Aftermath

…The door is being knocked on again…

-Leona…are you there? Please…answer me…

…Aunt Hilda…

I got up from bed, alone…completely alone, I should have stopped him…

I should have stopped him…

-Leona please!

I got to the door and opened it, aunt Hilda was there, a few more gray hairs, her beauty was being affected by the stress…they didn't take the news well…as bad as me perhaps?

-Oh thank Hylia…we haven't heard from you in 3 days! What were you doing?!

It's been 3 days…? Oh…well…who cares?

-…Leona…do you want to come have dinner with us?

It feels empty…any food that isn't his taste like ash…

-Please…

-.....Ok....

-Thank you…come on

She looked relieved, let's just get this over with…

The atmosphere inside was atrocious, Zelda had bags under her eyes and her complexion looked dead…Impa looked depressed while Link looked broken…

We have been like this for 3 days after Dante and Vergil came to inform us that Eric was eradicated by the king of hell Mundus…a creature so powerful it's mere gestures broke his legs…

I feel…so hollow…he is dead…

Samus took it very poorly too, when she heard, she hung up, she hasn't called since, I haven't called her either…

-…

Uncle Rhoam is trying to say something but…he can't find the words…

The food taste like ash

…

After eating, I gave a polite thanks since it was just the motions, honestly…everything looks grey…

It hurts…

!

A noise caught my attention, it came from Link's sword, he tapped it and Fi came out

-Master, your emotional state is deplorable, may I inquire into what happened?

-…

-Master

-…Eric…died…

-Incorrect

?!

We all looked at her, she didn't just say that right? Link spoke again

-He was eradicated! He died!

-That is incorrect Master, I pinged his life signatures to my database, if he dies, I will be the first to know, and while his vital signs are weak, they are still there

-He lives!?! Eric lives?!

-He does lady Zelda, someone like him wouldn't die so easily

-Where is he?! Please Fi tell us!!

-…I apologize lady Impa, but I cannot locate him

-What does that mean?

-Lady Leona, it means that a barrier of considerable power is masking his location, but I estimate his position to be around…somewhere in the "Triguro mountains"

-How did he get there?!

-Unsure, but he is there, alive…Master your emotional status has been restored, I have completed my objective and shall now rest, good bye

And just like that she left…

Fi hasn't lied to us…so it must be true…Eric…you live…

…

…

-GAH!! Where?!

I looked around and I found myself in some sort of hut, I was fucking sure I was dead! Did Mundus really spare me?!

Hm? I have some notifications…

"You managed to fend off Mundus (SSS), Goddess Erizabeth is impressed"

"The Goddess is granting you a reward, please choose one of the following"

"The Goddess can see that you are in no condition to select, so she is doing so for you"

"Luck increased! F- —> C-"

"Remain safe, my champion"

Erizabeth…jesus you are too good to me

-MASTER!!!

What the?!

-MASTER! MASTER! MASTER! MASTER! MASTER!!!

A desperate voice was heard, then I felt something entangle me, but I was alone, starting to feel worried, I tried to get up but a brutal pain kept me in place

-Master! Don't overdo it! The fact that you are alive is a miracle!

-WHO ARE YOU?!

I couldn't help but shout, whatever it is, it's female, and it sounded desperate, it hasn't shown hostility, but I am not comfortable with something that can touch me, but I can't touch it!

-Ah…sorry master, I got too carried away…

-…

-Master, it's me, Monica

!!

-Monica?! You can talk now?!

-Yup, thanks to your increase in luck, I was able to further improve myself, obtaining a voice and even some ability to manipulate the physical world

-Oh?

-Indeed! I can do this now!

I felt a gentle hug around me, guess this is what she meant, I tried to imagine a response, simply me hugging back…

-! Master!❤️

That sounded good…ok, it worked

-So…tell me then, where am I?

-Dunno, when you got teleported you lost consciousness, all I know is that a young girl saved us, she should have been 12

-…I see…what about my phone? It's not on my person, I gotta call everyone and let them know I am ok

-You have been gone for over a week now

-Week?!

-Your overuse of mana did that, it's a miracle you didn't bleed out! I am thankful to Goddess Erizabeth for upgrading your luck! That is what saved you!

-…He did say he wouldn't be responsible for my death

-So he sent you to the middle of nowhere to bleed out and thanks to Erizabeth, we got sent somewhere you could live

-…Ok, I get what happened, but what about my phone?

-Likely taken by the ones who saved you

-Gonna have to ask for it then…

As I was talking to Monica, the door opened and a very cute girl entered, she seemed to be 2 years older than me, but I recognized those clothes and that hairstyle anywhere

Still, like this, the outfit is nowhere near as bad as it is in the future

"The Alluring Kunoichi: Mai Shiranui"

Yup, despite the fact that her outfit is the same, since she is a kid now, it covers nearly her entire body, so the alluring part ain't applying at least for 7 years

-You woke up!

-Ah, yeah, thank you for saving me!

I quickly bowed my head, she looked at me lost for a second before giggling

-Well, you have manners, I have a lot to ask but first, eat something, you have been out for a week now!

-A week…sorry for the bother miss…

-My name is Mai, Shiranui Mai!

-I see, a pleasure, my name is Eric

She smiled at me and handed me a tray with plenty of food, all traditional Japanese food…

I wasn't shy, I was hungry after all and began eating, I did so calmly though, don't wanna look like a savage in front of a potential friend

-How did you end up there anyways?

-…

I swallowed

-There, where? Last I remember, a very powerful demon blasted my existence, he might have teleported me but…where am I?

-A demon? Are you from the Hayabusa clan?

Hayabusa?! As in RYU Hayabusa?! The dragon ninja?!

-Seems like the Shiranui clan and the Hayabusa clan are allies

Oh fucking Jackpot!

-Hayabusa? No, umm…ok, Mai, please tell me where I am, I am lost

-You are in the Triguro Mountains, north of Aether Kingdom, ring any bells?

-Triguro mountains…I am a long way from home…

-Where are you from?

-East of the kingdom, Renotia city

-A long way indeed, what demon was it that sent you here?

-…Mundus

Her eyes widened

-M-Mundus?! As in THE Mundus!? The king of hell?!

-Yup, that Mundus

-How did you survive?!

-I appealed to his ego

-What?

-Ya see, he sent some demons to kill the mother of 2 of my friends, I saw what was happening and rushed in to help, his lesser demons were very weak, but after killing thousands alongside my 2 friends, Mundus himself showed up to kill her, according to him, he would kill her for turning the legendary black demon knight Sparda against them, however in a hail mary play, I was able to appeal to his ego and made him think that we were undeserving of dying by his hand

-The wife of Sparda…

-You know him?

-His legend is well known among our clans, he is one of the demons who joined mortals to help, we need those examples as precedents should demons decide to turn against their kind

-So you fight demons?

-The Hayabusa clan mainly, we help them whenever we can, well, not me yet, but in the future soon! Still, you must be pretty strong to fight demons and win

-Yeah, but against Mundus I was totally powerless…

-But you survived, isn't that already incredible enough?

-…I don't know…I need my phone, I have to call my friends, make sure they are ok…

-Phone…you won't be able to make a call

-Why not?

-There is a barrier covering this area of the mountains since our Shiranui clan is here, we don't want to be discovered by the world, lest they force us to teach all of our secrets…

-…Yeah, people can be greedy for power…but is there no way? I want to let them know I am ok at least…

-…You should be able to send a message, but only one, I will ask the elder to lower the barrier for just a few seconds

-!

Why is she helping me so much?

-Because you give me a good feeling

-?!

-Are you surprised? It's written all over your face dummy, you can't believe I am helping you so much

-…Still, lowering the barrier…why not let me out of it for a while to send the message?

-As you are? Forget it, you overused your mana a lot, I doubt you can even stand

I mean…she is not wrong

-It'll be quick, you send the message and then you focus on recovering, I will even personally nurse you back to health, aren't you glad?

-With such a cute nurse, how could I ever be sad?

She smiled and then left the room, I finished eating and waited for about 20 minutes before she arrived with some old man

"Patriarch of the Shiranui clan: Hanzo Shiranui"

Her grandpa?

-You are awake young man

-Ah! Yes, thank you for housing me sir!

-No need to be so formal, it's only natural to help others when they need it

-Still…thank you

-It is no problem, but young man, I heard from my granddaughter that you wish to send a message to the outside world?

-I need to let my friends know I am ok!

-What about your family?

-…Had it not been for you, I might already be with them

-Ah…

-Please sir…I beg you

I lowered my head pleading

-Just one message then?

-Yes!

-It can be arranged, Mai, hand him his phone

-Yes Grandpa!

She came close and handed me my phone, I quickly wrote the message

(I am Ok, I am somewhere in the Triguro mountains, some people are caring for me and helping me recover, dunno when I will be back so take care ok? I won't be able to send another message unfortunately, but once I am in a condition to leave, I will call you all)

I then prepared it to "Send all" so all my contacts would get it, that way they will share it among themselves, and everyone would know I am ok

-All ready?

-Yeah, please lower the barrier

The old man made some symbols with his hands and suddenly he said

-Now!

I hit sent and when the message read "Sent" I said

-Done!

The old man released the seal and signal was lost yet again

-Thank you so much sir

-Call me Hanzo young Eric, it is no problem, now focus on healing up understood?

-Yes! Thank you so much Grandpa Hanzo, Mai!

"Hanzo"

"50 (Grandpa huh? Feels good)"

"Mai"

"50 (He is kinda cute)"

Good first impressions, I should focus on healing now…

…

…

…

-Tch!

-Keep going!

I got up and began again, this course is ruthless beyond belief…

-You lost too much time grieving someone who would never die so easily, now we gotta make up for lost time

Yeah…when I was called by Leona who told me Eric was dead, I lost almost all my will to do anything, but then, a few days later I received a message from him, it specified he was alive in the mountains north of Aether

He is not sure when he will be back, but the fact is he indeed nearly died, so when I asked how long before I was ready, my teacher told me that it would be at least 4 more years, that revelation brought me despair

I wanted to be done sooner, earlier, no matter how painful it may be, so my teacher suggested a brutal training course that would allow me to be ready in a year, so I took it, and now here I am, in agony after this last failure…if not for this suit they gave me, I would be dead…

But…I don't care…he needs me…

I have to overcome this, I WILL overcome this!

-Good! Now start over!

-Yes!

Eric…don't you dare die before we meet again…I still have to kick your ass for making me worry this much!

…

…

-I never expected you to ask this young Impa

-…Is it that surprising?

-You always seemed to not enjoy training

-Before, now, I need to become better

-Is it because of what Rhoam told me? That Eric boy?

-Yes

-…The pain of losing your friend was awful wasn't it?

-Yes, and I don't ever want to experience that again…he didn't even consider us as help because we are weak, he is forced to fight alone because we are too weak to help! I am tired of being helpless!

-What about your siblings? Do they think the same?

-Link has spoken to Fi and he entered some sort of realm inside the blade where he can fight the ancient evils the blade once defeated, Zelda has begun to study to awaken the Triforce of wisdom, despite her hating to, she wants to awaken her power too, I can't remain behind! So please Master Maz Koshia! Make me strong!

-…Fine, then it's time to leave your basic training behind, I will train you like a proper Sheikah from now on, it won't be fun, and I will be cruel, knowing that, do you still wish to do this?

-Certain!

-Then get ready

I won't ever allow this to happen again…Eric, I won't let you fight alone anymore…

I will be by your side next time

…

…

…This power is mine…

No matter how my mind slips, how my sanity breaks, how my body may be worn down

I will master this power

Orochi be damned

Eric died because I was weak

And by a miracle, he is alive…yet I don't know when I will see him again

If I wasn't so powerless…If this power didn't control me…

I will master it

All I gotta do, is fight myself and win

And I WILL win

Eric…

Nothing will separate us ever again

I promise

…

…

-Boys…are you sure about this?

-It's what needs to be done mother

-We have to make sure Mundus can't find you…and we need to make sure that next time, we are strong enough to kill him

-…Dante…Vergil…

-Eric died to protect us, even if he is alive it doesn't change the fact that he died for at least a week for us

-He called us his brothers, and we were powerless as he played Mundus, all by himself…how could we call ourselves the sons of Sparda when we allowed our brother to die before us?!

-You'll be fine here mom, I promise we will call but…

-This is something we need to do

-…Ok…please be safe you 2…I am sorry I can't help you…

-You are alive mother, that is enough for us

-Losing you would be too much, we already lost Father, don't make us lose you too

-Boys…

-Come on Vergil, the gates await

-Indeed, let's go brother

…

…

-I am surprised you 2 decided to train together again

We didn't pay the elder any mind, Chizuru and I were too focused on improving, no matter how painful

-We had no way of knowing Eric was there, you don't have to blame yourselves! Besides! It was MUNDUS who attacked! You would have died had you gone there!

-And that's the problem elder!

-We would have been dead weight, so useless that Eric didn't even consider calling us! He knew we were close! Yet he didn't ask for help!

-We were too weak to help! And then he…

We both bit our lips and kept clashing

-But he is alive isn't he?

The text we got was like breathing new life into us, but…he will be gone for who knows how long…

-But he was dead! For a whole week he was dead in my eyes!

-We won't allow that to happen again, if we can't even help him, how could we ever kill Orochi?!

-Nobody can kill Orochi! We can only seal him!

-It's that kind of thinking that made us unreliable in his eyes!

-We WILL kill Orochi! And we WILL protect Eric next time!

He saved my life and yet I did nothing to save his…I will never allow that to happen again

Orochi…Mundus…you both WILL die…

…

…

-Mithra…

-Yes father?

-I thought you would be happy after seeing he was alive…

-I am father, more than you can imagine…but we both know what he wants, even death will not be enough, he is only going to do this again

-But…

-I don't want to sit back in worry every time he decides to go fight another monster like Mundus!

-Then are you going to fight too?!

-No, I can't, but mother told me that I have some power in me, and her Appraisal has never been wrong, I will awaken that power to help him!

-…

-So please Father, find a suitable teacher for me

-…I hate seeing you bow…

-…

-Ugh, understood, I will find someone, Yasha and I know some people

-Thank you Father!

I hugged him as he gave a wry smile

-Seems like Eric truly made an impact on you…

He did…and everyone is getting stronger because of that…I don't want to be left behind, I don't know what this power is…but I will awaken it, to help everyone…to help Eric

…

…

…How strange…

When I was told he died, I lost my desire to sing, it affected me far more than I expected, meeting everyone was painful, everyone looked so sad…and their emotions were painful

I know what my power is, Psychic abilities, a "Psycho Soldier" according to the Warrior Guild…it is an incredibly powerful gift…and yet, all that was on my head was the same question

[Had I known earlier, would I have been able to help him?]

I can't believe how important he became to me in a few months…

But when I remember him singing, I smile, when I remember him laughing alongside us, I feel giddy, when I remember how he cried, I feel sad…and when I remember how Zelda looked when she told me he died…I feel everything go gray…

Yet, when I received that text, color was restored, I felt like I wanted to sing again, I wanted to laugh again, I felt so happy…

Ah…this feeling

It's love isn't it?

…As an idol, I am not allowed to fall in love but…

Am I going to ignore my heart?

…No

So what if it's impossible? He always made it happen! So I will too!

An idol who loves her fans, but loves one man more! I will do it! I will be a great idol, and a great Psycho Soldier!

I won't let him fight alone anymore! I won't be left behind!

…

…

It's the same Eric isn't it?

I wanted to believe it was a coincidence, that it couldn't be the same, it couldn't be my Eric…

But he is

…What am I supposed to do now?

Eric…Hakkeshu…what do I do?