“What did they mean by inheritance?,” Jin Fang asked Zhen Liu.
Despite having been
“I’m not entirely sure…but I have a pretty good idea on what it might pertain to…,” Zhen Liu trailed off as he remembered the other inheritance he picked up from the village of Weirdbloods.
[Captain. Princess.]
“Huh?”
Breaking them out of their thoughts, Slug-at-arms floated over with the ball of blue tinted [Chaos] in his hands.
[We think you two have to touch it at the same time. At least, that’s the vibe we’re picking up.]
“Sounds about right…let’s do this.”
As brave aether warriors, Zhen Liu and Jin Fang were willing to go up against any trial to cultivate further…but that didn’t stop them from holding each other’s hands for support.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
As soon as these words were shared, the power couple touched the ball of concentrated [Chaos] and were stunned silent as they felt it’s power flow into every part of their body.
That stated, they weren’t the only ones affected.
[Whoa! I’m feeling…weird.]
[Like an entire century’s worth of accumulation is being jammed into your memories and muscles?]
[Yeah!]
[I get the feeling… we’re going to need to join up with the Captain…come on!]
[Aye, aye!]*2
…
[Papa…]
Terra was incredibly torn at this moment.
On the one hand, she was devastated that her father was going through all of this pain and suffering. In a moment that she wasn’t sure she could chalk up to bravery, grief or foolishness, her father performed the forbidden technique and became an embodiment of [Chaos] on the material plane.
While she understood that he had done this to protect Undertow, to protect her, she didn’t think he had to go this far.
But alas, that was just foolish emotions clouding her judgment.
On the other hand though, she was… strangely relieved.
Her father was going out on his terms, and no one else’s. Not only that, he was going to take down the very thing that had taken away basically everything he knew from him.
This was the one wish her father shared with her every now and again.
Not enough to make it her life goal too, but just enough to know her father was always thinking about this moment.
As she continued to watch her father struggle against the [Shadow Sovereign]’s fury, something inside her started to stir.
Literally.
At the edges of her vision, she saw several balls of light descend and merge with her father, and at that exact same time, she felt like something inside her was stirring alongside them.
She wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt familiar and strange at the same time.
And this strange stirring told her what she needed to do.
[I…I need to be by Papa’s side…he’s going to need my help.]
And with that decision made, Terra began to fly towards the most dangerous spot in the entire battlefield.
…
As Torta___’s massive form kept getting hammered by the [Shadow Sovereign]’s attack, his only form of support being the broken remnants of his kin’s statues, a sudden change occurred that began to tip the battle over into Tortal___’s favor.
Upon his massive back, one of the parts of his shell had suddenly begun to start glowing with a pale green light. As this glowing continued, a mark that vaguely resembled a jellyfish had begun to carve itself into the aforementioned section.
Once this carving was fully finished, Tortal___ began to feel a surge in [Chaos]…and hope.
And it was thanks to these two things, that Tortal___ began to push against the [Shadow Sovereign] once again. But this time, he was only using his massive bulk to resist the attack.
…
[Haha! I knew you could keep going, you old coot!,] Medusina teased, now being nothing more than a part of Tortal___’s psyche and physique.
[I…guess so…,] Tortal___ replied. [But I’m not…sure if just us will be enough…]
[Then it’s a good thing there are more of us here, ain’t that right, Puffer?]
[Indeed! Now let’s numb that pain of yours…]
…
A pufferfish engraving had begun to appear in spot opposite to the jellyfish engraving, and the moment it appeared, all of Tortal__’s pain began to fade away. He was still getting damage, but it wasn’t affecting him as much.
With their help, Tortall___ managed to take several lumbering steps closer to the [Shadow Sovereign] before having to stop once again.
The power boost provided by his lost friends was substantial, but it wasn’t quite enough.
Thankfully, more was coming.
As Tortall___ continued to resist the beam, two more patterns appeared on his shell, resembling a crab and a lobster.
…
[Come on, my fellow hard shell! Show them why we had the toughest defenses out of all the other knights!]
[I think you mean, “show them why you were tougher than the two of us combined”, Viceshell.]
[Same thing, Clobstar!]
…
Once these patterns had finished engraving themselves, Torrtalli___’s skin felt a thousand times tougher. The dragon force beam that was originally searing his flesh the moment it made contact had now begun to feel a lot less intense.
But alas, he didn’t have the strength to push back, nor the ability to determine the best way to distribute such power throughout his body…yet.
…
[You once told me that you wielded your shield with your heart, and it was that strength of heart that allowed you to not only weather my blows but counter them! So come on, vanguard, show me strength that surpasses even that!]
[To me, you said that you weren’t trickable because you always kept a cool head, and it was that cool head that allowed you to know how to position yourselves in the right ways to block the absolute worst attacks. Take it from me, you gotta be able to know how to move your body to attack too!]
…
A giant whale and a giant squid appeared in tandem on the left and right portions of Tortallio_’s shell, and with them came strength and intellect.
Every fiber and muscle in his body felt like they were now bursting with power, and he knew exactly how to focus all of his movements to create the single opening he needed.
As such, he began to step forward once more.
However, all this newfound power was pointless without the focus and ferocity needed to concentrate it.
…
[Remember when the three of us challenged you to fight, three on one? We thought for sure that we could take you.]
[But you showed us that, that even we were as fierce as raging rapids, that you could outlast us.]
[Outlast us is an understatement. He was down right fiercer than we were, that’s all!]
[So in the name of the Fang Brothers, show them what for!]
[I had the chance to stay by your side these last few centuries and you are one of the most resolute bastards I know. I envied you for that. But it also made me realize that you had a tendency to think too far ahead, instead of focusing on the things right in front of you. Sometimes…the goal in your reach, is better than far off glory. Makes it easier to put your all in that moment, ya know?]
…
[GRAAAAAAAHHHHH!]
As a hammerhead, a sawtooth, a great white and a marlin all appeared on his back one after the other, Tortallio_ felt a ferocity in his heart that he never felt before!
Emboldened by this surge of emotion, Tortallio_ picked up the pace and rushed towards the [Shadow Sovereign] with all that he could muster.
Pain be damned.
Dragon Force be damned.
Non-existentence be damned.
This stupid fucking mechanical bastard he DAMNED!
As these thoughts raged through his mind, Tortallio_ found himself within striking distance. Not enough to deliver a fatal blow, but just enough to create an opening.
But as he reached this final distance, he could feel his body starting to reach its limit…or so he thought.
At this point, all of the remaining Storm Knights that came from their remnants had all exhausted their strength and became one with Tortallio_ in his hour of need.
However, there was still one last Storm Knight.
But unlike the others, who had their legacies in the form of body parts, old weapons and other such things, this last one had a legacy in the form of a living, breathing child.
A child that who had been through everything with Tortallio_ and then some.
So when Shockheel finally arrived to say her piece to Tortallio_, her daughter Terra wanted to say something too.
Which is exactly what she did, after placing her hand on Tortallio_’s large and imposing back.
…
At this point in time, Tortallio_ realized that all of his old brothers in knighthood had somehow came back from the dead and gave him the kick in the pants he needed for centuries.
[Alright, Shockheel! Tell me what I need to-]
[Papa?]
[Huh?]
Which is why he was thrown for a loop, as he heard the last voice he wanted to hear in a place like this.
