"So, let me get this straight," an old,weathered voiced rang out half in disbelief and half in apparent concern for the young man in front of him. "You went through your prophetic moment where you saw lots of stuff happening and that made you pull us out of the Hollow? Just like that?"
When you put it like that, thought Lighter with an inner groan, of course it's bound to sound nuts.
It was a bit after Big Daddy and Piper left that Lighter call for his friends after their reunion with their friends and family to have their now due talk. He had stalled enough thanks to the unexpected visit from those two and the time had come.
Ratena, on the other hand, just stared at Lighter trying to find any tell of his that this was a joke or some sort of Ether induced confusion or anything that made more sense than what he just said.
Not that he's said much, despite what his Word imp-, her train of thought halted and her eyes widened.
"Wait a sec... Lighter," she saw it then. He knew she connected the dots and his eyes looked anywhere but at them, "how bad was it?"
"You're putting him on the spot, Tena," Dane cut in gruffly, "I'm sure you can tell it was pretty fucking bad if he went in still hurt."
"And without any protective gear on top of that," added Nick.
"But still-!" She stood up in protest.
"Tena," Lighter called out, his voice slightly muffled by the hands rubbing his face, a weary sigh leaving him as he leaned back on the sofa he was sitting on, "you want confirmation? Then let me give it to you straight."
He nodded mostly to himself and stood up, pacing back in forth to bleed out some of the nervous energy building up inside him. After all, he was about to tell his friends what could've happened when they died, when he couldn't even find their bodies to give their families at least some measure of closure.
And with more and more of Lighter's memories they felt like his friends instead of just some almost forgotten, named characters he read about in the game lore of one of his favorite characters...
"I couldn't even find you three," he began while pacing, "the only thing I found after days of searching the Hollow was your dog tags, deep in the Hollow. So if you are feeling extra curious, Tena, chances are you three turned into Ethereals. Probably some of the very Ethereals I dealt with while looking for clues on your whereabouts."
He said it almost clinically detached, despite the morbid confession he was struggling with internally. And yet, the more he talked, the more he seemed to sink in those memories that weren't quite his to begin with.
"I had to come back each day, telling everyone I hadn't found you just yet. That the next day might be the lucky day I'd come across you three hiding somewhere, alive. But everyday there would be one less person waiting by the time I came back, until little Annie and Helen where the only ones still holding onto any bit of hope they could," throughout his rant, he never stopped pacing.
For all intents and purposes, Lighter was letting go of all the frustration and pent up emotions that seemed to be tied to those memories. Not to mention his own unsettled emotions at being dropped off the deep end after getting shanked in a damn alley after trying to do his good deed of the year.
He could understand Ratena's and the other's stupefaction at everything he laid out in front of them, especially their deaths, but knowing Hoyo things were going to get worse before they got better and he didn't even manage to get too far in the campaign. Barely reaching the part where they raised a barrier around the Failume Heights a la Sound Four from Naruto...
Hold on, he stopped pacing for a moment, I also helped Trigger, Manato, Belle and the others, didn't I?
He shook his head, deciding to think about his stray thoughts later. Much later.
"Listen, guys," he sat back down with a groan, "things were rough for a good couple of years. I had help from Helen to look after Annie when I paid for their entry into New Eridu, dissolved the company and after that it's all a blur until Big Daddy thought I'd be a good addition to the Sons of Calydon..."
He let out a sigh and his eyes drifted to the ceiling, this wasn't exactly how he expected this talk to go since the one he had with Big Daddy and Piper went relatively well, but he'd chalk it up to emotions getting the better of him.
"This time, I didn't want to see a little girl give up hope of seeing her brother again," almost unconsciously his hands went to his pocket for cigarette that he lit soon after, the other three deciding not to say anything about it when they heard his voice begin to betray his feelings on the matter, "I didn't want an old widow to spend her twilight years in mourning while taking care of girl that forced herself to grow up too quick. I didn't want to become a name they'd only see in an envelope with money for Annie's education. There are many things I don't want to happen. Many that already happen. And more that I won't be able to do anything about," he drifted off as if reliving those events and missed when Dane stood up, his face unreadable as he approached Lighter and pulled to his feet, flicking his half burned through cigarette and squeezing the life out of him in a bear hug causing Lighter's eyes to go wide in surprise.
"Thank you, Lighter," he managed to choke out, "for looking after Annie after we were gone. For not leaving her and Helen adrift. Knowing you, you somehow felt it was all your fault, didn't you?"
"What he said, son," continued Nick who at some point moved to his side and laid a hand on his shoulder, holding him firmly and conveying his gratitude.
After standing still for a few seconds Lighter let out a small sigh and patted Dane's back while Ratena looked uncomfortable at it all. Not exactly what Lighter said, rather what he didn't...
He was left all alone, for years probably, doing who knows what to send Annie and Helen money.
She took a deep breath and stood up when Dane let go of Lighter, walking up to him and holding his face so he'd look at her directly, "Listen, Lighter," she said quietly, "I'm sorry we went off and left you alone, little brother, but this time we'll make sure to stick around. Someone has to make sure you don't do something stupid like fighting a gang all by yourself, right?"
"Funny you'd mention that," chuckled the future Red Scarf, only to get three deadpans in response.
"Nevermind that, though," he shook his head, "things are different now. Better, to be honest, and if things go well then we're going to be part of the Sons of Calydon before long."
This revelation shook the other three. Joining a major gang was a step-up in every sense of the word for any mercenary troupe worth their gear, they went from depending only on their own strength to having a whole group of over a hundred watching their backs, at least. A known group like the Sons of Calydon, who rose in prominence in the last few years, had a having at least twice as strong.
"Well, that sounds damn good, son, I won't lie but what do they want in exchange?" asked Nick, ever the voice of reason.
"Nothing I wouldn't have done either way," was Lighter's simple response after stepping back from Ratena's hold, "doing my part in the gang and helping the Ring grow. And this time we'll all be part of it."
As Lighter looked at all three of his friends, something inside him inexplicably eased up. This time they weren't an obscure but if trivia in his backstory, they weren't a means to give him a tragic backstory he overcame but still weighed on him.
Now they would be the proof he could change things in a way that mattered, both to him and others, and that there was a chance to avoid things from spiralling out of control. He wasn't sure what would come after his foreknowledge ran dry or became useless if he changed enough events but if he could do it, he would. Canon? What's that? By the time the game starting events took place the Outer Ring wouldn't be the Outer Ring but rather its own power, standing as a burgeoning frontier city. Even if he had to drag it kicking and screaming out of its Wild West stage.
"Now then," he lightly clapped to clear his head of wandering thoughts and caught the others' attention, "we have the next few days free to unwind and touch grass, so rest up and we'll wait for Big Daddy on what's next, okay?"
He made for the exit and paused for a tick, a stray thought going through his mind, "Oh, and if you guys hear news of a new foxy Void Hunter being appointed do let me know, would you?" he refused to elaborate further and simply left.
He chuckled as Dane's and Ratena's sounds of displeasure and Nick's amused chuckles rang from inside.
The further he walked out of the settlement, the more his smile of amusement became a flat line of contemplation though and after walking around half a mile, behind a small rock outcropping, his face turned to a small grimace as the reality of it all finally had a moment to sink in.
"Well, it could always be worse. It could be Genshin or even Star Rail, let alone Honkai Impact, so at least I don't have to worry about gods, space gods or wierd human slash space gods. I think," he sighed as he leaned against the outcropping.
For the most part the origin of Hollows hadn't been uncovered before his unexpected journey to ZZZ, but the words of the entity he saw when entering the Hollow didn't fill him with much confidence. Let alone the implication of familiarity between them.
"Whatever," he muttered and pushed off the rocks, dusting inexistent dust off his hands, and began stretching, "I have at least one advantage. I don't need a W-Engine or Drive Discs to use Ether. Somehow."
Thinking back on the brief encounter with the Farbauti, everything was so hectic that he ran in autopilot but if [Pyromaniac] said his natural fire abilities cost less and that was enough to function without additional equipment, did that mean that engines only stimulated Ether and improved elemental manifestation or the "you are a natural pyromantic" part played a bigger role?
Ether was the inner energy that took on elemental properties based on one's alignment, maybe, but before being manifested it also buffed the body as seen with Anton when he stopped a freaking multi ton machine in its tracks in the manliest way possible. And if he recovered energy, therefore Ether, the hotter he ran and being a fire aligned agent, did that mean he'd have a near unlimited power source? At least on paper, because he was still a fleshy human bound to run into the old problem of the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak...
Regardless, since his arsenal wasn't limited to equipment there was nothing stopping him from going all in into a Fire Bender roleplay or maybe pulling a Mustang if he could find a way to make it work. Fire characters were a dime a dozen in fiction, and though he might not be able to pull a Human Torch he could very try other sources of inspiration like good old Escanor, Natsu Dragneel or even Shinra Kusakabe or Madara. Give him a sword and he'd cosplay as Rengoku or Yamamoto if he managed to pull it off without cutting himself.
He quite literally had the power of anime on his side, he just had to make it work outside of anime or magic logic. Nothing too difficult, right? Right?
"I ought to start small though," he mused as he tried to ignite his hand to great success. "It's that easy?"
There was some morbid curiosity in seeing his hand wrapped in fire but not being burned, but he shook it off, "Maybe the classics will work best to begin with. Fireball, Fire Punch and maybe Shinra's Devil's Footprint, if I don't end up crashing everywhere..." Seeing the rocks around him, he thought better of it and just squared off against the rock behind him.
"I better start with a Pokémon build to keep things safe. If I have it my way, I'll go from Stun to Anomaly," he grinned and built up more fire in his right first and took position to throw a punch. Old experience and the new knowledge from his [Krav Maga] skill let him take a good punching position and with one swing at the upper half of the two meters tall rock it... exploded into rubble and dust...
Huh?
For all of two seconds Lighter's face went blank trying to process one simple fact: he didn't feel any resistance whatsoever when he hit the rock.
"That ain't right," he muttered as he saw what remained of the outcropping, "it didn't even feel as if I hit rock. Or had my hand stuck in the middle of a small explosion... What the actual hell is with this anime logic?"
No matter how much he examined his hand or knuckles, there was no mark on them or even soot from the explosion.
Does Ether passively enhance the body to such a degree? But then what about being shot, cut or otherwise ragdolled all over the place? I have so many questions...
While his mind tried to come up with any possible reason for his body's selective endurance he took his shoes off to try the next part of his small experiment.
"Ok, nothing outrageous," he tried to psych himself up as he limbered up. "Remember Iron Man, start small."
Closing his eyes and imagining a small propulsor he mentally adjusted the output until he was hovering a few inches above ground, and the ground itself began to blacken and crack a bit...
"Huh? Just like Iron Man, huh?" his musings were cut short when a small detail became apparent. Thrust was being generated, yes, but only from his soles.
And because he was effectively standing on a tightrope without any stability support, the moment he stumbled a bit and his feet aimed forward physics decided to assert dominance. With gravity and friction not affecting as much now that he was slightly airborne, all that impulse now being aimed in front of him cause to propel backwards. Straight into the outcropping from earlier ass over teakettle.
"Fuck!" *Crash!*
This time whatever remained of the outcropping ceased to exist and blasted all over the place while Lighter himself had a sudden, deep understanding of the fact that while an outcropping didn't present much problem for his Ether reinforced body, bedrock itself was still too much for his fleshy bits as he skipped while bleeding off momentum.
"Ugh... I feel like a bug slammed against a windshield," after a few skips, he landed curled up on his side. His everything hurting as he pushed himself to sit on his haunches with a groan as a joint or two popped.
"Fucking hell," pushing himself to his feet he stretched and dusted himself, "just how do Hoshi and Shifu make this crap look so easy?" he wondered out loud as he moved away from the rubble, his clothes now somewhat torn here and there.
Okay, me, think logically... This isn't any different than walking without Ether, just get used to the action until it becomes second nature... Preferably without anything I could crash into...
"Fine," he grumbled, "something nice and easy this time. Fireball!" he chanted for the bit and willed a ball of yellow-orange fire he quickly in front of him.
This time he went for something simpler and smaller, and the slight knock back created by the football sized Fireball unraveling on contact reflected that.
"So there is an actual measure of will going into it?" He began pacing, disregarding the Lego shaped debris under his feet. "If I just... do it, it happens. And if I think too hard then things go to shit real quick?"
He stopped and crossed his arms, his head moving from side to side as he closed his eyes.
"Hah!" with a sound of exertion he whipped his arm out and snapped his fingers while thinking of a thin line of Ether connecting his hand and the debris before him quickly catching fire. Not unlike a fuse in a stick of dynamite.
The result? A quick flash darting to the rocky remains that quickly were consumed in a bigger explosion than the one created by the earlier Fireball.
"Heh, eat your heart out Mustang, who needs gloves or clapping to make things go boom?" he chuckled as he tried it a few more times for added measure, some very necessary research... After all, there was no one there to hear him giggle like a teenaged girl the more the area around went up in flames.
__________
After a couple of hours of testing, crashing and burning, quite literally in some cases, Lighter could only reach one conclusion.
"I suck at physical techniques, don't I? It did wonders for my mind to blow shit up, but that seems to be about all I can do right now."
And wasn't that the truth, back when he dashed to bash the Farbauti's teeth in he didn't actively think how he moved and instead just did it. Now no matter how he tries to approach it, he overshoots his jumps and dashes.
At this point he was closer to fighting like a Fire Bender than any other character or even the original Lighter. It seemed he was wired to become an Anomaly specialist from the start without even realizing it, though it wasn't anything some good old hard work wouldn't fix.
"Okay, okay," he sighed and shook his arms and faced another rock, "if I can't hit someone without turning them into meaty chunks if I channel Ether, all I have to do is do as Rock Lee or Asta did, I'll cast fist!" He swung like the rock owed him money but made sure he didn't include any Ether in his strike this time.
And lo and behold, different from earlier, the rock didn't get pulverized and instead merely cracked around his fist. Well, merely didn't mean a human or thiren wouldn't get sent to ER or an early grave if hit, but they'd at least remain in one piece... Silver linings and all that.
After a couple more practice punches he was quite satisfied with the results, "It seems that for now, I can keep things physical with humanoid enemies and probably some mob type Ethereals while savings fire attacks for actual threats until I can mix them both without burning them to cinders. Experimenting is gonna be a chore and a half," he groaned as he moved to put his shoes back on.
At this he wasn't sure if it counted as a nerf or Debuff when compared to the original Lighter. Sure, he could chuck a fireball his problem's way to make it stop being a problem, but unless his enemy could take it then he was stuck with getting physical until he could balance how much Ether he put into his attacks so as to not pop them like a piñata.
Well, if I have anything right now it's time to make it work. At least anywhere from a week to a couple of months if Pops gets to find any info on the Silver Squad, and if Anby and Soldier 11 are anything to go by, they all are pretty strong. Probably like your average A rank agent in the game, some probably S rank under the right conditions.
He madehis way back to the settlement as the sun began to set and his mind wandered.
It'sbarely been a day, about half a day if I'm being picky... Honestly, I should be freaking out after everything that happened and how fast things went and the whole feeling like I got to meet other characters at Failume Heights when Lighter never went there but... as a Subaru worshipper I'd rather enjoy it that get hung up on the details, he stopped for a moment when the settlement came within sight and turned to look at the setting sun, the barren Outer Ring landscape getting tinged in burned orange and the sky stuck between a dark blue that faded into the same orange from the ground.
No matter what's actually going on, right now my chances of survival are tied with the prosperity of the Outer Ring and I'll be damned if I don't drag it back to civilization kicking and screaming. Calydon might've been brutal when he went about things, what with employing the Sweepers and all that, but with Pops' and the others' help, I'll make it work. Whether by hook or crook the Outer Ring will rival New Eridu by the time I'm done with it, just without T.O.P.S. pulling their usual stunts.
As he resumed his walk, he saw his friends come out to meet him halfway with Nick wondering what he'd been up to and Dane and Ratena looking to get explanations on the bomb he dropped before leaving and Lighter trying to placate them, amused. It was as he looked at the three of them, with Helen in the back with Annie confused about what the three were talking about, that it hit him just how much he changed things by having the chance to save his team.
Annie didn't lose her brother, nor did Helen lose her lifelong partner yet still deciding to look after the little girl when Lighter himself couldn't do more than give them money. It might seem small or inconsequential, but it was the biggest proof that the canon he knew was no more than a suggestion. And if he managed to pull off saving the Silver Squad, then canon could very well be dead even if some end up sticking with the Defense Force like Soldier 11 did or some decided to settle down in New Eridu or become Hollow Raiders like Anby.
He knew he couldn't right every wrong, but he could very well do his best to make the best of what he's got. And the five in front of him would always be the best proof that this was real life, not a game he could coast through, simply letting things go as planned just to take advantage of his knowledge of the plot. And besides, he didn't exactly get to far ahead, so might as well rewrite history while he was at it.
Yeah, I like the sound of that. Let's rewrite history and overturn every tragedy I can while I'm at it.
It would take time, maybe a few years, but he'd do it. Somehow. With his new abilities and early game knowledge he'd fine a way to make everything better.
If the Exaltists think their Creator is some godly being, let's show them what happens when you add in your average JRPG player to the equation.
Were his thoughts as they all went back to settlement, Ratena and Dane still full of questions about everything and Nick trying to calm them down.
I'd live up to this name I inherited. I'll light a way for everyone around me. With all the people I'm bound to meet it'd be shameful if I didn't manage at least that.
As they went in, the last rays of the sun faded out and gave the stage for the stars to shine over the Outer Ring. One particular star shining bright and unblinking in the night sky.
A name shared with different things. An asteroid, a myth, a planet, a proxy. But to many, the name once given to that star had one single meaning, the Shining One.
Phaeton.
Endof the Prologue
***
Well, shucks. This is embarrassing...
After saying that I'd have this up some time during the weekend only to post on a Tuesday.
So, for anyone interested, here's what happened. To celebrate my first paycheck after a while I decided to order some takeout Saturday afternoon and some beers to go along with it, after I ran out of beers I remembered I had some cheap whiskey that had been darkening my pantry for a while and thought "Why not? Whatever could go wrong?"
Turns out, a while fucking lot... While drunk I went all "Hold my beer" and decided I could edit what would've been this very chapter because I could "feel my creative juices flowing" and when I woke up on Sunday the chapter was gone. Not half written or edited, I had actually deleted almost all of it while "editing" it and only just managed to rewrite it but I'm still not quite satisfied with how it turned out in the end but if I keep going in circles I'll never post anything...
Anyway, we have effectively left the prologue and now the story will begin to pick up the pace. In my head, with how popular the Isekai genre is, I'd think that someone without much left to lose getting spirited away to one of their favorite pieces of media could very well pull a Subaru and decide to roll with the punches and that's the perspective I went with here.
As said in my previous note, I thought a bit on how and why Lighter ended in ZZZ the way he did and what exactly he met before he entered the Hollow. In my head it's a pretty clever way to tie everything up but I'll have to try not to butcher it.
Well, that's it for me. I'll go back to my new daily nine to five grind as Ollie so nicely put it, though I feel like I'm the one getting ground...