I have some idea about the backstory I wish to tell the Eternals; something that will cause confusion amongst them, and hopefully not make them look to deep into me. See, when they eventually learn that I'm from the future, if I either decide to tell them now or they find out somehow, they will almost definitely have questions about their own futures, and the result of their mission, real or not.
So I need to throw them off slightly. Give them enough information to sate their potential curiosity, but also make them realise that what I know isn't unreasonable. I can't just come out and say that I know how they were truly created, or reveal too much about the Celestials, or such. As I come up with and organise what I'm to tell them, the two Eternal wait patiently, staring at me without saying a word.
I lift my head to the two, starting my act, my eyes looking through them, as if lost in recall. As I open my mouth to speak, I come to a decision, "I am... from the future." I start, waiting for them to react in anyway. Gilgamesh's eyes go wide, while Thena only raises an eyebrow in surprise, as calm as ever. Her general demeanour and personality remind me of Wu Cai, who himself looks at me, waiting to see what I tell them.
Gilgamesh is the first to respond, his tone steady but inquisitive, "The future?" He asks, "So that is how you know of us? Wait, what year did you come from? Did we wipe out the Deviant?" He asks question after question, his pace starting to rush, causing Thena to place a hand on his arm, calming him down. He startles slightly, then looks at her in thanks.
They turn back to me, but don't say anything, letting me answer. I give them a smile, "To start, I come from the year two thousand and ten; an age where the entire world is connected, with people being able to instantly talk to each other from the other side of the world." Gilgamesh whispers something to Thena that I don't catch, causing her to nod.
Once their attention is back on me, I continue, "About four years before I found myself in this time, an absolutely ginormous, red being with six glowing eyes suddenly appeared in the sky. It loomed over the earth without doing anything, before letting out a sound similar to confusion. It then raised a giant hand, and summoned nine people from earth; the Eternals." I stop here for now, expecting them to react with confusion.
As expected, shock appears on their faces, even Thena this time. They share a quick look between themselves, before Thena asks me, a small amount of hesitation in her voice, "...Nine Eternals? Are you sure?"
This is my chosen tactic, making them wonder at the reliability of my knowledge.
"Yes?" I confirm, a tilt of my head helping to display my uncertainty, "You two, Ikaris, Sersi, Phastos and Makkari, then Kingo, Druig and Sprite; nine Eternals." I stare at them, expressing my sincerity. "When that massive being appeared and grabbed you all, it shared your names and your mission; to protect humanity from the Deviants. After it, and you all, seemingly teleported away, your lives were recreated using historical facts and the myths of gods, those of which seemed to allude to or directly mention your intervention."
I pause to lick my dry lips and take a sip of water from my gourd, then carry on, "Once your timeline and deeds were established, people started to worship you as the first heroes; the protectors of mankind. In my country, at least, there was even a national holiday created in your honour, where we would celebrate you all." I finish my story, satisfied with my lie. The details will need to be worked out properly soon enough, just in case, but it should work for now.
Two notifications sound to me once I'm done, the panel of golden runes appearing in my vision, but I ignore it for now and focus on the two.
Thena speaks for the two, her brow tense, "...There are ten Eternals on earth." She explains, "The nine of us you mentioned, plus Ajak, our leader." Her expression displays worry, fearful of the fate of her fiend. I don't enjoy causing undue distress like this, but if it helps to ensure my survival, I can push through the slight discomfort.
"I've never heard or seen any mention of an Ajak, I'm sorry." I 'confess', "Throughout history, there has only ever been nine Eternals, no more, no less... Wait." I stop, an 'explanation' seeming to come to me, "Are you familiar with the concept of the Multiverse?" It takes a second for them to understand my point, before a look of realisation comes over them.
Gilgamesh speaks this time, a curious look in his eyes, "Are you saying... You might be from a different timeline?" He asks me, his face expressing his relief. I imagine that the idea I come from an alternate time helps to lessen the worry that something might happen to their fellow Eternal. I mean, it does, but I can't really tell them that without profoundly impacting the future. I don't mind changes I have no control over, but I'd prefer the timeline stay close to what I'm familiar with, for my benefit.
That's if I'm not truly in a different reality. If so, I might be fucked. Should the earth I'm on not be close to the canon of the main story, a lot of my plans will have to be adjusted.
Saving that line of thought for later, I return to the conversation, "It's certainly possible; my time has evidence of alternate timelines. Unfortunately, I don't know too much of my world's history, especially of China, so I haven't found any obvious points of divergence yet. Well, apart from you lot, sorry." I apologise. Indeed, since landing in twelve eighty-eight, I've been busy gaining strength, so I've not had the time to do much research yet.
Thena shakes her head, "No need to apologise, Sarah. This is beyond both us and you. The only person I can think of who might have any idea... would be Phastos." She seems to fall into thought for a moment, then, "No matter, this isn't important for now." She turns to Gilgamesh, "Have you noticed?" She asks him.
He nods at her, a serious look in his eyes, "Yeah." He looks in the direction of the village, his arms alighting with cosmic energy, golden patterns wrapping around them. Thena looks at me and the silent Wu Cai, as she creates a spear and shield using her own energy "Move into the forest, keeping your weapons ready. We'll try to stop them here, but should one get around us, try to defend until we get there." She orders us, a worried but kind expression on her face.
It takes me a moment to understand what she's talking about, before I remember.
There are three Deviants in the village, feasting on the corpses of those they've slain.
I've been too busy trying to secure my future, that I forgot. There could be survivors hiding in their homes, cowering, trying not to make any noise for fear of being killed, while I'm distracting their saviours. A little shame fills my heart as I realise this.
Nodding to Thena, I draw Jian and start to move back, Wu Cai doing the same. We pick up our pace as we get some distance, hearing sounds of battle and feeling the vibrations of impact under our feet. Wu Cai is silent as we move, his eyes on lookout. Although I know we don't stand much of a chance if a Deviant attacks us, I feel safer knowing he's by my side.
The noise of their fight quiets as we separate from them, but it still sounds as intense as when it began. A potential fight with a Deviant worries me, and makes think back on an idea I've had while on the road. According to the description of Chi in my character sheet, it can be infused into objects. When I saw that, it got me thinking; could I infuse it into Jian, making it stronger and sharper?
With enough practice, I might even be able to extend its cutting range by projecting additional length with Chi, but that's for the future. For now, I'll stick to what I can do. As we move, I focus on Jian and connect to it, no longer needing to close my eyes to concentrate, thanks to my practice with meditation. With its hilt in hand, I move some of my Chi down my fingers, touching it to Jian.
While connected, I can feel every part of Jian as if it's a part of me, letting my feel as my Chi starts to infuse in it. The process is slow, taking time to flow to every particle of the sword, as I split my focus with keeping an eye on my surroundings, but it eventually fills the sword. Looking to Jian, I see that it now has a slight green tinge along its blade, the colour of my Chi. To test the effect, I raise it up and swing it at a low branch we pass under.
It passes through it like butter, with no resistance.
Wu Cai sees my action and lets out a small exclamation. He looks at his own sword, then to me, causing me to nod. Hoping we've made enough distance, I bring us to a stop and hide behind a large tree. Wu Cai follows and watches as I raise my sword arm to him and demonstrate the method. He places his hand on my arm to perceive the flow of my Chi, while attempting it on his own sword.
Due to his vast experience with Chi, it only takes him a couple minutes to succeed, causing his sword to shine with his own Chi. Thankfully, he manages it just in time, as we begin to hear the heavy stomps of a large being; the crashing of trees displaying its power. Wide eyed, I turn to Wu Cai, who shares my expression. Peeking out, I see one of the three Deviants, this one heavily injured, rushing in our direction.
The left side of its face is caved in, missing two of its eyes, and one of its horns. It's covered in wounds, and its left front leg has been severed, reducing its stability and speed. Even in its current state, I don't like our chances. Wu Cai taps me on my shoulder, bringing my attention to him. He points at himself, then gestures to the Deviant, before pointing at me and expressing for me to climb our tree.
I don't like it, but he has the greater experience, so I trust he has some kind of plan. Nodding at him, I swiftly climb it thanks to my improved physique. Once I'm secure, Wu Cai lifts three fingers and begins to count down. As the final finger falls, he shoots out from behind the tree and starts to sprint, as I ready and infuse Jian. As Wu Cai goes forward, the Deviant, closing in on us, notices, and shifts its path to charge him.
As it's about to make contact, Wu Cai rolls to side, dodging it, while the beast crashes into our tree and topples slightly. I keep my balance as the tree shakes from the impact, as Wu Cai takes advantage, running at it and using his Chi infused sword to slice at its back left leg, hoping to use its injuries to destabilise it. The attack connects, cutting deep into the leg and causing dark green blood to spray out.
He moves to the right of the Deviant as it goes to stand, staying in view of its good eyes and keeping its attention himself. It gets to its feet, its footing unstable, and growls at Wu Cai, who smirks. As he raises his sword to guard, and the Deviant starts to roar, I jump from my position, Jian held high in a backwards grip. Landing on its shoulders, I plunge Jian down into its skull, piercing down through its brain and cutting off its roar.
The Deviant collapses to the floor, lifeless.
As we both pant with adrenaline, I pull Jian from its body and hop down. I look over to Wu Cai, who's staring at the corpse of the Deviant with an unreadable expression, then run to him. I crash into him and wrap my arms around his chest, laughing. He stumbles and drops his sword, but gets his footing and starts to hug me back. His squeezes me tight, feeling me laugh into his neck, before I release him and step back, a wide smile on my face
"I can't believe we did it!" I exclaim excitedly. Wu Cai watches me, a small smile on his face. I take a deep breath and settle down my emotions; now isn't the time to get distracted, the Eternals might be in trouble if one Deviant managed to get away from them. Staring at Wu Cai, concern in my eyes, I say, "...If this one managed to reach us, the two back there might need help." Wu Cai nods at me in agreement, "Should we head back? If they're injured, we might be able to help."
Wu Cai thinks for a second, then picks up his sword and takes off running, heading in the direction we came.
I swear he does that does that purpose. For such a stoic, older gentleman, he has quite a hidden mischievous side to him. Rolling my eyes, I run after him.
…
As we move, I take the chance to check my notifications from earlier,
[Lying (Skilled) – Your caution is well deserved, knowing the dangers of the reality you're in. You managed to successfully convince a pair of Eternals of an almost complete fabrication, well done.
With this ability, a 30% chance of your lies being believed is added onto your natural deceptive prowess.]
[Ability Learned – Acting (Basic): Why did you choose to be an accountant? You're clearly a budding Oscar winner. Since coming to this new world, you've had to live half a lie, going from one performance to another. You may started doing so for your own safety, but lets hope your mask doesn't start to become your true face.
As an up and coming talent, your ability to act feeds into your ability to lie, slightly increasing your chance at a successful deception. Your body coordination has also improved, helping you to learn movements quicker.]
It takes us a few minute, but we reach the area of the battle. As we approach, evidence of the ferocity of the fight is displayed all over. The site of the conflict is covered by upturned dirt and topples trees, with the flesh and blood of the Deviants splayed around. We come to a stop next to the body of one dead Deviant, its head separated from its body by a few meters, and start to look for the two.
A boom in the distance catches our attention. We run towards it and get there in time to see Gilgamesh, covered in green blood, hold down a Deviant and pulverise its head. He pants slightly and starts to look up, just as the winged Deviant from before crashes into the ground between us, Thena riding atop it, a golden spear piercing through its head.
My hearts skips a beat as she pulls her weapon from the Deviant and flips off it.
Really, Sarah?
As she lands, she see us, surprise appearing on her face. She calls over to Gilgamesh, who turns to her and spots us. He starts to move as Thena approaches us, "What are you doing here?" She questions us sharply, "You shouldn't be here, one of the Deviants ran off. It could still be around." She surveys the surroundings, searching for any trace of it.
Gilgamesh joins us, so I look him over for injuries, seeing none, then explain, "We were worried about you." I start, "The Deviant caught up to us as we were moving, but we managed to kill it thanks to its injuries." An impressed expression appears on Thena's face, "Seeing as it managed to get past you, I was concerned that you might have been seriously wounded." Inspecting her, I see nothing.
They took on Three Deviants, with an added ambush by a flying opponent, and she has nary a hair out of place? As expected of the Goddess of War.
"Still, you shouldn't have come back, especially if something had happened to us." She admonishes us, Gilgamesh nodding beside her, "We are here to protect you, not the other way around." She finishes, giving me a stern look.
I bow to them, Wu Cai joining me, "Of course, Lady Thena. The next time a Deviant attacks you, I'll stand off the side and watch, okay?" She rolls her eyes at me, hearing the insincerity in my words. Standing straight, I turn to the destroyed village. Seeing the piles of corpses, sadness fills me. Thena follows my gaze, then looks up at me, sympathy in her eyes.
"Do you wish to bury them?" She asks, "With the Deviants dealt with, we have nowhere to be." I stare the scene before me, and try to think logically. We have the time, so we could, but it would take days. I want to reach the sorcerers soon, and doing this will just extend our journey. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, apologising to the fallen people, then open them and say, "...No." I don't explain my reasoning, but Thena just nods. Perhaps she has her own ideas.
I continue, "The most we can do is look for survivors." If there are any, I think to myself privately. Should any be found, then I'll heal them of any injuries, and ask if the Eternals can take them to the closest people. Wu Cai has a sad look on his face, but seems to be in agreement with me.
With that settled, we move into the village, avoiding the scattered dead.