Kyle fought through the pain as he stood his ground, his magic dissipated around him as the last drop of spirit he himself created from his own anger disappeared. Exhausted, armless and bleeding, he still stood and faced the two Devils of sin a couple dozen meters ahead of him.
Lucifer studied him with a stern expression “What are you?” he asked plainly.
Kyle smirked “I am the Dark hero of frost, Chosen of the God of winter, a Yako of frost and fire. I am…” he briefly chuckled at the thought of what had just happened, the voice that sounded so similar to Ymir’s held a familiarity within “the descendant of Void.”.
His hatred burned up into more anger causing his spirit to rise again, the very thought of the Nogitsune angering him. It didn’t matter to Kyle that this hatred might have saved him today, the creature had tricked him before and had just tried to trick him again.
Kyle took a deep breath and allowed the pain to wash over him (“I won’t be controlled…Not again…”) he thought before collapsing to the ground (“No…If it means…who I really am…I’ll make it my own…”).
Lucifer frowned as he continued to study the collapsed adventurer, he was gathering his thoughts and changing his previous understanding of the situation. The dungeon really was too weak to remove souls from their bodies, not even an undead dungeon could accomplish that before killing their target.
(“A Yako? A spirit fox of negativity with twin elements and chosen by the God of one. A descendant of a Void lord? No…Void, descendant of the Void? The realm? Or am I looking too much into it?”) Lucifer glanced at Asmodeus who’s expression had also turned stern. “Brother, what do you see?” he asked Asmodeus.
The third Devil king’s eyes were warping with black runes that covered the now brightly glowing pink, “Too much.” replied Asmodeus “At the very least, he isn’t a lord of the Void. Then when you add in that he is a spirit fox of negativity…”. Asmodeus looked back at Lucifer “We need him, our lady would have our heads if we didn’t.” he whispered.
“I understand the spirit fox part but…If he isn’t a Void lord then what is he?” Lucifer whispered back a question.
Asmodeus looked back at Kyle taking heavy breaths as he lay on the ground, two of his comrades had stepped forward to heal his wounds. “Descendant of Void, Lucy he is a ‘Puer autem vacui’, a child of void.” he stated while the black runes flowed to the side of his eyes and out of sight.
Lucifer held his face with his left hand, an amused grin hidden behind it “As expected of that realm…The God’s dumpster surely has some incredible creatures, if only we had found out before…” his hand clenched into a fist “Abaddon would have lived, she wouldn’t have had to go to…”
Asmodeus made a gesture across his lips “Hel will show her the way.”
“So I hope brother.” said Lucifer as he stepped towards the adventurers “Descendant of wrath, speak your name.”
Cherry glanced at Sly “What is your real name actually? Don’t remember.” he whispered.
“He doesn’t mean that, he means my Devilling name.” Sly answered back with a whisper. He then met Lucifer’s gaze and answered “Zeokul Ares Hellsong.” The exact name Kali had given him before.
Lucifer smirked “Ares? An old name, your family spans back many hundred generations. Your third name though…Hellsong? Truly you’ve been cut off from the family tree for a long time. At least that tells me your standing in his tree.” He sighed in exasperation at the thought of that individual.
He then refocused his gaze on Sly “Come forward.”
Sly warily walked towards the Devil king, passing by both the unconscious Belial and now sitting Kyle as Seren and Woody healed his wounds. As he approached an aura suddenly began to weigh him down, a searing and focused heat like little heated needles continuously piercing through his every being. He stopped a couple feet away from Lucifer, the sheer feeling of his passive aura keeping Sly frozen in place as sweat trickled down his paled expression.
Yet Sly still held his gaze, wide eyes from the pain and fear but still holding.
Lucifer nodded and stepped forward while keeping his aura active, not focused on Sly as that would be too much for the adventurer to withstand. He raised his right hand to Sly’s forehead as he watched the adventurer tremble and grind his teeth, his true nature beginning to come forth from continuous exposure to a sin’s aura.
The moment his palm touched Sly’s forehead Lucifer released his aura “Well done, the body you currently inhabit aside, your fortitude is commendable. Now I ask you, banished one. Do you wish to join the Dezol? If you acknowledge this, you will go with Asmodeus to Ruk where you will meet with your blood line. I warn you that the lodestones, the respawn points do not take effect there.” He asked while lowering his hand.
Sly opened his mouth to speak but instead glanced back at the others “Can’t I take the others with me?”
“No, I’m afraid that even with our power we can only allow one to accompany us through the veil. Even then it is dangerous, there are creatures within that search to destroy us and our kin. Your safety is assured but after arrival that will all be for Satan to decide.” Lucifer explained.
“Why does he even have to go?” asked Birse with a frown ("Atleast he isn't blaming us for all the shit but this is...").
Lucifer looked at Birse and studied him, known to him as the leader of this group he figured the decision would ultimately fall to him “Because unlike Dagon who obviously still holds a grudge against this one, for robbing him and his descendant of their body. I hold the safety of my kin dear, even if of a different bloodline.
With how he is now, his body will reject him in a couple decades or more because it’s of a different bloodline. He requires a body of the same bloodline soon, before both of them are bound making it irreversible.”
“How-will you do that…without someone…to sever his soul…f-from the body?” asked Kyle, the pain keeping him from passing out.
“Soul transfer can be done in different ways, your brute force skill is incredible and faster than our ways but it isn’t alone and I doubt it’s as easy as it first looks.” Lucifer replied as he glanced at Kyle “Or safe.”
“Your call Sly.” said Birse as he glanced at the rest of the guild.
Which surprised Lucifer as he looked back at Sly (“His call? So their leadership isn’t a dictatorship as we previously thought…Not only does this give them the ability to gather more information on us but to get closer to us, yet he leaves the decision to his lower ranking member?”) as he considered the guild’s hierarchy Sly considered his choices.
The fact that the lodestones- as Lucifer had called them- had a limit to their range did worry him. His rash behaviour was an outcome of his fear of death being taken out by that system, it didn’t matter to him what kind of pain or injury he’d take if revival was what came next.
Sly thought it thoroughly through. This wasn’t an easy choice to make, he did care about meeting his bloodline but cared more about his guild and his own life. Would he trust Lucifer to gain a few more decades of life and meet the rest of his family? Or stay with his guild and confirm their safety?
It was not an easy choice to make but the outcome if he succeeded was too much for him to deny. Sly glanced back at the others, one by one he studied their expressions of worry and anxiety but above all fear. His gaze fell on Kyle as he held on to consciousness, his wounds almost fully healed and his arm being restored by Seren.
Sly remembered the anger he felt emanating from Kyle through his aura, he didn’t understand most of it but some he did. (“This world is what most of us have been wanting…am I really going to pussy out now because I might endanger myself?”) He steeled himself and made his decision (“No, I’ll pull my own damn weight.”)
Sly met Lucifer’s scrutinising gaze “Yes, I will do whatever needs to be done.”
Lucifer nodded and grabbed Sly’s shoulders “To continue our legacy, as a founding mortal sin I demolish your banishment. What is to truly come is not for me to decide but I can at the very least assure your survival, be it what Satan had banished your line for, not a hand is to be raised on you.” he glanced back at Asmodeus “Is that understood?”
Asmodeus gave a dramatic bow “As the fourth mortal sin, below the three founders. Before pride I assure you of what has been spoken.”
“Then let us speak of our arrangement.” said Lucifer with a grin as he lead Sly with an arm around him towards the next gate, smaller than the first and fully open. Sly glanced back at the others with a pale expression, as if he was begging for help.
Dagon couldn’t help but chuckle “He looks like he’s walking with death, well not that I can’t understand the feeling.”
Birse glanced at the Devil “You know, I think he completely forgot about you.”
Dagon’s smirk turned into a weak smile “No…He’s just punishing me…He’ll…remember at some point…”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Birse shrugged “Death with me, Kyll can you stand?”
Kyle’s body was mostly restored except for some scars left behind by the healing, healing magic sped up the healing process leaving the natural outcome. His arm though looked as if brand new, a different kind of healing magic called restoration which took a lot more mana to use.
He went to stand “Yeah I thin-” but instead fell forwards and passed out.
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Kyle opened his eyes to find himself standing, this time he quickly recuperated from the confusion and nausea that followed. He didn’t like the idea of that, getting used to dealing with this.
He looked around and found himself standing inside Ymir’s throne room, the spirit realm. (“Or is it an illustration of this place in my mind?”) he asked himself.
“The latter.” Stated Ymir as he stood to the left of his throne, gazing into the large cage next to it.
Kyle approached him “What’s going on? I thought the fucking thing was sealed?” he asked in a demanding tone.
Ymir turned to glare at him, an expression that made Kyle rethink his tone “The creature is sealed yes but…well the cage you see here is not what is actually keeping it locked. This is nothing more than an expression of what truly seals it from your mind. Being a Nogitsune, a Yako at that. It is a born trickster and has been…figuring it’s way through.”
Ymir sighed in exasperation as he turned his gaze back at the cage full of flowing black smoke “I’m afraid it won’t hold it forever and not for long either, it will break out and there is little I can do about it then.”
Kyle walked up the three steps and stopped a foot short of the cage, he gazed into it. Hatred, anger and frustration welled up inside him as he stared at the black smoky substance inside, murder was the last of his thoughts. “You…you still keep trying…your damn best at ruining my life…” he grabbed hold of the bars with both hands, the metal creaked as he clenched them.
A warped chuckle emanated from the smoke “You are my creation, my blood, my tool to use. This pitiful” the word the creature spoke was unrecognisable to Kyle, a collection of screeches and grunts “may have locked you away but that shall not suffice to hide you. Remember little Void, you are mine. You will become my curtain call, you are what shall release me back into the realms!”
“Silence vile bastard!” Ymir roared out in annoyance as he struck the cage with a kick, a wave of cold was blasted inside sending the smoke into a frenzy. “I am sorry little fox, I will do my best at holding it back but there is a limit to how much I can do even if I want to.” Ymir apologised as he looked down at Kyle.
Kyle was trembling as he clenched the metal, frostfire had engulfed his entire body as his true form took over. He briefly continued to glare into the cage before suddenly letting go, he stepped back with eyes closed and fists clenched. Taking a deep breath he breathed out feeling as if he was being choked, he turned around and gave the being his back “Ymir what does the skill our companionship gave me do? Was it what activated back there?”
Glad to change the subject Ymir nodded “Yes that was [{Cold Soul}]. As lawed by the Avatar I wasn’t allowed to say anything about it unless you asked, which you just did making that law null. The skill, simply put, uses your built up hatred as an aura resource to activate. You will see a new bar below your spirit once you return to consciousness, I call it Chilled Aura.
Aura in general makes use of emotions to power itself similarly to Spirit but unlike Spirit that requires it, Aura is only empowered by emotions and doesn’t entirely need their effect. Chilled Aura is a specific type of Aura, it is a combination of Spirit and Hatred. The bar will start out empty and needs to be built up, once full you can activate your skill.”
Kyle considered his explanation as he put his other thoughts aside “It’s Aura so it obviously fills up through my emotions but since it’s also Spirit does it take hatred from others too?”
“Yes it does and at the same rate as Spirit, you might not have noticed but your own emotions increase your Spirit far more than other’s do. As for what the skill does? Well you’ve seen it for yourself, it freezes reality around you.” Ymir proudly explained.
Kyle glanced up at him “I’m guessing these Heroic skills are created by you Gods?”
Ymir grinned down at him “Indeed they are and I am quite proud of this one. Creating a skill requires it’s basics to be compatible with the user so creating one for you was quite the task. I had to take into account different things, your ancestry, your element and personality along with the right time to bestow the skill upon you. The rest would be left to you to understand and use.”
Kyle sighed “So how long does it exactly last? What are it’s exact effects?”
Ymir chuckled “That is for you to understand and use.”
“Figured as much…” said Kyle with a weak smile, he glanced back at the cage and quickly looked away as he felt anger welling up inside him again. “Can you…give me a few? I’d rather not be feeling like this for the next few hours…”
Ymir crouched down and patted Kyle’s back with his index finger “It is fine young fox, take as much time as you need. Although when Odin detects your consciousness here again, the bastard might have a say in it.”
Kyle glanced around the hall “So you’re actually trapped in here?”
“It is not as bad as it looks, family comes around once or twice a century, son writes once a millennium about his plans being thwarted.” replied Ymir with a chuckle.
“Still though, how true are the stories? Did you really deserve this? I understand that our world needs a reality check but, how different is the truth from what we’ve written down over time?” Kyle asked as he considered being trapped in this one room forever.
Ymir also looked around his throne room “For what I did? This was merciful. Unlike the other Gods who’ve been allowed to roam the realms in mortal shells. I do not miss the power that comes with being a God. It poisons the mind and drives one to do…the unspeakable. I have had much time to think things over little fox, maybe too much but that is no longer for me to decide.”
“Have you thought about it little fox? What your choice may do that realm?” Ymir then asked “True Liliana will bring vast changes to Chaoz once she gets the artefact in her hands but what about those that will suffer from her rule? The Elves are still empowered by their victory of Devi’s grand quest, it will be a bloody battle.”
Kyle gazed up at the giant, at the God “I have yet to meet with her but…from speaking with and being around some of her followers it made me understand some things. The Dezol do not wish the destruction of Chaoz, just seeing the fields of green they grew made me understand that all they want is a land for themselves and safety for their peers.
The Dwarves had taken that from them which brought their fall, the Fae were just in the way. And Barik? Be it strategic or simply a longing for home, I doubt they will inflict the same onto the alliance. They wouldn’t be defending from the Elves if revenge was their only drive, they would have invaded Barik with every single legion and ignored Liliana…which also brings me to the question, what did she do to gain their trust to such a degree?”
Ymir sighed “I do not know, we are blind to her moves. I will commend you for seeing through the lies and deceit then picking a side which above all can be most easily entitled as ‘Evil’. But tell me little fox, are you ready to face the consequences of that choice? To carry the burden of so many lives that cannot be spared?”
“Change requires sacrifice. If nothing is done than the outcome may be much worse, not that the Elves remain in power and continue to rule over the other races but…Tell me God of winter, what would happen if my people figured out how to work the artefact? How to come to Chaoz?” Kyle asked with a weak smile.
Ymir nodded with understanding “Indeed even without magic, your kind has proven much more deadly. I cannot begin to fathom the size of the mountains of corpses that would be left behind in their wake to take over a brand new and healthy world. It seems I wasn’t the only one to have put thought into it all.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t really matter who Scythe is and what he plans to do but he made one mistake for sure, bringing such a thing into our realm…I simply cannot let that stand. If Liliana wishes to destroy Chaoz then I shall deal with her when that problem comes around but…I will never…allow them to come here.” Kyle’s expression was stern as he remembered how life was in the colonies and what he knew about the history of his people.
“Send me back.” He then told Ymir, momentarily after his vision was engulfed by darkness.
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The time passed was short, when Kyle opened his eyes he found Woody and Seren holding him from falling over. He shook his head and blinked the fog away “I’m fine…Ymir wanted a short chat…” he told them as he straightened himself.
“Sure you don’t need a hand walkin? You look like shit even after the healing.” said Woody as he let go of Kyle’s arm.
“You’re heavier than you look so feel free to walk your damn self.” joked Seren as she slapped his shoulder.
“Everything alright adventurers?” asked Lucifer as he glanced back, his arm around Sly who was having his hair scrutinized by Asmodeus. Sly looked terrified as he nodded away at everything the sin of lust said.
“Yes we’re on our way. Kyll, come on then.” replied Birse before taking the lead to following them, Death and Kyle fell behind him.
Birse kept his attention on Reyna who also followed them quietly “Kyll you spent a couple days with that one, what can you tell me?”
Kyle popped his neck and stretched his new arm from the soreness “Quite, shy, keeps to herself most of the time, healer main class and also a hero like me and Sly apparently. Definitely not the type to take the initiative on joining the Dezol, not with the information Zeeke is privy to.”
Birse hummed in thought as he watched who she was following, it was the Devil Lilith “Unless she was approached.”
They followed the Devils through the last gate and into the centre of the fortress, the main building came into clear view. A massive structure of stone rose only a couple meters away from the walls allowing thin roads to run around the building itself between the walls. Bridges ran from the building and the wall several dozen times across them.
Ahead of them lay the entrance to the building, a long open tunnel. As they entered the tunnel Kyle looked up to see balconies set up high in the vast space, another ambush point he guessed. As he looked around more he noticed signs of battle, the walls were damaged with what he guessed to be magic or ranged weapons.
He saw no blood or drying, a sign that the battle had taken part long ago and the small damages were simply not repaired.
Briefly he glanced back at their carriage, Woody, Skill, Seren, Steph, Cherry, Sparta and Ch warily glancing around at the army that stood at attention around them.
(“It’s my part again…”) Kyle thought as he looked ahead, Birse and Death walked right in front of him while further ahead were the Devils, Lilith with Reyna, Lucifer and Asmodues lead Sly at the front while two others were in between them. One he guessed to be Legion who was constantly glaring back at him and the other was Belial.
(“Wait…When did he…”) Kyle glanced behind himself then back at Belial who was also glaring coldly at him. He hadn’t noticed the Devil had gotten up at all, his cold glare though announced his presence very clearly.
Kyle held back a grimace (“Two of them dislike us, one that mildly does was ignore by Lucifer…We can’t be just simple soldiers. I need to set this deal straight before Sly leaves…”) he glanced over at Birse who was scrutinizing the Devils, (“See what he comes up with and I’ll follow the flow…as usual I guess.”) he snorted in amusement at the thought.
“Something wrong fam?” asked Death as he glanced back at him.
“Nah all good. Just freezing over from the attention I’m getting.” Kyle joked pointing out the two Devils glaring back at him.
Death gave a weak chuckle “Let’s not…start anything…”
“I think the one you should be saying that to is currently up ahead getting the royalty treatment.” said Birse with a smirk.
“Don’t think I’ve ever seen him paler.” added Death.
Kyle smirked “You weren’t there when he saw the sea serpents in the bandit’s hide out, a new shade of white.” he briefly quickened his steps and put an arm over each of their shoulders. “What’s your thoughts on him going to Ruk alone?” he whispered to Birse.
Birse shrugged “His choice, it gives us eyes and ears over there but puts him at risk. I won’t force him but I won’t stop him either, us first mission second.”
Kyle let go of them and returned to walking normally “I still don’t like it.”
“There’s nothing to like, we’ll talk after.” said Birse dismissing the conversation.
Kyle nodded (“We may be picking their side, don’t mean we have to trust them.”) he thought while meeting Legion’s glare with a grin.