章 56: Excalibur
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(General POV)
A few minutes later, Loki, Finn, Gareth and Riveria entered the room wearing expressions that showed equal measures of concern and relief. They walked into his room single file as Loki jumped towards him, 'tears' streaming from her eyes as she wailed dramatically.
"Oh my Lyzie-poo~ You're awake!"
Her body sailed through the air as she made to land on his bed and glomp him. Lyze held up a hand and caught her by the face, stopping her mid-air. Somehow, her body disobeyed the laws of gravity as the rest of her form didn't just simply land on the bed. Somehow it too was being held aloft.
'She must have a strong neck on her.' Lyze mused.
"First of all, don't ever call me that again. I nearly passed out again from the cringe." He stated. "And secondly, you don't just try and jump injured people in bed. (Tell that to Jimmy Savile...oh wait, he's already dead.)" Lyze said the last part quietly.
"But I was worried about you~" Loki moaned before she was grabbed by the scruff and pulled off of him, dangling from Riveria's hands as the elf gave her an icy glare.
"Did we not agree you would behave yourself?" Riveria fumed.
"I can't help it Mama. He's just so cute." Loki reasoned as she shrugged her hands.
Lyze deadpanned as he shook his head and looked towards the other two, giving them welcoming nods as ones of acknowledgement were returned to him. "It's good to see you Captain. You too Gareth."
"We should be saying that to you actually, Lyze." Finn said as he put a fist on his hip, not looking mostly pleased.
"Aye, lad. After the things you've been up to, it's a wonder you're not dead already." Gareth shook his head disapprovingly.
"Although it is interesting how you were able to heal from that much damage so fast." Finn said off-handedly. "I suppose if I had those abilities at his age, I may have been reckless too. But it still doesn't excuse your actions."
"You speak as if you already know what I did." Lyze said confusedly.
"You mean a battle with Ottar?" Riveria asked, catching him off guard as she dropped Loki. "Yes, we are quite aware of your little escapade. May I inquire as to what was possibly going through your mind while you were doing that?"
"What's the big deal?" Lyze asked. "Adventurers are always duelling each other in the dungeon. Ottar and I agreed on it beforehand as well...wait, how do you even know about that?"
"Oh that was me!" Loki lifted her hand. "I saw your fight with the big guy when I updated your status." She crossed her arms and frowned. "I can't say I'm very happy about that either. Crossing Freya's lot is never a good thing, especially when they are our arch rivals."
"Well at least it was Ottar." Finn said. "I can trust Ottar to be the most decent out of all them. However he is still Freya's most devoted follower, so I'm still rather uncomfortable that he even fought with you at all. What do you mean you arranged it beforehand, Lyze?"
"It was at Ganesha's banquet. When I promised I would surpass him, the two of us agreed to face off at some time while Loki was arguing with Freya." Lyze cocked his head at the redhead. "Two days ago just happened to be when we crossed paths and decided to go through with the whole thing." Lyze looked down. "Needless to say I got destroyed, but I think it was a good thing on the whole."
"If your stats are anything to go by." Riveria held up the specific sheet of paper. "But seriously, this is no small matter like a duel Lyze. The Freya Familia only ever serve her will...anything they do has ulterior motives."
"Perhaps...but the promise of a duel can't be left unfulfilled. It's dishonourable and just sad in all respects."
"Must you talk back every time we try to advise you?" Riveria asked exasperatedly.
"I'm just saying not to think too much about it. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, let's just relax and forget about it, and focus on the positive things that have come out of it."
They all stared at him slack-jawed as he gave them a confused kind of look.
"What?" he said.
"You? Saying words like 'relax' and 'positive'? Who are you and what have you done with the real Lyze?" Finn asked.
"Come on, I haven't been that bad."
"You have." They chorused.
"..."
"..."
"(sigh) I suppose on that note, I should explain why I called you all here specifically." Lyze said with a complete shift in tone and demeanour. Everybody was suddenly taken aback by this as the atmosphere had become a whole lot more serious.
"Is everything alright lad?" Gareth asked as he neared the bed.
"I'm sorry." Lyze bowed his head. Everyone stared at him a little stunned.
"Huh?" came their collective response.
"I'm sorry for my immature behaviour these past few weeks. I've only been here about a month yet I have acted ungratefully and arrogantly. You've been trying to help me, make me see where I was going wrong. But I turned you away, and when you tried to provide me distractions to keep me off my unhealthy path, I shouted at you before turning you away again." Lyze bowed his head again. "For that I am truly sorry."
The adults shared glances with one another barring Loki who just stared between the other three, curious as to what their responses would be. The executives exchanged smiles and looked back to the boy. Riveria put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay Lyze." She said softly. "We understand that you've been having some internal issues going on. Even if you blame yourself, it can't be denied that we have pushed a little too much to help. I can only be grateful that neither of our actions led to a worse outcome."
"And me too." Lyze looked at the rest. "Will you forgive me? And let me start over?"
"I never held bad blood against you lad. I was just as angry at your age." Gareth waved his hand around. "I smashed my own father over the head with a mallet once, so I wouldn't say things were too bad with you."
Finn gave the dwarf a dry side-eye. "Yes...I can't say I approve of the things you've done Lyze. You've broken a lot of the Familia's weapons, you've ignored blatant orders at times, and against our advice you've constantly put yourself in mortal danger. Had this been any other Familia, I as captain would have had you turned out already." Finn said seriously, sparing none of the gravity of the situation in his tone. The Pallum then smiled. "But the Loki Familia is one where many of it's members acted exactly the way you have. Because we share one thing mostly in common."
"And what's that?" Lyze asked.
"We've all known pain." Finn smiled. "And it was that grief that led us to this Familia. Listen Lyze, we understand and more than that, 'know' you've been through a lot, and we can't expect a child to not act out a bit. It's exactly the same way we acted at your age." Finn put a hand on his chest. "I lost my parents too at a young age. That loss was what put the drive in me to become a beacon of hope for the Pallum race. And thus, I became a member of the Loki Familia."
"Good times." Loki said as everyone gave her a deadpan.
"The point is..." Finn continued. "...you don't have to explain or apologize. Because we understand you. And we're here to share your pain if you ever need shoulders to lean on."
The adults nodded their heads at him while Lyze stared at them with a grateful smile.
"Thank you." He said, sincerely. "But my past is full of complex and dangerous secrets which I still cannot bring myself to reveal yet."
"Of course." Riveria said. "Nobody is saying that you should just out with it. If you want to, do it at your own pace comfortable to you. We'll be here every step of the way."
"Thank you, really." Lyze said and they smiled at him. "I'm ready to give two secrets right now actually."
"Ooooh, really? How interesting. What are they?" Loki asked as she leaned on the bed.
"The first is this." Lyze pulled out Libur in its shikimizue form out of his hammer-space and held it up with a grim smile. "My master had a very interesting sense of humour. You have to think very hard to figure out his meanings and his games. As I told you before he was the one who gave this weapon to me."
"It really is a fine weapon. But what about it?" Finn said.
Lyze grimaced. "Well, only now do I realize how much my master loves to mock me. Even after I've left his tutelage, he continues to mock me in the form of this sword."
They tilted their heads questioningly. So he explained.
"This sword is meant to be a reflection of me. I thought that it took the form of a sword in a cane so as to pair with my image as a blind boy. But only now do I realize it's true meaning." Lyze looked at Libur as he basked in the realization. "A cane acts as a crutch for someone who cannot walk alone. What my master was trying to tell me through this sword was that even after I left him, I was still not independent enough to deal with my issues, leaning on a crutch to pull me through my troubles."
Lyze narrowed his eyes as Nekros's cunnings made themselves known in the light. From an outside perspective it would seem like far fetched theories, but if one knew Nekros as personally as Lyze did, then they would not at all be surprised by Lyze's words.
Libur began to glow white as before the astonished eyes of the executives, it began to change form. It changed back into its original form, with the hilt of cosmic swirls, the jewelled crossguard and the double edged blade. The sword of a King, not of a co-dependant boy.
"Libur is dead to me now that I have found myself. This form is a reflection of who I truly am. This is Excalibur, the greatest of all Swords in the mortal realm!" Lyze exclaimed as the blade shone with the spirits of the heroes within.
"A magic sword." Finn breathed in amazement. "That really is a great gift. A sword that mirrors the state of its wielder...those are the kind of weapons you would only find in the ancient legends."
"Yes. Where did your master get it?" Riveria asked.
"That is actually part of the second secret." Lyze said.
"Really? Are you going to to tell us who he is now?" Loki asked, extremely intrigued.
"Not so much as who but rather 'what' he is." Lyze said as all the other occupants of the room leaned in to listen. Lyze took a deep breath before continuing.
"You see, my master...he's a Transcendental."
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