Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 972: From The Jaws Of Oblivion

The mothers’ bodies could not be freed; they’d long since fused with their chains, and, without them pinned to the spine of the world, all magic on Atlaris would cease to exist. Even so, Umbra had a plan–one she’d brewed in her mind from the moment she’d laid eyes on exactly whom Nerva had her make. At first, she didn’t recognize him as he was twisted by the goddess’ influence, not to mention the gap in her own memory instilled by the witch.

”Our bodies will remain here, nurture this world until it is time for it to naturally decay.” Tugging on her chair, Umbra looked deep within Raven’s eyes. A sense of longing lingered behind her empty gaze, a mother who’d finally seen her son after he’d gone away for a long time. ”But you can carry our spirit; within you lies, I–Tatiyana Umbra, your flesh mother. Nightsilver, your soul father. Freed of your father’s darkness, the demon lord of past time, your only horror is that speck of Nerva within your soul, but even so, the gap left in the absence of the demon lord should be enough for us all.”

”For all of you?” He asked.

”You are part human, Raven.” Illumina’s finger reached towards the hero, but the chains prevented her from touching him on his heart. ”No other can handle the weight of the fragments that make you whole. A dead god, a demon, a fae, and then there’s you–the human. The thing that makes you smile, the thing that makes you whole, and the thing that lies open like an open door, radiant with the light of infinite potential.”

”Be proud,” a snicker from much further ahead pricked up Raven’s ears. ”You’re human. Heard that before?”

”Yeah...but how do you–”

”For all their faults, your people survive, Raven. Not because it is your nature to do so, but because even in darkness your kind clings to hope. Some give up and die, others persist and survive.” A flaming gaze pinned the hero from afar as Fiera, the mother of flames, smirked at the curious admirer. ”So make your choice: accept us and adapt, see if you can withstand the power of the primordial mothers.”

”Wait! What do you mean, adapt?!” Mel asked, her heart shrinking at the mother’s word.

”You wanna rescue us, and we want to be rescued, but can you withstand eight giant souls being crammed within your own? That is what I’ve asked.” Fiera’s words couldn’t have been clearer.

The burden of the mothers’ souls would be impossibly immense. Not even Nerva could fully subdue them all at once. As part of the very world created by the Creator, they were in the truest sense part of Atlaris just as much as Nerva. Their standing would’ve been just as tall had the wicked goddess not imprisoned them.

”I...” Steeling his heart, the hero heaved a sigh and stepped forward. ”I’m ready.”

”I know you are. Those powers you lost by surrendering your demonic part gave way for what you were truly meant to host. The hero we all needed, and the hero Nightsilver failed to be. Alas, his son will succeed where he didn’t.”

”I wonder...” Looking up at Umbra again, Raven truly hoped that she was right. ”A dead man, who knew we’d all be relying on someone like that to make the right call? Now, let’s hope that he was right.”

Without wasting any more time, Raven held out his hand and grabbed a link of the chain binding the mothers together. The metal was acidic and cold to the touch, burning him at the time and freezing his fingers. Alas, the sensation didn’t last long, for the mothers closed their eyes and let their essence flow through those links and into the young man’s heart.

Feeling the first wave of exhilarating strength and the seasons, Raven gasped as his senses were quickly overwhelmed. Dropping to his knees, he kept his hand on the link, trying his best to not pull away from it. Burning flashes of light quickly filled the darkness as the mothers were escaping from their binds; every link was flashing the hues of spring, fall, and the winters. Making their way, link by link, into the hero’s tight chest.

”Uahhh...” Gritting his teeth, Raven tried to breathe with his mouth, and yet his chest felt like it was collapsing the more he tried. ”I-I can’t breathe–AGHHH! HGHHH!!”

”RAVEN!” Smoke emerged from the burning flesh of the hero’s body, urging his companions to rush towards him. Only to be flung back by the force of heat emanating from his chest. Like Umbra’s silver veins, his nerves began to glow, but they also burned like the mother of flames’ entire body.

Bluzzteria, the mother of cold and furry creatures, her essence fought against Fiera’s heat, while Aurellia’s raging storm was brewing both a blizzard and a blazing fire within the hero’s soul. Held together by the primal strength of Natura and Beasteria–the mother of nature, and the mother of courage and beasts–Raven felt some relief return to him, but in just a flash, the strength was gone and so was the buzzing all around him.

His vision went dark, and his back was charred like coal while frozen over at the front. Not a limb of him moved, and the same held true for the now empty bodies of the fae mothers. Finally, as the winds around him settled, Mel was the first to try to get closer. Her eyes quaked at the thought of losing Raven, and as she turned him around with a trembling hand, that fear turned to a nightmare.

”N-no...NO! NONONO! NO WAY!!” Grabbing him by the arms, she shook him about–or at least his corpse. Yet cold to the touch and not breathing at all, she raced her mind trying to come up with a solution. ”This...This is just a dream, right?! Athenia said our spirit is here, so his body should be alright, yeah?!”

Quickly turning around, she was faced with stunned looks from all of her companions. None of them had grasped what just happened, and even if they did, their minds refused to accept what was right before them. That until...

”Aghhh!” Coughing out loud, the hero finally opened his eyes. A bit startled, Mel let go of him, still struggling to separate truth from nightmare. ”Stop fighting in my head. I can hear you old ladies...”

Coughing up some more, he wiped his lip and tried to get up but failed. Mel and the others quickly rushed over to help.

”So, how did I do?” Raven asked, his eyes bloodshot and his body barely held together by the sheer stubbornness of his heart.

”You stupid idiot!” Hugging his tight, Mel exacted a pained groan from him.

Looking over at the rest from over her shoulder, Raven smiled flatly while his wounds slowly began to recover through Natura’s magic. A bit surprised by himself, he decided to check his stats for a moment, but to his further bemusement, the once encrypted spells were now all readable.

’Everything...’ With a dry scoff, he couldn’t believe what he’d just realized. ’That dead hero, by gods, he really knew that I could do it.’

All those spells he had gained after getting rid of his demonic part, everything was replaced by spells and abilities only the fae mothers could use as the primordial source of Atlarian magic. To even read it, he had to assimilate with them, and all of it had become possible because of that silver of Nightsilver and that dead man’s instincts guiding him.

”Don’t forget my part, sweetheart,” Umbra reminded, speaking through Raven’s lips.

The sheer absurdity of the moment had him stunned, unable to move or think even. If only it could’ve remained that way...

”YOU PESKY RATS!” But Nerva wouldn’t have it.