[@Blah]
You produce 3 normal phantom slashes this time. The mid air bot deflects the three phantom strikes with three of its own normal parries, but rather than deflect the normal slash it maneuvers itself mid-air to intentionally impale itself on your sword. It then attempts to place you into a bear hug grapple.
[@Crimson]
"Ah! Sorry... I know I'm dropping a lot on you at once without much proper explanation... I'll try to explain everything the best I can. But no, we aren't going back in time. I'm speaking to you from the future remember? The 'me' you see right now is just a fragment of my own conciousness."
[The next bit will be mostly a refresher on the Emissary and some of the earlier events in the RP. If you remember all of that then feel free to skip it unless you just want a summarized retelling.]
"The Emissary is one of the aspects of the Old First, the very creator of this world, or rather,
all worlds in existence. The other aspect beside the Emissary is known as the Supreme Darkness. They two represent his creative side and destructive side respectively.
The Old First split himself into two, because he was growing stagnant. Getting tired of his own pointless existence of endless creation and destruction. To facilitate change, he split himself into two aspects. The Emissary and Supreme Darkness exist to fight each other for purpose of determining the fate of all that exists. In the event the Emissary dies and the Darkness wins, the Old First would destroy all of reality and leave nothing behind. If the Emissary were to win and annihilate the Darkness, the Old First would give in to his creative side, and create perfect realities, free of pain and strife.
Our group followed the Emissary and fought against the Supreme Darkness. We traveled to multiple universes, reclaiming lost souls and becoming stronger. However, eventually I lost faith that the reality the Emissary desired to create was really what was best for all existence. This doubt is what led me to making the mistake that the 'me' in your present time is about to make."
[@Overlord. There's an Andy++ sized wall of text and I am actually sorry.]
As you look at the book, it opens automatically in your hands. Upon looking at the pages, a surge of information is transmitted directly into you, coalescing as a dreamlike vision. Soon, it starts to no longer feel like a dream.
Soon, it starts to feel natural to you. Soon, it starts to feel like reality. It is reality. Jake is nothing but a dream.
"Hey! Kuro! Are you alright?" a girl's voice calls.
You open your eyes, finding yourself lying on the ground. A young girl with white hair is looking down at you with a worried look on her face.
"I'm sure he's fine, Shiro. It was just a slight blow from training, nothing too serious."
Another young girl walks up beside the second one. She has a rather unsympathetic expression, matching her callous tone of speech.
"But it wasn't just a light hit, Kura! Shira hit him really hard on the head! He even stopped moving for a little bit!"
Shiro points towards a boy standing a bit further back with messy red hair. He's holding a wooden sword. He begins to walk over.
"Huh, wait this is my fault now? Look, he totally could've blocked that if he wasn't busy dozing off. Besides he was only unconscious for like a second at best."
"Of course it was your fault! You're the one that hit him! And it was twenty seconds. I counted."
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, you alright Kuro?"
Shira offers his hand to help you up. You take it.
"I-I'm fine." you say.
"Look, you gotta be more careful when we're sparring. If this were a real fight and me or Kura weren't around, you'd probably be dead from an attack like that. Even Shiro knows how to defend with a sword properly."
"I know, it's just... A sword is such a dangerous weapon. I don't wanna hurt you accidentally... I don't wanna hurt any of you, or
anyone."
Shira sighs. Shiro looks sympathetic. Kura's expression doesn't change.
"Well the enemies we're fighting won't give a rip about hurting or killing
you. If you want to protect us so badly, focus on getting stronger so you can do it on the battlefield where it actually matters. And what, do you expect to just fight weaponless?" (Shira)
"H-Hey, isn't that a bit mean, Shira?" (Shiro)
"Shira's words may be cold, but they're the undeniable truth. If Kuro can't hold his own on the battlefield,
we'll be the ones stuck protecting
him instead. If we need to put ourselves at risk simply by bringing him along, then we're better off just leaving him behind." (Kura)
"Kura..." (Shiro)
"H-Hey..." (Shira)
"It's okay, Kura's right... I'll do what I can to become stronger. If we all have to receive a few scrapes and bruises, It'll be worth it if it helps us all survive in the long run."
"That's the spirit! Besides, a few cuts and bruises never hurt anyone." (Shira)
"You'd sure know a thing or two about cuts and bruises,
Mr. Butt Scars." (Shiro)
"Shutup it's on my lower back. Anyway, we all need to keep training if we ever want to catch up to Guré. The guy can take us all on without breaking a sweat. C'mon, lets get going." (Shira)
Years go by and you grow older. You fight countless waves of Darkness alongside your companions and win numerous battles. You learn unarmed martial arts from one of the worlds you save. You experience your first love, the instructor's daughter. You fight countless more battles under the command of Guré.
While on a solo mission to a peaceful universe you find yourself sitting on a hill next to a river. You hear someone approaching you from behind.
"Hey there tough guy. I see you're still one to appreciate the scenic view."
The familiar voice catches you off guard. You stand up and meet his gaze. You hadn't expected to see the man you've always respected and admired as an older brother for quite some time.
"Guré? Why are you here, did something happen? Am I needed elsewhere?" You ask.
"Nah, settle down. I just caught a break, so I came to check up on you. After all, I'm the one that proposed you for this scouting mission because I know how much you hate fighting. Despite being freaking amazing at it." (Guré)
"A few of the mortals in this universe and some others do possess a curious hidden aptitude involving soul procurement, but I've yet to see any implication that any of them hold a single soul from outside of their own multiverse. Can we really be certain such beings exist? After all, even Master wasn't entirely sure that-"
Guré cuts you off.
"AAAHHHH I didn't come here to talk about the mission or any of that critical stuff. I came to talk to you. I want to know all about the things Kuro's been up to during his travels. What kind of sights did he see? What kind of foods has he eaten? What kind of people did he meet?"
You smile. Guré always did know how to help you relax. You tell him about the many exotic beasts you've faced and the interesting techniques you've observed being used by the mortals. You tell him how you've observed countless unique biomes, and eaten so many different kinds of meat that you're even considering becoming a vegetarian.
"
Annd? How's the wife?" He asks.
"Haha! I'm surprised you even remembered the marriage custom. She's doing well and her universe is still safe. She's been living a simple life as a doctor and sometimes her stories are even crazier than mine. She wants us to have kids soon."
"I'm glad you managed to find a woman that can handle a romantic idealist such as you." (Guré)
"And what about you? Have you found someone able enough to capture a heart half as rebellious as your own?"
"Nah. The romantic life's not for me to begin with, but I'll probably never fall in love with a mortal like you have. I mean they don't exactly live forever, and it seems like even the tiniest thing can put their entire worlds in peril." (Guré)
"Julia's taught me that loss is something mortals naturally learn to cope with. And I'll always be there to protect her."
"And I know you will." he reassures you.
"As for me, the four of you are more than enough of a family to me. I often think it would be nice, you know? Me, you, Kura, Shira, Shiro. We could all live in a house by a river like this one. Maybe plant an apple tree right here on top of this hill. It'd be great." (Guré)
"And you're calling
me the romantic."
"Can it." (Guré)
The two of you sit there a moment. Taking in the pleasant scenery.
"Maybe I am Kuro... Maybe I am."
Everything fades to white.
Jake the dragon, that is to say,
you, the
real you, regains consciousness. You've reverted to your natural dragon form and are lying in a curled up ball on the ground.
[You're able to remember a good 100 year chunk of Kuro's earliest memories as if they were your own. They haven't affected your own sense of self in any unnatural way, and it's still easy to distinguish between his memories and yours. The memories are as impermanent as normal ones and can be forgotten naturally over time in the same way. While you can recall the methodology behind some of his skills and techniques, you're unable to put them to use without the same practical training and experience.]
[@Dragon]
As you burst through the door, the scenery you see is hardly a fitting for something with the name "relaxation room". The door opens onto a large balcony which pokes into outer space. Gigantic moving platforms can be seen floating far and wide. On top of one of these platforms in the distance, you can see both Kura and Kuro. It looks as if they're having a conversation about something, but they're too far away to hear even with enhanced senses.
[Holy F, Word counter says this is all over 1700 words. And with that Monstrosity, I'm going to sleep.]
