Chapter 43 - The Sworn Brother
---Party POV---
"VEXSUS!!!"
"MASTER!!!"
They all shouted and quickly ran over to Vexsus' comatose body. They were unable to do anything while they watched as he visibly used up his own life force to bring back their companion.
Kitsoma and Sylvania were still crying but now over they shed tears over how worried and scared they are at how much Vexsus sacrificed.
"Vexsus please wake up, please, don't leave us we need you." Kitsoma said as she started to cradle his head with her hands gently as his whole body had the look of a dried husk. His scales had fallen off leaving behind what looked like a thin half-dead lizard.
The goblins all were worried about their master but Shorunt knew his master would be ok, even if he had sacrificed his own life span to help his friend, Shorunt decided to instead make sure that Sondar was ok.
"Sondar, are you ok? Master did something tremendous as his apology to you."
Sondar sat up and rubbed his eyes as a look of disbelief was plastered on his face.
"I-I-I can't believe he did that for me. I don't deserve this I treated him like shit the last few hours." He said as he looked down in shame but Shorunt got mad and whacked him with his staff.
'WHACK'
"Master did this because he felt horrible about the way he treated you, He thinks of you as his brother. Let me tell you that when it comes to Vexsus that is an incredible honor, He let you all in, so DO. NOT. EVER. feel like your unworthy of what he does for you. If he felt like you were not worth his time he would have chosen others to lead or he would have left to be on his ownd."
By this time Shorunt's emotions were overwhelming him by this point and as he spoke his voice cracked and tears start to fall from his eyes as his body gives up. If it weren't for the fact that he had his staff in hand he would have fallen into a mound of weeping flesh on the ground.
Sylvania went and picked him up and helped him stand up straight.
"Shorunt we need you, Vexsus needs you, He trusts you the most and right now your power is what can help him." She said with a sad look in her eyes.
With a snotty sniffle he wipes his face off and shakes his head trying to clear out the overflowing sadness in order to focus on healing.
"Thank you miss Sylvania I needed that to get my mind right." He then steps over to look at his master's decrepit body and as one final tear falls his staff lights up with a brilliant emerald green.
"Ok My master will need plenty of nutrients when he wakes up. Howy, Sonday, Konna, Liosa, I need you guys to go and pick up all of the ant meat that you can and bring it here as quickly as you can I don't know how long it will take to wake him up but when he does it won't be him in control. It'll be Gluttony and it will be starving."
The 4 chosen hurry up and run off to the place where the ants fought vexsus and after a few minutes came back with 4 bodies of larger than normal warrior ants. They also found a mass amount of magic crystals and even a few dropped items that they didn't expect, like a short spear with an emblem of ant on it and the spear tip was a sharp mandible. or a helmet that oozed a commanding aura. But they figured the meat was more important right now and decided to come back for the rest after dropping the load off.
Back at the camp Shorunt was sending wave after wave of healing energy into his masters body all while muttering.
"Please master come back to us, Please, What are we to do without you master." The sisters were right next to him providing him with mana as they had just broken through and learned MP Share to further be of use to the party.
"Thank you sisters, You have proven your worth to not only me but also to everyone here. I am sure master would be ecstatic." Shorunt said knowing that without prior knowledge of the skill, how hard it would have been to learn it in such a short period of time. But their love for their master pushed them to do the extraordinary.
---Vexsus POV -----
I was in an endless sea of stars and my body was just floating in space, my mind was peaceful as I accepted the sacrifice I made for my friend.
"I knew the cost would be great, but that man is amazing and deserves a better friend out of me. When I wake up I will do my best to help him or at the very least try to not be such a dick to him all the time."
"Yes, I watched what happened and even though that man had some faults. He stepped up and did the unthinkable to ensure your survival... My Descendant."
I heard the all familiar voice of Gluttony all around me as I see a small form start to get closer. Upon inspection I notice it had a more feminine outline then the last few times I saw it. It was still a green gaseous looking cloud but it was now concentrated I guess.
"Vexsus I have to say I am proud of what you did. Although I am a bit disappointed by how many years you sacrificed, I am still proud that you saved your friend. You even made a life connection with him that will stay between you as long as you both live. Given the right circumstances that link can even span generations, But that's not the point of me summoning you here."
Gluttony sighed and came up to me before putting a hand on my shoulder and looking into my eyes with a seriousness that I found disconcerting.
"Vexsus, my dear, I am afraid that the other Sins are moving against me soon. I say soon but in your time it would be about 1 year. They have multiple descendants who are in all varying states of power. It has been announced that the 7 Sins of this world will hold a battle of supremacy after that 1 year. The other sins unfortunately have the power and reserves for multiple blessings they can bestow on mortals but for me I only had enough to grant 1 person a shard of my power. That person was you Vexsus."
What she? said was mindblowing. Not only are the Sins now going to fight but it would seem that they are actually aiming at Gluttony? I wanted to find out why but I refrained from asking just because right now I didn't have the strength to really change anything. I was shaken from my thoughts as she continued speaking.
"Hey, Come back to me now, I can see the cogs turning in your head but you gotta listen to me now. I need you to finish those missions I sent you. They will give me residual power I can absorb and gain back some of my power. Hopefully enough so that I can grant another blessing onto another mortal to help you in the war to come. But it all depends on you now Vexsus. Go and do what I ask please, there are no more threats from me. My life is in your hands as my only Descendant."
Her form then starts to slowly dissipate as my consciousness starts to awaken.
"Master, Master? Are you awake? Please wake up master."
I heard cries and sniffles from all around me as my eyes start to slowly open up after I use up what little energy I had left to force them open.
With a croaky voice I mutter incoherent words that forced the others to get closer.
"....Food, and.... Water..... please"
"Oh thank the gods, he's back. Quickly lets get him back up and start shoveling food and water down his throat." Kitsoma said with a sigh and soon was helping me to drink from a stone bowl and even fed me small pieces of what tasted like boiled ant meat.
"Thank.. you.. Kitsoma" I was able to speak a little more clearly after coughing and clearing my throat.
"Shut up you idiot and just focus on getting better." She said while looking away with a slight reddening of her face. I smiled as my chest felt a slight fluttering.
The others watched with a smile as they saw the cute interaction between me and her. Shorunt finally walked over and knelt down on a knee.
"Master I apologize for not helping when you needed me the most." He said with a conviction only heard from the most loyalist of underlings.
"Shorunt...'Cough' 'Cough'... Shorunt, listen. I did that by my own accord. I needed to save Sondar's life not because I owed him but because he deserved to keep living. I caused his death so it was only right that I brought him back. 50 Years are a worthy sacrifice to bring back a friend."
"50 YEARS!!?!?!?!" A collective yell came from the group before Kitsoma slapped me.
"You Imbecile, you sacrificed 50 years of your life? That is insane. How could you do that without blinking like you did, I mean you did that without even a hint of hesitation."
Sondar ran up to me and knelt down like Shorunt. "Vexsus please tell me you didn't sacrifice that many years just for me. I am not worth that much off your life. Please tell me your lying."
"Nope I'm not I really sacrificed 50 years of my life to bring you back buddy. And I would have sacrificed more if you were going to be stubborn and stayed dead. I need you man, You are my brother. I did it because I trusted you and I failed you as a friend. I hope you can forgive me Sondar?"
He looked up at me with misty eyes and a sniffle. "Man you are so dumb. But yes I feel that way to dude, I Swear here and now that from this day until the day I die, I will stand by your side as your brother and I will protect you with all my power."
[Companion Sondar has accepted generated Life-Link with User, Companion Sondar now classified as : (Sworn Brother)]
[Generating Sub-System...Complete]
[Connecting Sub-System to (Sworn Brother)....Complete]
[Will now commence Sub-System interface link.]
A bright green light enveloped Sondar as a line of energy connected between us. He yelled in pain for a minute but stopped as the light faded away. He was in a prone fetal position and shaking as a sigil seared onto the area just above his ear, the sigil was an exact replica of what I had. He also had a grey dragon tattoo above his heart that appeared.
[Sub-System Link complete.]
[Generating (Sworn Brother: Sondar) Status page]
[Sondar]
Species: Armadillo demi-human
Class: Sworn Brother, Guardian
[Stats]
Str: 13
vit 25
spd 5
dex 4
con 20
Int 9
HP:1,500
MP:90
[Skills]
[Earth Manipulation] Lvl 0 0/10 - User can manipulate the earth around it.
[Earth Wall] Lvl 0 0/10 - User can create Solid walls from surrounding Earth. Wall strength depends on skill level.
[Earth Creation] Lvl 0 0/10 - User can create varying objects using the surrounding Earth, Creation of varying objects may fail if not at sufficient skill level.
[Pack Mentality] 20% - The user will connect with others they trust to form a strong bond that increases teamwork aswell as small buff to stats dependent on skill level.
[Pain Tolerance] 20% - able to withstand physical pain easier.
[Sworn Brother] Lvl N/A - User will recieve buffs as long as in the vicinity of Sworn Brother(Sister).
[Life-Link] Lvl N/A - User has been brought back to life through the sacrifice of another, Will forever be connected through said link until death. Will upgrade once certain conditions have been met.
[Hardened body] Lvl 0 0/10 - Skill granted by Demi-Human Armadillo bloodline, User can harden their body to withstand up to 2 attacks. Warning!! will not protect against attacks from enemies with a large gap of power over User.
[Brought back from the dead] Lvl N/A - User has been brought back from the dead, Will constantly be cursed by the lord of the underworld for escaping his grasp, Gains the ability to see and converse with the dead. (Can unlock future off-shoot abilities)
A huge pop up list of his stats and abilities appeared before my eyes. I looked over it but was shortly stunned with a small burst of fear after reading that the Lord of the Underworld was cursing him for escaping his grasp. Does that mean he will be gunning for Sondars life? and by extension mine?
That was shortly answered by another pop up that was different from the normal system window. It was All black with red letters.
[I am watching you now, You will pay for taking my possession from me.]
[Receive my curse and suffer.]
Than a normal pop up window shortly appeared blocking it out.
[User has been inflicted with the curse: Curse of the Marked]
[User will now be hunted down by any and all undead. Can be removed with high level Holy magic.]
'Oh shit, this is just great how did this come about? All I wanted was to save my friend.'
I thought as Sondar groaned and stood up while wobbling.
"UGH, what the hell was that?"
I smiled as I walked up to him. "Welcome to my world, settle in and buckle up because there's alot we gotta talk about."
-------------------Vexsus' new gains-----------
[Sworn Brother] LVl N/A - User will receive buffs as long as in the vicinity of Sworn Brother(Sister).
[Life-Link] Lvl N/A - User has Sacrificed many years of their own lifespan to bring back someone from the dead, Will receive buffs to stats the closer you are to subject, along with the ability to sap life force and mana as payment. Will upgrade once certain conditions have been met.
[Rescuer of the Dead] Lvl N/A - User has rescued friend from death, gains ability related to the rescued soul. Warning!!! Lord of the Underworld is now watching you.
[Cursed of the Marked] Lvl N/A - The lord of the Underworld has cursed you to be a beacon towards the undead. Will be hounded by any and all undead
"VEXSUS!!!"
"MASTER!!!"
They all shouted and quickly ran over to Vexsus' comatose body. They were unable to do anything while they watched as he visibly used up his own life force to bring back their companion.
Kitsoma and Sylvania were still crying but now over they shed tears over how worried and scared they are at how much Vexsus sacrificed.
"Vexsus please wake up, please, don't leave us we need you." Kitsoma said as she started to cradle his head with her hands gently as his whole body had the look of a dried husk. His scales had fallen off leaving behind what looked like a thin half-dead lizard.
The goblins all were worried about their master but Shorunt knew his master would be ok, even if he had sacrificed his own life span to help his friend, Shorunt decided to instead make sure that Sondar was ok.
"Sondar, are you ok? Master did something tremendous as his apology to you."
Sondar sat up and rubbed his eyes as a look of disbelief was plastered on his face.
"I-I-I can't believe he did that for me. I don't deserve this I treated him like shit the last few hours." He said as he looked down in shame but Shorunt got mad and whacked him with his staff.
'WHACK'
"Master did this because he felt horrible about the way he treated you, He thinks of you as his brother. Let me tell you that when it comes to Vexsus that is an incredible honor, He let you all in, so DO. NOT. EVER. feel like your unworthy of what he does for you. If he felt like you were not worth his time he would have chosen others to lead or he would have left to be on his ownd."
By this time Shorunt's emotions were overwhelming him by this point and as he spoke his voice cracked and tears start to fall from his eyes as his body gives up. If it weren't for the fact that he had his staff in hand he would have fallen into a mound of weeping flesh on the ground.
Sylvania went and picked him up and helped him stand up straight.
"Shorunt we need you, Vexsus needs you, He trusts you the most and right now your power is what can help him." She said with a sad look in her eyes.
With a snotty sniffle he wipes his face off and shakes his head trying to clear out the overflowing sadness in order to focus on healing.
"Thank you miss Sylvania I needed that to get my mind right." He then steps over to look at his master's decrepit body and as one final tear falls his staff lights up with a brilliant emerald green.
"Ok My master will need plenty of nutrients when he wakes up. Howy, Sonday, Konna, Liosa, I need you guys to go and pick up all of the ant meat that you can and bring it here as quickly as you can I don't know how long it will take to wake him up but when he does it won't be him in control. It'll be Gluttony and it will be starving."
The 4 chosen hurry up and run off to the place where the ants fought vexsus and after a few minutes came back with 4 bodies of larger than normal warrior ants. They also found a mass amount of magic crystals and even a few dropped items that they didn't expect, like a short spear with an emblem of ant on it and the spear tip was a sharp mandible. or a helmet that oozed a commanding aura. But they figured the meat was more important right now and decided to come back for the rest after dropping the load off.
Back at the camp Shorunt was sending wave after wave of healing energy into his masters body all while muttering.
"Please master come back to us, Please, What are we to do without you master." The sisters were right next to him providing him with mana as they had just broken through and learned MP Share to further be of use to the party.
"Thank you sisters, You have proven your worth to not only me but also to everyone here. I am sure master would be ecstatic." Shorunt said knowing that without prior knowledge of the skill, how hard it would have been to learn it in such a short period of time. But their love for their master pushed them to do the extraordinary.
---Vexsus POV -----
I was in an endless sea of stars and my body was just floating in space, my mind was peaceful as I accepted the sacrifice I made for my friend.
"I knew the cost would be great, but that man is amazing and deserves a better friend out of me. When I wake up I will do my best to help him or at the very least try to not be such a dick to him all the time."
"Yes, I watched what happened and even though that man had some faults. He stepped up and did the unthinkable to ensure your survival... My Descendant."
I heard the all familiar voice of Gluttony all around me as I see a small form start to get closer. Upon inspection I notice it had a more feminine outline then the last few times I saw it. It was still a green gaseous looking cloud but it was now concentrated I guess.
"Vexsus I have to say I am proud of what you did. Although I am a bit disappointed by how many years you sacrificed, I am still proud that you saved your friend. You even made a life connection with him that will stay between you as long as you both live. Given the right circumstances that link can even span generations, But that's not the point of me summoning you here."
Gluttony sighed and came up to me before putting a hand on my shoulder and looking into my eyes with a seriousness that I found disconcerting.
"Vexsus, my dear, I am afraid that the other Sins are moving against me soon. I say soon but in your time it would be about 1 year. They have multiple descendants who are in all varying states of power. It has been announced that the 7 Sins of this world will hold a battle of supremacy after that 1 year. The other sins unfortunately have the power and reserves for multiple blessings they can bestow on mortals but for me I only had enough to grant 1 person a shard of my power. That person was you Vexsus."
What she? said was mindblowing. Not only are the Sins now going to fight but it would seem that they are actually aiming at Gluttony? I wanted to find out why but I refrained from asking just because right now I didn't have the strength to really change anything. I was shaken from my thoughts as she continued speaking.
"Hey, Come back to me now, I can see the cogs turning in your head but you gotta listen to me now. I need you to finish those missions I sent you. They will give me residual power I can absorb and gain back some of my power. Hopefully enough so that I can grant another blessing onto another mortal to help you in the war to come. But it all depends on you now Vexsus. Go and do what I ask please, there are no more threats from me. My life is in your hands as my only Descendant."
Her form then starts to slowly dissipate as my consciousness starts to awaken.
"Master, Master? Are you awake? Please wake up master."
I heard cries and sniffles from all around me as my eyes start to slowly open up after I use up what little energy I had left to force them open.
With a croaky voice I mutter incoherent words that forced the others to get closer.
"....Food, and.... Water..... please"
"Oh thank the gods, he's back. Quickly lets get him back up and start shoveling food and water down his throat." Kitsoma said with a sigh and soon was helping me to drink from a stone bowl and even fed me small pieces of what tasted like boiled ant meat.
"Thank.. you.. Kitsoma" I was able to speak a little more clearly after coughing and clearing my throat.
"Shut up you idiot and just focus on getting better." She said while looking away with a slight reddening of her face. I smiled as my chest felt a slight fluttering.
The others watched with a smile as they saw the cute interaction between me and her. Shorunt finally walked over and knelt down on a knee.
"Master I apologize for not helping when you needed me the most." He said with a conviction only heard from the most loyalist of underlings.
"Shorunt...'Cough' 'Cough'... Shorunt, listen. I did that by my own accord. I needed to save Sondar's life not because I owed him but because he deserved to keep living. I caused his death so it was only right that I brought him back. 50 Years are a worthy sacrifice to bring back a friend."
"50 YEARS!!?!?!?!" A collective yell came from the group before Kitsoma slapped me.
"You Imbecile, you sacrificed 50 years of your life? That is insane. How could you do that without blinking like you did, I mean you did that without even a hint of hesitation."
Sondar ran up to me and knelt down like Shorunt. "Vexsus please tell me you didn't sacrifice that many years just for me. I am not worth that much off your life. Please tell me your lying."
"Nope I'm not I really sacrificed 50 years of my life to bring you back buddy. And I would have sacrificed more if you were going to be stubborn and stayed dead. I need you man, You are my brother. I did it because I trusted you and I failed you as a friend. I hope you can forgive me Sondar?"
He looked up at me with misty eyes and a sniffle. "Man you are so dumb. But yes I feel that way to dude, I Swear here and now that from this day until the day I die, I will stand by your side as your brother and I will protect you with all my power."
[Companion Sondar has accepted generated Life-Link with User, Companion Sondar now classified as : (Sworn Brother)]
[Generating Sub-System...Complete]
[Connecting Sub-System to (Sworn Brother)....Complete]
[Will now commence Sub-System interface link.]
A bright green light enveloped Sondar as a line of energy connected between us. He yelled in pain for a minute but stopped as the light faded away. He was in a prone fetal position and shaking as a sigil seared onto the area just above his ear, the sigil was an exact replica of what I had. He also had a grey dragon tattoo above his heart that appeared.
[Sub-System Link complete.]
[Generating (Sworn Brother: Sondar) Status page]
[Sondar]
Species: Armadillo demi-human
Class: Sworn Brother, Guardian
[Stats]
Str: 13
vit 25
spd 5
dex 4
con 20
Int 9
HP:1,500
MP:90
[Skills]
[Earth Manipulation] Lvl 0 0/10 - User can manipulate the earth around it.
[Earth Wall] Lvl 0 0/10 - User can create Solid walls from surrounding Earth. Wall strength depends on skill level.
[Earth Creation] Lvl 0 0/10 - User can create varying objects using the surrounding Earth, Creation of varying objects may fail if not at sufficient skill level.
[Pack Mentality] 20% - The user will connect with others they trust to form a strong bond that increases teamwork aswell as small buff to stats dependent on skill level.
[Pain Tolerance] 20% - able to withstand physical pain easier.
[Sworn Brother] Lvl N/A - User will recieve buffs as long as in the vicinity of Sworn Brother(Sister).
[Life-Link] Lvl N/A - User has been brought back to life through the sacrifice of another, Will forever be connected through said link until death. Will upgrade once certain conditions have been met.
[Hardened body] Lvl 0 0/10 - Skill granted by Demi-Human Armadillo bloodline, User can harden their body to withstand up to 2 attacks. Warning!! will not protect against attacks from enemies with a large gap of power over User.
[Brought back from the dead] Lvl N/A - User has been brought back from the dead, Will constantly be cursed by the lord of the underworld for escaping his grasp, Gains the ability to see and converse with the dead. (Can unlock future off-shoot abilities)
A huge pop up list of his stats and abilities appeared before my eyes. I looked over it but was shortly stunned with a small burst of fear after reading that the Lord of the Underworld was cursing him for escaping his grasp. Does that mean he will be gunning for Sondars life? and by extension mine?
That was shortly answered by another pop up that was different from the normal system window. It was All black with red letters.
[I am watching you now, You will pay for taking my possession from me.]
[Receive my curse and suffer.]
Than a normal pop up window shortly appeared blocking it out.
[User has been inflicted with the curse: Curse of the Marked]
[User will now be hunted down by any and all undead. Can be removed with high level Holy magic.]
'Oh shit, this is just great how did this come about? All I wanted was to save my friend.'
I thought as Sondar groaned and stood up while wobbling.
"UGH, what the hell was that?"
I smiled as I walked up to him. "Welcome to my world, settle in and buckle up because there's alot we gotta talk about."
-------------------Vexsus' new gains-----------
[Sworn Brother] LVl N/A - User will receive buffs as long as in the vicinity of Sworn Brother(Sister).
[Life-Link] Lvl N/A - User has Sacrificed many years of their own lifespan to bring back someone from the dead, Will receive buffs to stats the closer you are to subject, along with the ability to sap life force and mana as payment. Will upgrade once certain conditions have been met.
[Rescuer of the Dead] Lvl N/A - User has rescued friend from death, gains ability related to the rescued soul. Warning!!! Lord of the Underworld is now watching you.
[Cursed of the Marked] Lvl N/A - The lord of the Underworld has cursed you to be a beacon towards the undead. Will be hounded by any and all undead
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