Return of the Fallen Volume 10 Chapter 5
Kazuki was left muddled after his encounter with his father. Lin had embraced Kazuki with affection and had even openly scolded Fera. Going so far as to say that his daughter had died and for Fera to never speak to him again. Not only that but even though Lin was Orberus’s son, he was the man’s prisoner as well. So many thoughts swirled inside of Kazuki’s head.
(Kazuki, if your adoptive father was your grandfather’s prisoner all this while, wouldn’t that explain his strange disappearance so long ago? I felt no ill intent from Lin and instead he seemed warm toward you. He seems to actually care about you and even talked down to his real flesh and blood daughter.)
Nunully didn’t know exactly what she was trying to say with these words. It may have been that she felt out of everyone here, Lin was genuine and he seemed to sincerely care about Kazuki.
(If Lin was taken away and then both his sons were harmed with one even being murdered due to his wife and daughter, it’s no wonder he acted that way when he saw Sephra and Fera.)
Kazuki felt something inside his heart for the first time in a long time and it left him confused. He had shut many emotions off long ago and only really began to open them back up when Nunully and then Asuna lowered the walls inside of him. Still, there were many things left guarded. After Lin made that outburst, Kazuki started questioning many things in his past.
Not only did that but Lin had also mentioned many things including something about Kazuki’s real father and how if Orberus had not been so stubborn, Kazuki’s real father, Orberus’s firstborn son would not have perished. Kazuki never really thought about his real father. He was far too young to recall whoever he was and to him, Lin had been his father from a young age until he was a young man.
There were too many things Kazuki didn’t understand and he didn’t know if he really even wanted answers to. For the first time in his life, he feared words. Words that might undo who he was and his reality.
Kazuki slowly circulated his ki inside and calmed his mind and nerves. With that, he began to think clearly once more.
(My past, some of it matters and some of it, I don’t think I want it to matter more than it has up until now. I’ve had a single purpose this entire time.)
Kazuki’s eyes flashed between Sephra and Fera.
(These two. Whether they brought such vile into my life because of jealousy, hatred, or whatever, it doesn’t change the fact that they still deserve to die. Knowing what I know now, to kill Sephra is truly an impossibility for me right now. Fera however…that’s another story entirely but how?)
Kazuki began to think about how he was restricted moments ago by magical chains. When he released his murderous killing intent, the chains sprung out from the many pillars in the room and entangled his limbs. However, the very moment he calmed down, the chains reversed and retreated, vanishing back into the pillars as if they were never there in the first place.
(I don’t know how those magic chains work precisely but they seem to have something to do with killing intent. That is already problematic, throw in the fact that my powers are sluggish in this Realm and even my aura won’t extend further than three feet away, Killing one under these conditions is no easy task. At the same time, is it really that impossible?)
Kazuki looked at Fera’s soul, she was only a few feet away from him. She was so close he could almost reach out and touch her but the moment he gave away his intent to kill, it was obvious he would be restricted. At the same time, Kazuki was still unsure of why his grandfather wanted and why the man had prevented him from finishing Fera back on Gordonia.
(What does this man want from us. To stop me from ending Fera, does this mean he would always stand in my way from killing her. Up until now, he’s seemed to not care for either of our lives so what has changed? I need more information before I make a decision otherwise, in this environment it could cost me everything.)
Kazuki thought about Asuna and Nunully’s souls inside of his soul world. His life mattered but their souls mattered even more. If he was killed, their fates would be sealed.
(What does this grandfather want from Fera and me?)
“I thought my son would see a fraction of reason this time around but it seems he is still defiant. Now that he is out of the way it’s time to talk.”
Orberus looked over the crowd.
“I’m sure you all have become annoyed at me mentioning these two all the time, but I’ve never really given any of you the exact details. All this time, only I and Sephra have been monitoring what’s taken place in that small Lower Realm. Sephra observed her daughter and things through Fera’s compass and the woman was unaware the entire time that I could see both Kazuki and Fera this whole time. All of her schemes and devious plots, all of her help to destroy my grandson, and yet here he remains while little Fera has been left without flesh. Now I know what you all are thinking, if Fera had her mother’s help then surely Kazuki must have had my constant aid as well but you would be unmistakenly wrong.”
Orberus curled a finger and the compass around Kazuki’s neck flew off of him and floated above Orberus’s palm.
“This compass was something my firstborn gifted his firstborn, Kazuki as a baby.”
Hearing this brought more confusion. Kazuki clearly remembered the day Lin had given him this compass. He remembers because Fera threw an absolute childish tantrum and demanded she receive it instead. Only until Sephra offered her a different one did Fera let things go. Here and now though, Kazuki’s grandfather was claiming Kazuki’s real dad had given him the compass when he was a baby.
“Originally the compass held my son’s power but after his true death, his aura was no more. Later My second son regifted this compass to my grandson and left his aura within it but you all know what happened after that and so I replaced his aura with my own and observed Kazuki. The help I gave him was small but before I gave him any help he had to prove his worth.”
Orberus spoke up to here before he sent some of his power into the compass. Once he did the golden compass pulsed before a bright light shined into the center of the room and just like the recording crystals back on Gordonia, several images began to flow as if they were watching a movie.
It showed Kazuki’s past. After he learned from his granny master back on Earth it showed a rift opening and a monster appearing. It showed Kazuki’s master fighting this creature and even sacrificing herself to defeat it and a devastated Kazuki.
“This was the point that I had a conversation with Fera’s family. Once they saw her still going after Kazuki even though I warned them, they knew they had to appease me, otherwise, we would be at war once again. The Kedari clan were fed up completely with Sephra at that point and so they actually gave their daughter over to me without a fight. How funny was that Sephra? You were oh so confident your family would defend you and back you up but after everything you’ve done in not just your family’s Star Path but in other Gods’ domains, they were glad to give you up. They only made me promise not to kill you or torture you. A pity really but having you as a permanent prisoner, seeing that scowl only makes it that much sweeter when all of your plans after all of these years fall apart like this.”
Sephra didn’t dare glare at Orberus or rebuke them. Instead, she directed her hate toward Kazuki and Fera with a demented look.
The compass continued and showed when Kazuki found out that there were remnants of magical energy on Earth. Not a lot but enough to give to the compass. It was then that an arrow appeared from the compass and guided Kazuki on his path.
“At first, I did not care about Kazuki’s path. The boy had given up on his hatred but when Sephra sent that monster to kill him and his master died, the rage that had been put to rest erupted like a blazing star. It reminded me of myself and I became curious. I began to lead him whenever he fed the compass energy. Knowing Sephra’s plans, I knew what she wanted to do. I knew she was guiding Fera who, along with Torzz was leading the Miasma and Azirian’s on a warpath through the Feya continent. It only made sense that the kings of Feya would try and summon heroes to help them. I didn’t predict Garns and King David’s greed in summoning all of them to the kingdom of Treia but it didn’t matter. I led Kazuki to the exact place some of these so-called heroes would be summoned from beforehand and do you know what my grandson did?”
Orberus was growing more and more excited as he showed them what Kazuki did.
Once the compass led Kazuki to Ryuta, Sam, and Asuna. Kazuki began to watch them and study them. For nearly a year until it was time to be summoned, Kazuki mimicked Ryuta’s every expression and gesture. He imitated the young man perfectly before he went back to the school the day they were to be summoned.
“The moment Garn and his weaklings activated the summoning, I stepped in. I guided the summoning circles to that school’s precise location where Kazuki stepped in and pushed Ryuta out of the circle.”
It showed Kazuki then taking out a vial and melting his own face off. Once he did that, Kazuki, Asuna, and Sam vanished before reappearing in Treia. The moment he appeared, Kazuki took out several talismans he had prepared beforehand and set off many explosions and flashes of light, injuring many others. In this way, his ruined face would not utter suspicion when he arrived.
Watching this from the sidelines, everyone was surprised and some were even shocked at Kazuki’s dedication. For revenge, he would even go so far as to harm himself in such a gruesome way. Even Sephra and Fera were stunned. Sephra would never do such a thing as ruining her perfect face and Fera as well could never imagine going through the things he did.
The compass continued to play out but every now and then it skipped some things. It was obvious Orberus was purposefully hiding certain things from his family. It showed when Kazuki used some of the aura within. It showed him reforging his Mage core. Again many people were shocked. Reforging a mage core in a weak human form in a Lower Realm, it was unheard of.
Skipping ahead it showed when Danny died on the battlefield and Orberus tried to absorb Danny’s soul into Kazuki’s soul world so he could grow stronger but who was there to prevent this, Kai. More and more of Kazuki’s life flashed. It showed the many times Kazuki had nearly died time and time again. It showed how he cleverly got out of several situations but it also showed his absolute desperate nature.
Kazuki would go so far as to eat his way out of a monster’s stomach. He would stand before a Titan and using his silver tongue he would convince the Titan to let him go. Kazuki fought with every breath and spilled blood again and again. He fought, killed, and grew stronger at a rate that was truly terrifying. His power went from not having a Mage core to entering the 7th stage within only a few years. His rate of growth was absolutely horrifying and heaven-defying.
Of course, Orberus left out the fact that Kazuki had a Vazul inside of him at one point and after destroying that dark creature he forged his own devouring spinning void within his soul world. This was the main source of his explosive growth but Orberus skipped all of that and only he, Kazuki, Fera, and Sephra knew.
Seeing Kazuki willing to eat those he called friends, brought him to a whole other level in these people’s minds. It showed his determination and his absolute rage and hatred for both Fera and Sephra. Many of these people wondered if they could do the same and of course, the answer was no. In the end, it showed Kazuki crushing Fer’as head with his hand and him on the verge of crushing her soul once and for all before Daisius stepped in.
Now that these people got a better picture of who Kazuki and Fera were, they were absolutely disgusted and appalled with both Fera and Sephra. Strange energy began to rise from many of these Gods and Demigods and the room began to shake. All of this power was directed at both Fera and Sephra but before anyone could do anything, several magical chains erupted from the many pillars and Daisius raised his own power in a threatening manner. They all swiftly pulled their energy away and held themselves back and the chains retreated back into the pillars.
Still, they couldn’t help but wish death upon these two people, while also seeing Kazuki in a new light.
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