(Written while listening to: "Garden of Bones" by Galdorcraeft on YouTube)
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"Most of my long lasting friendships begin in the most unexpected places for me… like for example: kindergarten, high-school entrance ceremony, insides of the stomach of a Cursed Titan. Truly. Beautiful memories."
- Of Yogami Laito's recounts of his second childhood memories.
<<<>>>
The question hung in the air for a moment.
Damian turned his head slowly at Laito.
"We?" He asked half-surprised, half-amused.
–
After a pause he continued.
"You said that becoming an Ascendant would allow me to go back home?"
"Yup." Laito round shook his body as if he was nodding.
"New body, free of back pain and other pesky detriments. Alongside with slowed aging and superior capabilities, combined with new abilities."
"Then that's the plan." Damian resolutely grabbed his harpoon and caressed its jagged blade.
"And I guess I am stuck following you either way. For some reason you calm down my Flaw, so it's not that I have much choice." The now-slightly-less-mad man reluctantly agreed to team up with Laito.
"Great. But there's a major problem with that: our current situation." Laito couldn't help but notice.
"I don't think it will be easy to find a citadel with a working gateway in the middle of the Stormsea… and becoming an Awakened first is, for the most part, a prerequisite before Ascension… So unless you wanna try and go for natural Awakening… we stuck. Of course we can try and kill the squid monster and then you can try and swim, but first maelstrom would erase you from exsistance… heck, maybe even I would die from that… and knowing the Dream Realm, it would be alive and very keen on killing specifically us."
Damian for the first time showed a tiny sign of amusement, with a single corner of his lips curling slightly upward:
"Don't worry. I've got a plan."
–
"
–
[A week later]
"Hey, you moron!" Laito shouted as loud as he could into the water.
The sounds don't travel underwater very far, but our lightbulb's voice managed to reach its target.
The very same squid monster – but now it lacked an arm, alongside half a leg on the opposite site and having a visible dent on its squidy head.
And yet it was still lively and ready for action. It focused its attention and swam with a great speed(for its size) in Laito's direction as if pursuing a prey.
That was Damian's plan.
Instead of getting rid of that titanic abomination, and getting stranded, Damian remained inside, while Laito was baiting the monster to swim faster – with a more guided manner.
'Why do I have to do all the work? It was your plan, do something useful.' Laito grumbled inwardly. His thoughts targeted his new companion.
It's not that Damian was doing absolutely nothing… but he could have as well, because from the moment they began their journey, he busied himself with a small construction project that didn't seem particularly useful…
Yea.
For whatever reason Damian begrudgingly built a small shrine inside where he lived.
A small altar. Some baldachim over it, a bit of ornaments and few standing torches for lighting.
All made from bones.
It looked quite primitive – a far cry from the glorious Incandescent Cathedral, which Laito was acquainted with.
"All things considered, it looks quite impressive… but why?"
Damian glanced at him from under his brows.
"Unfortunatly, I have to "worship you" as ridiculous as its sounds, and apparently, it requires actual actions: with sermons, prayers, rituals and other stuff… having this makes it easier to pretend."
–
"It genuinely scares me whether I will be forced to proselytize once I go amongst people." Damian shuddered.
That's how this week passed for both of them.
The Stormsea was impossible to navigate without relevant star charts. Space and time behaved erratically in the entire region, so Laito could only do much in search for a citadel. From the original novel he remembered there were supposedly quite few of them – thanks to Nightwalker and his clan they even belonged to humanity…
But Laito had no such luck yet.
The only thing that interrupted their voyage was the occasional Nightmare Creature that challenged their "ride".
Thankfully, they didn't encounter anything yet that could outright kill it.
It got wounded often though.
Thankfully, it also regenerated fast. Advantages of having a living vessel.
There were of course disadvantages too…
It needed to eat.
And both the way it fed and fought was quite gruesome.
And time consuming. Often causing them to suddenly change direction to the point that they became even more lost… not that Laito had an idea where they were going anyway… but still!
Lait sometimes wondered what rank and class was that creature:
'It can't be Great being or stronger, otherwise we already would be done and dusted. My best guess is that it has to be a Titan, since it does have its weird telexinetic powers."
That's also how it fought. Sending concentrated mind blasts and squashing into pulp things that got too close. And then directing it into its toothy maw hidden under its tentacles.
'Another one with the damn mind abilities… my dad would wish that his telekinesis was that strong…'
The time flew…
Nothing happened.
–
And then… something happened!
But not to Laito & Damian duo.
Not even in the Stormsea.
It was Laito's other self.
–
In an instant, as if with a blink of an eye…
The blinding radiance surrounding him disappeared!
The sudden change combined with the fact that his sight is 360 degree made Laito need a second to process his surroundings…
And one thing in particular was quite eye-catching…
'Oh nononononono…' Laito thought frantically as he was bracing for a run.
Right there, was a mountain-sized – maybe even bigger – humanoid skull with one of its eye sockets empty and the other side of it shattered.
Laito's other Core was, indeed – just like he had guessed…
Sent to Godgrave.
<<<>>>
[16 months left until MHA plot beginning]
[Chapter End] The story is not over yet
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