Chapter 36: Chapter 36
A/N: HOLY SHIT YALL, WE MADE IT TO TRENDING AGAIN! Thank you all for all of the love and support I've gotten since I started writing; it makes writing so much more fulfilling and gives me the motivation to keep going :)
Today, I'm gonna spread the love a bit and send yall to a severely underrated author I've recently started reading. Crusader.exodus has put hours of work and tens of chapters into their story Chimera, and I'd love it if yall sent some love their way! It's a Worm fanfiction, with all the grit and superpowers that come along with it. If you enjoy stuff like that, check them out here: Chimera
The next morning, we waste no time in packing and heading out. A quick pit stop by Cari's shop and Keira now has significantly better armor, a sheath for Fenrith, and several changes of clothing that all go into my spatial bag.
Lucky that I emptied out so much of the shit that was in there, otherwise I'd never have enough space for this stuff.
Even now, I barely manage to pack in the spare potions Keira got from Mai yesterday. Of course, being longtime friends, she had gone all out with equipping us for anything that might go wrong. Three general antidotes, three mid-grade healing and mana potions, and a single vial of steelskin potion. Compared to my horrible attempt at making a stoneskin potion, the quality is night and day. This one lasts ten minutes rather than the handful of seconds the other one did, and is also graded as rare while providing much better defence than the stoneskin. Unfortunately, it does give a weakness to electricity as well, but apparently lightning or storm magic is rare enough that it's not usually a problem.
We leave Carata just before noon, exiting the east gate which leads further inland. The ocean is to the west, and north or south sends you further along the coast. It took a little asking around before I learned which direction Carhnia is in, as I do still want to check out the nation that is leading technological advancement on the entire continent. Having no other goals beyond getting stronger, it seems like a good place to start wandering towards. Walking down the forested road, Keira is the first to break the silence.
“Siris, you never actually told me where we're going. And why didn't we buy some horses for the trip?”
“Oh, did I forget? Sorry about that. We're going to Carhnia, since I want to check out the technology there. As for horses… you'll see in a minute.”
I wait until the city is out of sight before summoning Ouro with a flash of blue light. Keira yelps in panic as the minivan-sized drake snaps into existence next to us. He bounds over to me in excitement, having been cooped up the entire time we were in the city since there just not enough room for him. Tail thudding and cracking the stone road, his tongue droops like the big puppy he is.
“Oh, who's a good boy! I'm sorry I had to keep you in the pact buddy, but there wasn't enough room in the city to let you out!” I say, cooing at the massive lizard and scratching the softer scales just under his jaw. Ouro growls softly, leaning into my touch and licking me a few times before shaking himself out. His scales rattle like a sack of coins, shockingly loud for how little they actually shift. Wincing a bit and rubbing her ears, Keira takes a few nervous steps back as he turns to her, curious about the new person that smells a bit like me. Reaching over, I tap him on the nose and direct him away from the visibly panicking catgirl.
“Hey! Leave her alone for now, she's not used to you yet! You'll get to know her just fine over the next few days of traveling.”
“Wait, we're riding him?! What even is he and where the fuck did he come from?!” Tapping her on the nose this time, Keira goes cross-eyed staring at my finger.
“Yes, we're riding Ouro. And he's my familiar; I've had him dormant since we were in the city and there was no room for him.” Mentally triggering Nesuskape, I shift it from the jacket/t-shirt combo into a classic wild western style vest and loose shirt, complete with an embroidered sheriff's badge on the front.
[Shifting Shades]: Animates nearby shadows to assist the wearer. Current form bonus: Facilitate “riding” of a target creature. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽
Hmm… those quotes make me suspicious of what it means, but I'll choose to trust that it's honest for now.
A burst of mana flows from my core, and the nearby shadows come to life. Flowing off the ground, they twist around themselves and Ouro, forming into a silhouette of a two person saddle and reins on his back. Looking closer, I almost miss the secondary straps hanging from the bottom of the saddle.
Wait a minute… Oh, it means THAT kind of riding too!
I have a small chuckle at the realization that it includes belly-riding in the “riding” portion.
…I'm totally using that later.
Pushing away the horny thoughts with practiced ease, I leap up onto him and wave for Keira to join me. She only hesitates a second before jumping up in front of me, holding on to the saddle desperately as Ouro shifts beneath us. Folding my wings tight, I give the reins a light tug and call down to him.
“Gid’dee up!” And then we're off, massive reptilian mount loping down the road with all the pent up energy of a golden retriever. I cheer, whooping with excitement while Keira latches onto the saddle with a terrified yelp, fur puffing up in agitation.
“W-WHY MUST YOU DO THIIIISSSS!!!!”
I just laugh in response, hugging her to my chest as we bounce along.
We ride for a few hours, Ouro's loping gait evening out at some point to a smooth run and Keira calming down enough to admire the scenery as we rush through the forest. The view is gorgeous, bright sunlight filtering down through towering trees onto the canopied road below. The undergrowth is surprisingly sparse, enough bushes and such to block most vision deeper in but not make the woods impassable. Eventually, I break the silence to ask about the thing that's been bugging me for a while.
“So, now that we're on the road, what's the deal with your Legacy? As in what does it actually do?” Keira sighs, probably having expected this question to come up.
“In less cryptic terms than the system says it, I can ‘listen’ to shadows. They don't actually speak, but I can get impressions and images from them. Like if I listen to a person's shadow, I can get a sense of their character and a very vague impression of their strength. For the more passive effects of it, I have an extremely high affinity for darkness-aligned magic of all types, and can learn it with ease so long as I can get a starting idea of what to do. Currently, I'm working on shadow-aspected magic and skills, but with Fenrith I think I'm going to pivot into abyssal. That's a combination of shadow and spatial mana, which means I can turn my Shadow Step into a true teleportation skill.”
She draws the terrifying little dagger, admiring the blade against the spotty sunlight before just… vanishing. One second she's sitting in my lap, and the next I feel her mana signature implode on itself and vanish from existence. My heart drops as I stare at the now empty space in my arms. Before I can panic too much, however, she reappears thirty feet ahead of Ouro before teleporting again back into my lap. My wings wrap around her, pulling her tight to my chest with a sharp tug. Keira grunts in surprise as I turn her to face me, eyes wide and furious.
“What in the fuck did you just do?! One second you're sitting here with me, the next you vanish and your fucking mana signature is drawn into the fucking void! Do you have any idea how much you just scared the shit out of me?!” She blinks at me, just staring in shock at my dramatic outburst before slowly looking over at Ouro, who turned to look at us when I started yelling. They share a look that says ‘what the fuck just happened?’ before she slowly turns back to me, expression hardening.
“Okay… first off, I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't realize that Abyssal Dive would make it seem like I was ‘sent to the void’ as you put it, so I'm sorry I didn't warn you first. Second though, what in the hells set you off that bad? I get being worried when I vanish without a trace, but to then scream and curse at me when I come out of the skill? We aren't moving a single damn step until you explain.”
It's my turn to stare, several denials coming to mind before I squash them all. I don't want to lie to her, not after she's shown me so much trust and love. Myrage is gone already, replaced by empty acceptance and a hint of regret as I relentlessly with a sigh.
“I… I'm sorry. Truly. I overreacted, but you have to understand two things before I explain why. The first being why I don't know a lot of common knowledge. Have you heard of the Reborn?” Keira nods, tilting her head as the puzzle pieces click into place.
“You're a Reborn? I'm honestly not that surprised, it explains why you have no last name and just kind of… appeared in town.” She chuckles for a second before sobering again.
“Yeah, I'm a Reborn. So to preface this entire story, I come from a world that is INCREDIBLY different from this one. No magic, no monsters, no nobles, super advanced technology that I can't even begin to share the basics of. Suffice to say, it's a big change to be here. And the second thing…”
I hesitate for a moment, grimacing as the memories try and resurface before I push them down again. The next words, I barely manage to force out as I stare at the ground, refusing to make eye contact.
“It's… it's not a good story. Matter of fact, it's probably the main reason that I can just keep going through all this; dying, getting isekai'd to another fucking world, battling my way through a hive of undead bug people, and then massacring those kidnappers… I'm just kinda… numb to it all.”
At some point, I ended up off of Ouro's back, the derpy lizard curled around me with his head in my lap and Keira pressed against my side. She hugs me, leaning onto my shoulder and taking my hands. With a shuddering breath, I slowly begin to recount my story.