Darkness… the one thing that comes before the light. In this case, however, I never thought that light would come again.
My home was ransacked, my parents murdered… all because of them being scientists, the ones who wanted to bring technology back into the world. I had been ready to die right then and there… but then, my power awakened.
------ I was a practitioner of Hydromancy, someone who could control the very molecules of water from anywhere and any part of the world, as my power was limited to the essence of life. In short, I had a great amount of hydro-kinesis. I could conjure and manipulate the water around me, and form all sorts of weapons out of water… even to the point of it turning into ice.
However, my home was gone, all because of a man named Mongoose ordering bandits to kill everyone there. As far as I know, my home is dead, and I only have my aunt left, along with her husband, Hugo Franken. My mother was lucky to have a sister and brother-in-law that would take care of me… but sometimes I wonder, what would happen if science were to be brought back? Therefore, I hope to be a scientist when I grow up completely, with no pain in my life because of it.
Prologue Part 1
I had heard of many things, but I hadn’t heard of parasites that could make people control supernatural power before… until I discovered it, that is.
The names’ Malakuth Eli and I was one of the greatest minds of the 21st century, if not in the millennia. I had discovered a kind of parasite that can grant power beyond belief… though I can only make organic things and things not attached to the ground levitate, preferably both. It was a neutral power, and I decided to record all of my findings, hoping for the best in the academic world for my breakthrough discovery.
If only I knew what my discovery would cause in the next century or so after I die, because of what the repercussions would be in all regards, especially with the nuclear meltdown that ruined the world.
Mankind was able to grow the parasite without much of a problem, considering that it wasn’t a poisonous life form, and it had spread over the course of my lifetime to at least 1/3 of the world’s population. Then the major problem occurred, when the nuclear meltdown happened, because of the issue with a nuclear reactor worker accidentally unleashing his power over heat. Of course, I was dead by this point, but nothing would ever be the same after I had discovered the parasite.
If humanity was ever to get along with each other in the long run better, then this world is in need of bringing back science, because of the issue that a man named Mongoose had thought that he could destroy the order of science. He was thinking of something evil, but I don’t know if I can tell what’s going on in the world that I left behind, because I’m a ghost that wound up in the realm of death… a scary place, don’t go here, for all that it’s worth in life, never come here under penalty of eternal death. As a sinner, I deserve nothing other than death in a lake of fire, suffering in a darkness that is filled with the gnashing of teeth.
My life is not one that was worth mention, other than what I said already, and especially other than the fact that I had a lot of trouble going on in my life that plagued me after the discovery. If anything, I would do what I could to destroy the parasite, but that won’t happen for a long time… the destruction of the parasites, anyway, at least as far as I know. Let me just say that I would give my soul to the blessed one if I could, but I can’t, because the Devil had claimed it beforehand. I wish that life played differently, but I don’t think that will ever work in my favor, because I was bound for Hell in every way possible.
Now is what I call the personal life of torture, while I wait for all the spawn of Hell to come at me in some form, hoping to torture me in every way. My life is full of what would constitute as torture-worthy, and this is where it begins, in every way possible. Now, I wait, for I mustn’t be impatient with them to be merciful to me. Patience is a virtue nearly everywhere, but it makes the demons annoyed at you enough to prolong the wait in between torture.
Prologue Part 2
I was rather young when I heard of a world that had no such thing as magic prior to the anniversary of the castle being built for the first time in modern history. My life was turned upside down when I realized what my parents truly believed in, a world where magic and the rest of the world shouldn’t coexist like it does today. I had a lot of trouble following all the technical things that would be hard to understand for a man or woman that would have no idea what my parents talked about, but eventually I got it right with them about what was going on, and I soon decided to follow in their footsteps.
My name is Sateshi Kawakami, and I’m a boy that would rather not talk about my parents’ death, for many numerous reasons. For one thing, it was murder, and for another, I was involved in the incident. What I would give to bring my parents back… but they’re gone forever. I hope that I can see them again in Heaven, but I also hope that I don’t end up in the place where the devil reeks of evil.
Then there’s the fact that I have a definite power over hydro-kinesis, something I developed after a while of living. My control is so great that I can repel water and hover over it at a great speed… even turn some of the water into ice to effectively make a better weapon to fight my enemies with. But first, before you know what sort of problems I have to face, I have to explain my life in all its little glory of being near-average.
My aunt, Margaret Despry Franken, was able to take care of me with her workload as a scientist, as she wanted to bring technology back into the world, but also wanted to raise me in absence of my mother. My uncle Hugo was unable to do much, but he was more of an uncle that cares than anything else, and he had everything in his power done to ensure that I had an education. He felt it was necessary to work it in that I knew how to create weapons based on what I read about, but the stuff I read about was more like Sabers of all sorts, as well as a lot of arrows for my Hydro bow.
Not that I’m complaining, but I hope that I can live properly after all of this is taken care of. My life is meant for something great now, but I don’t think it’ll be found out what I need to accomplish in any event. Now is the time where I must figure out what I need to fight…
However, I have to fight a group of battle maniacs at some point, so I’ll see what I can do about the battle before I go insane.
I was able to win my fight without much difficulty, but I’d rather not discuss how bad my foes were at fighting, and instead say that I’m happy to be alive in this world. I was really worried about the fact that I was out of shape before the battle, but I got the battle out of the way easy, for every reason of me having every advantage.
My friends include a guy named Erde Steiner, who was known for his being eccentric in every way of him collecting peculiar objects. At any rate…
“YO!! How’s it goin’?”
…Why am I not even surprised? There’s Erde right now, hoping to give me a new item of any sort, and the items were usually junk that had no meaning to them at all.
“Uh, Erde, can you leave me alone for a while? I need to get my head on straight, and I don’t think that you being around will help out the issue.”
My friend is known for his forgiving nature, and for his inability to be aggressive in any way at all. Nothing that had been done against him was ever put against his enemies by him, because he was that forgiving. What was the worst possible thing about him? He never had anything to say to anyone that was worth their time in any way.
“Ah, come on, Sateshi, I have the perfect item for you to use when in combat!” If Erde is talking about that, then…
“Alright, I’ll bite, what is it this time, Erde?”
“Hahaha!! I have it in this cloth right now!” He holds a folded cloth right up to me, where I can tell that it’s…
“Uh, Erde?” I ask, unsure of what the heck is going on, “What’s with the cloth? Is it supposed to make things seem stupid when used?”
Erde, for all of his forgiving nature, was not one who can stay eternally happy, for many reasons. He must’ve noted that I needed to know what he was talking about, so he put on a frown… uh-oh. Not a good sign if he had to put on a frown. “Sateshi, the item in the cloth is one of those pre-modern items that were made before the nuke meltdown of 0000 MCE. It’s full of mystic energy that would make most anyone want it, but I found it in the cloth before I bought it, so it’s safe for now.”
Huh. For all I know, the world would be a lot better off if I knew what would be happening with me and Erde’s desire to give me these weird items that he always buys or finds. So, being the kind of guy that I am, I take the gift and unwrap it from the cloth it’s in. What I find is…
“Uh, not that I’m complaining, but what gives? I mean, come on, a fan? How the heck do you think this will be worth it?” As I undo the position that the fan is in, I give myself a breeze that would make anyone cooled off somehow, and I was contemplating the fact that Erde has yet to explain his gift to me, when I suddenly realized that I couldn’t quit moving the fan. “Hey, Erde? This isn’t funny, you know that, right? What did you do this time?!”
Erde, despite what I thought he’d do, quickly positioned my body and flapping hand away from the location I was at, and yelled, “INCOMING MAELSTROM!!”
I was about to ask him what he meant, when suddenly I saw what he was getting at. The wind generated by the fan was so immense that I had no other choice but to continue fanning the area where it was going on. Fortunately enough, I did no harm to the village at large, but I did cause a massive amount of tree uprooting and such idiocy, including killing all the cows that were in a nearby farm, though the cows were turned into meat patties by the time this was all said and done. Soon, the fan was able to stop, and I had enough self-control over my body to put the fan away and in the cloth where it came from.
“Uh… Erde, I’ll see what I can do about that fan later, but for now, I need to check my hydro-kinesis for a moment.” I then checked the power that I had over water, and I then discovered something weird. My conjuring of water was good, but I couldn’t manipulate it anymore… at least, as long as I know I have the fan in my possession.
This was one of the weirdest days in my life, as far as I know. However, I do believe that I should at least sleep this one out, so I decided to head home for the rest of the day.
Soon as I got home, I wound up having a quick meal and going up to the bath, though…
“Hey, Sateshi? What’s up? Is something the matter that you would need to go to the bath?”
And that is my aunt Margaret, a woman who’s devoted to three things in order: God, family, and science. Her family grew to include me and her husband, but she had yet to have children of her own, when she needed to bring people out of the womb. Her work of life is bringing the world back to the way it was before, but she never had much time to get technology back to its standards, nor could she figure out how to do so in the first place. Soon enough, however, she’ll have kids of her own, and I won’t be here to see them, I think.
“It’s nothing much, auntie, but I need time to think my life over for a while. I had not had much of a chance to reflect over my life prior to now, and I hope that nothing wrong happens while I think it over.” Truthfully, I never liked lying to any of my family, and that was not a lie on my part here. I really had no idea if anything wrong would happen while I think, but I’ll see what I can do to keep things safe everywhere around the house.
Somehow seeing my worry on my face, Aunt Margaret was able to deduce that I needed to have my time alone and in the bath. With an understanding nod, she left me alone and let me head up to the bath area. As I was in the bath and cleaned up, I began to contemplate my life as it had managed to go out of control from what I would like to see happening in life. There were a few things that I’d like to see in my life, but none of them were around at the moment, so it’s hard to get them.
I lay in bed, unmoving except for the tossing and turning that signified that I was alive still, and dreamt of a number of different things that were done and were yet to be done. I don’t know how they’d go about, but I hope that my life will bring me answers to the lifelong questions. While I dreamed…
I saw a girl that was in the middle of a crowd of men that were aiming to beat her up, when I had come and saved the girl from a week-long coma. Her appearance was heavenly, so it would seem from my dream. Her hair was a beautiful crimson, her eyes a luscious sapphire, her skin a porcelain white.
I also saw a different girl that, this time, was about to be raped by her fiancé before I saved her. Her appearance was also heavenly, but if the dream was anything to go by, she was rather naïve to the point of stupidity for whatever reason. Her hair was an emerald shade, her eyes a shade of ruby, and her skin a light crème.
I saw yet a third girl that was about to fall down a cliff before I saved her, one who was as heavenly as one can get when I had saved her from the fall. Her hair was a beautiful shade of cerulean, her eyes a luscious shade of jade and her skin a light tan color.
I saw a fourth girl who was bleeding profusely, who didn’t need to be in the pool of piranha-infested water when I found her and rescued her, who I’m sure is one of the most heavenly girls out there. Her hair was a deep shade of brown, her eyes a deep shade of blue and her skin what you’d expect of me if it weren’t for the fact that I’m half-Irish and half-Japanese on the oriental side of things… her skin definitely qualified as a Japanese oriental color there.
I saw a fifth girl that was being exploited to start a war, but that ended when I saved her from the man that was exploiting her, no idea what made it happen. Her quaking ability was one of the more extreme uses of earth that I’ve seen. Her skin was also oriental, but more like it was Chinese, and her hair and eyes were pitch black.
I also saw a sixth girl that was completely trapped in the middle of a volcano, believing that her trial of power was to master ice-craft in the middle of a fire cave, when in fact the nearest fire cave was in modern-day London, when she was in the middle of the southern lands. Her golden hair and eyes, and her Japanese oriental skin were indeed what made her stand out in such a situation.
Day 1 7/15 0050 MCE
I had been resting in my room ever since three nights ago, and I awoke on the third day after the whole aero-kinesis incident, which was not pleasant in any way at all. After I got up and put on my glasses, I decided to cook breakfast for the household, when I found something – no, someone, more precisely – which wasn’t supposed to be there. When I knew what I was doing next, I realized that I had made a blade of water appear in my hand, but I didn’t know the person, and I didn’t want to kill them, either. Soon, I made the water dissipate and the person turned around to see what was going on, when I realized it was one of the girls from my dream the night I fell asleep. I didn’t recall all the details, but I hoped to get them recalled correctly at some point, somehow and someway.
Something tells me she was pleased to see me, as she said, “Oh! Sateshi-kun, you’re awake! I wasn’t expecting to see you up this early, as you were asleep the past three nights, and I was sure you’d be asleep all this morning!”
…Yep, crimson hair, and the sapphire eyes that I recall seeing with that porcelain skin, but I don’t know her name off the top of my head, though the way she says my name means that she’s familiar with me somehow.
“Uh… I know you’re from somewhere in my past, but who are you? I’m sorry for my lack of memory on the subject, but I need to recall things,” I reply honestly, because I don’t really remember much from that dream, other than I saved her from something…
Her smile turned into a frown, and she said, “You mean you don’t remember? Sateshi-kun, you really forgot all about me?”
“No, it’s not that, I just don’t recall names and such of people that I haven’t seen in a long time, so I don’t mean to be rude to you,” I reply a bit hastily, but not in the bad way… at least, I hope it wasn’t in the bad way.
As it turned out, it wasn’t in the bad way at all, as she calmed down enough to reply, “Ah… I see. My name, for you to remember, is Louise Francois. I’m the one you saved from muggers who were going to mug me and put me in a week long coma from their attacks.”
…I see. I recall properly about who she is. The first girl to appear in my dreams, and she seems to have a passion for romanticism somehow. I don’t recall all of the details, but I’ll remember soon enough. However, I want to make sure that she isn’t what I think she is.
“Uh, I hate to ask, but is your power related to time? I don’t really recall all of the details.”
After putting up a thinking pose, Louise replied, “Well, I’m a precog, but apparently my power is rather screwy to the degree of being right once every quarter-year. I don’t really know when it’s right, either, but the last quarter prediction I made that came true was a week ago, and the quarter was over yesterday.”
I sighed, hoping that I could at least have some assurance that I was able to work some sense in out of all this. However, my stomach won out, and I, being embarrassed about it, said to Louise, “You know, Francois-san, I hope you don’t mind my saying so, but I hope that breakfast is ready for two. I mean, I don’t know if you’re a servant or anything, but-“
Louise held up a hand, signaling me to stop, and said, “Its fine, I wasn’t expecting to eat until after your aunt and uncle had their meals, but with you awake, I’ll be happy to have breakfast with you. I’ll just need to prepare a second set of dishes for their meals. That way, I’ll be able to do my job at the same time as eating with you, Sateshi-kun.”
So, the meal for my aunt and uncle got cooking when Louise and I decided to eat, and we were going to be with each other when it came down to it… for the remainder of the time alone from my aunt and uncle.
Soon, it was time to take a leave from the table, and not a moment too soon. My aunt and uncle were coming down from their room, so I could assume that it was the usual time for them to wake up. Looking at the clock, I realized that I was horribly wrong. Aunt Margaret and Uncle Hugo were usually up when I was normally, 7:15. This time, however, they were asleep for until somewhere around 8:30. That meant one of two things: One, they were worried about me, which I hope it was… or two, they thought that they could do the deed and wake up before I did.
What happened was inevitable. When they came down, they were both goofy-legged, and couldn’t walk straight for some reason… no, wait, I take that back. I think they went with option two… don’t know the details, but frankly I don’t care, at all. I just hope that I don’t need to do the deed at all before I get married, if what I’m hearing is an indication of what the heck is going on.
The gasps of surprised shock, however, were more like music to my ears. I was happy to know that they had worried about me, or at the very least, they thought that I could be asleep well enough to keep things from going haywire by the time that they had woken up. Of course, I was able to figure something out about this mess. They weren’t willing to keep me in the loop of their activities, but I could safely guess that they freely wanted to have kids after so long. However, isn’t auntie in her forties, anyway? That would be hard for her to accomplish the goal in mind… no, wait, she’s in her mid-thirties.
So, after waiting for a bit, I decided to set the table for them, and said to the two love-birds, “I hope you don’t mind my saying so, but I was out like a light for all that time, so don’t think you woke me up with that noise you must’ve made.”
With that, they blushed a heavy shade of red, because I must’ve hit the nail on the head right there. Before they could say anything, I said, “I’ll be outside if you need me, so don’t take too long with breakfast, okay?”
Before they could tell me what to do in this situation, I walked to the front door, opened it and walked right out. I guess I’ll need to work on getting a good girlfriend soon, but I don’t know where to go to find one in this town. However, I’ll need to work on figuring things out for a bit, so I’ll go somewhere where I need to calm my head down. Before I knew it, I had walked up to a fortune teller, who I could tell happened to be Louise from her looks alone. Seeing that there was a crowd in front of her, I decided to wait for it to go away before I speak with her about my fortune… even though I’m rather skeptical about the whole deal. I just wanted to know what she’d have to say about me and my future.
I waited for a half-hour, and the crowd hadn’t dispersed. So now–
1) I decided to go up to the fortune telling booth and have her read my fortune when the shop was free.
2) I decided to come back at a later time to read my fortune… maybe head to the library?
3) I decided to walk on and away from the area… maybe over to the marketplace.
4) I decided to go back home.
5) I decided to go to see my friend Allen, the manager of the tavern.
6) I decided to walk to the black-smithy to see my boss about more jobs for me.
1) I decided to go up to the fortune telling booth and have her read my fortune when the shop was free. I mean, I’m not denying that it works, it’s just that my grandparents compare the fortune tellers to people back in the day called weather men who do similar stuff but with the weather. So, I wait for the crowd to disperse, and get my fortune told to me after the whole thing is done.
For some odd reason, Louise was not having that huge a gathering that I could see, but the people there all wanted to have their fortunes told for an extended period of time. By the time that the crowd had left her, only two people were still there, an old woman and her grand-daughter, or so it would seem. When Louise saw me, she motioned me to come over, so I obliged. I decided that I’d get this whole thing figured out, at least as far as how her power worked. So, this ought to be fun, I thought. When I got within five steps of the stool in front of her shop, I asked her, “Uh… what name do you want me to call you by?”
“Well, I go by Madame Val when I work as a fortune teller, so call me that when I’m in business, okay, Sateshi-kun?” she replied, seemingly hopeful that I’d do business with her.
“Oh? You two know each other?” the old woman asked Louise and I, and as we both nodded, the woman said, “I’m so happy to know that my grand-daughter is friends with the best aspiring blacksmith in town! Please, make sure that you have children for me to spoil rotten, alright?”
“GRANNY!!/MA’AM!!” Louise and I both yell out at her while it would seem that we both blushed a heavy shade of red at the same time. When we realized that was an issue, we then resumed to do our duties, but not before I asked, “So, who’s the young lady with you, ma’am?”
Louise’ grandmother replied, “This is another of my grandchildren, Veronica Cassidy. I hope that you can understand that she wants to see her cousin tell a really accurate fortune for once, as not one of the prior fortunes was accurate at all, so you might be lucky to get an accurate one.”
So, without further ado, I sat down and awaited the fortune. Suddenly, Louise grabbed my hand and then she glowed a bright blue, the sign of successful supernatural power usage.
“Oh, my! She’s going to tell an accurate fortune, Veronica!” I heard the grandmother say to her other grand-daughter, but I wasn’t really paying any more attention, for a very good reason. I had been thrust from my reality and into an image of what was about to happen.
As I looked at the future, there were giant monsters as far away as the former Berlin, but nobody was paying them any attention, as the grandmaster of all the giant monsters was over the skyline of the former Paris. What I saw was a catastrophe, and I heard my future self say to the monster, “LOUISE!! DON’T DO IT!!”
Louise? What’s she doing as the monster, I thought to myself, if she’s right here? Then I realized that the monster looked almost exactly like her… it was then that I realized that she was indeed the monster I’d fight.
But, alas, my future self couldn’t stop the catastrophe that was going to occur without killing the monster, so he went forward and then…
I came in control of my body as soon as I saw the future selves of myself and Louise about to collide, but I wasn’t in the reality I was familiar with, because I couldn’t feel the parasite in my bloodstream anymore. That was when I saw that there was a man sitting across from me, wearing a helmet that didn’t quite cover his head, just the top part of it. He had a blue shirt on with red shorts, and he was barefoot… yes, barefoot. Then I noticed his long red hair that went down his back, and the twisty mustache that curled under his nose. He also had shiny blue eyes that seemed to glow with a form of power… not sure what it was, but he had a ton of it within his body.
“Ah, your highness, how wonderful of you to wake up from the nap that you called life while sleeping. I was starting to get worried about you with those twitches you exhibited while you rested.” As the man spoke, he took off his helmet, to reveal that he didn’t have a full head of hair.
That was when I noticed that he knew me from somewhere, but he never said where, and that I was napping when I knew that I was alive in a different world… wait, what?
“Excuse me, sir, but who are you? I mean, I don’t recall meeting you before, and…”
“Ah, so the experiment failed, in the regard of keeping your memories. Well, I’ll reintroduce myself, your Excellency. I am Barnabas Jurgand, your advisor in this world we’re in, the world that created the parallel dimensions called Earth. I believe that you’d best refer to me as the Professor for now, as you don’t seem to have any recollection of who you really are now.”
…Okay, I’m as sure as hell confused, because I don’t really know what the hell is going on here, and I need an explanation as soon as possible. Before I knew it, though, I was having a strange amount of headaches, one of which came with a memory of me with this Barnabas guy giving me a high-tech book entitled ‘Moby Dick.’ When I got my memory organized, I realized that he was telling the truth of the matter. However, I wasn’t sure how to clarify me being his ‘Excellency’, considering my ‘nap’ was more like a life than anything else I’ve ever experienced at all when I was being raised.
“Uh… I’m very confused, but I know that my life before waking up here had some meaning, right? I mean, I had no recollection that I was royalty and all, and I think that my life is simpler that way… though preferably with my parents still alive.” I would’ve added that I nearly died and stayed dead, but I don’t want to know what his reaction would be.
Fortunately enough, he left it alone, but he did say, “I think it is time that you brought the world back into order at some point rather soon, but I hope that you take the throne from your father as soon as you can. He’s old and doesn’t have anyone older than you for an heir—“
“Wait, how old is he, anyway? And why is it that there are no older heirs to the throne again?”
“My, at least you have the desire to know the situation. Alright, I’ll tell you. Your father married your mother when he was 57, and your mother was at least half that, but that’s not the issue here.” Before I could open my mouth to say that it was an issue for me, he continued, “Your elder half-siblings died in the war that led to your father remarrying when his first wife died in a bomb blast with them. Currently you are 16 years old, and of the eligible age to do whatever you wish in the royal family, except for going to the taverns and such, which you need to be like your elder sister Elena to go to, 18 and unwilling to ascend to the throne of the world.”
“Hang on; the whole world is one big kingdom or empire?” After receiving the confirmation nod, I realized that my life was actually way simpler when compared to this role I was thrust into, so I thought I’d do the one thing that was most acceptable for me right now. “This is so much to handle, could I please go back to the dimension I wound up in? I don’t know how to handle my responsibilities right about now, so…”
“Alright, your Excellency, I’ll send you back to that dream world that you were in, but I hope that everything goes well for you and that you complete the mission you assigned for yourself there.” Before I could ask what the mission was, he said, “I’m afraid that the mission requirements were meant to be hidden from you if you forgot about your home and such, so I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to tell you what it was exactly.”
“Alright, I understand, Barnabas-san, I’ll hold off on asking for info when I can’t get it.” I felt a bit depressed, but I don’t know if this should be something that I need happening to me, or if there’s something else going on right about now.
For some inexplicable reason, however, Barnabas chuckled and said, “You know, you sound and act so much like your mother it’s not even funny, even though you are most definitely your father’s son. I’ll be waiting for you to come back home, so expect me to welcome you back home, your Excellency.”
As he said this, I must’ve blushed from embarrassment, because I certainly knew I was embarrassed. Barnabas was willing to treat me like royalty, and I don’t think this was something that I’d have been willing to experience before. With that, I also thought back to the lives I saved, and to the people who were better off because I saved those lives.
After all the preparations were made for me to go back home (for I refuse to call it anything else), I went into the chair after doing some stretches that I didn’t recall needing beforehand, and then asked, “By the way, how long was I in the chair, again?”
Barnabas was pleased to know that I had asked about the length of the trip, or so it would seem, as he said, “You were out of it for 16 hours, your Excellency, so of course you need to stretch before sitting back down for more napping.”
I blinked in surprise, then I blinked again, and then a third time. 16 hours? I must’ve been out of it for a long time prior to this.
As I put my arms down on the arm rests, I felt something tug on my mind, and that something was rather insistent that I get out of Dodge City while I still can… or something. So, I let the tug take me away, and then all was black for me until I made it back home.
Interlude 001
The bloody dynasty
Barnabas Jurgand wasn’t sure that his ‘Excellency’ was truly asleep at all, but when he was about to prod Sateshi, a man spoke up and said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You know what happened to those two that were my brother and his wife, when they prodded Sateshi when he was like that in the first hour, right?”
Turning around, Barnabas was indeed shocked to see his true Excellency, Sakanoga Kawakami of the Bloody Lake, showing concern for a subordinate that was about to do something very foolish, or so it would seem. What Barnabas knew, however, was that he was going to be in trouble if he did something foolish like that in his life. The royal family was grateful that they gained the ability to enter alternate dimensions when in the napping chairs, but it was really a shame that Aoi Kawakami, the original heir to the throne from Sasha Meno Kawakami, was so disloyal to her father, so she had to be disinherited from the throne and made a whore in a whorehouse out of the capital city against her will.
Then again, it was probably better that nobody had touched her while she was in the whorehouse or out of it, because a grandchild of the Emperor would need to be raised in the castle, and she was banned from the castle for at least 50 years, or when she ‘came to her senses’, whichever came first really. Of course, this wasn’t one of those philosophical debates; it was a clash of mentalities. It was hard to explain, but the king wanted to expand his territory to the alternate dimensions, while Aoi was hoping that what they had would be enough of an empire to rule. Now, let’s just say that Aoi lost that debate by a long shot; otherwise she would’ve stayed in the castle and had the chance to inherit the throne on her birthday today.
“I’m sorry, your majesty, but-“
“It’s Saka, remember, Barnabas? I personally hope that you remember that for when it’s just two friends wishing to speak with each other. Besides, we’ve been friends ever since the whole rebellion we had to deal with, when we wound up on the same side of the whole conflict.”
“Ah, yes, I remember. Wasn’t that the time when the Psionics wanted to usurp the power supply of the ‘Shikon no Mahou’? I believe that that was when we ended up fighting on the same side, even though we were rivals for the same thing beforehand.” Indeed, the supply was rather dangerous to use, and even more so to figure out how to wrest control of it away from the royal family, unless the ones who got control were meant to be the royal family somehow. The supply was sentient in a way, knowing who was supposed to be the family that had control of the power of the land, and letting only that family be the ones that knew true power.
“True, we were on opposing sides back then, not fun when it came down to it. I’m glad that the royal family won, and that you were assigned as advisor to my father back then, despite being so young for getting the position of great honor.” In truth, it was a bit of coercion on the part of Saka, but the coercion was subtle enough to get past Yamamoto Kawakami. However, nobody was allowed to know about the coercion, under penalty of banishment to Ecador 3. As it turned out, everything about the leadership was corrupted beyond belief, so of course the land was rather messy on the political scale of all the things.
“I’m grateful for that, Saka, I truly am.” In all honesty, the life he had gotten was a fun time, but he wasn’t sure how long he’d have until it was time for him to die… it seemed rather ridiculous, but even for him life was rather pleasant.
“Also, something was rather odd when it came down to it, but I hope that you don’t mind my asking you to investigate Sateshi. You see, he has a power that doesn’t belong in this world, his hydro-kinesis. I want you to investigate the origin of that power, and report to me what you have discovered. If you are successful, then you will be able to have a whole planet as your territory, but of course, without the military might. You remember why, don’t you, Barnabas? The rebellion we fought in is the reason I’m mentioning.”
That, more than anything, was reason enough for Barnabas to understand that Sakanoga was paranoid around most everybody he met, even his own ‘friend’, though the real benefactor in all this would be Barnabas, who knew how to make the emperor feel as if there was no way he’d lose, but with the irony of the imperial family losing everything in mere minutes of an attack by a foreign nation-state of sorts. It stood without saying that the might of the empire would crumble if given no warning of an enemy attack… and an enemy attack was usually thought to be impossible, given the high achievements under the Kawakami family directives to expand the military power that they had in their possession.
“I understand, Saka, don’t worry about a chance to invade when it’s not even worth it. I doubt I’ll have enough of a following to create a rebellion anyway, even if I wanted to, so don’t worry there and get some rest.” As he used the delaying tactic, he recalled the uselessness of those tactics now, but thought he had nothing that would work anyway on his mortal enemy that was seemingly a friend.
Fortunately, the paranoia was replaced by a feeling of tiredness that Sakanoga Kawakami never felt he had in a long time, as it was proven by his yawning and saying, “Well, you raise a valid point, Barnabas, so I’ll head off to bed rather soon now. Good night.” With that, he walked off to his chambers to get his sleep.
As Barnabas was wondering what he’d need to do next, he saw a figure with a teddy bear in hand walk up to him and ask him, “Professor, how long until Onii-chan wakes up?”
Barnabas sighed, hoping to explain that Sateshi had woken up a bit before, but there was no feasible way to tell him that, because it looked like Sateshi was still asleep and would wake up many years later… like a modern day retelling of a man that slept for many years while unaware of the changes going on all around his home. However, he decided to give the boy hope that his ‘big brother’ would wake up in the next few minutes to hours, hopefully all ready to take on the throne of the empire and do what all the emperors prior would do, though he decided against saying what they did exactly, because it was not something little children should hear until they’re considerably older.
After that fiasco was resolved, he wasted no time in preparing the guard rooms for holding a training session on how to use weapons that were more used for taking on the modern armies that Sateshi’d have to face anyway.
Something was bothering him, though, like he forgot that he had to do something rather important…
Interlude 001
The bloody dynasty
End
“Achoo!!” I sneezed as I woke out of that weird dream that I had, with Louise desperately trying to wake me from that… whatever it was.
“Ah, Sateshi-kun, you’re awake! That’s wonderful news! I was so worried that you’d be like that for a long time to come!”
…Okay, that was Louise, fortunately enough. I hope that somehow I’d get some meaning from the whole thing at the end of the fortune, but I wasn’t sure how to probe the question properly. Something bothered me, though, because of the fact that I was not in the area where the fortune telling shop was at, but instead in a bed of… hold on, Louise must’ve taken me home and gotten my aunt and uncle to put me in my bed. Soon enough, I had the energy to get out of bed, and then…
“Uh, Sateshi-kun, what happened when you were asleep for the whole of 3 hours?”
…Did I hear that right? 3 hours? I could’ve sworn that it would’ve been longer than that by the way that dream was going on how that was reality or something… then again, I’m probably not in my right state of mind right at this time. As this was going on, I recalled that there was something on my bedside that didn’t normally go there… a letter, to be precise.
Concerning the letter, I—
1) Ask someone else to read it for me
2) Pick it up and read it by myself
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Yes, this is something I'm working on, but I hope that I can at least sell the game on the internet (after acquiring the art and other resources). The story isn't in the completion stage yet, but I have what I do have, so far.
Anyway, I would like it if you voted for what choice you want explored, please.
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Originally Posted by Komrade Kwestions
