- In The Field After Maya Left -
"I don't get it, why did I hurt so badly watching her leave.?"
These were the words Chrona spoke as she watched Maya leave. She couldn't understand why she felt like this. It was unlike her to feel anything towards someone else. Chrona's mindset was simple. "People were temporary, something that came & left as she went by. Something about Maya drew her in, yet Chrona had not yet realized it. Knowing she wasn't going to be able to return to Khuvia, Chrona made her way to a town she had considered her home at the time. Her mind was clouded throughout her entire journey to the Town of Koro. Upon her arrival, the town was quiet. The feeling of solitude flooded over her as the usually vibrant town she knew suddenly seemed so lifeless. "That's unusual...?" She spoke softly, looking around as she walked through the barren town. The idea that everyone had just vanished eluded her, yet she refused to believe that. Chrona's path remained straight, looking for any signs of life. An unsteady breath began to escape from her as the fear of isolation set in. She glanced over at a bench, deciding it would be best to rest & think rationally. As she sat in silence, the thoughts of Maya began to drift subconsciously to her. Something about her—without being able to put her finger on it—drew Chrona's mind back to her childhood. Chrona's height was not something normal; rather, it came from overuse of her Temporal trait at a young age. Her body was unable to handle the acceleration, causing her growth to come to a stop. She holds a deep-rooted hatred for her size, as it was a part of her that stopped growing. The idea of any of her growth stopping roots back to a feeling of being incapable of moving forward. The feeling of staying tied down fills Chrona with the fear of staying weak forever. If she felt that her height translated to her strength, & such a thing being mocked was a jab at her being weak. That was the reasoning behind Chrona's incapability to stay grounded and why she refused to remain still at any point. Although this was the fault of herself, that feeling was still important to her. While still thinking back, Chrona's focus instantly snapped to a faint red glow emanating from a sewer grate. More than that, the feeling of bloodlust was pouring out of it like a flood. That sense tightened around her neck, choking her. Her hands began to shake; the fear was overwhelming—yet Chrona could never prevent herself from digging into things. She stood up to approach that overwhelming feeling that flooded into her with nothing but excitement. Chrona stood above the grate, looking down at it as paranoia began to settle within her. She crouched down, wrapping her fingers around the bars of the grate, lifting it enough to slide out of the way. She was careful to make minimal noise; it was clear that whatever was down there was dangerous.
Chrona dropped into the sewers, landing silently. As she gained her balance, she rose to look ahead; what met her eyes filled her with an indescribable disgust, fear, & an overwhelming dread. A giant mass of flesh floated in the air. In front of it, a frail man with short, messy white hair sat facing it. his back to Chrona. Her shaking hands rose to cover her mouth; this feeling was pure terror. She could feel the mana from the citizens leaking out of the mass. Every part of her wanted to rush in & attack the strange person, but she knew deep down that he was a threat, something not even she could deal with. She flinched as he suddenly stood up, his left hand rose to his face as laughter broke out from the silence. He reached forward with his right, stabbing it into the disgusting mass. His rough voice crept out, sending a chill down Chrona's back. "Such weak essence, it's pathetic. Even in collective, they still yield no true strength." Chrona nearly vomited before the sight, only being able to contain it through sheer willpower. Frozen with fear, she could only watch as the mass began to shrivel & shrink. His frail body began to gain muscle mass as he absorbed the flesh. His hand ripped out of the mass, dripping blood onto the floor below him. A wicked mana began to emit from his body, feeling more like the mana of a beast than a human. The darkness in the sewers made it impossible to fully get a grasp on the area around them. Chrona finally snapped from the fear, trying to turn & leave—suddenly, his voice breaks the silence once more. "Brat, if you value yourself, you will remain still." He turns to face her, & as his face becomes visible to Chrona, an immense wave of disgust & fear washes over her once again. His right iris was white, while his left eye had a black sclera with a red iris; his pupils were sharp like a cat's. However, his eyes were not what filled Chrona with fear; his face & body were covered in several mouths. He had two mouths on his left cheek & one mouth & one eye on his right. His neck had a mouth spanning across the front of it; within the black void inside the mouth, a red eye shone out from it. As for his body, a huge mouth was spanned across his chest from left shoulder to right hip. There were several other mouths & eyes across his body. Through the fear rooted deep within Chrona, she barely managed to whisper out. "Who... are you...?" A crooked smirk crept onto his face upon hearing her question. He began to walk towards her while she remained frozen in fear, his rough voice creeping out while his mouth remained closed. "Would you tell livestock to slaughter your name, woman?" She struggled to clench her fist; Chrona was furious about being labeled as livestock. Yet her fear kept her grounded enough to stay reasonable. "Nah... B-but I ain't livestock... So, o-once again... who are... you...?" His smirk grows at her resistance; he begins to clap while still approaching. "Impressive, you can resist enough to lash back." —He stops right in front of her, looking down with a cocky look—"Keres Ineri. Tell me, what motivates you to approach me so casually? Feeling a wave of pressure equal to mine, yet you still approach. " Keres turns his back to her, an eye opening up on the back of his neck to stare at her, awaiting a response. Chrona gathered all her courage to speak out, staring directly into the eye before firmly speaking. "Where are the townsfolk. I felt their mana from that... mass. So where are they!" Keres turns back around, facing Chrona with a taunting smirk, speaking in a cold, unforgiving tone. "Can you not tell? I know you felt that mana. Don't tell me you're that stupid." She looks down with a broken expression on her face. "All of 'em...they had lives, purpose." —She slowly raises her head, staring at Keres with a newfound determination in her eyes, breathing out softly, her shaky hands falling still— "Yet you ended that without a care ab—" He cuts her off, making a taunting expression towards her. "Damn straight. Honestly, it wasn't worth it. They had so little mana that Gluttony hardly gained any energy." —He leans forward, getting right in Chrona's face— "Looks like they didn't serve a good purpos–" Keres was cut off by Chrona uppercutting him, causing him to look up. He stayed silent as he simply lowered his head, staring at Chrona with an annoyed glare. She spoke with a firm voice, yet it was apparent that she was still suffering from Keres' Fear Factor "They're more than just a purpose. They all had lives, just like you." He put his hands behind his head, finding Chrona's rambling annoying. "Their lives are worth far less than mine." Chrona grits her teeth, staring at Keres with nothing but pure anger as he continued to speak. "Don't look so mad; they're helping a better cause now. Even if Gluttony didn't gain much from 'em, food is food at the end of the day... I do wonder something though, brat." He tilts his head with a curious look in his eyes. "How is it that you remember those townsfolk still? Even after they were devoured, you still recall them, yeah?" She backs up slightly, having been caught off guard by Keres' sudden question. "Y-yeah...? Why would I not remember them?" Keres reaches forward, putting his hand on Chrona's shoulder, which she instantly reacted to by pushing his hand away. "You interest me. Having your memory intact after Gluttony's effects is rather... interesting, to say the least." She looked at him, still furious about his actions. Chrona grabbed his shirt, yelling in his face. "Why!? Why did you kill them all! What did they ever do to you, huh?!" Her face displayed something different than anger; rather, it was sorrow. Chrona displayed an expression of utter defeat. "They were prey, I was their predator, nothing more, nothing less. The weak fail, the strong prevail; it's the function of this world. Surely you understand that much." —He watched as Chrona's anger began to return with a mix of despair—"Don't try it, girl. You surely have more sense than that; attacking me—blind with rage—will get you killed in a heartbeat. " Deep down, she knew he was right. The blind anger in her heart outweighed that tenfold, however. Without thinking, Chrona used her trait to strike forward, landing a firm blow to Keres' gut. The moment the action was taken, she instinctively blitzed back. The instant she was out of the way, a giant mouth with sharp teeth burst from the floor, biting down on the area where Chrona was. Keres spoke with a calm tone. "Your instinct is good. That ability interests me too. Tell me, what is your name, girl?" She regains her stance as she was still panicked from avoiding Gluttony. "Chrona, Chrona Volia. Remember that 'n remember it well." Keres put his hands in his pockets as he stared at her with a blank expression. "What a boring name..." She looked at him with a shocked face, abruptly calling out at him. "Huh?! What the hell kind of response is that?!" Chrona yelled out at Keres with a desperate tone. To which Keres replies by expressing a look of disgust as he spoke. "Dude, you're like, lame as hell..." She steps back in astonishment, gasping while covering her mouth with her hand. "HUH!?!" Keres thought to himself. "She seems more upset about being called lame than everyone here being consumed by Gluttony..." Keres clears his throat. "Just shut up. If you're trying to kill me, you're bad at it." He taunts her, clearly tired of her useless attempts. However, Keres was unaware of Chrona's potential. He would soon come to realize that.
Now being back to reality, Chrona activates Temporal once again. She rushed forward with more tactics than before. Chrona was fully aware of her surroundings & target, allowing her to act more carefully. Keres was still completely unbothered, knowing Chrona was incapable of bringing him down so long as he felt like entertaining her actions. "I've grown bored of your useless flailing." The moment Chrona's rush forward got near Keres, her senses vanished. Chrona instantly felt like she was nothingness. Wherever she looked, it was nothing; she couldn't feel, hear, or think, & she couldn't do anything. Chrona was truly nothing now. She had no body, no voice, no soul. This was the true essence of Keres' Gluttony. Chrona was inside an endless void with no form or state of being, only being able to feel terror. Outside of Gluttony, Keres stood now alone. "Hm... The feeling of her mana, it's weak, something to be drawn out. I'll let her grow a little before I take it in." Keres puts his hand forward; a mouth on his palm begins to spit something out. Chrona's essence reforms, putting her back into reality. She drops to the ground instantly; the panic of being nothing & then something once again was overwhelming. Chrona laid on the ground in shock of what just happened. The inside of Gluttony was incomprehensible to any living being; being within something you cannot comprehend was nothing a regular being could withstand. Chrona shook in fear, incapable of moving from the sheer terror struck within her. Keres stood beside her, looking down upon her while still clearly being annoyed. "Chrona, get up. You look like a loser." She looked up at him, still distraught from being within Gluttony. She spoke weakly, a confused look on her face "What..? What are you talking about..." Keres crouched down, grabbing the back of her hoodie to lift her back to her feet. He forced Gluttony's Fear Factor away, allowing Chrona to freely stand once again. She looks at him with confusion, which quickly returns to anger. She throws a punch to his jaw, which Keres caught. He glanced at her with a tired expression. "I've lost the thrill to fight you; drop it, why don't you? Those idiots are alive." She steps back, dropping her stance as she spoke. "Then that flesh? Why did it carry their mana?" He sighs at her cluelessness, putting his hand to his face. "They were devoured. Just like you, I spat them out. They weren't worth my time anyway. Devouring them would be a waste." He leaps out of the sewers, leaving Chrona alone within them. She looks down at herself in shock of the situation. "What the hell... just happened..." After regaining herself enough to focus, she jumped out of the sewers back to Koro Town. Sure enough, all of the citizens were there like nothing had happened. However, Keres was nowhere to be seen; his presence was entirely gone. She fell over instantly; a mix of panic & relief washed over her. On one hand, Keres was gone; on the other, he was somewhere else. There was no way to tell if he would be merciful anywhere else. As she thought deeper about him, she was caught off guard by a hand being placed on her shoulder. Chrona instantly turned, instinctively pushing away. As she looked up at who touched her, a sense of relief fell over her as her eyes met those of a worried villager. "Is everything okay, dear? You're shaking..." Chrona immediately stood up to present herself as okay. She spoke as if being rushed & nervous. "Yep! I'm fine, thank you, sir!" As fast as she could, she tried to divert herself away. Showing attachment was something Chrona despised doing. The man watched her walk away; he was worried for her but did not want to pry. Chrona began to walk through the town, making her way to her temporary home. She carefully avoided any more confrontation on her path, taking different paths so as to avoid citizens. Chrona arrived at the edge of town, and she lifted a piece of wood off the ground, revealing a hidden crawlspace. She leaps down into it & falls back onto a chair. Chrona looks around at everything in this hidden space. However, that was nothing to write home about. For someone who never stays in one place, a temporary home carries nothing more than essentials to survive. Chrona near instantly passed out; the exhaustion from Keres alongside the fear factor of Gluttony tired her out beyond what she could handle.
-Present Time-
(Khuvia Kingdom Gate)
An overwhelming fear washed through the gates as Keres arrived. He looked at the two guards with a smirk. Speaking softly, he requested they let him through. "I have someone to meet here. So if you'd please allow me to pass." Keres knew the guards wouldn't let someone with such a dangerous aura through. They spoke firmly in an attempt to hide their fear. "We cannot allow you through. I apologize, but I can feel bloodlust pouring off of you." Keres groans as he puts his hand forward, the mouth on his palm opening. The guards begin to panic at the unusual sight. "H-hey! What the hell is that?!" They both draw their weapons, preparing to apprehend Keres immediately. "I wouldn't approach me, gentlemen. Hold value to your existence, okay?" The two stopped in instinctive fear, unable to force themselves to move forward. Keres began to walk past them & into the kingdom. "Thanks for bein' so understanding, you two." Once he left their general area, Gluttony's Fear Factor released, allowing the two to relax. "I thought we were dead for sure... Who was that guy..." The left guard—Terence—covered his heart with his hand. He looked over to the other guard, Philip, with a paranoid look in his eyes. "We need to alert King Anami immediately! Stay here, I'll go warn him!" Terrence immediately ran into the kingdom towards King Anami's castle. Philip stood in his post, worried about Keres' intentions & the safety of those within Khuvia. Meanwhile, Keres strolled through the empty streets. Food carts were left unattended, shops were completely empty, and every door to every house was locked tight. Keres proudly walked around, taking in the sights of an empty kingdom—when suddenly a strange feeling filled his chest. He was instantly dropped to a kneeling position. His gaze slowly drifted up to Aurelion, who was now standing in front of him. Keres grins widely upon seeing the Sword Saint. "The Sword Saint? To what do I owe the pleasure of being chained down by your authority, Aurelion?" The Sword Saint looks down at Keres, sighing as he does. "That insatiable bloodlust pouring out of your vessel. Entering a kingdom with such a feeling is a threat to the civilians. Explain yourself immediately." With his words, a blue wave of mana flashed out into Keres, which forced him to speak under Aurelion's Authority. "I was lookin' to scare 'em a bit. The way those losers run when they sense Gluttony—it's hilarious." —Keres scowled at Aurelion due to his forced speech from Authority— "Can I leave now, Mister High-&-Mighty?" Aurelion released the restraint factor of Authority, keeping the restriction factor active to suppress Gluttony's Fear. "Please refrain from such actions in the future, Sin User, Keres." Aurelion turns away before calling out to the civilians that it was safe now. After the citizens began to return to their usual activities, Aurelion left & Keres began to look elsewhere in the kingdom. While still furious about the Sword Saint's intervention, Keres decided to devour something; it was only a matter of who. As he roamed endlessly through the kingdom, a strange mana caught his attention. A girl with bright pink hair stood leaning over a railing; she stared off into the distant forest with a look of longing in her eyes. A crooked grin crept onto Keres' face as he began to approach. A giant mass of mouths & eyes formed behind him within his shadow. The air grew cold between the two as his Gluttony Factor triggered. His arm lifted up, pointing his right hand towards the girl. Upon sending Gluttony to devour her, nothing happened... The girl turned to face Keres, looking at him with confusion. "Can I help you?" Keres' head jolts back in confusion; Gluttony being rejected was abnormal. His tone came out with obvious unease. "Uh- yeah, I noticed an interesting aura from you. What exactly is your trait?" The woman gives him an annoyed, knowing look. Her tone matched that exactly. "How stupid do you think I am? Your ability didn't work because I was aware of it. Jeez, even your lying is awful." (Keres' POV) She walked towards me, completely ignoring the effects of Gluttony that cover my body. Her gaze felt weirdly intense for her mana obviously being weaker than my own. It makes no sense that gluttony wouldn't work on her. "Listen, lady, I—" He was instantly cut off by her as she began to scold him. "Whatever you happen to be, it's obviously an evil force, so it won't work. Get lost before I alert enforcement of a crazed teenager covered in eyes & mouths running around trying to kill people!" Keres stares at her with a look of complete bafflement before speaking again. "You're a weird woman..." He instantly turned to start walking away, as he was annoyed still but knew Gluttony wouldn't work on her for whatever reason. She smirked to herself as he began to walk away, thinking, "What a loser..." She puts her hand forward, opening her System.
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{System}
[User: Harume Ellia]
[Class: Swordsman]
[Trait: Purification]
[Level: 24]
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[STR-22]
[INT-26]
[WIS-17]
[DEX-23]
[CON-14]
[Trait Stat]
[Understanding-28]
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-Chapter Seven: END-