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12.92% A Nascent Kaleidoscope. / Chapter 76: Chapter 73

Chapter 76: Chapter 73

There was a rather awkward silence that filled the room.

I was sitting on her sofa and she sat in a chair nearby. To make it even worse, there was an unconscious little girl next to me.

The missing little kitsune. Her nine tails moved ever so slightly with her breathing.

I feel like an idiot not realizing who Izzy was before. I mean…..it was staring at me right in the face.

Looking up at Izzy – Izanami, she looked away the moment our eyes met.

"So…..Izanami." I finally spoke, the silence was starting to grate on me.

Her head snapped towards me, wanting to say something but she held herself back. "I'm...I apologize for hiding my identity." She said quietly.

"Okay."

She paused, looking at me in surprise. "You aren't angry or…?"

"Did you think I would be?" I questioned here. "I'm not going to get angry for you hiding your 'true' name." I rolled my eyes. "Izzy – " I intentionally used her fake name. "Are you not the same person I was spending time with? What exactly changed between then and now?"

"Is it really that simple to you?" She looked at me in shock. "I am Izanami-no-Mikoto, goddess of death, she who beckons. I have committed heinous sins in my life, the world curses my very existence."

"Literally the son of Satan over here." I deadpanned.

"It is not the same and you know it." She pursed her lips, crossing her arms in annoyance. "I am condemned by the very land I helped create."

"Yeah, that's not fair." I sighed, thinking about what she's been through. She wasn't lying about her 'sins' if the stories are anything to go by. But, at this moment, I don't see that hateful goddess portrayed in myths and legends, all I see is a lonely women who misses her family. "Should I call you Mother Izanami?" I smiled towards her. She was Japan's mother goddess.

"Y-you….." She actually looked bashful at the words. "Don't tease me." She added on quietly.

I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction, definitely going to call her that in the future. "I'm not upset, Izzy." I said gently. "I am surprised, and more annoyed at myself for not realizing. But I don't have the faintest negative perception of you right now."

"It could be a ruse, a plan to trick you into this place…..for you to never leave."

"Aren't you supposed to trick me into consuming something of this place, so I would be forever bound?" I raised an eyebrow. That myth regarding Persephone and Hades did have some kernels of truth to it. My lips curled up as I saw her huff. "Now that I think about it, aren't you supposed to be stuck here?"

She scoffed. "I am a goddess, do you think a rock can keep me sealed for that long?"

Hmm, makes sense. I wonder if any other deities know she gets up and walks around the surface whenever she wants.

I just shrugged. "Well, regardless, you are my friend and I don't care who you 'are'." And what a funny thought that is right now. I somehow became friends with Izanami. "Unless you don't want to be anymore?"

She actually tensed up at my words, clearly unsettled by my implication. "I enjoy our time spent together." She squeezed out.

"Well, then nothing else needs to be said." I clapped my hands. "So, what's the issue with little fox over here?"

I don't think she knew how to respond to my dismissal of her 'status', but she seemed willing to shift the conversation. "You are more than familiar with those miscreants that caused chaos in the city not that long ago?"

"Tamamo-no-Mae cult?"

"Yes." She rolled her eyes. "Those idiots did not stop their initial attempts, apparently they had a few backup plans in place incase of failure….how they managed to actually devise a strategy of that level I can't fathom, because they certainly do not seem to possess the modicum of intelligence needed for that small amount of forward thinking."

Ouch, yeah, they didn't seem too bright. Perhaps they managed to find a child to poke holes in their elaborate schemes? "I actually don't know more than the bare basics." I scratched the back of my head. "Honestly, I've been keeping myself out of that whole mess."

Izanami looked embarrassed, I guess she must have thought she was dragging me into this against my wills, but I was more than willing to help her to.

"They were trying to use a ritual to resurrect Tamamo-no-Mae using another 9-tailed fox." Izanami gestured towards the sleeping little kitsune. "Once the connected to Yomi was made, I saw what was happening…..and I took exception."

Hmm, Tamamo-no-Mae is actually an aspect of Amaterasu, practically her daughter....I dare not ask what the relationship is like there, because she seems really distant with the concept.

"Curious." I tapped my chin, thinking about the course of actions. "If I had to guess, they were trying to create a symbolic link due to heritage, then drag out Tamamo-no-Mae's soul, use the kid's body as a catalyst to revitalize the dead spirit's flesh with her own essence."

"That is…..frighteningly close to what was happening." She seemed mildly surprised by my insight. "There is only one issue that remained though…."

"She feels of death, but isn't actually dead." I said, staring at the little girl.

"Yes." Izanamis said quietly. "She was invaded by the power of Yomi, her soul…..it was 'touched' by this realm. I'm doing what I can to keep anymore from seeping into her….but it is already acting like poison."

"And you can't simply remove or cleanse it?" I asked. She was also a goddess of creation….

"I can, if I didn't care about her continued existence." Izanami replied. "I am Yomi, anything I try to do 'inside' of her will leave more traces of me and the same issues will persist."

"Ah, like trying to put out a fire with more fire."

"You understand." She nodded. "That is why I required…..outside help."

"Outside help am i? And here I thought we were friends."

"That's…..not what I meant." She pouted, and it was cute I couldn't help but tease her.

I sighed, thinking about the headache this would be. "I understand why you couldn't simply drop her off at her mother's now…" I said idly. Yeah, quite a few comments she made started to make more sense.

Oh gods, I gave her advice on how to deal with her godly children.

Her youngest is Susano'o....

Izanami looked away, a sad smile on her face. "I have not seen my daughter for many years...I don't want our reunion to be her assuming I schemed against her Miko."

The fact that Amaterasu would probably not listen to reason and assume the worst of Izzy was left unsaid. It would most definitely cause more issues than it solves.

"Well, you're in luck, I am perhaps one of the most knowledgeable Magicians in the world."

"Aren't you barely an adult?"

"Irrelevant." I waived her off.

"I think it is very relevant."

I ignored her and turned towards the little kitsune. The immediate solutions was perhaps to use a healing spell. My hand ignited with that familiar white light as I raised it over the little girl. Her pale face turned slightly healthier…..but I could tell she wasn't actually 'getting better'.

No, the 'infection' still remained.

"A normal healing spell won't do anything." I didn't really expect it to, but I wasn't to see the extent of damage. "Perhaps a sealing? Gathering it all up, seal it in a corner of her body for later purification?"

"Any sealing spell would be eroded within hours." Izanami added.

"Yeah, this stuff is very corrosive. It isn't merely 'deathly' energy mixed in, it's like a combination of death and necrotic power." I murmured, stroking my chin. There is a difference between the two. Death is a natural state of being, the end result for everything. Necrotic energies are….unnatural, they twist life energies and propagate through corruption. While both are antithetical to continue living, combing them makes matters several fold worse.

"If you continued to keep her 'steady' how long do you think before she crosses the point of no return?"

"Several hours at the most." She answered without a second thought.

And there wasn't much we could do to slow that down. Even sealing it away for a few hours may have an adverse effect when the energies break free. Yeah, it would buy some time, but the energies might rampage when they finally break out, causing more damage before settling down, essentially accelerating the process.

I suddenly had a thought. "I may have a solution, but I require something from you."

She tilted her head. "What do you need?"

"Permission to bring someone in here and help me. I'm close to someone who can most likely heal her fully."

"That's it?" She questioned. "And would they be…. comfortable coming here?"

"Actually, I'm sure she would love to meet you. I want her to meet all my friends actually." I couldn't help but smiled at her.

"I see." She looked rather unsure of herself, but she relented. "I will not block you from bringing someone to aid me."

I held back the urge to give her a hug. I don't know why it made me feel bad seeing her like that, but we weren't really close enough for something that 'intimate'. But still, I wanted to cheer her up. "Would you like to hold Sir Wiggles while I'm gone?'

She looked at me, holding back an eager expression. "…yes."

I chuckled, flipping my hat off and allowing my familiar hop on out. I mentally sent him my 'feelings' telling him to watch over Izzy while I go run an errand.

He happily hopped into her lap, allowing her to dote on him.

Spoiled little rabbit.

Well, I'm glad he doesn't feel intimidated by her anymore. Even this realm seemed not to bother him as long as he was nearby one of us.

"I can open up Yomi to almost anywhere in Japan…..where do you need to go?"

"No worries, I got this." I waived her off, bringing out Mirage.

"What are you –"

I slashed my sword, creating a portal back home. I gave one last look over at Izzy, her eyes widened in disbelief. Yeah, if even Meridia was surprised that I could do this, I can only imagine Izzy will be too.

I gave her a wink, jumping through.

Lets just hope Artoria still has Avalon on her.

***

Girlfriend about to meet new friend. I'm sure nothing bad will happen. And we're almost at the part where different world characters being to interact. It's honestly one of the parts i'm looking forward to writing the most, characters that should never meet finally interacting. But that's mostly still a bit down the road.

So I was going to write another Interlude tomorrow, which would be 5 chapters from tomorrow for you guys, from the perspective of the hero faction. Are there any other perspectives that people want for the future? I don't plan on touching Sirzechs anytime soon, but those around him are fair game. Hell, i'm open to omake ideas too, if anyone wants to throw some stuff out, canon or non-canon is fine.

Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pat.reon.com/storyforone


next chapter

Chapter 77: Chapter 74

My home world appeared before my eyes, the familiar magical energy in the air told me exactly where I was.

There was something one learned with traveling to other worlds, each one had it's own 'taste' so to speak. A flavor that was hard to describe unless you actually experienced it for yourself.

I shook my head, that small bit of lightheadedness that appeared for the briefest moments when you jumped from different levels of magical energy.

The familiar walls around me came more into focus and I stepped out of my 'room' at Zelretch's workshop.

I did hear someone, exactly the person I was looking for.

I saw her standing on her tip-toes trying to reach something in a high cabinets.

"Need a hand?" I asked, seeing her head snap towards me, her body reeling back like she was doing something she wasn't supposed.

"Wilhelm." Artoria squeaked out. "I was…..just….." She cleared her throat. "I thought you would be gone for a few more days? Zelretch said you were dealing with something in another world."

"Yeah, something came up and I need help." I sighed, walking close to her. I saw her look rather shy as I inspected what she was trying to grab.

Our eyes met and she looked away with a small blush on her cheeks. I couldn't help but chuckle, reaching up and grabbing the box of cookies down for her.

I think I heard a small 'thank you' out from under her breath.

Gods she's so cute.

She held the box to her chest, I could tell she wanted to get into them right away but she held back. "What did you need help with?"

"Actually…" I scratched the back of my head. "I need your help specifically."

"I would be more than happy to lend you assistance." She smiled at me, a genuine way I could tell she meant it.

"Would it be prying if I asked if you currently possessed Avalon?"

She blinked at me for a moment. "You wish to know if I currently possess my Sheath?" She reiterated. "Am I to assume that someone requires healing?"

"Yeah….a little girl."

Avalon is quite the powerful Noble Phantasm. It provided Artoria with a form of immortality as long as she possessed it, her brain being her only weakness. Rumors were that it could even regrow a heart if it got destroyed, but I don't quite know about that.

"I see." She nodded. "I do indeed have my sheath on me, and it is my duty as a knight to aid those in need."

"Thank you." I let out a long breath. "Honestly, I didn't know what I would do if this didn't work out."

She smiled at me. "I will never turn down the opportunity to save innocent lives. And...I admit I find this part of you trying to help others to be endearing." She added on quietly, turn her eyes away for a moment. "Though I suspect there is more to this if you need the help of my Noble Phantasm."

I winced slightly. "What do you know of Yomi?"

"The realm of the dead in Japan?" She tilted her head, almost speaking to herself. "The realm of Izanami-no-mikoto, goddess of death." She practically recited the words out of her memories.

"So...said goddess, is my friend. She's the one asking me for help." I decided to just be blunt about it.

Artoria just had her eyes widen, staring at me, unable to find the correct words for several moments. "I do not know how to respond to that."

I could only laugh awkwardly at her statement. "Yeah, it kinda just happened. Honestly, I didn't even know she was Izanami when we first met. Kinda revealed herself when this little girl basically got dropped into her lap and the energies of Yomi are invading her body and soul."

"I see." She furrowed her brow. "This is a strange request."

"Well, I can pay you in anyway you want for your service, or if you want something else I'm sure –"

"Will." She interrupted me. "I merely said it was strange, not that I would not do it." She said gently, placing a hand on my arm. "I trust you, I do not think you would lead me into a precarious situation…..without atleast informing me ahead of time."

Oh…..and suddenly I felt much more at ease and my heart was beating slightly faster.

That is true. For both informing her and leading her into precarious situations, she can handle herself, she doesn't need for me to treat her like a damsel in distress.....unless she wants to be.

"And…as your...girlfriend, I wish to meet someone you call a friend." She added, her cheeks a fresh tint of pink.

Huh….I guess we did become boyfriend and girlfriend. I mean, it's obvious, it's jsut we never put a name on it until now.

"Did I ever tell you how amazing you are?" She made a small noise in embarrassment. "Time is of the essence here, is it okay to leave immediately or do you need some time to prepare?"

"Rin and the Wizard Marshall are currently working on something…" She looked uncertain. I knew she took her duties to being Rin's 'servant' very seriously.

"I can time it so regardless you'll be back within the next couple hours." I pointed out.

"Oh, then I believe we should make haste."

I held out my hand. "Well then, shall we?"

She took it without any hesitation, that bright smile on her face as I opened a new portal and led her through.

***

Artoria held my hand much tighter as we stepped through the portal. I think regardless of everything, she was a little bit nervous.

I have shared my birth world with her in the past. She knew that divine beings still persisted here, that magic and such was known by a much wider community, but to experience it was a whole different matter.

"Wilhelm." Izzy's voice called out, she stood up from her seat to greet us. "And this is?" She asked, looking at Artoria.

"Greetings, Lady Izanami." Artoria with the expertise she developed in life immediately slipped into her regal persona. Almost as if judging the woman infront of her. "I am Artoria Pendragon, Will's girlfriend."

I was mildly surprised she provided her true name, but I guess it didn't really matter across worlds.

"A member of the Pendragon clan? I only heard the vaguest things about them in the western world." She muttered. "Yes, you do look like the heir I've seen a picture of."

Artoria, to her credit, kept her expression extremely neutral. Merely shooting me a look and I could only convey that I would explain later with my eyes.

Izanami's eyes narrowed, practically drilling into Artoria, like she saw something that interested her. "You are not a living being…..or rather, you are but are not, how strange. A living spirit, is that not a paradox?"

Artoria didn't react. "It is as you say." She merely confirmed Izanami's views without adding anything.

There was a strange…. atmosphere between them. I didn't quite know how to explain it, like both of them were sizing each other up.

Weird.

"Ladies?" I interjected, their heads snapped to me. "The girl?"

"Yes, of course." Izanami turned away, looking towards the little kitsune on the couch. "I have managed to keep the worst of it away, but still, some enters her body and lingers."

Yeah, I knew exactly what she was talking about. This place was almost like an infection it kept trying to grab me. I could keep it off with ease, but the same couldn't be said about this little unconscious girl.

"I see, and this is the one you wish me to heal?" Artoria walked forward, placing her hand gently on the Youkai's forehead. "She is not human." She said quietly, not any kind of accusation, but more of a mild surprise.

Even with the obvious non human features, I think it was more just the incredulity of it. For her, phantasmal species were something extremely rare, and to see one so blatantly laying about must have been quite the cultural shock.

"Will that be an issue?" Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind.

"It shouldn't be." Artoria shook her head.

"How exactly do you plan on healing her." Izanami crossed her arms, staring at Artoria.

Artoria's lips twitched as she kept herslf even. She pushed against her own chest, a bright light suddenly filled the room, bursting out in every direction. The vicious energies of this realm practically fled away from it. "With this." She replied, and I felt like I could make out the vaguest amount of smugness in her voice.

"What is…." Izanami held her breath, drinking in the holy light. "It is beautiful."

Artoria placed it on the little Kitsune's chest, the holy energies enveloping her, attacking and consuming all deathly and necrotic power that had seeped into her body and soul.

"Avalon, the hallowed scabbard of Excalibur." Artoria said, peeking over at Izanami, like she was gauging her reaction.

I was surprised she was being so forth coming.

"Excalibur's scabbard?" Izanami repeated. "Why is the scabbard so much stronger than that broken sword?" She said in a confused voice.

"Broken?" Artoria's voice raised slightly, an audible reaction on her face.

Ooof, I knew I was forgetting something.

"You sound as if that is something new to you?" Izanami's eyes narrowed. "How could you possibly not know that, are you really one of the Pendragon clan?" Izanami's eyes began to glow. "Now that I take a closer look, you are much older than you appear, and you are not a normal spirit. You are nothing like I have ever seen before, almost reminiscent of those Einherjar that the Norse keep, but even that pales in comparison. What are you?" She slowly raised her hand.

Artoria frowned, I could feel her ready to fight at a moments notice.

"Izzy." I said gently, grabbing her attention.

"I…." She looked at at her hands, they were glowing slightly and she quickly dismissed whatever power she was drawing upon. "I am sorry." She took a step back, looking rather skittish. "I'm…..not used to speaking with others and I believe I overreacted. I shall wait in another room while you finish up." She turned to away but another voice range out.

I just sighed.

"Wait" Artoria called out glancing at me. Izanami halted her steps turning back. "How about we start over?" Artoria also pulled back her battle sense, her combat focus and became almost docile again. "I am Artoria Pendragon, it is a pleasure to meet Will's friend."

Izanami hesitated, clearly unsure. "I am….Izanami. It is nice to meet you, Miss Pendragon."

***

Could have been worse! And Artoria can be rather 'competitive', even unintentionally. Izanami almost fell back into some old habits, but she doesn't want to do stuff like that anymore. Got the next interlude up and ready in five chapters, POV from Arthur Pendragon in the hero faction. Trying to keep their super arrogance, but also trying to make their stupid plans smart, if that makes sense. Don't want idiot ball clutching for the sake of it.

Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pat.reon.com/astoryforone


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