Reincarnation
Reincarnation
The Void
The afterlife was nothing like he expected. He didn't know what he expected, but this was not it. Being stuck, floating in perpetual darkness with no sensation coming from his body, might actually be worse than fire and brimstone, or the torturous version of hell that can be found in Dante's Inferno. At the very least if he was suffering in hell he wouldn't be able to reminisce on the painful memories of his meager 16 years of life. Realizing that nothing will come from just doing nothing, he decides to call out one more time.
"Hello!?" he screams to no one particularly, praying to every that he's ever heard of, fictional or otherwise, that someone answers him. "Is anyone there?" he asks, once again praying for anyone to answer, even if it would be the devil himself.
Alas, like the previous times, no one answers his call and he is left to float about in the void by his lonesome with nothing but his thoughts, memories, and perseverance to keep him from going mad.
Like this time passes on. He simply exists there, floating in the void for an unknown amount of time while barely holding on to his sanity.
Just as he believes that he'll finally snap, a powerful voice reaches out to him.
Welcome to the Omniverse human. You have died and should have been on your way to reincarnation. Due to logistical reasons your soul was left to wander The Void between dimensions and universes. For surviving where many would have gone mad, and being a resident from the Prime Universe you are allowed to reincarnate with your memories intact.
"W-what?" he asks as he processes the fact that he is no longer alone and what the voice has just told him.
Choose a Pantheon: Greek, Roman, Norse, Shinto, Egyptian
"Wait. Am I going to a fictional world?" he asks, somewhat excited at the prospect.
There are no 'fictional' worlds. The Omniverse is vast and all encompassing anything that can exist does exist, and even things that should not exist do exist. Your species from the Prime Universe are merely able to see a general portion of existing universes which they go on to use for their stories. Now choose a Pantheon.
"Ok." he sighs to himself before once again looking at the list.
Out of all the pantheons showcased on the list the only ones that he can honestly say that he has extensive knowledge of are the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian ones. He knows almost nothing about the Norse and Shinto pantheons except for what he sees in comics and anime, automatically taking them out of the list. The Romans emphasize community over individualism a bit too much for his liking and the Egyptians can be too confusing at times, leaving only one option.
"Greek." he says and watches on as the list collapses and a new one appears.
Choose a divine parent: Apollo, Hermes, Ares, Demeter, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Dionysus, Artemis, Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus.
"Zeus." he chooses. While he doesn't like the god in terms of character and personality, he would very much like the ability to summon lightning.
This is the end of your choices, the rest shall be left up to fate. Good luck and enjoy your new life.
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France, In an Unknown Forest
October, 1981
"Alcides." calls out an unfamiliar voice, stirring him awake. "Alcides." repeats the voice, cutting through the thick fog in his mind.
"Wake up, buddy." says the voice as he blearily opens his eyes only to see a blurry figure looking down at him. "It's time for training." says the voice as the figure comes into focus.
Looking up at the figure looming over him, Alcides feels memories and emotions not belonging to him slot into.
His name is Alcides Malach, five year old son of Haniel Malach and the Greek god Zeus, descendant of Jeanne d'Arc, a member of a family of demon hunters. At least they were a family until they were hunted down to the last two members, himself and his uncle, Jonathan Malach III.
"Good Morning uncle." replies Alcides as he sits up in his bed and looks out the window at the dark morning sky.
"Did you have a nightmare again?" asks Jonathan, his voice teeming with worry.
"No, the sun just isn't up yet." answers Alcides with a deadpan glare, drawing a nervous chuckle from his uncle.
"Right, I got too excited and forgot that you're dead on your feet unless the sun is up." sheepishly answers Jonathan while rubbing the back of his head. "At least look at it as training for when you need to be ready to fight early in the morning." suggests his uncle.
Ignoring the man's hasty excuse, Alcides gets off his bed and blearily makes his way to the bathroom where he quickly brushes his teeth before washing his face.
Turning off the faucet, Alcides takes a few minutes to compare his current looks with his previous one. The only similarity that he can find is his brown skin from being Haitian while everything else is different. His dark brown hair is now black with streaks of brown, his light brown eyes are now golden in color and his face will surely be very handsome when he grows up. Not superstar handsome, more like comic book handsome similar to his uncle. Which makes him wonder, do all people with supernatural blood look this good or is it just his family.
Before he can continue on this thought process, he hears his uncle call out to him. "Alcides, let's go, the sun is almost up."
"Coming uncle." answers Alcides as he makes his way out of the bathroom and quickly dresses in shorts and a t-shirt before running to the basement where his uncle awaits him.
As he enters the massive training room in the basement, Alcides can't help the excitement that grows within him as he sees his uncle standing there with a blunted spear and a blunted one handed sword.
"Are we finally starting with weapons training?" Alcides asks as he excitedly jogs up to Jonathan.
"Only the basics, and after you're done with your warm up." answers Jonathan, earning a nod from Alcides before he starts to jog around the perimeter of the room at a sedate pace.
As Alcides makes his way around the system a voice speaks within his mind causing him to trip before he quickly recovers just as a transparent screen appears in his vision.
System Installation Complete… Welcome Alcides to the Simple System, a system designed to simply quantify your abilities. Relevant abilities from your past life have been taken into account and carried over.
Says the voice as a screen reminiscent of a video game HUD appears in his vision.
Name: Alcides Malach
Titles: Son of Zeus
MP: 500
SP: 500 [Locked]
Attributes:
Strength: 8
Agility: 10
Dexterity: 7
Endurance: 8
Traits:
[Void Touched]: Alcides' soul has spent an unknown amount of time in the void, allowing him to use dimensions such Tartarus and Hell to travel to different universes without suffering any adverse effects. Unfortunately for him he cannot choose which universe he ends up in since he lacks an ability like the Kaleidoscope to navigate. This trait also makes his soul adapt to whatever universe he finds himself in so that the higher powers cannot reject the abnormality of his existence/presence.
[Greek Demigod]: Alcides Malach is the son of Gabriel Malach and Zeus, the King of Gods, making him a Greek Demigod. Being a Greek Demigod, Alcides is hardwired for combat and ancient Greek, giving him ADHD and Dyslexia. This trait makes it easier for Alcides to learn any combat skill 10 times faster and easier than the greatest mortal prodigy.
[Son of Zeus]: As the Son of Zeus, the God of Thunder and Lightning, Alcides has the ability to control and generate lightning along with immunity to electricity and lightning depending on the attacker. Unlike some of his siblings however, Alcides falls short when it comes to raw power.
Skills:
Ancient Greek(Passive) LV-MAX: Understanding of the ancient Greek language, whether spoken or written.
French(Passive) LV-MAX: Understanding of the french language, whether spoken or written. Despite being fluent in the language, Alcides still struggles with reading it due to his Dyslexia
English(Passive) LV-MAX: Understanding of the english language, whether spoken or written. Despite being fluent in the language, Alcides still struggles with reading it due to his Dyslexia
Hand-to-Hand Combat(Passive) LV-15: proficiency, capabilities and knowledge in unarmed combat
Looking over his status screen, Alcides can't help but be somewhat dumbstruck. He has a system, granted it's a nerfed system that is supposed to only help quantify his abilities, but it's still a system. In addition, for some reason beyond him, he feels that the system makes it so that there isn't a limit to how much he can grow. Alcides doesn't really know why he feels this way, just that he does. Similar to how he knows that the average unathletic human typically has 10 as the value for their attributes and that most combat skills for the average supernatural being caps at around 100. In comparison to his attributes are pretty good for a demigod five year old.
What really makes him excited however, is the trait [Void Touched]. Not only does it imply that he could traverse to other universes, but it also means that he might be able to use whatever power system that universe uses and that the higher beings won't come looking for him due to his abnormality.
With a smile on his face, Alcides carries on with his warm up before making his way to his uncle.
"You seem excited." comments Jonathan with a smile on his face as Alcides replies with a nod. "Good. If your talent for hand to hand combat transfers over to weapons this will be fun for the both of us. Now pick a weapon."
"Why only a sword and spear?" asks Alcides.
"Because our family weapons consist of a sword and a flag, La Pucelle and Luminosité Éternelle, the personal weapons of our ancestor." explains Jonathan. "Now pick one."
Hearing the names La Pucelle and Luminosité Éternelle causes Alcides to do a double take. Those are Jeanne D'arc's noble phantasms in FATE. One is a sword with a suicidal attack that can reach EX rank and the other is an A rank barrier capable of blocking most noble phantasms. It seems that the universe he finds himself in is one where those two are actual weapons.
Looking between the sword and the spear, Alcides can't help but think that the flag doesn't suit him at all. In his previous life he always fought offensively whenever he got into one and he isn't planning on changing that anytime soon, even if he's a major Lancer fanboy.
"Sword." says Alcides as he makes up his mind.
"Ok." answers Jonathan as he tosses the blunted sword. "Now, if you were a normal person I would teach you stances and theoretical knowledge before moving on to practical lessons, but being a demigod we can skip straight to practical." says Jonathan as he takes a stance with his spear.
"Ok." replies Alcides as he takes a deep breath before taking a stance that just feels right.
"Good. Let your body guide you. Your brain is hardwired for combat and it's carved into your very being." he says before sending out a light probing stab with his spear that Alcides deflects. "That's it. There's no better combat style for demigods than the one their body comes up with through hours of experience and practice." he explains as he twirls his spear towards Alcides' head.
Ducking under the spear Alcides steps into his uncle's guard only to be met with a kick towards his stomach. Reacting with reflexes far beyond a boy his age, Alcides blocks the kick with the flat side of his blade, sending him skidding backwards.
"Not bad for a first exchange. However, you need to take advantage of your smaller size. Don't try to face me head on, you're not grown enough for that yet." lectures Jonathan as he playfully twirls his spear around him. "Think of it like playing an assassin build in a video game. They never face their enemies head on unless absolutely necessary, and even then they always try to outmaneuver their opponent." he explains before taking his stance again.
Nodding in understanding, Alcides once takes up his stance before dashing towards his uncle faster than the average adult is capable of. Rolling under a slash, Alcides makes use of his momentum to launch in the air with his sword poised for his uncle's neck. With a smile on his face, Jonathan casually tilts his head to dodge and punches towards Alcides' stomach, only to be pleasantly surprised when his nephew uses his fist as a springboard to flip over his head and land behind him.
Without bothering to look behind him, Jonathan blocks the incoming stab with his spear before sending Alcides flying with a back kick.
"Not bad at all. You're a natural with the sword." compliments Jonathan as he turns to face his nephew with a smile on his face. "Come." he says as he beckons Alcides to attack with a gesture of his hand.
With a smirk on his face, and eyes sparkling in glee, Alcides launches himself at his uncle.
The rest of the morning is spent in a similar fashion as Alcides visibly improves with each clash. From being obviously untrained to having at least the basics down, Alcides improves at a rate faster than even most demigods.
Eventually, Alcides is knocked back down to the point of barely being able to hold his sword up.
"That's enough for today." says Jonathan with a proud smile on his face. "You did well today." he says as he takes the blunted sword from Alcides before ruffling his hair. "Go take a shower and come back down for lunch. You still have your academic lessons later on." instructs Jonathan, causing Alcides grumble as he makes his way towards the bathroom.
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With an exhausted sigh, Alcides throws himself face first onto his bed while internally cursing up a storm. ADHD and Dyslexia sucks. From having the words flicker, lines of words merging together or separate, or words flying or falling off the page; to feeling inattentive, being easily distracted, and feeling impulsive and restless. The entire experience sucks. Even though he retained his fluency in French and English from his previous life, he still finds it hard to read anything. At this rate it will take forever for his reading skills to return to the college level they were at in his previous life.
With another sigh, Alcides turns himself on his back before summoning his status screen.
Name: Alcides Malach
Titles: Son of Zeus
MP: 500
SP: 500 [Locked]
Attributes:
Strength: 8
Agility: 10
Dexterity: 7
Endurance: 8
Traits:
[Void Touched]: Alcides' soul has spent an unknown amount of time in the void, allowing him to use dimensions such Tartarus and Hell to travel to different universes without suffering any adverse effects. Unfortunately for him he cannot choose which universe he ends up in since he lacks an ability like the Kaleidoscope to navigate. This trait also makes his soul adapt to whatever universe he finds himself in so that the higher powers cannot reject the abnormality of his existence/presence.
[Greek Demigod]: Alcides Malach is the son of Gabriel Malach and Zeus, the King of Gods, making him a Greek Demigod. Being a Greek Demigod, Alcides is hardwired for combat and ancient Greek, giving him ADHD and Dyslexia. This trait makes it easier for Alcides to learn any combat skill 10 times faster and easier than the greatest mortal prodigy.
[Son of Zeus]: As the Son of Zeus, the God of Thunder and Lightning, Alcides has the ability to control and generate lightning along with immunity to electricity and lightning depending on the attacker. Unlike some of his siblings however, Alcides falls short when it comes to raw power.
Skills:
Ancient Greek(Passive) LV-MAX: Understanding of the ancient Greek language, whether spoken or written.
French(Passive) LV-MAX: Understanding of the french language, whether spoken or written. Despite being fluent in the language, Alcides still struggles with reading it due to his Dyslexia
English(Passive) LV-MAX: Understanding of the english language, whether spoken or written. Despite being fluent in the language, Alcides still struggles with reading it due to his Dyslexia
Hand-to-Hand Combat(Passive) LV-15: proficiency, capabilities and knowledge in unarmed combat
Swordsmanship(Passive) LV-8: Understanding of the way of the sword and how to use it in combat.
"Not bad for a first day." mutters Alcides to himself as he struggles against his exhaustion to keep his eyes open.
With a content sigh, Alcides quietly slips off into a peaceful slumber.
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"Alcides, wake up!" calls out Jonathan's voice, wrestling Alcides from his sleep. "Get up, we need to go now!" urgently says Jonathan as he removes the cover from his nephew.
"What's wrong?" says an alarmed Alcides as he hops off his bed and dons the same training clothes from earlier in the day.
"We've been found." says Jonathan as he drags Alcides towards the back entrance of the house. "The wards in the perimeter have been completely destroyed. We only have a few minutes at best before they tear through the remaining traps." explains Jonathan.
"Who's hunting us? Is it the demons?" asks Alcides.
"No. The lower demons are far too weak to destroy the wards and the ones powerful enough can't come to the plane without abandoning a portion of their power and making them too weak to destroy the wards. This is someone else. Someone powerful enough to bypass the Fidelius Charm." replies his uncle.
"The what charm?!" exclaims Alcides as he processes the fact that his uncle just referenced a spell from Harry Potter of all places.
Not seeing the importance of explaining such an irrelevant to his nephew, especially in such a dire situation, Jonathan keeps quiet as he and Alcides exit the house through the hidden back entrance, only to abruptly stop as they come face to face with a group of people holding wands and wearing black hoods and masks with snake-like eye slits to cover their faces.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Mortal wizards are what broke through the wards?" says Jonathan as if he finds the situation too ridiculous.
"Jonathan Malach III, head of a declining and nearly extinct family of powerful warriors and magic users." says a voice as the group of wizards open a path through the middles, allowing their leader, a tall and handsome man, with pale skin, jet black hair, and dark bloodshot eyes. to step through. The man's every step is measured and elegant denoting an experience in battle and nobility.
Barely sparring the man a glance, an action that visibly irritates him, Jonathan erects a golden magical shield around them with a wave of his hands before turning to face Alcides. Taking off a pair of silver bracelets that were hidden under the long sleeves of his shirt, Jonathan places them around Alcides' small wrists.
"Alcides Malach, I, Jonathan Malach III, head of House Malach, have deemed you worthy enough of the position of Heir of House Malach, and I hereby bestow upon you La Pucelle and Luminosité Éternelle to be used only for your protection and the protection of the innocent." declares Jonathan with a hint of power in his words causing the bracelets to shrink until they fit around Alcides' wrists perfectly.
"I need you to do something for me that you won't like." says Jonathan even as the wizards bombard the shield with spells.
"I'm not leaving." replies Alcides with a glare. "We can take them."
"We may be able to beat them, but we won't be able to beat them and the army of monsters behind them." says Jonathan as the roar of an angry bull shakes the forest.
"W-was that the M-Minotaur?" stutters Alcides, earning a nod from Jonathan. "What are mortal wizards doing working with Greek monsters?" he asks as cracks begin to appear on the golden shield.
"They're most likely here for you. Why? I don't know. We can figure it out after we survive this, which is why I need you to run while I hold them off. It will be easier that way." says Jonathan, earning an hesitant nod from Alcides.
"Ok." says Alcides as Jonathan turns back to face their opponents and dismisses the shield.
"A most impressive shield you have there, to be able to block even the Unforgivables." says the man. "Tell me, how did you stumble upon it? You don't exactly strike me as the magically gifted type."
"Ask Hecate for one and maybe she'll be nice enough to give you one without taking your soul in exchange." says Jonathan, causing the man's lips to slightly twitch, an action that did not go unnoticed by Jonathan and Alcides. "I see, so you really are her attack dog." taunts Jonathan as a silver longsword appears in his right hand while a wand appears in his left.
"I, Lord Voldemort, am no one's attack dog. I am simply doing the Goddess of Magic a favor."
"Hmph, that's what she wants you to think. It always starts with one favor, followed by another, and another until she possesses your very soul." says Jonathan as bombards the ground with a spell that enshrouds the forest in a dust cloud before lunging towards the Death Eaters.
Taking advantage of the dust cloud, Alcides quietly slips aways before sprinting deeper into the forest even as a burning rage and feelings of self loathing digs itself in the pit of his stomach. Rage at Voldemort, rage at Hecate, and rage and self loathing at himself for being so weak and needing to run when faced with a mortal wizard while he himself is the son of Zeus. For the first time since his reincarnation, Alcides is assailed by negative emotions. However, despite feeling these emotions, Alcides simply grits his teeth and continues to run while silently vowing to make Voldemort and Hecate pay for their actions.
As Alcides runs deeper into the forest, he suddenly feels goosebumps on his skin as the world slows down to a crawl and he sees a black mass as big as a pickup truck jumps towards him from the corner of his vision. Lunging into a roll, Alcides barely manages to avoid it before he's forced into a stop as it lunges over him to land mere inches in front of him.
With a roar, the black mass strikes him in his left arm, breaking it and sending him flying back at the same time.
As pain explodes through his body, Alcides forces himself to ignore it in favor of standing up and facing his attacker, a hellhound from the fields of Hades.
As the hellhound stalks around Alcides, it releases a low growl from deep within its throat, a growl that would have most cowering in fear before it rips out their throat. Alcides however doesn't hear a growl. Rather he hears a cackling sound reminiscent of the hyenas from The Lion King as they taunt their opponent. It's a sound that not only unnerves him, but also causes his rage to explode.
With a glare not belonging to one his age, Alcides launches himself at the hellhound with a roar that is far too loud for his small frame. "You, Voldemort, Hecate… Stop mocking me!" screams Alcides as lightning explodes from his body and the deafening sound of thunder rumbles through the forest.
Before the hellhound can react, Alcides appears before it in a flicker of lightning and pierces his hand through its head, killing it instantly and causing it to combust into a cloud of golden dust.
Watching the hellhound die by his hands, Alcides can't help the chuckle that bubbles from within him. "That was so stupid." he says to himself as he's hit by a wave of exhaustion and falls unconscious face first on the golden dust.
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The sound of talking rouses him into consciousness, and it takes all of Alcides' willpower to refrain from groaning. His body feels as if it's been hit by a truck, his mouth feels so dry that even swallowing his saliva to hydrate it hurts, and his thoughts feel sluggish as if he were drunk.
"How injured is he?" asks a cold female voice.
"It's nothing serious. Just a broken arm and extreme exhaustion from overdrafting his power." replies Voldemort's voice.
"Good. Lord Kronos will be pleased." says the female voice, causing Alcides' breath to hitch in his throat and a shiver to run down his spine as fear quickly overtakes him.
Bolting up from his position on the floor, Alcides pays neither Voldemort nor the woman any mind as he sprints towards the only path he sees in the massive dark cavern.
"You insufferable child. Come back here this instant." screams the woman as Alcides runs away at a speed far faster than even an Olympic level athlete.
Ignoring the woman's enraged roar, Alcides puts his all into running as far and as fast as he can. Similar to when faced against the hellhound, the world around him slows to a crawl and he becomes hypersensitive to everything around him. The stale air of the cavern, the uneven ground on which he walks on, and even the shifting wind caused by the spells sent flying towards him by Voldemort. As if he has eyes in the back of his eyes, Alcides weaves around Voldemort's spells in such a fashion that they hinder the woman chasing him instead of helping her.
As Alcides continues to run, he places all of his energy into surviving the spells and not getting caught by the woman, causing him to almost miss the fact that he arrives at a massive cliff and to stumble his way into a stop.
"You've finally stopped running, little half-blood." says the woman as she and Voldemort as they hastily come to a stop a few feet away from Alcides as if they are afraid of the cliff. "Falling into The Pit is a fate worse than death, especially for a demigod like you. So why don't you be a good boy and walk away from its entrance." she says warily, causing Alcides to look down the cliff and into the Pit.
"W-what does he want with me?" asks Alcides as he slowly steps towards The Pit.
"He wants to raise you of course. You shall be his herald of the new Golden Age and strike down the gods for their carelessness and arrogance. With you serving as the leader, the demigods will finally have a chance of a peaceful and happy life. No longer will you be forced to suffer and die at the whims of the gods, and when the gods have been struck down you will serve as the prince of the new world higher than all and below than none other than Lord Kronos." says the woman, causing Voldemort to silent fume at the prospect of this child being higher than him. However, knowing who and what faction he is currently dealing with Voldemort does not dare to object, lest he be struck down where he stands.
The words of the woman succeed in stopping Alcides from further stepping towards The Pit and almost convinces him to approach, however the image of a golden eyed Luke possessed by Kronos completely disabuses him of the notion.
Mustering his courage, Alcides stands as tall as he possibly can and glares at the woman. "Better to die standing than live on my knees." he says with as much pride as he can before letting himself fall at the edge of the cliff with only the enraged scream of the woman to send him off.
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He doesn't know how long he's been falling for since his initial plunge, only that between then and now he's fallen unconscious several times as his body tries to recover from the extreme exhaustion, the broken arm, and whatever internal damage that he may have. The entire experience feels more like a fever dream than a plunge into Tartarus itself. As that thought crosses his mind Alcides finally catches a glimpse of the end of his fall, a roaring polluted river filled with pretty much anything you could imagine, from broken toys, to ripped up diplomas, the river is essentially a scrapheap of human miseries. The river is filled with lost hopes and dreams, as well as wishes that never came true.
Recognising it as the River Styx, Alcides only has time to send a brief prayer to his father as he begins to fall unconscious once again, and as his awareness starts to fade his last thoughts are of the beautiful sword of St. Catherine of Alexandria. The sword of his ancestor Jeanne D'arc, the sword that she has never swung once in her lifetime, the sword that is a conceptual weapon in another universe and acts as a catalyst to manifest the flames which once burned her to death by saying "O' Lord, I entrust this body to you—", a line from a death poem, as an activation incantation. The very same sword that is now linked to him physically as a bracelet around his wrist and magically as the weapon of the heir of House Malach. Even as he falls unconscious, his thoughts stubbornly cling onto that sword as if it were the only thing anchoring him to life.
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As Alcides bathes in the Styx, the river takes him to the depths of Tartarus, to places untraversed by any of the inhabitants of The Pit, to a place similar to The Void, linking universes together through their deepest and darkest depths. Any other demigod or being not powerful enough would have died due to being exposed to the chaotic and destructive energies of that place. However, due to a certain trait of his, Alcides is not only able to survive but he is also able to meander along unconscious until the chaotic energies push him into another universe and drop into an burning and smoldering city.
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He awoke to the screams of people begging to be saved, the smell of burnt flesh and smoldering ruins, and the feeling of cursing flames encroaching upon his body to take his life. With a considerable amount of effort, Alcides barely manages to pick himself up before the flames completely envelop him. As he stands however, burning pain shoots out throughout his body, causing him to stumble before he quickly catches himself.
Taking stock of his body he finds that not only did he not get better, but his body is in a worse shape than before. Other than exhaustion and a broken arm he now sports a broken leg, a sprained ankle, a cracked rib, and several internal bruises. Unfortunately however, with the flames slowly spreading towards him he isn't in a position to stay in place and heal. So he does the only thing that he can, walk.
Alcides walks through the smoldering city, ignoring the cries for help as he passes them by. As he walks however the cursed flames continue at his heels demanding his life, so he feeds it his very first name, the name before his reincarnation, and continues on. The flames, not appeased, once again demand his life, so he feeds it the hated memories of his first life. The flames return once again, so he relinquinshes the personal joyful memories of his first life. Then he feeds it memories of his hobbies, his friends, and his family of his first life. The flames however, continue unsatisfied; so he begins to feed it with his emotions, starting with the negative ones such hatred, fear, and disgust. That seems to appease the flames somewhat, yet not enough for it to leave him alone; so he continues to feed it with emotions and memories.
Eventually however, he is only left with three positive emotions, joy, pride, and hope, along with sets of memories that he refuses to relinquish for reasons that he no longer remembers.
The flames however don't care, and seem to want to devour everything that makes him Alcides Malach, son of Gabriel Malach and Zeus, nephew of Jonathan Malach III, heir of House Malach, and a very young man who has just recently reincarnated into Alcides.
Stumbling over a corpse, Alcides lets out a strangled cry as his one good ankle twists and he falls on his back onto a smoldering collapsed wall. As he lays there on the ground and on the verge of dying, Alcides finally hears it, the sound that he had been hoping to hear, the sound of a man's voice as he approaches him.
Turning his head towards the voice, Alcides catches a glimpse of his savior, a man wearing black suit and trench coat, and a face filled with joy as he walks towards Alcides with a red haired boy no older than five cradled in his arms. The name Kiritsugu makes itself known to Alcides from deep within his memories, yet he pays it no mind in favor of observing the man who seems to have been saved when he not only found one but two survivors in this burning city. Yet, despite looking quite happy, Alcides can't help but find that the man's eyes are too hollow and empty for one experiencing joy.
As Kiritsugu reaches him, the last thing Alcides sees is a golden light as a warmth that can only come from Utopia envelops him.
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AN: Yes, I'm officially back. Like back back and here to stay. I was absent because I kept getting sick. In the past four months I've been sick about six times with covid being one of those instances. However, now I'm officially back and I plan to continue The Godslaying Pharaoh(I even have half of a chapter completed for it), and this story. I don't currently plan on continuing A Nosferatu's Odyssey because the planning for that story was not only rushed but it was also poorly done. I might just replace it with this one or rewrite the single chapter I have so that the starting world is different from Kuroko no Basket. You guys let me know what you think and I'll pick the suggestion I like best.