Chapter 36: Secrets - 1
"Should we do something about the cube, old man?" asked Vlad, a simple question for the pondering old man.
Nius was thinking about what he should do next regarding the new issues Vlad brought along. The situation at hand was quite delicate because every single missing puzzle piece in his mind could result in the destruction of the kingdom.
Still, he wouldn't deny trying to think a gentle way of action, but that was all it resulted in, just thinking.
After some long minutes wasted on contemplating his solutions, Nius's face started changing slowly. His eyebrows lowered and knit together right before looking straight at Vlad's face.
With a frown face that displayed the old man's wrinkles he started saying
"To think that I would be made into talking about these bad memories in my late years. Ahh, from where to start. Lad, that cube you found in the temple is known as a Poneglyph. The Poneglyphs hold great importance to the world for the simple reason that they can reveal the history of the forgotten past, or specifically what happened in the great war of the old era.
So in this sense, when people find out that you hold one of those Ponegylphs, you're either destroyed, or they just take it away from you, hiding it. So people never find out what happened at that time. The world as it is right now is not what was like in the age of this little fellow." ended Nius while pointing at Aerius on top of Vlad's head?
"Why do I know this, you might ask? It is because when I was younger, I managed to become friends with a weird guy while gambling and drinking, getting to learn about this secret.
This guy was part of a research group focusing on those things.
They search everywhere for these steles. That's how he even came to our kingdom. In one of his drunk days he told me some discoveries his group made while reading the stele. The stele they researched told about a long-forgotten time that we now are not aware of and a great kingdom. This period in time is believed to be called the Void Century, and it happened 900 years ago."
Even Vlad's eyebrows were shocked and only asked.
"Such a long time has passed, old man, also to think that this little guy actually could be 900 or something years old. I doubt he was a stone all this time, stopping his aging process.
Old Nius does this friend of yours know to read those Poneglyphs? Is he still alive?"
When initially Nius heard what Vlad asked, instead of being angry as he was when thinking of plans to cover the Poneglyph, his mouth's corners slightly drawn down, his eyes also lost focus when remembering the amusing laughs of a guy with curly black hair with jars like glasses.
"Sigh, how fast time passes, I clearly remember that jackass laughing at me for not knowing much about the world. No, and yes. He died in a terrific calamity for knowing too much information concerning those poneglyphs. Imagine it, dying for knowing small fragments of a lost history, isn't it infuriating?"
"Wait, what? Your friend died because he was able to read those weird cubes like steles? But who would be so crazy to kill people like this? Argh, I also probably know more than that guy ever knew, doesn't that mean they will start hunting me down?"
"Don't worry, lad. Since you'll be the future Monarch of Atlas or what is now called Kaysang, there's no problem with your safety. Those guys wouldn't even bother dealing with you, at least for now."
"Still, we need to be careful in the future, those ruling over all of us are probably those that schemed against our ancestors and betrayed the Ancient Kingdom.
When Aerius heard about this ancient kingdom, he started thinking of something since he listened with great interest to Vlad and Nius's conversation. Yet, he didn't interrupt them. With that small memory of his, he started sorting out what he knew and not.
Nevertheless, Nius continued talking. "Even now I grit my teeth when remembering the news of my friend home being blown away by those arrogant fucks. I'm just a decaying old man now, nothing that I will do will change the situation." said Nius with a sad tone. He could only grit his teeth when remembering that moment again when getting the news about the Ohara incident.
"Sigh, old man, you'll also need to explain to me what's going on around us, who rules over us, what's going on with the kingdom and so on. But what I want to know is something else. If those guys killed those scholars, don't tell me there's no one left around to decipher those Poneglyphs after your friend got killed? "asked Vlad, a bit frustrated by the lack of knowledge he had.
Nius nodded his head at this question and said to Vlad.
"There's still hope regarding the Poneglyphs. When that incident happened 11 years ago, a little girl managed to escape from that calamity. She's the only one left with the knowledge to read the forgotten history, you're in luck kid with that. We only have to clean the evidence that something happened here, and after that if time lets us, we'll talk about family stuff."
"Sure old man. Damn, you forgot to tell me that girl's name. How can I ever find her, if I ever go out on the sea? You want me to obsess after her for my entire life or something like that? I already have enough stuff on my shoulders, fighting against this Great Priest, finding Joy Boy's successor and shielding him until he matures himself.
To hell with all this demand coming from dead people. Can you even fathom Nius, talking dead spirits. I've seen it and even fought them."
"That's the burden of a Vermilion lad. While you guys are blessed with power and excellent talents, you also have an enormous responsibility, especially now when the kingdom is down to hell. Sigh, I also forgot to tell you how the young girl is called, what can I say I'm old now. The little girl's name is Nico Robin, you'll easily find wanted posters around in town with her.
Also, if you find her, don't go rough on her just to have her ability to read those poneglyphs. Try to approach her like a gentleman, it's like how you would treat a scared cat, you'll know what I mean when you see her. The girl most likely lived like she was in a real hell, being hunted down by the entire world. You have it easy compared to her"
*Snort* "I have it easy, you say old man? Do you want to see my scars on the back? I'll show it to you." as Vlad said that he turned his naked upper half back towards Nius to show him his large scars.
Nius knew exactly what Vlad was referring to and only saw Vlad turning his back on him for him to see. But surprisingly, something happened with his scars. The nasty deep scars healed a bit. They looked normal now.
Shocked, the old man said to Vlad. "Kid, your scars. They healed more, they are no longer the nasty scars you once had."
Even Vlad was shocked when he heard that. Wanting to check if it's true, he grabbed Aerius from his head and said to him while gathering the long hair covering his scars.
"Little guy, check my back. I need more opinions. How are my scars now, smaller?"
"Ehhh, wait, let me see. Right, right. The old man is right, compared to how your scars were, they are now only this big to the eye." said Aerius while nodding his head and showing Vlad with his small claws the size of his scars.
Hearing that, Vlad stopped everything that he was thinking about and started pondering on the change until he said. "The blood powers. They healed my wounds. Heh, this is not half-bad, coming from this weird power."
"Okay, I understand what I should do when I find this Nico Robin girl, it's not like I'm a barbarian, I know how to treat the ladies. Should we start figuring out how we shall cover this hole we made?" asked Vlad with an evil smile on his face, not even noticing his passing emotions that went and gone.
Also, like Vlad, Nius recovered from his depressed state, and now he entered another process of pondering. Stroking his white mustache and beard, he turned to look at various spots. His brown eyes intensified slightly, changing views from the hole to the beams supporting the roof from collapsing.
After some minutes of remaining in the same state, old Nius stopped considering his next moves and asked Vlad while smiling evilly.
"So, lad, how are we going to clean this mess, with brains or just brute force?"
Seeing the old man smile in that way, he told Vlad that old Nius managed to pull from his old brain an idea that could spare them any excessive work. Looking around the mining area, especially at the hole the two made and the walls facing it, he too got an idea of cleaning this mess without causing a commotion.
With a calm face, he said. "Old fox, if I were to pick brute force you would leave me alone having to do all the hard work, so instead, I pick using our brains. I don't know if you also thought about the same thing as myself, but if you would ask me what I thought about doing with the sinkhole, I can only say this. I'll cover the hole from all directions and also level this zone a bit with rocks and dirt."
Still, Aerius, from the top of Vlad's head, started saying.
"Brute force. Brute force. That's the most efficient way to clean this mess, you blow the entire temple pathway and no one will ever know that it existed."
"Shh, little guy. We can't do that, how do I get back to the temple with the girl that can read Poneglyphs? Can you read poneglyphs and I don't know about it?"
Being taken on offside, Aerius started looking in another direction while whistling. "No, my head is blank, I found out just now what those cubes were, just like you."
Nius, listening to Vlad tell his plan, and barely held a chuckle on the small creature on Vlad's head. He could only smile more and more with the passing time. Nodding his head at Vlad's plan, he added his take on what they should do, but also in his unique style.
"Kid, not half bad I tell you. I thought that you would use your muscles instead of that brain of yours, but we got the little guy for that. Unfortunately, I didn't have the pleasure of watching a circus, otherwise I would just let you test your new powers but it is good either way.
The plan you presented only has a small loophole. What's next for the miners? If we don't think further it will create problems later."
"Hmm, what do you have in mind, old man?"
Having his attention picked, Vlad asked Nius for further briefing.
"Well, sure let's say we cover the hole as you say, also going as far as to level the ground, but the problem is that you don't take into account the miners. Most of them are ignorant fools, but some are quite smart, especially the younger ones.
So here comes my plan, first we're doing what you suggested, is not half bad of an idea, but the fail safe is here. We're going to start a new path from here, but with a higher inclination.
By creating this new path and making some false stories about how if we were to dig deeper it would cause flooding in the entire mine. I bet you no one would ever want to play around that hole, and so with time it will only be a zone to pass by." ended Nius explaining to Vlad with a smile on his face.
"I think I understand what you want to do here, so stop smiling like that old man. You're starting to creep me."
Looking at Nius' face as it stops smiling, Vlad continued saying. "Also, old man, this is your plan, you'll do the talking with the miners, guards, and managers. So don't try to pass this job on my head, got it, old man?"
"No way! Kid you know I hate talking to others. Come on, please do the talking and spare me from talking to those morons. Especially the arrogant fucks on the managing side, I detest them to my bones." pleaded Nius with a face that was almost going to cry from anguish.
"Sigh, stop being so pathetic. Go talk with those miners and managers. It is not like your life depends on this small conversation. You just need to fill them with the lies we make with regards to the situation in the zone, about how it's going to get flooded if we continue digging deeper. Also, I bet you that they will believe you, old man.
Old Nius was just standing there. His first initial reaction of crying from his poor luck stopped. Standing there and looking at Vlad's face and playing with his beard, he seemed to think about something.
After some minutes of staring at one another, Nius, with a severe look, said.
"Fine boy, I will do the talking. But while I'll do the talking you'll have to work more on the site. Do we have a deal?" ended Nius saying his take and also extending his hand for an agreement.
Vlad didn't have much to think about. He was fine doing the muscle work. Glad that Nius agreed with what he said before, extending his hand and shaking the old man's hand, he said. "We got a deal, smelly fox."
Aerius, on Vlad's head, only thought on this entire conversation between the old and young. 'Those guys are both morons. Why are they arguing about such things? I don't understand at all.'
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'Haha, in the end, is simple to fool the old man into agreeing to do the talking. Hmm, don't think that you're the only one hating talking to those annoying fucks at the managing staff. It pisses me off to even talk to the guards, but at least with the guards, you can play around with them. It's easy to tease them, scare them or even feint them attacking. Instead, the staff members just increase your workload or put guards to torture you if you try something on them.'
'My job still requires muscles, maybe I can test a bit my devil fruit ability while I'm cleaning around.'
'But what can blood do? Sure I can control, mine and others. But it seems to not work properly, damn ancestor, you really had your reasons to warn me from the start. I can feel the blood, true, but that jackass only stays inside my body, it's like he's afraid to come out.'
'That really sucks. Do I have to remain like this without even knowing how to use this stupid power? No, I have to be patient and slowly train this power, and I'll get the hang of it. If Louis could do it, I can also do it. While he failed in the fight, I'll see myself victorious.'
Starting working, Vlad went to grab a pickaxe that he left in the corner of the walls with a hurried grabbing motion. It was clear from how he grabbed hold of his pickaxe that he wasn't playing around. The cat-like creature with an eagle head was Aerius, who started to get shaken by Vlad's swings. Not wanting to drop from his head, he anchored again on his hairs. Sounds of metal hitting rock resounded inside the site, slowly, stones gathered beside Vlad. These were his results after their plan to cover the sinkhole started. But the swinging cat on his hair started annoying him.
"Argh, get down already Aerius. I can't work with you playing around in my head and hair."
"NOO, I hate being on low ground. You took me out from the temple, that's the consequences for having me on your head or shoulder." screamed Aerius to Vlad's ears.
"Fuck. Fine stay there, but at least stop swingling on my hair, do you think my hair is some playground or what?"
"Yea, it's long and strong, it can hold me just fine without breaking."
Hearing what the gryphon hatchling had to see made Vlad grit his teeth, but he let the little guy do as he wished for a while, not having the mental strength to fight with him.
After some more clearing, he looked around himself and started seeing that he was covered in stones. His first thought was. 'I think I got enough stones to cover the hole and level the floor around that hole. I will need to chisel a bit the floor, to seem as natural as possible.'
'Let's see what the old man is doing? I see, you're also not messing around with the situation.' When looking at Nius' side, he was also digging without complaining so much.
"Hey old man, I think we got enough stone and dirt to cover the hole and the rest for other cover-ups."
'When seeing the old man bust his ass not interrupted I'm quite impressed. But I suppose we got enough.'
"What are you saying, lad? You do the covering, I'll just push forward to make this path, it's much harder than I expected initially."
'Ahh, he's doing the same old trick as before. This old man is just too lazy to stop from breaking stones. It is all good for now, I can do the cover-ups without the old cougar help. With each minute passing I feel more power flowing through me, could that be because of my new powers?'
"Fine old man, just push forward with the path and don't get too far while you're digging."
'Let's see, why does my body feel more invigorated than before? Those are quite the weird changes. That's how the blood powers work? Could it be because, while working, what gets the most worked out is my muscles, and they need blood to perform properly? Ahhh, my knowledge about the human body is so insignificant.
That's why Louis said that I need knowledge and training to get my powers stronger. Sigh, even if I killed so many people and watched them suffer in my life, it is still hard to guess what's going on with those changes.'
'When I'm getting out of the mine I should search for books to read. Better find more on the subject of blood and train on how to control this weird power.'
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Time passed inside the site, Vlad and Nius were working in tandem, both were synchronized entirely concerning their tasks. Nius dug the new path while Vlad was dealing with leveling the floor not to look suspicious.
The one that had it the easiest was Aerius, who only looked as the two worked around the clock to cover the hole.
After more than 1 hour, Nius stopped going forward with the digging. Seeming satisfied with how much he dug, he went to take a seat. With a tired face and sweaty body, he turned to look at the tall young man carrying stones by hand to later drop them by the walls next to where there used to be a hole on the ground. The holes fate got cleared. Vlad did a great job leveling the floor and changing the way that zone looked by using dirt and stones to fill the sinkhole. With regards to his body, Nius observed that the boy wasn't as tired as himself. He was moving fine around the site with large stones in hand like it was nothing, dropping them and later bringing others. The cycle went on for some time.
Nius first thought when seeing this was.
'This boy even without the devil fruits was a freak, now by gaining the powers of the founder king, it's like he unleashed a monster on the world. What are they even thinking at that time. I think the reason he can work tirelessly without feeling the fatigue is because his blood is more condensed and flows a lot faster, being able to enrich his muscles with nutrients to remove their fatigue.
'If it is truly like this, when he gets experience with handling this newfound power of his, it will truly be a sight to look forward to.'
'Sigh, I should also tell him about what happens with the kingdom, maybe he understand the situation we are in right now. There are still some more plans that I have to place ahead. I need to place Aslak to spy on Lacilet and when the time comes to take those rats in a feel swoop.'
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"Hey lad, let's end the cover-up and get started talking about what's going on with the kingdom. I thought that maybe I don't waste our time doing it at another time. Here's good too, but before that, you start first."
"Let me ask you a question, did you ever know that you were a Vermilion before entering the mine, or when you were a child?"
Vlad, who stopped working, looked at the old man whose face turned serious and kept asking him.
"Or better said, let me ask you differently. Who are you? I've been watching you for 4 years, and your behavior and personality don't match a child your age. Sorry for being too straightforward with you lad, but your act can't fool an old man like me."
"It is me while he's also me. The boy didn't know anything when I first came down here." said Vlad shortly while collecting his thoughts.
When Nius heard this vague comment, his thoughts also run wild, and staring at Vlad who was in hand reach, he asked awkwardly.
"Tell me, lad, what are you hiding? You don't have to worry about anything happening to you if you talk."
"Well, I told you I would reveal some things to you, old man. Your guesses are correct, I can't fool you until I would leave your eyesight. Let me ask you old man, have you ever wondered what's up in the skies?"
"The clouds? What kind of question is this kid?"
"I'm not referring to the clouds old man, I'm referring to the world we are living in right now. What if there are multiple such worlds or planets?"
Nius took a bit to process this information, but he was an intelligent person and while contemplating the question, he stared shocked at Vlad.
"No way? Those stories were true? It wasn't just some fantasies written by youngsters to impress ladies? Are you lad, really someone from another faraway place? So this means Zagreus is the little boy? Or are you who I am talking to right now?"
"No, the boy it is I while the boy it is me. We are bound souls and spirits. There's is no difference between us. But if you want a simple explanation as to who am I exactly. Since I've managed to broke the language barrier between my original vocabulary and yours it would be easy to explain in simple words.
"The boy is called Zagreus, he is the heir of this kingdom you live in, Kaysang, the descendant of Kaysang, while the old one, is Vlad. A distorted soul that couldn't find his maker, yet finding a dead young sprout to hold his kindling fire and take him back from the maker's grasp."
"I am the continuation of Vermilion Zagreus, while the boy is the continuation of Vlad Dracula." said Vlad in a senere manner while taking in the lingering silence of this gallery.
As Vlad explained to Nius his problems of continuing his fight with life, it made Nius eyes shine even more. Not from being angry or scared of him, but more from the curiosity of hearing of such a unique experience.
"Do you mind if I ask you, what you used to be in your first life? How is this world of yours compared to ours?"
Hearing this question, Vlad patted Aerius on his head as if to draw his attention to his story. "I don't mind it old man, you were someone that treated me as if I was your grandson. My trust for you might even surpass that, I didn't even trust my father like I do with you."
"From where to start. I know. Well, if I look back in my first life and look at this new one, I can see that there are quite big similarities, in the sense that in my first life I was the ruler of a country, a tiny country surrounded by two big countries, left at the mercy of fate.
Also, don't get awkward about our age, you're still older than me by many years. As for the world, I come from? I don't know how much this world progressed, but seeing the pirate ships that took me to this kingdom, the clothing of the people attending the auction, I can estimate that this world is far more advanced than my first one.
My world was simply a world of conflict, where Empires expanded their territories, wearing each other, for different reasons. Territory, faith, and so on. This is not something that your world lacks from what I found out, might even be like a sister world to mine."
When Nius who was patiently listening to Vlad heard that, he added his own comment that made Vlad think a bit.
"Ohh, from what you said, the world in your first life and the one we are right now is really similar. Except that this world is held hostage by a single entity called the World Government."
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A/N: It couldn't be bypassed. Think of it as a plot hole or maybe not, but if you approach a story realistic, all characters have their minds, they are not puppets you find in your average story. So this is a realistic take at what could transpire if a person, a mature one who tasted life would see someone who looks younger, yet acts like what his body age would tell. There are even body gestures that an adult-like Nius and Vlad's age would make, so living together 4 years, those clues accumulate until it overflows.
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