Okay, so I added the cliffhanger bit to the previous chapter and started this after where I left off. There are quite a few things that will be revealed this chapter to please enjoy.
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[[Kiefer's POV]]
I last remember the splitting headache that ripped my mind into shards. Then darkness followed for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, against my will, my eyes were forced open and a scene of a quarrel greeted me. It felt so real, looking at the twin adults verbally lash at each other, while I stood there in complete silence, not even able to hear the argument. It was as if I had seen this before, and was actually there in the moment, and yet it felt forced and uncomfortable, not being able to do anything except look at the vision granted to me.
I could not choose where to look, where to move, what to feel. Everything I saw was in grayscale, as if I was riding in the backseat of someone else’s eyes staring into an old television. With nothing to do, I surrendered to the visions, letting it take me wherever it wished. After all, I was a dead man. There was no point in struggling against the inevitable, and trying against the impossible.
My host was overcome with a flurry of mixed emotions. A warm caring respect for the twin on the right, and a surging rage and detest for the other on the left. My lip reading skills were virtually non-existent, so I could not figure out what they were saying. It was the same as always, just muffled buzzing in my ears.
My vision then changed to one where I was facing 2 tortoises battling it out while I was scurrying around below their feet. Once again, I was overcome with the feeling of rage and suicidal focus to kill one of the targets. I felt everything my host did, the pain, the sorrow and the anger. The tortoise I was targeting had put up a hexagram shield as he regenerated the leg that I tore off. He looked at me with great sorrow and empathy, while I only felt a piercing urge to tear his throat from his neck.
The visions became fuzzy again, changing to a scene where I was lying face up, slowly sinking down into the water as my target wept over my weak body. I could tell that my host was close to dying, losing all will to live, the rage having dissipated. Then, in a flash, a huge red beam tore through the space where my target’s head used to be. The huge tortoise fell, as the victor of the twins collapsed into the sea, exhausted from the battle. A burning sensation started building up where my heart would have been, as knowledge foreign to me started flooding my host’s brain. I felt its agony, watched its vision as it thrashed about in the sea before finally sinking to the bottom and merging with the sea floor.
The visions went dark, and once again returned to a view of a barren land, devoid of any fauna. There, I felt my host’s rage, targeted at himself and at the detested twin. I saw him create a den out of the earth, manipulating it as if it were his fingers. Then something happened that had never happened before. I heard my host roar out clear again. “I will never be controlled again!” as he slammed the ground in anguish, tears dropping to the dry parched earth. Regret and sorrow filled my heart as it did to my host, the feeling of having lost someone dear.
Then it was back to an eternity of darkness. Everything was quiet and dark, so much so that I was beginning to lose the mind which I did not have. I was merely a consciousness floating in the void. I wondered if I would ever meet the Balancer again, or if I would get a chance to see my foster parents in the netherworld after they die.
A blinding white light filled the black void, as I was once again thrust into yet another vision. This time, my host was soaring through the clouds, looking down at the ocean waves racing past. I watched as my host glided freely in the sky, feeling the euphoria and sense of freedom that my host did. Everything was silent, with the exception of a slight buzzing and muffled hums.
Then, the visions went black, and when my host opened its eyes again, I saw it flying over a large continent. This time, I felt its fear, its panic as it quickly tried to turn around and fly away. The last scene for this vision I saw was the continent rising out of the waters, and 2 red gleaming eyes shining as they stared straight into me. The most striking feature was that everything else was in black and white, except the red eyes, making them stand out even more.
Rage, anger and greed flooded my mind as my host flew without rest towards another destination. I could feel the drastic change in my host where before, it was carefree and aimless, but now, it had purpose, a target. It flew straight and true, its mind being eaten from the inside and filled with increasing amounts of rage, all targeted at a single thought. It was as if its sole purpose now was to eliminate its target.
Finally, I understood what I was watching. It was the memories of Wanda, in the last moments of her life, her insanity and her rage. Overcome by a sudden desire to attack and kill Drigor after visiting the continental creature, she lost her mind and will, throwing her life away as she swooped down from the sky and pulled Drigor out from the earth.
Tornados swirled around her as they crushed and mashed Drigor’s huge body. The memory was now really hazy, with large portions of it missing and skipping ahead in time at random points. The last memory of Wanda showed Drigor taking a bite out of her, as I felt the intense pain in my abdomen as Wanda did. A sense of regret and sorrow overcame me, as I watched Drigor stand over my lifeless body, bloodied by the battle, but with tears rolling down his face. His mouth muttered something incomprehensible, eyes full of sorrow as he swallowed Wanda’s body up in earth and crushed it.
Once again, all alone in the darkness without body or form, my consciousness drifted. It was an eternity, and yet I was wide awake, never growing tired no matter how long I waited. I had all the time in the world and I pieced together the memories that were shown to me. Memories of the 2 elder titans that have come to an end.
The twins were obviously Grandu and Gondor. Gondor somehow manipulated Drigor’s mind and will to help in attacking his father. Gondor succeeded in killing Grandu, having been worn out from the battle failed to ascertain Drigor’s death. Drigor survived against luck with the new abilities he gained from Grandu and made his way to the main continent, plotting his revenge. Then, Wanda stumbled upon Gondor a few millennia later while on one of her carefree trips. Gondor had already assumed the identity of Grandu and recovered enough to control Wanda’s mind to tie up the loose ends. Wanda failed to kill Drigor and in the end, died at Drigor’s hands.
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[BOY…]
A familiar voice rang out from the void.
[I hope you will finish what my son had failed.]
Kiefer kept quiet, knowing it’s his fault for not investigating the matter further and causing Drigor’s death.
[I’m sorry I lied to you about why I brought you here.]
The voice continued in a solemn tone.
[I hope you will take good care of my daughter, and finish what my son had failed to do. My dear Isana is now all alone in this world, please do not leave her side. Protect her for me, like you have done so far.]
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
The voice paused once again, waiting for Kiefer to acknowledge.
[You need to wake up now boy. My daughter worries. You do not have much time left. The destruction of Aioa is imminent. You need to grow strong enough to protect this world. Develop it so it can protect itself. Go now, return to your body.]
With that last instruction, Kiefer’s consciousness took form and came as an immense blast into his mind. His eyes still closed, refusing to open at his will, Kiefer felt his surroundings. He was pleasantly surprised he could feel his feet, wiggle his toes, and yet, he could not feel his arms. He had difficulty breathing, as if his chest was being pressed down by a huge weight. He should have been dead, without his legs, and yet now, Kiefer was perplexed that instead of feet, he could not feel his arms.
Finally able to open his heavy eyelids with some effort, Kiefer stared into the darkness, allowing his eyes to adjust. Completely forgetting to enhance his senses and body, Kiefer absentmindedly tilted his head.
He was in a tent, on a soft bed. To his left was Isana, sleeping while using his arm as a pillow. To his right was an unknown girl around Fiora’s age, using his right arm as a pillow. She had a round face, with feminine features starting to form, reminiscent of a pre-pubescent teen. She had black hair that turned a light sky blue at the tips and scales covering half her face on each side, stating from behind the eyes to the ears. Finally, Kiefer looked down on his chest and saw a familiar dog curled up and snoozing directly on top of him.
His arms were numb from having the blood supply cut off. His lower body seemed to be fully functional as he twisted his ankles side to side under the blanket and wriggled his toes. Kiefer took a deep breath, allowing the chilly air to pierce his lungs. He spied his armour in the corner of the tent and the twin moons high up in the sky through a gap in the tent flaps. Smiling happily, Kiefer rested his head back on the pillow, before frowning at the remembrance of his hasty actions and premature decisions.
He had killed the wrong titan. He should have gone for a diplomatic route first. There were so many ways he could have gone about to discover the truth, with so many opportunities presenting itself, and yet he was blinded by greed for power and thirst for vengeance. As he dreaded the moment he had to reveal the truth to Isana, Grandu’s voice rang out in his head once more.
[Do not blame yourself. I am happy to be with my son and daughter once again after so many millenniums. Trust in Isana that she will understand and forgive. I did not raise my daughter to be so close minded. Once again, please take care of her in my stead.]
Somehow, Kiefer always hated that voice, but now, it felt soothing instead, reminding him of his own foster parents. Looking around once again to observe his new family, Kiefer cleared his throat and tried to raise his arms. It was in the middle of the night but he was sure they would not mind the rude awakening for a reunion.
“Nnnn… Kii?” Sana slurred as she was the first to wake. “Kii!!! You’re awake!!” Sana yelled, pushing Feir off Kiefer’s chest and hugging him, burying him in her bosom.
“You… you’re … *sniff* alright…” Isana started sobbing as she kept hugging him.
“Master?” The girl on Kiefer’s right side asked as she propped herself up with her thin arms.
“Sher?” Kiefer asked as he stared at the girl.
“Nnn.” She nodded, as she began sobbing too, hugging Kiefer’s outstretched arm.
“Master you’re awake!!!” Feir exclaimed excitedly, as he stood up wagging his tail. “Please wait here master! Rashael tasked me to go inform him when you wake.” Feir said as he bolted out the tent.
Kiefer sat up right with both his girls still hugging him tightly. He could finally scrutinise his surroundings properly. The tent was pitched onto soft ground, with the makeshift bed made of layers of thick cloth laid out on the ground. Then, as if he was surfacing from a swimming pool and hanging onto the ledge, Rashael popped up from the ground, crossing his arms and resting them on the ground while the rest of his body was still buried underneath.
“Well you seem just fine don’t you? Even after being eaten in half.” Rashael sneered, looking at the heartwarming scene.
“Just how?” Kiefer started, before being cut off by Rashael.
“How did you survive? Well luckily for you, when Feir, Fiora and I fell from the agony of the skill transfer in the ship, the high elves knew one of the titans had died and rushed out to procure the body in case it was one of us, hoping I would still be able to resurrect the fallen body. There, they found you, or at least half of you, and stabilised your condition with their puny healing magic. I recovered first after 2 days and managed to heal you back to full health, literally.” Rashael explained.
Kiefer just stared at Rashael, then hugged the 2 sobbing titans closer, and muttered one word, “Thanks…”
Rashael then left the family alone while Feir kept vigilant watch outside the tent in the cold winter night. Kiefer fell back to sleep soon after the girls stopped crying. In the morning, Kiefer found out he had passed out for 10 days and after a quick breakfast session with everyone, he discovered that Drigor’s powers had been divided equally since a non-titan had slain him. Unfortunately, Kiefer had not obtained any of Drigor’s skills.
Sher gained the ability to transform into a humanoid form. Rashael could move underground freely. Fiora inherited Drigor’s enormouse size, her phoenix form now at least over 10 times what it used to be. Her humanoid form had also grown and matured into that of a woman in her early 20s, but still with the mind of a child. She now looked tom boyish, emanating a cool playboy-ish feeling as she constantly hit on the blushing elven ladies.
Isana inherited Drigor’s spike barrage skill and also his regenerative powers, able to replace any injury as long as there is water in the vicinity. Feir could now conjure up countless stone duplicates of himself, and when mixed with his images, became a terrifying skill. Luna on the other hand gained the ability to sense any presence on the ground within a 10km radius and cast her spells directly to the target she could sense.
And so, the battle with Drigor was over and the party made preparations to return to Mutatis. Kiefer made one last trip around the province, looking at the battlefield. What was once a flat barren land was now a range of mountains and valleys, made from Drigor’s enormous body that crumbled and fell as he died. The entire landscape had changed within the course of one night. Kiefer had only 2 things left to do before he returned to his home – check on Nicole Varradon and her family, and inform Feni of the conclusion of the battle.
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There ya go, the last chapter of this arc. I will upload the epilogue tomorrow and then the prologue of the third arc will be on Sunday. Chapter 1 of arc 3 will be either on Sunday or Monday depending on my work schedule so please look forward to it.