No one's POV
A figure lazed in the center of a pure white room. One could tell from a glance that there was something odd about them. For one thing, they were wearing a bizarre mask with a smiley-face drawn on its cover. For another, the arms and legs poking out of their milky-white robe, while artfully crafted, were clearly made out of metal. It was a golem that was lying there in the center of the room.
Miledi: Ugh, I finally managed to finish my repairs. Damn that white hair boy. How dare he leave some explosives there at the end! And I can't believe Ryu didn't do a single thing to stop him!
The voice that spoke sounded youthful and feminine. Its owner, the golem lying in the center of the room, was Miledi Reisen. She was the creator of the Reisen Gorge, one of the Seven Great Labyrinths, and a Liberator. She stared up at the sky and screamed.
Miledi: The next time I see him, I'll be sure to annoy him till he could no longer scream!
She looked like a child throwing a tantrum, thrashing about on the floor. Her robe flapped wildly around her, and her mask's expression morphed. Upon closer inspection, one could see that her robe was charred at the edges and covered in soot. There was a small crack in her mask as well.
Hajime was the cause of her current distress, and the reason she was in such a sorry state. He along with a gray hair boy named Sora whom Miledi refered to as the Dragon King were the first to have cleared the labyrinth she'd created. And the first thing Hajime had done after defeating her was to demand she give him all of her possessions. And Sora didn't do a single thing to help her.
She'd planned on giving Hajime everything but the items she absolutely needed to maintain the labyrinth, but he'd insisted on taking even those. He was no conqueror, just a thief. No good person would ever demand that a labyrinth master hand over all her possessions. That was the act of a common brigand.
Naturally, Miledi had refused. Half in jest, she'd tested out her toilet shortcut and flushed them out of her labyrinth. However, just before they'd been washed away, Hajime had thrown some grenades her way as a final parting gift.
His grenades had blown up not just the deepest chamber in the labyrinth, but a good portion of her private resting quarters as well. In tears, Miledi had set about the task of repairing her precious labyrinth. She'd only just finished.
She cursed at Hajime for a while longer, complaining about the unfair retribution she'd received for the harmless prank she'd played on him. Objectively speaking, it was pretty hard to feel sympathetic toward someone who'd flushed people out of her home. Once she was done, complete silence returned to the room. Miledi was this labyrinth's only resident. It sat deep underground, at the bottom of a gorge everyone avoided. A dark place where the light of the sun never reached.
Without Miledi's cursing, there was no noise at all. As she was a golem, there wasn't even the sound of her breathing or heartbeat. After a few moments of silence, Miledi raised her hand up to the ceiling. Had there been any light, her metallic hand would have gleamed brightly. This golem was something someone very precious to her had made. The crystallization of all their hard work. This inorganic hand of hers was very unlike the actual hand she'd had back when she was alive.
Miledi: To think... He really returned back to Tortus... Your prediction really did come true... Lina...
She balled her outstretched hand into a fist. The reality of it was finally hitting her. Then, she glanced over at a corner. The room she was in now was her bedroom. Meaning her personal possessions were all stored there.
There was a bookshelf in the corner she'd looked at, a number of picture frames lining the shelves. Long ago, an exceptionally skilled Synergist had invented a device that could perfectly record all the details in a scene and copy them. The pictures he'd taken with it had been his gift to Miledi, and her greatest treasure.
Miledi walked up to the pictures and examined each one in turn, starting from the end. She'd done the same thing hundreds, no, thousands of times, but a different emotion welled up within her this time around.
Miledi: How long has it been since that day... The day he died protecting us and the day that we were defeated. The day we swore to carry on, to create a light of hope for those who would come after. The day I sworn to wait for his return. It's... definitely been more than a few centuries at least. A thousand years? Two thousand? Ahaha, I don't even remember anymore...
Most of the pictures were of a young girl. There was one of her standing in the middle of a city, another of her surrounded by nature, and yet another with her in the rugged wilderness. In all of them she was smiling, the people in the background all smiling alongside her. The person who'd taken these photos had known how to capture her radiance better than anyone.
Miledi's gaze stopped at one of the pictures. It was a picture of eight people standing atop a hill, the sunrise at their backs. One of them was a blonde girl. She was pulling a white hair, red eyes gentle looking man closer to her. Next to her stood a bespectacled, black hair man, a stoic gentleman, a seductively smiling dryad woman, a stern, balding old man, a Dagon woman who was smiling triumphantly, and lastly, a demon man who was staring at the blonde girl with a look of mild disapproval.
Miledi: Guys... it's finally happening. Ryu has returned! Our Dragon King has returned. And he has thawed out our frozen time. It's not a dream. Our wish. The path we chose... it really did pave the way for those who came after us.
Had Miledi retained her human form, she would have been crying. She would probably kiss the gray hair boy whom conquered her labyrinth, if she still had her mouth. Her voice trembled and broke. Her fingers lightly brushed against the image of the white hair gentleman boy.
Miledi: O-kun. Can you believe it? Ryu cleared your labyrinth first. It was supposed to be the hardest one, the one everyone was supposed to do last. As expected of the man I fell in loved, and your best friend.
Miledi chuckled to herself.
Miledi: His personality's has changed a bit, turning on to a bit of a wild side, though. Still, he's amazing. His incomplete Spirit Art. And those artifacts of his are crazy. He must have made them using the techniques you left behind.
She continued talking until she ran out of words. Overcome with emotion, she brought a hand to her chest. Finally, she turned her gaze to the final picture. This one was special. It had been created by combining Oscar's wondrous invention with the regeneration powers another one of her comrades had held.
Together, they had created a picture of the past. It depicted a smiling young woman with red hair. She was wearing a maid uniform, and standing next to her was the same blonde girl that was in the other pictures, except she looked younger. There was a look of confusion on her face.
Miledi: It all started with you. The journey I inherited from you is finally coming to a close.
Miledi didn't have much strength left. She probably had enough power stored for one last fight at full strength, but that was more than enough. She'd been prepared for this for millennia. Miledi looked back up at the ceiling. She was thinking of the young boy who'd conquered her labyrinth.
Miledi(mind): Finally.
Quietly, she prayed.
Miledi: May the people finally be free...
It was a lone, silent wish.
(Flashback)
The Karasuki Kingdom is a large nation located in the western area of the Tortus.. An enormous structure towered in the middle of the capital, its architecture resembling a Japanese-style castle. Equally large castle walls ran along its perimeter. As one would expect from the capital, the town that surrounded the castle was vast and spread out, bearing a population of tens of thousands of people.
The Kingdom was isolated from the outside world though. Where a 4 invisible barrier was put on the outer edge of the mountains, making the place impenetrable to any malice or any evil being. It was also the only place in Tortus where the Holy Church had no power on. A place where the people there have zero faith and the false god Ehit. A place where human and demi-humans all live peacefully amongst one another with no hatred nor malice.
Ryu:...
The person whom managed this whole place was a man named Ryu. He has white asymmetrical hair that's longer on the right side of his face. He has a sharp face with strong and serious red crimson eyes. He oozes a calm and collected air around him, this makes him give off a dangerous, yet warm and secure feeling.
Ryu was a strong, kind, and exceptional person. He was able to single-handedly take on and defeat the evil beings that the people were helpless against. He shared his food with anyone on the brink of starvation and would heal anyone's severe injuries in the blink of an eye.
He also taught spirit arts to the people of his village,. People from all over flocked to these lands to rely on Ryu. They placed him on a pedestal as their hero, and it was only a matter of time before a new kingdom was established around them.
Once he finished doing his jobs for the day's, Ryu headed back to his home. Though he run through a huge kingdom, Ryu doesn't like living in some huge mansion. Instead his house was just a huge hut built on a tree. The front door opened to a clay floor that led to an elevated living room, where a sunken fireplace was set up to warm the area. He stood in front of the building for a few minutes, then circled around to the back.
Ryu: Looks like the alarm's working.
Ryu placed his hand on the ground as he said that. After a few seconds he took it off. He walked around to every corner of the building and did the same thing. Finally, he closed his eyes and placed his hand against the building itself.
Ryu: The strengthening's... holding up pretty well. The barrier and mana accumulator are working just fine, too.
Ryu breathed a sigh of relief. Though his actions seemed random, whatever he had discovered appeared to relieve him. Pleased that his security measures were working, he walked back up to the entrance and knocked on the door.
Ryu: Hmm...?
Normally, the people who lived with would have answered the door, but nobody came.
Ryu(mind): Maybe I knocked too lightly?
Ryu tried again. Still no response. He couldn't even hear the sound of the kids playing.
Ryu: Ah?!
Ryu had a very bad feeling about the situation. Something must have happened. To him, the his family and the people in it were more important than anything else.
Ryu: Dryas! Guys!
Some small, rational part of his mind told him he needed to calm down and assess the situation. However, his body moved on its own. Every second mattered. He wrenched open the front door and rushed into the living room.
Ryu: Sara! Alma! Orphia! Hoshi! Arslan! Vera! Latifa!
He yelled their names as he barreled toward the dining room. It was around their usual time for dinner. His heart lurched when he heard no reply and he practically ripped the dining room door off its hinges. Inside, he found—
Miledi: Welcome back, my darling~ Would you like dinner, a bath, or... me, Miledi-tan?
A girl he didn't recognize. She was wearing a frilly apron and looked to be around maybe fourteen or fifteen years old. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and it almost seemed to defy gravity as it swished back and forth. She had slender legs that were covered by knee-length socks. She had one leg bent back at a cute angle and was standing on one foot. Underneath the apron she wore a sleeveless shirt, and in one hand she carried a cooking ladle. She made a peace sign with her free hand and winked at Ryu.
Ryu:...
He could have sworn a star flew off from that wink. The pose was so perfect that it annoyed him. Faced with this unexpected sight, Ryu reacted the only way he could.
Ryu: Sorry, looks like I've got the wrong house.
He closed the dining room door and backed away.
Ryu(mind): I must actually have gotten the wrong house. Haha, maybe I'm tired from working so much.
However, this mysterious and oddly cheerful girl had no intention of letting Ryu escape.
Miledi: Wait, don't just leave! I can't believe you closed the door on me! An extremely beautiful girl just offered herself to you, so shouldn't you be moved to tears right now! I know you want to gaze upon these perfect legs! There's just the right amount of skin showing between my skirt and my kneesocks. I know you can't resist them. We both know you're a huge pervert, Ry-Ry!
Ryu(mind): Oh, just shut up. Quit acting like we're best friends when I don't even know you. Besides, you're obviously crazy.
In a second, Ryu had already made his judgment on what kind of person this girl was. He sigh getting his composure back and spoke as calmly as he could.
Ryu: Pardon me, you said your name was Miledi, right? It seems you've wandered into the wrong house. It's getting late. Surely you should be getting back to your own home. On the off chance you came here on purpose, that would mean you're trespassing. If you don't leave within the next three seconds, I'll have to arrest you.
Ryu grinned as he shot Miledi a thinly-veiled threat.
Miledi: That's not a thinly-veiled threat at all! You obviously want me gone! How mean! I'll have you know it was my destiny to meet you, Ry-Ry—
Ryu: Alright, your three seconds are up. I'm putting you in the castle's dungeon.
Ryu pulled out his weapons out of thin air and went to apprehend the girl. The girl recognized it as well, and she began to panic. Just then, a bunch of people jumped to her defense.
First were three kids. Two girls and one boy. Arslan the Werelion boy, Vera the Silver Werewolf girl, and lastly was Latifa the Foxkin girl, and she was also Ryu's adopted little sister.
Arslan: Waaaaaaaaah! Onii-san, wait!
Vera: She's not a suspiciou— Okay, she's pretty suspicious, but she's our guest!
Latifa: Onii-chan, please forgive her. I'll apologize too! I'm sorry she's so annoying.
Hoshi: I'm innocent, My King! It's all that noisy lady's fault!
A/N: I changed her name to Hoshi. Since in the Light Novel, her name happens to be Sora.
Children crawled out of various hiding places within the dining room. The last that had appeared was a a girl of asian appearance with the physique of a ten years old child. She has blue hair that goes down to her neck, golden eyes, and pure white skin. The reason Ryu had been able to handle Miledi so calmly was because he'd spotted the people peeking out of their hiding places when she had opened the door again.
Miledi: H-Hearing them insult me so nonchalantly kind of hurts...
Miledi muttered and sunk to the floor. Ryu sighed and turned to an older people who had just walked into the dining room. First was Sara, the Silver Werewolf Girl, next was Orphia the beautiful high-elf girl, and the last of the three was Alma the Elder Dwarve girl.
Sara, Orphia, Alma: Ahahaha...
The three girl just laugh awkwardly. Ryu sigh and he slowly looked back at the last person whom is the oldest. She has very long light-green hair, teal eyes, and wears a dress decorated with flowers.
Ryu: I can't believe even you were in on this, Dryas... You of all people. You as well, Hoshi.
Hoshi: I'm so sorry My King! I will accept any kind of punishment you deemed worthy!
Dryas: I'm sorry. But Miledi-san seemed so excited about playing this prank. And I've never seen you surprised by anything, so I thought it'd be fun.
Ryu: Fun, huh...? Well, it wasn't very fun for me. I was really worried about you guys. Some loyalty you guys have.
Ryu sighed again. Dryas, a high level mid class spirit specialized in earth spirit arts, smiled at him. Once everyone had settled down, Ryu sat down with the everyone for dinner. The girl, who'd said her name was Miledi, joined them too. It appeared she'd come here because she had business with Ryu. Ryu had asked her what she came for, but apparently it was a long story, so at Dryas suggestion they'd decided to have dinner first.
The refined way in which she ate suggested that Miledi was of noble upbringing. The two seven-year-old girls who were sitting next to her, Latifa and Vera, began whispering to each other. They both blushed, glanced at Ryu, then squealed at each other. He doubted they were saying anything nice about him. He glared suspiciously at Miledi, but she only smiled at him.
Ryu(mind): God, she's annoying.
Ryu desperately wanted to say that to her face. But he didn't. He didn't want to set a bad example for his cute little sisters. The fact that those two girls were willing to relax around her meant that while she might have been annoying, and perhaps a little touched in the head, she wasn't a bad person. Because of that, Ryu didn't think it would be right to insult her.
Miledi: I see, I see. So Ry-Ry's a kind and reliable big brother.
Latifa: Y-Yep! Onii-chan can do anything! All of the people in the Kingdom all respect him!
Latifa smiled and proudly puffed out her chest. Ryu smiled in return. Miledi grinned. Ryu frowned in return. The girls forgot about their food and began explaining to Miledi just how amazing Ryu was.
Arslan: That's right, Miledi-san. All the toys and stuff in the house were made by Onii-san.
The oldest kid in the three, Arslan, boasted about Ryu's accomplishments. He was the mediator between all of the other kids.
Hoshi: You should be bowing in admiration to our King! He's the symbol to why our country could thrive.
Hoshi's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
Latifa: Onii-chan gave us all something to show that we're family.
Latifa held out the small coin dangling from her neck. The other girls all pulled out their coins as well. They didn't look valuable at all, so no one would even bother stealing them. Still, Miledi didn't make fun of them for treasuring those coins. Sara, Orphia, Alma, and Dryas all smile at the scene where the kids all talking lively with Miledi.
Miledi: Wow, you guys are all really close, huh?
She seemed honestly impressed. The kids all smiled proudly and continued regaling Miledi with tales of Ryu's awesomeness.
Ryu: Come on girls, stop embarrassing me.
Embarrassed, Ryu tried to get them to stop. Before he could, however, Miledi cut in.
Miledi: Tell me more, Onii-chan! I want to hear about how wonderful you are, Onii-chan! I knew I was right to pick you, Onii-chan! Don't you think so too, Onii-chan? Hey, Onii-ch—
Ryu: Call me Onii-chan one more time and I will end you.
Though he was smiling, there was murder in Ryu's eyes. He'd tried to act civil so as to set a good example for his little siblings, but he couldn't take it any longer.
Miledi: Oh my, you've got a surprisingly wild side to you, Ry-Ry...
For some reason, Miledi was blushing.
Ryu: Please stop calling me Ry-Ry. I may not look it, but I'm the King of this Kingdom, you could at least try to act more polite.
He managed to reign in his emotions and sound calm again. He didn't want to act rude in front of his family, after all. Though internally, he still thought.
Ryu(mind): Call me Ry-Ry one more time and I'll strangle you.
Miledi stared at him for a moment before responding.
Miledi: Don't wanna!
She exclaimed, a smile on her face all the while. There was a loud crack as Ryu snapped the fork he was holding. Hoshi and the others turned to look at Ryu's hand. By the time they did, it looked as good as new. He'd repaired it with his Spirit Art. The children tilted their head in confusion. While Dryas just smile in amusement.
Miledi: Wow, that was amazing! I've never seen anything like it!
Ryu had even gone so far as to hide the glow of his mana to repair it in secret, but Miledi just had to go and blow his cover.
Dryas: Oh my, Ryu~ I never seen you so annoyed like this.
Ryu: Please don't follow her example, Dryas.
Dryas: Fu-fu...
Ryu: And you saw that, Miledi?
Miledi: Yes I do~ My special Miledi eyes can see through everything! I know exaaactly what you are capable of~ I can tell just how amazing you are Ry-Ry!
Miledi said smugly. Everyone stared at Miledi in surprise, even Ryu. Her tone was as cheerful as always, but her words had a strange weight to them.
Miledi: This is why I wanted to see Ry-Ry. I've spent so long searching for someone like you.
She turned to face Ryu, her gaze piercing through him. She spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper.
Miledi: I've finally found you.
She closed her eyes and smiled. She looked sincerely happy that she'd been able to meet him. This was a meeting that will start it all.
A/N: Alright. This will be my Arifureta Zero story book. The story that had happened thousands of years ago. A story that before Sora was transported to Tortus. The story when Ryu who was Sora's previous life went on his journey with his fellow Liberators comrades to destroy God. Why the Karasuki Kingdom was at Tortus. Though, this story is not like the others, since I'm not updating this regularly like the other, so please don't ask for an update. They will be updated when I feel like it. And as always, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you for reading.