NOVEL NEXT Chapter 71: A meeting of the minds.
As I slowly opened my eyes I expected to see the room I went to sleep in, cuddled up to Barghest. Instead however I am standing in endless grasslands in all directions around me. Glancing skyward, I was greeted by an equally endless blue and cloudless sky. Another point to note however was the absence of the sun.
Sighing in exasperation while looking around myself one last time, I finally say, “Alright, what is going on?”
Several seconds passed in complete silence before a pressure started to push down on my person. Said pressure only continued to grow exponentially when I noticed a small ball of green light start to form in front of me. In a matter of seconds the little ball expanded to the size of a basketball before it stopped growing, along with the pressure.
I tilted my head with a raised eyebrow as I gazed at the odd little thing. I could tell this pressure was a form, sad as it is, of intimidation however. Unfortunately for this little ball thing, being around my mother and the pressure she naturally gives off, suppressed or not, makes this seem like a kid throwing a tantrum.
Smirking at the thought I gave voice to it, “If you’re trying to intimidate me, you can just stop. You’ll never be able to match up to my mother.”
That little declaration seemed to piss it off a bit as the pressure increased a little bit before it tapered off and calmed down while settling to much lower level.
I only chuckled a little before I asked, “Well? What or who are you? You interrupted my time with my new Lover. I don’t have a saint's level of patience at the best of times, let alone right now, so out with it.”
The green ball floated there for a few seconds before a voice that sounded like billions yet singular at the same time said, “Anomaly. What is your purpose?”
I narrowed my eyes as I gazed at the ball for a few moments before saying, “Anomaly, is it? Who am I dealing with? Alaya, or Gaia?”
Interestingly the surface of the ball seemed to shimmer and ripple ever so slightly before it said with a hint of surprise and reluctance, “...Alaya.”
I chuckled and smirked as I answered, “The will of humanities efforts to survive is it? Well, an anomaly I may be, but before I answer that I would pose one to you. Am I the only anomaly you’ve detected in this timeline so far?”
With the same reluctance as before Alaya answered, “..Yes.”
With a head tilt and a raised eyebrow I smiled as I said, “Well now, isn’t that a surprise? You see, I also happen to know about the timeline I am currently in. I can safely say I am NOT the only anomaly. That is, unless something forced an unprecedented change on the timeline that even you and Gaia thought was naturally occurring.”
The pressure from Alaya grew as she demanded, “Explain.”
With another chuckle and a dark yet playful grin I answered, “Well you see, the one whom I had such an intimate and wondrous night with isn’t supposed to be summoned in this timeline. Another anomaly is the summon of that broken, hero obsessed brat Shirou Emiya. He was originally meant to summon Saber; Artoria Pendragon. Not the Lily version.”
Alaya floated there for a few moments before saying, “False. You are the only anomaly. State your purpose.”
I barked a laugh and said, “Oh this is just brilliant. The All-Mighty Alaya being nothing but a tool of the Light. Though, I also admit I take no small amount of pleasure knowing my mother also had a hand in it.”
The pressure around myself grew exponentially as Alaya seemed to be losing her patience with my refusal to simply answer her question. I only gave her a cheeky, toothy smile as I said, “Your posturing means nothing to me Alaya. I admit that while you are strong, stronger than even my current self, you are not a threat to me.”
I narrowed my gaze and glared at Alaya while releasing my own pressure and some killing intent as I said, “Now stop annoying me. Don’t think I didn’t realise that we’re in a dreamscape. You may feel safe, but I assure you I still have full access to all of my abilities here. I can, and WILL, obliterate you if you continue down this path of annoyance.”
The pressure slowly ebbed off again before Alaya demanded once again, “State your purpose, anomaly.”
I sighed and crossed my arms below my breasts while rolling my eyes in annoyance. Shaking my head I said, “Not one to let things go are you? Fine, I am here to kill the god or goddess of Light. Might be a few of them, or just one, I can't remember.”
Alaya was silent for a moment before she said, “The Age of Gods is over. You seek the Reverse Side for war?”
I shake my head as I answer, “No, Alaya. The gods I hunt are not from around here. They are greater than even you, a prime example of their power being that you can not see any anomaly besides myself in the current timeline.”
Alaya was silent for several minutes this time before finally speaking up, “Can not understand. Your words are factually false, and yet they ring true.”
An idea suddenly came to me, and with a sly smile I raised my right hand to my temple and lightly pinched the air near it. I slowly pulled away and what followed was a silky white substance flowing as if it was under water.
Holding my hand out with the slightly swaying yet gently flowing substance I said, “Here. My memory of exactly what I am hunting. It should shed some light on the Light. Heh.”
As I let go of the memory, it slowly floated over to Alaya but stopped just in front of her. She seemed to be hesitating for a few moments before coming to a decision and absorbing the memory strand.
We were both silent as I waited patiently for Alaya to parse the information that was contained in the memory strand. While she was going over everything I knew of the Light and Dark faction, the war, and snippets of my own faction, my thoughts drifted back to Barghest and a problem I was ignoring at the start. However I was quickly coming to a realisation that I indeed really felt attracted to Barghest, and as cheesy and cliche as it may be, it might truly be love at first sight.
Now, my biggest problem is that I want Barghest to be with me beyond just this measly dimension. Meaning, I need to remove her from the Throne of Heroes. I’ll be damned if I let Alaya or Gaia have her any longer.
With a sigh I think, ‘But therein lies the problem. How do I get to the Throne of Heroes? I am not connected to it anymore. Maybe I can follow the link Barghest has with her main soul?’
My internal scheming was interrupted by Alaya finally speaking. I think I could honestly hear a hint of worry in the billions of voices speaking, “How can you fight such entities?”
A cocky smile graced my lips as I said, “Well, I am a bit special myself. But what about you and Gaia? Can the two of you resist the Light's corruption? I am thinking no, personally. Doubly so if an actual god or goddess comes here.”
With an internal sneer I think, ‘Not like they can actually corrupt you though. Being that you are in their own domain of control and Divine Law prevents an entity from corrupting its own domain~. But you don’t need to know that.’
Alaya was thinking for a while again before she said, “Can not resist. Options?”
A cruel smile formed on my lips, a smile that would surely cause any normal person to shudder and step back in worry. Sporting such a smile I said, “For you? Precious little. Right now, I think you most likely have a very serious problem.”
The surface of Alaya’s bubble thing rippled again before she said, “Expain.”
With a dismissive shrug I answered, “Well, from what I know about these Light shits they don’t waste any time in spreading their corruption. So, right now I fully expect it to be spreading at this very moment via some means. Agreed?”
Alaya simply responded with, “Continue.”
With a chuckle I obliged her, “Well going with that train of thought… Alaya, can you feel any corruption in your multiverse? Any at all?”
Again the basketball sized light rippled and shimmered for a few moments before she answered, “No.”
With a predatory smile I said, “So that means one of two things. Either they, the Light gods, have not started to spread their corruption. Or…”
With a motion of my hand towards Alaya to finish my sentence, she answered, “Or I can not sense the infection.”
As a mocking gesture I clapped my hands and said, “Good girl.”
Folding my arms under my breasts again I mocked her, “Like I said. You may have a very serious problem on your hands, Alaya. What if the Light corrupts Gaia. Or yourself? Or the Throne of Heroes? Hell, what if it corrupts the Beasts, or the TYPES?”
With a chuckle I continued, “Horrifying, isn’t it? Despite all the power and resources you have access to, you have very few options. Everything you send, could just simply be corrupted. Or even worse, you yourself could be corrupted and become nothing more than yet another slave of the Light. And you’d have no idea that it happened. Hell, you’d have a smile on your face about servitude.”
The silence after I finished speaking was deafening for Alaya, I was sure. Though, she didn’t sit there in thought for long as she was quick to state, “You can fight.”
With a smirk I said, “I can. But, why would I fight for you? I am here to kill the god/desses. I care not for any corruption they would be leaving behind.”
Alaya wasted no time in asking, “What do you want for your services in preventing the Light corruption from spreading?”
I smiled widely as I answered, “You’re a smart girl, Alaya. You know what I want.”
The ball rippled once before she stated, “Barghest.”
Flashing her a toothy smile I said, “Got it in one. Give me access to the Throne of Heroes so I can take my lover away from it and this multiverse. Do this, and I’ll remove any Light corruption I come across. Either by purge or by sword, as it were.”
Alaya was silent for a few moments before asking, “Just Barghest?”
To which I flashed an innocent smile and answered, “Yes, Barghest is the only heroic spirit I want to take with me.”
The ball of green light shifted several times in odd directions before Alaya said, “The contract is as follows: The anomaly, you, is permitted to take Barghest’s true soul from the Throne of Heroes in return for the service of purging the Light’s corruption in its entirety. Acceptable?”
With a hidden sneer I thought, ‘Gotcha.’
I smiled widely as I said, “Deal.”
The ball suddenly exploded in intensity in the output of its light to the point I was forced to close my eyes. When I slowly opened them and blinked away the pain of the sudden flash bang I was quick to notice I was finally actually awake.
I couldn’t help the slightly sloppy smile that appeared on my face when I noticed I was playing the little spoon to Barghest. Her strong arms were holding me tightly around my waist, as if she was afraid I would suddenly leave her. While her thick, muscular leg was also over mine holding me down in her embrace. All the while my head was being squished between her mighty, national treasure worthy breasts.
I sighed in pure bliss as I relished the whole situation and thought, ‘While this may be heretical, this feels just as good as cuddling with Tearwyn. Speaking of Tearwyn, I am sure she will love you, my Barghest.’
As I snuggled deeper into Barghest’s embrace, which caused her to tighten her hold on me, I thanked my foresight in cleaning up the bed and our bodies from our activities last night.
Sadly, it wasn’t long before Barghest woke up with a yawn. I felt her body tense up for a second as her grip on me tightened, before she quickly relaxed as she noticed I was still there.
With a chuckle I said, “Do not worry, my Barghest. I am not going anywhere. In fact, I have a surprise for you…”
