Teyao

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Will post tonight, got a couple stuations IRL these last days

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

He was stressed.

For once it wasn't about the stupid cube, steady progress had been made on it now that the 'defense' mechanism had been identified. Any cleric of Syllagy would help resolve the damn thing but apparently expecting members of the clergy who follow a Goddess of deception aren't keen on revealing themselves just because. That was something that irked him more than he cared to admit and when he had been told he had nearly blown a fuse, fully believing them -and their Goddess- to be on the enemy side.

He said as much and what followed was a very extensive session about gods from a scholar's standpoint. Gods were not omnipotent nor omniscient, they had limited capacity to see the mortal world as well as act, according to records it used to be different a long time ago but something changed, restricting the gods from interacting with the mortal world in significant ways. Including their own Domains. As an example she used the Wraith his party took care of, it was siphoning energy from Hades' Domain over the dead and despite being so much weaker it was capable of contesting Hades' influence on his own church.

This was very much the same.

Their side might have used a ritual or forbidden magic to force Syllagy's Domain as protection for the cube, the Chief's current theory was that the divinity was enforcing a lie over the cube, something akin to an illusion creating the concept of "The cube is inert" preventing them from perceiving any reaction to any of the tests they had run earlier.

But that was a tangent.

He was stressed because Zell Fucking Brooks.

The ritual two days ago had been perfect, all the materials were gathered in good quality and Areleth had been willing to help by lending him a sacred ground to perform the ritual once he hinted at the situation, with everything ready the ritual was as potently as it could be ...which brought the point of his frustration, the only way that the ritual could have failed would have been if the recipient was unwilling to undergo it.

And fail it had.

The conclusion was evident, Zell doesn't want to get rid of the Black Sword.

He split.

One side of him was darkly amused, gleeful that his killer would fall in such an ironic manner. The other was raging.

For a moment there was stillness, the next both hands were cradling his head as it felt like his skull wanted to split apart, two streams of thought in disarray pulling in a different direction and colliding with each other, he should give up, he should keep trying as many times as he could, he didn't deserve it, he wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him, he should show mercy, the black goat would collect their due, they could run, from the witch queen?

"No"

The headache subsided slowly, like a faded memory that was being remembered wrong, each moment felt clearer than the last, and before long he allowed his hands to retract.

The sight that grated him was of his smashed nightstand, looking around it was clear that he hadn't remained still during his little episode. Moving slowly he picked his things from the rubble, it was a miracle nobody had come to investigate but with the morning noise and general tension in the city perhaps it wasn't that strange, still, he would have to report this to Freddy and pay for the damages, he would be lucky if the man didn't just throw him over it.

What a rotten way to start the day.

---

Good news: he wasn't thrown to the streets.

Bad news: the furniture wasn't cheap.

Despite absolutely putting a sizeable dent in his pocket Freddy was understanding, having rented the rooms to Adventurers before he was aware of how rowdy they could get sometimes and judging by the way he recoiled when he saw him the innkeeper probably realized that what happened wasn't something in any way normal.

Breakfast felt like a chore, there was a disconnection between himself and the rest of the world that he couldn't ignore, it was almost as if he knew he was replaced and the world didn't care, like an impostor praying that somebody would notice and rat them out.

It was an ugly feeling.

"James"

With a startle, he noticed someone was sitting in front of him.

Fenna looked back with impassive eyes, the same sharp eyes she had whenever she was relaxed, they reminded in of Sil's, the same calm but deadly gaze it looked at the world with when it was perched.

"Oh hey Fenna, sorry I was distracted, wassup?"

The conversation developed in a surprising way, seemingly Fenna had received an unexpected boon from her las Ascension, a healing spell similar to his own. For a brief moment he felt the world regain a little of color before it returned to its gray hue, the idea of another healer in the team was extremely appealing with how often he ended hurt having another person able to save one of his party members' lives was invaluable. Something Fenna agreed with as she asked for help regarding medical expertise, now he wasn't really a doctor so the idea of just giving tips was way too uncomfortable so instead he shared a proposal "I know a place where you can get good practice, we can go tomorrow night if you want" She left that as a maybe, saying she had to think it over.

Then his world was brought to a halt as she talked about her encounter with a glowy pool of water on the spa and how her first instinct was to reach for it!

The melancholy that was clinging to him was swiftly discarded replaced with sheer horror and concern that then he forcefully turned into anger.

"Fenna, can-can you explain things from the start, please?"

[Main Story] Bleach: New Gen

So apparently he had been on the wrong site.

Go figure.

At the very least he had been found by another shinigami on janitor duty and told where to go, had he missed the group heading towards Hueco Mundo he doubted they would have returned for him. Luckily he had managed to arrive just as the tattoed guy opened the portal.

Then things got weird.

From what he remembered from the teachers at the Academy Hueco Mundo was exactly how they described it, arid and devoid of color, with the occasional Hollow running amok, his first instinct was to rush ahead and deliver a beating but he stopped himself, the words of the Captain ringing in his skull. So instead of doing the usual he marched until he encountered Kobe, at which point he decided to walk beside the other man, it was strange to be alongside the man instead of in the ring across each other but it wasn't a bad feeling.

Instead he loosened his muscles and prepared to -was that the Ice Queen? Ah hell she was, of all the possible missions and he ended up in the same one as her.

At least she seemed to be more focused on the mission than on him, he didn't know what the fuck was her problem with him but if he had learned anything during his time as a rat was to never back down when someone insulted you.

Then eventually they stopped, the two older Shinigami said something or the other about the mission but he didn't bother listening to the details, it if the result was fighting either way then the choice didn't matter, in fact, they should just go each way and deal with them, he said as muc-

"fight for something"

The words resonated in his head before he could say anything.

In the end he let the others make the decision, and the group progressed at a relaxed speed, this is what stealth missions were like? He couldn't say he was a fan. Then hell broke loose.

The attacks were almost too fast for him to follow, and there was a certainty inside himself that if he had been the victim of the first attack he wouldn't have reacted fast enough to block. Thankfully when the Hollow had decided to attack he was prepared, drawing his Zanpakuto he blocked the attack from the Spider Hollow, all his previous thoughts were discarded immediately, replaced with bloodlust and teeth grit into a smile.

The struggle was almost evenly matched but he was stronger, he would win the exchange but it wouldn't be quick.

"Accumulate and explode, Aka!"

The words spilled from his lips with nary a thought, more muscle memory than some attempt at strategy, perhaps if his weapon changed in the radical ways some of his fellow's did then it would have disturbed the balance even more but as it was it would it barely anything.

So he let go of his Zanpakuto.

His Zanjutsu teacher would suffer a heart attack if he saw his actions during the mission but such thoughts were beyond him at this point, instead he dodged backward and watched as the sudden lack of resistance threw the Spider off, unbalancing it as it was committed to the attack. Using the opportunity he attacked with Hakuda, heavy punches damaging delicate joints.

A distant part of his mind wondered what everyone else was doing.

---

Current Charge

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

A couple hours later and he was all but thrown over a table looking listless at the ceiling.

Around him were the rest of the research team in similar positions, the feeling of defeat permeating the air. It hadn't taken long for the other members to engage him when he started sprouting ideas, desperation was wonderful for team bonding apparently, and despite some of his weirder suggestions they followed through. But even after all manner of weird experiments the cube remained as immutable as ever, floating gently and appearing dead to the world, even after singing to it, covering it in milk, insulting it, talking dirty, all equally useless.

"What if we-"

"We already did that"

Conversation started only to be shot down mercilessly. Both of the speakers looking chagrined for daring to speak.

He let out a breath and directed his gaze to the only person standing upright.

Alone Clarissa Shields remained unbowed, head raised high and eyes centered on one of the screens, perusing some of the gathered data with single-minded focus.

He couldn't see her expression but just from her posture he could imagine the intense look in her eyes, he had known her for less than a day and he could already picture it, she was scary like that. Releasing a grunt he moved from his resting position until he was sitting on the table with his knees crossed, facing her direction.

"So what is next Chief?"

He waited a couple seconds without a response, at first he thought that she hadn't heard him, he had seen the same thing happen with a couple of the other researchers, but just as he was about to speak again she turned-

Someone gasped.

He may have only known Clarissa Shields for less than a day but even he could say that the dull gaze wasn't meant to be on her face, tired eyes and a grimace completed the unnatural visage of the proud Director, beside him the other researchers were looking at her with varying degrees of dread. Dread that he shared.

"I..."

Her face cycled through a thousand emotions before settling in a disconcerting blank gaze, the next words came in a neutral tone, low and measured as if she was simply commenting on a pebble beside the road. But her eyes refused to make contact with anyone.

"...I do not know"

Despite the low volume in which those words were uttered one could be pardoned for thinking someone had been shot, silent like a grave and with as much enthusiasm, the reality of the situation was falling upon the heads of the researchers with the only sound being that of the Director turning once more to stare upon the screen.

Someone left.

Followed by someone else.

More and more people followed the example, maybe to cry or to go see loved ones, he could bet at least one was planning to go rage away from prying eyes, but even as the last one departed he couldn't spare them a look, too focused on the Director's back

Before long there were only two people left within the room.

"You should leave too"

She didn't turn around.

He let out another breath, fuck his life man, why did he keep getting into these situations? Right whole 'Hero from another world' stuff, frankly he felt as if he had been scammed. A hand messed with his locks as he mulled over his response. Words stolen from a booklet in his room.

"The strong man may attempt to divert the river, but it is the da-"

"Spare me your sermon, Priest, I can not afford distractions"

"Ha!"

An incredulous laugh left his mouth before he could help it. Here he was about to spill a bunch of religious bullshit just to be cut off before he could begin, fucking hell this bitch was awesome. She was looking at him again, an eyebrow raised and the dull look in her eyes hiding faint irritation.

"Hahahaha.., sorry Chief, just caught me by surprise" He wiped a tear from his eye, man it felt good to laugh like that, if only the situation wasn't so bleak "But for reals, I have a vested interest in Valheim not falling so forgive me if I decide to stick around for a little longer"

She looked at him with scrutiny before lightly shaking her head from side to side.

"You have already proven you do not have the solution, it would be more efficient if you directed your efforts somewhere else"

Cold and harsh. As expected of one who held the title of Director of Research and Technology at the esteemed Valhiem's Academy, why, if she was any lesser he had no doubt one of the countless bottom feeders would have tried to supplant her already. Okay fine, maybe he was being dramatic but it had been a stressing last few days and he was due some form of release, if being a dramatic bitch was what brought him comfort then so be it.

He stretched to loosen his stiff muscles, hours of barely any movement had let his muscles feel tense, Ascension brought countless benefits but it didn't correct a bad posture.

"It would"

"But you have no intention of doing so"

"I do not"

He could practically feel the frustration oozing from her, the last days of stress and sleepless nights catching up to her and churning her emotions to a more volatile state, a lesser person would have exploded days before but it was a testament that even with his goading the Director still managed to get her emotions under her control. Both had seen it countless times before, inters thrust into positions they were not prepared for and balking under the responsibilities/New soldiers losing their nerve the first time their lives were at risk. Eyes closed she seemed to be contemplating something, after a couple seconds she looked at him again having come to a verdict.

"Very well, if you are determined to remain here I will put you to work, do you have any idea?"

Ah shit, she started with the difficult one.

"Truth be told I don't" He grimaced harder "You already tested for a faith reaction with Areleth and he is more versed in the stuff than I am "

"So you are useless then"

Ufff, right where it hurt.

"I-i would't sayyy -okay yes" It racked both parts of himself more than he was willing to admit "Butttt, I have been told that I am particularly blessed by the gods, so if nothing else you can use me as a good luck charm, I am practically Jesus you know?"

Another emotion surged from the sea of frustration and worry.

She snorted, the reference flying over her head but the tone more than enough to paint a picture of her mind. Even with her admittedly lacking social skills she could see what he was trying to do, if nothing else working with higher spirits was bound to produce better results.

"I don't think you would be much help even if you were Lady Sillagy in disguise"

The response died in his lips.

It was tiny, minuscule, and he almost thought he had imagined it but his instinct was screaming at him to not dismiss it. He jumped from the table and grabbed the Director by her shoulders, their eyes met and he tried to impart all the seriousness the situation merited.

"Repeat it" He ordered.

Dark eyes widened slightly before focusing on him, looking at his reaction, analyzing it and coming to some conclusion in a fraction of a second. Then the words spilled from her mouth.

"I don't think you would be much help even if you were Lady Sillagy in disguise"

Another snort followed by the same words said in the exact same tone, with accompanying matching gestures and facial expressions, had he not been as focused he would have applauded her performance. As it was he immediately latched onto his sixth sense, the same strange feeling that had accompanied him ever since he had cast his first Blessing.

...

Maybe it had been his imagination after all, there wasn-No! There! It was at the edge of his perception but hiding from him, no, hiding was not the right word, camouflaging, blending it, dodging his attention, telling him it wasn't there.

Lying

The first real piece of the puzzle slotted in his mind, too small to show the whole picture but large enough to deduce the following shape.

He opened his eyes and found himself looking at someone reflecting his own hope back to him.

Bleach: Rise Of The New Generation

Just a little to get the ball rolling.

Bleach: Rise Of The New Generation

He peered again at the envelope, eyes squinted trying to decipher some meaning he had missed the first time, he wasn't all that good at reading but if there was one thing the old covers at the academy had managed to beat into his skull was the importance of being able to read. According to the note, the people taking part in the mission were supposed to meet here but so far he hadn't seen anyone.

Maybe he had gotten the place wrong?

...

Meh, he was sure that wasn't the case, throwing the note back into his pocket he set to wait. At least this was a good excuse to slack off, can't fault a guy for being in the correct place too early eh?

Still, he wondered who are the rest of the schmucks on the team, if he was lucky it was either Nakajima or Kobe, if he was unlucky it was the pink-haired menace. There were a few dozen members of squad ten alone, surely the chances were too small...

Lacking anything else to do he closed his eyes and let himself relax, according to the note the lead was from Squad 2 and the second in command was from Squad 5, which if he remembered what his teachers said meant that the mission was either stealth or combat focused. Finally a chance to do something, it had been years since the last time he had been in a proper scrap.

He just hoped it would begin soon.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

He looked at the device in front of him, their analog for a computer, he hadn't noticed when he came in but the thing was not made of metal or plastic like back home, instead, it looked to have been carved out of some kind of gleaming stone with the 'screen' having a cloth-like texture, It reminded him of the image that old projectors had when he was young. The keyboard was strange, divided in half by a bunch of random keys he didn't know what they did but at least he was able to use the ones with the Mytherian alphabet (Or was it the empire's?).

"Okay lets see..."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ah couple of hours later he was all but banging his head against the deck. So much data, so many random experiments... according to the terminal the first round of testing had begun after his party brought it in, at the start the methods had been light and not invasive, just brushing it with mana, studying its symbology and running different elements through it. All standard procedures for enemy technology according to some documents he had managed to flinch.

Then the siege started.

The experiments turned more complex, applying different domains to it, limited essence contact, heck! they had even tried some of the dark arts that he knew about. When there was no visible progress the scientists had gotten... creative.

Burning it, freezing it, screaming at it, not looking at it, trying to speak to it, etc. More and more bizarre tests had been conducted in the hopes of finding an angle, which notably hasn't been found yet.

So yeah, these guys were getting desperate and it was showing, if the stink eye some directed to him when they thought he wasn't looking (adventurer senses for the win!) was any indication then it was safe to say that bringing him, an outsider, as a consultant was them scrapping the bottom of the barrel on their long list of experiments.

And now that he was caught up it was his turn to give it a try.

"Let's see"

The cube was just as he remembered, each corner emboldened and each face showing a different engraving. It was as unresponsive as back then but there was something, at the edge of his memory, he was sure the cube was different now somehow, like a feature it had shown before was simply absent.

He scratched his head and sighed, he could already feel the headache coming.

Bleach: Rise Of The New Generation

This are the ones I am interested for Yuto:
1.-Snakes Without Sin
2.-Tower Of The North

Yuto really sucks at diplomacy to the oint him being on the rokungai team is more of a hidrance. And he is a meathead so straight combat calls for him. On a more serious note he is still thinking about what Kenpachi said and he believes that throught protecting human sould he might find a purpose. Maybe.

Bleach: Rise Of The New Generation

He raised his head, the hand felt heavy on his shoulder, and unfamiliar.

The words were... they were, that was the best description he could give them, he recognized them as advice, from anyone else he would have blown them off. It was the same thing he did with others back in the Rokungai. But not the Kenpachi, this was a man who could kill him without moving a muscle and that was something that had to be respected.

He gave the man a nod.

He was still shaken, more than he had ever been but he would heed the advice, his purpose would find him. He just hoped it was soon, if a purpose was what allowed the Captain to grow to his current strength then...

But first thing first, looking back at the man he spoke.

"Thank you"

Words rarely uttered left his lips, he couldn't remember the last time he said them, maybe he never did. The man had left an impression on him, few words, yes, but the familiar feeling of burning fire beneath his skin roared with newfound vigor.

Head raised high his mind went back to stalls, maybe he would find a familiar face, maybe not. But he was going to enjoy himself.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Shortish post, got writerblock but managed to push somwehat