Schemes In The Back And The Front.

(Changed the weight of Talos, he is now 2,500 tons. I took the Godzilla Titans density and scaled it down a bit.)

While Talos and Scrat dove deeper into the Forbidden Region in search of treasure, his mother turned to her daughter. Seeing how her son was doing reminded her that he still had one ally in their home world besides her daughter and herself. 

He may want nothing to do with her, but she would get every advantage for her child. If that meant meeting with a man who just may kill her on sight, she would do it. 

"Nyssrassane, sweetie, wait for me alright? I have someone to see." 

"Mom, you should not leave my Divine Realm. The birth of Talos weakened you as you broke your divinity of truth to do it. You need time to heal." 

Neasena shook her head. 

"He deserves for me to face him and he will want to see Talos again." 

Her daughter reached out and gripped her hand tight. 

"Be careful, he will not want to see you and he may become violent." 

A sad smile appeared on her mother's face. 

"Whatever he decides, I will deserve." 

With that, she left her daughter's Divine Realm as she had someone to visit. She owed it to him for what she had cost him. While her 'husband' was treating the physical and spiritual wounds dealt to him by her lover, she was free to move. 

Of course, his loyal retainers would try to keep an eye on her, but she was not a weakling. After teleporting to the Heavenly Realm where gods, Devils, Cultivators, mages, and all sorts of higher-dimensional beings resided, she appeared before a small hidden house in the middle of a giant forest. 

Dense Divine Ki flowed through the forest and a vast Gathering Formation spread for miles increasing the density of it. She took a deep breath as she walked toward the door of the hidden house. 

Before she entered the house, she closed her eyes and waved her hand over her body. Her white celestial robes were instantly changed into an all-black mourning dress. She steeled herself before she stepped inside the house. 

When she entered the house, she kept her head down in shame and regret. A deep male voice resounded in the house which she refused to look at. 

"You have a lot of nerve to show your face to me Neasena." 

She did not look up and fell to her knees. 

"I know. I cost you dearly Zhao Feng, and I will live the rest of my life in regret, but I come to you on my knees, help me." 

Not far from her, the man she was speaking to Zhao Feng was kneeling down before an altar. Incense was burning on it, along with a broken black and silver sword and a still intact mage's staff. 

A torn bloody robe was neatly folded near the items, but the biggest thing was where the alter was placed. It was directly below a large tapestry of another man. Obviously, someone important to Zhao Feng as he had yet to move from the shrine for over 5 years. 

For a cultivator like him that was a short amount of time, but he did not wish to be disturbed. Especially not by Naesena. Feng reached down and grabbed a Silver and black sword which looked to be the opposite of the broken sword. 

The katana was in a pure red crystal sheath that radiated an unbelievable sharpness. Zhao Feng placed the sword at his side and looked down at the kneeling goddess. 

"Look at me." 

Neasena did as he said and looked up. Tears were falling down her eyes as she looked at Zhao Feng. He looked young, extremely handsome, with long black hair, and a youthful face with a scar running down his right eye. 

(Image here)

He dressed in a black robe which seemed to be made of fine enchanted silk. He took a deep breath to control the rage radiating off him. 

"I told him time and time again you would bring him nothing, but calamity. Even then, he gave his life for you. I ask, why? What do you have to offer that he could not have found in any other woman? You were not a virgin, not young, you had 3 daughters with that bastard husband of yours, and he still fell in love with you. 

What did he see in you?" 

Neasena did not stop crying as Zhao Feng chastised her. 

"I will not say I understand your pain, I cannot understand it even if it cuts me deep. Because of me, Zhao Fang died. Your twin brother died for a used old goddess that brought him nothing, but pain. I did not deserve his love, but I cherished him the century I knew him." 

Zhao Feng looked down before he gazed up at the tapestry. His younger Twin Brother, Zhao Fang, the father of Talos and the secret lover of Naesena. He had been one of the few Cultivators who were not just talented in Cultivation, he had a natural affinity for magic. 

As a Cultivator Mage he was unparalleled which is why despite being weaker, he still cost Neasena's husband dearly for his life. 

"Tell me, why have you come to me?" 

"It's about Talos." 

Hearing that name made Feng freeze. 

"How is my nephew?" 

"His sister and I sent him away to a lower world, one hidden away from his gaze. He needed time to grow stronger, and time he has." 

Zhao Feng was not just Talos' Uncle, he was his Sword Master. He had been instructed by his brother to teach Talos as much as he could in the short time he had. 

"What world did you send him to?" 

"One of those dime-a-dozen worlds used by those disgusting gods of reincarnation. DxD." 

Zhao Feng's face recoiled in disgust. 

"You sent him to that immoral world?" 

"It was not by his choice, the seal me and his father placed on his soul to hide him robbed him of his motivation and drive. Only after his reincarnation and his father's death did it weaken. It may be a disgusting place chosen by perverted mortals, but Talos is using it to get a good foundation. 

Already he tapped into Sword Will." 

Hearing that made Feng smile slightly. 

"Seems my nephew is still as talented as my brother was at that age."

The Sword Cultivator closed his eyes for a few moments before he opened them. 

"Get off the ground already. My brother may be dead and his soul lost to the sea of reincarnation thank goodness, but he would hate me to see how I treat you." 

Neasena stood up as he said and walked toward the alter of Zhao Fang. She placed a hand on his sword which he had used his whole life. The Sword Spirit had died with him, but the body of the sword still radiated the Sword Dao he mastered in life. 

"What are the chances he reincarnates with his memories?" 

"Slim, when we were younger we placed a memory formation on our souls meant to protect our memories in case of our deaths. Sadly in the battle with your god-forsaken husband, he burned up his soul so badly that there was nothing to protect. 

My brother might as well be gone for good." 

That cut her deep, deeper than the sharpest steel. 

"Tell me, Zhao Feng, do you think Talos has what it takes to kill him?" 

"He does. He just needs time, if his father could wound him so badly at the mere Nasant God Realm, what would Talos do with time? I have made up my mind, that I will be joining him. He needs me to teach him the rest of the Sword Dao." 

Neasena reached out and grabbed his arm. 

"Wait, you can't. If a Cultivator of your level depends on that lower world, he will be discovered right away. If that was not the case do you think I would not have gone and seen him already?" 

Zhao Feng looked at the hand holding his arm which made Neasena let go of it. 

"I am sorry, I should not have touched you. You still hate me." 

"That's not it. I may dislike you and loathe you for what happened to my brother, but you are still the mother of his child. Of my nephew. You deserve that respect. I understand what you mean about my Cultivation Realm, that lesser world will most likely collapse under my sheer weight of existence." 

Just then, he knew how he could do it. 

"Tell me more about this nasty DxD world. Tell me of the gods there." 

If he could not descend himself personally, he would take over the body of one of the gods there. He already lost his brother, but he was not going to lose his nephew and student as well. As for that student, Talos was currently walking on all 4s. 

The deeper he traveled in The Storm Bealt the Worse the lightning and wind became. However, that was not all as the sky was beginning to fill with a blue glow to it. Scrat explained it a bit. 

"The Storm Bealt is primarily Lightning and Wind, but it also has a sub-element of the water element." 

That confused Talos. 

"If that is the case why did that Tempest Vulture use fire instead of water as its third element?" 

Scrat shook his head. 

"Hard to say. The Tempest Vulture species are never seen outside of The Forbidden Reagion as they rely on the deeper mana to grow their extra heads. It's possible she found a rare fire vein here and it affected her elemental affinities. 

Nothing is set in stone when it comes to magic remember that." 

"Alright. More importantly, I have a question. Is Scrat your real name?" 

Scrat paused a moment before he shook his head. 

"No. It's the name I go by now, but some call me Ratatoskr." 

"So why did you say Scrat was your name then?" 

"I am on the run, from one of the big Pantheons. I can't be too careful, but since I already am putting all my hopes behind you, you might as well know." 

"I think I am going to keep calling you Scrat. It's cute." 

"Why thank you? A very pretty angel thought it up for me."

At that moment, Scrat jumped off Talos' back and rushed out into where several volcanos, thunder strikes, and heavy rain were falling. Using a shield around himself he rushed into the middle and began to rapidly dig something buried in the ground. 

Talos walked up behind the squirrel who reached down into the hole he dug and pulled out a blue crystal. He bit it a bit with his teeth before smiling. 

"Amazing luck, a Mana Stone." 

Talos sniffed it a bit curious. 

"What is it good for?" 

"Ah, forgot. So, Mana Crystals are slivers of mana that have condensed together to form a dense material containing mana. A Mana Stone is many times more concentrated and it can be used for a variety of uses. 

Finding Mana Stones is hard in places with less mana, but that is no issue here. The extreme elemental disturbances and the deep mana quantity ensure these are more common. They also promote those elemental rampages." 

With that, Scrat stored the Stone away before climbing back Talos' leg to his head. 

"OK, we got some goals here. Find Rare Herbs and plants, ores, and Spiritual Amplifiers. All rare, but more common. Continue the way we were going." 

By now Talos could feel his instincts telling him to listen. 

"On it." 

With that said and done, he rushed off at top speed very existed for what they were going to find. If it was this good, it had to be defended and he was itching for a good fight after so long. After all, his blade was sharpened not with water, but blood.