Puck sat cross legged on his couch, starring at what could be only described as a chibi version of Dark in his black humanoid form.
Dark was floating inches above Puck's coffee table and was staring blankly at our protagonist, who simply returned the look.
They blinked at each other a few times before Puck finally broke the silence.
"So.... What you're telling me is.... That when we...." He gestured to himself and Dark. "....went to your dimension for that training session, the Gods that control the system took notice and decided to speed up the process of ending the world....is that it?"
Dark let out a small hum in thought at this, doing a rather cute pose as he did so, his hand resting on his chin. "Yeup! That's pretty much the gist of it!"
Puck let out a small annoyed sigh at this confirmation, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he mumbled under his breath to himself, "Why can't I ever just have a normal day....." Before speaking up to address Dark. "So....what? They're going to destroy the world because of us? Or is this a plan that's been in motion for a while?" He asked, crossing his arms and leaning back into his couch.
The Dark chibi had the nerve to look sheepish at this, rubbing the back of his head with a hand while letting out a small distorted chuckle. "Yeah.... That's actually my b.... You see, these aren't your native Gods at play here.... In fact, your actual God's been dead for a while, which is part of the reason why we were so surprised to find that you guys haven't killed each other yet. It's also the reason why it was so easy for these guys to play with your lives for amusement." Dark explained, causing Puck to freeze up in shock.
Though nothing could've prepared him for what Dark was about to say next....
"Actually, it's kinda funny.... This isn't the first time this has happened.... The only difference is, these foreign Gods, upon seeing such a ripe and prosperous world for the taking, fought to see who could claim dominion over such a large sum of souls. Gods gain power from the souls and prayers of their followers after all." The chibi continued to explain to the still shellshocked Puck.
"W-Wait.... You can't be serious.... Then all these years....?!"
"Yeup! Youve guys have been praying to a dead god. Which doesn't mean much, since a divine beings body and consciousness can't fade, even if their body does. It just means that they can't offer power or answer prayers like they used to. That might be why you humans weren't able to use magic till now." He shrugged.
Puck's brain was having a hard time accepting this, I mean who wouldn't....
It's not everyday where you find out that everything you knew was a lie.
In fact, Puck was taking it way better than Dark thought he would.
"T-Then.... What the fuck was the point....? Why were we fighting until now....?" Puck's voice was shaking, his eyes were wide as he stared into his lap to hide the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes.
Dark simply chuckled like he normally did, causing Puck to look up at him in shock.
"What? I don't see the big deal, it's not like this changes anything. Actually, I'd be pissed if I were you. These assholes came in and disrespected the God that created you. Sure they seem like the Gods from your world's mythologies, but the truth is that they're just a lazy bums that steal the divity from abandoned planets like yours. They would never bother to bear the weight of creating life themselves." He explained in an almost comforting way, giving Puck a friendly eye smile.
Puck could help the small smile that slowly found its way into his face.
He sniffed and wiped his eyes, the smile turning into a wide grin. "Ya know.... You're terrible at comforting people.... But none of that doesn't explain why you're here. I mean you're an old God, aren't you? What does that even mean by the way?"
Dark's eyes a bit of light to them at this point as he cast his gaze towards the ground.
He let out a hollow chuckle, free of his usual crazed tone. "It....doesn't mean anything honestly.... Unlike those bastards that abandoned their planets after exploiting them for all they could.... My planet.... Died."
Puck looked taken aback by this, his eyes widening in both surprise and shock.
"I-I'm sorry.... I didn't mean to.... How did it happen?" He asked in a soft and apologetic tone.
Dark waved him off, a wide red grin splitting his face. "Eh, don't worry about it! It had a good run! It died by natural means! You see, a god can only be born on a planet with life. Each galaxy has, at most, a handful of these types of planets. An old God usually appears after the life of their planet has run its course, I, however, was born on an already doomed planet.... Not that I cared, for my conscience had existed for much longer than my actual body. Which is what makes us old Gods "Old". We predate our bodies and even the universe itself. That's why those unruly brats named us so. You could also call us the true Gods of the universe the ones that set everything in motion.... Titans if you will, though that's not very accurate either." He explained with a yawn, not really taking much interest in the topic.
This made Puck look at Dark in a new light, not knowing whether to think that he was crazy, or just a bit misunderstood.
Though Dark didn't really seem to care all that much, the topic was just starting to get a bit boring, hell, he started to make himself fall asleep.
"FUCK! That's all besides the point! Let's get back on topic! These guys invented the system as a way to provide power to those of their choosing! By defeating dungeons the awakened would get a score based on their abilities and how they contributed! Thus, gaining even more power from the system in return! Those with lower ranks are just those that the Gods found uninteresting.... Now, this is where I come in!" This exclaimed with a wide crazed grin, causing Puck to completely erase the thought that Dark was anything but insane. "I couldn't let those bastards have all the fun! So I decided to pick someone and plant my "seed" inside their mind! Giving that being a completely random class and abilities! Along with a system of my own making! Though I didn't think that bastard system would gain a mind of it's own...." He started mumbling something to himself at this point, but Puck was too busy trying to come to terms with what Dark was saying.
By the time Puck finally realized what it all meant, his brain had nearly caused his body to go into cardiac arrest from the shock. "N-No.... God.... Please no...."
"Your God's dead, I'm the closest thing you'll get, kid!" Dark exclaimed as he hoped to his feet, walking on the air and approaching Puck's stiff form before roughly grabbing his face.
"Y-You're...." Puck barely managed to stammer out as he stared into those ominous red orbs of Dark's.
"That's right.... Though you've proven way more entertaining than I previously thought, I think I made the right choice in choosing my one and only apostle~! Though that may be the exact reason why those kids are throwing a hissy fit right now, since their game is ruined." Dark said with a slight purr to his tone as Puck's vision fades to black.
His brain had shut down in order to save itself from the truth....
Dark was the one sole reason why he had awakened.
________________________________
3 Hours Later - Seoul South Korea: Outside Awakeners Branch~
"Isn't this a bit cliche?"
"Oh shut it! You wanted answers, didn't you?! Well this is where we'll find 'em!"
"Well can't you just...?"
"I said shut it! Someone's coming!"
Puck's mouth snapped shut as he stood up to greet the approaching person.
It was a beautiful looking woman in a secretary uniform, complete with white skirt, glasses, and a black formal looking button up shirt. Her black hair was tied up in a bun with a single strand hanging into her face that was white in color. She had beautiful dark blue eyes and was also wearing dark purple lipstick to compliment her delicate features. Black pantyhose and black high heeled shoes completed her look.
~System~
The title, "Otherworldly", has automatically been activated.
All unknown languages will now be translated to the designated language: English.
~System~
"Hello, my name's Daejiui Ttal, but you can call me Dae. You must be Mr. Gier." She greeted politely, extending her hand in greeting.
Puck gave her a nervous smile, it's not that he was nervous about talking to a beauty since he's done so to many beautiful women in the past with no problem, it's just that....
"Yeah, that's this brat's name! Look, can we hurry this up? I'm bored!" A black western dragon spoke up from the front of Puck's shirt as it pokes it's head out.
....Dark had decided to unexpectedly tag along with.
________________________
Flashback - 2 Hours Prior
Puck couldn't help but tapped his foot anxiously as he sat on an airplane heading towards Seoul Korea.
Why was he flying in an airplane when he could just fly himself?
Well the answer to that was easy....
CRUNCH!
Puck turned to the seat beside him where a gorgeous ebony dragon sat, crunching away at a bag of peanuts that it had Puck order.
"You know.... I don't see why it's such a big deal, the people of this planet sure are paranoid!" The dragon exclaimed in an all too familiar voice, it's crimson eyes inspecting the empty seats of the plane.
"Well can you blame them?! It's not everyday a fucking dragon decides to get on a airplane! No wonder why the Awakener's Bureau decided to reserve the entire thing for our trip! Why are we even going to Seoul anyway! You know I didn't even have a passport before this?! I've never even been out of my state, not to mention my country!" He snapped angrily, only to gulp as a glare from the dragon was enough to shut him up.
The dragon let out a small amused snort at this. "You're one to talk. Aren't you technically a dragon as well? And we're going here to teach you about the truth of dragons, why else would I be in this form? Learning your heritage is a must if you want to fight against the Gods when Ragnarok comes around!" Dark exclaimed before promptly shoving the entire bag of peanuts into his maw.
Dark took the form of a small western dragon with intricate red tribal markings along his body. His eyes were similar to Puck's in a way, except the exact opposite in color, being a deep crimson with black slitted pupils.
He decided to go for cute and cuddly for his appearance this time instead of one of his more usual nightmarish forms, wish Puck was all too grateful for.
Puck let out a small annoyed sigh, which he seemed to be doing a lot lately. "Yeah, I get that.... What I don't get is why you have to go with me! And why couldn't you just tell me about it at home?!"
The dragon simply gave him a wide toothy grin, showing off his razor sharp teeth. "Cause that wouldn't have been fun! And this is a good experience for you! No child of mine is gonna be a shut in!" He exclaimed like a parent scolding their child. "....Plus I was bored, so I decided to replace that voice in your head with me! You're welcome!"
This caused Puck's eye to twitch violently.
"....."
"Will I die if I crashed this plane?" Puck asked as he got up and started to move to the front of the plane, causing Dark to drop the extra bag of peanuts I'm his claws.
"Huh? What? PUCK! NO!"
____________________
Back To The Present~
Puck let out a loud nervous chuckle as he gladly accepted the woman's hand in a handshake, covering the small dragon's mouth. "H-Hehe.... Y-Yeup! That's me! Don't mind him! He just hatched...."
Despite all of Puck's obvious worries, Dae didn't even flinch at the sight of Dark's small draconic form.
She simply gave the small dragon a thoughtful look as she leaned in close to get a better look.
"Oh? Is that a dragon? That's strange....we've received reports that Mr. Gier was a Gacha user with, what we believed to be, a strange draconic lineage.... We had no idea of the possibility of him being a potential tamer as well.... I'll have to file this report immediately." She said robotically before pulling a table out of her purse that Puck just now noticed.
As she began to swiftly, and quite elegantly, tap away at the screen, she turned and gestured for Puck to follow her as she headed inside the South Korean branch of the Awakener's Bureau Headquarters.
"You requested access to the S Ranked Dungeon known as the "Dragon King's Palace", am I correct?" The woman asked as she lead Puck through the winding corridors of the rather grandiose looking building.
Puck was busy inspecting the differences of the agriculture of the building compared to America, while also ignoring the strange looks and whispers that were coming from the awakened around him, to notice the secretary's question.
Luckily he was quite used to being the odd one out....
It took Dark slapping him in the face with his tail to get him to snap out of it.
"Huh? Oh! Yes, that's correct.... Where are we going by the way?" He asked as politely as possible.
Secretary Dae simply kept walking forward while tapping away at her tablet. "To the head of course, he wanted to ask you a few questions on exchange for allowing you access to the dungeon." She said simply as they neared a pair of wooden doors with golden handles.
___________________________________
5 Grueling Hours Later - Outside the Dungeon~
Puck stared at the calm black rift that made up the entrance to the dungeon, "Dragon King's Palace".
It was one of the oldest dungeons in South Korea, and was left undefeated since it's discovery.
And yet it has yet to actually break for unknown reasons.
It had an imposing atmosphere along with a shocking clear record of 0/135 attempts.
And it didn't help that the dungeon itself was located underneath a creepy old abandoned construction site.
Puck probably would've been intimated by its ominously calm appearance....
If it wasn't for the fact that his eye was twitching in annoyance due to the fact that secretary Dae was standing right beside him, still typing away at her tablet.
She didn't seem nervous or intimidated by the dungeon at all, in fact, she looked even calmer than Puck himself!
"Umm.... I understand that your boss wants to monitor me.... But wouldn't it be safer to send an actual awakened with me? I mean.... This is a S Ranked Dungeon, ya know.... And the ranks of dungeons nowadays seem to be drastically increasing suddenly, so I don't know if I'll have the ability to protec-...." Puck was cut off mid sentence as secretary Dae raised her hand to stop him.
"I realize and appreciate your concern for my well being, Mr. Gier. But I assure you, I can handle myself." She says as her shadow began to move on its own.
Her shadow seemed to wiggle and thrash around as if it were alive for a moment, before it finally began to stretch out to her side as an exact replica of secretary Dae began to rise up out of it.
Puck blinked in surprise at this turn of events. "N-No way.... Is that....?"
"That's right, my skill is called "Shadow Clone" and, although it's my one and only skill that's not really meant for combat, it's still an A-Ranked ability that lets my clone independently from my body and won't be destroyed as long as I supply it mana. I've trained its level to the max, so you won't have to worry about mana consumption either and it also allows me to share all of my senses with my clone.... Is this enough proof for you, Mr. Gier?" She asked as she readjusted her glasses to reflect the light. "I have confidence in my abilities as a B-Ranked awakened." She said calmly as she handed her tablet to her newly created clone before pulling out her phone.
Puck smirked at this, letting out a small chuckle as a wide grin split Dark's maw. "She's got you there, kid. Let her come. It's about time the world knew of your existence anyway. Can't hide what's about to happen." Dark said with excitement clear in his voice.
Our protagonist simply shrugged. "Well it's your funeral I guess, just know that I won't care even if you do ask for help. Cause you might see some shit that not even your clone can handle." He said as a crazed look appeared in his eyes for a moment, causing Dark to give him a proud look.
"They grow up so fast...." Dark mumbled, wiping a tear from his eye as he sniffled.
Before secretary Dae could ask either of them what they meant by that, Puck gently pulled Dark out of his jacket and placed him on the ground beside her before scooping her shadow clone up in a princess carry and jumping through the black, mirror like, portal.
Leaving her and Dark in a awkward silence.
"So.... You're not going with, how come?" She asks as she recomposed herself.
Dark simply scoffed at her question. "That brat's got a lot of shit ahead of him without me adding to it.... Besides! It's not like I can't see what he's doing right now." He said with mocking sneer.
As much as this piqued secretary Dae's interest....
She thought it best to not prod any further and instead change the subject. "S-So.... I don't understand.... Even if he's as overgeared as the rumors say, how can he be so confident in beating this previously thought undefeatable dungeon by himself? Especially as a Gacha user? I don't understand."
Dark suddenly rolled over in a loud boisterous fit of laughter.
The sound itself made secretary Dae wince in pain at the madness laced in his voice alone.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! O-Oh.... H-Hehe.... Mrs. Dar....heh.... you're good! You nearly had me there!" Dark continued to chuckle as he slowly calmed himself down and looked up at the confused secretary with a wide demonic grin. "To hell with being a Gacha user! I wouldn't have created something so....boring! No....when I helped that kid awaken.... I made him something so much more than that! Though I didn't expect him to get this far, nor did I think he'd ever get that guy's bloodline.... I made him to be exactly like ME~!" He exclaimed as secretary Dae took a small frightened step back from the clearly insane dragon.
"W-What.... What the hell are you talking about?.... Just who the hell are you?!" She snapped angrily before tripping over a fallen steel beam and landing on her rear end.
Before she could realize what happened, Dark was inches away from her face, his ever growing crazed grin still on his face as he stared deep into Dar's frightened eyes.
"What I am isn't important.... I believe you asked me a question, no?.... To answer you in terms a human like you can understand.... That boy.... No.... My child.... Doesn't need something as simple as a Gacha system! Why would he need that....when he has an entire army at his finger tips! At his beck and call! Awaiting his command! All he has to do is say the word and they'd be ready to raze the kingdom of heaven to the ground!.... Do you understand now, hun....?" Dark purred sweetly, tilting his head and giving the secretary a tilt of his head. "Not even those fools up in Olympus or those assholes sitting on their asses in the Halls of Valhalla can stop what I've created!...."
There was a long pause as Dark turned to look at the dungeon portal as it began to park and crack like a mirror that was on the brink of shattering.
A large hellish grin, dripping with an ungodly amount of insanity finally appeared on Dark's savage maw.
"....A monster!"
To be continued~
___________________________________________
End Chapter 33~~
Author's Note: I made it a bit longer for you guys since it took so long for me to upload! I hope you enjoyed it~! <3
A like and a follow is always appreciated and I'll always reciprocate it. Love y'all! <3