Lightershoulders
Just another, seeking.
All my life I was sceptical of the supernatural. Yeah, magic and monsters and god know whatever the fuck materia was. I was sceptical of the mere thought of an afterlife, something as silly as the lifestream. I wanted to believe at one point, and even suspected it to be real to some degree that we could observe when I saw ShinRa Corps mako reactors.
But I didn't believe.
I was a simple SOLDIER 3rd class, one of the few that survived ShinRa Corp when it happened.
I was alone in the wilds, surviving on my own. Whispers in the dark, a place I once found comfort, had beckoned for me through the misty hills and woods of a town long forgotten by me. In the woods, I saw nothing but unnaturally moving mist… but I could feel it. Eyes on me. Voices whispering.
I was not allowed to die. Those were the words I heard in the mist, as if my life wasn't my own. They were not reassuring, they were not comforting, they were promising of a fate worse than death.
And in my heart I knew that such a fate was possible. Intellectually, I knew it. I've seen it on various forms. I've even arguably caused it.
But this… this was undoubtedly Hell.
As I sprinted through the mist, the ground giving way to a strange purple sand, the dead stared at me. Mocked me. I eyed them with warning, my simple bastard sword brandished as I ran, careful to insure if I ran into something I wouldn't stab myself. I felt my eyes sharp, focused as I kept distance from the undead as some dared me to come closer.
When I escaped the mist, I had no idea where I was. A green, grassy, flat plain with nothing but rocks in the distance.
I looked at the mist, and saw that the dead dare not stand in the light. It was fortunate... that means a weakness, or something more dangerous, but something else. Something I might be able to fight or evade… I couldn't fight that many enemies, and evasion was only possible because they didn't attack me.
I turned, but making sure not to have my back to the mist. Glancing back and forth, up and at the ground. The supernatural was real, and I wasn't taking any chances I didn't have to. Unfortunately, moving forward was one of those chances. I couldn't become an undead, that wasn't an option I was willing to accept.
But as I walked, I felt my heartbeat calm, and I felt relaxed despite my very reasonable paranoia. What was this place? This feeling of peace… it shouldn't have been possible.
I put away my sword and considered this place. It was perfect, the air was clean, the soil was soft yet not too soft, the scenery was majestic…
"Am I in heaven?" I asked out loud.
"Yes, and you should not be here." The voice of an old woman said, and I immediately had my sword out and looking around.
"Alright, I'll bite. How do I go back?" I asked, and the old woman laughed.
"Well, you could always ask, you fool." I sighed, and put the silly thing away. I was always better with materia anyway.
"Can you please help me get back home?" I asked, and the old woman sighed audibly.
"If only it were so simple." The Old Woman appeared before me, and I froze.
It was an old woman dressed in a black robe, with a witches hat with a red binding on it. Her pink hair was short, and lastly she was while floating on a crystal ball.
Let me be clear. I am not a fool, regardless of that this woman says. Logically, I knew there was a chance I was being fooled, that this might be some fucked up joke. But every fiber of my being was telling me that I just ran through hell, and that this land I stood on was a literal slice of heaven. The Turks wishes they could fake this feeling.
This old woman was incredibly powerful, and this was no joke.
I stood there in shock, dumbstruck at the thought. She reminded me of the First Class SOLDIERS when they cut loose, back when there was a SOLDIER First Class.
Regardless, this was a very important person, and she was damn well worthy of respect.
"My apologies." I said, bowing at the waist to her. "It was a shock to see someone as powerful as you after the kind of day I've had." And that wasn't a lie.
"I bet, so why are you here young man?" She asked, and I rose.
"I don't know ma'am." I said honestly, and then told her everything that happened so far, and introduced myself. She told me rather quickly that her name's Baba, and to never forget it.
"I believe I know what happened young man…" Baba said seriously while closing her eyes. "You have extraordinary magical potential, I believe you traveled to the afterlife, Hell specifically, under your own power. Tell me, did you wish to leave your world behind?" Baba asked.
"Yes, but not like that..." I trailed off and paused. I am a nerd, ok? I have no shame in it, I love fictional books describing other worlds, the adventure and glory was a great escape, and it was exactly what I wanted when joined SOLDIER.
But I traveled under my own power....
"How did I do that?" I asked, and Baba actually looked amused.
"It just works, but belief and desire have a strong influence on it. Styles and methodology are created by mimicking others. Anyone can learn magic, and no one knows why some are better at it than others. Magic in of itself if contradictory. Study and knowledge are required, however the rules and limitations of magic simply do not exist."
"...I see." I kinda made sense. This meant that my personal belief that jumping to another world can only end in disaster was the unfortunate reason for jumping feet first into hell.
"And what about power? How did I power such a spell?" I asked, and Baba nodded.
"Well, most people use an external source of power to fuel their spells. There is also means of using symbolism to call power to a spell from various sources. You are one of the few, like myself, that uses magic from within.” Baba explained, and I thought about it for a moment. I had enough power to jump dimensions...
"I think I get it now." I said and Baba nodded with a sharp smile.
"Good. Now, you seem to know some scraps of knowledge fumbling around your head, do you think you can make it back?"
"I can just believe it, and I'd be back… but…" Would I ever get to that point? This was my first time using magic without materia, and there are so many ways I can screw this up. For another thing, I never truly had a home. I have moved around all my life, if I jump again there was no guarantee I would be able to make myself go to my home universe again.
I would have to make a materia in order to properly recreate my jump.
….Do I even want to put that kind of effort? That would take years, just to go back to a world where I'm just another brute trying to stay morally clean in a corrupt world.
"I… I don't think going back home would be for the best." I said, accepting my fate grudgingly. "Please bring me to the realm of the living please." I said, and Baba hummed.
"I came here to tell you to go back home, but if you can't then there is no where better to spend the rest of your days than in heaven." Well. She isn't wrong, but she isn't right either.
"I think I can still make a difference in the realm of the living, if I have the magical potential you say I do, I can do something worth while." I declared.
"Do what, young man? You may be far stronger than the average human, and you have a few spells, but you don't even know what you are getting yourself into. You are far weaker than the strongest where I am from. Baba admonished.
"They use magic too?" I asked, and she shook her head.
"They use a power called Ki, the life force of every living being manifested into a tangible energy." That sounded like Lifestream... but this would mean that it is undeniably real.
"If Magic works on belief, than…" I closed my eyes and focused.
Anything is possible. The problem was establishing the suspension of disbelief.
An energy within that was not Mako. An energy within...
"Oh-hoho!" Baba cackles, "That's interesting for a complete novice!" She said, and I opened my eyes.
White energy was emitting from my palm. Ki.
It was easier to believe that I could awaken my Ki when all you had to do was believe in it and living proof was in front of me.
I could feel the energy in my body as it processed, it was weak. Weaker than my natural strength, but when working together…
Well, I think I almost doubled my physical strength, and I know I can boost it further with my mako energy.
Just making that white light was tiring, so I cut it off.
"I'm not strong, not really." I admitted. "But I can still figure it out well enough to make a difference." I said, and Baba gave a shit eating grin.
"So you believe you could defeat Earth's mightiest defender with magic?" Earth? Like the element?
"Yes Ma'am, if I have the right specialty." I stated, and she laughed.
"Ki can overpower magic young man, how would you stop them from just poking you?" Which would kill me apparantly. So there are at least Sephiroth level enemies here... how strong are these people?
"I'll bet that the other way around works too, I'll just have to become magically stronger than their Ki." I replied, and Baba frowned.
"If you want to think about it like that, Goku is already stronger than I am. You may have the strongest potential I have seen, but you have a long way to go young man.”
“That will depend on how I can increase my magical reserves.” I said, and Baba gave a loud harrumph of displeasure.
“That is for you to study and figure out, now come along, we don’t have all day.” Baba said with clear snark.
How was she grumpy in heaven?
==========
Well, let me know what you think. Poor guy is hilariously out classed.
But I didn't believe.
I was a simple SOLDIER 3rd class, one of the few that survived ShinRa Corp when it happened.
I was alone in the wilds, surviving on my own. Whispers in the dark, a place I once found comfort, had beckoned for me through the misty hills and woods of a town long forgotten by me. In the woods, I saw nothing but unnaturally moving mist… but I could feel it. Eyes on me. Voices whispering.
I was not allowed to die. Those were the words I heard in the mist, as if my life wasn't my own. They were not reassuring, they were not comforting, they were promising of a fate worse than death.
And in my heart I knew that such a fate was possible. Intellectually, I knew it. I've seen it on various forms. I've even arguably caused it.
But this… this was undoubtedly Hell.
As I sprinted through the mist, the ground giving way to a strange purple sand, the dead stared at me. Mocked me. I eyed them with warning, my simple bastard sword brandished as I ran, careful to insure if I ran into something I wouldn't stab myself. I felt my eyes sharp, focused as I kept distance from the undead as some dared me to come closer.
When I escaped the mist, I had no idea where I was. A green, grassy, flat plain with nothing but rocks in the distance.
I looked at the mist, and saw that the dead dare not stand in the light. It was fortunate... that means a weakness, or something more dangerous, but something else. Something I might be able to fight or evade… I couldn't fight that many enemies, and evasion was only possible because they didn't attack me.
I turned, but making sure not to have my back to the mist. Glancing back and forth, up and at the ground. The supernatural was real, and I wasn't taking any chances I didn't have to. Unfortunately, moving forward was one of those chances. I couldn't become an undead, that wasn't an option I was willing to accept.
But as I walked, I felt my heartbeat calm, and I felt relaxed despite my very reasonable paranoia. What was this place? This feeling of peace… it shouldn't have been possible.
I put away my sword and considered this place. It was perfect, the air was clean, the soil was soft yet not too soft, the scenery was majestic…
"Am I in heaven?" I asked out loud.
"Yes, and you should not be here." The voice of an old woman said, and I immediately had my sword out and looking around.
"Alright, I'll bite. How do I go back?" I asked, and the old woman laughed.
"Well, you could always ask, you fool." I sighed, and put the silly thing away. I was always better with materia anyway.
"Can you please help me get back home?" I asked, and the old woman sighed audibly.
"If only it were so simple." The Old Woman appeared before me, and I froze.
It was an old woman dressed in a black robe, with a witches hat with a red binding on it. Her pink hair was short, and lastly she was while floating on a crystal ball.
Let me be clear. I am not a fool, regardless of that this woman says. Logically, I knew there was a chance I was being fooled, that this might be some fucked up joke. But every fiber of my being was telling me that I just ran through hell, and that this land I stood on was a literal slice of heaven. The Turks wishes they could fake this feeling.
This old woman was incredibly powerful, and this was no joke.
I stood there in shock, dumbstruck at the thought. She reminded me of the First Class SOLDIERS when they cut loose, back when there was a SOLDIER First Class.
Regardless, this was a very important person, and she was damn well worthy of respect.
"My apologies." I said, bowing at the waist to her. "It was a shock to see someone as powerful as you after the kind of day I've had." And that wasn't a lie.
"I bet, so why are you here young man?" She asked, and I rose.
"I don't know ma'am." I said honestly, and then told her everything that happened so far, and introduced myself. She told me rather quickly that her name's Baba, and to never forget it.
"I believe I know what happened young man…" Baba said seriously while closing her eyes. "You have extraordinary magical potential, I believe you traveled to the afterlife, Hell specifically, under your own power. Tell me, did you wish to leave your world behind?" Baba asked.
"Yes, but not like that..." I trailed off and paused. I am a nerd, ok? I have no shame in it, I love fictional books describing other worlds, the adventure and glory was a great escape, and it was exactly what I wanted when joined SOLDIER.
But I traveled under my own power....
"How did I do that?" I asked, and Baba actually looked amused.
"It just works, but belief and desire have a strong influence on it. Styles and methodology are created by mimicking others. Anyone can learn magic, and no one knows why some are better at it than others. Magic in of itself if contradictory. Study and knowledge are required, however the rules and limitations of magic simply do not exist."
"...I see." I kinda made sense. This meant that my personal belief that jumping to another world can only end in disaster was the unfortunate reason for jumping feet first into hell.
"And what about power? How did I power such a spell?" I asked, and Baba nodded.
"Well, most people use an external source of power to fuel their spells. There is also means of using symbolism to call power to a spell from various sources. You are one of the few, like myself, that uses magic from within.” Baba explained, and I thought about it for a moment. I had enough power to jump dimensions...
"I think I get it now." I said and Baba nodded with a sharp smile.
"Good. Now, you seem to know some scraps of knowledge fumbling around your head, do you think you can make it back?"
"I can just believe it, and I'd be back… but…" Would I ever get to that point? This was my first time using magic without materia, and there are so many ways I can screw this up. For another thing, I never truly had a home. I have moved around all my life, if I jump again there was no guarantee I would be able to make myself go to my home universe again.
I would have to make a materia in order to properly recreate my jump.
….Do I even want to put that kind of effort? That would take years, just to go back to a world where I'm just another brute trying to stay morally clean in a corrupt world.
"I… I don't think going back home would be for the best." I said, accepting my fate grudgingly. "Please bring me to the realm of the living please." I said, and Baba hummed.
"I came here to tell you to go back home, but if you can't then there is no where better to spend the rest of your days than in heaven." Well. She isn't wrong, but she isn't right either.
"I think I can still make a difference in the realm of the living, if I have the magical potential you say I do, I can do something worth while." I declared.
"Do what, young man? You may be far stronger than the average human, and you have a few spells, but you don't even know what you are getting yourself into. You are far weaker than the strongest where I am from. Baba admonished.
"They use magic too?" I asked, and she shook her head.
"They use a power called Ki, the life force of every living being manifested into a tangible energy." That sounded like Lifestream... but this would mean that it is undeniably real.
"If Magic works on belief, than…" I closed my eyes and focused.
Anything is possible. The problem was establishing the suspension of disbelief.
An energy within that was not Mako. An energy within...
"Oh-hoho!" Baba cackles, "That's interesting for a complete novice!" She said, and I opened my eyes.
White energy was emitting from my palm. Ki.
It was easier to believe that I could awaken my Ki when all you had to do was believe in it and living proof was in front of me.
I could feel the energy in my body as it processed, it was weak. Weaker than my natural strength, but when working together…
Well, I think I almost doubled my physical strength, and I know I can boost it further with my mako energy.
Just making that white light was tiring, so I cut it off.
"I'm not strong, not really." I admitted. "But I can still figure it out well enough to make a difference." I said, and Baba gave a shit eating grin.
"So you believe you could defeat Earth's mightiest defender with magic?" Earth? Like the element?
"Yes Ma'am, if I have the right specialty." I stated, and she laughed.
"Ki can overpower magic young man, how would you stop them from just poking you?" Which would kill me apparantly. So there are at least Sephiroth level enemies here... how strong are these people?
"I'll bet that the other way around works too, I'll just have to become magically stronger than their Ki." I replied, and Baba frowned.
"If you want to think about it like that, Goku is already stronger than I am. You may have the strongest potential I have seen, but you have a long way to go young man.”
“That will depend on how I can increase my magical reserves.” I said, and Baba gave a loud harrumph of displeasure.
“That is for you to study and figure out, now come along, we don’t have all day.” Baba said with clear snark.
How was she grumpy in heaven?
==========
Well, let me know what you think. Poor guy is hilariously out classed.
