-----(Amir)-----
The arena was silent as I stared at my opponent, eyes and ears open in an attempt to discern any hint of movement. Opposite me was Number XIII of the Organization and one of the most iconic characters in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, Roxas.
He was in one of his signature stances, Oblivion held diagonally in his right hand, its edge pointed toward me, threatening to split me in two, and Oathkeeper held in his left hand, extended behind him, ready to come down and parry any blow that came close. He was crouched low to the ground, and I could feel his gaze locked onto me from beneath his hood.
Thump… Thump… Thump...
I could hear it.
My heart beating in my chest like a war drum.
This was it.
My first battle wielding my Keyblade, wielding the weapon that was destined to be mine and that would help me reach even more impressive heights.
.
.
.
That's a bit too dramatic, isn't it?
I shook my head and focused back on the opponent in front of me, suppressing a small laugh of embarrassment at my thoughts.
I had been going full chunni ever since obtaining Fractured Skies a few days ago. I needed to stomp that habit out now before I started acting like a dumbass and believing that talk-no-jutsu could solve all problems.
Alright, deep breath.
I closed my eyes and allowed my body to get into the position it found most comfortable. I hadn't trained with a weapon before. All my training with the Organization XIII members had focused on improving my hand-to-hand combat and reflexes.
It was meant to teach me how to think quickly on my feet, how to use magic in rhythm while in close quarters, how to predict an opponent's moves, and most importantly…
How to take a life.
How to recognize the instances where I have to fight and those where I have to retreat.
How to harness all of my will, my heart, when backing down wasn't an option, and use it in order to fight on and reach for victory.
-----(Flashback)-----
It was approximately half a year into my training in SAC (Scala ad Caelum) time, or around 1 month and 3 weeks in Earth time.
I was heading toward the usual training ground I had been spending most of my time in, wondering what I would be doing that day, when it happened.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion rang out as the walls of the facility were blown wide open, and a body flew out, blood spilling from a hole in its chest.
I stood there, frozen, as the corpse of who I recognized as Larxene slid to a stop at my feet. The only thing on my mind at the sight was…
'I can't feel her anymore. She's really… dead.
What...
Why?
How?'
My body refused to move as a storm of emotions rampaged through my mind. If I had been more focused, more aware, I would have probably realized the truth of what was happening, but the sight in front of me drove me insane.
I was angry, frustrated. I felt weak and useless. To think I couldn't save the only person who had shown me support in this new world. What was the point of my training and all the hard work I had put in if I couldn't keep someone I had come to see as family alive?
I lifted my head and gazed at the hole in the wall, watching as the smoke cleared away. The man who walked out was familiar to me. His footsteps were as silent as a ghost, his gait steady as he held his arrowguns, one at his side while the other was aimed directly at me.
Luxu.
That was the conclusion I had reached. Xigbar's real identity was Luxu, an apprentice of the Master of Masters. A character who was completely unknown to me. The only thing I knew about him was that he was powerful, and for Xigbar to attack meant that he was probably ordered to by the Master of Masters for one reason or another. How exactly was the overarching antagonist of Kingdom Hearts sending orders? At the time, I couldn't give a fuck.
Because...
'It doesn't matter. He'll die anyway.'
My devil wings burst from my back as I flew into the sky and cast one of the strongest spells in my arsenal.
'Symbol VII, Demyx.'
"CACOPHONY!"
A sonic explosion rang out from below, the pavement of the heavenly city caving inward as the vibrations of sound impacted it with ferocity.
I kept my eyes peeled, scanning for the traitor, before I felt something.
I retracted my wings, dropping quickly and landing on a barrier I summoned. Using it as a jump pad, I launched myself toward the source of the arrow that would have pierced me, finding Xigbar upside down in the air, arrowguns aimed at me once more.
A barrage of arrows was launched from his weapons as he disappeared again, probably to reposition.
My brain fired on all cylinders as I used Crack on the air in front of me, creating a vacuum that drove the projectiles off course.
I summoned another barrier in front of me, flipping so I could use it as a foothold to launch myself into the air.
I tried to sense Xigbar's position when I reached the apex of my leap, but his mana signature kept popping in and out of existence. My head snapped from side to side as I scanned the surroundings for any sign of him, wings deployed once again to keep me airborne.
'All I have to do is hold him back until the others arrive.'
Sadly, I didn't get a chance to strategize further as a massive beam of mana was fired from right under me. I dodged to the left, only to be hit by a kick that I barely blocked with my arm.
I flew backward from the force, but I didn't let that stop me from countering. I activated my magic and held in a cry of pain as blood exploded out of my arm in a cloud of red mist before solidifying into crimson threads that I used to entangle him.
He used his weapons to cut down some of the threads and shoot down others before a pillar rose from the ground, launching him skyward where gray clouds had begun to gather.
"Indra!"
A massive thunderbolt struck him, driving him downward like a pinball, only to be met with my heel as I stomped upward. Grabbing his arm to keep him within reach, I dragged him toward me, punching him repeatedly as he was pulled back and forth.
I finished by launching him downward, willing the entire island to increase gravity, making him slam into the ground hard enough to create a giant crater.
I flew down and landed beside the crater that held the injured Xigbar, who was struggling to get up.
My eyes roamed over his form for a few seconds before I steeled my nerves and put my hands together.
Crack.
The sound of glass shattering echoed through the destroyed streets. Reality seemed to glitch for a moment before a black sphere appeared directly above the enemy.
I stayed completely silent, watching impassively as my most dangerous spell materialized.
Star Killer.
Using Crack on space at a precise point, I created a singularity where all space was drawn in, fractured, broken, and finally disintegrated until not an atom remained.
That was exactly what happened. Xigbar's body was dragged into the void along with everything around him, slowly turning into nothingness.
It only took a second, and the process was complete.
No screams. No exclamations of pain.
Just, silence.
And that was when it happened.
The entire world shattered, a kaleidoscope of colors appearing before me, and then…
I woke up.
My entire body trembled violently, my breathing uneven from how hard I was heaving.
Thankfully, I felt Larxene's familiar touch rubbing comforting circles on my back.
When I finally calmed down and looked around, I spotted another figure in my room, one I recognized immediately by the book floating in their hand.
That was when it clicked.
'Zexion. He put me under an illusion while I was asleep. I should have known. Xigbar was too weak.'
That rational thought was quickly followed by anger. I glared at the man, seconds away from commanding the dimension itself to rain punishment on him, until I felt Larxene slap the back of my head.
The impact shattered my emotional haze. I glanced back at her, rubbing the spot, and finally felt it.
She was proud.
Another realization clicked.
That's what it was… a test.
To make sure I was capable of killing when needed, to make sure I could fight even when the situation was dire.
I flopped onto my bed, covering my face with my arm.
I was still irritated, but I made sure to remember how it felt.
To fight for a meaningful purpose.
To kill.
-----(End)-----
Hisssssss.
My eyes opened, my stance now firm, the Keyblade held in my right hand, its point directed forward like a spear, my left resting upon it, ready to activate magic to enhance my swing.
Larxene, acting as the referee for the battle, nodded when she saw my stance and brought her arm down, signaling the beginning of the match.
Before I could charge, Roxas had already moved.
He came at me with such speed that he flickered, Oblivion slashing upward in a decapitating arc.
I leaned back to dodge, then used the opening to drive my body and blade forward in a strong thrust. He didn't panic in the slightest as his second sword clashed with mine, sparks dancing from the edges as they scraped against each other.
Instead of letting him dictate the flow again, I deployed my magic, doing something I had only recently discovered was possible. A magic circle activated on my hand and appeared on my weapon. It began to spin rapidly as mana gathered at Fractured Skies' edge, the air distorting as heat radiated outward.
Roxas jumped backward instantly, unwilling to withstand a fiery slash. In midair, he flipped and used the momentum to swing his blades in a cross, sending two slashes, one of light and one of darkness, rocketing toward me.
I canceled the magic circle I had begun activating and switched strategies immediately.
"Chakrams."
At my call, the Keyblade shone brightly and transformed into eight purple-edged spinning blades.
I grabbed two from the air and charged at my opponent, willing the others to intercept the attack he had launched.
I used Crack on the air beneath him, creating a vortex that knocked him off trajectory and sent him spiraling downward in a random direction. I then jumped and joined him in the air, where we exchanged blow after blow.
Each clash sent reverberations through my body despite the reinforcement spells. There was also the simple fact that I was completely outmatched, and that was with Roxas holding back. Even the weakest member of the Organization, Vexen, who was primarily a researcher, was at least Low Ultimate Class. Roxas sat comfortably at Low Satan Class as one of the strongest members.
Each time I managed to block a blow on instinct, another forced some of my stored barrier spells to activate.
This isn't going to work. Time to bring out the big guns.
I allowed the next strike to knock me back, retracting the wings I had been using to stay airborne and creating enough distance to begin my next plan.
"Black Out."
Mana exploded outward, forcing Roxas on guard, only for him to suddenly freeze in place.
Black Out was a spell I created as a powerful debuff combined with misdirection. It relied on my understanding of the human body and the use of one of my symbols to cut off the electrical signals connecting the five senses to the brain. The misdirection came from the name, which caused the affected target to believe they were enveloped in darkness.
That was why his next move would be…
Just as expected, Roxas raised his white blade in front of him, channeling mana through it until it glowed brilliantly.
The problem was that there was no darkness to dispel and so...
He's wide open!
I channeled as much demonic mana as possible into my right hand as the chakrams returned and reformed into my Keyblade. The sound of cracking echoed through the air as the gathered energy flowed into the blade.
Roxas had already stopped his previous action and, from what I could tell, was unraveling the spell I had cast, but it was too late.
"Shrine Severer!"
An attack inspired by Ryomen Sukuna's Dismantle, created from my mastery of magic and my ability, Crack. By using my symbols to form a spatial slash infused with moon energy and stacked with my bloodline ability, I could create a slash that combined all of my current abilities into a single strike, capable of splitting reality itself.
I watched as the space the slash passed through tore apart, revealing brief glimpses of the Dimensional Gap before closing due to the tear's small size. The attack flew toward Roxas, who had gone completely still.
As I wondered what he was doing, worried he might actually get hurt, he did…
Something.
He raised both weapons overhead and swung downward.
That was the last thing I saw before my vision went black.
-----(Switch)-----
"Launcher"
My blade immediately followed the command, transforming into its massive launcher form, blades already spinning around the barrel, ready to fire in seconds. But that wasn't the purpose of this training.
"Spear"
The weapon switched once again, shining brightly as it shrunk down into a rather large spear. I spun the weapon around my body before speaking once more.
"Whip"
As the weapon changed again, I let my thoughts wander, allowing my body to continue the training out of pure habit.
It had been 4 months SAC time, 1 month Earth time, since my spar with Roxas. I had passed out not from the attack hitting me, but from Larxene knocking me out and quickly getting us out of the danger zone.
When I had come to, I witnessed the very amusing sight of the woman standing over the dual wielder, who was sat on his knees, head lowered.
As for what exactly happened? Well, the fact that I was training in Central Island instead of the usual training grounds due to that island being nearly split in three should be a pretty big indicator of what happened.
Roxas was so engrossed in battle, which is insane considering I'm an ant compared to him, that he let out some of his full strength with that swing.
That's what got us to this point. The island was slowly being repaired automatically by the dimension, but the damage was extensive, and the light poisoning and shadow corrosion didn't help much.
Seeing the aftermath of that attack only made me want to fight again. To become stronger, in order to one day do the same and a lot more. That motivation and inspiration was something I put fully into my training.
I learned how to use different weapons from the others, learned how to switch quickly from one form to the other, which was the point of the exercise now, and learned how to control the rhythm of a fight.
One of the lessons that was taught to me by Demyx, Luxord, and surprisingly, Saix, was to always try and control the rhythm of a battle, even while defending. Making an opponent fall into a rhythm made them easier to predict and counter.
I've been testing it out against my sparring partners, but considering their experience and strength, it of course hasn't worked.
Don't know if that means I'm failing or just that they're too strong, but I'm going to keep trying either way.
I've had to cram a lot of knowledge into my head in the last few months. Sword combat, spear combat, ranged combat, whip combat. It's been a lot to learn at once, but it's still really fun, in a way.
I've also come to discover that my Keyblade had THIRTEEN weapon forms in total, which made me research another interesting topic.
Symbolism.
Apparently, symbolism is very useful in everything arcane because it can grant extra power to spells or magical weapons using fate or belief. It's why Gods in every pantheon spread legends about themselves, even if the stories are embarrassing or degrading. People believing in these stories makes it so they can grow stronger through their domains or equipment being recognized by many. It's why certain holy swords are stronger than others too. The majority of them were made in a similar way, but swords like Durandal or Excalibur are just more known and so are given more juice to work with.
It's also why my Keyblade has thirteen forms, which is definitely a lot more than the original. My use of 13 symbols, the fact that I live in a place with 13 islands, all these things have begun to affect my equipment and will also probably do the same with my sacred gear once I get it.
.
.
I stopped moving entirely and quickly spun back toward the sound I had heard, only to see Axel standing behind me, arms crossed, a notebook held in hand.
I blinked slowly before loosening my stance and letting go of my weapon, which disappeared in a flash of light.
"Time for studying, right?" I said in a defeated tone.
He simply nodded before throwing me the notebook and leaving the way he came.
Always have to act cool, don't you?
Shaking my head, I opened my notebook to the notes that I had taken. Not on math or science, no, but on the members of my future peerage.
I had begun thinking about this after my fight with Roxas. It was time for me to go back to the outside world, to gain experience, and most importantly, find some allies.
Does that mean I'll be going to find Roygun Belphegor and playing lovey-dovey with the noble devils?
Fuck no.
That was the first idea I had, which was immediately scrapped. The second and third were no better as they put me into the eyes of the biblical faction, which is something I want to hold off on for a bit.
It was many hours later that I came up with my current plan, which was what I was studying and refining so it would be as perfect as possible.
I'll be going to Asgard.
The purpose?
A certain often overlooked Valkyrie that I was going to help and support out of the kindness of my oh so black heart.
On a more serious note, I was going there to recruit Rossweisse and get the Norse on my side. Having the Allfather and Thor supporting me would be great for the future no matter what I did in said time.
There was also the opportunity to dissect and study runes, which might finally help me crack that damn analysis spell, the chance to fight Valkyries that can help me get better in close combat, and also the very interesting idea of asking some of the Gods there if they had a way to control fate and belief better.
The only thing I needed to figure out was how to get there....
.
.
.
This is going to be a long day...
-----(Switch)-----
I had done it.
After another eight months, so a total of a YEAR SAC time, I had done it.
I figured out a way to contact the Norse, I had gotten good enough in armed combat to get a passing grade by my instructors, and also improved my battle instincts to the point where I can say that I am comfortably in Peak-High Class. I was capable of destroying a small town, which was proven when I obliterated a good chunk of one of the islands.
All I need to do is develop that damn analysis spell, and I probably could consider myself to be an Ultimate Class being, even if on the extreme low end of said class.
Throughout this process, I had also come up with distinctions for the threat level a being has, labeling them on a scale similar to that of Tensura's. The reason for this system was the fact that people with lower amounts of mana could fight higher power-classed individuals using technique, with a prime example being Vasco Strada. The Class method of scaling only describes destructive power in one burst or attack, which is why someone as strong as the aforementioned Violence of Heaven is classified as Ultimate-Class despite it being widely known that he can defeat a lot of those ranked above him.
The Tensura scale uses letters from E to S and then special labels such as Million-Class and Catastrophe Class. I lowered it down to 10 distinctions that are:
E, D, C, B, A, Special-A, S, Special-S, Disaster instead of Million and Catastrophe.
These correspond to how much of a threat someone is if they tried to destroy Scala ad Caelum, so they use myself and the members of the Organization as the bar. On this scale, Strada would be Special-A as he can contend with some of those in the lower range of Satan Class, compared to Kokabiel, who would only be A as he can't do that at all.
In all honesty, both of them would still lose as Xemnas would be considered Peak-Satan Class, and with his many techniques and his attribute of Nothingness...
Let's say he's scary and end it at that. Only a Special-S or above threat could actually destroy Scala ad Caelum, and that knowledge is quite reassuring to say the least.
I closed my notebook, which I had been using to review everything I had come up with, and got ready to finally face the outside world once again.
I headed to the door of my room and opened it, going through it only to find myself in the same spot I had arrived at when I first stepped foot into... my home.
Yeah, this is my home.
That thought only strengthened my resolve to leave, so I could soon come back stronger and better.
To protect this place, to stand beside these people who have taught me, to be able to finally face them at their best.
I looked back, gazing at the figures that had appeared. Not all of them had come, but those that did were enough. They were the ones that taught me most, and I'm sure the others will do the same once I come back.
I kept looking around, at the clocktower, the islands that surrounded me, at the buildings that I had now memorized, and simply smiled.
I turned and walked forward, waving over my shoulder before willing my dimension to send me back to the same spot where I left.
See you soon guys. I'll be back.
{A/N: Shout out Terminator}
-----(Switch)-----
Flap
WHOOOSH
SHICK
I stared at the four-winged fallen angel that had attacked me, now on the sand, dying it red from a wound in his chest courtesy of my Keyblade, and couldn't help but have one thought that I somehow knew would become commonplace.
Fuck.
{A/N: Yoo guys, been a while. I am finally done with the volume finally. I have to apologize for the lack of consistency, but I'm currently in Lebanon and on vacation so it's been kind of hard to find time to write between everything.
I'm pretty happy with this chapter, and hopefully, you guys are too since I made you all wait for so long.
Last thing, do you guys want me to retcon a bit of the story to have the Egyptian pantheon be there and included rather than destroyed? I've had some people complain about it and was wondering whether I should just stick with it or change it.
In any case, Merry Late Christmas to everyone and Happy New Year. I hope all of your holidays were great, and see you soon in the next volume.}