Chapter 34: Chapter 33: Another kidnapper, Brainwashed, New Destination
[Temple of Infinite Time]
A magic circle appeared while Zurvan, the god of infinite time of ancient Persia 'sat' on its throne. His entire being is simply a stone lion mask with two snakes extended from the side that works as his limbs.
"So, they have arrived… the otherworldly who became a Campione. The one named Pandora allowed it to become a god slayer because it still retained humanity but she forgot that it is our divine duty to protect the world from the otherworldly." The stone mask said in his mechanical and flat tone.
"You will uphold your part of the bargain right?" Hermes asks to reaffirm that he will be protected as he requested from Zurvan in exchange for Ray's weaknesses.
"Yes, I will ensure your protection from his wrath upon you as we promised." The same monotone voice replied.
The traumatized and borderline PTSD Hermes feel reassured and stay within the boundaries of Zurvan temple's protection.
Soon the magic circle intensified before a monster arrived along with a group of people. The monster looks around to survey the surroundings then sees the two pods within the temple. The monster roared before ignoring everything and ran to the temple to reach the pods only to be stopped by a barrier of divine power.
Ray, who is the monster, immediately enrages and loses his immediate happiness from seeing the pods and the people inside it. He roared in his beastial anger and clawed at the barrier with titan-like strength that kept increasing while his tattered wings morphed a bit and attacked the barrier like talons.
"To think that the people and gods willingly cooperate with not just an otherworldly but the hideous gods from the void. What madness had transpired in my absence?" The stone mask said while Hermes shrink himself to make his small and unnoticeable in the corner.
…
"Thank goodness that seeing Haruhime and Bella can calm Ray but also increase his anger." Ishtar says after seeing Ray's initial response to seeing the kidnapped girls.
"However, how are we going to progress now? The barrier both locked down the hostage and the culprit inside." Artoria also added after appraising the situation. She grabbed her sword harder because she felt uncomfortable again and unable to help much.
"You are indeed correct, King Artoria." Luo Hao replied before she added opinion. "With hostages in that god's hand, we cannot do anything because he has leverage against us."
They all look at each other hoping someone has an idea and unsurprisingly the older Campione, Marquis Voban has one.
"I have an authority that can induce madness that impairs mind in exchange for increased power. No doubt my authority will be resisted but that should give enough time for us to attempt something." Voban put up a suggestion which everyone nodded because it could definitely work. Just a few seconds' time frame is enough for them to attempt something.
"I can use my martial arts and authority to move near instantaneously but the barrier will require time to get through." Luo Hao followed up with her suggestion.
"I can use my Ripping Silver Arm authority to cut through the barrier and allow Luo Hao to enter the barrier."
They all approved the plan and decided to take action. Those who isn't included in rescuing Haruhime and Bella will provide cover fire and stall Zurvan.
While Zurvan still half-heartedly dealing with Ray, they all take their place and get the plan started.
Voban use his ability to induce madness to Zurvan when Luo Hao and Doni already closing into the barrier with Luo Hao using Shukuchi, an terrain reduction martial art.
Zurvan become still for a moment before his 'limbs' become erratic and failing around like having a seizure before it sit still then proceed to attack Ray who are the first being in his vision.
Doni cut a path into the barrier using Ripping Silver Arm authority that allow him and Luo Hao to quickly grab both bulky pods like it was nothing. They then quickly retreat while hoping Zurvan still affected by Marquis Voban's authority.
Ray who under the rage and anger fighting the maddened Zurvan miraculously able to notice the pods are missing and quickly abandon his battle and seek the pods which is his priority even in his current emotional state where he only feel anger and negative emotions fed to him by All the World's Evil.
Zurvan too immediately sobered after resisted the authority from Marquis Voban. Strangely, Zurvan didn't get angry or expressing any emotions when he discovered that he fell for their ploy. Instead with no visible emotions, he activate an authority which resonated with the entire temple and everything reset to when they just arrived at this place.
"As I thought, being out numbered means that I couldn't even made use of my hostages and the barrier is obsolete with that god slayer that can cut through it." Zurvan calmly asses his mistake which didn't bear any sense of urgency or anything.
Nyx didn't even able to resist the authority used by Zurvan despite being a fellow primordial gods because Zurvan has home advantage like how a magus is way stronger in his own workshop due to the fact they are more prepared than their opponent.
While Ray is continuing his attack on the barrier to reach the pods, Zurvan continue with his assessment.
"Since hostages are useless and becoming a burden instead. Better if I use it to maximize the psychological damage done to this otherworlder that has great attraction to the hostages." Zurvan said before he float from his throne.
"Future sight prove my assessment is indeed correct." Zurvan said before he cast a spell.
"Stop him quick!" Someone shouted admist the panic while everyone already going to do it regardless.
They all tired whatever moves they think is appropriate like Voban who tried the same authority again to stall for time which didn't work this time because Zurvan is prepared. The authority didn't work because Zurvan stop his time and let the madness effect pass before resuming the time.
Zurvan then stop everyone's time other than few like Nyx, Alayashiki, Ishtar and Ereshkigal who able to resist it.
Ereshkigal immediately use her noble phantasm again to wrestle control over Zurvan's realm by manifesting her domain while Nyx summon her domain of darkness and forcefully wrestle control from Zurvan to weaken his temple and hopefully he unable to affect Nyx again.
However they didn't expect Zurvan's next move. They thought Zurvan will use his hostages as meat shield or leverage to weaken Ray before he kill Ray. They didn't expect the spell Zurvan cast cause Haruhime and Bella to literally imploded and stained the pods' glass with blood and gore.
Infant Great One (#@>π£%)
"Indeed this is the most effective way to dispose of him. Drive him into insanity and fight his own allies." Zurvan said before Ray's monstrous form staggered and fell like a puppet cut off it's strings.
Then a sound like a wail of a banshee mixed with howl of unbridled rage and horrific cries of pain as if the spine is rip of a living human. The noise drowned every voice in that realm and the shockwave even cause damage to his allies. Zurvan for the first time show an emotion as he clearly chuckled on his throne while watching Ray's allies forced to fight him before turning silent again.
The shockwave is purely physical phenomena and it ripped even most of the Campiones eardrum except Luo Hao who manage to react instantly and protect herself with her Taoist art. The goddess also isn't spared except Alayashiki and Nyx.
Infant Great One (1©>#9%)
Ray monsterous form is shouting and shambling like he is possessed while clutching his head. Nyx have to forcefully use her domain of darkness to blind him so that he couldn't attack and only trashing and convulsing from the madness of seeing Bella and Haruhime within his grasp to only brutally killed by Zurvan.
Thankfully Ereshkigal established her domain using her noble phantasm and allow her to enforce her authority over Underworld to absorb the soul of Haruhime and Bella into her personal Underworld to preserve them.
All hope is not lost yet because reconstructing body is definitely possible and not to mention authority that allow ressurection or similar authority. For now they have to resolve the battle and subdue Ray quickly before the situation get more worse.
…
With Ereshkigal and Nyx intensive effort, they finally managed to encroaching into Zurvan's control over the temple and reduce his support from this territory. The Campiones are released from the time manipulation of Zurvan due to their magic resistance and the fact that Zurvan is constantly resisting against 3 goddesses.
Zurvan isn't afraid because he has divinity over Eternity too and that ensures that he wouldn't truly die unless his essence is exterminated. There is none of his current opponents able to achieve it. That's why he isn't afraid at all. The most they can do is temporarily weaken him but with time he can recover and time is something trivial to him.
However he didn't account for weapons from another world that Alayashiki prepared. The conceptual weapon that imposes the notion of limited life-span, Black Barrel. This weapon is also extremely good in exterminating anything made up of True Ether which is an unfortunate gods are one of them. As wonderful as it might sound, only creatures without True Ether are capable of wielding them and that means none of them are able to wield them, including the Campione.
Alayashiki already considered this factor and took care of it. As Goddess of Humanity, it's something trivial for her to create and manipulate a human to use the Black Barrel for her.
Hidden within Nyx domain of darkness is the said human created by Alayashiki for this sole moment and aimed at the ordinary looking rifle with a scope at Zurvan. The domain of darkness prevents Zurvan from ever perceiving the human which allows this attack to remain hidden until it is needed.
The Campiones who break free from Zurvan's time stop immediately join the fight and gang up on him. The decisive move of Doni, cutting the barrier once again with his Ripping Silver Arm, exposed Zurvan to the Black Barrel which Alayashiki immediately manipulated the human she made to shoot the weapon.
The high concentration of True Ether in the environment supplied the weapon with energy to fire the weapon and boosted with every drop of divine power she had on her body.
The time stagnated for a moment when a beam of power shot out of the domain of darkness, tearing the True Ether along its path and straight to Zurvan who were being occupied by Voban, Luo Hao, John Pluto Smith and Ishtar. Zurvan didn't even have the time which he was supposed to control, to even react to the bullet that shreds his entire being apart into nothingness.
A brilliant explosion occurred when the beam pierced Zurvan and caused everyone nearby to be thrown away while suffering some injury after being exposed to the explosion. The explosion carried the similar effect and disintegrated True Ether and it affected them although not to a life threatening level.
The lease on the weapon ended and naturally returned to its original world through a Kaleidoscopic portal.
The others still didn't have a moment to rest yet because they still have Ray to deal with which currently are restrained in Nyx domain of darkness.
Everyone spent their last bit of power for this last fight. As soon as Nyx expose Ray from her domain, everyone tried their best deliver incapacitating attacks to Ray.
Luo Hao is the main contributor because she possesses a technique that allows her to drain her opponents energy to make herself more powerful.
"Soul-Stealing Palm of Astral Absorption"
Luo Hao executed her technique and Ray soon fell to the ground and incapable to even move as his monstrous form dissipated into a more normal looking one.
John Pluto Smith offered to use his(her) authority to summon a fairy that can heal Ray since he didn't contribute much during the fight.
…
The Moon Presence follows the 'cries' that beckons her and she arrives at the edge of the realm of a god that seemingly is cut off from any universes and exists as a singularity. She still hears the 'cries' of the child that she desperately wants to soothe.
The cries of anger had been lost and replaced with hopelessness and broken will. She had seen everything transpire in this realm and saw how the two individuals were being killed and caused him to finally lose his hope. Just like that mortal Gehrmen who first beckons her to make her a living doll of his late lover.
This is her one in a lifetime chance to make him, her's. Just like Gehrmen in his brink of desperation where they are willing to do anything to escape the cruel reality imposed on him or perhaps she could even manipulate him to prevent the same tragedy that happened between her and Gehrmen. To imprint on him during his moment of despair, to give him a dream that he never wanted to escape.
Regardless, the Moon Presence prepared and found it is the perfect moment to strike. She came with her true body this time along with an army of disposable Amygdala to distract those people. Opening the metaphorical floodgate, the army of Amygdala poured into the realm and caught everyone by surprise.
Moon Presence who hides among the Amygdala quickly gets hold of Ray, her soon to be surrogate child then escapes quickly before anyone is able to react. She frantically escaped until she reached an edge of dimension that she felt safe before she stopped. She calms her child and puts him into her dream where he can live eternally with her without worry because she will slowly influence him to forget about everything and anything to dedicate himself to her only.
…
[Temple of Infinite Time]
Everyone expects that they are free of danger and could finally focus on turning Ray back to normal. Ereshkigal is already tired from over exerting herself while almost everyone also feels drained from the continuous battle from the Roman pantheon to the Temple of Zurvan then subduing Ray.
Suddenly unknown, an army creature appeared out of nowhere and their leader kidnapped Ray then escaped immediately while leaving an army of confused eldritch creatures. Those creatures seem to be non hostile after the one that kidnapped Ray had escaped. Those creatures also soon left while leaving them confused and dumbfounded.
Everything happened too fast and they didn't even have time to properly react. It was moments later that Ereshkigal fell to the ground tired and in tears. The other also reacted badly but wasn't as bad as Ereshkigal did with most being in anger. Artoria and Tiamat especially are angry and disappointed in themselves that they allow something like this to happen twice.
(Shit I forgot about Tiamat again)
In the end, they resigned for now and returned home to rest and find a way to solve this unexpected predicament they found themselves in.
…
Opening his eyes, he felt like he just woke up from a bad nightmare. His eyes look at the gloomy yet serene land that felt familiar yet unable to recall any detail. The familiar floral scent and undescribable moon-like scent that constantly brushes against his nose.
He tried to recall something but failed, as if something is preventing him from doing so. There is no headache or anything that assaults his brain but only a feeling of heaviness like his brain is filled with water.
When he tried to stand from this seat, his lower body refused to move like they were paralyzed. When looking at his seat, they were in a wooden wheelchair which probably explains why his lower body is paralyzed. He tried to move by rolling the wheel of the wheelchair and fortunately it worked. Although it requires quite some effort.
He moves closer to the walls of the flower field and sees several gravestones and over the fence is an empty world of pillars stretching to the sky.
Pushing the wheel again, he moved up back to the tree then around this house. After some difficulty, he manages to reach the stairs made of stone bricks and feel like something is missing. He remembered that there is usually someone that will stay beside the stairs while waiting for him. This place is silent and void of people, he felt. He felt like there should be someone here and he couldn't explain that gnawing feeling in his mind. Like something is indeed wrong but you couldn't explain what is wrong.
Taking the side instead of the stair to enter the house or rather, the workshop which he deduced from the tools inside it that he somehow recognised. He arrived in the workshop to find someone inside it.
A woman with pure white clothing that he cannot recognise, silvery hair that reaches almost her hip and similar silvery eyes.
"Forgive me, I forgot that you had awaked." The woman asks for forgiveness for reasons unknown to him. "Did you have a good sleep? You seemed to be tired when I found you under the tree in the flower field." The woman added with worry while also simultaneously serene tone.
He nodded to her question in reply which caused her lips to curve up and smile a little. The weird feeling flared up again when I looked at her face to remember something but nothing came into my mind. The woman suddenly frowned a little before hiding it with a smile, then she stood up and helped push my wheelchair back to the area below the stairs.
"Where is this place and who are you?" He finally asks when the previous feeling suddenly vanished and his head has the stuffed feeling again. He cannot recall anything as if his brain is a blank slate.
The woman stopped near the stone brick stairs before she stood next to him where he could see her face. She looks at me weirdly but I have a nagging feeling that her expression isn't natural and made up.
"Ah, you forgot again…" She said before her weird look turned into sadness.
"Again?"
"Yes" She replied before she continued pushing me to the tree in the field of white flowers.
"Do you remember your name?" She asked her first question which I replied by shaking my head.
"Your name is Ray, Ray Flora and you are my child. My name is Flora, your mother and your caretaker." The woman introduced herself as Flora sat on the ground next to me, under the tree.
"Mother?" He parroted before clutching his head with his right hand for a bit when he felt sudden pain in his head. Flora seemed a little alarmed before she quickly helped massage my head and the pain receded, leaving only the usual stuffed feeling. Her touches feel pleasant and calming like the field of flowers and its scent.
"This little home we live in is a world I created just for us. You have a sickness which causes your body to be paralyzed and weakened to live normally but don't worry because I will definitely take care of you… forever." Her last word sounded like an echo but he couldn't notice it because his mind numbed again and the feeling of being stuffed became stronger.
Ray feels his mind slow to a halt which prevents him from having weird thoughts and simply accepts what his mother said as truth. He couldn't question what she said or did to him and simply accepted it all at face value. His eyes become glossed and duller everytime the feeling of being stuffed in his head emerges without him noticing.
"Please wait for a moment, I need to fetch your medicine." Flora said before she went to the workshop while leaving Ray who absentmindedly stared at the field of flowers and the pillar constructed beyond this small land.
…
Flora was preparing some 'medication' for Ray while thinking about her successful plan. She managed to make Ray forget about his memories and fed him medicine that inhibited his mind from ever breaking free from the illusion she imposed on him.
When she kidnapped Ray, his body was already broken and quite literally in tattered conditions because of overloading Annihilation Wish. Flora made use of this by feeding Ray a medicine that simply prevented more damage done to his body but wouldn't heal him either. She wanted Ray to be helpless and rely on her completely.
She is now preparing the mind inhibitor medicine since the previous dose is starting to wear off and another dose of medicine for Ray's body.
When she returned to Ray, she fed him the 'medicine' and continued feeding him more false information to cement her position as the only important person in his life.
…
"Flora… since you are my mother, where is my father?" Ray asks since he is bored and the only activity he could do is to talk with his mother.
"You don't have one, Ray." Flora who sat next to him patiently and gladly replied to his every question regardless of how much he asks which normally will annoy even the most patient person.
"I don't have one… Then, how was I born if I didn't have a father?" Ray asks again in surprise of Flora's answer.
"I am a goddess, remember? I created you myself because I wanted a companionship from someone."
"Then create me a sibling, it's very boring to stay here alone." Ray said the thought that passed his mind.
"NO!"
Ray was shocked when his mother reacted violently and gripped him very painfully. One of her hands is choking Ray and he couldn't breath nor talk to calm his mother's sudden outburst.
"St- p.. so- rry…" Ray tried to plead his mother to stop and thankful she stopped and suddenly panicked and in tears asking for forgiveness for her sudden outburst.
"Sorry, your mother didn't mean to do this… I have bad memories… what if those evil people take you away from me again… I'm sorry Ray, I'm very sorry." Flora cried on his lap and kept asking for forgiveness.
Ray isn't angry with his mother. He knew that this was his fault for bringing the bad memories to her again. Flora told Ray that he was recently kidnapped by evil people from her that devastated her for a very long time until she one day managed to save him. His memory loss is caused by the evil people that kidnapped him and wanted to make him forget about his memories to turn him into their tool against her.
"It's not your fault mother… I am very sorry for bringing up your bad memories. How about we take a nap for now? I feel rather tired again…" Ray said while his eyelids become heavy and hard to stay open.
"Uhm, let's take a nap." Flora said with a brilliant smile on her face that made Ray feel happy too for being able to make his mother smile again. His heart will feel painful whenever he sees his mother with sad faces.
…
Few hours after the nap, Ray woke up to the same scenery again. The pale red moon is always hanging in the night sky and seems to be influenced by his mother's emotion. If her emotions are positive, the moon will shine bright while if her emotions are negative, the moon will have a darker red hue.
Sensing Ray is awake, Flora also is awake and greets him with a warm smile before she goes and prepares his medicine again since he needs to take it every 8 hours. Ray followed behind his mother but went to the water fountain instead where he can meet the weird creatures that seem to like him very much and are willing to play with him.
His mother introduces the creatures as messengers who serve him since he is their master. Those messengers will do his bidding willingly like his servants. Ray likes to play with them to pass time if he is bored talking with his mother. Their favourite game is treasure hunt where the messengers will hide stuff around the place for Ray to find or vice versa. The messenger always wins easily if they are the treasure hunter. They can appear directly where the hidden item is which Ray said is cheating but the messenger did them regardless.
Ray couldn't tell the passage of time in this place since there isn't a day night cycle but he could guess that it's been around four days since his mother rescued him.
He was playing near the stairs while waiting for Flora to finish preparing the medicine but suddenly he heard loud noise of fallen utensils from the workshop and his mother running out in rage. I didn't know what happened but a portal suddenly opened below me and swallowed me inside.
The last word I heard from my mother is that she cursed someone named 'Kos' and threatened to kill that person before I fell unconscious inside the black tunnel with no end.
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