"Man makes plans . . . and God laughs."
― Michael Chabon
***
Read the author's note at the end if ya want.
***
Somewhere in a distant, dreamy land, there lay an island on which the gentle light of the slowly setting sun fell, akin to a lover's last kiss before the eventual parting.
The gentle waves ebbed and flowed in a steady rhythm, continuing to gently caress Rya like his mother's embrace.
His tattered body lay there on the shore of a beach, with his breath hitching faintly every so often as if still in a dreary nightmare.
His body still had the faint scorch marks and signs of mutilation he had inflicted on himself while training.
A particularly large frothing wave came and doused him completely in the seawater, making his body shiver involuntarily.
With a groan and then a pained grimace, his eyes flew wide open.
*Gasp!!*
" Cough! Cough! "
With the light of the setting sun entering his sight, his perception blossomed, and his hand went flying towards his waist in an attempt to grasp his blade.
"!!!"
With a startle, he realised that his sword was nowhere to be seen, with him having no idea where he even was.
"What?!"
His mind went aflame with warning bells as he looked around, trying to make sense of the situation.
"Where is this!?"
He was fighting that damned dragon, was he not?
So now, what was he doing in this place, lying on the ground?
"Argh!!"
His memories burned inside his skull, making him painfully realise the situation he was in just a moment ago.
Anxiety, panic, and fear rattled in his mind like a wild beast lashing at its chains.
'How was I transported into this place?!'
'What about the others?! I need to complete my task!'
It was only his sense of duty that somewhat grounded him to the moment, making his chaotic mind look at the situation logically.
"I need to get out of here right this instant. It'll have to hurry; this might just be the working of a teleportation formation."
Saying this, he shot to his feet and tried to douse himself in his mana, and while attempting to do so, he realised that his mana wasn't obeying him at all.
"What the fu*k?!!"
This made him nearly jump in shock. And an involuntary curse left his mouth.
'What is this!? Mana-poisoning?! Why isn't it responding to me?'
His response was obvious enough; the only way for one's mana not to respond was if one was poisoned with a heavy dose of a rare herb, which made mana heavy as tar and unable for one to wield it with proficiency.
But… he couldn't even make it budge an inch. This made his eyes bloodshot with fury, and an unbearable amount of rage boiled in his chest. Just when he was about to lash out, an unfamiliar voice came from behind him.
"Why so impatient, child?"
His eyes nearly popped out of his sockets in fear. This was because he hadn't even noticed the presence of this person before he spoke.
This was shocking because he had the keenest senses among all the seats of Mag-Daha, whether or not mana was considered.
"Who——!?"
And as he shrugged off the fear, his fury taking over, he nearly barked at the figure.
But, before he could say another word, a horrible killing intent erupted from the person, making all the hair on his body rise in tension.
He got into a stance, ready for an attack, which, fortunately, never came.
Looking closer at the person, the man looked like a beggar, a noble, a deranged lunatic and the most beautiful person he had ever seen all at the same time.
The dichotomy made his brain hurt, and looking closely, he couldn't see the man's face entirely.
Just as he realised this, a faint thought nibbled at the edge of his mind, making him uneasy.
Before he could think further, the man opened his mouth while retracting his killing intent.
"Just because this venerable has shown you some leniency, it doesn't mean you could open your mouth so insolently. Know your place, child."
Hearing those words, he felt an illusory mountain that seemed to press upon him with all of its heft and weight, making him kneel and grasp loudly like a dog.
'*gasp!* A trancendant!!'
Some murals and statues were venerating these special existences at the ruins of the civilisation in the Dead Sea.
Transcribing the markings and the words on such murals gave the members of Mag-Daha an idea about these special existences from the other corners of the galaxy that seemed to have transcended their world and are found roaming around the most bizarre and unfathomable parts of their Galaxy.
And as his fortune, or misfortune, would have it, this existence seemed to have taken an interest in him. His anxiety and fear made him tremble before this existence that loomed above him.
'Shit! I need to do something and do it quickly before he decides to crush me.'
Taking shallow breaths, he tried to steady himself and not look directly at this entity, while on his knees.
Then, he uttered in a raspy voice that seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown.
"Esteemed one, please forgive me for my insolence. I seemed to have been transported into your realm by some mistake in the middle of an important mission. Hence, my inappropriate response."
He didn't dare to even budge his vision to look at this person's reaction and continued feebly.
"I apologise for my behaviour. I humbly ask you to overlook my impudence this once."
A heartbeat passed, and the figure chuckled in amusement.
"Hoh… What a polite brat. You know about transcendants, don't you?"
Rya stilled.
"Haha, no need to be so afraid. I'm not like the other coots who value secrecy and peace that much. If anything, valiant warriors and masters of the mana crafts are greatly appreciated by me. I have also given some blessings to such men and women."
Rya didn't dare to look up, but a thought clicked in his mind.
"Esteemed one, may I be so insolent as to ask one question?"
"I already said not to be so wary, child. Go on."
'Well… This was not a response I expected.'
Rya had realised that this was probably a dream in which this existence had pulled him in. And dying in this dream would release him, although he might suffer some soul damage. Well... he didn't worry about that, as he was living on borrowed time anyway.
Seemingly listening to his thoughts, the man chuckled.
"Hoh, a cheeky one."
Rya stiffened again for the second time.
"Having such an analytical mind in my presence, heh… not bad, brat."
"Well, go on. Say what you want to."
In his mind, Rya was already getting more and more weary of this existence.
'Ah… sh*t. I may die here.'
Suppressing this thought process, he continued.
"Esteemed one, how did you contact me? I don't think this one has done anything worthy of your excellency's attention."
Even though he couldn't see it, Rya could feel the man smile slyly.
"Why do you think so? I believe you and a couple of your friends already know how this came to be."
'As I was dreading… his attention locked onto us when we knew about the contingency ritual.'
".... Was it the knowledge about the ritual, esteemed one?"
The man just shrugged.
"Precisely so, child, at our level, even knowledge about some secrets of the universe would catch our attention. So tell me, why do you think you could even try to ask me to lend you my power? Ah.. be careful though, your friends' answers were not convincing enough."
At this unexpected answer, Rya jolted, being completely sobered and sweat pooling on his back.
But, at the same time, a dangerous gleam began shining in his eyes.
".... I have no extravagant or righteous reason, esteemed one. I only wish to kill the creature who destroyed everything I held dear. I have no moral or 'right' reason for asking for your power. Even if you shall not grant me this blessing, I would still try to kill it, no matter my ending."
At this answer, the man went silent for a moment, and then the whole island began to quake.
"Hahahahahahaha.. "
The man's voice boomed so loud that Rya nearly jumped out of his skin.
****
[A/N]
I have no excuses for the chapter updates. I had some family matters going on, plus my father found out I was writing... and let's just say he was not very pleased.
Anyways, I will continue to write, but the update timing will be once every two days. If I upload once every day, consider it a bonus chapter.
And another thing, I'll complete this action story in 4 more chapters, and then ya'll decide what to do, I'll either do a romance or a slice of life.
Comment on which one you want.
[Romance]
[Slice of life]
Another thing, I'll write these two and then I'll probably write a fanfic, most likely an Akame Ga Kill one.
I like that anime, but the ending wasn't palatable to me, and now I'mma do my own thing.