Third Person POV
"Alright, everybody settled down now?" The Librarian asked, and everybody murmured their answers, which were all yes.
"Perfect! Well, an outer god requested that I show one other teaser, seeing how it would make it more interesting. This scene is from Grey's perspective, so feast your eyes upon this!" The Librarian said, and he disappeared as the screen light up with color.
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I was nauseous and weak, and I couldn't breathe.
"—ey! Grey, what is it! What's wrong?" Caera's eyes were wide, her voice full of panic.
I fell to my knees and the relic slipped from my hand, bouncing off the white-tiled floor.
'Where the hell have you been?' Regis sounded uncharacteristically worried, and I realized not all of the panic I felt was my own.
I tried to speak, but there was a cold lump in my throat that made me gag.
Elenoir was gone.
#!$&...
I fell forward. My forehead pressed against the cold tile as I hammered a fist into the floor, causing the ground to burst apart with a sharp crack. A deafening scream ripped out of my throat as tears blurred my vision.
Only one asura could have given the command to destroy Elenoir. Lord Indrath must have realized the pact of non-intervention had failed and feared the Alacryan's expansion throughout the forest, and so he sent Agrona a message in the only language either of them understood.
My jaw clenched as I ground my teeth.
Clan Vritra or Clan Indrath...it didn't matter, these asuras were all the same. They didn't care for the peace and well-being of the lessers. If anything, they were even more violent and greedy, willing to kill indiscriminately to get what they wanted.
No, maybe not all of them.
The memory of #%$&@ in her last moments, dying alone to protect her daughter, surfaced in my mind.
I thought of the white ######, dying alone to protect her daughter. She had understood better than anyone what Indrath and Agrona really were.
Was that why she had entrusted her daughter to me? So ##### could be raised outside of Epheotus, away from her own people and their inherent cruelty?
My hand slid over the rune on my forearm where my bond was in her egg-bound form. Even after all #####'s sacrifices, it still came to this.
And not just for my bond, but my father, @%#€, #####, and so many others.
The cold, shallow voice of my former self rang in my mind, reminding me that it was because of them that I had become so weak, so emotional.
"Having people to protect only serves to hinder you from making the optimal and most rational decisions," Lady Vera had repeatedly stated. It was why I had walked out on everyone I cared about as Grey.
I shook my head. But it was those same people that I cared about in Dicathen that had driven me to make it this far. Rejecting Caera's outstretched hand, I pushed myself up to my feet.
I wasn't going to let them down. This was only the beginning of my journey now. With aether, I could rewrite reality itself, it was only a matter of learning how.
Then these gods would see what I was really capable of.
(If you couldn't tell already, I'll be using symbols to blur out words that would reveal too much and spoil stuff to the characters. Sometimes it'll be #### or other symbols, whatever i feel like i guess.)
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Mordain gained a look of disgust on his face as the video finished, remembering what Kezess did and how horrible it all was.
Virion stood from his seat suddenly, his aura leaking out of him as his body trembled with rage. "Elenoir got destroyed?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"Yes, Kezess Indrath ordered the destruction of Elenoir to send a message." The Librarian confirmed, feeling bad for the old elf. Virion didn't deserve any of this.
"I see..." He mumbled, and sat back down.
Kezess Indrath spoke up, "This 'Grey' can manipulate Aether? Why is it I have not heard of this yet?" He asked the Asura around him.
"He even plans our downfall, didn't you hear his last sentence? Yet he still roams the continents, alive."
Of course Kezess would want to be alerted if somebody could manipulate Aether, especially if they weren't a dragon. He wanted to gain the knowledge of it and use it to better himself while keeping the image of a benevolent leader. He also wanted to get rid of the threat as soon as possible.
"Calm yourself, stupid dragon. Grey couldn't manipulate aether until recently, and you will be reacting to that after this one. The outer gods will get impatient if you keep acting like a little bitch." The Librarian insulted him, trying to get a move on.
Caera could only marvel at the new knowledge she gained from this. She had been trying to figure out more about Grey, and now she had a chance to do so.
Regis spoke in Grey's mind. 'Look, princess! It's me! Don't I just look so majestic?'
'Sure, Regis, you do.' Grey could only accept whatever Regis was spouting in hopes of him shutting up.
"Are we all just going to ignore the beeping noises when Grey thought about stuff? What's that about, Librarian?" Agrona's eyes narrowed on The Librarian, wondering why he and everybody else got denied information. He was a scientist, he wanted to experiment on Grey and use him against the Asuras, now more than ever. He was always seeking knowledge.
"Because that would be considered spoilers to the people of Dicathen and others who also don't know the truth. If you haven't noticed, the Dicathians aren't from your timeline exactly."
Agrona stayed silent, finding this somewhat amusing.
"Now, lets get into the actual reactions, shall we? If you have something to say, say it and the video will pause for you to speak. This is a reactions story, after all. This one is in Arthur's point of view."
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The voice had failed to warn me that I was going to be doing a vertical fall.
'I guess that was why she mentioned using mana to me' was the thought that ran through my head as I descended, screaming at the top of my four-year-old lungs.
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"When was this?" Lady Myre was the one who asked this.
"I think it was when Arthur fell off the cliff when we were headed to Xyrus, right?" Reynolds asked, it being confirmed when The Librarian nodded his head. "Yup."
"He fell off a cliff?" Caera asked in disbelief. She knew he was a lance and extremely powerful during the war, but falling off a cliff at four years old? Unheard of.
"Yes, we were under attack from bandits. And weren't you the girl with Grey in the teaser? Caera, right?" Alice answered this time, now inspecting Caera.
"Yes, I was with Grey in the relictombs."
"Okay, enough chatter!" The Librarian said, and silence ensued as the video played.
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Rubbing my butt, groaning, I slowly supported myself up.
"We finally meet child."
I felt the blood drain from my face as my mouth gape open and eyes bulge. Feeling lightheaded as my legs failed to support me, I crumbled back onto my aching butt, staring at the one who's been helping me this whole time.
"W-What are you?" I managed to stammer out .
Despite having lived ### #####, what my eyes saw, my brain refused to believe. A monster, for a lack of a better word, which easily towered over ten meters high, was seated cross-legged, on a crudely carved throne of jagged stone with an arm lazily supporting its head. With petrifying red eyes that gazed down at me, while menacing, carried an oddly tranquil quality. Two massive horns protruded out the of sides of its head, arched down and around it's skull, curving up to a point near the front, reminding me of something almost akin to a crown. It had a mouth with two fangs peeking out of its lips and while its body was adorned in a sleek black armor that had neither decorations nor embellishments, it still glowed with the quality of a priceless treasure.
Reiterating the fact that I was once a ####, still, this being that stood before me now made me embarrassed of even having the nerve to call myself one. No, the one sitting on that giant throne was a being that would make even the most unfaithful heretics bow down in submission.
Yet here it was, in all of its glory... with its head resting on its arm, while its other hand nonchalantly scratched its nose.
What I had failed to notice until now, though, because of the dim lighting in the cave and its body being completely black, was that this being had a gaping hole in the side of it's chest, blood continuously oozing out.
"We finally meet," it repeated with a lazy half smile that revealed a row of pointed teeth.
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"That's definitely not a mana beast..." Helen, the leader of the Twin Horns, said.
"Yeah, no kidding! It's scary as fuck!" Adam yelled.
"I wonder if I could fight that creature..." Chul mumbled.
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I tried getting up, but failed halfway and end up back on my butt, my face still slack from the shock of what my eyes were seeing .
"Bugs will fly into your mouth if you keep it open that wide."
Great. At least it has a sense of humor.
"As for what I am, I won't say anything more than what you can see from looking," the horned humanoid monster said with its eyes seeming to gaze straight through me.
"..."
"It is going to take to a while for me to open a dimensional rift that will transport you to your house, so until then, just be patient and wait here. There are special roots that grow here. You will be able to live off those until I finish," it sighed.
That's right. That's what I was here to do. I managed to regain a bit of my composure and I stood up, walking a little closer to the being.
Giving a courteous bow, I replied, "Thank you for everything you've done for me and what you will do . If there is any way I can repay you, I will do for you whatever is in my power."
"Such good manners for a child. Do not worry; I am expecting neither a favor nor your gratitude. I am simply doing this for my own amusement. Come! Sit here closer to me and keep me company. I haven't talked to anyone in a while," the being laughed, patting an area of its throne for me to sit on.
I climbed up the platform rather awkwardly, forgetting to use mana to just jump up, and I propped myself on the throne next to the being.
"Uhh... excuse me for being rude, but you don't exactly look like a lady. How should I exactly address you as?" I said, making eye contact with the being.
"You're right. I don't exactly look like a lady, now do I? I wonder why I said that. My name is Sylvia," she replied, letting out a soft chuckle.
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"Lady Sylvia?!" Windsom couldn't help but scream out in shock.
Lady Myre's eyes widened and Kezess Indrath's eye twitched for a second before returning to his usual aloof expression.
"She's injured. Is this what happened after she snuck into the attack? And then she ended up giving her beast will to this boy, and Sylvie too..." Lady Myre trailed off, her voice only growing more worried as she spoke.
"I do not know the exact details, but it appears she died and this was part of her last moments." Kezess said simply, as if it wasn't his daughter's life he was talking about.
"How sad..." Myre said, and then stayed silent, allowing the video to continue.
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This giant demon lord-like monster looked like anything but a Sylvia to me, but I chose to keep that to myself. "Elder Sylvia, do you mind if I ask a few questions?"
"Go ahead young one, although I may not be able to answer everything."
I immediately rattled off all of the questions that had been on my mind ever since waking up and after meeting Sylvia. "Where is this place? Why were you here all alone? Where did you come from? Why do you have that huge wound? ...Why did you save me?"
She patiently waited for me to finish before replying.
"You must have had a lot on your mind. The first question is easy to answer. This place is a narrow zone that is between the Beast Glades and the Forest of Elshire. No one knows of this place because I've been warding off anyone who came close, although the cases are rare in the first place. You, young child, are the first to enter into this domain," she easily explained.
"Please call me Art! My name is Arthur Leywin but everyone calls me Art! You can too!" I blurted out before shutting my mouth with my hands, confused as to why I was acting like an excited child.
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"Isnt that exactly what he is?" Tessia spoke up.
Reynolds shrugged. "I think it may have something to do with the secret he told me and Alice to make us hate him. And he's always been a strange child." He said, waving it off.
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"Kukuku... Very well child, I will call you Art!" Her red eyes glazed, looking afar while answering my next questions.
"Continuing on to your second question . I am here alone simply because I have no one left to be with. While I do not think telling you everything would be wise, I will tell you that I have many enemies that desperately wish for something that I have; my last battle with my enemies left this wound. As for where I come from... very far away, haha. "
There was a moment of pause before Sylvia continued on, this time her eyes looking straight at me, almost studying me.
"As for why I saved you... even I do not fully know the answer to that question. Perhaps I have been alone for far too long and I simply wished to have someone to talk to. I first noticed you when your party was engaged in battle with the bandits. When you fell off the cliff to save your mother, I felt compelled to save you, thinking it was a waste for such a good child to die. You are very brave. It is rare for even an adult to be able to do that. "
I shook my head. "I was scared too and I didn't have much of an option. I just wanted to save my mother and my baby sibling inside her. " I didn't know if it was from the gentle way she talked or because of how big and powerful she seems but in front of her, I seemed to turn into a child. No, I was a child in front of her.
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"Once again, he acts strange, as if he isn't used to behaving like a normal child." Cynthia goodsky said. At Xyrus Academy, he was always a prodigy. and her bond, the wyvern, even warned her not to make him an enemy. The video only made her more suspicious.
"I agree, it's very strange." Tessia said.
Grey couldn't help but worry for what was to come when his identity is revealed, and also when his reincarnation was shown. 'It'll be fine, Arthur. They'll accept it, and even if they don't, it's gonna be fine.' Regis tried to comfort Grey, but he didn't help much.
'I'm just worried, Regis. But we'll have to wait and see.' He sighed as the thought of everyone knowing flashed through his mind again.
'On a different note, when can I come out and show these people my majestic ass?' 'Shut up, Regis.'
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"I see... Your mother was pregnant. You must miss them dearly. Rest assured, your family and party are safe. As for where they have gone, my sight cannot reach far enough to tell anymore. "
"..."
A wave of relief washed over me as I had to do my utmost to keep tears from falling.
I see, they're safe. This new #### brought about emotions I had thought never experienced in my previous ####.
"Thank God. Th-they're alive...they're okay . . . " I let out sniffle.
A/N: I'm gonna split this chapter into two parts since I think it's getting a bit too long. Might release it tmr or whenever I get to writing it.
On a completely different note, I just realized I've been listening to the same song on repeat for the last hour or so while writing this. Didn't even notice.
Thanks for reading.