As if the lush forest lost its lively green color. Everything turned monochromatic in a single second. An eerie laugh was the only thing she could hear. A man in a black suit wearing an eerie smile. He walk towards Nex whilst clapping his hands. He tipped his black hat and spoke, "Well done... Nice to meet you again Nova." He said as he looked at the eel like creature. Nova narrowed his eyes and spoke in a slightly agitated voice.[What do you want!? You're not allowed to be here or anywhere beyond the veil!]The man just chuckled and faces Nex with his glowing yellow eyes. "Relax, I'm not here to put chains on your newfound freedom. I'm only here to celebrate young Nex's power up. Besides this visit is unsanctioned. It could be our little secret." He said as he put his fingers on his mouth. Nova warily hovered around Mr.Nobody.[Don't pull any stunts I have my eyes on you.]Nobody just shrugged his shoulders and sat down on a nearby rock. It quickly morphed into a throne adorned with
Flames flickered on top of a building. The noisy streets buzzed as hover cars and the different sounds of Venta's Nightlife entered the ears of the two newcomers who appeared out of nowhere from the swirling flames. The orange haired woman clicked her tongue as she dragged the beaten body of a blonde man covered in bent alloy armor.The glare she gave him was so intense that it could even melt metal, "I can give you to the guild right now, But... I'm tired of following orders from those old idiots. If you offer me a better deal I'll reconsider our standing." She said as she stabbed her flaming great sword on the hard concrete. Spewing flames that could even turn the ground into charcoal.Alex groaned as he sat up and leaned his back towards the concrete wall. "What?" Solemne furrowed her brows, seemingly irritated. "Gold, Credits, whatever. I'm offering my power if you can bring out the money." Alex however chuckled, "Hahaha, Fine Magitech will pay you whatever you want as long as you
She held her chin, "The flame on those chains looked like pure hellfire. The chains themselves are perhaps some kind of demonic seal to trap it inside a vessel. Angelic Binds?" She mumbled to herself as she walked in circles. "It doesn't make sense. What about those space cracks." She frowned as she was lost in her own thoughts. "Umm, About the deal." Alex said interrupting Solemne's train of thought.She was anchored back to reality. Her eyes darted towards him, "You're right, there's still plenty of time before she gets consumed by the demon. I will help you, but not officially. I will deliver you to the guild. I hope you won't speak until your owners come pick you up." She said at Alex who was stretching his tired body. He nodded his head, "I'll manage." Solemne gave a satisfied smile, "Don't break easily now." She said as she gathered Mana on her hands. A flaming magic circle with the image of a Flaming sword that spun endlessly appeared on the ground they were standing on.His vi
Atop the towering skyscraper, on its highest floor that overlooked the entirety of Paradise City. Two men looked down at the glowing street filled with all walks of life. They squinted their eyes to not be blinded by it's neon beauty.The thin man in a black suit, his eyes were a little baggy. His legs felt like it was strapped onto heavy iron bars, stepped back as he looked towards the bulky man beside him. He was covered in a myriad of scars. His poor attempt of covering it with tattoos and a long sleeved black shirt only increased his imposing nature. The thin man finally spoke brining life to the smoke filled room."I apologize for all the snags uhh...Mr. Baldr. As soon as we fix things we can procure the "resources" you ordered.At the moment we can only entertain you until we get the amount of Substance-M needed." The thin man said as he opened a bottle of whiskey. He twirled his glass as the two cubes of ice swam in a brown liquid. It filled the room with an earthly aroma. He o
The sound of the radio echoed in the small black car. Nex opened her eyes once more, she was greeted with a sight filled with Lish green trees. All sorts of Flora and Fauna were scattered across this area. She was surprised and looked towards Nick but he was dozing off like an old man.Blair on the other hand answered what's on Nex's mind. "Ms. Alessandra has been collecting Flora and Fauna in this territory just outside Paradise City. It's away from both people an
Incessant rhythmic beats that assaulted their ears, echoed across the bar. Flashing lights and Holographic effects littered the already cramped place. The people waved their body along with the music as they drowned themselves in their choice liquor.Some were swaying for a different reason. Yet as if driven by a mysterious force kept downing on glass after glass. Getting swept by the atmosphere, most of the people did the same pouring another glass. Their loud voices barely audible as the top 50 songs of the time played on repeat for hours on end. The others bobbed their heads, while the others sang along loudly. Merrily distancing themselves from their mundane life.However the duo at the calm part of the bar were just laughing as they got drunk together. The two women were dressed really stylishly. The one on the left was Nex, wearing a black sweater, her sleeves folded right before the elbow, coupled with black pants. Her worn shoes replaced by a branded white running shoes. She w
"It's been really quiet." She followed after showing a trace of melancholy on her smiling face. "You kiddies really grow up so fast." Nex wiped the tears of laughter on her eyes and said, "Your not that old." Only to get chopped in her forehead. "Don't say old!" The two giggled at one another and picked up a bottle of half filled beer.The two clinked their bottles together as they gulped down another bottle. "If it wasn't for you I would've been Magitech's lapdog forever. I wouldn't be able to have fun like this if it wasn't for you guys." Nex said in all seriousness. Miri ruffled her hair as she sighed, "Don't think about it too much. I'm glad that you're now a proper adult." She said as she looked at Nex proudly. Nex scratched her cheeks awkwardly as sighed.Nex smiled ruefully, then as if a bolt of lightning struck her she slammed her palms softly on the metal bar. Her eyes lit up in reverie. "Which reminds me, How are those red haired triplets? The ones you brought to the orphana
She stayed for a while to chat up with Nex but eventually she left as if she was quite in a hurry. "Come visit the orphanage if you have time." She said as she left. Nex sighed as she downed another glass of Death's Gambit.Naj raised her head scratching her cheeks awkwardly, "It's okay Nex, You'll have plenty of chances next time." Nex groaned, "Damn! I even wore makeup too." Naj patted her on the back, "It's okay, this is a bar Nex let's just party it away. If you think that's still not enough we could go to the nightclub near here." Nex shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, maybe you're right." She looked towards the bartender and ordered a lot of drinks. The two screamed as the downed their shots of tequila.Meanwhile Miri was walking on a slightly narrow alleyway towards the slums, where the orphanage was. The lights that illuminated the place were dim. Filled with broken down buildings and graffiti everywhere.A lot of people were outside this time of night, the slums were especially l
The trio circled back towards the entrance while celeste blabbered on about the buildings architecture and defenses. "Since you are guests of Sir Nicholas, I bet you already know that msot of the artifacts here are the real deal relics from the age of gods, the age of magic and so on and so forth."She said not notocing the glint on Nex's eyes. "Most of these artifacts are have actually been used to fend off the invaders during the war. Some were even personally used by the twelve." She said as she pointed towards a large golden shield and a golden spear with its tip burning with blue flames.
Celeste carefully trotted along as she approached both Nex and Setsuna. The slowly hid behind the bookshelves as she peeked through the books.While doing so she listened in their conversation. Nex picked up books on whatever the hell caught her interest. However her eyes never stayed on one book for too long. She sighed as she closed another dusty tome. "If Nova was here I'd already fed him everything in this library." She said shocking Setsuna. "Feed him? Feed him how? like a fish?"Nex scratched her cheeks but before she could answer she spotted a fresh pair of eyes staring straight at them with unconcealed interest. Her eyes gleaming in curiousity as she leaned in the shelves much closer forgetting that she was concealing herself."Well... for starters nova eats for some reason like the rest of us who needs energy to survive. I remember him telling me he's converting the innate mana residing on things to fuel his energy reserves or something. I don't know. I'm not too sure on how
Nex peered over the gilded gates widely open as they could be. She scratched her chin as she looked around only to see gigantic shelves that towered over her containing various amounts of books. Rows of them that seemingly span towards infinity warding of any sane person who would wander the halls of vast knowledge.Ranging from dusty tomes to the more wierd and eccentric stuff like a crystal ball that could help them see the original owners memory. All of it were guarded by armed guards patrolling and keeping an ever watchul eye filled with vigilance.She turned around and saw various items incased in glass, while also engraved in glowing red magic circles. Setsuna stared at Nick once more and tilted her head as she eyed all the thing all around them. "This place is a library right?"Nex on the other hand approached the desk as her eyes darted all over the place seemingly impatient to just out right steal the things that caught her eye. Nick sensed this as the facepalmed and stared a
Once the golden Barrier disappeared the entirety of the Hidden Grand Library of Alexandria was unveiled to them. Golden sparks of light scattered across the air creating a majestic sight to behold. A huge Fortress lay before them gilded in all its glory. Unblemished, Untainted, and Unseen by the unworthy. A towering drawbridge slowly lowered in front of them.What awaited inside was a large plethora of knowledge awaiting to be seen by curious eyes. NEx coudn't help but whistle in surprise, "You mages really know how to go all out." Nick coudn't help but scratch his nose in embarassment from her words. "Well, Faust can be a little eccentric but that man knows how to make things a little more grand than what they should appear." He said as he led the two inside the castle in the middle.Setsuna looked around and saw huge watch towers and wyverns chained beneath them. Gigantic ballistas that watch over the cosmic skies, ever watchful of potential intruders. On the pathways were infantrym
"One of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. Created by the nine goddesses of arts themselves. Regarded as the capitol of knowledge and learning. The central gathering of all the most rare and mysterious books in the world. Not only that everything in that place is disaster proof, especially fire!" Nick said as he stared the the two slacked jawed women. "I welcome you two to the Great Library of Alexandria!" He said as he spread his arms wide. He then slowly panned towards Nobody who was nodding along at the grandeur. "Can we find records of you in there?" Nick asked as he crossed his arms scrutinizing every movement of Nobody. However he just shrugged, "You'd be extremely lucky to find it when it's buried in all these books. However I'm fairly sure you've read most of the library's contents don't you Nick?" Nobody said as he tried to step inside however a huge golden barrier suddenly appeared out of nowhere barring his entry towards the library. Nobody fr
The two finished touring around the Bazaar. They found Nick waiting for them at a bench with his arms folded in annoyance. The moment he saw them he raised his eyebrows, "So Did you enjoy the 'Bazaar that looks like the Golden Heart?'" He said as he scoffed. Nex scratched her cheeks, "Well, although it looks familiar. It's different enough to warrant exploring. Thankfully the roads are familiar to not get lost..." She said as her voice slowly shrank. "That's the point! Familiar enough not to get lost. But different enough to merit exploration!" Nick shouted at them. Setsuna crossed her arms and chimed in, "I still think it's a little lazy." Nick shrugged his shoulders, "Hey! if we could save money by just doing a simple palette swap and a small and minor adjustments then more power to it." He said as he snapped his fingers and showed Nex al the ingredients have been bought. "So should we summon it now?" Nick looked at Nex. However before she could answer, Nobody popped out of the sha
"It seems that only you are capable of summoning whatever this thing is. Hopefully not something truly bad. Who gave you this anyway?" Nex Shrugged her shoulers. "Where's Nova when you need him. His name is Nobody, and as far as I'm concerned... He's the one who has helped me the most in this long and arduous journey. He gave me those pages." Nick scratched his chin, "Not exactly a helpful pseudonymn." Nex shrugged her shoulders, "I feel like he's sort of sealed at the moment. There's like a time limit he could manifest himself. He is a tall man in a black suit, his face covered by the shadows, has glaring and ominous yellow eyes? This is his symbol." She said as she snapped her fingers and recreated Nobody's symbol.A Glowing Red Circle filled with undecipherable inscriptions that wriggle as if it's alive. In the middle of it all was an Inverted Ankh Painted with blood.Nick shook his head, "It's definitely not an egyptian god nor a mage of the same discipline. No one would dare use
"Well you're in luck kiddo. All the shit listed here is available in The Wiccan Bazaar! I just hope that this thing doesn't eat your face, Setsuna's, or mine!" Nex shrugged her shoulders, clearly not giving any fucks. Setsuna on the other hand took the page from Nick's hand. Then immediately passed it back to Nex, "Yeah... Have no idea what the fuck any of these mean." She said as she leisurely sipped her coffee.Blair handed them their breakfast as she prepared Nex's and Setsuna's clothes. "Eat up! It's gonna be a long day." He said as he and the gang chowed down on Blair's amazing breakfast. After a few minuites of lazing about Nick finally stood up and drew a magic circle on the ground. "This portal is technically encrypted and it changes on a weekly basis." He said as he snapped his fingers and a portal appeared beside the magical circle. Blair put her hands on her hips as she stared at Nick, "You do know, I have to clean your messes right?" Nick scratched his cheeks, "Uhh, everyt
Nex woke up feeling refreshed more than usual. She stretched her body and did some light exercise. She was no longer plagued by jolting pain everytime she woke up. She sucked in a batch of fresh air as she excitedly exited her room and almost bumped into blair on her way out.Blair's eyes were wide open as she stared at Nex awake and about. "Oh my, It seems you woke up on your own today Nex." She said as she put her hands on her hips. Setsuna came out of her door a little groggy, but awake nontheless. The moment she looked to her left and saw Nex energetically standing in front of her door all lucid, her jaws dropped. She tried pinching her cheeks only to wince from the pain. "What the hell? Am I in some kind of mirror dimension?" Nex chuckled, "Hey! no matter how thick my face is, I could still get hurt y'know?" Setsuna shrugged her shoulders, "Can you blame me? It's like a rebranding. It's almost freaky." She said as she moved towards the cupboards and start to brew herself some co