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The Everstride Boots of a certain Fool always took him to uninvited places. In fact, they were the trigger for many of Enroute's elating adventures.
The Nameless Navigator known as Isee never told a straight answer when asked about the boots' origins. If anything, he relished a little in messing with the other Nameless.
"They were cursed by Aha themself!"
"Oh some witch got me back in the day…"
"Uhhh Flea market find?"
The former Nameless known as Isee scoffed as memories of the past resurfaced. He stared at the heeled boots on his feet, still decorated with embroidery of stars and other gold detailing. For millenia they've accompanied him, through his despair towards Elation, through his grief over the Trailblaze, and now…
Through the new order of bringing Destruction.
The Lord Ravager known as Asat Pramad sighed as he looked around at the dreary landscape of the ruined planet he now found himself on. He had long discarded his original human form, but for this particular trip, a face was necessary.
He knelt down and ran his gloved hand through the withered grass. The stench of blood permeated the air alongside the howls of beasts. In the distance he could see the fallen churches and the shadows of those who were once human.
Grrrrrrr….
A growl came from behind and he turned around. Whatever made that growl could only be described as a beast. Not a typical voidranger either, but something amalginated from the fragment of Voracity that laid deep within this planet's very being. Shadows drifted from its body and its limbs contorting strangely. Very faintly could he make out the semblance of a human figure from the beast's shape.
"Damn Zulo…" He muttered. Then with a snap of his fingers, the beast was dispatched into dust. "You always had a knack for cruelty unlike any other, huh."
After that minor tussle, Asat Pramad continued to wander the planet, taking in his colleague's horrific work on it. Kronstadt was dark and grungy, rarely did it see sunlight, even before his colleague arrived to colonise it for his benefit.
Zulo had boasted to them all about how he'd found a perfect planet to add to his target list. Phantylia congratulated him, but the rest all nodded and went about their day. Asat didn't say much, but he knew precisely why Kronstadt was so perfect.
When he was still Enroute the Fool, he led his fellow Fools to seal and dispatch of Oroboros' corpus under the name of Elation. They must've just missed Kronstadt then, for the transformation Kronstadt went through even before Zulo's arrival had all the signs of an uncontained shadow.
Asat took off his hat and tussled his brownish hair. He sighed as he walked past the rotting corpse of another beast, clearly something transformed from a human.
"Even this is…" Asat swallowed. It was a lot. It was a lot even for someone who had walked the Destruction since its birth. Every Lord Ravager had their own way of Destruction, but it wasn't a misnomer to say that Zulo's way was very very uncouth.
Sighing once more, Asat Pramad kept on walking. Eventually, he spotted something quite odd.
Or rather. Someone quite odd.
"A…human?" Asat squinted his purplish eyes.
He felt his boots tug at his feet, seemingly pulling him to move towards the figure in the distance. Asat shrugged and embraced whatever they wanted him to do. A change in plans could be arranged he supposed.
Adjusting his hat, he walked in stride towards the figure in the distance. As he got closer, he took note of what he saw.
A young man (he barely looked like an adult) with long, disheveled black hair, who dragged behind him the same sort of beast Asat had slain earlier. He wore an equally ravaged cloak, poorly patched boots and a dirty shirt and trousers combo. Notably, a twin moon brooch held his cloak closed. From the skin he could see, the young man appeared to be heavily scarred as well.
"Well I never thought-"
There was a loud yelp and an aggressive thud. Asat Pramad watched as the black-haired teen drew a crossbow and pointed it directly at him. The dead beast laid forgotten.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?" The young man yelled. He adjusted his crossbow. "Who- How-"
Asat Pramad watched as panic blew the kid's piercing grey eyes wide open and his clearly malnourished body heave and shake. A growl came out of his throat, resembling the ones Asat heard from the beasts.
"Now now kid," Asat said with his hands up. "I'm not here to do anything malicious-"
"I thought- Everyone…" The young man heaved, tears began to well in his eyes.
Asat sighed and gently pushed the still-pointed crossbow down. "Sadly that's true. You are the sole, still human survivor of it all."
There was no one else on this planet that still looked like the kid in front of him. And judging by just how skinny and disheveled he was…
"…How long have you been on your own, kid?"
"I…" The young man sniffled and wiped his tears. "3 years. You- Why are you asking about me? Who. Are. You!? If everyone's…No! No one just shows up out of nowhere!"
Asat blinked. Which identity would suffice for this situation? He looked at the kid again, who clearly knew nothing of the universe but the planet he already lived on.
"Isee."
He hadn't used that name in a while, but it was a legendary one to say the least. Probably mind-blowing to a cosmic bumpkin like the one in front of him.
Asat watched as the young man's eyes widen and he slowly withdrew his crossbow.
"Isee? As in…As in the Nameless from those stories?" He gasped. "I- Woah…"
The former Nameless couldn't help but laugh. "I'm impressed you know, considering how sheltered your planet is."
It was true, Kronstadt was shockingly isolated from the rest of the cosmos. Zulo had relayed to them that its people were not aware of aeons and paths outside of their interpretations of Lan the Hunt. You'd think the ever gracious IPC would have helped them when the attack happened or "discovered" the planet, but Asat guessed that even they found it to be "unworthy" for any "investment".
The young man scoffed. "I may have skipped church but I ain't stupid, Mr Isee. Old folks would tell stories of the Nameless. 'pparently some came here ages ago, but left because it was too…"
Asat watched as the young man grumbled. "Bloody?" He suggested.
"…Horrific." As he spoke, the young man heaved the dead beast over his shoulder again. Despite his gaunt face and malnourished body, he was still able to lift a heavy load. "What's a Nameless hero like you doing here again anyway?"
"I'm no longer one."
"No longer? Oh."
Asat smiled. "My shoes take me where I'm not invited, but it seems you need some company."
The young man blushed at that comment and stuck a tongue out at the Lord Ravager. "Shut up old man. I was doing fine."
The millennia year old man couldn't help but laugh. Hiding behind a facade of strength, huh? "How about you tell me who you are?"
"Me?"
"You."
Asat watched as the kid pondered with a melancholic face.
"I'm ██████," He said, looking away from the one asking. "Just a…hunter. I guess I'm the last one."
"██████…" Asat repeated.
██████ chuckled, eyes still melancholic. "Odd hearing someone else say that. My- Nevermind, everyone's long gone anyway."
Asat watched as he heaved the dead beast more tightly over his shoulders. As ██████ walked, Asat followed.
"You've been all around the stars right?" He asked, blowing strands of hair away from his face. "Did you fight villains? You must've helped a lot of people right?"
"Slow down kid," Asat laughed. Helping people? I guess that was what Isee did. Shame it never really did anything. "If you put it like that sure. The Trailblaze was about finding the Unknowable. Helping others like in the stories was more a side hustle."
"Oh." ██████ looked away from him again. "…But the act alone makes the Nameless heroes, no?"
"Act?"
"The decision to help in the first place. You guys could've just left those planets to suffer."
Maybe I should've indeed, every single one turned to shit anyway. Asat rolled his eyes internally. Whatever the kid wanted to believe he supposed. He'd play along for now.
Then Asat noticed ██████'s dead grey eyes sparkle to life. "Ooh wait! What's your favourite planet you've gone to? And the toughest-"
A loud growl of hunger interrupted the excitement of the last hunter of Kronstadt. Asat watched as ██████ let out the biggest sigh.
"You better leave, old man," He grumbled and glanced at the corpse over his shoulders.
Asat tilted his head, smiling. "And why is that? Come now, is that anyway to treat a guest on your planet?"
"No!" ██████ blushed again. "I- I just can't let you eat this! It's not appropriate."
"Yet you eating it is fine?" Asat said, raising an eyebrow.
██████ frowned, the red on his cheeks intensified. "Can't let a hero like you eat…tree bark and beast meat stew…"
Tree bark? Asat took another glance at the young man's physique. ██████ wore many layers of clothing, but that only accentuated just how skinny he was. And Asat only just noticed the numerous attempts at injury dressing on ██████'s hands and forearms. They were dirty, and you could see the bloodstains. His wounds are not healing properly, his face is so thin…
Asat sighed. He couldn't believe what he was about to do, but unfortunately ██████ had intrigued him.
"You will do well to leave that corpse be," He said, voice stern. "We're eating some real food."
He watched as ██████'s eyes widened. "I- My stew is real food!"
Another stomach growl interrupted the youth, leaving his face flushed once again.
"Real food yet you refuse to serve it to me because it's inappropriate…" Asat said as he feigned pondering. "Alright kid, whatever you say~"
"Sh- Shut it, old man!" ██████ raised a fist. "Ugh why did you have to show up here of all places…"
"Already told you, my boots."
"Yeah yeah, magic mumbo jumbo, I got it." ██████ stuck his tongue out, before dropping the corpse on the withered grass.
Asat smirked. "Wouldn't you like to see more 'magic mumbo jumbo' like this?" Sheltered bumpkins like ██████ were always yearning for more.
The question sent the youth into a sort of silence. Asat watched as he rubbed his hand over his belly and swallowed.
"…Where would you take me?" ██████ asked, face still red from embarrassment.
Asat grinned, "Well ██████, follow me."
Asat took ██████ to the small ship he came to the planet on. His boots did bring him to places where he was unwelcome, yes, but they could not defy the limitations of space travel. He watched as ██████ marvel at his frankly tiny ship.
Soon, once all the necessary measures were settled, they found themselves in space, now gently floating towards a certain planet. Asat had made sure that ██████ took a proper bath to clean all the blood. However the kid refused to make a change of clothes and insisted on wearing his rags. Asat chose not to object, ██████ was stubborn to a fault.
"This is amazing!" Asat heard ██████ shout, his face pressed into the viewing glass. "Mr Isee, you saw this all the time???"
Space dust and stars…typical of the general cosmos. "You really are a bumpkin, kid."
██████ blushed and spluttered. "I- And you say there's more than just the Skybow??"
"Yes, the aeons and paths are numerous and distinct. Your 'Skybow' is also the 'Reignbow Arbiter' to the great Xianzhou Alliance." Phantylia's biggest opponent to say the least.
"Woah…" Asat watched as ██████ slumped onto the ship floor. "Hey where are we going anyway?"
"I was going to tell you, but you got distracted by shooting stars," Asat sighed and laughed. "Benzaitengoku. I know a good inn there."
"Benzaitengoku…" ██████ repeated, butchering every syllable. Asat chose not to correct him. Kronstadt was so isolated that ██████ did not even have a Synesthesia Beacon until Asat gave him one just before they began the warp. Before that, Asat was only able to communicate with him thanks to calling upon the Trailblaze.
"Fascinating place, you'll like it," Asat smiled. "Lots of little creatures called 'youkai'." And a hedonist's dream.
The young man named ██████ grinned.
As the ship drew closer to Benzaitengoku, Asat noticed how ██████ was practically shaking and how his sullen face beamed. This face only grew brighter as they slowly landed, taking in the lanterns and banners.
Asat gathered his things. Credits, my hat, spare cologne…All good. Then he looked at ██████ and was reminded of something.
"How old are you exactly?" Asat asked, brows furrowed. He'd somehow manage to forget entirely. When you're older than everyone by millennia, time truly meant nothing. "They serve alcohol at the establishment and I-"
"I'm 18," ██████ answered, then he shrugged. "Don't have to worry about me and drinks. I grew up drinking ale. Was cheaper and cleaner than regular water. Kronstadt kids drank the hard stuff starting 16."
Asat nodded. Admittedly, it was odd for him to be concerned about anything anymore, but he still had standards, such as not engaging others in underage drinking. He looked at ██████. He was pretty hardy for a youth. This was made more unsurprising now.
"Well then, I hope you'll enjoy sake."
At that, the young man merely tilted his head.
The inn was bustling with customers when they entered. The entire establishment was made of wood, in the traditional architectural style of Benzaitengoku. Painted paper lanterns decorated the wooden beams and handmade murals decorated the walls. Alongside human customers, there were youkai ranging from small kappa to towering oni.
Asat soon managed to find him and ██████ seats. Admittedly the two of them stood out immensely, ██████ more so than him. They did not dress like any Benzaitengoku resident who wore silken kimonos and hakama. ██████'s Kronstadt rags were a stark contrast to the silk-painted robes of local women.
"They're all staring at me," ██████ whispered, head low and looking at his cup of sake. "Even the fox people waiters."
"They're kitsune," Asat said as he drank his sake. Then he turned to one of them to quickly order some food. "Tempura, 2 bowls of ramen, oh and your biggest bowl of chazuke." The kitsune nodded, then left, leaving only the scent of sakura behind.
Asat looked at ██████ again. The kid had gone quiet and drank his sake periodically. He was wobbling in his seat and his eyelids heavy.
"Everything smells so good…" The black-haired youth muttered, drool dripping. Then he jolted himself straight, before pouring himself more sake and downing his cup.
The Lord Ravager watched as ██████ tried to keep himself upright, even if he was clearly suffering dizziness. He sighed. Seriously…
"Apologies for the delay! Here are your orders," The same kitsune waiter from earlier said, her voice clear and bright. Swiftly, she set down from her arms the bowls and plates containing the real meal promised to ██████. "Enjoy."
██████ stared at the spread in front of him as more drool dripped from his open mouth. He clumsily picked up his fork (Asat had requested earlier, considering ██████'s lack of knowledge of anything outside of Kronstadt) and pulled a bowl of ramen towards himself. Asat watched as ██████ sniffed the bowl and how his eyes immediately widened.
Immediately, he stared as ██████ completely disregarded any table manners and practically tear into the bowl of Tonkotsu ramen in front of him. Broth splashed and so did bits of noodle. The fork seemed to be more of a suggestion to ██████ as he eventually ended up just using his hands.
The ramen bowl was immediately cleared and using his sleeve, ██████ wiped his mouth. Asat looked at his own bowl. He was only half-way done.
"You're really that hungry huh…Oh for the-"
██████ grasped at the tempura, quickly shoving them into his mouth. He didn't care to think if Asat wanted any. This was the hunger of someone who had been living off of tree bark and Voracity-born beasts for aeon knows how long.
I dare say this rivals Oroboros' appetite.
Asat glanced around to see the other customers whispering, clearly about the famished young man sitting opposite him. He rolled his eyes. Yes, goodness forbid a hungry person eats.
The Lord Ravager watched as the young man scarfed down every single tempura, then turn his attention to the large bowl of chazuke. He seemed confused for a moment, seemingly by the fact he could smell tea. ██████ stared at the bowl, before shrugging and wolfing down the contents.
As he watched, Asat Pramad was reminded of the stray dogs that Enroute once fed. Feral pets always ate most ferociously.
"Feeling better?" Asat asked.
██████ looked up, chin covered with bits of rice. Colour returned to his cheeks.
He swallowed, then tears started to flood his eyes. "Y- Yeah…" ██████ said shakily, his thin hands clutching around the empty chazuke bowl. He sniffled and wiped his face. "I- I'm sorry."
Asat watched as the youth broke into tears, snot dribbling and all. A sight like this was not unknown to the Lord Ravager. If anything, it reminded him of a young boy from eons ago. Enroute had gifted the poor, starving boy a golden rose, only for the greedy adults to tear at the child for it.
"Chin up, kid," He sighed. "I gotta say…it's pretty impressive that you survived for that long, by yourself no less."
██████ looked up, his eyes were red from violent sobbing. "Told you already, Mr Isee," He laughed with a tiredness heard only in those wearied by trauma. "I'm stubborn."
The young man took another cup of sake, drinking it all in one gulp. Despite having drunk more than 3 cups, he showed no sign of being drunk.
"…I can't die yet," ██████ declared, hands clutching so tight around his cup that Asat could see his knuckles turn white. "That bastard…"
██████ growled, then slammed his fist into the table, shaking all the utensils present.
"He ruined everything. Barged in here and declared himself 'Lord'," ██████ spat. "'Lord!' And he- he violated our bodies. He desecrated our dead. He made us monsters."
Ah but many were already monsters, even as humans. Asat chose not to speak that thought aloud, and instead let the boy continue.
"I have to…I have to relieve their suffering."
██████ drank another cup of sake.
Asat looked at him. The once weeping expression replaced by one of absolute determination. He could've easily just joined his kin, by the virtue of suicide. And yet he stupidly…
No. He doggedly moves forward. Why? Stubbornness? Spite? Grief?
██████ was drinking the sake straight from the bottle now. Asat really ought to have taught the kid basic table manners, but he was acting as Isee, not Lord Ravager Asat Pramad.
"Zulo…" ██████ said with a snarl laced with vitriol. "Zulo…"
He gripped the bottle tight. "Zulo must die. I will make sure of it."
Asat watched as ██████ tried to stop himself from crying again. The kid's breaths were heavy and he massaged his chest with the hand over his heart.
Such determination…Suffering really does spur dignity huh? Asat took a sip of his own sake.
"…██████," He said, the name still foreign on his tongue. Yet it was a name Asat doubt he would ever forget.
"Hm?" The young man looked up then grinned. "Not calling me 'kid', Mr Isee?"
Asat ignored the teasing addition. "Tell me, why do you Hunt?"
██████ blinked at him. "…So no one will bully the weak or kill the innocent."
Now it was Asat's turn to blink.
"Why, is that weird?"
Weird? Weird? Asat Pramad could laugh at the declaration. It was a futile goal, it was a child's dream. It was something Enroute the Fool and Isee the Stooge would've thought wholeheartedly to be achievable.
Yet ██████ showed no sign of insincerity.
By Akivi- By Nanook he means every word.
"Ha- Haha…HAHAHA!" Great laughter erupted from Asat Pramad. It wasn't a mocking one, no. He was just…thoroughly amused.
"Why are you laughing?" ██████ asked with a frown. "Hey why are you laughing??"
Asat found himself wheezing, before coughing rather violently. "I- hic- It's just been too long since I met someone with so much spunk," He giggled. "Ha…Pretty impressive of you, you're the first to make me laugh like this since I retired."
██████ gave him a smile, albeit an awkward one. "Then I'm glad," He beamed. "You did seem kinda sad, old man."
At that remark, the wearied Lord Ravager was made silent.
The bill was a quick affair. If anything, the staff seemed eager and relieved that the two of them were finally leaving. Asat took note of the judgemental looks they pointed at ██████.
How typical of the children of Elation.
Asat looked down at the young man beside him, whose sullen face was now filled with a lively flush and expressed satisfaction.
The two stood side by side in complete silence outside the inn. Local residents passed them by, robes flowing behind them and chattering on about mundane activities and idle gossip.
"You know," Asat began, leaning towards ██████, "there are more planets like yours out there."
██████ snapped to look up at him. "What?! You mean to say-"
"Yes, there are many Kronstadts in the universe." Asat looked at the die on his ring. I wonder… He narrowed his eyes. "They're prime targets for Zulo."
He watched as horror struck the young man below him, how he began to tremble, how his teeth began to grit.
"That- No! I won't allow it!" ██████ shouted, gripping his cloak tight around himself. "No!"
"The Voracity is the reason," Asat sighed. "An ancient path, with an even more ancient aeon. When left completely unchecked, its shadows warp the planets they infect, forever devouring their light. Even lifeforms aren't spared."
Asat looked at ██████ again. The young man had looked away from him, seemingly sent into thought by the words he just heard.
"You're awfully wise you know, Mr Isee," ██████ murmured.
The Lord Ravager known as Asat Pramad couldn't help but smile on the inside. This kid…Best keep an eye on him.
"Consider it my gift to you, ██████, if you'd accept."