Volume 2 - Chapter 6: Time and memories.

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As the events occurred with the barrier being shattered, the group of girls stayed behind and watched the spectacle occur with Rain being thrashed into the clouds…

‘Oh no….Why am I so weak...’

‘Rain...’

‘Why….’

….

The girls looked at the darkened sky and saw a swirling vortex form with lightning clashing together at the center. They noticed the magician no longer held Rain but was simply floating at the side of the vortex. As the vortex accumulated in density, the lightning strikes grew vibrant until it dispersed into multiple clouds and a body clad in lightning appeared.

The body had lightning sparks radiating from the outlines of his body and the golden haired glowed vibrant with the luster of gold.

Suddenly, the man clad in lightning sped towards the magician in a blink of an eye, encasing the magician in lightning and burning his entire body rapidly. The magician’s skin began to darken as the voltage destroyed the cells within the magician. With the magician nearly dead, the two sped towards the edge of the city where they floated above the endless fog.

Within a split second, the man in lightning, dropped the eradicated man into the mist and charged towards the dead body.

As the girls saw the fight end within a few seconds, they saw the two drop down below the cliffs and into the unknown. They attempted to run but suddenly the ground erupted in quakes. The thundering punches of Rain resounded through the area and even at the village settlement, they wondered what was causing the enormous earthquake. For three hours, the punches continued and finally the quakes had ended.

The city was damaged and the girls wanted to go after Rain but they had to settle this situation with the city damages. City damages were approximately around 57% with the city walls and buildings full of cracks. The girls had to stay regardless to help with the city repairs and slowly each one of them cried a little inside.

With this event that occurred, many others reported this event to the Kingdom of Algarun, alerting several others including the King. The King sought those that were powerful, thus sending a unit to investigate the City of Evercliff for any location of the fighters. With no luck, the King continued his search for great warriors. Within 5 months, the kingdom will host their annual tournament in search of great warriors to lead the battlefield that will occur in a year.

As the people spread the word about the event, a lot of rumors accumulated everywhere. Many of the rumors however alerted the Apostles and they set forth for the City of Evercliff. The Kingdom of Klorim sent their spies to the City of Evercliff to investigate this rumor to see if it were true. Many others spoke of the story that occurred where a man clad in lightning defeated a dark mage. They spoke of the Dark magician being a man that specialized in death and necromancy, spouting more rumors about the fight. Even as they fought, the people wondered if the man was Rain or not because Rain was but a simple man that had amnesia however they spread his legend as the man of lightning. A man whose fast as lightning and strong as the strikes that come from the clouds. His name had become a legend and his story expanded.

With Kimuro heading towards the Village settlement after the tournament, he spread the story to the villagers. The girls, however were busy training and by the time Kimuro arrived, the girls had already set out on their journey to the dungeon…

For Klain, he looked at his life and completely did a 180 degree turn. He no longer became the cocky, arrogant bastard he was but he sought to strengthen the power of the mercenary HQ as the city was damaged. He became one of the prominent leaders and he finally found a girl whom he could love freely. Klain nearly died because he clearly underestimated the dark magician and who knows what would’ve happened if he fought Rain. Klain finally went passed Neiru and found a reasonable woman that he could love for himself. Neiru congratulated Klain and his wife on their marriage and the two became prominent figures in reconstructing the city. It was a bad time for the city to even think about marriage but they were happy for Klain’s sake and this increased the morale of the city to rebuild and repopulate.

As for the girls, they continued helping with the city management and sought to help the city in their own ways. For Neiru, she continued to help with the military force, being the Mercenaries and trained the new recruits that came along. With Leia, she had received a letter from the most prominent academy in the world of Oryon. Only those that excelled in certain fields or affiliated with nobility can be accepted into the Orphis Academy. The Academy was renowned for their excellence in Magic and the study of the world of Oryon. Leia received the letter due to her brother, the King of Algarun, forcing her to enter the school rather than staying at a lowly city. Following Leia would be Neena, who excelled in Alchemy. She was given the letter of notice to enter the Academy after she had submitted her research papers on creation, matter, and magic. Even before Rain had arrived to their house, many of the girls were prominent figures in their own fields. Alina followed Neiru and became a Training instructor at the the HQ and taught the mercenaries new techniques and developed her own school. Shina received a letter from the Head Meikai (Head Priest) from the Temple located in the central capital of the country of Orylheim, a kingdom that is protected the sacred religion of Oryon. Shina will later become a prominent shrine maiden that vowed to protect the world through prayers and rituals. She will train to become a shrine maiden and seek guidance from Kami-sama. As everyone left to do their own part, they vowed to return once Rain showed up. Their lives continued to change everyday and they needed a change of pace since Rain had disappeared into the fog. The girls never gave up as they continued to further their efforts by moving on. Neiru would increasing the military power and strengthening the City with Alina, while Leia and Neena would increase their knowledge on Magic and Alchemy. Shina would increase her influence as a prominent figure in Religion and aim to become the Meikai. The girls eventually gathered enough force to rival an empire however as time passed, an Empire from the uncharted lands is slowly gaining forces to take over the world…

* * * * * *

After the events of Rain killing the magician, he finally wandered in the darkness and came across a hollowed tree and fell asleep…

As he abruptly woke up from the snarling wolves and a pair of fangs latched onto his arm, he screamed as blood gushed out from the holes that formed from the fangs. Rain’s body began to release adrenaline and he finally was wide awake. Rain ignored the wretched pain and bashed the wolf between the eyes, causing the wolf to stagger. Using the torn cloth, he wrapped bloodied hand and quickly made a run for it. As he ran out of the hollowed tree, he saw a forest encased in fog. Light from the sun barely managed to pierce the veil of mist and mist created patches of light throughout the forest. While running on ahead, the pack gave chase while alerting the rest of the wolves with an intolerable howl. As the wolves regrouped, the pack numbered 26 against one man. Rain continued to dash forward and his memories from the fight resurfaced as he ran forward. Memories of his tournament fights, and the encounter of the magician flashed by as he ran for his life and spotted a pile of skeletal bones under a patch of light. The pile of skeletons were probably the remnants of the soldiers that lead an expedition to the depths of the forest and went missing. The light shined upon the bones, lighting the equipment that they bore. The skeletons had their armors still encased around their bones and the swords were rusty but somewhat still effective. Rain spotted two of the rusty swords and quickly dawned himself with a sword in each hand. His left hand was doused in blood but he chose to ignore the pain and fight….

Rain in his mindset, knew that if he continued running, he would have ran into a bigger problem seeing as he was in a new area. Thus he chose to fight, where he had a minimal chance of surviving, how ever miniscule that chance may be. Quickly the wolves surrounded Rain and encircled the area reducing any chance of escape. Rain looked at his situation and wondered what would happen to the girls if he died. Slowly, his memories flashed by from when he awakened in a new home with no recollection of the past. He saw the girls, who looked so happy and cheery that he smiled as he was close to dying. The wolves snarled and bared their fangs while closing the gap between Rain and them. As they crept closer, the memories of his recent fight with the magician flashed by and he saw his entire body enveloped in lightning however he did not know how to use that power….

The wolves, taking no chance, lunged at Rain one by one. From Rain’s side, wolf attempted to bite off his right hand, however the wolf’s attack was parried by one of the swords. Using this, Rain initiated his counterattack. He lunged at the wolf that staggered after the parry and sliced off it’s two frontal limbs with his rusty sword. The wolves began their all-out assault but Rain, who created an opening from the injured wolf, ran ahead…

The wolves caught up to Rain and began lunging towards him while Rain continuously parried various attacks but several wolves clawed at his back. As the claws and fangs slowly attributed more damage, Rain began to feel his body lighten as Adrenaline flowed faster within his body. Rain slashed left and right to damage the incoming wolves and succeeded in harming 8 of the 26 wolves. His body began to slow down due to the increasing amount of attacks as he fought back. The damage was piling up and Rain tripped from one of the wolves that attacked his right leg. His body flung forward and Rain landed on his back, which singed with pain as the wounds were exposed to a burning sensation on the ground. Rain screamed in pain as his wounds were vibrant but the pain allowed him to keep his senses alive. As the pain continued, he barely stood up, using the sword as support and he wielded his two swords for one last time. The wolves encircled Rain as he clearly was injured and could not run anymore. This time, a more larger wolf stood forward and bared its fangs at Rain. While the wolf continued to bare his fangs, Rain used his right hand to initiate an attack but as he swung the sword, the Leader simply bit off the sword and broke the metal. Rain staggered as the wolf bit the metal with ease and he noticed that there were lines etched onto the wolves and beaming with a red hue of light….

Rain watched the spectacle as the wolves were in sync with their Leader and they all had red lines that gave a demonic aura. He held the remaining sword in his hand and watched as the Leader, slowly closing the distance between the two. Rain continued to stare at the vibrant lines that were formed around the pack of wolves and he didn’t know that his entire body began to change….

The similar lines were etched upon his body and two horns were arched at the top of his head while his entire face turned darker. His hair changed to a darkened color and grew longer. The hair was now vibrant with darkness and he no longer had his golden hair. A dark miasma clouded Rain and created a natural veil of darkness that surrounded him. His entire skin grew into a darker tone and his coursing veins shone vibrantly as his blood created the red lines on his body. The wounds had closed and were replaced by his darkened skin. Along with his skin, his arms grew longer along with his nails growing longer and sharper. His eyes grew sharper and had a red glint that signified his demonic presence. As his eyes changed, his entire viewpoint changed different, he noticed every single detail precisely within his surroundings. He noticed the dark fur that was on the wolves and noticed a single spec of dust that lingered on the floor. His entire height grew and his ears became pointier on both ends. Rain was surprised that his entire body was changing, however he could not move. His entire appearance was changing and he felt that his two of his teeth had grew longer. Rain grew a pair of fangs that perched out of the corner of his lips. The wolves cowered in fear as they saw the man transform into a demonic being. Even the leader, who was a strong adversary, acknowledged Rain’s demonic being and prostrated himself with his four limbs, in front of Rain. The wolves followed in suit as their leader was prostrating himself upon Rain.

After he had finished his transformation, he noticed the wolves prostrating themselves in front of him. Rain’s demonic aura engulfed the surrounding area and the wolves howled in fear. As he walked in front of the Leader that shivered in fear, Rain raised his hand and slowly approached the leader. The wolves watched as the man was slowly reaching their leader and they howled in remorse but it was futile. The man’s hand was above their Leader’s head and then suddenly…

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Rain watched as the wolf cowered in front of him in fear and he used his hands to caress the Leader’s head. The leader, expectant of death, was confused at the man’s actions. His fur was being patted and felt upon. The wolf arched his head to the side as the man continued to rub his fur. Rain got on one knee and began to rub against the wolf and his aura disappeared. The wolves were beyond confused as they thought their leader was going to be killed. Rain knew that his appearance changed but he couldn’t kill them. He felt a desire towards animals and he wouldn’t kill them….

After Rain had finished rubbing the fur of the wolf, he stood up quickly and began to examine his entire body…

‘I have dark skin...sharp nails...what is with these red lines...’ Rain looked upon his arms and saw that his skin tone had drastically changed. It was now a dark tone but it had the same physique as he was normally.

Rain raised his hands and began to feel his entire body and face. Rain felt his hair had grown longer and more stronger. He whisked his hair to see the color and noticed that it was an onyx color. He continued to feel his face and noticed the two fangs that perched from the corners of his lips. Then he moved onto his head and felt the two horns that continuously burned with heat. As he touched his horns, Rain felt no pain but he knew that it was really hot due to the heat it gave off…

The wolves watched in astonishment as the man that changed into a ferocious being, was now examining his body. The wolves began to howl amongst themselves as they communicated and Rain somehow understood them. As they talked amongst themselves, Rain continued to feel upon his body…

The wolves were talking…

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“Who is this man...He smells like us...however he is stronger…”

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“Man very strong, me respect man. Man fight stupid but now man seems too strong…”

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“.....The pack is scared of him...Hah! I could take him down…”

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Similar words were exchanged within the remaining wolves and the leader began to speak…

“He is so handsome~.....”

The entire pack looked at their leader and had astonished expressions. Even Rain couldn’t ignore the comment that the Leader made and finally spoke…

O_O ”W-w-what….did you say?” Rain spoke while stuttering towards the Leader who spoke in a dazed tone…

His eyes were bulging from his eye sockets as the Leader of the pack was undoubtedly a female wolf and her message was very shocking to Rain.

Rain straightened his posture and began to speak again…

“..I can..understand you all…I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU!?” Rain surprisingly yelled to the pack and the leader responded immediately…

“Ermm...Ah hmmm...Ignore my previous actions...my name is Youko...and we were starving and….my pack found you asleep and they attacked….Forgive them….” Youko, the female leader, bowed in respect and the others followed.

“Ehhh...I wouldn’t kill you guys...it’s just I was fighting for my life….I don’t know where I am…” Rain shrugged and looked around as he was in the middle of a foggy forest that was completely dense with vegetation.

The trees were packed together and patches of light barely passed through the fog, making the forest a good place for ambushes. The trees extended high above the fog and moss grew all over the roots, making this dense forest more mysterious.

With Rain’s new transformation, he could sense everything approximately within one kilometer in circumference around his surroundings. He felt the air circulate through the forest and sensed the small forest animals lurking in the shadows. His senses were enhanced by his “new” form and he noticed a lot of details within the forest. As he viewed everything, the female wolf, Youko, began to nudge at his leg and finally she spoke to Rain…

“...Since you are similar to us...we won’t attack you anymore...however we may need some help around our territory...our home is losing food and we need more food...something is killing our prey…” Youko sighed and grieved at her current disposition as the pack was starving.

Rain patted Youko on the head and began to say a few words of encouragement that made the wolves howl in sync around Rain. They were happy that someone was helping them but some of the wolves were still sceptical on Rain’s sudden appearance and could not easily trust him.

Youko ushered the pack, including Rain towards their home to discuss a few things about the their current situation. Before they left, the other wolves began to feast upon their dead brothers. Rain, who ignored the cannibalism that took place, continued to think…

...

‘These wolves...are so awesome...the fur feels fantastic...’

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‘I can’t believe I can understand them...and they understand me perfectly…

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‘My body feels so different...I look different...’

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‘How do I change back...what is going on...’

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‘This body...helped me...I don’t even know if I can change back...’

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‘Where is that voice...’

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…

...

As time passed, the group finally came to a gigantic rock that had an inward cave within its structure. The cave gave enough room for everyone to enter and upon entering, Rain was mesmerized at the inner workings of their home. The gigantic rock was basically hollowed out with the inside being the demonic wolves’ den.

After settling in, Youko introduced her pack and explained the reason why she became their leader. Before she was the leader, an alpha male resided in this area and controlled the territories. However they disappeared one night while on patrol and thus she gained full responsibilities of being a leader. She also explained that many other animals coexisted here but they left because of a demonic being. Her pack and a few others were the remaining demonic creatures that roamed the southern area of the Hernian Forest. Their lives continued normal but now a stronger being is hoarding the hunting grounds and taking all the prey…

Youko explained her current predicament in her howling voice and Rain listened diligently to fully understand the situation….

After listening to the story, Rain nodded in agreement to help the distraught wolves set forth to find the being that is taking their hunting ground. Rain, along with several wolves, walked slowly across the hunting grounds. Using his newfound senses, Rain continued to feel his surroundings and noticed every detail. He felt the air move diligently through the treelines and the different changes in the soil. Upon entering the hunting grounds, Rain noticed a huge imprint on the soil and knew instinctively that it was the one he was looking for. Wielding his remaining rusty sword, Rain continued with his small group towards the areas where the footprints grew in amounts.

As the footprints increased, he felt the air circulation change and none of the small animals roamed in this certain part of the woods. The air continued to change drastically and the small group of wolves growled in anticipation as the light grew dimmer in this part of the area. Upon walking for a few minutes, Rain saw the reason why their hunting grounds was so empty. A 5-meter tall Troll was devouring the animals that roamed their hunting grounds and somehow the wolves could not smell the troll. Apparently the troll secreted an aroma that blended with the environment. Using his secretion to his advantage, the troll could endlessly roam the area without worrying much about the wolves that dominated the hunting grounds…

The wolves were baring their fangs to initiate their attacks but Rain waved them to wait. In his mind, everything was moving too quickly….

First he had arrived to this foggy forest, then attacked by the wolves and nearly died. Suddenly, he transformed and became what he is and he cannot return back to normal. He looked at his predicament and began to think of the voice that spoke to him during the tournament. His memories flashed by vibrantly and he watched as the memories replayed within his mind and he saw the movements he did. Slashing exponentially and moving with ease, Rain won through his matches perfectly, disregarding his dodging tactics. He felt the rusty sword in his hands and closed his eyes once more. Then he thought of the memories that appeared when he was unconscious. Rain saw the memories of his past...being a boy within a prominent Japanese family and remembered his techniques that he had always practiced with his shishou. Then he saw the movements of his shishou, where his teacher moved quickly and struck with immense force against his opponent, Rain/Souma’s father. Rain felt the water-like movements flow into his body and managed to replicate the skill. Upon doing this, a mark appeared on Rain’s left hand and the symbol lit up in a blue luminescence. The sword began to change as the blue light appeared. It grew longer and blue symbols appeared onto the blade. The symbols avoided the rusty areas and placed themselves upon the metal….

The six wolves that were with him stared as Rain’s sword began to emit a blue light. They stared at the blue symbols that appeared on his hand and all over the sword. Finally as the process ended, Rain opened his eyes and once again stared at the troll that was too busy eating to notice them. Using the element of surprise, Rain ordered the wolves to go directly for the legs and they reluctantly listened since their Leader told them to do so. The wolves scoffed at Rain and ‘started’ to attack. Rain simply ignored the comments they said and lunged towards the back of the troll. The wolves were astonished as Rain reached the troll within a split second while it took them a few actual seconds to reach them. Rain initiated the first attack and sliced at the two joints around the shoulders of the Troll. Upon doing so, the troll yelped in agony as the strike marks singed with pain. The wolves finally arrived and bit across the troll’s legs. The troll began to wail in pain and tried to stomp at the wolves that attacked. Rain, while still on the troll’s back, held onto the neck as the troll wobbled left and right. Rain called out a few commands towards the wolves to get out of the way but the wolves simply ignored Rain and continued their assault. The troll moved slightly and managed to pry Rain off his neck. The troll, finally being freed from Rain’s clutches, grabbed one of the wolves and lifted him into the air. The wolves howled and attempted to bite at the troll’s legs but it was futile.

For the wolf that was caught, he cried in fright as he was lifted into the air. The wolf howled in a sorrowful manner and the wolves attempted to lunge at the Troll’s arms but they could not reach the arm due to the troll’s swaying movements. One of the wolves looked at Rain and howled for his attention but Rain simply ignored them as they had ignored his commands.

“I don’t know...you guys didn’t listen to me…” Rain spat out a dreadful comment and the wolves howled as they were utterly stupid.

The troll began to raise the wolf towards his mouth for consumption but as the wolf was moments away from being eaten, Rain had already counterattacked. Feeling the air, Rain leaped forward and struck downwards at the troll’s hand that was holding the wolf and slicing it completely through. Upon doing so, it severely damaged his rusty sword and now the sword had cracks all over it. The troll wailed as his hand was severed from no return. Tears and snot began to form as the troll was in pain….

Rain leaped easily to one of the surrounding tree branches. His form gave him excellent maneuverability and he felt natural doing so. Upon the standing on a branch, Rain gazed at the troll and found its weakness. With his senses, he felt the troll’s weakest link upon its body and had to strike. There was an indention upon the forehead of the troll that signified its weakness and Rain had to aim for one strike as his sword would not last.

As the trolled wailed in pain, it continued to flail its arms in a frantic motion, causing Rain to become cautious. He had no proper way to approach the Troll’s forehead and he continued to search for the opportune moment. Suddenly, his surroundings slowed down. The wolves were running away towards a safe distance as their brother was saved and the troll’s flailing arms moved really slow. Rain saw his chance and it was now. For one split second, Rain leaped forward towards the troll and then…

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Rain had finished the job within a split second. Rain was already on the floor but his sword was struck between the troll’s forehead and the troll immediately stopped all movements and passed away quickly. The indention on the forehead was the closest to the troll’s brain thus rendering that spot its weakness. Rain walked to the wolves and he was engulfed in howls and cries of thankfulness. However Rain looked at them with a piercing gaze…

“Don't...ever disobey me...listen to me next time.....…” Rain’s tone grew heavy and his red eyes lit up within the dark area.

The wolves immediately nodded and cowered in fear. However, Rain was utterly confused. His personality began to change as he stayed in this form. It was as if his emotions were continuing to develop or if anything, return to normal before his memory loss.

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As they returned to the den. they explained everything. Youko was really happy that they made it alive and Rain had defeated the beast. She licked him on the lips and Rain stood there confusingly and the wolves growled at Rain. However the wolves that were with Rain, told their brethren to never anger Rain. They gossiped about Rain’s superior movements and his demonic threats….

Their lives were finally getting better and Rain decided to stay with them for a while. Youko and the wolves didn’t mind as he was their saviour, so Rain stayed for a few months….Their hunting grounds were returning back to normal and the surrounding animals began to repopulate. For Rain, eating was not a problem as he could eat raw meat since he had no choice but to survive like that. His body however did not mind the raw meat and it actually tasted good to him.

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As the months went by, Rain practiced with tree branches and founded that the mark on his left hand was lightly glowing and he began to practice his movements. Sometimes he would practice with the wolves and have them all attack him. However Rain was too fast and he would easily overpower them. After overpowering them, Rain sought to train by himself. He went to the pile of bones where he had found the sword and took the armor that was on them. The equipment was mostly leather and a few chainmail wrappings but it was better than anything. Rain donned the new equipment to replace his tattered clothes and he removed the cloth that was still wrapped around his arm. The wound had already disappeared from when he transformed so he didn’t need it any more. But as he looked at the cloth, he saw a strange insignia of some sort. It was an insignia, embroidered with circles and an intricate design. The insignia was from the Goddess of Darkness, Deralia and she sought after Kami-sama’s apostle under the orders of Garoth. However she simply followed reluctantly but she wanted to capture Kami-sama’s apostle because he bore a striking resemblance to Kami-sama. She wanted Kami-sama for herself but he was banished and never seen again.

As he stared at the designs, he stuffed the cloth into his pocket from the pants he got from the skeletons and continued on his practice.

For months, he stayed with the pack and continued to train by himself.

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As three months passed, Rain felt the need to explore and decided to leave the pack. Youko wanted to come along so she passed on her leadership to one of her younger brothers. Then the two set forth, north far away from the den and far away from the cliff where the City of Evercliff was being developed.

Time passed so effortlessly and the two continued forth, looking for something. They passed through the forest and found an area secluded from the forest. The fog even avoided this area as a giant earthen structure emerged from the ground leaving an entrance to a dungeon.

The dungeon had a magical barrier that had several glyphs that appeared. The glyphs resonated with Rain’s entire body and allowed him to pass through. However, Youko could not enter and was forced to wait outside. Rain attempted to exit the dungeon but everything was futile as the barrier trapped him inside. He had no choice but to venture forth and uncover what is located inside.

As he entered the dungeon, it was shrouded in darkness but Rain could pick out the large hallway that went farther past his kilometer range. Rain’s senses were at their highest and carrying one of the rusty swords that he had gotten from the pile of bones, he ventured forward.

Time ceased to exist within the dungeon and Rain felt the air grow colder as he continued onwards.

Moving forward endlessly, Rain managed to create a mapping skill within his mind but with Kami-sama’s interference, he no longer had access to his stats and windows until Kami-sama released it. With his mapping skill that he constantly used without any notice, he saw the inner workings of the dungeon. He saw the interior of the dungeon and noticed that there were many floors below….

Having seen the depth of the dungeon that went even further than his mapping skill, he continued forward. There was someone or something at the bottom of the dungeon that seeked Rain and he was going to find out any other way.

As he walked for days and even months, his body began to deteriorate. It survived this long due to his transformation but his body hungered for food. His pace began to slow and eventually he stopped and leaned against the wall. He felt the rocky wall and touched the several cracks that appeared. Rain began to hallucinate under his starvation and he saw the girls from Evercliff. He continued to gorge on the imaginary food that was laid out in front of him and suddenly he snapped back to reality. As Rain hallucinated under the guise of eating, he nearly ate his hand which bled under his mouth. He screamed in agony and shook off the blood and saliva off his hand. Rain was beginning to crack but he needed to continue on to figure out what was going on.

Rain barely managed to shake his uncertainty and stood up once more to challenge this farce...His mind constantly reminded him of food but he continued on. His entire body grew thinner as he continued his torture adventure. Endless amounts of food images flashed by but nothing happened and he began to cry. His tears were so miniscule due to lack of fluids which resulted in dehydration. His breathing became harsher and more huskier as time went on. His legs began to lose their strength and Rain eventually used the walls to hold and the sword as a support cane.

He clinged onto his life and Rain continued to hallucinate but his body would not give it to temptation. Rain’s entire body began to shake from the cold temperature but the air hadn’t changed. With the lack of nutrients, his body deteriorated from the inside and his body grew susceptible to any sort of temperature. A gust of wind would feel cold as ice and Rain felt his body quivering but his body could not stop. His mind finally stopped hallucinating and his conscience was wavering. He no longer could feel his senses and everything around him grew dark. His conscience felt fear as Rain ventured forward. Life was bitter and Rain understood it all too well. Rain began to thrash about with his measly limbs and attempted to cry but there was barely any fluids in his body. His tear ducts had already dried up and his skin was sticking almost directly to his bones. His clothes that he stole from the skeletons felt baggy and could not fit him anymore. Eventually his pants felt too loose and he tripped from the excess clothes….

Rain laid on the floor, despondent of any feeling, next to the sword he bitterly scoffed at his predicament. He yelled and shouted but barely any sound erupted from his mouth. As he laid on the floor, all of his memories flashed by as if he were to die any time soon. He saw himself as Souma, in japan reading the many books that his father had. After that, he saw that Souma was training himself to become strong with his Shishou. He began to quiver and felt the emotions that Souma had felt. Memories of his father, Hirumi and his shishou fluttered by in memories. Then his most recent memories with the girls came by. He saw Neiru and the girls laughing so peacefully and his emotions were vibrant. He felt hope and happiness as the girls cared for him even though he didn’t know much about himself. Then memories of the tournament flashed by and he felt the surge of emotions rush at him as the adrenaline took hold. After the bout with the magician, he felt sadness. He had killed someone and his emotions were vibrant and they echoed through his conscience. He felt the reality of killing a person and Rain felt guilt for the first time. Even the memories of Youko and her pack shined brightly as he was fighting for his life. The wolves lunged here and there and adrenaline surged through his body. His body began to slowly stop all functions and the last memories were of Souma and the girls he had met at the village. Their memories, feelings and emotions shone the brightest out of all the memories he had. His emotions were mixed with joy, happiness, fear and many more. They echoed through his minds and finally everything stopped….

Rain’s entire body ceased to function and he laid there on the floor with a smiling face. His entire body began to decompose and he felt nothingness. He was dead….

For a long time, Rain had continued in the dungeon, seeking a way out. His entire body had collapsed and his memories of his life flashed before him.

Rain had died and his mind floated into an eternal void….

Finally.

He spoke....

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