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Veldora opens his eyes and is greeted, bafflingly, by the same thing he saw when his eyes were closed.
Which is to say: absolutely nothing.
And he would like to point out that that was bad! Very bad, even! His last memory, after all, had been of fighting alongside the others in what very well might be the final battle of their world. He had been showing off his incredible might when the world seemed to shift, rippling almost. This was followed immediately by Rimuru reaching across the soul corridor in a panic.
Veldora had gone to reach back—
And wound up here, in the apparent void, with the soul corridor nothing but a blurry mess. So, actually, very bad might've even been a vast understatement! Which means him screaming and throwing every ounce of his pent up magicules at this darkness was, actually, completely reasonable!
He did not stop doing so, either. Veldora was howling with all of his might, thrashing his wings and summoning his storms to crash against this void. Except, oddly, very little thunder or lightning answered him… He chose to instead resort to bashing his head against it. Hard.
Miraculously, the darkness cracked.
Light spilt in.
And Veldora surged towards it, with every fiber of his despair and determination fueling him. He did not fear what was on the other side of this cage, nor did he particularly care. After all, without the other end of the soul corridor, what need was there to fear or care? He just needed out, and he needed to find Rimuru.
With that in mind… Sharp edges of his wings reaching out, Veldora tipped back enough to charge a burst of electricity within him. This time, his powers answered him, and with a mighty roar, it exploded out towards the crack.
(He paid no mind to the fact said mighty roar sounded more like a pathetic squeak. Priorities and all.)
The cracks split further, encompassing this black cage of his, and Veldora again threw himself at the center of the fractures. This time, it gave way fully.
Veldora tumbled freely out of his prison!
Right into someone's arms.
…How odd. Veldora was many dozens of times the size of humans, majins, and actually every species that wasn't a True Dragon. It should not be possible for someone to catch him in their arms, and his sisters most definitely would not even if they could. Velgrynd said he squirmed too much, and Velzard remarked that hugs needed to be earned. So who—and more importantly, how had they—done this?
Veldora proceeds to prove Velgrynd right and writhes with all of his might, desperately trying to catch sight of his apparent imprisoner. He hears a sharp, "Oh! Come on, man—!" and ignores it until, finally, he frees his head enough for Veldora to catch sight—
Of Rimuru.
…Maybe?
No. Well, yes. It's definitely Rimuru. It's the same golden eyes, it's the same silvery-blue hair, it's the same visage of that Shizue lady Rimuru was so taken with. But, and Veldora cannot place it, but there is something that's not quite right.
His brother answers. His very much dead for several thousand years brother.
"Ah, Raphael!" Veldanava exclaims, remarkably chipper. Veldora isn't sure he can ever remember any of his siblings sounding so happy. Wait— "Has our newest sibling finally arrived?"
"Yes," Rimuru answers. And it's definitely his voice, too! Fond. Exasperated. Tired. But, really, hold on a second— "Veldora, meet your elder brother. He's been very excited to meet you."
Veldanava snorts. "Ha! As if you've been any less excited! I swear, you weren't this excited for Velgrynd or Velzard. Honestly, Veldora hasn't even said his first word yet and I'm quite certain you like him more than you like me!"
"That because I do like him more than I like you."
"How harsh, sibling mine!"
Seriously, wait a moment!!
This—… There was no way this was Raphael! Veldora doesn't have a lot of memories of them, mostly because his sisters forced him into reincarnation after reincarnation, but he likes to think he remembers enough. Veldora remembers Veldanava and Raphael were never far from each other; he remembers that they were soft-spoken and scatterbrained; he remembers they had draconic wings, and were most definitely not a slime.
But, there is one way to check for certain.
Tearing his gaze away from his apparently not-dead brother, Veldora cooed up at maybe-Raphael-maybe-Rimuru. And yes, he would admit that it was a coo, unfortunately. Regardless, it got the other to glance back down at Veldora, and Veldora in turn flooded his half of the soul corridor with everything he had.
The corridor clicked back into place.
Rimuru-Raphael startled.
And then, horrifically, both of them began to cry.
It took a while for Veldanava to calm both of them, partly because he clearly had no idea what he was doing, and partly because he seemed to be panicking too. The stars in his hair had been flickering like they were trying to use that odd Morse Code Veldora had read about in the sacred texts, and he had somehow come to the conclusion that smothering Rimuru and Veldora in fireflies was the perfect plan.
It was almost funny.
Still, they calm down eventually, though whether or not Veldanava's efforts were involved is up for debate. Veldora huffs, curling his much smaller than usual body around Rimuru's shoulder, and says through Thought Communication, "Well, that was odd. And actually, I am still confused…"
Veldora just barely catches Ciel's exasperated sigh before Rimuru lets out a noise between a laugh and a sob. "Aren't we all?" Rimuru asks back. "But, hey, it's better now that you're here."
"…Here as in?"
«The beginning of creation,» says Ciel, clipped. Perhaps even stressed, which Veldora finds particularly impressive considering she's made of information. But, well, that scary Hero has a Manas too who experiences bloodlust and grief, and Michael was experiencing… something, Veldora is sure. Maybe Manas just reflect their host's emotions? If that's so… Veldora curls a little closer to Rimuru, tail swinging around the other's neck. Ciel continues, «We believe we are stuck in a timeloop. It's uncertain how long it's been going on for, and the requirements to break the loop are similarly vague.»
Oh.
Rimuru copies Ciel by sighing. He raises a hand to smooth over Veldora's scales and adds, "Right. We think we know what's going on, but without any memories of past loops… Well, this is what we have: one, it's probably not connected to the loops Chloe experiences where I die against people like the Eastern Empire or Guy; it has to be Feldway's Chrono Saltation for the loop to trigger. Two, I die at some point, since I need to become Satoru Mikami, but we aren't sure when or what causes it. And three, we have to make as little impact in this world as possible so that we can make it back home, otherwise small discrepancies will pile up and alter the course of time."
Oh. Veldora really doesn't like the sound of that. Actually, he thinks he might hate the sound of that. He certainly wouldn't be able to handle being surrounded by friends who don't know him at all, while being unable to befriend them yet for fear of never going home! He can't imagine Rimuru going through that repeatedly…
Even so, Veldora has one more question.
"When I was young, I had an older sibling named Raphael," Veldora explains. He leans into Rimuru's touch as he does so, allowing small sparks of electricity to bounce between them. The fireflies fly out of the way. "But my brother called you Raphael. Did you replace them in this time, or—"
Rimuru pushes something comforting through the bond. Ciel voices the reassurance, «Negative. We took on the name 'Raphael' because it belonged to the skill that was cannibalized to become Manas: Ciel, and thus is one we both respond to. Before we took on the name upon meeting with the Star King Veldanava, there was no individual named Raphael.»
"Right. Meaning, uh…?"
«The Raphael you knew was Master.»
Is that better or worse than what Veldora feared? Both, he decides. Better, because it means he didn't lose one sibling for another, because it means Rimuru has always been with Veldora; worse, because that makes it indisputable that Rimuru has gone through this painful sounding loop at least once before, though likely multiple times.
Luckily—
"Hmph! Well, you don't have to worry about it alone anymore! I, the great Veldora Tempest, am here to assist my sworn brother in his fight against time itself!" Veldora shouts. He tips his head back at the declaration, a noise like (very, very, very distant) thunder leaving him. The remaining fireflies scatter back into the grass. Rimuru laughs.
"Yeah," he says aloud. Rimuru reaches up and pulls Veldora free of his shoulders. Veldora yelps, even as he settles into the squishy hold he quickly finds himself in. Rimuru hugs a bit tighter and grins, golden eyes bright. "Yeah! You're here, and that means everything is going to be alright!"
This was the furthest thing from alright!! That is Veldora's first thought upon seeing the so-called guests Veldanava brought home, several dozen decades after Veldora found himself in the past. Naturally, he starts hissing and spitting lightning. Velzard heaves a sigh.
The Angels of Origin standing before them shift awkwardly.
Rimuru heaves a sigh then, too.
"Come here, you," he says, promptly scooping Veldora up in his arms. Veldora struggles the entire time, having no intentions of allowing the likes of Feldway near Rimuru ever again, not that any of his siblings seem to particularly care about that. Including Rimuru, actually, who turns to Veldanava. "Ne, Veldanava? You should've told me you were having guests over; I would have made dinner."
"I do not know what you're talking about!" Veldanava chirped. "And they are not 'guests'! I have decided to call them angels."
Fond exasperation floods the soul corridor, remiss to those enjoyable days spent messing around training in Ramiris' Labyrinth. Veldora… is very carefully not getting jealous that Rimuru is as fond of his brother as he is Veldora. He continues to try and wiggle his way free.
"Angels? And what do they do?" Velgrynd asks as she steps closer, poking at Opera's cheek. Impressively, Opera remains impassive, save for a few curious glances at Veldora who, yes, continues to hiss.
"They are our guardians, in essence. I've also ensured their life spans are as long as ours, so that while other mortal species die, we will always have some companionship."
"Which is wildly regarded as a bad move," Veldora scoffs through the soul corridor.
Rimuru ducks his head, hair covering his grin as he shoots back, "When did you learn that reference?"
"Guardians?" Velzard, meanwhile, echoes as she takes to standing on Opera's other side. Her feathery wings are poked and prodded at. "What could we possibly need guarding from? Nothing you've made stands a chance against us yet."
"Nothing I have made, yes," Veldanava agrees. His voice has dropped the excitement it had previously held. Veldora doesn't like that at all. "But… call me paranoid, call me a fool, but I believe there's something out there that means us harm."
"Ivarage?"
"Yes, probably. But, you know, sometimes previous loops return in flashes, and—"
«In one iteration of us, it was believed that Raphael was from a world Ivarage—or perhaps even someone above Ivarage—destroyed, hence why Raphael refused to talk of their home and why no one from this universe could find said home.»
"So your siblings, and a few other certain individuals, got very skittish about perceived threats."
"Our siblings, you mean!"
"But, that's a future matter, for now," Veldanava continues. He grins then, reminding Veldora of Milim. Scarily so. Really, the family resemblance is astounding… "Raphael, have you seen? Their wings are designed after yours! My wish is for it to bring us good luck in battle."
Veldora will not admit to his pathetic, baby sized shout of outrage, but he will admit to trying to strike the nearest angel—Zalario, as it turns out—with lightning. Rimuru wraps a hand around Veldora's baby sized snout, effectively silencing him, and says, "That's—" so dumb, Veldora hears, "—very sweet. Do they have any tactical advantages?"
"…Soft?"
A sigh. "Right. We'll work on that."
Velzard nods her agreement, and then turns to fling an icicle at Corn. Apparently, she took that to mean they'll work on it now. But Dino and Gracia jump into action quick, so apparently that wasn't too unexpected for them. Which, in hindsight, might have been due to Veldora's clear antagonism, but well…
Speaking of—
"You would let them get stronger?" Veldora looks up at Rimuru to ask. Velgrynd joins in on the fight and starts shooting flames. Veldanava just stands with his hands on his hips and watches it happen. Rimuru removes his hand from Veldora's mouth and shakes his head.
"It's already been thousands of years for me, Veldora. I'm furious, don't get me wrong, but I'm also just… tired, I guess. Besides, these angels haven't done anything wrong yet. They're like, three hours old." As if to prove Rimuru's words true, and ironically Veldanava wrong by extension, Feldway and Pico get their wings tangled up. They both drop out of the sky.
…Veldora can see Rimuru's point. However, "Well, I'll be angry for both of us then! Those angels aren't stepping a foot near you if I have a say on it! Except maybe Dino… Ramiris approved of him. Sorta."
Ciel—wonderful, magnanimous, always right Ciel—hums her agreement. Rimuru snorts a laugh. "If that makes you both feel better," he relents, and then waves Veldanava off as he spares them a glance.
Corn plummets then, too.
Veldora is pleased.
Back home—back in the era of the Jura-Tempest Federation—Veldora can't recall ever hearing about the war against Ivarage. He thinks, if he had to give it a name, he'd call it something cool like The Imprisoning War or The Battle of Light and Darkness. Maybe even The Original Conflict.
In this era, the one of long forgotten myths and abilities, Veldanava calls it The Fight Of Our Right To Have Hope, and personally, Veldora thinks that is a mouthful. Veldanava really should've just let Rimuru name this whole shebang, but then again, no one here yet knows of Rimuru's naming prowess.
As if they can both read Veldora's mind, Veldanava and Rimuru turn away from their conversation to give him dry looks and raised eyebrows, respectively. Seeing as he lacks a humanoid form at the moment, Veldora cannot cross his arms and pout.
He can, however, hunch his shoulders and look away quickly.
Through the soul corridor, he hears Ciel say, «Master, I seems I was incorrect. The appearances of the individual Veldora Tempest will likely not reduce your stress. Rerunning the calculations proposed the theory that your stress will actually increase.»
"Thank goodness slimes don't have blood pressure."
"Brother, Raphael. I do hope one of you has a plan for that… thing," Velzard says as she comes up behind Veldora. Veldora, for his part, jumps several feet into the air and moves to duck behind Rimuru. The effect is somewhat killed by having grown several dozen feet, and now once again towering over the slime in question.
Velzard scowls anyway.
"Not much of one, I'm afraid," Veldanava then answers. He turns away, easily ignoring both siblings, and adds, "Unfortunately, I have lost Turn: Null when I created this world, so the ability to defeat Ivarage is likely non-existent." Veldora and Rimuru share a look. "The angels, on the other hand, should prove useful. The minor gods will assist as well."
Rimuru turns away from Veldora with a grim look, one that Veldora has grown used to by now: We cannot do anything too drastic, or history will change. We cannot alter the past, lest we lose the future we hold dear.
Perhaps it is selfish, but Veldora, and now Rimuru, are both True Dragons. They are selfish by nature. They do not let go of what is theirs. And they will do anything to get it back, even if it means letting the denizens of this universe believe extinction is on the horizon.
"What Veldanava means, is that we will be sealing Ivarage away, rather than destroying them. We also don't know if killing Ivarage will destroy Veldanava, given they were once one being, so this is more precautionary than from a lack of power," Rimuru goes on to say at Veldanava's hesitance, carefully jumping around the fact that he has Turn: Null, or as it's known these days, Nihility Collapse, and can use it quite effectively. "Veldanava will lead the angels, as well as you and your siblings, against Ivarage and it's forces. The giants will assist, too. Valentine will be tasked with keeping you all alive, while Ramiris and I keep the Cardinal World stable."
"Veldanava leading the angels? Wouldn't it be better if you did it?" And that, there, is Velgrynd, appearing from behind Veldora. He clamps down on a yelp, but several lightning bolts do jump about.
Rimuru reaches up to smooth down a few particularly electric scales as he frowns at Velgrynd. "No? Veldanava created them, so they'll listen better to him. Besides, I'm not even from here; me being on the battlefield might just throw everything into chaos."
At the mention of chaos, Veldora watches as those few sentences throws his other three siblings into confusion. Velgrynd and Velzard catch eyes first, brows furrowed and lips drawn tight, before they turn in sync to shoot a look at Veldanava that clearly reads really?? Veldanava shakes his head with nothing short of exasperation.
…Could it be—
No. Surely not. If the Original Angels were designed after Raphael, with the intention of being for Raphael, then surely someone would've mentioned it, right? Besides, Rimuru and Raphael look identical, so as long as one ignores the species issue and the general impossibility of it all, wouldn't an angel have figured out that they were attacking their intended master?
Well, then again, Veldora didn't notice the similarities between Raphael and Rimuru at all. So perhaps not. Perhaps, if the angels were made for Raphael, then them attacking Rimuru was just a cruel twist of fate.
Or the angels weren't made for them at all, and this was just Veldora's elders being downright weird. Who's to say?
Either way, Veldora crouches down a little more and chuffs against Rimuru's shoulder, hoping it conveys please don't make me fight; I want to stay by your side; you're leaving me alone with them? Rimuru sends back a wave of comfort through the corridor.
It's not very reassuring, all things considered.
"It's a messy plan," Veldanava says after that long moment. "And really, it's not much of a plan at all. Nevertheless, it's all we can do with the resources available." He throws out a hand. "Now, Velzard! Contact Ramiris and Valentine; tell them to prepare themselves and their people. Velgrynd, you rally the giants, and I will get the angels. Raphael, begin placing whatever protective measures you can, and Veldora," a smile, "you have my full permission to let loose all that energy of yours. Understood? Then go!"
And like that, they scatter like bugs, beginning the war that could have had a really cool name, but got stuck with a lame, excruciatingly long name.
Beginning the war the could've been ended before it even began, if only Veldora and Rimuru were a little less selfish.
Veldora can feel the muted humor and tired resignation from the soul corridor. He could see the disapproving frowns and judgmental eyes from around the room. He can even hear Veldanava's scolding tone calling out for him.
None of that does anything to stop him from growling at the small blond human before him.
Rudra, of course, doesn't seem that concerned with the very angry dragon trying to hide Rimuru from his sight, probably due to overexposure of Velgrynd and her fiery rage. In fact, he smiles pleasantly and offers Veldora a wave.
Veldora bristles further.
"Raphael…" Velgrynd begins.
"I know." Rimuru answers. The tone's off, which means it's Ciel. Ciel, who is just as angry at Rudra as Veldora. At least somebody here is on his side.
"Then can you-?"
"Probably not." Which is a 'yes, but I will not' coming from Ciel. Permission, in other words!!
Disregarding his other siblings, Veldora lumbers forward, over Rimuru, and bends low before Rudra. He puffs, smoke pluming out the sides of his mouth, and overhead storm clouds gather. With a deep rumble of thunder, Veldora speaks. "Listen to me, Rudra of the Nasca Kingdom! I am the Storm Dragon Veldora, and to threaten myself or those closest to me is to incur the wrath of the Heavens!"
"He's being dramatic, love. Don't mind him," Velgrynd cuts in, not bothering to whisper in the slightest. Rudra blinks quickly.
"That seems rude."
"He's being even moreso."
"You're both being rude!" Veldora snaps. "I am in the middle of my monologue! After all, what if one day—totally hypothetical, mind you, no need to worry about this or anything—he has lost so much of his soul that he gets possessed by a once non-sentient part of him that's hellbent on destroying the world to, I don't know, resurrect someone he loves?"
"He would never!" Velgrynd, predictably, snaps back.
Veldanava, meanwhile, frowns and turns to his soon-to-be wife, asking, "How hypothetical is that?"
"Very, I would think," Lucia answers. "Although… the necromancy part might be a risk."
Rimuru—Rimuru-Rimuru again, and not Ciel-Rimuru—tips his head back and cackles.
It is not a happy noise.
Guy Crimson is…
Guy Crimson is flirty and flamboyant, and incredibly powerful, and as cruel as any demon is. But, Veldora must not forget, he is also friends with Ramiris and Milim, and more importantly, Rimuru trusts him. Meaning, in short, no matter how much Veldora would like Guy to stay as far away as Rudra, he's going to be beside Rimuru just as much as Veldora himself is.
And anyway, most annoyingly, Guy is about as threatened by Veldora as Rudra is. Which is to say: not in the slightest. Actually, he seems to find the whole thing amusing. Honestly, why does Rimuru always attract the weirdest individuals?
"I don't like him," Veldora says one day, after having been left outside Guy's place while Rimuru supposedly 'babysat'. Whatever that means. "He's friends with Rudra."
The wind nearly sweeps away his words, flying quickly as they are. Far below, the forest they will come to call home passes in a blur. The cave Veldora will be sealed away in for three hundred years meets a similar fate. Up ahead, Rimuru does a lazy spin.
"Technically I'm also friends with Rudra. Masayuki is his incarnation, remember?" With a flap of his wings, Rimuru is back upright, throwing a golden glance over his shoulder. "Plus, Rudra isn't that bad right now, is he?"
"Hmph! Well, what does Ciel think?"
"Ciel thinks it's, quote, good for Master's mental health, unquote."
"And she chose the first and most powerful Demon Lord?"
"Something about it being good to spar with someone."
"…You can swallow entire True Dragons."
Rimuru heaves a sigh. "Yeah, I know. But I'm not sure I can use Azathoth without someone recognizing Beelzebub later down the line, so I'm mostly limited to my sword." He stops then, suddenly, still midair, with a strangled gasp. Immediately, Veldora is on edge, flinging his magic sense out wide to try and find the issue—
Only for Rimuru to fling himself forward and grab onto Veldora's snout. Veldora slowly blinks in confusion.
"Veldora!" Rimuru shouts, either oblivious to this or uncaring. His voice is filled with a sound Veldora hasn't heard since this adventure to the distant past: excitement. "Veldora! You're here! And you remember!"
…Yeah, no. That did nothing to help Veldora's confusion. He tips his head to the side, though he is careful to not dislodge Rimuru's tiny hands. "Yes? I thought we already covered that."
Rimuru shakes his head quickly, hair flurrying out wide as he grins. "Right, yeah, but look! We are out in the middle of nowhere. There's no one else here, and we are so far in the distant past that any humans will forgot about this. And we both remember."
"…Yes?"
"Veldora, we can fight! You can pull out your human form, and I can pull out Azathoth, and we can just. You know. Let out some pent up energy and frustration!"
Ah. That's right…
Oh!
In that case!
Veldora tips his head back and lets out a boisterous laugh. Magicules explode out of him and begin to reshape him into the humanoid form Rimuru had gifted him. When he finally stops, Rimuru's grin had widened further, and he's taken the time to change into the outfit he wore upon ascending to Demon Lord.
Veldora summons a hurricane in the palm of his hand.
Rimuru mirrors him with a black hole.
And Ciel starts counting them down.
In his last life, Veldora never got a chance to meet Lucia. She was his sister-in-law and the mother of his niece, and yet…
That changed in this life. He had gotten to meet her and grow to know her, too, as an older sister. He had gotten to be there for the wedding, as chaotic as it was, as tinged with future melancholy as it was. And now, somehow, Veldora is here to welcome Milim to the world.
"This is so weird," he hisses to Rimuru. "Last time, I didn't even get to meet her before she became a Demon Lord! And now here I am—" In the palace of the eventual Eastern Empire, surrounded by his siblings and in-laws (Do the angels count as in-laws? Rudra does, of course. Guy… Veldora doesn't want to think about what Velzard does in her free time. But the angels are meant to be extensions of them… step-children, maybe? Or niblings? No, Veldora isn't sure, and it doesn't really matter. It's only Dino now), waiting for the news of Milim's birth.
Veldanava has not stopped pacing for several hours now. He is either going to wear the floor into oblivion, or he's going to give somebody a heart attack by proxy.
Rimuru, on the other side of the room, barely keeping Rudra from working himself into a frenzy or that proxy hear attack, shoots back, "How do you think it feels for me? Between holding you and your sisters as eggs, officially being older than Diablo and the rest of the Primordials, knowing that Rudra will be born and fall in love with Velgrynd, and now this—I'm losing my mind!!'
«Hence why I suggested—»
"Absolutely not!"
Ah, it's a good thing Veldora has learned to recognize when he doesn't want to be a part of an argument. He pulls out of the soul corridor and takes a look around, noting how even Velzard, who is self-declared the chillest amongst the True Dragons, has taken to tapping her nails against her thigh in impatience.
Hours more pass like that. Veldanava giving everyone second-hand stress. Velzard and Velgrynd attempting to hold onto an air of calm, even as they both twitch at every noise. Dino, alert as a guardian, but occasionally slipping into slumber as the wielder of Sloth. Rudra getting hit with the most of Veldenava's second-hand stress. Veldora, who's not sure if he's ready to face his friend/niece who can't remember him, even if she could form words so quickly. And Rimuru, who's a beacon of calm for all that Veldora can feel the rare hint of yearning slip through the corridor.
And then.
And then a maid comes out, grinning wide, and invites them in to meet the new dragon princess.
The tension in the room bursts like a bubble.
Veldora knew it was inevitable.
Even if he hadn't lived through this once before, it was in the humans' nature to destroy. Jahil's too, clearly. Veldanava was destined to die, no matter what anybody said or did.
Not that Veldora said or did anything to begin with. Not that Rimuru did either. But dragons are selfish, so perhaps that, too, was inevitable.
Whatever the case, Veldanava is dead. Veldora's older brother has been murdered, along with his wife, leaving Milim and her baby dragon as orphans. And though he doesn't regret it—can't regret it, can't risk the chance of returning home to Tempest, where his friends are, where the food is amazing and the entertainment somehow even better—it does hurt.
Tremendously.
As such, he's not very surprised to know his pain had leaked through the soul corridor. He's less surprised that Rimuru hunts him down to the cave Veldora had been sealed in. The cave they first met.
Rimuru kneels down beside Veldora, wings folding away neatly, and then body melting into slime form. Veldora gives in quickly enough. He curls up on the floor and reaches out, and Rimuru settles into his hold just as quick. It's like they've done this a thousand times before.
Veldora wonders, in other lives, if they have.
"I knew it was going to happen, see. I knew it had to happen. But… part of me wanted to hope this time I could keep all of my family," Veldora mumbles into Rimuru like it's some dark confession. In part, it is. After all, why would he of all people want to stay around his sisters any longer than he had to?
Still…
If he thinks hard enough, Veldora can almost remember his previous life—the entire world they left behind. Veldora would be draped over Veldanava's shoulder like a used towel, watching with wide, curious eyes as his older brother showed their sisters magic, and the wonders of the fourteen Ultimate Skills. Raphael would be perched nearby, usually on a half-built tower spire with the other angels, and chime in with their own thoughts on the unique ways the Skills could be used. It had been… nice.
And then Veldanava had died, and Velgrynd and Velzard took it upon themselves to discipline Veldora in their own… respective ways.
But then in this life, too, with his memories more fresh, Veldora could revel in the domestic home that had been built around him. Veldanava, laughing, as he threw Rimuru around like a sack of potatoes; Velzard, sitting nearby with Gracia, Pico, and Opera, braiding hair as they wondered about who had that much energy this early in the day, as Velgrynd criticized them for having no 'whimsy', unfortunately having learned that world from Rimuru; and Veldora himself, bouncing between them all.
Then, over time, their family grew, with Veldora an important member. Rudra, Lucia, Milim. Guy, unfortunately. The dragon faithful. It seemed like maybe they could—as the Otherworlders liked to put it—have their cake and eat it to. Veldora could have the family he missed and the home he looked forward to.
The universe looked at that possibility, however, and denied him.
"You'll get them back," Rimuru replies with a gelatinous ripple. "We'll get them all back. Our big, complicated, absolutely-terrifying-for-normal-people family, reunited with each other as every big bad finally cowers. We can— we can meet back in the city's center square. Treyni and her sisters can make all the potato chips they want, and Ciel can use the light magic to put up a movie I saw once before, and there'll be one giant sleepover between all the great pillars of the world."
"Velzard would hate that."
"I'd convince her. And even if I couldn't, Guy or Velgrynd would."
"Velgrynd would hate sitting on the ground."
"If Masayuki is there, she'll do anything, and Masayuki will be there because he's a gigantic nerd."
"And brother?"
"…His soul can't be gone. There's no way Jahil of all people managed to shatter the Creator God's soul. We just have to find it, and I-… I should be able to awaken him like I did Gaia. If he wants to return, that is."
Veldora presses closer, a grumble low in his throat, and Rimuru reaches back, slime growing up and around Veldora's neck in a funny mimicry of early in this life when Veldora would curl around Rimuru's neck.
He can picture it clearly, now that Rimuru has spoken it into existence. Veldora and Rimuru would sit with Ramiris and Milim over a bowl of potato chips. Masayuki would be nearby, with Velgrynd of course, chattering with Rimuru about the Otherworld movie they were watching. Velzard would be sitting by Milim, with her three demons of the north, shooting glares at Veldora every time he would shout theories into the crowd. Around them would be Rimuru's subordinates, laughing and watching with awe, and the other odd acquaintances Tempest had pulled. And just maybe, somewhere in that crowd, Veldanava and Lucia would get to see how this world has blossomed in their absence.
"That sounds nice," Veldora hums. "I'd like that."
"It'll happen one day; we just have to make it that far." As Rimuru liquefies further, the soul corridor fills with something, an almost unnamed emotion. If Veldora had to say, it was most akin to wistfulness. He reaches back with determination. "We cannot give up. Not now…
"Not ever."
"I do not like this!" Veldora shouts.
"Join the club!" Guy snaps right back.
Milim, quite understandably mind you, howls with a fury previously unknown to man, and the ruins around her flatten into dust. Ramiris flings herself out of the way, wings such a flurry that they're barely visible. Rimuru simply throws up Multidimensional Barrier and then spins to Veldora and Guy, fraught expression one that perfectly reads are you two kidding me right now?
To be fair, it really isn't the time for Veldora to be semi-bonding with his eventual-probably-maybe brother-in-law.
But, on the other hand, Veldora really isn't sure he should even be helping with this onerous task to begin with! He wasn't here last time! In fact, what if this accidentally spirals into some sort of incident, where Milim returns the favor and is the one to stop Veldora the day he annihilates Night Rose, meaning the Hero doesn't get a chance to imprison him, meaning he and Rimuru don't meet? Or what if stopping Milim ends up as an international sort of problem that everyone joins in on, leading to the formation of the Demon Lord council thousands of years earlier? Even if it's just Velzard and Velgrynd who come to help rectify a certain elven empire's mistakes, with three (technically four) True Dragons, it's possible they might kill Milim, and then that'll cause even more problems—
Er. Point being, Veldora didn't want to be here, was pretty sure his presence was more of a disadvantage than anything, and wasn't sure what he should be doing in the first place. Plus! Rimuru usually has things handled!!
Ah, but… Veldora really did want to fight. His occasional all out battles with Rimuru were fun, yes, but they weren't exactly all out battles. Veldora, despite knowing he couldn't physically hurt Rimuru, was a bit too scared to use his full might against him, and he knew Rimuru, in turn, was intentionally inhibiting himself from devouring Veldora whole and wiping his soul from existence.
Which, as Veldora has found out, Rimuru can do!
…Which tends to beg the question that's honestly been plaguing Veldora for a while: can Ciel take the soul and turn it into a Skill? It's be downright terrifying if she can, though a good tool to have. If she can't… well, Veldora isn't complaining.
Basically, in short, Veldora chooses to stay, despite everything in him telling him it'd be better to gallivant off to the other side of the world, and tries to help tame his niece in the week long battle that mostly consisted of everyone yelling, "Oh, no, Milim, that's a mountain— Wait, stop! We need to try not to hurt her! Damn humans need to start minding their own business—"
Yet by the end of the fifth day, they decide enough is enough. Milim's Stampede is giving her far too much energy, and trying to minimize her damage without restraining her is proving to be futile. After several hours of arguing (Veldora says arguing, but it was more Guy and Rimuru bickering over the possibility of Milim hurting herself in Unlimited Imprisonment before Ramiris chimed in that oh hey, Small World might be useful here, huh?) a new plan is devised. It goes a such:
Ramiris will set up a portion of her Labyrinth specifically designed to be empty of spirits, constructs, and generally most things breakable. Originally, they planned to kill Milim in the Labyrinth and have Ramiris revive her, but without the ability of Milim agreeing to the resurrection contract, that was a no-go. Nevermind the fact they weren't sure if Milim would regenerate still in her Stampede form or not.
Rimuru will proceed to use Spacial Movement to get Milim inside that specific part of the Labyrinth, and then use the remnants of Absolute Guard to keep the other floors of the Labyrinth from faltering under the onslaught.
Finally, Guy would then use Pride to mimic Azathoth as Gluttony, draining what magicules he could from Milim, while Veldora did similarly with Fertile Paradox. The main difference being Guy dispersed the magicules into nothing while Veldora redistributed them.
Fingers and claws crossed, this would go well. But even if it did…
Veldora caught Rimuru's eyes as the other prepared Spacial Movement. Rimuru thinned his lips and nodded, jerking his head to the west.
The Chaos Dragon. When Milim calmed, she would fall into a slumber that would result in her awakening as a True Demon Lord. That would be the trigger to reviving Gaia, who was now lacking any soul, and be the cataclysm that turns the elven hero Sarion Grimwald into Laplace. Milim would have to defeat it, not only because it acted as her first accomplishment as Demon Lord, but also because the rest of them are running off adrenaline, promises to Veldanava, and a desperate desire to have white rice again.
The biggest issue with that was—
"So, what's the plan on getting Milim back here? If we're in the Labyrinth, there'll be no telling when that things wakes," Veldora questions through the privacy of Thought Communication. Rimuru hasn't mentioned any want or inclination of telling the others of the loop, which Veldora supposed was fair, but that did mean letting skip the fact they had knowledge of future events would not be tolerated. So: secret, buddy-only conversations.
"I've set up Argos," Rimuru answers. He throws his hands out wide and a large, dancing spell appears on the ground. It's glows a bright blue as they wait for Ramiris' cue. "Probably means someone's calling me—Rimuru-me—out for using it later down the line after Michael starts attacking but… eh. Future, baby me problems."
"…Baby you?"
"Yeah like, you know, when I'm not being mistaken for a benevolent deity from cosmos unimaginable?"
"Have I—…have I missed a conversation?"
"Two or three."
"Alrighty!" Ramiris suddenly screams, words cleanly cutting the tense air. She stands atop what had once been Amrita's palace, hands alight as they are held high in the sky. "Are we ready, folks?"
Rimuru bobs his head in a nod. Veldora offers a thumbs up, as best he can with no discernible thumb. Guy flares out his aura and draws Milim's attention back to him.
And then the teleportation spell swallows them whole.
"Veldora," Rimuru beckons, in the tone usually reserved for I am experiencing Emotions™ that I would rather not be, so someone better fix this before I snap. Veldora, obviously, bolts upright from where he had been draped on the Eastern Empire's front lawn.
"Rimuru," he greets back, with a healthy dose of trepidation. Veldora quickly looks around for his sisters, and upon finding neither of them, scoots to the side to allow Rimuru to less than gracefully flop down beside him. Veldora's anxiety begins to steadily raise.
"Do you remember…" Rimuru begins, eyes closing and wings reabsorbing back into his body, "when I told you that you've entered the timeloop too? About how I needed to eventually become Satoru Mikami again?"
Veldora blinks a few times. That certainly hadn't been where he expected this to go. And what an odd question to ask anyway. "Hm? Yes, of course I do. But that's not for another few thousand years."
"That's right… Another question, then. Before, when did Raphael die?"
"Ah, Raphael? Let's see… I suppose that would've been around the time I started hearing the Voice of the World, maybe some handful of centuries before that time I first angered that vampire wom—" Wait. Veldora had completely forgotten, hadn't he? He knows Rimuru is Rimuru, but the others don't, have been calling him Raphael, because he apparently is Raphael, in a very convoluted manner—
The pause stretches on for an agonizing moment. Rimuru opens his eyes, hints of crimson leaking in, and meets Veldora's petrified everything.
"Yeah," Rimuru whispers. "Velzard brought it up, the way Ciel's red is trying to overpower my gold. It's… either my ego is weakening, or my Skills are trying to consume me from within. We think it's the former, since I can no longer rely on Food Chain or the ability to gain power from those who believe in me. Whatever the case—"
"You're dying."
"Correct."
"You're dyi—" Veldora tries to repeat, onto to stumble. He shakes his head, a growl escaping him as he tries again, "You cannot be dying. Our soul corridor—"
The soul corridor that is currently bursting with sharp grief.
Rimuru sits up with dizzying speed, his hand coming to rest on the scales around Veldora's eyes. He says, in a rush, "I will be back, you know I will. And… I worry we've already changed this timeline too much. If we meddle further by delaying the arrival of the Voice of the World and the creation of Great Sage, if we accidentally change the era Satoru Mikami is born into… Veldora, if I don't die, we don't go home."
Veldora wishes to shake his head is disagreement, to charge into the world his displeasure. He doesn't, out of a sudden, overwhelming fear that he will be the one to end Rimuru's currently fragile existence. "I would much rather never return home than have you die. We are sworn brothers, you are my first friend, we are soul bound by Earth terms. Rimuru, this world can cease to exists if it means—" again, Veldora chokes. He realizes with embarrassment that, sometime in that speech, he had begun to cry. Rimuru gently wipes the tears away.
"Hey now, what happened to our party plans with the gang?" Rimuru whispers, in sync with Ciel's, «I would recommend putting up Sound Isolation Barrier if this conversation is to continue. With Veldora's magicules responding to his emotions, the likelihood of Scorch Dragon Velgrynd or the Single Digits appearing is steadily climbing.»
Veldora startles and quickly sucks in as much of his power as he can. Meanwhile, Rimuru scoffs, snapping his fingers and summoning the barrier in question, before forging right on.
"What about hanging out in our dungeon while Shuna makes us snacks? What about watching Diablo and Shion bicker over tea flavors? What about reading manga with the kids, and sparring with Hinata and her knights? What about getting to live a life of peace and relaxation?" Rimuru challenges. His own aura is starting to flare a little, which is both a testament to his apparently failing powers and to Ciel's concern about the barrier.
The imaginary Velgrynd in Veldora's head catches wind of her siblings' flaring might and starts stalking closer.
Veldora continues arguing anyway. "Why can we not do that regardless? You live and we can grab those we find as we go! We can rebuild Tempest without picking fights with the Empire or the other Demon Lords!"
«The Storm Dragon Veldora denying the opportunity to show his strength?»
"Ciel, play nice. And— Look, buddy, I know where you're coming from, I really do. But we can't just start playing God for funsies. We can't manipulate fate and take away everybody's choices. Veldanava created this world to see what could be done of it, and there's no reason for us to wipe the entire slate clean!"
"Says who?"
"Says who? What do you mean says who? I don't have the power to fight God and demand we be allowed to do whatever we want!"
Veldora gave a dry stare.
Ciel heaved a sigh.
Velgrynd knocks on the barrier with a raised eyebrow.
Rimuru hisses a curse and whips around to mouth one sec to her. Then, just as swift, he again faces Veldora and pulls on a wing, demanding full attention. "I am dying," he repeats. "And we cannot do anything about it. I'm sorry, Veldora, I really am, but I cannot risk the lives of my people and friends."
Veldora opens his mouth.
And the Sound Isolation Barrier crashes down.
The years that follow Rimuru's crushing revelation were… difficult. For everybody involved.
Veldora himself had suddenly developed hypertension despite having no actual blood to speak of. Everybody, friend or foe, is perceived as a threat to Rimuru, so says Veldora's "lizard brain", and thus a threat to Veldora too. Considering Veldora was already pretty bitey with future threats to Rimuru at best, and downright murderous at worst… well. Veldora may have tried to eat Damrada.
This was, obviously, a problem, one that most did not take kindly to. Velzard has repeatedly threatened to put Veldora down if he keeps wrecking havoc, which is a painfully familiar warning, but this time, she is joined by the likes of Raine and Mizeri, and Dino, and Luminous, who doesn't even have a reason to hate Veldora yet.
And then there's Raphael as whole—Ciel who's busy buying as much time as she can, and Rimuru who has begun not-so-subtly saying goodbye. Or, maybe it just doesn't seem that subtle to Veldora. Ramiris and Milim certainly don't seem to suspect anything, even if Guy does squint with consideration.
None of that mattered in the end.
Because the end was staring Veldora down here and now, and clearly none of his snapping or Velzard's threats or Ciel's best attempts did anything to stop it. Because now Veldora and Rimuru were in the future Sealed Cave, and one of them was on the verge of rampaging, and the other was dying.
Because Rimuru was saying goodbye.
"Don't be so sad," he was coaxing, slime form comfortably sat in Veldora's human lap. Rimuru's form was less of an orb at this point and more of a puddle. A very blue, very miserable puddle. "You'll be seeing me again in a few hundred years."
"I'm not sure two plus millennia can count as a few hundred years."
"Take a nap?"
"I will not," Veldora mutters petulantly. He squeezes his eyes closed tight as a suffocating feeling in his chest begins to build. It's a very good thing he doesn't need to breathe as a spiritual lifeform because he doesn't think he would be able to draw in anything around that lump. "I will count the days until we can go home together."
"Way to sound like a grieving widower, my guy."
"My brother was right. You do like to just say words at people."
Rimuru laughs. And then laugh some more. And then kept going. Veldora's concern spiked in time with Ciel's helpful, «Pain Nullification has been disabled.»
Ah. That explains the hysterics.
Rimuru did stop giggling eventually, though. Ciel continues to list the failures of certain Skills with audibly growing apprehension. Veldora kept quite and kept them both held close, trying desperately to not think about long years ahead of him, alone and longing. The moment stretched on into companionable, until—
"Did I… ever tell you how I died?" Rimuru asks. Ciel adds, «Skill Storage disabled. Magic Sense failing. Abnormal Condition Nullification failing. Thought Communicati—»
"No." Veldora answers. He went to shake his head originally, but it would seem Rimuru has lost his ability to see in his true form. Time is slipping from their grasp. "You only ever said you had died, with no particular specifications."
«Imaginary Space failing. Analyze failing. True Dragon Nucleation forgotten—»
Rimuru hums, and Veldora feels him reach across the soul corridor. Then again, it might've been Ciel asking for assistance. Whatever the case, Veldora reaches back and offers some of his energy. Rimuru says, "I had… I had been with a junior. Co-worker. I think we were friends…"
"It's very easy to be friends with you."
"Hm, maybe… Um. His name was Tamura… and he brought his girlfriend. They… they wanted to take me out for dinner."
«Instant-move forgotten. Mana Bullet forgotten. Nihility Collapse Blade forgotten.»
"Someone screamed… A creep with a knife was— he was heading for Tamura."
"I think I know where this is going. You do like to throw yourself in front of attacks."
"Rude… but, ha. Yeah… He stabbed me. The guy not… not Tamura. Bled out there… on the sidewalk. Middle of Tokyo… it wasn't even a nice day…… it had been so cloudy."
«Barrier magic forgotten. Material Creation forgotten. Time Warp forgotten.»
Veldora could feel the hold on the soul corridor faltering. Both Rimuru and Ciel must be at their limit then. Veldora pushes back with as much of Fertile Paradox as he can, for as little as it can do, and says, "Was it going to storm that day? That sounds like fate was at work to make our meeting all the more certain."
"Optimist." Rimuru sighs. With that exhale, the hold on the corridor fades, but it doesn't snap yet. Veldora holds on tight, to both the corridor and Rimuru's body, and clings moreso when the confession comes. "…We're out of time, you know."
"…I do." Veldora nods. Swallows. Tries to ignore the tears. "I'll name every slime I see after you."
Rimuru ripples with another laugh. "Don't you dare," he gasps out. "I'll… ground you for a year, mister."
"As long as you're there to do so."
"…See ya, Veldora."
"…..Until next time, Rimuru." Veldora chokes out. The soul corridor gives one last, final waver, before it fades into oblivion. Rimuru's body doesn't follow, however, not quite yet.
Not until Ciel rips control, that is, and forces out an order. "Be good," she hisses, before abruptly fading too. The cave becomes deathly still and horribly soundless; Veldora isn't sure if he wants to laugh or cry. But when Rimuru's body starts to dissipate, the answer becomes clear:
Cry.
Cry, and scream, and hate this world for taking away two of his brothers, for twisting his sisters into people who carry too many burdens and have grown angry from them, for stealing the one person in existence who has loved Veldora unconditionally, no strings attached. Something cracks, be it a snap of thunder or the crumbling of the cave's walls. It's becomes humid, grossly so, and he can faintly sense low tier monsters perish under the storm that is brewing. Veldora surges forward like something feral and—
«Notice: Creating pathways between Cardinal World and Otherworlds. Does the individual Storm Dragon Veldora wish to reestablish soul connection?»
—!?
Oh. Oh. The Voice of the World. For a moment, he had thought that was Ciel again, but… Oh. That was the only reaction Veldora could find appropriate.
He laughs then. Cackles, really, until tears are streaming down his face. It would appear that he's not waiting as long as he thought to see Ciel and Rimuru again, that he won't spend millennia alone and grieving, that something out there in the universe isn't working against them.
Somehow, it feels like Veldanava is still looking out for him.
"Not yet," Veldora answers the Voice with tear-choked words. The building hurricane disperses into nothingness as quickly as it came. "If you're here, I can be patient. Rimuru will yell at me if I don't, you see?"
The Voice doesn't answer, but Veldora knows it's still there. He can feel its eyes—or whatever constitutes as eyes for a formless being—boring into him, as judgmental as Rimuru's whenever Veldora bribed Diablo into handing over more desserts. As unimpressed as Ciel's when faced with… anything, really. How reassuring.
Veldora's wide grin morphs as he transforms back into a dragon, wings flaring and black lightning dancing about the cave—the cave that had, indeed, fractured like glass. "But still… I'm not very happy, you know. My brother just died in my arms, and I think a little chaos is more than deserved. Coincidentally, it's about time I go upset Milis. Or was it Lilious? Hm. Ah, whatever. Care to come?"
The feeling of being watched doesn't disappear. Veldora takes it as a yes, and squashed any traces of despair that remain, even as the energy around him continued to boil and flash.
An undetermined amount of time tends to be a very long time, and Veldora wasn't kidding about counting down the days, even if Rimuru did poke fun at that. But now Veldora has a companion, the essence of a friend he is destined to meet, so it's almost okay, right? Besides, he'll tell the Hero, when he sees her, that her teacher says hello, and count that as payback for this whole mess.
All he has to do, mostly, is wait…