tools. Needles, crochet hooks, that kind of thing.
So, it was no surprise that no one spoke to her as she made her way back out of the grand arena. Thankfully, even before her defeat, she wasn't 'feared'. Just respected. No one jumped out of the way, and no one whispered behind her back.
"Going out?" The only exception was the Master of Wagers. The exceptionally plain man was always polite, kept exquisite records, and seemed to just... be where he was needed all the time. When she nodded to him, he gave her a smile, "Still looking for a match. Don't worry. Had someone show up who shows a little promise too."
She nodded again, and hit the streets of Zeltobe.
She rather liked evenings here in this city. Actually, she just liked this city. Mercenary bands and merchant kings were much better at government than a single royal family. Sure, it slowed down bureaucracy, but the first time something started eating at profits? It got fixed.
And since there were so many merchant kings, they kept each other in line. If one started to cause trouble and chip at the profits of more than one other merchant king... So, they kept to themselves, negotiated reasonably well, and settled most disputes in the arena when the diplomacy failed.
But evenings was when the city came alive. Something about the primal clawing away at the darkness with light and sound...
"Ah, pardon me Ma'am!" With how well the city kept itself in line, it was rare for her walks to be interrupted. But before her were two people. One, an absolute unit of a man, with bulging muscles under an intimidating set of clown colours and spiked leather straps. The other, a short man who wore the same dark purples she did, with a silly hat and cane.
Of course she knew this man. Met him her first day here, after she'd beaten the stuffing out of one of these muscle clowns. And since she knew this man, she knew he would only stop her for business. So, not trusting her Vassal Weapon to translate, she bowed slightly to him in greeting.
"I have been informed you might be looking for someone! Yes Ma'am!" He paused when she gave him the universal 5 degree head tilt. "Well, if you go to that tavern just that way, he was chatting with a nice young woman and a girl with black wings." She tilted her head in the other direction at the exact same angle, "A certain fox asked me to help you, if I saw you."
She blinked in surprise at how thorough the Shield Hero had been. So, she bowed again, a little deeper this time, and turned in the direction she'd been pointed in.
Behind her, the Ringmaster clicked his heels together and said, "Good evening then. Best of luck."
(Motoyasu)
He wasn't sure what it was, but Rishia had changed since he saw her last. He had made best speed here, and for the last couple of days had been trying to find Itsuki. A bit of coin here, a kind word there, and yes, he WAS here. Someplace...
For someone with a super flashy bow, he was actually pretty hard to find. Of course, because of the Hero Proximity thing, the warning message for being too close to another hero was a dead giveaway that another hero was possibly looking for him. And while it told you another hero was too close to gain EXP, it didn't tell you where they were. You could be standing under them in the same building, and not know it.
A couple days ago, Rishia had showed up. Coincidentally, it was about an hour or so after Motoyasu had finally figured out where Itsuki had gone (though, he felt stupid for not thinking of it sooner). The Arena. He'd entered under a 'ring name', and was quietly working his way up the ranks as a solo. It fit the trope, being all silent crusader of whatever...
"Please don't run off?" Kuro was hugging Rishia around the middle as they sat in a booth in the tavern.
He was rather pleased he thought ahead for this one. He had asked Kuro to let Rishia sit by the window, then sit on the bench next to her, blocking her in. THEN he told her where Itsuki was. So now, the formerly timid girl had lost all reserve and had to be hugged/held in place by Kuro.
"But I have to get to him!" She hissed back, making an attempt to get Kuro off of her. Of course, Kuro was far stronger than she looked, so she failed.
"Relax, please." Motoyasu said, trying to give her his winning smile, "Eat something first?"
"He might be-"
"Might be." Motoyasu said, "If he's staying in the arena dorms, we won't be able to visit him out of the blue, no matter who I might be." He glanced over his shoulder at the Spear, "This place doesn't care about the Heroes. If we want to play, we play by their rules. So, we'll have to enter the arena or wait until he leaves."
Rishia gave up on trying to pry Kuro off of her, sighed in defeat, and seemed to... become the shy girl she'd been before he'd gotten caught by Kyo. "Fine..." Of course, now that she was a little calmer, she gave Kuro a careful headpat, nudged her so she'd let go, and poked at her food.
Kuro sighed in relief and sat up properly as well so she too could eat. "Will we fight then?"
"Unless we have another way-"
A drunken voice cheered from the bar, a burly man raising a mug (and sloshing some of its contents onto the floor), "Heeeeey champion!" Getting a cheer from some of the others near him as he gulped at his drink.
Motoyasu looked, and spotted a colourful girl in various shades of purple with nice silver hair, good skin, and... a vassal weapon? Sure, it looked like one of those... whatchamacallit... pin-pillow? But even so, the eye-like gem was a giveaway.
She spotted him, spotting her, and her gaze went up a little to the Spear.
"Huh." Motoyasu said, "Kuro? Switch over here?" Then looking at the bar, "Hey Barkeep! Another bowl!"
He wasn't sure why, but he was getting the impression that the Champion (one Murder Pierrot, or S'yne in public) wasn't quiet because she was shy. On the contrary, she seemed reasonably outgoing, but... partially mute? It reminded him of a part time job he had once, where there was too much machinery to have a conversation, so everyone talked with single words and hand signals.
But, the four of them more or less got through introductions, general 'why they were here' and 'why it mattered'. There was a little suspicion in the air about why a Vassal Weapon holder would be here, considering the last time they had met some they tried to kill the Four Heroes. But Kuro had sniffed something familiar about the quiet girl.
"She's here because of Kodori." Kuro had said, "I smell Kotetsu." She clarified a little sadly.
Rishia had no idea who that was, but Motoyasu had met the weird little dragon, and yes, agreed with S'yne that it felt good to pet the little critter. And to everyone's surprise, the Sewing hero had given Kuro a little stuffed animal to hug.
"So... When most of us heroes got here, we thought it was a game. The weird status magic, the weapons, and even our home worlds having games and stories that were very similar to this world." Motoyasu explained. "And for a while? We acted like it. Like we were the main characters in a story, and in the end, we would succeed no matter what."
S'yne nodded, while Rishia frowned, looking like she might try and escape again.
"Kodori was different. We took pity on her for being the 'weakest' from the stories we'd heard of this world. But within a week she already had already overcome a lot of the problems the Shield had given her. Meanwhile, the three of us just went about thinking this was a game, doing stupid things all the while."
Again, S'yne nodded.
"Before Kodori got tired of me, of us screwing around, we had done almost everything we could to undermine her. The King of Melromarc and the church of three heroes had it out for the Shield, and we just went along with it." He waved it off, "But, she fixed my attitude, clued me in, and we made an attempt to break the other two out of the 'game' mentality."
"Ren was doing well." Kuro said grudgingly.
"Yes. The Spirit Tortoise going nuts was because of another Vassal Weapon user. We only found that out after getting our butts handed to us, and captured. Ren and Itsuki's parties are either dead, or defected. And I'd sent Kuro and Rishia away to find Kodori when I realized just how outclassed we all were."
S'yne nodded once again, but also said a single word, "Lucky."
"Lucky he didn't kill us too." Motoyasu sighed, "From what we were told, this Kyo guy copied our weapons, and nearly wiped out this world. But Kodori got in the way." Again, he waved it off, "She saved us, no doubt. But here's the problem."
He looked directly at Rishia, just to make sure she was paying attention. "Ren, after we got back, realized exactly what had been going on. His style was more... a 'group of solo players' instead of a party. Before we left Melromarc again, he went to visit their families, in person, to give them the bad news." He shook his head, "But Itsuki left the instant he saw how angry the Queen was with what happened."
"She was angry?" Kuro asked, "I'm not sure I've seen her do more than smile just a tiny bit..."
"I know the look." He gave her a gentle hair ruffle, "He's retreating further into the delusion, running from the problem."
"Sir Itsuki has..." Rishia started, then stopped, "We need to save him."
Motoyasu's eyes went wide for just a moment as he felt a little sliver of ice wedge itself into his chest. She was acting like a girl admitting, finally, she was in a bad relationship. "Yes. We do." He said, "We'll need him to survive the Waves." He paused, something occurring to him, "S'yne... From what I know, that isn't from here." He motioned to the little pin-pillow she was using as a bizarre hat (though it did look cute), "And I don't think it's from the other side of the Waves. So..."
He didn't want to sound nosy, but he did make his curiosity clear. And for a moment, it looked like S'yne might not answer. She took a drink from her mug, looked thoughtful, did a little head tilt, then seemed to come to a conclusion. "static destroyed." She frowned. "My... world was... static." She sighed, giving the other three a helpless look.
"Well... suppose that answers one thing without question." Motoyasu sighed, "There is a fail condition."
NOTES!
Not quite time for Kodori to step back into the forefront. But she's doing her best while making sure her own projects get some love.
Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!
aKAQg4bnYu for the discord! As well as ways to support me!
And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.
And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!