DODGE THE WHEEL
- Thread starter BrunofanofK
- Start date
- Crossover
The thunder, bringer music videos made me think of a song that could be used for Rher
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JpacJUFyU70
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JpacJUFyU70
Familiar of Zero 6 - Louise & Saito
- Location
- Brazil
Louise and Saito watched what was set to become a grit battle for the survival of Tristain as Reconquista advanced their fleet of floating ships and dragon knights on Louise's homeland with conquering ambitions turn into a grit one sided massacre as Prince Whales returned from the dead with a army of fiends from hell to drag those that betrayed him to the grave in his stead.
"Nurarihyon Hyakki Yagyō – Night Parade of a Hundred Demons." Saito said with a haunted voice as he held Louise's hand tight.
"You know what this is?" Louise asked, glad for a reason to take her eyes off the ensued gratuitous slaughter before her eyes.
"I know of it," Saito clarified, only regarding his master with a side eye while keeping the "battle" in the periphery of his sight yet despite that Louise could not ignore the way his grip on her tightened. "The Long Halloween. I told you, didn't I? That the sorcerers of my country conducted a civil war in my country's capital. This war only lasted one night though, in part because of Geto. Cursed Spirit Manipulation is one of the most notorious and historized cursed techniques, simply due to its special grade potential… the personal manpower to overthrow a country with an army of monsters."
Saito's words evoked in Louise a feeling of suffocating dread, the kind of impending doom that paralyzes all rational thought only leaving room for desolation. It was like she had become an empty vessel easily topped by the smallest breeze. She finally understood how someone as headstrong as Saito could be so easily cowed by the great mages of his country. People were being torn apart by monsters! There was a certain malice in their action that was revolting at a deeply instinctive level. Every bone of Louise told her to run somewhere else, no matter what!
She leaned her second hand on Saito for support, embracing it with her entire body in a scandalizing display no noblewoman would be able to get away with. Her mother certainly would drag her through the coals for this, but the thought echoed insignificant to her mind. Saito was probably the only thing keeping her trembling legs from collapsing at this point.
She never understood Saito's disdain for a noble's valor. Like in Halkeginia, it was the sorcerers that protected plebeians from cursed spirits and curse users. Nobility springs from Courage, a noble who proves his virtue by fighting for god and country. Even Saito can't daresay otherwise when confronted, even if his way about it is strange and convoluted. But the sight before Louise granted her some insight about it.
Louise certainly wouldn't want to live in any country. Something like this can just happen.
Well, at least someone is happy though. Henrietta clung to the resurrected prince Wales like a barnacle as the two of them rode a strange unicorn from Saito's home world called Kirin. Apparently one of Geto's "virtuous spirits". Wales certainly never looked better, back then Louise hadn't realized the tool the losing war had on him but now he looked like something from a picture book. A true scion of Brimir capable of unleashing gales like a walking hurricane. The royal magic the two lovers are using together is ironclad proof of his identity.
"How can he be alive?" Louise asks herself, not quite understanding how things turned this way.
"Nectar," Saito answered without waiting for a beat, as if it was obvious.
At her incredulous look he elaborated. "The Raging Heaven Cult holds the secret to the synthesis of nectar, the sustenance of the gods, from mundane ingredients. Its main ingredient is the philosopher's stone, the magnum opus of alchemy which is capable of turning lead into gold… and bringing the dead back to life."
"I- but… how?" Louise asked, stupefied. She knew Saito's world was more advanced but to hear they had conquered death itself. It is like they were gods!
"Do you remember what I said to you about sorcerers being stronger than philosophers? Well, it is more complicated than that, but I digress. What you have to understand is that in exchange philosophers can refine themselves in a common platform called Reason while sorcerers lose themselves in their Id and ego inflation. Industrial dissemination and refinement of existing knowledge is like a rising tide that lifts all ships as the next generations enjoy the labors of their progenitors."
"Raging Heaven is a platform. It backs all cultivators of virtue scattered across the globe. The Treaty of Olympus Mons guarantees the right of two months leave to its quarters for the sake of 'refinement'. While individual production of nectar is unheard of aside from Zagreus himself, the means to synthesize philosopher stone is a goal that philosophers can accomplish by working together. For those not directly affiliated with Raging Heaven a cup of nectar is the most promising means of advancement… It is said a cup is worth a lifetime of closed doors training. It is also the only coin worth and value when battling with cultivators of the third realm."
Louise looked at Prince Wales once more. Indeed, that was beyond the power of a square mage. He was looking like records of her mother that Louise grew up hearing about. It finally sank in how outmatched the Brimir kingdoms were to Saito's world. Louise knew very well what happened when lesser powers met higher ones. Indeed, she saw it every day. The whole reason commoners served nobles was magic and the might that came with it… If there was one power capable of opposing them it would be Void. It was on her then? Could she oppose something like that?
Her hold in Saito got tighter but she found no answers in it.
"So who would have guessed that shy Tabitha was an undercover princess all along? Damn Kirche, now she gets to be besties with royalty while we are in this mess!" One of the students of Tristain Academy of Magic commented casually about the latest hot topic of the humor mill.
Louise who overheard it in passing made a point to take a U turn immediately as soon as the topic was brought up. While news of regicide from Gallia are less scandalous and more cajoling humorous, King Joseph's last stand against the foreign mage became the stuff of legends. The King of Gallia proved without a shadow of a doubt that he was the strongest mage of his country, even the nickname of "incompetent king" dissolved like morning dew.
Part of Louise wonders if she will end up like that. There is no doubt in her mind why Joseph might have struggled in his youth or how he might have later on stood at the pinnacle of power. He was a void mage. A void mage like her… and power of the void alone hadn't been enough. A part of Louise that privately has been nurtured through a lifetime of failure points out with amusement how the prospect of spending the rest of her life as the Zero doesn't sound so bad as long as it gets to be a long life. She doesn't want to be remembered as a hero for having died young!
Every time her pessimist mindset led her toward the same gloomy thoughts and every time this happened Louise found that her feed dragged her toward the same clearing by the lion fountain where Saito practiced.
"Oh my, isn't that barbarian boy just so ferocious?" Louise heard one of her classmates commenting from the sidewalk, making her trip. Said comment traveled down her stomach like a boiling ball of lead, spreading a furious heat through all her limbs and filling her head with foggy vapor of a caldron. She was about to blow her top off all over, said hussy when she heard her little pack of friends laughing like hyenas, but from her crouched position she spotted Saito.
Ever since the botched Albion invasion Saito has taken things more seriously. Here he was swinging Derflinger with ferocity and precision almost like a dance. Said dance lasted for hours which has led Saito to abandon that baggy shirt altogether during said practices, and… well, Louise had to admit those thirsty bitches had a point. Saito has built a lot of muscle ever since he arrived in the academy… he has gotten taller too… and Louise could swear he gets more handsome every passing day! Something she has quietly fixated over every single morning – just before Saito himself wakes up – since they were sleeping in the same bed!
With all the boys being conscripted to help prince Wales retake Albion, Saito became the only young man in the academy besides Julio Chesaré, the transferred knight from the Holy Empire of Romalia. Now-a-days she can't lose sight of Saito without finding him being hounded by some harpies! Louise never thought the day would come when she would miss Kirche but here she is!
"This isn't a free show for you to salivate over! Shoo, shoo!" Louise finally exploded, glad to lose herself into the numbing throes of fury as she brandished her wand menacingly. Saito wasn't the only one who improved. Her hold to her magic has never been better. With just a little bit of willpower her wand was glowing with an ominous charge. Her notorious short coupled with her high status mean she can get away with more than most and she wasn't shy about leveraging it, as some cheeky girls learned the hard way. The pack of thirsty hyenas in front of her lacked the same courage and ran away crying.
"Louise, is anyone bullying you again?" Saito asked her. Louise internally kicked herself for digging that particular hole for herself. Indeed, she has been subjected to ridicule all her life since her deficiency with magic became a known issue but her pride of the daughter of high nobility forbade her from buckling under it. It was just that when Saito inquired her about these constant fights, she got a bolt of self-consciousness that led her to lie to avoid admitting seeing other girls advancing on him made her mad.
"Y-you are so stubborn. I am fine!... but it is nice you are taking your role as familiar seriously…" Louise stuttered to herself, her voice getting meeker the more she spoke. She tried to regain her composure by looking down but she forgot Saito was shirtless. His old clothes had gotten too tight on him as he put on more muscle and grew so Louise saw to it that he changed to for riding breeches a noble would wear which cling to his body… very flattering. Indeed, Louise zoned out for a moment with the phantom sensation of those toned abs across her fingers that happen from time to time… as they have kept up the charade by sleeping in the same bed for months now.
Louise knew down to her very bones her mother would kill her with her bare hands if she ever caught wind of it. Louise's knees buckled for a moment but she catches herself by desperately looking up. "So! How is Derflinger adapting to his new body? No issues I hope!"
Saito's trail of thought were quickly diverted as he turned his attention toward his "partner", now habiting the vessel of a kopis blade made from a jet black metal alloy from Saito's homeland. "Never been a better little lady! Can't wait to get another lick to that cotton head bastard." The blade said in good humor.
After the fiasco with her ex-fiancé Saito awoke Derflinger and Louise her magic. It had been an empty consolation prize for their failure in Albion. Gojo's reception didn't make it any better. He had asked for a short bolt to "test the power of the void" but as soon as Derflinger proved itself capable of breaching his barrier by piercing his palm Gojo grabbed it and broke Derflinger in two with a single motion.
Saito had been furious at Gojo's trivial apology for intentionally killing his friend. Geto stepped in then to give Saito a giant briefcase with lots of Raging Heaven standard issued equipment for cultivators to fight off curses and defend themselves with. Imagine their surprise then when the ghost of Derflinger immediately possessed the kopis when Saito got a hold on it?
Gojo even stuck right to their faces! He wasn't apologetic at all!
"Please, don't. Saito's body isn't as fungible as yours." Louise asked. Stumbling right back into the worry she so desperately wanted to avoid thinking about. And it showed, because even Saito picked on it.
"Hey, don't make me repeat myself, Louis. I am familiar with Zero! Whatever happens, I will always protect you." Saito said. With Courage.
The same way he did in his first duel all those months back. The same way he did when he confronted Jean-Jacques Wardes at the lowest point of her life. And like every other time Saito did it, Louise could not help but just… look at him. It was like she was a little girl again reading stories about knights saving princesses and sweeping them from under their feet. Louise could just stare at him forever-
"Wow, would you look at that? You two had become rather close since last time I saw you. And I have to say, Darling… you can't walk around like that, it makes any girl act up!" Kirche, the bane of Louise's life, said almost purring as she looked Saito up and down like a piece of meat!
"Zerbst!!!" Louise spelled the name as one does a death curse, her voice all gravel and shards of glass. Even she was surprised with the ferocity of it all, but something deeper took precedence. An ancestral grudge one would say.
"Ha ha ha, oh my! Where did the unflappable Louise go? You are acting like a feral hound defending her meal." She then took another look at Saito with her best lecherous sneer, " Or maybe a bi-
That was as far as she went before a familiar staff hither square in the head. "Bad." Said Tabitha… Queen Charlotte. The regicide queen, back at school like nothing had happened!
"Moue, you never let me have my fun! And things were just starting to get good too!" Kirche bemoaned as she nursed her head.
"When did you two get back?" Saito asked.
"And more importantly, why are you here at all?" Louise inquired.
"… I am surprised you don't know, Darling. The dignitaries from your world will be arriving soon."
It was hard to believe how quickly things went back into a routine. Her days were wasted in pointless amusements and distractions and Louise felt pathetically grateful for it. Every waking second she spent fighting Kirche was a moment of respire from her ever mounting dread. Yet before she realizes Wales won the war, he is going to return to Tristain and bring all of her classmates with him. Everyone knew then that he and Henrietta would be marrying soon on what would probably also be their coronation day.
It was a small comfort to Louise that her colossal fuck up could bring so much happiness to her best friend and league. Founder knows that she needs it. There is no way to beat around the bush, Louise felt personally responsible for… well, everything. There is no way for her to abscond responsibility for the current state of Halkeginia. She was the one that summoned Saito and in doing so, brought her world into collision course with his world. A cynical part of her couldn't help but point out how typical it is, the one time she manages to perform magic she ends up making an even bigger mess of things anyway.
She hates herself. This powerless, mediocre, and defective stupid little girl that has been nothing but a stain to her family's name for the last eighteen years. But worst of all is that, if given a chance to go back, Louise would have done the same anyway. She could not bring herself to regret bringing Saito into her life. In the bad nights when shame, fear, and worry threaten to drown her nightmares, as it has done since she discovered her magic disability, Saito is there to act as a life line. Both pulling her out of her horrible dreams with a concerned expression to comfort her like one sister Cattleya has ever done and a living reminder that no matter what she has been told her entire life, she had power. Saito has been the best thing to ever happen to her. The answer to her desperate prayers.
But what kind of disgraceful little wench betrayed her family, country, and god?! Whatever reason she tries to conjure it is never good enough. The only thing that gave her any value as a magicless noble was her loyalty. Noblesse Oblige – her mother's iron rules. Something this unfilial little bitch was more than happy to discard like trash for any boy that caught her fancy!
Somehow the worst nights are those Saito distracts her by talking about his world. About the towering buildings that skewer the sky shining like gemstones during night time. About wondrous machines capable of making commoners to live as kings. About wonders of music, art, entertainment, and teaching.
In those nights Louise dreamed of walking those streets and witnessing those sights for herself. To her eternal shame Louise wanted to leave it all behind. Whether her reality was to become a dream or nightmare, she was to know it soon.
The curtains of a new age she so unwitty brought about were finally to be drawn as the rippling effect precluded a giant silver gate in the Academy of Magic's yard.
Second Contact was not what she expected. People wearing weird armor Saito called hazmat suits stepped out from the silver ring of light. They had a short greeting with the school staff and then pulled out some giant machines from containers too small to contain them. Those machines immediately caught the attention of professor Colbert as the suited people used strange hand held devices that emitted strange noises to "scam" the surroundings.
After some time they got the all clear and started setting up two stakes of pure marble on each side of the mortal, stabilizing the portal into a gate. Following this they set dozens of slyke and small flying machines Saito identified as "drones" through the air from another box too small to contain them all. Finally, one of the hazmat suited people called Saito came over to be examined inside a white tended one of them carried in their pocket.
Louise asked to follow but was barred. Colbert said this was expected, their visitors want more than anything to prevent diseases from being transmitted from one world to another. Nothing would sour their relationship more than some unwanted pandemic. Even so Louise did not like it one single bit.
Finally, after four agonizing hours, Saito was released. But still there was a whole lot of yapping until the dignitaries finally crossed over.
The first was an unassuming middle-aged man in a strange but obviously expensive suit; she certainly looked the part of a decadent nobleman, balding, fat, and soft in a way her parents never allowed themselves to become. If it wasn't for her etiquette training, she wouldn't even have noticed him next to her companion.
Standing taller than any man, any mortal could ever be. The heroine larger than life walked beside the mediocre man like his handmaiden, in defiance to common sense. Her aristocratic features looked as if carved by a sculptor's loving hand, her exotic amethyst colored eyes blazed like candles, her long hair was an artful mesh of black and wine-dark colors arranged one atop like curtain layers.
Even her suit was more functional, her suit jacket was mounted over her shoulders to conserve mobility, the sleeves of her white shirt were rolled back to her elbows, and the functional combo of skirt, black pantyhose, and knee-high boots had the kind of functionality Louise's own mother would have approved of. Especially with the elegant gloves and belts that serve to carry pouches and baldric for a sword as tall as Louise herself.
Tsumiki, the Hearth Keeper heroine. The Kyrios of the Raging Heaven Cult.
Louise certainly could understand Saito's fascination with her. Her pictures don't do her justice. At all. The lady had an effortless magnetism, as if you had been cast adrift in the blizzard for your whole life and just now you found a refuge. The perfect mix of strength with gentleness that made everyone want to get closer instinctively.
While Gojo's presence brought a feeling of creeping doom and powerlessness and Geto felt like a scorching sun capable of cleaving through the heart then Tsumiki felt like a fortress one could always fall back to even if the world were to end. The nobles present, young and new alike, could not help but be drawn to her. The frowns of disdain and tightly concealed hate at the invaders was lessened to curiosity and reluctant interest; no wonder they wanted the two morons to stay put until she could come along.
Looking at her Louise couldn't help but feel inadequate. Even though she was now a cultivator Louise couldn't imagine herself ever being this… grand. Louise had to hand it to Saito, she stood out more than any royalty or noble she had ever seen. This… scion of Raging Heaven almost single handed revived the concept of nobility, of inherited excellence, in the other world. It was simply so self-evident to the point of being undeniable.
Far sooner than Louise would have liked she found herself in a private room with Lady Tsumiki together with Saito. She especially didn't like how this god happily waged his tail to her!
"Tsumiki-sama, I am sorry I caused all this nuisance to you! I- I also feel sorry I couldn't stop Gojo nor Geto to do as they please. The situation escalated out of hand because of my incompetence." Saito says almost in tears, all but a shameless belly up for her!
"Hah, don't take your life lightly young Saito. It is simply the duty of your seniors to look after their juniors. Considering you suddenly found yourself into this new world your conduct has been exemplary! It makes me feel proud and joy that my example could inspire you." She answers with more grace than Henrietta ever could muster… this woman, isn't she just too perfect?!
"Lady Tsumiki," Saito said, almost in tears. Fanning over her like she was… well, a goddess.
"And you must be Louise," Tsumiki says, turning toward the pinkette with the same warm smile.
Louise found that she couldn't move a muscle and her tongue lost all functionality under the heroine blazing gaze. Louise hated how much she could see her own dear sisters and mother in Tsumiki. An impossible combination of Karin's strength, Éléonore's steadfastness, and Cattleya's kindness… it was so unfair! How can she even compete let alone compare?
"I- that is- Yes! I am Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière… Saito's Master!" Louise boasted before she even knew what she was saying, realizing only too late she might have committed a faux pas due to the ripple effect that her words had in the room. Some looked outright outraged at the idea she could own a person, others looked at her like a foolish child making a fool of herself yet Tsumiki had a more profound and assessing gaze that made Louise feel as if she was under a microscope.
"Well, those two foolish students of my father certainly sold you short." Tsumiki finally said. At her inquiring stare she elaborated. "We had some limited means of communication that unfortunately those two decided to use only after it was too late to stop things from degrading into this mess." Tsumiki complained as she massaged her forehead. "Honestly, my husband Nanami was the only one that was salvageable out of that entire generation. But alas, I regret to inform you that I request a private conversation with you Louise, because I am also the bearer of bad news."
"Bad news? What do you mean?" Louise asked in open panic. She was supposed to set things right!
"Nothing that any of us could ever have predicted, I assure you. In fact, this might have been a stroke of luck to both of our worlds. Your summoning spell as the first documented sample of the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, a natural mystery related to the operation of parallel worlds. We philosophers who swore our lives to the study of the rules of nature managed to use it to create a telescope capable of observing parallel earths… but sometimes ignorance is a blessing of bliss."
Louise could not make head or tail of what she was talking about and a glance at Saito said he was just as clueless. "I guess it would be better if I showed it to you," to drive the point home Tsumiki procured her cellphone and set it at the table and after some commands it projected a hologram video.
What Louise and Saito watched challenged even their suspension of disbelief. A giant metropolis Louise barely identified as Tokyo, Saito's hometown, was being illustrated like a mirage. Just for said mirage to go full surreal, a giant white portal appeared and from it a giant person bigger than any skyscraper and a knight riding a red dragon fell from it. The two… invaders paid little care for the city, locked as they were in a fierce struggle with each other. Eventually the dragon knight emerged victorious just to be summarily put down by modern artillery missiles fired from the American army occupying Japan.
"What am I looking at? Saito never told me about anything like that."
"Because this never happened in our world. What you are seeing are records from the newly dubbed Earth Nier. In 2003 these two "visitors" fell into Shinjuku and make no mistake, this brief encounter you two just watched is the death of Earth Nier. The decomposing body of the giant released a mysterious disease called White Chlorination Syndrome that caused humans, and only humans, to either turn into salt statues or mutate into monsters hunting down their own kind."
The record played forward showing a glorious city falling into ruin until it had to be severed like a gangrenous limb. Shinjuku was cleansed by nuclear fire of a single bomb used to nuke it off the face of the earth. The image gave Louise goosebumps and even her personal escort, a woman called Agnes, a hardened soldier that served her friend Henrietta as personal guard for years, felt physically ill at the gruesome pictures.
"This desperate measure only served to aggravate things beyond a point of no return, as the vectors of said illness proved themselves harder than physically possible, launching the disease across the globe. By 2014 humanity was staring at the barrel of extinction, leading them to launch Project Gestalt to separate human souls from their bodies to wait out the pandemic; those two parts now called shades and replicants. By 2025 old humanity had been replaced by their replicant counterparts, artificial humans created by endlessly replicating the information of shades to replace for lost numbers."
At some point Saito turned the phone upside down to cut off the gruesome slideshow.
"As you can see, our lives are about to get a lot more complicated. This is a new frontier for humanity, a far more accessible habitable world than any we could ever find across the stars right at our doorsteps, coupled with a compelling justification to do it. To speak candidly, whatever predicament we face is Halkeginia is small in the grand scheme of things, but the outcome of our first contact will define diplomacy policies from here on out. The power of the void can open a new horizon for both of our worlds... but said door can easily lead to doom."
"You are not going to punish Gojo and Geto, are you?" Saito all but lamented.
"Censuring them would have been difficult in the first place, but while dealing with something as volatile as the power of the void that is all but confirmed to be a hereditary transmission, all but shoehorned me into solidifying their gains. Both Albion and Gallia will get their own Silver Gate linked to Earth from where an unimaginable amount of wealth and culture will flow like a river in exchange for their magical and mundane resources. But more than that, I am to buy their loyalty for whatever price may be."
"I will be honest with the two of you. Gojo managed to establish communication with the Elders Council that governed the country of Neftes. What the Brimir Nations call holy land. For our society that just recently got reacquainted with the supernatural the power of the void is frightening and Joseph's machinations painted a grim picture. I will be honest here – we are seated in a pile of matches ready to burst in flames. I need the help of the two of you, please, help me protect our worlds together!" Tsumiki begged, the heart flame behind her eyes flared in her passion and just now Louise noticed it had dimmed as the conversation went on.
Louise's head was spinning. Of one thing Louise was sure, her old problems certainly look small now. She sorely missed five minutes ago. It also seems that the unsavory humors of Joseph consorting with elves was true after all. In retrospect they are the last people Louise wanted to be putting ideas on earthlings' heads. Louise was familiar enough with Saito to realize his people's dim view of her society. Louise just saw a world similar to Saito's die off, they are unwilling to take any chances. It was too-
"We will help you!" Saito said boldly as he all but jumped from his chair, dragging Louise up with him through their linking hands. When did they? -
"I don't exactly understand everything that is happening, but basically you need for things to be solved peacefully, right? Considering half of the people of mass destruction are in Halkeginia and the number of interests involved you fear playing the role of a conqueror. We can help you, right Louise?" Saito says, full of confidence. His eyes shining with exuberance like they always do when he is being bold… honestly, that shameless dog!
"How dare you even ask me that? As a patriot of Tristain it is my duty to protect and serve the country and god. Of course, I am going to do my best to prevent either of our worlds from ending up… like that!" Louise shouted with false bravado at the turned over cell phone. Every noble little girl dreamed at least once to be the main character of a fairy tale and with all the madness her life has become, she might as well make her life into one.
A new sort of confidence surge into Louise's heart. It might not be enough to smother her desperation just yet but she is desperate enough for self-validation to see it for the lifeboat that it was. As long as he has her familiar by her side… she will have the courage to see things through.
[AUTHOR'S ROOM]
Sorry, for the delay but I got sick and this chapter was somehow a slug to get through. For those wondering, people from jjk world just took a peek at Nier Automata timeline craziness and suddenly the stakes have been raised. They will be joining the madness of Zagreus style adventures! We have Worm and Solo Leveling ahead to look forward to.
"Nurarihyon Hyakki Yagyō – Night Parade of a Hundred Demons." Saito said with a haunted voice as he held Louise's hand tight.
"You know what this is?" Louise asked, glad for a reason to take her eyes off the ensued gratuitous slaughter before her eyes.
"I know of it," Saito clarified, only regarding his master with a side eye while keeping the "battle" in the periphery of his sight yet despite that Louise could not ignore the way his grip on her tightened. "The Long Halloween. I told you, didn't I? That the sorcerers of my country conducted a civil war in my country's capital. This war only lasted one night though, in part because of Geto. Cursed Spirit Manipulation is one of the most notorious and historized cursed techniques, simply due to its special grade potential… the personal manpower to overthrow a country with an army of monsters."
Saito's words evoked in Louise a feeling of suffocating dread, the kind of impending doom that paralyzes all rational thought only leaving room for desolation. It was like she had become an empty vessel easily topped by the smallest breeze. She finally understood how someone as headstrong as Saito could be so easily cowed by the great mages of his country. People were being torn apart by monsters! There was a certain malice in their action that was revolting at a deeply instinctive level. Every bone of Louise told her to run somewhere else, no matter what!
She leaned her second hand on Saito for support, embracing it with her entire body in a scandalizing display no noblewoman would be able to get away with. Her mother certainly would drag her through the coals for this, but the thought echoed insignificant to her mind. Saito was probably the only thing keeping her trembling legs from collapsing at this point.
She never understood Saito's disdain for a noble's valor. Like in Halkeginia, it was the sorcerers that protected plebeians from cursed spirits and curse users. Nobility springs from Courage, a noble who proves his virtue by fighting for god and country. Even Saito can't daresay otherwise when confronted, even if his way about it is strange and convoluted. But the sight before Louise granted her some insight about it.
Louise certainly wouldn't want to live in any country. Something like this can just happen.
Well, at least someone is happy though. Henrietta clung to the resurrected prince Wales like a barnacle as the two of them rode a strange unicorn from Saito's home world called Kirin. Apparently one of Geto's "virtuous spirits". Wales certainly never looked better, back then Louise hadn't realized the tool the losing war had on him but now he looked like something from a picture book. A true scion of Brimir capable of unleashing gales like a walking hurricane. The royal magic the two lovers are using together is ironclad proof of his identity.
"How can he be alive?" Louise asks herself, not quite understanding how things turned this way.
"Nectar," Saito answered without waiting for a beat, as if it was obvious.
At her incredulous look he elaborated. "The Raging Heaven Cult holds the secret to the synthesis of nectar, the sustenance of the gods, from mundane ingredients. Its main ingredient is the philosopher's stone, the magnum opus of alchemy which is capable of turning lead into gold… and bringing the dead back to life."
"I- but… how?" Louise asked, stupefied. She knew Saito's world was more advanced but to hear they had conquered death itself. It is like they were gods!
"Do you remember what I said to you about sorcerers being stronger than philosophers? Well, it is more complicated than that, but I digress. What you have to understand is that in exchange philosophers can refine themselves in a common platform called Reason while sorcerers lose themselves in their Id and ego inflation. Industrial dissemination and refinement of existing knowledge is like a rising tide that lifts all ships as the next generations enjoy the labors of their progenitors."
"Raging Heaven is a platform. It backs all cultivators of virtue scattered across the globe. The Treaty of Olympus Mons guarantees the right of two months leave to its quarters for the sake of 'refinement'. While individual production of nectar is unheard of aside from Zagreus himself, the means to synthesize philosopher stone is a goal that philosophers can accomplish by working together. For those not directly affiliated with Raging Heaven a cup of nectar is the most promising means of advancement… It is said a cup is worth a lifetime of closed doors training. It is also the only coin worth and value when battling with cultivators of the third realm."
Louise looked at Prince Wales once more. Indeed, that was beyond the power of a square mage. He was looking like records of her mother that Louise grew up hearing about. It finally sank in how outmatched the Brimir kingdoms were to Saito's world. Louise knew very well what happened when lesser powers met higher ones. Indeed, she saw it every day. The whole reason commoners served nobles was magic and the might that came with it… If there was one power capable of opposing them it would be Void. It was on her then? Could she oppose something like that?
Her hold in Saito got tighter but she found no answers in it.
-//-
"So who would have guessed that shy Tabitha was an undercover princess all along? Damn Kirche, now she gets to be besties with royalty while we are in this mess!" One of the students of Tristain Academy of Magic commented casually about the latest hot topic of the humor mill.
Louise who overheard it in passing made a point to take a U turn immediately as soon as the topic was brought up. While news of regicide from Gallia are less scandalous and more cajoling humorous, King Joseph's last stand against the foreign mage became the stuff of legends. The King of Gallia proved without a shadow of a doubt that he was the strongest mage of his country, even the nickname of "incompetent king" dissolved like morning dew.
Part of Louise wonders if she will end up like that. There is no doubt in her mind why Joseph might have struggled in his youth or how he might have later on stood at the pinnacle of power. He was a void mage. A void mage like her… and power of the void alone hadn't been enough. A part of Louise that privately has been nurtured through a lifetime of failure points out with amusement how the prospect of spending the rest of her life as the Zero doesn't sound so bad as long as it gets to be a long life. She doesn't want to be remembered as a hero for having died young!
Every time her pessimist mindset led her toward the same gloomy thoughts and every time this happened Louise found that her feed dragged her toward the same clearing by the lion fountain where Saito practiced.
"Oh my, isn't that barbarian boy just so ferocious?" Louise heard one of her classmates commenting from the sidewalk, making her trip. Said comment traveled down her stomach like a boiling ball of lead, spreading a furious heat through all her limbs and filling her head with foggy vapor of a caldron. She was about to blow her top off all over, said hussy when she heard her little pack of friends laughing like hyenas, but from her crouched position she spotted Saito.
Ever since the botched Albion invasion Saito has taken things more seriously. Here he was swinging Derflinger with ferocity and precision almost like a dance. Said dance lasted for hours which has led Saito to abandon that baggy shirt altogether during said practices, and… well, Louise had to admit those thirsty bitches had a point. Saito has built a lot of muscle ever since he arrived in the academy… he has gotten taller too… and Louise could swear he gets more handsome every passing day! Something she has quietly fixated over every single morning – just before Saito himself wakes up – since they were sleeping in the same bed!
With all the boys being conscripted to help prince Wales retake Albion, Saito became the only young man in the academy besides Julio Chesaré, the transferred knight from the Holy Empire of Romalia. Now-a-days she can't lose sight of Saito without finding him being hounded by some harpies! Louise never thought the day would come when she would miss Kirche but here she is!
"This isn't a free show for you to salivate over! Shoo, shoo!" Louise finally exploded, glad to lose herself into the numbing throes of fury as she brandished her wand menacingly. Saito wasn't the only one who improved. Her hold to her magic has never been better. With just a little bit of willpower her wand was glowing with an ominous charge. Her notorious short coupled with her high status mean she can get away with more than most and she wasn't shy about leveraging it, as some cheeky girls learned the hard way. The pack of thirsty hyenas in front of her lacked the same courage and ran away crying.
"Louise, is anyone bullying you again?" Saito asked her. Louise internally kicked herself for digging that particular hole for herself. Indeed, she has been subjected to ridicule all her life since her deficiency with magic became a known issue but her pride of the daughter of high nobility forbade her from buckling under it. It was just that when Saito inquired her about these constant fights, she got a bolt of self-consciousness that led her to lie to avoid admitting seeing other girls advancing on him made her mad.
"Y-you are so stubborn. I am fine!... but it is nice you are taking your role as familiar seriously…" Louise stuttered to herself, her voice getting meeker the more she spoke. She tried to regain her composure by looking down but she forgot Saito was shirtless. His old clothes had gotten too tight on him as he put on more muscle and grew so Louise saw to it that he changed to for riding breeches a noble would wear which cling to his body… very flattering. Indeed, Louise zoned out for a moment with the phantom sensation of those toned abs across her fingers that happen from time to time… as they have kept up the charade by sleeping in the same bed for months now.
Louise knew down to her very bones her mother would kill her with her bare hands if she ever caught wind of it. Louise's knees buckled for a moment but she catches herself by desperately looking up. "So! How is Derflinger adapting to his new body? No issues I hope!"
Saito's trail of thought were quickly diverted as he turned his attention toward his "partner", now habiting the vessel of a kopis blade made from a jet black metal alloy from Saito's homeland. "Never been a better little lady! Can't wait to get another lick to that cotton head bastard." The blade said in good humor.
After the fiasco with her ex-fiancé Saito awoke Derflinger and Louise her magic. It had been an empty consolation prize for their failure in Albion. Gojo's reception didn't make it any better. He had asked for a short bolt to "test the power of the void" but as soon as Derflinger proved itself capable of breaching his barrier by piercing his palm Gojo grabbed it and broke Derflinger in two with a single motion.
Saito had been furious at Gojo's trivial apology for intentionally killing his friend. Geto stepped in then to give Saito a giant briefcase with lots of Raging Heaven standard issued equipment for cultivators to fight off curses and defend themselves with. Imagine their surprise then when the ghost of Derflinger immediately possessed the kopis when Saito got a hold on it?
Gojo even stuck right to their faces! He wasn't apologetic at all!
"Please, don't. Saito's body isn't as fungible as yours." Louise asked. Stumbling right back into the worry she so desperately wanted to avoid thinking about. And it showed, because even Saito picked on it.
"Hey, don't make me repeat myself, Louis. I am familiar with Zero! Whatever happens, I will always protect you." Saito said. With Courage.
The same way he did in his first duel all those months back. The same way he did when he confronted Jean-Jacques Wardes at the lowest point of her life. And like every other time Saito did it, Louise could not help but just… look at him. It was like she was a little girl again reading stories about knights saving princesses and sweeping them from under their feet. Louise could just stare at him forever-
"Wow, would you look at that? You two had become rather close since last time I saw you. And I have to say, Darling… you can't walk around like that, it makes any girl act up!" Kirche, the bane of Louise's life, said almost purring as she looked Saito up and down like a piece of meat!
"Zerbst!!!" Louise spelled the name as one does a death curse, her voice all gravel and shards of glass. Even she was surprised with the ferocity of it all, but something deeper took precedence. An ancestral grudge one would say.
"Ha ha ha, oh my! Where did the unflappable Louise go? You are acting like a feral hound defending her meal." She then took another look at Saito with her best lecherous sneer, " Or maybe a bi-
That was as far as she went before a familiar staff hither square in the head. "Bad." Said Tabitha… Queen Charlotte. The regicide queen, back at school like nothing had happened!
"Moue, you never let me have my fun! And things were just starting to get good too!" Kirche bemoaned as she nursed her head.
"When did you two get back?" Saito asked.
"And more importantly, why are you here at all?" Louise inquired.
"… I am surprised you don't know, Darling. The dignitaries from your world will be arriving soon."
-//-
It was hard to believe how quickly things went back into a routine. Her days were wasted in pointless amusements and distractions and Louise felt pathetically grateful for it. Every waking second she spent fighting Kirche was a moment of respire from her ever mounting dread. Yet before she realizes Wales won the war, he is going to return to Tristain and bring all of her classmates with him. Everyone knew then that he and Henrietta would be marrying soon on what would probably also be their coronation day.
It was a small comfort to Louise that her colossal fuck up could bring so much happiness to her best friend and league. Founder knows that she needs it. There is no way to beat around the bush, Louise felt personally responsible for… well, everything. There is no way for her to abscond responsibility for the current state of Halkeginia. She was the one that summoned Saito and in doing so, brought her world into collision course with his world. A cynical part of her couldn't help but point out how typical it is, the one time she manages to perform magic she ends up making an even bigger mess of things anyway.
She hates herself. This powerless, mediocre, and defective stupid little girl that has been nothing but a stain to her family's name for the last eighteen years. But worst of all is that, if given a chance to go back, Louise would have done the same anyway. She could not bring herself to regret bringing Saito into her life. In the bad nights when shame, fear, and worry threaten to drown her nightmares, as it has done since she discovered her magic disability, Saito is there to act as a life line. Both pulling her out of her horrible dreams with a concerned expression to comfort her like one sister Cattleya has ever done and a living reminder that no matter what she has been told her entire life, she had power. Saito has been the best thing to ever happen to her. The answer to her desperate prayers.
But what kind of disgraceful little wench betrayed her family, country, and god?! Whatever reason she tries to conjure it is never good enough. The only thing that gave her any value as a magicless noble was her loyalty. Noblesse Oblige – her mother's iron rules. Something this unfilial little bitch was more than happy to discard like trash for any boy that caught her fancy!
Somehow the worst nights are those Saito distracts her by talking about his world. About the towering buildings that skewer the sky shining like gemstones during night time. About wondrous machines capable of making commoners to live as kings. About wonders of music, art, entertainment, and teaching.
In those nights Louise dreamed of walking those streets and witnessing those sights for herself. To her eternal shame Louise wanted to leave it all behind. Whether her reality was to become a dream or nightmare, she was to know it soon.
The curtains of a new age she so unwitty brought about were finally to be drawn as the rippling effect precluded a giant silver gate in the Academy of Magic's yard.
-//-
Second Contact was not what she expected. People wearing weird armor Saito called hazmat suits stepped out from the silver ring of light. They had a short greeting with the school staff and then pulled out some giant machines from containers too small to contain them. Those machines immediately caught the attention of professor Colbert as the suited people used strange hand held devices that emitted strange noises to "scam" the surroundings.
After some time they got the all clear and started setting up two stakes of pure marble on each side of the mortal, stabilizing the portal into a gate. Following this they set dozens of slyke and small flying machines Saito identified as "drones" through the air from another box too small to contain them all. Finally, one of the hazmat suited people called Saito came over to be examined inside a white tended one of them carried in their pocket.
Louise asked to follow but was barred. Colbert said this was expected, their visitors want more than anything to prevent diseases from being transmitted from one world to another. Nothing would sour their relationship more than some unwanted pandemic. Even so Louise did not like it one single bit.
Finally, after four agonizing hours, Saito was released. But still there was a whole lot of yapping until the dignitaries finally crossed over.
The first was an unassuming middle-aged man in a strange but obviously expensive suit; she certainly looked the part of a decadent nobleman, balding, fat, and soft in a way her parents never allowed themselves to become. If it wasn't for her etiquette training, she wouldn't even have noticed him next to her companion.
Standing taller than any man, any mortal could ever be. The heroine larger than life walked beside the mediocre man like his handmaiden, in defiance to common sense. Her aristocratic features looked as if carved by a sculptor's loving hand, her exotic amethyst colored eyes blazed like candles, her long hair was an artful mesh of black and wine-dark colors arranged one atop like curtain layers.
Even her suit was more functional, her suit jacket was mounted over her shoulders to conserve mobility, the sleeves of her white shirt were rolled back to her elbows, and the functional combo of skirt, black pantyhose, and knee-high boots had the kind of functionality Louise's own mother would have approved of. Especially with the elegant gloves and belts that serve to carry pouches and baldric for a sword as tall as Louise herself.
Tsumiki, the Hearth Keeper heroine. The Kyrios of the Raging Heaven Cult.
Louise certainly could understand Saito's fascination with her. Her pictures don't do her justice. At all. The lady had an effortless magnetism, as if you had been cast adrift in the blizzard for your whole life and just now you found a refuge. The perfect mix of strength with gentleness that made everyone want to get closer instinctively.
While Gojo's presence brought a feeling of creeping doom and powerlessness and Geto felt like a scorching sun capable of cleaving through the heart then Tsumiki felt like a fortress one could always fall back to even if the world were to end. The nobles present, young and new alike, could not help but be drawn to her. The frowns of disdain and tightly concealed hate at the invaders was lessened to curiosity and reluctant interest; no wonder they wanted the two morons to stay put until she could come along.
Looking at her Louise couldn't help but feel inadequate. Even though she was now a cultivator Louise couldn't imagine herself ever being this… grand. Louise had to hand it to Saito, she stood out more than any royalty or noble she had ever seen. This… scion of Raging Heaven almost single handed revived the concept of nobility, of inherited excellence, in the other world. It was simply so self-evident to the point of being undeniable.
-//-
Far sooner than Louise would have liked she found herself in a private room with Lady Tsumiki together with Saito. She especially didn't like how this god happily waged his tail to her!
"Tsumiki-sama, I am sorry I caused all this nuisance to you! I- I also feel sorry I couldn't stop Gojo nor Geto to do as they please. The situation escalated out of hand because of my incompetence." Saito says almost in tears, all but a shameless belly up for her!
"Hah, don't take your life lightly young Saito. It is simply the duty of your seniors to look after their juniors. Considering you suddenly found yourself into this new world your conduct has been exemplary! It makes me feel proud and joy that my example could inspire you." She answers with more grace than Henrietta ever could muster… this woman, isn't she just too perfect?!
"Lady Tsumiki," Saito said, almost in tears. Fanning over her like she was… well, a goddess.
"And you must be Louise," Tsumiki says, turning toward the pinkette with the same warm smile.
Louise found that she couldn't move a muscle and her tongue lost all functionality under the heroine blazing gaze. Louise hated how much she could see her own dear sisters and mother in Tsumiki. An impossible combination of Karin's strength, Éléonore's steadfastness, and Cattleya's kindness… it was so unfair! How can she even compete let alone compare?
"I- that is- Yes! I am Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière… Saito's Master!" Louise boasted before she even knew what she was saying, realizing only too late she might have committed a faux pas due to the ripple effect that her words had in the room. Some looked outright outraged at the idea she could own a person, others looked at her like a foolish child making a fool of herself yet Tsumiki had a more profound and assessing gaze that made Louise feel as if she was under a microscope.
"Well, those two foolish students of my father certainly sold you short." Tsumiki finally said. At her inquiring stare she elaborated. "We had some limited means of communication that unfortunately those two decided to use only after it was too late to stop things from degrading into this mess." Tsumiki complained as she massaged her forehead. "Honestly, my husband Nanami was the only one that was salvageable out of that entire generation. But alas, I regret to inform you that I request a private conversation with you Louise, because I am also the bearer of bad news."
"Bad news? What do you mean?" Louise asked in open panic. She was supposed to set things right!
"Nothing that any of us could ever have predicted, I assure you. In fact, this might have been a stroke of luck to both of our worlds. Your summoning spell as the first documented sample of the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, a natural mystery related to the operation of parallel worlds. We philosophers who swore our lives to the study of the rules of nature managed to use it to create a telescope capable of observing parallel earths… but sometimes ignorance is a blessing of bliss."
Louise could not make head or tail of what she was talking about and a glance at Saito said he was just as clueless. "I guess it would be better if I showed it to you," to drive the point home Tsumiki procured her cellphone and set it at the table and after some commands it projected a hologram video.
What Louise and Saito watched challenged even their suspension of disbelief. A giant metropolis Louise barely identified as Tokyo, Saito's hometown, was being illustrated like a mirage. Just for said mirage to go full surreal, a giant white portal appeared and from it a giant person bigger than any skyscraper and a knight riding a red dragon fell from it. The two… invaders paid little care for the city, locked as they were in a fierce struggle with each other. Eventually the dragon knight emerged victorious just to be summarily put down by modern artillery missiles fired from the American army occupying Japan.
"What am I looking at? Saito never told me about anything like that."
"Because this never happened in our world. What you are seeing are records from the newly dubbed Earth Nier. In 2003 these two "visitors" fell into Shinjuku and make no mistake, this brief encounter you two just watched is the death of Earth Nier. The decomposing body of the giant released a mysterious disease called White Chlorination Syndrome that caused humans, and only humans, to either turn into salt statues or mutate into monsters hunting down their own kind."
The record played forward showing a glorious city falling into ruin until it had to be severed like a gangrenous limb. Shinjuku was cleansed by nuclear fire of a single bomb used to nuke it off the face of the earth. The image gave Louise goosebumps and even her personal escort, a woman called Agnes, a hardened soldier that served her friend Henrietta as personal guard for years, felt physically ill at the gruesome pictures.
"This desperate measure only served to aggravate things beyond a point of no return, as the vectors of said illness proved themselves harder than physically possible, launching the disease across the globe. By 2014 humanity was staring at the barrel of extinction, leading them to launch Project Gestalt to separate human souls from their bodies to wait out the pandemic; those two parts now called shades and replicants. By 2025 old humanity had been replaced by their replicant counterparts, artificial humans created by endlessly replicating the information of shades to replace for lost numbers."
At some point Saito turned the phone upside down to cut off the gruesome slideshow.
"As you can see, our lives are about to get a lot more complicated. This is a new frontier for humanity, a far more accessible habitable world than any we could ever find across the stars right at our doorsteps, coupled with a compelling justification to do it. To speak candidly, whatever predicament we face is Halkeginia is small in the grand scheme of things, but the outcome of our first contact will define diplomacy policies from here on out. The power of the void can open a new horizon for both of our worlds... but said door can easily lead to doom."
"You are not going to punish Gojo and Geto, are you?" Saito all but lamented.
"Censuring them would have been difficult in the first place, but while dealing with something as volatile as the power of the void that is all but confirmed to be a hereditary transmission, all but shoehorned me into solidifying their gains. Both Albion and Gallia will get their own Silver Gate linked to Earth from where an unimaginable amount of wealth and culture will flow like a river in exchange for their magical and mundane resources. But more than that, I am to buy their loyalty for whatever price may be."
"I will be honest with the two of you. Gojo managed to establish communication with the Elders Council that governed the country of Neftes. What the Brimir Nations call holy land. For our society that just recently got reacquainted with the supernatural the power of the void is frightening and Joseph's machinations painted a grim picture. I will be honest here – we are seated in a pile of matches ready to burst in flames. I need the help of the two of you, please, help me protect our worlds together!" Tsumiki begged, the heart flame behind her eyes flared in her passion and just now Louise noticed it had dimmed as the conversation went on.
Louise's head was spinning. Of one thing Louise was sure, her old problems certainly look small now. She sorely missed five minutes ago. It also seems that the unsavory humors of Joseph consorting with elves was true after all. In retrospect they are the last people Louise wanted to be putting ideas on earthlings' heads. Louise was familiar enough with Saito to realize his people's dim view of her society. Louise just saw a world similar to Saito's die off, they are unwilling to take any chances. It was too-
"We will help you!" Saito said boldly as he all but jumped from his chair, dragging Louise up with him through their linking hands. When did they? -
"I don't exactly understand everything that is happening, but basically you need for things to be solved peacefully, right? Considering half of the people of mass destruction are in Halkeginia and the number of interests involved you fear playing the role of a conqueror. We can help you, right Louise?" Saito says, full of confidence. His eyes shining with exuberance like they always do when he is being bold… honestly, that shameless dog!
"How dare you even ask me that? As a patriot of Tristain it is my duty to protect and serve the country and god. Of course, I am going to do my best to prevent either of our worlds from ending up… like that!" Louise shouted with false bravado at the turned over cell phone. Every noble little girl dreamed at least once to be the main character of a fairy tale and with all the madness her life has become, she might as well make her life into one.
A new sort of confidence surge into Louise's heart. It might not be enough to smother her desperation just yet but she is desperate enough for self-validation to see it for the lifeboat that it was. As long as he has her familiar by her side… she will have the courage to see things through.
-//-
[AUTHOR'S ROOM]
Sorry, for the delay but I got sick and this chapter was somehow a slug to get through. For those wondering, people from jjk world just took a peek at Nier Automata timeline craziness and suddenly the stakes have been raised. They will be joining the madness of Zagreus style adventures! We have Worm and Solo Leveling ahead to look forward to.
- Location
- Brazil
Honestly seeing Zagerus's students and the effects of his actions start to branch out and effect other worlds is really awesome. Seeing Worm and Solo Leveling stuff would also be really cool.
- Location
- Brazil
Oh dear gods, Cultivator Gojo and Geto on worm is a mood. Drepression and disappointment everywhere you look.
Wow this is going to be something else I take it this is going to play into us getting to see where the others reincarnated right?
Man so many places are in for on heck of a time not even counting the ones that Zagreus goes to it's going to be interesting seeing these worlds connect and interact! Baba Yaga returning is only going to add more fuel to that fire huh.
Also Nanami! Talk about unexpected now I want to see how things go for him even more one way or another he's going to be on his way to the fifth realm at least isn't he.
In addition I can only imagine how all the new powers and cultivation styles that emerge will be like I bet Zagreus will be interested as well.
It will certainly be something I'm definitely looking forward to Solo level and again it will be so great seeing them and others grow speaking of will Geto be getting his own breakthrough like Gojo did soon? It feels like it would be fitting for both of them to progress from their time in FoZ since this trip has had a good impact on both of them.
Man so many places are in for on heck of a time not even counting the ones that Zagreus goes to it's going to be interesting seeing these worlds connect and interact! Baba Yaga returning is only going to add more fuel to that fire huh.
Also Nanami! Talk about unexpected now I want to see how things go for him even more one way or another he's going to be on his way to the fifth realm at least isn't he.
In addition I can only imagine how all the new powers and cultivation styles that emerge will be like I bet Zagreus will be interested as well.
It will certainly be something I'm definitely looking forward to Solo level and again it will be so great seeing them and others grow speaking of will Geto be getting his own breakthrough like Gojo did soon? It feels like it would be fitting for both of them to progress from their time in FoZ since this trip has had a good impact on both of them.
Last edited:
The way Sorcerers progress through the Solitary Buddha Stage is really interesting.
While Heroes just enact grand actions in moments of passion it is looking like Sorcerers have to do such acts in a way that unravels their curse, a way to overcome the curses that burden them.
For Gojo it is overcoming the distance between him and people, learning to work with others, and generally overcome his lonliness.
For Geto it is uplifting others, making them greater than what they are, and overcoming his misanthropy.
While Heroes just enact grand actions in moments of passion it is looking like Sorcerers have to do such acts in a way that unravels their curse, a way to overcome the curses that burden them.
For Gojo it is overcoming the distance between him and people, learning to work with others, and generally overcome his lonliness.
For Geto it is uplifting others, making them greater than what they are, and overcoming his misanthropy.
I like seeing Gojo and Geto having personal growth through their adventures and being able to acknowledge their faults and work through them is wonderful. Worm and Solo Leveling force each of them to grow, Worm forces Geto to admit non monkey people can be horrible, and Solo Leveling forces Gojo to look at his lonely strongest through an outside lense.
Hey @BrunofanofK I know you said that Zagreus will go to Bleach once he's a Tyrant but do you have any idea of when during his stint as a Tyrant it will be?
- Location
- Brazil
Not really. There are so many plot points that I am kind of lost myself.
Ah true still it's going to be amazing when we do get there Zagreus and Aizen will be wonderful together with the chaos they'll cause.
- Location
- washington
Thinking about it you guys think the percy jackson dionysus kids are at all likely to get a major boost in power oh and hades kids I guess? Since zagreus is going to accidentally or purposely convert the local dionysus into his along with hades getting combined in the mix.
- Pronouns
- ImBuda
I dont think so, im pretty sure thats determined at birth, although probably better training at using them.
- Location
- Brazil
Much like the roman and greek counterparts, Orphic Dionysus is another multitude from OG Olympic Dionysus.
What abilities would a child of Orphic Dionysus have? I'm kinda in the process of workshopping a Percy Jackson SI that's a child of Orphic Dionysus so the advice would be really appreciated.
- Location
- Brazil
I recommend this video, it explains very well how Dyonisus changed through the eras.
View: https://youtu.be/5brAr51ip_k?si=pipLaw8K5y6TqAeh
It also explained a lot of things from this fic.
Last edited:
- Location
- Brazil
Gods in virtuous sons can mark mortals in their colors. That is how Oracles are created in the first place, and so does entities like Griffon and Polinazus. And Zagreus. A true demigod has never been showed though so you will have to go by Percy Jackson logic.
I was already aware of the video, but using it to track the changes is a good idea. Regardless thanks for the recommendation.
I'll probably have permanent Blessings like the Hunter stuff and possibly favor stuff act like that. But working off PJ logic for it is probably for the best. Meaning figuring out the Domains of Orphic Dionysus and giving the demigod access to stuff form that. Thanks for the advice.
- Location
- washington
Any chance orphic dionysus will be at all like a father figure or brotherly for zagreus or he too old for that?
- Pronouns
- ImBuda
Yes and no. They are never going to meet but Zagreus considers him his senior and respects him a lot, but once they go to PJO Zagreus is gonna be used as fussion materials with Dionisus and Hades to bring the Orphic god during the remain of the jump, acting as a vessel for the god like the egyptians do.
- Location
- Brazil
He is straight up Bakkhos. You have to remember that he loved and admired his little brother (Herakles) enough to give him his heart. The heroic age was the best time of his life but the pain of seeing it fading was the greatest he experienced. But diferent from "Mr. D", Bakkhos still tend to his vines despite they only bearing sour grapes. Despite his nihilism he still which for the next generation to prosper. This doesn't erase his excesses and sins but it set him apart. Him and Mr.D are sworn enemies in that respect.
- Location
- washington
if its like the egyptian deal I wonder if it'll be like a voice in zagreus head. Like Horus and Isis did.