章 20: Chapter 17: The Strongest Claymore.
Author Note: Nothing of importance, just enjoy the chapter, and if you have any questions, make sure to comment!
And like always, remember if you want to read up to 12 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
I'm currently updating the novel 2-8 chapters a day in patreeeeon. On chapter 29 so far, though by the end of today it will be chapter 32-33.
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Enjoy you sexy bastards.
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The following night, after the pregnancy announcement, I found myself drifting off to sleep.
However, unlike most nights, this night I woke up suddenly, my heart pounding in my chest. The room was dark, the only light coming from the moon filtering through the window of my room. As I blinked, trying to adjust my eyes, I realized I wasn't alone.
Standing at the foot of my bed was a woman with long, flowing blonde hair and piercing silver eyes. Her presence was both serene and unsettling, her gaze fixed intently on me. It took a moment for my groggy mind to process what I was seeing.
"Teresa?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.
The woman nodded, a faint smile playing on her lips. "And here I thought you had forgotten about me."
"Who… no, what are you exactly?" I asked, narrowing my gaze at her.
"That would take quite a while to explain, so allow me to save us the time," Teresa replied calmly. At her words, a flood of memories rushed back to me, memories of a different life, of an anime I had watched long ago. Scenes of fierce battles, the tragic fates of warriors, and the stoic figure of Teresa herself.
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and I struggled to make sense of it all.
"How... how are you here?" I asked, my voice trembling with confusion and shock. "This is the world of Naruto, not Claymore. And for that matter, how did you do that?"
Teresa's smile widened slightly, her silver eyes shimmering in the moonlight. "I'm not really here, Takeshi. But I assure you, I am very real. As for how I did what I did, well… the answer to that is complicated."
By just talking to her I had recovered memories of my past life, memories I didn't even know I had forgotten. Granted, the memories I had recovered were just about her world, but still. "I have time."
She stepped closer, a faint smile on her face. "Very well then. As I have already told you, you inherited my powers, Takeshi. My very essence, talent, and will became a part of you when you were reborn into this world. However, the one that put you here soon realized a little mistake on his part after giving you my powers. Do you know what this mistake was?"
I shook my head. "Not really, but I assume you are about to enlighten me."
"Claymores are wonderful weapons, but ones with an expiration date," Teresa replied. "Our power consumes us from the inside until we turn into terrifying monsters. It's never a matter of if; it's a matter of when. Without actual guidance, it would've been only a matter of time before you awakened, and that would've made your entire rebirth… pointless."
"That explains your presence here, but not why you were able to give me back some of my memories," I pointed out.
"Yes, indeed," Teresa acknowledged, smiling softly at me. "You see, when he realized his mistake, he decided that the best course of action would be to have the one from whom your powers come teach you how to use them without being consumed by them in the process. However, doing this came at a price."
There was always a price in these types of things. "I imagine the price was my memories?"
Teresa chuckled. "In a way, yes. You see, a brain, especially one in development like yours, is not made to sustain two entire beings at once, so in order for me to exist within you, a part of you had to be locked away, so to speak."
I was by no means an expert in the subject, but wasn't the brain able to carry petabytes of information without breaking? "Are you saying your memories and mine were too much for my brain to carry?"
Teresa shook her head, seemingly amused by my reply. "No, not at all. You are confusing raw data with consciousness, which are two entirely different matters. The brain, yes, it stores vast amounts of information. Each memory is but a speck in the grand scheme of that storage capacity. But the mind, our consciousness, is a far more intricate thing. It is not merely an assortment of facts and events strung together. It is a complex, dynamic construct of thoughts, feelings, desires, fears, and countless other particulars that make us who we are. And to adjust for the addition of my consciousness, your mind had to close off certain facets of itself."
I felt myself frown at her explanation. "You're saying that in order for your consciousness to exist, bits of me had to fade into obscurity?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Teresa replied, her silver eyes holding an oddly apologetic glint. "This wasn't an attempt to rob you of your identity, merely a necessary adjustment. And as you remember, it didn't happen all at once."
So that's the reason why every day before my birth I would wake up with fewer memories of the past.
"Why now? Why appear now?" I asked. If she had really been with me since my birth, then why wait so long to show herself?
"And just like that, we are back to the being that brought you here," Teresa replied with a faint smile. "In his words, he set up something like a trigger event that would have to be met before I was able to communicate with you freely. Can you guess what this event was?"
Had… had that bastard orchestrated the kidnapping of Mito just for me to be able to communicate with him?
No, calm down and analyze the information given to you. Don't jump to conclusions just because you want to blame someone. If the kidnapping had been the trigger, I would've been able to see Teresa sooner… but I had only been able to see her after… I tapped into that power.
"Tapping into my Yoki, right?" I replied after a moment.
Teresa nodded, a flicker of approval flashing in her eyes. "Yes, drawing upon your Yoki fully for the first time was the event needed for me to be able to talk with you. Your power and mine are intrinsically connected, you see. When you awakened that part of yourself, you also opened the path to me, allowing me access to your senses as your consciousness adapted."
I guess that makes sense.
Wait… if I had inherited her powers, which in turn makes me a Claymore, does that mean I have monster flesh inside of me? No… I didn't have any scars on my body, and the doctors didn't seem to find anything out of the ordinary when I was in the hospital two months ago.
Not only did I not have a nasty open wound in my chest like every Claymore had, but I also wasn't blonde like them as well.
Meaning there were some differences between them and me.
There was also the fact Yoki, in the Claymore universe, was described as a demonic energy of some kind, a source of power born from hatred. However, when I used my Yoki, it felt more animalistic and primal in essence than anything else.
"You are drawing the differences between our powers, aren't you?" Teresa asked, watching me pensively.
I nodded, my gaze finding hers. "There's definitely a difference between our power if my memories of your world are to be trusted. Yours seems to come from hatred, but mine feels—"
"More natural," Teresa finished for me, seemingly pleased with my conclusion. "Yes, that is one of the fundamental differences. The being that brought me here explained that your powers had been adapted to fit into this world's system without losing the fundamental essence of my own. He explained something about Nature Chakra being a perfect replacement for Yoki, and how your physique differs from a normal Claymore."
Nature Chakra? That was a thing?
"This world is different from mine in more ways than one. With chakra alone, you've been able to surpass multiple warriors from my world in terms of raw power," Teresa continued, a smile on her face. "That alongside the physical benefits of being a Claymore, well… it makes you quite the potential little monster."
"Everyone in this world is capable of using chakra, allowing most people to do feats no one in your world but a select few should be able to accomplish," I replied, nodding at her. "The humans of this world are stronger, faster, and more dangerous than the ones in yours. Some more than others."
Teresa nodded. "Indeed, your teacher, Fugaku is it? Seems quite skilled. I would've loved to fight him. But that's beyond the point… after all, I'm sure you are wondering just how much different than us you are."
I was, considering most of the memories I had from her world seemed rather depressing. "Feel free to shed some light on my doubts."
Teresa chuckled at that. "I'm not entirely sure how different you are from us, but so far I know a few things. One, your body is fundamentally different from ours; your powers come from a genetic design, not an experiment in progress like ours. Two, you seem to lack the side effect of passive awakening; your Yoki has been with you since the day you were born, yet you were never tempted to use it. And even though now you are able to feel it… you are not having to fight against it. Maybe it has something to do with this energy you call chakra, which seems to keep most of the problems Yoki brings at bay."
That relaxes me a bit. Passive awakening in her world seemed like a death sentence, one I wasn't exactly eager to deal with. Having to live knowing that day by day you were closer to losing your mind was a terrifying concept.
Though, if her assumption about my chakra keeping that little problem away was true, did that
mean that if I ever ran out of chakra I would have to deal with the situation like any other Claymore?
I would have to test that hypothesis later.
"Three, your personality seems to be a result of my personality and yours combined," Teresa continued, getting my attention. "I don't know why exactly this happened, but I suppose it has to do with the fact that most of what I am able to do requires me to have a calm and collected mind at all times. One of the reasons Clare was never able to master my powers was because her personality and mine were completely different on a fundamental level, making it near impossible for Clare to master my skills."
That makes sense. Teresa and Clare were two opposites. One reigned by her emotions, the other out of touch with them; one always calm, the other always worried; one confident, the other always doubting her own power.
"And that's about all the differences I could find," Teresa said, crossing her arms. "The last one wasn't a difference, but I felt like I had to add it there. In short, Takeshi, you are what the organization dreamed of creating, a perfect Claymore."
"So does that mean I can't awaken?" I asked, making Teresa chuckle.
"Oh no, you can still awaken if you use too much Yoki," Teresa replied, shaking her head. "Like any other Claymore, if you go over the limit you will become an Awakened Being, but unlike the rest of us, you don't have to be worried about the passive decay that leads to awakening."
"Good to know," I sighed, leaning against one of my pillows. "How much Yoki did I use the night we met?"
"Around 10%," Teresa replied without missing a beat. "Though at the rate you were releasing it, it would've overtaken you in a matter of minutes."
The realization sent a shiver down my spine. Had I been that close to becoming a monster? "That's... comforting," I said sarcastically, earning another soft chuckle from Teresa.
"Now, about why I'm here," Teresa continued, her tone turning more serious. "The entity that reincarnated you, giving you my powers, offered me a deal after my final battle with Priscilla. Needless to say, it was a deal I couldn't refuse."
I looked at her, curiosity piqued. "A deal? What kind of deal?"
Teresa's expression softened, a hint of nostalgia and longing in her eyes. "I was given a chance to continue my existence back in my world, and all I had to do in order to do so, is train you."
"So once you're done… you'll be back to your world," I replied.
"Exactly," Teresa confirmed. "My role in your life is rather simple. Teaching you how to be the strongest Claymore. After all, if you are to be my successor, you can't settle for anything less than being the best."
I wouldn't say no to some free training, especially from the strongest number 1 of all the Claymores. Teresa of the Faint Smile.
"And as an added bonus, I am almost certain that once my job here is done and I leave, you will recover what you lost in order to allocate my entire being inside your head," Teresa added, her eyes staring into mine. "Though don't get your hopes up; chances are some memories will never return, even after I'm gone, but it's better than nothing."
"I'm not really interested in my memories," I replied, offering her a faint smile. "I can't really miss what I don't remember, so whether or not they come back is unimportant."
Perhaps my thoughts on the matter would change if I ever recovered those memories, but right now, I couldn't care less about them. I was happy with who I was, and that was all that mattered.
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