Fantasy [Private] El Stories

[Late]

Eosforos smiled lightly at Alec's response, not feeling too agitated that the nasod won't share his information. Yet he can't help to feel a bit nervous around him. He knows nothing about this nasod, only his name and what weapon he uses. The angel made a mental note to be careful whenever the nasod is around, it could be possible that Alec could see something that a human can not.

"Well, I think we will find out eventually the more we are together like this. I think it's best that we head on out to see if we can control the number of demons that are out there. The more we wait, the more they have the time to plan out an attack on us," Eosforos said with a sigh. He took a glance at Xavier to see that the man was frowning and holding his forehead. "Something the matter?"

"Just a headache...I'll be fine," Xavier mumbled to the angel, his tail clicking as it whips back and forth.

"Are you sure? You can stay back here if you need to," the angel suggested, unsure what was going on with him.

"I said I'm fine," Xavier said forcefully, slightly glaring at Eosforos. The smile on the angel's face went away to be replaced with a rather upset look. Xavier slightly reeled back after seeing Eosforos upset, knowing that he made a mistake and he let out a small cough. "I apologize...I didn't mean to get angry at you."

"Hm...well, if you're fine, then you're fine. Of course, if it's affecting your ability to fight, then I will have to send you back," Eosforos said to him before looking back at Elesis with his smile returning back. "We're ready to leave at your word, commander," Eosforos said to Elesis, nodding his head.

MementoDei NinthSomnus9029

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Alec
He could see the hint of distrust in her eyes, he didn't expect anything less considering the appearance of this man called Eosforos. When Elesis requested that Alec tell her the extent of his abilities he raised his hand toward his chest, he opened up a bit of the nasod armor to reveal a shining blue core with a faint amount of red in it, "Project: Status" When he spoke those words a holographic beam fired on to his palm, he turned to face Elesis and began to explain what the image of a glowing sphere with numerous runes and magic circles meant. "As requested this is the extent of my ability when all the seals are present like they are currently my power is at 33% capacity giving me the strength two times that of a human, but even that isn't enough to fight countless demons." Alec raised his sword that was by his side. Another hologram like the one in his palm appeared. "My sword is the key to 3 out the magic circles placed on me, I possess no information on how to unlock those seals with the sword. I believe father wanted me to find this out myself. Now one seal is removed when I use the ability of my Nasod Armor 'Null' and another two seals are removed when I enter an awakened state." He explains as he touches each magic circle, he also explains that the runes all have a different role, some are tied to the magic circles causing him to slowly get overheated as they try to forcefully close off his power supply. "That is the reason why I overheated on both occasions. Until I find a way to fully use my sword I'll consistently overheat every time I go over the limiter." Alec says, he hoped that with his short explanation of his system Elesis could get an understanding of how far he could push himself.

Lastly, Alec pointed at a magic circle colored in a golden glow. "After some research, I've discovered that the power that made those particles are connected to this specific circle. When I conducted research on the runes here it seems that only 12% of its power is accessible to me if I intend to explode like I did before. After some more research, it seems my limit with only a fried arm is 1%, enough to make an apple turn to dust." Alec finished up his brief. When he looked at Elesis he couldn't tell what she was thinking, but when looking at Eosforos he could see he was seeing him as a possible threat.

MementoDei Late ​

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom closed his eyes and took a deep breath, tightening his hold on his supplies until he felt more centered. Still a bit woozy, but stable enough to continue towards the dragons.

Once he saw the state they were in, Phantom froze on the spot. Grief was heavy in the air here, and the priest bowed his head as he scurried along to the spot where his staff was planted on the ground. He snatched it and he almost startled when he saw Aragorn a little aways from where he stood. The dragon was so silent, Phantom didn't even realize he was here.

He almost missed being called "Phanny."

The priest tried to make contact with him to convey a silent condolence, but he frowned when that failed.

You're wasting time, Xiopetec said. They're waiting for you to train.

Yeah.

Phantom adjusted the items in his arms so he can strap his staff to his back, and he made to move out of the camp before he tripped on something. The priest yelped as he landed in an awkward position to protect his cases and staff from the fall.

You can be so clumsy in the most inopportune times.

What did I even trip over?

Phantom groaned and he took a big gulp as he realized that the unlucky thing that tripped him was the tip of Cornelius's tail. And his stomach dropped as the angry dragon turned to glare at him.

Late

 

[Late]

Cornelius lifted his head when he felt something tripping over his tail. He swiftly looked behind him to see Phantom has fallen down and was on the ground. The dragon glared at priest after realizing who it was. He leered at the man, his nostrils flaring and letting out a low growl.

"Phantom, what's the hurry here?" Cornelius demanded, standing up to face the priest as he was still on the ground. "Where are you going?" The dragon pierced a hook into Phantom's loose clothing, pinning him down from leaving. "You're going to leave again?"

Aragorn looked over when he heard Cornelius talked and blinks when he saw how dangerously close the black dragon was to the poor priest. Even Komodo on his arm was worried for the priest. The red dragon swiftly got up as Cornelius doesn't seem to plan on stopping to get even close, the black dragon's snout pressed against the priest's chest as he let out heavy, angry breaths.

"Cornelius," Aragorn warned him, walking over to them. "Leave him be."

Cornelius whipped to Aragorn to glare at him yet after seeing his mournful stare, the black dragon eased up his tensed stare and his anger slowly started to die away. He took one last look at Phantom before letting out a sharp growl and dragging his claw down to rip away his claw from the loose clothing. "Just remember what those damned demons did to Athena and to me," he said with a forceful tone as he tilted his head to show off his scarred eye. "If you don't care at all, then don't bother coming back to us. You don't belong here," Cornelius spit out his last words, slamming a fist down next to him just to intimidate Phantom furthermore.

After seeing the priest all shaken up, the black dragon let out a heavy sigh and walked away from him. Aragorn let Cornelius leave and look over at Phantom. It looks like he wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut and eventually followed after Cornelius. Meanwhile, Komodo was uncertain with his steps, following Aragorn yet lags behind as he often looks back at the priest. It wasn't long that he was gone along with the two dragons.

Phant0m

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis​

The commander nodded at Eosforos words after Alec explained in great detail the extent of his power. He was extremely powerful, yet he was but a machine that maybe, could be...She swept those thoughts away, and she looked at Xavier, who was growing angrier by the minute.

"Nice to meet you, Xavier. I admire your will to help us, so let's get going!" She said with a confident smile.

They followed Alec, who knew exactly where the demons were piling up. Once more, Lara's words popped in her mind.
'You are but a child playing with a spark. A poor excuse for a knight. You left us all to die!'

She gritted her teeth and reminded herself that it wasn't something that was under her control. She didn't have the choice of taking the sword, but she didn't regret it. Yes, she was perhaps powerless in face of demons, but great leaders were the ones who had the strongest people next to them. She only needed to watch who was the best and learn from them to rise as a leader. Alec stopped and she looked up, more determined than before.

"Is this the place?" She looked around the silent ruins and frowned. "All right, let's keep fighting to a minimum. We need to get intel on the demon's moves. Get your weapons ready, just in case."

NinthSomnus9029 Late

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Alec

"I sense other life signatures, they don't belong to those of a demon, it's a bit faint but, there is a chance that the demons have human captives." He wondered why the demons would take human captives, did they plan to lure out the commander? With these thoughts running through Alec's mind he snuck away from Elesis and the others. If I do some reconnaissance I should be able to locate their exact location. Moving through the ruins the sounds of demon chatter rang through the halls, they didn't seem to be expecting any visitors. Could they have possibly wanted to send a message first? Alec thought up all the possibilities but they all lead to trickery. He wanted to return to Elesis and give her a heads up but the idea of them going in swords swinging could cause the execution of the hostages. Find the location of the hostages, return to Elesis as fast as possible. He thought while pressing his back against the wall.

peeking around the corner he could see a few demons with spears, they all seemed to be wearing heavy armor but only one of them wore a helmet. He must be their boss. He made a mental note of all the enemies around the ruins and their weaponry, after a few minutes Alec could hear the cries of what sounded like a human. He noticed there were a few guards wondering around Alec switched his vision to his thermal view. He could see there were about 4-5 citizens inside each of the cages they seemed to have something around there necks with magic runes drawn on them. So a safety measure huh...So there must be a mage somewhere. Taking that into consideration Alec could see from his location he could spot two cages but he couldn't confirm if there were any more.

When Alec believed the information was enough we returned to Elesis while making a map of the ruins and locations of each of the cages, demons, weapon types, commanders. When he arrived back he could see that Elesis and the others were looking down from a higher view than were Alec was earlier. "Commander, I have news to report." Alec pulled out a different hologram of a map of the ruins and the route he took to the hostages. He carefully explained the what they were up against, who were the ones leading them and the weaponry they would put up against. "Lastly we must be extremely careful when I looked closer at the bodies of the captives they seem to have a magic collar device, I believe there is a mage somewhere but I haven't been able to look deeper, security was tighter the deeper you get in."

MementoDei Late ​

 

[Fume]

"Where the heck did that priest run off to? I swear if he starts doing this stuff I'm gonna need to chain him down." Dust thought to himself as he moved through the crowd, but not without having some looks onto him.

News spread that he was suspicious of being allied with the demons, but since he started to lay low people are doubting the sources. Even then, the war between the demon kind and the humans made them angst y and cautious for their well being.

Not too far, he saw that the dragons were resting and by lack of luck, he saw Phantom stumble backwards to the dragon that he ripped both wings and an eye.

"Not... How can this guy be so unfortunate on stumbling on a god damn tail?" He mumbled to himself as he drew closer, but not close enough to be spotted by him. He hanged around for a bit, listening to the conversation.

"If you don't care at all, then don't bother coming back to us. You don't belong here," Those last words made Dust's temper rise, but he then breathed in and out, calming down and compose himself.

"Stupid dragon. Don't vent your frustrations on others, or you'll be losing more than what you think." He mumbled to himself again, bottling down the last of his temper. As soon as the dragons left, Dust came out and slowly approached the shaken priest.

"Hey. We decided on a place." He informed him as the priest barely acknowledged his presence. "Don't take his words to heart, at your current state you wouldn't be able to do anything. Heck, you were in bed for three days. No matter what you did, nothing would help." He tried to soften the blow to him.

"Come on, kid. We need to go to the outskirts, Lento will bring us to the new place." He guided him with a hand on his shoulder, slowly for him to snap out of it.

Phant0m

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom stared after Aragorn and Komodo left before looking to Dust when he put a hand on his shoulder.

The nerve....he had no right to say those things to you! As if he did anything! Xiopetec sputtered before she resorted to hissing.

"Y-yeah," Phantom responded as he stood up, keeping his gaze averted. "I mean, I heard those kinds of words hurled at me before so it doesn't bother me much. A nomad doesn't really belong anywhere, that's why they wander right?" He gave a soft chuckle that didn't carry any mirth in it. But Aragorn looked like he wanted to tell me something...why didn't he just spit it out? And Komodo... "I'll prove him wrong." The priest started to head to the outskirts. "Let's go. Sooner we start, sooner I can come back and make Cornelius eat his words."

Fume

 

[Late]

Aragorn
​

"Cornelius? Are you alright?" Aragorn carefully asked the black dragon, confused on why he was so...aggiated. He was aware that this was probably normal for the black dragon to be angry but there was something different. Something new that he didn't see before.

"I'm fine, I just want to go for a walk," Cornelius grumbled in response. "You don't have to come with me if you don't want to."

"Yeah, alright, but..." Aragorn mumbled and trailed off his words. The black dragon glanced back at him, still walking forward.

"...The last time I saw a dragon on a rampage was years ago, right after the El explosion. They become mindless, a monster that is hard to tame. A monster who only seek for destruction. Not all dragons were affected quickly by the loss of the El. Some were unfortunate to change like how Ivy lost her sight. The point is...I think I am running out of time. I think the loss of the El's energy is finally getting to me, the reason why I am getting so...aggressive." Cornelius saw Aragorn's slight panic stare but he kept on talking. "It looks like the demons know a way how to trigger our minds, to quicken the process much more significant and it won't be long that they'll get to me. Athena was meant to resist any kinds of poison but whatever got her, it affected her greatly and twisted her mind. It triggered her instincts to change. You are fortunate, Aragorn, and Octavia too. You two were hatched long after the El exploded so you never live and rely on the El's energy before. The demons don't know that much about us yet you still need to be wary on the battlefield. At the very least, you can't change..." Cornelius sighed.

"Well, don't you think it's best if we stay back there where it's safe...?" Aragorn questioned, confused why he wanted to take a walk.

"...I don't feel safe there. I sensed something there, something I don't feel comfortable being around in. I think its that angel but it could be more than just him. A snake in the group. You can go back if you want to, but don't talk to anyone and answer no questions. I won't be out long," Cornelius grumbled.

Aragorn sighed and nodded his head, slowing down as Cornelius walked further ahead. He thought back about the angel, unsure who he was and why Cornelius doesn't like him at all. He looks down to see an uncertain Komodo, his wings fluttered open to stretch out momentarily.

"Come on, let's see if we can get something to eat."

Xavier & Eosforos
​

"Well, aren't you a handy ally?" Eosforos complimented Alec for his work as Xavier stared blankly at the hologram.

"It looks you can finally show me your trick, Eosforos," Xavier mumbled to the angel.

"Oh...oh, you're right! A little thing about me, commander and nasod. I am able to shift my form to blend in the crowd," Eosforos said with excitement in his tone. He stood up straight to open up his coat for a moment as he has pockets from the inside. "Lucky for us, I collected demon blood from a group I ran into when I was going out for a walk. By having a blood sample, I am able to shift into whatever the blood came from." Eosforos pulled out a small glass tube that was capped at the top opening, holding a demon's blood in it. "I can casually go in and see exactly what they're up to with the hostages. I may be able to fix around those magic collars or find who the mage is. Even though my quirk is rather fancy, it does have its limits. I can't attack when I am an illusion, otherwise, I'll change right back into this. Same goes if someone attacks me. Of course, I'll be happy to follow a different plan if you have one, commander." He smiled at her as he slightly shook his glass tube.

Xavier never really seen Eosforos under his illusion trick so he was rather curious but polite. He wanted to know what the commander thinks and how they should save the hostages.

MementoDei NinthSomnus9029

 

[Fume]

"That's the right attitude to take." He thought to himself as they walked through the houses that had been reduced to makeshift homes. Phantom tried to remain calm with his confidence from before, if anything that would be best in this situation, it was just sad.

"Wait..." He looked to the side and saw a sight that he wasn't completely sure. "Is that... A demon girl?" He thought to himself as she turned the corner, before she disappeared, he could see that she had bandages around her. "A refugee? No, the people around here don't take kindly for demon children, specially those of the succubus race. Only nobles want them for themselves." He shook his head of those thoughts. Phantom looked at him intrigued.

"It's nothing. Come on, they're waiting." He ushered him as they increased their pace. Not one hour later of carefully avoiding the guards and the curious stares, they saw both Lento and Yullr. "We're here." He announced to the two of them. "For the next five months, huh. I wonder which one of you will last the longest. And which one of you will try to back stab me while I'm distracted."

He didn't need to say it like that, but in the demon realm he learned the hard way about these sort of deals. They tend to end in a sour taste.

Phant0m MementoDei NinthSomnus9029

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis​

She frowned at the flask of blood the angel showed to her. As tempting as his offer sounded, knowing that he had such an ability made her uneasy about letting him go on his own. She wanted to trust him, but where did he get a demon blood sample from? Not recently, that was for certain. She'd have to ask alchemists around later to know for how much blood could be preserved in flasks, just to be certain.

"It is too dangerous. I'm afraid we can't be too reckless if they have civilians lives on the line and tight security on top of it. It must be because they're hiding a weapon or something like that. I don't want to take the risk of losing an ally in case the demons have artifacts to see through your disguise or nullify all magic. Alec, how many demons are there? We might use Eosforos' knowledge to identify how many mages there are here. Once we do, we can find a way to go in together and undetected."

Late NinthSomnus9029

****
Lento ​

'Here they are' Yullr thought as Dust and Phantom began to be more than mere dots over the horizon. The demon commander and the priest approached them and Dust spoke first.
"We're here."
Lento got up and greeted the newcomers by a simple nod. "For the next five months, huh. I wonder which one of you will last the longest. And which one of you will try to stab me in the back while I'm distracted."

"That's quite a blunt way of putting it, demon commander." Lento answered. "Unlike what your previous experiences with allies may have taught you, neither of us are seeking to put you down like that. It's a cowardly way."

'And not a very effective one for taking you, of all people, out. Warriors with enough braincells to maintain their power in a corrupt world die on the battlefield at the hands of enemies, either visible or hidden.'

'Careful when you look too much into her memories, Lento.' Yullr mentally warned him.

'Right. I just need to remember the incantation...'

As Lento focused, he began to recall the incantations necessary to open a portal towards Lara's world, Lunæ Lumen. The mana field around him began to glow with a mauve light, giving him an aura as the tips of his hair began to turn white. After a few minutes, the forest in front of him began to distort itself, cracking as if it was an illusion. The fragments of the distorted space began to fall and reveal a black background. Once a black gate cut the peaceful image of Velder forests, it began to divide itself in two, absorbing Lento's purple aura to fill the dividing line.

"...I ask for the Red Moon to rise again." He finished the incantation out loud and immediately regretted it. The black gate opened to show the white desert he had known for months, or rather weeks.

"Before any of you go in, I'd like to tell you a few important things. This world is separated from the normal course of time here. In the white desert, one week there is a day here. Also, the mana concentration there is way higher than in this world. I'm saying this more for you, Phantom. Too much mana in the air can prove to be fatal to humans. One last thing, this desert is a resting place, so please don't ask me nor follow me if you see me away near the south of the desert. Is that clear?"

His voice was calm and stern as he explained the only rules of Lunæ Lumen. He turned his back on his companions and entered the desert as his hair turned back to its normal colour. Shortly after, Yullr joined him without a word.

Fume Phant0m

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom gave Dust an incredulous look, raising both eyebrows at the demon commander's words and he nodded along to what Lento said. "Oh that would have been nice to know," Phantom said nonchalantly as Lento stated the little mana fact.

You can still back out, Xiopetec reminded her priest. This is not worth that risk if you just follow me like you promised.

Did...I thought you were alright with this? Xiopetec we legitimately agreed to go through with this and that you would have my back. Why do you keep spontaneously changing your opinion?

I did not change my opinion! I'm just merely telling you that we don't have to change anything.

I want some change, especially in this relationship. Usually someone in your position would jump for joy at the aspect of relaxing and having their follower be more independent.

You're independent enough! You have taken care of yourself just fine under my care! Then you got yourself wrapped up in this war with all of those jumbled feelings and promises and now you got yourself in a deal with- I'm just going to say it- the devil. You're going to throw what measly structure you have left with me away just-

Enough.

He stared after Lento, and he heaved a sigh, rubbing his temples. Phantom's tongue also flicked in the air as he gave a low hiss. "There won't be any backstabbing going on, but if Xiopetec is gonna give me a headache the entire time then I definitely won't last long," He said in an irritated tone as he followed after Yullr and Lento.

Fume MementoDei

 

[Fume]

"Wait you fool!" He quickly yanked him backwards. "Don't just walk in a air dense mana zone blindly! Heed his warning or you'll truly die!" He made him take a few steps back. "I was counting on something like this along the way, but not the time difference."

Rummaging his sack he took out a small blank pendant and started chanting in the old tongue of Yggdrasil.

"By my will and light, grant he who wears this pendant protection against all, until the time he comes to adjust and bear no harm of thy strength. Let the youth blossom and the old watch." The pendant started to glow before slowly transforming into a beautiful tear shaped dew, with a moving aura in the center occasionally shifting in place for the user.

"Wear this, it'll protect you against the excess mana in the air, though it'll be a little hard for you to breath at first." He gave him the pendant on his hands and started to leave. "If you don't want hear your goddess to start making a fuss, then I can arrange a way to keep her quiet for a couple of hours, if the ritual still works that is." As soon as he entered the portal with Phantom protected, he could feel the air empowering him with more mana than before, though he felt it before with Glave in a mana infested timeline.

"Hmm... Yes, this'll do just nicely to train a mage or a priest in this case." He then turned to Lento. "You said that this was a resting place, right? Is it still possible to create a few things here to speed the training process a bit? If we're going to be stuck for a while, might as well make things comfortable enough to bear each other. Don't worry about it after the training, I can destroy it easily." He asked towards the warrior, not wanting to sully the land and leave it there like garbage.

Phant0m MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

He glanced at Dust as the entrance to Lunæ Lumen closed behind them. The desert held the remains of a town half buried in its dunes, it had been enough for him before; that wouldn't be the case for living beings, of course. The blacksmith nodded before following Yullr towards the south-west of the desert. It was then that he noticed that some of the white buildings were slowly turning black. In fact, some silver leafs were growing on the dark spots that slowly spread on the stones.

He got closer to the silver vines and touched its leaves. He had seen them somewhere before, he was certain. Lento couldn't quite remember their name. He grabbed the stem and pulled it, but the plant didn't give in to his strength. It made him remember the trees he had climbed with his brother Reijak during their childhood. One evening, they had lost themselves in the forest, and it was thanks to those vines that they could climb to see the stars and find their way back home.

"They are wild Grey-wolf vines. Common in Feita's forests. They're very resistant and usually grow-" Yullr began.

"On hackmatacks..." Lento continued in a melancholic voice before he stood back up. "If this world slowly changes, it will not longer be a familiar place for her."

"Lento, I've never understood why you seem to worry about that...woman. Is it because she fused a part of her soul with yours?"

"I don't think that's the only reason. Even when she still lived, she had a strong will to make things better in this world. I admire that strength, and I understand now why she chose to give up. But, in the end, doing that went against her closest beliefs, everything she had stood for, and she chose to fight again. I don't think that worrying is the right word. I just want her to know... if she's still there, somewhere, that her combat is over. That's also why I need to control her power and make it my own."

"Do you forgive her?"

"Understanding is not forgiving, but it's the first step."

Yullr nodded and began to form a mana field around them to begin the next step of Lento's training. "Then, let's begin."

Fume Phant0m

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Alec

He pointed out that there were a few dozen demons roaming around, maybe more deeper inside. From the tone the commander had she had many doubts on all kinds of things, so Alec had a plan of action. "I could go forth, reduce the enemy numbers while Eos makes his way past enemy lines. There is no need for worry about being spotted, these are one of my few combat functions." He suggested, Alec was built to serve the queen in anyway necessary, gathering intel, assassinations, fighting on the front lines, being her shield. He was capable of many things. You could say he was the perfect military grade Nasod.

MementoDei Late ​

 

[Late]

"If that is what you wish, I won't complain," Eosforos said with a light sigh and he put away his flask. He took a glance back to see how Xavier was holding, remembering the man has a headache. So far he didn't look in pain or discomfort, it likely passed away when they were planning out strategy. The two listen to what Alec suggests and the angel nodded his head. "I wish to have Xavier deal with those who would try to get away. I don't think we would want the demons to alert their nearby friends for help. He is rather good at chasing and can get the job done rather quickly. Plus, it would give us more room to worry about the people in there and we can have a safe passage when trying to leave the area. Now, I don't doubt your skills Alec, but I don't want you to do all the work here...plus Xavier looks a bit impatient here."

Xavier looked eager to get something done. Obviously, there was something in his mind, with his tail swinging left to right and his fingers tapping against his leg. He often bounces a little on his toes, listening to them talking and holding a bored look on his face. He is good with any plan as long he gets to move around.

"I'll be fine with any plan, I just want to...move," Xavier mumbled to them, not feeling embarrassed for being impatient with this. "The more we wait, the more likely someone would spot us here."

MementoDei NinthSomnus9029

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis​

She nodded at Eosfóros plan. Just looking at how agitated Xavier was made her trust the angel's judgement more than her own. A small voice in her head told her to not trust him, but Xavier was right. The more they stood there, their chances to escape would become thinnier.

"We count on you, Xavier. Let's go, Eosfóros, Alec."

NinthSomnus9029 Late

 

[Phant0m]

The priest admires the pendant a moment before putting it on.

Fashionable protection...it's been awhile since you wore something to spice up your outfit. Now with that rip-thanks to Cornelius-you look like a tattered traveler with some taste.

You're insulting the very outfit that represents you.

Xiopetec falls silent at his retort, and he feels her presence dull a bit in his mind. She's finally giving him space and his expression relaxes a bit. Phantom feels a heavy weight on his chest and he looks to Dust as his breathing slows and grows deeper. "She's quiet for now, but thank you," He manages to get out, "Please...tell me...this won't last long."

Fume MementoDei

 

[Fume]

"It takes time for you to get used to this. Give it a few days and you're body should've adapted by that time, it'll also help to exercise your cardio and lung muscles. For now, practice on focusing on your mana, but be careful, remember that the air is heavily concentrated in mana, take it slow. " He informed him as he also had to go through the same ordeal when he first started.

"For now, I'll start creating a few things for our stay using Creation magic. You don't need to learn this type of magic, it's... complicated using it or understand it in the first place. To convert our energy into objects, from nothing to something. Some say that this is the power of gods, but the truth is," He gathered a large amount of mana on his hands, creating multiple symbols and runes before slamming both hands on the white sand. "This was created by the Pthumarians of an ancient civilization from long ago, an ancestor of humans, long extint."

As he finished his sentence, a large area, enough to be considered a small mountain, erupted from the white sand, reaching high on the sky while a large hole stuck out like a sore thumb. He moved his hands a bit and a stream of water erupted from the top of the rocky formation, it separated into two sides.

This was meant for one to be drinkable water, while the other one for bathing. He pushed it a step forward and materialized a small building to house the bathing water, while casting a fire rune beneath the structure to heat it up the water consistently. Up on the mountain was a couple of water runes to make the water flow steady. The building had no ceiling and only covered three sides while having the open wall for the water to flow.

"One more..." He mumbled to himself as he rose his hands, stretching a mana link between his hands and the ground. He slowly made his hands rise and vegetation started to sprout around the mountain from the top to the bottom. Some trees matured giving fruit to those that wished to eat; some medicinal herbs from the human, elf and demon realm; and flowers to create a serene scenario for those that wished to bathe in peace and relax at the same time.

"That should do it. If I imprinted the runes correctly, then there should be a healing rune in conjunction with the water rune, slowly healing injuries sustained. *Huff*" He looked a bit tired as he wiped his forehead. "I'm going to create a few more things to accommodate ourselves. If you need something then speak up. With this magic I can even create or restore clothing." Phantom looked at him with a puzzling look. "Even a demon commander needs to look the par, even if I don't like it, I need to clothe myself." He then remembered something that he forgot to mention to the priest.

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you. At the end of your training, I'll perform a ritual on you, imprinting a rune in any part of your body of your choosing. Think of it as proof of you finishing your training, with an added bonus to let your mana become more attuned with the mana around you and expand it for more uses." He looked around and he could see the explosive mines that he conjured on Velder as a means of distraction.

"So this is where they went, this is actually for your benefit. Observe Phantom." He pointed his hand forward and the hundreds of magic traps mana started to attract each other, converting their explosive energy into their raw form, creating a large sphere of condensed mana floating mid air.

"In the next three months, apart from controlling your mana in a higher level and enter the inter-dimensional library in order to learn spells that will benefit you, your goal is to destroy or absorb that large mana sphere. Destroying it is the easy path, but being able to absorb it will increase your mana pool to a larger field.

Don't worry, there's no corruptible energy imbued in it, but still at your current stage, it'll be an impossible feat, but if by chance you do choose the hard way, you'll be at my level a couple of years ago.

At the forth month, you'll continue practicing but you'll start sparing with Lento. He's the perfect opponent for you to face in a close quarters combat and if Yullr joins in, you get a feel on how to face both a fighter and a mage, if he's okay with that role.

Lastly in the final month of your training, you'll be put to the test with Lento and Yullr at your side. The three of you will be facing against me in my unrestricted power, at that time both you and Lento will also be unsealed to stand a chance. If the both of you can last for 15 minutes without losing, the two of you will pass. If by chance the both of you can make me fall to one of my knees, I'll reward the both of you with an added bonus beyond the proof of training." He finished his explanation to his pupil for now.

"Do me a favor, once you see if those two are done for the day ask Yullr if he wants to join the training regimen as well. Having another person assisting you would help you in the long run." Phantom nodded to him.

"That's everything you need to know. Practice hard and in earnest, I'll be creating a campfire for us to cook our food and a place for our needs." With that he started his work to create a few extra things for them.

Phant0m MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Yullr​

Yullr's spiritual field slowly put Lento unconscious. It was the next step to control Lara's power. Thanks to the heavier mana atmosphere, Yullr had been able to avoid using the power of the El to maintain the field. The elf mage knew how Lento had been brought back to life, the opposite of it would poison his body.

Even if it was only a small quantity, all pure El would provoke a dissonance between the power that Lento had inherited and Lento's own power. Lento's body laid over the sand, as immobile and cold as it would've been if Lara hadn't changed his fate. The elf remembered all too well the method's the demon army used to keep their nobility alive back in that war. Humans stood no chance to resist, and soon enough the rest of the elven tribes around him begged for mercy.

Using the power of spirits for such purposes was unimaginable at the time. After Ishmael decided to kill off anyone who worshiped Yggdrasil, it became harder to stick to the traditions he had grown up to respect.

The war lasted decades, and ended in a bloodbath of minor gods and entire races alike. Lost Souls always reminded him of those times, where the world stood still in hopelessness, where only shadows of the dead returned to rise against the living.

"And once more, I'm betraying my ancestors..." he murmured as he watched Lento's mana circuits faintly glow.

He told himself that he had done the right thing for his people back then, but now, he wasn't certain if he was helping anyone. For all he knew, Lento's soul could be consumed by others and, just like them, become an unstoppable force of destruction. The demons had threatened his clan and the human villages he had to protect.

They only asked them for one thing, to keep one of their strongest commanders alive. Just like how Lara kept Lento alive, using the spiritual power of Selene, the old goddess of the moon. He didn't listen to the counsel of the Wise, nor to Yggdrasil's own warnings.

Yullr sat down and looked up at the red moon over him.

"Even now...Selene still curses me, her blood taints this world."

He had helped the demons, he sealed the fate of his people by going Ishmael's will. And now, after hearing most of Lara's own memories, he was responsible for drying almost completely the blood of his race.

Once a Lost Soul is tied to another body, it will be limited to always reincarnate to the race it first chose. Lento's soul would only be able to take a human host, just like the demon general, known as Ran Vel'sa, that Yullr revived centuries ago.

Phant0m Fume

****
Lento​

He had closed his eyes and focused on the energy around him and the energy within his body, the one that kept him alive. However, he noticed that the more he focused on it, the more it faded away into countless shapes. It was an inner flame that wanted to burst all his limitations.

Its power was the first thing that scared him, but the closest he was from it, the more unsettling it became. Not only it was powerful, but he heard the whispers of countless voices, yelling or whispering to each other.

"...Len..?"
"This is ridiculous! So much power left into the hands of a huma-"
"You...the human, come closer and I'll give you my power. Set me free."
"Set you free? That only depends on me. Set me free instead, human."
"If it's for your sake, $3we1@2, I will remain here. But this is not how it should've-"
"&$/1!...I know, but-"

The voices continued to argue until a roar, made of at least ten of them, silenced the rest with a single order.
"SILENCE! Now that he's here...he'll accept this power and we'll take over. He has no other choice."

A short silence continued before all the voices chanted "we'll take over" in unison. The flame shifted into the shape of an eye, before returning to its original shape.

Lento tried to get any of Lara’s memories to help him, but he could only gather his own. The flame extended one of its arms and grabbed his forearm tightly.

"Hahaha! That's it, boy. Rely on us, let us guide you..."

Lento grabbed the flames and, in spite of the burn, he hit the invasive fire that was injecting itself in his veins. He felt each drop of power crawl underneath his skin, biting his muscles from within.

The blacksmith yelled in pain as he searched his skin, looking to get all the poison that was infecting him out. It didn't change anything, in fact, it seemed that the more he struggled, the more the green flame was taking over. His arm began to cover itself of green scales.

Terrified by his own metamorphosis, Lento took his sword out and cut off his mutated forearm. The flame took it to its centre and it was instantly turned to ashes. Lento panted in pain, but took his sword and powered it with his own despair.

"THIS IS MY LIFE! AND YOU ARE PART OF MY OWN POWER NOW! NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!" he roared towards the flame that had tried to transform him into a monster.

"...You are weak. Your vessel is weak. Let us take over, we'll help you overcome your barriers."

Lento frowned, he knew he was a human, probably the weakest race on Elrios, but he overcame death itself. How could all those spirits not understand that? He wasn't an ordinary human; no, he wasn't even human anymore. He had overcome the greatest barrier of any mortal race in existence and yet they wanted to take his conscience away from him. He wasn't ready to make that happen without a fight. He didn't notice a small part of the flame fuse itself to his arm, regenerating it instantly.

Lento only noticed his anger grow, just like a fresh new feeling of power.

"How pretentious..." He felt his lips curl as his pain vanished. "If you want to control me so much, you'd better fight for it!"

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Alec

Alec got up and placed his hand on Xavier's shoulder. "I'll be transferring the exact locations of the enemy." Alec pulled Xavier in close to his face, placing a pair of glasses on him, "These will give you a map of the ruins, enemy locations I marked as well as the locations of the civilians. The white dot is you, orange is me, blue is Eos, purple Elesis." Alec pulled out another pair for Elesis and Eos, "We can now begin the mission, but please return those to me, these are the only one's father left me. I have yet to make more."

MementoDei Late ​

 

[Late]

Xavier blinked a couple of times, not because it was his first time wearing the glasses but it was because Alec put them on for him. Was it normal for nasods to do things for others? Even Eosforos cocked his head slightly at this, equally confused as Xavier and maybe even a little peeved.

"Um...thank you," Xavier muttered out, not wanting to be impolite for the strange gesture. He can worry about it later.

He went ahead to go forth with the plan, as Eosforos went along with the other two, ready to support them with his sword in his hands. Xavier find the glasses somewhat helpful but oddly distracting for some reason. But he uses the map and the enemies location to his advantage, waiting to hear the demons crying out in surprise when the other group starting to move in.

It didn’t take long as a demon scrambled towards his way. The grunt looked surprised to see Xavier around the corner and didn’t have enough time to react as Xavier didn’t hesitate to lunge at it.

Meanwhile, Eosfóros fought along with Elesis and Alec to get through the demons who thought they can take them on. Eosfóros skillfully swung his sword around, his eyes were more focused than before. He made sure the demons have themselves a quick death as they pushed further in.

“Alec! May I ask if you have a clue where you think the mage is? I figure it would be wise that we take out the mage first before saving the hostages here,” Eosfóros said as he kick an injured demon back down who was trying to get up. “These glasses are rather fancy though. It looks like Xavier is moving quick with those who ran off.” He took a glance at the map they were given before swinging his sword horizontally at his enemies, inflicting bleeding on them. The angel took a step back after blood splattered on him and frowned at his own clothes. “There I go again,” he mumbled to himself before taking another look at the map. “It could be possible wherever the demons’ location is the thickest is likely where the mage is, or at least close by. The demons’ mage protection should be their top priority and they’ll likely be heavily armored once we are getting warmer to our target. Maybe you have seen heavily armored or at least skilled fighters when you were scouting, Alec?”

MementoDei NinthSomnus9029

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom nodded again and he slowly walked off to find Yullr. He grabbed the part of his cloak that's tattered and hummed.

He's got a lot of nifty tricks...wonder what he isn't-

You're beating a dead horse, Xiopetec.

So you have an objective...what are you thinking of doing?

You're in my head why don't you tell me.

Now don't be like that. I'm actually trying child.

To have a conversation? Thought I was the awkward one.

Alright, enough with the quips. what are you gonna do? Destruction or absorb it?

Why do I have to destroy it?

...because it's easy? You always try to take the easy way.

Phantom hums again as he runs his fingers across the ripped fabric and he stopped walking. "I think it's time for a wardrobe change...or at least I can alter these robes to get a nice different look," He mused aloud.

Really? I'd love to help you with your style! It's been years! Please please please? You looked really nice in those pretty outfits I used to have you flaunt!

"Maybe."

The priest then continued his trek until he stood a little off to the side of Yullr: away from the mana field but close enough for him to notice that someone had arrived.

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis​

She had to almost restrain herself from burning Alec's hand when he came so close to put glasses over her face. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Even in a situation of war, Elesis had never felt this nervous since she was sent to scout Resiam's outskirts years ago as part of her training.

"Alec, I could've put those on my own." she said before following Eosforos' attack, burning the demons around her to crisps, even if most that came her way were already the victims of the Angel's blade.

There was something that bothered her by how the layout of demons' hideout. There were mages and some above-average demons, according to Alec's map, however only low-ranked demons were stopping them. If this continued, they would waste too much time and the demons would kill the civilians. This angered her more and she gave a powerful slash made of flames that burnt at least a dozen demon soldiers that ran her way. As soon as she thought of this, Eosforos asked Alec where the mages were.

"If you know, show them to us ASAP. If not, finding them is your top priority, Alec. I have a feeling that we will only have corpses to bring back if Xavier doesn't allow any demon to escape."

NinthSomnus9029 Late

****
Yullr​

He closed his eyes as he felt Lento's own energy be slightly consumed by another one. As soon as he thought of entering the field and rescuing Lento's soul from being consumed, he felt that the energy Lara had left him was too powerful. Even he wasn't guaranteed to escape from the almost god-like power that emanated now from Lento.

'He has to wake up, he needs to fight. If not...who knows what kind of cataclysm will his defeat bring to this world. I need to do something...'

Yullr connected a part of his spirit to the spiritual field and saw the spiritual combat between Lento's image and a giant flame. The blacksmith had gained the ferocity of a demon and even chuckled as the flame burnt to crisp one of his arms. A part of the fire then came to regenerate his lost limb.

However, whoever was fighting wasn't Lento. The spiritual aura around the blacksmith was made of at least fifteen different souls. Each one of them fought to rise above the rest, but they were quickly replaced. As soon as Yullr noticed this, Lento's insane demeanour changed to a calm one, he even dropped his sword and blocked a pillar of flames with an elemental shield.

"...So you're the one that has been observing us, Elf." Lento said, turning around as the flame continued to attack him blindly. The shield kept its shape, although Lento's own mana circuits were making burn marks appear on his arms' skin.

"Who're you?"

"A failed mentor. I'm certain that you don't want this human...Lento, I believe...to lose his soul to the rest of us."

The shield began to crack and Lento quickly summoned an old runic circle around him and strengthened his only defence. Yullr recognized the technique from the one that Naiads used, mostly among their priestesses. The circle began to glow brighter and the runes changed once more as the coat of arms of the last naiad head priestess appeared all over the shield.

"You...your name is Glewin, is it not? You're the last naiad priest-"
"Yes. You are correct. But I can also say that I am Lento Asini, Yullr Mirwynn. Yet, I don't want to take over his soul. Unlike the rest of us, here..." She pointed at the flame, summoned a giant wave of water and let it envelop the flame "...and those over there."

"I knew it. That woman, Lara, had never any good intentions. Lento was never more than a puppet to her."
"You're not entirely wrong, but you know what happens every time a soul reincarnates into another host, don't you?"

Yullr clenched his fists and nodded. It was why he was here in the first place, he had no idea how much was left of all the souls Lara had absorbed, nor how much of her own was left.

"Lara...made a mistake, and I couldn't warn her on time. She was reincarnated into a body made out almost entirely out of energy so-"
"Impossible! She was revived by demons...They couldn't have accessed the Diceon Ore even in its most contaminated state. Making a homunculus out of the most pure Diceon and fill that shell with enough energy to...no, even making it able to take all the real characteristics of a body of flesh until the end is...something only a god would be able to do."

"Yes. You seemed to be very well-informed on necromancy for a true-blood elf." Yullr lowered his gaze, knowing that he had let his old work get back his old habits. The ones he was most ashamed of.

"As I was saying..."Glewin continued, as calm as ever. "Lara made a mistake. One she regret-"

Suddenly, the shield broke and Lento took his sword back in his hands and focused a great amount of his mana into the blade, making it triple in size. He then used it as a shield to block the next pillar of fire before dashing forward, transforming once again the energy of his blade into a upper slash. "Sword of Judgement."

A burst of mana emerged from a second slash and pushed the flame back. Yullr needed a bit of time to connect the dots, but now that he knew that Lara had been reincarnated more than once, many of her abilities made sense. A mere Lost Soul revived by the techniques he had taught all necromancers wouldn't be able to create a dimension of her own. He would've liked to speak with Glewin longer, but a knight had visibly taken over Lento's soul.

"...Yullr. So, that is your name. I know, from Lara and Glewin, why you're watching us fight. I want to give my brother back his consciousness, but I know that he'd never be strong enough. Not to complete Lara's will. It's a path full of thorns that has brought us only pain. I'm Reijak Asini, a name that won't go through history, even if they found my corpse, it was badly..."

Yullr had already heard the same speech many times before, even by those that underwent demonization experiments. As much as he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to know anything more by talking to a human not so older than Lento. He listened absent-mindedly to Reijak's description of his own death until he grew sick of it.

"...They wouldn't know who I was unless-"

"You take another life to find redemption for all of you, I suppose. It's what most of your kind wants when there's not much of them left." the elf interrupted him.

A sound of steps broke Yullr's focus and in a matter of seconds, he was back in the desert, where someone was standing a few steps back from him. The elf sighed. He needed to go back and help Lento find a way to have the upper hand before most of the souls inside the flame took over. If there was souls as strong as Glewin's and as desperate as Reijak's, the sum of their powers could very well destroy Lento's body in a matter of days, and that was an optimistic guess.

He glanced at the priest behind him.

"Phantom. Is there anything you need?"

Phant0m

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Alec

They looked at him confused by his gesture, "Sorry for putting them on you all, I had to configure the glasses with the data I acquired." Alec looker at Elesis who seemed about to attack him earlier, she had many worries about him which made Alec feel depressed but he does not notice it much.

Then the operation began, Alec, Elesis, and Eos ran through the enemies slashing away at those left behind. When Eos and Elesis added input about the possibilities of the enemies having stronger forces deep inside he began to wonder. If the enemy really did have a strong mages deep underground then there should be strong guards.

A bit later Elesis gave Alec the order to go ahead and try and keep demons alive. If commander wants some alive then I'll have to be faster than Xavier.

"Activating Fenris. Let the hunt begin..." Sparks of El energy flew around Alec as his nasod armor resounded to his call, forming a high tech helmet with the shape of a wolf, Alec's nasod armor began to glow with veins of blue light flowing around.

Dashing past Elesis and Eos Alec made his way ahead as he began to trace the footsteps, heart beat, breathing patterns, temperature of the demons all around the area. "Sending data to Elesis and Eos. Beginning new mission, Capture high target demons. High priority target: Mage of unknown origin." When the first demon walked around the corner Alec jumped out of field of view, with his sword glowing red Alec sliced off the arms of the demons before him, "Burn." Burning the wounds of the demons Alec knocked them unconscious for Elesis and Eos. When he looked around smelling for a scent different from the rest he spotted a secret door further down the hall way. The scent of blood and magic came right from that door, and right before that door stood two small demons wearing armor, so thats what they looked as to a normal human. Alec sent the information to Eos and Elesis of what he saw. He tightened his hold on his blade. "These two are highly dangerous. I recommend there extermination. Permission to eliminate?"

MementoDei Late ​