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38.94% A Nascent Kaleidoscope. / Chapter 229: Chapter 219

Chapter 229: Chapter 219

"So, Kairi." I took a sip of my drink. "How you doing?"

Kairi turned to look at me before giving a grunt. "Same old same old." He downed his shot pretty smoothly.

"You want some juice, Rin?"

"Screw off." She huffed.

"Hehe." I nudged her shoulder even as she rolled her eyes, there was a little smile on her face. "But for real. What've you been up to, Kairi?"

"Is this really the place to talk about that sort of stuff?" He glanced at the Bartender who stood not too far away.

"I come here with Izanami to have drinks and talk about random things." I shared a look with the Bartender who nodded at me. "Do you really think this would be a place we wouldn't be comfortable in openly talking?" Well, he is a Magus, so I can't really fault him on his hesitation. "But..I can understand your sentiments." I gave the Bartender another nod before dipping my finger in my drink and using the liquid to draw a couple runes, creating a makeshift Bounded Field around us. "I'll just say that Izzy made sure there were....protections in place and leave it at that."

That seemed to pacify him slightly.

"Neat trick." Kairi spun around in his stool, drink in hand. "Saw Bazett do something like that once."

"You're seriously nonchalant about talking about this stuff in public when you're usually really…private." Rin commented.

"Honestly, it's really not that big a deal. He's missing some , okay a lot of context, but Artoria is already known here and there's already some talk about her. She helped me defended this place from a bunch of terrorists. Who I might add are reincarnations, or descendants of Heroes who tend to take the names of their ancestors. And that's completely ignoring all the other precautions that have already been taken." I pointed out.

"Really?" Kairi perked up. "Reincarnation is a real thing over here?"

"Kinda, sorta. More so impressions and memories of their ancestors than an actual reincarnation that you're probably thinking of. An inheritance of a 'spirit' if you will. It's still the Age of Gods so the cycle of souls is a bit…. malleable. Everyone has their own realms of the dead still so shuffling a soul through their own methods still is possible without disrupting the world's flow." Not to mention my own circumstances…

I couldn't help but smile as I glanced over to see Artoria and Mordred still talking.

"I got Gramps working on the delicate parts, but otherwise, I got your payment." I looked back towards Kairi.

Kairi just grunted, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and light it up. "Shit, I probably made more just walking around here for a few days picking up knick-knacks than the payment I'll get for the War."

"For real?" Rin looked surprised. "Is stuff here that valuable back home?"

"Depends." I swiveled in my stool. "It's not so much that things are strictly valuable by themselves, but there are many things that are just lost to time that are required for many different uses. Imagine not being able to cast a Greater Ritual because a certain Flower is missing, but it still grows around here like a weed?"

"Hmm, good point. Well, I don't think I have to worry anymore. With the loot I got from running around in those God-forsaken dungeons, I'm probably set for life." Rin hummed.

Yeah, she's amassed quite a fortune so far.

"You ready to head home at some point when this is all over, Kairi?" I asked. He was good sport and stuck around for a bit while everything got settled.

Honestly, he was a good guy, I liked him.

Surprisingly, Kairi looked conflicted. "I don't suppose you'd need a Freelancer on a more…permanent contract?"

Huh. I hadn't thought he would want to stay.

"As it so happens, I find myself in need of someone with your specific set of skills."

"Oh?"

"Yes, you see, I believe my Girlfriend has recently come into contact with a Little Lion that could do with a caretaker."

Kairi snorted, pushing his cigarette into a nearby ashtray. "For something like that, my pay needs to match the difficulty."

"Don't worry, I'm not short on money." I waived it off.

"Well, you could always ask your sugar momma." Rin teased. "Isn't that basically what you called Yasaka?"

"Someone sounds jealous." I grinned.

"Bah, who'd be jealous of you."

"Fluffy tails, all mine."

Rin huffed in response.

"For real though, money isn't really an issue." I turned back towards Kairi. "I also turned the Yggdmillennia family into my sorta-subordinates. They're going to rise up after my help and I'll be raking in a lot of resources soon."

Kairi let out a sigh. "Well, It's not like I had anything that really bound me back home. My family is pretty much gone, and what's left I haven't spoken to in years. If they get a little bit of good will like you said, I'll consider it even between us and cut my losses."

Equivalent exchange – Karma. Lots of names for the same thing even if understanding sometimes differs. Well, he has a good head on his shoulders, so he wasn't just jumping ship without settling things in his heart.

"You'll have more opportunities here too. People here aren't as guarded with their magecraft and you can probably pick up the local casting system relatively easily."

"I took a look at it already." Kairi nodded. "Didn't seem too complicated on the surface."

"You keep bringing people here, Schweinorg. You got some scheme going on?" Rin asked.

"Not particularly." I shrugged. "But if it helps Yasaka, I'd call that a win. This is more or less where I have set up my home, and I want it to do well."

I was too neglectful of her own worries and burdens. I want to help alleviate those when possible. While I won't try to coerce Mordred to do anything, I think she wouldn't mind working under Yasaka…especially if Artoria's 'descendant' is around.

Meridia and Yasaka were the only ones that had firm foundations that couldn't be moved. Meridia didn't need my help and I doubted I could provide her with anything useful. Yasaka on the other hand, I hate to say it, but her faction wasn't very strong.

So I would do my best to support her when I had time, like now. I'd fulfilled my desire to resurrect Scáthach, now I had no immediate goal, so I would set this as my target.

I should ask her how she dealt with those Hero Faction idiots. If she needed help extracting their sacred gears, that could also be a large boon to her faction.

I should also ask her for her opinions as well. I don't want to start assuming anything. For all I know, she doesn't want to further expand her influence or to increase her faction's potential and is content on keep the status quo. I certainly don't want to step on her toes as her faction leader, that would be a big no-no as far as boundaries in our relationship go.

"Schweinorg." Rin poked me.

"Oh, sorry, got lost in thought." I pushed those to the side for now. "But yeah, I'll always welcome you. Even if you want to retire and live a peaceful life here, I'm sure Mordred would love it. I can't claim to know how close you two are, but I don't think she's one to be so open to a stranger."

"You mind if I get some things from back home? Just got a few personal items I'd rather not part with."

"Sure, I can give you a lift when we've worked everything out." That was easy enough to do.

"Thanks." He nodded towards me in appreciation as his attention was forced back behind us.

Artoria and Mordred started walking over showing a lot less awkwardness between them. With a little flick of my finger, I removed the Bounded Field.

"Yo." Mordred casually walked over. "They got any good stuff here?" She eyed the drinks on the shelves.

"I think they have a minimum age requirement." I replied.

"I'm older than you." She said without missing a beat.

"Height requirement?"

"This suppose to be a fuckin roller coaster?" She snorted.

"How do you even know what that is?"

"Random things, I don't know. Half the shit the Grail gave me I have like no context for. Like, the fuck is a Maserati?"

Huh, that really is just a random thing it told her.

"A type of car." I said idly. Well, Mordred seemed much more relaxed and back to her normal self, so that's good.

"Whatever." She shrugged. "Oi, Necromance, we're done. I wanna go back to watching that thing on the TV."

"It's called a movie." Kairi sighed standing up. "I'll catch you all later." I waived a casual goodbye as Mordred and him left.

"I'm guessing you've settled things for now?" I turned towards Artoria who had been silent in these few moments.

"Yes, we have talked about several things." Even Artoria seemed more….peaceful.

"You look better now." Rin commented. "Not like you're going to your execution. You good?"

"I'm...good." Artoria nodded as we headed out ourselves.

I set some money on the counter and followed along.

Artoria let out an uncharacteristic sigh. "But I feel as though I am exhausted." She took the initiative and reached for my hand as we walked down the street. "Thank you." She looked up at me. "There is still a long ways to go before either of us truly moves on, but I feel as if a weight has been taken off my shoulders."

"I didn't do anything. You're the one who was willing to confront your own demons." Not that I was calling Mordred herself a demon….but I think she got my sentiment. "I just brought her around."

"I'm happy for you." Rin spoke up. "You going to be seeing more of her?"

"Yes, I do believe I will. It had been...rocky as a start and there were still some strong feelings…but I believe I will be trying to spend more time with Mordred. I wish to try and be a proper parent, as ridiculous as it sounds since we are both dead."

"That's going to be tough, she didn't seem like someone who needed a parent. But she also seemed to really look up to you." Rin shrugged. "I don't really have any advice to give, so try not to force anything I guess."

"Yes, your words do make sense. I will give time for our new and strange relationship to settle and go from there. As Wilhelm has told me on several occasions, we have plenty of time and we're in no rush." She smiled happily.

Happy Artoria was really heartwarming.

"Well, I'm fully awake now. You wanna eat a few gallons of ice cream and watch some bad TV?"

"That sounds wonderful." Artoria responded immediately.

"Well, I'll give you two your 'girl time'." I laughed.

"Wilhelm, I didn't mean to – "

"I'm kidding." I gave her forehead a little poke. "But I also won't get upset when you want to spend time away from me. You're taking a break from adventuring in Skyrim, go be lazy with Rin. You certainly deserve it after everything."

Rin looked happy at my words even if she didn't say anything. I know they didn't mean anything by what they said, so I didn't take offense.

And I want her to also understand I don't intend to come between the relationship they built.

Besides, I'm definitely going to get her one of these nights~

"Thank you." She said quietly. "You have been everything I hoped for in a boyfriend."

"Really?"

"Well…..some of the things I desired….." She had a blank look, staring at me before a little smile formed on her face. I always have enjoyed her sense of humor.

"You're adorable." I leaned in and she welcomed me with a loving kiss. I didn't prolong it as I knew Rin was standing right next to us and I didn't want to make it too awkward on her. "Go make Rin poor again with your appetite."

"Hey!" Rin looked indignant.

"My appetite isn't that bad!" Artoria also squeaked out.

I just laughed again at their reactions.

"I'll see you both later, I'm going to hop over and see Izzy."

"Oh, please give her my best and tell her to come visit. I wish for her to meet Rin and we can spend time together." Artoria perked up at the mention of our mutual friend.

"Still weird to think about." Rin muttered. "But what the hell, bring Japan's Death Goddess to come visit when you have time."

I looked one last time at Artoria's beautiful smile before opening up a portal and headed to Yomi.

***

Early chapter since I couldn't procrastinate today. Funny how that works. So, we got Izzy coming up right around the corner, should be fun.

Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pat.reon.com/astoryforone

Also, we have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F


next chapter

Chapter 230: Chapter 220

Yomi hadn't noticeably changed in my absence, not that I believed it would. The eerie land of the dead still felt just as unwelcoming as the first time I had been here. Though I knew that nothing would actually harm me or even try as Izzy had a firm hand on what occurred here. Honestly, I don't even know if anything 'lived' here besides her anymore. There were legends and myths about certain creatures and such, but I had encountered nothing in my – admittedly few – times being here.

Well, I now had some free time, maybe I should explore in the future?

Izzy's house was almost comical in how out of place it stood. Like someone just cut out a normal house and slapped it right inside her realm without doing anything else.

I walked up the familiar steps and didn't even get to knock on the door before it opened before me.

"Wilhelm." Izzy looked surprised to see me.

"Izzy." I smiled as I saw her for the first time in too long.

"….would you like to come in?" She moved to the side, gesturing into her home.

"That'd be lovely." I nodded, walking inside. "Hooh, I've had a long day." I flopped onto her couch. "How've you been? It's been way too long."

"Yes, it has been quite a awhile." She nodded closing the door, but stared at me with a scrutinizing gaze from a fair distance away.

I looked back and felt weird with how awkward she was being. "Oh…" I realized. "I guess you can feel it, huh?"

"Are you referring to the feeling as if you will draw a weapon on me at any moment?" She raised an eyebrow. "Or perhaps are you referring to the aura of my son that seems to permeate your being." She added an extra dry tone. "You are very different, and I don't know what to say. It makes me question if you are who I think you are."

"Wait."

"What?"

"You think I might not be – me , yet you let me into your home?"

"Yes?"

"….do we need to have a talk about stranger danger?"

"I take it back, you are definitely Wilhelm." She snorted. "I doubt anyone else would say something so ridiculous to me."

"Does my new 'feeling' make you dislike me?" I know that there was a strange relationship between Campione and Gods in that particular world-line. An instinctual desire to fight each other even if they had no true dislike.

"No….it's difficult to explain." She shook her head. "It was almost like an instinctual repulsion. Though I am over it now."

Well, as long as our relationship didn't sour.

"But I wish to know why you feel so similar to my son." She added. "Others may not be able to recognize it, but I would know my son's presence anywhere."

"So…..that's a long story." I paused, letting out a sigh. "You're my friend, Izzy."

She blinked. "I greatly appreciate you saying such a thing, but I don't understand the sudden admission. in fact, I am slightly worried now."

"You wondered about Artoria didn't you? And about other things around me that confused you? Like how I could come and go to Yomi without you being able to stop me?"

"Yes, you being able to tear a hole into my Realm without my input. And I am curious about Artoria's origin, but I don't want to press."

"Well…."I scratched my head. "It's a long story."

"Should I go get a bottle of wine?"

"Probably." I nodded.

Though it was more of a figure of speech. She merely flicked her hand and one appeared in her hand with a couple wine glasses. She didn't speak as she poured us both a glass, taking a seat…weirdly far from me.

"Izzy…"

"What?" She questioned me.

"Why are you being so distant?" Did I do something wrong?"

"I am not being distant." She said curtly.

"Bullshit."

She let out a huff. "I am not being distant."

I gestured to the space between us.

"…."

"Hug." I held my arms out.

"What?"

"Hug or I'm not telling my story."

"You are blackmailing me."

"Yup, now hug." I smiled.

"You know, without context, trying to blackmail a woman into being touched would make you a creep." She snorted again, getting up from her seat. But there was also a faint smile that wouldn't leave her.

"I think I'm legally still registered as a minor in Japan." I pointed out. "A mature woman inviting a handsome young boy into her home….."

She opened her mouth. "Are you implying that Izanami-no-Mikoto, Goddess of Death, Mother of Japan, is a cougar!?"

"Hey, I didn't say it, you did."

"I should smack you."

"Bold talk for someone in hugging distance." I took a step forward, wrapping my arms around her. She didn't stiffen either, if anything she welcomed it wholeheartedly.

"I said it before, but you are infuriatingly kind sometimes." She said quietly.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was about half and half."

"Still taking it as a compliment." She seemed to be more at ease. "What's wrong, Izzy?" I finally asked as we separated.

She let out a sigh. "It's nothing important." She waived me off. "Go on with your story, I want to hear what you were about to tell me." She sat down next to me, sipping her wine. "And I really wish to know why you feel so similar to my son. I'm trying to hold myself back from being aggressive about it, Wilhelm, but for some reason it's giving my anxiety."

I let out a sigh. "Alright, but it'll take a bit to get to that part."

"That's fine...I have nothing else planned….ever." She leaned back. "Thank you…..by the way. I'm not used to having people care about me like this, it's nice."

"Well, you're stuck with me now." I grinned.

"Joy." She drawled. "I suppose it could be worse. My life would be more boring were you not such a fool."

Admittedly, I did have her go fight Godzilla-lite with me, however….

"Whose more foolish, the fool or the one who's friends with the fool?" I smirked.

She raised an eyebrow. "So that's how it's going to be."

"Come at me." I did the little gesturing motion as an additional taunt.

"I'll remember this, don't you worry." She calmly set her wine glass down. "But stop getting distracted. Explain what you were going to explain."

"Fine, fine." I huffed. "Alright, so I should talk about my origins. To be honest, I'm not exactly normal –"

"Yes, You're a half devil." She said dryly.

I opened my mouth and closed it again. "Okay, that's fair." I sighed. "Let's try this again. My origin isn't really normal for this world, even considering the supernatural aspects."

"Are you an Alien?" She asked.

I blinked at her sudden question. "What?"

Her lips curled up.

"You're messing with me."

"Well, you are smart enough to catch on."

"Now whose getting distracted?"

"Ugh, you're right. Seriously, keep going."

"Now I lost my place."

"How did you lose your place, you spoke like two sentences?" She groaned.

"Maybe I'm not smart enough to remember." I hummed.

"Well as you keep proving, being able to speak does not make one intelligent." She retorted with a little smirk.

I just nodded, accepting it. "I was expecting a more subtle remark." Honestly, I love how she's able to quote Star Wars with me.

"Please, like there's anything subtle about me." She said with an arrogant little smile.

"…..Definitely not a Cougar." I'm sure she could sense my sarcasm.

"Y-you!" She slapped my shoulder. "Just for that, you're punished with being confined to Yomi. Insulting a Goddess like that!?" She huffed.

"Mmm, for how long?" I leaned over.

"Atleast another few hours." She looked away.

Izzy…what's wrong?

I didn't want to push her on it, but something clearly had her upset.

With a sigh, I decided to not bring it up again for the moment.

"You know, it's funny, you're not the first person who asked if I was an Alien." I laughed remembering my first time meeting Ruby on Remnant.

She seemed to recover a little bit. "Really? That's either a strange coincidence, or I'm closer to the mark than I thought."

"I'm not an Alien." I rolled my eyes. "....Technically..." Now that I think about it….

"I was joking, but your tone is making me question many things now."

"I was…..born on this planet?" I offered.

"And that comment doesn't fill me with assurance." She pointed out.

"Alright, I usually start this off with explaining my Magic."

"The one with the colorful portals that lets you trespass into my home without my consent?"

"Do you have to make it sound so creepy?"

"I'm sorry, did this 'Cougar' hurt your feelings?"

"You're never going to let that one go, are you?"

"Nope."

"Alright, moving on." I clapped my hands. "So, my Magic is known as the Kaleidoscope, which is the Operation and Manipulation of Parallel Worlds." I looked at her as she digested that information.

Que awkward silence.

"I see….." She finally spoke after a couple minutes.

"You do?" I tilt my head. "It took a lot of explanation on my part when I told Yasaka."

"Wilhelm." She responded. "I am a Goddess. Nothing against Yasaka, but she does not have as much of an understanding about the world as I do."

"Fair point."

"Yes." She pursed her lips. "Though I am still….confused at a great many things."

"That's it, no other reactions?"

"I'm processing." She snorted. "I think some things are starting to make sense now. You said before that you traveled to the Land of Shadows and trained under Scáthach, yet Scáthach died centuries ago. I didn't question it before and merely wrote it off as something unimportant."

"Oh, she's dead in this world?" I sort of voiced my thoughts. "I didn't realize…."

"And a comment like that answers many more questions." She said dryly. "Parallel Worlds...it's not an unfamiliar notion, but not one I thought a mortal would touch upon."

"So, yeah, I travel to other worlds frequently."

"I could've guess as much." She replied. "I have many – many questions regarding that. But I want to urge a response about what I mentioned earlier."

"Okay...but I'd like to preface this by asking you to listen until the end and not get mad."

"I have a feeling I won't like where this is going."

"….it's not as bad as it sounds on the surface."

"I hesitantly accept your words for now, please continue."

"Okay, so I went to a certain variation of Earth. Rules there were a little different. Basically…..I may have killed a God and usurped a bit of their Authority?"

She paused, her gaze turning intent. "Wilhelm. I would like to punctuate this by saying that I understand the concepts you are stating. Other worlds, variations and what-not. Even in popular media, the idea is rather common so I'm not completely ignorant even if my nature was ignored. So, I would like to ask – did you kill my Son and take his Authority?"

"...He started it."

She opened her mouth then closed it again, the little bit of tension seemed to evaporate. "Please explain properly."

"So killing a God there isn't really 'killing' in a normal sense. Basically….they just get banished back to the realm of immortality where they descend into the Mortal World from."

"Okay, I feel as though I'm missing much context, but that alleviates many of my concerns."

"So….not mad?"

"I'm not upset." Izzy replied. "I was thrown off guard by your first admittance and I believe I just required a moment to think it through. The idea of my son getting killed…..it is not one I can process easily." She let out a long breath, pouring herself another glass of wine.

"I should have asked first, but you believe me?" I kind of glossed over that notion and just kept going.

"Yes, I do not believe you would lie to me." She replied honestly.

I'm happy that she trusts me like that. "Alright, why don't I start from the beginning?"

She let out a sigh, curling up on the couch next to me. "Sure, let me hear about your totally-not-an-alien life." I could see the corners of her lips curl up in amusement.

"It starts as many stories do." I started to paint the picture.

"Why do I feel like this is going to be a Disney-esq tale?"

"Fuck that, it started when I got stabbed through the chest with a Magic-Holy Lightsaber."

"….I am both horrified and intrigued. Well done."

***

Izzy and Wilhelm meeting after too long.

Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pat.reon.com/astoryforone

We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F


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