(The Cursed Blade)
I leaned back on my throne, arms resting along the armrests, watching the Heavenly System interface windows drift quietly in front of me.
I wanted to select my sixth Holy Knight.
I had decided to hold off on rashly selecting anyone else since while Heavenly System was no doubt a powerful creation, it was limited. I couldn't do anything else beyond interacting with it.
So I couldn't go around making dozens of Saints.
It made sense.
I technically wasn't a God yet…
The massive reserve of faith energy that Heaven had could only be used through the Heavenly System for now.
I looked down at Frieren, who stood near the base of the steps, her long silver hair falling softly around her robe.
"Lord Kai." She said with a small smile. "Michael said you summoned me?"
"I did," I replied easily. "How are things going?"
"Well. I must admit you've gathered a group of fascinating individuals. It's been enjoyable speaking to all of them, and it's been decided that I should either stay within the Sixth Heaven or the mansion." Frieren replied.
"Oh? Which did you choose?" I asked curiously.
I wouldn't mind if she took residence in the absurdly large castle on the Sixth Heaven. We could probably house half of the Angels in the Silver City here easily.
"I chose the Mansion within the sub-dimension, I like the feeling of those Two Trees and the entire realm interests me." She admitted.
"I figured you would." I smiled.
She sent me a curious look, and I decided to move on.
"Regarding the reason I summoned. I wanted to offer you a position," I said simply. "More precisely a chance to become of the Holy Knights."
She blinked once. "A Holy Knight?"
"It's a group of Seven Knights following the Saint, technically dubbed the Holy Order. They carry out my will and make sure things run smoothly within the church." I said, explaining it to her.
"The Church is connected to Heaven, yes? I believe I glossed over the subject. There was a similar structure within my old world." She replied thoughtfully.
Yeah. From what I knew her world had a church as well.
"Most religions have churches to guide their followers and keep them unified. In this world, the Church is more than that, it's a powerful organization built to push back the dark forces threatening humanity," I explained as simply as I could.
"So these Holy Knights are prominent figures within the church I assume?" Frieren asked after a moment of digesting the information.
"They're essentially an elite force meant to carry out God's or well my will," I replied, simplifying what I knew.
I'm pretty sure they had more tasks within the church, but Dulio seemed content to handle most of it.
"And you wish for me to become one of these Knights?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Yes." I nodded. "There are only two more spots open and I believe you would make for a good addition."
"How so?" Frieren asked.
"As you know, Heaven is in a strange position right now. While I was gone, its power declined significantly. Since my return, it's grown rapidly, but it still isn't where it needs to be." I explained, deciding to give her a wider explanation of the current situation.
"The Holy Order has become a major part of Heaven's strength because they can move and act with more freedom. So far, I've already broken the tradition of keeping the Order exclusively human, and from what I've been told, it's the strongest it has ever been. You're powerful, and the ones I trust have spoken highly of your loyalty. So I want you to join." I finished.
She blinked slowly. "You shouldn't trust so easily, you've just met me."
I smirked deviously. "Yeah, well. I suspect there's a bit more than you're letting on but I've had multiple beings far older than you confirm you are trustworthy."
Instead of looking annoyed that I had to confirm, she looked highly amused.
"If you join the Holy Order, you'll also get a powerful blessing." I decided to add.
Her eyes shot up. "Where do I accept?"
I waved my hand and pulled open the Heavenly System menu.
A familiar list greeted me:
[Holy Order Candidates].
I selected her name, and a connection she obviously felt by the way she perked up was formed. That left the next part.
Selecting the blessing.
I looked back at her thoughtfully. I couldn't say I knew any of her skills and advantages. I simply knew she was a powerful elf with magic. Which was why I decided it was probably best to simply ask her what she wanted.
"Do you want to pick out a blessing?" I offered lazily.
A small smile lit up on her face and in the next moment without hesitation, she sat down across my lap. Her toned thighs lay on me as she looked at the visible screen.
"Sure, I'm curious."
I blinked once, looking down at her ass which was now sitting firmly on my lap and gave her a look.
She didn't glance at me. "I want to see the menu more clearly."
Right…
She interacted with the Heavenly System casually, as if she had done it before and scrolled through the blessing options with a speed that betrayed her excitement.
Frieren was proving herself to be more of a magical nerd every minute I spent with her.
Finally, she stopped on a skill, looking at it curiously.
Blessing: [Mana Freeze] (Skill)
Projects a localized sphere where active magical effects (projectiles, ongoing spells, summons) are temporarily frozen. Requires continuous mana drain and concentration to maintain.
[Field collapses if concentration breaks or mana depletes. Does not freeze casters or affect innate abilities, only active magic within the sphere.]
I looked over the skill, with only a hint of jealousy I must add.
"From what I gained, there are two types of blessings that can be offered. A passive one which interacts with your body in a way that you can't control and an active one which comes in the forms of spells or skills." Frieren said, instantly figuring out the blessing types.
"That's correct," I commented, earning myself a glance from her seated position on my lap.
Her long ears twitched slightly.
She seemingly decided that the blessing wasn't for her as she continued scrolling, going further than even I had and showing me just how many blessings God had imprinted into the system.
Blessing: [Reactive Nullification] (Passive Trigger)
When a directly targeted hostile spell is detected moments before impact, it automatically expends a burst of mana to attempt partial or complete negation by generating a counter-resonance.
[Effectiveness depends on spell complexity vs. mana expended. High-power spells may only be weakened.
Frieren's eyes flicked across the blessing details, her expression calm as she seemed to weigh them briefly before silently moving on without comment.
"So has anything gained your interest?" I asked.
"Yes, there are many spells and skills of interest I would have liked to study. I normally would leave such an option to you, but I can't deny my interest in the differences this world's magic presents" She replied. "There are many non-combative skill that have gained my interest, but I'll choose a combat skill for your peace of mind."
I didn't quite know how to reply to that.
"You really like magic, don't you?" I chuckled.
"I do." She replied.
"And you would prefer a non-combative one?" I asked, curiously.
It sounded like she was getting one for my sake more than anything.
"All magic is good. It doesn't have to be destructive or complex." She responded.
I suppose it didn't. I smiled.
"Oh? Then I have to wonder what your favourite spell is?" I asked, wanting to know just what someone like her favourite magic would be.
She paused completely.
"It's not complex. It creates a field of flowers." She said, before continuing.
"A field of flowers?" I questioned.
She didn't respond.
"I like it." I decided.
I raised my hand and used a small amount of Mokuton to grow a single flower. I handed it to her, more of a gesture that I respected that someone so powerful could enjoy something so simple.
She picked it up, looking at me in genuine surprise only to turn back.
Frieren went through many more blessings before coming upon one that interested her.
Blessing: [Resonant Domain] (Skill)
Establishes a personal dominion where the user's sensitivity to mana flows is hyper-acute, allowing them to perceive and subtly influence, redirect active magical energies within the zone. Spells cast by the user within this domain gain a slight boost in potency and efficiency due to harmonized mana.
[Requires concentration and mana upkeep.]
"I will choose this one." She finally decided.
"Are you sure you don't want the spell from early that outright nullifies spells?" I questioned.
"No." She shook her head, her long ears twitching.
"If that's your choice." I grinned, patting her head. Which earned me a confused look. "You'll be back in a few moments. So hang tight."
I selected the blessing for her, and a large amount of faith energy was directed.
Bells rang, and she vanished in a powerful burst of gold that caught her by surprise.
-{???}-
Father Lorenzo moved through the marble corridors with practised ease, dust cloth in hand.
Morning light streamed through the tall windows, casting warm patterns across the floors. He hummed a hymn as he worked, his weathered face filled with peace.
The kind of peace that was rare to find in humans, with the burdens of society weighing down on them. Whether monetary, economic or even social hardships they had to go through on a daily burden.
Father Lorenzo was someone who didn't interact with that. It was a rare type of person who knew that life was just a journey, a person who had his faith confirmed and dedicated himself only to the church.
He wasn't a high-ranking member, far from it he was probably in the lowest ranks the church had. He hadn't even known the supernatural existed, that so many monsters lurked out in the world along with so many different Gods.
The only being he had truly believed in was the God of the church.
So much has changed in recent months. The Church, once facing dwindling attendance and waning influence, now buzzed with renewed vigour.
The return of their Lord had rekindled faith across Rome and those who couldn't see it, mostly due to the mysterious works of a power above erasing what seemed to be any evidence of it transpiring, were spreading the word.
Lorenzo approached the sealed chamber where the Holy Knights and Saint had been chosen.
The massive oak doors remained closed to visitors by the Pope's decree.
Too many people had come to these halls, hoping to witness the selection of the final two Knights. It had become packed to the point that lines were forming out of the door.
Lorenzo kindly greeted the four exorcists at the door, who all greeted him warmly.
Lorenzo got the work immediately as he ran his cloth across the walls where dust had slowly been gathering. He chuckled heartily to himself, shaking his head.
The administrative offices were overwhelmed with requests for baptisms, confirmations, and membership. Seminary enrollment had reached record numbers. The decline had not merely stopped, it had reversed dramatically.
Suddenly, the chamber's air changed.
Lorenzo paused mid-swipe as a vibration ran through the stone floor.
He was an ordinary man, yet there was a weight and warmth to the world around him. The very air around him seemed to get brighter, gaining a weird warm look.
The great bells of St. Peter's Basilica began to toll without human prompting, their deep tones resonating with unusual clarity.
Energy coursed through the room like liquid light, flowing across the floor, walls, and ceiling.
A beam of golden light shot upward through the centre of the chamber, piercing through the ceiling without damaging it.
His mind was frozen, as the doors opened. The four exorcists wielding light weaponry entered alertedly.
Lorenzo turned around in astonishment, his dust cloth falling forgotten from his hand.
Within the light stood a woman, no, not just a woman. An elf. Her silver hair cascaded around her elegant robes, her long ears visible against the brilliant glow.
Her beauty was unearthly, mesmerizing.
Lorenzo found himself staring, entranced by her presence before his knees buckled of their own accord.
He knelt, head bowed in respect.
"Ah, that's what he meant." She said the woman blinked, looking directly at him with ancient eyes.
Before any more onlookers could reach them, the woman vanished, disappearing in another flash of golden light, leaving only the faintest trace of holy energy behind.
Lorenzo remained kneeling, breathing heavily.
His heart raced with excitement.
He couldn't believe he had just gotten to witness that, even as he was kindly guided to leave the area he simply responded despondently.
-{Kai}-
Frieren reappeared, looking down at herself in slight shock and an overwhelming amount of intrigue.
"How… strange. I can feel a new ability imprinted on me." Frieren said, seemingly sensing the blessing within her.
"With that, you might be the strongest Holy Knight now," I said with a slight grin.
"Can you tell me who is in this Holy Order and what specialisation they possess?" She said, sitting on my lap again with a blank look.
I raised an eyebrow.
Why was she sitting on my lap now? She ignored my look.
"You'll meet them soon, I'm sure Dulio already knows about you since he lives in the Vatican along with Vasco," I responded, thinking over the well-balanced Holy Order.
"You've got Asia as the healer, Nyxera as a mage like you. Elizabeth and Vasco are both brawlers, though Vasco also fights with weapons. Jeanne handles defence and is probably the strongest in the Holy Order. Then there's Dulio, the swordsman." I said, listing them off.
"A powerful team. I guess I will be the second Mage." Frieren mused.
"I'm sure you could teach Nyxera, she's only got her cursed eyes and blessing going for her in that aspect," I replied, patting her head once more. More as a way to diffuse the awkwardness of having an elf on my lap.
We were directly at eye level as she looked at me.
"Cursed eyes?" Frieren questioned.
"She was cursed by a goddess," I explained as if that statement wasn't outrageous. "Anyone she makes eye contact with turns into stone. Unless they are stronger than her."
I could practically see her wondering what a Goddess' curse would look like.
At that moment Gabriel entered the room, pausing at the sight of Frieren on my lap.
The happy smile dimmed, and her eyes became a little less warm. Ah… I didn't know why but Gabriel's presence suddenly felt a lot less inviting.
"Frieren, why don't you go back into the sub-dimension and speak to Nyxera?" I suggested calmly, deciding it was probably better to calm the overprotective Arch-Seraph down.
"Ok." Frieren agreed. She floated off my lap, coming to stand in front of me.
She calmly walked past Gabriel who sent the woman a passive look.
Gabriel's eyes lingered on the doorway where Frieren had just left, her smile slightly tighter than usual.
"You two are getting along rather quickly," she said, the warmth in her voice noticeably reduced.
I smiled awkwardly. "She's certainly unique, I don't think she cares much for social limitations."
"Is that why she was sitting on your lap?" She questioned idly, moving forward.
"She said she wanted a better view of the Heavenly System. I didn't see a reason to say no, especially after letting her choose her divine blessing," I replied comfortingly.
Her expression didn't change, but I caught the slight twitch in her eye. "So it was only to let her gain a better view?"
Her tone was doubtful.
I tilted my head slightly, observing her in silence.
I sensed a hint of jealousy. Surprise filled me and I quickly saw a resolution for it.
I leaned back in Heaven's Throne and, acting on pure instinct, held out a hand and tugged her forward.
She didn't resist.
"Is that better?" I asked as she landed in my lap.
She froze in surprise for a moment, her cheeks warming up. Before she slowly decided to lean into me, her head resting lightly against my shoulder. She didn't say anything, merely staring at me strangely with her lips parted.
I wasn't sure why she was jealous, but I couldn't have my closest friend feeling that way.
My hand moved on its own, tracing up and down the considerable arch of her back slowly. I felt her shiver slightly. Her body was warm against mine and, for a moment, everything else felt distant.
A weird blanket of comfort came to engulf us.
I took a moment to register just what I had done.
Gabriel was breathtaking in every sense of the word. I had heard comments about her beauty being known even amongst Pantheons, with many gods having tried to gain her hand.
Heaven's most beautiful woman.
I could confirm that she was the most beautiful woman he had encountered. Her features were perfectly balanced, high cheekbones, a delicate nose, and lips that curved naturally into a gentle smile even in repose.
The curves of her body had me wondering if God had made her a test to men. I had filtered it out but in this second, with her body melded into me it was hard to ignore.
I took a breath as she stared at me.
I decided to focus on something else. My eyes flickered back up to the Heavenly System's panel floating in front of me.
There was something else that was long overdue.
The Sacred Gear System.
I let my mind focus solely on that, my hand idly stroking the Arch-Seraph in my lap.
I navigated my way to the Sacred Gear System.
The Hero Faction.
Some of them had escaped. While the others had died, their Sacred Gears had already been frozen and awaiting my assignment.
So I focused on finding the bug that had been able to escape.
Cao Cao.
He held the True Longinus, and I wanted it back. I hadn't been too focused on it, but I had a feeling it could be useful. Even as weakened as it had become after I took the shard from it.
I located his name apathetically.
When I had his name in my sight, I paused.
It was different…
What caught my attention was the way his name was labelled. It was red… What did red mean? I quickly navigated my way to the extraction panel only to find it was blurred out.
I pressed on it and the Heavenly System came up with a failure screen.
My eyes narrowed.
What?
Something was blocking the system's attempts.
Annoying. I let my focus slip to Gabriel to calm my annoyance.
Has Cao Cao done something to prevent me from recollecting his Sacred Gear? I thought about it. He was a part of the Khaos Brigade so had he gotten help from someone?
I activated MindMaven, letting my thoughts run through every possibility.
Maybe absorbing the shard had interfered with the spear's connection? The Shard had shown itself to be powerful… I imagine a loss like that to any weapon would drastically damage it.
I thought about another possibility.
Someone might have tampered with it. It was unlikely, but not impossible. Especially if the shard had left it weakened, even temporarily. That led to my first thought.
I took a breath and moved on, looking at another name.
Valerie Tepes.
The temptation to outright remove the Holy Grail from her was there… but with the high compatibility rate, it felt like a waste, especially with the situation she was in…
I hummed.
It was that moment when Gabriel's voice pulled me back from my thoughts. Her tone was soft.
"You picked a Holy Knight without me."
I decided to push it to the back of my mind for now.
I focused on Gabriel, more specifically her eyes.
"I did," I replied slowly. "But I left the last slot open for your choosing. Consider that an apology."
She didn't reply right away. I could feel the tension bleeding out of her little by little as she stayed in my lap. Her hand lightly rested over mine.
I glanced down at her and had to stifle a laugh. Gabriel. One of the oldest and most powerful Seraphs was acting in such a way, but then again I suppose this was another effect of God's absence hitting a soft spot. I turned my head slightly, resting my chin atop her head. Her golden hair smelled faintly of something sweet.
Maybe I needed to be more physically affectionate with my angels.
I shook my head, focusing on the Heavenly System again, taking the time to look through it. We spent half an hour simply remaining like that. It was comfortable and I was starting to feel sleepy.
Which was why I decided to continue with the next thing I was set to do.
Visiting the forge.
"I'm going to the forge," I finally said, pulling myself back into focus. I stood up and she gave me a look of disappointment before she covered it up with a smile.
"Are you coming with me?" I said, grinning as her smile grew larger.
Her answer came quietly but without hesitation.
"I would love to."
The forge was hot when we entered.
It seems Brias had been working tirelessly.
The familiar enhanced gravity pressed down on us as we descended.
Brias looked up immediately from the large workbench near the back. He was hunched over something with silver limbs and an unfinished frame but straightened as we approached.
"My Lord. Lady Gabriel." He gave a respectful nod. "You're just in time. I was sketching out a few new schematics. I thought they might interest you."
He handed me a few parchment sheets. I looked them over. They were basic diagrams, magical channels layered in overlapping rings.
"This is good, I like its simplicity," I replied with a nod of satisfaction. Everything was coming together.
I could only barely make out the drawings due to the limited time I had put into artefact-making. I realised to do this properly I was going to need some sort of way to analyse the artefact's structure.
Gabriel leaned slightly toward me. "What are we doing today?"
"I picked out six holy artefacts. I want to try merging them. See how far energy transmutation can go now that my understanding has grown." I walked over to a side table where I'd arranged the pieces earlier.
I guess I could still try it. I looked over towards the six Artefacts. They weren't powerful individually. A focus pendant, a minor barrier ring, and a support bracelet.
Mostly defensive or utility types. But I wanted to know if their properties could be combined. If I could make something better from fragments.
I picked two of them up. I focused hard, attempting to push the cores of the two together, forcing the properties to align as energy transmutation activated. The glow flared and dimmed until one item remained.
I burned the image of the drawing into my mind and my skill reacted.
It was a slow process but by the end of it, a small disc was created. A strange blend of both relics. I ran a current of magic through it.
A shield activated briefly.
One by one, I went through the rest. Some attempts failed. One melted. But by the time I finished, I had two functional new relics, combinations of older pieces.
I checked my energy reserves.
Close to empty. I sighed. It was never going to be a cheap process.
Still…
I grinned. "At least I know that works."
Gabriel merely smiled in response, sitting nearby and watching me. "Do you think you'll be able to do it with stronger Holy Relics in the future?"
"Maybe… I'd need to get a better understanding and a lot more energy…"
Gabriel smiled gently, her eyes soft as they rested on me. "It truly brings me joy to see Heaven recovering like this. The pace is… incredible. I also heard about your plan to widely produce magical constructs of the holy artefacts." She paused, folding her hands in her lap. "They would help so many of my siblings who will be dragged back into battle."
"It's just unfortunate we weren't given time," I replied with a hint of annoyance.
"We shall overcome it. Heaven is in a good place, with the power you've introduced we are a lot more powerful than you may believe." She replied comfortingly. "For such a short period as well."
"Let's just hope it's enough." I sighed.
"You don't give yourself enough credit for the extraordinary feats you have accomplished." She said, her voice becoming dimmer. "Kaiel, one does not simply find a powerful God-class ally from nowhere like you do. Most have long since been absorbed into Factions and Pantheons alike. It is unfathomably rare to even reach the Ultimate-class and yet you can create six of them with a wave of your hand."
She said, her words turning into a small rant. She regained her composure and I stood there stunned for a moment at her display.
"Just give yourself the respect you deserve is all I wish." She finished, looking slightly shy.
"I'll keep that in mind." I grinned.
I turned, shifting my attention mostly to hide the burst of bashfulness I felt at being praised by Gabriel.
I turned back toward the forge's main anvil.
"As for the second reason I came here…"
A sword sat on a rack, emitting a strange energy.
My weapon.
It was nearly finished, but I wanted to add something to it before I completed it.
That's where my system came in, or more specifically my system shop. I hadn't used any credits in a long time, attempting to save them for a situation like when I had been stuck in Hell.
When I had done a deeper search into it, I found out that I couldn't buy skills outright. I could only buy skill scrolls and other such things which I had mistook for skills. Though some scrolls did have multiple uses.
The only thing I could buy was materials and physical items which were all ridiculously priced. But now I had saved up for so long I was looking to spend.
It wasn't a long search until I found something barely within my price range.
Cursed Mask Fragment.
Grants: [Rage Feed]
Whatever piece of armour or structure this is confined to can gain power based on nearby hostility. The angrier your enemies are, the stronger the structure or weapon the Cursed Mask Fragment is bonded to becomes.
Why did I choose this?
I felt it was poetic in a way.
However, I think my sword was dangerously getting close to being considered dark.
I briefly looked over a few more things within the System shop, but since I had just spent most of my saved funds on a very powerful fragment. I wasn't going to find anything of worth.
The thought had been there before buying my weapon, if perhaps instead of spending it on a way to make my sword better, I spent it on something to help with Heaven's defences.
Yeah, well. Turns out God was a freak of nature. Seriously, I had inspected one of the many barriers that protected Heaven. Its primary defence was in its powerful barriers and to say they were expensive was an understatement.
Turns out that having one of the strongest Gods in this universe personally create a barrier costs a lot of credits… who knew? All the wards and extra defences I could buy right now pales in comparison to Heaven's. As did the many other things I could think of.
I hadn't been able to kill many beings since coming to Heaven so my credit count hadn't been able to grow properly in a while.
I focused back on the objective at hand, closing the System Shop and opening my inventory.
It came as a small white-black shard in my opened palm.
Gabriel perked up. "What is that?"
"A cursed fragment of what was a very powerful mask. Combining this with my sword will give the sword the unique ability to become stronger from any nearby anger directed towards me and by extension it." I explained, playing with the fragment.
"The ability to harness emotional power is quite potent. It's mostly associated with dark artefacts and Evil Gods," Gabriel said, before catching my flat look. She quickly added, "The Church does have a few holy relics tied to emotion too as does Heaven with some of its functions, and I've heard of other Pantheons using similar concepts."
I laughed.
"Besides." She crossed her arms. "I rather like knowing your enemies will serve to empower you. It puts their useless existence to work."
My laugh became a chuckle as her demeanour briefly changed into something more apathetic and passive.
"It'll certainly help. It'll work well with the cursed attribute only the sword is taking on."
"Cursed Light right?" She asked in intrigue.
"Yeah, basically a destructive version of light." I summarised it.
She hummed curiously.
"Where did you get it?" She asked, inspecting the shard with me.
"During my travels," I answered.
She accepted my answer since I had a lot of weird stuff from that brief period I had floated in the supernatural world.
I placed the shard within my sword and finally began finalizing the process. The fragment was visible on the hilt, a shard carefully placed within its structure.
The process took hours, and by the end of it my process on the sword was at 99%
The sword was big, maybe a bit longer than your average greatsword, but lighter and made to swing fast. The blade's surface was coloured dark red and black like it was forged out of cooled lava, with glowing cracks running through it. It had thin silver-blue lines, which were the Mithril veins, across its surface.
Down the centre, the blade's split. One side glowing a whitish-silver while the other leaked with a dark smoke. The two twisted around each other. The guard looked like it had two dragon wings, one light and one dark while the grip was wrapped in black leather.
I had brought Brias in to help with the design and some of the more difficult forging work since my current rank wasn't enough for certain parts. Having him around had been invaluable, he never hesitated to set aside whatever he was doing to lend a hand the moment I asked.
"It's beautiful." Gabriel complimented, standing close to my side.
"I'm glad you think so. It took a long time to make, I hope it'll prove worth it." I commented, looking over the blade critically.
"I'm sure it will, with the amount of work you've put into it," Gabriel said joyfully.
I focused on my sword, one I hadn't come up with a name for yet and decided to finish it. A process that only took ten minutes, until a resulting thunk made the counter hit 100%.
A pulse of energy crackled around the blade ominously, before it calmed down and seeped back into the sword's structure.
I grinned in triumph.
My sword was finally finished.
-Scene Break-
It had been a few days since my sword's completion and in that time I had been constantly attempting training with it. After training with the sword that I had spent so much time working on, I had come to one conclusion.
I had created a monstrous sword.
With the ability to use Dragon Fire, boost light energy and use cursed light along with various abilities. It was safe to say I had overshot my expectations and had made a powerful sword.
There was only one last thing to do.
I pulled the sharpness enchantment scroll out of my inventory. I had held off on using it straight away, just in case the sword didn't work. But… staring at the flaming wreckage in front of me that was being consumed by dragon fire. I could safely confirm it worked.
I activated the scroll and it dissolved into motes of blue energy that wrapped itself around the sword's structure. The blue energy quickly condensed until it was a blue line that covered only the blade's edge with a blue streak.
The light died down after that, leaving an almost unnoticeable blue glow on its edge.
I decided to appraise my sword for the first time.
'Appraisal.'
[Unnamed Cursed Lightblade]
This sword is a fusion of light and cursed energy, forged from cursed blacksteel and many other materials.
{Weapon Properties}
Split Affinity – The blade carries both holy and cursed properties, allowing it to cleave through holy or demonic magic alike.
Cursed Edge - this sword has a cursed edge that weakens whoever is cut by it.
Cursed Light - allows the rare limited usage of cursed light, a light that goes against its very nature.
Dragonfire Core – Hidden within the spine of the blade lies refined dragoninite, allowing the user to unleash controlled streams or waves of concentrated dragonfire from the weapon.
Sharpness Enchantment – This enchantment maintains the blade's edge indefinitely. It is capable of slicing through most magical defenses and leaves precise cuts even against heavily enchanted targets.
Rage Feed – When the user experiences anger or intense battle focus, the blade grows more powerful. The dragonfire and cursed edge both flare in intensity, though prolonged use risks mental strain or aggression spikes.
Perfect.
Now all it needed was a name and an inspection from Uriel along with Brias. In my must rush to play around with it I had left the forge with Gabriel in hand.
The last few days had been used to experiment with it whenever I had the time too.
I began thinking of a name, only for my
thoughts to come to a halt at the sense of someone walking towards me.
"My Lord." She greeted.
I rolled my eyes.
"What's going on?" I asked, already sliding the sword back into my inventory.
"It's Galadriel," she said quickly, her tone shifting with excitement. "She's stirring. The cocoon's moving more than before. I think… I think she's about to hatch."
I blinked.
"Let's go." I said without a preamble.
I was excited to see what had happened.
I let her lead the way. She turned on her heel and led me through my sub-dimension, her stride quickening as we approached the base of the massive Tree of Light.
At the base of the trunk, in the pond lay the cocoon Galadriel had entered.
It was massive now. The size of a house and faintly glowing. Lines of gold and pale silver ran across its surface like veins. As I drew closer, I could see it shifting, pulsing slightly.
Then a few minutes into watching it cracked.
A thin fracture appeared across the top.
Another quickly followed.
I stepped forward, feeling the air shift with the powerful energy I knew as divinity.
Hestia appeared, coming to stand besides me as did Frieren at some point. We were then further joined by Raguel and Sariel who both had been in my sub-dimension the most out of my Seraph's.
Hestia blinked in surprise. "That's a huge surge of divinity. Did you give Galadriel your Golden Apple?"
"I did," I said with a nod.
Sariel and Raguel stepped forward, both eyeing the cocoon intently.
"Father, is this your familiar?" Sariel asked, his gaze fixed on the shifting glow.
"Yes. She's in the middle of a transformation," I replied calmly.
Divine pressure built steadily, pushing against my skin like a rising tide.
Cracks spread faster now. The outer layer split with a shimmer of light, and something long and sinuous began to push.
I got a glimpse of her scales that were somehow even more beautiful than before, shining with a small aura of light while two powerful slitted eyes glanced at me.
A head emerged next and then the rest of her body as she exploded out of the cocoon in a burst of power.
Galadriel had finally awakened.
-{???}-
The figure watched his Lord calmly going through the methodical process of creating a new artefact quietly. He knew if he even made the slightest of sounds he would be subjected to a harsh punishment so he sat there, content to simply be alive.
There was no other sound in the strange workshop that resided in a pocket dimension.
That was the case until an audible crack from outside made him flinch. The sounds of his Lord came to a halt.
The figure froze. His gaze locked onto the sealed entrance as a second, louder crack echoed through the air like bone snapping under weight. A second later, the sound of wet flesh dragging across stone followed.
Something was coming in.
He didn't dare move.
From the workshop entrance, a figure stumbled in. It was tall, too tall, its limbs slightly too long for its torso.
The skin was pale and slick, like it had only just been stitched together. Its jaw hung open, twitching slightly with each step. Blank, lidless eyes scanned the room.
His Lord turned without hesitation, his dark-gloved hands halting mid-craft as he slowly rose to meet the intruder.
"What a pleasant surprise," he said simply, his tone bored.
To the figure's surprise, there was no hostility in his voice. Not even annoyance.
If anything… It sounded like greeting an old colleague. An envoy from the Khaos brigade perhaps?
"Your work continues, Zelie?" the Architect asked, his head tilting slightly.
The man or what could be better described as the puppet's mouth moved in slow jerks, but the voice that came out was smooth.
"Greetings, young friend." The voice replied.
"Salutations." His Lord nodded. "What brings you here?"
"I bring a gift. Something you may appreciate with your goal." The being replied.
It stepped forward and extended a strange device. Half machine, half organ.
Pulsing with something that looked like blood, but moved like magic. The Lord reached out and took it without hesitation, fingers gliding across its twisted surface.
"How interesting," he murmured. "Elegant… crude in aesthetic, as are most the devices you bring me but powerful in function. This will be very useful. The main problem with Heaven's defences has always been its barriers, and the fact it only had one entry point that can even possibly be breached."
He examined the central crystal, eyes narrowing as he peeled away a layer and saw the true form of the core inside. His lips curved into something close to appreciation.
"I imagine I can use this to amplify the already existing barrier-smashers. It'll certainly be quicker."
"If fed properly," the puppet answered.
Then it tilted its head too far.
"Good tidings."
There was no reply. The puppet simply froze. Then, like strings being cut, it collapsed forward. Limbs crumpled.
Eyes gone. Its skin sagged, and an awful wet thump echoed as it hit the floor.
"Clean it up," his Lord said, already turning back to his work.
-END-