Chapter 397: A Unintended Meeting
Seeing that nothing else was happening, Laz let go of Celes and Nora’s arms and let his Heaven’s Gaze fade. His head was hurting, but at least he had connected some dots, something he was very thankful for. Laz couldn’t help but make a mental list.
First: There is a giant thing underground which might or might not be a sleeping god.
Second: If it is actually a god, Laz needed to find someway to recruit it.
Third: Although Laz didn’t know why, the sleeping giant has five iron stakes sticking out of it’s head.
Not exactly the most helpful list, but at least he knew more now than he did before. Unfortunately, he still didn’t know where to go from here even if he did find the sleeping god that he needed to find.
Since it was an assignment from A’ruya, he would normally try to ask her questions or get some help or advice, but he quickly discarded that idea as soon as he thought about it. Since she only gave him the information that she did, there must be a reason for it. On the flip side to that, Laz wanted to believe that she gave him all the information he needed to succeed, although he had a nagging feeling that even she felt that it wasn’t enough.
"Whatever. If that thing is going to wake up soon, I need to be ready for it. Perhaps it’s time I try to break through to the next realm?" Laz meant this as a statement to himself, but he ended up saying it out loud. Hearing this, both Celes and Nora seemed a bit taken aback.
"Are you ready for that?" Nora asked.
"Didn’t you just figure out what the next realm is? How can you just say ’now’s the time’ like it’s something easy?" Celes was a bit more critical of him mostly because she had less trust in him and more of a protective side. Nora, ever the scientist, just wanted to see what it would be like when he did it.
Laz, despite himself, laughed. He wasn’t sure he was ready since as far as he knew, he would be the first one to take this step. But that didn’t help the fact that if he wanted to even get the attention of a god, he needed more power than he had now. Laz didn’t let the girls think he was laughing at them and quickly explained his reasoning as he wasn’t just doing this on a whim.
Laz took the time to explain what it was like when he fought the severely weakened, foot solder like bronze god back in New Orleans. Had it not been due to a combination of factors and the gods obvious disdain of Laz, there was no way he would have survived. Since there was no telling just how strong this god that was sleeping was, Laz needed all the strength he could get. The only thing he didn’t tell them was that while he wasn’t sure he was ready, he did understand more than he was letting on. In the information transferred to him from A’ruya, she had evaluated his strength and said that while his body was more than ready, he would need a huge influx of energy to make it work. How he was suppose to get that was his own problem though. As for his understanding of what the void realm was, Laz had gotten a feeling that his blood would guide him on the route. After all, while it required a greater understanding of the path, it was still considered a rather low realm in the universe and as such, it was still something that could be taught to him. Once he breached the realm of Void Emperor, there would be understandings that he could only find on his own. A’ruya could have given him the information then, but she warned Laz that knowing too much was just as dangerous as not knowing enough.
"So you’re going to do this? No matter what?" Celes asked after listening to Laz’s reasoning.
"I have to."
"Is there anything that you need?"
"Energy and lots of it..." Laz admitted.
"Since this will be a big learning experience, I think I have a few things that can help," Nora said, a strange glint in her eye.
"I also have something that can help, I jus have to get grandma’s permission..." Celes said, also with a strange look.
"Ok..." Laz didn’t miss their looks and despite being warm, felt a cold chill on his back.
"So how long do we have before this guy wakes up?" Celes asked, looking at the ground.
Laz thought about it but concluded that he had no idea. He didn’t know why he was sleeping, why the earthquakes were happening or what any of it meant. As such, he didn’t know when it would eventually wake from it’s slumber.
And he told the girls as much.
"I might be able to figure it out. But for now, let’s get started on the preparations for your advancement baby. I need to get back to my lab," Nora said, before running off.
Just as she was about to disappear from sight, she called back,
"You both should come over for dinner tonight." And with that, Nora left.
Laz looked at Celes who then looked back at him before giggling and taking off herself, probably to go visit her grandma. Being left alone, Laz decided to go off on his own.
Finding a well shaded spot in a wooded area behind the complex, Laz used his black flames to draw some runes in the air around him and then one the dirt below him. With the black flame as the ink, the rune would stay active for almost eight hours without being transcribed on a medium. Laz then sat down, crossed his legs and closed his eyes. He didn’t have a reason for doing this per say, but he felt like it would be a good chance to settle his mind and ponder over some of the things going on.
What Laz didn’t know was just how deep the rabbit hole he would dive into. Instead of being drawn inside his own center, all he saw when he opened his "eyes" was a vast blackness all around him. It was like being trapped in space except there were no stars or planets. And while Laz felt his legs weren’t on the ground, he didn’t feel like he was falling either.
Laz didn’t feel a threat from this place, more like he felt it to be empty, vastly empty and because of that, it felt like something was missing.
Just as Laz though about trying some stuff out to see if he could move, Laz saw a green light in the distance. It blinked a few times, as though weak. Since it was the only thing anywhere, Laz’s gaze landed on it and watched it for a bit. It blinked on and off... but then it seemed like it was getting bigger. While it was still weak, because of the blackness everywhere, it was easy to see any change in it. As such, it kept getting bigger and bigger.
Just as Laz was deciding to use his Heaven’s Gaze, he noticed there was a shape within the light. Focusing hard, Laz could see the outline of a man, one made of light, with dark bronze skin, black and green hair and a massive horn coming out of his head. For just a moment, Laz wondered if it was a spirit before he gave up that thought. Spirits, while different colors, had a more real feel and look to them. This one seemed like it was just a colored projection.
The little green man stopped before Laz’s face and looked him over while Laz did the same.
"You are far too weak to be the one that I sensed."
"You are far too little to be calling me weak, shrimp," Laz replied back, a bit insulted.
"Relax with your will, a young one like you should have more patience if he wished to survive in this world."
"Oh? Is that how it is grandpa? Well then why don’t you tell me what I am doing here while I wait patiently for the answer?" Laz replied back.
"HA HA HA HA. That’s right. There is a fire in you. I could feel it when you became annoyed. Your bloodline is promising, but your realm is not. You have yet to even cross over into the realm of rule, much less becoming a god."
"And you’re saying that you are a god? Wait... wait wait wait... are you the one that is buried here? Close by?"
"That’s right. And if I wasn’t a god, do you think I would still be alive right now?"
"Well... yeah. That’s fair. But still... Right now I am free and you’re just a potato buried in the ground. Guess being a god isn’t so great."
"Your words offend me young one... but I have to admit they are true. What good is being a god when you are nothing more than a mound of dirt?" The green man looked a bit saddened by this, something Laz didn’t expect to see.
"Look Gramps. I didn’t mean anything by it. In fact, for some reason or another, I’m actually here to help you, but in return, I need your help as well." Laz felt like there would never be a right time to talk about this, but since this was the only opportunity he was going to get, he needed to try.
"You want to help me? You? HA HA HA HA HA. OH. MY BOY. THAT IS A JOKE FOR SURE!" The green man continued to laugh while Laz just looked at him.
Once the green man settled down, he looked to see that Laz was still just looking at him.
"You are serious?" The green man seemed intrigued, although there was clearly disbelief shown on his face.
"I am. My master has given me this mission, so it is one I kind of have to do."
"And you have a way to free me?" The green man asked, now interested since such a young man would certainly have a powerful master.
"No. This was a task that is suppose to be something I need to figure out I guess."
"Then... who is your master? How old are they? Perhaps if they were alive in my time, I knew of them?" The green man seemed very much interested.
"Her name is A’ruya. As for how old she is? No idea. A lot has changed since you’ve been underground. That reminds me, who are you exactly?" Laz decided this was a good time to figure this out.
"Ah. You are here to free me and don’t even know who I am?" The green man said, taken aback.
"Well. Like I said, it was a task given to me but I don’t think my master had a choice in this. Perhaps it was a task I was meant to fail?" Laz shared his thoughts just because he didn’t think lying to a former god would get him anywhere.
"They... don’t even really care if I am free? But... I am a god. Even when I was active, I was one of the strongest gods in these lands. And yet they don’t really care...?"
"Well. To put it as clearly as possible, I have no idea as to my master’s level. But as far as I know, she is just one princess or something of her race. And as far as age goes, they only consider her to be around the same age as me. Of course, if they live for thousands of years, she could be several hundred years old and still considered a child by her people I guess..." Laz just spoke his musings out loud, but the green man’s face seemed to go an even paler shade of green.
"I uh... Well... my name... my name is Quetzalcoatl, but I guess it would be easier in your tongue to call me Zal. Could you perhaps explain what are the characteristics of your masters race?"
"Hmm... they live in a massive tree that just appeared in the ocean and as far as looks go, I’ve only seen my master. Her hair is green, a bright but deep green while her eyes are red. As for skin tone, she is fairly pale... oh, And she wears a dark red dress that looks like it was made from tree bark? Or something like that." Laz replied, trying his best to describe her as clearly as possible.
Laz then looked over at the little green man and saw that he was clearly shaking, even if he was just a projection of light.
"That’s... that’s impossible... could they... no... no... but..." The green man seemed to be fighting with himself back and forth for a long while as Laz watched on.
"So.. Zal?"
"Oh. Oh right. Uh. Yes. Sorry. If your esteemed master saw fit to send you, then there must be a way for you to help me. Might I hear of your name young man?" The green man seemed to be more respectful of Laz now that he had heard about his master.
"I’m Laz. Well, my full name is Lazarus Crowe."
"Laz. Well met young friend. I could also sense a strong power from your bloodline. Might I hear from which mighty race you are born from?"
"Well. Human. Basically. Most people on this planet are. But quite a few of us have mixed bloodlines now. As for my other bloodline, it hails from the Asura race.... Zal? Zal?"
Laz had never seen a projection faint before, but this just proved there was a first time for everything.
