Tairon

…

-Are you ok dear?

-…Hey Freyja…what happened?

-The blimp exploded, anyways, we don't have much time since you'll wake up soon, your injuries are not that severe

-Impa! What about Impa?!

-Give the Sheikah girl some credit, she was able to prevent a lethal injury, but she is badly burnt, once you wake up, heal her up, you are very close to Tairon

-Got it thanks love!

-Just looking out for my future sister is all

-…Right…

-Indeed, now get up!

…

…Ugh…fuck…ouch…

I quickly healed myself

-Impa!

I looked in my embrace and luckily I still had her, she was very badly burnt, and it wasn't my wings since those only burn my enemies!

-…Hey…Eric…

She still gave me a big smile

-See…? No…No sweat…

-Try bragging once you are healed! Jesus…

I wasted no time healing her and once better she smiled

-So?

-So what?! That was too fucking close!! Why did you insist on taking that thing in alone?!

-…So I could show you

-Show me what?! Your strength?! I am well aware of it dammit! You don't have to prove anything to me!!

-…Not that

-Then what?!

-…That I am able to be by your side

-!!

-I had to show you…that despite not having the Triforce like my siblings…I wouldn't slow you down

-…Then…

-Yes, I love you Eric!

Welp, God damn

I kissed her without any hesitation, clearly surprising her and said

-If you love me, then don't fucking put yourself in danger like that dammit!!

-Eric…

-I…I can't bear to see you hurt…

-Ah…sorry…

She hugged me and I reciprocated, we both just hugged quietly for a while before she said quietly

-…I love you

-I love you too

Our feelings confirmed we were eager to keep making out but the flames nearby still were troubling, I stood up and watched the flames consuming the forest nearby the city

-…Damn Fiend

-Do you have any magic that can repair all this damage?

-…Maybe

I don't really care about keeping a low profile here, so I turned off the flames by creating a strong rain, afterwards, all that was left was a devastated forest and a bunch of debris…

Isn't this the why Orochi hates us? We are awfully good a destroying everything…however, I have one particular solution for this one

Up until now, all my fights were in urban areas, as such the destruction never harmed nature as badly as this, so I am gonna use it now to restore the forest

I pulled out my ocarina once more

-A song?

-Indeed dear

She blushed upon hearing me call her that

-Music alongside mana has some of the most fascinating results, especially if you can visualize it, certain melodies have got…Astounding power

This song was able to turn a frozen hellscape into a beautiful garden and a life filled sea, why couldn't it fix this with MY mana in play?

I began playing and once more, this song caught Impa's total focus, I also felt Ryu and Ayane arrive near us but were stunned in place upon hearing the song

-It's…beautiful…

The soft start slowly started to give way to the more animated part of the song and the second I hit that part, a green aura bursted from me and began expanding full speed across the forest, all broken trees were magically restored, dead animals revived, wounded ones, healed, the debris lost all its properties and rotted incredible quickly, becoming dust

-Master…

[Yes?]

-Watch…

"Will of Gaia: Orochi"

"50 (He…he is my foe?)"

Orochi?! How the hell is he reacting to this?!

-Master…Gaia is thanking you…this song…where…where is it from?

[You don't know?]

-I can't find any videogame in your memory where this song was used!

[You are looking in the wrong spot Monica, this isn't a videogame song]

-It isn't?!

[It's an anime, Pokemon 2000 the movie, the song of Lugia]

-!! What in the?!

[Yup, this song had absurd properties of restoration back in that movie, and while it isn't useful for combat, it is absurdly useful for healing the world, ain't it?]

-Master…this power is spreading everywhere…the world is healing…YOU-YOU ARE HEALING A PLANET!!!

[HAHAHAHA!! I LOVE MAGIC!!]

"Orochi"

"80 (Why Gaia?! Why is he against us?!)"

As the song neared it's climax, I felt the air suddenly became…tastier? I dunno how to describe it but it feels…wonderful

"Orochi"

"130 (He is saving you! He is saving us!! Why is he with those apes?!)"

Orochi seems to be having an existential crisis…good riddance, I will kill him anyways but, let's let him squirm a bit

-Bloody hell master…any contamination or pollution this world had is gone! The media is going crazy due to this green energy covering the entire globe! Trash is literally being UNMADE, toxic fumes are being purified, dead lands are now filled to the brim with plants and animals I mean, for mercy's sake master! This is a miracle!!

I knew this song was broken baby!! Now all Eco villains are gonna fucking kneel and swear allegiance to me!! Hell yeah!!

"Orochi"

"250 (We need him, Gaia, spread our will, Eric is to be protected at ALL cost)"

I wanted to cackle like a villain, but it can wait, once the song finally ended, the forest almost seemed to glow with life now, it was such a wonderful vista, I admired it for a couple of seconds before looking at my friends with a soft smile

-Shall we go? We still have a blade to retrieve

They came out of their stupor and nodded, so we quickly headed towards the nearby city of Tairon…man, this is only gonna get more troublesome ain't it?

…

…

Ridiculous

That is the only word appropriate to describe what I just witnessed

Ridiculous

My Hakkeshu hasn't been at all subtle with their disdain of the one known as Eric, even I disliked him with his clear hatred of me and my Hakkeshu, he was obviously going to be a dangerous opponent with that cursed song that can deactivate the power my blood grants my allies

But now I don't know how to feel about him, he hates me, but he also is everything I ever desired for the ones who will walk on Gaia, he is strong, very caring and noble, he isn't a hypocrite, he doesn't abandon others to save himself, he is ruthless against his enemies, all perfect traits for the ones meant to protect this world

But this…this song…it undid centuries of damage in an instant, Gaia herself has confirmed it, she feels rejuvenated, most of her pain has been eliminated in an instant, and her focus is entirely on this mortal

Why is he my enemy? Why does he hate me so much? Is it possible to fix it? As the will of Gaia, I have to make amends with him, this power…the power to heal Gaia directly is simply crucial, I can't let him die, I can't let anything happen to him, my Hakkeshu must protect him, even if he sees me as his enemy, he is the greatest light this world has ever seen…for even my power is unable to create such a miracle

As such, I must ensure his light isn't snuffed out, he must continue to shine, shine so radiantly it blinds those unworthy of it, as one who also protects the world, he must see how truly evil mortals are…only a few deserve to keep walking on Gaia…

Soon, soon I will be freed, and when I am, I must do everything in my power to convince him of our cause…perhaps…yes, that blue haired mortal…she should be perfect, if it is her body I inhabit, he will be more likely to listen than if I try someone else

Let my will be known, Eric is to be protected, any who harms him, harms Gaia and me, those who go against him are traitors and will be shown no mercy

Gaia, let my message spread, and let us keep a close eye on our future hope

…

…

"Goenitz"

"-300 (WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!)"

Ooh boy…yeah

"Shermie"

"300 (Eric…how did you do it…you…you truly did it…)"

Yeah, Orochi wasn't kidding huh? I was just declared a VIP by him…ooh man…what a twist

Leaving that can of worms aside, I still got some things to handle, if I recall Ninja Gaiden Sigma, in the city I gotta look for the bar…Hans bar…should I drop by Muramasa? The old Blacksmith would be a good ally…then again, I should leave it to Ryu, I should focus on something else

Let's see…Alma is a priority, right below the Dark Dragon blade, fortunately I can save her on the way, Rachel likely won't believe it even if I tell her, but the song of healing is busted when it comes to dealing with corruption or transformations, as for Doku, well…if Ryu doesn't get to him first, I'll kill him

As for the other great fiends, I should just kill them and be done with it, how many tragic figures are there around them anyways?

Alma however…I really gotta stop her in the first fight, because awakened Alma truly made me suffer when I played the game in master ninja…why did I do that to myself again?…Ah right, Meg wouldn't stop telling me that since the game mocks you for beating it on easy, it might praise you for clearing it on the hardest difficulty…man I swore like a sailor at Awakened Alma much to her amusement

…It'll be funny seeing her face when I tell her I saved Alma…I just realized that there is a chance I'll get acquainted with another Alma…I'll call my Alma by her full name to avoid messing my already overloading brain

So we got fiend Alma and Alma Wade, between the two, I still think Alma Wade is more dangerous, but with Sonic music and my presence, the apocalypse can be prevented, all that is left is to see if Rachel believes me and takes a chance to see if instead of killing her sister, we can save her

Hopefully she became evil due to the corruption of the Fiend power and she was not evil to begin with or else it's gonna be awkward…

Enough rambling, I should focus on my mission, retrieve and claim ownership over the Dark Dragon Blade…it would be in my best interest to pretend the tracking spell ran out of juice so we can follow the original story as much as we can, after all, the more fiends we kill, the stronger the blade shall be

I can only pray no innocents are caught in the crossfire…

-Don't worry about that master, It'll be fine!

[…Right…]

…

So big surprise, we were immediately attacked as soon as we got into Tairon, I think it was their military? Either way with all 4 of us working together, it was a doomed fight to begin with

After clearing that wave Ryu asked

-Well Eric? Where to now?

-One sec!…Ah mother fucker

-What happened?

-The tracking spell was undone, guess they aren't braindead, still, they will not be able to easily get past my sabotage of the blade itself

-Annoying but not unexpected, we will split up and gather information, Eric, I want you to check Hans bar

-The bar? Why me?

-Because out of all of us, I think the Idol would stand out less

-I am a singer jackass!!

He chuckled before jumping to the roofs and quickly vanishing

-God dammit…

-Guess we'll be going too, we'll meet up sooner or later, so take care d-darling!

Impa barely managed to get that off before she disappeared, leaving a clone that immediately was undone

-…I mean it was obvious but…ugh…

-Chill Ayane

-I know, I know…say Eric?

-Hm?

-Don't steal another heart while we are here ok?

-The fuck you think I am?! We are here to retrieve a blade and kill a bunch of fucking monsters! How the hell am I supposed to steal a heart?!

-Dunno, but when it's about you my dear sun? Anything seems possible

And just like that she left

-…I want to refute her so bad but my track record does the exact opposite…god dammit…

-That's what happens when you play prince charming my liege

-I lack the fucking glitter…

I put into effect the ninja arts taught to me to disappear from the area as well and began heading towards the bar, to my surprise, the city was a lot more alive outside of the zone we were at, guess that became an impromptu military checkpoint, regardless, in the daytime, this city doesn't feel that different from others…I guess with the abundance of races, fiends aren't exactly people's concern

-…

-Is something wrong master?

-No…nothing…

I just hope my knowledge doesn't end up fucking me over one day…

-How do you mean?

-…Forget it

Can't afford to think like that

I reached the bar, it wasn't hard to find due to the light show it had, even at day, they could be seen, the bar was more like a club, it seems to operate all day too…would hate to be in charge of cleaning here I'll tell you what

I tried to enter but was stopped by the bouncer

-You got a ticket sir?

-No ticket, but judging by the shit you lads are playing? You need a musician yesterday

-Oh? And who are you to claim that?

-Just the so called Genius of the Century, didn't ya watch the KoF?

-…!!! You are Eric?!

-Bingo

-Hold up! If you really are him, sing! Let me hear first hand!

-Aight

I coughed and smirked

-Oh I'm as sharp as a coroner's needle

Inside I'm cold as a marble eye

Skin is harsh like a rusted razor

A nightmare livin' in your mind

That seemed to be enough judging by his face

-Hot damn it's really you! What brings you to Tairon? Weren't you also fighting in the KoF?

-I wanted to, but that fucking gate rained on my parade and the thing was halted for some security measures, needless to say since I was bored, I took a flight here since I heard Tairon had some good spots to party, might as well put my voice to the test ya know?

-Well, you picked a bad time sir

-What happened?

-Some assholes from a terrorist organization have infiltrated our city, the military is dead set on finding them but they seem slippery

-I can handle one or two troublemakers, so, may I go in?

-Ah! Right on sir! I'll let the manage know so you can light up the party

-Appreciate it my good man!

I walked in and before long, the manager had me on stage offering me a nice amount of cash, I really didn't need it but any excuse to be here until Rachel pops up and kills a fiend will work

On stage, it took a bunch of songs that got the crowd roaring, nothing new, just old songs I already had released since they didn't have any musician on board, just a DJ, still, lass was able to keep up with me so I ain't complaining

As I was singing "Life Will Change" that is when one of the party goers began to twitch out and transformed into a fiend, it attacked but I quickly stopped and blocked it

-Whoa! This party just got a bit crazy! Everyone run! I'll handle this monster!!

Thankfully no one discussed it and ran for it, I didn't kill it instantly but instead played around a bit until she appeared, her ridiculous outfit, blonde hair in a ponytail, blue eyes, incredible beauty…big ass hammer? Yup, that's Rachel

She didn't even hesitate and popped the Fiend in one strike, showering me in the gore

-!! GAH FUCK!!

-Oops, sorry about that

-Are you kidding me?! Agh, one second…

I washed myself again and this time spoke

-So, didn't think I'd run into a warrior here, who are ya?

-Name is Rachel, what about you? What brings an idol all the way to Vigoor the day after KoF initiated?

-I don't mind answering, but not here, how about the roof?

-Fine